Foxfire's Tail (Re-Written)

Chapters

Chapter Zero: Intro
Chapter One: Flames
Chapter Two: Awakening
Chapter Three: Cadaver
Chapter Four: Vision
Chapter Five: Answers
Chapter Six: Alone
Chapter Seven: Badlands

Chapter Zero: Intro

A re-write of the original Foxfire's Tail
Written by Dragonborne Fox and XxEpsillonxX

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be different? To see the looks on ponies you pass by as they stare in fear or in plain disgust? Well, this is a tale about a certain pony who has had a certain experience with that type of life. But how did she come to all this?

Well, her family name has had a very infamous history from the very start. Nopony knows how their family was started, but tales of fear and terror run rampant through their very name. They were a very special type of pony, but why you may ask? Well, in certain terms, they were never given names until they achieved their cutie marks. But not just that, they were different for what happened to them. When they got their marks, they changed shape and obtained different personalities. Some had happy go lucky moods, while others had a more violent change.

Where this story of woe begins is with our very special and very sad tale of the pony named Foxfire Flowerfeather.

~~~

Our tale begins on the fateful day of the young filly’s life. It seemed like any other day as she trotted en route to a large building in the center of a small village. Many other fillies and colts were headed there as well, but their eyes gleamed with malicious intent. Why, you may ask? Well, to tell the truth, this filly was in fact quite different from the others.

She stood out, a light beige coat and streaked mane of dark yellow, brown, and red. She lacked a cutie mark. The other fillies and colts looked very much identical to one another; the sole differences being gender, mane style, and eye color. They were grey in coat and mane, but this filly had bright, cheerful colors around her.

Even her eyes were much brighter than their nearly dark voids; they were like glimmering sapphires.

Their cutie marks were all the same; all other flanks within miles around shared the same old, boring dirt mound. The houses were also made of dirt, but hers was made out of wood.

One bland filly walked up to the bright, cheery pony in town and stopped her in her tracks. “You’re stupid because you don’t farm.” She hissed, eyes narrowing low.

The cheery filly retorted, “Well, you’re stupid because you don’t appreciate anything different. I’ve been here since I was around a month old; I don’t understand why you do this.”

“Lies. Nothing’s ever different.” The bland filly cut back. “You need to farm like everypony else!”

“Since when was I one for the norm? You all do the same thing and it’s just...boring.” The bright filly said before trotting to the big dirt building in town. The bland filly just scowled in irritation as the cheery pony walked on.

The cheery filly met with the eyes of a few colts that got to the large building before she did.

“Well, look. If it isn’t our favorite bitch who doesn’t have an earth pony father.” Sneered one colt.

“Unicorns need to die off.” Said another.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help being different.” The cheery filly answered as if looking for some kind of approval from these colts.

“You use bathwater, and we don’t.” Spoke a third.

“No wonder you’re all the same. That explains a lot, actually.” The cheery filly scoffed, blinking a few times.

“Bathwater is overrated.” Replied the third one.

“Why don’t you just leave this place. Everything would be so much better if you were just gone.” The first colt snorted.

“Yeah, save us the trouble of having to look at your stupid kind all the damn time.” Added the second colt.

All four began trotting inside, the colts making bad remarks the whole trip.

The cheery filly was used to most of this by now. The school ponies always teased or bullied her. She would go for help, but the teachers didn’t even bother to assist her.

“Okay class, turn to page two-twenty in your textbooks and we shall begin our next lesson.” The teacher announced blandly.

Everyday was the usual day, from being picked on, to having notes being passed around the classroom that told lies and rumors about her and sometimes the bullies did get violent on a few occassions.

“How does that feel, blank flank?” One of the colts hissed as he punched the cheery filly in her stomach, knocking her into the ground. She moaned in pain as she writhed a little on the ground. Everypony had always laughed at her and teased her for being so different. Nopony ever did realize how much pain she had felt, but they wouldn’t have cared anyway.

“Look at her! She’s crying like she always does.” Stated one of the bland fillies.

“Quit being a baby and toughen up, freak!” Yelled one of the colts.

This was the norm for most days and this usually wasn’t the worst of what they would do sometimes. Other days, the foals would get much more extreme. They brought shovels to school and repeatedly bludgeoned her with them. But what could the young filly do? She was no sort of fighter and nopony else had stepped up to help her.

Even the ones who never did really tease her were helpless, unable to even aid her in some small way. There were times when she just told herself to deal with it, but on many days she had spent crying back at her home, with her mom and dad trying to comfort her.

On many occasions, the family thought about moving out and were always prevented on two accounts: One, interracial families were often murdered and their foals, depending on their race, would be given to bad foster homes and two, they never had the money.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Her mom reassured her.

“Don’t worry. Things will turn out in the end.” Said her dad with a sad smile.

But in truth, they knew that it would never get better. They had hoped a long time ago that everything would turn out okay in the end, but nothing ever seemed to have changed for the better. The violence of the classmates--no, the village as a whole eventually rose to an intolerable level one day.

The bright filly was sitting in the back of class as always. She’d done her work and was looking at her dirt desk. She looked up and saw another pony walk into the room. He was looking right at her.

“I’m sad to say that your family has been killed in a fire. Therefore, you are now my child.” He said, trying very hard not to snicker.

But the filly saw the look in his dead eyes, the way they gleamed with ill intent. Tears began welling up, her body began trembling.

Her face contorted into a scowl worthy of a noble and blood was rushing through her veins.

“What?” She asked, growling as that word flew out of her mouth. The other foals looked at her and now noticed that something was very much different about the classroom misfit. Even the air around her radiated something not normal with her.

She rose onto her hind hooves, hitting the desk with her front ones. The other fillies gasped as her eyes began flickering very much like fire.

“Hey...what’s wrong with you, f-freak?” One of the colts uttered. Nopony seemed to have any idea that something disastrous was about to unfold before their very eyes.

“What?” She heaved again, her ears turning black as night and riddled with matching fur.

“She’s a true freak of nature!!” Shouted a bland filly accusingly, pointing a hoof at the bright foal in the back of class.

“Me...a freak? Of nature?” The bright foal laughed, a sad smile plastered onto her face as her body grew to that of an adult pony without warning. A horn was now on her forehead: mostly grey with some black on top. Fire of blue began dancing around its frame. “You want to know who the real freaks of nature are?”

The classroom was deathly silent when she spoke those words. They watched as black fur began sprouting on her legs like weeds.

“It’s all of you! You want nothing more than for me, a filly whose family isn’t like yours, than to be a farmer’s slave?” She continued, her horn crackling even brighter now.

“What...what is this thing?” One of the colts asked, a look of terror on his face.

“Calm down, at once!” Cried the guest stallion, stomping his hoof in anger.

“I ain’t spreading my hind legs for you, pervert. Nor am I having your disgusting children!” The filly laughed, her mane becoming one color and one color only: a dark scarlet brown, a few tints away from the color of blood. No longer was this the bright young filly the bullies selected as their daily target.

This was their impending doom given form. “Now.” She silently murmured. “Let’s see how you all like it!” She screamed at the top of her lungs as feathered wings decorated with light grey and black feathers spread from her back.

“An….an alicorn?! I-impossible…!” Cried one filly as she bounded out the room in a frenzy.

Soon the whole class was in a panicked uproar as they pushed and shoved each other, trying to get out as fast as they could. The morphing foal’s beige coat was replaced by crimson fur with a grey underbelly. Her tail was long, red, and bushy; ending in a grey tip. Her hooves, though masked, were grey in color, and adorning her flanks was a strange mask.

The entire building--and, indeed, the rest of the small village--was lit ablaze in a vivid blue flare, the dirt falling apart and making impromptu gravesites as the fire ravaged on. The villagers hurried out, but not all of them escaped the fiery blaze as it scorched and burned those who weren’t fast enough. Screams of pain, fear and terror echoed into the night, and the villagers who did escape had vanished the next day. The fire raged on for some time until Pegasus ponies brought rainclouds to douse it out.

One mare was tasked with finding out what it was that caused the blaze to begin with.

All she was able to find was a black feather and a series of hoofprints leading away from the burnt plantation. The only other thing the mare was able to find were two crosses in a pile of ashes, held together with ropes. When she looked closely at it, she noticed that there were carvings in it. It read: The only ponies that had ever cared for me.

It was cryptic, yet sad. Looking out into the distance, she could’ve sworn she heard shrieks of pain echoing in the charred landscape.

Chapter One: Flames

“So, how does it feel?” The once bright filly--now, full grown mare--asked. She was glaring at some of her old classmates. Her voice was muffled by the mask she wore, which looked like the one for her cutie mark.

“Wh...why are you doing this to us?” Asked one of the fillies. Her voice was shaking from the horror she and the others witnessed.

“Y...yeah. What did we ever do to you?” Pleaded one of the colts. All five of them were shaking on the ground....terrified by what had them pinned there to begin with.

“Are you serious? You're asking me why I’m doing this. Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m getting all of you back for the amount of pain you all caused to me. Everything from the name calling, to having to me pushed around and beat up each and every single day. But you know what? Let’s let bygones be bygones, right?” She added with a subtle hint of mischief. “After all, you won’t be around long enough to be a nuisance to me anymore.”

“Y-you lie!” Shouted another colt, his eyes wide like they had been taped that way.

