Duellum Telum

Author's Forward Note

I know, I know, I said there would be a second part. But the editor I found said to combine them, and well, this is what I got. Yes, You've read some of this before. No, I won't be doing this again.

Also, editor, if you're reading this please comment so I can give you credit.

Duellum was walking down a street deep in thought. How did that happen, he thought, how did she turn into a changeling?

***

He was sitting on a branch making sure he was hidden from the blue mare named Rainbow Dash when a green beam tore a hole straight through the clubhouse roof.

Rainbow Dash dove into the clubhouse.

“Everypony okay?” Rainbow dash said.

“COOOL!” Sweetie Belle and Applebloom admired the sudden display of power that had enveloped their friend.

Coughing and spluttering, a black filly dusted off some wood chippings from her chest, noting a dull sound when she tapped it.

“What the… I have a chest plate?”

... What, Duellum thought to himself. He looked at his hooves. This has something to do with genes? It’s not a curse?

Silently climbing down, he let his disguise fall.

This has to be some sort of trick...

Sitting on the ground beneath the clubhouse, he looked again at his hooves.

But... what if it isn’t?

***

How... how can this be something I was born with? He turned a corner. Wasn’t this some kind of curse? Does it mean that Caligantis knows I’m here? No, if she did, she wouldn’t sit around and try to coax me out from hiding. Then this must be real, that filly has to be just like me... But should I try to talk to her? Maybe tell her of the things I found out, so she won’t be surprised... If I do, I must be careful with how I approach and where we meet.

“Talos, give Flare back her book,” a familiar voice said.

Duellum turned another corner and saw a gryphon with black feathers where a normal gryphon would have white, and had blood red irises with gold flecks in them. Beside him stood a rust red unicorn with an orange mane and tail with burnt orange highlights. Leaning up against a street lamp nearby was a grey-ish dark blue pegasus, who had emerald green eyes and a two tone blue mane and tail.

“Fine.”

The griffon tossed a book at the red unicorn who fumbled with it before using her magic, accidentally catching it on fire.

“Aw... See what you made me do?” The unicorn pouted.

Duellum trotted up to his friends.

“Hey guys, thought we were going to meet in the usual spot.”

They turned to Duellum.

“Hey D. You look different today,” Flare commented.

Talos glanced at Moonfire. “Different? He looks like he’s a bug-pony.”

The blue pegasus hit him over the head with her wing.

“What was that for, Frostfall?!” Talos asked.

“You are being insensitive. Again,” Frostfall deadpanned.

“Doesn’t mean you get to Gibbs me...”

“He is half right, Frost,” Flare said. “But... you do look better like this.”

“Thanks,” Duellum said, “Maybe we shoul-”

“What’s that?” Talos asked while pointing at a blob of black goo.

The lump of goo suddenly froze and lunged for them.

Silence. The absence of sound was all she could hear. Around her a party was raging, more specifically a Pinkie Pie Party was being thrown in her house; what the occasion was... was all too evident.

Why...? Was all she thought as she stared at the banner strung above the main staircase which read, in big bold letters “Diamond Tiara’s funeral.”

The mare felt someone with a hoof pinker than hers slap something onto her head while saying, “Isn’t this just the best party you’ve ever been to?”

Diamond Tiara looked over at the pink mare standing next to her with a noise maker in her mouth.

“I got aaaaall the ponies you’ve been mean to together and we decided that the party should be at your house and- ooh look! They’re about to set the fireworks off, gotta go make sure they land on flammable stuff!” With that Pinkie took off, grabbing stuffed animals that were torn and soiled from being under-hoof.

A worn manticore plushie fell from the pink mare’s grasp and landed in front of Diamond, one of its wings holding on by a thread.

“N-Nala?” She said as her hoof slowly moved towards the toy. It had been the first toy she remembered being given, and the first toy that had been lost. Her memories pulled at her, beckoning her to stroll with them down their lane.

“SCATTER!” Frostfall and Talos shouted as they took to the skies.

Duellum and Flare barely jumped out of the blob’s way and galloped towards a stack of boxes. Flare reached the boxes first and bounded up them, followed swiftly by Moonfire. She ran up the side of the building and barely managed to grab onto the edge of the roof. Pulling herself up, she felt Moonfire grab hold of her tail and swing up the wall to land next to her and pull her up.

