A Change of Heart

Chapters

An Unfamiliar World
Beginnings
Awakening
On the Run
In the Woods
Deep in Darkness
A Point of Light
Circle of Light
Images in Fire
Oil and Water
Flames of Green
Crossing Sparks
Phoenix Rising
Dawn of a New Day
Epilogue: One Year Later...
The Time Has Come...
Odd One Out

An Unfamiliar World

Chapter 2: An Unfamiliar World

His first feeling after that empty void was that of a cold, wet cloth touching his face. His instincts kicked in, telling him not to move and to access his situation from his position. He smelled a fragrant smell, sweeter than he ever smelled in his land. It nearly made him open his eyes to see what produced it, when he heard a soft sigh come from his right. The sound of that lovely voice made his eyes snap open.

The little pony he had saved from himself was sitting over him, holding a dripping washcloth with a shivering hoof. Apparently, he noticed, she had ice in that cloth, and was enduring it’s cold touch to help him. Needle Wings had never before seen such kindness from anypony. Everyone back in his home had always rewarded pain with more pain, believing it to teach him to be merciless. Her eyes widened when she saw that he had awoken, and she pulled back from him, suddenly afraid. The previous night’s event still shone in her eyes. She was scared of him, even though he gave up his world for her, though he was already on the verge of doing so already. Anger suddenly ignited in his heart, and his horn flamed green with it. She recoiled even further from him, whimpering in fear, looking desperately for a way to leave. When she found none, she trembled even more, shaking from head to tail with terror.

Her eyes met Needle’s, and suddenly, the hot anger vanished from him. He backed away from her, horrified at how close he had been to feeding. Suddenly, the hunger crashed on him, and he shook with fatigue. Falling to the floor, he managed to pant out a question, “Where am I?”

The pony, not entirely recovered from his anger, answered in a quavering voice, “You're home Needle Wings.” She stepped closer and kneeled down in front of him placing a hoof on one of his own, “You're safe now, rest.” Needle tried to fight the sleep, but in this place of peace, he had soon lost the battle, and was soon pulled into blackness.

The pony stood up, looking down at the curled thing in front of her. She was still terrified that he would feed from her. She could tell he was starving. Denied his food, she thought bitterly. She looked out of her window, and, as usual, didn’t see anypony walking by. We should be safe for a while here, she thought with hope. She walked over to the creature on her floor, and dropped down next to it. No, not ‘it’. His name is Needle Wings!, she thought with anger. She put her head in her front hooves, and fell asleep next to Needle Wings, snoring lightly.

000

Although it seemed that he had only opened his eyes for mere moments, Needle Wings awoke from his hunger-induced slumber. Against his side leaned the little pony that had cared for him. He suddenly felt stronger, and surprisingly, not hungry. In fact, he felt stronger than he ever had back at home.

He glanced back at the slightly snoring pony on the floor. She seemed at peace, and even more beautiful than she was when she was awake. She had a smile on her face, and was whispering something in her sleep. Leaning closer to her, Needle heard a soft breath of air say his name. She said it so lovingly, with so much affection in it, that his emotions ran out of control. He slammed to the floor, unable to comprehend the swarm of feelings in his heart, in his very soul. What is this feeling inside me? It’s so much different than what I have experienced!, he thought with awe. After the pain of it had passed, he lay down next to her, exhausted once more by his transformation. Once again, he was pulled under into the deafening blackness.

They awoke together, side by side, with the same sudden gasp. A pounding at the door had caused their awakening. Suddenly alert, Needle Wings pushed the pony behind him and assumed a protective stance. “Oh no, it’s my sister! She’d never understand” she wailed in despair. “Nopony else knows that I’m back yet!” The door burst open, and the ponies sister stormed into the room, her horn aglow, searching for danger.

She didn’t expect to see her sister, weeks gone, suddenly returned to them. “Dear sister! I was so worried about you! However did you return here?” Then she saw Needle Wings. Her expression changed quickly from relief to surprise, and then to hate. Her horn re-ignited with fury, pointed straight for Needle Wings. “Why are you with that… THING? Cherish, get behind me, before he eats your emotions! Don’t you know changelings are dangerous?” Needle Wings, terrified at the look of horror on the unicorn’s face, grabbed at his companion’s hoofs, and darted under the unicorn’s hoofs, and straight out the door. Flashes of light followed them, along with the shouts of “My sister is being taken by a changeling! Somepony, ANYPONY, help me save my sister!”

They ran into the surrounding woods, panting for breath. They hid beneath a large tree, with roots surrounding them, almost like a loving hug. Cherish looked into his eyes, and saw, not a monster, but a misunderstood creature away from home. She hugged him closer to her, and they drifted off into the world of dreams.

Beginnings

Chapter 3: Beginnings

To everypony reading this. This chapter is NOT a rewrite of Chapter 1. It is intended to bring to light the Main Character's situations. This is in their dreams. Thank you, now happy reading -ChaoticHarmony

Under the veil of darkness, he snuck closer to the spot where the little pony was sleeping. Her small snores made him all the more eager to be done with his task, a task ordered by his father. He reached his destination, and with practiced hooves, took her by the mouth and torso. Instantly, she awoke, as was expected. She looked him in the eyes, and he saw what he thought he was, a monster. To end the suffering of the pony, green fire blossomed from his horn, and enveloped the pony. Slowly, her struggling had subsided. He dragged her with difficulty to the green circle of sickness and despair. The grass around the portal was dead, as if the portal had taken everything good away from the plants, and left them with no will left to live, just like his world left these ponies after they entered. Throwing her in ahead, he jumped through behind her, bracing himself for what came after.

Loud cheers erupted from either side of him. Of course, the voices raised in elation sounded like glass being shattered and trodden on. Cringing back away from the noise and sudden light, the pony, awake again after exiting the portal, curled into a whimpering ball. Tears were rolling down her cheeks unrestrained as her eyes stared at nothing. Shuddering as she was, none of the others had touched her, knowing it was his right to have the first bite, as they called it.

Knowing what they were expecting, Needle Wings held up his hoof for silence. The crowd’s unruly shouts shut off almost the instant he raised it. They respected his right to speak, being the best at doing what he did. How he hated it, his abilities, his “gift” they called it. He called it his curse. “She will be taken to my family’s home,” He said with a voice that grated like glass on stone, “She will not be taken from until I have had my… fun.” When they began dragging her away, she whinnied in terror around the gag in her mouth. Her fear-filled eyes turned to her jailors, a big pair of changelings, as they dragged her along with their magic, careless of the pain they brought her when she hit a rock on the road.

Everyone’s eyes in the crowd turned to Needle Wings. His head hung low to the ground, and tears threatened to overflow on his face. Shutting off his personal emotions, he pulled up his head. And walked off in the direction of his home, where his father and mother would be awaiting to congratulate him on another successful hunt. Needle Wings felt no joy in his curse, only sadness for those he hunted. He opened the door into his personal hell.

000

The pressing darkness was kept at bay by the light of her sister’s horn. Cherish was sitting in her bed, her new cutie mark shining in the blue-tinged light. She only realized her special talent was kindness to other ponies just that night, when she was walking down Mane Street, and a grumpy colt bumped into her. He looked down at her, anger already flickering in his eyes. “Just what do you think you’re doing little filly?” He said, leaning over her, “Don’t you know you should move outa the way when big colts walk through?”

Cherish stepped back, suddenly afraid of the terrifyingly angry colt in front of her. “But… but sir, I’m sorry. I just didn’t see you there. I was thinking about how lovely I’d look standing next to your shop down the road there.”

The colt was suddenly taken aback from this sudden act of kindness and affection. His eyes widened as they noticed a shining light come from the flank of the small pony before him. He glanced down at her, and began to walk away with a small smile on his face. “Well, don’t let it happen again missy.” He said with a wink, “If I was you, I’d wash my flank, you might just find something stuck there.”

Cherish, a little confused, looked towards her rear end. Her eyes jumped open in surprise, on her previously blank-flank, a picture now resided. It was a picture of two pony hooves cradling a heart. She rushed home to tell her sister about what had happened. Just as she had been happy, her sister showed the same excitement that Cherish had infected her with.

As they sat and talked inside the dark room, well into the night, her sister stood up and stretched. “Well Cherish, it seems to be that time again,” She said, stifling a yawn. When Cherish gave her the little filly stare, she shook her head. “Sorry sister, but it is late, and you need your rest for tomorrow, when you will share your talent with the others, and to thank that nice colt for helping you find your talent.” She said with a scolding tone, common of older sisters. As she walked out of the room, the light of her horn winked out.

Cherish didn’t see the green light until it was too late to scream. Blackness engulfed her vision, and her mind.

000

As he walked into his own home, he was assaulted by cheers and claps on the back from his family. He winced at every cheer and pat like it was blows to his very core. He despised himself that he had to do such things to survive. He walked towards his room with his head held high, and he noticed that another person wasn’t enjoying his success either. His brother, Blade Horn, was sitting apart from the festivities, sharpening his horn against a black stone.

As Needle Wings passed by, his brother glared at him with envy. His brother couldn’t change form well, and the last attempt cut off any attempt at hunting for at least 2 weeks as the ponies scoured the land looking for the Changelings. Of course, there was no danger that they’d find their world, but anyone who went out risked getting caught. Needle Wings was the ideal choice, being able to turn into another without a single error, even a picture of a pony was sufficient for him. The fact that Needle was better than him really nettled his brother, especially when they used Needle to fix Blade’s mistakes.

I’d trade you any day blade, Needle thought with a slow rage. I’d rather not have to do this.

Putting his brother aside, Needle walked into his room, where the pony was waiting. As he walked in, he averted his eyes from her, and looked at the mess that had been there since he left to go hunting. Used scrolls littered the ground, and wing flakes were dusted on the entire room. At least they didn’t go through anything, he thought with relief. He turned to the pony in the middle of his room. “So,” he said, advancing toward her, “What is it that makes this right to do? How did we come to this, feeding on your emotions?” He shook his head, knowing full well that she couldn’t answer him with the gag on her mouth. He then did what he told himself not to do, that it would only make this harder. He looked into her fear-filled eyes as she looked up to him, with an expression of sheer terror.

He turned away from her, knowing that he couldn’t do it now. He knew that he could no longer live like this, hunting other people, just to eat. He would find something else to feed on, or he would die. But he would not feed on pony feeling any longer. With tears leaking green out of his eyes, he pushed the pony outside his room.

The screams started before he could close the door.

000

She awoke in darkness, just like her room was before the green light filled her vision. However, she certainly didn’t have her bed beneath her, but rather, a hard floor resided beneath her hooves. Not knowing where she was, she stayed put, shivering in the cold darkness, and twitching to any odd-sound. Those were plenty, with slithering ringing out from the floor, and cackles from somewhere above her. Whimpering in fear, she pinched herself, thinking that she was in a dream. Though it had hurt, she remained where she was, not returning to her own bedroom.

Her whimper had quieted the shouts from above, and urgent talking started, escalating into yelling and a thud. Suddenly, a green light was thrown into the room, blinding her. When her vision cleared, she was being dragged into a room by a large insect like creature that looked like a pony, but gross. She shuddered at the feel of its hooves on her, and shook with fright. Cackling had come from behind her, and she saw another thing walking behind her, with an unnaturally sharp horn, the light reflected off his teeth as he grinned at her.

Suddenly, she was shoved into a room at the end of the hallway. Inside there was a smaller black creature, with a thin body. It was evident that he was starving. He turned to her, and his eyes held so much sadness, that she wanted to rush to his side to comfort him. Green slime around her hooves prevented her from moving. She sat on the floor waiting while the bigger one talked to the starving one. He was telling him to feed from her! Cherish began to squirm on the ground, attempting to leave before they noticed her. The starving one noticed her, and his eyes followed her progress, almost as if he was urging her to leave.

