Illuminating Aegis: Tales of the Changeling King

Namiro panted a little as he reached the Palace courtyard where several Crystal ponies were huddling in a panic around the shattered remains of a false Crystal Heart. “That’s not good… not good at all…” He muttered before turning towards a source of Dark Side energy that was manifesting as a cloud of smoke.

“...Crystals…” A gravelly voice hissed as the cloud grew, sending out spheres of smoke that landed in the city. “Take the Crystals my warriors!”

“Namiro…” The voice managed to catch the attention of the changeling, drawing his gaze towards a black and grey Griffon. “We have to get rid of these Sith!” He calls before charging off, drawing and lighting a crimson saber as several black robed unicorns began making their way towards the palace with similar crimson blades.

The changeling quickly took off after him, lighting up his lime-green saber on its minimum settings. “N-Nick!? When did you get here?”

“I arrived just after you did. There’s no time to explain though-...” The griffon was interrupted as the large cloud of smoke shot towards them, both of the non-Sith leapt out of the way, though Namiro winced as he felt something cut across his arm.

“Son of a-!” His eyes widen as the familiar feeling of those deadly force-stealing crystals begins to grow along his arm. Dark-robed unicorns surrounded Namiro and Nikolaus as the two of them leveled their blades, each of the ones surrounding the changeling and griffon had a strange type of metal armor on. The unicorns lit up their blades as well, unleashing a bright blood-red haze over the battlefield as screams could be heard in the background.

Nikolaus let his lightning power up the Dungeon Keeper charm once again “Rin! We need you here!” He shouts as he tosses the charm back towards one of the smaller ruined buildings.

The ground behind them cracked and opened into a dungeon keeper portal before the two black knights from before came out followed by Rin.

“Ok what...oh my.” Said Rin as she got a look of concentration on her face resulting in the portal kicking up again and a small army of skeletons crawled out followed by two mares. The first one was a white unicorn with an electric blue mane and stylish glasses while the other was a grey earth pony with a black mane and a pink bowtie. Next to come out was something that looked like a filly wraith that floated out and flew around Rin. Then the portal opened much wider and a large metal ship with a giant fox mask on the front floated up from it’s depths and into the sky, manned by green ghost ponies. The ship’s cannons already swerving about as if trying to pick a target. Lastly to come out was the hulking Corpse Collector who had a look on his face like a kid in a candy store. With that the portal closed and Rin charged up her magick and hit Namiro with a healing spell that heals most wounds but avoided the area with the crystals.

“Ok, kind of sudden but I think I’m ready.” Rin said as she crouched in a fighting stance.

The large changeling panted a bit as the elite guard closed in around them. “Well… as nice as that was… there wasn’t… too much… of a change…” He all but wheezed out as he brought his blade up in a defensive position.

“Rin! I can help Namiro with the elites here, I need you to make sure the Crystal ponies are safe, Twilight’s almost got the Crystal Heart in place. If you could at least slow Sombra down that would help a lot.” Nick called over the blizzard as he brought his blade to bear on one of the elite guards, mimicked by the changeling as he brought a lime-green saber against the red-colored one of the elite warriors.

“...Alright but my minions and I are getting out of dodge before they use that thing. Love magic and my magic have proven to make a volatile mix.” Rin said as she charged up her magic and shouted out. “Move out to defend the citizens! Get them safely to the palace!” Before casting her spell causing one of the elite guards to flash and change the colors of their robes from black to red and he quickly turned on his fellows killing one thanks to the surprise. “Keep an eye on that one! The turn coat spell doesn't last long!”

“The magic works differently here, as long as you don’t intend to harm the empire, it won’t affect you… that’s why it will destroy Sombra!” Nick replied as he ducked a saber swing and sliced the leg off of one of the unicorns before bringing his blade into the stallion’s chest. As Rin and some of her minions moved out but the skeletons charged forward and attacked the forces. Most of the attacking Sith were still alive, despite the initial surprise, and it seemed that their robes had been reinforced with The Force to make them as durable as metal armor. Still, numbers were definitely to the advantage of the skeletons as several Sith acolytes were overwhelmed by the undead horde that was basically running rampant through the city.

Namiro readjusted the grip on his blade as he struck out at another of the guards, the impact not even leaving a mark as the Sith warrior was sent sprawling. “So… you’re Rin… It’s good to meet a new friend… but we’ll have to chat later…” He pants as he gives a small glance back at the Kitsune.

“Ya, likewise. Do survive this please while I go on my rescue mission.” Rin replied before she cast a spell on herself and ran off at high speeds followed by the two mares and the ship, knight's, corpse collector and wraith at a slower pace.

Namiro looked over at Nick quickly. “Well, friend… what have you been up to while I was… becoming a king?” He chuckled hollowly as he deflected a saber blade.

“Oh, nothing much… pretty much doing the same.” Nick chuckled back. These warriors had the advantage though, their speed matched the changeling with ease, he couldn't possibly let out any force powers at this sort of range without taking the risk of killing them. Namiro frowned as he studied the quick movements of each Sith elite, it was difficult, since he had to keep moving. Each slash came dangerously close to striking him as he managed to just barely deflect a blade that was made to decapitate or dis-arm him.

