A Changecidby ulcuranChaptersChapter 1 - The Dry DirtChapter 2 - Sea of FlavorChapter 3 - Wishful DovesChapter 1 - The Dry DirtThe saloon of Appleloosa, The Salt Block, the go-to place for any pony or creature to rest, and have a drink with their friends after a long day of work. The saloon had a piano that never went silent, it had kept playing ever since the saloon opened its doors for the first time. Two friends, Silver Axe and Rough Mouth sat on wooden stools at the bar. They were telling each other about their days, sometimes complaining about their work or laughing at a silly joke one made. ‘’I’m telling you, I only needed to buck that tree once!’’ Silver said while pushing a hoof up in the air confidently and swaying from side to side on the stool. ‘’Uh-huh, I’m sure you did buddy, and hey, maybe go a bit easy on the cider?’’ Rough rolled his eyes at his obviously drunk friend and took a sip from his mug. ‘’I’m not ddrunsk!’’ Said Silver, not managing to convince any pony in the saloon. The song on the piano changed and a more upbeat tone came up, a few ponies started singing along to the song. A few got up and started to dance even. It looked like this was going to be a fun and relaxing night as usual. Until- An ebony-furred pony walked in through the swinging doors. He pushed his long bright red mane out of his face revealing eyes like rubies. A stranger's sudden appearance filled the saloon with silence for a moment. Using the silence he hurriedly scanned the room and spotted an empty seat. The silence was replaced with cheers the second he moved. As the pony made his way through, some welcomed him and introduced themselves, some had even invited him to the dance with them. He politely declined the invitations and introduced himself. ‘’I’m…White Raven, nice to meet you all.’’ He said and placed himself next to a still-drunk Silver. ‘’R-R-Raven? Ishn’t that a bird, hehe, you’re not a bird!’’ said Silver, spilling a bit of his drink on the counter. ‘’Forgive my friend, he’s just an idiot and a drunk,’’ said Rough, slapping the back of his friend a couple of times. ‘’Come on buddy, let’s not bother the newcomer.’’ ‘’It’s no worries.’’ carefully placing a wide smile on his face, Raven answered. ‘’This seems like a fun place, do you guys have any fights here?’’ He asked with that wide smile still on. ‘’Fights? Nah, I’ve been here since the town was founded and have witnessed a total of…’’ Rough stopped to think. ‘’...zero fights since. So you don’t have to worry.’’ ‘’Oh, joy.’’ Raven’s smile almost fell but he kept it on. The barkeep took the order of the newcomer and quickly gave him a mug of the town’s famous cider. He took the drink and stared at it for half a minute before a more genuine smile could be seen in the reflection from the cider. He had it, he had a plan in his head. Wasting no time he started and took a sip. ‘’This, this is really good!’’ He said, pretending to enjoy the drink. ‘’Hah, I see that you have an eye for taste!’’ said Rough finishing his cup and ordering another one. ‘’It’s the best cider that you’ll ever find in Southern Equestria!’’ ‘’Ishn’t it? I don’t think I could livesh wihout it!’’ declared Silver, stopping himself from falling to the ground in the last second with surprising dexterity from the drunkest pony in the saloon by far. ‘’Yes, it’s definitely the best I have ever tasted.’’ It was the only one he had ever tasted so he wasn’t technically lying. ‘’It’s really a shame it’s not going to be made anymore.’’ The mood of the whole saloon shifted instantly, the piano had stopped abruptly, and the ponies that were still singing and dancing stopped. All eyes were on the now the newcomer who talked as if threatening the town. ‘’What do you mean by that?’’ Rough stopped mid-sip and narrowed his eyes at Raven. Raven widened his eyes in faux surprise. ‘’You haven’t heard?’’ ‘’...No,’’ said Rough, after quickly thinking about it. All the patrons had gathered around, a few even went behind to bar and looked from the shoulder of the barpony. Even the extremely drunk Silver had seemed to sober up in an instant. Each of them clung to the next words Raven spoke. ‘’Well, I heard that the Buffalos were going to gather to stampede all over the fields.’’ Everyone in the saloon gasped in shock. ‘’And you guys can’t produce any more cider without apples, right?’’ ‘’Of course not! But-but that’s outrageous! We haven’t done anything to the Buffalos!’’ said a random pony with most of the bar joining her. Raven nodded in agreement. ‘’I agree, but I’m not sure they see it that way.’’ He decided to fan the flames even further. ‘’Turns out a lot of Buffalos want to just kick you guys out and have the town for themselves.’’ ‘’We wouldn’t let that happen, we built this town! They can’t have it!’’ A now very sober and determined Silver rose up from his chair. ‘’Hey, I’m just telling you great citizens of this great town a silly rumour that I heard. It may be true, it may not be true.’’ He now wanted to cool the flames a little, lest he get overzealous and make a mistake. ‘’Just rumors, right, of course…’’ Rough Mouth looked down on his drink but didn’t take a sip. Silver moved his mug to take a sip but stopped just before and put his mug down with a solemn face. The cheery mood just ten minutes ago was now gone, and now the saloon was filled with awkward silence and the ponies that surrounded him slowly dispersed back into their seats. No one sang any songs, no one danced, and no one drank any cider. Even the piano that had never stopped had been silenced. He could feel it. He could feel their nervousness, their uncertainty, their fear. It was just a rumor but that small rumor had planted seeds of doubt into their heart that would surely flourish into something more grand than just a small seed. It tasted so exquisite that he had to keep himself from salivating. He had his fill. If he had known that pony feelings were this impressionable and this tasty he would have moved into Equestria a hundred years ago! Well, he was here now, might as well enjoy it but to enjoy it more he had more work cut out for him. Finishing his cider, he left the mug on the bar and left a couple of bits on the counter. He intended to leave but Silver stopped him with a question before he could. ‘’L-leaving so soon?’’ He put on a smile but it was an unsteady one. ‘’How about another mug?’’ Raven smiled. ‘’Yeah, no thanks,’’ and shook his head. ‘’I don’t want to be caught by the Buffalos if the rumors are true.’’ Silver’s smile dropped instantly, he tried to come up with something but the words never reached his mouth. Raven left the saloon without another word, the swinging doors creaking were the most sound the saloon produced after he left. Under the cover of night, Raven left the town, not through the train station or a cart, no. He walked, he walked until the town was just a dot on the horizon. He looked to his right, and then to his left. Good, no one had followed him. He took a deep breath and looked around himself again, it never hurts to be careful. It was clear again. There was only he, the dry dirt, and the soft winds. Perfect. Bright, red flames appeared all over his body, and in an instant White Raven was no more. His dark-colored body had lost all of its fur and transformed into a smooth, ivory carapace. His hooves thinned out, leaving a few holes in each of them. The red mane had stayed but it lost its shine and now a dull and bleak red had taken its place. The mouth with flat teeth had given way to a set of sharp and barbed mandibles. Two long antennae were placed on each side of his head. The only thing that hadn’t changed was his eyes. It was hard to change eyes, the act of changing his body required a great deal of energy, energy which he lacked from his long journey to Equestria, the saloon had satisfied his needs for now. He was now looking for a way to capitalize on the suspicions of the ponies in Appleloosa. His target now was the Buffalos he had just talked about an hour prior. What if his lie about the Buffalos stampeding their town to the ground was not a lie? What if the Buffalos actually did attack? Oh, that conflict, that fear, that anger would be enough to fill him for a year! So he set out, intending to discover the main camp of the Buffalos he heard about and had talked about so much just for a chance to pit them against the ponies of Appleossa. ‘’White Raven, truly? When have I become so banal, I need to come up with a better nam- blargh.’’ he started vomiting all over the dry dirt. ‘’Ugh, Eruidum you stupid, foolish Changecid. You have to stop partaking in their weird foods,’’ he said, raising his mandibles a bit as he wiped his mouth. Erudium quickly recovered and continued on his way to the south, thinking of lies he could feed the Buffalos on the way. ‘’Hmn, now what would be a good Buffalo name? Little... Strongheart? No, that just sounds silly, Buffalos aren’t small, they’re huge! From what I heard anyhow.’’ And he thought of a suitable name for himself. He enjoyed the cold winds of the arid land, knowing that it would be the opposite in the daytime he moved as fast as possible. Having the experience of dealing with the scorching sands of the Zeheran Desert, an experience which he would rather not deal with again. He didn’t enjoy the heat, whereas he did enjoy the cool weather of the Taurus mountains and hills, where Minatours reigned. A land of dozens of warlords fighting each other. Or it used to be a land of warlords fighting each other. Unfortunately for Eruidum, a king had risen from one of the many tribes and had finally unified the land, bringing peace that hadn’t been seen in that land for a long time. Eruidum did not enjoy peace, he couldn’t find any nourishment or enjoyment in it. So he left, cursing the King of Knosis as he did, for destroying the constant state of warfare he delighted in and tried so hard to keep up. After a couple more hours of walking, and attempting to follow the big hoof marks left in the dirt. He had spotted a trail of smoke in the distance, finally. With a sinister grin on his face, he picked up his pace. He couldn’t help but click his mandibles in anticipation a few times. This was going to be fun. Chrysalis sat upon her throne, listening to the reports of her ministers and agents. The hive was not doing so well despite her best efforts. They were surrounded by enemies, and the rising population required constant new food sources. Fortunately, they were just scraping the barrel, thanks to her no doubt. ''And we have been forced to decrease our love acquisition from the Southern Towns.'' a drone said with a shaky voice. ‘’I don’t believe I heard you right,’’ said Chrysalis, looking down at the drone that delivered the news. ‘’Did you say a decrease?’’ she hissed the last word. ‘’I-y-yes my Queen.’’ The drone lowered their head, terrified of the towering Queen. ‘’Pray tell, why?’’ Southern Equestria is filled with frontier towns, frontier towns promise new starts, and new opportunities, which translate to mountains of love for the changelings to gather up and return it to the hive. ‘’T-the buffalos and the ponies have become hostile to each other, there is b-barely enough l-love for us to collect.’’ the shaking drone answered expecting to be yelled at but they were met with silence and a frozen Chrysalis. The buffalos and the ponies, fighting? Chrysalis had disregarded the buffalos when they first moved into the south, they were angry at the ponies and they only produced a small amount of love and their numbers were few so they were ignored and she focused on the ponies, they had more than made up for it. But if they were downright fighting each other that means the ponies wouldn’t produce any love either, which spelled disaster for the hive. Appleloosa and Dodge Junction produced almost twenty percent of the hive's love alone! If that love was gone…what would she do? Let her people starve? No. There has to be something she could do. Maybe she could try to cross the desert and find more towns? No, too dangerous. Maybe she could- Her line of thinking got cut short by the doors of the throne room being thrown open and a lone drone running in, out of breath and tired. ‘’My Queen! I have urgent news!’’ he said and bowed while panting. ‘’Speak.’’ said Chrysalis, hoping the drone brought good news because if she received another bad one she might just crack. The drone raised their head and took a breath before continuing.‘’The Princess of Love is getting married to the Captain of the Royal Guard!’’ he said and went back to bowing. . . . The room was silent before the Queen started chuckling in a low tone. The other changelings exchanged unsure and nervous glances before the queen's chuckle turned into a mad laugh and the drones slowly joined her, even though they didn't know what they were laughing at. ‘’Hahahaha! Forget about Appleloosa or Dodge Junction! I want all agents focused on those two!’’ She continued laughing as the changelings bowed and left the throne room in a hurry. Now her hive would not just survive, it would thrive. Chapter 2 - Sea of FlavorIt had been going so well! He managed to find the buffalo camp, infiltrate it, and then rouse the buffalos enough for them to ‘fight back’. He swore he could see red in the chieftain's eyes when he told of what the ponies did to him, allll the horrible things they didn’t actually do to him. He was disguised as another buffalo of course, no doubt that mountain of a buffalo would just crush him if he ever learned what he truly was. The buffalos started small, robbing a few trains, and taking a few trees down. But it escalated, fast. Thanks to him of course. He encouraged the buffalos even further with each act they committed which invigorated them more, then he went to ponies as White Raven and gave them information on buffalos while painting them in bad light. Doing small acts of sabotage on each side fueled their paranoia and anger more. After some time, the ponies and buffalos started blaming acts of misfortune on each other, even the acts he didn’t commit were blamed on the other party. A tree’s apples were rotten? The buffalos poisoned it! The campfire was unable to be lit? The pegasi were blowing winds from the clouds! The farming tools were stolen? It must have been the buffalo…that one was actually him. But that didn’t stop the ponies from blaming the buffalos. All that had culminated into this moment alone, he was watching from a safe distance as the two races prepared to face each other. There were two lines one made of buffalos, ready to charge down the hill and into the town, and one line made of ponies standing behind their makeshift barricades, ready to halt the buffalos. With a smile that went from one side to the other, Eruidum waited for it to start, watching from the roof of the saloon, where this all started. A couple of ponies showed up earlier which caused a bit of a hiccup in his plans, but everything went smoothly after the pink one messed it all up by performing so badly that she had convinced both sides not to share. His grin turned into a frown when he spotted the leader of the six running to the middle of the field, placing herself between the two sides. What was she doing now? Bah, it didn’t matter, there was no ending this. So he sat back and watched as Twilight started to speak. ‘’Please! We do not have to fight! There must be a way for us to solve this without violence!’’ Twilight pleaded to both sides. ‘’There is only one way pony! Remove the fields and we’ll have peace!’’ said Chief Thunderhooves with his deep voice. ‘’I’m giving you until! If the trees are not gone by that time, you’ll have shown how much you value peace.’’ Twilight’s words did no effect to quell the fire that was raging, so she went back to her friends shaking her head in disappointment and sadness. Oof, the chief was set on doing this. Maybe he fired him up a little too much…eh, it’s more fun this way. Why did he have to give them so long though? He was burning up under this accursed sun, couldn’t he have given them 5 minutes? To seek shelter from this unforgiving heat he took cover behind the signboard of the saloon, its shade bringing great comfort and he could still see the clock from here so he waited. Ah, he should have gotten one of those big hats that the ponies were wearing. When noon approached, he eagerly looked toward the buffalos expecting the battle to begin but the buffalos didn’t move at all. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the chief, who looked disheartened all of a sudden, wait, this is not how it’s supposed to be! ‘’Yes! He’s not gonna do it!’’ He heard some of the ponies bellow him heave out a collective sigh of relief. No, no, no! He worked for his food and he would get it! What could he do, what would make the chief regain his spirit? He wracked his brain for any possible way he could come up with, and then he spotted the pink pony from before, still in her performance outfit. His mandibles clicked a few times in excitement as realization hit him in the face like a frying pan, like the ones the pink one would use. He cleared his throat with a cough and adjusted his voice. Twilight just wanted to accompany her friend on her trip to Appleloosa, what she didn’t want to be was being stuck in the middle of a conflict with the ponies and the buffalos! She and her friends tried so hard to find a way for both parties to reach an agreement but every time it seemed like they were making some kind of progress, a problem would occur elsewhere almost as if somepony was actively sabotaging them. And now it had all broken down after Pinkie’s fiasco of an act. Twilight tried one last time to appeal to both the ponies and the buffalos but the buffalos were adamant on their stance, and the ponies were so afraid that they just couldn’t be reasoned with. But then she saw the face of the chief after the bell had tolled, that face was not the face of someone who really wanted to fight, and Twilight genuinely believed that it was going to be over. Her tense body relaxed and sighed, happy that it was all going to be okay. Then she heard it, a repeating, consistent clicking. ‘’You gotta shaaare! You gotta caaare! It’s the right thing to dooo!’’ The voice of Pinkie’s voice broke the tense air. Twilight’s and her friend's eyes widened and they almost jumped at Pinkie to stop singing. But they were all befuddled when realizing that Pinkie’s mouth wasn’t even moving. Pinkie looked just as confused as the rest of them. Before Twilight could determine what was actually going on, she heard the mighty roar of the chief and the buffalos started charging towards the town kicking up a giant dust cloud as they did so. Twilight heard the laughs of Pinkie, but it was not Pinkie and it couldn’t be Pinkie too because Rainbow and Applejack were physically covering her mouth. It was a twisted version of Pinkie’s joyous laugh, this one was still filled with enjoyment and fun but it felt wrong, when Pinkie laughed she laughed with ponies, this one sounded like it was laughing at them. The laugh was drowned out as the wave of buffalo approached the town, fast. The settlers not having the courage to meet the buffalo charge scattered into the town, Twilight’s friends included, leaving only her. She saw a buffalo charging at her so using her magic she fired off a random spell in a panic. He knew it would work, but he didn’t know it would work this well. He wasn’t complaining though. Maybe he should thank the pink one after this is over, it’s the least he could do after using her voice. He would thank her if she was still alive. The buffalos were now rampaging through the town in an unbridled stampede, a wave of destruction so devastating that it would put even the minotaurs to shame! The ponies didn’t bother to hold the makeshift barricades and quickly retreated into the town. Ah, he saw the leader, Twilight, looking lost as a baby duckling as a buffalo charged at her. Well, that was it for her. A bright and colorful flash of light appeared where the mare was and she disappeared, the buffalo was blinded by the flash and continued charging, stumbling over a rock he hit head-first into an anvil hidden in some hay bales. As he was trying to wrap his mind around what had happened to her, Eruidum heard a peculiar noise above him. He didn’t have the time to look up as Twilight fell on him and he was knocked down. He quickly recovered and saw that Twilight was now lying on top of him. Where the hell did she come from? She’s been a real pain in the backside for him and now this? He’d rather not get physical with his food, but he’d have to now since he was not disguised, keeping it required constant energy. Maybe he should have kept it on though, since he was going to be filled up in just a minute. Twilight shook her head and tried to gather herself “Ugh, I really need to work on that spell a lot more before I master- huh?’’ She felt something pushing from underneath her. ‘’Woah!’’ and she was flung to the other side of the roof. She opened her eyes and was met with a white hoof to her face. ‘’Nighty night, Twilight!’’ was the last thing she heard in her friend’s voice. There, now she was knocked out cold. His frown from the rude interruption slowly turned back into a smile as he continued watching the chaos below. Now he could eat his wonderfully crafted meal in peace. The panic and terror of the ponies were sweet, ah, but with the spiciness of the buffalo’s anger…Mwah! Truly a unique combination. His antennae buzzed in joyful bliss in this magnificent sea of flavor. Apparently, it was now time dessert, for all the emotions had turned into a deep sorrow. What was going on? He poked his head out from the rooftops and scanned. All the buffalos and the ponies had stopped fighting and some of them were even crying. He looked further and saw that the chief had fallen. The smile on his face stretched even further and turned into an insidious grin, he could not physically smile further but mentally? It stretched on for continent- did he just move his mouth? The ‘fallen’ chief, got up from the ground and licked his face clean in a second. ‘’Yum!’’ He exclaimed. Is this a joke? ‘’Hey everybody! I got a better idea!’’ the chief said. Eruidum wiped his eyes and blinked a few times to see if he was actually seeing what was happening. Nope, still there. And then it reached him, that taste. Love. The ponies and the buffalos were now exhibiting not anger, not fear but love. They exhibited outsickening amounts of it as Thunderhooves told his plan to the ponies. He could see it, his plan crumbling bit by bit. How could it be? How can they forgive each other so quickly?! ‘’Aughhh, my head.’’ Oh great, she was waking up. Time to make his escape, he only got a smidgen of what he intended to get but it would suffice for a few days. He jumped down from the roof using his mandibles to hold onto the drainage pipe and used it to slide down to the ground, not caring what damage he caused. This was his little revenge, it was the small things that mattered. With the same swiftness, he quickly changed into the ‘White Raven’ persona and slipped out of the town. He would wait for some time before boarding a train, he could not stand the ponies nor the buffalos right now. Even after making quite a distance from the town, he could still feel the lingering feelings of love, he just couldn’t shake it off, eugh. Finding a rock formation that gave him just enough shade to hide from the sun, he took refuge. Leaving the disguise, he patted the ground beneath him and laid his head on it, closing his eyes as he did. Best to conserve as much energy as he could right now. The sun had bid the land farewell and let the moon take its place and nighttime struck. Yawning as he woke up, Eruidum stretched a little and left his trusty rocks and dirt to go back into town. The feelings should have subsided a little bit now. Once he got close enough, he could feel it but hey, at least he wasn’t on the verge of puking out his guts. He quietly and discreetly as possible got to the station and went to the ticket booth. ‘’Excuse me? Can I have a ticket to…’’ He looked at the possible locations on the list. ‘’-Canterlot?’’ ‘’Of course!’’ replied the ticket mare with a voice filled with cheeriness, eugh. ‘’Here you go!’’ she said and gave him a ticket. ‘’Um, how much is it?’’ ‘’Oh don’t worry about it! We’re having a big celebration so all tickets are free for a time!’’ ‘’I see…thank you.’’ he lightly bowed his head and turned around to board the train. ‘’You’re welcome! Come back and visit anytime!’’ she waved as he left. He would not be visiting this place in the future, that one he was sure of. He looked at the beast of a machine with wondrous eyes before he got on. He had seen trains in the Griffon lands. But they were considerably simpler compared to this. Even his room was much, much, much better, it even had a bed! It had several beds, how luxurious. He sat on the small couch near the window and looked outside. How had it come to this? Did he do something wrong? Or maybe he didn’t participate as much as he needed to succeed? But it was perfect! There was nothing wrong with it! He got them to hate each other in two weeks. Two, weeks! His thoughts swirling in his mind made him drop his guard and he didn’t hear the sliding door and didn’t notice the group of six ponies and a little dragon get into the room. ‘’Oh oh oh! We have a roommate!’’ Pinkie said and jumped in front of him. ‘’Hiya roomie!’’ she smiled. ‘’Wha-?!’’ Eruidum said, raising his hooves to guard himself. ‘’What’s your name? My name’s Pinkie Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie, so you can call me Pinkie. What’s your favorite type of pie? Mine is totally apple pie after this day, actually, there are cupcake pies those ones are my favorite-’’ Pinkie said and said and continued saying, Eruidum couldn’t keep up with what was going on. Why was she here?! And cupcake pies?!? He looked around for a way to escape his pink captor but was met with the faces of the six from earlier, awkwardly laughing along. ‘’I think he had enough dear,’’ said Rarity and dragged Pinkie away. ‘’I’m sorry we disturbed you Mr…’’ said Twilight, apologizing for her friend. ‘’White Raven.’’ ‘’Yes, Mr. Raven. It looks like we will be staying in the cabin for the next few days. I hope we can get along.’’ said Twilight and gave him a small smile. Was this the universe itself laughing and mocking him for his failure? ‘’Joy.’’ He gritted out through clenched teeth but still showed a friendly enough smile. ‘’Even though I’d love to meet you all, I must sleep now. Please do not disturb me,’’ said Eruidum and hopped on his bed. ‘’Alrighty! Let’s have pancakes tomorrow breakfast roomie!’’ said Pinkie. He closed the curtain on the side of the bed and didn’t reply. He wasn’t going to sleep, he didn’t need it but even if he did, he would not dare close his eyes around these ponies now, especially around that Twilight character, she snuck up on him twice, not once but twice! Their continuous laughter and chatter would not allow him to sleep anyhow. ‘’Ah, my head,’’ said Twilight, rubbing her now sore head. ‘’If I ever see the guy who did that to you Twilight, I’ll give him a butt-kicking so bad that he would need a second butt for me to kick again!’’ exclaimed Rainbow, while punching the air a few times. ''You said they had Pinkie's voice?'' said Rainbow and quickly turned to Pinkie throwing her a nasty look. ''You sure you didn't do it Pinkie?'' ''Nope! Why would I hurt my friend? I'm angry at that pony too, but I wanna meet them, we could have two Pinkies! Oh maybe I have an evil twin?'' said Pinkie, now wondering if she had an evil twin that she was separated from at birth. All of her friends shuddered at the thought. Eruidum could already tell this was going to be a fun trip. He was not going to thank Pinkie Pie in any possible way though. Chapter 3 - Wishful DovesIt was a sunny day in Canterlot, it was always a sunny day in Canterlot thanks to Celestia, but ever since Luna had been from her curse, the sunny days were sometimes accompanied by a slight chill. This day was one of them but the slight chill had intensified today, forcing ponies to seek refuge from the cold either by clothing or hiding from it inside their homes, shops, and cafes. Chrysalis was one of those who tried to find refuge on this frozen sunny day. Cadence was located in the city at this time according to her agents. Wasting no time, she successfully adorned a disguise and got into the city with minimal problems. Now all she had to do was find her exact location. Which should be easy, considering she was looking for the literal embodiment of love. Or so she thought, two days she spent with no sign of the princess. Maybe her agents gave her the wrong information? Oh, there would be Tartarus to pay if that had happened. Her line of thinking got cut by her body shuddering in the frigid winds. Bah, she’ll find her sooner or later but now? She needed to find some semblance of warmth and some love. Keeping both the disguise and trying to keep herself warm had drained her supply. She shuddered again and tried to rub her hooves together, she never did enjoy the cold. She entered a random shop on the corner of a street, the bell on the glass door giving a twinkle as she pushed it. If she had to handle any more of this cold she’d turn into an icicle. The warmth hit her face instantly and she allowed herself to relax for just a second, ahh…No! She can’t drop her guard! Shaking her head and regaining her focus, she quickly scanned the room. The tables were almost full, there were only two remaining empty ones. A clerk attended to the customers from behind a glass display case, its shelves filled to the brim with sweets. Most were donuts but there were still cakes and chocolates and whatever these ponies ate. ‘’Welcome to Joe’s! Please take a seat and relax, you can order whenever you're ready.’’ The clerk, who Chrysalis assumed was Joe called out to her and then went back to helping the customers. She took the empty table in the corner of the shop, next to the windows in case she needed a quick getaway of course. Swiftly forming a plan in her head she got up from the table and made her way to the line. Passing through a table, Chrysalis ‘accidentally’ bumped into a mare causing her to almost fall, if she wasn’t caught by the nearby stallion of course. Both of them looked at each other and blushed before both looking away with a small laugh. Ha, this was going to be easy. Looks like she won’t need to waste a lot of time here before she is filled up. Licking her lips and showing a wicked smile only to herself, and stood in line. She turned her head and looked towards the ponies she matched together; talking, chatting, laughing, all red in the cheeks. She could taste the love radiating from them, but she couldn’t feel it. Chrysalis couldn’t help but watch...she couldn’t help but wonder how it actually felt- She scoffed and with a frown on her face looked away, as if. Eruidum stepped off the train, his eyes had heavy bags under them and he was walking wobbly. It would be an understatement to say he did not enjoy the trip from Appleloosa. Did you know that there were 325 ways to make a pie? Well, he didn’t, but now he unfortunately does. He quickly waved the memory off and began walking towards the center of the city. His disguise was on the verge of falling off, those ponies on the train had forced him to be on his guard every single second. His eyes sluggishly closed and his head began falling towards the ground, if not for the cold wind hitting his face he would come crashing down onto the paved road. His head shot up and his eyes opened all the way. He desperately needed some sleep. His ears picked up the sound of something wailing, a wounded animal. Then he felt it, a rumbling. It was not an animal but his stomach begging for scraps at this point. His supply had mostly run out and he was running on fumes. Searching around the city Eruidum finally found what he was searching for, a shop full of ponies. Not wasting any more time denying his stomach of food he walked in, a bell tingled as he did so, huh? Looking up he saw the mechanism, these ponies were really strange creatures weren’t they? Only they could come up with something like this. He couldn’t even take a look inside before being hit by it. Love. Eugh, this place was filled with love, he forced himself to toughen it out and look at the sight. The shop was filled with either couples or ponies on the way to becoming couples and he saw them: sharing a milkshake, avoiding eye contact with blushes on their faces, and holding hooves. He couldn’t have picked a worse spot if he tried! The pony behind the counter said something but he didn’t hear it, he was too focused on not collapsing from hunger and this overexposure to love. Searching for a place to sit and rest was now his top priority. Hmm, he couldn’t find anywhere but…what’s this feeling? Starting to feel something different than this love, Eruidum started following it. He weaved around the tables that were too busy to pay him any of their time anyhow. Then he reached it, a table in the corner of the shop, right next to the windows. A perfect place for a messy but quick getaway. This table was perfect for him, but there was a slight problem. There was a white-furred, green-eyed unicorn sitting in one of the two chairs. He still couldn’t figure out what this feeling was it tasted bitter but he liked it? He was sure it came from that mare, who was now staring at Eruidum, one of her brows forming a crescent. Uh oh. ‘’What?’’ she asked in an annoyed tone. ‘’Oh, I-’’ he coughed to clear his throat and let him gather his thoughts for a split second. He wasn’t expecting such a harsh-sounding voice from a pony. ‘’I was just wondering if you would allow me to sit here?’’ ‘’No.’’ ‘’Please, there is no other place to sit,’’ he said almost begging. The unicorn scoffed. ‘’And how is that my problem?’’ she said, crossing her hooves. Tough customer, Eruidum thought ponies were supposed to be easy to convince. He had seen it first hoof. ‘’I won’t bother you at all, if you want me to be silent I’ll be silent,’’ He flashed her a cheeky smile. ‘’-and if you want a conversation partner, I have seen many things and have met as much as interesting creatures. I’m certain you’ll be surprised and intrigued.’’ he said while trying to look as friendly as possible. ‘’If you want to of course.’’ She narrowed her eyes and looked at him, ah. He knew this stare, it was to figure out his actual intention. He had seen this many, many, many times before and had mastered to disillusion the looker. There was no need to waste any more energy though, his actual intent really was to sit here. After a brief shakedown by stare, she relented. ‘’Fine. Don’t talk until spoken to.’’ Right. She’s one of those, alright, he had experience in that field too. ‘’As you wish. Ms…’’ ‘’Crystal Truth.’’ He nodded and took the other seat opposite of her. There was still that feeling, and he still couldn’t figure out what exactly it was. He heard another scoff. ‘’I give you my name and you give back none in return? If this is how this is going to be, you might as well remove yourself from my table,’’ she said in obvious annoyance. Did he forget to give out his name? Agh, the hunger and the exhaustion were getting to him. But her demeanor was strange, she was wildly different from the ponies he had encountered until now. ‘’My apologies, I’m just tired.’’ She scoffed at that. ‘’Not that it’s any excuse. You may call me White Raven,’’ he said, extending a hoof. She looked at the hoof for a second and then cautiously extended her hoof, shaking Eruidum’s a few times before letting go. He moved to speak but was cut short by Crystal raising her hoof in a silencing manner. This was going to be annoying, but it was somehow a welcome change none of the ponies he had met until now was like this. ‘’So tell me, why are you here?’’ she questioned. ‘’I’m hungry and exhausted, this place looked good enough.’’ ‘’I don’t see any foodstuffs with you,’’ she said. Eruidum could swear he saw a mocking smile. ‘’Well, I don’t see any with you.’’ he countered back, and again he could swear that smile broke for just a single second, before getting bigger. ‘’I never said I was here to eat, did I?’’ ‘’Right, I just assumed creatures come here to eat food since this is a place that sells food no?’’ She looked at him with eyes so piercing that his facade almost broke but he kept it on. It wouldn’t be proper to back out now, his pride was on the line. His stomach growled again, and apparently, her ears picked up on the sound because her frown turned into a mocking smile. Ah, crud. ‘’Excuse me for a second,’’ he said with an embarrassed face, while getting off the chair ‘’Take all the time you need,’’ she replied, in a derisively polite tone. He would be getting his meal now or he would just collapse on the spot, looking towards the rest of the room his face scrunched up in disgust but he kept pushing forward. Eruidum noticed one pony getting up from one of the tables that were filled with love and going to the washroom. Ah, there it is. Quickly Eruidum followed the pony inside and saw him head inside one of the stalls. Looking around he saw a wooden stool behind the door. Must be how they reach places far up inside. He took the stool and carefully positioned it so that the stall door couldn’t be unlocked. Slowly taking his hooves off the stool, he gently knocked on the stall. ‘’Occupied.’’ Perfect. Now he knew how his voice sounded. Squeezing the last bit of energy out of his body, Eruidum changed into the pony, splashed a bit of water to keep him awake, and left. He made his way over to the table of the pony he was now disguised as. ‘’O-oh, welcome back!’’ said the mare across her, with a flustered voice and red cheeks. Eugh. He had to fight the bile rising up in his throat. In a matter of minutes, he had managed to turn the nervous and excited face of the mare into the face of one that was only filled with annoyance and frustration. He could barely feel any love radiating off her now. Now was the time. Eruidum excused himself, the mare almost breathed a sigh of relief as he got off the table. He went back to the bathroom and changed back into his original disguise. The stall handle rattled beside him. ‘’Ugh, is anyone there, can someone help?’’ ‘’I’ll help you, just wait a second,’’ Eruidum replied. ‘’Oh thank you! You’re such a lifesaver. My date has been going so well, I don’t want to keep her waiting anymore.’’ The toilet prisoner sounded extremely relieved that a savior had arrived just in the nick of time. ‘’Yup, I get you.’’ The ‘savior’ replied in kind, eager to help. ‘’Here.’’ The stallion thanked him countless times and left the bathroom. Again Eruidum splashed a bit of water on his face to keep him awake. He hoped that the mare would be confused and angry by the sudden changes in the stallion's behavior. If that didn’t work? He…wasn’t sure. It was a do-or-die plan really, the type of plan that he hated but this time he had no choice. He had neither the energy nor the time. Leaving the bathroom he saw his new ‘friend’ from a distance. She was looking at something or someone. He followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at one of the couples. Her eyes were sharp and narrowed, but her mouth had no semblance of a smile. Ah, now he got it. He finally understood what that feeling was. Jealously. Huh. ‘’I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.’’ he said as he sat on his chair. His sudden appearance made her jump a bit and she immediately focused on him.‘’...Who said I was waiting for you?’’ She looked past his head for a second and shook her head. He was sure she looked at the couple from before. ‘’Anyhow, you promised me stories. Now tell them. And don’t bore me. If you tell me something boring I’ll kick you out.’’ He showed a small smile and mock bowed his head. ‘’As you wish.’’ he could barely catch a glimpse of a small smile from her. He certainly didn’t wish to disappoint her, he didn’t know why. So he started talking about his exploits. Of course, he didn’t tell them exactly how it happened, just a little different. At first, she seemed disinterested, she outright didn’t believe the first one he told. ‘’Bah, what a tale you’ve spun. Do you always tell lies?.’’ ‘’Ah, but it is no lie.’’ ‘’You can’t possibly expect me to believe that you King Umberto is just two small griffons in a really big robe,’’ she said scoffing and rolling her eyes. ‘’I have seen it with my own eyes!’’ he exclaimed. ‘’Haven’t you noticed that his claws were a little small? And how he never appears to the public without that signature robe?’’ She hummed in thought. ‘’Well, yes but his robe is an important part of his rule. It is a sign of legitimacy and royalty. And his claws might have been smaller compared to the average Griffon but that doesn’t mean he is truly two small griffons.’’ ‘’Again, I have seen it with my own eyes!’’ he almost screamed out. ‘’And how have you seen it?’’ she urged him to continue. ‘’That is a story for another time.’’ He heard her click her tongue at that. And then, steadily, she started getting into the stories. Her eyebrows raised in surprise or curiosity, asking questions and the like. ‘’I didn’t know that the minotaurs had underground libraries that required someone to pass through a maze,’’ she said, imagining how hard it would be to transport anything there. ‘’Right? And think of how I felt when I asked a local for directions to the library and he gave me a riddle to solve.’’ he threw out his hooves in frustration. ‘’That certainly seems like-’’ She let out a small chuckle. ‘’-a nuisance.’’ ‘’Oh, it undoubtedly was.’’ he groaned out. He got so into telling the stories that he was completely oblivious to the commotion happening inside the store, his story buddy was none the wiser either. ‘’Make up your mind! First, you treat me wonderfully, then you treat me like I’m nothing, then you try to treat me like you did before?!’’ The mare screamed out. ‘’I-what- I don’t?’’ The confused stallion couldn’t even get the semblance of a sentence out. ‘’I don’t understa-’’ ‘’Don’t play coy, you know what? I’m done. This was a terrible idea.’’ said the mare, frustrated, she left the store hurriedly. The confused stallion ran behind her. Most of the store’s attention was focused on the arguing couple—all except for the table in the corner. ‘’Wait, so camels actually exist? I thought they were a myth!’’ said Crystal, amazed that there were camels. ‘’Yep, and they’re quite friendly if I might add. If they didn’t find me in that desert, I would have been toast…literally,’’ said Raven, the memories of the desert coming back to him as he recalled his tale. ‘’Apparently, they found me on top of a dune yelling, ‘I’m the desert-made manifest, bow before me mortals!’ ’’ he saw her trying to hold in her laugh with her hooves. ‘’And that I was in a ferocious battle with a vicious beetle.’’ Her shaky smile broke and she started laughing, this was the first time he heard her laugh, a little chuckle sure but she was boisterously laughing. Attracting the attention of the other customers by her volume alone. Eruidum laughed along with her, when was the last time he laughed like this? He didn’t discern any jealousy coming from Crystal at this point too, it was slowly replaced by something…he didn’t know yet again. It made him feel, comforted? He wasn’t sure, he didn’t hate it. This one singular pony had confused him, entertained him, and intrigued him all at the same time. Just who was she? And how did he not succumb to exhaustion at this point? ‘’What a battle it must have been!’’ She said between her laughing. ‘’One for the ages.’’ Then he sensed it. He sensed something coming. What was this? He felt as if he was lost in a nameless bog, he felt as if he was falling down an endless pit, he felt as if he was being swallowed whole by it. He started breathing erratically, his hoof shook, and his vision started becoming blurry. He could no longer hear Crystal’s laughter. Eruidum only heard the ring above the door chime. He looked towards the entrance and saw it. It looked as if it was pure darkness, pitch black except for two purple slits where eyes are usually supposed to be. Its darkish tentacles reached out across the room, enveloping almost the entirety of it. What is this thing?! He never encountered something so terrifying in his lifetime! If he wasn’t in a fear-ridden coma he would have jumped out of the table now. He almost yelled out when someone touched his hoof. Looking at it, he saw Crystal holding it, her eyes filled with surprise and some concern. ‘’Are you okay?’’ she asked. ‘’...I’m fine,’’ he said, not breaking his gaze on the monster in fear of what would happen if he even so blinked. Crystal looked towards where his eyes were fixed on. Once she saw what was there she unconsciously tightened her grip on his hoof, and she almost hissed. The creature started moving towards the table. Eruidum panicked. ‘’I-um, it was a pleasure to talk to you Ms. Crystal, b-but I must really take my leave now!’’ He said pulling his hoof back and throwing himself off the chair. ‘’Wait!’’ Crystal yelled out. But Erudium didn’t listen, although he wished he could stay just a bit longer. He dashed to the exit, trying his best to avoid the slimy tentacles. Pushing chairs out of the way, creating many confused and angry ponies. He passed the entity, which was stuck in place. Eruidum thanked whatever god, spirit, or what else was up there and made it to the door. He was halted by one of the tentacles, it grabbed a hold of him and kept him in place. His panic rising, he almost broke his disguise and after much effort was able to break free from his hold and escape from the store. The sun had already given way to letting the moon take its place. Run, just run, don’t look back. Legs burning up? Let them burn. Heart beating so loud it deafens your ears? Let it beat. Breath stuck in throat you have to force it out? Force it. He ran, he ran and he ran. Where could he hide from this terrifying beast? Out of breath he stopped for a moment and looked up. The castle. The castle would be the safest place. If he got caught it was over for him, but being caught by the local ponies seemed better than that horror. Getting his breathing under control, he started making his way over to the castle. It was high up on the mountain, how did ponies get there? Well, the pegasi could fly sure but what of the other? And then he saw the stairs. Oh, joy. This day had been a rollercoaster for him. And a small part of his mind was still stuck on that mare. ‘’Let’s meet again, Crystal Truth.’’ he hoped this was not their last encounter. He again didn’t know why he wished that, but he didn’t hate the idea. Chrysalis was confused, extremely confused. First, a strange pony approached her, whom she had no intention of entertaining but something compelled her to agree to his request. She couldn’t properly make out what he was feeling at the time too, which was weird since pony emotions were easy to sense and see, but he was clouded and complex. Secondly, she actually enjoyed their talks. She enjoyed them so much that she completely forgot about her mission for the briefest of moments. She found herself smiling while he was telling his silly stories. Thirdly, he seemed bothered by something out of the blue, almost as if a switch had been flipped. A second ago he was laughing along with her, then he looked as if he was about to keel over dead. And she worried about him. She. worried. about. him. What was becoming of her? She had a duty to her hive! She shouldn’t distract herself with frivolous things like this. And lastly, her mission's main target had just walked into the store. Chrysalis didn’t know if she should be happy or angry at her. … She should be happy?! Why would she be angry at all, yup. Why would she be angry that her partner-... conversation partner, had bolted at the sight of the Princess of Love? She wasn’t angry at her. ‘’Um, hi? Are you…okay? You seem a bit angry.’’ ‘’H-huh?’’ Chrysalis hadn’t realized that she was face to face with Cadance. When had she moved so close to her? ‘’Yes! I’m fine,’’ said Chrysalis and took a couple of steps back. ‘’Are you sure?’’ said Cadance taking a step forward. ‘’I…saw what happened, I tried to stop him but he ran,’’ she said in a low, soft voice. Did she look sad? ‘’I know that some stallions can be jerks. Would you like to talk?’’ ‘’...okay.’’ Seems like her plan was already in motion, now all Chrysalis needed to do was befriend her and take her place when they were alone together. She should be happy that her mission was going so well. ‘’So, what’s your name?’’ ‘’I’m Crystal. Crystal Truth.’’ Cadence smiled and shook hooves with Chrysalis. ‘’I’m Cadance! Nice to meet you, and don’t worry I’ll find you a stallion a million times better than that guy.’’ But a small part of her wished that she was still talking to him.
