The Hunterby SoberChaptersPrologueThe Beginning {Chapter 1}The Middle {Chapter 2}The End {Chapter 3}EpiloguePrologueAuthor's Note And so it begins... Huge thanks to ChasingResonance for helping me flesh the prologue out - wouldn't have got it done without him, and Izanagi for editing and proofreading in addition to ChasingResonance. Izanagi even bought me Arby's to help get through it. True non-homosexual-gay-lover, that man. Prologue With a grunt, Selas tucked his wing in and rolled in the air, a bolt of arcane energy whizzing past him. Flaring his wing back out, he leveled out and jerked the bow into his hooves. Almost instantly, he grabbed an arrow from it’s place in the quiver, nocked it, and fired it at the offending mage. With a sickening crunch, the arrow penetrated bone, burying itself into the elf’s sternum, causing him to collapse backwards almost immediately. All around the destroyed temple were corpses. Druids, hunters, and warriors had clashed against varying types of mages. Their group had all but been wiped out; the mad queen had been expecting them. Tyrande had been the first go down, followed by Malfurion falling into a blind rage. Glancing around the room desperately, he spotted the nightsaber standing over a night elf of it’s own, lifeblood pouring from it’s the throat as the creature announced it’s victory. A deep rumbling caused him to look upward, his eyes widening in panic as the energies of the well began to flare violently throughout the room, energy visibly crackling in the air. “Malfurion, the spellwork is collapsing! We must retreat!” The darnassian rolled off of his tongue rapidly as he swerved downward, narrowly avoiding a small section of the ceiling, glancing downward at the stone floor of the temple shattered underneath the rock.. The battle between the druid and queen raged on, both parties ignoring his warnings. Tucking his dragonfly-like wings to his side, Selas landed next to the large creature from moments prior and took several desperate breaths, fatigue from the day’s exertions beginning to show. Glancing at the bow and quiver belted to his side, he grimaced; only a single arrow remained. “Lamp, it’s been an honor.” He addressed the massive black panther tiredly. “You should leave before the temple buckles.” Selas carefully levitated the arrow from the quiver. Nocking the arrow, he drew the string back in his rapidly dwindling magic, carefully taking aim at the two remaining combatants. “Elune, guide my aim…” He whispered, taking a particularly deep and slow breath as he observed Malfurion and Azshara going blow for blow with each other in a blur of both druidic and arcane magic. With a roar, Selas released the arrow, causing a small rune etched onto the arrowhead to flare to life as it hurled towards the two combatants. “Malfurion, incoming!” Eyes widening at the sudden warning, the druid leapt back, his form shifting to that of a cat as he did so. With the transformation cutting back his size, the arrow narrowly flew past Malfurion, striking the elven queen in the shoulder. As soon as it made contact, the arrow exploded in a flash of light, blinding both combatants. Sucking in a deep breath, Selas levitated a pair of curved axes from their resting place on his thighs and sprinted forward. As he sprinted forward, a sharp pain shot through his head warning him of the impending magical failure. “Take Tyrande and retreat!” He bolted past the druid, who was only now recovering his vision. Malfurion winced as he finally managed to open his eyes and take in the now-battling forms of Selas and Azshara, the horse-like creature actually pushing the stunned queen back with his wild assault. Only now registering the orders did Malfurion make his way over to the injured Tyrande, his form shifting back to it’s natural state as he did so. With a rumble, the ceiling began to sag, the structure preparing to collapse. With a heave, the druid hauled Tyrande into his arms and limped towards the entrance. “Selas!” He roared out from the entrance. Turning to the druid, the large creature only smiled weakly. With a painful flare of his horn, a wave of telekinetic force shoved Malfurion backwards and out of the structure; moments later, a rumbling filled the air, followed by a wave of dust as the Well of Eternity buckled in on itself and the temple of Azshara collapsed, burying both the queen of the highborne and the odd horse-like creature alike. The Beginning {Chapter 1}Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.The Middle {Chapter 2}Luna flitted around the dreamscape, passing through the towering trees towards her target. It was impressive, she mused, that such a massive dreamscape could exist. Most creatures’ dreams only consisted of what specifics they could remember of a place, while the rest would fade to a blur. This dream was an exception, with hundreds of trees remaining in clear, sharp, focus, as well as two moons of varying size. Wherever this dream was taking place, this stallion had clearly committed everything in it to memory. Luna would have thought she was in a foreign land if not for an eerie lack of wildlife. This must be his home, Kalimdor. Luna silently reflected on the information given to her and her sister by Twilight. “You would be correct, child of the moon.” Luna shot into the air and whipped around as a soft ethereal voice spoke out, breaking the silence of the forest. The creature that had spoken was unlike any Luna had ever seen. She was a tall biped with flowing green hair that fell to the center of her back. Her eyes, though closed, seemed to have a deep emerald marking over them that reminded Luna of a bearclaw. The creature’s ears tapered off into points, resting alongside a large pair of horns that rose up from its head. Almost subconsciously, Luna found herself bowing in respect. “Rise, young one.” The voice softly commanded. Luna did as instructed, dozens of questions assailing her mind as she did so. Who was this being and how was she wandering this stallion’s dreams? Why did Luna, a princess of Equestria, feel so insignificant in comparison? Normally, she would have been angry at being addressed as a child, but something told her that, compared to this being, she was little more than just that-a child. “To answer your questions, I am Ysera, Queen of Dreams and Aspect of Nature, amongst other titles,” Her voice, while remaining soft, carried a deep power within it, and even as she addressed Luna, her eyes remained closed. “I am in this stallion’s dreams at the request of Cenarius, Lord of the Forest,” She spoke the name with some degree of affection. “And you, young one?” “We are Princess Luna, of Equestria,” Luna began nervously, picking up confidence as she continued, “and we are here to speak to this stallion to ensure he means no harm to our little ponies.” “Lady Ysera,” A third voice joined the conversation, this one deep and clearly a male. Luna turned to face the stallion she had come to see, who was bowing to the tall biped in respect. “Rise, young Selas,” The woman smiled softly as the hybrid obeyed. “I have come on behalf of Cenarius to offer you a return to Kalimdor.” Selas’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. “I am honored, my lady, but…” The stallion trailed off, his gaze drifting to the ground. “But you wish to stay?” Ysera finished for him, the same soft smile still present on her face. “There are sentient equines on this world,” The stallion glanced uncertainly at Luna. “and while I’ve yet to see any similar to me, I feel this is the closest I’ll ever get to discovering myself,” he took a shaky breath. “Ysera, please tell me, what has become of Kalimdor? Was the legion pushed back?” For the first time since her appearance, Ysera’s expression saddened. “Peace has been obtained…for the time being. The Well of Eternity buckled in on itself and collapsed. Kalimdor as you know it is no more. Instead, a handful of continents dot the world, a result of the explosion caused by the well.” Selas fell back onto his haunches, licking his suddenly dry lips. “And Queen Azshara?” “She and her followers were dragged beneath the raging sea by the Well of Eternity’s implosion,” Ysera explained. Selas simply nodded in response, taking a few moments to let the facts sink into his head. “Lady Ysera, if I may, how did you know I was still amongst the living? I went down with Azshara, there was no reason to suspect I had survived…” Luna bit her lip, feeling out of place in this conversation, yet unable to leave until her own message was passed on. “I am uncertain, young one. I simply sought you out at the request of Cenarius. Apologies, but I cannot stay much longer. Will you return to Kalimdor with me, or would you prefer to stay in this new world?” Ignoring the pit of anxiety in his stomach, the stallion glanced at Luna and back at Ysera. Taking a shaky breath, he locked eyes with the dragon and nodded. “I thank you for your time Lady Ysera, I know that as a dragon aspect you’re very busy, but I would like to stay in this new world, if you’ll permit it and if the Kaldorei have no pressing need of me.” “Of course,” The dragon smiled knowingly. “I wish you luck in your search, young Selas,” For a brief moment, Ysera’s eyes opened, displaying a kaleidoscope of colors before she faded into oblivion. “Ande’thoras-ethil.” Selas bowed his head once more, staying that way until Ysera had vanished completely. Only when the aspect had faded completely did he turn to the other guest in his dream. “Ah, greetings,” Luna suddenly found herself flustered and nervous. “We are Princess Luna of Equestria, a ruler of Equestria, the country thou have found thyself in.” Selas mentally noted how archaic the mare sounded. Bowing forward in respect, the stallion responded. “It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Luna, I am Selas Nightwind,” Selas spoke with a respect bordering on reverence as he addressed the mare, not entirely unlike how he had addressed the dragon aspect. Luna couldn’t help but blush at the tone, though she was quick to get her emotions under control. “The honor is ours, Selas. I have come to inform you of mine and my sister’s decision regarding you.” Selas remained silent, waiting for the mare to continue. “No doubt you’ve noticed the similarities between yourself and our little ponies as well as the similarities between Miss Sparkle and myself when compared to the creature in your dream.” Selas’s expression remained neutral as he remained silent, waiting for Luna to finish. “My sister will arrive in Ponyville tomorrow to explain these similarities to you in detail. We request that you hear her out completely before passing judgement.” “Of course, princess,” He kept his head tilted low while he spoke to the princess. “Rise, friend. Formality is not necessary at this point in time,” It felt uncomfortable to the Princess, seeing a being possibly older than her, and possibly more powerful, prostrating himself in front of her with such reverence. “Apologies, princess. I was raised to have nothing but the utmost reverence for the goddess of the moon. While not Elune, you still bear her symbol and are deserving of similar respect,” Selas subtly nodded towards her cutie-mark. “Tell us Selas, who is this Elune you speak of?” Of course she had read over Twilight’s notes but Twilight was naturally curious about…well, everything, and as such had tried to cover everything. Luna on the other hoof, was particularly curious about the goddess of the moon. “Elune is the goddess of the moon. She protects all living beings. She has guided the Kaldorei - those who raised me - for countless centuries, until Azshara and her highborne fell to the Well,” Selas stopped to reflect back on the whole war. He had never found anything beyond a mild fascination with the well himself, having thought it might help him better understand his own magic. After he realized they were entirely separate entities, the fascination faded. “Beyond that, little else is known about the Moon Goddess.” “I see,” A shame, Luna thought to herself. “What can you tell us of Lady Ysera? From there, the conversation devolved into various topics. This, Selas noted, was more like a friendly conversation as opposed to the near-interrogation of Twilight Sparkle. *** “Ah it seems our time is drawing to a close,” Luna commented as she stood upright. “‘Tis been a pleasure to speak to you Selas. We hope to see you in the waking world soon,” The princess tilted her head slightly in parting as she began to fade away, leaving the dream on her own this time, rather than through forcible ejection. True to the princesses words, Selas shot awake moments later. He had only ever had a single lucid dream before that one, and it had been when Lady Ysera tried to discern his origins for herself and the other dragons. They always left him feeling awkward the following day. With a grunt, the stallion rolled himself off of the bed, glancing at the dim morning light beginning to filter through the window. He’d have to fix his sleep schedule as well, it seemed. Ears twitching slightly, he turned just in time to see the doctor step into the room. A low guttural growl escaped Lamp as the doctor walked by him, causing the doctor to pale and all but race over to Selas. “A-ah. Mr. Nightwind,” The doctor nervously glanced at the cat before turning to his patient and noticing that he was also heavily armed. “You’ll be pleased to-” he stopped and glanced nervously at the cat again, despite the cat simply lying there. “Um, pleased to know that you’re free to leave. We just need your signature here,” The doctor levitated a clipboard to the massive stallion, trying to keep his distance from both creatures, which was fairly difficult, since he was between them. Glancing at the parchment, quill in magic, the stallion frowned. He couldn’t read the writing of this world. Biting his upper lip, he scribbled out his name in flowing elvish script before handing it back to the doctor. “Thanksgottagobye!” The doctor all but bolted. Lamp’s single open-eye lazily followed the stallion out of the room in clear amusement. Slowly, the cat lumbered upright and gazed questioningly at the stallion across from him. “I know Lamp, but we should wait until Princess Luna’s sister arrives. The princess said she would be able to explain the similarities between my race and hers. She very well may know what I am. This may be my chance to no longer be alone.” The cat’s eyes met his own and unspoken words seemed to pass between the two. “I know, I know, survival first and foremost,” Trotting over to the door, he left the bare-bones room for the equally bare-bones hallway. He couldn’t help but glance upward at the lights mounted on the ceiling as he walked, paying little attention to anything around him. He couldn’t explain why, but they fascinated him. He had seen self-sustaining lanterns before but these…these were fascinating. He just wanted to sit and stare at them… He was broken out of the trance by Lamp once more, the cat pawing gently at his leg, tilting his head towards a red-maned nurse who was watching him with a confused expression. She’s pretty. Selas mentally noted as he carefully approached the white mare, whom he recognized from the previous day. “Excuse me miss?” The nurse squeaked slightly as she nervously met eyes with the stallion. He was a lot less intimidating when unconscious on a bed and unarmed. “U-m yes?” She squeaked out, pupils narrowing to pinpricks. “If Princess Celestia arrives can you tell her I’ll be at the nearby forest to the…” He glanced down at Lamp who nudged his head to the southwest. “South west of here. I’ll be on the outskirts.” The mare simply nodded. As soon as the stallion and cat passed, her quivering legs gave out and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. *** “Selas?” A large alabaster mare and a pair of equally alabaster pegasi in golden armor landed on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, having followed the obvious tracks left. “Selas Nightwind?” Her voice was a little louder this time, and the soft smile faded slightly. “Apologies, Princess. I heard a winged creature nearby and hid in the forest. In my world, the most notable large-winged creatures were hippogryphs. I’m afraid we never got along that well and there were far more of them than I,” As he spoke in a fairly stiff and textbook manner, he slowly unveiled himself from the shadows of the forest, his eyes opening first, revealing his haunting green eyes before the rest of his solid frame. Both of the guards immediately jumped in front of Celestia as soon as his eyes had become visible. Selas completely disregarding them, ignoring them completely as he bowed briefly to the princess, his eyes remaining on her and her guards as he did so. “Relax my little ponies,” Celestia ordered, her smile returning in full. Despite obvious reluctance to do so, both guards followed the order, neither taking their hard gaze off of the stallion. “Lamp, you can’t eat them,” Selas commented dryly, a flat expression adorning his face as he glanced around behind the princess. “I’m sorry?” Celestia asked, turning her gaze behind her, as well as that of her guards. Behind the princess, with an intense gaze focused on the two pegasus guards, sat a giant cat, occasionally licking his chops as he eyed the two pegasi like choice cuts of meat. At his feet sat an impressively sized eagle, minus the head. The pair of them visibly paled. How they managed that, he could not even begin to fathom. “Come on Lamp, I’d like to finish these before sundown,” Selas levitated a half-dozen large rocks behind him, followed by multiple large tree branches. Lamp lightly growled his acceptance before picking the eagle up in his maw and carefully pawing his way over to the stallion, much to the unease of the guards who looked like they would be sick. “So,” Celestia made an active effort to ignore the eagle carcass. “you must be the stallion Twilight told me about,” The princess sat down across from Selas, watching as he broke the rocks and began fashioning stone arrowheads with the blade of an axe with nothing but his magic. “Selas Nightwind, at your service, princess,” The stallion inclined his head respectfully and briefly met gazes with the princess. “A pleasure to meet you Selas,” The princess inclined her head slightly as she watched his magic continue to work even as they sat in awkward silence. After nearly five minutes in awkward silence, the princess finally spoke, “Your levitation is quite impressive. Not many magic users could hope to levitate so much weight at once.” True enough, everything was held aloft in his magical field. A single axe floated lazily alongside the tree branches, carefully cutting arrow-shafts out of the massive branches, while the other set about carefully carving arrowheads out of the large rocks. Amusingly enough, Lamp was also held aloft in his magic, still eyeing the pegasi guards like his next meal. “It’s odd, really,” He confessed. “I’ve never had much issue concentrating on a multitude of things but only recently have I been able to use my levitation this efficiently. I did everything by hoof, with the exception of the arrowheads which I purchased and engraved myself.” “Engraved?” The princess asked, curiosity tinting her voice slightly. “Why would you engrave an arrowhead?” “Why wouldn’t I?” The unicorn asked, equal curiosity in his voice. “Engraving the proper runes unto an arrowhead is one of the most fundamental aspects of a hunter. Without proper runes I wouldn’t be able to utilize all of my individual shots,” The unicorn levitated a single arrowhead over to the princess, which she