"How are you guys so persistent?" Namiro asked the silent warrior that simply glared at him with evil red eyes under his hood.

"They're corrupted by the Dark Side, slaves to their emotions..." Nick replied. "...You need to learn about the Dark side in a way that won't let you get corrupted like these unicorns... Now that I think about it, Rin might be the best option once this battle is over.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Rarity scowled as she lit up the white-bladed lightfoil that was given to her. “Those… those… Bastards! Will pay for ruining my mane!” She shouted as she stomped out of the castle, followed closely by several guards that were armed with spears. “Boys… you need to escort your citizens to the castle… please do be good lads and do that…” Rarity requested calmly as she strode out of the castle, put off by the red-bladed attackers fighting against the undead horde. “Okay… who brought the dead?” She sighs with a slight frown.

“This way everypony! You’re almost there. Nice and orderly ple- WA!” A cultured voice called out before a small stampede of crystal ponies came charging up to the palace. When Rarity turned she was surprised to see the renowned cellist Octavia who managed to move to the other side of the street with surprising speed to avoid the panicked ponies. “Or you can act like Vinyl’s groupies.” The grey earth pony deadpanned as she stepped back and let some skeletons rub by without batting an eye.

“O-Octavia?” Rarity asked in shock as she cautiously approached the mare. “You’re looking a bit more… Um…” She hesitated as she flourished her left hand a little, trying to find the word to use. Octavia looked over to Rarity as she walked up to her with some confusion at first before turning into recognition. “Well… Feral…” Rarity floundered as she gave the grey mare a once-over. “Whatever did you do to your eyes Darling? They used to be such a lovely shade of violet.” She held one arm under her modest bosom while keeping her white saber at the ready.

“Oh, that. Well you know how it is. Crazed ponies on a quest for murder tried to get information and I got caught in the crossfire and, well...They killed me. Thanks to getting a little blood from a vampire on me during the fight I got turned so...ya. That happened.” Octavia said uncomfortably, obviously not sure if she should even be telling Rarity this.

“I see…It is too bad that you turn into a feral earth pony as a vampire... though… if you wouldn’t mind, I have a few unicorns that need to be taught how to properly treat a lady…” She growls before casting a depressed look at the frayed and burnt end of what was once an elegant curl. She takes a small breath before looking back out at the gathered Sith. “These men will know one way… or another… Care to join me?” She asks.

“I am not feral! I have full control of my actions.” Octavia said indignantly. “That being said I am here with some others to find crystal ponies and get them to safety but I guess I could look for them and join you. Any who would aim for the mane deserves a good thrashing.”

“Oh no Darling, Feral is the term for ponies born as quadrupeds… a fairly rare occurrence but still one that happens nonetheless. Poor dears…” Rarity explained as she seemed to make a few gemstones appear out of the air before they sailed through the air into the arm of one of the Sith warriors. “Oh… as disgusting as it is for a lady to enjoy such an action, I can’t help but find I don’t mind since they’ve taken the cheap shot.”

“Oh..I see. My mistake. You see I’m not your Octavia but one from another dimension. One where everypony is like this. This is my first time world hopping and I must say it is a shame that such an amazing place have it’s first viewing in such a state.” She said sadly as she lifted a piece of broken crystal wall bigger than the two of them combined and threw it like a beach ball as a group of sith warriors charging at them.

Two of the warriors barely managed to dodge the wall while the rest were crushed. Rarity made a face like she had just sucked on a lemon. “Those stains will be so hard to get out…” She sighed as she made her way forward. “Tell me dear, how much different is your world compared to mine?” the marshmallow-white unicorn asked with a heightened sense of curiosity.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. As I said this is my first trip with princess Rin and I haven’t been here long.” Octavia answered with an apologetic frown.

“Well then, perhaps you can tell me a bit about yours… and then perhaps I can compare it to mine and give you a better look?” Rarity suggested as she brought her blade up to deflect the warrior’s blade. “Really dear? You call yourselves Sith warriors and even a weekend fencing practitioner can deflect your attacks?” She taunts.

The unicorn mare in the black robes growls a little at the fashionista before bringing her blade down heavily in an overhead strike but Octavia struck forth with a hoof and knocked her back and into a wall.

“My condition does come with it’s perks. Super speed and strength are nice at times.” Octavia said as she watched the sith warrior fly.

Rarity brought her blade up again to stop the crimson blade of the last warrior. “That’s all well and good, although we really should be finishing off these louts so that we can find dear Fluttershy.” Octavia’s eyes widened at those words.

“Fluttershy is alone out here? Well why didn’t you say so sooner?” Octavia said as she turned around to give the last Sith a strong buck.

Rarity let out a small grimace. “Well… she’s not alone alone… just… she’s got a small group of guard with her, one I believe was named Flash Sentry… I do hope the young man hasn’t gotten himself hurt in all this mess while protecting her.” Rarity let her free hand flip her mane a little as she started her way out into the city. “Well, we had best get going… no clue where that good for nothing Sombra is.”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Fluttershy had a very uncharacteristic scowl on her face… there were also several bodies of Sith warriors strewn about on the ground as she was slowly breathing. The red saber that she had taken from one of the warriors was clenched so tightly in one hand that it was making her knuckles white.

“O-oh my…” Rarity stuttered as she took a few cautious steps towards the jousting arena.

