To say that for destruction

Yawning I walked into a room. There was a man in a golden uniform with a spider web of blood leaning against the wall. He was tall, like Rarity, but had Rainbow dash's muscle. "Okay," A smoky voice said as my hand drew a tanto. "Now, don't worry. I need you alive... for now,"

I shot up from my bed. Soon after I realized I was sweating. "That dream was too much," I said to myself while falling down on my bed.

For the next several weeks I spent most of my time dedicated to academics and thinking of a way to ask out Sunset Shimmer. Ben was the only one in the crew that had any idea what I was go in through. And that was because he was going through the exact same thing with Rarity. Although he was lucky since everyone except Ben knew she liked him. Me on the other hand, it was pretty much up to fate on what Sunset Shimmer would say.

On the other hand, Claire seemed more aggressive than usual. Which was saying a lot. Ben and Beth were the muscle, well that now included Zeke, Greg, and David. But even those five weren't as aggressive as Claire was now. Now I was often wondering what got into her. Though I never straight up asked her. Her corn knife was wickedly sharp and I did not want to be on the receiving end of it.

After what I did to Alex, no one dared challenge any changeling to physical combat. The three of them now just kept their distance, picking at our edges looking for a way to get to Sunset Shimmer. Not that they would succeed. Even if I didn't want to do everything to protect her, it was a matter of honor for the other changelings.

So we've all been flanking her. It didn't help against the insults and dirty looks more kids still shot her way, but they did stop throwing food at her in fear of hitting one of us. Which was a step in the right direction...... Sort of.

The problem was finding a way to ask her out. Because Claire was right, as painful as it is to say that. "I am too scared to ask her out.

I was running from them again. All around me the screams of my unit were heard while I saw the quick silver flash of Claire's knife. Beside me was a petite girl that was so maddening familiar. Before long we were surrounded by five Umbrum with clubs. "Run!" The petite girl with sea greenish black hair with artic blue eyes shouted. I was to afraid to die. I ran.

Waking up from the nightmare was clockwork now. Rising up I went down to the living room. To my surprise I saw Zeke and half my squad packing their things. "What's going on?" I asked curiously.

"We're going drifting north east towards the hive," Greg explained.

"Want to come?" Jade asked.

"No thanks, I've never been one to drift. Besides, I kind of like it here," I replied.

"Funny thing Phoenix, Claire and the others said the same thing," Zeke mused.

"Said what?" I asked.

"They liked it here," Zeke replied while slinging his bag on.

"Will I see you guys again?" I asked him.

"Yeah, were came from the same lot. Just hit me up on my phone. Besides we always stick to the drifting routes near the hive. Just ask around and you'll find us. But if you ever need our help just call and we'll be there," Zeke assured me.

I nodded in return while I saw my original crew with the exception of Midnight, Corvis, Forest, and Solstice walk outside. It was roughly 2 AM, but they didn't seem to mind. Watching them leave I felt a little sad to see them go. But this was the life of the changelings. We were nomadic and always on the move.

The next morning I sat at my usual seat with Rainbow Dash. Who was currently arm wrestling Beth. "Come on you got this Beth!" Ben roared.

"Come on Dash! You could take her!" Applejack added. Andrew was at the library making up work, but Claire was nowhere to be seen. She seemed to be avoiding us. Me more than others. Although I didn't mind. Having her around was like walking on eggshells. Three minutes later Rainbow Dash won.

"Hey look, it looks like Alex and his buddies made a new friend! I think his name is Ezra but he looks nice!" Pinkie shouted excitedly. I immediately jumped as well as Ben. Secretly wondering if we'd ever get used to her.

"Sounds fun," Beth said dryly.

"Awww come on now. Don't be a poor sport, I personally don't like Alex, James, or Sebastian. But this new guy could be nice," Applejack said hopefully.

"Probably, but I'm going to head to class now," I told them while rising.

Along the way there i unknowingly ran into Sunset Shimmer. "Good morning," Sunset said to me kindly.

"Hey Sunset," I replied remembering the reason I was always trying to catch her alone. "Hey um, I kind of wanted to ask you something,"

"Go ahead, I'm all ears," Sunset told me.

"Listen, if you're not busy or anything. Would you like to go..... and uh..... grab something to eat after school?" I asked her nervously.

