The sudden flash was followed by a thundering noise as the ruins of Nagohod appeared high over the sea near the continent of Aresios, southeast to the Amasian Empire. And while the fortress still had some momentum in it, it was slowly losing acceleration and would soon fall from the skies for good. Coming to the edge of the ruin, Tyler took a look outside. Whatever horrible materials were left in this ruin, they would fall into uninhabited sea or land. Equestria was safe.

However, his heart ached with this distinctive pain and breathing became hard. Leaning against a wall, Tyler took a glance into a shard of glass, where Sage was depicted as he spoke to him.
“Your body was exposed to an amount of magic lethal to you. With our help, you managed to stay in fighting shape, but frankly? This was way too early for you, boy. Your mortal body can't handle us three at the same time AND all this magic. It might have been able to do so in the future, but now...”

'This is it.' Tyler thought. 'This time there is nothing to save me. Not from this. My victory is a defeat as well since I'm dying from the stress.' Tears filled his eyes as he looked down to Equis. Its beauty unveiled more and more as the cloud of Black Omen ripped apart with each passing second. His new homeworld, safe and sound again. And yet, he was unsatisfied. He always thought he would give his life in battle or some heroic stunt, but it never occurred to him that he would die after winning a battle. There was this certain distinct pain in his chest and he knew all too well the meaning of all this. The overcharge was approaching its final stages and would kill him very soon now. His fate was sealed. Looking down to Equis, he didn't recognize his own tears until his vision became blurry. His loved ones, his daughter, his friends... No farewell, no kiss, no one to weep over his remains. Just dust sprinkled over the sea.
“Not like this...”

Then, all of a sudden, Tyler felt a whole different pain in his back. A breathtaking pain like a thousand frozen needles in his heart whipped up his spine, prompted him to gasp with wide eyes. 'Is this death?' Unable to move, He only heard Rage growling from behind. Was the beast unleashed again? Now the growl came to his left and a hissing voice to his right. Unable to turn his head, Tyler eyed to the right, only to see Sage there, grinning at him with an unsettling smile
“No! You're far from death. You're not alone, so it isn't your time to go down. We still have need for you, Tyler Jones... And while it will force us back into your subconsciousness, I'd rather see you alive than dead. We'll be in touch, boy...”

With a force unknown to Tyler, his body then automatically stretched out all four limbs and unleashed all the remaining magic in his body. A breathtaking pain fogged his mind as the inferno unleashed by his body teared the remnants of Nagohod apart with flames and wild unhindered beams of magic. Then suddenly there was a moment when some magic was directed at him, but in the inferno, his body ejected this as well.

In the magical plane, his herd mates and Cadance were actually waiting for Tyler, but after a moment, Celestia blinked twice in surprise, shaking her head in confusion.
“Did he... Did he just withstood alicorn magic? I wanted to teleport him out of harms way, yet it seems he withstood it with ease...”

Luna shook her head.
“Obviously he broke another limitation. We should get closer to him and try again.”

* * * * *

By now the inferno ceased and Tyler's body slammed down on the main stone ground while Nagohod collapsed into itself. But only his back hurt right now from the fall. The pain in his chest had vanished all of a sudden. Shaking his head in wonder, he stood up. “Well, whatever you did Sage... It worked. Sage? Rage?” They were gone. Just like the threat of overcharge, both phantoms were gone. However, as convenient as this was, Tyler knew that this was just cheating death. Whatever little miracle Sage made happen, Tyler expected him to return. Until then, of that Tyler was certain, he himself was a ticking time-bomb that could go off any day now. But right now, this was of smaller concern. Right now Nagohod's husk was falling. Maybe the dangerous energy banks Princess Lamira mentioned were destroyed and disposed right over the south-eastern sea due to his little inferno, but he was still hundreds of meter above sea and falling down. Hastily looking around, he spotted a Descendant lying on the floor. The unicorn stallion was wounded badly and had several cuts and bruises all over his body. Slapping him several times, Tyler already got a grip on his horn.
“Sorry to do this to you, buddy... But if we're going to survive, I have to take it with or without your consent.”

Taking a bit of magic by force, Tyler then used this to raise up a magical sphere and slowed down their descend, while the rest of Nagohod continued to fall unhindered. Closing in to sea-level, Tyler tried to take them as close to land as possible. Then, once they hit the ocean, they where about 3 miles away from land and Tyler grabbed the unicorn by the neck, tugging the stallion towards land as well. Slowly, the Descendant regained consciousness.
“W-what is happening?”

Shooting the stallion a glare, Tyler continued to swim.
“Shut up! I'm only saving your life because I took some of your magic while you were unconscious. Don't struggle or I'll leave you to drown!”

His mind racing, the eyes of the unicorn darted around in panic.
“But we're enemies! Why are you helping me?”

Rolling his eyes, Tyler shook his head.
“Tsk! 'If you have to ask that, you're not ready for the answer.' That would be my usual answer to you. But not today. Enough blood had been shed today. I've had enough of this!”

There was a certain pause between them before the stallion continued.
“Tyler Jones!”

“What is it now?”

“Thank you!”

Tyler took a glance at the stallion, only to nod at it while continuing to swim.
“Just make sure I won't regret this later on...”

An hour later, after an hour of almost over-exerting himself, Tyler hauled the stallion onto the beach. Gasping for air, he pulled the pony out of the water before the stallion nodded.
“I'm OK. Really!”

Giving a nod of his own, Tyler rose up to his feet and tumbled slowly towards the trees. Once there, he sat down and rested for a bit.
“Ok... At... At least the tide won't get us here. You know this place?”

The stallion shook his head.
“I woke up in the middle of the sea, you dragging me to safety. As far as I know, this is a beach. Don't know if this is an island or continent... Could be anywhere. Hey... um... You're not going to kill me like the rest of us Descendants, do you?”

Tyler looked at the stallion with a sober expression.
“That depends...”

“On what?”

“On whether you look tasty enough with an apple in your mouth or not.”

Both remained silent for a second until they both burst into laughter.
“I'm afraid not, but I get your point.”

“It's getting late,” Tyler then stated, “In a few hours we'll have sunset. We should find something to eat by then and some things to build a first improvised shelter. We'll need one in case there are... predators... around... What the hell?” Getting up, Tyler recognized the whirring sounds he knew all too well from the fleet the Descendants had created. And all of a sudden, several shuttles flew right over the two of them, taking circles over the open sea. “I guess your colleagues are curious of what crashed into the sea.”

