Monk of Aura

==Alexie POV==

Clevetius remained wrapped around me as I slept in my bed in the medical wing. Some changelings were appointed doctors for me as they game me a small physical after the hit from the farm mare. The legs on that girl. I was responding fine, so they gave me the go ahead to leave the medical wing as I flew outside, into the garden. My face was buried in the scarf but soon I was crying again. 'Why?' I saw a creature, looking nothing like what I saw, but his face was so gentle, his smile is so pure, his laughs are infectious but his love... I could almost feel his love but... 'It hurts.'

==General POV==

As Alexie was crying into the scarf, the Mane Six had located her, with Rainbow ready to throttle her. "Why must these visions torment me? Where are you?" She stopped on rev as the six just heard her talking to herself, thinking she was still alone. "Why do I yearn for you?" She suddenly stood up, screaming as if hoping her voice would reach this male in her thoughts. "Where are you?! Tell me! Show me where you are!" The six were startled by her sudden volume. "Your smile wraps me in warmth, you laugh makes my solitude melt! Your gentle eyes so soft my heart is fluttering and aching!" The girls almost thought she knew they were there but this last one was too real for Applejack. "My heart is breaking because of you!" She collapsed to her knees, tears in her eyes as she cried in the scarf again. "Please... reveal yourself..."

Rainbow thinking this was an act raced forward but was stopped by a tug on her leg. She looked back to see Applejack, hiding her face behind her hat, but she could practically feel the emotions off the changeling princess, a pain that was a true as her grief and torment. The girls each have their crushes and moving on from a crush is easy, but this girl, this changeling mare was genuinely tormented by her own thoughts and images of someone she does know. Someone she has never met. She set the chromatic pegasus down and walked up behind her, letting her hoofsteps be heard as the others hid. The princess turned back and turned away, wiping her tears to make herself look presentable as AJ took a seat. "I... kinda overheard your ranting."

Alexie just looked embarrassed as she looked down and away. "I'm sorry. I just... can't keep my thoughts to myself at all times. Nor can I hold my emotions for that long." She tried to keep the tears at bay and tried to keep the image of the young male close but not in view of her thoughts.

Applejack just placed a hand on the princess' back. "Breakup?" She shook her head. "Then what is it?"

The princess look up, a bit unsure. "Promise not to laugh?" AJ crossed her heart and made a motion of something landing in her eye. "When I was a young one, Chrysalis gave me a name that, to this day, we both find odd. My name isn't related to any part of an insect." She paused, letting the information set as such would likely be out of place for anyone. "My name is Alexie, and as you know I'm a changeling princess, not a queen." Applejack nodded as Twilight tried to quietly write notes on this. "So I grew up, learned magic, ate but never once did I ever call Chrysalis anything close to 'mother'. I tried and tried even nearly hurting myself just to force it out, but my efforts were met with tears as some part of me just refused to call her mother directly. I can refer to her as one from third person context, but directly... some part of me just refuses to do so."

Applejack just rested a hand on her. "If I may stop you for a sec." Alexie looked up."There are ponies, griffons and other beings that we don't refer to in a certain way. But yours is just... unknown huh?"

Alexie nodded as the farm mare settled back. "That's not even the worst of it. I have... thoughts... visions... sometimes dreams of a creature that's... unknown to me. A stature like ours, hair on its head and some of it's whole body, flatter face, ears on the side of his head and that's just for general description." Twilight and the other girls were shaking while AJ was trying to remain still. "To me though, his eyes are gentle like a soft blanket, a warm smile that wraps me in a gentle lull and an infectious laugh the makes me chuckle." She chuckled as she recalled one of the goofier laughs she heard in her vision. "And his heart, his will, his drive... every time he looked at me... I felt safe. I could even feel his arms around me, as if he were protecting me."

She started to cry into the scarf a little and AJ was certain this creature, a human, meant everything to the princess as she tried to sooth the crying royal. "Hey, easy now, maybe you'll meet him."

"How?!" Alexie looked back, upset. "I see his smile, I hear his laugh, I feel his arms but he's not actually there, yet his presence is so close I can practically reach out and touch it!" She was upset, but the tears had passed as she felt her happiness return. "This artifact is the only thing that seems to connect me to him."

"If that's the case, then keep it." AJ smiled as her soothing cheered Alexie before Twilight interrupted.

"Like Tartarus she can!" She grabbed at the scarf as Alexie held it close. "This treasure belongs in the Canterlot museum." The two tugged as the fabric held strong, like a sheet of metal instead of fabric. "It is not some toy or fashion accessory for some - why do I feel a hand?" She looked back and saw the scarf had turned into Guardian, resembling a vicious suit of armor. "Uh..." The large armor pried Twilight from itself and returned to Alexie's person, its warmth noted by the changeling princess. "What the heck?!"