examined in her magic. Sure enough, the very corner of the axe had a simple rune etched into the tip of the arrowhead. “I see,” The princess returned the arrowhead, her original reason for meeting the stallion all but forgotten in favor of knowledge even she hadn’t heard of. “And what exactly does a ‘shot’ do?” “Any number of things, depending on the rune.” The unicorn levitated one of the arrow-shafts and some twine he had fashioned from tree-bark over and quickly fastened the rune-carved arrowhead to the shaft, pricking his skin just enough to draw blood. “This rune is fueled by the arcane.” He explained as his bow levitated itself off of the quiver and over to him. “Hunters, at least in my world, have small repositories inside of ourselves that let us manipulate various energies on a basic level. The blood on the tip gives it a connection to me so that it can draw the energy from me to activate the rune, from a distance.” The stallion quickly knocked the arrow, drew the string back to his cheek, and loosed it into the forest. After several seconds the arrow exploded, shattering the base of a large oak and bringing it crashing down. Everypony’s eyes widened in surprise, and Selas chuckled slightly. “That is one of the first abilities a hunter learns. It is arguably one of the most basic” Glancing at the guards stunned silence and the princess’s calculating expression, the stallion cleared his throat, bringing all of them back to attention; the princess was the only one to speak. “That is quite impressive for a basic ability. Tell me Selas, what would a master be capable of?” Selas smiled slightly, knowing exactly what the princess was doing. She was trying to gauge his abilities. Threat assessment. Quickly fashioning another arrow -this one with a much more intricate rune on the tip- he knocked it and fired at another set of trees. This time, rather than the tree exploding, the arrow did so, breaking off into a second projectile and impacting another nearby tree. The first tree was wrapped in thick vines that seemed to constrict violently, a cracking sound resonating from deep inside of the tree before it sagged dangerously to one side, only barely managing to stay upright. The second tree was not so lucky, the base becoming covered in ice. After several moments of silence, the ice shattered and the tree collapsed, revealing it had been frozen all the way through. “There are other abilities of course,” Selas quickly broke the once-more stunned silence of his three acquaintances. “but those -Arcane Shot and Chimaera Shot- are a good benchmark of what we’re capable at worst and best respectively.” Though if I had proper arrowheads… The stallion turned to the princess who was biting her lip in uncertainty. “Now then, princess,” Harlequin eyes met magenta, “I was told that you know what I am.” The statement was neutral, though it had a slight hint of hope in it. The princesses mood shifted almost immediately, going from curious and speculative to borderline depressed. Even the sun seemed slightly dimmer, Selas noted. “You are a cross between an alicorn and a changeling.” The princess stated plainly. “Myself and my sister are both alicorns, as is my student. Changelings are alicorns, mutated by a mad god, stripped of their emotions and what makes them an alicorn. We know very little about them besides their ability to shapeshift and that they feed on emotion. We believe they have a hive-mind of sorts as well, though that is only speculation.” The princess took a deep steadying breath, glancing backwards at her guards who had managed to don their stoic expressions once more. With a flare of her horn, her and Selas were surrounded in a soundproofed bubble. “There are four alicorns left in this world, my sister and I being the only purebred alicorns left alive.” “What happened to your race?” Selas asked softly, causing the princess to smile sadly. “To start, the alicorns were selfish and speciest. They believed themselves to be above all of the other races and often acted as such.” That certainly sounds familiar… Selas thought distastefully, thinking back to the Kaldorei, and especially the high-bourne. “When the mad god Discord showed up in our world, his first act was to eliminate those he felt would most threaten his rule. He cursed the alicorns, stripping them of all of their emotions. Around half of them were able to resist the curse, whereas the other half weren’t so fortunate. Those cursed became the first changelings. The curse caused their appearance to change drastically, giving them a chitinous black exterior and leaving them empty inside. It also forced them to absorb emotions from the other species to live, since they were incapable of producing them on their own any longer.” Selas, his gaze locked to Celestia’s as it was, felt a pang of sympathy for the mare as she told the story. To many she would seem fine, but gazes locked as they were, he could feel the weight of millennia on her, same as he often felt on himself. “Those who resisted the curse looked at those cursed with disdain. They labeled them abominations and lashed out at them. The newly-born race didn’t take kindly to it and fought back. It was a bloody war that severely thinned the numbers on both sides, just as Discord wanted, though ultimately the changelings were driven to the brink of extinction and fled to the southlands.” “Then I was born of an alicorn and a changeling?” Selas asked, an uncertain expression mounted on his face. “No, you weren’t. Changelings and alicorns weren’t compatible with each other. Whether it was due to their new anatomy or the curse itself, Changelings were unable to breed with anypony but another changeling, to my knowledge. Amongst those that were cursed, there were an infinitesimal few who were heavy with foal during the time of their change. Those individuals were hunted with a particular zeal by the alicorns. Only a small number of those survived long enough to give birth, and as far as I knew, the foals they gave birth to were all executed, until my student sent me a letter detailing your description.” The princess finally fell silent, her eyes pulling away from his sadly. Selas wasn’t entirely sure what to feel. A part of him wanted to feel angry, but at who? By her own admission, the alicorns were virtually non-existent. Her reactions while telling the story told him a great deal about her personal opinions on the subject, and Twilight Sparkle was clearly young. It was possible she had no idea what he was, or the history behind his conception. Another part of him wanted to feel sad; depressed that he never had a people to begin with. How many alicorns were pregnant during that very specific time? At most, he may have had a few hundred to a thousand hybrids like him, and Celestia said that they were all apparently executed. So what had happened to him? Why had he survived? Briefly he thought back to the dream-like memory and the thousand years he had been given to analyze it. Just chalk it up to magic, some part of his brain told him. “Well, that’s that then.” The stallion shrugged his shoulders and let a humorless chuckle escape his throat. “Not really sure what I expected my story to be, but that’ll do I suppose.” Celestia’s jaw dropped slightly. “That’s that?” The princess wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been for him to shrug it off. “Why, should it be more? Were you or your sister the ones who killed my mother in that dream?” “Of course not!” The princess replied, offended. “And the other two alicorns?” “They don’t even know the story.” “Then that’s that.” The stallion went back to making arrows as the princess lowered her barrier. “It’s not like I haven’t had time to come to terms with this, princess. I had decided to make peace with whatever my origins were thousands of years ago.” The princess usual smile steadily returned. “My apologies, Selas. I forgot that you’re as long-lived as I am,” The princess examined some of the completed stone arrowheads, examining the runes. “So, what will you do now?” “Study and travel, most likely. I have access to much more magical energy here in Equestria. I suppose my body was probably meant for a different kind of energy than what was available on Kalimdor. I’ll learn how to utilize the sudden excess safely and familiarize myself with the land.” “Where will you go to first?” “I believe I’ll pay the changelings a visit,” Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the expressions of both guards sour. “I’m not entirely sure what quarrel you and yours have with them, besides the obvious history, but it’s not mine.” The princess glanced at her guards before nodding to the stallion. “They crashed my niece’s wedding and tried to take over our capital nearly a year ago,” The princess explained, “Not many ponies are terribly fond of them I’m afraid.” “Well, can’t imagine they’d be terribly fond of me then. “Curved horn, the wings, holes in my legs,” The princess cut him off with a hoof. “I’m sorry, holes in your legs?” Selas held a hoof up and brushed some of the fur aside revealing a multitude of holes, similar to the changelings. “I’m a little overdue for trimming my coat, but months at war and what not,” He dropped the hoof back down. Even as they spoke he had continued to carve arrowheads and shafts, as well as plucking the bird. All the while Lamp was still suspended in the air, scaring the crap out of the guards. “Sorry about that guys. Chicken is one of his favorite foods and we didn’t get it a lot with everything going on beforehand.” The guards weren’t sure whether to be offended or terrified. “Well then, Mister Nightwind.” The princess stood up, Selas doing the same. “It’s been a pleasure, but I’ll be needed in Canterlot shortly. Perhaps you could visit someday.” The princess turned and trotted towards her guards and chariot, biting the back the hundreds of questions she wanted to ask but didn’t have the time for. Oh dear, Twilight won’t like him leaving… The princess tittered slightly as she climbed into the back of the chariot. “Princess.” Selas inclined his head respectfully as the mare turned to walk away. Though he would never admit it, his eyes lingered on the princesses backside a little longer than was professional. A soft growl broke him out of his thoughts as Lamp hunched over the now-featherless eagle. “Don’t give me that, she’s gorgeous.” Another soft growl. “Are you kidding me? Until a day ago I was the only sentient horse that I knew of. Apologies if I like a mare that can actually talk.” The hybrid huffed and turned back to make his arrows. “And don’t say anything about the blue one. There was too much going on for me to appreciate the view.” The cat only whined softly and started in on the bird-carcass. *** “Come on, wake up!” Selas groaned unintelligibly and tried to tune the voice out. “Come on, get up!” The voice began to nudge him violently. “Twilight’s looking for ya!” The voice was all but punching him in the shoulder. “Man, what the hay are you made of?” The punching stopped, as did the voice. Adrenaline flooded him almost immediately as his bed disappeared beneath him. Eyes widening, the hybrid rolled, extending his insect-like wings and neatly getting airborne, a dull buzzing sound emanating from his wings. Groggily, Selas scanned the sky with his eyes, intent on finding what had awoken him. “Nice recovery.” His eyes locked on to the prismatic mare, the scratchy voice being the same one that had awoken him. “I was sleeping.” Selas responded simply. “It’s like...two o’clock.” The mare pointed at the clock tower. Selas glanced at the clock tower and frowned in confusion before glancing at the position of the sun. “So it is. I was hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.” He slowly descended to the ground, the rainbow-mare following him. “So, you said Twilight was looking for me?” “Huh? Oh, yeah. She asked me if I’d seen you. She had some more questions she wanted to ask ya.” “Very well, where might I find her?” “She’s probably still at the library. Come on, I’ll show you the way!” The mare launched herself into the air at an impressive speed; Selas yawned a final time and followed suit, albeit at a more relaxed pace. It was a surreal experience, going inside of a hollowed out tree. He had been under the roots of some giant trees in the past, but this tree was completely hollowed out inside, yet still living. How did a tree live and grow with no heartwood? Just thinking about it caused a headache…though the blue mare yelling likely had a helping hoof in the matter. “Twilight, I found’im!” The mare shoved the door open and strode in like she owned the place. “I’ll be down in a second Rainbow Dash!” A familiar voice responded. Rainbow Dash, that was her name. Selas mentally noted to himself. “So, can I see your bow?” Rainbow Dash turned and spoke to him with a poorly-concealed grin on her muzzle. “…be careful with it. I don’t have the means to repair it at the moment.” The stallion levitated the bow over to the mare and she almost immediately began to examine it, seemingly trying to figure out how to properly hold it. Leaving the mare to her own devices, Selas set about perusing the books before remembering that he was unable to read their language. A familiar purple alicorn joined them in the main room of the library with a pop of magic.“Sorry about that, I was organizing all the notes I took.” “Hngh…” Rainbow Dash had the bow held in her left hoof and was trying to draw the string back. With a grunt of effort, she succeeded. “Hah!” The mare called out triumphantly, bringing a slight smile to Selas’s face. “I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you to actually be able to draw the bow back all the way.” He complimented. “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome.” The mare released the empty bow-string with a twang and passed it back to the stallion. “That thing’s pretty heavy though.” The stallion sat on his haunches and gave the string a few experimental pulls, causing Rainbow Dash’s jaw to drop slightly at how easy he drew the string. She hadn’t noticed it before, but when he shifted onto his hindlegs and drew the string back, corded muscles bulged ever-so-slightly under the thick rug of fur. As she imagined what he would look like with a properly trimmed coat, she found her wings unfurling slightly. Taking the bow in his magic, Selas gave it a few more experimental tugs and frowned. He would need to replace the bowstring before too much longer. Mentally, he asked Lamp to keep part of his next kill undevoured, so he could pull the sinew from it. As his horn flared to life to test the bow, Twilight almost immediately frowned, as if she’d bitten into a sour grape. “That doesn’t make sense!” She finally shouted out, causing Rainbow Dash to snap back to reality and realize her wings were fully extended, before silently departing the library, and Selas to lose his hold on the bow at the sudden outburst. After a short silence he finally asked, “What doesn’t make sense?” “Your magic!” Twilight exclaimed. “My reveal spell said you weren’t a changeling, but when you use magic I can feel the emotions in it! But it also has regular magic! That shouldn’t be possible. Changelings don’t have internal magic reservoirs!” The mare had a manic gleam in her eye and Selas suddenly found himself pondering escape routes. “The only way you’d have magic like that is if you were like...some kind of pony-changeling hybrid, but the princess said that changelings can’t breed with ponies!” A single strand of the mares hair curled slightly and a sound akin to glass being broken entered his ears. “My mother was an alicorn when she was pregnant with me but became a changeling shortly before she gave birth. As such, I’m a sort of…middle-ground, I suppose.” He spoke quickly and clearly, hoping to snap the mare out of her obvious psychotic break…it sort of worked. Twilight.exe has stopped working… Twilight, after a full minute of silence finally replied with three simple words, “Tell me everything.” *** For nearly half-an-hour, Selas found himself giving Twilight the abridged version of the story Princess Celestia had given him earlier, taking care to leave out certain parts, such as the genocidal slaughter of changelings and the hybrids such as himself. Rather, he told her that the changelings and alicorns went their separate ways. As the story came to a close, Selas noticed that Twilight had dozens of papers and quills floating in her magical aura. He didn’t doubt that every single word he spoke had been written down. “This is incredible! Oh, there are so many tests we’ll need to run!” As the mare went on about everything they could stand to learn, Selas smiled sadly as he spoke firmly. “I’m leaving tonight, as soon as the sun sets and I find a map of Equestria.” “What? But you can’t leave! There’s so much we could learn!” “I give you my word that I’ll return for your tests one day.” Selas found himself chuckling at the mare’s childlike look of disappointment. “But before that, I have much to learn about this land.” Twilight looked like she wanted to argue but the resolute expression on Selas’ face caused her to sigh and nod. “Fine, but pinkie promise you’ll come back and let me run my tests.” “Uh…” a look of uncertainty crossed the stallions face, but he nodded, “sure, I pinkie promise.” Twilight quickly ran him through the motions. “There, now you have to come back.” She stated matter of factly. “Very well then…do you have a map of Equestria lying around by chance?” Twilight nodded, suddenly cheerful once again as she levitated a large book from the shelves and opened it, a map of Equestria on display. Selas briefly thought back to what the princess had said earlier. Doesn’t get any farther south than the badlands… “Well then Miss Sparkle, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Until next time.” The stallion gave a deep, sweeping bow, and trotted towards the door. “Wait! Where are you going first?” Twilight followed him out of the library. “I’ll probably pay a trip to Appleloosa first, and from there I’ll explore the badlands.” “What will you do for supplies?” Part of Twilight wanted to tell the stallion to stay away from the badlands -they were called that for a reason- but she knew it wouldn’t sway him. “I’m a hunter Miss Sparkle.” Selas gave a grin, revealing not only the standard pony teeth, but four sharp fangs as well, in an intimidating display. “I need no supplies.” With a hard shove off of the ground, Selas zipped into the air, his wings buzzing furiously as he sped southwards, directly towards the Everfree Forest. Author's Note Thanks to ChasingResonance for editing and proofreading. Pretty sure he'll be the dedicated editor for this story, so hit him up and give him some love. Face and lower-back, try to avoid his eyes, I need those. So, in other news: A Pony Displaced is written and ready to be published so my full attention shifts to finishing this story {which will be fairly short} up, and moving on to whatever is next. So, here goes. The End {Chapter 3}True to his word, Selas needed no supplies; by the time night had fallen, he’d managed to fill his quiver with various rune-etched arrows and crafted a pair of rough leather saddlebags from the hide of Lamp’s manticore kill as well as a pair of waterskins. They weren’t pretty, being sewn up with a small bone-needle and more sinew, but they were comfortable and durable. In addition to the bags and waterskin, he’d fashioned a pair of extra bow-strings, for when his inevitably became too worn for use. Throughout all of this, he found himself astonished at just how much magic he had available. Normally, he’d