The stallion nodded.
“It appears so...”

Looking over to him, Tyler nodded at him.
“By the way, I didn't catch your name.”

“It's Crosswing Bellows.”

Other voices became audible now.
“Search the beach! There might be survivors. From all we know, it was a citadel that went down!”

Crosswing shook his head before looking at Tyler.
“Search parties... Will you be alright? I know I will be, but...”

Tyler nodded with a reassuring smile.
“Don't worry. I fought two alicorns alright. What more to frighten me?” And with this they approached the search parties.

* * * * *

An hour later, the search parties brought Crosswing and Tyler to a base by carriage. Following a road deeper into the land, Tyler could make out a distinctive green glow in the distance. But as he observed the Descendants, he noticed that they were packing everything into shuttles and flew these into a single war citadel. In the base, a medium sized complex of concrete, they were led into an office with a unicorn officer clopping his hooves together.
“So... Tyler Jones... It's a privilege to have you as a prisoner.”

Tyler let out a bored sigh.
“Here we go again... Do me a favor and pump me full of magic from the get-go, I want to blow this place up and go home, OK?”

But Crosswing stomped his hoof to the ground.
“No, this conflict is over! Continuing would be pointless!”

Looking at Crosswing, the officer went through a few documents.
“Your cutie mark looks familiar... Ah yes! Crosswing Bellows, technical battery sergeant transferred to Nagohod. What are you doing here? Have you defected to the enemy?”

Crosswing stammered aghast, but Tyler patted his shoulder.
“Whatever you say, they won't believe you. I mean these guys are so dense they don't even recognize that this black cloud stuff is out of the skies. Do you actually think they would believe any word of you telling them that you guys lost?”

“Silence!!!” the officer snapped at Tyler

Crosswing stepped forth.
“But he's right, you know. I was there. What fell into the sea northwest of here were the remains of Nagohod. The fleet is destroyed. Princess Lamira and Asira... are defeated.”

The message was hard to hear for the Descendants.
“What?!?”

“Impossible!”

“500 war citadels! 50.000 ponies! All gone?!?”

A mare to Tyler's right side looked up to him, a grim expression on her face.
“You witnessed the defeat of our princesses?”

Slowly, Tyler had enough of this. He didn't endure all of this so no one would believe he did it.
“Oh, I didn't just watch it happen... I MADE it happen!”

A few ponies backed away now.
“He defeated alicorns...”

“He's the foretold destroyer... Just like in the alicorn legends...”

Tyler looked to the ground.
“I'm no destroyer. I only fought in Nagohod. The rest of the fleet was destroyed before they took me hostage and placed me inside their... their 'Heart of Darkness' as they called it. There a things no one should be forced to undergo. No human, no pony... no one!” Looking up to the Descendants, he shook his head. “They left me no choice. I tried to reason with them to stop, but Lamira wasn't about to hear me. Not even after I broke her sister's horn.”

This caused a unicorn mare to gasp in shock.
“The worst act of violence for anyone with a horn.”

The officer, however, shook his head.
“And I still call it minotaurshit! He just claims to have done that! Where is the proof?”

“It's right here!” Holding up Asira's black horn tip, Tyler noticed how the Descendants one by one were kneeling in front of him in surrender. But this only caused Tyler to shake his head. “Well, I don't want you to kneel, I rather have you explaining to me why you all are busy packing like the continent is about to be blown to pieces.”

Standing up, a unicorn stallion looked up to Tyler.
“Because it actually is! Project Chrysalia has entered its final stage: Forced Enviromental Evolution, FEE for short. As far as we could translate from ancient alicorn language, this project not only was there to defeat the enemy, but to shape the world into the liking of its master.”

Tyler smirked as he heard this.
“Well, Shiria is her own master now, so she will decide. Another stupid idea biting you Descendants in the ass. What a frightening idea… A Changeling Queen reshaping the world.”

Another Descendant shook his head.
“Yeah, maybe not. The Changelings have caused an overload somewhere in the Machina Infernum by causing a malfunction after the last process. The alicorn blood samples have been activated and the malfunction caused a chain reaction. Now the machine is charging with no way to release all the stored alicorn magic. The blast might evaporate half the continent.”

This caused Tyler to look at the eerie green glow in the sky. Whatever Shiria's plans were, it was coming to an end with huge steps.
“So the Changelings are blowing up one of your damned Tacitus machines? Problem solved. They did the work for me. It's not the first time I blow up your dreaded war devices!”

Another mare shook her head, glaring at Tyler.
“It's not that simple! The detonation you caused in Dragon Mountain was child's play compared to this. A detonation of... let's say a few Kilomarics. But here we are talking about alicorn treshholds easily in Megamarics.” The term caused Tyler to frown a bit. 'Marics... Either a value of magical force or of detonation force... I'll have to ask Twilight or Celestia about this once I'm home again... IF I manage to come home again.' The mare continued. “The problem is as follows: Shiria's magic is getting stronger before she turns to an equivalent of an alicorn. That’s because she’s an alicorn deep within. Or rather... Her mother Queen Chrysalis was. But that origin should be in her as well. The effect of changing the environment she’s causing right now will grow because of that. Maybe it will be strong enough in time for her to survive the blast by changing the very fabrics of the Machina. Nopony can predict the extent of the damage this effect will have until she turns. It might even grow until it will engulf all of Equis. We can’t let that happen, Tyler Jones. You have to stop her.”

Tyler's facial expression darkened. 'Shiria, what are you doing?' Making his way, he shook his head.
“I'll go. She might be willing to let me get close enough to discuss things.”

“Wait!” Looking back, Tyler arched both brows as he looked at the stallion, who pointed his hoof at a rifle next to him. “I thought you knew what had to be done? She's a weapon beyond any control. Be aware of what you're agreeing to: The only way to stop Queen Shiria for certain is to kill her.”

Giving the professor a strict glare, Tyler cocked his head.
“You don’t have to tell me what I have to do, OK?” And with that, he made his way towards the green glow at the horizon. After a march of about an hour, he could see the first signs of Changeling wax all around the path. Covering more and more of the vegetation and ground like an infestation, the hive seemed very aggressive this time.

Finally Tyler reached an enormous clearing with a hive towering high up into the sky. But still this wasn't the source of the green glow, which was still a few miles into the south-east. Carefully making his way into the hive, he tried his best to remain unseen. But all of a sudden, a drone crossed his way. Inhaling sharp, Tyler stepped back, bumping into another drone, which almost dropped an egg. What followed came to a surprise for Tyler. Turning around, the drone hissed at him before talking.
“Hey! Watch it where you're going, human! Or else I'll alarm the warriors!”

