A Change in Heart

Chapters

Meet Black Daze
New Friends, New Enemies
Preparations
The Fight is ON!!!
Into the Black Inferno
I Want Hospital
Well...this is awkward...
Making Amends (Clop Warning)
Catching Fire
Making Plans
The Attack
The Voice of Power (revised)
Assault on Guardian Keep
Death
Everything's okay now right? ...Nnnope.

Meet Black Daze

A Change in Heart

This and the next Eight Chapters By: Jexxazrez

Everything after that By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

A warm and humid climate was aloft in the air. A small blue butterfly rested on a branch of a tree and fluttered its wings. A second one that was pink landed beside it and they touched antennae…An adorable sight, yes. But to a creature watching close by, it was a delicious meal…

~SNAP~

A long tongue shot out at an incredible speed and snatched the blue one off the branch. The pink one fluttered away quickly but wasn't fast enough as the tongue again lashed out and snatched the pink one from mid-air.

An unusual creature was on the other end of the tongue. He had a pony body, a tall pony body that was about a foot taller than a normal pony, but draconic wings, dragon claws complete with opposable thumbs on his forelegs (but still was a quadruped.) He had pony hooves on his hind legs, a black body with green reptilian eyes and a full set of sharp teeth. He had no cutie mark and his mane and tail was a dark green with grayish highlights. His hair was unkempt and let out a low growl as he finished the tasty treats. Then, he spoke in a deep, slightly raspy voice. "That was a cute little gesture of true love, Ms. Pink butterfly." He grumbled sarcastically. "…abandoning your loved one instead of going after him. It's a good thing I did that for you, eh?" He leaped up to a tree and clawed up to the canopy and lied down on a branch.

Meet Black Daze. He's a hybrid between a dragon and a pony due to a curse. The reason he's…well…the way he is was because of his past. He was born a pony, a healthy colt with large green eyes, a black body and a forest green mane. No reptilian features about him. But something happened to him in the Everfree forest…something he'd never forget…

8 years ago…

Back then, Black Daze was simply called Dazer. He was a lazy but kindhearted colt with a love for the night and an even bigger love for adventure. He did well in school and read lots of books, mostly about the wild and legends of Equestria, but at night he would sneak out of bed and go play with his friend, Snuffle. Snuffle already got his cutie mark at the time as a super-sniffer and currently uses his gift to track down criminals. One fateful night, Dazer got out of his bed and met Snuffle at the edge of the Everfree Forest, his favorite 'playground.'

"So where we goin' now, Dazuh?" Sniffles said with a notable accent.

"To the place nopony has dared gone before…the Great Dragon Burial Ruins!" Dazer whispered to his friend.

Snuffles was dumbstruck by his friend. "T-the G-g-great Dragon B-burial Ruins…? Isn't that where all the ponies of old suddenly died out one day and archeologists can't figure out w-why?" He started shaking.

"Yes," Dazer said to his shaking friend. "But do you know WHY they can't figure it out?"

Snuffles took a step back from his daring friend. "W-why?" He asked curiously, still shaking.

Dazer took a step towards him and said "Because nopony has gone inside the ruins before is why! The Archeologists were all too chicken. …You're not chicken, are you, Snuffles?" He taunted his scared friend.

Snuffles shook his head and and took a step towards Dazer. "Who said I was chicken? I'm no chicken! Let's go!" He said rather quickly.

Snuffles quick change in heart surprised Dazer a little bit. But he WAS known for having a rather…heated reaction to being challenged.

"I'll lead the way." Dazer whispered as he took off into the forest. Snuffles followed closely behind.

After about a half hour of walking, the two earth ponies found what they had been looking for. Broken stone columns with carvings of dragons were strewn about the plant-overgrown cobblestone floor. The carvings were exquisite with detail and many of them had vines all over them. Some around their jaws as if they were keeping their jaws shut. There was a misty, eerie atmosphere in the air and the two ponies were strangely excited at the sight before them. Especially Dazer, who just stood there in awe.

"Woooow! This is way better than the books said that it would be!" Dazer managed to get out.

"That's probably because they were trying to keep ponies like YOU out of it." His friend responded. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of something, something strange and unfamiliar. It smelled like…mystery. That was all he could think of. He followed the scent and Daze gave him a weird look.

"Snuffles, what do you smell now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not sure," Snuffles responded. "but I'm about to find out!"

Just then, a large staircase going underground appeared. It had a small glowing red mist at the bottom. When Dazer took a step on the first step, Snuffles held out his hoof and stopped him.

"I dunno, Dazer. This has 'bad idea' written all over it." Snuffles scolded.

"Oh quit being such a baby!" Dazer said with a smirk. "I'm sure it's just fairy dust or whatever. Plus, think of what we can learn!"

Snuffles perked up at being called a 'baby.' "Hey! A little glowing mist never hurt anyone right? You're right! Let's go!" and he walked down the steps with Dazer.

At the bottom of the steps was a big and very intact stone door with red mist billowing out of it. The mist was warm, but not hot. Dazer put his hoof to the door and pushed with all his might. Because he was only a little colt though, it didn't budge. Just then, red glowing letters appeared on the door in draconic. This startled Dazer and Snuffles both.

"Draconic passwords huh?" Dazer said casually.

"D-draconic what? You mean you can read Dragon writing?" Snuffles said to his friend.

"Yes, I learned it in a book I borrowed from the royal library. And Princess Celestia told me it was a fictional book. Haha!" Dazer said with a humorous tone. Then he began reading, "It says…That those who wish to gain entry must prove
their worth of entering the Great Tomb of Daravoc by reciting his chant of praise."

"His chant of what now?" Snuffles said very worried now.

"A chant of praise is basically something an old dragon makes up about himself before he is layed to rest. Only the wisest or most powerful dragons have them. I think I remember Daravoc's mainly because it was the shortest heheh..Lucky us!" Dazer replied to his confused friend. "….Lucky us indeed." Snuffles mumbled. "Just recite the chant so we can see what's inside!"

"Alright, alright. Let me think here…" Dazer thought for a bit and then started to chant loudly.

"Great Daravoc! Great Daravoc! Voice of Power!

Harbinger of the Great Meteor Shower!

The place where you rest, the place where you sleep!

Let me enter into your tomb in the dragon hall's deep!"

Moments passed, nothing happened. Then, a loud rumble came from within and the doors went open with a loud grinding noise and the red mist poured out of the large opening. The two colts were awestruck. They just opened the door to the tomb of a dragon that could summon a meteor shower. They walked slowly inside and were shocked at what was inside.

Inside the tomb of Daravoc was a large skeleton of a dragon with black bones and a shallow stone wall built around it. 'Daravoc' himself was curled up in a manner that a housecat would if it was taking a nap, suggesting that he had a peaceful death. There was red mist everywhere surrounding him and it apparently was coming from the cracks in the walls.

"Wow! Look at this! A real dead dragon!" Dazer exclaimed. He ran over and jumped on Daravoc's skull, examining his horn.

…ssshhhhhshhhshshshhhh…..

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Snuffles shouted, and hid behind a stone column.

"It was probably just the air pressure inside these tunnels or something. You know, like when the wind howls above ground." Dazer responded to his terrified friend.

…Insolent child…get off of my skull or face my true wwwrraathhhh…

"GGAAHHHH!" Snuffles screamed and bolted out of there, leaving Dazed all alone with the irate dragon spirit.

"Where are you goi…ugh. Thanks a lot, Snuffles." He groaned all too casually. "And YOU!" He said to the voice, "This is not YOUR skull, this is Daravoc's skull. So be quiet! I'm trying to study him here!"

The voice spoke much louder this time.

Foolish child…I AM DARAVOC! Harbinger of the Great Meteor Shower. Destroyer of the ancient pony race that worshipped us. You are trespassing on my tomb and you shall be punished direly with a curse!!!

Suddenly, Dazer's annoyed expression turned very grim. He immediately hopped off of the irate Daravoc's skull and asked him another question. "Daravoc? Why did you destroy the aincient pony race if they worshipped you? And please don't curse me, I only wanted to learn and discover things like you…." Dazer found himself on the verge of tears. First his best and only friend runs off, and now he's going to be…cursed! How was he going to be cursed? Is he gonna be a Werepony? A Vampony? Will he just have bad luck? Will he be terminally ill? His thought process was interrupted by Daravoc's voice that was just as angry as before.

Child, I destroyed them because they were just like you; Always so hungry for knowledge, always searching for answers, always questioning things. It drove us dragons mad to no end. So we demanded they stop searching for knowledge. They then revolted against us. A foolish decision, mind you. The other dragons simply called upon me to destroy them and that's exactly what I did. I regret nothing. I also will not regret placing this curse on you which will turn you partially into a dragon!

Dazer couldn't believe what he was hearing. This dragon was actually going to make him part dragon and surely turn him into a bloodthirsty beast! He also destroyed the ponies of old just for searching for answers! What a wicked dragon!

"You…you won't get away with this! I'll find some way out of this curse! I swear in the name of Celestia!" He shouted, tears streaming down his face.

Foolish brat! You can't swear in the name of Celestia because you won't be a pony anymore. They won't treat you as a pony anymore, but as an outcast. There is one way out, however. But good luck to you finding it! Hahahaha!

Just then, the red mist in the room started to swirl around him faster and faster, he tried to escape it, but it was no use. It trapped him and he could feel his body change. It was painful! First he felt two wings sprout from his back and the bones inside them cracked into place. Next were his eyes, it felt like they were being ripped out of his head as they turned a more emerald green and developed a reptilian eye slit. Next were his forelegs. The scales sprouted from his coat and covered his forelegs like a bunch of shiny carnivorous beetles and then four claws sprouted from the base of his new forearms. Then, the worst part of the change of all, his mouth. The teeth he had in his mouth suddenly were ripped out root and all and he started bleeding from his mouth. Then, new sharp teeth pushed their way through his mouth cutting into it even further. His tounge became 4 meters long and forked. It hung from his mouth and was forced to taste the blood pooling from it. Dazer collapsed on the floor in a pool of his own blood and started crying. He couldn't speak, for it hurt too much for him to even move his mouth. The sadistic dragon known as Daravoc then spoke.

Your change is complete, but there are some things you should be aware of now: Your dragon abilities. You will see that being a hybrid has it's perks, foolish child. You may spew fourth a jet of blue fire and give what we dragons call a 'pride roar.' With it, you may terrify all those who stand in your path. Be grateful that I give you these abilities, for some souls in the past were not so lucky.

Dazer didn't want those powers though. He wanted to be a pony again. A regular pony. He wanted to go home and forget about all this. How was he going to explain this to mom and dad? He was covered in blood and half dragon. He didn't want to think about that right now. All he wanted to do now was run. Get out of these ruins and go cry somewhere. He bolted out of Daravoc's chamber and found himself notably faster than before, much faster. He left a trail of blood where he ran and headed deeper into the Everfree forest. He wouldn't, no, he COULDN'T go home looking like this. He found a hollow stump, dashed under it and started to cry.

3 hours later…

Dazer had just stopped crying and noticed something in the distance. Snuffles had a flashlight and was calling out his name. Behind him was his Mom and Dad, crying. He figured it was because Snuffles used his nose to find the spot where we were before and picked up the scent of his blood. The trail probably gave it away too. Dazer was hurt, and in terrible condition. He was covered in leaved and his mane was still messed up from the transformation, and didn't want to come out just now. But the flashlight shone on his hiding spot and Snuffles ran over.

"DAZER! Oh my Gawsh! Are ya alright? We were worried sick abou…" Snuffles stopped when he saw that something was deathly wrong with his friend. Besides the bleeding mouth, he also caught a glimpse of his sharp teeth gleaming from the flash light. Also reflecting from the light were his new scales. But the most noticeable difference were his eyes. Emerald green and reptilian with a slit for a pupil rather than normal pony eyes. Snuffles teared up, and ran off in the other direction. Dazer leapt out of his hiding place in an attempt to convince his friend that it was really him.

"WAIT DON'T GOOOOHHHH!" He shouted. The pain from his mouth made his words sound more like a roar than a plea, and a jet of blue flame shot from his mouth , healing his injury to his mouth by clotting the blood, but scaring the daylights of not only Snuffles, but his own weeping parents as well.

"That isn't our son anymore, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" His father screamed. He bolted off in the direction of Ponyville and Snuffles and his mother followed closely behind. Dazer just landed on the ground and stood there…He just roared and belched out blue fire, and his family no longer recognized him as their son. He was still the same pony on the inside, just…cursed…

"What am I now…?" He quietly said to himself. His mouth was sore, but he could at least talk now that the blood had clotted. He hung his head low and then used his new claws to strike out at a tree. The tree was cut deeply by his claws and he punched another. His hard scaled prevented his hand from getting injured and put a dent in the other tree. He was starting to feel the extent of his power, and was starting to like it. "What else can I do?" He said to himself.

He approached a tree and jumped on it. Then, he used his claws to scale his way to the top quickly. Then at the top, he saw another branch and lashed out his tounge to wrap around it. It did exactly what he wanted it to do and he swung across it Tarzan style. His claws dug into the trunk of another branch and he scaled that tree too. This power was incredible, but at a terrible cost. Who would be his friend? Could anyone possibly want to be friends with such a vile looking creature? He didn't want to think about that right now. This was his new life. Here, in the Everfree forest. His favorite playground, now his permanent home. He was on his own now, and had to survive. He learned how to avoid the dangerous creatures of the Everfree forest like the Hydra and the Giant Forest Ape. He could take on a Forest Ape by hand to claw combat and fire alone, but he was no match for the Hydra. He could fly away though, and he learned how to be a fast and agile flyer. Ponies hiking in the Everfree forest were his biggest threat, however, as he did not want to be discovered by anypony. He learned to hide in plain sight and use the treetops to his advantage. If he was seen, all the ponies did was scream and even attack him. He never fought back, because he understood how terrifying he was, but it hurt more than his outside, it hurt his inside much MUCH more. He grew to resent the ponies, and everything around him that attacked him. He resented the dragons, the Forest Apes, the Hyrda, the Everfree forest, and especially himself. He changed his name to what other ponies called him when they saw him fly away. A "Black Daze." He never experienced love, joy, or fulfillment since his transformation, only satisfaction from satisfying his personal needs. The curse and the Everfree forest had shaped him into what he is today, a cynical, dangerous, and uncaring dragon pony hybrid. The only things that remained of his old form was his kindness and lust for knowledge. Both of which were dormant for the time being, for now he only knew survival. And that's the way it has been for 8 long years.

Present Day…

Black Daze was having an okay day so far, food was plentiful, water was fresh, and he hadn't been attacked so far. He had been getting better at hiding himself and sightings of him in the forest had been getting less and less frequent. There were no hikers today, which had been unusual. He looked from the canopy and saw that there was a huge pink explosion coming from Canterlot. He stared at it for a few seconds before he saw thousands of tiny black dots start to draw closer and hit the forest like tons of little black meteors. Fine by him, as long as none of them hit him. He crawled down and casually walked away as the black meteors were hitting around him.

The black meteors got up, they were insectoid ponies with evil looking eyes and insect wings. They had pitch black bodies and a fang in their mouth. Suddenly, one attacked him by leaping on his back.

…That does it…

Black Daze extended his powerful wings, making the small black creature fly off his back. He easily towered over them, but did not have strength in numbers like they did. More of the black ponies surrounded him and pounced him. Black Daze extended both wings again and they flew off his back. Then, he flew in the air and saw that the last of the black meteors stopped falling. Then hundreds of them flew up simultaneously and converged on him. It was time to get serious here. Black Daze reared his head back and let out an incredible roar that shook the very air itself. Some of the back ponies flew out of fear. The others shook it off and converged again. Black daze then shot fourth a mighty plume of blue fire and scorched all the black ponies within 30 meters of him. Then it was hoof to claw combat for the rest of them…Seething with rage, Black Daze unleashed a volley of kicks and punches and wing attacks at his incessant attackers. He probably took out about 50 or so until a loud distorted female voice interrupted their scrap.

"STOP THIS MADNESS AT ONCE!" The voice bellowed.

The remaining attackers froze as did Daze. Rising from the forest floor was an insectoid mare that was easily a few inches taller than Black Daze, had hooves with what looked like holes going through them, a crooked unicorn horn, bug like wings, and a long flowing mane. She had a sharp pair of fangs and dark green eyes with elongated oval pupils. She also had a teal mane and tail, a blue-green insect-like body plating over her midsection, and she wore a small, black crown tipped with blue orbs in her mane. She approached Black Daze and studied him. Floating around him. Analyzing him. Fascinated by him. "Interesting.." She said. Then she then asked him, "What are you, exactly."

Black Daze responded in an irate tone of voice. "That's none of your business who I am, I was attacked out of nowhere by these…things…and they answer to you, so you must be their leader or something. What gives!"

The insectoid mare responded. "How DARE you respond that way to Queen Chrysalis! I will eradicate you with my magic!" Her twisted horn began to glow and she fired a green beam of power from it.

Black Daze was not amused by this "Queen Chrysalis" Referring herself in such high regard and was not about to be eradicated by some froo froo magic. He inhaled deeply and blasted fourth a rage fueled jet of blue fire that collided with Chrysalis's beam of magic. Because of her recent weakening from the blast, she was quickly overcome and was blasted to the ground. Her 'minions' were shocked by this and flew away. Queen Chrysalis soon flew back up with an injured wing then crashed back down. Black Daze saw she didn't get back up for a few minutes and flew down to see what was wrong.

On the forest floor, Chrysalis was sobbing softly. Black Daze saw this and got a look of concern on his face. Although he wasn't the same colt 8 years ago, he still had that compassion in his heart and went over to comfort the sobbing queen.

"Hey hey now, don't cry, it's just a singed wing is all, it'll heal in a few weeks. Here, you can stay with me as long as your small minions don't attack me. Is that a deal?" Black Daze could not BELIEVE what he was saying, but something inside him felt deeply sorry for her and wanted to help her out, even if they got off on the wrong foot.

The Queen raised her head to reveal her swollen green eyes. "I-it's not just that, it's…EVERYTHING!" she sobbed.

"Everything? You only lost a little battle. I normally win those, I'm part dragon, for Celestia's sake. Plus, I'm really sorry for burning your wing…" Black Daze said in an attempt to comfort her.

"You don't u-understand!" Queen Chrysalis said to Black Daze. "In that explosion, I lost everything. I lost my power, my life, and my dignity. And losing to you made me lose my minions as well…" Then she gently nuzzled Daze's forleg, surprising him a bit. "But It's very sweet of you to offer me a place to stay and heal, I think that is just what I need right now. Show me to this abode of yours."

Black Daze reluctantly walked off to the direction of his house, not sure why he was doing this to a stranger. Sure, she attacked him, but she was also helpless, injured, and probably hungry. He would have to teach her in the ways of survival in the Everfree forest. And he would need to make her a bed since the only bed he had was a pile of leaves arranged in a mattress pattern and a woven blanket he got from some careless campers once. He wanted to know more about her though…something about her was…fascinating and it awoke his long dormant hunger for knowledge.

"So tell me, what are you exactly." Black Daze asked.

"I am Chrysalis, 'former' queen of the Changlings. We feed off other's love by changing into who onepony desires the most for our own power. Recently, I had a love feast that made me more powerful than Celestia herself, but that stallion I fed off of reunited with his actual true love and caused that explosion you saw." The 'former' Changling queen stated.

"I see, so is that why your minions were fighting me? To 'feed' off of my love? I don't really love fighting though." Black Daze asked.

"Here's the thing that fascinated me though." Chrysalis continued. "When I met you, I couldn't find any trace of love inside you. So apparently you don't really love anything. How is that so?"

Black Daze chuckled with detectable cynicism in its tone. "I don't huh? Not surprising, let me tell you why." He then recounted the tale of his past life as Dazer and how he was cursed by the dragon Daravoc. He told of how his family abandoned him and how painful his transformation was with his mouth bleeding and everything. Queen Chrysalis's face began to look very depressed as he told his sad story. Was that a tear he saw streaming down her cheek? Who knows? He didn't pay much attention. Just then, they reached his shelter. It had a woven leaf roof with a tree stump and a sturdy, short tree beside it. There was a fireplace with no fire going, cans littered on the floor (mainly canned goods from even MORE careless campers) and there was his bed in the corner. It wasn't much, but Daze called it home.

"Here we are, make yourself comfortable." He said to her.

"I think I will." Chrysalis said winking at him. Strange, they had become pretty fast friends after getting off to a bad start. Wait…were they FRIENDS! He needed to find out.

"Chrysalis, are we friends?" he asked curiously.

"Dazer, you've given me a place to recover after a terrible day. You've shown me kindness when I deserved none. Of course we're friends. In fact, we're best friends. Nopony has ever shown me that amount of kindness before."

"It's Black Daze now. And don't mention it." He said with a warm smile but on the inside he was going crazy with emotion.

Wow, she considers me her friend! Her BEST FRIEND! After all these years, finally someone doesn't brush me off as just a monster. I've never felt this feeling before, so I can't really explain it any other way than…I'm really really content right now. He thought to himself. But what he was feeling was joy, and it was thanks to the kindness hidden within his heart that brought it about. Daze thought about her and wondered if she was hungry.

"Are you hungry by any chance, my guest?" Daze asked Chrysalis.

"Oh such a gentlecolt you are." She responded. "Yes, I am. But what is there to eat in this forest?"

“Hmmm…” Black Daze was thinking. Being part dragon, he ate small woodland creatures and certain types of vegetation. He was sure that Chrysalis was vegetarian though, being insectoid and Equine. He thought of something that Chrysalis might enjoy.

"I like these" Black Daze said as he tore off a vine from the tree by his stump and gave it to her. Chrysalis took the curious vine and tasted it. It was sweet, and it was satisfying too. She devoured the entire vine and smiled at Black Daze.

"That was quite satisfying, thank you, Black Daze." She cooed.

Black Daze was never this nice to any traveler in the Everfree forest before. Then again, she wasn’t exactly a traveler. She was more of a…forced denizen; much like himself. After making small talk for the Changeling Queen for a while, she started to yawn.

"Getting a little tired there?" Black Daze said while grabbing his blanket.

"Indeed, it has been a long day and I could use some rest so that my wing can heal." Chrysalis responded.

Daze wrapped his blanket around her and brought her to his bed. "You can sleep in my bed, I'll be asleep on the tree outside alright?"

Chrysalis blushed and said to him "Oh no I couldn't possibly sleep in your bed… that would be too much."

"I insist. You need to rest properly. I'll be fine, I promise." Daze said to the tired 'former' Queen.

"Well if you insist then I guess I shall do it then, pleasant dreams, Black Daze." Chrysalis said.

"Pleasant dreams, Chrysalis." Black Daze responded and tucked her in. It wasn't long before he heard faint snoring coming from his bed. She really was tired. Black Daze climbed up to the tree and lied down on it. He could not believe what he just did. He took a complete stranger in and gave her food, a bed, and company. This was not like him. What was happening to him? He just couldn't explain it, but he was tired, and didn't want to think about it for too long, it was unwise to dwell on thoughts that you would afraid would bring out unpleasant truths.

Perhaps tomorrow would bring an answer…

…36 minutes later…

In the distance, a growl could be heard. Black Daze recognized it, but couldn't believe it. He immediately got off the tree and prepared himself for combat. He would now have to protect Chrysalis against…A King Forest Ape…Twice as big as a Giant Forest Ape, twice as strong as one, twice as mean as one, and twice as hard to kill. He was ready though, if any creature, big or small, were to threaten his new friend….

…Then they deserve no mercy...

New Friends, New Enemies

A Change in Heart

This and next 7 chapters By: Jexxazrez

Everything after that By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

As Black Daze waited for the King Forest Ape to show itself…he thought about Chrysalis. He thought about how she was unaware that at this very moment, she's in terrible danger. Of course, with a guardian like Black Daze, she was in considerably less danger. He knew his combat skills were enough to take down most of the creatures here. Although, his last encounter with a King Forest Ape didn't go so well. He won, yes. But he suffered multiple broken bones and got a terrible laceration on his back that took weeks to heal. He learned to avoid those teeth and to never smell their breath. It could make the Hydra cough. Daze took a deep breath and placed his claws on the ground in attack stance, ready to act at the first sign of danger.

It wasn't long before a big hairy ape about 15 feet tall showed itself from the dense forest. It had a huge mouth that could very well swallow him whole, a row of red stained, jagged teeth, huge powerful arms, and four white soulless eyes. It was a terrifying sight to behold, and the fact that he had somepony to protect didn't ease his stress either. But as the Ape charged, Daze felt something…deep inside him….unlock somehow. It filled him with some kind of energy that he couldn't explain, but he liked the feel. It made him feel incredibly strong and ready to tackle this beast...for her. For Chrysalis. This wasn't about his survival, but about her safety as well. He leaped forward and with all his might tackled the beast to the floor head on. He didn't feel injured due to this new energy surging through his body. The Ape then grabbed him and threw him head first into a tree. With a loud *CRACK* coming from Daze, he slumped to the ground…and knew something was terribly wrong. He lost the newfound energy and blood was coming from his head. Just then, he remembered Chrysalis, and how if he didn't protect her, he might very well lose his only friend. And with that, he let out a roar of power, and sprang up. Again he charged the ape. But rather than tackle him, he used his supernatural dragon speed to dash past him, dragging his claws into the Ape's side as he did. The Ape howled in pain and threw a punch at Daze, but Daze dodged it this time and countered with an uppercut to the chin. The Ape flew up a few feet before hitting the ground with a loud *THUD!* The Ape quickly got up and grabbed Daze. It then proceeded to slam him against a tree, repeatedly. As strong as Black Daze was, he could feel his pain increasing and his consciousness decreasing. If he didn't get help soon, he was going to die. And yet, at least he would die protecting her, as that was how he would've liked to go.

Now, any normal pony who was asleep before would be awakened by the battle taking place outside. Chrysalis was no exception. She quickly sprang out of bed at the sound of thumping outside the shelter. She got out and saw her friend being beaten to death by a giant ape. She was horrified to say the least, but also, more than anything else, she was enraged, nothing, big or small, was going to take him away from her. Not tonight, not ever.

Chrysalis was filled with the same energy that Daze was filled with a while ago. She knew what it was, but couldn't accept it internally. She just had to use it now. Her horn glowed green and she fired a strong beam of magic at the Ape assaulting her guardian. The ape instantly vaporized and Daze collapsed to the floor, unconscious. He had no idea Chrysalis saved him, he was too busy dying to realize it. With the same energy, Chrysalis cast a healing spell on Daze's head and wrapped him in a blanket. Without this energy, she couldn't normally cast these kinds of spells, but she knew, that what was causing her power, was the very love she fed off of. She didn't know if it came from him or her. If it came from her, did that mean she never needed to feed all along? She didn't want to think about that though, she had a patient to take care of. She used her magic to repair the bones the ape had broken and held him in her arms. Why? Because it made her feel better. Holding him was somehow comforting.

After holding his unconscious body in her arms for a while, she leaned in and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Sleep well, my friend…" She said to the exhausted hybrid. And she fell asleep next to him.

The Next Day…

Black Daze woke up with a splitting headache, not surprising, as he remembered the fight last night. Wait…Did he win? He didn't remember anything after the Ape knocked him out. Perhaps he roasted him with fire? No, there'd be burned leaves and evidence of fire everywhere. But what he did see as he woke up were two shiny green eyes staring at him with a smile. It was Chrysalis. She was holding him in a gentle embrace and spoke to him in a soft, gentle voice.

"Good morning Daze, did you sleep well?" She said to him in a soothing way. Daze found himself smiling as he got himself up and shook the cobwebs from his head.

"I'm fine." He said plainly. Although he was pleased by his awakening, he was still a colt of few words.

"Good. Did you have a good time sleeping outside the bed?" She asked, wondering about his reaction.

"I uhh…" Daze stammered, he didn't know what to say to that. He put on his 'bad poker face' as he tried to make up something to tell her. "I had a dream about you last night, so yeah!" He lied, then mentally slapped himself. Really Daze, that was the best you could come up with? That's downright cheesy! And above all stupid.

Chrysalis seemed amused as she responded. "Ahaha, aww you're sweet, but I knew about your little 'encounter' with that giant ape. It was going to kill you had I not stepped in and saved your life. But you don't remember that, because you were unconscious."

Black Daze face-hoofed. "That makes a lot more sense, doesn't it…" He said in defeat. Chrysalis only giggled at his humor.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad, your pride was the only thing harmed in this case." She said, winking at Daze.

Black Daze sighed and nodded. Today, they needed to go on a trek in the forest while staying out of sight so Daze could teach Chrysalis about surviving in the forest. He needed to show Chrysalis what plants and animals were edible, how to catch them, and also, how to hide from travelers. But first, He needed a bath.

"We're gonna start lesson 1 of 'Surviving Everfree Forest,' but first I need a bath, you should follow me so you know where it is." He stated plainly.

"Alright, I suppose I'm rather dirty myself." Chrysalis said with a furrowed brow. "Lead the way."

Black Daze headed off to the right, Chrysalis following behind. There was a clearing up ahead that led to a weak current stream with clear water running through it. Black Daze was very hygienic in the sense that he bathed often and kept his pearly whites shiny and well…sharpened…but his Idea of a bath was strange. He wasn't as thorough as a normal pony was, who would brush their mane, get all the dirt out there coat…things like that. Daze just dove in the water and rolled around in it until he felt clean and rose out of the water and shook himself dry much like a dog would. Chrysalis found it a bit odd, but if it worked for him, it worked for him. She was much more thorough when bathing, and so she walked over to the stream and dunked her mane in it, scrubbing her mane with her hooves as she did. Daze had never seen anypony bathe like that before and was fascinated. He also hadn't seen a mare bathe before either and so, he was also curious how different they were from boys in that sense.

"So, is that how a LADY bathes?" He said sarcastically.

