Author's Note

SPOILERS: This chapter contains graphic violence and gore!

Another major fight sequence that illustrates Alex's resourcefulness, tactical strategy in pressurized situations, and glimpses of who he really is.
I hope you enjoyed this 3-part chapter. Let me know what you thought of 3 chapters getting uploaded in one day at different times and whether I should continue this for future installments like this.

Once again to reiterate, you have been warned of this chapter's rating!

-Harpy

I Can Change, Can You? - Part 3 (NSFW)

Chapter 17: I Can Change, Can You? - Part 3 (NSFW)

Whiplash.

My mortal enemy.

The feeling of your neck jerking violently from one stationary position to an uncomfortable tilt hurt whenever it happened. I would usually sit there, clutching my neck afterward in agony as I tried to ward off the painful feeling across my head and neck.

However, today, or this moment, couldn’t cause me to pause.

Somecreature, or thing, had slammed into the center of my back, tackling me to the dirt. As I hit the ground, my face was smashed into the soil, the dirt spreading across my face.

The creature was considerably heavy, wearing some kind of metallic armor plating. The cold exterior forced me to stay down as the eager growl of the changeling nipped at my eardrums.

I couldn’t move most of my body, having been toppled and forced onto my stomach, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have freedom of movement in my arms. I immediately pushed myself off the ground with my hands and used my strength to get up.

From there, I grappled with the unknown being, my left hand throwing it over my shoulders. It went soaring through the air as I collapsed onto the Equestrian soil.

“Oowww,” I agonizingly said. “What th-the fu-FUCK!?”

I got on one knee and looked up, only to see the pony-like creature galloping back towards me at full speed. It was undoubtedly a changeling, one that sported a mean mug.

I cracked my knuckles as the brute changeling charged me. I raised my fists and opened my hands, catching his hooves as he lunged forward. I fell backward and delivered a devastating blow with my right foot to his midsection.

The kick sent him up and backward, giving me another chance to take more deep breaths. Then, I swiveled around and stood up as the changeling slammed into the ground away from me.

Fuck, both sides of my mind thought. That’s gotta be-

“Pharynx,” I eagerly growled, my eyes setting their sights on the armored creature. The large changeling quickly got back up and turned his head. His sinister smile was the first thing I saw, followed by his razor-sharp teeth.

“Human sssscum,” Pharynx hissed in response. “You’re not getting away from me so easily.” Then, he started transforming, his body morphing and twisting into a different shape.

A significantly colossal shape.

The angry changeling still kept his original facial features, but his body resembled that of a wild grizzly bear. His claws had doubled in size, with his fur hiding the skin and joints.

Shit, I thought, taking a small step back.

“Shouldn’t have come here, Alex!” the creature yelled before delivering a loud roar! My hands came up to cover my ears as the soundwaves forced my body to slide back. While reopening my eyes, they widened from seeing Pharynx's new form nearing me with an outstretched claw.

“Shi-”

slash!

The oversized claw of the hybrid beast slammed into my side and flung me to the right. His sharp digits had ripped my side open, blood beginning to sling out as I flew through the air and down onto the terrain.

slam!

I rolled over nearly a dozen times before coming to a complete stop.

The world went silent as I lay there in a heap.

“Command needed,” the super watch pleaded.

“...”

The ground started shaking as Pharynx began drawing nearer. His footsteps were like massive earthquakes, the vibrations causing the ground to shake.

“...”

I lay there, unmoving. My body had lost control of itself from all the day’s many events. The movement had all but left my physical being.

But we are still here mentally, my brain reminded itself.

“And spiritually.”

“...”

GET UP, MAN!!

With the last of my available strength, I forced myself out of the way of the lunging bear. The creature flew past me, his head moving to notice my absence as he smashed into the nearby trees.

The cracking and snapping of the trees and branches echoed into the air, birds flying away in fright. They wanted no part of this battle.

I immediately took shelter within a massive crater, rocks lining the edges of it. I hissed in pain as I brought my left wrist up.

“Scan all affected areas immediately! Activate Health Regeneration! Stage 9!” I yelled with all my might.

“Processing request. Prepare for immediate synthetic treatment,” the voice replied hastily.

My body was immediately hit with a violent surge of magical healing, the wounds from my sides dissipating into my flesh. My head began spazzing from the regen, blood clotting and sowing the affected areas of my skin, leaving wide scars on the left side of my stomach.

roar!

“Spawn both dual-bladed axes,” I said quietly.

“Unable to spawn.”

