"We should get rid of it, it's a spy, we can't let it go and we are definitely not bringing it with us." Blackheart told us as we sat around the tied up changeling.

"The changeling is a she, and we don't know anything about her yet, Blackheart. I thought you knew better than to assume she is a threat." Fluttershy intervened. Blackheart turned his gaze to Fluttershy and snarled.

"It's a changeling, you can never-"

"Trust a changeling, have you forgotten what Starlight did?" Fluttershy cut him off with her own glare.

"That's different, it hasn't changed like Thorax and the others." He pointed out to her.

"Thorax?" Silvermelody questioned.

"Yes, Thorax, the king of the changelings." Fluttershy stated.

"Ah thought all changelings was bad?" Pippin chipped in with his own question.

"At one point yes, but long before you were born, Starlight had helped to redeem most of the changelings. Of course, Chrysalis was not keen on this new idea along with some of her followers. They ran off leaving Thorax, the changeling who thought of a better way to keep the changelings fed, king. In response to this new way of life, their bodies changed from a black shell, to a colorful creature." Blackheart explained. The changeling never spoke once, only glaring at Blackheart silently. He glared back, and his horn lit up.

"Don't even think about it." Pippin said stepping in between Blackheart and the changeling. I stared at my friend in amazement as he squared up to Blackheart.

"She could've killed Dusk and Ah earlier, and if what she says is true, then we were in her territory when she attacked us. Ah say we bring her along until we find mah Ma, then she can tell if the changeling is lyin'." He told Blackheart who smirked.

"Fine, but if she tries to attack any of us, her head will be off her body in a flash, and if she does manage to harm one of us, you are responsible." Blackheart seemed to have the same thought that I did. Pippin's mom was the Element of Honesty, which meant she could tell a lie from the truth. Pippin was being smart about it, while still being suspicious of the bug-like creature. Pippin turned towards the changeling.

"As for you, don't think we're friends just because Ah saved you." The changeling smirked.

"Wouldn't dream of it." She replied. Pippin snorted and turned away heading off to pick up his bag of sticks. I trotted up to him quickly, wanting to talk to him about his choice.

"Why did you stop Blackheart? I mean she is a changeling, and not a good one at that." I asked him as he heaved his bag onto his back.

"Y'all know Ah don't like violence, not only that, but she's defenseless. There's not much she could do if she wanted to and even if she did, Ah highly doubt she would." He told me as we walked back towards the fire pit. The changeling had rolled away from it as to not get too hot and Blackheart was about to start the fire. I sat down next to Silvermelody who was observing Blackheart as Pippin trotted past us and dropped the bag next to Blackheart. He then trotted to the opposite side of Silvermelody and I and sat down, not caring to even watch Blackheart start the fire. I turned my attention to Fluttershy who brought a canteen to the changeling.

"Here, you look thirsty." She told the changeling, holding out the canteen to her. The changeling fidgeted around until she sit up and open her mouth as Fluttershy poured the clear liquid into her mouth.

"Thank you." The changeling said before laying back down. Fluttershy smiled.

"No problem, do you have a name?" She asked as she put the canteen down next to her.

"Gena." The changeling replied before turning away, not wanting to continue the conversation. Fluttershy took the hint and walked towards us, sitting next to Silvermelody comfortably and placing a wing around her. Silvermelody shifted closer to her mother as I scooted away to give them space.

"Sil sure is lucky to have Fluttershy as her mom, huh." A voice said behind me causing me to turn around.

"Yeah, what of it?" I questioned him as he sat down next to me.

"Something tells me that our moms will react differently to seeing us than her's." He answered.

"What do you mean?" I arched a brow.

"Well my mom was never a hugger to begin with, only really showing affection when I got hurt or did something impressive, although she did have her moments." He said with a proud smile. Being the oldest of all of us, he remembered his mom and how she acted.

"Yeah?" Blueblitz nodded as Blackheart finally got the fire going.

