Pip's Treasure Chest 2: Journey to Hollow Shades

Prince Charming continued to smile as the moments passed by, Succubus looking into his eyes. He heard a gasp from the other mare, most likely because she too was simply amazed by the handsomeness before her. No doubt she was having the same thoughts that Succubus had when she first laid eyes upon him. The same lustful desires that all-

“Excuse me but who are you?” asked Succubus as she swatted his hand away. Prince Charming took a step back, shocked by this as she continued to talk. “Well, whoever you are, I don’t let naughty colts touch me like that. Especially when I’m not working. That sort of thing is reserved for my Pip. Are you a friend of his? Is that why you were inside?”

Prince Charming couldn’t believe what was happening. His body trembled slightly as he did everything in his power to process this. No mare had ever resisted his magic like this before! At least not since he had gotten that plastic surgery to alter his face! Ever since then no mare had been unable to look at him without having at least one lustful thought. Breath quickening, Charming wondered if maybe the issue was that she didn’t find him attractive. NO! That was impossible! There had to be some form of thestral magic that made her immune to his magic. That was the only way this bat-winged mare could resist him! That had to be it. THAT HAD TO BE IT!

“Succubus, watch out!” shouted the other mare, probably noticing his horn glowing brighter. Succubus turned her head to look at the other mare in confusion while he raised both hands. He would break through any defenses she had by using his magic at its fullest, even if it meant her brain might be permanently damaged. So long as he could have her in at least a somewhat decent condition to be wed, then he didn’t care about anything else. His dream was about to come true and nothing would stop him now.

However, as Prince Charming was about to make his move, he heard a moan behind him. It had to be whatever his name finally getting some air back into his lungs after that last blow. Succubus must have heard it to for her ears twitched as her head turned towards the door. Before he know what had happened, Succubus had shoved him out of the way and flown towards that tiny pathetic stallion. Turning, Charming saw Succubus cradling that waste of space in her arms.

“Leave…get…away,” he managed to croak, probably in some utterly pathetic attempt at nobility or some crap like that.

“Pip, what in Luna’s name did he do to you,” replied Succubus as tears began to fall down her face. The scene before Charming made him utterly sick to his stomach. Rather than watch this continue, he lunged towards his prey. Succubus never had the chance to turn around or do anything. Before she realized it, his hands were on both sides of her head as he began to focus every drop of his magic to enter her brain. Horn glowing brighter than it had ever before done in his life, cracking slightly from all the power and his teeth gritting, Charming prepared to take what was his by right.

However…

“Let go,” came a whisper in his ear. Without meaning to, Charming did what the voice said. Shocked by this, he looked around to see two sets of eyes upon him. The older mare was holding a hand over her mouth, looking like she was about to puke as she looked upon him in disgust. Or maybe it was because she was looking at the mess he had made with that sorry excuse of a stallion. There was no way any mare would find him disgusting after all! As for the other mare, or rather filly, she was holding a doll close to her lips while her gaze conveyed the desire to murder.

“Nopony hurts my sister,” the voice whispered again while the filly’s eyes narrowed. Prince Charming then let out an ear piercing scream as his arms twisted behind his back. His fingers pulled in every direction as he felt his insides being squeezed. All the while he heard the voice whispering to him, saying all the horrible things that were happening to him. Wishing him death for what he had done. Out of the corner of his eye, the fallen handsome stallion saw Succubus bringing the unconscious puny stallion around him. Charming’s focus sharpened when he saw that they were heading for the door.

“That magic,” whispered the unknown mare, seemingly talking more to herself. “It’s lust…no, obsession magic. Maybe a mix of both?” Charming had no idea who this mare was or how a non-unicorn could tell anything about the type of magic he used. Nor did he really care. All that mattered right now was that his future was trying to escape him. So, bearing the pain, Charming lit his horn up again before aiming it at the filly. “Banshee! Tell him to stop! He’s going to-”

Too late. Prince Charming fired his magic at the filly holding the doll which exploded on impact before sending the filly flying backwards until she hit the wall behind her. Instantly the pain that had rendered him helpless ceased. Getting to his hooves, Charming considered what he should do with the filly. If she was the one who had the power to do that she would become a powerful tool for him. Maybe worthy enough to keep her around after he was tired fucking her senseless or when she showed signs of being too old for his tastes. She would be a very useful tool. Quickly Prince Charming shook his head. There would be time to ponder what to do with her later. Right now his main prize was getting away.

