Change the Heart

by FatesWinds

Rating: teen
Tags: Changelings, Original Character, Queen Chrysalis, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Death, Main 6, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 70985

An unusual pegasus is sent to Ponyville to come out of his shell. When he finds a strange pony in the Everfree Forest, everything changes for him and his friends, as a new, powerful evil threatens Equestria, and the world.

Heart Shield has always been different from other ponies, and keeps mostly to himself. When he’s sent to Ponyville, he has to learn to adjust to his new life, and new friends; quickly getting into a routine of helping around the town.
Finding an injured Chrysalis in the Everfree Forest changes his life, and the lives of his friends, in ways he never would have imagined. Despite how the others view her, and despite the past he learns she and his friends share, Heart Shield has seen a different side of her and trusts her completely.
Has the Changeling Queen truly changed, or has she merely used the naïve pegasus while a wave of new, more powerful changelings threaten to destroy everything he and his friends know?

EDIT: As of 2024 with the release of Chapter 17, I will be putting warnings here for people as things start to push what's allowed on something rated Teen. These will update with the release of future chapters, and if anyone notices content/trigger warnings that I missed, please let me know and I will update them.

Ch17 warnings: Mild body horror, missing limbs, eye trauma.
Ch18 warnings: Mild body horror, death, dead body, head trauma, non-consensual body transformation
Ch19 warnings: Violence against spouse

Published 2012-12-17 06:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-24 22:28:34 UTC

Chapter 1: Ponyville

Chapter One

Ponyville

"My dear Twilight, there's more to a young pony's life than studying. So I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location, Ponyville." —Princess Celestia (Friendship is Magic, Part 1)

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! Where did I put it?!”

Twilight Sparkle rushed through the library, her horn glowing as she pulled books of the shelves and tore through her supplies with her magic, her hair unkempt as if she'd just gotten out of bed. The lavender unicorn looked frantically everywhere she could for the letter from Canterlot that had arrived yesterday.

“Oooohhh, where is it! Spike!”

“Where’s what Twilight?” asked Spike as he climbed down the stairs.

“The letter Princess Celestia had sent, I can’t find it anywhere!” Twilight looked desperately at the baby dragon. “Please tell me you know where it is.”

“I think you left it in the Daring Do book Rainbow Dash borrowed-.”

Twilight shot out of the library, galloping as fast as she could to Rainbow Dash’s usual lounging spot.

“-earlier,” Spike finished, staring at the cloud of dust Twilight had left in her wake.

Twilight dashed through the streets of Ponyville, sprinting around some of the ponies who were in the way. She couldn’t believe she had left Princess Celestia’s letter in that book! And of all the ones to lose, this one was one of the most important ones yet! Oh, how could she have done something so foolish? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t see the cart in her way until it was too late to stop from crashing into it. Pony, bits of wood and apples tumbled into the dirt, scraping to a halt several feet from the now ruined cart. The orange earth pony who had been standing beside it ran over.

“Whoa there Twilight, what’s got y’all rushing ‘round in such a fret?” asked Applejack as she helped her friend to her hooves.

“I’m sorry Applejack,” Twilight said, hurriedly using her magic to repair the cart. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Well I can see that. What’s the rush for?”

“Princess Celestia sent me a letter yesterday that I really need to find and Spike said I left it in a book that Rainbow Dash borrowed.”

“A letter? What’s so important about it that you need to go tearing through all of Ponyville for it?”

“Somepony she sent is going to arrive today, only I don’t remember when or where! Oh, what if they’re here now waiting for me? What’s the Princess going to think when she finds out I wasn’t there to meet them?!”

“Now just calm down for a tick, no need to get all worked up. I saw Dash down by Sugarcube Corner with Fluttershy just five minutes ago.”

“Thanks Applejack!” Twilight said, taking off down the street again back the way she came, causing Applejack’s hat to fly off as she ran past.

Applejack snatched it out of the air quickly and put it back on, shaking her head. “I swear, she’s gonna do more damage if she keeps rushing around like that than those Parasprites did,” she said. “Apple Bloom!”

A yellow filly popped up from behind the apple stand. “Yeah sis?”

“I need you to take care of the sales while I go keep Twilight from crashing into somepony else’s stand.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Gotcha Applejack.”

“An’ I don’t want to come back and find out you were putting apples into somepony’s bag and chargin’ ’em when they didn’t ask for them.”

“I said I was sorry,” the filly whined as her sister ran after Twilight. “I was only trying to see if I could get my cutie mark in sellin’ apples.”

*  *  *

Rarity carried her bags full of all sorts of supplies for her new line of dresses through the road on her way back to her boutique, looking through them with her magic as she walked.

“I do believe that everything is in order,” the white unicorn said to herself. “Why, with all this new silk and velvet, I could make thirty new dresses that everypony will absolutely adore!”

A purple blur shot past her, causing her to throw the contents of each bag into the air in surprise. She yelped in distress, hurriedly catching each item and put them in their proper bag before they hit the ground.

“The nerve of some ponies,” she huffed. “Honestly, haven’t they ever heard of walking like a normal pony?”

Applejack hurried past just then. “Sorry, Rarity, Twi’s in a bit of a rush to Sugarcube Corner right now.”

“That was Twilight?” Rarity asked incredulously. “What on Equestria would cause her to run past like that without even a single apology for almost ruining this silk?”

“Seems she left a letter from Celestia about somepony coming to Ponyville in a book that Rainbow Dash borrowed, an’ she can’t remember when or where they’re arriving.”

“Princess Celestia is personally sending somepony here?!” Rarity quickly pulled the bags off the ground. “Who! No, no, if the Princess has somepony coming here, then they’re obviously someone of extreme prestige. Applejack, could you be a dear and keep her there for me? I simply must go and make myself look presentable for when they arrive.” She didn’t wait for an answer and ran back to the boutique to get ready.

*  *  *

“-Daring Do watched as Ahuizotl escaped with the Golden Claw and vowed that one day she would get it back.”

Rainbow Dash closed the book and leaned back in her chair, sighing contently.

“That,” she exclaimed, “was the best one yet! I can’t wait to see how she gets the Golden Claw away from him!”

“But Rainbow Dash, I thought you had already finished all the books,” Fluttershy said.

Both pegasi sat at a table inside Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy was having one of Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s carrot cake cupcakes while Rainbow Dash had been reading Daring Do and the Secret of the Golden Claw aloud. The rainbow-haired pegasus had gotten over her embarrassment of liking books and now borrowed one from Ponyville’s library almost every week, though most were the Daring Do series.

“Yeah, but Twilight said that even if somepony’s read a book, there’s always more for them to find in it if they read them again and again,” Rainbow Dash replied. She looked down at the book with a grin on her face and moved to open it again when she saw something sticking out by the last page. “Wait, what’s this? A loose page?”

The door to the store burst open. Everypony jumped and turned to look at Twilight Sparkle, standing in the entrance way, hair disheveled, panting, with a crazed look on her face.

“Rain-,” she panted, stepping inside, “Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash grabbed the book off the table and hid it behind her back. If Twilight found out she had broken one of her books, she’d kill her! “Twilight!” she said nervously. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I need the Daring Do book you got today.” The unicorn slowly managed to catch her breath.

“Book? I um, I must have left it at home.”

“Um, but Rainbow, you- Mmph!” Fluttershy began to say, silenced when Rainbow Dash quickly covered her mouth.

“Nope! No book here, ha ha!”

“Mm mhm-mph-.” Fluttershy tried to keep talked, but it was hard to with her mouth covered by Rainbow’s hoof. She pointed to the book behind her friend’s back.

Twilight saw what Fluttershy was doing and, before Rainbow Dash knew what was happening, pulled the book out, hurriedly floating it over to her even as her magic flipped through the pages. “Aha! Here it is!” she cried out as she reached the back of the book, pulling out the paper in the back.

“I’m sorry Twilight!” Rainbow shouted, pulling her hoof away from Fluttershy’s mouth and floated over to her friend. “I didn’t mean to break the book, honest!”

“Break the-?” Twilight asked, closing the book. “Rainbow Dash, what are you talking about?”

“The page! It must have torn out while I was reading the end of it. It was an accident, I swear!”

“Page? What do you mean? The book’s in perfect condition, or as perfect as it can be for one that’s been read dozens of times.”

“I didn’t-! Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight, startled. “Then what was that page you just took out?”

“This isn’t a page from the book,” Twilight laughed, finally looking like her usual self now that she had what she had needed, “it’s a letter from Princess Celestia. She’s sending somepony here to Ponyville and asked me to meet them. I left it in the book by accident and I forgot when and where I was supposed to find them.” She showed the book to her friend. “You didn’t damage the book at all.”

“I-. Oh, well then, right. So, who’s the pony that’s coming?” Rainbow Dash asked, quickly steering away the conversation from the book.

“That’s the strange thing about this letter; she never mentions a name, just that he’d be arriving today.” Twilight held it open in front of her, reading it out loud. “To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

I understand that this may seem an odd request, but there is somepony that I believe would do better in Ponyville than where he currently is and I would like it if you and your friends could make him feel welcome in his new home. I’ve made arrangements for him to arrive tomorrow on the first train to Ponyville; will you meet him at the station when it arrives? He’s a little different than everypony, and has become very closed off as a result of the reactions to this from other ponies. Hopefully you and your friends will be able to bring him out of his shell. Please look after him for me.

– Princess Celestia.”

“Somepony’s coming here? Does Pinkie know yet?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not that I know,” Twilight replied, rolling up Princess Celestia’s letter, “but this is Pinkie we’re talking about, so if she doesn’t already know, she’ll find out somehow.”

“Do you want us to come meet him with you?”

“I think that sounds like a great idea Fluttershy.” Twilight smiled. “Besides, Princess Celestia did say that she’d like it if we made him feel welcome here.”

The door to Sugarcube Corner opened and Applejack walked inside. Seeing Twilight looking much calmer, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Well from the look of things, I’d reckon you found that letter you were lookin’ for Twi,” she said.

Twilight looked over at her with a sheepish look. “Yeah, I’m sorry about destroying your cart before.”

“Shoot, t’weren’t nothing a little elbow grease wouldn’t have fixed. Besides, you did put it back together. Now, what did the letter from the Princess say?”

“The pony she’s sending here is supposed to arrive on the first train to Ponyville,” Twilight replied, “which should be arriving soon, if I remember the schedule correctly.”

Rarity popped her head in at that moment, wearing a teal frilly coat, the necklace she made from the fire ruby Spike had given her, and a light violet, long-brimmed hat. Everypony turned to stare at her, shocked by her fancy getup.

“Did I hear you correctly Twilight?” she asked. “The pony Princess Celestia is sending here, the one she personally asked you to meet, is going to be here as soon as the first train arrives?”

“Th-that’s what the letter says,” Twilight replied, looking her friend up and down. “What’s the occasion for those clothes?”

“What’s the occasion?” Rarity looked at Twilight as if she had just asked why the sky was blue. “Princess Celestia has asked that we meet somepony that she’s sending here! Oh, if she’s doing something like that, they must be a very important pony, so one simply must make a good first impression.”

Twilight frowned a little.

“Just because she’s sending somepony here doesn’t mean they’re going to be some fancy, regal pony. I mean, she did send Spike and me here too, and we’re not like that.”

“Be that as it may, it is always best to present oneself in a way to leave a pleasant, lasting impression. And that will not be able to happen if we do not leave for the station this moment. The first train arrives at precisely ten o’clock, which is in five minutes. It does not do well to be late, Twilight Sparkle, when meeting somepony you’ve been asked to meet.”

Applejack rolled her eyes at these words.

“Fancy getup or not, Rarity does have a point Twi,” she said. “Besides, all this talk has made me curious about this pony the Princess sent here.”

“Yeah, me too,” agreed Rainbow Dash, hovering a few feet in the air. “Come on, I can’t wait to meet whoever it is.”

Twilight chuckled to herself.

“There’s no need to tell me twice,” she said. “Let’s get going then. Has anyone seen Pinkie Pie?”

Everypony shook their heads, though Mr. Cake did say that, knowing her, she’d show up in time to meet them. Twilight had to agree, Pinkie did have that habit, and they couldn’t waste any more time if they wanted to get to the station to meet whoever Princess Celestia was sending in time. She thanked Mr. Cake for his help and she and the others hurried to the train station, Rarity, though, lagged behind a little so as not to mess up her ensemble.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as they reached the platform.

“Yes?”

“If Princess Celestia didn’t say who we were meeting, and she didn’t give us a description of them, how will we know which pony is them?”

Twilight thought about this. It was odd that the Princess wouldn’t have given them any indication of who it was…

“Well,” she said finally, “I guess we’ll just have to see who’s looking for us. Besides, it’s not like there’s going to be a lot of ponies taking the train to Ponyville, right?”

*  *  *

Three trains later, and several dozen ponies getting off each one, Twilight regretted her words. She looked over the letter for the forty-third time, once again checking if she’d gotten the date of the pony’s arrival wrong, once again finding that she hadn’t. Rarity slumped against the station’s wall, taking off her hat.

“Well,” she said, “it seems that somepony never learned proper etiquette. We’ve been here for hours, and not one pony has arrived from Canterlot.”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight sighed. “The letter clearly said that he was supposed to be here on the first train today.”

Fluttershy pointed to the fourth train of the day.

“M-maybe he’s on that one?” she suggested quietly.

“He’d better be,” grumbled Rainbow Dash. “I’m getting tired of waiting for some no show pony.”

The train slowed to a stop in front of them and the doors slid open as the conductor’s voice rang out.

“Last stop, everypony out!”

Several ponies stepped off of the train, a couple earth ponies, ten unicorns, and about seven pegasi. As they had for the last three trains, Twilight and the others stood up straight, looking to see if the mysterious pony the Princess had sent was there, but nopony stood out. They let out a collective sigh of disappointment as the ponies who had been on the train made their way out of the station.

“Well, this has been a waste of time,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Let’s get out of here, he’s not going to show.”

“What? But I wanted to meet the pony who was coming here!”

Rainbow Dash looked at the pony the voice belonged to, who had just stepped off the train. Actually, bounced out of the train would have been more specific for the pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie made her way over to her friends, doing little hops in the air as she walked, her bouncy, cotton candy-like hair bobbing up and down with each bounce.

“Pinkie, where have you been?” Twilight asked. “And why were you on the train?”

“Well, I heard that somepony was coming on the first train, so I ran over here as fast as I could to wait for them to arrive-.”

“But… you weren’t here when we got here,” Fluttershy said.

“I was here, but I went to get a snack, you can’t greet new ponies on an empty stomach after all,” Pinkie replied. “And when I got back, the train was here, but nopony on it was a new pony which I thought was a little odd so I went onto the train to see if somepony forgot to get off, and the train left.”

“So… you’ve just been riding the train back and forth all day?” Twilight asked slowly.

“Yes indeedy!” Pinkie said with a huge grin on her face.

“Well why didn’t you just get off at the first stop and catch the next-?” Applejack began to ask.

“Um, e-excuse me.”

Twilight and the others turned to look at the source of the voice. A blue pegasus approached them nervously.

“This is the Ponyville station, right?” he asked.

“That’s correct,” Twilight replied, smiling.

“Look at the size of his wings,” Rainbow Dash whispered to Fluttershy. “They’re huge!”

He seemed to have heard her voice because he automatically tried to press his wings – larger than those belonging to a normal pegasus, Twilight noted – closer to his body and looked down at his hooves, his black and red mane falling down to cover his eyes. Twilight shot her friend a look before turning back to the new pony.