"Oh hush you." She said to him, mildly amused by his attitude. "Now go, I must bathe in solitude."

"Why?" Daze asked. Chrysalis only sighed and remembered that he had probably never learned about manners and the opposite sex much.

"Because when I bathe I expose my…" Then she blushed a deep red. "More…private areas…" The shade of red deepened.

This time Black Daze blushed. He may have little clue when it came to ladies, but he knew EXACTLY what she was talking about. However, he continued to tease her.

"Why don't you MAKE me, queenie?" He said with a humorous tone and a wink.

As cute as that was, Chrysalis had to get him to leave. "Alright, challenge accepted." She said. She then used her magic to grab him and threw him away a few feet. Then she called out to him.

"I will meet you back at the shelter in 15 minutes, Dazey darling." She said in a way a woman might talk to her pet dog. Then she started to bathe. Properly.

Over behind some bushes, a certain hybrid pony was not as content. "Call ME 'Dazey darling' will she? I'll show her, I'll get back at her sometime." He grumbled under his breath. He didn't want to interrupt her now though, as imperfect as he was, he at least had the decency to give a woman her privacy. He walked back to the shelter and dusted the leaves off of him. Then he thought of exactly what else Ponies err…Changlings like her eat. They ate vegetation it seems, but what else? Chrysalis mentioned that they fed off of love, but was it like a food source? He didn't know. Now he had to figure out what to do in 15 minutes. A walk sounded good. He took off at a proud gait towards a more dense part of the forest.

The forest was very quiet today. That was strange to Black Daze, since normally there would be many bug calls, bird chirps, perhaps even a bumbling forest ape looking for food. But there was almost no sound. That is, except for some light clopping in the distance. Daze took to the shadows and went to investigate…

He wasn't surprised when it turned out to just be a few ponies wandering through the forest. There was an orange Earth pony with blonde hair, a cyan Pegasus with rainbow hair, a white Unicorn with deep blue hair, and at the front of the line was a purple Unicorn with dark purple hair and a pink stripe going along the middle. He didn't think much of them though. He had never seen them before and so did not know their significance. Suddenly the white Unicorn spoke up, and Daze leaned in to listen…

"Twilight darling, why must we look for Queen Chrysalis again? She looked pretty defeated after your brother and his wife sent her and her minions flying." The white Unicorn said with an English accent that sounded…fasionista-ish? That was all he could think of. The purple mare responded to her friend.

"I told you earlier Rarity, Canterlot is not completely safe until she's taken care of for good.Now make yourself useful and use the heat detection spell I taught you."

"I dunno, Twilight." The Orange pony said in a southern accent, "This place is awful…spooky…"

"Oh don't get your mane tied in a knot, Applejack." The cyan Pegasus replied to her country friend. "No matter what we encounter here, we can take 'em. You're the strongest bucker in Equestria and I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria, right?"

The pony known as Applejack gave the Pegasus an unsure look. "Well, I dunno about all of Equestria, Rainbow Dash. But you're right. We are pretty fast and pretty strong I reckon."

"And that is why I brought you two along." Twlight interrupted their conversation. "Now quiet, Rarity needs to concentrate to detect all the creatures within 50 feet of us."

Black Daze froze, he was definitely within 50 feet of them. What could he do? They were gonna detect him but…could they see him? He knew he was much faster and more agile than the average pony. He'd just have to lead them somewhere away from Chrysalis. He didn't know WHAT they'd do to her, but it didn't sound good. He was NOT going to let that happen.

"I...I've found somepony girls! At least I think it's a pony…" Rarity said to her friends.

That was his cue. Black Daze took off towards Ponyville as fast as he could. He was used to the Everfree forest, and so he was able to maneuver through the trees quickly and efficiently. He heard the voice of Rainbow Dash behind him shouting "AFTER IT!" But he chuckled to himself. Let them try and catch him. Let them try and fail. He wasn't about to give up easily, even after he heard Rainbow Dash gaining up on him.

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" The cyan Pegasus shouted as she almost tackled what she saw as just a "black daze."

Black Daze realized that If he didn't act fast, he was going to actually be caught. He underestimated this pony's speed and determination. He would have to hone his skills later; this was an embarrassment to himself. But he did what he did best. He simply swung around a tree then blended in the shadows. Rainbow Dash perceived him as changing direction and dashed off in the direction he turned. As Daze watched her from the shadows, he snickered to himself a bit. These ponies aren't that hard to trick…He thought. Just then he remembered. Chrysalis was probably done by now and was in danger of being discovered by those strange mares. He sprinted in the direction of his shelter, but not before crashing headfirst into the orange pony he saw earlier. Because he was heavier though, it was Applejack who flew back and hit her head against the tree.

"OWW! What in tarnation!" Applejack exclaimed. She hadn't known anything to be able to knock her down like that before. She looked up and saw Black Daze preparing to take off in a hurry. She wasn't about to let him take off that easily though, even if he looked a bit…different.

"And just where do ya think YER going ya no good varmint?" Applejack scolded as she stepped on Daze's tail, preventing him from taking off. This really annoyed Daze, as he had no time to answer questions or fight. So he used his usual tactic in dealing with particularly stubborn ponies.

Using his forearms, Daze placed his claws on Applejacks shoulders and pinned her down. Then, he gave her the most fearsome roar he could muster at the moment. It shook the air around them and the once quiet forest was now alive with the sound of scattering birds and chattering bugs. Applejack's expression just went from angry to downright terrified.

"What…What are you!" She managed to squeak before Daze got off her and roared again, this time, his long tounge came out to add to the monstrous effect.

"M-M-MONSTER!" Applejack shrieked before running off as fast as her hooves could carry her. It only took Black Daze a second before he realized what a foolish decision he just made. Not only did he give these mares a savage first impression of him, but surely, they'd go after him too after that little stunt he pulled. But that wasn't his biggest concern right now. He had to go see if Chrysalis was okay. He sprang up using his leg muscles and flew back to the shelter.

Over at the shelter, Chrysalis was thoroughly dried off and very relaxed. She was sitting by the empty fireplace, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Everfree forest. There were green vines strewn about the trees and the ground, and butterflies were in the air. It was a wonderful sight; little did she know that the butterflies were stirred up from Daze's previous stunt. It wasn't long before she saw his silhouette in the sunlight making its way to her. It was then she realized something. Despite his fearsome reptilian appearance, he was rather cute…really cute in fact. She thought about him and how he earlier wanted to stick around and watch her bathe whether out of curiosity or… other factors. Unbeknownst to him, when he questioned why he had to leave, she actually considered letting him stay. But that would most likely lead to some complications in their fast growing friendship, and she did not want that to happen, at least not yet. Just then, Daze landed beside Chrysalis and spoke to her in a grave tone of voice.

"We…have a problem." He said before falling to the ground from exhaustion to catch his breath. What problem was he talking about? She wondered.

"What kind of…problem?" Chrysalis asked, wondering if it involved their friendship. Daze then answered her.

"Four….Mares…wanted…to….get rid of….you…" He panted.

"Four mares? What are you…Did one of them have a purple mane with a pink stripe?" Chrysalis asked. Daze only nodded.

Chrysalis sat down and hung her head low. After defeating her once, they continued to persist, this time with the goal of…getting rid of her. What was wrong with them? It's not like she caused them any more harm. She didn't even have the power to now. If they found her, she was done for.

"Oh my… That is a problem. What shall we do?" Chrysalis asked, considerably worried.

"We must hide deeper in the Everfree forest. They must never find us. But if they do, don't worry, I'll protect you."

Daze reassured her.

Chrysalis blushed a bit at his guardian like gesture. It was sweet of him to want to protect her. As much as she wanted to settle down some more, it was time to pack up and head out. The only think Daze took with them was the blanket. Mainly because it was the most comfortable item he had and did not like the idea of a woven leaf blanket. They're itchy and uncomfortable.

The packed their things and headed deeper in the Everfree forest. Black Daze knew what place he had in mind, it was safe, and it was secluded, but it would it stop the mares after her?

Back at a familiar dirt trail, two Unicorn mares were not having much luck with finding Chrysalis OR the thing they sent Rainbow Dash and Applejack after earlier. They pretty much gave up, but got their hopes up when they saw a familiar cyan Pegasus flying to their location. Their hopes were dashed when they saw she came back empty hoofed and had a sad expression on her face.

"I take it you didn't catch it?" Twilight asked her friend.

"It was too fast, it turned a corner and I lost it." Rainbow Dash said with disappointment.

"Oh, that's too bad, deary. Better luck next time I suppose…" Rarity said. Just then, an orange pony came running through the trees and called out to her friends.

"EVERYPONY! I saw what we're dealing with here! And it ain't no Queen of the changelings. Heck, it ain't EVEN a changeling." Applejack said in an exhausted tone.

"You SAW it! Well, what is it?" Rainbow Dash asked, clearly surprised that Applejack was fast enough to catch a glimpse. "All I saw was a black daze going through from tree to tree in a way I could barely keep up with."

"Calm down, Rainbow, I'll tell ya what I saw." Applejack snapped. "From what I saw, it was definitely worsethan a changeling. What we're dealing with here is a monster. A ferocious and big monster."

The other mares got a look of grave worry on their face. "H-how big and f-ferocious?" Rarity asked.

Applejack responded. "Well he was easily taller than me, and almost as tall as Celestia herself." She paused and then spoke again. "As fer the ferocious part, I tried to stop 'im but he pinned me to the ground and let out a roar that would make even the dead faint."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a Manticore?" Twilight asked. "It sort of fits the description, only Manticores are larger and aren't black."

"I'm sure it wasn't, Twi. It sort of looked like a pony, but it had these dragon wings and these black, scaly arms. He also had these large creepy reptilian eyes! If it was a Manticore than it was unlike any I'd ever seen." Applejack explained to them. All the mares were thoroughly freaked out right now and were convinced that they had to do something about that monster. Twilight was the first to speak.

"Well, if that monster is on the loose, and it's part pony, then nopony is safe." Twilight Sparkle said solemnly. As irrational as It sounded though, she had a small point. Manticores were not ever known to enter cities and only attack if provoked, Forest Apes were uncommon and had no interest in entering a city, Cockatrices weren't fond of cities either, and only went as far from the Everfree forest as the very far outskirts of town. And the Hydra preferred it's home at Froggy Bottom Bog anyway. But Black Daze wasn't a documented species, and so there's no telling what destruction he might too. It was smarter to take him down than leave him. Better safe than sorry right?

Twilight's friends saw the logic in her reasoning and Applejack spoke up. "As logical as that is, the fact that it pinned me down and scared me makes this hunt a personal matter."

Rainbow Dash spoke next. "Yeah, and the fact that he tricked and outflew me makes it a personal matter for me!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash bumped hoofs.

Rarity wasn't fond of fighting. It would get dirt in her hair and she still didn't feel clean after the fight with the changelings yesterday. But if it meant for the safety of Everypony, she was ready to do it. "I promise to help in any way possible. But can we avoid fighting it? I mean, it hasn't done much more than scare you right?"

Rainbow Dash lowered her eyelids. "You don't HAVE to fight it, but you bet we will."

"Fair enough." Rarity responded.

"Come on Everypony, let's go home and prepare for tonight. We'll all meet here at 8pm. Got it?" Twilight proclaimed.

"RIGHT!" They all said in unison.

The four mares went off to prepare for the great monster hunt tonight. However, unbeknownst to them, a certain 'monster' and his only friend were listening not too far from their location. Black Daze could not believe what he was hearing. He only meant to scare Applejack off, not instill a grudge. And the rainbow Pegasus was taking being tricked way to seriously. He was used to hiding in the shadows, and she shouldn't be treating it as if he socked her in the face. But what angered him the most was Twilight's reason for hunting him down. He didn't have any plans at ALL for attacking the city. But if there were such bitter ponies living there, he was reconsidering…At least the white Unicorn had the decency to defend him. Chrysalis wasn't taking the news any better. First they threaten to eliminate her, and now her only friend? This just got personal.

"What say I give them the surprise of their life when they come back for me tonight?" Daze asked in a devious tone.

"Sounds like a wonderful plan, Dazey." Chrysalis responded.

Daze let out a growl. "Don't call me that! Lest you want the OTHER wing singed."

"Oh stop, we both know you'd not do such a thing to me, would you?" Chrysalis replied with a giggle.

"Push me and find out." Daze snarled.

Chrysalis just smiled and rolled her eyes. "Hmmm, maybe later. Let's keep going." She sighed.

Over in the depths of the Everfree Forest, a small trailer was parked. It was orange and yellow, pretty plain other than that. It was worn with age as well as weather. Inside it was another outcast. One who, like Chrysalis, was connected to Twilight Sparkle somehow. She was light blue and wore a magician's hat and cape. She went by her stage name, the Great and Powerful Trixie. Although for typing's sake, we'll just call her Trixie. (She doesn't have to know…)

Not too far off, the Chrysalis and Black Daze two-some noticed this trailer and decided to investigate. Who would be living there, so far from everypony else? "I've never seen THIS particular trailer before…" Black Daze said to himself. "Wait here, Chrissy, I'm going to go investigate."

"What did you just call me!" Chrysalis stomped her hoof.

"If you're gonna call me Dazey, I think it's only fair that I call you Chrissy in return." Daze said with a smirk.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes in mild annoyance. "Fair enough Dazey, now go investigate."

"Alright, I will." Daze responded with a grunt.

He approached the trailer and knocked on the door. Normally a pony would tap it with his/her hoof, but having strong forearms and tough claws made his knocking sound more like a *BANG BANG BANG!* And thus, startled Trixie a great deal. She quickly made her way over to her door and swung open, only to come face to face with the Dragon pony hybrid known as Black Daze. Both were shocked by what they saw. She didn't expect to see a scary looking dragon pony at her door, and Daze didn't expect to see a weird little magician pony living in a trailer in the Everfree forest. There was a quick silence, then Trixie's eyes got wide with fear and she began shaking. She didn't know what to do, but what she ended up doing was probably the worst Idea in this case.

"VILE CREATURE!" She shrieked, slamming the door in Daze's face. Oooh, Daze did NOT like this pony already.

He cracked his scaled knuckles. "Call ME a 'vile creature' will she? I'll make her swallow her own cape!" He growled, getting ready to punch down the door. Just then Chrysalis's voice called out.

"NO Daze, just let it go. She was surprised is all. We'll try again later!"

"After calling me a vile creature, like hell we will!"

"BLACK DAZE!"

"Alright fine, later it is then."

"That's a good Dazey. We will set up a camp over there." Chrysalis proclaimed, pointing to a clearing in the distance.

"Fine by me." Daze said indifferently. He really didn't care, he could sleep anywhere. As long as she was happy, he was…which sounded REALLY corny when he thought about it.

After setting up a small camp, Chrysalis laid down to take a nap. Daze went to look for food. For a minute, he thought about that Magician mare. She might make a good meal. He quickly discarded the Idea. He'd never eaten pony before surprisingly. Daze was many things, but he wasn't a cannibal. What he really wanted to do though was give her a good buck to the jaw. Seriously, anypony who refers to him as a monster or vile creature is pretty much dead to him. Then he remembered Chrysalis and how she wanted him to try again later. He supposed he could give her one more chance…one more.

Preparations

A Change in Heart

This and the next 6 chapters by: Jexxazrez

Everything after that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Meanwhile in Ponyville…

In the middle of town, there stood a tree; a large tree. It wasn't just any tree though, it was the town library. Twilight Sparkle lived in it along with her number one assistant, Spike. Spike was a baby dragon with purple scales and green spines along his back. He was very short and only came up to Twilight's belly in height. He was listening to her tell him her plans for tonight…

"You're going MONSTER HUNTING! That's awesome! Can I come too?" Spike pleaded.

No Spike, It's too dangerous for a baby dragon like you to go. What we're dealing with here is almost as tall as Celestia, has razor sharp claws, and is able to move very…very fast." Twilight answered.

"Aw, that's too bad I gue…wait, razor sharp claws? Does this monster relate to a dragon in any case?" Spike questioned.

"Spike, there's a lot of creatures out there with claws." Twilight said plainly.

"Just answer my question, Twilight. Is it or is it not related to a dragon?" Spike persisted.

Twilight sighed and spoke. "…For your information, yes. As far as we know, it's part dragon, part pony; and very deadly."

"How do you know it's deadly?" Spike asked.

"It almost killed Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed.

Spike's face went blank. Normally he wouldn't support a mission that involved beating up a dragon, but if it almost killed Applejack, he didn't mind in that case.

"Oh alright, I guess that's a good reason. Good luck, Twilight." Spike said.

"Thanks Spike, I'll go check on the others." Twilight said before walking out the door, leaving Spike all alone in the house minus Owloysius. Spike just sighed and sat on the couch, hoping they'd be alright since he knew firsthand a dragon's savagery.

Meanwhile at an apple orchard called Sweet Apple Acres, a certain orange pony with a blonde mane was preparing for the great monster hunt that night. She packed lots of food in case they got hungry on the hunt as well as some fragrant apple treats purely for the purpose of luring the beast out. She had just finished practicing with her lasso, which she also packed, when a small yellow filly with red hair and a pink bow in her mane ran up to talk to her.

"Howdy Applejack, whatcha doin'?" The filly said in a sweet innocent voice. She didn't look a day over 7 years old.

Applejack threw her bag over her back and answered her. "Howdy Applebloom, I'm getting ready for the monster hunt that's goin' on tonight."

"Monster hunt? WOW! Sounds fun! Can I come?" Applebloom exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down."

"Wooaaah no! This monster WE'RE fighting is part dragon, part pony. It's big and has sharp teeth and can wake the dead with its roar. It's too dangerous fer a filly like you. Just be sure to look after the farm while I'm gone since Big Mac is working the apple stands all day and Granny Smith's taking a nap." Applejack said to her sister.

"Um…alright, I will big sis!" Applebloom said with perhaps a hint of realization.

"Good. Now A'm gonna go see how Rarity's faring. Seeya later!" Applejack said to her younger sister.

"Bye Applejack, good luck monster huntin'!" Applebloom called out. And with that Applejack high-tailed over to Sugar Cube Corner to meet the others.

Now Rarity wasn't planning to fight at all. She didn't hate this monster necessarily and hated to fight anyway. However, she was going to pack some gems, just in case they needed dragon bait. She supposed she might step in with some magic if needed though, since this dragon/pony monster did seem like a real threat. Just as she was finished packing, a small unicorn filly entered the room.

"Hey Rarity! Where are you going tonight? Anywhere fun?" The unicorn filly asked.

"Oh nowhere special, Sweetie Belle, just going on a monster hunt with some friends is all." Rarity said casually, hoping Sweetie Belle would take it as a joke.

"Sounds interesting…can I come…PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASEE!" Sweetie Belle pleaded. Sweetie Belle was incredibly bored and hoped to do something fun tonight.

Rarity just sighed. "You have a lot of nerve to want to go on a hunt for a big, scary, fire-breathing, teeth gnashing, blood spilling monster, don't you?" Rarity replied in hopes to scare her sister. In truth, she wasn't sure he couldbreathe fire. She assumed he could. However, Sweetie Belle wasn't deterred yet again.

"Spike's a dragon and he isn't ferocious!" The unicorn filly replied.

"Err umm…But Sweetie Belle; I need someone to watch Opal while I'm gone. Can you be a dear and do that for me?" Rarity asked ever so nicely.

"Oh…alright." Sweetie Belle said disappointingly. She really wanted to go somewhere fun. But someone needed to take care of Opal. So she just hung her head down. Rarity felt bad, but it wasn't a place for her sister to be hunting monsters. After saying their farewells, Rarity left to meet Twilight and the others. Sweetie belle trotted to a corner and sat there, watching Opal groom herself. She really wanted to go, even if it was dangerous…

Over on the other side of town, Rainbow Dash was readying for a fight with Black Daze. She had set up dummies made of wood and hay with tin buckets for the heads. She kicked one in the head, then hit another in the stomach, practiced some evasive maneuvers, and finished with flying up a good distance, then tackling it to the ground with great momentum. She was going so fast she actually broke the dummy. It was then that an orange filly with a purple mane rode up on a scooter next to Rainbow Dash.

"WOOOOW! That was sooooo cool Rainbow Dash! But…what are you practicing that for? I never thought of you as a pony street fighter…"

Rainbow Dash leaned against the broken pole that once held the dummy up and said, "I am not practicing for any street fighting, Scootaloo, I'm just getting ready to lay the smack-down on a monster that my friends and I are hunting for tonight."

Scootaloo got off her scooter and took a step towards Rainbow Dash and struck a fighting pose next to her. "Awesome! Are you gonna need any extra muscle to handle the big guy? What's the monster like?"

Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a playful noogie and said "Ahaha, I think we have more than enough muscle to take care of him. And it's too dangerous for a little filly like you anyway. As for what we're fighting, Applejack described it as half dragon and half pony. It can roar very loud and fly almost as fast as me." Rainbow Dash said, not mentioning Black Daze tricking her in order to save her pride.

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash with a disappointed look. "Sounds dangerous, I wish I could go…I would have it on its back in no time!" She bragged.

"I wish you could too, but even you don't stand a chance against it. Only I, the greatest flier in all of Equestria, can take it down. I'll tell you all about it when I get back." Rainbow Dash boasted.

Scootaloo got a fan-girl expression and jumped up and down. "Yeah you're right with you on the field that monster doesn't stand a chance! Go get 'im, Rainbow!" She shouted. But on the inside, she was saddened. She wanted to prove herself to Rainbow Dash and taking down a monster seemed like a great way to do it. But Rainbow Dash flew off to Sugarcube Corner, where her friends should be. They would need all the help they could get and Pinkie Pie would be a great addition to their team.

They walked in and were instantly greeted by a pink pony with a magenta mane. She bounced up and down and spoke in a rather high pitched voice.

"Good afternoon girls how are you I'm doing GREAT! Today was such a good day here at sugarcube corner!"

Twilight spoke first. "Umm…Hey Pinkie Pie, we just wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a monster hunt with us tonight. We need all the help we can get."

Rainbow Dash spoke up next and placed a hoof behind her head. "Y-yeah, we need someone to…bring the party! Will you go?"

"Ooookay!" Pinkie said with absolutely no argument or question. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Applejack spoke up.

"Alright, now let's go pay Fluttershy a visit." She said. And with that they all left.

Fluttershy was outside her cottage watering her flowers. She had a long, pink mane and a yellow coat. She didn't know why all her friends were approaching her cottage all the sudden, but she had no reason to fear them since she trusted them with all her heart. She gave them all a calm smile when they walked up to her. Then Rarity spoke to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy darling, there's a favor we need to ask of you, are you free tonight?" She asked.

Fluttershy spoke to them in a quiet soothing voice. "Oh um…I think I can spare a few hours after I finish watering my flowers. What do you need help with?"

It was then Twilight who spoke to Fluttershy. "Well you see… we are going on a monster hunt this evening and with your way with animals…" Twilight was cut-off by the slamming of Fluttershy's door.

"Aw come on Fluttershy don't do this again…We need you!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.

"No, I'm positive I'm not going to hunt for some big, scary monster!" Fluttershy squeaked from behind her door. "You are NOT dragging me into another thing like this."

Twilight attempted to convince her timid friend again. "But without your way with animals, this could turn out to be a huge failure!"

"Then don't go on the hunt, because I refuse to go!" Fluttershy said plainly.

Her friends were shocked to hear Fluttershy feel so strongly about something, but they could not do anything about it, only respect her wish and go without her. Twilight noticed Pinkie Pie was staring at some butterflies not too far off from where they were, obviously distracted. It was very fitting for her character to not pay attention to this whole thing, but that didn't matter, they had to leave now and so they trotted off in the sunset toward the Everfree forest. The Great Monster Hunt had begun!

Back in the Everfree Forest…

Black Daze had finished gathering food for the week. He had all kinds of fish, bugs, and plants that he knew were edible. Not all of them were necessarily delicious though. But when you're surviving in the forest for 8 years, taste becomes less and less of a priority for you. He walked by their new camp and saw Chrysalis napping. He noticed that she looked kinda cute just napping there, she looked very peaceful. How could anyone want to hurt her? Just thinking about it made him mad. He didn't have the feelings that Chrysalis harbored for him. Not yet at least…He didn't even know she had them yet. What stopped him from liking her back was his disinterest for romance. He never had a marefriend in his youth, and still thought girls were icky when he changed. Now that he was approximately 18, his attitude towards them had changed greatly, but he was very new to mares and so he didn't want to think about a relationship with her. He wasn't confident enough, he wasn't experienced enough, and he certainly didn't think he was attractive enough to win her over anyway. He brushed those thoughts out of his head and set the food down on a wooden plank he cut from a tree himself. He decided it was time to try to talk to that mare in the trailer again, but this time, he would try to lure her out so she wouldn't slam the door in his face like last time.

Black Daze spread his wings and took off towards the trailer, which wasn't too far off from where he was. He landed beside it and peeked in the window just to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything. What he saw was a sad sight to behold…a grimy sink with soap scum in it and a moldy sponge for washing dishes. A dusty floor with many dead bug carcasses strewn about it. A rusty kettle on a broken gas stove. A wall full of pictures of herself and a picture of a familiar mare, Twilight, with a big red "X" over her face. Daze figured that the two mares knew each other somehow. And by the yellow and stained wall where the wallpaper was peeling off, was a small bed with the blue mare looking sadly at the ground. The mare let out a sigh and shifted positions so that she was now laying on her back. Daze was appalled. Nopony should have to live in these conditions. Even the Everfree forest provided better shelter than that trailer. Most ponies would just knock on the door and wait for an answer, but not Black Daze, he decided to go a more unorthodox route since he was... Black Daze.

Daze scooped up some pebbles and walked up to the door and gave a quick knock before leaping up to the trees. There was a short pause before the door opened to reveal the mysterious mare who called out "Hello…anypony there…?"

That was his cue. Black Daze threw the pebbles off to the side and they landed in a pond nearby. Trixie, thinking that whoever rang the doorbell was trying to prank her by knocking, then running, ran over toward the source of the sound that the pebbles made. Black Daze then jumped down silently from the trees and went inside the trailer. The only place big enough for him to hide was inside her closet, which was barely big enough for his large frame. He crouched down low and waited for the mare to return.

Trixie was disappointed that the offender was nowhere to be seen, and since she was tired, she didn't want to chase after him/her anyway. She slowly made her way back to her trailer and shut the door, then she went back to her bed to lie down and mope some more. She even started sobbing, which stirred the oats of compassion inside Daze once more. This pony, no matter how good or wicked she may be, did not deserve to live like this. He was probably gonna scare her coming out of her closet all the sudden, but that was fine with him, as long as they got to talk.

"So…why don't you tell me what has you so upset?" Daze asked, coming out of Trixie's closet and surprising her a great deal.

Now Trixie was beyond spooked. Trixie felt like she was going to have a heart attack right then and there. The 'vile creature' she saw yesterday was in her trailer, talking to her. By comparison, it was like finding a talking zombie lying next to you when you woke up. So naturally, she didn't respond in complete sentences.

"You…you are in….Trailer…MY trailer….talking….to... ME IN MY TRAILER!" She managed to squeak before passing out on the bed.

Well Black Daze, you sure are good at handling delicate situations…aren't you... You stupid bastard you.

He thought sarcastically to himself. There was only one thing to do now… he picked up Trixie and carried her in his arms to his camp.

Back at the camp, Chrysalis had recently woken up from her nap and found that it was dark outside. It was her kind of night, the wind was chilly, there was a gust in the air, and it was slightly overcast. She saw Black Daze returning with Trixie in his arms. She really didn't know what to think, Chrysalis galloped over to see what had happened.

"I told you to try again, not kill the poor mare!" Chrysalis scolded.

Black Daze folded his ears back. "She is NOT dead. She just passed out when I came from my hiding spot."

"And where, pray tell, was this hiding spot of yours?"

"Inside her closet..." Daze said sheepishly.

Chrysalis face-hoofed. "You have absolutely NO idea how scary that sounds, do you? You suck at handling delicate situations."

"I figured that out myself, and I already got on to myself about that." Black Daze groaned.

"Well…what now?" Chrysalis asked, looking at the fainted mare in Daze's arms.

"Now, we wait till she comes to so we can talk to her." Daze said logically.

"Oh of course." Chrysalis replied. And with that they sat down around the camp and waited.

Meanwhile, back at Ponyville…

Spike was laying on the couch, bored out of his mind. He didn't have anything to do now that Twilight was gone. He thought about cooking something for himself, but he didn't quite have the energy to do so. It wasn't long until there was a knock on the door. Spike got up and approached the door, wondering who might be visiting him at this point in time. He was surprised to see Applebloom at his door. Spike gestured her in and asked what she needed.

"Heya Spike, is Twilight gone on that monster hunt too?" The filly asked. Spike only nodded.

"I had this AH-MA-ZING idea!" Applebloom continued. "What if you, me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were to go off and help them if they needed it. We wouldn't show ourselves unless they needed help though."

Spike was interested in this idea, he was always up to helping Twilight, no matter the circumstances.

"Okay, I'm game, are we gonna go get the others now?"

"Of course Spike, let's go!" Applebloom answered. And with that they ran to Rarity's Boutique.

At Carousel Boutique…

"C'mon Opalescence, just a bite!" Sweetie Belle pleaded. Opal was just not in a listening mood today. She wasn't in the mood to eat dinner and you can't just make a cat eat. Sweetie Belle was just about to give up when there was a knock on the door.

"Hm, I wonder who that might be…" Sweetie Belle said to herself. There wasn't any expected company for the evening and the Carousel Boutique did say that it was closed…She opened the door and found her friend Applebloom and Spike at the door.

"Oh…hi guys!" She said happily. "What brings you here?"

"Sweetie Belle! Me and Spike had this amazing Idea!" Applebloom exclaimed.