The unicorn charged out of the house and into the open area where Succubus was dragging that ugly piece of trash with her. With her back facing him, more focused on where she could go, his future plaything never saw him coming. With ease he got behind her, knocking whatever his name is out of her grip as a hand went to cover her mouth. Charming almost laughed as he held her, instead allowing a large grin to appear on his face as the mare shook about trying to free herself. Had she been smart and dropped the dead weight then she would have been able to fly away safely. Instead she tried to save the both of them and look where it got her: right back into his grasp.

Succubus began to trash more violently, opening her mouth to try and bite his hand. This, sadly for her, was not the first time Charming had dealt with a difficult mare in such a fashion. As such he remembered to use his magic in order to keep her jaw shut before she managed to hurt him. He then tripped her, knocking her to the ground before he saddled her sides thus pinning her.

“No more games,” said Charming as he reached her head. Just as he was about to touch her again and use the full force of his magic, he felt something strike his side. Knocked off Succubus and in considerable pain, the unicorn looked up to see an older stallion holding a shovel. Said stallion was sweaty, dirty, while looking at him with the utmost hate. “What now?”

“You,” snarled the older stallion as he held the shovel in both hands, gripping it like a weapon. “You took my Trolley away from me!” With that he swung the shovel at Charming who had barely a moment to dodge, rolling to the side and getting dirt in his mane. With his eye twitching, Charming quickly scrambled to his feet as another blow came his way. Only this time it nicked his shirt, creating a small rip.

As the older stallion prepared to swing again, yelling about his Trolley (whoever she was), Charming gritted his teeth while magic flowed to his horn. This was interrupted as he felt the shovel connect with his leg, knocking him back into the dirt. For a moment he laid there, staring up at the stallion who had murder in his eyes. The fallen unicorn’s horn lit up and fired a blast, but the older one was ready, easily reading what was going to happen and dodging it with ease. Feeling his heart rate quicken, Charming looked around for anything that might help him. For the most part, there was nothing there except cages of bugs. Why wouldn’t anypony need cages of bugs?!? Not lingering on them for more than a millisecond, Charming spotted something that would help him: a forge with weapons! Picking one of the visible swords at random his horn glowed again, the same green colored aura wrapping around the blade before it flew towards him as the older stallion swung down. Charming caught the handle of the weapon in time to block, pushing back with enough force to make his attacker step backwards.

Breathing a bit harder now, Charming stood up with sword in hand. Yelling in rage he swung at the older stallion who tried to block it with the wooden handle. To Charming’s shock and horror, the blade only dug in a tiny bit before it began to bend and warp before his eyes. Too stunned to move, Charming felt the older stallion kick him away. What kind of shit quality sword was that? Was the moron who had worked on it a novice or just mentally-

“Here,” came a mare’s voice. Charming blinked, it was the other mare. She must have run out of the house because she was now standing next to the old stallion holding a large knife as if to give it to him. The older stallion looked at it for a moment, before looking at the mare and taking it. Charming meanwhile used his magic to grab another sword from the forge. Even if it was shit, it should be enough to handle such a comparatively puny thing.

Deciding to go on the offensive and hoping to catch them off guard, Charming lunged forward with the blade pointing at the mare. The old stallion, with just the knife in his hand, did exactly what Charming had hoped he would do: move in front of the attack. Charming could not help but to grin as his blade drew nearer, but faded as the stallion deflected the attack. Prince Charming felt himself forced back a bit, surprised to see such a smaller weapon handle his. His surprise seemed to double when he noticed that there was a large cut in his blade that almost sliced it in two. Turning his head back towards the older stallion, he saw that he too was surprised by this. Not only had be deflected a real sword but that knife didn’t have a roll or knick on it!

“Papa never uses the good steel for sword meant to be hung on walls,” said the mare to the older stallion, just loud enough for Charming to hear. “We get so little good material and what we do get is used to make kitchen knives.”

