To Serve the Hive

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Deep beneath the earth, there was the Hive.

He stood at the very center of the crossroads of cavernous tunnels that spread out around him. The cool, dark air—clear to his luminescent eyes as daylight—hummed with the sound of his brothers' wings and shouts. The stone walls that had sheltered him and his family for so long echoed the sound into a constant wail, crying out as the unthinkable happened.

His home was sundering.

Through his entire life, the Hive was this place. It was these chambers, where he lived and trained for as long as he could remember. It was the lake and its gifts of water and fish that supplemented the scarcity of love. It was the caves and tunnels and his brothers and sisters, all as one. Changelings had come and gone as duty demanded, but the Hive remained.

And now they were leaving it. Rumors had spread for months, but the truth was finally laid bare: the changelings were going to war. They were going to reveal themselves to the world and claim a new home.

Only one had the authority to give such an order, and she was the one towering over him now. He kneeled before his Queen, as he always did, bowed his head in deference to his Master, as she demanded, and spoke out of turn—for the first time.

"Don’t do this."

Chrysalis struck him across the face. "The weapon does not question its wielder!"

He bowed his head further, ignoring the dull throb of pain. "Let me fight with you. If we’re invading, there’s no need for me to stay back.”

"You will serve me as you have always served me." Her hoof touched his chin and pulled his face up. "You do remember your purpose, yes?"

"Secrecy is our survival, and secrecy is my weapon. I strike from the shadows to keep the Hive hidden there." The litany spilled forth, almost automatically, but he shook his head. "That’s what you taught me, and I haven’t forgotten. But Equestria is too big. You’re exposing us all, and if the invasion fails—”

He cut himself off with a snarl. Chrysalis was leading the invasion personally. No brother in the Hive knew her power like he did, and he had felt it often during his training. From the force of her destructive bolts to the skills of telekinesis that belonged to her alone, her command of magic surpassed every brother and sister in the Hive, and even with the physical strength and skills he learned from her tutelage, he was nothing compared to her.

Chrysalis stared at him, hard, but his insolence slipped by, unremarked on. "Your task remains the same. You will wait and watch over your brothers and sisters. Should they fail, you will seek your target and eliminate her.”

"One? In all of Equestria, I only have one target?"

"One.” Chrysalis slowly circled around him. “One target that will earn our Hive its place in history forevermore.” She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “One target that, if we fail, will make the ponies taste the same despair of defeat.”

He forced his breathing to stay calm and controlled, but his body’s shaking betrayed his thoughts.

His Queen and Master stroked his back, and she bared her fangs in a vicious smile. "You always were a clever child. Tell me your mission."

"P-Princess Celestia.” He regained control of himself and met Chrysalis’ gaze. “I will kill Princess Celestia."

Thoughts of home faded back to reality with another mouthful of coffee. He peered through the smudged window next to his table into the night, scanning the street behind the transparent reflection of his disguise until movement caught his eye.

An earth mare slinked through the bright streetlights of Canterlot, continuing to follow the same path she had night after night. Her head dipped, letting her mane fall over her face while two unicorn stallions walked by her. She lifted the impromptu veil—as straight and white as the clouds that hung over the city earlier that day—and the mare smiled as she stood in front of her destination.

And he waited for her inside, ready to begin his mission in earnest after a week of scouting and frustration.

His quiet vigilance was interrupted by the loud brays of an ass sitting at the table in front of him, and a muscular gray stallion laughed along with him. “So then I says, ‘For that much, the hammer better jack itself!’”

The Hive was never even that loud. He shot them a glare, then looked up to the door. The mare walked in as a plate smashed against the floor behind the counter.

One of the cooks swiped at the other. “Where were you, numbskull?”

The numbskull shoved his accuser. “I wasn’t the one who let go of it!”

The crowded room laughed and egged them on, and his chuckles joined them as the mare smiled and shook her head.

Her stride was more open and fluid than what she showed outside, and her slender body cut through the press of ponies and chairs with a grace that was foreign to the lumbering oafs surrounding her. She settled in her usual spot at the end of the counter, across the aisle from his table.

A third cook stopped in front of her. "What'll it be, doll?"

Slice of pie.

"Slice of pie," she answered. "I need a pick-me-up tonight."

He gestured with a broad sweep of his foreleg. "We've got apple and peach."

Peach.

"Peach. The sweetest slice you’ve got."

The cook cracked a smile. "You want some ice cream on it?"

She sighed and put an elbow on the counter, leaning her head against her hoof. "Fry, if you actually had ice cream, I would be impressed."

The cook laughed and left to fetch her order.

He continued to study her, but after days of watching, he believed he had the measure of her. Her body—slight of build and a touch shorter than the other ponies in the room—still clung to its youth. The earth tribe's lack of wings and a horn did her physical stature no favors, and her submissive posture to the unicorns outside was no longer a surprise to him. It did make her decision to live in Canterlot a curious one, but his interest truly lay with her occupation.

He had first spotted her leaving Canterlot Castle on his third day of surveillance. Coincidence, he had assumed, until he spotted her again, taking the same route. And again, each night retracing her steps as though she were a train, and the path to the diner were laid down in tracks.

For the first time since he witnessed the Hive blasting away from the city, his mission had taken a step forward. She had information he needed, observations that only eyes and ears inside the castle itself could pick up.

He took a long breath through his nose. Her flowery scent and pristinely clean pink coat ran counter to the diner's baser nature, but he couldn’t deny the change he saw in her each night. She held herself with an air of confidence as the cook, Fry, brought over her plate. In that small slice of the world, she sat with her head above her shoulders, and made no move to hide from the rough-and-tumble ponies sitting next to her.

She lowered her guard in this place. That was the opening he needed.

"Refill, hon?"

He looked up into the grinning, wrinkled face of the waitress. The half-empty pot of coffee, strapped around her hoof, shook in the air to repeat the question. "No, thank you. I'm almost finished here."

She leaned in and filled his mug anyway. Her eyes twinkled, and her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Maybe you wanna buy somethin’ for the pretty filly?"

He tried to match her smile, grinding his teeth as her hay-ridden breath hit his face. Sloppy! But it could work to his advantage. He paused to flick his gaze at the young mare at the counter, then turned his attention back to the waitress. "I'll consider it."

She slipped him a wink before straightening up. And then she turned to tap his mare on the shoulder. The same mare that sat just feet away. Even with what the waitress considered a stealthy whisper, he was almost certain the mare had heard every word. It was so blatant he had to bite his hoof to stop the laughter.

His mare had an uneasy look when she turned to the waitress. The die was cast.

He looked over the coffee and half-eaten plate of hayfries on the table, and pretended to read the dessert menu. The glass of the window reflected his mare, alone again after the waitress waddled away. He kept still and patient while she looked him over.

Her eyes locked onto his dusky orange wings first. It was a struggle not to bring them in tighter than he already did, but there wasn't anything he could do about them now. If the feathered tribe intimidated her like unicorns did, then he was back to square one. The tension faded, and her eyes moved up.

A feeling of unease driven by instincts ingrained in him by Chrysalis' harsh tutelage settled over him as the mare studied his profile. He brushed his crimson mane across the back of his neck and faced forward again, focusing on his food. Surprising her with conversation or eye contact would do no good.

And she left him in peace.

He glanced over and saw her face turned away from him—and her mind with it. He sneered and stewed in his frustration.

It was the mask. Flight had aided him as he watched over the castle, but now those wings turned her away. It was too late to change. To avoid suspicion, taking a new mask would force him to take time and establish a new routine.

But she had looked past the wings.

Then it was the face. He had spent more time focusing on the athletic build of the pegasi and then slapped on an afterthought of a face to complete his disguise. That decision just cost him the information he needed. There were no second chances with his mission, and blindness would lead to failure.

Failure was unthinkable. He was the only one left to avenge the Hive.

If there were any other options, he hadn’t seen them. After more than a week in Canterlot, he hadn’t even set hoof inside the gates separating the castle grounds from the rest of the city, much less been inside the castle walls themselves. The regular patrols and the constancy of the Royal Guard’s vigilance ensured that, and expecting their guard to drop after the attack was a fool’s gambit.

Once again, a purple veil flashed across his vision, and his brothers and sisters were blown away, scattered to the wind. It fell to him to make sure their efforts weren't in vain, but even if... when he completed his mission, the Hive was finished.

He banished the thought with a shake of his head. No news or rumors had spread of the Hive’s location after the battle, alive or dead. Regardless, Chrysalis had ordered the elders, younglings, and their nursemaids to stay behind. So long as they survived, the Hive survived. If the Queen could not, he would return and protect them as best he could, but his last command must be obeyed.

Breathe. Calm down.

The mare must not have noticed him before now, or she didn’t yet consider him welcome in the makeshift herd of hers. Either way, time was the only answer, and Chrysalis had taught him the value of patience.

The waitress walked back over and slid his check over to him, face down, her eyes still twinkling. “You can leave the money on the table, if you’d like.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome! Come back and see us again, now.” She turned away, winking again.

“I’m sure I will,” he muttered, picking up another limp hayfry. He would have paid every one of his stolen bits for a lake fish—or even one of the mushrooms that grew in the lake’s cavern—but food was food, and he needed to keep his energy up. Chrysalis would not approve of the extra time it would take to steal more bits, no matter how unappealing the food was.

He bit down on the fry and then flipped over his check. A bit for the coffee... three bits for the hayfries... and two bits for a slice of peach pie.

Something brushed against his shoulder. He looked up, and a white tail flicked into his face, brushing across his muzzle and filling his nose with its sweet scent. The tail fell away, and his mare walked on without looking back.

Sly girl.

He grinned, dropped six bits on the table, and stood up. The game was on, and he had underestimated her opening move. She slid through the crowded diner with the same effortless grace she'd entered, and he followed—bumping into ponies and mumbling half-hearted apologies—until he managed to slip between her and the door.

“Please, allow me.” He held the door open for her with a spread wing.

A small smile spread across her face. “That’s two thank-you’s I owe you, hm?” She stepped outside and looked back at him. Her smile grew. “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?”

“Maybe,” he said, returning the smile and following her out. “I found this place a couple days ago.”

“That’s what Ms. Mulberry said.”

The waitress. “Is that—?”

“The waitress." Her eyes flicked back to the diner. "She’s the one who pointed you out to me.”

“Thought you two looked a little chummy." His eyes followed hers to the diner, and he nodded. "I’ve seen her, but never thought to introduce myself. Guess it would have been nice to have a name to go with a face.”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” She looked at him, head tilted to the side, and flicked an ear.

He mirrored her pose, down to the inquisitive ear-flick.

She smiled and shook her head. “Cherry Blossom. So what do I call you? You aren’t exactly ‘That handsome pegasus sitting behind you’ anymore.”

His grin masked his unease. Sight and scent were enough in the Hive, and names were reserved for Chrysalis and those that led before her. The foreign custom was distasteful, but he was prepared.

“Dawnbreaker.”

Cherry Blossom’s tail swished. “Ooh, I like that! You pegasi get the best names.” She headed for the street, head held high and eyes raised to the sky. “Spitfire, Hurricane, and I even know one named Silverbolt. They’re all so... dramatic.” She waited for him to catch up, and looked at his flank. “And how did you get that?”

He spread his wings to give her a clear view of his false mark: a half sun breaking over two clouds. “I’m up at the break of dawn every day.” He flapped his wings back down. “It all helps make me a pretty useful errand boy. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Cherry hummed in reply and stepped into the street.

He followed, looking up to the stone towers that loomed over him as he did so. The stores and manors in Canterlot—buildings taller and sturdier than any in the outlying towns and villages he was used to seeing—had almost made him feel at home when he first arrived. The stone under his hooves and the encroaching walls of the alleyways soothed him in his first days of reconnaissance. But the stones under his hooves were hewn, unnatural, and the buildings too regular—not at all like the flowing, smooth caves of home.

There was one point of interest. He and Cherry Blossom split their paths and walked around a crater in the center of the street, bounded by stakes and awaiting one of the road crews to fill it in. Even in defeat, his brothers had left their marks throughout the city. Did they feel it, too? Did this place remind them of home?

Focus! They were gone, and they needed him to do his duty. The mare was his goal now.

Cherry rejoined him on the other side of the crater. “You’re a real gentlecolt, aren’t you?” She smiled and nodded at her flank. “You can look.”

“If you insist,” he said with a grin, turning his attention to her mark. The five familiar petals swirled around as if caught in a breeze, each one a pale shade of pink. “I’ll take a guess and say... carpenter?”

She snorted. “Don’t give my supervisors any ideas. I’m a gardener, but they could probably get away with ordering me around like that.” She kicked a hind hoof out to knock a loose rock back into the pit.

“Oh?” He spun in a long, slow circle, making a show of surveying the the stone street bathed in the light of lamps hanging from lamp posts. “There’s not a bit of green in sight." He paused, then pointed at a green awning stretched out over a clothier's shop. "Oh. My mistake. There's some."

"My, what keen eyes you have."

"I do my best. Don’t see any plants, though.” He waved a hoof at the barren street. “I thought gardeners needed gardens.”

“You haven’t been in Canterlot long, have you?”

“A week or so. Long enough to know the only gardens here are locked behind walls or gates." He stopped at a street corner and pointed up the hill to where the more expensive manors were. "May I ask where you fit in?”

Cherry sat down on the walkway and chewed her lip, looking up in the direction he was pointing.

Here it comes.

She studied him intently for a long moment, but finally relented, and turned to point down the other direction, up the fork that led to his objective. “I work at the castle.”

He blinked. Don’t overdo it. Dawnbreaker leaned forward to look around her at the spires that dominated the night sky line. “The castle.” He settled back to his haunches, and looked back at Cherry, then raised his leg to mimic her pointing. “You work at the castle castle?”

She nodded, pressing a hoof to her chest. “The castle castle, yes. Honest truth.”

That was a welcome confirmation. “Well, you’re a lot more important than I am.” He walked past her, and started down the street. “Here I thought I might be able to play the big shot, and you knock me out with one sentence.” Her hoofsteps didn't sound behind him, and he paused to toss a grin over his shoulder.

Cherry Blossom wasn’t moving, but her eyes danced between him and looking down the road behind him. She took a slow step forward, towards him, her stride becoming tight and cautious again. The curtain of her mane fell over her timidly bowed face as she walked past him. “I’m nothing special.”

“If you say so.” His grin remained. The nights he had spent following her home—three blocks down and one to the right—told him her mood shift was no accident. It was time to give her space, but he had made more progress tonight than he would have hoped: she didn’t lie about the castle.

“It was a pleasure, Cherry Blossom, but I have to get going.” He spread his wings briefly, flapped them once, and settled back. "It's late."

“Oh?” She turned, her ears perking up and her head once again rising above her shoulders. “Well... it was nice meeting you, Mr. Dawnbreaker.”

“No,” he laughed, “never call me that again. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow? I have some business near the castle.”

“Maybe.” A moment slipped by, then she smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”

He bowed his head. “Then I promise we’ll be seeing each other again.”

“Heh. You really are a gentlecolt.” She turned and called over her shoulder, “Have a good night!”

“You, too.” Cherry Blossom. She’s more trusting than she lets on. He chuckled and looked back to the castle.

Princess Celestia waited for him inside. She waited behind a wall that separated her palace from the city outside, and an army of guards that patrolled night and day. She waited behind her captain, Shining Armor, and his wife Princess Cadance—the two that defeated Chrysalis and the entire Hive if the stories floating around Canterlot were true.

And she waited with a power that would rival, or even surpass, Chrysalis herself.

Battle was suicide, but she was vulnerable. His attention turned to the rising moon, and he smiled. The sun had to sleep every day, and so too did its steward. That was Cherry Blossom’s importance. A clumsy strike would fail, but she would help him aim.

Her knowledge could get him inside. His skills could keep him undetected. And when the ponies’ goddess dropped her guard, his fangs would find her throat.

Soon. I promise you.

Chapter 2

Fire burned in his chest as his last breath was squeezed out of him. Hot, fetid breath from the minotaur washed over his face, and powerful arms crushed him against its massive chest. Sparkles shot through his vision, and darkness closed in on the triumphant gleam in its eyes.

Power gathered in his horn, strength waning as the life was crushed out of him. The eyes, had to aim for the eyes. The bolt, more flash than force, found its mark.

A roar shook the hollow feeling in his ears, and he crumpled to the floor, sucking precious gulps of air. Free, but no time. He had no time.

Hooves found purchase on the craggy floor. His jaws wrapped around the minotaur’s leg and pierced the soft flesh behind the knee with his fangs. Wet, metallic heat spread through his mouth, and one violent pull slashed the wound open.

The massive beast bellowed in rage and fell to its knees.

He leapt on the minotaur’s back and sunk his fangs deep into the thick muscles around its neck, goading the scream until the last moment. His forelegs wrapped around the beast’s throat like a vice.

The minotaur toppled backward, crushing him against the floor. His jaws clenched harder to hold back his own scream as his still tender ribs endured the blow. That was all he had to do.

Endure.

Blinding pain tore at his will as the beast thrashed and ground him between itself and the floor. His grip cut further into the windpipe as resistance faded and the thrashing slowed.

Hold on.

His target quivered, and the heartbeat pulsing against his hooves stopped. Done. The beast was dead.

He pulled his fangs out of the flesh, gasping for air against the dead weight pinning him down. His forelegs only pushed it off so far, burning from exertion and lack of air.

“Brother,” he gasped, his eyes searching the destroyed cabin for any sign of his kin. Several logs in the walls were scorched black from his blasts. The beast’s glass lantern, somehow unbroken, lay next to the pages from a toppled bookshelf. “Where are you?”

“H-here,” his Hive brother said, poking his head over the top of an overturned table. “Is... is it over?”

His legs buckled under the bloodsoaked weight of his foe. “Help me. We can’t be seen here!”

“Right!” The brother scrambled to his side. “Okay, push!”

Together, they managed to move the body off of him. The fire in his lungs flared with each breath, but he was free again. “Windows." He coughed. "Look to see if anyone’s coming.”

“Who would—“

“Look!” He pressed a hoof to his side, hissing in discomfort. No breaks. “Just look.”

The brother shook his head and walked around the cabin. “I see the lake. I see an empty path leading up to the door. What were you expecting this time at night?”

“I don’t like screams.” He rolled to his hooves, legs trembling as bands of pain flared and subsided. “We don’t know who heard what. It’s bad enough you needed me to step in.”

The other flinched from his words. “I know, but you saved my life. Thank you.”

“I do my duty.” He took another breath and trudged to join his brother at the window. “So what about yours? What did you find out?”

They watched the surface of the lake glitter under the moonlight in silence.

“Three days, brother,” he sighed. “You had three days to ask a question, and now the one with the answer is dead.”

“He didn’t trust me!” His brother snarled and spun away from the window, wings flared. “He’s practically a hermit. The closest village is half a mile away. A stranger wasn’t exactly welcome here.”

“I know. I was watching.”

His brother kicked the body behind him, a hollow thump in the quiet. “Why are we even here, anyway? What could this thing possibly know?”

“It isn’t our place to question our Queen’s orders.” He turned away from the view to stare down his brother. “Tell me what happened.”

“I-I pressed too far, and he wanted to know how a pony knew about the map. He attacked me.”

“And your disguise dropped.”

“I was careless.”

He took a step forward. “Like you were careless when you met with that griffon three months ago. And he discovered you, too.”

“He did, and—“

“And you were careless with the zebra before that! You exposed us all again tonight, and again I had to cover your mistake.” Another step brought them face to face. “The Hive demands more from you. Why do you fail? When will you stop being careless?”

“I don’t...” He shook his head. “Why are you asking me this, brother?”

“It isn’t my place to question my Queen’s orders.” Confusion flickered briefly in his brother's eyes. And he lunged forward, his jaws snapping shut on his brother’s throat.

The phantom taste of blood filled his mouth, as it did whenever his mind wandered to his last kill. His muscles ached and cried for their release from the tight quarters he slept in, but he stubbornly refused to move. Nor did he illuminate his eyes to see through the darkness that surrounded him.

He tried to dream of home, but the illusion was shattered as it always was. The air was too different—too stuffy and too warm—for comfort, and the carpet scratched against his skin, a poor substitute for the cool stone of the caves.

I shouldn’t have skin.

Finally giving up, he lit his blue eyes with a dim glow and peeled back the dark. The closet remained as it had when he had fallen asleep: small, cramped, and yet more comfortable than the wide open room on the other side of the door. His hoof reached up to the door's handle and pulled it aside, letting the dull light of the morning fill the closet. His body was finally granted its release as he pulled himself up and stepped into his rented room. The curtains were drawn shut over the window, and the door locked. For good measure, a wooden plank he had pulled from a pile of debris was jammed under the handle.

The mirror on the closet’s sliding door reflected his true form back at him. Like bugs, the ponies said in hushed whispers. Monsters in shells. The only shell he had was the blue backplate he left leaning against the closet wall. He could only imagine the ponies’ surprise should they find out the grand secret of armor was not theirs alone.

He crouched down and started to stretch. His muscles and tendons groaned in approval as they loosened under his black hide. The reflection in the mirror followed every move he made, whether he arched his back, rolled his neck, or mimicked any other pose a pony could.

Shells. His reflection bared its fangs.

Those fangs sank into his brother’s throat easily enough. There had been no resistance. He felt no hard barrier against his hooves as he sank his brother under the surface of the lake.

It was necessary. Hiding the minotaur wasn’t a concern—a log cabin burning to the ground was no great mystery—but a second body couldn’t be found there, and he had been too weak to carry his brother back.

It was for the Hive. Chrysalis had even praised his decision.

A small nightstand stood next to the untouched bed, holding a half-eaten loaf of bread and a large pile of bits. His first day and mask in Canterlot had been profitable, and he guessed another two weeks worth of bits remained. He counted out ten coins and looked at the small amount of bread before taking two more. The hard loaf fit easily in his mouth, and his teeth started grinding it down.

I shouldn’t need this.

Changelings were parasites, to hear the ponies talk. He and his kind sprang from their nightmares fully formed and were only capable of leaching what they needed. The Hive’s existence and survival before Canterlot was never considered, and like all parasites, the only solution was to be rid of them for good.

The bathroom next to the door held a simple tub and sink. He stooped down to the faucet to take a drink and caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. The water burst from his snout with a snort.

This is what the ponies fear? Their enemy bent over to drink his water like an animal?

After drinking his fill, he focused on the magic flowing through his body. It flared to life at his command, and he felt it pulse through his body with every heartbeat. The sensation flowed down to his hooves, following his will, and green flame flashed over his body, replacing his black hide with orange fur and a red mane. The sneer on Dawnbreaker’s lips remained his.

This is what they should fear.

He stepped out of the bathroom, kicked over the wooden plank, and opened the door. The sun beat down on him, blinding him and forcing his eyes to the ground. He turned away and walked along the row of doors leading to the motel’s office.

Hoofsteps followed his progress on the walkway overhead. A mare’s voice came down. “We’re gonna have to pay for the lamp, aren’t we?”

A stallion laughed. “I never gave them my real name. Screw ‘em. You know another place for next week?”

Another beautiful day in Canterlot. He shook his head and walked into the office.

The mare sitting behind the desk leaned her head against a hoof and flipped through the pages of a magazine, dull eyes flicking briefly over each. She paused long enough to look up at him. “’Nother night?”

He slapped ten bits on the desk and left.

“Well good morning!”

Canterlot loomed ahead of him, the street leading to its white towers already teeming with ponies. He slipped into an opening on the sidewalk and lost himself in the anonymity of the crowd. Even there, at the edge of Canterlot's underbelly, unicorns dominated his count. Most of the earth ponies he saw were pulling carts or carriages in the street proper.

The farther from the motel he got, and the closer to the polished and whitewashed walls and towers that were his goal, the crowd thinned, with pieces of itself splitting off down side streets. But there were always ponies to take their places at every street crossing.

“Lift!” a voice cried overhead. At its command, two pegasi charged up a rooftop ramp and took off with a sky cart trailing behind them. Another pair waved at them on their way down.

“Feeling homesick, wingnut?”

That voice. He clenched his teeth and growled, “Get lost.”

A yellow unicorn stallion stood in an alleyway, leaning against a wall with his legs crossed. He grinned back. “Why should we? You’re in Canterlot, pal. This is a unicorn town.”

Another unicorn—blue coated and shorter than the other—scrambled into view. “You again? How many times has the Boss gotta warn you? This is a unicorn town!”

Their red friend, the usual third, joined them. “You crippled or something? Seriously, either of you two ever see this scrub fly?”

The yellow one stood straight and lit his horn with a laugh. “Maybe he needs a lesson.”

Try it. I’m begging you. But Dawnbreaker walked past the alley without another glance, their laughter echoing in his mind every step of the way.

"He must be brain-dead, too!" The laughter intensified, then faded as he turned another corner.

The city passed by in a blur, and the crowd of ponies going about their daily routines faded to a never-changing tapestry of colors and noise. He navigated by the landmarks he knew: the fresh concrete that filled in a crater, or the long gashes that remained in the walls high above the street.

Canterlot stayed the same no matter where he was. Regardless of the differences he had seen between the streets around his room and in the shops and homes in the center of the city, everypony was writing off the Hive. The reconstruction of the city progressed every day to erase their memory and leave them buried in history.

A familiar, sharp scent brushed against the edge of his perception. Two earth ponies sat together on the edge of the street, one holding a cloth to the other’s flank. That one lay down, shivering, and the scent grew stronger with each step closer to them.

Blood.

He clenched his teeth as he passed, examining the cart that sat in front of the pair. A red streak painted its side up to a loose bolt.

His lips parted to show his non-existent fangs. The ponies had won the battle for Canterlot, but their arrogance demanded more. Green blood, they whispered.

The red cloud that billowed from his brother’s body as it sank below the lake's cold waters told him otherwise.

Every drop of blood he had ever spilled had been red. His own blood, the blood of the Hive itself, was no different, yet the arrogance of the ponies refused to consider even the most basic similarity between their kinds.

Their humility would come.

A flash of white caught his eye as somepony in the road whipped their tail. Cherry Blossom staggered ahead of him, her steps shaky and uncertain under the load of two crates balanced across her back.

The simmering anger at the ponies’ pride slipped from his mind at the sight of his duty. Finally, there was something in Canterlot he could understand. His wings carried him over the ponies grumbling at the sudden wind. His sneer shifted into a smile as he hovered over her, and the Dawnbreaker mask settled over him more completely.

Cherry struggled on, beating the air with her tail with every step and hissing something to the ground. She passed under him, and his forelegs clamped down on one of the crates.

He grunted as the crate slid off her back and its full weight fell to him. “I thought you—”

Her shriek split his skull and paralyzed him. His chin cracked against the crate as he hit the ground.

