A week after the defeat of Lunar Blight and the return of Princess Luna, all has returned back to the status quo... well, almost all. In the Golden Oaks library, Twilight, Trixie and Everchange are currently working on understanding the strange metamorphosis of the gem embedded in Everchange's wrist, now that it's transformed into this strange bulky watch contraption. Trixie's mostly there for Everchange, not so much for Twilight's sake.

"Ok, trial #1 begins... now! Change!" Twilight states. Everchange presses a new button on the device, popping what looks like a core up from the watch. Seeing the icon he wanted, he pressed down on it, and within a quick flash of green light, Germani was present. The only major difference is the strange bronze ring with the green diamond emblem on it. Other than that, the Diamond Dog was basically the same as it was before.

"Change!" Twilight stated. In another flash of light, Scaleblazer was present, with the same bronze ring and green diamond emblem. Twilight wrote something down.

"Ok, try to transform back for now." Twilight states. In a flash of red light, Everchange returned to his normal form. Twilight shuffled through several lengthy papers of notes while Everchange eyed and examined the watch cautiously.

"You two are possibly the most boring ponies Trixie has ever met." Trixie stated, impatience and boredom looming over her. The other two ponies looked at the street performer, and while Twilight sneered, Everchange chuckled a bit and smiled.

"These things take time, Trixie. After all, Manehattan wasn't built in an hour, you know." Everchange said. Twilight rolled her eyes and pulled out one of her notes, handing it to the stallion, who then tried to look it over.

"Let's get down to answering some questions about this strange... thing. When it comes to transforming, are you truly becoming a copy of that species, or is it something only unique to you?" Twilight asked.

"It's like a bit of both, if I can be honest. Yes, it feels like I'm truly becoming another species, experiencing life, even in a fight, as a species I never was before, it does seem that the gem favors certain aspects to these species, like allowing my Kirin form, Scoville Hooves, to retain the powers and abilities of each of their variations." Everchange answered. Twilight wrote something down on another paper.

"Ok, which of your forms have you had the least amount of control over during your time of transforming?" Twilight questioned.

"Definitely my Windigo form, Phrosthantom. It just feels unnatural to use such a creature's innate ability to draw on hatred to make itself stronger. Ironically enough, I have more control over my Changeling form than I do over my Windigo form... fancy that tidbit of irony, hm?" Everchange answered. Twilight kept writing something down as she brought up a paper with a childish drawing depicting a scenario.

"From what I saw back when we first found out your secret, you had access to only a Changeling. When Spike got closer, the gem hit him with a yellow beam of some kind of energy, what exactly did it do?" Twilight questioned.

"By my best guess, this gem was harvesting or collecting DNA. For what purpose this serves? I haven't a clue. In the thousand years I've been alive and studied this gem, plus its eccentricities, I've never seen anything like this before... though I do have a theory, but as it stands, that's all it is for now, a mere theory." Everchange answered. Twilight continued to jot down information.

"Okay, last question, then we can take a break. How many creatures can you turn into?" Twilight asked. Everchange opened his mouth to say something, but upon hearing the question echo in his head from when Button Mash asked him that question, he was dumbfounded. He didn't have a real idea on how many he could actually transform into. Sure, he made the assumption that he could transform into 10 different kinds of creatures, but he's only used 9 forms thus far... what the heck was he supposed to say if there were more than 10?

"I don't know. I didn't dare to dabble in using this thing further during my 1,000 years alone, or hiding my secret from those who didn't know, but when innocent ponies and creatures start getting caught in my issues, I found myself having to do a lot of stupid stuff to get results. I've only used 9 forms thus far, and I told a colt that I had 10 forms... if I truly do have 10 forms or more, I don't know what this 10th one could be, or what I could transform into later on if I messed with this thing long enough." Everchange answered. Twilight continued to write down information, and was feeling her curiosity growing stronger.

"Well, time for a break! Come on, Everchange, The great and powerful Trixie requires your assistance with a special project." Trixie said, using her magic to pull the dumbfounded stallion out of the door. Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes as she continued to look over her notes.

At Trixie's new caravan wagon, it was stocked to the brim with potions and other various ingredients. Various glass jars contained several herbs, mystic spices, there was a strange, emotionless and silent mare in the cart... Trixie and Everchange looked at each other and back at the mare, who seemed to be eyeing the various exotic crystals on the shelves before turning her emotionless face to the two ponies.

"Hm... brimming sedimentary quality... you don't usually find big pieces of Pyrite, or even regular Quartz, just popping out of the ground around small farming towns. Especially if there's no established or official mining quarry, to prevent the overgrowth of mineral deposits." The mare said in a deadpanned tone of voice.

"Do you know her, Everchange?" Trixie asked. Everchange went wide-eyed as he looked at the unicorn with confusion.

"I- I thought you knew her!" Everchange said. The mare casually walked past them, exiting the wagon as the two shook off their concerns, this time, locking the wagon door to prevent intruders before getting to work.

"So, what was it that you needed help with? I know I can use an average level of alchemy studies, but if you need something custom, I'm not the pony you should be asking... trust me." Everchange stated worriedly.

"Trixie just needs you to make her a stamina booster. Trixie finds herself running out of stamina and energy more often doing the smallest and easiest of tasks, so to make sure that apology tour is a go, I sent Snips and Snails out to promote my first show here, in Ponyville! Whereas you, I need to either get a recipe for Stamina boosting potions, or you can make me a bunch of them for my show beforehand." Trixie explained.

Everchange sighed and grabbed a few Phoenix Feathers, The Fang of a Timberwolf, A Pyrite crystal, and something that provides more energy. Everchange quickly put the feathers aside and put the fang and crystal into a pestle and mortar, quickly and efficiently grinding and pulverizing the ingredients together into a fine smooth dust before dumping its contents into a fiery bubbling cauldron. Everchange tossed the feathers into the cauldron as well, and reached into his pocket, pulling out an apple, tearing it in half and removing the seeds before tossing one half of the apple, and all of the seeds, into the cauldron as well. Everchange quickly began to stir and mix the concoction, giving it a quick taste as he felt a surge of energy pool through him, smiling as he began to quickly bottle up several jars worth of the cauldron's contents.

The stallion scooped out the seeds of the apple and put them back in his pocket as he gave the jars of stamina boosters to Trixie and headed off into town to try and relax.

"Phew... finally, a time to relax... now, I should continue work on my home, but I wouldn't want to worry about-"

"There he is!! The shapeshifter!!!" Somepony called out. Everchange stopped and sighed, turning around to see a mob of 6-13 different ponies charging at him.

"I can't catch a break, can I?" Everchange said to himself, bracing for the impact. He felt the ponies surround him and lift him into the air, confusing the stallion even more.

"Three cheers for the strong-hearted stallion!" Another pony called out. Were they cheering for him? Now he was worried, half of Ponyville finally stopped excluding him, and accepted his... strange abilities, but there was always a chance that the other half could burn him at the stake.

"If I can politely ask... WHAT IN THE NAME OF FAUST ARE YOU ON ABOUT?!" Everchange exclaimed, irritated and confused. The ponies holding him up just smiled.

"We celebrate thy bravery, the vanquisher of the bloodied night! The devastator of the Parasites! We welcome thee home, we celebrate thee! Praise the bringer of justice!" A pony stated, almost excited to be saying such pleasantries. Everchange felt as if this sudden praise was either forced, they were asked to do this... or this was genuine, and that scared the life out of him.

"Okay, I can understand why Rainbow Dash likes the praise so much... no wonder her ego's always getting a gut check, but for the love of Manoa, can you just put me down so I can relax!? Sure, I faced some crazy alicorn wearing my mother like a one piece suit, and faced a bunch of one eyed landbound squid parasites without succumbing to their clutches, big deal, Twilight and her friends did the same thing, praise them, not me! Without them, I'd be a dead stallion, so thank them for saving my life and helping me save Equestria... I seriously don't need all the credit." The stallion explained.

The ponies put the stallion down, but they did not give him any room. They crowded around him, smiling and were all ecstatic to be in his presence, it drove him mad cause it just felt uncomfortable. Wasn't until a whistling sound echoed out, causing the ponies to disperse and give him some breathing room.

"Excuse me, but are these ponies bothering you? I tend to make it very clear that even when I'm off duty, I try to uphold and keep the peace." A voice called out. Everchange got up and looked at the stallion in front of him, and felt the strangest feeling of Deja Vu. The stallion was tall, if not just a little bit taller than him, had a pristine white coat and dark blue hooves, wavy, long and well trimmed hair in a few shades of blue, a very blue tail with a noticeable white unicorn horn jutting through, and a shield on his flank with a familiar symbol on it and three silver stars above the shield's points. The stallion held a hoof out and Everchange took it, using the stallion to hoist himself back up.

"Thank you, these ponies are quite uh... eccentric, to put it lightly... Now I know how Twilight feels when Pinkie just gets too into something." Everchange stated, dusting himself off.

"Huh, didn't know you knew my little sister, but that's okay, you seem pretty chill. I'm Shining Armor, great to make your acquaintance, Mr.?" Shining introduced. Everchange smiled.