The old stallion nodded in thanks to the mare as sweat rolled down his face. “Now I will finish him off and avenge my Trolley,” he said before lunging at Charming. The younger stallion tried to block the attack, but the shitty sword was sliced in two and he was knocked to the ground once again. Looking up, he was that the older stallion had raised the blade above his head ready to strike Charming dead in the very next instant. “For…For…For…”

Something was happening. The stallion seemed to swagger a bit as he began to grow pale and clammy. He was now breathing harder, lowering his arms until they hung limply. “No,” he said as he fell to his knees before Charming, the realization of what was happening clear in voice. “Not…now.” With that, the old stallion fell the ground with the knife slipping from his fingers.

But the knife did not lay there for long. As soon as he could, Prince Charming used his magic to levitate it to his hand while getting up. He couldn’t believe his luck. The old stallion must have had a heart attack! It seemed like fate wanted somepony as great as him to succeed! What other reason could there be? Smiling broadly, Charming looked down to see the old stallion still trying to reach him only to grasp the air. Even now he was being annoying.

“I have no idea who this ‘Trolley’ is,” said Charming coldly as he let go of the blade so it would levitate in his magic once more, pointed down at the old stallion’s neck. “Probably because she was not worth remembering. Just like you.” With that, Charming sent the blade downwards…

Only for him to be stopped AGAIN! Only this time somepony used magic to blast the knife away. Glaring, Charming began to turn his head frantically looking for whoever did that. He did not have to search for long for where had once been a flat chested thestral was now a changeling with a long horn that had smoking coming from it. As the Changeling fell to one knee, panting, a wave of understanding filled Charming. That must have been how she could sense magic! He also realized something else: that this was a golden opportunity. If he could use his magic on her, she would be a powerful tool for him to use just like the filly. She could help get rid of those that annoyed him by framing them in some way. Perhaps she could even become Succubus for a while until he managed to break through whatever it was that was keeping him from making her his. Such a wonderful treasure trove Hollow Shades was being right now!

Charming approached her with a grin. The Changeling began to light up her horn, however the effort to do so looked like it was taking a lot out of her. It was almost as if she wasn’t used to using her magic for some reason. While slightly annoying, it did not lower her worth too much. No, her ability to become anypony was all that he really needed from her. As Charming continued to walk towards her, the Changeling fired another blast which he easily side stepped. The Changeling, after firing, fell down on all fours as she panted heavily. He could see her arms shaking to hold her up, probably having used a great deal of her magic already. That was fine with him, it meant she would be able to fight back even less.

Once in front of her, Prince Charming bent down so as to be able to touch her face more easily. As his hand drew nearer, the false mare looked up at him with a look of horror. Perhaps she knew what was going to befall her. Not like it mattered to him. Prince Charming- PAIN! He screamed out in complete and utter pain as he felt something stab into his leg. Falling to the ground, Charming looked and saw that worthless tiny stallion in a crawling position. And in his leg was the knife that had been blasted out of his hand. Somehow, while he had been focused on the Changeling, this sack of crap had managed to get the knife which he then used on somepony as glorious as himself! This would not stand. Gritting his teeth in white hot anger, Charming kicked whatever his fucking name was right in the face. Moving as fast as he could, Charming lunged at the stallion who had hurt him. Now with both hands on his chest, pinning him to the ground, Charming looked upon a bleeding face that looked utterly atrocious. Raising a fist, the unicorn stallion prepared to end this annoyance as he should have done when he first saw him. He had cost Prince Charming too much time and caused too much pain, more pain than he deserved.

“No you don’t!” shouted Succubus moments before she tackled Prince Charming. The unicorn fell with his back to the ground, wincing as his head hit the hard dirt. Succubus was on top of him, holding his arms down with all her might. A cute attempt, but useless when dealing with somepony as great as himself. With a simple glow of his horn, Succubus was lifted off of him so that he could stand.

“Don’t worry my dear,” said Charming as he looked at her. “You’ll be in that position again very soon. Naked as you pleasure me for the rest of your life.” Again he reached out for her while the mare glared back. There were no more distractions, no more ponies to get in the way. The Changeling looked like it was taking everything just to keep from falling to the ground. The old annoying stallion was on the ground right now in no shape to help anypony. What’s his name was nothing more than a moaning lump on the ground, not even able to help wipe off the blood on his face! There was nopony left to get in his way. It was finally over, he had won!