“Is there something we can help with?”

The pegasus looked back up, but avoided making eye-contact with her.

“I… I’m looking for somepony named Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “I was told that they were going to meet me here?”

“Oh! So you’re the pony Princess Celestia said she was sending!” Twilight stepped forward and held out her hoof. “Twilight Sparkle is me,” she said as they shook hooves, “And these are my friends: Applejack-,”

“Howdy,” Applejack said, tipping her hat in greeting.

“Rarity-,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Rarity curtsied a little.

“Fluttershy-,”

“H-hello,” mumbled Fluttershy.

“Rainbow Dash-,”

“How’s it hanging?” Rainbow Dash gave a little wave.

“And Pinkie Pie,” Twilight finished, pointing to the spot were Pinkie had been standing. “Wait, where’d Pinkie go?”

“Oh wow, so you’re the new pony everypony’s been talking about,” Pinkie said, jumping out from behind the pegasus, startling him so much that he jumped three feet in the air before landing with his wings extended out as far as they could go. “My name’s Pinkie Pie, well actually it’s Pinkamena Diane Pie, but everypony just calls me Pinkie, you can call me Pinkie Pie, Pinkie, The Pinkster, Pinkiepananza, Pinkaroo-…”

She continued to spout out name after name, poking her head out behind the poor scared pegasus every time he turned around to try and find her.

“…or just plain old Pinkie if you prefer, not Plain Old Pinkie because that’d be  a silly name for anypony to have, but just Pinkie. Did you know Princess Celestia sent Twilight a letter asking us to personally come meet you here? Twilight’s her number one star pupil and she’s been learning under Princess Celestia ever since she was a little filly.” Suddenly she gasped as a thought came to her. “Are you somepony being taught by her too? Not in magic of course because you’re not a unicorn but maybe in some other area of study like archeology, mathematics, psychology, geography, chemistry-,”

“Um, Pinkie?” Twilight said as Pinkie began to walk the pegasus around backwards as she talked.

“-history, theatre-,”

“Pinkie.”

“-mime, painting, sculpting, fly fishing, dancing-,”

“Pinkie.”

“-cooking, socio-economics, wrestling, teaching, pie-eating, zoology, horticulture, physical education, martial arts, fencing, foal-sitting, high-diving, face painting-,”

“Pinkie!”

“Yeah Twilight?” Pinkie looked over at her friend, having backed the new pony into a wall. “Oh! Did you have some ideas as to what Princess Celestia was teaching him?”

“Can you at least let him have some air?” Twilight asked, shaking her head as she and the others walked over. “Princess Celestia wanted us to make him feel welcome, not scare his feathers loose.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy pulled Pinkie away as she thought about whether or not she had been making him feel welcome. The pegasus gave Twilight a grateful look.

“Is she always like that?” he asked, tucking in his wings.

“Not always,” Rarity said, walking around to look at his wings. “She gets excited when new ponies show up, it gives her an excuse to throw such splendid parties to welcome them and allow them to meet everypony here in Ponyville. I do hope you’ll forgive me for being so bold, but your wings are absolutely beautiful. Why I don’t think I’ve seen a pair quite like them on anypony, well, except for Princess Celestia, of course.”

Uncomfortable under her gaze, he continued to press his wings closer to his body, trying to make them look smaller. “I-I get that a lot,” he mumbled.

“Rarity, will ya stop examining him like he’s one of your fancy dresses?” Applejack said. “Poor fella’s not even had a chance to tell us his name yet.”

“Oh dear, I had completely forgotten,” Rarity said, stepping back with a sheepish look on her face. “My deepest apologies.”

The pegasus looked at Applejack thankfully before speaking. “I-it’s all right,” he said. He stood up straight and looked at the six ponies. “My name is Heart Shield,” he said, bowing a little to each of them. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Heart Shield,” Twilight said, smiling at him. “Welcome to Ponyville.”

Pinkie popped over and hooked an arm over Heart Shield’s neck. “And now it’s time for your official Welcome to Ponyville party!”

“Par- Waugh!” Heart Shield said as she took off towards town hall, pulling him with her.

“Hey! Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, running after them, the rest of her friends in tow. “I don’t think dragging him around is what Princess Celestia meant by ‘make him feel welcome’!”

*  *  *

The building was packed with every single pony in Ponyville, all of whom were already well into partying by the time Heart Shield was yanked inside by Pinkie Pie. He’d been here less than five minutes and he was already questioning Lady Celestia’s decision to send him here. Why had she thought it would be a good idea to suddenly have him move to a place where he knew absolutely nopony there? Well, almost nopony. The moment he’d been brought inside, he heard a familiar voice from across the room.

“Heart Shield! Are you here to say hi to the new pony too?”

He looked up as Derpy waved to him from the other side of the room, accidentally splashing the punch she’d been drinking onto a light brown earth pony. The stallion said something to her, though he didn’t look upset at her action, rather like he’d grown used to things like that, and she offered an apology and a sheepish look before waving at him again. Heart Shield waved back a little, noticing that everypony’s eyes were now on him.

“Oh good, you’ve already met Derpy!” Pinkie said, startling him. “This means you’ve already made a friend here! Let me introduce you to everypony else, trust me, you’re going to have lots of friends and fun here in Ponyville.”

“Y- Wai- Wha-?” was all he managed to get out before she pulled him over to the nearest ponies, beginning to name each of them.

“This is Cheerilee, she runs the school in Ponyville and teaches all the fillies and foals here. This is Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, they own Sugarcube Corner, the most amazing confectionary and bakery you’ll ever find,” she said. “And these two are Lyra and Bon Bon, they’re…”

Heart Shield’s head was spinning as he was led around the room, meeting every unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, even a donkey – whose name even Pinkie Pie found a little amusing, Cranky Doodle, if Heart Shield had heard right – and Zecora the zebra, who lived in the Everfree Forest outside Ponyville. He struggled to remember all the names he’d been given. Pinkie’s friends had shown up sometime while he’d been introduced to somepony called Filthy Rich, who seemed to have little interest in him, something he was grateful for. He managed to slip away from Pinkie as she got into a long discussion with Mr. Rich, and made his way over to where the punch bowl was, keeping his head low, aware of the stares his wings were getting, and of several ponies whispering to each other.

At least nopony’s noticed I’m still blank, he thought to himself, pouring a glass while he tried to make himself look smaller, and sat down by the wall.

“A little overwhelming at first, isn’t it?”

He jumped at Twilight Sparkle’s voice as she walked over to him.

“Sorry,” she said, sitting next to him, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I-it’s fine,” he mumbled, taking a sip of the punch.

They sat in silence for a while before she spoke again.

“Heart Shield?”

“Yes Miss Twilight?”

“Twilight is just fine,” she chuckled. “Anyway, would you mind if I asked how you know Princess Celestia? It’s a little out of character for her to send somepony out here like that.”

“I’ve known Lady Celestia since I was a foal,” he said, putting his glass down. He looked up at the ceiling, a small smile forming over his lips as he began to talk. “We met a few times when she visited the houses of the families that were taking care of me, and at a couple Galas. She always had time, when we ran into each other, to talk to me, and she’d always listen to me and help me with… certain insecurities.” He glanced down at his wristband. “Lady Celestia gave this to me, years and years ago, back when I was in Cloudsdale. I used to be picked on because of the size of my wings, and because I never had a cutie mark, so when she came to Cloudsdale one day, she gave this to me. She told me that it was magical and would absorb all the negative feelings I’d get from the teasing and rumors, and amplify any good ones. It’s not, but it helped me a lot over the years.”

“Wait a minute!” Rainbow Dash, who’d come over while he had been talking, said. “You’re that pegasus who always stayed off of the flying course! Large wing!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded as Heart Shield pressed his wings as close to his body as he could.

“What?”

“It’s fine Twilight, I’ve been called worse,” he said.

Fluttershy has been walking past when she overheard Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, you mean you didn’t remember Heart Shield?” she asked.

Pinkie popped up before Rainbow Dash could answer.

“Ooo! So you already knew Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy too!” she said, not noticing how Heart Shield was squirming, intimidated by the strange pink pony. “This is great!”

“We were just in Cloudsdale at the same time,” he said quietly.

“Well, all the same, y’all still already know three of the ponies who live here,” said Applejack, joining the small group, Rarity and a baby dragon in tow. “That’s more than Twilight knew when Princess Celestia sent her here.

Heart Shield looked at Twilight after this bit of news. Pinkie had said that she was a student of Lady Celestia’s, but he just figured that Twilight had come to Ponyville on her own, or had already been here when she started being taught by the Princess.

“Lady Celestia sent you here too?”

“Yeah, me and Twilight were sent to Ponyville a little over a year ago,” the dragon said. “I’m Spike by the way, Twilight’s number one assistant.”

He held out a hand to Heart Shield, who shook it with a wing seeing as it was the only thing long enough to reach Spike since the others were in the way.

“Heart Shield,” he said, hiding his flank with his tail before anypony could see. He turned back to Twilight. “Why did Lady Celestia send you two here?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head, a sheepish look on her face.

“I used to be more interested in my books than I was in interacting with others back in Canterlot. Princess Celestia decided that I should come to Ponyville to learn about friendship, and I met these five. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Applejack and the others smiled. Rarity asked him if he’d always lived in Cloudsdale, which led to him explaining about his foalhood. All of them looked surprised that he’d been an abandoned orphan; Spike seemed to understand how he felt though, and Heart Shield learned that the dragon had never known his parents either. Pinkie asked him why he took a train rather than just fly down, so he explained that Lady Celestia had sent him a letter telling him to come to Canterlot a day ago, and that after she’d told him that he would be moving to Ponyville, she had him stay in Canterlot for the night. He’d overslept though, and missed the first train, then he had trouble finding out which train went to Ponyville, and after that he’d gotten off at all the wrong stops until he’d reached his destination. As the discussion went on, leading into the other ponies talking about their lives, Heart Shield became more relaxed. They talked for the rest of the party, not even noticing that it had died down until the last of the party guests said good night to them. Spike let out a loud yawn, which the seven ponies ended up echoing.

“My, is it that late already?” Rarity asked, glancing at a clock. It was half past midnight. “I’d better be heading off to bed. Good night everypony.”

“G’night,” Heart Shield said before turning to Twilight. “The letter that Lady Celestia sent you, did it say anything about an inn or someplace where I can stay?”

All six ponies and Spike looked at him, startled.

“You mean you don’t know where you’re going to be?” Fluttershy asked.

Heart Shield shook his head. “She never told me, just that I’d be coming here and that Twilight was supposed to be meeting me at the station. But that’s not a big deal is it? I mean, there is someplace where visitors or new ponies can stay… right?”

They all shook their heads.

“Cranky moved into the last house in Ponyville,” explained Pinkie. “And there aren’t any inns here.”

He blinked, surprised to hear this. Lady Celestia hadn’t mentioned anything about that to him. He just assumed that there would be someplace he could move into like his room in Cloudsdale. Applejack patted his back.

“Don’t you fret now; y’all can come back to Sweet Apple Acres with me. We may not have any rooms free, but the barn has a loft in it that’s been cleared out and cleaned up for when Apple Bloom has her friends come over; you can sleep there while we sort things out.”

“Sleep in that dusty old barn?” Rarity sounded appalled that Applejack would even consider asking the new pony such a thing.

“My barn ain’t dusty, Rarity, nor old,” replied Applejack. “Besides, we can’t just let him sleep out on the streets, an’ none of y’all currently have room in your houses do you?”

Her friends all looked away, not a single one spoke up. Fluttershy currently had a sick bear taking up the only spare room, since everywhere else, even the couch, was occupied by raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and all sorts of other small animals. Rainbow Dash had managed to lock herself out of her own house a week ago and had just taken to sleeping on whatever cloud she could find. Rarity’s family, except for Sweetie Belle, who had gone to spend a night over at Twilight’s house with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, were all there, and Sweetie Belle had told Rarity that she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders had something they were working on in her room, so she couldn’t even allow the pegasus to take her sister’s room for the night. Pinkie had agreed to take care of the Cake’s babies that night, and had taken them to the room she had at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight, obviously, had her hooves full with the Cutie Mark Crusaders having a sleepover. This just left Applejack. Like Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom had said that her room was being used for something they were working on, so, as she had said, the only spare place with her was the loft in the barn. Rarity, despite all of this, tried to get her friend to understand that an old barn, filled with dust, hay, and possibly crawling with insects, was no place for somepony to sleep, and besides, it had to be dreadfully uncomfortable to sleep on the cold planks or bushels of hay. This sparked an argument between the two about the barn and what was and wasn’t a good idea or place for Heart Shield to stay in. Heart Shield looked from one to the other, uncomfortable with the argument over him that his predicament had caused.

“I-if I get a say in the matter,” he said, interrupting the two of them, “I would be fine with sleeping in the barn.”

Rarity sighed and lowered her head in defeat, the matter settled, though she insisted that she didn’t feel that he’d be comfortable at all sleeping there before she left. Pinkie had left during the argument, saying that she needed to go and take care of the Cake’s foal and filly. Fluttershy followed Rarity, wishing all of them a good night. Rainbow Dash stuck around for the argument, as did Twilight, but left when she saw that a decision had been made, yawning loudly. Twilight and Spike accompanied Heart Shield and Applejack out of the building, walking them as far as Twilight’s library. Spike went inside, but Twilight stayed out long enough to say goodnight to Heart Shield and Applejack, and that she’d write to the Princess about the lack of housing for him before she too went inside.

Applejack turned to Heart Shield and smiled, leading him down the streets of Ponyville as she talked about Sweet Apple Acres and the Apple family. She was surprised when he asked about what life on the farm was like, even more when he seemed truly interested in the work she and her family did there. She told him about everything as they walked, and the more she told him, the more interested he seemed and the more relaxed he became, to the point that by the time they reached the barn they were throwing jokes at each other like snowballs in the winter.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d reckon y’all had your special talent in farm handlin’.”

Heart Shield tucked his wings into his sides, making sure they hid his lack of a mark.

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling nervously. “It’d certainly be something if that was it.” He looked at the barn before speaking up again, this time in a more worried tone. “You’re sure it’s okay for me to stay here? I don’t want to be a bother…”

“Nonsense sugar cube, y’all need a place to live don’t you?” she said, patting the nervous pegasus on his back. “I’m sure that we can get somepony to make you a house of your own, but in the meantime, y’all are more than welcome to stay in the barn if ya’d like. Apple Bloom and her friends already made a nice spot up top back before I showed ’em my old tree house.”

He shifted his wings around uncomfortably and looked at the ground. Applejack smiled and nudged his shoulder.

“However,” she said, “don’tcha go thinking you can skip out on rent. Y’all can pay me back by helpin’ out around the farm, nothin’ too big mind ya; mostly odd jobs like fixin’ a leak on the roof or repainting the house. Think you’re up for it big guy?”

Heart Shield looked up at her and nodded.

“Then let me welcome you to your new home in Ponyville. Feel free to stay as long as you need, okay?”

Chapter 2: Kindness and Comfort

Chapter Two

Kindness and Comfort

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." —Leo Buscaglia

No matter what Rarity said, sleeping in the barn was far from uncomfortable. Heart Shield had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the hay. He didn’t sleep long, waking up when the sun began to rise, but he felt as well rested as if he’d slept all day. He left the loft and sat outside, watching as the sun rose over Sweet Apple Acres.

