The train arrived at Ponyville Station during a slightly cloudy day.
Much to the relief of the three men, the ponies were facing the very end of heat season and the mares in Equestria more and more returned to their usual peaceful and calm behavior And the existing herds could calm a little more, having a chance for more romance instead of lust.
As the ponies stepped outside the train, Tyler and the others looked around, the families and herds passed them with a friendly nod or some smiles. It was then when the recognized one colt in particular. Not because they knew him, but because of a problem they could all recognize all too well.
“But Mooooooooom!”

Trotting beside him, s mare held some sort of handheld in her hoof before putting it into her saddlebag.
“Button! No! Not while you are walking! You tend to forget everything around you! I won’t get you out from the Guard office again because you entered into…” As the colt and his mother gained some distance, their voices faded out.

The humans looked at each other and smiled at the slight similarity between both worlds as the Cutie Mark Crusaders approached them together with Applejack and Babs Seed. Flynn knelt down and opened his arms for Scootaloo.
“Hey! Come here, champ!”

With wet eyes, the Pegasus filly hugged him.
“Do you really have to go? I don’t want you to!”

Giving her a short squeeze and a peck on the forehead, Flynn nodded.
“I have to. But we will come and visit you several times, I hope. Now you be a good little filly and behave while I’m gone, yes?” Seeing the slight sadness in her face, he whispered into her ear. “I told Rainbow Dash to spend a lot of time with you while I’m gone…” This brought the glee back to her face and she hugged him once more.

Tyler nodded over to Babs, who was wearing his leather jacket as she grinned a bit. She really didn’t let go of that thing it seemed.
“Hey there, Babs. Are you feeling better?”

When she looked up to him, a wide smile formed on her lips.
“Sure! That first taste of heat surely prepared me for mah later heat seasons. Damn… To think Ah almost fell victim to mah own selfish desires… Ah really need to work on me.”

Tyler nodded and tumbled her main a bit.
“But you had your family and friends to help out.”

Chuckling a bit, Babs shook her head a bit.
“Not only that… Ah had a cute human boy to show me that Ah wasn’t as tough as Ah thought Ah was. Or that awesome human adult who showed me that getting mounted at all cost isn’t as great as havin’ a special somepony or someone to do that with. This jacket reminds me of both of these lessons.”

As she looked up to Applejack, the country mare nodded.
"Ah wrote her parents about the almost-catastrophe… They were worried, but happy that things turned out well in the end.”

Tyler smiled widely now, patting her mane. With a nod he helped her to carry her luggage into the train.
“You will make a fine young mare, Babs! The guy who gets you can consider himself lucky.”

Apple Bloom and Babs now hugged, slightly tearing up.
“Ah miss ya already, Babs…”

Rolling her eyes, Babs smirked.
“Come on now, Cousin… Ah’ll come back someday…”

A few meters further, Lyra, Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie and Sam said their goodbyes to Milky, who hugged her cousin ever so dearly.
“I will miss you Bonnie. All of you. These days in Ponyville were so relaxing… But I’m so very sorry for depending so much on you guys… I felt like an intruder.”

Lyra shook her head with a faint smile and grinned as she nudged Sam a bit.
“Well we couldn’t just let you suffer like that, right?” Sam frowned a bit before he shook his head. Lyra sure loved to tease him a bit every now and then.

So it was to no surprise that Lyra arched back a bit as he pinched her rump a bit before he knelt before Milky and hugged her as well.
“It was only a helping hand for a friend. I would be lying if I say it wasn’t nice to some degree.”

Milky smirked a bit.
“I can see what Lyra sees in your hands, Sam. They can relieve one of such unpleasant burdens.” A slight blush appeared over her cheeks and nuzzle. “I don’t want to imagine what you do to your herd mates in private… Maybe I will join in for that someday…”

Releasing Milky from the friendly hug, Sam nodded and caressed Lyra’s and Pinkie’s manes a bit with a gentle smile.
“Maybe…”

It was then when the announcement came.
“The Pony-Express Ponyville –Trottingham – Manehattan is departing in a few minutes. All aboard!”

Tyler now looked at Babs.
“That’s your cue, girl…”

Hopping in, Babs opened a window and leaned her head outside to the crusaders.
“Awesome time again, ya guys. But then again, Ah’m happy that the first heat only comes once in life.”

“Write us again, Babs!” Sweetie Belle said while raising a hoof. “We want to stay in contact with your branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

“Don’t worry guys, Ah will!”

When the train finally departed, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other after waving Babs off.
“You know… Some day we will have to face this as well…” Sweetie Belle stated.

In an instant, Scootaloo stretched out her tongue in disgust.
“Ewww…. colts and all that smooch-stuff? Never!”

Apple Bloom tipped her chin a bit.
“Ya know… We should heat-proof our clubhouse… So we can’t possibly think of colts…”

After slamming three hooves together, the three fillies ran off.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS HEAT GUARD! YAY!!!”

Looking after the crusaders with a worried frown, Applejack then turned to Tyler.
“Yer finally here and free again to spend some time with our daughter and already yer out on a mission once more?”

A heavy sigh escaped Tyler. He knew exactly why she worried and knelt down to her.
“Don’t worry, honey… I’m in Canterlot, not in a godforsaken desert…”

With a deep sigh Applejack closed her eyes.
“Ah know… But yer still not at my side.” She then looked down. “Well, Ah think ya just try to provide our daughter a future by fightin’ the threats at the horizon. That’s good and decent, too. Just promise me to come over once or twice for Appleseed’s sake. And for mine as well… Ah miss ya, Sugarcube…”

Holding her in his arms, Tyler nodded as her Stetson again took off and landed on Tyler’s head.
“A promise I will gladly give to you.” Now he nibbled at her ear what caused her to chuckle with a slight blush on her cheeks as he whispered another promise to gather the herd for a sleepover in Canterlot Castle as soon as he had the time and she and the others should bring Appleseed with them. In his mind, Tyler hoped to have some free time in the future, preparing this headquarter interfered with his life in the herd. He as well began to long for the others and Applejack only showed him that he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

* * * * *

Half an hour later the train to Canterlot arrived at the station and the four humans entered the wagon. Taking seats they sat together with Tyler and Flynn sitting on the right side of the train, while Sam, Lyra and Rachel sat on the left. Flynn looked over to Sam.
“So Sam… how is Milky?”

