Worth Less Than a Fly

Chapters

Chapter 2: Life's Truths
Chapter 3: Wake Up and Clap Your...Hooves?
Chapter 4: Have Fun
Chapter 5: Just Give Up
Chapter 6: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 1)
Chapter 7: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 2)
Chapter 8: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 3)
Chapter 9: The "Very" First Casualty
Chapter 10: Slow Introductions
Chapter 11: No Interrogating
Chapter 12: One Educational Night
Chapter 14: An Uncertain Future
Chapter 15: Shadaico Verransom Terror-Field
Chapter 16: The Chess Pieces
Chapter 17: Going Cold
Chapter 18: The Morning After
Chapter 19: A Time For Words...
Chapter 20: Wolfy? [edited]
Chapter 21: Paradise
Chapter 22: Equestrian History 1.0
Chapter 1: Hail to the King
Chapter 13: No Luck Lasts Forever

Chapter 2: Life's Truths

Shadaico waited for the bars to close before he held his arms up. The Warden took out a key and used it to remove the ends of the gauntlets, releasing Shadaico’s hands. Shadaico snapped his claws wide and tense. A Heavy Guard had a massive spear an inch from his face in a fraction of a second. Shadaico didn’t flinch; he just stared at the Warden. The Warden scoffed and turned to leave. The guards followed. The Warden made a quick call and the main lights were dimmed and a shield enclosed each cell, sealing them off from each other.

Shadaico quickly cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before turning around with his hands now free. The Punishment Gauntlets still restricted his wrists slightly, but he didn’t count his blessings. Shadaico looked at Nash. Nash was wide eyed with terror as he pressed deeper into the wall. His magic was sealed, but he could still use those screws on his arms like a good club. Shadaico’s red eyed stare penetrated the air like a hot-knife through butter. Nash almost felt life slip away just from Shadaico's glare. This had to be a fate worse than death. He’d had a lot of those experiences lately actually.

“Which bed is yours?” Shadaico asked quietly, not taking his eyes off Nash. Nash shakily pointed to the one on his left. The one on the right was lumpy, but clean. The one on the left was fluffy, but smelled. Shadaico glanced at it then looked back at Nash, “what’s your name?”

“N-N-Nash,” he trembled still.

“Sit.” Shadaico commanded.

Shadaico stepped over to the bed on the right and quickly turned around. Then he let himself fall into a sitting position on the bed. Nash just watched, still filled with terror. Shadaico looked at him and scowled. Nash quickly lunged over to his bed and sat down quickly. He shivered and rubbed his hands and feet together nervously. Shadaico was taller than him and he sat perfectly still. His eyes continued to burrow into Nash.

Shadaico huffed, “will you relax! You’re annoying.”

“B-but you’re Sh-Sh-Shadaico…” he stumbled out.

“You’re not blind or clueless, that’s a start. We each have three days, is that right?” his voice was forceful and sounded old.

“Yes,” Nash squeaked.

There was an awkward silence before Shadaico started talking again, “why are you afraid of me?”

Nash stared at him, trying to register the question. “Because…y-you’re the a-apocalypse.”

“Not anymore kid.” Shadaico lowered his head as though in shame.

“What are you talking about? You’re like royalty to these people!” Nash suddenly jumped forward. After voicing his observations he quickly shrunk back, afraid he had angered him.

“Royalty to idiots, not much of a compliment kid. The majority of these men are trash,” there was hatred in those words.

“You’re their hero--I mean their villain--their idol!” Nash stumbled to correct himself.

Shadaico actually chuckled, “Idol, yes. And I assume they spent their lives chasing my legend?”

“S-some of them. I didn’t though. I don’t belong here!” Nash pleaded with him.

Shadaico shook his head, “fools. They threw away their lives for nothing.”

“They just wanted to be like you,” Nash’s fear was being replaced by confusion.

Shadaico lowered his head to hide his eyes, “that’s what makes them fools. To be like me…to live the life I’ve lived." he growled in anger.

“You didn’t enjoy what you did?”

He snorted, “I did at the time. But that’s the problem.” Shadaico looked up. “That’s why I have such a big legend. When you first start, anything and everything is fun. But then it starts to slow down. It’s a cycle kid. As you commit more and more crimes, you need more and more to have fun.”

“You……regret it?” Nash couldn’t believe it. The Legend, the King of Evil regretted his life!

“Are you religious?” Shadaico asked suddenly.

“Uh…no. I don’t believe in God, gods, or Heaven and Hell.” Nash was a little confused.

“Why?” Shadaico turned his head at an angle so Nash could only see one of his eyes.

“Because…he’s never done anything for me.”

“Didn’t he make you,” Shadaico asked deadpanning.

“He didn’t help me during the trials, he didn’t save me from this prison…and he won’t save me from my execution!” Nash lashed out.

Shadaico nodded slowly, “well I believe.”

Nash's anger froze in his chest, “a monster like you believes?”

He nodded, “I didn’t always, obviously. A week before they caught me, I was convinced, by some old man. I was about to take his life when he started asking me the big questions.”

“Like what you thought would happen to you when you died?” Nash was almost over the fact he was talking to a living legend.

Shadaico nodded again slowly, “he made me think. For the first time in my sick evil little life, I started to wonder what would happen if I just dropped dead suddenly.”

Nash cocked an eyebrow, “you just drop dead?”

“The point isn’t how likely or unlikely it is,” he huffed. “The point is what will happen to you when your day of mortality is up!” He snapped his fingers to deepen the point. “I began to wonder, did it matter how many sins I had committed.”

“Uh…are you asking me?” Nash asked nervously when Shadaico paused for a moment.

“Tell me, is their good and evil in this world?”

“Well…yeah, you!” Nash pointed at him accusingly.

“In a world without hell, is their good and evil.” Shadaico lowered his head again.

“Of cour-“

“No, there isn’t.” He cut him off.

“But you-“

“No. Evil, good, memories, emotions, suffering, and pain do not exist in a world without heaven, hell, and god.”

“What are you talking about?” Nash thought he was crazy to claim there was no such thing as suffering or pain.

“Think about it kid.” Shadaico’s head remained lowered. “If when you die everything that is you is simply deleted, what happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“All memories of your pain are erased.” Shadaico raised his head. “Let me give you a perfect example of your own logic. If Heaven, Hell, and God don’t exist and all your memories are erased when you die, then I can end world hunger through murder!”

“You’re crazy!”

He shook his head, “no, I’m smart. Without those guiding principles and the concept of sin, I should just kill every child who is hungry. No, that’s the wrong word. I should just erase, all the starving children.”

Nash understood why Shadaico was so evil quickly, “you’re sick, that’s evil!”

“No it’s not. It’s not like those children are going to even remember their deaths. All their memories evaporate into nothing anyway. Not to mention, the only way it can be considered evil is if it’s a sin. And for that, you need a place of eternal punishment…hell.”

“So where are you going with this?”

“That’s why I believe in hell, because I believe in good and evil. I believe there’s a purpose to our lives.” Shadaico paused and lowered his head once again. “But it’s that same belief that has destroyed me.”

“You believe in heaven and hell, so what?”

“After all the things I’ve done, you really think I can enter eternal paradise?!” Shadaico looked up at him. “Kid, in three days I face execution. Then I will face judgment and be cast into the lake of eternal punishment, and there is nothing I can do about it!” A tear ran down his cheek. “I will suffer for all eternity for my sins and nothing can save me. I’m…a condemned man. Every second my fear grows; the knowledge that I’m one second closer to never ending torment, to destruction. The day is so close,” Shadaico’s hands were trembling as he interlaced them.

“You fear for your eternal soul?” Nash couldn’t believe that the most viscous demonic spawn of Satan he had ever known was so religious, or so well acquainted with fear.

“I’m suffering kid.” Shadaico held his left Punishment Gauntlet. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have these screws…slowly…driven into your flesh and then….your very bones?” A shiver rattled his form. “Every time these…damn things spark, it vibrates…and hur-ts.” He struggled out in obvious agony.

“I…you…sorry,” Nash wasn’t sure what to say. Shadaico was totally different from the stories. At least, now he was. He was weak, vulnerable, dying, and afraid.

“If I’m suffering this much now, imagine how much I’ll have to pay for in hell. I have more reason to fear death than any other living thing on this planet. My soul cannot be cleansed. Even if it could, I don’t have the time…it’s too late.” Shadaico began to shed silent tears. “What waits for me…it’s the scariest thing a man can wonder. But actually facing it…”

“If there is a hell and a heaven, where will I go?”

Shadaico looked at him, “I don’t know what kind of life you’ve lived, Nash. But, I doubt you’ve done too much, considering you’re so, well, scared.”

“What will happen to me?” Nash found himself falling into Shadaico’s belief of an afterlife.

“Beg for forgiveness. At least you have hope that it will be granted.” Shadaico flicked his head down and squeezed his knee. The screws on his legs were all sparking at once.

“You looked so strong when they walked you around the prison,” Nash remarked.

Shadaico chuckled weakly. “An act,” he hissed as the pain subsided. “I will die leaving an image of strength. That is something I promised myself. Even though I go to hell, I will make sure the world never sees my weakness, my fears.”

There was a long silence, “if you had more time, would you seek retribution?”

“I’d do anything to atone, but my sins are just too great. There just isn’t enough time.” Fresh tears began to run. “What have I done?” he whispered to himself.

Their friendship was doomed to be short lived of course, but they were determined to get to know each other before it was over. Shadaico had a hard time sleeping due not only to the screw's pulsing pain waves, but the fact that he had to lay face down on a lumpy mattress. When morning came, Shadaico warned Nash to keep his mouth shut. He couldn’t say a word about Shadaico’s true nature. It was especially beneficial to keep all the inmates thinking he was still the monster they had heard about. Nash stayed close to the towering jackal and all the other inmates kept a 20 foot perimeter around Shadaico clear.

In Nash’s last three days, he would finally get his first bath in a year, new higher quality prison garbs, and a large meal. All courtesy of just Shadaico’s reputation! Wherever he went, the prisoners practically bowed to him. His glance alone was enough to break up gangs and send even the bravest and largest of them stepping back. None of them questioned why he kept Nash close or seemed to protect him. No one could touch Nash or even get near him for fear of the King.

Nash enjoyed the feeling of safety and good hygiene. He knew only two days remained before he would die. Shadaico knew it too. Both of them would enjoy baths and new clothes regularly. They were both trying to enjoy what little time they had. Before they ate their dinner that night, Shadaico stopped to pray. Nash was about to go ahead and dig in, but Shadaico’s earlier reasons for his faith echoed in his mind. He joined in his prayer; although, his was less forgiveness demanding. Nash didn’t need to pray for forgiveness for genocides and destruction of entire cities. When the praying was done, they ate in silence.

Nash noticed that all the nearby iron tables were devoid of occupants. The other inmates had given Shadaico and his pet Nash a quarter of the Cafeteria! Nash dared to speak, “Will asking for forgiveness really save you?”

“I can only hope. I know I am doomed, but like I keep saying, you have a chance. Only when you die will you find out if you tried hard enough though.” Shadaico didn’t look up from his meal to tell Nash what he thought.

“Only two days…”

“Two days till I see the devil eye-to-eye…” he said drearily.

“Two days till I face my eternity…” Nash too said drearily.

When they returned to their cell and the barriers that cut all the cells off from each other came on, Shadaico let out a howl of pain and fell to the floor. Nash dived to the floor to help him onto his bed. His body shook from the extreme nerve damage he had been racked with. Nash couldn’t imagine having to walk around strong faced while in such agony. Shadaico was truly dying.

“I’m so worthless!” Nash berated himself as he got Shadaico into the bed.

“No you’re not. You have value. You haven’t seeped your hands in blood and become a blight on this world!” he huffed heavily from his pain. “I’m the one that’s worth-less!” he gritted his teeth in pain. “I haven’t done a good thing in my life!” he was breathing heavy.

“Yes you have.”

“What have *huff* I done right?” he asked painfully, his throat swelling up.

“You…converted me.” Nash smiled weakly.

“Saved a sinner…” Shadaico nodded slowly with a small grin.

It was the day. Shadaico had told Nash his more gruesome and horrible stories, but his war crimes were some of the worst. Torturing children in front of their parents to get information, sick! Nash began to understand more and more why Shadaico knew he was going to hell. There was no way such a monster could ever enter heaven. Nash hadn’t told Shadaico much about himself, but he still felt like they would die as close friends together. Shadaico was to die first though and Nash knew it.

“What religion do you follow?” Nash asked as the guards prepared for the execution outside their cell.

“I don’t know actually.” Shadaico was sitting on his bed. “I just say whatever prayers I’ve heard….my numerous victims mumble before I took their…lives.” He took a second to pass the lump in his throat before he spoke again. “It’s funny, I only know two official prayers. And I don’t think they’re actually appropriate for the current situation. I always made up the others as I went, you know. I think that’s how it’s done.” Shadaico looked up at Nash with tears beginning to push forward. “I’m not going to be able to look strong for this am I?”

“Me neither,” Nash shivered as he hugged himself.

“I’m not ready for hell yet.” He swallowed hard. “There are so many sins to atone for.”

“I don’t think I’ve ask for forgiveness of every sin.” There was a pause. “Shadaico?”

“Yeah…” he mumbled.

“You spent three days here before your execution; I spent a year to the day. Why?”

“I spent my year in another prison. It was a transfer. I was some kind of royalty there too.”

The Warden appeared at the door, “it’s time.”

The ceremony began. The four Executioners were gathered around the pentagram circle where their deaths would occur. The Tower Guards lined the aisle down to Nash and Shadaico’s cell. Heavy Guards were scattered about in a regular pattern. A Heavy stood by the open cell as Nash was led out. A chain from another Heavy Guard wrapped around his wrists and bound them together. He was led out like an animal and down A-Wing to the waiting circle of his death. The prisoners were silent with respect, but not for Nash, for his roommate. If they started yelling and taunting Nash, they risked still yelling when Shadaico came out. That would be disrespectful.

As Nash approached the circle, he saw the means of his death. The Executioners each held a long pole with a green orb at the top. The poles were evenly spaced at the edges of the circle. They were placed so you could walk straight down any wing without having to walk around an Executioner to get into the circle. The Warden stood to Nash’s right, holding a large book under his arm. Nash was sweating like a cow. Death was moments away.

“Stand next to me Nash,” the Warden asked coldly. Nash was given enough slack and led to stand next to the towering lion headed Warden. “Relax Nash, your execution is in a moment. Bring him out!”

Shadaico was led by two Heavies and flanked by two Towers. The chains ran into the Punishment Gauntlets on his arms; all of them wrapping wildly around the screws. Shadaico looked passive, cold, as though he had no emotion. Nash couldn’t believe he was actually doing it! Shadaico was a walk and a few moments from meeting the devil and he looked fine, what Nash thought the old King of Evil should look like when going to his death. But Shadaico couldn't keep it up.

Halfway down the corridor, his emotionless face began to streak with tears as he began his second to last prayer. “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” The tears became thicker as he choked for a moment. “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us, our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us.” He licked his lips. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory for ever and ever.” Shadaico passed Nash without a glance. “Amen.”

As Shadaico’s chains were moved and connected to each pole at the edges of the circle by the Tower Guards, Shadaico began his final prayer. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. For your rod and your staff, they shalt be my comfort. Amen.” Tears of udder terror ran like waterfalls down his face. The chains were in place, the time of his death was right now…

“Shadaico Verransom Terror Field, do you have any final words?” the Warden asked harshly.

“Yes.” He almost whispered. His arms were stretched high up into the air and he looked rather pathetic. “Nash!” Nash had turned his head away to hide his sorrow, but he flicked his head up at his name. The entire prison looked at him as did the Warden.

“I give! *hic* I can’t hold the image! I’m sorry.” He nodded at Nash who nodded back. “When it’s your turn, when you go to heaven and see God, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything!” Nash stepped forward assertively.

“Can you put in a good word for me? Tell the big man…I tried. I tried to atone for my sins, I just didn’t start soon enough. I know it won’t make a difference, but can you do that for this old dog?” Nash nodded fiercely. Shadaico smiled through his crying, “Now let’s do this!!”

In a flash, the Warden had the book held high and slammed his free paw on the cover. The sound was like an explosion blasting through the room, and it signaled the death of the King of Evil. The poles erupted into angelic light and the pentagram began to glow. The jackal Shadaico and the many sealing screws still in his body were trapped within the ring. Shadaico began to make small whimpering noises as the light grew ever brighter and beams began to explode into the ceiling.

A horrible roar of pain exploded from Shadaico, even over the racket of the magic at work. Through the light, the entire prison could see Shadaico’s legs begin to break apart! The chunks were a few inches across each and they broke off and vanished rather slowly compared to the agony it clearly caused. His arms soon followed, the chains vanishing instantly rather then taking their time like the rest of him. Somehow, his chest and head floated there as he was bit-by-bit broken apart!

After what seemed like an eternity of screaming and hundreds of little pieces, his head floated there, still screaming. The entire thing suddenly blew apart and evaporated all at once. Nash was frozen to the spot. The energy died down and revealed that not even the screws remained of Shadaico. He was completely erased from existence…and Nash was next. The fate that awaited him was even worse than he had ever dared believe. He had never seen it so clearly or so close up.

The Warden smiled as Nash was dragged to the center of the circle where Shadaico died only a second prior. Nash had lost the ability to move from utter terror at what was to come. Nash silently went through the same prayers as Shadaico had moments before his death as his chains were put into place and the Tower Guards stepped out of the circle.

“Nash Adary Worms, do you have any last words?” The Warden smiled, revealing how much he enjoyed this, and his big teeth. It made Nash sick.

“Yes.” Nash was crying in fear but inhaled deeply, “I AM STILL AN INNOCENT MAN!!!”

The Warden quickly slammed his paw on the book, not wanting to hear his nonsense anymore…

That was the day, Shadaico Verransom Terror Field and Nash Adary Worms......died...

Chapter 3: Wake Up and Clap Your...Hooves?

“Na…”

“Nash…”

“Nash! Wake up!”

Nash was floating. He remembered his execution, being ripped apart piece-by-piece for what seemed like forever. He remembered every agonizing moment of it. He knew he was dead…and it felt great. He felt weightless as he floated in an empty dark void. But a voice kept beating at his mind. Maybe it was god telling him it was time to see heaven. He had to remember his promise to Shadaico...

“Nash, can you hear me?”

*Shadaico?!* Nash’s mouth wouldn’t move. He couldn’t speak! He couldn’t tell where he was or where the voice was coming from.

“Are you there Nash?”

*Yes! Just wait for a minute*

“Can you hear me out there?”

*Don’t leave, I’m still figuring this out!*

“I don’t know if you can hear me Nash, but I’ve got something important to tell you.”

*Hold on a second, it’s hard to move in heaven!*

“As you probably already know, we’re dead.”

*…yeah*

“But we’re not in heaven…”

*Wait, I went to hell?!*

“But we’re not in hell either…”

*Where does that leave us? Do we not exist? Is this limbo?*

“There was a third possibility I hadn’t even considered, and it seems to be what happened…to me at least.”

*What happened?*

“Nash, I believe we’ve been reincarnated!”

*What???*

“I don’t know if you can hear me, or if you were even reincarnated like I was, but I also don’t think we’re on the same planet anymore. This place is different. The very air is a different thing altogether, but that could just be my new nose.”

*If I've been reincarnated, why can’t I move?*

“Urgh, sorry Nash. For some reason, the screws that restricted my magic came with me! The Punishment Gauntlets and Shin Guards didn’t fit my new body properly and I was able to get out of them easily enough. But my magic’s weak and it’s still being restricted by my new collar and the four large bolts in my--ugh--my back. As I bet you can already guess, I’m contacting you through magic, aka, telepathy. At least I hope I’m contacting you and not some tree or a squirrel.”

*You have definitely reached the mind of Nash, please deposit 25 cents*

“First thing you should do, if you haven’t already, is find a water source or a mirror. You’re going to want to know what you look like. Trust me on this. It. Freaked. Me. Out!”

*Oh god*

“Sorry, erh, I can’t keep this up any longer. Take care Nash. Ugh, your my first real friend. I hope to see you again. Owwww…Thank god he gave me--us, this second chance…ooooohhhhh my gosh…”

*Hey wait! (the connection was lost) Great. What do I do now? How do I wake up? That has to be the weirdest question ever asked*

Nash finally pulled his eyelids up. It was like lead weights had been tied to them. He was aware of a dim light around him and that he was lying on a rough wooden surface. He groaned as he tried to push himself up. His eyes went closed again as he pushed. The effort was like lifting a train. It was slow and his arms vibrated under the strain. Once his arms were fully extended and he was in a sitting position, he reopened his eyes.

“Whoa.” He was clearly on the branch of a large tree. But, the tree must have been huge!! The branch was at least 20 feet across. Sure he was right near where the branch met the trunk, but the trunk was massive too. It was bigger around then most houses he’d seen. “Man! Where am I?” He had a throbbing in his head and his body tingled awkwardly as he looked around. He picked up on something that he knew wasn’t right. “Those are some big leaves…oh no…”

A fear began to creep into his mind. Reincarnation was nice, but not when you downgraded. Nash looked around frantically for a mirror source. He wasn’t sure where he could go, being so high up in a tree. Looking over the edge confirmed that the tree wasn’t much shorter than a skyscraper. Nash never had a particular fear of heights, but he sure liked avoiding them. Nash tried to stand up and found he couldn’t keep his balance either. When up in a huge tree, that was a really bad thing. So Nash tried to walk on all fours, and it was comfortable.

Nash stood there and blinked for a second. “Why is being on all fours normal?” he thought. He shook his head and wobbly stepped forward. He had to move one leg at a time rather than two like he was probably meant to. Because when Nash tried to move two legs at a time, one of his front and the opposite back, he couldn’t keep his balance and fell. “Stupid legs,” he mumbled to himself as he slowly made his way across the branch.

Ahead of him was a large leaf with a bowl like shape. It was filled with water, precious life giving water. Nash rushed, in a matter of speaking, to the leaf. Once there, he slowly inched his head forward until he could see himself appear on its surface. He had his suspicions and he remembered Shadaico’s warning. This was probably going to be the most dramatic moment of his life; minus being executed of course.

His head drifted through the air as it came into the watchful eyes of the reflective surface. “OH MY GO-“ Nash shoved his new hooves into his mouth to shut himself up. He flew backwards and sat there with his hooves halfway down his throat. After several minutes of tense breathing exercises, he was able to push himself up and walk to the pool again.

The creature in the reflection had charcoal black fur and large orb eyes. It had a short blade like horn protruding from its head. His long ears looked like they’d been shredded. He also had fangs, a mane, and wings. His wings, mane and eyes were all a ghostly white and his fangs were long and sharp. He found it funny that he had black fur but a white mane and wings. “A nice sharp contrast.” He stretched out his wings and gave them a quick test flap. “That’s not too hard actually. Hey, now I can get out of this tree!” With wings bigger than his current body, it was hard not to get hopefull.

Nash looked back at his reflection. He wondered what Shadaico looked like now. It was then he remembered Shadaico saying something about the screws still being in his back. “Ow,” Nash muttered to himself. Poor Shadaico couldn’t get a break. But he did have a lot to make up for. Nash then realized that Shadaico had his chance. Now Shadaico had the time to make up for his probably limitless mistakes. But that was going to be a long road. Nash only knew a handful of the wrongs Shadaico had done, who knew just how much darker it got.

Nash didn’t have time to worry about Shadaico at the moment. He had to sate the thirst in his throat. He bent down and began to lap the water out of the leaf bowl with his tongue. He found the feeling of a muzzle and a longer tongue very weird. His tongue was flexible and he could bend it in so many directions. If anyone had been around, they would have seen a very small changeling sitting on a branch playing with his own tongue.

After a while of giggling to himself, Nash paused. What was he doing? Having fun? He died not even an hour ago! Not only that, but he had an entirely new body and he was in an entirely new world. After pondering for a moment, he smiled. Sometimes, it was just good to be alive…

Nash knew that if he was having a hard time just walking, there was no way he was going to fly out of this tree just yet. He’d have to practice with his wings carefully or learn how to climb down out of a tree without hands. I’m screwed! He thought to himself. He decided to get as much water in his system as possible before doing anything else. The water was fresh and clean and smelled of the leaf he lapped it out of. He felt funny drinking the water like a dog. “Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t say that around Shadaico. He was a jackal after all.”

Rather than climb down the tree, Nash began to climb up. He wanted a bird’s eye view of the area and that was the easiest and fastest way to get it. The leaves stretched down and over each other in a tangled mess. Nash tired out quickly. Hiking at a 45 degree angle and climbing steep ledges was not his idea of fun, especially when those ledges and hills were constantly swaying. Nash sat on another smaller branch then the last one where there was maybe 5 feet of floor space before the curve made standing impossible.

Nash put his brain to work while his body rested. Just how small was he now? He knew he’d been reincarnated as some kind of bug, if the eyes and wings were any indication, but the hooves and mane confused him. What kind of bug had hooves or a mane? What was he, a horse/insect hybrid? Then there was his size. A leaf made a decent platform a few feet across that he could walk on. But how big were leaves? A couple inches maybe. That prospect drained some color from his face. If he was only a few inches in height, his second life was going to suck; those fangs of his might make it literal too…

Nash made it through; with a great deal of effort and numerous hours of trial and error, he emerged at the top. A thin pole like dead branch just barely stretched over the tree's leafy top. Nash wrapped his hooves around it and shimmied up the branch. Finally in a position to see the world, he took in a deep whiff of fresh air. The sun was just past the noon position and a wonderful refreshing breeze blew through him. The sun's warm rays were so inviting and he almost felt like sunbathing.

There was something special about seeing the sun as a free man. Even while in prison he had a chance to see the sun everyday. But he always felt like it was mocking him. The way it was able to travel across the sky free and clear with no one and nothing to stand in its way. No rules or hardships for it to deal with. The sun was a beacon of freedom and a declaration of joy, but only if you were free yourself. Otherwise, it was an object of slow painful torture.

Nash basked in the joy and warmth for a long time; his muscles not complaining a twitch as he clung to the branch. Finally, Nash remembered what he was doing when a strong gust rocked him back and forth violently. Nash clung tightly to the branch until it steadied. “Better hurry this up,” he sighed to himself. Looking around, it was a gorgeous landscape. His tree was on some kind of mountain, because he could see for miles! Mountains, valleys, and forests covered the land. It was a tranquil place seemingly untouched by civilization. Nash only wondered where Shadaico was out in that great big world, which was extra big for him in particular.

He turned around and stared straight ahead, “that’s not natural.” A golden spiral shot into the air. It was the top of a tower of some kind. The branch he was on swayed again and he clung to it tightly. The leaves and branches ahead shifted slightly and revealed more of the structure. Leaning forward and pushing himself higher, Nash glimpsed a white castle nearby. Nearby was a relative term; to a normal sized creature, it would have been a 15 minute walk, but Nash knew he was in for a long trip. He groaned, “Shadaico better start talking to me again, because I don’t want to start heading in the wrong direction.”

Nash slid down the branch like a fire pole and landed quite gracefully. Now what was his move? He might have been able to reach the castle by walking if he was given the time, but he couldn’t even start until he got out of the tree. He would have to learn how to use his wings first, at least the basics. He’d have to be sure he knew what he was doing before he went and jumped out of the tree. It was unlikely he was going to get a third chance at life.

"Even if I do get to that big white castle, what goods it going to do me? I'm like an inch tall!"

Chapter 4: Have Fun

WAM! Nash collided with the trunk of the tree again. He just couldn’t get control of his wings once he started pumping them. The wind wasn't helping either, it kept passing through the leaves and screwing up his trajectory. Nash stood up on his legs again, still having trouble walking on them. Nash wobbled as he tried to trot back over to the end of the tree branch so he could try again. That had been the procedure for the past hour. He would stand at the end of a branch, and then he would launch himself down the branch toward the tree with his wings. He was trying to learn how to stop himself or at least slow down after takeoff.

The consequences of his many failures were becoming apparent. First: Nash was starting to leave scratch marks in the bark of the tree. By failing so much, he learned that his horn was pretty tough and was good at scratching things. Second: he was forced to walk after each failure. Which was giving him a reason to practice. He still stumbled and lost his balance after every third step, but he was getting the rhythm of his new legs. And finally: he learned that controlling his wings was going to be harder then he thought.

His wings were like a lawnmower. Once he got them started, they went on their own and he could simply tell them he needed them to go faster or slower. The problem was their slow response time. He was having a hard time getting them to speed up or slow down quickly enough to actually achieve anything. He could also rotate his wings to change his angle of ascent or descent. Again, the response time was causing problems. It was like his wings were old and needed some grease to loosen up or something.

“Dang it, work with me here!” Nash ordered his wings as he got ready for another attempt. His wings kicked up into overdrive…again. They buzzed away and made a strangely pleasant sound in his ears. Nash kicked off the branch as before. He buzzed a few feet, or rather a few inches, off the surface of the branch as he glided towards the tree. The trunk was coming up fast and he began slowing his wings and rotating them back now, earlier then he did the last time. Nash began to descend and slow down, but it was too late. Nash gently bumped into the trunk and slid down to the branch below.

“Ugh! So close!” Nash complained. He had barely felt the collision but it wasn’t enough. He needed to be able to do this pathetic little exercise perfect if he was going to attempt to fly out of this tree. Nash looked to the sky. It was getting late. Half the sun was already below the horizon. Without light, attempting to fly was extraordinarily dangerous. If he couldn’t see the branch he was flying over, he couldn’t know where he was going to land. Nash had no choice but to stop. He grumbled about it though. He didn’t want to spend the night in some giant tree.

Nash climbed up to a slightly higher branch where there was a hole in the trunk. It was small, even for him, but it was better than sleeping on an open branch where a simple roll would equal his death. Nash looked at a protruding leaf nearby. Walking up to it, he used his fangs to cut through its stem and he was able to pull it up before it fell to the ground. Nash dragged the leaf over to the hole and crawled in. It was a tight shallow hole. There was something about the wood around the hole that worried him though. It looked like someone had burned this hole into the tree.

Nash wrapped himself in the leaf just as the last bits of light began to fade. He couldn’t see anything but the branch outside his hole and the leafy umbrella that was the tree itself. He sighed. It was just so good to be alive. But Nash would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. How was a new life supposed to work when you’re so small? The everyday creature could smear him without even knowing. Nash shivered and pulled the leaf blanket closer as he let his head stick out of the hole. He was not comfortable.

Nash’s eyelids began to droop when he felt a strange poking. Nash looked around for a moment. There was nothing he could see. Scratching his head, he shrugged it off and tried to go back to sleep. Again he felt something poke the back of his skull. His eyes darted open as he swung a hoof back to stop the pest. His hoof hit nothing. There simply weren’t any other living things around. Nash made sure to look in his hole and above him. There weren’t any little twigs or leaves that could bend down and poke him at the moment.

While he was still trying to identify the poker, he felt it again! He twisted his head around but only found air. “Hello?” he asked into the darkness. He could hear the wind and the sound of leaves scratching against each other. He heard the occasional creak of swaying wood and the other nighttime insects were playing their symphony for no one in particular. Finally, there was the occasional owl hoot off in the distance. But none of them replied to his request.

“Can you hear me Nash?” Shadaico’s voice echoed in his head!

“SHADAICO!” Nash shouted out into the darkness.

“Hey! Quiet down. I can hear you fine.”

“Where are you?”

“If you mean how am I talking to you, it’s through telepathy. I don’t know if you received my earlier message, but I’m sure you’ve noticed a few things by now.”

“Yeah I have. What’s going on? I thought we die!”

“I don’t know but I’m not about to complain…too much anyway.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Nash mentally slapped himself for asking that. The screws were still in his back!

“Other than the Punishment Screws in my back, and the fact that my new body is not physically equipped to remove them on my own, I’m lost.” Shadaico’s ghostly voice didn’t sound pleased.

“Well I have a bit of a problem myself.”

“What’s going on where you are?” Shadaico didn’t sound too concerned.

“I’m stuck in a hundred foot tree. Where are you?”

“I’m in a forest somewhere. There’s a lot of activity going on around me. Animals are everywhere. Most are leaving me alone, but let’s not tempt fate again today.”

“How long can you keep this talk up?”

“Hmph, funny you should mention that actually. I don’t got much--ow--longer apparently. I’ll try to reach you every night, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan!” (The connection was lost)

Nash felt better knowing Shadaico was alright. But Shadaico’s theory that they had been reincarnated didn’t make sense. He still had the Punishment Screws imbedded in his back. If he was really reincarnated, those things shouldn’t even exist anymore. “Oh it doesn’t matter. What matters is sleep!” Nash flopped his head down and closed his eyes.

Sunlight. It was a funny thing to wake up to the sun in his eyes rather than the rattling of cell doors and angry inmates. Nash stumbled out of his hole and stretched his body out. His shoulders and hips popped nicely. Next his neck and all four ankles gave a nice crack. Nash instinctively extended his wings out as hard as he could until he heard and felt a great pop. Nash suddenly realized what he was doing and panicked. For a moment Nash thought he damaged his wings. Craning his neck around he found that it was his joints where his Wings connected to his back that had popped. His wings were fine. He sighed in relief. He had to be more careful.

Nash’s first thought was breakfast, but found awkwardly, that he didn’t feel hungry. Blinking a few times, he shrugged. It wasn’t like him to tell his body he knew better then it. Believe it or not, the body does know a thing or two about itself. Nash’s next instinct was flying practice. Another groan escaped his throat. His sleep had been surprisingly peaceful and he was a morning person, but he was not looking forward to more crashing. Nash wondered for a second what Shadaico was up to. He had to shake those thoughts out. He couldn’t worry about that at the moment; he had to worry about himself first.

Nash carefully trotted to the end of a thick branch again. Nash felt more fluid in his walk now. He only fell once this time! Nash lowered his front and spread his wings. The change was immediately noticed. His pale wings were more responsive now. Nash ignored it and went at his test flight. It went better then expected. His wings responded to his commands immediately. He accidently stopped way too far from the trunk. Nash tilted forward and slowly inched over to the trunk. He had complete control now!

Nash theorized that he just had to sleep to give his brain a chance to really hook up to the wings. That was why he couldn’t move at first. His brain was trying to boot up and learn how to control his new body before it could let him go running around. It just took a little longer to fully get the wings implemented. Nash smiled; maybe he could escape the tree today.

Looking down, the incredible height took a bite out of his resolve. A lingering thought told Nash to practice more. But he had to do this sooner or later. Nash continued to hesitate though. He was starting to shake. He couldn’t do it. He was just too scared. He was going to slowly rot up in this tree because he couldn’t bring himself to try and escape. Nash backed a step away from the edge and let a few tears roll. He was so pathetic. He had already faced death, why was this any more intimidating. This time it was his choice and he had good reason to believe he wouldn’t suffer an injury, yet he was still terrified.

It was actually a good thing Nash hesitated. A tiny vibration shook the tree. Even at Nash’s tiny size, it was little more than tremor in his hooves. But it was followed by another. Strange monstrous barks of laughter exploded through the air. Nash looked around frantically, but he couldn’t see anyone. Nash went wide eyed when he realized where the enormous giggles were coming from. Nash pushed his head over the edge of the branch. His short white mane dangled as he stared at two massive figures.

At the base of the tree, two enormous horse like creatures cuddled together against the base of the tree. Nash guessed that when they laid down against the tree, it had shook. Nash had also confirmed that he was little more than an insect now. These horse things would have towered dozens of feet above him if he hadn’t been at his elevated position. What kind of life could he live in a world populated by giants? Nash collapsed and draped his head over the edge. He was giving up.

He decided to watch the goliaths nuzzle each other in some kind of romantic embrace. The larger one had an angular muzzle, a white coat with the slightest touch of grey, and a blue mane. The smaller one doing most of the nuzzling was a yellow color with a green mane. Her tail was long and curly while her mane looked brushed. The two were very affectionate towards each other.

Nash kind of missed that, ever since his girlfriend died. They hadn’t been quiet so romantic as to go out hugging and kissing under a tree on a mountain, but they had hung out. She had always been cool and loved action movies. She loved video games too, but was never any good at them. Nash let a tear fall from his eye. It had been a long time since he thought of her. Had she gotten a second chance too, he wondered.

The couple below kept making weird noises that didn’t sound equine in nature. They weren’t words Nash was familiar with, but they were definitely speaking to each other. These horse things were intelligent! Nash face palmed--hoofed--forgetting that he was now a bug and still clearly intelligent. Maybe they could help him. But how did he get their attention from way up here? Looking around quickly, he spotted an acorn. Nash grinned for a second before it became a frown.

The acorn was growing on the underside of the branch. He knew he could chew through the stem, but how did he get his fangs there? An image of his wings flashed through his mind. “That’s not going to help much.” Looking around some more, he saw a long thin branch that dangled above the branch with the acorn. “Maybe…” Nash wasn’t sure how long the equine lovers would embrace each other, so he rushed. His walking was fall free, but he still lost balance now and then. “Stupid legs, not right now!”

Nash was scooting along the thin branch. His legs were able to wrap all the way around it and it was bending under his micro weight as he inched along. He couldn’t take his eyes off the prize or he risked falling. He might have been able to save himself with his wings, but “no risks” was becoming his motto. The acorn finally came into view just as he reached the end of the branch. He could reach the stem of the acorn now!

The acorn was slightly bigger than him, but it wasn’t going to fall on him after all. Slowly, so he wouldn’t lose his balance, Nash got up on his hind hooves and leaned against the acorn as he chewed at its stem. He felt kind of like a rat chewing at wires. “The things I do…” he growled to himself as his fangs cut through the stem with only some difficulty. Nash flicked his eyes downward and saw the couple looking dreamily into each other’s eyes. “Oh brother…”

The acorn was lined up perfectly with the males head at the moment. Nash chewed harder and faster. His gums hurt from the pressure but he couldn’t miss this opportunity. A falling acorn was one thing, but an acorn falling on your head would really grab your attention. The stem was string thin, he just needed a little more…it snapped! Nash jumped back onto the thin branch as it fell. Nash didn’t have time to see its effect because his branch was bouncing up and down from his sudden movement. Nash saw the top of the larger branch the acorn had hung from. Without thinking, he lunged for it. Nash was now perched on the larger branch again. He dashed to the edge and looked over, hoping it had worked.

The couple had been an inch away from a kiss when he was hit on the head with a hard acorn. She giggled as he rubbed his head and grumbled something about jealous squirrels. He looked up the tree to spot the offending furry prankster. As he searched, he saw the tiniest of black heads pop over the edge. Nash couldn’t believe his luck! The male was looking right at him. Nash quickly waved down to them and tried calling. He was unsure of how loud his voice was at his size, but he had to try. The more intelligent he made them think he was, the better.

The female stood close beside her partner and looked where he was pointing. Nash was getting excited. He had both of them looking right at him! They clearly saw him waving; their eyes seemed to dilate after a second though. Nash was confused by this. Next thing he knew, they were running away screaming in their weird language. Nash stood there with his smile frozen on his bewildered face. “What just happened?” Nash sat down and tried to reason out why they ran.

Nash suddenly came up with a very sensible reason. Maybe he was some kind of horribly poisonous insect that could kill with a single touch. “Oh come on!” Looking where they had fled, Nash couldn’t help but feel like there would be negative repercussions for this…

Chapter 5: Just Give Up

Nash was lying on his side as the leaves above him swayed. Rays of sunlight would periodically sneak through and strike his form. Around him, the sounds of nature were hard at work trying to make the day as majestic as possible. Nash listened contently to the things going on around him as he tried to decide what to do. He was still stuck in the tree and he couldn’t bring himself to fly out, and his potential saviors were freaked out by his appearance.

His eyes lazily drifted around in their sockets, trying to latch onto something he could entertain himself with. Nothing drew his attention or gave his mind a release. The leaves and branches above were old and boring by now. He could probably tell you just how many dead twigs were still attached to the tree at this point. “I really am pathetic.” He told himself for the hundredth time. He knew he could fly, but the sheer height prevented him from even trying. “God, I really am a coward.”

There was a suspicious rustling of leaves nearby. Nash tried to look over, but he couldn’t see the offender without moving his head. With a tiny grunt of frustration, Nash lifted his head so he could swing it around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He continued to analyze the area despite the fact that nothing looked different. After a short while of swinging his head, he sighed and laid back down. Then he heard a slight rush of air. It was probably the wind. The thing that finally got Nash to stand up was a thump and rumble. Nash’s heart was beating much faster as he jumped to his hooves and turned around.

A massive black crow had landed farther down the branch! If Nash was remembering correctly, crows are birds and birds eat bugs. “Shadaico, if you’re nearby, I could use some help,” Nash whispered to himself like a prayer. The crow appeared to stand at 28 feet to Nash. In reality, it was only 14 inches. The crow's head flicked about wildly as though it had the shortest attention span in history. Nash’s legs had locked up as he watched the crow intently. He knew it was eyeing him, but it was keeping its distance for now.

One hop was enough to get Nash to step back. The crow’s clawed toes dug into the bark. They could easily wrap around Nash's chest and that beak was bigger than his head. The crow hopped forward again. Nash took another step back. His head was tilted up at the crow’s empty soulless eyes. Nash’s flight response was kicking in. He had to run for it. The crow hopped a third time. Its head stopped darting around and focused on him. Nash’s face must have been as pale as his wings.

There was still a distance between the two as the crow spread its wings. Then it leaned its head down toward the ground and inhaled. There was a brief stillness. The black bird gave a mighty call. To Nash, it was like a monstrous roar! That was enough stimulation to get Nash moving. Nash bolted in the opposite direction of the bird.

Nash could hear the massive claws of the crow grind into the bark as it chased after him. Nash’s gallop was a little sloppy, but he was keeping his balance. But the bird was too fast and he ran himself right into a wall. Nash turned in time to see the crow stop. Nash was pinned. The crow took his time rearing his head back. It was going to swallow him in one gulp!

At the last second, Nash was able to duck under the beak as it stabbed the tree trunk. Nash shot forward between the crow’s talons, but he wasn’t fast enough. One of the clawed feet lifted up and grabbed onto his wings. Nash hadn’t even realized they were out. The claw sliced into his wings as he struggled to escape. He could feel his wings being torn apart. The socket where the wings attached to his back screamed, but the wings themselves felt numb as his sense of them seemed to disappear. Nash let his cries of terror and pain loose as he tore free of the claws.

Rolling away slightly only amplified the burning on his back. Nash didn’t have time to see how bad the damage was, because a certain bird was darting for him. He somehow got to his hooves and dodged the next blow. But he went too far and stepped off the edge of the branch! Nash was falling and his wings probably had huge tares in them. He got lucky when he collided with a clump of leaves before sliding down onto another large branch. Looking up, the crow took a second to reacquire a lock on him. Nash took this opportunity to run some more. He had to get away.

The crow picked up on his movements quickly and flew done to continue the hunt. Nash was running from a flying predator, but he had nowhere to run to. He peeked back just as the crow was diving. He tried to roll as the bird blazed over his small form. Nash’s roll wasn’t perfect and he flopped about. But it worked and the beast had missed. The crow turned around as it landed ahead. Nash ended his roll with his head upside down against the ground with his butt and tail hanging in his vision. His head felt stiff.

Nash straightened his back and returned his backside to its rightful spot behind him. Nash looked forward at an upside-down world, complete with an evil hungry crow preparing to charge again! Nash panicked and desperately tried to roll forward onto his hooves, but his head was pressed flat against the branch…his horn was impaled in the wood! Nash desperately tried curling his head forward to pry his horn from the wood. It wouldn’t budge. He could see the crow begin its charge and he was still stuck, he was going to die!

The crow was taking his charge a little slower than last time. Nash had a few seconds to continue prying his horn from the branch. He gained a few precious inches before the terrifying bird was on him. The crow was going in for the kill, but seemed to realize his prey was stuck. So he took a step closer first. The bird loomed over him and thrust his beak down. Out of ideas, out of time, out of hope, Nash kicked his back legs up and over his form with as much strength as he could muster!

Nash had closed his eyes a second before. The goal was to kick the beak away. But Nash’s timing was many seconds early. His legs flew up over his head and kept going. His neck crunched and bent and was wrenched up. His horn exploded from the hole just as the beak was coming past him and stabbing into the wood where his torso had been a second before. It all happened in slow motion; his horn popped out of the hole, the beak slamming into the wood, his head flying upwards, his horn driving deep into the crow’s neck just past the beak, his momentum causing him to drive a long gash down its neck!

The crow flung its head side to side as it let out horrible cries. Nash stumbled backwards underneath the predator. The bird copied his movement as its wings went out. Nash was standing below the animal’s beak as he was suddenly swiped at by a wing. Nash was flung through the air and collided with a larger branch higher up, but not before he smacked into another much thinner branch first. The smaller one had bent back under the force of the crash and remained pressed between Nash’s belly and the other branch. Nash was being pushed away by the tension in the thinner one. The only reason he wasn’t being fired like a catapult, was thanks to his fangs that had been driven into the larger branch on impact.

Nash’s mouth felt like it was being ripped in half. He had to ignore the pain as the crow faced him from behind and prepared to strike again. Nash caught blurry glances of it in his peripheral vision. When its wings shot out, Nash began to squirm. He ground his hooves against the rough surface, trying with all his strength to get a foothold or enough friction to pull himself up. He found it! Nash was plucked up with a kick just as his attacker was coming. The tense thin branch was suddenly released and whipped back through the air! The crow couldn’t stop, the branch wacked him in the face and sent him spinning out of control.

Nash stood and was disturbed to find the bird was gone. He had heard the whip and the smack, but he didn’t know what happened. Nash gingerly crawled to the edge and looked down. The dark crow was shaking his feathers in an attempt to flatten them back down after he fell all the way back down to the grass below. After it stopped shaking, it looked up to him with narrow eyes. Nash knew what it was saying, “this ain’t over, bug.”

Nash gave a heavy sigh through his gasps for breath as the crow took to the skies. “What a battle,” he admitted. He was just happy to be alive still. Stepping back from the ledge again, his legs were still shaking and his back still stung. Nash hung his head low, letting his sweaty mane droop over his face. His breathing was deep and rapid. His first near-death experience in this world and there would be many more to come if he didn’t figure something out.

Nash suddenly went stiff. “What about my wings?” he asked himself. Nash turned around to look at what was left of them. If he had asked someone else how his wings looked, they would have responded, “what wings?” Nash’s wing had been bigger than his body when fully extended. They had been great and, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Gorgeous additions to his back that fulfilled an old childhood dream were now gone. All that remained were pitiful stumps. A thin shred of each wing no longer than three Nash inches. The edges looked like neatly torn paper.

Now there was no hope at all. Nash no longer had the wings to get out of the tree. He was going to die in that tree. Nash stared at the stubs that had been wings for a few minutes, trying to face the fact that he was a dead…whatever he was now. Once it had finally sunk in, Nash collapsed on the wooden surface. He hid his face under his hooves and cried. His wing stumps burned, he was trapped in a tree, and sooner or later hunger was going to kick in and finish him off.

Nash sagged in his hole. The leaf blanket loosely covering him. The sun was dipping below the horizon again as Nash continued to wait for his hunger to kick in. After two days, he still didn’t feel hungry. He didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. It could mean he was some kind of creature that didn’t need to eat and had the potential to regrow his wings. But, on the other hand--hoof--it could mean starving to death just took longer; making the agony last longer.

The telltale signs of Shadaico calling came to him. Nash didn’t lift his head up as he opened the chat line in his own mind.

Shadaico sounded excited, “this world is weird. You should have seen this weird chicken-headed-snake...thing!”

“That’s great,” Nash mumbled back.

“I thought you’d be more excited to still be alive.”

“Not going to be for long at this rate. Can you come help me, I’ve been injured.”

“What happened?”

“My wings got torn off.” Nash was barely mumbling his responses.

“Where are you?”

“In the tree still. There’s this huge white castle right by me.”

“You’re by a castle?”

“Yeah, up on a mountain.”

“Ooh. Sorry, there’s a castle where I am too, but it’s in a forest. Well let’s see…wait, you got wings?!”

“I did, their gone now. And my back hurts now.”

Shadaico paused for a moment, “I’m not seeing a white castle on a mountain. If I see it, I’ll do my best to get there. Just hang on Nash, I’m on my way!” (The connection was lost)

“Please hurry,” Nash said to himself.