They turned to her, still arguing angrily, but her fear made her deaf to what they were saying. She couldn’t do anything but convulse involuntarily at their approach, whimpering as they came closer. The bigger one left the room, and the younger one looked into her eyes. She could see tears flowing down his face. His look of anguish nearly made her choke with sympathy. He leaned closer to her, resolve plain on his face, and she squealed in fear.

“Listen my little pony,” he said with a jagged voice, “I won’t hurt you, but I need you to listen to me if we are going to get out of here!” She nodded in acknowledgment, and he freed her from the bonds. He began to pile up rocks as black as night, and she barely heard him tell her that she needed to hurry. Then he grabbed her hoof and led her outside to a cliff. Off of the face, she saw a portal as green as grass.

Needing to know her saviors name, Cherish asked in a fearful voice, “Who are you?”

He looked into her eyes, despair haunting his stare, and answered with a yell, “I am Needle Wings, and I am not like them.” After he said that, he shoved her off the cliff. Her last sight before the green light was that of him jumping off after her, green fire streaking all around him.

000

Awakening

Chapter 4: Awakening

The rays of the warming sun struck their faces from between the tree branches hovering above them. The warm pony curled up against his side snored lightly, sounding like the wings of a humming bird fluttering. Needle’s heart swelled to know that he rescued her from his "family". She stirred against him as he lifted his head from its perch on top of hers. As he stood up, Cherish lifted her head groggily, unused to waking up outside, and looked around her with sleepy eyes.

The feeling in his heart disturbed Needle Wings. He had never felt anything like it, an emotion like that. He had been feeling it since he had rescued her from his land. He had also been feeling less starved and stronger lately, around the time he woke up with Cherish sponging his head. Confused by these feelings and thoughts, he cast them aside, and focused on his situation at hand. He had a pony that had a family, and now that family knew she was alive, and out in the world somewhere, with a changeling. With a monster, Needle thought bitterly.

000

When she realized that she wasn’t at home in her bed, and that it wasn’t a dream, Cherish began to get panicky. She was trembling uncontrollably, and making small whimpering sounds. The Changeling before her was looking around for danger. To think, that a changeling would be concerned for a pony, that a changeling would care what happened to her.

Even though he saved her, she still shook with the fear that he would turn on her. He looked so starved of his food, which she knew to be emotions. What am I thinking, if he wanted to eat my emotions, he could have done it in his world, instead of coming here to do it, she thought, shaking her head.

Cutting off her whimpering, she stood up, brushing leaves from her body with her tail. She walked over to the Changeling, who was looking the other direction. Her soft approach alerted him, and he whirled around to face the source of the noise. After noticing that it was her, he seemed to relax, and a light touched on his eyes. He approached her, and as he did, she began to shake with irrational fear again, hapless to stop the shivers that racked her body. He put a hoof on her shoulder, the hide feeling like a smooth shell of an insect. She recoiled away from the touch.

“Relax Cherish, I won’t hurt you.”

The way he said it, the sound of hurt in his voice, tore at her heart. The anguish that cut him cut her just the same. She moved closer to him, and laid a hoof on his shoulder. He shuddered at her warm touch. She looked into his eyes, and saw what she thought was a feeling of warmth coming from their depths, from his soul.

“All right, Needle Wings, let’s sit down over here and talk.” Cherish said, leading him over to the shade, to where they had slept. Sitting down on his haunches, Needle sat a distance away from her, clearly fearful of what was going to come. She sat down and patted the ground next to her, but Needle shook his head, apparently terrified at the prospect of sitting closer to her, within her reach.

Sighing with impatience, Cherish moved closer to him. He started shaking his head violently and backed up quickly, trying to maintain the distance between them. She huffed out a resigned sigh, and stopped advancing on Needle Wings, and backed up, trying to lead him back out from behind the tree he had stepped behind. Needle stepped out cautiously, noticing that Cherish had sat down and was waiting for him to do the same.

When Needle sat down a good distance away from her, she launched into her questions that had built up when he was unconscious.

“What are you exactly? What are you doing trying to help me? Why did you run away from my sister? Why do you not want to sit next to me? Why are you afraid? Do you want to go home? “

When she paused for a breath, he took the opportunity to interject. “Listen Cherish!” he said quickly, “Give me one question at a time would you?” Taken aback by his sudden force, Cherish kept silent for a few seconds while he breathed in slowly. He looked at her face, and she saw pain cross his eyes. “Sorry Cherish, I just felt so overwhelmed there. Please ask me what you want.” He sighed in that strange voice of his, the sigh sounding like gravel being dropped on pavement.

She sat back on her haunches, and tried to think of a good question to ask. “First of all, why did you save me in your world Needle Wings?”

He looked surprised at the question. “Well, why do you think? I didn’t want to be like them, feeding off of innocent creatures such as you. Eating the emotions of pony’s just seemed wrong to me, an abomination. His head fell in sadness, “Just like me, an abomination.”

Cherish barely noticed that she had moved to stand in front of Needle Wings. She put a hoof to his chin, and lifted up his face. “You are NOT an abomination Needle. You saved me” She embraced him tightly; “You saved me.” He tensed as she hugged him, but slowly lifted his arms to hug her back

000

As he embraced her, Needle Wings could feel small drops of water fall on his back. A quick look up at the sky told him that it wasn’t coming from the sky. He felt ashamed that he had made her cry over him. He hugged her tighter, hoping to end her crying, but she only cried harder. Unsure of what to do, he stroked her mane with his hoof, whispering over and over again that it would be ok.

He felt as if every sob of hers was tearing at his soul. Once she quieted, he held her a little back from him, about leg’s length apart. “It’s all right Cherish,” he said, brushing a tear from her cheek as she calmed down, sniffling every once in a while. She tore away from him, turning her back on him. He saw what she was trying to hide, a bright blush lighting her face. He turned away as well, feeling his face heating.

After a few moments of awkwardness, they turned back to face each other. Not knowing what to do, he stood up and walked a little distance away, near the forest edge. He could hear her walking behind him. She took in a small little breath, as though steeling herself, “What are we going to do now Needle Wings?” she asked quietly.
He turned back to her, an eyebrow rising on his face. “Cherish, I don’t live here. You do.” He turned away from her, and continued walking. “Where do you think we should go?”

“Well, I always thought that my sister would listen to me, but now that she saw you, I think that would just lead to her attacking me, just because you could have transformed into me.” She stopped plodding after him, “That is, if you can transform.”

He started sprinting behind a tree, and he heard her screaming his name and pursuing after him. As he went around behind the tree’s large trunk, green fire crossed his body, and he felt himself growing larger, his coat changing from its normal black into a dark blue, and his mane becoming marble-white. When Cherish stepped around the corner, she gasped in fright, backing away quickly.

“Sister? How did you find me?” She whispered, backing away slowly with each question, “Where is mother and father? How is everypony at home?”

Saying nothing, Needle Wings bent down and hugged Cherish, green fire once again crossing his body, changing his form back to what he really was, a changeling, and a monster. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him change. Then, with a small sob, she buried her face into his mane. He felt sickened with himself, showing her that. Disgusted, he pushed her gently away, and lay down in the corner, tears threatening to overflow from his own eyes. “You asked if I could transform. That answer is yes.” He said, his voice laced with self-disgust. “I wish that I couldn’t though, believe me, I’d give anything to be normal, like you.”

She bent down to him, and put a hoof around his shoulder. “But I thought changelings could only change if they had the pony in front of them.”

He shook off her hoof, “Well, I’m ‘special’. I can change into another pony if I saw them at least once. Even a picture is good enough for me. Back in my world, it was seen as a ‘gift’, but I regard it as a ‘curse’ on me,” he said with a voice heavy with loathing, “The other changelings would always send me out to hunt. I was the best at it. No other was my match.” He kicked the tree next to him in anger. “My extra time in your world gave me a larger vision of the world. I could no longer look at the ponies I hunted without feeling sadness, a deep cutting kind of sadness. I grew to hate the things I did, and would have to do to sustain myself.” He walked back over to where she was standing, tears beginning to build up in his eyes. “Now you see why I let you go, because I could not stand the evil that I do.” He hung his head, and cried. He felt Cherish’s Hooves wrapping around him, and he let all his feelings drain out of him, through his tears. Past feelings of sadness, disgust, and sickness with himself all dripped onto the forest floor in time with his sobs.

After what seemed like an hour, Needle Wings quieted his tears. He backed away from Cherish, and when he looked at her eyes, it was his turn to look away blushing. He started to thank her, but then he heard a rustle in the brush behind him. Whirling around, he was face to face with a mare, looking at him with horror. Before he could react, she dashed away, no doubt to tell the others about him. Grabbing Cherish’s hooves, he jumped into the undergrowth.

On the Run

Chapter 5: On the run

Branches scraped against their flanks, whipping behind them as they forced their way through the undergrowth. Twigs snapped beneath their hooves, leaves crunched as they weaved through the trees. Needle Wings, leading the way, began to cast aside things in their way with waves of Green fire that possessed no heat. When that proved to be too difficult of a task, he changed into a large colt, and began running through the obstructions, heedless of what they were. There was only 1 thing in his fear-crazed mind; he had to get Cherish away from there, before they got them both. He would have given himself over to them, in retribution for his past sins, but only the worry of what they would do to Cherish kept him going, leading her closer to safety. Soon they came into a clearing, gasping for breath, and they fell onto their knees, fatigue getting the better of their strength. The shouts that followed them into the forest were still near them, and their breath caught with fear. As the shouts began to fade away, Cherish and he had both released a breath that they unconsciously held. Suddenly, Cherish fell over onto her side. He rushed up to her, instantly concerned about her safety. Her breathing came in steady, slow breaths. So, she just collapsed from exhaustion. He thought with a shake of his head. I guess I can't blame her, she's been through a lot today. Exhaustion wracked his whole body as his tired muscles moved him to find a large leaf to drape over her body. After he tucked the edges under Cherish, Needle felt his knees give out, and he found the blackness waiting with open arms.

000

Cherish tossed about in her make-shift bedding, her mind being tormented with a nightmare.

She was running in a forest, alone, and something was following her. When she looked behind her, there was nothing there, but she knew better, there was something behind her, waiting for her to falter, and then it would have her. She tripped on a stone in her path, a scream tearing from her throat as she fell to the ground, as if in slow motion. Body down in the dirt, she slowly turned, shivering with fear. Standing above her was her sister, a reassuring smile on her face. She sagged with relief knowing her sister was there, and that she would protect her. She leapt up into her sister’s waiting hooves, crying as she hugged her. She then saw something that made her heart skip a beat. Green fire criss-crossed along her sister’s flanks, and the dark-blue coat turned into a black as dark as midnight. She didn’t even have time to scream before the fangs bit into her neck.

Her eyes snapped open to the bright light of Celestia’s sun striking her face from between the gaps in the branches. Feeling alone, she looked to her side, and saw Needle Wings curled up into a ball, twitching in his sleep.

His eyes began to open, a haunting light shining deep inside his soul.

000

As he entered the world of dreams, Needle Wings was running, not knowing where, or why. He only knew of the hunger that ripped across his insides, blocking out every rational thought.

Ahead of him, he saw a sight of his quarry, a small pony looking backwards as she ran. Her coat was a light blue, with a grey mane. On her flank, a picture resided, but was incomprehensible due to the speed at which she ran. Not looking where she was running, she tripped on a stone, just like all the others. Using an instinctual hunting technique, he turned into a pony that she knew. She jumped into his hooves that he held out to her as a mocking smile lit his lips. She sobbed into his mane. Changing back into himself, he felt his fangs sink into her flesh, stealing out her emotions from the skin. Feeling rejuvenated, he paused as he savored the feelings that he stole from her. Her mane was a stunning silver, which reflected in the moonlight. Her light blue hide looked like the morning sky, sweet and innocent. He savored the feelings that he stole from her. He froze as his eyes found her flank, upon which rested a cutie mark in the semblance of a blue heart between two hooves.

Cherish.

He sank to his knees with the agony of the feelings that ripped through his heart. He thought he would die with the pain.

He screamed her name unto the heavens, feeling himself pulled down into the ground itself.