The alicorn looked at him, eyes still aglow with fury behind the mask she wore. She wanted to laugh at him for that stupid remark. “Then what explains the shovels you brought every other day?” She retorted, her body bathed in blue flames which obscured her appearance. She looked like a fiend from the pits of Tartarus now. All they could see of her face was the mask itself; even her horn was writhed in fire.

“I-I never did that! That was somepony else!” The colt hissed, squirming to get out of the fiery grip that held him by the flanks.

The blazing fiend thought it over for a moment. “Oh, that’s right!” She exclaimed, a malicious twist to her words present. “You all look the same!”

The colt shook with a newfound fear. The….demon was in fact right; he and his classmates looked the same.

“Stop right there! I will not tolerate this behaviour!” Shouted a deep voice as the beast craned her head to the east. It was the same stallion who first delivered the horrid news to the alicorn.

She scoffed as the rest of her classmates began to panic while they were roasted alive. She let them go to allow her horrible flames to do their work.

“I said I will not tolerate this behaviour!” The stallion repeated. The beast couldn’t help but notice a swinging, filthy, black mass settled in front of his rear legs.

“....Turns out my suspicions weren’t unfounded.” She sighed, spreading her blazing wings of fire.

“What suspicions? There are none to be had.” The stallion hissed, rearing up on his hind legs and further showing off his odd, uncleaned extension.

“Lies.” The fiend scoffed. “You know damn well what it is I speak of.”

For a moment, the only sound was the crackle of flames. A silent wind blew past, but it could not remove the thick smoke above or the flames surrounding the filly’s body.

“Just be a good filly and stop these destructive shenanigans of yours.” The stallion said, and in that same instant, found himself implanted back-first into the ground. A pair of blazing hooves, now a vivid crimson, were planted on his chest.

“A meaningless effort; one who knows nothing can understand nothing.” The filly hissed, the mask on her face darkening as if contrasting the very pyre that surrounded it.

The stallion’s eyes widened, seeing naught but a void in the holes of the mask. He looked around him, seeing flames of teal dance around himself and her. A spire of flame shot upwards, swirling around like a vortex heralding the arrival of divine wrath.

The flames spread in the smoke above, lighting the skies with a vivid array of glowing colors. The beast backed off, calling forth chains to hold the pony in place. She then rose onto her hind hooves with wings spread wide. Her tail sped like a rocket towards the stallion’s member and wrapped around it thrice.

“W-what are you doing?!” The stallion pleaded as the tail then wrapped around his hind legs.

“Doing the world a favor!” The beast answered, her tail tightening and tugging at the member with quick movements. She then jerked her entire body back with a flap of her fiendish wings, and the stallion screamed as his member and body became two separate entities. The wound, gushing blood, was then violated as the tip of the tail was shoved in the hole of the sheath.

The rest of the tail went in, and the stallion was screaming until the tip of the appendage burst through his throat. His eyes went glassy as the spiraling flames around and above suddenly rushed at the cadaver and burned him to ashes.

By now, the Pegasi who had brought the rainclouds were hovering far above the macabre sight. The beast looked up and scowled as the flames on her body receded away. She began to run as fast as she could away from the site of hellish terror.

The flying ponies followed overhead, causing the beast to run faster. Her magical storm had drained her horn dry, and she could not do anything about it except for flee.

Soon, after an eternity of running, the beast fell onto her side and the painful effects of abusing her adrenaline and oxygen kicked in. She was gasping for breath, her vision was blurry, and her horn felt like it was being torn off.

The ponies above swooped down onto the ashy ground, and all eyes were wide in shock. The thing laying before them was unlike that which they’ve ever seen before.

“Oh my Celestia...it’s an alicorn.” Said a male voice, blurred and distorted in said alicorn’s ears.

“Are you sure she’s an alicorn? I mean, look at the way she appears.” Said another.

“Yeah, look at that horn, and see those wings? She must be one.” Replied the first.

“Why is she...many colors at once? Surely, she isn’t normal.” Spoke a female voice.

“Yeah, just look at her legs. Not many ponies I know have that much fur down there.” Said the first male.

“And the tail. This mare looks like a Frankenpony.” Said the female.

“The cutie mark. I think it says it all.” The second male sighed.

“Seriously? They think I look weird? Why does everypony have to look the same?!“ The alicorn thought as tiredness took hold of her and dragged her into the realm of sleep.

“All I see is a criminal who needs to be detained.” Angrily stated the second male.

“True. What she did was inexcusable.” Said the first male.

“We need to tie her up and go get the Royal Guards.” Said the female, and the other two agreed as they produced ropes from saddlebags and tied the misfit alicorn up. They then flew off hastily to find help.

Chapter Two: Awakening

The alicorn opened her eyes, her body still aching with pain. All around her, nothing but darkness was there. There was something distinctly cold on her hooves and neck, but what that was she couldn’t make out.

She blinked again, something holding her wings in place when she tried moving them. Then, her headache came rushing back. The place was damp and the air reeked with mold.

Then, a blinding light hit her senses like a brick thrown right at her face. She looked up, making out three silhouettes in what she assumed to have been the doorway.

The alicorn groaned in pain and looked at her legs. Her heart stopped in her throat as she saw what it was that had bound her.

Chains.

She looked around, seeing that the room she was in was made of white, fluffy material much like that of cotton.

“Looks like somepony’s awake.” Said one of the silhouettes as it descended into the room. It was a pegasus stallion with a white coat, green mane, and silver eyes.

The alicorn looked at the stallion as she tried to speak, only to find her trap chained shut.

“The Royal Guards of Celestia’s divine grace have found you guilty and have sentenced you to be made a public spectacle in utmost humiliation.” Said the silver-eyed stallion, sticking his hoof in the alicorn’s face.

The alicorn struggled in rage as she tried to break free from her chains. “Buddy, you are so fucking lucky right now, or else I would have turned you to ashes by now.” She thought to herself.

He chuckled at her pitiful attempts to break free.

“You were...an earth pony born to an earth pony and unicorn, am I right?” Asked the second silhouette, descending down and revealing a pelt of blue, mane of orange, and eyes of brown.

The alicorn could only nod.

“We needn’t be hasty with her,” Said the third silhouette, coming down to reveal a pink pelt, blue mane, and eyes of yellow. “Keep in mind this monster is an alicorn.”

“I already placed the cap on her.” Shrugged the first stallion with a chuckle. “Besides, what is she going to do to us chained up like this?”

“You never underestimate an alicorn. Even if she is in a predicament like this, you can’t expect her to give up so easily.” Replied the third pegasus.

The alicorn grunted as she pulled harder against her chains. “Now why are you in such a hurry to go, after all those chains of yours there are made from some of the finest steel and metal around. There’s no way you're going to break out of those any time soon.”

“OH yeah! Well just you wait. I’ll get out of this hellhole sooner or later, and you're going to regret this you bastards!” She wished she could just yell at them, but the stupid muzzle she had on kept her from speaking to them.

“Ahh look, she’s mad. Well too bad you freak, you're not going anywhere after you caused all that destruction.” Said the second pegasus.

“But why would she have done such a thing?” Asked the third pegasus.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was because I was paying back some of the assholes who kept kicking me around like I was their play toy. Maybe I just wanted to be done with them.”

“Well, whatever the agenda, it doesn’t look good the way she attacked all the citizens. She’s definitely one not to be reckoned with.”

“Let’s get out of here, after all we should leave princess here to calm down.” Stated the first pegasus.

They walked back out the door and slammed it shut, leaving the alicorn trapped in the dark prison room. The anger in which she felt was just as bad as when she took it out on her classmates. “Oh...they are going to regret the day for putting me in this place.” She then tugged at the chains with all of her strength, but the power she had before seemed to have diminished now. “What the hell! I was ten times stronger than this. Why is this even happening?”

For all she knew, the world was basically out to get her, screwing her over one way or another as she was now trapped in a prison cell. She tried to call out to her magic, but an intense pain racked her body. Not only was it from the lack of energy she had, but the pegasi seemed to have placed some metallic object on her horn as she looked up. “Well that’s just fuckin’ great! Not only am I restrained to this fluffy wall, I also can’t use any of my powers. Wonderful, just simply wonderful!”

She sighed and hung her head down, wondering how she would ever get out of this predicament. “Could I change back? I mean, I know I haven’t tried yet but could I? ...Wait a minute! How did I even change in the first place?!” All she remembered was the rage she had within the first few moments of the metamorphosis she went through and thought that if she changed into whatever she was, then maybe she could hopefully change back.

But try as she did, she could not seem to reverse her transformation. “Well this is just great! Not only am I stuck in this new form of mine, but I’m about to be paraded around like some kid’s trophy. No way! Not going to happen!”

“Hey! Quiet down the racket in there. Some of us are trying to get a little shut eye around here.” One of the guards said outside her room.

“Are they seriously just sleeping outside? What kind of guard sleeps on his job? Apparently, the lazy kind of course.”

She began to struggle once more, but after five minutes of pointlessly trying to break away from her chains, she gave up. “Oh sweet Celestia. ...This is going to be one long day.”

~~~

The afternoon sun was high in the sky, lighting up the world before it, as a pony looked out her balcony. She could feel the remnants of some very powerful energy source, but something about it didn’t feel right. The negative feeling coming from said source was strong, but she couldn’t imagine what it could be out there.

“Your highness.” A pegasus stated, walking in through her doors and bowing down before her. “I have a message from the city of Cloudsdale.”

“Greetings, my little pony. What news have you brought me?” The pony asked, curious to why a messenger would barge into her room like that.

