TCB: A Kinder World

12 - Power Play

“Why’d you do it?” Emmet asked.

The minivan hummed down the road, road markers flashing past as David sat at the wheel, his copilot, Desmond, slumped in his seat, asleep.

In the rear, the ponies were staring out the windows, and Moses and Emmet entertained themselves by staring into space, and looking at the ponies, respectively.

“Why’d I do what?” Twilight asked, sitting up, and looking at the augmetic man.

“You know what I’m talking about,” Emmet said. “Carpenter. Why’d you turn him into a pony?”

“Me telling you why won’t change what I did,” she sighed, returning her gaze out the window.

“No,” admitted Emmet. “But I’m curious as to why you did it, nonetheless. What was going through that little pony mind of yours?”

Twilight sighed. “I thought... he... he didn’t sound like the others.”

“How like the others?” Emmet asked.

“He was... less distrustful. He was... friendly.” Twilight looked at her hooves. “The other humans wouldn’t give us any freedom, would keep hands on guns, ready to kill us. Carpenter didn’t, he actually... trusted us to not betray him. And so I thought... he’d understand if I turned him into a pony to save his life...”

“It’s not your fault,” Emmet said. “Your only mistake was not asking him first. And even then, he was dying - it’s hard to get informed consent from a dying man. You couldn’t have known.”

“You didn’t see it in his eyes,” Twilight said, quietly. “He wanted nothing more than to die, he considers his current life a crime against nature.”

“I think he was more upset because he still harbors guilt over his friend,” Emmet guessed. “Not so much because he’s a pony. Besides. He’s not dead, give it time, you never know.”

“I still made a mistake,” Twilight said.

“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy raised a hoof quietly. “Mistakes are mistakes. You’re not a bad pony just because you make one bad mistake.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Emmet said. “You know, I made a bad call once. It turned out to be a really bad call, but I made it with the best of intentions.” Emmet sat back. “We found an IED. Nasty thing, some HLF set it up and forgot about it. Problem was, when we found it, we set it off, it was timed.” Emmet shook his head. “It wasn’t a big bomb, barely bigger than a grenade with a timer on. But it was enough to kill me and my squad if I didn’t do something about it. I decided that I’d sacrifice myself, jump on the bomb to give my squad a chance.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah,” Emmet shook his head. “It was a bad call, because you know what?” He looked the ponies in the eye. “They followed me onto that bomb, tried to pull me off. Defeated the whole bloody purpose of jumping on it in the first place. It went off, and luckily, we didn’t die. Came damned close, but didn’t die.”

Twilight looked at the four humans, and it clicked. “You mean...”

“Yeah,” David said, from the front seat. “Emmy here jumped on a bomb for us, and we followed him. Not our best move, but that’s friendship for you. You’ll do the strangest things to try and spare your friends the pain and bother.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “I think we know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, probably not exactly,” Emmet guessed. “I doubt you have many IEDs in your Equestria.”

+==[~~~]==+

Richard’s first breath felt like the first in years, air rushing into his lungs with a gasp. His breath fogged up his visor as he stared at a wooden-planked ceiling, hands clasped over his chest. He blinked, and sat up, groaning, and looked around.

The room was probably closer to “cabin”, and it put him in mind of a cabin from a wooden pirate ship, like on the movies. He swung his legs to the side, and found the height of the bed to be laughable to him; a pony bed. He got up carefully, mindful of his height, and walked over to the door.

The ship creaked, and he had a slight panic attack as his inner ears registered a change in listing. After a brief pause, waiting for any more unpleasant surprises, he placed a hand on the door, and opened it.

With a rush of wind, he looked out into a moonlit ship’s deck, the rising moon on the horizon and stars in the sky. In fact, they were everywhere, and as he closed the door behind him and looked around, realized the ship was high in the sky, not in the water. He looked up, and saw a massive balloon holding the ship up, taut ropes securing the ship to the balloon.

“Ah, you’re awake!” a voice called out, from above and behind him. Richard looked around, and saw a pegasus standing at the helm of the ship above; the pegasus smiled, a fixed grin as he got a good look at the human, and Richard did the same.