000

As his eyes slowly opened, he looked at Cherish sitting a little distance away, looking into his eyes with her beautiful opal stare. Feeling sickened, he retched on the ground, disgusted with himself.Turning away from the concern in Cherish’s eyes, he crawled as far as his body allowed. He was only barely aware of the tears flowing green down his face. The edge of the clearing was aglow with light, the grass sparkling with the light refracting from the droplets of dew. Needle Wings barely noticed this beauty, his vision blurred with tears of self-loathing. He stood up, and began walking down a woodland path.

She began to plod along behind him, silent as she no doubt searched for a way to ask what was wrong. “Needle,” she began, hesitant at first. When he said nothing, she continued. “Needle, we need to go to a town to get news of what’s happening. I need to know everypony is ok.”

Without warning, he turned on her. “Look Cherish, we can’t. They will know that you were taken by a Changeling. They will think you are me! Don’t you understand?” Anguish rippled across his already coarse voice. “We can’t… it simply won’t work!” He stomped a hoof in frustration, unable to meet her eyes.

000

Cherish backed away from his sudden wave of anger. She could see that he was shaken up about something, but she didn't know what. She put a hoof around him, and drew him close to her in a hug. He didn’t return it, a stiff board between her hooves. “Needle, what happened in your dream?” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

He grabbed her tightly, and took a breath in. Just as she expected him to talk, she felt a prick on her neck. Panicking, she stumbled away from him. He looked at her with an immense regret. “That happened.” The way his voice was laced with disgust made her cringe. She felt tears leaking from her eyes, tears for the poor creature before her, just like he had shed tears for him those few days ago.

They walked along in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

000

As he sat in darkness, Blade Horn brooded. His brother was allowed to have the first taste of his hunting prize. It broke tradition. His fool father wanted to feed Needle and stop him from dying. But then, even given his food, Needle not only didn’t eat, but he sent her back to Equestria, following her as well. That fool is probably being held captive by those stupid ponies.

“Which is why, Blade Horn, you will be going to Equestria tomorrow.” A deep voice, like falling boulders, said from close behind him.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard his father speak behind him, not knowing that he had spoken aloud. Whirling around, he let out a yelp of fear. His father casually smacked him across the face for showing his fear. Face stinging, Blade knew better than to put his hoof to his cheek, as it would only earn him more abuse. Looking up into his father’s eyes, he saw a deep anger boiling in the depths.

“You, Blade Horn, can do what needs to be done. It is only fitting that you be the one to do it.” His father said, assuming the position of authority.

“What is that, exactly, Father?” Blade said hesitantly, avoiding his father’s eyes lest his joy at hearing this would shine in them.

His father heaved a heavy sigh. “You have always specialized in killing magic, have you not?” Without waiting for a response, his father went on. “You will be going to Equestria to do what you do best Blade Horn. Killing.”

“Who is it that I should kill, father?” Blade Horn said, barely able to keep his excitement out of his voice.

Another heavy sigh came from his father. “Your brother, Needle Wings. He is no longer one of us. He has betrayed us to the ponies of Equestria. His father turned away slowly. “I expect no mistakes, even if he is your brother, Blade Horn.”

Blade Horn nodded in understanding, and turned away to begin his preparations, barely able to contain his sadistic glee.

000

In the Woods

Chapter 6: In the Woods

Luna’s night began to wrap around the two, a small green fire blossoming from Needle’s horn providing the only light, as the woods were too dense to allow the silvery light from the moon through. They were both tired from trotting along all day. But they couldn’t stop going, with the crowds of ponies out looking for the pair of unlikely companions. However, one cannot run away forever. When they arrived at the clearing, this time it was Needle’s turn to collapse into a heap. After darkness fell, Cherish began trembling, unused to the darkness surrounding her. That was when Needle lit his horn up, surprising her momentarily. She gave a silent nod of thanks and lay across the clearing a small distance from him.

The fire reflected off of the silver strands of Cherish’s mane, creating a green glow to surround the two. She looked over at him, fear lighting her face. At least, Needle thought it was fear. He constantly saw that on the faces of the ponies he hunted.

She stood up on shaky hooves, and made her way over to him.

000

Cherish could see him tense as she walked over to him. He looked ready to bolt away from her. She lay down in front of him, wanting to reach out and touch this sad creature before her, but she couldn't. She just sat there, looking into his haunted green eyes.

She spoke up, in a quiet, hesitant voice. “Are…. Are you,” She looked for a way to ask her question, “…hungry, Needle?” As she expected, he jumped from where he was sitting, backing away from her quickly. It was just as she feared. He seemed to be trembling with the effort of not giving in to his hunger. She quickly backed off, her fears confirmed. He seemed to relax as she backed away. She shook her head. “You must be so tired right now.”

His voice, filled with spite, echoed against the darkness, “I am more than tired. I am feeling as if I rested on the razor-sharp drop between this life and death.” As he said this, he stepped forward, stumbled, and fell. His face was in the dirt and he made no sound.

Cherish, squeaking in fear, went up to Needle Wings. He was terribly thin now, and was barely breathing. Not knowing what to do, Cherish lay across his corpse-like body, tears overflowing her eyes. She cried there until she could empty her heart no longer. Then she fell into the shallow pool of semi-consciousness. She was barely aware of her surroundings as she cried for the life of her savior, Needle Wings. She held him tighter in her hooves as the night progressed. Shivering to the bone, she would not leave him. Her body wracked with shivers as the ice-cold night wind tore through her coat. It felt as if thousands of tiny teeth were pricking into her hide. Just like Needle's teeth, she thought with a shudder that had nothing to do with the cold.

She snuggled close to him, his green fire somehow still alight, and strangely stronger than before. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell into a shallow sleep.

000

As if he had fallen asleep, Needle Wings sat in a room of darkness, unable to move. He could hear Cherish sobbing in the background. He worried that he had attacked her that he gave into his hunger for her emotions. He felt himself lose control, and fall into a different state. The state was one he knew well, the state of mind of a predator. No remorse, no mercy. He hoped that he did not, because then he would have nopony to call his friend. He choked for breathe at the thought. He tried to call out to her that he was ok, but his mouth refused to respond. The only thing he could do was listen in anguish as her sobs quieted down.

He felt suddenly stronger in his strange state, and a feeling of fullness. His heart felt swollen with a feeling, and torn with despair. He turned to the warm, unknown feeling, and unleashed his magic, pulsing in harmony to the rhythm of his heart. He felt a heat streak along his head, as if it belonged to somepony else.

Hearing her soft breaths being taken from somewhere by his side, he was left with nothing to focus on. He had images as to what awaited him after he awoke. Images of a torn and bitten hide of sky-blue and the like danced across his mind as he drifted. He cringed away from that image, and was met with another of Cherish lying on the ground, covered in scratches and dirt, with a pair of bites on her neck. He felt a deep feeling coming from inside his heart as he saw picture after picture of how Cherish was torn apart, scattered around, bitten, burned, and a whole host of other things.

Unable to bear it any longer, he tore himself out of the dream, howling with pain.

000

He sat up abruptly, the daylight momentarily blinding him. His breathing heavy, he looked around wildly, taking in the surroundings. Cherish was curled up against his side, unharmed. Sighing with relief, he stood up, expecting to fall down. However, he was able to support himself, and walk around the edge of the clearing. He felt better than he ever had back at home. Looking down at Cherish, he wondered how he got this new strength. He had not fed on her; at least he hoped he didn’t. Nudging her with his hoof, he attempted to wake her. She whimpered in her sleep. He nudged her a little harder, and her eyes snapped open.

Cherish turned to look at him, and her eyes widened. Concerned that he was scaring her, he backed away from her, to give her some space. Suddenly, his vision was laced with green fire, and blackness once again raced to overtake his mind.

They have come for us., this was his last thought as he fell into the void.

000

Blade Horn stayed back in the darkness, watching the little pony cry over his brother. He saw how thin his brother looked, and he shook with silent laughter. That little fool has gotten himself into a nasty situation hasn’t he? He thought to himself with a smirk. He settled in to wait for his brother to awaken. After all, there would be no fun in taking his “mare-friend” away from him without him knowing that it was his brother. So he waited in the darkness for the perfect time to strike.

He heard a rustle in the grass, and looked over into the clearing. Several times before it had been some animal that was walking around. He ended them without much of a smile. There was little fun in killing something if you couldn’t hear it scream, he had always thought. This time, he wasn’t disappointed, and he saw his brother nudging the little blue pony, attempting to wake her. Not one to leave an opportunity untaken, he silently stalked into the clearing, his horn lighting with green flames as he prepared his spell. It took Needle in the back, and he collapsed. The little pony in front of him backing away and screaming in fright as Blade Horn turned to her, his horn lighting again.

He relished in that scream as he advanced on her. “I have plans for you, you little nuisance.” She screamed again as green fire filled her vision.

000

I would like to thank everypony so far for reading this, their suggestions, and their support. With this being my first FanFiction, I'm glad at how much support I've seen. Thank you everypony!

Deep in Darkness

Chapter 7: Deep in Darkness

Well everypony... I would like to say sorry for the horrible previous chapter. It will be totally rewritten soon. However, I will work on finishing the story first before I do that. Also, this chapter will have, hopefully, a change of pace, and won't be as repetitive. Thanks again for reading -ChaoticHarmony

Deep in the woods, animals began to surround Needle Wings. Curious as to what this black-shelled, insect-like creature was, they began to sniff at it, nudging it with their noses. Feeling the wetness of their noses, Needle struggled with sleep, attempting to break its hold on him. The animals darted away from him as he struggled to awaken, green fire sparked along his body, the lingering magic attempting to keep him in a slumber. As his struggle intensified, so did the fire that arced around his body. The heat from the fire charred the forest floor with black lines of soot. In a final flash, the fire web broke from Needle’s body, and shot into the sky with a thundering noise.

Needle’s eyes slowly opened, and he looked around. Cherish wasn’t there. With a rush, the memory of green fire slammed into him. Falling to his knees, the pain of the memory sliced through his mind and heart. He remembered the last sight his eyes had seen before blacking out. Blade Horn had attacked him, and he took Cherish through a green portal conjured from his horn.

They had her again.

Needle fell to his knees and let out a yell of anguish, green fire erupting from his horn and blinding him. So absorbed in his despair, he didn’t see the ponies around him in the clearing. One came forward, her horn lowered at him. Looking through numbed eyes, he barely recognized her as Cherish’s sister. Before he could say anything, a blast of magic cut off his screams of despair.

000

She opened her eyes into blackness. Feeling her face, she dimly recalled the green fire that was launched at her. As that thought crossed her mind, she began to panic. Needle would never hurt her, not even if he had to die of hunger. She trembled with fear as the darkness pressed on her from all sides, every step echoing back to her. Suddenly, a grating, cruel laughter rang out from the darkness. Suddenly, a green fire crackled to light in front of her. It illuminated the face of her captor.

On the verge of tears, she asked hesitantly, “Needle Wings, is that you?”

The cold, mocking laugh that rang out chilled her to the bone. “Needle Wings, is that you?” The voice mimicked in a sing-song voice that sounded like gravel tumbling down a rocky hillside. “No, you silly little foal. I’m not your precious Needle Wings.” The changeling said with a voice full of spite. “My brother is probably still under my spell. I used almost all my power to put him down.” He walked away from her, cackling as she let out a wail for her Needle.

Suddenly she felt a heat from behind her, and she turned around to see her captor just inches from her. Shuddering violently, she couldn’t move from her spot, held fast by green fire bonds. Surprisingly, they held no heat, and felt as cold as iron. His rotten-smelling breath washed over her face as he smiled at her. “Sleep well little Cherish.”

Her cell was brightly lit as he erupted into a column of green fire. It seemed all the blacker when the fire finally disappeared.

000

She finally had him, the monster that took her sister away from her. She finally has the chance to exact her revenge upon that monster that took her other half away. She burned with a strange curiosity, walking towards her house. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by her curiosity, and she turned onto the path that lead toward the cage. Bright Light slowly walked up to the cage, her mouth working around the question that she yearned to ask.