Sunset stared at me for a minute while I saw her mind slowly process what just happened. Slowly a blush appeared on her face as she took it in. "Of course!" She said excitedly before correcting himself. "I mean sure, I guess I can,"

My head shook in disbelief. I wasn't sure she would say yes. Before I could reply I hears a dreadfully familiar voice. "Well, isn't this the perfect sight,"

Turning I spotted Alex, James, and Sebastian a long with another guy. And this new guy made my blood run cold. He was dangerous looking. He was roughly inch or so shorter than me, but he was athletic looking. He had pale skin with long dark eyelashes and coal black hair. But the scariest thing was his eyes. They were black like polished obsidian. And then he smiled which gave him away. His teeth were impossibly sharp, and them I knew what he was........ a Umbrum.

This new guy and I stared at each other and seethed both knowingly. "Think it's time to get her since she doesn't have an army around her," Alex gloated.

"And what makes you say that?" Claire asked while appearing next to me. Although I knew it was for this Umbrum instead of Sunset.

"Four against two, still have the odds in our favor." Alex gloated, but I wasn't listening anymore. The Umbrum and I were glaring daggers into each other.

"Four against six, and don't forget Phoenix put you into the hospital last time," Andrew gloated as he appeared with Beth and Ben.

"Please I don't want any trouble. Could you please just leave us alone?" Sunset pleaded.

"Like you left us alone?" James snapped which made Sunset flinch.

"What's wrong? Can't handle a little insults?" Ben asked mockingly.

"You shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" James growled.

"Then do something f*****," Ben answered.

"Careful changeling!" James snapped.

I was about to start throwing insults of my own when I felt a tug at my sleeve. Turning towards whoever was tugging me I was that it was Sunset Shimmer. "Can we go, please? Only Alex and James are still there," Sunset pleaded. Turning I saw that she was right. Sebastian and the Umbrum were gone, and to my surprise. So was Claire. But I knew I would be seeing her during gym class. Turning to my crew I quickly judged their chances against Alex and James. Ben could take Alex, and Beth could handle Alex with Andrew's help. The little freshman was more ferocious than a pit bull.

Turing to Sunset Shimmer I nodded before I grabbed her hand and led her away. "Well now I know who the new guy is," I told her.

"Really? Where did you meet him?" Sunset asked.

"He was that gothic guy with Alex and them, the tall guy in the back," I explained to her.

"Really? I didn't even notice him," Sunset Shimmer said thoughtfully as she went deep in thought.

"I wouldn't expect you too, they're good at blending in," I told her as we walked.

After the events with Alex I decided to escort her to her classroom. As we got there I chuckled as we arrived. Sunset turned to me and raised her chin slightly. "What are you laughing about?" She asked suspiciously.

"My first day here, when you gave us those donuts. I remember Claire and I. Back when I was still on her good side. We snuck in here and rigged your chair to set off a air horn," I said before I burst out laughing.

Sunset Shimmer's face went from deep thought. Then to realization, and regret. And then to.... Embarrassment? "Oh, so that's who helped you? I almost forgot about that!" Sunset said before she also burst out laughing.

"Yeah, and you got us back before the day ended," I reminded her smiling at the memory. Back when he and Claire were still cool with each other. Back before these nightmares still happened. Thankfully I had Pinkie Pie and them or else I wasn't sure if I would have went back home, but then again we all swore to never go back.

"And where are you going to go? Not even your parents left you anything," Francis shot.

"Doesn't matter, we're done here," Midnight countered.

"You ungrateful little S***," Francis screamed.

"I'm grateful," Midnight whined.

"What are you grateful for?" Francis asked.

"I'm grateful that my parents were kind enough to get busy eighteen and a half years ago! Bow chicks bow bow, chicka bow bow," Midnight shouted in a amused tone. I had to let out a grin when he heard that. It disappeared a second later when I heard the sound of a slap as Francis stormed out of the kitchen.

Francis was a short ugly lady with light brown hair that was already fading. She reminded me of a wet puppy. I knew the real reason why she wanted us to stay. When we were gone she and Austin would stop getting money from the state. The place we lived in was void of life besides the commodities Francis and Austin bought for themselves. The four of us kids under their roof got Jack s***. All my stuff was able to fit in a black duffel bag. Several seconds later Midnight Fade walked out of the kitchen. He was tall, six feet tall and he was the most fast and agile fighter I knew. In fact he was the only one besides our mentor Lesmie, and my foster siblings Corvis, and Solstice who could take me on in a fight. Corvis was a only a few months older than me while Solstice was as old as Midnight. They would be eighteen on November 3rd and November 7th. Midnight was the oldest. Solstice and Corvis were pretty even with each other in terms of skill and both were slightly better than me. Midnight however was on a whole different level. Part of that was my fault. He had dark shiny hair that gleaned even in darkness. They had natural murky green highlights. It came down to the bridge of his nose. Midnight was tall, lean, and slim. Being six feet tall he always had luck with the ladies. He had really pale, but not sickly skin with eyes were dark green and he had high sharp cheekbones and a slightly angled face. His angelic features told his wisdom that went far beyond seventeen years old. However being raised in a abusive home left his personality unpredictable and often violent.

