Trinity of Time: Fate and Change

I stepped in front of Silver and Ai, shielding them with my wings. The strange colt advanced without hesitation, almost daring us to oppose him. We stood alone in the open. Everypony had somehow gone into hiding. I thought I would never see empty city streets, yet here we were, the three of us against the three of them. A chilling wind whisked by, as the stranger drew closer.

"You certainly are interesting, Neo-Equestrian." I swallowed my saliva, nervous. He knew too much too fast. In fact, even my hosts didn't know that much about me. When I peeked backwards, Silver and Ai had mysteriously vanished. The ground on which they once stood was littered with crystalline feathers. Aware of my situation, I nodded in acquiescence. One of the masked ponies placed a small, black box in front of me, while the other handed some sort of scroll over to his master. My legs shook uncontrollably, but was it because of the cold, or because of fear? Out of nowhere, the trio unsheathed hidden weapons from their cloaks. My wings sprung wide open, glimmering underneath the impossible sunlight.

In a surprising twist of events, they bowed before me, executing a reverence similar to that of knights before their king. Afterwards, each one of them placed their weapons at my hooves. One of the masked equines nervously pushed the box forwards. His master slapped him shortly after. Who the heck do they think I am?

"We are honored by your presence, Flames of Fate. Together with your power, we may finally right the wrongs of this land." What were they talking about? Right the wrongs of the land? Again, who do they think I am?

"Didn't you just try to poison me just now?! You honestly expect me to believe in your lies?! Answer me! Who they heck are you ponies?!" My demands caused them to cower even lower. Already, they were on their bellies. This sudden change in their attitude seemed to sporadic to be true. I vowed to extract every ounce of truth from their skulls before anything else happens.

"It was Master's idea!" quickly replied one of the masked ponies. My artificial eyes sent a lightning fast signal to my brain. Faster than what was naturally possible, I stood in their way, parrying the Master's oncoming beating.

"On the ground, now! You tried to poison me, and now you want my help?!" The sharp edges of my wing hovered ominously over his neck. "Face to face, you're worthless it seems... Now then, explain yourself or else I'll rip your vocal cords from your still breathing neck!" Yeah... Sometimes, my cat-eyes send too strong of a signal to my brain. Often times, this generates a sporadic change in mood. While it may theoretically be beneficial, these mood swings were almost always violent and aggressive.

"Let him go..." pleaded the masked pony. It was the second time she spoke. Judging by the pitch of her muffled voice, I assumed it was most likely a mare underneath that mask.

"Speak, and I shall let you live." I think that last threat got rid of my surplus. My wings once again folded inwards, mimicking with pristine perfection the retraction process of actual wings. They were just as fast too, if not slightly speedier at their job.

"We are part of the Citadel. Our job is to know everything about everyone: upstairs and here. After reports on the Outer Rim about a fallen Falsicorn, we were sent in to investigate. Using leftover DNA on the scene, the Motherboard linked the reports to you, Flames."

Hearing the master's story provided me with some ease, yet not enough to justify his sudden behavioral change. In fact, the more I look at these three, the more I question their true intents. The masked equines always subtly distance themselves from him. While I can't trust their leader's words completely, something about the other two clicked with me.

"Why did you say the poison was supposed to kill me?" I demanded to know.

"Because it was. Security doesn't know or care about who you are; they shoot without question."

"Shoot first; ask questions later, I presume?" I added snarlingly.

"One last question: what do you know of Silver and Ai?"

He looked at me, puzzled by the question.

"Who are Silver and Ai?"