“Well she quite understood the situation. Still you should have said you’re sorry… Your reaction was quite the strongest.”

This visibly caused Flynn to shrink a bit.
“Uh… yeah… I think I’ll write a letter to her as soon as I can. Hopefully Bon Bon can provide me with her address.” He then looked over to Lyra and Sam. “So how are things in your herd, guys?”

Patting Lyra’s mane, Sam now smiled.
“Pinkie gets accustomed to herd life quite well. Who would have thought that she actually enjoys being calm and quiet for some nice music? Although I must say… after we slept together, she developed quite a ‘hunger’.”

Lyra ginned over to Sam.
“Not that you complain about it…”

It was then when Rachel looked around.
“Wasn’t Grinko going to come with us? He’s a Ranger as well, he should come with us.”

But Tyler shook his head.
“Nah… He said he doesn’t like underground places. Everything deeper than a cellar is not his thing.”

A smirk on his face revealed Sam’s slight amusement over this.
“So you say Grinko wasn’t going to come because he is afraid of caves? How very pleasant for him… And Fluttershy…"

This prompted Tyler to arch a brow.
“Fluttershy?”

But Flynn and Sam simply shook their heads.
“Haven’t you noticed how they look at each other? It is so clear to everyone that these two have something with each other.”

Rachel nodded.
“Yes… Lately I saw the both of them while I was shopping. Fluttershy was being cut in line by two mares, but when they saw Grinko behind Fluttershy glaring at them, they made way on their own. And he didn’t even have to do something threatening…”

Tyler smirked a bit.
“So… Fluttershy and Grinko are together, huh? Well, we helped them to find each other, but I’m a bit surprised at the pace of these developments, I must admit that. Now the Elements of Harmony are all together with Harmony Rangers… all except Rarity.”

Sam and Flynn looked around.
“Well…”

“You see…”

Tyler looked at them, wondering a bit.
“What? What is it?”

But Rachel only rolled her eyes.
“Rarity is a bit too ‘High-Maintenance’ for these boys.”

Flynn shook his head.
“No, not that… Rainbow wants a monogamous relationship and I will accept that. I would only change that if she wants to do that. Furthermore Rainbow and I are planning to build a house below her cloud home, so I will move out from Bonnie’s and Lyra’s home in the future. You know… for Scootaloo. And I don’t know if I’m… you know… sophisticated enough for Rarity. She has very high standards.”

Sam nodded in agreement.
“I think so, too. Rarity is the right mare for some guys, but I’m just a simple car mechanic and now masseur and already have two mares, which is quite enough for me right now. Catching up with Pinkie can be fun, but also very tiring. Sometimes I simply fall into my bed in the evening…”

Lyra giggled at Sam and nudged into his ribs.
“Still you always find the strength to cuddle with us…”This prompted the group of Rangers to chuckle.

Looking over to Tyler, Rachel nodded at him.
“What about you, Don Juan? You have four mares at your disposal, why don’t you take Rarity as the fifth? I thought she always rhapsodized over your manners…”

But Tyler shook his head.
“I know this must be a shock to you, Rachel… But I don’t mount all of my mares nonstop. No… We all five discussed this earlier and frankly I am content with this herd as it is now. The girls suggested many mares back then, even Pinkie Pie and other mares. But to be honest, this herd, just as it is… it’s perfect in my eyes. I don’t see how Rarity could add something to it.”

This brought a genuine smile on Rachel’s face.
“Wow, Jones… It seems like you found your happiness here.”

He nodded.
“You should try it too, Rachel. Don’t you miss a relationship in your life?”

At first, she was going to say something harsh to him, but then she realized the meaning of his words. He meant a relationship, not having sex. Thus she calmed herself down a bit.
“I don’t think a relationship would work with a stallion. I mean he would have to sacrifice the freedom to have four other mares for having me. I sure as hell know I won’t join a herd. But then again…”

Tyler grinned.
“But then again you would have to be the one to release some of his sexual steam once in a while, huh? Well, either you go for a platonic love or you try it for yourself… I know I won’t judge you. Besides… by now every one of us already did what you shun so much. Maybe you can find the one who is willing enough to wait until you are ready for him.” Rachel looked out of the window and only showed Tyler the finger. It wasn’t easy being in a place with life forms that resembled cute little ponies that otherwise were as intelligent and sophisticated as humans. Heck, some of them even had the same flaws as humans. Maybe she should get someone in her life.

* * * * *

When the train arrived in Canterlot Station, the Rangers stepped out and stretched a bit before Tyler looked at the time.
“We have some time until we have to be there, why don’t we split up a bit and do some sightseeing or shopping for the time being? We still have one hour before we have to attend and how often do we have reason to come to Canterlot?”

Rachel smirked at this.
“Besides you, you mean…”

Rolling his eyes, Tyler smiled a bit.
“Yes… Besides me and my weekly sleepovers here… Now go and have fun, folks! We meet each other in one hour.” While Sam and Lyra went for a little shopping, Rachel headed for a nice cafe to try some of Canterlot’s delicacies.

Flynn however walked a long time through the streets of Canterlot, wondering if he could buy some ‘special toys’ for him and Rainbow. While they were both satisfied with what they had, it could never hurt to make her feel appreciated, more special. At least that’s what he thought would be the right thing. Walking down the streets and alleys, he soon noticed that he was entering the part of the city that was build inside of the mountain. Slowly the lights were replaced from normal firefly lamps to… Well he couldn’t make it out alright. It looked like torches, but these were torches with blue flames. A gentle blue light illuminated the streets as he walked down the streets. And another thing was noticeable. More and more bat ponies frequented these streets. It came to the point that they made the majority of the ponies he saw. It was then, when he passed a colorful advertisement sign that he was bumped from behind and stumbled down a few stairs, what caused him to smash through a door and to land on a soft and fluffy carpet.

