Hello, dear readers! A pleasure as always to post more of this story for you. I hope you're enjoying reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it. Anyways, onto my comments for the week!

Chaddmychal: I would have had a huge scene for Tyr getting armed and all, but in my mind Tyr would prefer to resort to violence last. But now I have this mental image of Tyr doing the whole armory scene from Hot Fuzz. :P

0. King Nothing.0: What can I say? I love high tech.

theflammablefiredragon: I won't stop you, that actually fits my idea. :D And you know good things never last long. Main characters are danger magnets.

PBJFanFiction: Hey, better late than never. And no problem about the review, just keep on writing! I'll stop by whenever I see you've updated.

DragonLord Ryukizoku: Where should I start with this one... hm. One, I specifically haven't done anthro. They're humans with tails. And adding a chapter before the prologue adds... well nothing. I'd have to write too much to make everything flow the way I'd want it, and then it wouldn't add much to the story. Tyr's story takes place well after the Merge, about a year at least.

Secondly, I can name three characters from the My Little Pony FiM franchise that held grudges that long right off the top of my head. Luna tried to kill her sister (or at least banish her) and held that grudge for a thousand years or longer. Trixie Lulamoon went and got an ancient artifact to make her stronger so she could humiliate Twilight. and Starlight Glimmer went and dug up an ancient time spell just to destroy Twilight's relationships with her friends. Can't hold grudges? Methinks you are incorrect, dear friend.

Thirdly, the characters aren't perfect. They can't be. It would make for quite the dull story. Plus, making Fluttershy cry is grounds for death. And there was already a lot of irrational actions happening at the time. Without the whole "kiss and make up" scene that normally happens at the end of an episode.

Lastly, thanks for reading though! Hope you stick around for the rest of the story. :D

Whoo! That was a bit and a half. I guess I won't tarry longer then. Onto the chapter!

Chapter 42: Communication Breakdown

Once again, city hall was in an uproar. Even the normally calming presence of Celestia had done nothing to calm the people. Mayor Trent was cowering off to the side of the small stage, content for now to let Celestia take the brunt of the crowd's anger. She stood between Flash and Ace, both of them with worried looks on their faces. The expectation for Celestia to calm the crowd down hadn't come to pass, and it was starting to look more like a riot than an orderly discussion. Celestia made another fervent plea for peace. "Please, everyone, if we could just calm down—"

"Calm down?" An irate woman stood up. "We've been living alongside people that could destroy the entire town if they wanted to!"

"Who told you that?" Celestia asked, frowning. From what she remembered, she had managed to keep quiet Luna's… outburst.

"An email came in from a government agency warning us of your powers," Another man said, standing up as well. "That your magic could go out of control at any moment and kill all of us!"

"Go out of control…?" Ace murmured.

Celestia glanced from Ace back to the crowd. "My magic is quite under control," She assured the people. It didn't seem to change anyone's feelings there.

"And what of your sister's?" A deep voice said. Everyone present turned to see a well-dressed man in military garb enter the room. He was brightly decorated with medals and ribbons, and walked with a noticed military swagger. A noticeable sword with an elegant hilt hung from a short chain at his side. He walked with the air of someone certain of their own self-importance, the shadow of a smirk on his face. He came to a stop just short of the Princess of the Sun.

"My sister is her own person," Celestia said, addressing the newcomer. "And she is well in control of herself."

"She wasn't during that one incident," The man said with a slight smirk. "Her boyfriend had been stabbed, yes? It seems she reacted quite badly to that."

"I believe anyone would react badly to a loved one almost dying."

"But she nearly leveled an entire city block in the process."

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe I know who you are, sir."

"Ah, where are my manners." The man gave a showy bow. "Major Edward Bastille, commander of the Human Unified Defense Agency. Our job is to protect humans from non-human threats."

"Never heard of you guys," Ace said brusquely. Bastille chuckled slightly.

"I wouldn't be too surprised. We are a relatively new unit."

"And how do you know so much about me and my sister?" Celestia asked. "Are you keeping tabs on me?"

"We have to—you're a threat to humanity."

"All I've ever wanted is cooperation between Equestrians and Humans," Celestia pointed out. "I would never willingly harm a human."

"They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions," Bastille replied smoothly. Ace moved forward to speak on behalf of his princess, but Bastille preempted him. "Speaking of time bombs, where is that sister of yours?"

"Right here," Luna said, entering. Tyr and Grace were on her heels, and the Princess of Dreams looked none too happy.