Cherry jumped back and slapped her hooves to her mouth. Her eyes snapped side-to-side before she sank to the street, trembling as she hid under her mane and hooves.

He looked around and waved back at the sidewalk full of gawping ponies. “Surprised her! It’s okay!” Stars cleared from his vision, and the glint of golden armor did not replace them. He sighed, the smile slipping back into place.

“P-please,” Cherry said, looking up from her hooves, “don’t ever do that to me again.”

“You won’t have to tell me twice.” He rubbed his chin. “I thought you were a gardener. What are you doing dragging these things around?”

“I told you I wasn’t anything special.” Cherry shrugged her shoulders and rebalanced the crate on her back before standing up—slowly. “Could you load that one for me? It’s a little tricky getting both of them up at once.”

Dawnbreaker smirked. “What kind of a gentlecolt would I be if I did that?” He tilted the box up and ducked under it, letting it fall over his back. His wings spread out to keep it in place. “Why did you even try taking both?”

A faint flush crept up on her cheeks. “I-I’m fine. I can manage.”

“To the castle, then?” He walked forward.

“You don’t have to—”

“Is this because of that invasion business? Do they not allow deliveries at the castle anymore?” He stopped and looked back. “Aren’t you coming?”

Cherry smiled and followed him, her hoof-falls lighter and her gait easier. “This makes three I owe you.”

“You’re welcome. What’s in these things, anyway?” He shrugged a shoulder with an ear cocked, but the shake told him little of what was inside.

She shook her head. “I don’t even know.”

“What? How does that work?” He flapped a wing, shifting the weight back into place. “The castle couldn’t even lend you a cart?”

“My supervisors said I didn’t need one.”

He frowned at the sour note in her voice. “Well, what about the unicorns? Couldn’t they spare one or two to levitate these things?”

A heartbeat passed before Cherry answered. “So you’d think.” The sour note intensified.

“Hm.” He shook his head and sighed. “You’re giving me the feeling this isn’t unusual.”

“It isn’t. I—” She looked away, eyes downcast once more. “I’m sorry. You don’t want to hear all of this.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “Oh, I think I can surprise you. I know a thing or two about following orders.”

Despite his invitation, she stayed quiet for cross-street after cross-street until they left behind the last of the dingiest part of town and turned up the long, wide lane leading up to the castle's outer wall. The street was packed, and even with unicorns and pegasi directing carts and goods laden ponies, the mass moved at a snail's pace. “It looks like we’ve got time to kill.”

Cherry raised an eyebrow. “You really want to hear this?”

Dawnbreaker smiled back. “Trust me.”

She held his gaze for a moment. “Okay, if you’re sure. I told you I work as a gardener, right? I’ve only worked at the castle for a few months, which—”

“Which makes you the low mare on the pole.”

“Got it in one.” They stopped at an intersection while a unicorn directed traffic across the wide street. “The princesses are on top of course, but it’s not like they know everything that happens every day. There’s an entire staff underneath them to handle the mundane, and just about every single one of them outranks me. With seniority comes privilege, and I don’t have either.”

“And they can get away with ordering you away from your duties like this?”

Cherry hung her head. “I must be good at something, right?”

He studied her for a moment. “What does that mean?”

She took a breath before answering. “I was supposed to be a trainee. The last gardener, Mr. Greenhooves, he left sooner than anyone expected. There was a bit of a panic, and, well, I got the job full time when everything settled. The other ponies on staff said—” Cherry grimaced and swallowed her words. “No one really thought I earned it.”

He tilted his head. “The fact that you’re there isn’t proof enough?”

“Guess not. You said it last night.” She looked up to the towers growing closer and closer. “It’s the castle. It’s the top of the top, even for the army of servants in this city.”

“And you’re the only pony from there I’ve seen.” He chastised himself for only realizing that now. “It’s not exactly a small operation is it? All the ponies that make it run must stay inside.”

“Most of them, yes.” She let her head fall again, and sighed. “Residence is one of those privileges, leaving me out in the cold.”

“I imagine they’re a close group.”

Cherry grit her teeth. “Yes. Yes they are.”

“Sorry,” he blurted out. “I was just thinking out loud.” He chuckled. “Thinking without really thinking.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “It’s not your fault they can’t stand me.”

Silence fell over them, but she had proven valuable. There were more ponies patrolling the castle halls than the Royal Guard. The castle staff would have their own daily routine to learn, and their own reactions to predict from whatever disguise he wore inside. That was assuming they would be in the same place at the same time each day with the same rigid discipline expected of soldiers. From what Cherry told him, that wasn’t likely. Daylight would be even more unpredictable than he thought, but the night still carried its own risks.

Another topic for another time. The two pegasus guards standing at the gate watched them approach, passive as statues. “So why here? There are other manors you could work at. Why put up with everything?”

Cherry chewed her lip for a moment, but quickly turned it into a grin. “Not yet. It’ll be your turn to talk next time.”

Dawnbreaker—changeling, assassin, spy—smiled. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Halt,” the guards said in unison. “Identify yourself.”

Cherry took a quick step back, blinking in surprise. “Ch-Cherry Blossom, making—”

“We know who you are.” The guard on the left looked pointedly at him. “Who’s this?”

“A friend. He’s helping me make this delivery to—”

The right guard shook his head. “No.”

Dawnbreaker smirked. “So I guess you’ll take this crate, then?”

The guard blinked. “What?”

His smile grew. “What do you mean what? You want to saddle the poor mare with this heavy thing? Feel it!”

Cherry grinned. “Yeah, you want to saddle me with that heavy thing?”

The left guard looked at her. Almost imperceptibly, his eyes softened. “Take the crate, soldier.”

The other opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he saw her smile. “Yes, sir!” He stood next to Dawnbreaker, and the two of them moved the crate over. “Lead on, Cherry.”

“Right this way!” She walked past the gate, but turned back after a few steps. Four, she mouthed.

He looked back and forth between her and the guard, brow furrowed, but a wing shot out to block his view. “On your way, citizen.”

“You got it.” He nodded at the guard and walked along the wall under the watchful eyes of the unicorns patrolling the top.

My turn to talk next time, hm?

She was already expecting it. He dismissed the diner after a moment’s thought. She was getting to like him, but if she was going to trust him, she had to value him. Scarcity would serve him best.

Chapter 4

Two brothers sat across the cavern, watching him in the same silence he watched them. He had recognized them both—a year ahead of him in the Hive, taller and lankier than he, but still not quite full grown—but none of the three had spoken. Their orders were to wait, so they waited.

Time had passed unmarked, dominated by the dull ache in his head. The pain threatened to engulf his mind with every breath, every itch of the tan fur and every infuriating tickle from the ends of the mane his magic had given him, but he held it down.

He followed his orders.

One of the brothers cocked his head, and the echo of footsteps reached the chamber. The three bowed as Chrysalis entered.

She paused, studying him. “How is he?”

“Unchanged, Your Majesty,” a brother said. “The transformation never slipped.”

“Good.” She circled him, running a hoof through his mane, and then brushing against his coat. “How do you feel?”

“Restless,” he admitted. “I still feel something in my head, and it won’t go away.”

Chrysalis tilted his chin up and looked into his eyes. “That is normal.” She turned his head. “The magic becomes our second skin. Unlike our first, we must choose to wear it. Only through experience will it feel natural. Stand up.”

He stood.

“You’re ready for the second phase.” She stepped back and looked to the brothers. “Attack.”

The two charged ahead and drove into him before he could react. He struggled in their grasp, but the pain in his head erupted. The two pinned him to the ground in short order.

“Well done,” Chrysalis said. “You held your transformation in the face of both surprise and a threat.” She stepped to the side and began to pace around the perimeter of the cavern. “The world, however, will not be as kind as your brothers. You must defend yourself.”

His brothers backed away, and he stood up.

The Queen’s hoofsteps sounded behind him. “Again.”

They charged, but he sprang to the side—sluggishly. His brothers were on him in an instant. He twisted, turned, dodged, but the gentle taps of their hooves fell like rain on him. His failure fell like rain on him. The pressure built in his head, until he reared up and shoved a brother with all his strength. The ache faded, and he saw his legs shift to black while they were in the air.

Something hot and powerful slammed into his side and threw him to the ground. He hissed and covered the burning spot of his hide with his hooves, looking over the Chrysalis.

A faint, green glow faded from her horn. “He is a monster,” she said in an even tone. “We must kill him and all who are like him.”

He focused on his magic, letting it spread through him and embracing the headache again.

Chrysalis bared her fangs in a smile. “Again.”

The two were on him immediately. He squirmed away and scrambled to his feet.

“Do you struggle to breathe while you fight, child?”

He twisted his body, letting one of his brothers race by him, and pounced on the other, dragging him to the ground.

“As I taught you to control your breathing, you must control your magic. It must be instinct.”

His hooves pounded uselessly on his brother’s forelegs as the pinned changeling covered up. He rolled away before the other could rush him from behind.

“You can’t afford to think, to divide your attention. Only one thing matters: your goal. If you lose your focus, you are lost.”

He seized the delay as the brother he escaped helped the other to stand, pushing away the ache to focus on replaying the fight in his mind. They wouldn’t risk attacking him one at a time again. He had to keep moving, keep one in front of the other so they couldn’t surround him. The one on the left favored—

A weight latched on to the back of his neck and dragged him down. His front hooves—black again—groped at the ring of magic until Chrysalis’ face sank into his view.

Her eyes bathed him in fire. “You. Cannot. Lose focus!”

He grunted as the ring dug into his flesh and shifted back.

“Again!”

The door of his hotel room nearly flew off its hinges from the force of his shove. It slapped against the wall and swung back to close, finishing its arc with the help of his kick.

He stormed away, seething through clenched teeth. The river of bodies ahead of him was nearly invisible behind the pink face in his mind, and her voice sang the word again.

Why?

“Out of my way!” he snarled. Some of the traffic stopped, and he shouldered his way through the rest, stepping onto the street. Hooves scraped the pavement as carts came to a stop before they hit him. He glowered at each driver before they spoke.

Only one held his gaze. “Oh, sure, be my guest. It’s not like you have wings, right?” The stallion spit at his hooves. “Chump.”

His stride staggered and his head cocked back for a heartbeat, but he continued on.

“Yeah, keep walking! Moron!”

Don’t lose focus.

He beat back his rage with each breath, each step as he walked away. Bloodshed would only draw attention, and some of the guards had seen his face. One stallion was not his concern.

Cherry Blossom—the mission—was what mattered now. She accepted the Dawnbreaker he showed her, and destroying that mask would only make things harder for him. It would only cost him more time. More time away from the survivors of the hive, preserving what future they had left. More time drowning in his hatred of this place, chasing the death of a goddess.

Why?

Because the Hive must be avenged. His brothers and sisters were depending on him. Chrysalis had trusted the task to him, and there was no one else to see it done.

Why?

Because the rest of the Hive was thrown to the wind. One sudden flash of brilliant purple sundered his life forever. He growled under his breath, cursing that day again.

Why?

Because the invasion failed. However long Chrysalis had coveted Canterlot, it was worthless to her now. She had failed.

Why?! His voice drowned out Cherry’s. Where was your focus?!

He slumped against a building on a street corner. Again, he reached out to Canterlot with his magic. Cherry’s candle was invisible to him, but the amount of power he could sense was undeniable; however, it lingered beyond his grasp. He endured the chill in his heart as it cried for warmth and tried to measure what he felt.

Even if the Hive had taken Canterlot’s love forcibly, even if every brother and sister had drank their fill, Chrysalis’ plan revealed them to their enemies. All of Equestria would fall on their heads, and the rest of the world would follow to make sure the monsters were destroyed. Their only hope would be to flee, to go back into hiding, but they would be hunted. The invasion destroyed the secret of their existence, and with it, their greatest protection.

And Chrysalis had made that decision. For Canterlot.

“Hey, look who it is, boys! Looks like wingnut had a rough night, huh?”

He sighed and let his magic fade. The three familiar unicorns from the alley leered over him. “And now I have these idiots.”

“What was that?” The yellow stallion dragged him to his feet, shoved him back to the wall, and leaned in, glaring. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you down there. Did you have something to say?”

Red grinned and turned to shout at the crowd, clearing some room.

The blue one matched his leader’s look. “You gonna answer him, numbskull? The Boss don’t ask twice.”

He bared his teeth. “Except he just did.”

Boss slammed his hoof into the wall, barely missing his head. “You got a smart mouth, you know that? You think you can come into our town—”

He drove his shoulder into Boss’ chest. The unicorn crumpled over his body, gasping for air, and he glared at the other two. “If the three of you understood the first thing about strength, you would have attacked me from the start. I won’t make the same mistake.”

Their stunned expressions dropped into anger, and they charged.

He pushed forward, and their leader’s body toppled into them, dragging them down into a heap of legs and tails under a chorus of laughter from the crowd. “Run home, boys. If you have one.”

“You—” The yellow unicorn growled a guttural sound and wrapped his forelegs around his barrel.

“You’re holding up traffic,” he grunted, turning the corner. More ponies laughed behind him, and the normal chaos of hoofsteps resumed.

He passed by cross-streets, barely registering their numbers as they dwindled towards Ninth. I won’t make the same mistake. And yet he did. His enemies were down, and he spared them. He held back.

Because he had to.

Why?

He was too angry to laugh, too mindful to scream. His hooves moved on, carrying his impotent shell until it reached the right number. He looked down the street to the left and right for the building he couldn’t miss, and headed for the biggest one.

Cherry Blossom reared up above the crowd, forelegs folded to her chest, and her eyes flicked over the street before she staggered and sank back down.

His shoulders sagged, and he shook his head, catching a glimpse of his reflection in the glass beside him. The orange pegasus he saw trudged ahead aimlessly: defeated, dejected, and depressed. Useless. Wrong. She needed to see the mask, and the physical change was only a portion of that. He forced a smile before he reached her, using the last few steps to pick up his posture.

She returned his smile the instant she saw him. “Good morning, Dawn! Did you sleep well?”

“Not so much,” he admitted. “I had a lot on my mind.”

Cherry clicked her tongue. “So much that you forgot your saddlebags.” She rocked her hips, pushing her set up and down. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. They’ll have some inside you can borrow.” She pushed the door open. “Shall we?”

He stepped through the door and froze in mid-stride. Tables and booths littered the massive space inside, each one covered in something. He recognized a few fruits and vegetables, but they all dissolved into an array of colors as the room stretched on. Words died on his tongue, and he only snapped out it when a pair of wicker baskets fell over his back.

Cherry prodded them into place with a hoof. “This place is so ugly, isn’t it?”

“Ugly?” His voice barely rose above a whisper. What he saw could feed him for weeks, if not months, and he still didn’t believe he had seen half the store. “How could you scoff at this?”

“It’s just so confined. I’ve heard Ponyville has an open-air market, where everything is fresh from the farm. There’s... there’s no heart here.”

“I don’t think that matters when you’re hungry.”

She sighed. “You’re right. I guess that’s just the earth talking through me. There are a lot of ponies in this city to feed, and not enough space for luxury.” She looked around and motioned him to follow. “Come on.”

He followed, a step behind her. His eyes searched each aisle behind the row of cashiers as they passed. “How do they even have this much? Where does it come from?”

“Deliveries,” she deadpanned, looking back with a raised eyebrow. “I take it you didn’t have to worry about food very much in a noble house?”

He bit back a retort. “Food was a simple thing. We just ate what was available.”

“So... what does that mean? What do you like?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, shrugging. “What are you here for?”

“Food,” she said, also shrugging. “The castle servants keep a little kitchen for their own use. Guess whose turn it is to restock it this time.” She glanced up. “The apples are this way, at least. You can’t go wrong with a good apple!”

“You have a point. No peel or any trick to an apple is there? You just grab it and eat it.”

“Oh, you’re going to be loads of fun here, aren’t you?” She skirted around a stack of bananas. “Then we get by the oranges and grapefruits... there!” She waved a hoof in front of over a half-dozen stands. “What are you in the mood for?”

He didn’t trust himself to answer. When did they make green ones?

“I guess we’ll start simple.” Cherry snorted as she led him to one of the tables in the back, past all the greens and green-red combinations, to a tall pile of dark red fruit he had thought he recognized as apples. “And here we have some Red Delicious.” She started to circle the table. “But who are the delicious ones, I wonder?”

He blinked. “Who are you talking to?”

Her face contorted, but she failed to hold back another snort. “Do you think we’ve broken him already? Ah, but he doesn’t know your tricks.” She ran a hoof over the pile. “You all look so red and so good, but what’s on the inside? A-ha!” She rolled two of them to the edge of the table, balanced them on her snout, and let them fall into his basket. “Those will be good for an afternoon snack. Today.”

“What...?” He watched her pull a small pile into her bags. “What was that? You go through all that for two, and then just pile in?”

“I’m not shopping for myself, remember? If they want the good stuff, they can come get it themselves.” She nodded at another stand. “Speaking of the good stuff, you should try a Honeycrisp one day. Red Delicious are classic, but they’re not that sweet, you know?”

“But what were you—”

“Ooh, cantaloupes!” Cherry dashed ahead to a stand covered by the melons. A particularly green one, near the top of the stack, seemed to have her eye. She pressed her nose to it and took a long sniff.

“I...” He scoffed. “I don’t know as much as you, but I’m pretty sure green means bad.”

“No,” she said with a laugh, “green means not yet.” Cherry nosed the melon again, tipping it off its perch. She balanced it on her hoof and held it out to him. “Here, listen to it.”

He stared. “Listen to it.”

She smiled and nodded. “Listen to it!”

Again, his words died on his tongue. He studied her face, but he saw nothing but a gentle smile, nor did he detect any mockery in her tone. Sighing, he bowed his head and flicked an ear to the fruit.

Cherry giggled. “No, you have to tap it. Here, hold it to your head.” She waited until he had the melon pinned to his ear, and then she rapped her hoof against the rind.

The thump reverberated through his skull. He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Really? You can’t hear the magic?” She rapped it again.

“It... is a fruit, Cherry.” He pulled it away from his ear. “It doesn’t have any magic.”

“No? Then what do I hear singing?” She grinned and took the melon again. “I am an earth pony, Dawn. We know our territory, and just because something gets picked doesn’t mean it stops changing.” She put it in his basket. “In three days that is going to be delicious. Mark my words.”

He smirked. “Consider them marked.”

“Good!” Cherry rolled two more melons into her own bags. “I should make you share it with me, doubting me like that. Like the Royal Gardener doesn’t know her plants!” She laughed.

“What is there to know about them? Water, sun, done. You don’t see any growing in caves.” They passed a pile of overgrown nuts covered in brown hair. He sneered and stretched out a wing, tapping one as they went. “And what does fruit need magic for? If it’s here, it’s already off the tree. It’s useless.”

Her tail snapped under his chin. “That’s the problem with you pegasi. You’ve always got your heads in the clouds. What do you know about how everything works down here?”

He gaped at her, stunned. The sting on his jaw faded, and he hissed, “Try me.”

She turned back, the ghost of a smile fading from her face.

“Well? Make me understand.”

“A-alright.” She chewed her lip and glanced away, starting her walk again. “When you’re flying up in the sky, all you see when you look down is a green backdrop, the leaves and the grass. When was the last time you thought about how all that green felt? How it grew? When was the last time you realized everything was alive?”

His brow furrowed. “What does that have to do with anything? Food is food. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

She picked up a tomato. “This was attached to a vine, Dawn, just like apples and oranges are attached to trees. Vines and trees have their roots in the ground, and that’s the earth pony specialty! We use our magic to help take care of them, they use our magic to grow, and the food they provide keeps us full so we can give more magic.” She smiled and slipped the tomato into his bag. “And both of us depend on the pegasi for the rain. Everything has a role, Dawn. What’s so hard to understand about that?”

“Nothing!” he snapped, taking a step forward and sending Cherry back-peddling. “Of course I understand that! What do you think you know about me? What do you know about what I see and think and feel? Nothing!”

She flinched under his snarl, her mane falling over one of her eyes.

He clenched his teeth. “I know all about roles. That’s how my home works. That’s the only way things make sense! My brothers and sisters were raised to fill a role, and so was I! I was sent here to play that part, and you—!”

Her. The mission. He shrank away from her.

Cherry let go of her lip. “D-Dawn?”

Focus. He lost his focus, and now his image was shattered. His hooves shuffled backwards, and he looked away.

Something slipped under his chin and cradled his muzzle, pulling him back to face her.

Her leg stretched out to his face, and her worried eyes met his. “Are you alright?”

“Me?” He puzzled over her.

“Well... yes, you. What’s wrong?”

He swallowed, but his nerves didn’t sink. The truth. You won’t get a third chance. “I... I don’t belong here, Cherry.”

She tilted her head. “Who said that?”

“You did. Last night, when you asked why I was here.” He let out one mirthless laugh and picked his head up and out of her touch. “I spent the whole night asking myself that question. You ruined me.”

“Oh no.” She covered her mouth. “Dawn, I wasn’t trying—”

“I know, I know.” He sat down, looking away from her. “Thing is, I can’t answer that question. Still. After an entire night.” He met her eyes again. “I know my role, Cherry. My place is by my lady’s side, and I carry out the tasks she assigns me. But this one makes no sense.”

“You think she made a mistake.”

“She doesn’t make mistakes!” he snapped. “She can’t.”

Cherry opened her mouth, but paused. “Maybe. I don’t know her, but would you like to hear what I know about you?” She grinned and nodded her head down the aisle. “Come on. I’ll even answer one of your other questions.”

He watched her for a moment before he followed.

She stopped by a stand of carrots and ran a hoof over them. “My parents were gardeners too. They owned a little greenhouse where they grew flowers, but their real business was with the manors downtown. We were contracted all the time for seasonal work, some minor caretaking, just about everything.”

He picked up the three carrots she nudged over to him. “’We?’”

She smiled and pointed at their saddlebags. “More ponies can carry more of a load. Like I said, we were hired often, and sometimes I would run over to a Lord Something-Or-Other’s house after school to pitch in. Each garden was different. Each one had a new lesson for me to learn, and Mom and Dad made sure I learned them.” She looked around. “How about grains? Do you need any grains?”

He patted his stomach. “I’ve had plenty of bread this week. Still have a loaf back in my room.”

“Good.” She brushed a few strands of her mane out of her eyes. “So, one day, we get an offer for a huge job. A year long contract to get a manor ready for its centennial anniversary. For whatever reason, this unicorn decided the best way to celebrate his home was to completely renovate the place.”

“Renovate?”

“Renovate. Everything. He wanted his hedges torn out and regrown in this weird pattern he drew up. Parts of the house were getting torn down and rebuilt, so we had to work around that. He wanted a tree planted. A tree. Not a sapling, he wanted a full-grown tree in time for his party.”

His voice fell to a whisper. “The fool.”

“I know. A tree!” She shook her head and sorted through heads of lettuce. “Maybe an entire herd of us could make one grow that fast. Maybe. If we wanted to kill the poor thing.”

He took the one she passed to him. “Why? Why would anyone tear their home apart like that?”

“I don’t know.” Cherry hung her head and walked on. “A year, Dawn. We worked on that job for a year. Worse, his plans kept changing. He dropped a fountain in the space we cleared for the flower bed. He cut deals with his neighbors for slices of their land, so the hedges had to be regrown. Twice. And then there was the tree delivery.”

“Wait, delivery? How do you deliver a tree?”

“With money.” She sighed. “We had to stop everything else and focus solely on him to get the job done in time. He tossed us a few bits each month, but he made it clear that most of our pay would come when the job was done.” She stopped and looked back at him, expressionless. “On our last day, he said we had gone over budget with delivery costs and the price of all the new flowers and plants he ruined. He threw us out with nothing.”

So the noble was scum. Still, he failed to see how that fit into their discussion. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Her smile returned. “Because you asked why I put up with everything at the castle. Our business was done. After working for one stallion for a year, all the other manors that would hire us found other ponies for the job, and we certainly weren’t going to get any new offers with a reputation for going over budget. So, with nothing to lose, my father went to Celestia’s court and plead our case. She ordered that little lord to pay every last bit he owed us. And that, Dawn, is what I know about you.”

He snorted. “How do I figure into all that?”

“Thanks to Princess Celestia, my parents took their money, sold their greenhouse, and retired to Ponyville. She gave them—even me—a future again. I owed her. I still do.” She leaned in close to slip something else into his basket, but he didn’t look away from her face. “I know you feel the same way about your lady. Probably more, since she raised you. You won’t let her down.”

He bowed his head, silent.

“Chin up, Dawn. Yes, she sent you away, but you know what? That’s her loss.” Cherry dipped her muzzle under his and pulled it up. “You’re good company.” She smiled. “I think we have enough. Ready to go?”

He nodded dumbly and followed as she took the lead again, the ghost of her touch teasing his face. Meaning... what?

The store faded away, and he felt the ether again. The ether, but not the chill. Cherry’s candle had grown. It flickered warmly in his heart, and its scent remained tauntingly elusive. He held his magic and let the candle’s path guide his feet until he sensed a frost ahead.

A team of earth ponies in blue vests waited for them by the door. One of the mares smiled at them. “Together or separate?”

“Together,” Cherry said. “And he’ll need a couple bags to go.”

The mare glanced at his barrel. “You want the baskets for a bit? We just got a new delivery of ‘em anyway.”

“Yes, thank you.” Cherry pulled a small, purple pouch decorated with an image of the sun from her bag and dropped it in the mare’s hoof. “That would be great.”

The ponies milled around them, poking through their bags and calling out numbers. The mare counted coins from Cherry’s purse until they were finished and passed it back. “We appreciate your business. Come again!”

“I will!” Cherry smiled and led him outside. They fell in step with the crowd, retracing his path back to the main road. “So how was that?”

“Thank you,” he said.

She giggled. “I told you I knew how to make dinner up to you. So I’m still at four.”

He shook his head. “No, I meant what you said.” His ears flattened. “What I said. I should never have snapped like that.”

“That?” She bumped his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Dawn. You’re stressed. I’ve... never really lived anywhere but here, but I’m glad I could help out.”

“Still—”

“If you’re that hung up about it, we could just call it three.”

He grinned. “Three it is, then.”

“Progress!” she said with a happy bounce to her stride.

They laughed as they made their way towards the corner, but the word soon cut his levity short. He eyed the street corner, one road leading to the castle and another back to his solitude among the warehouses. Her feelings for him were growing, but the castle was still beyond his reach.

Each step brought them closer to parting. He turned to her as they reached the corner. “I—”

“We never finished that conversation, did we?”

“Er,” he started, and paused. “Which one?”

“About the plants. Their roles.” Cherry danced out of the way of the mob and sat down. “Would you like to talk about it some more?”