As he looked up rubbing his aching limbs, he saw the slender long hooves of something he could make out as a bat pony. With a rather unusual blonde mane the mare looked down to him.
“Hey, Sugar! Glad you found the place… I’m Vivi and welcome to Vivi’s Bat Pony Salon!” She looked just like a regular bat pony to him, but proofed him otherwise as the dark cloak she was wearing suddenly grabbed him and tossed him into a chair. “So have a seat, champ!” Shaking his head for a bit, he recovered rather quickly from the impact. Was that a bat above him? No, it had to be the impact. Besides, she was a bat pony, not a real bat. Damn it, Flynn! Such a slight slap and you’re hallucinating already? When she approached him from behind, he hastily looked back and forth. Wasn’t she just in front of him? “So Sweetie… You’re in a hurry or something?”

“Uh… sort of… I and my friends are shopping right now before we have to get to a really important meeting.”

“I see… So I better hurry up with you, don’t I?”

Shaking his head, Flynn tried to stand up again.
“Uh, lady… I really don’t want to-”

But putting a hoof on his chest, Vivi buckled him in the seat.
“I know exactly what you want, big boy... But anyway I’m already a little… deadbeat…” With that she rolled Flynn’s chair in front of a mirror and raised a strain of his hair with her cape. “Hey! What say we go out later for a BITE? You look like my type…” But when Flynn looked into the mirror he only saw his own reflection. The strain of his hair was raised by nothing in it. Suddenly, he eyed Vivi with completely different eyes. Those fangs of hers seemed a bit longer than the usual bat pony. But right now she leaned in. Cheek to cheek with him, she grinned showing fangs. “Well, then sweetie? What will it be? A shave or a manicure…?” As he fought with the words, she grinned and slid her hoof over his chin. “Hmmm… a shave would be in place.…” With that she pushed his chair and put the shaving foam on his chin. For a time, Flynn relaxed for a bit. This changed however as she approached him with an old razor what didn’t look sharp at all. “You know, I don’t do many of these… I may be a bit ‘rusty’.”

Just as she wanted to swing the razor in full force, the chair leaned far backwards and Flynn fell a bit back, causing Vivi to miss. As he looked up, another bat pony mare looked angered at Vivi.
“He’s not one of these customers, Vivi… He’s a Ranger!”

Almost instantly, Flynn recognized the voice.
“E… Elise?”

When she looked down to him, she nodded.
“Sorry, but my cousin mistook you for her midnight snack.”

Crawling back, Flynn made sure to get some distance between him and Vivi.
“Yeah… I noticed that already… Wait, she’s who?!?”

Elise now glared at Vivi.
“Vivian Nightshade! Weren’t you forbidden to practice these things from Princess Luna herself? Didn’t you swear to the moon that you would never suck blood from a living creature again? And what about the Earl? If he finds out, you are in more trouble than ever!”

Vivi’s fangs now dug deep into her bottom lip.
“I was going to be good. But… you know… The clinic said they are short on blood bags… So I… I…” Now she fell to the ground and covered her head with hear cape in shame. “I was weak!”

Flynn now got up, still with a mistrustful eye on Vivian.
“Do I understand that right? Bat ponies have a sub-race called vamponies?” Elise nodded and then explained to Flynn in detail that vamponies were allowed in Equestria, but due to their carnivorous nature had to live in the subterranean part of Canterlot and were governed by Earl Draco von Hoofington who represented the vamponies in aristocracy. Princess Celestia and Luna made sure that the vamponies always were well fed and took strict regulations about their numbers. He nodded in understanding and looked at the two mares. “I see… Yes, it is dark already. No wonder I stumbled upon this place. Just my luck…”

Elise giggled.
“You take it with humor, good for you.”

Vivian, however, chewed a bit on her bottom lip. Despite behaving normal now, one could see the longing for blood in her eyes.
“Can I have at least a few drops of his blood? I’m so curious… No vampony ever had the privilege to taste human blood.”

But Flynn only shook his head.
“Let’s keep it that way… I don’t want you to like it and set traps for me in order to taste it again.”
Elise nodded in confirmation and remained between the two of them. “Blood bags, Vivi! Be a good filly and stay with them!”

As they stepped outside, Flynn looked at Elise.
“Thanks for your help.”

But she only waved the thought away.
“Nah, you’re welcome. I couldn’t let a Harmony Ranger fall prey to my cousin. She’s just hungry, Vivi’s usually quite a good girl. But you’re too cute to get sucked dry. Of blood that is…” Flynn harrumphed a bit, prompting Elise to giggle. “You were thinking about naughty things, right?”

“Well… I…”

Elise only giggled a bit more.
“I know you’re with Loyalty herself. It’s not that I want to interfere with that… Let’s just say you owe me one… hmmm… One fruit basket!”

Flynn’s eyes narrowed a bit.
“That is all? One fruit basket? Alright… a fruit basket it i- wait a second!” Now he stemmed his fists into his waist. “Aren’t you bat ponies the ones with fruits as an aphrodisiac? Yeah, I remember what Black Lily told me!”

Stretching out her tongue in good fun Elise grinned.
“A fruit basket is what I demand as thank you for saving your life. Is there a problem?”

Sighing in defeat, Flynn shook his head.
“No… But don’t expect me to feed them to you.”

Now Elise blushed.
“If you would feed me fruits in person, I would do anything for you…”

“Uh-huh… Is that how bat ponies tick, eh?”

“More than that…” She said with a deepening blush. “Offering fruits to a bat pony can be seen as friendship, comradely sharing something, but also as flirting… Feeding a bat pony fruits however…” Now she blushed to a dark tone of red, reaching almost purple due to her dark coat. “This is the most intimate gesture one can do to a bat pony mare. Like… the greatest grade of affection shown to us. If you would do that to me, I would be willing to bear your children, follow you to the ends of the world and do things to you in bed you can’t even begin to imagine.” Flynn harrumphed once more and simply nodded. For a good minute there was this awkward silence between the two of them before Elise cleared her throat. “I… probably shouldn’t have said that, right?”

“Oh! I… uh…” He was trying to search for words in an attempt to calm the situation a bit. “It was… A bit too much of information, but honesty is a very good thing. That way I can avoid further mistakes.” In a way, Elise was like Rainbow. But where Rainbow wanted good and long excessive sex in order to best him in endurance, Elise seemed to see sex as a giving and taking. If one was nice to a bat pony and lifted up her heart, they were up to give one their all as well to satisfy every need for romance and sex up to the level of objectification. The sheer thought of it brought an erection into his pants and he wished Rainbow was there right now.

