Dark as Chitin

Chapters

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development
Chrysalis' Interlude #1
Chapter 4: Walking
Chapter 5: Embrace
Chapter 6: Knowledge
Chrysalis' Interlude #2
Chapter 7: Sorcery
Chapter 8: Fight
Chapter 9: Trapped
Chapter 10: Answers
Chapter 11: Looming Dread
Chapter 12: Magic Training
Chapter 13: Unexpected
Chapter 14: Surprise
Chapter 15: Concern
Chapter 16: Deprived
Chapter 17: Tears and Tales
Chapter 18: Assembly
Chapter 19: Catching Up
Chapter 20: Making Up, Might Work
Chapter 21: Bits and Pieces
Chapter 22: Confessions
Chapter 23: To Date
Chapter 24: Foreboding Heavens
Chrysalis' Interlude #5
Chapter 25: Cometh the Hour
Chapter 26: Cometh the Beast
Chapter 27: Unity
Chapter 28: Alliance
Chapter 29: Truthful (Revised)
Chapter 30: Proxy (Revised)
Chapter 31: Not Alone
Epilogue (Revised)
Chapter 1: Birth
Chapter 2: First Steps
Chrysalis' Interlude #3
Chrysalis' Interlude #4

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development

After clearing the ravine, I landed at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Strangely enough, it filled me with an air of nostalgia. Almost like...home.

“Now that you’ve learned how to fly. Your next order of business is espionage. Head into the forest, on hoof.” Chrysalis instructed.

I looked the forest over one last time. “If you say so. But first….”

I paused and look up at the sky, admiring the sun.

“Ugh, the sun….” Chrysalis spoke with disgust.

I’m surprised, I don’t feel hungry despite it having been hours since birth. “How am I not hungry, or thirsty for that matter?”

“You spent a decade incubating under the Crystal Empire thanks to my magic, thus you likely have a surplus of love energy. You’ll be well-fed for some time,” Chrysalis reassured.

Well, at least I don’t have to worry about that.

I walked for maybe 20 minutes, taking in my surroundings. I spotted several different species of birds and rodents which I recorded for future reference. You know, for shapeshifting purposes. I’m not exactly sure how I knew what they were, but I chalked it up to my mother’s influence.

“Stop. Take cover.” Chrysalis commanded.

I did as I was told. I had never heard my mother take such a serious tone. Though, I guess I haven’t known her for long.

I dashed behind a nearby tree and anxiously waited.
“Look past the tree, toward the clearing. Slowly, of course,” Chrysalis instructed.

Again I did as I was told. First, I heard some weird gushing sound, like meat being torn apart. Little did I know, it was meat being torn apart. I looked behind my vantage point only to see some strange creatures tearing at a carcass of some sort. Honestly, it was unrecognizable as it was.

Inspecting the creatures more closely, they seemed to be some sort of wooden wolves. Their eyes glowed a pure vibrant green. It was sort of creepy, to be honest.

“Your next task is the infiltrate the timberwolves, join their ranks, and become their alpha.”

“Become their alpha?”

“Yes, infiltration is a valuable skill for changelings to know. Besides, maybe you’ll make a few new friends,” Chrysalis chuckled sarcastically.

A few days later...

I spent a few days tracking the timberwolves, learning their mannerisms, analyzing their abilities.

The most fascinating information I’ve learned about them is their extraordinary ability to manipulate wood. You see, timberwolves are somewhat fragile, but they can make up for it by replacing and adding body parts using the wood around them. They can even merge to scare off larger predators.

If I want any chance at infiltrating the timberwolves I’ll have to completely master this ability which means I have to understand the mechanisms behind it. Ultimately, this means I’ll have to get closer. That means my next move is learning how to shapeshift.

One day later...

“Shapeshifting needs to be natural, just like flying. You need to completely envision what you wish to become. Overlay your desired form over your current self.” Chrysalis explained.

Right, timberwolves. I’ve analyzed their forms perfectly: toe digits anterior, toe digits posterior, carpus, radius, ulna, metacarpal bones, fibula, tibia….

I closed my eyes and envisioned the form of the timberwolf, doing as my mother instructed. I felt the air begin to pick up around me. I tried my forced my magic out and opened my eyes. Inspecting my legs, I could see that nothing had changed.

I sighed and plopped onto my flank. “Another failure.”

Chrysalis hummed to herself. “Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with your understanding of timberwolf anatomy. The problem is your magic flow, or rather, the lack thereof. You’re forcing your magic out, individually targeting body parts. The transformation needs to happen all at once, you need to let your magic flow throughout your body entirely, like water.”

“Like water, huh? Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

I stood up with newfound confidence. Let my magic flow, visualize the anatomy, overlay it, become it. The wind picked up around me again, this time more active than ever before. I understood now, the wind was the result of my magic. I didn’t close my eyes this time. Green smoke and flames surrounded me, being influenced by the wind.

I felt my body begin to change. It didn’t hurt in the slightest, nor did it feel good. It just felt natural.

The flames faded and the air died down. I looked down at my legs. They were now that of a timberwolf. I inspected the rest of my body just to make sure, finding that it was now completely timberwolf. I had done it.

“I managed to pull it off. Thank you. Your advice did the trick.”

“Of course, it did. Who do you think I am?” Chrysalis scoffed.

What a proud and doting mother.

Sometime later...

I’ve successfully infiltrated a pack of timberwolves. I simply brought some wild game as a token of my loyalty. There are 7 members total, including myself. Within the few days I have spent with them, it’s been made clear who the Alpha is; a moderately larger timberwolf with a scar across its left eye. I named him Branch.

One timberwolf made the mistake of eating before Branch and was torn into pieces because of it. Luckily, when that happened, the mechanism behind the timberwolves’ abilities was also revealed.

When the timberwolf was shattered into nothing but twigs and branches, a tiny green marble fell to the forest floor. The marble began to glow brightly as it started to levitate. In a matter of seconds, the timberwolf managed to fully reconstruct itself.

Chrysalis referred to the small object as a magic core. Few creatures in Equestria have them but it does offer somewhat of an advantage. A creature with a magic core can never truly be destroyed unless its core is destroyed. However, they can never increase their magic reserves.

It’s a double-edged sword. It’s even possible for creatures that don’t typically have magic cores to convert all of their magical essences into a magic core, essentially making them immortal.

Magic is power, but it is also your life force. Although, I don’t think that’s something I want to do.

One day later...

I finally figured it out. My timberwolf form is 100% complete. I can manipulate my body parts almost magnetically and swap them in and out with regular pieces of wood.

“Nicely done. You’ve made me quite proud, thus far. Keep it up,” Chrysalis admitted.

I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself as well. Alright, let's get this over with.

I accumulated as much wood as I needed around my form, increasing my size by a great deal. The goal is to become alpha, not a titan.

Once my preparations were complete, I began stalking the timberwolves. All I need to do is challenge the alpha; direct eye contact, tall posture, and teeth bared. Upon coming across the timberwolves in another clearing, I walked out of the brush as menacingly as possible, making a b-line for Branch. The other timberwolves watching.

I stopped in front of Branch, towering over him. Branch locked eyes with me, putting an intimidating act up, but that’s all it was, an act. Soon the ferocity disappeared and Branch whimpered.

One by one, the timberwolves gathered around me, lowering themselves to the ground, and bowing in subservience.

Chrysalis' Interlude #1

Chapter Music

It’s happened, it’s finally happened. After a decade of being imprisoned in stone, my plan can finally take action. The changeling egg I planted beneath the Crystal Empire 10 years before I was sealed has finally hatched.

The newly born exhibits a frightening level of intelligence and strength. It’s been less than a week, yet it can already speak, fly, and shapeshift. All this on top of being born with a generous reservoir of magical energy due to the residual love from the Crystal Empire.

It’s funny really, the Princess of Love’s greatest asset is also my own. There couldn’t be a better match.

I hate to admit it, but the innate talent of this changeling surpasses even my own. I’m certain, if it’s this changeling, my freedom will soon be at hoof. They’ve done well to make me proud in such a short amount of time, and that’s not to be taken lightly.

I just need to make sure to maintain its loyalty. I don’t need to repeat history, not after… never mind.

As proud as I am, however, there are a few blaring issues that are... areas of concern. This changeling seems almost too intelligent for a newborn; its conversational prowess, its adaptability, it’s all remarkable. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And that display of dominance over the timberwolves… he’s a monarch in the making.

Now for the more pressing matter. Normally by utilizing the hive mind, I can access all of a changelings consciousness so long as they are linked to my magic. Yet, for some unknown reason, there are regions of this changeling’s mind blocked off to me. But I can feel something dark, almost malevolent behind those barriers. I have a feeling it has something to do with this human thing the changeling mentioned.

Perhaps as time goes on, the changeling’s mind will reveal more of itself. Until then, there’s not much I can do. The next step is to head into Ponyville. My little prince will need to acquire more knowledge about Equestria: magic, history, artifacts, and of course many more forms.

I’m almost giddy with excitement. I feel like there’s hope in reliving my glory days with my little prince at my side. What if he leaves me? No, I can’t think about that. Speaking of him, I’ve yet to give him a name. Hmm… how about, Chimera?

He’s the ultimate fusion of a changeling’s greatest traits. Chimera, has a nice ring to it, yes?

After he acquires the knowledge he needs, he’ll then have to absorb a great deal of love energy into his vessel and cultivate it. There’s no scarcity of love, that’s for sure, but as his power increases, he’ll make his presence more pronounced. That would be dangerous. Luckily, there are several workarounds to this issue. One solution lies in magical artifacts that conceal one’s presence. The other relies on one’s control over their magic down to the magicule.

I have a feeling Chimera won’t have an issue accomplishing either method. He really can’t afford to get caught. I can’t afford for him to get caught. Not only would I be doomed to an eternity in stone, but I would also lose my only child left. I can’t let that happen. What am I talking about? This isn’t like me at all. Has a decade in stone made me soft? Ironic.

What am I doing worrying about being alone? I’ve always been alone, haven’t I? I need to clear my head, gather my thoughts. This is too much to deal with right now.

Chapter 4: Walking

Chapter Music

Just like that, no duel required. All of the timberwolves submitted to me. I did it, I became their alpha. It really was a moment to behold. When they all bowed, I felt something, but it didn’t feel like my feelings solely: pride, respect, loyalty, it was all present.

Chrysalis cackled quietly. “That’s because these feelings are those of the timberwolves, not your own. We, changelings, have the innate ability to interpret and feel the emotions of other creatures. However, some beings have the skill necessary to conceal their emotions. Well done, Chimera.”

Chimera, is that my name? How did it not occur to me that didn’t have a name until now? The name seems fitting though.

“Chimera... I like it.”

“You’d better. It’s not often that I give my children names,” Chrysalis huffed.

That sounds terrible. “Yeah, I could imagine,” I hassled.

“Is that sarcasm I hear?”

“No, of course not.”

I’m not sure how, but I got the sudden feeling that she was now eyeing me suspiciously despite the fact that I couldn’t see her. I felt slightly nervous at this.

“Fine, I’ll let that slide, for now. We need to discuss the next order of business anyway.”

By now, the rest of the timberwolves were now standing up, looking at me expectantly.

“There’s only so much that I can teach you. You’ll need to acquire more knowledge elsewhere. That’s why you will be heading into Ponyville next. From what I’ve learned, it’s where that vexatious Twilight Sparkle cultivated her knowledge.”

“Twilight Sparkle… the princess of friendship and magic?” I asked inquisitively.

“Yes, that Twilight Sparkle. By now, she may very well be the strongest entity in Equestria.”

That's nothing to scoff at given how strong some of the entities mother describe seemed. Discord seems like someone I don't want to cross paths with.

“How do you know any of this? I thought you’ve been trapped in stone.”

“Just because I’ve been trapped in stone doesn’t mean I’ve been inactive. I have my ways. The point being, there’s likely something in Ponyville that could aid you in reaching new heights.”

“Like friendship?”

“Tartarus, no. Don’t even joke about that. Just head toward Ponyville.”

“Okay, but which direction do I go?”

“Given your current location, it should be about 2 hours west of where you are on foot. Luckily, you don’t have to travel on foot, so you should arrive far faster.”

“Got it, there’s just one problem though,” I said as I looked at the timberwolves around me.

“You know, escaping is also a useful skill to have,” Chrysalis said, chuckling.

Of course, it is.

Hours later...

I felt bad doing it, but I finally escaped from the timberwolves. I’m now flying my way over to Ponyville at least 8 meters over the forest. Mother told me not to fly too high, lest I run the risk of encountering pegasi. Interesting creatures, I'll have to obtain a pegasus form sometime.

“Listen to me, Chimera. You must not get caught in your changeling form. Its appearance is indicative of my involvement. It may have been a decade since I was sealed, but I don’t think anypony is willing to forget my presence. Do not get caught in this form. There’s no telling what would happen to you. Promise me you won’t,” Chrysalis warned vehemently.

That tone again. It was so serious, it put me on edge.

“I won’t, I promise.”

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. You’re nearing Ponyville now, so lower yourself into the forest.”

I did as I was told. “Aren’t there still changelings? You even said they coexist with the rest of the Equestrian races. Why wouldn’t I be accepted?”

“Because you don’t look like other changelings and that’s all I’m going to say about this. You’ll eventually figure the rest out by yourself anyway so forget about it for now. You need to find a way into Ponyville. Oh, and please do choose a more inconspicuous form. It's not exactly normal for a timberwolf to walk into a village.”

Inconspicuous… rabbits should be commonplace. I let my magic flow as a familiar green smoke engulfed me. I dubbed this phenomenon the shift phase. After the shift phase finished, my world suddenly seemed so much larger. Though I guess that’s a given seeing as I am smaller.

I hopped out of the forest and onto a trail. Strangely enough, there was a peculiar-looking cottage along the trail. I didn’t think anyone would live out here by themselves.

Any other time I would have taken a closer look, but duty calls. I continued past the cottage and down the trail to Ponyville. That’s when I suddenly heard a door fly open behind me.

A gentle humming caused my ears to twitch toward its direction. I turned my head to look. This was a mistake that would prove to be almost fatal. It was a pony, a mare at that. Her coat was butter yellow and her mane was light pink.

Her humming stopped immediately as she noticed me. “Oh my, what are you doing out here all by yourself, little bunny?”

Who is this? Before I could do anything, I was swept up in the embrace of this mare. I was certain there were at least a few meters of distance between us and I never blinked. How did she move that fast? If she used magic, I didn't detect it. Looking at her more closely, she had a set of wings on her barrel; a pegasus.

I really should be careful what I wish for.

Chrysalis gasped. “This is bad. She’s one of the elements of harmony.”

“A wielder of those all-powerful magical artifacts that surpass even the strongest of beings?”

“Precisely.”

Just my luck. I tried to struggle against her grip, but it was a futile effort. My little bunny body couldn’t even muster a fraction of her strength. I'm sure she wasn't even exerting that much force. Ugh, I feel like I’m in that cocoon again, cramped and way too warm.

“Don’t you worry, I'll take care of you now,” the mare spoke affectionately.

Another sensation began racking my mind, love. And I was filling up dangerously fast. I felt like I was about to burst. It was so warm and sweet, it was too much.

“Oh no, I didn’t think this would happen so soon. Chimera, listen to me. If you don’t regulate the influx of love energy manually there will be disastrous consequences.”

“Okay, how do I do that?!” My body was beginning to ache.

I’m sure it didn’t help that I was currently in such a tiny form.

“Focus, you need to feel the flow of love. Once you’ve done that, you need to close yourself off from receiving it by using your magic. Keep the magic inside your body, but push it outward.”

I closed my eyes and began focusing on it. Although my eyes were closed, it felt like I could still see. But I wasn’t seeing everything. I could only see the mare currently strangling me, her body was glowing a bright fluorescent pink. Coming out of her was a trail of pink ethereal mist, and it was burrowing its way inside me.

I can feel the flow of love. Now I just need to block it. Manipulating the magic inside of my body, I began pushing it outward, but not past my skin. It formed a sort of membrane that kept the love from entering. Instantly, the surge of love stopped and the pain began to subside.

Crisis averted. Unfortunately, the whole ordeal left me feeling extremely winded. I began drifting in and out of consciousness as a result.

“What’s wrong, little bunny? You don’t look so good. No need to worry, I’ll treat you right away.”

The fatigue was becoming too much to fight off. I couldn’t take it anymore. Slowly the world began to go dark.

“Rest well, my child. You did well.”

Chapter 5: Embrace

Chapter Music

I opened my eyes groggily, vision blurry and head ringing. My body was sore, but at the very least it meant I was still alive. This must be what a hangover feels like, whatever that is. I felt like vomiting, but instead, it came out as a series of burps.

After letting out a bit of fuel, I was well enough to sit up straight. I had been placed in a bed that seemed to be the perfect size for me; it sat atop a small tabletop. If I had to guess, I’m inside that mare’s cottage. I have to get out of here, but how?

As far as she’s concerned, I’m just a bunny. I can’t arouse any suspicion. That’s when it hit me. There are animals all over this place, meaning multiple forms and bodies.

One well-placed transformation and I can slip right out of this place. So which one do I use?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves hitting the ground. It was getting closer by the second.

“Oh good, you’re awake. You had me worried there for a minute. If I had known you were sick, I would have been gentler. But everything’s okay now.”

Fluttershy, she’s too kind for my sake.

Fluttershy trotted over to me, placing her forehoof up to my forehead. “It looks like your fevers gotten better, but you can never be too careful.”

Again, I was swept up into her embrace, a bottle suddenly in my mouth this time.

What in the world?

Chrysalis laughed. “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

“Oh, you must be having a field day. She’s so loving, it’s suffocating.”

Even with my magic barrier up, some of her love still gets through.

“Maybe it’s only suffocating because you’re fighting it. Try to give in a little.”

“Give in? I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right. I’m not what she thinks I am.”

“Deceit is a part of a changeling’s life. You’ll have to get used to it, to survive.”

“I know mom, I know.”

Taking my mother’s words to heart, I gave into the mare’s embrace. What is she feeding me anyway? It tastes kind of sour, like something diluted with water. Medicine?

The mare then placed me back down into the bed, tucking me in, and topping it off with a kiss to my forehead; I burped again.

“You get some rest now. I’ll come back to check on you later.”

Fluttershy then trotted around the corner, probably to take care of some other animals. I wasn’t sure how much time I had, but I knew I had to act fast. I threw the blanket off myself and hopped down from the tabletop.

There was all manner of creature around me: snakes, bears, birds, mice, lizards, and even other rabbits.

I need an escape route. The door wasn’t an option. It’s made of wood, meaning it would make some noise. I didn’t know how I would get it open. The window might work, but opening it would probably be a hassle. The chimney on the other hand. That could work.

A simple shift into something small enough with wings and I’m out of here. I hopped over to the chimney to inspect it more closely when my path was suddenly blocked.

The inhabitants of the cottage were gathering around me. That’s when the most surprising thing happened. They began talking, and I could understand them.

The bear was the first to speak. “Name’s Harry, what’s yours?”

The bear was a bit imposing, but he wasn’t giving off any dangerous vibes.

“Don’t have one,” I replied. I had a feeling revealing my true name wouldn’t do me any good.

“Well that’s strange, I’m sure Fluttershy will name you in no time though so it’s no sweat. She named all of us after all.”

Sorry, but I already have a name and I’m quite fond of it.

After a few minutes of conversing, the conversation was finally beginning to die down.

“Well, we’ll be out of your hair now. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thanks.”

One by one, the crowd began to clear out.

I turned my attention back to the chimney, getting close enough to look up into it. It was surprisingly clean. Yeah, I think this could work.

A voice came from behind me. “Thinkin’ about leaving?”

Taking me by surprise, I spun around in an instant.

“Relax pal, I just want to talk.”

It was a bunny like me, standing there with his arms crossed.

“Who are you?”

“I could ask the same thing to you, but that probably won’t get us anywhere. I’m Angel.”

“Uh, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m just confused about something.”

I stayed silent.

“Why would you want to leave? Out there, it’s survival of the fittest. Every day’s a struggle. It’s a cruel and unforgiving environment. So, why would you want to leave?”

“Yeah, I know, but what other choice do I have.”

Angel paused for a minute. “Family?”

He wasn’t wrong. “Yeah,” I said as I looked toward the chimney.

Angel's ears drooped. “Buck dude, I'm sorry. You know we can help you out, right? We could go get your family, together, then head straight back here.”

“You’re a good person, but this is something I have to do myself. Thanks.”

Angel didn’t reply. He just turned around and hopped away.

In one swift motion, I hopped up into the chimney, shifted into a bird, and flew outside of the cottage.

Sometime later...

I arrived at Ponyville some time ago. I spent a good hour surveying the area: noting landmarks, scanning ponies, and formulating a plan.

It’s nice. Everyone’s so cheerful. I haven’t spotted anything like a library, however. I need someplace where I can learn.

“You’ve been quiet, mother. Got something on your mind?”

“No, not really. Just worried is all.”

“Worried? About what?”

“It’s nothing, just my paranoia. It’s just that… back there at that cottage, you almost died.”

“Yeah, but you saved me,” I consoled.

“Maybe so, but what if I can’t always do that?” Chrysalis lamented.

I paused to think about it.

“Part of a mother’s duty is to prepare their child for the world so that they can take care of themselves.”

Mother remained silent, but I could sense what she was feeling. Confliction. Did I overstep my position? What I said would sound strange coming from a newborn, wouldn't it?

Chapter 6: Knowledge

Chapter Music

I landed behind a strange building that seemed to be modeled after a carousel. After 'bird watching' for long enough, I analyzed enough ponies to synthesize a unique appearance. I really didn't need to start a witchhunt for a doppelganger. One shift phase and I was now a green unicorn mare with a black mane and green eyes. Funnily enough, my horn was concealed beneath my luscious mane, so I looked more like an earth pony. It probably didn't help that I made my horn shorter than average. I kept my butt tattoo to a simple question mark. It was ambiguous enough to not mean anything, yet mean everything. Now all I needed was a name.

"Anonymous. It's foreign if I remember correctly," Chrysalis stated.

"Yeah, that'll work."

I walked from behind the carousel surveying my surroundings. "Guess I should start asking around."

Everyone looks kind enough. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I bothered them for a bit. I trotted over to a hot pink-colored unicorn mare, her mane and tail looked like a shade of Sunfire. I know it doesn't make sense, but that's the best way I can describe it without going into excessive detail.

"Excuse me?"

The mare turned toward me. "Huh, can I help you?"

"Do you happen to know if there's something like a library around this place?"

"The library? Yeah, I was actually just heading to it. Wanna come with me?" The mare asked cheerfully.

I smiled back. "Sure, if that's okay with you."

"Of course, let's go! It's not often anypony wants to go to the library these days."

About ten minutes later...

I've been following this mare for nearly 10 minutes in awkward silence and I don't even know her name. I've just been kind of taking in my surroundings.

"So..."'

This feels so weird.

"Yeah?"

"What's your name?"

She looked at me, eyes wide with surprise. "Oh my gosh. I never introduced myself. The princess would be so disappointed in me. I am so sorry."

What was that about the princess?

"It's fine, really. I'm Anonymous, but my friends call me Anon."

"I'm Luster Dawn, but you can call me Dawn, all of my friends do. That's a nice name, by the way, it suits you. It sounds foreign."

Since when does someone's name in this place not suit them? If an hour of bird watching has taught me anything, names here seem like self-fulfilling prophecies.

"Thanks, I like your name too."

"So what are you going to the library for?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"I was hoping to learn some magic and catch up on a bit of history."

I wasn't lying, this was what I was planning to do.

"Woah, really? Me too. It's gotta be fate that we met. Oh, looks like we're here!"

I turned my attention away from Dawn and looked toward the library. Honestly, it didn't look anything remotely close to a library. It looked like some kind of crystal castle, but the architecture was way too chaotic. For some reason, the base of the castle looked like a tree, like it had grown out of the ground or something. I suppose anything is possible in Equestria.

"Come on, let's head inside. You gotta meet my mom!" Dawn suddenly had a burst of enthusiasm.

"Your mom?"

"Yeah, her name's Starlight Glimmer. Have you heard of her?"

Starlight? Why does that sound familiar?

Chrysalis's voice seemed to get caught in her throat. "S-starlight?!"

Mother's sudden screaming caught me off guard, causing me to visibly flinch.

"You alright?" Luster Dawn asked.

"Yeah... I'm fine."

"Well, let's not waste any more time then!"

Luster Dawn grabbed me by the hoof and began pulling me inside the 'library.'

Surprisingly, the interior looked a lot nicer than expected.

"Come on, the library's upstairs."

I followed closely behind her. As strange as this might sound, I couldn't help but look at her flank. From what I could tell, her butt tattoo was a sun coming over the horizon.

"Pervert," Chrysalis stated bluntly.

"M-mom!"

"Relax, won't you. I'm just messing with you," Chrysalis teased.

I'm sure if anyone was looking at me, I would be all sorts of shades of red.

After clearing the stairs, we turned right through a doorway. It was a library, a large one at that. Along the furthest wall to the back were nothing but shelves of books. Throughout the room were at least a dozen tabletops. However, the library hardly seemed to have anypony in it. There were maybe seven other ponies besides myself and Luster Dawn.

Dawn trotted over to a table at the center of the room. There was a unicorn mare seated at the table by herself, several books floating around her as she seemed fully emersed in a separate one at the moment. Pretty soon, I'll be able to do that. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited.

"You need to stay away from her," Chrysalis warned.

"Yeah, I know she's dangerous; I'll be careful."

Chrysalis went quiet.

"Hey mom, I'm back."

The mare, which I now knew was Starlight, dropped her books and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Sweety?"

The two mares suddenly embraced each other. The love is strong with these two, I can feel it. After about 20 seconds of a tight embrace, they let go of each other.

"Mom, my friend here says she wants to learn about magic and history."'

"Really, it's not often an earth pony wants to learn about magic. What's your name?"

"Anonymous, but you can call me Anon. And I'm not an earth pony," I said as I split the top of my mane to show my horn.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry for assuming. It's nice to meet you. I'm Starlight Glimmer and this is my castle."

I was a bit curious now. "This is your castle?"

"Yes, although it wasn't always. It used to belong to my friend, Twilight, but she left it to me when she moved to Canterlot."

Twilight... Twilight Sparkle? This mare's directly tied to the princess? I seriously need to be careful.

"But enough about me, you said you were interested in magic and history, right?"

"Yup."

"I've split the back shelves into 4 columns. The first one is science, the second is magic, the third is history, and the fourth is the only outlier. Each shelf in the 4th column is for a different genre. For the science and magic columns, the shelves are organized by tiers. The bottom shelves are the lowest tiers, meaning the easiest, and the top shelves are the highest tiers, meaning the hardest. Keep in mind that the shelves toward the top past the red marker all have special magical seals on them that can only be lifted by me. So if you need anything, just let me know. You can take books out of here if you'd like. I put a series of spells on all of them so that they'll automatically teleport back here within a week. Even if the books are in tatters, it'll come back and repair itself."

"Wow, that's pretty amazing. Uh, thanks."

"It's no problem, please, enjoy your studies."

I walked over to the back shelves and began inspecting the books. It's true, there is a special magic seal on the highest tiers. I guess it would be disastrous if just anypony got their hooves on that kind of magic.

Looks like I've got quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I'm more excited than anything to be honest.

Chrysalis' Interlude #2

Chapter Music

So... she has a child now. From the looks of it, she has to be at least 17, 18? I'm not quite sure. Ponies and changelings mature at different rates, the latter being much faster. I had my suspicions for a while, but I had no evidence to go off of.

I might have to come to terms with the reality that it may have been more than a decade since I've been sealed away. It's no trouble really, just... a bit jarring.

On a brighter note, Chimera's changeling abilities are developing nicely, and now that he has access to knowledge, he'll be far better off. I've been thinking about what he said to me earlier though.

“Part of a mother’s duty is to prepare their child for the world so that they can take care of themselves.”

I'm not sure where he got it from, because it certainly wasn't me, but it makes sense. I just... I need some time to think it over some more.

It's just that after some reminiscing, I realized that... I've never done that for my children. I was always telling them exactly what to do, using them, sacrificing them... for the sake of the hive. No, is that really the truth? Was I ever really looking out for the hive?

If that was really my intent, we could have just lived in secrecy among the ponies, absorbing love passively to survive. It's not like there was a scarcity of it.

I let my pride get out of hoof. It's my fault. It's all my fault. No, no it's not! If it wasn't for those ponies, I would still have a... I would still have a family. It's not my fault... but it is. At every chance I was given, I chose confrontation.

It really was all my fault. What was my plan when I escaped this prison anyway? Vengeance? Yes, that's what it was. Yet, I have nothing left to avenge. There was no rhyme or reason, just my pride.

Alright fine, I admit it, I was wrong. I've always been wrong. So what happens now? What happens now that my purpose in life has vanished? What do I even have left?

A mother's duty...

Chapter 7: Sorcery

Chapter Music

Let's see, there's twenty shelves total, meaning twenty different tiers of magic. I might as well start at the bottom, build my way up. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I walked over to the magic column and picked a book out from the bottom at random. It fell to the floor so I turned it over to read the cover.

"Magic for Foals, by Twilight Sparkle. Alright, let's start with this."

I grabbed the book in my mouth and trotted over to the nearest table, taking a seat. Dropping the book on the table, I opened it to the first page.

"The heading read: Principles of Magic. Magic exists all around us and inside of all of us. Even if you're not born with much magical talent, you can always improve through hard work. Magic manifests itself in the form of magicules. Normally, magicules cannot be seen with the naked eye, but by utilizing magic itself within the eyes, they become visible. An individual magicule is about the size of a grain of sand and are intangible to objects not imbued with magic."

I concentrated my magic into my eyes. Suddenly, I was able to see a rainbow mist completely filling the room.

"Woah...."

Looking over the room, I could see that the magicules seemed to be more condensed around some ponies than others, this was especially true for Starlight and Dawn. Speaking of Dawn, she's sitting right in front of me. Wait a second, she's sitting right in front of me.

I switched my vision back to normal, greeted by Dawn's warm smile. "Oh, hey Dawn, did you need something?"

"Nope!" She said enthusiastically.

Okay, this is weird. I turned my eyes back down to my book, the feeling of her gaze never leaving me.

"Is she still watching me?"

"Yes, I believe she is."

"I can't concentrate like this. Any ideas?"

Chrysalis hummed to herself in thought. "Maybe try sending her away. Ask about her father."

"Hey Dawn," I stammered out.

"Yeah."

"What's your father like?"

"My dad? He's an amazing alchemist and mage! Wait, I haven't greeted him yet. I'll be right back!"

With that, Dawn ran out of the library, her mother calling out after her.

"Hey, no running inside the castle!"

Now that Dawn was gone, I could go back to reading. I couldn't help but feel relieved.

Sometime later...

"Hey, Anon, I'm back. Woah, did you read all of these?" Dawn gushed.

It's only when I looked away from my current book that I noticed just how many I had read. Looks like Magic for Foals did wonders for me, it was an excellent starting point. As expected of the Princess of Magic. That's not all that I learned though. I've got a multitude of tricks now: attraction, repulsion, barrier, telekinesis, telepathy, reconstruction, reinforcement, refraction, dismantle, dispel, locate, magic beam, and abrasion. I even learned a bit of history, but that's for another time.

Twilight said in her book that your understanding of a spell is just as important as the magic itself. Spells read like mathematical equations mixed with some kind of code. Luckily, I know quite a bit of math, somehow, and the code's relatively simple to figure out.

I looked at Dawn. "Uh, yeah, I guess I kind of got lost in them. How long has it been?"