Her eyes met the sad green ones behind the bars. “Are you here to end my pain?” The creature said with unmistakable sadness.

When she shook her head, he looked even sadder. “I am not here to kill you just yet.” She said with anger. “But I’m here to ask you a question.” He didn’t look up or even acknowledge her words. Heaving a sigh, Bright Light plowed on with her interrogation, “Where is my sister now?”

The pain that was in his voice tore at even Bright’s angry heart. “She is with my brother. He is probably enjoying her emotions right about now.” Tears were dripping down his face. “I wasn’t able to save her again. I deserve to die.”
The words barely registered in her mind, as she fell to her knees in sadness. Tears began leaking from her already cried-out eyes. She cried out with the grief of losing her sister a second time. Then she realized what the second thing the monster had said. “What was that you just said?” She leaned closer to his face, heedless of her own safety.

“I said that I couldn’t save her. I said that you should kill me right now. My life matters nothing without her.” The creature before her wept pitifully.

“So, you were trying to save her?” Bright Light’s eyes widened in shock. She stumbled away from the cage, confused about how she felt towards this creature before her.

“Yes. And in the end, it didn’t matter anyway.” He lay down on the hay bottom of his cell, sobbing into his hooves. Looking at the pitiful creature, she remembered a spell she had cast on her sister. She shot up with the memory, and she turned to the creature.

“Would you help me save my sister?”

000

“Would you help me save my sister?”

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the unicorn before him. He couldn’t believe the cruelty of these ponies, he thought that his race was evil. “This is a cruel joke to play on me. Don’t try to get my hopes up. I know that she is lost.” He lowered his eyes. “My kind has no mercy.” His mind flashed with images of Cherish being torn apart by his family, then another of Cherish being held by her brother, her struggling growing weaker as he sucked her emotions from her neck. It was too late, there was no way that anypony could save her now.

The unicorn shook her head. “No, she is still alive.” She stepped closer to him. He backed away further into his cell, fire blooming on his horn in warming. The dark-blue unicorn stopped up short. “I cast a spell on us when we were just little fillies. It is a life-detector spell.” The unicorn held a hoof to her heart. “I cast it on us because our pet dog died. She was devastated, and was asking me questions about life and death.” Needle couldn’t care less about her back story. The only thing that was consuming his thoughts was the fact that Cherish was still alive.

She needed him.

The fire that still resided on his horn burned with a larger intensity than before, growing until it started to touch the ceiling. A column of flame erupted around him, incinerating the cage he was contained in. Once the flame faded, he was surrounded by unicorns with horns aglow. Growling deep in his throat, he prepared to leap at them. The dark blue unicorn stepped up to him, his growl intensified. She visibly steeled herself, and she touched him. That one touch shattered his rage, and his fire calmed.

The unicorn led him with a hoof on his shoulder to a building. When they were inside, Needle’s eyes widened. This was Cherish’s house, where she nurtured him back to health after he saved her from himself. After sitting down behind a table, the unicorn gestured for him to sit down across from her. Still uneasy and anxious to start, Needle sat down where she pointed. She looked into his eyes, and expecting the worse, Needle tensed.

“My name is Bright Lights. I am Cherish’s sister, if you haven’t guessed that.” She extended a hoof in greeting. “What’s yours?”

Taking her hoof hesitantly, Needle shook it. “I am Needle Wings. But your name for me, monster, works for me as well.” He shook his head. “Cherish helped me see that however evil I was in the past, I can change. And I mean to. You won’t call me a monster one day.” He let go of her hoof, and drooped to rest his head on the table.

She subtly wiped her hoof on the carpet next to her, thinking he wasn’t looking. He knew how strange his hide felt. She then leaned closer to him, forcing him to look up at her. “We must make haste if we are to rescue my sister.” She said with a force that said there would be no resting. “We must go now, if we are to have any chance to save her. Can you make a portal?” When he nodded, she led the way out of the door, into the sunshine.

And into their quest.

000

A Point of Light

Chapter 8: A Point of Light

Just to let everypony know, my little dog died today. It might make my chapters darker than usual, it could even possibly delay them. However, I will try to still release chapters on time. Now enjoy the chapter!

She slept fitfully, as if troubled by bad dreams. Her legs twitching violently as she dreamt.

She dreamt of a world without anypony else in it. She saw her Needle Wings looking at her with remorse. Then his brother came from behind her, fire lancing out from his horn. Needle was consumed in the fire, screaming her name as he burnt. He lay there smoldering in the harsh rays of Celestia’s sun. Nopony but his brother heard her screams of anguish. He circled around to her front, leering at her. “Looks like he is dead again my dear little Cherish.”, he chuckled evilly as she shuddered from his breath on her neck. She screamed again as she felt fangs pierce her neck.

She dreamt of a world without anypony else in it. She saw her Needle Wings lying on the ground in front of her, holding up a ring in his hoof. The words left his mouth. She could think of nothing else to say but yes. She started to hug him, but he was ripped from her grip. He lay on the ground a distance away, a chunk of hide missing from his neck. His brother stood in front of her, his mouth dripping with green fluid. He walked over to the near-corpse on the ground. Smiling to himself, he bent to his brother, baring his fangs as he went lower. Unable to do anything, she merely cried as she watched her love being torn apart. The monster turned to her, fangs dripping with green blood. He slowly approached her with the walk of a predator. Yelling out with lust, he lunged at her throat. She felt the fangs pierce through her hide.

She dreamt of a world without anypony else in it. She cradled Needle’s body in her arms, sobbing over what she had done. She wailed aloud with a torn heart. Walking up to her slowly, Bright Light nuzzled her head. “You did what had to be done my sister.” Her voice sounded heavy with sadness. The older of the siblings walked a small distance away, leaving her sister to her agony. “Cherish.” Cherish turned to look at her sister. Green fire crossed Bright’s back, and she turned into the creature that so resembled Needle Wings. Mind numb with the pain of lost love, Cherish could only stare as his lips almost lovingly brushed against her neck. Her mind could barely register the pain of fangs piercing her flesh.

She dreamed. And slept a sleepless sleep.

000

Crying out in pain and surprise, Needle fell forward, the hole in the ground rushing up to meet him. How could he have been so stupid as to not watch where he was stepping? Crashing face-first into the hole, he groaned as a dull pain throbbed from behind his eyes. “What’s the matter Needle? Is that hole too deep for you to get out of?” The condescending tone nagged at his ears, and he felt himself being picked up by a stronger-than-steel grip. As he was lifted up, he locked eyes with the unicorn just inches away from his face. Baring his teeth in what he hoped passed for a smile, he plopped down to the ground with a thud.

The unicorn had been a pain ever since they had started. First of all, she was slow. He had to keep stopping to allow her a chance to catch up. It frustrated him to no end. Secondly, she was constantly taking the tone, as she did now, of one superior to him. That had also frustrated him. Any longer with this stress-inducing unicorn would have him shoving his head into one of these holes and burying it.

The ever-infuriating unicorn plodded ahead of him, looking over her shoulder at him. “You know, we won’t ever find one of those black stones you talked about if you just stand there.” Fuming, Needle Wings set off after her with a quick trot, easily overtaking her. Calling his name, the unicorn trotted to keep up. He ignored her, searching the surrounding country for a stone as black as him. After a few minutes of searching, she plopped down and crossed her front hooves. “I am NOT going anymore today,” She said with a huff, “We won’t save my sister by collapsing from exhaustion.”

Anger igniting, Needle whirled back to face her, his horn blooming with green fire fueled by his rage. “Listen you little foal!” He said with a deep anger. “You can stop for tonight, but I will NOT stop searching until I find a stone.” His face was mere inches away from hers. “I will not stop. For any reason.” He turned away from her shocked and hurt face. He plodded off into the darkness, yelling over his shoulder as he went, “I’ll be back in the morning.”

The darkness swallowed him whole.

000

As she lay alone in the darkness, Bright huffed angrily. Being called a foal was one thing. But coming from this ungrateful beast, it was quite another. She had saved him from certain death, why was it that he fought her so? The most plausible answer would be that he was sick with worry over Cherish, but the real question was, why? He was a changeling, an abomination of nature. What reason could possibly be behind his concern for her sister? It didn’t make any sense that one of those emotion leeches would feel anything but hunger and hate when it came to ponies. Stamping a hoof into the ground, she vented her frustrations on the dirt.

As she childishly tore at the dirt with her hooves, she shook the dust that she kicked up out of her face. Somehow, her anger was increased, and she dug at the ground with a renewed force. Suddenly, her hoof struck something solid. Crying out with the pain that gripped her hoof, Bright began to cry silently. Here she was, lying on the ground, digging at the dirt, when her sister was being held by changelings for reasons that she did not want to fathom. Tears of frustration began to flow from her eyes.

Going back to digging dirt, she pursued the cause of her pain. A stone was lodged in the hole where she was digging. It pulsed with a strange inner light, seeming to absorb the blue light cast by her horn. Grinning to herself, she pulled the stone out of earth with her magic. At least, she tried to. The stone just seemed to glow brighter as she cast the levitation spell. Frustrated, she snorted and pawed the dirt away from around the stone. Grabbing it in her teeth, Bright pulled it out of the earth, quickly spitting it out after it cleared the dirt. It tasted terrible. It tasted even worse than those burned flowers that her mother made one time for her when she was sick.

Shuffling over to where the stone now lay, she looked into its depths. It pulsated with a sickly green color. “Could this be the stone Needle was looking for?” she thought aloud, “He said it was a black stone, he didn’t say anything about green.” She looked at it for a little longer, tempted to try and use her magic on it again. She turned away from it, and lay down to go to sleep once more, not concerned with what Needle could be doing.

000

As he trotted through the forest, he huffed a sigh of frustration. That stuck-up little foal would be the death of him, and of Cherish. Her heart was in the right place, but she just didn’t grasp the import of their finding a portal stone. She was ignorant in this realm. He kicked aside a stick in frustration.

Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled back to where he came from, and where Bright was probably sleeping. He knew that pull, the pull of the portal stone. He began to quickly trot back to where Bright was, unable to gallop due to the darkness. While he did have enhanced night-vision, it was not perfect, and he could still stumble and break a leg, or worse. Then he would never be able to save Cherish from Blade Horn. That thought above all made him pace himself as he hurried back to Bright’s resting place.

He burst into the small clearing she was resting in, blue light glowing from her horn. Right beside her was the pulsating portal stone, it’s inner light a sickly green. I can't believe she actually found it on her own. He thought to himself while shaking his head. It seems that she doesn't' know what she is sleeping next to yet. Careful not to wake her, Needle dragged the stone away from her, lest it gain too much magic power and open too early. That would be disastrous for both of them.

He lay down next to the stone, further shielding it from the magic of the light. He drifted off, thoughts of saving Cherish floating through his mind.

Needle fell into unconsciousness, sighing with relief.

How short lived that relief would be.

Circle of Light

Chapter 9: Circle of Light

Would ya look at me go? I'm still a day ahead with chapter releases. Oh well. That just means I'll be done with this one faster. If that's good or bad, you can decide.

Eyes wide in the dark, Cherish lay on the cold stone floor of her cell, too terrified to move. Sometime after she had woken up from her haunting dreams, she heard the sound of steps on the floor. After calling out, she was answered with only a harsh laughter, like a chalkboard being scratched with a sharp hoof. So now she lay there, darkness pressing against her vision, and cowering from things she could not see. Even after being in her cell for what seemed an eternity, she still felt oppressed by the darkness, as if it was sucking away from her the will to live.

She shuddered as she sat in the darkness, the memories of the dreams flashing through her mind. She had never experienced pain like that in a dream before. She cried softly as the ways that Needle had died were replayed in her mind over and over again. Cruel laughter assaulted her ears once again as her observers listened to her sobs.

Another night like that, Cherish thought to herself sullenly, and I don't know if I will still be me anymore.