After buying the basket and several fruits for Elise, he handed it to her and bid her farewell. Although she didn’t say a thing about it, he was sure that she somehow got notice of his aroused state, for the wink and the slight wiggling of her rump as she left were quite obvious. She tried to seduce him; that much was certain. But being with Rainbow was too good to risk it. And it would be the worst mistake he could ever do. After a few minutes he found the others again and together they approached the entrance of the former CCF, which was now the Ranger Headquarter. Rachel nudged Flynn into the ribs.
“Finally something to work for us two, eh? Military jobs are here, Flynn… I can already see them!”

“Very good then Rachel Higgins!” An all too familiar voice now spoke up behind them. As they turned around, Princess Luna approached them from behind with two guards escorting her. “I see thy enthusiasm is well placed then.”

Tyler beamed as he saw her.
“Luna!” Sharing a hug with her, he gently patted her cheek. “I looked for you in the castle, but I couldn’t find you.”

“Of course thou couldn’t find me, Tyler… I was up early today having a little talk with some of the nobles. Tis dreadful business, but still business and it needs to be done.” After that they entered the Headquarter entrance and went towards an elevator.

As the elevator began moving, Tyler and Luna both looked straight forward.
“How goes the construction effort?” he asked.

Giving a brief nod, Luna levitated a clipboard.
“Cleaning this mess was quite some work. According to the reports given to me, after several sweeps to make sure no remaining Changelings were present we began deconstructing and reconstructing to fit the facility to its new purposes: Monitoring Equestria and its allies for potential threats of the Descendants, Rescue and Service, Training Grounds, Research and Development.” After a few floors, the elevator stopped and they went down another corridor.

Rachel looked around with a faint smile.
“Still so many sealed doors, corridors and elevators?”

Sam shook his head.
“The layout is completely new though...”

Luna nodded and waited with them at another sealed door that was to open.
“Tis true. At first, this facility was designed to keep something in. Now tis designed for keeping things out.” After passing four further elevators and corridors with sealed doors, they entered the fifth and final elevator. With that last elevator they went down to the large Central Command HQ. Several groups of ponies sat together at terminals of crystal. Each group consisted of two unicorns and one crystal pony.

To say that the Rangers were surprised to see the former dark laboratory like this would have been an understatement. They were speechless. As they entered the Command Center, they looked around. This truly was nothing like the blood tainted gory hall they once barely survived, this was a clean, almost sterile environment. Turning around to the princess, Tyler shook his head with a smile.
“You know, Luna? While Celestia excels in all the ruling and paperwork, you seem to have a hoof for stomping a military facility out of the ground.”

With a slight blush Luna looked aside.
“Aw, tis nothing…”

But Tyler grabbed her chin and turned her face to her, giving her a short kiss.
“I really mean it, Luna. You are good in this.” Gently he tickled her chin. “My little war maiden…”

Luna blushed once more before she cleared her throat and closed her eyes with a sober face.
“Tyler, please… Not in front of the personnel.” Tyler grinned widely and nodded as Luna looked around. “Yes, once the construction was done, we really established a nice little command post here.” She then shook her head. “Although I have to say to thee, Tyler… Equestrian magic cannot be as complex as human technology. Our machines are still too crude to do that kind of information process. These ‘programs’ thou hast speakest of… That would take us several decades of intense development… So instead of one ‘come-poo-tar’ we’ll have several ponies casting several spells.”

Tyler nodded.
“It cannot be helped. But I rather have it this way than any other.”

Rachel leaned in a bit.
“Meaning that we don’t hand them another NORAD?”

“Yeah!” Tyler replied with a sigh. “Precisely. This interference in their technological development is bad. But without it, the future would look far worse.”

Luna nodded and gave Tyler a gentle smile.
“Celestia and I know how much thou wish to preserve our culture, Tyler. And tis a truly great attitude. Luckily we have the newly developed crystal magic…”

Tyler cocked his head.
“Crystal magic? But where does this-“

“That’s our contribution to the Rangers!” a female voice now stated.

As he turned around, Tyler saw the origin of this new voice.
“Cadance… Shining!” Seeing his best friend and comrade brought a smile on Tyler’s face.

As they approached each other, Cadance giggled and turned to the other Rangers.
“Watch! You’re going to love this…” Rachel arched a brow as she watched the two giving a certain handshake.

“♫ May it be trench or the battlefield,
With the danger high and low
If you need one, I will give to you
The fist of a bro. ♫”

During the whole greeting, the stallion and the human knocked their right fist and hoof together several times in different ways and ended the greeting knocking the hoof and the fist together. After that, both hugged each other very warmly.
“Shining Armor! It’s so great to have you two here!”

The stallion nodded.
“It feels great to be here. Cadance and I were going over to Canterlot, but we were stopping by to see you. Like I could ever resist seeing my sister’s herd mate and my best human friend!”

“So now that I know that it comes from you… what is this crystal magic doing?” Tyler asked.

“Cadey and I were thinking of a way to help out a bit. So we thought of something to emulate your ‘computers’”.

Proud of her subjects, Cadance held her head high.
“As you can see, crystal ponies not only glittering and shining while in a high mood, their spirit is also high, giving them the ability to concentrate much harder.”

Tyler’s eyes widened.
“You made them biological information processors! Amazing!”

Cadance shook her head now.
“It’s not that simple. We need two unicorns for getting the information in and out telepathically. And with a standardized speed of course. Every terminal you see here is a team concentrating with another. They were trained in the Crystal Empire since we had the incident in the Amasian Enclave.”

Shining smiled wide as he nudged Tyler.
“Cadance got the idea once I told her about your world a bit. And after she asked around, a few volunteers were found quickly.”

This caused Tyler to smile as he looked to Cadance.
“I wouldn’t have expected less…”

Blushing a bit, Cadance closed her eyes.
“Well you can’t be a princess if you can’t come up with something.”

Tyler and the Rangers nodded and then inspected the further parts of the headquarter.

An hour later, Tyler was sitting in a comfortable chair and was doing some paper work, while Cadance and Shining were drinking some coffee. It was just as Cadance was about to leave the room when Tyler sighed a bit. Both the unicorn stallion and princess looked up, exchanged some glances and nodded at each other. While Cadance left the room, Shining approached Tyler.
“You probably should order somepony to help you with that.”