“Goo-wait,” I had to do a double-take on that remark. “What do yo-”

“Processing error 202: one or more requested items are missing from inventory. Unable to fulfill the request,” was the answer.

groan “Search and retrieve the missing item,” I commanded into the watch. “In the meantime, just give me the one we have currently.”

“Item 1 is in immediate retrieval mode. Item 2 will appear on your back momentarily, Alexander,” it said.

growl

I looked up and peered from my hiding spot for a moment, and Pharynx had reverted back to his original changeling state. I ducked back into my hiding hole, praying not to be found.

“Please, God,” I pleaded, “I can’t die today.”

“YOU CAN’T EVADE ME FOREVER!!” Pharynx screamed into the wind. “I know you are wounded! AND powerless to stop me!”

A laugh from the changeling made it sound like he was getting closer. “I can feel your emotions, as all changelings can,” he replied. “I know you are terrified of me and that you wish this was over…AND I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!!”

Come on, I thought, holding up my right arm. The ax was on its way, flying from wherever it was last left. Meanwhile, the other ax had begun emerging from its holding, visibly shimmering into view on my back.

“When will you learn?” the tone of Pharynx’s raspy voice drew closer. I looked up and held on for dear life as the dark shadow of a creature loomed over me.

My eyes went wide, and my jaw dropped at what smiled back. Pharynx had, unfortunately, transformed himself yet again. Only this time, the changeling was a terrifyingly colossal dragon. His mouth snarled as his eyes finally locked onto mine.

gulp! “Heh heh,” I waved my left hand at him as I smiled slightly in embarrassment. “Found me, heh….”

“HAAA HAAA HAAAAA!!” he laughed maniacally, his nostrils emitting smoke as he prepared to open his mouth.

ffffwwooOOO!!

“I CAN CHANGE, ALEX!!” Pharynx roared at me. “WHAT CAN YOU DO?!”

I grinned and closed my eyes as the fast-approaching weight of the ax drew closer to our spot.

“That’s right…NOTHING!!” Pharynx growled while opening his mouth. I took one last look at the beast as I saw a ball of fire within his mouth, fastly growing in sheer size. Next, he emitted a large coil of flames that left his mouth and toward me.

My eyes began to burn as I felt the ax blast through the ground.

shing!

It’s time, motherfucker, I angrily thought.

fsshiiing!

========================================<>========================================

boom!

The extreme heat resistance of the ax made the fire blast bounce off and to the crater's sides. It felt like I was in a small oven, almost cooked from the heat but not completely reduced to cinders from Pharynx’s deadly attack.

As the fire ceased, I jumped up and delivered a definitive roundhouse kick to the mighty dragon’s jaw. What followed sounded like a loud crack! The noise came from the creature’s mouth, prompting Pharynx to immediately transform back into his changeling state.

Then, as he fumbled to the ground, he grasped at his mouth with one hoof. I landed safely on the ground a distance away, grabbing the other ax with my free hand and bringing it out.

As I stared down the changeling with both axes, my heart started pounding against my ribcage within my chest. Pissing off Thorax’s older brother could be a disaster for my delicacy, I thought before shaking my head and staring with rageful intent.

But I must stand my ground!

“Heh….”

I continued to glare at the body of the armored changeling as he slowly brought himself back up. He removed his hoof from over his mouth and stared back. Finally, he opened it to show me what I had done. Blood slithered from his lips, trailing down his jaw and dripping to the ground.

“Vyuu kwack twu uf m-my tfeeth…b-badlwy,” he said slowly. I had to piece the words together myself as he grimaced in pain.

“This is what you wanted,” I maliciously replied, shrugging my shoulders and regripping onto my axes tighter. “Well, here’s your fucking chance, Pharynx!”

“Pheh heh, aaugh,” was the changeling’s response. “Pfuny….”

He looked at me. His mouth lowly snarled as I noticed the changeling's tongue covered in blood.

“WVifh pllezuure.” hiss!

Pharynx proceeded to fly through the air and toward me. I took a step back and prepared myself as I glared back at Pharynx. His mouth was open as he approached, but I was blindsided by something I didn’t expect from him.

He flicked his tongue and spat some of the blood toward my face, causing me to close my eyes and recoil from the surprise assault of blood.

“That’s disgusting.”

Damn straight.

But then, it got even worse.

crunch!

Pharynx had supposedly evaded both of my axes swinging wildly at him. Then, he reached my left shoulder, clamping his jaw around it and sinking his fangs viciously past the skin.

“AAAAAUUUUH!!”

I screamed in terror as the pain forcefully shot through my nerves and throughout my entire body. My hands quickly let go of the axes as I was brought to the ground. My left side was pinned as I mightily attempted to wrestle myself away from the changeling warrior.