"About 3 hours."

3 hours? There are at least 14 books here and I've learned everything I could from them. How am I learning this fast?

"Changelings mature at a faster rate than most Equestrian creatures, but that still doesn't explain your extraordinary intelligence. It may have something to do with your extended incubation period. That's the only explanation I have." Chrysalis explained.

Maybe. Dawn broke my train of thought with a question of her own.

"So where do you live?"

This was not a question I was expecting. "The Everfree Fo-"

Luster Dawn was instantly taken aback, catching me by surprise. She was now standing up out of her seat with a look of shock on her face. Everypony in the library except Starlight was now staring at us.

Dawn smiled sheepishly before sitting back down. Everypony turned their attention back to whatever they were doing before.

"S-sorry, it's just that... the Everfree is dangerous, isn't it?"

"It is, but I know my way around the place."

"Yes, you do," Chrysalis exclaimed.

Luster Dawn held her forehoof nervously. "What's it like?"

I pondered the thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. "It's not as bad as everypony thinks, but you do need to be careful. It's almost liberating in a way actually, living in the forest and all."

"How did you learn how to survive in the forest? Hardly anyone would dare even go near it."

My thoughts went straight to my mother. "My mom taught me."

"Your mom lives in the forest?"

I looked down, focusing on nothing in particular. "No, not anymore. She's... gone."

Dawn's ears drooped. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault."

Dawn smiled somberly at me, I smiled back.

That's when we heard an abnormally loud commotion outside. It was a masculine voice, screaming and yelling hysterically.

Practically everypony went over to the windows to look outside.

"Not this again."

"That's the 4th case this week."

"You think they'll be able to find something out this time?"

What's going on? Everypony seems to know something about this.

"What's happening?" I whispered to Luster Dawn.

"We're not entirely sure. Something's been causing ponies to go crazy recently. The strangest thing is, they suddenly forget about what happened with no clue to as how they got where they are. Whatever this is, not even magic has been able to detect it," she whispered back.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... just look."

There was a crowd of ponies gathered around a single stallion outside of the castle. He was flailing around, screaming, and grasping at his head with his hooves.

For the first time since he started screaming, he spoke. "He has risen! Rejoice, for he shall purify this world! The lord has arrived! Rejoice!" The stallion's eyes then rolled to the back of his head. Finally, he then took a deep inhale before passing out.

"What the hell?" I thought to myself.

"Well... that was quite something," Chrysalis stated.

"Yeah, you could say that."

A couple of EMTs trotted up to the stallion, loaded him up onto a stretcher, and headed off as if this was commonplace.

"We need to go. There's something I need to teach you."

"Yeah, I... I don't feel like sticking around this place."

I turned to Luster Dawn. "I think I should get going now. Thanks for everything, Dawn."

"Of course, I understand. Make sure to be safe."

"I will."

One hour later...

I walked through the Everfree feeling a bit distraught. I mean, what was that? He has risen? The lord has arrived? It sounds like some kind of cultist rambling.

"Stop here."

I stopped, noticing that I was now in a small clearing.

"This should do, now get comfortable. You'll need to be as relaxed as possible for what comes next."

I sat on my flank, closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths, something Twilight mentioned in her book.

"Alright, what now?"

"Do you know how to increase your magic reserves?" Chrysalis asked.

"While I was reading, a few books said something about expanding your pool by taking in slightly more magic than you can handle, draining it, and repeating the process."

"That's correct. Typically, this would be a slow process for most creatures. Magic may exist all around us, but that doesn't mean everyone has a high affinity with it. This is especially true for changelings."

"Wait, so then how did someone like Cozy Glow absorb all of the magic from Grogar's bell?"

"There was some unique magic mixed inside the bell; magic that breaks rules."

"Magic that breaks rules?" My mind immediately went to Discord.

"That's not important right now. Listen to what I'm saying. Changelings may not have a high affinity with the magic that exists all around us but we do with love. Love is energy, energy can become magic. Naturally, changelings can easily convert love into magic. Once magic synchronizes with your being, you'll have far more control over it. You may even notice that it will take on a hue reflective of yourself."

"Alright, that makes sense."

"Start by draining the magic from your body. Just imagine pushing it outward through every orifice and let it flow."

I began visualizing my magic, pushing it outside of my body. It was fairly condensed, so when it was fully ejected, it looked like a cloud of green mist had descended upon me. Expelling all of my magic made me feel extremely tired, but this was necessary.

"Good, now absorb some of the love in the atmosphere and convert it into magic."

I took a deep breath, drawing in the pink ethereal strands.

"Now, absorb all of the magic you expelled. This is the technique you'll be using to increase your magic levels. You'll have to do this regularly if you want to stand any chance of surviving in this world."

I was halfway through reabsorbing my magic when I noticed something strange that made me stop.

"What's wrong?"

I stood up surveying my surroundings. "It's quiet, the Everfree is never quiet. Something's wrong."

What was once a forest, bustling with noise, was now dead silent.

"Then that can only mean one thing. There's something here that scared everything into being quiet. I've experienced this before, but never to this degree."

The silence was suffocating. Every one of my own breaths put me on edge. I'm even sure I could hear my own blood flowing. Noticing that the remainder of the magic I had expelled was now gone, I took one step forward to leave; that's when a masculine voice suddenly came from behind me. A cold chill ran through my body, stopping me in my tracks.

"I knew I sensed something. Just my luck. I'm famished after that little stunt I pulled inside that stallion's body. You'll do nicely."

Chapter 8: Fight

Segment Music

"I knew I sensed something. Just my luck. I'm famished after that little stunt I pulled inside that stallion's body. You'll do nicely."

I was almost too scared to move, but I knew I had to. I couldn't leave my back turned to this stranger. I craned my neck to look behind myself. Standing at the edge of the clearing was a cloaked figure, at least 6 to 7 feet tall. It seemed to be bipedal, but I couldn't tell due to the cloak. I didn't say anything, I couldn't. I did know one thing however, this figure was the source of the silence.

The strangest detail of all was that I couldn't detect any magic from them, like they didn't have any. But, don't all creatures have magic inside them? This didn't make any sense. According to Twilight, even most inanimate objects had at least traces of magic within them, but this being, they had none.

"It's been a while since I've had pony. I would have let you go if you were an earth pony or a pegasus. The former's meat is just too firm and the latter's too light. Unicorns on the other dactyly... well, they're perfect!"

W-what? Does he plan on eating me!?

"Chimera, you need to flee, now!" Chrysalis shouted.

The voice of my mother snapped me out of my fear-stricken state. I began to fire up the muscles in my legs to run, but before I could, the figure vanished from the spot it had been it. I'm not sure how, but I suddenly got the overwhelming sense to dodge to the right.

I jumped out of the way as a blur rushed past me, crashing into the spot I had been standing in. I tucked my hooves in, rolling back onto my hooves as soon as I hit the ground. The figure that had been at the edge of the clearing was now hunched over inside a crater toward the center, arm stuck in the ground.

"No way, you dodged that! You really are worth the hunt!" The figure exclaimed excitedly.

No, I didn't dodge it; I moved out of the way before he attacked. My eyes wandered down to the crater that the figure's arm was stuck in. His arm seemed to be lined with pale greenish-yellow scales. That could've easily been me, my intuition was the only reason I was still alive.

"W-who are you?!"

"Doesn't matter! You'll be dead soon anyway!"

Earlier, he mentioned something about pulling a stunt with a stallion's body. What does that mean? No... it couldn't be...

"Run, while he's stuck!"

No need to tell me twice. I darted away as fast as possible into the forest brush, weaving between trees and branches. Suddenly, a chill hit me from my left side. I turned my neck only to see a huge fist hurtling toward me with terrifying speed. This time, I had no time to evade. Time seemingly slowed down. If I get hit by that, I'll die for sure. I need to think of something fast.

Wait, that might work. Conjuring my magic, I activated two different spells at once: barrier and reinforcement. It was a bit shabby, but it seemed to work. The fist connected with the barrier, shattering it instantly but slowing down at the very least. It wasn't moving deathly fast, but it was still moving too fast to avoid. I had no choice but to take the hit. The fist connected with my barrel, launching me at least seven meters to the right, airborne. I continued to skid across the forest floor for an additional three meters, kicking up quite a bit of dust.

I laid on the ground for a few seconds in pain.

"Chimera?! Chimera do you hear me!? You have to get up!" Chrysalis desperately called out.

I took in a deep breath, despite the pain in my side, and stood up shakily. Nothing was broken, but something was definitely fractured. I was breathing heavily in pain.

I was now at the edge of a much larger clearing. "Just how far did that freak launch me?"

My fear soon returned full force when I again got the overwhelming sense to dodged. Swiftly jumping to the left and rolling a couple of meters, I stood up to survey my surroundings. The figure was crouched over inside a crater, the very same spot I had been standing in, as if he had just fallen from a great height. "Still alive?! You're just too much! I'm getting more and more excited by the second!"

It was clear now that running away wasn't an option. But, I didn't see myself surviving this, let alone winning. No, I couldn't think like that, I had to believe that I could win.

The figure stood up, clasping at his cloak before tearing it off. He looked like some kind of extremely muscular bipedal lizard. That's not what caught my attention though, it was his eyes. They looked like hollow pits, nothing in them except malice. He smiled sadistically at me, sending waves of terror throughout my body.

I didn't have long before he attacked again. Like mad, I began charging a repulsion spell. The lizard creature's smile grew wider. While I was still looking at him, he vanished and reappeared in an instant before me. I didn't flinch or freeze up with fear this time. He stood in front of me wearing that same wicked grin. He leaned in closer to look me straight in the eyes.

Segment Music

"Take your shot."

This got my blood boiling. I had to wager everything on this one attack. I doubted I would get another chance. Repulsion wasn't going to cut it, I knew that. That is, a regular one wouldn't at least.

With as much magic as I could conjure in a single burst, I began stacking the same spell upon itself several times over. After I felt satisfied with the amount, I threw in a few magic beam spells for good measure. My body started feeling extremely hot, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop now. This guy made the mistake of underestimating me.

From me to you. "Choke on it."

With one last push, I grounded myself and fired off all the magic that I had mustered. Repulsion times 20 and magic beam times 10, a chimera of a spell I suppose.

The lizard creature's eyes widened in horrid surprise as a blinding light consumed the field, a thunderous boom resounding throughout the forest.

There was a wide gash in the crust of the clearing at least 3 feet in width. The fault extended to the edge of the forest and carried on through it for at least 50 meters. Whatever trees had been in the way were now nothing but scorched stumps. I felt sorry for any wildlife that had been in the way of that blast.

I stood there panting heavily before collapsing on my side, unable to move.

"Y-you did it," Chrysalis said, sounding both relieved and surprised.

"Yeah, somehow. I feel terrible."

Pretty soon though, I realized that I began counting my earnings too early.

The lizard creature that I had blasted with everything I had was walking back toward the clearing, his head hanging low. A large burn mark across his torso. He was no longer smiling.

"No way, that was everything I had."

He was now upon me, rearing his fist back for what seemed to be a full power punch.

"That wasn't bad at all, honest. But, I'm afraid our little game ends here. I suggest you close your eyes."

Against my better judgment, I did just that, I closed my eyes preparing for the end. I wasn't even mad, I did the best I could.

"No, no, please no." Chrysalis stammered out quietly.

"Mom... I'm sorry for dying."

Chrysalis didn't reply. That's fair, I suppose. I took one last deep breath to calm myself down. I braced for impact... but the impact never came. Instead, my ears were met with the angry grunts of my would-be killer. I opened my eyes slowly only to see the lizard creature grasping at the side of his head and stumbling backward. What just happened?

"You stay away from her!"

Chapter 9: Trapped

Segment Music

"You stay away from her!"

That voice sounds familiar. Dawn? My suspicions were confirmed when Luster Dawn ran from the edge of the clearing, placing herself between myself and the lizard creature.

"Can you stand?" Dawn asked, looking at me from over her shoulder.

"I think so, but I'm out of magic."

"Shoot. Okay, sit tight, get your magic back up while I distract him." She said as her eyes darted back over toward my assailant.

Distract him? "Wait, you can't fight him alone," I whispered to her.

"I know that, that's why I'm telling you to get your magic up. I'll distract him," she whispered back.

"What are you whispering about!?" He was in front of Dawn now, already in the motion of throwing a punch.

Her horn glowed a brilliant gold as a barrier instantly formed around the both of us. On contact, the barrier flashed white with a reflective gleam, and the punch was easily deflected.

The lizard creature's arm recoiled backward. Dawn then compressed the barrier to the tip of her horn and shot it at him, hitting him square in the chest. He moved with the impact of the blast, jumping backward.

"Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Nope. Not yet at least. Combust."

Just as Dawn said this, the attacker's chest began to glow brighter until an explosion went off, a cloud of smoke now consuming the beings figure. I don't know if that worked, but I needed to take this chance.

I closed my eyes, siphoning in love energy from around me and converting it into magic. I opened my eyes to see Luster Dawn flying over me toward the edge of the clearing. No, she wasn't flying, she had been launched. She used telekinesis to slow herself down until she touched the ground, but our assailant was already breathing down her neck, readying his next attack.

Chrysalis gasped. "Now's your chance to run!"

"Run? But what about Dawn?"

"She can handle herself. Please, just run!"

Run? I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to, but something inside of me wouldn't let me. I don't know what she's doing out here, but she saved me. I can't abandon her.

"I can't do that, not without her."

Chrysalis grunted in frustration. "You foolish child! If you don't run, then both of you will die! Why won't you listen to me?!"

I looked down at my hooves. "I've done nothing but listen to you."

"Then keep doing it, at least one more time, I beg of you," Chrysalis pleaded sounding more emotionally distraught than ever.

It was literally and figuratively tearing me up inside, but I couldn't just run like that. "Sorry, mom, not this time."

I got no reply. I looked back up to see Luster Dawn struggling against a barrage of furious attacks. She had a barrier up, but it seemed to be getting attacked from every angle by a blurry shadow. I could see that she was really struggling to keep it up; her eyes were shut tightly and she was gritting her teeth, sweat breaking out across her forehead. Piece by piece, her barrier began to chip away.

She looked at me with pleading eyes, and I knew I needed to do something, but what? If I used any offensive magic, I might hit Dawn which would put her in an even worse spot, maybe even get her killed. Telekineses won't work, he has too much momentum for me to pinpoint him, let alone grab him. All I have left is abrasion.

Wait, abrasion is a spell that works by increasing the frictional constant on a surface. It's typically used during construction to ensure that something won't move from its place, as it will be tightly bonded to whatever surface it's on. If I tweaked the equation a little, I'm sure I could even lower the frictional constant, ensuring that nothing could bond to a surface. Either way, it's a win-win scenario.

I began channeling magic into my horn again. But from the looks of it, this guy seems to be some kind of lizard. That's why his fist keeps getting stuck, that's how he's changing direction so quickly. Lizards have tiny hairs on the pads of their feet called setae that drastically increase the surface area they cover thus increasing their overall attraction to a surface. It occurred to me now that a book on zoology had gotten mixed into the pile while I was reading at the library. I think it was written by... Fluttershy. I guess fate works in strange ways.

Then that means, If I want to help Dawn, I need to increase the friction constant! Targeting the ground around Dawn, I shot out a beam of magic, causing her attacker to stop in his tracks.

"Damn it! What is this!?" He exclaimed in anger.

He was now a sitting duck, trapped on all fours.

I yelled over to Dawn. "Run!"

She quickly began running beside me. "What did you do?"

"Abrasion. He has a trait that allows him to stick to surfaces with ease, I just used that against him."

"Nice going, but why was that guy attacking you in the first place?"

"He wanted to eat me!"

"What!?"

I know right.

"You think I'll let you get away!!!"

Suddenly, a wall of black appeared before us, causing us to skid to a halt. I followed the darkness as it climbed higher into the sky, and curving to a single point. This was happening all around us, essentially trapping us in a dome. Eventually, all ends of the darkness touched at the top, sealing us inside completely. Despite being trapped in a pitch-black void, we were still somehow able to see. Although, it was significantly darker.

"Urgh, what now?!" Dawn said as she shot a beam of magic into the darkness.

The magic simply dissipated into the void. I considered bucking it but decided against it after seeing what happens to the magic. Speaking of magic, something essential just changed.

"I can't feel the magic outside this barrier (or love for that matter)."

"What do you mean, like it just vanished?"

"Or maybe...we did..."

Dawn now had a look of abstract horror on her face. "Then what do we do now?"

"It looks like we have to fight our way out of this. By the way, why are you out here in the first place?"

Against all hardships, she was still able to blush in a situation like this. "I-I, uh, wanted to see where you lived, so I kinda ended up following you from the library."

I am so glad I didn't transform. I cocked an eyebrow at her, causing her to avoid my gaze. My expression shortly transitioned into a smile, however. "Well, as weird as that is, I'm glad you did. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

She smiled back at me.

"I hope you two are done talking because I sure am. I didn't want to have to use this, but I guess it's my fault for underestimating you."

We turned around to face the figure that should have been stuck laying on the ground but was now standing upright.

Without warning his expression turned dead cold. "It won't happen again."

I'm sure this time, a wave of terror surged through both I and Dawn's bodies.

He opened his right dactyly, conjuring fire in it. "Fun fact. Did you know lizards are cold-blooded?

I thought he had no magic! Oh buck, I knew where this was going.

"Naturally, we can't produce heat on our own, rather, we need to rely on our surroundings to keep warm. This means that while cold, we're significantly weakened. However, while warm..."

The ball of fire he had conjured was now crackling with heat. He took the ball of fall and plunged it into himself, bursting into flames.

While on fire, he pointed a single digit at us. "We're at our prime. It's over for-"

Segment Music

Midway through his sentence, a deafening sound filled our ears, like a heavy bass drop. The darkened world we found ourselves in was now exposed fully to the moonlight.

We all looked up at once. In the sky, I could see Dawn's mother, Starlight Glimmer, wearing a not so pleased expression on her face. Next to her, however, was something-or rather someone-even more interesting, Discord.

With a flash of light, Starlight Glimmer appeared before the lizard guy, staring daggers at him. He flinched, stumbling backward. He raised his fist to strike her but was met with a face full of dirt.

He was being pushed into the ground by her magic, completely unable to move. He pushed against it, straining himself to the utmost limit even in his burning form. Imagine my surprise when it did him absolutely no good. As soon as he managed to get to his knees, he was forced into the ground with even more force than before.

That's right, not forced to the ground, forced into the ground. Although he was being driven into the ground with tremendous force, strangely enough, the rocks around him were floating into the air. Is she... manipulating gravity?

Starlight spoke coldly to our assailant. "Who are you?"

The lizard guy chuckled to himself causing more force to be applied onto his body. This time he screamed in pain. Starlight levitated a rock above him.

She asked him once more. "Last chance, who are you, why were you attacking my daughter?"

Now I was able to get a better look at his face, I noticed that he did actually have eyes, however, his pupils were shrunken to the size of pinpricks. Whether they were like that before or it was because of Starlight, I didn't know. However, he looked completely terrified.

"I'm going to count down from 5, that's all the time you have."

His eyes widened further.

"5...4...3."

With each passing second, our attacker seemed to die a little more on the inside. When Starlight got to one, he did something none of us would expect.

"2...1."

Suddenly, he opened his mouth as wide as he could before biting down on his own tongue. His body began to seize even under the added pressure before abruptly stopping. Just like that, he began turning into dust.

Starlight looked down at the ashes with a disappointed expression. She shook her head and began walking over to us. She and Dawn embraced each other immediately.

"I love you mom," Dawn said as she hugged her mother.

"I love you too. It's okay now."

They let go of each other, and Starlight walked over to me. Then something I hadn't seen coming at all had happened, she hugged me too.

Chapter 10: Answers

Chapter Music

"It must've been hard." Starlight said as she hugged me.

I felt something leave me when she said this. Almost like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "Thank you."

"What kind of mayor would I be if I didn't protect my citizens? It was no problem. Besides, a friend of my daughter is a friend of mine. "

She's the mayor too?

"Now would either of you mind telling me what in Tartarus was going on?"

Dawn was the first to speak up. "He was trying to eat Anon!"

"What?!" Starlight said, rearing back.

"It's true, he was trying to eat me, but Dawn showed up just in time to save me."

"Good job, sweety," Starlight said as she ruffled Luster Dawn's hair.

Luster Dawn smiled brightly.

Starlight stopped and took on a more serious expression. "Anon, could you tell me everything that happened exactly?"

"Sure, but could we get out of this clearing first?"

"We could go back to your place." Luster Dawn suggested.

Oh, shoot.

"Uh, well, that's actually..."

Starlight and Dawn looked at me expectedly.

I sighed in defeat. "I don't actually have a home."

Dawn looked confused. "I thought you said you lived in the Everfree."

"I do, I just don't have a set address. I kind of just go... wherever."

Dawn was now looking sad, while Starlight had a stern expression. Out of nowhere, Starlight grabbed my face with her hooves and pulled me into her chest.

"That's no way for somepony to live. You are welcome to stay at our castle for as long as you need to."

I rubbed my right forehoof nervously. "I don't know. I don't want to bur-"

Starlight shushed me with her hoof and just smiled at me warmly.

"I hate to interrupt this wholesome moment, but I believe I just so happened to something of your interest." Discord said as he presented Starlight with a ring.

She grabbed the ring in her magic and levitated in front of herself.

He's just as weird looking as the history books said, but not remotely as malevolent looking.

"Why, thank you kindly, miss. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going. It's movie night at Fluttershy's and I can't keep her waiting, she'll give me the silent treatment again," Discord said as he winked at me, stepping through a doorway that I could guarantee wasn't there before.

After he closed the door behind himself, it vanished. That is some interesting magic. Wait, thank you for what? Did he just read my mind too? Just how many more people can do that? I need some kind of safeguard against something like this.

"Let's head back to the castle, we have a lot of questions that need answers, and I have a feeling this ring's full of them." Starlight said as a bright flash of light consumed us.

Sometime later...

"Ouch! Easy, easy." I said as the doctor poked and prodded my ribs.

"Alright, luckily nothing seems broken. Aside from a few fractures and multiple contusions, you should heal up just fine with a few healing spells." Doctor Bristle said as he pulled out some bandages and began bandaging me up.

"Thanks, doc."

"Don't mention it. You stay out of trouble now, you hear," Doctor Bristle said as began channeling magic into his horn.

After hitting me with his magic, the pain I had been feeling in my ribs began to subside. The Doc grabbed his tool bag in his magic and began heading out of the room. I scooted toward the edge of the bed.

He gave Starlight and Dawn a courtesy nod as he walked past them out the doorway.

Dawn was the first to approach me. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Just a little, but I'll be fine."

"Any idea who that guy was?"

I hummed to myself. "I have some idea."

Starlight trotted over to me levitating the ring in her magic. "You know anything about this?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all."

Looking at it more closely, the ring looked downright creepy. It was silver with weird engravings in it, but that wasn't the creepy part. Instead of something normal like a gem in the prong of the ring, there was a black eyeball in its place. I wasn't sure if it was real, but I was more inclined to believe that it wasn't just a gem.

The eye was slitted and seemed to be burning with some kind of primal fire. More strangely, the ring seemed to be devoid of magic.

"Before he attacked me, he mentioned something about pulling some kind of stunt inside a stallion's body."

Starlight narrowed her eyes while looking at the floor. Slowly, her eyes began to widen as if she just had an epiphany.

"You don't think-"

I nodded before taking on a stern expression. "Yeah, it's gotta be related to what's happening in Ponyville."

"Dawn, take care of your friend for me, I need to go speak with the princess. If what your saying is true, then something way bigger is going on, and I don't like the look of it."

Dawn nodded to Starlight before her mother disappeared in a flash of light. There it is again, is she teleporting? I have to learn that sometime soon.

Now it was just Dawn and me in the room. "Again, sorry for following you into the Everfree."

"Come on now, if it weren't for you, I'd be a pile of pony mush inside some creep's stomach," I said as I chuckled.

Dawn rubbed the back of her head with here forehoof nervously. "Y-yeah, I guess you're right."

I looked down at the floor. "I'm really weak, you know. I realized that after what happened today. I didn't stand a chance against that guy."

"Anon, you're not-"

"I am. After I saw you fight, I realized just how much work I have to do. I couldn't even block one attack with my barrier, but you were able to take multiple with a single barrier. And your mom..."

She was on a completely different level and she wasn't even an alicorn. I have to acquire a level of power to match two alicorns and a chaos lord combined.

I sighed in frustration as I clasped my head in my hooves before falling back onto the bed.

A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke. Dawn was the first to break the silence. "Then you'll just have to get stronger."

Go figure.

"And I'll help you," Dawn declared.

"Help me?" I asked, removing my hooves from my head.

"I may not be a strong as my mother, but I was mentored by the princess herself."

That's pretty amazing, it's no wonder she was able to handle herself so well.

"Earlier, in the library, I noticed you were reading Magic for Foals. The princess wrote it for me as my first birthday gift because she and my mom are good friends."

"It was really helpful."

"I noticed it when I first met you. Your magical aura was woefully unrefined and flowing through your body strangely, but you had a great deal of it inside of you. That's why I was so excited when you approached me, and my suspicions were correct. Looking at your magic now, it's far more refined and under control. You're not weak, you have potential, and I can help you realize it. Get some sleep, we'll talk more about it tomorrow."

Dawn walked over to the doorway and flipped a switch next to the door frame; the lights in the room turned off.

"Good night."

It's been about an hour since Dawn left and my mind still can't relax. So much happened today.

"Mom."

She didn't reply, but I knew she was still there, I could feel it. There was so much sadness and confusion, and at the center of it all was me. It was okay, she didn't have to reply. I understood why she was upset, but I don't regret what I did in the slightest.

"Good night, mom," I said as I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Chapter 11: Looming Dread

Chapter Music

Starlight Glimmer trotted down the halls of Canterlot castle with a purpose, saddlebag in tow. No pony dared get in her way. Her daughter and friend were attacked tonight and nearly killed. Luckily, Starlight's motherly senses guided her to her daughter when she was in danger...

Okay, maybe not motherly senses in itself. Starlight had placed a spell on Dawn that would allow her to sense fluctuations in her magic no matter where she was. When her magic signature suddenly vanished, she immediately knew something was wrong. That's when she found Discord and convinced him to use his chaos sense to find her daughter. Well, it wasn't really convincing, it was more like loud panicked yelling. But that wasn't important right now.

Starlight pushed past multiple doors, making her way to Twilight's throne room.

Twilight's throne room...

"Okay, Spike, I think it's time to turn in for the night," Twilight said as she stretched her wings out.

Without any warning, the doors to her throne room flung open.

"Twilight, I need to talk to you."

Twilight bolted upright, eyes wide with surprise. "Starlight? Is everything alright?"

Without any words, Starlight opened the latch on her saddlebag and levitated a few documents and a ring over to Twilight. Twilight received the items in her magic, scanning over the documents first.

Twilight muttered to herself. "What in Equestria?"

"What is it, Twilight?" Spike said with a tinge of concern in his voice.

"Something bad, Spike. Something really bad."

"How bad are we talking here? Like dealing with nobles bad, or end of Equestria bad?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm definitely not taking any chances."

"Oh."

Next, Twilight began inspecting the ring.

"How peculiar. It's not magic, that's for sure, but it's definitely giving off some kind of ethereal energy."

This was a detail, not even Starlight was able to catch; as expected of the Princess of Magic.

"Spike, send a message to Cadance, Thorax, and the Elements of Harmony to meet me in three days at the council room. Send a separate one to Celestia and Luna just informing them about the situation. If this is as serious as I think it might be, it would be best if we had all hooves on deck."

"On it."

Starlight's castle...

A ray of sunlight aimed at my eyes woke me up from my slumber. I rolled out of bed, carefully getting to my feet. Luckily, the pain in my side was practically non-existent at this point. I moved my limbs around, loosening up my joints. Using my magic, I removed the bandages from my body, disposing of them in a nearby trash can. That's when a horrid stench hit my nose. I sniffed around to find the source only to find that it was emanating from myself.

"Ugh, there's gotta be a shower around this place."

I gave the room a quick once over, noticing a door toward the back of the room. I lazily walked over to it, opening it with my magic.

"Found it."

It was a fairly large bathroom, complete with a sink, shower, bath, and... toilet. I won't lie, I wasn't expecting ponies to use toilets. Making sure to lock the bathroom door behind me, I walked up to the mirror, inspecting myself. A flawless disguise stared back at me. That's when it hit me, I never clearly inspected myself in my changeling form. The only times I had seen it was when I was looking at my reflection in moving water.

Allowing my disguise to fade, I leaned in closer to inspect myself.

"So that's what I look like. Huh," I said to myself.

It's not that the form was particularly displeasing, it's just that it seemed... incomplete. Reapplying my disguise, I trotted over to the shower, moving the curtain out of the way and smiling to myself.

The bath and shower were huge and already set up with a plethora of bathing products.

"Nice."

Before stepping into the shower, I turned the pressure valve with my magic and used my right hoof to test the temperature. Once it was at a perfect temperature, I stepped inside and seated myself in the tub.

I placed the brush on the side of the tub after I finished cleaning my mane, tail, and coat. Taking in a deep breath, I dumped another load of water on myself using magic.

I lifted my right forehoof up to my nose and sniffed it. "Much better."

Satisfied with this, I stepped outside the tub, levitating a towel over to myself and rubbing it against my body to dry off. After feeling dry enough, I shook my body off, causing my fur to puff out. Using the same towel, I dried the floor off and laid the towel down in front of the sink to stand on just in case I missed some residual water on my body.

Standing in front of the sink now, I grabbed a comb and ran it through my mane, coat, and tail a few times. Once done with this, I repeated the process with a nearby brush.

"Now I just need to do something about my breath."

I began opening drawers one by one looking for oral-hygiene supplies.

"Nope, nope, yup," I said as I searched the drawers.

There was a package of unopened toothbrushes, a couple of tubes of toothpaste, and a few cartridges of floss.

Coming out of the bathroom with a towel in my grasp, I began looking for a place to dispose of it. I settled on an empty bin over by the bathroom door and tossed the towel inside, breathing a sigh of relief.

I walked out of the bathroom, closing the bathroom door behind myself. Upon doing so, I noticed a pleasant aroma now filling my room. I followed the smell to the door and opened it. Immediately, I was hit by a smell that I could only describe as wonderful.

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.

"Oh, you're already awake. I was just coming to get you, come on, dad made breakfast." Luster Dawn said, snapping me out of my trance-like state.

Breakfast? What kind of breakfast could smell like that? As I followed Dawn throughout the castle, I found myself thinking about everything that had happened, and everything that's still happening.

I haven't known Dawn for long at all, but I almost feel like I've known her forever. Back at the clearing, we were willing to throw ourselves in the way of danger for one another. This mare is crazy for sure, but she's also tough as nails. Is this what it's like to have friends?

I... kind of like it.

Author's Note

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Chapter 12: Magic Training

Chapter Music

Dawn and I entered through a doorway down the hall that led to a large kitchen. Inside was a stallion levitating all manner of kitchenware around will simultaneously cooking. He was a unicorn with a bright orange coat, red-ish orange mane, blue eyes, and peculiar-looking garb speckled with stars. Starlight was already seated at a table, smiling brightly at Dawn and me.

"Good morning, dad," Luster Dawn said to her father.

Her father looked at her smiling. "Mornin' sweety."

The stallion turned his attention to me now, still smiling. "You must be Anon, Starlight told me about you. I'm Sunburst, Luster Dawn's father, it's nice to meet you. Have a seat at the table, breakfast will be ready soon."

I nodded in confirmation. "It's nice to meet you too."