only be able to fire a few arrows with his magic at a time, if he wanted to have any spare magic for wielding his axes, but now he felt like he could empty the quiver and have energy to spare. It was a fairly simple explanation, in his opinion. This was his native world and it was abundant with the energy his body had been designed for. He assumed that what he had access to on Kalimdor was only what his body produced on it’s own. Something else he hadn’t really noticed until his stay in Ponyville was that in addition to magic, he had a reservoir of…well, he could only describe it as a mixture of feelings. The changeling half of him, he assumed. Even now, he could feel miniscule amounts of emotion drifting off into the pool as his natural reservoirs soaked in the abundance of magic in the air, filtering tiny amounts of emotion from it. He could feel both of them being drained in order to cast spells, though he was undecided if it was good or bad. It essentially cost him twice as much energy to cast a spell, such as levitation, since he had to dip into both pools, but in exchange, the emotional pool would fill itself up naturally over time, without him feeding, as Celestia stated that changelings had to do. A familiar growl broke him out of his thoughts and Selas turned to watch Lamp crawl out of the underbrush, bloated waterskins dangling from his mouth. “Ah, thank you, Lamp.” Selas hung both of the waterskins from the leather saddlebags. Glancing up at the sky, he could vaguely see the moon through the canopy of trees. “Well then, ready to travel?” Lamp responed by turning southwest and hunching forward slightly. “Off we go then!” *** The first night went without issue; the pair had bedded down in an abandoned castle and Selas had stumbled upon various fruits in the garden, though at this point they were growing fairly wild and a lot of them weren’t edible, courtesy of wildlife. A number of apples, oranges, strawberries, and blackberries found their way into his saddlebags, while the rest found their way into his stomach, shortly before dawn. As the sun rose, Selas and Lamp pulled the door to one of the many abandoned bedrooms shut, allowing them a peaceful sleep in the darkness. They awoke as soon as the sun began to drop below the horizon and once again resumed their trip. The second day was interesting. Shortly after leaving the ruins of the castle, a large crocolisk-like creature had attacked them as they filled their waterskins at the river. A well-placed arrow down the throat made short work of it and Selas spent the rest of the day carving the large creature up and drying the meat that Lamp didn’t eat over a fire, for future use. He stored a number of the bones as well as the hide, before throwing the remnants into the river for its brothers and continuing on his way as the moon rose high in the sky. They camped on the edge of the Everfree Forest that night, bedding down several hours before sunrise. A small town - Dodge Junction, if memory served - could just barely be seen in the distance, and since the ponies were diurnal creatures, he assumed it best that they approach during the day. With any luck, he might find somepony willing to purchase the large crocolisk hide. Elune knows he didn’t have any use for it. As the sun rose, starting the third day, Selas made his way into town, shifting his saddlebags over his wings. As uncomfortable as it was, he didn’t doubt he’d have an easier time in town if they thought he was a regular unicorn. Not long after he entered town, a bulky brown earth-pony with a golden mane and worn stetson approached him. “Howdy there friend.” The stallion’s voice was inviting, though Selas could tell from the emotions he gave off that it was a front. Something else he found himself adjusting to was the different emotions that the ponies gave off. Something else Kalimdor lacked, he supposed. “Name’s Sheriff Gold Star.” He motioned briefly back to his cutie mark which was in fact a five-pointed golden star. “I’m the sheriff here at Dodge Junction. What’s your name, friend?” “I’m Selas Nightwind, a hunter. A pleasure to meet you, Sheriff.” Selas met eyes with the Sheriff, causing the stallion to swallow uneasily. “And what business do ya’ have here in Dodge?” “I’m passing through to the Badlands, although I have a hide I’d like to sell, if anybody in town purchases such things.” Selas glanced up at the sun and then at the town. A surprising number of ponies were awake for such an early hour. “I see.” The sheriff eyed him and Selas picked up the…taste, he supposed, of strong suspicion. Before, it had been a mixture of fear, worry, and a small sliver of hope. “Well, what yer’ doin’ in the Badlands is your business. As fer’ the hide, Fair Deal over in at the saloon might buy it. He likes to collect strange things. Other than that, I’ll ask ye’ to keep yer’ head down. We’ve had some problem with vandals wreckin’ up the town and harassin’ travellers lately. We asked the crown for help but haven’t heard anythin’ yet.” The sheriff tipped his hat and turned around, walking towards town. “Welcome to Dodge Junction,” he commented almost as an after-thought. After a quick trip to the saloon where Selas managed to sell the hide - a cragodile hide, he learned - for a price of two-hundred and fifty bits, he left town through the south, disregarding the various looks and suspicion all of the townsfolk gave him. It wasn’t until he neared the Badlands and a number of ponies stopped him on the road that the day got interesting. “Can I help you?” Selas glanced around at the six ponies that had surrounded him. He wasn’t surprised, as Lamp had warned him of them ahead of time. “Oh, you can help us alright,” one of the ponies said with a chuckle. “Drop the weapons and yer’ saddlebags and we’ll let ya’ go. How’s that sound?” The pony looked at him with a grin. “It sounds like you’re stupid.” Selas’ blunt delivery caused the grin to disappear almost immediately. I suppose these are the ponies the sheriff mentioned… “Whatever you ponies are up to is no business of mine, but I have business to attend and I’d like to be on my way.” Selas made to sidestep the pony, only for the pony to move in front of him. “Get him fellas!” The pony made to rush forward only for a scream to rip its way out of his throat as a massive black and grey blur smashed into him. The other five ponies almost immediately backed up in fear. “Don’t run. If you run he’ll want to chase you.” Selas advised the ponies. He glanced at the stallion that had seemed to be leading them, which Lamp had smashed into. He had likely been dead before he hit the ground. “If I were to guess, I’d say your best chance for survival would be to calmly walk towards town. Maybe report this incident to the sheriff.” Selas glanced at Lamp who stood over his kill and back at the ponies who were taking his advice and walking - albeit, radiating pure, unadulterated fear - towards Dodge Junction. “Come on, we can still make the Badlands before sundown.” *** Sure enough, just as the sun vanished and the moon rose, the pair stepped into the barren waste that was the Badlands. Almost as soon as he stepped in, a light hum set to reverberating through his mind. Occasionally, as the pair trekked deeper in, he would make out a multitude of words, the only word of note being “royal.” A soft growl broke him out of his thoughts. “Yes, Lamp, I can see them.” Admittedly, they were doing far better than the ponies from earlier, but at this point he doubted there were many creatures capable of stalking him, especially when Lamp was by his side. ‘Go, inform the queen! We’ll keep an eye on him!’ It was the first full thought that had entered his mind. Stopping, he glanced backwards, feeling a faint tug at his mind. “Let’s take a break,” Selas suggested, sitting down with his back to a wall of stone. ‘What’s he doing?’ Another full thought made it into his mind, this one followed by a reply. ‘He seems to be eating.’ As he pulled the strawberries from his saddlebags, a thought crossed his mind. With a slight grin, he allowed a thought to cross his mind, projecting it outward as best he could, ‘I’m stopping for a short meal. You’re both more than welcome to join me if you’d like. Lamp doesn’t bite.’ A brief impression of shock and fear reverberated over the odd mental link, followed by uncertainty and curiosity. After nearly five minutes of absolute silence, without so much as the hum in his mind, the hum returned and one of the two creatures that had been tracking him carefully approached the camp. A changeling? Selas could certainly see some resemblance between himself and this creature, though this creature looked almost emaciated. The changeling was covered head to toe in black chitin, a pair of green, pupiless eyes gazing at Lamp in both fear and awe. The changelings wing and mane -fin?- both seemed to sag, and while it physically looked healthy, the changeling just felt emaciated and starved. Selas found himself surprised that the changeling was capable of standing upright, much less following him as long as he had. “Good evening, I’m Selas Nightwind. What’s your name?” He remembered what Celestia had said about the creatures feeding on emotions. Carefully, he dipped into his internal reservoir and channeled a small amount of love through his horn, directing it at the changeling. The effect was almost immediate, the changeling’s eyes widening and its jaw dropping slightly. “Uh…” It finally spoke. The voice, Selas noted, was feminine and sounded odd, like it had a second layer underneath it. “I’m scout number seventeen.” The scout glanced at him uncertainly, though Selas could feel…gratitude, he believed. It was odd. Unlike the ponies, the emotion was there plain as day, but it didn’t contain any actual energy in it. Just the plain emotion, similar to what he would feel back on Kalimdor. Emotions without any…nutritional value. “Forgive me for asking, but what are you?” The changeling tore its gaze from the snoozing Lamp to the giant unicorn, who had levitated his saddlebags off and pulled a number of strawberries from it, offering them to changeling. As he pondered whether or not he should give the scout the full story, he flexed his wings out. Unlike the scout, who had two tattered wings, he had four wings made of the same similar material, only full and unblemished. “My name is Selas Nightwind and I am a changeling-hybrid.” Selas packed the strawberries back into his bag when the scout didn’t react to them. “And I’d like to warn you that if all of your other...scouts, I guess, decide to attack me, it likely won’t end well for you or them.” It wasn’t a threat or bravado; Selas spoke as if it were a simple universal fact. As he did so, he levitated his bow from its resting spot on the quiver, as well as an rune-tipped arrow. Another changeling landed a short distance away. This one was different. It felt healthier and wore ornate, deep-blue armor. Unlike the first scout, it spoke with a commanding tone and had a pair of pupiless blue eyes. “The queen has requested your presence in the hive.” Selas could tell by the feelings the changeling gave off as well as by tone and body language that it wasn’t a request. “Very well then, let’s go meet your queen, youngling.” The soldier, as Selas had decided to name him, frowned at the title of youngling and opened his mouth to retort only to realize that at some point Selas, as well as his cat had made it to the space directly in front of him, and the hybrid, as he’d referred to himself, was a lot bigger up close, and far more intimidating when his eyes, - eerily reminiscent of the Queen as they were - were gazing down on him. Swallowing slightly, Soldier nodded and turned, sending out a mental signal that while Selas couldn’t hear, was able to feel. *** The hive was…simple, for lack of a better word. The formations all looked natural with the exception of hundreds of holes carved into the wall and a single room off to the side, blocked off by a stone door and guarded by four separate changelings. The structure was lit by a dull green light which emanated from the some type of…crystals, he supposed, hanging on the ceiling. All in all, it wasn’t terribly notable, with the exception of the various changelings staring at them as they passed. None of them looked what he would call healthy, and some of them looked downright miserable. Lamp growled softly, drawing Selas’ attention to him. With a tilt of his head, the Nightsaber motioned towards a small alleyway of sorts. Focusing carefully, Selas could just hear a slight whimper as he faced it. Without addressing his escort, he broke off, trotting towards the sounds. He could feel a mixture of fear and uncertainty as he approached. By the time his escort realized he had broke off from them, he was kneeled in front of a young nymph. The soldier that he had first spoken to made to rush over to him only for the cat to growl dangerously at him, putting the entire escort on edge and causing their horns to flare to life. “At ease young one, I’m not going to hurt you.” Selas briefly examined the child; her pupiless green eyes conveyed a surprising amount of emotion. All of the changelings had looked malnourished, but this one - a young female, he somehow knew - was almost painfully malnourished. Little more than chitin over a thin skeletal frame. Dipping into his reserves as he had with the scout earlier, he began funneling a thin trickle of love through his horn, directing it towards the nymph. After several seconds the fear and uncertainty vanished in favor of eagerness and…desperation. “The queen doesn’t like to be kept waiting!” Soldier called out, trying to sidestep Lamp, only for the cat to match movement, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Where are your parents, young one?” Selas spoke gently; the emotions shifted once more, this time settling on…depression? “I see. Would you like to come with me?” Selas hunched forward slightly. After another brief surge of certainty, the young changeling scrambled onto his head and slid down to his withers. Trotting back to his escort, Selas smiled wryly. Soldier was trying to fly over Lamp, but the low cave-ceiling prevented him from gaining any height. Any time he tried to fly over, Lamp would swat him away. “I’m ready to meet your queen.” Soldier gave a glance at the young changeling and back at Selas. “Her Majesty will not like unexpected company.” He motioned a hoof towards the nymph who flinched reflexively and buried herself deeper into Selas’ dark cerulean mane. “She’ll adjust,” the hybrid bluntly stated; it wasn’t a question. Clenching his jaw, Soldier simply nodded and the group once more went on it’s way. *** *** It was an odd feeling. Selas decided there had been a lot of those today. Ever since his first encounter with the changelings, it was like a whole second side of him had opened up. He’d grown a second…mind, of sorts linking him to, as far as he knew, all of the changelings. In addition, he found that he could speak to them, and siphon emotions along the same link, though it had to be channeled through his horn. In addition to all of those new discoveries, he somehow knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he had a sister. He couldn’t quite describe it, he simply knew. And judging by the silent, wide-eyed stare of the Queen, she knew as well. For nearly ten solid minutes, the room fell into absolute silence. It wasn’t until the nymph on his back sneezed cutely that the pair seemed to snap back to reality. “Guards, leave us.” The queen’s voice shivered briefly before she met eyes with the filly on Selas’ withers. “And take that nymph with you.” She glanced towards the nymph, causing her to whimper and try to bury herself in his mane once more. The guard made to reach for her only for Selas to turn and cut him off. “I’ll kindly ask you to leave her alone.” The soldier glanced at his queen and back at Selas, uncertainty clear on his face. “Very well, leave her, I’ve no objection if she isn’t causing my brother issue.” Chrysalis waved her guards out of the room. Selas glanced at Lamp, blinking several times before turning back to Chrysalis, the pair of them lapsing into an awkward silence once more. As the silence persisted, Selas found himself going over the queen. The resemblance between the two of them was striking. If he lost his fur and made his horn slightly more jagged, she’d be like a smaller version of him. Finally, Selas spoke. “Sister.” It was a neutral tone. He wasn’t entirely sure how he should feel regarding the Queen of the Changelings. She only looked marginally healthier than her subjects and hadn’t spoken harshly to them. “Yes, so it seems.” Chrysalis trotted off of the crudely carved stone throne and trotted slowly towards Selas. Selas felt almost like a piece of meat on display as Chrysalis circled him, taking in every detail, including a strange feeling as her magic washed over him, seeming to measure his own reserves. Chrysalis returned to her throne, a contemplative smile adorning her features. “So, why have you come here…?” she trailed off, waiting for an introduction. “Ah, Selas. Selas Nightwind. And you?” “Chrysalis,” she said simply. Another awkward silence began, only for Chrysalis to stomp it out before it began. “So, what do you hope to accomplish by coming here?” “I’m not honestly sure,” Selas admitted with a shrug. “I learned the history of…well, myself, from Celestia, and came here to try and acquaint myself with my other half I suppose. I must say, I didn’t expect…” Selas motioned at the room around him. “Is this the home of the changelings? It’s rather…small. To say nothing of how malnourished everyone looks.” Chrysalis sighed loudly and stared at the floor. “I’m afraid this is home, brother. We’re in the process of carving it out further, but we only recently relocated here. After the fiasco in Canterlot, we had nowhere else to turn. But you know, you could help change all of that.” The pairs’ eyes met. “How can I help?” Selas watched as Chrysalis trotted back off of her throne and towards him, their eyes remaining locked the entire time. “You’re the middle ground.” Her voice had sounded almost hypnotic. It conjured up images of a being he had only met a handful of times but had the same tone: Queen Azshara. He had a feeling he would end up liking his sister about the same. “To say nothing of the abilities you displayed to Sun-butt back in Ponyville.” Her gaze seemed to hold him, his head turning to follow her as she stepped along his side. It wasn’t until a growl reverberated through his mental link - and by extension, that of nearby changelings - that Selas snapped back to reality, tearing his gaze from the queen and trying to clear his clouded mind. A poorly concealed frown spread across Chrysalis’ muzzle as she turned her back to the stallion, continuing to speak. “With your abilities, you could eliminate the princesses, and give the changelings the food they desperately need.” Though his exterior was calm, his mind was racing, trying to figure what exactly had just happened, all the while trying desperately to keep his thoughts and emotions hidden from the other emotivores linked to him now. “Have you considered trying to make peace?” Selas doubted that Princess Celestia would turn away such an offer. “And what reason do I have to make peace with them?” Chrysalis raised her voice, irritation clear, “It’s their fault we’re in this position to begin with!” “Are you referring to the invasion Celestia told me about or the other history we share with them?” Selas shook his shoulders slightly, causing the nymph to slide off of him. “To the shadows, young