The pegasus looked like he’d seen his fair share of adventure, and had the scars to show for it; in particular, his hind legs, which were both peg-legs; a comical and tragic situation for a human, but for a pegasus, it seemed to matter less.

“Good... evening?” Richard asked, and the pegasus nodded.

“Aye, ‘tis just past six bells of the evening,” he agreed. “The name’s Harpsichord. Captain, but I think an acclaimed warrior like yourself can call me whatever you like.”

“Acclaimed warrior my ass,” Richard grunted. “I’m Richard. How long was I out?”

“Oh,” Harpsichord guessed, “Around a day or so, I think. You’ve been on my ship for about half a day, picked you and your friends up from Hollow Shades.”

“My friends?” Richard muttered.

“Aye,” Harpsichord nodded. “If it weren’t for them coming along, I reckon I might have turned down the job, on account of me being pretty sure you were a corpse and all, even with that unicorn’s insistence that you were still alive. Looked pretty dead to me.”

“I felt pretty dead.”

“Well, there you go,” the pegasus grinned. “You proved both of us wrong. We’re headed to Canterlot, I’m told you’ve got an interview with the Princess or something. Your friends are belowdecks, getting into dinner, if you want to go and say hi. I think they’ll be glad to know you’re up and about.”

Richard nodded, and spotted a hatch on the deck; he knelt, and pulled it up, slipping down inside the ship proper, closing the hatch behind him.

“Hey, Richard!” Rainbow Dash called out, around a mouthful of salad. “You’re awake!”

In the middle of the deck, there was a low wooden trestle table, around which sat four ponies; Rainbow Dash, standing out as usual; Lyra, who was holding her lyre as she paused, mid-strum; Trixie, of all ponies, looking a lot better with her burn scars reduced to patches of pale-pink skin lacking a coat, and a grey earth pony, sitting next to a grey metal bucket.

“I’m awake,” Richard agreed, crouch-walking over to the table and sitting down carefully. “Not sure why and how, but...”

“Yeah, about that,” Rainbow Dash said, “Let’s see... we went to the glade. It was haunted. You got stabbed by that ghost thing, it got some dark thorns into you or something, and you collapsed. Lyra and I tried to stop it, but it moved faster than blinking, honestly. Boulder wasn’t much help, spent more time panicking.”

“And then Trixie showed up,” Lyra continued. “If it hadn’t been for her and her pyrotechnic spells, I think we’d all have been dead.”

“That is true,” Trixie declared. “Trixie arrived in the nick of time, and using her wonderous powers-”

“She flashed bright lights at the shadows,” Rainbow Dash snorted, rolling her eyes.

“-wonderous powers,” Trixie repeated, “she banished all the darkness to where it belonged, the end of days!”

“Turns out,” Lyra continued, “The shadows were like, puppets, and the glade wasn’t really haunted for that long at all.”

“The shadows just messed with the villagers,” Rainbow waved a hoof around the side of her head. “Made them think it had been haunted for months, when really it had only been haunted for like a day, and nopony ever actually went missing.”

“Trixie used her amazing talents-”

“-blinding the villagers with bright lights-”

“-amazing talents to undo the foul trickery of the darkness,” Trixie finished, shooting Rainbow a dirty look.

“Those shadows were kinda like the time I saw these ponies calling themselves the Shadowbolts,” Rainbow Dash mused. “They claimed to be even better than the wonderbolts, only they weren’t really ponies, and all they were trying to do was get me to ditch and bail on my friends. And I don’t bail on my friends, so it didn’t really work for them.”

“Right,” Richard nodded. “So you’ve seen those things before?”

“Sorta.” Rainbow Dash gulped. “They were... well, like, part of Nightmare Moon and stuff the last time I saw them.”

“So that means we have a Nightmare Moon running around?” Richard guessed. “Can’t be too bad, right?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “If Nightmare Moon’s back, then we’re in trouble; she’s like an evil god, and we needed the Elements of Harmony to stop her last time; this time, Fluttershy and Twilight aren’t here with us.”