“Take a running leap off a cliff,” whispered a familiar voice. Charming’s body began to move on its own, standing up straight before beginning to walk. Where to, he had no idea. But as he moved he saw the one thing he had forgotten about, the filly who had used the doll. She was standing by the doorway, holding a poorly made rope doll that looked like it had been made in a hurry. Of course, this was nothing he couldn’t handle. All he had to do was use his magic again and- “No magic. Just run as fast as you can to your death.” With that, Prince Charming began to walk faster as he was unable to use his magic.

The unicorn struggled as his body moved against his will, moving faster despite the knife in his leg. It was complete agony, blood streaming down his legs which stained his pants. On any other day he would be furious. But he wasn’t, instead the fear he felt overshadowed almost everything else. It was like being trapped. No matter how hard he fought his magic would not come to him and his body would not listen. He had no idea where he was heading or how long it would take to get there. All he knew was that that monster had control over his body and was going to kill him. HIM!

“I DON’T DESERVE THIS!” screamed Prince Charming as he broke into a full run. He was barely aware of anything around him. He managed to catch of glimpse of a large group of thestrals in the air, before it felt like a hand being pressed against the top of his head to keep him looking straight ahead of him. “PLEASE, SOMEPONY HELP ME! I DON’T DESERVE THIS!” Over and over he screamed for help, his voice being the only thing that would obey him. Tears began to run down his face due to the pain which had not numbed him at all. Briefly he began to wonder if he would bleed to death before he reached any cliff. Or perhaps he would faint due to the blood loss and be saved!

Yet he soon realized that neither would happen. Running faster than he ever had before in his life, Prince Charming leapt into the air to launch himself into the largest hole he had ever seen before in his life. And looking downwards, he saw to his utmost horror that there was no bottom. Charming screamed again as gravity took over, pulling him downwards into that darkness. There were no more thoughts in his head. No hope that his magic might return to him and allowing him to teleport or levitate his body to safety. No crying out for mercy or help. Nothing but his own screams filled his lungs and thoughts as he zoomed towards his end, unaware of the creatures along the walls which eyed their next meal.

Dragonfly’s entire body ached as she fought to keep her lunch in her stomach. Every inch of her felt like thousands of needles had been jabbed into her exoskeleton. Her head was almost swimming. She had never felt this weak before in her life. Then again, she had never used so much of her magic before so it was probably to be expected. Hopefully she would never need to use it like this again.

“Succubus!” cried Banshee as she ran over to her sister, never dropping the poorly made doll as she did. Dragonfly couldn’t help but smile at this sight. It was over. That stallion, whoever he was, was gone due the efforts of the small filly.

“Pip!” cried Succubus. Lifting her head, Dragonfly saw Succubus rushing over to her husband who, despite his injuries, had managed to injure the stallion. As the large breasted thestral lifted him off the ground, Dragonfly couldn’t help but wince due to the state he was in. Over half of his face was covered in blood, swellings on both sides. And that was only what she could see as there was no telling what that monsterous stallion had done to him, the wounds hidden beneath his clothing. Still, despite the pain he was in, Pip had not ran with Succubus away from the one who had done this to him. Whether he had come back to help her or just because he wanted so pay back, the fact remained that if he had not then she would have fallen prey to whatever magic he had been using.

Slowly, Dragonfly turned to look at the old stallion who had come to help them. he was still lying on the ground, not moving at all. It was possible that he was dead right now, probably due to a heart attack or something. When he had shown up, she could feel the anger and sorrow that had wrapped around his heart. Perhaps the both of them, combined with the intensity of battle, had caused this sudden attack.

Before Dragonfly could do anything else, her ears picked up the sounds of wings flapping in the air. She looked up and could not surpress a grin when she saw a large group of thestrals in the air. Many of them were holding torches despite the brightness of the day while others carried weapons of various degrees. Some wielded scythes like her sister or basic swords. A few were even carrying wooden clubs spotted with bent nails across their weapons. Dragonfly assumed that the shouting must have caught the ears of a few who then gathered as many as possible to help. It warmed her heart to see that even during dark times like these that there were so many willing to help out their neighbors. With so many helping hands it would be easy to carry those who needed medical attention to the closest stocked hospital. Yet, there was something wrong. Dragonfly could feel their emotions and there was no relief to see that they were ok nor was there any confusion as to what was going on. She felt their anger and hatred being directed downwards in their direction. But what could…

Dragonfly’s eyes widened as she realized, only now, that her disguise was gone. She had been so focused on trying to protect those around her, so scared at what that stallion could do, that she hadn’t noticed that she no longer looked like a thestral. Her true form was on display for all of the world to see.