“Your Majesty, the guards of Cloudsdale have reportedly captured an...alicorn from what they’ve described.”

The pony was stunned to hear the news. “ A new alicorn? But when has such one new pony even been born?” Alicorns were such a rare species as she recalled. There were only three she knew of, and that was her sister and niece.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You are dismissed.”

The pegasus bowed and trotted out her room, leaving the pony to ponder about this new alicorn. From what she knew, alicorns who were new to this world, were sometimes very skittish around new ponies. A nervous and scared alicorn was a very dangerous being, even for a princess like herself. They were the combination of a unicorn’s magical strength, pegasus’s speed and agility along with the ability to fly, and an earth pony’s strength and endurance.

“This is a matter of the utmost importance. I shall have to get my sister.”

~~~

The sound of snoring was all that was heard inside the room where the alicorn was currently held. She decided that if she were to stay awhile, she might as well get some well needed shuteye. That peaceful sleep however was interrupted when she faintly heard the door open and noticed one of the guards walk in with an object in his hoof.

She glared as he came closer. “Well if it isn’t our special guest. Hope you got some sleep, because you’ve got special guests arriving here soon.”

She growled at him, struggling at her chains once more. The guard laughed and then said, “It seems you still got some spirit left in you. You know, I do have to admit, you got some will in yah. Too bad that will be taken away when the Princesses get done with you.”

She then slowly raised her tail up and the grey tip shifted into the shape of a bird’s talon. The first and third fingers went down, leaving the middle claw standing upright.

Although that gesture was pretty foul, the guard couldn’t help but laugh. “You certainly got guts to do something like that.” He turned the other way only some and then brought his hoof right into her gut, knocking the breath out of her. “It’s also not wise to do that towards a guard, better remember that the next time.” He hissed with anger and stormed out the room, slamming the door as he went out.

The alicorn gasped for air as she tried to gain her breath back. “Oh, that motherfucker! He thinks that he can get away with that!? I am going to rip his wings off when I get out of here!” She thought angrily, slowly breathing like normal.

She calmed down and began to think. “Now...how do I get out of this hellhole? I can’t pull the chains out, already tried that. Can’t use any magic, after all that shit hurts everytime I’ve tried. Is there anything that can at least loosen one of these bonds?”

She slowly looked around in the dark, seeing if there was anything she could use to her advantage, but nothing seemed to look like it would work. “Oh damn it all to Tartarus! Is there anything that could even…”

She paused as she felt something furry swinging behind her legs. “Oh right, I forgot about my tail.” She then raised her tail up to her right leg chain and inserted it into the keyhole. She played around with it for a moment and heard the click sound. The chain came loose and fell down. She moved her right foreleg around, getting the blood rushing back into her fuzz-covered hoof. She then raised it up to the ring on her horn and slowly removed it, careful not to make another sound.

“Well, now that the damn ring is off my horn, I think it’s time I removed this muzzle.” She raised her right hoof and took out the buttons and chains that kept it closed. She then lifted it off with her magic and sighed with relief. “Now...that’s more like it.” She quietly whispered to herself.

She then focused her magic on the left foreleg, wing, and two rearleg chains and, slowly but surely, unlocked each chain. She soon came down and gasped slowly for air. Her magic was still weak and she didn’t know how it still was. “Okay...I was pretty sure that I rested for quite a while. How come my magic is still not fully functional?”

She did feel rather weak still. But how was she supposed to regain her strength when she didn’t know how to even work her new body? She looked at the door and took a quick peek outside the room. There, sleeping in the chair was one of the pegasus guards, snoring loudly. “I swear. These ponies wouldn’t know if a burglar was robbing a store and he came out crashing through the glass.”

She slowly opened the door and tiptoed out. When she rounded a corner, she quickly took off running down one of the hallways. Finally happy that she got out of there, she found a spot to hide in for a moment. Just in time too, as three guards came walking down the hallway where she was at a moment ago. She sighed with relief and thought about what she should do next.

“Hmm. So I’ve found a way out of my prison cell and am now trying to figure out where I should go next.” There was one little thought though that she had for a brief moment. “I actually thought I’d never get this far, but hell, I’ll take it!”

She looked out the hallway for a few seconds before slowly and cautiously walking out. She walked for sometime, hiding away from the occasional guard and feeling that this was just too easy. “Wow, this was easier than I thought. Now it’s nothing but smooth sailing from he-”

An alarm suddenly began to sound, echoing throughout the hallways. She heard voices echo throughout said hallways and thought to herself, “Are you fucking kidding me!?”

But before she could take off, she felt an intense pain inside herself, making her kneel down and moaning in pain. "What’s...happening?”

The guards finally surrounded her, and one familiar pegasus stepped forward. “Well, you thought you could escape us huh? Too bad your own body betrayed you.” He chuckled as he watched her writhe in pain. “Now, somepony get her back to her cell.”

One of the guards came forward and was just about to grab her before a white flame exploded from her body and surrounded her. “What’s going on?!” The pegasus yelled out.

The flame expanded outwards for a few more inches before coming to a complete stop. The flames then showed her shadow standing up and something happened from within. Her form began to change, but yet no one could see what was changing. The flames then dispersed quickly, leaving a gray thick smoke spreading in the air. The guards were nervous, and to also say scared for what had happened. They all realized they were dealing with something completely different.

“Don’t let your guard down!” Yelled the pegasus.

Then one by one, his stallions began to disappear, but not the ones within line of sight, but ones that were behind him and away from him. Fear began to rise in the guards as they wondered which one of them would be next. Then a figure dropped from the ground, back into the middle of the group. What they saw terrified them beyond belief.

There standing before them was a pony-like creature, but not an ordinary one. She had a black body, as if burnt with her own flames, and the holes now present in her legs, her ribcage, her eyes and what could be best described as a carapace on her backside were a mixture of sapphire and azure blue that soon turned blood red. Her mane and tail looked the same, but now had a dark brown color to them instead of her normal color before becoming red as well. Her wings had lost most of their feathers, and were bug-like with holes with some black feathers present. But her eyes...her pupils were mere slits, widening to accommodate the small amounts of light.

“Wha...what the hell are you?!” The pegasus yelled out, shaking in terror as he looked upon the horrid sight.

The creature-once-alicorn turned to him and scarily replied, “I have no fucking clue what I am.” She paused for a moment before adding, “All I know is I am about to kick your asses.”

With speed she had never used before, she quickly and nimbly jumped to the side and shot one of the pegasi with her magic, blasting the guard she hit into the wall. One of the pegasi quickly got out of her haze and flew at the beast, but was flung onto the side, knocking him out.

She then wrapped her tail around one of the guards and threw him into a group of more guards and created a gap for herself to run out from. “Don’t just sit there you idiots. Get her!” The pegasus yelled out.

The others soon got out of their daze and chased after her. She snickered as she got the fools to chase her. She just needed enough room to take them all on as she headed for the courtyard. When she got there, more guards were awaiting and charged at the beast.

She just laughed and stretched her tail out again, grabbing one of the idiots and throwing him to her face. Then, without knowing, she brought him to her mouth and bit down on his neck. The pegasus screamed in agony as the animal began to drink his blood. After a few moments of taking all the blood she needed, she gazed in surprise and confusion for a few moments, before something else took over her mind.

She laughed seductively and looked on to the guards who stared in terror as she had just drunk the blood from one of their fellow pegasi. “Well, it seems I’ve developed a very special taste. I do admit, I was worried at first, but now I think I could get used to the tang of pony blood.”

Her magic began to gather back up again, as she felt something stir within herself. “So...I gain back my strength from drinking blood huh? Well then, I think I’m going to enjoy this.” She then pointed her horn towards the closest pegasus and roasted him, killing him quickly.

The others looked on in horror as her horn began to glow a dark blue. She chuckled evilly and shot out more bolts of magic, killing many of the guards quickly. But one snuck up behind her and hit her with a hammer.

She went skidding for some distance before growling at the pony who hit her. It was one of the guards that had been in the room. The second stallion she had saw. “Well, then, I glad to see one of my tormentors. How’s it been hanging?”

“You do not have any idea how good it felt to hit you like that, you freak.” He replied viciously.

“I do hope to repay the favor to you, then.” She summoned a pillar of the same fire from the other day and sent wraiths of blaze hurtling towards him. He quickly flew out of the way and raced towards her. “Well for a pony carrying a hammer like that, he sure is quick. Too bad he isn’t quick enough.” She jumped up into the air and flew straight towards him as well.

They soon collided, bouncing off each other and falling back. But the pegasus quickly regained his momentum and flew towards her. As he swung, she dodged and thrusted her tail, but not before giving it an ethereal blade at the end to it, piercing his chest.

The pegasus looked down and saw the tail inside his body. He looked over to the creature and noticed the evil grin on her face. She then brought him towards her and bit down on his neck. The guard didn’t let out a scream of pain or howl. She did feel disappointed that she didn’t get a single sound out of him, but nonetheless, she drank away and threw him to the ground after she was done with him.