The sun was not appreciated. Nash let his eyes pull themselves up. He could truly do nothing and saw no reason to do anything anymore. He lay there, no motivation to even leave the small hole he claimed as his home. The stumps on his back only throbbed now. Nash could only hope that Shadaico would save him and that his wings would grow back in time. Even those thoughts and those hopes could not seem to get him up. But a thirst finally gave him the push to leave.

Groans and grunts emanated from his minuscule form. Nash’s throat did not agree with any sounds he made when it was so parched. Nash dragged his hooves across the wood as he walked to the leaf bowl. Morning dew had made sure it was full each morning and it was one branch lower with a nice group of leaves he could use as a ramp down or up. The bowl was actually a dent in the wood that a leaf had draped over and gave a more fashionable look to.

Nash dipped his muzzle down into the pool and slurped loudly. He didn’t care how poor his manners were. After he had his fill, he began dragging his hooves back up to his hole. He paused on his way back and looked up. There was a small space in the leaves where he could see out to the clear blue skies. “Why have you cheated me again?”

An angry Nash backed into his hole again before flopping down. Leaning his head to the side, he let his eyes pull closed. Just before his eyes closed completely he heard distant, but still loud, voices. It was strange how the voices were so distorted by distance, yet kept such volume. Letting his curiosity bloom, Nash shuffled out of his hole again. The voices were getting closer and louder. Three creatures were coming his way. He didn’t understand the words, but he could tell there was a little bit of arguing going on. One of them sounded really mad, one sounded scared, and the last one sounded skeptical.

Nash heard a sudden shout as the three creatures rushed underneath his tree. The two horse like creatures from yesterday were back, and they brought company…

Fun Facts:

The average crow grows to about 21 inches in length and lives to be about 20 years old. The oldest crow on record, lived to be just over 50 years old. Crows are very curious creatures and like to copy each other's behavior...which has led to the world wide phenomenon of crows playing with windshield wipers!? A crow somewhere got the idea to play with a pair and another crow watched. He then went off and played with some wiper blades and other crows saw and went off to copy him.

Chapter 6: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 1)

*You spot a typo/error? You got a question (not about the future of the plot)? You have a criticism or a suggestion? Let me know in the comments down below!
*This chapter plays with perspectives a little bit and it switches often enough that you don’t have to back up the scene to understand.

The desert stretched for over 5,000 miles in every direction! The sand was a depressing gray that seemed to suck the life from the very air. Every few hundred feet there were huge black boulders that lumbered above the surface like great monoliths. The sky was choked by thick dark ash clouds. Lighting danced between swells in the black cotton ever few seconds.

Upon one of the flatter black boulders in the sea of gray, scurried an albino bald rat. The rat’s solid red beady eyes examined the boulder for potential food. His mucus stuffed nose whiffed at the air for traces of rotting flesh that the wind could carry great distances. His mangled jagged claws dug into the mountainous surface of the rock as he skulked about. His rotting teeth failed to prevent his toxic breath and putrid saliva from dribbling everywhere he went. His pale bald skin was more wrinkled then the deepest canyon and his fat body was slick with sweat from his constant running. He was truly of creature of vile.

The rat stood on his back legs and sniffed the air with his revolting nose. He could smell a rotting corpse on the wind and gave a little squeal. He was going to eat well tonight! Then he froze. The wind was making a high pitched whistling noise, but his ears were picking up something else. He couldn’t seem to pin down the source. His little rat brain tightened his claws to the rock he stood on so he could continue to track the noise. It was repeating over and over in regular intervals. But then it stopped. The whistling in the wind seemed to intensify. What was that noise?

A massive golden boot came out of the sky and splattered the rat across the rock! His blood and internal organs seeped out from under the shoe and ran down the gorges of the boulder to the sand below where it was absorbed. The boot added insult to injury and began twisting back and forth as it ground his remains into utter pulp. The golden shoe, made of a strong metallic material, rose up again with rat guts stretching between its treads and the rock, refusing to pick which one it wanted to stick to. The boot slammed back down and squirted blood in all directions.

The owner of the boot was a seven foot humanoid creature. His form was concealed in three layers of long tarp like cloaks. The robes' long tails stretched far away from him as they flapped in the wind. His head was heavily wrapped in the poorly trimmed sheets. The “man” had a much thinner cloth bandana over his mouth to keep the sand out and covered his eyes in wide black goggles. Behind those goggles were a pair of golden eyes. He looked down on the repulsive thing he had smashed into slime with bitterness.

“Repulsive little abomination,” he rumbled fiercely over the light wind. His eyes turned upward from the dead rat. In the distance was a mountain range made of the black rock. Through a thin pass in the range was the only way to Soul-Shatter Prison, the most secure location in the world. Even if a prisoner somehow escaped, he had nowhere to go. He was a 1,000 miles from nowhere and he still had to figure a way out of the prison’s addition outdoor security force. If the prison was complete and utterly taken over by the prisoners, they had a nasty surprise waiting for them buried deep underneath the prison. A bomb capable of creating a crater ten miles across that could be detonated from virtually anywhere on the planet! As long as the message got out that the prison was taken, the inmates would be blown sky high.

“Soul-Shatter,” he croaked underneath his bandana. “Shadaico, I’m coming for you,” he declared menacingly. “When I get my hands on you, you've got some explaining to do. Or I'm going to kick your ass..."

*************************************************************************************

“And I’m telling you for the last time, it couldn’t have been a changeling!” Bee told the large earth pony Crash.

“I know what I saw! It was a tiny, normal bug sized changeling!” Crash told her again.

The red unicorn rolled her eyes, “What makes you think it will even still be there?”

“Nothing. I tried to tell you to come yesterday, but you were to busy,” he snapped back.

“You came to me claiming you saw one of the things that attacked Canterlot that was only an inch tall! And I told you that even a newly hatched changeling is at least five times that size.”

“We know what we saw, right honey?” he turned to the bright yellow pegasus mare for support.

“I don’t know, maybe it was something else,” she offered shyly.

“I don’t believe this! I’m the only one worried that Canterlot could be under attack! Or even worse, the changelings are spying on us,” he berated them for their lack of concern.

Bee rolled her eyes again, “changelings have always been spying on us. They need to be among us to feed, remember?”

“Yes, but now they are our enemy.” He narrowed his eyes with cold determination.

His fiancé tried to take his side, “I’m worried about Equestria!”

“You’re not acting like it,” he condoned her coldly.

There was an awkward silence as the three walked along the trails of the mountain. Crash was a large earth pony with a slight tint of gray to his otherwise white coat and he had a bright sky blue mane. His fiancé, Butter, was a bright yellow pegasus with a grassy green mane. She liked to curl her mane, but not her tale. And then there was the newest addition, Bee. She had a hot red coat and a sparkling orange mane behind her horn. She was pretty tomboyish and had a habit of leaving her mane and tale wild. Bedhead was her normal hair style. Crash was the only one with an accessory, his ugly brown leather saddlebags.

Butter spoke up to end the silence, “uh, Bee?” She grunted in response. “How do you know how big a changeling should be?”

Crash answered for her, “it’s her job to know. I told you, she’s a friend from preschool. She was always fascinated with bugs and turned it into a career.”

“Proved to him I could make something out of that interested!” Bee added with a smirk. The three of them were in a lightly forested area now. “So where was your ‘scary bug’ encounter?”

“Hmm,” Crash began pondering.

“Typical.”

“What!”

“You dragged me out here just to make fun of me!” she accused Crash.

Butter tried to stop them, “but I saw it-“

“You calling us liars?!”

“I don’t know what you saw, but it couldn’t have been a changeling!”

“And what if it is?! We have a duty to Equestria to capture it and bring it to the Princess!”

Butter suddenly realized how serious this could be and began to shake, “m-m-maybe we should get the guards th-then.”

“Imagine how famous we’ll be if we catch it. Maybe Celestia will even give us a reward,” he tried to convince his fiancé.

“There is no changeling and no threat to Equestria Crash! Now find this stupid tree so I can go home already.” Bee started rubbing her temple as the headache began.

“I really think we should just let the guards handle this. What if it attacks us?”

“If it attacks, we’ll just squish it!” Crash asserted.

“If it’s even here anymore,” Bee mumbled.

“THAT ONE!” Crash suddenly yelled as he pointed at a tree. Next thing Butter and Bee knew, they were chasing Crash to the designated tree.

“Is this really the tree?” Bee asked bored and unimpressed.

“I-I think so,” Butter was afraid it could fly down at any moment and blast them.

“Now let’s take this sucker down!” Crash got ready to kick the tree down.

Bee stopped him with her magic, “I didn’t follow you out here to watch you pursue your career as a lumberjack.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to make it mad,” Butter added nervously.

“How else are we going to get it out of the tree?” he complained.

“There’s nothing even up there Crash!” Bee glared at him.

“You just watch!” Crash turned toward the tree and began to approach. Bee shook her head at how stupid she thought he was. Before Crash got into position, he dropped his saddlebags.

Butter began to panic, “be careful!” Crash turned his back legs toward the tree and gave it a massive kick! The tree looked like it was in the middle of an earthquake.

*****

The three pony creatures were standing near his tree, arguing it seemed. One of them was what a normal pony should look like, but the other two were breaking some rules. Sure he’d heard of the legendary pegasus, heck there was said to be whole tribes of pegasi riders in the mountains…back home. He just never thought they had a pony version, as his mind finally understood that's what she was. He also had to mentally slap himself for having missed the wings last time he saw her. Then there was the unicorn. Unicorns had been said to wander the forests of the Eastern Kingdom back home. Again, he’d never seen one or heard of the pony version.

Nash stood rather close to the edge of the branch as the normal one made a final statement before approaching the tree. The pegasus clearly warned him about something before he made it. Nash’s eyes went wide when he realized what the pony was doing. They weren’t potential allies, they were coming after him! And they were going to get him out of the tree by shaking it till he fell. Nash had to get back to his hole!

Just as Nash turned, a massive earthquake threatened to topple the tree. Nash went flying through the air. “This isn’t good!” he screamed as he flew out of the sky. It appeared he was going to fall out of the tree! Nash reached for the branch he had been perched on before. But he knew he didn’t have hands, what was he going to do? Nash did the only thing he could think of, he used his fangs again.

His fangs tore into the bark with horrible pain as his hooves ground against the bark to help slow him down. Nash moaned in horrible agony as his teeth screamed. He had to remember to see a dentist when this was all over, because his fangs were taking a beating. As Nash went at climbing back onto the branch, he heard one of the ponies whisper something. The normal pony seemed to respond to her by yelling something, again, in their weird pony language.

Nash’s method of climbing back up was awkward and painful. He’d push upwards with his hooves and lift his fangs out of the bark. Then he’d quickly slam his fangs back into the wood higher up. Luckily, he only had two normal sized inches to climb before he’d be able to pull himself up with his hooves. By the time he was back on the branch the three had begun talking again. He wasn’t interested in anything they were talking about at the moment. Even if they spoke the same language, he’d still be running away.

*****

Bee’s eyes went huge when a tiny black creature tumbled out of the tree. It was only barely able to keep itself up by digging its fangs into the wood. Crash looked up and then at her, a smile on his face. Butter was left speechless and Bee couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It looked just like a changeling, but the distance and size of the creature was making it hard to be sure. It was just missing the wings that clearly would have made it a changeling.

“I don’t believe it,” she whispered to herself.

“Told you!” Crash pointed a hoof at her while his smug grin only grew.

“It certainly looks like a changeling, but where are its wings and why is it still here?”

Butter came up with an explanation, “maybe it was injured and couldn’t leave. Maybe it’s trapped up there.”

“Of course! Without its wings, it can’t get down!”

Crash added, “So how long could it have been up there for?”

“Not sure, a week, maybe two if it got a good meal just before,” she watched it disappear onto the branch again.

“Now we just got to get it down!” Crash grunted as he kicked the tree again. But there was no result. He growled and kicked the tree a third time.

Bee stopped him before he cracked the tree in half, “you’re wasting your energy Crash! He knows were here and he’s taking precautions.”

“Like an ambush?”

“Uh, no. I mean he’s bunkering down so it will be harder for us to get him.” Bee seemed to be absorbing Crash’s determined attitude now. “Well need a new strategy.”

“Can you fly up and grab him Butter?” Crash asked her unexpectedly.

“What?! Why can’t we just leave him alone? He hasn’t hurt anypony.”

“Not anypony we know!” Crash corrected.

Bee tried to comfort her, “what are you afraid of?”

“If Chrysalis finds out we came after one of her children, she might come after us personally. Then she’s going to suck out our insides, wrap us in cocoons, and then mount our corpses on her walls!”

Crash looked at Bee, “do changelings really do that?”

She ignored the question, “don’t worry about Chrysalis. The Princesses aren’t about to let that ugly creature anywhere near us.”

“O-okay, I’ll try.”

“That’s my girl,” Crash gave her a strong hug before he went over to his saddlebags and pulled out a jar. “Try to put him in this.”

“So that’s what you brought.” Bee was impressed that he was so well prepared for this.

“Well I knew what I saw after all.” That won him a glare from Bee.

*****

Just as Nash got back up, the pony kicked the tree again! He went flying through the air but managed to stay on the branch. He made a run for his hole down the branch as another kick rocked the tree. Nash tumbled forward and rolled into his makeshift home again. Nash was content to stay put until they gave up. They couldn’t just keep kicking the tree after all.

After a short few seconds, he realized they were talking down below. Nash couldn’t help himself, he had to see what was happening. Nash inched out of the hole slowly and leaned over the edge. The pony just gave the pegasus a hug. Nash wondered what about this situation had led to more romance. Then Nash tensed up. The pony reached into a bag and pulled out a jar. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Nash whimpered as he handed the jar to the pegasus. Nash got even colder. The pegasus was going to fly up and stuff him in a jar!

As the pegasus came up to his branch, Nash was already bolting for his safe haven. He had to get back before they tried to stuff him in that jar; who knew what they would do to him once they had him. The pegasus was easily 70 feet tall, and she was the shortest one there! Her hooves were eight feet across and her hair was like rope dangling from her head. Her eyes were easily three times as big as him, and her head was like a moving building. Just the gusts from her wings were making it hard to run. When she landed on the branch far behind him, he felt a shockwave vibrate the branch.

Nash glanced back just as he reach his hole to see she was trying to balance on the branch as her wings retracted. She was somehow holding the jar in her right hoof. “How is she doing that?” Nash quickly looked at his hoof as though it would answer his question. When he looked up again, her face was at the entrance. He jumped back despite the fact that there was nowhere to jump back to. She said something and her minty fresh breath filled the tiny room. She had obviously brushed her teeth before coming here, it was morning after all. That fact gave Nash little comfort at the moment.

The ponies down below said something else to her, like a command. Nash couldn’t be sure, but he knew she was trying to capture him. When her hoof came towards the hole, Nash couldn’t help but smile. Her hoof was too big to fit. The hole was so small that even Nash had to duck down to get in, and her hoof was twice as big as him! There was no way she was getting him with that. When the hoof pressed against the hole and shook around desperately trying to squeeze through, Nash laughed. The pony just didn’t seem to get that her hoof wouldn’t fit. It was just so obvious it wouldn’t work.

The surface of the hoof was only three feet away, but Nash relaxed considerably knowing that she was the smallest of the three, and if her hooves were too big, then there was a good chance all theirs were. She finally picked up on that as she called down to her friends. There was a brief exchange before she thoroughly gave up and jumped down to her friends. Nash’s smile only seemed to intensify as he grew more confident he was safe.

*****

Butter was apprehensive but she didn’t want to let Crash down. She flew up into the tree with the jar between her hooves. She spotted the branch they had seen the changeling emerge from and quickly positioned herself to land on it. As she touched down, she spotted the creature running as fast as its legs could carry it towards a hole in the tree. As she landed on the branch, she had to slowly retract her wings to keep her balance on the thin surface.

She realized only a second later that the changeling had retreated not into some kind of tunnel, but just a small space in the trunk. She left the jar as she crouched down to look into the hole. She was still afraid it would attack at any second, but it seemed more concerned with maintaining distance. The small creature pressed itself as far away from her as possible and cowered. Butter thought it was simple enough, grab the bug, put him in the jar.

“Do I have to touch it?” she asked without looking down to her friends.

“Just get it and go!” Crash yelled at her impatiently.

Butter tried to put her hoof through the minuscule opening and quickly realized it was just too small. Not wanting Crash to think she didn’t at least try, she made a show of trying to stuff her hoof through the hole. She pressed her hoof against the entrance and slid it around as though she was trying to find the right angle that would allow her access.

“Do you have it yet?” Crash asked hopefully.

“The hole is too small. I can’t get my hoof in.”

“Ugh. Come back down so we can come up with something else.”

Butter gratefully retrieved her hoof. Just before jumping down she glanced at the changeling who had large white eyes. He was smiling as he waved at her. He was waving goodbye! Butter couldn’t help but giggle. Her fear of the 'scary bug' vanished. He wasn't some monster bent on hurting them, he was just a small cocky little insect trying to stay away from them. All they had done so far was inflate his ego. As Butter touched down again, she hoped that they wouldn't catch him.

“Now what?” Crash snarled as he sat by his bag.

“Maybe we should leave him alone now,” Butter suggested hopefully.

“No way!” Bee jumped towards her. “We started this war, and we’re going to finish it!”

“That’s it!” Crash almost launched himself into the tree.

“What?” Bee asked.

“Bee, can you grab him with your magic and pull him out?”

“I can’t grab what I can’t see.” Bee sighed.

“Then Butter could fly you up there!”

“But why are we picking on the poor helpless-“

“That should work Crash! Butter let’s go!” Butter sighed as she gave Bee the jar and wrapped her hooves around Bee’s waist.

*****

Nash was sure they were out of plans when the pegasus started to fly back up with the unicorn in her grasp. “Now what are they up to?” Nash asked himself unconcerned. The pegasus brought the unicorn to the branch in front of his hole and set her down. Nash couldn’t help but laugh a bit evilly. They were going to try grabbing him again. “Idiots!” he called out. “You’re hooves won’t fit!” They’re plan was stupid and flawed. These ponies weren’t as smart as he had thought. What could this unicorn do to him as long as he stayed in his hole?

When the unicorn’s horn started to glow and the jar began floating, Nash’s grin vanished. The lid of the jar came off by itself and floated off a little bit. The jar came closer to his home as the unicorn got closer and crouched. Her horn began to grow brighter as Nash felt a gripping sensation around his torso! “Damn..."

Chapter 7: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 2)

*This is more of a filler chapter, slow, relaxed, not a lot of excitement yet…

Bee grabbed the changeling with her magic and threw him into the jar. She quickly slammed the lid on and sealed him in. They did it! They had the changeling and it hadn’t even given them a scratch. Bee couldn’t help but smile. Butter wanted to protest the second the small creature smacked into the jar’s wall. Bee had thrown him too hard and it was clear his head hurt. Even from her angle, Butter could tell his head was swimming from the impact.

Butter let Bee down and quickly became quiet. She felt awkward knowing she was the only one who cared about the little changeling they had caught. She couldn’t understand it, but she had a strong feeling he was harmless. She could only watch as Bee squealed with excitement and Crash pumped at the air with his hoof in triumph.

“Now let’s have a look at you,” Bee said to herself as she raised the jar to her eye level rather quickly. The changeling was thrown off balance and rolled about, his head having just cleared.

*****

Nash felt the grip on his body tighten and compress him so he couldn’t move. Suddenly, he was thrown out of his hole and flew into the jar. Nash was going way too fast and slammed his face on the bottom of the jar. As the pegasus and the unicorn landed bellow, Nash could only rub his head as all the colors in the world warped and blended together. Nash thought he was going to lose consciousness. His head throbbed horribly as the creatures began making weird noises above.

Nash’s head finally cleared and he could see straight again! Right as Nash tried to assess his position, the jar went flying upwards at a ridiculous angle and sent him off his hooves. He slid along the glass to the opposite side of the jar where he landed. The jar was still being held at an angle as Nash tried to stand. He shakily put a hoof against what was supposed to be the wall of the jar for support. He shook his head to clear it again. When he looked up, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

The massive face of the red unicorn was practically pressed against the jar as her huge eyes examined him. Nash was terrified of them and tried to scoot along the slick glass surface to get away. But at this angle, and the fact that he couldn’t get any traction with his hooves, he was trapped in that spot so disturbingly close to the pony’s face.

He tried to remain calm, but the situation was just too much. His head darted from corner to corner desperately trying to find a way he could escape. The jar was only slightly bigger around then one of their hooves, at about 12 Nash feet. It might have been a wide jelly jar at some point, but now it was his cage. Nash was forced to wait inside and listened to his pony captors’ talk while tilting the jar around.

“Stop moving the jar!” He screamed as he fell over from the movement.

*****

Bee examined the changeling as it finally came to its senses and its eyes came back into focus. When it blinked and clearly got a good look at her face, it freaked! It desperately tried to squirm up the glass surface to get away, but it was just too slippery. He kept sliding right back towards her. Bee had no more doubts that about the small creature, it was definitely a changeling. But its size still didn’t make sense. Based on body proportions, it had to be full grown, but smaller than even a changeling egg. How was that possible?

“So what do you think?” Crash asked Bee excitedly.

“There is no doubt, it’s changeling,” she nodded with high eyebrows. She tilted the jar slightly to allow the creature a flat surface.

“Where do we take him now?” Crash began to lean forward so he could see it.

“To the guard or to the Princess herself.” Bee tilted the jar again idly trying to think what they should do with it.

“Will they hurt him?” Butter piped up, concerned for the small creature just after it made a small squeak from inside the jar.

Bee turned around and tilted the jar at a 45 degree angle without noticing as she addressed the question. “He’s a changeling, probably a spy! He deserves whatever they decide to do.”

“You’re hurting it!” Butter exclaimed and jumped towards Bee and pushed the jar to a more flat position.

Bee watched her push the jar with curiosity, “this thing could be conspiring to have us all mounted on Chrysalis’s walls and you’re worried about its wellbeing? It wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. It’s in his specie’s nature!”

“But not his nature,” Butter sighed as though she had already lost the argument. The changeling was looking up at her. She couldn’t tell if it was sad. His prison was still tilted slightly.

*****

Just after yelling at them to stop tilting the jar, the floor suddenly jumped to a 45 degree angle! Nash was ripped down by gravity and slammed into the jar’s wall as the unicorn spoke to the pegasus. “So much for the ‘End Animal Cruelty’ movement,” Nash tried to joke to himself. He was still panicked when the pegasus pushed the jar so it was more like a hill then a mountain trail. Nash was grateful to her as he looked up. She seemed to be concerned about him.

His second of peace was literally ripped through the air as the pony forcibly grabbed the jar!

****

“Let me see it!” Crash yelled as he grabbed the jar. The creature was thrown against a wall and slid down to the floor.

“Be careful Crash!” Butter jumped after the jar as he took it from Bee.

“Relax, will you? Not like anything we do to him is going to be any worse than what the Princess will do. Bee, in my bag there’s a tape measure, I want to know how big this thing is exactly.”

“Good idea.” Bee began going through his bag while Butter tried to reason with him.

*****

The pegasus was definitely worried about him the way she followed his prison and instructed the others on how they should handle it. Nash rubbed his sore head, but his whole body ached from the impact. He was just glad the jar was level and not moving as the pony argued with the pegasus. The unicorn was going through a bag in the distance. Nash’s mind told him it was going to be something he didn’t want to get to know very well.

The unicorn then began to approach with a thing of tape. “Tape?” he mumbled to himself. Were they also going to tie him up? “Just how cruel are these ponies?” His concerns were washed away when the pony held the jar up and the unicorn unrolled a measuring tape. “They’re measuring me? Maybe their scientist or something.” Nash went to stand by the side of the jar so they could take the measurement more easily. He was curious how tall he was too. He also hoped that his cooperation would make them go easier on him. He was somehow able to stand still while she measured him.

*****

Bee was pleased that the changeling came over to her so she could measure him without opening the jar. He even went to stand sideways pressed right against the jar wall. She quickly held up the measuring device and got an idea just how little he was.

“2 inches tall, 3 inches long,” she told the others.

Crash seemed a little upset by that, “darn. I thought for sure he was only an inch tall.”

“It must be hard to be so small,” Butter commented sadly.

“We messed up!” Both Bee and Butter looked at Crash, concerned by his sudden outburst. “We should have placed bets first!”

Bee face-hooved, “you yelled because you didn’t get to gamble?! I thought we were under attack or something!”

Before they could argue Butter decided to play it safe, “can I hold the jar?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Crash quickly pressed the jar into Butter’s hooves so he could focus on arguing with Bee.

Butter looked down at the changeling concerned. She saw that Crash shoving the jar into her hooves had caused it to fall over again. “Poor thing,” she whispered to herself. Then she had a sudden revelation. “Bee, can you put some air holes in the lid?!”

The argument paused, “of course. We can’t have him die before the Princess gets to question him!”

*****

His three captors seemed to breakup into squabbling after figuring out how small he was. The red unicorn and the pony got into a shouting match after he was shoved into the pegasus’s possession. Nash was horrified and relieved at the same time when the unicorn suddenly began poking holes in the lid. “Air holes, duh.” Nash was glad they had considered that before he died. But he still didn’t know what they were going to do with him. He hadn’t gotten to see the tape measurer either, which sucked.

Nash would have to worry for a while as the two bickerers only seemed to get angrier with each other. The pegasus was clearly on his side when she took him away from the group while they argued. When the pegasus clearly tried to comfort him, Nash was appreciative. She had put the jar down and was lying in front of it. Nash saw no reason to stand around while the others argued about who knew what. So he copied her until the fight was over.

******

Butter had taken the opportunity to lay down with the jar and spoke soothingly to the obviously frightened changeling. He seemed to relax and copy her position lying down. She felt so bad for what she had to do to him. She didn’t want to turn him over to the Princess, but she didn’t want to let her friends down or let a potential threat to Equestria escape. After a short while, Bee and Crash were satisfied with where the argument had ended.

When the fighting was over, Crash quickly ordered Butter to put the jar in his bag so they could carry him through Canterlot without making a huge fuss. Then the three were off, with the changeling in a jar, in Crash’s ugly saddlebag. Butter wanted to give him an easy trip, so she carried the saddlebags. She was willing to put up with the weight of the ridiculous number of things Crash had brought if it meant the helpless creature had a pleasant ride…to his death most likely.

Crash baffled her with how many things he had considered. Maps, nets, bait, bug zapper, spray, repellant, the jar, and even night vision goggles! She wasn’t sure where he even got the goggles or what situation he thought they were walking into that would need them. She couldn’t help but notice every little noise that came from the bags as she walked. She was so worried about how rough the trip was for her small passenger with so many things bouncing around his prison in the dark space. She felt so cruel.

*****

Nash was thrust into darkness as the saddlebag was closed above him. There were numerous large odds and ends around him that bounced around as he was taken away. Nash discovered that if he was laying down, the bounces weren’t nearly as bad. The darkness and sounds of constant clicking and clacking from the hoof falls of his ride and the objects around him was mind numbing. His ears began to ring from the sheer volume and the fact that they wouldn’t let up.

“Would you…SHUT UP!!!” Nash screamed at the objects around the jar that he could barely see. They didn’t listen. Nash sighed as he looked up. A thin crack of light was streaming in from a slit in the bag’s opening. “Where are you taking me?” Nash wondered aloud. He was no stranger to fear and helplessness, but this was a whole new kind of weird for him. He just wanted to know what was going on outside and where they were taking him. Nash didn't want to be alone either.

*****

The three friends were approaching Canterlot Castle. If Butter was going to do something to help the tiny changeling, now was her last chance…

Author Question:

Is the perspective switching distracting from the story at all? I have another way I can work the perspective switching, but there’s no point if it’s not a problem. Personally, I prefer the current system because it’s both easy to write and I like reading stories in this format. I just have to switch after the appropraite amount of time and that can get tricky...

*If you spot an error/typo, don't be afraid to let me know! Also feel free to express whatever you're feeling right now, allow me to demonstrate..."I LOVE TACOS!!!"

Chapter 8: A Jar Full of Mystery (Pt. 3)

Crash and Bee were exchanging idle chatter. They were having the kind of conversation you’d have if everything were normal. Butter couldn’t join in. She just couldn’t get her mind off the helpless changeling in that tiny jar. She didn’t want to believe he was bad or that he had some maniacal plot to overthrow them. She wanted to believe he was just the hurt and lost little creature she saw whenever she looked at him.

“Hey Crash?” Butter finally piped up.

“What is it Butter?” He slowed down and let Bee lead for a while.

“I don’t want to do this.”

Crash looked at her like she’d grown a second head, “what are you talking about?”

“I really don’t think he’s done anything to deserve this,” Butter tried to explain to him.

Bee turned her head so she could listen as Crash began to reason with her, “let me explain a little thing about changelings. You see, they have an undying loyalty to their queen, their mother. If she told them to jump off a cliff, they’d do it!”

“But changelings have wings,” Butter mentioned confused.

“That’s not the point! A changeling will throw away its life if it makes the queen happy. So, say you’re right. Say this little changeling is harmless and even friendly. But, when we let him go and he gets back to the queen, if she asks him to come back here and spy on us, he’ll do it!”

“But what if he doesn’t want to?”

“But he does want to Butter. It only cares what the queen is feeling. Whether she’s happy or not, that’s all that matters to changelings.”

Bee didn’t think Crash had done a very good job and knew Butter could do something rash. “What are you so worried about? The Princess is a great judge of character!”

“Hmm?“ Butter didn’t get it.

“Listen to me Butter,” Bee stopped and Butter had to slam the brakes to keep from colliding. “If he really is innocent, she’ll see that and let him go. Do you honestly believe that Celestia will punish somepony without a reason?”

“Of course not!”

“Then you don’t have to worry about him,” Bee smiled confidently at her.

Butter returned a weak smile, “I guess you’re right. But I’m still worried.”

“That’s understandable. Now let’s hurry!”

Just as her two friends started moving towards the castle again, Butter felt the tiniest of shocks. It didn’t hurt, but it made her fur stand on end. Butter looked around. None of the ponies in the streets of Canterlot had taken notice of her or had obviously pulled a prank on her. She didn’t feel threatened, but she did feel like somepony was watching her. Butter felt uneasy until Crash yelled for her. She shook those feelings and galloped after him, Canterlot Castle was just ahead.

*****

Nash was lying on the slick glass surface in the dark. Massive objects bounced around and tapped the glass as he swayed gently from side-to-side with every step the pegasus took. After a while, his fears had dissolved into boredom. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t worried about what was going to happen to him, but he sure wished it would happen a little faster. He’d had enough waiting in prison. Nash soon resorted to thinking aloud to pass the time.

“I think the worst thing about knowing something bad is about to happen to you, is when you have to wait for it.” His voice bounced off the jar’s walls right back to him. “My name is Nash Adary Worms, wrongfully convicted mass murder.” Nash had settled on what he should talk about. “I was put on trial and found guilty for the murders of over 100 people! With 23 eyewitnesses and several pieces of circumstantial evidence, I didn’t have a chance.” A large pair of goggles smacked the jar, making him jump.

“I am deceased; yet, I live on in this bizarre world.” Nash paused in his self-monologue. “God must hate me…is this his way of having fun? He just decides to hate someone and then tortures them. My body and mind are just his playthings, to throw-out when he’s done!” Nash had worked himself into anger. He was grinding his teeth.

“You think this is funny?!” Nash jumped to his hooves. “I’m not your plaything to have your fun with!” Nash could just see his reflection in the glass in the dim light. “And I’m not going to let you have your way. I’m not about to just give up!” Nash charged the glass and rammed it. His head bounced off and left him with a headache. Over and over he rammed, kicked, and punched at the glass. At his size, the glass was an inch thick at least. There was just no way he was getting through at his size.

After a few minutes, Nash was in tears as he continued to beat against the glass. His head was pounding and he still hadn’t even put a crack in it. “Why,” he choked out through his sobs. “Why me?!” he cried out. “What did I ever do to deserve all this? I’ve been executed already, I felt what it’s like to die! Shouldn’t that be payment enough for whatever it is I did?” Nash lowered his head to cry for a minute. When Nash lifted his head again, he continued.

“I’ve been turned into a bug, had my wings ripped off, lost my only friend, been taken prisoner, and I was even attacked by a crow!” Nash remembered the battle. Suddenly, Nash tensed and snapped his head up. He saw a faint reflection of his horn in the glass. A smile started to pull his lips up. “I am not done yet!” Nash began the long and tedious process of scratching at the glass with his sharp horn. It made a horrible screeching noise almost as bad as nails on a chalk board, but it was his only option.

Nash had made a small crack in the wall and his smile had not faltered, untill the pegasus made a sudden stop. He was flung forward and his horn passed through the glass! Nash got excited for a moment until he realized that he was stuck. He panicked as he desperately tried to pry his horn back through the crack. He pressed all four hooves against the wall and pushed. He couldn’t get out. “God, you really do have a sick sense of humor…”

Nash felt a jolt of energy spike through him that caused his whole body to vibrate. “What was that?!” Nash was still stuck, but he tried to look around for the source. It was hopeless in the confined dark space, but he still tried.

*****

Two ponies cloaked in the shadows of an alley watched the three friends stop to talk in the street. One of the shadow ponies was a pegasus with blue eyes, the other was a unicorn with old wise golden eyes. Their forms were hidden from the sunlight, and the rest of their features could not be made out.

The young blue eyed pegasus began, “you sense it? That energy?”

“Of course I do,” the older unicorn huffed.

“Is it the pegasus?” he was referring to Butter.

“Feels like it, but…also, not like her.”

“I know what you mean,” the blue eyed pegasus nodded. “Want to give her a pulse?”

“Hmm, is anypony looking?”

The younger one looked around before answering, “No, better make it quick though.”

The unicorn closed his eyes as his horn glowed a dull yellow color. The three friends began to leave just as he ripped his eyes open and let an invisible wave of magic loose, it hit the yellow pegasus and bounced back. The pegasus felt the hit and began looking around. The aged unicorn tilted his head after a second, looking confused.

“What’s the diagnosis?” the young pegasus asked eagerly.

“I have no idea…”

“What do you mean?”

“She isn’t responsible for the energy, but something in her saddlebag is.” He still looked confused.

The young pegasus copied his confused look, “you want to follow them? Figure out how that’s possible?”

“Into the castle, are you stupid? Let’s report to the boss, he’ll want to know about this.” The two of them disappeared down the alley and vanished into the shadows.

*****

“Your highness. Three ponies: Crash, Bee, and Butter, request an audience with you. And they wish to bring something into the court room. Will you see them?”

“I would love to see them.” Celestia wasn’t sure why they had to ask her every time, she never said no. She sometimes had a problem with what ponies would bring in with them to see her, but that could be dealt with easily. She would have preferred they were simply announced and then let in immediately. But, the rest of the royal family had decided on this system and thought it a better idea.

The three ponies were allowed entry into the throne room. Celestia smiled warmly at them to show she was always happy to hear their troubles or their ideas. The earth pony was trying to keep a smug grin hidden; he was proud and walked with confidence. The red unicorn was hyperactive and had a bounce to her step. She had no problem letting some of her excitement out in front Celestia. The last one had a far different posture then the others. The pegasus had apprehension and fear plastered all over her face. Her walk was slow and timed, like, if her hooves weren’t thoroughly planted before she went to take another step, she’d fall head over hooves.

Celestia assumed it was just the intimidation factor of being in her presence. Many ponies were intimidated and expected a ruler of strict authority and power. Celestia never liked this idea, a ruler should be caring and understanding. Her subjects should be able to approach her almost like an old friend. Maybe not sharing stories over breakfast after they give each other a hug and a hoof shake, but a little more personal than how it was now.

The earth pony and unicorn reached her thrown, leaving the pegasus a few steps behind, and quickly bowed. They stayed low to the ground till the pegasus had caught up and copied them. Celestia eyed the heavy saddlebags on her back. Did they really have to bring that in here with them? They couldn’t have left that at home or outside? Celestia wasn’t about to roll her eyes in front of them. It was time to get down to business.

“You may rise,” Celestia’s voice was strong and inviting, she had had a good day so far.

Crash began, “your majesty, we have found something we believe is of the utmost importance. We believed that if it wasn't brought to your attention, then all Canterlot could be at risk!” Bee wanted to punch him for how stupid he sounded. She didn’t dare do it yet though.

“You have my attention,” Celestia and her guards periodically got ponies who thought they should use audiences with the princess as “show and tell”, and they'd often justify it with stupid exagerated reasons. So none of them saw this as very strange.

Butter tensed as Bee opened the saddlebag and took a second to grab the jar with her magic. The guards by Celestia’s great thrown tensed and readied to put up shields or counter spells, you could never be too cautious with some ponies. Bee paused before she lifted the jar up for them to see. She seemed to get angry for just a second before she brought the jar out for everypony to see.

*****

Nash was still imbedded in the wall and he still couldn’t get out. He could feel his ride stop repeatedly and the angle of his prison would adjust slightly. He could also tell that the surface they were walking on had changed. The pegasus’s hoof falls were louder and clicked more when they fell, like she was walking on a rock or a hard tiled floor.

The jar tilted forward again and stayed there for just a moment before rising as his ride stopped one last time. Nash continued to desperately try prying his horn from the glass as things were spoken with increased volume outside. Nash tried to turn his head at different angles to help loosen it, but it just wasn’t budging. He needed to get his horn free if he was going to keep grinding away at the crack to get free of the jar. “Come. Out. You. Stupid. HORN!”

Light flooded into the jar from above. Nash’s eyes went huge. “Uh oh...” Like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Nash was terrified of the repercussions of his captors catching him in this position. Nothing happened for a second after a shadow came over him. He held his breath as the jar was surrounded in a red glow that he knew meant they were about to levitate it.

The jar went into the air and Nash’s heart was blasting away as he again frantically tried to pull his horn from the glass. His head was tilted down, so he couldn’t tell what was going on around him. Nash could tell very well how far he was off the ground though; the glass floor beneath his hooves made sure of that. He tried not to think about that as everything went silent outside. “Damn it. What’s going on out there?” he whispered to himself unnecessarily as he tried to look around. But his peripheral vision was blurring everything too much to be identified.

*****

Crash stared with horror as Bee lifted the jar into the air. The changeling had tried to escape! He had scratched at the glass enough that he had actually made a hole just big enough for his horn. Luckily, he had gotten too eager and his horn was stuck as a result. Bee seemed aggravated by his attempt to escape, but was hiding it. Butter was saddened by his failed attempt to get away. He was so helpless that even fate seemed to cheat him. But, even if he had gotten out of the jar, where would he have gone? He had no wings, he was only two inches tall, and everypony in Equestria wouldn’t hesitate to catch him or just kill him.

Celestia and all the guards leaned forward to try and see the container’s inhabitant. Silently, Celestia rose from her thrown, immediately drawing everypony’s attention. Bee looked at the jar quickly, the changeling was still trying to get his horn free. Butter cringed, the changeling was doomed. Crash wanted to grin, this was what he’d been waiting for.

Celestia took slow timed steps down from her thrown where she took the jar in her own magic. Bee let go quickly when she felt Celestia’s magic start to envelope it. Bee stepped back with a slight bow as Celestia raised the jar slightly so it was eye level with her. Crash could see Celestia’s shock and curiosity, she wasn’t even trying to contain it.

*****

Nash felt the jar lifting and saw a pair of long white legs with golden shoes come into view below. He was facing this new creature, but could barely even see its legs because of his angle. He tried one last time to get his horn free, but it just wouldn’t come out. Nash let himself collapse as he gave in. One of the long white legs began to lift into the air and come towards him. Nash watched it as much as possible. Once it was clear it was coming towards his head, particularly his horn jutting out of the jar, Nash cringed. This could be it.

The hoof slowly applied pressure to the tip of his horn till it slid back into the jar! Nash stumbled back a few steps and fell into a sitting position. He hadn’t seen that coming. His head tingled slightly from his horn being pressed in, so he rubbed his forehead for a second before looking up at the creature that had pushed him. Nash choked, he hadn’t believed in gods or goddesses before he met Shadaico. And now here he was, clearly in the presence of one…

*****

Celestia watched the small creature try with all its might to pull its horn back through the glass. When its final attempt failed, it let itself collapse. Slow and gently, she raised a hoof and helped it. After stumbling back, it looked into her face with awe. Celestia moved the jar to the side slightly and looked down at the three ponies that had brought this creature to her. Celestia demanded one thing, “Tell me everything...”

Author’s Note:

I was going to have Butter do something crazy, like run away, but then I remembered one of the themes of this story. Letting fears and doubts stop us from acting. Butter was in the perfect position to fulfill that theme, so I took it. As for the robed figure heading for Soul-Shatter prison [mentioned in ch. 6] and the ponies in the alley…well I’ve got a few really wacky ideas cooking. As for Shadaico…let’s just say insanity is on the horizon…

Chapter 9: The "Very" First Casualty

***Fluttershy lovers should look away now, this is about to get ugly***

A young bunny hopped along the ground without a care in the world. Well…that’s not true. He was looking for a delicious carrot at the moment. He was small pure white bunny except for the brown spot around his left eye. His hops were slow and his fur was cuddly. He had the most adorable little black eyes and his ears flopped about comically. He had only recently left the care of his parents and this was his first day on his own.

Ahead was a patch of wild carrots. They could sometimes be hard to uproot, but they were the largest and tastiest carrots in the Everfree! The bunny, we’ll call him George, beamed at the sight of the carrots. He could use a quick bite. George hopped towards the carrots. George found only the leaves of the carrots above the surface, as usual. He tried to pull one up, but he wasn’t strong enough. George came up with a new plan, he started to dig. His delicate paws brushed aside the loose dirt with ease. The wind caused the leaves above to sway and branches to groan.

George had exposed a third of the carrot. Believing that to be sufficient, he tried to pull it from the ground. The carrot exploded into the air! The carrot landed a few feet away and George had rolled onto his back in the ejection of his carrot and dirt. George skipped over and grabbed his carrot. He gave it a few loving strokes to clean it before sitting down to take a bite. George cocked his head around and perked his ears. He had heard some loud ruffling, but nothing looked disturbed. George froze and carefully observed everything. None of the birds above had been spooked, the deer in the distance looked fine, and none of the nearby grass looked treaded. For five minutes George listened for anything. When he was satisfied he continued to devour his carrot.

George bit into his carrot as he happily rocked from side-to-side wiggling his toes. He was the spawn of cuteness now with his cheeks bulging from his healthy meal. George swallowed gratefully before he went in for another bite. His teeth came down around the carrot tip, his tongue ready to receive the flavor, his throat ready to swallow. But the half-eaten carrot suddenly found itself falling to the ground. The carrot was confused. What was George doing? He was still standing there, but he wasn’t moving. When the carrot looked at his face, it paled. George’s head was gone….

3 hours later in a certain library…

Rainbow Dash demolished the doors as she went sprawling out onto the floor. Quickly getting to her hooves, Rainbow Dash was about to babble, but paused at a sudden revelation. “Uhh Twilight? Why are all the lights off?”

The library was pitch black and silent. Rainbow couldn’t see her hoof in front of her face! But from the darkness, Spike shushed her. “Twilight’s concentrating.”

“In the dark?”

“Shh!”

Rainbow had important news, but she forgot for a moment when she caught a glimpse of Twilight’s horn glowing. After a moment, the glow vanished. Rainbow was about to ask what happened when a pair of shimmering purple eyes shown through the darkness! Twilight had made her eyes glow in the dark.

“Rainbow, I can see in the dark now!” Twilight gave an excited squeal.

“That is so…AWESOME! “ Rainbow stepped toward Twilight carefully, guided by her shiny pupils.

“So what did you want Rainbow?”

“Huh, oh yeah!” Rainbow shook her head quickly. “Twilight you have got to hurry, it’s an emergency!”

Twilight was suddenly serious, “what happened?!”

“Fluttershy, she’s having a breakdown. Something terrible happened to her out in the Everfree. She keeps saying it was some kind of monster.” Rainbow felt just a tad uncomfortable talking in the dark like this.

“I don’t see how I can help.”

“You know tons of stuff about creatures out in the Everfree, I was hoping you could help calm her down.”

“I’ll try, for Fluttershy’s sake.”

Twilight quickly undid the spell on her eyes and they galloped to Fluttershy’s. Twilight was full of questions; what kind of creature could scare Fluttershy? Wasn’t she an expert on animals? Rainbow seemed genuinely worried, which made it clear this wasn’t a prank. When they got to her cottage, they could already hear her sobs. Inside, Rarity was trying to give Fluttershy a cup of tea, but she was shaking too much to hold it herself.

Twilight was quick to act, “what happened Fluttershy?”

As she approached, Fluttershy’s tears slowed. “It was awful, so horrible.” Her crying intensified again.

“She won’t stop saying that,” Rarity sighed. Rarity looked so desperate to help but was completely powerless.

Twilight raised Fluttershy’s head with a hoof, “I need you to be strong for me. Please tell me what happened.”

“I-i-it was a mon-monster.”

“What was?” Twilight tried to coax it out of her gently.

“Evil…” Fluttershy’s moment of calm was crushed as her sorrow and fear burst forth again.

Twilight sighed, “Fluttershy, I can’t help without more details. You need to tell me what you saw.”

Fluttershy said one word, “blood.”

“Was somepony hurt?” Twilight asked with alarm. She shook her head. “Was somepony…dead?” She shook her head a second time. Twilight dreaded the last option, “was it an animal?” Fluttershy jumped off her couch and squeezed Twilight’s neck as hard as she could and screamed out her wails. Twilight put on a strong face as she stroked her mane. “There, there. Fluttershy, these things happen. It’s how the Everfree works.”

“No…you’re wrong,” Fluttershy choked out. “This w-was n-not how th-things happen i-in the Everfree.”

Twilight didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

“I know creatures have to k-k-kill to live sometimes.” Fluttershy pulled away from her. “But this…it w-was different.”

Twilight brushed some of Fluttershy’s hair out of her eyes, “how?”

“Blood. Lots of…blood.” She sniffed as she calmed down, or rather went cold. “It was everywhere.”

“That happens when animals hurt each other,” Rainbow offered weakly.

“Timberwolves can be aggressive hunters Fluttershy,” Twilight tried to reason.

“Not this aggressive,” she squeaked.

“How do you know?” Twilight gently challenged.

“I’ve seen the remains of their…attacks.” Fluttershy choked back tears for a moment. “This was not a normal attack. They-they-they…” She couldn’t even start her sentence.

“What did they do?” Twilight blundered out.

“The entire area was soaked, Twilight…” Fluttershy looked ready to faint.

“In what?” Rainbow asked cluelessly.

“Blood…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice seemed to die after those words.

“Maybe you should lie down.” Fluttershy nodded her head weakly as she finally drank the tea Rarity had offered. Later, when she was in bed, Twilight saw how deep the sight had scarred her. The cottage was a wreck.

After giving the cottage a quick cleanup, Rainbow began, “so what should we do?”

“Yes, she’s absolutely dreadful! I’m going to have to give her a makeover when she wakes up. I mean, that mane was a crime against fashion!”

“Rarity, the last thing she needs right now is you bothering her about her looks.” Twilight scolded her. “I suspect that all she saw was the remains of a timberwolf or a manticore attack. It will take time, but she’ll heal.” Twilight looked tired. Knowing this was just how the Everfree worked was something Fluttershy would have to learn.

“But she said it wasn’t normal,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Come on, she saw…blood…in the Everfree. What else could it be?”

“I have to agree with Rainbow on this Twilight dear. Fluttershy has seen the Everfree in its entirety. This was something truly gruesome to have left an impression on a pony that’s had to have seen such things before.”

Twilight pondered for a moment, “You have a point. But what are we going to do about something happening in the Everfree?”

“We charge in there, find the monster that scared Fluttershy, and kick its flank!” Rainbow slammed her hooves together.

“A monster hunt would be a spectacular waste of time, dear. The Everfree is huge, we’d never find it. And can you imagine the muck we’d have to trek through?”

“In the meantime, I can do a little research. Tell the residents of Ponyville to stay out and away from the forest.”

Rainbow grew smug, “you act like everypony goes into the Everfree for vacation.”

“What about Zecora?” Rarity asked.

“I can tell her in a flash!” Rainbow scoffed with a wave of her hoof.

“I just wonder what could be so terrible that it left Fluttershy barely able to speak,” Twilight admitted, looking back at the room where Fluttershy slept.

********************************************************************************

Nash couldn’t believe his eyes. The goddess before him towered at a daunting 150 feet! His belief she was a god was only strengthened by her apparel. The tiara on her head and the golden necklace both had a gemstone bigger than him imbedded in them. Her massive hooves were fitted neatly into great shoes of gold. Her magenta eyes were bigger than most cars and her muzzle was like a walkway. The horn that topped her forehead was like a tree, minus leaves and branches. Her coat was white as snow and her fur as thick as grass.