Alexie backed away. "I didn't do anything. Please don't yell." The princess covered herself as Rarity came to her defense.

The fashion mare rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You have nothing to fear darling. We'll help you, okay?" Alexie nodded as some warriors came down, bowing as soon as their hooves met the dirt. "And who might you be?"

The one with a rhino themed carapace stepped forth. "We were appointed by our queen and your most elite of the guard to protect the princess. Please do not mind our attire." He bowed as a mantis themed mare stepped forth.

Her stance was elegant but her air was formidable. "And forgive our rudeness. I am Tarse." The mantis introduced herself. "The gentle giant is Mandible." She then bowed. "It's a pleasure." The girls were confused but Twilight looked back and almost sneaked up to Alexie before she saw a cybernetic eye staring back at her.

"User not registered. Next attempt of theft will result in defensive measures." The armor reverted to a smaller form, turning first into a gauntlet then a thin bracelet snug up to the skin. "Appropriate form selected?"

Alexie looked around and back before saying, "Yes...?"

"Acknowledged. Standby mode selected until central user is located." The jewel in the housing case flashed as it spoke and Alexie felt warm as it did.

"Central user... wha? What is your name?" Alexie asked in curious thought.

"My name is Clevetius. A pseudonym for a Latin phrase. It's English translation is 'Cleave the wicked'." It's answer was as if it were a teacher.

"May the other girls ask questions?" She asked, thoughtful to the others.

"Please stat your names one at a time." Each of the girls sound off their name as if properly introducing themselves. "Applejack." "Rainbow Dash." "Rarity." "Pinkie Pie." "Fluttershy." "Twilight Sparkle." The gem flashed with each name, assigning a color to each. "Ask any question regarding this unit."

Twilight started off with one that was personal. "How and why were you created?"

"Classified." Before Twilight could protest, Alexie spoke up. "Override... my Knight." "Override password accepted." The girls took a seat, figuring they'd be there awhile, even Rainbow did so, more out of boredom.

"I was created as a means of protection. To have many forms and many abilities. With one ability per form, my creator was hard pressed to find suitable shapes to fit my future abilities. Materials, even spiritually, were scarce to come by. His wife, Alexie Augus at the time, proposed using one material from each of his residence, consisting of one Fallen Angel, Two angels of different rank and two demon twins. The materials were feathers from the angel types, horn clippings from the demons, a scale from the Succubus wife and finally, from my maker, what would be considered Spirit Iron." Alexie was blushing from the 'wife' information and Rainbow was interested in the weapon. "As for the why, I was created to be the ultimate sword and shield, a living being that would fight by my creator and help defend his goal of a peaceful afterlife. I wasn't made for war. That was a side benefit but not my true purpose."

Before the girls could ask, the changeling asked an important question. "Who was your maker? I want to know... everything."

Clevetius hesitated and seemed to scan the changeling, finding she was genuinely interested and found a shine in her eyes. "Allen Yasha Augus." The girls took a collective gasp. The oldest history books written by Celestia say he was a tyrant, but Twilight found everything related to that name and found many odd things of it. "He was a man with one goal, find peace in the afterlife with his love, Alexie Augus. Official records back home would call her a Fuccubus, an artificial succubus made mostly for pleasure of lesser beings. Mrs. Augus was made by her mother for companionship of my master after an emotionally jarring experience. After said experience, he met with a being that hosted many demons in her mind." The girls gasped again and looked to Alexie as she looked scared, trembling even. "One such demon was Alexie's creator and mother, a caring succubus with a motherly disposition for all with a tender heart and a seething hatred for those who manipulate said heart for ulterior motives. True to form and one of the many entities Allen vowed to pay back for all they gave him. Knowledge of the arts, an interest that helped him find himself and a woman who was as beautiful and seductive as she was saintly and tender. She mended my maker's heart and reinforcing his love for himself and others."

Alex swallowed her fear for another question. "Where... is he?"

"....Unknown. Apologies." She held herself again as it left the bracelet form for it's guardian mode on her command.

"I may be grasping straws here, but to make you, he'd have to be a fierce warrior right?" Applejack was as curious as Rainbow about his time on Terra.

"My maker was many things, a warrior wasn't one he planned on being." He looked back to the castle. "It was a different time those many centuries ago. And those creatures meant something to my maker, enough to call upon mine and his own strength to end the terror of 'The Twisted'." The girls looked almost disturbed as few pictures of The Twisted were drawn, for good reason. "They reminded him of what would be considered a fictional entity, until meeting them, and the corrupted."

Rainbow, uncharacteristically, raised her hand for a question and Clevetius pointed to her. "How strong was he then? Or fast? You know what, best feats please."