“GRRR!!” Pharynx eagerly growled as blood trailed down my arm and soaked into my clothes. He was starting to reach the bone of my shoulders and proceeded to dig in.

“FffuuuUUCCK!!” I horrifyingly yelled, my right hand unable to remove the parasitic bug from my being.

The pain barrier appeared within the deep recesses of my mind, both sides of my brain looking at it awkwardly. I felt the squirming changeling creature bite down harder as more blood kept gushing out from the area and through the sides of Pharynx’s mouth.

We can’t get through it, one side shuddered.

I have to agree, the other said, admitting defeat. It’s impossible to reach.

gasp! I squeezed my eyes shut and gasped silently. My breath was being taken away by the unbearable pain, and I slowly felt my consciousness losing the battle. My right arm dragged itself back across my chest. The changeling, however, was unrelenting in his assault.

groan! “Gooaaa…” I frustratingly sighed, the sensation of pricking nerves keeping the pain from receding in ferocity. My eyes blinked as I started losing feeling in my frame.

“...”

“That’s when you envisioned it.”

“...no,” I thought aloud. Then, as my mind overlooked the graveyard of death, the sun flashed once throughout my brain.

The sun, my mind responded in unison, their hands reaching out and grasping the bars of the protective barrier. The sun, Alex!

The sun, my mind painfully said to itself, in which I finally got the message.

“NOOO!!”

I bit my tongue tightly and forced the pain down as I slammed my left shoulder to the ground. The shocking voltage of pain coursed through my blood vessels, but my right arm had other plans.

Reaching underneath the backside of my shirt, I desperately dug and grabbed onto the sun symbol I had unceremoniously removed from the Ax of Orichalcum. Ripping it away, I fumbled and clenched my bloodied teeth around it.

I stretched my right hand out and beckoned for the ax to return to me. Instead, it magnetized back into my palm, my fingers wrapping around the handle and fully gripping it.

With the last of my entire body’s strength reserves, I smacked the dual-bladed ax against my chest, directly aiming the middle of the blade’s head toward the symbolic ornament.

click!

It clicked into place, which made me grunt as I dropped it toward the ground. I used my right arm strength to lift myself back up, getting to my feet. Digging the ax out of the blood-soaked soil, the changeling continued clinging to my left shoulder blade.

I swung it only once.

“Fuck yOU MUDDERRFUUC-”

SHMACK!!

========================================<>========================================

“Good evening, my dear Sunspots,” I cheerfully called out as I entered the dining room. I halted as soon as I entered, with the immediate contrast in light becoming worrisome.

“Hello, Nacreous,” the alicorn seated on the far end of the long table remarked.

My eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment as I could hardly see the solar princess’s expression in the dimly lit banquet room. I flew over to the table and quickly lit the candles. The room was slightly better, the lighting allowing me to fully gaze at my special mare.

“Ummm, Celly?” I asked slowly, my head tilting to the right.

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Nacreous,” Celestia grumbled. As I approached, she was slumped over in her seat, her horn sparkling. She was levitating a quart of ice cream in the air with a spoon resting on the table.

“Oohh, noooo,” I shook my head, approaching her and slowly grabbing the carton of ice cream out of the air. Finally, after setting it back on the table by the spoon, I wrapped the alicorn in a big hug and spoke into her ear. “Celly, please tell the doctor. What’s wrong?”

Celestia sighed as she reciprocated the embrace. “I…I just don’t get it, Nacreous,” she exasperated. “Do you have the feeling that a creature unique to Equestria, one that you helped shelter and welcomed with open hooves. A creature that nopony knew anything about felt a certain way for who you were and appreciated everything you had done for them. But then, suddenly, they fully despise you and everything you stand for now?”

I rested my head on top of hers and sighed. “Well, I can’t definitively sa-”

“I heard what he screamed at me before jumping from that room in the clouds,” Celestia interrupted, her breathing getting heavier. “I know that Alex directed it at me!”

“Celly…”

“And then, he’s going to have the bucking guts to not only escape the confines of his room, one I PROVIDED for hospitality purposes,” her words started getting bitter, “and even gave him a security blanket in Private Swift! Which, by the way, we promoted Swift Wildshadow a week prior, and it just so happened to coincide with the event of Alex randomly showing up!”

Celestia was huffing slightly louder than before. “But he evades our grasp and is now out there in the unknown BY HIMSELF!! He is a clear and present danger wherever he goes!”

