Sombron could not help but wince. Waking up from the cackling harpy that was Nightmare Moon was one thing, but the constant yammering did not help. Nor did the light show that came when she ripped a hole in reality, forming a portal to the very castle she once lived in. He brought a hand to block the light from his eyes.

"Why must your magic be so... disgustingly bright" he murmured, sending a glare to the excitable mare. He was ignored of course, as she flew behind him and pressed herself against his back to shove him towards her magic deathtrap.

"Go on! Let us leave this rusted cage!"

"This incessant use of force is as ridiculous as it is unnecessary" Sombron growled, yet he did not resist being shoved through the ring of light. Soon the light was behind him, and then it was gone.

The loud noises, it seems, had just begun. Much to his dismay.

"What in Faust's name did that useless mule do to my castle?!" Nightmare Moon roared, glaring around her erratically. Though he was indifferent, he nonetheless spared the room a glance now that he wasn’t blinded.

Truly it was a shame. The throne room was in shambles, coated in dust and cobwebs. The walls were cracked, and the thrones were worn away by age and neglect. Moon looked equal parts devastated and enraged.

The moon princess looked ready to explode, but was interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps. Both of them fell silent, glancing at each other. He was far less concerned than she looked, and he motioned for her to stay back.

Not waiting to see if she complied, he made his way to the source of the noise. He paused before the rotted wooden doors, and reached towards it to open it. He would soon realize his folly, as the door erupted into purple flame when his hand got too close.

He stared at his extended hand in confusion as the door was reduced to ash, revealing a stumbling and visibly nauseated figure. A strange quadruped, black like his cohort behind him but different. The fur had a strange sheen and texture, almost like it was some sort of armor. Regardless, the coloration and slitted eyes all but confirmed to him who it was.

"Ah, you must be her sister. That makes things... easier" Sombron declared, lowering his hand to approach the creature. He paused as he heard his ally gasp in shock behind him.

"What in Faust's name is that?!"

Now that was curious. He was wrong then. The creature collapsed at his feet, gasping for air. He took a moment to observe his surroundings, and something caught his attention. The ground beneath him was cracking, the door burned up with Fell magic. Ahh, that was the problem.

It had been thousands of years since he was at full power, and had failed to remember just how much that power affected his surroundings. He took a deep breath and pulled in, relieving his surroundings of the pressure his fell magic exerted. The creature began to sputter and cough, and the footsteps behind him confirmed the Nightmare herself came to investigate.

"Is this not your sister?"

"Do thine eyes truly lack so? To think my glorious fur could be compared to chitin. No you oaf, this is something else. This... insect is not- ''the moon princess started, glancing at the creature's odd wiry crown. "- Is not of Equestrian nobility."

The creature squirmed a bit, and tried to push itself to its hooves. It kept its head lowered however, not willing to potentially antagonize the fell dragon.

"I-I am a queen. Queen Chrysalis, Great Maelstrom. T-to think, Nightmare Moon was not working alone... I-" the creature stammered out, only to be cut off when Nightmare Moon let out a vicious cackle. Sombron felt her magic surround him as he was pulled away from the insect queen, the mare in question, instead wanting to take control of the conversation.

"Great Maelstrom, a fitting name for him. What is thy claim to queenhood, of what nation doest thou hail? And what is thy reason for coming here?" Nightmare moon purred, standing tall and looking down at the trembling mare. Sombron couldn't help but roll his eyes at the act.

"Queen of the changelings, ruling over the Wastelands. I have come by way of prophecy, in hopes of saving my people" the trembling mare squeaked out. Sombron almost found her cowering amusing, but he was quick to notice a few small details. The frequent glances at him, the trembling seeming to relax when she is distracted from him. The not so subtle hiding behind the curtain of hair that was her mane when she noticed him looking.

She wasn't fearful of Nightmare Moon, not one bit. No, she was scared of him. A younger Sombron might have found joy in such a reaction, but now... it didn't have the same spark. Such fear was pointless. Ever so pointless.

"Save thy kingdom? T’is quite the sizable request. What threat ails thine kingdom, that seeking such a dangerous princess as I seem fitting?"