"Spectical. Everchange Spectical. A granduous pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Armor. Pray tell, is Pinkie your sister, or is the Alicorn who loves books related to you?" Everchange inquired. The stallion laughed a bit.

"Yup, you definitely met Twilight, you'll have to let me tell you that she's not usually the kindest to complete strangers, even when I know she can take care of herself." Shining stated, smiling as he prattled on about his sister.

Everchange looked around and though the crowd dispersed, he was still rather bored, or bothered by how different the ponies seemed to act when he was in their presence now. It was unsettling to say the least, but maybe it was because for a thousand years, he was used to the snide remarks, the occasional death threats and the sneering.

"Shining, could I possibly thank you for a moment, maybe with a pastry or two at Pony Joe's Donut Shop?" Everchange asked the stallion. The stallion, just up and busted out laughing, wheezing as he hit the ground with one of his hooves and wiped away tears, still laughing. What was it about other ponies laughing at him? What did he possibly say that was so funny? What, is being polite suddenly the funniest thing ever nowadays? Eventually, after a couple minutes of laughing like a mad stallion who escaped the looney bin, he eventually calmed down, smiling and coughing from how much he had laughed without stopping.

"Oh boy, you- haha, you're hilarious, you talk like a royal, man. Look, I'm off duty, sure, but you don't have to constantly give me that high regard and respect schpeal. But, to answer your question, sure, I could go for a treat, plus, it'll be a good way to make some friends around this quiet, and peaceful town Twily came to." Shining said. The stallions shared a good laugh as they walked to the donut shop.

"I feel as if I've been kicked in the groin and had hot coals burn against my plot." Everchange said in dejection. A closed sign, due to some form of festivities being in-progress.

"Well, that's a bummer, but hey, we can still go to sugarcube corner, if that's fine." Shining offered. Everchange sighed and looked at himself in the glass's reflection... he looked upset, genuinely devastated.

"I-... Nevermind, I'm not in much of a mood for sweets right now anyway, but I am going to go over to Sweet Apple Acres, to provide some assistance with some physical labor." Everchange stated, walking in the direction of the farm's location.

"Cool, you have fun, bro! If you're ever in need of doing something fun, just let me know!" Shining yelled out, laughing as he trotted off to deal with his own business.

Everchange walks over to the farm, and can see plenty of ponies within the vicinity, and immediately jumps back as one of these ponies, a bright yellow stallion in a western outfit with slightly faded and shaded blonde-brown hair proceeds to shake Everchange's hoof.

"Howdy, pardner! Never saw you before, I'm Braeburn, Applejack's cousin. I heard a lot from her about some crazy shenanigans that've gone on lately in Ponyville, but she also seems to have caught the eye of a stallion! Sure hope we can get better acquainted sometime, friend, but I gotta get back to helpin' mah family! If you ever need a favor, just ask for Braeburn down at APPLEOOSA!!!" Braeburn introduced, running all the way back to the farm at a break-neck speed.

Everchange sighed, turning around as he trotted back to town, dejected and interjected. "Well, that was a bust...Pony Joe's ain't open, Applejack's busy with her family... hmm, I wonder if-" Everchange didn't finish that sentence till somepony crashed right in front of him. That pony was Big Mac.

"By my mother, are you alright, Mac?!" Everchange said in urgency, helping the stallion to his hooves.

"Urgh.... Eeyup..." Big Mac simply said, a bit irritated, or is probably feeling something in his body go out of place. Everchange looked over to the farm, seeing apparently the extended members of the apple family. "They just up and suddenly got to work, I have no idea what that was even about, something about a festival or something." Big Mac explained, feeling a bit irate about the sudden action.

"Did you get booted out by accident too, my friend?" Everchange asked. The red stallion furrowed his brow and groaned. "You needn't worry, my friend, I think we just need time to reflect on the situations at hoof, whatever they may be." Everchange simply stated.

The stallions trotted back towards town, and eventually split up to do their own things.

"NO MORE!! I SAID NO MORE!!!" A distressed and agonizing call echoed and bellowed out. Several guards run over to the door, only to be called off by Celestia. The alicorn opens the doors to a dark, and very night-themed room, where Princess Luna, the princess of the Moon, was sitting up in her bed, breathing in a sporadic and almost maddened pace, tears in her eyes as she looked at her sister.

Celestia sighed. "Guards, fetch me a few glasses of water, and do not make me wait!" The alicorn commanded, the stallions nodded and trotted away. Celestia carefully walked into the room and closed the doors behind her with her magic.

"Luna... how do you feel?" Celestia asked, looking down in worry for her sister. Luna seemed a bit hesitant on wanting to answer that question, but instead of answering, she promptly got up and wiped her tears away, not wanting to look Celestia in the eye.

"I'm fine, Celestia... I- I just need to- t-to.." Luna struggled to find her words, the words she wanted to say, yet even when she found them, she dared to not say.

"You want to see him... don't you?" Celestia asked somberly. Luna turned back to Celestia, more tears began to fill her eyes, her lip quivered as she tried to find some form of solace, only to feel like she could collapse at any moment. "My sister, I know what it must mean to you, to try and reconnect with him, and I want to help you, but you are not in the right mindset to be anywhere else right now, not while ponies still think that Nightmare Moon will return..." Celestia explained.

Celestia looked away, she hated saying those words, knowing well enough that she said she wanted to make things right... but now wasn't the time, not now. She had to appease her subjects, but she needed to amend the scars her family had suffered... she just didn't know how she was going to do that yet.

Everchange was lying down near the shoreline of a lake, looking up at the sky, seeing several pegasi working hard to clear the skies. "Seems like everypony's doing something... why am I not doing something, it seems like some kind of festivity is being arranged, I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind to have some extra hooves on hoof." He told himself. He got up and trotted up to the path, and immediately made his way to the town hall.

On the way, Everchange saw several balloons of specific colors, ranging from green, black, gray, white, and gold, all while he saw several diamond shapes all over the place, and what looked like a poster with sketches of what looked like some of his transformations. Lionhawk, Expioflage, Scaleblazer, Germani and Tyrani-Taur. A sketch of himself was also smack dab in the middle, smiling as he looks at the gem drawn on his leg.

"There are several questions going through my brain, and not a single one might be answered... so I'm just going to back away, and get to town hall-"

"HELP!!! SOMEPONY HELP!!!" A voice called out. Everchange turned towards the voice's origin, and looked at a huge, towering stone being chiseled into something, as well as a filly, an Earth Pony filly, was hanging by one hoof on top of the stone.

"By the sun and moon, who isn't watching these children, I swear." Everchange groaned, running towards the statue. He hopped onto a table being set, then jumped towards the rock as he quickly put some traction between the stone and his hooves, and began to run up the stone's surface. "Stay calm, I'm going to help you!" Everchange reassured, standing on top of the stone as he reached a hoof out to the foal. The foal was somepony Everchange was familiar with already... Silver Spoon, a friend of that spoiled rich filly, Diamond Tiara.

"Silver Spoon, grab my hoof, everything'll be okay!" Everchange said. He looked around the statue from above, seeing what looked like all of Ponyville was watching him. Silver Spoon was hesitating, but her hold was slipping. "For the love of my auntie, just grab my hoof, already, you'll get hurt if you don't!" Everchange stated, getting impatient.

Silver Spoon tried to reach for his hoof, but felt her grasp on the rock falter, she yelped as she began to fall, until she felt the fall suddenly end. Everchange had lunged forward and grabbed Silver Spoon by the tail, and hoisted her up onto his back as he carefully climbed down. "T-T-Thank you..." Silver Spoon said, the fall must've made her a bit jittery.

"Anytime, just tell me, what gave you the bright idea to climb on a big freaking rock?! You could've seriously hurt yourself, or worse! You're associated with rich ponies, you're not stupid, kid!" Everchange said sternly.

"I-It wasn't m-my idea! I-It was all Diamond Tiara's, she was mad t-that-" Silver Spoon stopped talking as Everchange set her down on the ground.

"I'll talk with her father about it, just try to pick some better friends, okay? It helps to know in situations like this, you do find out who your friends really are." Everchange stated, moving through the crowd as he ran to the town hall.

Everchange burst through the doors and approached Mayor Mare, who was conversating with, to his dismay and disgust, Spoiled Rich. He forgot about her real quick for a second, he had a bigger picture to look at. "Excuse me, Mayor! I see everypony is busy setting up for some kind of festivity, do you mind if I lend a hoof or two?" Everchange asked.

Spoiled Rich then interjected, much to his displeasure. "Excuse me, your kind isn't allowed here, go back to whatever backwater hive you were originally spawned from, and let the ponies do what they do, insect. Okay? Okay." Spoiled Rich said casually, shoving Everchange out of the way.

"Well, I guess it's time to do some laundry, I got 'Spoiled Milk' all over my clothes. Silly me, I guess I should've known better than to try and deal with trash so haphazardly." Everchange shot back, smiling contentedly. Spoiled Rich grit her teeth and pointed her already angular nose up into the air.