“Looks like I ain’t the only early riser.”

He turned around as Applejack spoke.

“I rarely got to see sunrises like this in Cloudsdale. It’s a lot different when you just have clouds around rather than ground and trees,” he said. “I think I can see myself getting used to these.”

Applejack laughed and clapped him on the back. “And only after one night, huh? Guess Princess Celestia made the right choice in bringing y’all down here then.”

Heart Shield laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”

“You’re going to fit in well ’round here. What do you say I show you around Ponyville so y’all can learn where everything is, then come back here so Big Mac an’ I can teach you what goes on at Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Sure, I didn’t get much of a look around last night,” he nodded and followed Applejack out of farm and to the rest of Ponyville. They talked like they did the night before as they walked. Applejack told him about the events in Ponyville in the past year and how she and her friends had met.

“You’re the ones who saved Lady Luna?” he asked as they reached the town. “I’d heard that somepony had done that, but I never imagined I’d meet the ones who did it. And as for Discord… it’s hard to believe that so many things have gone on that you all managed to save us from.”

“Shucks, it ain’t nothing that big,” Applejack replied, rubbing the back of her head. “We just did what anypony would have done in our position.”

“Still, you six are heroes all over Equestria.”

“I think that may be a bit much, we’re just some ponies who happened to be able to help.”

Heart Shield noticed that Applejack was getting flustered at his words and decided to change topics. He pointed to a large shop towards the middle of town. “What’s that?”

“That’s Sugarcube Corner,” Applejack said, relieved for the change. “That’s where the Cakes work, Pinkie mentioned that last night, remember?”

He nodded. “The bakery and sweets shop, right?”

“Exactly. Now, if y’all take a look over there you’ll see…”

She led him all over Ponyville, pointing out all the different shops and houses where everypony lived. Now that he wasn’t being brought to meet all of them so suddenly, he found it was easier to memorize everything and everypony. They even dropped by the school where her sister went, though classes hadn’t started yet. Cheerilee had just gotten there and begun to prepare her lessons for the day, but she took time to chat with Applejack about how Apple Bloom was doing, and to give Heart Shield a tour of the school.

“This is different from the one in Cloudsdale,” he admitted. “Over there we focused mainly on weather patterns and flying, with the occasional trip to the rainbow factory to learn how things worked there, just in case any of us was interested in working there sometime.” He chuckled to himself, remembering one of the trips where Rainbow Dash had leaned too far and fallen into one of the vats, completely covered in every color on the spectrum when they pulled her out; she was able to laugh as hard about it as all the other foals and fillies in the class afterwards.

“You’re welcome to sit in on one of our classes to see how things are taught here if you’d like,” Cheerilee said, smiling at him. “Perhaps you could give us a look at how you learned things sometime.”

“I may take you up on that,” he replied. “Thank you for your time, I’m sorry if we’ve kept you from getting everything ready.”

“That’s quite alright, I still have an hour or so before the first of my students arrive, that should be plenty of time to take care of things. You two have a good day.”

“You too.”

Heart Shield and Applejack left Cheerilee to continue getting ready for her class and wandered back through town; Applejack pointed out a few more buildings and said hello to the ponies who were getting ready for the day as they made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Y’all got all that?” she asked as they walked past the last shop.

“I think so,” he said. “It’s a lot to remember, but everything’s so close to each other, and everypony seems helpful, so if I can’t find someplace I’m sure somepony will help out.”

“Well of course they will,” Applejack laughed. “That’s how we do things out here. Would you like some breakfast before we start work on the farm?”

“Yes please!” he replied as his stomach let out a loud growl.

They stood where they were in silence for a few seconds, then both of them broke out into fits of laughter. Applejack brought him to her house, where Big Mac and their grandmother, Granny Smith, were already preparing breakfast. He exchanged greetings with the two of them and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Granny Smith immediately had him gathering ingredients for her special cinnamon apple pancakes, showing him how to mix them together properly before letting him give cooking them a try. It took him a few tries to get it right, but the Apple family was patient with him and soon he laid out enough for each of them to have seconds and thirds. Granny Smith told him about the history of Sweet Apple Acres while everypony ate, happily answering his questions – when she remembered what was being talked about that is. Applejack’s sister stopped by while they ate and was halfway through her second helping of pancakes before she realized that there was somepony else at the table. She stared at Heart Shield, or rather his wings once she noticed them.

“Heart Shield, this is Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “Apple Bloom, this is Heart Shield. He just arrived in Ponyville yesterday, and he’ll be stayin’ with us for a while since there ain’t any room anywhere else around here.”

“Hi,” Heart Shield said, tucking his wings closer to his body.

“Pleasure t’meet ya,” the filly said with a smile.

The rest of breakfast was uneventful. He helped to clean up after everypony had finished, said goodbye to Apple Bloom when she said she was heading to school, and straightened up the table before following Applejack and Big Mac outside. They brought him to their orchard first and showed him how to collect the apples. As with breakfast, it took him several tries to get the hang of things before he had the technique down. He wasn’t as strong as either of them so it took him two or three more bucks into the trees to shake all the apples loose and into the basket. They worked in the orchard for most of the day, Applejack talked with him while they worked.

“…and Pinkie was the only one who knew how to deal with them. Ponyville would have been doomed if she didn’t know what to do with those varmints.”

“Wow, I never knew Parasprites could be so much trouble. We never had any in Cloudsdale or Canterlot.”

“Consider yourself lucky. It took weeks to get Ponyville back to normal after they came.”

“Sounds like things in Ponyville can get pretty crazy sometimes.”

Applejack laughed and elbowed him as he knocked the last of the apples into his basket. “Havin’ second thoughts about stayin’ here?”

He laughed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. “Are you kidding? It sounds like life is never dull in Ponyville, a lot more fun than staying in Cloudsdale if you ask me.”

“I’m plum tickled to hear y’all say that,” she said, leading him out of the orchard. “But despite all the things that happen here that almost level the town, a lot more happens here to keep everypony entertained and happy.”

He nodded. “So we work our way through the orchards in the mornings?”

“Not every morning, and not all of them. That was only part of the northern patch.”

“Okay, what else happens here?”

“Whoa there, no need to work yourself to the bone in one day, right now we’ll take a break. After that Big Macintosh’ll teach you how to plow the fields.”

Heart Shield rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, I just wanted to find out what else I can do around here.”

Applejack laughed. “Well I’m glad to see that y’all are enthusiastic about workin’ here. Just be sure to take things easy, I don’t want to have you get hurt because you were working nonstop.”

“I’ll be sure to take a minute to smell the roses now and then,” he joked, getting another laugh from her.

***

The next day Heart Shield woke up feeling sore from pulling the plow, but after a few minutes of stretching and working out the kinks in his muscles he began to feel better. Applejack was waiting for him when he got up.

“The fence needs a few repairs,” she told him after they ate, “some of the planks and stakes were broken a few days ago and we haven’t gotten around to fixin’ it up yet. After that, the barn has a few loose boards up top that we can’t reach; can you take care of those for me?”

“Ah, um…” he said, fidgeting, “is there any pulley I can use to get up there?”

She shook her head. “The rope snapped last week and we haven’t gotten our replacement yet. Besides, you can reach it easier if you fly can’t ya?”

“Flying isn’t really one of my specialties,” he lied. “What about some hay I can stack to get up there?”

“Shucks, if we had enough hay for that we’d do it ourselves,” she laughed. “Are you sure you can’t do it? I can always get Rainbow Dash or Twilight to do it, but you’re already here and ah’d appreciate it if y’all could help.”

Heart Shield scratched the ground uncomfortably with a hoof, but reluctantly nodded. “Okay…”

“Thanks,” Applejack said, smiling at him.

He sighed as he left to work on the fence. Of course he wanted to do the repairs, it was the least he could do in return for her giving him a place to live, but he had hoped he could avoid flying to take care of it. The less he did, the less chance anypony would find out he was still blank. He knew his secret would come out eventually, and putting it off would only make it worse, but he’d already seen the looks he’d gotten for his wings. What would everypony do when they found out he still didn’t have a Cutie Mark? He took his time on the fence, putting off having to return to the barn as long as he could, but there was no avoiding it. He didn’t want to make Applejack angry by not doing the job he’d agreed to, and, as he pounded the last stake into the dirt, he no longer had any excuse for taking so long. He made his way back to the barn, where he found Applejack taking a break.

“Sorry for taking so long,” he said, picking up a few nails from a pail next to the door.

“It’s alright,” she said. “I’m sorry for askin’ ya to do so much around here; you’re still getting accustomed to life here after all.”

“It’s not a problem, I’d rather work all day. It makes me feel like I can be of use, and I’m not sure what else I’d be doing if it weren’t for this.” He kicked off into the air, looking for the boards that needed to be repaired.

“I do appreciate your help.”

“Hey, it’s how I pay my rent isn’t it?” he joked, finding one of the loose boards and proceeded to nail it into place, using his hoof as a hammer.

“True,” she laughed. “How about you take the weekend off and get to know your way around Ponyville?”

“Sounds like a plan. Is there anything you recommend?”

They began to idly chat while he worked. Heart Shield listened to Applejack talking, chiming in now and then, but mainly focused on the repairs. There was a lot more than he’d initially thought. He was suddenly aware that Applejack had stopped talking. He looked at her and saw that she was staring at his side in shock.

“What are you-?” he began before his eyes went wide. His flank! He quickly dropped to the ground and tucked his wings tight into his sides, hiding his empty hips from view, though he knew it was too late. He took a few steps back, faltering under Applejack’s gaze.

“You… don’t have your Cutie Mark…?” she said slowly.

Heart Shield looked away, his heart pounding. She saw! She knew! Applejack took a step toward him, stopping when he retreated back a step; he kept his head bent down toward the ground, so that his hair fell down over his face. She could see how badly he was trembling, how tightly he had his wings pressed into him. She remembered what he’d said during the party, about how he’d been teased not only for his wings but because he had been a Blank Flank; she’d assumed that he’d just gotten his late, but now she realized that she had been wrong. Suddenly it made sense why he didn’t keep his wings away from his body for long, why he’d been reluctant to work on the siding on the barn.

“You never got yours, did you?” she asked softly. “That’s why you get so uncomfortable whenever anypony mentions it, isn’t it?”

His silence was all the answer she needed. She walked over to him, noticing the small patches of wet dirt under his head, and placed her hat on him. His shaking slowed down, though the dirt continued to be covered with the tears that fell down his cheeks. Applejack sat beside him, saying nothing and let him let out his emotions. He sat down as his shaking came to a halt, waiting for the last of his tears to fall. Applejack remained silent as he dried his eyes, his face hidden beneath her hat, to which he was extremely grateful.

“Thank,” he began, stopping as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat before starting again. “Thank you…”

“T’weren’t nothin’ Sugarcube,” she replied. “How come you never mentioned it before?”

Heart Shield laughed weakly. “Why would I? My wings already set me apart from everypony. No need to advertise that I’m the only pony in all of Equestria who’s not a foal or filly and still blank.”

“It doesn’t matter that your wings make you different, heck, I’ve heard several ponies say they wished they had wings like yours.”

He scoffed, wrapping his wings around his front. “That’ll be a first. I’ve always been the big-winged frea-.”

Applejack smacked the back of his head, knocking her hat off of him. He turned around to demand to know why she did that, stopping as she pointed to his right hoof, and looked down to see what she was pointing at. His wristband, stained with the tears he’d wiped away, was what his gaze fell on.

“I thought that y’all said that you never let anypony’s words get to you because of that,” she said. “Or was that just hot air?”

Heart Shield continued to look at it.

“It doesn’t stop me from thinking all of it,” he admitted quietly. “It doesn’t stop me from not liking just how different I am from everypony…”

Applejack picked up her hat and put it back on her head. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Apple Bloom: there’s no shame in not having a Cutie Mark. Y’all have a chance none of us does; you have endless options ahead of you. Everypony else is bound by their special talents, but not you, you have so many things that you can do, and you can do them because you aren’t tied down to one thing like the rest of us.” She looked at him and ruffled his hair. “So what if it takes you a little longer to find the thing you’re good at? Y’all are bound to discover it eventually.” When he remained silent, she tried again. “We have a group here called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a little club dedicated to trying to discover one’s special talent. Y’all are a little older than the three fillies who’re in it, but maybe you should take a page out of their book and see what y’all can do around here that may be the thing y’all are best at.”

Heart Shield sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the side of the barn. “Maybe…” he said, closing his eyes. “Applejack, is it okay if I take the rest of the day off? Have some time by myself?”

“I figure we can manage a few hours without you,” she said, nudging his side, getting a small smile from him.

“Thanks,” he said as he stood up.

“Where are you going to go?”

“Not sure, I was thinking of just wandering around Ponyville until evening.”

“Just make sure you stay away from the forest, okay?”

He glanced at her over his shoulder as he moved his wings into a more comfortable position. “I will. See you in a few hours Applejack.”

He turned and slowly walked down the path that would bring him into town. Applejack watched him go before she adjusted her hat and headed off to find Big Mac, glancing over her shoulder at the pegasus’s retreating figure. Unseen by either of them, Apple Bloom hid behind a bushel of hay, her eyes wide.

“Somepony can grow up without ever gettin’ their Cutie Mark?!” she squeaked.

***

“You’ve been surprisingly quiet today Apple Bloom,” Applejack said as they walked to Apple Bloom’s room. She let out a yawn. Even though the sun had set two hours ago, she’d insisted on staying up to wait for Heart Shield to come back, but as the hours passed and there was still no sign from him, fatigue forced her to accept that it was time to sleep; she just hoped that the pegasus would return sometime in the night.

“There’s a chance I may never get ma Cutie Mark, ain’t there?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Now what makes ya think such a silly thing like that?”

“Well Heart Shield’s a Blank Flank, an’ he’s your age ain’t he?”

“How’d you know about that?” Applejack looked at her sister, surprised.

“I overheard y’all talkin’ earlier. If he doesn’t have one and he’s all grown up, then I might not get mine either!” Apple Bloom looked up at Applejack, distraught.

Applejack led Apple Bloom to her room and put an arm over her shoulders. “Heart Shield is a rare case Apple Bloom, as far as ah know, he’s the only pony to not have their Cutie Mark when they’re no longer a foal or filly. But y’all know that in order to get your Cutie Mark, you have to find the one thing you’re best at; maybe he never got his because he’s good at so many things that he hasn’t figured out which one is his true talent. He also may not have one because he’s already got somethin’ that makes him special like everypony else. His wings may set him apart from others, but they make him a special pony too. They may be a trade-off for not havin’ a Cutie Mark yet. Whatever the case is, I’m sure you’ll get yours soon, so don’t y’all worry about it.”

Apple Bloom frowned as she thought this over. Applejack turned off the light and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Do you really think all of that’s true?”

Applejack jumped, startled by the voice behind her. She turned around and saw Heart Shield standing behind her.

“Do you really think I don’t have mine because I have a lot that I’m good at? Or that my wings are a trade off?"

Applejack smiled at him. “Of course. As I said earlier, I think you’ll find out what it is sometime. Perhaps that’s why Princess Celestia sent you here; not just so that you’d be able to be around ponies who could be new friends and not treat you as others used to, but also so that you could find out what your special talent is.”