“Changeling!” screamed one of the thestrals.

“It’s wearing Dragonfly’s clothing! Did it take her?”

“Did you see that unicorn running? What happened here? Was it that thing’s doing?”

“This never would have happened if not for Canterlot! We can’t even protect our home because of them interfering! I say we take back our home!”

“Hear, hear! Force that creature to tell us what she did with the real Dragonfly and then kill them all! We’ll rip that Changeling’s wings off and burn her alive!”

“Let’s stab those unicorns controlling our mines with their own horns!”

More and more, the thestrals shouted what they would do as they drew closer to the group. Not a single one of them seemed to notice or care about the others who were hurt. Their anger, their rage had taken full control now. Perhaps after they were done with her, they would see to Pip. After all, the villagers here had no real issue with earth ponies since they were never the ones hurting the town. Heck, earth ponies used to work alongside the thestrals in the Mining Safety Committee before it was taken over by unicorns. Yet, there was a chance that it wouldn’t work out that way. that when they were done with her, they would turn on Pip and the old stallion who had come to their rescue. Perhaps they would carry out their threat and start attacking everypony who entered Hollow Shades as a message to Canterlot, telling them that they were no longer a part of Equestria. How would Princess Luna react to this after everything she had done in the past several years to legally buy back the mines for them? Would she be able to stop her sister from bringing in an army to wipe the thestral tribe from existence for hurting her unicorns?

The first thestral landed in front of Dragonfly. Looking up, she saw to her horror that it was her father. Her eyes widened before clamping the shut tightly. She knew what she had to do at that moment.

“You fools!” she shouted loudly, her voice echoing around the town. “Do you really think I would let that foolish mare life after I had taken her place? She’s been dead for days!” She could feel the tension and resentment towards her grow as she spoke. But none of that mattered to her. The only thing that did was her family. As long as nopony knew that her father had been harboring her in secret, they would be safe. If they ever found out the truth, her father would be removed from his position as mayor and killed along side her. Dragon Fang would share the same fate after being kicked out of the local guard. As long as they were safe, it wouldn’t matter what horrible death they had planned for her.

She kept her gaze away from her father as he knelt down. “Are you alright my little princess?” he asked in a clear voice that could be easily heard. Eyes wide, she turned to look at him to find that his face was, for the most part, calm. But she could see tears appearing in the corners of his eyes.

“You fool!” yelled Dragonfly quickly as her eyes darted towards the crowd of thestrals landing about them. “I fooled you! I fooled all of you!” She got no further as Steel Fang swiftly brought her into a hug. For a moment, she was too shocked to speak. Didn’t he know that he was signing his own death warrant by doing this? Whrn she spoke next, her voice was nothing more than a shaky whisper. “Papa, why?”

“How could I do anything else?” he asked in return. “I could never face my own papa knowing that I turned a blind eye when my little one needed me most.” As he stood up, Dragon Fang landed beside her with scythe in hand. Steel Fang turned to the crowd. “Everypony, this is not an impostor. This is my daughter, the mare many of you have known your whole lives. I have raised her ever since-”

“YOU KNEW?!” bellowed a mare, face hidden by a veil as she pointed at Dragonfly. “After everything the Changelings have done to us, after all the raids and murders over the centuries, you knowingly took their filth into your home? You let her walk around like she was one of us?” Behind her were many angry roars.

“She is one of us,” said Dragon Fang sternly as she eyed the mare who had spoken. “Dragonfly is my sister and nothing will change that.” She then gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on her scythe. Then, she did something that Dragonfly could only remember her sister doing once before when she had taken Dragon Fang’s favorite doll without asking: she roared. “AND ANYPONY WHO TRIES TO TAKE HER LIFE WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME!” As she screamed this, spit went flying and her eyes seemed to flash red. The large group of ponies seemed to back away slightly as they were clearly intimidated by this. However, Dragonfly held no hope that this would work. There was only one of her and so many of them. Even if her Papa tried to help it would make little difference. The only thing that would happen would be them all dying together.