“You don’t know if he is still ali-”

“I KNOW HE IS, NACREOUS!!” Celestia screamed, her horn firing a shot of fire at the carton of ice cream nearby. It evaporated into a puddle of soft liquid and dripped from the tablecloth onto the dining room floor.

“Celly! Stop!” I shouted back, holding onto her in our embrace and quietly stroking her mane.

“What I don’t understand is why in Equestria does Alex keep running from all his bucking problems in life?” Celestia continued, her jaw beginning to shudder.

“Celestia, please, not here…ssshh….”

“Nacreous, please,” the alicorn spat back. “Spare me the soft words. After all, what’s the point in trying to calm me down? Nopony likes seeing me this upset, a-and…and i-i-its….”

“Ssshhhh,” I continued while gently running my talons through her flowing mane. “Deep breaths, deep breaths. It’s okay, deep breaths, Sunspots…ssshh….”

sob

“I-Is this wh-what I h-have come t-t-to?” the mare stammered, her breathing starting to increase. “An old mare who maintains a firm co-rulership with her special somegriff, a younger sister and her fiance when we are this close to passing the torch onto the next generation of ponies?” Her heart rate kept increasing as I quickly noted she was starting to have a panic attack.

“What if Twilight and her friends aren't ready? What if she won’t be able to defeat an enemy that dares to stand in their way? What if-what if she isn’t ready for diplomatic relations with other nations? What about the Griffon Empire, or even the Hippogriffs for that matte-oomf!”

I brought Celestia back and planted a soft kiss on her lips. She blushed almost immediately, causing me to chuckle uncontrollably.

“You’re cute when you are flustered, you know that?” I whispered to her shakily while in a fit of laughter.

sigh “Such a charmer, Nacreous, as always,” she sighed, sitting upright in her chair.

“Let’s not worry about what will be or what was,” I stated, grabbing her hoof and drawing her focus to me. “We only focus on what is in the present, and we will keep it like that. We’ll always find a way, right?”

“B-B-But-”

“No buts, Celestia,” I interjected, putting a paw to her lips while raising an eyebrow. “It is nearing nighttime, and I believe you deserve some rest from today’s unpredictable transgressions, don’t you think?”

sigh “I guess I could use a couple extra hours of sleep to take my mind off of the huma-”

slam!

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!!”

We looked up to the other side of the room, squinting our eyes as a remote light switch was flipped on. Galloping to us was a mare named Raven Inkwell, Celestia’s top assistant at the time.

“Message from Prince Thorax of the Changeling Hive,” the unicorn mare formally announced, presenting a parchment for us. I grabbed it from the magical grasp of the mare and opened it myself. After several seconds of reading, my eyes widened in shock.

“Alex was spotted in the Hive,” I softly remarked.

“You’re joking,” Celestia huffed, getting up from her chair and peeking over my right shoulder at the scroll.

“Afraid not,” I said, turning it towards the alicorn. Celestia scanned the page with haste. “According to the Prince, he was last seen there, exiting the Hive to the south.”

growl “Then let’s not waste any time and get there quickly,” she snarled, her horn igniting.

“CELESTIA, WAIT!!”

The solar princess stopped and stared at me with her fiery, violet eyes. “Nacreous,” she huffed slowly before smiling. “What is it this time, sweetie?”

Ahem! “Celly, you should let the changelings handle the capture of the human fugitive,” I declared, stomping my closed paw into the floor. “We need to stay here and not intervene.”

“Why?” Celestia snapped, her mane flowing and changing colors. It started resembling a fiery blaze. “Why should we not aid them when they have relayed a message asking for our assistance in capturing Alex, who is a WANTED criminal?”

“WE don’t have to,” I argued, pointing a digit between the alicorn princess and me. “The Royal Army can be sent to do jus-”

“We are wasting precious time bickering over nothing,” she said, charging her horn again. My body was whisked to her side as she took another deep breath.

“This isn’t about something small,” I protested. But I was immediately silenced by Celestia's magic activating.

“Hold on, Nacreous.”

“Sunspots, wai-”

poof!

========================================<>========================================

“...”

“Health regeneration in progress,” the watch’s robotic voice said in the background.

pant! huff!

groan! “Th-thaanks,” I answered tiredly.

My body slumped to the ground, the pools upon pools of blood splashing to the side as my body refused to budge. The clothing I had on was beginning to absorb the abnormally colored blood.

“Regeneration completion: 53%. Estimated time to full recovery: 2 minutes and 29 seconds,” the watch announced.

Well, I got some time to kill, my mind thought. Fuckin…damn this whole situation.

I looked down at my legs, which were covered in blood splatter. The two axes nearby had been laced with dark-hued strands, nearly making me gag by their appearance.