one.” He slid her along the floor with a hoof, nudging her in the general direction he felt Lamp. “Both!” Chrysalis raised her voice even further, “What was I going to do? Ask them for aid so they could systematically massacre those of us that remained? Invasion was the only option to ensure our survival.” “It may have been, I don’t know all of the specifics,” Selas admitted. “But at this point what other options are there? If you seek their aid, there is a chance they’ll turn on you, if you don’t then the changelings die.” “Then we’ll die with dignity, not grovelling at the hooves of alicorns.” Chrysalis spoke with finality and approached her throne once more. “You’re going to let your people die because of a millennia old grudge?” Selas raised his own voice slightly, irritation of his own creeping in. “I don’t know what you went through all those years ago, Chrysalis, but you’re dooming your people without trying every avenue available to you. What kind of queen does that?” “Guards!” Chrysalis suddenly called out. Quickly, the escort of five changelings, one of whom he had labeled ‘Soldier’ filtered back into the room. “Subdue him.” Their eyes once again met. “He will help us bring down Equestria, whether he likes it or not.” Wasting no time in pulling his gaze away this time, he turned to the guards who were all gripping various weaponry in their green auras. “Look at yourselves!” Selas levitated his own thorium axes out of their sheaths. “You’re all starving and your queen prepares to throw you right back at the alicorns! Is this the life you want to live?” The guards hesitated slightly, glancing between the two royals. “Enough of this!” Chrysalis finally snapped, slamming a hoof into the ground that caused the entire cavern to shake. With a twist of her horn, a thin green beam of energy launched itself towards Selas, forcing him to leap back him and turning the ground he stood on moments ago into a pile of molten rock. “All of you, subdue him, or die to me!” Selas suddenly felt a wave of…something fall over him. After several rushed thoughts, he settled on compulsion. Perhaps a side-effect of the hive-mind, he could feel the changelings bodies moving to follow the command, even if their minds were against it. I can’t kill them…they have no say in the matter… Selas thoughts ground to a halt as Lamp skidded along the cavern floor a short distance away. No sooner than Selas had moved out of the beam, Lamp had bolted from the shadows and bowled into Chrysalis, sending her skidding across the floor. No sooner than he landed, he pounced in for a kill, jaws aiming for her throat; it was short lived as a powerful blast of magic sent Lamp crashing into the ceiling and back to the floor, unmoving. Selas’s entire world slowed down as Lamp lay there unresponsive on the floor. Over thirty-five hundred years the two had been alongside each other, Lamp having received a blessing from Cenarius for that purpose alone. He wasn’t immortal by any means, but the blessing of the wild granted him eternal youth. While he couldn’t die of old age, he most certainly could die of injuries, and Chrysalis had just attempted - and possibly succeeded - in taking that from him. With a leap backwards, Selas’s bow drifted up from his quiver, followed by a multitude of arrows, each one with a rune on the tip. His first order of business consisted of firing an arcane-tipped arrow at the ceiling near the entrance. With a crash, rocks exploded, crashing down and effectively sealing them into the large, empty cavern. Knocking another arrow, Selas ran towards the group, glancing briefly at Chrysalis who was climbing to her hooves once more, clearly in some degree of pain. Releasing the arrow, Selas shut his eyes as the room erupted into light, causing several of his aggressors to drop their weapons and slam their eyes shut, while the others shut their eyes yet kept a hold on their weapons. It mattered little as Selas took advantage of the brief blindness and slammed the back of his axes into their skulls in rapid succession; the sound of cracking chitin reverberated throughout the dimly-lit cavern as all five of the changelings fell to the ground, dead or unconscious, he wasn’t sure. Even as he laid the changelings out, Selas kept running towards Chrysalis, axes rushing to catch up with him even as his bow readied another arrow. Chrysalis, finally managing to find her footing, threw her horn outward at Selas once again, another, wider beam erupting from the tip. Unlike the previous one, this beam shattered the ground in front of Selas, sending him tumbling forward and into an uncontrolled roll. As he slid into her, she brought her hooves crashing down on his side. With a pained grunt and only barely maintaining his magical grip on the axes, Selas rolled upright just in time to see Chrysalis charging another beam. As the energy reached its zenith, the mare’s eyes suddenly shot wide in pain as the axes buried themselves side-by-side in her chitin. Had it not been for the thick shell, they’d likely have passed right through. Instead, Selas found himself unable to pull themselves out with his magic alone. Quickly dropping the magical grip on the axes, he knocked another arrow. Chrysalis, flooded with adrenaline, teleported across the room in a flash of light, once again charging her horn as Selas rushed towards her. As her horn reached the zenith of its energy once again, the arrow was loosed. This arrow, having been charged over a span of several seconds, was aimed directly at the queen's chest. Whether on instinct or skill, the queen raised a hoof, the carefully aimed shot penetrating the shell and punching right through, the first fourth of the arrow making it through her hoof and into her chest. Damaging, but not the kill shot he’d been hoping for. With a pained grunt, Chrysalis ripped the arrow out of her chest just in time for Selas to barrel into her, throwing her out of her feet. Her horn, having retained its charge this time, went wild, throwing out a bolt of energy. Whether by luck or intention, Selas felt himself lifted bodily off of the ground as the wind left him and he careened towards a wall. Managing to twitch his wings, he shifted trajectory slightly, crashing into the wall side-first rather than horn-first. The wall, and most of the bones on one side of his body, cracked before he slid to floor in a broken heap. It’s funny… Selas found himself thinking as he struggled painfully to his feet. I land on my home world, learn the history of my species, meet a long list sister, and we’re trying to kill each other… Selas glanced at his bow and quiver, lying on the ground. Flaring his horn up, he winced as his magical hold was broken when another well-charged beam turned quiver and bow alike into a pile of dust. or she’s killing me I suppose… With a bloody smile, Selas forced himself to stand upright as Chrysalis carefully trotted towards him, blood oozing out her chest, a frown on her face. “I hope you’ll do better than me…” It was so soft that Selas almost wondered if he’d imagined it. He had no time to ask however as a massive weight bowled her over, Lamp once more sending her skidding along the floor. Unlike last time, her chitin was no longer perfectly smooth and the Nightsaber’s claws found purchase along the wooden shaft of the axes buried in her side. Latching on, two massive fangs buried themselves in Chrysalis’s neck, punching through the chitin like a knife through taut parchment. The queen’s eyes went wide as she went down, crashing into the floor with a wet grunt, Lamp still on top of her and his jaws still closed tightly, occasionally jerking. As quickly as he could with his shattered ribs and shoulder, Selas limped over towards the queen. My only family… Selas stared sadly at Chrysalis who returned the gaze with sadness and fear. Four-thousand plus years and the first thing that happens upon meeting my only blood relative is that I disprove of her leadership, followed by a fight to the death… Selas felt his heart stop when tears began to roll down Chrysalis’ face, and he felt himself choke up slightly. “I’m sorry Chrysalis…I…” Selas choked up slightly once more as the life faded from the queen’s eyes and Lamp finally let up, no doubt feeling her artery stop pumping. Selas felt the energy leave his body and fell onto his flanks, head drooping as what he had just done set in. Though he couldn’t pinpoint the specific reason why, Selas felt hot tears working their way down his cheeks as he glanced down at the corpse. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled again, choked sobs coming in succession now. It wasn’t until he felt something nudging him slightly that the sobs stopped. Turning around, he glanced at the tiny nymph, who glanced at the queen uncertainly. With a pained swallow, Selas bit back the tears and bottled his emotions up. Reaching out with a hoof, he carefully slid Chrysalis’ eyes closed and released a slow, steadying sigh. As Selas finished regaining himself, a soft rumble slipped through the room as the ceiling he had collapsed earlier was shifted away by a dozen or so changelings. Opening his mind once more, he felt hundreds, possibly thousands of voices all panicking, none of them certain what had happened. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he mentally shouted, Silence! Expectedly, the voices faded into silence within seconds. Scout Number Seventeen, to the…” he glanced around the trashed chamber, eyes settling on Chrysalis’s throne. throne room immediately. Anyone else who can hear me, keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. Selas tried to project his thoughts with a sense of authority; not quite what Chrysalis had managed earlier with her forced compulsion - Selas felt that it was likely an ability he had not been blessed with - but commanding none the less. *** For several days, Selas busied himself with recovering - as his heavily bandaged body indicated - and figuring out the Changeling’s state of affairs, provided for him by his new adviser, the former Scout Seventeen. Everything from their numbers to their supply of love - something they apparently stored in a green goo that they could create - to the racial specifics, such as the classes. Drones, infiltrators, scouts, it all was apparently determined at birth and dictated by the natural color of their eyes. At least the birthing had been simple; while changelings could appear as either sex, they all ‘identified’ as one gender or another. Female’s naturally produced eggs and males would fertilize them. The female would lay the eggs, and soon you have a nymph causing you trouble; Selas knew, he had a nymph of his own causing him trouble, adorable as she was. Something else he discovered was that none of the changelings seemed to have names. Chrysalis had numbered them for convenience, a thought that while he could understand it, really bothered him. Alas, that was a problem for another time. First and foremost, he had to solve the food problem. He himself had been funneling every bit of emotion he could manage, but it simply wasn’t enough. On top of that, the ponies were still on the lookout for changelings among their towns. As night fell on the third day, Selas glanced up at the moon and frowned, contemplating how to contact Equestria. He was in no condition to travel, and the changelings likely wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the castle without prior clearance. “Princess Luna,” Selas spoke in a firm voice, “if you can hear me, please, visit me tonight. I’ve a dire matter to discuss but lack the means to do so in person.” It was a longshot, but if that didn’t work he’d have to send Lamp, who wasn’t doing terribly well himself, or make the trip on his own regardless of his health. That night, much to his surprise, Selas found himself face-to-face with Princess Luna only moments after closing his eyes. The princess of the night glanced at the heavily bandaged stallion across from her. “Twould seem you’ve seen better days.” She glanced over the bandages. “Without a doubt, though I honestly feel I got off easy. Chrysalis could have killed me if she really wanted to.” Selas thought back to her last words. He wouldn’t let her down, he swore on Elune. Luna suddenly grew very interested, “You have encountered Chrysalis? Does she hold you captive?” “I have encountered her, yes. It was to be expected, as she was my sister.” Selas smiled sadly. “And no, she doesn’t hold me captive, Princess. She and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. We fought, she died.” Luna reeled back in shock. “We see…we apologize. It couldn’t have been easy…” Luna hesitated, clearly uncertain how to address such an issue. “In any case, that’s not why I called you here, Princess.” Selas took a short breath, wincing as his ribs twinged in the process, “With my sister dead, I’ve taken over rule of the Changelings that remain. There are roughly twelve-hundred of them, and things are fairly bleak. I would like to try and broker peace between your ponies and my changelings. Neither of our races should have to live in fear.” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. “And I apologize for this, but I’d like to do it quickly if possible. There are a number of ponies held captive in feeding pods. They’re uninjured, but if the changelings extract from them much longer, there could be issues. If the changelings don’t feed from them, they’ll start to die of starvation.” Selas sighed and pressed a hoof to his head wearily. Luna had initially opened her mouth to demand the release of the ponies, but fell silent as his explanation finished. “We will bring this to our sister’s attention immediately, but let no harm befall our little ponies, Selas.” It wasn’t quite an order, but it was no request. “I look forward to meeting you in person, Guardian of the Moon.” Selas bowed low in respect as Luna faded from his dream. Author's Note This chapter is half-edited/proofed. ChasingResonance hasn't had the chance to go over it yet, but Izanagi gave it a once-over. Expect it to get better eventually, when CR can go over it. So uh...here it is. Epilogue in a day or two when I'm sober. EpilogueSelas looked even worse than Luna had described, Celestia decided. In three days, both princesses had arranged a diplomatic visit to the Changeling Hive by Celestia while Luna would watch over Canterlot. Selas stood outside of a cave with a pair of large changelings, dressed in ornate blue armor and pupiless blue eyes. Despite his obvious injuries, Selas seemed to exude an air of confidence and regality. “Princess Celestia.” Selas bowed his head respectfully to the mare, briefly scanning over her guards. A total of six, two of each species, all dressed in ornate white and gold armor. He'd yet to fashion a new bow or arrows, but he doubted that the guards would overcome the multitudes of changelings in the shadows should it come to that. “King Selas,” Celestia spoke respectfully, dipping her head in a similar manner, though her eyes lingered briefly on his bandages. To most ponies and changelings, he looked fine if a little intimidating, but to a pony as old as she, it was clear he was barely standing, and very heavily favoring his right side rather than his left. “We should speak inside, out of the heat,” Selas spoke as he turned towards the cave-entrance. *** After a short walk through the tunnel and into the cavernous chamber that served as a throne-room, the pair found themselves alone, having left their guards a short distance from the entryway and just out of earshot. “You should really have those injuries looked at,” Celestia was quick to note, approaching Selas and circling around him, taking in the injuries up-close. Blushing slightly at the sudden close-proximity, Selas shook his head and backpedaled slightly. “They can wait until my people’s problems are dealt with.” Celestia’s ever-present smile faltered slightly, but she nodded and recovered quickly. “I saw a number of them on the way in. Are they all so sickly?” “Those are just the ones able to still move around and work. Around half of them are in even worse shape. I think the nymphs - or foals that is - have it the worst.” Selas all but collapsed onto his haunches, his strength all but leaving him. "There are children as well?" Celestia seemed surprised for some reason. "Few hundred and they're all smaller than they have any right being." Very quickly he ran over the projected figures, mentioning the dozens of ponies held in pods and how they were draining as sparingly as possible, trying to solve their food-crisis. It was a short explanation, as the only pressing matters were the impending food-crisis and the ponies they held in captivity, draining them as sparingly as possible. Ultimately, they had maybe another two weeks of food before they’d start losing their pony food-sources and maybe three weeks before changelings started to die of starvation. "As I told Princess Luna, I’d like to discuss peace between our races, though at this point you’ve got pretty much full-reel on the terms. What will it take for you to help save the changelings?” Carefully running the information over in her head, Celestia sat down as well, putting a hoof to her chin. “And how would we help, if we so chose?” Celestia locked eyes with Selas. The hybrid frowned uncertainly, “I’m not entirely sure princess, I'm no ruler. In my four-thousand years of life, my only example of a ruler was a tyrant that drove my world to the brink of annihilation,” Selas maintained the gaze they now shared, “Changelings can feed off of any positive emotion, it just so happens that love is the most effective and filling. To be honest, at this point, we need volunteers for cocooning. I’m told that they would normally keep several dozen captives and cycle them so none of them came to harm, but after the failed invasion, it became much harder to work the relays, so one income of food was cut off, causing them to rely solely on the ponies in a cocoon.” His frown hardened and an apology was clear in his eyes, “I’d like you to ask your ponies to volunteer to cocooning. Temporarily, of course, just until something more long-term could be worked out.” Her smile failed completely this time, a thin hard line replacing it; Selas was quick to continue. “They’d be recompensed for their time as well. We have an extensive pile of gems and Equestrian bits gathered one way or another that we have no immediate use for beyond this.” “And what assurance do I have that my little ponies will come to no harm? What assurance do they have? Changelings aren’t exactly welcomed into our society, after the invasion.” Though her smile was no longer present, her voice was clear and even. “So long as it works out for the benefit of my people,” Selas hesitated slightly, pulling his gaze away briefly only to lock it back on firmly, “you have my signature in blood on a blank piece of paper.” Celestia’s eyes widened slightly at the offer, mildly surprised that a pony so new to their world knew of such a thing. Signed contracts and treaties were nothing new, but for a creature of magic to sign it in their blood and enchant it properly was an agreement forgotten by most. Selas would be obligated to follow through with the terms of his contract; physically and mentally compelled, and in return, so would she. They would both have to abide by the contract. “Very well, King Selas, how soon can you travel to Canterlot?” Author's Note Same as the last chapter. ChasingResonance hasn't had the chance to go over this yet, but Izanagi gave it a once-over. <3 to both of them for proofing and editing for me regularly. Also, I lied, epilogue tonight, immediately after The End. Thank the alcohol.