“...Well...I’m not entirely certain about this but I think i found a difference in our worlds.” Octavia said in surprise as she looked at Fluttershy.

As soon as she noticed the two other ponies that were approaching Fluttershy looked down at the saber in her hand and quickly let go of it with an ‘eep’ of surprise while recoiling away like it was a snake. Quickly regaining her composure she raced over to Rarity to pull her into a firm hug. “Omigosh Rarity! Are you alright!? Those mean Sith hurt a lot of the ponies before I got here and then they cut off Mister Sentry’s hand right in front of me… I’m so sorry… I… I just…” the timid pegasus quickly tried to explain why there were now many more Sith bodies fading into a black mist before she simply began to bawl into her friend’s embrace.

Rarity gently stroked her friend’s back. “There, there Fluttershy… you only did it to protect the others… you saved so many… I’m proud of you.”

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked with a slight sniff, smiling once Rarity had nodded. She turned her head a little to see the pony standing next to her before letting out an adorable little squee. “Oh my! Octavia! I… I never knew you were a feral! I saw your concert at the Grand Galloping Gala this year, did you have Vinyl make an illusion so that you wouldn’t get any bad press?” She asked with concern as she quickly knelt down to give the pony a reassuring hug.

“One side!” Vinyl’s voice shouted out as she ran by on all fours, carting several wagons that were tied together like a train with crystal ponies riding in them and another quadrupedal pony in black armor standing on top, ready to attack anything that went after the passengers. This sight was visible for only a short time before the train had moved on.

...And Fluttershy seemed to have missed it as she managed to lift up Octavia with a surprising amount of strength that even managed to make Rarity and most of the onlooking Anthro ponies gasp in surprise. Fluttershy looked around in slight confusion for a few seconds before simply shrugging. “What? I have to take care of a bear at home… what do you think he does if he gets a sliver in his paw?” She turned her attention back to Octavia to give her a hug. “Don’t worry Octavia, I’ll make sure you get home to your wife.”

“That’s thoughtful and all but I can take care of myself dear.” Octavia said politely before pushing the mare’s arms open and landing on the floor like a cat and backing up a short distance with super speed.

Rarity put a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Really Fluttershy… this Octavia is not from our world…” At the mare’s confused look Rarity shook her head. “We’ll have time to talk later, it’s best to get everypony to safety now.”

“Indeed, everypony please gather round so we can get you to the palace.” Octavia called out to the crystal ponies and Flash. Each of the anthro ponies complied to the request, Fluttershy helped the injured guard over to the rest of the group.

“O-okay… w-w-we’re ready…” Fluttershy stuttered. Rarity gave Octavia a nod as the last of the ponies gathered around.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Pinkie had a manic grin on her face as several of the Sith warriors nearby hesitated, the black masks they wore were covering looks of worry or fear as the pink party mare had four cannons pointed at them. “There’s just one thing you boys-...”

“Hey!”

“-And girl, have to ask yourselves… ‘do I feel lucky?’...” She pulled on a cord attached to one of the cannons and placed a pair of aviator shades over her eyes. “well… do ya? Punks?” She smirked as a loud, mechanical whirring sound could be heard as the cannons seemed to simply multiply until there was a wall of artillery simply aimed at the Sith warriors. Their nerves were shaken as a pink light began to emanate from within most of the barrels, most split and bolted for the nearest cover as Pinkie simply pulled a second cord.

And on that day… a loud, thunderous boom echoed across the planet Equus, signaling that the ultimate weapon in party artillery had finally been fired.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

“Sister… dost thou still think it a good idea that neither of us go? What if Namiro proves to be not enough for Sombra?” Luna asked as she let her revolving chair continue to spin while giving her sister an irate look every few seconds.

“Luna, I am completely sure that Twilight will be able to handle-...” Celestia stopped mid-sentence as the two of them were knocked over from the shockwave of the Party Artillery Wall (PAW, patent pending). Celestia was the first to recover. “...On second thought Sister… it may be a good idea for us both to check on their progress…”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Applejack was panting a little as she frowned at the warriors surrounding her. “Consarnit all! Why’d ya have ta join his side? Ya coulda jus’ been fine, friendly folk…” The farm mare grumbled as she hefted a spear from one of the injured Crystal Guards. “I’mma have ta fix that though.” Several of the Sith warriors turned their attention to the approaching skeletons just before Applejack facepalmed. “Really now? Someone dun’ gone and raised the dead, have y’all got no respect?!” She shouted as she brought the spear up.

There was a blast and a cry of pain as one of the sith was taken down by a magic blast before several more flew at the Sith warriors from behind as a train of tied together carts pulled by what looks like a feral Vinyl Scratch pulled up and unlatched herself and another pony in black armor jumped off and took a defensive stance.

“Need some help?” Vinyl asked Applejack as she glared at the black cloaked ponies.

The farm mare gave a small confused look at Vinyl before shrugging. “I guess… but if those undead belong ta y’all we’re gonna be havin’ words after this.” She replied as she brought the spear up defensively as well.

The Sith warriors were distracted by the large number of undead that were in between the groups of ponies.