“You gag at the sight of blood?”

Large quantities. Especially…oh geez, especially on an empty stomach…

My mind tried to stay calm as the stress of potentially throwing up ached in the back of my head. I slowly lowered my head and looked into the sky, the world around me spinning and getting darker by the minute.

“......uuhuugh….”

I peered over to the other creature in my vicinity and rolled my head back in grief. The mighty Pharynx was considered the most versatile, cunning, clever, and deadliest changeling the Hive had ever produced. Now, he was reduced to a helpless, lifeless heap of a wreck within the pools of blood.

The changeling was devastatingly injured, with a severe head wound nearly cracking off a piece of one of his horns completely. It barely hung on as he lay there motionless.

His head sported an unfortunate reminder of the object that made the impact. A burned impression of the sun sent a shiver down my spine, the imprint still smoldering.

I then lowered my gaze to his jaw and…oh…oh Go-

“Blurrg!”

The vomit emitted from my mouth, a putrid smell making its way to my nostrils. I hacked and coughed in pain from the graphic scene registering into my memory banks. I spent a few agonizing seconds puking up some of the rations I had the night before in Canterlot.

I didn’t want to deal with this pain anymore, my mind thought. Make it go away….

“Accounting for excessive vomiting. Health regeneration is currently in progress. Please standby, Alex,” the watch’s voice said sternly.

cough! hack! “Yuh…fuuckin…do whatever,” I drunkenly said, my body trying its best to stand upright.

“Alexander, it is unwise for you to stand in your current state,” the voice reminded me.

“Mikey, the damn creature is badly hurt,” I said, my legs giving out on me, forcing me onto my hands and knees. “I…I hav-”

“One more minute to full health regeneration. Standby, Alex!” the watch commanded.

sigh

It’s okay, Alex. Let’s just make observations and discern what Pharynx may need to ensure his survival, my mind told me.

I slowly crawled to the sprawled-out changeling, whose body didn’t seem to be moving. His eyes weren’t even open. As I finally reached the creature, I placed two fingers near his neck and felt for a heartbeat.

sigh “Oh…, th-thank the Lord,” I exhaled softly, my own breathing getting slower.

My mind had gone crazy in thought, believing that I had nearly killed the poor guy. His head didn’t budge as I examined the rest of his horribly damaged body.

That’s a few broken ribs, probably a fractured hoof, my mind mentally noted. I didn’t even want to think about the stallion's head and the possible damage it sustained, so I kneeled over and observed his midsection.

The armor Pharynx was sporting had some painted splashes of blood across the chest plate and arm guards. I took detailed notes of the style it appeared to be, the kind of material it was made out of, and its pre-existing color before my talentless artistry ruined it.

“Regeneration completion: 100%,” the watch interrupted.

“G-Grea-at,” I said slowly before pointing the super watch at the body of Pharynx. “Mikey, do a health analysis of Pharynx. I want to see if he’s alright.”

“Y-yes, Alex. Sc-scanning,” it said, a wall of blue light tracing over the entire changeling’s body. It began at his hind legs and made its way up his body toward his thorny horns.

“Registering…Identity marked as Pharynx,” the watch stated. “The elder brother of Princ-”

“Okay, okay,” I cut off the monotonous voice, mine growing irritably impatient. “I don’t need to know that. The analysis of the body's condition, please.”

“Very well,” the watch relented. “Creature is slowly making self-healing progress. Unfortunately, the damage is life-threatening.”

God. Fucking. DAMMIT!! I screamed in my head.

“Pharynx has a fractured bone in the left back hoof, multiple cracked ribs in his midsection, a torn muscle in the right shoulder, several cracked bones from the area that sprouts his bug wings…” it continued before stopping.

I waited in silence as the watch finished its analysis.

“He’s got two cracked teeth, one severally chipped. A fractured jaw with a dislocation on the left side. Also, a broken nose, a devastatingly cracked horn, and…and severe head trauma to the frontal lobe. His cranium has a huge lump forming above it.”

“......”

I stood there and dropped my arm. My mind couldn’t believe how much damage I had ultimately caused. It was something I didn’t want to hear.

“Life-threatening injuries,” I mumbled.

The line replayed in my mind on repeat for the next dozen seconds, refusing to leave the broken record player.

‘Life-threatening injuries.’

‘Life-threatening injuries.’

I gritted my teeth and started to sob. My tears ran down my face and streamed toward my shirt. Then, as it disappeared beneath the clothing, I beat my fist into my thighs and huffed.