"It seems you are late."

"I have children to take care of, thank you very much."

"Ah yes, the half-human half-Equestrian children." Bastille looked over at Tyr. "Tell me: were they born with wings? Horns? Unusual strength?"

He was rewarded with a dark scowl from Tyr. "I don't think that is any of your business," He said softly.

"I suppose not."

"So why are you here?" Celestia asked. She was rapidly tiring of this man's presence, and she hoped the tone of voice conveyed that. "Are you simply here to insult me and my sister?"

"I'm here to let you know we will not sit idly by while threats like you roam our streets," Bastille said, stepping forward. "We will be watching, and one mistake will have us come down on your heads."

There was a soft noise as Tyr's phone buzzed. "Who is it?" Grace asked him as he turned away to answer it. There was a bit of surprise as he lifted it to his ear.

"Lyra?" He murmured quietly, Celestia and Bastille's heated stare down taking backseat to the call. The lyrist's voice was panicked.

"We need you to come here now!"

"What? What's going on?"

"The people at the club we were playing at… there was a crowd outside, and Octavia and Sweetie Bell are hurt—"

"…Sweetie Bell's with you?"

"Vi asked her to sing for us when we performed today, and she—ah!"

"Lyra? Lyra!" Tyr's panic had caught the attention of those around him, and now a crowd of eyes were focused on him.

"Please, hurry! We're at the Sweet Dream, and Tavi's bleeding bad!"

"Moon—" Tyr began, turning to his wife. She was already shaking her head, a smile on her face.

"Just go, beloved. Grace will watch over me," She said, adding a glance over at the redhead. The other Lunar Knight nodded.

Tyr quickly rushed back outside, getting clear of the building before letting his internal map come to the forefront of his mind. Alongside his daughter, Tyr had been learning advanced spells to use. Teleportation was still out of the question, as the last time he had used it he had ended up a mile out of town. But he could still do what he liked to call 'Switching'.

He felt the prickling feeling as his magic coursed through his muscles, priming them for what they were about to do. He had a clear image of the path he needed to take, and all that was left was the execution. To anyone else, it looked like he teleported, vanishing into digital smoke. But in actuality, Tyr created a construct of himself at the location he wanted and instantly switched places with it. The construct itself vanished upon the transfer, leaving Tyr standing between two confused women and a medium sized angry mob. Perfect placement, he thought with a smirk. "Tyr!" Lyra exclaimed, her shock at his sudden arrival apparent. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I've learned a few tricks," He replied evenly, looking over at her. Lyra and Vinyl were the only two unharmed. He noticed Octavia leaned up against the wall beside the DJ, her head bleeding from a gash along the side of her head. Sweetie Bell was between them, clutching at a cut on her arm. There was fear in her eyes at the unwarranted violence from the crowd. Tyr turned to face the crowd. To his surprise, there was fear in their eyes alongside the anger. He narrowed his eyes. "What's going on here?"

"Move out of the way!" One of the gathered people yelled. "They're dangerous!"

Another voice agreed. "Yeah! We can't be safe with them here!"

Tyr frowned. "You know you're the ones who attacked them," he pointed out. "They haven't done anything to you."

"We have to act first or they'll take us by surprise!" Another voice claimed.

Tyr opened his mouth to reply, but a sight from above distracted him. It was smoke. "…A fire?"

"It's the Equestrians! They're attacking!"

Tyr didn't have time to see who had spoken, as a cascade of thrown objects rained down on him and the group of girls, from bottles to stones to other objects. Lyra cried out as one rock hit her in the head, drawing blood. With just a thought, Tyr covered them all in his Turtle formation, the silver shields absorbing the rain of objects. "Stop this!" Tyr roared over the noise. "These girls haven't done anything to you!"

"That doesn't mean they won't!"

"There's no getting through to these people," Tyr murmured with a scowl.

"What do we do?" Sweetie Bell asked shakily moving over to cling to Tyr's side. "Are they gonna kill us?"

"Not if I can help it," Tyr replied shortly. "Vinyl, Lyra, get Octavia up onto my back. I'm getting you girls out of here."

"You sure about this dude?" Vinyl asked, moving to lift the unconscious musician up.

"I'm not going to abandon you guys. Come on."

The two women lifted their friend up onto his back, careful to keep her from hurting her any more. "How are we going to do this?" Lyra asked.

"Just stay close. We're going to my house. Testudo!"

