Midnight's Arrowby Hydreigon_OmegaChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1Author's Note After writing this chapter, I now know how hard it is to constantly write bird sounds other than “who” or “tweet” Chapter 1 Where am I? Why am I so thirsty? Huh, is this water? Looking down I saw water right below me, my body was so dehydrated that it overpowered the higher functions of my brain. I couldn’t help myself, even if it was somehow poisoned or contaminated, it tasted like the best thing I ever drank. I felt the cold fluid flow through my body as it slowly woke me up. Now that I’m awake, I can answer my first question. There were trees, flowers, all of which were completely nicely kept. Apparently wherever I am is some sort of garden, and an expensive looking one from the likes of it. But closer around me were modeled cement birds, which only meant one thing, I was in a massive bird bath! I looked down and whatever my reflection was, it wasn’t human. My body’s natural instinct made me jump in terror from what I saw. By the time I regained control back from my instinct, I already slipped and fell off the edge. I heard a small snapping sound when I hit the ground. I was glad that it was just a twig I landed on, but the fall still hurt nonetheless. Now that I am alone, I was able to know the truth. I am truly no longer human, but now I am a rowlet. When I stretched out my arms, or rather wings, it was then that I realized that I didn’t just break that stick. It was late at night when Luna decided to take a small walk through the royal gardens, her sister recommended it to her for rare nights of insomnia. So many thoughts swirled in her head, it had only been about a month since her return, but she still felt so alone. Now that she had been gone for a thousand years, many of what used to be her duties suddenly were forced upon her sister, and now Celestia had even less time to spend with her. Luna couldn’t help but blame herself for this, maybe if she had just controlled herself all those years ago, something might have happened that would’ve allowed her to step out of her sister’s shadow and into the light. Every time she saw the moon, it was a constant reminder of this, her deeds that she committed. She found it painful yet somehow humorous that the princess of the night would be ashamed of her own moon. Somehow, she didn’t see how this would help clear her mind, if anything, the garden only filled her with only more grief over her past actions. Luna closed her eyes, wanting to only block out those memories, but to no avail. Right before Luna went back into the castle, she heard a cracking sound. “Who's there!?” She shouted, the only response she got was a small flock of birds flying away in fear. She knew that it may have been a rabbit or some large rodent, but just as likely, it could have been an assassin sent to kill some noble. Despite this fearful thought, her curiosity took over her as she began to walk further into the garden. She made sure to keep her eyes peeled for any potential threats. She turned the corner where the sound came from, but there was no pony there. “brrrr?” Luna heard the sound of a confused bird not too long after she arrived in this section of the garden. When she looked down she saw a mint colored owl looking back up at her with a confused expression, almost like it knew she wasn’t a threat but it had also never seen a pony before. “Oh, hello there you little owl.” Luna said in a calming tone, “Why aren’t you with all your friends?” “Huh?” the odd colored owl cooed in confusion. Luna looked at the off colored owl, he didn’t seem very comfortable as something was keeping him from fully retracting his wing. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it was not supposed to be bending that way. “Oh my, your wing is broken.” Luna said, “How did that happen?” “Brr-e-ou” The small owl said in bird gibberish, almost as if he was trying to speak. Luna looked down below the owlet, there was a broken stick. “You somehow broke your wing on this stick?” Luna didn’t expect the mint color owl to give much of an answer, so when it nodded its head she was completely dumbfounded. Whether or not he was intelligent or got distracted by an insect for a moment didn’t matter. What did matter though, was that the small injured owl needed help. “You poor thing, come here.” Luna said as she grabbed the owl in her magic, scaring him, “don’t worry I won’t hurt you.” Luna’s comforting words work to no avail. The small owl only stopped squirming when he felt his claws rest on her back side. She could tell that the owl didn’t want to be held, but at the same time knew he was completely at her mercy. Luna brought the small owl into her room so she could help him better than what she could’ve while outside. She walked over to her cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit her sister had given her. Though she was on the moon for a thousand years, she hadn’t forgotten the basics of first aid. She made a makeshift cast for the owl so his wing would be able to heal faster, even if she was a bit rusty, it was better than nothing. “So how’s that?” Luna asked, The owl looked at the new cast on his wing, while he may have been in mild discomfort, he gave a happy coo. Luna didn’t want to bring a wild bird into the castle and call it her pet, but at the same time the poor little owl needed help after he broke his wing. She knew that when he’d recover, Luna would have to release him back into the wild. “You're probably going to need a name while you are recovering.” Luna said, “You may be here for a while.” “Hm?” The owl hummed confusedly He looked confused, not at what Luna said, but rather that something else was bothering him. “So how about Otus?” The giant blue unicorn asked “No” I replied, with a shake of my head “Then how about Ace?” “No, I know that’s not my name.” “Then why don’t you try to come up with your own name if you’re going to deny ever Idea I come up with.” The large mare replied frustratedly “Fine, I will.” I really wanted to blurt out my own name, but I think I hit my head pretty hard. But now I am no longer human, so I don’t think it wouldn’t be fitting for me to use a human name. But what names would be good for a rowlet? Minty? Robbin hoot? Eh, probably not. Wait! I know one! “My name is Arrow!” I cried out “Coo” The small owl said “What was that?” Luna said, “I don’t understand you.” “Who!” He was starting to get frustrated that there was a small language barrier between them. “If you are not able to give me an answer,” Luna said, “we’ll just have to go with Ace instead.” Luna looked at the owl hopefully, though she wasn’t sure if she was hopeful that he’d speak or that he couldn’t. Looking really disgruntled, the owlet inhaled a fairly large amount of air, before he opened his beak to speak. “A-air..” to Luna it almost sounded as if he was choking, “R-r-row” Luna couldn’t believe it, the mint colored owl really just spoke. Animal vocal chords are only meant to make certain sounds, but mimicking pony linguistics was nearly impossible for a wild animal to do. “Arrow?” The young owl nodded, affirming that was in fact his name. Luna didn’t know where to be amused, impressed, or terrified that what she once thought was just a wild owl was actually intelligent and it wasn’t just her imagination. Luna let out a yawn as she felt her start to return to its sleepy state. “It was a pleasure to help you Arrow,” Luna said as she yawned again, “but we must once again return to sleep, our body demands it.” “Brrr?” “Are you asking if you can sleep with us?” The owl nodded his head and Luna sighed. “We’ll make an exception for you this time, but expect to have your own bird swing by tomorrow night.” The owl happily chirped as he hopped over to Luna’s bedside where she picked him up in her magic and brought him onto her bed. Arrow snuggled himself right up against Luna’s chest fluff, she slightly blushed not having had any physical interaction with any creature for so long. Being mindful of his broken wing, Luna wrapped her front leg around the rowlet as they drifted off into blissful sleep. Chapter 2Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 3When the sun rose, Arrow woke up on his bird stand. It was a simple one that was mounted onto Luna’s dresser. The stand was made of durable wood designed to look like tree trunks, and it even had lower branches that could be used as steps to reach the