“You cannot resist us for long!” Said a familiar voice. She turned around and noticed that it was the first stallion guard. He was shaking though, as were the others. She laughed and replied, “Poppycock. Look at you, you’re a bunch of trembling, whimpering wusses!”

She landed on the ground and slowly walked over to the group of trembling stallions. “'Can’t resist us for long'...yeah, and you think I can’t see your little guys hanging about there?” She began to laugh at their small extensions. “I mean seriously, you think some mare’s going to get with that? Please, how can you even hide that shit with your armor? It seems about as impossible as trying to kill a dragon.”

She then lit her horn again and a bright light began to emanate from it. She then shot it out and turned half the pegasi in the group to smouldering ash. All that remained were a few others and two of the guards she knew. The stallion, and the mare who was hiding behind the others. “So, if you think you're a stallion and not a puny colt, then why don’t you try and stop me then?”

The guards hesitated, but then gathered their courage and charged at the lone beast. She just stood there as they slammed into her, dogpiling on top of her. She just laughed and said, “Congratulations on capturing me fellas, here is your reward.”

A bright light again glowed from her horn and exploded, sending the stallions screaming in all directions. She got up and laughed as she couldn’t believe that actually worked. “Wow, you stallions really are idiots aren’t you? I’ve already killed about every single guard here and you have only laid one hit on me. Pathetic!” She spat.

The first stallion she met then charged at her, she met him but was surprised to see that he pulled something out, a small little weapon was attached to his hoof, a few inches above it. A small gear turned quickly and a small blade shot out. He thrusted forward and met the charred, black skin of her body. It penetrated through and did crunch the skin, but not enough to make her blood come pouring out.

She gasped in pain and quickly jumped back. She looked at the wound, only to see it wasn’t a bad one, but she growled in anger as she stared menacingly at the guard. “See that, it’s a new little tool that we pegasi only have. Very good weapon if you ask me.”

“Well, lets see how it works against magic!” She yelled. Her horn glowed a dark blue and a pillar of fire shot out from the ground. He was shot straight up into the air, he caught himself and looked around, trying to find the vampiric thing.

Then a sparkle of light came from behind him and he felt a hoof wrap around his chest and her tail wrap around his neck. He struggled but then he felt an immense pain as she threw him up into the air and rammed into one of his wings, breaking a couple of bones in it.

He fell down the ground hard, and tried to get back up. But she was already on top of him and biting into his neck. The pegasus screamed in pain as he too felt the pain that only a few of his soldiers went through. She then tossed him into the ground and laughed.

She then heard whimpering behind her and noticed the mare from before. She walked over to her and stood up above her. “P...please...don’t hurt me?” She whimpered pathetically.

A scent hit her nose and when she fully realized what it was, it completely disgusted her. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. And here I was going to let you go off scott free. But it seems you're just as bad as the rest of them.”

“W...what do you mean?”

“You don’t think I don’t smell it? You’re just like the others. In fact, how did the poor mare...or should I say filly felt after you forced her to have sex with you?”

The mare slowly got up and replied, “You’re lying, I would never do that to a poor filly!”

“Oh really...I can smell it from here. You know, you remind me of someone that had the same problem. But...do you know what I did to him?”

“N...n-no? What...did you d...do to him?”

“Well lets just say...that I ended up ripping his, oh how do you say, his twig off.”

The mare gasped as she was lifted up into the air, her back legs pointing towards the beast. “What are you doing!?”

“Let’s see here. I was going to see how everypony else was doing, maybe grab a few drinks with them...and oh yeah. I was also going to show you the true epitome of torment.” The demon answered, smiling sickly.

Chapter Three: Cadaver

“Oh, how do we go about this?” The demon asked, looking rather confused.

“P-please…” The hapless, floating mare pleaded as her back legs were spread wide.

“Spare me the horseshit and cut to the chase already.” The demon hissed, eyes narrowing low.

“W-what horseshit?” The mare asked, still squirming in her bonds.

The demon huffed through her nostrils. “Why did I even bother when I knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere?” She asked, bearing her fangs.

The mare, finally catching onto the fact that her bonds were unbreakable, cringed at the sight of the deadly daggers in the fiend’s mouth.

The creature raised her head as high as she could without rearing up on her hind hooves.

Pain.

So much pain.

So much pain registered into the poor mare’s mind as the teeth came crashing and clamping down on her soft, vulnerable, and exposed cunt. A sickening crunch soon hit her ears after that, and all she could do was scream like a banshee from the impact.

The demon clamped down harder in response, amplifying the already-painful experience her victim was receiving.

The mare bucked one leg as best as she could, it didn’t move much at all. The pain got much worse now, and it felt like a hot iron was coiled around her soft spot.

The fiend let go, allowing blood to spew out of the new wounds and create a splatter of crimson on her face and neck.

“Oh, great stars above! You taste worse than you smell!” The demon hissed, backing away a good bit and spitting out the foul taste in her mouth.

The mare felt her back legs lazily fall to the cloudcrete as the magic around them vanished. She tried moving them, but they wouldn’t respond like she had hoped they would.

The fiend was still pre-occupied with getting that awful sensation off of her tongue. As a result, she grabbed a nearby bucket of water and chugged it down in two minutes flat.

The mare began flapping her wings, hoping she could get away from the monstrosity fast enough--

Sadly, she was noticed and the magic still encasing her upper frame proceeded to break her wings in about fifteen different angles before tearing that off.

The mare screamed in pain, as her wings her completely crushed under the power of the magic that gripped them.

The demon laughed, “You seriously think that I wasn’t going to notice your little escape attempt?”

The fiery fiend slowly walked over to her weakened prey, who was whimpering in pain as she slowly writhed in agony. She stopped a few inches, kneeling down and examining what she had done to her victim. She had done quite the damage, but there was only two puncture wounds.

The demon thought, knowing that she had caused her enough pain, from the way she was screaming. She chuckled and bent down to lick up the blood, but she didn’t know how this mare would’ve reacted. “Besides, she tasted gross. I wonder what else she’s done?”

But she didn’t think about her next move as her tongue slowly traced over the throbbing vagina of the mare. She squealed in pain as the demon’s tongue slowly moved over the two wounds. A thought came to her mind, and she struggled with the choice. Should she do something that completely goes against herself, or should she just make the mare suffer more? “Why is this so difficult to figure out? Where the hell did this thought even come from?” Her horn glowed the dark blue color again. It seemed as if there was a second conscious that seemed to take over without her realization. She fought against this new thought and opened her mouth to bite down once more, but she somehow had it closed all on its own. “Oh come on! Is this my self conscious doing all of this to screw me over?”

Her magic then emanated around her tongue and something new happened, her form began to revert back to her original self, the exoskeleton began to grow fur, her holes began to close up and her irises came back and her sclera faded it’s white color. Her carapace disappeared and her whole body went back to normal. Her tongue too, reverted its shape and became one that wasn’t so elongated.

“Okay self conscious.” Sounding calmer than ever before, “You win. I’ll be nice for once and try and repay what I did to this...mare”

The tongue’s saliva then emanated the same color as her horn and the pegasus felt something soothing. The wounds on her marehood began to close up and the blood began to disappear from her vagina as the demon had reverted back to normal, licking up the rest of it.

She then wrapped the pegasus’s wings in her magic and the process soon began to mend the injuries to the mare. She felt different. The mare had wondered what this feeling was that replaced her anger, but it felt well right.

The pegasus began to feel a new feeling, not one of pain, but of a sensitive and in a sense, pleasurable feeling. She too was confused by this mare’s turn in attitude. From one moment, she was crunching down on her vagina and now she was licking it. She began to whimper, not in pain, but in bliss.

The alicorn moved her tongue across the pegasus’s marehood slowly. She still felt weird about this whole new transition from making her writhe in pain, to making her moan quietly in peaceful pleasure. “You know self...I think you’re still nuts for making me stop. But I do have to admit, this feels so much better...for some reason.”

The alicorns tongue moved from the pegasus’s outer lips, to her now sensitive inner lips and labia. The pegasus gasped and bucked her hips softly. Her energy was wasted after the struggle and she was only able to move so much. As the alicorn began to wonder how she should do the rest of her marehood, a new set of emotions began to take over her mind. “Why do I feel so...calm?”

This brought some questions that she wanted to know, but something in her mind told her that this was what a ‘lady’ like her should be. “Hell...I’ve been worse than this, I even ripped a guy’s dong off. How am I supposed to act lady-like?”

The voice just told her that she’s important, and has a very special role. Her tongue then moved inside the pegasus’s marehood and this made her gasp again. “So...this is how we girls get pleasured huh? I may have not done this before, but I’m pretty sure that I would probably act like her.”

She then moved her tongue up and down slowly, letting the mare recover from her ordeal. Her tongue explored and licked the insides of her vagina, emitting another gasp and more quiet moans.