"I doubt she will even shed a tear to see me. She's too cool for that, but I can expect her to smile and say she is proud of me for finding her." He continued. "What about your mom, what'll you think she will do when we get to her?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Honestly I don't know. My dad always talked about how she was invested in her books and magic, but always found some way to spend time with us. Almost like she had always scheduled a time for us, even when she was busy with other things. I guess all I can hope for is a hug from her." I told him. Truth be told, I didn't even think about what she would do or what I would do. I was just ready to find her and end all of this so we could be a family again, but I had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case, as war is war and it lasts a long time.

.................................................................

"That's it, keep it up!" I ducked underneath Blackheart's sword as he yelled. I brought my own blade up and felt it collide with his as I rushed forward with my own attacks. He moved quickly and blocked my attacks before partying and driving his left shoulder into my chest. I gasped for air as I staggered and struggled to block his next attack, which was his blade coming down towards me. I fell backwards and used the momentum to roll away long enough to regain my balance. Blackheart charged forward causing me to go into the defensive once more as his swings became blurs of speed. I was forced to dodge around his blade, only blocking when necessary, up until he caught my blade with his own and sent it flying out of my magic.

"You are disarmed, your opponent isn't keen on surrender, so...what are you going to do?" I ducked as the blade swung where my neck would have been. "You aren't going to have time to think, kid!" I strafed as he swung his sword downward, giving me a chance to retaliate. I copied his earlier movement and shoved my right shoulder into his chest, staggering him. I gripped his sword in my magic and ripped it free from his before pointing the tip of the blade at him.

"Smart move, but you should really pay attention." Blackheart glanced upward. I looked up and went to dodge away from my own blade coming down onto me but found Blackheart's hoof around neck, holding me in place. I felt cold steel on my back as the sword touched it. "You...are dead." He said as he put the sword on the ground and took his sword from my magic.

"That wasn't fair, your magic has a further reach than mine." I told him as I picked up my sword.

"Do you think the enemy will care, you will both be in a life or death situation, therefore you need to strike instead of showing that you stole their sword. You did surprise me though with that shoulder of yours. Now come on, we've gotta finish this trip or else Ponyville will be destroyed before we get back." Blackheart said as he disappeared into the trees. I followed him as quickly as I could, already sore from the training, but not as sore as the first day of training. I was getting better and although still gasping for air, I wasn't nearly as tired as last time.

A day had passed since we had captured the changeling, and I could smell the salt water from where we had camped last night. The only change we had made was our training. Blackheart had decided that since we now had a prisoner that the training needed to be done separately and away from the eyes of Gena, who now was just tied up by her neck with rope and a ring around her horn that wouldn't let her use magic. She didn't seem to mind it much and never tried to escape, only making small talk with Fluttershy and glaring at Blackheart every now and then.

We arrived back at camp, which was already packed up and ready to be moved. Blackheart chuckled at the sight of my friends and Fluttershy all eagerly ready to go.

"That was quick, did you have them clean up Fluttershy?" Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes, although it didn't take much convincing since they knew that we are in a hurry." She said as she held out Blackheart's saddlebags. He took them and placed them on his back as I took my bags from Silvermelody.

"Thanks." I told her as I slid my sword into the bag.

"No problem, I thought you would be exhausted from training so I did my best to help." She told me as she walked away to stand beside her mother. I smiled and turned to face Blackheart who was talking to Blueblitz.

"I need you to fly ahead and tell me if you see a boat on the dock that's there, alright. If there isn't then we will have to make a detour, but try not to get distracted by anything, ok." Blueblitz saluted and flew off, going faster than a normal pegasus and almost leaving a blue trail behind him. Blackheart turned to face us and glanced at us individually.