“Are they really that important?” Richard asked.

“Elements of Magic and Kindness,” Lyra pointed out. “Two of six elements. Need all six, or it’s a waste of time.”

“Oh god,” Richard lamented. “You are kidding me. Six chosen ones to defeat a dark god. Next, you’re going to tell me everyone wears special jewelry.”

Rainbow Dash exchanged a guilty look with Lyra, and Richard facepalmed.

“So there is jewelry involved. Fantastic.” He un-facepalmed, and looked at the earth pony. “So what’s your deal? You’re very quiet.”

“And you’re very strange,” the pony countered. “Iron Horseshoes, first mate. Only mate, really. Crew of two. Decent chef.”

“Yeah,” Lyra nodded. “He is a decent chef. And both him and the Captain are really curious as to what you are under all that armor; wanted to pop your helmet off and all, but I told ‘em “no” for you.”

Richard did a double-take. “You actually stopped them taking my helmet off?”

“Of course,” Lyra shrugged. “It means a lot to you that you keep it on, so...”

“I thought you wanted to see under it,” Richard pointed out.

Lyra grimaced. “Well, sorta. Half the fun’s in badgering you,” she confessed. “I already have enough information on you to be getting on with, and if what you’ve told us is true, there’s a whole world filled with humans, and most of them aren’t wearing that ridiculous armor - I can just study them instead.”

Richard chuckled, and shook his head. “So I really was out for a day? What did I miss?”

“Uh,” Lyra tapped her chin. “We fixed Hollow Shades, and flagged down the Captain and this ship. We’re flying to Canterlot, going to get that meeting with luna done.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, I couldn’t really tell, but it looked like you were kinda dead before. Weren’t breathing or moving. Lyra said you were still ticking, but...”

“I’m fine,” Richard grunted. “The sooner we’re done with this and I’m back on earth, the sooner I can have a goddamned rest.”

+==[~~~]==+

The courtyard was ringed by humans.

Every soldier and civilian not already busy with work had gathered, following orders to assemble for an announcement and special event. Mutters and susurrations abounded through the crowd, people wondering what was going on.

They watched as a single man walked out into the middle of the courtyard with a microphone, and turned it on. The brief squelch of feedback from loudspeakers got everyone’s attention, and they ceased their chattering.

“Friends and comrades,” Oss said, “It is with a heavy heart that today I bring sad news. Today, our esteemed leader, Commander Tulip, has been struck down by the pony threat.”

A shocked gasp came from the crowd, murmurs starting up.

“All I can say,” Oss said, faking sorrow, “is that he died quickly, immolated in a flash by the deceptive tyrant we hold in our cells!”

The stunned murmuring evolved into outraged murmuring.

“Yes!” Oss shouted. “She gained his trust, and when his back was turned, burned him to a husk in the blink of an eye! Let it not be said that Tulip was a fool, for he was not! If he had a flaw, it was that he was too trusting! There is a time for talking, and a time for war, and this time, when we are on the brink of extinction... this is no time for talking!”

The crowd roared as one, excited.

“But first,” Oss said, “Let us show the Equestrians that we mean business! Let us show them what we think of their pitiful, false gods! Bring out the prisoner!”

The crowd looked to the side of the courtyard, and around from behind a building, a trolley was wheeled.

Laden with chains that bound her to the platform, and with a muzzle firmly affixed in her mouth, Celestia did her best to remain calm as she was revealed. The jeering and catcalls that greeted her revelation were harsh, and cruel. But from what Celestia knew of this world, understandable. If she had a say in what happened to her, though, she’d much rather prefer that she didn’t get executed for the crimes of her counterpart.

Unfortunately, that damnable orichalcum ring on her horn severely limited her options, and with the chains binding her, she was completely immobilized, at the mercy of the people pushing the trolley and the man in the plaza who intended to kill her and blame her for Tulip’s death.

“The sun tyrant is at our mercy!” Oss shouted. “She is bound! She is weak!”

A soldier ran out into the middle of the courtyard, carrying a long case, which he proffered to Oss; the man popped it open, and brandished the long, exotic-looking weapon within.