He looked around. “Here? Now?”

“I don’t think that’s an option,” she said, her face twisting to fight a laugh. “How about in the gardens? Would you like to see them?”

“The gardens...?” His eyes snapped open. “You mean your gardens? Inside the wall?”

Her smile grew, and she only nodded.

The windfall nearly left him breathless. “Can you even do that? What about the guards?”

“There aren’t that many eyes watching the gardens.” A thoughtful expression crossed her face. “The hard part is getting you inside. I have a few ideas, but I need some time to figure them out. It can’t be today.”

He smirked and spread his wings.

She laughed. “No good. They’ll see you coming a mile away.” She stood, looked back towards the castle, and then back to him. “Should I take that as a yes, then?”

“Yes! I mean, yes. Yes it is.” He sighed and shook his head. “Are you sure it can’t be today? It’s still only morning.”

She gave a firm nod. “I’m sure. Tell you what, meet me here this time tomorrow. I’ll think of something. Trust me, Dawn.”

He nodded and waited until she’d rounded a corner before turning away.

Chapter 5

Cool stone dug into his forelegs, hooked on to the stalactite by their holes, but he ignored the discomfort. He kept his wings closed, staying silent, as he kept watch over the cavern entrances. Three tunnels emptied into the chamber, and he had positioned himself over the only exit.

A pair of younglings rolled along the floor under him, tangled in a mess of limbs and laughter until a sister dashed over and nipped their ears. Their caretaker ushered them back to their group. A brother scooped another one of them up and dragged him into the air. The youngling squeaked and furiously flapped his wings.

Five more brothers caught his attention, entering from one of the tunnels. They talked among themselves, their voices too low and he too far away to hear, as they ducked under the younglings in flight. The one in the center scanned the room, but he kept looking down to his chest, shrugging his shoulders to readjust the pendant around his neck.

He pulled himself around the stalactite, taking one last look at the silvery shine around the brother’s neck.

A little sister furiously beat her wings up to the ceiling before she caught sight of him. Her eyes narrowed in study. She flitted closer to the stone and mimicked his pose and, thankfully, his silence.

He snapped his jaws.

She hung her head and drifted back down.

Sounds echoed all around him, and he strained his ears, listening for any voice raised in a sharp warning. The only change he perceived was a cacophony of footsteps creeping closer and closer to him. He smiled and flipped around, staring down at the cavern floor.

“—had something important to do.”

He calmed his breathing. In. Out.

Three brothers walked under him, and one turned to the others behind. “If she ordered it, it’s important.”

The one with the decoration passed by. “’Keep it safe,’ she said. That was it. No target or goal or—”

“Then that’s our goal.” The fifth brother passed under him.

He let go. The brother’s mouth kept moving, but he ignored the sound. His forelegs wrapped around his target, tackling him to the ground, and he pressed his fangs on the back of his brother’s neck.

“Dead,” he hissed.

“It’s HIM!”

He looked up to the brother that screamed, grinning at his wide-eyed terror, and loosed a flash of light into his face.

The brother fell to the ground, clutching at his eyes. Two more charged him, one on the ground and the other taking flight.

He fired another bolt at the runner’s feet, and the brother danced, stumbled, and fell.

The flyer charged on and lowered his shoulder.

He ducked, letting the reckless blitz pass over him, and jumped up, knocking his brother off balance and down to the floor. He grabbed a hind leg and pivoted, wrapping it around one of his own until he heard a yelp. “Broken!”

The runner bared his fangs in a snarl and darted forward.

He wrestled him to the ground, wrapping his forelegs into a chokehold. A heartbeat later, his brother’s hoof pounded in submission.

“Keep him busy! I’m almost clear!” The fourth scrubbed at his eyes with a leg.

He smirked and strode forward.

“Guys? Did you hear me?” The brother opened his eyes. “Oh... I... I give! I give! I give up!”

“Unconscious, then.” He tapped his brother’s head.

One of the others poked his leg. “Behind you, Brother.”

He turned to see Chrysalis walking towards him. He smiled and bowed.

“Well done,” she said. “Four against one, and the one overwhelmed them easily.”

“The power of surprise, Your Majesty.” He tried and failed to keep the smile off his face. “I kept them off balance, and they were no match for me alone.”

“Indeed. Your tactics were flawless.”

“Yes. Just as you trained me, Your Majesty.” He lifted his face, and his smile faded.

She gazed down at him with a cool disinterest. “Just as I trained you? Then your mission is complete.” Her eyes hardened. “Give me my necklace.”

The brothers inched away from him.

He spun around, but the fifth was nowhere in sight. Nor was his target.

Chrysalis stepped next to him. “And so you let your mission slip away. All for the chance to flex your muscles in battle.”

“Your Majesty, I—”

“Bloodlust will be the end of you!” She grasped his throat in her magic and squeezed. “If you’re going to gamble with your life so freely, I should take it now.”

He shook his head, gasping for air.

Her grip tightened. “Then I should risk you exposing yourself unnecessarily? Why? And for what? Your pride?”

He had been a fool. He didn’t answer, or move, but stared back at her.

“The world will not give you a second chance. I, however, am giving you half an hour.”

The magic yanked him towards the tunnel. He stumbled, regained his balance, and sprinted on.

Dawnbreaker wove his way towards Ninth Street at a trot, trying to bleed off his nerves and excitement while focusing on the mental map he had created from Canterlot’s rooftops. The trip was taking longer than he recalled from the day before, which did nothing to make his task easier. The urge to charge—to gallop, fly, just get inside his target—was always there.

So was the danger, however.

He was heading into the jaws of his enemies, and his only shield was Cherry Blossom. Her presence would help him expand his map of the city, but didn’t change the consequences of his true nature being discovered. His memory of Canterlot’s alleys and escape routes meant nothing inside the castle walls.

He ran his tongue across his now-replaced fangs. This wasn’t the day to use them. Not yet. Not without an escape plan.

Bloodlust would not be the end of him.

Cherry Blossom waited for him on the same corner, just as she said. Her eyes darted from pony to pony, and when they landed on him, she bit her lip and looked away.

Odd. “Morning.”

“Hi,” she said, giving him a small, tight smile.

“Hi,” he repeated slowly, cocking his head. “Are we still on for today?”

“Yeah.” She took a breath and started down the street. “I have another delivery to make, if you don’t mind helping me with it.”

“That...” That’s it? That’s her plan? He trotted after her. “Is that really the best you can—I mean, really the best way? The guards stopped me cold last time.”

“It’s the same gate guards today as last time and... well, you’ll see.” She led him into an alley, where two boxes were waiting for them. “Could you get the one on the left?”

He shrugged. “As you wish.” The box was no different from the other he had carried, and he grabbed it to tilt it the same way. “Did they at least tell you what—whoa!” It slipped out of his hooves and crashed to the ground.

Cherry yelped behind him.

“Sorry,” he said. “Just, ah, a lot heavier than I thought.”

“It’s too much, isn’t it?”

“No, I’ve got it.” He lifted the box again, grunting from the exertion, and slipped his shoulders under it. His muscles burned as he stood straight. She’s back at four if this doesn’t work. “Your turn. Let me give you a hoof.”

“Done.”

“Done?” He spun around, nearly tipping the balance of his heavy load, and saw her stand up with ease. “How did...? Did they at least tell you what’s in them this time?”

“We’re just taking some supplies to the garden.” She looked him over. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

His shoulders screamed in protest as he shrugged the box back into place, but Dawnbreaker smiled. “I’ll live.” He trudged after her onto the road, puzzling over the ease of her steps and trying to gauge the weight on his back. He had assumed the two crates from the other day weighed the same, and she had carried them both for—

“Move it, pal!”

He staggered away from the charging cab driver.

Cherry’s head snapped over her shoulder. “Are you sure—”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he huffed. Even her voice is steady. He shook his head and pushed away his thoughts. This wouldn’t be the first time he had underestimated her.

The road passed by in silence between them, even after Cherry slowed her pace down to match him. From the corner of his eye, he spotted her stealing glances at him, worrying at her lip, but she kept her peace. He welcomed that at first, but as they approached the castle gates, he couldn’t ignore what she had failed to say.

“So what’s phase two?”

“Just act natural,” she said. Cherry sped up and stopped in front of the guards. “Good morning, Silverbolt!” She flashed a smile and looked back to him. “Do you think you could let my friend through this time? The least I can do is give him a drink of water for helping me like this.”

The left guard shook his head. “Cherry, why are you even asking again?” He nodded to the other guard. “You’re up, Duster.”

He growled at the ground, but Dawnbreaker masked his frustration. “I don’t envy you, pal. This one’s even heavier.”

The right guard, Duster, bumped the box with his shoulder. He swallowed, shaking his head. “You know, Captain Armor chewed me out a bit when he saw me away from my post last time. I think we should follow our orders.”

Silverbolt scowled at his fellow guard.

“It’s too much for me to take on my own,” Cherry pleaded. “We’re just going to the shack. He’ll take a break and fly right back out. I promise.”

Silverbolt looked between the two of them, at a loss for words. He opened and closed his mouth several times until he let out a sigh. “By the Sisters, girl, you’ll be the end of me.” He waved them through.

He followed Cherry past the gate, craning his neck back to stare up at the gilded, white stone of the towers dominating the sky. A courtyard stretched out before him, with a burbling fountain in the center surrounded by a stone path that led to the base of a gleaming white staircase. The same path, made of the same white stone as the towers, ran under his hooves and veered off to both his right and left.

“I said you could trust me,” Cherry whispered. She bumped him and headed to the left.

“So I can,” he whispered back, looking up at the unicorns patrolling along the ramparts overhead. A few glanced back down, but quickly resumed their watch. They walked between walls, the guards on their left and glimpses of posh interiors through windows on their right. “So this is it, huh? This is all yours?”

“I thought so before I started, but no. If you look behind you...” Her eyes landed on his crate. “On second thought, don’t turn around. One of the towers of the castle is the school Princess Celestia runs for unicorns. The school does its own thing for the most part, but they pitch in by keeping the grass down. If it’s taller than a few inches, it’s my job.”

“School, huh?” He had overheard the name a time or two, but never associated it with the castle. Possible entrances—and witnesses—floated through his mind. “Do they help out inside, too?”

“Sometimes. Rarely. Punishments, you know?” She shrugged. “The school isn’t even connected to the castle. It looks like it, with the tower being so close and all, but they really have their own buildings. Speaking of which...”

Cherry led him to a dilapidated shack nestled at the corner of the castle. “Welcome to home away from home. Such as it is. Watch your step.”

He stepped over a loosely coiled hose and quickly scanned the crowded room of tools and supplies. His flank bumped into a wheelbarrow as he spun, searching for an empty space. “Where do you want this thing?”

“Right there is good.” Cherry lifted a shoulder, and her box fell off, bouncing and rolling along the floor, light as a feather. She looked at him with flushed cheeks. “I-I’ll give you some help with that.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Sly. I underestimated her again. He dumped his box.

Chunks of cement and paving stones spilled out as the box burst open.

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out. “Yours was the one they would—“

He backed into a wall, doubled over in laughter. The hanging tools rattled, and a rake fell off. He crouched down and bit his ankle until he regained control of himself. “Good—ha!—good trick.” A deep breath calmed him down, and he stood back up. “I should have thought of that one. I’ll have to remember it.”

Cherry laughed and pushed the debris into a pile. “And here I thought you’d be furious at me.”

“My back is.” He kicked one of the chunks of stone closer to her. “I brought it here, but I’m not carrying it out.”

“You won’t have to. I could use that stuff here, actually.” She grinned. “So, since you have the gate guard’s permission to be here, how about a tour?”

He grinned back. Sly indeed. “And you’re sure your friend won’t mind?”

“Who, Silverbolt? He’s a big softie when you get to know him.”

“And how well do you know him?” He stepped out and cast a glance towards the gate. “That was the second time I’ve seen him melt under your smile. You really have him wrapped around your hoof, don’t you?”

“I do not! He’s a friend. He helped me when...” She sighed, then smiled. “Why do you ask? Jealous?”

He narrowed his eyes, studying her face. Why did she stop?

Her smile faltered.

“So how about that tour?” He headed around the corner. “These are two nice looking trees you have here.”

“Trees?” Cherry stifled a laugh. “Trees, Mr. Dawnbreaker? These aren’t any old trees here, no sir! Not only are these some beautiful examples of birch, you are looking at Mr. Greenhooves’ favorite napping trees! Why, you could never find the kind soul anywhere else after he spent hours on end introducing his trainee to all the plants she’d care for!”

“Fascinating. And what is this?” He tapped the path where it branched another way. “It seems we have a choice to make.”

“Indeed. Straight ahead is the Arboreal Garden.” She pointed to another cluster of birch trees. “That’s where we keep Princess Celestia’s personal menagerie, to go with some other trees deeper in. We have some willows, oaks, even pecan. I’d never seen a pecan tree until I worked here!”

“Huh. Seems odd to recreate a forest in the middle of a city.”

“Maybe, but just wait until autumn rolls around, when the fresh nuts fall and the leaves change. I can’t wait!”

Something in her voice caught his attention. Her mouth moved, but all he heard was—once again—the sharpness of an exclamation. She stood with her head raised and back straight as she went on about the changes autumn brought. Her eyes shone as she smiled at him.

He could almost see the glint of red and gold in them.

“Well?”

He snapped out of it. “Well what?”

She gave a faint roll of her eyes. “Which way do you want to go? We can cut through the trees, or this other path will take us by the castle.”

“I’d... like to see the castle if you don’t mind.” He cast a glance to the trees again. “I thought you wanted to take me through the gardens, though?”

“I am. We’re just not going through the Arboreal Garden.” She nodded her head to the side. “Come on. The Party Grounds are this way.”

“The whats?”

“The Party Grounds,” she said, starting down the path. “It’s where we hold the big events. The reception for the wedding, the Grand Galloping Gala, all the castle garden parties, that sort of thing.”

He shook his head. “We just saw a forest back there. How many gardens do you have?”

“Four. The Arboreal, Party Grounds, our Sculpture Garden, and the hedge maze.”

He opened his mouth.

“Don’t get me started on the hedge maze.”

“Not all good, huh?”

“It can be a lot for one pony. I’ve got the four gardens, plus a few trees on the school grounds and all the potted plants to keep track of inside.” She tossed her head back, sending a wave through her mane. “Mr. Greenhooves said he was glad my hair was already white. This way I won’t have to worry about watching it turn gray.”

The path led them to an open field next to a wing of the castle. Metal archways decorated with vines of flowers divided the grounds into segments. Trees from the arboreal section provided a backdrop, to go with the shrubberies that made up each section.

Cherry waved a hoof over the landscape. “And here we are, Dawn! Welcome to the world famous site of all the parties your lady would kill to be invited for!”

He choked off a laugh, then rubbed his sore throat. “What about that big room there? I thought it would be guarded.”

“That would be the ballroom, and no, not until dusk. Even then, I think there’s just a patrol that swings by every now and then. The guards are more concerned with the doors leading inside the castle, you know? This one’s only connected by a promenade.”

“Makes sense, I guess.” He grunted. “So every door is covered at night?”

“And day. The only real difference is that there are a lot more patrols at night. Enough about that, though. You have to see this!” Cherry galloped over to one of the arches covered in roses.

He looked past it and saw another section of the garden. “It’s... very pretty.” He turned around. “Just as pretty as this section, actually. It looks the same.”

“The roses, Dawn. Look at the roses!”

“Uh, they’re very nice.” He craned his neck to examine the entire arch of them. “What exactly am I looking for?”

“The colors! Look.” Cherry reached out and brushed one of the flower’s deep red petals. “See this one’s vine? Look where it goes.” Her hoof pushed most of the slim vines away.

He followed the lone path left to its next flower. “Hey, it matches you.” He leaned in and sniffed at the pink rose. “Smells nice, but what’s so special about it?”

She giggled. “And look at the next one.”

“It’s purple. So?”

“So how is it purple? One is red, the next pink, and the other purple. Every single vine is like that! Not one rose repeats the color of the one before it!”

He raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“I have no idea!” Cherry grinned and stroked the roses. “I’ve seen two colors on bushes before. You have to cut and graft two different plants, but these are three or four colors on vines! Vines! I’ve never worked up the nerve to ask Princess Celestia how it happened.” She nuzzled one of the flowers. “And you guys aren’t telling me, are you? Maybe you just don’t know me well enough yet.”

“Or maybe they grafted the vines.”

“Earth pony, remember? I can feel the difference in a grafted bush.”

He smirked. “I wonder if each flower on a vine tastes the same?”

Cherry swiped a hoof at him, laughing. “Don’t you dare! Go ahead and scoff at real magic when you see it! This wasn’t even my work anyway.” She grinned and led him back to the path. “My pride and joy is inside the castle. Maybe that’s more up your alley. I’d like for you to see it somehow.”

Inside the castle, hm? “So would I.”

They continued on to two stones leaning against each other in balance. They were worn and smooth, taller than he, and sat in a broken ring of marble. Cracks ran along the base, leading to a gaping maw of empty space.

“What kind of statue is this?”

“It’s a fountain. See the spout?” Cherry pointed to something sticking up a few inches between the stones. “I think Princess Luna likes it. I’ve seen her sitting here a few times when I’ve had to stay late. Back when it was running.”

He poked a broken edge of the basin. “What happened to it?”

Her expression fell. “The invasion.”

His hoof froze. “They attacked here, too?”

“The changelings? Yes. Of course they did.” Cherry traced a hoof around the gap. “It wasn’t just the fountain, either. They hit the city, the grounds, the castle, everything. We’ve cleaned up what we could here, but the princesses decided that the city should get all the repairs first. The pegasi have been flown ragged trying to cover all the holes that haven’t been patched up yet.”

“That explains all the night flights I’ve seen.” His thoughts drifted back to his brothers, to his own memories of the invasion. He saw them ignite the sky with green flames to start the changelings’ first war, only to see them defeated in less than an hour. All that he knew to be true about that day were the scars he had seen in the city. “Did you see them? The changelings?”

She didn’t answer him.

“I mean, I’ve heard the stories around town.” The Princess and her Captain triumphed over the horde of evil. “Are they right? Did you see what happened?”

Cherry sat down and looked at the ground. “I wasn’t... I didn’t see what was going on.”

“Why not? Were you here?”

“I was. We were all making sure everything was ready for the reception, but...”

He glanced at the ruined fountain. “Did they attack you?”

“N-no, I never saw one.”

“So... wait, what?” He sat next to her. “You were here, they were here, but you didn’t even see them? What happened?”

Cherry bit her lip.

“They fell from the sky, and you don’t exactly blend in, you know? How did they miss—” He caught his words as her shoulders sagged. “I-I’m sorry. I just... rumors. All I know are rumors.” He kicked at the ground. “I was hoping I could learn more while I was in Canterlot, and you were right here. I thought for sure you would know.”

She turned her face away, letting her mane fall between them.

Fool!

“I just mean that it was a big day. Nothing has been the same since then.” He looked back to the wall in the distance, towards the city beyond it, and the wilderness beyond even that. “It never will be again, either, will it?” He lowered his eyes to her. “I’m glad...” They left you alone. They didn’t find you. Something! “I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” he finished lamely.

She mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“I said I hid.” She met his eyes. “When the attack came, I hid. And I cried.”

They sat, unmoving, in silence.

“I heard the shield break. I looked up, and I saw these... things. I couldn’t tell what they were, and then they started falling. It was... fire. Green fire falling from the sky.”

“What was it like?”

“I-I just heard it. I heard them hit the ground, and then... I heard the screaming.” She swallowed, blinking rapidly, and looked back to the fountain. “The city was screaming. The castle was screaming. And then... some of them hit the gardens, and... and it felt like the whole earth was screaming under my hooves. I curled up under a bush, covered my head, and cried.”

He kept his silence.

She kicked at a loose piece of rubble. “So that was my brush with history. I was turned into a quivering mess of a pony that had to be coaxed out of hiding by two guards with a carrot, like I was some kind of animal. I didn’t even know what attacked us until the day after.”

“Why didn’t you run?”

Someone laughed behind them. “Forget that! How could you even show your face in the castle again?”

He spun around to see two mares sitting down, both unicorns dressed in black with white aprons, and cursed under his breath. Fool! FOOL! How were you so distracted?

The one of the left smiled at him. “Cherry, you should have told us you were bringing a guest today. You could have joined us for lunch.”

“I know,” the other one said. “There was so much we could have talked about.” The mare walked between them, bumping Cherry’s shoulder as she went. “Like that little story you just told him. Don’t you know how long we’ve wondered what happened to you? And the truth!” She smacked her lips. “Oh, it is so much juicier than I could have imagined!”

Cherry looked straight ahead to the castle, jaw set, stubborn. But her eyes shifted from the unicorn still laughing, to him. He could almost feel her fear.

The first one stopped laughing, her teeth bared to show too much white. “She doesn’t have to guts to stand her ground, or the brains to run for cover, and she can barely handle a garden by herself, but she’s still here somehow. She must be good at something, right?”

Cherry grit her teeth. “I’m not—!” She clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head.

“Ah, she’s clamping up again.”

“Too bad,” the second said, and she sidled up next to him. “How ‘bout it, hot shot? Can you clue us in? What’s our little gold-digger really good at?”

Cherry’s glistening eyes flicked over to him, then away. She retreated behind her mane.

He dug his hooves into the earth. Even here she gets overwhelmed?

“Oh, he can’t even answer.” The other wrapped her leg around Cherry’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, love. At least you have a little more experience under you. Maybe your next stallion will enjoy you a little more.”

He slapped the maid’s hoof away. “Enough! You two are supposed to represent the castle? This is what the home of your leaders stands for? You’re no different than the street punks I see every day!”

She pulled her struck leg to her chest, shooting him a glare. “You dare—!”

“Looks like the pup has a guard dog!” the second said, moving swiftly to put a restraining hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “But she forgot his leash, didn’t she?”

“Yes. That she did.” The mare’s glare turned to a wicked smile. “She really should know better.”

“I bet Shining Armor would love to hear about this.”

“That he would, wouldn’t he?” They headed for the castle, and the first threw one more glare over her shoulder. “That he would.”

He returned the look until they were out of sight. “I take it those were some of the ones you told me about.”

There was no sound behind him.

“Cherry?” He turned back, seeing her unmoved. “Cherry!”

She looked up with red eyes and a tear-streaked muzzle. “You should go.”

“Go? I... why?” He glanced back to the castle, and didn’t see anypony walking out yet. “I can explain why I’m here. We got permission, didn’t we? Frankly, I wouldn’t mind meeting this Captain of yours either. I’ve heard a lot about him.”

“Dawn...” Her eyes drifted away, and her voice came out a hoarse whisper. “Go.”

She walked away from him, mane still hanging over her face, tail drooped to trail through the dirt.

He stood, rooted to the spot. “Will... will I see you tomorrow?”

She didn’t look back.

Reluctantly, Dawnbreaker spread his wings and did as she asked.

Chapter 6

His lure played across the water, dragged along by a string tied around his hoof. He shifted his weight, keeping himself balanced atop the floating log, and inched his other three legs along in a circle. The blue glow of his eyes shone on his lure, and its green surface glittered in the water.

A shape approached from the darkness below. Its tail flapped side-to-side with slow, measured beats.

He continued his circle.

The fish lunged forward.

He yanked the string up, pulling the lure and its catch out of the water. His jaws snapped shut on the cold, wriggling flesh. The taste of blood filled his mouth as his meat ceased to move, and he took wing across the lake, passing a brother on his way to the vacant log.

More brothers and sisters dotted the shore line, milling about the luminescent mushrooms that surrounded the water and climbed the walls. Chrysalis herself had joined the younglings, elders, and the rest in their harvest, but he focused on only one—a sister, alone, bent over in her work.

He dropped the fish behind her, laughing as she spun at the sound of the wet slap. “Have I ever told you how your skin glows in this light?” He landed and nudged the fish closer to her, leaving a slimy trail of blood on the cavern floor. “Care to join me for dinner?”

She smirked, rolling a shoulder, and the satchel hanging over it. “I have dinner.”

“No, you have half a dinner. How are we going to teach the younglings what being a changeling is all about if you ignore half our food?”

“And so you offer me a half-eaten fish?” She pushed it back. “Please, enjoy the rest of your catch. Who knows when you’ll get another?”

“I’m not even sure Chrysalis would know, and she’s the one sending me out. But you want to know the truth?” He leaned in close, taking note of her growing smirk. “The worst part of being all alone out there—”

“Yes, I know who you are.” She turned away with a flick of her thin wing. “I’ve heard that the griffons know how to dry their meat to preserve it. Maybe you could look into that on this next trip of yours for a little taste of home?”

He rubbed his chin, smiled, and followed. “Oh, I can find food. I’ve been on two missions already. The worst part is not knowing how many sleeps it will be before I’m back where I belong.”

She stopped. “I swear on all the Queen’s mothers, if you say that you just want one good night—”

“You will never swear that oath.” Chrysalis stepped forward. “I would have a word with my servant. Leave us.”

The sister’s breath caught in her throat. “Y-yes, Your Majesty.” She bowed and scampered away.

Chrysalis watched her leave, then her gaze settled on him. “I told you to eat and rest. You leave as soon as the Watchers give the signal for dawn. Why do you distract yourself with this?”

He fidgeted in place.

“Care for her by keeping her safe. Serve your Hive. Do not pursue her.”

“We all serve the Hive, Your Majesty.” He swallowed, knees buckling under her stare, but he was no youngling. He had bled in her service, and was prepared to kill in it as well. “You serve as much as we do, don’t you? You trained me like the others train the younglings. Won’t I have to pass something on someday?”

She didn’t answer, nor did her expression change.

“I recognized her. We were born in the same year, as the Hive orders. We don’t share blood.”

“That is irrelevant. I did not spend these years training you to sit and caretake in the prime of your life. You are my weapon, and your skills are needed.”

“And I will use them, but—”

“Enough.”

He snapped his mouth shut.

Chrysalis placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You are young, and you have much to offer your family. You may give a child to the Hive, or you may pass on what you know—perhaps to your successor one day, as I must—but you have many years before you count the ripples in a still pool with the elders.”

“I know.” He closed his eyes and recited, “I go with the Hive. Every decision I make will protect or harm us all.”

“Indeed,” she said, resting her hoof to the cold cavern floor. “Stay mindful of the present, and remember that you carry us all with you.” She smirked. “The sisters will be here when you return. Rest now, and prepare yourself.”

He bowed as she left, then turned back to his fish. Food first, rest second. His fangs sank into the warming flesh, tearing off a chunk, and he left the remainder for any younglings to find.