PrologueAuthor's Note And so it begins... Huge thanks to ChasingResonance for helping me flesh the prologue out - wouldn't have got it done without him, and Izanagi for editing and proofreading in addition to ChasingResonance. Izanagi even bought me Arby's to help get through it. True non-homosexual-gay-lover, that man. Prologue With a grunt, Selas tucked his wing in and rolled in the air, a bolt of arcane energy whizzing past him. Flaring his wing back out, he leveled out and jerked the bow into his hooves. Almost instantly, he grabbed an arrow from it’s place in the quiver, nocked it, and fired it at the offending mage. With a sickening crunch, the arrow penetrated bone, burying itself into the elf’s sternum, causing him to collapse backwards almost immediately. All around the destroyed temple were corpses. Druids, hunters, and warriors had clashed against varying types of mages. Their group had all but been wiped out; the mad queen had been expecting them. Tyrande had been the first go down, followed by Malfurion falling into a blind rage. Glancing around the room desperately, he spotted the nightsaber standing over a night elf of it’s own, lifeblood pouring from it’s the throat as the creature announced it’s victory. A deep rumbling caused him to look upward, his eyes widening in panic as the energies of the well began to flare violently throughout the room, energy visibly crackling in the air. “Malfurion, the spellwork is collapsing! We must retreat!” The darnassian rolled off of his tongue rapidly as he swerved downward, narrowly avoiding a small section of the ceiling, glancing downward at the stone floor of the temple shattered underneath the rock.. The battle between the druid and queen raged on, both parties ignoring his warnings. Tucking his dragonfly-like wings to his side, Selas landed next to the large creature from moments prior and took several desperate breaths, fatigue from the day’s exertions beginning to show. Glancing at the bow and quiver belted to his side, he grimaced; only a single arrow remained. “Lamp, it’s been an honor.” He addressed the massive black panther tiredly. “You should leave before the temple buckles.” Selas carefully levitated the arrow from the quiver. Nocking the arrow, he drew the string back in his rapidly dwindling magic, carefully taking aim at the two remaining combatants. “Elune, guide my aim…” He whispered, taking a particularly deep and slow breath as he observed Malfurion and Azshara going blow for blow with each other in a blur of both druidic and arcane magic. With a roar, Selas released the arrow, causing a small rune etched onto the arrowhead to flare to life as it hurled towards the two combatants. “Malfurion, incoming!” Eyes widening at the sudden warning, the druid leapt back, his form shifting to that of a cat as he did so. With the transformation cutting back his size, the arrow narrowly flew past Malfurion, striking the elven queen in the shoulder. As soon as it made contact, the arrow exploded in a flash of light, blinding both combatants. Sucking in a deep breath, Selas levitated a pair of curved axes from their resting place on his thighs and sprinted forward. As he sprinted forward, a sharp pain shot through his head warning him of the impending magical failure. “Take Tyrande and retreat!” He bolted past the druid, who was only now recovering his vision. Malfurion winced as he finally managed to open his eyes and take in the now-battling forms of Selas and Azshara, the horse-like creature actually pushing the stunned queen back with his wild assault. Only now registering the orders did Malfurion make his way over to the injured Tyrande, his form shifting back to it’s natural state as he did so. With a rumble, the ceiling began to sag, the structure preparing to collapse. With a heave, the druid hauled Tyrande into his arms and limped towards the entrance. “Selas!” He roared out from the entrance. Turning to the druid, the large creature only smiled weakly. With a painful flare of his horn, a wave of telekinetic force shoved Malfurion backwards and out of the structure; moments later, a rumbling filled the air, followed by a wave of dust as the Well of Eternity buckled in on itself and the temple of Azshara collapsed, burying both the queen of the highborne and the odd horse-like creature alike.
The Beginning {Chapter 1}Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
The Middle {Chapter 2}Luna flitted around the dreamscape, passing through the towering trees towards her target. It was impressive, she mused, that such a massive dreamscape could exist. Most creatures’ dreams only consisted of what specifics they could remember of a place, while the rest would fade to a blur. This dream was an exception, with hundreds of trees remaining in clear, sharp, focus, as well as two moons of varying size. Wherever this dream was taking place, this stallion had clearly committed everything in it to memory. Luna would have thought she was in a foreign land if not for an eerie lack of wildlife. This must be his home, Kalimdor. Luna silently reflected on the information given to her and her sister by Twilight. “You would be correct, child of the moon.” Luna shot into the air and whipped around as a soft ethereal voice spoke out, breaking the silence of the forest. The creature that had spoken was unlike any Luna had ever seen. She was a tall biped with flowing green hair that fell to the center of her back. Her eyes, though closed, seemed to have a deep emerald marking over them that reminded Luna of a bearclaw. The creature’s ears tapered off into points, resting alongside a large pair of horns that rose up from its head. Almost subconsciously, Luna found herself bowing in respect. “Rise, young one.” The voice softly commanded. Luna did as instructed, dozens of questions assailing her mind as she did so. Who was this being and how was she wandering this stallion’s dreams? Why did Luna, a princess of Equestria, feel so insignificant in comparison? Normally, she would have been angry at being addressed as a child, but something told her that, compared to this being, she was little more than just that-a child. “To answer your questions, I am Ysera, Queen of Dreams and Aspect of Nature, amongst other titles,” Her voice, while remaining soft, carried a deep power within it, and even as she addressed Luna, her eyes remained closed. “I am in this stallion’s dreams at the request of Cenarius, Lord of the Forest,” She spoke the name with some degree of affection. “And you, young one?” “We are Princess Luna, of Equestria,” Luna began nervously, picking up confidence as she continued, “and we are here to speak to this stallion to ensure he means no harm to our little ponies.” “Lady Ysera,” A third voice joined the conversation, this one deep and clearly a male. Luna turned to face the stallion she had come to see, who was bowing to the tall biped in respect. “Rise, young Selas,” The woman smiled softly as the hybrid obeyed. “I have come on behalf of Cenarius to offer you a return to Kalimdor.” Selas’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. “I am honored, my lady, but…” The stallion trailed off, his gaze drifting to the ground. “But you wish to stay?” Ysera finished for him, the same soft smile still present on her face. “There are sentient equines on this world,” The stallion glanced uncertainly at Luna. “and while I’ve yet to see any similar to me, I feel this is the closest I’ll ever get to discovering myself,” he took a shaky breath. “Ysera, please tell me, what has become of Kalimdor? Was the legion pushed back?” For the first time since her appearance, Ysera’s expression saddened. “Peace has been obtained…for the time being. The Well of Eternity buckled in on itself and collapsed. Kalimdor as you know it is no more. Instead, a handful of continents dot the world, a result of the explosion caused by the well.” Selas fell back onto his haunches, licking his suddenly dry lips. “And Queen Azshara?” “She and her followers were dragged beneath the raging sea by the Well of Eternity’s implosion,” Ysera explained. Selas simply nodded in response, taking a few moments to let the facts sink into his head. “Lady Ysera, if I may, how did you know I was still amongst the living? I went down with Azshara, there was no reason to suspect I had survived…” Luna bit her lip, feeling out of place in this conversation, yet unable to leave until her own message was passed on. “I am uncertain, young one. I simply sought you out at the request of Cenarius. Apologies, but I cannot stay much longer. Will you return to Kalimdor with me, or would you prefer to stay in this new world?” Ignoring the pit of anxiety in his stomach, the stallion glanced at Luna and back at Ysera. Taking a shaky breath, he locked eyes with the dragon and nodded. “I thank you for your time Lady Ysera, I know that as a dragon aspect you’re very busy, but I would like to stay in this new world, if you’ll permit it and if the Kaldorei have no pressing need of me.” “Of course,” The dragon smiled knowingly. “I wish you luck in your search, young Selas,” For a brief moment, Ysera’s eyes opened, displaying a kaleidoscope of colors before she faded into oblivion. “Ande’thoras-ethil.” Selas bowed his head once more, staying that way until Ysera had vanished completely. Only when the aspect had faded completely did he turn to the other guest in his dream. “Ah, greetings,” Luna suddenly found herself flustered and nervous. “We are Princess Luna of Equestria, a ruler of Equestria, the country thou have found thyself in.” Selas mentally noted how archaic the mare sounded. Bowing forward in respect, the stallion responded. “It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Luna, I am Selas Nightwind,” Selas spoke with a respect bordering on reverence as he addressed the mare, not entirely unlike how he had addressed the dragon aspect. Luna couldn’t help but blush at the tone, though she was quick to get her emotions under control. “The honor is ours, Selas. I have come to inform you of mine and my sister’s decision regarding you.” Selas remained silent, waiting for the mare to continue. “No doubt you’ve noticed the similarities between yourself and our little ponies as well as the similarities between Miss Sparkle and myself when compared to the creature in your dream.” Selas’s expression remained neutral as he remained silent, waiting for Luna to finish. “My sister will arrive in Ponyville tomorrow to explain these similarities to you in detail. We request that you hear her out completely before passing judgement.” “Of course, princess,” He kept his head tilted low while he spoke to the princess. “Rise, friend. Formality is not necessary at this point in time,” It felt uncomfortable to the Princess, seeing a being possibly older than her, and possibly more powerful, prostrating himself in front of her with such reverence. “Apologies, princess. I was raised to have nothing but the utmost reverence for the goddess of the moon. While not Elune, you still bear her symbol and are deserving of similar respect,” Selas subtly nodded towards her cutie-mark. “Tell us Selas, who is this Elune you speak of?” Of course she had read over Twilight’s notes but Twilight was naturally curious about…well, everything, and as such had tried to cover everything. Luna on the other hoof, was particularly curious about the goddess of the moon. “Elune is the goddess of the moon. She protects all living beings. She has guided the Kaldorei - those who raised me - for countless centuries, until Azshara and her highborne fell to the Well,” Selas stopped to reflect back on the whole war. He had never found anything beyond a mild fascination with the well himself, having thought it might help him better understand his own magic. After he realized they were entirely separate entities, the fascination faded. “Beyond that, little else is known about the Moon Goddess.” “I see,” A shame, Luna thought to herself. “What can you tell us of Lady Ysera? From there, the conversation devolved into various topics. This, Selas noted, was more like a friendly conversation as opposed to the near-interrogation of Twilight Sparkle. *** “Ah it seems our time is drawing to a close,” Luna commented as she stood upright. “‘Tis been a pleasure to speak to you Selas. We hope to see you in the waking world soon,” The princess tilted her head slightly in parting as she began to fade away, leaving the dream on her own this time, rather than through forcible ejection. True to the princesses words, Selas shot awake moments later. He had only ever had a single lucid dream before that one, and it had been when Lady Ysera tried to discern his origins for herself and the other dragons. They always left him feeling awkward the following day. With a grunt, the stallion rolled himself off of the bed, glancing at the dim morning light beginning to filter through the window. He’d have to fix his sleep schedule as well, it seemed. Ears twitching slightly, he turned just in time to see the doctor step into the room. A low guttural growl escaped Lamp as the doctor walked by him, causing the doctor to pale and all but race over to Selas. “A-ah. Mr. Nightwind,” The doctor nervously glanced at the cat before turning to his patient and noticing that he was also heavily armed. “You’ll be pleased to-” he stopped and glanced nervously at the cat again, despite the cat simply lying there. “Um, pleased to know that you’re free to leave. We just need your signature here,” The doctor levitated a clipboard to the massive stallion, trying to keep his distance from both creatures, which was fairly difficult, since he was between them. Glancing at the parchment, quill in magic, the stallion frowned. He couldn’t read the writing of this world. Biting his upper lip, he scribbled out his name in flowing elvish script before handing it back to the doctor. “Thanksgottagobye!” The doctor all but bolted. Lamp’s single open-eye lazily followed the stallion out of the room in clear amusement. Slowly, the cat lumbered upright and gazed questioningly at the stallion across from him. “I know Lamp, but we should wait until Princess Luna’s sister arrives. The princess said she would be able to explain the similarities between my race and hers. She very well may know what I am. This may be my chance to no longer be alone.” The cat’s eyes met his own and unspoken words seemed to pass between the two. “I know, I know, survival first and foremost,” Trotting over to the door, he left the bare-bones room for the equally bare-bones hallway. He couldn’t help but glance upward at the lights mounted on the ceiling as he walked, paying little attention to anything around him. He couldn’t explain why, but they fascinated him. He had seen self-sustaining lanterns before but these…these were fascinating. He just wanted to sit and stare at them… He was broken out of the trance by Lamp once more, the cat pawing gently at his leg, tilting his head towards a red-maned nurse who was watching him with a confused expression. She’s pretty. Selas mentally noted as he carefully approached the white mare, whom he recognized from the previous day. “Excuse me miss?” The nurse squeaked slightly as she nervously met eyes with the stallion. He was a lot less intimidating when unconscious on a bed and unarmed. “U-m yes?” She squeaked out, pupils narrowing to pinpricks. “If Princess Celestia arrives can you tell her I’ll be at the nearby forest to the…” He glanced down at Lamp who nudged his head to the southwest. “South west of here. I’ll be on the outskirts.” The mare simply nodded. As soon as the stallion and cat passed, her quivering legs gave out and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. *** “Selas?” A large alabaster mare and a pair of equally alabaster pegasi in golden armor landed on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, having followed the obvious tracks left. “Selas Nightwind?” Her voice was a little louder this time, and the soft smile faded slightly. “Apologies, Princess. I heard a winged creature nearby and hid in the forest. In my world, the most notable large-winged creatures were hippogryphs. I’m afraid we never got along that well and there were far more of them than I,” As he spoke in a fairly stiff and textbook manner, he slowly unveiled himself from the shadows of the forest, his eyes opening first, revealing his haunting green eyes before the rest of his solid frame. Both of the guards immediately jumped in front of Celestia as soon as his eyes had become visible. Selas completely disregarding them, ignoring them completely as he bowed briefly to the princess, his eyes remaining on her and her guards as he did so. “Relax my little ponies,” Celestia ordered, her smile returning in full. Despite obvious reluctance to do so, both guards followed the order, neither taking their hard gaze off of the stallion. “Lamp, you can’t eat them,” Selas commented dryly, a flat expression adorning his face as he glanced around behind the princess. “I’m sorry?” Celestia asked, turning her gaze behind her, as well as that of her guards. Behind the princess, with an intense gaze focused on the two pegasus guards, sat a giant cat, occasionally licking his chops as he eyed the two pegasi like choice cuts of meat. At his feet sat an impressively sized eagle, minus the head. The pair of them visibly paled. How they managed that, he could not even begin to fathom. “Come on Lamp, I’d like to finish these before sundown,” Selas levitated a half-dozen large rocks behind him, followed by multiple large tree branches. Lamp lightly growled his acceptance before picking the eagle up in his maw and carefully pawing his way over to the stallion, much to the unease of the guards who looked like they would be sick. “So,” Celestia made an active effort to ignore the eagle carcass. “you must be the stallion Twilight told me about,” The princess sat down across from Selas, watching as he broke the rocks and began fashioning stone arrowheads with the blade of an axe with nothing but his magic. “Selas Nightwind, at your service, princess,” The stallion inclined his head respectfully and briefly met gazes with the princess. “A pleasure to meet you Selas,” The princess inclined her head slightly as she watched his magic continue to work even as they sat in awkward silence. After nearly five minutes in awkward silence, the princess finally spoke, “Your levitation is quite impressive. Not many magic users could hope to levitate so much weight at once.” True enough, everything was held aloft in his magical field. A single axe floated lazily alongside the tree branches, carefully cutting arrow-shafts out of the massive branches, while the other set about carefully carving arrowheads out of the large rocks. Amusingly enough, Lamp was also held aloft in his magic, still eyeing the pegasi guards like his next meal. “It’s odd, really,” He confessed. “I’ve never had much issue concentrating on a multitude of things but only recently have I been able to use my levitation this efficiently. I did everything by hoof, with the exception of the arrowheads which I purchased and engraved myself.” “Engraved?” The princess asked, curiosity tinting her voice slightly. “Why would you engrave an arrowhead?” “Why wouldn’t I?” The unicorn asked, equal curiosity in his voice. “Engraving the proper runes unto an arrowhead is one of the most fundamental aspects of a hunter. Without proper runes I wouldn’t be able to utilize all of my individual shots,” The unicorn levitated a single arrowhead over to the princess, which she examined in her magic. Sure enough, the very corner of the