She gently levitated his prison to the side for a bit as she began to talk to the pony creatures that had captured him. Nash saw the wings that protruded from her back and gawked. She was a unicorn and a pegasus! Nash didn’t know such a thing existed or what you’d call it. Then he realized the insanity that was her mane and tail. It was like a handicap rainbow that billowed in a wind that Nash was unable to feel, but could tell wasn't there. After all, none of the other pony manes were moving.

Pastel pink, green, and blue swayed in ripples before his prison. It was quiet majestic despite the situation. He was in awe just staring at the enormous creature that betrayed his young knowledge. He was only barely aware that the ponies that had brought him here were done sharing and the goddess was addressing them. His close proximity made up for the jar’s sound muffling effect, but he still couldn’t understand the garbled words they used to talk. He only hoped the conversation was about something positive.

*****

Crash excitedly began to explain the events leading up to the creatures capture, starting from the moment the acorn hit him in the head. Bee encouraged him to skip ahead to when they actually caught him. His detail and the rate at which he blabbed were unnecessary and a bit disrespectful to Celestia, but she excused it in her curiosity.

“And then we entered the castle,” Crash concluded.

Celestia nodded for a moment. Bee added to Crash’s story, “you can tell he’s guilty just by looking at his determination to escape!”

Butter cut in, “but he hasn’t done anything. He’s innocent! He’s just hurt and scared, you can’t blame him for wanting to get away!”

Celestia tried to calm her, “it’s okay young one. I don’t intend to harm him. But,” Celestia’s tone became harsh, “he will be thoroughly interrogated. Once he has answered our questions then, and only then, will he be allowed to leave.” Celestia clarified by casting a spell to fix the crack he had carved into the glass earlier.

“If he doesn’t answer your questions?” Butter asked with dread.

Celestia smiled, “you needn’t worry, he won’t be hurt under our care.”

Butter nodded sadly. Crash jumped in, “did we do the right thing?”

Celestia knew what he wanted and sighed inside, “you have served Equestria well. As a reward for your dedication to your country, you will be compensated in bits.”

Crash’s face near split from how massive his grin was. Bee smiled too, while Butter stole a glance at the creature and was filled with regret. He was looking around the room rapidly, his head shooting from one object to another in rapid succession. Celestia wanted to shake her head at Crash’s reaction, he hadn’t done this for Equestria, he’d only caught the changeling so he’d get a reward. Rather than hold it against him, Celestia figured she’d give him a few bits and be done with it. Butter looked like she was about to cry. She reminded Celestia of another pony she’d met, one of the Elements of Harmony actually.

The three of them were escorted, with respect, out of the castle. Celestia looked down at the 2 inch tall changeling and debated what to do. She hated to admit it, but putting a changeling in a jar and then in a dungeon cell seemed cruel. The creature was obliviously fragile, and the oppressive atmosphere down there could hurt him. Where could she keep him then? Celestia thought of keeping the jar in a normal guest room, but she’d need guards. What about some of the guards who had a grudge against the changelings from the attack?

Although Celestia knew none of them would go against her wishes and try and get revenge with such an easy target available, she still didn’t want to take a chance. That left only two places in the entire castle she could keep him until court was over and she could properly question him. One of those places was her own bedroom! Celestia pondered that possibility for a moment. She would be busy with court and it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference then if he was left in a guest room. Guards would still have to be posted and could still be rash in their desire for revenge. That left one place.

Celestia put court on hold so she could personally deliver the changeling to his new room. Celestia needed a pony who would hold no bias or personal hate against the changelings to keep him safe. She needed a pony who had no reason to hurt him to guard him. Celestia needed a pony that no guard would dare to defy for petty reasons. Celestia made her way to that very pony immediately.

Celestia looked down at the changeling. He gawked and stared at everything. He was mesmerized by each and every vase and painting they passed. Celestia had to remind herself that to him, those flowers were like trees, the paintings like mountains. Even her necklace was a hill made of pure gold to him. Celestia wondered for a moment what it would be like to be so small. Even the smallest trinkets would be grand and impressive. Life would certainly be interesting at that size.

*****

Nash’s mouthed dangled as the great white goddess somehow made the glass jar heal itself. The crack that had assured him freedom was possible, sealed itself and vanished. As the goddess and the ponies talked for a moment longer, he went to feel the wall, hoping that maybe it was just an illusion. It wasn’t. Nash didn’t know a lot about magic, but this had to be some serious power.

While the ponies wrapped up their conversation, Nash looked around the room. It was obviously a throne room to a powerful emperor, three guesses who. He found everything, despite his distance, was huge and of stunning design. Even the ceiling was made of golden panels. Vast drapes hung loosely from the rafters and the marble columns were entangled in gold ivory. The throne just visible past the winged unicorn was also incredible. The red carpet ran up to it and turned into a cushion she could sit upon high above her subjects. A fountain and miniature moat flowed from and around the throne.

Nash was suddenly on the move down a hall as the splendid goddess carried him through her palace. He was panicking a little bit, not knowing what was going on. But he was able to distract himself by looking at the various paintings and decorations that littered the halls. “What is this place?” How rich and powerful was she that she could decorate simple hallways this much?

The tour ended in front of a pair of massive black doors. The closed gateway seemed to devour light itself as time slowed down. Nash knew this was where it would all end, through those dark gates, his torture would begin anew. There was no other explanation. He was going to die in that room. The goddess strangely, knocked on the door. A horrible groan came from within. This room was already host to another beast?! He was going to be locked up with another monster! How could it get any worse? He thought.

*****

Celestia approached the ebony black doors with the jar floating beside her. She had peaked at him now and then, but for the most part she had controlled herself. She stood before the doors and quickly came up with what she’d tell her. Celestia knocked quietly. A horrible moan escaped from within. Celestia almost wanted to slap herself right then. Of course! She’s asleep at this hour! Celestia mentally berated herself.

“Go away, I’m sleeping,” came a tired feminine voice.

“I need to ask you a favor.”

“Celestia?”

“May I come in?”

*Yawn* “Of course you can!” the sound of the door unlocking was heard.

Celestia glanced at the changeling and inhaled, she could only hope Luna would like having a roommate…

Chapter 10: Slow Introductions

*As always, if you spot an error/typo, let me know. I appreciate anyone who wants to help…

Celestia walked into the dark bedroom. Luna hadn’t turned on the lights and she was still in bed covered by her blankets! Celestia contemplated complaining, but she was about to ask her a favor and thought better of it.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I need to ask you to do something for me?”

*Yawn* “Anything sister.” Luna was obviously tired if her voice was any indication. It was only midday after all.

“I need to keep this in your room until I lower the sun, would that be alright?” As she asked, she lifted the jar so it was just above her head.

“Yeah, yeah sure thing sis.” Luna’s blurry vision could only make out the jar’s outline as Celestia placed it on her desk. Luna’s tired mind saw no problem with keeping some random object in her room and it saw no reason to question her sister’s motives.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Celestia was a little worried that Luna might be too tired to grasp what she was agreeing to.

“How could I say no to my big sis?” Luna smiled, but Celestia couldn’t see it in the dark.

“Okay…as long as you’re sure. I’m only going to ask you to keep him safe today, maybe longer if things don’t work out. Are those acceptable terms?” Celestia hadn’t realized that Luna never saw what it was she was agreeing to keep in her room.

“Why would I have a problem with it?”

“Good night Luna, sleep tight,” before Celestia could finish she heard Luna collapsed down on her pillow. Celestia rolled her eyes. Before leaving the room, she cast a spell on the jar the changeling was in. He jumped away from her when she did it, but he was unharmed. Celestia leaned down to the jar and addressed him sternly. “You cannot escape. Tonight, if you answer all my questions, we’ll give you back to Chrysalis. Keep the noise down in here, my sister needs her rest.”

The changeling only stared at her. Celestia could tell he was frozen stiff from fear and assumed he got the message. If not, he’d quickly find out that he wouldn’t be able to scratch his way out of the jar again, thanks to her spell. Celestia left the room and thoroughly closed the door. After giving it a second tug to make sure, she made her way back to court. She couldn’t keep the ponies waiting forever.

*****

Nash was shaking as the goddess entered the darkness with him in tow. From the black abyss ahead, he could hear movement. Soon, the great white creature was speaking with another. Nash soon found himself placed on a desk of some sort. The lack of light made it impossible to see who or what the goddess was speaking with. After the exchange of a few more words, the winged unicorn cast a spell on the jar.

Nash had been trying with all his might to see the other creature in the room when the jar suddenly exploded into color! Nash flew back as a gold energy washed over the jar like a wave and faded away. Nothing appeared to have changed as Nash looked around. Next thing he knew, the white winged unicorn leaned down and began to threaten him. He assumed it was a threat at least, based on her tone. It was probably something like, “try to escape and we’ll kill you.”

For some reason, being threatened by a goddess that towers over you can be a scary experience. Nash couldn’t move as she stared at him, he didn’t know if she wanted a response. When she snorted and made for the door, Nash let out a huge breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. When she closed the door, some of that fear suddenly came right back to him. He was left in utter darkness and he knew there was something else in here with him.

Before he could have a panic attack, a tiny light from overhead caught his attention. Nash tilted his head skyward. The ceiling of the room was covered in small twinkling dots, like stars! The sight made Nash feel at ease, as though there was nothing to worry about. “Why is everything in this place have to be so ironic?!” Tranquil moments were everywhere just to mock him it seemed. Strangely, Nash was able to sit back and enjoy the sight. After a time, he was laying on the floor of the jar staring up at the ceiling in peace.

“What is wrong with me?” Nash thought he had to have gone insane. He was in a jar being held hostage by talking ponies for crying out loud. Nash must have realized that nothing was going to happen for a while, because nothing had happened for a while already. It allowed him time to think. How would he get out of this? Would Shadaico be an option? “Wait….Shadaico, of course!!” Nash face hoofed. How stupid could he get? He was friends with the most powerful man in the world. All he had to do was wait for his nightly call and tell him he needed help.

Nash’s excitement died quickly when he remembered that Shadaico still had those four giant magic sealing screws in his back and that neither of them knew how far away from each other they were. Shadaico could very well be on the opposite side of the planet! Nash lowered his head as he realized he still had no hope. Nash felt trapped again, like he had when he first arrived in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

He looked up again. He had been sitting in the dark for a while and his big white orb-eyes had adjusted. If the large balcony and its glass doors were the front of the room, he was sitting on a desk on the left side of the room. The door into the room was farther back, behind him. Nash figured the other two doors on the back wall were a closet and a bathroom. There was a large four post bed on the right side of the room that was close to the balcony. Next to the bed was a small nightstand. Also on the right side of the room, there was a large vanity dresser. The mirror was surrounded with the elegant designs of golden flowers and vines while each drawer had a diamond knob.

Noticing the elegance of the dresser, Nash took a double take of the whole room. He suddenly found everything was of exquisite taste and expensive craftsmanship. The doors were made of a dark pine with various random images carved into their faces. The door handles looked like gnarled branches of gold. The floor was made of marble tiles and the bed sat atop a small purple rug. The glass doors that led to the balcony were a dark tinted color that prevented light from coming in during the day. On the nightstand there was only a small boring vase style lamp, and an old fashion ticking clock. The clock had a dial face and two bells on the top with a hammer that would rapidly strike them.

“Wow. Whoever owns this room has some crazy tastes and the money to afford them,” Nash commented. Finally, Nash noticed the massive lump under the dark blue sheets of the bed. The lump was curled up near the head of the bed, leaving most of the sheets undisturbed. The form was also crunched up near the nightstand where it would be easy to reach over and smack the clock when the alarm went off.

Nash thought that was a bad place to sleep. In his experience, it was better to have your alarm clock on the opposite side of the room from where you are sleeping. Because, in your sleepy state it’s very easy to just reach over and smack the snooze, then go right back to sleep. If you have somewhere important to be in the morning, you should have your clock on the opposite side of the room so you have to get up to smack it, which makes sure you’re up and awake.

Nash reeled his head back as he mentally smacked himself for worrying about something so stupid at the moment. But, Nash was suddenly aware of how tired he was. Switching between being terrified and being bored took its toll on his energy it seemed. Nash tucked his legs under his form as he lay his head down. He was not comfortable, but he was tired enough. Nash eventually fell asleep in the unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar creature. When it woke up, he wondered what its reaction to him would be.

*****

Celestia was getting restless as the day neared its end. She was secretly grateful that she had left Luna in the dark about many of the events that had taken place during the changeling attack on Canterlot, figuring that Luna didn’t need to carry that burden. It seemed that her decision was going to pay off more than she originally thought. Because Luna didn’t have any personal vendettas against them, it was highly unlikely she’d hurt the small changeling she now had in her room.

Luna only knew that the changelings had attacked, captured Celestia, almost ruined the wedding, and then Shining Armor and Cadence had combined their powers to save Canterlot. The specific details were lost on her and Celestia aimed to keep it that way. She didn’t want her younger sister to know that she had been hurt or that the Elements of Harmony had been useless. Celestia had been baffled that Luna was able to sleep through the entire attack. After things had calmed down, she had asked her younger sister if she’d heard anything, to which she simply replied she had slept like a baby! The changelings in the castle had apparently decided not to purposefully disturb her.

Since her first Nightmare Night, Luna had developed a few quirks. First, she was a heavy sleeper, if the events during the wedding were anything to go on. Second, she had a bit of split personality. She could be serious, threatening, and quite intimidating when she needed to be. Or, she could be quite friendly, even playful. Luna didn’t have a lot to do during the night and had gotten into having fun on a regular basis. Not that Celestia had a problem with that or anything, she was just glad her sister had readjusted to life in only two years.

Celestia was snapped from her thoughts when a guard gave her nudge informing her it was time to close court and prepare to lower the sun. Celestia smiled with anticipation of the coming interrogation. She was eager to learn of Chrysalis’s latest plans, if she had any. She also wanted something to eat. Maybe the chefs could throw together a quick chocolate cake before it was time for the changeling to answer her questions.

*****

Nash felt like his head would split apart if the bells on the clock were not shut off soon. The clock was ringing away and it was like a jackhammer to his skull as he waited for the creature who owned the room to shut it off. Lazily, and with many moans and groans, it began to reach out for the clock. After several hard slaps against the nightstand, its hoof finally found the clock. Nash expected the hoof to stop the bells from ringing as the creature sat up, but something a little more interesting happened. The creature quickly sat up with the clock stuck to its right hoof. Next thing he knew, it--now he could tell was a she--threw the clock across the room at the wall! The clock exploded into pieces to Nash’s left and plummeted to the floor.

“Well that’s one way to stop the bells of hell I guess,” Nash acknowledged. He returned his attention to the creature still in her bed…her eyes were closed as she sat there. She wasn’t as tall as the white winged unicorn, but she was pretty close. She was a dark ebony color with a lazy blue mane drooping down from her head. Her wings were massive and not tucked against her sides; instead, they hung loose.

Nash waited expectantly for something dramatic to happen, but she continued to do nothing but sit there with her eyes closed. “We going somewhere or what?” Nash asked no one in particular. For a while, he suspected she had fallen asleep again. Finally, she began to stir when she pushed the sheets off her body and stood up. Again, she stood there for a second. “Man, she is a slow starter.” Nash noticed the depiction of the moon on her flank and wondered what that was about. Slowly, she snapped the lamp light on and Nash had to shield his eyes from the glare.

She put her legs to good use and walked to the back of the room and went into the door farthest from Nash. After closing the door, there was a short wait before Nash heard a flush. “That’s the bathroom, so the other door is the closet.” The dark pony reemerged and approached her vanity dresser. There, she sat on her haunches like a dog and stared at her reflection with tired eyes. “You got to be kidding. I’m going to have to sit through your whole morning ritual!?” Nash complained.

As he suspected, she took out various things of makeup and brushes and went to work. She seemed absolutely determined to make him wait as long as possible while she did her mane, face, and hooves. Nash approached the edge of the jar so he could see a little better. After plopping down, he continued to wait for her. It was boring.

It took some time, but she started to put the brushes and makeup away. “You just had to go through your entire coat with a brush didn’t you? Your fur was kind of fuzzy before, but still.” The last thing she did before standing really got Nash’s attention though. Her horn began to glow and her mane and tail followed. Next thing he knew, they were just like the white goddess’s he seen before, shimmering and waving in a breeze that wasn’t there! The only difference was hers resembled the night sky rather than a rainbow.

A quick nod later and she was coming towards him! Nash was suddenly aware of the approaching dark goddess and backed away from her as much as he could. She looked down past his prison though. She didn’t seem to even notice him as she lazily brought out something from below the desk. Nash realized that her shoes had been underneath him and then noticed the giant dark necklace and tiara that sat beside him on the table. She wasn’t coming for him, but her royal attire.

She greedily snapped them up into the air with her magic and put them on with practiced skill and precision. The whole time, she seemed to be in some kind of daze. It was as though she was on auto-pilot or something, which explained why she hadn’t noticed him at all. It was as though he didn’t exist.

She turned and walked over to her balcony and opened the door. The tinted glass now out of the way, Nash could tell it was sunset. “Who wakes up at this hour?” He immediately remembered her moon tattoo. “Weirdo,” he commented. She walked out onto her balcony and looked out at the sunset. Nash lost interest in whatever it was she was doing and felt content to stare at the now lit room. It was as he had originally observed, just brighter. The sun suddenly vanished below the mountains outside.

The pony came back in and stood just inside the room for a second as her daze seemed to finally end. After letting out a long yawn and shaking her head a little, she looked fully awake and ready to attack the day--well--night. She casually looked around her room. Her eyes finally found the jar and left her looking confused. Nash let his ears drop as he realized she had finally taken notice of his presence.

With narrow eyes, she approached Nash again. He backed up against the jar wall so he could be as far away as possible again. She dropped her head so it was eye level with him. Her eyes lit up when she realized what she was looking at. Nash felt very awkward having a 140 foot pony stare at him for a couple seconds. She slowly lifted her head back up and began to think.

*****

Luna’s morning had started off as it always had. She broke her clock, went to the bathroom, put her makeup on, did her hair, and raised the moon. It had become so routine and boring to her though. She wanted something different to happen each morning to mix it up, but it never did. Just after raising the moon, Luna sighed. It was time for another routine day. Night court would be devoid of any activity again and she’d close it early so she could run off and do something exciting.

Luna reentered her room and yawned. Finally allowing herself to wake up fully. She just had to get up the motivation to go to breakfast, or dinner as most ponies would call it. Looking around her familiar room idly, she spotted something foreign on the edge of her writing desk. Suspicion rising, she approached the jar. Once she was closer, she could tell there was something inside. Luna had to lean down so she could see clearly what it was.

Inside the jar, cowering as far from her as it could get, was the strangest creature she had ever seen. She only knew of one kind of being with this appearance, but it was off somehow. The changeling had black fur and short tattered ears, but the rest of his features were wrong. Changelings were supposed to be indistinguishable from each other, with their eyes and wings the same color as every other changeling. This one’s eyes, mane, tail, and wings (what was left of them) were a pale white color. The stubs that were left of his wings didn’t immediately register in her mind when she realized two other key features; he was only two inches tall and he didn’t have holes in his legs.

What are you, where did you come from? Luna mentally asked herself for a while. Luna straightened up and began to recall what her sister had asked her earlier. She had been tired and just agreed to having something put in her room. Luna suddenly connected the dots. Her sister had asked her to keep this changeling in her room! Luna looked down at the jar’s inhabitant again with wonder. Again she mentally asked herself where he came from, but this time she wasn’t referring to how he got into her room; rather, she was asking where he actually came from.

Luna suspected her sister would come for him after she ate. Luna debated leaving him here and going to get some breakfast. Her sister had asked her to guard him after all. Curiosity was overflowing her mind so she decided on the safest course of action, she asked the guards in the hall to bring her breakfast to her room. While it was on its way up, she sat in front of the jar and thought hard.

The first question on her mind was what this thing was. The next question was what it was doing in the castle. Her sister, or her guards, must have captured it. So it must have been a spy or it was just passing through and got caught. So why did Celestia want her to guard it? Was it because she thought it would escape, that it would use its small size to slip out of the dungeons unnoticed? Or was it because she didn’t want any of the guards to get any ideas about getting revenge on the changelings?

Luna recalled the rumors and the story her sister had told her about the attack. A lot of the guards had family that would bear scars, both physically and mentally, from the attack for the rest of their lives. It was possible that they would see this small defenseless changeling and be tempted to try and get some payback. Add in the fact that its wings were gone and how fragile he must be and it was unlikely he’d be able to survive their wrath. So her sister must have wanted her to protect it.

*****

After a short time, the dark pony’s breakfast arrived and she was content to eat it on her bed. Nash watched her intently as she lay on her sheets enjoying her meal. Nash had been here for three days and he still didn’t feel hungry despite the fact that he had yet to eat so much as a crumb; he could use a drink though. The dark animal wasn’t making his thirst go away either, especially when she was drinking a tall glass of water right in front of him.

Nash watched the way water condensed out of the air onto the glass and ran down its sides in great drops. How the water spun and twirled and danced as the glass was tipped. He licked his lips at just the sight of the water pouring down her throat. Nash smacked his head against the wall, “I’m going to go insane before this is over!”

“I thought you were already insane,” Shadaico’s voice announced in his head.

“HOLLY SPIT! SHADAICO!” Nash took a second to relax before returning to the mental conversation. “Can you give a guy a warning?”

“Hehe, sorry.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes either!”

“Relax would you? I can see the castle and I’m on my way. You’ll be out of that tree soon.”

“That’s great,” Nash celebrated sarcastically. “Only one problem with that now though.”

“What’s that?” Shadaico didn’t sound like he cared.

“I’m inside the castle now, as a prisoner!”

“What…?”

“They’re holding me hostage, they’ve stuffed me in a jar!”

“…You’re going to have to explain that last statement to me Nash. They stuffed you in a jar? How’d they pull that off?”

“I never told you what I was reincarnated as?”

“You told me you had wings,” Shadaico offered.

“I don’t know what kind of bug I’ve been turned into, but it’s not fun. I’m no bigger than an acorn Shadaico! Everything is huge to me.”

“It’s good to know someone else isn’t happy with their new body.”

“What did you get turned into?” Nash asked harshly.

“Well, I shouldn’t complain really. But, I’m a…well…it’s embarrassing. I’ve never had to hunt like this before. It seems…lowly.”

“What are you?” Nash asked again.

“…Nash, we’ve been hacked…” Shadaico announced spontaneously.

“What does that mean?” Nash had no clue what he was talking about.

“Someone’s listening to our conversation right now! You said you were captured right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it the ponies who got yah?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“I’m near one of their villages, they seem to be the dominate species here. From what I have observed, some of them have magical capabilities, but these creatures speak a different language then you and me. This hacker isn’t something to worry about. They probably think the signals encrypted, when really it’s just our language.”

“How do you know someone’s listening to us?” Nash asked after relaxing a bit.

“Cause it suddenly got easier to maintain this conversation. Whoever they are, they’re not very smart. Their magic is helping me support the connection, heck, their practically doing the connecting for me!”

“Anyway, you’re going to save me right?”

“You’re inside a castle Nash…”

“They’re going to kill me in here!” Nash was begging.

“I barely have any magic. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sneak in. I’m not exactly the most inconspicuous creature around anymore.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll be there tomorrow night. I’ll try to sneak into the castle and get you out, but Nash, I haven’t done any sneaking around in years! I always preferred the rush in and blow stuff up approach. With my limited magic, that won’t work anymore.”

“As long as you get me out of here, I don’t care. Just answer me one question would you?”

“Shoot, we’ve got plenty of time.”

“What were you turned into?”

“I’m………a wolf…”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Nash assured him.

“Nash. Shut. Up.”

Author's Note:
SO! Shadaico is a wolf! But, he doesn't like wolves...wonder why... (Shadaico is going to be a real big black wolf, not a timberwolf)

Next few Chapters are going to be really mixed up. There's going to be investigations, interrogations, infiltration, and a fight!

Chapter 11: No Interrogating

Prepare to read my slaves, for this chapter is long!

“So what’s wrong with being a wolf?” Nash asked innocently.

“You idiot, wolves are lowly creatures. Scrap beggars! I was a great jackal, a creature of refined respect and dignity. Now I’m a mutt.”

Nash felt like change of pace, “well at least you’re still a canine. I’m not even a primate anymore.”

“True, I guess,” Shadaico hissed.

“And you didn’t get sent to hell either.”

“Very true,” Shadaico sounded a little happier.

“You got that second chance!” Nash tried to celebrate.

“And I intend to use it,” Shadaico had determination in his voice.

“And you don’t have the punishment gauntlets on anymore!” Nash praised.

“Yeah I don’t. I guess things could be worse for me. And the screws in my back don’t pulse anymore either!”

“So they don’t vibrate and cause you pain?”

“Nope! My back still aches and I could really use a massage, but at least it isn’t the agony it was.”

“See, things are okay for you. Okay enough for you to try rescuing me now!”

“Nice try.”

“Come on Shadaico! Being in prison is one thing, being in a jar a captive of giant ponies is another!”

“It’ll take me all day to just get over there. Trust me when I say this, the builders of that castle were crazy. If there’s an earthquake, that whole place is going a long way down.”

“What does that mean?”

“You don’t want to know…” the connection was lost.

As Nash reentered reality, he noticed something concerning. The dark winged unicorn was staring at him with narrow eyes. Her meal clearly wasn’t finished either. Slowly, she returned to her breakfast and Nash sighed with relief. He should have asked Shadaico what a unicorn with wings was called.

*****

Luna had been enjoying a simple oatmeal breakfast on her bed when she sensed a thin tendril of magic enter her room. It would have been easy to block it, but she was curious what it was and where it was coming from. Luna looked at the changeling still in his jar. His horn was glowing white and the magic signal extended from him to somewhere far away outside. The creature was talking to somepony!

Luna almost felt insulted. Did they really think they could get a message past her unnoticed? Luna quickly and easily tapped into the secret conversation. Then her confusion kicked in. The changeling and his mysterious ally were both speaking a very different language then anything she’d ever heard. The signal could have been encrypted, but there wasn’t a decryption barrier around the changeling. There were only a handful of languages in Equus, and these two weren’t using any of them. Could it have been a custom language between the two of them? That would take some serious work and patience, especially if it was just the two of them. If they really had invented their own language, that would make them both super geniuses.

Luna may not have been able to understand exactly what was being said, but she could pick up on the tone of the conversation. But even that didn’t make sense. One minute there was excitement, the next, it was anger. Suddenly, the connection had ended. All Luna had learned was that the changeling had a partner out there and they had just talked about something. It sounded to her kind of like the changeling was the one freaking out, trying to convince his partner about an unknown subject. Luna had a good idea what.

It was at that moment that Celestia knocked on her door. Luna jumped at the sudden sound. Luna moved her tray of empty dishes to the vanity dresser and approached the door. She opened it rapidly and there was a rush of air. Celestia found herself on the end of a deadpan glare. Celestia smiled sheepishly, she suspected that Luna hadn’t realized what she had agreed to. Now, she was probably mad.

“Luna! You look rested.” Celestia attempted to look happy.

“Celestia, what is that thing and where did it come from?” Luna asked with a hard face.

“That’s what I’m here to find out actually. I am about to interrogate it.”

“I want to be there too,” Luna asserted.

Celestia was taken off guard, “you do?”

“I think it was just talking to somepony.”

“Who?” Celestia was worried.

“I’m not sure. They communicated through magic, but it gets even more complicated than that. The language they were speaking wasn’t Equestrian!”

“There are many languages out there Luna, it was prob-“

“No it wasn’t,” Luna protested. “I may have been gone for a thousand years, but I’ve caught up. There is no language on Equus like it. I think it may speak some unfamiliar language.”

Celestia pushed past her and approached the jar, “what is your name?”

Luna closed the door and stood by her sister, “has he spoken since you’ve had him?”

The changeling only stared up at her with fear. Celestia couldn’t imagine a worse scenario. She had yet to hear it utter a single sound, if it didn’t speak any known language, how was she supposed to get information from it? “Say something!” Celestia ordered it.

The changeling recoiled and covered its ears for a while as it quivered. Celestia’s eyes grew wide, it wasn’t looking good. Luna scolded her sister, “Our voices are much louder to it.”

“What is your name?” Celestia tried again much quieter. It was probably the easiest question you could ask as far as she was concerned. The changeling answered her finally, but not in the way she hoped. The sounds it made were like no language she had ever heard. Clicks, clacks, whistles, and muffled garble came from its small throat.

“Can’t we cast a translation spell on it?” Luna offered.

“No,” Celestia looked frustrated. “Unless we understand the language we’re trying to translate from, we can’t just change the way he talks.” Celestia began to explain. “If we could just translate any language we came across, we would have done it with the violent manticores and tried to culturally uplift them by now.”

“He could be faking it. What if he really does know Equestrian?” Luna offered, trying to help her clearly upset older sister. There was a long pause where Celestia thought hard. The changeling relaxed and went back to lying down as Celestia puzzled over what to do. Luna felt awkward just standing there waiting.

Finally, and without saying a word, Celestia levitated the jar off the desk and put it on the floor in front of her. Luna looked as confused as the changeling did. Celestia took the hole-riddled lid off the jar and placed it nearby. Then, she levitated the changeling out of the jar and placed him gently on the floor. The small creature looked up her towering legs as it tried to grasp what was happening. Celestia slowly raised a hoof into the air and moved it forward.

Luna gasped at what her sister intended to do. The changeling stared with massive eyes as a golden shoe dangled above his head! When the hoof began to come down, it tried to bolt. But Celestia’s magic stuck his hooves to the floor. It desperately tried to pull its legs up as Celestia’s hoof began to press against his back. The creature was completely surrounded by the hoof and was slowly pushed to the floor as it came down.

The creature began to scream as Celestia began to apply pressure. Luna couldn’t stand to hear its desperate cries. Her heart was being torn just listening, “Stop, this isn’t right! You can’t do that, you’ll kill it!”

“Tell us your name!” Celestia ordered in a voice saturated with hate.

It continued to cry out in its strange language as the pressure gradually increased. Luna was going hysteric trying to get Celestia to stop. “It’s fragile, it won’t survive this!!”

“You are not necessary!” Celestia continued to ignore her sister. “Even if you don’t speak, we can still learn what we need from the other changelings we have in the dungeon!”

Luna suddenly stopped. She finally realized what Celestia was doing, because they didn’t have any other changeling prisoners. Celestia was pretending that she’d kill him if he didn’t talk. Torture was generally unacceptable, but Celestia seemed determined to pry answers from him by any means necessary. Luna didn’t know what to do. If she played along, she’d be doing what she thought was wrong. But if she didn’t go along, she’d basically be saying she didn’t care about the safety of Equestria.

“You’re so puny that we could easily dispose of your body.” The creature continued to scream as his body reached its limit. Celestia suddenly lifted her hoof before he suffered serious damage. “You have three minutes to speak. If you don’t, we continue your treatment.” Luna jumped out of her self debate to watch what the changeling would do. It continued to lie belly down on the floor as it took in great breaths of air.

*****

Nash gasped for the much needed air as the great hoof mercifully lifted off of him. He didn’t listen to anything the white goddess said, it wasn’t like he’d understand it even if he did. His ribs screamed in pain with every breath, but his lungs cried out for more air anyway. The pressure had been impossibly huge and Nash couldn’t believe he had survived. The hoof had been just larger than 10 feet around and when his hooves had suddenly stuck to the floor, he was sure he was going to die and he knew that was still a possibility.

Nash looked up to see the white and dark pony creatures arguing quietly. He knew they were hurting him because they wanted him to talk, but he couldn’t. He didn’t speak the same language, but they didn’t seem to believe it. Nash was terrified. His wings were gone, his ribs ached, his legs felt like jelly, and his head was pounding. His horn had poked up into the golden shoe but couldn’t penetrate it. So the pressure on his head had been even greater.

Nash got the crazy idea to try and hide while the two were distracted. His legs did not like being put to use after the recent ordeal, but he forced them to. Nash was standing on four wobbly legs as he tried to turn and run. Just as he began to move, he saw a wall of white come at him from the side. Nash let out a high-pitched yelp as the wall slammed into him and sent him flailing across the floor. The roll ended with him lying on his side, his face stinging and chest compressed.

The white wall had been the white pony's hoof kicking him a few feet (for her) across the floor. Nash felt content to lie there as the black pony suddenly piped up against what the white one had done. “At least I’ve got one supporter,” he groaned sarcastically. Nash rolled over so his belly faced skyward, but when he tried to lay his head down, his horn smacked into the floor. Nash was left with his head at just a slightly higher angle then he would like. “Stupid horn,” he moaned in his pain.

Nash wished the dumb thing would just go away for a while so he could lie how he liked. Suddenly, Nash’s head burst into white flames! Nash immediately jumped to his hooves and began to panic and scream. The flames blazed for a second before they faded. Nash stood uneasy for a moment as the short adrenaline rush faded and he came to realize his head was no longer burning away. Nash gasped for air again as he tried to relax. “Can’t say I saw that coming,” he tried to joke to himself.

The two ponies were watching him with minute interest. Nash didn’t want to get kicked again for fleeing, so he plopped down again so they knew he wasn’t trying to escape. The two giants watched him for a moment longer before returning to their arguing, although they took periodic glances. Nash rolled onto his back again as he tried to figure out what happened. Had they set his head on fire as additional torture? As Nash lay back, his head went all the way to the floor this time! Nash rolled back onto his hooves and began to feel around his forehead.

His horn was gone…

“That’s different…did they burn it off?”

*****

As Celestia wrapped up her threat, Luna was eager to voice her disapproval. “You can’t do that!”

“If he wants to play this game, we have to play back.”

“So you think hurting him will teach him how to speak our language!?”

“You really think it’s the only language he knows? He’s a changeling, a master of deception. He knows Equestrian, it’s the only way he could talk to the queen or even live within the Hive.”

“But what if he’s not from the Hive?” Luna pressed a new theory.

“What are you talking about?”

“What if he is a different breed of changeling, a different hive then Chrysalis? He looks kind of like the changelings, but his size clearly betrays that. So he must be a different kind of changeling.”

Celestia noticed the changeling trying to run. She turned quickly and gave it a gentle kick. It rolled along the floor and lay in a twisted lump on the floor. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten you.”

“You could be hurting an innocent creature!” Luna asserted much louder. That was something Luna had a personal problem with. Being manipulated by Nightmare Moon and all.

“Hmm?” Celestia turned back towards Luna.

“If it has no relation to Chrysalis, then the pain and fear you’re inflicting on it is unjustified. You’re threatening to kill a creature for no reason.” Luna tried to point out.

The changeling interrupted Celestia by making a dramatic seen of removing his own horn. Celestia and Luna both watched him for a moment trying to understand why he made such a big deal of it, like Celestia was hurting him again. When the small change was done, he looked up at them and sat down quickly. “See, he’s toying with us.”

The changeling lay back down as Luna continued to defend him, “I may not know why it does these things. But I do know he’s small and scared, and being tortured by a giant white alicorn that’s hundreds of times his size isn’t helping!”

“What do you suggest then? And what if you’re wrong?” Celestia challenged her sister.

“Why are you doing this? You’ve become a monster! What did the changelings do to you during the attack?!”

Celestia went quiet. She looked down at the changeling with regret as he rubbed his now hornless forehead. Celestia thought for a moment. “You’re lucky Luna. You didn’t have to watch as Canterlot burned. The changelings not only overpowered me, but made a fool of me. Chrysalis was right under my nose and I was too blind to see it. Then, when I was needed most, I was tossed aside like garbage. I couldn’t do anything for the ponies I’ve sworn to protect.”

“Celestia,” Luna said comfortingly. “I’m sorry, but you can’t vent your anger on this little guy.”

“But I don’t know if he’s the enemy or not!” Celestia almost whined.

Luna looked down at the creature for a moment. With her keen eye, she spotted a key detail. “I have a none cruel solution!”

Celestia looked at her skeptically, “what’s that?”

Luna didn’t say anything as she went to her bathroom for a moment and returned with a small sphere of water levitating in the air. Celestia looked back at the changeling on the floor with confusion. What was she going to do, pelt him with water balls? That just seemed childish to her. But the changeling seemed to get excited as Luna came closer with the ball of water. Luna lay down a foot or so away from the small creature and levitated the water sphere just in front of her. She was giving the changeling water?

Celestia didn’t get it as she stood off to the side. When she saw the changeling’s minuscule white tongue come out and glide across his lips, she understood instantly. He was thirsty, probably hadn’t had anything to drink all day. Luna then instructed her to stand on the other side of the changeling. It watched her carefully as she maneuvered behind him. He focused more on Celestia then he did Luna.

*****

Nash wasn’t sure what was going on, but one of the ponies had a blob of water floating in front of her, and he wanted it. The white one seemed to flash faces of sorrow, but she kept taking them back and looking down at him with hate. He backed a step away from her and returned his attention to the black one. She was levitating the water just above the floor, well within his grasp.

The dark goddess began to speak soothingly. He couldn’t understand it, but it sounded like an explanation of the situation. She was offering him a choice. He could go to the white one and get smashed again, or he could go to her and get water. Her friendly offer was made more enticing when she began to wiggle the ball of water back a forth as she finished explaining. Nash instinctually licked his lips again just looking at the beautiful water.

Just before moving towards the black pony, he glanced back at the white one. She wasn’t moving, but she was watching his movements carefully. Nash quickly made his way towards the water. Neither of them tried to stop him as he came within reach of the water. Just before going to drink it, he looked up at the dark pony’s face for approval. Her face was pretty far above him, but it wore a great smile. A small nod from her was enough for him. Nash buried the end of his snout into the water and began to suck it down.

The sphere of water was as big as his head, but he gulped the whole thing down in one breath. He was still thirsty but it really helped. Nash sat back and looked up at the friendly face of the pony. Now that she was giving him water and looking at him reassuringly, he felt a lot safer. Looking back at the white one, he saw the most shocked face in all recorded history. Her eyes were huge and her pupils practically invisible. Her bottom lipped quivered slightly and she wasn’t blinking. Nash thought it was pretty weird. He wasn’t sure it had been that hard a choice. Get crushed or get water, he thought anyone could make that choice in their sleep!

*****

Celestia couldn’t believe it. The deal Luna had offered him was pretty clear, get water and he’d be tortured again. If he refused the water, they’d give him to Chrysalis tonight. He had only taken one glance back at Celestia before dashing for the water! He was clearly terrified of her, but he seemed pretty secure around Luna. It made sense, seeing as how Luna had yet to inflict even the slightest bit of pain on him. But it left Celestia full of regret.

She had hurt a creature not associated with their enemies. Celestia suddenly felt very tired at the moment. She really needed to retire for the night. “Luna, until we decipher his language and figure out who he was speaking with earlier, I would like you to keep watch of him.”

Luna looked at her sister with shock, “me?”

“And I’d also like to keep him a secret for now. I want only those who absolutely have to know of his existence to know. Understood?”

“Yes but...me?” Luna wasn't angry, merely confused.

“Because he won’t trust me ever again, and you seem more qualified for this.”

“How?”

“He trusts you and you understand him. Good night, Luna.” Celestia left with heavy hooves.

“Good night, Celestia.” Luna could tell Celestia felt very tired. Luckily, the changeling was okay. Luna looked down at him and began to wonder what she should do with him. She knew he wasn’t dangerous, but he wasn’t entirely trustworthy.

Night court was cancelled regularly due to too few ponies attending so Luna could get away with cancelling it completely for tonight as she got the creature more comfortable accommodations. She didn’t think he deserved to be kept in a jar if he wasn’t their enemy, but they still couldn’t let him leave. They had to be sure he wasn’t just a different enemy. Another hive of changelings wasn’t beyond reasonability. They may not have had any proof there were others, but it was always a good idea to be prepared.

Looking down at the changeling in front of her, she sighed. It was staring off into space in the general direction of her door. What was she supposed to do with it? She’d have to see about its wings and maybe she could do some research. Luna perched at that thought. She could study him and try to determine his origins! She’d have to make a stop by the library to get the materials though.

Luna was about to put him back in the jar, but his protests made her pause. Her heart wouldn’t let her do it right now. She put him down again and tried to come up with a new plan. She quickly came up with one. She levitated him onto her bed. He laid down on her bed and got comfortable. “Don’t get too comfy, you’re still under suspicion,” she warned him. He seemed to scoot away from her as she said it.

Luna left him there as she placed a barrier on her balcony door. Then she left the room and put a barrier to her room as well. She addressed the guards outside, “anypony but me tries to enter my room, kill them.” They simply nodded. Luna made her way to the library to recover her research material. She also made sure to completely cancel night court. No ponies ever used it anyway and she had something more important to do right now.

*****

Nash did not like being levitated around. It felt like at any moment he could suddenly plummet out of the sky. Yet, the ponies kept doing it to him! As soon as his wings were back, he hoped that would change. That was another thing at the back of his mind, what if his wings didn’t grow back.

Nash was happy when the dark goddess put him on her bed. He was not excited about being levitated up there, but the soft surface beneath his hooves was enough compensation. Nash figured that his days of struggle were over. The dark pony was on his side and treating him better. It was a strange turn of events from moments ago when he was being crushed. The dark goddess didn’t stay long though, and she left quickly. She did leave him an additional gift though, she sealed him in her room. Nash wasn’t an expert on magic and his knowledge in that area was actually quite limited. But he knew enough to identify a powerful barrier when he saw it.

She had given him pretty much free reign of her room while she was gone, but he couldn’t even get off her bed to enjoy it. Nash walked across the carefully made sheets and picked a spot near the massive pillows. He curled up against them and again felt his forehead. Where did his horn go? Had he somehow detached it from his head just by thinking about it? The white flames suddenly engulfed his head again!

Nash felt his forehead and was surprised to find that his horn had returned. “How is that possible?” he asked himself. He quickly lost interest when he took notice of how comfortable the giant dark bed was. Nash thought he had gotten sleep in the jar, but that was nothing. He needed more. Nash quickly drifted away on the dark goddess’s bed while she was away doing who knew what.

*****

Luna reentered her bedroom with a large number of books floating behind her. She eyed the changeling sleeping peacefully cuddled up against her pillow. His horn was back too. She thought he might be getting a little cocky. He was still in presence of giants, from his perspective, and yet he could just go to sleep. Luna shook her head. She had a lot of work to do and didn’t have a way to get any more information out of him.

Luna dropped the massive column of books next to her desk. The bang disturbed the changeling from his slumber. Luna whispered an apology as she dove into her work. She at least didn’t want to seem rude. The first book, and probably the biggest, was a general history book. Luna had a thousand years of history that she knew only bits and pieces of. Luna knew all the big stuff, things that everypony should really know. But she was looking for a far more precise piece of information. She needed to know everything the changelings had ever done.

Anywhere the changelings had been, anypony who had ever studied them, and how many hives could be out there. Nopony even knew if there were other hives out there, but Luna would have to look for the signs. If she could find even the slightest bit of evidence that there were others out there, she could develop a more solid theory as to where the small changeling, that was literally right behind her, had come from. It was going to be a lot easier said than done of course.

She began flipping pages and blazing into her work when she heard the changeling address her. Luna paused and turned around. It was good and awake now and it was trying to see what she was doing. Luna figured he was bored and needed some way to be entertained. Again, her heart wouldn’t let her leave him be. The book she was reading had lots of sketches and pictures. She guessed he could look at those while she actually read the words.

She levitated the creature over and let him sit between her and the book on the desk. He sat down right in front of her necklace and looked at the available pictures. Luna didn’t find the current page very useful or interesting. Most of the book’s entries were of natural disasters and crime. Pictures of a volcanic eruption and a pony that committed a murder were on the paper. The changeling eyed them with curiosity.

That’s how it went for hours. Luna would flip pages and read entries and the changeling would stare at the photographs and drawings. After a while, Luna began to forget he was even there.

Author’s note:

I always saw Celestia as one to use her head rather than her heart. Let’s face it, when you rule a country you have to make tough choices sometimes. And emotions can sometimes make those choices harder, add in the ironic situation that Celestia herself has a grudge against the changelings, and her actions make a lot of sense.

As for Luna, I see a much more emotion driven character. Becoming Nightmare Moon and her attempts to change everypony’s minds on Nightmare Night make it clear that she lets her heart steer her actions. Plus, Luna’s my favorite pony…

*I admit it, I didn’t know how to end the chapter. So if the ending seems a little sloppy, that’s my fault for not knowing what I’m doing. I also kind of feel like Luna and Nash get use to each other a little too fast. And Shadaico comes back next chapter…and causes problems…

*You know the drill, I make mistakes and I need help finding them! Or you can just give me ideas...whatever works.

Chapter 12: One Educational Night

A wolf, as big as any adult pony, crouched in the bushes. His fur was a dark ash gray and his face was just a slightly lighter tint. His eyes were a faint red and his ears were long and swiveled about. His fangs were large and almost sparkled in the moonlight. He had massive dark paws, a barrel chest, and a long shaggy tail. Finally, he had four 3-inch thick screws jutting from his back. The screws straddled his spine; two between his shoulder blades, two in his lower back.

He was watching his next kill intently. Shadaico had just finished talking with Nash and thought he could get a bite before he ran off. He thought he was getting better at hunting and he did enjoy the kill. Shadaico found it fun when the blood of his victim went spraying everywhere. He knew he was supposed to be turning his life around, that he had a second chance and he shouldn’t waste it, but he couldn’t help it. When your whole life’s been filled with violence and the need to kill, it’s hard to change in such a short time. If killing intelligent creatures was wrong, what about non-intelligent? Shadaico figured that killing them wasn’t a sin, as long as he intended to eat them. Why not add in a little play while he ate though? As a result of that thinking, he could have fun while killing and then enjoy a healthy meal.

Shadaico had also been afraid that rabbits and deer wouldn't taste very good raw, but he was surprised when they tasted just as good, if not better. The rabbit he was hunting now was moving away slightly, getting closer and closer to the village. He knew from observations that the ponies were a developing society with magic capabilities and that put them off limits to hunting, but the stupid rabbit was heading that way. He didn’t need the ponies finding a bunch of animals ripped apart in the middle of town!

Shadaico made a quick decision and lunged out of the bush and pounced on the bunny. It had only enough time to stand tall and stare at its attacker before he had his powerful jaws around its head. In a quick motion, he snapped its neck, and then removed the head. Blood gushed from his mouth as he chomped away at the head, skull and all.

One bloody meal later and Shadaico got up to leave. His most recent feeding had been probably the least gruesome. Blood only covered the area where the rabbit had actually been when he attacked and ate it, not on every tree and bush for a hundred yards. Shadaico looked through the trees where a small stone bridge crossed a thin stream; beyond it was the main road through town. As much as he would have loved to just go prancing down the street, stealth was going to be key. He needed to get into that mindset as soon as possible.

Shadaico made his way along the outskirts of town, doing his best to stay low and walk quietly. Despite his size and lack of skill in this area, he was surprisingly good at moving quickly without making a sound. I’m just good at everything I do, he thought to himself. Shadaico was on the other side of town, ready to emerge from the trees and use the main road that led to the great white castle. Just before jumping out onto the road, he heard a flapping sound. He immediately ducked down behind a shrub and waited.

Out of the sky landed a gentle blue pegasus with a rainbow mane. She was accompanied by another pegasus, this one a male. He had a black coat and a striped mohawk. What stupid hairstyles, Shadaico thought. He was one for function, not appearance. The two were saying something as they walked into town. Although, it sounded more like the blue one was yelling at the black one. What are you two doing outside at this hour? Shadaico knew it was late, but when did a pegasus go to bed anyway?

The two continued into town and Shadaico claimed the road for himself. He made sure to stay near the edge so he could dive off the path quickly should anything come up. He didn’t like sneaking around, but he had no choice with the massive screws in his back sealing the majority of his magic away. Shadaico finally turned his attention to the platinum chain wrapped tightly around his neck. It was also a seal, but he wasn’t sure just how strong it was. Shadaico growled at the thing. He wished he could tare the thing from his body, but it was designed to be indestructible.

He turned his attention skyward again. The moon rose higher in the sky with each minute that passed. The stars were beautiful. He had come to love the night sky. Shadaico remembered sitting under the stars almost every night. Being the King of Evil was a lonely life, it was hard to find a partner who wouldn’t stab you in the back, die, or just run off. But, for some reason the stars always made him feel at peace. Like there was someone next to him to comfort him. Maybe it was because his mother died looking at the stars.