The silver warriors formed a box shaped defensive shape, shields still held to defend from all sides. The girls crowded around Tyr as he began to walk, his constructs following along. Nothing thrown by the crowd touched them, and after a little ways they gave up altogether. Tyr kept up the formation until they were in sight of his home. "We made it," Lyra said, relief flooding her voice. "Thank Celestia you came, Tyr."

"Don't mention it. Chrissy!"

Chrys peeked out of a window, shock on her face. She flew down immediately. "Master! I was not expecting you home for some time!"

"Take them inside," Tyr ordered immediately, not taking any time to explain to his somewhat confused Changeling. He glanced back towards town, seeing more plumes of smoke rising as the town he lived in tore itself apart. "This is ridiculous…"

"What is happening out there?"

"Someone has put an idea into everyone's head that Equestrians are an immediate threat to their safety," Tyr said darkly, adjusting the strap that held Fenrir to his back. The Pack was lively, the scent of blood on the air. "And now they're trying to take matters into their own hands."

"Where is Luna? With her sister, I presume?"

Tyr nodded. "I'm going back out there. There are people in danger."

"Ever the valorous knight," Chrys teased, opening the front door and letting Lyra and Vinyl carry Octavia inside. She glanced back at him. "…hold a moment."

"What?"

She crossed the space between them and rested her forehead against his. "Come back alive, my Master."

Tyr couldn't help but smile. "Of course, my dear Chrysalis. Take care of them, alright?"

"Your will be done."

Tyr Switched away then, leaving the Changeling standing there with a small smile on her face.

He popped up in an alleyway around the corner from the town mall. The riots were pushing up along the streets, and to his horror, Tyr could see the bodies of killed Equestrians along the sidewalks. How had everything deteriorated so quickly? Not just a few days ago, everyone in town was living together peacefully. And now it was almost a small scale war on the streets, with the Equestrians on the wrong end of misguided fear and anger from the humans. He watched the crowd move past, only to hear a familiar voice cry out. "Hey you losers! Hands off me!"

"Rainbow Dash?" Tyr murmured in surprise, moving slightly around the corner for a better look. It was indeed his brash friend, struggling against a small group of people. She looked ready to fight, but the numbers were quickly turning against her and her struggle as more people rushed over to take down the Element of Loyalty. As he watched, one of the men tore her jacket away from her and looked fully prepared to do more. Tyr didn't hesitate, instead letting Fenrir loose of her sheath. The wolf spirit flowed into existence seamlessly, her pack of spirit wolves forming alongside her. Tyr gave one order. "Disperse them."

The pack of wolves let out a howl and charged out into the street. The people nearest to them screamed in terror and ran, but those further away simply turned in confusion. The found Tyr coming out of the alleyway, Fenrir in her massive wolf form following him while the vast wolf pack surged from behind them. The few armed people fought back, trying to knock aside the wolves that reached them. Tyr made a beeline for the men holding Rainbow down. The light of his necklace glowed a bright blue as he leapt into the group, scattering them. He lashed out with one arm, catching another of the men with the back of his hand. The other men in the ground were brought low by Fenrir and a group of wolves. Fangs, claws, and howls marked the death of those humans as Tyr's fury was transmitted to the pack. Amidst the chaos, Tyr pulled Rainbow to her feet. "You alright?" He asked as Fenrir and the wolves chased the last of the humans away.

Rainbow was quiet for a bit, retrieving her jacket and slowly putting it back on. She winced a bit, and Tyr noticed the bruises along her arms. They must have been really rough with her, he figured. "I've been better," She said quietly, massaging one sore arm.

"…Let me see." Tyr moved over to her and took her arm in his hands, moving her sleeve up to see. There were a few cuts along her arm that she obviously didn't want him to see. As if to further reinforce that fact, she jerked her arm away.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Tyr glanced over and saw the fallen body of a human man nearby. He went over and tore a couple strips of fabric from the man's sleeves. "Give me your arm."

"I don't need any—"

"Give. Me. Your. Arm."

She stared at him for a long moment, inwardly deciding on whether or not she should give in. But Tyr's gaze was firm, and she finally lifted up her wounded arm. Tyr quickly tied the fabric around her cuts. "…Thanks," She murmured after a moment.

Tyr smirked. "You gotta let your friends help you out, Rainbow. That's how we get through this."

"…You know, I didn't like you at first."

He glanced up at her. "…Oh?"

"Yeah. Thought you were just some guy who really wanted to get into Princess Luna's pants. But you know, you've really proven yourself."