The alicorn stopped and saw a small little bump on the pegasus’s marehood, her warm breath seemed to moisten it and beads of, well, whatever it was came slowly trickling down. “Heheh, maybe I should’ve asked her to dinner first.” Another question came to mind, “I didn’t even get this mare’s name. How am I supposed to really please her if she doesn’t even know my name...speaking of names, why was I never named at all?”

The alicorn moved up until her eyes met the pegasus’s. She had a beautiful aqua colored set of eyes. “I…”

“Guess this is as good as anyway to start a conversation off.”

“I...never did catch your name.”

The pegasus shook a little. This was clearly the most surprising moment she had witnessed. This alicorn went from a blood rage, to crushing her vagina and wings, and now she was licking her marehood. She hesitated, “I…my name...is, Rainstorm.”

The alicorn hadn’t noticed how quiet her voice sounded, yet it sounded elegant and crisp. It made her realize how, well she couldn’t help but admit how beautiful she sounded. “And I did this to her? Well...she kind of did deserve it. But I...well, again, I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I feel like a real dick right now.”

She then realized that she left her hanging without letting her know her own name--and that she needed to name herself right about now. She had to make one up off the top of her head. She glanced around at her cutie mark, and then recalled that she had some sort of control over flames. “It’s nice to meet you Rain. My name is Foxfire, or Foxy for short.”

Again, Rain was completely taken by surprise on how much this alicorn changed in mere moments. The alicorn then added, “I’m...well I’m sorry for what I did, but my true apology will come in a moment.” This made Rain’s expression a confused one, that was until Foxy moved her mouth back to pegasus’s vagina.

She began to softly lick the button that she saw on Rain’s marehood. She gasped and moaned sharply. It was at this point in time, when she began to fully regret what she did to the poor filly so long ago. But at the moment, she was switching thoughts at a hundred miles an hour. The feeling increased after Foxy enclosed her mouth around the button, suckling and licking at the same time.

Bliss was all Rain could truly feel at this moment. She felt that Foxy was leading her over some high cliff, and lifting her quickly up. But she felt that if she were to fall, that the alicorn would catch her. “Why does...this feel like...we’ve never seen each other for months?”

Her next thought was interrupted as she felt her legs shake, as the feeling of her orgasm reached her. She screamed quietly, but Foxy’s name was being formed on her lips, until she actually said, “Fox...fire!”

Foxy was surprised by this. “She...said my name? After everything I did to her…?”

Rainstorm’s cheeks blushed as her liquids leaked out onto the cloudcrete and into Foxy’s mouth. At first the alicorn was disgusted, but this time Rain’s juices tasted different, almost sweet, yet bitter, and she could almost taste the flavor of, unsurprisingly, rain. “Huh, I wonder what I tasted before? She certainly didn’t taste like this.”

Rainstorm shuddered as her body was racked in spasms, slowly shaking as the blissful feeling took over. Her breath was labored, but it quickly began to quiet down, and she still felt numb. She looked at Foxfire, who stared back.

Rain couldn’t help but tear up afterwards, whimpering in sadness. Foxy saw this and wondered what she did wrong. “Rainstorm...are you okay?”

“Seriously, when did I start caring about others’ feelings?”

“I...I just remember what you said about the filly, and I...I regret ever doing that.” Rainstorm murmured quietly.

Something then took over Foxy’s feelings and she moved closer to Rain. “Hey...we all make mistakes.”

“Okay...why do I sound like Celestia right now? What the fuck even happened?”

“Yeah...but-”

“Hey, you just saw me kill all of your guards and...I do admit to killing a few others, but they deserved it.”

“Wh...why?”

“Well...let’s just say that they weren’t the friendliest of ponies.”

“Not to mention the fact that they were complete assholes.”

“Just...don’t ever let me catch you doing something like that again...okay?”

Rainstorm sniffed and looked over to Foxy, “Y...yeah.”

The alicorn then got up and began to walk away, but not before Rain grabbed her left hoof as she was getting up. “W...what about you?”

Foxfire then realized that she did feel something down in her, well, private region. “W...what about me?”

“You...never did let me help you. I thought that...well-”

“Wait, you’re asking if I want you to…” She hadn’t really guessed that Rainstorm would even offer to help her after all the things she did.

Rain walked over to Foxy, albeit awkwardly. She sat down next to her and said, “I...I know that what I did was inexcusable. And I thank you for what you’ve done...but has anyone ever repaid the favor for you?”

The alicorn stared at the ground, beginning to see at least why Rainstorm wanted to help her. “Well...no ones ever really been this nice to me before. I’m actually surprised that Rain is even doing this for me even after everything that happened.”

Foxfire looked over to Rain, who seemed to be smiling. Not the evil smiling way mind you but, friendly and caring sort of way. “Why couldn’t I have ever met somepony like this back at the village? Maybe I wouldn’t have done what I did then.”

“I...I’m a bit nervous Rain.” Foxy admitted. “Well duh! This is like your first time ever getting with somepony like this.”

“Don’t be worried Foxy. After what you did for me, I’ll go slow for you too.”

Rain then gently helped Foxy to the ground, setting her on her back. The alicorn began to blush as she realized what was about to happen. “Like I said, we should’ve gotten dinner first.”

When Rain began to look down Foxy’s body, she saw that her belly was big and her nipples were engorged. “Is she...pregnant?”

“Foxfire...are you pregnant?” Rain asked, trying not to sound mean or anything.

The alicorn looked down and noticed the bulge. “Hold the phone, how the hell did I get pregnant?”

“I...I don’t ever remember being with anypony else.” Foxy began to panic a little, her voice and breath coming in quick gasps.

“You mean you’ve never had sex?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember being with anypony.”

“Well if you didn’t then who…” She cut off as she recalled a certain event that she witnessed. She remembered one of the guards coming out of the jail cell she was in, but she didn’t really think of it as anything until now. “Gale Wind! That idiot! What the hell was he thinking?”

She hoped that he was still alive so he could explain himself, that was when she and Foxy heard coughing from within the building. There, stumbling out of the broken cloud door was a white pegasus stallion whose wings were broken. He walked like he was completely drunk or something.

“You! I thought you were dead!” Foxfire cried, pointing at him with her hoof. She was completely baffled at the sight.

Gale began to chuckle, looking at the expression of the monster. “Oh...you really thought I was dead? I should feel so happy.” He was wobbling around, and the shocked mares saw a bottle like object tucked into one of his broken wings.

“Well, that about explains why I left ya alone. Ya played possum on me!” Foxfire yelled again, getting onto her hooves and standing correctly.

“Gale! You have a lot of explaining to do!” Rainstorm yelled, angry at what this moron did. She trotted up to him and pushed him down with her hoof.

The drunkard laughed. “Oh please, Rainstorm, what’s there to discuss about.” He then noticed the alicorn was behind her, back to normal. “So...have you become friends with this monster?” He added in a bitter tone.

“Yes...yes I have.” Rain defiantly replied.

“Oh why should I care. This whole place is in ruins. You can do whatever the hell you want.”

Foxy began to slowly walk up forward. “Oh hello there alicorn. Have we finally calmed down?”

“Gale, how dare you.” Rain spit, eyes narrowing low.

He looked at her for a moment and then back to the alicorn. He then realized what she was talking about. He then laughed hysterically. “Oh, is that what you're mad about? What I did to her? It’s funny that you actually care about what I did to her.”

“What you did not only offends her, but every single mare including me would find what you did to be shameful and disgraceful.”

“I’m a part of the guard, I can-”

“How dare you call yourself a part of the Guard after what you did!” She hissed with such hatred.

Foxfire wondered what Gale had done to her. Then she was reminded of her stomach and realization hit her like a freight train. “You...did what?!” Foxfire yelled.

“Hope you enjoyed the ride sweetheart, you weren’t even awake then.” Gale crudely remarked.

“You...did that to me, while I was...asleep!?” The anger began to rise back up in Foxy as she stared at this fiend. Without warning she summoned her magic and shot a spiral of blue flames upwards below him. He was then kicked back to the ground violently as she teleported above him.

He shakily looked up, until it was too late as Foxy came flying back down and smashing into his chest. Blood flew out of his mouth as he gasped. But he didn’t feel much, for the alcohol had removed any pain he’d felt. “You know...I wonder what the kids will look like?” He sarcastically added.

She grabbed his chest armor and brought his face closer to hers. “You know what I’d think about them, they don’t deserve to live for what you did to me!”

She quickly jumped off and prepared her next attack. But as she began to cast her magic, Rainstorm slowly walked up to them. Gale looked up to her, “W-what are you doing...just standing there? Are you going to help...me or what?”

Rain looked to him, and then to Foxfire. Fox was looking at her in confusion. “Who are you going to choose Rain?” She worried, and pleaded with her eyes.

Rain stared at her for a moment, and then looked back to Gale. “As your commanding officer Rain…I order you to kill her.”

She looked down for a moment, then she slid her armor of her right foreleg. The same weapon Foxy saw before on Gale, was on her leg as well. She then looked to Foxy and flew straight up into the air. She floated in place for a moment, staring down at the two ponies. Then, falling down she flew at top speed, right towards Foxfire.

Foxy prepared herself as Rain came closer, but to her surprise as well, Rainstorm looked over to Gale and changed course, flying straight at him.

He stared in shock and fear as she came ever closer. “Oh...you son of a b-”

Gale didn’t finish his sentence as Rainstorm drove the dagger like weapon into his throat violently. He struggled for a moment, before his body ceased to move. “This is what you deserve for your actions.” She whispered as life escaped him.

She then heard Foxy’s hoofsteps. Rain turned around to see a expression of confusion on her. Rain turned towards her and walked a little closer. “Why did you choose to kill him? Wasn’t he your commanding officer?” Foxy asked.