000

Blade Horn paced around his room, furious at his brother for not being faster. Needle Wings was never this slow when returning back to his world. Blade stabbed his horn into the wall in anger, wincing when a small crack spread up the wall. The castle’s cleaning crew would give him pains for that. For people who worked for him, they complained about a lot of things to him.

The entire reason he took Cherish here was to make his brother want to hurry. After all, Needle Wings knew of the brutality of the changelings, and how their world affected the pony mind. If his foolish brother didn’t hurry, that little pony would be lost, and he wouldn’t be able to see that pain in Needle’s eyes as he devoured her emotions in front of him. Blade felt a smile grow on his face. Tormenting his brother would be the most fun he’s ever had, even more fun than attacking him. However, Blade Horn was tasked to kill him, so Blade couldn’t leave him alive, even though it would be fun to watch Needle slowly die on the inside. At least he would have the small pleasure of ending both the pony and his brother.

Hearing sobs with the magic of the cell under his room, his grin widened even further. It seemed that that little pony was enjoying her stay here. He pulled his horn out of the wall and resumed his pacing. He would only get pleasure in consuming her emotions if his brother was present. The joy of his plan coming to fruition brought a small skip to his steps. He decided it was time that he visited his guest. The grin on his face still present as green fire flew around him in a column, sending him to the cells below.

000

Phoenix Wings jumped slightly when he felt the first drop hit his face. He hated the rain; it always cooled his fire that spread from his wings as he flew. Rainbow Dash might be able to do something like a Sonic Rainboom, but she could never match him and his light-giving fire flying. Now he sat down on the ground, forced down by the rain pelting his wings like small stones. He loved adventure, but this is not what he had expected to face.

Phoenix Wings was your general fun-loving pegasus. His coat was a brownish-red, with orange gradient around his muzzle and hooves. His mane was a short-unruly mess, contrasting with his streamlined tail. Orange streaks ran down both his main and tail. When he was flying, he looked like a flash of fire crossing the sky. His cutie mark was that of a flame, curled within wings, shining from between the feathers.

He always knew he would love fire, ever since he was a small colt, he had felt an inner heat. One day, he dove into a burning building to save a small filly stuck inside. Coming out of the window, his coat was aflame, but he held the small filly with his wings curled around her to protect her from the fire. Landing on the ground from 3 stories up, not to mention being on fire, absolutely ruined Phoenix’s wings. In the days of recovery, when the bandages were finally removed from his coat, Phoenix was astounded to see his cutie mark reside on the blackened skin.

His next few years on the ground were terrible, the worst ever years of his life. His wings, ruined by the fire, were unusable, and he was stuck on the ground in the village of Ponyville. It was there he met an earth pony that studied pegasi. The earth pony, pitying Phoenix, took him in and began to work on a metal sling to allow Phoenix to fly. Also in ponyville, he met Cherish, another earth pony who took his breath the second he saw her. He never worked up the bravery to ask her out, and now he might never get the chance. Imagine that, a pegasus that was brave enough to jump into a flaming inferno was not brave enough to ask his crush out. Once his wings were fixed, with the help of the earth pony engineer, Tinker, he was able to fly again. However, even with his new freedom, Phoenix felt himself drawn back down to ponyville, searching for Cherish.

When he heard that she was taken, his whole world seemed a little bit colder, with less color. After hearing her sister Bright say that she was still alive, how could he not want to go along?

Shivering in the cold rain, he had to remind himself that it was all for Cherish. He wanted badly to go into the clearing where the monster and Bright rested and get out of the rain. Unfortunately, he was secretly following them, something not easy with wings that light up with golden light every time he went fast. It was a good thing that they wanted to take it slow, or at least Bright did. More drops pelted his back as he lay there beyond the edge of the clearing, and he had to stop himself from crawling just a little bit into the clearing. There was no way that they would appreciate his help, and they would send him away just like all the others did.

Grinding his teeth angrily, he shook the water from his mane, fighting the urge to sneeze. If this is what adventure was, he didn’t want any more of it.

000

Needle Wings twitched and shuddered in his sleep. Cherish consumed his dreams.

He dreamt of a world with no changelings. He dreamt that he wasn’t a monster, but was a pony. He dreamt that Cherish was standing in front of him, a smile on her face as she answered his question with a yes. She threw her hooves around him, sobbing with joy. Needle reached up to pat her on the back. As he did, she went limp, and crumpled to the ground. Behind her, he saw Blade Horn licking his blood-red lips, a malicious grin on his face, horn aflame. The blast of green fire was all he saw before blackness.

He dreamt of a world with no changelings. He dreamt that he wasn’t an abomination, but that he was a pony. He held Cherish in his hooves, sobbing over her body, the look of fear forever frozen on her face. Looking further down her face, he saw the two holes that flowed red with blood. Her blood. He wiped the blood from his own lips, horrified with what he had done. His brother appeared next to him, grin etched on his face. “Why my little brother, I will end your pain.” Hate dripped from every syllable. Needle didn’t even move as his brother’s horn lit with green fire. Needle welcomed the black void of death, willingly walking into its embrace.

Tearing his way out of the dream, Needle howled into the night. The dreams seemed so real to him. Lighting his horn, he looked towards the stone, pulsing with that evil green light. The sun began to slowly rise over the horizon, turning the stone to a black as deep as midnight. Needle sat there, tears running down his face as he waited for the day to begin.

000

Images in Fire

Chapter 10: Images in Fire

To everypony reading this, thank you so much for sticking with the story so far. It's about to get a lot more "Actiony". I know that's not a word, but whatever, I am a WRITER! I can do things like that.

Flames flickered off the horn of the changeling next to her. Bright shuddered as she felt the warm heat of it, and winced as she saw him fall down on his knees, shaking from exhaustion. After they, or rather she, ate breakfast, Needle moved the stone from behind the leaves he concealed it behind. He had been trying to open the portal for hours since then, getting more and more tired with each attempt. Desperation was shining on his eyes, which were flowing with more tears at each failure. Needle was on the verge of killing himself by exhausting his magic. It was time to stop.

As Needle worked to stand up for another attempt, Bright laid a hoof on his shoulder. “No Needle, you can’t open the portal right now. You’re just not strong enough.” She was surprised that he stayed still and let her touch him, and even more surprised at his instant hostility.

He jumped back away from her, teeth bared in a threatening snarl. “No, she will die if she stays any longer there,” he hissed through his tears, “I will not give up until I open a portal and drag her out of there, even if I die in the process.” He turned around and lit his horn once again. His knees buckled as soon as the flames started, and he fell down next to the stone, crying into the dirt. He wiped away his tears, and assumed his stance once more. Bright lifted him with a veil of blue magic, stopping his concentration, and suicidal portal opening.

The force in which he struggled against her hold astonished her. Needle should have been too exhausted to stand, but now he constantly attempted to free himself from her grip. “Let me go! I have to save her.” He said sobbing, “Cherish needs me. She needs me to save her!” Green light flashed from the changeling, blinding the unicorn. Bright was suddenly slammed bodily into a tree, pain flashing across her flank. The look on the face of the changeling in front of her was absolutely terrifying. “Do NOT get in my way.” He spat at her, venom coating his words, “You may be Cherish’s sister, but I will not hesitate to end you.” He turned back to the stone slowly.

Bright finally succumbed to the pain that gripped her body, tendrils of black creeping across her vision.

000

Looking over his shoulder, Needle saw the unicorn fall limp leaning against the tree. Not sparing much of Cherish’s time to look at her, Needle turned back to the resilient stone. It sat there, dead-black in the rays of Celestia’s sun. Stomping a hoof into the ground, Needle sank to the ground, tears flowing green onto the dirt. He wasn’t able to open the portal. He couldn’t save her. His staying with her would cause her to die. He would cause her to die.

No. This thought overwhelmed all others with its force. I will NOT give up on her. Even if there is no chance, I will KEEP TRYING! The last words of that thought were like a roar. He felt a new strength flooding through his body, wiping away fatigue and hunger. Wiping away his tears, he stood up once more, ignoring the pain that was flaring in his body, green fire flickering along his horn’s jagged edge. He prepared the portal spell again, drawing on his new strength.

Just as he was about to launch the spell, he heard a twig snap behind him. With battle reflexes kicking in, Needle whirled to see a red and orange pegasus standing over Bright. Quickly changing his spell to a killing one, Needle approached the pegasus, who was staring at him in absolute terror. Rage building at this unwary pony, Needle unleashed a lance of green flames.

When the smoke cleared, the red pegasus was gone.

000

That crazy thing tried to kill me! He killed Bright and now he wants my blood too! Phoenix sat above the monster wrapped around a tree branch. As the smoke floated to his hiding place, Phoenix’s lungs urged to betray him to the changeling. Fighting the urge to cough, Phoenix hung there, eyes watering until the thing bent down to Bright, nuzzling her and listening to her chest. It’s almost as if he’s checking if she’s alive. Phoenix shook his head slightly, No way, that monster must have killed her, and Cherish too. When that thought crossed his mind, Phoenix’s blood shot to a boil. He began to see with a red that wasn’t from his mane. The small, logical voice in his mind screamed at him that he was being a stupid, headstrong fool. Of course, as usual, he ignored it.

He flew at the changeling with a scream. Fire, red and green both, circled the clearing at they tumbled around. The green fire shot off in concentrated beams, attempting to get at Phoenix, but the changeling was obviously disoriented from both the surprise attack and Phoenix’s own flames. Phoenix himself was surprised at the flames, if not for the same reason as the changeling. They were a deeper red than usual, pulsing in time with his rapid heartbeat. They continued to toss in the dirt, evenly matched. Green flames struck red ones and exploded in blinks of blinding light. Both blinded, they stopped struggling for a moment, long enough for their vision to clear enough to see their targets. Phoenix could feel the monster’s energy falter, and he pushed his advantage. In a matter of moments, the match was decided with Phoenix’s hoof was poised to crush the skull of his opponent, which was driven face-first into the dirt.

Phoenix raised his poised hoof, screaming in rage and sorrow for Cherish. Then a streak of blue light slammed into him.

000

Bright was awakened by a shout. Grasping her surroundings, she saw two different fires dance around her. A green fire beam lanced by her head, while red fire circled around her, singing parts of her coat. She was confused and lost as she watched the two figures struggle on the ground. She watched as the ponies struggled to overpower the other, but they were evenly matched. She watched as Needle’s hooves began to shake with exhaustion. How he managed to fight after trying magic all day, she would probably never know.

Suddenly the pegasus flipped on top of Needle, pushing Needle’s face into the dirt so his horn couldn’t fire at him. Suddenly, her thoughts returned to her in a rush. Needle is our only chance to get to Cherish! She started galloping towards the two, magic building in her horn. She cast a force spell just as the pegasus raised a hoof with a shout, preparing to crush Needle’s life, and her chance of saving Cherish.

The pegasus lay on his side, groaning. Smoke curled slightly from where her spell had struck him. She stomped up to him, fury unleashed. “And what,” She started, stamping a hoof right in front of his face, “Do you think you’re DOING?” Anger coursing through her blood, she took deep breaths and found they did nothing to cool her temper. “Why would you crush my one chance to save my sister?”, she asked with a deadly soft voice.

She could barely hear his soft reply, accented with tones of his own anger. “I tried to kill him for killing you and Cherish.” He looked away from her, shame painting his face.

She leaned down to him, her tone was still dangerous. “Why were you here in the first place? This is hardly a place to go for a stroll.”

His eyes tried to further distance themselves from hers, embarrassment coating his every word. “I was following you two. You are Cherish’s sister. When I heard that she wasn’t dead, why wouldn’t I go and try to help.”

“So why didn’t you make yourself known to us before?”

“Because, my fear kept me back. I had no idea if it was really you or not. Why would anypony in their right mind journey with a changeling?”

Why indeed. The pegasus still sat there, watching her in silence as she contemplated what to do with him. It was already too late to send him away, he knew where they were going. Looks like we’ve got no choice but to let him stay along. We might need him later. She stuck out a hoof to pull the pegasus to his feet, being none too gentle with him.