“Hey, don’t bash the undead. Just because a heart doesn't beat doesn't mean it can’t break.” Vinyl said with a frown. “Besides it’s my boss you want to talk to. She’s the one doing the hoodoo voodoo.” Vinyl said before charging forward at super speed and tearing into the enemy forces.

“The dead should be laid to rest, it’s only respectful to those that died, not ta bring ‘em back. Nothin’ but a mockery o’ life with that kind o’ fiddle faddle.” Applejack replies as she brings her spear to bear on another of the warriors, driving the blunt end into his stomach and leaving him in a busted heap on the ground. “Messin’ with life like that is just invitin’ some evil bein’ from beyond ta wreck yer livelihood.”

“Those are just moving bodies without souls or minds. Rin doesn't do the kind of necromancy you’re talking about. And as an undead myself I find what you said offensive.” Vinyl said as she grabbed one of the Sith warriors that was knocked down by the leg and used him as a bludgeoning weapon against the others.

“Bringin’ the dead back ta life is never a good thing. It’s filled with the same sortsa magic mumbo jumbo that keeps these Sith guys goin!” Applejack retorted, snapping off the tip of the spear so that she could just use the rest of the weapon as a pretty firm staff.

“Yea... I can see talking to you about this is a waste of time. I’m not going to debate the rights of the dead and what the living think the rights of the dead are with you. You’ve never been dead so you can’t know what we want.” Vinyl said with annoyance as she ran up to two of the last three sith and bashed their heads together with enough force to break their skulls.

“That’s another thing…” Applejack scolded as she clubbed the last one into unconsciousness. “It’s always kill with the undead, never about keepin’ people alive.” She frowns as she turns to make her way to the castle. “Thanks fer the help…” She calls back.

“Hey I wouldn’t kill them if they weren’t killing themselves! And I already saw several living on your side killing them! On my way to the last drop off at the palace I saw that Fluttershy has a higher body count in this battle than I do so far!” Vinyl called out in irritation before turning to the injured guards. “Alright, anypony that needs a ride to the palace, which looks like all of you, get in the carts.” She said as she and the black knight got to work helping them into the makeshift train.

Applejack chuckled as she made her way towards the castle. “Yeah… right… Fluttershy with a bodycount… girl wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She looked up in slight confusion as a massive shadow began making its way towards the castle. “...Uh oh…”

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Spike was nervous as he clutched the Crystal Heart to his chest, his own heart was racing a mile a minute as he leapt from outcropping to outcropping trying to keep the heart out of Sombra’s possession. “Give it here, Boy!” The gravelly voice of the ex-dictator growled out as the cloud of smoke that the Sith Legionnaire was riding on made its way towards him. The dragon panted a little in fear as he continued shambling his way across the outside of the Crystal Palace, the only other way he could go was down, but… he would very much rather get down a safer way. He yelped in panic as he was lifted off the ground and started flying downward but when he looked behind him he was surprised to see it wasn’t Sombra that had him but some kind of ghost-like filly. She was black, shadowy and had very dragon-like eyes.

“Good work! You take care of him and I’ll play with rocky here.” A large fox called out as they passed her by.

Sombra growled at the interloper. “You will not have my empire you simple knave… you do not grasp the concept of how much power I have.”

“Oh, are we monaloging now? Ok.” Rin said before she cleared her throat into her paw. Then her body was covered in a black flame and the air was filled with wailing as ghost filled the sky and with a voice that echoed with power Rin spoke. “Do not presume yourself stronger against one you have never faced you fool! For I am the ruler of the dead and now you see that the restless spirits of all those who died under your rule and their loved ones who couldn’t stand to see their loved ones suffer in life come forth to take vengeance on you and drag your withered soul into the deepest pits to your damnation!” She shouted out as the specters surrounding them moved closer with looks of murderous rage.

Sombra simply smirked as his form began to solidify, the smoky contrail that once followed him hardening into armor that shined even without the sun, blood-red runes etched into the armor glowed with an evil aura. “Is that really all the power you have now Rin? You were much stronger when you were first summoned a thousand years ago… before the Princesses placed that ban on necromancy.” He laughed as he stepped away from the shadows with a straight, ebony-black blade that had its own aura of malevolence. “Really… it seems I came over-prepared this time. You don’t even have your pathetic displaced princess friends to come to your aid.”

Rin blinked in confusion at his words. “This is the first time I’ve met you. But I do know someone who got a message from his future self so I guess I can time travel later to play with you again. That’s actually a little boring if you think about it. If I’m going back in time to trash you in my future but your past...what does that say about your chances of winning against me now?” She said with a grin.

“It means that I get to continue on, knowing that I am stronger now than you were then, even in the past you could not truly defeat me…” He replies as he brings his blade up, unleashing a barrage of crystals at her.

“So foolish.” Rin said as she moved around the attack with super speed. “Time is something you don’t mess with lightly lest you risk changing something important to you in the future. Now that I know I face you again I’ll need to hold back so you live for me to fight you know.” Rin countered.

“You’re bluffing… you had twice the strength a thousand years ago, you stand no chance against me now!” He replies as he brings his blade down in a rapid arc towards her side.

“And yet I was there to fight you in my future.” She said with a cheeky grin as the sword went through her and she and the ghosts evaporated into nothing. Revealing that he had been fighting an illusion. In his moment of surprise a green barrier formed around his torso leaving his head and legs outside as he was filled with pain as it started sucking the energy out of him and his armor.