Tyler's eyes were wide as plates and he simply nodded. This was most unusual. Changelings were bound to a hive mind. Yet these here seemed to act on their own. Mostly ignoring him, they seemed to deem him no threat. Slightly relieved, Tyler deemed it good for now since it would speed his search up a bit. Upon entering a bigger hall, he approached a trio of changelings. It was a small drone, a medium sized warrior and a hulk of a brute. Upon seeing Tyler, they didn't ignore him, but began to converse with each other as he came closer.
“Isn't that this human feller?”

Cocking her head, the drone eyed Tyler for a while.
“He looks... nervous.”

Stomping onto the ground, the Brute hissed eagerly.
“I would like to kill him.” Tyler gulped as he halted in his movement.

Licking his fangs, the warrior nodded.
“As would I...” Both the brute and warrior now went into attack stance and Tyler was already worrying to have to fight the entire hive from here on.

Looking up, the drone shook her head with a sly grin.
“The Queen ordered us not to!”

Now mustering Tyler, the warrior began to sneer. Both him and the brute went back into more casual stances.
“You're right. It would be impolite.” Tyler slowly continued walking by them. There were only ten feet between them, five... Their heads followed him as he passed them.

Bowing down, the head of the Brute was on height as the warrior's.
“We give him a head start?”

A smile returned, showing the warrior's fangs.
“There's an idea!”

With a growl, the Brute shivered in anticipation.
“I want his tongue and liver...”

“They are yours.” the warrior replied.

Tyler gulped, Changelings with own free will seemed far more dangerous and vile than the ones with hive mind. He couldn't decide what was more frightening to him; the murderous lust in their free will or them being so gosh darn polite while talking about their plans. Now continuing his way, Tyler went deeper into the hive. But the deeper he went, the more surprised he was. By now he expected to find the lair of the queen, but as far as he looked, there was no such hall. And there were no fresh eggs, nowhere. Following a long corridor, Tyler expected the worst to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2BuJJIVicY

But no such thing revealed itself to him. This was a garden of flowers, no alien construct, no changeling hive, just a normal, lovely decorated garden with tidy grass, flowers and a playground. It even had butterflies flying through the air. Resting on a bench, Shiria was looking at the playground until her eyes turned over to him.
“Tyler…”

Approaching her with a nod, Tyler stood in front of her and stopped one meter in front of her.
“Shiria…”

Tapping her perforated hoof at the free place beside her she waited for him to sit down before she began to talk.
“When mother was but a child, they trained her for all of this. 'Chrysalia, can you perform that spell?' 'Can you move that weight with your horn?'” Her eyes narrowed angrily and a tree next to her got ripped out of the ground as easily like pulling out weed from the ground. “Yeah… she could do all of it… With ease! So much potential and all they could see was a weapon to bring destruction.” Closing her eyes shut, Tyler could see she was close to an outrage. But she sighed and shook her head. “They got their weapon… Mother and I got cheated out of our heritage…”

Looking to the ground, Tyler shook his head.
“I can’t imagine the cruel mind able to do this to a little filly…”

Opening her eyes again, her voice became more gentle.
“You’re better than this. You wouldn’t forge a child into a weapon. You care too much for being like this.” Looking at Tyler, Shiria saw his concern for her. This caused her to smirk a bit. “You don’t have to answer… The worry is all over your face…That’s how I can see you’re not going to kill me… Even if they asked you to do so…”

Looking towards the way he came from, Tyler looked back to her with a smile.
“No… I’m not here to kill you…”

Taking a questioning glance into his eyes, she seemed to try and read his mind. Tyler didn't know if she was able to, but he wasn't about to hide his intentions from her.
“You want me to order the drones and warriors of my swarm to kill themselves. Before they go berserk… Before I turn and can’t stop them anymore…”

“Yes… that idea occurred to me.”

Looking down to the ground, she narrowed her eyes.
“I’m turning very soon. Everything that I was, everything I ever achieved… won’t be a part of me anymore… Like I never existed in the first place…”

He nodded and closed his eyes. What she had done to herself was, as far as he understood, irreversible by now.
“Yes… I’m so sorry…”

With a frightened expression she looked up to him.
“Would you stay with me?” Tyler now saw the tears running down her black cheeks, glittering like little diamonds. “I’m scared…” She looked so helpless right now, her eyes begging him for help. She wasn’t facing death; she was facing being erased out of existence. The thought of being forgotten terrified her like a little girl.

Fighting his own tears, he came closer and embraced her.
“Hey... It will be alright… I will be at your side until the very end… And whatever you will become… I will tell it your story. The story of the Changeling Queen that became more…”

With this she closed her eyes as the tears now streamed down her smiling face.
“Thank you for being there for me, Papa…”

He gasped as the tears finally got him and caressed her Changeling mane. It was true to some degree. In the entire world he was the closest thing she could have as a father figure.
“It will be alright, child… You will be among friends soon…”

As he looked up with tears running over his cheeks, he noticed three Changelings approaching him and Shiria, a big bag being dragged behind them.
“We gathered around in the hive, took a letter from every single one of us, tried to explain ourselves as best as we could.”

This confused Tyler for a bit.
“Why?”

“This hive might end, but our queen and mother will live on, even if she's in another form. As long as she remembers us, we can go with the certainty that life will go on and that maybe others will be spared the same fate. That and...”

Another drone now stepped forth.
“...we also want to be remembered. Being forgotten is worse than death.”

Levitating the sack to himself, Tyler nodded with a smile.
“Thank you...” His hand caressed through the mane of the Changeling queen, when a certain feeling filled her. A feeling known to her all to well. She was fed love. Looking around, Tyler saw that the Changelings laid down all around, each one of them forming a small white orb over its horn, which then then traveled over to Shiria. Another heavy lump grew in his throat as he understood the meaning behind all this. A final farewell forever by the hundreds, maybe thousands of remaining members of the hive to strengthen their queen for her final trip. Slowly but surely the world went dark for Queen Shiria as if a deep slumber took hold of her. But with Tyler around, there was no dread, no fear of danger, just this warm feeling of safety. And in midst of this good feeling, her body cocooned itself in his arms.