Wincing, he muttered “Thanks” and started to limp away from her.

She instantly smacked a hoof into his flank. “Where did you learn to talk to ponies? What’s your name?” He growled out his name, and she recoiled in shock. “You’re that pony that sets fire to everything?” When he shook his head violently, she put on a less accusing tone and said, sticking out a hoof as she did, “My name is Bright Light, I’m Cherish’s sister, as you already know.”

Taking her hoof with his own, Phoenix Wings shook it once.

Oil and Water

Chapter 11: Oil and Water

She woke up screaming. That seemed to be the only thing she did anymore besides crying. She had long given up calling out Needle’s name. Her voice was still recovering from her desperate screeches. Of course, her screaming every time she woke up from her fitful sleep didn’t help her throat recover. She still remembered that changeling’s visit, as if it happened mere minutes before she fell into her fitful rest.

He had appeared before her in a flash of fire, momentarily lighting her cell with green light. She had grown to fear that fire. It may not have been used to hurt her, but they always put her to sleep, back into the world of nightmares. She scrambled back from the changeling as he stood up from his sitting position. He walked up to her, an evil smile painting his face. It was a smile filled with hatred, a smile that sent chills down whatever it was directed at.

“Hello my little pony.” His voice sounded deeper than Needle’s, like rocks clashing together again and again. “I DO hope you are enjoying your stay here. I mean, it would be a terrible occurrence if you left us before my dear brother gets here.” Noticing her look of blankness, he sighed and said, “I believe you know him as Needle Wings, no?” Seeing the look on her face was recognition enough and he laughed evily.

“What did you do to him?” Cherish asked weakly, shaking in her hooves. She was terrified to see this monster in front of her, but thinking of Needle gave her strength.

“I didn’t do anything my dear. At least,” He added with a sly grin, “not yet. When he gets here, I’ll show him true pain, more wounding than any physical wound could ever be. You see Cherish,” He leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear, “I’m going to take away the one he loves.” He laughed again as she fell to the floor. “I suppose the least I could do is send you to that world of dreaming again.”

She didn’t even get the chance to scream as green flames enveloped her vision.

Now she sat in the dark, weeping after her screams died down. All that was there were the echoes of her sobs and the pressing darkness.

000

He woke up to the feel of a cold cloth on his face, just like that day long ago when he first really met Cherish. Sitting up suddenly, he startled the pony that was cooling his head, hearing the cloth drop to the ground as the pony gasped. His eyes darted around for the portal stone, hoping against hope that it was there. It was still on the ground where he had left it, miraculously unscathed by the fire, unlike the rest of the clearing.

He turned to the pony that had been taking care of him. His horn flared with a green fire fueled by rage after he recognized who it was. “You.” Hatred coated that one word, hatred beyond any other. The pegasus shrugged non-concernedly, looking almost surprised at his hate. Rage awakened by this pegasus’ attitude, Needle leapt at him, snarling. Blue magic gripped him and turned him away from the pegasus.

Struggling futilely, Needle’s eyes were brought to look into Bright’s own. In those amber eyes, he saw her “big sister” attitude surfacing. He knew that there was more to the argument than he knew. He shut off the flow of magic to his horn, calming his rage to a slow burn. Bright snorted as she cut the magic from around his body. Needle began to glare daggers at the pegasus, who returned them. Bright sighed and stepped between them, stamping a hoof in the soot-caked dirt to get their attention.

“Now listen you two, if we are going to save my sister, you can kill each other later!” She stamped another hoof into the dirt. “We will not get ANYTHING done fighting!” She sighed in exasperation as they leaned to glare at each other around her. Needle knew it was childish, and so did the pegasus, mirth lighting in his eyes as she stamped repeatedly into the ground.

Pain lashed across Needle’s head and his vision filled with dots. A groan from across the space told him the pegasus got the same. Man, that unicorn takes the “Big Sister” thing a little too far sometimes… After Bright had slapped some sense into them, she huffed angrily.

“If you two are done screwing around, we have my sister to save!” Ashamed, they looked at Bright expectantly. “All right, first off, we have introductions.” She moved back so the two could look at each other. “Needle Wings, this is Phoenix Wings. Phoenix, this is Needle.” She waited expectantly, so the sighed and shook hooves. Needle was surprised at the heat that came off Phoenix. He was almost as hot as the rage he still felt.

Needle flashed a flare of green fire out after he moved away from Phoenix. “We don’t have time for this Bright.” He shook his head dejectedly, “We have to get to Cherish soon, or she will be gone. She won’t be dead, but she might as well be if we delay another day.” He stumbled on the word dead, on the verge of tears. “I need to open that portal now. My very world drains the emotion from a pony, although a lot slower.” He felt his eyes betray his inner emotions. Tears dripped onto the forest floor.

Drying his tears, he turned to the stone, lying as if forgotten on the forest floor. Needle knew that he had to save Cherish within mere hours. Flames leapt from his horn, and he leaned to touch it to the stone. Though it glowed green, no evil-green portal opened like it was supposed to. Needle kneeled down on the stone, shivering with despair. “I…I…can’t do it.” Tears began to build up again. “I’m not strong enough anymore.” The tears began to flow down his face. “I can’t save Cherish.” The first drops fell onto the stone that was as black as midnight.

Through his closed lids, Needle felt the change of temperature. He felt the wave of evil that poured into this world from his. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked at the source of the green light. There in front of him, in place of the stone, was a portal of evil-green color. His heart swelled to see it. Turning back to the group, he placed a small smile on his face.

“It’s time to leave.” He looked at both his companions. “If you don’t want to come, I won’t force you.” As they both opened their mouths, he held up a hoof. “I will tell you about my home before we go, to dissuade you from any illusions.” Needle settled back on his haunches as his eyes looked inward to his memories.

“My world is a place of pain. It is the very opposite of yours. Your world here is a place of good and kindness. These words are meaningless in my world. You have grass, plants, and life here. My world has none of this. Being there will drain you, as if your will to live is being drained away from you. That is how you will feel. Cherish has been there almost 3 days and nights. There is no guarantee that she will be like she was.” Needle began to stumble on his words. “She….she might be a shell when we go there.” He wiped away the brief spell of tears. “Also, do not try to fight the ponies there. They will end you quickly, and then move on to us. Being without emotions is something that I can imagine you two would not like to experience.” He turned away from them. “If you want to leave now, I can’t say I blame you.” He felt a hoof on either of his shoulders, one warm and the other soft.

“There’s no way I’d leave Cherish to a bunch of monsters like you!” Obviously this was Phoenix, attempting and succeeding to irritate him.

“My sister is my life; I would die before I left her.” The fierceness in Bright’s voice ignited the inner fire of Needle.

Without a word, they all turned to the portal. It was big enough for all of them to enter it together. Silent, they trotted into the deathly-green light.

000

Shameless Advertising mode: GO!!! I would like to say, if you enjoy this story, you should check out my other long-fic "Dashed Hopes". I also plan to write a few One-Shots revolved around sadness. Already wrote a Pinkie Pie sad one. And no, it's not messed up like Cupcakes.

Flames of Green

Chapter 12: Flames of Green

He came every day now, always the same way. Always coming with the flash of blinding green fire. He always felt her head, as if checking her for fever. Then he had poked her with his sharp horn, which had been aflame with green fire. She had always yelped at it digging into her side for what seemed like eternity. However, with it had come the feeling that she could feel nothing, and she soon began to welcome it. When she started to do that, he always pulled away, and the emotions always came crashing back into her.

She was lying on the floor after another of his visits. Her eyes felt as if they were crying but there were no tears. She had no more to shed. She knew that she was going to die here, without anypony with her. Every day she spent here was spent in an unfeeling numbness. Her life now was a place devoid of feeling, and filled with a pressing darkness on all sides.

In her world of darkness and green fire, Cherish knew exactly when her dreams took her. Instead of being dark, they were filled with dark shapes tearing at Needle Wings as he rushed to her through green flames cast from the sides. Instead of being silent, they were filled with her love crying her name as his flesh was torn away from him by the dark figures. She had always woken up screaming, but now all she did was shake from the nightmares, voice long hoarse from her screams. She missed the screaming now; it helped her feel alive, like she was still there. She preferred the pain to the cold, numbness that grasped her body for most of the time.

A small voice had kept screaming in her mind ever since she had accepted her fate. Don’t give up faith Cherish. You of all ponies should know that Needle would never leave you here! She always ignored this small little voice. She had long ago given up her hope that anypony would save her from this pit of darkness.

The only thing she was left with in her world was her memories, faded with age. She always found herself sorting through her mind, recalling her days as a filly. She always escaped to the world of memories, finding comfort in its nostalgic grip.

-----

She was crying behind the shed in the schoolyard. There was nopony else out there, just her and her broken doll at her feet. Those mean colts! Why did they have to break you Alice? What did you do to them? She nudged her small broken friend, I bet they did it because they didn’t have a dolly. Sadness washed over her when she thought that. She felt sad that the colts didn’t have a dolly of their own.

-----

She smiled at the naivety of her younger self, back before she got her cutie mark. There may be kindness in everypony, but that doesn’t mean they always wanted it in them.

-----

She sat in front of the three colts that had broken her doll. At their feet was a doll for each of them, colored just like their coats. She looked up at them hopefully, hoping against hope that they would like them. The lead colt picked his up in a hoof. The impact of the doll hitting her in the face shocked her. The next thing she felt was two more impacts from the other two hitting her sides. The next thing she saw after she removed the doll was a trio of columns made of green fire.

-----

She was jarred out of her recollections by twin columns of fire, but this time it wasn’t Blade Horn coming to taunt or jab her again. Above her were two large changelings dressed in glossed dark-green armor, horns alight with the fire that brought them here. Grabbing her with a spell, they dragged her behind them, not caring when she whimpered in pain. Even though she whimpered at it, she welcomed the pain and light. She welcomed the change, even though she knew what it meant.

She could hear birds in the distance, though their whistles sounded harsh, like everything in this world. She heard screams coming from the rooms that they passed, but she was dragged along too quickly to be given more than a glance. The only thing she really saw was Needle’s face framed in her mind by green fire. He had saved her, at the cost of his own life here. He had given up everything to save her that one day, and now it will be for nothing.

She was finally dragged in front of the evil changeling. He had a small, cruel smile on his face as he prepared his spell. “It looks like my brother has finally arrived for the party.” He leaned in closer to her, baring his teeth, “Time for my plans to come together, with you at the center my dear Cherish.”

A flash of green filled her vision, and was replaced with darkness.

000

They stumbled onto jagged rocks as black as night. The group stood still, braced for an attack, letting their eyes adjust to the lack of light. Silence greeted them. Something is wrong here. This place should be bustling with changelings and the silence should be rent with screams. Needle thought uneasily, his horn still alight in fire. Even if this is the outskirts, there would be guards at least.

“Where is everypony? I thought we were jumping into the lion’s den here.” Phoenix said with a cocky tone. “I thought we were going to be fighting for our lives every step of the way.” He walked down the steps that lead up to the portal gate, wings out. Even though his tone was cocky, Needle could still hear a quiver in his voice as well as see his tense way of walking. Smirking a little to himself, Needle followed him and Bright followed suit.

As they walked through the normally bustling town, they shivered with the feel of unseen eyes. Needle sent out a wave of green fire in the form of a detection spell. Nothing was there, but Needle still sent out the spell once in a while. Every time he sent it out, nothing was detected, but he knew something or somepony was watching him. The buildings, normally lit with green torches, were dark and cold although, that could be because of their terrible occupants. The market stalls were abandoned, with small, black parasprites nibbling at the slices of meat on the counters. After seeing what kind of meat it was, his companions gasped and vomited to the side.

