Equilibrium, Book 1: The First Human.

November 27, 1000, C.E.
Ponyville General Hospital.
9:00 A.M.

John listened with a calm demeanor as the nurse read off his list of injuries. On the outside, he just acted on instinct nodding his head at the right time's and giving her the impression he'd been listening. On the inside, he felt cold and hollow. He looked over to where his left arm should have been and just starred.

"Hey, there big guy you following me?" The voice snapped him back to reality.

"Hmm?" He mumbled out looking over to see the nurse giving him a look of pure pity. Her soft blue eye's betrayed her professional appearance as she sighed. She leaned forward and gave his remaining hand a soft nuzzle as she held in her tear's.

"John listen." The mare said as he gave her his full undivided attention.

"What your going through right now is hard but your not alone." She smiled for the first time in the past week.

"You have friend's and a family who loves you deeply." She fixed him with a hard stare.

"You will get through this." She then jumped up and gave him a hug, being mindful of his lost arm. She gave his cheek a soft nug as she let go. When she was back on all four's she grabbed the clipboard with her teeth and trotted out the door. Once she was outside John sighed and fell back into the bed, already feeling too exhausted by the events of the day. He looked down at where his arm should have been.

"Why can I still feel it there?" He said reflexively clenching his no longer attached fist. The sound of multiple voices outside his room did little to give him comfort but as soon as his door burst open he was assailed by a menagerie of dialogue. Big Mac saw his sibling twinge at the staccato of noise making itself at home in John's ear.

"Quite!" He bellowed bringing an end to the questioning. John gave him a thumbs up but realized he was using the wrong hand. He gave a hollow laugh and shook his head.

"Don't think I'll ever get used to that." He remarked as he looked at his remaining arm. He looked around and all in all the atmosphere was tense.

"So." He started as he looked from the sparse group of friends and then to his family and then back between them all. Pinky Pie stepped forward her head hung low as she gave John a deep look of sorrow and dread.

"i-i-i'm." She blubbered as she burst into tear's and flung herself upon john's bed. She wailed as she looked up at him through blurry tear-filled eye's.

"IM SO SORRY!" She choked out as she held onto his bed for dear life. John looked on as tear's of his own began to form. He took his only arm and wiped his face before he motioned for Pinky to come over to him. She obeyed letting her hair fall flat as she trotted over to John's bedside. He gave his bed a pat and Pinky hopped up. She gave him a sad grimace she looked to where his other arm had just been not a few weeks earlier. John stared at Pinky as she avoided his gaze. John took his hand and cupped Pinky's face. She was forced to look into his sad but friendly smile as he pulled her close and gave her a hug.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this Pinky." He sniffed as he thought about the event's leading up to this. The only thing he clearly remembered was a flash of orange light from somewhere below him and then the sensation of falling.

"It wasn't your fault nor was there a way you could have prevented this from happening." He smiled as Pinky gave him a sad smile of her own.

"Not even you can be in two place's at once." He laughed and soon so was Pinky. She gave him a genuine smile as she thought about it.

"Actually with the right amount of searching I bet you I could do just that." She smiled as she gave johns face a soft nuzzle. He reached up and gave her a kiss on the forehead and chuckled as she hopped off the bed feeling a whole lot better than when she came into the room, although her hair had yet to perk up its pink cotton candy color had returned.

"Progress." John thought as he looked over his family. He held his arm out to them and was soon engulfed in the apple family. They all whispered consoling words of encouragement as they hugged it out. Soon the tear's had turned into laughter as John, in turn, consoled them of there worries. He hadn't noticed Dash flinch at the sight of his one arm but she had backed away to the back of the group by now anyway.

"Hey don't sweat it." He said as they all got back to there own hooves. He looked around and saw that several member's of the group were absent. He looked at the group and saw Dash hiding off by herself.

"Dash?" Hearing her name caused Dash to flinch. She tentatively looked up to see John giving her a concerned look.

"Are you ok?" He asked as AJ whispered to the family. They both heard a clearing of throats as Pinky Pie followed them out the room leaving just John and Dash. Dash paled a little bit but John just looked at the door and then turned his attention back to Rainbow.

"Dash?" He asked again. Once more she flinched at the sound of her own name. She gave him a look filled to the brim with sadness and shame. He motioned for her to come closer and reluctantly she did just that. When she did so he bent down and scooped her up with his one arm into his bed.