“I just basically told him I quit through that action.” She then inched closer and whispered, “Besides, I found a new friend.” Her lips then met Foxfire’s, who blushed immediately from the action. She wanted to pull away, but thought against it and stayed in that position.

Rain pulled away and smiled sweetly, “I’m...sorry, for what you’re going through.”

Foxfire looked down, a tear ran down her eye. “It’s been awhile since I cried. This sure feels different.”

Rain moved her right hoof and wiped the tear away. “Are still up on my offer to help you?”

The alicorn looked back to her and a smile slowly crept from her lips. “I...I, don’t know for sure.” But her body betrayed her otherwise, as a familiar sensation began to creep through her body.

Rain quietly giggled. “It seems that someone else agrees.”

Foxfire blushed again, but before she could respond, Rain began to slowly put her on the ground, her wings extending out as she was being laid on her back. “I’m still wondering how I even got from being a complete psychopath to this.”

She then remembered that some of her hair was causing a nuisance, so with magic she cut off a large piece of it and then sent it somewhere else with her magic. Her nipples were more visible this time and her marehood as well.

Rain just simply giggled and began to peck her with kisses, all the way from her cheek to one of her nipples. Foxy flinched as she felt the wet feeling as Rain enclosed her mouth around one of them. “I’m wondering how a mare can have so many of these things. Well then again, she isn’t exactly normal.”

Foxfire began to silently moan in ecstasy as Rain began to suckle the nipple. It tasted of warm milk as Rain guessed so easily, but with a hint of something else, that she couldn’t distinguish. She let go of it and flicked it softly with another lick which made Foxy moan.

Rainstorm moved her face over the warm feeling emanating from the alicorn. As moved closer to it, her warm breath made Foxfire quiver in anticipation. She then moved her mouth closer and began to slowly lick up and down, sending a gasp and shudder through the alicorn as she weakly writhed in bliss. “Is this...how she felt? I...think I’m going to...really enjoy...this.”

Rainstorm then moved her tongue further in, reaching her sensitive inner lips and labia. Making the alicorn gasp and moan softly. She hadn’t felt anything like this before, and she wished it would last forever. The pegasus then moved her tongue inside Foxfire and she moaned a bit more sharply.

Rain began to move her head back and forth slowly, making Foxy buck, trying to get her deeper within her. The pegasus obliged and moved her tongue farther in, making Foxfire quiver in bliss.

Rain brought her tongue out and looked at her vagina. She noticed the same button that she felt Foxy lick, and decided that she should repay her the same feeling. She gave a tentative lick, making the alicorn gasp and moan out. Rain smiled and began to lick it softly, and before long, she wrapped her enclosed her mouth around it as well. Making the alicorn buck slowly and moan out. “Okay...nevermind, this is how she felt when I did this to her...man does this feel good or-”

Her thought was stopped as she felt a pressure be released, she screamed quietly like Rain , but at the same time, she voiced out, “Rainstorm!”

Rain smiled sweetly at the mention of her name, as Foxfire began to shudder as the spasms went through her body. She looked at the pegasus, and smiled ever so sweetly. “T...thank you Rain. I...really enjoyed it.”

Both mares then heard whispers coming from the building and turned towards the sound. They heard muted laughter and whistling from it shortly after. “Hey, Rainstorm. I didn’t know you knew how to score mares?”

“Wait, did they see the whole thing?” Foxy asked, blinking a few times.

“Apparently, they did.” Rainstorm replied blandly, wings spreading a bit.

“Hey, nice show you put on for us. Think you two could do that again?” The owners of the noises began to laugh harder.

“Well whoever’s laughing, you better show yourselves now, or else I’m going to burn the whole building down!”

“Oh give it a break Foxy, you don’t want to waste time with those morons.” Rain sighed, shaking her head sadly.

Foxy felt a great pain in her stomach, and she clutched the pegasus in her hooves as her horn began glowing once more.

Both ponies were enveloped in blue flames, and before all went white for the mares, Foxy could’ve sworn she heard the owners of the laughter say “Let us see the kids sometime, you worthless whore!”

Chapter Four: Vision

“What in the?!” One of the owners of the laughter asked, watching as the fires engulfed the mares. Foxfire shifted into her other form as something most peculiar began happening to Rainstorm: for starters, a small black horn made itself apparent on her head, and her delicate feathers burnt off to reveal thin blue membrane hiding beneath.

“What is that thing?!” Cried another voice as the pelt seemed to melt off the once-pegasus, revealing black skin and eyes with no sclera, pupils, or anything. All the eyes were had been a single hue of cyan, and nothing but.

The small, black horn began to glow a soft green, and the mouth of the thing that Foxfire clutched opened wide, revealing small fangs of its own. Then, as all went white for the duo, the flames of blue turned to the same emerald hue and swallowed them up like a snake. Many more Royal Guards emerged from the shadows of the cloudhouse, only to find nothing left of either the once-alicorn or the once-pegasus.

“...fire…” Echoed a soft voice, the word ‘fire’ being the only clear thing that could be discerned. Foxfire struggled to open her eyes, and her body ached all over. She wanted to move, but was unable to do so. Her hind legs were hit hardest by the pain, the area between them feeling as though stretched to unimaginable lengths.

“Fox...fire…” The voice echoed once more. The mare struggled to move her limbs, her wings being just as nonresponsive, only producing a weak moan of pain that sounded very hoarse.

“Foxfire…” The voice echoed again, this time much clearer than it had been. Foxfire let off another weak moan, this one accompanied by a grunt of pain. At last, she forced her eyes to open, only to close them shut as a much-too-bright light assaulted her vision. She gasped in a short bout, seeing that the light was so bright a hue of red shone through her eyelids.

“Foxfire!” Cried the voice. The mare recoiled in shock, jerking her head a little bit as the voice sounded like a deafening boom of thunder and so hurt her ears. Foxfire opened her eyes once more, and when she did, the bright light above seemed to have died down enough to not blind her. Colorful splotches still danced, though, in front of a canvas of grey rock walls and floor.

“It...hurts…” Foxfire moaned, her voice so hoarse she had to force the words out of her throat. She was still unable to move her limbs, but the pain she still felt was numbing away to an afterthought.

“Shhhh. It’s alright.” Cooed the voice. A feeling of a muzzle nudging her neck hit Foxfire, and it felt soft, almost like velvet.

“No...it’s not…” Foxfire responded, narrowing her eyes as the splotches ceased dancing about for the time being. She still felt as though she were being stretched wide enough to be effectively split in two, and her limbs and wings still failed to respond.

“Shhhh.” Cooed the voice again, and once more, Foxfire felt the velvet touch on her body. It moved to her shoulders, sending a soothing vibe throughout her pain-wrecked nerves.

Foxfire let off another weak groan, summoning all of her strength simply to rise her head off of whatever it was she had been laying on. She looked down, still forcing her neck to support her aching head, to find a strange green substance underneath her holey hooves. In fact, the substance made a perfect circle around her, and when she forced one of her hooves to move, she noticed it felt oddly like silk.

The weakened once-alicorn turned her head to the right, only to see a black pony with holes in her legs. This one had thin wings like insects, tinged pink, and eyes of cyan that only served to further add a bug-like appearance. A small black horn was on its forehead, and it had a light yellow carapace and ribcage. A tattered mane of pink was on its head, clinging to its form.

“Who...what...are you?” Foxfire groaned, squinting her eyes as she let her head fall onto the green, silk-like substance she couldn’t move from.

At once, the form was enveloped in green fire, and before too long, a familiar pegasus mare stood in its place. “That was...my true form, Foxy.” The form known as Rainstorm replied, a soft grin on her face. “I’m a changeling.” She added before nuzzling the wounded once-alicorn’s neck.

“Change...ling?” Foxfire groaned, eyes closing as the word bounced about in her skull. What did it mean, especially to one like her? Would it have something to do with controlling those abysmal flames in spite of not having any such notification in the form of her single-mask cutie mark adorning the flank of her other self?

“Yes, a changeling.” Rainstorm replied, a frown etched onto her muzzle. “You’ve...never heard the term before?”

“No...I haven’t.” Foxfire answered, the word still present in her thoughts. She felt weaker than ever; even more so than when her former tormentors bashed her with shovels and hooves, motionless limbs and useless wings serving as testimony to that fact. If anything, she felt like she was on the verge of dying, or at least passing out again.

“A changeling who knows not of the basics that makes her being up?” Asked a feminine voice not belonging to Rainstorm. It sounded noble, high-class...frightening. “It’s a shame, really.”

“M-My Queen!” Rainstorm yelped in surprise, bowing down and shifting into her other form in the process. In walked a tall mare, one who towered over her menacingly, with a dark violet carapace and ribcage, ragged gold mane, and eyes which had two irises, each different shades of gold, adorned alongside cat-like pupils and canvases of violet sclera.

Her wings, frail and bug-like, had holes in their margins, and so did her lanky legs. Her horn wound like a staircase between base and tip, and her fangs were longer and sharper than Foxfire’s had ever been.

Her odd eyes glanced at the once-alicorn who still lay on the silk-like substance, back turned to her and legs splayed wide. “Is this the stray you’ve been tasked to find?” She asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yes...she is the stray of the hivemind. She’s not going to be moving for a while, Your Highness.” Rainstorm replied, her wings twitching uncomfortably.

“I’m...still awake…” Foxfire groaned, her voice raspy and dry. Pain shot through her neck as she spoke, forcing her to wince and grunt afterwards.

“Why is that?” The tall changeling asked, arching a brow as she turned back to look at Rainstorm.

“She...laid four eggs recently. Big ones too.” Rainstorm replied, shaking a bit as she spoke.