"We... We face many threats. Hunger, the griffons to the south. Our biggest... the Sun Titan herself. She does not know of us, but we... we risk obliteration should that change."

Oh, now that changed things. Sombron originally intended on sitting this out and letting Moon take charge, but this was a good place to advise.

"Perhaps this is an opportunity. We are behind on the world's goings, this one may have the information we seek. As I said many times before, rushing to fight your sister is a fool's errand" he interjected, walking up to the tall mare's side. He turned to address Chrysalis. "We do not know of a Wasteland, nor are we up to date with Equestrias events. Last she was here, this castle was Equestrias capital city."

That reminder brought a scowl to the moon princesses snout. She turned to scoff, while the insect queen perked up at being addressed in a non hostile manner.

"If information will buy your cooperation, I can offer it. We changelings are experts at infiltration, and have been keeping close eyes on anything and everywhere outside of the capital city of Griffonia. We can be of use, of that I promise" the changeling chirped, her two toned voice becoming a bit more prominent as her head lifted slightly.

"To offer eyes on the inside... I will of course defer to your judgement Lady Moon, but this seems... practical" Sombron hummed, and after a moment stepped back to let the two resume negotiations. Taking her place as centre of attention once more, Moon let out a sigh.

"We are interested. We would like to negotiate details, but this situation is precarious. Perhaps a smaller deal is in order, until such a situation where we can properly negotiate terms?" The changeling gave a deep bow at her words, and the two newly released could hear a faint buzz.

"I shall provide anything you require to free up your time, and in return... I ask that the Great Maelstrom allow me to sample his emotions once more. I was not prepared before, and nearly drowned in it. He is, well..." she paused, seeming to struggle a bit. "I called him Great Maelstrom for a reason. His emotions and magic bled together, and I was suddenly a leaf in a storm. To think such a force of nature was locked away here..."

Was this what being flustered felt like? Bah, best forget that lest the malicious mare beside him catch on. Nightmare Moon seemed almost insulted at the request, but he cut in before she could protest.

"Your kind... you feed from emotions? I would agree to this, if nothing then out of curiosity. I recommend caution however, my kind are beings who generate malice from birth. We are... isolationist by nature because of it. Our instincts and emotions are dangerous, and I would rather not further expose a potential spymaster to such a... dangerous poison" he elaborated, and the pout he got from his associate made it all worth it. Next time she would best think twice before squealing in his ear first thing in the morning. The dark furred mare let out a huff and glared down at the changeling queen.

"We shall agree to such terms, but thy information comes first. We must learn three things to best proceed. Celestia's current military status is of great importance. Major advancements in weaponry she may be employing will aid us greatly. Lastly the status of the Elements of Harmony..." she trailed off, her scowl growing as she went through her checklist. "Our old weapons shall be my undoing, thus knowing its position is imperative."

"Well, mistress of the night, you will find that last question most satisfying" the queen chirped as she got into a more comfortable seated position. "All sources imply the Elements were last seen here. As far as we can tell, no major artifacts were moved from here to Canterlot directly since the transition."

"Canterlot? What would that mud hut of barbarous unicorns have to do with... ah, she built her new castle there didn't she. Urgh" Moon scoffed, snarling at the mental image. Trying and failing to hide her amusement, Chrysalis continued.

"There have been no major military movements since my mothers time, bar one. The Great Calamity saw Celestia reduce the Greatwood to ash. Since then, the sun titan has not moved an inch from her throne" she continued, her own expression briefly mirroring Moons at the mention of the Calamity. His compatriot seemed legitimately shocked, and something occurred to him.

"Ah, that explains it" he commented, and the dark mare's head snapped in his direction. "A good bit into our exile there was a portion that caught fire on the continent. It lasted a few days, but I thought nothing of it. That was during one of Lady Moons hibernations."

"And mentioning such a thing was beneath you becauuuuuse..." she trailed off, giving him a glare. It lacked any meaningful malice, and it did not take a changeling’s emotion sensing to see that.