The mayor looked up, seeing the two ponies arguing. It gave the mare a headache, but it also gave her a sense of Deja vu. She grabbed a small wooden gavel and knocked it against the desk several times, stopping the two from arguing further as their attention was brought to the mayor. "Now that I have your attention, let me explain to you why I can't be dealing with your issues right now," She said, shuffling through a few papers.

She pulled out a piece of purple paper and adjusted her glasses, "Spoiled Rich, you can't just tear down a library because you want to. I don't care if it's for 'parental' reasons, I'm not authorizing this, especially if I'll have to face the sheer scalding fires of Tartarus when Twilight Sparkle finds out." Mayor Mare stated sternly, taking a stamp and hitting the paper with it, showing a word in big red letters reading, 'DECLINED'.

Upset and outraged, Spoiled Rich storms out in a huff. Everchange just watched her leave, and then simply walked up to the desk. "What a real 'class-act' that spoiled pony is, even I don't act like that when things don't go my way... unless it's Thursday." Everchange remarked. Mayor Mare sorted through the various papers that was taking up space on her desk, and eventually set a few stacks down out of the way before resuming her duties.

"So, Mr. Spectical, a little bird has told me that you have ties to royalty, yes?" Mayor inquired. Everchange could feel his brain spazzing out from the panic, he didn't want other ponies to find out about that.

The mayor then busted into a quick fit of laughter before calming herself down. "Oh you should've seen your face, ahaha! That was beautiful, who here besides Mrs. Rich would want to be involved in the royals' royal business?" The mayor joked. Everchange just sighed and rubbed his face. "Anywho, how can I be of assistance?" The mayor asked.

Everchange looked at the mare behind the desk, and took a breath for a moment as he thought about the words he chose. "I saw that a party was being set up, I can help in any way I can, if you're willing to have me. After all that's happened, I'd like to properly have the chance to do something productive." Everchange stated formally.

Mayor Mare looked up at the stallion, and then grabbed a small green envelope, sliding it towards him. "While I do appreciate your willingness to lend a hoof in the festivities, we're already booked; But, as a constellation, somepony came in and asked for this to be delivered to you... though you don't seem to have a mailing address set up, you can pick up your mail at the Post Office until you get that address set up." Mayor Mare stated, getting back to her duties.

Everchange took the envelope and saw that it was sealed in a dark black wax. He trotted over to an empty chair and sat down, opening the envelope and breaking the wax as he marveled at the glittering purple paper inside. He pulled it out and unfolded it, and it seemed to be some type of literary exposit. 'Well, it's something new, might as well look it over to see who it's from.' Everchange thought to himself.

"Heroisms and Harmonies"

By The Elements

"Trampling fields, the scorning of wars,

Disharmony came down, and Heroes were no more.

Destruction lay waste, catastrophes unbound,

It all could've gone worse, if you didn't come around.

Fires would burn, reduce forests to ash,

an organization on the loose, but you didn't get brash.

The fire in your heart, has burned longer than you've been alive,

If you hadn't shown up that day, Equestria would not have survived.

We made some bad judgement calls, but no one's perfect,

So we hope you'll understand that you have our respect.

We hope you'll pop by tonight, don't be late!

We hope you'll understand that we think you're great."

From, Twilight,

Applejack,

Rarity,

Pinkie Pie,

Fluttershy,

Rainbow Dash,

And the Great and Powerful Trixie!

Everchange looked at the words on the page, and felt his chest tighten up. He was truly astonished, 6 crazy mares, and a traveling magician made this strange poem, for him... what day was it? It couldn't have been his birthday, but he knows a joke when he sees it, and this isn't a joke. It's also not Hearth's Warming yet, though there is a bit of a cold nip in the air.

Everchange looked over the envelope, and saw that it indeed came from the Golden Oaks Library, so that was where he has going next. He looked at the clock, it read '2:31 PM', he couldn't believe that it's only been a couple hours, but he still made haste, leaving the Town Hall as he ran in the direction of the library. From the shadows of an alleyway, something watches... lurking.

In the middle of town, tons of decorations have been set up, as well as a big stone statue being chiseled into the shape of a pony. Several ponies were chatting it up, as was most of the Apple Family tending to the hungry masses as the caterers for such an event. Pinkie was already done with decorations, and was just relaxing at a table, chatting with the mysterious mare Trixie and Everchange saw inside Trixie's wagon.

Her expressionless eyes were a shimmering light turquoise, her coat was a simple color of gray, almost close to the color of stone. Her mane and tail were a lavender color, but they weren't very stylized, just really basic and kinda flat. She wore a blueish-gray colored short-sleeved turtleneck with a Dark blueish-gray strap around her waist. The finishing touch on her was a long, faded rose red skirt.

Pinkie seemed to be practically over-excited in her seat, to the point where the seat itself was bouncing in place. "This is gonna be so much fun!! Of all the welcoming parties I've thrown, this is gonna be the biggest party I've thrown yet! And the best part, I get to throw it with my best friends, and my sister!! Aren't you glad, Maud? Plus, you get to meet one of my newest best friends!" Pinkie stated with the widest and sweetest grin on her face. The emotionless mare just slowly blinked her eyes, her emotion not showing, but she was happy to support Pinkie in any of her endeavors, unlike the rest of their folks.

"I'm always up for a good party... I know if Boulder was with me right now, he'd love to play with Gummy again. Your parties are very extravagant, Pinkie. With all the strenuous issues back home, and the free time I have from campus... I'm glad to get to spend it with you." Maud said, her voice monotone and lacking emotion. Pinkie, undeterred by this, just looks like she's about to blow up into an explosion of positivity.

Coming up from behind the monotoned mare was Spike, who was casually chewing on a couple gems as he passed by. "Hey Pinkie, you ready for the party tonight? It's gonna be the biggest event of the year." Spike said.

"Oh yeah, the party's gonna be a real fun one! Oh! Spike, let me introduce you to one of the many ponies I've humbly invited to this shindig. This is my sister, Maud! Why don't you two take some time to talk, I'll go make some pastries and come back!" Pinkie said, immediately bolting away somewhere. Spike looked at the mare in the seat, and Spike sat up, holding his hand out for a shake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Spike the dragon. It's great to meet you, Maud, especially since I didn't know Pinkie had a sister." Spike introduced.

Maud raised one of her front legs and met Spike's gesture with a firm and friendly shake. "I tend to pride myself in supporting my sister from the sidelines, I've never been one for parties, though my sister knows how to really throw the best ones. I also can't help but notice that you're a dragon, from how Pinkie described you in her letters, I thought you'd be one of the bigger ones." Maud said.

Spike began to regale Maud in everything he, Pinkie and their friends had gone through in the last few weeks. The Council of Artemis, Parasites, The return of Lunar Blight, and the occasional comparison to certain events from stuff that went on in his comic books. Maud didn't yet express any emotion regarding the events that was abridged and retold to her by the dragon, but did feel like the dragon had a lot to tell. She was proud of Pinkie for standing up against some pretty crazy forces of evil and darkness, it showed Maud that Pinkie hadn't lost any resolve since leaving home.

"...Seems like my sister has really toughened up," Maud said. "She's a party planner, but I never took her for a fighter." Maud noted.

Spike nodded. "She's a wonderful party planner, it's what her calling in life is, but if anyone messes with her friends, I'd hate to be the pony or the creature that gets on her bad side. I'm sure if anyone was picking on or doing something bad to Pinkie, she would know that her friends have her back." Spike stated. Maud nodded.

Everchange stands at the Golden Oaks Library's front door. The memory of the Timberwolf incident just feels gross to the stallion, but he has to find out what's going on. He knocks on the door, but there doesn't seem to be a response. He opens the door and invites himself in. He carefully walks around the library, and heads up a staircase. "Twilight, are you in here? I wanted to thank you and your friends for writing this poem for me." Everchange called out. Not a single sound was heard, besides his hooves clopping against the wood floor.

As he looked at the second floor, he saw no visible signs of a struggle, nor the signs or indication that any kind of conflict had ensued. The front door was unlocked, he was here earlier with Twilight and Trixie... so where did the alicorn go after he left?

He groaned in frustration. "It's times like these where showing my kindness and appreciation to others is just a quest in of itself, minus the danger... if I wanted a tedious chase quest, I would've gotten into O&O instead of devoting my life to aiding the kingdom." Everchange stated. The stallion turned around to leave, only to feel a sensation of paralysis wrack through his body, leaving him immobile.

He looked in front of him and saw Twilight... no... no, this wasn't Twilight, the mare in front of him looked nothing like her. The mare in front of him seemed stoic, yet uncertain. He couldn't directly recognize the mare at all, but he still got a full look of her. The mare had a rather dark blue coat, A Dark purple fedora with a dark blue band, and what looked like part of a unicorn horn was peaking out, A dark purple body suit with dark blue bandages wrapped around her hooves, and a dark blue cape with an odd 'M' shaped pin holding it in place with pegasus wings underneath. Everchange looked the mare right in the eyes, her mysterious light cornflower blue eyes, and her light grayish cornflower blue pupils.

Everchange was about to ask who this was, until the mare ran forward, and socked the stallion in the face, knocking him to the floor and leaving him unconscious. The mare pulled out a small black ball and threw it onto the floor, and vanished in a cloud of white smoke...

Within the Dream Realm...