She walked him to the barn and said goodnight. He thanked her for what she said and went to his loft. He stayed up half the night thinking over her words. Maybe what she said was true. Maybe he hadn’t gotten his Cutie Mark yet because his wings were the thing that made him unique after all…

***

As the months passed – winter came and went faster than he could have believed – Heart Shield adjusted to his new life in Ponyville. After seeing how well Applejack had taken the news that he was blank, he eventually revealed his secret to everyone in Ponyville; surprised at the readily acceptance everypony gave this, a lot of them even offered to give suggestions for ways he could get his Cutie Mark; Rainbow Dash’s were mostly racing and extreme stunts he soon found out. He was introduced to the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders – Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle – by Apple Bloom and, though he turned down the suggestion they gave that he could join, the four of them would often try to get theirs together at times, at other times he’d offer them suggestions that they hadn’t yet thought of. He smiled to himself the night it had happened, remembering that encounter.

“He’s really staying in your barn?” Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom as the Cutie Mark Crusaders left Carousel Boutique and walked toward Sweet Apple Acres, carrying a large bag on their backs, having given sewing a shot. None of them got a Cutie Mark, but they had managed to make something for each of them, with Rarity’s help of course.

“Yup, and he’s been helping out around here too!”

“And it’s true that he hasn’t got a Cutie Mark yet?” asked Scootaloo. “I mean, he’s not a foal anymore, and everypony says that you get your Cutie Mark before you grow up, so he has to have one, right?”

“Nope, he’s as Cutie Mark less as we are,” Apple Bloom replied.

“So it is possible for none of us to get our Cutie Marks?!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes went wide with terror. “We could be stuck as Blank-Flanks forever?”

“Applejack says that he maybe never found his special talent like every other pony because he’s been bullied about that and his wings and all that made him too scared to try an’ find out what he’s good at. And as Cutie Mark Crusaders, it is our sworn duty to take him in under our wing and help him!” Apple Bloom smacked her hoof to her chest. “Right girls?”

“Yeah!” cried Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“So that’s why you suddenly wanted us to go to my sister’s, so we could talk about it,” Sweetie Belle said, glancing up at the bag.

“That… and I thought we might have been able to get ours while we were there…”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we- oof!” Scootaloo said just before all three fillies ran into somepony. “Ow…”

“I’m sorry girls,” Heart Shield said, setting down the bag of tools he’d been carrying. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, are you three okay?”

“Heart Shield!” Apple Bloom cried, jumping up to hug his neck. “Just the pony we were looking for.”

He laughed when she latched onto his neck and rubbed her head before setting her on the ground. “Hey there Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle” he grinned.

“Hi Heart Shield,” Sweetie Belle said, waving at him. She’d met him once when Rarity asked him to help fix the boutique’s door, though she never knew he was Blank; he’d kept his wings at his sides at the time.

“And you must be Scootaloo,” he said, turning to the last filly. “Rainbow Dash told me a little about you.”

“R-R-Rainbow Dash did?” she stammered, wings buzzing with excitement.

“Yeah, she said that you’d be a top-class flyer someday. Reminded her of herself as a filly.”

Scootaloo almost fainted.

“So, what is it that you were looking for me for?” Heart Shield asked, obviously unaware of how large an impact his words had had.

Sweetie Belle nudged Scootaloo in the side to get her attention and all three fillies stood up straight, putting their bag down and faced Heart Shield. Apple Bloom cleared her throat.

“It has come to our attention that, like us, you have not gotten your cutie mark yet,” she said. “As you may know, we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and it is our job to do whatever it takes to find out what all our special talents are and assist other Cutie Markless ponies like ourselves in finding their own special talent. And so, we humbly ask if you, Heart Shield the pegasus, would consider joinin’ us as a fellow Blank-Flank and become a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“That wasn’t part of the welcoming script I wrote,” Scootaloo hissed.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t remember all them words on the spot,” she shot back, both of them turned to Heart Shield when Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, all three looking up at him with smiles on their faces and waited for his response.

Heart Shield rubbed the back of his head. “I’d like to-.”

The fillies cheered.

“-but I’m really busy working around Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres, I don’t think I have enough time to be a full member.”

Their faces fell.

“However, I’ll help out when I can; I can try out some of the stuff with you sometimes and I’ll try to come up with ideas for what you could do to try and find yours.” He smiled down at the three fillies, whose faces lit back up. They cheered again and jumped on him, knocking him down and buried him in a dog-pile, laughing happily.

All in all, life was enjoyable, and he found himself being truly happy for the first time in years. True, though some events in Ponyville were crazy – the Flimflam brothers trying to take Sweet Apple Acres away soon after he’d come along, the Cerberus showing up in Ponyville, and the CMC’s Gabby Gums articles for example – and there were some that were surprising – like Hearts and Hooves day when Applejack had surprised him and asked if he’d have dinner with her, both were flustered at the time despite agreeing that it was just a friendly evening to celebrate his first one since he’d moved – things were nice. He would sometimes be asked to do small repairs around town and earned quite a few bits for his work. Mayor Mare offered to have a house made for him, but he’d gotten so used to staying in the barn and enjoyed his life on Sweet Apple Acres that he turned down the offer. Sometimes Applejack’s friends, who quickly became his as well, would come by the farm to chat with him while he worked, or to ask for his help with supplies for projects they were working on; mostly this was Dash when she wanted to build some new fancy stunt for the fun of it. Fluttershy stopped by one day for just that, looking upset.

“What’s wrong?” Heart Shield asked, handing her the bag of nails, planks of wood and paint she’d asked for.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said. “One of the deer from outside Ponyville isn't doing too well, but she won’t let me anywhere near her to help.”

“Would you like some help? I’m almost done today and have nothing else planned for the rest of the day.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

He flew up onto the roof of the Apple’s house where he had pail of roofing asphalt next to several new shingles. “Honestly, it’s no trouble at all,” he called down as he spread some of the asphalt over the newly replaced shingles covering the leak that had appeared. “I’d be happy to help out.” He put them into place and used a hammer he’d borrowed from Twilight to pound the nails into place before applying another batch of the asphalt over them and pressed the old shingles that hadn’t need replacing down over them. When he’d finished he brought everything down, landing neatly beside Fluttershy.

“Well, if you really want to I’d appreciate the help, if that’s okay of course.”

He smiled and picked up the bag of supplies he’d gotten her. “Lead the way,” he said, holding the straps in his mouth.

He waved to Applejack, nodding when she asked if he’d finished before following Fluttershy. They stopped by her house first to drop off the bag and pick up the first aid kit she had before heading off outside of Ponyville’s town limits. It was a good distance away to the field where she’d said the doe was, so he spent the trip asking for more details about what was wrong.

“One leg is broken and another is trapped in a hole. I’ve tried to calm her down long enough for me to help pull her out and bandage her up but she gets frantic whenever I try to approach. I didn’t want to leave her, but I thought that if I was gone for a little bit then she might get calmed down enough for me to help. Her fawn is with her but he’s as frightened as she is.”

“So you need to keep both of them calm before you can even get the chance to pull her out.”

“That’s right, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to do that, even with your help…”

“Leave that to me,” he said with a smile as they reached the spot she’d mentioned. Sure enough there was the doe, her hind leg stuck up to her thigh in a thin hole, her fawn standing beside her. They looked over as he and Fluttershy came closer, eyes wide open. Heart Shield held out his wing to block Fluttershy. “Wait here.”

He flew over to the doe and fawn, the latter jumped away as he landed. The doe began to struggle to free herself as he walked slowly over. When he got within a foot of her, she lashed out with one of her legs, kicking him in the side. He grunted and winced at the impact but continued to get closer. She kicked him again, hitting his chest this time; her fawn, sensing his mother was in danger, ran over and started to hit the pegasus too. Fluttershy yelped and began to run forward.

“Don’t get any closer!” he shouted at her as the fawn slammed head-butted him. He winced as the blows kept coming, but didn’t move away, looking into the doe’s eyes even as her next kick hit his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispered to her, taking another hit from the fawn. “I’m here to help, and I’m not going away until you’re free. I’ll take all you two can give if that makes you believe me.”

She kicked the side of his head again, but his eyes never once left hers. Slowly her attacks let up; the fawn kept going until he’d tired himself out. When she stopped lashing out at him she studied the bruised pegasus. He smiled at her, ignoring the pain this caused.

“See? I’m a friend.” He nodded to the leg stuck in the ground. “Now, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to help you get out of there.”

She continued to study him, but did nothing as he slowly moved to her side, looking at the hole. Her leg was stuck tight in it, pressed into the dirt that had likely been filled in as she struggled to get out. Moving slowly, he placed his hoof at the edge of the hole and scraped back some of the dirt. He continued to dig slowly, not wanting to startle her again. Her fawn watched him as he worked, slowly making the hole larger. When it was wide enough that he could fit part of his hoof in beside her leg, he knelt down and pushed at her side with his head, working his arm under her to push up. She got the idea and lifted up, her leg pulling free from the hole, keeping the broken one pressed into her side. He smiled at her again.

"There, ready to have that other leg looked at?” He motioned Fluttershy over, placing a wing against the fawn’s chest when he started forward. “She’s going to make your mom better, she’s with me.” The fawn looked at him warily but stepped back.

Fluttershy hurried over to the doe and, after Heart Shield managed to make the deer understand that she only wanted to help, eventually managed to bandage up the leg, fashioning a splint with a few sticks Heart Shield went out to get. “That should do it,” she said when she finished.

“Try not to put too much weight on that leg for a while,” Heart Shield told the deer. “If you follow us, we’ll take you to a nice safe place for you to stay while you recover.”

She looked at him curiously but somehow he managed to get his message across and she and her fawn followed them back to Fluttershy’s house, where Heart Shield was patched up.

“How did you manage to do that?” Fluttershy asked him. “Keep calm even though they were attacking?”

“They were just scared, and I needed them to understand I was there to help. They thought I was there to hurt them, but when they saw I made no attempt to defend myself they seemed to understand I wanted to help. That’s why I told you not to come over while they were doing that, it would have just made them more scared,” he replied, watching the two deer snack on some berries Fluttershy brought them.

“That was dangerous,” she scolded. “You’re lucky they didn’t do anything more than bruise you.”

“Hey, it was a risk I was willing to take. I’d have let them break my ribs if it’d show them I wouldn’t hurt them. Besides, I trusted that they’d stop before things went bad.”

“Promise you won’t do something that foolish again…”

“I promise. Would it be okay if I came back until she’s healed up? I want to be here in case she gets scared again.”

“Just so long as you don’t get yourself hurt again.”

He laughed. “Deal.” He looked up at the sky, noting that the sun was starting to set. “I’d better head back to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“I’ll walk you back, if you don’t mind.”

“It’d be my pleasure.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back and they made their way back to the farm. They noticed a bit of smoke coming from the farm as they drew near and raced over. Applejack stood in front of the barn, what remained of it that is, scolding Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, all of whom were looking at the ground. The roof of the barn was broken; a large hole stretched across it, charred wood could be seen as the smoke cleared.

“…that again! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?” Applejack said angrily.

“What’s the problem?” Heart Shield asked.

“These three decided they’d take a shot at special effects and blew up the barn,” she replied, looking up at him. “They’re lucky they didn’t get hurt or start a fire!”

“We said we were sorry,” Apple Bloom said meekly. “We didn’t mean to do it…”

“Yeah, it was an accident, honest,” added Scootaloo.

“We won’t do it again,” Sweetie Belle told Applejack.

“You’re darn right you won’t,” Applejack said, almost snapping at the filly, whose eyes started to fill with tears.

“Hey, there’s nothing to worry about,” Heart Shield said, stepping forward. “The barn can be fixed and the good news is that nopony got hurt. I’ll put it back together in the morning after I get some materials when the shops open, and they’ll do whatever they can to make reparations, won’t you.” He looked at the fillies, who nodded quickly and turned back to Applejack. “See? Everything’s good.”

“No it’s not,” she said, less angrily this time. “The loft is too damaged to make it safe to stay in there, so you have no place to stay!”

“That’s easily dealt with, I can camp out tonight, I used to sleep outside in Cloudsdale someti-.”

The sound of thunder rang out, stopping him midsentence. All of them looked up at the sky, which quickly became covered in dark clouds. Another roar of thunder came, followed by a sudden torrent of rain, soon drenching them all. Applejack gave him a look.

“Still thinkin’ that’s a good idea?”

He smiled sheepishly. “So I won’t sleep under any trees tonight.”

“H-he can stay with me,” Fluttershy spoke up. “The spare room is free now.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said, even as the rain came down harder.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Applejack. “Y’all don’t wanna get sick now.” She turned to the fillies and sighed. “Looks like y’all are going to be stayin’ with Apple Bloom tonight.”

They nodded, looking back down at the ground. “We’re sorry,” they said as one to Heart Shield.

“It’s fine, now hurry along and get inside.”

They ran quickly to the Apple house. Applejack looked at him exasperatedly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then. Y’all are gonna tell me what happened to ya when you get back.”

He nodded and he and Fluttershy said goodnight to her. She headed inside while the pegasi hurried back to Fluttershy’s house. Angel the rabbit was waiting by the door with a towel for Fluttershy when they got in. They dried off and, after a quick dinner, she showed him the spare room.

“It’s not much, but I hope it’s to your liking,” she said to him.

“It’s great,” he replied. “I haven’t had a real bed since I left Canterlot before coming here. Thank you for putting me up tonight.”

“I-it’s no trouble; I wouldn’t want you to get sick from sleeping out in a storm.” A loud clap of thunder shook the house, causing her to yelp in surprise and curl up on the floor with her hooves over her head.

Heart Shield chuckled and helped her up. “Let’s get you to bed, covers work better than hooves.”

She nodded and hurried to her room, calling out goodnight before another clap made her slam her door shut and hide under her covers. Heart Shield laughed silently to himself. She hadn’t changed much since Cloudsdale. He turned off the lights before making his way to the room she’d showed him, climbing into bed. It was nice and comfortable, and he found himself fast asleep in a matter of minutes. He slept peacefully through the night, waking up with the sun as usual. He stretched and got out of bed, noticing that Fluttershy’s door was still closed.

“She must still be asleep,” he said to himself. “I’ll thank her when she gets up.”

He made his way silently out of the house to check on the deer, both had found shelter and were fast asleep. He smiled and went to head back inside when he noticed that the chicken coop had been damaged, likely due to the storm the previous night. He went inside and got the planks and nails from the bag he’d brought over and set to work on fixing it up, working as quietly as he could so as not to disturb Fluttershy. Several rabbits and squirrels wandered over as he worked, handing him nails when he needed them. He laughed and finished up the repairs. The doe and her fawn had woken up while he worked and wandered over to him when he finished; the fawn jumped around when Heart Shield saw him. He laughed again as more animals came over. By the time Fluttershy woke up and came outside, he was feeding and playing with all of them.

“They’ve taken a liking to you,” she noted.

“You think?” Heart Shield laughed as the rabbits jumped him and piled over him. “They’re a lot of fun, and very friendly.”

She beamed at his words. “If you’d like, I’m sure they’d all like to see you when you come over to help with her,” she said, nodding to the doe who had busied herself with some grass for breakfast.

“Sounds like fun,” he replied, grinning from underneath the rabbits.

***

During the weeks after the storm, he spent a lot of time at her house when he wasn’t busy with life on the farm, helping her take care of the animals. More often than not, his time working with the animals would go until night fell, so Fluttershy offered to let him stay over whenever he worked with her. After Applejack said that she thought it was a good idea, that way he’d be able to help out whoever he stayed with the next day, he agreed. She and Applejack decided that they’d work out a schedule for him to assist them both, which he was more than happy to agree to and soon found himself busy pulling jobs for both of them.