The armor curled a finger around its chin. "Best feat of speed... he cleared a distance from here to the north in a window of time... I'm unable to determine. Best feat of strength was in the Dragon Lands when a mighty stroke cleaved the ground asunder. Best feat of magic was replacing my armor sets in rapid succession, which also shows intellect as each has its own benefit and contradiction. And his strongest feat of magic... unknown. Even with what I felt... unknown." Twilight felt her next questions were shot down before Fluttershy came in.

"Did he own any furry companions?"

"If his memory transfer serves accurately he had cats, dogs, a hamster or two, fish, his family also had sugar gliders, ferrets and one had a snake at one time." Twilight locked up for a moment at snake. "No recent companions if that's what you are asking, but he is more favorable and partial to weasels." The soft spoken mare smiled with a clap.

"What was his daily wardrobe? What clothes did he make?" The girls all saw the armor steam as it looked away.

"Don't ask and don't prod." Rarity asked again and it was met with silence. She was just so curious but the armors stiffness said it was something truly embarrassing, even to talk about so she dropped it.

Pinkie was next, bouncing in place as Clevetius pointed to her. "Do any of you like parties?"

The sword was caught surprised by the question, as was Alexie as they could feel laughter from her skin. "My maker used to go to and enjoy parties. After some time, he fell out of it. Nothing worthwhile for him to celebrate, for a while. After Alexie, he treated many days as celebration, even without the cake, and cream."

"What was his favorite flavor of cake and ice cream?!" Pinkie's enthusiasm pushed a question the neither was ready for.

The sword and princess looked to each other but Alexie spoke. "Yes." Pinkie looked confused. "He likes many if not all. Asking for his favorite is like telling him to pick his child." She looked up at the shocked faces. "Did I say something bad?" She recoiled, trying to make herself small before the sword rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Those are the exact words Allen would use. Asking him to pick his favorite is like telling him to pick one thing in life he liked. He has least preferred foods, but that's about it." Pinkie beamed and was bouncing so rapidly she looked like a blur. "If there are no other questions-"

"What about his magic?" Clevetius looked to Twilight, a bit confused. "It's said that this 'Allen' used all manner of magic in his time. Crystal, fire, ice, basic-"

"He doesn't possess magic." Twilight looked at the sword, almost insulted. "I speak the truth. Allen knew no magic to begin with. His powers and abilities are derived from Aura, a force of energy the surrounds, penetrates and binds all life."

"Like magic?" Twilight was ready to chew into the Knight for describing magic to a 't'.

"Aura has many forms and many appearances. Some use conduits for theirs aura in a manner akin to magic. Others use it as a form of Qi, which all living things possess. All things, however, organic and not, mechanical and biological have an aura. Even the dead, despite what some may say, have an aura all their own." Twilight was surprised at how Clevetius answered her, saying that aura comes in many forms. "Your magic gives off an aura unique to you and you harness it in the form of magic, if that clears the waters." She simply nodded and he turned back into a bracelet, latching onto Alexie as she felt the groves of the band.

She then looked to the others with a smile. "Is... um, is every happy with their answers?" They all nodded as she looked back and closed her eyes. 'Please... let me hold you.' As she called, her personal guard addressed her.

"Princess, if I may be so bold, where will you live, if not back at the hive?" Tarse had a valid point and the princess curled a finger under her chin before looking down the mountain and back to her guard. "Princess... I'm not sure that's-"

"I don't care Tarse." The girls had a bad feeling about her selection. "Our relationship with the ponies will not get better if we live outside of their towns. Same goes for the griffons and the dragons - any creature in the world. I we wish to be someone's aid then we need to be willing to be their neighbor through thick and thin." The girls were shocked to hear the princess assert herself like that. Inside the gem, Clevetius smiled as he could see Alexie's past life starting to show through.

The two bowed in respect as she took to the skies, flying off to the town below. She planned on walking to the town after landing outside of view in hopes of looking as non-threatening as possible. She even dressed in formal garb that a drone passed to her, courtesy of her mother. She didn't bother to disguise herself or her guards as doing so would be dishonest. They get into town and, sure enough, the ponies start to freak out. Alexie was stung by the action but she pressed on, wanting to meet with the town mayor.

The square was lit with panic and then it was barren of sound after a few minutes. She came up to the town hall and entered the building before waiting in one of the chairs, her seating as graceful as could be without pain before the Mayor came out and addressed her. Alexie knew what to do and what to say in the manner needed. This will be the first step for changelings.

Elsewhere, to the north, something was sleeping, resting in the cold confines that became it's prison. Something called out to him. Someone called out to him. A voice that he couldn't forget. One he thought lost. The kingdom the crystal rests in shakes. The past returns with more than one bounty.