Everchange snaps his eyes open, and finds himself in a field. He looks around, seeing a never-ending field of grass, flowers, and wheat. Everchange got up and slowly began to walk through the field. He felt indifferent, though his face seemed to hurt real bad. He sighed, walking, and walking, then walking some more. He walked for what felt like ages, yet his body never changed, it never aged, it never developed wrinkles or signs of bodily issues. He was walking for eternity, all while the sun slowly began to set.

Everchange stopped moving, and sat in the field... he looked around, and knew for the moment, he was alone again. He looked at his wrist, and saw a diamond-shaped blood clot where the gem usually was. He looked to the starry sky as the moon began to rise, gazing at the stars. He wondered about his Cutie Mark... resembled his mother's, what with the black mass... but what did the green shapes mean? All this time since he got his cutie mark, he's had no real idea on what his purpose was supposed to be, but then again, his life in solitude, mourning and being bitter... on top of his strange abilities... he was at a loss for what he was supposed to do with his life.

Soon after, the ground began to suddenly disappear... Everchange made no effort to run, but damn he wanted to. He wanted to kick and scream and run, but he thought that staying still and letting whatever happens now, would be the right choice. He stayed still, watching the world before him disappear into ash, until only a white void, and the patch of grass he sat on, and he himself, remained.

Before the stallion could do anything, he heard several hoof steps coming from behind him, yet he dared to not make a move. His volition, however, was tossed aside as he felt a magical power turn him around, and he faced his mother, Princess Luna. Her eyes seemed red, and she had dried up tears staining her face, and she trotted closer. Everchange, without a word, or second thought, ran up to his mother, and just squeezed her in an embrace, squeezing her in a manner that they both knew... he didn't want to let go and lose her again. The alicorn returned the embrace, only for the white void to start shattering.

Everchange felt his grip on his mother waning, and he could feel the ground giving way to an empty black void. He tried to hold on, but he lost his hold... falling into the void as he screamed. He could hear something below him, something that seemed to be like magic, he looked down and saw an overwhelmingly powerful magic blast heading in his direction, and he screamed as it nearly collided with him, enveloping everything in a bright purple light.

"Everchange, wake up!!" A voice called out in distress. Twilight, dressed in some kind of ceremonial garb, was standing over the unconscious stallion, trying desperately to use an awakening spell to, well, awaken Everchange. Eventually, Everchange's eyes fluttered open, his senses overloaded, but otherwise, he was okay. "Everchange, are you okay? How did you get into the library, the door was locked!" Twilight said.

She stepped back as Everchange rubbed his eyes and yawned, only to flinch and groan as he held his face. That punch had some serious kick to it if he was still reeling from it. "I just walked in... it wasn't locked when I showed up, I assumed you'd be back... Ow, that costumed wacko sure knocked me on my flank, though." Everchange explained.

Twilight was very confused, did he say somepony in a costume did this to him? "Wait, somepony else was in here? What did they look like, who were they, where'd they go?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know who they were, or where they went... they didn't say who they were, but I do know what they looked like. They had a dark blue coat, a pink noir-esque hero costume, whoever it was is obviously a mare, but the strangest part was they had a horn and wings..." Everchange thought about the description, and so did Twilight.

After a moment of silent thinking, Everchange got up and rubbed his head. "Well, I guess I better get going, it's probably late and I need to work on my home... but hey, thank you and tell the girls I said thanks for your collaborative effort on this poem. A bit cheesy, but I appreciate the gesture." Everchange said, waving goodbye as he walked down the stairway and out of the library, making an immediate sprint towards the Everfree Forest.

Twilight ran out after him, flying above him. "Everchange, wait! You're gonna miss out on the party! I was trying to find you so we could go!" Twilight said, trying to keep up with the stallion's pace.

Soon after, Everchange came to a halt, and looked back at Twilight, who came in for a landing, catching her breath. "A party... you mean the huge party in the middle of town every pony was setting up earlier today?" Everchange asked curiously.

Twilight nodded, smiling. "As for the poem, I'm glad it wasn't just cast aside or shredded. You should've seen the look on my face when Pinkie came to me and said she wanted to officially set up a huge party, just to properly welcome you to Ponyville, judgement free. I even took a couple liberties of inviting the princesses and some of your extended family." Twilight said, giggling a bit.

Everchange slumped down to the ground, absolutely flabbergasted. This whole tirade of everyone getting ready for a party, for him. Him, the shapeshifting stallion that was called bug boy, a disgusting insect, a plague on the apple farm... what kind of strings did that pink pony pull for everyone to be so accepting of this?

"Fine, I'll go to the party... but if something goes wrong, I'll take care of it." Everchange stated, letting a smile form on his face. Twilight and Everchange began to make their way to the party, but from up above, the costumed mare watches from afar, and disappears in another white cloud of smoke.

In the middle of Ponyville, a bright and really civil party is happening. Lights are flashing, a huge booth with a white unicorn mare controlling some kind of turn table was blasting a bunch of huge speakers to their limit with a type of modern techno-orchestral remix. Several ponies were having fun, even a couple of those ex-council members had come along and celebrated.

Everchange and Twilight trotted up on the scene, and almost instantaneously, Pinkie had popped up in front of them out of nowhere, holding a tray of cupcakes, A brown baked dough with a white frosting and green diamond sprinkles on them.

Everchange looked at the party pony, and could obviously tell that this was definitely a fancier party than he would've liked, but it wasn't over the top, thank his aunt. Pinkie was now dressed in some kind of apron-dress combination, embroidered with pink crystals and a pie shaped pin. She also somehow managed to tie that incredibly crazy mane of hers into a poofy pink bun. "Hi guys, nice of you to drop in for the party! Cupcake?" Pinkie said smiling.

Twilight smiled, taking a cupcake, and so did the stallion. "I wasn't sure what flavor you preferred, but since you usually order a Hot Chocolate and a double layer chocolate éclair at Sugarcube Corner, I could tell you had a sweet tooth that craved chocolate, so I made some cupcakes out of some double fudge brownie dough, made a frosting out of some white chocolate, and those green crystals are edible, cause they're basically made from this rock candy recipe my sister shared with me. I hope you like them, and I hope you'll enjoy the party! I have other guests to tend to, have fun!" The pink pony said, stopping to take a quick and deep breath before smiling and bouncing away.

Twilight giggled while Everchange slowly ate, and enjoyed the cupcake as he could barely understand how that pink pony hasn't passed out from doing that. "That mare has the lungs of a sea-dwelling eldritch creature, that would actually explain her abnormalities." Everchange said, chuckling a bit. Twilight walked on and Everchange did the same.

He was about to converse with the citizens of Ponyville, until something magicked him over to the left. Everchange looked and saw it was Trixie, only to see her in a rather regal dress, one that matched her cape and had a repeating star pattern, though the poofy frills on the dress were black and teal in a type of hypnotic swirl pattern. "Greetings, my royal comrade! I, the Great & Powerful Trixie, have finally got you; I wanted to introduce you to a rather strapping stallion I met, someone who's almost as great and powerful as me." the showmare said confidently.

Everchange was about to say something, until he saw the stallion by her side... and dear Celestia herself, he did not like him. Everchange's face paled, and formed into a sneer. If looks could kill, Everchange would be beating an already dead horse just for the hell of it. "I should've told Twilight to not invite disappointments." Everchange sneered, leering at the stallion who slightly towered above him and Trixie.

Beside the showmare was a slightly light grayish blue unicorn stallion, standing tall and proud as their perfectly combed and groomed light amber blonde mane glistened in the lights of the party. They wore a daisy and a couple fancy and rare herbs on their blue suit, and adjusted a black bowtie as they smiled, a chiding glint in their eyes as they noticed the stallion leering.

The stallion laughed and chortled, looking down at the stallion as they grinned. "Ahh, my dearest distant cousin... I should've guessed by the whole theme of this 'party' that it was for you. Tell me, how's the single life treating you, Everchump?" The stallion said casually, sneering back.

"I'm doing just fine... how's your pride, still in pieces, Prince Blueballs?" Everchange shot back. The stallions pressed their heads against one another, growling as they leered at each other.

Trixie watched them and listened to them insult each other, and of course, it seemed like these two had some bad blood between them. "Trixie's going to assume that you two know each other?" Trixie spoke up. The stallions straightened up and still glared each other down.

"We've known each other since we were younger. This is Prince Blueblood; He's my distant cousin, and he's also a real pain in the flank." Everchange sneered. Blueblood gritted his teeth and turned away in a pompous manner.

"Well, you enjoy yourself, I have, hmm... other matters to attend to." Blueblood said, locking eyes with Trixie. Trixie was about to go with the prince, until Everchange whispered something in her ear.

"Kick him in the groin if he tries anything... he has a nasty habit of being a privileged piece of work." Everchange whispered. Trixie nodded and went along with Blueblood.

Everchange sighed, there goes one friend in the clutches of his family. He was worried, sure, but Everchange knew that despite Trixie's want or need to use sideshow magic to prove her superiority, she'd use actual magic to make that royal oaf see reason. He went off and tried to enjoy the party, hopefully he won't be bothered by anymore run-ins with family.