He grits his teeth before smiling. “No matter… if I die here, then at least I get to destroy that changeling before he ascends… as well as that unicorn he loves so much…” He begins to chuckle as he notices a black tendril make its way out of what seemed to be nothing simply to pull him away from the barrier with nary an effort.

”Now is not the time… it is too soon…” a strange bass-voice spoke before forcing the Sith to disappear in a mist like his soldiers. Within moments a warm blue light quickly surrounded the city as the biting cold of the blizzard outside began to fade… along with the clouds that were blocking the light…

“Well that was ominous.” Rin said as she came out of her hiding place. “Guess I should start collecting my skellys. With no more enemies to fight they’re going to start getting into some rather uncomfortable places wandering around.” She said as she closed her eyes and soon skeletons started disappearing off the streets.

“Uhm… Hello?... Anyone out there?” Comes a timid voice from inside the castle. “If… uh… if anyone could help me down… that would be great!” Twilight called.

“One moment...Ok got them all.” Rin said before using a portal to get to the top tower. “One portal to the ground floor coming right up.” Rin said as she created a hole inside Twilight's prison.

The humanoid mare ‘eep’s a little as she hesitantly inches toward the portal. She gulps and tries to steady her nerves before stepping into the portal with closed eyes. She opened one eye to look around.

“Oh Twilight! Darling! It’s so good to see you’re okay!” Rarity says as all of Twilight’s friends gather her in a group hug.

“Well that was something. I almost had Sombra there but it looks like he was the puppet and his master decided he was worth saving. I wonder who that was.” Rin said as she popped out of the hole in the ground and let it close up. “Now where is Nightmare? She should be down here since she was the one to give the baby dragon the lift down.” She asked before the wraith like filly flew up to her and rubbed her head against Rin’s side. “Yes you did very good.” The fox praised as she petted the wraith.

Nick approached the Kitsune with a smile, followed closely by Namiro, “It is good to see you again Rin…” The griffon greeted.

“It's good to see you again to. By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have those schematics on you would you? Last time I forgot them.” She said with a sheepish smile.

Nick chuckled as he held out a triangular holocron. “The schematics for a Lightfoil, this way you don’t need to have a force-sensitive person using it.”

“Ohh that's good. I’ll make one for Cluck Norris too. Of all my minions he’s the most likely to get good use out of one. That chicken is a monster in a fight.” She said happily as she took the holocron and sent it to her home with her magic.

Nick took out a hexagon-shaped holocron and the token for Rin and passed them to the changeling. “This is the last time I can help you… I have my own schedule I have to keep now that I’m a king… See you later homie.” He chuckles before he seems to disappear with a *Vwoop*

Namiro’s smile seemed to fall a little as he looked down at the token and holocron before looking at Rin. “So… you’re… a darksider?”

“I guess you can say that. Are you familiar with the dungeon keeper games?” She asked him.

“I… actually can’t say I’ve ever heard of them.” the changeling replied.

“Well it is an old franchise and they ruined it by trying to make a free to play mobile version. It's a game where you play like a dungeon master.You build a dungeon and different rooms attract different creatures and heroes invade or you fight other dungeon keepers. The point is my body produces the dark stuff naturally. I can’t use anything but dark magic so I work with it.” She said with a shrug.

“Well, Nick told me… while we were fighting… that in order for me to have actual balance I would have to learn about the light AND dark side. He told me that, perhaps you would be a good mentor to teach me about the Dark side without corrupting me.” Namiro gave a small sigh as he rubbed his recently-freed arm. “Can you teach me?”

“Hmmmm… Lets run a test shall we?” Rin asked as she summoned a samurai sword with a decorative white handle showing mermaid ponies playing in the water and the blade itself gave off a blue glow.

“Where do we have to go for this test?” Namiro asked.

“A far off place would be best. This sword in an enchanted weapon I created to give me some breathing space on the battlefield. It was meant to conjure a wave of water but I went all out and failed to realise how much in power I had grown so one swing of this thing can create a tidal wave and that’s not something I thing the crystal ponies want suddenly appearing in their city.” Rin said before creating a portal. “See you in the badlands.”

His eyes widen, “NO!” He shouts, drawing attention to them as his hands go up. He quickly coughs into his hand and quiets down a little. “There’s uh… practically nowhere on this world where you could use that blade without killing at least one person…”

“...very well we’ll do this in my world.” She said as the portal closes and opens again and she jumps through.

He takes a few moments to send a message along the hive link that hopefully he would be back soon, but that Patina’s father was safe. He swallows nervously before Nick appears again and quickly looks through the portal.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

“Oh, Rin! There’s something I forgot to let you know…” Nick called with a smile.

“What?” her voice echoed through the hole.

“Since he’s a royal changeling… well.. a changeling in general, don’t worry about having him change to suit your tastes. I don’t think he’ll have as good of a connection to The Force while he’s in your world, so he may get his first taste of hunger.” Nick explained with a smile. “See ya!”