"This next part of the trip is going to be a rough one as we will be on water for at least a day. During that time I'm going to need all of you to listen to me so none of us drown or get hurt. The boat that is up ahead is large enough to fit twenty ponies on it and only needs five to keep it on track, I will be our navigator and take the wheel. Blueblitz, Silvermelody, and Fluttershy will direct the sails, and Duskshine will keep an eye out for anything that could damage the boat along with Neo. Finally, Pippin and Emeraldlight will be in charge of our prisoner. Is that all understood?" Blackheart told us as Blueblitz could be seen in the distance. We all agreed and started our trek to the boat, which thanks to Blueblitz, was intact and ready to sail.

"One more thing, do not let the waves convince you to do anything, they were enchanted several millennia ago to get rid of pirates and ponies that were known to have ill intentions to the shores of Equestria, thus their name, The Singing Waves." He finished his explanation as we continued on our path to the Dragon Lands.

.......................................................

The boat itself was pretty large, holding one giant white sail in the center with a platform for the steering wheel on the back. It looked like a small pirate ship except the quarters held beds rather than cannons.

"This ship was used as a way of transportation for non flying creatures to cross the ocean into Equestria some time ago, but after the invention of a airships, it was forgotten about and left here. So I made it my own, a discreet way to get to the other side of the world to find things." Blackheart told me as I took a drink out of my canteen.

"That's cool, but why would you ever need to leave Equestria?" I asked, sitting on one of the bed.

"That's classified information." He told me before leaving me alone in the quarters. He really was a strange pony. I decided to go back to the deck not too long after Blackheart did and was met by Neo's excited expression.

"I can't believe we get to sail on the sea like pirates!" She told me in astonishment.

"Yeah it's crazy to think that we are having to go all over Equestria to find our mothers." I told her with a smile.

"I know! It's so crazy to think about, I mean I never had a chance to meet my mom, but dad told me she was even more famous than he was as a party pony!" It always surprised me with how much energy she had in her, especially since she never got to meet her mom, but maybe that was why she had so much energy. After all, maybe not knowing someone never effected how you would feel if they were gone, that or she was just always so positive that it never got to her. Her dad always looked happy, even though he had bags underneath his eyes from staying up late with her.

"Poor Cheese, he never got any sleep with you, did he?" Neo shook her head.

"Nope! But I make it up to him by always being happy and acting like mom!" My jaw dropped, did she just say what I think she just said.

"Wait, take a step back for a sec Neo, are you saying your dad was always happy because you acted like Pinkie Pie?" Neo stopped bouncing.

"Yeah, he used to cry a lot, but ever since I got my cutiemark, I never saw another tear or frown!" I glanced at her cutiemark, a purple balloon with a yellow smiley face inside of it. "It made me realize that as long as there is good around me, why be sad!" She started bouncing excitedly again. It still was interesting to know that Cheese Sandwich could hide a frown with a smile, that isn't good for the brain, but some ponies have a way to cope with things, Neo was his way of coping with Pinkie Pie's hiding.

"Anyways, we should start looking out for obstacles don't you think." Neo nodded and sped to one side of the ship and looked around. I went to the opposite side and looked around, nothing but waves. We had set sail not too long after we got on the boat, and I could no longer see the shore.

"Is there a possibility that we...could not rock...so much?" I turned to see a green faced Emeraldlight, he was sea sick.

"I doubt it Em, the water kind of does it's own thing." I told him as I peered over the edge, checking for anything that could damage the ship.

"Oh...wonderful." Emeraldlight replied before looking over the edge of the boat. I looked away as he let his food and whatever was in his stomach out into the sea.

"Gross." Blueblitz chipped in as he held the sail in place with his hooves.

"Hey Blackheart, I have a question for you!" Blueblitz called back to the pony at the wheel.

"And depending on the question I may have an answer." Blackheart called back.

"How did you move this boat by yourself when it needs five ponies to maneuver the thing?" Blue asked.

"Well, considering the fact that it took me more than six days to get to the Dragon Lands by myself, I had to work in shifts. One hour I would use magic to hold the sail in place while I steered, the next I was checking for damage and looking at the map, depending on the tide and if I took any damage, my trip would vary from three to six days. Now with all of your help we will be there by tomorrow." Blackheart told him as I stared into the water.

