A Second Chance

One guard at the end of the box huffs at the box's weight and then says, "Oh buck you weren't joking about the weight!" He then adjusts his hold and then nods to the other guard and they move off to the side and wait for the others to get their boxes.

I then move some more boxes around to get at the other long boxes and look inside them, making sure they are the belt ammo for the Maxim and close them back up. I then start to drag them out one by one for the guards to take, watching the last pair of guards take their box. I then move the boxes back to where the long boxes used to be and grab my double barrel shotgun from the saddlebag, and hop out of the back of the wagon and say to Celestia, "Well that was the last box, I'm ready if you are princess." I hold the shotgun with one hand and then wait for us to start moving.

Celestia then looks at Arthur and then asks, "What kind of weapon is that you have now?"

I then hold the shotgun with both hands and open the chamber, put two regular shells in and then say, "This here is a double barrelled shotgun, it opens up so you can reload it. It can shoot a variety of ammunition including slugs, and explosive ammunition." I then close it and hold the gun with both hands at a downward angle.

She then nods and says, "Alright guards, let's be on our way." She then turns and then leads the group towards the double doors while keeping the privacy bubble up that hides them from view.

I follow the princess down the maze of corridors and then say to her, "How do you not get lost in these halls, there are so many different corridors to travel down."

Celestia then chuckles lightly and then says, "Well it takes time to get to know the layout of the castle, if you ever get lost all you have to do is ask any guard for directions of what you are looking for. They will then lead you there unless they are on guard duty to one of the rooms, I hope you make a few new friends while visiting Canterlot."

I continue to hold the shotgun at a downward angle, keeping a sharp eye open for anyone that may try to get the weapon we are moving. We then finally arrive at the vault and I look away while she opens it up and say, "I will keep watch while you put that thing in there, whoever wants it is gonna have to make it past all these guards here."

She then uses her horn and draws a pattern into the door, then inserts her horn into a small circular hole and then rotates her head ninety degrees. She hears a click and then removes her horn and then spins the wheel to the left and pulls the heavy door open, instructing her guards to head on inside and says, "Put that into the hidden section of the vault please, once the boxes are placed in one of the spaces there, you may return."

I then look around at the spacious room and then ask, "This is a really big ballroom, how many parties get thrown here every year?"

Celestia then chuckles and says, "This is no ballroom, this is our throne room where mah sister and ah hold court during our day and night shifts. There is another building on the castle grounds that hosts a few of the parties, but a few do get hosted in this room though. We could give you a tour of the castle after we finish here, would you like that Arthur?"

I then nod my head and say, "That is a mighty fine idea but it will have to wait for another day, I have to get myself settled in by Ponyville first."

She watches the last of her guards exit the vault and then closes it, she then says to a couple of the guards, "I want this door guarded at all times by two guards, changing shifts and being relieved every six hours."

Two guards then salute her and then say, "Yes Your Highness!" and then take positions on either side, keeping a close eye on the whole room.

Celestia then looks to Arthur and then smiles softly and says, "Very well Arthur. If you need help finding the exit, one of these guards here will show you the way out. Please enjoy your visit to Canterlot, I must resume holding court."

I then look to her and then ask, "Do you know where I can locate a blacksmith that can look at Lou's shoes? I also wanted to know what this Hearth's Warming eve is about, is it similar to the Christmas from my world?"

She thinks for a moment and then says, "I can have the blacksmith meet you in front of the castle. As for if the two are similar, I have to say that the decorations are very similar. Though what ponies are celebrating is quite different, Hearth's Warming eve is the founding day of Equestria. If you want to know more about it, just ask Princess Twilight Sparkle to tell you the whole story of Hearth's Warming eve and prepare to hear a lecture."

I then tip my hat to her and then say, "Okay then, thanks Your Majesty for telling me. I shall leave you to your duties then, farewell princess." I then look to the guards and then ask, "Could one of you show me how to get out of this maze-like castle?"