“We have the Deus Ex!” he shouted. “Today is the day we break the spirit of Equestria!” He grinned, a malicious glint in his eyes. “Today is the day we kill their precious Princess!”

Celestia closed her eyes, and took a deep breath as the middle of the courtyard drew ever closer. All she could do was hope for a miracle.

+==[~~~]==+

Desmond looked out the window of the minivan, tapping David on the shoulder.

“Hey, David. Got a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” David asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

“The kind with wings.”

Emmet overheard, and looked out the window, alarmed. High in the sky, six dots were banking around to approach them.

“Aw shit,” he muttered, and leaned back in, reaching down to the ground where his shotgun was resting. “Don’t stop, David. Everyone, make sure windows are up and doors are locked.”

“Roger that,” Des said, rolling up his own window.

The minivan kept rolling, David doing his best to ignore the approaching pegasi. Very quickly, the dots became ponies, and they flew above and around the minivan, one of them, a purple pegasus, carefully looked through the windows at the passengers inside, smiling when they saw the mix of humans and ponies.

“Hey!” the pegasus shouted, waving. “Guys! Where are you headed?”

David spared the pegasus a quick look, returning his eyes to the road quickly. “Uh, is... is that pegasus making small-talk with us?”

“I’m not seeing any potion,” Desmond murmured. “None of them are wearing anything, actually. Just six pegasi out for a flight?”

“We’re headed to New York,” Emmet hazarded, fingers still resting on the shotgun. “What’s it to you?”

“Whoa, hey,” the pegasus held up two hooves. “You got us all wrong, we’re just in disguise! We’re one of you!”

There was a brief flash of green energy, and the pegasus was replaced with a insectoid-looking not-pony with chitinous hide and thin, membraneous wings.

“Changelings!” Twilight gasped.

“Yeah!” The changeling flashed again and changed back to a pegasus. “Come on, we got a camp set up just over that way,” the changeling pointed a hoof. “Stop by and resupply, it’s a long way to “New York” from here!”

The pegasus flapped up to it’s brethren, and with a wave, the flight banked away and flew in the direction indicated by the pegasus. The party watched them go, and Emmet looked at Twilight.

“Changelings?”

“Shapeshifters,” Twilight elaborated. “They take the form of somepony you love, and feed off your love for them. Usually. The last time I saw them, their queen impersonated Princess Cadance to trick my brother into marrying and loving her. She almost fooled everypony, it was mostly luck that got us out of it.”

“Why the hell do they think we’re freaky bug-ponies?” Desmond asked.

“Four humans in a car with two ponies,” Emmet guessed. “No real humans or ponies could do this, on account of at least one of the parties trying to kill or convert the other.”

“What do we do, boss?” David asked. “Turnoff’s coming up now.”

“We need fuel, right?”

“Yeah,” David conceded. “We do have spare tanks, but...”

“If they’ve got fuel in or near their camp,” Emmet said, “we’ll avail ourselves of it, while pretending to be changelings, just like them, got it?”

There was a murmur of assent from all present, and Emmet nodded grimly, but satisfied.

“Trying to deceive shapeshifting masters of deception...” he muttered. “Yup. Today’s gonna be a good day.”

+==[~~~]==+

Wind flapped around Richard, Lyra, Rainbow Dash and Trixie as they stood on the deck of the airship, watching Canterlot loom ever larger in the distance, the mountainside city lit by hundreds of lights, traditional torch and arcane lamp.

"Right," Harpsichord said. "We're about five minutes out. You said you had an appointment with Princess Luna, so we'll set down in the royal landing pad."

"Ah, about that," Richard said, "I kind of don't want to come to the attention of Celestia just yet."

"Ah," Harpsichord nodded, understandingly. "One of those appointments. We can do that as well, I think, although for obvious reasons, it's going to be a fast and dangerous disembark."

"Miss Dash," Iron Horseshoes said, "You're a pegasus, so you should have no problems getting off. Everyone else is going to have to use the fast-ropes."

"Fast-ropes?" Lyra asked.