Shadaico stopped walking and looked down. He inhaled slowly and forced down his tears before continuing. If there was one thing he regretted more than the life style he chose, it was being too weak to save his own mother’s life. He wondered where she went. Was she a righteous woman? Did she go to heaven? Shadaico looked up again as he walked, his eyes were becoming moist. “Where did you go?” he whispered to the stars, but he wasn’t referring to his mother…but his father.

**********************************************************************

The dark goddess was kind enough to let him look at the pictures in the book while she worked. Most of the drawings were of completely ordinary things: famous buildings, battles, social unrest, among other things. The dark creature was so nice as to leave the pages till he was done looking at the pictures. There weren’t a lot, but every page had at least one thing he could look at.

As Nash had suspected, the pony’s written language was not the same as his own either. He had no hope of reading the bizarre symbols that dominated the pages. Nash wondered if he would have to struggle and learn a whole new language or if they might have some way to just magic him into understanding them. He didn’t know enough about magic to know if that was possible. But, they probably would have done it already if they could.

The winged unicorn put the first book away and brought out a second far smaller one. The first book and been several thousand wrinkly pages, this one was maybe two hundred nice smooth pages. It still looked dirty and old, but it was far better taken care of, or just less used. The first page got Nash interested. It was a picture of a monster that looked identical to him! Nash jumped forward to get a better look at it. The colors of the paper were long faded away, but it was still clear what it was. The pages to follow only added to his curiosity. Every photo was related to the beasts! But what are they? Nash mentally asked himself.

*****

Luna’s research was turning up little useful information. She had a parchment where she was jotting down notes on her findings regarding changeling activity. There were surprisingly numerous places they had shown up. Did this mean there were other hives? Not necessarily. Luna needed to know more about how changelings lived and worked. She brought out a second book that was smaller than the first. All the research in it was old, but so were changelings.

The small changeling that sat between her and the book watched with curiosity as she opened the new tome. The first picture in the book was of the classic changeling. He immediately got closer to the picture to see it more clearly. It was a basic diagram that labeled the different body parts; their wings, their legs, their horns, etc. Luna didn’t need this page, but she let him get his eyeful. She wondered why he found a picture of his own kind so fascinating. His actions had been so very curious to her all night.

He finally sat back and let her turn the page. Again, photos and sketches dominated the pages. Most of them were of changelings in various life stages. There were a few on later pages that showed certain changeling body parts in far greater detail and explained their functions. One such sketch of a changeling’s wings got the small one’s attention again. He approached the page to get a better look.

Luna was beginning to feel sleepy and looked over at her nightstand…the clock was still gone. Luna frowned, she broke her clock everyday so she always needed a new one. Luna would have to go down to the storage room and get a new one, or send a guard. Luna looked down at the changeling as he patiently waited for her to turn the page. The current one didn’t have anything he could look at. Luna obliged him and turned the page.

Luna let him look at the pictures while she stood up. Her legs and wings were stiff. She gave her body a quick stretch. Shaking her coat a little, she went to the door and asked for two things; she asked one guard to go down and get her a new clock, and the other to learn the current time. He ran down the hall and came back immediately. It was half an hour to lower the moon. Luna was surprised it was so late/early. Returning to her room, she knew her older sister was just waking up.

She began putting things away to the tiny changeling’s dismay. She left the books on the floor by the desk, but her parchment of notes went into her nightstand. The changeling went back in the jar. He looked very cross as she placed the jar on her desk, but he was going back in sooner or later. Then the new clock arrived. She quickly set it and prepared to raise the moon. Right on time, she felt her sister begin to raise the sun as she grabbed and lowered the moon.

It was time to get dinner. Luna put the barrier spells up again and left her room to get something to eat. Once again, she gave the guards the order to kill any that tried to enter her room without her there. She wondered just how many guards even knew of the changeling and just how prepared she and Celestia were to keep him a secret.

Celestia was already at breakfast waiting for Luna. Her meal was a stack of large fluffy pancakes topped with blueberries, syrup, and a slice of butter. She didn’t want to start eating until Luna arrived, but the aroma wafting up into her nose was hard to resist. Luckily for her, Luna arrived just as she was about to bury her muzzle into the mountain of deliciousness. Luna took her seat at the long white table right next to her sister. A waiter was there in a flash and she ordered a fried zucchini plant with steamed vegetables and a salad on the side. Luna had a taste for exotic foods, a taste the chefs enjoyed trying to quench.

Celestia looked at her for moment before beginning, “how was last night?”

“It was fine,” Luna said simply as though nothing had happened.

“What did you do?” Celestia asked awkwardly. The table was devoid of any other occupants.

“I looked into the history of changelings.”

“Did you learn anything?” Celestia seemed hopeful.

“I found that changelings are well-traveled,” she offered somewhat shyly.

Celestia looked saddened by her answer, “what about the--“

“He was quiet,” she interrupted.

“Do you want me to take him?” Celestia’s tone clearly said she didn’t actually want to.

“I have something else I want to do with him today actually. If we can’t just cast a spell on him, I want to try teaching him our language the old fashion way.”

“That’s a good idea,” Celestia began to eat as though they were done talking.

“Do you feel any better?”

Celestia swallowed a large bite, “yes.”

“You didn’t permanently hurt him.”

“I know.”

“He’s not afraid of me,” Luna was trying to cheer her older sister up.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Do any of the guards know about the changeling?” Luna thought it was important to bring that up.

“The guards who know about him have already been told to keep it a secret. Please, can we eat in silence?” Celestia gave Luna a begging look. Luna let the conversation die as she waited for her food.

*****

“So here we are…again.” Nash complained to himself as he sat alone in the jar. The dark pony had put him in the jar and run off to what he assumed was breakfast. Or dinner, considering she’d been up all night. Nash had nothing to entertain himself with. Even the clock sounded bored.

Suddenly, there was a familiar monstrous caw! Nash looked over at the balcony where an old friend was there to greet him. A black crow, with some of the feathers on his neck missing, glared daggers at him through the barrier. Nash couldn’t help but smile. It pecked at the shield as it desperately tried to get through and have another fight. Nash laughed at it. It only redoubled its efforts to get through, but the shield was way too strong for it.

Nash was amused for a while as the crow's attempts continued to fail. But at the back of his mind, it worried him. Crows were a symbol of bad luck, a foretelling of trouble. And a crow was trying to come after him, what did that mean? Nash didn’t like to admit it, but he had the horrible feeling trouble was going to come looking for him.

The dark goddess returned and she brought something new with her, a deck of cards. Nash watched the deck of cards land on the desk near him as the jar’s lid came off and floated away. He happened to notice the crow had left as the dark pony put him on the desk. She made more room on the table by placing the jar on the floor. The pony sat down in front of the table and opened the packet of cards. While she went through them and picked out the ones she wanted, Nash figured he should get comfortable.

When the pony had the five cards she wanted, the others were put away. Next, she showed Nash what was on the cards. They were simplistic sketches of three creatures and two body parts. They were basically just the outlines of a pony, a unicorn, a pegasus, a horn, and wings. He couldn’t help but frown. He didn’t want to have to learn a whole new language, because it sounded like a lot of work. Guess I should get started then, he thought unhappily.

As he suspected, she showed him one card at a time and said its name. Nash did his best to copy her each time, but the equine language was a hard thing for his throat to produce. Nash felt like an idiot trying to make the bizarre pony/horse sounds. Despite this, she smiled and nodded each time he got the pronunciations at least close to right.

*****

Luna had determined that five words would be relatively easy to learn each day, but enough that they’d actually be making progress. Though the changeling was having a hard time learning the five simple words she had picked to teach him. It wasn’t because he couldn’t remember them, rather he just couldn’t seem to get the pronunciations right. She went through the routine several times, keeping them in the same order until he finally started to get the sounds right.

Luna did her best to praise him when he got it right, and correct him when he got it wrong. She took note of his frustration whenever he failed, which was made worse when she scrambled the cards. Now he was not only fighting pronunciation, but remembering which went with which. After just over an hour of practice, he had it perfect. Luna was feeling tired and decided it was almost time for bed. Their lessons would continue tomorrow, first they’d review, and then she’d get five new cards to teach him. Luna put the cards away and prepared to go to sleep.

Just before removing her necklace and tiara, she realized he was right there watching her. It wasn’t like they wore a lot of clothing in the first place, but there was just something about having somepony of the opposite sex watch you get dressed or undressed that was embarrassing. Luna looked at him expectantly, to which he returned confused. Luna rolled her eyes and turned him around with magic.

*****

“What the--“ Nash was surprised when he suddenly did a 180 spin without moving his legs! Nash quickly tried to turn his head around, but she grabbed it with her magic and forced him to face the wall. He wanted to know what she was doing, who wouldn’t want to know what a 150 foot pony was doing right behind them? Sure she’d been nice and probably saved his life, but it was still nerve racking. Suddenly, a dark necklace and tiara crashed into the desk beside him.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Nash mumbled to himself. She didn’t wear much, but even so, she didn’t want him to see her undress? It’s just a necklace, a crown, and some shoes! It’s not like you’re changing your underwear. Nash was suddenly aware that he was blushing anyway. He’d never been in the same room as a girl changing before, no matter how small that change was. He’d had a girlfriend, but they hadn’t gone very far in the relationship before certain events took her away from him and landed him in prison.

Another thought suddenly smacked Nash at that moment too. A tiara was worn by royalty, and the creature behind him had been wearing it until a moment ago. Holy shit! I’m in the room of a princess! He was put back in his jar by a now naked dark pony princess. She had also undone the spell on her mane and it had returned to its realistic and normal look. Her eyes looked tired and her hoof falls were heavy as she waddled over to her bed. With a quick flick of magic, the alarm was set and the lamp was off.

Nash was left in the dark and thought it best to get some sleep as well. Who knew what trouble awaited him tomorrow…

Author’s Note:

I was going to include Shadaico’s attempt to break Nash out of the castle in this chapter, but I soon realized that I was up to over 6,000 words! That’s 1,000 over my established limit for each chapter and I was still going! As a result, the next chapter is pretty much written, but I still need a day or so to edit it. Plus, I’m not really good at building a tense sneaking scene. So it probably won’t be all that good when I do publish it.

Chapter 14: An Uncertain Future

If you don’t like reading a battle, I hate to tell you this, but there are a lot of them coming up…

Most ponies were going home, which meant most of the restaurants were closing. There were only a few that stayed open late. The two ponies that had been in the alley two days ago and seen Butter take something to the castle were enjoying one of those late night restaurants. The older unicorn had a golden coat and hair that was just touched with white from age. Wrinkles lined his eyes but he sat tall and prideful. The other was a pegasus with a baby blue coat and dark blue eyes. His wings were kind of thin, but they were extra-long. He had that gleam that radiated from younger ponies. Both of them were eating as the city was going to bed.

“So what do you want to do tomorrow?” the blue pegasus asked with a friendly voice.

“Want to sneak into the castle and figure out what that pegasus dropped off?” the unicorn offered with his eyes closed and his head tilted down.

“REALLY!?” the pegasus was excited by just the idea.

“No.”

He pouted, “Don’t tease me like that.”

“You know what FireThorn said Skipper.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” He sat back and left his sandwich on the table. “I want to go out and do something Bore.”

“I hear you there. I want to go out and have some fun, but not right now. For now I want--“ He suddenly tensed and looked up toward Canterlot Castle.

“What’s wrong?” Skipper was a little worried by his uncle’s reaction.

“You don’t feel that?!”

“What?”

“That magic buildup?”

Skipper looked around and tried to detect what it was he was talking about. When he sensed it, he tensed too. “What is that?! It feels like a black hole of magic!”

“It is. Somepony has got a massive supply of magic, but it’s unstable and out of control.” Bore’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at the castle. “Something’s going on up there, something big.”

“Is it Discord?” Skipper leaned forward on the table.

Bore looked at him like he was an idiot, “no.”

“King Sombra?”

“He’s dead.”

“Chrysalis?” he hissed slightly.

“Definitely not. It’s obviously black magic dominant.”

“Is Nightmare Moon back?!”

“Keep your voice down, remember that normal ponies can’t sense this energy at all. And to answer your question, maybe.”

Skipper looked around, nopony was looking at them. “Should we report this?”

“Can you not think for yourself?” he asked harshly.

“It feels like the magic is stabilizing, but I think it still deserves reporting,” Skipper looked down the street for a moment.

“A little, it feels more like its just done growing. Dear Celestia that’s a lot of power, and at this distance…”

“Who’s that strong?”

“Nopony. It’s probably just some lunatic with a whole bunch of amulets amplifying his magic.”

“You can do that?” Skipper whispered like it was an ancient secret.

Bore mocked him by whispering back, “I don’t know, can I wear more than one article of clothing at a time?”

“Very funny,” he grumbled. The streets were almost empty. Nopony was aware of the danger until a massive bolt of lightning blazed into the sky through the roof of the castle!

“It really is a battle,” Bore gawked. “Maybe we should--is that what I think it is?” he pointed a hoof at a green unicorn walking down the street.

Skipper brightened up, “yes it is!”

“Hey, Cryling, what’s up?!” Bore insulted.

The green unicorn froze. His head slowly creaked around to look at the two of them, “what did you call me?”

Skipper kept taunting, “What’s a little Cryling doing in Canterlot all by himself?”

“What’s a Cryling?” he asked innocently.

Bore rolled his eyes before allowing his golden pupils to flash red. The green unicorn’s eyes lit up with understanding. Bore then addressed him only slightly more formally, “where are you going?”

“Work, I have to gather some intelligence and deliver it to the queen,” he answered forcefully.

“Your queen,” Skipper rudely corrected.

“Yes, my queen.”

“Does it have to do with the castle,” Bore asked pointing with his head.

“Yes,” just as he said it, there was an explosion in the aforementioned building. “More information than I dare get close enough to verify.”

Guards throughout the city were running to the castle and locals were starting to emerge in the streets to see what the commotion was all about. Skipper eyed all the action and came to a dangerous conclusion. He leaned over to Bore and asked him quietly, “no guard ponies around?”

“So?”

“There are two of us and only one…Cryling here.”

Bore realized what he was proposing, “You know we can’t fight in public.”

“Everypony is distracted by whatever’s happening at the castle. Come on, let’s have some fun,” he gave Bore a small nudge.

He smiled evilly, “it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to be in a beat down.”

“Then you’ll enjoy this.”

The green unicorn hadn’t been paying attention to them. He was too busy listening to the distant battle coming from the castle. It must be an intense fight, he thought. He suddenly heard movement off to the side and turned to see it. Just as he did, Skipper’s hoof collided with his face. Before he could do anything, Skipper was delivering a series of blows to his face. A right, then a left, another right, and then an uppercut that sent him into a flip. He couldn’t land on his hooves and flopped down on the ground.

Bore walked up to him and levitated him up so his belly was exposed. Bore got up on his hind hooves and delivered a powerful punch with his right hoof. The green pony flew back a few feet before the magic keeping him up died. He tried to stand, but Skipper landed on his back and pounded him into the rocky road beneath him. The air was shot out of his lungs again. Skipper reared up and forced his front legs down on his skull. His head was rattled and he was forced to take a rock into his nose as his chin was scratched by the rough surface.

Skipper jumped off him and landed beside Bore. The two stood there and waited for him to stand. As soon as he had, Bore had delivered a blow to his left cheek and sent his vision spinning. Skipper charged forward and tackled him to the ground again. This time his stomach was facing the sky. Skipper held his head in place with his right hoof while he pounded away at his nose with his left. Bore stood in the background watching patiently.

The battle up at the castle was still going on, but they were too focused to even care. Skipper was finally satisfied with the damage he had caused and stopped. “We’re not going to kill you, we’re just going to rip you apart!” Skipper was suddenly engulfed in red flames and became a changeling! But he wasn’t like the changelings that had attacked Canterlot. He had big orb eyes, insectoid wings, and tattered ears, but the color of his eyes and wings was a bright hotrod red. His legs were also different. Instead of being riddled with holes like a normal changeling, his legs were solid like a pony’s, but covered in razor sharp thorns! Like rose thorns except they curved downwards just slightly.

Bore soon followed his lead and dropped his disguise as well. Bore’s wings were definitely more worn then Skipper’s, his fangs were a little longer, and he was a little wider around the waist…but not fat of course. The green unicorn under Skipper’s hooves decided his didn’t matter anymore either. He too turned into a changeling, but he was the classic type, with hole-riddled legs and greens eyes and wings.

Skipper turned his right leg sideways and eyed his own thorn covered appendage. “I wonder how much this will hurt.” Skipper began pressing his leg into the changeling bellow’s throat. He quickly began choking and tried to push the spiked limb away. His neck was instantly cut open and bleeding green blood from every square inch of skin. He pushed as hard as he could and he was getting some room to breathe.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Bore said calmly.

“What?! I am so doing it right!”

“Let me show you how it’s done.” Skipper got off the abused changeling and Bore levitated him up against a wall before he slammed his own leg up to its neck.

“How’s that any different from what I was doing?!”

“I’m using his own weight to strangle him of course.”

Skipper scoffed and looked away. The ponies had run off, fearing they would be attacked if they stayed. “Cowards,” Skipper insulted. He looked back at the changeling Bore was about to finish off. Serves those wimps right, they need to learn to stay off our territory.

There was a sudden crash behind him that sent smoke and debris into the air! Bore dropped his victim who promptly began holding his throat. Bore and Skipper both gazed into the fading dust cloud in the middle of the road only to see nothing, but at the same time, something. Both of them could tell that somepony was standing there in the shallow crater, somepony who was big. The space above the crater was wavy and distorted like heat waves coming off of a hot dry road. The creature that stood there might have been ten feet high, but they couldn’t be sure. It had landed only a few dozen feet down the street from them and they couldn’t make out anything substantial.

Bore suddenly realized what it was. “Skipper, get away from it!” Skipper had wandered over to it to try and figure out what it was. Right when Bore shouted his warning, two glowing blue orbs appeared near the top of the distortion. Arching bolts of electricity danced in a straight line just above the orbs before being unleashed on Skipper. Like a fly in bug zapper, his wings shot out and he screamed as he was thrown through the air and crashed through the wall of a building. Bore watched him fly, but quickly looked back at his attacker.

Bore knew what it was and went to confirm it. He sent a quick red twinkle of light at it. The beast didn’t move and let its invisibility spell be broken. Bore’s eyes grew wide as the monster came into view. Standing at a terrifying 12 feet, a changeling that dwarfed the very street it inhabited loomed only a few feet away. His legs were solid without any holes and as big around as trees, his head was the size of a cart, his horn was like a lightning rod, his eyes the size of basketballs, his fangs like swords, his wings would have been bigger than most houses, and his mere standing there was cracking the pavement apart. Unlike the previously mentioned changelings, his wings and eyes were a bright blue color.

“Oh shit…” Bore commented as the giant changeling began to approach. With a single swipe of its massive hoof, Bore flew through a wooden stand on the side of the road. He was no match for a creature like this. He contemplated just lying there until it left, but Skipper had other ideas as he emerged from the building he’d been thrown into.

“You can’t,” he took a gulp of air, “push us around!”

In a very deep voice, it belittled him. “Do you really believe you can take me?”

Skipper was taken off balance for a second, “maybe.”

“The world around us is changing. The very course of history is about to take a turn for the worst,” he looked towards the castle where the fighting had calmed down. ”And you seek to continue old grudges?”

“It doesn’t matter what’s going on, I can still kick your flank, Stompling!”

The large changeling scowled at the insult. It was considered offensive to call his kind Stompling, as it was also offense to call Chrysalis’s children Crylings. ”Seems you need a lesson in humility.”

Skipper propelled himself into the air in a mad charge straight towards the behemoth. He threw his right hoof forward in a pathetic attempt to punch. With a simple lifting of his hoof, the larger changeling had actually caught the punch! Skipper was stopped dead in mid-air, his hoof pressed into the beast’s. “School is in session!” The behemoth tilted his hoof slightly so Skipper’s entire leg was beneath his one hoof. Then, he forced his hoof downwards and crushed Skipper’s leg into the road.

The pavement cracked and parted as Skipper’s leg was buried into the ground. A horrid scream got Bore to jump up and run to his aid. The bigger changeling walked towards the beaten and abused changeling from earlier. His throat was still bleeding. “Don’t mistake this as an alliance or an act of friendship. I just don’t like bullies.” Bore looked over at him while he said it. Skipper’s leg was destroyed. The bone probably resembled mulch more than it did a leg. The skin looked like it had gone through a shredder. Skipper’s leg was useless, he’d never fully recover from an injury this serious. He might as well have had his leg cut off.

The behemoth spoke again, “you should get home now, before I resume my teaching.”

The four changelings were suddenly looking up at the castle as the entire roof was blasted into the sky by a volcanic sized explosion! A column of flames, ash, and smoke billowed through the castle’s newest skylight and lit up the city like it was day. The entire city froze and stared at the fireball as it rose higher in the sky and slowly broke up. Even Skipper forgot his pain as he watched the most incredible display of raw power he’d ever seen.

“That’s something you don’t see every day,” the huge changeling commented. “You should take your wounded and get back to your king.”

Skipper remembered his destroyed leg and began howling again as Bore talked back, “You’ll regret this, all of your hive will! With this latest,” he looked at the smoke filling the late night sky, “development, there’s going to be big shifts in the balance of power!” With that, he teleported him and his partner away.

The behemoth snorted, “Your hive is all talk anyway. At least mine isn’t afraid to come outside the cave and kick some ass now and then.” He turned towards the injured changeling from before whose neck was still bleeding slowly, “I’ll take you home.”

“What?!” he gasped and blood squirted out of his neck.

“I know your queen and my king don’t get along, but I’m sure she’ll make an exception.”

“Our kind our enemies, remember? We’re supposed to hate each other.”

“You know my hive has never been one to hold on to the old grudges and mistakes our forefathers made. And, I think current events are going to affect our political positions.” He looked at the now clear skies.

“Is the fight still going on up there?”

“Yeah.”

“How--who can fight the princesses for this long? Who has this much black magic?”

He didn’t respond for a while, “why were those little Pricklings beating on you?”

He almost chuckled, Prickling was the offensive term for the changelings with legs covered in thorns. “Don’t know, it was just the old grudges I guess.”

“Well, let’s go. It looks like Canterlot is about to go to hell…”

*****

“TWILIGHT!!!!” Rainbow screamed as she burst into the room.

“Rainbow! Where’s the fire?”

“In Canterlot!” Twilight’s face was filled with horror in a second. Rainbow had never seen Twilight run so fast. Now outside with a few other ponies the recently formed town watch had told, they all stared towards Canterlot. A massive column of smoke drifted high into the air. Canterlot was burning down! Twilight was petrified with worry for her teacher, and she had every right to be.

**********************************************************************

Several Minutes Earlier...

Time literally froze as the four screws came out of Shadaico’s back. The rods of metal spun slowly as they drifted through the air at an half an inch an hour. Nash couldn’t understand what was happening. His brain was running so fast that time just seemed to stop for him. Which was good, because he needed all the time he could get to realize how bad this situation was about to become.

Shadaico hadn’t had access to his magic in over a year. That much time without it meant his brain was no longer use to keeping it under control. In other words, with so much raw power being poured into him all at once was going to be way too much. Shadaico could die from the shock...or he could go on a maniacal killing spree as his animal side takes over to dissipate the massive energy overload. Nash felt the cold fingers of fear grip his heart as time seemed to resume.

The screws spun in mid-air and were imbedded in the doorframe behind Celestia and Luna; there was one screw in each corner. It was a narrow flight path, but they had pulled it off. Shadaico landed on his paws with his head pointed straight down so nopony could see his eyes. Blood only dripped out of the holes left in his back and nothing else seemed to have change. He stood there, absolutely still, not a muscle so much as quivering.

Celestia didn’t understand what was happening, she was feeling something. A dense magic beginning to form around the wolf, but the density was increasing at an incredible rate. How was that possible? Luna looked to her right at the screw above her head imbedded in the top of the doorframe. She scanned it gently and realized quickly what the screws had been and why the wolf was growing a dense magic field so fast.

“Celestia, the screws, they were magic seals!” Luna screamed to her sister even though she was right next to her.

Celestia turned to her with wide eyes and then back at the wolf. “All guards get back!” It was too late…

Shadaico lifted his head…his eyes were pure glowing red! He no longer had pupils or irises, just a mass of red light. A gale began to pull everypony towards him as a dark cloud appeared and encircled him. Nopony could see what was going on as the cloud thickened and almost looked like flowing rock rather than a cloud. The density of the magic was still increasing and it was becoming a crushing presence to the weaker unicorns. It wouldn’t actually harm them luckily. It was just like an extra sense that warned them of danger, but it was being overloaded and not functioning properly with so much power so close by. Like an overwhelming smell making you dizzy.

The tornado pulling all the air to the center of the room was strong enough to tare the drapes above and pull the guards closer despite their efforts. It was amazing; Luna had never seen something like this before. “This power, it’s incredible!” she shouted over the roar of the flowing air. She didn’t know if Celestia had heard her.

“How much more powerful can this thing get?!” Celestia cried out.

And just like that, it ended. The gale vanished and the cloud began to break up into the air. Celestia, Luna, Nash, and all the guards stared at the thing in the middle of the room. The wolf who wore a platinum chain was gone, in its place was a creature the ponies had never seen before, but Nash had. Shadaico had somehow returned to his original form, granted, a little more animal like. He was like a jackal, but some of the proportions were wrong.

His shoulders were too wide and his head too large. He had way too much fur around his neck, his hands were topped with charcoal black claws, and his pawed feet were obviously meant for a creature with wider legs then him. He looked muscular and feral by the way his mouth hung open and drool leaked out. His eyes were still as solid red as a stoplight. His posture was low to the ground and bipedal and his arms were shaking slightly as he held them in front of his snout like he was analyzing them.

“Luna?” Celestia almost whispered.

“Yes.”

“Take the small changeling somewhere safe. Then get back here as quickly as possible.”

“You want me to leave you alone to fight this thing?!”

“Luna!” Celestia looked over at her, “Do this for me. Please.”

Luna looked at Shadaico as he continued to stare at his hands, “be careful.” Luna galloped out of the room with Nash in tow.

Nash couldn’t believe what was happening. The return of his magic had definitely overloaded his brain. There were only three solutions available now: let his animalistic side dissipate enough of the energy that Shadaico could get control of himself, give him enough time that his brain could reconfigure and rope in that immense power, or put the sealing screws back in. Waiting obviously wouldn’t work. With how powerful Shadaico was and the fact that his conscious mind was absent at the moment, Nash only hoped the ponies already had plans to rebuild the castle.

The guards that surrounded Shadaico quivered. The immensely thick dark energy that just oozed out of his body into the air was sickening and evil. Celestia could tell at one glance this creature’s very body couldn’t handle this much magic. It was trying to get rid of it. With every second, an immense amount of magic was being wasted. But the creature’s power was still so great that even Celestia could feel it push against her. She was in for a tough fight.

Shadaico finally came out of his strange daze and eyed the room passively, as if looking for threats but not finding any. He soon turned his thin gangly hands on the platinum chain around his neck. It was tight and buried in the excessive fur, but he ran his claws over its surface with low growls. Celestia could tell the chain was also a seal. That’s not possible! He’s even more powerful than this!? But how can anything be this strong?

Shadaico began pulling on the chain as he tried to take it off with raw muscle power. Celestia couldn’t afford to let him do that, there was just no way they’d be able to hold him if he got any stronger. With a quick flick of her head, Celestia fired a lightning bolt at him. Celestia didn’t even see him move, the lightning bolt went right past him! The electrical bolt continued through a wall and into the night sky outside. Celestia couldn’t believe he dodged it, especially at this close range and the fact he had been looking down.

Shadaico turned his attention towards Celestia slowly and growled menacingly with his mouth wide open and his fangs on full display. The longer Celestia could keep him from attacking, the weaker he’d get. But it was too late now. Shadaico lowered to all fours and braced himself against the floor. He closed his mouth and pointed his snout toward the ceiling. Celestia could feel magic being concentrated. When he flung his head towards Celestia, there was a ball of lightning in his mouth! Shadaico fired his own lightning bolt at her and she had a hard time holding it off with her shield.

The guards immediately went in for the kill. Various spears, spells, and other projectiles came at him from all sides. As the attacks came close, a dome of fire sprang up around Shadaico and burned away all their attempts. The dome promptly dissipated and Shadaico stood up. He growled with a smile as he lifted his hands to about shoulder height, a dark sphere formed in each. He let out a bark as he turned his hands downward and slammed them both into the floor.

A wave of black magic tore through the room. Well over half the guards were thrown aside like ragdolls and even those that had put up shields in time found out how powerful this thing was. Celestia was able to cut a sliver in the dark wave and protect all the guards around her as it parted around them like water parts around rocks in a river. Celestia waited for the dark magic to pass, which wasn’t long, it had all happened in a flash anyway. The massive window behind her thrown on the opposite side of the room had shattered in the explosion as well.

Celestia gave the signal and all the guards at her side fired beams of golden energy at Shadaico. Shadaico quickly threw up his hands, creating a dark shield. Even he couldn’t just pass off an attack from 10 unicorns and one Alicorn when they were all coming in at the same time. Before, the attacks had been out of sync and he had burned them as they came in with fractions of a second between arrival times. This time he had to block all of it at once.

Celestia was unleashing a lot of power and so were her guards. The creature was struggling to hold it off. His footing was starting to slip and he was sliding backwards. Shadaico noticed this and dug his clawed toes into the tile floor to try and prevent it. It didn’t work. His claws scratched through the floor as he was pushed back inch by inch. He snarled and grunted as he put more muscle into holding them back, that’s when his small shield plate started to crack!

He had seconds at most before it broke. He made a quick move and let himself fall over as the shield shattered. The combined beam of the ponies erupted over his form as he lay on the ground. The beam hit Celestia’s thrown and destroyed it in a hail of stones and water. The explosion was very loud, it could probably be heard throughout Canterlot. Shadaico kicked himself up to his paws. Shadaico looked like quite the badass with fire and explosions going on behind him.

*****

Luna could hear the battle raging back in the throne room as she raced to the one pony she trusted more than any other when it came to protecting something. She made the trip faster by teleporting to the barracks. She appeared in the lobby area and went straight to his office. Shining Armor was there with Cadence having an argument. He was putting on his armor as she begged him to stay. Luna broke up the argument quickly by arriving.

“Shining, I need you to do something for the Kingdom!”

He stood at immediate attention, “I’m ready to serve however is needed.”

“I need you to keep this here, secret, and safe.” Luna levitated the lantern into view.

“What?!” he asked in slight shock.

“Is there a problem?” Luna didn’t want to talk for long. She needed to get back to the fight.

“I thought there was a battle going on, I want to take part.”

“There are multiple parts to a battle. We need you to do this part.” She pushed the lantern towards him forcefully before she turned to leave.

“But I--guard this!” Shining passed the lantern to Cadence and chased after Luna.

“Shining, she told you to--oh never mind.” She shook her head. He loved serving Equestria and he wanted to do as much as possible. Cadence looked down at the lantern and gasped. A changeling with a white mane, tail, and eyes was sitting inside. “What is this?” she asked herself.

The changeling was sitting there moping, it didn’t take notice of her at all. At first, Cadence’s anger almost made her smash the lantern outright. But, she recalled what Luna said. They wanted this safe, that it was part of the battle going on in the castle right now. She forced down her anger and decided she would have to protect it. “Oh Shining, you left me with a heavy burden this time.”

*****

Her guards had been thrown aside and Celestia was barely holding her ground. Shadaico was hitting her with a continuous stream of dark magic and her shield wasn’t holding well. Her hooves were grinding against the tile floor and making a horrible screech. But she couldn’t hear it over the roar of power slamming into her shield only a foot in front of her face. Celestia had to do something soon or she could lose her footing and take serious damage. At the last second, Luna flew over her head and fired a lightning bolt at Shadaico! Shadaico ended his attack and did a backflip to get away unscathed.

“DON’T YOU DARE HURT MY SISTER!” she bellowed with the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“It is only an animal now Luna. If it could understand us before, it certainly can’t now.” She explained as she trotted up next her. Celestia was sweating.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but this creature is far stronger than any normal opponent. We need to hit it with something extra powerful.”

Luna looked over at Celestia with a gleam in her eyes, Celestia returned it. The beast stood there watching them. It looked angry and its breathing was exaggerated. Celestia and Luna jumped to the sides, putting some distance between the two of them. Shadaico glanced from one to the other now that they were too far apart to be seen in one glance. Luna and Celestia began charging their next spell…a powerful one.

Luna created a large empty circle, a bubble shield in the space between them, and then she began juicing up its shell. She made the skin of the shield as hard and thick as she could. Then Celestia began filling the space inside the shield with her own powerful spell concoction. The shield vibrated as the energy inside continued to build and push against it. Shadaico meanwhile stood patiently waiting. It was like he couldn’t grasp that they were preparing to attack him, or he just didn’t think it would hurt him and saw no reason to stop them.

The spell combination complete, they unleashed it. The bubble suddenly turned into a giant blue torpedo with golden energy as its payload! Shadaico quickly made a fist and put as much magic as he could into it. He lashed out with a left hook to try and take the attack head-on…

The explosion ripped the throne room apart. The tiles were ripped up in the shockwave, the columns dented in, and the ceiling began to crumble, and the path the spell had traveled left a ditch down into the foundations of the castle. The smoke made it impossible to determine the fate of the wolf monster. Celestia took in gasps of air. The fight had been draining, yet not very long. Luna was pretty spent, but she had only done that one spell. It had been a long time since they’d used that combination, a spell fusion so strong that only Discord had been capable of deflecting it. But even he had a hard time doing that.

Luna walked over to Celestia and wrapped a wing around her as her legs shook from the traces of adrenaline that had run through her. She didn’t look too bad. Her mane was a mess and she had dirt in her coat, but she was otherwise unhurt. “Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, I just need some rest.”

They both froze when they heard a growl. Looking up through the thinning smoke, a bipedal figure was clearly standing…with all his limbs still attached too. They couldn’t make out the finer details yet, but he looked largely undamaged from the spell they had used. “That’s. Not. Possible.” Luna staggered. The smoke parted enough to see how much damage he had taken. It wasn’t much. His left arm looked like it had been poorly skinned and all his fur and been ruffled, but nothing more.

He raised his damaged left arm and inspected it. He turned it over repeatedly, squeezing his hand closed and popping each joint in his fingers. His right arm stayed at his side while he flexed his left. Blood dribbled out of it at an alarming rate, but Shadaico didn’t seem to even notice. He acted like his arm didn’t even hurt, like you’d act if it was someone else’s arm entirely.

Satisfied that he still had full range of motion, he let his arm drop and looked at the princesses. He smirked at their shocked and terrified faces. They couldn’t believe he had taken the full force of the attack and escaped with such minor injuries (compared to how powerful the attack had been). He twisted his neck a little and popped it. Then he twisted it the other way and popped the joint again. Then he smiled wickedly. Celestia knew what he was saying, it’s my turn now.

Shadaico brought his hands together as though he was squeezing an invisible ball. His arm muscles strained as he held them just in front of his abdomen. Suddenly, a ball of fire appeared in his grip that was no bigger than a melon. Shadaico raised his snout to the room again and gave his hands a quick flick. The fireball began rotating in a moderately sized orbit around him as he went to make another. In moments he had eight little balls of flame circling him.

Celestia had regained her composure and watched with curiosity, she had never seen this technique before. She identified the fire aspect easily enough, but this style was unheard of. Celestia desperately searched though her memories of advanced fire magic for a match. Luna gawked at the sight. It was like a fire juggler, but the flames were going in a circle around him rather then up into the air. Shadaico suddenly threw his hands straight up, like he’d just scored a touchdown. Celestia found a match at that moment too.

“Luna! It’s the Eight Directional Volcano!!!”

Just as she screamed it, the eight fireballs stretched into long thin poles of fire. Shadaico roared as a massive wall of fire filled the entire room and spilled out into the halls. A column of fire also blasted right through the roof and into the night sky, lighting up the city. The halls around the throne room acted as channels that the rivers of heat flowed through to barbecue as many carpets, paintings, plants, and ponies as possible. The shockwave from the explosion shook the entire castle and blew out windows throughout!

*****

Shining Armor was currently racing through the courtyard when the roof of the castle went off like a volcano. He ground his hooves to a stop and stared at the sight as his ears rang from the bang. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was like the end of the world or something. The flames were still sweltering up into the clouds and it almost looked like they were setting them on fire too. Shining caught a glimpse of some guards running by and stopped them.

“Get every pegasus in the city down here now! And get every guard in the city up here ASAP!” he ordered them. Then he looked back skyward, “please let the princesses be okay.”

*****

Elsewhere, Cadence was staring up into the sky in horror. The windows had rattled from the explosion and she was pretty sure the windows in the room next door had burst. She looked at the changeling with fear in her eyes, “what have you brought down on us?”

*****

Back in the shattered remains of the throne room, fires raged on every flammable object that hadn’t been completely incinerated already. The marble pillars and most of the tile floor had been reduced to molten slag. Shadaico stood in the middle of it all, laughing like a madman.

*****

A cloaked zebra stood on a nearby hillside as the roof of Canterlot was blown off in a spectacular explosion. “This night is turning into a real mess,” the zebra sighed in a tired old tone. “Guess I should pick which side I’m on now before things get any more complicated…”

Author's Note

For those of you who got a little confused back during the changeling confrontation, this should clear things up.

As for the Shadaico fight, it's far from over...

Chapter 15: Shadaico Verransom Terror-Field

Its been a while huh. I could go and list out all the reasons I've been away, but you guys don't care for excuses. Just a heads up, this entire chapter is a single big long fight. So, here is the long awaited battle of the century...or the millennium...whatever...

A Medium sized zebra stood on a hill watching as Canterlot Castle burned in the night. His cold eyes reflected the massive flames and his short black mane gently swayed in the breeze. The night was warm, and it was likely to get warmer with current events. Behind the zebra stood a short pony with a dark purple mane and a coat like obsidian. His eyes were a bright pink and his cutie mark was three braided chains. The zebra's cutie mark was three question marks.

"Master, my contract expires tomorrow morning," the dark pony told the zebra humbly.

"Is that so? Interesting," he didn't look back at his servant.

"It certainly is a beautiful display," he commented as he went and stood next to his master.

"Its been a long time since I've seen such destruction." He gave a throaty chuckle. "It's also funny. War hasn't been waged on this planet in ages."

The dark pony's eyes suddenly flashed dark purple when he flicked his head to the side. "Changeling Behemoth detected sir."

"Really?" He looked where his servant was pointing. "I wonder how the local changelings will respond to this chaos."

"When the princesses fall, the three hives will probably come out of hiding and seize control of Equestria."

"Just in time for the world to fall apart," he added depressingly.

"Pardon master?" the pony looked at him quizzically.

"If the princesses die today, the entire world will collapse. And I mean that metaphorically. The world will still be here, but it won't be pretty."

"What do you mean sir? There are a great number of," he paused to find the right words, "parties, that would jump at the chance to rule Equestria."

"Those 'parties' are all fools." A distant explosion told them that the fight at the castle had resumed, and the Behemoth from before had moved on past them without noticing. "Should the princesses be defeated today, the most powerful nation on this little mud-ball will be lost. The economic super-power that drives all world markets will be gone. The weather controlling genius that was Equestria will brake up. The farming capital of the world that keeps all other nations fed, goes dry. Slowly but surely, the entire world will wither and die."

"But other rulers and kingdoms will pick up the slack!" he protested.

"That's exactly why all those things will come to be."

"Excuse me?"

"With such a shining jewel out for the taking, everyone's going to want a piece of the pie. War will be imminent. These peaceful times will breakdown into the single largest and bloodiest war ever known, and in only a day!"

"So I take it you're siding with the princesses in this fight."

The zebra hummed as he thought before answering. "I'm not sure. As much as I would love to see this world torn apart, I know the constant battles would become repetitive after a while. But if the wolf dies, everything goes right back to how it was."

The pony remained silent.

"I don't like either option here. But maybe their's a third possibility. What if both sides lose?"

"Would you kindly explain that statement, master?"

"If neither side is defeated, then we'll face a whole new series of events." He smiled and looked over at his servant. "I have some work to do it seems. Tell your hive's king, Nightshade, thanks for his services." The zebra turned around and trotted down the hill.

"What are you going to do?!" he called after him.

"I'm going to play my wild card!" he shouted back as he headed for Canterlot.

***************************************************************************

"Luna? Luna?! LUNA!!!"

"Here!" Luna flew through the smoke choked sky towards her sister.

"Luna, thank goodness, your safe." Celestia's coat was almost black with soot and her mane was badly singed. Luna wasn't any better, you just couldn't tell as easily with her naturally darker coat negating the effect of the soot.

"What happened?" They were both high in the sky above Canterlot as the roof of the castle burned.

"I teleported us. But with such little time to react, all I could do was fling us up into the sky. Which wasn't the best move." Celestia coughed a few times in the smoke.

"Is it still alive?" Luna asked as she tried to see through the fire into the throne room.

"Yes. I can still sense its overwhelming power. Even with a spell that massive, it still has enough magic for a lengthy fight yet."

"How can we beat it?" Luna sounded scared.

"I don't know," Celestia admitted solemnly.

"It could destroy all Equestria!"

"I know."

"We're the only ones who stand a chance against it!"

"Luna wait!" Celestia called out as Luna had decided to dive bomb Shadaico. And so the fight began again...

Luna's dive was reinforced with a shield as she came right at Shadaico as he stood in the burning ruins of the old throne room. The whistling of her rapid descent alerted Shadaico even over the crackling of nearby flames. He didn't even glance back as he jumped and did a forward flip. Luna collided with the molten floor and sent bits of rock flying through the air as her shield detonated, sending a concussion wave across the room! Celestia flew in after her and landed to the side of the crater Luna had made.

Shadaico spun around and snarled at Celestia. She figured now was as good a time as any. She concentrated on the powers of light and began firing it in the form of small snowflakes. Like dodging tomatoes on a theater stage, Shadaico avoided the projectiles with practiced ease and precision. He also looked completely calm as his body flew from side-to-side. Luna flew up out of the rubble and came around on Shadaico's right, her horn glowing. With beams of light flying at him, he couldn't do much but throw up his shield.

Luna rammed his shield and Celestia stopped firing as she too charged. If her power made contact with his shield as well, it'd surely crack apart. Shadaico decided to turn his defense into offense. Keeping his right hand out to hold the shield up against Luna, he cradled his left against his chest as he prepared his next spell. Luna couldn't tell what kind of spell it was, but she redoubled her efforts to force her way through Shadaico's thin blue shield. He glanced up as a crack ran through it ominously. Celestia tried to run faster, but Shadaico had been faster.

Just as Celestia was about to hit the wall of his shield, it popped like a bubble and Shadaico opened his left hand. An explosion of air forced Luna and Celestia to fly back across the rubble strewn floor. Shadaico was also flung across the room, but in the other direction. His pawed feet crashed into the tiles and split them apart. He immediately bent his knees and kept his center of gravity low with his arms spread wide. Celestia and Luna took similar postures. He took the initiative and turned his palms downward and formed a fireball in his right and a lightning ball in his left.

He raised the fireball hand so it pointed at Luna and the lightning ball to point at Celestia. The two orbs continuously grew. Celestia and Luna each readied an appropriate defense. The orbs were as big as watermelons before Shadaico suddenly grinned, and switched his targets! His arms crossed over each other and now pointed at the opposite sister then they had started just as he released the attacks. Luna and Celestia went wide-eyed as their prepared defenses were now the wrong kind!

Luna's water shield would conduct the lighting and fry her and Celestia's spell to deflect the lightning would only spread the flames. While it was true that most of the room was still glowing hot, they didn't need open flames choking the air with smoke like the roof. Luckily, the two of them reacted quickly and used they're spells on each other rather than trying to switch defense tactics. The fire was put out and the lighting flew off behind them. Shadaico scowled and barked in protest.

Celestia was breathing heavily. She had been fighting for longer then Luna. She took a second to look at her throne room. It was not a pretty sight. The roof had been blown skyward and embers were still raining down outside. Soon, what was left of the roof would become unstable and start to collapse in on itself. But until the wolf abomination was defeated, it was just too dangerous for the weather pegasi to come in and put the fires out. They had to find a way to defeat him and fast.

The few seconds of calm were broken by Shadaico again as he put his open right palm on the floor. At first, Luna and Celestia were confused, but when the still red-hot floor tiles began to flow up his arm, they quickly figured it out. He encased his fist in solid rock and gave it a quick pound into his left hand before smiling. Luna only had a second to throw up a shield before Shadaico was on her and pounding away at the sphere with his new boxing glove. Celestia was quick to shoot magic at him. Shadaico launched himself into the air as the magic flew below him. He came down towards Celestia with his fist far behind his head and ready to pound her into the floor. Celestia's horn began to glow, but Luna appeared in front of her and took the hit on her own shield which shattered instantly! The rock fist only barely grazed past Luna's face, but Shadaico quickly gave her a nasty backhand slap that sent her flying to the other side of the room. Celestia was frozen in horror as Luna collided with the floor and seemed to lie still. Shadaico's maniacal smile only deepened at the sight of one of his enemies seeming to fall.

Shadaico turned his attention back to Celestia just in time to be hit by a massive blast of electricity. Even after he hit the floor, Celestia continued to poor power into her spell which sent Shadaico grinding through the floor as he traveled several dozen feet. Debris and dust were blasted into the air as he was half buried in the floor and still being pushed at a decent speed. When the lighting stopped and Shadaico had a chance to try and stand, he was suddenly hit by an explosive fireball which kicked up another dust cloud. Shadaico was able to emerge from the chaos with his stone fist still intact. Granted, it was starting to crumble and large chips were coming off it, but it was still pretty thick. Celestia's breathing was rapid and heavy. But her rage was giving her the strength to continue pummeling Shadaico with attacks. Shadaico shrugged off a weak and short lived barrage of little more than fire embers as he approached her.

He lashed out with his stone fist and made a horrible crunch as Celestia's golden shield stopped it dead in the air. Celestia's hate filled eyes pierced through the golden layer into Shadaico's as he stood there, smiling evilly back at her. Meanwhile, Luna began to awaken from the hit she'd taken. As she began to shake her head, one of the sealing screws jutted from the broken floor in front of her. Her eyes lit up with an idea. She quickly snatched up the screw and looked back at the battle in progress. Shadaico was completely distracted as he stared Celestia down. Luna jumped to her hooves with the screw and rocketed across the remains of the throne room as she aimed for his back.

Shadaico had enough of the staring contest and formed his left hand into a thin pointed shape. With all his fingers together like an arrow, he forced it forward and pierced Celestia's shield! He promptly grabbed her by the horn which stopped her magic and broke what was left of her shield. Almost carefully, he tilted her head back using the leverage he had on her horn. Celestia gritted her teeth as the monster caused her pain. Shadaico raised his stone fist in anticipation of hitting his enemy right in the face this time. Luna spread her wings and lowered her posture as she almost left the ground behind. She was moving as fast as she could short of braking the sound barrier or teleporting. Sweat was ripped off her coat, her hooves pounding into the shattered remains of the marble tiles that were finally starting to cool off, and her heart was beating so hard and fast she thought it was about to explode. She could see the muscles and tendons in Shadaico's arm tense as his fist built up the energy to destroy Celestia's face. The sealing screw floated alongside her and rotated like it was on the end of a drill. Shadaico's fist suddenly released the built up tension and began to fly...

The screw was driven into the lower right corner of Shadaico's back, where one had been before! Shadaico howled in agony, his grip flying off of Celestia's horn and his fist halting its advance. With her ability to use magic returned to her, Celestia without thinking, grabbed Shadaico in her telekineses and threw him as hard as she could through a nearby wall. He didn't stop with smashing through one scorched wall though, he continued on and smashed another and possibly another by the sound of it.

Celestia nearly collapsed from her struggled breathing before she looked at Luna with shock. "What did," she inhaled sharply, "you do?!"

"The seals! We need to put them back in!"

"Of course, if we put the screws back in, he'll become a helpless wolf again!" Celestia and Luna suddenly had a plan. "Luna, distract him and I'll get the screws." The two were off in an instant.