* * * * *

Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Applejack and Cadance went out of the teleportation spell and while Applejack was levitated by Twilight, the alicorns descended down to the beach southeast of the Amasian Empire. In the distance, the glow of the magical detonation was visible and thundering noises were audible even though the continent of Aresios was 300 miles away from this beach. Whatever detonated over there a few hundred miles away, it surely was something fierce. None of them could imagine the demonic machine which was destroyed by the very species it brought forth, but they felt the magic presence. A vast amount of energy was working over there and the alicorn mares looked at each other with troubled glances. Somewhere over there Tyler was at stake, maybe even in the midst of these detonations. Taking off her Stetson, Applejack saw the dread on the royal faces and tried to imagine the extent of this.
“Whoa, Nelly...” Then there was a sudden sound. A sound all too familiar to the herd. It was the sound of magical teleportation. Twilight used it on an almost daily basis. Turning left looking at the beach, their hearts skipped for a moment.

There he stood. His upper clothes were torn apart, his skin smoking, his boots being washed by the tide. His hair slowly fell down as the magic in his body ceased. In his arms he was carrying a black alicorn filly with a soft and dark cerulean mane and to his feet rested a brown sack. A gentle grin formed on his face as his eyes met theirs.
“From the brink of destruction and darkness I came back to you four... Bringing forth a fifth.”

Celestia's eyes slowly widened. Her lower lip trembled. No, this wasn't the face of someone who killed an alicorn. 'He went out to kill two alicorns and instead he saved one.' Not noticing how the tears ran down her cheeks, she shook her head with a smile and began galloping towards him, shortly followed by Luna, Applejack and Twilight. The filly was levitated down and Tyler embraced his girls as the herd was finally united and whole again.

Smiling proudly, the Princess of Love stood by the young filly and smiled upon the herd in front of her, feeling happy for her aunts and friends. Once more, love and compassion had tamed an angered mind for the better. Looking down towards the young filly, she recognized several features from Shiria. Shocked that this alicorn filly once was a Changeling, Cadance gasped and took a step back. Her most hated nemesis was actually the same as her, only deformed and twisted by a mind more twisted than a Changeling could ever be. Whatever demonic will caused this, Tyler seemed to had found a way to reverse the process.

Bowing closer to the filly, Cadance then rested her lips on its forehead, placing a gentle kiss upon it.
“Welcome to a better you, Princess of Change...”

As kisses and hugs were exchanged in the herd, Tyler held Twilight's cheeks and looked into her eyes.
“Twilight…Please tell Spike that I need him once we’re back… I want to write down a letter. It will be the most important letter that he’ll ever write…”

“A letter? To whom?”

“It is a letter to the alicorn Princess Shiria. Or whatever name she chooses to bear from now on. Her memory was wiped, but I think she deserves to see her own past… To see the courage she possessed as a Changeling… the courage to become more. Even if it means to sacrifice everything familiar… I think with this bag of mail here she might need some sort of preparation before seeing so many voices wishing her luck or saying good bye.”

Looking at each other, Celestia and Luna gave each other a brief nod before they approached Tyler. Arching a brow, Celestia leaned in with a smile.
“Well then, young man... Does your request still stand?”

Tyler was stumped for a moment and frowned a bit.
“Request, what request do you-” It then occurred to him and he whirled over to her. “Oh! Oh yes, you mean that. Why... Yes, it does!”

Giggling a bit, Celestia shook her head.
“9287.”

Tyler didn't know what to make of this.
“Come again?”

Giving a warm and gentle chuckle, the white alicorn mare gently shook her head.
“Over the years of our lives we've faced 9287 proposals together. I myself faced 7950 proposals. Due to her banishment time, Luna only faced 1337. 620 of all those had the audacity to marry the both of us, three of those coming from King Sombra. You have no idea how stubborn some stallions and dragons could be back in the days of old... While I think Applejack and Twilight would gladly take you anytime as a husband, you certainly have our reputation as an obstacle before you. And still you ask like we're the average street mares from around the corner. If one lives as long as we do, everything new becomes priceless. A new world, a new species, a new mindset, a new level of mental strength? Luna and I would lie through our teeth if we would claim this wasn't exciting and you keep reaching new heights with each new challenge. “

Arching a brow, Tyler cocked his head.
“So... Does this mean...?”

Celestia and Luna then supercharged their horns and their eyes began to shine brightly white.
“It means you're in for a very tough ride, young man!” At the next moment, a shining bright flash blinded Applejack and Twilight and Cadance came closer. Tyler, Celestia and Luna were gone. In their place only a scorched mark on the ground remained.

Arching a brow, the Princess of Love looked around.
“What do you think they're up to do with him now? I never saw them like that!”

Looking at the scorched sand before them, AJ then looked over to Twilight.
“Not gonna lie to ya there, Sugarcube... But the last time Ah saw somepony disappearing with a scorched mark on the ground...” The sentence made Twilight gulp. She as well could think of only one place they could have brought him.

* * * * *

Tyler was hovering in the ethereal plane until his feet seemed to find invisible ground.
“Uh... Hello?”

Celestia's voice became audible half a second before she appeared right in front of him.
"Welcome, Tyler... You are dead."

His eyes opening wide, Tyler jumped at the announcement.
"WHAT?!? YOU KILLED ME FOR PROPOSING TO YOU?!?"

But right then another voice spoke up and Luna appeared right next beside her sister.
"Oh stop jesting, Tia... Tis not funny!"

Giving a heavy sigh of relief, Tyler shook his head.
“So... I'm not dead after all?”

Celestia couldn't resist to giggle.
“Of course not, silly.” Resting her right wing onto his shoulder, she pulled him in. “Congratulations, Tyler! You stood and fared well against all odds and despite having sworn to kill, you did not. Instead you preserved life and brought to us another filly to welcome in our midst. An alicorn filly you already seem to care about like she would be your very own daughter. You have proven that you’re worthy, Tyler…”

This left Tyler stumped for a bit.
“Worthy? Worthy in what way now?”

Both Sisters trotted at his sides as they went along an ethereal corridor. On its sides, Tyler could lay witness on all his past adventures in Equestria and beyond. Each moment preserved like a treasure. Celestia's tender voice broke into song as they went on.
“You've travelled such a long, long way,
And we've watched you from that very first day.
To learn of your strange race,
To see what you might face,
To see what you adore…
And all the ways you've made us love you more.”

Giving her beloved herdmate a smile, Luna gave him a nod and continued.
“It's time now for a new step to abide
Thou are ready for thy new life at our side
To go where thou will go...
To see what thou will see...
To find what thou will be.”