"I don't think I will get any sleep, tonight." Emeraldlight mentioned.

"None of you will, the singing is much stronger at night and if you sleep, you will most likely end up overboard," Blackheart told us as he held the wheel steady. "but I might let you nap, in the next couple of hours when we have passed the worst of it." I heard Blueblitz groan in annoyance. I looked at Blackheart as he glared at the pegasus. "Just keep doing what you are doing, and see what happens when we take a break." He warned him. I turned back to the water in front of me when a pony stepped beside me.

"How are you doing, Duskshine?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm fine, Fluttershy, just doing what I can to help find everypony." I answered as I kept my eyes on the waves ahead. She chuckled.

"You sound like Twilight, always caring for the others over herself." Fluttershy told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked facing the older mare. She just smiled and moved a pink strand of hair out of her face.

"She was more or less our leader, anytime we had to face some kind of villain she would take charge and have a plan ready. When we had faced Tirek for the first time she even gave up her magic to save us." Fluttershy said.

"She was the Princess of Friendship after all, so that doesn't surprise me, but why would any of you decide to leave us. You faked your deaths, that doesn't sound like something the Elements of Harmony would do." I told her. She looked towards the sea for a moment before looking at me.

"We aren't just the Elements of Harmony, Duskshine, we are the heroes of Equestria, yes we are the embodiment of the Elements, but being a hero is so much more than saving ponies," her smile faded. "you need to make sacrifices to make sure everypony stays safe, to keep the ones you love safe. We didn't want to leave but we needed to leave to protect you." She glanced at Blackheart. "No matter what anypony thinks."

"Mom, my wings are getting tired can you take over for a bit?" I heard Silvermelody call out.

"You better go tend to Silvermelody, before she falls off the ship." I told Fluttershy. She smiled and flew away to take Silvermelody's place.

_____________________***_____________________

Our journey across the ocean had become rather quiet over the course of day, leaving many of us to our thoughts, Blackheart and Fluttershy talked a lot, but mainly about plans for the future. Silvermelody would come talk to me whenever her mother had taken over while Neo talked to herself most of the time. Emeraldlight would talk to Pippin every now and then but would take a lot of small breaks leaving Pippin alone with the Changeling. They did eventually break the ice with each other, just talking about their lives mainly, but I could still see the unease on Pippin's face. The water was rather calm though, even though the moon was in the sky. The wind itself had died down enough for sail to not have to he directed by hoof, letting the pegasi rest.

"Alright everypony," Blackheart called to us. "let's eat!" He finished as he approached the door to the lower decks.

"But who is going to watch for everything up here?" Emeraldlight asked. Blackheart pointed at the wheel where a small transparent blue bird stood.

"I am." He opened the door and let Fluttershy in before entering himself, we all followed him down to the next deck where a table sat.

"Where did you learn that spell?" I asked as I pulled a sandwich from my bag.

"An old mentor of mine, it's an advanced spell, your mother will probably teach it to you at some point when we find her." He told me.

"Why can't you teach me?" I asked him as he sat down.

"Because I'm not a magic teacher, kid. Your mother will probably find enjoyment in teaching you some new spells, anyways." He finished.

"He's not wrong, Twilight had mentioned being a teacher a few times, especially when you were born." Fluttershy told me before biting into her own lunch.

"Yeah, I guess, but, you were taught the spell, right, Blackheart? So you could still teach me it, for combat purposes?" I added on that last part in hopes of persuading the stallion.

"It's not a spell that I'm willing to teach you, I barely use it as is for...personal reasons, so it's a no." Blackheart said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Fine..." I replied, upset with my failure.

"You already know millions of advanced spells, Duskshine, why is this one so important?" Emeraldlight asked hovering his sandwich in front of him. I watched him dab his muzzle with a handkerchief before replying.