main perch. Walking down from the perch, Arrow grabbed Luna’s hairbrush, in his beak as he waited for her to wake up. Because Arrow was now a rowlet, and no longer human, his bones heal quicker than when he was a human. He remembered that when Luna went to the vet to remove his cast, the veterinarian had told her to keep a watch on him because he had nothing to accurately compare him to. While Arrow already had his cast removed, he wasn’t going to leave his friend just because he had freedom now. After being stuck in Equestria, and having no actual reason to return to the human world, Arrow quickly became more comfortable with his situation. Even though only three weeks have passed, he quickly learned about the ponies around him. Luna, his “owner,” and her older sister Celestia were both princesses that ruled over this kingdom. “Good morning Arrow.” Luna said in a half awake voice “Hoo.” (Morning, here’s your hairbrush.) Arrow said happy to help his friend. Luna blinked out of confusion, did she just understand Arrow? “Thank you..?” Luna said cautiously as she took the hairbrush in her magic. “Hoo” (You’re welcome.) Arrow replied Luna eyed the owl curiously as she took the brush in her magic, Arrow just turned his head wondering why Luna was looking at him like that. When Luna had cleaned up her mane, putting it back to the way it was when they first met, she couldn’t believe that it had already been three weeks since she took him in. But still, according to her knowledge, Arrow was still a wild bird and it would be wrong to keep him out of his home. Luna extended a wing towards her dresser, allowing Arrow to use it like a bridge to get onto her back. Arrow sat down on Luna’s back as she went to go eat a late brunch. After learning that Luna was the princess of the night, Arrow had become a little more lax with letting her sleep in during the mornings. Eventually, it became a common sight to see Luna bring Arrow wherever she went. “Hey Arrow,” Luna said, “my dearest sister asked me to assist her in some royal duties, she said it would prepare me for returning to the throne. Would you like to come with me?” “Hoo.” (Of course.) Arrow responded, as he gave Luna a nod. Happy to know that her friend would be accompanying her, Luna felt a little safer knowing that she wouldn’t be facing the task alone. When they arrived at the throne room, a long line of ponies waited for Luna to arrive so that they could get on with their day. Even after her thousand year intermission, Luna was still somewhat familiar with this. But she quickly learned how much ruling had changed in her absence, making her feel a little bit isolated. Seeing her discomfort, Arrow rubbed his head against her, trying to make her feel better. Luna just looked at him then smiled, even though his gesture was small, it had helped her enough to continue with her day. As the day continued, the line of ponies that wished to speak with the princess started to diminish. Luna began to figure out what some of the modern terms ment, and how some older terms had changed completely. Luna started to gain a feeling of pride as she was becoming more and more comfortable with the thought of returning to the throne. “You did a wonderful job for your first time in a thousand years,” Celestia praised her sister, “Thank you...” Luna trailed off, it had been a long time since she was praised for her actions. “I was a little nervous at first, but Arrow helped me through it.” “You really love that little owl, don’t you.” “Hoo.” (Of course she loves me.) Arrow said confidently “At first I was a little worried about you getting a pet so soon after your return, they can be quite the hoof-full.” Celestia said, “But I am starting to reconsider after seeing how attached you are to him.” “Sister, are you saying what we think you’re saying?” Luna inquired, she was still used to the stern and unyielding Celestia from a thousand years ago. “Yes I am,” Celestia said, “I will let you keep Arrow, under the condition that you will take care of him.” Filled with glee, Luna lunged towards her sister for a hug.“Thank you thank you thank you.” Little did Luna know that when she lunged, she did it so fast that she accidentally launched Arrow off her back. Arrow let out a scream before he stopped moving in mid air, when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was flying by himself. His initial thought was that he was being held up by magic, but that assumption wasn’t true. “Hoo?” (Am I flying?) Arrow asked himself, “Brr.” (But I thought I didn’t know how to fly.) After discovering that he could in fact fly, he fluttered down and rested on top of Luna’s head. Flying wasn’t all bad, but he preferred to stay closer to the ground. Luna’s mane was very soft, almost like a bed made specifically for Arrow. He relaxed his body as he let out a contented sigh, he probably could fall asleep right there. “Well Luna,” Celestia said, holding back a smile, “I like your new hat, I wonder where I can get one.” Luna looked at her sister with a deadpan face, she wasn’t amused at her sister's joking. “Hoo, Hroo.” (I’m not just any old hat, I am the best hat.) Arrow corrected, pointing a feather at Celestia. Luna rolled her eyes, she took Arrow in her magic and placed him on her back before leaving the room. As they headed down the hall, Luna noticed that her sister had already finished lowering the sun and had put the moon in the night sky. Luna kinda missed doing that, but she knew that her magic was still recovering from her return here. Placing Arrow on his bird stand, Luna went to bed for the night. “Where am I?” Arrow said to himself as he woke in an unknown location. Arrow looked at the stone that surrounded him, it was smooth but not slick. This was some sort of cave, and he was in the middle of it. Arrow took note of how the cave seemed artificial and man-made. Or would it be considered pony-made? Arrow turned around and headed further into the cave. There was something calling him, Arrow didn’t know what it was but he knew that it wanted his attention. At the very core of the cave was a Crystal tree with 6 different colored gems. Arrow had never seen anything like this before, or at least he thinks he hasn’t. “The tree of harmony.” Arrow stood in awe at the sight, before he realized something was off. “Wait, why do I know this? I’ve never heard about it before, so why do I know this?” Restating the question didn’t help at all. Arrow felt agitated as he tried to wrack his brain for any memories, but he drew a blank. Suddenly, Arrow heard hoof steps racing towards him. He ran behind the tree to hide, where he began to eavesdrop on what was going on. “I can’t believe he was right!” Was that Luna? “I thought that the Elements of harmony was just an old pony legend.” Arrow peered around the edge of the tree and saw a slightly younger version of Celestia and Luna. He was surprised to see that Celestia’s mane was solid pink instead of a rainbow. “Indeed sister. With the elements in our possession, Discord will be defeated.” Celestia said in a stoic tone of voice, “Maybe we should consider letting the human join our forces, his skill would be very useful.” “Do you judge everypony just by their usefulness?” Luna asked, being agitated by her sister's cold demeanor, “I don’t understand why you are always so cold all the time.” “As I have said several times in the past sister,” Celestia said, “It is for the betterment of the kingdom, I cannot let my emotions or wants get in the way of ruling.” As the two sisters continued to bicker, Arrow couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. Going off of what Luna had rambled off to him, then this must have happened over a thousand years ago. This couldn’t be a memory, but then why does this feel so familiar? Arrow looked at the crystal tree and the face of a human stared back as his reflection. Chapter 4Arrow was startled awake from his nightmare, if he could have even called it that. It felt just so real, like it wasn’t just a dream. Could it have been a long lost memory? No, it couldn’t have, unless it was. Why do dreams have to be so confusing! Right in the middle of his existential crisis, Luna was awoken by the mint colored owl’s distress. “Arrow, did you have a bad dream?” “hoo.” (I guess so.) Arrow said, sounding defeated “Aw,” Luna said, “I wish there was something I could do about it. Why don’t you come here?” Luna wrapped one of her forelegs around Arrow, before