Chapter 1 - The Dry DirtThe saloon of Appleloosa, The Salt Block, the go-to place for any pony or creature to rest, and have a drink with their friends after a long day of work. The saloon had a piano that never went silent, it had kept playing ever since the saloon opened its doors for the first time. Two friends, Silver Axe and Rough Mouth sat on wooden stools at the bar. They were telling each other about their days, sometimes complaining about their work or laughing at a silly joke one made. ‘’I’m telling you, I only needed to buck that tree once!’’ Silver said while pushing a hoof up in the air confidently and swaying from side to side on the stool. ‘’Uh-huh, I’m sure you did buddy, and hey, maybe go a bit easy on the cider?’’ Rough rolled his eyes at his obviously drunk friend and took a sip from his mug. ‘’I’m not ddrunsk!’’ Said Silver, not managing to convince any pony in the saloon. The song on the piano changed and a more upbeat tone came up, a few ponies started singing along to the song. A few got up and started to dance even. It looked like this was going to be a fun and relaxing night as usual. Until- An ebony-furred pony walked in through the swinging doors. He pushed his long bright red mane out of his face revealing eyes like rubies. A stranger's sudden appearance filled the saloon with silence for a moment. Using the silence he hurriedly scanned the room and spotted an empty seat. The silence was replaced with cheers the second he moved. As the pony made his way through, some welcomed him and introduced themselves, some had even invited him to the dance with them. He politely declined the invitations and introduced himself. ‘’I’m…White Raven, nice to meet you all.’’ He said and placed himself next to a still-drunk Silver. ‘’R-R-Raven? Ishn’t that a bird, hehe, you’re not a bird!’’ said Silver, spilling a bit of his drink on the counter. ‘’Forgive my friend, he’s just an idiot and a drunk,’’ said Rough, slapping the back of his friend a couple of times. ‘’Come on buddy, let’s not bother the newcomer.’’ ‘’It’s no worries.’’ carefully placing a wide smile on his face, Raven answered. ‘’This seems like a fun place, do you guys have any fights here?’’ He asked with that wide smile still on. ‘’Fights? Nah, I’ve been here since the town was founded and have witnessed a total of…’’ Rough stopped to think. ‘’...zero fights since. So you don’t have to worry.’’ ‘’Oh, joy.’’ Raven’s smile almost fell but he kept it on. The barkeep took the order of the newcomer and quickly gave him a mug of the town’s famous cider. He took the drink and stared at it for half a minute before a more genuine smile could be seen in the reflection from the cider. He had it, he had a plan in his head. Wasting no time he started and took a sip. ‘’This, this is really good!’’ He said, pretending to enjoy the drink. ‘’Hah, I see that you have an eye for taste!’’ said Rough finishing his cup and ordering another one. ‘’It’s the best cider that you’ll ever find in Southern Equestria!’’ ‘’Ishn’t it? I don’t think I could livesh wihout it!’’ declared Silver, stopping himself from falling to the ground in the last second with surprising dexterity from the drunkest pony in the saloon by far. ‘’Yes, it’s definitely the best I have ever tasted.’’ It was the only one he had ever tasted so he wasn’t technically lying. ‘’It’s really a shame it’s not going to be made anymore.’’ The mood of the whole saloon shifted instantly, the piano had stopped abruptly, and the ponies that were still singing and dancing stopped. All eyes were on the now the newcomer who talked as if threatening the town. ‘’What do you mean by that?’’ Rough stopped mid-sip and narrowed his eyes at Raven. Raven widened his eyes in faux surprise. ‘’You haven’t heard?’’ ‘’...No,’’ said Rough, after quickly thinking about it. All the patrons had gathered around, a few even went behind to bar and looked from the shoulder of the barpony. Even the extremely drunk Silver had seemed to sober up in an instant. Each of them clung to the next words Raven spoke. ‘’Well, I heard that the Buffalos were going to gather to stampede all over the fields.’’ Everyone in the saloon gasped in shock. ‘’And you guys can’t produce any more cider without apples, right?’’ ‘’Of course not! But-but that’s outrageous! We haven’t done anything to the Buffalos!’’ said a random pony with most of the bar joining her. Raven nodded in agreement. ‘’I agree, but I’m not sure they see it that way.’’ He decided to fan the flames even further. ‘’Turns out a lot of Buffalos want to just kick you guys out and have the town for themselves.’’ ‘’We wouldn’t let that happen, we built this town! They can’t have it!’’ A now very sober and determined Silver rose up from his chair. ‘’Hey, I’m just telling you great citizens of this great town a silly rumour that I heard. It may be true, it may not be true.’’ He now wanted to cool the flames a little, lest he get overzealous and make a mistake. ‘’Just rumors, right, of course…’’ Rough Mouth looked down on his drink but didn’t take a sip. Silver moved his mug to take a sip but stopped just before and put his mug down with a solemn face. The cheery mood just ten minutes ago was now gone, and now the saloon was filled with awkward silence and the ponies that surrounded him slowly dispersed back into their seats. No one sang any songs, no one danced, and no one drank any cider. Even the piano that had never stopped had been silenced. He could feel it. He could feel their nervousness, their uncertainty, their fear. It was just a rumor but that small rumor had planted seeds of doubt into their heart that would surely flourish into something more grand than just a small seed. It tasted so exquisite that he had to keep himself from salivating. He had his fill. If he had known that pony feelings were this impressionable and this tasty he would have moved into Equestria a hundred years ago! Well, he was here now, might as well enjoy it but to enjoy it more he had more work cut out for him. Finishing his cider, he left the mug on the bar and left a couple of bits on the counter. He intended to leave but Silver stopped him with a question before he could. ‘’L-leaving so soon?’’ He put on a smile but it was an unsteady one. ‘’How about another mug?’’ Raven smiled. ‘’Yeah, no thanks,’’ and shook his head. ‘’I don’t want to be caught by the Buffalos if the rumors are true.’’ Silver’s smile dropped instantly, he tried to come up with something but the words never reached his mouth. Raven left the saloon without another word, the swinging doors creaking were the most sound the saloon produced after he left. Under the cover of night, Raven left the town, not through the train station or a cart, no. He walked, he walked until the town was just a dot on the horizon. He looked to his right, and then to his left. Good, no one had followed him. He took a deep breath and looked around himself again, it never hurts to be careful. It was clear again. There was only he, the dry dirt, and the soft winds. Perfect. Bright, red flames appeared all over his body, and in an instant White Raven was no more. His dark-colored body had lost all of its fur and transformed into a smooth, ivory carapace. His hooves thinned out, leaving a few holes in each of them. The red mane had stayed but it lost its shine and now a dull and bleak red had taken its place. The mouth with flat teeth had given way to a set of sharp and barbed mandibles. Two long antennae were placed on each side of his head. The only thing that hadn’t changed was his eyes. It was hard to change eyes, the act of changing his body required a great deal of energy, energy which he lacked from his long journey to Equestria, the saloon had satisfied his needs for now. He was now looking for a way to capitalize on the suspicions of the ponies in Appleloosa. His target now was the Buffalos he had just talked about an hour prior. What if his lie about the Buffalos stampeding their town to the ground was not a lie? What if the Buffalos actually did attack? Oh, that conflict, that fear, that anger would be enough to fill him for a year! So he set out, intending to discover the main camp of the Buffalos he heard about and had talked about so much just for a chance to pit them against the ponies of Appleossa. ‘’White Raven, truly? When have I become so banal, I need to come up with a better nam- blargh.’’ he started vomiting all over the dry dirt. ‘’Ugh, Eruidum you stupid, foolish Changecid. You have to stop partaking in their weird foods,’’ he said, raising his mandibles a bit as he wiped his mouth. Erudium quickly recovered and continued on his way to the south, thinking of lies he could feed the Buffalos on the way. ‘’Hmn, now what would be a good Buffalo name? Little... Strongheart? No, that just sounds silly, Buffalos aren’t small, they’re huge! From what I heard anyhow.’’ And he thought of a suitable name for himself. He enjoyed the cold winds of the arid land, knowing that it would be the opposite in the daytime he moved as fast as possible. Having the experience of dealing with the scorching sands of the Zeheran Desert, an experience which he would rather not deal with again. He didn’t enjoy the heat, whereas he did enjoy the cool weather of the Taurus mountains and hills, where Minatours reigned. A land of dozens of warlords fighting each other. Or it used to be a land of warlords fighting each other. Unfortunately for Eruidum, a king had risen from one of the many tribes and had finally unified the land, bringing peace that hadn’t been seen in that land for a long time. Eruidum did not enjoy peace, he couldn’t find any nourishment or enjoyment in it. So he left, cursing the King of Knosis as he did, for destroying the constant state of warfare he delighted in and tried so hard to keep up. After a couple more hours of walking, and attempting to follow the big hoof marks left in the dirt. He had spotted a trail of smoke in the distance, finally. With a sinister grin on his face, he picked up his pace. He couldn’t help but click his mandibles in anticipation a few times. This was going to be fun. Chrysalis sat upon her throne, listening to the reports of her ministers and agents. The hive was not doing so well despite her best efforts. They were surrounded by enemies, and the rising population required constant new food sources. Fortunately, they were just scraping the barrel, thanks to her no doubt. ''And we have been forced to decrease our love acquisition from the Southern Towns.'' a drone said with a shaky voice. ‘’I don’t believe I heard you right,’’ said Chrysalis, looking down at the drone that delivered the news. ‘’Did you say a decrease?’’ she hissed the last word. ‘’I-y-yes my Queen.’’ The drone lowered their head, terrified of the towering Queen. ‘’Pray tell, why?’’ Southern Equestria is filled with frontier towns, frontier towns promise new starts, and new opportunities, which translate to mountains of love for the changelings to gather up and return it to the hive. ‘’T-the buffalos and the ponies have become hostile to each other, there is b-barely enough l-love for us to collect.’’ the shaking drone answered expecting to be yelled at but they were met with silence and a frozen Chrysalis. The buffalos and the ponies, fighting? Chrysalis had disregarded the buffalos when they first moved into the south, they were angry at the ponies and they only produced a small amount of love and their numbers were few so they were ignored and she focused on the ponies, they had more than made up for it. But if they were downright fighting each other that means the ponies wouldn’t produce any love either, which spelled disaster for the hive. Appleloosa and Dodge Junction produced almost twenty percent of the hive's love alone! If that love was gone…what would she do? Let her people starve? No. There has to be something she could do. Maybe she could try to cross the desert and find more towns? No, too dangerous. Maybe she could- Her line of thinking got cut short by the doors of the throne room being thrown open and a lone drone running in, out of breath and tired. ‘’My Queen! I have urgent news!’’ he said and bowed while panting. ‘’Speak.’’ said Chrysalis, hoping the drone brought good news because if she received another bad one she might just crack. The drone raised their head and took a breath before continuing.‘’The Princess of Love is getting married to the Captain of the Royal Guard!’’ he said and went back to bowing. . . . The room was silent before the Queen started chuckling in a low tone. The other changelings exchanged unsure and nervous glances before the queen's chuckle turned into a mad laugh and the drones slowly joined her, even though they didn't know what they were laughing at. ‘’Hahahaha! Forget about Appleloosa or Dodge Junction! I want all agents focused on those two!’’ She continued laughing as the changelings bowed and left the throne room in a hurry. Now her hive would not just survive, it would thrive.