Luna flew through the wall and into the hall. She saw the second hole and leapt through it too. Before she could even determine what room she was in, a greenish blur was flying at her head-on! Luna quickly shot it out of the sky and got a face full of...feathers? The object had been a pillow. Her vision was impaired but she could see the next pillow, a red one, coming at her. She easily shot it too. Then a third pillow came at her. Luna soon found herself on the receiving end of a magic fueled pillow fight. Shadaico was off on in the distance throwing pillow projectiles filled with fluffy payloads of death at her.

Shadaico finally ran out of pillows to throw and waited. The feathers began to settle on the floor and Luna could tell where they were. The two of them were in the ballroom where the majority of the events at the Grand Galloping Gala were held! Shadaico was up on the stage where musicians would normally be performing. Shadaico had the single sealing screw embedded in his back as he hunched over with pure death plastered on his face. He was not in a good mood anymore. He was still animalistic and filled to the brim with power despite having the sealing screw in his back. Luna stood her ground and waited for him to make the first move once more.

Shadaico roared like a dragon and spewed fire into the air from his mouth. Luna cocked an eyebrow as Shadaico finished his intimidation attempt. He promptly raised a hand and let a fireball fly. Luna blocked it like it was a paper wad. Shadaico snarled and made another few and threw them all at once. Luna again deflected them with little difficulty. He looked at his claws sternly, as though trying to scare them into getting stronger. He spread his arms wide like he was going for a tackle before slapping them back together in forceful clap. A vertical blade of air was produced that sliced into the floor as it headed for Luna! She lunged to the right to dodge it. The blade hit the wall and shattered it, raining rubble down behind her. Shadaico let out a low growl as his face contorted to unnatural levels of anger. His stone gauntlet was gone, but he apparently liked the idea as he remade it but with pure fire instead of rock. Both his arms were engulfed in flames as he dived off the stage and charged for Luna. She ducked as the first jab flew over her head. Shadaico retracted his arm and took on a boxer's stance. Luna lit her horn and prepared to block and dodge a lot.

Flaming fists flew and Luna dodge almost a dozen before she knew it. Shadaico was too fast for Luna to launch counterattack. She could only dodge as trails and streams of fire that hugged Shadaico's arms were left hanging in the air as he threw jab after jab. Luna finally saw a brief opening and let a small pop of magic slap Shadaico's face. He backed off a step and put his teeth on display with a menacing snort. He approached again and went for a right hook. But he put far too much muscle into it so that when Luna lunged backwards and he missed, he was thrown off balance. Now that Luna was up on her hind hooves, she forced her front hooves down on his still burning right arm. Shadaico's arm gave a resounding snap as it was crushed into the floor beneath the princess of the night's hooves.

Luna was thrown off of Shadaico's arm in the blink of an eye as he tore his arm from under her. The flames had vanished from his arms as he cradled his horribly disfigured appendage. It was obviously broken. Luna let a sliver of a smirk form on her face. She had finally delivered a serious blow. Shadaico looked up passively as his arm was engulfed in an eerie red light. Before her eyes, his arm healed! He experimentally test punched at the air before going into the fight again.

Luna couldn't believe what she had just seen. Instant regeneration was super-complicated magic, not to mention impossible. There just wasn't a way one could do it in the heat of a battle, it took time to arrange the spell and get it to do its job properly. The common misconception about instant regeneration, is the "instant" part. The spell is actually meant to be used in a hospital setting and can take some time for lesser unicorns to actually cast. There was no such thing as a more powerful healing spell though.

Just as Shadaico began running at her, Celestia exploded through a wall with three golden screws floating behind her. Shadaico's eyes bulged as he jumped back; one of the screws having been thrown at him. It soared across the room and was driven into the thin alicorn statue that was set off to the side. Celestia wasn't deterred as she let loose a blast of magic that Shadaico easily dodged. The attack blew bits of the floor into the air. Celestia stepped forward forcefully and took her place at Luna's side. She gave one of the screws to Luna as she eyed the third one she had thrown. Luna took to the skies, believing the wolf abomination would be at a disadvantage being grounded. Shadaico didn't lose focus on the their real plan though, he caught a glimpse of Celestia heading for the screw she had thrown rather carelessly. He completely ignored Luna as he gave chase to her.

As Shadaico ran across the ballroom, Luna flew behind him low and fast as she unleashed spells of various types and sizes. He ran like an Olympian while pebbles, sparks, and embers fell around him. Celestia almost had the last screw when she realized Shadaico was on her flank! His claw erupted in dark magic energy as he raised it in preparation to strike. Celestia tried to make a shield, but it wasn't needed. Luna swooped down and aimed the sealing screw she had perfectly. But as she went for the kill shot, he turned around suddenly and slashed his dark claw at her! Luna was moving too fast and she was too close to do anything. She pulled up slightly, but his claws cut into her underbelly and ran down her entire chest and belly as she flew over him.

Blood splattered out as she nearly crashed into Celestia. Luna was hurt badly. Celestia didn't know how deep the gash was, but the length of the four parallel cuts worried her to death. She pulled Luna up to her chest as she trembled. She held Luna close as her mind locked up again. Celestia didn't know what to do. Her magic was virtually gone and Shadaico was standing over her triumphantly. She had never felt so much fear in her life. Shadaico roared again as he raised his dark magic claw. He was going for the kill! At least Discord hadn't believed in killing his enemies.

A second sealing screw rammed into Shadaico's back in the lower left corner! Along with the screw, Shadaico was also hit with a powerful arrow made out of pure magic that sent him into the alicorn statue and beyond. As the monument collapsed, he continued to fly right out the window behind it.

"LEAVE THE PRINCESSES ALONE!" Shining Armor bellowed as loud as he could after the monster.

"Shining Armor!" Celestia couldn't believe he was here, or measure how happy she was to see him.

"What was that thing?"

"It's not done yet, we need to get these last two into its back. Then we can talk."

"We better hurry, before it gets away," Luna groaned as she got to her hooves.

"You have to stay here, you're in no condition to fight," Celestia tried to caution her sister. The bleeding was slow, but still serious.

"And neither are you," Luna pointed out.

Celestia didn't know how to respond to that. "Shining. Get down to the gardens, keep it busy."

"Right away your majesty!" Shining teleported to the fight, leaving Luna and Celestia alone for a moment.

"I want you to keep your distance, I'll get close and then you'll hit it with the screws."

Luna nodded and the two jumped out the window to finish the fight in the gardens.

Shining was already in trouble. Shadaico was blasting at his shield as he snarled in rage. Apparently, his strength wasn't depleting nearly as much as they hoped it would with each seal they got back in. As they glided down into the fight, Luna began to fire her magic. Shadaico flicked his head up towards them and intercepted the attacks with his fire breath. Doing so however, caused his barrage on Shining to cease. Shining took advantage and sent three quick sparks Shadaico's way. He wasn't able to stop all of them as he was pushed back. He was able to stay on his paws, but he was left wide open to attack.

Celestia took one of the screws from Luna and went for it. She almost had him when he finally recovered and swatted her away with a powerful shield coated backhand to the face. Celestia rolled along the ground and the screw went twirling into the air. Shining suddenly dashed past Shadaico on the left, only inches between the two. When Shadaico followed the movement with his head, Luna jabbed both her front hooves into his chest, sending him back several feet. As he went, another screw went into his back in the top left corner! Shining had grabbed the screw Celestia had dropped and driven it into his back.

Before Luna could get the final seal in, Shadaico had shielded himself and unleashed an explosion of wind magic. Luna and Shining were thrown off of him as he inhaled deeply in the confines of his protective bubble. Luna's bleeding was getting worse. Shining was going to have a few bruise from all this, assuming he didn't take anymore hits. Celestia was on her hooves again. All four of them took a moment to reposition and get a second of rest before starting up again.

Shadaico dropped his shield and tried to attack, but he'd forgotten about Shining Armor! Shining jabbed him in the abdomen and made him keel over. Celestia jumped forward and turned on a dime as her back hooves lashed out. Shadaico got a face full of her royal hooves and went up into the air. Blood gushed from his obviously broken nose. His flight path landed him in the pond with a large backward belly flop. He disappeared under the surface while the princesses and Shining ran to the water's edge. A glow emanated from deep below the surface. Rays of light cut through the water and pierced the night air in an ominous omen of impending danger. The three backed up as quick as they could before a column of spinning water rose out of the pond.

Shadaico seemed to dance at the top of the spire as magic flowed from his hands and guided the awesome display. The battle had switched from lightning and fire to water and ice it seemed. He left no time to think as he began randomly unleashing jets of water that acted like blades, slicing into the earth when they missed and sending vapor up into the air. He also seemed more cautious about letting any of his enemies get behind him or out of his sight at all. He was devoting special attention to whoever had the last screw too. Luna wasn't safe with it, so Shining took it as he kept trying to get around Shadaico's defense. The pond was pretty big around and Shadaico was easily able to track his movements. Celestia was doing her best to keep Shadaico's attention, but he deflected or out right blocked her attacks and immediately switched to attacking Shining Armor.

They just didn't have the strength to keep Shadaico distracted anymore. They needed a new strategy. He continued to dance on the top of his column which provided him an endless supply of water he could use in his attacks as well as give him a great view of the battlefield. Celestia needed to come up with a way to get him down. Celestia had let herself zone out and Shadaico was nice enough to snap her back into reality by whipping her in the face with a thick tentacle of water. Celestia lost her tiara and blood dribbled from her forehead as she regained her balance and her senses.Celestia then realized Luna was now standing behind Shadaico for the moment!

"Throw the screw to Luna!" Celestia ordered.

Shining obliged without hesitation. Luna easily caught it and hurled it at Shadaico like a javelin. Shining continued to run around the pond as Shadaico swatted the screw out of the air. The plan had failed...until Shadaico realized he now had his back to Celestia! Celestia was behind him up in the air, her grip firm on the last screw. She forced it into his back as hard as she could...

Time seemed to freeze for everyone as the screw's spinning blade like form began ripping into Shadaico's back. His head was turned just enough that he could see Celestia's stressed face as she drove the seal in. Shining was still running around the pond, his heart rate having skyrocketed in seconds. Luna's bleeding was still constant, and there was a disturbing puddle forming around her hooves. Celestia bore the marks of a strenuous battle as well. Her forehead was dripping blood, her horn had a crack in it, and her entire body had been singed or outright burned. Despite all that, they had done it. The last screw was quickly gliding into place.

All four seals were finally in his back once more, Shadaico's horrid howls were almost lost as the column of water that supported him broke up and he plummeted into the pond below. The splash sent a jet of water into the air as the monster rapidly sunk to the depths of the pond. They weren't sure if it had died or not. Celestia wobbly came to a landing by her sister, who was now laying in the grass trying to stop her own bleeding. Shining came up alongside them, panting from the mad dash.

"What was that thing?" he asked the princesses.

"I don't know, but it's over...for now." Luna looked out at the pond with fear. She just had this feeling that it was nowhere near dead.

*****

The sounds of battle suddenly stopped, and the power that had been just oozing from the wolf had vanished. The zebra scowled. Who had won? Was the wolf's power gone because he had been defeated, or was it because he had won? Looking up, the castle's roof was being put out as pegasi had only a minute prior begun to try and save some part of the ancient structure. The zebra began to think out loud.

"Whoever won tonight, the ponies will suffer for this. The idea of Equestrian invincibility has been smashed tonight." His evil grin returned. "You better be alive you damned wolf...so I can buy you a round of drinks."

*****

Shadaico found himself sinking into the abyss of the pond. He wasn't sure how deep the pond was or how close he was to the bottom. He was limp as he continued to sink deeper and deeper. His body had returned to its pure wolf form, he wasn't humanoid anymore. None of that matter to him though. Everything that had just happened was flashing before his eyes like a bad dream. He clenched his teeth in anger and frustration...he had failed Nash, his only true friend. He almost felt like just letting himself die right then and there. But he had a promise to keep.

Shadaico turned himself over, and made a break for the surface...

Author's Note

I'm not entirely satisfied with this fight. There were three additional sequences I decided to cut because it was just getting ridiculously long. Those sequences included a battle in the kitchen and dinning areas, as well as a part where Blood Blood gets caught in the crossfire and screams like a little girl. (I might save that idea for later actually) Also, I feel like the ending is a little anti-climatic. Like something a little crazier should happen as the last seal is put back in. Could just be me.

But as always, I make mistakes and there are probably some typos still out there. If you spot them, let me know...

Chapter 16: The Chess Pieces

The lion headed humanoid stood in front of a window that took up the entire wall. The desert sands outside blew fiercely as a storm approached. His face was one of satisfaction. The office he was in was relatively bare. A rose colored rug covered most of the floor, a few shelves consumed the walls, and a dark wooden desk was centered just bellow the window. Only a picture frame had a place on its surface, the picture being of another lion headed creature. Obviously his father. The photo was old and beginning to turn brown.

The lion was named Oswin. He was the warden of Soul-Shatter Prison and he took pride in it. It was a family business actually. His father, his grandfather, his great grandfather, and so on, all ran the prison before him. Each passing ownership down to the next in line. Oswin couldn't deny that he took pleasure in his work. It was an honest living, keeping the scum of the earth under control and periodically erasing them from it too. That was another thing he found so great about this prison, its execution method. Soul-Shatter was the only place in the world that terminated its prisoners in such a fashion. In fact, the very technique was a mystery to much of the magic community.

Ancient memories and past emotions could not stop the nagging feeling at the back of his skull though. Something just wasn't right. He felt like there was something horribly wrong, that he should be scared for his life. He held his hands together behind his back underneath the sheath of the Giant's Knife he carried. He was well trained and extraordinarily skilled with the large blade. It was incredibly rare to find someone who could even lift such a weapon, let alone actually put it to use in a combat situation.

Oswin's idle thoughts were interrupted when one of the Heavy Guards came through the red iron doors of his office. The guard's heavy footfalls let Oswin determine his progress into the room without even looking. "Oswin, there is someone here to see you."

Oswin's small round ears perked, "someone? Surely you mean some people." He continued to look out the window.

"No sir. He walked here on his own."

Oswin spun his head around and looked at the guard skeptically, "he just walked a thousand miles through a desert? He hiked all the way out here just to see me? Who is this guy?"

"He went by the name of Robes."

Oswin's eyes shrank to pinpricks, absolute horror flooding into him. "Where is he right now?"

"We had him wait outside the main gate."

"You had Robes, the six-winged angel, wait outside...in a sandstorm?!" Oswin was in a rage.

"Yes sir." The Heavy Guard answered without emotion.

"YOU WORTHLESS PILE OF SCRAP!!! YOU GO DOWN THERE AND YOU TREAT HIM LIKE THE ROYALTY HE IS!!!"

The guard bowed and left the chamber quickly. Sweat was pouring down his face as his blood continued to boil. Oswin turned back to his window and stared out at the sandy plane below. His thoughts were filled with images of destroying the hunks of iron he called guards. They were loyal and strong, but they weren't the most intelligent things in the world. Oswin's fuming halted when a different thought finally came to his attention.

"Why would Robes come all the way out here?" Oswin asked himself out loud as he pondered. Robes was a legend, a six-winged angel. Despite the fact that he wasn't even the most powerful Angel out there, he was probably the most well-known due to his part in bringing down Shadaico. When it came to the topic of the King of Evil, no one was more knowledgeable about it then him. He knew or could find out pretty much anything that had ever happened in Shadaico's life. Heck, he was the one who performed the final blow that left the King on his knees and nearly dead. Without Robes, the monster never would have been brought down.

The title of Angel was sometimes misleading. Angels were called so not only because of there appearance but also because of the role they filled in the world. Angels were holy warriors that scoured the earth looking for crime and dealing with it appropriately. A magic wielding police force would be the best comparison. The Central Government holds a great deal of control over the Angelic Academy and their operations, but they are in fact a separate entity capable of independent action. In other words, the Angels can go after government officials should they be found breaking the law.

But why would an Angel of any stature walk through a desert just to see Oswin? Was he in some kind of trouble? Unlikely. If he was, a lot more than just one Angel, no matter how famous, would have come. It couldn't have been a prisoner transfer, you needed far more security to account for the most unlikely escape attempts. Oswin was left clueless. He couldn't think of another reason anyone would want to come out to his prison. His thought train was derailed as the Heavy Guard returned with a stranger in tow.

Oswin looked at the stranger with surprise. Angels were beings of light, strength, prestige, and represented all that was good. Robes didn't look like any of that at the moment. The tarp like rags he had draped over his entire body made him look more like a homeless man. His face was still concealed by sun tanned cloth and goggles. The only thing that looked great about him was his golden boots. Robes stood straight and his height equalled Oswin's. The Heavy made a hasty exit.

"Robes!" Oswin greeted graciously. "So kind of you to pay us a visit out here in the lonely desert!"

Robes said nothing as we walked around the desk and looked out Oswin's window.

Oswin turned towards him and continued, "For what is the purpose of your visit?"

"Shadaico, where is he?" Robes was monotone under his garb.

"I'm proud to say he was executed about four days ago."

Robes looked at him through his dusty goggles, "of course, it seems he got just what he deserved."

There was something in the way he said it that made Oswin nervous. "Indeed. The world is a much better place now."

"Yeah, a better place," Robes scoffed as he turned back to the window.

"Forgive me for my intrusion, but what are you implying?" Oswin was thoroughly confused.

"Shadaico was a brilliant tactician. He planned out every major battle in his life...even his death." Robes went and stood by a bookshelf as he idly browsed the random tomes.

"Excuse me?" Oswin was suddenly worried.

"You don't get it do you?" Robes finally removed his goggles and his hood. He had light brown hair and shining golden eyes. The skin on his face was rough, but that was probably because it was dry.

Oswin shook his head, "I do not."

Robes sighed. "It was his final 'fuck you' sort of speak."

Oswin's mouth fell open. Did an Angel just swear? "Y-y-you're an Angel, you can't swear!"

Robes rolled his eyes. "My kind may be named after the servants of heaven, but we aren't. We are mortal beings and we can swear all we want...dammit!"

Oswin was left speechless.

"Shadaico wanted to die, but he made his death even more important by having it carried out here."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Oswin felt like he was being accused.

"IT MEANS--here." Robes's voice suddenly dropped as he handed Oswin a parchment. "All the details you need to know are included." Robes walked away from Oswin and stood with his back to him.

Oswin began to read, but his rage quickly boiled over. "YOU'RE TAKING OVER MY PRISON UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!?"

"Yes," Robes answered him calmly. "I need to conduct a few experiments with your prison you see..."

***************************************************************************

Twilight was in a panic as she tried to gather the other element bearers in the confusion. The whole town was awake and many were running around in the streets in confusion. Word had already come in from Canterlot that they were evacuating the city. News like that was enough to scare the locals, add in the fires they could see from so far away, and it was a receipt for disaster. Despite knowing all this, Twilight wasn't letting anything distract her from her chosen goal. She had to get the elements ready for battle. There was only one problem; how were they supposed to fight if they were a hundred miles from said battlefield? This question did not seem to register in her mind though.

Rainbow Dash was quick to get Fluttershy and Applejack while Twilight got Rarity and Pinkie. Not surprisingly, she found Rarity unconscious outside her door. Twilight ignored this and levitated Rarity behind her as she made her way to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was standing on her roof just staring at the display with a neutral face. Twilight was unsure if this was good or bad.

"Pinkie come on! We've got to go!"

"There's no point Twilight," Pinkie said calmly.

"WHAT! No point!" Twilight was about to explode on Pinkie. "Canterlot's under attack, Celestia might need us, and there's no point!?"

"Yeah, the fights over, pegasi are putting out the fires, and everything is under control." Pinkie began to smile as she stood up on her roof.

"How could you possibly know that?" Twilight demanded.

"Well, the princesses, with the help of your brother of course, were able to put the magic seals back in the wolf's back and reduce him to a harmless dog. Now the pegasi, and that includes the Wonderbolts, are gathering storm clouds to put out the fires."

"But...how could you--?"

Pinkie pulled out a telescope from thin air, "with this. Why do you think I'm on my roof, to see which way the winds blowing you silly filly?"

"Let me see that!" Twilight dropped Rarity as she teleported up onto the roof by Pinkie.

"See, that's the princesses!" Pinkie pointed the telescope and didn't even bother checking to make sure she had pointed it at anything whatsoever.

Twilight greedily looked through the eyepiece and couldn't believe her eyes. There was her brother, her mentor, and Luna. They weren't exactly unhurt, but they were clearly alive in the Canterlot gardens. "I don't believe it."

"Well you don't have to. You can know it!" Pinkie beamed.

Twilight's fear for her mentor was only reduced, not erased. "We still need to get to Canterlot Pinkie!"

"But we can't, the trains not running," Rainbow informed her as she joined the conversation.

"How we supposed to get there without the train then?" Applejack asked as she approached a still unconscious Rarity down below.

"I don't think the elements are meant to put out fires," squeaked Fluttershy as she helped Applejack try to wake Rarity.

"So what!? We just do nothing?!" Twilight scolded them.

"We won't be able to get there until tomorrow Twilight," Pinkie pointed out rather smartly. "If we walked, it could take until tomorrow night. If you tried to teleport, you wouldn't have the strength to use the Element of Magic and the trip would have been pointless too."

"But-but-but-but we have to do something."

"Send yer mentor a letter," Applejack proposed.

Twilight's eyes lit up, "you're a genius. But," her ears fell back against her head, "I left Spike home all alone!" With the sudden realization, she had teleported off the roof and made a charge for the library.

Rarity, having just awoken, began to mutter. "Oh dear me. I had the most dreadful dream. I saw Canterlot and it was ablaze."

"It uh, wasn't a dream there Rarity," Applejack filled her in regretfully. In response, she fainted again.

As Fluttershy tried to scoot away and get home, she was almost run over by a panicking golden unicorn as he carried a practically screaming pegasus on his back. After narrowly avoiding the collision, Bore screamed back at her. "Watch where you're going! I've got an emergency here!"

"Who's was that?" Applejack blurted out as the two ran through town towards the Everfree Forest.

Pinkie mysteriously knew the answer. "That's Bore and the one on his back is Skipper. His leg is broken so his uncle is taking him to Firethorn."

"And who in the hay is that?" Applejack looked back at Pinkie who had somehow gotten off the roof.

"He's this really nasty pony that lives out in the Everfree with all his kids. They're always being mean and snarling at anypony who comes near. Like this one time, I snuck into his house, and he could have just thrown me out, but he did more then that. First he tried to catch me. I wasn't sure why he kept telling me to stop moving, that's not how you play tag. Then he tried shooting me with magic. But he was a really bad shot, I mean, his spells kept zigzagging all over the place! And when he finally caught me, he said that if I ever came back, he'd peal my skin off." Pinkie continued to smile innocently despite the horribly graphic image she had painted in that last sentence. "But I didn't get it. I mean seriously, you don't peal a pony! You can peal potatoes and carrots and apples and oranges and--" Pinkie was cut off when a hoof rammed down her throat.

"I get it Pinkie," Applejack sighed.

***************************************************************************

The room was similar in many ways to the throne room of Canterlot Castle. It was tall, long, and it had pillars along the sides of the carpet that led up to the throne. It differed from Canterlot's throne room in that it had a green carpet instead of a red one and that all of the walls were made of a dark black rock. Even the throne was made of the jagged stone and twisted shapes that ended in numerous narrow points. Behind the throne was a stained glass window that was dark green with spiderweb like metal crisscrossing the glass. It would normally cast an eerie green glow on the room, but it couldn't at this late hour. Instead, green flames danced in tall iron torch stands along the walls.

Sitting in the ugly throne was Chrysalis herself. She was currently shuffling through a pile of papers detailing the current status of her hive in numerous areas. Chrysalis looked healthy, but not happy. She was interrupted when the doors to her throne room burst open and a Changeling Behemoth exploded into the room! Her first reaction was a battle stance. Her second was to call for her guards. Before anypony could blink, dozens of Chrysalis's personal guard were out and ready to fight.

But all the ideas they had about attacking the intruder vanished when it spread its wings. On its back, previously covered by his thick insectoid wings, was one of Chrysalis's children, but he was badly injured. All of them froze upon seeing him. The Behemoth seemed to wait for them to react, or for the shock to wear off. Chrysalis's mind was storming as it tried to decipher what she was seeing. Soon enough, the injured one broke the silence.

"M-my queen, I have important news."

"What have you done to my child!" Chrysalis raged at the intruder.

"He did not attack me. He saved me," the injured changeling explained.

This confused Chrysalis further. "Explain yourself!" she commanded the Behemoth.

"Maybe you should get this one some medical attention first."

"I take it you aren't here to attack me then?"

"No."

Immediately, medics appeared and removed the changeling that was hurt. Chrysalis also ordered her guards to leave the room with the medics. But just before the injured one could be taken from the room, he tried to speak. "But I must tell you something."

The Behemoth calmed him, "I'll tell her for you. You have lost much of your blood and need to rest."

He nodded solemnly as he was levitated out of the room. Chrysalis eyed him suspiciously. "Tell me what?"

"He was attacked by two Pric--I mean Thorns," he had to stop himself from using such an inappropriate term in front of a queen.

One of Chrysalis's eyebrows rose, "who did this to my child?"

"Two of Firethorn's kids, your highness." The Behemoth promptly bowed and spoke with the utmost respect.

Her anger began to erupt, "he better get his children under control before I..." her voice seemed to die in her throat. Her ears lowered and her defensive posture sank away. She slowly approached the Behemoth. Once she was closer to him, it was made clear he was far taller than her. He stood at twice her height at the least!

"I apologize for there behaviour. I was unable to prevent the fight in the first place."

"You protected my child?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We were in Canterlot, neutral territory." A sudden fact dawned on him only after he told her. She probably still held some negative emotions towards Canterlot. Even mentioning it would likely upset her.

"Typical," she scoffed and turned away from him and waddled over to her throne. "You behemoths honor the old treaties to the letter even after all these years."

"Thank you, my queen."

"I will have to speak to Firethorn it seems. Even he must honor the agreements of old. And if he has to kill his little bratty children to make sure they obey too, so be it."

"May I speak freely on the subject?" The Behemoth bowed and closed his eyes as if begging.

Chrysalis looked back at him, "granted."

"You broke the biggest treaty first, so Firethorn and his hive do not believe it wrong to brake some of their own."

Chrysalis snorted, "of course."

"But there is something else I feel I must tell you."

"What would that be." Chrysalis continued to stare at her throne.

"Canterlot came under attack today."

"Why would you tell me this," she growled. Memories of her failure flashed in her mind.

"The entire castle was set on fire," he told her monotone.

Chrysalis ripped her head around and stared at him. "The entire castle!?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Who could pull something like that off?" Chrysalis was suddenly interested in the subject.

"All we know is that only one being was responsible. I regret to admit, that I don't even know how the fight turned out." Chrysalis didn't say anything. "I must return to my hive and inform my king, your brother, Milkweed. He must know of these events as well."

Chrysalis looked at him for a moment as she went over his request. He wasn't just telling her that he was going to leave, but he was actually asking for her permission to leave! Apparently he too realized how dangerous a move he had made by telling her first. By letting Chrysalis, a potential enemy, know about this first, he was risking his life. Chrysalis could easily lock him up or kill him with news like this. But, he had also protected one of her precious young ones. Not only that, but he had escorted him home on his back. Chrysalis looked away from him as she thought about it.

He was counting on Chrysalis's love for her kind to show him mercy and let him leave. But it would be a major strategic advantage if Milkweed didn't find out about this for a few days. Chrysalis was divided on what to do. Letting him go would cost her an advantage in their skirmishes, but he had hit a soft spot in her heart. Chrysalis sighed. She approached the Behemoth and tapped both sides of his bowed head.

"You may go..."

"Thank you for your kindness," he breathed as he stood up and turned to leave. Chrysalis backed away to give him room to do so.

Just before he escaped the room however, Chrysalis wanted to say one last thing. "Behemoth!"

"Yes, my queen," he froze and looked back at her.

"Thank you." She quickly turned away from him as he smiled and left.

Chrysalis sighed again much louder. Having her own heart strings pulled was not easy. She had other things to think about first though. "Firethorn," she snarled. He may have been a distant cousin, but she still hated his guts. Unknown to the ponies and even some of the other hives, Chrysalis and Firethorn were always fighting. It was a family feud that would never be settled. Firethorn was a hothead and easily angered. He had a thing for violence and hasty decisions. Now that she was calm, Chrysalis saw a lot of those qualities in her own actions the day she tried to takeover Equestria.

She also suspected that the many hives would be having another conference soon. It was a pretty informal matter, considering that many hives would never run into each other. For example, Nightshade's hive was the only one operating in Zebraca and it just happened to be the biggest hive in terms of land area. While Chrysalis's was only one of the three hives in Equestria, the others belonging to Firethorn and Milkweed.

There were three reasons she suspected the hive kings and queens would be called for a meeting this year. First off, she wanted it so she could give Firethorn a piece of her mind in front of all the others. Second; the recent return of the Crystal Empire meant that the Crystal Changelings were back! Their queen, Paradise, hadn't been around for over a thousand years and would probably need some help adjusting to the new times and its laws. Not unlike Luna actually. And thirdly, there needed to be talk about the events taking place in Equestria.

But before any of that could happen, Chrysalis needed to know what was going on...and if she could capitalize on it...

***************************************************************************

The zebra had found the perfect spot. There was a small clearing, only a couple yards across, surrounded by bushes that would conceal him while he performed his spell. He made one last check to be sure nopony was around. Once satisfied, he gave a single nod before he stood in the center of the clearing and tested his footing. Focusing, his body began to change. His stripes began to fade and his eyes followed. In seconds, his stripes were gone and his eyes were pure white. The zebra had become a pale-eyed earth pony, but he wasn't done yet. He suddenly sprouted a horn! He'd need it, and one more thing for his plan. A set of wings formed on his back. He was now an alicorn...

Now that he was done changing his form, he adjusted his footing again. He had to make sure his body wouldn't be discovered or fall over while he was busy. He proceeded to cast three spells at once. He made himself invisible, invincible, and he ejected his spirit from his body. Now a bodiless energy floating in the air, he could see the natural energies of all other living things. The grass, the trees, the bushes, they all glowed in an eerie green light. As he floated into the air as a ghost, he could see the many glows of ponies in Canterlot as it was evacuated. Although he would have loved to watch the chaos from close up, he had a date with an old friend he couldn't afford to miss.

At this time, the battle had just entered the Canterlot Castle gardens. He caught a slight glimpse of the bipedal wolf falling into the pond and the princesses approaching it afterwords. As he floated past them on his way to a certain statue, he saw the wolf emerge on a massive column of water and continue the epic fighting. The former zebra lost sight of the action as the statue of Discord appeared in front of him. He closed his eyes as he fazed through the cold stone and entered the chaotic realm of the most powerful psychopath to ever live.

There was a short tunnel of grey as he dived into its mind. The mental landscape was always a strange and often dangerous place. In a being as old as Discord, it could be even more so simply from clutter. As he finally arrived on the astral plane, he rolled his eyes. Discord obviously hadn't changed. Before him, Canterlot Castle stood in all its glory...upside down. Not only that, the grass was a checkerboard design with cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk in random places. The former zebra shook his head, Discord did not have any new ideas from last he'd seen him. He quickly headed for the castle, figuring that's where the master of chaos and disharmony would be spending his evening. That was something else he noticed with a passing glance, the sun was setting like normal. Maybe he did have some new ideas.

Using his wings, he was able to reach the castle's gate, but inside was very different from expected. The interior seemed like a football stadium. Complete with lights, stands, grass, and lines. Another strange thing was the sounds of cheering. It was like the benches were filled with screaming fans; yet, the place was empty. It was kind of creepy to hear such a racket when there was nopony there. The fact that the castle itself was upside down but the interior wasn't was not lost on him.

He approached the edge of the field and began to look around. He could hear humming and a strange scraping sound whenever the roaring crowd, that still didn't exist, quieted down for a second. Knowing how Discord liked to operate, he began to question his current setting. The castle was upside down, but this football field was clearly right side up. Exhaling, he looked up. Sure enough, on the ceiling was an ice skating ring and there was Discord. Discord wasn't wearing any skates, but he was gliding over the ice easily enough. He was in the middle of some kind of act; he was doing various spins and maneuvers. He was also humming a merry tune with his eyes closed while he flung himself about the ring. The zebra shook his head and cleared his throat as he prepared to address him.

"Hey Discord!"

"Hm?" Discord stopped and looked up.

"What are you doing?!" the former zebra asked harshly.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?! You're the one walking over my nice clean ceiling!"

"This is a football stadium, not a ceiling."

"Anything can be your roof if you choose it to be," Discord commented wisely.

He face hoofed at Discord's ridiculousness. "I don't have time for this right now. Are you in the middle of something?"

"I'm in the middle of the One Thousand and Third Annual Ultimate Spirit of Chaos Competition!"

"Uh...Discord, you're the only Spirit of Chaos."

"I know, but the competition is fierce!"

"Discord you make no sense as always," he huffed.

"And you, my old friend, are far too serious, as always."

"Well I didn't come here to catch up on old times. I came here for a favor."

"Can I finish my show first? The audience can be an impatient thing you know."

He looked over at the empty stands and rolled his eyes. "No, I cannot wait. Get down here now."

Discord pouted and warped. After making a dramatic appearance next to his old friend, he threw an arm over his shoulder, "so what's up?"

"I need to borrow some of your chaos magic again."

Discord stared at him. "My...chaos...again. But, why? Last time you almost died. And that's not funny."

"I need to do something that no other power can do. Now are you going to give it to me or not?!" He was poking Discord's chest now.

"Calm down, you'll get some of my chaos Eyes--"

"The name is Blank!" he raged suddenly.

"You still hate your first name huh?" Discord patiently raised an eyebrow.

"Just give me the damn power."

"I'll only give it to you if I get something in return."

"I'm not letting you out again."

"You didn't even do anything! Those little fillies did," Discord accused him.

"I influenced them and aided in cracking open that shell of yours!" Blank insisted.

"Whatever," Discord huffed angrily. "For my deal, you have to cause some form of chaos in Equestria and then bring back an image of it."

"I actually plan to."

Discord analyzed him for a while before he closed his eyes, sighed, and then smiled. "You never change. Very well, prepare yourself......FOR CHAOS!!"

***************************************************************************

Shadaico's quest for the surface couldn't have come soon enough. He broke the surface and took in the precious air with shameless greed. Looking around quickly, he found the princesses and Shining Armor tending to their wounds. They hadn't seen or heard him yet and he hoped it stayed that way. Despite his promise to Nash, Shadaico had a new plan. First he needed to get away. So he headed for the shore opposite the ponies, which also just happened to be in the direction of the walls that surrounded the castle.

Lady lucked smiled on Shadaico once again as he found that a stray blast of magic from the battle had left a hole in the wall! He jumped through it just as Shining Armor looked over. His eyes near popped out of his head. He was about to chase after Shadaico when Celestia grabbed him with a hoof. Confused, he looked into her eyes. Blood was still running down the side of her head, but she looked as in control as ever.

"Don't chase after it alone," she cautioned him wisely. "Take as many guards with you as you can. And don't touch the screws in its back."

Shining gave a quick solute before giving chase. As he galloped, he called out for guards and soon found himself with just over a dozen. Most of them were pegasi and the rest were unicorns. He gave strict instructions on what they were to do when they encountered the wolf. A few pegasi however, were sent off to get more guards and get the city under control. An informal evacuation had begun and their were no officials regulating it. It was everypony for himself.

Shadaico fled down the side of the mountain as fast as he could. He took no care to watch his step, and he found himself in uncontrollable slides frequently. The forest below was the goal. He knew he had a swarm of soldiers right on his tail and there was no way he could lose them without something to block their vision. The trees looked close together and large, it was his best option at the moment. All the while he ran, he had a plan forming in his head.

A brief memory from when the fight had first started was the one responsible for the brewing plan. The memory of the screws being taken out of his back with pure force. If he could find a way to grab the screws, or catch them on something, with enough willpower he could theoretically remove them again. The only problem was the willpower and control. When the seals had first been removed, the overwhelming energy flooding back into his mind had overloaded his brain and cost him control of his body. He'd need to find a way to prevent that. There was also the willpower. Removing the screws was an excruciating experience. He wasn't looking forward to doing it again.

Shadaico leapt over a rock and dove into the trees. He had made it! Now all he had to do was twist and turn so he could lose his pursuers. Shadaico allowed himself to grin as well as look back. He couldn't see them through the dark trees. Had he lost them already? Shadaico wasn't about to take a risk, he kept going. Unknown to him, another pony was coming his way at incredibly high speeds. Shadaico suddenly felt the power. It was strange and warped...and right behind him.

He stopped and turned on a dime, expecting to have to fight one of the guards. But what greeted him was not a soldier. It was a pony just a tad shorter than him with a black mane and tail. His coat was a pale white, its eyes were absolutely empty, and he had a horn and wings. Shadaico growled, another alicorn. But then it did something that should have been utterly impossible. It spoke, but not in Equestrian.

"My name is Blank, what is yours?" the mysterious alicorn asked him.

"What did you just say to me?" Shadaico questioned him in shock, how was it speaking english?!

The alicorn smiled, and secretly thanked Discord for the power to defy reality...

Author's Note

Robes seeks to determine if Shadaico planned to die, the changelings watch Equestria carefully for an opening to strike, and Blank plays his wild card...

The next chapter may be short, but I haven't gotten to writing it yet so I'm not sure. Things are about to cool down for a while and get back to Nash as the main focus of the story. If you have any questions about the Angels, consult this before asking please.

Chapter 17: Going Cold

"What do you want?" Shadaico couldn't understand how this alicorn was speaking the same language as him.

"I'm just looking for entertainment. And you my friend, are a fantastic supply!"

"I take it your not with those other two alicorns then?"

"Other two? Ohhhhh! You mean Celestia and Luna? Yeah we've never seen eye-to-eye. Then again, I haven't spoken to either of them since the Nightmare Moon Rebellion!"

"Nightmare Moon Rebellion?" Shadaico tilted his head slightly.

"Almost exactly a thousand years and we haven't spoken once. Such a shame really," he suddenly looked depressed. "Nightmare Moon had so much to offer this world. I only wish she'd been around a little longer for me to get to know her."

"What are you talking about?!" Shadaico was still a little bit in shock and not sure where this lunatic was going with the conversation. "Who are you?"

"I could have sworn I already told you. Oh well. My name is Blank." He gave a mock bow. "What is yours?"

"Shadaico. What do you want then?"

"Again, I thought I already told you. I want entertainment and you can clearly provide."

"I'm not a circus performer!" Shadaico was angry at just the thought.

"Not that kind of entertainment my boy. I just want you to continue to do the things you do," he put on a creepy smile.

"The things I do?"

"That's right. Destroy things, start fights, cause pandemonium. I love a good show. And I'm willing to offer you assistants as long as you provide the fun."

Shadaico's ears perked as he heard the guards begin to close in! "Can you get us out of here?" Shadaico asked jokingly.

Blank smiled more intensely as his horn began to glow. "Careful what you wish for my doggy friend."

There was a flash of light and Shadaico found himself standing exactly where he had before. "So much for your assistants," he snarled.

"Really, look around. Is this the same place you were before?" Blank turned and looked off towards the horizon.

Shadaico copied him and froze. The great white castle was miles away on a distant mountain now! "How'd you-?"

"Warp. We're now just outside the small town of Ponyville. Anything else I can do to help you?" He smirked wickedly at Shadaico's stunned face.

"Alright mister Blank, you've got some powers I'll give you that. But why do you need me to do...stuff? You've clearly got the power to do it yourself," he looked at Blank suspiciously.

Shadaico was getting a familiar impression from him. He'd met men like this guy before. Guys who believed they had all the power in the world. Guys that thought everything and everyone was just wrapped around their fingers! Shadaico hated to admit it, but he had been like that. Overly cocky and a bit too naive. This Blank guy was without a doubt, a bad guy on the inside.

Blank's face turned to one of boredom. "I've been...oh what's a good way to word this? I've been lying low for just under a thousand years now Shadaico. Before that, I was involved in several major wars and uprisings."

"And?"

Blank raised a hoof, "please let me finish. The last of the three truly great moments in my life left me broken. I could no longer go out in public you see. I'm a fugitive sort of speak."

"So you want me to make war so you can relive your glory days?" Shadaico accused.

"Of course not. My days in the military ended long ago. But you misunderstand my motives here. Its not that I want you to do anything you're not already going to do. I just want you to live is all."

"What?" Shadaico was beginning to understand the bizarre request.

"That's right. I don't want you to die. I want to be able to watch the course of events you create. I want to watch you grow and change this world on your own course."

"So you want to just stalk me and make sure nothing kills me?" Shadaico cocked an eyebrow.

Blank thought for a moment. "In a way...yes."

"Oooookkkkaaayyy, you sound like a crazy person--pony--alicorn--thingy...whatever!"

"I'm not technically an alicorn or even a pony," again his smile returned.

"What are you then?" Shadaico asked not very interested in the conversation now.

"It doesn't matter. Now; do you need any more help?"

Shadaico looked around and pondered that. This Blank guy was offering him help just because he thought he was entertaining to watch. Shadaico wasn't sure if he should be flattered or disturbed. "I need to lay low for a while. Those alicorns I beat up are going to be looking for me. You have a way to keep me hidden?"

"You are correct, they are going to be looking for you," Blank said menacingly. "The alicorns you fought happen to be the two most powerful creatures on this planet...when it comes to politics at least. They rule the single largest and most important nation there is. So you have indeed made a very dangerous enemy." Shadaico groaned. Not the news he needed to hear. "As for hiding you, I brought you here for that specific purpose actually. I'm going to hide you in Ponyville in plane sight!"

"How?" Shadaico asked skeptically.

"There is no time for details, just know that I apologise in advance for this," he didn't look very apologetic.

"In advance for wha-" he was cut off as a blast of magic slammed into his chest!

Several Minutes later...

Blank was walking through the trees of the Everfree Forest with a wicked grin on his face, blood splatters clinging to his coat. "I love this part of the job," he thought out loud. "Now to get some rest and watch these events unfold as I've set them up..."

***************************************************************************

"Princess, we couldn't find anything," Shining regretfully informed Celestia as she lay on mat with a team of doctors and nurses.

She and Luna were both still in the gardens, but a swarm of medical professionals from throughout the city were swarming to the castle to treat the nearly endless number of burn victims. It wasn't a pretty sight. Some ponies looked like crisped bacon, but in an unbelievable twist of fate, there'd only been one casualty. It was likely that number would increase as the night drew on, but there was always hope.

Celestia hummed in thought for a moment. "Contact all neighboring towns and villages, rally as many guards as can be possibly reached. We need to find that wolf."

"I know. But there was something else."

"What's that?" Celestia raised a cautious eyebrow.

"We detected chaos magic," Shining bowed slightly nervous.

"Excuse me, but I just realized that I need to check on something." But before she could go far, "Shining?"

"Yes princess."

"Don't let the public find out about any of this. As far as my little ponies should know, the wolf was defeated here. Understood?"

"Of course." Shining didn't like the idea, but it was the smartest and safest course of action. If the public knew something had almost killed Celestia and Luna and was still on the loose, there'd be panic. Then again, it was like lying to everypony. Didn't they have the right to know something that threatened their lives was out there?

*****

In the barracks of Canterlot Castle, Cadence was having a battle of her own. She had the lantern with the changeling floating just behind her and three unicorn guards in front of her. All of them were angry and Cadence was trying to reason with them. It wasn't going well.

"Either you kill it or we will!" barked the one in the font.

"Luna gave specific instructions to protect him," Cadence protested.

"You really think that thing deserves to live after all this?!"

"How is any of this his fault?" she tried to point out.

"I don't know what you've heard, but that wolf came here for him. As far as I'm concerned, he destroyed the castle!"

"He's been right here with me the whole time!" Cadence couldn't help but notice how the other two guards remained silent for all this.

"He brought that monster to us and he needs to pay!" He stomped his hoof forward.

"I don't know what's so valuable about this changeling, but my aunts want him," she looked at the mentioned creature, "and that's all I need to know."

"Our families, our comrades, our city was nearly destroyed! And that little abomination is the reason any of this happened. Or did you miss the part where the wolf almost killed your precious Shining?!"

Cadence froze. She hadn't been on the battlefield so she didn't know everything that had happened. Had her husband really almost been killed? "You lie," she growled.

"The princesses were nearly killed, what makes you think he wasn't too?" He began to smirk, thinking he'd gotten through to her.

Cadence's anger burned with an unbreakable passion, "YOU SHUT UP! You weren't even in the fight, you don't know anything!"

"I know that that changeling deserves everything we intend to give him," he was practically snarling.

"I'm warning you to stand down," Cadence told them coldly.

"Or what?"

"I am a princess too, I can have you dismissed with the wave of my hoof." She demonstrated by swiping her hoof through the air.

"I can just reinstate them!" came another voice from the hall. Cadence recognized its snobbishness immediately.

"And where were you during all the chaos?!" Cadence barked at the darkened doorway into the hall. She ground her teeth knowing who it was. The clacking of well manicured hooves entered the room with a unicorn stallion who held himself high and proud. "Blueblood," Cadence spoke with hate.

"Hoof him over," Blueblood demanded.

"They're your aunts too," she threw at him.

"They brought that bug into the castle without knowing the price. Let somepony who knows what he's doing correct such foolish mistakes," his ego just wouldn't let up.

"Look at this from another perspective. That wolf was obviously this changeling's friend. What we saw was a rescue attempt, not an attack!"

Blueblood scoffed. "What kind of rescue leaves an entire castle in such a distraught state?"

"The kind that goes wrong, Blueblood."

"Some friend he has then. An ally that goes on a rampage and brutalizes everything in his path? Worthless!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH! What would you know about friends or allies?!" She practically screamed at him. Blueblood stared back at her. "That's the best kind of friend a pony could ask for. He did all that," she gestured out the window to destruction that had been caused, "just to save his little buddy." Cadence couldn't help but look back at the changeling and smile. "I may not like being on the receiving end of that wrath, but if that's not a powerful bond, I don't know what is."

Cadence beamed with pride for her speech. The three guards seemed to lose some of their resolve while Blueblood was clearly enraged. "How dare you try to stand in the way of an official arrest! That changeling is an enemy of more than just Equestria, but of ME!" he acted like that was a huge difference. "He must pay for that!"

"Would you really take his life with your own hooves?" Cadence asked him coldly.

Blueblood paused for a second, his eyes darting to the floor and back. "Yes!"

"Then you'll have to take my life with your own hooves as well," Cadence took a step forward and wore the hardest gaze she could muster.

Blueblood clearly hesitated and thought over his options here. With great strain and the shaking of anger, "fine. Just know you've made an enemy today, Cadenza," he spat at her.

With that, he and the three guards stomped off. Cadence let out a massive breath of air she'd been holding. She looked back at the changeling who just stared at her in return. It seemed so ironic to her that just a few months ago, the changelings were trying to ruin her big day. But now here she was standing up for one of them.

*****

Celestia approached Discord's statue hesitantly. She could see a single crack in the stone on his chest. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer. It was slowly closing on its own and no chaos was leaking, but it still worried her. Discord's magic was absolutely unique. No other living thing she'd even seen had the powers of chaos...except one. There was only one other being she'd ever met that could use chaos magic. Celestia scowled as she turned away from Discord.

"So you've returned, Blank." Blank could use chaos magic, but he couldn't create it. In other words, he needed to take it from him or get Discord to give him some. Even so, he was dangerous. Even Celestia hadn't been able to determine his ultimate goal or his true motives back when they first met. During the overthrow of Discord, he was her enemy. When King Sombra tried to take over, Blank served as Celestia and Luna's spy. And finally, during the Nightmare Moon Rebellion, he tried to help plunge the world into darkness by destroying the Elements of Harmony. Obviously, said plan had failed, but it was the thought that counted.

But that's where his trail ran dry. Blank vanished promptly after Nightmare Moon was sealed away. That was always something that had bothered her when she thought about the pony. He had shape shifting powers not unlike changelings, he possessed knowledge of ancient spells that not even Celestia and Luna's parents knew about, and he never stayed loyal to one side. He was a mystery. A pony with no true alliances or friends. He sided with whoever the winds of change blew towards.

He had been missing for a thousand years and it was clear he was back. No other pony could have opened up the seal on Discord and made off with some of his magic without fully releasing him. But why was he back? A thousand years in hiding was not something you changed without a reason. Celestia suddenly looked up at her castle with wide eyes. Did Blank intend to help the wolf?