she headed back to her bed. There was something just so relaxing about being in Luna’s presence, Arrow quickly found his eyelids growing heavy as he returned to the realm of the sleeping. It was mid-day of the next morning before they awoke, Arrow felt something strange in the air. Something familiar, and not in a good way. He shrugged it off and hoped it was nothing as he flew over to Luna’s dresser and grabbed her hairbrush. When Luna had finally woken up, she also noticed the same thing that Arrow had, but her expression was far more cautious than his, maybe even worried. “Arrow, do you feel that?” Luna asked “whoo..?” (Yes..?) Arrow didn’t understand Luna’s concern, but he began getting scared because of Luna’s tone. Luna grabbed her hairbrush and hastily prepared herself for the day, instead of meticulously spending a long time preparing. She grabbed Arrow and placed him on her back, wasting no time to leave her room in search of her sister. Luna knew that if this magic was in the air, it could only mean one thing. Her pace was fast, a lot faster than normal, not quite a full on gallop, but fast enough for the guards to know that something was wrong. When Luna made it to the throne room, Celestia was already there, pacing back and forth. “So it is true.” Luna said in angry disbelief, “Discord has escaped.” ‘Discord? There was that name again, the same name in my dream.’ Arrow thought, ‘but where have I heard it before? I know it from somewhere, but where!?’ “Yes he has.” Celestia said “Then what are we waiting for?” Luna said, “Let’s grab the elements and seal him back.” ‘Elements?’ “We can’t,” Celestia said, “Even if Discord didn’t hide the elements, I am no longer connected to the elements anymore, and I doubt you are either.” “Then what are we going to do?” Luna asked “Nothing, for now. The elements have already chosen their new hosts.” Celestia said, “I’ve already sent them to retrieve the elements, so all we can do is wait.” “Who are they?” Luna inquired, hoping that Celestia didn’t do something stupid “I believe you are already familiar with them.” “You mean those six?” When Celestia nodded her head, Luna became furious, “YOU SENT CIVILIANS TO FIGHT DISCORD?” “What else do you want me to do?” Celestia snapped back, “The elements have already chosen their new hosts, and pony magic won’t work on him.” “You could have at least sent some guards with them!” “What part of ‘pony magic doesn’t work on him’ do you not understand?” Celestia barked back, “That would just get more ponies hurt.” Arrow hated to see Luna get so upset, but what could he do? He’s a human trapped inside the body of a rowlet, he has no experience with battling. Wait… Battling! Arrow had an idea that might just work, but he didn’t know how to use pokemon moves. Maybe if he just focused something would just feel natural, allowing him to use it. Arrow closed his eyes and focused on what to use, maybe then he could convince the two sisters that he could help. A repulsive wind began blowing through the throne room, chilling the two sisters to their spines, cancelling their argument. Ominous wind “Luna, did you feel that just now?” “Yes, I did.” Luna replied, “But I don’t know what it was.” “Koo.” (It was me.) Rowlet said as he flew down between the two sisters “Arrow?” Luna said, “What are you talking about?” “Koo koo.” (Celestia said pony magic doesn’t work on him, and I am not a pony.) Rowlet explained, “Luna, are you trying to drive me crazy or can you actually understand your owl.” Celestia said, eyeing the situation suspiciously “I can. But I am not sure how, or even why.” Luna said, “There have been only a few ponies who have been able to communicate with their pets,” Celestia said, “But most of them had special talents for talking with animals” “Brr!” (Hey!) Arrow brought the attention back down to him, “Brrue.” (I can watch over them from a distance, but I will not fight unless I am spotted. And that would only be for me to make an escape.) “Luna, can you tell me what he said?” “He said he wants to volunteer to watch over them from the skies. But I don’t want to put him in danger.” Luna said, “Arrow, I don’t want to lose you, I can’t lose you.” “Koo.” (I will be fine) Arrow replied, before he flew up to a window. Arrow looked down at Luna, looking for any signs that he shouldn’t go. Luna gave a subtle nod of her head, letting Arrow fly out the window. As he flew through the sky, Arrow peered down at the ground, seeing chaos spread throughout the land. What once was green grass were replaced by many mismatching textiles that were stitched together making a huge rug. Discord has already begun his chaotic work across the land. Arrow began relentlessly searching for Discord. As long as he maintained an aerial view of the sky, Arrow would have the best chance of running across him. Wherever Discord was, the bearers of harmony were probably close by, but Arrow had his own reasons why he began searching for the draconequus. Perhaps maybe the embodiment of chaos itself would be able to answer his questions he had. Discord sat on top of his throne, looking through a magical sphere at the misery he had cast upon the bearers of harmony laughing all the while. As he used one of his hands to swipe from pony to pony, a new individual appeared on the sphere. A small mint colored owl was flying through the sky towards him. “Well well well,” Discord said, “I’d never thought I’d see you again.” With one final chuckle, he made the sphere disappear before he teleported himself to Arrow’s location. As Arrow flew across the sky, Discord appeared in front of him, startling him out of a steady flight. When Arrow had recovered a stable flight, he attempted to stare down Discord. “Come now,” Discord said, “Is that how you treat an old friend?” Arrow could tell in his voice that he was mocking him, “I’m only here to get answers.” “Then ask away,” Discord said, “Those pesky ponies will be busy for the next few hours.” “Who am I? Why am I here? And what’s your involvement in this?” “You are the reincarnation of the human known as...” Discord caught himself, “I almost said too much, but that is as much as I can tell you.” “Why!?” Arrow demanded “I can’t have you remembering anything, now can I?” Discord said, “That would put me at an unfair disadvantage.” “Then I guess I will have to force it out of you.” Arrow said, launching a razor leaf attack at Discord. Before the attack collided with the draconequus, he disappeared out of sight. “Maybe later, I have other things I need to deal with.” With an angry screech, Arrow became doubly motivated to find Discord and give him a taste of his mind. Chapter 5With determination in his eyes, Arrow sought to put a stop to Discord. Originally, Arrow just wanted answers, but now, Discord was dangling the knowledge Arrow so desperately craved just barely out of grasp. Like how a child torments animals with food from behind a glass wall. But that glass wall would be broken in due time, especially now that Discord had come into view. Discord was going to be a tricky foe, so Arrow would have to stay 2 steps ahead of him. “Well, it took you long enough.” Discord remarked, “I was just about to get back to pestering those ponies.” “You cannot defeat me!” Arrow boasted, “Tell me what I want to know and I will spare you.” “You? Think you can defeat me?” Discord laughed in a mocking tone, “That pride of yours is only rivaled by your anger. You would make a great addition as one of my beasts of chaos.” Discord coiled around Arrow, like a serpent that would devour its prey. Raising his griffon claw into the air, Discord poked the top of Arrow’s head in an attempt to brainwash him with chaos magic. When that didn’t work Discord was honestly surprised, there wasn’t any creature in Equestria that was immune to chaos magic. Discord tried again and again, before he accidentally impaled Arrow(?) with his claw. Why is there pillow stuffing inside an owl? Suddenly a white puff of smoke revealed the true form of the thing he was trying to brainwash. It was a green plush toy that vaguely resembled a dinosaur. “Take this! Peck!” the real Arrow cried from above Discord. Hurling down towards Discord like a meteorite towards the earth, Arrow slammed himself into the back of Discord’s head. Rebounding off of his own attack, Arrow readied himself to counter whatever Discord was preparing. Discord rubbed the back of his head, where a knot was begging to form. “I expected you to be an easy opponent. I guess I thought wrong.” Meanwhile, not too far away, the bearers of harmony had all returned with the elements of harmony and were heading as fast as they could to stop Discord. “Discord! We have come to put an end to your reign!” Twilight yelled at the draconequus. A bright flash of light appeared, forming a clone of Discord in a referee outfit. “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to wait your turn.” He said, “As you can see I am very very busy at the moment dealing with a Grudge Match against a sentient owl. Though it shouldn’t take too long.” The Discord clone snapped his fingers making a ball cap and flag appear that both said ‘Discord #1,’ but the text was printed upside down. “Go me! Wooo!” the Discord clone yelled as he waved his flag in the air. “So, um,” Fluttershy stammered, “so what are we going to do now? We’re obviously not allowed in there right now.” “I say we stay here and watch the fight.” Rainbow dash said, “If we can’t be a part of the action, then we might as well watch it.” “And I even brought popcorn.” Pinkie said as she passed out bags of popcorn to all her friends, somehow she had also acquired a ball cap and flag that both said ‘Go Arrow!’ with an arrow piercing the word ‘arrow’. “Go Arrow! And make sure to kick his flanks!” Taking advantage of his small size, Arrow dashed in between each and every attack Discord threw at him. But it was only because of Arrow’s sheer force of will that he managed to keep up with the draconequus. No matter how much Arrow dodged, Discord didn’t seem to be tiring out at all. Perhaps it was time for Arrow to switch up his strategy to be a little more aggressive. “You’ve done well so far, but let’s see how you fair against this!” Discord channeled his chaos magic into lightning “Behold, Ominous Wind!” Arrow summoned a bone chilling gust of wind that managed to deflect the lightning enough so that only the weakest part of it struck him, but it still hurt far more than what anyone could have described it.Having regretted taking such a powerful foe head on, Arrow fell to the ground barely able to move. “Looks like I’ve won,” Discord cheered, “You should’ve really considered bringing back up if you wanted to fight me, especially with the state you are in.” “You haven’t won anything yet,” Arrow growled as he threw himself back into the air, “Ominous Wind!” Mustering all of his remaining strength, Arrow launched his most powerful attack and struck Discord down to his very soul. The air that emanated from him had grown into a sinister purple hue, with the stronger parts of the wind looking like dark purple streamers. When he had used this attack something at the very core of Arrow’s being had activated, luring the dark purple streamers towards him. Oddly enough, a feeling of restoration washed over Arrow as the streamers wrapped themselves around him, making a solid barrier between him and the outside world. With terror in his eyes, Discord had become paralyzed with fear as he tried to assess the situation as the menacing winds continued to blow. Discord could tell that with each passing second Arrow kept growing stronger without ceasing. When he thought Arrow’s strength finally capped, bright beams of blue light pierced the cocoon making his power skyrocket. Having new found strength, Arrow broke free of his cocoon and realized what had happened, he had just evolved into a Dartrix. At first Arrow was a little worried if Luna would even recognize him, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Discord was still his target and Arrow was more than willing to continue where they left off. “RAZOR LEAF!” Arrow fired hundreds of razor sharp leaves at Discord who was too terrified to move After sustaining such a powerful attack, Discord collapsed to the ground “I surrender.” Discord summoned a white flag and began waving it with his lion paw. “If you want me to spare you, then you will restore my memories.” Arrow demanded, “You were the one who erased them, were you not?” “I wish I could, but the only way for erased memories could be recovered is with time,” Discord explained, “but there is no guarantee with that.” “Then could you tell me what my name was from my previous life?” Arrow asked, “If nothing else, that is the least you owe me for what you have done.” “Your old name was Astraeus, which was soon shortened to Astreo.” Discord said, “You were originally brought to Equestria as a young human child, and Luna gave you that name when you said you didn’t have one. That is everything I know about your life before we met, I swear on it.” Arrow watched the Draconequus, looking for any indication that he could be lying. Even if that name was Arrow’s old name, it wouldn’t help him immediately recover any of his lost memories. Maybe Luna would know a little more about this, because if what Discord said was true, then she gave him that name. But despite all this, Arrow had a nagging feeling that there was still something off. “I see,” Arrow said as he prepared to return to canterlot, “If what you said is true, then I am grateful for your help, despite what you have done to me.” When Arrow's back was turned, Discord created a red boxing glove around his lion paw. Once Discord saw the right moment to strike he threw a spring loaded punch at Arrow, transforming his entire arm into said spring when he punched. Knowing that something was up since Discord surrendered, Arrow turned around and grabbed Discord’s boxing glove in his talons. “Hey! Give me that back!” Discord yelled as he tried pulling back on the spring “Okay.” It was at this moment that Discord knew, he messed up. Arrow released the glove from his grasp, sending it hurling towards Discord’s face. The collision that transpired wasn’t pretty, Arrow even winced when he saw Discord K.O. himself. Deciding that it would be best if he started making his way back towards canterlot castle, Arrow spread his wings and took off. Leaving the unconscious draconequus to be turned to stone by the six ponies who bore the elements of harmony. On his way back to Canterlot, Arrow finally had a moment to admire his new evolution. For a long time Arrow wasn’t sure if he could evolve because of his previous life as a human. It was a long flight before he arrived at Canterlot castle, it was about an hour before nightfall. After Arrow squeezed back through the window he flew out of this morning, which felt significantly smaller than when he was a rowlet, Arrow heard Luna pacing back and forth while Celestia tried calming her down. “Luna, please! Arrow will be fine.” Celestia said, “He is probably on his way back right now.” “But what if he gets lost? Or gets captured by rare bird hunters?” Luna asked, “Or worse.” When Arrow found Luna pacing back and forth down the hall, she was obviously quite worried about Arrow. It was cute how much Luna cared for her little owl friend, even the point of getting scared when being separated from him for a long time. “Kroo.” (I am back, Luna.) Arrow said as he flew towards the lunar princess “Arrow? You’re back!” Luna said excitedly, before she recoiled at the sight of the blue two toned owl, “Arrow, what happened to you?” At first Arrow was going to say something, but he quickly realized it would be much harder to explain then he initially thought. “Brr.” (I don’t know.) Arrow shrugged. Luna looked concernedly at the large owl before she pulled him into an unexpected hug. “I’m just glad you're alive, I don’t think I could lose another friend.” As he stayed within Luna’s embrace, Arrow thought about what Discord said. After some time, it was finally time for Luna to raise the moon and bring forth the night. Even though there were so many questions Arrow wanted to ask, there was not enough time left in the day to ask all of them. Getting ready for bed, Arrow looked at his old bird stand. While he thought he could’ve made himself fit on top of it, it didn’t look comfortable because of how much smaller it seemed because he evolved. Looking at Luna with an unsure expression on his face, Luna couldn’t help but giggle when she saw his predicament. “Well it looks like we have a problem,” Luna joked “Mhmm.” (Oh really?) Arrow sarcastically responded “We can fix that later, you deserve some rest.” Luna said as she picked up the owl and carried him to her bed. It had been quite some time since they both shared a moment like this. As tranquility came upon them, Arrow snuggled into bed