One of the guards then steps forward and then says in her disguised appearance, her feminine voice sounding like a stallion's due to the enchanted armor saying, "I will show you to the doors sir, please follow me."

I then follow the pony towards the doors of the throne room and then say, "Why does every guard look identical, is magic used to make this possible?"

Celestia then chuckles and says, "It is indeed, a magical enchantment is placed on the armor to make them look indistinguishable from each other. It also changes their voice so they all sound the same, it helps them keep their identity secret when they are escorting me or my sister. These ponies are the Solar guard, they guard me and the castle during the hours of the day. My sister also has royal guards, they guard her and the castle at night. Their armor also has the same function, they are called the Lunar guard and are mostly comprised of Thestral ponies that thrive in the moonlight rather than the sunlight. They are nocturnal ponies that do have fangs, but do not drink the blood of the living. They consume the vitality of fruits to sustain themselves, so calling them vampires is frowned upon."

I then rub my chin with my hand and then say, "That is very interesting, I will have to try to see one some day. You have a good day princess, I will leave you now." I then follow the guard out of the room and down the halls, slinging my shotgun across my back and see maids make their way through the halls tending to their duties. I tip my hat to a few and then greet them with a couple words, briefly drawing their attention before going about their business.

Lou sees a strange creature wearing an apron filled with various tools, and then notices her owner coming out the doors of the castle and then says, "Welcome back Arthur, I think this may be the blacksmith for all the tools that they have with them."

I look at the strange creature and then walk down the steps and then greet them saying, "Afternoon, are you the blacksmith that the princess sent for?"

The griffon then turns and looks at the creature and then nods his head and says, "That be me, yes. What do ye need me to fix laddie?"

I then look at Lou and say, "I need you to have a look at my companions shoe, she says that it has come loose."

They walk a bit closer to the large creature and then says, "Alright then, pick up yer hoof so ah can take a closer look at it."

She then lifts the leg with the loose shoe and then says, "This is the leg that has the loose shoe, I think mister."

He then grabs the hoof and tries to wiggle the shoe with his other claw and then sighs saying, "Ya are correct, this is indeed the one with the loose shoe. Unfortunately, I can't fix this issue. Neither can I repair, or make these laddie. Do ya want me to remove them since I can't fix the issue?"

I then look at them and then sigh saying, "Yeah you may as well since you can't tighten them back up, how much will I owe ya for this?"

The griffon then nods and then says, "The issue is that these kinds of shoes have phased out of use a few hundred years ago, these are just an ancient type of shoe that aren't really popular anymore. Therefore, blacksmiths are not taught how to make them or even trained to put them on. Removing them is easy enough because we are told about how these were held to the bottom of the hoof using short nails driven into it, the fee to remove em is 20 bits. My name's Fierce Strike, and if ya didn't already know laddie, I am a griffon." He then begins to carefully pry the shoe and the nails out of the large hoof and then says, "These are a bit long, ya should pay a visit to a salon so they can trim them up."

I then nod my head and watch as he pulls the nails out of the other shoes and say, "My name is Arthur Morgan, I will be sure to do that when I head through town today on my way to Ponyville."

Fierce then finishes pulling the last few nails from the third shoe and then says, "I would suggest going to La Ti Da in Ponyville, or as others call it, The Ponyville Day Spa. It is primarily run and owned by the earth pony twin sisters Aloe Vera and Lotus Blossom, they provide the best care and treatments and are renowned throughout Equestria as a great place to get top notch care." He then sets the nails into a pocket of his apron and sets the old shoe in another pocket and begins removing the final shoe.

I then scratch my chin in thought and then say, "I will have to check that out when I get there, how does this recycling you ponies have work?"

He then pries out another nail and then puts it into his pocket and then says, "Did you see those large boxes between buildings around Canterlot?"

I then remember seeing a few of them and then say, "Yeah I have seen them here and there."