As the stallion moved around, welcoming and being friendly to so many ponies, he finally found his way to the catering area, seeing Big Mac and Applejack working to keep the food and drinks coming.

"Hey, Applejack, Big Mac! Nice to see ya." Everchange said, smiling to his friends. Applejack reached over and squeezed the stallion, patting him on the back as she got back to working.

"You'll have to excuse her if she's not bein' talkative, bud. she's workin' double time to make sure everypony gets a good meal and a refreshin' drink. Speakin' on the matter, ya hungry?" Big Mac asked.

Everchange nodded and pointed to a small bar-like pastry on the shelf and also to an apple cider bottle with 3 x's across the bottom of its label. Applejack handed them to him and simply said that they were on the house. Everchange took the cider and the small apple pie bar, said farewell to his hardworking pals and quickly sat down at one of the empty tables, eating the sweet and kinda sour dessert as he washed it down with some delicious cider.

'No wonder that Rainbow Dash girl loved it so much, I'd be begging for more too.' Everchange thought to himself, smiling as he continued to enjoy his food.

Out in the woods, Rainbow Dash, dressed in some kind of sporty biker wear, was flying along through the trees, drinking a bottle of cider. "Man, gotta love AJ's cider, it's irresistible. Though I wish I could've talked to Everchange more, that whole party's for him, and all I did was set up a few decorations and sign my name on a poem." Rainbow Dash said aloud. She mulled over the idea, and figured a short visit wouldn't hurt. "I'll go back and say hi, then I'll get back to what I was--"

Rainbow Dash was cut off by the sounds of two nearby ponies. With her curiosity now piqued, the pegasus flew closer, slowly approaching the growing noises as she tried to figure out who was making these noises. Dash quickly poked her head around a corner, and went wide-eyed. "Ooookay I think I had enough cider tonight..." Rainbow Dash whispered, quietly shuddering to herself as she ditched the bottle of cider and went back to the party.

Blueblood was standing on top of Trixie, both of them still and motionless. They had previously come out here to try and get some air from the overwhelming state of the party, until Blueblood tried to escalate things. The both of them had tried to get up and run back to town, until a sudden low droning sound had began to echo through the air. Trixie readied her magic, until she saw a huge shadow being cast over her, and was suddenly smacked into a tree. Blueblood shrieked and ran away, leaving Trixie to whatever her fate was to be.

Trixie could barely get up, and looked at her attacker. Above her was a Manticore, and it seemed to be in a manic state, growling and roaring as it flailed and attacked at anything it saw. Trixie tried to move, but she couldn't, she barely even had feeling in her hind legs. The Manticore was about to attack yet again, but was then somehow defeated. Trixie saw it, lying on the ground, unconscious. On top of it however, was another figure.

A tall figure that seemed to just emanate a sinister energy with its looks alone... or rather, its lack of looks. The figure was some kind of equestrian, possibly earth pony judging by its lack of wings or horn, but something about it just made the mare uncomfortable. Was it because it was tall, unnaturally tall? It had a blank featureless face and a lack of a mouth, yet somehow it knew she was there? A nearly pale and pure white coat with a black suit and white shirt with a red tie, maybe?

The showmare couldn't figure out what it was, but she was terrified, and she wanted to run. She wanted to run, but she couldn't. She didn't have the strength, and the tall entity began to walk closer. She threw her front arms over her face and braced for the end, only to suddenly be lifted off the ground, and looking the strange monster pony where its eyes should be. She felt her hind legs ache, but soon saw that she was enveloped in a black magic aura.

The pain began to fade, feeling returned to her legs, and she was lowered to the ground, healed from her injury. She still trembled at the sight of the creature, but only moved its hoof to its chest, and bowed in a respectful motion. Trixie did the same and quickly ran away back to the party, not caring about her dress's condition.

The stallion sprouted several ethereal black tendrils from its back and carried the Manticore up, stroking it with its hoof. "And this is why I live in solitude for Luna's sake... Let's go back to the cave, my loyal servant, we shall pay a visit when there aren't so many... prying eyes." A smooth, deep, and raspy voice echoed, and the strange faceless stallion walked away, carrying the unconscious Manticore into the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Back at the party in town, Everchange is stuck at the very table he sat down at, and is severely uncomfortable with how his mother, his aunt, and now two other ponies are talking. He was confused at first to see his mother, but he remembers that if Blueblood was here, then of course she'd be here. Everchange would've left, but he didn't want to come off as rude, though he didn't really prefer to listen to them talk politics. He tried to really focus on who these other two ponies were. He knew who they were, but he hadn't seen them in so long... he practically felt bad for not seeing them in the past thousand years.

The pony to his right was a Stallion, an Alicorn stallion no less, though he did very well to hide his wings from the public in his suit. He had a dark foamy grayish-green coat, radiating yellow eyes, and a poofy black mane that sparkled with stars. He wore a lot of silver jewels and had dark freckles on his face. His cutie mark seemed to represent a comet covered in a beautiful blue flame with an orange tail. This was his uncle Cosmos, the King of a small kingdom outside Equestria's borders.

The pony beside him, was his wife, his queen. She was, surprisingly, an Earth Pony, like how he was. The mare had a dark and faded gray coat with a dark crimson mane with a few streaks of orange and blue. Her eyes were white, or just a really, really light gray. From what Everchange could see, her cutie mark seemed to look like the exact mirror image of his... yet, its different. Unlike Everchange's mark, anypony could tell what her calling in life is supposed to be. The mare was simply known as Asher Grain. She was a wheat farmer, and now has several wheat plantations across her and her husband's kingdom.

She had a white blot mass on her flank, but inside the white mass was a strange symbol that Everchange could actually recognize... The Alchemy symbol for Creation. It seemed to radiate a red glow, but Everchange might've just drank the cider too fast and was seeing things. Luna looked over and saw Everchange look... fatigued? No, weary...

"Everchange, I'm sorry, I didn't mean--" Luna said, but Everchange raised his hoof, and she stopped. The ponies looked at the stallion, and he composed himself. He wasn't going to ruin this for them because he felt odd about some random mare's cutie mark, so he did what he always did... fake a smile and go along with it.

"I'm sorry for not talking, I was just in a bit of a funk, and Blueblood pushed me into a big puddle of it earlier, the bastard." Everchange half-lied, trying to bring his focus back to the party.

"Everchange, language please. You may be over a thousand years old, but I won't have you swearing like it's a common thing." Celestia said sternly. Everchange didn't fight back, he just yawned and nodded. He felt odd, why was he so tired all of a sudden?

"Everchange, are you quite alright? You seem... sleepy." Luna asked with concern. Everchange nearly collapsed onto the floor, until a shrill shriek broke through the noise of the party, causing him to jolt up and awaken. The music came to a sudden stop and Blueblood came running into town in a state of fear.

"M-M-M-MONSTER!!!!! MONSTER IN THE WOODS!! MONSTER ON THE LOOSE!!!" The stallion cried out in a fear-ridden and dramatic fashion. Everypony was looking at each other, worried and concerned as the royal stallion went on. "It was big, burly even! It was furry, it had claws and fangs! It had huge wings, a dangerous tail, I nearly escaped with my life!" Blueblood described. Everchange could hardly believe Blueblood was actually capable of being a drama queen, or a drama king, in his case, but noticed no sign of Trixie. Dash came flying out and was about to say something, but could tell and hear that Blueblood beat her to the punch.

"I can confirm the whole thing, I saw the Manticore sneaking up, ready to nab them!" Dash confirmed. Everypony, even the royals, were beginning to grow concerned. But Everchange just wasn't in the mood to deal with this nonsense. Everchange trotted over and grabbed Blueblood by his tie, and then smacked him in the face as hard as he could muster. Blueblood looked at the stallion dead in the face, and could see that his patience had worn thinner than the silk that was used to make his ensemble tonight.

"Must you be a crybaby, even when you're not being a spoiled brat? Trixie went with you, so you had the decency to at least make sure she was okay, right? You're a pompous crybaby, not a spineless coward, Blueblood. She's my friend, and you know you remember, from the last time you picked on my friend or left them to clean up your mess... I made you pay dearly when Auntie Celestia refused to teach you the basics of right and wrong." Everchange stated, an aggral venom lacing that last phrase that left the panicked noble silent.

The silence was enough for the stallion, and Everchange let Blueblood go. He immediately bolted in the direction of where they came from, and was going to man-handle the hell out of Blueblood if Trixie wasn't breathing.

Dash landed and saw Twilight and the others come up. "What's going on? We saw Everchange run off, but we don't know what the full situation is." Twilight asked worriedly. Dash brought her friends to a table, and the royals soon joined the discussion. All the while, the mysterious mare was watching the whole thing... and soon followed after the stallion they met from before.

Everchange ran through the brush and ran into the clearing, seeing the obvious signs of an attack. Everchange carefully scanned the area, looking at every detail. He saw prints in the grass, signs that things escalated to a point. He noticed fresh prints leading back to the party... Blueblood's no less, but he also noticed another set of prints next to a tree, a tree that looked recently battered judging by how very few splintering wood chunks were falling to the ground. He looked back and saw a small trail of prints, similar to a Manticore's.