Both regal sisters stood at his sides and their horns charged up, singing the last line together.
“For it's time for you to fulfill your destiny…”

A blue flame sprang out of Tyler’s chest and encircled him.
“Woah! What the serious hell?!?” But before he knew it, he was engulfed by a bright light and levitated into the air and light took away his perception. It was bright, yet not painful. All around him and through his entire body there was this wonderful feeling of warmth, as if life would fill every fiber in his body. There was a slight dizziness in his perception and as the light ceased he landed on solid ground in Ponyville, where everyone besides Twilight, AJ, Celestia and Luna was standing around him.

Blocking the light with a hand, Rachel tried her best to see behind the light.
“Tyler... Is that you?”

When Tyler landed and the light ceased, he felt his chest and body. He was still alive, no doubt about it. But what did the alicorns do to him? 'Wings!' That thought sprang into his mind and he felt his back, but no, there were no wings.
“Folks… What the hell is going-” Tyler was interrupted as magic engulfed him and his torn clothing was changed into a white uniform suit. White velvet gloves materialized over his hands and a blue sash with the equestrian banner on it rested on his right shoulder. His bulky survival boots were replaced with white shoes. The silver Ranger Star, pinned on his uniform, sparkled polished and shiny.

The girls were silent in awe. Rarity found her words as the first one, beaming wide in wild wonder.
“WA-HA-HAAA!!! Tyler!!! You… You look like a real prince!“

Right then the warm voice of Princess Celestia sounded from above as she, Luna and Twilight with a levitated Applejack approached from above.
“That's because he IS a prince.”

Looking over to Celestia, Tyler shook his head.
“Well you two said something about entering royalty in the past… But honestly? I’m not a prince.”

“Yes, you are.” Celestia retorted.

“Haven’t thou learned anything from Princess Lamira, Asira and Queen Shiria?” Luna asked.

Tyler hummed a bit, thinking for a moment.
“When I was fighting them I learned only one thing…”

“And what is that?”

Looking up, Tyler opened his hands to gesture while he was explaining his findings.
“While to look beyond the glory is the hardest part, a ruler's strength is measured by his heart. Lamira was only guided by hatred and saw herself as the only proper ruler for the Descendants. Maybe a lot of good ponies would still be alive today if not for her ill-willed ambitions. Shiria on the other side, although a Changeling Queen, was willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good. She wanted to be more than a pawn for the ancient Alicorns of Darkness, wanted to be more. What they did to Chrysalis... or Chrysalia, was nothing more than an atrocity. She decided that she wouldn't condemn her swarm to this eternal struggle and chose to correct this ancient project. In an epiphany of some sort, she gave each drone individuality and a voice of its own. This bag of letters I brought with me is their legacy, Shiria's heritage. And that’s why I chose to save her at all cost.”

Celestia closed her eyes with a smile and nodded,
“True... Just because someone has a dark past, it doesn’t mean that he or she has to live in darkness forever…”

Luna nodded as well and nuzzled her big sister,
“And by learning this lesson thou are more than qualified for the tasks ahead of thee, Tyler.”

Twilight beamed up with a nod.
“Yes, I think so, too. The man who was a mercenary is no more. You've outgrown that man, Tyler.”

Tyler, however, took a step back. This quickly got out of hand.
“Hold it right there! I’m not fit for all this royal stuff!”

This made the regal sisters frown,
“Why don’t you be the prince we know you are? The prince we see inside? You once said that a good ruler is someone who has the power forced upon him instead of taking it. We absolutely agree. Luna and I had to step up to Discord once. Not because we wanted to, but because we had no other choice.

Hearing his own words against him, Tyler searched for words to worm himself out of there.
“Well... true, but-”

Celestia shook her head gently , causing her ethereal mane to move a little more than usual.
“No buts! You fit in perfectly! Now step up and show us what a human prince can do!” A giggle escaped her and she leaned over to him. “Otherwise, that proposal of yours will lose a hefty amount of foundation.”

* * * * *

The night came and went and in the morning, a parade was organized in the streets of Canterlot. While most of the ponies cheered for their heroes on the wagons, one particular mare went back into the alley she came from, towards the blue box she was now responsible for. Her head hung deep. What a tremendous responsibility. Maybe it would be the best to place the TARDIS somewhere no one could ever hope to find her, not even in a million years. 'I don't know what to do. I was the companion of the Doctor. But the Doctor is dead now. I'm the Eye of Time an my part here is done.' Closing the door of the TARDIS from the inside, Derpy listened up for a moment. Were there any distant noises? The Doctor never actually showed her the real size of the TARDIS, but for what it was worth, it could be huge.
“Doctor?” Listening for a bit, she cocked her head and yelled a bit. “Doctor?!?” But no, there was no Doctor. Only her, this gigantic time pony ship and loneliness. Slumping down to the ground, Derpy began to cry bitter tears. Already she was hearing things over the loss of her loved one. “Oh please! Please! Don't haunt me like this!”

It was in this moment when Derpy heard the Doctor's voice deep within.
“Derpy!” The voice caused her to look up again, a sudden spark of hope inside her eyes. “You can hear me... I know you can.”

Looking around in the TARDIS control room, she couldn't make out anything that even looked like a time pony.
“I don't see you.”

But once more, the voice inside her spoke up, like it was speaking to and answering her
“You should see it coming now every second.”

Now Derpy could make something out. Silhouettes of ponies galloped up and down the control room and corridors of the TARDIS, each pony looking different than the other, yet all strangely familiar to Derpy, for in her eyes, she could make them out as one and the same pony in different time-frames-
“Yes, now I see something!”

“Images from my past, I'm syncing up with your time.”

Right in that moment, the Doctor yelled up and a pressure wave knocked Derpy from her hooves. Confused, the gray mare looked up.
“What is wrong? What is happening with me?”

“I'm traveling through your time stream, it's not a very pleasant or safe way of time travel.”

Gritting her teeth, Derpy shook her head.
“Don't risk your life! Get out of there!!!”

“Not until I'm back with you! I'm sending you something to aid us both. Look up. Look!” Looking up, Derpy had a letter dropped onto her muzzle. “This is your confession, Derpy. It is everything you wanted to tell me before I was snatched away from you. Hold tight. It will lead me to you.” Taking the letter into her grasp, Derpy pressed it tightly against her chest. It was opened. If the Doctor knew about her feelings, maybe he was able to understand her. Maybe he wouldn't be mad at her for what she had done to him. Warm tears ran over her cheeks as she imagined it: He just standing there and hugging her.