"Really, what is it?" Sweetie Belle responded. She was waiting for someone to cure her of her boredom. And who better to do it than one of her fellow crusaders. Spike spoke next.

"So is Rarity on that monster hunt too?" Spike asked.

"Mm-hmm, what is this great idea of yours, Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We're all gonna go on a monster hunt of our own! If we see that our sisters are having trouble, then we'll go and help them!" Applebloom said excitedly.

"Sounds FUN! We're going to make sure it's a success!" Sweetie Belle responded.

"Aren't we going to go get Scootaloo?" Spike asked. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle normally traveled as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. To go without Scootaloo would be very out of character.

"Of course! Let's go!" Sweetie Belle said. "But wait…who's going to look after Opal?" She then asked.

"Ah have an idea…" Applebloom said with a sly smirk.

At Ponyville Square…

Big Macintosh was selling apples over at the stand. He had made a cozy little profit and was going to pack up in a few hours when Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike approached him with Sweetie Belle carrying Opalescence in her mouth.

"Hey big brother! Me and Spike and the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to go on a monster hunt and we need someone to watch Opal and I was like "you know, I think I know who would do good at this, my big brother Big Macintosh and everyone agreed so you get to watch her until we get back kay thanks bye!" Applebloom said unusually fast before Sweetie Belle plopped the fat cat in an empty apple basket. Opal then proceeded to lie down and take a cat nap inside the basket. Then the 3 youngsters ran off to find Scootaloo. Big Mac looked at the cat, then back up, then back to the cat. He figured that Applebloom had a good explanation to this, and so shrugged it off and went back to selling apples.

It wasn't long before Scootaloo saw the party of three and ran over.

"Hey guys! What are you all gathered around for? It's not every day Spike's with us!" Scootaloo said to her friends.

"Scootaloo! Is Rainbow Dash gone as well?" Sweetie Belle asked out of curiosity.

"She sure is! That monster doesn't stand a chance!" Scootaloo said proudly.

"Now what would she need Rainbow Dash for?" Spike thought. He understood that she might bring Rarity, a fellow unicorn, to lure him away with gems or Applejack, to bring along food, but why Rainbow Dash? The only reason would be more muscle power. But wasn't Twilight's magic enough? He had confidence in Twilight's abilities. He didn't know this monster's capabilities however. So he only hoped they could take him down.

"Well now that we're all here, shall we go? If we succeed in this, you know what this means!" Applebloom asked excitedly.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER HUNTERS!" The three fillies shouted in unison. Spike groaned at their childish grasp of the situation. The four youngsters set off in the Everfree forest, following the footsteps of the mares that had gone before them. They were going to help their siblings/idol/surrogate mother, or die trying.

The Fight is ON!!!

A Change in Heart

This and the next 5 chapters by: Jexxazrez

Everything after that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Meanwhile…At Black Daze's camp…

Trixie was starting to come to. She remembered why she passed out, but she regretted remembering instantly. Those reptilian eyes, so scary. And those teeth, surely he could tear her neck open with one bite. She trembled just thinking about it. But as she trembled, she realized that she was not in the creaky old bed in her trailer, but in somepony's arms. Somepony's scaly arms. A look of horror befell her face when she opened her eyes and was face to face with the monster she met earlier. She wanted to scream, but something was preventing her from doing so. Perhaps it was the gentle look in his eyes. Unknown to her though, the only reason they were gentle was because she was being so quiet and Daze liked quiet things…Generally speaking.

"Evening, glad to see you're up, you've been out for a while." He said tenderly, as if talking to a little sister rather than a stranger. Black Daze saw her living conditions and felt a great deal of sympathy for Trixie. He had to live in the forest, yes. But she stuck to such a horribly kept trailer. Daze figured that she probably needed a friend since nopony would even think to look in a trailer in the middle of the forest.

Chrysalis called out. "Is she up Dazey? Good heavens, get her over here and get her a drink. I'm sure she's thirsty." She commanded in that slightly distorted voice that Daze actually found somewhat cute….

Daze groaned at 'Dazey.' "Sure, whatever Chrissy." He said in that normally calm voice of his. He carried her over to the sitting log by the fireplace and sat her down. Trixie secretly wanted to stay in his arms though, something about his arms was strangely comforting. They were strong and warm, despite being covered in scales. She was handed a leaf shaped cup with fresh water in it. She took a sip and then Spoke.

"Who…are you want what is this place?" She said in a half-panicked, half-calm voice.

"I'm Chrysalis: Former Queen of the Changelings welcome to our camp. And this here is Black Daze, but you may call him Dazey." She said with a smile. Black Daze shot her a death glare.

"ErmmHRMHRMhmHRM... yes." Daze followed up with. "Now tell us who you are, mage."

Trixie took another sip of water before speaking. "Prepare yourselves, for you are in the presence of the GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE!" Trixie exclaimed before striking a dramatic pose. Chrysalis seemed amused by this, Daze however, rolled his eyes.

"And what, pray tell, is a pony as great and powerful as yourself doing here in the Everfree forest? Did the town not have enough space for your over-sized ego?" Daze mocked.

Trixie got an unamused look on her face. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will let that wise crack slide…this time." Then she took another sip of water.

Black Daze beckoned Chrysalis over and whispered. "You know, for taking her in and offering her a drink, she's being pretty ungrateful." He whispered.

"Oh hush. Who knows how long she has been out here. She might be legitimately nuts for all we know. Besides, it's not that bad, Dazey." Chrysalis whispered back.

"I'm going to put dead bird spines in your hair if you keep calling me that!" Daze threatened.

"…that's…interesting…never really heard that threat before…" Was all Chrysalis could manage to say. Then again, it was Black Daze; the same pony that lived in the forest for 8 years and perhaps had to improvise his own comebacks based on experience. Now bird spines? That got Chrysalis to shudder a bit at the thought.

"I really think you and 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' need to have a talk. Why not take a walk together? It'll be fun!" Chrysalis teased. She really wanted them to take a walk though. Perhaps Trixie would tell Daze about why she was…the way she is.

"Fine, it's not like I had anything better to do tonight anyways." Daze responded. Chrysalis couldn't help but feel a bit surprised at how willingly Daze accepted her request. He was obviously very bored in that case. Chrysalis led him to Trixie and spoke in a straight-forward tone.

"Trixie…"

"You mean the Great and Powerful Trixie."

"Whatever. I decree that you and Dazey here shall go on a walk to get to know each other more. Sound good?"

"Trixie will go, mainly because she has nothing better to do anyway." Again, this wasn't expected reaction. But that was alright. At least they're going.

"Alrighty then, see you when you get back." Chrysalis said. Daze walked off in a familiar path and Trixie followed beside him.

A few minutes of silence passed before Daze spoke to Trixie.

"Well, I guess I better tell you about myself." Daze deduced.

"You should." Trixie said, still slightly bitter about being scared out of her wits earlier.

Meanwhile on a dirt road not too far off…

"Any sign of him yet?" Twilight asked Rarity, who was performing the 'life detection spell' every couple of meters along the path.

"Nope, not a single…wait. I detect two figures. One tall and one short about 50 meters away from where we are."

"How short."

"About as short as us. The taller figure is about Ailcorn sized." Rarity said.

"That's how big he was! Let's go!" Applejack exclaimed.

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "We don't know if we're dealing with a monster and a minion or a happy couple on a stroll. Let's approach them slowly and then decide our plan of attack if necessary."

Her friends saw the logic in Twilight's words and so they decided to go with her plan. The walked casually along the road, ready to fight or remain calm.

Back to Trixie and Daze though, since they're such a more interesting duo ;)

Black Daze had just finished telling the story of his life to Trixie. While Chrysalis was deeply sorry, Trixie didn't seem to care, but that was only what it looked like on the outside. On the inside, she felt sort of bad, since she knew what it was like to be an outcast. She dared not show it though.

"You're a very lucky colt, you know, Dazer." Trixie said to Daze.

"It's Black Daze now." Daze said plainly.

"Whatever. It's not every day that somepony as plain as yourself gets to meet a pony as great and powerful as I am." She said in her usual hubris attitude.

"Woman!" Black Daze exclaimed. "I can burn down forests with blue fire that is over 9000 degrees Fahrenheit and can slice trees down with my bare claws and you have the AUDACITY to call me plain?" Daze exclaimed, quickly getting annoyed.

"Impressive as you may be, you will never be as great and powerful as I am." Trixie retorted.

"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Daze responded.

"Why don't you make me?" Trixie shot back.

"Don't you push me, woman!" Daze snapped.

"You really ought to show some respect, ruffian." Trixie snapped back.

"You're one to talk, queen B." Daze retorted.

"QUEEN B? You, sir are just ASKING to be hoofed across the face, aren't you." Trixie said, stamping her hoof.

"You are by far, the most ego-centric mare I've ever met!" Daze replied.

"And YOU are the most hot-headed stallion…dragon thingy that I've ever met." Trixie growled.

"I also bet I'm the only one you've met." Daze said with a smirk.

"...Touche..." Trixie glanced with a grin of near respect.

"THERE HE IS! Girls I found him!" A voice came from the horizon. Trixie and Black Daze looked up and saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all looking at him. Black Daze knew these mares, except the pink one. The pink one was new. He hoped she was as sensible as Rarity was. She didn't look too threatening though as she was bouncing up and down regularly. She should really consider decaf.

Twilight's gaze fell upon Trixie. "YOU!" She glared at Trixie.

"YOU!" Trixie said back.

"YOU!" Rarity snapped at Trixie, remembering what she did to her mane.

"YOU!" Applejack said, glaring at Black Daze.

"YOU!" Daze growled, remembering Applejack.

"YOU!" Rainbow Dash said, slamming her hooves together at Black Daze.

"YOU!" Black Daze shot a glare back, then cracked his scaly knuckles.

"PINKIE PIE!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, jumping up in the middle of their stare-down.

"Pinkie pie…" Twilight face-hoofed.

"Well well well…" Rainbow Dash observed. "It looks like we're gonna have quite the rumble here. Rarity and Twilight will take Trixie, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and I will be more than a match for the monster here."

"Call me a monster will you?" Black Daze said as he spat fourth a bluish white fire ball that Rainbow Dash dodged. It hit the ground near her and resulted in a small explosion. Although nopony was damaged, Rainbow Dash could feel the heat radiating even after the fireball hit the ground. She was going to have to be careful.

In the bushes off the side of the dirt path, four youngsters were secretly spectating the fight.

"Go get em, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo quietly cheered.

"Show that crazy mare who's boss!" Sweetie Belle whispered, remembering Trixie's enormous ego.

"Put that monster in his place, big sis!" Applebloom cheered softly.

"You can do it, Twilight!" Spike whispered.

The stage was set and the combatants were ready. It was starting to rain as both sides charged toward each other, except Pinkie Pie, who bounced over cheerfully. Black Daze was unamused that Pinkie Pie didn't take him seriously. Or Rainbow Dash for that matter. Trixie's alliance with him was based on mutual hate. And afterwards, well who knows. Would they casually continue their walk? Would they win?

Or will they be defeated, and face possible death…

Into the Black Inferno

A Change in Heart

This and the next 4 chapters by: Jexxazrez

Everything after that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

The stage was set and the combatants were ready. It was truly going to be a fight of the century. Both sides had a lot at stake, but Daze's side had more to lose. Chrysalis would lose her safety, Trixie would lose her ally, and Daze…might lose his life. He knew that this was a serious fight and both sides had (seemingly) just causes. This was a battle of power and wills. The match-up was Rarity and Twilight against Trixie and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack against Black Daze.

The three mares fighting Black Daze charged first. However, Daze did not charge back. He knew he had to fight this out by thinking and out smarting them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were enraged, so they would be easy to exploit and take down. Pinkie Pie on the other hand…He'd just avoid her for now if at all possible.

Meanwhile, Trixie took her magician's hat off to reveal her horn. It began to glow a bright blue as a beam of magic shot out towards Twilight. Twilight countered with her own beam of magic and the two beams collided with a thunderous noise. The beams met at the middle, not moving from either side…Trixie had gotten stronger, much stronger. She wanted a day where she could take down that mare named Twilight and now was her chance. Twilight wasn't liking how hard it was for her to overcome Trixie this time. Was she really just as great and powerful as she boasted?

Rainbow Dash struck first, with a right hoof. It was easy to dodge for Black Daze and He countered by side-stepping, taking hold of her arm, pulling her close and bashing their heads together. Daze, being the bigger and stronger one in this case, was nearly unscathed. Rainbow Dash on the other hand got a splitting headache and her eyes rolled around for a bit before she shook it off and prepared another attack. Just then, two strong legs hit him in the back and Daze threw Rainbow Dash to the side before falling over. It was Applejack! She snuck around behind when Daze was up close and personal with Rainbow Dash! That sneaky little…She had quite the leg muscles too, as that really hurt Daze. He'd have to mind her in the future. For now, Daze got up and immediately dodged some of Pinkie Pie's spinning punches and upside-down kicks. Geez, how agile was this pony? It's like she's spring-loaded!

Daze had to think of more ways to fight these mares if he was to win. At least Trixie was handling the magic users. He really didn't want to deal with magic right now.

Speaking of Trixie, she was locked in magic combat with Twilight Sparkle. The magic beams weren't favoring either side, a bad sign for Twilight. Somehow, after all those years of being Celestia's most faithful student, she didn't quite surpass Trixie. At least Trixie wasn't surpassing her, either. Trixie was disappointed in herself as well, why wasn't she able to surpass Twilight! It made no sense after all her preparation. She concentrated her very hardest and finally got her magic to begin slowly move to the right towards Twilight. This was PREPOSTEROUS to Twilight. Her rival from long ago was actually beating her! What was she to do?

Black Daze was getting highly annoyed with these ponies. They were hitting him left and right and although he occasionally got a good hit in, such as kicking Applejack down when she tried leaping on him, but generally, he was not faring well. He underestimated these ponies…again.

"CONFOUND THESE PONIES!" He growled.

Daze took a left hoof from Applejack, then a back-hoof from Rainbow Dash. They were ganging up on him and Pinkie went over to Rarity for some odd reason. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were hitting him left and right. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to passing out. This was humiliating. He was going to end this now. In order to beat them, he had to becomethe monster they feared.

And so, with that, his pupils shrunk to menacingly thin slits. His teeth became longer and more pointy, as they always did when he was particularly enraged. His tounge hung out of his mouth, and smoke started streaming slowly from his nostrils.

"I've had it with you two…" Daze hissed in a considerably more threatening voice.

And with that he sprang up and held Applejack in one hand and Rainbow Dash in the other. He let out a thunderous roar which was louder than the one used on Applejack earlier by a great deal. This scared Twilight and Trixie out of their magic fight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity out of their conversation, and the four youngsters in a nearby bush out of their wits.

"Rainbow Dash! Nooo!" Scootaloo said, on the verge of tears. Was her hero at her last stand?

"Oh no…" Applebloom whispered, watching as her sister was dangling helplessly in Black Daze's grasp. She was afraid of what Daze might do to her sister. And even though daze was completely infuriated, he most assuredly would NOT kill Applejack. It was against the compassionate voice in his head.

Rarity noticed this change and said to Pinkie, "Uhmm….Pinkie Pie, are you SURE this was a good Idea?"

Pinkie Pie replied with a smile. "Aw, come one Rarity, he can't be THAT bad!" She said casually.

"NOW KISS!" He said with sadistic rage as he bashed their heads together. Applejack and Rainbow's heads hit each other with a *CONK* sound before they were tossed to the floor. Everypony was speechless, especially Trixie. She didn't know what to think after what just happened. Daze could really get angry! She'd never seen anypony display that amount of fury. Daze was so infuriated that his eyes changed, he got stronger, and he had two ponies on their backs within 6 seconds. She felt a surge of confidence with her newfound ally. If he could do that, then surely they'd win, right?

"It appears that your 'friends' are helpless against the raw might of Black Daze, Twilight." She said with a spiteful smirk.

"GIRLS! Are you ok?" Twilight said as she galloped over to her fallen friends. She only got grunts and groans as responses.

Applejack got up first, dusted herself off, and said in a confident tone. "We're fine, at least I am. I'm gonna rope this monster in." She said before galloping over to her saddle pack. Rainbow Dash got up next, her eyes spinning from the impact still. She shook it off and spoke.

"Ohhhh this monster is gonna get it now! No more miss nice mare!" Rainbow Dash threatened. Black Daze was having none of their attitude, however.

"BRING IT ONNN!" He roared, with blue fire shooting from his mouth at "onnn."

"It looks like the fight is not over yet, Trixie." Twilight Sparkle said to the magician.

"Very well then, finish what we started?" Trixie said with another smirk.

Twilight, not wanting to risk losing to Trixie in another magic beam fight, responded by casting a temporary paralyzation spell on Trixie. Trixie, not expecting it, was hit and fell to the floor.

"Ooooh you dirty rotten CHEATER! When I get out of here you are going to GET IT!" She yelled before her mouth froze as well. The spell Twilight cast lasts 3 minutes, so Twilight had 3 minutes to gain the upper hand in the fight. She planned to make every second count.

"NOW EVERYPONY, TAKE DOWN THE MONSTER!" She shouted.

"IT'S BLACK DAZE, WOMAN!" Black Daze yelled back.

Rarity stepped in first, firing a magic bolt at him. Daze side-stepped and deliberately shot a white hot fireball next to her. It didn't hurt her, but she could feel the intense heat waves and knew that he was not to be trifled with by magic.

"IF YOU DARE USE ANY OF THAT STUPID MAGIC ON ME, I'LL ROAST YOU ALIVE!" Daze furiously shouted. He hated magic. He HATED it. It gave him trouble his whole life. His elementary school bully would use magic to trip him or spill his lunch all over him. In the Everfree forest, brave Unicorn campers would use magic on him. Mostly they were paralyzation spells. And magic looked so…girly. He just hated it.

The next to step in was the duo of Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Twilight whispered something into Pinkie Pie's ear….then slowly, something happened to Pinkie…

…something that made Daze's blood run cold…(despite being part dragon, he was still warm-blooded)

Her pupils shrunk greatly and turned in opposite directions, her poofy pink mane deflated to be completely straight. She got the most sadistic smile he had ever seen in his life. Suddenly she struck a strange fighting pose that was not nearly as crazy as that pony looked just then. Twilight lunged forward and attempted to buck him. Daze grabbed her by the left hind leg and threw her overhead to a tree off the side of the dirt road. Then Pinkie Pie kicked Daze in the jaw. Hard. What on earth did Twilight tell her? He didn't have time to think as Pinkie landed another hoof on the top of his head. This was serious! He had to fight. Now.

Black Daze stared into the eyes of his opponent. Those cold, sadistic, unmoving eyes. She shot a right hoof to his forehead, but Daze blocked. He immediately dodged another hit, then another, then another. This pony was harder than all the other ones combined.

"Why are you so dang CREEPY!" Daze asked, blocking a kick.

Pinkie Pie said nothing.

"Why are you fighting me?" He questioned again.

Again, no response.

"What did Twilight tell you!" He shouted out of desperation, he failed to block a kick and it hit his gut with tremendous force. Daze flew back and hit the same tree he threw Twilight at, crashing into Twilight in the process.

"Mmph! MMMMMPH!" Twilight tried to speak, her cries were muffled by Daze's large body.

Daze got up, no he's not THAT cruel as to try and crush a pony to death. Then Twilight said something that surprised him.

"Thanks for…not killing me when it would've been so easy... Why didn't you?" She asked.

"As wronged as I have been, I won't kill." Daze said dryly, trying to contain his anger.

"Wronged? Won't kill? You mean you have morals!? And we're hunting you because you're a danger to Ponyville!" Twilight responded.

"Danger to Ponyville! Woman, I've lived out here for eight long years and have NO intention of attacking whatsoever. I even used to live there."

"Wait…used to live there? What happened then?" Twilight asked, her curiosity was piqued.

Before Daze could answer, a bolt of magic hit Twilight, causing her to fall down and freeze completely.

"That's for about 3 minutes ago, neighsayer." Trixie said coldly. She got her revenge, and now, she had no interest in the fight anymore.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Daze shouted, thinking that she killed Twilight just as she started to listen.

"TWILIGHT! …Wait…why does he care if Twilight's down?" Spike questioned.

"Perhaps we had him all wrong…" Sweetie Belle followed up with.

"After doing that to Rainbow Dash? No way we have him wrong! He's a monster!" Scootaloo responded.

"I'm…not sure what to think at this point…" Applebloom said sadly.

"Well then let's just see how this plays out." Spike said. All four of them continued to watch. Trixie then responded to Daze's question.

"Oh just a little paralyzation spell is all, she'll be back on her feet in a few minutes so don't worry. You have bigger problems though…" Trixie said pointing to the three angry mares facing him...well, at least Pinkie Pie seemedto be angry. It was hard to tell with those cold…creepy eyes… Rarity was in the fetal position in a corner, not daring to get up and fight.

"Aren't you going to help me?" Daze questioned. "That Pink one is quite a handful."

"I have no real quarrels over the others, so no. I'm sure your power will be more than sufficient to win this." Trixie responded.

"Fine then…" Black Daze responded. He went up to the three mares preparing to attack.

"Hey! Can we like…not fight? I'm pretty sick of this." Daze said, attempting to reason.

"Ya teamed up with Trixie, bashed our heads together, and almost hit Rainbow Dash and Rarity with a fireball and ya expect us to just DROP IT!" Applejack responded. Rainbow Dash nodded. Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. Again.

Daze thought for a minute, "Well…when you put it that way…Yeah. I'm sorry that I become sort of a sour-puss when ponies attack me." Daze responded sarcastically.

"And so we're sorry that we defend our friends when they're attacked back!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Fine, attack me. See if I care. It's not my fault if you need to be hospitalized afterwards." Daze shot back and stood there stoically. Waiting to see what they'd do.

The three ponies didn't move for a second. He really didn't want to fight them, and was willing to end all the violence then and there. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as they thought…Applejack considered walking away until Rainbow Dash called out to Black Daze.

"I'm sorry…but we can't just leave this alone. I'm going to end this. Now. And Applejack and Pinkie Pie are going to help me. You are going down." She said calmly, seemingly holding back tears. "It's our job as the Elements of Harmony to protect Ponyville from monsters like you!" And with that she flew at Daze readying a punch. Applejack followed up with her lasso and Pinkie walked towards Daze at a slow pace.

Daze just stood there. He didn't have the drive to fight back. He was just going to take the hits and let his primordial rage take over when he had taken enough. Rainbow Dash hit his chin with a solid punch first, Daze didn't move a muscle. It really didn't hurt him much and he still didn't want to fight back. Next, Applejack gave a strong buck to his front legs, and that made Daze keel over. He still didn't want to fight back, however. It wasn't going to be long though, he felt the rage building inside of him. Rainbow Dash and Applejack simultaneously struck him in the jaw, and then ganged up on him, trampling him while he was down. Then Pinkie Pie showed up and pulled two knifes seemingly out of nowhere; then attempted to slice off his hands. However, since he was armored with scales on his arms, they landed with a *clink* and broke. Daze was almost ready to fight back now, he could feel his rage building up even more and more. The three mares continued to beat him down until he started to bleed.

"Wha…What are they doing? They are going to KILL him if they go on like this…" Spike lamented.

"I think he's ok, I mean, he didn't wanna fight anyway…" Sweetie Belle followed up with.

"Why don't they just stop! He's down already!" Applebloom said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I say serves him right." Scootaloo said, earning her a slap from Sweetie Belle. "OW! Okay okay you're right he doesn't deserve this." Scootaloo corrected herself.

Black Daze had finally reached his limit, he closed his eyes and let his rage take over from there. The three mare's beat down was interrupted when his fist shot up and knocked them all back. They saw the change in his eyes again, they had menacing smaller slits and again, smoke billowed from his nostrils. His ears were folded back and his teeth were considerably more threatening now that they had grown a little bit larger. He threw his head back and roared again, Scaring everypony except Pinkie Pie, who only stood there. There was no change in her expression.

Daze charged forward and unleashed an amazing combo of martial arts on Applejack. Over the years, he had developed his own form of martial arts which used one's own body weight and momentum to strike with incredible speed and force. It started off somewhat slow, but after a few seconds, the hits became faster and harder to block. Applejack simply didn't stand a chance as she was knocked to the ground with a black eye and many bruises. Then, he flew up into the air where he met Rainbow Dash. She attempted to give him a good kick to the jaw, but it was foiled as Daze grabbed her leg and used it to throw her back to the ground. Then he flew down in pursuit, grabbed her and threw her against another tree.

Trixie was spectating the entire fight, enjoying Black Daze winning after such a seemingly hopeless situation. She loved the fact that Daze was a capable fighter. It sort of…turned her on in a weird sort of sense and found herself somewhat attracted to Daze. It was a weak crush, but a crush nonetheless. She liked the strong bad boys she figured.

Meanwhile, Daze gave Rainbow Dash a scratch on her back from is claws. It started to bleed, which then Daze somewhat regained control of himself. Look what he had done, He took down Applejack and Rainbow Dash to the point where they were beaten and helpless on the ground! He couldn't do it anymore, although he knew he had to do it, he was positively disguisted with himself. He had nearly killed two of his attackers…

…But wait…Where was Pinkie…?

Black Daze looked around, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. He began to get rather worried, with a mare as unstable and deranged as she was at that moment, She could be anywhere… He began to call out for her.

"Pinkie…come out, come out wherever you a-"

*SLICE*

"HNNNGH!" Was all Daze managed to get out before he looked down and saw a knife plunged through his stomach. He gasped and fell over, then saw her face. Pinkie Pie had the same expression as before, then brought the knife over her head. There was a small puddle of blood forming from under Black Daze that was slowly getting bigger.

"So this is how it ends, eh? Stabbed to death by a psychotic earth pony." Daze coughed up blood then spoke again in a raspy whisper. "Go ahead, do it. Just leave Trixie alone and leave." Then he let out a wheeze and awaited his demise...

I Want Hospital

A Change in Heart

This and the next 3 chapters by: Jexxazrez

Everything past that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Trixie noticed that Daze was down and panicked. Pinkie Pie was going to kill her friend if she didn't do something now! She felt a strange energy surge through her, it made her eyes glow white and it caused strong winds to sweep through the area. She leapt in front of Black Daze and kicked Pinkie Pie back. She was ready to unleash pure magic hell if Pinkie tried to hurt her guardian. At least, that was the role he seemed to play in Trixie's eyes.

Twilight's paralyzation spell finally wore off and she saw the scene before her. Applejack was on the ground, bruised and shaking. Rainbow Dash was bleeding from her back wound and was looking at what was happening in the middle of the road in shock and awe. Twilight saw Pinkie about to attack Trixie who was…defending a wounded and close to death Black Daze. Twilight knew she had to end this now before anypony was killed.

"PINKIE STOP!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Pinkie Pie immediately turned and faced her friend with those menacing eyes, which then turned back to normal and her mane poofed back into place.

"What is it Twi? I thought you said he….oh…" Pinkie said, realizing what she had just done. Her eyes lowered in sadness.

Trixie's rage continued building as she began summoning lightning bolts from the sky that hit the areas around them. Twilight saw this and was shocked! Trixie really was as great and powerful as she said she was...

"Trixie calm down! We're sorry!" Twilight shouted, desperate to calm Trixie down.

Trixie's eyes stopped glowing, and she backed off from the scene, tears cascading from her eyes. She knew Daze needed medical attention immediately. As if to further prove her thoughts correct, Black Daze looked up at Trixie with a helpless face.

"...I want hospital..." He managed to get out before crashing his head back to the ground and fighting again to stay alive.

She picked his nearly lifeless body up with her magic and said:

"Sorry? This is all your guy's fault! I'm going to take him someplace where he can heal. This isn't over, next time, you're all going to be sorry!"

...And with that she ran off, crying for her severely injured partner.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack began to cry too, regretting the decision to fight Daze even though he didn't want to. Pinkie was just as sad as they were, and Rarity just sat in her corner, apparently in deep thought.

"Well girls, I don't want to say I told you so but…" She said to her friends.

"I know, we should've listened. He didn't deserve what we did to him…" Twilight agreed.

"But Twilight, me an' Rainbow are in pretty sad shape here, we should head to a doctor ourselves…" Applejack said, pointing to her injuries.

"Yeah, this slash might get infected if it isn't patched up soon…" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"I'll carry you, Applejack. Rarity, you take Rainbow Dash. It's time we headed back to Ponyville…" Twilight said, then levitated Applejack up high and walked off towards Ponyville. Rarity picked up Rainbow Dash and followed behind, and Pinkie followed Rarity.

In the bushes, the four youngsters were speechless. Black Daze almost died because of their older counterparts, Trixie showed her true power, and Pinkie Pie stabbed somepony. Well, Pony-Dragon. But still, it was a lot to take in.

"...Sooo…what now?" Applebloom asked sadly, breaking the silence.

"Now, we better hurry home." Spike answered. The CMC agreed and high-tailed back to Ponyville.

Back on the dirt road, Rainbow Dash asked Twilight a question.

"Soooo….what now?"

Twilight thought for a bit. "I don't know Rainbow Dash, I just don't know. It was our fault this happened and sooner or later, Princess Celestia is going to hear about this. After that, who knows? We're just going to have to prepare for the best or the worst…"

Rainbow Dash understood. Celestia would most definitely know about this, since she was the supreme ruler of Equestria. No major fight goes on without her knowing about it. Especially if it involved her most faithful student.

The walk went on without another word…

Meanwhile, at Ponyville Hospital…

"This creature needs urgent care, NOW!" Trixie demanded, presenting the doctors with Black Daze.

Now if you're a doctor, you can imagine how confusing this is. You are presented with a cloak wearing unicorn offering you a strange dragon pony hybrid that you know nothing about. You can clearly see the care is needed, but without bits, it just isn't going to fly.

