Celestia's School For Gifted Magical Creatures

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Puellam began putting her books away before dropping one of them. The book hit the floor with a thud combined with the sound of crumbling paper. As she reached down to pick the book up, a magic aura snatched it away and carried it off to one of the students who picked on her the other day. The stallion ran out of the class with the book in hand.

"Hey!" Puellam cried out as she began to chase him. The stallion turned left, then right, Puellem following every turn.

"Come on!" he cried out. "You're a changeling!"

"Give me my book!" Puellem cried as she followed him. The unicorn turned another corner out of sight. When Puellem reached the corner, she felt something hard hit her head before everything went black.

~~)oOo(~~

Celestia followed the sound of her daughter through the halls until Puellam's cries stopped. Celestia's heart skipped a bit as she began running to where she last heard Puellam's voice. She turned a corner in the halls, and her heart sank when she found no one around. However, Puellam's book bag lay on the floor with the contents scattered around it.

"Puellam?!" Celestia cried as she looked left and right for any sign of her daughter. Celestia ran down the hall, leaving Puellam's bag and books where they lay as she called for Puellam. She turned another corner and almost collided with Aura, who had a look of concern on her face.

"Your highness?" Aura said. "What's wrong?"

"Aura, have you seen Puellam?" Celestia asked in a panic.

"Not since yesterday," Aura answered. "Why? Has something happened?"

"I don't know!" Celestia answered. "I just found her bags on the floor, but I didn't see her!" Aura rushed down the hall past Celestia. "Aura?!" Celestia followed her student. Aura looked around the hall for any sign of the changeling besides the bag left behind. The young unicorn quickly picked up Puellam's stuff before looking at Celestia.

"I'll start asking around," Aura said. "Maybe you should ask your guard for help?"

"I'll do more than that," Celestia replied as she started to run off.

"Princess, wait?" Aura called. Celestia stopped to look at the mare. "How can I get ahold of you if I find anything?" Celestia conjured a scroll with ink and quill before handing them to Aura.

"Write a message and use a teleportation spell to send it to me," Celestia instructed. Aura nodded as she took the items.

"I'll let you know as soon as I find anything out!" Aura assured.

"Then, let us waste no time," Celestia ordered before running in one direction while Aura took Puellam's bag and ran in the other direction.

~~)oOo(~~

Puellam groaned as she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes and started to sit up, only to find her hands were tied behind her back while her legs were bound at the knees and ankles. She struggled to break free of the binds as panic began to flood her body. She looked up to find the group of unicorns who bullied her gathered around, looking at her with fierce glares.

"Oh, look!" the leader sarcastically began. "The freak's awake!"

"What's going on?!" Puellam asked in a panic. The second of the unicorns punched her in the face.

"Shut up!" he ordered.

Puellam cried from the pain in her jaw and the panic flooding her body. She looked up to find they were outside in a dark alley. Tall buildings lined the small street on either side, blocking the sun from view. Trash cans and litter covered the ground, filling the air with a pungent smell. Aside from the group of unicorns surrounding her, she could see no other equine.

"Help!" Puellam cried out, earning another punch from the second unicorn.

"I said, shut the fuck up, you little shit!" he barked.

"Not that it matters," the leader said as he stepped up. "We conjured a sound bubble. No one can hear you."

"I still don't want to hear that thing squeal," the second said. Puellam looked at the unicorns as tears stained her cheeks.

"Aww, what's the matter, creature?" the leader asked as he leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "Does the little changeling want its queen?"

"Don't the changelings have a king now?" a third unicorn asked.

"What does it matter?" the second replied. "This one's not gonna have anything when we're done with it!"

"Please," Puellam cried. "Let me go!" The second unicorn raised his fist to strike her again, only to be stopped by the leader.

"You've had your cheap shots!" he growled. "This thing's mine!" The second snorted as he threw his fist to his side. The leader turned to Puellam as he glared at her. He reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like a stone. "You know, Magic is a powerful thing," he began as he tossed the stone in his hand a few times. "But there's always something strong enough to stop creatures from using it."

Puellam looked at the rock, noticing it had a familiar color to it. The shade of black matched the scales of a changeling before the reformation. Her heart started racing a mile a minute as she looked the unicorn in the eye, who only glared at her.

"Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns is for us unicorns," he began. "Not filthy creatures like you!" He got on his knees as he grabbed the back of Puellam's head. "I figure, if we take away your ability to use magic, the princess will have no choice but to get rid of you!"

"Please, no!" Puellam pleaded. The unicorn ignored her cries as he raised the stone above his head.