"Glad I could get your approval," Tyr said with a small smirk.

"No, I'm serious. I'm… I'm glad you're on our side, Tyr."

The dark skinned man smiled. "Meeting you all changed my life, Rainbow. All of you are important to me, so I'm sure as hell going to protect you girls."

The rainbow haired girl stared at him for a long moment, watching him finish tying the cloth to her arm. The way he acted was almost like he was embodying the very Element she claimed as hers. Almost without knowing it, she smiled. Tyr was actually someone she was glad to have become friends with. Rainbow chuckled. "…Thanks Tyr. We really should hang out more. I mean it."

"I won't argue with that," Tyr replied with a laugh of his own. "Maybe once all of this is over, we should go riding."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "On your bike? Just you and me?"

"I was told once by my grandfather that in order to have good relationships with your friends, you gotta spend time with them. And the most important ones? Spend one on one time."

[Alpha] Fenrir strode over, blood in her coat that was obviously not hers. [We have scattered the crowds as you wished. Anything further?]

"She can talk like that?" Rainbow asked, confused. She could hear the thought-speak Fenrir used in her wolf form. Tyr simply nodded as an answer to her question.

"Keep pushing them out, and keep the Equestrians safe," He said.

"Wait a second," Rainbow said, holding up her uninjured hand. "Those people have nowhere to go. This just keeps going until they've gotten us all."

"One of those moments I wish I had a bigger castle," Tyr murmured to himself. He thought for a moment. Rainbow had a point—this riot was going to continue until one of the two sides was wiped out. The only feasible safe place for the Equestrians was his castle, since it was by nature alone a defensive position. But there was no way he'd get every Equestrian in there… "Well, I'll have to try. Rainbow, you good to fly?"

He was answered by a cocky grin and a pair of sky blue wings spreading out from the woman's back. "You better believe it!"

"Find every Pegasus you can and get the word out to every Equestrian that they need to get to the castle."

[Alpha, your new home is large, but not large enough to house that many people] Fenrir warned.

"We fit as many as we can," Tyr asserted. "Keep the Pack on the hunt. Try not to kill that many."

[Aw, that's no fun]

"Just do it, please?"

[As you wish.] With a single bark to call the Pack back to her, Fenrir went charging off into the city. Tyr didn't think too much of it—Fenrir would do what he asked of her, no questions asked. A soft noise to his side signaled Rainbow Dash taking off, the usual rainbow streak trailing behind her as she flew away. Tyr let out a deep breath, and pushed on into the city. As he made his way onto a side street, he came face to face with Big Mac and Cheerilee.

"Tyr!" The school teacher exclaimed, blinking in surprise. Even the large man seemed a bit shocked to see him.

"What are you two doing here?" Tyr asked, looking between them. They were the last people he expected to run into at a time like this.

"Big Mac was helping me with some heavy lifting," Cheerilee explained, frowning. "What is the name of the Princesses is going on?"

Tyr turned to the big man. "Mac, you remember where my house is—well, where the castle is, right?"

Big Mac nodded slightly. "Eeyup."

"Take Cheerilee there. Get anyone else you see there as well."

The farmer simply nodded and gently started pushing Cheerilee away. She was still confused, but Tyr was glad for the understanding from the other man. That was one less worry on his mind—

"Found you."

Just as Big Mac and Cheerilee left, Tyr heard the voice address him. He turned just in time for a pneumatic metal fist to hit him right in the jaw and send him flying. He curled up as best he could before he struck a nearby wall, but he felt the impact rattle almost every bone in his arm. Once he hit the ground, he sat up, searching for his attacker. It was none other than the soldier Tyr had faced down not even the other day. Nanna's bodyguard. From the look of it, he was wearing a heavier variant of the exo-suits he had seen before. "You," He hissed, getting back to his feet.

"Not so tough at close range, are ya?" The man asked, flexing his arms. The servos in the exo-suit whirred as they adjusted for his augmented strength. Tyr spat on the ground and stood back up. His jaw hurt, and he worked it around with his hand. Glad he hadn't bit his tongue or anything.

"Talk to me when you're not wearing the metal harness," He countered. The soldier simply grinned and charged forward. Tyr dived aside as the mechanically enhanced soldier smashed into the wall he had just been backed up against. The wall gave, and dust flooded the narrow street as the side of the building buckled under the impact. Tyr frowned. Why was he getting all the big, tough guys?