"He dangles a rope off the edge, and we slide down it," guessed Richard, to a pleased nod from Iron.

"You've done this before, then?"

"No," Richard shook his head. "Heard about it, though."

"Wait," Lyra held up a hoof. "How are we supposed to get down? I don't fancy rope-burns on my mouth."

Iron smiled. "We've thought of that. Just leave it to us."

+==[~~~]==+

William Smith whistled a tuneless ditty as he dragged the bin of scrap metal across the tiles, ears shielded by earmuffs against the rattle of steel components.

He arrived at the edge of the disposals pit, nose wrinkling at the smell of corpses, and emptied the bin with a torrent of rattling steel.

It was a testament to his attention to detail when, even under the deafening rattle of steel and the earmuffs, he heard a weak coughing.

He stopped pouring, and lifted an earmuff, listening.

"Help..."

"Commander?" Smith looked around. "Commander, where are you?"

There was a rattle of steel in the pit, and Smith looked down to see an arm poking out from a mound of pony corpses and scrap metal. Smith's heart skipped a beat as he began to panic, running down an access ramp to the side of the pit, and wading out into the garbage.

"Commander!" He shouted, grabbing the arm and pulling. With a groan of pain and a coughing fit, Commander Tulip was pulled free, his biosuit dirtied with refuse and clutching his gut in agony. His face was grubby, gaunt and etched with a mixture of pain and seething anger.

"Specialist Oss has crossed the goddamn line," he wheezed.

+==[~~~]==+

The minivan slowed to a halt, and the passengers looked around at the settlement.

It had once been a motor-home camp, and looked like it was home to a diverse range of people; humans leaned out of windows to see who had stopped by, and ponies paused their business to regard the newcomers with mild interest as they exited the vehicle and stretched their legs.

"This is new," Des muttered under his breath, looking around. "Ponies and humans living together?

"Changelings," Twilight muttered. "Every one of them. Keep your guard up."

"Hey!" a purple pegasus, the one from before, touched down in front of them. "Nice to see you made it!"

"It's nice to be here?" David guessed, and the pegasus laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about customs and stuff. We mostly stay in-character around here, makes it easy to get back to work. Nice disguises, by the way - you got everything down to the last detail, it's practically real!"

"Thanks," Emmet said. "I don't suppose you guys have a fuel pump around here? This baby's gotta make it to New York, and she's running dry."

"Sure, I reckon it's just 'round the back, there." The pegasus pointed with a hoof, and Emmet nodded; getting back into the van, he gunned the engine, and the van drove around the corner and put of sight.

The pegasus turned back to the others, and smiled. "Name's Doppel, welcome to the camp. What're your names?"

"David," the medic said, speaking for everyone, "That's Desmond, Moses, Twilight and Fluttershy."

"You two got guts," Doppel said, smiling approvingly at Twilight and Fluttershy. "Copying two elements of harmony like that..."

"It's um, nothing," Fluttershy hazarded, and Doppel grinned more.

"Boy howdy," he confessed. "You got Fluttershy down-pat. I'd take my hat off to you if I was wearin' one. Twilight, though... needs a bit more work, you're missing a few scars."

"Scars?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Doppel said. "The real Twilight's had a few brushes with assassination attempts, her scars are well-known."

"Heads up!" a voice called out. "Pegasus patrol inbound! Go pony!"

"Uh-oh," David muttered, watching "humans" everywhere turn into random ponies with flashes of green energy, some just copying others and running inside.

"Relax, they think we're one of them!" Twilight whispered quickly.

"How long do you think that's going to last when they realize that we can't shapeshift at will?" David hissed back.

"Oh," Twilight said.

Some of the changelings-turned-pony glared at them, irritation on their faces as the humans refused to change and avoid drawing attention to the settlement. As the seconds slowly ticked by, they realized that they'd made a crucial mistake, and that the humans were just that.

Twilight's horn glowed, and pulsed with magical light just once.

There was a rush of wind, and a trio of pegasi rushed overhead in a flash. The scouts passed by, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, and quickly banked off over the rest of the settlement to search elsewhere.