Puellam closed her eyes before she felt something strike her forehead. She cried out as pain surged from the point of impact to the rest of her body. Everything else in the world ceased to exist. Soon, another strike hit the same place, sending another surge of pain through her body. She cried out again, pleading for it to stop before another strike. The unicorn continued to strike the same place again and again until something shattered. Puellam's eyes shot opened wide as a huge spark of energy escaped her forehead. The unicorn fell onto his back as green sparks filled the area for a second. The sound bubble popped around them, and Puellam's head fell to the ground.

"Shit!" one of the unicorns cried out. "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

Puellam lay on the ground, staring into the distance with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. Her body became numb to the pain while her mind became lost. She could make out the sound of the unicorns running away until only the sound of sparks filled the air, accompanied by flashes of green light coming from her head.

"Mom," Puellam faintly said, her voice barely a measurable whisper. She wanted desperately to move, but her body did not respond to her wishes. Her breathing quickened while her heart raced as panic overtook her. Images of Queen Chrysalis' face flashed in her mind. Then a flash of her birth parents smiling at her. They were followed by an image of Chrysalis absorbing their energy. Finally, she saw the bodies of her parents lying on the ground, completely lifeless.

~~)oOo(~~

Luna flew over the city of Canterlot, scanning the area with a looking glass held against her eye. When Celestia rushed into their room to wake Luna from her sleep to tell her what happened, the princess of the night wasted no time in flying out of her bed to search for the changeling she felt was her daughter as much as Celestia's. After Celestia alerted Luna about Puellam's disappearance, all of Canterlot was put on high alert. The royal guard searched the castle while law enforcement searched the streets.

"Puellam?!" Luna called in her Equestrian Voice, ensuring a better chance of being heard. After searching for nearly an hour, Luna began shifting her focus to the allies of Canterlot. "Puellam?!" Soon, Luna came across a dark alley almost on the other side of town. Among the trash lining the street, she noticed something white lying in the middle of the path. She dropped her glass as she teleported to the spot, where she gasped at the sight before her eyes. "Puellam!!"

Puellam lay on the ground, still bound at the hands and feet, which horrified Luna enough, but what made the sight of the young changeling even worse was the shattered bits of stones and blood coming from Puellam's forehead. Green sparks periodically flashed from the wound as Puellam stared into the distance until she heard Luna's voice. The changeling's eyes turned toward the blue alicorn. "Momma?" Puellam said, her voice barely audible.

Luna used her magic to tear the binds from Puellam as she scooped the changeling into her arms, bridal style. "Shh," Luna said through tears staining her cheeks. "I've got you, sweetheart!" Luna kicked off the ground with enough force to leave a crater where she stood and flew directly towards the castle. Puellam lay limp in Luna's arms as the wind rushed by her ears. It did not take long for Luna to arrive at the castle courtyard, where she flew straight for the main doors, shattering them open with her magic before landing in the main hall.

"Get me the best doctors in Canterlot, now!" Luna ordered. The guards flinched at the sudden sound of Luna's Equestrian Voice before running off with a firm "yes, your highness!" Luna carried Puellam upstairs as she turned to one of the remaining guards. "Alert my sister to meet me in our royal chambers!"

"Yes, your highness!" the guard replied with a bow of his head before running off.

Luna continued to carry Puellam through the castle until she got to her bedroom, where she kicked open the door and rushed inside. The guards were keeping post at either side of the door as the princess passed them. "Guards! Get me some clean rags and sanitizer! Now!" Luna tenderly placed Puellam on the bed, laying her on her back as she did everything she could to make her comfortable without leaving her side for even a second. Luna placed a pillow beneath Puellam's head as she examined the shattered stone fragments in the changeling's forehead. "Stay strong, baby," luna softly said.

"You're highness, I have the-" the guard came into the room and could not finish his sentence before Luna's magic snatched the cloth and medicine from his hand.

"Where's my sister?!" Luna asked as she began tending to Puellam's wound. Before the guard could answer, the balcony doors slammed open, and the high princess ran in.

"Where is she?!" Celestia cried as she looked around the room before finding Luna tending to Puellam. The sight of her adopted daughter made her heart skip a beat as she gasped. Celestia turned to the guard at the door. "Send for King Thorax immediately!"

"Yes, your-"

"Go!"

The room trembled at Celestia's voice, making all the pictures and other items fall in place or on the floor. The guard took off so fast; he left a cloud in the shape of his silhouette. With the guard gone, Celestia ran onto the bed next to Puellam and helped her sister begin to clean the wound.