Chapter 2 - Sea of FlavorIt had been going so well! He managed to find the buffalo camp, infiltrate it, and then rouse the buffalos enough for them to ‘fight back’. He swore he could see red in the chieftain's eyes when he told of what the ponies did to him, allll the horrible things they didn’t actually do to him. He was disguised as another buffalo of course, no doubt that mountain of a buffalo would just crush him if he ever learned what he truly was. The buffalos started small, robbing a few trains, and taking a few trees down. But it escalated, fast. Thanks to him of course. He encouraged the buffalos even further with each act they committed which invigorated them more, then he went to ponies as White Raven and gave them information on buffalos while painting them in bad light. Doing small acts of sabotage on each side fueled their paranoia and anger more. After some time, the ponies and buffalos started blaming acts of misfortune on each other, even the acts he didn’t commit were blamed on the other party. A tree’s apples were rotten? The buffalos poisoned it! The campfire was unable to be lit? The pegasi were blowing winds from the clouds! The farming tools were stolen? It must have been the buffalo…that one was actually him. But that didn’t stop the ponies from blaming the buffalos. All that had culminated into this moment alone, he was watching from a safe distance as the two races prepared to face each other. There were two lines one made of buffalos, ready to charge down the hill and into the town, and one line made of ponies standing behind their makeshift barricades, ready to halt the buffalos. With a smile that went from one side to the other, Eruidum waited for it to start, watching from the roof of the saloon, where this all started. A couple of ponies showed up earlier which caused a bit of a hiccup in his plans, but everything went smoothly after the pink one messed it all up by performing so badly that she had convinced both sides not to share. His grin turned into a frown when he spotted the leader of the six running to the middle of the field, placing herself between the two sides. What was she doing now? Bah, it didn’t matter, there was no ending this. So he sat back and watched as Twilight started to speak. ‘’Please! We do not have to fight! There must be a way for us to solve this without violence!’’ Twilight pleaded to both sides. ‘’There is only one way pony! Remove the fields and we’ll have peace!’’ said Chief Thunderhooves with his deep voice. ‘’I’m giving you until! If the trees are not gone by that time, you’ll have shown how much you value peace.’’ Twilight’s words did no effect to quell the fire that was raging, so she went back to her friends shaking her head in disappointment and sadness. Oof, the chief was set on doing this. Maybe he fired him up a little too much…eh, it’s more fun this way. Why did he have to give them so long though? He was burning up under this accursed sun, couldn’t he have given them 5 minutes? To seek shelter from this unforgiving heat he took cover behind the signboard of the saloon, its shade bringing great comfort and he could still see the clock from here so he waited. Ah, he should have gotten one of those big hats that the ponies were wearing. When noon approached, he eagerly looked toward the buffalos expecting the battle to begin but the buffalos didn’t move at all. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the chief, who looked disheartened all of a sudden, wait, this is not how it’s supposed to be! ‘’Yes! He’s not gonna do it!’’ He heard some of the ponies bellow him heave out a collective sigh of relief. No, no, no! He worked for his food and he would get it! What could he do, what would make the chief regain his spirit? He wracked his brain for any possible way he could come up with, and then he spotted the pink pony from before, still in her performance outfit. His mandibles clicked a few times in excitement as realization hit him in the face like a frying pan, like the ones the pink one would use. He cleared his throat with a cough and adjusted his voice. Twilight just wanted to accompany her friend on her trip to Appleloosa, what she didn’t want to be was being stuck in the middle of a conflict with the ponies and the buffalos! She and her friends tried so hard to find a way for both parties to reach an agreement but every time it seemed like they were making some kind of progress, a problem would occur elsewhere almost as if somepony was actively sabotaging them. And now it had all broken down after Pinkie’s fiasco of an act. Twilight tried one last time to appeal to both the ponies and the buffalos but the buffalos were adamant on their stance, and the ponies were so afraid that they just couldn’t be reasoned with. But then she saw the face of the chief after the bell had tolled, that face was not the face of someone who really wanted to fight, and Twilight genuinely believed that it was going to be over. Her tense body relaxed and sighed, happy that it was all going to be okay. Then she heard it, a repeating, consistent clicking. ‘’You gotta shaaare! You gotta caaare! It’s the right thing to dooo!’’ The voice of Pinkie’s voice broke the tense air. Twilight’s and her friend's eyes widened and they almost jumped at Pinkie to stop singing. But they were all befuddled when realizing that Pinkie’s mouth wasn’t even moving. Pinkie looked just as confused as the rest of them. Before Twilight could determine what was actually going on, she heard the mighty roar of the chief and the buffalos started charging towards the town kicking up a giant dust cloud as they did so. Twilight heard the laughs of Pinkie, but it was not Pinkie and it couldn’t be Pinkie too because Rainbow and Applejack were physically covering her mouth. It was a twisted version of Pinkie’s joyous laugh, this one was still filled with enjoyment and fun but it felt wrong, when Pinkie laughed she laughed with ponies, this one sounded like it was laughing at them. The laugh was drowned out as the wave of buffalo approached the town, fast. The settlers not having the courage to meet the buffalo charge scattered into the town, Twilight’s friends included, leaving only her. She saw a buffalo charging at her so using her magic she fired off a random spell in a panic. He knew it would work, but he didn’t know it would work this well. He wasn’t complaining though. Maybe he should thank the pink one after this is over, it’s the least he could do after using her voice. He would thank her if she was still alive. The buffalos were now rampaging through the town in an unbridled stampede, a wave of destruction so devastating that it would put even the minotaurs to shame! The ponies didn’t bother to hold the makeshift barricades and quickly retreated into the town. Ah, he saw the leader, Twilight, looking lost as a baby duckling as a buffalo charged at her. Well, that was it for her. A bright and colorful flash of light appeared where the mare was and she disappeared, the buffalo was blinded by the flash and continued charging, stumbling over a rock he hit head-first into an anvil hidden in some hay bales. As he was trying to wrap his mind around what had happened to her, Eruidum heard a peculiar noise above him. He didn’t have the time to look up as Twilight fell on him and he was knocked down. He quickly recovered and saw that Twilight was now lying on top of him. Where the hell did she come from? She’s been a real pain in the backside for him and now this? He’d rather not get physical with his food, but he’d have to now since he was not disguised, keeping it required constant energy. Maybe he should have kept it on though, since he was going to be filled up in just a minute. Twilight shook her head and tried to gather herself “Ugh, I really need to work on that spell a lot more before I master- huh?’’ She felt something pushing from underneath her. ‘’Woah!’’ and she was flung to the other side of the roof. She opened her eyes and was met with a white hoof to her face. ‘’Nighty night, Twilight!’’ was the last thing she heard in her friend’s voice. There, now she was knocked out cold. His frown from the rude interruption slowly turned back into a smile as he continued watching the chaos below. Now he could eat his wonderfully crafted meal in peace. The panic and terror of the ponies were sweet, ah, but with the spiciness of the buffalo’s anger…Mwah! Truly a unique combination. His antennae buzzed in joyful bliss in this magnificent sea of flavor. Apparently, it was now time dessert, for all the emotions had turned into a deep sorrow. What was going on? He poked his head out from the rooftops and scanned. All the buffalos and the ponies had stopped fighting and some of them were even crying. He looked further and saw that the chief had fallen. The smile on his face stretched even further and turned into an insidious grin, he could not physically smile further but mentally? It stretched on for continent- did he just move his mouth? The ‘fallen’ chief, got up from the ground and licked his face clean in a second. ‘’Yum!’’ He exclaimed. Is this a joke? ‘’Hey everybody! I got a better idea!’’ the chief said. Eruidum wiped his eyes and blinked a few times to see if he was actually seeing what was happening. Nope, still there. And then it reached him, that taste. Love. The ponies and the buffalos were now exhibiting not anger, not fear but love. They exhibited outsickening amounts of it as Thunderhooves told his plan to the ponies. He could see it, his plan crumbling bit by bit. How could it be? How can they forgive each other so quickly?! ‘’Aughhh, my head.’’ Oh great, she was waking up. Time to make his escape, he only got a smidgen of what he intended to get but it would suffice for a few days. He jumped down from the roof using his mandibles to hold onto the drainage pipe and used it to slide down to the ground, not caring what damage he caused. This was his little revenge, it was the small things that mattered. With the same swiftness, he quickly changed into the ‘White Raven’ persona and slipped out of the town. He would wait for some time before boarding a train, he could not stand the ponies nor the buffalos right now. Even after making quite a distance from the town, he could still feel the lingering feelings of love, he just couldn’t shake it off, eugh. Finding a rock formation that gave him just enough shade to hide from the sun, he took refuge. Leaving the disguise, he patted the ground beneath him and laid his head on it, closing his eyes as he did. Best to conserve as much energy as he could right now. The sun had bid the land farewell and let the moon take its place and nighttime struck. Yawning as he woke up, Eruidum stretched a little and left his trusty rocks and dirt to go back into town. The feelings should have subsided a little bit now. Once he got close enough, he could feel it but hey, at least he wasn’t on the verge of puking out his guts. He quietly and discreetly as possible got to the station and went to the ticket booth. ‘’Excuse me? Can I have a ticket to…’’ He looked at the possible locations on the list. ‘’-Canterlot?’’ ‘’Of course!’’ replied the ticket mare with a voice filled with cheeriness, eugh. ‘’Here you go!’’ she said and gave him a ticket. ‘’Um, how much is it?’’ ‘’Oh don’t worry about it! We’re having a big celebration so all tickets are free for a time!’’ ‘’I see…thank you.’’ he lightly bowed his head and turned around to board the train. ‘’You’re welcome! Come back and visit anytime!’’ she waved as he left. He would not be visiting this place in the future, that one he was sure of. He looked at the beast of a machine with wondrous eyes before he got on. He had seen trains in the Griffon lands. But they were considerably simpler compared to this. Even his room was much, much, much better, it even had a bed! It had several beds, how luxurious. He sat on the small couch near the window and looked outside. How had it come to this? Did he do something wrong? Or maybe he didn’t participate as much as he needed to succeed? But it was perfect! There was nothing wrong with it! He got them to hate each other in two weeks. Two, weeks! His thoughts swirling in his mind made him drop his guard and he didn’t hear the sliding door and didn’t notice the group of six ponies and a little dragon get into the room. ‘’Oh oh oh! We have a roommate!’’ Pinkie said and jumped in front of him. ‘’Hiya roomie!’’ she smiled. ‘’Wha-?!’’ Eruidum said, raising his hooves to guard himself. ‘’What’s your name? My name’s Pinkie Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie, so you can call me Pinkie. What’s your favorite type of pie? Mine is totally apple pie after this day, actually, there are cupcake pies those ones are my favorite-’’ Pinkie said and said and continued saying, Eruidum couldn’t keep up with what was going on. Why was she here?! And cupcake pies?!? He looked around for a way to escape his pink captor but was met with the faces of the six from earlier, awkwardly laughing along. ‘’I think he had enough dear,’’ said Rarity and dragged Pinkie away. ‘’I’m sorry we disturbed you Mr…’’ said Twilight, apologizing for her friend. ‘’White Raven.’’ ‘’Yes, Mr. Raven. It looks like we will be staying in the cabin for the next few days. I hope we can get along.’’ said Twilight and gave him a small smile. Was this the universe itself laughing and mocking him for his failure? ‘’Joy.’’ He gritted out through clenched teeth but still showed a friendly enough smile. ‘’Even though I’d love to meet you all, I must sleep now. Please do not disturb me,’’ said Eruidum and hopped on his bed. ‘’Alrighty! Let’s have pancakes tomorrow breakfast roomie!’’ said Pinkie. He closed the curtain on the side of the bed and didn’t reply. He wasn’t going to sleep, he didn’t need it but even if he did, he would not dare close his eyes around these ponies now, especially around that Twilight character, she snuck up on him twice, not once but twice! Their continuous laughter and chatter would not allow him to sleep anyhow. ‘’Ah, my head,’’ said Twilight, rubbing her now sore head. ‘’If I ever see the guy who did that to you Twilight, I’ll give him a butt-kicking so bad that he would need a second butt for me to kick again!’’ exclaimed Rainbow, while punching the air a few times. ''You said they had Pinkie's voice?'' said Rainbow and quickly turned to Pinkie throwing her a nasty look. ''You sure you didn't do it Pinkie?'' ''Nope! Why would I hurt my friend? I'm angry at that pony too, but I wanna meet them, we could have two Pinkies! Oh maybe I have an evil twin?'' said Pinkie, now wondering if she had an evil twin that she was separated from at birth. All of her friends shuddered at the thought. Eruidum could already tell this was going to be a fun trip. He was not going to thank Pinkie Pie in any possible way though.
Chapter 3 - Wishful DovesIt was a sunny day in Canterlot, it was always a sunny day in Canterlot thanks to Celestia, but ever since Luna had been from her curse, the sunny days were sometimes accompanied by a slight chill. This day was one of them but the slight chill had intensified today, forcing ponies to seek refuge from the cold either by clothing or hiding from it inside their homes, shops, and cafes. Chrysalis was one of those who tried to find refuge on this frozen sunny day. Cadence was located in the city at this time according to her agents. Wasting no time, she successfully adorned a disguise and got into the city with minimal problems. Now all she had to do was find her exact location. Which should be easy, considering she was looking for the literal embodiment of love. Or so she thought, two days she spent with no sign of the princess. Maybe her agents gave her the wrong information? Oh, there would be Tartarus to pay if that had happened. Her line of thinking got cut by her body shuddering in the frigid winds. Bah, she’ll find her sooner or later but now? She needed to find some semblance of warmth and some love. Keeping both the disguise and trying to keep herself warm had drained her supply. She shuddered again and tried to rub her hooves together, she never did enjoy the cold. She entered a random shop on the corner of a street, the bell on the glass door giving a twinkle as she pushed it. If she had to handle any more of this cold she’d turn into an icicle. The warmth hit her face instantly and she allowed herself to relax for just a second, ahh…No! She can’t drop her guard! Shaking her head and regaining her focus, she quickly scanned the room. The tables were almost full, there were only two remaining empty ones. A clerk attended to the customers from behind a glass display case, its shelves filled to the brim with sweets. Most were donuts but there were still cakes and chocolates and whatever these ponies ate. ‘’Welcome to Joe’s! Please take a seat and relax, you can order whenever you're ready.’’ The clerk, who Chrysalis assumed was Joe called out to her and then went back to helping the customers. She took the empty table in the corner of the shop, next to the windows in case she needed a quick getaway of course. Swiftly forming a plan in her head she got up from the table and made her way to the line. Passing through a table, Chrysalis ‘accidentally’ bumped into a mare causing her to almost fall, if she wasn’t caught by the nearby stallion of course. Both of them looked at each other and blushed before both looking away with a small laugh. Ha, this was going to be easy. Looks like she won’t need to waste a lot of time here before she is filled up. Licking her lips and showing a wicked smile only to herself, and stood in line. She turned her head and looked towards the ponies she matched together; talking, chatting, laughing, all red in the cheeks. She could taste the love radiating from them, but she couldn’t feel it. Chrysalis couldn’t help but watch...she couldn’t help but wonder how it actually felt- She scoffed and with a frown on her face looked away, as if. Eruidum stepped off the train, his eyes had heavy bags under them and he was walking wobbly. It would be an understatement to say he did not enjoy the trip from Appleloosa. Did you know that there were 325 ways to make a pie? Well, he didn’t, but now he unfortunately does. He quickly waved the memory off and began walking towards the center of the city. His disguise was on the verge of falling off, those ponies on the train had forced him to be on his guard every single second. His eyes sluggishly closed and his head began falling towards the ground, if not for the cold wind hitting his face he would come crashing down onto the paved road. His head shot up and his eyes opened all the way. He desperately needed some sleep. His ears picked up the sound of something wailing, a wounded animal. Then he felt it, a rumbling. It was not an animal but his stomach begging for scraps at this point. His supply had mostly run out and he was running on fumes. Searching around the city Eruidum finally found what he was searching for, a shop full of ponies. Not wasting any more time denying his stomach of food he walked in, a bell tingled as he did so, huh? Looking up he saw the mechanism, these ponies were really strange creatures weren’t they? Only they could come up with something like this. He couldn’t even take a look inside before being hit by it. Love. Eugh, this place was filled with love, he forced himself to toughen it out and look at the sight. The shop was filled with either couples or ponies on the way to becoming couples and he saw them: sharing a milkshake, avoiding eye contact with blushes on their faces, and holding hooves. He couldn’t have picked a worse spot if he tried! The pony behind the counter said something but he didn’t hear it, he was too focused on not collapsing from hunger and this overexposure to love. Searching for a place to sit and rest was now his top priority. Hmm, he couldn’t find anywhere but…what’s this feeling? Starting to feel something different than this love, Eruidum started following it. He weaved around the tables that were too busy to pay him any of their time anyhow. Then he reached it, a table in the corner of the shop, right next to the windows. A perfect place for a messy but quick getaway. This table was perfect for him, but there was a slight problem. There was a white-furred, green-eyed unicorn sitting in one of the two chairs. He still couldn’t figure out what this feeling was it tasted bitter but he liked it? He was sure it came from that mare, who was now staring at Eruidum, one of her brows forming a crescent. Uh oh. ‘’What?’’ she asked in an annoyed tone. ‘’Oh, I-’’ he coughed to clear his throat and let him gather his thoughts for a split second. He wasn’t expecting such a harsh-sounding voice from a pony. ‘’I was just wondering if you would allow me to sit here?’’ ‘’No.’’ ‘’Please, there is no other place to sit,’’ he said almost begging. The unicorn scoffed. ‘’And how is that my problem?’’ she said, crossing her hooves. Tough customer, Eruidum thought ponies were supposed to be easy to convince. He had seen it first hoof. ‘’I won’t bother you at all, if you want me to be silent I’ll be silent,’’ He flashed her a cheeky smile. ‘’-and if you want a conversation partner, I have seen many things and have met as much as interesting creatures. I’m certain you’ll be surprised and intrigued.’’ he said while trying to look as friendly as possible. ‘’If you want to of course.’’ She narrowed her eyes and looked at him, ah. He knew this stare, it was to figure out his actual intention. He had seen this many, many, many times before and had mastered to disillusion the looker. There was no need to waste any more energy though, his actual intent really was to sit here. After a brief shakedown by stare, she relented. ‘’Fine. Don’t talk until spoken to.’’ Right. She’s one of those, alright, he had experience in that field too. ‘’As you wish. Ms…’’ ‘’Crystal Truth.’’ He nodded and took the other seat opposite of her. There was still that feeling, and he still couldn’t figure out what exactly it was. He heard another scoff. ‘’I give you my name and you give back none in return? If this is how this is going to be, you might as well remove yourself from my table,’’ she said in obvious annoyance. Did he forget to give out his name? Agh, the hunger and the exhaustion were getting to him. But her demeanor was strange, she was wildly different from the ponies he had encountered until now. ‘’My apologies, I’m just tired.’’ She scoffed at that. ‘’Not that it’s any excuse. You may call me White Raven,’’ he said, extending a hoof. She looked at the hoof for a second and then cautiously extended her hoof, shaking Eruidum’s a few times before letting go. He moved to speak but was cut short by Crystal raising her hoof in a silencing manner. This was going to be annoying, but it was somehow a welcome change none of the ponies he had met until now was like this. ‘’So tell me, why are you here?’’ she questioned. ‘’I’m hungry and exhausted, this place looked good enough.’’ ‘’I don’t see any foodstuffs with you,’’ she said. Eruidum could swear he saw a mocking smile. ‘’Well, I don’t see any with you.’’ he countered back, and again he could swear that smile broke for just a single second, before getting bigger. ‘’I never said I was here to eat, did I?’’ ‘’Right, I just assumed creatures come here to eat food since this is a place that sells food no?’’ She looked at him with eyes so piercing that his facade almost broke but he kept it on. It wouldn’t be proper to back out now, his pride was on the line. His stomach growled again, and apparently, her ears picked up on the sound because her frown turned into a mocking smile. Ah, crud. ‘’Excuse me for a second,’’ he said with an embarrassed face, while getting off the chair ‘’Take all the time you need,’’ she replied, in a derisively polite tone. He would be getting his meal now or he would just collapse on the spot, looking towards the rest of the room his face scrunched up in disgust but he kept pushing forward. Eruidum noticed one pony getting up from one of the tables that were filled with love and going to the washroom. Ah, there it is. Quickly Eruidum followed the pony inside and saw him head inside one of the stalls. Looking around he saw a wooden stool behind the door. Must be how they reach places far up inside. He took the stool and carefully positioned it so that the stall door couldn’t be unlocked. Slowly taking his hooves off the stool, he gently knocked on the stall. ‘’Occupied.’’ Perfect. Now he knew how his voice sounded. Squeezing the last bit of energy out of his body, Eruidum changed into the pony, splashed a bit of water to keep him awake, and left. He made his way over to the table of the pony he was now disguised as. ‘’O-oh, welcome back!’’ said the mare across her, with a flustered voice and red cheeks. Eugh. He had to fight the bile rising up in his throat. In a matter of minutes, he had managed to turn the nervous and excited face of the mare into the face of one that was only filled with annoyance and frustration. He could barely feel any love radiating off her now. Now was the time. Eruidum excused himself, the mare almost breathed a sigh of relief as he got off the table. He went back to the bathroom and changed back into his original disguise. The stall handle rattled beside him. ‘’Ugh, is anyone there, can someone help?’’ ‘’I’ll help you, just wait a second,’’ Eruidum replied. ‘’Oh thank you! You’re such a lifesaver. My date has been going so well, I don’t want to keep her waiting anymore.’’ The toilet prisoner sounded extremely relieved that a savior had arrived just in the nick of time. ‘’Yup, I get you.’’ The ‘savior’ replied in kind, eager to help. ‘’Here.’’ The stallion thanked him countless times and left the bathroom. Again Eruidum splashed a bit of water on his face to keep him awake. He hoped that the mare would be confused and angry by the sudden changes in the stallion's behavior. If that didn’t work? He…wasn’t sure. It was a do-or-die plan really, the type of plan that he hated but this time he had no choice. He had neither the energy nor the time. Leaving the bathroom he saw his new ‘friend’ from a distance. She was looking at something or someone. He followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at one of the couples. Her eyes were sharp and narrowed, but her mouth had no semblance of a smile. Ah, now he got it. He finally understood what that feeling was. Jealously. Huh. ‘’I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.’’ he said as he sat on his chair. His sudden appearance made her jump a bit and she immediately focused on him.‘’...Who said I was waiting for you?’’ She looked past his head for a second and shook her head. He was sure she looked at the couple from before. ‘’Anyhow, you promised me stories. Now tell them. And don’t bore me. If you tell me something boring I’ll kick you out.’’ He showed a small smile and mock bowed his head. ‘’As you wish.’’ he could barely catch a glimpse of a small smile from her. He certainly didn’t wish to disappoint her, he didn’t know why. So he started talking about his exploits. Of course, he didn’t tell them exactly how it happened, just a little different. At first, she seemed disinterested, she outright didn’t believe the first one he told. ‘’Bah, what a tale you’ve spun. Do you always tell lies?.’’ ‘’Ah, but it is no lie.’’ ‘’You can’t possibly expect me to believe that you King Umberto is just two small griffons in a really big robe,’’ she said scoffing and rolling her eyes. ‘’I have seen it with my own eyes!’’ he exclaimed. ‘’Haven’t you noticed that his claws were a little small? And how he never appears to the public without that signature robe?’’ She hummed in thought. ‘’Well, yes but his robe is an important part of his rule. It is a sign of legitimacy and royalty. And his claws might have been smaller compared to the average Griffon but that doesn’t mean he is truly two small griffons.’’ ‘’Again, I have seen it with my own eyes!’’ he almost screamed out. ‘’And how have you seen it?’’ she urged him to continue. ‘’That is a story for another time.’’ He heard her click her tongue at that. And then, steadily, she started getting into the stories. Her eyebrows raised in surprise or curiosity, asking questions and the like. ‘’I didn’t know that the minotaurs had underground libraries that required someone to pass through a maze,’’ she said, imagining how hard it would be to transport anything there. ‘’Right? And think of how I felt when I asked a local for directions to the library and he gave me a riddle to solve.’’ he threw out his hooves in frustration. ‘’That certainly seems like-’’ She let out a small chuckle. ‘’-a nuisance.’’ ‘’Oh, it undoubtedly was.’’ he groaned out. He got so into telling the stories that he was completely oblivious to the commotion happening inside the store, his story buddy was none the wiser either. ‘’Make up your mind! First, you treat me wonderfully, then you treat me like I’m nothing, then you try to treat me like you did before?!’’ The mare screamed out. ‘’I-what- I don’t?’’ The confused stallion couldn’t even get the semblance of a sentence out. ‘’I don’t understa-’’ ‘’Don’t play coy, you know what? I’m done. This was a terrible idea.’’ said the mare, frustrated, she left the store hurriedly. The confused stallion ran behind her. Most of the store’s attention was focused on the arguing couple—all except for the table in the corner. ‘’Wait, so camels actually exist? I thought they were a myth!’’ said Crystal, amazed that there were camels. ‘’Yep, and they’re quite friendly if I might add. If they didn’t find me in that desert, I would have been toast…literally,’’ said Raven, the memories of the desert coming back to him as he recalled his tale. ‘’Apparently, they found me on top of a dune yelling, ‘I’m the desert-made manifest, bow before me mortals!’ ’’ he saw her trying to hold in her laugh with her hooves. ‘’And that I was in a ferocious battle with a vicious beetle.’’ Her shaky smile broke and she started laughing, this was the first time he heard her laugh, a little chuckle sure but she was boisterously laughing. Attracting the attention of the other customers by her volume alone. Eruidum laughed along with her, when was the last time he laughed like this? He didn’t discern any jealousy coming from Crystal at this point too, it was slowly replaced by something…he didn’t know yet again. It made him feel, comforted? He wasn’t sure, he didn’t hate it. This one singular pony had confused him, entertained him, and intrigued him all at the same time. Just who was she? And how did he not succumb to exhaustion at this point? ‘’What a battle it must have been!’’ She said between her laughing. ‘’One for the ages.’’ Then he sensed it. He sensed something coming. What was this? He felt as if he was lost in a nameless bog, he felt as if he was falling down an endless pit, he felt as if he was being swallowed whole by it. He started breathing erratically, his hoof shook, and his vision started becoming blurry. He could no longer hear Crystal’s laughter. Eruidum only heard the ring above the door chime. He looked towards the entrance and saw it. It looked as if it was pure darkness, pitch black except for two purple slits where eyes are usually supposed to be. Its darkish tentacles reached out across the room, enveloping almost the entirety of it. What is this thing?! He never encountered something so terrifying in his lifetime! If he wasn’t in a fear-ridden coma he would have jumped out of the table now. He almost yelled out when someone touched his hoof. Looking at it, he saw Crystal holding it, her eyes filled with surprise and some concern. ‘’Are you okay?’’ she asked. ‘’...I’m fine,’’ he said, not breaking his gaze on the monster in fear of what would happen if he even so blinked. Crystal looked towards where his eyes were fixed on. Once she saw what was there she unconsciously tightened her grip on his hoof, and she almost hissed. The creature started moving towards the table. Eruidum panicked. ‘’I-um, it was a pleasure to talk to you Ms. Crystal, b-but I must really take my leave now!’’ He said pulling his hoof back and throwing himself off the chair. ‘’Wait!’’ Crystal yelled out. But Erudium didn’t listen, although he wished he could stay just a bit longer. He dashed to the exit, trying his best to avoid the slimy tentacles. Pushing chairs out of the way, creating many confused and angry ponies. He passed the entity, which was stuck in place. Eruidum thanked whatever god, spirit, or what else was up there and made it to the door. He was halted by one of the tentacles, it grabbed a hold of him and kept him in place. His panic rising, he almost broke his disguise and after much effort was able to break free from his hold and escape from the store. The sun had already given way to letting the moon take its place. Run, just run, don’t look back. Legs burning up? Let them burn. Heart beating so loud it deafens your ears? Let it beat. Breath stuck in throat you have to force it out? Force it. He ran, he ran and he ran. Where could he hide from this terrifying beast? Out of breath he stopped for a moment and looked up. The castle. The castle would be the safest place. If he got caught it was over for him, but being caught by the local ponies seemed better than that horror. Getting his breathing under control, he started making his way over to the castle. It was high up on the mountain, how did ponies get there? Well, the pegasi could fly sure but what of the other? And then he saw the stairs. Oh, joy. This day had been a rollercoaster for him. And a small part of his mind was still stuck on that mare. ‘’Let’s meet again, Crystal Truth.’’ he hoped this was not their last encounter. He again didn’t know why he wished that, but he didn’t hate the idea. Chrysalis was confused, extremely confused. First, a strange pony approached her, whom she had no intention of entertaining but something compelled her to agree to his request. She couldn’t properly make out what he was feeling at the time too, which was weird since pony emotions were easy to sense and see, but he was clouded and complex. Secondly, she actually enjoyed their talks. She enjoyed them so much that she completely forgot about her mission for the briefest of moments. She found herself smiling while he was telling his silly stories. Thirdly, he seemed bothered by something out of the blue, almost as if a switch had been flipped. A second ago he was laughing along with her, then he looked as if he was about to keel over dead. And she worried about him. She. worried. about. him. What was becoming of her? She had a duty to her hive! She shouldn’t distract herself with frivolous things like this. And lastly, her mission's main target had just walked into the store. Chrysalis didn’t know if she should be happy or angry at her. … She should be happy?! Why would she be angry at all, yup. Why would she be angry that her partner-... conversation partner, had bolted at the sight of the Princess of Love? She wasn’t angry at her. ‘’Um, hi? Are you…okay? You seem a bit angry.’’ ‘’H-huh?’’ Chrysalis hadn’t realized that she was face to face with Cadance. When had she moved so close to her? ‘’Yes! I’m fine,’’ said Chrysalis and took a couple of steps back. ‘’Are you sure?’’ said Cadance taking a step forward. ‘’I…saw what happened, I tried to stop him but he ran,’’ she said in a low, soft voice. Did she look sad? ‘’I know that some stallions can be jerks. Would you like to talk?’’ ‘’...okay.’’ Seems like her plan was already in motion, now all Chrysalis needed to do was befriend her and take her place when they were alone together. She should be happy that her mission was going so well. ‘’So, what’s your name?’’ ‘’I’m Crystal. Crystal Truth.’’ Cadence smiled and shook hooves with Chrysalis. ‘’I’m Cadance! Nice to meet you, and don’t worry I’ll find you a stallion a million times better than that guy.’’ But a small part of her wished that she was still talking to him.