Chapter 3: The Letter

Chapter 3

The Letter

“A letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone without corporeal friend.” ―Emily Dickinson

“It’s a tempting offer, Rarity, but I’m going to be late to Sweet Apple Acres if I don’t get there soon,” protested the pegasus she was dragging into the boutique with her.

“Oh never you mind that, dear Applejack will understand if you’re just a few minutes late,” she replied and placed him in the center of the room, gathering measuring tape, a notepad and pen, various spools of thread, and several swatches of different colored fabric. “Besides, you’ve been putting off your visit here long enough.”

“I-I haven’t been putting it off,” he whimpered as she approached, “I said I’d c-come by when I had a day off, and-.”

“And you’ve been working yourself senseless,” she interrupted. “Now stand up straight, no slouching or your outfit will end up all crooked.”

“Outfit?”

“Why of course Heart Shield. Somepony with wings as elegant as yours should have an equally elegant look to accompany them. Now then, let’s get your measurements.”

***

“Will you stop squirming already? I am trying to get this to fit you properly.”

“Rarity, honest, I have to go.”

“After I finish this; I’m nearly done.”

Heart Shield huffed and muttered under his breath, “You’ve been saying that for the last three hours…”

“What was that?”

Rarity looked up at him with a smile, one that sent a chill down his spine; even though she sounded cheerful and looked happy, it felt, to him at least, like he was treading on thin ice now.

“N-nothing!”

“Good, now stretch your wings out again, getting this to fit around them without restricting mobility is difficult.”

He let out a sigh and did as she told him. This had better end soon; he didn’t want Applejack to get upset at him. He looked up as the bell over the door to Carousel Boutique rang as somepony walked in.

“Just give me a few moments to finish up and I’ll be with you shortly,” Rarity called, not looking up from her work.

“That’s okay Rarity, I’m actually here to ask if you’ve seen-,” came Applejack’s voice as she walked over. She stopped midsentence as she saw them, and struggled to hold in a laugh. “Mind if I ask why y’all have Heart Shield in that getup?”

Rarity pulled herself away from Heart Shield and gave him a once-over. She’d dressed him in a marine blue mohair jacket, a dark blue bowtie, and, against his vehement protests, a red and black checkered belt which she’d said would complement both his mane and his wristband. All in all, he found the outfit tacky, though he’d never admit so out loud.

“I’ve been trying to get him in here for months so that I could make it for him. What do you think?” Rarity asked, smiling at her handiwork.

“I think it seems a tad much,” Applejack admitted, unable to restrain a chuckle. “What occasion would he be needin’ it for anyway? I’m guessin’ it’s not something he’d be wearing around the farm.”

“Certainly not.” Rarity shuddered at the thought. “No, I’d think it’d be much more suited for a Gala, or the next dinner you two have together.”

“It’s not like that!” both Heart Shield and Applejack cried, cheeks turning red.

“For the last time, it was just as friends!” Heart Shield said. “Why does everypony keep trying to make it something more than that?”

“Oh do relax,” Rarity said, “it’s not as if it were some kind of scandal, and hold still, you’re going to tear the stitching apart.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled to himself, “that’d be a real shame if that happened…”

***

He was a little sore the next day, mostly from a few “accidental” pokes from pins when he’d gotten a little impatient, and was glad that he had the day off. It was his first day off in several weeks and he had no idea what he wanted to do. He lay in the loft, staring at the ceiling, for a long time as he tried to decide what to do with this day. Eventually he decided that he’d pay a visit to the library; he wanted to see if Dash had returned the only Daring Do book he hadn’t read yet. He grabbed a quick breakfast before heading out.

“Hello?” he called when as he stepped inside the library. “Is anypony home?”

“In here!” came Twilight’s voice from down the hall.

Heart Shield walked over and stared at the mess. Books were lying everywhere on the ground and Twilight was replacing them one by one onto the shelves.

“Did something happen?”

“Twilight’s reorganizing,” Spike said from the stairs. “It’s the third time today.”

“I’m just making sure that we have everything before I ask Princess Celestia if she can send me copies of what we’re missing,” Twilight said.

“But you’ve already made a list. Can’t you just put them all up at once like you did the other day?”

“I know, I know. But that damaged some of the books last time; I don’t want to do that again.”

“If you already have a list of everything that you need, I can put things away while you send the letter to Lady Celestia,” Heart Shield offered.

“Or you can let Owlowiscious do it,” Spike suggested.

“Owlowiscious is at Fluttershy’s with a broken wing,” Twilight reminded him. She looked at Heart Shield for a moment. “If you’re sure you want to help-.”

“I am, besides I can see if you have the Daring Do book I was looking for while I reshelve.”

She smiled and thanked him. He flew over and looked through all the books on the floor, putting them on the shelves by alphabetical order and call number while Twilight dictated her letter –reading from the list she’d made– to Spike, who wrote it all down. He was just about to place the last book on the shelf when she finished.

“Um, Heart Shield?”

“Yeah?” He looked at her over his shoulder, the book held between his hooves.

“I’m sorry about this since you were helping, but I had wanted these arranged differently.”

He blinked. “Differently?”

“Here, let me show you.” She pulled the books off the shelves and began to replace them, with the fiction arranged by target audience age and series on the top, magical history volumes on the lowest shelf near the stairs, and so on and so forth. “See?”

He looked at the books, studying their places and nodded. “Would you mind if I tried again?”

“Come again?”

“I’d like to try putting them back again, the right way this time.”

She looked at him, confused by his request but nodded and pulled them all off the shelves again. It took him three tries before he had the books in the exact positions she’d imagined; he reshelved them two more times to make sure he had gotten it correctly, without her instructing him. After he was certain that he’d memorized it correctly, he sat down, smiling at his work.

“Whoa-oa-oh!” Rainbow Dash crashed through Twilight’s window and slammed into the shelves, knocking the books to the ground with Heart Shield beneath them. She rubbed her head, landing on the floor as she tried to clear the stars she saw. “Ow…”

“Rainbow Dash! How many times have I told you to come in through the front door like everypony else?” Twilight scolded, lifting the books piled over Heart Shield away. “Look at the mess you made.”

“Sorry Twilight,” Dash replied, clearing her head, “just had a mishap with my new trick to impress the Wonderbolts. Oh, while I’m here, can I have another Daring-?” She stopped when she saw the mess on the floor. “Oops.”

“What book did you want to read?” Heart Shield asked, sticking his head back into the pile of books.

“The um, The Curse of the Crystal Crown. Sorry for knocking all of those on you.”

“Not a problem,” he said cheerfully, popping back up with the book the moment she’d finished saying the title. “I’ve had heavier things dropped on my head before. Usually it's just barrels of hay that slip off of piles when I walk past.” He handed the book over to her. “And don’t worry about the mess, I’ve figured out how Twilight wants them shelved.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at him, blinking in surprise.

“How… did you find that so fast?” Twilight asked.

“I saw where it fell,” he said simply. “Right underneath the book on the Elements of Harmony.”

“You memorized the exact location of where it fell while all of the books toppled over?”

“That and all of the others. I’ve put them up enough times to know where they were.”

He busied himself with putting all the books back in their proper places while his friends stood there astonished for a few minutes. Eventually, they gathered themselves. Dash apologized again for causing the mess and left with the book. Twilight turned to Heart Shield and studied him for a little bit.

“You found that book pretty quickly,” she said, “and managed to see where all of the others landed in less than a second.”

“Lucky mishap?” he laughed.

“Maybe…” She looked at him as he placed the last book in its place. “I don’t think even Owlowiscious would have seen all of that, and memorized all of it, in that short a time. Certainly neither Spike nor I could have.”

“Hey!” Spike cried. “I could have done that too.”

Heart Shield landed on the ground and rubbed the dragon’s head. “I’m sure you could have,” he said. “How about I let you handle it next time, okay?”

Spike huffed, thinking the pegasus was making fun of him.

“Heart Shield,” Twilight said, “I know you’re busy with working for Applejack and Fluttershy, but how would you feel about taking care of things in the library when Spike and I aren’t here? Owlowiscious could help you.”

He smiled at her and nodded. “Sure, I don’t mind. It sounds kind of fun.”

***

A few weeks passed and he found himself with a monthly schedule working with Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy. It meant he had less free time, but he enjoyed the work and the time he got to spend with his friends. The library work was especially fun, because he got to see plenty of other ponies who came in to get one book or another. He’d often work past dusk, reorganizing things and making sure everything was in order before heading back to Applejack’s to sleep, almost collapsing on a bench a few times when he’d stayed behind extra late. Twilight, after one particular night where he dozed off while saying goodnight, eventually told him that he could use her extra room to stay in whenever he worked or came over. He didn’t put up much protest, falling asleep twice midsentence, and agreed in the end. Rainbow Dash, aware of how easily flustered he would get, would joke about how he was sleeping with three of his friends now and then; eventually he, like everypony else, would laugh too whenever she did, after clearing the blushes from his face.

A month or so later, when Heart Shield was fast asleep in her extra room, Twilight was busy finishing off her nightly checklist when the sound of hooves landing gently on her balcony grabbed her attention. She looked up and was surprised to see Celestia waiting outside.

“Princess Celestia!” she said, opening the door to let the Princess inside. “What are you doing here?”

“Good evening Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said with a smile. “I wanted to ask how Heart Shield was getting along in Ponyville, and your friends told me that he was over here tonight. Is he available to talk?”

“He’s asleep at the moment, I can wake him if you-.”

“No, let him rest. Could you let him know I asked after him when he wakes, and pass on an invitation for him to come to Canterlot at the end of the week?”

Twilight blinked, but nodded. “O-of course Princess.”

“Thank you. How are you doing, if I might ask?”

***

Heart Shield awoke the next morning to find a note next to his bed.

Heart Shield, Spike and I went out to get some breakfast. Would you come meet us when you wake up? There’s something I need to tell you.

–Twilight

“What could that be about?” He hurried to get ready for the day before rushing to the shop Twilight had mentioned on the other side of the note. She and Spike were already finishing their meals when he arrived; the baby dragon had tossed the last sapphire from his plate into his mouth as he stopped before them. “Morning,” he said.

“Good morning Heart Shield,” said Twilight with a smile, motioning for him to sit with them.

“Your note said there was something you wanted to talk about?” he asked, sitting down.

She chuckled. “Straight to the point then, huh? Princess Celestia came by last night and asked me to pass on an invitation for you to come to Canterlot at the end of the week.”

“Lady Celestia was here?”

Twilight nodded. “Mhm.”

“Did… did she say why?”

“Not particularly.” She looked at him; there was worry and confusion on his face as clear as day. “Would you like me to come with, or one of the others?”

“N-no,” he replied, shaking his head. “I think I can manage. I’m just trying to figure out why Lady Celestia would want me to come to Canterlot all of a sudden.” He sat in silence for a while, trying to come up with a reason for this sudden request. “You… you don’t think she’s wanting me to come so that she can tell me that I’m going to be moving somewhere else do you?”

“I doubt it,” Spike said. “Princess Celestia just wanted to know how you were doing, and she didn’t sound like there was anything wrong. It’s nothing but a visit I’m sure, nothing to worry about. Trust me on this. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Chapter 4: Memories

Chapter 4:

Memories

"I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens." ―Woody Allen

Heart Shield left Ponyville early in the morning; he didn’t want to have a repeat of his last train ride, not when Lady Celestia had been wanting to see him. The train arrived at Canterlot station just as the streets of the city began to bustle with activity. Lady Celestia was waiting for him when he stepped onto the platform.

“Lady Celestia?” he said, startled. “Have you been waiting here since you raised the sun?”

Lady Celestia laughed. “Not at all. Twilight Sparkle sent a letter to me after you left saying you’d be on the first train. I just arrived as the train pulled in.”

“Oh,” he said.

She laughed again and nodded toward the exit. “Come, let’s take a walk.”

Heart Shield nodded and ran to catch up to her, following her outside. Lady Celestia led him through the streets of Canterlot, smiling as he looked around.

“That’s right, you haven’t been through the city since you were a foal,” she said.

“Yeah, your guards brought me straight to the castle from Cloudsdale and I didn’t get a look around as I ran to the station to go to Ponyville.”

“How is your time in Ponyville going, by the way? Are you liking it there?”

He looked at her, nodding happily. “I’m loving it there; there’s so much to do and a lot of fun times to be had. I have jobs with Fluttershy, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, not to mention the odd jobs I do around town.”

“Have you made many friends?”

“Well when I first got there, Derpy was the only one I had, but I’ve become friends with several other ponies now; Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle, for example.”

“That’s a relief to hear,” Lady Celestia said with a smile. “I would have been shocked if you just kept to yourself and didn’t let anypony in like you were doing in Cloudsdale. It seems like I made the right choice in sending you to Ponyville. Tell me about your jobs; I hear that a few are in return for staying with some ponies.” She nudged him in the side with one of her wings and winked. “Quite the playcolt from what I hear, sleeping with three young mares, including my star pupil.”

Heart Shield’s face went bright red. “I-it’s not like that at all!” he stammered. “I mean, yes I sleep in their houses with them, but not like-! I haven’t-! We d-don’t-! I sleep in the spare rooms Fluttershy and Twilight have, and the barn at Applejack’s family’s ranch, n-none of us are like th-th-that!”

“Oh? I heard that Applejack and you had a rather lovely Hearts and Hooves Day dinner.” The smile on her lips grew wider, seeing the young pegasus getting so flustered.

“That was just as friends! Who told you about th-!”

Celestia laughed. “Relax Heart Shield, I’m merely teasing you.”

“Sounded like something Dash would do,” he muttered under his breath, his cheeks still red.

He and Lady Celestia walked around Canterlot for much of the day, talking about his new life in Ponyville and how he was getting along with everypony. She had to leave after lunch to tend to her duties, but requested that he stay in Canterlot for the night. After she left, he spent the rest of the day wandering around looking at all of the old houses he’d grown up in and places he’d used to go to, smiling as he reflected on his time in this city. There was the racetrack where he’d seen his first Wonderbolts race; and over there was the theater where he’d watched the play on the founding of Equestria! The houses he’d lived in now belonged to different ponies, though some of the new occupants directed him to where his old families now lived. He was surprised at how many of them still remembered him when he found them. They asked about how he was, and several invited him to stay the night with them so that they could catch up, though he turned their offers down. All too soon, night fell and he headed to the room Lady Celestia said he could stay in.

The next day, as the sun rose, he found himself waking in a state of unexplainable excitement. It took him several minutes to figure out why this was, and the realization of the cause only served to make him even more excited. He said goodbye to the Princess after a hurried breakfast and ran to the sweets shop, arriving as it opened. There was one last pony he wanted to see before he left, and he wanted to get something for his friends too. He was a little surprised to see a red unicorn stallion behind the counter, but gave his order nonetheless.

“Excuse me,” he said as the stallion gathered the candy he’d requested, “but I was wondering if Sugar Cube was here today.”

The stallion stopped suddenly, the taffy he’d been about to put into a bag hovering in midair, then went back to finishing the order before speaking.

“Sugar Cube hasn’t worked here for a while,” he said a pained look on his face as he handed over the bag and took Heart Shield’s money, “not since she passed.”

“Passed? Was there a test she was taking?”