As nice as this was, however, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here, at all. This was such an alien experience for me. Even more alien than being born inside a foreign body, trapped inside a cocoon underground, and in the dark.

Dawn took a seat before me, adjacent to her mother. I sat to the right of Dawn, looking down at the table.

"You're looking a lot better, Anon, feel any better?" Starlight asked with her chin rested on her hooves.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind, but I took a shower and used some supplies while in the bathroom."

"It's no trouble at all. Besides, you're our guest. What kind of host would we be if we didn't take care of you?"

Suddenly, multiple pieces of kitchenware began flying onto the table. A plate, cup, and silverware were placed in front of each of us. With grace and precision, food was loaded onto each plate without skipping a beat. In due time, Sunburst seated himself next to his wife.

"Would anyone like to say grace?"

Grace?

Dawn spoke up first. "I'll do it."

Dawn grabbed my left hoof in her right forehoof before doing the same with her mother which shared the sentiment with her husband. Everypony unanimously closed their eyes. Reading the mood, I did the same.

"Dear Faust, thank you for the meal you have provided us and for the friends we have been blessed with. I humbly ask that you continue to watch over us and protect Equestria for many years to come. Amen."

Faust... that must be their god.

All at once, everypony opened their eyes.

"Alright, let's dig in!"

That was possibly the best meal I've ever had. Don't get me wrong, love tastes good, but it's a step below the food I just had.

Dawn dismissed herself and me before she grabbed my hoof again and began leading me out of the kitchen.

I looked over my shoulder toward her parents. "Thank you," I said before turning to face Dawn.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

A surprise? Dawn led me lower and lower throughout the castle before stopping at a door that seemed to lead below the castle itself.

"Are you ready?" Dawn asked, gushing with excitement.

Unsure of what else to say, I nodded. Slowly, Luster Dawn pushed the door open revealing a white void. She led me through the doorway as the door shut behind us.

Being inside this room felt strange. It was as if I had a limitless supply of magic welling up inside of me.

"Welcome to the Magic Chamber. Inside all of the walls are runes that siphon magic from the outside world and funnel it inside of this room. If you want to get stronger, this is the place to do it. I made it myself."

"Dawn, that's... incredible," I stated in awe, taking a few steps forward toward the center of the room.

"Inside this room, you can use higher-level spells all you want without tiring, even my mom uses it from time to time. Oh, and watch this," Dawn said as she fired a magic beam at the wall.

The beam seemed to stop right before impact with the wall, instead, being absorbed inside of it, with not a single scratch left behind.

"You don't have to worry about damaging the room because any magic will be absorbed into the room itself. It's something I came up with after studying thermodynamics and magic theory under the princess."

This mare... she's not just tough and crazy, she's also a genius. She's a mad scientist!

"Anyway, let's get to what we came here for."

She had my full attention now.

"For today, I want you to cast a reinforcement spell on yourself. However, there's a catch. You have to maintain the spell for the entire duration of time that we're inside this chamber. On top of this, you'll be repeating spells after me. Any flaws and I'll help you correct them."

Sometime later...

I'm not sure how long we've been here, but my body's starting to feel sore. Maintaining constant reinforcement is more difficult than I thought it would be. For the past hour or so, I've been mastering the barrier and repulsion spells.

How have I been mastering the barrier spell? Well, it's simple actually. Dawn's been shooting me...

"You've improved a lot, but you still need to work on your distribution of magic. For the barrier spell, there can't be any weak points in the barrier otherwise the entire barrier will be compromised. Again, from the top."

I concentrated my magic on a barrier, emphasizing the even distribution of the magic. Dawn smiled before firing a shot off at the barrier. On contact, the beam dissipated into nothing but magicules.

"Good, now you're getting it!"

I wiped my brow, noticing that I had worked up quite the sweat. "Dawn, this is great and all, but what about offensive spells?"

Dawn smirked. "Fire a shot at me."

"What?"

"Come on, just shoot me," Dawn urged.

It made me a bit nervous, but I had no reason to refuse. "Alright, if you say so."

Conjuring my magic into my horn, I fired a beam off at Luster Dawn. Suddenly, a reflective gleam of light flashed in front of Dawn. The beam that should have been destroyed by the barrier whizzed past my head, dissipating into the wall behind me. The beam moved way faster than when I fired it off.

"What was that?!"

"Some ponies don't realize that absolute defense is offense," Dawn quipped.

One hour later...

Dawn levitated a towel to her face, wiping off her sweat. "Alright, let's call it a day. You did great."

Oh, thank Faust. My body was now more sore than it was when I took that hit from that lizard creep. Allowing the reinforcement spell I had placed on my body to fade, I fell onto my back, allowing myself to rest.

Dawn laid next to me, both of us staring at the ceiling.

"So tell me about yourself, Anon. Got any hobbies?"

I remained silent for a while.

"I don't really know much about myself. As far as hobbies go, I like magic."

Dawn looked at me curiously. "What you mean by that? What does your cutie mark mean then?"

My cutie mark? Oh right, the mark on my flank.

"Not sure, it just sort of... appeared. Although, I have heard that I'm good at asking questions."

Luster Dawn giggled. "You don't say. Hey, look at mine," Dawn said, pointing her butt in my direction.

"Woah!" I spouted, turning away from it.

Luster Dawn looked over her shoulder, looking at me with concern. "What's wrong, is it not close enough? Should I push it closer so you can see?"

"Stop! Stop," I yelled.

"Anon, what's wrong?" Dawn stammered.

"Dawn, it's still your flank," I explained, still looking away from her.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Dawn said, sounding both apologetic and embarrassed.

I turned back to face her. "It's fine, just stay there, I'll walk around you."

Getting up, I circled around Dawn from the left, inspecting her cutie mark.

"It's nice, what does it mean?" I extolled.

"It means I have an affinity with the sun. Ever since I was a filly, I enjoyed playing in the sunlight, basking in it, and watching it rise and fall. It's just so beautiful."

I hummed to myself. "I never would have guessed that. It's beautiful."

Dawn blushed. "C-come on, we should go eat. I'm starving." Dawn said as she walked toward the door.

I followed behind her groggily, my body still sore. I should learn a healing spell so I don't have to deal with this every time I'm sore. Until then, I wonder what's for lunch. It's not like I needed to eat, but it's the taste, you know?

Chapter 13: Unexpected

Chapter Music

I haven't talked to my mother for a while now. I call out to her, but she never replies. I must have really upset her, but isn't this going a bit overboard? This level of silent treatment should be considered a war crime. Okay, maybe I'm overreacting, but I still wish she'd talk to me.

It's almost been two days, and I haven't even heard a word from her. To make my situation worse, I know she's there, I can feel her. That's not exactly something she can hide, you know, with the hive mind and all. I wouldn't do this to her. Her emotions have been fluctuating more than normal recently. Whatever, I can't get caught up in my feelings right now.

Right now I'm currently walking through Ponyville with Dawn. She said Ponyville has some good food, and that I should really meet her friends. I was hesitant at first, but like always, she led me by the hoof. I'm not sure why, but my apprehension tended to subside whenever she did this.

Ponyville is an interesting place. It's surprising how functional it is despite how happy everypony looks. For some reason, I had the unconscious bias that for a society to be functional, happiness had to be a rarity.

As we walked through the crowded village, traffic picked up more as we drew further away from the castle. Soon enough we were in the thick of it. Without warning, Dawn let go of me before darting off into the crowd.

"There it is, follow me!"

"Hey, wait up!"

I ran after her but was cut off by a line of ponies. I tried to maneuver around them but was again cut off.

"Luster, wait up!"

Eventually, I could no longer see her in the sea of ponies. I started galloping through the crowd in the direction I last saw her. Faust, there's a lot of ponies here. I guess years of peace and prosperity will do that to a population. As I ran, I must not have been paying attention because I suddenly crashed into somepony. Both I and the pony fell backward on impact.

I stood back up, shaking off the disorientation.

"Oh no, after 23 hours of work..." whined a voice from a mare with a snow-white coat and purple mane.

She kneeled over a box adorned with jewels and gold engravings. Strewn across the ground were several of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen, their beauty now tarnished by dirt. The mare didn't even look at me, nor did she bother standing up. She just kneeled there silently sobbing. Words can't describe how bad I felt.

"I'm really sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention."

Using my magic, I cast a reconstruction spell on the fallen items. Reconstruction is a spell that can restore inanimate objects to a previous state of existence. The only catch is, it cost more magic the further back in time you go. It's an extremely costly spell, just now I probably drained 30 to 40 percent of my magic reserves.

The besmirched clothing seemingly began cleaning itself as they began levitating back into a now upright box. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that my spell worked. I had only used it a few times before, but I guess my training's paying off more than I'd thought.

The mare looked at the box with a bewildered expression. She opened the lid with her hooves to look inside before looking at me, then returning her attention back to the box. She did this several times. She stood up, dusting herself off.

Noticing that her current clothing was also dirtied by the fall, I cast the spell again, returning them to their pre-fall state. Thinking about it now, I was unsure if it was common or uncommon for ponies to wear clothes. On one hoof, I had seen quite a few ponies wearing clothing, and on the other, a lot of ponies were walking around unclothed, including myself. Oh well, being naked's not all that bad.

The mare stood up inspecting herself in awe. "B-bu-wha?"

"Again, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Just as the mare was about to speak, I heard Dawn's voice in the crowd, calling out my name. "Anon!? Anon, where are you?!"

I jerked my head toward Dawn's voice instantly. The mare I had been talking to noticed this change in my behavior and turned to face Dawn's voice as well. Surely, but slowly, Dawn made her way through the crowd. Calling out to her so she could find me more easily, I watched as she got closer.

"Dawn, over here!"

Dawn spotted me through the crowd, trotting over immediately. "Anon, what happened? You just disappeared."

"I was following you, but when you suddenly took off, I couldn't get through the crowd," I explained.

"Oh, that's my ba-" Dawn paused mid-sentence as her eyes drifted to the mare beside me.

"Rarity!?" She asked seemingly in excited disbelief.

The mares walked toward each other, wrapping their forehooves tightly around the other for a good moment before releasing. I stood back, watching this unfold with mild confusion and interest.

"Luster, darling, how have you been?" The mare asked with genuine care in her voice.

"I've been doing well, what about you?"

"Well... it's been quite the wild ride recently, but in the end, everything turned out fine."

"That's good to hear, it's been so long since I've seen you," Dawn responded.

"That it has. When you left for Canterlot 2 years ago, I wasn't sure what to think. When did you get back?"

"3 months ago or so actually."

This is news to me. As if on cue, Dawn looks in my direction, her eyes wide.

"Rarity, this is my friend, Anon."

The pony known as Rarity trotted over to me, taking my right hoof in her hooves. "It's very nice to meet you, darling. Thank you."

"No, it was my fault. Wait, I mean, it's nice to meet you too, but still I-" I stammered before she shushed me with a hoof.

Dawn looked at us inquisitively. "You've met already?"

"Something like that, we sort of... ran into each other," Rarity stated, gesturing a hoof around.

"Okay... Anon and I were just heading to Sugar Cube Corner, care to join us?"

"Oh, I would darling, you know that, but I have an order I really must get delivered. Tell you what, why don't you stop by the boutique later today? We could use some catching up."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. Alright, it's a date. Come on Anon, let's go get some food. Bye Rarity, see you later," Dawn said as she waved to the mare while walking away.

I followed Dawn, waving at Rarity as well. Pretty soon, she faded into the crowd and that was the end of our encounter.

"We're here," Dawn gushed.

I suppose it wasn't called Sugar Cube Corner without a reason. The building looked like a literal gingerbread house.

"Come on, let's head inside."

Dawn opened the door, disappearing around into the dark building.

"Uh, I don't think they're open, Dawn. Dawn?"

I followed after her, the door shutting behind me, trapping me in the darkness. I stopped in my tracks. It was almost dead silent in the building, if not for the whispering emanating from the shadows. I was instantly put on edge by this.

I had a bad feeling about this, I needed to find Dawn and get out of here. As soon as I took a single step forward, a blinding light filled my vision as the sound of party horns resonated throughout my ears.

"Suprise! Welcome to Ponyville, Anon!"

Wha?

Chapter 14: Surprise

Chapter Music

"Suprise! Welcome to Ponyville, Anon!"

Wha?

Several ponies jumped out from several hiding places, including Dawn, as confetti fell through the air. My apprehension quickly turned into confusion. I mean, seriously, what was going on? A pink mare with a mane that looked like cotton candy quickly approached me, slipping a necklace of candy around my neck.

"Uh...thank you," I said, sounding confused.

Suddenly, I felt something land on my back, hugging my barrel. I jerked my head to the right to get a look at what it could be only to see a small yellow foal with a pink mane comparable to the mare in front of me. This must be her child. The foal smiled at me brightly and I smiled back nervously.

Dawn approached me from behind a counter of baked goods.

"Dawn, what's going on?"

"Sorry Anon, if I told you, it would ruin the surprise."

"Surprise?"

"Yeah, Pinkie Pie knows everyone in Ponyville. When she found out that you just moved in, she asked me to bring you here. Please don't be mad at me."

I shook my head. "I'm not mad, I was just caught off guard. I've never been to a party, let alone had one thrown for me."

Pinkie Pie frowned at this. "That's so sad."

"I can't imagine what it'd be like to never have been to a party," a stallion said.

His coat was a light brilliant gamboge, complimented by a dark brown frizzled mane and green eyes.

"Cheese, could you go cut the cake, please?" Pinkie Pie said to the stallion.

"You got it, come on Li'l Cheese, let's go cut the cake."

The foal slid off my back, rolling around mid-air and landing on her hooves before darting off to a back room of the building. Big Cheese followed suit.

"Come on, let's go party!"

A few hours later...

I'm honestly not sure what's worse, lovesickness or food sickness? Because right now, I feel terrible after eating all that cake. I should've stopped after the first piece, but it was just so good. It was so bad that I could hardly walk.

"Anon, are you alright?" Dawn asked, sounding concerned.

I wasn't at all. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Dawn's eyes narrowed at me as she leaned in closer. "Are you sure? It's not good to lie."

I was a bit taken aback by this. "No. I feel terrible, but the party was great."

"Of course it was, but, at this rate, you won't make it to Rarity's. Let's head back to the castle, for now, you should get some rest."

"Dawn, I'll be fine. we still have to meet up with Rarity."

"No, Anon, you're going back. At least for a little while. We still have a lot of time before we have to go to Rarity's."

I wanted to argue with her but really wasn't in the condition or mood to do so. Reluctantly, I agreed with her.

"Alright," I sighed, looking at my hooves.

Dawn placed a hoof on my shoulder, looking me in my eyes warmly. "Come on, let's go."

Dawn began trotting in the direction of the castle, I called after her.

"Dawn, wait, I can't move," I said as I collapsed to the ground.

Dawn opened the door to my room using her telekinesis, levitating my body in her magic. Dawn gently placed me down on my bed, throwing a blanket over me.

"Thanks, Dawn," I said, expressing my gratitude.

"It's no problem at all," Dawn said before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind herself.

I was feeling a bit better, but a little rest couldn't hurt.

I sat at my desk, toward the middle of the lecture hall, clicking away at my pen as I listened to the professor's lesson. Sitting there with my chin rested on one hand, I allowed my mind to begin to wander for a bit.

"Human emotions are a very potent thing. On one hand, they can lead to beautiful works of art and love, and on the other, they can lead to horrendous acts of violence and depravity. Within the animal kingdom, there is no creature more chaotic and unpredictable than a human. You see, we try to rationalize emotions to find better ways of controlling them. While it's not an impossible feat to accomplish, it is very difficult. Now, would anyone like to tell me what part of the brain regulates emotions?"

I took my chin off my hand, raising it high enough for the professor to see.

"Yes, you there in the middle," he said, pointing to me.

"The limbic system?"

"That's correct. The limbic system is responsible for regulating emotions and is comprised of four main parts: the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hippocampus. Funnily enough, the limbic system is also heavily tied to memory. This is why we feel things like nostalgia or sadness for things that happened in the past despite them not currently affecting us. Despite how amazing the limbic system is, it has a few major flaws. For one thing, when emotions go out of control, the limbic system has a tendency to shut down the neocortex; the part of the brain responsible for logic and reason. As one could tell, this could lead to disastrous consequences," the professor stated, smiling at me.

"What was your name again?"

"My name? It's-"

"Anon, you feeling better?"

I awoke to see Luster Dawn standing over me.

"A whole lot," I said as I got out of bed.

"That's good, come on, let's head to the boutique."

"Alright, but first, I gotta use the little foal's room," I said as I rushed to the bathroom.

Exiting the bathroom, I felt more refreshed than ever. Well, it's a close second to the shower I had this morning.

It's strange though, although I can't remember my dream at all, I feel like it was important. Oh well, no use getting caught up on things I can't control.

"You ready?" Dawn asked.

"Yup, let's go!"

"We're here!" Dawn announced excitedly.

I've been here before. It's that strange building that looked like a carousel I landed behind when I first arrived.

"Come on, Rarity must be waiting."

Dawn walked up to the door, knocking on it with her hoof.

"It's open!" Rarity yelled from the other side of the door.

Dawn opened the door, stepping through, myself following after.

"Dawn, is that you, darling?"

"Yup, it's us, Rarity."

"Oh good, I just finished setting up the table."

Table? Please, no more food.

Chapter 15: Concern

Chapter Music

"Oh good, I just finished setting up the table."

Table? Please, no more food.

Looking over the boutique, one thing was immediately made clear. This mare, Rarity, was extremely skilled at her craft. Every article of clothing looked like it was worth a fortune. Remembering what happened earlier when I bumped into her, I cringed at the thought of not having the reconstruction spell.

"Please, come take a seat."

Around the corner of what I assumed was the living room was a smaller room with a smaller table just big enough to seat three ponies.

Dawn was the first to seat herself, and Rarity was the last. It must have been a courtesy. On the table was a tray with a teapot, three teacups, and a few baked goods on it.

Rarity used her magic to pour each of us a cup of tea. Dawn took her teacup in her magic, levitating it to her hooves, before sipping it. I mimicked her actions.

Dawn smiled contently. "As usual, Rarity, you make the best tea."

I nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

"Oh, you, it's actually a newer recipe I've been working on. It's a hybrid of lemonade, mint, and apricot tea."

Rarity paused for a moment. "I wanted to ask, are you alright after what happened in the Everfree, Luster? I heard a friend of yours was actually injured."

Dawn's eyes widened a little. "I'm fine, it was a bit scary, but it's over with. And my friend's right here with me," Dawn said, leaning over to wrap a forehoof around me.

"Oh my, I didn't realize. You were the one alone in the Everfree before Dawn arrived?"

"Yep, that was me."

"Whatever were you doing out there, darling?"

"It's where I lived."

"Oh my."

"Say, how did you know about that? Did my mom tell you?" Dawn asked Rarity.

"Starlight? No, not directly. It was actually through a letter from Twilight that I found out."

Dawn raised a hoof to her chin in confusion. "The princess?"

"Yes, Twilight called for a meeting between multiple important figures in Equestria. She even alerted the former princesses to the current situation. I believe it's related to the madness plaguing Ponyville. Anyway, let's set that aside for now. We don't need that getting under our coats."

"Stand still, darling, I'm almost done," Rarity said as she took my measurements.

I'll tell you what, balancing on your hind legs for minutes on end was definitely much harder than I thought it'd be.

"And...done! You can relax now, darling."

I fell back down onto all fours, my hind legs a bit wobbly. Not sore, but just wobbly.

"What do you plan to do with those?" I asked curiously.

Rarity began taking notes, levitating a pencil and notepad. "Oh, you know, a bit of this and that. You'll know soon enough."

I didn't respond, unsure of what to say. Knowing Rarity's craft, she's probably fitting me for a dress. I didn't think dresses would suit me, but I wasn't about to be rude to someone in their own home.

"Bye, Rarity, see you later," Dawn waved at Rarity from just outside the entrance to the boutique.

I waved to Rarity, gesturing goodbye.

"Goodbye, darlings, stay safe," Rarity said before gently closing the door.

With that, Dawn and I began heading back to the castle.

That was nice. "I like her."

Dawn smiled at me. "Yeah? I'm happy to hear that."

Out of nowhere, Dawn suddenly stopped walking.

"Dawn?"

I stopped, noticing that she had fallen behind. Her expression was blank, as she stared wide-eyed at nothing. Without warning, Dawn fell to the ground and began spasming.

"Dawn?!" I screamed.

I got down to her level nudging her to no avail. Her spasming stopped as her muzzle curved into a wicked grin, eyes wide with madness. Her neck craned toward me at a very uncomfortable-looking degree, still lying on the ground.

I stepped back in horror. Whatever this was, it wasn't Dawn.

"So you're the one who got Xahcatl killed? Though he was a fool, he was still one of us. You'll pay for what you did. He shall rise...he shall purify us all..."

I looked around, seeing if anypony would help us, but everypony around was no longer moving. They just stood there, as if frozen in time. Unanimously, they all began leering at me, muzzles curved into wicked grins, and eyes wide with that same madness present on Dawn's face. If I wasn't already freaked out, this definitely did the trick. It was now dead silent in Ponyville. Not even the birds were chirping.

As the being masquerading as Dawn finished talking, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out. As if nothing happened, everypony carried on with their lives. A flash of light shown beside me as Starlight appeared out of nowhere. She always seemed to arrive at the perfect time.

Starlight turned to me. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Everything was normal until she suddenly started acting possessed."

Starlight turned toward Dawn, picking her up with her magic.

With a flash of light, we were all back at the castle in a room I hadn't seen before. Plastered all over the room were what looked to be important Equestrian figures, quotes, science, and magic principles. Was this Dawn's room?

Starlight placed Dawn on a fairly large bed, scanning her with her magic. Above the bed was a large portrait of herself and a fairly larger purple pony with an ethereal mane, both smiling brightly.

"Is that Princess Twilight?" I thought to myself.

"There was a large spike in her magic levels, but she seems to be fine now." Starlight breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as well.

"Anon, did anything else happen?"

Recalling the experience was borderline traumatizing, but I figured I had to contribute somehow. "When she started acting mad, it was as if someone was speaking through her. They even went as far as forcing her to make the creepiest smile. They said something about me killing someone named Xahcatl, that I would pay..."

I racked my mind, thinking a bit more, Starlight looking at me expectantly. "They also said, 'he shall rise... and that he shall purify the world,' whatever that means."

Starlight's eyes widened in shocked realization. "Alright, Anon, you should head to bed. I suggest you don't go anywhere by yourself for a while."

I agreed with her, looking at Dawn one last time before heading to my room. "Rest well, Dawn. Faust knows you deserve it."

Chapter 16: Deprived

Chapter Music

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened, and I couldn't help but feel that it was my fault. I've also got the feeling that this cultist rambling madness in Ponyville isn't just cultist rambling. The way everypony just stopped...it was as if they were being hijacked by something or somepony.

Right now, I'm inside of the Magic Chamber, practicing my magic, and reading a few books. For the past few hours, I've been practicing the technique my mother taught me, merging it with the magic properties of this room. Doing so allowed me to drain my magic, and restore it at an exponential rate. I completed this process maybe two dozen times by now, but I wasn't sore in the slightest. Benefits of the reinforcement spell I suppose. It might be possible that constantly maintaining the spell may have actually permanently increased my physical strength. This is note-worthy for future reference.

I also took it upon myself to learn a healing spell. Right now, I can only heal small cuts and bruises, but as I improve, it may even be possible to regenerate entire limbs. Hopefully, it won't ever come to that, but I have to be ready, just in case. After some speculation, I managed to figure out how Dawn was able to deflect attacks with her barrier. While utilizing a barrier spell, you need to activate a repulsion spell mere moments before impact. If you time the repulsion spell just right, its repulsive properties would be at their peak.

As one could tell, this wasn't exactly an easy feat to accomplish. After three hours, I was only able to do it twice perfectly. I accomplished this by shooting slow-moving magic spheres, then maneuvering in front of them. Using telekinesis, I would speed them up as needed when I was ready.

Magic sphere is just a spell that creates a sphere of pure magicules that bond to air molecules, essentially giving the magicules mass, and allowing the caster to control the mass. It's a basic spell, but it still packs a punch. There isn't a limit to how big you can make the magic sphere, but the more air you condense into it, the heavier and more uncontrollable it gets. Its practical uses are almost non-existent, but I made it work.

A voice I hadn't heard in a while made me stop everything I was doing.

"Chimera," Chrysalis said.

I paused, making sure what I had just heard wasn't a figment of my imagination. "Mother?"

"Yes, who else would it be?"

I was relieved, but I couldn't help but feel somewhat angry that she had waited so long before speaking to me.

"Where were you?" I asked, feigning tranquility.

"Just... thinking to myself," she relented.

My anger subsided a bit, but I wasn't willing to let go of it that easily.

"I called out to you so many times, and you never responded, not once. Why?"

Chrysalis remained quiet for a moment. "I don't know. What I do know, however, is that you are in danger. "

She didn't know? How would you not know something like that? What did she mean by me being in danger, was this about what happened back at the plaza?

"Danger?"

"Yes, as you might have already guessed, that filly friend of yours was likely being spoken through, possessed if you will," Chrysalis explained.

Possessed? So I was right...

"It's something I used to be able to do with the hive back in my glory days, but after a few incidents, I lost the ability to do so. Although, it was a bit different. I was only able to possess a single changeling at a time by transferring my consciousness into their body, and it had to be done consensually. Yet with whatever this is, or whoever this is, it seems they don't have the same restrictions," Chrysalis elaborated.

"So, what does this mean for me?"

Chrysalis sighed. "Luckily, I don't think such mental interference would work on you, with my presence and all. Just be on guard though, the beings behind this are likely very powerful entities."

What did I get myself involved with?

Luster Dawn awoke in her bed as the sun beamed brightly down at her, uncomfortable pain in her neck, and throbbing headache to compliment it. She looked around her room only to find her mother asleep at the foot of her bed.

Dawn moaned as she rolled out of bed, holding her head to her hooves. "What... what happened?"

She trotted over to her bedroom door, opening the door to step out. She wasn't sure what had happened, but her last memories were of herself and Anon being at Rarity's.

"Maybe Anon knows what happened. I hope I didn't get intoxicated, I'm still not of age," Dawn muttered as she walked down the hallway.

Arriving at Anon's room, Dawn opened the door only to find that Anon was absent.

"Where did she go?" Dawn wondered.

I'm not sure how long I've been in this room, but I think it's starting to psychologically affect me. My magic has improved drastically. I'm currently standing at about tier four in terms of spells. To put that into perspective, teleportation is a tier ten spell while levitation is tier one.

I paused for a minute, dropping a heavily condensed magic sphere that I had been levitating with my magic in order to train my telekinesis. Telekinesis is just a slight variation of levitation that allows you to influence the direction of an object in your grasp.

As if on cue, the door to the magic chamber opened, revealing Dawn's very tired-looking figure.

"There you are," she said as she lazily trotted over toward me. She looked like she would pass out at any moment.

I looked at her with concern. "Dawn, what are you doing out of bed? You don't look so good."

She wobbled back in forth before falling over. I caught her in my magic, more concerned than ever.

"Dawn, what's wrong?"

"I don't know... I just feel a bit tired."

"Come on, Dawn, let's get you to bed."

Dawn nodded tiredly. "I think...that's for the best."

I walked into Dawn's room, her body asleep in my magical grasp. Surprisingly, her mother was asleep at the foot of her bed as well. Did she wait here all night?

I placed Dawn back into her bed, throwing a blanket over her body just like she did for me not too long ago. I couldn't help but think that they both looked cute, sleeping so peacefully.

Neither of them looked like they were waking up anytime soon, so I didn't bother waiting around. I think I've done enough training for the day, so I should probably focus on studying now.

Exiting Dawn's room, I began heading toward the library. I should learn some science and magic. If Dawn has taught me anything, the two go hoof in hoof. Her Magic Chamber was truly awe-inspiring. It had me wondering if I could ever do something so amazing. I had a few ideas in mind, but I'll have to look into it some more.

After nearly arriving at the library, a foul stench hit my nose. Right, I need to take a shower first.

Somewhere along the outskirts of the Crystal Empire...

A seemingly bipedal hooded figure made its way along the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, dancing gracefully.

A few crystal pony guards watched the mysterious figure, wary of their presence. The figure had been out there for maybe five hours now, showing no intentions of changing their actions.

One guard finally spoke up. "Think we should check it out?"

The other guards looked at the figure one last time before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it's better safe than sorry."

The guards trotted toward the figure, maybe 50 meters ways from their watchtower. If the figure noticed them, it didn't show it.

"Is everything alright?" The guard captain asked.

The figure didn't respond, instead, choosing to continue dancing manically as if there wasn't a care in the world. The guards looked at each other with concern. Unfortunately, one guard made the mistake of getting just a little too close to the figure. Without any warning, he was suddenly grabbed by a pale dactyl.

Before the stallion could even struggle, the life seemed to drain from his eyes, something essential to his being leaving him. After whatever the figure did to him finished, it let go, letting his limp body fall to the ground.

The guards readied their weapons, preparing for a confrontation. "What did you do to him?!" Their squad captain yelled.

The figure stood still, looking down at the body of the stallion, silent as a rock.

By this point, the captain was done talking. Gripping his spear tightly, he lunged at the figure, only for his attack to miss. The figure effortlessly danced around him, making contact with the back of the stallion's neck. The guard captain suffered the same fate as his underling. The other guards turned to run, only for the figure to gracefully cut them off and gripped them by their faces.

After the guards were dispatched, the hooded figure simply danced away with child-like enthusiasm.

Chapter 17: Tears and Tales

Chapter Music

"Principles of Magic: Law of Equivalent Exchange. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, this was discovered by Starswirl the Bearded. At its core, it means that to make something happen, something else needs to happen as a result. If you shoot a magic beam, you lose a bit of magic, and there's recoil. This coincides with the second law of thermodynamics as well. If you were to close off the system, perform the same actions, then measure the total energy in that system, you would find that it would be the same as when you started."

I closed another one of Twilight's books, placing it down on the table. Leaning back in my seat, I stretched out my limbs, now noticing that there were no other ponies in the library with me. I guess it was still pretty early. Pushing myself away from the table, I stood up out of my chair, returning my books to their respective shelves. I know Starlight said magic would take care of it, but I was going to be caught causing a mess.

Staring at the top shelves, I realized just how much I had been through. "Mom?"

"Yes? What is it?" Chrysalis responded.

"What's going to happen?"

It wasn't really a question I expected to get an answer to, but I needed something. I needed to believe that things would work out, but here I am. I'm an amnesiac masquerading as someone I'm not, who has several hits out on them and has no idea how to accomplish his main goal.

Chrysalis didn't immediately respond, taking time to process her answer.

After maybe fifteen seconds, she replied. "I'd be lying if I said that it would all be alright because there are just too many variables now to make such a prediction. However, I will say this, you're doing great taking care of yourself. At the very least, you'll survive all of... this."

I'll survive all this? Faust, all mighty. I sighed, turning my head away from the top shelves and looking over the library once more. Still quiet, still nopony else. What I said next was something I didn't even expect myself to say.

"Mom, could you tell me a story?"

I meant what I asked, I genuinely wanted to hear a story.

Chrysalis sighed. "Can't you just read one of those books on the shelves?"

I pouted to myself. "I guess."

"Fine, but just one. I'm not very good at these things," Chrysalis said, sounding defeated.

"Deal," I said, taking a seat, and resting my head in my hooves.

"Alright, give me a second," Chrysalis said before she started her tale.