And all of a sudden, the Doctor's voice became audible again. Not from the inside, but from behind.
“Derpy! Derpy, come on!”

Slowly turning around, Derpy shook her head, not believing her eyes.
“How...?”

“Because it's impossible! How many times did we two do the impossible? Just this once... Just for the hay of it nopony will lose anypony. You have to trust me, I'm real.” Almost stumbling into him, Derpy took hold of the stallion. It was real. HE was real. Hugging her tightly, he held the gray mare close to him, nuzzling her blonde mane. “Derpy! My Derpy...”

When she let go of him and looked up into his eyes with tears running over her cheeks, she simply shook her head in confusion.
“But how?”

Taking a handkerchief, the stallion dried her tears and patted her right cheek twice.
“The mirror pool water you bought... It was the real thing. I got a little agreement with ponies in high places. My life for keeping yet another secret and making others believe I'm dead.” Trotting over to the controls, the Doctor looked at the exit. “Take a good long look outside. You can't return to that time-frame for some time now, Derpy... Maybe later once I've done some research and investigations... Seems to me I was wrong. Tyler Jones didn't alter the time-line, he connected two time-lines together. The one of his universe and ours. This Abarasion spell mystery goes deeper and deeper!”

Opening the door of the TARDIS, Derpy looked to the Doctor.
“What do you mean? Why should Tyler and the others think you are dead?”

A sigh escaped the time pony and he looked up.
“I mean that we've been tricked all along. A trick so elaborate that I almost didn't see it.”

“I don't understand...”

With some anger in his eyes, the stallion gritted his teeth.
“The greatest trick the royal herd ever pulled was to convince me that they didn't mess with time.”

Looking outside and to the princesses and Tyler on the balcony, Derpy's eyes widened,
“You mean...?”

But the Doctor only shook his head while coming over to her.
“Oh, not this royal herd... Way too early. No, somepony else is manipulating from the shadows. Somepony we've yet to see. And this pony wants to end the Alicorn War once and for all. She's been very good at that.”

It was then when Derpy recognized something else. There were seven humans instead of four. Surrounding Tyler, there were three who she could see, but they were blurry and vague.
“Who are these men around Tyler? I can't see them clearly.”

Gulping in silent terror, the Doctor turned around.
“Never mind... Let's get back.”

“But who are they? There is only one Tyler Jones in Equestria at this point in time, so I wouldn't see them if it wasn't of temporal importance! A disturbance in the temporal fabric. Why are there so many men looking like Tyler?”

Gulping even harder now, the Doctor once more thought in overdrive. He had to explain it to Derpy without breaking the oath that guaranteed his survival right now.
“They are part of Tilerions. Rage and Sage. Two alternate versions fighting for control. They've been awoken by the alicorns we fought with and against. You can probably see them because of the change they brought and still bring to both timelines. Now let's get back!”

More and more confusion took hold of Derpy.
“But I see a fourth one there. Is Tyler suffering a split personality?”

Taking a short glance at Tyler, the stallion tried to pull her away from the door, but to no avail.
“I said they are part of Tilerions. I never said they were part of Tyler!”

“I don't get it.”

“Look! The Tyler we know is the original one. The men you see there are what Tyler could become. A mindless magical beast or a magic mastermind. Light and Darkness have let their marks on him. And the fourth one...” Looking to Tyler, he saw the three alternative versions of him as well and gulped. '...he's the final result once all three agree on something. Tilerions...' but his train of thought was interrupted as Derpy collapsed at his side. It was all too much for the gray mare. Catching her, the Doctor hurled her over his back. Tyler, Derpy, so many others and himself. The royal herd of the future sacrificed each and everyone in order to maintain harmony. “He's what they all dreaded since the ancient times. Queen Faust's cruelest secret the universe must never know.”

Slowly the other versions of Tyler looked over to the two of them and the Doctor glared at him with a disapproving look. Already the stallion knew that this wasn't the last time the two of them were meant to face each other. And the Doctor knew that all future encounters would be more of the unpleasant nature. What these creatures were doing, they did for many reasons, good or bad, but not in the name of Tyler Jones. And as the door to the TARDIS closed, it vanished into the depths of the time vortex.

* * * * *

Two days passed and while the nation was recovering from the shock of well-nigh annihilation, its heroes recovered from their wounds both physically and mentally. While the seven mares exchanged their little adventures in different paths of their journey on Earth, Princess Celestia recovered from the short duration she had to endure without a connection to her sun in her captivity. United with their sons, Queen Sheeris and King Gifford remained in their chambers in Canterlot, surrounded by their vassals while hearing the stories their kids had to tell.

Luna, however, recovered quite fast from her temporal transformation back to Nightmare Moon and even without the Elements, the Princess was able to return to her former harmonic self. Using her time well, she worked in the workshop in Canterlot Castle. Just like the tiaras made for Cadance, Celestia and herself, Luna took it upon herself that this piece of jewelry was nothing but another example of alicorn craftsmanship. It was a rather humble crown, made out of dragon leather. Luna rolled her eyes when Celestia asked if any live dragons were harmed for making this and assured her big sister that these pieces of leather were from the times when dragons were much more numerous and vengeful. She didn’t kill any new ones, but thought the crown to be more fitting in this material, for the leather would emphasize the unyielding will of its bearer. A round and dim sapphire was embedded on the front side and would rest on the forehead. This was not a hint towards Luna herself, but the blue world Tyler was from.
“You’ve spent quite some time thinking about this crown, haven’t you?” Celestia asked with a smile.

Clearing her throat a bit, Luna then began to smile.
“But of course! It’s only fitting for the soon to be father of my children. It's also secured against theft. Only we, his herd mates and he himself will be able to lift it.

In the distance, bells were ringing, announcing the end of the preparations for the coronation. Hearing the bells ring brought a smile upon Celestia's face
“There he comes! We should get ready.”

And while they were trotting outside of the chamber, a choir of griffins send by King Gifford himself announced the coming of the hero with a hymn the griffins had prepared for Tyler's day.

“Oh, ascended one
You've proven yourself with this deed.
Gone are the enemies of old
Glory and honor are yours...”

A huge portal to the inner palace walls was opened and ponies on the balconies as well as the Pegasi on the clouds cheered for their hero. Flower petals were thrown with only one name in the air: Tyler. As the large doors slammed against the walls and Tyler continued his way, still accompanied by the victorious chorus.