Blank also had an ability to see who would be victorious in a long term skirmish. He couldn't see the future exactly, he just seemed to know what would happen at the end of the day. As such, he would almost always take the side of whoever was going to win in the end. If Blank was siding with the the wolf that had attacked Canterlot, then he must have foreseen that whatever the creature's intentions were, they were going to succeed. Needless to say, Celestia was scared for her subjects.

Speaking of which, a familiar green flame appeared in front of her and became a rolled up parchment. Celestia opened it slowly as she tried to gain control of her emotions. She needed to get control of herself. How could she be sure Blank was back? Maybe he just stopped by to talk with his old master while everypony was distract. It was the best opportunity to do so in a thousand years after all. Celestia shook her head and read the letter from Twilight.

As she finished reading the short few lines, she sighed. Her student was worried about her and Canterlot. Celestia didn't think a few letters on a page would be adequate to comfort her. Now the question was who was going to go to who. Should her student be called to come to Canterlot or should she go to Ponyville? If Twilight came to Canterlot she'd surely think something was wrong and panic, especially once she got a glimpse of the damage. If she went to her student, she wouldn't be in Canterlot during this emergency situation that was going to positively eat her time. She hated to admit it, but her kingdom had to come before her student. She could always calm her down once she got here...hopefully.

Looking to the moon as it drifted closer to horizon, she sighed. It had been a long night. The days to come would be full of excitement too. They had so much to do now. Numerous meetings with foreign dignitaries would have to be canceled, the castle would need to be repaired, and most importantly, they needed to find that wolf. She also needed to work on a way they could understand the small changeling that the wolf had obviously come here for. Those two were--maybe not trouble--but something. She needed to figure them out and fast.

Author's Note

Finally, the night is almost over. I have just one more tiny segment of it left and then the story can move on. But let's do a recap of all the OC characters I've created.

Obviously there's Nash and Shadaico. Need I explain anything there? There's Crash, Butter, Bee, Skipper, and Bore. Forget these characters please, they were temporaries, fill ins if you will. Just there to progress the story. (I may bring them back but I have no plans to) The changeling Kings/Queens Firethorn, Milkweed, Nightshade, and Paradise. Maybe I'll add more, but again there aren't any plans to. Then there's the mysterious Blank...

Chapter 18: The Morning After

As Blank walked away from him, Shadaico made one last threat. "When I find you *huff* I'm going to rip you a new asshole!" In short, he was pissed off.

Shadaico was on the edge of death and spots were appearing before his eyes as he he lay against a tree. There was a hole in his chest, gashes along his sides, and his front left leg was snapped. Blank had done a good job, Shadaico had to give him that. Soon, he wouldn't even be conscious anymore. After that, death would only be a step away. That knowledge was enough to break Shadaico down.

Shadaico had known numerous men and watched dozens of what he had thought were his friends die right before his eyes. It wasn't death itself that most of them feared, it was that fear that they wouldn't stay in this world. A fear that there would be no more days under the sun, no more days to complete their life's work, or no one to continue they're legacy. Some just feared the pain that was involved in dying. Shadaico knew better. The pain of the physical body was an old companion, but the pain of the heart was a whole different matter.

With his resolve to change his ways, Shadaico had come to face a pain he had never known, fear and sorrow. It was unlike any agony he'd every encountered. It was something that only one thing he had yet encountered could soothe, Nash. For some reason, talking to Nash seemed to dull that pain of dying. The fear of hell and eternal punishment was forgotten when he talked to another about his mission to right his wrongs. Nash just happened to be the first one Shadaico had confided in.

Shadaico could feel the grip of hell tightening around him. God, or whatever deity guided the universe, had given him a second chance and he had lost it. He pleaded into the darkness of the night for another. He cried and he begged. The most feared and powerful being in his world and he was bawling for yet another chance to do good. Heaven seemed to have compassion that night, as an angel approached him from the dark forest ahead! It could have been hallucinations as his brain shut down, but Shadaico could only whimper to it for help. Light encircled it as it approached slowly. Nothing but that light filled his vision just before darkness...

Several Minutes Earlier...

The girls were all in Twilight's library listening as she finished reading the reply she had just received from Celestia. The letter was very specific on a few details, number one being that Canterlot was safe. Number two was the request that only Twilight come to the city to have a meeting with Celestia herself. Twilight stood there reading the letter over and over as she tried to determine if she should be excited or worried. On one hoof, Canterlot was saved and she would get to see her mentor. On the other, somepony or something had almost destroyed the city and now Celestia wanted to talk to her about it personally!

The others took it each in their own way...

"Boy howdy! Well that's a relief. Here I was thinkin' we were goin' to have to fight or some such."

"I'm just glad I'm not going to be forced upon such a...troubled place," Rarity sighed with relief.

"I'm just glad nopony got hurt," Fluttershy whispered. (The letter had lied and said so)

"The Wonderbolts were there and I missed it!? Aw come on!" Rainbow complained.

"When they fix the castle we should have a victory party there!" Pinkie declared.

"Now that everything's okay, can I go back to sleep," Spike yawned and rubbed his tired eyes.

Twilight sighed and lowered the letter. "We shouldn't get too complacent. Celestia wants to see me for something and it could be serious, I want all of you to be ready when I get back," Twilight warned them.

"Ready for what?" Rainbow Dash lolled.

"Well...something."

"I think ya might be gettin' a little over eager Twilight. Celestia is just wantin' to talk to ya is all."

"Canterlot was just attacked! She must want to discuss ways we could better protect Equestria--"

"Don't go jumping to any conclusions there sugar cube. We don't know anything right now and you know it."

Applejack was the voice of reason and Twilight knew she was right, but she was so excited. It'd been a while since she'd last talked to her mentor alone. "What else could she possibly want to discuss after something like this then?!"

"Her favorite flavor of cake?" Pinkie offered excitedly.

Everypony looked at her for a moment. "I'm not sure that's what Celestia would want to be discussin', but we can't go panickin' with so little to go on."

Twilight inhaled deeply, "you're right Applejack. Everypony just needs to calm down and get some sleep. And I need to pack for my trip in the morning."

"Need any help?" Rainbow offered.

"I think I can handle it," Twilight turned the offer down shyly.

"Good luck Twilight," Fluttershy reassured her. "I need to get back to my animals, there probably worried sick."

After a few goodbyes, the friends went home. Twilight had to pack and Rainbow decided she'd try and get the town to relax a little bit before she went to sleep. Applejack and Rarity went home without putting up much fuss, they both had work to do in the morning after all. Pinkie went back to Sugarcube Corner with a big fuss though. She kept going on and on about how they could celebrate the princess's victory over the nasty wolf monster. Then there was Fluttershy...she just quietly shuffled home.

As she trotted through town, everypony was starting to calm down. The news that Canterlot was under attack had spread much faster then the news that everything was alright it seemed and a few still didn't have the message. Fluttershy wondered for a brief second if Zecora knew anything about this. Fluttershy suddenly felt very lonely with the idea of being isolated like her. Then she remembered that she had Angel and the rest of her animals waiting for her.

On cue, a zebra she didn't know came running towards her screaming, "Fluttershy, you've got to come quick!" He seemed young and he had a great deal of urgency in his voice.

"Me? Y-you need me?" she took an apprehensive step back as he approached.

"Yeah!" he practically screamed in her face. "There's an animal and he's hurt really really bad!" His need to yell everything was spooking her a little.

With the mention of a hurt animal, Fluttershy was all business. "Where?"

"This way, come on!" He took off down a road that went past her cottage a ways.

Fluttershy took a glance at her home as she ran past it. She was already thinking of the fastest way she could get this poor hurt creature back there so she could treat it. Fluttershy was wondering what the animal was, but she cared more about its well being in the long run.

The zebra came to a sudden stop by a bush and ushered her over. "It's over there," he whispered. Then he parted the bush's leaves a little and revealed a large black and grey wolf. Fluttershy's eyes almost burst. She had seen wolves before, Timber included. But this wolf was, for lack of a better word, majestic. He had lushes black fur that covered his entire body, his face was an ash gray color, and the fur around his paws was a dull white. He was large by even pony standards, Big Macintosh would be on equal height to him!

But all of that was just useless information. The wolf was clearly on the edge of death. If she hadn't have been told he needed help from her, she might have fainted at the sight. She couldn't allow herself though, there was time to faint later. The wolf almost appeared to have been tortured. The most notable thing being four utterly massive screws that jutted out of his back and shoulders. Who knew how deep into his flesh they'd been driven!? Just below his neck, on the crest of his chest, there was literally a hole into his body that blood dribbled out of at an alarming rate. Across his long pointed muzzle there was a horrible gash that ran red. One of his legs was broken, and being able to tell that from so far away, wasn't a good sign.

In addition to his horrible state, his eyes were rolling back in his skull as she stepped through the bushes and came towards him. Just before his eyes closed, he let out a single whimper. That was enough to kick Fluttershy into gear, she couldn't let him die, not on her watch. Immediately, she dove under his belly and her head emerged on the opposite side. Slowly, and with a hint of strain, she pushed herself up with the wolf now on her back. She had no time to waste and tapped into her super-pony strength to dash the injured creature home.

The zebra from before had disappeared mysteriously, but she didn't care. Bursting through her door, numerous animals scattered. She flew across the room and deposited Shadaico on her couch. His bleeding had not let up and she was afraid she might have already been too late. Bandages and medications of every type practically went flying as she got to work.

The sun was rising as order seemed to settle on a little cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy had worked for several hours at speeds Dash would have been proud of, if not shocked. There was a pile of bloody towels in the corner, sweat had virtually soaked the floor, and various medical things were strewn about. Fluttershy had shaved some of Shadaico's fur so she could apply stitches to his chest and muzzle, while his leg had to be wrapped in a large cast for the time being. He was still breathing, but his heartbeat was extremely weak. He could give out at any second and she knew it.

Her various animal friends had helped considerably if they didn't pass out at the sight of so much blood. Fluttershy had hardly noticed how much like a psycho murder she looked right now with all that blood in her fur. Her limbs ached from all the work, but she still had more to do. Quickly, she moved to the kitchen where she tore through her cabinets and gathered a few herbs she would need to make his medicine. With so much blood loss and such severe injuries, she had to put together a brew that would dull the pain, keep him unconscious, and help him replace the lost blood. On top of all that, she hadn't even gotten to those torturous looking screws yet.

It was like something out of a horror movie, Fluttershy couldn't even begin to imagine how horribly agonizing it must have been for the creature on her couch. She needed her rest so badly, but she just couldn't let herself get that rest until she was sure he'd be alright. It took her a moment to grind the leaves into a powder and mix them into a tea she could give him. As she heated the concoction on the stove she took a peak at her guest. She knew that those screws would have to come out, but the damage internally was probably permanent already. She couldn't allow him to move.

A stray thought came to her suddenly, could she remove them? If they went into the bones underneath, there was simply no way she'd be able to remove them without causing more harm. She'd have to either take him to the hospital or get help from a much smarter pony then herself. Twilight immediately popped into her head. Fluttershy needed a way to contact Twilight before she left, because she couldn't afford to leave her patient alone, not until he stabilized. The kettle began to whistle and drew her back to the now.

Quickly, she brought the wolf his cup of herbal tea. He was beginning to wake up and she hoped he wouldn't be aggressive or refuse the drink. She really didn't want to use her stare on a patient. Unbelievably, the wolf practically ripped the cup from her trembling hooves and gulped it down. He regretted it in a second as the steaming hot liquid burned his tongue and made him growl as he forced it down. In Shadaico's defense, all he woke up to was the smell of a powerful medicine he'd actually had before and a cup being held in front of his face. Without thinking, he'd taken it and scarfed it down.

As quickly as he'd downed the tea, he fell asleep again. Fluttershy lunged forward when he collapsed. When she realized he was just asleep, she sighed and turned her attention to the screws in his back. As she began to examine them, it became more and more disturbing. There was no sign of bleeding from where they entered his body and even stranger, the flesh around the entry points was smooth. In her mind, it should have been shredded and uneven, but it was nice and neat. Almost like they were meant to be there. This of course told her one still unreassuring thing, they had been there for a long time. At least long enough for his skin to heal around them.

Fluttershy almost wanted to cry for the poor thing. Who could possibly do this to an animal? Who was this cruel? Fluttershy began to pet Shadaico's head softly as he slept peacefully. Finally satisfied that he would be okay for a moment, she let her eyelids droop. Maybe she could close her eyes for just a second and then she could go get Twilight. Her head drifted down and began to press on Shadaico's back as sleep came closer and closer. His thick fur acted like a cushion and his rhythmic breathing like a lullaby.

Fluttershy let out an adorable eep as her door was almost ripped off its hinges! Rainbow came flying into the room doing an unstoppable barrel roll...at least until she hit the wall. After sliding down its surface with her face little more then a pancake, she layed there for a second.

"Are you okay Rainbow?" she asked, always concerned for her friends.

"Yeah, I do this all the time! Anyways--" she froze up when she saw the wolf. "What is that and--Fluttershy, you look awful. Did you get any sleep last night?" There was a hint of concern in her voice.

"Well, I couldn't just leave him. He was seriously hurt." She yawned. The bags under her eyes, frizzy mane, and a few blood drops in her coat were all Dash needed to figure out what had taken place.

Rainbow knew Fluttershy was the caring type, but this was crazy. "You need to get some sleep Fluttershy."

She had a few things to do still, "I can't! I have to get Twilight first!" She was slightly alarmed, then she saw Angel bunny behind Rainbow. She gasped, "and my animals need breakfast!"

Rainbow stopped Fluttershy from trying to run off, "hold on there Flutters. You're in no shape to be going anywhere. Tell you what, I'll go get Twilight and you go to bed."

"But what about the animals?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"I'll come back and take care of that," Rainbow grunted as she pushed Fluttershy towards her stairs so she could go to bed.

"O-Okay, thanks Dash. Your a good friend," Fluttershy yawned again.

"The Element of Loyalty at your service!" she saluted and flew off.

Rainbow got to the library in a snap. She had learned after many scoldings from Twilight not to crash through the door and landed rather gracefully just outside instead. She unceremoniously kicked the door open with just as much force as she would have if she had just crashed through it in the first place. Two of the bookshelves dumped their loads onto the floor in massive avalanches. Spike was luckily in the middle of the library when the chaos unfolded. He jumped at the sudden loss of silence and nearly threw the broom he was using to sweep the library. The little purple dragon quickly identified the source of his stress and glared.

"Hey Spike!" Rainbow chirped as she flew in. "Where's Twilight?"

"She just left on the train to Canterlot," he moaned as he looked at the piles of books he'd have to pick-up now.

Rainbow had completely forgotten about Celestia's request from last night, she face hoofed. "She already left?!"

"Yeah, whatcha' need her for?" Spike asked arching an eyebrow.

"Fluttershy has a weird guest, we were hoping she could..." Rainbow didn't actually know why Fluttershy wanted Twilight for. "Help take care of him."

"An animal that Fluttershy can't treat, I got to see this!"

"Well, could you send a letter to Twilight first telling her to come back?"

"You want me to tell Twilight to ignore Princess Celestia's request and come home?" Spike pointed out.

"Ugh, well how long is she going to be?" Rainbow demanded frustrated.

"I don't know, the Princess didn't put a time on the letter remember?"

Rainbow grumbled, "great. Just when you need an egghead and she runs off. Alright, I need to get back to Fluttershy's cottage and help her feed her animals. You coming with?"

"Yeah, just let me lock up."

Dash waited rather impatiently outside the front door. She was so eager to get back that she was jumping from one hoof to the other. Spike emerged a second later and Rainbow flew him to Fluttershy's. Against earlier instructions, she was out by the chicken coop trying to feed them. But her exhaustion was clear from the way she stumbled about and struggled to keep her eyes open. Rainbow landed and immediately began to yell at her.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing?! You need to rest."

"B-but the chickens w-were hungry," she whimpered.

Dash sighed. "Come on, let's get you in bed. Spike can feed the chickens."

"I can?" Spike perked.

"O-okay, just don't feed them too much Spike."

She was led to bed by Rainbow while Spike gave the chickens what he thought was a reasonable amount of feed. When he was done, he came inside and dropped the bag. The wolf was asleep on the couch and the slow expansion and contraction of his chest made the screws bob up and down. It was disgusting and awesome at the same time. Spike knew what it was like to have a few needles stuck in him, but this was insane. That wolf had flesh and fur, not scales. He had to have been feeling those rods of metal burrowing in. Spike shivered from just the thought of such torture. This must have been the weird guest.

Rainbow came down the stairs after making sure Fluttershy went to sleep. She really needed a bath too, those blood spots were dry and crusting on her coat. When she caught sight of Spike's horror stricken stare, she followed it to Shadaico's sleeping form. Rainbow approached him slowly and quietly and looked at the screws. It almost made her want to vomit. It wasn't just his current wounds, but the ancient ones she could see even through his fur. This wolf had had a very violent life. Spike came up beside her to get a closer look as well.

"What happened to it?" Spike asked, eyeing the broken leg.

"I don't know, but Fluttershy was up all night caring for him." Rainbow was just so entranced by the screws.

"Can I pet him?"

Rainbow spotted the empty tea cup, the wolf was out of it. "You should really ask Flutters, but I'd say so."

Spike began to stroke the fur on Shadaico's head while he slept. "He's so soft," Spike giggled.

Rainbow didn't want to look like a wimp and quickly joined in. "Look at me, pettin' a wolf!" she grinned triumphantly.

Rainbow suddenly took a carrot to the back of the head! Turning around and rubbing the sore area, she found a grumpy and hungry Angel glaring at her.

***************************************************************************

In Canterlot, Luna had the changeling returned to her room, but with a slight addition. He was in a rectangular aquarium with a wire mesh roof above him. Luna gave him a hamster style water bottle and a small bit of hay to sleep on. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was better than being in a jar with nothing. Celestia preferred the idea of having him wear a collar, chains, seals, and maybe even get his own spot in the dungeon. She really wanted to punish him for the actions of his counterpart, Shadaico. But Luna, with a little backup from Cadence, had convinced her that maybe it wasn't his fault things had gotten so out of hoof.

But elsewhere in the castle, Celestia was busy discussing how castle repairs would progress. On a side note to her chat with the pony in-charge of the construction, they mentioned the state of Canterlot city. When the volcano style spell had been cast, initially Celestia had thought only the castle had been hit, but that wasn't true. A few homes and businesses had caught fire when raining debris from the blast had landed on their roofs. Repair costs, not including the castle, would be very small. But with her castle and the costs were staggering.

It would takes months to repair and it pained her heart to see it in this state. Hall after hall was black and crumbling. The throne room was either burnt or melted, take your pick. Numerous paintings, some almost priceless, had been obliterated in the fighting. The ballroom wasn't in a much better state. The stage and the famous alicorn statue had been reduced to rubble. Much of the floor had been ripped up and they would have to do repairs right down into the foundation.

Out in the gardens there was serious landscape work to be done, particularly around the pond. A few stray blasts had even reached the walls around that castle that would need to be torn down before they could be rebuilt. In terms of moving dirt, there was many tons. There were a fews trees that would need to come down and be replanted and there were some flowerbeds that had been ruined. The pond itself had lost several feet of depth and left a portion of mud and sand exposed around the edges.

It wasn't all bad news. In total, only one pony had been killed due to the fighting. Another died in an accident...caused by the fighting. The medical response had been huge and the pegasi had acted beautifully during the emergency. The evacuation had been unofficial and unorganized, but had worked. The city was deserted except for those who had been called back for construction, inspection, or medical reasons. Celestia hoped her subjects would return on their own when the all clear was given. The only reason it hadn't was due to the fear that the wolf might come back.

Celestia was exhausted. She hadn't had any sleep all night and there was still a lot of work to do. Worker ponies were going through the chard remains of several rooms as she passed them. There was little salvageable material. Numerous ponies were there with large carts that were taking what they could from the site to be properly disposed of. The unicorns were making the biggest differences by levitating the heavy more bulky pieces.

She followed the foreman into an old guest room that had seen better days. The walls had been singed and the bookshelves were probably ruined, but the bed was practically dirt. The work pony had stopped his rambling about how he planned to proceed as he looked over the bed. Celestia noticed a crispy book on the floor in front of her and picked it up with her hoof. She sighed as she held it before her face. It was an old and rare tome that began to crumble in her grasp.

"So much destruction," she whispered to herself.

"Pardon me Princess?" the work pony asked suddenly.

Celestia looked up with tired eyes, "nothing. It's just...so much happened last night. I was there when the construction of this castle began. I was there when Canterlot was first being built. To see it like this, empty and broken-" Celestia stopped herself.

"Forgive me your highness, but I think you should be grateful."

She looked at him. "Why?" she asked truly confused.

"If you'll pardon my rudeness, but...look at you! You should just be happy your alive! We can always replace a few boards and stones, but we can't replace you."

Celestia should have felt flattered by his words, but she just didn't feel like it right now, "Thank you."

He nodded. Celestia really should have been happy to be alive, she was a rather shocking sight at the moment. She had bandages wrapped around both her left legs, as well as some around her head. She had stitches on her shoulder and her right wing was sprained. Despite all this, she stayed up and insisted on getting work done herself. She had numerous advisers and overseers, not to mention a council, that was actually supposed to take over in such situations. Celestia might have had a problem letting others take over for what she felt was her responsibility.

A lone train was approaching Canterlot city, on board was a single unicorn...

Author's Note

This chapter was a pain to write and edit. I had a problem saying where Celestia was over-and-over, somehow Twilight was in the library and leaving on the train at the same time in the first draft, tenses were all over the place, and half the words must have been mispelled...

Chapter 19: A Time For Words...

Robes sat in the over sized red chair as he quietly read a book. The library he was in was coated in a thick layer of dust. The guards of Soul-Shatter couldn't read and Oswin never took an interested in it. The prisoners weren't even allowed access to it either. The result, a library that hadn't had a visitor in over 50 years! Cobwebs could also be found on the higher shelves and Robes found it somewhat disgusting. Even if he didn't use it, Oswin could at least clean the darn thing once every couple years.

His brown tarp like garbs were gone. He now wore an outfit far more fitting for an Angel. Its base was a fine white silk, but it was coated in something, magic or chemicals, that gave it a plastic look. His new robe had various buttons, tassels, and golden threads. It was a uniform that had a tall collar and hugged him tightly around the chest with golden buttons. The bottom of it was wide and lined with gold. The shoulders were squared off and a single sword was attached to his left hip. The blade resembled that of a holy warrior's. Its guard was filled with precious stones and the handle formed a cross.

Robes sat with one leg crossed over his lap. The book was currently reading was a magical guide to dark magic...an evil tome in the eyes of most. But an Angel needed to have a firm grasp of what he was up against. Robes, like all Angels, would read up on the subject as often as the opportunity would present itself. There was another book on the floor next to him that he had already read, but it was about something far different. It was an account of every prisoner current being held in one of the cells of Soul-Shatter!

Suddenly, Oswin charged through the door to the library with steam practically shooting out of his ears. Two Heavy Guards trailed him in as he confronted Robes. "What's the meaning of this!?"

Robes looked up from his book slowly and calmly, "an Angel most understand the limits of dark magic."

"Not your stupid book Robes! What's this about executing my prisoners?"

"I already explained that this prison is now under my control, didn't I?"

"Yes, you told me," he growled. "But are you sure your not abusing that power?"

Robes felt insulted, "you dare accuse me of corruption?!" Robes dropped his book and rose menacingly. "I am after the single most dangerous and powerful man to ever live, and you accuse me of wrong doing?!"

Oswin took a step forward, "you intend to execute a Reaper. Why would you need to do that?"

Reapers were once Angels, often called "The Fallen". An Angel is physically incapable of using dark magic...unless they remove they're wings. The wings of Angels is where they're magic is stored, hence the fact that as an Angel gets stronger, they get more wings. In a complicated process, an Angel can remove his wings and lose his light magic abilities. But in doing so, gains the opportunity to learn and use dark magic as a replacement. This dark Angel is called a Reaper.

It is a well known fact that there is a chance the Angel will be more powerful with dark magic, but at the same time, they could become weaker. The Energy Wing Angels are superior to Physical Wing Angels, so there is a bit of envious involved in becoming a Reaper. For obvious reasons, Reapers are at least looked down upon. At worst, they're seen as evil beings full of selfishness and dark desires. Few people realize that just because they're a Reaper, doesn't mean they are evil or did it on purpose. Then there was the misconception that all Angels were perfect and good, when they too could be corrupted like humans.

Robes did not like Oswin claiming that he was letting personal matters get in the way of his investigation. After all, Reapers and Angels hate each others' guts. "I assure you, it is very necessary."

Oswin scoffed, "sure it is. Don't take me for a complete fool! I don't mind you snooping around, but when you take express control of my prison and then manipulated it for your own little agendas, don't expect me to remain quiet."

"What's that supposed to mean," Robes challenged.

"You just better watch your step around here. There are a lot of loose tiles and old staircases to trip on," Oswin warned him coldly..

***************************************************************************

As the train pulled into the empty station, Twilight could already tell things were bad. She stepped out onto the platform and looked around. There were two guards at the station, but other then them, the place was deserted. Twilight made her way into town and the place continued to be devoid of life. All her way to the castle, she failed to see a single soul. When the castle truly came into view, she gasped. The roof was almost gone and there was a huge hole in the wall that led into the gardens. There were guard patrols everywhere, and the front gate was heavily fortified.

It took Twilight a second to get in, but the damage inside continued to stun and worry her. Eventually her tour led to the courtyard. There she froze and stared. Row after row of injured were lined out on mats as doctors and nurses desperately tried to treat all of them. Twilight couldn't tell what was wrong with some of them, but others...it was hard to tell what wasn't wrong. Never, not even during the changeling invasion, had so many guards been injured beyond the ability to serve their country.

The injured weren't just the Solar Guard, some Lunar Guards had been injured as well. Actually, most of the injured were Lunar Guards. There were a few civilians in the rows, but none of them were in nearly as serious a condition as the others.

Twilight was suddenly aware of a presence beside her. She turned slowly towards the pony and found herself looking at Celestia! She jumped slightly and quickly bowed. Celestia smiled weakly before giving her a nuzzle. Twilight was about to start asking her questions, when one of Celestia's hooves covered her mouth. Confused, she looked into her eyes.

"Follow me," she commanded gently.

They walked down carefully selected halls that prevented Twilight from seeing how truly great the destruction and effort to repair it was. Twilight also found it odd that no guards were escorting Celestia around, especially in her weakened condition. Then again, the castle may have been damaged, but it was still her castle. Their journey ended in a tall tower that led into the observatory. Here, there was a massive telescope that Twilight was all too familiar with.

The room was empty of other ponies and the doors were thick and heavy. The old telescope was a little dusty, but Twilight was transfixed on the other things in the room. The various desks were lined with star charts, ink and quills, books, and all of it had been left untouched for a time. Twilight still lost herself in her memories of this place. She had spent a great deal of time in this room, marveling at the stars above. She'd dream of far away planets and drift to the very limits of her imagination.

Celestia watched Twilight fall into her own thoughts with relief. She wanted to be someplace that was private but also someplace where she would relax. Twilight was prone to panic and Celestia needed her to be calm if she was going to tell her about the night before. Inhaling, she mentally prepared to explain.

"Twilight, I believe you are familiar with this room."

She was startled back into reality and answered quickly, "of course I do! This was the most important room in the castle for me as a filly!" She was excited about her childhood, that was good.

"You also spent countless hours in the library," Celestia smiled.

"I spend countless hours in a library now."

They shared a giggle. "And Spike kept you from sleeping in the Canterlot Library numerous times."

"He always kept me on track alright."

Celestia sighed, "but you didn't go out into the gardens too often. You were always inside diving into a book."

"I went to the courtyard with my big brother all the time, Princess," Twilight defended.

Celestia smiled at her. "Yes. Yes, you did. But your parents disagreed."

"That's because they didn't get to see me often enough," Twilight asserted.

"I remember the first time your parents came to see you in the castle," Celestia was enjoying the trip down memory lane.

"They were shocked with how much I'd grown," Twilight looked at the ceiling and began to remember that day. "They shouldn't have been so concerned, Shining was right here with me if I ever needed him."

"He and Cadence are doing well by the way."

"That's good." Twilight could sense that they were at the end of positive talking.

Celestia felt it was as good a time as any to get serious. "But I have some...bad news, regrettably."

Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. "Is it about the fire?"

Celestia nodded, "how much do you know about it?"

"Only that there was some kind of battle," Twilight's eyes drifted to Celestia's injuries.

She followed Twilight's gaze and closed her eyes. "Yes, I was involved in a confrontation with an intruder. One the likes we have never seen before."

"But you won, right?" Twilight was sure she had.

Celestia paused. Did she have it in her to get her favorite student involved in the hunt for such a monster? Was it even her choice? Even if they did track the wolf down, it had already proven that it could take Celestia, Luna, and a whole host of Royal Guard without much trouble. It wasn't a choice, she would need the Elements of Harmony if she was going to defeat it.

"No Twilight, we lost." Celestia lowered her head in shame. Twilight gasped and covered her mouth. "And that's why I need you."

"Me?"

"You and the rest of the Elements. The creature proved that it was very powerful and was capable of fighting for extended periods of time on a level myself and Luna.......cannot."

Twilight's eyes went wide. Was this new enemy like Discord? "Who was it, what was it?"

"Like I said Twilight, we have never seen a beast like this one before. It--somepony had defeated it in the past however. A series of seals were in its body that gave us the leverage we needed to hold it off. It is, however, still out there."

"Where did it go!?"

Celestia raised a hoof to get Twilight to quiet down. "It escaped with the use of Chaos Magic. I have reason to believe we won't be able to find it until it wants to be found. That's why I need you and your friends to be ready at all times."

"You want us to fight it when it comes back?"

"Yes. Normal forms of combat are inadequate for defeating this thing. Once we discover its location, I need you and your friends ready to act immediately."

"How long will it take to track down?"

"We can only hope it will be found soon, with the whole Royal Guard looking. We weren't able to hurt it physically, but we did manage to drain it of a large portion of magic."

"Why not ask for volunteers? I'm sure lots of ponies would be eager to help in the search."

"Your not thinking this through my student. If the public discovers there is a monster on the loose that is strong enough to burn entire cities to the ground, there will be panic." Celestia thought of something suddenly. "I also need you and your friends to keep it a secret. I don't want any ponies who don't need to know, to know that we were defeated last night. Can you do all I have asked of you?"

Twilight knew the Princess was counting on her and that all of Equestria did too. "Yes. Celestia, you can count on me--AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS!" she quickly added.

Celestia smiled, "You don't know how much of a relief it is to hear that."

"I just have three questions," she insisted.

"Oh? What are they?"

"Will you be sending me back to Ponyville, or will you bring my friends here?"

"Actually, I'm sending you back to Ponyville, but you'll take the Elements of Harmony back with you. Tell them all what I've told you, and warn them to keep it a secret."

"Yes Princess. Secondly; what did the creature that attacked look like?"

"It was a wolf at first, but it was able to shape shift and became...something else."

Twilight moved on, seeing how much it distressed her mentor. "Why did it come here, what was it after?"

Celestia didn't see any harm in letting Twilight in on their tiny guest. "The current theory is that the attack was actually a rescue mission."

Twilight tilted her head and gave Celestia a funny look, "a rescue mission?"

"We have a changeling of sorts in custody, the wolf attempted to leave the castle with him. We were able to recapture the changeling but the wolf got away...obviously," Celestia mumbled that last bit.

"Why don't we just ask the changeling who his ally was?" Twilight saw a clear and simple solution to the problem of the wolf's identity.

"We can't, he speaks a language that no one on Equus speaks. Until we can translate it, anything he says is just random babble." Celestia could feel her frustrations at her powerlessness rising.

Twilight's ears began to droop, "all you want me to do is to be ready to fight? But I can help translate the changeling's language or I could help find the wolf!"

Celestia could tell Twilight was ready and willing to do more. "We each have a task to complete. I need you to be rested and strong for the battle to come. I know how you are Twilight, you wouldn't sleep a wink until you had succeeded in translating that mysterious language."

Twilight smiled sheepishly, "okay. I guess you're right. So, are you sending me away with the Elements now?"

Celestia smiled mischievously, "I think you've asked more then three questions now, but yes. I have many things to prepare...and fix."

Twilight felt a little depressed knowing she wouldn't be with her mentor for much longer. "Can I at least see the changeling?" she begged.

Celestia gave a single nod. Together, they made their way down through the castle to Luna's room. Along the way, Twilight kept thinking about Celestia's words. A creature with enough power to attack the castle and get away? Nothing short of Discord was that powerful. But he wasn't a killer. Based on what she'd seen of him, he didn't enjoy killing or causing actual physical harm. He preferred attacking the mind and heart rather than the body.

When they arrived at Luna's room, Celestia made Twilight wait quietly outside as she snuck in. Luna was out of it and Celestia was easily able to snatch the glass box the changeling was in. Nash had been asleep, but Celestia moved his case a little too fast and it had sent him rolling off his pile of hay. As for Twilight outside, she was perplexed. Why would they be keeping a prisoner in Luna's room? Weren't the dungeons meant for that? Her questions went up in flames when Celestia emerged with a glass box.

The changeling was small...really small, maybe a third the size of an apple small. As for his color, he was something else. From what she knew about changelings, they all had a greenish color to their wings, eyes, and mane. But this changeling was a bright white in those aspects. It had previously been sleeping, but it was wide awake now and kept switching which of them it was staring at. Twilight was so into her thoughts that she failed to notice how close her face was to the glass, and what effect it was having on Nash.

Celestia held the case in her magic for a few more seconds before deciding that Twilight must have had her fill. With exaggerated haste, she returned the changeling to his proper place on Luna's desk. Whenever she saw him, Celestia felt a ping of anger in the back of her mind. She still had the idea that the changeling may have been small, but he had powerful friends that threatened the safety of her subjects.

***************************************************************************

Rainbow Dash and Spike finished feeding the last of Fluttershy's animals and unanimously decided they both deserved a reward for the all their hard work. Almost sneakily, they proceeded to raid the fridge. Spike didn't mind pony foods, but he would have preferred some gems. Fluttershy usually had some hidden away, just incase, but neither Spike nor Rainbow Dash felt like looking for them.

While they chewed away at their snacks, they watched Shadaico sleep. "Don't wolves eat meat?" Rainbow asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I guess," Spike shrugged.

"And some kind of carnivore did what Fluttershy saw out in the Everfree?"

"Carnivores eat meat, so I'd have to say yeah." Spike gave Rainbow a confused look.

"What're you looking at me like that for?" Rainbow had taken a slightly aggressive posture.

"Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Isn't it possible that this wolf is the one that scared Fluttershy!"

Spike's eyes lit-up with understanding. "You think so?"

"I know there are lots of creatures in the Everfree and all, but he appeared only two days after that incident. That can't just be a coincidence."

"Fluttershy loves animals, you think that's going to affect her at all. She spent all night saving his life, she's committed now."

Rainbow's aggressive stance melted away, "then I just hope she doesn't find out."

"You think we should stay?"

"To make sure she's okay? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I don't have anything else to do today."

The two of them decided they'd stay until Fluttershy woke up. Spike expected she'd be happy to know that her most valuable patient was stable. Well, stable as far as he could tell. But what Dash had said lingered at the back of his mind. Fluttershy had been run deep with fear after she found some kind of animal's corpse in the Everfree. Was it possible this wolf had been the culprit? There were a lot of animals out there, some of them downright vicious. Spike wasn't sure Fluttershy should be left alone with him.

***************************************************************************

"What have you concluded?" Chrysalis asked a single changeling that stood before her throne.

"That the repairs to Canterlot Castle will take several months at least. Government operations are at a standstill and the whole country is on edge."

It was only the morning after and rumors had already infected the populous. "Will we be able to take advantage of it as we suspected?"

"Easily so. The tension and fears in the ponies puts them in a weakened state. Should we act quickly, we can take...much from them."

Chrysalis smiled, "Excellent. You may go." As her servant left the room, Chrysalis stood up. She had a visitor and she didn't want to keep him waiting any longer.

Chrysalis made her way down a long and oppressive hall, lined with black rock. The door at the end was dark with a golden frame and an exquisite gold leaf design across its surface. After opening the doors, she calmly entered. The room was like an office. There was a desk and a few chairs, but little else. Chrysalis went and sat in the large chair at the desk. Spreading her wings to give herself a more powerful and threatening appearance, she called her guest in.

In walked the one changeling she really just wanted to kill right now...

"Firethorn, welcome to my Hive," she greeted with narrow eyes.

Firethorn was tall like Chrysalis, but he was a Thorn Changeling, he had a different body structure. His eyes, wings, and mane were a bright red, but his fur was black. His legs were covered with spikes that curved downward just slightly and his wings were tattered more evenly and neatly then Chrysalis's. His mane was short and styled back with care. His fangs were long and pearly white. He walked with forced steps and a scowl.

"Chrysalis, I'm so happy to be here," his voice was like hers. It sounded like he had two of them speaking just a tad out of sync. Both of his voices sounded pissed.

"Are you? That's good. 'Cause I'm glad your here to talk."

Firethorn idly looked over at the bare wall to his left. "So are you finally ready to admit that my Hive is superior to yours, or are you just lonely this evening?"

Chrysalis grumbled, "I asked for you to come....to explain yourself. At least before I tare your Hive apart."

Firethorn smirked, "explain myself? Why, whatever could you mean? And what's this about fighting?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Firethorn! Your little bratty kids picked a fight with one of mine and almost killed him. Give me one reason I shouldn't declare all out war against you right now!?"

Firethorn took a step forward. "If your pathetic children weren't so weak he wouldn't have almost died, now would he? As for going to war, you know how that would go my little sister. Your Hive may have the numbers--or should I say--did have the numbers. But mine has the weapons. You can't beat me in a fight. I'm too strong, and I don't intend to let you push the rest of us around."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chrysalis demanded.

"Oh come on Chrysalis, you know what I mean. After your little take over attempt, all the other changeling kings and queens have seen you as a greedy power hungry little bitch."

"Watch that tongue of yours Firethorn, or I'll have it cut out."

"I'll say whatever I damn well please!" Firethorn stomped. "Now if you want to throw it down right here and now, I'll gladly oblige, otherwise, I've got another pony to see today."

Chrysalis was slightly curious who that was. "Who could be more important than myself!?"

"Milkweed of course! That bastard has been shoving his nose in my business for far too long. It's about time he learned his lesson!"

Chrysalis wasn't surprised she had gotten Firethorn to tell her that with only one question, he was pretty dense sometimes. "You mean he won't let you break the ancient treaties and expose our kind to the ponies?" Chrysalis mocked him.

Firethorn glared back at her, "think before you talk. Are you really ready to fight me? Because you're just asking for it now."

Chrysalis hated to admit it, but he was right. Firethorn and his changelings were, in fact, superior to her own. Chrysalis's children were built for speed and agility. Firethorn's were better fighters, for obvious reasons. Firethorn himself had some nasty tricks up his nonexistent sleeves. She knew that if she went through with it, and declared war, she'd lose. But she couldn't be intimidated.

"If you fight me, you'll also have to fight Milkweed. Do you really think you can take us both at the same time?"

Firethorn grinned, "he's not here at the moment, is he. I kill you now, then I can kill him tomorrow."

"Can you now?" came a voice from the door. Firethorn spun around and found himself staring at the very Changeling he hated. Milkweed was, again, about as tall as the two of them. But he had well defined muscles and much broader shoulders. Like his behemoths, his mane, eyes, and wings were a deep blue. His hooves were wide and his chest was barrel shaped. His wings were not tattered like Chrysalis's and Firethorn's though. They were well taken care of and ended in nice round edges.

"How nice of you to join the party Milkweed, we were just talking about you," Firethorn joked.

"You want to say something to my face?" Milkweed had only one voice, but it was deep.

Firethorn stepped up and got disturbingly close. "Yeah, I do. You, or any of your chubby changelings, get in my way again...I'll rip off your horn, hollow it out, and use it as a goblet."

Milkweed was unwavering in his standoff with Firethorn. "And you better honor the laws our kind set forth at the beginning of time. If you don't, you know what I'm going to do to you?"

Firethorn moved back only an inch, "what?"

Milkweed smiled, "I'm going to tare off your horn, hollow it out, and use it as a goblet."

Firethorn scoffed, "sure you will. You just best watch your back." Firethorn left quickly after that. Whether the threat got to him or not was unclear.

Milkweed turned to Chrysalis and gave a tiny smile, "I got your message."

"Thank you for coming. Do you think we should have another gathering?"

Milkweed thought for just a second, "yes. There are things that need to be discussed. And, personally, I want to know what's happening with the other Hives."

"Are you still mad at me?" Chrysalis asked, folding her wings and looking down slightly.

"I never said I was mad, just...dissapointed."

"Milkweed.......will I ever live my mistake down?"

"You were rash, even you can't deny that. As to if you'll ever be forgiven....probably not. You will have to live with that act the rest of your life."

Chrysalis sighed. Milkweed was the closet thing Chrysalis had to a friend. Despite the fact that the two were supposed to be enemies, they did have some rather personal chats now and then. Another thing that non changelings would probably have misunderstood, was the way Chrysalis and the other royal changelings would greet each other. Although they would call one another brothers and sisters, they weren't technically related by blood. In other words, Firethorn was not actually Chrysalis's older brother. He was older then her, but they weren't related.

"What about Paradise?" Chrysalis's hope suddenly jumped.

"She will hear about it and I can guarantee, she'll feel just as I do." Chrysalis's ears drooped.

"What of the Firethorn situation?" Chrysalis suddenly became serious.

"Hm. You let me worry about him. I'll keep him in line...as always," Milkweed added with an eye roll.

"Thank you."

Just as Milkweed was about to leave, he stopped. "Oh, and Chrysalis?"

"Yes?"

"Don't do anything rash. Take it slow and think." He stopped talking for a moment before becoming unusually happy. "And have a nice day!"

Author's Note

It's funny, this chapter started with a fight and ended with a fight...

Chapter 20: Wolfy? [edited]

The bunker was buried a dozen feet below the surface. The room's walls were made of dirt with a handful of gas lanterns to illuminate the room. Two tables with thin legs stood together in the center of the room to support the large map. The air was dry, full of dust, and stunk of decaying flesh. There were a few wooden beams to support the dirt roof and walls. Outside, it was night.

Stuffed into the room were ten men! Two were guards with wooden rifles; they were guarding the only way into the room. Another soldier sat in a dark corner of the room by himself. He was in agony because one of his legs was missing and had been bandaged over. He also had his head and chest wrapped in bloody cotton. It was unclear if he would live to see dawn. A surgeon sat on the floor with a single patient lying on a mat. The surgeon was working with sewing thread as he tried to mend a bullet wound in the jackal's chest. The dark colored jackal also had a primitive brace on one of his legs made of two pieces of wood. His left leg had been broken. He did not have any sedatives, so he was feeling the surgeons needle in its entirety, but he only gritted his teeth.

Also in the room was a short strange angular man with a long trench coat. His skin was as pale as a ghost's, but the space under his eyes was black, like war paint. His arms were crossed over his chest and his head was tilted down. He kept a hood over his bald exterior and leaned back against the wall as he carefully kept watch of the surgeon and his work. Although he watched him, he stood on the opposite side of the room because he also wanted to watch the meeting taking place. Two men, large with muscle, stood huddled over the table. They looked like twins, if it wasn't for the scar on the face of one of their eyes. They had square heads, dry rough skin, square shoulders, and legs too short to go with their massive chests.

Also standing at the table with them was an extremely tall man, at least 6 and half feet! He was huge, but unusually thin, like a pencil. He had nerd written all over him as he wore large square glasses and let his buck teeth dig into his lower lip. His fingers were long and were busy pointing at various points on the map. The last man in the room was young, really young. Barely a teenager, he stood at 4'8" and coward by one of the guards at the doorway. He had long legs and was extremely agile. Which is why he was a messenger boy.

Everyone present was involved in some way, shape, or form in the war going on outside. The twins were generals that wore dark green uniforms. Their many medals were absent from their uniforms. The tall nerd wore a dark tuxedo with dirt stains in it. The shoulder was torn and the thing was ripped in various places. The messenger boy wore rags sewn together from old towels you'd normally use to dry off once you got out of the shower. The guards wore your typical World War Two uniforms, minus the helmets. They kept their rifles pointed at the ceiling and their faces perfectly still.

The two generals were arguing with the nerd, who was a strategist. "There has to be some way we can win!"

"Look," the nerd was frustrated. "Once the Angels get their artillery to the top of these mountains," he pointed at a mountain range on the map, "they'll bomb El Derrotado into oblivion! If we don't stop that artillery movement, our capital is toast in five hours."

The scarred general spoke up with a sigh, "we don't have any anti-artillery shields up. We also don't have the infantry to take on the forces defending their weapons. So what do you suggest?" He looked at the strategist expectantly.

There was a long wait as he thought. "We could try to send in a small covert op and try to sabotage their gun emplacements." The un-scarred general was shacking his head as he continued. "But that would only slow them down. In short, El Derrotado is doomed. There is no way it will survive that bombardment and there is no way we can defeat the swarm of Angels coming through the pass."

"Are you saying we've lost the war!?" the un-scarred general slammed his hands on the table.

He looked at him sternly. "You were the one who failed to fortify the canyon as I told you. Now that they're through...it's over. The Angels will take the mountain outpost in a few hours. Then they'll start the attack."

The scarred general jumped in, "we have to strike first then!"

"With what?! All our remaining troops are under-aged and under-trained children! Some don't even know which end of the rifle to point at the bad guy!" the nerd erupted on the general.

"Reinforcements from--"

"Are days away! Our capital is about to fall and there is nothing we can do except surrender."

"What about my pay," came a slow deep voice from behind the generals.

They turned and looked at the man wearing a black leather trench coat. "What about it?" asked the scarred general.

"The deal was when you won the war, I'd get paid, no less than one hundred million dollars. Am I still getting paid?" His voice was clearly that of an evil man with many dark stories to tell. His eyes were full of malice and anger.

"What are you talking about? Everyone here is going down fighting, including you," the un-scarred general pointed at him defiantly.

The pale skinned man burst out laughing. "That's ridiculous! Why should I die with you losers? I'm a mercenary, I have no real stake in this petty squabble of yours. All I want is my money."

"The deal was when we 'won'. We aren't going to win, and therefor have nothing to pay you," the scarred general retorted.

"I don't care," he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards them intimidatingly. "I'm not going to die with you humans and I'm not leaving your pathetic little country empty handed either. I didn't spend the past three years of my life fighting the Angels to get nothing in return. Now you pay up...or I take your heads off."

***************************************************************************

Shadaico began to wake from his dream. Before opening his eyes, he sighed. The battle of El Derrotado, the capital of a nation that foolishly decided to fight the Angels. He had been the jackal on the mat that the surgeon was working on! It was back in his younger days when he was a mercenary for hire. His fellow mercenary had turned on his employers when they asked him to go down fighting with them. Shadaico had only gotten involved in the war in the last few months, just before the fall of El Derrotado. After Jack, the other mercenary, turned on the generals, the two of them fled the country just before it collapsed. They soon became partners in crime, but it didn't last long.

Jack had been in the mercenary business for a shorter period of time then Shadaico and he was several years younger. But the guy had skill. He was proficient with a weapon unlike the norm. It was like a glove with daggers on each finger, but the daggers were long. Unfortunately for Jack, he himself had some serious mental problems as well as an underlying case of stupidity. Jack never understood the ways of the world, like governments or the economy. He never bothered to figure it out either. Shadaico always saw him as incompetent. If it wasn't for his abilities, the guy would have been a waste of flesh...in Shadaico's opinion of course.

As Shadaico pushed his eyes open, he was greeted by a pair of large greenish orbs! Startled for a second, he pulled back from them to see them better. He quickly found himself starring at a butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane. She jumped back as well and coward behind a coffee table. Shadaico suddenly noticed his front left leg had been encased in a cast. He could also feel the stitching on his muzzle and side. They itched. Without thinking, his paw reached up and began to scratch his face. The yellow pegasus jumped out of hiding and seized his paw. She quickly began scolding.

He knew she was right, he shouldn't touch the stitches, they needed time to heal. Then another thought crossed his mind, where was he and who was this pegasus? Shadaico remembered Blank and his unprovoked attack. This must have been part of his plan, but what was the goal? This pegasus must not have heard that Shadaico was the one that attacked the castle. She must have thought he was just a hurt animal.