"We can patch that up, but it's going to cost you." A nurse said.

Trixie tossed a bag of bits hidden in her cloak. "Here. Now fix him!" She demanded. Those were her life savings, but she was willing to spend them all on him if it meant saving his life.

The doctors shrugged. They were doctors after all, and so they took Daze off to patch up his severe wound. The nurse walked up to Trixie, picked up the bag of bits, and said to her.

"Thank you. We can't guarantee when he'll be better, so check on him tomorrow." The nurse said to Trixie.

"That's fine. And doc?" Trixie said to the doctor.

"Yes?"

"Try to avoid anypony seeing him. I don't think they'd be as…understanding as you are."

"Will do, and although his appearance is rather…unsettling, we are doctors. Our job is to take anypony that's hurt and make them feel better. So your friend will be alright…He is your friend right?" The doctor asked.

Trixie thought for a while. He was strong, and nice to her, well nice for Daze anyway. He may have scared the bejabbers out of her, but at least he didn't seemingly mean to. He was…misunderstood is all.

"…yes, he's my friend." Trixie responded almost proudly.

"That's what I thought. Now go home and get some rest, you look tired." The doctor said to Trixie.

Trixie knew the doctor was right. It was time to go. She headed out the door back to the Everfree forest. On the way, she passed Twilight and co, and shot them all a dirty look. Twilight and her friends just kept walking, not wanting to face her at all...

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were presented to the doctors. Not knowing the connection between them and Daze, they took them in and Twilight gave them the bits necessary to cover their medical costs. There was no dialogue, no questioning, no nothing. Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity went home and went to bed. At the houses, Spike was already in bed, but not asleep. Twilight thought he was though. Sweetie Belle had taken Opal back, (much to the dismay of Big Mac, since he liked having a cat to talk to) put her in her cat bed, and went off to bed herself. Applebloom went to her bed as well, but there was nobody to scold her, since Granny Smith was still asleep. Scootaloo, being an orphan that lived by herself in her former parent's house, crawled into her bed, and dreamt about Rainbow Dash again.

Everypony had laid down for a quiet night's rest...

…Except for Trixie…

She ran back to the camp and saw Chrysalis. She greeted her with a concerned tone.

"Oh goodness, what happened to you! Your mane is messed up and your hat is gone. Where's Daze?"

"Daze is…in the hospital…the monster hunt, it was…" Trixie was cut off by Chrysalis's distorted voice.

"You mean the one we heard about earlier? What did they do to him! They won't get away with this! Will he be alright?" She ranted.

"Calm down, Daze is in good care now. And he showed those mares not to mess with him. He was stabbed, simply and so we are going to check on him tomorrow." Then she said, "But can you go looking like….yourself?"

"I'm a Changeling, remember? Queen of the Changelings. Well…former queen that is. I can be anypony I want." Chrysalis responded.

"Good deal, so shall we get some rest?" Trixie said.

"Indeed. Oh and by the way, did you two…bond at all?" Chrysalis asked.

"I guess you could say that…." Trixie responded.

Now everypony had settled down for the night. Tomorrow, Daze wakes up in a hospital for the first time. How will he fare?

The next day…

"Twilight Sparkle, I'm very disappointed in you. You should've thought things through more instead of relying on a mere hunch." A booming motherly voice said to Twilight, who only cowered in the corner.

The voice came from Princess Celestia of course, She was the Ruler of Equestria and was the goddess of the Daytime. Her sister, Princess Luna, ruled the night of course. But we'll meet her later. For now, Twilight was being scolded by her mentor.

"I'm sorry Princess Celestia, we all are. We are ready to accept any punishment you might give us…" Twilight said weakly.

"Hmmm…" Princess Celestia thought. She was no punisher for sure, she preferred to rule with love and benevolence. But for an action like this, a small punishment was in order.

"Twilight Sparkle, as punishment for assaulting this poor creature, you and your friends are now on a mandatory mission to befriend it. Effective Immediately." And with that she teleported Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to the hospital he was being held at.

"Oh boy, this will end well…" Twilight muttered to herself.

"Um…Twilight? Why are we here, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Basically, Princess Celestia says we haveto make friends with Black Daze now. Effective Immediately." She answered, recalling the words of her mentor.

"I can already tell this isn't going to end well." Rarity sulked.

"That's what I was thinking, but it's Celestia." Twilight responded.

"OH! I love making friends! This'll be easy as pie!" Pinkie sang.

"Pinkie Pie, you stabbed him. You're the reason he's here in the first place so why in EQUESTRIA do you think he'll become your friend that easily?" Rarity said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh…yeah…" Pinkie replied, looking down. Suddenly, she had a realization! "I've got it! An apology cake makes EVERYTHING better!" And with that Pinkie Pie was gone off to Sugarcube corner.

Twilight and Rarity sighed. It was going to be a loooong day.

Meanwhile, in Black Daze's hospital room…

Black Daze was awoken from his slumber by a hoof tapping his nose. He awoke to see Chrysalis looking at him. He let out a long groan and spoke in a tired growl.

"What…What happened?" He asked. "And that's the second morning I've woken up to your face."

Chrysalis blushed at his compliment (at least she assumed it was a compliment)

"Why Dazey, you're in the hospital. Trixie is here with me. You were badly injured last night and so she carried you to the hospital all by herself. Wasn't that sweet of her?"

"Hospital for whaaa…owwwhhh…" He tried to roll over but felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw the bandages wrapped around his middle. Suddenly, he remembered everything. The fight, Pinkie, and (vaguely) Trixie carrying him off with magic. Although he didn't like magic, he was okay with its use here.

"Well I'm glad you did that for me, I honestly thank you. But I could've healed on my own, you know."

Trixie lowered her eyelids. "With Pinkie Pie about to stab you again, I doubt that, honey. You even ASKED for a hospital. To quote you, you said; 'I want hospital...' and then you passed out."

"Grrr…" Black daze grunted. Then he remembered something.

"Say…how DID you get into this hospital anyway, Chrissy?" He asked.

"Oh I simply turned into another mare. Watch!" She then transformed into a gorgeous Pegasus with a golden and purple coat and luxurious looking wings. Her hooves were dainty and thin, her figure, perfectly feminine, and her eyes were the best part. They were azure blue and glimmered in the light. Daze found this unicorn…completely intoxicating. Had he not known it was Chrysalis and he wasn't part dragon, he would SO hit on her.

"That's…nice…" Was all he could say. Trixie was getting mildly annoyed at Chrysalis.

"What's the matter Dazey, cat got your tounge? Reeowr." 'Stargazer' purred as she put her snout gently to Daze's.

"Alright that's enough, I think he gets it. Anyway, as far as the doctors know, I'm your friend and Chrissy here is your marefriend." Trixie said, interrupting Chrysalis's fun.

"Marefriend? What? ." Daze's eyes widened. Yes, this 'Stargazer' was gorgeous, but being his marefriend? That sounded like it was just going to make things awkward...

Just then a doctor appeared in the room. "Mister Daze, you have more visitors." And with that she ushered them in. It was Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. The latter of which was carrying a large cake in her arms.

"Well you three sure have some nerve showing your faces here." Trixie scoffed.

"Uhm…we're not interrupting anything...are we?" Twilight asked meekly.

"Not yet." Chrysalis cooed in her disguised form. Trixie only rolled her eyes.

"And who might you be?" Twilight said to the gorgeous mare.

"I'm Stargazer, Dazey here is my coltfriend, and I came here as soon as I heard what happened to by wookum snookums!" She cooed, squishing both of Daze's cheeks with her hooves.

"Hey!" Daze snapped, unamused by her pet names and mushy mushy mannerisms. Chrysalis was determined to keep up her charade though.

"Oh what's the matter, honey-bunny! Did these mares here have anything to do with your hospitalization?" She said in the same seductive tone she always had. Pinkie Pie lowered her head in shame. Then remembered what she came here for.

"Oh that reminds me! I brought Daze here something!" She then pulled out the Apology cake. It had black icing with red words that said "I'm sorry I stabbed you, love Pinkie Pie :D" written on it. Everypony, even Daze face-hoofed at the inappropriateness of her grasp of the situation.

"Pinkie, you're doing it wrong." Twilight said to her pink friend.

"You are just as bad as Dazey is at handling delicate situations…" Stargazer said hopelessly.

Well it still is a cake, and so It should taste good, right? Here comes the train! zoom zoom!" Pinkie Pie sang, trying to feed Daze a bite of apology cake. Daze refused to open his mouth, however.

"Aw come on, cake's good and therefore, good for you. Open wiii-iide!" She continued.

It was then Daze spoke. His pupils narrowed.

"Two things, Pinkie. One, I don't appreciate people calling me 'Dazey' especially ones I barely know. And SECOND! I am being fed intravaneously because my stomach is ruptured and it will be like that for the next few hours until the doctors can stitch it back together. Now, whose fault is that?"

Pinkie Pie's hair deflated, out of sadness this time. "…mine…" she said weakly before sadly walking out.

"And you two!" Daze called out, pointing to Rarity and Twilight. "You two shouldn't be here either. I want to be left alone right now. After I'm all patched up, MAYBE I'll consider talking to you. Until then, buzz off." He said harshly.

Twilight and Rarity just looked at each other and sighed. There wasn't anything they could do now but do as he said. They would have to try again later though, and surely Rainbow Dash and Applejack would need some convincing. But it was an assignment from the princess, and you can't ignore those…They were going to get Fluttershy, surely she would be able to get him to open up.

3 hours later…

Black Daze's operation was finished. His stomach was back to normal and he came out of the hospital alive and kicking. Well, not literally kicking but you get the idea. He knew what his first order of business was…

Get the heck out of here!

And so with Trixie and 'Stargazer' by his side, he took off with his wings. 'Stargazer' picked up Trixie and followed close behind. It wasn't long before they reached their camp and landed.

Daze cracked his neck and took a seat on the sitting log.

"Man, it feels good to be back. That hospital was really creeping me out." He said triumphantly. Chrysalis reverted back to her original form and said to Daze.

"And what of the mares that wanted to apologize?" She asked.

"Screw them, it's their fault for judging me. As far as I'm concerned, they can go live in a rusty trailer in the middle of the woods. No offense, Trix."

"None taken. And is my nickname now'Trix?'" She asked.

"You bet your plot it is. Where's the food stock we have, I'm starving." Daze replied.

"Actually, we saved you that 'apology' cake Pinkie Pie made for you. Why don't you eat that?" Trixie snickered.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Why would you save that cake? I'm not going to eat it." Daze said plainly.

"Oh yes you are, because as inappropriate as it was, she was sincere about making it. Now take a bite, Dazey!" Chrysalis demanded, using her magic to cut him a slice of cake and holding it to him.

Black Daze thought about this for a minute. He probably was going to have to eat it sooner or later. And Chrysalis had a point. He almost (almost) felt bad for telling Pinkie Pie off so harshly. TRYING her cake was the least he could do. Black Daze never had cake before and so he cautiously took a bite.

A few seconds later, he loved it! He never knew cake was this good! But he couldn't show that outright, that wasn't 'in character' for him.

"It's…good." He said before finishing the slice with one bite.

"It looks like it's REALLY good to me." Trixie joked. Black Daze rolled his eyes.

"Very funny. You all may have some if you want; I'm going to go take a bath." He proposed. Then, he took off.

Trixie raised her eyebrows at this. Chrysalis saw this and whispered "It's not that exciting, all he does is jump in the water and shake himself dry."

"That would explain the mess his mane is always in, he simply never brushes it." Trixie said shaking her head.

"Want to pull a joke on him next time he falls asleep, Trix?" Chrysalis asked Trixie

"You bet your plot I do! Trixie whispered with a smirk.

Meanwhile at Twilight's library…

"Spike, have you seen Fluttershy around town by any chance?" Twilight asked her assistant, who recently got back from doing his morning rounds in town.

"Yeah, I saw her outside her cottage, playing with Angel the Rabbit. So how'd the monster hunt go?" Spike asked in a humorless tone.

Twilight sighed. "We were wrong, he wasn't a monster, Pinkie Pie almost killed him, but it was all my fault. Now Celestia says we have to befriend him as punishment." She sadly hung her head.

Spike didn't expect Twilight to tell the truth so easily. He thought for a minute.

"And how is that going?"

"Terrible. He doesn't even want to talk to us. He didn't even accept Pinkie's apology cake."

"Gee, I can't imagine why."

"Yeah yeah I know. We're going to send Fluttershy to try and get him to open up. Her compassionate demeanor hasn't failed before."

"I should go too, Twilight, I'm a dragon too, and we should be able to talk to each other as equals, right?"

"Go ahead and try, Spike."

"Thanks Twilight! I'll be sure to not let you down!"

"Oh and Spike!"

"Uh-huh?"

"Make sure to tell Fluttershy it's Princess Celestia's orders if she refuses to go, alright?"

"Will do Twilight!"

And with that, Spike went to go pay Fluttershy a visit.

Fluttershy's Cottage…

Fluttershy was deeply concerned. She had no idea if her friends were okay. She hadn't seen Rainbow Dash or Applejack yet, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked very sad all day. She only saw Twilight once, but she didn't see her, because she was too busy moping in the corner of her library when Fluttershy passed by her window. She feared the worst, naturally and was put in a depression. She saw Spike approaching her and gave him her best smile. She liked Spike, he was a baby dragon, but she liked baby things. It was full grown dragons she was scared of.

"Hey Fluttershy, I have a job you and I are going to do."

"And what would that be, Spike?" She said in her gentle voice.

"Well you see…" Spike began to explain the situation, how he and the Cutie Mark Crusaders snuck off to spectate the fight between Black Daze and her friends. How Daze was merely misunderstood, and how Pinkie stabbed him. Fluttershy's face got increasingly more solemn as he told the entire story. As he finished, Fluttershy spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"…it...it's all my fault…"

"Excuse me, what?" Spike asked.

"It's all my fault! If I had only gone none of this would've happened! Oh I'm so frusturated I could just scream! *gaaaaaaaaaaaaaasp* …raaaaaahhhh…."

Spike thought that THAT was the weakest scream he had EVER heard…but if it calmed Fluttershy down, who was he to judge.

"Well, I can understand your frustration, but what's done is done. And by Princess Celestia's orders, we have to try and befriend him." Spike said logically. "And it was their fault for attacking him in the first place."

"…you're right Spike. Let's go befriend that *gulp* ….dragon…" Fluttershy said nervously.

"Technically only half dragon."

"Whatever..."

And with that, they headed off to the hospital…unaware that Daze was deep in the Everfree forest by now.

Speaking of Black Daze, let's see how he's doing shall we? :D

Black Daze had just finished 'bathing' in the usual way he did. He then decided to take a nice nap. Baths can really relax oneself, can't they?

But over in nearby bushes, two mares had devious plans.

"Is he asleep yet?" Trixie whispered.

"I think so…" Chrysalis responded.

"Good, now let's go do it!" Trixie proclaimed.

"Right behind you, Trix." Chrysalis responded.

They approached Daze's sleeping body with care, surely if they woke him up, he'd be very grouchy. Trixie then pulled out the item used for the prank.

A brush.

Chrysalis and Trixie then got to work on his mane…

"Brushie brushie brushie..." Trixie giggled as she brushed his mane with Chrysalis.

Meanwhile at Ponyville Hospital…

"What do you mean he's not there?" Spike asked in surprise.

"He checked out about an hour ago, then went off towards the Everfree Forest." The doctor responded.

Spike remembered where he and the CMC hid out, then he remembered where Trixie ran off to. If he followed that general path, perhaps he would find Black Daze.

"Alright then, come on Fluttershy, let's go."

"O-okay Spike, lead the way…" Fluttershy whispered.

When they exited the hospital, they met Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who had checked out a half hour ago since they didn't have Daze's slightly accelerated regenerative powers.

"Hey Spike, hi Fluttershy, where are you two headed off to?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! You're alive!" Fluttershy squealed with joy then gave her friends a hug.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a dragon-pony to stop us." Applejack followed up with.

"Well thanks to you, Rainbow, and Pinkie Pie, we all have to befriend him. And that's what me and Spike are about to go do." Fluttershy scolded, and began to walk off with Spike.

"Fluttershy!" Applejack called out.

"Yes?" Fluttershy responded.

"Be…careful. He can get a little…temperamental." Applejack warned.

"I know." Fluttershy responded. Then she walked off into the Everfree forest.

"She's being unusually brave considering the circumstances…" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Maybe it's because she feels safe around Spike?" Applejack guessed wildly.

"I dunno…" Rainbow dash said finally.

Meanwhile, where Black Daze is located…

Black Daze woke up from a very nice nap. He had a brand new rest-of-the-day ahead of him and was ready to take it on like a champ. He noticed something was...different…about his hair. He couldn't quite put his claw on it though…

Just then, he looked at his reflection in the water.

"CHRISSY!" He roared.

"Coming Dazey~" She sang, as if expecting him.

"What in BLAZES did you do to my mane!" He shouted accusingly.

"Why I don't know what you're talking about? It looks fine to me…" She said casually.

"Don't you play stupid with me, woman! YOU know something about this. You and/or Trixie made my mane all….POOFY!" He accused. They had brushed his mane while he slept. They brushed it into a style similar to Pinkie Pie. It bothered him to no end, mainly because he liked his mane wild. It made him feel awesome in a way.

"Oh Dazey…you're so adowabow when you're upset." Trixie teased.

"Hush your mouth, woman!" Daze shot back. And they both started to laugh. Daze was being so entertaining...

Black Daze had enough of this. He dove back in the water and re-wetted his hair. Then he breached the surface and shook his hair back to normal.

"Aww, you're no fun, Dazey." Chrysalis said with a smirk.

"I'm mad at you, go away." Daze said honestly.

"You wouldn't be mad at this face now would you?" She asked then transformed into Stargazer. Daze was mesmerized for a minute, then remembered he was supposed to be mad.

"Don't try that on me! I'm completely immune." He boasted.

"Your lips say no but your eyes say yeesss~" 'Stargazer' teased.

"You know what? Fine, I'll just go somewhere and sulk. That sound peachy to you?" Black Daze retorted.

"That's ok, be back by dinner time."

"Grrrr…" he growled and walked off to the dirt path. He didn't know why, but he was actually somewhat comforted by Chrysalis. And he was much more attracted to her in her 'Stargazer' form. God, how he loved that form. He couldn't just admit it to her though. What would she think of him? And Trixie? Good gravy, she was annoying; but in the somewhat cute sort of way. She also carried him to the hospital, so she cared about him to some degree. It was then he really started to consider a relationship with one (or perhaps both) of them. He sort of liked them though. It wasn't like he was in LOVE with them or anything…

His train of thought was interrupted when a yellow Pegasus and a purple dragon walked up to him. He didn't look up to see them, he only heard them.

"Uhm…excuse me. Are you Mr. Daze by any chance?" The Pegasus asked.

"What's it to ya?" He responded bluntly.

"Oh, where are my manners. I'm Fluttershy. And this is Spike."

"Hiya! I'm a dragon too!" Spike said in a friendly tone.

It was then Daze looked up. He thought this Pegasus was adorable, but he knew by her demeanor that she was extremely timid. That would not fare well since he was…Black Daze.

Then he looked at the dragon next to her. Spike didn't look very old. In fact, he looked younger than Daze was when he was…Dazer. But if he was a full dragon, then age rules might not be the same.

Then he looked at the duo in front of him at an overview. They were both nice, they weren't scared of him, and neither of them had wronged him before. Crap. He couldn't just brush them off. He had to be nice back…as much as he wasn't in the mood to.

"What brings you two out here?" He asked them

"Well you see…" Fluttershy began.

"We came to get to know you." Spike finished for her.

Daze really wasn't in the mood for this, but he had to think of something. Then an Idea occurred to him.

"Look, I'm really not in the mood right now. Could you come back later perhaps?" He asked. If he couldn't scare them off or tell them to buzz off, then perhaps letting them off nicely would not affect his subconscious.

"Oh that's too bad, maybe it can be a picnic!" Fluttershy suggested.

"Yeah! A picnic in the Everfree forest! Whaddaya say, Black Daze?" Spike asked.

Eh, what the heck. He thought. "Sure, meet here at 7pm sharp. I should hopefully be in a better mood by then." He grumbled before laying his head back down.

"Okay, thanks for being so nice, Mr. Daze. See you at 7!" Fluttershy then walked off.

"Bye Daze! You're totally awesome!" Spike called back, following Fluttershy.

Black Daze gave a quick wave, then continued sulking a little while longer before he realized he had to tell Trix and Chrissy about the picnic. He flew towards his camp and landed with a THUD.

"There's a change in plans for dinner, everypony."

"And what, pray tell, would that change be?" Chrysalis asked.

"A picnic!" Trixie exclaimed.

"At 7pm with Fluttershy." Daze continued.

"Who's that?" Chrysalis asked. She didn't remember Fluttershy from the royal wedding.

"You'll see soon enough." Daze assured.

To be continued…

Sub-Author's Note: Thank God for copy-pasting.

Well...this is awkward...

A Change in Heart

This and the next 2 chapters by: Jexxazrez

Everything past that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

"Sooo…are you still mad at us?" Trixie asked, shifting nervously from hoof to hoof.

Daze shrugged. "Meh, I wasn't that angry in the first place. It's only my mane, anyway." He took a deep breath and continued.

"And as for the change in plans, we have company coming over about seven. Therefore, we should expect them here in about…"

"90 minutes." Trixie finished.

"Well someone's a smarty pants." Black Daze groaned, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Would you rather I have said 'hour and a half,' Dazey?"

"Oh hush…" Daze sighed.

Trixie blew a lock of hair from her face. "Well I should take a bath too, wouldn't want to smell bad for the company now." She then walked off towards the creek. Daze considered following her secretly but thought better of it. He had surprisingly good control over those kinds of impulses. Not so much others though, such as the Applejack incident.

As Trixie walked off, he turned to Chrysalis and asked her, "So if company's coming over, would you like to get changed into a different look?"

Chrysalis answered. "Of course, but I'd like to stay this way a while longer."

"Fine by me." Daze replied indifferently.

"So Dazey, tell me about Fluttershy." Chrysalis asked Daze. Perhaps she could remember her.

"Well…" Daze began, "She's about as tall as the other mares, has a butter yellow coat, a light pink mane, huge cyan eyes, and a very soft voice. She had such a shy demeanor; I'd even say she was afraid of her own shadow. She seemed very nice though." Daze reflected.

"Well she sounds lovely. I she wasn't the one that took me down, so I have no quarrel with her. The purple one on the other hand…"

"Yeah, I'm not too fond of her either. At least she started to listen to me at some point in the fight we had. Trixie paralyzed her before I got anything else out of her though…"

"That's a shame, well perhaps they'll listen."

"They wanna make it up to me all the sudden. I wonder why that is…"

"That puzzles me as well. They didn't want to make it up with ME after I was defeated…" Chrysalis brooded.

"Perhaps that will be revealed." Daze responded.

After that they sat next to each other. Nopony was around, Trixie was bathing, and Chrysalis started contemplating kissing Daze. She didn't know why though, and she thought about it. Why did she suddenly want to kiss him? Let's see… He was nice to her, he took her in when she was down, he protected her, he seemingly complimented her in the hospital, and he risked his life for her every day she was with him. If anypony saw them together, things would most likely get ugly. So she wanted to kiss him because she cared for him, and he cared for her. Was it love? She didn't know. But she decided to test the waters first before doing something she might regret…

"Dazey?" She asked in an innocent voice with the same distortion that she always had.

"Mm-hmm?" He responded.

"We've only known each other for about 3 days now…but I really have grown fond of you, you know that." She said to him.

"That's…very nice, I'm fond of you too I guess…" Daze responded calmly. But on the inside, his heart was racing.

"Oh my gosh, maybe she likes me? I kinda do I guess, but I've never been in a relationship before. What if she doesn't like me like that! Then all these thoughts are pointless!" His thoughts whirled around in a maelstrom of emotions.

"And with that being said…I must ask you. What would you say If I were to…kiss you?" Chrysalis responded with a nervous tone. She normally wasn't nervous about this kind of stuff. Maybe it's because it's actually HER who's fallen in love and not trying to feed from love.

"Hm…"Daze thought carefully about his response to her. He wanted to kiss her, he was curious, but at the same time he was nervous and didn't want to kiss her out of the blue, so he decided to play it playful and safe.

"I dunno, would you like to find out?" He said with a wry smirk.

With some confidence coursing through her veins, Chrysalis responded by wrapping her perforated hooves around Black Daze's neck and looked deep into his eyes. "You bet your flank I do!" She cooed before locking him in a passionate kiss.

"MMMF!" Daze exclaimed, shocked by her actually doing it…but at the same time really enjoying it.

Chrysalis said nothing, she only continued kissing him.

After a few seconds Black Daze finally relaxed and started to thoroughly enjoy the kiss. For a stallion as new to kissing as he was, he thought he was doing a pretty good job judging by the relaxed look on Chrysalis's face. Her lips felt firm against his, but she was at the same time very gentle. It made sparks go off in his head, and he felt passion surge through his bloodstream as he wrapped his strong, scaly arms around Chrysalis's waist and slithered his long tongue inside her mouth.

Chrysalis shuddered with pleasure, she never felt the tongue of a dragon before. She thoroughly enjoyed it, though. It made her moan in ecstasy as she gave in to his kiss and hung on him as he continued to work his tongue in circles around hers.

It was Daze who finally broke the kiss after a few minutes. (Much to the dismay of Chrysalis) And they cuddled for a while. Daze held Chrysalis in his powerful arms and his snout was pressed to hers. He thought about how cute she looked with her eyes closed like that. She must have really trusted him since she was very close to sleeping in his arms. She knew that he would stop at nothing to protect her. It made her confident to be with him. She was also fairly sure she had the upper hand for Black Daze's heart. She knew that he liked her Stargazer form, and for that, she found it cute that he was easily impressed. Also, it somewhat bothered her since he was seemingly more impressed with her Stargazer form than her actual self. Oh well, you have to take what you can get right? Besides, he liked her enough to kiss her in her real form. That was enough for her right now.

They cuddled for what seemed like hours (but was really only about 50 minutes) when Trixie returned to see them in their gentle display of affection.

"O-oh um…I'm not interrupting anything am I?" She said, slightly red and secretly saddened that she wasn't in Chrysalis's place.

"Not at all! Heheh…" Daze chuckled nervously and got up, placing Chrysalis on the ground.

"We were just…falling asleep is all." Chrysalis said to Trixie, lowering her eyelids.

"Mhm. Well I'm done with my bath, are you all ready for this picnic?" Trixie inquired.

"I'm quite ready." Chrysalis replied, changing into Stargazer. Daze only nodded.

"Well good, because they will be here in less than 40 minutes." Trixie said matter-of-factly.

Stargazer noticed Trixie's saddened expression and said to her, "Trix, may I talk to you for a moment. Dazey, stay here."

Daze nodded again and laid his head down to rest. Stargazer then walked a few feet off to have a conversation when she thought Daze was asleep, which wasn't long since she heard snoring a few seconds after he laid his head down. That Daze, so lethargic. Trixie thought to herself.

"Trixie, do you happen to have a crush on Dazey by any chance?" Stargazer asked in almost a teasing voice.

Trixie's eyes widened and she said in an accusing tone. "W-why NO! What would make you think that? Just because he's cute and strong and cares about me doesn't mean I like him!" She quickly covered her mouth with her hoof after realizing what she just said.

"Oh come on Trix, don't be shy. It's ok, I do as well." Stargazer cooed, trying to calm her. She got a more serious look on her face and said, "And I think it's time that we both talked about our feelings, don't you think?"

Trixie only nodded. Then she said to Stargazer, "I…I've never had a relationship b-before. Every time somepony showed any interest in me it turned out that they were just joking or they only wanted to take advantage of me. Daze is the first pony...er…pony dragon that I cannot see doing that, mainly because he's rather clueless." She gave a playful smile at the end.

Stargazer smiled back and said, "So we both like him, that's interesting. Normally if you were any other mare I'd steal him from you and feed off of his love." Trixie frowned at that. "However," Stargazer continued. "Since I'm a changed Queen (Haha, CHANGEDling Queen, I'm so punny.) I will let Dazey decide who should be in a relationship with him. What do you say?" She held out her hoof to Trixie.

"So a competition, huh? I do enjoy competitions. You're on, and may the best mare win." They shook hooves and Stargazer winked at her.

Daze had heard the whole thing. (He only pretended to be asleep) And he was quite excited for once.

I'm liked by not one, but TWO mares? This is either one of the strangest or greatest things that has ever happened to me. But what to do? If they are in a competition for me, I have to pretend not to know. Ultimately, I'll have to choose one over the other…but I really don't want to hurt either of them by doing so… His newfound joy turned to concern as he lied down and thought. Perhaps…perhaps he could somehow date BOTH! How would such a relationship work? He didn't know. He didn't care however. He only wanted them both to be happy.

Meanwhile in Ponyville…

"Fluttershy, I'm glad your mission to get Daze to open up was a success and all but…do we really have to go on this picnic? It's just not gonna work out well for us." Rainbow Dash complained. She and Applejack were being dragged along with the other elements of harmony and Spike.

"Oh yes, you m-must go because if not, he won't accept the apologies you're going to give him." Fluttershy whispered in her signature quiet voice.

"Apologies? Now wait just an apple-pickin' moment. I ain't apologizing for nuthin 'less he apologizes too. What we did was not good, but he didn't do anything right neither." Applejack said honestly.

"Yeah, I won't apologize until he does." Rainbow Dash said stubbornly. Twilight only rolled her eyes.

"We aren't going to get anywhere unless we TRY to be his friend, everypony." She commented.

"An we will, I just want a little apology is all." Applejack responded, turning her head up slightly.

"Oh I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige, he seems very nice!" Fluttershy added. In truth though, she didn't really know. She only had to hope for the best. They were nearing the place the picnic was to be held and got ready to set it up.