Long ago, there were four races, thriving in the harshest, and most expansive environment in all of Equestria, together. There were the changelings, the unicorns, the earth ponies, and the pegasi. However, none of the other races knew of the changelings due to their unique ability to change shape. At first, there was strife between the pony races, but after seeing the potential they had in working together, the tension quickly faded.

Magic was rudimentary back then, so the ponies had no way of telling themselves apart from changelings, not that they were initially aware of their existence in the first place. Changelings slowly and seamlessly infiltrated each race of pony, it was necessary to survive. Perhaps this was their first mistake.

There wasn't much love in Equestria at the time, after all, life was difficult for everyone. Despite this, however, changelings were still able to survive, although, their population was quite small.

Yet, after the three pony races united, and magic began to develop, everything changed. The unicorns, excited by their ever-evolving magical abilities, began testing out all manner of spells. It just so happens that one of those spells, the spell that changed everything, would be the downfall of a great society. A single dispel was all it took to destroy a changelings' disguise. As soon as the first changeling was outed, the three pony races started a hunt for every changeling they could find.

Families... broken apart, friendships shattered, loves forgotten. The changelings were exiled to the Badlands all because the ponies were too scared of their nature. Creatures that feed off love, could never understand love themselves; creatures that could read emotions would surely become dangerous to a society for all manner of reasons, right? Ponies that could see past the changeling's exterior, who disagreed with the decisions their society made, were exiled alongside the changelings.

Although the ponies hadn't killed anypony themselves, they had practically condemned the changeling race to death. The ponies exiled alongside the changelings were the first to die off. There was simply no way for them to survive without the aid of other ponies. The changelings had no way of helping them either as they could only feed on love at the time.

The Badlands were even more harsh and unforgiving than the changeling's previous home. Pushed to the edge of extinction and knowing that they would not all survive, the remaining changelings sacrificed their lives, feeding all of their love, magic, and knowledge into a single changeling egg. Their last thoughts, filling the hive mind.

"Our child...You are our pride, our last hope."

The child awoke in a dark underground cavern, freshly hatched from her shell, but she wasn't alone. The first sight she saw upon climbing out of her shell, were the corpses of her fallen family members. Their bodies malnourished, and riddled with holes. It was a sight the pupa would never forget, how could she? Due to the hive mind, she felt a personal connection to every one of the fallen individuals.

The pupa had no idea what she would do all by herself, but she swore that she wouldn't die, for the sake of her race, that she wouldn't be extinguished without a say in this cruel and callus world. She promised herself that she would never forgive the ponies for what they did. At first, she blended into families that were not her own, posing as infants of that race. This generated quite a bit of love, but as she grew, this became harder to accomplish. Slowly, she began building her race back up, breeding with all manner of other sapient creatures. Luckily, changeling genes seemed to be dominant over all other species. Her race was saved.

Sure changelings would die every so often, but if the birthrate exceeded the death rate, then there was nothing to fear. Nopony dared step up to her, she ruled over the Badlands with an iron hoof, and her name was... Queen Chrysalis. Her name would strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest of kings and most violent of warlords. Eventually, Queen Chrysalis came to learn of her infamy and took advantage of it.

But, as Queen Chrysalis came to realize that she was both feared and respected, there were those who began plotting her downfall. Many races, stricken with grief, fear, and anger, attacked Chrysalis' hive, killing most of the changelings in a bloody struggle.

The Queen, narrowly escaping with her life, went into hiding for many millennia, biding her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reclaim her title as Queen of the Badlands, as Queen of Equestria.

As my mother finished her tale, I couldn't help but feel somewhat angry at the actions of the ponies in the story. So many unnecessary deaths, all because they were scared?

I hadn't noticed it while she was telling the story, but my eyes were leaking tears.

"Was that all true?" I asked, wiping my tears away.

"Yes, but it seems that the memories have long since faded in the hivemind. I, as an individual, am the only one who completely remembers that past," Chrysalis stated solemnly.

It's no wonder she's like this, and I gave her such a hard time because of my own petty feelings.

"Why didn't the history books mention anything about it?" I asked, desperately searching for an answer to this injustice.

"Because the ponies would much rather forget their dark past. Honestly, I can hardly blame them. Ponies don't have a hive mind as changelings do, so the actions of their ancestors don't weigh as heavily on them as they do on changelings. The sins of their forefathers don't transfer over as easily. I'm older than Celestia and Luna themselves, so I shouldn't be surprised, it all happened thousands upon thousands of years ago," Chrysalis confessed.

What my mother said made sense, but I wasn't feeling any less upset. Against my better judgment, I asked another question.

"Mother, when you escape your prison, what will you do?"

"I don't know. For the longest time, all I wanted was to conquer Equestria, to avenge my race, but now there's nothing left to avenge. I suppose all I want now is peace, freedom, and..." she said, trailing off.

"And what?" I prodded.

"Nevermind, it's nothing," she claimed dismissively.

Though she didn't say it, I felt that her future plans had something to do with me.

Author's Note

This one really tugged at the heartstrings.😭

Chapter 18: Assembly

Chapter Music

Twilight sat at her chair within the Council Room, Spike standing beside her, posture tall and proud. One by one, multiple important Equestrian figures filed into the room, taking their respective seats. There was a bit of commotion, but given the serious nature, it soon quieted down. Once everypony was seated, Twilight was the first to speak up.

"Thank you everypony for coming today, as you might already know, this is about the madness plaguing Ponyville. We believe we've gathered a few leads relating to the issue. Spike," Twilight said waving a hoof over to Spike.

Spike, taking this as his cue, took a magical orb from out of his messenger bag. Holding it out for everypony to see, the magical orb began floating toward the center of the room, rotating faster and faster until it appeared to be a stagnant image.

The orb then began shining brightly, as it projected multiple images of light from its mass. There were images of ponies affected by the madness, their magic readings, the ring, and possible causes.

Everypony looked at the holograms in awe, Twilight addressing Starlight now.

"Starlight, would you mind recounting what happened in the Everfree?"

Sitting up straighter in her seat, Starlight began speaking. "A few days ago, a friend of my daughter's was attacked within the Everfree by a strange creature. Strangely enough, the records of the creature I was able to find were from an old untitled scripture from Celestia and Luna's castle ruins. The creature seemed to be something called an Argonian, a long-since extinct race since pony-kind developed. The creature was also devoid of magic. After subduing the creature and interrogating it, it committed suicide, turning to ash, before telling me anything. The only information we were able to gather from it was that it had something to do with the madness, which I think are more akin to possessions, happening in Ponyville. Discord managed to find that ring in the wake of the ashes of the creature, " Starlight said as she pointed a hoof at the hologram of the ring.

Everypony in the Council Room was now a bit more on edge than before, surprised at the dark turn this meeting had taken.

"After analyzing the ring, I was able to deduce that it was completely devoid of magic. However, it has some kind of other ethereal energy flowing through it. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it does seem rather potent," Twilight explained.

"That can't be possible, everypony has magic, and what other ethereal energy is there besides magic," Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.

"Maybe it's love?" Thorax chimed in.

Starlight shook her head. "I doubt it, that creature didn't seem to have an ounce of love in them. Besides, the rings' energy seems more ominous than anything else."

Fluttershy spoke up. "Then, what could it be?"

Princess Cadance stood up, eyes steadily focused on the images of the ponies affected by the possession. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but after seeing this, I have something to get off my chest."

Shining Armor looked to his wife with mild concern.

"A few days ago, we found a few guards and a squad captain unconscious along the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. After we got them checked, the doctors were able to conclude that aside from being a bit dehydrated, their vitals were completely fine. But... they just won't wake up, no matter what we do," Cadance confessed, sounding defeated.

Everypony looked at Cadance with concern. Thorax was the next to speak up.

"Actually, now that you've brought it up, I found the same thing happening with a few changelings. They were sent on a scouting mission but never returned. When we did finally find them, their vitals were completely fine, but for whatever reason, they wouldn't wake up."

RIght as Twilight was going to speak, the doors to the Council Room opened as a few very distraught-looking guards opened the door, rushing up to Twilight's seat.

"Princess! Something's happened!" One guard yelled as she ran up to Twilight, almost out of breath.

"Calm down, what's going on?" Twilight said, trying to console the pony.

"It's...it's the treasury." Another guard said.

This caught everypony's attention in the council room. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. This couldn't be good, this couldn't be good at all.

"Tell me everything that happened."

"We were doing an inventory scan, as usual, when we noticed that a few items were missing. We searched everywhere to see if they were maybe displaced, but we came up with nothing.

Twilight gulped. "Which items?"

The guards looked down at the floor, rubbing their forehooves nervously.

"The... Alicorn amulet, Sombra's horn, and an Ancient Wyvern's magic core."

This was when Twilight did something she hadn't done in a long time; Twilight began hyperventilating.

Starlight walked over by Twilight's side. "Calm down, Twilight, maybe there's a lead here."

Twilight continued hyperventilating, her friends now by her side, embracing and consoling her the best they could.

Starlight addressed the guards. "Did you find anything that might give a clue as to what happened?"

The guards shook their heads. "No, nothing, it was as if they just up and vanished. There were no traces of magic, hoof prints, damaged doors, nothing. We were around the clock 24/7 as well, every guard accounted for their shift. We run an inventory scan every 12 hours so it had to have happened recently," one guard explained.

Twilight, understandably distraught, passed out.

Somewhere in an undisclosed location...

Four hooded figures gathered around an altar adorned with skulls and bones, four pillars adjacent at each edge of the altar. In the middle of the altar were three objects: the Alicorn amulet, Sombra's horn, and an Ancient Wyvern's magic core.

"Did you get them?" One of the figures asked, addressing a slightly smaller hooded figure.

Without saying anything, the figure stuck its palm out, four transparent and colorful orbs appearing above it. Each orb seemed to shine brightly, almost like crystal.

The larger figure took the orbs, placing each one at the precipice of each pillar. The figure then pulled out a ritualistic dagger, cutting its palms with it. The other figures did the same.

Gathering around the altar, the figures joined hands, speaking in unison.

"Child of darkness, arise, for the Lord has called of you."

The objects in the middle of the altar began leaking pitch-black darkness, a darkness that almost seemed sapient. The darkness moved around the room, floating around each figure before returning to the altar.

With this, a single being emerged from the darkness, forsaken ruler, King Sombra.

Sombra stepped from the shadows, yet they only seemed to follow him, enveloping his body like a cloak.

"What is this?" Sombra said, sounding confused.

None of the figures responded, instead, a voice within Sombra's own head speaking for them. The voice was raspy, ancient.

"Your renaissance, my child," the voice spoke pridefully.

Sombra had no idea what the voice was talking about, but if his senses weren't deceiving him, he was...alive. But it felt different, unlike before, he felt abnormally cold, and there was no pulse to be found within his veins. Strangely, this didn't bother Sombra in the slightest. One thing was certain, however, he felt more powerful than he had ever been, darkness coursing through his veins, rather than blood.

"My child, what is it that you wish for, more than anything else?" The voice asked insistently.

Sombra held a hoof up to his head, his mind feeling vacant. Suddenly, Sombra remembered everything: the Crystal Empire, the elements of harmony, and Twilight Sparkle. Though Sombra had spent a great deal of time being dead, he knew exactly what he wanted.

"Revenge," Sombra said, removing his hoof from his head.

The voice cackled maniacally, overjoyed at Sombra's response. Sombra didn't laugh, however, nor did he feel joy, in fact, Sombra was certain that he felt little to nothing at all.

Looking around the area, Sombra found that it looked like he was in a cave of some sort. The more peculiar sight, however, was the sight of the four hooded figures kneeling before Sombra's hooves.

Chapter 19: Catching Up

Chapter Music

"Woah, Anon, you've improved a lot!" Dawn said as Chimera reflected Dawn's magic beam using the very same technique she herself used.

It's been a day and some change since the incident in Ponyville, but Dawn's feeling a lot better now. While she was down, I spent my time doing little else than training and studying. By now, I've probably completed the magic breathing technique well over a few hundred times. If I had to guess, I would say I'm maybe three times stronger than I was before, and not just magically. Constantly maintaining the reinforcement spell has actually made me physically stronger. I can move faster, buck harder, jump higher, and most importantly, take more hits.

My magic sense has evolved to the point where I can discern different beings' magical energies from at least one hundred meters away even when obscured by objects. My mother and I are on far better terms than before, and I actually feel really close with her, despite having never seen her in person. Although, I have seen her in a few history books. She looks a lot like me in some ways, just a lot more evolved, I guess.

In terms of spells, I've created a journal, tracking every spell I've acquired, and how close I am to mastering them. I've mastered attraction, repulsion, barrier, telekinesis, reconstruction, reinforcement, refraction, combustion, magic beam, magic sphere, and abrasion. As for the other spells, I'm still working on them. Especially, healing, telepathy, dispel, and dismantle. I have a strong feeling those three will come in handy for the nearby future.

Dispel is a unique spell, in the sense that it works on every other spell out there. It relies solely on one's understanding of magic and spells, hardly on their power. Twilight put it like this, "Even a foal could cancel out a top-class mage's strongest spell, so long as the foal completely understands the spell and possesses even a little bit of magic."

Talk about overpowered, but that's a whole lot of studying I have to do.

"Hey, Dawn, fire a magic beam at me," I said to Dawn, confidently.

Dawn cocked an eyebrow at me. "Anon, you've already proven you can reflect it, right?"

I shook my head. "That's not what I'm trying to do."

Reluctantly, Dawn readied a beam. Putting up my barrier, I prepared for what came next. As Dawn fired off her beam, I lowered my barrier, allowing the beam direct access to me.

Dawn shouted. "Anon?!"

Closing my eyes, it was as if time slowed to a crawl. Magic beam was a spell I was very familiar with, I knew it in and out. If I was right about this, then I should suffer no harm. I opened my eyes just as the beam was mere inches away from my face.

"Dispel."

Just like that, the magic beam dissipated into magicules. Dawn fell onto her flank, mouth wide open in disbelief. I smiled, satisfied with the results. Suddenly, Dawn got up and began trotting over to me angrily.

"What the buck was that?!" Dawn yelled.

I took multiple steps backward, but she only trotted forward. Eventually, I noticed that my back was against the wall, Dawn's hooves pinning me in place.

"Don't ever do something like that again," She said, staring me directly in the eyes.

I gulped. Had I really upset her that much? I just wanted to test out my magical prowess.

"Even though you knew you would be fine, she didn't. From her perspective, she just killed you," Chrysalis interjected.

Oh, that makes a lot more sense.

Luster Dawn's eyes narrowed at me. "Pinkie promise."

"I won't, I swear," I relented, feeling nervous.

Dawn eyed me suspiciously for a solid ten seconds before she released her hold on me. She trotted over to the door, opening it before speaking.

"I'm calling it a day," Dawn said as she closed the door behind herself.

What just happened?

Luster Dawn trotted down the halls of the castle, heart racing. She was scared, scared that she could have killed Anon.

"What was she thinking? She could have died," Dawn thought to herself.

Dawn stopped in her tracks. "But she didn't, how? Mere moments before impact, the magic beam dissipated into magicules. Anon clearly had no barrier up, so how? No, it couldn't be... did Anon use dispel on my magic? That's a spell not many mages hold in high regard. In fact, it mostly goes unnoticed due to the difficult nature of mastering it. Not only must one completely understand the spell they're dealing with, but they also need to adjust the parameters of the spell and have a fast enough reaction time. It's just impractical in the magic world unless it's being used on slow, time-consuming projects. The only one who truly acknowledged the value of that spell was...the princess."

Luster Dawn shook her head. "But that still doesn't mean I won't be upset. Anon should have told me."

She continued trotting through the castle, making her way to her room. "I don't know, maybe I was too harsh on her. She must've been confident in herself, but still... I was scared."

Reaching her room, Luster Dawn opened the door and sighed. "I need a shower... and a cupcake."

Atop the precipice of a mountain overlooking much of Equestria, stood a lone figure. Sombra looked over Equestria wearing an apathetic expression, but deep in thought.

"How long has it been?" Sombra wondered to himself.

"I have not the answer to that, my child," Sombra's mysterious specter replied.

Sombra was confused by the specter's use of familial titles. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"You were born of darkness, were you not? The shadows were ever-present throughout your life, ever since the beginning, correct?"

Sombra looked at the ground, feeling ever so slightly conflicted. From orphanhood to royalty, nothing had changed for Sombra. He was still feared, and he was still hated. Sombra never knew his parents, but he always knew that he was different from other ponies. No matter where he went, there was nopony quite like him; his shadows made sure of that. At first, when Sombra rose to power through nothing but his own effort, he tried to be a fair a just ruler, but as time went on, he came to realize that nopony deserved his leadership. Cowards and liars surrounded him. When Sombra was finally killed, he was angry, yes, but he was more so relieved than anything. Sombra knew there was no redemption for him, that he could never live in peace knowing what he knew. Being killed was almost...liberating in a way.

"What does that have to do anything?" Sombra questioned dejectedly.

"I too, was born of darkness, but I am far more ancient than any being in Equestria," the voice explained.

For the first time, it had occurred to Sombra that he had no idea who he was speaking to. "Just who are you?"

The voice chuckled to itself darkly. "Why don't you ask Faust?"

Sombra scoffed in return. "I don't believe in Faust."

The voice was now bellowing that same wicked laughter. "Well, you should."

Sombra's specter answered the question in such a vague way, the answer, leaving Sombra more confused than to begin with. Sombra's eyes began to look over Equestria once more, noticing that the sun was now setting.

"What do you want from me?"

"The same as you, my child. Well, maybe not revenge exactly, but the results will be the same nonetheless."

Sombra pried even further. "What does that mean?"

"I want Equestria, my child, I want every soul on this worthless planet," the voice said coldly.

By now, Sombra got the message that he wasn't dealing with just any entity.

Asking one last question, Sombra prepared himself for an answer. "How am I alive?"

"Dominion over the dead, that is my domain. I simply brought you back through a simple ritual, and you, child of darkness, will do well in reviving me as well. You see, I don't quite exist in Equestria in the physical sense. That damned goddess placed rather strong dimensional barriers around her universe to protect against outside threats. Nevertheless, I was still able to spread my influence to this world. So long as there is light, there will always be darkness. After you gather the necessary materials, I will be able to reincarnate into your world. When this happens, not even Faust herself will be able to stop me. Once I obtain my true power, you shall rule by my side as the Monarch of Shadows."

Sombra didn't reply, instead choosing to continue watching the sunset. Little by little, the sun's light began to fade, as the shadows stretched over the land like a massive clawed appendage, holding Equestria within the grasp of its palm. Through the darkness, Sombra smiled.

Author's Note

“You inherit your environment just as much as your genes.”
― Johnny Rich, The Human Script

Chapter 20: Making Up, Might Work

Chapter Music

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I made Dawn pretty upset earlier, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Would an apology cut it? I promised I wouldn't do it again, but she hasn't talked to me for a while. What should I do?

I groaned, leaning back in my chair. The library was practically empty, aside from myself and Starlight. She seemed unusually active recently; stacks upon stacks of books on her table, ranging from all manner of topics. She looked to be searching for something, but I couldn't tell what from the books alone.

"What should I do? I feel like Dawn's still mad at me," I thought to myself.

"Perhaps, try making love?" Chrysalis suggested.

I bolted upright in my seat, choking on my spit. "Make what!?"

Chrysalis scoffed. "What? It's what I did with my partners when they were upset. Worked like a charm, for the most part."

"No offense, mother, but I don't think this is quite the same."

Chrysalis hummed to herself. "Is it not? I could have sworn you two were an item."

"What? No, I mean, I like her, but...I don't know. She's a friend, you know?" I stammered.

"Sure, if that's what you call a friend." Chrysalis teased.

I felt my face flush. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I see the way you two look at each other, it's kind of cute, to be honest. Staring lovingly into each other's eyes, wishing you could hold each other's-"

I abruptly slammed my head on the table a few times, interrupting my mother's lewd commentary. This seemed to snap even Starlight out of her trance, as she was now staring at me, eyes wide with confusion. Getting an idea, I awkwardly trotted over to Starlight's table before taking a seat.

"Anon, is everything alright?" Concern filling Starlight's voice.

I twiddle my hooves around, staring down at the floor. "Let's say hypothetically, you've made a friend upset, what would you do to fix that?" I asked.

Starlight narrowed her eyes. "What kind of upset?"

"The kind where you put your life on the line in front of them."

Starlight rubbed her forehead with her hooves. "Alright, tell me what happened."

"So, you asked my daughter to fire a magic beam at you under the pretense that you would block it, but mere moments before impact, you dropped your barrier, instead, dispelling the magic blast?" Starlight said, recalling what I had told her.

"Yup, that's the gist of it."

Starlight began massaging her forehead again. "That poor girl," she whispered to herself.

I sat there, feeling a bit ashamed.

"Did you at least apologize?"

I raised a hoof to my chin, thinking over the question. "Nope, but I did promise not to do it again."

Starlight sighed. "Well, that's your first step. Although, I have a feeling a simple apology won't cut it. You'll need a gift too."

"A gift?"

"Yes, a gift. We often give gifts to re-confirm or establish a connection with somepony. Giving a gift to somepony allows one to communicate their feelings and appreciation for them."

That makes sense, a lot better than other suggestions.

That's when it hit me, I had no idea what sort of gift Dawn would like. "What should I get her?"

Starlight rested her chin on one hoof, smirking at me. "I'll leave you to decide that."

Thanking Starlight, I made my way to the stairs, a new mission in my heart.

Racking my mind, I remembered that Dawn said she always loved the sun. The sun... I should get her a gift that has to do with the sun. Wait, I don't have any money. I paused in my tracks, walking back over to Starlight.

"Starlight..."

"Yes?"

"I need a job."

"Are you sure this is the place?" I asked as Starlight and I arrived outside a place that seemed to be a farm.

There was a gate lined with apples, a wooden sign hanging from the top with an apple cut-out in it. I was guessing this was some sort of apple farm.

"I'm sure. If you need quick bits, this is the place to get 'em. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres. Come on, let's go find Applejack!" Starlight shouted.

Trotting through the gate, we made a b-line for a large red barn. Starlight peered inside before walking out of view. I followed after her.

Inside was a mare with a brilliant gamboge coat, a pale, light grayish olive mane, and moderate sap green eyes. Atop her head, sat a light brown stetson. Using her teeth, she dragged several bales of hay across the barn floor. She's pretty strong.

"Hey, Applejack." Starlight said, catching the mare's attention.

The pony which I now knew was Applejack dropped the rope, looking up to address Starlight.

"Howdy, Starlight, who's yer friend?" Applejack said, pointing a hoof at me.

Starlight moved me in front of her with her magic. "This is Anon, she's looking for a job actually, and we were wondering if you had any work available."

I smiled widely, eyes filled with anxiety.

Applejack tipped her hat at me. "Well, slap me silly, and call me a filly. It ain't often ponies come here looking for work. Most ponies shy away from hard labor. Think you got what it takes?"

"Yes ma'am!" I declared.

Applejack hummed to herself. "Well, we'll see soon enough. Alright, let's head out to the orchard. There's some trees that need buckin'."

"If you can buck all of these trees by Sundown, I'll give you 10,000 bits."

My jaw dropped. 10,000 bits, that's like, a lot of money.

"Don't go getting too excited now. You have to buck all of them. I can tell from those legs that you have some kind of athletic background, I have high expectations for you. You don't have to worry about moving the barrels of apples, I'll come get 'em later. Good luck, newbie," Applejack said as she walked back to the barn.

I shouted after her. "Thank you!"

"It's no problem," she said as she walked away.

There's at least 500 trees here. By my estimate, I had about 5 hours before Sundown. That's 100 trees per hour. Yeah, I can do that. I'm not your average pony after all.

While looking at the sky, I saw a rainbow streak across the sky. It was a bit odd in the sense that it didn't seem to act exactly like a rainbow, but I took it as a sign of good fortune.

Luster Dawn exited her room after a few hours of studying to herself. Making her way to the magic chamber, she found that Anon wasn't there. Thinking that maybe, Anon might be in her room, Luster Dawn headed there next. Imagine her surprise, when she found that Anon wasn't there either.

"Did she head into town?"

Dawn trotted to the library next on the off chance that Anon might be there, all she found was her mother working quite busily at the center of the room.

"Mom, have you seen Anon?" Dawn asked, addressing her mother.

Starlight looked up from her book. "Anon? I'm sure she's around. You should just wait for her, maybe she'll pop up soon."

Dawn leaned on a window ceil, looking outside a library window, noticing that the sun was setting. She began to worry to herself.

"I was too harsh, wasn't I?"

The trick was rather simple. Buck a tree, and guide the apples into their bins using telekinesis. At first, I was bucking the trees too hard, leaving hoof prints in a few of them. But it gave me a good sense of my strength, I'll have to keep a close eye on it from now.

Finished bucking the last tree, I looked up at the sky, estimating how much time I had left. Looks to be a little over an hour. Nice, I finished with an hour to spare, I'm really good at this.

I trotted over to the barn to retrieve Applejack, to show her my work. Peering inside the barn, I found that she was nowhere in sight. Where had she gone? Looking around, I spotted a small shack. Reasoning that it was worth a shot, I trotted over to it. Before even reaching the door, I could hear rustling inside. Opening the door with a hoof, I just about to call out Applejack's name, only to see a sight I shouldn't have. I won't go into detail, but let's just say ponies are very loving creatures. I slammed the door, apologizing before running back to the orchard.

"Well, they were quite active," Chrysalis noted.

"Stop, I don't want to think about it."

"Oh please, you're just mad because you wish it was you and that-"

Mother's sentence was again interrupted midway, as I smashed my face into the ground.

After a few minutes, Applejack trotted over to me, face flushed red. I avoided eye contact, it was still too fresh in my mind after all. Applejack's facial expression changed as soon as she saw the orchard, however. A face that was now that of disbelief replaced the overly embarrassed one.

"That's just about some of the best bucking I've ever seen. There's not a single apple on the ground, and you probably have an hour to spare. Incredible..."

I puffed my chest out pridefully, noticing that I had quite a bit of fluff on my tuft. I wondered if staying in a form too long would cause me to grow in it. I should probably cut it when I get the chance, or maybe not. I might look cuter with it.

Applejack pointed to a shed beside the barn, a different one, of course. "It's all in there, it's all yours."

"Thank you again," I said as I trotted over to the barn.

Applejack nodded absentmindedly.

Walking over to the shed, I flung the door open, my eyes greeted by a pleasant surprise. There was a huge sack slumped toward the back wall of the shed, brimming with gold bits.

"Yes," I said to myself.

Wait, I can't go into town with something like this. Not only would I look dumb, but I might also get robbed, or worse, I'll be targeted by sales ponies.

Reluctantly, I grabbed the sack in my magic, and began making my way back to the castle. Boy, was I glad I spent so much time training because this thing was moderately heavy.

"I wonder what I should get Dawn..."

Author's Note

I had too much fun writing this chapter. 😭

Chapter 21: Bits and Pieces

Chapter Music

"Money, money, gifts for my buddy," I chirped as I walked down a dirt path toward the castle.

Chrysalis sighed. "You're awfully chipper."

Of course, I was, I just made 10,000 bits in less than five hours.

As I walked, I noticed a small magical presence fast approaching from behind. Stepping out the way, something fast zipped by, crashing into my bad of money, knocking it out of my magical grasp. Before any of my money hit the ground, I cast a reconstruction spell, returning all of the money to the bag, and recapturing it in my magic.

Whatever hit my bag, ricocheted off of it, crashing into the dirt path and kicking up a large cloud of dust.

The figure in the cloud of dust yelped in pain. "My wing..."

As the dust cleared, I was able to see more clearly who it was that crashed. It was a mare with a light brilliant gamboge coat, a moderate cerise mane, and grayish-purple eyes. She wore goggles which now had a cracked lens. On the ground was a metallic board of sorts. Looking more closely, I noticed that the board wasn't actually on the ground, it was floating just inches above it. The board seemed to emanate a light blue magical glow.

I walked over to the mare to check on her. Obviously, she was injured, so I cast a quick healing spell on her wing. It didn't heal it completely, but it definitely did something. The wing was now mildly bruised and crooked, whereas before, it was completely bent in all the wrong ways. Casting the healing spell again, the contusions went away, but it still looked crooked. Guess that's as far as my spell goes for now.

"Are you alright?" I asked, offering a hoof.

Chrysalis gasped. "Adultery!?"

Ignoring my mother's absurdity, I extended my hoof out further.

She coughed a little, swiping away some dust, before she took my hoof. Lifting her back onto her hooves, I cast a reconstruction spell on her goggles, restoring them to their previous state. Looking at her now, you can hardly tell that she crashed.

The mare looked herself over, feeling very confused. "I could have sworn I crashed. Did you use magic?"

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Say, what's in that bag anyway? Felt like I hit a brick wall..."

"The bag? Just a few bits."

She looked at me in utter disbelief. "You're kidding me..."

Jumping in the air, she began using her wings to hover, getting a look at the contents of the bag.

"What in Equestria!? What are you doing walking around with all these bits!?"

I raised a hoof to my chin, thinking over my answer. "I'm going to acquire a gift for a friend."

"Even so, isn't this a little too much? You buying them an apartment or somethin'?"

"Nope, at least, I don't think so. I was actually on my way home to put some of this away."

The mare fell back to the ground, landing on her board. "Well, you're in luck because Scootaloo has something for you." The mare said as she whipped a small sack out from seemingly nowhere. The bag felt strange, I could feel traces of magic coming from it, although feint. On the bag was a large S and T embroidered on the front. A royal red ribbon to tie it off.

"Introducing the bottomless bag, courtesy of Scootaloo and The Great and Powerful Trixie™." The mare said as she took her hoverboard, dropping it inside.

Despite the board being significantly larger than the bag itself, the board sank into the bag completely, the dimensions of the bag not changing at all. The mare, I assumed was Scootaloo, then reach inside the bad, pulling the board back out.

"Woah."

She smiled proudly. "It's not actually bottomless, it's just bigger on the inside than on the outside."

How would something like that even work? I guess their title isn't just for show.

"And it's all yours for the small price of 50 bits!" Scootaloo said, dangling the bag in front of me.

Wait, did I just run into a sales pony? Oh well, looks like it worked out for the best. Only 50 bits for an item like this? That's a steal in my eyes.

"Deal, take what you need," I said, lowering the bag to her level.

"Pleasure doin' business with you," Scootaloo said as she stood upright on her board.

I nodded in return. "Definitely."

With that, she took off on her board, the initial kick-off causing a small gale storm to start up. That's pretty cool, I might have to get one sometime.

Turning to my large sack of bits, I began tilting it into the bottomless bag. It's true, it's way bigger on the inside, I was able to fit all 9,950 bits inside, and it's still not overflowing. In the motion of tieing off the bag, I wondered what I should do with the other sack. Finding that there was nowhere else to dispose of it, I opted to throw it inside the bottomless bag.

Alright, looks like I don't have to head back to the castle yet. That saves me the risk of ruining the surprise for Dawn. To Ponyville we go!

By now, the sun had set, and all of the nighttime vendors had come out. I still can't get over how different Ponyville looks at night. I would argue that it's probably more beautiful at night than during the day. Dawn doesn't need to know I said that though.

Trotting around Ponyville, I was surprised to see that just about every store was still open. As I idled in the middle of the plaza for a bit, I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

"Anon, darling, is that you?"

Turning around instantly, I was glad to see that it was Rarity.

"Rarity? You're out here too?"

"Actually, I was just on my way to the castle, I have a gift for you."

A gift? For me?

Rarity levitated a moderately sized box over to me, myself receiving it in my magical grasp.

"Thank you, Rarity."

Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "It's no problem at all, darling. By the way, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm looking for a gift for Dawn, I upset her."

"Well, I won't get between you two, but you have to at least look presentable. Check inside the box when you have the chance," Rarity said as she walked away.

Presentable...

Moving behind a building, I opened the box, levitating the contents outside of it. It was what seemed to be a black notch lapel, pants not included. However, it did come with a red tie. Luckily, during my exploits at Sweet Apple Acres, I hadn't even worked up a sweat thanks to all my training, so I put the suit on without any worries. It was a bit difficult at first, figuring out which limb went where, but the suit was able to fit me perfectly.

Now, what would Dawn like? I hummed to myself as I walked from behind the building, looking at every store in sight. My eyes wandered over a far flashier sign than the rest that I hadn't noticed during the daytime. The sign was lined with vibrant white lights that seemed to dance around the wording.

"Silver Diamonds and Tiaras. Looks like a jewelry store. I wonder if they have anything Dawn might like." Bag in tow, I trotted up to the store, opening the door.

Stepping inside, I immediately noticed how expensive and clean everything looked. I would have felt extremely out of place were it not for this suit. Thanks, Rarity.

There were a few ponies inside, each of them looking pristine. A few of them looked at me, eyes widening a bit in surprise as they noticed my bag.

Immediately two ponies came from behind the counter, wearing some of the brightest smiles I had ever seen. The first to approach me was a pony with a pale magenta coat, a pale-light grayish violet mane with white streaks, and eyes the color of brilliant cornflower blue. Sitting atop her head was a silver tiara, her cutie mark matching it. The other pony had a cornflower bluish-gray coat, a mane two shades of light azureish gray, and eyes a shade of moderate violet. Around her neck was a pale opal necklace and on her muzzle were a pair of glasses with a light blue frame.

"Welcome to Silver Diamonds and Tiaras, I'm Diamond," The pony with a pale magenta coat said.

"And I'm Silver," the other mare chimed in.

Then in unison, they finished off their introduction. "How can we be of assistance to you, dear customer?"

Woah, this was a level of enthusiasm I hadn't seen before. I was a bit taken aback by it, to be honest. "Uh, I'm looking for a gift to give to somepony."

The two mares leaned in closer, the one named Diamond prodding further. "Would you say they're a special somepony?"

Special somepony? I suppose Dawn is special, she's like a genius, student of the princess, and her mother's the mayor after all.

My mother sighed. I don't know what for though.

"Yes?" I replied.

The two mares reeled back on their hind hooves, cheering with excitement.

"Follow us!" They said as they led me behind the counter, then behind a curtain.

In this back area, there were even more casings full of jewelry, in fact, the entire perimeter of the room seemed to be lined with jewelry. In the middle of the room though, I could sense a strong magical presence. Trotting over to it, I could see twelve pieces of jewelry lining the interior of a case, sitting on a layer of soft foam. I looked over the case, my eyes stopping on a single item in the middle.

In the middle sat a necklace emanating a powerful magical aura that almost completely overshadowed the other pieces of jewelry. The necklace itself was beautiful; the chain seemed to be made of pure gold, the crest was seemingly a hybrid of gold and silver. Those weren't the most interesting parts of the necklace though; it was the center stone in the prong. It was clear that this was the source of the magical energy, but what was it exactly? The center stone was perfectly crafted into the shape of a golden sun.

"It's one of our proudest works. We named it, Celestia's Embrace. It's enchanted with some of the strongest protection spells we could muster, to signify that the gifter will always watch over the receiver. When wearing it, the wearer should feel warm and safe," Silver stated from behind me.

Captivated by its beauty and promise, I said only one word. "Sold."

Chapter 22: Confessions

Chapter Music

8,750 bits. That's how much I paid for Celestia's Embrace. If this doesn't make Dawn happy, I don't know what will. There's no turning back now though, I was now just outside the castle doors, mustering up the courage to face her. Opening front doors, I met face to face with somepony I'd never seen before. She was a unicorn mare, her coat, a brilliant azure, her mane was a pale cornflower blue with very pale cerulean stipes. She was wearing a suit similar to my own, only hers was purple and speckled with stars.

"Nice suit," I said absentmindedly.

"Thanks, you...too," she trailed off as her eyes drifted toward my bag. She smiled before stepping out of the doorway, allowing me passage.

"Nice bag," she complimented.

"Thanks."

The mysterious mare then walked away, leaving me ever so slightly confused. I suppose the encounter did some good in removing a bit of the edge from my anxiety though. Trotting up the stairs, I peered around the corner to the library seeing that both Starlight and Luster Dawn were there.

"Alright, the moment of truth."

Dawn had her back turned to the library, staring out the window. She had a somewhat melancholic expression on her face, stuck deep in thought.

"Dawn, you got a minute?" I said catching her attention from behind.

She whipped around instantly, jumping back in surprise. "Anon?! Where were you? I was worried sick."

I rubbed my forehoof nervously. "It's a long story. Hey, look, I wanted to apologize for what happened inside the Magic Chamber. I shouldn't have done what I did, putting you on the spot and all. And to solidify my sincerity, I got you a gift."

Reaching inside my bottomless bag, I pulled out a white box with gold engravings. Lifting off the lid, I levitated Celestia's Embrace in my magic, before placing it around Dawn's neck. This goes without saying, but the reaction I got was not what I expected, at all.

Dawn's eyes went wide, darting between myself and the necklace. She then suddenly turned beet red, eeped, and vanished in a flash of light. I stood there, shocked for a moment before a horrid epiphany hit me.

"Did I...did I just kill her?"

Chrysalis broke out in hysterical laughter. "No, you silly colt, she just got embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?"

"It's a typical response...to being proposed to."

Proposed to... oh no... I should have seen the signs: special somepony, the jewelry, the suit, I should have seen it.

Standing up, I looked around the library, desperately searching for Dawn. Instead, I saw Starlight sitting at a table, mouth agape, and eyes wide with shock. Oops.

Inside Luster Dawn's room...

"What the buck was that!?" Luster Dawn expelled as she appeared in her room, hyperventilating.

Luster Dawn had gotten so embarrassed by the situation, she ended up teleporting in the heat of the moment. Teleportation was a spell she had yet to master, but this was a desperate situation. She needed to get away, she needed some time to herself. After all, Anon had just proposed to her, albeit, accidentally.

Forget the apology, Luster Dawn had forgiven Anon some time ago, but this was different. This was too much.

"I mean, she's a great mare, but we only met a few days ago." Luster Dawn said, almost reasoning with herself.

Luster Dawn threw herself on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She began massaging her forehead with her hooves, overwhelmed by the situation. Strangely, despite all the madness that had just unfolded, Luster Dawn felt surprisingly relaxed and secure; a warmth emanating from her chest. She raised the necklace up to her face to get a better look at it. Instantly, she knew that it was expensive and that it was enchanted with some sort of strong magic.

Luster Dawn inspected the gemstone in the prong more closely. "Protection? That's an extremely high-tier spell. Where did Anon get this? She really went all the way with this...maybe..."

The mare's thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks on her bedroom door.

Outside of Luster Dawn's room...

I knocked on Luster Dawn's door a few times, awaiting a response. "Dawn? You there?" I asked, hoping for something.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed by, which felt like hours, before I got a response.

"It's open," Dawn said from the other side of the door.

Wrapping a hoof around the door-knob, I opened the door, nervously stepping inside, but making sure to close the door behind myself. Dawn was sitting at the edge of her bed, looking down at the floor.

"Anon," Dawn stated flatly.

"Yes?"

"I can't marry you, I mean, we only just met not too long ago. I'm sorry, but...I can give you a chance at least. I'll be your...special somepony."

Suddenly, all of my lies and deception caught up with me. Dawn was willing to be my special somepony, but... that wouldn't be fair of me to do that to her. I'm not who she thinks I am. I sat beside Dawn, guilt building up inside of me. I snuck a peek at Dawn, her eyes gazing at me expectantly. This only served to make me feel worse.

If I wanted this feeling to go away, then I would have to lay my demons to rest.

"Chimera, what are you doing?" Chrysalis fearfully questioned.

"I have to do this. I can't keep lying to her, to them..."

"Don't do this. You don't know what you're doing."

"I have to, please, you have to understand. Can't I at least tell her?"

"If you tell her, she's going to want to see, and there will be questions. Don't do it."

"Mother, please," I said, pleading with her.

"You promised," Chrysalis spoke with a pronounced venom in her voice.

Within my mother's voice was something deeper than venom, pain. At hearing this, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt trapped, suffocated. My mother was right, I promised her. Surely, I could value the weight of a promise, right? Especially a promise to my own mother. I couldn't tell Dawn, I just couldn't. I sat beside Dawn on her bed, feeling dejected.

"What's wrong?" Dawn worriedly asked.

Snapped back to my senses, I shrugged. "Nothing, just...thinking to myself. Special somepony, right? Sounds good, I'd like that," I placated.

Dawn smiled brightly. "Really?! Oh good. You know, when you gave me this, I wasn't sure what to think. How long were you feeling that way... about me?" Dawn asked shyly.

"Since you saved me in the Everfree," I replied.

It wasn't exactly a lie. I had grown quite fond of Dawn in the short time I had known her, but I don't think my feelings were strong enough to the point of purposefully proposing.

"What?" Dawn stammered out.

"You were courageous, strong, and capable. You're one heck of a mare, Dawn. It'd be hard for any sane pony not to fall for you," I stated as a matter of fact.

Dawn blushed deeply, looking down at the floor again.

I hopped off Dawn's bed, heading over toward the door. "Good night, Dawn."

"You're leaving?"

I nodded, looking back at her. "Yeah, I don't know about you, but it's been a long day and I'm exhausted. I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded understandingly.

Opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, I closed the door behind me. Upon looking up, I was met with a very surprised-looking Starlight Glimmer who vanished in a flash of light as soon as our eyes met. I rolled my eyes and continued on toward my room.

"Thank you," Chrysalis assented.

"I just hope I made the right call."

"You did, Chimera, you did."

I couldn't help but wonder if that was true. My heart felt like it was tearing itself apart, but there was nothing I could do about it. With no options left, I opted to head to bed. Maybe some sleep would help ease the pain. I could only hope so.

Chapter 23: To Date

Chapter Music

I sat at the table of a white room, waiting for something. As I watched the clock, my concentration was broken by the sound of a metallic screeching. The door to the room slid open and a man stepped through, staring down at a clipboard. He wore a white coat and moderately sized framed glasses. His hair seemed to be a shade of dark brown, the color of soil. Soil... that covers caskets. He walked over to the chair opposite from me, sitting down.

"Good morning sir, I'm Doctor Daniels, and I'll be your proctor for today. You filled out on your form that you have a history of mild Schizophrenia, Mania, PTSD, and Chronic Depression, correct?"

I nodded.

"Good, good, just making sure. I'm going to ask a series of questions now, please do your best to answer them. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question at any given time, just say 'skip'," Doctor Daniels said as he pulled a pen out from his breast pocket.

Again, I nodded. "Got it, doc."

"Alright let's see. Aside from medications, in the past thirty days, have you indulged in any sort of narcotics or alcoholic beverages?"

"No," I responded.

Doctor Daniels took a few notes before speaking again. "In the past thirty days, have you suffered from worsening symptoms of your conditions, or maybe even had a psychotic break?"

I remained silent for a minute.

"Okay, next-"

"Yes," I stated.

Doctor Daniels took some more notes. "You wrote down on your form that you had no living family members. Could you tell me more about that?"

"Skip," I said, looking down at the table. Of all the questions he could have asked...

Doctor Daniels made the motion of striking something off his clipboard. "Do you know why you're here today?"

"Clinical testing for an experimental drug, right? That's what the professor said."

"That's correct. It should have been on the form, but I feel obligated to tell you anyway, out of 73 applicants, only 4 have benefited from the drug. The rest either experienced no change in behavior, worsening symptoms, full-on psychotic breaks, or have even ended up in comas. A handful of them are even on suicide watch as we speak. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Doctor Daniels lamented.

I had already thought this over, I didn't need to second guess myself now. "I'm sure, Doc."

Doctor Daniels tossed his clipboard aside, clasping his hands before looking me in the eyes. "Look, kid, you're young. I can't possibly imagine what you're going through, but there's no guarantee that this will work. It might even show you a hell far worse than anything you've experienced. I'll tell you what, if you agree to go home right now, I'll give you a sure-fire way to reduce the symptoms of your condition. It won't cure you, that's for sure, but you'll be better off. I won't say that I don't understand, I know what happened to your-"

Getting a bit annoyed, I snapped a little. "I said I'm sure. Just give me the drug," I demanded with a bit of venom in my voice.

Doctor Daniels leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. "Alright...alright, kid."

Reaching into a coat pocket, Doctor Daniels pulled out a clear black pill bottle. He then slid it over to me, myself catching it in my left hand. I looked at the pill bottle in my hand, closely inspecting it. The pills looked... strange, to say the least. For one thing, every pill seemed to be a different color, the pills changing whenever I managed to focus on a single one.

"Take one of those at night just before bed. One, no more no less. And for the love of God, kid, don't mix them with alcohol or other drugs. That's where most applicants fail, I can't even tell you why they'd do something like that. That's all for now, please report back in three days."

Standing up from the table, I began making my way over to the door. Wrapping my hand around the handle, I heard Doctor Daniels speak up from behind me. "Stay strong, and good luck."

Upon opening the door, I was blinded by a bright light that completely consumed my being.

Anon's room...

"Up and at 'em!" Dawn cheerfully announced as she opened my curtains all the way.

I moaned, turning away from the sun's light as I placed a pillow over my head. I heard Dawn trot over to me, nudging me with her muzzle.

"Come on, Anon, you have to get up! I have the whole day planned out, we're gonna be late for our spa appointment," Dawn said, pleading with me.

Reluctantly, I rolled out of bed, landing on my hooves. I let out a yawn before rubbing my eyes. I could have sworn, I had some strange sort of dream. Pills? Yeah, I think it was about pills. Weird... Why can I hardly remember any of my dreams? I wonder if there's a spell to help me handle this, I'll have to look for one later.

I sighed in defeat before walking past Dawn towards the bathroom. "Alright, give me a minute..."

"Huh, she's still wearing the necklace," I thought to myself.

Later in Ponyville...

"Okay, we still have about an hour before our appointment, so in the meantime, let's do some shopping."

Faust, was I glad I brought my bag. Suddenly, Dawn took off toward a small stand selling apple products; this was something she had a bad habit of doing. I'll have to talk to her about it sometime. Just as I was about to follow after Dawn, I saw something that arguably changed my word. There was a small group changelings smiling brightly, but not changelings like myself, no, they were the newer variations of changelings. That's when an idea hit me. What if I copied their appearance? Then, I wouldn't have to hide the fact that I'm a changeling. It may not be the full truth, but I won't have to deceive people at the very least.

That... might work, I approve." Chrysalis acknowledged.

Watching the changeling's closely, I took in every detail of their appearance that I could. Luckily, I didn't have to learn the mechanisms behind their abilities, since they were changelings as well.

"Alright, that should do it, now where's Dawn?"

My mood instantly improved and I actually found myself smiling. Using my magic, sense, I was instantly able to pinpoint Dawn's location. Another benefit of all my training, I suppose. Effortlessly making my way through the crowd, I saw Dawn talking to another mare at the apple stand. The mare's coat was a pale, light grayish olive, her mane was brilliant amaranth, and her eyes a brilliant gamboge. Tieing off her mane was a light brilliant crimson bow tie. It seemed that I trotted over just as they finished their transaction.

Dawn turned around presenting me with a caramel apple on a stick. I took the apple in my grasp, thanking her as I did so. Taking a bite of the apple, I began appreciating how good it was. The apple was the perfect texture, not too hard, not too soft, and the caramel only served to complement this.

Dawn looked up at the sky as if contemplating something. "Ooh, let's head to the petting zoo!"

Grabbing me by the hooves, Dawn began leading me by the hoof, something I didn't know I missed so much. It was nice whenever she did this.

At the petting zoo...

We had been walked for maybe ten minutes along the outskirts of Ponyville. That's when I noticed that we had arrived at a familiar-looking cottage. Dawn led me around the side of the cottage, a sign dangling of a large fence. The sign read 'Fluttershy's Petting Zoo ( and Discord's)'

"Fluttershy...why does that name sound familiar? Wasn't she the author of that zoology book?" I thought to myself.

Dawn knocked on the gate of the fence a few times, shouting out Fluttershy's name. Dawn stepped back a few feet, the two of us waiting there in silence, hoof in hoof.

A few minutes passed before we heard anything. Eventually, we got a response.

"Coming!"

The door opened at a casual speed, a familiar mare standing in the doorway. At that moment, a horrid realization had hit me, causing me to let go of Dawn's hoof and take a few steps back.

"It's the he-mare that tried killing me!" I screamed to myself internally.

Chrysalis chuckled. "Relax, you're not a bunny right now, are you?"

"Oh...right."

Allowing myself to relax, I saw that both Dawn and Fluttershy were staring at me. I smiled nervously walking back up to the two of them.

Fluttershy spoke up first. "You two must be here for the petting zoo, come on inside."

Dawn entered first, apprehensively, I followed after. That's when I spotted a den full of rabbits. I'm not sure how, but I was instantly able to pinpoint a specific friend of mine, Angel.

"Angel?!" I blurted out.

Again, Fluttershy and Dawn looked at me. Dawn looked concerned, but Fluttershy looked confused.

"You know Angel?" she asked.

Realizing my mistake, I immediately tried to rectify it. "What? Angel? Where?" I said, looking all over the place and up at the sky.

Fluttershy pursed her lips, eyeing me suspiciously. "Anyway... you two can have a look around. The animal pins with a green sign are okay for interaction. Please, please, stay out of the ones with red signs. Also, only use the food from the bins placed outside their designated pins. If you'd like you can donate some bits over at the donation station. I have some work to do now, so enjoy your time here. I'll probably come by later if I have the chance, see you two later," Fluttershy said as she trotted to her cottage.

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Dawn said to Fluttershy.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy was already out of ear-shot, so she didn't respond. Dawn then turned to me, with a look of concern on her face. "Anon, are you feeling well?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm just a bit excited is all."

Walking over to the donation station, looking inside. There were a few bits at the bottom of the container, so I whipped out my bottomless bag and filled it to the brim with bits. I gotta keep my boys fed. Thinking of Angel and Harry, I wondered if I would get a chance to speak with them.

I walked over to Dawn who was now smiling more brightly than her necklace.

Sometime later...

Dawn and I now stood outside a building that I now knew was the spa. Honestly, it looked more like a circus house than anything else. I'm starting to notice a trend here in Ponyville.

I never got the chance to talk with Angel or Harry, I would have just looked too suspicious. I could have used telepathy, but I didn't want to run the risk of damaging their minds, it's still an experimental spell after all. Maybe I'll get a chance to catch up with them some other time; it'll probably have to be during my own time.

"This is it, the Ponyville Day Spa," Dawn announced.

I hummed to myself. "That's a very interesting aesthetic design."

Dawn giggled. "Come on, let's head inside silly."

Hours later...

After a long day of nothing but fun, Dawn and I stumbled through the front doors of the castle, dozens of bags in tow.
"Come on, let's go to my room," Dawn said, trotting up the stairs.

I caught myself looking at her flank again, but not feeling nearly as embarrassed this time. Reaching Dawn's room, we dropped all the bags on the floor, throwing ourselves on her bed beside each other.

"I had a lot of fun today, thanks for coming with me," Dawn confessed.

"It wasn't a big deal, besides, I had fun too," I admitted.

Dawn placed a hoof on mine, looking me in the eyes affectionately. "No seriously, thank you."

My intuition told me where this was going, but before I could let it go that far, the truth needed to come out, or at least parts of the truth. I sat upright in Dawn's bed.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, sounding confused and concerned.

"Dawn, I have something to tell you."

Chapter 24: Foreboding Heavens

Segment Music

Luna awoke in a cold sweat, something was clearly wrong. Being connected to the stars and moon meant that Luna could feel each and every one of their presence. Although they tended to blend together, even still, Luna knew something was wrong. She could feel the presence of hundreds of thousands of stars vanishing, the surrounding stars bleeding out into infinite darkness.

"That cannot be... we must alert Tia," Luna said as she desperately threw herself out of bed, out the door, and straight toward her sister's room. The stars screamed and roared their final bellows as their flames were being snuffed out. Luna could not hear it in the traditional sense, yet she could feel it, and it was horrifying. More horrifying than being consumed by one's inner demons, and more horrifying than being banished to the moon for a millennium.

Luna stopped her galloping as she collided with the figure of her sister. Celestia had already been on her way to Luna's room.

"Tia, something is wrong with the stars!" Luna stammered out through panicked breath.

Celestia nodded knowingly. "I know, we need to go see Twilight immediately."

In unison, the two sisters stretched their wings out before taking off toward Canterlot together. Ruling over the heavens for one thousand years by herself gave Celestia just as much sense of the imminent danger as Luna had gotten. Something was very wrong.

"Tia, whatever could this be?"

"I don't know Lulu, but it doesn't feel natural. Whatever this is, it almost feels otherworldly," Celestia replied as they picked up speed.

Luster Dawn's room... (Segment Music)

"Dawn, I have something to tell you," I said, holding my hooves out in front of me.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I'm not who you think I am," I sighed, looking over my shoulder at her.

She cocked an eyebrow, looking confused, but scooting closer to me. "Don't tell me you're a criminal."

Even in a tense situation like this, this got a laugh out of me. "No, I'm not a criminal, you don't have to worry about something like that."

Dawn looked at me with that same confused expression. "Then what?"

Allowing myself to undergo a phase shift, I could see Luster Dawn's expression change from one of confusion to one of shock. I only smiled at her gently through the green smoke and flames. I kept the transformation simple, a mint green carapace with hints of gamboge in it. I made my eyes a candy apple shade of red, and the holes present in my true changeling form were gone.

Keeping track of all my forms might become a hassle later, so I'll name this one Changeling Beta, and the other, Changeling Alpha. "I'm actually a changeling."

A few minutes later...

"Wait, so how much of what you said was true?"

Placing a hoof to my chin, I mimed being deep in thought. "Most of it, actually."

"You really did live in the Everfree?

"Yup," I stated with a bit of pride.

"Then, what about your family? Why would changelings be living in the Everfree? Aren't there all sorts of predators that target them, like chimeras and manticores?"

I chuckled to myself at the irony. "Actually, I was taken in by a kind family of ponies shortly after my birth. They'll always have a special place in my heart."

"Is that why you were in the form of a pony for so long?" Dawn asked, her shock no longer visible.

"Kind of. My mother told me not to go around in my changeling form, it just wasn't safe. As a pony though, the danger wasn't really an issue, mostly. It's also easier to fit in," I said, recalling my experience in the Everfree Forest.

Dawn seemed to nod understandingly. "So, what's your real name, if it's not Anonymous?"

"Chimera, but not many call me that. Anon's my main title, but I have been called Little Bunny before. Sorry for not telling you about this sooner, I was just a bit cautious, but I know now that there was nothing to be afraid of."

"You're right, there's nothing to fear. I understand why you hid it and just so you know, this doesn't change anything between us, for the most part."

"For the most part?"

Dawn looked at me with suggestive eyes as she grabbed me in her magic.

"Wait, no. I'm still here. Chimera? Chimera?!" Chrysalis said, sounding fearful.

Canterlot, Twilight's Throne Room... (Segment Music)

Twilight sat on her throne, hanging by a thread of her sanity. Though she had been hiding it quite well, Spike knew that she was reaching her tipping point.

"Twilight, maybe you should get some rest, stimulant magic can only do so much."

Twilight shook her head. "I can't, Spike, I have to remain alert. Something might come up again, and when it does, I have to be ready."

Just as Twilight finished talking, the doors to her throne room were opened by a fleet of guards, the two former princesses stepping through.

Twilight immediately began descending her throne, making her way over to her predecessors, Spike following suit. They all gave courtesy bows to each other.

"Celestia, Luna? What brings you two here, is it girls' night out already?" Twilight said, smiling at the two.

The two sisters grimaced at each other, Celestia speaking up first.

"While I do wish we were here on a more positive note, Twilight, we are not. Tonight, we sensed a great disturbance in the heavens. We would like you to confirm this for us," Celestia said, wearing a worried expression.

"Disturbance in the heavens?" Twilight said, a bit confused at first before figuring out what it was that Celestia meant.

Closing her eyes, Twilight allowed her celestial magic to connect with nearby celestial bodies, upon feeling said disturbance, she broke the connection off instantly. "What in Equestria?"

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "No, no, that can't be right. The constellations are all wrong. Why are there formations missing?"

Again, Twilight closed her eyes, focusing her celestial magic on nearby celestial bodies, only to find that even more had vanished. "What is going on?" Twilight whispered to herself.

Luna stepped up next. "That, we do not know, dearest niece, that is why we have come to you. The stars bleed and cry out, only to be silenced after mere moments of their pleading. We fear that this, very well, may signify the end of Equestria."

Spike who had been close by listening felt a wave of horror pass through his body. "What do you mean by the end of Equestria? We've been through things like this countless times, haven't we? We'll just go deal with the threat like we always have and everything will return to normal, right Twilight?"

Twilight remained silent, for the first time in a long time, she found herself at a loss for words. Twilight found herself looking down at the ground, searching for some sort of solution. There had to be something.

As if a lightbulb lit up above her head, Twilight's eyes widened in realization. "The map!"

"The map?" Spike, Celestia, and Luna all said in unison.

"Sorry, no time to explain, we gotta go!" Twilight said before performing a mass teleportation spell.

A few seconds later at Starlight's Castle...

Twilight, Spike, Celestia, and Luna arrived in the throne room of Twilight's former castle in a flash of light and magicules. Twilight could immediately tell that it had been a long time since anypony had used this room; it seemed to be repurposed as some sort of storage room. Luckily, the map was still there. Even after all these years, it didn't seem to have a spec of dust on it. Strangely enough, Discord was floating above the map in his pajamas, curled into himself, wearing a sleep mask, and holding a teddy bear.

"Discord?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Using a talon, Discord lifted his sleep mask above one eye before tossing everything he had on him into nothing.

"Oh good, you're finally here! I was starting to think you wouldn't show. How have you all been?" Discord asked charismatically.

Twilight looked at Discord suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

Discord inspected his talons absentmindedly. "Well, I was waiting on all of you actually. Fractions of the universe disappearing at a time don't exactly go unnoticed to a chaos lord. I'm brimming with so much energy, you see, and it's rather inconvenient actually. I fear all this chaos might be giving me a stomach ache. I was wondering if you could be a pal and help me out, Twilight."

Stepping towards the map, Celestia spoke up. "I fear this is far worse than we initially thought then."

The map had several firey orbs glowing on it as opposed to the traditional cutie mark indicators: a black orb in the Badlands, a green orb at Canterlot, and a faint white one that seemed to be in Starlight's castle itself.

Twilight leaned closer to the faint white one, noticing something off about it. At a glance, it looked like one orb, but upon further inspection, it was actually two closely conjoined orbs with a small hint of green in them.

"This one looks like it's in the royal garden," Spike pointed a digit at the green orb on the map.

"We believe you are correct," Luna revealed.

"Yes, but what do they mean? They're not even cutie marks," Twilight groaned.

Celestia looked at the map, deep in thought. "Why don't we investigate the locations first?"

"If I may interject, I could act as the navigator," Discord said, snapping his talons with a flash of light, and reappearing in a navigator's uniform. Everypony and dragon heard what Discord said resonate within their minds. Telepathy was a spell that each of the princesses could have easily blocked under normal circumstances, but Discord was currently being super-charged by a mysterious force right now.

Twilight looked at Discord for a good moment before sighing. "Alright, Discord, you can be the navigator, but the rest of us need to formulate a plan."

"I suggest requesting the aid of your friends as well, Twilight," Celestia chimed in.

"I will, but for now, we just need to assess the situation."

"Our ears are open," Luna vowed.

Twilight looked down at the map, thinking about the situation. "Okay, Spike, you stay here and search the castle. Luna, I need you at the royal gardens. Celestia and I will check out the Badlands. We need to act fast, there's no telling how much time we have left."

Everyone in the room nodded at each other. Spike was the first to run off. Luna was the second to leave, flying away through a window. Twilight and Celestia vanished in a flash of light as Twilight lit up her horn, leaving Discord alone to look at the map.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Faust," Discord muttered.

Luster Dawn's room... (Segment Music)

Luster Dawn abruptly stopped cuddling my tiny bunny body as she and I noticed an enormous magical presence just appear close by. By enormous, I mean astronomically higher than my own and Dawn's combined. Letting me go, Dawn sat up in her bed. "What is that?"

Shifting back into my Beta form, I sat on Dawn's bed feeling quite full and confused. The former being because of all the love I just received, and the latter is because of this enormous magical presence. "I'm not sure, but it's definitely huge."

Dawn smiled, looking over at me. "Wanna go check it out?"

I hummed to myself. "I don't think that's a very good idea, Dawn."

Dawn waved a hoof dismissively. "Come on, we're just going to look, that's all, I promise."

I had a feeling there was no talking her out of this. Was the necklace making her extraordinarily brave? No, she was like that before.

"Alright, fine, but just a peek," I said as I rolled off the bed and onto my hooves.

Dawn cheered as she flung the door open, ushering me outside. This magic signature didn't feel ominous, but I still wanted to be careful. Checking that Dawn still had her necklace on, I proceeded out of the room. Although I was now visibly a changeling, it didn't worry me in the slightest, since Dawn already knew and accepted it. Well, my beta form at least.

Chrysalis' Interlude #5

Chapter Music

I never thought I'd be grateful for the day one of my children didn't make love. Making love yourself is one thing, but being trapped in another's body while they make love would have been another. Luckily, it seems the two foals are rather innocent in that regard, instead choosing to... cuddle. I can't help but wonder what genuine physical affection would feel like for myself. I've only ever used my body as leverage or taken advantage of other's lust. I could hardly count any of those experiences as genuine.

Anyway, there have been quite of few developments since my last critical analysis of the happenings in Equestria and Chimera's life. Nothing eventful has happened in Equestria recently aside from this magical presence nearby. Interestingly, Chimera's power has jumped several orders of magnitude; he's been training harder ever since that filly friend of his was targeted by possession. The primary emotion during these hours of climbing was frustration oddly enough.

Aside from that, there's only one more thing that's been on my mind. Chimera's dreams have grown more vivid; they're too realistic to set aside anymore. These 'dreams' are not dreams. They're... memories. I remember learning of dark magic from a witch, an umbrum I believe. For a short while, she requested refuge in the hive in exchange for her services. She was always meddling around with that book of hers. One time, I asked about what she was doing; the answer was not what I was expecting. She started by explaining the concept of a soul, which was simple to understand, but hard to believe. I mean, come on, how could every sapient creature have something within them that surpasses the physical and the magical? Now, I'm starting to think that wasn't such a load of horse crap after all.

Since the very beginning, there have been areas of Chimera's mind closed off from the hivemind for seemingly no reason. Now, I was given a clear view of creatures known as humans. They seemed so alien in dimensions and detail, that it felt strange looking at them. Then there was that bottle, the one with the prismatic capsules... they almost looked magical in origin....

Setting that aside, I've been doing some thinking about what I'd like to do once I've been freed. I think I would like to live alongside Chimera. I would like to spend some proper time with my child once this is all over. I suppose that filly could join us as well, I could use a few grand foals. Hives are just too much work to look after.

Chapter 25: Cometh the Hour

Segment Music

Dawn and I now stood outside a room I had never noticed before; the enormous magical presence on the other side. Stepping up to the door, I opened it just a crack, sticking my head inside. What I saw both confused me and made sense all at once.