As the pegasi vanished from overhead, the changelings looked at the middle of the street anxiously, wondering why the pegasi weren’t attacking.

There was nothing there. At least, for about three seconds. There was a flicker of violet energy, and a translucent dome formed. As it grew more defined, the changelings realized that it wasn’t forming - it was just becoming more visible. Inside the dome, Twilight had her hooves dug into the ground, sweating with the effort of creating a dome of invisibility to hide the humans standing next to her.

Doppel stepped forward, brow creased in irritation, having finally sensed that he’d been tricked.

“You’re not changelings, are you?” he asked.

David put his hands up, and the rest of the ‘Cards followed suit. “What gave it away?”

+==[~~~]==+

“Behold, the Sun Tyrant herself!” Oss yelled, gesturing. The crowd roared, jeers overwhelming anything anyone had to say otherwise.

Celestia looked around frantically, feeling the waves of hatred just rolling off the gathered humans. Just what had other-her done to deserve this, she wondered - only mass genocide of the human race, it seemed. Celestia added that to her list of things never to do, as the crowd’s roar slowly faded, allowing the new leader of humanity to continue.

“Today, we break Equestria’s spirit. We will ride to war with the head of their false god on our standard, and they will fear us, for we are man, and man does not take kindly to being exterminated!”

The crowd roared once more, and Oss brought up a long, gunmetal-black weapon; the boxy body of the weapon had a stock, a large power pack on the underside, and a strange barrel that slowly began to extend from the weapon itself, three slender prongs of, given Celestia’s sudden headache, what had to be pure orichalcum.

Celestia felt truly nervous; while she could regenerate from a mortal wound, she needed her magic to do it; This weapon looked and felt purpose-built to interfere with and bypass that magic, denying her any chance of getting up again afterwards.

A god-slayer, in other words. And here she was, helpless to stop the weapon as the nose was brought up to her own, a soft click as safeties were disengaged, and a quiet hum as the innards of the weapon began to glow a soft amber, a red dot painting itself on her forehead.

“Humanus pro vita!” Oss shouted.

Celestia closed her eyes tight, and a gunshot split the air anew. A moment passed, Celestia’s heart beat once more, and she realized she wasn’t dead. She opened her eyes, to see Oss frozen in mid-fire, the barrel of the Deus Ex no longer pointing at her head, but drifting off to the side. The man was looking at his chest, where a black vest sported a new hole on his right breast, red fluid leaking out of it. He looked up, and the crowd looked at the shooter, gasping in surprise.

“Specialist Oss!” Tulip shouted. “You’re in a shitload of trouble, you backstabbing son of a bitch!”

Celestia’s eyes widened as the older man lurched across the courtyard, smoking revolver cradled in one hand and his own gut in the other, as he approached Oss, who had sunk to his knees and keeled over sideways. Behind him, a man in overalls followed carefully, brandishing his own sidearm, although he looked entirely unsure how to use it.

“...How?” Oss gasped, his words picked up by the microphone that lay on the ground next to his head.

“The next time you kill someone and throw their body in the disposals pit,” Tulip spat, “Try actually killing them first.”

Tulip finally made it to Oss, who was gasping and coughing, blood trickling out of his mouth. The usurper looked up at the Commander, and Tulip pulled something from his pocket, throwing it to the ground.

With a clink and a rattle, an old-looking hip-flask hit the ground, a hole drilled neatly through the middle of it by a single shot. Oss guessed that it must have intercepted the bullet meant for Tulip, and slowed it down enough to save the older man’s life.

“Damnit...” Oss wheezed. “You win, Tulip. I wish... I could live to see you... run humanity into the ground, but...” He coughed again. “Lung-shot. Fuck you.”

Tulip raised his gun once more, taking aim at Oss’ head. “The only one who’s going to run humanity into the ground here is you, Oss. And by the way?” Tulip leaned in closer. “That’s Commander Tulip to you, asshole.”

Celestia looked away briefly as she felt someone playing with her muzzle; the overalled man had put his gun down to undo the mouth-restricting item, and with a snap, he undid it. Celestia drew in a breath, and before the muzzle even hit the ground, blurted something out.