Fierce then pries out one more nail and then replies, "Okay, there are images painted on the front of those boxes that indicate what material goes in there. An ingot represents any metal goes into that box, a bottle indicates glass, a letter indicates paper, and a fabric roll indicates clothing material that can be disassembled. If you look in the boxes though, it will become clear what goes in there." He then removes the last nail and puts them into the pouch and puts the old shoe with the others. He then puts his tools away and then stands up and then turns around, holding out his claw saying, "There ya go laddie, that'll be 20 bits please."

I then nod and then rummage around in the satchel for the big sack of bits and pull out a handful, counting out ten and drop them into his claw before going back in for the rest. I then set the last ten bits into his claw and he closes it saying, "I hope you have a good day Fierce Strike, now I must return to my current task at hand."

He then smiles and nods to them "Thank ya for your business laddie, have a good day Arthur Morgan." He then places them into a bag and puts the bag back where he had it, then makes his way back into the castle.

I look to Lou and then smile saying, "Well girl, are ya ready to drop off some more junk so it can be recycled?"

Lou looks back at him and then nods her head and says, "Yes, I can't wait to see how much lighter this wagon is. Get up into your seat and let's get going!"

I hop up into the seat and take up the reins and snap them lightly saying, "Alright Lou, let's head back to the city to find those boxes he mentioned." I then feel the wagon lurch slightly as she takes off at a walk.

She then feels the difference and says, "Oh this is definitely much lighter now without that extra weight, do you want me to go a little faster Arthur?"

I then chuckle and then say, "It is up to you if you want to girl, we are in no hurry to get anywhere."

Lou then smiles and then quickens the pace to a quicker walk, observing the ponies that stop to look at her make her way down the street. She then spots a group of boxes to the side and then says, "There are a few boxes over to the right Arthur."

I then look over and then pull on the reigns lightly and say, "Woah girl, let's stop here and I will drop off a few things that are useless." I then hop down and head to the back of the wagon, then open the gate and start to look through the boxes. I grab the empty cans that are scattered throughout the wagon and place them into the proper box, then do the same with the other recyclable items. I then find a crate of alcohol and open it to find nothing but empty bottles and sigh, taking it over to the box and dump them in. I return the empty crate to the wagon to use it to hold other things in the future, I then close the back and return to the seat on the wagon and then take the reins and say, "Alright Lou, Ponyville here we come!" I snap the reins lightly and feel the wagon lurch forward again, heading towards the gate leading out of the city.

One day earlier, in the cave west of the Crystal Empire

The female changeling's eyes slowly flutter open, proving that she yet lives still. She then starts to stir and tries to push herself up to her hooves, but winces in pain as her head is struck by a migraine and falls to the ground sniffling.

A few minutes pass by when her senses fully return her to consciousness, looking around the tunnel and remembers what happened. She then looks down the tunnel as her blurry vision then clears up and becomes crystal clear again, showing the mangled corpse laying in front of the tunnel she is in. She gasps and then fights the urge to hurl but fails and empties her stomach into the cave, wipes her mouth clean and forces herself to forget about the body and find out what else happened after she was knocked out. She then tries to get up again, forcing herself to rise to her hooves despite the pain her head is in. She steadies herself and then follows the wall to the main tunnel and then looks in the direction the creature was in. Her eyes go wide in horror as she then sees that every single one of them is dead, she then looks past them to look for the creature. Sighing in relief at seeing that it is gone, along with the filly. She then sighs and says, "The queen and her friend are going to be very angry at hearing about this news, I need to find a way back to the hive." She turns her head around to look where the loud crash came from, seeing that the only way to get back to the hive will be to dig through the rubble. She then heads down the tunnel towards the pile to start to dig her way out as she then thinks, 'I don't like being sent on these kinds of missions, I prefer going on the scouting tasks the queen assigns.'