He elected to run, sprinting away down the street. The augmented warrior stormed after him, screaming curses the whole way. He heard the click of a weapon behind him, and threw himself against the wall in time to avoid a stutter of bullets rattle across the ground. He risked a glance behind him to see his attacker aiming a bullpup rifle at him. Wonderful. "Stay still!"

"Not gonna make this easy for you," Tyr spat back, ducking around a corner. He heard the growl of irritation from the augmented soldier as the chase began anew. He wanted to try Switching out, but he had to be still and focused for it to work properly. Sprinting around with a metal giant on his heels was definitely not optimal. So he kept running, making sharp turns to avoid staying in line of fire for too long. But the side streets and alleys would only hold up for so long, and he slowed to a stop in the middle of a wide open square. He heard the plodding steps of the soldier behind him. He turned to face him.

"Can't run away anymore, can ya?" The soldier said with a grin, raising his gun. "Couldn't hide forever, huh?"

Tyr was silent for a moment. The sun was beginning to set, and a gentle darkness was beginning to fall over them. The fires over the small city obscured the sky, and the red light gave everything a dark feel to it. "They didn't teach you anything, did they?"

The rifle barrel lowered just an inch. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You should never fight a sniper on his terms," Tyr pointed out. The soldier frowned, but then he realized where they were. Standing smack dab in the middle of a pack of silver wolves, all of them were snarling at the threat to their Alpha.

"What the hell…?" He murmured, looking around. He stared back at Tyr. "All that running…?"

"To buy time for the Pack to catch up," Tyr said. Off to his right, Fenrir approached, shifting into her small form to climb onto his shoulder.

"You should know better than to chase an uninjured wolf," the wolf spirit said with a toothy grin. "Get him!"

The wolves charged forward. The augmented soldier tried to shoot, but a wolf chomped down on his arm, weight bringing the line of bullets into the ground. To his credit, the armored soldier fought hard to get free, flinging wolves aside like pieces of wood. "He's awfully persistent," Tyr pointed out. Even as the soldier fought, the continued attacks from the wolves began to wear at him.

"Then let's finish it," Fenrir growled playfully, changing once more. However, the weapon in Tyr's hands was a bit different this time. The armored soldier found out the hard way when a great hammer pulverized his skull.

-x-

"I can't believe this is happening," Celestia murmured, looking out the window of the car. Flash was driving her, Luna, Grace and Ace back to Tyr's home, taking back streets to avoid the majority of the chaos. She gently rested her hand against the window. "All that work… for nothing."

"It's not your fault, sister," Luna assured her, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "You could not have accounted for these people's paranoia."

"Would it be any different in Equestria?" Ace asked. "If suddenly a bunch of the humans appeared in our world, would we have been any less wary of them?"

"I would hope not," Celestia said after a moment of thought. "But we may never know."

"For now, we just need to get to safety," Flash said. "I'm thinking Tyr and Luna's castle."

"It is a castle after all," Ace agreed.

"It shouldn't take long for us to get there—" He was cut off by a black van screeching to a halt in front of them, forcing him to brake suddenly. "Oh, damn."

"What's going on?" Luna asked, craning her neck to see. Before she could look, Grace had a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down to the seat. "Grace!"

"Stay down, Princess," Grace said, eyes glued to the van in front of them. Ace and Flash were already ready to move, hands in the door handles. The van's side door slid open, and several armed men in black tactical gear jumped out. Rifles raised up and pointed at the car.

"Out of the car!"

"Grace?" Ace murmured.

"On it," The redhead said, magic gathering. Everyone else in the car ducked down. The soldiers paused in confusion for a moment before a rippling barrage of needles ripped through the front window and into the gathered soldiers. They were turned into porcupines before they even knew what was happening.

"Oh my," Celestia murmured, looking over the fallen men in front of them. "That was… impressive, Grace."

"I've been practicing my aim," Grace said, using her magic to retrieve all her needles. She let them file back into her pouch. Luna noticed a new addition to her knight's armaments—a holster was attached to her thigh that contained several slender throwing knives. She must have been training with those as well. As if to punctuate the thought, one last man came around the other side of the van, somehow surviving the onslaught of needles. Before Flash or Ace could react, Grace had pulled one of her throwing knives free and threw it at him, hitting the man in the chest before he could even fire his weapon. He went down cold. The others stared in mute shock.

"No kidding," Ace murmured.

"We need to move that van," Flash said, only to have the van lift up in a golden glow and slide off to the side. "…Oh, right."