“She...made a brood? You know damn well only a queen or princess can make a brood and build a hive!” The taller changeling hissed, eyes aglow in fury.

“But what if she’s a queen or a princess herself?” Rainstorm countered swiftly, body flattened against the ground in a submissive manner.

The taller changeling’s eyes widened for a moment. “As preposterous as it sounds, that’s the most likely explanation. Did you find anything else about Princess Silk?”

“No...only the last image the hive had seen of her burning in flames alongside a unicorn stallion with a gold-and-red mane and grey pelt, while she had the form of an earth pony with a brown mane and beige pelt.” Rainstorm replied, shaking her head.

That depiction alone played out in Foxfire’s mind, and tears streaked down her face from her closed eyes. Rainstorm saw the tears in the corners of hers, and turned to look at the once-alicorn.

“What is it that bothers you?” The taller changeling asked, brow arched at the sight.

Begrudgingly, Foxfire opened her eyes and blinked them. “Rainstorm...how did...how…?” She rasped, more tears filling her tired eyes. That dreadful image played in her mind once more, and more tears were coaxed from her eyes as a result. “How...did you see my parents...die?”

The eyes of the other two changelings widened in that instant.

“How…?” Foxfire asked again, scrunching her eyes shut and letting more tears flee from her eyes. Her wings rose, pain resonating through their thin frames, trying to force them back down. The image played once more, followed by what transpired after.

The village burning. A vicious murder. Running away. The darkness of exhaustion.

“How...did...did they say...anything in that...image?” Foxfire asked, shifting her forelegs. They too rang with pain, telling her to stop moving, but she didn’t comply. She forced herself to sit up, but her body shook greatly as a result. “Did...they say anything...before they went?” She asked again, opening her bloodshot eyes and turning her aching head towards Rainstorm.

Rainstorm was silent for a moment. “They...told each other they loved one another, and...hoped you’d live. They said...they loved you, and...wanted to help you more than they had. But...they couldn’t take it anymore after villagers surrounded the house and wanted to kill them, so...your mother...burned herself and her lover alive...in a final embrace.” She said, a tear sliding down her face.

Foxfire’s eyes widened, and her jaw worked up and down, but she couldn’t form words. Tears kept streaking down her face, hitting the silky green substance without a sound.

“They...wanted you there with them...so you wouldn’t suffer...” Rainstorm said, another tear falling down her cheek.

Foxfire’s pupils and irises shrank to meager dots. “I...was supposed...to die?” She asked, her wings falling slack against her sides.

Rainstorm nodded slowly.

Foxfire looked down at her own body. The ugly holes in her forelegs, the red carapace, the thin wings with meager feathers...she shook again, raising her head hesitantly to look back at Rainstorm. “I...I want to be the filly I was, not this...freak.” She said, the words of her former classmates in their final moments ringing true in her mind.

She was a freak unfit to live, unworthy of life. Why, then, had she been allowed to live, after all the awful things she had done? Her heart shot pain as it beat in her clenching chest, almost as if it were dying within her body.

Rainstorm embraced the shaking mare in her holey forelegs. She fell silent.

The taller changeling spoke up. “I’ve known your father...through the images my younger daughter sent to the hivemind. Once he became a unicorn, that was that--he couldn’t go back to being an earth pony.”

“I...can’t change?” Foxfire croaked, another tear making its way down her face as she looked towards the taller mare. “I...can’t be a filly?”

“Sadly, no. Not anymore. I can hear your mother...talking to you when you were younger.” The taller changeling replied, shaking her head.

Foxfire heard her mother’s voice, soothing and soft, telling her things were going to be alright. And here, that had been stolen away from her by cruel ponies. That memory was more than enough to force a shrill shriek from her throat, one of agony and guilt. She stopped, feeling magic grip her, and force her into that bleak world of sleep.

That world which greeted her with painful images of that horrible blaze, of her mother and father sharing their last testimonies together. Of...her mother revealing her true form, black bodied with dark brown carapace, beige mane and eyes. Of her mother’s horn lighting up, her flames engulfing the house.

That god-forsaken image as the woodwork collapsed on the two, holding them to the floor, long before the fires devoured their bodies, rendering them nothing but ash.

And in that image, her mother said her last words.

“Be safe and strong, my child. I love you.”

Chapter Five: Answers

Foxfire woke up groaning, the feeling of touching that silky substance no longer applying to her underside, but her whole body instead. Torches lit in green fire dotted the room, and she found a pillow of green greeting her as she opened her eyes. She was...in some kind of bed.

She moved one foreleg a bit, and it didn’t hurt like it did the last time she did this. She looked around, only to find nothing else of interest in the room. It was just her, the torches, and the bed she lay on.

The mare rose onto holey hooves, standing on the bed as if weakness never harmed her. Her eyes itched very much, but she resisted the urge to scratch them with her hooves, using the pillow instead to relieve her face of the unwanted sensation.

After the itch went away, Foxfire got off the bed. She took another glance. Nothing changed, as far as she knew...except for the fact she wasn’t where she woke up last time.

“Anyone here?” She called out at last, half hoping to not get an answer. The last time that happened, she got punched in the gut--something she’d rather avoid.

For a few moments, silence reigned. Even the emerald flames were deathly quiet--something she couldn’t help but arch a brow at. Fire crackled, last time she checked.

Fire.

A pang of pain made itself known, and Foxfire winced. That accursed image played out in her mind once more. It was one she began to hate, tears welling in her eyes as her mother--a changeling, not a pony like she had believed--said her final words.

“What...what did you do to those ponies...to die like that?” Foxfire wondered aloud, eyes narrowing at nothing in particular. She sat on her rump, shaking again. That scenario, and the ones that followed up until now, surely had to have been a dream.

Or, rather, she wished it was. But the words of the taller changeling rang in her mind.

“He couldn’t go back to being an earth pony.”

“Hello, little one.” Said a feminine voice. Foxfire immediately looked towards the ill-lit exit of the room and found the taller changeling staring at her.

“Go away.” Foxfire hissed, tears streaking down her face as she spoke. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“That’s no way to address your grandmother.” The other changeling cut back accusingly, narrowing her eyes as she approached the mare. “Besides, I thought I’d have a family reunion with you.”

Foxfire backed away after rising to her hooves. She was in no mood to speak to this other freak that approached her. “No.” She hissed.

The other changeling sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head afterwards. It was then Foxfire noticed that, in her magic, she carried four round orbs of crimson hue, very much the same color as her own carapace.

“Look, it’s your unhatched batch of children. Why don’t you say hello to them?” The other changeling cooed, a complacent look replacing that of irritation. She gently levitated the orbs to Foxfire, who only raised a hoof and tried swatting them away with it.

“I don’t want to raise the little bastards!” Foxfire hissed, sitting on her rump so she could swat at the orbs with both front hooves. A scowl was on her face, revealing her fangs. “I want nothing to do with them!”

The other changeling’s eyes widened at the display. She then arched a brow, yanking the orbs away before Foxy could do any major damage. “How...how old are you, exactly?” She asked.

Foxfire froze on the spot, eyes widening and pupils shrunk to meager slits. “Only...eleven?” She murmured, and then her heart skipped a beat.

“That...explains a lot.” The other changeling sighed.

Foxfire shuddered, pupils still tiny slits, as she remembered her session with Rainstorm, and what she promised not to do. Slowly, her hoof connected with her face. “How the flying fuck did I even get this body and age in fifteen seconds?! HOW?!” She cried, eyes shut in annoyance.

“Oh dear...a princess raised in ignorance of her own lineage…” The other changeling mumbled, shaking her head at the display. “All I wanted was a family reunion, and I get this…” She added, approaching Foxfire until the seated mare was right in front of her.

Foxfire turned away, scowl returning to her face as she did. She crossed her forelegs--the mare was quite pouty today.

The taller changeling sighed in disappointment. “If you promise to calm down, I shall give you any answer you need.” She said.

Foxfire sighed, calming her nerves and wiping her tears away before they could fall from her eyes. Like she had a choice now. “Why did I...you know, age in fifteen seconds?” She asked.

“Changeling biology’s a bit hard to explain, but the overall gist of it is workers and soldiers mature around three years, and a princess five years. Since you’re a hybrid of sorts, it took longer for you to fully mature.” The taller changeling answered. “And once they mature, they can start having kids all they want, which come in the form of eggs for a princess, or live birth if they're disguised or lesser than royalty.”

“Makes sense when I think about it, actually.” Foxfire murmured, looking at her holey legs. “I’ve had bouts of weakness, and I basically can only walk and use my tail, for the most part, during those bouts. I’ve also acquired a taste of blood. The hell explains that?”

“Changelings feast on the substance because it carries strong emotions within its streams. Love, hate, sadness, panic...just about any you can think of, actually. Love and happiness are the most sought after.” The other changeling answered.

“Rainstorm was a pegasus before I, y’know, wrecked shit up, if you’ll pardon the language.” Foxfire sighed, looking at the ceiling briefly.

“Changelings take on the forms of ponies to gather love and other emotions, which are then brought back to the hive and placed in special storage chambers. It’s where the fangs really come in handy.” The other answered with a nod. “Sometimes, they get creative and make their own pony forms, either from looking at a few subjects at a time or, in your case, because they’re hybrids.”

“What explains the holes?” Foxfire asked, sighing as she looked over her holey forelegs again.