“No, no! I’m fine! Just supervising the base, making me a view of all…” Now he went through all the paperwork on the clipboard. “…all the 243 forms and orders I have to look through… Ugh!”

Shining shook his head as he magically fetched a bottle and a glass and poured a drink in.
“You are burying yourself in work!”

Tyler now looked up, arching a brow.
“I’m not!”

Yet the stallion once more shook his head and sat down as he levitated the drink to his human friend.
“Tyler… I am your friend and I’ll always have your back covered. There’s something on your mind, I can see that.”

Tyler’s view turned to the white stallion.
“What?”

But Shining only shook his head.
“You have that look on your face you only show when something is bothering you. So what is it?”

Looking down to his drink, Tyler took another gulp before he sighed.
“I… think of the past.”

“The past…” Shining repeated with an arched brow. “About the many things you’ve seen in Equestria?”

Shaking his head, Tyler closed his eyes.
“Even before that. My past on Earth. I don’t talk much about it. And Twilight, Luna and Applejack don’t ask about it. Celestia knows about it, at least I think so… She saw my entire life in front of her eyes. The thing is: I wasn’t always who I am now. I wasn’t always one of the good guys. Or rather… I wasn’t giving much about who I was working for as long as the price was right… I ended this part of my life a long time ago when I saw that I was on the wrong train. In hindsight I am glad I did that. But now…? Being the head of a security force for several countries? I feel like my past is catching up with me. And that isn’t good.”

“This is nonsense!” Shining muttered. “You are who you are now, you are not the Tyler of the past. We don’t judge you for the things you did on Earth, but what you do right now on our world. And what you do here is wonderful!” Tyler looked at Shining, unable to find some words and the stallion didn’t give him time to find some. “You overcame a void dragon, blew up a complete mountain, fought the changelings from the Amasian Enclave, proved your innocence in a murder case and fought back a highly advanced attack force with the help of the Equestrians… On top of that you are a great herd mate and a father. Maybe your past was horrifying, maybe it was bloody and filled with fights… I don’t know… But here is what I DO know: I know that you’re using your fighting spirit for rushing in where ponies fear to tread. In a way you are an extremist. But while being that way, you inspire others to follow. You show less fear than ponies which lifts our spirit. You are a leader, Tyler… whether you like it or not.”

Tyler gulped heavily. Hearing this made his blood rush even more. A leader…
“Tsk! A leader… I am no leader. I don’t want leadership.”

Yet Shining once more shook his head.
“I once had a talk with Princess Celestia you know… That was after I married Cadance. There are two kinds of leaders. There are leaders who use their strength in order to gain power and wealth to rule over even more ponies and there are leaders who don’t want that power. These leaders have to be forced into leadership and to do live up to the expectations of others they tend to give it their all. I have a strong feeling that you are the second type. As a matter of fact I’m sure of it.”

This train of thought got Tyler’s attention. The role as strategic advisor, the Rangers, the Ranger HQ… Was he… guided into leadership? It was true what Shining said. Every time Tyler had a bit more responsibility, he tried his best in it. Having a herd, having the princesses in the herd, fighting for the sake of Equestria… And yet… deep within him he knew there was something he couldn’t make out. The beast living inside all beings, the mindless savage smiting what he didn’t like. And in Tyler’s case, this beast had all the powers to destroy what he cherished. Could he as a leader be good for Equestria? According to the others, this was the case. But in his own view… Tyler now closed his eyes.
“Shining!” The stallion looked up as he listened to his friend once more. “Promise me something… Should I ever attempt to harm somepony against all better judgment… Should I ever attempt to harm Twilight…”

He now looked up to the unicorn and Shining nodded in understanding.
“Don’t worry… If it comes to this, I as your friend will rise against you. Not to kill you, but to save you from yourself.” Tyler now stood up and hugged Shining for a long time. The stallion didn’t resist, but patted Tyler’s back. Whatever it was he feared, it wasn’t a problem he could talk about with his herd, but a good friend. A silent “Thank you…” sounded as the two friends separated from each other.

* * * * *

On the next day the Rangers waited for Tyler at a meeting.
“He is late!” Rachel stated flatly while tipping her fingernails on the table.

Flynn nodded.
“It’s not like him to get this late. What’s he doing?”

Shaking her head, Lyra shrugged.
“He’s probably still knee deep in paperwork… I mean it’s no wonder he came yesterday evening and asked us to split up the work a bit. I guess he will be here soon...”

In a dark corridor Tyler looked deep into Luna’s eyes. Glowing and sparkling a bit like her mane, her eyes searched in his for the thoughts of her lover, as she sighed happily after a long and passionate kiss. His fingers slid ever so gently over her lips as they looked into each other’s eyes. As their work shifts were different, he cherished every minute with her. Every moment with his herd mates was a treasure, balm for his soul.
“Your lips are soft and gentle like clouds of velvet and taste like the wine of dark seduction… I must confess I enjoy your nightly visits in my dreams…”

Leaning her head against his chest, she nuzzled him a bit, always careful with the horn.
“I myself find great pleasure and joy in visiting thy dreams after a long shift of nightmare watch…”

Tyler now grinned.
“It seems to me you’re quite comfortable of becoming my night mare.”

Smirking at his pun, Luna gently gave his cheek a lick. She remembered living out some of their fantasies. Some were kinky, some controversial by pony standards. But nonetheless did she enjoy it to be open with him, to unite with him in mind as well as their bodies occasionally united in the real world.
“It comforts me that thou enjoy when our minds touch each other… The stars know it helped my sanity during these last days of heat. Not to speak of the intimacy we can share… An intimacy far greater than in the wake state… Not only do our bodies touch each other… Nay… Our very souls are bare and naked in front of each other… And though I love this extent of intimacy with thee… Tyler, thou are thinking lately. Something bothers you.”

Tyler sighed. The prolonged time he had spent with her showed now. She could see right through him.
“It is about parts of my past, Luna.”