with Luna as they both drifted to sleep. Chapter 6Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1Author's Note After writing this chapter, I now know how hard it is to constantly write bird sounds other than “who” or “tweet” Chapter 1 Where am I? Why am I so thirsty? Huh, is this water? Looking down I saw water right below me, my body was so dehydrated that it overpowered the higher functions of my brain. I couldn’t help myself, even if it was somehow poisoned or contaminated, it tasted like the best thing I ever drank. I felt the cold fluid flow through my body as it slowly woke me up. Now that I’m awake, I can answer my first question. There were trees, flowers, all of which were completely nicely kept. Apparently wherever I am is some sort of garden, and an expensive looking one from the likes of it. But closer around me were modeled cement birds, which only meant one thing, I was in a massive bird bath! I looked down and whatever my reflection was, it wasn’t human. My body’s natural instinct made me jump in terror from what I saw. By the time I regained control back from my instinct, I already slipped and fell off the edge. I heard a small snapping sound when I hit the ground. I was glad that it was just a twig I landed on, but the fall still hurt nonetheless. Now that I am alone, I was able to know the truth. I am truly no longer human, but now I am a rowlet. When I stretched out my arms, or rather wings, it was then that I realized that I didn’t just break that stick. It was late at night when Luna decided to take a small walk through the royal gardens, her sister recommended it to her for rare nights of insomnia. So many thoughts swirled in her head, it had only been about a month since her return, but she still felt so alone. Now that she had been gone for a thousand years, many of what used to be her duties suddenly were forced upon her sister, and now Celestia had even less time to spend with her. Luna couldn’t help but blame herself for this, maybe if she had just controlled herself all those years ago, something might have happened that would’ve allowed her to step out of her sister’s shadow and into the light. Every time she saw the moon, it was a constant reminder of this, her deeds that she committed. She found it painful yet somehow humorous that the princess of the night would be ashamed of her own moon. Somehow, she didn’t see how this would help clear her mind, if anything, the garden only filled her with only more grief over her past actions. Luna closed her eyes, wanting to only block out those memories, but to no avail. Right before Luna went back into the castle, she heard a cracking sound. “Who's there!?” She shouted, the only response she got was a small flock of birds flying away in fear. She knew that it may have been a rabbit or some large rodent, but just as likely, it could have been an assassin sent to kill some noble. Despite this fearful thought, her curiosity took over her as she began to walk further into the garden. She made sure to keep her eyes peeled for any potential threats. She turned the corner where the sound came from, but there was no pony there. “brrrr?” Luna heard the sound of a confused bird not too long after she arrived in this section of the garden. When she looked down she saw a mint colored owl looking back up at her with a confused expression, almost like it knew she wasn’t a threat but it had also never seen a pony before. “Oh, hello there you little owl.” Luna said in a calming tone, “Why aren’t you with all your friends?” “Huh?” the odd colored owl cooed in confusion. Luna looked at the off colored owl, he didn’t seem very comfortable as something was keeping him from fully retracting his wing. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it was not supposed to be bending that way. “Oh my, your wing is broken.” Luna said, “How did that happen?” “Brr-e-ou” The small owl said in bird gibberish, almost as if he was trying to speak. Luna looked down below the owlet, there was a broken stick. “You somehow broke your wing on this stick?” Luna didn’t expect the mint color owl to give much of an answer, so when it nodded its head she was completely dumbfounded. Whether or not he was intelligent or got distracted by an insect for a moment didn’t matter. What did matter though, was that the small injured owl needed help. “You poor thing, come here.” Luna said as she grabbed the owl in her magic, scaring him, “don’t worry I won’t hurt you.” Luna’s comforting words work to no avail. The small owl only stopped squirming when he felt his claws rest on her back side. She could tell that the owl didn’t want to be held, but at the same time knew he was completely at her mercy. Luna brought the small owl into her room so she could help him better than what she could’ve while outside. She walked over to her cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit her sister had given her. Though she was on the moon for a thousand years, she hadn’t forgotten the basics of first aid. She made a makeshift cast for the owl so his wing would be able to heal faster, even if she was a bit rusty, it was better than nothing. “So how’s that?” Luna asked, The owl looked at the new cast on his wing, while he may have been in mild discomfort, he gave a happy coo. Luna didn’t want to bring a wild bird into the castle and call it her pet, but at the same time the poor little owl needed help after he broke his wing. She knew that when he’d recover, Luna would have to release him back into the wild. “You're probably going to need a name while you are recovering.” Luna said, “You may be here for a while.” “Hm?” The owl hummed confusedly He looked confused, not at what Luna said, but rather that something else was bothering him. “So how about Otus?” The giant blue unicorn asked “No” I replied, with a shake of my head “Then how about Ace?” “No, I know that’s not my name.” “Then why don’t you try to come up with your own name if you’re going to deny ever Idea I come up with.” The large mare replied frustratedly “Fine, I will.” I really wanted to blurt out my own name, but I think I hit my head pretty hard. But now I am no longer human, so I don’t think it wouldn’t be fitting for me to use a human name. But what names would be good for a rowlet? Minty? Robbin hoot? Eh, probably not. Wait! I know one! “My name is Arrow!” I cried out “Coo” The small owl said “What was that?” Luna said, “I don’t understand you.” “Who!” He was starting to get frustrated that there was a small language barrier between them. “If you are not able to give me an answer,” Luna said, “we’ll just have to go with Ace instead.” Luna looked at the owl hopefully, though she wasn’t sure if she was hopeful that he’d speak or that he couldn’t. Looking really disgruntled, the owlet inhaled a fairly large amount of air, before he opened his beak to speak. “A-air..” to Luna it almost sounded as if he was choking, “R-r-row” Luna couldn’t believe it, the mint colored owl really just spoke. Animal vocal chords are only meant to make certain sounds, but mimicking pony linguistics was nearly impossible for a wild animal to do. “Arrow?” The young owl nodded, affirming that was in fact his name. Luna didn’t know where to be amused, impressed, or terrified that what she once thought was just a wild owl was actually intelligent and it wasn’t just her imagination. Luna let out a yawn as she felt her start to return to its sleepy state. “It was a pleasure to help you Arrow,” Luna said as she yawned again, “but we must once again return to sleep, our body demands it.” “Brrr?” “Are you asking if you can sleep with us?” The owl nodded his head and Luna sighed. “We’ll make an exception for you this time, but expect to have your own bird swing by tomorrow night.” The owl happily chirped as he hopped over to Luna’s bedside where she picked him up in her magic and brought him onto her bed. Arrow snuggled himself right up against Luna’s chest fluff, she slightly blushed not having had any physical interaction with any creature for so long. Being mindful of his broken wing, Luna wrapped her front leg around the rowlet as they drifted off into blissful sleep.