axe had a simple rune etched into the tip of the arrowhead. “I see,” The princess returned the arrowhead, her original reason for meeting the stallion all but forgotten in favor of knowledge even she hadn’t heard of. “And what exactly does a ‘shot’ do?” “Any number of things, depending on the rune.” The unicorn levitated one of the arrow-shafts and some twine he had fashioned from tree-bark over and quickly fastened the rune-carved arrowhead to the shaft, pricking his skin just enough to draw blood. “This rune is fueled by the arcane.” He explained as his bow levitated itself off of the quiver and over to him. “Hunters, at least in my world, have small repositories inside of ourselves that let us manipulate various energies on a basic level. The blood on the tip gives it a connection to me so that it can draw the energy from me to activate the rune, from a distance.” The stallion quickly knocked the arrow, drew the string back to his cheek, and loosed it into the forest. After several seconds the arrow exploded, shattering the base of a large oak and bringing it crashing down. Everypony’s eyes widened in surprise, and Selas chuckled slightly. “That is one of the first abilities a hunter learns. It is arguably one of the most basic” Glancing at the guards stunned silence and the princess’s calculating expression, the stallion cleared his throat, bringing all of them back to attention; the princess was the only one to speak. “That is quite impressive for a basic ability. Tell me Selas, what would a master be capable of?” Selas smiled slightly, knowing exactly what the princess was doing. She was trying to gauge his abilities. Threat assessment. Quickly fashioning another arrow -this one with a much more intricate rune on the tip- he knocked it and fired at another set of trees. This time, rather than the tree exploding, the arrow did so, breaking off into a second projectile and impacting another nearby tree. The first tree was wrapped in thick vines that seemed to constrict violently, a cracking sound resonating from deep inside of the tree before it sagged dangerously to one side, only barely managing to stay upright. The second tree was not so lucky, the base becoming covered in ice. After several moments of silence, the ice shattered and the tree collapsed, revealing it had been frozen all the way through. “There are other abilities of course,” Selas quickly broke the once-more stunned silence of his three acquaintances. “but those -Arcane Shot and Chimaera Shot- are a good benchmark of what we’re capable at worst and best respectively.” Though if I had proper arrowheads… The stallion turned to the princess who was biting her lip in uncertainty. “Now then, princess,” Harlequin eyes met magenta, “I was told that you know what I am.” The statement was neutral, though it had a slight hint of hope in it. The princesses mood shifted almost immediately, going from curious and speculative to borderline depressed. Even the sun seemed slightly dimmer, Selas noted. “You are a cross between an alicorn and a changeling.” The princess stated plainly. “Myself and my sister are both alicorns, as is my student. Changelings are alicorns, mutated by a mad god, stripped of their emotions and what makes them an alicorn. We know very little about them besides their ability to shapeshift and that they feed on emotion. We believe they have a hive-mind of sorts as well, though that is only speculation.” The princess took a deep steadying breath, glancing backwards at her guards who had managed to don their stoic expressions once more. With a flare of her horn, her and Selas were surrounded in a soundproofed bubble. “There are four alicorns left in this world, my sister and I being the only purebred alicorns left alive.” “What happened to your race?” Selas asked softly, causing the princess to smile sadly. “To start, the alicorns were selfish and speciest. They believed themselves to be above all of the other races and often acted as such.” That certainly sounds familiar… Selas thought distastefully, thinking back to the Kaldorei, and especially the high-bourne. “When the mad god Discord showed up in our world, his first act was to eliminate those he felt would most threaten his rule. He cursed the alicorns, stripping them of all of their emotions. Around half of them were able to resist the curse, whereas the other half weren’t so fortunate. Those cursed became the first changelings. The curse caused their appearance to change drastically, giving them a chitinous black exterior and leaving them empty inside. It also forced them to absorb emotions from the other species to live, since they were incapable of producing them on their own any longer.” Selas, his gaze locked to Celestia’s as it was, felt a pang of sympathy for the mare as she told the story. To many she would seem fine, but gazes locked as they were, he could feel the weight of millennia on her, same as he often felt on himself. “Those who resisted the curse looked at those cursed with disdain. They labeled them abominations and lashed out at them. The newly-born race didn’t take kindly to it and fought back. It was a bloody war that severely thinned the numbers on both sides, just as Discord wanted, though ultimately the changelings were driven to the brink of extinction and fled to the southlands.” “Then I was born of an alicorn and a changeling?” Selas asked, an uncertain expression mounted on his face. “No, you weren’t. Changelings and alicorns weren’t compatible with each other. Whether it was due to their new anatomy or the curse itself, Changelings were unable to breed with anypony but another changeling, to my knowledge. Amongst those that were cursed, there were an infinitesimal few who were heavy with foal during the time of their change. Those individuals were hunted with a particular zeal by the alicorns. Only a small number of those survived long enough to give birth, and as far as I knew, the foals they gave birth to were all executed, until my student sent me a letter detailing your description.” The princess finally fell silent, her eyes pulling away from his sadly. Selas wasn’t entirely sure what to feel. A part of him wanted to feel angry, but at who? By her own admission, the alicorns were virtually non-existent. Her reactions while telling the story told him a great deal about her personal opinions on the subject, and Twilight Sparkle was clearly young. It was possible she had no idea what he was, or the history behind his conception. Another part of him wanted to feel sad; depressed that he never had a people to begin with. How many alicorns were pregnant during that very specific time? At most, he may have had a few hundred to a thousand hybrids like him, and Celestia said that they were all apparently executed. So what had happened to him? Why had he survived? Briefly he thought back to the dream-like memory and the thousand years he had been given to analyze it. Just chalk it up to magic, some part of his brain told him. “Well, that’s that then.” The stallion shrugged his shoulders and let a humorless chuckle escape his throat. “Not really sure what I expected my story to be, but that’ll do I suppose.” Celestia’s jaw dropped slightly. “That’s that?” The princess wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been for him to shrug it off. “Why, should it be more? Were you or your sister the ones who killed my mother in that dream?” “Of course not!” The princess replied, offended. “And the other two alicorns?” “They don’t even know the story.” “Then that’s that.” The stallion went back to making arrows as the princess lowered her barrier. “It’s not like I haven’t had time to come to terms with this, princess. I had decided to make peace with whatever my origins were thousands of years ago.” The princess usual smile steadily returned. “My apologies, Selas. I forgot that you’re as long-lived as I am,” The princess examined some of the completed stone arrowheads, examining the runes. “So, what will you do now?” “Study and travel, most likely. I have access to much more magical energy here in Equestria. I suppose my body was probably meant for a different kind of energy than what was available on Kalimdor. I’ll learn how to utilize the sudden excess safely and familiarize myself with the land.” “Where will you go to first?” “I believe I’ll pay the changelings a visit,” Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the expressions of both guards sour. “I’m not entirely sure what quarrel you and yours have with them, besides the obvious history, but it’s not mine.” The princess glanced at her guards before nodding to the stallion. “They crashed my niece’s wedding and tried to take over our capital nearly a year ago,” The princess explained, “Not many ponies are terribly fond of them I’m afraid.” “Well, can’t imagine they’d be terribly fond of me then. “Curved horn, the wings, holes in my legs,” The princess cut him off with a hoof. “I’m sorry, holes in your legs?” Selas held a hoof up and brushed some of the fur aside revealing a multitude of holes, similar to the changelings. “I’m a little overdue for trimming my coat, but months at war and what not,” He dropped the hoof back down. Even as they spoke he had continued to carve arrowheads and shafts, as well as plucking the bird. All the while Lamp was still suspended in the air, scaring the crap out of the guards. “Sorry about that guys. Chicken is one of his favorite foods and we didn’t get it a lot with everything going on beforehand.” The guards weren’t sure whether to be offended or terrified. “Well then, Mister Nightwind.” The princess stood up, Selas doing the same. “It’s been a pleasure, but I’ll be needed in Canterlot shortly. Perhaps you could visit someday.” The princess turned and trotted towards her guards and chariot, biting the back the hundreds of questions she wanted to ask but didn’t have the time for. Oh dear, Twilight won’t like him leaving… The princess tittered slightly as she climbed into the back of the chariot. “Princess.” Selas inclined his head respectfully as the mare turned to walk away. Though he would never admit it, his eyes lingered on the princesses backside a little longer than was professional. A soft growl broke him out of his thoughts as Lamp hunched over the now-featherless eagle. “Don’t give me that, she’s gorgeous.” Another soft growl. “Are you kidding me? Until a day ago I was the only sentient horse that I knew of. Apologies if I like a mare that can actually talk.” The hybrid huffed and turned back to make his arrows. “And don’t say anything about the blue one. There was too much going on for me to appreciate the view.” The cat only whined softly and started in on the bird-carcass. *** “Come on, wake up!” Selas groaned unintelligibly and tried to tune the voice out. “Come on, get up!” The voice began to nudge him violently. “Twilight’s looking for ya!” The voice was all but punching him in the shoulder. “Man, what the hay are you made of?” The punching stopped, as did the voice. Adrenaline flooded him almost immediately as his bed disappeared beneath him. Eyes widening, the hybrid rolled, extending his insect-like wings and neatly getting airborne, a dull buzzing sound emanating from his wings. Groggily, Selas scanned the sky with his eyes, intent on finding what had awoken him. “Nice recovery.” His eyes locked on to the prismatic mare, the scratchy voice being the same one that had awoken him. “I was sleeping.” Selas responded simply. “It’s like...two o’clock.” The mare pointed at the clock tower. Selas glanced at the clock tower and frowned in confusion before glancing at the position of the sun. “So it is. I was hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.” He slowly descended to the ground, the rainbow-mare following him. “So, you said Twilight was looking for me?” “Huh? Oh, yeah. She asked me if I’d seen you. She had some more questions she wanted to ask ya.” “Very well, where might I find her?” “She’s probably still at the library. Come on, I’ll show you the way!” The mare launched herself into the air at an impressive speed; Selas yawned a final time and followed suit, albeit at a more relaxed pace. It was a surreal experience, going inside of a hollowed out tree. He had been under the roots of some giant trees in the past, but this tree was completely hollowed out inside, yet still living. How did a tree live and grow with no heartwood? Just thinking about it caused a headache…though the blue mare yelling likely had a helping hoof in the matter. “Twilight, I found’im!” The mare shoved the door open and strode in like she owned the place. “I’ll be down in a second Rainbow Dash!” A familiar voice responded. Rainbow Dash, that was her name. Selas mentally noted to himself. “So, can I see your bow?” Rainbow Dash turned and spoke to him with a poorly-concealed grin on her muzzle. “…be careful with it. I don’t have the means to repair it at the moment.” The stallion levitated the bow over to the mare and she almost immediately began to examine it, seemingly trying to figure out how to properly hold it. Leaving the mare to her own devices, Selas set about perusing the books before remembering that he was unable to read their language. A familiar purple alicorn joined them in the main room of the library with a pop of magic.“Sorry about that, I was organizing all the notes I took.” “Hngh…” Rainbow Dash had the bow held in her left hoof and was trying to draw the string back. With a grunt of effort, she succeeded. “Hah!” The mare called out triumphantly, bringing a slight smile to Selas’s face. “I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you to actually be able to draw the bow back all the way.” He complimented. “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome.” The mare released the empty bow-string with a twang and passed it back to the stallion. “That thing’s pretty heavy though.” The stallion sat on his haunches and gave the string a few experimental pulls, causing Rainbow Dash’s jaw to drop slightly at how easy he drew the string. She hadn’t noticed it before, but when he shifted onto his hindlegs and drew the string back, corded muscles bulged ever-so-slightly under the thick rug of fur. As she imagined what he would look like with a properly trimmed coat, she found her wings unfurling slightly. Taking the bow in his magic, Selas gave it a few more experimental tugs and frowned. He would need to replace the bowstring before too much longer. Mentally, he asked Lamp to keep part of his next kill undevoured, so he could pull the sinew from it. As his horn flared to life to test the bow, Twilight almost immediately frowned, as if she’d bitten into a sour grape. “That doesn’t make sense!” She finally shouted out, causing Rainbow Dash to snap back to reality and realize her wings were fully extended, before silently departing the library, and Selas to lose his hold on the bow at the sudden outburst. After a short silence he finally asked, “What doesn’t make sense?” “Your magic!” Twilight exclaimed. “My reveal spell said you weren’t a changeling, but when you use magic I can feel the emotions in it! But it also has regular magic! That shouldn’t be possible. Changelings don’t have internal magic reservoirs!” The mare had a manic gleam in her eye and Selas suddenly found himself pondering escape routes. “The only way you’d have magic like that is if you were like...some kind of pony-changeling hybrid, but the princess said that changelings can’t breed with ponies!” A single strand of the mares hair curled slightly and a sound akin to glass being broken entered his ears. “My mother was an alicorn when she was pregnant with me but became a changeling shortly before she gave birth. As such, I’m a sort of…middle-ground, I suppose.” He spoke quickly and clearly, hoping to snap the mare out of her obvious psychotic break…it sort of worked. Twilight.exe has stopped working… Twilight, after a full minute of silence finally replied with three simple words, “Tell me everything.” *** For nearly half-an-hour, Selas found himself giving Twilight the abridged version of the story Princess Celestia had given him earlier, taking care to leave out certain parts, such as the genocidal slaughter of changelings and the hybrids such as himself. Rather, he told her that the changelings and alicorns went their separate ways. As the story came to a close, Selas noticed that Twilight had dozens of papers and quills floating in her magical aura. He didn’t doubt that every single word he spoke had been written down. “This is incredible! Oh, there are so many tests we’ll need to run!” As the mare went on about everything they could stand to learn, Selas smiled sadly as he spoke firmly. “I’m leaving tonight, as soon as the sun sets and I find a map of Equestria.” “What? But you can’t leave! There’s so much we could learn!” “I give you my word that I’ll return for your tests one day.” Selas found himself chuckling at the mare’s childlike look of disappointment. “But before that, I have much to learn about this land.” Twilight looked like she wanted to argue but the resolute expression on Selas’ face caused her to sigh and nod. “Fine, but pinkie promise you’ll come back and let me run my tests.” “Uh…” a look of uncertainty crossed the stallions face, but he nodded, “sure, I pinkie promise.” Twilight quickly ran him through the motions. “There, now you have to come back.” She stated matter of factly. “Very well then…do you have a map of Equestria lying around by chance?” Twilight nodded, suddenly cheerful once again as she levitated a large book from the shelves and opened it, a map of Equestria on display. Selas briefly thought back to what the princess had said earlier. Doesn’t get any farther south than the badlands… “Well then Miss Sparkle, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Until next time.” The stallion gave a deep, sweeping bow, and trotted towards the door. “Wait! Where are you going first?” Twilight followed him out of the library. “I’ll probably pay a trip to Appleloosa first, and from there I’ll explore the badlands.” “What will you do for supplies?” Part of Twilight wanted to tell the stallion to stay away from the badlands -they were called that for a reason- but she knew it wouldn’t sway him. “I’m a hunter Miss Sparkle.” Selas gave a grin, revealing not only the standard pony teeth, but four sharp fangs as well, in an intimidating display. “I need no supplies.” With a hard shove off of the ground, Selas zipped into the air, his wings buzzing furiously as he sped southwards, directly towards the Everfree Forest. Author's Note Thanks to ChasingResonance for editing and proofreading. Pretty sure he'll be the dedicated editor for this story, so hit him up and give him some love. Face and lower-back, try to avoid his eyes, I need those. So, in other news: A Pony Displaced is written and ready to be published so my full attention shifts to finishing this story {which will be fairly short} up, and moving on to whatever is next. So, here goes.