The princess now mustered Tyler’s face intensely before she adjusted his head and placed another long kiss on his lips.
“Some of us have a past we are not proud about. Tia and I know that all too well. But it doesn’t work like this. Thou can’t go through life like this. Thou have to let go of it. If thou need thy herd for this, we will always be with thee. No matter what, we love thou for who thou are, not for who thou were…”

With that she gently slapped his butt with her wing.
“Now go, my Dark Companion… Thy fellow Rangers surely are waiting for thee.”

In an instant, Tyler grimaced terrified.
“Oh shit!” As he made haste down the corridor, Luna giggled a bit. He was so adorable when he stumbled over his feet like any other stallion for the mares he’s hopeless in love with. So many times she and her sister had witnessed it. Witnessing it felt good, but experiencing it in participation was so much better.

As he entered the meeting room, the other sat there already, a little leisurely now after all the waiting time. Rachel arched a brow in mild annoyance.
“Took your sweet time there, Jones… Well, that leaves us with what? Half the time to discuss things before the Captain of the Wonderbolts arrives here to make her visit?”

“Sorry, folks…” Tyler began his excuse. “On the way here I was caught up with something.”

Lifting a sparkling blue hair from his shoulder, Rachel nodded.
“I can see that…” With that she nodded to his seat and they both sat down. While Rachel reported the amount of recruits and her potential plans to train them, Sam and Lyra referred to the materials in the assembly halls. Flynn nodded as it then was his turn to report about the scientific staff and their resources. All of this showed Tyler that Shining was right. Reallocating work among many workers made it easier for the individual. He knew that if he would have done it all by himself, he wouldn’t have managed half of all that.

Not two hours later they finished their meeting, yet discussed only three quarters of the planned topics. Waiting at the entrance, they stood in line for the welcoming of the Wonderbolts. As the sealed door opened, Captain Spitfire as well as some of her Lead Ponies entered, Rainbow Dash among them. Flynn smiled slightly as he recognized her.
“Rainbow…” The cerulean Wonderbolt repaid his smile with one of her own, before she returned to her formal face again, reminding him to do the same. Trotting towards the humans, the pegasi saluted in front of Tyler, who replied with a salute of his own.

“Ranger?”

“Captain?”

“I must say I don’t feel good so far below the ground. We pegasi prefer open spaces, some place to stretch out a bit. Let’s make this brief, alright?”

Tyler gave her a short nod.
“No problem at all. This place IS a bit cramped, we can relate a bit.”

Spitfire lowered her shades and eyed Flynn for a second before smirking.
“Ah, Mr. Marshall… Just the human I wanted to see!”

Arching a brow, Flynn cocked his head.
“Umm… Sure! What can I do for you?”

“I talked with Rainbow Dash about you two, Mr. Marshall. I like it when my Wonderbolts have stable and good relationships, keeps them focused. Nothing is worse than recruits staring at each other instead of paying attention.” With that she walked straight to the window and looked down into the assembly hall. “I also decided to recommend recruits who don’t get into the Wonderbolts to the Harmony Rangers. The will to serve Equestria is higher than ever though not every recruit is made for it. I think redirecting them here is a second chance for most of them.”

Flynn gave a slightly annoyed
“Mhm…” It was almost like his own past on Earth. He wasn’t cut out for the elite, so he was to fly transport planes instead of combat jets. But he couldn’t seriously blame Spitfire for not knowing.

The yellow Pegasus then turned around.
“I would like to see these recruits under your command, Mr. Marshall!”

Now everyone was stumped and Flynn slowly raised a finger at himself.
“M-me? Being a Wing Commander?”

“You are currently the only human I can nominate for this title since you seem to be the only one with flight experience. I say the Harmony Rangers need a Lieutenant Colonel for pegasi and I think no one would object if I nominate you! However, the decision for that is not mine. The princesses have to decide that.”

Rainbow smirked at Flynn and nudged his ribs, lowering her voice.
“Hey… And you always say you have bad luck! An awesome marefriend, an awesome filly as daughter and now an awesome job to look forward to!”

“Speaking of which…” he now started with an equally lowered voice. “Who’s with Scootaloo? You didn’t left her all alone back home, did you?”

Rainbow sighed heavily.
“Of course not, that would be a horrible thing to do… I apologized to her for having no time today due to my duty, so I dropped her at Fluttershy with a big pot of ice cream. She said she understands. I think I never apologized so often to somepony…”

Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth.
“Alright, scratch a few of your regular naps the next few days to make that up to her, you know it’s important!”

Overhearing them, Spitfire turned around and nodded towards them.
“Parenthood problems, you two?”

In an instant, Rainbow Dash stood in attention again.
“No ma’am! No problem here, ma’am!”

Spitfire looked up to Flynn and arched a brow before she smirked at Rainbow.
“Listen, Rainbow Dash… There are duties and there are duties… And some are more important than others.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened.
“Ma’am? Are you saying…?”

"I am saying that I want a very fast flyer to run an errand for me to Ponyville after we’re set and done here.” She now lowered her voice. “And I want you to monitor the reactions for the rest of the day. Got it?” Handing Rainbow Dash a Spitfire™ autograph card, Spitfire nodded. “I’m doing my homework… And we all had some idol once, right?” After a short wink, the yellow mare turned her head to the front again as Luna approached them once more. Rainbow smiled quite touched. That was quite a nice move from Spitfire.

* * * * *

After Luna brought them to another room she held her chin high and raised a hoof in order to present something.
“There are two mares among the recruits who deserve a special mention. Both are the top agents in the Equestrian secret service. I present to thee our infiltrating specialist Octavia Melody!” With that a darkened part of the room lit up and a gray mare with a pink bowtie.

As Sam leaned over to Rachel with a brief
“Isn’t this the cellist pony from the Gala?” he was rewarded with a confirming nod.

Flynn snickered a bit.
“What’s with the bowtie?”

But Tyler only grinned.
“Why? Bowties are cool…”

Octavia bowed a bit before she gave all of them a smile.
“It is a pleasure being here for this opportunity.”

Luna now went on to the second agent. “She will come in handy for the team for sure. And of course with her came her partner… an expert in demolition, Vinyl Scratch!”

Among some boxes and electric cables a white unicorn with moderate cobalt blue mane looked up, obviously sorting some things out.
“Yo! It’s so awesome to be here in… this…” As Vinyl lowered her DJ shades, her cerise eyes glanced at Flynn. In an instant both recognized each other and raised arm and hoof accusingly at each other.