“Mikey, spawn an ice pack and several soft pillows to give him stability,” I slowly said under my breath.

“Alex is this a wis-”

“Do it, and give me some bandaging tape for his horn,” I sternly interjected. “If there’s any hope of Pharynx possibly surviving, I want to help ensure it.”

“Very well,” the watch answered. “Spawning now.”

The items appeared near my right side, and I grabbed the pillows first. Next, I went to Pharynx's back legs and lifted the left one up. After positioning the pad on the ground underneath it, I slowly lowered the leg onto the cushiony padding, earning a soft groan from the creature.

“...uguuhh…huuhh?” Pharynx shuddered quietly.

Just stay down, bitch, and let me help you, I commented in my head.

I then placed a pillow on his left side near his midsection, soaking blood on its other side. I rolled him over and onto it to where he was practically lying on his back.

groan! “mmMMMm...” the changeling warrior grunted in agonizing pain.

After this, I slowly backed over and rested on my knees above his head. Then, taking the last pillow, I raised his head very carefully and moved the pillow underneath him. Finally, I brought it gently back down and onto the cushiony material.

“Okay, that’s done,” I checked off, my eyes wandering over to the next thing. “Ice?”

I grabbed the prepared pack of ice and brought it to his head. Then, as I gently applied it to Pharynx’s forehead, the cold pack sizzled from the contact.

“Ssssss aaahh,” Pharynx uncomfortably groaned.

“I know it hurts, buddy. But you made me do it,” I commented softly. “Hold still while I bandage this nasty injury up….”

I don’t know if Pharynx realized it at the time, but I could have sworn I saw a slight nod and tears starting to form at the base of his eyes. I didn’t see Pharynx as this emotional creature, but since he was recently reformed, he did carry a genuine and caring personality.

I took the tape and wrapped his horn up as best I could while remaining as relaxed as ever. The cracked horn was noticeably delicate, so cautiously moving would ensure it didn’t snap off entirely.

“Did you believe it would happen?”

Not necessarily, but it was a possibility.

After successfully wrapping the horn up, I snapped my fingers, and a roll of the athletic tape appeared in my palm. My hands worked in tandem as they slowly completed the process of firmly stabilizing the bandaging and base of the horn.

I leaned forward and repositioned Pharynx’s head to the right to not have the changeling potentially choke on his own blood. Instead, it drooled out of his mouth and down to the ground, which caused me to look away.

Fucking shit, I thought while bringing a hand to my forehead. I finally eased myself back and closed my eyes. Tears poured down my cheeks as the sobbing continued.

“God,” I pleaded, looking into the sky with sadness, “please. Please forgive me for what I have done today. Please forgive me for what has transpired these past few months between the rest of Equestria and me. Nocreature deserves this from you, o merciful and loving God...Amen….”

After several more precious seconds passed, I slowly got up and retrieved both of my axes. The sun had begun to settle into the horizon skyline, the last of it slowly disappearing behind the trees that loomed ahead.

No time to lose, my cohesive mind deterministically stated. Let’s go, Alex!

“Sorry, Pharynx,” I commented out loud. “Maybe next time….”

groan!

“I’m pretty sure he heard that.”

I walked past the hurt changeling and toward the trees on the forest's perimeter. The tall spires of tree bark and the massive umbrellas of leaves enveloped the interior of the woods in a void of darkness. It was difficult to see into and made me want to rethink my following choices.

“And then?”

Instinct took over for a brief second.

ping!

========================================<>========================================

I rushed past Ocellus up the staircase and into the long corridor that led to the throne room. I had heard the roars from my underground office and had thought the worst.

“I’m coming, Pharynx!” I yelled as I dashed into the throne room.

poof!

“-ait!”

I skidded to a complete halt and looked to my left. “Princess Celestia!” I exclaimed, bowing toward the princess of the sun before turning to the hippogriff Emperor. “And Emperor Nacreous!” My heart began beating faster as they shrugged each other off from a hug.

Calm yourself, Thorax, I thought, my mouth getting dry.

“Good evening, Prince Thorax,” Celestia answered back calmly. “We received your message and decided to assist you immediately.”

“Phew!” I sighed in relief, wiping my brow with a hoof. Unfortunately, doing this was not a good sign since the solar alicorn approached me slowly and stared me down.

“Now, I assume the human has been captured, correct?” she inquired. Beads of sweat started trailing down my forehead as I thought of some way to explain myself.

gulp! “Well, I was just getting to tha-”

“You don’t have the fugitive, Alex, do you?” Celestia interjected, craning her head down and peering into my eyes. The hippogriff emperor behind her shook his head as he ruffled his feathers silently.