Black Daze woke up (well, pretended to…) and stretched his back. He then turned to Trixie and said,

"So time-girl, how long until the picnic now." He didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"About five minutes, so we should go. Lead the way, Dazey." Trixie answered. She giggled when Daze called her 'time-girl.'

A few minutes later they reached the spot the picnic was to be held and were greeted with mixed results. Pinkie and Spike waved happily, Fluttershy waved shyly and hid her face partially behind her hair. Daze found it adorable because come on, who wouldn't? Applejack and Rainbow Dash didn't say anything and only looked to the ground. Applejack later looked up and tried to crack a half-smile. At least she was trying, Daze would have to give her a chance. Twilight gave him what looked like a forced smile. Twilight didn't bother looking at Trixie though, what happened that fateful night still haunts her to this day. Rarity gave a neutral wave. Trixie and Stargazer gave a polite wave and Stargazer put her arm around Black Daze, earning a glance from Trixie but she shook it off.

"So…shall we get started?" Rarity asked before using her magic to set out plates and evenly portioned out some hay fries for them all. Daze looked down at the plate, then he took the plate and vacuumed up all the hay fries and the plate with a single bite. Everypony looked at him, shocked that he was able to do it. Then again, his jaws could stretch at least 3 times as wide as theirs.

Black Daze then thought about starting some small talk. It seemed appropriate since he sort of wanted to get to know these ponies better...sort of… As the other ponies ate their hay fries, Daze spoke up.

"So…anypony here like…stuff? He asked awkwardly.

"Depends on the stuff yer talkin' about." Applejack responded neutrally.

"Alright, country pony, tell me what stuff you like then." Daze said in his best friendly voice. (which was pretty bad for the record)

"Well I like apples, herdin' animals, cookin' stuff, and workin' on my farm with Big Macintosh. He's mah big brother." Applejack said to him.

"Interesting…" Daze thought. He really didn't care though, at least she was being relatively friendly. Then he turned to the white Unicorn. "So what about you miss…"

"…Miss Rarity." She finished for him. "And you could say I'm a fashionista of sorts. I design clothes for ponies that need a change in style. Perhaps I can design something for you one day, It would be an interesting challenge to design an outfit for something of…your build…" She smiled awkwardly, afraid she might've offended him.

Black Daze lowered his ears. "Ahhh…thanks but no thanks, I have no interest in fashion. I'm flattered by your offer though…"

"Oh um…that's quite alright. And from what I heard your name is…Dazey?" She responded with a nervous grin.

Black Daze's ears lowered further and his irises shrunk. "It's not, my name is Black Daze and I'm a dragon-pony hybrid. I suppose I should tell you all why I'm like…this…before you say anything else." He pointed to himself at 'this.' Then he recounted his tale with Snuffles, the Dragon Bruial Chambers, Daravoc, being transformed painfully, getting rejected by his own family, and living in the Everfree forest for 8 years, dealing with Giant forest apes, King forest apes, Manticores, Cockatrices, and even the Hydra on a few occasions. He admitted that a few of the famous forest fires there were casued by him, and that the forest always regrew quickly due to Celestia's magic. He knew about her exsistence but she apparently didn't know about his. If she did, then it was good news that she left him alone. As he finished his story, he saw that everypony except Rainbow Dash looked saddened from his tale. Spike was even crying. He walked up to him and said, "No dragon OR pony should have to live like you did, without friends or family. Will you accept me, as your friend?"

Black Daze, somewhat touched by his kindness, responded with "Yea, I guess we can be friends." Then they bumped fists. Daze could not explain it, but he felt a certain kinship with Spike. As long as they were 'on the same side' he would watch his back. There were a few 'Awwwwhs' from the crowd, namely from Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Stargazer. Fluttershy then walked up to him and then hugged him as she said "I agree with Spike. If you're ever in bad shape or need a friend, feel free to stop by my cottage, the ponies in town will know where it is if you get lost."

"But that begs the question, will the other ponies help me when I'm like…this?" Again, pointing to his whole body at 'this.'

Fluttershy realized her mistake and whispered, "It's by the outskirts of town. Sort of hard to miss, but one of us will gladly point the way…" Daze was satisfied by this answer and nodded.

Applejack was next to come up. "Well uh…after that story I hafta say that I was wrong about you, you ain't no monster and I'm mighty sorry, I hope you can forgive me…" She said, taking her Stetson hat off. Black Daze wasn't ready to forgive so easily however, and he stared daggers into her eyes. After a short analysis, he could detect that she was sincere. Sighing in defeat, he gave her a reluctant hug.

"It's alright, and I apologize for beating you down." He said as he hugged her. This prompted a light blush from Applejack.

"Aw, shucks. Now you've gone and embarrassed me." She said playfully before they broke the hug. Daze never thought being nice was this…weird. He didn't mind it TOO much…but he figured that friends would only benefit him.

"And hey, we could use a strong one like you helping on the farm. Why don't you swing by one day and get some Apple Family Hospitality!" Applejack continued.

Daze lowered his ears again. "Don't push your luck, cowgirl." He grumbled.

Rarity dried her tears with her napkin then walked up to Black Daze and said to him.

"There wasn't any doubt in my mind that you weren't all bad, I'm glad to call you my friend." She smiled.

Daze thought about this for a minute... eventually he settled on 'Why not?' and shook her dainty hoof. Then Twilight, who walked up to him carefully, held out her arms awkwardly to indicate she expected a hug. This awkward display was mainly due to the fact that she didn't normally show affection towards other ponies in that way. Daze really didn't want to hug her, but seeing as how she eventually tried to listen he decided to not keep her hanging and gave her a VERY reluctant hug. He had to kneel down though since Twilight was much shorter compared to Black Daze.

A happy grin broke across Twilight's face when he hugged her. He was warm despite being part reptile and it felt pleasant. She then broke the hug and at this point Pinkie bounced over and tackled Daze to the ground in a hug. Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight all giggled. Trixie said nothing, as she still was not on good terms with Twilight and did NOT appreciate her hugging her Dazey.

"OH OH! I wanna be your friend too! Can I? please pretty please!" She gave puppy dog eyes to Daze.

Black Daze, still somewhat bitter about being stabbed by the pink pony, turned his head away from her and lowered his eyebrows. Pinkie frowned, her mane deflating again causing Black Daze to shout "Okay okay I will just don't kill me!"

Everypony looked at Daze with a confused face. Pinkie's mane went bouncy again and she exclaimed, "YAAAAY! But why would I kill you, silly?" She asked, completely oblivious to his implication.

"Because last time your mane did that bad things happened." Daze's irises shrunk.

"Oh yeah…I never remember what happens after that unless somepony tells me, but it also happens when I'm sad." Pinkie said.

"That begs the question however, what did Twilight say that made you do…that." He asked.

Twilight looked to the left, then the right. She sighed and figured it was time for an explanation. "What I said was…that you didn't like cupcakes."

"He doesn't like what…?" Pinkie whispered, her irises shrinking and her mane deflating.

"NO NO! He likes them, don't you Daze?" Twilight urged, hoping Daze would take her hint.

"Oh cra-uhh I mean yes! Nothing better than cupcakes! Heheheh…" Daze nervously stammered, hoping it was enough to save his flank, perhaps literally.

"Okie Dokie Loki! Just making sure." Pinkie Pie cheerfully sang, back to her old self.

Daze turned to Twilight and whispered "…The buck was THAT!"

"It's just Pinkie Pie. You'll get used to it." Twilight responded.

Rainbow Dash sat down stubbornly. All her other friends were willing to call him their friend except for her. She just didn't want to call him a friend until he apologized. Even after that though, it would be a while before she was ready for a hug of any sorts.

"What's the matter Rainbow, afraid he's going to bite?" Rarity teased.

Black Daze grinned evilly and flashed his teeth as if to play along with Rarity. Honestly, he had had enough hugs for today. He didn't need to be friends with the rainbow one, so he wasn't going to do much beyond maybe apologizing for her scar.

"I want him to say he's sorry for my back scar first." Rainbow muttered, as if reading his mind.

Black Daze heard this and sighed. She was as stubborn as he was. Daze decided to be the better man in this case. He walked up to Rainbow Dash and said in his best sincere tone…

"Although I am sorry for your back wound, I did warn you beforehand. So, my sympathy is limited. Truce?" He held out his large 4-fingered claw at Rainbow for her to shake. He shuddered at the apology he just gave. He almost choked on his own bile saying that.

Rainbow thought about this for a minute. Yes, he did warn her beforehand…. still shouldn't have done it though…It caused her to need stitches that still hurt. On the other hand, it was self-defense. If he was her friend though, he would be a powerful ally and someone she could race with finally. She had made her decision.

She shook Daze's claw. "Truce." She responded.

Now that they were all 'friends', it was time for some real conversation to begin. Twilight, not knowing Stargazer, decided to ask about her.

"So Stargazer is it?" Twilight nonchalantly asked.

"Indeed, that's my name." Stargazer replied.

"Where exactly did you meet Black Daze? And how does a relationship like yours work…?" She questioned.

"Oh me and Black Daze met one day while I was hiking through the forest by myself. It wasn't a smart decision mind you because before you knew it I was face to face with a Manticore. I thought I was done for, but Dazey here…" She nuzzled Black Daze, prompting a proud smile on his part. "Dazey saved me by beating the Manticore to a pulp. When it ran away, I asked why a beast like him would protect me…and do you know what his response was?"

"What WAS his response." Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued.

"He told me that with a mare as beautiful as me, she needed a guardian pony to protect her. And before you knew it, we were kissing under the starlit sky." Stargazer fibbed, she was pleased with the story she came up with on a split second basis.

"Well that sounds like a sweet tale, you must feel very lucky…you aren't mad about the whole hospital thing are you…?" Twilight asked sadly, her ears drooping.

"Oh don't worry about it sweetie, Daze has been through much worse. I'd say you did the equivalent of skinning his knee." Stargazer said, again lying. She was furious they hurt Daze, and even more furious at them because of the Canterlot Wedding incident. However, since she needed to not reveal her secret identity, she had to keep a convincing disguise. Even if that meant being friendly.

After a while of 'buddying up,' the Elements of Harmony and Daze found that some of them had some things in common with Daze. Applejack and Daze both liked a little competition, him and Rainbow Dash both liked to fly as fast as they could, him and Fluttershy both had a soft spot for animals (except for the ones Daze ate, which he did NOT mention to Fluttershy) Him and Rarity, well…they didn't have much in common. They were just friends. And him and Twilight liked to read.

"If you've lived out here for 8 years then what have you been reading?" Twilight asked.

"I don't read often, but sometimes some campers leave their books unattended and so I take them and read them if I'm ever bored. It beats fighting the creatures of the forest anyday." Daze replied with a chuckle.

"Hey Black Daze!" Spike called out.

"What is it, champ?" He called back.

"Do you like emeralds? Try this one!" Spike then held out an emerald to Black Daze, who stared at it quizzically. He had never had any gemstones before and perhaps his dragon blood allowed him to eat and digest it. He took the emerald in hand, studied it, then took a bite. It tasted sweet! And furthermore, he didn't expend much effort eating it. It was like a jolly rancher, comparatively. He actually liked it.

"Thanks little man, I've never had a gem before…" He said.

"No problem Daze! It was the least I could do for Twilight's trouble." Spike replied, glancing over at Twilight.

"HEY! You know what this calls for? A PARTY!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I know this GREAT night club we can go to! Vinyl Scratch is going to be there and everything!"

"Ummm…Pinkie, are you sure it's a good idea for Black Daze to be introduced to Ponyville already? He still is rather new to…our culture…" Rarity said worriedly.

"I think it's a great idea, what better way to learn what's hip and happening in Ponyville than a night club! I say we go!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed. She liked night clubs.

"Oh sure, why not. After all, if the other ponies aren't ok with his appearance, he'll still have us." Twilight agreed.

"I'd sure like to go, it seems mighty fun…" Applejack beamed, also keen on the idea.

"Well then it's settle…wait, what about you Fluttershy?" Twilight asked the shy Pegasus.

"Oh, n-night clubs are a b-bit too intense for me, you can go without me right?" Fluttershy whispered.

"Aw come on Fluttershy, if you're too embarrassed or scared, then hide behind Dazey! I'm sure he will protect you." Pinkie said while grinning widely. Fluttershy blushed…

"I'm a dragon-pony; not a chaperone. Sure, if she's in trouble I'll help out but don't expect me to get you drinks or tell you what to do next. Heck, I won't be sure what to do myself." Black Daze nonchalantly warned.

"W-well I suppose I can go for a little while…" She said weakly.

"Then what are we waiting for everypony? Let's be on our way!" Rainbow Dash beamed. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to gather their stuff and head out to Ponyville. "Meet us at the far edge of the Everfree forest OK?" Twilight called out. Daze nodded and waved goodbye. Then he turned to Stargazer and Trixie.

"Do you hear that? We're going to a night club!" Daze said rather excitedly, mainly because he loved the night so much and hearing that there was an entire club dedicated to the night unlocked his inner fanboy. He didn't want to show it around the Elements of Harmony, however.

"Correction, Dazey. You're going to a night club." Trixie retorted, winking at him.

"Wait…why aren't you two going?" Daze asked, his ears drooping a bit.

"In case you don't remember, we aren't on good terms with those mares… especially Twilight. I think that spending an entire evening with that bunch will not end well." Chrysalis answered, changing back to her true form. Trixie nodded in agreement.

"Well…ok, your loss…"

"Trust us, it isn't."

"Whatever, I'll see you guys tomorrow, I think I'll be up all night doing NIGHT STUFF!" Daze beamed happily.

Chrysalis and Trixie rolled their eyes. He was really really not going to like that nightclub…

Just then, Trixie began thinking about Daze. As far as she knew, Chrysalis really had the upper hoof for Daze's heart and if she didn't do something soon, she was going to be the 'other mare' that Daze wasn't dating. She decided to go to the club, purely to get closer with him. She started running when Chrysalis asked "Where are you going, Trix?"

Trixie grinned then responded with "I've got a nightclub to hang at!" She then took off after Black Daze, Leaving Chrysalis alone at the camp.

"Well I guess I'm alone again…" Chrysalis sighed, and then walked over to set up a fire in the camp.

Making Amends (Clop Warning)

A Change in Heart

This final Chapter by: Jexxazrez

Everything past this by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Trixie stood at the door, irate and ready to give Vinyl and Black Daze the magic beating of their lives. How could he? After all she's don...on second thought, what had she done for him? Going to this club with him wasn't really much of a favor, and she knew very well of Daze's lack of understanding for sexual innuendos, so she quickly calmed herself down and instead adopted a look of betrayal.

Meanwhile, Daze suddenly felt real guilty for doing this to her, if she was reacting this extremely, then it was apparent she harbored at least SOME feelings for him...and doing this wouldn't be fair to her. He stood up and placed Vinyl on the ground who only gave him a quizzical look as he stood on his hind legs.

"Trixie, this isn't what it looks li-"

"Don't you use that line with ME, young man!" She scolded him as if he were her son.

"Whoa whoa WHOA!" Daze shot back. "For one thing, I'm most likely older than you, so that tone doesn't fit. SECONDLY, You didn't let me finish. I was legitimately seduced by this enchantress here with her...I dunno...charisma? I think is what it's called."

"Hey man, no need to get all mad. If you want to join the fun you could just say so." Vinyl piped up.

"I don't want another word out of you." Trixie snapped coldly.

"Hey hey, don't be like that...look, I understand your frustration, but I think she meant well...did you?" Daze turned his head towards Vinyl.

"Yeah, I just wanted some fun is all, plus it's not every day you meet a stallion-"

"Technically, I'm not a stallion." Black Daze interrupted.

"Whatever." Vinyl replied. "It's not everyday you meet somepony with his size." She gestured towards his member, which was exposed due to Vinyl's earlier teasing.

Trixie flushed a deep red, she noticed his size, and realized that Vinyl had a point. It wasn't every day you got an opportunity like him. Still, she didn't want Vinyl to have him first, that was HER desire and she planned to have it.

"Er...um regardless..." She attempted to speak, but the words refused to come out of her mouth.

"Come on, let's all have him at the same time! Don't worry, I'll share..." Vinyl gave a seductive wink.

Trixie honestly considered Vinyl's offer for a bit. I mean, she would get to have him, but sharing with that trashy DJ? That was what put her off. She just wanted it to be him and her, and nopony else.

"As tempting as that offer is, we're going to have to say no." Trixie said.

"Wait, WE!? Since when do you make my decisions for me." Daze snapped, Trixie shot him a death glare, one that even made Daze cringe. "Oh fine, we'll go." Daze almost choked on his own bile saying that. He really wanted release now, Vinyl had warmed him up and left him hanging. He'd just have to go with it, he supposed.

Daze walked out of the back office and the other ponies turned their heads away out of respect and/or fear. Daze passed the Elements of Harmony and they noticed him not making eye contact. Trixie had her tail wrapped around his foreleg and was leading him out the door. Before they left, Twilight called out.

"Hey Daze, where are you going?" She held out her hoof as if reaching out to him.

"Complications of sorts..." He lied. (partially.)

"Oh...well did you have fun tonight at least?" She asked.

"Sure...sure." Daze replied, not remembering the fight very fondly.

And with that Trixie yanked Black Daze out the door and they headed home...

-*~*-

"Trixie, you aren't still mad at me are you?" Daze questioned, looking at her with innocent eyes.

Trixie sighed before answering him with a punch to the shoulder. "I'm pretty ticked, but I don't know why. I mean, I know why I'm mad, but I don't really know why I'm mad. Does that make any sense?" She still kept her tail tightly wrapped his foreleg.

Daze thought for a bit..."Ahh...Nope." He shrugged.

"Well you're a guy, of course you don't understand. To tell you the truth I've been changed recently, and I don't know why."

"Different? You're still as snooty and ego-centric as ever, and you're still an emotional roller-coaster. I don't notice any difference...OW!" He rubbed his shoulder from Trixie punching it again, harder this time.

"You frustrate me so much, it drives me insane!" Trixie snapped. Then she calmed down and continued. "What's changed about me is that I'm no longer as ego-centric as I was before, even after summoning all that power the night you were stabbed. I noticed it happening ever since I..." She started to turn red.

"Since...?" Daze urged.

"Since I started to like you..." She whispered lightly.

"Since you started what now?" Daze's ears perked up.

"SINCE I STARTED TO LIKE YOU!!" Trixie shouted far louder than she should have. Trixie cupped a hoof over her mouth and began to tear up soon after, causing Daze to become flustered. He picked up Trixie with his arm and held her close.

"Oh come on Trix, don't cry. It's ok...It's ok..." He attempted to comfort the sniffling mare huddled close to his chest.

"No it's not, I've... I've never given my heart out to somepony before, and I'm afraid of what you're going to do with ittt..." Trixie sobbed, burying her face deeper into his chest.

Daze sat down and continued holding Trixie to him. He'd never had to deal with another mare's feelings before, since Chrysalis was so relaxed and in control about it. Trixie on the other hand, she was an emotional wreck. Poor girl...she obviously had never confessed to a guy like this. Daze had to choose his words and actions carefully now, her heart was in his hands, and he had to make sure she didn't make a mistake in doing so.

Black Daze sighed. Forgive me, Chrissy... he thought to himself before he gently pressed his lips to hers. Trixie's eyes widened before she started to push back and wrap her hooves around him.

They were locked in a tender kiss, Trixie's eyes were closed and she hung on to him with both arms, silently pleading with her facial expression for him to continue. Daze's lips were firmly pressed to hers, but her lips seemed like they were almost pulling onto his, as if scared that he would stop. Daze inferred using his mad detective skills that she was enjoying the kiss. Out of impulse, he began to use his tounge on her, moving it around in her mouth as Trixie let out a continuous stream of moans that were muffled by the fact that they were still kidding. Suddenly, her tounge entered his mouth and began fighting his. Daze fought back by wrapping his tounge around hers and constricting it tight, then he pulled her tounge into his mouth and held her tighter. Trixie wasn't about to let up so easily, and she yanked her tounge out of Daze's oral grasp and pushed harder on his mouth, making Daze relax somehow. It felt as if she was somehow sedating him just by kissing him just right...

No...Trixie wasn't going to win this one, not on his watch.

Out of desparation, Daze placed his claws gently on each one of Trixie's flanks and began to rub them lightly, causing Trixie to gasp and immediately break the kiss.

"D-daze? What are you d-d-d-doi-oohhh!" Trixie squeaked as he expertly caressed her flanks.

"I may have lived out here for 8 years, but I'm not ignorant. I'm very aware of cutie marks acting as extreme arousal spots for girls. So...basically, you have one of two options. Either you surrender, or I'm gonna torment you further. Your choice." He grinned sadistically and started to kiss her neck as he worked her flanks.

Trixie was getting exponentially more aroused every second. She was loving this. No stallion had ever done this to her before, and quite frankly, despite her pride being at stake, she didn't want him to stop. Not now, not ever.

"You want me to s-surrender? You're gonna have to make me." She said with heavy breaths before she succumbed to the pleasure and began to whimper in ecstasy as he caressed her flanks and teased her neck.

"Your choice..." Daze said ominously before he began rubbing her flanks harder and more frequently, sending chills down her already quivering spine. Daze was thoroughly aroused now, and believed himself to be ready for what was the next step in this. He had to make sure that Trixie was, however.

Black Daze looked into Trixie's eyes, they were half-lidded and she was panting and sweating lightly while looking into his. He looked down to her nethers, which he could tell were exceptionally wet, then back up to her as if asking permission for access. A deep red blush burned across Trixie's face as she looked down to her own nethers, then sensing what Daze was asking, she slowly nodded, the blush getting more and more intense.

That was all Daze needed. He took one of his large claws and carefully, oh so carefully inserted it inside her, parting her lower lips and causing her to moan with pure ecstasy. Trixie leaned her head back and in response, Black Daze wrapped his other arm around her and brought her neck close to his. While he carefully worked his finger deeper inside the excited mare, he very gently nibbled on her neck and elicited more cries of pleasure from her.

Back at the camp, Chrysalis was having a quiet evening to herself when she started hearing strange moaning from the distance. She recognized it as Trixie's voice, and of course, she assumed her and Daze were spending 'quality time' together. She was suddenly very curious, and walked off to investigate the cries of pleasure.

Meanwhile, Trixie was having the time of her life. She hadn't ever felt pleasure like this before. The combination of Daze's finger inside her, his others gently brushing across her cutie mark, the feel of his teeth to her neck, it was too much for her to handle. With a final cry of ecstasy, she shook violently as a powerful orgasm ripped through her body. It soaked Daze's finger, but he didn't care. He was overjoyed that he was able to please her...and yet...he was disappointed that he didn't get to come. Oh well, better luck next time.

"So...what happens now?" He asked, not sure what usually came after sex. (If what transpired could be called that)

"Now we cuddle!" Trixie beamed, feeling much better now that Daze had thoroughly pleased her. Her hooves wrapped around his middle and she nuzzled into his chest.

"Ahem?" He said, pointing to his still rock hard member.

Trixie suddenly was washed over with guilt. She was so caught up in her own enjoyment, she forgot to give him his. But now she was too exhausted to do anything about it, and if she made herself do anything, she wouldn't last long. Her lower lips were still very sensitive and very flushed.

"Oh my gosh, I'm terribly sorry Daze, but I don't have the energy to satisfy you! I hope you'll forgive me..." Trixie gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, here we go with the puppy dog eyes."

Trixie kept staring.

"You act as if this is going to always work."

Trixie kept on staring.

"Well I..uh...I ummm..."

Trixie didn't relent on her stare.

"Ponyfeathers, fine I forgive you." He rolled his eyed in defeat. "But what am I going to do about this? If it isn't taken care of, I'm going to be real sore tonight."

"I think I can help with that." A new voice emerged.

Trixie and Daze turned their heads and saw Chrysalis in her Stargazer form come out from behind the forest undergrowth. Was she watching? Who knows.

The fact that Daze was caught freaked him out. His rock hard member shriveled up and just...died. He suddenly didn't mind being sore tonight...

"What's the matter Dazey? I thought you liked me like this." Stargazer put on her best pouty face.

Sensing that Stargazer didn't care and she was here to satisfy his problem, Daze's member slowly came back to life as he stared at Stargazer's body, making Trixie roll her eyes in mild annoyance.

"You know, it's called knocking." Trixie said, her words soaked in sarcasm.

"I don't see any door..." Stargazer retorted cleverly. "Now, how's about you stand aside and let the nurse see her patient."

This time, Daze looked at Trixie with pleading eyes.

"Ohhh no, don't think that you can convince me that easily!"

His stare didn't change.

"Trixie isn't as simple-minded as you..."

He just kept staring.

"Oh come on, cut that out!"

No response, more staring.

Trixie lowered her eyelids and sighed in defeat. "...Fine..."

Daze did a fist pump. "Nailed it~" Stargazer was laughing hysterically at Daze's little display back there. After calming down, she walked over and took a look at his member, now erect again. Trixie walked a few feet off and decided to watch. Mainly because...she didn't have anything better to do anyway.

"Trust me, I'm a professional." Stargazer cooed before taking half of his enormous cock into her mouth. It was so wide, it stretched her jaws. She didn't mind though, she liked a challenge. Daze let out a groan of pleasure and to everypony's surprise, his wings extended fully with a *Pomf.*
Stargazer giggled. "Well well well, I didn't know dragons got wing-boners..." She then resumed pleasing Daze with her mouth.

"Wing what now? Gahhh!" He was thoroughly enjoying this.

Trixie explained for her. "When a pegasus is aroused, their wings sprout up like that. I see that dragons do it too apparently..." Trixie was getting aroused again watching them.

But technically I'm not a draHAAAHhhahah!" He couldn't finish as Stargazer's tongue sent an unreal chill down his spine.

"Pony-hybrid, whatever." Trixie sighed.

Stargazer came up from her 'feast' and looked into Daze's eyes. "Well now, you've gone and got me wet, I hope you're ready for a ride..." She cooed before positioning herself over him. Daze could only watch in awe as his entire cock was swallowed by her pussy. Her lips parted and she bottomed out, groaning slightly as she did. She was very...very full right now.

Daze didn't get time to ask if she was okay as she began to ride him, pumping her hips up and down his long shaft. It was so wide, she felt like it was splitting her in two. It also drove her crazy in the good way, being that full gave her the full stimulation she had craved for years. She had been with many stallions in her hundreds of years of existence, but she had never experienced a cock quite like his. She couldn't stop the continuous moans erupting from her as she continued to ride him.

Trixie had had enough, she walked over to where the two were having their fun and approached Daze's head. She then proceeded to place her hoof behind it and lowered his head onto her dripping pussy. It was weird for her to do this, but not unwelcome. Daze responded by snaking his tongue all over her entrance and wrapping it around her clit with gusto. Trixie cried out in pleasure and held her hoof firmly in place at the back of his head.

Stargazer began to feel the pressure of her own orgasm build up inside her hips. She could tell it was going to be a big one, and she prepared for this by suddenly pumping her hips twice as fast as before. Daze responded to this by gripping her haunches and assisting her in riding him. Trixie felt her orgasm fast approaching, as her lips were still sensitive from earlier and Black Daze was REALLY good with that tounge of his...She felt herself quiver as another powerful orgasm rocked her body.

Stargazer had reached her limit. With one final thrust, she screamed in ecstasy and rode Daze's cock to the most powerful orgasm of her life. Her insides clenched onto his cock, causing Daze to finally release his own load of semen deep inside her.

Stargazer lifted herself off of Daze's cock with an audible 'pop.' She leaned to her side, smiling and panting. Without a doubt, it was the best sex she had ever had. Trixie's thoughts were identical, of course, her first time was forced. (WHAT THE FUCK, JEXX??) But that's another story for another time...

For now, Black Daze and company just lied there in the forest, completely exhausted and satisfied, and drifted off into a deep slumber...

Now that that chapter's done with, don't expect any more clop. I'm not against it, I just don't write it.

Catching Fire

A Change in Heart

Originally By: Jexxazrez

Everything from here on out: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

A/N: From here on out, it's all me, Kuro. Jexx's only contribution from here on out is the basic idea. Also, I'm not that good with dialogue, so bear with me until things get exciting.

Black Daze awoke the next morning. He sat up, and observed the scene. Chrysalis and Trixie were asleep next to each other, forming a circle. Her time asleep had apparently reverted her to her original form. I wonder if I should wake them up... nah, I'll let them sleep. He rose onto his feet and walked towards a river, to cleanse the... fluids... of the previous night off of himself.

He returned minutes later and found them awake.

"That was fun." Chrysalis said. "Better than all my... past experiences."
"I agree." Trixie said.
"Well, I'm glad you two enjoyed it."

Suddenly there was some rustling behind him. Black Daze turned and Twilight stepped out of the bushes.

"Oh... Hello Black Daze, Trixie, Stargazer."
"Hello Twilight," Black Daze said, "what are you doing in the forest so early?"
"Celestia sent me a letter telling me to see if you could visit. She said she'd like to meet you in person."
"Oh. Alright then. Can Trixie and Stargazer come too?"
"I think it's alright." Twilight said.
Black Daze turned around. "Do you want to come?"
"Sure." Trixie said.
"I can't." Stargazer said. "I have to clean up from last nights events."
"What?" Daze asked.
"Well..." She looked at Twilight. "It, uh, it's better explained in private."
Twilight slightly blushed, as if she suddenly realized why they were in the forest so early. "Go ahead."
Stargazer pulled Black Daze behind some trees and reverted back to her normal form. "Right. So, you know how you came inside me last night?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, you understand how little fillies and colts are made, right?"
"What, like babies? All my parents ever told me is that when a mare and stallion love each other a lot, some magic happens and a baby is born."
Wait, Chrysalis thought to herself, so I have to teach him about reproduction?
"Okay... So. You know what we did last night, that was sex."
"Right."
"That's how babies are made."
"What? Really?"
"Well, not all the time. You see, when you came into me, you released your semen. If your semen reaches my ovaries, there is a good chance I will become pregnant. With your child."
"So, I'm gonna be a father?"
"No. That's why I can't go with you. There is a spell that will ensure that I won't get pregnant. Which is good, because, let's be honest, we're not ready to raise a child."
"Don't you have experience with it though? All those Changelings..."
"Changelings reproduce differently. When we aquire enough love, we can magically reproduce... It's complicated. Not to mention, you're part dragon, so there's no telling what the child would be like."
"Oh. Can't you just cast the spell and come with us?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot. Spells that deal with life take time to cast."
"Alright then. Take care."