Rin just shook her head before closing the portal and presenting the blade. “First thing you must know is using the darkness won’t always have the same result for when you try to use the light with the same technique. This sword was made with a lot of darkness and weapons like that are known as cursed weapons. It has no will or mind but it does have instinct and if you pick up this weapon it will try to take you over. By doing this you will get your first taste of what it's like to have the darkness try to take you over. This is the best way to test how well you can control the darkness without letting it control you as it can be stopped by just taking the blade away.” Rin said before driving the blade into the ground. “This is your test. Pick up the Rusalka Kusugurimasu and maintain control.”

Namiro looked at the blade for a second, frowning as he pulled out the two halves of his saber hilt. “How fast should it start to affect me?” He asks quietly as he lets his small connection to The Force gently stow the two pieces away.

“It's not going to ease into it. Like I said it has no mind or soul so the moment you take hold of it the blade will attack full force to take over. Don't worry about going super soldier on me, it will make you attack with reckless abandonment like my skeletons if it does take over so I would be able to take the blade from you easily regardless of your training thus far.” Rin answered.

“Well, I am no fool, I know that the first time I try I will fail.” the changeling sighs as he reaches out for the handle of the blade. When griped the handle his eyes widened into a trance His smooth plates that were covering his body began to warp and sprout small spikes at the edges. He began to laugh as he pulled it out of the ground and clumsily charged at Rin with the blade raised to strike.

“No resistance at all...Lovely.” Rin deadpanned before using her magic to pull the blade from his grasp. “Now that you felt what it’s like do you still want to do this? If so then I’m going to need to look into your mind to see what kind of guy you are. Refusal or resistance will lead to my refusal to teach you. I can't just start teaching this stuff to the wrong kind of people or it will end horribly.”

He collapses to the ground, panting as his form slowly shifts back to normal. “I… There are some things… that I would prefer… you do not pry… for the safety… of my mate… and her hive.” He pants as he slowly tries to drag himself up from the dirt. “I’ll make it… obvious… where I would not dare… risk my mate’s trust.”

“I’m not going to dig into memories, that goes against my moral code. That method would take forever anyways. I’m just going to go into your subconscious where you can tell no lies and wear no mask. What I will see will be a reflection of who you are, not memories. Just so you know anyone who can teach you what your looking for and doesn't do this isn’t someone you want to learn it from. I need to know you, the real you to be sure you're safe to teach this to...Well as safe as it gets.” She said with a wave of her paw.

He slowly eases himself onto his rump, panting and regaining his composure. “Alright…” He replies quietly as he takes one more deep breath in and out. Rin nods and her eyes glowed green as she makes contact with his mind and immediately dives deep into the darkest depths. When the connection was broken Rin nodded.

“I saw a shining castle with many inside. The walls were strong telling me you are protective of them. Those you love perhaps? I want you to remember them. Let them be your light when the darkness tries to consume you. First things first is you need to understand that the darkness is by its nature, it’s ravenous. It hungers and that's why it's stronger than equivalent amount of light. It feeds to grow stronger and the more you feed it the stronger it gets. But the stronger it gets the more it tries to take so the first thing we're working on is how to cut it off. I’m not going to lie this is going to be extremely unpleasant. Are you ready to begin?” Rin asked. The changeling nods as he stands up again, re-focusing himself as he stands taller than the kitsune.

“Then I’m going to reach out to you with my darkness. It will be weak at first and I will be ready to pull it back if you start to lose to it. It will try to make you feel what it wants so it can gorge itself. It will show you what it can to make you hate or be afraid. I want you to give it something else. If it wants you to hate and shows your loved ones being attacked, focus on your decision to protect them rather than take vengeance.” Rin said as a black cloud reached from one of her tails and touched his horn. The next thing he saw was a dark place. When he moved around he heard a sickening, sloshing sound and looked down to see that he was standing in a pool of blood, flesh and organs.

The changeling took a deep breath. “Okay… flash ‘horror’ game level as level one… gotta start somewhere…” He says as he grits his teeth. ”This… is going to take a while…” he mentally groaned as he could already feel his inner Force reserves ebbing away now that he wasn’t on his ‘home’ Equestria.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something move in the gory pool that he was standing in and the feel of several things squirming up his legs and grasping at his ankles. The sound of crying filled the air as the form of Sombra emerged from the shadows.

“Oh, I’m glad to see that you finally made it. We were beginning to think you wouldn't show.” He said arrogantly. “Come out my dear. Our guest has arrived.” The distorted form of Sombra said with a sinister smile. A new sloshing sound soon began and what came out was a horror indeed. It was the form of his beloved queen. Only her exoskeleton was cracked and broken and she was missing several parts of her body. Large nails with chains attached to them were driven into her flesh and where her eyes should be were empty sockets. Her mouth hangs open with maggots squirming about inside, feasting on her dead flesh.

The only reaction that Namiro gave was a tiny twitch of his right eye. “I already know that this is not real…” The changeling starts to draw Force power through the green crystal in his pouch. “Begone specter of lies…” He growls.

“Specter of lies? Foolish child, just because this vision isn’t real you think it won’t come to pass? You’re trying to gain the power of darkness for a reason. You can’t do it you know. I will consume you and once all that you are is twisted into my likeness you will be the one doing arts and crafts.” Sombra said as he gestures to the image of his beloved. “Assuming she’s still there when you get back. You think the Sith will take the loss of the Crystal Empire lying down? And what did you do once the fighting was over? You left. Who's to say she isn't in my clutches already? Her screams sounding off like a beautiful symphony?” He asked as he drove his fist into her stomach to fill the area with wails of agony.