Shadaico quickly took in his surroundings as he continued to ignore the noises the pegasus was making, he still couldn't understand her language anyway. He was in some kind of cottage that seemed designed to accommodate a multitude of animals as well as the owner herself. At least, he assumed the place belonged to the timid creature. Shadaico progressed further with his analysis and found himself on a couch with a small table nearby. A cup of the herbal tea was back and he eyed it longingly. He would love to numb all the pain he'd been feeling lately.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when a small purple and green dragon came into the room from some sort of kitchen. It had been a long time since he'd seen a baby dragon and it was quiet impressive. To think such a small helpless creature could become a fire breathing beast.

*****

"Is the wolf awake Fluttershy?" Spike waddled into the room after hearing her talking to someone. As he entered, the wolf eyed him carefully. The wolf was sitting upright on the couch with his back straight, but left his chest deflated. It gave him a curved unhealthy look. His injuries and the screws in his back should have left him immobile from pain, but he was looking around and sitting without a problem it seemed. That kind of pain tolerance was unheard of.

Fluttershy turned away from Shadaico and looked at Spike, "I can't get him to lay back down. He might hurt himself! Spike, can you help me lay him down?"

"Assistant Spike at your service," he gave a salute before he came over. Secretly, he was in awe of the wolf. He was strong, that was obvious. He was turning and bending as he looked around, movements like that had to hurt with those screws in his back. But he didn't so much as flinch or wince. He looked bored more then anything. When Spike was by Fluttershy's side, he paused. How was he supposed to get a wolf to lay down without making him mad?

"Uh Fluttershy. How do I do that?"

"Oh. Well...uhm. Mr. Wolf? Can you please lay down? We need to look at those injuries."

He regarded her for a moment before his eyes drifted to the cup on the table. Spike followed his gaze as Fluttershy tried to recapture his attention.

*****

Shadaico didn't consider the pegasus or her dragon friend a threat. He just found them boring. They obviously had been the ones that treated him, but why? He was a monster as far as they should be concerned, and in two ways. Not only did he nearly destroy a castle, but he was a carnivores animal now. This pegasus was likely a herbivore and therefore easily on the menu. Despite that, he understood her fondness for animals based on her house and her gentle demeanor. She was as innocent as they came and Shadaico considered himself lucky.

Shadaico couldn't help but eye the herbal tea over and over. He liked the taste of it and it helped him heal. The dragon finally caught on and picked up the cup. The tea was long since cool, but he still offered Shadaico the liquid. He grinned as Shadaico reached out with on oddly dexterous paw and grasped the cup. Greedily, Shadaico downed the tea and immediately felt the drowsiness of the medicine kick in. Shadaico barely got the cup back to the dragon before he began to rock back and forth. The world was going sideways in seconds.

His pain was washed away in a flash as he tilted further and further over. The pegasus caught him when he went too far. She gently laid him down on the couch again. Shadaico fought sleep so he could enjoy the sensation of no pain. Shadaico never was one to get high or enjoy drugs, mostly because of damage to his body. Believe it or not, you do need a healthy brain and liver to live a life like Shadaico.

But he was throwing all those notions out the door as he tried his hardest to enjoy those precious moments before he lost consciousness again...

*****

As the wolf fell asleep again, Fluttershy sighed. She was glad he was so easy to work with, but a little concerned about his addiction to the medicine. She was still trying to come up with a way she could remove the screws in his back though. How come he could move so freely? They clearly went right through his shoulder blades, so he shouldn't have been able to use his legs. Fluttershy could tell there was some kind of enchantment on the metal, but she had no idea what it might have been.

"If only Twilight was here..." Fluttershy whispered as she pet Shadaico's head. She needed her expertise and knowledge to treat this patient. Spike was nice company and he had agreed to stay, unlike Dash, but he didn't know how he could help much. Speaking of Spike...

"Is he dangerous?"

"I don't think so. He didn't seem very aggressive and he drank the tea without putting up a fuss. I think he'll be fine until Twilight can get here and help with the screws."

"Do you want me to stay here?"

"Oh, I'd most appreciate that Spike. But, if your not at the library, we won't know when Twilight gets back. If you don't mind, could you go wait for her and tell her to come her as soon as possible?"

"As if I could say no!" Spike saluted and ran out the door.

Fluttershy smiled, he sure was cute when he did that. Fluttershy took a look at the wolf and gave a nod. She needed to get him some water and put together a meal he would eat. Now she just had to think what a wolf would like to eat...

***************************************************************************

Twilight had a heavy saddlebag with the chest of the Elements of Harmony inside. It was just past noon as she stared out the window. She couldn't help but think how she was going to tell the others that there was a monster on the loose and they had to be ready at a moments notice to fight it if it showed up. All she knew about the creature was that it looked like a wolf and had magic seals in its body. She also knew that it was friends with a changeling that was only two inches tall. But why?

What would a super powerful wolf need a changeling as an ally for? Another thing that bothered her was how they spoke a custom language. How smart were they that they could invent a language!? An accomplishment like that was unprecedented. It was even more disturbing when you began asking why they did it. What made them create a language only they spoke? Were they evil? It would seem that way, after the damage they did to Canterlot.

The train station in Ponyville appeared out the window. In twenty minutes, she'd be home with her friends. She took the time to look around the car. She was the only passenger in the cozy little box. The chairs were velvet with lots of stuffing inside. They were comfortable and a bright pink. The windows were large and round as well. None of that was really on her mind though. She was reviewing everything she knew about magic, specifically, combat. If they were going to fight this thing, it might be necessary to use additional spells. Not that she thought the Elements of Harmony wouldn't be enough, but it was better safe than sorry.

When the train came to a stop and Twilight got off, she immediately groaned. The ordeal Fluttershy had faced in the Everfree had left the town scared. So they had put together a town watch. Now that rumors of the Canterlot attack were spreading like wildfire, few ponies were outside. Paranoia and fear had caused most ponies to lock themselves indoors! Twilight thought it was not only silly, but also unhealthy.

She didn't have time to dwell on such thoughts as she headed for the library. Rather then carry the Elements around their necks all day, which would cause even more fear in the locals, Twilight figured it was better to store them in the library for safe keeping. Her plan was to then go out and tell each of her friends individually what Celestia had told her. The plan seemed good and Twilight made good time when she arrived at home. As she walked in, she quickly hid the chest with the Elements in a small compartment hidden in the shelves.

As she put the books back in place, Spike came through the door. "TWILIGHT! Your home!"

He ran up and hugged her. "I was only gone for a couple hours."

"We've got to go to Fluttershy's, she needs your help," Spike seemed stressed.

"Is everything okay?" Twilight was ready for action. If one of her friends was in danger, she was prepared to save them.

"She's okay, but she has a new patient and he's hurt really bad. She needs your help healing him."

"Why doesn't she just take the animal to the hospital?" Twilight was a little confused. What could she do better then the hospital?

"That's the thing Twilight. This isn't a normal injury. It's really freaky, it's like he's been tortured or something! Somepony hurt him and Fluttershy's really scared."

Twilight could understand now. If somepony had purposefully abused an animal and Fluttershy found out, she was going to be upset. "Let's get to her place then. I need to tell her something when this all over anyway."

They made their way to Fluttershy's and calmly knocked on the door. If it was an emergency, wouldn't they have just entered? Fluttershy cautiously opened the door and gave them access. "Oh I'm so glad your here Twilight. I don't know what to do."

Twilight was a little worried now. What had been done to this animal? When Fluttershy took her into the next room and showed her Shadaico, she near choked. It was a wolf slightly bigger than herself for one thing, but the torturous screws in its back were enough to petrify her. She had read about terrible torture techniques, but she'd never actually seen one. There was no doubt in her mind, somepony had captured this poor creature and then did awful things to it. Twilight felt so sorry for it.

"The medicine I gave him should help with the pain, but he drank it too fast and now he's asleep. Can you help me?"

Twilight realized her mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it. "I'm not sure how."

"What about the screws?" behind her eyes, Twilight could see tears of despair rising. She had been Fluttershy's last hope.

"I can try, but I've never seen something like this." Her own words made her freeze. A wolf and something she'd never seen before? That phrase sounded familiar. Putting that thought off to the side for a moment, she approached the wolf's sleeping form and began looking at the rods of metal in his back. She easily determined that they'd been there for some time, but something was off. There was some kind of magic pulsing through them at rapid intervals. The screws in question were enchanted somehow.

"Are you familiar with this species of wolf?" Twilight asked Fluttershy while she continued to look at him.

"No actually. I was hoping you could help with that too. If you don't have anything else important to do, I would really like to know."

"I'll go through some books and see if I can narrow it down." Twilight was looking at the platinum chain around Shadaico's neck now. "What's this?"

"I'm not sure. I thought it might be like a collar. Maybe somepony owns him, like a pet."

Spike waddled into the room, "so what's the diagnosis? Can you help him?"

Twilight straightened up. "Maybe. But these objects in his back are unusual. It's like there some kind of magic seal--" Twilight froze as her eyes grew huge. "Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in an eerily calm voice.

"Yes Twilight."

"Do you have any idea where this thing came from?" Twilight was stiff.

"I found it just off the road, it was horribly injured."

"Has it been awake since then?"

"For a few minutes," Fluttershy tilted her head. She didn't understand what Twilight was going on about.

"Did it try to hurt you?!" Twilight turned towards her suddenly.

After flinching a step back she responded, "no. He just looked around and drank the tea I offered him."

Twilight stared at her for a while. "That's......good. Can we speak in private for a moment?"

Spike cut in, "private of who? Me or the wolf?"

"Both of you!" Twilight snapped at him.

"Okay. You can go in the next room and I'll stay with Wolfy."

"Wolfy?" Fluttershy questioned.

"That's what I've decided to call him!" Spike chirped.

Twilight rolled her eyes and dragged Fluttershy into the kitchen. Twilight almost slammed the door and turned on Fluttershy. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Author's Note

Got some miscellaneous news for you guys about three things, so listen up. First, I'm trying to publish a chapter every Sunday...I fell behind by a week. So beat me over the head with something next time it happens...

Second: The language barrier is going down soon and I intend to really start giving you guys a look into Nash and Shadaico's pasts...especially after the language situation is done. (And I have some complicated plans for how that's going to work)

Finally, I fell behind in MLP episodes as well a while back and then just said, "hey, if I just wait for the season to be finished, I can watch all of them at once!" So, last night I sat down and watched Season 3 episodes 5-13. (the ones I hadn't seen) Two points to make about that. One: Discord is a good guy now!? Well that throws off some plans I had and already started. Two: Twilight became an Alicorn/Princess...0_o

So here's the deal; I'm going to pretend that Discord never turned good and Twilight never became an Alicorn

Chapter 21: Paradise

Hours of brainstorming...5 days...7 rough drafts...5 scenarios...over 25,000 words...and a few MLP episodes later, we get this! A character I wasn't planning to introduce for several more chapters is here to help fix the problem. The situation? I changed the outcome of Fluttershy and Twilight's conversation (you won't have to go back to understand what changed). In order for future plans to work I needed: A)Twilight keep Shadaico a secret from Celestia, or B)Something keeps Celestia from going out and trying to kill/capture him. It wasn't easy, but I think I've got something that keeps everyone in character and progresses the story...a lot...

Celestia, Shining Armor, and a strong brown workhorse sat at a small round table in a random room. The table was covered in the original blueprints of Canterlot Castle! They were pretty old, but the care they'd been maintained with guaranteed they'd last many years to come. The workhorse found the plans fascinating, and important. He'd need them if he was to repair the damage to the castle. Shining was there to keep him from bringing in an army of workers and swarming the castle in civilians under the guise of repairing the roof. Shining might have been a little paranoid that some of them would have ideas other than repairing the castle.

Celestia wasn't as worried about other ponies as she was about the wolf. It had been the only thing on her mind. It was nearing the end of the day after the attack and she hadn't slept in almost 36 hours. Celestia kept drifting into her own thoughts while Shining and the workhorse negotiated a balance of speed, security, and workers. Celestia had assured them at the start that as long as it got done in a year, she would be fine with it. Going on those assumptions, Shining was trying to keep as many workers out of the castle as possible, maintain a huge security force, and delay the completion for almost that full time span. While the workhorse was taking the opposite approach. He wanted to finish repairs in record time by brining in his entire build team! Said plan, would mean little security of course.

The two kept bargaining and lowering their demands. The workhorse wanted to impress Celestia, but he did not want to make the good captain angry with him. Shining Armor found his respect just a tad lacking, but he was eager to please. He may have asked Celestia why she wasn't participating in the discussion very much, but that could get awkward with the workhorse there. Fortune was on Shining's side as they suddenly came to an agreement. It was inevitable they would reach common ground with them both giving in to the other in small increments, but it was no less appreciated.

The workhorse left, slightly disappointed that his repair efforts were set to be finished in about two months. Shining was about to consult Celestia when a guard from the hall interrupted. "Princess, you have a visitor."

"Please send them in," Celestia almost seemed like she didn't want to talk to Shining.

He grumbled to himself as he waited for this visitor to arrive. As soon as her business was done, he needed to have a talk with Celestia. When a pretty and young looking unicorn walked through the door, he scowled. She had a bright pink coat with no imperfections that was neatly brushed. Her mane was a lush blond that was curled into two cones that dangle on each side of her head. Her eyes were sky blue and she wore a large smile. She had a few freckles on her cheeks and a merry skip to her step. She wasn't wearing anything except a simple crystal earing on her right ear. When she came a little closer, Shining found her cutie mark confusing. It looked like a diagram of three sound waves stacked on-top of each other.

Celestia stared at the mare with her mouth hanging open more and more as she neared. "P-Paradise?"

The mare showed her perfect teeth as her face curled up into a huge grin. "It's been a while."

The mare lunged at Celestia, making Shining jump. When he realized they were embraced in a powerful hug, he was dumbfounded. Who was this mare? "I don't mean to interrupt, but...who is she?"

They slowly untangled from each other with slight blushes on their faces. "My name is Paradise," she greeted him.

Celestia gave Shining a proper introduction. "This is Shining Armor, a captain of the Royal Guard," she praised.

"Ooh, a captain! It's nice to meet you Mr. Armor."

"I would say its a pleasure to meet you, but I don't know anything about you I'm afraid." Shining was trying to be friendly, but he was too confused to think straight. When was the last time he saw Celestia hug anypony?

"Of course you wouldn't know little old me." She looked at Celestia with a narrow eye, "its not like I'm in a history book or anything."

Celestia frowned, "history books aren't specific about the role you played I'm afraid."

"WHAT?! What are you saying Celestia?" Paradise demanded.

"Well, history books go through many rewrites and changes. Somewhere along the way, you might have been cut from the pages," Celestia explained with sad eyes.

Paradise was stunned. "After all I did for the Crystal Empire...and they just leave me out?"

Shining jumped in, "whoa whoa, what's this about the Crystal Empire?"

Celestia too had a sudden revelation. "Paradise, the empire's curse has been lifted for months. Yet, you only came back now? Why did you take so long?"

"What does she have to do with the Crystal Empire?" Shining asked again.

Paradise seemed to ignore him. "I was left without my memories like the rest of the Crystal Ponies. After I got my memories back, I decided to learn everything I could on my own first. I visited a few places and tried to learn what happened after the Empire...fell." She seemed to hate saying that. "While on one of my trips, I heard about what happened here. I came to the conclusion you'd need me again."

"Its so good to see you again Paradise, but how can I send you back into service this soon. I haven't seen you in a thousand years! There's so much we need to talk about." Celestia's voice radiated old memories.

"Your kingdom should come first, Celestia," the mare was touched, but still scolded Celestia.

"Who are you?" Shining tried again slightly louder than before.

She turned towards him and smiled, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Who are you?" he was now thoroughly frustrated.

"I already told you, my name is Paradise. Just a simple mare living a simple life."

Celestia actually giggled at her teasing. "That's enough Paradise. Tell him a little about yourself."

She huffed like a filly would when their mother had told them to clean their room. "I am Paradise, ex-Special Forces of the Equestrian Royal Army. I was a master spy, agent, and assassin."

Shining's jaw dropped, this cute little mare was an assassin?! She giggled at him and tried to cover her mouth.

She continued, "I helped take down Discord and King Sombra." She paused as her demeanor seemed to darken. "But when Sombra was sealed away, I was still in the city. His curse caught me off guard."

"You were an assassin?" Shining had finally registered that fact.

"Often called the best," she chirped.

"You fought Discord?!"

"I confronted him three times, including at the theater where he was defeated." She seemed generally ignorant of how amazing a story she was telling.

"You fought King Sombra a thousand years ago?!" Shining was still in awe.

"I didn't really fight him," she hummed. "It was my job to gather intelligence on his plans and then assassinate him."

"Your......a legend." Shining shook his head quickly, "if all that's true."

Celestia smiled, "it is." Shining slipped right back into shock at that.

"Your a captain of the royal guard, surely you've done some impressive things in your time," Paradise encouraged him honestly.

Celestia rushed to his defense. "He is the youngest captain Equestria's ever had!"

"There you go, your famous too!" she smiled at him.

"Thanks," he forced a smile in return.

"Oh you think too low of yourself Mr. Armor. You married a princess and you fought an army of vicious changelings!"

"How'd you know about that?"

"I've been gathering information for the past few months, how would I not hear about that?" she asked playfully.

The speed at which she could switch emotions was hard to keep up with. "So you know all about me?"

"Of course. I may not know all of Equestria's history up to this point, but I've got enough."

"Well its so good to see you after all these years," Celestia joined their chat again.

"You forget Celestia, that as far as I'm concerned, I was talking to you only a few months ago."

"But I haven't seen you in a thousand-"

Paradise interrupted her by laughing. "I know, I know. Why do you have to be so technical?"

Celestia sighed. "You were always an interesting mare to have around."

Paradise suddenly became serious, "well, it's time to get down to business I'm afraid."

Shining was taken off guard, "what business?"

"This 'Canterlot Castle Fire' business." She pulled out a newspaper from seemingly nowhere. "Can I help with this?" she asked Celestia.

"Are you still good at what you do?"

Paradise chuckled. "That's not a fair question. You haven't seen me work in-"

"Can we focus on what it is you intend to offer?" Shining stopped her.

"Mr. Armor, I know for a fact that the monster was not defeated as this paper says. Why would outposts and soldiers across Equestria be running around in the wilderness so soon after a surprise attack?"

Shining grinned nervously, "was it really that easy to figure out?"

"Only a well educated pony is going to question these things, Mr. Armor. How well educated is the average modern pony?"

"I see," Celestia thought about her logic for a moment.

"Do I have permission to get involved in this or not?" Paradise requested again.

"I'd love to get you back into service. What do you need?"

"I need to know everything about the threat!" she stated immediately.

Shining was more than willing to join Celestia in telling the mare everything. From the changeling, to the wolf's attempt to infiltrate the castle, to its disappearance. The only fact they kept from her was the chaos magic that was detected where it had disappeared. Shining had tried to let Celestia tell Paradise, but she didn't. She just ended the facts session. It was good for Celestia and Shining Armor to go over everything that had happened too, as would become apparent in a moment.

Paradise took a moment to compile all the information before she asked a peculiar question, "have you slept since then?"

Celestia lowered her head slightly, "I couldn't go to sleep while that wolf was on the loose."

"So what exactly do you think of it?" Paradise's neutral expression made determining what she wanted to hear impossible.

"I think.......the wolf is a monster that must be stopped!" Celestia became aggressive.

"What do you intend to do with it once you catch it?"

Celestia hesitated. "I...don't know."

"I see." Paradise lowered her gaze. "You haven't changed much. Your still passionate about your beliefs, but you still believe all life is sacred. You don't want to kill something, especially if you know its sapient. But at the same time, you let your anger flow whenever something threatens the lives of the innocent."

Celestia looked up, the bags clearly visible under her eyes now. "If I did catch the wolf...I wouldn't know what to do."

"Locking it up for its crimes would be your first option. Or you could go to it with peace."

"Peace?" Shining asked with quizzical look.

"I would like that, but..." Celestia failed to finish her own sentence.

"You told me that wolf was trying to flee. It wasn't until you removed the seals that it attacked. Now tell me, how difficult was it to take the screws out?"

"Well, I pulled pretty hard and he was moving in the opposite direction pretty fast. I'd say a normal pony would have a real difficult time removing them without magic."

"And the wolf obviously wasn't capable of removing them on his own. But you told me this changeling was only two inches tall? I highly doubt his little buddy was going to take them out for him."

"So you're sure it was just a rescue mission that went bad?" Shining prodded.

"Exactly. If you thought your best friend was being held captive by....let's say the changelings! Wouldn't you go after them? Maybe you would be looking for a fight, but this wolf obviously wasn't."

Celestia nodded slowly. "Maybe I was quick to jump to the conclusion that the wolf was our enemy. If we do find the wolf, you recommend we approach it peacefully?"

"If at all. I suspect it's going to try and lie low, recuperate for a while. And it sure isn't about to do anything that's going to attract attention."

"When we do find it, we shouldn't worry?" Shining tried to point out that this might not be a good course of action.

"No, we shouldn't. This thing isn't about to start a fight with us now. Because this time, we'll be ready for it."

Celestia had to agree with Paradise. Maybe it was her tired mind, maybe it was because she hadn't seen her in so long, or it could have been she was actually making sense. "We won't hurt it or blame it for what happened here then. So what do we intend to do?"

"Just focus on translating its language. That should be our priority. Once we can understand it and it can understand us, we can reunite the two of them and get some explanations for all of this. We'll even be able to explain our own actions."

Celestia yawned, it was nearing time to lower the sun and get some dinner. "Excuse me," she blushed a little in embarrassment.

"It is late. Maybe you should go to bed."

Before any of them could make a move, a parchment appeared in front of Celestia's face. Paradise was the only one without a clue what was going on. Celestia immediately unrolled it and began reading. She nearly dropped the letter halfway through. Twilight had found the very creature they'd been talking about...

"Is it from Twilight?" Shining leaned forward a little.

"Yes....she found the wolf."

Shining stared at her. Paradise inhaled slowly to calm herself. "So, how about it Celestia? Are we going to keep the peace, or go in spells a'blazing?" Paradise proposed.

Talking about ending the violence had been a lot easier when her student's life wasn't on the line. "I can't Paradise. I can't take the risk that we're wrong and let Twilight get hurt."

"Who's Twilight?" Paradise asked.

"She's my younger sister," Shining mentioned. "She's also Celestia's most skillful and favored student."

Paradise seemed to understand. "It's not a risk, you agreed with me just a second ago that this wolf is just a victim like us! Please don't take another innocent life," Paradise begged.

Shining thought those were some interesting words coming from an assassin. "I have to agree with Celestia. If we're wrong and Twilight got hurt..." he couldn't finish.

"Her letter says that her friend Fluttershy found it badly injured in the forest. Despite the fact that it left here without an injury."

"That's perfect!" Paradise near cheered.

"Hm?" Celestia tilted her head.

"Think about it! A super dangerous wolf got hurt to near death by a bunch of animals in the forest? I don't think so. As long as the seals stay in, it won't hurt anypony. If it is injured and they're caring for it, it isn't going anywhere soon. It's going to stay put and get as much treatment as it can out of them. Tell me I'm wrong!" she jumped at Shining as he was about to say something.

Celestia leaned back and thought about that. She couldn't deny that Paradise was a genius and new how to argue. It's what had made her a great spy...and a great friend. That wolf needed to lay low now that the military was looking for it. If it could get medical attention in the meantime, it was not going to take any risks that could jeopardize that. Given enough time, it could settle down and give them the opportunity they needed to overcome the language difficulties.

But Celestia was scared for her student anyway. "Paradise, I just don't feel comfortable telling my student to watch over this creature. Even if we know it isn't about to hurt her or anypony else, it could become angry and..." she failed to finish again.

"Then assign me to protect Twilight," Paradise commanded.

If Shining had been drinking anything, he would have spit it out. "If anypony is going to protect my sister, it should be her big brother!"

"No way, your emotional attachment makes you mentally unsound for this kind of operation."

"I have the most powerful shield spells in the kingdom! Nopony can protect Twilight better than I can."

"What do you know about gathering intelligence or keeping watch? I bet you don't even have experience being a body guard!" Paradise was in his face shouting.

"Why don't you both go and guard Twilight then?" Celestia offered.

"Fine with me," Shining sat back down.

"What?! I don't need some soldier boy hanging over my shoulder-"

"Paradise! This already goes against my better judgment. I'm tired, I'm scared, my student's life may be in jeopardy...yet I feel like this is the right thing to do." Paradise and Shining gave her a look. "Something in my heart tells me that this wolf deserves the benefit of the doubt for its actions and I will not overlook what my heart tells me again," she stated with a fire in her eyes.

Shining knew she was thinking about the Nightmare Moon incident. He had heard rumors that Celestia had felt something was wrong with Luna...and ignored it. She apparently wasn't going to do that again today. "Understood!"

Paradise didn't quite understand what Celestia meant, despite their old friendship. She hadn't been there when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, she had already vanished with the Crystal Empire. Either way, what she knew was right was what Celestia had decided on. "Thank you Celestia."

"I ask of you two only a few things. Protect Twilight with your lives. And...try to work together," she mumbled with a sigh.

Paradise looked at Shining with narrow eyes, then she smiled. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to write a letter to my student that will calm her down. Then I'm going to have some dinner and get some well deserved sleep."

As Celestia left the room, she nodded to both of them with a fragile smile. Paradise turned to Shining with simple instructions. "If we're going to be watching this wolf, we can't let it know we're official. Think of this as an undercover mission. That means no uniform, no armor, and no soldiers."

She was right, but he didn't like the idea. "Okay."

"You're defense. If something does happen to go wrong, our fault or otherwise, you are only to use shields, got it?"

"You want me to just stand there and let it attack me?" he asked sarcastically.

"You'll be a distraction of course. I'll go for the kill," she said with a disturbing smile.

"I can agree to that, but you have to do something in return."

"What's that?"

"I want to know more about you. Where you grew up, how close you and Celestia were, what all you did before the Crystal Empire."

"It's a deal!" She extended her hoof so they could shake on it.

"Good."

"You hate changelings, right?" she asked suddenly while they were shaking hooves.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" he blinked at her.

"That's too bad..."

***************************************************************************

Blank read over the letter in his hooves a second time. He was disguised as a zebra again and he sat in a chair at an empty market in Canterlot. He was slightly disappointed that the place was still closed and that nopony had come back. It had been a full day! The sun was about to set and the fires were long since out. What was the problem with some ponies?

Despite his desire for a good salad, the letter was holding his attention firmly. It was addressed from Celestia to Twilight Sparkle, he had intercepted it! The bit in the letter about trying to remain peaceful and keeping the wolf secret was fine, but the mention of two body guards got him smiling. Shining Armor was a stallion of youth and strength. Not to mention he was Twilight's older brother. It was no wonder he'd been picked. Blank just wondered what Cadenza would think about this.

When he caught the name of the second body guard, he started to laugh. He laughed for several minutes before he finally got control of himself. "Paradise. Looks like you finally came back. Oh I can't wait to see you again."

The rest of the letter was boring dribble about remaining calm and things Celestia suggested she do to keep the wolf in a good mood and make it less likely to leave. There was a lot more words than necessary to deliver the simple message. "The wolf won't hurt you. We need you to keep it safe and secret while we work out a way to communicate." Why did ponies need so many words when they could just say what they mean? Blank never understood them.

***************************************************************************

Twilight paced back and forth across the room. She was in Fluttershy's kitchen waiting for a reply. Spike sat at the table trying to alphabetically arrange a few gemstones. He wasn't mad at Twilight, just a little worried about Fluttershy. She had come to think of the wolf as a patient and now she knew he could potentially kill her. Twilight almost had to talk Fluttershy into going back into the room with him. It had been 15 minutes now and there was still no reply. Twilight was imaging armies of guards storming out of the castle and bursting down Fluttershy's door at any second.

There was a sudden crash from the living room! Twilight rushed in, preparing to save Fluttershy from the monstrous wolf. What she found instead was a lot less climatic. The wolf was up, but it had dropped a glass of water that Fluttershy had obviously brought it. What made it amazing though, was the apologetic look it was giving Fluttershy. It was actually sorry for breaking the glass! Twilight stared across the room for a while as Fluttershy cleaned up the mess.

As Fluttershy moved past her to get a new glass, she noticed Twilight's stunned expression. "Are you okay Twilight?"

"What happened?"

"Well, it woke up and licked its lips. I thought he looked thirsty so I tried to give him a drink of water, but the glass slipped out of his paws and he didn't get much to drink."

"I thought you were scared of him?" Twilight followed her into the kitchen where Spike was still arranging the gems.

"I was, but then he looked at me. I j-just can't see it Twilight. There's too much pain and sorrow in those eyes. There's too much regret for him to be a monster. He must be the wrong wolf Twilight, it can't be him." She was quiet, but assertive.

"How can you tell that?"

"He's....sad Twilight. I don't know why, but he's sad. The way he moves, the way his eyes roll over everything. He's been hurt, and not just physically. He's not a heartless monster, he's just suffered a cruel life. He's my patient, I have to look past his exterior and the stories around him and treat him like I would any other animal."

Twilight wasn't sure how to respond. "It attacked Canterlot Fluttershy."

"But it could have had a good reason." She had gotten a new glass of water by this point.

"Celestia might be taking it away, you shouldn't get attached to it."

"I know," she enter the room with the glass in her hooves. She was using her wings to move around now.

When she returned to the living room, Wolfy was standing by the couch! Fluttershy near dropped the glass. "You shouldn't be standing on a broken leg!" she rushed towards him, forgetting she had a glass of water in her hooves.

Twilight dropped into a fighting stance, expecting it to attack them at any second. It didn't have magic to do so, and its body was badly damaged, but it could still get in a good bite.

When Fluttershy got close, it sat down. As Fluttershy tried to scold it, it only looked at the glass in her hooves. Eventually she realized and held it out to him. He Carefully took it from her and drank the water down slowly and carefully. Wolfy cautiously gave the glass back. Twilight stood up again with mild surprise. Wolfy had yet to show even the slightest hostile action. That was until it began to walk. Fluttershy was panicking as she desperately tried to get him to go lay down on the couch again.

Wolf refused to obey and continued walking on his broken leg towards a window. It was clear from his wincing that every step was causing him agony, but he forced himself on. Twilight couldn't help but wonder why. Where was it going, what was it going to do? Fluttershy seemed to give up on stopping it and tried to help it move instead. The wolf gratefully let her and she could even see a smile cross its lips. Wolfy was seeming like less and less of a monster.

A memory of the fire flashed through her mind. No, gentle right now or not, this thing was dangerous. Wolfy had reached the window and was content to sit in front of it and gaze out at the sunset. Fluttershy sat next to him and admired it too. Twilight found herself watching an interesting scene. A pony and her dog--wolf--watching the sunset together. Something about it was relaxing. Something about it told her everything was going to be okay. Fluttershy was clearly still holding on to some of her fears, because there was a small bubble of space between them, but the tender moment was undeniable.

Fluttershy and Wolfy stared out the window, over the tree tops, and beheld Celestia's sun as it began the final part of its decent out of the sky. Twilight's resolve that the wolf was evil and dangerous had taken a crippling blow in only a few minutes. Who knew how long it'd be before she too didn't see him as a monster.

***************************************************************************

Luna had already raised the moon and set it on its course through the sky. She was currently enjoying her breakfast with a certain changeling. Luna was laid out on her bed with her tray of food while the changeling sat on his haunches a short distance away also on her bed. Luna had given him a large purple grape, which he seemed to really be enjoying at the moment. It wasn't that he was eating it yet, he was just smelling the sphere in his hooves for now. Luna held no ill will against him for what the wolf had done. She just wanted to forget that anything had happened at all.

When the door to her chambers opened, she looked up expecting Celestia. She instead found herself looking at Cadence!

"Cadenza! Shouldn't you be asleep at this hour?"

"I would, but Shining is leaving on some important business in the morning and I kind of wanted to know more about this changeling." Cadence came closer to the bed and lowered her eye level a little. The changeling tightened his grip on the grape a little as though she was going to take it from him. He was clearly nervous, but he wasn't running for cover from her. Her huge eyes examining him made him cautious.

Luna began to answer her. "I can tell you everything we know for certain, but there's still a lot left to speculation."

"That's fine, I just want to know why we were attacked last night and how he was involved." She looked away from him.

"What we know is the changeling used magic to contact someone outside the castle. A day later that wolf snuck into the castle and tried to leave with him. It didn't seem like he tried to resit the wolf's efforts and the two exchanged words before the battle last night."

Now that Cadence wasn't looking at him, the changeling in question finally took a slow bite of his grape. Cadence noticed but didn't look at him. "So the wolf really was trying to help him?"

"That's what we've deduced. The two seem to be close and until we can decipher their language, negotiating will be impossible."

"Have you scanned the changeling for any...inconsistencies?"

"I have, but they are inconclusive. I expect that what I detected is just a consequence of his small stature though."

"What did you detect?" Cadence leaned in a little.

"A dense packet of magic stored deep within him." Cadence tilted her head. "It is most likely just a result of his small body storing all the magic he'd have if he were normal sized. Not to mention, he's a changeling, and the energy originates in the area we'd expect his stomach to be."

Cadence nodded. "You think he has just as much magic as a normal sized changeling?" Luna nodded.

"I have been doing a close examination of Changeling history as well," Luna offered happily.

"Have you found anything interesting?" Cadence came a little closer as though they were passing secrets.

"I have reason to believe there is more then one hive now. And if there is more then one hive, there could be more-"

"More Queens, or even Kings!" Cadence interrupted in her excitement. She quickly took an apologetic look.

"Yes," Luna beamed. "But if there are indeed other hives, we have to wonder what relation to each other they have. Are they all allies, or are they competitors...enemies. After all, they may be fighting over the love of us ponies."

"Hm," Cadence hummed in thought. Changelings were certainly getting interesting.

Speaking of which, the small changeling had come to the conclusion they weren't going to disturb him and he had eaten a large portion of the grape. Luna saw something in his eyes though. A sadness or a regret.

*****

Nash was ignoring the random strange noises the two alicorns were making. They weren't interested in him anyway and he hoped it'd stay that way. Nash had taken a glance at his wings while Luna had gone through her morning rituals (which included breaking her clock again). His wings were growing back slowly and he was relieved by that. As for the dark alicorn, it was almost like nothing had happened. The only thing different about today was her bandages. There weren't many but she did have some small bruises that would take a few days to go away. The dark alicorn had even given him a sample of his favorite fruit!

Grapes had always been Nash's favorite fruit. Heck, they'd always been his favorite food in general! The big juicy ones were the best, the ones that popped when you bit into them. He wouldn't be able to enjoy that sensation again though, seeing as how one grape was the size of a basketball now. Another oddity he found, was his hunger. The grape was big and delicious and Nash hadn't eaten a crumb in almost a week now, but he didn't feel even a pinch of hunger. Maybe his old theory that his species didn't need to eat was true. He could eat, but he didn't feel the need to.

The grape tasted sweat, and its purple juice seeped out and dribbled down his chin. He did his best to lap up the escaping liquid, but several drops reached the bed sheets underneath him. He didn't think that'd bother the alicorn. After all, nearly getting killed by his best friend hadn't changed her attitude towards him. He found that rather odd too.

Nash had devoured nearly half the grape before his thoughts began to darken. Here he was enjoying himself and Shadaico could have been dead for all he knew. He hadn't heard a word from him since the battle, heck is was most likely that he had died. Nash slipped deep into depression and almost put the half eaten grape down. He hadn't really thought too deep into it but why else would the dark alicorn have come back? If Shadaico hadn't been killed, wouldn't he have killed her?

Nash felt a sudden poke at the back of his skull. Nash smiled, Shadaico was calling! "Hey Shadaico, are you okay?" Nash asked with concern.

"Yeah, how about you?" he mumbled back.

"I'm doing...okay." Nash suddenly looked at the grape in his hooves for a moment, feeling shame.

"Listen, I'm sorry about...everything. Its all my fault," Shadaico apologized almost like he was ready to cry.

"Don't go blaming yourself. I'm the one who begged you to help me!" Nash felt like scum for letting himself be happy just a second ago.

"But I'm the one who just charged in there without thinking," Shadaico asserted sadly.

"I'm the one that told you the ponies were going to kill me!" Nash yelled back across the line.

"And they weren't?" Shadaico asked with disbelieve evident.

"I'm so sorry Shadaico." Nash responded remorsefully. "You got hurt because I panicked. They've been treating me real well since your...entrance."

"How could you know they didn't actually want to hurt you? And what makes you think I got hurt?" Shadaico got defensive.

"I don't know, I heard so many explosions that I didn't think you couldn't have been hurt."

"Well, I'm fine. You said they're treating you well?"

"Yeah, got my own little bed and everything," Nash admitted.

"I just can't figure these ponies out. Maybe they thought I was kidnapping you and felt bad for you," Nash could swear Shadaico sounded like he was joking.

"I don't know Shadaico. All I know is not much has changed around here."

Shadaico paused for a moment. He considered telling Nash about that Blank guy, but he felt that Nash didn't need to worry about that at the moment. "Listen, I hate to admit this, but I'm not going anywhere for a while. If you're comfortable where you are, I'll just focus on healing. Sound like a plan?" Shadaico sounded a little more optimistic.

"It sounds like a good plan to me. Shadaico?"

"Yeah."

"Be good."

Nash heard chuckling as Shadaico dropped the connection. Nash quickly went back at his grape. He still felt bad for getting Shadaico hurt, but he'd been scared. He'd never been in a situation like this before.....who has after all. Nash almost didn't feel like finishing his grape.

*****

Cadence and Luna had felt the emotions of the exchange carefully. Both of them were trying to understand what the small changeling and his wolf partner were talking about. Both of them seemed to be apologizing to each other and there was a great deal of regret oozing from both of them. Cadence was satisfied that the two of them had to have been friends and that everything they had done now made perfect sense. Luna was in the same boat.

*****

Twilight eyed the wolf as he wrapped up his long distance conversation. "What was that about?" she mentally asked herself. She couldn't understand their words, but she could detect the emotions of the two. She could tell that the wolf was apologizing and felt a great deal of sorrow. That sadness weakened near the end of the short exchange, being replaced by a weak sense of joy. Wolfy turned away from the window and headed back towards the couch. Fluttershy helped him again without hesitation. Once Wolfy was back on the couch, Spike joined them in the living room.

"Has Celestia replied yet?" Twilight demanded quickly.

"Nope, not yet."

Fluttershy was petting Wolfy, "maybe she won't take him away."

"I thought he was evil," Spike looked at the two of them suspiciously.

"He's not evil, just misunderstood," Fluttershy assured him.

"We'll see about that," Twilight sighed. She wasn't leaving Fluttershy alone with that thing, not until Celestia's letter arrived and told her what to do. It was looking like time for another sleepover.

Celestia's letter would never arrive...

Author's Note

I think I enjoy a challenge, because I had a lot of fun writing all those alternate scenarios! One of them was just stupid, two of them were pretty much the same thing but with different characters involved, and the other didn't make any sense or get the story anywhere. Maybe I'll put the alternate scenarios up on Deviantart, nah, I'll just delete them.

I always planned to add Paradise, but not nearly this early in the game. Oh well, she switches moods really fast and she is going to have lots of important parts in this story!

Chapter 22: Equestrian History 1.0

Chapter Title isn't lying...

The sun was less then an hour away from rising above the mountains, and the sky was a brilliant mix of colors. The blues and purples of night were mixing with the gold and oranges of the morning. The dance of beauty was made only more majestic by the actions of wildlife. The animals cared not for anything that had happened over the past few days. The damage to the castle was still fresh, yet squirrels ran from tree to tree and birds sang together in an untamed orchestra.

Shining Armor stood at the station as he patiently waited for Paradise. He had done as she asked and left his armor and uniform at home. His white coat reflected the sun nicely and his blue saddlebags matched his mane perfectly. Shining was only mildly offset by the lack of other ponies around. On a normal morning, the station at Canterlot would have been buzzing with ponies, griffins, and zebras going about their fashionable and expensive business. Shining wondered if they'd ever come back.

Shining jumped when he heard Paradise call him as she ran across the platform. She still had that one crystal earing that dangled and swung freely and her mane was still curled into two cones. She smiled so warmly and he had to admit that she looked good in this light. She had a jolly skip to her step, like before, and she was humming a merry tune to herself. She had saddlebags as well, but they actually looked like they had something in them.

"How are you this morning Mr. Armor?" she almost sang.

"Just a little nervous," he admitted.

"About your sister?" she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he quickly turned away from her.

"You sure you should just be abandoning your position like this?"

"I'm only a captain, not the captain. There are plenty of others in Canterlot who can easily take my place," he assured her.

"So what did you pack?" she changed the subject without missing a beat.

"Just some bits. I know Twilight gets grants from Celestia, but I still wouldn't feel right taking her money. What did you pack?" he eyed her bags.

"Just a few essentials. Like you I packed some bits, a blanket, and...a knife."

Shining raised an eyebrow, "a knife?"

"Its the tool of the trade Mr. Armor. I never go anywhere without one," she explained casually.

"That doesn't help my nerves at all."

"Hey, don't you go getting all edgy. We can't have your sister see you like that, it'll make her worry. You don't want that do you?" She tilted her head and gave him a goofy smile.

Shining gave a short chuckle, "yeah. If Twilight sees me scared, she'll have a panic attack."

"So, where's our ride?" Paradise quickly changed the subject again.

"The train should be here in a few minutes. You said you'd tell me about yourself on the way to Ponyville?"

"I did. What do you want to know?"

"Would it be okay to ask why you wear a single earing?" he pointed at the lone gem dangling from her ear.

"This? This was a gift from my grandmother. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I lost the other one." Paradise looked down sadly.

"I'm sorry," Shining knew it must have been hard, losing a family heirloom.

"It's okay!" Paradise perked up again. "As long as I have this one, I'll never forget her. Besides, she was a cheap old mare anyway."

"What?" Shining was confused.

"Yeah, this may look like a precious stone, but it's actually made of glass. It's worthless!" she chirped.

"Oh," was all Shining could get out.

Paradise began to laugh hysterically. "Are you always so serious Mr. Armor? You need to lighten up."

"I just don't see how that's funny. It was your grandmother's." Shining felt kind of like he was reasoning with her.

She scoffed, "an assassin can't afford to let such small tragedies weigh her down." Paradise looked off into the distance as she became quiet and lost her smile. "As a spy, you lose friends every day. Sometimes, in order to keep your cover, you have to be the very one that kills them."

Shining looked at her in surprise. Spies and assassins weren't used in war anymore. The griffins were the only ones engaged in war these days anyway, and they didn't believe in espionage. They saw it as cowardice. They believed that you should face your enemy head-on and fight with raw strength. As such, Shining didn't really understand the life of a spy. He hadn't really tried to think of himself in that situation, behind enemy lines and sneaking around. It was a totally different world from how he'd been trained.

"I'm sorry Paradise."

She looked at him and wiped away tears that had not formed. "Thanks. Looks like our train is here."

Sure enough, a distant whistle blew. Shining resolved not to ask her anymore questions. He didn't like to see a mare cry.

They waited a few minutes and were greeted by a ghost train. Other then the conductor, they found the various cars empty. Paradise appreciated the privacy and picked out their seats. Shining didn't argue with her and sat across from her in a booth in the first-class section. Paradise's look caught his attention as the train pulled away from the station.

"What is it?"

"You want to know more about me, don't you?" she smiled playfully.

'She was crying barely 5 minutes ago and now she's already smiling again?' he thought. "What makes you say that?"

"You were shocked when I said I was involved in the fights against Discord and Sombra, why?"

"They're the most famous villains Equestria has ever known! And I don't know a lot about them," he confessed.

"What do they teach foals these days?" Paradise shook her head. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"You're not going to tell me anything I ask, are you?" he arched an eyebrow in scepticism.

"The way I see it, any information pertaining to a war that happened a thousand years ago isn't going to cause any harm these days. So I'll tell you everything...that I know of course. So ask away!"

"Okay, uhm...how did the war start, where did Discord come from, and how did you get involved?"

"You don't know how the war started or why it started?" Shining shook his head. "Figures, Celestia wouldn't want anypony to know about the big mistake."

"What big mistake?" Shining was already devouring her every word...and she hadn't even started yet.

"Mr. Armor, this part of my story is before my time, so accuracy is questionable. I was told that a long time ago--even longer now--Equestria was ruled by a King and Queen. Under them were many exotic beings that served as their advisers. This king and queen had two daughters that you know well."

"Celestia and Luna," Shining hummed.

"Correct. It was only a few years after their births that the king and queen had a revelation. Mr. Armor, they realized that they were getting old and it was time to step down, but there was a huge obstacle in the way. Who was going to rule after them?"

"What about their daughters?"

"They were too young at the time, just in their teens. Alicorns age slower then normal ponies and therefore live longer, but they don't live forever. A good lifespan for an alicorn is a few thousand years. They had to put some other pony on the throne before their time came, and they feared it was soon. True, their daughters deserved the throne, but they weren't ready to run the largest and most powerful empire on Equus. Someone else would have to rule until they were trained and ready. Discord was one of the many candidates that were proposed."

Shining's jaw dropped. "They actually considered just giving that lunatic the throne?!"

"What do you mean considered, they did." Paradise took amusement at Shining's reaction.

"He didn't take over, they just gave it to him?" he asked in disbelief.

"Correct. The arrangement was simple, once Celestia and Luna were ready, he was to step down. But when the previous king and queen died, Discord had a revelation of his own. With them gone, he had no obligation to give up his new found power."

"What about Celestia and Luna?" Shining interrupted.

"Discord always had a weak heart. I don't think he's ever taken a life himself. He has no problem ordering another's death, but he refuses to kill anyone himself. Since nopony was going to hurt the princesses, even if ordered to, he banished them. And he forbid Celestia and Luna from ever returning to the land of their birth." She paused for a second, "so they left."

"Just like that?" Shining thought that was weird.

"They were too weak. Not many ponies really believed in them and they didn't have nearly as much experience as Discord in...well, anything. So they went to live with the griffins."

"Why would they go there?"

"War," Paradise answered simply.

For a moment, Shining didn't understand. Then the light-bulb went on. The griffins were quite knowledgeable when it came to hurting each other. Where better to go to learn how to fight? "Celestia and Luna were training."

"Exactly! For several decades they learned the arts of war. But before they came home, they went to Zebraca."

"What did they learn there?" Shining asked eagerly.

"They didn't really learn anything. They just stopped by to pick up a certain six elements."

Shining's eyes lit up. "The Elements of Harmony..."

"I don't know how they learned of there existence, but that's where Celestia and Luna got them. And I can tell you from experience now, their homecoming was amazing," Paradise grinned. "The swarm of ponies that signed up for the revolution was unbelievable. Discord found himself against an army of very unhappy ponies very quickly. In the absence of the true heirs, Discord had quite literally driven the kingdom into the ground. He was a power hungry psychopath, it was no wonder everypony wanted his head on a stick.

"I lived in the Crystal Empire when Celestia and Luna returned. My father didn't have a proper education so he had to get construction jobs that usually didn't pay well. I signed up for the revolution as a soldier. I will admit that I did it more for the money then I did the cause. The Crystal Empire was far enough north that Discord didn't really bother us much. But it took me only a week to have second thoughts." Paradise's joy had faded into a more serious demeanor.

"What happened?" Shining wasn't as eager now that the story was getting personal for Paradise.

"Death started happening. News of the first casualties of the struggle for a free Equestria started coming in. Ponies were giving their lives for the struggle. Mr. Armor, I realized how selfish and stupid I had been. I didn't feel like I should be a part of something so big, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel the need to keep going. I was little and began to think I should contribute, but only by a small amount. I spoke with Celestia herself and asked her to put me somewhere else. She suggested being a spy.

"Poor Celestia thought I wouldn't face a lot of hardships if I was just standing around listening to the enemy. I don't blame her, she opened the door to a very exciting life." Paradise shook her head and rid herself of the fond memories that were collecting in her head so she could continue. "Discord's army was run similarly to Celestia's, in that there were many powerful generals. Discord's generals did everything they could to hold his Equestria together during the war. One of those generals was named Sombra."

"Sombra worked for Discord?!" Shining's eye neared popped out of his head.

"After Discord was sealed away, Sombra fled to the Crystal Empire, which had still been under Discord's rule. Celestia and Luna chased him with an army intent on toppling his throne as well. I was sent into the empire to find Sombra and eliminate him, but that never happened." Paradise looked down in shame.

"You did your best," Shining tried to comfort her.

"I can't blame myself if I did my best I guess." She looked out the window. "That's just an overview of course. If you want me to go back and reiterate certain details, I could..."