"Well it's always good to learn something new, it keeps the gears in the brain turning." I explained with a smile. Emeraldlight nodded in understanding, probably not fully getting it, but he tried.

"Speaking of learning, when are Sil and I gonna do our aerial combat training?" Blueblitz said, stretching his wings.

"Whenever our food settles, since Blackheart doesn't have wings, and Rainbow Dash isn't here, I will be instructing you." Fluttershy said after finishing her lunch.

"How can you instruct us whenever you have never used my blades?" Blueblitz challenged Fluttershy.

"And you think I have?" Blackheart mentioned. "Fluttershy is an experienced pegasus who was trained by your mother how to use those blades, just in case the enemy got too close. You'd be wise to not underestimate her." He finished. Blueblitz snickered,

"We'll see about that." Fluttershy remained silent.

"Mom, are you ok?" Silvermelody asked putting a hoof on her mom's shoulder. Fluttershy jumped slightly.

"Oh, um yes, I'm just not a violent pony, and don't fight unless I am forced to, which is why I am only instructing you." She told her daughter and Blueblitz. Blueblitz just shrugged and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that, Blitz?" Silvermelody questioned. "Wanna say that a bit louder so I can hear you?" She glared at the stallion.

"I like this challenging attitude you two both have, don't forget to use it later." Blackheart told the two of them.

"Hey, where's Pippin by the way?" Neo asked randomly.

"He's eating with the changeling, keeping an eye on her, so she doesn't try anything." Blackheart told her as he stood up.

"And to make sure she doesn't go overboard if she succumbs to the waves." Fluttershy added, standing up as well.

"When you are done head back to your posts, we will rest when it is time for the two of you to train." He looked at the two young pegasi.

"Yes, sir!" We all said in unison before heading back to the top deck of the boat.

_______________________________________________

"You don't talk much, do you?" Gina asked me as I took a bite of my sandwich. I did my best to ignore her and enjoy my food. "I'll take that as a yes." I heard her shackles budge slightly as she rubbed her chin. "So where are we heading exactly?" She broke the silence once more.

"None of your business." I told her. She didn't speak much unless it was a question. I gave her the same answer everytime, hoping that she would eventually get the picture. That wasn't the case.

"You know for a pony that spared me, you sure are rude. Did you spare me to torture me with silence?" Now that was a good thing to think about. Why did I spare her?

"Ah dunno, I just didn't think you was worth killin'." I answered nonchalantly.

"Well, thank you for that, although this boredom might just kill me. At least that Emeraldlight would talk to me." She told me.

"He's just a generous pony, an' he doesn't know when to keep quiet sometimes." I explained.

"So he must be Rarity's son." I stood up and glared at her.

"What, just because I isolated myself doesn't mean I don't know who The Elements of Harmony are. Not only that, but with the Element of Kindness here, I just put two and two together." She explained. "Don't get mad at me because I outsmarted you, that's your own fault for revealing that information to me." I turned and pulled my hammer from bag, clasping the band around my hoof.

"What are you gonna do, kill me? I'd love to see you try, but if you must, go right on ahead. I'm a spy remember?" I stopped.

"Why are you trying to kill yourself?" I asked, returning the hammer to my bag on the floor.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I must do what I can for the truth queen of the changelings." She continued on. I smirked and kept my back turned.

"Who is?" I questioned her. This was a lie detecting trick my pa had taught me. You lead the pony on and then catch them in their bluff, if they didn't know a certain piece of information, they were lying.

"Queen...queen Crystaline of course." She lied.

"Ya mean Chrysalis? Yeah Ah'm not falling for it," I faced her. "why are you trying to kill yourself? An' answer honestly." Gina sighed and looked down.