"Shall we go?" Celestia asked with a small smile.

"Gladly." Flash nudged the car through the narrow path and out onto the main street. But their trouble was far from over. Several more vans raced into the street, and suddenly they were surrounded. Flash sighed. "Buck me."

"Later," Ace said, pushing his way out of the car. Flash did the same, shooting his friend a dirty look. Grace got out of the car alongside Princess Celestia and Luna. The vans surrounding them expelled their contents, and before long, they were surrounded.

"This isn't good at all," Celestia murmured, looking around. One of the passenger doors on the nearest van opened, and out stepped Bastille, a smug smile on his face.

"Ah, Princess. Glad we caught up to you! I didn't think I'd catch you."

"Bastille," Celestia said, eyes narrowing. "What is this all about?"

"You and your sister, obviously. You really thought I was here to debate with you?"

"I assumed as much," Luna snapped. "And now you're here to kill us."

"Kill you? Far from it. We want to study you, figure out how your magic works. And we can't do that if you're dead."

"You won't even get the chance," Ace growled, reaching for his blade. Bastille gave him just the smallest of glances.

"We don't need the other three. Kill them."

"I will not stand here while you threaten my people," Celestia said. Luna moved up beside her, her intention to stand alongside her sister apparent. Bastille's smile turned into a frown. He let out a deep sigh, shaking his head.

"Then we can always examine your corpse—"

"Oi! What the hell are you idiots doing outside my shop?" Vanna demanded, coming out of the front door of his shop. He looked around at the scene before him, his irritation giving way to confusion. "…What in the name of Vulcan is this?"

"Vanna!" Grace called out in warning. Her outcry caught everyone off guard, and a single gunshot rang out.

"Oh no," Luna whispered, watching in almost slow motion as the bullet impacted Grace directly in the chest. The shock appeared briefly on the woman's face as she fell backwards to the ground. Luna rushed to her knight's side. "Grace!"

"Oh, Buck!" Ace hissed.

"Who shot!?" Bastille demanded, turning around and looking over his men. The one who had done the deed looked shocked, most likely simply caught off guard. Bastille stormed over to him and pushed the smoking gun down. "You idiot! What if you had hit the princesses?"

He didn't get a chance to defend himself, before a deep, guttural growl caught everyone's attention. It was coming from Vanna, the metalsmith's eyes full of a dark, fiery rage. Celestia and her entourage looked surprised. They had never seen any sort of anger from the usually amiable metal worker, and this fury… looked feral. Vanna's eyes narrowed. "…You shot Grace, you BASTARD!"

A roar ripped itself from the crossdresser's mouth, and he burst into flames. The suddenness of the conflagration left everyone shocked. "By the Night…!" Luna whispered, horrified. The gathered people in the street watched as the flames grew, many of them backing up as the heat got to them. The flames grew higher, and suddenly a pair of golden eyes peered out from the flames. As they watched in horror, a dragon of immense size emerged from the flames, dark bronze scales glittering in the firelight.

"By the sun and sky," Flash whispered in horror. "That's… that's…"

Ace finished his sentence for him. "…That's a dragon."

"Vanna… was a dragon?" Celestia murmured, watching the massive beast eye the assembled people below. "Or rather, is a dragon…"

"What do we do?" Luna asked, but her question was answered by the assembled soldiers.

"Shoot it!" Someone cried, and a cacophony of noise erupted as the gathered soldiers fired their weapons up at the dragon. However, to their immediate dismay, the bullets simply ricocheted off the beast's steel-like scales. All their attack did was to bring the dragon's ire down on them. With just a movement of its head, flames poured down over the men who stayed in place, incinerating half of them with one blast. The rest began to flee.

"Stand and fight, you fools!" Bastille cried, drawing his sword. Celestia found her eyes drawn to it, noticing a peculiar aura of magic surrounding it. But before she could place it, the man was violently batted aside like a ragdoll by one massive claw. He slid to a stop against a far wall. He didn't get back up.

The dragon then turned its attention back to the small group of Equestrians. They backed up just a step, only Luna holding her spot beside Grace. She looked up as the man-turned-dragon loomed over her. The beast opened its mouth to breathe flames down on her, but before it could do so, a giant silver stone smashed into its side. Frustrated by the distraction, the beast turned its head. It came face to face with Tyr, the man standing in front of a massive silver trebuchet. "Am I late?" He asked.