"I think it'll take me a while to digest all that," he told her sympathetically.

She smiled warmly at him again. "It was my pleasure to share. Should you ever want to know more, I'd be happy to talk."

Shining sighed. "That's okay. You've got quite a story Paradise. Maybe you should write a book."

"Maybe. We still have a long train ride ahead of us. What do you want to talk about now?"

"I haven't told you anything about me," he offered. "Although it won't be nearly as interesting as yours."

"Why don't you tell me a little about your sister first. She sounds like a smart mare if she's Celestia's personal student. I don't remember Celestia doing anything like that when I was around."

"She is a pretty smart unicorn, but lately, she's had a thing for getting into trouble," Shining began.

*****

"Uh, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

Twilight ran past her again as she paced in the form of a gallop. Once reaching the other side of the room, she turned around quickly and galloped to the other side of the room. Then the whole thing would start all over again. Fluttershy was trying to ask Twilight what was wrong while Spike sat on the couch with the wolf just observing. The wolf, that everypony had decided to call Wolfy, was watching Twilight run back and forth too. He seemed slightly amused by it.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy tried again.

"This is bad, really bad. What should we do?" Twilight mumbled to herself as she paced at high speed.

"Twilight?"

"We're all in danger and the Princess can't get ahold of us...maybe-"

"Twilight!" Spike spoke up.

"Is her letter her?!" Twilight jumped towards him.

"Uh, no. Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes.......no. What are we going to do? That wolf is a public menace that only Celestia will be able to do anything about." She looked over at him fearfully. "He has somehow blocked Celestia from communicating with us," she accused.

"How?" Spike protested. "You said it yourself, he can't use magic at the moment."

"Most of his magic is sealed off, but he can still perform a basic telepathy spell." Spike had a point though. Jamming Celestia's letters would take power, something Wolfy had very little of right now. He couldn't have been responsible.

"I don't know a lot about magic, but that doesn't sound like a very powerful spell," Fluttershy reasoned.

"It isn't," Twilight quickly replied.

"So it's not him. That means you just need to relax," Spike tried.

She gave him a cold look, then sighed. She plopped down into a sitting position as her mind got to work. "Why would Celestia take so long to reply?" she thought aloud.

"Maybe she forgot," Spike proposed.

"Maybe she sent the letter to the wrong pony," Fluttershy whispered.

There came a sudden three knocks at Fluttershy's door. Twilight raced out of the room and charged to the door. She couldn't believe it, Celestia did come herself!

Twilight almost ripped the door off it's hinges and was greeted by the last pony she expected to see...

"Twilly! It's great to see you again!" Shining Armor declared as he seized her in a tight bear hug. She was too shocked to speak. "How come you didn't visit me when you were in Canterlot?"

She stared at him for a few seconds. "What are you doing here Shining?"

He scoffed, "is that any way to greet your older brother when he came all this way to make sure you were safe?"

Paradise appeared next to Shining. "You must be Mrs. Sparkle! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Paradise's huge smile and friendly hoof shake threw Twilight's confused mind for another cycle.

"Who are you?"

"Of course," Paradise frowned. "Even a well educated pony doesn't know who I am!" she whined.

"This is Paradise, she's with me," Shining explained.

"What do you mean 'with you'?" Twilight tilted her head.

Paradise answered for him, "we were both sent to protect you. Didn't Celestia's letter say there'd be two of us?"

"I haven't gotten any reply from Celestia," Twilight was approaching panic mode again.

Shining saw the fear on Twilight's face. "Celestia must have forgotten to send it then. Oh well, at least we're here!" He hoped his relaxed attitude would rub off on Twilight.

Paradise eyed him seriously before putting her smile back on and turning to Twilight. "Nothing to worry about Mrs. Sparkle, we can fill you in on what the letter--can we come in?" she asked suddenly. Shining was already inside, but she was standing in the doorway still.

"Yes. Now what did Celestia want to tell me?" Twilight demanded from her brother. "And who is she?" she pointed at Paradise as she walked in.

"My name is Paradise. Me and Shining Armor have been ordered by the Princess herself to keep watch of the wolf while you conduct your research."

"Research?"

Shining began to explain, "Celestia wants your help. She wants to restore peace to Equestria, and to do that she needs to be able to communicate with him. Celestia is asking you Twilight, to be the one she trusts with this task."

Twilight felt like her brother had just fallen out of the sky and dumped a huge burden on her shoulders. "But he's a wolf, and he tried to destroy Canterlot."

"You trample a dozen ant hills a day, and they don't go waging war against you, do they?" Paradise asked.

Twilight and Shining stared at her for a moment. "Okay," Shining answered simply.

"Oh, I can already tell you two are related. You're both so serious about this whole situation. You need to get a massage or tell a few jokes." She started walking around the cottage. "Or get a quite hobby."

"Paradise, can you be serious for right now at least?" Shining ordered her. He immediately softened his voice as he addressed Twilight. "I know your scared of him, I am too. But we have extremely good reason to believe that as long as we are helping it get better, it's not going to do anything violent towards us or anypony else. And if it does, me and Paradise are here to protect you."

Twilight looked over at Paradise. Paradise stood off to the side and eyed her back. "Can't Celestia find somepony else to do this. I would bet there are plenty of scientists in Canterlot who would jump at this chance," Twilight almost pleaded.

Paradise mumbled something before she spoke up. "Twilight, Celestia isn't forcing you to do anything. She is only requesting that you help her bring Equestria out of the cloud of fear and paranoia that has engulfed it. Have you seen the way everypony in town is on alert and watches the shadows? This is not how it should be. Are you going to be the selfish filly that gives into her fears and lets others suffer? Or are you going to be the big smart brave mare that Celestia sees in you?"

Shining was actually intimidated by how dark Paradise had looked and sounded when she started. Twilight took it pretty personally. She took a step back and felt a wave of shame wash over her. "I didn't mean to...I didn't realize." She thought for another second. "Can you really guarantee we'll be safe around him?"

Paradise's beamed with confidence. "Don't insult me my dear. I could keep that wolf under control myself! With Shining here to back me up? Well, I'm probably going to have to do most of the work still."

"Hey!" Shining protested.

Twilight giggled sadly at Paradise's joke. "I always did want to learn another language," she offered shyly.

"And that's only the beginning!" Paradise took a step towards her. "You also get to observe an unknown species!" Paradise was trying to get Twilight's curiosity flowing. It worked mostly.

Twilight looked at the door to the next room where the wolf waited. All the questions she had and all the mysterious she had wondered were now just waiting for her. Celestia wanted her to find the answers to all of them. There was still a twinge of doubt at the back of her mind though. "Where should I begin?"

"How about you start by introducing me to Fluttershy? I think I'll like her." Paradise glanced around the cottage briefly.

"Oh!" Twilight suddenly remembered that Fluttershy and Spike were still with the wolf. "There in here!" Twilight made her way to the next room.

Before Shining could follow, Paradise stopped him. "Please tell me you're troubled by this too."

"You mean by Celestia's letter not arriving? Yeah, somethings definitely wrong," he answered grimly.

"Stay alert, but don't let Twilight know."

"She's my sister, I know how to distract her and keep her calm," Shining asserted.

***************************************************************************

The darkness concealed his form entirely. Only two large, round, bright, purple orbs marked where his eyes were. The spheres floated six feet above the dark green rotting stone floor. The room was like a chapel, but the alter was completely black. There was a definite line where the light stopped and the shadows began, as though light itself was being devoured. The rest of the room was illuminated by eerie torches embedded in cracked columns. A single changeling-like creature was bowed on the floor just before the darkness.

Laid across the floor just outside the darkness were several papers. One was a newspaper clipping, three were maps, there was a few charts and graphs, and some test results. Somepony had done quite a bit of research and compiled it here. The changeling that was laying on the floor had seen many days. He had a bright purple mane and tail, his eyes were a dull pink, and his wings were old and tattered. His horn was a short blade-like appendage...and then there was his legs.

Unlike Chrysalis's children that had holes in their legs, or Firethorn's kids that were covered in thorns, his legs appeared to be made of stone. It was like he was wearing some kind of armor that was made of a dark onyx rock and completely encased all four limbs. Intricate designs and glyphs riddled the shin-guards that were attached to his body. At the top of the guards, where his normal fur coat began, was a glowing ring of black magic. The glow was faint and you wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it.

"How up-to-date are these reports," a dark otherworldly voice spoke from the shadowy alter.

"They were gathered yesterday at exactly 3:26 pm local time, at Canterlot Castle," the changeling spoke humbly and quietly.

The glowing eyes rolled over the papers again. "What are Chrysalis, Firethorn, and Milkweed doing about this?"

"Chrysalis and Firethorn are using the attack at Canterlot to gather large sums of love energy. They are manipulating the fears and unstable nature of the citizens to bolster their supplies. Meanwhile, Milkweed is avoiding letting his hive do the same."

"What of the Crystal Changeling Queen?"

"Queen Paradise has just reemerged from hiding. She seeks to return to Celestia's side."

"Is Celestia still unaware of her true identity?"

"It would seem so."

The one of darkness thought for a moment. Was it really right to say her "true" identity? Paradise had never deceived Celestia about who she was, as far as he knew. Paradise just didn't let Celestia know she was a changeling.

"Where is Blank during all this?" the dark one moved on.

"He has begun manipulating the situation for his own...enterainment," the servant cringed at his own words.

"That fool plays games at a time like this?" there was mild irritation in the voice. "How are Celestia and Luna treating the situation?"

"Neither of them are aware of the true implications of this scenario."

"How did you come to this conclusion?" The glowing eyes pierced through the dusty air and saw right through the changeling and his armored legs.

"Neither of them have acted appropriately. If they were aware, they would have taken immediate and drastic action."

The creature in the darkness nodded in agreement, even though only his eyes could be seen moving. Celestia and Luna would never ignore something this important if they knew about it. "Have these energy readings decreased since they were recorded?" One of the graphs depicted an unknown energy that had remained at a constant low level for over a thousand years. According to the graph, the energy spiked way off the charts not even a week ago!

"If it has, it's not by enough for us to detect."

There was a pause, "very well. Send word to Blank, I must speak with him. I need him to arrange this meeting." The glowing eyes fell on a page from Chrysalis requesting a Changeling Gathering. "I also must see him about a personal matter," the glowing eyes glanced at a newspaper clipping that mentioned the attack at Canterlot.

The changeling servant rose humbly and refused to make eye contact with his master. He turned and left quickly and quietly. The stone-like armor on his legs and hooves made no sound as they glided across the floor.

Author's Note

The next Act has begun! The Dark One begins to make his move, Paradise and Shining are in position, a monster is on its way, and this comedy burst won't last long...

Chapter 1: Hail to the King

Nash was a small man, a young man, a broken man. He was barely five foot and his skin was dry and dirty. He’d been in Soul-Shatter prison for almost a year now. He couldn’t bathe because the other prisoners scared him away from the bath. He couldn’t replace the potato sack rags he wore because he was afraid to go downstairs and ask for a new set or get his washed. He was the only innocent man in the prison, the only one who still claimed he was innocent anyway.

Soul-Shatter prison wasn’t named so because it broke men down and made them give up on life; it was called Soul-Shatter because of its execution method. Nash couldn’t help but think about the numerous times he’d seen it. The prisoners were paraded around the cell blocks to the center of the prison where there would be a great light show. The prisoners believed it wasn’t just the corpse that got complete and utterly disintegrated. It was believed that your very soul was incinerated, that there would be no afterlife for anyone condemned to die here.

Nash sat on the stone floor, his disgusting bed by his side. The cell was at most an eight foot cube. The ceiling was high for him, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered to Nash. There was no purpose to his life. Even though it was recess time and all the cell doors were open, he remained in his room. Very rarely did he leave his cell when it was an option. The human Nash was just too fragile and fearful to even approach the other inmates. Some of them were actual demons! Some were mere beasts. He almost wished today was his execution day. His beard itched, his joints were sore from sitting on the hard floor in the beetle position, and his rags scratched his skin.

“Only three days remain,” he whispered to himself in a dry cracked voice. No one would have guessed he was only 20, he looked more like he was in his 60’s! The wall behind him had the numerous tally marks he had scratched into its surface, counting down the days till it all ended. “I wonder what it’s like to die?” he mumbled to himself. Death compromised all of his thoughts for the past month. Until then, he’d been determined to live. But when another prisoner had reminded him that his sentence was set in stone back at the trial, he gave up. No one was coming to pull him from this prison, now or ever. He was going to die an innocent man.

He had no more tears to cry, no more pity to express for himself, he was dry. Waiting was all he could do now, until he heard the alarm. He lifted his head, something was happening. The prisoners were being forced back into their cells!? Nash crawled painfully along the floor to the bars of his cell and pulled himself up. A mass of living armor came and stood in front of his cell! Deep within the ash colored helmet, two red slit eyes looked back at him. The prison’s insignia, a green sphere, that represented a soul, with a red bone hand wrapped around it, which represented death, adorned its chest. The guard grabbed his cell door and slammed it closed.

Nash watched helplessly from his bottom floor cell as the whole prison was locked down. Prisoners on all five floors were shoved or dragged to their rooms. The prison was an X shape, with the center of the X being the execution circle where prisoners were evaporated from existence. The end of each arm led to the large court yard that surrounded the prison. The cafeteria, gym, laundry room, and baths were tucked neatly into the pockets created by the arms. Also at the end of each arm was a large digital clock, but it only displayed the time of day.

Nash was able to squeeze his head through the white bars and see the clock clearly, the time was wrong. Recess wasn’t supposed to end for hours. But there clearly wasn’t a riot either. There was only one explanation left, “fresh meat” as the others liked to say. After the mass of knights that towered at an intimidating eight feet had all the prisoners in their cells and locked up, they began to gather at the main gate. A massive steel wall was the entrance for new prisoners.

Nash was lucky that he was in the middle portion of A-Wing, where the entrance to the prison was. At the end of the hall, below the clock, the steel plates began to grind against each other as they were pulled apart. Dozens of the iron giants formed a line in front of it. Nash noticed the second type of guard coming down from the execution ring as well. The second guard type was still completely covered in armor, and there was still no way to tell them apart, but they weren’t as big around. The “Heavy Guards” were enormous around the chest, suggesting bulky muscle underneath. The “Tower Guards” were like twigs, looking fragile but graceful when they walked.

Tower Guards didn’t have feet, their legs ended in thin spikes that made a chime when they stepped; unlike the Heavy Guard’s massive bangs when they walked. The Tower Guards were also a much lighter color. The Heavy Guards were a dark ash color and the Tower Guards were a dull white. The Tower Guards did not have the prison insignia on their chests either, instead they wore a short white cape with the insignia. The two guard types were also the same height. The Tower Guards looked less threatening, but anyone would take a Heavy catching them breaking the rules over a Tower any day. Heavies would beat you with fists only. The Towers could use magic…powerful magic.

8 Tower Guards walked towards the main gate, which made it clear that the newest prisoner was something serious. The convicts were going crazy in their cells. There was chanting and screaming and cheers. They wanted to see who was so special that the Towers had to be there to escort him in. Nash could feel something in the air. This was no normal prisoner. Never were more than 4 Towers in a wing at a time. The prison had 25 Heavies, 4 Towers, and 1 Executioner per wing. Altogether, that was 100 Heavies, 16 Towers, 4 Executioners, and then the Warden. Nash tried to count the number of Heavies out there, but many of them were up on the higher floors so he couldn’t see them. Just as he suspected though, an Executioner came down the corridor next!

The sound volume plummeted as the most feared type of guard stomped his way down to the gate. Wide and fearful eyes were mixed with eyes of revolt and a need to stand out. A Heavy is big in a way that looks like muscle, an Executioner is big in a way that looks like fat. Standing at a terrifying 12 feet, there thick sandpaper rough armor was blood red. As though they had killed so many that their armor had been stained forever! The Executioners also had unique helmets. The twin horns that twisted around before jutting two feet ahead of him looked like they were made of ground up bones.

Their gauntlets glowed like burning embers and getting grabbed by one was a very heartwarming experience. In his right hand he clutched the end of a huge battle axe. The blade glowed like his gauntlets and the handle was made of the same blood red metal as his armor. The prison insignia was not colored on Executioners, but was instead engraved on their armor and seemed to endlessly burn. They’re footfalls were like mini-earthquakes and they always had their battleaxes with them, resting over their shoulders with their left hand free to swing as they walked.

It was common knowledge to keep your mouth shut around Executioners. As the name suggests, they were the ones that killed, and they enjoyed it as much as some of the prisoners. With eyes like fire and mouths that exhaled poisonous gasses, it never made sense to Nash why the others would taunt them. Executioners were free to kill you at any time, if you were on death row or not. The Towers and Heavies weren’t authorized to kill, so why not taunt them? The worst they can do is leave you with broken bones, bruises, and burns. Regardless of logic, the prisoners in the cell next door tried their luck.

They were human, like Nash, and they began calling the Executioner rather obscene names. Things your mother really wouldn’t want to hear you say. The Executioner didn’t seem like he was paying attention and looked like he was about to just walk by. Nash thought they had gotten extremely lucky today. He and the prisoners next door were on the Executioners left. The morons were in their cell sticking their arms through the bars waving at him. Nash turned his head, which was still out between the bars, to the right to look at them. They were so stupid in his opinion. The Executioner wasn’t in a good mood today at all it seemed either.

The Executioner came to an abrupt stop just outside their cell. He didn’t look at them, didn’t turn or flinch in any way. He just lifted his left hand so it pointed straight at them, and a volcanic sized stream of fire engulfed the entire cell! The inferno exploded out of his hand and incinerated the occupants of the cell with horrible wails of agony and terror echoing throughout the prison. Executioners usually looked at their victims or ripped them through the bars or something flashy. They at least reveled in the kill for a second or made it last a little bit, but not today. The Executioner made the kill fast, but painful, and immediately continued on his way. He never let his gaze leave the path straight ahead.

Nash could smell the horrible stench of death and charred flesh emanate from the cell next door. Death was common but he was never this close. He could only imagine what their chard remains must look like. From his slightly advantageous viewpoint, he could see the bars were red hot. Their deaths must have been excruciating. The stupid and daring never lasted long. Despite the horror that had just taken place, the prison began to get loud again. The death of an acquaintance had not deterred any of the hopeless cases on the higher floors, but the lowest level remained mostly silent.

The Executioner reached the great door and it began to open further. The volume erupted into great screams as everyone wanted to voice something to the arrival. The gates were fully open, a light shown from behind a tall figure in the doorway. Guards blocked his path to escape from once he came as a second door behind him just finished closing. The twin gates were so supposed to open one after the other, so the timing was off slightly today. The new arrival was still just a black smudge from the light coming in behind him as he stepped into the prison. The Executioner stood to his left, the grip on his axe tightening. The gate began to close, the bright light choked away.

Silence…

It was the quietest the prison had been since the day it was built. Hundreds of jaws dropped at the new inmate. Eyes were strained to confirm the thing that had graced their humble abode with its presence. Nash couldn’t believe who it was. He knew that this was the toughest prison in the world, but he never thought he would be…….honored to see him in his lifetime. The prisoner’s garb had a 9 digit number imprinted on it like everyone else’s. But unlike everyone else, he’d ripped off six of the numbers, just to convey a whole new message. ***6*66**

Shadaico Verransom Terror-Field…the greatest criminal legend to ever live! A jackal standing at an impressive 6’6” he had obsidian black fur and long pointed ears. His muzzle was long and his eyes deep and calm. His entire posture was relaxed and passive, as though he were the one in control. His face alone looked old and scarred with ancient battles. Nash couldn’t imagine how much combat he had seen altogether in his life. Nash’s eyes drifted over the legend of a beast and stopped at his arms. The jackal wore the potato sack like garb of all the prisoners, but he also wore the “Punishment Gauntlets”! Massive gold colored hunks of metal that completely entombed his hands, wrists, and almost all the way up to his elbows. Large inch thick screws were driven through the thick metal into his flesh underneath to keep them on. About 90% of the actual screws just jutted up out of the gauntlets where they could be seen clearly. The Punishment Gauntlets looked sloppily made, but they were just the opposite.

The Punishment Gauntlets were made of scrap metal, yes; but the massive number of enchantments and magic that was poured into them made them virtually indestructible and gave them a luscious gold color. The screws that drove through the gauntlets and into the flesh underneath had light green sparks dancing between them from the power they were charged with. The screws bound the gauntlets to one’s arms, caused severe pain, and sealed off magic. Anyone wearing the gauntlets must have been a magic user. The more magic the being had, the more screws it would take to fully seal him.

Although Shadaico walked tall and confidently past the guards, Nash knew he was in constant agony. He couldn’t use his hands because the gauntlets sealed his fingers in. As Shadaico was led closer, Nash gasped, he must have been extremely powerful with magic. Four, 3 inch thick, 2 foot long screws protruded from his back! To need the additional seals was unbelievable. Nash exhaled loudly as he shook his head. His eyes drifted down and again he was shocked. Shadaico also had Punishment Shin Guards, where even more screws were driven into his flesh!

How was Shadaico even walking?! He had dozens of inch thick screws driving into his arms and legs and massive screws that jutted high out of his back that were at least 3 inches thick each. Even the most powerful magic wielders would be helpless if even one of the massive screws on Shadaico’s back were in them, but all the seals combined? There was only one thing on Shadaico other then his prison garb that wasn't a magic seal, a platinum chain that wrapped around his neck. Nash was pretty sure it also sealed magic based on its unnatural blue sheen, but he wasn't sure.

As Shadaico was led down the corridors, silence followed. No one said a word. Some prisoners bowed their heads as he passed, some pressed their hands together as though praying, some went so far as to look away like they ashamed him. The guards were baffled by this. No honor among criminals was nonsense. Today, the single greatest monster to ever live glided down the halls like he owned the place. As far as the prisoners knew, he did. He had a thousand names and was a living legend for crying out loud. The jackal was evil and evil was him. One famous thing that was often said about him was; “if the devil wants to destroy the world, he’s got to ask Shadaico for permission first!”

As was customary before a prisoner did anything else, he was paraded down every hall; a kind of tour and a way to show him off to the other inmates. Silence followed him everywhere he went. Even in his captured and helpless state, he was viewed as royalty to the condemned. Some of the guards secretly enjoyed the quiet he caused by simply being here. Others were disturbed by it. There was no such thing as quiet here. It was a new alien thing to them, to hear every footstep and the rushing of the wind outside.

The parade ended after almost an hour. It was time to find Shadaico his cell. The Warden appeared to personally see to it he got the perfect spot. The Warden was about the size and build of one of the Heavy Guards, but he didn’t need armor to get that look. He wore a purple robe that dragged along the ground overtop of some thin pointless royal armor. It was like tin foil with some pizazz colors, very showy. He had the head of a lion and a Giant's Knife on his back, a type of massive sword that required impossible strength and skill to use.

“So…Shadaico. Where should we put you?” he asked sarcastically as he thumbed through a clipboard. He seemed happy.

The Executioner from before leaned over, “cell 0027 is now empty, sir.” He informed him of the untimely deaths of Nash’s two neighbors.

“Is that so? Hmm.” The Warden marked the cell as vacant now. He continued to page through the cells thinking very hard. “I don’t want you to get lonely in your short stay here, but I can’t put you with someone who might….help you,” his voice was venomous as he peeked up at Shadaico, who was standing there patiently.

Murmuring began to resonate across cells as various dreams seemed to blossom. Everyone wanted him in their cell, then they could brag about having been so close to him. Nash only hoped he would be in a nearby cell so he could see him. To gaze upon the King without the fear of dying by his hand was enough excitement for him.

“Perfect!” the Warden suddenly announced. All eyes were on him as he stood in the execution circle with Shadaico. “Your death is in three days. So I’ll pair you with another prisoner whose execution is in three days!” Nash must have gone pale and his heart began to stall.

Shadaico was led down A-Wing by the Warden and an Executioner. Behind them were numerous Towers and Heavies. They were approaching Nash’s cell. Inmates in the adjacent cells could only gawk at what had just happened. They couldn’t believe what blasphemous and disgraceful thing the Warden was doing. He was shoving Shadaico in a cell with Nash! Nash backed away from the bars and pressed himself against the back wall. The Warden and Shadaico stopped in front of his little slice of heaven. Nash had always been secretly grateful to the Warden for giving him his own cell, but now not so much.

Nash, the biggest wimp in the prison was going to share a cell with Shadaico, the greatest and most respected master of the dark arts to ever walk the halls of Soul-Shatter prison…

Chapter 13: No Luck Lasts Forever

Finally, it's here. Shadaico gets an entire chapter dedicated to him? What madness is this? I will say that I'm very proud of this chapter...especially that last line

The sun was just starting to set as Shadaico awoke from his nap. He was just outside of Canterlot city and he was still well fed. The ponies were starting to clear the streets and settle in for the night. He weighed his options for the moment. He had napped so he would be well rested, but he had to decide when to make his move. If he was too early, he’d be caught easily. If he was too late…well there weren’t a lot of consequences for taking his time actually. Shadaico let himself grin at the thought of Nash being captive for a little longer because he didn’t feel up to it today.

Regardless, he wasn’t going to lose the only real friend he ever had. He was going in there to save Nash today. The only question was when he should act. Shadaico was not use to sneaking around, he’d only ever done it five times in his entire career! Almost 50 years of causing chaos and destruction and he’d only gone covert when he was a kid. When he first started, he was going around for hire as mercenary. A few of his first jobs required stealth, one of which went haywire. After that, Shadaico swore he’d never become a ninja.

Following that oath, every job he took until he began acting on his own was very public: executions, terrorism, mass murder, or assassination. Very rarely did he take up jobs of any other sort. When he finally decided to become his own boss, the jobs became much more enjoyable and even narrower in their requirements. Mass murder was his number one favorite. Shadaico had always wondered why people liked to shoot their targets in assassination style from half a mile away when they could simply blow up an entire city block.

He shook his head suddenly when he realized he was knee deep in old memories. Memories he hoped to replace someday. The situation hadn’t changed though. The streets of the city around the white castle were still packed with ponies trying to conclude their business and get home. The way they went about was identical to his home world. The only difference was their bodies. They were quadrupeds and pretty uniform in height, while Shadaico (and Nash’s) home world was populated mostly by bipedal creatures whose heights could differ by extreme quantities.

Shadaico continued to observe the action from his position among the trees. Security seemed pretty lax, but they obviously weren’t expecting someone to sneak into a public area, like the streets. As he waited for the light to dwindle a little more, he thought it might be a good idea to review what he was getting into. Shadaico had very little magic in his reserves. He wouldn’t be casting many if any spells for a while. His back still screamed with pain from the screws, but that was nothing. The vibrations were what tortured him before. He could take the little ache they were causing him now.

Shadaico went over the basics of magic in his head too. He hadn’t used magic in over a year after all. Not since they finally defeated and captured him.

[Visual Aid]

Magic was divided into three trees of study, then it could be broken down into branches, and finally into specifics spells. The trees were called: Magic of the Heart, Life, and the Elements. Magic of the Elements was the largest tree with the most branches. It was all pretty self-explanatory too. The branches were Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, Ice, and Earth. Shadaico didn’t know why they needed a separate branch for ice; it wasn’t like you could even learn it without first learning water magic.

Magic of Life was very common practice among civilians. The branches were Cursing, Healing, and Sealing. Healing Magic was the most practiced field of magic in the world. Virtually every magic wielder to ever live learned at least the basics. You’d have to be crazy not to learn healing spells. Magic could be a dangerous unpredictable force after all. Sealing was once considered among the non-categorized magics, but it had grown recently and gained a field of study. The Sealing branch was the smallest branch of magic among all three trees! Then there was Cursing, the least practiced art among all the trees and branches.

The knowledge to even perform curses had been dying for years. It was an art without a point these days, for three big reasons. Cursing was the most difficult magic to perform. The easiest curse could be twice as difficult to get right as the most powerful Wind spell in the book! Curses were also chant dependent. Normally, only rituals required chants to perform. But every curse there was required the user to memorize and say a few words. And finally, there wasn’t any benefit to cursing anymore. The field of Healing magic was so well practiced, known, and spread that it was practically a walk away to get the cure. As a result, it was believed that even learning to curse would soon completely disappear in only a few more years.

The final tree of magic was the most tricky, the Tree of Heart Magic. The two branches were the big magics when it came to combat, Light and Dark. The thing about these two branches that made them different from the other trees and their branches, was the fact that you could not practice both. No one could perform both Light and Dark magic spells, and you could literally count the number of exceptions on your fingers! It wasn’t a matter of being against the law or against the idea of right and wrong, but there was something about the body and magic that just wouldn’t let someone perform both.

The way it worked was pretty simple. The first one you perform a spell in, is the one you will practice for the rest of your life. Once you perform your first Light magic spell, your magic and your body won’t let you perform a Dark magic spell ever again, and vice versa. This rule is absolutely solid, and those who seek to break it usually end up wasting their time, or dead. The first trick would simply be to study the one you have been locked out of and try to perform it repeatedly. The result would be nothing. Your spells simply won’t do anything. The other trick was attempted by stupid teens trying to get access to both by performing a Dark and Light magic spell at the same time before they had locked themselves out of one.

As Shadaico’s father had warned him, this was literally suicide. The two magics, Light and Dark, are opposites. They don’t like each other and are destined to clash forever. When a wielder has not chosen his path and tries to cheat by performing one of each at the same time, the two types of magic backfire into his body to counteract each other! This will cause the one attempting it to explode in a great red mist! So don’t be a smart-aleck and just pick which one you want to practice for the rest of your life, Light magic or Dark magic. As could be expected, Shadaico had performed a Dark Magic spell first, so he would never be able to use Light Magic.

One final thing Shadaico noted was the unsorted spells; a handful of spells that didn’t fit into the trees and were simply practiced at one’s own discretion. Those spells included invisibility, telekinesis, and telepathy, among a few others. Shadaico’s mental review of his magical knowledge had taken up a decent amount of time and he felt it was just dark enough to begin the operation.

Ponies were still in the streets, but he could avoid them easily by weaving between alleys. He’d hide in the shadow of one and wait for a brief clearing of the street, and then dive for the next. The city did not have an orderly grid design, which made it a little harder to get from one alley to another unseen. He hoped that anypony that might see him would pass him off as just a wild dog or another pony.

For a while, it worked. No alarms were going off and he had yet to hear a scream. Shadaico grinned, he was getting cocky. But when he peaked around the next corner, he choked. It was full of ponies going about late night purchases. I bet someone out there is selling drugs, Shadaico grumbled in his head. He backed into the alley and contemplated his next move. How was he going to get through the crowd and make his way to the castle? Maybe he had started too early. He was probably going to have to wait for the sun to firmly set. Its glare was just barely still visible.

Shadaico ground his teeth a little as he leaned against the wall. Wait, I’m in an alley. He looked upwards and saw exactly what he wanted to see. Looking around the thin alley, he spotted a tall green dumpster. Their roads might have been clean but they still needed places to put their trash. The dumpster was stained and rusted, but he wasn’t interested in it for its appearance. Shadaico leapt on top of it and then to a window sill. It was very thin, but he kept his narrow footing. Shadaico tapped into his small magic supply and attained a second of flight as he leapt to the roof of one of the buildings.

Shadaico barely made it and had slipped slightly when he landed. He pulled his back legs up and shook out his fur. “Whew, what a jump,” he chuckled. He then made his way jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The allies below served as cannons to be traversed by his powerful legs. That was something Shadaico found convenient; his new wolf body was very strong. How strong, he wasn’t sure exactly, but he was having little trouble making the gaps.

He couldn’t stay up there for long though. The sun went below the horizon and the street lights went on. The soft pitter of his paws on the stone roofs ground to a halt as the walls around the castle came into view. There was a road, a clearing as Shadaico saw it, around the wall. He would not be able to jump from this roof to, and over, the wall. The guard ponies patrolling both the street and the trail along the top of the wall itself didn’t make it look any easier either.

“How do I get past that?” he asked himself. He could easily use his Wind magic again to amplify his jump. It would be incredibly cool to leap the 50 foot gap, but it would use all of his magic. He didn’t want to do that unless it was his last possible option. Shadaico began looking around for a non-suspicious alternative. He found the weirdest and probably most insulting one imaginable. He made another quick leap, but he had to put just a hint of Wind magic into it to complete the jump. He had leapt across the street so he was on the roof of the houses on the other side. He leapt over another alley and began scanning the clearing below for guards.

“This has to be the most pathetic security force in the world,” Shadaico spotted the golden armor and white coats of the guards easily in the night. There was also how he intended to get into the castle that bothered him. There was a huge tree growing right into the wall. The wall actually looked structurally challenged because of it! Cracks rang along the wall and the whole thing looked like it bent upwards because of the trees roots growing below.

Shadaico had two options; he could dig along the roots and hope he emerged on the other side, or he could use it to scale the wall. He planned to scale it. Digging is dogs work! Wait, Shadaico groaned at his own insult backfiring. He quickly moved on though, he had work to do. “Nash, you’re going to owe me big for this.” Shadaico jumped down from the roof and charged across the clearing as soon as none of the guards were looking.

Hiding in the shadow of the tree, he quickly pulled himself over each branch and gradually reached the top. He stopped himself from just running out over the top of the wall. He peaked out and quickly ducked back down as a guard walked past. This one had been a dark brown color with a horn instead of being a white pegasus. He waited an additional second before he jumped out of the tree’s leaves and dashed across the wall's roof before he jumped down on the other side. He found himself in a courtyard full of statues and a tall hedge maze.

He could get lost if he went into the maze, but if anything went wrong, it would be a good place to go to lose the guards. Shadaico made sure to avoid the building and stay near the statues as he sneaked toward the only visible entrance from the courtyard. Two large torches burned on either side of a large pair of red iron doors. Three steps led up to a small platform where two unicorn guards stood in front of the doors. Looking down, Shadaico saw a rock and decided to test his luck.

He instinctually reached down and picked it up with his paw. When he lifted it to his face he paused, “how did I do that?” His paw was strangely flexible compared to normal dog’s paw, but he wasn’t complaining. He aimed the rock at a nearby bush and threw it as hard as he could. The small rock tore through the bush with incredible force and got both guards to wander off. “Why does that always work?” Shadaico shook his head as he made his way into the castle. If he ever built a castle and had an army of guards, he’d train them not to leave their posts for any reason. Especially small noises out in the dark where they can’t see.

Shadaico made sure to close the door once he was inside, he didn’t need them getting suspicious when they came back. But where did he go from here? The hall was pretty fancy; potted plants, red carpet, and paintings lined the marble hall. Shadaico used a second long telepathic link with Nash to get an idea of where he was rather than talk to him. “I’m going to kill him,” Shadaico growled. Nash was on one of the higher floors on the other side of the castle. Shadaico would have to walk through almost the entire structure to get there!

Luck was on his side as the halls seemed devoid of anyone. The late hour had led to a downsize in security and many of the torches had been allowed to go out. The halls were pretty dark and an eerie quiet radiated from both directions. Shadaico picked a direction and began his journey. Shadaico moved as quickly as he could without making a horrible racket, which proved to be a good run. The hall he picked was lined with doors, pointless columns, and the dark.

The hall came to a “T” intersection. The road that went right led to another long hall. The hall straight ahead was a staircase going up. Shadaico didn’t even have to think about it as he went upstairs. Again, no guards got in his way. It was like the interior was considered unreachable or something and they just didn’t bother having any indoor defenses. Maybe I shouldn’t be complaining, he mused. The new hall went straight for only a dozen feet and then turned right as well.

Around the bend was another pair of doors. Shadaico had to slam the brakes so that he wouldn’t run out and be spotted by the two guards. But something was wrong, these weren’t like the guard’s he’d seen before. These guys looked a lot like the Nightmare Soldiers from back home, only as ponies. They had the pony body, but with bat wings, gold dragon eyes, dark purple armor, and fangs. They were far more intimidating then the previous guards. How am I going to get past you idiots?

Shadaico waited with just his eye dangling around the corner…until it happened. He didn’t have to wait long for one of them to yawn. Without a moment’s hesitation, Shadaico burst out of his cover and charged the guard who wasn’t in the middle of yawning. The demonic pegasus didn’t know what hit him as Shadaico delivered a powerful palm (paw?) strike to the side of his face and knocked him out cold. The other guard could barely register what happened as he regained his hearing and found a wolf striking him in the face.

Shadaico stood proud with two unconscious guards before him. “Now what were you gentlemen guarding?” He slowly opened the doors and found himself outside. “What the-?” Shadaico asked himself. He shut the door behind him and made his way across the stone bridge to the other side where another pair of double doors waited for him. Shadaico knew there would be guards on the other side, but he had an idea. When he got there, he pushed one of the doors open a crack and then stood off to the side. He waited for the telltale sign that one of the two guards had gone to close the door from the other side.

When the door started to move, Shadaico shoved his paw through and grabbed his chest armor and ripped him outside! The bat-winged pegasus had no idea what was happening as Shadaico put him in a choke hold and took a few shaky steps away from the door. The other guard quickly opened the door and stared at the scene. His partner was being strangled by a wolf with screws jutting out of its back! It was like a monster out of some horror novel. Its eyes clearly told him that if he moved, it would break his partner’s neck. The second guard kept his distance as Shadaico felt the creature in his paws go limp. Slowly, he let him slip out of his grasp and onto the floor. He then stood with his chest puffed out as he took slow strong steps toward the other guard. As he expected from a herbivore like a pony, when a predator was approaching, it froze up.

Shadaico made quick work of him by knocking his hooves out from under him and giving his head a little help as he slammed it into the ground below. He was out cold. “Hmph,” Shadaico was so not impressed with their security. Why didn’t the other guard just go call for help rather than stand there and watch? “Idiots,” Shadaico giggled. He went inside and found the halls just as dark as before. He still needed to get to the third floor where Nash was, but where was the stairs?

The answer came to him on the left. There was an alcove carved into the wall where two sets of stairs sat side-by-side, a standard double staircase. The one on the left went up, while the one on the right went down. Shadaico obviously went up. Finally on the third floor, he was only a few empty halls from Nash! So he began moving again. He didn’t want to be in this castle any longer then he had to.

The final hall was just ahead, Shadaico made sure he looked around the corner before just going for it. The hall was empty except for two of the demonic pegasi guarding only one of the rooms in the entire hall. Gee, I wonder what’s in there, Shadaico shook his head. These ponies just couldn’t disappoint him anymore it seemed. Shadaico suddenly heard hoofsteps behind him. He flicked his head around and saw a pair of patrolling guards walk by at one of the past intersections. Whew, close call. Wait, Shadaico froze up. He had knocked out four guards and just left them lying around!

He hadn’t considered the possibility of patrolling guards showing up and finding them. He was thoroughly screwed. [No pun intended] Shadaico had a few minutes tops, so he had to move it now. Who knew when the alarms would go off. Shadaico flew out of his hiding spot and charged down the entire hall, shooting the few sparks of magic he had left!

*****

The dark princess had left him alone in her room again. She had given him more water to drink and she seemed to trust him a little more because she didn’t put the barriers up this time. But he was still lonely in the jar. The clock ticked and somewhere far away he could hear steps. The jar muffled everything, so Nash wasn’t sure if there was even anything else to listen to.

Suddenly, the door burst open! Flying into the room was a massive black wolf! Nash was about to panic, when he saw the screws in its back. It was Shadaico. “Wait…Shadaico!!” He ignored Nash as he began looking around the room desperately.

“Think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think-think," Shadaico was mumbling at a hundred miles a minute.

Nash tried calling out, “Shadaico, it’s me, Nash! I’m over here, in the jar!”

“Come on, THINK! What am I going to do?” Shadaico seemed like he was in a panic as he ran along the edges of the room.

“Shadaico? Hello, I’m right here!”

He stopped bouncing around the room and told Nash off, “I’m not blind. I know that’s you--wow. You did get small.” Shadaico suddenly smacked himself. “We don’t have time for this. Shut up so I can think.”

“About what?” Nash pressed.

“How I’m going to get you out of here quickly, now shut up!” He ran over to the bed and ripped the sheets off with his mouth. “Wait, he’d suffocate,” Shadaico grumbled to himself. He continued to look around the room until he spotted the closet. Shadaico took all of three seconds to get to it and rip the door open. He began digging through the various random objects that were stored in there. “YES!!” Shadaico declared victory in the closet.

Shadaico had a new bounce to his step as he emerged from the closet with a small rusty lantern. There was a small used white candle still imbedded in the center and some of the glass had burn marks on it making it ugly. “Should be big enough,” he rambled as he undid the latch and pulled the old candle out and threw it off to the side. The lantern had a loop on the top so it could be hung from a hook, but Shadaico intended to carry it in his mouth as he broke Nash out of the castle.

“Oh no! You are not putting me in that!” Nash protested as Shadaico went to grab the jar.

“There is no time to argue! We have to go, the alarms going to go off at any second!”

“What did you do?!” Nash asked as Shadaico took the jar off the desk.

“Something really stupid,” Shadaico huffed as he tossed Nash into the lantern not very gently.

“Hey, that hurt!”

“Sorry, but we got to go now!” Shadaico bit down on the ring and ripped the lantern with Nash in it into the air as went back out into the hall. The ride was not pleasant for Nash. The lantern was smaller than the jar had been, at only about six feet of floor space, which was three inches in reality.

Shadaico burst out into the hall and froze. A dark ebony alicorn with a wispy energy like mane and tail was standing at the end of the hall staring at him. “Oh shit,” Shadaico whispered. Luna had just been returning to her room when she saw her guards were unconscious on the floor. Before she had time to even approach them though, a massive black wolf had exploded out of her room with the changeling in a lantern he carried from his large mouth.

None of them moved. Shadaico waited for her to make the first move. He couldn’t move first because he had absolutely no magic left. Technically, he had more than he could ever use, but he couldn’t access it because it was sealed by the chain and screws. Luna was waiting for the wolf to move because she wanted it to tell her, by its actions, if it was hostile. If it ran, she could catch it and subdue it. But if it attacked her, she would know it was the enemy and she could fight it, even kill it. Nash sat there, powerless. No one was moving and it was a stalemate if they didn’t. Nash wanted something to happen just to break the tension in the air. He got his wish…

One of Luna’s night guards materialized behind her screaming about a possible intruder. In the briefest of moments, Luna took her attention away from the wolf, which Shadaico used to turn and bolt! Luna quickly saw it running and told the guard to wake Celestia immediately while she gave chase to the wolf.

Corner after corner, bend after bend, Shadaico was lost. The alicorn had forced him down the wrong hall and he had completely lost his sense of direction. Shadaico had no idea where to go. He was somehow able to duck and weave between groups of guards that kept showing up, and he was somehow able to outrun the dark alicorn behind him the whole time, all while carrying Nash in a lantern with his mouth. He didn’t have time to think about how rough the ride was for him, because he couldn’t afford to slow down.

“Slow down Shadaico! I’m going to throw up!” Nash yelled as he bounced around.

“Bear with me,” he slurred through the metal loop in his mouth.

Luna couldn’t understand why a wolf would go to all the trouble of kidnapping a changeling, small or not. Even if he did have a reason, why kidnap this one? Could this wolf be the changeling’s ally from before? What about the screws in its back? There was something powerful about them, the way they glowed, the way they clearly went through his shoulder blades yet didn’t interfere with his mobility. These two were both highly unique and on the run. The swarm of guards with Luna only continued to grow as the wolf seemed to have lost his way.

There was no telling where they were going. Luna wanted to start shooting the wolf, but she didn’t want to hit the lantern and kill the changeling. She couldn’t grab the lantern with her telekinesis either because it was moving around too much. In short, she and all the guards were stuck playing Ring-Around-The-Rosy until the wolf came to a stop.

When the wolf made another turn, Celestia was waiting at the end of the hall with a line of her own guards! She looked fully awake, fully alert, fully ready to fight, and fully dressed. How her sister had done it all so fast was beyond Luna. The wolf didn’t stop however. Shadaico continued his mad dash towards her, in fact, he seemed to actually accelerate! “What is he doing?” Luna asked herself. He must have been suicidal.

For some reason, neither Celestia nor any of her guards prepared to shoot magic at Shadaico. They were all calm and stood strong. Shadaico saw what was happening only when it was too late. He had fallen into their trap and he had figured it out just as he went to make the turn. The blockade in the hall had been clumsily made just past another intersection. Shadaico had initially thought they were idiots and he could just take the turn and get away, but right before he went for it, he noticed their smiles.

Shadaico found himself exploding into a great throne room with a fine red carpet and wondrous drapes hanging from the rafters. Along with its fine marble columns and tile floor, the throne itself was of exquisite beauty. It had a small pool of water around it and gentle waterfalls. The carpet ran up to the throne where it turned into a pillow. And…oh yeah, the entire room was full of almost a hundred gold and black armored unicorn guards.

Shadaico slammed the brakes and looked around. Shit, now what? He thought. Without a moment to think, the lantern suddenly glowed blue and was ripped from his mouth as the dark alicorn levitated it to her. Shadaico almost jumped after it, but the fierce eyes and glowing horn of the white alicorn kept him rooted. His breathing was heavy from all the running, but he still found the air to growl like an animal.

Celestia made sure that her horn was packed with power should the wolf move while her younger sister continued to bring the changeling in. When the lantern got closer, they could clearly tell the ride for him had been pretty unpleasant. His pupils--if he had any--would clearly have been spinning. Other than that, he looked okay. Returning their attention to the wolf, he was ready for a fight. He obviously wasn’t thinking of surrendering.

Celestia was taken aback by the sight of the screws. What form of torture is that? She asked herself. The wolf barked at them. Nash was finally coming out of his daze and wondered what Shadaico was doing, barking like a real wolf. As he looked up, he could tell Shadaico was doomed. There was no way out, but he wasn’t backing down! Shadaico’s head was turning like crazy. What do I do, how do I get out of this? He had no idea what to do as he looked around. Outnumbered, outgunned, out planned; he’d never been in such a position before.

“Shadaico, there’s a glass window behind the throne! GO! Get out of here!” Nash yelled at him.

“What about you?” he couldn’t believe Nash’s proposed plan.

“I’ll be fine, they don’t actually want to hurt me. They want to study me, I think.”

“I came here to bust you out and that’s what I’m going to do!”

“You can’t win!”

“Then I’ll die trying,” he showed his teeth as he growled.

“And then what?! You’ll spend eternity in hell!”

Shadaico’s violent stance dissipated, “but Nash--“

“Dying here won’t do either of us any good. Now escape, so we can fight another day.”

Shadaico bent his knees and lowered his head slightly as he thought. “I’ll come back once I’ve recovered. Goodbye Nash...I’m sorry.” Shadaico was so angry with himself. He was accepting defeat, but he didn’t have a chance in this fight.

Celestia and Luna had watched the exchange carefully. The small changeling's begging had gotten the wolf to drop his aggression for a moment. “Get ready Luna, he’s about to make his move,” Celestia advised her sister.

Luna gave a single nod as she lowered her body. They were both ready for anything he could do…except bolt towards the throne. The guards that encircled him prepared their spells, but Celestia was faster. She reached out with her telekinesis and grabbed at him. But she missed and only grabbed the screws on his back.

Shadaico howled in pain as Celestia wrenched on the sealing screws. Nash was quick to start screaming for her to stop. Shadaico's painful screams sent the exact message Celestia wanted to hear. She knew she could get him to submit to surrender if she kept pulling on the screws. They obviously caused him pain with just the slightest tug. Luna didn’t like this plan. She knew what her sister was thinking, but those torture screws weren’t designed to be pulled on. The agony it caused must have been unimaginable.

Shadaico felt like his entire back was being ripped from his body. He didn’t think his sanity would hold together as the sheer torturous pain tore through his bones. He collapsed on the ground and whimpered, he couldn't believe that he was remaining conscious through this. Celestia made her demand, “surrender and we will not hurt you anymore!” She then released her grip on him so he could decide to given in. It was true that Celestia didn't want to hurt him. Her mistake with Nash was still fresh on her mind. She desperately hoped the wolf would not run again.

Shadaico took a minute to get back on his paws, but that’s all he could do. His limbs shook from the fading agony and his breathing wouldn’t slow down. It had almost been as bad as when they executed him. I’ve got to get out of here! He only now realized just how badly he had underestimated the ponies. Shadaico went to run again, but Celestia saw his move. Celestia grabbed all four screws again and yanked on them at the same time Shadaico lunged forward trying to get away.

The sound of tearing flesh resounded off the walls of the throne room as the four large golden screws were torn from the body of the black wolf............

Author's Note

That last part just makes me think of this song