"I only knew of the significance of the Equestrian nation. Given it was a distance away, I thought it below my notice. Should I have notified you of the daily cloud patterns?" He brought his hand up to stroke his chin, egged on by the visible amusement the changeling was displaying. "Ah yes, I believe the day of the burning the skies were clear above Equestria proper. There was a terrible storm above the dragon domains, which spilled over to-"

"If you continue that weather report I will boil you alive and feed you to my Thestrals" the moon princess growled, and Chrysalis had less than a second to force a neutral expression as her gaze shifted lest she face the other mare's wrath.

"If it helps, there has also been no military advancements since the burning. My kind has no meaningful records of what she had before my mother established spies in her ranks but she has maintained the same spear and spell approach since. As it turns out, centuries of peace makes wartime preparations unnecessary" the changeling added, and the scowl on Moon's face lessened. For a moment, that is.

"Do mine ears deceive me? That mule of a mare sat on her flank gorging on cake, and has depended on her damnable sun to keep threats at bay? To think that foal would use the banishment of her blood to enable such... foolishness" Moon growled, her slitted eyes narrowing into pinpricks. Perhaps responding to the shift in emotion, Chrysalis cut in.

"Well, she did burn my ancestral homeland to ash. She may be er... lazing on her flank but she is far from lacking in power. Most of her advancements have been in standardizing and organizing weather movements. Not to say it wasn't orderly before, but Cloudsdale has had more than its fair share of civil unrest to contend with so the crown took matters into its own hooves."

Sombron would have let this conversation continue, but time was of the essence. They needed to move.

"Perhaps we should adjourn. Lady Moon, I recall you displaying the ability to project your will during our imprisonment. Perhaps keeping an eye on the forest itself would prove beneficial. I will seek out a library, I require a book that is replaceable. Queen Chrysalis, I will be using my magic. It is best you follow, then report to her'' he called out, turning to leave the room posthaste.

Shuffling behind him was the only indication he was being followed. The changeling queen moved up to match his pace, seeming much more comfortable with the surrounding area than he felt.

"If we turn left here, we can reach the library. It is close to the throne room, from what my scouts could gather Great Maelstrom'' she chirped from beside him. He turned to raise an eyebrow at her, of which she either didn't notice or blatantly ignored. He nonetheless followed her instructions, and found himself at the library in mere moments.

He did not waste time or movement, ripping a random tome from a nearby shelf. He then turned to several wooden chairs and started breaking them down into wood. He could feel the changelings eyes on his back as he did so, but he would not break the silence over such a trivial matter.

He piled the wood at the centre of the library, and stood before it. He looked up in thought, only vaguely remembering the incantations. Not that he needed them anymore. He was at full power now... if he so chose, he could even create an emblem. Oh, now that sounded appealing...

Thoughts for later.

With a pulse of magic, the hand used to snap the wood erupted in purple flame, and with a swipe of his arm the makeshift pyre was lit. He let himself bask in the purple flames, and then brought the book into view. Using his still burning hand he carved sigils into the corners of the book. Dark signs marking his favored tome.

He chose to ignore the shocked gasp as he tossed the newly engraved tome into the pyre, its shell seemingly burning away. It was then he felt a barely noticeable jab from behind, less prominent than a mosquito bite. He simply let his magic unravel that much further, causing a gagging noise to sound behind him.

Now, that was curious.

He turned to glance at the changeling behind him, who had flopped to the floor and covered her face with her front legs. Any worry he might have felt was completely negated by the light squirming. He did not need to be an empath to feel her embarrassment. Finally the connection to his magic severed, and not long afterwards the purple flames behind him were visibly pulled down and seemingly extinguished.

He knelt down and collected his prize.

"Obscurité, my old friend" he murmured, staring down at the frankly ugly cover. Perhaps using the first book he could reach was a poor decision... bah, that could be rectified later.

"I uh, thank you Great Maelstrom. I believe my people will eat well with what you have generously given me" he heard the changeling queen stammer. Her tone was off, but he did not care to look more into it. "With your blessing, I may approach you for future... sessions. You are... dense. Not in a bad- not like-... Have a good night."

He would, of course, deny to the ends of the earth that he chuckled in that moment. A Fell Dragon did not chuckle.

That would be preposterous.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading.

I do not necessarily have a set schedule for uploading, for now it is simply whenever I can spare the time. With that in mind, I intend on ensuring I post no less than once a month.

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night/whatever it may be.

• Marlo