"Hm... From how it seemed to look, Trixie and Blueblood came from another direction, obviously one that loops around to the party. They seemed to be... in the midst of something, judging by this mare sized indention in the grass." Everchange said, eyeing the spot that Trixie was laying down on when Blueblood towered over her. Everchange looked over and saw that the Manticore tracks seemed to stop right at the edge of the forest clearing.

"This Manticore must've gone a great length to leave the Everfree for a meal, but this far out, and this close to a town full of ponies? I know some of these creatures are more sapient than others, but I've never seen a Manticore do this, even on the most desperate of circumstances." Everchange puzzled.

He was about to head back, until he saw another set of hoof tracks, looping around to the right and back to the party. He saw they began from the tree that looked recently damaged. "Interesting... It would seem that some other pony, possibly Trixie, may have escaped the Manticore... but judging by the damage done to the tree, just colliding with it at such speed and with such force could've seriously damaged a pony's hind legs. I know Trixie's magic is limited, but I know she doesn't have a instantaneous healing spell in her non-existent bag of tricks... if Trixie was the one who got slammed into the tree, how did she--" A rustling in the trees above broke the silence in the air, besides Everchange talking and analyzing things.

The scene fell silent, and Everchange took a deep breath, whipped around and pushed his left hoof forward, colliding it with the masked mare from before. "Fool me once, shame on you. I will not feel shame because I refused to learn my lesson. Now WHO ARE YOU!?" Everchange yelled, getting angry. The masked mare leapt back and threw several small smoke bombs at Everchange's hooves, causing them to explode and envelop him in a white smoke.

Everchange hacked and coughed as he tried to not breathe in the smoke. Everchange slammed on the device on his wrist, and was replaced by Expioflage in an instant. He cleared out the smoke and lurched towards his foe. "Rrrgh... You just made a huge mistake." The changeling stated. The masked mare charged forward with their wings out, and the two collided, delivering physical blows, but not gaining any upperhand over one another. Expioflage figured this out real quick, and backed off, trying to drain the mare of any emotions, but got nothing... not even an iota of hate was pulled from the mare's body. Already, he was more confused about who this was, but was now wondering what they actually were.

"What is your deal, you crazy mare?! You're obviously an alicorn judging by your obvious possession of having a horn and wings. You got some kick in you, so you have some Earth Pony in you too, but you got no emotions; Either you cry and throw a fit on the inside, or you don't actually know what you're doing right now." Expioflage stated, a bit infuriated that he can't figure out his foe. He hasn't figured out his foes from before, just connected the dots where they seemed to make sense.

The mare grunted, soaring high into the air as it kicked the changeling back to the ground, firing a huge bright gray bolt of magic down onto him. Expioflage groaned, and tapped the badge on his armor. In a flash of green light, Expioflage had switched to Scoville Hooves, and immediately got angry, engulfing themselves in a blistering green flame as their yellow coat changed to a charred black, and their eyes were entirely green, with white cat irises. The Kirin roared out and rammed into the mare, who seemed to actually be faring well against the shapeshifter.

The fires from the Kirin began to burn away most of the mare's costume, but that strange coat color, didn't seem to burn away like cloth. And when it did burn, it showed patches of skin and flesh being burned severely. The mare blasted the Kirin back, and revealed the mare in her entirety. An Alicorn, dressed as some sort of comic book heroine. Her eyes, once a blue color, now seemed yellow and lifeless. The burned patches in her coat, seemed to regenerate as if nothing happened.

"What in the..." The Kirin said to himself. In a flash of green light, Everchange returned to his normal self, and just stared at the mare, who began to land, and stagger towards him. Everchange looked to the mare's side and saw her cutie mark... the same odd 'M' pendant that held her cape together. "Who in the name of Celestia are you?" Everchange asked, more puzzled than usual. The mare caused her horn to glow a vibrant blue magic aura, and her staggering ceased.

'A healing spell... interesting way to confirm one theory... even if numerous more theories contradict it.' Everchange thought to himself.

"I am the mare that defies the gods. I watch over the innocent and make them see reason. I am justice... I am order. I am a fairy tale amongst criminals... I am the Mysterious Mare Do-Well!" the mare exclaimed. He recognized and felt the volume of that voice, definitely confirmed she was royalty of sorts, but he didn't know someone could hold themselves so high... besides Trixie, that is.

"And I am Everchange, son of Luna, and Prince of nothing--"

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SPECTICAL!" Mare-Do Well exclaimed, cutting off the stallion. Everypony else had to have heard her, but Everchange wasn't gonna hold his breath till someone did come around; He kept listening to the mare and kept his muzzle shut for the moment. "I tried to incapacitate you for breaking into Twilight Sparkle's abode. How you could wake up from such a blow is simple, you have dormant potential. I'll be keeping an eye on you, don't wanna risk getting involved with the royals... yet. You never saw me, but I'll be seeing much more of you." The mare stated, making her horn glow brighter.

Everchange was about retort, until in a flash of light, the mare was gone. Everything about tonight was just fine, up until Blueblood starts screaming like a whiny oaf who has a thorn stuck in his crotch and involves one of his friends. Everchange looked around, but saw no sign of the mare anywhere. he heard several hoofsteps coming up from behind him, and quickly turned around, ready to face what was coming his way.

In front of him, was his Mother Luna, His Uncle Cosmos, The Element bearers, Spike and that emotionless mare from earlier that day. He lightened up, but he was still bothered by the events that unfolded. "What are you all doing here? Did you find Trixie?" Everchange asked, he saw his vision blurring... what the hell was happening, he didn't exert himself that much, did he?

He slumped over, but was caught by Applejack. "Woah there, partner; You look more beat than a sandbag in a hoof fight, you gotta rest a bit. Just lean on me, and ah'll carry ya back to the party. the other's will go find Trixie and--" Applejack tried to keep him steady, but he was actively trying to fight the exhaustion. Everchange stood himself up, shaking wearily as he tried to move. He saw the mare's lips moving, but all he heard was some kind of fuzz; he felt ill, bile rose up his throat, but he refused to let it out, and just tried to force it down.

Everchange steadily walked back to the clearing, and looked at a set of hoofprints that seemed to encroach on where Trixie was sent flying. He saw those hoofprints going back to the woods. He slowly followed them, and moved a bush out of the way, and saw them going further, practically leading to the side of the Everfree Forest.

The girls and the royals looked at the stallion, each one of them concerned and confused. "What is that guy looking for over there? He's just looking into the bushes." Dash asked.

"I've never seen him act in such a way... Though I do remember that look of weariness on his face; It's been so long and I still remember that day he looked so out of it, like it was a thousand and thirteen years ago from now." Luna thought aloud.

1,013 years ago...

A young yellow colt was happily playing with a Phoenix, chasing it all the live long day. On a nearby bench, a much younger Luna was smiling, happily watching as the colt chased after the Phoenix.

'It was a long time ago, back in the Canterlot gardens during the days I was working to be a proper mother for Everchange. We had several things to do, but Celestia didn't wish for us to worry about such affairs during a time of peace. We decided to spend the day in the Canterlot Gardens, marveling at several of the statues we had accrued in our slight time of rule. I had decided to let Everchange have some fun, and had him play with Celestia's pet Phoenix, and he chased that bird around the gardens for hours.' the princess narrated.

The colt eventually saw the Phoenix loop around above him, and he skidded to a stop, trying to follow the bird, until he noticed a lone statue. The statue was of a long, tall, slender stallion, lacking a mane, or a tail, but the face they had was one that embodied the true meaning of fear. It had a suit on, and a big circle with an X on it on its flank. It seemed to be recoiling at something.

'My attempt to keep him away from trouble was still in dire need of improvement. He came across the statue of the royal occultist, Quartz Yellowjacket. He was originally supposed to be a figure head for the royal family, direct them to ancient lands in case a fierce foe was coming to destroy their lineage... Instead, when he got his cutie mark, he found an odd obsession and an even odder acclimated enjoyment for the occult arts. For a time, his occult magic has helped fend off forces from dark, dangerous lands beyond any normal pony's reach, but just before we went off to deal with an issue in a nearby kingdom, a sinister force had attacked the castle, and turned our royal occultist into stone. Celestia nor I had the gall to tell Everchange that he was probably still alive, so we let him eye the statue for a bit of time.'

the scene flashes forward to a few days, then a couple weeks. The colt was researching the statue, and even putting childish scribblings on the pillar it stood on.

'Over time, Everchange had developed more of an interest behind the statue's origins. But a week later, he stops going to the gardens altogether, and I cannot watch over his dreams.' The princess continued.

The colt was exhausted, his eyes wide, and tired. a younger Celestia and Luna towered over him, concern in their eyes as they tried to console the colt.

'On the day of a new week, Celestia and I have tried to ask why the sudden disinterest, but the weariness in his eyes, the lack of sleep, why I couldn't look into his dreams... he had deprived himself of a week's worth of sleep, clamoring on about a repetitive set of short nightmares. In these nightmares, he's found himself in the midst of a dark, and terrifying forest. He'd walk around with a lantern, and find his scribblings hung on random objects in random locations. And then, he spoke of another entity, only one he could apparently see...' She paused.