"Don't do that!" a familiar voice called out from the balcony. Celestia and Luna looked to find Thorax running to the bedside as he examined the injury.

"Thorax, how'd you-" Luna began.

"I felt a surge of changeling magic," Thorax interjected. Celestia opened her mouth to protest his order to stop. "Changelings are different from equines," Thorax said. "If you used that on this injury, you'll cause more harm." Thorax carefully took a piece of the black stone wedged into Puellam's scales and examined it closely. "This is a fragment of Chrysalis' throne," Thorax explained before turning back to Puellam. He blinked when he noticed something else. "Oh, no!" he gasped.

"What?!" Celestia asked in a panic. Thorax motioned with his hand as if picking something out of the air, his green magic shining from Puellam's injury, pulling a small green crumb of something.

"This isn't good," Thorax observed as he examined the piece closely with eagle eyes.

"What, Thorax?!" Celestia pleaded. "Is my daughter going to be okay?!" Thorax looked at the injury again.

"Whoever did this either knew what they were doing or got insanely lucky," Thorax observed as he looked Puellam in the eye.

"Thorax!" Celestia almost used her Equestrian Voice when she called his name. "What is going to happen to my daughter?!"

"She'll live," Thorax answered as he looked at the high princess. "Chrysalis' throne only allowed changeling magic to function within its reach, but it could also be used to cause us harm."

"You just she'll live," Celestia observed as she glared at him. "I swear if you lied to me, the union between changelings and equines is over!"

"She will survive," Thorax countered before pointing at Puellam's forehead. "Look at this wound and tell me what you see." Celestia hesitated before she followed Thorax's finger. Puellam bled through her forehead as green lights sparked from the gaping hole periodically.

"I see my daughter is severely injured, and the king of the changelings dodging the issue!" Celestia growled.

"Tia, calm down!" Luna piped up as she leaned in to look at the wound. "What was that green thing you pulled?" Luna asked.

"That's the problem," Thorax answered. "Every changeling is born with a gemstone buried in the forehead. This gem is the source of our magic." Celestia blinked as Thorax explained. "Peuallam's gem is completely shattered."

"What does that mean?" Celestia asked as she looked Puellam in the eyes while rubbing a thumb on her cheek.

"She may never be able to use magic again," Thorax explained. Luna watched Thorax closely as she noticed his demeanor seemed different than usual. He appeared calm and collected instead of kindhearted and thoughtful.

"Who are you?" Luna sharply asked as she slightly glared at him.

"It is me, Luna," Thorax answered.

"You show up so quickly after what just happened, and your personality is different," Luna observed.

"A surge of changeling energy like this is serious business," Thorax countered. "As soon as I felt it, I knew something was wrong, and I needed to be at my best." Luna looked at Celestia, clearly unconvinced at the changeling's answer. The elder sister looked at Thorax.

"Tell me what to do to help my daughter," Celestia calmly ordered. "And keep in mind, if anything happens to her, you'll be the first to suffer."

~~)oOo(~~

Puellam lay on the bed between Celestia and Luna. She curled her knees against her chest as tears stained her cheeks. Her body trembled in horror from the day's events. A bandage covered the wound on her forehead, blood staining the center. Thorax proved to be of great help in cleaning Puellam's injuries and bandaging her up. The changeling king instructed Celestia to change Puellam's bandages every hour until the bleeding stopped, which she stayed vigilant about for the rest of the day.

Celestia canceled all of her meetings for the rest of the week, despite Luna's protests. Luna happily offered to stay with Puellam, even if it meant losing sleep during the day and ignoring a few dreams in the night. As grateful as Celestia was to her sister for being the second parent to Puellam, Celestia made her daughter her number one priority.

Word of the daughter of Princess Celestia being attacked stretched all over Equestria in no time. Twilight Sparkle offered to fill in for the high princess so Celestia could tend to Puellam, which made Celestia proud of her former student for her willingness to step up. The princess of Friendship came a long way since Celestia took her in as her protege, and this made Celestia confident that when the time came, Twilight would be more than ready to take her place as High Princess of Equestria.

Celestia never took her eyes of Puellam since Thorax helped with the young changeling. Puellam stayed silent since the bullies attacked her earlier. As Celestia watched her daughter with a broken heart, she wondered if the changeling could even sense emotions anymore. Even if Puellam could not, Celestia would never stop loving her. The princess would do anything and everything to help Puellam heal from this encounter. For now, the three stayed in bed together; the alicorns took turns resting while the other watched the other two. This exchange continued throughout the rest of the day and night until it was time for Celestia to raise the sun again.