"Did you here any of that?" Midnight asked with a grin. His smile was wide and his teeth were straight and white.

"Hell ya, bow chicka bow bow," I replied with a smirk. Midnight looked up to me and nodded. I was a bit taller than him.

I noticed a red mark starting to appear on his left cheek where Francis slapped him. At the moment I was slightly on edge. It disappeared when I remembered that I was leaving now.

The memory made me a little angry at Francis and Austin who treated us like s***, but even more so at my parents for leaving me to them. Although I missed Midnight, as much as I hated him and Vice versa he was always my big brother. And Solstice and Corvis who I never even got to say goodbye to. However I did a good job at hiding it when I turned and began walking down the hall.

"Hey wait!" Sunset called from behind me.

"Yeah?" I asked as I turned around to face her.

"We're still on for diner after school right?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Yeah," I told her a little happy she wasn't dissuaded by Alex and his cronies.

"Okay man calm the Hell down!" Ben said as he and Andrew tried to calm me down. Ben and James ended up scraping it out and there was no real winner. But James now had a black eye and a broken nose while Ben had a cut lip and bruised ribs.

"Calm down? I've never been on a date before!" I replied already nervous.

"It's just diner, don't worry about it. Just keep calm and don't mess up," Ben said sarcastically.

"And be good enough to get lucky!" Andrew added enthusiastically.

Both Ben and I groaned in annoyance. Me because that was the last thing I wanted to try for now. Sunset Shimmer was the beauty Queen who ruled the school. Even if she was now the beauty Queen in tears. Something I really wanted, but was to imitated to try for. At once the two of us said in sync to Andrew. "Shut up virgin,"

Andrew let out a cry of protest before Ben and I burst out laughing. "So you picking her up?" Ben asked.

"No, she has a car," I replied.

"But changelings don't use cars," Andrew protested.

"But Sunset Shimmer isn't a changeling," Ben pointed out.

"Wait really?" Andrew asked as he stood up and stood next to us. He was the runty freshman, but he was more loyal to me than Claire was. Who worried me more and more with each day.

"Yeah, the red hair instead of black hair and blue eyes didn't give it away?" Ben asked amused.

"Ohhhh, I just thought she was wearing hair dye," Andrew said before Ben and I burst out laughing again.

Several hours later Sunset and I sat at a booth in a Denny's. Sitting across form her was having a fan girl moment. I didn't expect this fiery girl to go out with me on a date. Much less actually enjoy it. She had picked me up from the mansion where Claire shrugged her off when she rang the doorbell. If it wasn't for Beth I was pretty sure I would have missed her unless she called me. It was times like this that I missed, Zeke, David, Joshua, Jack, Greg, and Jade. My childhood friends back when I lived with Francis and Austin.

"Hey um.. Phoenix?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Yeah?" I asked as I sipped my Dr. Pepper

"Where did Zeke and the others go?" Sunset asked.

"They went drifting again. They were never here for long. The only reason they stuck around long as they did was probably because we were friends since we were little kids," I explained.

"And what about school?" Sunset asked.

"Not sure, I guess they enroll wherever they go, but officially we're all homeschooled unless you have people like Claire and me," I told her.

"But what about college and stuff? How are they going to go if they keep ditching?" Sunset asked which made me wince. "What's wrong?" Sunset asked instantly.

"Changelings..... don't go... to college," I said lowly.

"Wait what?" Sunset asked astonished with a little bit of horror. "Are you... not allowed to?'

"We can if we want, but there's no point. Our doctors are trained since birth so we don't need to. Its kind of pointless," I replied.

"No point? What about education? Becoming lawyers doctors, teachers?" Sunset asked.

"That's not a part of our culture. Most of us live our lives as drones who patrol our Queen's territory. If we're lucky we might be able to become Futas and live a easier life. But also a more dangerous one." I told her as our food came.