The colt pulled out one of his scribblings and showed it to the princesses. It showed him, and a few other ponies his age that he briefly knew from the school in ponyville, and a tall equestrian in a black suit, lacking a face, and had long, black, slender tendrils coming from his back. The setting appeared to be a forest, judging by the one singular tree in the picture. Celestia's face some how paled even more, and Luna was worried.

'He was told about an old ghost story back in the olden day, back when the pony tribes were still separate. He was told that back then, colts who didn't do what other colts did would be snatched up in the night by a faceless stallion knowing simply as... The Alta Emissarium. At least in the old text. In Modern Ponish, it calls the beat the 'Tall Stallion'. Though now, I believe I know what this creature may be... The Slender Mane.' She stated.

Luna took a deep breath and sighed, looking at the ponies she told the tale to. "It's not entirely well-known on what this creature is truly capable of, but I do know it's the stuff of nightmares. Legends have updated, showing sights of it near the Everfree Forest, and I fear Everchange's weariness is due to the monster's presence--"

"Woah, hang on there just a bit-picking minute, your highness. You mean to tell me that 'Slender Mane' is real? The Elements of Harmony, I can understand, and Discord too. The fact that Everchange can transform himself into other creatures? Yeah, I can get used to that and accept it. But Slender Mane? You've gotta be kidding; It's just a myth, a scary fairy tale to make little fillies behave and listen to their parents, it's why Scootaloo listens to me. You'd have to bash my head in with the idiot stick to get me to believe that thing actually exists, and even if it did, why is it showing up now?" Rainbow Dash asked, skeptical of the moon princess.

"I'd love to listen to you mares argue, really I would, but my nephew's gone. He up and left while you were telling your story, Luna!" Cosmos stated. Luna whipped her head to Everchange's last location, and indeed, Everchange was gone. "We really need to shorten these stories for the sake of saving time." Cosmos added.

"We have to find him, now!" Luna exclaimed urgently.

"Wait, where's Maud?" Pinkie asked. Everyone looked around, and of course, saw no sign of the emotionless mare. "Y-You don't think the Slender Mane took Maud just now, d-do you!?" Pinkie asked, shaking as she held onto Rainbow Dash.

"This is a really bad assumption, but maybe she went after Everchange? She probably tried to bring him back here and is probably still chasing him. Besides, if he is going to the Everfree Forest, at least he'll be able to take care of himself. But even so, we need to alert Princess Celestia about this. Round up a search party for Trixie, Everchange and Maud, then we try to get them back." Twilight stated.

"Not a bad idea, but I'll give chase and see if I can't help them out of a tight spot. What a way to make a first impression on your new nephew, you cosmic nutjob." Cosmos said, unfurling his wings and flying in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

The Everfree Forest... it was just as dangerous as it was before. Everchange trotted and trotted, sprinting as fast as he could as he watched the tracks. He kept a close eye on where the tracks go, but he could see the sky was getting harder and harder to see. Everchange stopped in his tracks and looked at the ground, activating the device as the green glow illuminated around him.

Silence, silence was all Everchange could hear, and that wasn't ever a word that he'd use to describe the chaos that is the Everfree Forest. Behind him, more hoofsteps echoed out. He whipped around and activated the device, but lowered his guard to... oddly enough see that emotionless mare, standing and staring emotionlessly behind him.

"You again? What are you doing here!?" Everchange asked, bewildered at how this mare was able to catch up to him so fast.

"I noticed you were exhausted back there. I'm not one to tell others how to live their lives, but I can tell that you have a few problems. Physically and Mentally." Maud said. Her monotone voice and lack of expression still not changing.

"Was it that obvious? I couldn't just let some faceless demon from my past just fillynap one of my friends--" Everchange was cut off by Maud pushing a hoof to his muzzle.

"You're not listening. I mean you're exhausted. Exhaustion will be your downfall if you don't rest. Even just 5 minutes will leave you at ease. You look like you're about to keel over, and you seem to be resisting some lingering effect of nausea. You're in no stable condition to keep going. You need rest. You need to think about the situation." Maud said.

"But what about--" Everchange was again cut off, and it was starting to irritate him.

"Listen. Whoever Trixie is, she's probably not here. The Slender Mane, or as my dad used to call it, the Großer Hengst, is definitely not here either. It's just a myth. A Legend. A Folktale. You look like you haven't slept well in the past few months. It's possible that you're seeing hallucinations of your past traumatic experiences, and it's breaking you down. Slowly, but effectively. Your friends are worried, you're missing out on a party they set up just for you. Follow me, and you can tell me your side of the situation at hand." Maud explained, her expression and the tone of her voice, unchanging.

Everchange looked around, and again felt weary. He heard some sort of noise, and he felt sick to his stomach yet again. He leaned against the mare, and she began to carry him out of the forest. Everchange slowly nodded off, squeezing the mare tight as he let out a small yawn and slowly began to sleep.

"And where do you think you're going, Miss Pie; with an unconscious prince no less?" A smooth, deep, and raspy voice echoed out. Maud stopped in her tracks, she listened closely, but the voice did not seem to reply.

Maud kept moving. "Maudelina. I asked you a question." The voice called out again, stern and wanting a reply. The mare stopped and looked behind her, seeing nothing but the darkness of the forest.

Maud took one more step, until she felt something ensnare her hoof, and heard a low growl. It was cold and dry, but very fleshy. "I don't tolerate being ignored!" The voice exclaimed angrily. Maud again turned back, and though her expression remained the same, her words got caught in her throat.

Towering above her, and standing a good few feet away, was the Großer Hengst... The Slender Mane himself. He lacked a face, just like the stories she heard. He wore a ragged and torn black suit, and black tendrils protruded from its back. It lacked a mouth, yet it could speak. It had no mane or a tail, and its skin was pale. The red tie clung loosely to the creature's neck, and it had a circle with a big X on it on its flank.

"Just a legend, hm? If I were a Legend, then pray tell, my emotionless child... Why do I sense fear within you? How can I grab your hoof if I am just a Myth? How can you fear me if I don't exist?" The voice asked in a mocking curious tone. The thing chuckled, and it seemed to reverberate all through Maud's body. Her expression was still unchanged, but her words were refusing to meet the creature.

The voice chuckled yet again. "Come now, don't you have anything to say? I'm all ears, rock farmer. Go on, ask the legend within the Everfree... Anything you wish to know." The voice echoed sinisterly. Maud tried to move, yet she couldn't muster up any courage to.

She just stared at the entity. Silent. The stallion leaned down, its faceless head motioning closer and closer to Maud's. He could feel it, her breath had gotten heavier, yet her expression hadn't changed. She opened her mouth and finally said something. "I'm not-- I- I'm not afraid of you. Leave, a-and let me get him back t-to the party." The mare stuttered, her monotone voice was quaking. She felt her body back away a bit, but only saw the entity step closer.

Every step it took towards her was like a loud drum echoing like a faint roar of thunder. Everchange slowly began to awaken, but fell back into a slumbering state, not that it lasted long in that moment; A wave of nausea caused him to squirm to his hooves. He again tried to push the bile back down, but inevitably succumbed to the nausea, stuck his head into a nearby bush, and retched. "What a class act. He's finally feeling the effects of my abilities; It may have taken a thousand thirteen years, but better late than never. How nice of you to rejoin us, Mr. Everchange." The entity said to the ill stallion.

Everchange raised his head up and then smacked himself, trying to snap himself out of this feeling. He didn't feel sick to his stomach anymore, but the problem was far from solved. Everchange tried to mess with the device, but in reality, he couldn't muster any strength to turn the dial. Everchange beheld his sight onto the creature, and almost as if lady luck had blessed him out of convenience, his strength had returned and he was astonished to say the least.

"Huh... the rumors were true. The Slender Mane exists. You actually exist, you faceless anomaly. I should be happy, but I just feel... underwhelmed. Not like it matters, I'm not here to prove your existence, I want my friend back, you eternal soul sucking sycophant!" Everchange stated.

A low cackling laughter echoed through both ponies minds, and the darkness around them suddenly began to illuminate in a red glowing aura. "Fool, you call me a Soul sucking sycophant? Who do you think I am, your aunt? Soul sucking is so three centuries ago, and it's too messy. I'm more of a Jam person if you could believe me or not; As for your mention of a friend however, was this friend of yours a mare, a unicorn more specifically, blue coat, white mane, reeked of arrogance with a hint of awareness and fear for the unknown, and was last seen with a poor excuse for a member of the royal family?" the voice asked.

Everchange raised an eyebrow, but kept his cool as the forest seemed clearer to see through and travel on. "Yes. How did you--" The voice cut off the stallion as it chuckled a bit, almost in a giddy sort-of tone.

"Mortal, your friend was attacked by a Manticore, one of my new personal minions that still requires training. I watch over all those who enter the Everfree, or encroach near it, except for that Sparkle mare and her friends; They will only grow if they are challenged. Now, let me make one thing clear... I'm not your enemy, and I don't have your friend. She was injured, and I fixed her wounds with a simple healing spell. I was expecting a thank you, but like always, those who are deemed crazy after facing the truth, have seen me and depicted me, as a monster. Poor observation skills on their end, I will say." The entity explained.