“The crazy DJ!”

“The rump sniffer!”

Tyler arched a brow as he looked at Flynn with a grin.
“Rump sniffer?”

Pointing a finger at Vinyl, Flynn shook his head in denial.
“D-Don’t listen to a word she says! That was SO an accident!”

“Accident? Dude, you had your face buried in my behind!”

“Yeah, but not on purpose! I mean come on!” He then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow… Really! I mean… You know I would never…”

But Rainbow just grinned.
“Flynn… I never took you for a guy that goes for rumps…” Smacking her own behind, Rainbow smirked at him. “Firm and trained enough for you?”

As Flynn sighed in defeat, much to the amusement of Rainbow and Spitfire. Rachel, however, arched a brow.
“No offense, but how can a DJ pony be an expert in demolition?”

With that Vinyl levitated one of her thicker disks and with a simple ‘click’ several spikes spring out, causing it to transform into a buzz saw, prompting Rachel to jump back.
“Oh… That’s how…”

Luna then cleared her throat.
“Rangers? Although I love to listen to thy conversations… the first recruits are here.”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Oh? I thought all this here… All this personnel here would be the recruits?”

Shaking her head, the princess smiled.
"Nay, Tyler. All this here is royal personnel from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire Palace. But we also need the brightest minds and bravest hearts in order to face this threat. Celestia and I have decided that after a thorough background check, every patriotic pony should be given a chance to serve the country with his or her talents. Agent Scratch and Agent Melody are only two of them. I’d like you to greet these first volunteers welcome. They should be in the entrance hall by now.”

On the way up Rachel looked over to Tyler in one of the many elevators.
“Well? Do you know what to say to them already?”

He simply shook his head.
“I think I’ll improvise… What more can I do now?”

Luna however held her head high.
“Thou will do it, Tyler. My confidence is high that thou will manage this as well as the challenges before.”

Then the elevator stopped one last time and Tyler took a deep breath.
“Here we go!” As they left the elevator, the recruits, about one hundred, stood in formation and saluted to the Rangers. Looking over to Tyler who looked at the many recruits, Rachel nodded briefly and stood beside him. “Stand at ease, newbies!”

Tyler rewarded this little help with a faint smile and eyed the recruits now with new confidence. He wasn’t alone with this.
“Good morning! You are the First Equestrian Volunteers! Or short, the FEV! Equestria has a long and proud history, for which we must now fight to preserve. We are our people’s only hope!” With taking a few steps in front of the recruits Tyler glared at them. “If that is too much pressure for you to take, if you feel any doubt, if you think you’re not up to this task, then this is your first and only chance to take a step back. I won’t lie to you. We will live a few months here in this base, we will work here and we will eat and sleep here. It will be two months underground before we surface again. Anyone claustrophobic should rethink the decision to begin his or her work in this facility. However… if you have to leave this facility, to see the family or in case of some sort of emergency, fill out the form 73B-T9, which will grant you two days of vacation. Each of you has three of them, use them wisely. Also keep in mind that everything happening inside this facility is considered top secret! So if anyone of you doesn’t hold his big mouth on what we’re working on in here… Consider yourself the very next special guest in an investigation of high treason!”

With that he stepped a bit back.
“That being said, we are entering phase one of our organization. ‘Operation think tank’! You are to think of projects that we could use in order to catch up with the military and technological might of the Descendants. I will discuss projects with the other Rangers in order for us to decide which project gets approved. I hope to see plenty of ideas from all of you while we refine our skills in here.” He then saluted to the recruits and the gesture was redone by every pony. “Welcome to the Harmony Rangers!”

* * * * *

On the next day, Tyler went along the corridors as he noticed somepony bouncing in one of the assembly halls. As he approached the pony, he shook his head.
“Pinkie Pie…? I know you’re an Element Bearer, but don’t misuse that title for getting clearance to a military facility!”

When Tyler reached for a knife, Sam shook his head.
“I already checked her. She’s who she claims to be.”

A nod later, Tyler looked at them.
“Well? Why are you here, Pinkie?”

“I’m here to bring Sam his blueprints!” The pink energy bundle answered. “He forgot them and I thought if he realized that he would be so sad, so I galloped all over Equestria to get in here.”

As both men looked at each other, Sam nodded furiously.
“Yes… our project for the Headquarter.” With that he handed the roll to Tyler.

As Tyler looked into the blueprints, he arched a brow. It was a familiar shape to the human eye and although the design was bulky, it might work for now. Given that they ever got that thing running. He then looked up to the three of them.
“So let me get this straight… We have the order to strengthen Equestria’s defenses and to investigate the whereabouts of these Darkness Sisters… And you come up with the idea of a magical propelled hover tank?”

Sam shook his head in order to explain.
“Tyler, we…”

But Tyler only raised his hand and shook it.
“No, no! I like it!” He then pointed a finger on Sam as to point out that he wanted a quick response to the following question. “But can you deliver results for me in time? Can you build that thing?”

Looking to Lyra and Pinkie, Sam grinned and nodded.
“Yeah… We can build that thing!”

With a determined nod, Tyler let go of the blueprints, causing them to roll together again.
“Permission for this project granted.”

In the next few days they gathered the materials from the storage room. Pinkie, with a worker helmet, stood on a small pedestal and conducted the transport Lyra was steering while Sam worked on the technology. For this tank, he had to face two major problems: Propulsion and armor. As Lyra looked over his shoulder for a while, she scratched her temple.
“Well, you told me about these things a bit. But to be frank: Sam, I don’t think we Equestrians can manufacture the kind of steel you humans can muster on Earth.”

“That’s probably true. We lack the heavy industry to do that. It will be not as efficient as composite armor on Earth. But when it becomes bulletproof and to a certain degree explosion-proof, we’ve done our job so far with Equestrian composite armor. Equis doesn’t have armor piercing missiles, does it?”

As they looked upon the large hall with all the materials, the large amounts of metal and steel, cables, glass and pipes, Sam folded his arms and nodded.
“Well… A whole hall for the three of us.”

“Four of us!” A sudden voice now exclaimed. When Pinkie, Sam and Lyra looked behind, Vinyl Scratch was standing in the corridors behind them. “I heard you three want to build something to make some holes in some war citadels? Then I’m your mare as well!”