Chapter 3When the sun rose, Arrow woke up on his bird stand. It was a simple one that was mounted onto Luna’s dresser. The stand was made of durable wood designed to look like tree trunks, and it even had lower branches that could be used as steps to reach the main perch. Walking down from the perch, Arrow grabbed Luna’s hairbrush, in his beak as he waited for her to wake up. Because Arrow was now a rowlet, and no longer human, his bones heal quicker than when he was a human. He remembered that when Luna went to the vet to remove his cast, the veterinarian had told her to keep a watch on him because he had nothing to accurately compare him to. While Arrow already had his cast removed, he wasn’t going to leave his friend just because he had freedom now. After being stuck in Equestria, and having no actual reason to return to the human world, Arrow quickly became more comfortable with his situation. Even though only three weeks have passed, he quickly learned about the ponies around him. Luna, his “owner,” and her older sister Celestia were both princesses that ruled over this kingdom. “Good morning Arrow.” Luna said in a half awake voice “Hoo.” (Morning, here’s your hairbrush.) Arrow said happy to help his friend. Luna blinked out of confusion, did she just understand Arrow? “Thank you..?” Luna said cautiously as she took the hairbrush in her magic. “Hoo” (You’re welcome.) Arrow replied Luna eyed the owl curiously as she took the brush in her magic, Arrow just turned his head wondering why Luna was looking at him like that. When Luna had cleaned up her mane, putting it back to the way it was when they first met, she couldn’t believe that it had already been three weeks since she took him in. But still, according to her knowledge, Arrow was still a wild bird and it would be wrong to keep him out of his home. Luna extended a wing towards her dresser, allowing Arrow to use it like a bridge to get onto her back. Arrow sat down on Luna’s back as she went to go eat a late brunch. After learning that Luna was the princess of the night, Arrow had become a little more lax with letting her sleep in during the mornings. Eventually, it became a common sight to see Luna bring Arrow wherever she went. “Hey Arrow,” Luna said, “my dearest sister asked me to assist her in some royal duties, she said it would prepare me for returning to the throne. Would you like to come with me?” “Hoo.” (Of course.) Arrow responded, as he gave Luna a nod. Happy to know that her friend would be accompanying her, Luna felt a little safer knowing that she wouldn’t be facing the task alone. When they arrived at the throne room, a long line of ponies waited for Luna to arrive so that they could get on with their day. Even after her thousand year intermission, Luna was still somewhat familiar with this. But she quickly learned how much ruling had changed in her absence, making her feel a little bit isolated. Seeing her discomfort, Arrow rubbed his head against her, trying to make her feel better. Luna just looked at him then smiled, even though his gesture was small, it had helped her enough to continue with her day. As the day continued, the line of ponies that wished to speak with the princess started to diminish. Luna began to figure out what some of the modern terms ment, and how some older terms had changed completely. Luna started to gain a feeling of pride as she was becoming more and more comfortable with the thought of returning to the throne. “You did a wonderful job for your first time in a thousand years,” Celestia praised her sister, “Thank you...” Luna trailed off, it had been a long time since she was praised for her actions. “I was a little nervous at first, but Arrow helped me through it.” “You really love that little owl, don’t you.” “Hoo.” (Of course she loves me.) Arrow said confidently “At first I was a little worried about you getting a pet so soon after your return, they can be quite the hoof-full.” Celestia said, “But I am starting to reconsider after seeing how attached you are to him.” “Sister, are you saying what we think you’re saying?” Luna inquired, she was still used to the stern and unyielding Celestia from a thousand years ago. “Yes I am,” Celestia said, “I will let you keep Arrow, under the condition that you will take care of him.” Filled with glee, Luna lunged towards her sister for a hug.“Thank you thank you thank you.” Little did Luna know that when she lunged, she did it so fast that she accidentally launched Arrow off her back. Arrow let out a scream before he stopped moving in mid air, when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was flying by himself. His initial thought was that he was being held up by magic, but that assumption wasn’t true. “Hoo?” (Am I flying?) Arrow asked himself, “Brr.” (But I thought I didn’t know how to fly.) After discovering that he could in fact fly, he fluttered down and rested on top of Luna’s head. Flying wasn’t all bad, but he preferred to stay closer to the ground. Luna’s mane was very soft, almost like a bed made specifically for Arrow. He relaxed his body as he let out a contented sigh, he probably could fall asleep right there. “Well Luna,” Celestia said, holding back a smile, “I like your new hat, I wonder where I can get one.” Luna looked at her sister with a deadpan face, she wasn’t amused at her sister's joking. “Hoo, Hroo.” (I’m not just any old hat, I am the best hat.) Arrow corrected, pointing a feather at Celestia. Luna rolled her eyes, she took Arrow in her magic and placed him on her back before leaving the room. As they headed down the hall, Luna noticed that her sister had already finished lowering the sun and had put the moon in the night sky. Luna kinda missed doing that, but she knew that her magic was still recovering from her return here. Placing Arrow on his bird stand, Luna went to bed for the night. “Where am I?” Arrow said to himself as he woke in an unknown location. Arrow looked at the stone that surrounded him, it was smooth but not slick. This was some sort of cave, and he was in the middle of it. Arrow took note of how the cave seemed artificial and man-made. Or would it be considered pony-made? Arrow turned around and headed further into the cave. There was something calling him, Arrow didn’t know what it was but he knew that it wanted his attention. At the very core of the cave was a Crystal tree with 6 different colored gems. Arrow had never seen anything like this before, or at least he thinks he hasn’t. “The tree of harmony.” Arrow stood in awe at the sight, before he realized something was off. “Wait, why do I know this? I’ve never heard about it before, so why do I know this?” Restating the question didn’t help at all. Arrow felt agitated as he tried to wrack his brain for any memories, but he drew a blank. Suddenly, Arrow heard hoof steps racing towards him. He ran behind the tree to hide, where he began to eavesdrop on what was going on. “I can’t believe he was right!” Was that Luna? “I thought that the Elements of harmony was just an old pony legend.” Arrow peered around the edge of the tree and saw a slightly younger version of Celestia and Luna. He was surprised to see that Celestia’s mane was solid pink instead of a rainbow. “Indeed sister. With the elements in our possession, Discord will be defeated.” Celestia said in a stoic tone of voice, “Maybe we should consider letting the human join our forces, his skill would be very useful.” “Do you judge everypony just by their usefulness?” Luna asked, being agitated by her sister's cold demeanor, “I don’t understand why you are always so cold all the time.” “As I have said several times in the past sister,” Celestia said, “It is for the betterment of the kingdom, I cannot let my emotions or wants get in the way of ruling.” As the two sisters continued to bicker, Arrow couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. Going off of what Luna had rambled off to him, then this must have happened over a thousand years ago. This couldn’t be a memory, but then why does this feel so familiar? Arrow looked at the crystal tree and the face of a human stared back as his reflection.