It seemed like the mob realized this as well. There was no request for them to stand down or even to ask if they were sure about this. The mob seethed in utter rage at their betrayal. Not one of them cared if they got hurt; Dragonfly and her family were going to die. Steel Fang seemed to see this as well as he took a step backwards so that he could better place a comforting hand on his daughter’s shoulder. The only comfort they would have would be that they would fall as a family.

Then they came. They gave no warning, only lunging forwards with a savage roar as if they had all suddenly devolved into animals. Before she knew it, Dragonfly felt her father’s hand leave her as she was roughly grabbed by another thestral whose grip held no kindness. The world seemed to spin around, giving her little sense of what was happening around her. But she could make out a few things. She caught a glimpse of Dragon Fang, swinging her weapon to try and hack away at those assaulting them but Dragonfly could see several ponies moving to get behind her. She managed to see Pip as he was roughly pulled away from Succubus. Dragonfly could hear a filly’s screams as her own face was suddenly slammed into the ground. Arms being pinned, Dragonfly felt herself cry a bit. They had fought off that evil unicorn, gave it everything in order to be alright, only for this to happen. It was as if Discord were playing some sort of cruel joke on them.

Before things could get any worse, a bright light shined down upon them. so bright, if fact, that Dragonfly could see it even with her face pressed against the dirt. As the light faded, she could feel the hands that had been holding her down lessen in their hold. Curious to see what was happening, Dragonfly lifted her head up enough to get a good look. What she saw made her heart sink even further. It was Princess Celestia, standing before them in a white sleeveless dress and holding a golden staff in the other. Besides her was Duke Copperhorn, looking around him in a confused way as if he hadn’t expected to suddenly be here. Very soon, his confusion shifted to nervousness. As for the Princess, she was also looking around her in shock. But not just at the crowd gathered with weapons. She was looking at the buildings and vacant streets, staring at them as if she expected something else.

“Princess Celestia,” spat one of the thestrals near Dragonfly. This caught the solar princess’ attention, her gaze focusing on the crowd before her who were probably gripping their weapons tighter.

“And Copperhorn,” snarled another, causing the Duke to hide behind the princess.

“KILL THEM BOTH!” Another loud roar was heard as many seemed to forget about Dragonfly and her family, heading towards Celestia with their weapons raised high above their heads. They seemed to quicken their pace when they saw Celestia’s horn begin to glow, wanting to reach her before she could use any magic. And they almost succeeded too. Right as several weapons, including one sword aimed at her neck, were about to make contact a large gold colored blast shot out in all directions. As it washed over them, the thestrals froze as their bodies glowed slightly. With the danger averted, Celestia levitiated those closest to her further back. When she had done that, the princess seemed to go back to looking around as if she were taking in the sights with a frown on her face.

Despite being grateful for this unintentional save, Dragonfly felt a sense of dread growing in her with this arrival. Princess Celestia hadn’t set hoof in Hollow Shades in many years, so what was she doing here now? Was she here to tear down their town and give it to Duke Copperhorn? Had she heard about the unrest and was here to arrest everypony for treason?

“Duke Copperhorn,” said the princess at last, not looking at anypony in particular. While her voice held no apparent anger in it, Dragonfly saw Copperhorn flinch as if he had just been slapped. “What is happening here?”

“Ah, well,” began Copperhorn as he gulped a bit. “I think it’s clear. These savages are running amuck. Violent, every last one of them!” He then took a step forward and pointed a slightly trembling finger at them. “This was probably orchestrated by that foul Duke Dark Bargain and the Countess! You heard them, they wished to kill the both of us! I can think of no better reason than to overthrow you and take control of Equestria. Looks like the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He’s just as underhanded as his parents.” Angry grunts and growls from the thestrals followed these words, unable to open their mouths due to the spell cast upon them. Copperhorn looked a little relieved by this, probably glad none of them could say anything to the contrary.