The unicorn looked at him with pity. “Afraid that’s not the passing I meant. She passed away, kid.”

Heart Shield stared at the unicorn, dropping the bag. “What…?”

“Five years ago. Heard it was old age catchin’ up. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this.”

Heart Shield didn’t move, his head pounding. Finally he picked up the bag and thanked the unicorn, his voice hoarse.

“Hey, are you going to be okay?” the shopkeeper asked.

“Yeah,” Heart Shield replied, putting on a strained smile, “I’ll be fine. Have a good day.”

He walked to the station in a daze, trying to comprehend the news he’d been given, his excitement replaced by disbelief and confusion. The entire train ride, he sat in his seat, his head spinning. Sugar Cube? Gone? The idea that she was no longer around left him in a state of shock. The conductor had to come into the car once the train had arrived in Ponyville to snap him out of his thoughts. He stepped off of the train, his head still spinning, not noticing the three mares waiting for him until they called out to him.

“Mornin’ Heart Shield!” Applejack said, waving at him.

“Good morning,” said Fluttershy with a smile.

“Morning,” Twilight called. “Did you have a good trip?”

He looked at them, his expression hollow for a moment before quickly smiling at them. “G-good morning,” he replied, trying to sound cheerful. “My trip was okay; I brought back some sweets for everypony.” He handed Twilight the bag, maintaining the smile, though clearly not well enough.

“Is everything alright?” Fluttershy asked. “You look like something happened.”

He nodded. “I’m fine,” he lied, his voice beginning to crack.

“Mhm,” Applejack said skeptically.

“If something’s wrong you can tell us,” Twilight said, looking at him concerned.

He looked at the three of them before looking at the ground, holding back his tears as best as he could. “I… I know I have to work today, but…” He stopped and shook his head, trying not to cry. “Can I take today off? I promise that I’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a look.

“Sure thing Sugarcube.”

“Take as much time as you need.”

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely before running off. His tears fell as soon as he cleared the platform.

Fluttershy started to go after him before stopping as Applejack held out an arm to cut her off. Her friend shook her head slowly.

“I think it’s best if we let him have time to himself for now. Somethin’s obviously upset him, an’ he doesn’t sound like he wants to talk about it. Just give him his space for now, that’s the best thing any of us can do for him right now.”

***

Heart Shield didn’t stop running until he reached the lake where Rainbow Dash was found relaxing on occasion. Thankfully, nopony was there. He wandered over to the sand and sat down, his shoulders shaking. He stared at his reflection in the water. For a moment, he saw a small foal looking back at him.

“Heart Shield, my favorite customer!” said the sky blue unicorn mare behind the counter of the shop. “What can I do for you today?”

The little foal put his hooves on the glass side of the counter as he looked to see what was on display. “Can I have a peanuh budda bwittle?” he asked, pointing to the item in question. “And a cho… chalk… choca-…” The tiny pegasus frowned as he struggled to pronounce the words. “Chalk-a-late stwaw… stwawbuwwie car…a…mel tart?”

He looked up at the unicorn to see if he’d gotten it right. She smiled at him.

“A chocolate strawberry caramel tart?” she asked, carefully sounding out the words for him.

Heart Shield nodded vigorously. “Chocolate strawberry caramel tart,” he repeated.

“Well of course you can. How about I throw in a little something extra too,” she said with a wink, already gathering the candy in a bag. “After all, I couldn’t let my favorite foal leave without a special surprise on his birthday.”

Heart Shield’s eyes widened and he beamed at her. “Tank you Sugacoob!” he said.

“You’re very welcome,” Sugar Cube replied, floating his bag down to him. “Happy Birthday Heart Shield.”

Heart Shield’s reflection rippled as his tears hit the water. He closed his eyes, crying silently to himself. Sugar Cube had always been kind to him, giving him free sweets whenever he came by, and had always sent him a special bag every year on his birthday. He’d been confused when they had suddenly stopped, but he had just thought that she had figured he’d grown out of wanting gifts. Now he knew why the gifts had stopped, and he wished he’d never found out. He stayed at the lake for several hours, alone and mourning Sugar Cube’s passing, before somepony found him.

“Heart Shield!”

He looked up and saw Derpy waving at him from a cloud. He waved back halfheartedly, wiping at his eyes. She flew down to him with a smile that faded slightly when she saw the tear stains along his cheeks.

“What’s wrong Heart Shield? How come you’re all the way out here crying today?” she asked, her ears flopping down in concern.

He looked at her for a while before he broke down again. He told her about going to the sweets shop, asking to see Sugar Cube, and learning about her death. He explained, through tears and hiccups, that he was devastated by this news and that he’d been here wanting to be on his own to mourn. Derpy listened to him silently as he talked, and cocked her head when he finished as she thought for a few moments, her brow furrowed over her wonky eyes, before telling him to wait there and flew off towards town. She returned several minutes later with a bag in her mouth. He looked at her confused as she landed next to him. She opened the bag and, when he saw what was inside, he laughed as some more tears fell.

“Muffins make things better!” she said simply, offering him some, which he took gratefully.

They sat there at the lake, eating muffins as he shared tales about Sugar Cube with her. Eventually his tears dried up and a smile returned to his face.

“Thanks Derpy,” he said. “I needed that.”

“No problem,” the grey pegasus replied, cocking her head to the side and smiled wide. “Happy Birthday Heart Shield.”

***

Sugar Cube’s passing weighed heavily on him for months, but his friends, after he told them, helped him to come to terms with his loss. He never appreciated them as much as he did then; their help made things much easier for him to bear. Six months after he’d been given this news, six happy months, Twilight received a letter from Lady Celestia, announcing the wedding between her niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor. They said farewell at the station; his friends were still a little worried about him, despite his mood finally returning to normal, but he turned down their offer to have him accompany them. He wasn’t invited, he explained, and he still had his work to do in Ponyville. He waved to them as their train departed toward Canterlot, none of them aware of the events to take place there, nor of how those events would change their lives.

Chapter 6: Wingless, Trustless

Chapter 6: Wingless Trustless

Chapter 6

Wingless Trustless

"Hatred is a very underestimated emotion." —Jim Morrison

Heart Shield woke a couple hours later, a quick glance out the window told him that it was late in the afternoon. If he wanted to make it to the pony in the forest and still make it back in time so as not to worry anypony again then he needed to leave immediately. Twilight and Spike were out at the moment, so he left a note saying that he was heading out to stretch his wings and that he should be back before nightfall. Satisfied that this should be a sufficient excuse, he ran back to the guest room and grabbed the bag of bits he’d earned from helping around town and went to purchase some supplies. Twenty minutes later, his bag was considerably lighter, and the basket he’d purchased was heavy with all the things he thought the mare in the woods would need. Gripping it tightly between his teeth, he took a running start and pushed off of the ground, beating his wings hard as he flew to the Everfree Forest. This time he flew over it, heading to where he thought the clearing might be. The time it took to travel through the forest from above was cut by almost three times less than the initial travel had taken, and he soon found the clearing from the night before, the odd alicorn, he was relieved to see, had remained where he left her. He swooped down, extending his wings as he neared the ground to slow his fall enough to trot over as he landed. The mare looked in his direction as he landed, and looked honestly surprised to see that he kept his promise, looking away as he reached her. He placed the basket on the ground and sat down.

“I told you I’d be back.”

She nodded once, looking at him with an oddly curious expression.  Heart Shield opened up the basket and pulled out a spread fit for a picnic. There were sandwiches and apples from the market, two pies and a croissant from Sugarcube Corner, several different muffins that Derpy had suggested when he asked her advice on what somepony who had possibly never had one would like, and an assortment of fruit, all of which he lay on a sheet he’d purchased. She stared at the food incredulously, looking up at him as if surprised by what he brought her. He motioned to the food.

“Eat, you need to get your strength back.”

She stared at him for several minutes before digging into the food gratefully. As she ate she allowed her thoughts to wander to this strange pony. He seemed truly ignorant of her identity, but concerned about who he’d found. The fact that he’d tended to her injuries and returned as he promised told her a lot about his character, and she fancied for a moment, attempting to use her magic to take control of his mind like she had Shining Armor’s, but quickly pushed that thought aside. She couldn’t afford to use what little remained when she might need it later. Something concerned her though, and that was his claim that those ponies were his friends. They knew who she was, and there was no doubt as to what they’d do if they discovered her. She wondered, as she had thought before, if he was just lulling her into a false sense of security, admitting to herself that though he seemed to be a blissfully trusting pony, she didn’t know how he truly was and this could all be an act.

Heart Shield sat, watching her eat with a slight smile on his lips. She appeared to still be wary of him, but he was glad that she was eating again. He continued his tale from the night before as she ate, and she looked at him with interest as he recounted the first few months in Ponyville. He almost lost track of time, only noticing how late it was when he glanced up at the sky and saw that the sun was setting. He apologized to her that he couldn’t stay the night as he had before, but he would be back in the morning to check on her, as he had an entire day off the next day, and leaned into the basket to pull out the last thing in it, a large blanket that Rarity had given him when he first spent his nights in Applejack’s barn, and placed it over the mare.

“It gets cold out here, though you look like you know that already, and that should keep you warm tonight. Tomorrow I’ll check your injuries, and, if you feel up to it, take you to a place in here that’s much safer than out in the open, nopony goes anywhere near it too, so you’ll be able to recover without fear of them finding you.”

She didn’t answer, though her eyes glanced away from him. He still had no idea what had happened to her, but he’d wait to ask until she was ready to talk to him on her own. He spread his wings and pushed off of the ground, hovering over the clearing for a moment to say goodbye once more before he flew back to Ponyville. Back in the clearing, the mare pondered over this pegasus. His kindness, she decided, was genuine. She reached over and tugged the blanket over her a little further over her body, grateful for its warmth. For the first time since she’d been discovered, she spoke, her voice echoing oddly, so that it sounded as if two left her lips at once.

“… Thank you… Heart Shield,” she murmured quietly to herself.

***

The next morning Heart Shield returned as he’d promised and, after a quick check over her injuries, declared that so long as they went slowly, she’d be able to make it to the place he’d thought of. She was silent as usual as they made their way there, but within an hour and a half, they reached the abandoned building where Twilight and the others had faced down Nightmare Moon two years ago. She looked surprised at the size of the place, and Heart Shield could see that she was pleased to have been brought here. He spent the rest of the day talking to her, she listened quietly, seemingly interested in what he was saying. When evening came he said goodbye, promising to come back the next day. She nodded in acknowledgement of this for the first time and lay down by the statue that used to hold the Elements of Harmony, pulling the blanket over her.

Over the next few weeks, he made it a habit to visit her every day, whether it was to just spend time with her or to bring food and more bandages. Her ankle healed quickly, and, as the weeks passed, he declared her wing well enough to lose the splint. When he removed it, the mare gave it a few experimental flaps to test it out, and expression of pure bliss came over her as she determined it back to working condition. Heart Shield half expected her to have flown off the next time he visited, but there she was, waiting for him like always, which he attributed to her leg and ribs not having fully healed yet. The next day though, when he landed in the entrance carrying some more sandwiches, they seemed to be her favorite things besides Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s pumpkin pie and Derpy’s recommended triple chocolate muffins, he found her hunched in the corner of the building, coughing and cringing as her leg was curled up into her. She had come down with a fever, her whole body was burning up and her eyes were glazed and unfocused, and she appeared to have fractured her leg more from slipping on it while she went to the corner, her splint had broken off.

“Wait here, I know somepony who can make something for your fever, but you need to let me fix your leg first,” he said to her, glad that despite how badly the fever had progressed, she still listened to him. He winced as he looked at her leg, it wasn’t just fractured anymore, judging from the odd angle and her screams when he touched it, she had broken it. Heart Shield was glad that he had brought the first-aid kit today, setting her leg quickly, ignoring her screams, wrapping it tightly between splints. She pulled her leg back to her, whimpering in pain. He placed his forehead against hers before rushing as fast as he could to Zecora’s cabin.

“Zecora! I need your help badly! There’s somepony with a terrible fever, and in pain from a broken leg. Please, can you make something to help her?”

“I shall make them with much haste, your expression tells me there is no time to waste,” the zebra replied, hurriedly pulling plants and powders off of her shelves, working quickly while he shifted from hoof to hoof tensely. It took mere minutes for her to whip up to potions, putting them in a small basket for him. “Make sure both are drunk by the black pony, do not worry for your secret is safe with me.”

Heart Shield was startled that Zecora knew about the mare, but he knew that her promise to keep his secret was something she would keep. He thanked her and took the potions, flying as fast as he could back to where the mare lay, curled up in the corner. He ran over to her and pulled out the potions, lifting her head and told her to open her mouth. She did so without question and he poured the potions into her mouth; she gulped down the both of them without spilling a single drop. Her shivers continued, but her eyes became more focused and within half an hour her temperature had gone down to a reasonable level, though her body still was still racked with shakes. He lay down next to her and put a wing around her. She smiled gratefully at him, though winced as it touched her leg.

“That needs to be seen to,” he said. “I need to bring somepony here who can help.”

“No!”

It was the first word she had said to him. She looked desperately at him. “Nopony, please…”

Heart Shield shook his head. “It’s not up for debate. Your leg is broken and I need a unicorn to set it properly and heal it. I know you don’t want anypony to come see you, and that you’re scared, but your leg is going to take months to heal, and you can’t stay here and risk getting sick again. I won’t let anypony harm you, but you have to trust me and let me do this.”

She tried to sit up to protest more, but the movement made pain course through her entire body, and she eventually relented. Heart Shield thanked her and stood up, spreading his wings. He looked back at her, smiling a little. “You know, I’ve been taking care of you for over a month and I still don’t know your name.”

“Chrysalis,” she said weakly. “It’s Chrysalis…”

He nodded to her. “Wait here, I’ll bring some help quickly Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis nodded weakly and watched him take off, flying as fast as he could to Ponyville. As much as she didn’t want anypony to know about her, she had to admit that Heart Shield was right, deciding to put her faith in a pony, just this once.

***

Heart Shield knew just the pony to go to for help, landing in front of the library and slammed the door open. “Twilight! I need you to come with me to the Everfree Forest, it’s an emergency!”

Twilight jumped, spilling ink on the letter she was writing, but quickly cleaned it up and hurried over to him. “Heart Shield, calm down and tell me what happened.”

“Somepony needs your help, she’s at the old castle ruins, the ones where you and the others beat Nightmare Moon. Her leg is badly broken and her ribs are too. Please Twilight!”

She nodded and grabbed a medical book from the shelves, following him outside. They went as fast as they could to the forest, not fast enough in Heart Shield’s opinion though. He flew down next to her, gliding close to the ground. “Get on!” He was glad when she hopped onto his back without question, wrapping her hooves around his neck as he shot into the air, flying as fast as he could into the forest.

“How did she get injured?” Twilight shouted over the rush of wind.

“It’s a long story,” he answered, raising his voice so she could hear him. “I’ll tell you later!”

By this time they had reached their destination, Heart Shield landed as neatly as he could and Twilight hopped off of his back. He ran into the building, leading her to where Chrysalis lay, her eyes shut as she tried to focus on anything other than the pain in her leg. Twilight skidded to a halt, staring at the Changeling Queen. Heart Shield turned to her.

“What are you just standing there for?” he cried. “She needs your help right now Twilight!”