His hooves tapped out a frantic rhythm as he paced back and forth on the rooftop high above the castle wall, looking down at the guards and in clear view of any sky patrols that might fly by. It was just approaching midday, but he still kept vigil on the gate, waiting for her to come back out.

Cherry Blossom.

He hadn’t been fast enough to catch her on her way in, and he cursed his sloth again. Her voice had whispered answers to his unasked questions for hours, and her face had smiled, or cringed, or cried along with them all.

This wasn’t right. She was supposed to be simple, just a girl looking for a shoulder to lean on, an ear to gossip in. Her loose lips would slip him what he needed to know, and her trust would only be a benefit, giving him access to the castle and more details to form his plan.

Her shoulders trembled, and she couldn’t even look me in the eye. She couldn’t look, except at the ground.

His heart sank at the thought. If he had only spoken up sooner, stopped those two from carving into Cherry—

He snarled, turning and retracing his steps for another time. His duty was to protect the Hive, not her. The problem with the two maids was that he let them have the element of surprise. One pony’s troubles with other ponies shouldn’t bother him.

Yet whether it should or shouldn’t didn’t change the fact that it did.

The scene played again, the instant fear in her eyes and the crumbling of her confidence. He had been surprised the change came so quickly, had assumed the gardens were a place of strength for her, but her aversion—fear—of unicorns stripped away that illusion.

But that was hardly enough of a surprise to throw him off like this. Her reaction to unicorns had been one of her first habits he had witnessed.

Why? Why did this moment matter?

She was letting him in.

He stopped in his tracks.

That was right. She hinted that she wanted him to go inside the castle, to show him something. He had taken a major step forward, and she had offered another, only for it to be ruined by the maids’ intervention. The mission had been jeopardized, and now he had to set it back on track. That was all.

His concern was justified. The Hive needed him, and he needed Cherry Blossom.

He needed answers from Cherry Blossom.

So go.

She was there, on the other side of the wall. He knew the way. And he turned back, pounding the roof with his hoofsteps while keeping his wings down. The guards would be watching her now. The last thing he needed was to draw more attention to her. To him. To the mission. There was nothing to gain by crossing over the wall.

Nor was there anything to gain by waiting for one pony who tended to work until sundown.

He turned and paced back.

A pink pony stepped from behind the wall, and the two guards turned to her. Her head bowed as she walked under their watchful eyes and turned down the street.

He followed her along the rooftops, flying from building to building, letting her gain some distance from the gate. Eventually, he stepped off and glided down to an alley, then joined the ponies on the sidewalk, keeping her in sight as he caught up.

“Cherry?”

He grimaced at the soft sound of his voice. That was no good. He cleared his throat and trotted closer, almost alongside her.

“Cherry?”

She smiled and looked back. “Hi.”

“Hi.” His own smile came with genuine ease. “How are you?”

“Better.”

“Good.” He looked her over as they walked, from nose to tail, and his smile grew. Her eyes were up and alert, her steps crisp and quick, making her tail sway with each one rather than dragging behind her. “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you. What did I miss?”

Her smiled widened. “Well, I got a visit from Shining Armor, like they promised. He was very interested in you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Just what you told me, about serving a noble lady.” She laughed—once. “I think that got under his skin. One of the many, many things he had to say was not to let some noble’s fawning pantywaist sweet talk his way into the castle. At least I didn’t see those two again yesterday.” She took a breath. “I’m... I’m sorry you saw... heard all that.”

He nodded. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” She turned her face aside, eyes downcast. “They just never liked me, and they’re not the only ones. I don’t even know how it started, but everypony is just convinced I didn’t get my spot on my own. They think... well, you heard what they think.” She snorted. “It’s getting old, honestly, them trying to figure out who I slept with. They’ve been recycling suspects.”

He grunted. “So what happened?”

Her ears flattened to almost hide under her mane, her cheeks flushing as she jerked her chin farther away. “N-nothing happened.” It was barely a whisper. “You don’t think—”

“No, I don’t believe them for a second. But if you’re used to it, what was different about yesterday?”

Cherry bit her lip and turned to look into his eyes, hers glistening as they lingered on his face. She blinked, and turned her eyes to the ground.

He had not anticipated that face. Her silent message begged for a response, but he didn’t know what. He wanted to kill the silence. It dragged on and on, and he felt the distance between them grow with every heartbeat.

But she’s there, fool.

His eyes kept landing on her shoulder, less than a leg’s length away. In half of a second, his hoof could reach her.

He walked on.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, “about how I acted. You stood up for me, and when they left, I should have... I was just too embarrassed.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. What happened to you?” He sighed. “I’ve seen it before. I saw you stare at the other ponies when we ate at the café like they were carrying a plague. Unicorns. The night we met at the diner, I saw you hide from unicorns on the street. And yesterday, again, unicorns got to you.”

She glanced at him, and the brief glimpse he caught of her eyes confirmed what he knew: she knew what she did. Cherry angled her path into an alleyway, and she took several slow steps in before turning to face him again. “It’s kind of an open secret. I haven’t talked about it outside, well, my parents and...” She sat down. “I haven’t talked about it much.”

“I didn’t push it this far to turn away now. Neither did you.”

She swallowed and nodded. “The invasion was the start of it. Or the ending, I guess. I—” She wiped her eyes. “I’d been that afraid before.”

He gave her a moment, then held out a hoof, gesturing for her to continue.

Cherry spoke, her voice coming out as a whimper. She closed her eyes. “I was mugged.”

“Someone attacked you?” He forced his jaw to unclench as understanding came. “Unicorns.”

“It happened a couple months before the invasion. I was walking home, and three stallions pulled me into an alley. Their magic threw me against a wall, and that was it. They had me before I could even blink.”

An unbidden image of her face sprang to his mind, one more he had not seen in his time on the roof, but had seen on others too many times to count. Her features were pulled into a grotesque mask—eyes panic-stricken, ears pulled back, and her mouth open—

He swallowed back an unfamiliar feeling and forced the image away before her phantom scream reached his ears. My concern is justified. That was what mattered. He repeated the mantra, and allowed Dawnbreaker to show his anger in a low growl. He sat down, silent, and waited.

Cherry moved one hoof across another’s ankle. “One grabbed my legs and held them together.” She rubbed her shoulder. “Another pinned my body.” Her hoof quivered as she brushed her snout. “And the last muzzled me.”

Paralyzed. Just like she was during the invasion. “You were helpless.”

She nodded. “He knew it, too. The leader, the one that took my voice. He... he laughed. He laughed right into my face.” Her hoof moved back to her shoulder, hugging herself. “I shut my eyes. I... I just shut my eyes and listened to them all laugh. I couldn’t even beg them to let me go.”

He fought to keep his hooves still and shook his head to clear the rising red mist clouding his thoughts. Pointless. Cruel. That isn’t strength. “Why? What did they want from you?”

“My money.” She snorted. “All three bits I had. They shoved me down after they took it, and my eyes snapped open. I saw the blue one look over his shoulder and call it a toll. The leader and the red one laughed at that.”

“A toll?” He sneered, glaring back at the street. This is what the ponies allow in their cities? “A toll!”

“That’s what the leader hissed in my ear, that Canterlot is a unicorn town. I guess the other two followed his cue.”

“But they—!” He took a breath. It can’t be. There’s no chance. “I bet they didn’t know they attacked someone on the castle staff. What did the guards do to them?”

Cherry was silent for a moment. “Nothing.”

His voice dropped, and he hissed, “They let them go?”

“They didn’t find them. Couldn’t find them. I went straight back to the castle, and the guards went ballistic when I told them what happened. Shining Armor took over the case personally.” She bowed her head. “I couldn’t tell them anything. A yellow face, and two others that were red and blue. Dawn, the guards never had a chance of finding them here. Not in a city like Canterlot. They got away with it because of me.”

“I don’t believe that. You’re a gardener, not a soldier. What were you supposed to do, fight them off? The guards had their role to play—to protect you, or to catch who hurt you if they couldn’t—and they failed both. There was nothing you could have done.”

“I could have looked at them! I had a chance to help catch them, and I... I... I didn’t take it.” Cherry slumped forward, shaking as her voice grew rougher. “There was nothing I could have done but look at them, and I didn’t have the courage to do one thing. The only thing.” She wiped her eyes. “And then the changelings came and I didn’t even have the courage to run away!”

“That...”

His words fled from him. Chrysalis would have known what to say. She was the teacher. Her lessons were harsh, but she had never taken joy in them. His training served a purpose, gave him a direction to grow and learn.

Her hive left her behind.

He wouldn’t.

“She used rings,” he said. “My lady, I mean. She used them as punishment, to anchor me down or shut me up.”

Cherry hid behind her mane. “I knew she was a unicorn.”

“Don’t cry for me. That’s not what I meant.” He reached out, brushing her mane away from her face. The snow-soft hair fell behind her neck, and he rested his hoof on her shoulder.

She glanced at him, then turned her face away.

He cradled her chin in his ankle, tugging her around to face him. “I know what being helpless feels like. I know what it means to have everything stripped away from you. You’ve endured it twice, and I promise that you know what courage is now. The next time something you care about is threatened, you won’t flinch.” He grinned. “And that’s what I know about you.”

Cherry touched his hoof, pulling herself along his foreleg like a lifeline until her leg wrapped around his neck. Her mouth moved with no sound as she leaned into him, holding on with her other foreleg, her breath tickling his ear.

Her heart beat next to his. He could feel it.

His hoof held the back of her head while his other crept around her body, pressing her closer. Warmth spread through his body from his core. He lowered his face into her mane, losing himself for a moment in its scent.

He felt a gentle touch—a poke of her nose—on his neck, and he buried his muzzle deeper into her hair, returning the gesture. Her shoulders shifted, and he loosened his grip as she pulled away. He lifted a hoof to her red eyes, drying a tear with his fur.

She shook in mute laughter, rubbing her other eye. Her hoof moved up to her mane and brushed it.

He smiled.

She returned it, brushing her hair long after it was straightened.

“Cherry Blossom.”

She squeaked and backed away from him.

A unicorn guard pony stood at the entrance to the alley, but the usual gold of his armor and helmet was trimmed around polished purple. The chest plate bore an insignia of a shield painted with a stripe and a four-pointed star. His blue eyes bore into him for a moment, and then moved to Cherry.

“If you were going to sneak off with your friend again, you might have waited until you were out of sight of the gate. I believe you have a job to do.”

“Y-yes, Captain, I do.” Cherry slinked away, giving Dawn one last smile over her shoulder before she turned the corner.

The Captain, is it?

Shining Armor, in the flesh, stared right into his eyes. There was cool poise in his look, a confidence that had been tempered away from arrogance. He analyzed him, from hoof to mane, purposefully lingering on each detail, sizing him up as a potential threat. “Dawnbreaker.”

He didn’t look away. He was only Dawnbreaker, a friend of Cherry Blossom’s and nothing more than a visiting pegasus, but the victor over his queen stood just hooves away, looking for any sign of suspicion. His heart—the adrenaline—raced under the mask. “I am.”

Shining Armor sniffed the air. A moment later, he narrowed his eyes as his horn began to emit a faint violet light.

Dawnbreaker smiled, flicking his eyes back and forth between the horn and the Captain’s face. He tilted his head with a raised eyebrow.

The glow faded away.

“Is something wrong?”

Shining Armor stepped back, but while his body turned away, his gaze remained stubbornly zeroed in until he took his first step. “Be careful.”

He kept his silence and smirk as the Captain walked away, following him after a moment to the alleyway’s opening.

Yellow, red, and blue coats.

He counted all the ponies he saw on the busy street with those colors, stopping after the first dozen. Canterlot indeed proved itself a unicorn town—especially in the upscale sections next to the castle.

No three of them travelling together, though. That’s no excuse. Failures.

Shining Armor continued on his way, oblivious to the glare he was receiving.

If the guards wouldn’t live up to their duty, he would step in. He took to the sky, heading back to the warehouse district, but keeping an eye out for the three colors. His day wasn’t over yet.

Chapter 7

Icy teeth tore at his skin, searing away sensation in a fitful, howling fury—save for the boiling green glow built around his horn. His hooves pressed into the weathered stone of the path, and drops of sweat burned his unblinking eyes as they tracked his target, climbing up the face of the mountainside.

He loosed the energy he had collected, and the bolt found its mark. The impact chipped off a sliver of rock, and the lizard’s body fell at his hooves, lying still.

The Queen’s voice called to him over the wind, and he walked back to her. She sat on the edge of the path, overlooking a swaying sea of sunrise red and sunset gold climbing the walls of the valley far below, where the slant of rock ended. “Why do you kill, child?”

“I kill to slay my enemies. The Hive demands that they die.” A bird flew up from the treetops. He concentrated again, the magic flowing through him to his horn.

“Why does the Hive demand that they die?”

His eyes flicked from his target to the valley, and the hidden entrance of home. “Because they know of the Hive. They would hurt us.”

“Why kill them?”

“Because...” He let go of the energy, and the power burning around his horn vanished into the ether. “Because they would hurt my brothers and sisters. They would hurt the Hive. The Hive demands—”

She turned to glance down at him. “And why does the Hive demand that they die? Why does the Hive demand anything happen to them?”

“Because they would...” He looked at his hooves, but he knew the answer was not written in the stone. Nor was he finding it in the circle Chrysalis led him through. He sat, craning his neck to look up at her.

Chrysalis showed her fangs in a smile and whispered the answer in his ear. “Revenge.”

Dawnbreaker and his wings had finished their purpose, and he walked down the sidewalk as a white earth mare with a black mane and tail, eyeing the trio of unicorn stallions pacing in front of his motel. Their path had carved a niche in the crowd over the time he had scouted the area from above, and he fell in step behind them when they changed direction.

The yellow leader snarled. “What room was he in?”

Red shook his head. “Dunno. I just saw him walk out of the office this morning.”

He nodded to himself. Dawnbreaker wasn’t right for this task. She didn’t know who they were.

Blue rapped a hoof on the sidewalk. “Boss, he’s nothin’. Nothin’! Ain’t no way he—”

“Shut it!” Boss stopped. “I bet he sees us. He’s got the guts for a sucker punch, but—”

“Out of my way!” he snapped in a mare’s voice, cutting between Red and Blue and driving Boss aside with his shoulder. “What, you think you own the place? You brats are blocking the road!” He walked on, weaving between bodies and keeping his ears up.

Canterlot told him what he needed to know. Shouts and grumbles followed in his wake. He continued, focusing on long, deep breaths and a steady pace, until he reached the two warehouses he had picked out.

He stopped and made a show of looking around, letting his eyes linger for a long moment on the gap between the buildings. A bare lot dotted with stacks of lumber and machinery lay ahead, and beyond that, another street sparsely populated with ponies. He headed into the alley, wide enough for four ponies to walk side by side.

To a point.

The structure on his right changed its shape halfway down. He didn’t know or care why, but the wall cut in on itself and widened the rest of the path with enough space to duck out of sight from the road behind him.

A few more steps...

The attack flung him to the right, and he slammed against the wall. He struggled, but something held his legs together, and another force held his shoulders. A golden aura jerked his face around, and Boss glared into his eyes, flanked by the two followers. “Mud-diggers need to know their manners!”

Guilty.

He summoned his magic, bolstering his body with the same might his brothers had used to scar Canterlot. Keeping the flow of power under his skin and out of sight, he pushed against the three grips holding him—and laughed at the strength of their wills.

In another heartbeat, the four spells burned away, letting his laughter escape.

She was helpless.

The leader jerked back. “Did you two feel—” The rest of the question was cut off by the white hoof cracking his muzzle. His yellow snout gushed red, and the other two took their eyes off their enemy to watch their leader crumple to the ground.

He seized the opening—and Blue’s head—throwing himself back to drive it into the wall. His forelegs braced him, and his hinds shot up and caught Red under the chin. He reached out as the stallion stumbled back and pulled him down on top of Blue.

Boss struggled to stand on three legs, wiping his bloody nose with the fourth. “How did...?” His eyes lowered to his friends, and he lunged forward.

He dodged the wild swing and kicked the stallion’s legs out from under him, sending him tumbling down.

The blue one stirred, groaning like a youngling woken from his sleep. “My head... what...?”

She remembers.

His hoof crashed down on Blue’s skull and knocked it down to the ground. He pressed on it, leaning all his weight and grinding the blue head into the gravel. The throat was there, unprotected with the unicorn thrashing his forelegs about. It was only inches away. Too close for Blue to squirm away if he let go of the head. He just had to move his hoof a few inches...

Red grabbed his leg. “Get off him!”

He growled and tossed Red aside, then stalked over to the sprawled body. He stomped, and his enemy writhed under him with a gasping scream. He stomped again. And again, then kicked until the unicorn curled up, holding his own legs to his chest.

“What are you?”

He turned back to the leader.

“No... I give!” He waved a hoof. “You win!”

He lashed out, whipping him across the face and sending a streak of blood and a white tooth flying. Boss—all of them—were helpless before him, struggling to move, but still alive. He had to keep it that way. Too many questions, too many undecided factors, went into killing them.

But she remembers.

The three unicorns lay in a heap at his feet, whimpering into the uncaring stone of Canterlot.

He walked away.

So will they.

A muffled crash broke the peace of Canterlot’s night, followed by a round of laughter from the ponies inside the diner. Dawnbreaker chuckled along, leaning against the wall outside, and took the last bite from the wedge of cantaloupe in his hoof.

Delicious.

He smiled up at the moon, reliving the fight with the unicorn beasts in the twinkling starlight. Beasts was exactly what they were. The followers froze without their alpha, and pain was the only thing that earned their respect, like the Watchers driving off any creatures that sought refuge in the Hive. Still, he was pleased to know that his skills remained sharp.

More importantly, there was Cherry Blossom.

He tossed the rind of melon behind him. Not only was she responsible for feeding him the last few days, she was valuable to him. To his mission. Dawnbreaker’s role in such a brawl might horrify her if she found out, but he would rest easier knowing he had done something for her in return. The past, however, was not as unpredictable as the present.

The front door opened, letting the chatter and more light spill onto the street. Cherry Blossom walked outside, laughing. “I will! Have a good night!”

He stepped around the corner. “How was the apple pie?”

She yelped and turned to face him. “Dawn! I—” She blushed. “How did you know I had apple pie?”

He shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

Cherry blinked, taking a quick sniff of the air. She smirked and leaned closer to him, sniffing at his snout. “And how was the cantaloupe?”

He wiped the juice off his muzzle with a grin. “Just like you said.” He glanced through the window and saw the familiar, wrinkled face of a mare smiling back at him with a twinkle in her eyes. He waved a wing at the waitress. “I think we have an audience.”

“So do I. Shall we?” She stepped off the sidewalk and headed for the other side. “Not that I’m complaining, but this makes twice in one day. What’s the occasion?”

He studied her, brow furrowed. “You already know. I’m not going to make you walk home alone after what you told me today.”

“Dawn...” Her cheeks reddened, and she smiled at the ground as they walked over a spot of cleaner, freshly poured concrete. “I walked home by myself just fine for the last month, you know. Over a month, actually. You don’t have to do this.”

“I know. But I want to.”

Cherry tilted her head to the side, still smiling at the ground. “This way, then.”

Their shoulders brushed together, nothing more than a gentle touch, and he looked at her—just inches away, closer than he could remember—and smiled. “I take it you’re not disappointed?”

Her tail swished against his. “I almost forgot how nice this could be.”

He snickered. “I thought you did this every night for over a month?”

“With company, I meant,” she said, bumping him. “After I told him I was... well, when it was time for me to go home, Shining Armor ordered one of the guards to escort me. Silverbolt, from the gate. He walked me home every night for a week.”

“Good.” He clenched his teeth. “They did something right.”

“Not... quite.” Her voice cracked, and she held back a snort. “Silverbolt was pleasant enough, but he was a guard through and through. If he wasn’t ten feet ahead of me to check out every angle of every street corner and alley, he circled me like a bird. Every night. In full regalia.”

His words failed him. What was that... that was supposed to be helping? “I’m... uh...” He coughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t start a new fashion.”

She staggered and barked in laughter. “Come on down to Armored Shadows Emporium! We have all the new models for your personal security needs!” She sighed and stood straight again. “It feels good to laugh about it now, but back then, it just freaked me out. It felt like the whole city knew who I was, why I needed a guard. I just wanted to go home.” She looked at him. “You know the feeling.”

He nodded.

“So I didn’t want to be the center of attention. I asked Shining Armor to let me try it by myself one time, and it turns out I felt more comfortable without all the hoof signals and constant glares at anypony that looked at me.”

“There’s something to be said for discretion, I think.” He shrugged. “Probably just his training. He’s used to guarding a castle, after all. You can’t exactly hide one of those, but why in the world would he expose you like that?”

“I know! And I might have appreciated the company more if he was actually giving me company.” She brushed against him with her next step. “This is much nicer.”

A far cry from our first meeting. Then, she had balked at even taking the right road home in front of him. Now, she walked at his side, guiding him to her last circle of safety in the entire city.

Not the last.

He raised his eyes to the surrounding buildings, squatter and plainer than the shops and businesses they had left behind. Windows glowed in the night, and an occasional pony moved to briefly block the light. One even waved at him. “This looks like a decent part of town. How much trouble do you have here?”

“None at all. I’ve lived around this neighborhood my whole life. My parents left me in our apartment when they moved to Ponyville.” She laughed. “Oh, my parents! I really haven’t been kind to them these past few months.”

“You... have had a busy few months.”

“You’re telling me. They wanted to move back as soon as I told them what happened to me. They didn’t even write me back, just showed up at my door, but I convinced them to stay in Ponyville. Then I nearly gave them a heart attack by swearing off my personal bodyguard. Mother and I have been writing each other almost every day, even before the invasion.” She snorted. “I’m practically under a curfew now. By mail!”

A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I’m not surprised. You protect what’s important to you. She just wants you safe.”

“Gah! She says that all the time! Guess it isn’t enough that I’m inside a guarded wall all day and stick to all the well-lit roads at night now. She still wants me to ask Shining Armor for my escort back.” Cherry leaned closer to him again, looking up with a playful glint in her eyes, and batted her eyelashes. “She thinks I need a big, strong stallion close by to keep all the bad guys away.”

He smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. Still, it sounds like a luxury, getting to talk to her so often. I can’t do that.”

The light in her eyes faded, and her smile fell to a frown. “Have you not written home? Not once?”

He kept walking.

Her leg stretched in front of his chest. “Dawn, why? It means...” She blinked, mouth hanging open to speak before she closed it, frowning, and started over. “You’ve shown me how much it means to you. I know you’re homesick. Write them.”

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t make a difference. They wouldn’t exactly answer me, anyway.”

Cherry was silent for a moment. “I’m this way.” She turned right, and he followed. “So where are you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s your way home?”

He looked at the ground. “I have to do what I came here to do.” He took several steps before he realized he was walking alone.

Cherry waited behind him, her eyes hard and jaw set firmly. “And they won’t even talk to you until then? Your lady doesn’t care a thing about how you’re doing? You’re completely cut off until you finish your job?”

“That’s not what I—” He grimaced and swallowed. Fool! “Okay, that is what I said, but it’s... it’s not the whole story.”

She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate, and he stared back, not knowing how to.

Cherry cleared her throat. “There’s something I want you to see, sooner than later, but it’s inside the castle. Do you think you can meet me at my shed tomorrow?”

He blinked. “What?”

“I can come up with a distraction, but it would take some time.”

He bit down on his lip. “You know we’ll both be watched after this morning. It’s too risky.”

“I think you need to see this. Can you make it?”

The interior of the castle was the final piece to his puzzle, but the guards would all know his name or his face by now. He tapped a hoof, pondering the implications of that fact. That risk would never go away. Sooner or later, like she said. Why not sooner? “If you can think of some way to get us inside together, I can make it past the wall.”

“I can do that.” She walked by him, brushing him with her tail again. “Come on. We’re almost there.”

They stopped in front of her apartment building. He had seen it before, following her on the rooftops, but the flower bed hanging from the window sill on the third floor hadn’t been important. He had never thought twice about the colorful blinds in that window, nor did he realize they were leaves in the pattern. They hadn’t been important.

Cherry took a breath, and the start of a word escaped her mouth. She caught herself, then smiled, eyes shining into is. “This was very sweet of you, Dawn. A gentlecolt through and through.”

He felt something touch his hoof. He glanced down and saw her pink leg entwine with his.

Her lips pressed to his cheek.

His instincts—and all the ether of Canterlot—ignited with the spark of her kiss. He opened his heart to her love and let it pump the fire he felt throughout his body. Every muscle drank in the heat as quickly as they could.

“Tomorrow.”

Her voice cut through the haze, and he broke the connection, coming back to his senses.

Cherry smiled as she backed away, towards the door. “Good night, Dawn.”

“Good night, Cherry.” He waited, watching her enter the building and returning her smile when she looked over her shoulder, until the door closed behind her.

He walked away, fighting back the restlessness and sheer potential he felt from Cherry’s love. He had forgotten how potent the feeling was, but the sensations coursing through his body were the tangible proof of his success. The castle waited for him, and Cherry Blossom would provide everything he needed and more.

Finally.

Chapter 8

His legs buckled the instant he landed at the tree line. He sank down, but grit his teeth and stayed up in an awkward crouch, staring down at his hooves. The Hive had needed him, and he had answered the call. He was strong.

He was a killer.

White scratches ran up and down his legs. From his enemy. Or... from blows that missed their target. From the fight, nothing but a haze in his memory now. The taste in his mouth anchored his senses in the present. He spat.

Now blood spotted his legs and the ground. He stared at the blood. It belonged to his enemy, and he had taken it.

He was strong.

Above the blood was the face, and the face held the eyes. He didn’t look up from the blood.

But he was strong.

The eyes had begged their killer for help.

He was strong. His eyes snapped up, and no others stared back at him. He forced his body one step forward. And another. And another, creeping along a few steps deeper into the trees before standing his full height.

A brother poked his head from behind a trunk. “I thought you were hurt for a second there. So it’s done?”

“He’s...” He nodded, then looked over his shoulder at the house. “I heard something on my way out. Footsteps. A voice.”

A second changeling staggered out, rubbing a swollen eye with his hoof. “We saw his mate go in. We need to leave. Now.”

He nodded. “Right. Let’s go home.” He nodded again. “And the way is clear?”

The two traded a brief look, and the second narrowed his good eye. “Now means now, brother.” They turned and ran through the trees, and he followed.

A scream chased after them, shattering the tranquility of the forest.

The sound ripped through his ears and crashed against his mind. His blood ran like ice in his veins, and he stumbled to the ground, pushing himself off again as soon as his hooves found purchase.

The left brother glanced back at him. “That was your first kill, wasn’t it?”