“Gloria!
Honorifice!
Pralium Facio!
Animus!

Gloria!
On this festive day
A new prince is crowned.”

Tyler looked up to the many ponies above him on balconies or clouds, cheering and throwing white petals at him. Catching one of the petals, Tyler looked down at it, gently rubbing it with his thumb. None of them were aware of his dark secret, the alliance he formed with his darker sides in order to overcome the challenges in front of him. For the sake of ponykind, for the sake of Equestria and Equis it had to remain that way. 'No one must ever learn of this... I'll probably keep it hidden until my final day, not even the girls must know.' Clenching his fist and teeth together, Tyler closed his eyes. Lying the girls straight into the face. Of all the things he'd done, he deemed this the most ugly deed. But the herd had to be protected from Rage and Sage as well. These two were bloodhounds of war, unleashed only when the situation was so dire nothing else could help. Even with the many advantages they would deliver, they were simply too dangerous for... well, everyone else. The world of Equis seemed secure for now and the others may think that the Alicorns of Darkness were vanquished, possibly never to return. But none of them witnessed the real dangers the Darkness Sisters held or the threat which was born inside the Heart of Darkness. The two extra shadows he now had were still existent. He couldn't see them, but feel their omnipresence. The day was bright and cheerful, but in Tyler's head he was wading through a storm of emotional turmoil.

And this storm raged on with every step he took in the throne room, followed by oh so many eyes. It felt like ascending the scaffold. Kneeling down before Celestia and Luna, he bowed his head. From the outside, it looked like humility. For Tyler, it was shame. He had been tainted. Each of Celestia's words became a needle stabbed into his heart.
“A great threat was cast aside and Equestria was rescued in the brink of time. Today we honor the man who not only averted our total destruction, but also brought a new alicorn princess into our midst. Princess Shiria, an alicorn of Darkness like my beloved sister Luna and daughter to Queen Chrysalis...” Celestia hesitated for a brief moment. “No, Queen Chrysalia, an Alicorn of Darkness that was taken and deformed into the twisted being we know as a Changeling Queen. But while my poor half sister found her death without salvation, our niece Shiria has decided to return back to us. For bringing her back to us, no honor can ever be enough.”

The crown was levitated by Luna and she approached Tyler with a proud smile. One could see that she was more than happy to introduce him into nobility, so even the last voices protesting against him could be silenced. A happiness Tyler couldn't take from her, but also couldn't grant her wholeheartedly. 'No, honey... Please don't do this.' His mind raged, screamed for help, but his lips could only form a smile. Smiling up to his loved ones, his mind closed for them not to see into his troubled thoughts. In an instant the whole coronation could be canceled and Celestia would try to help him in any way possible. But there was no way out of it. He was on his own.
“For showing great courage and leadership in times of crisis, for having willpower beyond measure against enemies beyond compare, we crown thee, Tyler Jones, Prince of Willpower. May thy willpower be a shining example for everypony in the world.” When the crown rested on his head, his heart ached at his own helplessness. No tear could be shed, no shiver could be risked. And yet, a nightmare in the making had become a prince. Standing up, he came to Celestia's side between her and Luna and gave the crowd his best smile. In his thought, he believed to stand there merely like a puppet. If Luna knew about his troubles, he would never have a quiet waking or sleeping moment with this. She would battle Rage and Sage in his mind, but if she would, what about their reaction to her? Rage might hurt or rape her and Sage... Heaven knew what Sage might be capable of.

However, his train of thought was disturbed as Celestia spoke up.
“Is everything alright, Tyler?”

Listening up, Tyler's head turned to her.
“Uh... Yes! Yes, I'm fine...”

Leaning in to him, she arched a brow with a smirk.
“Then smile a bit. You look like someone stepped onto your foot.”

Tyler gulped and smiled at the crowd as they approached the balcony.
“Sorry... It's just... so surreal to me.”

Giggling a bit, Celestia nodded.
“You will adapt to that in good time.”

Down below the ponies cheered for their hero and prince, a sight that imprinted itself into Tyler's mind. It felt good, but uncertainty about his own fate made him wish they wouldn't cheer for him like that. Deep inside he felt that his work had only just begun. If it would have been his achievement alone, he would stand behind each and every word. But now that two uncontrollable forces slumbered inside of him, he felt it was like a lie towards the Equestrian Ponies.
“-Never cruel or cowardly, never to give up, never to give in.- This is my pledge for Equestria and the peace-loving people of Equis. The forces of darkness stood against us, but united in friendship we had overcome this dark challenge. But now that Earth, my former home, knows of this nation, knows of this world and the threats this our world can muster, the basic nature of mankind will lead them here. The nature of curiosity. We will have to prepare ourselves and show them that the equestrian ponies and their allies mean them no harm, but are curious themselves about this new world. Let us work hard to ensure that they will learn quickly that our friendship is an honest and true friendship, worthy to reach out for.”

While the ponies, Griffins and Masar continued to cheer below, four Masar and four Griffins stepped outside the balcony behind Tyler and the princesses, announcing the two monarchs Queen Sheeris and King Gifford. Sheeris was the first to addressing the crowd below.
“A glorious day, a day of honor! Today we Masar as well honor the man who brought back to us the light of day and averted the catastrophe of Nagohod.”

Tyler turned towards Queen Sheeris and bowed.
“Thank you, your majesty.”

Sheeris only shook her head as she lowered her voice a bit.
“No... Again you brought my son back to me. I have to thank you. There is no way to ever show my gratitude to a proper extent. This is your day, my boy. Enjoy it.”

Coming to Tyler's side, King Gifford patted his shoulder and nodded with a smile.
“Griffith told me about your adventures up there. No one alive could ever hope to last against an alicorn.”

Looking down, Tyler shook his head.
“It was more than close sometimes. And I didn't defeat them.”

But King Gifford wasn't dissuaded by that and continued.
“You injured one of them and made them retreat. For now this was more than anyone could hope for. Don't make your victory smaller than you have to, my boy.”

Turning to the crowd below, Queen Sheeris nodded, her voice strong and loud again.
“And due to the friendship both our sons found on the battlefield, King Gifford and I have come to an agreement.”

With this she stretched out her paw to him and he took it with a friendly smile.
“Agreed. Let there be peace between our nations for our sons' sake. Let us follow their example as best as we can.”

Standing behind, Griffith looked up to Grinko.
“What do you think?”