Needle hadn’t been through the town for some time now, but he still knew where his family’s house was at and therefore where his brother was. In his mind, he kept going over how he would attack his brother. In magic and in physical combat, Blade Horn was the better, but he was slow moving, and he tended to keep his attacks strong and unrelenting, meaning he became tired faster. Needle knew that he had to outmaneuver his brother if he was to any chance at saving Cherish.

As the town square came into view, so did a light-blue figure who was lying on the ground in the middle of it. It was Cherish. Needle felt his heart break at how thin she looked, and how pained her expression was, even in sleep. At least, he hoped she was sleeping. He leapt ahead of his companions, racing to her side. Ropes of green fire wrapped around his body and pulled him to the ground painfully. Needle struggled in vain against his bonds as he watched his brother walk out from the shadows around the square. His brother walked up to him with a cruel smile on his face.

“Hello my dear little brother. I see you’ve brought an audience to witness your execution.” Needle looked over his shoulder and saw his two companions being wrapped in green fire as well. His brother leaned in to his face, “But before I execute you, I think I’ll need a snack. A good execution always makes me a little hungry.” He began walking over to the figure in the center of the square. “This little morsel has been tempting me for days now. I think it’s time I enjoyed it, don’t you?” Needle struggled against his bonds, rage cancelling out any other thought. He watched helplessly as his brother bent almost lovingly towards Cherish’s neck. A small yelp issued from her, and then was gone.

Cherish was gone from him, forever.

Crossing Sparks

Chapter 13: Crossing Sparks

Cherish was gone from him, forever.

The same thought spiraled in his mind, echoing in the silence of the square. Needle Wings, with thoughts in disarray; saw his brother pull away from her, revealing two small bleeding holes on her neck. Cherish was gone. She would never again show him the love that she had for him. He would never get the chance to tell her his feelings. He would never get the chance, never again. Blade Horn took her from him.

Blade Horn. That one thought sparked a wave of fury inside Needle Wings. His body was washed with waves of hot anger. A hatred like none before came, directed towards the one who had taken his love away. His sorrow, his regret, and his happiness were all consumed by the fiery wrath that flowed through Needle’s veins. All of his burning emotion poured into his horn as the rage built. Green fire shot out from him in all directions as his bonds were pushed to the limit. Sparks danced across the ground and died. Needle looked up at his brother, who was licking his lips after his meal. A strange calm enveloped his mind, as if he was at peace. And with this calm came a deep strength, driving him to avenge Cherish. The bonds broke away as Needle stood, facing his brother.

“Blade Horn,” The calmness of his voice apparently surprised his brother, “you do not know what you have done.”

“Oh but I DO my brother. I killed your love didn’t I? Tell me, how did it feel?” The malice in his voice echoed back from the empty buildings.

“Blade Horn, you have taken away from me everything I’ve loved. You took from me everything I wanted. And now I shall take your prize away as well. But yours will be your life.” With that, he lunged at his brother. Laughing at his younger brother, Blade Horn leapt to meet him in the middle of the square.

Sparks flew as their horns, charged with green fire, clashed together. After a moment of connection, the two leapt back from each other, preparing their own spells. Red fire began to roar around the two, along with bolts of green and blue light. Looks like the other two have joined the fight. Their own bolts of green magic flew around each other in a whirlwind of spells. Realizing magic was resulting in a deadlock; they leapt back into close-quarters. Needle managed to catch his brother off-guard, firing a bolt of magic in his face as he leapt back to him. His brother, burns across his face, howled in fury and began to attack Needle with renewed force.

He fell to the defensive, unable to counter-attack against his brother’s onslaught of punching hooves and jabbing horn. Blade’s skill with fighting had improved over his absence, and Needle knew that if this kept up, he would take that horn or a hoof eventually. Backing up, Needle shot into the air as his brother jabbed at him with a horn. His brother’s horn stuck to the wall, cracks emanating from its entry point. Needle flew down to where his brother was struggling, grim determination on his face. He raised up a hoof, and brought it down on the struggling creature before him. A quick death, more than he deserved.

Needle looked at the fluid leaking from his brother. It was the same green blood as his, with the same sickly tinge to it. Needle looked closer at the fluids. There was something else in the green, a clear liquid that sparkled clearly. Needle looked as Cherish began to pour from his brother’s wounds. His horn alight with fire, he gathered all of the fluid, drawing the rest of it from his brother’s body unceremoniously.

With the blob of liquid, Needle made his way over to his love’s corpse. He slowly stroked her mane, drawing it back behind her like she normally had it. His tears began to stain the ground as he caressed his love’s face, oblivious to the fire swirling around him, red and green with streaks of blue crossing it occasionally. Without any more ceremony than that, he pushed the liquid back into Cherish’s body. After the entirety of it had gone back in, he closed her neck wounds with a flash of fire. Walking in a circle around her, he flashed his fire over her wounds, closing them.

Job done, he lay down next to her, and resumed his caressing of the corpse. Then he heard it.

“Needle?”

000

Phoenix watched in horror as Needle’s brother bent to Cherish’s neck. He winced as he heard her whimper and stop moving. Fire raged through him, begging to be unleashed, to consume the ones who hurt her. But green fire raged over him, preventing his retribution. He looked over at Bright, who was struggling against the green fire as he was. She seemed to be having no better luck than him. Suddenly, the fire-bonds broke, and she remained where she was. Smart mare, waiting to see when to strike. He kept up his struggle against his bonds until he felt a horn pressing into his side. Looking over to his side, he saw Bright working at his bonds with her blue magic.

Once the bonds fell, so did the ones around Needle. Phoenix thought he was scary before when they were fighting, but nothing could compare to how scary he looked now, with a calm face as he fought for his life. For some reason, that calm face scared him more than the one full of fury. As Needle leapt into action, so did Phoenix, flames springing from his wings as he took off.

He had never thought once that he would use his talent to harm other things. He always wanted to use his skills with fire for good. Now he saw that he couldn’t keep that vow to himself. These things deserved destruction.

And he would be more than happy to oblige.

000

Bright Light stood in the middle of the carnage, casting her vast amount of combat spells. Being the daughter of a Royal Guard had its advantages. She had always thought her father was stupid for making her learn these evil spells, but now she thanked him silently for every changeling she vanquished. Every time one of them got close to her, they were struck down by another spell. Some of them were killing, some were only wounding, while others left them screaming for their life to end. She continued ferociously, each death at her hooves brought her closer to avenging Cherish. But she knew that she would never stop until they were all gone, or she was dead. These things deserved death.

And she would be more than happy to bring them to the gates of Tartarus.

000

Needle looked over to the speaker, his eyes filled with grief. Bright and Phoenix were standing there next to him, with various battle wounds. Bright had many bleeding cuts and black spots on her coat where the green fire had burned her. Her horn smoked with the intensity of her magic casting, and her eyes still searched for threats.

Phoenix was much worse, not having magic of his own. He had a nasty gash on his forehead and many cuts across his body. Also, Needle noted with shock, he was missing a wing. A bleeding hole was all that remained of his wing. The feathers on the other wing were missing in some places. It was a wonder that Phoenix was still standing.

The two of them walked over to where Cherish was, grief on their faces. Needle spoke up. “I managed to get her emotions back from him. But…. But I was too late. She has lost too much blood now. “ Needle dropped his head and sobbed in anguish. A hoof was lain on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. “She is gone. I tried to help her… but-“Bright placed her hoof again on his shoulder, and he stopped.

“Needle. It’s alright. We know that she is gone. There’s nothing more you can do.” Bright’s consoling tone hardly brought any relief to him.

000

Phoenix limped over to Cherish. After tracing his hoof down her face, he turned back to them. Phoenix felt a tear trace down his face and onto the ground. “No. There is something more you can do.” He pointed to Bright with a hoof. “I know there is a magic that allows you to take the blood from some pony and put it into another pony.”

Bright stepped back from him, alarm on her face. “I can’t do that, it’s black magic.”

Phoenix walked up to her with a pained expression. “If it’s used to save a life, is it black magic?” He stamped a hoof into the ground, and winced with pain afterward. “I don’t think so.”

Bright leaned down to flash blue light over Cherish’s body. She looked back sadly at Phoenix, and a tear roll down her face for the first time. “I’m sorry. The amount of blood she has lost will kill you if we take it from you.”

Phoenix stepped closer to her. “Then you do it. I will be fine.” When she started to protest, he smacked her with a hoof. “DO IT! I came along to this journey. I knew the risks. I still do! I’m going to die anyway. We both know that my wounds are too serious.” He stepped closer to her, beseeching now, “Please Bright. Do it for me.” He placed a hoof on her cheek. “I want to die knowing that I helped somepony else with my death. Dying from blood loss in a dark world like this isn’t how I want to go.”

Bright sighed with resignation, and kissed Phoenix on the forehead. “As you wish.” She bent a horn to his closest wound. Sticking it in the cut, she began to channel the spell. Droplets of blood began to gather into a ball over Cherish’s body. As the spell went on, Phoenix’s face fell and his breathing grew heavy. The droplets of blood began to sink through Cherish’s coat, entering her bloodstream. When she finally pulled away, Bright looked at Phoenix like she would a dead pony. “I left you with enough blood to live for another thirty minutes.” With that, she turned around so he didn’t see her tears.

“Thank you Bright.”

Bright didn’t look over her shoulder as she walked back to where Cherish was. Though returned by the shock of magic, Cherish’s breathing dangerously slow. Picking her up with magic, she led Needle, who was still crying over his love, over back towards the portal. She stopped when she heard shouts behind her. Looking back, she saw Phoenix facing down the rest of the Changelings that would try to hunt them. He yelled out to her. “RUN BRIGHT! I’ll hold em here!” With that, he unfurled his wing in a flash of fire and charged into the crowd.

Turning back to the portal, she whispered her last words for Phoenix.

“Rise one last time, Phoenix.”

The green light had enveloped them.

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 14: Phoenix Rising

Unfurling his wing with a flash of red-hot fire, he dived into the mass of black-shelled monstrosities. As he dived, he was struck by a wave of green flames, obviously intended to kill him. He felt only a warm touch on his coat as he passed through the fire, red flames of his own trailing behind him. He slapped his wing across the first changeling’s face, the flames flowing from the feathers catching on the being’s carapace. He felt a cold satisfaction at hearing the creature screech in pain at the fires burning through its shell.

Whipping around, he caught another changeling in the face. He glimpsed it clutching at its face as it fell to the ground quickly engulfed in the fire that burned from Phoenix’s heart. He danced through the black masses, still trying in vain to strike him down with fire of their own. Phoenix couldn’t help but smile at their stupidity as they fell again and again to his inner flames. He cut a wide path through the crowds. The changelings he set aflame ran into others, setting those alight as well.

Phoenix was a cyclone of fire and death. The changelings that were closest to him felt his wrath first, though the rest of them would feel it eventually. He was blasted with green fire again and again, but it fazed him no more than a soft breeze would. He smashed his iron-reinforced wing into black-coated bodies again and again, feeling nothing but satisfaction at the crunches and screams that he was the cause of. Every single monster that he set ablaze or crashed into with a fury was a monument to his love for Cherish. He had to kill them all, or they would go after her again. As he thought that, another wave of anger washed through him, and he spun through the crowds with renewed force.

Soon they were all gone, burning into ashes on the ground. Phoenix stood in the middle of a wasteland of fire, screams, and black ash. Nothing remained but corpses. He heard a swift flapping above him, almost like an insect’s wings. He looked up just in time to see a couple of changelings clad in blue armor dive towards him. Dodging to the side, he turned to his new opponents, wing aflame. They looked towards each other and nodded, both of them adopting a low stance.

Phoenix was expecting another round of green fire to be cast from their lit horns, but instead they charged him. He hopped to one side, catching a hole-ridden hoof in his chest. Grunting with pain, Phoenix slashed at him with his wing. These changelings were obviously trained, as the one who struck him avoided his swipe with ease, jumping back to stand with his companion. Coughing up his already limited blood, Phoenix began to circle around the square, keeping the distance between the two equal.