A few hours pass by as the changeling finally moves enough rubble to squeeze through the opening, she then resumes heading down the tunnel to the hive's location and tries reaching out to the hive mind and then thinks out to them, 'Can any of you hear me brothers and sisters?' After listening for a little bit receiving no reply, she then continues on down the tunnel.

She flies for what feels like hours when her stomach starts to rumble, signalling that she needs to feed on love soon. She then begins to fly down the tunnel at a faster pace, praying that she gets there soon.

Two more hours pass by when she finally hears the voices of other changelings and reaches a side chamber where some of the drones sleep. She slows down a bit and makes her way towards the queens chamber when she hears a soldier fly next to her chuckling. Annoyed by his company, she then says, "What do you want Razor Wing?"

Razor wing chuckles sinisterly and then says, "I don't see any filly or prey with you Stealthy Strike, the Queen will not be happy when she hears that you failed to bring Flurry Heart to her." He then continues on chuckling at the punishment she will no doubt receive for failing yet another mission.

Stealthy Strike then sighs and says, "Go away, I'm not in the mood for your crap today Razor so just buzz off and leave me alone."

He then drops the attitude and then says, "What happened with the others that were with you, are they still toying with Flurry Heart?"

She then snarls at him and then says, "I SAID SHUT IT! YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT IT WHEN I INFORM THE QUEEN WHAT HAS HAPPENED, NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" She then leaves him in the dust and hurries to the queen's chamber.

Queen Chrysalis laughs at a few of the stories that her ally, Colm O'Driscoll is telling her and then says, "What did you do to the poor creature then Colm?"

Colm then laughs sadistically and then says, "Well I told her that if she screamed as loud as she could, I would set her free. Which she did and I just laughed and left her there on the tracks, with no coat covering her body and her hands and hooves tied together. I laughed even harder when I saw the train run her over and tear her body into tiny pieces and then returned to the hideout with all of her valuables."

She then senses one of her subjects approach her and then turns her attention in their direction and waits to see who it is, smiling when she sees that it is Stealthy Strike and says, "Ahh Stealthy Strike, we were wondering when you would return to us. Is the prisoner with the others? Did she put up much of a struggle? Did she scream and cry for her mommy to come get her?"

Stealthy Strike lands before the Queen and then kneels and bows before her saying, "I regret to inform you that Princess Flurry Heart is gone."

Chrysalis then stands up enraged and then yells, "HOW DID SHE GET AWAY? SHE IS JUST A TINY WEAK LITTLE FOAL! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT NOW!"

She sighs and then hangs her head low and then says, "We went down the tunnel and picked up the little princess and were coming back, until we heard something coming down the tunnel. We then hid on either side, waiting for whatever was following us to step into the ambush. But it must have somehow found out because it called out telling us to come out, Frenzied Fangs went out and faced whatever it was. Unfortunately he was not strong enough to defeat it, as the rest of us heard two loud noises that made our ears ring. The creature then called out to us, demanding we come out to face it or it was gonna lay waste to us all with a shotgun. It then sent something that hissed like us down the tunnel past us, Swift Wing then went to check it out when there was an even louder noise that sent dust and debris past us. It also sent me against the tunnel wall, causing me to fall unconscious. When I came to, my head was killing me. After I regained my senses, I looked around and there was the mangled body of Swift Wing laying in the main tunnel between where we were hiding. I couldn't keep my stomach down and threw up on the floor, I then forced myself to look past their body and then went into the tunnel to see if the creature was still there. The only thing that was there were the bodies of the other changelings in the group, all laying in a pile. I then looked back at the tunnel and then saw it had collapsed and then spent a long time clearing a path to crawl through to make my way back to inform you of what happened My Queen."

The queen squints her eyes at the insect before her and then says, "That is simply not possible! Do you have any information about whatever this creature was!?!"

Stealthy Strike then gulps and says, "Well the only thing that I could tell for sure was that the air around the creature reeked of death, and that it was clearly male."

