Author's Note

Sorry I haven’t been uploading as much. Had to travel, and then got sick while traveling. Hopefully I can upload more now though. As always, leave any complaints or suggestions in the comments, and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5: Ah, Lamina! Er unt et omnes ecclesia!

As the adrenaline wears off, and Princess Luna heads off to assist with the cleanup, I notice Celestia approaching us.
“You’re lucky that this plan actually worked.”
I can practically hear the relief that we succeeded in her voice. I chuckle, before I look at her to reply.
“I wouldn’t say that it was luck. I am very experience in fighting beasts.”
“Well either way, you three took down that massive monster, faster than it took my hundreds of guards to corral it into this location.”

She turns her head to Laurence, a frown evident on her face.
“Laurence, I always thought that the beast you said you turned into was about your size. But now, after seeing that?”
Laurence lightly winces, as thinking about his transformation most likely brings back unpleasant memories.
“I did use to be much larger. The transformation was more painful than you could possibly imagine. Breaks every part of your body, before rebuilding it. Muscles become thinner, yet more powerful. Bones grow longer, but become more brittle. And your soul becomes trapped within, unable to do anything as the beast within takes control over your body.”

“The pain of existing is immense, as every ounce of your muscular and skeletal systems scream out in pain until you are finally put out of your misery. I had to live like this for 500 years, while the flames smoldered my flesh. ”
His face took on a shocked look as she pulled him into an embrace.
“Im sorry… I’m sorry that you had to go through that, I’m sorry that I made you relive it, and I’m sorry that you had to see something so similar to you cause so much havoc.”
A single tear dropped from his eye, as he embraced her back.

After witnessing that, I turned around to once again face the carcass of the beast we had just slain. As it lie there, slowly being removed piece by piece, I wondered. Could it have been someone we knew? Did that old bastard Henryk finally snap, or did Djura’s obsession with beasts being people come back to haunt him? Or maybe… was it one of my holy blades? The thought of this beast being one of my former friends swallowed my heart into a frenzy of emotions. But I had no true time to reflect on theories. For a beast had shown up and threatened the innocent. And beasts must be hunted, no matter the cost.

As I looked on, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a strange pony wearing an overcoat was standing next to a considerable puddle of blood. In their hoof, there was a small vial, filled with the thick crimson fluid. As they looked side to side, they turned around and began to walk into an alleyway. In the time it takes to blink, I was sprinting down the alley way, chasing after the fiend stealing the cursed blood. They soon noticed me, and began running themselves, determined to escape. However, I was determined as well. As I would not let any of that blood fall into the wrong hands. For if it did, it could spell doom to this entire world.

I weaves through boxes and dumpsters, taking sharp turns as I chase this mysterious stranger. Eventually, we come to a corner. I stand up, grabbing my blade before speaking.
“You have nowhere to run. Should you Turn around and, Return the vial to me, you shall be spared.”
At first, I think that they shall comply to my demands, but as they turn around, I notice a smirk on their face. They throw off their coat, exposing what I had hopped not to see: a pair of wings.

They flap, and quickly begin to ascend, cackling maniacally as they rise. However, they do not realize that my blade is no ordinary blade. I quickly charge a beam, before unleashing it, splitting the poor pony in half. They scream before falling down to the ground and being engulfed in a swirl of green flames. As they subside, an insectoid pony is lying there, desperately attempting to shovel its entrails back into its body. I slowly trot forward, before grabbing the vial out of the creatures hoof. It looks at me pleadingly, as if asking for its death. I comply, and quickly end its suffering with a hoof through its skull.

As I begin to head back towards the battle site, I hear even more yelling, and see another pony fly past overhead. On their tail, is 3 lunar guards. Realizing something has happened, I quickly rush back to the site, to be met with a panicked spear pointed at me. I give the guard a deadpan look, before waltzing up to the thankfully nearby solar princess.”Princess, what is happening? A strange pony attempted to steal a vial of the beasts blood, and then turned into a strange insect after I stopped them.”
“Well, now we know who the guard is currently chasing. That was a changeling, a race of shapeshifters that feed off of emotions.”

“Why would they want to steal beastblood?”
“Because they don’t understand the dangers. They think that if they are able to take a sample of the monsters blood, they may be able learn what it is and how to imitate it. It doesn’t help that we just repelled an invasion of them.”
“Let them try. They shall bring about nothing but pain to themselves. For you cannot control the beast once it is released from within.”
“Lets hope they don’t find a way then.”

A few minutes later, the guards came back, with a single prisoner.
“We were unable to stop the one stealing the sample, but we were to catch a second one attempting to flee the city.”
As I look at the prisoner, I can’t help but feel that they seem small. Too small in fact. And their head seems rather large, with proportionally large eyes.
“Take them to the castle. I shall interview them later.”
With that, the guards nod, before escorting the prisoner towards the castle. As I look into the prisoners eyes one last time, I can see naught but fear within her heart.

A child. A young child. Probably no less than 10 years old, and they are being treated as a prisoner of war. I turn to Celestia, about to give her a piece of my mind, before she shouts to the guards.
“ Hold on for a moment please!”
As the guards turn around, she begins to walk towards the prisoner. She kneels down to the level of the trembling little changeling, and begins to speak in a very motherly tone of voice.
“Do not worry little one. You shall be safe. I’ll make sure of it.”

Celestia stands back up, and looks to the guard in the right.
“Was she attempting to assist the escaping changeling?”
“No ma’am. When it saw one of us chasing the thief, she turned the other way and ran. She just so happened to run into us. We hit her with a disguise disruption spell, and then captured her.”
She nodded, before speaking again.
“take her to a guest room, and have at least 2 guards stationed outside just in case. And make sure she cannot get to the balcony.”
The guards salute, and resume their journey to the castle, with a now calmed down child in tow.

As Celestia begins to walk towards the cleanup, I can’t help but feel sympathy for the young changeling. Caught in the crossfires of a war, and mistaken for an enemy. Thankfully, Celestia was able to notice, and she was saved from a cruel fate. I can only hope that other innocents of this race could be given the same mercy. After all, the actions of a few do not determine the will of the majority. After all, the healing church was corrupt, but most of us within only wished to assist the people. Who’s to say these poor creatures are not in the same boat? I shake my head, having done enough pondering today, before returning to the cleanup myself.

Before I can get started, however, Laurence walks up to me.
“Ludwig, could we talk for a minute?”
I nod, and he continues.
“Do you think that any others could come through?”
“Possibly. Odeon seems to be very merciful to those who have suffered for the healing churches betrayal.”
Maybe one day we’ll be able to see old friends such as Gehrman Or Maria again.”
“Maybe.”
“ At the same time, I’m worried. If one beast was able to somehow get through the barrier between realms, how many others do you think could as well?”
“While I have no answer for this, I can say one thing. We will ensure that they do not get far. We have a brand new chance, and brand new friends, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let these beasts take it away from us.”

As we finish our conversation and part ways to help with the cleanup, I can’t help but feel hope. Despite all the hardships we have been through, we still fight. Despite the horrors we witnessed, we still believe that a better future is out there. Despite all the horrible things we have been forced to do, we still know right from wrong. And despite how much we have lost, we keep going. And now, we have found ourselves in a new world, filled with innocence and possibility. We’ve made new friends, and reunited with each other. And now, we have a real chance at truly making a difference in the world. Even after such a dark night, the sun has begun to rise upon our lives again. And this time, I know I will not take the light for granted.