They charged him as one. Phoenix was all too familiar with this tactic, having to fight off multiple bullies in flight school. They came at each of his sides, and jumped high into the air with a jet of fire and a flap of his wing. He didn’t get as high as he wanted, having only one wing, and he began to descend towards the two confused warriors. His wing smashed into one of them, and his hoof into the other. The one who was hit by his wing fell onto the ground, knocked unconscious and set aflame by Phoenix’s diving attack.

Unfortunately, the other one only backed away dazedly. Shaking his head, the changeling fighter took in his companion’s corpse. With an anguished cry, the fighter charged towards Phoenix Wings. Knowing he couldn’t pull another surprise attack, Phoenix crouched low and prepared for the first contact. Their hooves crossed as they exchanged the first punches. Phoenix felt the jagged back edge of the fighter’s hooves cut at his own, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and fought on, barely able to keep track of the punches that were thrown his direction.

Phoenix hissed with the pain that lanced across his body at every misjudged block. He felt the wounds of the changeling’s attacks throb in time with his dying heart. Jumping back suddenly, he was granted a moment of reprieve as the changeling swiped at air. Extending his wing, Phoenix leapt back at the fumbling changeling, catching it in the chest with the metal edge. He watched as the changeling staggered back, his coat on fire, and then made to attack him again. This guy just doesn’t know when to quit! Phoenix shook his head and slashed at the flaming monster with his wing again. He was a good opponent. The least I could do is kill him quickly. Phoenix turned away from the flaming corpse, If only I’d get that luxury. Odds are, if they all die this easily, then I’ll die of my lack of blood first.

He searched the square for any other signs of life. Nothing remained there with him but corpses and ashes. His fire burned dimmer than before, and he felt the weakness start to grip him as he panted in the square, alone. His blood dripped onto the ashes in the ground, flowing from his many injuries. He heard a chattering behind him, and he turned to see a wave of black heading towards him, all clad in blue armor. Doing the only thing he could think of, he backed up into the street leading to the portal steps. He would hold them there, or die trying. Oh wait, that’s right. I’m already a dead pony anyway.

They charged towards him, stomping over their former allies’ ashes in their haste. Phoenix knew that they would be forced to fight awkwardly on the stairs, and that meant he could kill more of them before he died. With a roar, the first changeling leapt up the steps, only to be met with an iron-reinforced wing smashed into his face. The unfortunate monster fell blazing into the crowd, setting those he fell on ablaze. More and more of the black atrocities made it up to him, to be cast down again by his whirling wing or his punching hooves. He knew that he couldn’t keep the fight up forever. He knew that he would die here, on these very steps. He refused to stop fighting, knowing that the more he killed, the more he would show his love. Nopony else would see it, but he would, and that would be enough for him.

Smashing another monster’s face in, he reeled back to crush two other’s skulls with his front hooves. Before he could crush them, he took another jagged hoof in the side, and was knocked off balance. He screamed as the fangs tore into him. He tried to fight back, but he was held fast by the changelings who were sinking their teeth into his coat. He felt a feeling of coldness grip him as he began to go numb. Those… punks are stealing…. my….. Emotions! Phoenix could do nothing as they drained him slowly. They seemed to draw out the death on purpose, as if they wanted him to suffer. This wasn’t how he wanted to die. He wanted to die in combat, not helplessly getting the emotions sucked from him. His mind started to cycle through his life, the memories coming unbidden.

Flash

He was just a young colt, staring after Cherish as she walked out of her first day of school. He thought that his heart had nearly stopped when he first saw her. I mean, who wouldn’t love a pony like that?

Flash

He sat crying in his room. His parents had just yelled at him for breaking another of Flight School’s numerous rules. Those colts were asking for it! They were being mean to Cherish! I just slapped some sense into them! Phoenix later learned that they spent a week in the hospital after he hurt them.

Flash

Cherish was smiling at a joke he had just said. Her face was so pretty when she smiled. How could anypony want to mess with her? He was gripped with the urge to kiss her right then and there. Shocked at his own thoughts, he stood there staring at her until she stopped laughing. She looked at him for a moment, “Well….. I suppose I have to go now. That’s my sister calling my name.” She rolled her eyes and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Phoenix hadn’t been prepared for that, and he sat there dumbfounded as she giggled and walked away.

Flash

He opened his eyes to look at the sky as he felt the rest of his emotions drain away from him. It was a light blue, just like Cherish’s coat had been. He would never see that beautiful shade of blue again in his life. He felt his emotions rush back into him, giving him one last breath of life.

“Goodbye Cherish.”

And then Phoenix Wings, along with the changelings around him and the portal itself, exploded in a nova of white-hot fire.

Dawn of a New Day

Chapter 15: Dawn of a New Day

He stared at her as she lay sleeping on the bed, almost unblinking as he watched her chest rise and fall with steady breaths. He had gotten no sleep through the night, not wanting to leave Cherish in the darkness when she awoke. Bright had come to try and make him leave, but one look into his eyes stopped her, and she left him be. Needle would not leave Cherish’s side again. She started to whimper a little in her sleep. Needle ached with the need to try and comfort her, but he knew it would only make it worse. She was shaking off the last vestiges of his cursed world, casting away the memories after she relived them one last time in her dreams.

So there he sat, regret aching through him as she shivered from her dreams. I wish I had never refused to feed. If I hadn’t she would have never been taken to his world. It was I who put her through all of this. Needle sat there, tears beginning to flow from his eyes as he remembered the first time he saw her, a terrified pony in an unknown place who was about to die. He remembered how kind she was, taking him in after he saved her and nursed him back to health. He remembered the dreams he had about her, and the pain that came with them. He wished to never see those nightmares again.

Cherish rolled in her sleep, saying his name again and again. Her dreams must be filled with me, even if they are nightmares. She loves me more than I deserve. Needle felt his heart ache in pain as she said his name again and again, anguish laced in her recital. Needle sat in the now-dark room. It was the time before the dawn, the point of time where neither the sun nor moon was in the sky. The pure-darkness enveloped the room. A green fire was lit and bent down towards the bed.

“I love you Cherish, more than I have loved anything before. No mere words can describe how I feel towards you. I have lived in a world of hate and despair, but you showed me the way out. It is because of you that I can finally begin to live. I love you.”

The sun began to finally rise over the horizon, its rays sweeping across the land and ridding the world of the Night’s darkness. The light swept into the room, washing over the two shapes in the room. The light reflected in Cherish’s eyes as she opened them.

“Needle Wings, you came for me after I should have been dead. I was in that world for so long, but you still came. I would have been gone in the first day if I didn't have you to think about. You kept me sane in the times that should have crushed me. Needle Wings, I love you too.”

The sun was their witness of their love, seemingly shining brighter for their first true day together.

000

Allright, bit of Author's note time. Special thanks to everypony who favorited this story! I managed to get on the feature box thanks to you all! It makes me feel really good that I was able to finish this story off with a ton of ponies reading it! However, all good things must end (Except the love Needle and Cherish share of course) and good things include this story. Thank you all SO much for reading this! Also, I'm going to be writing an epilogue later, so don't stop following it yet!

Epilogue: One Year Later...

Epilogue: One Year Later…

Cherish was surrounded by a swarm of well-wishing ponies with make-up pads and sticks of mascara. She felt every poof of the pads as they patted her face again and again, placing more powder onto her face. The mascara was put onto her eyes, and she blinked them afterward. Everypony is making such a big deal about this! And nopony else made a bigger deal than her sister, who had to be led away after falling into Cherish’s hooves sobbing. Shaking her head at her sister’s reaction, Cherish earned a glare from the ponies around her. Going back to staying still, she fought the urge to sigh angrily.

After the make-up was put away, she was told to stand there and wait. They returned after a couple minutes, with a dress held carefully between two of them. Cherish really did sigh at this point, They really are being too careful with it. Shaking her head as they made their way to her, she sighed again, this time with resignation. They made her go slowly into the dress, hissing with derision when she tried to go any faster. She wanted to get this over with; she hated leaving Needle Wings waiting. She shivered with a sudden excitement as she thought of him standing there next to the pastor pony.

Once the dress was finally put on her, she moved over to the corner where her saddlebags were. She drew out a small jeweled box, encrusted with rubies with a fire-ruby in the shape of a heart as the latch. Walking over to the mirror, she looked deep into her reflection’s eyes. She looked nothing like she had before, her mane brushed and styled in curls. Her dress was a dark blue, with lace at the cuffs and collar. It suited her, the dress-maker said. Cherish knew nothing about dresses, but she figured that the professional would know best. Staring at herself in the mirror, she knew she had made a good choice trusting the Boutique’s owner. She supposed that she looked “flawless”, but it was missing something.

Caressing the box, her eyes traced the rays of light that sparkled from inside the rubies. She opened it slowly to reveal a mass of red velvet. Unfolding the velvet, she revealed an orange-red feather nestled in a protective spell. Taking it out of its enchanted place, she placed it into the hair right behind her ear. One of the ponies who were in charge of making her look “perfect for her big day” rushed over to her.

“Oh dearie! You can’t possibly wear that in your mane! It clashes with the entire dress!” The pony made to take it out of her mane, but had her hoof slapped by Cherish instead.

“The feather will stay where it is, regardless of fashion purposes. It means more to me and Needle than you will ever know.” Cherish’s tone was cold, unlike the feather in her hair. The pony stepped back, looking hurt at Cherish’s words. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take it out. It belonged to a good friend who saved our lives once when we thought all was lost. He managed to save our love at the price of his life.” She heard the wedding music being played, muted by the walls of the dressing room. “That’s my cue, are you coming?”

She walked out of the room, feather reflecting the sun’s fiery light.

The Time Has Come...

Here it is everypony, the moment you have ALL (or at least a lot of you have been waiting for I hope) have been waiting for!

The sequel has arrived and the prologue chapter is complete!

Link is here! So get reading this story already! Yes, I will submit it to FiMFiction but I have to get it over the 1k word minimum, so I have to write the entire first chapter tomorrow. Enjoy reading the prologue!

Odd One Out

Chapter One: The Odd One Out

“But I don’t want to!” he said with a voice that sounded like glass scraping rocks. “I don’t want to hurt her!”

“But my son, you MUST! You will starve if you do not!” His father pushed him back towards the captive, who was trembling with the extreme terror of her situation. As he was shoved closer to the captive little pony, he began crying in earnest, crying for the poor pony in front of him. His father put a hoof over one of his shoulders, “Look son, if you want to be alone when you do this, fine, I will be right outside. Please son, eat for me, for your family.”

After his father had walked out of the door, the child turned to the little pony in front of him, and leaned closer to her. Her eyes began to dilate in terror, as she began to whimper behind her gag. “Listen my little pony; I’m not going to hurt you!” He placed a hoof on her shoulder as reassurance. “I will help you get out of here, but I’ll need for you to be quiet!” Using the sharp edge of his jagged horn, he removed her bonds and gag. His tone carried a sense of urgency, “Listen, we need to leave now, but I need for you to do exactly what I say.” As he said this to her, he was creating a tomb, as was customary of his family after eating. He piled on rocks as black as midnight over a blanket roughly the same color as the pony’s hide. “This will throw them off for a while, but we still need to hurry.” He grabbed the pony’s hoof and led her out of his secret exit of his room.

The unlikely pair headed towards the cliff behind their house, the cliff in which a portal as green as grass, and as unnatural as cotton candy clouds, resided off the edge, ringed by the cliff face that the village was built around. The sounds that came from the portal nearly drowned out all noise as the terrified pony looked towards her companion and asked, in a quiet voice “Who are you?” He thought it was the loveliest thing he had ever heard, more beautiful than the voice of his own mother.

He looked her straight in the eyes, and pushed her over the cliff into the portal. “My name is Needle Wings, and I am not like them.” He heard yelling behind him. He turned to see his whole village converging on him, angry looks marring their faces, contorting them in rage. The mob pushed him closer and closer to the edge of the pit. With a last look towards his father’s face, contorted with rage, Needle Wings screamed and leapt into the abyss, and was surrounded by swirling green light.

Then he knew no more.