"I'm nopony, why else. My home was wiped out by that pony with the black fur and some other ponies several years ago when I was a hatchling. We were a peaceful hive who wanted to stay out of this hidden war between changelings and ponies, but we were considered a threat, so they killed them. After that I tried to join another hive, but they were so violent that I couldn't survive there." She said as she looked at me. "So, I isolated myself from the world, only picking up snippets of what was happening and feeding off of small amounts of love to survive. I'm dying from starvation, so it's not like I'm going to live much longer anyways." She finished. I felt guilt wash over me and then anger. Blackheart had destroyed this creature's home in hopes of ending some war. I looked at Gina for a moment and then packed up my food and grabbed my hammer.

"Ah think it's time Blackheart explained his past," I clasped the band around my hoof and walked over to the changeling. "but first," I raised my hammer over my head and watched the changeling accept her fate. "Ah gotta get ya outta these shackles." I slammed the hammer down onto the chain, breaking them and letting the changeling free. She looked at me in astonishment.

"You're letting me go?" I nodded and turned towards the door.

"You can leave, Ah'll distract Blackheart in the mean time. Now get." I told her before leaving her alone, my hammer floating in front of me. She could've been lying to me, but I just had a feeling that I could trust her. Hopefully it wasn't some sort of changeling magic.

"Blackheart!" I slammed open the door to the outside as yelled. "You've got some explainin' to do!" The black stallion walked down a set of stairs and looked at me.

"Why aren't you guarding the changeling?" He asked. I watched his horn glow slightly as I took a few steps forward.

"Ah let her go after hearing a mighty fine revelation about you." I pointed my hammer at him.

"You did what!" Blueblitz yelled from above me.

"Blackheart has been hidin' somethin' from us, he's a murderer!" I kept my hammer pointed at the stallion who just stood there calmly. I watched my friends gather around us as I spoke. "He and several other soldiers killed a peaceful hive of changelings, ones that thrived on helping ponies!" Blackheart laughed at this statement.

"Is...is that what she told you, and you trusted her, a changeling!" He laughed for a few more seconds as everypony remained silent.

"She's told me more about herself, than you have ever mentioned to us, killer." I hissed. Blackheart seized his laughing and glared at me.

"So now I'm a killer, you remind me of Applejack even more, but then again she's the Element of Honesty, so she could see right through my lies. Even so, that was all in the past when we were at war. I was given orders just like other soldiers, the difference was we didn't take any prisoners, as it was more merciful to kill them." He told me, his horn still glowing.

"You actually did kill them." Duskshine said, his eyes widening.

"I was following orders, kid, nothing more, nothing less." He looked at Duskshine as he spoke.

"You showed no sympathy towards them either, just killed them on the spot." Silvermelody started before putting a hoof to her muzzle. "What about the foals? What did you do to them?" She finished as her eyes started to water. Blackheart opened his mouth to speak, but instead looked down.

"Murderer!" Emeraldlight said, pulling his weapon out of his bag. Blackheart's horn stopped glowing and he sighed.

"You're no better than the changelings that tried to kill us..." Duskshine told him.

"I was given my orders, in all honesty I couldn't ever bring myself to kill the foals, it's part of the reason why I have a black heart." Blackheart told us.

"But that doesn't change anything! You still killed a peaceful hive, so if you let them live they would have just died out in the wild anyways. You're a-"

"Monster?" Blackheart finished Blueblitz sentence. "You aren't the first one kid, trust me on that one, but it was my kind heart that made me one in the first place." He looked at me for a moment. "That look on your face isn't the first time I've seen it, and it won't be the last. I am a monster, but not the kind you-" he jumped towards me. "-cross!" I looked up to see Gina trying to fly away.

"No!" I jumped into the air as a bright light flashed from chest.

Author's Note

It was extremely difficult trying to come up with something for the chapter, I had the beginning and end of it, but not the middle so I spent a lot of time trying to figure something out and decided upon this. Oh and I decided that if I'm gonna reveal the cutiemarks of the characters than it would make more sense to do that later as they have been friends and Duskshine doesn't want to look at his friends flanks all the time, otherwise I hope you enjoyed the chapter.