The End {Chapter 3}True to his word, Selas needed no supplies; by the time night had fallen, he’d managed to fill his quiver with various rune-etched arrows and crafted a pair of rough leather saddlebags from the hide of Lamp’s manticore kill as well as a pair of waterskins. They weren’t pretty, being sewn up with a small bone-needle and more sinew, but they were comfortable and durable. In addition to the bags and waterskin, he’d fashioned a pair of extra bow-strings, for when his inevitably became too worn for use. Throughout all of this, he found himself astonished at just how much magic he had available. Normally, he’d only be able to fire a few arrows with his magic at a time, if he wanted to have any spare magic for wielding his axes, but now he felt like he could empty the quiver and have energy to spare. It was a fairly simple explanation, in his opinion. This was his native world and it was abundant with the energy his body had been designed for. He assumed that what he had access to on Kalimdor was only what his body produced on it’s own. Something else he hadn’t really noticed until his stay in Ponyville was that in addition to magic, he had a reservoir of…well, he could only describe it as a mixture of feelings. The changeling half of him, he assumed. Even now, he could feel miniscule amounts of emotion drifting off into the pool as his natural reservoirs soaked in the abundance of magic in the air, filtering tiny amounts of emotion from it. He could feel both of them being drained in order to cast spells, though he was undecided if it was good or bad. It essentially cost him twice as much energy to cast a spell, such as levitation, since he had to dip into both pools, but in exchange, the emotional pool would fill itself up naturally over time, without him feeding, as Celestia stated that changelings had to do. A familiar growl broke him out of his thoughts and Selas turned to watch Lamp crawl out of the underbrush, bloated waterskins dangling from his mouth. “Ah, thank you, Lamp.” Selas hung both of the waterskins from the leather saddlebags. Glancing up at the sky, he could vaguely see the moon through the canopy of trees. “Well then, ready to travel?” Lamp responed by turning southwest and hunching forward slightly. “Off we go then!” *** The first night went without issue; the pair had bedded down in an abandoned castle and Selas had stumbled upon various fruits in the garden, though at this point they were growing fairly wild and a lot of them weren’t edible, courtesy of wildlife. A number of apples, oranges, strawberries, and blackberries found their way into his saddlebags, while the rest found their way into his stomach, shortly before dawn. As the sun rose, Selas and Lamp pulled the door to one of the many abandoned bedrooms shut, allowing them a peaceful sleep in the darkness. They awoke as soon as the sun began to drop below the horizon and once again resumed their trip. The second day was interesting. Shortly after leaving the ruins of the castle, a large crocolisk-like creature had attacked them as they filled their waterskins at the river. A well-placed arrow down the throat made short work of it and Selas spent the rest of the day carving the large creature up and drying the meat that Lamp didn’t eat over a fire, for future use. He stored a number of the bones as well as the hide, before throwing the remnants into the river for its brothers and continuing on his way as the moon rose high in the sky. They camped on the edge of the Everfree Forest that night, bedding down several hours before sunrise. A small town - Dodge Junction, if memory served - could just barely be seen in the distance, and since the ponies were diurnal creatures, he assumed it best that they approach during the day. With any luck, he might find somepony willing to purchase the large crocolisk hide. Elune knows he didn’t have any use for it. As the sun rose, starting the third day, Selas made his way into town, shifting his saddlebags over his wings. As uncomfortable as it was, he didn’t doubt he’d have an easier time in town if they thought he was a regular unicorn. Not long after he entered town, a bulky brown earth-pony with a golden mane and worn stetson approached him. “Howdy there friend.” The stallion’s voice was inviting, though Selas could tell from the emotions he gave off that it was a front. Something else he found himself adjusting to was the different emotions that the ponies gave off. Something else Kalimdor lacked, he supposed. “Name’s Sheriff Gold Star.” He motioned briefly back to his cutie mark which was in fact a five-pointed golden star. “I’m the sheriff here at Dodge Junction. What’s your name, friend?” “I’m Selas Nightwind, a hunter. A pleasure to meet you, Sheriff.” Selas met eyes with the Sheriff, causing the stallion to swallow uneasily. “And what business do ya’ have here in Dodge?” “I’m passing through to the Badlands, although I have a hide I’d like to sell, if anybody in town purchases such things.” Selas glanced up at the sun and then at the town. A surprising number of ponies were awake for such an early hour. “I see.” The sheriff eyed him and Selas picked up the…taste, he supposed, of strong suspicion. Before, it had been a mixture of fear, worry, and a small sliver of hope. “Well, what yer’ doin’ in the Badlands is your business. As fer’ the hide, Fair Deal over in at the saloon might buy it. He likes to collect strange things. Other than that, I’ll ask ye’ to keep yer’ head down. We’ve had some problem with vandals wreckin’ up the town and harassin’ travellers lately. We asked the crown for help but haven’t heard anythin’ yet.” The sheriff tipped his hat and turned around, walking towards town. “Welcome to Dodge Junction,” he commented almost as an after-thought. After a quick trip to the saloon where Selas managed to sell the hide - a cragodile hide, he learned - for a price of two-hundred and fifty bits, he left town through the south, disregarding the various looks and suspicion all of the townsfolk gave him. It wasn’t until he neared the Badlands and a number of ponies stopped him on the road that the day got interesting. “Can I help you?” Selas glanced around at the six ponies that had surrounded him. He wasn’t surprised, as Lamp had warned him of them ahead of time. “Oh, you can help us alright,” one of the ponies said with a chuckle. “Drop the weapons and yer’ saddlebags and we’ll let ya’ go. How’s that sound?” The pony looked at him with a grin. “It sounds like you’re stupid.” Selas’ blunt delivery caused the grin to disappear almost immediately. I suppose these are the ponies the sheriff mentioned… “Whatever you ponies are up to is no business of mine, but I have business to attend and I’d like to be on my way.” Selas made to sidestep the pony, only for the pony to move in front of him. “Get him fellas!” The pony made to rush forward only for a scream to rip its way out of his throat as a massive black and grey blur smashed into him. The other five ponies almost immediately backed up in fear. “Don’t run. If you run he’ll want to chase you.” Selas advised the ponies. He glanced at the stallion that had seemed to be leading them, which Lamp had smashed into. He had likely been dead before he hit the ground. “If I were to guess, I’d say your best chance for survival would be to calmly walk towards town. Maybe report this incident to the sheriff.” Selas glanced at Lamp who stood over his kill and back at the ponies who were taking his advice and walking - albeit, radiating pure, unadulterated fear - towards Dodge Junction. “Come on, we can still make the Badlands before sundown.” *** Sure enough, just as the sun vanished and the moon rose, the pair stepped into the barren waste that was the Badlands. Almost as soon as he stepped in, a light hum set to reverberating through his mind. Occasionally, as the pair trekked deeper in, he would make out a multitude of words, the only word of note being “royal.” A soft growl broke him out of his thoughts. “Yes, Lamp, I can see them.” Admittedly, they were doing far better than the ponies from earlier, but at this point he doubted there were many creatures capable of stalking him, especially when Lamp was by his side. ‘Go, inform the queen! We’ll keep an eye on him!’ It was the first full thought that had entered his mind. Stopping, he glanced backwards, feeling a faint tug at his mind. “Let’s take a break,” Selas suggested, sitting down with his back to a wall of stone. ‘What’s he doing?’ Another full thought made it into his mind, this one followed by a reply. ‘He seems to be eating.’ As he pulled the strawberries from his saddlebags, a thought crossed his mind. With a slight grin, he allowed a thought to cross his mind, projecting it outward as best he could, ‘I’m stopping for a short meal. You’re both more than welcome to join me if you’d like. Lamp doesn’t bite.’ A brief impression of shock and fear reverberated over the odd mental link, followed by uncertainty and curiosity. After nearly five minutes of absolute silence, without so much as the hum in his mind, the hum returned and one of the two creatures that had been tracking him carefully approached the camp. A changeling? Selas could certainly see some resemblance between himself and this creature, though this creature looked almost emaciated. The changeling was covered head to toe in black chitin, a pair of green, pupiless eyes gazing at Lamp in both fear and awe. The changelings wing and mane -fin?- both seemed to sag, and while it physically looked healthy, the changeling just felt emaciated and starved. Selas found himself surprised that the changeling was capable of standing upright, much less following him as long as he had. “Good evening, I’m Selas Nightwind. What’s your name?” He remembered what Celestia had said about the creatures feeding on emotions. Carefully, he dipped into his internal reservoir and channeled a small amount of love through his horn, directing it at the changeling. The effect was almost immediate, the changeling’s eyes widening and its jaw dropping slightly. “Uh…” It finally spoke. The voice, Selas noted, was feminine and sounded odd, like it had a second layer underneath it. “I’m scout number seventeen.” The scout glanced at him uncertainly, though Selas could feel…gratitude, he believed. It was odd. Unlike the ponies, the emotion was there plain as day, but it didn’t contain any actual energy in it. Just the plain emotion, similar to what he would feel back on Kalimdor. Emotions without any…nutritional value. “Forgive me for asking, but what are you?” The changeling tore its gaze from the snoozing Lamp to the giant unicorn, who had levitated his saddlebags off and pulled a number of strawberries from it, offering them to changeling. As he pondered whether or not he should give the scout the full story, he flexed his wings out. Unlike the scout, who had two tattered wings, he had four wings made of the same similar material, only full and unblemished. “My name is Selas Nightwind and I am a changeling-hybrid.” Selas packed the strawberries back into his bag when the scout didn’t react to them. “And I’d like to warn you that if all of your other...scouts, I guess, decide to attack me, it likely won’t end well for you or them.” It wasn’t a threat or bravado; Selas spoke as if it were a simple universal fact. As he did so, he levitated his bow from its resting spot on the quiver, as well as an rune-tipped arrow. Another changeling landed a short distance away. This one was different. It felt healthier and wore ornate, deep-blue armor. Unlike the first scout, it spoke with a commanding tone and had a pair of pupiless blue eyes. “The queen has requested your presence in the hive.” Selas could tell by the feelings the changeling gave off as well as by tone and body language that it wasn’t a request. “Very well then, let’s go meet your queen, youngling.” The soldier, as Selas had decided to name him, frowned at the title of youngling and opened his mouth to retort only to realize that at some point Selas, as well as his cat had made it to the space directly in front of him, and the hybrid, as he’d referred to himself, was a lot bigger up close, and far more intimidating when his eyes, - eerily reminiscent of the Queen as they were - were gazing down on him. Swallowing slightly, Soldier nodded and turned, sending out a mental signal that while Selas couldn’t hear, was able to feel. *** The hive was…simple, for lack of a better word. The formations all looked natural with the exception of hundreds of holes carved into the wall and a single room off to the side, blocked off by a stone door and guarded by four separate changelings. The structure was lit by a dull green light which emanated from the some type of…crystals, he supposed, hanging on the ceiling. All in all, it wasn’t terribly notable, with the exception of the various changelings staring at them as they passed. None of them looked what he would call healthy, and some of them looked downright miserable. Lamp growled softly, drawing Selas’ attention to him. With a tilt of his head, the Nightsaber motioned towards a small alleyway of sorts. Focusing carefully, Selas could just hear a slight whimper as he faced it. Without addressing his escort, he broke off, trotting towards the sounds. He could feel a mixture of fear and uncertainty as he approached. By the time his escort realized he had broke off from them, he was kneeled in front of a young nymph. The soldier that he had first spoken to made to rush over to him only for the cat to growl dangerously at him, putting the entire escort on edge and causing their horns to flare to life. “At ease young one, I’m not going to hurt you.” Selas briefly examined the child; her pupiless green eyes conveyed a surprising amount of emotion. All of the changelings had looked malnourished, but this one - a young female, he somehow knew - was almost painfully malnourished. Little more than chitin over a thin skeletal frame. Dipping into his reserves as he had with the scout earlier, he began funneling a thin trickle of love through his horn, directing it towards the nymph. After several seconds the fear and uncertainty vanished in favor of eagerness and…desperation. “The queen doesn’t like to be kept waiting!” Soldier called out, trying to sidestep Lamp, only for the cat to match movement, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Where are your parents, young one?” Selas spoke gently; the emotions shifted once more, this time settling on…depression? “I see. Would you like to come with me?” Selas hunched forward slightly. After another brief surge of certainty, the young changeling scrambled onto his head and slid down to his withers. Trotting back to his escort, Selas smiled wryly. Soldier was trying to fly over Lamp, but the low cave-ceiling prevented him from gaining any height. Any time he tried to fly over, Lamp would swat him away. “I’m ready to meet your queen.” Soldier gave a glance at the young changeling and back at Selas. “Her Majesty will not like unexpected company.” He motioned a hoof towards the nymph who flinched reflexively and buried herself deeper into Selas’ dark cerulean mane. “She’ll adjust,” the hybrid bluntly stated; it wasn’t a question. Clenching his jaw, Soldier simply nodded and the group once more went on it’s way. *** *** It was an odd feeling. Selas decided there had been a lot of those today. Ever since his first encounter with the changelings, it was like a whole second side of him had opened up. He’d grown a second…mind, of sorts linking him to, as far as he knew, all of the changelings. In addition, he found that he could speak to them, and siphon emotions along the same link, though it had to be channeled through his horn. In addition to all of those new discoveries, he somehow knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he had a sister. He couldn’t quite describe it, he simply knew. And judging by the silent, wide-eyed stare of the Queen, she knew as well. For nearly ten solid minutes, the room fell into absolute silence. It wasn’t until the nymph on his back sneezed cutely that the pair seemed to snap back to reality. “Guards, leave us.” The queen’s voice shivered briefly before she met eyes with the filly on Selas’ withers. “And take that nymph with you.” She glanced towards the nymph, causing her to whimper and try to bury herself in his mane once more. The guard made to reach for her only for Selas to turn and cut him off. “I’ll kindly ask you to leave her alone.” The soldier glanced at his queen and back at Selas, uncertainty clear on his face. “Very well, leave her, I’ve no objection if she isn’t causing my brother issue.” Chrysalis waved her guards out of the room. Selas glanced at Lamp, blinking several times before turning back to Chrysalis, the pair of them lapsing into an awkward silence once more. As the silence persisted, Selas found himself going over the queen. The resemblance between the two of them was striking. If he lost his fur and made his horn slightly more jagged, she’d be like a smaller version of him. Finally, Selas spoke. “Sister.” It was a neutral tone. He wasn’t entirely sure how he should feel regarding the Queen of the Changelings. She only looked marginally healthier than her subjects and hadn’t spoken harshly to them. “Yes, so it seems.” Chrysalis trotted off of the crudely carved stone throne and trotted slowly towards Selas. Selas felt almost like a piece of meat on display as Chrysalis circled him, taking in every detail, including a strange feeling as her magic washed over him, seeming to measure his own reserves. Chrysalis returned to her throne, a contemplative smile adorning her features. “So, why have you come here…?” she trailed off, waiting for an introduction. “Ah, Selas. Selas Nightwind. And you?” “Chrysalis,” she said simply. Another awkward silence began, only for Chrysalis to stomp it out before it began. “So, what do you hope to accomplish by coming here?” “I’m not honestly sure,” Selas admitted with a shrug. “I learned the history of…well, myself, from Celestia, and came here to try and acquaint myself with my other half I suppose. I must say, I didn’t expect…” Selas motioned at the room around him. “Is this the home of the changelings? It’s rather…small. To say nothing of how malnourished everyone looks.” Chrysalis sighed loudly and stared at the floor. “I’m afraid this is home, brother. We’re in the process of carving it out further, but we only recently relocated here. After the fiasco in Canterlot, we had nowhere else to turn. But you know, you could help change all of that.” The pairs’ eyes met. “How can I help?” Selas watched as Chrysalis trotted back off of her throne and towards him, their eyes remaining locked the entire time. “You’re the middle ground.” Her voice had sounded almost hypnotic. It conjured up images of a being he had only met a handful of times but had the same tone: Queen Azshara. He had a feeling he would end up liking his sister about the same. “To say nothing of the abilities you displayed to Sun-butt back in Ponyville.” Her gaze seemed to hold him, his head turning to follow her as she stepped along his side. It wasn’t until a growl reverberated through his mental link - and by extension, that of nearby changelings - that Selas snapped back to reality, tearing his gaze from the queen and trying to clear his clouded mind. A poorly concealed frown spread across Chrysalis’ muzzle as she turned her back to the stallion, continuing to speak. “With your abilities, you could eliminate the princesses, and give the changelings the food they desperately need.” Though his exterior was calm, his mind was racing, trying to figure what exactly had just happened, all the while trying desperately to keep his thoughts and emotions hidden from the other emotivores linked to him now. “Have you considered trying to make peace?” Selas doubted that Princess Celestia would turn away such an offer. “And what reason do I have to make peace with them?” Chrysalis raised her voice, irritation clear, “It’s their fault we’re in this position to begin with!” “Are you referring to the invasion Celestia told me about or the other history we share with them?” Selas shook his shoulders slightly, causing the nymph to slide off of him. “To the shadows, young one.” He slid her along the floor with a hoof, nudging