"What ar-" She was cut off as he put his lip's to her's. She shuddered at first wanting nothing more than to get away. She didn't deserve this love, this sign of affection, not after she failed him this badly. He chuckled as they parted, his grip on her never wavering.

"Don't you even go there Dash." He smiled as she gave him a look of utter disbelief. She heard up as she stuttered to get her word's out.

"B--ut--h--o--w-i-i-i." Her grief won out eventually as she broke down and sobbed on his shoulder as he stroked her mane.

"There, there, Dashy. It's ok." He softly said as she continued to cry her emotion's finally getting an outlet for the past few weeks of worry, self-doubt, and shame.

9:04 A.M.

AJ looked at Pinky with a sad smile on her face.

"So still no word from Fluttershy." Pinky shook her head.

"None. She went completely off the grid for this one." Applejack's muzzle hardened as she thought about the one who did this to her brother. She rested a hoof on Pinky's shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't you worry about this none you hear?" She smiled as Pinky gave her a nod.

"Fluttershy will find out who's responsible for this so all's we have to do is help out John in any way we can." She smiled as she let go of Pinky, noticing one of her curl's bouncing back into place. She smiled as Pinky bid her a farewell before she set out for her home. AJ meanwhile stood there staring off into space.

She knew that Soarin had been taken in for questioning but she didn't know to what extent. Something about him seemed off to her. She couldn't put her hoof on it but she was certain he had to be involved. With what she'd witnessed at the Nightmare Night party, the strange phantom's attacking her family and friend's and now with john's accident. She knew they were all connected she just had to find the proof.

"I swear if it's the last thing I do I'll find out who did this." She vowed to herself as she stomped off down the hall.

Transylvania, Kingdom of The Thestral's.
9:10 A.M.

A lone bat pony guard trotted down the halls of Blood Thorn Keep. He had just gotten up for the morning shift and was perplexed to see someone had made themselves at home within the keep's royal chamber's. Seeing as how he stood guard over them all the time while he was assigned here for guard duty he tentatively opened the main doors to the bedroom and peered inside. His eye's bulged out as he saw just who had made themselves at home.

"Empress!" Private Sanguine snapped to attention as his gaze fell over the queen of there kingdom. Fluttershy gave him a soft smile as she got to her hooves while he bowed.

"Rise private." She commanded, Sanguine doing as he was told. Fluttershy regarded the cream-colored stallion standing before her. She smiled as she sauntered over to him and gave his form a soft caress as she passed him by. His whole coat tingled as he tried to keep his thoughts from straying.

"Private can you do me a favor?" She asked as she stopped her circling in front of her luxurious bed. The private gulped down his doubt, stood up straight and gave a salute.

"Yes, M'am!" He barked, like the good little soldier he was. Fluttershy let a devious grin cross over her muzzle.

"Perfect." She thought as she took a step forward and stood with authority.

"I need you to look into an organization for me." She said as glanced out the window. The moon was full and bright. Soon it would run red with the blood of her foe's. She revealed in the very thought of sinking her teeth into those who would dare to harm her family. She fixed the private with a stare that could petrify a cockatrice. He took the brunt of it flinching as she burrowed into his very soul. When he was about to break she eased off.

"Good, he's sturdy." She smiled as she fixed him a sober nod.

"I need you to go the barrack and bring me the finest soldier's we have. Bring them back in haste." She said and stomped her hoof. At once the private gave a swift salute and scampered off as fast as his hooves and wings could take him. Satisfied with his speedy retreat Fluttershy turned to her table and sighed as she used her magic to dispell the illusion that had graced its surface for over a thousand years.

"Time to go to work." She said as she looked upon the scale model replica of Equestria. With another burst of magic, she took the essence she had gathered from within the forest on the edge of the apple family property. A little orange whisp floated down onto the table and slowly circled it's edge as Fluttershy began to focus.

"Show me where your master is." She commanded her eye's now completely glossed over in a deep blood red as her magic flowed unabated by her normal restraint's. Slowly the magic whisp began to circle the table and spiral ever closer to its source. Her devious smile grew into a tooth filled grin as the whisp stopped. It pointed to the one place she'd wanted to take out for over two century's now.

"Got you." She smiled and turned around just in time to see her door swing open. Standing there in utter shock was a small group of thestral's four in all including the private. The other three gave out looks of shock and utter disbelief. One of them stepped forward and bowed. The other three did the same.