The right brother snorted before he could answer. “It was my fault he discovered us. Sorry about that.” He grinned. “Still, you did good. I couldn’t believe you got there so fast, and I even knew you were coming! You should have seen his face when you hit him!”

The first nodded. “We got what we came for, and you pulled us out of a fire. Chrysalis will be pleased.”

His hooves pounded the ground with every stride, and the vibrations shook him awake. The brothers were right. They were still alive and the secret of the Hive was safe again because of him. In his mind, he saw Chrysalis smile. He did his duty.

He was strong.

He stood straight and tall as he landed among the trees, in the manner that befitted a proud member of Celestia’s Royal Guard. His white fur and golden armor dissolved with a burst of green fire, sending the creatures around him scurrying away, and Dawnbreaker strode out of the Arboreal Garden.

The disguise and its armor had taken hours of concentration to perfect during his first nights in the city, and the investment finally paid off—with more to come. Not only did the guards along the wall fail to challenge his entry, Cherry Blossom would give him the chance to see what behavior would be expected of it. No detail was too small today.

Cherry’s humble shack waited for him at the end of the white stone path, and the sound of gushing water within reached his ears. Cherry held a running hose in her mouth, her hooves pushing and pulling a line of pails and watering cans under it. Her eyes flicked up, and her tail waved when she saw him.

He grinned back and walked to the spout by the far wall, twisting it off when she filled the last container. “So where’s the fire?”

“Nowhere, just need to get all the water set for the day.” She draped the nozzle over a foreleg and coiled the hose over its hook. “Weather services around Canterlot are on hold for maybe another week. No rain until the reconstruction has a good head start.”

“Interesting.” A smile inched across his face. “So how are you getting me inside?”

“My, and I thought I was eager.” Cherry led him to a workbench stretching the width of one side of the shack scattered with bags, pots, and tools and passed him a straw hat. “Put that on to start with.”

He bundled the ends of his mane on top of his head and pulled the hat on. “A disguise it is, then. What am I?”

“Another gardener. Here.” Cherry unfolded a blanket over his back so the coarse fabric fell down to his ankles, covering his wings, shoulders, back, and cutie mark. “You’ve got the blanket to lie on and keep the grass and dirt out of your coat. Just keep your tail down and the hat low, and no one will have a reason to think you’re not another earth pony.”

He smirked and tipped his hat to her. “Shall we mosey on up, little lady?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve heard unicorns talk like that too, you know. It’s regional, not tribal. Let’s go.”

“But the—” He stopped when she turned away from the gate and headed for the gardens—and away from the guards who wouldn’t remember letting anyone through.

“You flew in, right?” She jerked her head to the side. “We’ll swing by the ballroom and use the walkway there to get in. It doesn’t get a whole lot of use unless there’s a major party, so we shouldn’t see many staff there.”

He walked beside her, lips curling up to a sneer. “And what if they do see us?”

“They’ll laugh that I need an outside opinion, maybe make a crack about how I need another line of work.” Her hoof brushed against his on their next step. “It won’t be as bad as the other day. I promise. They know how to mind their manners when someone really important can catch them.”

“And what if they see us? The higher-ups?”

“They would know why you’re here. This is my pride and joy you’re about to see, and I have standing permission from Princess Celestia to bring in some expert help on it if I need it.” Her tail swiped at him as he opened his mouth. “And before you ask, yes, I still have it after Shining Armor saw our little... ah, rendezvous.”

When did she have the time for that? “This really means this much to you?”

She flashed a smile. “Just keep walking. All will be made clear.”

They made their way through the Party Grounds, cutting through several sections of nearly identical yards to get around the locked ballroom and to the promenade connecting it to the castle proper. Two purple doors waited for them at the end of it, and Cherry motioned for him to wait to the side as she opened them.

“Looks like the guards are on patrol. The coast is clear.” She smiled and waved him forward. “Welcome to Canterlot Castle.”

And here it is. He held his breath and stepped through the doors.

His hoof fell on something softer and smoother than he had ever known. The red carpet ran perfectly in between the walls as far as his eye could see—straight through the hall, the next room, and the hall after that.

The smell hit him next. It didn’t so much as saturate the air as it seemed to have sucked all smell from it. From the spotless walls and gleaming floor, it was all just too pristine compared to the Canterlot he had grown accustomed to. He shook off the light-headedness.

Cherry smiled at him and gestured around with a hoof. “So what do you think? Does it remind you of home?”

“Softer,” he growled. “I can’t imagine walking on this thing all day.”

“Huh. Really?” Cherry pondered for a moment. “Maybe that’s why the Princesses wear metal shoes all the time. This thing goes everywhere.” She snorted, but it didn’t erase the grin on her face. “At least that’s what they told me at orientation. It’ll lead you anywhere in the castle you want to go so long as you know where you’re going.”

He rolled his eyes. “Genius. Why use a map when you have a carpet?”

She shouldered past him. “And a guide! Let’s go.” They started down the hall. “To be frank, the first floor is mostly for show. Guard barracks, the servants’ quarters in another wing, and all we have here are the kitchens,” she titled her head to the right, “and a few supply rooms on the left.”

“All for show indeed,” he muttered. The hallway left them completely exposed. Half-columns etched with sparkling silver jutted out from the walls, but they were too shallow for hiding, nor were there any other options for cover. The right mask would take him farther than relying on stealth alone.

The end of the corridor opened into a cavernous room, framed with tapestries hanging on the walls and stained glass images of both sun and moon at the top of a regal staircase. Gold trimmed its railings, and the color was shared in the eight pointed star embroidered at the center of the room, where four paths of plush carpet met.

“The Grand Hall,” Cherry whispered, “where Princess Celestia likes to greet the important ponies right as they enter.” She nodded at the stairs. “We’re going onwards and upwards.”

A few sharp murmurs reached them from the far side, where three ponies gathered at the wall. A gray-maned stallion leered over two others—bent over, and eyes on the floor. The elder’s mouth snapped at them over and over until he noticed the newcomers in the hall.

Dawnbreaker tilted his head, tapping the brim of his hat.

The stallion adjusted his glasses and gave him a curt nod.

Another unicorn stallion mopped a spot near the stairs. He grunted as they passed. “Why bother walking on the floor when you can use the fancy carpet to clean your filthy mudhooves?”

His eyes snapped over his shoulder, but Cherry beat him to it.

“Just the way you like it, skull nub!”

He glanced back at the stupefied stallion and then over to Cherry Blossom, wide-eyed and staring straight ahead of herself. “Where did that—”

“What did I—”

“I—” They both started and climbed the first flight of stairs in stunned silence.

“Left,” Cherry said in a rush, nudging him that way. “Left, then we still need to go one more floor up.”

He followed her directions up the next flight and saw the second floor, almost an exact copy of the first. He looked over to Cherry—her stride rigid and eyes locked forward—and cleared his throat. “So. You said the guards were on patrol? We haven’t seen any yet.”

“Huh?” Cherry closed her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, what was that?”

“The guards,” he said, waving a wing in front of them as they reached the top of the stairs. “How do they manage to cover all of this?”

“Patrols.” She shrugged. “I guess they know what they’re doing. I’ve never asked about the details. They’ve gone by twos ever since the invasion, though. That’s been hard to miss with the grumbling I hear when they pass by.”

He cursed under his breath. “And it’s the same at night, I suppose.”

She smiled sheepishly. “From what I’ve seen when I had to stay a little late this week, yes. It is.”

He cursed again. His guard disguise would need a lie to explain why he traveled alone. A lie is a dangerous thing. The moment he used it, it would only be a matter of time until his lie was revealed as such, and the structure of the second floor mirrored all the problems of the first. He didn’t like his chances of avoiding detection.

Cherry turned and led him down another corridor. “The guards just keep an eye around here anyway. There’s nothing worth stealing or anything aside from some trinkets in the guest rooms.”

“So the servants sleep below, and the guests sleep up here.” He looked at her. “How about the Princesses? Third floor?”

She stifled a laugh. “You’re joking, right? You’ve already seen where they sleep.”

He blinked. “I have?”

Cherry pointed out of the nearest window to one of the towers rising high overhead. “One for each Princess. At least when they get finished renovating one for Luna.”

A sneer bared his teeth behind her back.

“Celestia has the biggest one, of course, but they all keep their chambers pretty private. I’ve never even been inside one of them.”

One mistake. One mistake, and he would be trapped between the guards below and an alerted Celestia above, and that was assuming there weren’t more guards on the way up. “You’ve never seen inside? Not even a single plant to water?” Nothing you can add? Anything?

She shrugged. “It’s their bedchambers. I’m not important enough to intrude on their privacy.”

Then who would be? “I thought they were your leaders.” He shook his head. “They lock themselves up in towers to keep you out? That doesn’t make sense. How can they know what’s happening if they’re cut off like that?”

“They live here, Dawn, and so do the chamberlains and the other senior staff members. I’ve seen them scurry down the halls to the tower doors more than a few times.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why? How does it work back home?”

“My lady stays near the heart of our home most of the time. She likes to know about everything that’s going on.”

She rolled her eyes. “A little fussy, don’t you think? Doesn’t she trust you?”

He gave a firm nod. “Of course she does. We just know that everything we do can affect us all. She likes to keep some control over that.”

His thoughts drifted down to the three ponies’ discussion on the first floor. The elder stallion had been dominant over the other two. Another potential mask, perhaps with more control than a guard, but also with more questions to answer, more time he needed to spend inside a castle he only now had access to.

Cherry walked on, telling him the qualities of a library on the corner of the floor.

He listened, but his eyes returned again and again to the tower outside. Celestia has the biggest one. His wings twitched under the blanket. He knew where he needed to be, but the direct way carried its own risks. Anypony, guard or otherwise, flying to Celestia’s private chamber in broad daylight would raise one alarm or another, and the cover of night would also bring more sky patrols to spot him.

“...book said, but I guess you would know more than me. So what do you think? Have you worked with weather before?”

He shook his head. The pieces fit. They have to fit.

“Huh. Well, it was just a thought. No big deal.”

All the variables—time and stealth and risk and efficiency—ran through his mind, and he only had one chance to get them all right. He tried to push them away, climbing another staircase to the third floor. Whatever Cherry was leading him towards, she would expect him to be alert and attentive.

The platoon of Royal Guards in front of him after he reached the top took care of that.

A breath later, he realized none of them were looking at him. Instead, they faced each other, about a dozen in all, lined up on opposite sides of a long hall. Two golden doors stood at end, towering over them. His heart raced, and he fought to control a grin as he studied the most secure location he had seen in all the castle.

Cherry nudged him, hissing, “Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn!”

He followed her advice, dipping his head low before a guard broke formation and looked at his face. “Is that what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s the throne room, yes.” Her tail snapped against his barrel. “You’re trying to stay undercover, remember? What were you staring right at them for?”

“You could have warned me,” he said, glancing back at the hallway. “Waving a chunk of meat in front of the bear, aren’t we?”

“First of all, ew! Second, why would somepony wave a chunk of meat in front of a bear?”

“To get it to move out of a path so others can walk safely by it, or to lure it out of its cave for shelter.”

“I...” Cherry blinked and looked at him oddly. “I suppose?” She coughed. “Anyway, we had to go this way. In fact, we’re here.” She stopped and pointed to the corner at the end of the hallway.

His eyes followed her point to a potted plant, and he froze. “We’re here?”

“Yep! There it is!”

He walked up to it, to the slender piece of wood that barely came up to his chest. “This is your pride and joy?”

She beamed at him. “Princess Celestia visited my shack personally when she found out I had it. She asked me to put it here so she can watch its progress every day.”

“It’s...” It’s a stick. It’s a stick with leaves. He sighed. “This is another one of those earth pony things, isn’t it?”

Her hoof covered his. “No, it really isn’t. This is a tree, Dawn.”

“Ahhhh.” He tilted his back, taking a second look. “I see it now. Gotcha.” He nodded. “Yeah, the twigs with the leaves will grow out into branches. Okay. So it’s some kind of special tree, then? Really rare, and pretty young, right? A... seedling, you called them?”

She giggled. “Sapling, Dawn, and no, it isn’t. Nor is it rare. It’s a perfectly average tree that you’ve seen dozens of times over in your life.”

“I’m... lost.”

Cherry squeezed his hoof. “It survived the invasion. One of the changelings destroyed it. It was beautiful once, barely a decade old, and it was smashed into kindling.”

He felt her touch fade away as she lifted her leg to play with the leaves.

“Some guards were clearing debris out of the garden that night, while the wedding reception was still going strong. I just... I saw this branch alone on the ground, and I had to do something. So I brought it to my shack, put it in the pot, and gave it some water.” She sighed. “I couldn’t even risk helping it with magic. Not when it was that fragile. It might have grown too dependant on me and withered away as soon as my magic did.”

“You mean it’s still alive?” He brushed a hoof against its leaves as well. “What happens to it now?”

She smiled at him. “It will grow again. In time. A year or so, and then the new roots will be strong enough to replant it. The Princess told me she’s already thinking of places to put it.”

“I’ve seen the gardens, Cherry. They’re not exactly missing one tree. What good would that do?”

She chewed her lip for a moment, not meeting his gaze. “This is why I brought...” She clenched her eyes shut, and her hoof held her face. “Sorry, I thought I had something for this.” The hoof wiped her eyes, and a determined look followed it. “I’m not an idiot, Dawn. I know why you’re here.”

He tilted his head. “Of course you do. I told you why I was—”

“I mean, I know why your lady sent you here. Now. It was because of this,” she said, pointing at the little tree. “It was because of the invasion. I’m willing to bet anything she figured the changelings scared some nobles out of town, and she could swoop in like a vulture and claim what was left behind.”

It was his turn to avoid her gaze. “Partly right.” How much else could she figure out? “I don’t think I should—”

“Please, Dawn, I’m not asking you to say anything against her. I just want you to know I understand. I...” She sat down with a sigh. “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I just thought this would be easier.”

“That’s alright. It hasn’t been too easy for me, either.” He sat next to her. “I’m not exaggerating when I say coming to Canterlot changed my life. You’ve helped me more than I ever expected.”

“I’m glad. Maybe...” Cherry rubbed her leg. “I think I know what you meant, about not belonging here. I stayed up all night after the attack, when I started taking care of the tree. I was too on edge to sleep, here or at home. It took me so long to feel safe in Canterlot again. Actually safe.”

He nodded. “I guess that day uprooted us both.”

Her voice was soft, almost a whimper. “And we came together.”

His breath caught.

Cherry took the opportunity to compose herself. “That’s why I wanted you to see this. The tree will regrow its roots, and, and we fell in together like this. We could—” She took a breath. “How about dinner at my apartment tonight? I can cook. I’ll grab some food from the kitchen before I leave tonight, and we can talk about...” She bowed her head, smiling. “We can talk about what we have.”

He gawked at her.

No.

She didn’t notice, just kept playing with the leaves.

No.

He opened his mouth.

Say no. You have what you need.

No words came out. He had no roots in Canterlot, yet no words came out. He was tasked to kill the ponies’ goddess and leave them all behind until they came for their vengeance against him and his Hive. That was his mission, and it lay behind a platoon of guards, not here beside him.

And no words came out.

Cherry lifted her eyes from the ground, but she looked at the tree instead of him. The smile remained on her profile, but her eyes were unreadable.

He had no time for hesitation, but his voice still would not speak the word. Every moment only postponed the inevitable: her fragile features breaking like glass, either from his reply or from his incessant silence.

He never planned to hurt her. Her role was supposed to end, and he would leave her in peace forevermore.

I don’t want to hurt her...

He followed the thought as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to hurt her. Silverbolt let her have her way. Guards grumbled about their assignments around her. She was the answer.

The pieces fit.

He smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

Cherry let out a heavy breath, something between a sigh and a laugh, and she nearly bent completely over. “Finally!”

“Finally.” He grinned and looked over her again, every dimple and crease of her smile-crinkled face, the smooth roundness of her barrell and the sweeping lines of her flanks. Every detail committed to a perfect mental image of her. “You caught me off guard with that.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” She turned aside from his scrutiny, laughing. “Next time—”

“Stop! Stop laughing!” he said, stifling his own chuckles. “Keep our cover!”

Cherry sucked in her lips and nodded. “Then I guess it’s time to make our exit.”

“Yes, it is.” He motioned for her to lead the way and fell in step beside her, taking one last look at the throne room before they took the stairs. There was only one thing left to decide. “So when should we meet?”

“I should be done here by sunset, and I’ll be heading straight home. You can meet me there, if you’d like.”

Night it is. He nodded. “I remember the way. Should I bring anything?”

“Not at all!” Cherry didn’t try and stop her giggles anymore. “I’ll take care of everything. There’s a few veggies in the kitchen that are just begging to go in a stir fry, and if you’re really lucky, I might just whip up a batch of my mother’s rose hip soup for dessert!”

“Sounds good!” At least she’ll have a good meal to ease the disappointment. He spent the rest of way out studying all the halls and stairways he had seen, plotting them out in relation to the towers. Celestia’s tower—and any defenses it had—was still a wild card, but he saw no way to reduce its risk without seeing it personally.

Two guards stood at attention by their exit to the promenade. While he dipped his face to the ground, he noticed Cherry smile at one of them, and the guard returned it, letting them pass without a word. He needed that advantage. If nothing else, her guise might buy him a mistake or two.

Cherry led him back through the Party Grounds. “So do you think you can make it back out on your own? I could probably—”

“I’m still thinking about that, honestly.” His gaze lingered on the Arboreal Garden. Its branches could easily hide him until dusk.

He dismissed the idea after a minute’s thought. His body needed time to adjust to a smaller form like Cherry’s, and his room offered far more privacy.

Cherry stepped inside her shack and poked at one of the water cans. “I have to get back to work if I’m going to finish by sundown, so if you need help, I kind of need to know now.”

“No help.” He took off the hat. “I’ll be fine. Do you need the blanket?”

“Yes, I do.” She pulled it off and draped it around her shoulders. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I usually am.” He watched her leave, waiting a moment for her to get a head start. A brief look outside confirmed there were no eyes on the shack, and a flash of green restored his guard form. Tonight was the time, but for now, he had to wait.

Only a little longer.

Chapter 9

His jaw went slack, and he stepped back from his Master—and her order. “What?”

“I know your ears work,” Chrysalis snapped, stepping forward and killing the distance he had created. “Your training is over. The Hive has given you your first mission. Kill me.”

The words echoed in the empty cavern, inescapable and unmistakable in their brevity.

He trembled under them. Their authority demanded his obedience, but they were impossible to follow, regardless of the consequences of his success. Not once in all his training had he been able to so much as scratch her hide with a strike or a bolt. He looked into her eyes and spoke the truth. “I can’t.”

A wave of green fire threw him to the ground before he even noticed her horn glow. “I did not train a coward! Get up! You will not fail me!”

Cherry Blossom’s reflection stared back at him from the sliding door mirror. He smiled, and the muscles in his face took the new positions he had drilled into them over the afternoon. The untouched bed behind him faded away in his mind, replaced by tables of seated and chatting unicorns and potted plants hanging underneath an awning, and the face in the mirror did not look out of place.

He could almost smell it again, the cheese and onion soup they had shared there in the cafe.

He dropped the smile, biting down on his lower lip. With a tilt of his head, strands of his new white mane covered his face. He held back a laugh and brushed them away with his hoof. It felt just as soft as he remembered in the alley.

Pacing the length of the room, his body felt lighter than it had when he first took Cherry’s form, but the flow of magic under his skin still brushed against his mind, pushing for the return to his usual size. The aches had faded over the hours, however, and he barely felt them as he strolled by the mirror once more.

Satisfied, he gave in at last, and both muscles and magic stretched out, shifting Cherry’s image to Dawnbreaker. Dawnbreaker shifted to the guard, the guard to Cherry, until one final flash of green left his true form looking back at him.

He studied his reflection carefully. No sweat dripped from his brow, nor did his breath fog the mirror. His backplate remained straight in its proper place, and his gleaming fangs bared in a grin.

Briefly, he wondered what Celestia would think of him in her final moments, when she saw his glowing eyes staring into hers, and her cry for help bled from the wounds in her throat. A monster, most likely, or simply an enemy, at best. She would never see him as he did: a proud changeling serving the duty he had been assigned by his Queen and family.

Dawnbreaker returned, and he surveyed the room behind him. A few scraps of food remained in the wicker baskets by the nightstand, but he had eaten his fill. Bits were still strewn about the nightstand, offering a few more comforts on his way out of Equestria. He left them behind.

Canterlot’s skyline glowed in the setting sunlight outside, but he looked away from it. The flow of ponies on the street had trickled down to a stream, and he walked alongside them, ready to taste the fresh water of a true river on his tongue, something no pony or amount of bits had been able to give him in this city.

He slipped into an alley, ducked out of sight behind a corner, and flew up to the rooftops. The alleys and backroads had been his hope the last two weeks, and even as he looked down on them now his mind played out the most efficient ways to run through them, his imaginary self dashing around corners and under cover to escape the guards.

Patchwork patterns in the stone stood out to him, his guides for his early days here, but now he let himself look to the sky, opening up to him behind the castle towers in the distance. After tonight, there would be no reason to dip and duck in Canterlot’s alleys. He could vanish into the starlight beyond Canterlot, and the wilderness it promised, with all the forests and mountains and pathways he had traveled with the Hive.

He was going home.

The grocery store on Ninth Street passed by, and he stopped, chuckling and brushing a hoof by his muzzle, her phantom touch ghosting through his memory.

Focus.

Living among the ponies did nothing to teach him a distinction between history and legend, but both claimed Celestia had lived for over a thousand years. Wishing and wanting her death accomplished nothing.

He looked again at the castle towers getting closer and closer with each roof he crossed. Even now, he could see one jutting up just a bit higher than the others, one that was a bit wider as well. For so long, he had seen the castle as one giant thing, but now he saw the one place he needed to be. He had all the tools and information he needed. It was time to bring it together.

Before that, he had to slip by the guards one last time. He scanned the sky again, but he was still too far away to make out any golden shines in the waxing moonlight.

More importantly, he had to wait for his signal to enter. His eyes dropped to the streets below. The sun had set, and it was time for her to leave, yet he reached the edge of the city against the castle walls before he saw her.

Cherry Blossom stepped onto the street, looking back as one of the guards spoke. She smiled and spoke in return, something that made both guards laugh, and her as well. Her cheer lingered as she trotted away.

He smiled in kind as he watched her slender body cut through the crowded way. She kept her head up to see, and she danced around every pony in her way, flicking her hair away from her eyes when it fell too close. Her steps were light and unencumbered by any burden he could perceive, and nothing slowed her stride as it carried her farther and farther away from him.

Two guards remained at the gate, and the sky patrols—

He turned away from the castle and searched the ponies below, watching her until she was swallowed up by the flow of carts along the street. “Be safe.”

Keeping watch on the sky, he made his way along the roof. Though he couldn’t see it over the wall, he reached a point directly across from Cherry’s shack. A flight of pegasi swooped down, and a pair of unicorns on the ramparts waved up to them. The two squads moved apart from each other, and he glided down between them, dipping inside the shack.

A sliver of moonlight followed him, far too little to hide his transformation. After his eyes adjusted to the dark, he walked around the clutter to reach the workbench, and the blanket hanging over its side. He slung it over himself and huddled down, shifting forms as quickly as he could.

His body groaned in protest for a brief moment, but it quickly faded. He stood up and pulled the blanket off with a pink hoof. A quick look back confirmed his white tail and the five petals on his flank.

He rummaged through the shack and found a watering can, and he filled it from the hose. Taking it in his mouth, he stepped back into the night and turned around the corner to the gardens.

The faint calls of an owl accompanied him along the way to the ballroom—and towards the guards that would be waiting at the end of the promenade. He stopped and took a breath before stepping off the path, and he charged through the cool grass of the Party Grounds at a reckless gallop.

Two guard stood at the purple doors, and he skidded to a halt in front of them, spilling water to the ground and over his chest. He turned his head back and forth between the guards over and over again, wrapping his lips around the can’s handle as he chewed on it.

One of them hid a smile behind his hoof. “You forgot again? This is the third time this week! What’s gotten into you lately?”

He let a low whine escape his throat.

The second pushed the door open with a chuckle. “Now, now. There’s no need for that. Go on through.”

He sighed, drooping his shoulders, and tried to flash them both a smile past the handle. He darted through.

Torches lined the hallway, and the whispers of their flames were the only sound he could hear in the stillness as he strolled along the carpet. The Grand Hall lay ahead, bathed in moonlight alone, and a pair of shapes made their way through it, heading for the far hallway.

One stopped and turned to face him, the gleaming gold of his armor catching the light as he did so.

He couldn’t make out a face, but he flapped his tail overhead as he continued toward the Hall.

The guard waved a hoof and followed his partner.

Celestia’s tower rose from the heart of the castle. He elected to follow the guards deeper into the halls rather than climb to the second floor. With luck, no other patrols would follow in their wake, and their inspection—coupled with his sense of direction—would lead him to the foot of his goal. He quickened his pace.

One last door lay on his left before he entered the Hall, and it swung open just as he passed by.

He glanced over, smiling at whoever opened it.

Cherry Blossom stepped out with a relieved sigh, carrying a bag of vegetables in her mouth.

They stopped.

Her eyes widened.

His narrowed.

Cherry took a breath.

He charged her, dropping the mask, and her scream choked off into a gasp. He tackled her back into the room, dropped the water can out of his fangs, and thrust a black hoof into her mouth, glaring down. “What—”

She bit deep into the soft underside of her impromptu gag, and the fire in her eyes matched his. Her head jerked, tearing at his hoof.

Growling, he bit down on his lip and vented the pain. “Stop—”

Her hoof smacked against his jaw.

He hooked his free foreleg around hers and twisted her around, pinning her other leg under her body. A muffled yip relieved the pain of her teeth, and he seized the distraction by straddling her hind legs with his own.

She frantically shook her head, writhing in his grip, but her eyes betrayed her. They flicked over his shoulder.

The door!

He glanced back, seeing it still open, and seeing one of her hooves lift as high as it could go over the cold tile floor. He risked another green flash, and smiled down at her with Dawnbreaker’s mask.

She gasped, and her jaw went limp. The tension—the fight—left her muscles, and her body let his sink closer, pinning her further. No air passed over his leg from her nose or mouth.

Dawnbreaker kept his smile, and he tilted his head back to the door. “Don’t. Scream.”

She nodded slowly.

He got up and peeked into the hallway, perking his ears up. Nothing. He shut the door and turned back to Cherry. “What are you doing here?”

Her tail tucked between her hind legs, and they pulled tight against her body—completely exposed under the hanging bulb in the center of the pantry. One of her fores lifted, pointing a shaking hoof at the scattered vegetables next to the shelves.