Namiro smirked. “Because… This is a typical horror trope…” He explained, his mind cooling down a little as he places his hands behind his back. His smirk tells all across his speech. “Because the real Sombra never knew about Patina despite me informing Prince Shining Armor of his daughter, as I never mentioned her anywhere near him. The real Sombra also has no idea where to find her due to her not being a Force Sensitive.” His confidence grew as he began to wade through the gore, walking as if it weren’t there. “You wouldn’t hurt her anyway… the chance to turn her into your own personal pleasure mare would be too much of a temptation to harm her like that, since without me you would have no royal caste changeling to create more changeling spies for you.” He stopped mere inches from Sombra’s face. “And last, but certainly not least, is that I AM going to succeed so that there will be no mystery as to who will come out on top next time. Dark is not evil, just as Light is not always good… You won’t find me an easy target…” The changeling scowled as he brought his right hand up and let it hover less than an inch away from Sombra’s chest before using the Force Push ability...or at least tried to.

“That won't work here boy. You're in the darkness now and only the darkness holds power here.” The fake Sombra said with a smile before using his own Force Push to launch him back and into the pool where he felt a sharp pain as a piece of rib bone punctured his abdomen. “Time to change tactics. Tell yourself it’s not real all you want. Pain is pain.” Sombra said as he approached while using the force to pull jagged pieces of bone from the pool and prepared to let them fly like shrapnel at the changeling.

Namiro pulled himself up and quickly removed the piece of bone from his body. “Pain is an illusion… Pain does not exist… Pain is not something to be feared. I will not let you control me… you will never have power over me.” He replies calmly as he tries to lets loose another Force Push.

“Still thinking like a light sider. If you want to stop me you must overcome me yourself. Without the help of the Force.” Sombra said with a dark chuckle as he drew his blade.

“I will no longer be without The Force, The Force is connected to every being in the world, whether they feel its influence or not, a Changeling is connected intricately.” He unleashes more and more, not caring how much of what surrounded them he sent flying. “The Force is part of me, using the Force to defeat you will be overcoming you myself!” There was a loud crack as a piece of Sombra’s face fractured though he showed no sign of feeling it.

“If that's true then show me.” Sombr said with a snarl as he launched himself forward and moved his blade to chop off the changeling’s head. Namiro scowled as he felt the last of his reserves drain, forcing him to his knees as his vision blurred. Mentally he reached around desperately, looking for The Force, just enough to send Sombra back. “Tired? If you don't feed the darkness then you can’t overpower me!” Sombra said as he grabbed him in his telekinetic grasp before smashing the changeling into the fake queen.

Namiro gagged and gasped as he tried to get up, his muscles shook with each inch as he ignored everything around him. He continued to reach, searching for what he had to do, trying to figure out why he couldn’t use his emotions to fuel The Force anymore. He grit his teeth as he shakily began to stand, each movement felt like he was shimmying through a tunnel filled with glass. He stood defiant, but… it was more a trait of the Light… he didn’t care for the Dark Side, he hadn’t ever thought about using the Dark Side for anything, he was a learner, a thinker, what would emotions ever really matter to someone who uses The Force as a tool as much as The Force treats them as a tool?

That was the thing though, here… now… the last of his Force Reserves had run out, he didn’t have any of the emotions he once thought he had. He felt… cold… empty… hollow. ”...Is this how Patina feels? Is this how her… no… our children feel?” He thought back to his time on earth, he thought back to the franchise that started his nerd-dom, the one scene that caught his attention…

How feel you?

Cold, sir.

Afraid are you?

No, sir.

See through you we can.

Be mindful of your feelings.

Your thoughts dwell on your mother.

I miss her.

Afraid to lose her I think, hmm?

What has that got to do with anything?

Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.

As a changeling, he had no feelings on his own, just as impassive as The Force was. He had no feelings for the Dark Side to feed on. ”So… what do I do?” he starts to shift a little with hesitation. He took a small breath before fixing a neutral look on Sombra. “Rin… we need to end this for now…” At his words the darkness around him melted away and he was sitting in the wastelands once more as the darkness was pulled back into Rin. He lets out a shuddered breath before collapsing onto the ground with a groan as the ground knocked the wind out of him.

“What went wrong?” Rin asked him with a tone of confusion. “It’s like you completely shut up and let nothing out for the darkness.”

“I… I wouldn’t say it went wrong… I… I realised something.” He replies. “I, as a changeling, have no emotion for the Dark Side to use. I know how emotions are supposed to feel, and when I’m connected to The Force I can feel them… but here… I ran out… and I feel like I went an entire week without lunch or dinner…”

“...that can be a problem. The darkness would be able to deplete your reserves pretty fast if that's the case. Which means any training you get would need to be done on your world.” Rin said with a groan.

“Or find a way for me to start generating my own emotions while I’m here…” Namiro replied. “...The only way I can think of that is having someone to feed on the emotions of while I’m here.” He does actually try to hide a blush that was starting to show on his chitin-covered cheeks.