"My apologies your grace for being late." Sanguine said as he stood up. He glared at the other three and bowed his head once more.

"I had a little bit of trouble convincing these three of your legitimacy." Fluttershy gave off a small giggle as she stood from her table and trotted over to the group. She scanned the four of them as her eye's settled on the private. She gave him a nod and he trotted over and took a spot next to her. The other three moved to stand but were halted by a red glow.

"Did I say you three could rise!?" She yelled causing the whole room shake. The three before her coward at the sudden command but the magic kept them locked in place.

"Were are sorry our queen!" The leader of the group called out as he stopped fighting the magic and let it plant him to the ground. The other three followed suit and gave similar testimonies and pleads. Fluttershy simply glared at each one of them.

"Just who do three think you are to doubt my existence?" She questioned. At once the three of them found the force keeping them down had disappeared. Hesitantly they all gave quivering glances around the room. Finally, their eye's all settled on their queen. They all immediately diverted there gaze and bowed once more.

"We are truly sorry your grace." One of them began.

"W-w-we grew up hearing the stories of you and your glorious reign but we had no idea of there validity." This one a female quivered as Fluttershy let out a hollow laugh.

"Oh, so you all had no way of knowing that the many tale's and deed's of your immortal eternal empress were, in fact, all real account's of how my husband and I poured our blood, sweat, and tear's into the very founding of this glorious kingdom?" She chastised the group like a bunch of school children. For all intent's and perpose's, they were nothing more than children compared to her but she still did not tolerate disobedience. She glanced at the Private and smiled.

"Tell me how is it that the youngest amongst you,-" She pointed to the Private, "-Know's of me and actually treated me with the respect and dignity befitting a queen and yet you three can only muster up a sorry excuse to try and save your hides." Her beratement halted when a flare of pain made its way down the link she forged with her son on that horrible night. It was all she could do to help keep him alive long enough for the medical personnel to get there and do their jobs. Her hard gaze softened before it took up a mask of neutrality. She swept her look of passiveness across all of those present.

"You four were picked by me for a very special reason." She said as she got up and trotted over to her table. She motioned for them to follow and they scrambled to obey. They all stopped and looked at the map upon the table.

"Is that?" One of them asked. Fluttershy nodded. She looked at each of them. They knew about this place. Good, at least her history lesson's were still being taught with at least a modicum of sense. She smiled as their muzzle's pulled back into snarls of disgust.

"You all know of this place and what it entail's them?" She double checked. They all gave her stiff nods. Her smile widened just a fraction as she looked down on the tower before them. Oh, how she hated when Celestia let that infernal place be built. She knew of the ruse the inquisition had fed her. They were simply a peacekeeping organization with the sole intent of keeping all of ponykind safe. They never from what. Her temper flared for a little bit before it subsided and she regained her clear head.

"Those fool's had the audacity to attack my son." She told them. They all reared back in shock.

"Um, your grace not to cause doubt or worse but when did you bed a noble?" Kindred asked as her ear's folded back on her skull. Fluttershy gave her a smirk for her boldness.

"If I told you that lieutenant I'd have to have you silenced." She smirked as Kindred recoiled and shook her head. Fluttershy enjoyed watching the little ones squirm. She let out a soft giggle as she shook her head.

"Alas, John is not one of mine by birth but rather by proxy." She said as her eye's threatened to mist over. She let out a quivering sigh as she regained her stone face and cold demeanor along with it. She fixed each of them with a gaze of determination.

"Now that your curiosity has been piqued allow me to tell of your mission." She nodded to the tower.

"As I was saying one of those fools has attacked my son." She fixed each of them with a hard stare. They all stood at attention. She smiled.

"Now we are going to burn them to the ground." Her smile grew as the group of four each gave her a salute.

"M'am what are our order's?" Stone Cold asked as he stood with Sanguine and Kindred. Fluttershy smiled as her eyes began to glow a soft red.

"Your first order's are to come here." She smiled as they one by one fell under her spell.

Her fangs began to enlarge and so did her body. They all ignored this as they came up to there now fully changed queen. She smiled as she sank her teeth into the first of her newest spawn to be born. As the life drained from them she held back and left just enough of their blood now infused with her magic and her curse in them for the change to begin. Soon they all began to scream and wail in agony as the process of transformation began to take effect.