Chrysalis’s eyes shot open at the name and she stared at the pony Heart Shield had brought. It was Twilight Sparkle, the meddling unicorn who had ruined her plans. He had brought her one of the few ponies who she counted as a dangerous enemy. He had betrayed her! She was a fool to have fallen to his tricks, his kindness was all a ruse, leading up to this moment.

“You!” Twilight’s eyes narrowed angrily and her horn began to glow as she built up her magic. Heart Shield wanted to help her?!

Heart Shield saw the anger – no, hatred – in her eyes and the magic building in her horn, and quickly moved in between her and Chrysalis, shielding the latter.

“Get out of the way!” Twilight shouted at him. “Do you have any idea who or what she is?!”

“Twilight, stop! She needs your help!”

“I AM NOT HELPING THIS MONSTER!” She shoved him aside with her magic, aiming her horn at the creature who had locked Cadence up, used her brother and sucked him dry to get rid of his protection spell, and attacked Princess Celestia. With a flash of light, she fired a large beam of magic at the Changeling Queen.

“Chrysalis! Twilight no!” Heart Shield pushed off the ground, shooting forward as fast as he could to reach the injured pony before Twilight’s spell hurt her. He just barely made it. Twilight’s attack slammed into his back with full force. He cried out in pain as his body took on the magic meant for Chrysalis, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap when Twilight ended the spell, shocked that her friend had jumped in front of her magic.

“Heart Shield!” she heard Chrysalis shout, the changeling roughly getting to her hooves, stumbling over to him, collapsing next to him.

Chrysalis nudged him, jerking as she saw the burns smoldering on his back, both wings singed with most of his feathers burnt away. She glared at Twilight, sparks of magic covering her horn. “YOU CURSED PONY!” she snarled. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” A green bolt of magic shot out of her horn, heading right at the one who had harmed him.

Twilight quickly formed a magic barrier around herself, Chrysalis’s spell ricocheted off of the bubble and slammed into the roof, blasting a two foot round hole in the ceiling. “N-no! I didn’t mean to- it was an accident!” the unicorn stammered, being pushed back as the Changeling Queen fired bolt after magical bolt at her.

“You call me a monster, but take a look at what you did to him and see who the real monster is!” She pointed her horn at Twilight Sparkle, a large ball of magic forming at the tip.

“Chrysalis… s-stop…”

The ball vanished as she looked down at the injured pegasus, shocked. Twilight lowered her barrier and ran over, taking a few steps back as Chrysalis glared at her again. The Changeling Queen lowered her head, nudging his shoulder softly.

“Twilight… didn’t mean to…”

“Why did you do that you foolish pony,” she murmured. “You had no reason to do that…”

“Of course I did. I had to protect my friend, didn’t I?”

“Heart Shield,” Twilight said, coming over, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean for you to…”

He got to his hooves shakily, wincing at the pain in his back and wings. “It’s okay, nothing a little soak in the spa won’t fix,” he joked.

“Idiot,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Your wings-.”

“Are just a little singed. Spike’s lit them on accident before, this is nothing.”

“You have that reversed, he singed just the tips.”

“Twilight, stop. Just remember why I brought you here. Please, heal her?” Heart Shield pleaded with her.

Twilight bit her lip but nodded, bringing the book over and held it open, flipping through it with her magic to find the right spell. “This will itch for a few seconds,” she mumbled to the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis’s leg and chest began to glow purple as Twilight focused her magic. Chrysalis fidgeted as an irritable itching sensation covered her body, but, as Twilight Sparkle had said, it lasted only a few seconds. “There, try standing on it.”

She got shakily to her hooves, expecting the sharp sting of pain to run up her leg as she put her weight on it, but nothing happened. She had been healed. She looked at the unicorn harshly. “Now him.”

“I-I don’t know if that spell-.”

“I don’t care!” she shouted. “You did this to him and you’re going to fix it!”

“Stop that,” Heart Shield chided. “It’s my fault this happened, not either of yours.”

“This is because of her spell!”

“Which happened because I brought her here not knowing that you two had a history. And because I jumped right into the middle of it, now stop blaming her for my actions.” He looked at her steadily until she was forced to look away.

“Heart Shield,” Twilight said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“And you, stop apologizing,” he said, looking at her. “This is nopony’s fault but my own.”

“But-.”

“Twilight-.”

Heart Shield stopped, feeling something at his back. He looked over his shoulder. Chrysalis had her head bent, the tip of her horn glowing.

“What are you-.” Twilight began, her horn glowing in case the changeling was trying something.

“Trying something different for a change,” Chrysalis interrupted. Her horn glowed brighter. Heart Shield’s burnt wings glowed with the same green color as her magic. Twilight took a step forward, her horn glowing brighter. “Stay back Sparkle,” Chrysalis warned. “I’m trying to do something you can’t!”

Twilight took a step back, watching her warily. Heart Shield, meanwhile, watched his wings. Chrysalis closed her eyes, focusing  her magic. Heart Shield’s wings glowed brighter, until he was forced to close his eyes. His wings tingled uncomfortable, and he started to squirm.

“Keep still, this is hard enough without you moving and messing up the spell,” Chrysalis grunted.

He listened, though it was hard to keep still. His whole body felt like ants were crawling over him. The uncomfortable feeling grew to unbearable heights, then, suddenly, vanished, the glow too. He heard Chrysalis breathing hard and opened his eyes. She was doubled over and looked exhausted, but glanced up at him.

“That…” she panted, “took up almost all of what I had left from Canterlot…”

“You mean what you drained from my brother,” Twilight narrowed her eyes at the changeling.

“Look at your friend and tell me if what I took was worth it,” Chrysalis shot back.

Twilight glanced at Heart Shield, then did a double-take. “Heart Shield…?”

“What? Did I turn green or something?” He looked himself over. Still blue, still four legs, the same height, no extra head, his wings back to normal. He stopped and stared at his wings. They were fully extended, as long as they always were, his feathers were all back, not even a hint of a singed piece.

“H-how did you-?” Twilight began.

“Do you think that I wouldn’t have some of the same powerful magic your brother and Mi Amore Cadenz-.”

“Her name is Cadence.”

“Fine,” Chrysalis said, rolling her eyes, “Cadence. Do you think that what I had taken wasn’t like what they used to get rid of me and my changeling army? What sent me all the way here and left me weak and broken?”

“What Twilight means to say, is thank you, Chrysalis,” Heart Shield said, stepping between them before their past led to another fight.

Chrysalis looked away, her wings buzzing uncomfortably. “You took care of me for the last month, and took a spell meant for me, this was the least I could do.”

He looked at her, hearing something in her voice. “Now that you’re healed… what are you going to do?”

“Oh the usual, find my changelings, build up our strength, destroy the Princesses-.”

“WHAT?!” Twilight stared at her in horror. She healed the monster that had caused so much devastation for her to attack Canterlot again?

“She’s joking Twilight,” Heart Shield said. “She’s not going to do any of that.”

“How do you know that? You weren’t there! You didn’t see what she and her kind did to my brother, to Cadence, to Princess Celestia, to all of Canterlot!”

He turned his gaze on Twilight. “No, I wasn’t, just like you weren’t here the night I was in the forest. Like you didn’t see Chrysalis laying on the ground with a snapped wing, fractured leg, broken ribs, all beat up from landing here. You didn’t see how scared she was when she saw me, or how she didn’t want to eat at first because she didn’t trust the food I gave her.”

She blanched, stepping back at his words. “You said you got lost after-.”

“I lied,” he admitted. “Wouldn’t you if you found somepony who looked at you as if you were a giant manticore and she a small filly? If you found somepony who was too scared to say a single word to you, who grew terrified at the voice of somepony else?”

“I-.”

“Twilight, put aside whatever happened between you and Chrysalis, look at it from my point of view. I never met her before that day, and I never knew who or what she was, all I saw was somepony who was hurt badly but was so scared of me and so scared of your voices. Twilight, she was alone in the Everfree Forest since the wedding, injured badly. If she was somepony else and you stumbled on her, if you knew from her expression that she was terrified to the point where it would have made her injuries worse, wouldn’t you have done the same? I didn’t tell you all the truth because I knew that if you heard about this unknown mare in the woods, you all would have insisted on going to see who it was. And after what just happened, don’t you think I made the right choice? I would have gotten in the way of you and the others because all I saw was somepony who needed help and who was being attacked by my friends.”

Twilight fell silent, wincing as he spoke as if each word was a blow to her chest. “I… I guess… that I would have done the same… if the tables were turned and she was somepony else.” She turned her gaze on Chrysalis. “But that doesn’t change things Heart Shield, and you should know that. She tried to destroy Canterlot, she would have moved on to all of Equestria! She is not a good pony!”

“I just fixed what should have been an irreversible action you caused,” Chrysalis said. “Yes we wanted Equestria, but that’s because you ponies have so many feelings in your land, feelings we need to feed on to survive! We were alone and fading away, while you and everypony else go about your happy little lives, not caring what happens to the creatures of the darkness!”

“You would have drained us all dry!”

“Yes!” The Changeling Queen glared at Twilight, her echoed voice cracking for once. Twilight was startled to see tears in the eyes of the powerful queen of the changelings. “I would have gladly drained every last ounce of love out of each and every one of you! You happy little ponies have no idea what we were going through! My people were dying, starving and wasting away, and not a single one of you even knew we existed! We are the last of our kind! We saw what you and yours did to beings you knew nothing about. Discord! What did he do other than make the world around him his little bag of pranks? So what if he changed you and your insignificant friends into his Elements of Chaos? Do you think he would have left it like that forever? He’d have tired of it eventually. But you and your Princess Celestia never gave him a chance, because you feared what he could do. You imprisoned him in stone! And don’t forget about Nightmare Moon. Now she was an excellent example of what you ponies would have done to us had we shown ourselves in any other way. Your Princess banished her own sister in the moon for a thousand years rather than help her! Nightmare Moon was born of jealousy, all you ponies never once gave little Luna any thanks for her night, but we did. And our words never reached her from our land of darkness while yours were never even thought of!

“Given how you ponies have treated those you don’t understand in the past, how were we to trust you wouldn’t do the same to us? So yes, I imprisoned Cadence, I fed on your brother and I ordered the attack on Canterlot! When you all see us as monsters, what choice did we have other than to become monsters?”

Chrysalis turned away from Twilight Sparkle and forced back her tears. No sense in letting anypony see any other side of her, but a glance at the pony who had shown her kindness broke down the walls she had built.

“Yes, I would have gladly drained all of you of your love and strength for my people to survive,” she said, her voice shaking, “but not now. For one, you have cast out every last one of us, and with what little strength we now have, there isn’t any point in trying again. For another, while you and your friends treated us as the monsters you see us, somepony looked past that.” Chrysalis let out a shaky sigh, “The time of the changelings has come and gone. What more can we do other than fade away from this world?”

“Don’t you see Twilight?” Heart Shield asked. “She’s not the Chrysalis you knew.”

Twilight looked from him to the Changeling Queen. Her horn began to glow and Heart Shield found himself incased one of her magic bubbles. He slammed his hooves on the edges, shouting inside it, but no sound was heard from where she and Chrysalis stood. Chrysalis, distracted by Heart Shield’s sudden containment, noticed the glow now pointed at her too late to react. The discharge from Twilight’s horn hit her square in the chest, engulfing her in a pure white sphere that suddenly shrank, blinking out of existence. Twilight turned her eyes onto her friend, looking at him regretfully. He was slamming his hooves on the bubble harder, obviously screaming angrily from the inside.

“I’m sorry Heart Shield, but I can’t risk everypony’s safety just because you think she’s changed. You don’t know the real her, and you’re acting like she’s spelled you like she did my brother.” Her horn began to glow again. “I’m sorry to do this to you, but Princess Celestia’s requested that, after the events of the wedding, anypony who isn’t acting like themselves should be brought to her to see if they’re controlled or a changeling. Please… try to forgive me, I swear I’m doing this to look out for you.”

Heart Shield’s bubble turned white and, like Chrysalis’s, blinked out. Twilight Sparkle stood there, staring at the space where her friend had been. She knew that this was what she was supposed to do, that this was what Princess Celestia had asked everypony to do, but it didn’t feel like she had done the right thing.

“I’m sorry…”

Chapter 7: Reunion and Explanation

Chapter 7

Reunion and Explanation

"Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection." —Lady Gaga

Heart Shield’s absence from Ponyville only lasted a month, but for Twilight it felt like years. News about what had happened spread through the entire town within a day, how, she didn’t know. Everypony, even her friends, acted as if she wasn’t there, even Owlowiscious refused to be near her. It was like she was back at Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding all over again. Only Spike kept her company, though it was clear that even he was upset with her. She wrote to Princess Celestia every day, asking for news about her friend, but all she got were letters saying that it was a process that needed time. She rarely left the library these days, the cold shoulders and looks she received were too much for her. She wished she could go back and stop herself from making that choice, but after her mishap with Star Swirl the Bearded’s time spell the last time, well, it was out of the question. Finally, the letter from Celestia that she had anxiously waited for arrived, saying that Heart Shield wasn’t under any form of magical control, though they had detected trace amounts of Chrysalis’s magic on his wings, and that he was heading back to Ponyville. He returned that very evening, Pinkie even through him a Welcome Back to Ponyville party, invitations she passed out personally to everypony in town, including Twilight.

Pinkie was her usual bouncy self at the prospect of throwing a party, and as far as she was concerned, now that Heart Shield was coming back then there was no need to be mad at Twilight anymore. Twilight took the invitations out of politeness even though she didn’t have the heart to go, though she sent Spike to the party as thanks for keeping her company.

***

Lady Celestia’s chariot landed in Ponyville just before evening. Heart Shield would have just flown there, making his way back on his own time, but the Princess had requested that he travel personally with her. She apologized to him on the way there for all the trouble that had been caused for him, that Twilight hadn’t meant him any harm, but every mention of her name was accompanied by a loud “Hmph!” from Heart Shield and an angry glare at the passing landscape.

“Heart Shield, you’ve known Twilight Sparkle for a year now, you help her out and even live with her,” Celestia said as they began to near Ponyville. “You know the kind of pony she is, and how much she cares for everypony, especially her friends.”

“What she did, Lady Celestia, was attack a helpless pony, burn off my wings, send me to Canterlot for a pointless month of your best magical minds poking and prodding me, asking inane questions and refusing to let me come home until I threatened to knock the next pony who stuck me with something right into next year, and the worst of it all, sent away somepony who only wanted our help, who trusted me!”

“I understand your anger, but-.”

Heart Shield turned around in the chariot and looked Lady Celestia in the eye, raising his voice to her in anger for the first time since they had first met. “ENOUGH!” he shouted. “I am sick and tired of hearing you apologize for her and offer excuses for her! Let me give you my lesson in friendship for today. Somepony who’s a friend is supposed to trust in you, even if it’s about something nopony else would, but I got more trust from Chrysalis than I got from your special, prized STUDENT!”

Celestia merely nodded, not getting angry at his reaction like somepony else might. “All I ask is that you allow her a chance, one chance, to explain her actions.” She held up a hoof to silence him. “I know that you think you got everything you needed to know from your time in the Everfree Forest, but just allow her a single chance. As you said yourself, a friend is supposed to trust in you, so trust her to tell you everything.”

Heart Shield huffed, not bothering to give her a response to this. He stared out at the trees rushing past them and asked, as he had every day for the past month, “And Chrysalis? Has she been found anywhere?”

“The queen of the changelings is still nowhere to be found, I’m sorry Heart Shield.”