“Hmmm, changelings of this world don’t have that problem. The just can’t feed off the emotions of changelings.” Rin said as she scratched her chin in thought. “I would give you the built up emotions my changelings collected from me when I was in heat for a week but they’re pregnant now so that’s for the babies…”

Namiro shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask to use your resources for it anyway. A Royal Caste changeling is the most resource-heavy kind of changeling there is. In order to keep me back up for as long as I was already I would need a new supply every hour.” He sighs as he manages to roll onto his back as he feeds on the Force energy emitting from the green crystal in his pocket.

“...Changelings aren't well liked here at the moment. The invasion was too recent. The shrunken changelings haven't even gotten used to living in the toy city yet. I think we would need to bring in a large number of people from your world to sustain you for that.” Rin said with a frown.

The changeling chuckled. “How long ago were you in heat? I might’ve missed the perfect source of energy to continue the training daily by however long ago that was.” He slowly begins to sit up again, still shaking with a lack of energy. “Even then… I would probably only need two or three non-changelings… without it.” Rin just sighed.

“I can't stay in your world to train you as I’m dealing with a war here and I need to be here...I’m sending you back for now. Make some preparations and find some volunteers to feed you and use my token when you have everything ready.” Rin said as she opened another portal.

Namiro quickly fished out one of the three crystals he had obtained from the Crystal mine. “Here… I… I believe this will work the same way your token does.” He says as he holds the lime-green crystal out to her. Rin takes it with her magic and gives a nod before turning to the portal.

“Time to come home!” At her shout the non-skeletal forces she brought came through.

“Oh man! The look on Applejack’s face when she found out Flutters has a bodycount!” Vinyl said as she laughed hysterically.

“There is nothing funny about death Vinyl!” The grey mare chastised.

“...Fluttershy...has a...Nevermind. It's time to get back home.” Rin said before they all seemed to disappear. “Well I’ll see you later.” She said with a wave as she waited for Namiro to use the portal.

He smiled a little as he shakily stood. “You know… the Kitsune is actually one of my favorite parts of Japanese lore… It’s an interesting choice and can actually say a lot about you without realizing it.” He began to walk towards the portal. “It was good to meet you Rin…”

“It was good meeting you as well. I’ll ready a place for you and the guests you bring to feed you whenever you’re ready to start again.” Rin said with a smile. The changeling smiles a little bit more before stepping through the portal.

|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|

Namiro blinked as he came face to face with a very large crowd of ponies. Two of them looked on in particular curiosity, causing the winded changeling to let out a sheepish chuckle. "H-hey princesses..."

Luna had a slightly amused look while Celestia had a bit more of a stern-mother look. "So, when were you going to let us know that you met with one of our old allies?" the taller mare asked.

"To be fair, I only met her today... and Nick was the one who gave me the token..."

Luna gave a small chuckle. "We do not blame thee... when we found out about our sister's... restrictions... on the art of necromancy we worried for bringing our old battle comrade to this world. Her token still is locked away in the hall of heroes."

"Wait... Y'all were okay with that stuff?!" Applejack shouted indignantly. "That necro-mangy-stuff ain't got no respect for those who passed on!"

Luna sighed. "What you are referring to, dear Applejack, is not true necromancy. You speak of the manipulations of those spellcasters who have been falsely led to believe that necromancy would extend one's life past death." The lunar diarch explained with a sour look. "True necromancy comes from studying and understanding the fine line between life and death in order to respect that line. Many true necromancers seek to only continue their studies in isolation without the bother of day to day life, much like our dear friend Rin. Necromancy is no more evil or foul than divination. It is the intent behind the spell that chooses whether the spell is evil or not." She gave a narrowed look at the marble-colored solar princess. "Although It makes us wonder how much false lore our sister deigned to spread during our absence..."

"Luna... I already said I was sorry about the Nightmare night tale..." Celestia groaned. "Let's just enjoy our time here... like we said we would..."

Namiro spoke up next, raising his hands with a small chuckle. "To be honest... I'd much rather relax for a while too... I did a little bit of training while I was over in Rin's world for Force-knows-how-long... and I'm exhausted."

"Thou were't gone but five minutes." Luna replied. "Two before our sister and I arrived, then three after."

"...Really?!"

"Yes Namiro, It appears that everything was alright in the end anyway, aside from needing to send a few guards to Canterlot in order to volunteer for various new prosthetics." Celestia explained.

That got a quirked eyebrow from the changeling. "Prosthetics?"

"Several of the guards were injured while protecting the civilians of the Crystal Empire. A mechanic in Canterlot has been quite vocal about her mechanical limbs being better than the normal prosthetics due to requiring no magic to function."

Applejack gave a frustrated huff. "It's still not right... messin' with the dead like that."

"The Force does not approve of it either... but sometimes we must do what we do not like in order to protect." Namiro said quietly as he walked up to the farm mare. "Rin is a good person, we will try not to call on her too much though... deal?"

The farm mare seemed to think it over for a bit, not quite wanting to take the word of a changeling... but then again, the Princesses were friends with her at one point. "...Fine..." She sighed, taking the changeling's outstretched hand in her own. "but it doesn't mean I gotta like it..."

"Wouldn't expect any less." Namiro replied. "Now... Lets PARTY!" He cheered, instantly drawing a huge grin from one particular pink party mare in the crowd.