Tom waded through the thick of the brush, looking for fallen trees. It was apparent that It hadn’t rained here recently. The weather of the Everfree was always unpredictable. Hell, it snowed sometimes. After a few minutes, Tom had gathered an armload of dry firewood. Mind you, he wasn’t the best at making fires. It mainly came from trial and error. Turning to head back to the campsite, he began to walk when he heard the noises of the forest come to life. It wasn’t a particularly good spot to find himself in, so he began to pick up his pace. He broke through the bush to find Shift lost in thought. Not wanting to impose on him, he began to set to work on the fire. There wasn’t much to it, just setting a small base and putting logs on when that caught. Soon enough, there was a fire started. The campsite was illuminated with it’s warm glow. The pair sat in silence as the fire crackled.

“Shift.”

The changeling in question snapped back to reality. “Hm?”

“I was meaning to ask you about a few things.”

“Ask away.”

Tom turned to look at Shift. “When you first found me, you mentioned that you detected a trace of changeling magic within me. What did you mean by that?”

Shift, for his part, was just as confused. “I can't really explain it. I mentioned that changelings can detect each other with smell, but magical signature as well. You had the Queen’s magical signature with you. If you don’t mind me asking, when did you meet the Queen?”

Tom jerked at the memory. Raising his hand to his chest, he reminisced of the day that started it all.

“It wasn’t so much a… meeting, per se.”

“...oh?”

“I was once the lover of Prin-... Celestia. One day, the Queen decided to attack Canterlot in an attempt to feed off the emotions of the civilians.”

Shift looked away in shame. “That.. was not our proudest moment.”

“Were you starving that badly?”

There was a large sigh. “Yes. We cannot eat material things, just emotion. There were nearby towns and villages that we would feed upon, but it wasn’t ever enough.”

“Ah. That makes sense then.”

“Myself, I never took part in the actual raid. I was elsewhere.”

Tom looked down, and thought for a minute. “It was a massacre. She never once held back after that…”

“You mean the genocide of my race?”

“Yes. She wasn’t ever like that,” Tom replied, “She was once loving and kind. After… the meeting with the queen, she changed into something hideous. Something I couldn’t love.”

Anger flashed through Shift’s mind. “She is a tyrant, a vile being. To preach friendship and love, only to turn and strike the defenceless down. Not only did she strike us down, she damn near killed every single changeling in her mad crusade. I am, as far as I know, the last of my kind.”

“Yeah,” Tom replied, “I understand how you feel. Welcome to my world.”

Shift stared into the light of the fire, which was slowly beginning to putter out. “You never answered my question about meeting the queen.”

Tom stood and walked over to the pile of sticks. Throwing one in the fire, he walked back over and sat down.

“She tried to kill me. Stabbed me in the chest. I fell to what I thought was my death. Turns out, fate had other plans, and here we are.”

Silence hung over the pair like a fog.

“That’s probably why I sensed her magic within you.”

“I’m glad you reached that conclusion. I’m proud of you.”

“Do you have to be an ass all the time?” Shift retorted.

“No,” Tom smiled, “Just most of the time. Gotta keep things interesting.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Report.”
There was no emotion in her voice.

“Yes, your Majesty. We have completed scans of the surrounding area, but there have been no signs of him. As you know, we have informed the public of his status as a fugitive. We have set up posters as you instructed.”

“That is not enough. I want double the effort. Raise the bounty on his head. I want him alive,” she paused, “however, should he resist… gentle convincing is warranted.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“Leave me.”

The guardsmen bowed to her, and promptly turned and left the grand throne room. Celestia, high ruler of Equestria, sat on her throne, pondering the days gone by. There was a knock on the tall oak doors, which broke her from her reverie.

“Enter,” she called.

The doors slowly opened to reveal a battle mage, adorned with various trinkets and weaponry. He silently approached the throne, and knelt before her. A smile crossed her face. Presumably good news?

“Report.”

“Your Majesty,” the mage spoke in a rumbling tone, “your sister has not yet been located. She was last seen fleeing the castle a day after your task, heading Northbound. The council suspects cloaking magic, hiding her trail and magical signature. As you know, this makes it rather difficult.”

Celestia reclined in her throne. “She will make her way back here eventually. She is not my absolute priority right now. Are there any updates on the Human?”

The mage lifted his head. “Yes, your Grace. We have retrieved an old sample of his blood, which can be used in coordination with the Bloodhound spell. However, we do not have access to the forbidden Archives-”

“Granted. Use any means necessary.”

“That is all, your Majesty.”

“Dismissed.”

The mage left the room, with ghostlike steps. The great oak doors swung shut once more, and the Princess was alone once again.

It was times like this, in idle moments, where she was the most restless. There was a hunger for what had consistently eluded her for so long. She grew tired of these games Thomas was playing with her. That’s all they were; mere childish games. After all, she would soon find herself into a checkmate with him. How does one run from the Sun, when it’s always there. She chuckled to herself, a wretched sound. It would all be over soon.