Grinko chuckled with a growl.
“That the Tartaric Raiders aiming for griffin airships are out of business...”

Rachel arched a brow as she overheard them.
“You think this peace will last?”

Turning around to her, Grinko nodded.
“Oh yes, indeed. Masar and Griffins share one thing: The Principal of Honor. Only a dishonorable dog would disgrace this peace treaty in pride.”

Rarity looked over to Fluttershy, a smirk on her face.
“Fluttershy! Do you know what this means? This means that by being with Grinko, you would become a princess as well!”

A deep blush started to rise on the yellow Pegasus' face.
“Um... It's just... We're not... you know... married and all...”

Nudging Grinko into the ribs, Flynn smirked.
“That would the next step, huh?”

Grinko simply shook his head.
“No. First, we will have a conversation with mother and Princess Luna. But that will have to wait. Until then, 'Lady' Fluttershy will enjoy my thorough protection.”

* * * * *

Later that evening, Tyler conversed a bit with Celestia and Luna over a cup of tea in their chambers while Applejack was already on to Ponyville, taking a look at Appleseed and the other members of the family.
“How is she?”

Luna had her eyes closed while resting the cup down on the table. Looking over to Tyler, she gave him a reassuring nod
“I inspected Shiria myself. She is fine and well. She's currently taking a nap at the moment.”

Cocking his head, Tyler looked over to Luna.
“...and?”

Giving it a short giggle, Luna winked at him.
“Only the sweetest dreams. Thou did good. I'm not the only protector she has in her dreams.”

It was in this moment that Twilight entered the room. The young princess shook her head and groaned.
“Ugh… I’m feeling sick this morning… I wonder if I ate something wrong…”

Both regal sisters looked at Twilight, only to wink at each other with a smile. While Luna conversed a bit more with Tyler, Celestia left the room with Twilight.
“Twilight… Why don’t we determine a new room for you?”

“A new room? Will this become my new room for further studies?”

With a giggle Celestia rolled her eyes.
“In a manner… But maybe we will recolor it to pink or blue later on.”

Now Twilight narrowed her eyes.
“What good would that do? Are these colors any better for studying than other colors?”

Fighting the urge to laugh, the adult alicorn mare nodded.
“You will see it in good time, Twilight…”

* * * * *

In the meantime, Rachel was giving a Harmony Ranger debriefing with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, going through the reports a second time with them.
“And the New Jersey is battered, yet salvageable. A fact I'm most relieved about. You know everything now and we went through with this twice. I thought the reports were sufficient...?”

Shaking his head, Shining showed a tired smile.
“No, the reports are fine, there is just this one subject...”

Cadance, however, seemed rather displeased with Rachel's lack of will to declassify the desired information.
“Where. Is. The Tip?”

Letting go a sigh, Rachel closed her eyes.
“I thought we settled that. The tip is at a very safe place.”

“Safe from who?” Shining asked.

Knocking her hoof onto the table, Cadance's voice was very strict now.
“An alicorn horn tip is an object of tremendous danger and needs to be disposed!”

Raising her hands to calm the princess down, Rachel never let go of her calm tone.
“And it will be! I assure you, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining: We have top ponies working on it right now.”

“Who?” Shining asked, a brow arching high.

This was a question Rachel only answered with a sober expression and voice.
“Top... ponies...”

In the meantime, Sam, Lyra, Flynn, Rainbow Dash, Vinyl, Octavia and two members of the Telly Hawk squadron stood around a crate. Sam looked and nodded at each one present before he opened a small box and held it up. A single bullet with a black tip of alicorn horn. Octavia gently shook her head.
“To think that it would take only such a small thing to end a mighty being like an alicorn...”

Vinyl nodded.
“Yeah, this is wicked stuff. And not even the cool kind of wicked...”

Flynn simply shook his head.
“This bullet is the most dangerous bullet on two entire worlds, able to bring entire nations down or to ensure their peace and prosperity for ages to come. No one must ever learn of its existence. All involved here have sworn to undergo a geas procedure with Princess Luna and Celestia that will ensure we will never ever speak of it. Not even under torture.”

Both members of the Telly Hawks nodded.
“We understand, we will oblige.”

“We made sure we were alone in this Bag of Holding Storage Hall. The room outside was locked when we came in. No one else is here. Ranger Scratch and Ranger Heartstrings confirmed it with magic: We are alone and no one else knows about this.”

“No one but Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Prince Tyler that is...

Rainbow looked at the tip, uneasy.
“If you ask me, we should get rid of it! It's a threat to our princesses as well.”

Lyra looked up to Flynn and Rainbow, arching a brow.
“This bullet tip might be the last straw we have the next time. Tyler barely made it away. Next time it might even get harder.”

Sam placed the bullet into a small box inside the crate and looked at it. It looked so unlikely, so simple. And yet the threat this one bullet could cause to Equestria, was tremendous.
“IF there will be a next time. And he made it clear: Should this be the case, he will only allow it as a last resort in order to save the world.” The crate was closed, nailed and sealed shut with magic. Several seals and spells were worked on by the unicorns to make it impossible for even a unicorn of the highest degree to locate, levitate or teleport either the crate or its dangerous content. Getting labeled the single word 'Longinus', the crate was then brought on a wagon and Sam stowed it away in a seemingly endless hall of crates deep within the storage halls of the Ranger Headquarters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjlM_RnsVE

The icy winds howled against the unicorn scientist as they lied on the ground. Pain engulfed his body as he stemmed himself up. The cold... If he saw it correctly, he was surrounded in an icy wasteland. Shaking his head not to be overwhelmed by the pain and dizziness, he stood up on shaky legs. He remembered he was inside the changeling wax float until the sea became rough and there was water everywhere in the float. There was a blinding light and then he fell unconscious. And woke up not on sea but here. Was the sea frozen all of a sudden? No, he could make out mountains a few hundred meters ahead and before that something like a couple of houses, maybe even proper shelter against the cold. There were figures in the distance, standing tall. 'Could that be humans or minotaurs?'

But as he made his first step, something pulled his hooves away under him and he fell. Rolling on his back, he looked up and slowly his eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to dots at the sight of a monstrous black maw opening in front of him. A Changeling Brute was standing above him and several drones, all of them covered in glass shrapnel. 'The negative energy tanks! Destroyed!' It occurred to him before his screams echoed over the ice, ending in gurgling as his throat was ripped to shreds. Not long after that the Changelings made way to the houses in the distance.