They rejoined Twilight and Trixie who were having a conversation about combat magic. They turned to face Black Daze upon his reappearance.

"Are you ready to go?" Twilight asked.
"Yes."
"Alright then. Let's go."

Chrysalis headed back to Daze's house to begin her spell. Upon their way out of the forest, however, Black Daze suddenly stopped.

"I smell fire." he said.
"What?" Twilight asked. "I don't smell anything."
"Being part dragon, I have a somewhat advanced sense of smell. And I definitely smell fire. Give me a second to check it out."
"Well, if you insist."

Black Daze spread his wings and took off, slowly following the scent of flames. Which was somewhat unnecessary because a column of black smoke flowed from the eastern-most part of the forest. He flew quickly and saw a group of ponies setting fire to thick trees and chopping down thin ones. In the back, enjoying a drink with his bodyguards, was-

"Harvest..." Black Daze growled.

He quickly flew back to where Twilight and Trixie waited.

"Sorry Twilight, but I'm gonna have to postpone the meeting with Celestia."
"Why?"
"Harvest and some of his workers are cutting down the trees, even though I warned him."
"What?! Don't worry Black Daze, I'll get the rest of the girls, and some guards, and we'll stop them."
"Actually, you should worry about stopping me."
"Huh?"
"I'm going to give him one last warning. If he doesn't heed it... I can't say that I won't kill him."
"Oh... Alright, I'll hurry! Trixie, go with Black Daze and try to keep him from killing anypony."
"Okay!"

The three of them took off, Twilight to get help and Black Daze to defend his land. Trixie followed as fast as she could, but he still got there first. He flew lower and shot a fireball in near the workers. They dropped their axes and tools and backed away from the forest. Black Daze hovered above them, wings spread, eyes glaring threateningly.

He cleared his throat, then announced his intentions loudly. "I am the closest thing this forest has to a ruler. I will forgive you for what you have done up until now. But if you continue to chop down trees and burn my forest, I will rip out your hearts and I will feed them to the timberwolves! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!??!"

Many of the workers got the message, and ran away. Part of it probably had to do with his appearance, because many of them screamed "Monster!" as they ran.

Then Harvest walked up, with his hench-stallions, Maroon and Piper behind him.

"I warned you Harvest. I told you to stay away from the forest."
He smirked. "Black Daze, I honestly was afraid of you for a bit. Then I realized, since the Everfree Forest is technically owned by you, then under normal circumstances I would have to ask you for permission to do this."
"If I remember correctly, I refused to give you permission."
"Which makes this a technical act of war. My brother, Dawn Guardian ((Is this how you do pony names?)) is one of the Generals of the Equestrian military. If I ask, he'll back me up."
"If it's a war you want, then a war you'll get. I'll be sure to leave a part of you unscorched, so your family can recognize you."

They both glared at each other. Trixie burst through the trees.

"Daze! I'm here to help!"
"Good! You take on Piper! Maroon and Harvest are Mine!"

Maroon shot off the ground and engaged Black Daze in the air. Harvest supported him with blasts of magic. Black Daze, despite his experience, was pushed back at first, due to the synergy between Harvest and Maroon. But then he got the hang of their combinated moves. Maroon would swing at him while Harvest would prepare his shot, and then he would back up so Harvest could attack.

Wait for it... Now!

When Maroon threw his hoof, Black Daze caught it in his claw. Then he spun Maroon around and wrapped his forlegs around Maroon's body, preventing Maroon from using his wings. Then Black Daze turned upside down and allowed them both to drop. At the last second, Black Daze let go and Maroon slammed into the ground head first, knocking him out instantly.
Then Daze turned to Harvest.

Meanwhile, Trixie and Piper squared off, before shooting each other with their own beams of magic. Their magic collided, and they both held their ground. They both pushed with their willpower, attempting to overpower the other. Normally, Trixie would easily overpower him, but the previous night's events had left her somewhat hung over, drastically limiting her power.

Damn... How do I beat him now? Then she remembered what she and Twilight were talking about. She allowed Piper to slowly overpower her.

"Ha!" he said. "Foolish mare! Trying to fight a stallion!"

Wow, he's sexist too... she thought. Then, when she was sure that he was putting all of his effort into the beam, she jumped to the side, and his beam rushed past her uncontrollably. Then she shot him with her beam, and he was pushed up against a boulder, knocking him unconscious. She looked over at how Black Daze was doing, and saw that he was about to face Harvest.

Harvest smirked. "I'm a unicorn. You can't possibly defeat me."
"Try me."

They charged each other. Black Daze leaped into the air to deliver a blow- but he was held there by Harvest's magic.

"What did I tell you?"
"Daze!" Trixie yelled.
"Don't worry Trixie, I've got this!"
Harvest guffawed (I just love that word). "You've got this? How preposterous! What can you possibly do?"

Black Daze smiled. Then he shot a fireball at Harvest. At this close range, Harvest was forced to erect a force-field around himself. In the process, however, he had to let go of Black Daze. When he put down the field, Black Daze was already too close.

"Buck!" he attempted to grab Daze again, but Daze managed to scratch his horn, disrupting his magical concentration. Then he grabbed Harvest by the throat, and slammed him into a tree.

"Listen, Harvest. I'm only going to say this once more. Stay away from my forest. I'm going to let you live, because I'm trying to be friendly for the first time in years, but if I see you near my forest again-" he slammed Harvest against the tree again to emphasize his statement. "-I will kill you, and I will eat your heart myself. However, since the last time I warned you, you didn't listen, this time, I'm going to remind you in a way you can see."
"What-"
Black Daze inhaled, then breathed fire over Harvest's horn.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH PLEASE PLEASE STOP I'M SORRY I SWEAR-"
Black Daze stopped. Harvest's horn was now charred black. Daze let go of Harvest, who collapsed onto the ground, shuddering in pain. Trixie simply stared in shock and awe.
"Now take your men, and go."

Slowly, Harvest stood on his four legs. Avoiding eye contact, he woke up Maroon and Piper. They slowly stumbled away from the forest. Just before they reached the road, Harvest turned back.

"This isn't the end, Black Daze!" He yelled angrily. "You'll hear from my brother!"
"If he's anything like you, then I'm not worried."
Harvest glared as if he had something to say, but instead turned away, defeated.

Just then, Twilight showed up with the rest of the Mane Six, and some local guards.

"Daze! What happened? Are you alright?"
Daze smiled. "Don't worry. I've taken care of it."
She gasped. "You didn't... Kill anypony, did you?"
"No. I wanted to, but I held back for your sake, and for my own. Would've been a pain to have to bury their bodies."
"Uh... Well, Celestia said she's okay with the delay, but she hopes tomorrow's free?"
"It should be. See you then."
"Later. Oh wait, Trixie? Can I talk to you?"
Trixie turned to Daze. "I'll see you back at the house." He took off.
Trixie turned back to Twilight. "Trixie..." Twilight asked, "did he kill anypony?"
She shook her head. "No. But... At the last moment, when he confronted Harvest, there was a look in his eyes, like he really wanted to. Do you see the scorch mark on that tree?" she pointed with her hoof. Twilight and the rest nodded. "Black Daze held Harvest against that tree and breathed fire on him, scorching his horn."
"What!?" They all exclaimed.
"Yeah... for a second, I thought he really meant to kill him... I'm worried about him."
"Well, there's nothing we can really do... Just talk to him, try and get him to control his anger. You know that magic meditation technique?"
"Of course."
"Teach it to him. It's not like he'll learn magic, but it's good for self reflection and self-control."
"Understood."
They parted ways, Twilight and friends back to Ponyville, Trixie back to Daze's house.

End of Chapter

A/N: Wow. So, that was the first part of A Change in Heart that really belongs to me. I hope you all enjoyed, expect more.

Author's Note

(Don't mind this, I just need to take note of this for my other fic)
(Taken from a YouTube comment)

As the moon takes the sky in its blood-drawn embrace
As our cages will fill up with ponies of each race
As the dancers and singers take blades to the show
As apocalypse greets us with its fiery glow
It's now time for you to be out of the game
But don't die too quickly, that would be a shame
Step into the darkness, in there you will stay
For your death is at hoof and your doom is today!

Making Plans

A Change in Heart

Originally by: Jexxazrez

From now on by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Black Daze sat up in his bed. He blinked, and looked around. Trixie and Chrysalis lay next to him, still sleeping. He rose and managed to exit the bed without waking up either of them. He slowly walked outside, and sat down outside of his house. The sun had not yet risen. He closed his eyes and focused the way Trixie had taught him yesterday. She taught it to him so he would better control his emotions in battle, but he found something in the process. He looked deep within himself once again.

There it was...

Black Daze had his own source of magical energy, despite not being related to any Unicorns, as far as he knew. He had told Trixie and Chrysalis, and together they wondered about it.

It's not like I have a horn, so where is the energy stored, anyways? he thought to himself. Where did it even come from, anyways? No Earth or Pegasi Ponies are born with magical energy. Thinking harder, he came to two conclusions. I'm either a special case, or, when Daravoc transformed me into a hybrid creature, some of his some of his magic became mine. He decided that the latter explanation was the most likely.

He rose from the bed and walked out. Now that he had (most likely) solved the little mystery, there was no point continuing to worry about it. He stretched, then rose onto his hind legs, balancing precariously on them. He had recently realized that he could walk like this, and wondered if he could fight like this. Any fighting style derived from this stance was sure to be unorthodox (at least to ponies) and would surely give him an advantage. He began throwing punches with his claws, taking the time to keep his balance.

Hmm... It seems like a good idea, but it'll take some time to get used to moving like this. I guess I better keep practicing...

A Few Hours Later

After practicing for a few hours, he was now able to perform a string of complicated moves. But it's still not ready for use in combat, he thought.

Chrysalis exited the house and wrapped her hooves around Daze. "Daze, dear, I've been thinking..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, your house..."

"What about it?"

"It's kind of a dump."

"I'd argue with you, but I agree. What do you want to do about it?"

She pursed her lips. "I don't know... Maybe upgrade to a tree house?"

"Really? A tree house?"

"Why not? Of course, it would have to fit my standards."

"Dark, foreboding, and full of Changeling goop? No thanks."

She hit him playfully. "What do you know of the Changeling Lands? You never even graduated from school."

"Well, fine. But it's gonna have to wait, at least until we meet with Celestia, and I get her to recognize these lands as a foreign country."

"All right."

A little later, Trixie exited the house, and Twilight appeared from the forest.

"Are you all ready to meet Celestia?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Black Daze said, "Let's go."

They left. Fortunately, there was no interruption this time. They met with Spike and the rest of the Elements at the train station, and they all boarded and headed for Canterlot.

The Royal Palace

As they all entered, Twilight, Spike, and the other Elements bowed to Celestia, along with Trixie and Chrysalis. Black Daze, however, did not bow.

Celestia decided to kindly ignore that fact, and, smiling warmly, began to speak.

"Welcome, Black Daze! Twilight has told me about you and your strength. I am honestly impressed." Next she addressed Trixie. "I hear your skills have improved as well, and that you now rival my student, even without the Alicorn Amulet. You must explain your training techniques, seeing as you did all this without a teacher." Then she turned to Stargazer, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't recall hearing about you, though. What is your name?"

"Stargazer."

Celestia eyed her for another second, then looked back at Black Daze.. "I heard about your... altercation with Harvest. I honestly don't know what to do about it. You claim the Everfree as your own, but it has yet to be recognized as an official nation... by anyone, really. So, basically, you commited an act of assault against Equestrian citizens."

Black Daze felt that he had to argue for his position. "But-"

Celestia cut him off. "However, I did order my student to befriend you, and throwing you in jail would... complicate the matter. So, I have thought of a solution. If you officially declare the Everfree as an official country, and make it your dominion, then I will officially recognize it as a country. And I will apologize for the actions of my citizens."

Black Daze stared in slight awe of Celestia's kindness. Then he recovered. "Harvest said he had a brother in your service?"

"Dawn Guardian will be warned, and ordered to stand down. Any other concerns?"

He thought deeply. Why would she do this? "You don't honestly expect me to believe that you're doing this simply out of the kindness of your heart, do you? What do you get out of this?"

Celestia put on a look of amusement. "What, you don't trust me?"

"I don't have a lot of good experiences with powerful beings. I look like this for a reason."

"I see... Well, even if you don't trust me, my offer still stands. You may leave." They turned, but Celestia suddenly remembered something. "One more thing!" Black Daze looked back. "You have lived in the Everfree for much of your life, yes? Then you didn't finish school."

"No, I did not."

"Then Twilight will educate you. You must at least learn politics, if you plan to run a country."

Black Daze sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

Together, Daze and the group exited Celestia's hall. There were a couple moments of silence while they all processed the events that occurred in the hall. Then Twilight spoke, ending the silence.

"So Daze... It looks like I'm going to complete your education. At what grade level did you drop out?"

"I was transformed when I was thirteen years old."

"What math level were you in?"

"Uh... Algebra. Why? Aren't you just going to teach me politics?"

Twilight looked appalled. "I was told to educate you. And the very least a nation's leader could do is have the education of a High School Graduate."

"But- Wouldn't that take years?"

Twilight smirked. "Just leave it to me! With the lesson plan I come up with, you'll practically have a Bachelor's Degree in politics by the end of the year!"

Meanwhile, at an unknown location...

Harvest sat in a room devoid of furniture, other than the chair he was sitting in and a lantern hanging from a hook on the roof. He turned and looked at the stallion in front of him, who was gazing out the window.

His brother.

"So," Dawn Guardian said, "you were beat by some... monster."

Harvest gulped. "Y-yes."

Guardian turned around. "Disgraceful."

"B-but you should have seen him! He breathes fire, and he's fast-"

Harvest was lifted out of the chair and slammed against the ceiling. Guardian narrowed his eyes. "I don't care for your excuses, brother." Guardian allowed Harvest to fall onto the ground. His stomach hit the back of the chair, knocking the wind out of him. "I just want to know what such an atrocity is doing in Equestria."

"I-I don't know! But- I know he's friends with Celestia's student!"

Dawn Guardian blinked. "A monster is friends with Twilight Sparkle?" Harvest nodded his head furiously. "I see... that complicates things. If we attack him, then we might be reprimanded by the princess. But if he attacks us..."

Harvest looked up at his brother. "So- You'll be getting revenge for me?"

Guardian glanced at him condescendingly. "Revenge? Why would I get revenge for someone so worthless? No, I will kill Black Daze not because he shamed you, but because he is a stain on an otherwise perfect Equestria."

"Brother?"

"Get out. Now."

As Harvest left, another pony came in. A messenger.

"A letter from the Princess, sir."

Dawn Guardian opened it and read.

Dear General Dawn Guardian,

It has come to my attention that your brother was defeated in an altercation with the Dragon/Pony Hybrid known as Black Daze. I warn you now, he is off limits. I have told my student Twilight Sparkle to befriend him so that he may be used to benefit Equestria. Any movement against him and you will be accused of treason and you will be brought in for a court martial. He also plans to declare the Everfree as a country separate from Equestria, and when he does I will recognize it, so any acts against him from then on will be considered unofficial acts of war, and you will be expelled from the Equestrian military.

Your Princess,
Celestia.

Dawn Guardian breathed in deeply. So the Princess would allow this abomination to exist? Fine. Screw the Princess. He turned to the other soldiers in the room, men who had been with him in combat, who owed their lives to him. "The Princess is allowing a monster to roam in Equestria. Some... Dragon/Pony Hybrid. But not on our watch."

His men smiled.

"For a Perfect Equestria!" They shouted.

"For a Perfect Equestria." Guardian said.

And so Black Daze wound up spending the next few months being educated by Twilight. He spent his days in her makeshift school at her library; his afternoons training with his new form, along with training in basic magic control from Trixie and Chrysalis; and his nights enjoying the splendor of the mares that he loved. He built some tree-houses, major improvements from his previous living conditions. He was introduced to Zecora, who accepted the change in the Everfree's status. But she asked that she be involved in major events, as one of it's few citizens. All in all, it was an easy life.

Dawn Guardian, on the other hand, spent his time preparing and planning his coup de'tat. He trained in the day and spent all the time he could learning about Dragons and their abilities. He wasn't a General for nothing, after all. Nearly all of his victories were attributed to excellent planning, and he wasn't about to change his routine for this.

A year later, Daze was ready to declare the Everfree an official nation.

Unfortunately, that was when Dawn Guardian was ready to attack.

Author's Note

I originally intended to put in a scene with an altercation between Black Daze and Jet Set (and Upper Crust) but I wasn't really sure how to write it, so I took it out.
Also, for the sake of the story, Twilight will remain a unicorn.
One more thing! I don't think Jexx specified Daze's age during the transformation, so I made it up.
ONE MORE THING! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been busy with school.

The Attack

A Change in Heart

Originally by: Jexxazrez

Now by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

A/N: I suck at being descriptive. (mainly referring to Trixie's dress) But hey, I tried.

Black Daze was nervous. He paced around his room, unsure of what he would say. He tugged at his suit, the first one he would ever wear. Rarity had designed it especially for him. It was the day of his rise to power, when the Everfree would truly become his. Of course, it would only be his in name only- the forest truly belonged to the animals living there. He paused in his pacing to look at himself in the mirror. Not too bad, he thought. Rarity's really outdone herself, making me look good.

The door opened, and Trixie entered. She wore a dress, another one of Rarity's. The bodice had a light purple back and collar, with a slightly darker purple for the underbelly. The skirt of the dress had the same light purple color as the bodice. The pattern on top looked like a night sky, with bright stars and circles connected by lines of a darker purple. Her hair was styled in some odd way that Black Daze couldn't recognize. And of course, she had her hat on top.

Daze smiled. "Hey. What brings you here?"

Trixie smiled back at him. "You mean I can't come in?"

"No, of course you can."

Trixie walked over to and sat on a couch in his room. Still smiling, they regarded each other for a moment before Trixie spoke again.

"So. Today, you become the ruler of a country."

"Apparently. And who could have possibly guessed I'd end up here? Nopony, that's who."

More silence. Then, Trixie spoke again, her smile gone. "Daze..."

"What is it?" Daze asked as he adjusted the tie on his suit.

"Some ponies claiming to be your parents have shown up."

Daze froze. He slowly lowered his claw to the ground, in a fist. "My... My parents?"

"That's what they're saying, but you're the only one who can confirm if it's true."

Black Daze turned around to face her, ever so slowly. "Then-then I guess I should go see them. Before the ceremony starts." Trixie slowly nodded, but offered no other response.

Together they left his room. They walked along a wooden pathway that Daze had built. When the path ended, Daze carried Trixie to the ground, and they continued walking. Trixie remained silent throughout this, giving Daze time to think.

My parents... He thought of the last time he saw them. They ran away from me because of how I looked. They didn't check to see if I was okay, or send anyone to search for me afterwards, not even the Guards. They just... forgot about me. He began to grow somewhat angry, but calmed himself down. Don't get worked up, Black Daze. There's no need to ruin today by getting angry and starting something.

They reached the edge of the forest and Trixie took the lead. She walked around the stage where Celestia would later introduce Black Daze to all of Equestria, and he would publicize himself for the first time in years. Daze was led to an area to the right of the stage, closer to the forests edge.

There, he saw not two, but three ponies that he had not seen in years. His mother, his father, and Snuffles. They were all earth ponies. His father and Snuffle had dark brown hair, while his mother's hair was a deep red. His father had a pen for a cutie mark, his mother had a sheet of paper, and Snuffle had scent lines, like from a comic.

After Daze and Trixie reached his parents, his father attempted to speak but was silenced by Daze's look. After he collected himself, Daze spoke.

"What do you want?" he asked aggressively.

"Dazer!" his father said. "You will not speak to your parents-"

"Parents?" He shouted, cutting his father off. "Weren't you the one who shouted something like, 'That isn't our son anymore, run for your lives!'?"

His mother coughed. "Yes, well, we've done some deep thinking, and we decided to accept you."

Black Daze stared at his mother incredulously. "Deep thinking? DEEP THINKING?!" He yelled. "Nine years I've lived in that forest, and only now, that I'm going to be recognized by Celestia, do you show up? Seems suspicious if you ask me."

"Dazer..." Snuffle said.

"And you!" Black Daze said. "You left me there!"

"It's not my fault you're like this!"

"I know, it's Daravoc's fault! But the least you could have done was patted my back, or grabbed my hoof before you ran!" He addressed the group as a whole. "I'm going to ask one more time. What. Do. You. Want?"

His father sighed. "We... We want you to forgive us, and to accept us into your country. It's been too long since we've lived as a family. And Snuffle wants to be the first member of your country's police force- not that it really needs one yet, since it just started."

Black Daze was silent for a while. Then he said, as clearly as he could, "I refuse."

His mother said "But-!"

"Maybe someday, I can forgive you, but not now. Not yet. And family?" He glanced at Trixie. "I have a family now. A better one. One that accepts me for who I am."

They all nodded. "Okay. Well then... We'll see you."

As they left, Daze called them. "One more thing!" They all looked back. "My name is Black Daze. Don't you ever forget that!" They nodded and kept walking until they were out of sight. Daze kept his eyes on them until then.

After they were out of sight, Trixie placed her hoof on Daze's shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

He turned his head to her. "Yeah. I'm alright."

Later..

The seats by the stage were filled with ponies. After a couple moments of silence, Celestia walked up to the podium and spoke.

"Welcome, citizens of Equestria! We are here to celebrate the founding of a new nation within our own. But perhaps I should let this new leader speak for himself."

Celestia stepped back from the podium and Black Daze stepped up. He straightened his back and stood on his hind legs, clutching the podium with his claws. He coughed, and a small blast of fire exited his mouth.

"Oh-crap. Um... Hi. My name is Black Daze. Please forgive my nervousness, but this is the first time I've had the undivided attention of so many ponies." There was a pause, then he continued. "I... Uh... I honestly am only doing this because it was suggested to me. Really, I'd be content to just live out my life in the forest, in peace."

A voice in the back of the crown suddenly spoke. "Live out your life?" It was a unicorn with dark green hair and hazel eyes. "An abomination like you doesn't deserve to exist in the first place!" He fired of a shot of magical energy at Black Daze.

Black Daze stuck out his left claw and caught the blast, before closing it into a fist and dissipating the energy. "You shouldn't have done that," he growled. He took off, and in the blink of an eye he held the unicorn in the air by the throat. "What do you want?" he asked.

"The erasure of your existence!" He charged his horn and his aura covered Black Daze.

Then Black Daze energized his own magical energy and dispelled the aura surrounding him. "Is that all you've got?" he asked condescendingly.

"I-impossible. There's no way you can use magic."

"I could explain what just happened, but instead I'll just kill you." He tightened his grip, but another aura suddenly surrounded Daze, and he was hurtled to the ground, away from the attacker.

The crowd began to scatter as he looked up. A large group of ponies were approaching from the east. And at the front, leading them, was-

"Dawn Guardian!" Celestia said.

Dawn Guardian charged and yelled, "Celestia! We're going to fix your mistake! For a Perfect Equestria!"

His men charged behind him and echoed, "For a Perfect Equestria!"

Black Daze recovered and leaped of the ground into the air. Trixie, Chrysalis, Twilight, and the rest of the Mane 6 jumped off the stage and ran after Black Daze- Fluttershy running slower and more reluctantly than the rest. Celestia stayed on the stage, observing the events unfolding before her.

Daze collected magic in his claws and tackled Dawn Guardian, breaking through his magical shield and charging through his soldiers to the back of the line. Dawn Guardian managed to flip Black Daze over him, and they turned and faced each other. He quickly turned to his men and ordered, "Kill them all! Anyone siding with Black Daze is not going to help create a Perfect Equestria!" Then he turned back to Black Daze and said, "Abomination! Prepare to die!"

Daze growled and said, "You worry about yourself!" He balanced himself on his back legs, and charged, using his wings to glide towards Dawn Guardian, who set up another force field.

Meanwhile, Dawn Guardian's forces clashed with Trixie, Chrysalis, and the rest. Twilight and Trixie worked together, alternatively blasting soldiers with magic in an indecipherable pattern. Chrysalis, who was still disguised as Stargazer, simply attacked anypony who got close to her. Rarity did the same, doing her best to keep clean. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were at the front of the line, also working cooperatively. Rainbow Dash quickly hit the soldiers, never attacking one for too long, moving too fast to see. Applejack would then follow up with a hit that often sent the soldier she hit flying into two or three more.

Fluttershy was surrounded almost instantly. She got so scared, she hid in the deepest recesses of her mind and New Fluttershy came out.

New Fluttershy grabbed a soldier that ran at her and delivered a suplex with such force that the soldier's helmet cracked. Then she delivered the Stare to the rest, rose up on her hind legs and screamed, "Kneel before Fluttershy!"

Many of the soldiers who looked into her eyes pissed themselves.

Pinkie Pie was a cyclone, performing back-flips and rolls, hitting any soldiers stupid enough to get close.

On the other side of the battlefield, Black Daze and Dawn Guardian fiercely exchanged blows. Daze would throw punches and fire blasts, and Dawn Guardian would dodge, attempting to hit Daze with his magic. They went back and forth, neither of them gaining ground. Suddenly they withdrew from each other, backing up a few paces. They began circling, each watching for any sort of opening.

"Heh... Not bad," Black Daze said.

"I should be the one saying that," Dawn Guardian replied. "I've been through two wars, and this is the hardest fight I've been in so far."

"You scared?"

"Is that some attempt at banter? No, I'm not scared of you. But I am scared of her," Guardian said, glancing at Celestia.

"Really? She doesn't seem like the type to intentionally cause fear."

"She doesn't have to do it intentionally. She's just that powerful."

"Heh. Do you plan to talk me to death?"

"No, I plan to blast a whole through your chest." Then he shot another blast at Black Daze, and their fight resumed.

On the other side of the battlefield, Trixie, Chrysalis, and the Mane Six were getting tired. They had never fought in an extended battle, and they lacked experience. The soldiers, on the other hand, were a completely cohesive unit, and they took advantage of their enemy's tiredness. One of their pegasi brought out special enchanted ropes that disabled the magical abilities of anypony tied up in them. He and another pegasus held them and charged at Twilight. She teleported out of the way, but Trixie, who was standing at her back, was caught. They quickly flew her over to the center of their group.

The two pegasi were about to launch another attack with the rope, but suddenly a huge aura exploded to their left. Everyone stopped fighting and looked to the origin of the aura.

It was Celestia. Her eyes and horn were glowing, and her wings flared out.

"Enough," she said. "This has been interesting to watch, but now I'm going to stop this before it gets serious."

Dawn Guardian managed to recover from his shock quickly, however, and he shouted, "Stallions! Take that pony prisoner and retreat!" He blasted Black Daze quickly before teleporting away. All the unicorns in his group quickly pooled their magic and performed a group teleportation.

"Wait, damn you!" Black Daze shouted before they left. He jumped at Dawn Guardian, but he was already gone.

"Daze!" Chrysalis shouted as she ran over, followed by Celestia and the rest.

He breathed heavily. "I'm alright. How are you guys?"

"We're good," Twilight replied, "just tired. Daze... I'm sorry that Trixie was captured. They were aiming after me with the rope, but she got caught because I escaped."

"It's not your fault. Honestly, I think it's yours," He said, pointing a claw at Celestia. "They were afraid of you... but you didn't do anything until the very end. You could have ended this at the start. Why didn't you?"

"Because you needed this fight, to see your level of strength. I thought you would win."

"Who said I wouldn't? Besides, I'm not just gonna let them get away with this."

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "We're gonna go get some payback!"

"Not you," Black Daze said, "just me."

Celestia looked at him questioningly. "But against all of them? Even you might lose."

"Currently? Yes. But I think I know who'll help me get stronger, especially in the use of magic."

"Speaking of which," Twilight interjected, "how can you use magic in the first place?"

"Long story short, in the process of becoming part dragon, magic was placed in me as well."

"Who's going to train you?" Celestia asked. "I'm sure Twilight can, but-"

"No," he interrupted her, "I'm going to ask someone else. The one who made me like this in the first place."

"Daze..." Chrysalis said quietly, "you don't mean..."

"Yes," he said, his voice full of resolve. "I'm going to ask Daravoc."

Meanwhile, at Dawn Guardians lair...
(Wherever the hell that is)

After Trixie had been placed in a small and filthy cell, still restrained by the ropes, Dawn Guardian left and went to the mess hall to eat. He sat down with his men, and one of the Privates decided to ask him a question.

"Sir?"

"What is it, Honor Bound?"

"Why did we retreat when Celestia got involved? I'm pretty sure we could have taken her on!"

"Yeah!" Some of the other soldiers agreed.

Dawn Guardian shook his head. "Boys, you've never seen her fight. I have, and it's the only time I've ever felt fear." His men widened their eyes in awe. They had never known him to be scared of anything until he told them this.

"Well... what happened?" Honor Bound asked.

Dawn Guardian stroked a scar on his left cheek. "It was 25 years ago, in the last Gryphon war..."