___________________________________________________________________________

Tom and Shift drew closer to the village; the little huts and buildings grew closer into view.

“Would a disguise not be the best idea for you?” Tom suggested,“There may be some who attack you on sight.”

Shift concentrated, and in a burst of green fire, he became a nobody.

“You’re really lucky to be able to do that,” Tom grumbled.

“You may be able to do it. At least, partly,” Shift began, “You have a large enough concentration of our magic, the Queen’s, within you, to be able to do so.”

Tom was shocked. “Really? Well, I have little to no magic experience whatsoever, so we’ll see about that.”

By no means was the village extraordinary. It resembled a mere outpost for those who came through on their travels.

As they entered the town gate, Tom noted the location of the nearest pub. It struck him that they don’t have any money.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unless you have a bit bag up your ass, we’re broke,” Tom stated.

Shift reached in his saddle bags, only to turn up nothing.

“Would you object to finding a small job?” Shift suggested, “It would be a decent way to make a quick bit.”

“Fine by me. There’s a post board over that way. Maybe we’ll find what we’re looking for over there.”

They made their way to the board and started reading potential job options. One listing caught Tom’s eye.

“There’s a listing here for… moving bags of wheat? Sounds easy enough to me.”

Shift looked at the offer. “Doesn’t seem too difficult. Let’s find this… ‘Baked Bread’ fellow.”

It didn’t take too long to find Bread, as he had a little stand in the market. As they approached him, he didn’t seem to notice them. Tom and Shift watched as the baker went about his business.

“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Bread Baker? We’re here about the listing.”

Bread’s attention shifted to the large monkey and a pony he had never seen before.

“Ah, yes. I can’t say I’ve seen either of you around these parts before,’ Bread asked, “What brings you around here?”

Tom looked to Shift expectantly. “Um… we’re just passing through. We came looking for a way to make a couple bits for the road.”

Bread seemed to accept that answer. “Alrighty then. Just follow me. You said you’re travellers?”

“Yes. We roam from town to town looking for employment.” Tom added.

Shift internally groaned. ‘Obviously, you haven’t done this before…’

Bread led them to a farm a few minutes away from his storefront. “All I need you to do is just move these bags to where we were before. Sound simple enough?”

There was a mountain of wheat bags before them. Tom reached over and picked one up. It was the shape of a pillow, but a lot damn heavier.

“That’s fine. What can we expect for pay?”

Bread pondered for a minute. “You say you’re travellers? I can put you up for the night with food free of charge and give you 75 bits a piece.”

Tom was surprised; it was more than they were expecting. “That’s fine by us. If you don’t mind, we’ll get to work.”

“Alright. Thanks for the help. Come find me when you’re done, I’ll have dinner ready around 6 or so.”
As Bread began to walk back to his store, Shift piped up, “Well, that’s pretty good if you ask me.”

“I’d say,” Tom agreed, “but this is going to suck.”

They spent the next several hours filling a cart with as much as they could before making the journey back to the town. As they worked, Shift noted how quiet this town seemed to be. There wasn’t any real Equestrian Guard presence here. This was a great relief to him, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the guards would arrive and comb through the town.

Many wheat bags later, the two found themselves back at the storefront. Bread was found inside tending to a stew.

“Thanks again for the help. It would have taken me forever. Pay and food is on the table in the back.”

The duo walked, well, Tom basically ran, to the back room to find a hot bowl of stew and, unsurprisingly, bread, on the table and two small leather pouches. Tom attacked the bowl without regard for where he was, and Shift looked onward in amusement. Bread came into the room a few minutes later. “Well, how was it?”

Tom, now sporting an empty bowl and plate, gave his utmost approval in the form of an obnoxiously loud belch. Shift had not touched his plate.

“We thank you for the meal. My companion here,” Shift indicated Tom, who was still enjoying himself, “are quite tired from the day’s work. Would you mind directing us to our rooms?”

“Up the stairs and to the left. You’ll have to share a room. I hope that’s not an issue,” Bread offered.

“Not at all. Thanks again for all of this.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. And… Tom, was it? There’s seconds if you would like. They’re just in the kitchen. If that’s all, I wish you both a good night. If there is anything you need, please let me know.

At the sound of seconds, Tom basically jumped. Shift could only shake his head in disbelief of his companion.

Bread left soon after, and the two were left alone again.

“Since when did you become such a glutton?”

“Stuff it. If you could eat this stuff, you’d have the same reaction as I did. Plus, there is nothing I can think of that’s better than a home cooked meal. And bread. Especially from a guy named Bread Baker.”

Shift just stared at him for a moment. “You can have my plate.”

Again, he was surprised how quickly the bowl moved to the other side of the table. Tom was, once again, inhaling the stew like it was going to run away. He sighed and left to go to their room.

Author's Note

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