“Commander! Stop!”

Tulip’s hand paused, finger on the trigger, as he looked at the Princess. “Excuse me?”

“I want you to stop,” Celestia said, repeating herself. “Blood begets blood. I want him alive to atone for his crimes.”

“He’s dying,” Tulip said, flatly, over the sound of Oss coughing once more. “This is a mercy.”

“There’s another way. Release me.”

Total silence reigned. Tulip looked at Celestia incredulously.

“You must think I’m a moron. Don’t make me regret saving your life.”

“Commander Tulip,” Celestia repeated, looking the human leader in the eye. “If you release me, Oss will survive to be punished properly by either your law or mine. I will not try to escape, I will not harm you or your people; you have my word as Princess of Equestria.”

Tulip looked back into those magenta eyes, and shook slightly as he saw further than that. It’s been said that eyes are the windows of the soul, and Tulip saw a being of unimaginable power and age behind those windows; and more importantly, every last bit of it meant what it said. He swallowed, and opened his mouth.

“Smith... release her.”

The courtyard fell into silence, broken only by the sound of one soldier dropping his rifle.

“You what?” Smith said, stunned.

“You heard me,” Tulip said, as rifles were made ready. “Release her.”

“You’re mad!” Smith said.

“No,” Tulip said. “I’m Regional Commander Dante Tulip of the Human Liberation Front - I alone decide what’s best for what’s left of humanity.” Tulip pointed his gun at Smith. “And right now, that means unchain the goddamn Princess before I shoot you and do it myself.”

“Whoa!” Smith ducked behind the princess as he began to undo the bindings. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”

“What the fuck are you doing?” a soldier shouted, stepping into the middle of the courtyard, gun raised and aimed at Tulip. “Commander, you’re going to kill us all, damnit! You’re only proving Oss right!”

“Oss lied to you,” Celestia countered. “He claimed that I burned the Commander to ashes in an instant, did he not?”

“This...” The soldier paused. “This is all some sort of trick. You’re not the Commander, you’re just... a construct or something. An illusion.”

“I admit,” Celestia said conversationally, feeling chains loosen around her but remaining still as the last of the chains were undone properly, “I have always had a fascination with those who can seemingly do magic without using actual magic. Magicians. I am honored that you consider me part of that category.”

“What?” the soldier frowned.

“I have had this infernal ring anchored to my horn the whole time,” Celestia looked up at her horn, where the black ring was, indeed, still firmly anchored. “I do not have any magic right now. What you see is the honest truth.”

The soldier shook his head. “It’s... there’s...”

There was a loud bang, and the soldier fell over, clutching his leg, and screaming in pain. Tulip’s gun was raised, but no smoke issued forth; the shot hadn’t come from him.

Smith stood to the left, gun raised and shaking in his hands, and he dropped it as he returned to his work, trying to look casual.

“What... the fuck?” The soldier grunted, clutching his leg.

“This isn’t a dream,” Smith said quickly. “This is real. And you weren’t listening.”

“I was... fuck, you shot me!” the soldier complained.

The last chain was undone, and it fell to the platform with a clank. Tulip tossed something small and silver to Smith with a hand, and the mechanic caught it - a small key, suitable for something like... a ring.

“He’s the regional commander,” Smith repeated, finding the key’s home near Celestia’s brow. “He’s in charge, and he’s never steered us wrong. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.” He inserted the key into the ring and twisted. “I trust him, and he trusts Celestia. Good enough for me.”

The click cracked through the air, and Celestia rose up to her full height, wings unfurling and horn glowing as power flowed through it once more. Smith stepped back quickly, as Celestia looked at the three injured humans gathered nearby.

“I gave you my word as Princess that I would not harm nor attempt to escape your humans,” she said to Tulip. She grabbed the Commander, Oss and the soldier in her golden magic at the same time, lifting them into the air, even as they struggled against the alien grip. She stepped off the trolley, and looked the commander in the eye.

“A little trust goes a long way, Commander.”

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