"What the?" I whispered to myself.

"How curious..." Chrysalis mused.

In the center of the room was what seemed to be a holographic 3-D map laid over it. Aside from this, the rest of the room looked extremely unkempt. This was understandable though, it looked like some kind of storage room.

Dawn leaned against me, trying to peek inside as well. "What is it? Let me see," Dawn pleaded.

I moved out of the way, giving her the opportunity to see for herself. Dawn stuck her head through the doorway before pulling it back out abruptly.

"What's Discord doing here?!"

"I don't know, but I'm finding out," I said as I opened the door a bit more and slipped inside, Dawn following after me.
"Stay close," I whispered, as I darted behind a stack of boxes.
"Don't worry, I will."

I stopped in my tracks, realizing that it wasn't Dawn that replied. Turning on a dime, I was now face to face with the Lord of Chaos himself. Discord leaned in close to me, stroking the tuft of his chin with a paw as he looked at me. He hummed to himself curiously before using his talons to turn my head, inspecting me more closely.

"So terribly sorry about this, but I just need to confirm something." Discord lamented as he placed his pawed appendage to my chest.

Upon doing so, I felt a sharp, white-hot pain course through my body. In an instant, Discord's paw was recoiled by bolts of white ethereal lightning. Discord's hand smoked for a bit afterward, but there was no serious damage left behind. Just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it had also vanished. Discord held his paw in his talon, looking away from me.

"What a fearsome thing, and I was only trying to say hello. So that's her aim then..."

I was confused, to say the least. "What did you-"

Just as I was about to ask Discord about what he had done to me, Dawn suddenly made a loud gasping noise. Discord vanished and reappeared above the map. I trotted up beside Dawn from behind the boxes to see what she had been looking at. Dark tendrils were stretching out from a single black blot on the map. The tendrils almost seemed to be alive with how fluidly they were moving. Two tendrils in particular seemed to be moving at high speeds towards a green orb on the map. At seeing this, I suddenly felt a massive wave of dread pass over me.

"Oh, that certainly doesn't feel ri-" Chrysalis said before abruptly being cut off.

The small connection I had to my mother had been severed in an instant, and I had no idea why. At that moment, I had dropped everything I had been doing or feeling and looked for the nearest exit to the room I was in. Somehow, I knew where that green orb was, and I knew I had to get to it before those tendrils did. Setting my sights on a window, I stretched my wings out before taking off. With my current speed, I knew that I wouldn't make it in time, so I decided on using magic as well. Using telekinesis, I influenced my body to move faster by pulling in the direction I was flying. On top of this, I used the barrier spell to make a semi-permeable barrier that would allow me to catch just the right amount of updraft while also cutting through the wind. Finally, I topped this off with a series of combustion spells behind myself, increasing my speed nearly five to six times. My magic was steadily draining, but that wasn't what I was concerned with.

Despite my drastic increase in speed, the wild throbbing in my chest never ceased, it only got faster. From Ponyville to Canterlot was about four hours by train, but I should be able to arrive significantly faster. Even still... I just don't know if I can make it in time.

Canterlot Royal Garden... a few minutes ago...Segment Music

Luna had arrived at a dead silent garden, not even the crickets made any sort of noise. She began looking around in hopes of finding anything obvious or indicative of the green orb but found nothing.

Through telepathy, Discord started guiding Luna. "To your left... no, no my left."

Luna sighed, a bit annoyed. "We cannot see you, Discord."

"Oh, that's right, my apologies, it must have slipped my mind. Head straight."

Following Discord's instructions, Luna came to a dead end. All that stood before her, were the statues of three petrified figures, the very same figures that tried to take over Equestria nearly two decades ago. Luna searched around for a few minutes, only to find nothing.

"We have found nothing," Luna stated.

Discord hummed to himself methodically. "Perhaps-"

Before Discord could finish the thought, the telepathic connection between himself and Luna was severed, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts. The moment this happened, Luna immediately knew something was wrong. The magic in the surrounding area had been cut off. It was as if the magic beyond a certain point had vanished without a trace. Luna looked around desperately searching for an answer to this newest development. It was when her eyes drifted up toward the sky that she noticed what exactly had happened. There was no sky in sight, instead, she had been precipitously trapped inside a pitch-black dome. Despite this fact, she could still see somewhat fine, the area had just gotten significantly dimmer.

Focusing her magic on the barrier, she attempted to use dispel, but it had no effect. The barrier felt vaguely like some form of dark magic, but far too ominous to be dark magic by itself.

Without any warning, Luna felt a cold sharp pain appear across her neck. She gasped for air, clasping at her neck with a hoof, a silver viscous fluid dripping from an open wound. It seemed to almost sparkle as it seeped into the soil of the garden, causing small royal blue flowers to sprout from the ground.

"So, alicorns do bleed after all," A smooth feminine voice said from behind Luna.

Luna whipped around toward the direction of the voice, only to see nothing. Casting a healing spell on herself, her wound began to close itself, returning her vitality. Luna placed a barrier around her body, getting into a defensive stance.

"Who is there?!" Luna yelled into the darkness using her Royal Canterlot voice; something she hadn't done in years.

Luna got no reply, causing her anxiety to increase gradually as the silence grew. Without warning, Luna felt her hind legs give out as she fell to the ground. There was a sharp pain across her fetlocks that definitely hadn't been there before. Looking at her hind legs, Luna realized that they too had been inconspicuously slashed. Healing this injury as well, Luna stood up before taking to the skies to overlook the garden. She had sworn her barrier had been up, yet she had still managed to get attacked. What's worse is that the barrier never came into contact with anything, she would have felt it if it did. Again, as Luna surveyed her surroundings, she found nothing.

Without any warning, Luna felt something adhere to her left hind hoof as she was yanked out of the air and slammed into the center of the garden. A small cloud of dust had been kicked up from the impact, but Luna hadn't taken too much damage from it. With a burst of magic, Luna stood up, clearing away the dust in an instant.

"Enough! Show thy self, scoundrel!"

"It pains me to do this, truly, but the Lord wills it," a cloaked figure stated as it walked toward Luna from seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing a knife engraved with strange symbols.

Luna's eyes drifted toward the knife, traces of sparkling silver lining the edge of the blade. It was blood, her blood. Weapons that could harm an alicorn were few and far between, yet this one was able to draw blood. Luna was suddenly filled with anger. She shot a powerful beam of magic at the figure, only for it to phase right through the being. Luna took a step back in confusion.

The cloaked figure chuckled to itself, removing its cloak as it and dropping it to the ground, "That won't work on me, but you're welcome to keep trying."

The figure that stood before Luna was nearly six feet tall, slender, but muscular. Upon seeing the creature though, Luna immediately knew what it was.

"An argonian?" Luna said, confused by her presence.

She spun the tip of her knife on her finger. "Oh, you know of us?"

"Of course, we do; a brutal cannibalistic race that drove itself to extinction, correct?" Luna said coyly.

The argonian smiled at this. "That's right, but our Lord has returned the gift of life to those of us that we're worthy."

Luna eyed the argonian dubiously. "Necromancy..."

Before Luna got any sort of reply, she felt something hard connect with her side. Luna was sent hurdling through rows of shrubs, eventually breaking her momentum by spreading her wings out before she touched the barrier. There were now two enemies she needed to deal with.

The moment Discord lost contact with Luna, he had already teleported to her location. He was met with a familiar scenario to the one her witnessed in the Everfree not too long ago. The difference was, that even with his enhanced chaos magic, the barrier wouldn't break. This barrier was far stronger and more refined than its predecessor ever was. They were almost incomparable.

"Well, that's not good."

Discord thought to himself for a moment before deciding on what to do. Faced with no other options, he opted to alert Twilight and Celestia about the situation through telepathy.

"So sorry to bother you two, especially on an important mission and all, but I fear Tia's sister may be in danger. Her magical presence vanished altogether in the gardens, and there's this barrier I can't quite seem to get through."

Twilight responded instantly. "We'll be right there."

With a flash of light, Celestia and Twilight were standing beside Discord, staring at a pitch-black wall.

Somewhere in the Badlands...

"It would seem that my subordinates are having much more trouble than I thought," A wicked voice said from within Sombra's head.

Sombra sat atop an onyx throne, two cloaked figures of a taller stature beside him. Sombra looked to each figure coldly.

"Go assist them, whether you fail or not, don't come straight back here. Make sure you aren't being followed before coming back," Sombra instructed.

Under the orders of Sombra, the two figures vanished into the shadows, as if swimming in them.

Inside the dome...(Segment Music)

Luna had taken some significant damage, then again, so have her adversaries. Luna had figured out the magic phased through the ghost-like argonian with the abnormally long tongue, but she was completely vulnerable to physical attacks. Luckily, Luna was quite the skilled hoof to hoof fighter. If the barrier hadn't been blocking out magic from reaching the outside world, she would have summoned her crescent eclipse blades and ended this fight much sooner. The other problem was the hooded figure that had joined the battle out of nowhere. It was smaller than the ghost-argonian, but it was extremely agile. Also, any sort of damage Luna did to it didn't seem to matter. In seconds, even without the use of magic, the wounds would heal. The only indication Luna had that the figure was even sustaining injuries was by the fact that it was gradually slowing down.

Needless to say, they were all in a tight spot, but Luna was especially tired. Being unable to siphon magic from the outside meant she was only losing more of it by the second. The barrier seemed to be absorbing whatever residual magicules that were inside of it before it formed. If this kept up, she wouldn't last much longer.

"I'm honestly surprised you were able to figure it out, but I'm still far from serious," the ghost-argonian said as it began walking toward the statues at the end of the garden.

Luna charged at the figure, only for the other figure to throw a powerful spinning kick at her. Luna managed to block the attack with a barrier but was still pushed back. Forced to sit back and watch whatever it was that the figure was doing, the ghost-like argonian eventually stopped in front of the statue of three petrified villains. Placing a dactyl to the statue of the former Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, it fell to pieces. Left behind was an almost transparent floating orb that emanated a green glow. The figure reached out, grabbing the orb before absorbing it into her body.

After doing so, all of her wounds healed, and her muscles seemed to tighten. She titled her head back toward Luna, smiling sadistically. Luna wasn't quite sure what she had just witnessed, but she was disgusted by it nonetheless.

"I'm sure the Lord wouldn't mind me borrowing one."

Chapter 26: Cometh the Beast

Segment Music

Celestia paced back and forth in front of the barrier, wearing an extremely worried expression. It had been almost an hour since Discord had alerted them. In spite of their greatest efforts, everything the trio tried had failed. Even with their combined might, the barrier didn't budge.

Twilight yelled in frustration as she started hurling rocks at the barrier using telekinesis. All at once, Discord, Twilight, and Celestia stopped what they were doing as a peculiar changeling made its way toward the barrier. The changeling looked both exhausted and scared, yet it continued toward the barrier, shattering it upon coming into contact with it. It didn't even exert any sort of force, it just walked straight through, and the entire barrier went down.

Twilight, Celestia, and Discord watched the changeling in surprise and shock up until they noticed the changeling stop in its tracks. All of their eyes drifted to the scene before the small changeling.

Luna stood defiantly in front of two figures, battered, cut, and bruised, barely able to stand up. The gardens, completely destroyed. But the sight they had all been seeing was not the same one.

I stopped in my tracks, paralyzed by fear. I wanted nothing more than for all of this to be a dream, but I knew better. Through the chaos of the battlefield, I slowly walked toward the destroyed body of my mother, feeling numb to my surroundings. I couldn't speak, I couldn't whimper, and I couldn't even weep. I felt something catch in my throat, suffocating anything that could possibly come out. Reaching my mother's remains, I fell to my haunches, staring down in disbelief. I shakily took her head in my hooves, turning it to face me. Fear and anger were all that I saw, and I couldn't help but imagine that those feelings were aimed toward me. Through the despair, however, I found a sliver of hope.

Conjuring magic in my horn I cast a reconstruction spell on the remains of my mother. In time, the pieces began rearranging themselves into the whole frame of my mother. For a moment, I thought that it might genuinely work, but that flame of hope was quickly snuffed out. Her body fell apart before my eyes. In desperation, I started using all manner of spells in unison, looking for any possible combination that might work: telekinesis, reinforcement, abrasion, reconstruction, but nothing worked. My mother was gone, and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. I felt my vision grow blurry as warm tears began streaming down my face. It felt as if the world around me vanished, and I was all alone with the corpse of my mother.

This was my fault, how could it not be? If I had focused solely on my training instead of messing around, maybe, just maybe, I could have prevented this. No, even then, I wouldn't have been strong enough. I just didn't have enough time. Rearing my head back towards the sky, I allowed myself to sink into the depths of despair.

"Who...did this?" I asked myself in the darkness.

That's right, I don't even know who did this. Through blurred vision, I looked around the garden, my eyes stopping on a single figure, brandishing a knife. I could see it, I could feel it, the distorted essence of my mother, but why did they have it? My eyes drifted from the figure down to the pieces of my mother, and back to the figure.

"Of course, so that's how it is," I muttered.

Turning back to look at mother once more, I felt my disguise slip away.

Suddenly, I felt a white-hot heat flash through my veins, a rage rising that came from so deep within myself that it almost seemed alien. Slowly, but surely, I felt every sense of reason I had left beginning to fade into nothingness. I saw glimpses of memories that didn't seem like my own, and yet they did: large black bags on trays, the disfigured faces of strange creatures, and loving memories shared with those creatures. It all made no sense, yet I understood perfectly what these memories were.

Segment Music

Two cloaked figures emerged from the shadows of the Canterlot Royal Gardens. Though they had been commanded to assist their allies with their mission, they had only expected at one alicorn at most to be there, but there were three and a certain draconequus. Just as the cloaked figures were about to interfere, they were paralyzed by an overwhelming sense of dread. All at once, every being in the gardens felt this same feeling and gazed over in the direction of the source.

Standing in front of the destroyed statue of Chrysalis was a single changeling, a changeling whose appearance was not that of Thorax's subjects. The changeling stood with its back turned to everyone as it began emanating white and green smoke and flames. The wind had picked up, swirling around the mass of warped flame. Gradually, the white of the flames began transitioning to a pitch-black color that seemed to distort the light around it. The maelstrom of fire consumed the changeling's figure and through the darkness, a creature exuding an overwhelming bloodlust could be seen. No being dared move from their spot.

As the wind died down, the flames dissipated, revealing the focal point of all this dread. Standing before the statues was a single figure. It looked to be at least an eight-foot-tall, bipedal, muscular, jet-black armored insectoid creature with piercing white glowing eyes. It stood there looking down at the ground before raising its claws to eye level, rearing its head back and letting out a massive surge of magic while simultaneously screeching and roaring all at once. All of Canterlot shook under the pressure.

Segment Music

Although this beast was exuding a terrifying amount of bloodlust, Twilight could tell that this was more than a war cry, it was the scream of a tortured soul. In an instant, the creature vanished from its spot faster than the eye can see and reappearing behind the argonian with its mother's presence. The argonian was a bit different from the rest though, thanks to her dynamic visual acuity, she possessed 360-degree vision. Despite this advantage, however, she was hardly able to track the creature's movements. Spinning around instantly, she only saw a jet black armored claw heading straight for her face. Unable to move fast enough out of the way, the clawed appendage gripped her by the head, squeezing tightly and lifting her off the ground.

She screamed loudly in pain as claws slowly dug into her flesh, her allies finally snapping into action. She stabbed at the creature's body, only for the knife to be repelled each time. Its armor was too hard to pierce. She thrust her knife at one of the creature's eyes, the knife shattering to pieces before reaching it. The creature had used its pincers and teeth to bite down on the knife, the very same knife that was enchanted with dark magic strong enough to pierce through alicorn flesh. Desperately, she began flailing around in the grasp of the beast, throwing kicks and punches to no avail. She stopped, realizing how futile her effort was.

The creature had been down at her with a look that could only be described as pure hatred before her world faded to black. The beast had impaled her through the torso with its other claw, black blood splattering everywhere, before it bit down on her head, devouring her entire upper body, and tossing the rest aside like trash.

From beside the creature, the smaller hooded figure jumped at the beast, preparing to land a spinning kick only to be swatted away at terrifying speed with one arm, crashing through several castle walls, a thunderous boom resounding throughout Canterlot. A fleet of guards came rushing out to see what the commotion was all about, only to see what looked like a warzone. They began inching toward the creature in the center, spears drawn, before Luna stepped in front of them, wings spread out defiantly.

The two other hooded figures leaped at the creature, brandishing weapons of their own. The slightly larger one wielded a large double-edged ax, and the other had a swept hilt rapier.

"You bastard!" The larger figure yelled before swinging its ax at the creature with all of his force, his attack hitting open air.

"Claw, look out!" His comrade screamed.

It was too late, in a fraction of a second after missing, he felt something sharp wrap around his ankle before being violently slammed into the ground repeatedly, a huge crater opening wider with every slam. The hammering was so ferocious that the air pressure from the shockwaves made sure that the victim's ally was barely able to stand his ground. There were black blotches of blood splattering everywhere, causing all plant life that they touched to die. The beast stopped, lifting the mangled body of the argonian off the ground by one leg.

Celestia and Discord looked at the scene in horror. Luna looked on with a growing worry welling up inside of her. Twilight was worried yes, but she felt a sense of sympathy for this creature, but also for its enemies. These weren't actions by a sadistic person, they were actions taken out of despair and rage.

"What could cause a creature to lose all control like this?" Twilight thought to herself.

Luna's growing worry was for another reason, however. Once the beast was done ravaging its foes, would it even cease its rampaging?

Claw's ally stood at the edge of the massive crater, paralyzed by fear. He held his weapon out shakily toward the beast, his heart throbbing wildly.

"What are you!?"

The beast didn't reply, instead, it tossed the body of the argonian at the other, and vanished out of sight. The argonian managed to catch the body of his mangled leader, looking away from the beast for only a split second. That's when he felt something hot burn against his back, as a spark of light began glowing brighter. A wall of fire and smoke consumed the three figures. After it cleared away, all that stood there was the beast, ashes blowing away in the wind.

It stood there looking at the ground for a while before collapsing to its knees, unmoving. Its arms hung low to the ground as if defeated. Silence, once again, fell over the garden. After a few minutes, Twilight began walking toward the creature only to be stopped by Discord.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Twilight."

Twilight teleported around Discord, continuing her way to the creature. Upon closer inspection, Twilight found that it was no longer conscious. It had fallen asleep in that position, its magic no longer surging, and tears pouring from its eyes.

Chapter 27: Unity

Chapter Music

I stood within an infinitely expansive starry void. Although I felt virtually weightless, I could still feel that I was standing on some sort of plain. I looked down at my hands, noticing that they were a nebulous white mist taking a form reminiscent of hands. This theme applied to the rest of my body as well.

"Where am I, what's happening to me?" I asked no one in particular, yet I received a response.

"I'm not quite sure myself," a gentle feminine voice said from behind me.

I turned to look over my metaphysical shoulder at the owner of the voice, my mind taking a moment to process what I was seeing. It was a horse-like creature of some sort. Its coat was light goldish grey which almost seemed white at a glance. Its mane was moderate amaranth, and its eyes were moderate arctic blue. Unlike a normal horse, this one had wings, a horn, and looked somewhat cartoonish.

I didn't respond to her, I was simply too confused to.

"It would seem that a soul of another reality has arrived in my own. It may have something to do with the weakening of my universal barriers. That entity seems to really want in," she mused to herself.

"Who are you, no, what are you?" I asked.

"Oh, how rude of me. I am called Faust, I suppose I'm something akin to a goddess, as this is my universe," she explained.

"A goddess?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances, something like this would never occur even if the universal barriers have been weakened. How did you find yourself in such a place?"

I thought about the question for a moment. My last memories were of myself taking a strange prismatic pill that seemed to shift color before passing out. I remained silent.

"Well, whatever the case may be, I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor? Can't you just send me home?"

Faust looked at me with a pitying expression. "Allow me to answer that question with another. Do you truly wish to go home?"

I didn't, not really. No matter where I would go, my memories would still haunt me. Again, I remained silent.

"Fending off extra-dimensional threats is...exhausting, to say the least. And this one is much stronger than average. Luckily, you don't seem malevolent. Thus, I have a favor to ask of you?"

"What is it?"

"I would ask that you incarnate into my universe, and defend it from within. I'll do what I can from the outside, but entering my universe is something I'd rather abstain from doing at the moment. If I were to enter the universe, I wouldn't be able to use my powers to their fullest. I see that your soul has unique properties, properties that could directly oppose the incoming threat. You shouldn't have to do too much, beings like this usually act through medians, proxies, if you will, to invade other universes. As long as you can find it, and dispose of it, I should be able to fend off this entity with relative ease," Faust explained.

I paused for a moment, thinking over what I had just been told. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you," Faust's wings lowered a bit in response.

"I see. Could you tell me why?"

I turned away from her, staring into the starry void. "I can't protect anyone, let alone an entire universe. I'm guaranteed to fail."

The goddess remained silent before responding. "Even so, I would be extremely grateful if you tried. I know you're hurting, but you're their only hope," Faust said, as multiple projections appeared in front of me.

Each projection depicted creatures similar to Faust herself, only smaller, alongside a plethora of other mythical races. They all seemed to be enjoying their best lives, unaware of the imminent danger. I could feel my metaphysical heart begin to tear at the sight of this.

I clenched the nebulous white mist of my chest with one of my hands, looking down at my feet. "If I don't do this... what will happen to them?"

Faust walked up beside me, staring at the projections for a good moment before responding. "They...will perish, likely unable to rest even in death."

At this, I felt a strong sense of guilt overtake me. I looked toward Faust with a newfound conviction. "Fine, I'll do it."

Faust's eyes widened a bit in surprise, her wings perking up. "Really? Are you sure?"

"I said I'll do it, so I'll do it. I can't guarantee I'll succeed though," I said as I grimaced.

Faust smiled softly at me. "Thank you, dear lost soul. If I may ask, what is your name?"

"Does it really matter?"

Faust chuckled a bit at this. "No, I suppose not. Then, I suppose this is farewell until we meet again. Sorry in advance, this may be a bit jarring. Remember, you must find the proxy," she said as her horn began to glow with a light blue magical aura.

She pointed her horn at me, a flash of blue light engulfing me, then, there was darkness. Warm, wet, and cramped darkness.

"What’s going on?" I thought to myself, panic beginning to set it before I knew it.

Within Chimera's Mind...

I remained still, suspended in a black void. I began moving around, using my limbs to get around. I was still a changeling so that was a thing. Within the darkness, a flash of light appeared before me. All that floated before me was a strange glowing creature that seemed to be made of a nebulous white mist. It had no defining features other than a mouth, but even that, was hardly defined. The creature floated toward me, sticking a misty hand out toward my face.

I closed my eyes, shying away from its touch, but after a few moments of nothing happening, I opened my eyes only to be flicked on the forehead. Suddenly, I felt an immense amount of information flood my mind all at once. Suddenly, everything made sense, my world, fading to white.

Canterlot Castle Dungeons...

"The proxy!" I jolted awake, only for my throat to suddenly get caught against something ice cold. I found myself chained to the floor of a prison cell, my neck being restrained to the wall by chains as well. I was in my changeling alpha form, the one I wasn't supposed to get caught in. For whatever reason, I couldn't muster any magic, and my body felt weak. That didn't matter though, I remembered everything now. The two halves of my being had finally become one.

A few pony guards darted away from my cell. "It's awake! Tell the princess!"

"You're finally awake, I was starting to worry," a familiar voice said from within my head. A voice that made my heart skip a beat.

Through disbelief, I could only ask one thing. "M-mother?"

"Who else would it be, Faust?" She responded sarcastically.

"But I thought, you were-"

"Dead? Oh dear, it'll take more than having my body shattered to kill me. Although, being used as a battery was rather unpleasant," Chrysalis interjected.

"But how?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Please, I have to," I pleaded.

Chrysalis sighed. "Very well, but just remember, you were the one who asked. It was when you consumed that creature, the one with the knife, that my soul completely transferred into your body. Speaking of souls, yours is rather strange."

"When I what? Did I eat someone?" I began racking my mind for such an event only to end up feeling sick to my stomach. "That's a lot of carnage, that's definitely going to cause issues later. Actually, that's probably why I'm locked up right now."

"Maybe, then again, they were already dead, so anything could happen."

"Even still, I'm glad you're alive. I was...worried," I admitted, feeling relieved.

Chrysalis remained silent for a moment. "I love you, my child, so don't do anything stupid like that again."

"What?"

Chrysalis sighed loudly. "You heard me," she muttered.

I wasn't quite sure how to take this, I never expected it after all. All I could do was respond in kind. "I won't, I love you too," I confessed. Despite all that happened, I couldn't help but feel overwhelming joy.

Our catharsis was interrupted by the sound of a slow, methodical hoof step approaching my cell. Based on the magic, I could already infer who it was. Now stopped in front of my cell was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. She stared down at me for a good moment, myself gazing back. Her expression was...pitying.

"I'm not quite sure what you are. You're unlike any changeling I've ever seen."

I remained silent.

"I'm going to be straight with you, your situation's not looking very good. There were three deaths tonight," Twilight disclosed.

Three? Shouldn't there be four?

"Luckily, we were able to catch one of them alive. She's locked up right now, similar to you actually. However, we can change that, if you agree to cooperate with us, that is. Technically, you didn't kill anypony. Dark magic was heavily involved with these beings, necromancy. The real problem lies in the fact that you've proven you have a capacity for violence, so I have a few questions to ask of you," Twilight said as the chains restraining me fell off my body.

"Are you on our side, will you help us?" Twilight requested.

She wants my help? Actually, this might be a good thing. More allies would make my mission far easier.

"I will, but there's something I need to ask first," I said as I stood up.

"Yes, what is it?"

"The statues in the garden, can they be repaired? I'm waiting for my mother to come home."

Twilight looked at me with a look at confusion. "Yes actually, Discord already repaired all of the damage to the garden and the castle for that matter.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It seems like things are looking up.

Twilight smiled. "We appreciate it. When I saw you walk through that barrier of dark magic, I knew you would be an essential asset to the ongoing investigation."

A guard walked in front of my cell, eyeing me nervously before he unlocked it with a set of keys. Twilight then dismissed the guard, allowing me to step out and follow after her. I slipped on my changeling beta disguise as an extra precaution. Everyone was probably already on edge, and being seen in my original form by everypony won't do me any good.

Chapter 28: Alliance

Segment Music

I followed behind Twilight through the castle. As we walked, I noticed how the guards looked at me with apprehension. I suppose everypony was on edge after what happened tonight, that is if it even was the same night.

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"How long was I out for?"

She pursed her lips, bobbing her head for an answer. "Maybe five or four hours," she stated.
I sighed in relief, glad that it was only for a short time. For one thing, I didn't want to be gone from Starlight's castle for too long, Dawn might worry, and for another, I had a feeling there wasn't much time left to complete my mission.

Twilight spoke again. "I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries by assuming things but were you perhaps upset by the destruction of Chrysalis' statue?"

I looked at the ground, recalling the hurricane of emotions. "I thought they killed my mother."

"Your mother is...Chrysalis? Like directly your mother?"

"That's right."

"That explains your pre-renaissance form, I suppose. But how? She's been in stone for almost two decades now," Twilight stated, sounding immensely confused.

"Don't tell her," Chrysalis urged.

"I can't do that. There's no point in hiding my identity anymore, besides, I have a plan anyway. If I can prove my usefulness outweighs my risk, which it does, then they'll be forced to accept me, in some capacity at least. There's also something you need to know."

"I'll explain everything once we get to the Council Room if that's okay with you princess?" I said out loud.

"How did you know we were going to the throne room?"

"I did some reading. A crisis threatening all of Equestria, no, beyond that. I assume you'll be needing all hand- all hooves on deck."

Twilight's wings seemed to flatten against her sides at the hearing this.

"It's okay, I fully intend on helping, the fate of this universe depends on it."

I feel like myself, Chimera, but I have access to an entire database of memories from someone else. It's like they copied and pasted their information into my head without overwriting my personality. Wait, does that mean they just left me with a huge obligation? That's kind of messed up... but I'm up for the challenge.

Somewhere in the Badlands...

Sombra was growing impatient. "What's taking them so long?"

"It appears three of my eyes have been disposed of, although one of them is still active. This may prove to be troublesome if they end up being interrogated. She may be mute, but high-level mental interference magic would prove to be dangerous. I'll have to sever my connection with her."

"I see, then what's our next move?" Sombra inquired.

"It seems you will have to do some heavy lifting, my child."

Remaining silent, Sombra stared at an altar at the center of the room.

"I need more souls. I can only consume so many stars before it begins to take its toll."

Sombra stood up from his throne, walking to the center of the room. "What are your orders?" Sombra said as he levitated a black cube that seemed dimensionless on sight. It was as if it was absorbing all of the light around it.

"Relocate the cube, preferably within a densely populated area. I'll take care of the rest."

Starlight's Castle... (Segment Music)

Shortly after Anon flew away, Discord also vanished, then the princess showed up to retrieve Spike who was apparently in the castle. Needless to say, Luster Dawn was very confused.

"What in Equestria is going on?"

Luster Dawn had even tried looking for her parents, but they too were gone. That's when Luster Dawn got an idea. The map seemed to be the epicenter of the mysterious behavior of all these individuals, maybe it would tell her something. Going back to the storage room, she sought out the map. Upon reaching it, she noticed a black sphere traveling rather quickly toward The Crystal Empire. It immediately gave her an ominous feeling, causing her to step back. She had to tell somepony, but nopony that could do anything was around.

Rushing to her room, she grabbed a bag of bits and packed a suitcase before heading toward the train station. After acquiring a train ticket to the Crystal Empire, Luster Dawn boarded the train. Taking a seat, she rested her head on the window ceil, thinking about what she would even do. She was worried, yes, but for some reason, she felt warm and safe. Luster Dawn wrapped her hooves around her necklace, drifting off to sleep.

Canterlot Castle Council Room...

Twilight stopped in front of a large set of doors, oddly, there were no guards stationed outside these ones. Twilight's horn flashed for a brief second before the doors slid open, revealing a very large table with a plethora of figures sitting all around it.

Among them were the former rulers of Equestria, the rulers of the Crystal Empire, Starlight, Discord, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and a few others I hadn't recognized. Twilight walked up to two larger seats placed at the closest end of the table, taking a seat. She nodded to the seat next to her, which I took as well. It was largely disproportionate to my size, but she must have been preparing for my larger form. Unfortunately, my head barely came up to the table.

Twilight cleared her throat before relaying the situation to everypony. She was kind enough to omit what happened in the gardens, instead, saying that I can to her to help. Celestia looked at me with concern, while Luna looked at me with confidence? Everypony else seemed confused by their presence especially the individual I recognized as Thorax, the Changeling King. Technically, that would make him my older brother... right?

"I suppose... so," Chrysalis reluctantly confirmed.

Twilight nudged me with a wing. "I believe our guest has some information to share with us."

I sat up straight, my head barely coming above the table. I sighed before I sat up in my seat, placing my front hooves on the table for balance, the words seemingly catching in my throat.

"What's wrong?" Chrysalis asked as everypony looked at me expectantly.

I knew this feeling all too well, it was stage fright. This feeling was only exacerbated by the urgency of the situation. I felt my body warming up as I looked over the council room.

Chrysalis sighed. "Close your eyes for a second, won't you?"

I closed my eyes, wondering why I was doing so.

"Now open them."

Upon opening my eyes, I noticed that everypony was somewhat blurry, their expressions indiscernible.

"Better?" Chrysalis consoled.