"Tyr!" Luna exclaimed, but was unable to say anything further as the dragon charged towards the silver eyed man. Tyr held his ground, the catapult behind him vanishing and the argent light forming into a squad of six warriors. Unlike his usual army based units, each of the six constructs was different, specialized even. One was an archer wielding a longbow, with a second being a crossbowman. One was clad in heavy armor and wielded a great axe. Two more were carrying spears, and the last was using twin swords. "What are those…?"

"Never thought I'd be using this Formation," Tyr said with a smirk. "But here it is—Engaging Dragon Slayer Formation!"

He leapt forward, followed by his knight construct. They ducked under the strike from the dragon, slashing at its legs as they ran past. The archer and crossbowman fired from a distance, while the other three warriors began to circle around. They were keeping just outside of the sight lines of the dragon, keeping it moving around and not attacking. "He's using smaller numbers to focus them better," Flash observed.

Tyr and the faster melee construct danced around the Dragon, darting in for attacks when they could before retreating away from claw strikes. Silver arrows and bolts peppered the beast, further enraging it. Flames burst about, but the small team was too fast, too agile. The dragon lunged forward to crunch one of the spearmen, missing by a slight margin. But now the dragon's head was low enough—the opportunity he had been looking for. Using one of the other constructs as a stepping stone, he vaulted up onto the beast's back. "Fenrir! Blunt Fang!"

The sword in his hands became a great hammer, and he brought it crashing down on the dragon's head, smashing it down into the ground. The very force of the blow cracked the street below, and the dragon cried out loudly in pain. With a quick hand gesture, ropes of silver materialized at Tyr's command to pin the dragon down. After recovering from its daze, the beast began thrashing at its binds. The magical ropes boke easily, but Tyr kept replacing them as quickly as they broke, managing to match the beast in speed. But he was tiring quickly, while the dragon seemed relentless. "He can't keep it down!" Ace said. He jumped aside as the creature's tail slammed down nearby, flipping a parked car into a building. "By the sun, that thing is going to kill us at this rate!"

"We have to help him!" Luna declared, her magical aura rising. But before she could leap to her husband's aid, a noise caught her attention. A cough.

"By Celestia and Luna, bullets hurt," Grace moaned softly. Everyone nearby turned to look at her. The red haired woman was slowly rising, a small object falling off of her. It was a small, flattened bullet. On her cloak was a small hole where the bullet had hit her.

Flash was staring at her in shock. "But… That bullet…" He trailed off, eyes drawn to the hole. It was at that moment he remembered the main thing about the design for the cloaks Rarity made for the knights and the Guard: they were bullet proof. "The cloak stopped it."

"Still hurt like taking a hoof-kick from Applejack to the chest," Grace complained.

"I still want to know why everyone always uses Applejack for these comparisons," Luna pointed out.

"Worry about that later," Flash pointed out. "Tyr is still fighting that beast."

"Right, we should—" Luna looked back over and found a most peculiar sight. The dragon had ceased struggling, and it was looking directly at Grace. Taking note of the sudden attention, Grace looked back. Her blue eyes met the golden ones and a note of recognition flickered through them.

"…Vanna?" She murmured.

The dragon huffed, and burst into smoke. When the smoke receded, Tyr was standing beside a half-naked Vanna. The metalsmith was still wearing his pants, but no shirt. He looked quite sheepish. "…Sorry you lot had to see me like… that."

"You never told me about the dragon thing," Tyr said quietly, fixing his gaze on his friend.

"It never came up!" Vanna protested, turning to him. "Look mate, I've been living alone for all this time, and I never trusted anybody to carry that secret but me. You'd be surprised what pieces of a dragon go for in worlds like these."

"But you know I'd never tell!" Tyr replied. "Vanna, you're literally the first person I trusted besides my own family!"

There was silence. Everyone was staring in shock at the normally calm Tyr. Luna went over to him and gently touched his shoulder. "…Beloved?"

Tyr let out a heavy sigh. "Look… Vanna. I… I understand if it was hard to tell me. But… you're family to me man. Trust me?"

There was a small smile on the metal-smith's face. "…Of course, you big idiot."

"Although I still think you owe your girlfriend an explanation," Grace added softly.

"Heh, yeah." Vanna scratched at his head, then paused. "Wait…Girlfriend?"

"Wasn't like I was unconscious," Grace admitted, going over to him. "You turned into a dragon because of me, right?"

"I mean… I thought you were dead, flame hair." He gave her a lopsided smile. "You're the first thing I've ever had in my life that makes me heat up."