“Right. Dinner.” He groaned and rubbed his head, dropping Dawnbreaker to take his true form again.

Cherry pulled her legs tighter in. “Where’s Dawn?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Wh-where’s Dawn?”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes!” She pushed herself halfway up, two tracks of tears tears glistening down her cheeks. “Tell me he’s okay. Tell me you didn’t hurt him! Please!”

He cocked his head. “I am Dawn. I was always Dawn.”

“No.” Her eyes searched his, and he stared back until she sank down, gaping at him in a wide-eyed stupor. “Y-you’re a changeling. You kidnap ponies. It can’t... you’re not Dawn.”

“We met at your favorite diner, and you slipped your peach pie on my check.” The memory played briefly as he said it, and he shoved it aside, continuing on. “I helped you carry a delivery to the gate, and you told me about working here along the way. You told me it would be my turn to talk the next time we met, and I did, when I told you about serving my Queen.”

She shook her head. “No...”

He nodded. “I walked beside you in the gardens, and you showed me the roses. I walked with you into the alley after I found you again. I even walked you home, like a gentlecolt through and through.”

A word failed to pass her lips, and she pressed a hoof to them. “I kissed you.”

He tapped his cheek. “You did.”

Her lip quivered. “I trusted you...”

“You helped me, and you can help me again.” He crouched down to her eye level. “I need to see Princess Celestia. What’s the fastest way to her tower?”

She crept away from him. “Who are you? Really?”

“I am a servant of the Hive. That’s all that matters.”

She shook her head. “You—”

“Celestia,” he said, taking a step forward. “How do I find her?”

“Why? Why are you here?”

He stood, studying her for a long moment, preparing his story. “Because you were right. My Queen sent me here because of the invasion. We lost, badly, and I’m here to deliver a message for her.”

“Why me?” Her eyes glistened. “Why did you use me?”

“You were here after the battle was over, just like I was.” He pointed towards the gate, and to the city. “I didn’t exactly have the option of showing myself out there. I would have been slaughtered.”

She retreated behind her mane. “You know the guards hate you, too. You looked like me. You came here at night, asking where the Princess sleeps. I—” She gulped, and whispered, “I don’t believe you. You aren’t a messenger.”

“Well, I never called you an idiot.” He reached out and pulled her hair away. “Believe what you want, but I am going to see Princess Celestia tonight. Will you tell me where she is?”

Cherry’s gaze lingered on his hoof. “I can’t let you go.”

He laughed. “You really are loyal to her, aren’t you? Another point you were right about—we’re too similar in that regard.” He bent down, but she didn’t move a hair. “I came here tonight because I thought you would be out of the way. Leave.”

She looked at him—eyes clear and focused—and made to stand up. “Only if you come with me.”

He snapped his jaws inches from her face, smirking as Cherry clenched her eyes and lowered herself back down. “You’re not in much of a position to make demands.”

“Neither are you,” she shot back. “Something else we have in common, Dawn.”

“Don’t call me that!”

She tried to stammer out a word, swallowed, and met his eyes. “You held me. When I cried in the alley. A-after you brushed my hair away. Why?”

“Because...” I had to. You needed me to. I needed you— He shook his head clear. “You helped my mission. It was a small price to pay.”

“Well, don’t stop there.” She let out a chuckle. “What about last night? You were there for me. Tell me that was a lie.”

What is she playing at? “No. It wasn’t.”

Her lips curved up into a small smile. “You said you’d let me go. You’re still worried about me. If you wanted to hurt me now or anytime this week, I couldn’t stop you. But you never tried. I know you won’t.” She touched his hoof, and began to push herself up—slowly. “I know you.”

Snarling, he lunged forward, and Cherry fell back to the floor. “You know what I wanted you to know! The only reason you’re still alive is because Chrysalis told the world we exist! You don’t know how many I’ve killed to keep that secret.” He snapped his fangs at her again. “I killed my own brother!”

Cherry threw a leg over her face.

“Every second I’ve spent in this city has lead to this, Cherry! I’m sick of it. Set me free. Tell me where she is!”

She shook her head. “They’ll kill you!”

He pounded his hoof. “I am a killer!”

“I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“Stop pretending you care, pony!” He opened his magic to her, ready to feel the truth of his words, and a hot coal burrowed through his flesh and bone to settle in his heart. He sprang away from her, clutching at his chest.

Cherry reached for him, but her leg curled back to her chest. Her others braced themselves on the floor, and she worried at her lip.

Impossible. He was a changeling. She was a pony. Yet the coal still seared his veins. “What are you?”

“I... I’m a friend.” She stood and took a tentative step forward. “I’m your friend, Dawn.”

Dawn. A pony. A friend. A mask. “Don’t call me that.”

She sat down. “Then what should I call you?”

Brother. That was all he was. He sat, trying to hear it in her voice. It sounded strange. “I don’t have a name.”

She studied him, her eyes flicking between his, and looking him over. “Okay.” Her hoof ran through her mane. “Okay.” It fiddled on the floor. “Okay, you need to get out of here. Where are the others?”

The Hive. But she was a pony. “I don’t know.”

Her hoof returned to her hair. “Okay. How many are here? Can we get out before the guards find them?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t seen any others since they were launched from the city. I’m alone.”

“But... there were so many...” She covered her face. “This doesn’t make any sense! Why would they send you alone?”

“I was supposed to protect us. Keep us secret. Now the world knows we exist.” He sighed. “We’ll never be safe again, but I still have my role. Chrysalis trained me to be her weapon. I have to strike.”

Cherry grabbed his hoof. “Don’t sit there and tell me you’re a weapon! A weapon can’t feel like you can! You’re more than that! I felt it! Surely you can feel it, too.”

He saw the blue glow of his eyes reflected in hers—unflinching and unafraid, pulling him in to take the full measure of him. He leaned away, averting his gaze.

Her face drifted back into view. “I can get you out of the city. If we hurry, we can catch a late train to Ponyville. I’ll pay your way. I’ll even give you a letter for my parents. You can spend a few days there and leave whenever you’re ready. No one has to know you were here.”

News of the death of a goddess would ring from all corners of the world. If he returned with silence... “My family would know. I can’t go home a coward.”

“Then start over! If they don’t care if you live or die, you need to find a new home!”

He twisted the hoof that held his, pulling her closer and baring his fangs with a low growl. His breath blew against her mane, but the blue reflections in her eyes remained stubbornly fixed and steady. “Celestia. Now.”

She blinked and looked away. “Third floor. Down the hall from the tree I showed you. There’s... there’s a stairwell that goes up to a museum. You want the doors across from it.”

He eased away, letting go of her hoof. “Go home, Cherry. Go home, and let the guards see you leave. I promise not to use your face anymore. Whatever happens tonight, you won’t be affected.”

She shook her head and choked off a sound that might have been a laugh. “You know that isn’t true.”

“Then stay. Just don’t interfere.” He turned away, raising a hoof to the door.

“You didn’t hurt me, you know.”

He froze, and his hoof rested on the door, his muscles tense. “You’re right.” But she was also loyal to Celestia. She owed Celestia more than he could give her. Leaving her was a risk.

She touched his shoulder, and he acted, pivoting and lashing out with his hoof.

Cherry fell, sprawled out on the floor, her rising and falling chest her only sign of life. He turned away, closing his eyes to her and pushing lightly on the door, stopping just before it opened.

It would only take a moment. He pulled out a sack of flour and rested her head on it. He brushed her mane behind her ear, and whispered into it: “Don’t follow me.”

The halls were clear, and he ascended to the second floor.

Chapter 10

His entire body ached from the blows he had taken over the last half hour. He pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the four hooves where only his two should have been.

“Again.”

Sweat blurred his vision, but Chrysalis’ green eyes were unmistakable. He wiped the burning drops away.

“I’m waiting.”

Failure. That was the only alternative. He charged, and Chrysalis swatted him away with one swing of her hoof. His head struck the hard stone, and his body rolled to a stop. He wiped his brow, seeing his hoof stained with blood and the cavern spinning behind it.

“Get up!”

Two guards patrolled the moonlit hallway of the second floor, and he followed in his natural form, the soft carpet absorbing the sound of his steps. The shadows of pegasi outside sweeping across the windows kept his progress in check, just begging another patrol to come from behind and spot him.

He avoided the panels of light spilling inside by springing to the opposite wall and pressing himself behind the slight cover of the semi-circular columns, and he checked both ahead and behind him for any sign he had been seen or heard before leaping back to his silent path. Then he had to dart forward to make up the lost ground between himself and the patrol, hoping the discipline of their routine would maintain his relatively safe buffer.

Hoping.

No plan ever survived completely intact all the way through a mission, but this one had fallen apart far more spectacularly than he could have anticipated. After all the time he had spent planning and preparing for this night, he resorted to skulking through the halls like a common thief, little better off than if he had infiltrated on his first night and saved himself the confusion of the last two weeks.

It was his own fault. He had failed to remember Cherry’s plan, and she—

No. Not failed. Neglected.

He had watched her leave, had even taken in every detail he could from a distance, and he never let himself look at her through the lens of his mission again. He had been sentimental. For a pony.

And he still was, creeping along the halls in his own skin instead of hers, even after she rejected his offer to keep her anonymous.

Leaping around the next patch of light, he wondered if he would have been better off coming in blind. His mind would have been clear that way, unburdened with any thoughts of keeping a pony safe and—

He sank his fangs into his own lip, holding on until he screamed at himself for mercy. The pain was real right now, just as the swooping shadows of pegasi were real, and the coolness of the wall he was pressed against. He had one chance, and he had no idea what Cherry would do when she woke up, if she hadn’t already. The directions she gave him were the only thing that mattered now.

Third floor. Down the hall. Across from the stairwell. The guards continued past the foot of the stairs, and he left their wake, climbing up to see the doors to the throne room closed and barred. He pointedly looked away from the twig of a tree in the corner as he stalked past it.

No guards stood in his way, and the windows of the hall looked down on a walled in courtyard. He stepped quickly, deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle, eager to reach his destination before it was time for a patrol to sweep by again.

Finding the stairwell was not an issue, as his path led him to its third floor landing, and he could see its spiral winding its way both to the lower floors and higher above. The two doors across from it were a plain wood, and he pushed against them.

Their creaks as they opened ripped through the silence, and he dipped inside and shut them as quickly as he could. A hollow thud announced his presence, moving ahead of him into the corridor, returning strange, rattling echoes.

A long line of free-hanging lanterns dangled from the ceiling, casting shadows along the corridor, and their light spilled onto the empty suits of armor mounted at attention along both walls. His hooves clacked on the bare floor, and he slowed his stride, inspecting the armors along his way.

The first ones he passed closely resembled what he had seen on the guards, but the farther he walked from the door, the more foreign they became, as though he were walking backwards into the past. The sheer amount of metal both increased and decreased, covering more of the prospective soldier wearing it, or allowing more flexibility. Heavy plates weighed against each other on one, and across from it, one solid piece covered a mannequin’s back, from the top of the head down to the tail, and nothing else.

As he walked under each lantern, there was enough light to make out the walls behind the armor, and the paintings that hung there. Most showed a large white pony—Celestia herself, judging from the presence of both wings and a horn—portrayed in some moment of glory. Darker shapes bowed before her, or some variant of armor he had seen stood beside her, or some other creatures and ponies clasped forelegs under her gaze.

In spite of himself, he admired Celestia for her trophies. She had lived a long life, and it was only natural to showcase her longevity and achievements. The display demanded the respect of her visitors, and it certainly earned his.

And right before he turned the corner for the next corridor, he saw the moon—as it had been for all the years of his life.

He stopped and stared at the black face and elongated horn against the silver backdrop for the first time in months, and the Moon Queen looked out at him over the Equestrian mountaintops of the canvas.

No. Princess Luna. Or... Mare in the Moon?

Whatever the ponies called it, she had watched over him on every mission and for every battle he fought. Her appearance in the sky marked the one time of day he and his family could walk freely and unmasked away from the Hive. Chrysalis herself had been at a complete loss to explain her sudden disappearance, and the weeks spent until news from Equestria trickled to the caves were the most fearful he could remember.

Pony or no, he was glad to see her one last time. Events in Equestria had changed the face of the heavens for not just the Hive, but the entire world, and now she would see him off to change the face of Equestria.

He bowed his head and stepped back, then turned and headed for the stairway behind him, stopping cold at its base.

It was ruined. A section of the steps themselves was simply gone, surrounded by cracks and gashes in the remaining stairs. A sheet of plastic hung from the wall over a set-up of planks and metal bars.

Shapes flitted by, and he ducked under the scaffolding, cursing under his breath again and again. Down the hall from the tree, across from the stairwell. That’s what she said!

Muffled voices came through the thin barrier, and he backed away. The stairs lead to a museum, so I wanted the doors across from them. He froze. Museum...

The loud creak from the doors echoed behind him, and he spun around, bumping one of the armored suits. It struck the wall, and he pinned it there before it could wobble any further, easing it back into place and ducking behind it as he heard the doors shut.

He knew who had come, who it had to be, but he dreaded it even as her hooves and her voice echoed down the hall. “I heard that.”

Cherry’s voice sent shivers down his spine. He pressed himself against the wall behind the armor, but he didn’t hear her coming closer.

“We haven’t finished our conversation, and something tells me you won’t be flying out of the hole in the wall. The door is locked upstairs too, just in case you didn’t get that far yet.”

He leaned his head against the wall, hissing a laugh through his clenched teeth. Fool. She got you again.

“I’m not coming after you, either. You know this door creaks, and I’m not going to give you the time to slip past me. I’m sitting right here, and we’re going to talk about this.”

She’s not going to— He thought he heard a something settle on the floor, and he crept around his hiding spot, crawling along the floor to the corner, and peered through the legs of the phantom guards to see Cherry Blossom sitting down and staring straight ahead.

Her tail whipped against the floor. “Fine. I’ll talk, and you listen, because I know you’re listening. I woke up on a pillow, Dawn, or whatever I should call you. If you’re trying to prove you don’t care about me, you aren’t doing a very good job.”

His mouth opened, but his mind caught up to it in time to stop his words. He pulled himself away, sitting with his back to the wall.

“Is it really this hard to believe I care about you? Why? I know more than you wanted me to know. Whatever Dawn was, I always had the feeling he was being honest with me. Even when he snapped at me, or when he went quiet, I thought I was seeing someone real. That was you in those moments, wasn’t it? You showed me your heart before you showed me your face. Look me in the eye and tell me I’m wrong.”

He clenched his eyes shut.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you made up everything you shared with me. Look me in the eye and tell me how standing up for me helped you sneak inside. Look me in the eye and tell me you lied about courage.”

Escape. The merciful silence lingered, but his hooves wouldn’t move, nor did he even know which way they needed to go.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t understand how I could care about you.”

Away. Away from her. He would have to risk flying out. Alone.

“You don’t have to do this. There’s no war for you to fight! Please, let me help you. Please.” Whispers of her ragged breathing reached his ears. “You don’t deserve what they’ll... I just want you safe. That’s all.”

Slowly, silently, he walked away, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Her hoof cracked on the floor. “I know you hear me!”

He stopped, her words wrapping around him like an echo of thunder, replaced with the sounds of the door creaking open, and Cherry’s yelp.

“I could have heard you on the second floor.”

Shining Armor. He looked back, straining his ears. Now what?

“I’ve never seen you this high this late at night, Cherry Blossom. What are you doing here?”

He skittered to the corner, waiting for her response.

“Assertiveness training. I bought a self-help book, and I didn’t want to bother my neighbors.” A pause. “A friend of mine is being very stubborn with me all of a sudden.”

He stopped himself from laughing again and retook his position underneath the armor. They sat across from each other with the door behind them, Shining Armor in his helmet and backplate, but Cherry Blossom had backed away, turning one side of her face into the shadows.

His hoof trembled, remembering its last strike.

“A friend. I could believe that.” Shining Armor lowered his head, leveling his eyes at her. “But it doesn’t explain how you were seen entering both the front and rear entrances.”

Cherry shrugged. “I came in the front, and then ran around to the back. I figured it would be faster.”

“Faster to climb stairs by running away from them?” Shining Armor held his look for a long moment, craning his neck to meet her gaze, but Cherry dipped her face further. He finally dropped his efforts with a heavy sigh. “I know you don’t trust me, Cherry. I let you down when you needed me to find—”

“You know I don’t blame—”

Shining Armor raised a hoof. “Regardless of my failures, I am good at my job.” He stepped forward, looking down on her, and Cherry hunched over. “Every instinct I have is screaming at me that something is going on right under my nose, and I know you have something to do with it.”

The door creaked open again, and two more guards stepped through. One of them whispered in Shining Armor’s ear, and he nodded in reply. “Go home, Cherry. Now.” He watched her slip through the doorway, and looked at the guards. “You, keep an eye on her. Make sure she leaves. You, make sure this hall is clear.”

The guards saluted as he left, and split up, one following Shining Armor out, and the other heading towards the armor that made his hiding place.

He slid around the corner and took cover behind another suit, calling upon his magic, and the transformation to the pegasus guard swept over him. He rapped his newly armored hoof on the floor.

“Who’s there?!”

“Whoa!” He fought back a grin and held up a hoof as the unicorn charged around the corner. “We thought we heard a scream a minute ago, and then some voices. Is everything okay?”

The guard relaxed, sighing deeply. “Yeah, it’s all clear. I don’t suppose you saw anything strange out there?”

“Not a thing.”

“Good. Hey, listen.” He leaned closer. “Cap is pretty on edge tonight. It’d be smart for you boys to stick together and keep to the book.”

He nodded. “Got it. Thanks for the heads-up.” He turned away, listening to the guard’s retreating steps, waiting for the sound of the door to drop his disguise and turn back.

The signal came, and he marched back to the door. He was close. He had to be, and he believed he knew where to go.

How do you trick someone? Tell them half of the truth.

Cherry had fooled him by sending him the right way. He trusted her directions because of that, and they left one obvious landmark for him to check: the stairwell.

No more games. With the guard’s warning still fresh in his mind, he assumed Dawnbreaker once more. He wasted no time, taking flight with the pegasi’s silent feathers instead of the hum of his own wings as soon as he stepped out, following the underside of the spiral stairs for a time—charging up the center when he failed to see any other halls or floors connected to them.

His vision blurred, save for the one clear spot amid the tunnel getting larger and larger every time he beat his wings, and all he heard was the rush of wind by his ears until the stairwell emptied into a spacious room.

Bookshelves and potted ferns dotted the walls, and a telescope sat outside an enormous window looking out to the heavens. He landed in the center of a rug with an image of the sun sewn into it. His heart raced at the sight of his hooves standing over Celestia’s symbol, but he had not found her yet. He spotted a door on the far wall, and it swung open on his first step forward.

Shining Armor stepped out, and his eyes narrowed as they landed on him. “You!” His horn glowed.

Snarling, Dawnbreaker burned away to his true form, and he fired a bolt, which struck Shining Armor’s horn. He flew forward, closing the distance as the stallion flinched, but his blow struck a disc of purple energy summoned in the blink of an eye.

The Captain snapped out a foreleg, snagging his, horn igniting with another attack.

He twisted his neck, and the bolt of violet energy streaked past his head, far too close. Shining Armor was too powerful—too well-trained and too versed in the magic arts for him to win an exchange of spells. He needed to keep the fight on his terms.

Shining yanked his leg down, and he hit the floor, rolling with the momentum and out of the line of fire to lay on his side, still locked hoof-to-hoof with his opponent.

Braced against the floor and, using his weight as an anchor to hold Shining in place, he kicked a hind leg into the stallion’s barrel—unprotected by armor. He felt the hoof feebly pull against his grip, and he kicked again, slumping the stallion over. He wrapped his hind legs around Shining Armor’s body and twisted his own, tripping the Captain over himself and sending him crashing down.

He scrambled to his feet, saw Shining Armor sprawled out on his back, and sprang forward, fangs bared. Shining’s forelegs shot up to catch him, and his jaws snapped shut inches from his target. He thrashed, lunging forward again and again, but the cold metal of the armored hooves only sank deeper into his skin, never closing those final inches.

The hooves pushed him away. He and Shining Armor traded glares. A flash of purple caught his eye, and he twisted his head away from the next shot, but he misjudged the target.

Shining Armor’s beam slammed into his chest, and the constant stream of energy blasted him into the air. His head struck the ceiling, the beam faded, and he crashed to the ground, crushing a potted plant under him.

The world spun around him, and he tried to crawl away. Too late. He felt his hind legs seize up, and his front hooves clawed at the ground desperately before they were frozen as well. He was lifted upright into the air in a violet haze, spinning around to face his fate.

Shining Armor marched up to him, the focus in his eyes unfazed by his advantage. “How long have you been in Canterlot? How many of you are there?”

He struggled, but his limbs refused his commands. His magic still flowed in his body, but the Captain’s control was too deft for him to match.

Shining forced him to bow, pulling him closer. “Answer me, and you will be shown leniency.”

He smirked. “How did it feel to see the threat coming this time?”

The Captain’s glare intensified, and the spell’s grip slackened.

That was all he needed.

He summoned all his strength and broke free, flinging a hoof-ful of soil into the stallion’s face.

Shining Armor roared and backed away, scrubbing his eyes furiously.

He dashed forward, but the Captain still had the discipline to turn away, exposing his armor alone. He pounded the metal uselessly, and the helmet shielded the back of the neck from his fangs. Shining Armor gave ground under his barrage, falling back to the center of the room, and he followed, trying to force an opening.

Shining Armor lifted his head, eyes still clenched shut, and his horn burning furiously. A force field burst forth to intercept his next blow, but this one pushed back, blasting the entire room from the epicenter of Shining’s horn.

The shockwave spun him through the air, and he struck a wall, dropping down to his knees. The sound of shattering glass reached his ears, and the room before him had been torn asunder, with not a single thing undisturbed.

Shining Armor still wiped at his eyes, panting heavily.

He lurched forward, but shouts came through the window. He cursed and scanned the devastation, seeing two bookshelves toppled over each other, and one cranny of space separating them.

No time.

He dove into it, focusing his magic on one thought. Small. He scraped the shelves, and his body hit the floor under them, erupting in pain. As if the strain of his battle weren’t enough, the unnatural size of the colt he became forced every muscle that had been loose and flexible into a sudden cramp demanding to be released.

Endure. He lay on his stomach, short tan forelegs folded under him, and grit his teeth as the shouts entered the chamber.

“Sir!”

“Are you alright?”

“A changeling!” Shining Armor screamed. “There’s a changeling in the castle! Did you see anything?”

They answered in the negative, and his lungs burned as he forced himself to keep steady, quiet breaths. A flash of violet light spilled into his crevice, and he turned his head to see Shining Armor launch a series of flares out the ruined window.

“Changeling orders until further notice. No one travels alone. Challenge everypony you see. Every. Pony.”

One of his hooves pressed into his body, expanding in spite of his will.

“You two, get down to the gate. No one gets in or out until I give the all clear. And all of you, find Cherry Blossom! She knows who this changeling is!”

A black ring formed around his vision.

“Captain, what about the Princess?”

“Not here! She must have taken her guard to...”

The voices trailed off down the stairs.

He reached out a black hoof and crawled out, squeezing through just before the flames consumed his body, forcibly shifting him back. He collapsed on his back, taking long, greedy gulps of air until the fire spreading from his chest to all the muscles in his body was quenched, and his head felt some semblance of normal again.

Not here.

His laughter died amid his desperate gasps. He was alone. Alone, and right where he needed to be.

He struggled to his feet and staggered through the ravaged remains of Celestia’s quarters. He only had to hide and wait, but time was on his side again. It would take the guards a matter of minutes at the least to find Celestia and hurry her back—hours if they waited to search the entire castle—more than enough time to find a suitable place.

She would be alone. Alone with him while the ponies sworn to protect her life wasted their time and energy chasing down and questioning the one pony they thought knew something.

And she would be alone, too.

He stopped.

Cherry Blossom would be alone, cornered by heavily armored stallion demanding answers she couldn’t give, no matter how much she wanted to give them. Even if she made it out of the gate before Shining Armor’s orders were passed on, she was a marked mare.

It’s her own fault, he told himself, shaking the image out of his mind. She had followed him after he gave her every chance to walk away. He made his way towards the door Shining Armor had used.

He stopped again.

That was his fault, that Shining Armor had seen Dawnbreaker tonight. He was the one who confirmed all the Captain’s suspicions of Cherry Blossom.

He put a hoof forward, but the rest of his body did not follow it, even with the door just a few steps away.

For all he knew, Cherry Blossom had left when Shining Armor told her to. He gave his word not to use her face again, so why didn’t he hesitate to use one of his own?

She’s just a pony.

His duty to the Hive was just beyond the door. He only had to walk through it and wait.

He sank to the floor, clutching his skull.

Shining Armor had questioned her, and Cherry Blossom had lied.

She betrayed her Hive.

For him.

He charged for one of the broken windows, leaping through and gliding into the night.

Chapter 11

“I told you to get up.”

He heard, and his body tried to obey, pushing himself up on quivering legs, away from the puddle of blood that had pooled under his head. A drop trickled down his face and dropped on his tongue. He retched, aggravating the bruises covering his body, and he sank back down to the cavern floor.

“After all this time,” Chrysalis said, her hooves clacking on the cavern floor as she drew closer to him, “all the training... all the tests... my weapon can’t follow a simple command?”

He tried to stand again, but the pain forced him down.

“You have failed me. You have failed the Hive. Is this what you wanted?”

His head throbbed with the pressure of his transformation—his body not fully recovered from the punishment of Shining Armor’s final blow—and the pegasus guard glided down into the gardens. He spied a troop of guards heading towards the gate from Cherry’s shack, mostly pegasi with a few unicorns following them atop the ramparts, and he swooped in to land behind them.

One pegasus looked back at him. “Where’d you come from?”

“Looking for my patrol. I had to go inside earlier, and we got separated.”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “So you know what’s going on?”

He noticed the change in tone. Challenge everypony. “I saw the signal for changeling orders, then I saw the group here. No one travels alone.” He shrugged. “That’s all. Is this a drill?”

The question sparked a wave of disjointed murmurs through the group. He gathered they had been ordered to investigate the shack, but not one of them knew why, nor what they were going to do next. He wondered the latter himself, though at least the group could lead him to someone who knew the guards’ plan.

They turned at the gate, and joined a mass of pegasi that had assembled in the courtyard at the castle’s front entrance. One took wing, hovering above the crowd with his front hooves raised. “Listen up! All of you!” He waited until the only sound was the running waters of the fountain. “If you didn’t see the flares, the Captain has issued changeling orders until further notice. We have one bug confirmed!”