Sam looked at his girls before arching a brow at Vinyl.
“Well, Princess Luna speaks well about you, so you have to know what you are doing… And if I understood Lyra correctly, another horn for welding would mean less breaks and higher efficiency. If it is work you seek, you’re welcome to join us.”

Vinyl now approached the trio and nodded.
“Awesome! May I make a suggestion for this ‘tank’ of yours?”

After a short glimpse to his girls and another nod Sam he shrugged.
“Sure, if you come up with ideas, we can think of implementing it.”

“You should mount my bass cannon on it.”

“What is that… bass cannon…? What does it do?”

Vinyl inhaled to explain first, but then tipped her chin with her hoof.
“Actually that’s a good question! It’s a sound weapon. Uh… I have mine at home in Ponyville, but give me a few days and I could build a new one to demonstrate it to you.”

Looking once more to his girls, Sam shrugged and nodded.
“Sure. It could be worth the wait.” As Vinyl trotted off with a content smile, Lyra looked up to Sam. “Are you sure about this? I mean we already have blueprints and another weapon system means new measures, new equations, new materials…”

Nodding, Sam looked at the materials gathered for the tank.
“It sure is a bit late for that, but frankly I wouldn’t mind a little extra for the tank. And since we only have one run and no missiles…”

Later that day Tyler and Flynn approached the Research and Development department of the base. Holding up a sample of human blood Tyler walked around in front of them. “This is human blood, gentlecolts… and you are Equestria’s lead scientists. Your job is to make it paint! I want you to make this a durable paint that is waterproof without it losing its magic-proof ability. The unicorns and earth pony scientists nodded at each other and began working on chalkboards.”

While they both walked down the corridor, Flynn looked slightly worried.
“Human blood used as paint? Daring idea you and Sam got there… Won’t that make anything painted with that an immediate detonation area?”

Tyler knew what Flynn was speculating on and shook his head.
“No, but if we’re wearing armor or something, it will give us a few seconds before the magic can harm the armor. I don’t want to wear body armor and get squeezed like a tin can.”

Picturing it, Flynn grimaced slightly.
“You mean it will detonate with magic and the armor will be in the center once that paint wears off? Should that calm me in a way?”

“No… Since we humans will wear it, the magic, if it passes, will be absorbed anyway. Maybe the armor will disintegrate or fall apart, but I’m happy with anything more than just clothing, you know? It should provide a bit more protection against melee weapons and conventional firearms. I don’t care if it looks crude, I don’t expect sci-fi Nano suits that make us invincible or enhance our bodily abilities.”

Flynn nodded.
“True… This isn’t a videogame.”

Later that day Lyra approached Sam in the hangar as he was sitting at a table, working on a small part. It was too small to be part of the tank now. They already had all these parts ready. Handling it with the screwdriver and, he assembled some weirdly formed parts. Climbing up a bit on him, Lyra looked over his shoulder. By now Sam was used to the weight of a pony and it wasn’t anything of a burden anymore. His strength was now so enormous he could lift Lyra with a single arm. It was a thing that Pinkie often liked to do when she was out for fun: Thrown into the air and being caught before impact again.
“Sam, what are you building there?” Lyra now asked, blinking at all the little parts on the table. So many parts, it had to be a very complex thing he was building.

“Just a little side-project I didn’t tell Tyler about.” He began to explain. “A finger…”

“A finger…?” she repeated, not understanding the meaning of this.

“I’m building a mechanical finger, yes.”

“But what for?” With a grin he looked at her and slowly the idea sprang to her mind, prompting the unicorn to beam. “You’re building hands for me?”

“Well, only mechanical ones. It is beyond me to make –oof–“

With that she jumped at him and hugged him tightly.
“Oh thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!! This is going to be so great!”

But Sam smiled with an arched brow.
“Still, you can only manipulate with it. I can’t make you one so you can feel with it.”

Lyra rubbed her head against his chest.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s better than nothing. And you are the one making them for me.”

Three days later the hands were lying on the table and Lyra beamed in turns at Sam and at the hands.
“Now remember, Lyra… These aren’t indestructible hands. And they don’t feel anything. Lyra carefully levitated the hands and nodded. There was no sense of touch in them, this was true. But slowly and surely, she wiggled the mechanical fingers a bit. They seemed so fragile and yet, they were similar to Rachel’s fingers. As he knelt down to Lyra and watched her awe at the fingers, Sam smiled gently. She looked like a filly in a candy store. “Are they OK?”

“OK?” Lyra asked with tears in her eyes and the mechanical hands grabbed him by his clothing before Lyra pulled him down to her and pressed her lips on his. Her kiss was demanding and with passion, despite not being in heat anymore, she almost behaved like it. “These are wonderful… Simply wonderful! I must have you now, Sam… Let’s search for Pinkie. You, me and her, now!”

Now Sam chuckled.
“Easy there, Lyra… You sound like you are at a peak point in heat…”

With that Lyra turned red as a tomato and giggled a bit embarrassed before they stood up again.
“Alright, sweetie, Let’s look for her…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile in another part of Equis two shadows were analyzing the holograms in front of them. While one of them grumbled in anger and frustration, the other one giggled in light amusement about all the anger.
“If victory is reserved for royalty, you must find this so very boring, my sister…”

“Are you not angered about this setback, Lamira, my sister? We lost two war citadels!” Now the horn of the first shadow shed enough light to reveal the face of a black alicorn mare with gray mane and red eyes.

A dark smirk was on her face as she looked through the holograms.
“Of course I’m not angered, Asira. I prefer to see this as an enhancement.” She pointed at the holograms showing the immense firepower of the war citadels. “The war citadels should have had no problems to dominate the Equestrians or these bipedal beings, these so called ‘humans’… But they were too strong for them.” A mischievous giggle escaped her now as she licked her teeth. “And that very strength is what will make destroying them that much more fun… I think it is time for you and me to step into action. To the north-west there is the Amasian Empire… I think we should start our journey around this world there…”

As several arcane runes appeared in front of the two of them, Asira began to grin.
“Oh, Lamira… You are always such an inspiration, big sister… These spells will do wonderful…”