"A lot."

Here goes nothing...

Half an hour later...

I plopped back into my seat, a bit mentally exhausted after going over everything, my vision returning to normal. I told mostly everything: Faust, the extradimensional threat, my rebirth, my amnesia up until now, and my soul. Looking over the room again, I could see that everypony was either in some state of shock or disbelief. However, Celestia and Luna seemed to be in a state between both. Strangely enough, I had expected Starlight to lash out in some type of way, but she remained attentive and vigilant.

Twilight looked at me, concern in her voice. "Are you sure about all of this? That's a rather hefty obligation, and you just took it?"

I placed a hoof across my chest. "Pinkie promise. We just need to locate the proxy, destroy it, and Faust will handle the rest."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Okay, that's a lot to take in, but it explains quite a bit. Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to all of us," she whispered under her breath to me.

I'm sure I had some idea. The threat level is cataclysmic and I'm a major piece on the board right now. A few wrong moves and everyone's screwed, but I have a strong feeling I'm doing the right thing here.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza chimed in. "I know this threat is serious and all, but what exactly are we dealing with?"

Luna spoke next. "Our stars are vanishing into an infinite darkness."

"Yes, and that darkness is only growing closer. I can only theorize that whatever this force is utilizing some form of dark magic, necromancy, to reanimate the dead," Twilight stated.

She leaned in closer to me. "I'm sorry I didn't ask earlier, but what's your name?"

I thought about it for a second. "Chimera, Anon, or Bunny, whatever suits your fancy."

She leaned back up in her seat before speaking again. "I believe our friend, Chimera, has a trait that nullifies dark magic. It should prove to be useful in the near future."

Discord, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire meeting finally spoke up. He wasn't seated like everypony else, rather he was floating beside Fluttershy. "I suppose his soul is rather special, it certainly doesn't like being touched, that's for sure."

Celestia looked at Discord with a disapproving look. "We talked about this."

Discord shrugged. "What? I wasn't going to do anything. I just wanted to see if what Faust said was true."

Both Luna and Celestia raised an eyebrow at Discord.

He chuckled nervously in response. "I uh...visit occasionally."

Luna slammed her hooves on the table, standing and leaning toward Discord who was across the other side of the table. Fluttershy sank into her seat.

"How dare thee visit our mother without us!?"

Celestia joined in on the banter in a similar manner. "I want an explanation, Discord!"

Discord seemed taken aback by this, Twilight stepping in. "Everypony, please! This is serious."

Luna sat back down, eyeing Discord suspiciously. "This is not over."

Celestia merely sat down, turning her head away from Discord in annoyance.

I turned to Twilight with a familiar doubt rising in the back of my mind. "If we can't stop this, please tell me you have some sort of backup plan."

Twilight's expression became stern. "I really hope it doesn't come to that, but I've made preparations. It's a portal to an alternate dimension, if all goes south, we'll evacuate everypony in Equestria before destroying the portal."

It's good to know she has a backup plan. My confidence is wavering, but I still can't afford to give up.

Chapter 29: Truthful (Revised)

Segment Music

After about two hours of conversing, the council meeting finally came to a close. Twilight hadn't given anypony any specific instructions other than to remain vigilant. Discord said he would go watch the map, which I assume he followed through with. Celestia and Luna remained in the castle's guest quarters in case anything were to come up. The pony named Rainbow Dash said something about starting a search team with the Wonderbolts. Everypony else just seemed to go back home. I remained in the council room as per Twilight's request to talk over a few things.

Twilight sighed allowing her stature to falter a bit. "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't stressful."

"You said it. I'm still not sure where or what this proxy is," I lamented, allowing my head to rest on the table.

Twilight looked at me with a somber smile. "You said you were a lost soul. What was your world like before you came to Equestria?"

"Well, it was alright, just not for me though. Everyone important to me had already died, you see, and I kind of just fell apart afterward. There's also no magic, so things are a bit more difficult in general."

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine a world without loved ones, let alone no magic." Twilight said, lowering her head a bit.

I said nothing for a while. "Thanks. Princess, can I ask you for a favor?"

She raised a hoof to her chin, thinking over the question. "I don't see why not, as long as it's reasonable."

"I want to see my mother, in the flesh, if you don't mind. If all goes south and Equestria goes down under, I want to meet her at least once in person," I confessed.

Twilight's eyes widened as she looked at me in disbelief. "You know all she's done, right? What she's capable of?"

"I do. It went down in history, but she's not the same mare she was before."

Twilight shook her head slowly. "How? How could you possibly know that?"

I pointed a hoof at my chest. "She's in here princess, remember? We can feel everything the other feels. As I look at you now, I can tell she harbors no ill-intentions toward you or anypony for that matter. We love each other as family. She just wants peace, freedom... and a family."

Twilight stood up from her seat and began pacing back and forth.

"Please, princess. Let us have this. I know you believe in second chances, maybe even more. Isn't that why you don't kill your enemies, no matter who they hurt or what they take from you? Because I know you have the power to do far more than turn them to stone. It's almost been two decades, and it wasn't like she was dormant." I pleaded with Twilight.

Twilight stopped pacing and turned toward me, her eyes filled with sadness. "If what you're saying is true, then allow me to speak with her. "

This shook me a little. "Speak with her?"

"Yes, I wish to speak with her. That's not an issue, is it?"

"That's fine, but how do you suppose we do that?"

"I'll use a high-level telepathy spell and communicate with her directly," Twilight said as she closed her eyes, igniting her horn.

"Please don't screw this up for us, Soul," I thought to myself.

Twilight's magic enveloped my body, gravitated toward my head before dissipating. My head felt tingly as a result.

"Chrysalis!" I heard Twilight scream from inside my head, rattling my consciousness.

"Quiet down, you're hurting my child," Chrysalis said, scolding Twilight.

"So...it's true. You really are here right now."

Chrysalis chuckled to herself. "Yes, it is. It's rather comfortable actually, but I would like to have my body back."

Faust, this is weird.

Twilight didn't speak for a moment, no, that's not quite it. It was more like an immeasurable sequence of quiet thoughts.

"If I free you, who's to say you won't turn back to your old life?"

Chrysalis hummed to herself. "Me? I want nothing to do with that life anymore. It's just too much work and it never pays off anyway," Chrysalis with an air of levity.

Grunting in frustration, Twilight began venting in my mind. "But how? How can I trust you?"

Chrysalis remained silent. I couldn't let things stay like this, there's no telling when we'll lose her favor.

"Mom, you have to tell her the truth. You need to start at the beginning," I urged.

"I refuse," Chrysalis stated defiantly.

"Mother, please, you have to."

"I...I can't," Chrysalis said, her voice breaking every so slightly.

I understood. Bringing up the past was hard after all, and explaining it to someone you viewed as an enemy for the hardest time only made things more difficult.

Silence washed over my mind before anypony spoke again, an idea suddenly hitting me.

"Then...let me tell your story."

My mother didn't reply for a moment, but eventually quietly whispered something. "Thank you."

I rubbed my forehead with my hooves, remembering every detail of my mother's origins.

Minutes Later...

"Now, nopony remembers, and she has nothing left to avenge. All that she has now, is a single child, a child she can't even hold, as she is trapped in stone," I said, finishing off Chrysalis's tale.

Twilight's demeanor had completely shattered by now.

"But I thoug-why, why wasn't this in any history books? Why was it never brought up!?"

"Because ponies would rather not remember it. Besides, it's something that just hurts too much to bring up to strangers, let alone enemies," I stated.

What Twilight did next was not something I was expecting the slightest. "Chrysalis, I am so sorry, I had no idea," Twilight said, apologizing profusely.

My mother didn't say anything. Twilight deactivated her spell, turning away from me and pacing back and forth again. Suddenly, she stopped pacing, walking up to me with a determined expression on her face. "I've decided."

Before I could say anything, I was blinded by a bright light. When the light faded, I found that I was now in the royal garden. Before I hit the ground, I started up my wings, slowing my fall until I landed on my hooves. Right before me were the three statues I had been at earlier, Twilight standing beside me.

Twilight looked at the statues, wearing that same expression as before. For a moment, we stood there in stoic silence. Was this really happening? My mother was yet to speak any words. The princess took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. It was early morning now, and the sun was beginning to rise. We waited there for a moment, the wind blowing Twilight's ethereal mane.

(Segment Music)

Finally, Twilight made a move. She began charging her magic, a few tears escaping her eyes. All at once, she shot her magic at the statues, a green transparent orb exiting my body through my chest and flying into the statue of my mother. The light only seemed to grow brighter until it consumed the garden, then dying out just as quickly. I had shielded my eyes through the process, but as soon as the light had faded, I removed my hoof only to see three unpetrified figures standing on the base of a statue.

Cozy Glow, Tirek, and my mother looked over their bodies in disbelief. I too was in a state of disbelief. I had asked for it, but I didn't expect to receive it. Cozy Glow attempted to fly away only to be caught in Twilight's telekinesis and brought by her side. Tirek didn't do anything as Twilight was looking straight at him with that stoic expression.

"Mother?" I walked forward, my disguise slipping away. She stopped inspecting her body, jolting upright, and staring straight at me.

"Chimera?" She stammered out as she took a step forward. She, unfortunately, miscalculated, not realizing she was on an elevated platform and ended up tripping off the base of the former statues.

I rushed forward, catching her in both my magic and my forehooves. I wrapped my forehooves around her barrel tightly, she responded in kind, just not as tightly. It was more gentle and heartfelt. This was something I didn't even know I missed, no...we missed. As we embraced, I felt something begin to overflow inside of me, love. Only this time, there was no blocking it off, not that I would even want to. It was being generated from the inside and the outside. Instead, I let it out, I let it all out, and my mother did the same. I hadn't immediately noticed it, but we had begun floating off the ground.

Twilight's POV...

Massive waves of pink ethereal energy emanated all throughout Canterlot, bright white light at the center of it all. The waves stopped abruptly, the white light slowly dying down, revealing a large reflective white cacoon. The cacoon descended slowly until it was just centimeters above the grown. Little by little the shell cracked, rays of light escaping from each opening. With a single massive burst, the cocoon exploded into magicules.

Once the light had faded, two figures stood at the center of it all, Chimera and Chrysalis.

Both Chrysalis' and Chimera's bodies were no longer perforated by holes, and they looked far healthier. Chrysalis, for all intents and purposes, was still Chrysalis, the only prominent difference being that her mane was a far more luscious green and maybe the fact that she looked somewhat younger. Chimera shared a similar appearance to his mother, minus the mane and crown. In fact, he bore a striking resemblance to Thorax, just with a color scheme more representative of his mother.

"So, it was true..." Twilight whispered to herself, silent tears streaming down her muzzle.

The two changelings were still embracing, their eyes closed, when they suddenly pushed each other away while holding onto the other by the shoulders of the other. They looked over each other with a large amount of confusion and surprise.

"Mother!? What happened to you?" Chimera gushed.

Chrysalis looked over Chimera once more. "I could ask you the same thing."

Cozy Glow, still in my grasp, had but one question. "What in Tartarus is going on?"

Tirek on the other hoof was fast asleep, presumably knocked unconscious by the unstable fusion of magic and love energy. I couldn't help but smile. Now, what to do with these other two...

"There you...are," I heard Discord say from behind me.

"Discord? Did something come up?"

"Yes, actually, the inconspicuous black orb on the map is moving toward the Crystal Empire. Am I, uh, interrupting something?"

At hearing this, I felt a terrible shiver travel up my spine. "Oh no."

Author's Note

I didn't like the way I finished off this story, so I revised the ending. Hopefully, this doesn't throw anypony off, but I just wanted things to be in a better place from the sequel. Also, I feel like Chrysalis and Chimera should stay true to themselves, so I changed their...change. Although, I did fill the holes in their hearts.

Chapter 30: Proxy (Revised)

Hours Earlier...(Segment Music)

Luster Dawn awoke slowly by the ring of a bell and the chimes of whistles, an elder pony trying to nudge her awake.

"Young miss, is this your stop?"

Luster Dawn jolted upright before grabbing her bag in her magic and bolting out of the train cart after thanking the senior.

She had arrived at the Crystal Empire, but nothing seemed amiss. Figuring that since she had come all this way, she would at least stick around for a bit. The Crystal Empire was a nice place in itself with a lot to see and experience after all.

For about two hours, Luster Dawn enjoyed her time at the touring. She had only ever visited a few times and those were when she was a filly, so she remebered any of it. Just as Luster Dawn was about to call it a day and head back to Ponyville, she got the sudden feeling that something was extremely wrong. Without warning, she was hit by a powerful wave of nausea, and through her blurred vision, she could see everypony around her collapsing to the ground.

Luster Dawn found it hard to breathe but at the very least, she was still conscious, her necklace shining brighter than it ever had before. Waves of some form of dark magic rang throughout the Crystal Empire. Attempting to use her magic to fend off the waves, she found that she was unable to muster any. Feebly, she slowly made her way toward the focal point of the waves, desperate to find the cause, to see if she could stop it.

As Luster Dawn reached a certain point, she had realized that she had walked all the way to the location of the Crystal Heart. Yet, the Crystal Heart wasn't in its proper place, instead, there was an uncanny floating shape in its place. No matter how hard Luster Dawn tried to focus on the shape, she couldn't really make out any dimensions. It almost seemed to be absorbing the light around it, like a rip in space.

A wave of dark energy closed in on the cube, vanishing into it before another wave pulsed outward. Every time the waves passed over her, more of her energy seemed to drain. Before she could reach the cube, Luster Dawn collapsed to the ground, a small crack forming in Celestia's Embrace.

A few minutes earlier...

Cadance, Shining, and Flurry Heart arrived at the Crystal Empire by flying carriage after a long day of crisis talk. They all wanted nothing more than some rest, but rest would not come.

As soon as Cadance stepped out of the carriage, she knew something was wrong. The Crystal Heart had recognized her as the Crystal Empire's primary ruler, thus their magic was linked. However, the only magical signature Cadance was receiving right now was nothing short of ominous.

"Shining, something's wrong!"

Before Shining Armor could reply, a bright flash of light appeared beside him. Practically everypony from the council meeting had suddenly appeared beside them.

Chimera's POV...(Segment Music)

"We need to move quickly, I have a very bad feeling about this. Everypony spread out, look for anything suspicious." Twilight determined.

I pointed a hoof at gigantic rings of dark energy. "How about that?"

"Oh, Faust," Twilight muttered.

A sudden thud drew everyone's attention. It was Discord, he had collapsed to the ground, looking terribly sick. Fluttershy was the first to cater to him.

"Discord?! What's wrong, what's happening to you?"

Discord waved a talon dismissively as he stood up. "I'm fine, Fluttershy, I'm just feeling a bit woozy. This is just a bit more chaos than I'm used to handling is all," he said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.

Every pony only looked at Discord with worry.

"Please, your pitying expressions aren't doing anything to make me feel better."

"We're just worried is all," Fluttershy interjected.

"We should get going, it has to have something to do with these waves," I said, spreading my wings out in preparation to fly.

My mother placed a hoof on my back, looking at me with worried eyes. "Be careful, I'll be on nearby if you need me."

I nodded only saying one phrase in response. "I love you."

I took off toward the Crystal Empire at a speed far faster than ever before. It was as if I had become one with the air around me, and my magical control and output were way more efficient. Was this because of my mother?

Stopping above the Crystal Empire, I looked over my shoulder, noticing that everypony had stopped just beyond a certain point. They looked exhausted, unable to get any closer, yet I wasn't having this issue at all. Strangely enough, I had noticed that the sky was growing darker, but that made no sense. The sun had just risen not too long ago. I turned my attention to the waves, tracing them to their point of origin with my eyes. I was horrified to see that the entire streets of the Crystal Empire were littered with the bodies of ponies. That's when I noticed it, or rather, her. Dawn was unconscious before an altar, an altar with some strange item floating above it. That was the source, the waves were retracting to and expanding from that strange object.

As quickly as possible, I flew toward Dawn, landing beside her. I turned her over, placing an ear to her chest, relieved to hear that she was still breathing. Groggily, she opened her eyes to look at me.

"W-who?"

"Dawn, it's me, Anon," I said as I held her.

She smiled weakly before pointing a hoof at the mysterious object. I looked at it and then back her before nodding.

"I'll take care of it," I stated, taking notice of her necklace. There was now a small crack in it, and it was glowing abnormally bright. It had one of the strongest protection spells on it, what could have cracked it? That's when it hit me, Dawn was the only pony in the Crystal Empire that was still conscious. It had protected her. I couldn't help but give a silent thanks to Faust for the accidental proposal earlier.

Standing up, I trotted over to the uncanny object, inspecting it closely before making a move. No form of magic seemed to work on it, faced with no other options, I reached out to grab it with my hooves. Just as I was about to reach it, I felt a sharp pain in my chest reaching toward my back.

Though my body was in shock, I tilted my head down slowly only to see a thin spire of onyx crystal piercing my chitin, green blood dripping down its length. Using a repulsion spell, I broke the crystal and leaped away from the object.

(Segment Music)

From the shadows of the altar, something emerged. It looked like a stallion cloaked in shadows, its eyes overflowing with dark magic. What's even stranger was, through those eyes, I couldn't discern any sort of emotion.

"Who are you?!" I shouted as I healed my wound with magic.

The figure didn't reply, instead, choosing to remain quiet. Just as I was about to ask anything else, a large wall of jagged crystals rushed out of the ground towards me. I grabbed Luster Dawn in my magic and flew away backward, narrowly maneuvering around black spears moving at terrifying speeds. Whoever this was, their aim was deadly accurate, and they definitely had no intentions of talking. After getting a certain distance away, the figure stopped attacking me. The shadowy figure turned their eyes toward a group of unconscious ponies maybe fifteen meters away from me. He wouldn't...

Jagged black crystals rushed toward the ponies like an inexorable speeding train. I diverted all of my power into creating a barrier around the civilians, only for it to be broken through with relative ease. I extended a hoof out, rushing over to the ponies as fast as I could when suddenly another barrier with a purple hue formed around the unsuspecting ponies, stopping the raging crystals in their tracks.

That's Twilight's magic, I was sure of it. Looking up at the sky, I saw Twilight floating above the Crystal Empire eyeing the shadowy figure with disdain. She was enveloped in a veil of her magic, sparkling brightly. Twilight teleported beside me, still looking at the figure.

"Evacuate everypony you can, be quick," Twilight instructed without looking away from the figure.

I nodded to Twilight before levitating maybe thirty ponies, including Dawn, with my telekinesis and flying them out of the city. It seems like she and that figure have some history I didn't know about. I could see Celestia, Luna, and multiple pegasi in costumes with lightning bolts on them carrying unconscious ponies out of the city as well. The pegasi were enveloped in a magenta glow, which I assumed allowed them to withstand the waves without issue. It was distinctively Twilight's magic, she really was something else. Despite the strained situation, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my mother carrying ponies out of the Empire as well.

Third Person POV...

Twilight's eyes weren't deceiving her, it was Sombra, back from the dead. One of the few ponies she couldn't save.

"Sombra, what are you doing!?" She yelled, demanding an answer.

While still looking at him, Sombra vanished from his spot, leaving the princess to stare at a strange otherworldly object. "You still remember me, good, because I certainly remember you," Sombra said, appearing behind her without any indication.

Twilight felt ominous magic from beneath her, narrowly teleporting out of the way as a large spire of black crystal rose from the ground, reaching towards the sky. The spikes were relentless as they seemed to home in on Twilight's location no matter where she went. Taking to the sky, the crystals started shooting from the ground like arrows, yet Twilight was able able to maneuver around them with ease. Sombra caught Twilight in his magic, dragging her to the ground toward a bed of spikes. Twilight aimed a powerful combustion spell at the ground, blowing the crystals away and putting up a barrier just before landing.

"I have to thank you, princess. Were it not for you, I wouldn't have been given the privilege of tasting death or acquiring this power," Sombra said as Twilight felt something freezing wrap around her legs.

Looking down, she saw that pitch-black shadows had snaked their way around her legs. Twilight hadn't sensed any form of magic when this happened, she was having trouble understanding how it was possible. It was as if the shadows were their own being. Twilight conjured an enormous amount of magic to escape, using a plethora of spells, but none of them worked. The shadows held her firmly in place. Any attempt to teleport only brought her back to the same spot.

Sombra walked up to Twilight, no change in his demeanor whatsoever. "As grateful as I might be though...you still took everything from me," Sombra said, venom laced in his voice.

Twilight simply glared back at him. "You did all of this to yourself."

The shadows beneath Sombra stirred, rising from the ground; a nebulous black mass formed themselves into what looked like hands. One hand reached atop Twilight's head gripping her crown before crushing it and tossing it aside.

"Now, I'll take everything from you."

Given no other options, she charged a magic beam spell before shooting it at Sombra's body. Instead of hitting him dead center, his body turned into shadows, the magic dissipating into him. He looked down his body, then back at Twilight apathetically. The shadows began to churn until then formed blades of darkness. One blade swiped swiftly across her right foreleg but she didn't budge. It hurt her, yet, she couldn't give in to his sadistic intentions. As a princess, she felt that she couldn't bend to his will. Taking a swipe at her other foreleg, she put a barrier up only for it to be cut through like butter. Despite this, Twilight did her best to remain standing. Twilight had realized that the shadows were just like the domes, they ignored magic almost completely.

Sombra let out a noticeable sigh of annoyance, looking down at the ground. He then glared at Twilight from the corner of his eyes, raising the shadows high above her head. Looking up, Twilight noticed a familiar changeling flying in the sky. It seemed to be charging some kind of magic. Right as Sombra was about to bring down the shadows, an explosion rang throughout the sky of the Crystal Empire. Faster than anypony could see, Chimera had collided with Sombra's side using his hind hooves, white lightning shooting out on impact, launching Sombra through several buildings.

"Princess, are you alright?!" Chimera yelled.

For a while, Sombra laid under the debris, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

"Is this pain? " He wondered to himself

It certainly wasn't a pleasant feeling. Unlike the coldness he had grown accustomed to, his left side of his barrel felt like it was almost burning.

"How was this possible? I should be completely intangible to all forms of attack, I confirmed this for myself," Sombra stated.

"Impossible...that being is...possessed by an otherworldly soul," the entity explained.

"An otherworldly soul?"

"Yes, it means their soul doesn't operate under the sovereignty of this universe. Meaning...it can likely wound you. You'll need to be careful."

"I was...harmed. That lowly creature dares strike me...for that princess no less."

"The hour is nigh, my child. You cannot afford to lose now."

Chimera's POV...

"Thanks for the save," Twilight said tiredly, as she healed her wounds.

No matter how much magic she used, however, her wounds wouldn't heal beyond a certain point.

I nodded, acknowledging her gratitude. "Princess, I have a strong feeling that thing's the proxy. It seems to nullify magic, and that psychopath was protecting it, we need to destroy it. Wait, who was that guy anyway?" I explained as I pointed at the abnormal shape.

Twilight and I walked toward the cube, although Twilight was constantly looking over her shoulder.

"That was Sombra, an old foe of mine. Chimera...you are the only one that can deal with this. I have the impression that it's similar to those barriers. You have to be the one to do it."

I nodded understandingly before reaching out apprehensively to grab it, taking it off its podium. Once I did this, the dark waves seemed to stop altogether. My hooves felt abnormally cold when holding the cube, and it made me feel paranoid. I could tell for sure now that its shape was at least a cube, as I could make out the edges with my hooves. I pressed on it a little to get a sense of how dense it was, a few prismatic wisps shooting out as a result.

Upon seeing this, I had a flashback to Faust. "They...will perish, likely unable to rest even in death."

Was this what she meant? Will all of Equestria be consumed and trapped like this? Occupied with my thoughts, I hadn't noticed that the sky had grown even darker than before. Looking upward, I saw pitch dark shadows, stretching across the surface of the sun, an indicator that time was running out. Before I could finish inspecting the cube, it was snatched out of my hooves by a shadowy tendril that whipped past me. I turned around only to see a slightly peeved Sombra holding the cube beside him within his shadows.

Luckily, at this point, everypony must have realized that the waves were no longer present as backup had arrived. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armour, Thorax, Discord, the elements of harmony, my mother, Dawn, everypony had shown up. Sombra must have realized that he was outnumbered as his ego was beginning to crack. His eyes began darting all around as if panicked. I really thought he would give up until he started laughing. Abruptly, he stomped his hooves into the ground, a massive pool of shadows opening below him. Everypony open fired on Sombra to no avail, instead, the shadows only grew larger.

Rushing toward my mother and special somepony, I deployed the strongest barrier spell I could on them and used repulsion to push them away. The next thing I saw was a wall of black that seemed to last only a few seconds. When I could see again, I had realized that I was suspended in the air, my body numb all over. Looking at the ground, I could see that mostly everypony was being held down by shadowy whips. Luna, Twilight, and all of the pegasi managed to evade. Celestia looked drained and was unable to evade the shadows. Wait, if that was the attack, then why was I so high up?

(Segment Music)

My eyes drifted further below me; there were multiple onyx spires impaling my torso, forehooves, and hindlegs. On the ground stood Sombra, looking up at me with indifference written across his face. Suddenly, the spires dissipated into magicules, my body falling to the ground at high speed. I formed a barrier around myself midair but was caught in Sombra's magic and thrown through several buildings, my barrier shattering and debris falling on me.

Using healing magic on flesh wounds was one thing, but I could tell I had sustained serious damage to my vital organs. I wasn't going anywhere for a while, and yet, I had to. He's stronger than me in practically every way. I needed something that would give me the edge over him. While passively healing, I closed my eyes, focusing on a way out of this. I have to get to the proxy and destroy it which could probably be done through striking it, but Sombra's a serious problem. It seems that nopony else can touch him, let alone get near him because of the shadows. I was lucky when I hit him, managing to land a blow through a surprise attack. Wait...surprise attack.

Third Person POV...

"Annoying pest, I should confirm that it's dead. It's immune to my shadows, but my magic still works on it. If that's the case, then I'll just have to blast it to oblivion," Sombra thought to himself.

"Once it's disposed of, nothing will stand in our way," claimed the entity within Sombra's mind.

With the full intention to finish the job, Sombra's crimson magic began to spiral around his horn, hints of black in it, as it concentrated to the tip of Sombra's horn. Aiming his horn at the last building the otherworldly soul had gone through, he prepared to fire.

To his dismay, several ponies stepped in front of the line of fire, each one defiantly placing a barrier up, Twilight and Chrysalis at the front of it all. Sombra felt something hot begin to boil inside of him, anger. With a rage-filled grunt, Sombra fired a gigantic blood-red beam at all of them, the ground shattering beneath him, a fault line forming in the path of the beam.

The blast's sheer magnitude was almost overwhelming, all the ponies could hope for was the Sombra ran out of magic, but he didn't seem to be letting up. Little by little, layers of the barrier began shattering. Just as it was down to its last layer, Sombra smiled to himself, readying himself to finish off all of the ponies. With a final push, Sombra suddenly felt something hard connect with his lower jaw, causing his head to recoil backward, the beam flying off into the sky and exploding in a flash of red light. Many of the ponies collapsed, exhausted after the life or death struggle, while Sombra could only look around confused.

Something had struck him, something he couldn't see, nor sense with his magic. Again, Sombra was struck much harder across his left side, the prior injury making itself more pronounced. The attacks began to pick up until Sombra was being relentlessly attacked from every angle was a series of invisible strikes. The only indication anypony had that Sombra was being attacked were flashes of white lighting and the damage Sombra was taking.

"Enough!" Sombra yelled as a pool of shadows opened below him, a wall of crystal surrounding him.

Sombra was breathing heavily now when he felt something cold dripping down his muzzle. Using his right hoof, he wiped his muzzle only to see a large blotch of black liquid on his hoof. It was blood, his blood. Sombra's eyes widened in surprise.

"To be wounded to this extent..." Sombra muttered to himself in disbelief.

While in a state of shock, Sombra hadn't realized that the attacks had yet to stop. Without warning, something collided with Sombra's back from above with tremendous speed, the resulting shockwave shattering his crystal walls.

Chimera's POV...

By using a refraction spell, I can wrap light around myself, essentially becoming invisible under normal circumstances. I understood that I could probably be sensed with magic, so instead of allowing my magic to flow, I compressed it to its utmost limit with it becoming a magic core.

It was working, Sombra couldn't defend himself from what he couldn't see or sense. He was now lying on the ground his magic no longer detectable. Was he dead? I stood there glaring at him for any sign of movement but sensed nothing. The darkening of the sky caught my attention once more. The sun looked like it had been eclipsed, and the shadows were now spreading toward Equestria. Time was running out. I ran over to the proxy which Sombra had dropped not too far from his body and picked it up.

Picking it up in my hooves, I began striking it, white streaks of lighting and prismatic wisps shooting out of it. With every strike, the cube seemed to shoot out fewer wisps. Raising my right hoof to strike the cube once more, my foreleg was stopped before I could bring it down fully. Something had grabbed me from behind, the cube falling out of my hooves. Wait, I knew what this once, I was in a full nelson. Looking over my shoulder I could see Sombra smiling sadistically. No matter how hard I tried to shake him, he wouldn't budge. My body started to feel like it was burning.

"You again!?"

"You've become quite the thorn in my side. It's no matter, I've already won after all. Even if I die, my revenge will be fulfilled. I just have to ensure that you die along with me," Sombra stated.

"W-what?"

"I'm taking you to Tartarus with me, this little game is over," Sombra said as he laughed.

Realizing what he meant by this, I knew I had no way out.

"Princess! It's time for plan B!" I yelled at Twilight.

Third Person POV...

Twilight looked at the scene before her, taking time to process what Chimera had just said. After seeing Sombra's body beginning to glow bright red, Twilight snapped out of her trance, instructing her alicorn companions to gather around her. At this moment, a very sickly-looking Discord appeared beside them. All of the figures joined hoof in talon, and talon in paw, forming a circle. Twilight's eyes closed for a brief second before shooting open, now glowing pure white. The figures began floating as a ray of prismatic light shot out of the center of them and into the sky. The ray seemed to hit the sky before bursting out into a wave that spread all across Equestria; the entire sky now looking like a rainbow.

The rainbow closed in on Equestria before fading away, all of the casters collapsing to the ground, looking exhausted, all except Discord. Discord looked way better than he did before, if not a bit worried.

Chimera stood there looking at all of them with confusion, everypony was still there.

"Why are all of you still here?!" Chimera screamed at them, Sombra now glowing brighter.

Twilight collapsed to the ground tiredly. "The proxy...it didn't work."

All at once, every creature in Equestria saw the sky consumed by shadows black as coal, a terrible feeling of dread coming forth from deep within their beings.

Luster Dawn and Chrysalis hadn't even noticed the sky turn black, their eyes were focused solely on Chimera. As Sombra grew brighter, Chrysalis got an idea. Turning to Luster Dawn on her left, Chrysalis took Celestia's Embrace in her magic and shot it around Chimera's neck using her magic. Though all of Equestria had gone dark, a single flash of red light illuminated the darkness, consuming the Crystal Empire.

Chapter 31: Not Alone

Chimera awoke in a smoking crater, his body damaged to the point where he could no longer walk or channel magic efficiently anymore. Rolling over, Chimera began having a violent coughing fit before going limp once again, his ears ringing from the explosion. Despite how much pain he was in, however, he knew that the proxy needed to be destroyed, and he had to know that everypony was safe. So, he crawled. Using his hooves like had done to crawl out of a ravine, he crawled in agonizing pain out of the crater. As he crawled he heard the peculiar sound of something shattering below his barrel. Chimera titled his head down to see Celestia's Embrace no longer had the gem of the blazing sun in its prong. Instead, it had crumbled to shards and dust just below him.