Excited whispers ran through the crowd, and all the pegasi tried to step closer, jockeying for another position in the mob. He let them have his space, and he crept around the back.

“Knew they’d be back...”

“...it’s our turn!”

“Bet I squash more than you.”

He sneered at their whispers until the officer above clapped the metal on his hooves together.

“Enough! We have another target: Cherry Blossom is helping the bug!”

He cursed as he ducked behind the fountain, under the murmurs of disbelief that sounded around him. More problems kept forcing their way forward, and he hadn’t solved a single one yet, nor could he even climb the white stone stairs to enter the castle and begin his own search with all the guards still there.

The noise died with another clap of metal. “Captain Armor is leading a sweep of the castle from the top down to flush them out. We don’t know how many more bugs are out there, so any and every pony that tries to leave is to be questioned and detained. Stick together, keep an eye on each other, and stay alert! Move out!”

At the command, the guards gave a collective shout, and the sound of beating wings filled the air.

Now!

He dashed up the stairs and into the castle, turning back every other step or so to make sure he wasn’t followed. At the end of the entry hall, he stepped around the corner to get out of sight from the courtyard.

The Grand Hall waited in front of him, the foot of its regal staircase inviting him to climb again.

Again.

After all his stress and efforts, he had managed to go in a circle.

He slumped against the wall, shaking in mute laughter. This is what he had abandoned his mission for. He turned away from the final threshold to chase down a mare and repay a debt, and all he accomplished was ending up exactly where he started the entire fiasco.

Any semblance of a plan still eluded him. Rather than allowing Cherry Blossom to serve as a distraction for his purpose, he had thrown himself into the fire with her. Every eye in the castle was on the lookout now, and any effort to help her would only give him away.

And it was too late to go back. Whatever madness possessed him to leap from that window set him on this path, and the only way out was to see it through to its end.

To what end?

Cherry had betrayed her Hive, but so long as Celestia lived, he had a chance to serve his. She had no such opportunity.

So we hide together in Canterlot until I finish my mission, or until the guards track us down?

He snorted. It would be hard enough keeping a step ahead of the guards with Cherry in tow, much less trying to hide any attempt on Celestia’s life from her at the same time. Staying in Canterlot only delayed the inevitable.

So we leave. Together. Where would we go?

Only silence answered him.

Maybe he could help her prove her innocence. He could play at kidnapping her, or attacking her, show himself as the monster the guards saw him as, and pushing her into being a victim for them to protect.

Any thought of the future was irrelevant at the moment. He needed to find Cherry Blossom first, and he had no idea where to even look.

She was still in the castle—of that much, he was certain, because of the search party by the gates. If she had already left, they would have bolted straight to her doorstep like they had to her shack. But they didn’t know where she was.

They don’t know where she is! Shining Armor had ordered a guard to follow her, but the rest had no idea where to find her.

A smile slowly split his face. That sly girl…

The guards didn’t know where she was because her follower didn’t know where she was, either.

He stood up straight, still grinning like an idiot. Cherry Blossom was free, and he had a chance to find her before the guards. Whatever came after, that first step was the only one that mattered.

One issue remained. The castle was massive, and he had one pair of eyes against an army’s worth. They had the numbers, the familiarity with the castle, and time on their side.

He paced in front of the stairs. How did Cherry lose her guard? He dismissed the thought. Let the guards worry about that question. He needed to be a step ahead of them, not following them. They were all trying to find where she was, but to beat them there, he needed to know where she went after escaping.

What would be so important to make her stay? What is she looking for?

Fool!

He charged up the stairs, cursing himself with every breath, every step, and cursing Cherry Blossom as well. She would look for him, and he had taken himself out of her path. With Shining Armor sweeping from the top down, she was walking right into his net.

If he was fast enough—

If.

He shook his head clear as he raced for the third floor. He was going to be fast enough.

A shout echoed down one of the halls he passed.

He skidded to a halt, perking his ears up, trying to pick up another wave of the sound. A voice, he was certain, but it had been too deep for a mare and too vague to make out.

A startled guard. A startled servant. One of the officers giving an order.

So many possibilities streamed through his mind. So many reasons to keep going, but he lingered for precious seconds, even taking a slow step down the hall, waiting for another clue. Finally, another voice reached him.

“Let me go!”

He shot forward before Cherry’s voice finished its sentence, lowering his head and sprinting full speed over the silent carpet.

A deeper voice next: “We don’t have time for games, Cherry Blossom! Tell us where he is!”

“I... don’t know...”

Louder, despite her softer tone. He slowed down, pressing against the wall and peering into the next hall.

Three unicorn guards surrounded Cherry Blossom, the one in the middle holding her face still with his hoof, glaring at her. “You helped a changeling get into the castle!” He shoved her back, and Cherry stumbled, falling to the floor. “Where are you hiding him?!”

Cherry tried to stand up, but the other two guards flanked her, holding her down. Her head lowered to the floor, eyes held shut.

The leader leered over her. “Do you realize what you’ve done? What your friend was trying to do?”

Cherry trembled. “I didn’t know—”

“You’re lying! Or are you one of them?” He pounded a hoof next to her head. “Answer me!”

He stopped himself from leaping out—barely. The guard mask was just another guard. He needed to overwhelm these three, and he focused on the one form he had seen that might do that: Shining Armor. “Enough!” He stormed towards the startled trio, letting his inner anger and the renewed pain in his head fuel the expression of his new face. “What is the meaning of this?!”

The three backed down, their leader trying to stammer an answer.

“Not a word,” he snapped. “My orders were to find Cherry Blossom. Find. Not this pathetic display!” He stepped between them and Cherry. “Leave her to me. You still have one more target to find.”

They circled around him, eyeing him warily, and fled down the hall he came from.

He studied his surroundings as Cherry sobbed under him. They were in a corner, and a row of windows adorned the opposite hallway. A possible escape route, but he had a more pressing concern.

“Come on,” he said softly, reaching out to her. “Let’s get you out of here.”

She snatched his hoof, holding it to her face, and her body shook heavily.

He sighed. “Get up. You’re not in the clear yet. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

Cherry smiled up at him, face stained with her tears. “I knew you would come back for me.”

Another voice cried out, “So did I!”

He spun around.

Shining Armor marched towards him, followed by half a dozen unicorns—three of them the smirking guards he had chased off—and a squad of pegasi flying overhead. “I knew you would need a recharge after our fight.”

He glanced the other way, and several doors swung open with more guards—both pegasi and unicorns—exiting the rooms.

“Drop the charade,” Shining Armor said, coming to a halt. “It’s pointless.”

The pegasi flying over him landed at his sides, and their line ran from one wall to the other, unicorns waiting behind them. The guards in the windowed hall mimicked the formation, those unicorns lighting their horns, and covering the closest windows in a shield of magic.

He let Shining’s form go, studying their faces—all of them, from Shining Armor to the front-line pegasi to the few unicorns he could see in the back—as he took his own again, baring his fangs. Not one of them flinched.

Cherry stood up, and laid a hoof on his shoulder. “You—”

“Stay behind me,” he whispered, stepping back and stretching a foreleg to pull her with him.

Shining Armor took another step forward. “It’s over. Let her go and surrender.”

He snapped his jaws, but their was still no reaction, no uncertainty or hint of weakness in the trap. “No.”

Cherry wrapped a leg across his chest, trying to tug him farther into the corner while looking out at the guards. “L-let me talk to him. Please, just give me a few—”

Shining Armor growled. “You’ve done enough.”

He dropped into a crouch, his wings flared out and fangs bared again in a snarl.

The guards smirked this time, some pegasi even inching closer.

Cherry shrank behind him, whimpering. “D-don’t do this... please... all of you…” No pony showed any reaction to her words. “This doesn’t have to...”

He opened his magic and stood alone between the piercing chill of the guards, and the warmth of Cherry Blossom behind him. Whatever Dawnbreaker had been to her, she still cared for him—the true him—enough to keep her fire alive in the face of her own punishment. He welcomed her strength, drinking as much as he could. Not as powerful as it had been in front of her apartment, but every second the guards delayed, he grew stronger, and one goal solidified in his mind.

I won’t let them hurt you again.

One pegasus charged, and he dropped the connection in time to shove him back towards the windowed hall, toppling over more of the pegasi standing between him and the stallions shielding his escape route.

He fired a bolt at one of the the exposed unicorns, but a violet shield materialized in front of the whole squad. His eyes snapped over to Shining Armor, whose own showed a flash of surprise. He fired again at the Captain.

Shining Armor deflected his shot, grunting from the exertion. “Flyers, go!”

Both rows of pegasi collapsed, swarming over him in a heartbeat. The first few drove into him—trying use their forelegs to drag him down after he withstood their tackles—but he spun away, easily ripping free of their grasp with his newfound strength. They were thrown down, but more soon replaced them.

Cherry Blossom screamed behind him. “Stop! All of you! Just stop!”

He fell back under the assault, keeping as many in front of him as he could, and then made his move. His hoof struck the chin of the closest guard, stunning the stallion, and he followed that with a blast of energy that sent the dazed pony flying back into his comrades.

Turning and grabbing Cherry Blossom, he took flight before the pegasi could recover, charging for the windows with a blazing green aura surrounding him.

Flashes of light caught his eye, and he turned his back to the volley of shots from Shining Armor and his unicorns, shielding Cherry Blossom behind him and his armored plate. Cherry screamed as the bolts hissed by, but he felt each one that hit its mark bite into his remaining power. He hit the magical barrier at full speed, and it bounced them away.

They hit the ground, rolled to a stop, and Cherry poked her head up. “Are you—” She was stripped out of his grip by a pegasus swooping by, and the guard threw her aside.

He jumped to his feet, but the other pegasi swarmed over him. Their blows rained down, each one feeling heavier than the last as they chipped away the last of the endurance Cherry’s love had given him.

One pegasus wrapped a leg around his neck. He raised one of his own to protect his throat, and the pegasus pulled him off-balance, and down to the floor.

Immobilized, his magic spent on his one chance to escape, and exposed on his side, the unforgiving metal of the guards’ hooves beat his flesh over and over again. His three spare legs thrashed around, trying to ward off what blows they could while his fourth wrestled against the grip on his neck.

One guard pinned his last foreleg down, and another slammed a hoof into his unprotected face. He went limp, watching the hoof pull back into the blur of his vision while he tried to push away the high-pitched tone ringing in his ears.

“Stop! That’s enough!” Cherry’s voice drowned out the tone, and a pink shape barreled into one of the golden ones standing over him. “He’s not fighting back!”

The guard shoved her down. “He’s getting what he wanted!”

He lunged forward, wrapping one leg around the distracted guard’s back, but the leg draped over his neck held firm. More blows fell on his head and struck his ribs, and the guard squirmed free, glaring back at him before whipping a hoof across his face.

Cherry Blossom latched onto the pegasus’ leg, yanking his hoof before he could strike again. “Stop it!”

The guard shoved her towards the unicorns. “Could one of you grab her, already? Keep her out of the way!” He pointed down at him. “And him! Where did that come from? I thought you had him down!”

He snapped his jaws, and the guard sprang back.

Laughter came from the unicorns. “You boys having trouble? He’s a changeling, remember? They get stronger off of love.”

Another hoof grabbed his head. “Then we stop the magic!”

The world spun, freezing again with a loud CRACK, and with his face pressed flush into a wall. Something rolled on the ground under him, black and curved, and something hot flowed down his face. A scream tore from his lungs, stopped by the choke put on him by the guard.

He was yanked back. “Look at this! They bleed red!”

Pain. Hot and cold. Nothing made sense. The pain centered above his brow felt cool exposed to the air, yet heat flowed from the cold. Another wave of pain shot through his body. He was on the ground, and he never knew he was falling. The red pool next to his head grew, spilling over the plush carpet and flowing towards his horn on the floor. He closed his eyes.

The red pool next to his head grew.

“Get up.”

He watched it grow, watched his own blood spill onto the stone. It was all he could do.

Chrysalis screamed, her hoof lashing him with every word, “You! Will! Get! Up!”

He gasped, his chest burning with the sudden intake of air, and the cavern vanished. The pain remained, and a dull noise buzzed in his ears. He was alive. He was alive, and he still had breath in his body to obey his Queen. He planted his front hooves and pushed himself up, holding back the hiss of pain every inch of the way.

The noise faded away.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

“How is he up?”

“Stupid bug doesn’t know when to quit.”

He looked away from his blood, locking eyes with Shining Armor. No words passed his lips, nor did any come to mind. He only lurched forward a step.

Shining Armor stared right back at him. “Unicorns.”

The pegasi backed away, and the unicorns stepped up to join their Captain.

He heard movement from the guards to his side, but he never looked away from Shining Armor, baring his fangs as the guards’ horns lit in spectral fury.

Shining Armor hesitated, eyes glowing under a violet light, searching his for something.

His horn, gone. His body, almost unresponsive. But he was on his feet. He had failed the Hive, but one order could still be obeyed.

For the Hive. I’ll never see you again.

Resolve returned to Shining Armor’s look. “Fire.”

He kept his eyes open, watching the bolts fly for his heart.

Cherry Blossom slammed into his side, falling over him and covering him with her body as debris from the walls rained down on them. Shouts of disbelief erupted around them, but none of them registered in his mind. Tears streamed down her face, and she brushed a shaky hoof on his cheek.

“Quiet! All of you!” Shining Armor stormed up. “Get back, Cherry.”

She shook her head, lips quivering.

Shining grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up. “I saidget back!”

Cherry twisted out of his grip, her hind legs snapped under his jaw, and Shining Armor staggered back. The guards surged forwards, but stopped as Shining held up a hoof.

He was limp as Cherry sat beside him, cradling his head to her chest with one foreleg, imposing herself between him and the guards. “Let me go.”

Her body trembled against his. “Shut up...”

Shining Armor rubbed his muzzle. “Cherry Blossom—”

“Shut up!” She glared over her shoulder. “You’re animals. You’re acting like nothing but a pack of animals!”

“He’s a changeling!” Shining thrust a hoof at him. “How many ponies did they hurt in the attack? We’re still repairing the damage to the city! And that’s just here! How much pain have they caused? How much blood do they have on their hooves?”

“The only blood I see is his!”

He rattled out a breath. Two guards walked into his sight, more of them undoubtedly behind him, surrounding him and Cherry Blossom. “They won’t let you win.”

“Shut up,” she whimpered, pressing his head to her chest. “I’m not going to watch you die. I can’t...”

The two guards looked back at Shining Armor.

Cherry tucked his head under her chin. “It’s enough.” She shook her head. “It’s enough!”

The veil of her hair fell over his face, blocking his view of the world behind it. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Shining’s voice pierced her protection. “Take him.”

The world shook under pounding hooves, and Cherry’s legs tightened around him like a vice.

“HOLD!”

Cherry whirled around at the sound of the booming voice, and he peered around her body after a few moments of silence.

Princess Celestia made her way towards him, wings spread wide, her horn blazing gold, appearing as she had in a moment of glory brought to life from one of the paintings in the museum. She towered over every guard in the hall even before she reached them, and especially over the sheepish looking ones following in her train.

Shining Armor stepped towards her. “Your Highness, we don’t know how many changelings have infiltrated. For your own protection—”

“As much as I respect you and your position, Captain Armor, I will not be ordered about in my own home.” Celestia’s gaze flicked away from the Captain, and she looked over his face. She shook her head, her eyes refusing to show him anything, no matter how hard he stared into them. “I expected better from you. All of you. Step aside, Cherry Blossom.”

“N-no.” Cherry gulped. “No! I won’t let you hurt him! Not even you!”

Celestia blinked. Her wings folded to her body, and both her face and voice softened. “Cherry, please stand aside. I’d like to speak with him.”

He drew a breath and whispered in her ear. “You never had a choice.”

Cherry opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She eased him down, laying him on his side. Her hoof lingered on his face. “D-don’t hurt him.” She backed away, his crimson blood wetting down her pink coat. “Please... it’s enough...” Two guards instantly moved in front of her.

Celestia smiled warmly at her, and though it faded as she turned her attention back to him, her face kept some pleasantness. “What is your name?”

He didn’t answer.

“He doesn’t have one,” Cherry said. “Or... at least he wouldn’t tell me it.”

“Dawnbreaker!” Shining snapped. “His name was Dawnbreaker, and she brought him inside our gate. She helped him get this far!”

“No name? Interesting,” Celestia said, stepping closer. “Now then, why are you here?”

Coughs racked his body, send white hot flashes of pain through his consciousness.

Shining Armor cut Cherry off before she spoke two words. “He’s after you, Your Highness! He attacked me in your chambers. This is why I wanted you to stay put.”

Celestia ignored them, taking another step and lowering her head. “Can you speak for yourself?”

He opened his mouth, and drops of blood fell into it.

The taste of blood filled his mouth as Chrysalis glared down at him.

“You were supposed to protect us. Everything you are, everything you would ever be, was all in service to the Hive. And you can’t even stand?”

She lifted her hoof again.

Celestia reached a hoof out to him, lifting his face from the ground. “Where are your friends?”

“H-he’s alone,” Cherry said.

“He had you!” Shining shot back.

The Princess craned her neck back to shush the pair with a look, and he gazed up at his target’s throat—only hooves away, fully exposed, her not even looking his way, but still too far to strike.

Her black hoof swung down. He twisted away, letting it strike the stone floor, and he rolled over it. Chrysalis’ leg contorted under him, and she fell to the floor.

He summoned his last reserves of strength and lunged for her throat, only to stop cold in a green haze, the sound of laughter filling his ears.

Chrysalis smiled and whispered a single word. “Good.”

Celestia’s hoof moved under his muzzle, and they studied each others’ eyes, her head tilted to the the side in a thoughtful pose. “Are you truly alone?”

A scent he couldn’t name wafted through his nose from her coat. Her leg was right there, a possible line to drag her down, drag her throat to his fangs. He needed strength to topple a pony her size, and the speed to leap before the guards closed in.

He had neither.

His magic stirred, desperate for him to find the power he needed. To his surprise, one last source filled his heart, its warmth trickling through his veins in spite of the fact his horn lay somewhere behind him. He closed his eyes, ignoring his guesses of how it was possible, just letting his instincts take over. One last chance.

Chrysalis wiped the blood from his face. “You can never give up.”

Celestia’s voice cut in. “You have a story to tell.”

“Your brothers and sisters need you to fight.”

“If you would speak, I will listen.”

“The Hive needs you to survive. We are exposed without you standing for us.”

“Will you talk, or will you fight?”

The Hive was already exposed. Nothing he could do could change that, but the weapon still had the strength to strike. His hoof inched closer to Celestia’s.

Please!

His eyes snapped open, his heart tearing asunder from the cry. Pain chased after the power flowing through him, a cold fear that sapped at his will and left nothing in its place. No. Not nothing. A longing for what had been there.

Silence hung over the hall. Celestia was smiling at him. No one gave any reaction to what he had heard but him. But the voice... He looked to Cherry Blossom, tears streaming down her face, and her hoof covering her mouth.

Please...

Her voice played across his heart once more. He saw his blood on her hoof, and knew more stained her chest behind the two guards keeping her away. She was marked because of him. Exposed.

He would never see the Hive again. Yet he had a role to fill.

He wrapped his hoof around Celestia’s, and he rolled onto his back, smiling.

Celestia squeezed. “Alert the infirmary. Now.” She held out his hoof, and Cherry rushed in to take it.

He smiled up at her. “It’s over...”

Cherry Blossom smiled back. “No. No, it’s not over.” A hoofcloth floated over to her in a golden aura, and Cherry took it, using it to clean his face. “You’re going to be fine. They’re going to send you to the doctors, and you’re going to be fine. I promise.”

“I know. It’s over.” He started to laugh, shaking his head. “My life is over, but I’m still alive!”

Cherry began to laugh as well. “Yes, you are.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. Her cheek rested against his, and he heard her voice in the breath on his ear.

“Welcome home.”

Chapter 12

Cherry Blossom hummed a simple tune as she brushed a hoof up the smooth bark of the sapling on the third floor. She bit down on her squirt bottle’s bulb, wetting the leaves she held in her hoof. A sensation ran down her leg, much more than the sudden dampness of her hoof.

You’re getting talkative, aren’t you?

She smiled and set the bottle down. “Well, who am I to refuse?”

The little tree just sat in its corner quietly, the tingle of a life’s magic reaching out gone again.

Cherry sighed and slipped her hoof away from the leaves. “Not that talkative, I see.” She stroked its slender trunk. “That’s okay. We’ve got all the time in the world. It’s been pretty exciting though, hasn’t it? First you meet a new friend, and then I keep visiting you with a guard looking over my shoulder. We haven’t had much time alone, have we?”

She looked over her shoulder at the empty hall behind her. The guards were waiting down the pass leading to the throne room of course, but today was the first morning none of them waited outside her temporary room on the first floor, nor had she yet to see one within ten feet of her. Despite that, she hadn’t risked anything more than going about her daily routine.

“I gotta say, I miss my flowers on the window sill back home. The weather teams finally got clearance for some rain yesterday, so I guess they’re okay. Three days just feels a lot longer than it is when you can’t go where you want, but I guess you and our mutual friend would know more about that than me.” She cocked her head. “I wonder if he’d mind if I named you Dawn?”

Bells chimed the hour, and Cherry left the throne room behind as she headed for the windows overlooking the courtyard below. A group of young stallions, only the colors of their manes and tails standing out from the gray jumpsuits they all wore, stretched on the ground while a guard pony barking orders at them paced back and forth. At the sharp echo of his last command, the stallions stood and began trotting around the perimeter.

Right on schedule, two armored guards pushed open a pair of doors, and Dawn—

Cherry pursed her lips. She had spoken with him in a supervised meetings over the last few days, and he still insisted she stop calling him that name.

He, she always resorted to, walked into the courtyard for his daily allotted exercise. He rolled his shoulders and stretched out for a few moments himself while the group passed by, each trainee eyeing him as they did so. They broke out into a gallop a moment later, and he chased after in kind.

Cherry smiled and listened to the thunder of falling hooves echo around her, watching as he passed them all one by one—weaving through the slower ones and gaining on the fastest with every heartbeat. They ran an entire lap at full speed before he eclipsed the leader of the pack, and all the stallions stopped or fell to the ground, panting for breath while he continued to run. He looked back at them all, and while Cherry couldn’t see them, she knew his fangs were bared. It was no snarl, as she had seen that look many times over their meetings.

He was laughing.

“Disgusting,” somepony said next to her. “Why do they even let that thing see the light of day?”

Cherry sighed and looked at the mares from the corner of her eye. The same duo that delighted in teasing her the most stood by the window, and a third unicorn—a filly younger than herself—stood behind them.

“I know,” the second said. “Prisoner of war my hoof! He’s a spy! What’s Celestia playing at?”

“Mercy,” Cherry said, dropping her hooves back to the floor and facing them.

The first one’s face lit up. “That’s right!” The brief spark dropped to a sneer. “I heard the bug down there was posing as that stallion we found you with the other day.”

The other laughed. “Cherry Blossom and the monster! How long did the two of you shack up before you got caught?” She sneered as well. “Better yet, who did you make him turn into each night? Or did you like seeing a beast loom over you?”

Cherry set her jaw and glanced at the third, who had spent the exchange looking down at her hooves. “I see you’ve met some of our esteemed staff.”

“Thanks for reminding me!” The first maid shoved the timid filly towards Cherry. “The school sent her over for the day. Since you enjoy taking care of useless things, watch over this one for us, will you?”

Cherry stopped the filly from tumbling over, and her eyes snapped back to the maids. “I bet she’ll get more done today than you two, dragging your egos around with you like that.”

They grinned wickedly. “She spits fire at last! You think you—”

“I don’t need fire!” Cherry snapped, stepping forward. “I know the truth. I know what worthless is! It’s thinking that knocking someone down lifts you up. It’s wasting time lying about someone else when there’s nothing good to be said about you. What’s worthless is you two!” She spun and stormed back down the hall.

The filly scampered alongside her, looking up at her with shining eyes. “That was awesome.”

“Was it?” Cherry stopped by the young tree and fixed a hard look down at her. “Students aren’t sent here unless they’re getting punished. What did you do?”

She sucked her lips in, and the admiration in her eyes changed to apprehension. Her gaze dropped to the floor.

Cherry glanced back at the retreating mares. “You hurt someone, didn’t you? Like they did. Am I right?”

The filly hesitated, but nodded.

“Do you know how to never be like them?” Cherry rested a hoof on the filly’s shoulders until she looked up, and she pointed to the tree. “This poor thing was going to get tossed out with the rubble back from the invasion. I saved it, and look at it now. Green and growing.”

The filly furrowed her brow. “So I have to take care of plants?”

“Oh, you’ll be doing that soon enough. Don’t worry.” Cherry smiled and brushed one of the leaves. “Respect. That’s what you have to do. Everything has a place. A life of its own. A friend of mine told me awhile ago that I had no idea what he saw or thought or felt, and he was right. Respect everyone, because you don’t know what it’s like to be them.” Or who they might be.

She saw a guard step into the hall from the throne room’s way and led the filly that way. “Right now, your place in life is down in the gardens. First, head down to the shack near the gates. Fill up some cans and start watering the rose vines in the Party Grounds. You can’t miss ‘em.” She flicked her eyes to the guard and back. “I can’t say when I’ll be back down, but trust me—I’ll know if you actually did it or not.”

The filly nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She trotted down the stairs.

Cherry sighed and ran a hoof through her mane. “Does the hair really make me look that old?”

The guard grunted and turned back to the throne room. “They’re ready for you now.”

She followed him to the towering doors, past the two rows of guards standing at rigid attention, never looking at them and sure none of them would have met her gaze even if she had. Besides grunts, nods, and the occasional noncommittal shrug, none of them had even spoken to her whether they were on or off duty. Just as well.

Cherry took the opportunity to take deep, calming breaths before she reached the doors. Only twice before had she been in the throne room—when she was accepted onto the castle staff with the other incoming trainees, and when she heard her father speak on behalf of his cheated family—and neither time had she been the very center of attention.

She remembered how her father looked: tall and proud instead of bowed in front of all the nobles in attendance, his voice ringing clear instead of mumbled at the floor. I slowed down, he had said afterwards. Had to make sure all of them stuffed shirts heard every word, because I was right. Not one pony can say I wasn’t.

Her father’s time had only been a fraction of Celestia’s daily court, however. He had spent most of the last three days in this room, only let out for a night in his cell or exercise or a few brief moments with Cherry, and now it was her turn to answer for what she did.

She was right. She had tried to save lives, not see them taken. Talk slow.

The guard pushed the doors open and ushered her through, closing the door behind him with a heavy thud that echoed through the empty room. Cherry froze under the sound. Only two ponies waited for her, Princess Celestia on her elevated throne and Shining Armor in his regalia. The guard nudged her forward.