Grace leaned in, pulling the slightly taller man into her arms for a gentle kiss. "I'll do my best, Goldie."

Vanna rolled his eyes. "Oh, Vulcan's Flame, now she has a nickname for me…"

"We should be moving," Flash said quickly. "Before any of the mobs reach us."

"Yeah…" Tyr smirked, glancing over at Vanna and Grace. "You two can make out once we're back at my house."

Vanna shot him a dark look. "Yeah, and save the whole rope trick for Luna. That's not my fetish, mate."

"We only tried that once!" Luna protested, only to receive several strange looks from everyone else. After realizing what she had just admitted to, she blushed furiously and hid behind her hair. "…Oops."

Tyr face palmed. "…Let's just go."

-x-

"Why does this keep happening…?" Tyr murmured. He and the small group with him had arrived at his home quite quickly, but nothing was the same. Instead of the small castle-shaped home that previously stood there, now there was a fully sized castle complete with an inner yard, a keep, and walls studded with battlements and turrets. Chrys was waiting at the door, and she jumped up at seeing him.

"Master! You return!" She leapt into his arms happily.

"Chrissy… can you explain what is going on here?"

"I sensed your thought of a bigger castle, Master," Chrys explained. "So I communicated it to Sherry. She… made it a reality."

"But she can't simply make something out of nothing!" Luna protested.

"It's the Rubrik," Sherry answered, coming out of a small side door. She smiled. "I envisioned it, and it came to be."

"I suppose we should start calling you the Princess of Creativity," Celestia teased. Sherry blushed slightly, still quite unused to compliments from a princess.

"I don't think I'm worthy enough to be a princess," She complained as they walked inside the main yard. Equestrians lined the area, many of them rising to bow before their princesses. The shock of people getting up just to bow to them caused Sherry to open her wings in surprise. A low gasp rippled through the gathered Equestrians.

"She has wings!"

"And look, that mark on her hand!"

"She's an Alicorn too?"

"She must be a princess too!"

Equestrians began to gather around them, clamoring to see their new Princess. Sherry backed up a bit, only to run into Celestia. The Princess of the Sun simply smiled. "It is quite alright, Sherry. You achieved something that Twilight, Luna, or even myself could not do. You unlocked the secrets of the Rubrik all by yourself, and discovered what brought us here."

"But…!" Sherry began to protest, but Luna put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It is alright, my daughter," She said, giving her a wide smile. "Simply by extension, you are a Princess. You are mine and Tyr's daughter, after all."

"I… okay."

Celestia smiled warmly and turned to the crowd. "My dear subjects, events have blessed us all with a new Princess to welcome to our numbers, Sherry Spice. She is now your Princess of Creativity!"

The crowds applauded loudly. "And now she's accepted as a princess," Flash said with a frown. He and the other men stood off to one side, Vanna wearing one of Flash's extra jackets so he wouldn't be exposed to the elements. "Aren't you just the lucky man, Tyr?"

"Technically, if you and Twilight have kids, they'll be royalty too," Ace pointed out.

"I… I hadn't thought of that."

"Hey man," Tyr said with a chuckle, "I'm just lucky to have them."

"Well, now we must fight to protect them then," Fenrir pointed out, transforming and perching on Tyr's shoulder. She gazed up at the castle walls behind them. "…As uncomfortable as I am with… enclosed places, I do hope those walls hold."

"We'll have to start looking to the rest of the Equestrians for those able to fight," Ace said thoughtfully. "But arming them is another matter…"

Vanna smirked. "Sure, I can't make guns, but if you guys bring me metal, I can make anything sharp ya need."

"Given we have access to magic, we should be able to make at least decent use of it," Flash agreed. "Thanks Vanna."

"Hey, after my little display? They're probably looking for me too."

Tyr looked around. A lot of people were crowding around the three Alicorns, pleading looks in their eyes. They were scared, and they wanted their princesses to protect them. He sighed. It was going to be a long week.

No rest for the wicked, as they say. And Vanna's a dragon? Whaaaat?

Totes explains the 'hot' personality. (I apologize profusely.)

And on another note, if at any time I come off as condescending or harsh in my comment-replies, I'm not trying to be. But sometimes things must be addressed. I don't expect all my comments to be rave reviews. The eventuality is that someone will take issue with my writing.

And the Library Accepts all.

Now If you'll excuse me, I'm off to continue writing.

Pruzah Sul! (Thanks !)