Celestia continued to look at the scene before her, not saying a word to anypony. Her eyes scanned every thestral there at least twice, only doing a double take when she saw Pip and Dragonfly. With a single gesture of her hand, the small stallion was lifted from the grasp of two thestral stallions with knives and carefully brought over to her. Dragonfly felt her heart sink for she knew how this would play out. Princess Celestia would look at Pip and side with Copperhorn, not giving them a chance to explain themselves.

She, along with everypony else, watched as she laid Pip on the ground. When he landed the golden glow around him vanish as Celestia waved a hand over his form. “I have used a spell to numb the pain,” she said gently as she eyed the stallion a bit closer. “You are Pipsqueak of Ponyville. My sister has spoken about you favorly many times. Please, tell me what has happened here.”

Pip gasped. “A unicorn,” he said. The pain may have been numbed but it was clear he was still hurt. “Wanted Succubus for something. Fought him off.”

“A unicorn?” said Celestia with a hungry look in her eyes. Quickly she leaned down, getting on her knees next to Pip. “Please Pip, I know you are badly hurt but this is very important. Where is this unicorn? He may be the one who attacked a mare in Canterlot who is now in critical condition. Finding out what he did may be the key to saving her.” Celestia’s eyes then darkened. “Then he will face my full wrath for all that he has done.”

“Banshee,” breathed Pip. “Sent him…away.” Dragonfly could see Pip’s eyes flutter a bit, perhaps meaning that he was struggling to stay awake. If this or his answer bothered Celestia, it did not show it. The solar princess stood upright and looked at the gathered crowd once again.

“Is Banshee here?” she asked as the glow around their bodies lessened. Instantly Dragonfly could tell that she could move her jaw, yet the rest of her remained stationary. Around her others were realizing the same thing, screaming at Celestia to wish her to die. They yelled and screamed their heads off until, finally, Celestia silenced them and only them with a wave of her hand.

Hoofsteps could now be heard in the distance. Fearing that Celestia might have brought in her own guard to help with whatever she was doing here, Dragonfly look upwards in the direction of her exacutioners. To her surprise it was not guards who were coming but instead Duke Dark Bargain and some scruffy looking unicorn who looked like he had seen better days. As soon as they arrived, the Duke looked around with a look of panic in his eyes. While the scruffy looking one walked towards Celestia, the Duke ran towards the crowd shouting the names of his sisters. Dragonfly wished she could see what happened next but that was impossible as she was still unable to move her neck. She had no idea if he was looking down at them or getting down on the ground to hug them.

In front of her, the scruffy unicorn had stopped in front of Celestia to take a short bow. As he did this, Dragonfly could seem Copperhorn taking several steps back to the point where he almost fell backwards. He was staring at the scruffy unicorn as if her were a ghost come back to haunt him. There was even a moment where Copperhorn looked like he was about to teleport away as his horn gave a soft glow. Yet he did none of those things. he just stood there with his hooves planted firmly on the ground.

“Please, forgive me for not contacting you sooner Auntie,” said the scruffy stallion. “As you can see I had a bit of trouble upon arriving here.” He then spared a glance at the group held in place. “So this is the rukus that could be heard all over town. When me and Duke Dark Bargain heard it we came running as fast as we could.”

Celestia looked at him with a frown. “Prince Blueblood, what has happened to you?” she asked. “Did anypony here hurt you?”

The stallion shook his head. “Nay. Most of the ones I have met have been kind given how those from Canterlot have treated them. Had a bit of a run in with the creatures that live in the forest. it’s the oddest thing, for some reason I was teleported there instead of in front of the Duke.” replied Blueblood. As he said this last part, Copperhorn seemed to shirk a tiny bit which seemed to go unnoticed by the other two nobles. They were far too focused in their conversation. “I have been conversing with Duke Dark Bargain and have been resting in one of the local’s home. It seems because the mines are barely giving those on the surface any ores the local economy has dried up. A few attempts have been made to get new business to enter, but in order to do that they would need to clear away forest land which would disturb those monsters.” He paused to shutter briefly. “Those have not ended well. The end result is that this town has become a tourist town whose occupants scramble to get whatever food they can. Even if they have to eat bugs. During my time here, I have learned quickly that those from Canterlot are not held in high regards. Perhaps this living situation, along with the recent mining accident, have caused the present uproar.”