“U-u-hhu-hhuumm,” I stammered, my words beginning to fail me. “Well, n-no….”

“Then, where in Equestria is the human?” Celestia asked, her tone getting more irritated by each passing second.

“He’s to the south, outside the Wandering Forest, Your Highness,” I softly remarked, hesitating before further commenting. “My brother, Pharynx, went to stop him from further proceeding….”

sigh “Aah, good,” Celestia said, slowly walking back to Emperor Nacreous. “See? At least the changelings are working together to take Alex dow-”

“H-H-He insisted on doing it alone, Princess Celestia.”

“...”

A pregnant silence filled the room as both monarchs stared back at me in shock. I tried to raise my hoof to reassure them Pharynx was perfectly capable of holding his own, but the Emperor was having none of it as he took a definitive step forward.

“ALONE?!” the hippogriff angrily remarked. “Your brother went to fight Alex ALONE?!” His words shook the entire throne room floor. “Thorax, do you have any clue as to what you may have let happen?”

“With all due respect, Your Highness, I did send the parchment to you a couple of minutes ago, and I do know my brother better than you,” I barked back. “He can definitely hold his own! Pharynx was the one that told me to send a message to Canterlot. Then, and ONLY THEN, I could help him take the human down!”

“It's not that easy, Thorax!” the hippogriff said even louder. “It’s one thing to take him down and keep him down. But, unfortunately, when dealing with this creature, especially one as clever as Alex, he has tricks up his sleeves at all times!”

I looked at the hippogriff with a confused look before he continued on. “It makes him that much more unpredictable. He can easily turn the tides of a fight or match around by adapting to new situations and changing his approach! AND YOU KNOW THIS!! He changed his approach in the second quarter of that regular season basketball game!”

growl!

My mind blanked as a low growl reverberated around the room. The hippogriff Emperor swiveled his head and held a paw above his eyes. I shielded mine as well, my jaw dropping in utter disbelief at the lack of sight.

Princess Celestia’s mane was glowing just as bright as the sun, and her tone had shifted drastically. “I am getting sick of Alexander constantly getting the upper hand on us,” she commented in disgust.

She then kicked the throne in frustration as she stamped her hoof into the ground. “I am done chasing after him! He IS getting caught….” Celestia paused and inhaled audibly.

“AND IT BETTER BE TONIGHT!!”

Princess Celestia roared in her Royal Canterlot voice, causing me and the hippogriff to cover our ears. Shortly after that, a blast of air nearly toppled me over. I regained my balance and looked at the main entranceway to the throne room.

I noticed a chunk of the hall’s left wall and adjacent side had been punched through, leaving a vast hole in its wake. I stared in disbelief and amazement before the hippogriff Emperor slowly walked over to me.

“Prince Thorax,” Nacreous said, resting a talon on my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. He brought his beak near my ear and whispered something I couldn’t hear correctly. But his thoughts rang out loud and clear as he let me go and spread his wings, taking off after the alicorn princess of the sun.

This is proof that ‘déjà vu’ is real.

========================================<>========================================

nnneEEOOOOMmm!

boom!

crash!

“Grrrr,” I growled to myself as I flew through the Hive of the changelings. I kept blasting my magic at the walls and formed new holes in them to dive through. I was heading to the south side of the region because I had a target to finish off.

“Come on, where does this place END?!” I commented frustratingly. My eyes quickly lit up as a massive set of double doors appeared nearby.

“There!”

slam!

The doors were forced open as I slammed my body into them. Then, settling outside onto all four hooves, I scanned the outer landscape for any sign of that bipedal creature.

Luckily for me, there was only one within my range of sight, and I saw he was getting smaller and smaller.

No…NO…NOOO!! my mind screamed as I charged my horn. He’s trying to get away again!

I aimed my horn in the direction of the human and prepared a blast of magic. It was aimed directly at the back of Alex’s neck.

“Say ‘sweet dreams,’ Alex,” I cackled, finally releasing all the energy stored in my horn and shooting it out as a single beam. It traveled very fast, heading in the target’s direction.

fwboom!

“Hmph! Got him!” I sneered. The smoke billowed from the contact sight as a massive dark cloud. Then, as I began unfurling my wings, I thought about whether or not I had actually succeeded in killing the ‘unstoppable’ human.

And as I took off flying into the air, the smoke started to clear, the wind blowing it away from the spot I had sent the magical beam to.

My heart suddenly stopped.

My body also stopped moving.

I nearly plummeted to the sand dunes below, stabilizing my moving wings and keeping myself stationary in the evening sky.