Chrysalis then glares at her and then loudly says before yelling, "That information is basically useless! We changelings are the stealthiest beings in Equestria! YOU HAVE FAILED ME FOR THE LAST TIME STEALTHY STRIKE, I HEREBY BANISH YOU FROM THIS HIVE... GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AT ONCE YOU WORTHLESS INSECT!!!"

Her wings go slack as she hears all sound in the hive go dead silent, she then turns around and races towards the tunnel that will be the quickest way to get away from the hive. Tears form in her eyes as she feels herself be cut off from the hive completely, now finding herself all alone in the world with no reliable source of food. As she makes her way through the tunnel, avoiding the rocks thrown at her while thinking, "Where will I go now, I have no home, no family, and no hive..." Tears run down her face as she turns down another tunnel, hoping to get as far away from the hive as possible. She then forces her wings to function and then flies even faster down the tunnel when she starts to hear a hiss, knowing that they are now chasing after her to kill her.

Colm cocks his head in thought at hearing the description then says, "For some reason I do not know, I feel like I should know that description well. Give me some time to go through my thoughts Queen Chrysalis, that information is not completely useless. It is a good thing that you got rid of that miserable pathetic failure, how many times did she fail to gather any information on the missions you sent her on? Was it six times or was it twelve?"

She then looks at Colm and then squints her eyes and then says, "Very well Colm, search your thoughts and then inform me when you discover anything important. I do not tolerate repeat failures in my hive."

5 hours later, somewhere in the tunnels running through Equestria...

Stealthy Strike's wings can't carry her any further, causing her to land and then continue running down the tunnel. Thankful that the others have stopped chasing after her, she finally sees light and then pushes harder towards the exit. She finally exits the tunnel and then walks away from it, managing to walk a fair distance away from it before starting to lightly laugh at making it out of there and away from the hive with her life. Her happiness is short lived as she then quickly breaks down into tears and sobs as her legs finally give out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground next to a well traveled trail.

I travel down the road with Lou pulling the wagon down the road at a swift trot, whistling some song when Lou's ears begin to swivel. I then sense something amiss and pull the reins for her to stop and then say, "What do you hear girl, what's up?" I quickly set down the reins and then draw the shotgun from my back, ready for whatever may attack us.

Lou then finds the direction the noise came from and turns her head to the left with her ears focused forward and says, "I think I heard crying come from this direction, but it wasn't clear enough to make out. You should investigate it Arthur, you never know what you will find when investigating something strange. Take that weird tunnel system back where we came from, you found a few interesting things there."

I then remember when I first stumbled across that ancient structure and chuckle saying, "Yeah I remember that I found an old axe, a helmet, and a comb that survived the years down there." I then jump down off the wagon and then head in the direction where Lou heard the noise come from, holding my shotgun at the ready if anything tries to attack me. I walk about a hundred feet and then stop to listen for any sound, hearing a noise come a little further south of my position and then begin walking in that direction. I then walk another hundred feet and then stop to listen for any sound, hearing a faint crying noise south southwest of me and then start to head toward it. The crying gets louder as I get closer towards the source, I then walk slower as I start to expect it to be an ambush of some kind.

Stealthy Strike hears a twig snap, but pays it no mind as she hopes that she will be found and put out of her misery soon and continues crying.

I then walk a bit further until I see a dark figure in the grass beside a large boulder and then call out to them, "Umm, is everything okay over there? Do you need any help? I am armed and ready for whatever attack may come, so make yourself known." I then raise the shotgun and point it in the direction of the dark figure.

She instantly recognizes that voice and then stops crying, then quickly rolls to her back and scampers to the side of the boulder. She then says with tears in her eyes, "Have you came back to finish me off, is that it?! Are you going to end my life like a lowly pest!?"

I then stalk closer to the boulder, then make my way to one side of it to have them in sight. I then identify the voice as clearly being female and then say, "So you somehow survived that encounter in the cave. If you try to avenge your dead buddies, you will be joining them shortly. So far I haven't decided yet if you are a threat or not, so come on out so I can put a face to your voice."