Chapter 4Arrow was startled awake from his nightmare, if he could have even called it that. It felt just so real, like it wasn’t just a dream. Could it have been a long lost memory? No, it couldn’t have, unless it was. Why do dreams have to be so confusing! Right in the middle of his existential crisis, Luna was awoken by the mint colored owl’s distress. “Arrow, did you have a bad dream?” “hoo.” (I guess so.) Arrow said, sounding defeated “Aw,” Luna said, “I wish there was something I could do about it. Why don’t you come here?” Luna wrapped one of her forelegs around Arrow, before she headed back to her bed. There was something just so relaxing about being in Luna’s presence, Arrow quickly found his eyelids growing heavy as he returned to the realm of the sleeping. It was mid-day of the next morning before they awoke, Arrow felt something strange in the air. Something familiar, and not in a good way. He shrugged it off and hoped it was nothing as he flew over to Luna’s dresser and grabbed her hairbrush. When Luna had finally woken up, she also noticed the same thing that Arrow had, but her expression was far more cautious than his, maybe even worried. “Arrow, do you feel that?” Luna asked “whoo..?” (Yes..?) Arrow didn’t understand Luna’s concern, but he began getting scared because of Luna’s tone. Luna grabbed her hairbrush and hastily prepared herself for the day, instead of meticulously spending a long time preparing. She grabbed Arrow and placed him on her back, wasting no time to leave her room in search of her sister. Luna knew that if this magic was in the air, it could only mean one thing. Her pace was fast, a lot faster than normal, not quite a full on gallop, but fast enough for the guards to know that something was wrong. When Luna made it to the throne room, Celestia was already there, pacing back and forth. “So it is true.” Luna said in angry disbelief, “Discord has escaped.” ‘Discord? There was that name again, the same name in my dream.’ Arrow thought, ‘but where have I heard it before? I know it from somewhere, but where!?’ “Yes he has.” Celestia said “Then what are we waiting for?” Luna said, “Let’s grab the elements and seal him back.” ‘Elements?’ “We can’t,” Celestia said, “Even if Discord didn’t hide the elements, I am no longer connected to the elements anymore, and I doubt you are either.” “Then what are we going to do?” Luna asked “Nothing, for now. The elements have already chosen their new hosts.” Celestia said, “I’ve already sent them to retrieve the elements, so all we can do is wait.” “Who are they?” Luna inquired, hoping that Celestia didn’t do something stupid “I believe you are already familiar with them.” “You mean those six?” When Celestia nodded her head, Luna became furious, “YOU SENT CIVILIANS TO FIGHT DISCORD?” “What else do you want me to do?” Celestia snapped back, “The elements have already chosen their new hosts, and pony magic won’t work on him.” “You could have at least sent some guards with them!” “What part of ‘pony magic doesn’t work on him’ do you not understand?” Celestia barked back, “That would just get more ponies hurt.” Arrow hated to see Luna get so upset, but what could he do? He’s a human trapped inside the body of a rowlet, he has no experience with battling. Wait… Battling! Arrow had an idea that might just work, but he didn’t know how to use pokemon moves. Maybe if he just focused something would just feel natural, allowing him to use it. Arrow closed his eyes and focused on what to use, maybe then he could convince the two sisters that he could help. A repulsive wind began blowing through the throne room, chilling the two sisters to their spines, cancelling their argument. Ominous wind “Luna, did you feel that just now?” “Yes, I did.” Luna replied, “But I don’t know what it was.” “Koo.” (It was me.) Rowlet said as he flew down between the two sisters “Arrow?” Luna said, “What are you talking about?” “Koo koo.” (Celestia said pony magic doesn’t work on him, and I am not a pony.) Rowlet explained, “Luna, are you trying to drive me crazy or can you actually understand your owl.” Celestia said, eyeing the situation suspiciously “I can. But I am not sure how, or even why.” Luna said, “There have been only a few ponies who have been able to communicate with their pets,” Celestia said, “But most of them had special talents for talking with animals” “Brr!” (Hey!) Arrow brought the attention back down to him, “Brrue.” (I can watch over them from a distance, but I will not fight unless I am spotted. And that would only be for me to make an escape.) “Luna, can you tell me what he said?” “He said he wants to volunteer to watch over them from the skies. But I don’t want to put him in danger.” Luna said, “Arrow, I don’t want to lose you, I can’t lose you.” “Koo.” (I will be fine) Arrow replied, before he flew up to a window. Arrow looked down at Luna, looking for any signs that he shouldn’t go. Luna gave a subtle nod of her head, letting Arrow fly out the window. As he flew through the sky, Arrow peered down at the ground, seeing chaos spread throughout the land. What once was green grass were replaced by many mismatching textiles that were stitched together making a huge rug. Discord has already begun his chaotic work across the land. Arrow began relentlessly searching for Discord. As long as he maintained an aerial view of the sky, Arrow would have the best chance of running across him. Wherever Discord was, the bearers of harmony were probably close by, but Arrow had his own reasons why he began searching for the draconequus. Perhaps maybe the embodiment of chaos itself would be able to answer his questions he had. Discord sat on top of his throne, looking through a magical sphere at the misery he had cast upon the bearers of harmony laughing all the while. As he used one of his hands to swipe from pony to pony, a new individual appeared on the sphere. A small mint colored owl was flying through the sky towards him. “Well well well,” Discord said, “I’d never thought I’d see you again.” With one final chuckle, he made the sphere disappear before he teleported himself to Arrow’s location. As Arrow flew across the sky, Discord appeared in front of him, startling him out of a steady flight. When Arrow had recovered a stable flight, he attempted to stare down Discord. “Come now,” Discord said, “Is that how you treat an old friend?” Arrow could tell in his voice that he was mocking him, “I’m only here to get answers.” “Then ask away,” Discord said, “Those pesky ponies will be busy for the next few hours.” “Who am I? Why am I here? And what’s your involvement in this?” “You are the reincarnation of the human known as...” Discord caught himself, “I almost said too much, but that is as much as I can tell you.” “Why!?” Arrow demanded “I can’t have you remembering anything, now can I?” Discord said, “That would put me at an unfair disadvantage.” “Then I guess I will have to force it out of you.” Arrow said, launching a razor leaf attack at Discord. Before the attack collided with the draconequus, he disappeared out of sight. “Maybe later, I have other things I need to deal with.” With an angry screech, Arrow became doubly motivated to find Discord and give him a taste of his mind.
Chapter 5With determination in his eyes, Arrow sought to put a stop to Discord. Originally, Arrow just wanted answers, but now, Discord was dangling the knowledge Arrow so desperately craved just barely out of grasp. Like how a child torments animals with food from behind a glass wall. But that glass wall would be broken in due time, especially now that Discord had come into view. Discord was going to be a tricky foe, so Arrow would have to stay 2 steps ahead of him. “Well, it took you long enough.” Discord remarked, “I was just about to get back to pestering those ponies.” “You cannot defeat me!” Arrow boasted, “Tell me what I want to know and I will spare you.” “You? Think you can defeat me?” Discord laughed in a mocking tone, “That pride of yours is only rivaled by your anger. You would make a great addition as one of my beasts of chaos.” Discord coiled around Arrow, like a serpent that would devour its prey. Raising his griffon claw into the air, Discord poked the top of Arrow’s head in an attempt to brainwash him with chaos magic. When that didn’t work Discord was honestly surprised, there wasn’t any creature in Equestria that was immune to chaos magic. Discord tried again and again, before he accidentally impaled Arrow(?) with his claw. Why is there pillow stuffing inside an owl? Suddenly a white puff of smoke revealed the true form of the thing he was trying to brainwash. It was a green plush toy that vaguely resembled a dinosaur. “Take this! Peck!” the real Arrow cried from above Discord. Hurling down towards Discord like a meteorite towards the earth, Arrow slammed himself into the back of Discord’s head. Rebounding off of his own attack, Arrow readied himself to counter whatever Discord was preparing. Discord rubbed the back of his head, where a knot was begging to form. “I expected you to be an easy opponent. I guess I thought wrong.” Meanwhile, not too far away, the bearers of harmony had all returned with the elements of harmony and were heading as fast as they could to stop Discord. “Discord! We have come to put an end to your reign!” Twilight yelled at the draconequus. A bright flash of light appeared, forming a clone of Discord in a referee outfit. “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to wait your turn.” He said, “As you can see I am very very busy at the moment dealing with a Grudge Match against a sentient owl. Though it shouldn’t take too long.” The Discord clone snapped his fingers making a ball cap and flag appear that both said ‘Discord #1,’ but the text was printed upside down. “Go me! Wooo!” the Discord clone yelled as he waved his flag in the air. “So, um,” Fluttershy stammered, “so what are we going to do now? We’re obviously not allowed in there right now.” “I say we stay here and watch the fight.” Rainbow dash said, “If we can’t be a part of the action, then we might as well watch it.” “And I even brought popcorn.” Pinkie said as she passed out bags of popcorn to all her friends, somehow she had also acquired a ball cap and flag that both said ‘Go Arrow!’ with an arrow piercing the word ‘arrow’. “Go Arrow! And make sure to kick his flanks!” Taking advantage of his small size, Arrow dashed in between each and every attack Discord threw at him. But it was only because of Arrow’s sheer force of will that he managed to keep up with the draconequus. No matter how much Arrow dodged, Discord didn’t seem to be tiring out at all. Perhaps it was time for Arrow to switch up his strategy to be a little more aggressive. “You’ve done well so far, but let’s see how you fair against this!” Discord channeled his chaos magic into lightning “Behold, Ominous Wind!” Arrow summoned a bone chilling gust of wind that managed to deflect the lightning enough so that only the weakest part of it struck him, but it still hurt far more than what anyone could have described it.Having regretted taking such a powerful foe head on, Arrow fell to the ground barely able to move. “Looks like I’ve won,” Discord cheered, “You should’ve really considered bringing back up if you wanted to fight me, especially with the state you are in.” “You haven’t won anything yet,” Arrow growled as he threw himself back into the air, “Ominous Wind!” Mustering all of his remaining strength, Arrow launched his most powerful attack and struck Discord down to his very soul. The air that emanated from him had grown into a sinister purple hue, with the stronger parts of the wind looking like dark purple streamers. When he had used this attack something at the very core of Arrow’s being had activated, luring the dark purple streamers towards him. Oddly enough, a feeling of restoration washed over Arrow as the streamers wrapped themselves around him, making a solid barrier between him and the outside world. With terror in his eyes, Discord had become paralyzed with fear as he tried to assess the situation as the menacing winds continued to blow. Discord could tell that with each passing second Arrow kept growing stronger without ceasing. When he thought Arrow’s strength finally capped, bright beams of blue light pierced the cocoon making his power skyrocket. Having new found strength, Arrow broke free of his cocoon and realized what had happened, he had just evolved into a Dartrix. At first Arrow was a little worried if Luna would even recognize him, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Discord was still his target and Arrow was more than willing to continue where they left off. “RAZOR LEAF!” Arrow fired hundreds of razor sharp leaves at Discord who was too terrified to move After sustaining such a powerful attack, Discord collapsed to the ground “I surrender.” Discord summoned a white flag and began waving it with his lion paw. “If you want me to spare you, then you will restore my memories.” Arrow demanded, “You were the one who erased them, were you not?” “I wish I could, but the only way for erased memories could be recovered is with time,” Discord explained, “but there is no guarantee with that.” “Then could you tell me what my name was from my previous life?” Arrow asked, “If nothing else, that is the least you owe me for what you have done.” “Your old name was Astraeus, which was soon shortened to Astreo.” Discord said, “You were originally brought to Equestria as a young human child, and Luna gave you that name when you said you didn’t have one. That is everything I know about your life before we met, I swear on it.” Arrow watched the Draconequus, looking for any indication that he could be lying. Even if that name was Arrow’s old name, it wouldn’t help him immediately recover any of his lost memories. Maybe Luna would know a little more about this, because if what Discord said was true, then she gave him that name. But despite all this, Arrow had a nagging feeling that there was still something off. “I see,” Arrow said as he prepared to return to canterlot, “If what you said is true, then I am grateful for your help, despite what you have done to me.” When Arrow's back was turned, Discord created a red boxing glove around his lion paw. Once Discord saw the right moment to strike he threw a spring loaded punch at Arrow, transforming his entire arm into said spring when he punched. Knowing that something was up since Discord surrendered, Arrow turned around and grabbed Discord’s boxing glove in his talons. “Hey! Give me that back!” Discord yelled as he tried pulling back on the spring “Okay.” It was at this moment that Discord knew, he messed up. Arrow released the glove from his grasp, sending it hurling towards Discord’s face. The collision that transpired wasn’t pretty, Arrow even winced when he saw Discord K.O. himself. Deciding that it would be best if he started making his way back towards canterlot castle, Arrow spread his wings and took off. Leaving the unconscious draconequus to be turned to stone by the six ponies who bore the elements of harmony. On his way back to Canterlot, Arrow finally had a moment to admire his new evolution. For a long time Arrow wasn’t sure if he could evolve because of his previous life as a human. It was a long flight before he arrived at Canterlot castle, it was about an hour before nightfall. After Arrow squeezed back through the window he flew out of this morning, which felt significantly smaller than when he was a rowlet, Arrow heard Luna pacing back and forth while Celestia tried calming her down. “Luna, please! Arrow will be fine.” Celestia said, “He is probably on his way back right now.” “But what if he gets lost? Or gets captured by rare bird hunters?” Luna asked, “Or worse.” When Arrow found Luna pacing back and forth down the hall, she was obviously quite worried about Arrow. It was cute how much Luna cared for her little owl friend, even the point of getting scared when being separated from him for a long time. “Kroo.” (I am back, Luna.) Arrow said as he flew towards the lunar princess “Arrow? You’re back!” Luna said excitedly, before she recoiled at the sight of the blue two toned owl, “Arrow, what happened to you?” At first Arrow was going to say something, but he quickly realized it would be much harder to explain then he initially thought. “Brr.” (I don’t know.) Arrow shrugged. Luna looked concernedly at the large owl before she pulled him into an unexpected hug. “I’m just glad you're alive, I don’t think I could lose another friend.” As he stayed within Luna’s embrace, Arrow thought about what Discord said. After some time, it was finally time for Luna to raise the moon and bring forth the night. Even though there were so many questions Arrow wanted to ask, there was not enough time left in the day to ask all of them. Getting ready for bed, Arrow looked at his old bird stand. While he thought he could’ve made himself fit on top of it, it didn’t look comfortable because of how much smaller it seemed because he evolved. Looking at Luna with an unsure expression on his face, Luna couldn’t help but giggle when she saw his predicament. “Well it looks like we have a problem,” Luna joked “Mhmm.” (Oh really?) Arrow sarcastically responded “We can fix that later, you deserve some rest.” Luna said as she picked up the owl and carried him to her bed. It had been quite some time since they both shared a moment like this. As tranquility came upon them, Arrow snuggled into bed with Luna as they both drifted to sleep.