Alex was…was…unharmed.

He had raised his ax and shielded his upper half from the magical beam. Then, slowly, he brought his arm down.

BUCK!! I screamed in my own head. “HOOWWW?!”

The human creature’s body was without a blemish, and his face displayed a displeased and annoyed glare. He stared back at me and gritted his teeth together. I knew he was angry and wanted to unleash all his fiery might against me.

I charged my horn again as I flew even higher into the sky. Alex's eyes continued to follow mine. Finally, my horn started sparking with fury.

“DEFLECT THIISSS!!” I roared, preparing a powerful beam of magic within my horn.

Alex, in turn, moved his ax and held it up near his right shoulder. His stance shifted, with his back foot moving back and bending slightly at the knee. I growled, finally feeling the last bit of raw power, preparing to launch it all out.

This is it, Tia, I thought. Now or never! Unleash it all!

Decimate the damn creature!

Reduce the human to nothing but ash!

‘Become Daybreaker!’ a voice silently cried in delight.

gasp!

“CELESTIA!!”

========================================<>========================================

I felt a jolt of force hit my backside as something grabbed hold of me. My wings immediately stopped flapping, and I began free-falling toward the ground. My mind raced as I tried unfurling my wings again, but they wouldn’t budge. My legs stuck out as I closed my eyes.

“HOLD OONNN!!” a deep voice bellowed.

Nacreous?

I looked behind and noticed a tuft of fur and two claws around my waist. I sighed a breath of relief as our descent slowed. Finally, reaching the sandy terrain, I collapsed onto all four of my hooves and slowly stood up.

I was then brought in for a bone-crushing hug.

gasp! “Nacre-eous,” I sighed quietly, trying to inhale air into my lungs. “Can’t…breathe….”

“Not until you promise to stop all this foolishness!” the burly hippogriff snapped back, causing me to roll my eyes slowly.

“FIIINE!!” I yelled, which prompted the emperor hippogriff to suddenly let go of me. I started breathing heavily, refilling my lungs with as much air as possible. I was then grabbed by my shoulders and brought up.

“Don’t you EVER bucking do that AGAIN, Sunspots!” Nacreous yelled in frustration. I saw a few tears streaking down his face before he shook his head and blinked a few times.

His eyes then darted to the left and locked themselves into place. I mirrored the motion and turned my head to the right to see that accursed human.

Alexander was staring us both down from an even closer distance. He wasn’t moving. His feet were firmly planted in the ground and apart, with both of his axes tightly gripped.

“Alex!” Nacreous yelled loudly, getting his attention. “STAANND!! DOOOWWN!!”

I kept my glare trained on Alex as he stared us down. His glare got even madder, his eyebrows receding as his head tilted downward.

Nacreous flapped his wings and slightly flew up a few yards into the air. The human took a step back, making me want to break into a speedy gallop and lunge at him.

“STAANND DOOOWWN, ALEX!! LAASST!! CHAANNCE!!” Nacreous yelled with cold venom wrapping those words.

The stalemate grew even tenser as we kept our eyes trained on each other. The human stood there like a statue while we remained stationary.

Then, he moved his arms up and over his head. The axes he was holding went to his back and remained there. Then, he slowly uncurled his digits and let go of them, finally bringing his hands back out in front.

His arms lazily dropped, coming to a rest at his sides. His face, however, remained rageful.

“ALLEEEX!!” I screamed. Nacreous hastily flew down and clamped a claw over my mouth.

“Stop it!” Nacreous hissed, his eyes glaring at me. “Don’t! You’ll only upset him more!”

I pushed his paw away and stared back at his ocean-blue eyes. He blinked a few times and shut his mouth before turning his head again and looking in the direction of Alex.

gasp!

I shook my head and peered over Nacreous’s head and similarly gasped to myself at the scene.

Two simultaneous outcomes were presented.

The first was Alex sprinting toward and into the Wandering Forest. The evening sky had grown increasingly darker, helping to cover him as he disappeared past the trees and into the jungle.

The second took us both by surprise, with Nacreous rocketing toward the thing in a hurry.

I flew forward in pursuit, and a creature’s body came into view as I got closer. The pools upon pools of dark blood scattered the surrounding area, a body lying within one of them.

It was Pharynx, the changeling, lying there lifeless on the ground.

He’s not moving, I upsettingly thought before realizing something else.

What I couldn’t understand was one thing as Nacreous hastily checked the changeling’s neck, placing two digits on it and nearing his ear to the changeling.

Why is there an ice pack, three pillows, and a bandage on him? my mind questioned.

Does that…does that imply Alex did this to him?