her in the general direction he felt Lamp. “Both!” Chrysalis raised her voice even further, “What was I going to do? Ask them for aid so they could systematically massacre those of us that remained? Invasion was the only option to ensure our survival.” “It may have been, I don’t know all of the specifics,” Selas admitted. “But at this point what other options are there? If you seek their aid, there is a chance they’ll turn on you, if you don’t then the changelings die.” “Then we’ll die with dignity, not grovelling at the hooves of alicorns.” Chrysalis spoke with finality and approached her throne once more. “You’re going to let your people die because of a millennia old grudge?” Selas raised his own voice slightly, irritation of his own creeping in. “I don’t know what you went through all those years ago, Chrysalis, but you’re dooming your people without trying every avenue available to you. What kind of queen does that?” “Guards!” Chrysalis suddenly called out. Quickly, the escort of five changelings, one of whom he had labeled ‘Soldier’ filtered back into the room. “Subdue him.” Their eyes once again met. “He will help us bring down Equestria, whether he likes it or not.” Wasting no time in pulling his gaze away this time, he turned to the guards who were all gripping various weaponry in their green auras. “Look at yourselves!” Selas levitated his own thorium axes out of their sheaths. “You’re all starving and your queen prepares to throw you right back at the alicorns! Is this the life you want to live?” The guards hesitated slightly, glancing between the two royals. “Enough of this!” Chrysalis finally snapped, slamming a hoof into the ground that caused the entire cavern to shake. With a twist of her horn, a thin green beam of energy launched itself towards Selas, forcing him to leap back him and turning the ground he stood on moments ago into a pile of molten rock. “All of you, subdue him, or die to me!” Selas suddenly felt a wave of…something fall over him. After several rushed thoughts, he settled on compulsion. Perhaps a side-effect of the hive-mind, he could feel the changelings bodies moving to follow the command, even if their minds were against it. I can’t kill them…they have no say in the matter… Selas thoughts ground to a halt as Lamp skidded along the cavern floor a short distance away. No sooner than Selas had moved out of the beam, Lamp had bolted from the shadows and bowled into Chrysalis, sending her skidding across the floor. No sooner than he landed, he pounced in for a kill, jaws aiming for her throat; it was short lived as a powerful blast of magic sent Lamp crashing into the ceiling and back to the floor, unmoving. Selas’s entire world slowed down as Lamp lay there unresponsive on the floor. Over thirty-five hundred years the two had been alongside each other, Lamp having received a blessing from Cenarius for that purpose alone. He wasn’t immortal by any means, but the blessing of the wild granted him eternal youth. While he couldn’t die of old age, he most certainly could die of injuries, and Chrysalis had just attempted - and possibly succeeded - in taking that from him. With a leap backwards, Selas’s bow drifted up from his quiver, followed by a multitude of arrows, each one with a rune on the tip. His first order of business consisted of firing an arcane-tipped arrow at the ceiling near the entrance. With a crash, rocks exploded, crashing down and effectively sealing them into the large, empty cavern. Knocking another arrow, Selas ran towards the group, glancing briefly at Chrysalis who was climbing to her hooves once more, clearly in some degree of pain. Releasing the arrow, Selas shut his eyes as the room erupted into light, causing several of his aggressors to drop their weapons and slam their eyes shut, while the others shut their eyes yet kept a hold on their weapons. It mattered little as Selas took advantage of the brief blindness and slammed the back of his axes into their skulls in rapid succession; the sound of cracking chitin reverberated throughout the dimly-lit cavern as all five of the changelings fell to the ground, dead or unconscious, he wasn’t sure. Even as he laid the changelings out, Selas kept running towards Chrysalis, axes rushing to catch up with him even as his bow readied another arrow. Chrysalis, finally managing to find her footing, threw her horn outward at Selas once again, another, wider beam erupting from the tip. Unlike the previous one, this beam shattered the ground in front of Selas, sending him tumbling forward and into an uncontrolled roll. As he slid into her, she brought her hooves crashing down on his side. With a pained grunt and only barely maintaining his magical grip on the axes, Selas rolled upright just in time to see Chrysalis charging another beam. As the energy reached its zenith, the mare’s eyes suddenly shot wide in pain as the axes buried themselves side-by-side in her chitin. Had it not been for the thick shell, they’d likely have passed right through. Instead, Selas found himself unable to pull themselves out with his magic alone. Quickly dropping the magical grip on the axes, he knocked another arrow. Chrysalis, flooded with adrenaline, teleported across the room in a flash of light, once again charging her horn as Selas rushed towards her. As her horn reached the zenith of its energy once again, the arrow was loosed. This arrow, having been charged over a span of several seconds, was aimed directly at the queen's chest. Whether on instinct or skill, the queen raised a hoof, the carefully aimed shot penetrating the shell and punching right through, the first fourth of the arrow making it through her hoof and into her chest. Damaging, but not the kill shot he’d been hoping for. With a pained grunt, Chrysalis ripped the arrow out of her chest just in time for Selas to barrel into her, throwing her out of her feet. Her horn, having retained its charge this time, went wild, throwing out a bolt of energy. Whether by luck or intention, Selas felt himself lifted bodily off of the ground as the wind left him and he careened towards a wall. Managing to twitch his wings, he shifted trajectory slightly, crashing into the wall side-first rather than horn-first. The wall, and most of the bones on one side of his body, cracked before he slid to floor in a broken heap. It’s funny… Selas found himself thinking as he struggled painfully to his feet. I land on my home world, learn the history of my species, meet a long list sister, and we’re trying to kill each other… Selas glanced at his bow and quiver, lying on the ground. Flaring his horn up, he winced as his magical hold was broken when another well-charged beam turned quiver and bow alike into a pile of dust. or she’s killing me I suppose… With a bloody smile, Selas forced himself to stand upright as Chrysalis carefully trotted towards him, blood oozing out her chest, a frown on her face. “I hope you’ll do better than me…” It was so soft that Selas almost wondered if he’d imagined it. He had no time to ask however as a massive weight bowled her over, Lamp once more sending her skidding along the floor. Unlike last time, her chitin was no longer perfectly smooth and the Nightsaber’s claws found purchase along the wooden shaft of the axes buried in her side. Latching on, two massive fangs buried themselves in Chrysalis’s neck, punching through the chitin like a knife through taut parchment. The queen’s eyes went wide as she went down, crashing into the floor with a wet grunt, Lamp still on top of her and his jaws still closed tightly, occasionally jerking. As quickly as he could with his shattered ribs and shoulder, Selas limped over towards the queen. My only family… Selas stared sadly at Chrysalis who returned the gaze with sadness and fear. Four-thousand plus years and the first thing that happens upon meeting my only blood relative is that I disprove of her leadership, followed by a fight to the death… Selas felt his heart stop when tears began to roll down Chrysalis’ face, and he felt himself choke up slightly. “I’m sorry Chrysalis…I…” Selas choked up slightly once more as the life faded from the queen’s eyes and Lamp finally let up, no doubt feeling her artery stop pumping. Selas felt the energy leave his body and fell onto his flanks, head drooping as what he had just done set in. Though he couldn’t pinpoint the specific reason why, Selas felt hot tears working their way down his cheeks as he glanced down at the corpse. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled again, choked sobs coming in succession now. It wasn’t until he felt something nudging him slightly that the sobs stopped. Turning around, he glanced at the tiny nymph, who glanced at the queen uncertainly. With a pained swallow, Selas bit back the tears and bottled his emotions up. Reaching out with a hoof, he carefully slid Chrysalis’ eyes closed and released a slow, steadying sigh. As Selas finished regaining himself, a soft rumble slipped through the room as the ceiling he had collapsed earlier was shifted away by a dozen or so changelings. Opening his mind once more, he felt hundreds, possibly thousands of voices all panicking, none of them certain what had happened. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he mentally shouted, Silence! Expectedly, the voices faded into silence within seconds. Scout Number Seventeen, to the…” he glanced around the trashed chamber, eyes settling on Chrysalis’s throne. throne room immediately. Anyone else who can hear me, keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. Selas tried to project his thoughts with a sense of authority; not quite what Chrysalis had managed earlier with her forced compulsion - Selas felt that it was likely an ability he had not been blessed with - but commanding none the less. *** For several days, Selas busied himself with recovering - as his heavily bandaged body indicated - and figuring out the Changeling’s state of affairs, provided for him by his new adviser, the former Scout Seventeen. Everything from their numbers to their supply of love - something they apparently stored in a green goo that they could create - to the racial specifics, such as the classes. Drones, infiltrators, scouts, it all was apparently determined at birth and dictated by the natural color of their eyes. At least the birthing had been simple; while changelings could appear as either sex, they all ‘identified’ as one gender or another. Female’s naturally produced eggs and males would fertilize them. The female would lay the eggs, and soon you have a nymph causing you trouble; Selas knew, he had a nymph of his own causing him trouble, adorable as she was. Something else he discovered was that none of the changelings seemed to have names. Chrysalis had numbered them for convenience, a thought that while he could understand it, really bothered him. Alas, that was a problem for another time. First and foremost, he had to solve the food problem. He himself had been funneling every bit of emotion he could manage, but it simply wasn’t enough. On top of that, the ponies were still on the lookout for changelings among their towns. As night fell on the third day, Selas glanced up at the moon and frowned, contemplating how to contact Equestria. He was in no condition to travel, and the changelings likely wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the castle without prior clearance. “Princess Luna,” Selas spoke in a firm voice, “if you can hear me, please, visit me tonight. I’ve a dire matter to discuss but lack the means to do so in person.” It was a longshot, but if that didn’t work he’d have to send Lamp, who wasn’t doing terribly well himself, or make the trip on his own regardless of his health. That night, much to his surprise, Selas found himself face-to-face with Princess Luna only moments after closing his eyes. The princess of the night glanced at the heavily bandaged stallion across from her. “Twould seem you’ve seen better days.” She glanced over the bandages. “Without a doubt, though I honestly feel I got off easy. Chrysalis could have killed me if she really wanted to.” Selas thought back to her last words. He wouldn’t let her down, he swore on Elune. Luna suddenly grew very interested, “You have encountered Chrysalis? Does she hold you captive?” “I have encountered her, yes. It was to be expected, as she was my sister.” Selas smiled sadly. “And no, she doesn’t hold me captive, Princess. She and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. We fought, she died.” Luna reeled back in shock. “We see…we apologize. It couldn’t have been easy…” Luna hesitated, clearly uncertain how to address such an issue. “In any case, that’s not why I called you here, Princess.” Selas took a short breath, wincing as his ribs twinged in the process, “With my sister dead, I’ve taken over rule of the Changelings that remain. There are roughly twelve-hundred of them, and things are fairly bleak. I would like to try and broker peace between your ponies and my changelings. Neither of our races should have to live in fear.” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. “And I apologize for this, but I’d like to do it quickly if possible. There are a number of ponies held captive in feeding pods. They’re uninjured, but if the changelings extract from them much longer, there could be issues. If the changelings don’t feed from them, they’ll start to die of starvation.” Selas sighed and pressed a hoof to his head wearily. Luna had initially opened her mouth to demand the release of the ponies, but fell silent as his explanation finished. “We will bring this to our sister’s attention immediately, but let no harm befall our little ponies, Selas.” It wasn’t quite an order, but it was no request. “I look forward to meeting you in person, Guardian of the Moon.” Selas bowed low in respect as Luna faded from his dream. Author's Note This chapter is half-edited/proofed. ChasingResonance hasn't had the chance to go over it yet, but Izanagi gave it a once-over. Expect it to get better eventually, when CR can go over it. So uh...here it is. Epilogue in a day or two when I'm sober.
EpilogueSelas looked even worse than Luna had described, Celestia decided. In three days, both princesses had arranged a diplomatic visit to the Changeling Hive by Celestia while Luna would watch over Canterlot. Selas stood outside of a cave with a pair of large changelings, dressed in ornate blue armor and pupiless blue eyes. Despite his obvious injuries, Selas seemed to exude an air of confidence and regality. “Princess Celestia.” Selas bowed his head respectfully to the mare, briefly scanning over her guards. A total of six, two of each species, all dressed in ornate white and gold armor. He'd yet to fashion a new bow or arrows, but he doubted that the guards would overcome the multitudes of changelings in the shadows should it come to that. “King Selas,” Celestia spoke respectfully, dipping her head in a similar manner, though her eyes lingered briefly on his bandages. To most ponies and changelings, he looked fine if a little intimidating, but to a pony as old as she, it was clear he was barely standing, and very heavily favoring his right side rather than his left. “We should speak inside, out of the heat,” Selas spoke as he turned towards the cave-entrance. *** After a short walk through the tunnel and into the cavernous chamber that served as a throne-room, the pair found themselves alone, having left their guards a short distance from the entryway and just out of earshot. “You should really have those injuries looked at,” Celestia was quick to note, approaching Selas and circling around him, taking in the injuries up-close. Blushing slightly at the sudden close-proximity, Selas shook his head and backpedaled slightly. “They can wait until my people’s problems are dealt with.” Celestia’s ever-present smile faltered slightly, but she nodded and recovered quickly. “I saw a number of them on the way in. Are they all so sickly?” “Those are just the ones able to still move around and work. Around half of them are in even worse shape. I think the nymphs - or foals that is - have it the worst.” Selas all but collapsed onto his haunches, his strength all but leaving him. "There are children as well?" Celestia seemed surprised for some reason. "Few hundred and they're all smaller than they have any right being." Very quickly he ran over the projected figures, mentioning the dozens of ponies held in pods and how they were draining as sparingly as possible, trying to solve their food-crisis. It was a short explanation, as the only pressing matters were the impending food-crisis and the ponies they held in captivity, draining them as sparingly as possible. Ultimately, they had maybe another two weeks of food before they’d start losing their pony food-sources and maybe three weeks before changelings started to die of starvation. "As I told Princess Luna, I’d like to discuss peace between our races, though at this point you’ve got pretty much full-reel on the terms. What will it take for you to help save the changelings?” Carefully running the information over in her head, Celestia sat down as well, putting a hoof to her chin. “And how would we help, if we so chose?” Celestia locked eyes with Selas. The hybrid frowned uncertainly, “I’m not entirely sure princess, I'm no ruler. In my four-thousand years of life, my only example of a ruler was a tyrant that drove my world to the brink of annihilation,” Selas maintained the gaze they now shared, “Changelings can feed off of any positive emotion, it just so happens that love is the most effective and filling. To be honest, at this point, we need volunteers for cocooning. I’m told that they would normally keep several dozen captives and cycle them so none of them came to harm, but after the failed invasion, it became much harder to work the relays, so one income of food was cut off, causing them to rely solely on the ponies in a cocoon.” His frown hardened and an apology was clear in his eyes, “I’d like you to ask your ponies to volunteer to cocooning. Temporarily, of course, just until something more long-term could be worked out.” Her smile failed completely this time, a thin hard line replacing it; Selas was quick to continue. “They’d be recompensed for their time as well. We have an extensive pile of gems and Equestrian bits gathered one way or another that we have no immediate use for beyond this.” “And what assurance do I have that my little ponies will come to no harm? What assurance do they have? Changelings aren’t exactly welcomed into our society, after the invasion.” Though her smile was no longer present, her voice was clear and even. “So long as it works out for the benefit of my people,” Selas hesitated slightly, pulling his gaze away briefly only to lock it back on firmly, “you have my signature in blood on a blank piece of paper.” Celestia’s eyes widened slightly at the offer, mildly surprised that a pony so new to their world knew of such a thing. Signed contracts and treaties were nothing new, but for a creature of magic to sign it in their blood and enchant it properly was an agreement forgotten by most. Selas would be obligated to follow through with the terms of his contract; physically and mentally compelled, and in return, so would she. They would both have to abide by the contract. “Very well, King Selas, how soon can you travel to Canterlot?” Author's Note Same as the last chapter. ChasingResonance hasn't had the chance to go over this yet, but Izanagi gave it a once-over. <3 to both of them for proofing and editing for me regularly. Also, I lied, epilogue tonight, immediately after The End. Thank the alcohol.