Dawn Guardian, young and scarless, peered over a small hill. He and his Captain were providing overwatch for a group of soldiers that were launching a sneak attack on a Gryphon base. They were going to steal the schematics for some of the new Gryphon technology that had allowed them to gain a bit of an advantage in the war. He noticed the attack force approaching the entry point.

"Sir?"

"I see them, Guardian. It's go time. Take out those two on the gate, and I'll get the ones on the ground." They charged their magic, then released it in short, accurate bursts. The guards dropped, and the attack force entered the compound. "Alright, it's up to them now. Guardian, you watch that forest over there. I'll watch the other side."

"Yes, sir."

They lay there, waiting for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, the compound's alarms rang, a deafening klaxon that drew their immediate attention. Out of the forests, dozens of Gryphons appeared, all carrying the very technology that gave them an advantage.

"Shit!" Guardian's Captain muttered. "Well, Guardian, you know what we have to do."

"Right."

"Never leave a stallion behind, and all that."

"Yeah."

"Well, let's go."

They left their spot on the hill, and charged at the Gryphons, blasting magic at any that got within range. The Gryphons attacked back, and they managed to graze Dawn Guardian's left cheek. Suddenly, more Gryphons came out of the forest and surrounded Dawn Guardian and his Captain.

"Well, buck." his Captain muttered.

All the Gryphons surrounding them aimed their technology at them.

"You ready to die?" One Gryphon asked.

"I'm taking you with me!" Dawn Guardian promised.

The Gryphons prepared to fire, when-

A blinding light burst overhead, and Celestia appeared with it.

"Princess!" Dawn Guardian yelled. "Get away from here it's not safe-"

He was silenced as her horn suddenly lit up, and a magical blast decimated every Gryphon surrounding them in less than a second. Then she flew over to the Gryphon's base. The attack team was exiting, carrying wounded.

Celestia's horn lit up once more, and a series of circles appeared in the sky. The suns light shone on them, and a second later, a beam of energy passed through all of the circles and hit the ground, completely obliterating the Gryphon's base. After she calmed down her magical energy, all that remained of the base was ashes.

There was a shimmer in air, and about 500 Gryphons appeared in the air. Twenty were carrying a machine that was the only reasonable explanation for their teleportation.

Celestia sighed. "Enough of this..." she muttered. There was a flicker of movement, and every single Gryphon fell to the ground a moment later, their heads removed.

Dawn Guardian watched all of this in fear.

"...and that is why I am afraid of Celestia." His men looked at him with an inkling of fear in their own eyes, as they began to realize just how strong their Princess was.

End of Chapter

Author's Note

The description for Trixie's dress was inspired by a picture I found by searching "(great and powerful) Trixie (Lulamoon) in a dress" on Google images. I don't know if it'll still be there by the time I publish this, though.
Also, looking back at chapter one, Jexx never describes what Snuffle, Dazer (as Black Daze was previously named) or his parents looked like, so I had to decide that for myself.
One more thing! Sorry for being slow, I've been watching a lot of anime on Hulu.
Namely, "Kimikiss: Pure Rogue" and "So I can't play H"

The Voice of Power (revised)

A Change in Heart

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Note: Assume that the Sombra crisis has passed by now.

Black Daze wandered through the Everfree, retracing his steps to the decrepit tomb of Daravoc, the site of his change. He was alone on his journey- he reasoned that Daravoc couldn't do much to him, now that he was already part Dragon.

To his left, he noticed a stone wall. He walked over to it and pushed aside some vines.

"This is it," he breathed. He stepped back, and recited Daravoc's Chant of Praise.

Great Daravoc! Great Daravoc! Voice of Power!

Harbinger of the Great Meteor Shower!

The place where you rest, the place where you sleep!

Let me enter your tomb in the Dragon Hall's deep!

Black Daze waited for a minute. Then five, then twenty. The wall didn't move at all.

"What the buck?" He wondered aloud. A voice suddenly reverberated in Daze's head.

Foolish pony, do you think I will simply allow you back in if you perform with the same amount of effort? Repeat my chant of phrase in the language of the Dragons, and then I will let you in.

"What, you're actually going to let me in without complaint?"

You need my help, and my soul is losing it's grip on this plane. I would like to leave my teachings to a worthy successor, but if you can't even determine the Dragon language, you won't be worthy.

Black Daze decided to leave the conversation there.

Ponyville Library

"The Dragon language, you say?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah."

Twilight turned to Spike. "Your kind has their own language?"

He looked at her indignantly. "Did you expect me to know? You're the one who raised me, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Twilight coughed, then thought to herself for a moment before speaking again. "Well, if there were ever any books written about it, they would probably be in the Canterlot Archives, or maybe at the Crystal Kingdom Library. Spike!"

"Yes?"

"Send a letter to Cadence and Shining Armor. Tell them to ask the Librarian if they have books on the Dragon language."

"Got it!" he promptly wrote and sent a letter.

Twilight then turned to Black Daze. "While they're doing that, you and I are going to Canterlot."

The Canterlot Archives
Starswirl the Bearded section

As soon as they entered, Twilight immediately began levitating a train of books with her magic. Daze, meanwhile, observed a plaque on the side of a shelf.

"Alright, Black Daze," she said, "I'll check the shelves on this side of the room. You check the shelves on that side."

"Twilight."

"Yes?"

"Are you aware that the Archives follow the Hoofy Decimal System?"

"Of course!" she said, flipping through two books in less than a second. "It's used that system for centuries."

"Are you aware that there's a whole section dedicated to Dragon culture?"

Twilight immediately dropped all of the books she was levitating. Slowly, she turned her head towards Black Daze, her cheeks flushed. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She quickly returned all of the books she had removed to their proper place.

Black Daze wandered around the Dragon culture section. After taking two steps into it, he realized that the librarian gave it way more space than it needed. There were only two books. One was an explorer's journal from when he got permission to live with the Dragons for a while. The other book was old and leather-bound, titled Linguam Dracone. The author's name was faded. He opened the book, taking care not to rip any of its yellowed pages. It was a dictionary. Quickly, he looked up all of the words he needed and wrote them down.

Twilight began to walk over when Black Daze rushed past her, saying, "Thanks for your help Twilight! I've got what I need- see you back in Ponyville!" Black Daze then jumped out of a window and flew towards the Everfree forest as fast as he could, leaving a bewildered Twilight to pay for her own train ticket home.

Daravoc's Tomb

Black Daze approached the entrance to the tomb once more. He collected his thoughts, and recited-

Daravoc magna! Daravoc magna! Vocem virtutis!

Praeco magnifica meteoron imber!

Cetera loco ad quem locum in quo dormiat!

Licuerit intrare sepulchro tuo Draco Atria profundum!

Once again, a voice reverberated throughout Black Daze's head.

It needs work on the pronunciation, and you definitely substituted some words in there... But well done, nonetheless. Besides, a perfect translation between two languages is pretty much impossible, regardless of the languages in question. Welcome back, Dazer.

The split and opened. As he entered, Black Daze said, "That isn't my name anymore. My name is Black Daze."

Your name is not your decision, while you train with me. You will always be a child, so you will always be Dazer.

Black Daze scoffed as the doors closed behind him, rumbling ominously. Daze wandered down the same path to Daravoc's bones. This time, however, the bones were joined. There was no skin, no sinews. They were joined by an aura of his magic. Daravoc was standing, reading the runes on the side of the cave. The head turned to Black Daze.

"Welcome back, child." Daravoc said.

"Really? 'Child'? I'm a fully grown adult."

"Perhaps to ponykind."

They looked at each other, silently thinking. Finally, Black Daze asked, "So how do you use Dragon magic?"

"By speaking the Linguam Dracone."

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you think I am called the Voice of Power simply because it sounds impressive? It is a title that only the greatest Dragons earn."

"So basically, I could have just used the Dragon Language dictionary I had earlier to learn all of the Dragon words and spells?"

"Yes, and no. While you could have learned the words, you would not learn their power. You would not understand how to use them. While Dragon spells are easy to learn, they are also remarkably difficult to use. For each individual spell, you must channel your magical energy in a specific way."

"Hmph. Whatever. Let's get started."

"Very well." Daravoc pointed at a rock and breathed, "Ignis." The rock was set ablaze, burned by a fire so hot that it began to melt into lava. Daravoc turned to Black Daze. "Now you try."

Black Daze gathered his energy, pointed at a different rock, and shouted, "Ignis!"

Nothing happened.

Daravoc shook his head. "When you perform spells that deal with temperature, or the elements, your magical energy must reflect that element. If you wish to start a fire, your energy must burn with the heat of the sun. If you wish to form ice, your energy must be colder than the northern continent. If you wish to summon a storm, your energy must be wild and uncontrollable."

"But Pegasi can control storms."

"Not a true storm. Not the storms a Dragon can form. Tempestatum!"

Instantly, a circle of clouds appeared over Black Daze's head. They were dark, swirling with power. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed.

Daravoc waved his hands through the clouds, dispelling them. "That is a true storm. Had I allowed it to continue, it would have grown powerful enough to destroy a mountain. Now, try again."

Black Daze turned to another rock. He concentrated, attempting to make his energy burn. "Ignis!" he shouted. Once again, nothing happened.

Daravoc sighed. "I didn't want to use this method, because it's a bit cliché, but use your emotions to affect your energy. Let your rage burn, become listlessly cold, be as cruel as the hurricane."

Black Daze thought of all the times he got angry. He got angry when his parents abandoned him. He got angry when a Giant Forest Ape threatened himself and Chrysalis. He got angry when he was stabbed. He was now extremely angry that Trixie had been taken. His aura flared, the heat cascading off of his skin and scales. He could feel the heat, and it was hotter than his fire. He tried the spell again. "IGNIS!"

The stone burst into flame. The fire was bright and hot, but not as hot as Daravoc's.

Daravoc nodded. "Yes, excellent. I'm actually impressed you've done this so quickly. Most Dragons your age can't even do that much yet."

"You don't have to be sarcastic. This is pathetic compared to what you can do, and we both know that."

"Yes it is. But I was serious when I said that it's better than what most Dragons your age could do."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess."

"Do not thank me, whelp. There is much more to learn before you are ready to face whoever is stronger than you."

"Oh, come on. This isn't gonna take long, is it?"

"That depends on how fast you can learn the spells without screwing up. Now, attempt Frost- Gelum." Instantly the room's temperature dropped to about fifty degrees. Black Daze shivered, and walked over to the rock he set on fire to warm up his cold blood. Daravoc dispelled his frost, but he still felt cold.

After he felt he was warm enough, Black Daze got up from near the fire. He concentrated, and made his aura as cold as he could, calming himself down to a cold, emotionless state. "Gelum," he whispered. The room got colder, but not by much. He turned to Daravoc. "Isn't there a faster way to do this?"

"Actually, yes there is. The language you are learning is actually the second language that the Dragons invented."

"Why did you make another one?"

"The first one we made was too powerful. The effects of spells would occur even in casual conversation, whether or not our auras were in use. The only way you could not cause the effects of a spell was if you did not know the meanings of the words."

"Is your name a part of that language?"

There was a pause as Daravoc considered answering his question. "Every Dragon older than 200,000 years of age has a name that is a word from the old language. The younger Dragons have names from the new language."

Black Daze's eyes widened considerably. "You're more than 200,000 years old?"

"I am the son of the very first of my kind, who once rested on the surface of the sun itself. I was once the Dragon Elder, the oldest living Dragon. I have seen the birth of ponykind, and the birth and death of many races before it. I am older than this planet, young Black Daze."

"Okay, you had me going for a second, but I don't believe for a second that you were around before the world was. And, we seem to have gone a bit off track. Can you teach me the old language?"

"No. I can, but I won't. It's too dangerous for someone so young to use."

"Fine, whatever."

"Now attempt Frost once more. You are not leaving until you perform it successfully. And clear your plans for the next few weeks."

Black Daze groaned, and attempted the spell once more. The temperature dropped five degrees, but no more.

Daravoc shook his head. "I hope you have some other skills, because you are terrible at this."

"But you just said I was good at this!"

"I said you were doing better than most Dragons your age. But if you can create fire, why can you not do the opposite?"

"Because it's hard to become emotionless!"

"No it is not. Are you this bad at everything?"

"I'm good at close combat fighting."

"Do you fight with your claws closed, or open?"

"Usually closed."

"Can you do anything right?" Daravoc raised one of his claws and plunged them into the rock. "You should be able to do this, at least."

"What, are going to teach me some sort of Dragon martial art too?"

"If I deem it necessary. And considering your skill at magic- or lack thereof- it may be necessary."

"Well, fine. I prefer fighting up close and personal anyway."

"Very well. Stab that rock with your claws."

Black Daze walked over to a boulder, hesitated, then threw his hand at the rock.

One of his claws broke.

Daravoc groaned. "Perhaps this will be more difficult than I imagined."

End of Chapter

Author's Note

Daze gets revenge next chapter! BUT that might take a while to write because of the end of the school year and finals, which are coming up soon. It's especially worrying for me because I get senioritis every year.

NOTE: It's revised because I thought of something to put after publishing it. I don't do this often, though.

Assault on Guardian Keep

A Change in Heart

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Black Daze rose from the ground, covered in soot, snow, and bruises. Daravoc lay, his bones scattered. The area around them was completely wrecked, with crumbled rocks and boulders everywhere. Daravoc spoke to Daze, his voice tired and weak.

"It seems that you have finally bested me. Truly, you have mastered the Dragon arts, and fully deserve the title of "Voice of Power"."

Black Daze bowed his head slightly to Daravoc. "It was an honor to learn from you."

"It was an honor to teach you. Now go, and spread the glory of Dragon-kind throughout the world!"

"I will, Master!" Black Daze turned to leave, but Daravoc spoke once more.

"One more thing."

"Yes, Master?"

"WAKE UP, YOU FOOLISH, INSOLENT CHILD!"

***

Black Daze opened his eyes and raised himself slowly from the ground. The area around them was completely fine, with no signs of wreckage or destruction. He looked to his right and saw Daravoc looking at him, completely unharmed and healthy- if you can call dead being healthy. He had an aura of irritation, and began to speak once Black Daze had gotten up.

"It is about time you awoke, child. I was about to throw you against the wall. Some pony is outside, and they insist on entering to speak with you."

"Who is it?"

"I am not knowledgeable in who you are acquainted with. Go and find out for yourself. If you die, that is your own failure."

Black Daze sighed and walked towards the entrance, placing his open claw on it and channeling his magic to activate it. With a rumble, the stone door slowly opened, revealing Twilight to be at the entrance. She wore an expression of concern.

"Twilight? What is it?"

"Have you completed your training with Daravoc?"

"Not completely, no. Why?"

She sighed. "Because Dawn Guardian is calling you out. He's sent a messenger to Celestia, telling her to tell you that he'll execute Trixie if you don't show up."

Black Daze didn't move, considering his options. He could go as he was, and victory, while possible, would be extremely difficult to obtain. Or he could wait a while and strike when his strength was far greater, and victory would be absolute. But then Trixie would die.

"Alright. I'm going." Black Daze said.

Twilight nodded. "Go get Trixie back."

Suddenly, the ground rumbled as a voice escaped the tomb. "Dazer... Come down here."

Black Daze said to Twilight, "Give me a second." He turned and walked back down into the tomb. Approaching Daravoc's bones, he asked, "What is it?"

"I heard what was said. Do you intend to go?"

"Of course."

"If what you told me about your opponent is true, then the way you are now, you will most certainly lose."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going."

"Well... I can't allow my student to go and die on me. Before you go, allow me to teach you one last, simple spell."

Moments later, Black Daze walked out of the tomb, deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Black Daze looked up at her. "Nothing. Just thinking about how I'm gonna go about this."

Twilight blinked. "You mean you're not going to just charge in and go on some sort of berserker rage in an attempt to kill everypony you find?"

"What, and let the education you gave me go to waste?"

Twilight smiled. "Well, it's good you're not doing what I said. It works in stories, but realistically, it's a really stupid idea."

"Yeah. Anyways, I've gotta go. Take care on your way back to Ponyville."

"You be careful too."

Black Daze took off and flew above the trees as fast as he could. A moment later he returned to Twilight. "Uh, where is Dawn Guardian's base anyway?"

Twilight pointed with her hoof. "Just fly East. Trust me, you'll see it."

"Thanks!" he took off once more, flying in the direction of his enemy.

After about an hour of flying, Black Daze saw not just a base, but a fortress enter his vision. He slowed to a stop, then he flew even higher, intending to observe the place first. The fortress was built like a castle, square in shape. There were ramparts outside the area, made of wood and guarded by a total of 24 ponies, twelve unicorns, six pegasi, and six earth ponies. On the top of the walls of the fortress, more ponies guarded the area. Due to a small room at each corner of the walls where the ponies would often pass through on their routes, it took some time before Black Daze finally counted the number of ponies on the walls. The total was 75, with an equal amount of each pony race.

Well, Black Daze thought, I haven't even finished observing, but I can tell that this is going to be much more difficult than I hoped.

In the center of the walls, a small building stood, cubic in shape, about 10 stories tall. Each floor had 3 windows on each side, along with a guarded terrace for magicians. On the roof, Dawn Guardian stood, along with 6 guards and Trixie, who was bound by enchanted ropes.

One of the guards turned to Dawn Guardian. "Sir, I don't think he's coming. What do we do?"

Dawn Guardian rolled his eyes. "What do you think? I said we'd kill her if he didn't show, and I'm not about to look weak." He dragged Trixie to the edge of the building and placed her so she faced the ground. Trixie's eyes widened with fear as she looked at the ground.

Black Daze immediately angled himself downwards and sped towards the building.

Smirking, Dawn Guardian said, "Goodbye," and pushed Trixie off the ledge. She uttered a soundless scream as she plummeted.

Dammit, I'm not fast enough like this. Dawn Guardian concentrated, activating his energy, making it move faster and faster. "Accelerari!" he shouted. A sound cone formed around him as he sped up, barely catching Trixie before she hit the ground. A cloud of dust was kicked up as they made impact.

"Ah! So you did make it!"

Black Daze looked up to see the condescending expression on Dawn Guardian's face. Already, he and Trixie were surrounded by guards. All that observation, and I waste it by showing myself. Oh well. His anger rose, and he decided to show everypony in the vicinity how he had improved.

"Ignis!" Immediately, all the ponies who were around him burst into flame, and they began screaming, rolling on the ground in an attempt to put out the fire. Dawn Guardian's eyes widened in shock, and Trixie looked up at him with a mixture of fear and apprehension. He calmly cut the bonds on Trixie with his claws, then set her down on the ground. "Can you walk?" he asked her.

"Y-yes." She glanced at the soldiers on the ground, who were grasping for their last breaths. "How did you-"

"I swear I'll explain everything later. Just go, get to Twilight and stay there. I'm going to finish things here."

She nodded, but then noticed the shut gate. "Daze, I don't have enough energy to teleport out and then run all the way to Ponyville."

Black Daze glanced over to the wall and gathered his energy, concentrating on making it fracture, while still intact enough to cast the spell. "Frango," he said, and the wall cracked, lines emanating from a single point. Then he said "Expello," and the wall burst outward, creating a hole so Trixie could escape. He turned to her and said, "Now run, and don't stop." She immediately ran out, and three pegasi lifted off to go after her. Before they could, however, Black Daze appeared in front of them and stabbed with his claws, piercing each of their throats in a fraction of a second. They fell, a fountain of blood expelling from the wounds.

Dawn Guardian narrowed his eyes. He began to order his men, and they complied as he spoke. "Stallions! Form ranks! We'll remove this blemish from Equestria by ourselves!" Once he was finished speaking, Black Daze found himself surrounded by 96 ponies of all races. Dawn Guardian stayed at the top of the building, as did his personal guard. No one moved.

An earth pony charged, wielding a knife in his mouth. He jumped, malice in his eyes. Before he landed, Black Daze opened his mouth and fire erupted from it, burning the attacker and a few others as he swiveled his head back and forth. They fell as others charged, and managed to put out the fire since it was not born of magic. Meanwhile, Black Daze was fighting off multiple opponents, stabbing all who came close in the eyes or neck, even piercing armor. Occasionally, he let loose a jet of flame, or cast magic to crush armor with the pony still inside.

After killing about 32 soldiers, Black Daze noticed something clouding his thoughts. It was something he had noticed during his training. It had become more and more apparent the more he had used Dragon magic. Until now, it had never been prevalent, so he had never brought it up to Daravoc.

As the cloud began to mar his vision, allowing him to get hit, Black Daze began to wish he had brought it up to Daravoc. Black Daze backed up against a wall, attempting to clear his mind as the soldiers surrounded him. He shook his head, but to no avail.

At the top of the building, Dawn Guardian smirked. "What, one hit and suddenly you're reeling? You're not so powerful after all! Finish him!"

As the soldiers closed in, Black Daze took a chance and confronted the cloud in his head. In a fraction of a second, Black Daze became aware of thousands of years of Dragon life and culture. He did not learn much, but got the impression that the cloud represented basic Dragon instincts- instincts that would make him much more powerful, if he surrendered his mind and consciousness to them. Feeling that he had no better alternative, he released his hold on his mind, allowing the instincts to take over.

He blacked out.

All of a sudden, Black Daze's body straightened to it's full height. The soldiers ceased their advance, cautious of the change. Black Daze's eyes opened, revealing colorless eyeballs, and he let out a roar powered by the blood of the ancients, a roar that scared the soldiers, even Dawn Guardian, on a deep, genetic level.

All of the soldiers backed away from the beast, one they remembered to fear. Before they could even blink, Black Daze's body launched from it's position and assaulted the soldiers, claws darting out towards necks and veins and eyes (oh my!). His mouth opened and more jets of fire burst out, except this time, they were much larger, and much hotter, as the steel armor the guards wore became red-hot. A unicorn created a force-field and protected his allies from harm, but he left himself wide open. Black Daze's body charged and bit the stallion on the neck, releasing a flow of blood as he tore his throat out. His body began to chew the flesh before swallowing as the soldiers looked on in horror. They began to scream and fled towards the keep.

Dawn Guardian's teeth ground together in anger, and frustration that he was scared. "What are you doing?" he bellowed. "You cowards! Kill him!"

"S-Sir!" they yelled. "There's something about him!"

"It doesn't matter! Send out all of the reinforcements!"

"Yes sir!"

The soldiers surrounded Black Daze, but did not attack. Slowly, every other soldier in the Keep spilled out into the courtyard, filling about one half of the area. Overall, a total of 289 soldiers were there.

"So?" Dawn Guardian asked. "Not so cocky anymore, are you?"

All of a sudden, another wall burst, and a squadron of soldiers filed in, led by a white-coated unicorn with a blue mane that had a light-blue streak. On his flank was a cutie mark of a dark purple shield with a slightly pinkish star in the center, and three light-blue stars. He straightened and said, "Dawn Guardian! By the order of Princess Celestia of Equestria, you are under arrest!"

Dawn Guardian began to laugh. "So the great Captain Shining Armor has come to arrest me? How can you possibly win, when you couldn't even protect yourself from a Changeling?" He jumped off the roof of the keep, his personal guards included. Two stories from the ground, they activated their magic and slowed their descent. He spoke to his men. "Kill them a-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Black Daze roared once more. All eyes turned to him. He reopened his eyes, and they were no longer colorless.

He had regained consciousness.

Black Daze looked through the crowd at Dawn Guardian. His hatred and anger reached a point where he could no longer control it, but he tried, in an effort to save the emotion for later. He noticed guards to his right who were facing off against Dawn Guardian's troops, engaging in a glaring contest. Their leader locked eyes with him, and they came to an understanding- Black Daze would be the one to handle Dawn Guardian.

Daze turned back to Dawn Guardian. About fifty troops were in his way.

"Move," he said. None of them budged. "Fine. You can all die." He and the new soldiers charged at Dawn Guardian's troops, and the battle reignited.

End of Chapter.

Author's Note

To everyone who was mad/confused about seeing A Change in Heart on the "recently updated" section of FimFiction (I'm looking at you, Dragon Blaze-X) and then clicking on it to find no new chapter, I apologize. What happened was, while writing the chapter, I accidentally clicked "Publish" instead of "Edit". If anything similar happens in the future, assume that the same thing happened.

Also, NOTICE! "A Change in Heart" will update (even) slower because I have decided to reboot "The Lunar Revolution", and work on a new fic (inspired by Sabaton's "Carolus Rex") at the same time.

Death

A Change in Heart

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Black Daze charged through the crowd of soldiers, killing all that got in his way. He only had one stallion on his mind, and he left the rest to the new soldiers. As Black Daze neared Dawn Guardian, he smirked and teleported to the other end of the battlefield. Black Daze roared and took to the air to chase him, continuing to kill any who opposed him.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor and his troops entered their usual battle formation. Shining set up a barrier, and his unicorn troops shot accurately shot out of holes that he opened temporarily. His pegasi and earth pony troops engaged in hand to hand combat with Dawn Guardian's, accompanied by some unicorns specialized for support. Their skill was nearly even, and soldiers from both sides fell in tandem with each other.

...

After some time, Dawn Guardian was left with only twenty soldiers. Shining Armor had also lost a good portion of his troops, but he still had all the soldiers from the barrier formation. Both Black Daze and Dawn Guardian were exhausted- Dawn Guardian from teleporting around the battlefield, and Black Daze from chasing after him.

The walls of the keep were blackened from stray magic blasts, or were destroyed entirely. Blood covered the ground like a coat of paint, drying on a wall. The metallic smell of the blood drowned out every other smell, except that of sweat and vomit, which were equally potent.

Shining Armor yelled, "Surrender! You're outnumbered, and you're all too tired to continue fighting! There's no point in dying for what you've done!"

Dawn Guardian laughed. "No point? Clearly, you are unaware of what it means to be 'martyred'. We will fight. If you kill us, it will only serve to make others see our side of things."

"You really think others will see things that way, when they know you betrayed Celestia?"

"You make a good point. But allow me to point out once more that your conjectures only matter if we die. But we won't. Or at least, I won't."

"Don't be too sure of that," Black Daze growled.

Dawn Guardian smirked. "We'll see. Men! Omega formation!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

All of his remaining unicorns formed a circle around Dawn Guardian and began to channel their energy. His remaining pegasi and earth soldiers guarded him, preventing any advance from Shining Armor. Black Daze took the time to rest, his stamina nearly depleted. He also took the time to channel his own magical energy, preparing a large attack.

Suddenly, Shining Armor realized what Dawn Guardian's unicorns were doing. "Stop! Stop! You would sacrifice your lives for him!?"

One of Dawn Guardian's unicorns responded, "While you and your men were sitting idly in Canterlot during the Griffin War, we fought! And we killed, and died for our country! We personally would have died if not for his actions! We owe our lives to him, and it's only natural that we give them to him!"

"What are they doing?" Black Daze asked.

"They're pouring their magic- no, more than that, their very life force into Dawn Guardian, making him stronger. But such magic is forbidden."

"He betrayed Equestria, and attempted to kill those that I care about. Learning forbidden magic is a miner offense to me," Black Daze said. "Besides, the magic I use isn't exactly common either."

Shining Armor and his troops began channeling their own magic, preparing for the inevitable conflict.

Suddenly, the unicorns surrounding Dawn Guardian collapsed, and his pegasi and earth soldiers rushed forwards. Black Daze ran past them, dodging their attacks. This time, Dawn Guardian did not run. He stayed and set up a barrier around himself as Black Daze began to breathe fire on it. His soldiers engaged Shining Armor's.

Again and again, Black Daze hit the barrier. But unlike those of the unicorns he previously fought, he could not break it, even when he used his own magic against it.

Damn! So he received this much power? "Are you just gonna sit there while your men die?"

"You think I'm just sitting here? You're rather stupid, aren't you?"

Black Daze's eyes widened in realization. He's setting up another spell- a strong one! I've gotta break this barrier before that. Again and again he pounded on the force field, doing no visible damage. He attempted every spell he knew- "Frango! Diruam! Tempestatum! Ignis!- but nothing worked.

Behind them, the fight went in Shining Armor's favor. They felled soldier after soldier, and Shining Armor took the final kill.

But at that moment, Dawn Guardian cast his spell. A blinding white light emanated from him and caused Black Daze and everyone else to flinch. When they next opened their eyes, they realized that they could not move. No matter how much they struggled, their bodies did not budge an inch, a centimeter. Dawn Guardian, however, casually moved about them, inspecting the effects of his spell.

"Excellent, just as I planned."

"What, you planned for all your soldiers to die?"

Dawn Guardian spun to face Black Daze- although, he faced his back as Black Daze was still positioned towards where Dawn Guardian had cast the spell. "You can speak?"

"It seems so."

"Hmm... You shouldn't be able to. I wonder why you can? Perhaps it is part of what makes you an abomination. But it does not matter. You still can't move. You can't fight against your death." He walked back towards Black Daze and sat down in front of him. "Since you're not going anywhere, I can take my time killing you."

"What spell have you cast?"

"Heh. Impressed, are you? It's a tenth level magical attack that was created by Starswirl the Bearded himself- according to the story, he first used it against a dragon that had lost it's mind and began attacking ponies. He cast it, and the dragon could not move, and he killed it while it was immobilized."

A dragon that attacked ponies? Sound's like Daravoc. "What was the dragon's name?"

"That's hardly relevant information. Anyways, the spell causes immobilization in all of those that the caster considers to be enemies, while allowing allies to move around and kill at their leisure. It takes an immense amount of magical ability, though. To be honest, this was my final trump card, to be used only if the battle appeared lost. You should consider yourself honored that I'm using it against you."

"And the death of all you soldiers?"

"An unfortunate nick in my plan. But that does not matter. The end justifies the means. I will take all the lives I need to in order to make Equestria great."

"Even civilian lives? Innocent lives?"

"Anypony who does not work to further Equestria's standing is hardly an innocent. To be honest, this was the first time I cast this spell in actual combat, since I needed the sacrifice of my soldiers in order to get enough magical energy to cast it. Though, others have sacrificed themselves for the sake of practice."