"That's horrible!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's depressing. But can we please talk about something else?" I pleaded.

"Yeah," Sunset said as she sat back down. Thankfully for the rest of the night she didn't mention it. Although I could tell in the back of her mind she was thinking about it. And not just here, probably in her world too. But the night went off perfectly. We often laughed at the same jokes and telling different stories and just talking as we ate. When the night finished I elected to pay while she insisted on paying the tip.

"Want me to walk you home?" I offered as we stood outside the diner.

"No thanks, I'm not far," Sunset said as looked around sheepishly.

"Okay, if you need anything just-" I began before she moved up and kissed me on the lips. I stared at her before I felt a blush coming on my face.

"You're such a nice guy," Sunset Shimmer said before she walked off.

As she walked off I put on a goofy smile before I turned and fist pumped. Walking down the street I didn't even notice Ezra start walking after me from the shadows as the Umbrum trailed me. It wasn't long before I got to downtown. From here it would only be roughly two miles until I got to where I called my home. When I saw a large crowd surrounding what appeared to be three girls. From where I stood they seemed to be singing.

Two of them seemed to be on the taller side while the third one looked more average, but there was a seducing demeanor about them as they sang. And it was a understatement when I said that they were the most enchanting singers that I have ever heard. Miles above Twilight when she sang in the cafeteria. Feeling intrigued I moved closer to them and elbowed my way through the crowd. Being taller than most of them it wasn't hard until I was roughly thirty feet form them. For the briefest moment I thought I saw them recognize me before they continued to sing.

The tallest one was wearing a purple hoodie, and her hair appeared blue. Or dyed blue, not that I could tell since she had her hood up. The middle one who I assumed to be the leader was wearing a matching hoodie and looked like she had golden blonde hair that came down in curls. And the shortest of the bunch had what looked like either a black or dark purple with green highlights and a apple green hoodie. Opening my mouth I was about to ask them who they were when someone shoved me.

"Hey watch it!" I snapped while shoving a stocky guy around my age with more force than I intended. That was weird, normally I'm not THAT aggressive. Claire was, but not me. While I was doing this the three singers seemed to perk up as they continued to sing.

"Watch it you punk a** b****!" The stocky guy said before he tried rushing me. Growling I sidestepped and snapped a kick into the man's gut. The man grunted as several shouts and a few screams were heard as the man fell to his knees. Growling he tried rising again, but I was there. I don't know why, but I felt so angry at this guy and kicked him in the face as he was rising.

As the stocky guy shouted in pain while his head snapped back there was more shouts around me as the crowd began picking sides. There was shouts and many people began brawling while more screams of terror started sounding as a great many people tried fleeing the scene that was growing more violent by the second. All the while the singing seemed to get louder and even more intense as the three singers vocalized as if there wasn't a riot going on around them.

Keeping my guard up I eyed the crowd for a target which normally wasn't me, but at the moment I felt like I needed to hit something when there was the quick pitter-patter of footsteps somewhere behind me to his left. Say . . . eight o’clock. A tiny tock as feet hit the ground very rapidly and getting closer to me, a sound that did not belong but that I heard even past the roars and screams of the crowd because, after all this time, I was still a changeling. So I knew. Someone was rushing him through the crowd. And fast.

Dumb luck was all it was. Snapping my left arm into a elbow he swung at whoever tried rushing him and missed. Or sort of, the person ducked in a dive and tacked him sending them both rolling through the crowd. Rising I drew my knife which was a KA-BAR. It was probably the thoughts going through my head, or the fact those damn singers kept singing, but I was ready to cut somebody.

Turning I faced my attacker when I saw who it was and froze. Standing across from me at roughly 20 feet was Ezra. Tall and shadowy like always. In either one of his hands were two knives that had slight curves to them. I wasn't sure, but they looked like Becker Magnun Camps. Well at least he's not wielding a gun. Must not have earned it yet.

"You know I was wondering whether you were brave or stupid walking around alone with me here," Ezra jeered while he stood up straight and began circling me. Growling my eyes followed him while I kept in a defensive stance. All the while the singing continued and the crowd didn't even seem to notice us.

"Well, you really are stupid to try me," I growled.

'Oh really? Cocky aren't you? I guess I'll have to change that. Or not, you and your kind are vermin who need to be put down. And I'm only to happy to oblige," Ezra said with a smirk.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," I responded.

Author's Note

I am soooooooooo sorry this took soooooooooooooooooooo long.