“Thanks,” Flare said with a faint blush.

“Come on, we can’t wait,” Duellum said as he ran towards a wire leading to another building.

Flare shook her head and followed Duellum, easily catching up with him.

“You two better get a move on, that thing’s following you,” Talos said as he swooped lower to the roofs.

Duellum and Flare jumped off of the wire and, glancing back, saw the blob land on the roof they had just vacated and rush towards the wire. They turned and ran to the other end of the roof and ran across another wire strung across a wide street. The blob, not far behind, jumped towards the wire and rushed after them.

Talos flew by the wire and cut it just as Flare reached the other roof.

Duellum, seeing Talos fly towards the wire, jumped towards the roof and turned to try to roll and landed on his right wing. Moonfire cried out and rolled to his hooves. He winced as he rubbed the sore appendage, something that had once been a straight line was now a distinct curve in his bones. He bit his teeth as he tried to shove away the blinding agony.

“Moonfire!” Flare exclaimed as she turned back. That made Duellum turn rigid: nopony ever called him by that name unless things got serious.

“No! keep going. I’ll be alright,” Duellum said.

Flare turned and ran towards the edge of the roof. With a shout of, “Frostfall, Talos: Plan Phi-Lambda-Upsilon!” she jumped and was caught by Talos and Frostfall, who carried her across a street and set her down on a roof.

“Oh hey, I guess I dropped this one,” the pink mare said as she stopped to pick up the toy.

“N-no,” Diamond said as she snatched up the toy, denying the flashback from happening.

Pinkie tilted her head and said, “You do know that that flashback will happen and when it does I’ll be burning that toy.”

“No, you won’t!” The tiara wearing mare said as she backed away.

A sadistic grin made its way across the party pony’s face as she said. “Oh, so the High and Mighty Diamond ‘princess’ Tiara still sleeps with a toy?” She snatched the stuffed animal from Diamond’s grasp and shouted, “Hey look everypony, Diamond Tiara has a raggedy toy she still sleeps with!”

“Give her back!” The tiara-wearing mare shouted as every eye turned towards the two pink mares.

“Why should she?” a voice said. The crowd parted to reveal a yellow mare with a red bow. “Why should she listen ta your pleas when you didn’ listen ta ours?”

“W-well--”

“Is it because you think you’re high and mighty?” an orange pegasus with a purple mane asked. “Or is it because you’re dead and want your little toy to accompany you?”

“I-I--”

“whichever it is,” a white unicorn with a two-tone purple, curly mane started. “It doesn’t matter as you’re already six feet under.”

Diamond yelped as the lid of her coffin slammed shut.

Duellum reached the edge of the roof and tried to catch their attention, but couldn’t speak. His mouth and tongue moved, but his breath refused to follow. The sound just got stuck while he called out.

As he stood there trying to shout the blob of darkness stopped a few feet away and started to change shape. Moonfire slowly turned around as the darkness settled into a new form. Panic struck him in full as he realized what was happening.

Standing there on the roof with him, there was a black earth pony mare with deceptively light pink irises in eyes that spoke of unbridled malevolence, yellow mane and tail with orange highlights, and a shadowy figure for a cutie mark.

Duellum’s eyes widened, his lips parted for a fearful whisper.

“Caligantis Sicarius.”

With a malicious smirk, Caligantis said, “How many times have we gone through this? I’ve told you too many times to count: this is just business. Nothing personal but... you’re not a pony, remember? You’re a monster. I’m just doing Equestria a favor and making it safer.”

Without warning, she charged forward and knocked the changeling off the roof. He barely had time give an “Ooph!” before he found himself hurtling towards the ground. He tried in vain to make his way back to safety, wings hurting and hooves flailing helplessly.

Duellum heard some sort of music as he fell and found his vision darkening. Right before he hit the street, he blacked out completely, eyes closing with the final breath the pavement knocked out of him.

***

The filly bolted upright, the night’s air cool on her soaked, pink coat; fear making her eyes dart around her room finally resting on the picture of her dad. The panic slowly left her as where she was registered.

She sighed in relief. It was just a dream...

The filly picked up the picture, a tear making its way down her cheek. Why are you always gone?