Two ponies. She had expected three at least. Even without a gallery or a single witness to speak on her behalf, she thought there would have been some advisor to interpret the law for her. Perhaps another one of the Princesses to sit in judgement. Her steps carried her forward, each one bringing another repetition of her plan. Talk slow. She kept her eyes forward and bowed at the foot of the small flight of stairs leading up to Celestia’s throne.

“Rise, Cherry Blossom.” Celestia regarded her with no smile, but no malice either. She gestured to Shining Armor, and the Captain stepped forward.

“Cherry Blossom, you stand accused of aiding an enemy in acts of espionage, infiltration of Canterlot Castle, and assaulting not only the Equestrian military, but also the Royal Family. How do you answer these charges?”

She took a steady breath through her nose and stubbornly held her lip away from her teeth. Treason. Shining Armor didn’t say the word, but it was implied. Not one pony could hear that list and not think her a traitor. Which made it all the more curious they were alone. “Is this my trial, Your Highness?”

“No.” Celestia took a quick look at Shining Armor. “We are undecided on how to move forward with this matter. I believe hearing your side of things will eliminate some of the paths open to us. You know where you stand, Cherry. Will you answer?”

Her lip quivered. Not a trial, but still over her head. But she was right. There was nothing she could say later that she couldn’t say now. Cherry took another calming breath and nodded. “I... I didn’t know he was a changeling.”

Celestia tilted her head. “You spent time with him every day for at least a week.”

“I did.” She swallowed. How much did he…? “He came to me a few times. He said he was a servant for a noble lady from out of town. We met each day and... we were friends. He is my friend.”

“You brought him onto castle grounds twice,” Shining Armor said, “and I once found you delaying your duties to speak with him. Why?”

“He’s my friend. We were talking.”

“I found you on the third floor that night. Were you talking to him then as well?”

Cherry nodded. “I was trying to—”

“After you learned he was a changeling?”

She nodded again. “That was when I found out. That night. He—”

His eyes narrowed. “Then you hid him from me! You helped him even after you knew what he was!”

“No, I didn’t! I chased after him to stop him!” She looked at Celestia. “You wanted to know my side of things? That’s it. Yes, I brought him inside the castle walls. He was a friend. He was lonely. I wanted to help him. When I found out why he was really here, I wanted to help him again. I wanted him to leave. I argued with him, and I sent him the wrong way so I could corner him in a dead-end because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Anyone.”

Celestia studied her for a long moment. “And you were never coerced? He didn’t threaten you or control you in any way?”

“Of course not.” Another breath as she turned away from the escape Celestia offered. “I knew what I was doing the whole time. All of it. Every day. In the end, he tried to make me leave to keep me out of what was coming, but I followed him anyway. I wanted to save him, from himself if I had to.”

The corners of Celestia’s lips turned up in a smile. “I see. Captain Armor? What do you think?”

“I...” Shining Armor sighed, baring his teeth as he looked away. He shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of all this, but I see no reason to try her.”

Cherry blinked. “What?”

“We have no evidence against you,” Celestia said, “and now that you’ve confirmed what our new guest told us about you, I believe we can trust the rest of his confession.” She gave Cherry a sly smile. “There is still the matter of bringing an unauthorized visitor onto castle grounds, but I consider three days of house arrest and lost wages to be sufficient penalty. The charges against you are hereby dismissed, and you are free to leave the grounds whenever you wish.”

Shining Armor said something, and Celestia responded, but Cherry was too stunned to pick it up. That’s it? He... confessed?

Confessed what?

Cherry bit her lip. The two of them had both been under suspicion, but now that his head was the only one on the line... “What’s going to happen to him?”

Celestia’s face became somber. “It’s too soon to say with any certainty. While our guest was insistent on your innocence, he had quite the story to tell. I think his past is more colorful than you know. For the time being, he will remain in the dungeons.”

Shining Armor cut Cherry off. “What do you want us to do with him? Word has already gotten out. Everypony in Canterlot knows he’s here.” He snorted. “We’ve even gotten requests from cities all over Equestria for the Royal Guard to come investigate just about every kind of incident for changeling activity. Ponies are panicking all over again. He’s safer here than out there.”

“And you actually say that with a straight face?” Cherry stomped. “You tried to kill him!”

Shining didn’t rise to her bait. “He will face the punishment for his crimes.”

“He’s no different than you! He was a—”

Celestia rapped a hoof on her dais and stood up. “From what I understand, he has done little within our borders he isn’t already paying for.” She walked down and stepped between them, glancing at Shining Armor. “He isn’t ours to judge.” She swung her gaze around to Cherry. “But we must be good neighbors. The existence of the changelings will raise questions from all over the world, and we cannot stand in the way of answering them. If he is guilty of crimes elsewhere... we have no right to deny justice to those who seek it.”

Her teeth returned to her lip, but Cherry forced them back. “Can... can I still see him?”

“Of course. He is a prisoner, not an abomination, and now that your matter is settled, you can take all the time you want.” Celestia motioned for the guard by the door, and she smiled at Cherry. “I hope he opens up to you. There’s still so much more we can learn from him.”

Cherry bowed and turned away. The guard led her back through the doors and all the way down to the first floor in silence. He opened a door for her, and she walked in.

He sat on the other side of a table with a plate before him, smiling with chunks of bread stuck on the ends of his fangs. “I thought you ponies dragged out all these formalities.” His tongue snaked out and pulled the pieces off. “That must have been the shortest trial ever.”

“There was no trial.” She walked around the table and wrapped her forelegs around him, taking care to avoid bumping the fresh bandage around his horn. His skin felt odd to her now without the adrenaline and excitement distracting her. More firm on the surface than the coat Dawn had worn, but still soft and smooth enough to yield under her embrace until she felt the toughness of his muscles. “I know what you did.”

His leg wrapped around her body. “I just told the truth. You tried to stop me. You shouldn’t be punished for that.”

“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.

His body shook against her, and his voice barked out in laughter.

“What?” She slipped away. “What is it?”

He grinned. “You finally said it!”

Cherry cocked her head and sat beside him. “Said what? All I said was—ah!” She laughed, slumping down and covering her head on the table. “I said it! Oh goodness... what was the count?”

“Eh, who cares? You’re welcome.” He held up a loaf of bread. “You want a bite? They keep giving me more than I need.”

“No, I’m not hungry.” She brushed her mane back and sat up straight. “I get to go home today, anyway. Need to eat some food there before it goes bad.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Princess Celestia said they’re still going to keep you in the dungeon for now. I still can’t believe we had one. I never knew.”

“It’s a castle. Of course it has a dungeon.” He patted her hoof. “Don’t worry too much about it. I’ve missed the feeling of sleeping on stone so long, I probably won’t even use the mattress Celestia ordered for me.”

“Right, caves.” She pressed a hoof to her temple. The Hive, as he always called it, was still a mystery to her. Caves, she figured, but where it was, or even if the caves were all he referred to instead of all the changelings inside—her head jerked up. “Wait, just now? Just today? They haven’t even given you a mattress for three days?”

He chuckled. “I know. I’m moving up in the world! Maybe after a year or two of good behavior they’ll give me a guest room!”

She shook her head. “How are you so chipper? Celestia couldn’t even tell me what’s going to happen to you. Or when.”

“I did what I needed to do. And what I wanted to do.” He took another bite of bread and chewed with a thoughtful look on his face. “I almost missed eating this. I was ready to die, Cherry. After that... well, everything looks good.” He smiled. “So thank you, too.”

Cherry took his hoof as he reached for a piece of fruit. She studied it, running one of her own up his leg, marveling how strange it looked. When she saw him—all of him—he looked normal. Complete. Yet with only his leg in her sight, it looked... alien. Her hoof passed over one of the holes, and she gently kneaded into it. “Do they hurt?”

“No.”

How much blood do they have on their hooves? Shining Armor’s voice screamed again, as it had every day, repeating the question she had no answer to. By his own words, she knew he had killed, and she had saved him. It was hard not to imagine blood seeping over her hoof and out of the hole before her.

She almost called him a soldier to Shining Armor. Weapon. Keep the secret. Protect. All words he had used to reveal himself a killer. His past was more colorful than she knew, as Celestia said. It was hard, looking at the scarred normalcy in her grasp, not to imagine what might have set him down his path, by his choice or not. What he must have seen and done as he walked it.

She looked back to his face, watching her with a patient expectation. The pure blue of them invited her in, no sign of deception or hiding in them. Dawn had looked at her that way—content with the silence until she was ready to speak—and she had trusted him, trusted him enough to let him share her worst moments.

Did he ever trust me?

“Tell me. Tell me everything.”

Chapter 3

Hoofsteps paced behind him in a steady, terrifying rhythm.

The Hive was quiet. All the constant, comforting echoes from his brothers and sisters had been chased away by those steps. They stopped and turned to pace back, keeping him trapped in this cavern.

“Your role in the Hive has been selected.”

He shivered. His wings stretched out, but they were too short and too thin to give comfort.

“Do you remember what I said when your training began?”

His mouth moved, but no words came out.

“I promised that I would not fail you. A pity you don’t share that sentiment. Why can you not answer a simple question?”

His short, stubby fangs bit into his lip and held back a sob. He sank down.

“Get up!”

His body refused. “Y-Your Majesty, I can’t—”

A tight green ring snapped around his muzzle and yanked his head back. His queen glared down at him with sizzling eyes. He found no gentle blue comfort like his brothers and sisters, only green fire that scorched him every passing moment. But what he hated most were the two black pools that only she had, the ones that pulled him deeper and deeper into a burning pit he could not escape. The weight of all the authority of the Hive crushed his mind, ceaselessly judging him and finding him unworthy.

“I told you to get up!”

One low whine escaped his gag, but he did not disobey. Could not disobey. He crept to his feet on shaky legs, standing up to Chrysalis’ knees at his full height.

She bared her fangs, long and gleaming in the fire of her eyes. “You will be my enforcer. It is decided. This is your role in the Hive. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“No, you don’t. When you are ready, you will follow your brothers, my eyes and ears, out into the world. If they fail in their missions, it is your duty to complete them in their stead. You will need all their skills, and if they are discovered, you will need the skills to silence any witnesses. Now do you understand?”

He nodded. Slowly.

Chrysalis’ eyes burned steadily with glowing fury. “If you fail, you will die.”

He shivered.

“Your brothers will die.”

His tremors grew.

“You will expose the Hive to our enemies, and we will be wiped out of existence.” The ring around his muzzle tightened, and Chrysalis leaned in close. “The skills I have to teach you can prevent that. I will not fail you. Will you fail me?”

The Hive trusted him with this role. There was no other choice. He shook his head.

“Then answer!”

The ring jerked his head around, and his legs spread out to regain his balance. The small cavern was empty, save for the wooden block at his feet. Its red face stared up, and the slight vision of blue underneath its edge taunted him. He choked back a sob as the hoofsteps started behind him again.

“I have waited for over an hour. No longer.” The footsteps turned back. “Is the block red? Or is it blue?” The steps paused behind him. Chrysalis’ hiss brushed against his ear. “There is only one. Simple. Answer.”

The ring around his muzzle dissolved as Chrysalis began pacing again. He wished it had remained. Each step he heard marked another moment wasted before she lost her patience again, but he couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear. He had held the block, turned it, studied it, and he had already answered both ways.

“Answer!”

He flinched as the command echoed around him. “R-red.”

A wave of magic slammed into him, battering him with the same green fire in those terrible eyes. His muscles caved under the force of the blow, and his sobs were crushed out of him between the stone floor and the weight of the Hive.

She roared, “How many times will you say that? You fool! Tell me what color the block is!”

“I don’t know!”

“Why?”

“It’s both! It’s both, it’s both, it’s both!” The weight lifted off his back, and his tears came. He curled up, drawing ragged breaths of air, and covered his face. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty! I’m sorry I can’t tell you! Please, please don’t—” He choked on his words. The steps stalked closer. “It’s both. It’s both. Please...”

A hoof stroked the back of his head. “Good.”

He blinked behind his hooves, and then cautiously pulled them down. “Huh?”

Chrysalis smiled and touched his muzzle, tracing the shallow impression left by her ring. “You are correct.”

Her eyes ensnared him again, but this time the fires had dimmed, replaced with soothing green approval. The green light showed the same gentle warmth he felt from queen’s touch. His body’s trembles and aches faded more with every moment, and the fear he had felt no longer mattered.

He smiled back up at his queen. “I... I was right?” She nodded, and the simple gesture sent another wave of joy through him. But the moment was fleeting, as a thought of doubt wormed its way up. He had been wrong for so long. He never wanted to feel that way again. “I don’t understand. Why was I right?”

“Sit up, child.” Chrysalis waited for him to obey before sitting next to him and floating the block between them in her magic. She spun it until only one of its red sides showed to him. “If I were to carry this out to your brothers, only showing them this side, and asked what color it was, what would they say?”

“Red, Your Majesty.”

“Yes. Now if this is all I showed them, but I said the block was blue, would they believe me?” She cut off his reply with a raised hoof. “They might say so easily, but would they believe me?”

His mouth opened and closed. He tried to imagine her question, seeing the red color before him but hearing her voice—her voice—call it blue.

“Perhaps they would agree just because I am their queen, but would they believe?” The block turned, allowing him to see a sliver of blue. “Unless they can see what you have seen, I doubt it.”

He reached up, and the magic faded. The block rested in his hoof. “They’d think you were lying.”

“And a lie is a dangerous thing, child. They will always be discovered and brought to the light.” She put a hoof on his shoulder. “You must be clever enough to not rely on them. Shade your stories with the truth—no matter how slight—and those who hear will believe them easily.”

The echoes of his brothers’ wings returned, small and cautious, and Chrysalis turned him to face the sound. “This is a lesson all changelings must learn. We cannot ignore the world, nor can we afford for the world to learn the truth of us. To deny our existence is a lie, so we hide from our enemies by smiling to their faces. Do you understand?”

He nodded. “If we let them see what they want to see, they won’t look more than they have to.”

“Good. Very good!” Chrysalis stroked his back and smiled down on him. “I’m sure the others will need me after so long away from them. Rest your mind now. Tomorrow will bring a new lesson.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed as she left, and her steps quickly faded into the echoes of the caverns. He sat down, puzzling over the block still in his hoof. She had brought it down, but left it behind. The lesson was over, yet it remained with him. She had released it into his hoof, so she knew he had it. Her last order was to relax his mind, but—

His eyes opened wide.

He cast the block along the cavern floor and leapt after it, slapping it away to chase it again.

The sun set over Canterlot, and he tried to throw the numbers and words floating in his head out with it. Square footage, Reinaissance style architecture, authentic decor from nations he could not pronounce properly—none of it made any more sense now than it did inside all the apartments he had visited throughout the day. At the very least, he didn’t need to feign his smile in front of all the ponies that showed him around.

He looked over their names on the cards in front of him. Square Deal, the earth stallion with a too-big grin and the strong smell of cheese on his breath. High Rise, the unicorn mare with a predatory glint in her eye. Three more ponies he had met, and whose sole role was to find a place for other ponies to sleep, yet each one worked in open competition with the others, serving different masters.

His mirth throughout the day had been quite natural, indeed.

The streetlamp next to his table flickered to life in the waning light. He spread all the contracts and pamphlets he had gathered from his visits across half the table and leaned back against the cold metal railing with a sigh. The barrier mimicked what he had seen all day, wrapping around him and the ponies sitting at three other tables to pen them away from the masses on the street. His eyes followed the pattern as the metal bent and curved in a senseless display of extravagance, save for the small gap halfway down the line.

A white unicorn stallion stepped outside, smoothing out the front of his jacket and tie. He looked up to one of the flower pots hanging from the awning and grasped it in his magic. The pot tilted down, and the unicorn sniffed before nodding in approval. The waiter turned, took a step towards his table, and stopped.

He smiled and waved him off. “She’ll be here in a moment.”

The stallion nodded. “Very good, sir.” He turned his attention back to the unicorns sitting at the other tables.

Like clockwork, a figure stepped out from the mass of ponies and skittered onto the sidewalk. Cherry Blossom trotted along the rail with no stealthy slink in her step, but with her head bowed and ears perked up.

He rapped a hoof against the metal as she passed, holding back a laugh as she jumped back. “Thought you looked ready to snap. Don’t you ever get a day off?”

She snorted. “Plants don’t stop growing because the gardener isn’t there, Dawn.”

He blinked. And then he smiled. Dawn?

“Anyway,” Cherry continued, “I can see I’m not the only one that had a long day. That, ah...” Her ears fell flat as she looked over the table. “That doesn’t look like pleasure reading.”

“It isn’t.” He groaned and rubbed his temple. “You ever get the feeling that you and someone else are speaking the same language, but you just can’t understand each other? Well, I can tell this is all Equestrian, but I don’t exactly have the option of screaming at paper to explain itself. Honestly, I’m glad you walked by.” He smiled and waved a hoof at the seat across the table. “Won’t you join me?”

“Um,” Cherry sucked in a breath, then tried to hide if by chewing her lip. Her eyes flicked over to the unicorns for half a second before focusing back on him. “I’m not really—”

“Please, I need someone to make sense for a little while. My treat!”

She shifted her weight back and forth. “Dawn, I—”

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it my turn to talk this time?” He waved at the seat again. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“I-I’d like that, but...” Her eyes lingered on the unicorns again.

He forced his smile to drop. “Is something wrong? We can do this later if I caught you at a bad—”

“No, no, it’s... it’s fine.” Her hoof moved along the twists of the railing. She swallowed.

Is she going to jump it?

Cherry turned and walked along the barrier.

He glanced away and spotted the waiter watching her intently, then looked back to her. She didn’t seem to notice her audience, and he followed her progress to the gap.

She stopped. Her hoof fiddled against the ground.

Come on. I’m here.

Cherry took a breath and stepped across, turning her head and letting her mane block her view of the other tables.

For the first time, he reached his magic out to her. The ether of Canterlot showed him the truth he already understood: he could smell the love in the city, but none of it was for him. A chill fell over his heart, save for one candle that flickered against the cold ambivalence. He smiled as the slight warmth grew closer and let his magic drop, coming back to his senses.

Cherry cleared her throat as she sat down. “I was just wondering what... uh, what my story will be. I’ve stopped at that diner on my way home from work every night for the past few weeks. I’ll have some explaining to do to Ms. Mulberry the next time she sees me.”

He flapped a wing dismissively. “That’s nothing to be concerned about. You just have to tell the truth. You were on your way there, and you just happened to run into a friend. Nothing else.”

“I ran into a friend.” Cherry gave him a smile—small and tight. “That’s exactly right, isn’t it? Yes. A friend.” She sat up straighter, letting out a slow breath, and her smile relaxed. “I’m with a friend.”

“With a friend.” He chuckled and looked over her shoulder. “And a waiter about five steps behind you. Fair warning.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Welcome, Madame,” the waiter said. Two menus floated down. “Shall I give you both a moment?”

He glanced down briefly, then nodded to a sign hanging in the window. “I’ve had my eye on that soup special. I think I’ll try that.”

Cherry searched her menu. Her brow furrowed. “Um, yes, the same for me, please.”

“Splendid, splendid.” The waiter levitated both menus again. “They’ll be right out.”

“You know,” Cherry said after he left, “I’ve walked right by this place without a second thought every day. Looking at that menu made me realize why.”

“I know. The first thing I saw was...” He frowned. “‘Foe-eye Grass?’ I got the second word, but am I even saying that right?”

“No idea.”

“Exactly. So.” He tapped his hooves together and crossed his forelegs on the table. “What do you want to know?”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking at him for a moment. “Well, I’ve figured you aren’t here for vacation, so what do you do for a living?”

“I don’t really have an official title.” He tapped a hoof idly as he searched his memory. “I think I told you I’m an errand boy?” He gave her a shrug and a small smile. “That’s as close as anything.”

“I’ve never seen an errand boy sitting in a downtown Canterlot café.” She pointed to his contracts. “And those look like lease agreements. They’re not yours, are they?”

“Not at all. I serve a noble lady outside the city. She’s been looking for residence in Canterlot.”

Cherry grinned. “That would explain the manners. Plus, there’s always a bit of gossip floating around the castle about some celebrity snatching up a summer home or something.”

He pulled a brochure from under the pile of papers and passed it over. “Like this?”

“Pretty much.” She flipped through it. “Three bedroom, three bath... hot tub in the master bath... a full kitchen and a balcony... this is just an apartment? There’s a picture of a spa!”

“Yeah, there’s a private spa in the building. For residents only.” He sorted through the contracts again and pulled free one with an impressive figure scrawled across the bottom. “That one is... five thousand bits a month.”

She sputtered and dropped the brochure as though it was on fire. “Five thousand?”

“You want to know the sad part?” He scraped everything on the table into a pile and pinned it all down with a hoof. “I visited every one of these places today, and I’m not going to send my lady a single one of these things.”

Cherry whistled and shook her head. “Ouch. That’s probably for the best, though. Five thousand bits a month—”

“She’d never forgive me for sending her something so cheap.” He pretended to miss her sudden silence and nodded to the waiter carrying over their order. “Here he comes again.” The sharp mixture of onion and cheese filled his nose as the bowls settled down to the table. “Ah, that smells nice. Thank you.”

The waiter dipped his head. “Of course, sir. Enjoy!”

Cherry waited for him to leave before speaking. “Just who are you, again?”

He gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Five thousand bits a month is cheap? Who do you work for?”

“Oh. That.” He lifted his bowl and took a mouthful of the warm broth, savoring the rich flavor for a long moment. With a deep, exaggerated sigh, he put it back down and studied the soup inside for another moment. “I... don’t think she’d want me to...” He shook his head and looked her in the eye. “I’d rather not say.”

“Why?” Cherry slapped a hoof to her mouth and clenched her eyes shut. “I’m sorry. I understand.”

“It’s alright.” He took another drink, and she did the same. “To be honest, it’s more about pride than money. She made a bid for a pretty big manor here recently. That didn’t quite work out. I don’t know exactly what happened, but there’s some really bad blood on both sides.”

“She had no idea what was she getting into, did she?” Cherry’s shoulders slumped, and she looked down at the table. “Those manors are only a step down from the castle, and the owners just love having something to lord over the rest of the city.”

“Hm?” He perked his ears forward. “What do you mean?”

She laughed, raising an ankle to cover a broad smile. “You’re not getting off that easy. It’s still your turn to talk, remember? So how long have you worked for this mare?”

He shrugged, letting the lingering memory drift in his mind a moment before answering. “I don’t even remember starting. She raised me.”

“Really? What about your parents?”

“I never knew them. I was given to my lady when I was born.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I couldn’t imagine—” Her face fell, and he thought he saw a flickering sparkle in the corners of her eyes.

He shook his head. “Don’t be. They knew what they were doing.” He had witnessed that moment plenty of times at Chrysalis’ side, the joy in the parents’ eyes when they presented their child to the Queen. All the Hive would erupt to welcome their new brother or sister. He knew he had been no different, and the welcome never faded—not while he grew with the other younglings born in his year under the eyes of the sisters, nor while he learned the ways of the Hive from the brothers.

“But still—”

“I wasn’t the only one. Her whole home was like that. I had brothers and sisters that she took in and trained for their role.” He smiled as wistful memories replaced the harsher lessons. “My parents knew I would have a place. A life. I was never alone.”

Cherry’s smile returned, and she nodded. “I’m glad. That sounds like you had a real family.”

“I did.” He watched the ponies on the street continue their marches home. “If I’m being honest, Canterlot still gets to me. I’ve been away from home before, but it’s never taken me this long to get back.” He hissed under his breath. “And she knew. She must have known this would keep me away for so long, but she sent me anyway.”

“Why?”

He avoided her gaze, wrestling with her question, but failing to escape the answer. “I don’t know.”

Why?

“I don’t even know why I don’t know,” he said and looked back to her. “She must have had her eyes set on Canterlot for years. A few rumors spread before she made the announcement, but I never believed them.” He smiled, but neither his heart nor his brain was behind it. “I never really had a reason to.”

Cherry smiled back. “You were happy.” She reached across the table and touched his hoof. “I understand. You didn’t want it to change.”

He fought back a snort as her hoof pulled away.

“You could be here for awhile,” she continued. “Canterlot isn’t building many more grand manors in the center of the city.”

“I know. I guess all I can do is keep my ear to the ground and hope an opportunity comes up.” He lifted his bowl and took another gulp of the tasty broth.

“True, but that wasn’t exactly my point.” Cherry played with the bowl in her hooves. “You’ve been here a good while already, and you could have a long time to wait yet. Where are you staying?”

He tilted his head behind his shoulder. “I’ve got a hotel back in the warehouse district.”

“The warehouse district?!” Cherry pounded the table. “That’s a slum! I didn’t even know there was a hotel down there!”

The unicorns behind her turned to look at her outburst.

“It’s, uh... it’s not that bad.” He noticed the waiter stick his head outside, and he nodded to him.

The waiter nodded back.

Cherry tilted her head and looked at him. Hard. “‘It’s not that bad?’ If five thousand bits a month is cheap, she can afford better for you! I thought she treated you like a son!”

He put some bits on the table, and the waiter’s aura lifted them away. “I appreciate the concern, but she doesn’t even know I’m staying there.”

“That’s not the point! You shouldn’t be there in the first place!” Cherry sighed and shook her head. “She ordered you away from home and doesn’t even send enough money to get a decent roof over your head? How do you even eat?”

“Well, I did just pay the bill while you were talking.” He gave a sly smirk. “I get by.”

“You—! You paid?” Cherry grimaced and covered her face. “Right. Your treat.” She slumped against the table, trying to hide under her forelegs. “I’m sorry. I’m making a scene, aren’t I? You invited me, and then I say all those things about your... I’m sorry.”

He reached out to her, but stopped, frowning. His hoof pulled back. What was...? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then forced a smile. “There’s one thing you didn’t say.”

Cherry looked up. “Huh?”

“Five,” he said, tapping his bowl.

“Five?” Her eyes sparked. “Ah! No. Not five.” She grinned and stood up. “I know how to pay you back for this one. There’s a grocery store on Ninth Street. You can’t miss it. Meet me there tomorrow morning.”

He raised an eyebrow. “A grocery store?”

She nodded. “A grocery store. If you’re okay sleeping at that hotel, the least I can do is make sure you get some decent food in you without paying through the nose for it. Sound fair?”

“I... guess?” You what? “Sure.”

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” He watched her leave and returned her smile as she walked past on her way home. Still, he couldn’t shake her presence. Her touch on his hoof flared in his mind again, and her outrage on his behalf reverberated through him long after it had stopped shaking the table.

Above all, one word would not leave his skull.

Why?