“The more holes a changeling has that are naturally-occurring, the more love they can carry. You, however, have so few holes you’d practically need a scout to feed you with the stuff every two hours. Love, and other such strong emotions, act as a power source that enables flight and magic.” The taller one answered.

Foxfire’s eyes widened. That explained her bouts of weakness. “How the hay can I control fire, even though my cutie mark bears no such resemblance to fire?” She asked, looking back at the taller changeling. “And I never got your name.”

“In order, changelings are naturally inherent with fire, and they even use it to transform, and I am Queen Violet.” The other answered.

“I think I need a nap.” Foxfire murmured, looking at the impromptu bed. Her eyes took on a sleepy look, the lids drooping somewhat as a yawn escaped her fanged mouth. Exhaustion washed over her, and she'd only just woken up moments ago. Had she still been tired, perhaps?

“You were out for three months. I’m surprised you managed to wake up.” Violet replied, sighing afterwards.

“Wait, what?” Foxfire asked, brow arched as she turned to Violet.

“You were in critical condition. Low on overall energy, love...and let’s not forget the fact you laid eggs literally bigger than my head.” Violet answered quickly. “And screaming your lungs out, if I recall correctly. You’re still gonna have to stay put for a while.” She added.

Foxfire covered her mouth with a holey leg as she yawned again. “Gonna...go back to bed….” She murmured, sauntering her way to the bed and then clambering on top of it. She laid down, and was soon fast asleep.

Chapter Six: Alone

Author's Note

Cried writing this one out. Enjoy.

~Dragon

Chapter Six: Alone

That image again.

That damned image. It taunted Foxfire as she slept, forcing her to weep as she watched it replay again and again. Her mother’s last words rang in her head, pounding themselves into her already fractured mind.

Be safe and strong, my child. I love you…

Foxfire woke up, tears still streaking her face and blurring her vision. She squinted her eyes, remembering very vividly all of the foul things she’d done. At the time, those actions seemed like good ideas, but now...all she felt was painful guilt over them. Blood stained her hooves, and she could not change it no matter how much she wished for it.

“I’m not strong…” Foxfire murmured, her voice cracking. “I’m just a bad freak...who gives into impulse…”

The taunts of her former bullies rang in her mind again, and there could not have been any more truth behind them now.

They had been right all along to call her a monster. That was exactly what she had become.

“I hate myself…” Foxfire murmured, sitting up on the green bed. She stared at the pillow, stained in her tears, as if it had something she sought out. “I’m a freak...parasite…” She continued, her body shaking slightly. She threw her head high and shrieked, “WHY AM I ALLOWED TO LIVE?!”

Her cry probably echoed throughout half the damn hive now. A few changelings had gathered at the entrance of her room, puzzled looks dotting their faces.

“Why can’t I just die…?” Foxfire complained, her chest tightening up. “I just want to burn in Tartarus…”

The changelings exchanged glances with one another, and none of them said a word.

Foxfire shook again, merely whimpering uncontrollably at this point. She shed more tears than ever before, her voice raspy and dry as she sat there mumbling incoherently.

Everything’s going to be alright…

Another memory she latched onto. Foxfire shook again, mumbling, “I just want to feel mother hug me again…” But here, she could not see that her wish would come true.

Her mother had been stowed away.

“Nothing’s going to be okay…” Foxfire whimpered, the tears hurting her eyes as they streaked down her muzzle. “I’m hideous...for starters…” More tears left her eyes, twinkling like diamonds as they descended down her face and to the bed. “And I did bad things...selfishly...”

The changelings at the entrance exchanged another glance amongst themselves.

“A bad pony...who does bad things...can’t be allowed to live…” Foxfire continued, still more tears leaking from her eyes. “And yet, I live…can’t I just die…?”

Everything’s going to be alright…

Foxfire looked up at the rocky ceiling despondently, jaw hanging open a bit. “It honestly feels good doing bad things, but when they’re done...why do they hurt days after?” She asked, her words aimed towards nothing in particular. “Why...just why...I want to die..when will I die?” She hung her head in shame again.

The mare shook again. “I just want to go back home…” She murmured. “This is all a bad dream…”

Be safe and strong…

“I CAN’T!” Foxfire suddenly yelled, stomping a hoof into the bed. “A good pony doesn’t do bad things and be strong at the same time!”

The changelings who still lingered by the entrance went slack-jawed at this.

“If I hadn’t been born, then my parents wouldn’t have died…” Foxfire murmured. “And none of these bad things would’ve happened…”

One changeling approached her, even going so far as to sit on the bed next to her and pat her on the back with its hoof. Eyes slanted, and a frown was on its fanged muzzle. “Hey, it’s alright--” It started.

Foxfire snapped her head towards the changeling, her muzzle inches from its. “IT’S NOT ALRIGHT!” She shrieked, causing the changeling to wince as if stung. “It’s never going to be alright! I’ve done bad things, and through some fucking miracle, I’m still alive!” She turned away, head hanging low again.

Everything’s going to be alright…

The changeling sighed, its horn glowing. Green fire enveloped its form, and when it dissipated, there was a mare with a beige pelt and brown mane sitting next to her with evergreen eyes. “My child,” The disguised changeling started, its voice nowhere near that of her mother’s, “it’s alright. I’m here.”

For a moment, Foxfire looked at the creature that took the guise of her mother, only to look away again. “No, it’s not…” She pouted, moving her forelegs so she could lay down. That image played in her mind again, and she dug her face into the pillow. She knew the creature next to her was an imposter, albeit one that was trying to make her feel better.

The imposter sighed, then returned to its normal form. It got off from the bed and trotted out the room, and the other changelings who still lingered at the entrance followed it as it left.

Another one trotted in, immediately assuming the guise of a familiar pegasus. “Foxfire,” She said calmly, “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” Foxfire replied, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Rainstorm trotted to the bed and took her place next to the despondent hybrid. “You’re...still mourning, right?” She asked.

“I want my old life back…” Foxfire answered, raising her head from the pillow. “It just hurts so much…I can’t live with the blood on my hooves...”

Rainstorm winced, a pang of guilt wrenching her heart. “Sometimes, I think that too…” She sighed, causing the crying mare to look at her. “Sometimes...I cry over the past…”

“You do…?” Foxfire asked, eyes still leaking with tears.

“Yes. I’m also a hybrid.” Rainstorm confessed with a nod. “Mom ousted me out when I was small.”

“Why?” Foxfire asked, blinking her bloodshot eyes.

“Well...she never wanted me. And she did get that message across.” Rainstorm answered, now tearing up herself. “After that, I came here, and...my so-called father did things to me, like what Gale did to you.”

Foxfire was silent, absorbing this new information.

“When I was strong enough, I had to kill him. And, until I met you, I was alone. I had nobody.” Rainstorm added, tears trailing down her face. “The other changelings jeered at me, and so did the ponies. Harsh words, insults, you name it.”

Foxfire kept quiet, blinking and causing more tears to trickle down her face.

“Frankly, I envy you because you had loving parents. I wanted to be in your horseshoes...at least, until I saw that image of the fire…” Rainstorm confessed. “I’m sure they want to know where you are, to see if you’re safe...but they’re gone now.”

Foxfire silently shed more tears, her jaw working up and down. No words could come.

“I know…it hurts. If they were still alive now, they’d be worried sick--like good parents ought to be. But they’re dead and gone, probably watching you above or below in the afterlife somewhere. I’m sure they want to hold you again, but they can’t. They wanted you to stay innocent, but...it seemed like it was impossible.” Rainstorm sighed, shedding more tears herself. “I heard from the full-fledged changelings they can hear the voices of the dead Queens and Princesses and such, but I guess I couldn’t hear any of it myself.”

She paused, using a hoof to wipe away Foxfire’s river of tears. “You can’t hear the dead ones either?” She asked.

Foxfire shook her head.

Rainstorm sighed. “I guess your mother would be trying to comfort you, even now. Perhaps we’ll find a way to let you hear her, despite the fact she’s dead.”

Foxfire worked her jaw again, but her words still refused to come. A hoof gently came and held her chin up.

“I know. The pain’s too much to bear for one hybrid.” Rainstorm cooed, her words giving Foxfire a sense of warmth, akin to what her own mother had given her. “I guess...fate drew us together, two misfits in a cruel world who lost everything but their lives.”

Foxfire wanted to nod, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Ponies and changelings alike treat me like I’m dirt. Your end? I’m amazed the whole hive is giving you different. I dunno why, maybe it’s because you’re a Queen-to-be.” Rainstorm sighed, more tears streaking down her face. “I mean, think about it: royalty gets pampered, has guards, and sometimes even get practically spoonfed.”

Foxfire did see the logic in that.

“Sometimes, I find myself waking up crying. I just wanted a normal life like you, and instead, I get a harsh reality--one full of pain, sorrow, you name it. One of these days, if she’s still around, I can visit my mum and give her a piece of my mind. But she’s so far away.” Rainstorm said, tears still streaking down her face.

Foxfire blinked, shaking a bit.

“You want to know why she’s so far away?” Rainstorm asked. Foxfire nodded. “Well, she’s all the way up in Canterlot, as close to Princess Celestia and her sister Luna as can be. Once I was ousted out, she played the complete bitch card and told the guards to kill me on sight if they ever saw me in Equestria. I’m amazed I’m still alive.”

Foxfire shed more tears at the mere image Rainstorm relayed to her.

“Yeah, from what I’ve seen, Canterlot nobility’s a bunch of rubbish.” Rain sighed, closing her eyes. “I can’t help but feel we’re alike in so many ways, Foxfire, I really do. We’re both broken, battered, and sometimes do bad things after we give in to our rage. And what happens? We feel guilty afterwards. Life’s just cruel sometimes, isn’t it?”

Foxfire nodded again. It was all she could do at this point.

Chapter Seven: Badlands

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