“Hollow Shades has become…what?” asked Celestia, her last word spoken softly. Celestia turned fully around to look behind her. While all she could see was her back, Dragonfly knew that all Celestia would find would be abandoned looking homes and empty streets. How could she not know about this? How could she not know about so many ponies suffering?

“Now wait just one minute here,” said a flustered Copperhorn. “Are you trying to blame me and my fellow Dukes for this? I own that mine and it is up to my discretion where the ores and gems are sent. All of the material that MY employees have mined have gone to business partners who had done much better work than these ponies could ever do! The only one who disagrees is Princess Luna due to her stubbornness and fondness for this place. Further, I have followed the Mining Safety Committee’s rules and have already submitted the appropriate fine. Whatever their troubles are they are, ultimately, their troubles.” A noise was heard that caused the Duke to jump a bit. All around her, Dragonfly could see the thestrals fighting harder against Celestia’s magic to get to their targets.

“You are one of the ponies that cut back on the work force,” said Blueblood coolly. “Not to mention closing up massive amounts of territory.”

“That was a business decision,” snapped Copperhorn. “If I were to keep the mines running as they had been then my own standard of living would have dropped!”

“Princess!” called out Dark Bargain. As Celestia turned around again, showing that she had placed her free hand over her heart, she saw the Duke running towards her while holding his youngest sister. “This is Banshee, my youngest sibling. She said she forced him to jump into the entrance to the Hanging City.”

As Celestia’s hand rose to cover her mouth, Banshee gave her brother a sour look. “I told you, he was hurting Succubus. And, well, he hurt Mr. Pip too. And Mr. Pip was sort of nice to me,” she said in a defensive tone. “I was protecting them!”

“That you did,” said Celestia as she lowered her hand. All those who could freely move now turned to look directly at her. “You saved them from a most horrible fate, one that a mare back at my castle is suffering from right now. I had hoped to figure out what he did in the hopes of undoing it, but it seems like all we can do now is hope for the doctors to figure it out on their own.”

“Excuse me.” Celestia and the other turned their heads to look at Dragonfly, who gulped at her daring. “I…I might be able to help her. I think. I was somewhat able to sense the emotions generated by the magic he was using and its similar to what a few thestrals around here have experienced after a Changeling force fed on them. Trying to force out love when there was none, I think.”

Celestia regarded her for a moment before stepping forwards. “You…why are you here?” she asked as she walked. There was no anger in her tone or any emotional energy coming off of her. Her eyes displayed no emotion. It was like she was trying to keep all of her negative feelings towards her surpressed. Not that Dragonfly could blame her. She, like most of the world, knew about the Changeling invasion where she had been made a fool. Tricked into thinking a queen was her niece, turned on her personal student, defeated in combat, and finally humiliated by being held in a sac of green goo. Yeah, hard to get over all of that.

“I was raised here,” answered Dragonfly quickly, her heart pounding hard in her chest. “My Papa found me when I was young and raised me like a thestral.” Dragonfly suddenly lowered her head as to not look at Celestia out of fear that doing so any longer might tick the princess off. “Please, I don’t care what happens to me! I’ll help you, then give you my life, if you just help my family and my town! That’s all I’m asking!”

Dragonfly had no idea how long she held her head down. The only thing that seemed to move were the tears traveling down her face towards the ground. She waited for Princess Celestia to say something. For her to laugh at such a request and tell her that they could easily torture the information out of her. Or to warn her that they would be watching her closely and, if it looked like she wasn’t working fast enough, she would die right then and there. Maybe she would tell her that her family wouldn’t be sentenced to death for raising her, but instead be given life long sentences. Or…Or maybe she would just be killed like the bug she was.

Finally, Dragonfly could take no more. “I know it’s a lot to ask,” she began as she gulped the air around her. Before she could say anymore, she could feel a presence real close to her. Looking up, she saw that Celestia had bent down and was looking straight at her with a warm smile on her face.

“Your father has raised you well,” she said kindly. Before Dragonfly could say anything else, Celestia stood up and addressed everypony. “I will release all of you. I want those injured taken to the nearest hospital equipped to help them. Those you feel have wronged you will be staying at Duke Dark Bargain’s for the time being. As for Duke Copperhorn,” she said as she turned to look at him, “I believe it is time I looked at his mines myself. As well as having a long overdue chat with the Mining Safety Committee.”