"Aren't you worried that the spell will run out of time while you're talking to me?"

"The spell lasts for an hour, or until the caster dies or dispels it. I've plenty of time."

"And what will you do after you kill me?"

"I'll leave, and kill all those who associated with you, blemish that you are. Captain Shining Armor, behind you, for starters. That Trixie, and Stargazer, and the Elements, they will be next."

"You would kill the Elements?" Black Daze asked, fear in his voice.

"If they associated with something like you, they aren't worthy of their position."

I see. Then I really have no choice but to use that spell. "I'm sorry."

"..." Dawn Guardian was dumbfounded. He stared directly into Black Daze's eyes and said, "Excuse me? You can't exactly apologize now. You'll die either way."

"I'm not apologizing for what I've done, and not to you. I'm apologizing for what I'm about to say."

"What-"

Earlier...

Black Daze stood before the bones of the great dragon Daravoc. He had been called in after receiving news from Twilight Sparkle.

"What is it?"

"I heard what was said. Do you intend to go?"

"Of course."

"If what you told me about your opponent is true, then the way you are now, you will most certainly lose."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going."

"Well... I can't allow my student to go and die on me. Before you go, allow me to teach you one last, simple spell."

"What does it do?"

It instantly kills your opponent."

"Why didn't you teach that to me in the first place?"

"This spell is not cast through the use of magical energy. It is a word from the Old Language, the first Dragon Language. It is cast using your life force.

"What's the catch?"

"You must look them in the eyes as you cast the spell. And, whenever you cast the spell, there is a 50% chance that you will die along with your target."

"... What is the word?"

"You know it already. You just didn't realize it's power until now."

"..."

"Must I spell everything out for you?"

"That would be appreciated."

"It is my name. Daravoc is the ancient word for Death. Now that you have this power, use it wisely.

"Thank you, master. It has been an honor to learn from you."

Now...

"What-"

Black Daze inhaled, exhaled, and, looking into Dawn Guardian's eyes, whispered.

"Daravoc."

Instantly, Dawn Guardian's eyes rolled up, and he collapsed.

And so did Black Daze.

End of Chapter.

Author's Note

Man, it's been a while.
I blame school and anime.

Everything's okay now right? ...Nnnope.

A Change in Heart

This and the next chapter by: Jexxazrez

Everything past that by: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Outside the Everfree forest, 45 minutes later…

The Elements of Harmony got ready for the evening ahead of them. They got on simple but stylish outfits designed by Rarity herself, and they were on their way to the edge of the Everfree forest to meet Black Daze.

"So do you think he's ready?" Fluttershy asked. She was wearing a simple green longskirt with a pale green top.

"Ah believe so. He doesn't sound like he takes long tah get ready for anythin'." Applejack said to Fluttershy. Applejack was wearing cowgirl boots with her Stetson hat and a feminine vest.

"I do believe I see him up ahead~" Rarity sang. She had on an elegant blue dress with lipstick and eyeliner.

"I can't tell, it's hard for me to see in the dark." Rainbow said to Rarity. Rainbow Dash had on a short rainbow skirt and nothing else. She wasn't much for dressing up.

"I think it's him…" Twilight said, squinting her eyes. She had on a star themed dress and some star shaped earrings.

"Yeah, I see him! HEY DAZE, OVER HERE!" Pinkie Pie called out, Daze waved at them in response. Pinkie Pie was wearing a fluffy pink hat with a poofy dress.

"Wait for me!" Trixie shouted, running up to daze then stopping beside him.

"I thought you weren't going, what caused this...change in heart?" Daze questioned. Kuro: I see what you did there Jexx, very funny.

"Oh just a personal reason is all, no need to worry. At least we can have some fun together right, Dazey?" She said in an innocent tone.

"Yeah, the more the merrier…am I right?" Daze chuckled nervously. Then they all met together and headed to the nightclub.

The Nightclub…

It was pretty much like any other nightclub you've been to. There were flashing lights, a line, a tough looking bouncer, and from the outside you could hear the music; OONTZ~ OONTZ~ OONTZ~ OONTZ~ OONTZ~ OONTZ~

"This is a nightclub? Definitely NOT what I expected..." Daze muttered to the Elements of Harmony.

Twilight and company walked up to the bouncer, who recognized them as the Elements of Harmony. He nodded and let them in without any objections. Then Daze and Trixie walked up. The bouncer took one look at Daze and started to sweat. Daze noticed this and decided to have a little fun. He walked up, towered over the bouncer, flared his nostrils and gave his best rictus. That did it for the bouncer, he quickly let him in out of fear and closed it again when Trixie tried to walk in.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this…do you know who I am!" Trixie whined.

"It's ok, she's with me." Daze grumbled, poking his head out the entrance. The bouncer let her in immediately. Best not to invoke the wrath of the big scaly-armed lizard…pony…thing…

Over at the turntables, a white unicorn with a blue and violet mane was cranking out some tunes. She used her magic to hit a record and it began to play a different beat. It was lower and faster than before, and the drop was timed perfectly. Naturally, this should be expected of Ponyville's best disc jockey. She saw the tall reptilian pony walk in the room and she was…well…smitten, for lack of a better word. Something about him…perhaps his exotic look or his strong build really appealed to her. She decided to work the turntables for a little while longer before going off to meet this mysterious visitor.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Applejack went to the bar to have a drink or two…or three, Rarity went to talk to the stallions, Twilight went away just because Trixie was near Daze, and Fluttershy was behind Daze. She did not know what to do and was totally lost in this environment. Pinkie was on the dance floor being…well Pinkie.

"Come on Fluttershy, surely there's something you'd like to do…" Daze said, trying to get the yellow Pegasus off his flank so he wouldn't be so embarrassed.

"It's very loud in here, I don't like loud…" Fluttershy said as loud as she could so Daze could (barely) hear her.

"Well then I suppose we could go get a drink, that should calm you down." Daze responded. He knew what kind of drinks were being served judging by how the ponies that were drinking them looked, he knew very well what alcohol was and how it could be a mild relaxant, or a heavy poison. He also knew the difference between the two.

They walked over to the drinking table and took a seat. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had each had a drink and were just mildly relaxed, they turned to Daze, who was sandwiched between Fluttershy and Trixie. Applejack spoke first.

"Say Daze, whatcha say we have a drinkin' contest? Winner has to do what the loser says." Applejack challenged.

Daze wasn't about to be beat by a girl. He had never officially had alcohol before, but how hard could it be? "You are ON!" He shot back, getting a determined look in his eyes and a smug grin.

"And I challenge you to the same, under the same rules." Rainbow Dash said to Trixie. She nodded, slightly more comfortable now that Twilight was out of the way. Fluttershy just ordered a small drink and sipped it, quietly cradling it between her forehooves.

"Ready big guy?" Applejack said, holding her shot of hard cider in hoof. Daze responded with a chuckle and a shot of hard cider in his…claw. (or should I say hand? I dunno. I'll use them interchangeably I guess) With a slamming of Applejack's hoof on the counter, both contestants downed their drinks in one gulp. Applejack wasn't the slightest bit changed, neither was Daze. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had just downed her second shot and Trixie had downed her first. Trixie and Rainbow Dash both looked a little tipsy however…

I guess the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie can't hold her liquor. Daze mused to himself.

"Round two, GO!" Applejack shouted, downing number two. Daze felt no different, neither did Applejack.

"Round three, GO!" Applejack downed another one and so did Daze. Applejack started to look a bit different, but Daze still didn't feel any different. Meanwhile, Both Rainbow Dash and Trixie looked to be in sad shape. He could hear Rainbow Dash slurring.

"R-round two and three q-quartersss, Go!"

"But R-rainbow, we just had round two and three quartersss…or w-was it round two and a half…" Trixie slurred back, equally as tipsy.

"Oh you're so smart, Trixie…This..this is why I love you…" Rainbow Dash giggled, her eyes having developed bags from her alcohol consumption.

"I lo-looove you too, Rainbow Dash! Let's go say hi to Twilight!" Trixie responded in a haze. Whoa, she was more wasted than Black Daze originally thought! He'd have to keep an eye on them to make sure things didn't get out of hoof.

"Round four, GO!" Applejack proclaimed, causing Daze to snap back and take another drink. Applejack did the same and didn't change much other than sloppily putting her drink back on the counter to get a refill.

"B-boy…I reckon yer better than I expected…But Applejack's going to win this one! Y-you'll see." She beamed before shouting "ROUND F-FOUR, GO!"

"We just had round four, Applejack." Daze replied calmly.

"Oh y-yeah! I knew that. Round five, GO!" And she took another drink. Daze took another and finally he felt the alcohol go to his head. He felt more relaxed than before, and maybe his judgement was impaired. It was hard to tell, however. He looked into Applejacks eyes and saw they were half closed and she looked exhausted. She was losing this, and he didn't want her to faint from this...

"Are you sure you're gonna win this? You aren't looking so good…" Daze said out of concern.

"Y-YEAH! I'll win, just you watch. Round s-s-six! GO!"

She downed one more, and then her head fell on the table. Daze downed number six and looked at Applejack quizzically. A few seconds later, he heard light snoring.

"Well, it looks like I win this one…" He said quietly. He figured his dragon-like system also gave him an extremely high tolerance for alcohol. He'd have to tell Applejack what she had to do tomorrow. He took Applejack's limp body and threw it over his shoulder. Then he had to find Rarity and tell her what happened. But first, he noticed Fluttershy who was looking at him with a strange look on her face. Perhaps she was confused as to why he was carrying Applejack.

"Er um…she couldn't exactly h-hold her liquor…" Daze nervously stammered.

"It seems that way, anyway, I feel a little better now, thanks for staying by my side, Daze." Fluttershy cooed.

"Welcome." Daze responded with as little words as possible. He was feeling quite lax himself, the alcohol affecting his system now. Fluttershy followed Daze and soon they found Rarity. Her and Twilight were talking to two gentlecolts. One of them was a tan Unicorn with a dark brown mane, dark blue eyes, and a skinny build. The other was a mahogany Pegasus with a black mane and a larger build and yellow eyes. They took one look at Daze and were overcome with worry as they began shaking.

"Piper…" The mahogany one said, "Have we perhaps had too much to drink…?"

"Not if we're seeing the same big scary monster in front of us…Maroon." The tan one responded, causing both of them to whimper. The fact that he was carrying a passed out pony on his shoulder didn't ease their fears either.

Black Daze didn't take to kindly to being called a monster and let out a mild roar of annoyance at the gentlecolts. They both huddled closer when suddenly Rarity stepped between them and Daze.

"Black Daze, don't be mean to these poor gentlecolts, they probably haven't seen anything like you is all. Isn't that right, Maroon."

"Y-you got that right, Miss Rarity…Why is his name Black Daze?" Maroon asked.

"Because that's the last thing you'll see before I kill you." Black Daze threatened, but not seriously. As much as he was already annoyed with them, he didn't have the heart to kill them. He did, however, have the heart to scare them out of their wits. The two stallions let out an almost feminine squeak and simultaneously fainted. Daze started to laugh, enjoying the good fun he was having with these two. Rarity only walked up to Daze and stared daggers directly into his eyes.

"That was heartless of you, those poor men were scared of you and you did nothing to ease their fear. You could've been their friend, but instead you chose to scare them out of their wits! Why is that? And more importantly, why is Applejack asleep on your shoulder?" Rarity squawked.

"I dunno, not used to making friends I guess. Gimme a break here, I'm new at this. And Applejack and I got into a 'drinking competition' I think is what you call it and she couldn't quite surpass me..." Daze then muttered under his breath "…though for the record, I'm not sorry for scaring them…"

"Well, alright fair enough. But be more careful from now on. And that's quite a shame; Applejack can hold her liquor better than any of us. I suppose you're a natural at that…" She shuddered. "…Barbaric activity…"

"Yeah I noticed she's better…" Daze muttered, noticing Rainbow Dash and Trixie bothering poor Twilight who was still shocked that Piper, the colt she was talking with, was fainted and on the ground.

"Well, I suppose we shall keep an eye on Applejack, and when our dates wake up…"

"IF they wake up…" Daze grinned evilly.

This earned him a nudge on the shoulder from Twilight. "Oh come on, they're clearly breathing. No need to be so pessimistic." Twilight scowled.

"Hey relax, I was kidding." Daze defended himself.

Rarity waited for them to stop talking then rolled her eyes. "…IF they wake up, then we'll explain to them that you WON'T kill them and that we have to watch after our drunk friend foolish enough to challenge you." Rarity finished.

"Sounds fine by me…What about you Flu-….Fluttershy?" Daze looked at Fluttershy with a surprised expression. Fluttershy was talking to another stallion. SHE was talking to HIM! The alcohol must've really loosened her up. The stallion was a Unicorn with an orange coat and a short well kempt blonde mane. Daze figured to just leave them be.

Black Daze walked up to Twilight and asked her, "So who was this colt? Your boyfriend?"

Twilight began blushing like mad. "N…No! He isn't. We just met and he's a very nice guy. I think you owe him an apology when he-"

"-IF he gets up." Daze put on another evil grin as he held up a claw.

"Would you quit saying that! It's not like you plan to ACTUALLY kill them…do you?" Her face began to express actual worry.

"Nah, that ain't my style. But for the record, scaring them was incredibly fun. I honestly don't regret it." Daze began to chuckle.

"Whatever, just don't get in the way whe…IF they get up." Twilight groaned facehoofing at 'if' partially because she actually said it.

"Wonderful. Now to go off and hang with Trixie, assuming she can still stand, that is." Daze said, gazing at Trixie who was leaning heavily on Rarity while Rainbow Dash was struggling to stay awake on the floor. He walked over to her friend who was in a drunken stupor. He placed his hand around her waist and lifted her up, placing her on his shoulder. She let out a small *hic*before asking him with a slurred voice.

"D-d-dazzeyy? Where are w-we going? I was having fun back theeerrreee…" She whined, hanging onto his neck.

"Geez, you're more drunk than Applejack. Well, maybe not but you act more drunk than she did. We need to get you home before you do something you regret." Black Daze scolded.

"Buh…but I'm just fine! Weally, I only had a little bitty b-bit to drink… *hic* It's not like I'm too t-tippsyyy! You act like I'm buck as druuunk." She had to be repositioned around Daze's neck since she was starting to fall off.

"That's all the proof I need, we're going home." Daze began walking casually towards the exit, Trixie in tow.

Just then, he walked past Fluttershy. She was dancing with the same stallion as earlier, but something was off about him. Daze took a closer look and saw that he was…not showing proper respect. Poor Fluttershy was so relaxed that she didn't see him 'eyeing certain areas of her body.' Normally Black Daze wouldn't give a flying buck, but Fluttershy was ONE: The Element of Kindness and TWO: the only one who showed him genuine compassion out of the six. Ergo, he did care. Still carrying the drunk Trixie on his back, he walked over to the twosome and cleared his throat, causing both of them to turn around. Fluttershy greeted him warmly. "Oh, hi there Black Daze, have you met my dance buddy Harvest yet? He's a business pony that owns the lumber company."

Daze extended his arm out, he flared his nostrils for extra intimidation. "Charmed." He growled.

Harvest chuckled nervously and reluctantly shook hooves. (Well, one hoof and one claw)

"So you're the monst-" before he could finish Daze squeezed his hoof significantly harder.

"Yow! Leggo leggo leggo!" He shrieked, causing some ponies to turn and look.

"Go ahead, finish that word. I bucking dare you…" Daze snarled.

"Ohhwowowow okay okay I give just let go for Celestia's sake!" Harvest whined. Daze let go of his hoof.

"Thank you…as I was saying, you must be the….thing….Fluttershy here keeps talking about. She tells me you live in the Everfree forest?" Harvest questioned, rubbing his hoof. The ponies previously watching from before went about their usual business, having lost their interest.

"I've lived there over half my life." Daze said flatly. He wondered if he could find more reasons to beat this guy up.

"W-well then…that's rather interesting. So since you seem to be the sentient authority of the forest…"

"I'm the Apex predator, not the authority." Daze grumbled, his ears folding back slightly.

"…Right...do you know the authority of the forest by any chance?" Harvest questioned, getting more creeped out by Daze by the second.

"Isn't Celestia technically the authority, being supreme ruler and all?" Daze asked curiously.

"I talked to Celestia, and she said she wasn't. Luna wasn't either. Celestia told me that there was another being who lived inside there that could be called the 'authority.' I figured she was off her rocker, but I have a hunch she meant you." Harvest explained. Then he cleared his throat and spoke again. "I have to say, you're not what I had in mind…"

"What, you expected someone taller?" Daze said, his words laced with sarcasm as he stood up straight to emphasize his height.

"No…No that's not what I meant. I just expected someone…more normal?" Harvest cringed slightly, hoping he didn't offend Black Daze.

"I'll let that one slide. But I suppose I am the authority. Even though the Everfree forest is such a big place…" Daze grunted, thinking to himself about the possibility that there was another being out there Celestia meant. He doubted it.

"Um, okay then. So, authority of the Everfree forest, can you help me with a predicament I'm having...?" Harvest asked, and stood up straight.

"I might…" Daze responded, interested in what Harvest was getting at.

"Good! Good. Well you see… our company's current forest is running low. Since Sweet Apple Acres is too useful for the economy and the Changeling forest is too far away to be cost effective, perhaps you would be willing to sell some…and by some I mean most…of the Everfree forest to the Lumber business?" He shifted nervously from where he stood. "It would be beneficial to both our sides. Our company would continue to prosper for years to come, and we'll pay handsomely for the forest. It's a win-win. What do you say? Have we got a deal?" He regained some of his confidence and held out his hoof.

Daze had to resist the urge to pound his face in he wanted to destroy most of his favorite playground/home so someone too accustomed to luxury could have a nice chair to sit on when the ground was free and didn't need any trees. What would they do if they ended up taking down his home? What would him, Trixie, and Chrysalis do? Not to mention, hikers wouldn't have many places to hike anymore. As much as Daze didn't care for hikers, he didn't think they deserved to be affected by such a decision. This city slicker was pushing Daze's hot buttons, and he was probably not going to take no for an answer. Well, one way to find out.

"Nope, not for sale." He said with no detectable kindness in his voice.

"Oh really, well you'll see I have other ways of convincing ponies." Harvest began to smirk slightly, looks like Daze was right about not taking no for an answer…Still wasn't going to change anything.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not a pony." Daze said, ruining Harvest's cliché line with logic. Harvest didn't speak for a few seconds.

"…Be that as it may, you're still selling the forest to me whether you want to or not. Piper! Maroon! Get over here!"

The two colts he met earlier walked to Harvest's side. "What is it boo-o-O-AAHH!" Piper squealed as he saw Daze in front of him again.

"Boss, why are you talking to that beast? Have you finally gone bonkers?" Maroon whispered, shivering at the sight of Black Daze.

"I'll make YOU go bonkers if you don't shut up!" Harvest snapped. "Now listen, this guy's the authority of the Everfree forest. He was so rude that he turned down my generous offer of buying most of the forest off of him. We NEED that forest, so we're gonna teach him a lesson. Got it?" Harvest was significantly more confident now, despite the fact that Black Daze was a lot taller than him.

"Are you crazy! Look at him! We'll be pulverized in seconds!" Piper squeaked. Black Daze cracked a rictus and snorted at them with the purpose of extra intimidation. Daze set Trixie to the side and she stumbled to watch the scene unfolding with half-lidded eyes.

"Not when I do this, he won't." Harvest responded, and his horn glowed a light orange hue as his associates began to glow the same color. Daze was curious as to what he was doing, then he got his answer a few seconds later when Maroon and Piper both let out battle cries at the same time and simultaneously socked Daze in the jaw, causing Daze to see stars and slump to the floor for a second. After he recovered, he got back up, dusted himself off, and turned to Fluttershy who was distracted by the loud music and flashing lights.

"Hi Daze… What's going on?" She was completely oblivious to what was happening.

"Nothing major, just giving Harvest and his henchmen a proper greeting…go find Rarity and stay out of the way, it's gonna get ugly real quick…" Daze groaned then rubbed his jaw. They were surprisingly strong.

"O-okay, are you sure I can't stay here? We were having a nice conversation, Harvest and I."

"What is going on over here? Maroon, Piper, explain yourselves." An English voice squawked as Rarity came into view followed by Twilight, who was equally as surprised.

Maroon and Piper just looked at each other, got an evil grin, then they attacked Rarity with a right to the chin, and Piper slapped Twilight. They both were horrified to say the least, Twilight put a hoof to the side of her face and but on a scowl.

"Hey, what was that for?" Twilight snapped and used her magic to fling them to the side.

"Just what did you do to them?" Daze demanded, his irises shrinking menacingly.

"Just a little rage spell is all. Now, I'll ask again, do we have a deal?" Harvest threw his jacket to the side, ready to fight alongside his henchmen who returned by his side with looks of forced anger.

"…In your dreams, bucko. I'll take you AND your stupid henchmen down." He motioned the elements and Trixie to clear the area and they did so. By now, they had started a scene that was getting bigger and bigger until it seemed the whole club had their eyes on the inevitable face-off.

"They're not henchmen, they're my associates." Harvest shot back, stomping his hoof.

Daze responded to this with a roar of irritation that took everyone by surprise. Vinyl saw this and began to play a good fighting beat with heavy bass and everything. She was very interested in what was about to take place…

Black Daze barely noticed the change in music and above all he didn't care. These stallions harassed his friends, proposed to destroy his home, hit two innocent mares, and they were itching for a fight. Daze was so mad right now, he was on the verge of going over the edge. If it was a fight they wanted, then by Celestia it was a fight they were going to get.

When the music started, Piper and Maroon let out multiple grunts of anger and charged at Daze. Harvest sat back and watched, which was a very foolish decision.

Black Daze waited until Piper and Maroon were close enough, then he conked their heads together and they fell over. Black Daze sped forward and before he could land a hit on Harvest, Harvest had him in his magic grasp and was levitating him in the air.

Oh buck me… Daze mused to himself.

As Daze was being levitated helplessly, Harvest gave him a left, then a right, then a left, then another left, and so on. He wasn't very strong, but strong enough that his punches hurt. Still, they didn't do much but continue to piss him off more than he already was.

Twilight saw what was happening and immediately had her horn glowing around the levitated Daze. Within seconds, Daze plopped back to the floor. He jumped up and grabbed Harvest, bringing him so close to his face that his eyes looked like they were staring into his soul.

"I will be the bane of your existence, puny mage." He roared before throwing him directly into the wall in front of him. Harvest flew at incredible speed and smashed against the wall, making a dent in it. Black Daze was fully enraged now, his irises completely shrunk to slits and his teeth appearing larger than before. Maroon and Piper were up and they both leapt onto Daze's back. Daze struggled for a little bit before jumping up and falling on his back deliberately, crushing them under his body weight.

Both Maroon and Piper were fully unconscious on the floor, he had taken care of them. Now to seal the deal with Harvest…

Black Daze approached the now fearful Harvest and flared his nostrils. Daze reared his head back and spat fourth a small blue plume of fire, shocking everypony in the room. He then took harvest in claw and slammed him against the wall again, then gave him a right hook before growling at him and saying, "Now, we all know that you've lost this round. Here's what's gonna happen. You WILL NOT get the Everfree forest, you WILL NOT go after me again, and you WILL leave my friends alone. Are we clear?" He gestured towards Trixie and the Elements at 'my friends.' Harvest nodded meekly and Daze threw him to the side.

"Good, now take your stupid henchmen and SCRAM!" Daze punctuated his last word by slamming his fist into the floor, cracking it a little and causing a slight tremor.

Harvest let out a small yelp then grabbed his friends and high-tailed out of the club. Amongst the crowd spectating the fight, there were mostly cheers, a few 'boos' and some applause. Daze glared at everypony and they fell silent. Everypony went back to their dances/drinks.

Vinyl saw that the fight had ended and put on a generic club beat. She then set it to repeat automatically and walked over to greet this mysterious guest whom she admired.

"That was pretty…nice of you for defending us, I sincerely thank you." Twilight smiled as she praised Black Daze for taking care of those rascals. Rarity nodded in agreement.

Applejack started to come to, she yawned and grabbed her forehead.

"Mmmhhh…I got m'self a splitting headache…what happened?" Applejack asked with a sleepy voice.

"You were transported to a magical faraway place where bipedal hairless apes rule the earth and get from one place to another by making giant metal boxes move by themselves." Daze teased, making up a story on the spot.

"I did? Wow…why don't I remember any of this?" Applejack somehow bought it. Daze rolled his eyes.

"Just kidding, you challenged me to a drinking contest, and you lost." Daze said flatly.

"Wha? Naw, yer just pullin' my leg, ain't no way Applejack's ever lost a drinkin' contest…" She boasted.

"Until today that is…" Twilight snickered.

"Hush yer mouth, Twi." Applejack said before grabbing her head again. "My head…sweet Celestia…"

"Wow, I didn't realize Harvest was so rotten…" Fluttershy frowned and twiddled her hooves together.

"It's quite alright, darling. They're gone now." Rarity gestured toward the door where the trio had vacated.

"Oh WOW! That was awesome Dazey! I can see why the newspapers call you the Terror of the Everfree forest now!" Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight, Rarity, Trixie, Daze, Rainbow Dash and even Applejack turned to face Pinkie Pie.

"The what now…?" Daze questioned. He didn't think he was an urban legend…

"Pinkie, what are you talking about?" Rarity looked quizzically at her pink friend.

"Don't you girls read the paper! Sometimes there's an eyewitness account on some campers who report seeing a creature of some sort beating down a forest ape or taking out a Cockatrice without even looking at it… DUH! Dazey matches the vague descriptions! I'm surprised nopony's fingered him as the Terror of the Everfree forest yet!"

"What's this about me being fingered?" Daze asked his ears perking up with shock.

"Just what are fingers, Pinkie?" Rarity questioned, more confused than ever.

"Oh nothing…" Pinkie grinned cheerfully and winked at the imaginary audience.

"Who are you winking at?" Daze tilted his head to the side.

"Noooopony…" Pinkie sang, winking again.

"What in the…just never mind." Daze facepalmed.

"Come on girls, let's continue PARTYING!" Pinkie cheered, her friends nodded in agreement except for Applejack, who was laying on the club couch with a splitting headache and Rainbow Dash, who was staring up at the ceiling trying to make the world stop being a kaleidoscope. Trixie, who was much more sober now than before, decided to walk beside Black Daze in an attempt to grow closer to him.

Just then Daze was confronted by a mysterious unicorn. He didn't know her, but he would see if she was friendly before deciding a course of action.

"Hey man, I haven't seen you around here. Are you new in town?" The Unicorn asked.

"Uhh…yeah, I guess you could say that." Black Daze nervously grinned.

"Pretty rad, bro! I saw that fight, it was awesome, dude!" She didn't have a girly voice at all, most certainly a tomboy throughout her life.

"Say, who might you be?" Trixie asked the Unicorn before her, mildly suspicious of her intentions.

"Names Vinyl Scratch, but you can call me Vinyl or Vivi. Whatever floats your boat, man." Vinyl responded casually.

"Never heard of you…" Trixie said somewhat bitterly.

"You must not listen to techno then. Not that I care, since you're here, you'll hear plenty of that." Vinyl said with a grin. "C'mon Daze, let me show you my turntable!"

"Ugh, whatever, I'll just go have another drink…" Trixie sighed in defeat and stomped off dramatically.

"…what's her problem?" Vinyl looked at Daze quizzically.

"Ummm…beat's me?" Daze tilted his head to the left.

"Whatever, now at least she won't bother us." Vinyl added. Daze was unsure now. It's not like Trixie was bothering him...

Pfft, mares…. He mused to himself.

Daze followed Vinyl to her turntable station. She seemed nice enough and she also had pretty nice glasses, so Black Daze didn't really have a reason to distrust her. She then took him to the turntable and showed him what all the switches do. Daze was somewhat fascinated by this, but he wasn't a huge fan of the music itself. It was a bit too intense for his tastes.

Vinyl noticed Daze's lack of interest in her music and thought to herself; what now? He doesn't seem interested in techno, which really sinks your chances with him if you're a DJ…perhaps…perhaps I should skip to the good part, that usually works…yeah…A smile returned to her face.

Vinyl gave Daze her best bedroom eyes then said, "So, would you like to see what other kinds of music we can make together?" She was obviously referencing sex.

Daze, being stuck in the forest for 8 years and not even being AWARE of the reference nodded his head just out of curiosity. Vinyl thought to herself of course he wants me, how could he resist an offer like that? She led him back to her 'office' in the club's bed quarters and set him on a chair. She then took her glasses off, revealing her gorgeous magenta eyes. She then leaned close, so close that she could smell his scent. He smelled like…like…the outdoors. He smelled of fresh grass after the rain and the fragrant flowers of the Everfree forest. It absolutely drove her mad! …In the good way of course. She whispered in his ear; "So cowboy, do you like it rough…or slow and gentle…" She cooed in her most seductive voice.

Daze wasn't affected by her charms. "Rough? I thought we were going to make music." He said obliviously.

Vinyl face-hoofed. She fell for the most sexually clueless stallion she had EVER met. She then began to rub her hoof on his chest and again whispered in his ear.

"…I meant sex you idiot…" She said outright.

Daze's heart started pounding in its chest. He never had a sexual experience in his life. In fact, he didn't know the first thing about it. He was afraid that he would mess something up. In fact, he wasn't sure he even wanted to have sex with her in the first place. He wasn't about to hurt her or say no, since he was incredibly curious and quite honestly turned on. He was just about to give in when the door busted open to revel a very irate Trixie.

"Get your hooves of Dazey you trashy DJ!" She snapped, catching Vinyl off guard.

Uh…oh… Daze thought to himself.

TO BE CONTINUED :D