Seeing it go filled Chimera with a bit of sadness, it was the gift he had gotten for Luster Dawn. Brushing it aside, Chimera continued feebly crawling out of the crater, rolling over on the edge of it once out, and staring up at the sky. It had turned dark as coal, reminding him that time was almost up. Chimera rolled over once more and continued crawling. Everypony that was near the explosion looked all around in good shape, if not unconscious. Discord laid on the ground, looking exhausted and bewildered. Sure that Discord was the only reason everypony was still alive, Chimera noted to thank him later if they survived this ordeal, that is. Sombra had laced his explosion with those otherworldly shadows, it was no wonder Discord was the only one that could block it in some capacity.

Segment Music

Chimera looked around the ruins of the Crystal Empire with his magic vision in search of the proxy. The trick wasn't to look for its magic signature, the trick was to look for where it was not. That's when he spotted it, a void in the sea of magicules. Crawling over to it, Chimera put all effort into sitting up straight, taking the proxy in his hooves. Rearing his right hoof back, he brought it down on the cube repeatedly until it no longer had anything to give, yet it wouldn't break.

Desperately smashing the cube, a malevolent voice began emanating from it as a strange slitted eye, burning with a primal fire formed on the side of the cube facing Chimera. "It's futile, soon this world will be consumed. Even if Faust did send you to stop me, it was all for naught," the voice laughed.

Chimera smashed the cube on its eye, causing the voice to grunt in frustration and pain. "Were you not listening!? Give up!"

"I won't! Everypony's depending on me!"

The voice began laughing again. "Look at the sky, mortal, you're out of time. You failed."

Chimera's head quickly jolted toward the sky, a feeling of despair overtaking him. The darkness was now closing in, the magicules in the atmosphere were rapidly vanishing into nothing.

"See? You might as well accept your fate. At the very least, you can be rest assured knowing that I won't take that other soul of yours," the voice said before breaking into maniacal laughter.

For a brief moment, Chimera allowed himself to give up, his head hanging low and feeling dejected. However, through the despair, Chimera was able to find the will to press on. "Buck you!"

"Language," Chrysalis said from behind Chimera as she collapsed on his shoulder.

"M-mom?"

"I know you're frustrated, but the least you can do is your best, right?" Chrysalis stated tiredly.

Chimera looked back at the cube with a reignited will. Pressing the cube between his front hooves, he began attempting to crush it.

The voice chuckled. "That won't wo-"

Before the entity could finish, a crack formed in the cube, then another. Escaping from each crack were ethereal magenta rays. A series of cracks had formed along the cube, and right when Chimera thought he had done it, the cube let out a shockwave, blasting him and his mother back.

Chimera laid on the ground in pain for a bit before getting back to his hooves shakily and returning his attention to the cube. It was now floating, and all of the cracks that had formed in it were now closing themselves.

"No..." Chimera whispered to himself.

Somehow, he had found it in himself to rush the cube, only to be blasted back again, this time feeling something essential leaving his being. He no longer had the energy to move, all he could do was look at the sight before him in awe and confusion.

Floating in front of the cube was a nebulous white mist that seemed to form the shape of some kind of creature, a human, Chimera recognized it as.

"S-soul?" Chimera stammered out.

The figure only looked back at Chimera, shooting him a thumbs up before turning its attention back to the cube.

Souls' POV...

I think I get it now. The proxy acts as this entity's true body, but we don't have to destructive capability to destroy it. The shadows are attracted to it. Then... there's only one thing left to do, I have to get rid of it. During my time in Equestria, I learned quite a bit about magic. One thing remained constant across the board; magic is energy. Extending my hand to the sky, I began channeling as many magicules as my vessel could handle.

"You think you can destroy me? Go ahead and try," the voice mocked telepathically.

I smirked at this before snatching the cube in my hand. I could feel it draining the magic from my soul, so I had to be quick. Looking back at everyone I had met so far, stopping on Chimera, I said only one thing to all of them.

"It's been fun."

Turning to look at the sky, I took off as fast as possible, heading straight for the sky of shadows.

Third Person POV...(Segment Music)

A beacon of white light shined through the darkness that had consumed the sky, catching all of Equestria's attention. There was now a prominent hole in the sky as a spire of light shined through.

Soul's POV...

Being a soul meant I had no mass, meaning that as I was propelled by magic, I was moving far too fast for the darkness to catch me. My goal wasn't to destroy the proxy anymore, rather, I had to get it as far away from Equestria as possible. No, even further...

If the entity used this cube to enter the universe, then that means I can also use it to kick him out. Thus, I would have to fly all the way to the universal barrier.

"You've lost your mind, I see," the entity stated.

"Maybe a little," I said coyly, before breaking out into laughter.

I could feel my soul breaking apart, but it didn't bother me in the slightest. I continued to push on through the darkness, only getting faster as time went on.

"You think sending me away from the planet will stop me? I'll just come back, just like the worlds before this one."

I couldn't help but laugh more at this. "You think I'm just sending away from the planet? I'm kicking your ass out of this universe, along with me!"

This seemed to crack the entity's ego, as it was now stumbling over its words. "Y-you d-dare!?"

Again, I picked up speed, the light I was emanating seemed to distort itself around me. All at once, the darkness around me seemed to form a narrow passageway for me. My speed was inexorable now. I couldn't stop now even if I wanted to.

Third Person POV...

"The darkness is lifting," Twilight stated, a bit dazed.

Chimera merely sat on the ground, looking up at the sky, feeling like an essential part of him was missing. His mother placed a hoof on him to comfort him, Luster Dawn doing the same.

The darkness that had threatened to consume Equestria was retracting rather quickly through the sky, and even into the heavens. Every being in Equestria silently hoped that this trend would continue.

Soul's POV...

There it is, the universal barrier. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at, but I knew it was the universal barrier. Just looking at it made my head spin, but I pushed on anyway, extending the proxy out in front of me, colliding with the barrier. Surprisingly, I effortlessly punctured a hole through it, launching myself and the cube outside of the universal. The darkness seemed to follow after me, getting sucked through the hole like a vacuum, the hole closing afterward.

For a while, I drifted through the space between worlds, reminiscing about what had got me here, proxy still in hand. It all started with those pills. Even now, as I await my death, I don't regret taking them. I've made some memories and met so many people I've grown quite fond of. Being in this space was a strange experience. There seemed to be universal barriers on the left and right of me, yet nothing above or below. The barriers were infinitely expansive but hypnotically beautiful.

"Yeah, I'm satisfied with this," I thought to myself, smiling.

"Though you've foiled my plans, I can always try again, and that starts with your demise."

The proxy suddenly flew out my hand, some ways away, growling a pure violet light. A purple haze began fuming from the cube forming some sort of structure.

"A goat!?" I exclaimed.

"Grogar," the voice of Faust said sternly, resonating within my head.

Looking around myself, I found that Faust had suddenly appeared beside me.

"Faust?! How did you- when?"

She smiled to herself before taking on a more serious expression. "I have my ways. On the off hoof, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were able to protect my world, and free all of the imprisoned souls in the process."

"Yeah, there's just one problem though. I didn't destroy the proxy, my energy's spent, and this guy has no intentions of giving up."

Faust began floating toward Grogar. "I'm well aware of the situation, you can rest easy now. As promised, I'll handle the rest."

Third Person POV...

"Faust...you always find a way to get in my way. At first, I had thought the happenings of Equestria and all of my failures were due to my own miscalculations. Imagine my surprise, when I realized that it was you pulling the strings behind my defeats every time."

"If you thought you would get away with harming Equestria, then you were sorely mistaken. It saddens me to see that you've fallen so far from grace, making deals with eldritch entities," Faust lamented, shaking her head.

"What choice did I have? After being banished from reality, I drifted through the abyss of purgatory, unsure if I even existed. That's when came into contact with an entity, ancient and malevolent. Yet, it took pity on me, offering me a fraction of its power, changing me into what I am now. The power was unimaginable, but with it, came an endless hunger."

"I see, that truly is a pitiful existence. Fear not, you will not have to suffer anymore."

With that, Faust's entire body lit up with magic. All could tell that it was distinctly different from Equestria's magic. Her body seemed to radiate with an otherworldly power, catching Grogar off guard. As if sensing the imminent danger, Grogar lunged at Faust.

Grogar roared in a fit of rage."Faust!"

An ever-expanding sphere of blue light exploded from Faust's body, the proxy fading away like ashes in the wind along with Grogar's shadowy body.

"Where there is light, there will always be darkness..."

Soul's POV...

I'm not sure if I passed out and was moved, but I definitely couldn't tell what happened during that bright flash of light. I'm now looking at a starry void with a backdrop reminiscent of the northern lights. After realizing that I was laying down, I sat up, seeing Faust sitting beside me, looking at multiple projections of different scenes playing out in Equestria. She was smiling happily to herself.

"Is it over," I asked tiredly.

Faust perked up at this. "You're awake, good. Yes, it's all over now."

I sighed in relief. "That's good," I replied, closing my metaphysical eyes.

Faust looked down at me somberly. "You've done a great deal for Equestria. I can't thank you enough. But...what will you do now?"

I pondered the thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure."

Faust stood up, looking down at me before conjuring something in her magic. It was a peculiar blue orb, a magic core.

"Well, if you're open to suggestions, I have a gift for you."

"A magic orb? Thanks, but, what am I supposed to do with it."

Faust giggled as if what I had said was silly. "I'm sure that you're aware magic cores contain a highly condensed amount of magic in them. Well, it just so happens that this core is embedded with my magic. It took me quite some time to create, but I'm offering it to you, to inhabit."

"Inhabit? Like, use as my body?"

Faust said, levitating the orb closer to me. "Precisely. As powerful as I may be, it has occurred to me that I do not have all of the solutions. It was by sheer luck that you appeared in this universe, yet you managed to save it. If you aren't opposed to the idea, then would you perhaps inhabit this magic core and assist me in protecting Equestria? I'll teach you the ropes of divine guardianship and you can protect Equestria from the inside. Every now and then, we could even swap out. I would so love to visit my family in their homes once in a while."

I hummed to myself in thought. "Not a bad idea, I'll get back to you on that. I need a nap after all that."

"But you just woke up."

"I know."

Epilogue (Revised)

Epilogue Music

Chimera's POV...

"I'm telling you guys, that's what really happened!" I exclaimed as I waved my paws in the air.

"No way dude, that's crazy talk," Harry refuted.

Angel hopped closer to me, inspecting me suspiciously. "I still can't believe you're a changeling, you sure could've fooled me."

I had snuck into Fluttershy's cottage via kidnapping again a now was conversing with both Angel and Harry. I figured I might as well catch up with them.

"Sorry for deceiving you all, I was just being cautious."

Angel sighed. "Yeah, I get that."

Our conversation was interrupted by approaching hoof steps and the call of a mare. "LIttle bunny? Where did you go?"

I was instantly alert as I made my way for the chimney again. "Oh buck, I gotta go guys, I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, alright."

"See ya later.

It's been about two months since the whole end of the world ordeal. In the end, nopony really knew what happened. When Soul left my body, he just took off with the cube. Gosh, I never knew I'd miss someone who hardly communicated so much. I have a feeling though, that thanks to them, Equestria's safe.

Since then, everything in Equestria has pretty much gone back to normal, mostly. Twilight held multiple press conferences all over Equestria, explaining the whole situation to the best of her ability, but it was eventually swept under the rug as just another Equestria disaster. My mother's been doing her best to re-enter society, living in Starlight's castle alongside myself. When I presented myself to Starlight, she was understandably confused but accepting. With Twilight's recommendation, Starlight was, surprisingly, accepting of the idea of taking in my mother as well. She's been struggling with adapting, but she's doing her best. My mother's been going through therapy for her years of trauma. From the looks of it, it's going well. She still has mixed emotions about visiting Thorax though, and I can't blame her.

On a side note, Dawn and I finally tied the knot. I properly proposed just a little over a week ago. I commissioned Silver Diamonds and Tiaras to create a new necklace for her, Chrysalis's Embrace. In doing so, however, I opened another gateway of issues. My mother's been pestering me about grand foals for days now, but the wedding isn't even for another month. Starlight and Sunburst haven't been helping the situation either, jokingly egging us on. Unfortunately, my mother doesn't seem to understand sarcasm as well as she did before, that, or she just chooses not to acknowledge it as such.

The memories of Soul are beginning to fade, so I decided to keep this journal so that I wouldn't forget anything. I've also been making sure to keep up with my training and studying, just in case. Also, I just enjoy the field of magic in general. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah. Last I heard, Tirek's been placed under some form of house arrest, forced to wear magic inhibiting artifacts until he's proved that he's no longer a threat. Twilight not cruel though. The artifacts work by keeping inherent magic inside, and external magic out. Tirek was rejuvenated before the artifacts were placed on him; he couldn't steal magic even if he wanted to. As for Cozy Glow, she's been placed under Starlight's watchful eye, well, more so my watchful eye. Starlight has enough on her plate. Right now, she's sitting in the corner of my room eyeing me angrily with her forelegs crossed. Probably has something to do with her not being able to sneak past me. She also has magic inhibitors on her, just in case.

She doesn't do much other than shoot sarcastic quips at me, displace things, and try to cozy up to me when she wants something. Believe it or not, she's gotten better though. It was an utter nightmare in the castle when she first arrived. Under Twilight's orders, she's been scheduled to restart her first year at the School of Friendship. I was a bit confused by this, seeing as that was practically what gave her the rise to power she needed, but Twilight seems to know best. Between myself and Twilight though, I think she'll be fine.

Third Person POV...

"Honey, someone's here to see you. They say they know you," Luster Dawn said, as she opened the door to Chimera's room.

Chimera stood up from his desk, placing his journal inside an open drawer and closing it. He began wondering who it could at the door.

"Could you keep an eye on her for me," I said, shooting a glance at Cozy Glow who had already made her way inside one of my drawers.

I levitated her in my magic, closed my drawer, and placed her in front of Dawn.

Dawn and I rubbed muzzles, a gesture of love I learned after she had caught me off guard once on a date. Cozy Glow spat in disgust.

"Sure thing, come back soon," Dawn acknowledged.

Making my way out of the room, through the halls, and down the stairs, I arrived at the doorway. Opening it, I was met by a peculiar-looking younger-looking stallion. They had a snow-white coat, mane and tail, and frost blue eyes irises that seemed to have shooting stars in them. As for their cutie mark, it seemed to be some kind of sideways eight.
"Can I, uh, help you?"

The stallion snickered to himself. "Come on now, is that any way to greet an old friend?"

The End?

Doctor Daniels' Entry Log #22...Location: Earth, [REDACTED]

I don't get it, this doesn't make any sense.

Another one of my patients was found face down in their own apartment three days after being prescribed the pills; presumed dead. The foundation retrieved his body as discretely as possible and brought it back to the facility so that an autopsy could be performed. Just before the pathologist could get to work, she quickly discovered that the cadaver was not, in fact, a cadaver. He was still breathing, albeit in impossibly faint bursts.

The body is now on life support and under further examination. Poor kid, can't rest even in presumed death, but I digress. I've put off dissecting his body for now, in the case by some miracle he wakes up. But, judging by these brain scans, I doubt this will be the case.

Somehow, almost all regions of the brain seem to be displaying the minutest level of brain activity, the brain stem being the most active. If the soul exists, I doubt it's in his body anymore. It's like everything that made this kid a human just up and vanished, leaving the body to fend for itself. Other patients ended up in comas but it was never this bad.

When we started this research project, I genuinely had hope that we could help those unfortunate enough to be plagued by the nightmare of their own minds. Now... I can hardly call myself a doctor anymore. So many people are dying and ending up in conditions far worse than what they started with. I was so frustrated by the impartial nature of society and the medical system as a whole; I wanted to make a difference.

Entry Log #23...

I'll make this entry short since I have a lot of work ahead of me today. The Founder of the organization is stopping by the facility tomorrow to check up on how things are going. This facility is one of many spread around the country, some made public, others more concealed, like this one. To be honest, I know next to nothing about The Founder, that's all anyone knows him as, The Founder.

I keep running tests on those damned pills, yet I still can't figure anything out about them. Most of the material seems to be your typical vitamins and minerals, but there's this small fraction in them that almost seems alien in origin. No, it is alien in origin, it has to be. None of those materials I analyzed appear on the periodic table. Hell, some of it doesn't even seem to obey the laws of physics. Once you crack open the capsule withholding the contents, the "medicine" inside seems to phase through anything else obstructing its ascent into...well, nothingness.

Entry Log #24...

Excuse my profanity, but, Jesus Christ, that was nerve-racking. Shit really hit the fan. The founder showed up at my quarters accompanied by two men in black, where I keep the patients. He looked far younger than I had expected. At first, he didn't even acknowledge my presence at first. He just walked through my room, hands neatly held behind his back, yet wearing a deceptively warm but over theatrical smile. I couldn't even tell if his eyes were open. He walked methodically throughout my lab, presumably looking over each patient from the corner of his eyes. Then... he came in the vicinity of my newest patient, instantly breaking his professional manner and darting up to his bedside, eyeing him like a hungry predator.

No, that's not quite right. He wasn't looking at him, it was like he was looking through him, fixated on his cranium. The Founder suddenly broke out his trance, rushing up to be and bombarding me with all sorts of invasive questions until I was backed into a corner. He wanted to know everything about this patient, from where they were born to what they ate.

After he figured out that I couldn't answer most of those questions even if I wanted to, he demanded that this patient be brought back with him. There was nothing I can do. I just hope I'll one day be forgiven for my sins. My father always said that the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

Chapter 1: Birth

Chapter Music

Darkness completely consumed my vision. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, almost as if I was in a suspended matrix. Strangely enough, I could still feel my body, but it felt...wrong somehow. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Finger... wait, why can’t I feel my fingers? The same went from my toes.

"What’s going on?" I thought to myself, panic beginning to set it before I knew it.

If I could, I would have begun hyperventilating, but was unable to even breathe. I was trapped in some kind of liquid, but I wasn’t suffocating. Being unable to breathe but not suffocate is a very jarring experience. I attempted to stretch out my limbs which I luckily still had. I couldn’t stretch out very far before my legs hit the edge of something rigid, but somewhat malleable.

I tried pushing against it to no avail.

A series of thoughts took my mind by storm. "Is this some kind of cocoon? Was I abducted by aliens? Why can’t I remember anything?"

“Oh, come on!” I yelled to myself as I began flailing my body around in frustration, striking the edges of my prison several times.

Surprisingly, I felt my center of gravity shift, shortly after, this was followed by a significant shockwave throughout my tiny prison. Luckily, something audibly cracked. Reasoning that it must have been my cocoon, I began to feel around for any openings.

To my relief, I managed to find one. Turning on my back, I began to kick at it, each kick opening the crack up wider and wider. Eventually, my foot broke through, causing my chrysalis to leak. As soon as the fluid drained from my cocoon, a cold rush of air hit me. I gasped desperately as the frigid air filled my lungs.

Prying open the crack of the cocoon, I managed to pull myself out head first. It was still dark, but I could somewhat see my surroundings. It seemed to be some kind of expansive underground cavern. I pulled the rest of my body out and plopped out the ground with a wet thud.

I attempted to stand upright but my balance was abysmal, causing me to fall to the floor again.

“Great, walking's not an option. Guess I’ll have to crawl.” Managing to get to all fours, I decided to take a look at myself. Lifting my right arm in front of my face, I began inspecting it.

No... hands. In fact, my arms seem to be more hoof-like than anything. Only, my fore-hooves were riddled with holes. It didn’t hurt so that's not what I was necessarily concerned with. I was more so concerned with the fact that I had hooves in the first place. The panic began to set in again. I began inspecting the rest of my body. Looking over my body, it was clear I had little to nothing relating to human physiology. In fact, I was built like a small horse... a pony. I sat on my flank and looked toward the ceiling.

“What the hell is going on?”

Now thinking about it, I took note of how strange my voice sounded. I was still able to speak clearly, but it sounded echoey. I mean more echoey than it would if I was in a cave, which I was. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I felt like I was about to cry, almost. I was confused, scared, alone in the dark, and stuck inside a foreign body to top it all off.

“Cease this poor display at once!” A voice said from seemingly nowhere.

I stood up and got into a defensive position immediately. “Who’s there!?”

The voice was echoey like mine, but it sounded more feminine and mature. But I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It was almost as if it was inside my head.

“Of all the things. Honestly, I’ve never seen a changeling act so pathetic.” The voice said condescendingly.

“Where are you?!” I yelled in as threatening a tone as I could muster. This was a failure.

My hopeless confusion was met with a malevolent chuckle. “Within you, my child. I must admit though, you seem to be quite intelligent and strong for a newborn. It must have been all the love.”

Strangely enough, the fear began to subside, but I was still a bit on edge.

“Changeling?” I thought to myself.

“Yes, it is what we are, it is what you are. And I am the queen of changelings, Chrysalis. Well, former queen anyway.”

So, I’m a changeling then. Wait, did she just read my mind?

“Something like that,” Chrysalis said impartially.

I couldn’t help but feel somewhat violated, but I still had questions that needed answering. “Do you know where I am?”

“Ah, yes, I was just about to get to that. You’re currently underneath The Crystal Empire. Before I was sealed away, I decided to take an extra precaution. I birthed a single changeling within the underground caverns of The Crystal Empire. For a decade you’ve been incubating here, passively absorbing whatever residual love could reach you. Now that you’ve hatched, it’s time for my plan to truly begin.”

“Crystal Empire? Changeling? Hatched? I’m really not human anymore, let alone on Earth, am I?” I lamented.

“Human? What is that?” Chrysalis asked inquisitively.

“Humans are… humans are… I don’t know.”

No, it wasn't that I didn't know, it was more like I couldn't remember. I was conflicted. I felt like the answer was there, I just couldn't reach it for whatever reason.

“I see. Never mind that. I have plans for you, my child.”

Hearing someone call me their child felt so strange. Yet I didn’t know why. I’m so confused, it’s frustrating.

“You, my little prince, are the key to my freedom. Since the defeat of my ‘comrades’ and I, Equestria has been brimming with more love than ever before. I can’t absorb any of it due to my unfortunate predicament, but you, my little prince, are a different story.”

Equestria, is that a region, or the planet? And what’s with calling me a prince? Never mind that, I’d just get more confused.

“What does love have to do with anything?”

Chrysalis sighed. “We changelings feed off love to survive. Not only that, it is our main source of power and magic. If I have any chance at freedom, it’s only possible if you grow stronger than several alicorns combined.”

“Magic?”

Chrysalis let out an even more disgruntled sigh. “Yes, magic. It’s the power to manipulate the world around oneself by will of thought. Must I explain everything?”

“Well, seeing as I was just born, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do, unfortunately.”

Chrysalis mumbled under her psychic breath. "You'd think the hive mind would handle that."

Author's Note

Enjoy the story!

Chapter 2: First Steps

Chapter Music

“So, let me get this straight. You allied with a child and some washed-up old guy to overthrow what were debatably the strongest, wisest entities in Equestria at the time?” I crudely recounted the event that got Chrysalis in this mess as I walked through the caverns.

She scoffed in return. “You could only understand if you were there.”

“Oh no, I understand. I understand perfectly.” I teased.

“Your sarcasm isn’t very appreciated, colt. But I’ll let that slide.” Chrysalis sneered.

“Right, right. I’ve been wondering for a while, where exactly am I going? I’ve been walking for hours.”

“If I remember correctly, the diamond dogs I ‘hired’ connected these tunnels to several locations. One of them being the Everfree Forest, the Crystal Empire as you already know, and lastly Fillydelphia.”

“Fillydelphia, really?”

“Ugh, I know. Ponies seem to spread their influence wherever they can. And they said I was egotistical.”

I chuckled at this. “Anyway, I’m going on a limb and guessing I’m heading to the Everfree Forest.”

“Oh, what makes you say that?”

“Roots are becoming more abundant. That could only me that there are trees above. Trees are indicative of forests.”

“Clever colt. You must have acquired quite a bit of my knowledge from the hive mind during your incubation period. You’re correct, we are heading to the Everfree Forest. It is there where I’ll teach you everything about being a changeling, a true changeling. A hostile, unpredictable environment that will push you to the edge of life every day where certain skills are key to survival will be perfect for your upbringing.”

“Wow, I can’t wait,” I murmured.

Chrysalis laughed maniacally.

I had been walking for what felt like hours, and I learned quite a bit from my mother during that time. I still can’t get used to familial titles, I’m not sure why.

Changelings have the ability to transform into practically anything and mimic it. Transformation possibilities are heavily dependent on magic knowledge, control, and power. Altering size requires more magic. The more drastic the change in size, the more magic that was required. Mimicking the abilities of a creature is more complicated than mimicking its form because you actually need to understand the mechanisms behind its abilities to copy them.

It was even possible to breed with other species. Don’t ask. Let’s just say my mother had to do some fairly unsavory things to keep the species thriving.

I had to admit, the prospect of shapeshifting was really exciting. For the first time in a while, I felt a smile form across my muzzle. As I walked, I noticed several beams of light permeating the darkness of the caverns. “Looks like I’m getting close to the surface.”

“Good, carry on.”

“I’ve been curious. Where are the rest of the changelings, why am I alone?”

“I wouldn’t care if those traitors ended up in Tartarus,” Chrysalis snapped.

“Woah, where’s this animosity coming from?”

“They are of no consequence to us, so just forget about them,” Chrysalis reassured.

I figured that must have been a touchy subject for her. Brushing it aside, for now, I continued walking. After a short while, the cavern opened up to a moderately large ravine. And for the first time since being born, I saw light. It stung my eyes for a moment before my eyes adjusted. Everything looked so vivid.

“Good, you’ve made it. Your first task is to climb out of this ravine. Do try not to perish.”

“You’re kidding me, this ravine is way too steep.”

“That’s why I said climb,” Chrysalis chuckled.

Sometime later...

After 14 tries, several hours, and a sore flank, I managed to nearly climb out of the ravine. The trick was simple; dig my right forehoof in the side of the ravine along with my left hind hoof, then switch. Just a few more meters and I’m home free, or so I thought. One misstep was all it took before I was plummeting to my demise. Regardless of my anatomy, I was pretty sure a fall from this height would surely do some significant damage.

I was so shocked I couldn’t even scream. I was falling fast, so I had to think fast. I desperately racked my mind for a solution, but nothing came up. Was I going to die so soon after being born?

No, I can’t die. As I drew closer to the ground, a fire inside me began to burn hotter. 4 meters. I can’t die! 3 meters. My back hurts like hell! 2 meters. Please! 1 meter. The pain in my back reached its peak and vanished all at once. I shut my eyes tightly, bracing for impact, but it never came. In fact, it felt like I was suspended in the air, a light buzzing filling my ears.

Chrysalis spoke up. “Congratulations, you’ve learned how to fly. You may open your eyes now.”
I opened my eyes and instantly fell on my face. I shakingly stood up and rubbed my muzzle.

“I thought I was going to die.” I stammered.

“I will admit, you had me worried for a bit, but you pulled through. Well done, my little prince.”

“Right, thanks. But why didn’t you tell me I could fly earlier?”

“Because you couldn’t. You needed... stimulation. Most changelings take months to fly, let alone talk, yet you managed to do both in less than a day. I’m impressed,” Chrysalis confessed.

Dang, I’m like a prodigy or something. Looking over my shoulder to get a better look at my wings, I found that my wings appeared to be transparent and riddle with holes, similar to my legs. I willed them to move and they did. Strangely enough, the holes didn't seem to hinder their functionality. Being able to move them now felt like second nature whereas before it was almost nonexistent.

I put significantly more effort into my wings. Little by little, I won the battle against gravity. I was flying. Really flying. No tricks or gimmicks. Setting my sights at the top of the ravine, I took off with a burst of wind.

Chrysalis' Interlude #3

Chapter Music

That insolent child! Why wouldn't he listen to me? Didn't he know that he could've died? Doesn't he fear death? Why wouldn't he run? Buck! To Tartarus with everything!

I just don't understand, what changed? He's always listened to me, so what changed? Did I mess up as I did with Thorax? Is he going to abandon me? No, no, calm down, think about this logically. Before that filly showed up, he tried to run once before, but it didn't work. When she did show up, however, she saved his life. He could have easily escaped while she was distracting that creature, but he didn't.

Did he feel he owed her or was it something deeper? Think, what was he feeling when he chose to disobey me. It was... pride and something else. What was it called? He didn't feel pride that aimed to benefit oneself, but pride that aimed to aid another.

Buck, what was that other emotion called? It was... it was... love.

How could I not recognize it? It's the emotion I'm most familiar with. No, there's something different about it, it's not lust. Lust is too sweet and tangy. This is a taste I can't quite describe, but I know it's love. I've felt it once before, from another pony. It was... Starlight Glimmer. How could he feel love for somepony he just met?

UGH! None of this is important right now, he's alive, that's all that matters. No, it is important. What was any of this even about?

Who was that back there in the forest? I can understand consuming other creatures to survive. Changelings are omnivorous after all. What I don't understand is wanting to consume another sapient creature. I mean, I've cocooned creatures to harvest love from them, but I never consumed their flesh.

Even stranger, he committed suicide when being interrogated by Starlight. Using a passive spell, I could hear some of his thoughts, but only in bits and pieces. It's how Chimera was able to avoid those attacks despite their terrifying speed. I was just relaying the meaning of the message without sending the message itself. It's also how I've been gathering intel despite being trapped in stone all this time.

That creature's last thoughts though... he shall rise...

It's along the same lines as that mad colt in Ponyville. That barrier was also strange, when it activated, the thoughts of my child became incredibly feint.

There's something big going on in Equestria, possibly bigger than what happened over a decade ago. I'm not one to easily admit it, but I have an ominous feeling about the future. He shall rise...

Who could that be? What has that child gotten himself involved with?

Chrysalis' Interlude #4

Chapter Music

Something happened. It was brief, but for a moment, a barrier within Chimera's mind lowered. I was granted access to one of Chimera's dreams as he slept. I wasn't sure how to interpret it, but I believe I was seeing through the eyes of Chimera. I was ready to dismiss it as a nonsensical dream, but the longer I watched, the more I realized that it was too... organized to be a dream. It played as if it was a... as if it was a memory.

But that simply isn't possible. How could a changeling have memories of their own at birth? No, that's not it. It was as if these memories existed far before the birth of this changeling. The nature of the dream was fairly tame, but the implications of it, not so much. Chimera sat inside a lecture hall at a desk, clicking a pen... with hands.

The hands had five blunt digits that seemed perfect for dexterity. Chimera used them so naturally, it was almost captivating. As Chimera sat there, their professor began talking. Strangely, the only thing I could tell about this professor was that he was bipedal. Every other feature wasn't discernable due to how blurry his being was. He spoke about the uncontrollable and chaotic nature of human emotion.

This is the second time this human thing has been brought up, and I still have no idea what it is. Well, I do know one thing, these human things are dangerous, or at least, have the potential to be. But, it's just a dream, right?

That's not the only strange thing I've observed, however. Earlier, in Ponyville, the filly that always hangs around Chimera suddenly lost her mind, acting mad. This was strange enough, but it was when she ceased spasming that really shook me to my core. And it is not easy to frighten the queen of changelings. That expression on her face... it was like looking at the incarnation of evil. I could instantly tell that this wasn't the same filly. To make matters worse, Ponyville went dead silent as everypony around stopped dead in their tracks, making the same expression at Chimera.

All I know now is that Chimera is likely in an unholy amount of danger right now. I know I haven't spoken to him in a while, but I need to set aside my anger for now. He's alive, that's all that matters and I intend to keep it that way.