Everchange was confused. He looked toward Maud, who seemed to be shaking. Her expressionless face was unchanged, but Everchange learned to tell if fear was in some pony's eyes... and Maud's were filled to the brim. "So, this is all a bit much to take in, especially while possibly my friends and my mother are looking for me, if this mare right here isn't proof of that... I'm willing to take back my insult, but perhaps some other day, I can come back... discuss more on your reasons for being here, probably?" Everchange asked.

The faceless stallion brought its featureless head down to the stallion's and seemed to be looking at him. It felt like an hour had passed, when in actuality it was just a few long excruciating seconds. Everchange felt a warm air brush against his face, and picked up on an odd smell. The smell of... jam? "Fine, but you must come back alone; I can't have more than one visitor, otherwise my other minions will get... antsy." The entity stated. Everchange nodded and guided Maud back the way they came, and the Slender Mane vanished into the darkness of the forest.

"Of all the things I expected to happen at this big party Pinkie invited me to, I wasn't counting on this being one of the things I expected to happen. How did you not feel fear, or your soul being paralyzed when looking at the Großer Hengst?" Maud asked.

"Because of all the times I had nightmares about it as a foal, I would constantly stare it in the face, mostly out of sheer curiosity. My best guess is that I got used to looking at it so much, and the underwhelming idea that it actually existed kinda gave me a reality check, but hearing it say it was not going to suck our souls was also peaking my curiosity... and the strange smell of jam on its breath, too." Everchange stated.

"Jam? That is pretty strange, though to debate on the dietary changes for a myth such as the Großer Hengst is not something I'm looking forward to. Besides, while this was pretty fun, and scary enough to get my heart beating, I gotta get myself cleaned up, and back to my campus. I have a few things to study and a few tests to prepare for. This was pretty exhilarating, though, a nice change of pace from the parties or meeting other ponies." Maud said.

Everchange smiled a bit and chuckled. "If it's all the same to you, I can relate. I suppose I didn't introduce myself proper, I'm Everchange Spectical. What's your name, miss?" Everchange introduced.

"Maudelina Daisy Pie, Though my friends and my family call me Maud for short. I like rocks, and minerals." Maud introduced.

"Maud... that's actually quite a nice name, so simple, yet so complex. Tell me, miss Maud, would you be interested in keeping touch? If it isn't too much to ask considering what had previously occurred, that is." Everchange asked. Maud simply nodded, and the two just simply walked.

After a long trot back the way they came, the two had finally exited the side of the Everfree Forest, and took notice of the group of ponies looking for them nearby. "Well, seems like the end of the walk. Would you mind if I let you go on your way? I just need to check up on something... just in case I might be wrong." Everchange said. Maud nodded and waved him off as he went, and sure enough, Maud was soon tackled to the ground by the pink poofy mess herself, Pinkie.

"Maud! Thank Celestia you're okay, what were you thinking, vanishing like that? You seriously had me worried! I thought the Großer Hengst had gotten you and your soul!" Pinkie exclaimed, squeezing the emotionless mare as she pat her sister on the back.

"My bad. You were all standing around doing nothing, so I decided to do things myself. I went after him, brought him back, end of story. I should've let you know that I would get him back though, I know how sensitive you can be, Pinkie." Maud reassured. Pinkie smiled as the rest of the ponies approached.

"So, where's my Nephew? He's with you like you said, yes? So where is he?" Cosmos asked, looking around in a panic. Luna sighed and looked around as well, noticing a lack of presence from her son.

"He said he had something to check on, something about in case he was wrong. I don't know what he's checking, or where he went, but it seems like he's just worried about this 'Trixie' pony." Maud explained. The ponies looked at each other and sighed in relief.

"Well, at least he's not dead. Then again, he did run into the Everfree Forest, He lives in the Everfree for crying out loud, he's probably used to dodging dangerous stuff on a daily basis... lucky, he gets to live on the edge." Rainbow Dash stated.

"Well, I think we've worried Celly a bit too much tonight, she was prodding my wife for answers and I don't think she'll last much longer. Wherever my nephew went, I just hope he'll be okay. Let's go back to the party, and try to figure out where this 'Trixie' mare went." Cosmos stated. They all began to walk back to the party, though Luna mulled over on how to feel about her son living in the Everfree Forest.

Trixie, was in a real manic and emotional state. She was in the Everfree Forest, scared and mortified by what had happened earlier. She was in Everchange's tent, cowering and shaking as she sobbed into a pillow, and even then, the images that flashed in her mind, it made her feel fear. Not fear in general, but a specific type of fear that tore away at her soul.

She just ran. She ran and ran, she ran like her life depended on it. From the moment she saw the entity, she felt she had to run, and so she did. Trixie had made her way onto the party's scene, drawing in a lot of unwanted attention as she ran through the crowd. The fear on her face was all that was present, and she just wouldn't stop for anypony. She even bolted past Celestia without batting an eyelash, and just made a mad dash for the Everfree. She was terrified, and eventually found Everchange's clearing, and has been hiding in his tent for hours on end.

The sound of hoofsteps were getting closer. They increased in volume, they got closer and closer, and she was worried for her life in ways she didn't think she'd have to be worry in. She raised her face up from the pillow and readied her horn, letting it glow a blue aura as tears cascaded down her face. She was ready to fight back... and she was ready to go down fighting.

"Back to Tartarus and further below with you, faceless demon!!" Trixie exclaimed, her voice hoarse and shaky from the fear and from crying so much. She gritted her teeth and blasted a bolt of magic out of the tent's entrance, only to realize too late that she had fired her shot at Everchange, who was lucky enough to have dodged that blast.

"E-Everchange! I, the Great and Panicked Trixie, am oh so glad to see you right now!" Trixie said relieved. the mare jumped at the stallion and squeezed him in a hug, and Everchange could feel his lungs being aired out.

"It- I- It was terrible! Things were going so well, and then a Manticore showed up, swatting me into a tree! I expected my knight in shining armor to do something to save me, but that coward left me for dead!" Trixie stated. She wiped her eyes and buried her face into Everchange's neck as she continued. "T-Then that Manticore was easily beat... but it was beaten by something much worse. Who would've thought the Myth, known as the 'Slender Mane' would actually be real? I thought it was going to kill me. I got roughed up pretty bad, so running wasn't an option, and I couldn't use magic to get anywhere without proper concentration, but it did something I never would've expected. It... it healed me. I was in no position to run, but it easily could've killed me or snatch me away into the forest, but no... it healed me of my injuries. I thought it was giving me a chance to escape, so I ran back and cut through Ponyville to get to here, I thought it would've been safe, believe it or not." Trixie explained.

Everchange pat the unicorn on her back and tried to calm her down, until a rustling sound was heard. Trixie immediately dove back into the tent, and Everchange just sighed. "Splinter, c'mere boy, Nightmare Night came and went, so you won't get the drop on me!" Everchange called out. From the rustling brush, the Timberwolf came out, panting and nuzzling the stallion with its wooden muzzle. Trixie poked her head out and sighed in relief, stepping out.

"Sweet Celestia, thank goodness it was just your Timberwolf; for a moment I thought it would've been the Slender Mane again." Trixie said with a tired smile. Everchange, despite enjoying the company from his friend, and the affection from his pet, he felt perturbed. The stallion stopped petting the wooden canine and looked to the sky, seeing that it was indeed nighttime... it was time for him to rest anyway.

Everchange tossed a couple carrots from a produce sack he bought yesterday into the air, and let Splinter nosh on those for a bit as it curled up nearby and tried to sleep. Trixie bid Everchange adieu and trotted back to Ponyville, while Everchange grabbed a piece of parchment, a pencil, and began to write out a letter.

Dear Aunt Celestia,

So far, I've learned that the device that used to be the gem on my wrist, may have more potential that I have yet to discover. I also have a gut feeling that there's more about our world that seems to be kept under wraps, even to you and mother despite your positions of royal status. So as I write this, I proclaim that starting tomorrow, I will go out beyond Ponyville and try to work on mastering my transformations, as well as to find out my purpose in life. I'll probably try to document several of my findings if they prove to be useful. Just promise me you'll NOT interfere with my duties, should our paths cross on occasion. This is my responsibility, and I want to see this through.

Your Nephew,

Everchange Spectical

Everchange rolled up the parchment and tied it closed with some blue ribbon. He set the scroll by his side and crawled into his sleeping bag, flipping his pillow over as he began to rest. "I'll have Spike deliver it tomorrow... G'Night, Splinter." Everchange said quietly, letting a yawn escape his muzzle as he closed his eyes as the beast known as sleep took hold.

Author's Note

It's about 5,000 or so words shorter than I expected, but it's still the longest chapter here.

And as some of you can see, this chapter kinda doesn't know what it wants to be, and that's on me. I had to go back and rework a few things, cut some stuff and save it for later, but I decided to try and give a few characters some development, while also introducing a couple other characters and flesh out new ones.

Also, I'd like to thank GhostRider1996 for helping me look over a bit of this chapter. Big and massive thanks to him, go check him out.