Stealthy Strike then wipes her tears away and then stands up suddenly and says, "Why do you wish to see my face, there is nothing special about it."

I then look at the changeling and quickly raise my shotgun and close the distance between us and then cock the hammers back and say, "Turn and face me changeling, I am not the type that just kills indiscriminately. I only kill those that try to kill me, so turn around right now and look at me god dammit!"

She then quickly turns to face him and gasps when she sees a couple long tubes staring her in the face,. She watches intensely as they lower ever so slightly, permitting her a good look into the male creature's face. She stares into his eyes as a few tears run down her face to her chin, seeing in them that he has experienced many hard things in the past. She then sighs and looks down at the ground and then says in a meek voice, "If you are going to kill me, just do it already and stop toying with me."

I then stare at her for a little bit before raising the shotgun again and then say, "What happened that brings you to tears changeling, do you still wish to kidnap Princess Flurry Heart? You better answer me or I will beat the answers out of you like I did to the stallion that bought time for her captors to get away by being a distraction, tell me what I want to know or I will introduce you to a new world of pain."

Stealthy strike then softly sobs and then tells him what happened, after finishing her story she then says, "No I am no longer interested in Princess Flurry Heart, I have no hive, no home, no food, and no family. Go ahead and do whatever you wish with me, I don't care anymore."

I lower the barrel slightly, feeling that she needs help and somewhere to call 'home'. I then uncock the hammers and then return the shotgun to my back and then say to her in a softer tone, "Okay then, that is all I needed to hear kid. Come with me kid and I will take care of you until you are ready to be on your own alright?"

She is shocked to hear him say that and then sniffles and says, "My name is not kid, it's Stealthy Strike. Where is your home located?" Her stomach then growls from hunger, causing her to cover it futilely with an arm from embarrassment.

I then chuckle and then say, "My name is Arthur Morgan, now that I know your name. I have a question for you Stealthy, what do changelings eat? I only know what they look like and take the form of any creature they capture and study."

Stealthy then looks at him then says, "Changelings eat emotions, we can eat normal food but it doesn't sustain us very well."

I then cock my head and then say in mild surprise, "You eat emotions, how do you accomplish that? Do you use some sort of magic to collect the emotions?"

She then lightly chuckles and then says, "We do not use magic to eat them, we consume emotions by using our mouth to suck them from the ponies we capture and cocoon. The cocoons are used to just keep them from fighting against us."

I then smirk and then walk closer to her and say, "Alright then, I don't mind if you eat some of my emotions. Does it hurt or affect me at all when too much is consumed?"

Stealthy then blinks a couple times and says, "Oh I won't take that much from you, ponies aren't harmed at all. The most that happens is they pass out, the same thing happens when they use too much magic. They do come back after some time passes though, just so you know." She then looks away for a moment and returns her gaze to him and then steps a little closer and says, "T-Thank you for permitting me to take some of your emotions." She then places her hands on his shoulders, cocks her head a little and then opens her mouth slightly and then uses her ability to consume emotions.

I watch as she gets close to me and then tries to suck my emotions from me, not really seeing anything happen and then think, 'Since she uses her mouth to eat emotions, would it be more effective for our mouths to touch?' I then continue debating it and then watch as she continues to try to eat my emotions.

She then begins to taste some of the love that she is harvesting from him and then sucks a bit harder at how sweet it is, feeling her hunger slowly fade away. Her eyes then close as she then continues to consume some of the love that he has when she feels him hold her back, shocking her at how trusting he is being with a changeling like her.

I then decide to try to help her out, seeing as nothing is happening as she closes her eyes. I then lean down saying, "Here, allow me help you a little." then continue lowering my face towards her slightly open mouth and then part my lips and then give her a french kiss, hoping that this helps her satisfy her hunger better.