“Yeah, I am too.” When they landed, he jumped out of the chariot and gave her one last look. “Your student may have just single-hoofly killed an entire race, if what Chrysalis said was true.”

Celestia, though she didn't understand what he meant by what Chrysalis had said, couldn’t meet his gaze and her Guard kicked off the ground to fly her back to Canterlot.

“Oh good, you’re just in time!”

Heart Shield jumped into the air as Pinkie Pie popped up near his elbow. “Pinkie, what did I tell you about doing that?” he chided, though the familiar face of his friend did soften his mood just a little.

“I know, but everybrony’s come to expect that from me by now,” she laughed, tugging him into town.

“I think you mean ‘everypony’,” he said, confused at her term.

“Everypony too,” she replied. “Come on you slowpoke, there’s a party!” Pinkie jumped high into the air and zoomed off towards town hall, before landing on the ground.

“Wait!” Heart Shield shouted, rushing to catch up with her. “What in Equestria is a ‘brony’?!”

***

The party was in full swing by the time he arrived at the building, everypony in Ponyville was there, well, almost everypony, Heart Shield determined after a quick scan of the room.

“If you’re looking for Twilight, she told me that she wasn’t feeling good.”

Heart Shield looked down at Spike and nodded. “And what about you and Owlowiscious? And Peewee, how big is the little fire chicken these days?” he asked, leaning down to pull the dragon into a noogie head-lock.

“Hey quit it!” Spike laughed. “Owlowiscious and I are doing fine, and Peewee’s grown a whole inch since you last saw him.”

“You keep an eye on that one,” Heart Shield joked, releasing Spike’s head. “Where are the others?” A blue blur shot over from the opposite end of the room and he barely had time to duck as Rainbow Dash zoomed past him.

“Ha! I almost got you that time Large-wing!” she shouted from down the street before racing back to the building, skidding to a halt in mid-air right before him.

“Almost Rainbow Crash, maybe one of these day’s you’ll be fast enough to do that,” he teased.

“Fast? I’ll show you fast, pretty-boy.” Rainbow Dash began revving up her wings and attempted to fly at his head, only to be stopped when Applejack showed up and grabbed her by the tail, yanking her back. Heart Shield laughed, this was something he’d missed during the month away from them all. There was some giggling behind him and he heard a familiar shout from three little fillies.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Dog Pilers go!”

Before he could turn around Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo leapt onto him from behind, tackling him to the ground, laughing as he pretended he was pinned down by them.

“Where have y’all been, Heart Shield?” Apple Bloom asked. “You missed the Zap Apple harvest, an’ me and Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo been waitin’ for you to come back an’ show us all the stuff y’all promised to so we could get our cutie marks.”

“Yeah, nopony would tell us anything,” Sweetie Belle said, pouting. “And Rarity told us that we should probably not ask Twilight about it since she’s been so upset. She hasn’t even left the library for weeks. Did something happen?”

“I’ll bet she finally asked him to be her special somepony and he turned her down,” Scootaloo guessed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders began to trade ever increasingly ridiculous stories while he looked up at his friends; Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had come over to see what was going on only a few seconds before. Pinkie began to join in the fillies’ guessing game, though she never once came close to saying the truth. The others began to laugh, which made him start laughing, all of this grabbed the attention of the other ponies in the room and soon everypony was laughing. He looked up to see if Twilight would lift the Cutie Mark Crusaders off him with her magic before remembering that she wasn’t at the party, and that he was still upset with her, that, despite what Lady Celestia said, he didn’t think he could trust her after what she did.

He sat up, which caused the three fillies to squeal as they slid off him. He told them that Twilight hadn’t asked him to be her special somepony, and began to disappoint them as he mentioned each and every guess they had made and that they weren’t what happened. “There was just a disagreement between Twilight and me,” he told them, downplaying what actually happened, “and some things were said by both of us, which made me leave for a while until some of it cooled down.”

“It weren’t somethin’ too bad though was it?” Apple Bloom asked worriedly. “Y’all are still gonna be friends right?”

“Some things are going to be different, kiddo,” he said, placing a hoof on her head and rubbed it playfully, “and a lot will depend on whether or not what happened can be fixed, but don’t you worry, I promise you things are going to be fine. Now, I think I spy a rather large cake over there on the table,” he leaned down, speaking to all three fillies in conspiratorially. “What do you say to giving cake devouring a shot.”

Huge grins covered their faces and they let out their cry of “Cutie Mark Crusaders Cake Eaters!” and dashed off to the dessert. He stood up as everypony began to resume the partying, save for his friends. Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, sharing a knowing look.

“Heart Shield,” Rarity said slowly, “would you be a dear and come with us for a moment, it’s rather cramped in here.”

“Yeah, and there ain’t much privacy for all of us to talk with everypony crowdin’ around us,” Applejack added.

“You mean we’re headed to Twilight’s,” he said. “It’s written all over your faces.”

“Please won’t you come see her?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “She really has been awfully upset.”

Heart Shield shook his head slowly. “Sorry, but I just don’t feel up to it today.”

“Oh come on,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s been a month and Spike’s told us that she’s been apologizing in her sleep, and she’s written to the Princess and you every day!”

“Besides, Twilight’s missing out on the party! I said everypony was supposed to come and it’s not everypony without her!” Pinkie added.

Spike tugged on one of Heart Shield’s wings. “Please Heart Shield? You two don’t have to talk to each other, but can’t you at least come see her?”

He sighed. “It’ll happen eventually, you guys, but I really am not in the mood to do much of anything right now. It’s been a long month and an even longer day, and all I really want to do is just be by myself for a little while.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to leave the party, that means there will be two ponies gone, which means that there’ll be even more ponies not making it everypony here,” Pinkie said, her bouncy, cotton candy-like hair deflating like a balloon. “And we can’t have a welcome back party for you if you’re not at the party!”

“Tell you what, if you keep the party going without us, then I’ll Pinkie Pie Promise that all of us will have a private welcome back party later. It could even be a surprise party, but only if you promise to keep this one going until everypony heads home and that the one between all of us won’t be for a few days, at least two, a week at the most.”

“A surprise party!” Pinkie’s hair instantly resumed its usual state and she bounced high in the air, clapping all of her hooves together. “I love surprise parties!”

“So it’s a deal then? This party continues and we get our own one in a few days after I’ve gotten settled back in?”

“Deal! But you need to Pinkie Pie Promise like you said.”

“I promise Pinkie. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Great! See you in a few days for your surprise party!”

Pinkie bounced around the town hall happily.

“That was a mighty fine thing you did sugarcube,” Applejack said. “I reckon y’all just made Pinkie’s day just now.”

“Yeah.” Heart Shield looked over at everypony having a good time, then outside. “Would you mind if I had some time to myself?”

“Not at all. Will you be stayin’ at the barn or Fluttershy?”

“Not tonight. I just want to be alone for a while.”

His friends nodded and let him have his space. He walked outside, wandering around the town silently.

“Are you sure it’s alright to let him be alone like that?” Rainbow Dash asked after he left.

“Well shoot, we wouldn’t be much good friends if we didn’t respect his wishes now would we? He just needs to get his thoughts together I reckon. Let him have his space for a day or two while he gets back into things. He’ll come around.”

“I guess you’re right.”

***

The sounds of cheering and good times rang throughout all of Ponyville from town hall where the party for Heart Shield was being held and ran deep into the night. Twilight Sparkle listened to it as she stared out her bedroom, window. Twice she thought she saw him walking outside, both times she ducked out of sight quickly, not rising up again for several minutes to be sure that she wasn’t at risk of being seen. She knew that she was acting childish, hiding from their eventual reunion, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, the idea of seeing the same disappointment from him that she’d had to see in everypony’s eyes was enough to bring her to tears. She sat there, crying. He had come to her for help, trusted her, and she had turned around and betrayed that trust, getting him caught in the crossfire and injured. She wouldn’t face him, she couldn’t.

“Twilight? Are you still up?”

Spike’s voice broke the silence that had fallen over the library after the party outside had died down. Twilight quickly wiped her eyes and got into her bed, pretending to be asleep. Spike climbed up the ladder to her room and saw that she was already in bed.

“Guess I’ll see you in the morning then, good night Twilight.”

He climbed back down, heading to his own little room and curled up in his bed, quickly falling asleep. Twilight lay there under her covers, crying silently. She had difficulty getting to sleep, as she had for the past month, but now it was worse. He’d come back, which she was happy for, but she dreaded them running into each other, even while she wished that he was here. The guest room lay empty of anypony, his things still in there, a constant reminder for her of the friend she’d betrayed. The night passed slowly for her.

The moon had risen to the top of the sky when a light tapping sound came from the glass door to the library’s balcony. It continued for a minute before stopping; she guessed that it was just a branch rapping against the glass in the wind. She pulled her blanket over her head when suddenly the quiet tapping began again, this time from her window. She sat up, looking curiously at it, but a cloud covered the moon just as she rose, dousing Ponyville in complete darkness. The sound came again, a little faster, then once again stopped. Twilight got out of bed and walked to her window, her horn glowing to create some light for her to look outside, but there was nothing there. She doused the light and turned to go back to bed when she heard a soft thump from the balcony.

What in Equestria is going on? she thought to herself, wandering over to the door. The tapping started again, softer this time, and she lit her horn again, determined to find out just what was making all that noise. It was still too dark for her to see outside, and she had some curtains covering the glass on the door. As she drew near, the tapping stopped, but she thought she saw something out there through the curtains. She opened the door and stepped outside, looking around.

“Hello? Is somepony there?” she asked.

“Hey Twilight. I was told you were here.”

She jumped, startled and her horn stopped glowing in her surprise at the voice. “H-Heart Shield?”

“I didn’t wake you did I?”

“N-no,” she said, wiping her eyes as fast as she could before she lit up her horn again.

Heart Shield stood at the end of the balcony, watching her. She shut the door behind her and took a few steps forward before stopping, looking at him.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” she asked.

“Just getting back to Ponyville.”

“No, I mean here, at my house.” Twilight dimmed the light as a few tears fell down her cheeks, making it almost dark so she could wipe them away before making it brighter again. “I thought you didn’t… you wouldn’t-.”

The cloud over Ponyville passed, freeing the moon. Twilight shut off her horn and looked at Heart Shield.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said, “I almost didn’t.” Both of them fell silent for a long time. Heart Shield was the first to break the silence. “Do you have time?”

“I might have a few things scheduled for tonight, but I supposed I can squeeze some in for you,” she joked weakly. She thought she saw his lips twitch for a second, but she supposed she imagined it.

“Walk with me,” Heart Shield said, spreading his wings. He flapped them once, lifting off the balcony and hovered in the air, watching her.

Twilight nodded and her horn flashed. She vanished in a small flash of purple light, appearing on the ground a moment later in another flash. Heart Shield flew down to the ground and began to walk slowly through the streets, Twilight hurried to catch up to him, falling into step beside the Pegasus in a moment. They walked in silence for a long time, wandering aimlessly through Ponyville.

“Why did you come to the library?” she asked quietly as they passed Sugarcube Corner.

“I had a feeling you might be up,” he replied.

“That doesn’t-.”

“Lady Celestia’s castle is a little different from the last time I was there,” he interrupted. “More guards than before. She didn’t look too surprised when I was brought in, though when the Guard told her I showed up in a ball of light she did. She had probably thought I had shown up for a surprise visit until the Guard spoke.”

Twilight bit her lip, falling silent.

“I was brought to the college for magic where she began to ask me all sorts of questions, to find out if I was actually me I suppose. I spent my time between there and a cell in the castle. For weeks her best unicorns poked and prodded and studied me, making me go through all sorts of tests, looking for any trace of… of her magic. They were interested particularly by the ones left on my wings, since there was a lot of Shining Armor’s and Princess Cadence’s there, but only a tiny bit of hers. They asked a lot of questions, and Lady Luna would stop by the cell to talk to me now and then. It’s an odd way to meet somepony, locked in a cell. She would ask me about the bits of magic on my wings sometimes, but mostly she came to talk about letters sent by you. She was the one who let me go, you know. I was brought a few, or all maybe, I have no idea how many you sent, but I never read them. I was told this morning that I’d have been let out weeks ago if just told them about the wings, and about her. I never did, so you don’t have anything to worry about from Lady Celestia.

“Lady Celestia accompanied me here. She didn’t stop apologizing for you and giving excuses for you. To be honest, the only reason I’m here tonight is because she asked me to talk to you, to give you a chance to explain why you did this.”

They stopped when they reached the lake where Rainbow Dash liked to spend free time. Heart Shield turned to Twilight, looking at her for the first time since they’d began their walk.

“So I’m giving you that chance Twilight. You only get one to tell me everything, which I think is more than you deserve for what you did.”

“Heart Shield, I’m sorry… I’m sorry you got caught up in this. I’m sorry I sent you away. I’m sorry that I destroyed your wings. I am, I mean it. You trusted me and I-.”

“I don’t want to hear your apologies!” he shouted. “I want answers! Why did you attack Chrysalis! Why did you make her go away after she explained everything to you! Where did you send her! Why did you do this to me! ANSWER ME, SPARKLE!”

“Because I was trying to protect you!” Twilight’s eyes filled with tears. “Because I saw what she did to my brother and Cadence, what she did to Celestia, to Canterlot, and I couldn’t let her to do the same to you! Don’t you get it?” Her tears began to fall as she started crying. “I couldn’t let her do the same to you, you stupid idiot. She tried to take my brother from me, Cadence from me, she almost took Celestia and my old home too, and I was scared she’d succeed with you!”

Heart Shield’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, not because he was surprised, but because he didn’t trust himself not to go off at her again.

“Chrysalis took away everything I cared about Heart Shield. She would have succeeded in keeping them if Cadence and Shining Armor hadn’t ended up stopping her,” Twilight whispered, wiping her eyes. “I didn’t want her to take away somepony I care about too.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you acted like that Twilight. She’s not the Chrysalis you know anymore, you saw that yourself. You’re supposed to be my friend, supposed to trust me. So why didn’t you trust me when it was shown that she’s not a bad pony anymore?”

Twilight sniffled and finished drying her eyes. Her horn glowed and in a flash of light, they were transported to the crystal caverns deep under Canterlot castle. “It’s a long story, Heart Shield, one that I can’t tell all by myself. Please, wait here for a moment, I need to get everypony involved in it to help.”

She vanished again, leaving Heart Shield alone in the crystal cavern. He went over what she had already told him. It wasn’t news to him that they had gotten close over the past year. It was the same with Applejack and Fluttershy too. Applejack had even gone so far as to ask him if he’d spend Hearts and Hooves Day with her. He knew that the three of them cared for the pony who’d been staying with each of them, but despite what the Cutie Mark Crusaders had thought, or at least had thought about him and Twilight, the four of them never once deluded themselves into thinking any of them would ever be special someponies. And even though Twilight’s actions and what she had said might suggest otherwise, he knew that she only meant it as the same as her and her friends. All eight of them – Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, and now him – were a family, and family looked out for each other.

Twilight reappeared with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash in a moment; all five of the ponies she’d brought looked disheveled, having been woken up and brought into the cavern in the middle of the night. She vanished again, saying there was somepony else she needed to bring. The other five looked to him immediately.

“Heart Shield, please tell me you know why Twilight interrupted our beauty sleep and brought us to this place so late at night, not that this cavern isn’t lovely and all with so many wonderful crystals,” Rarity asked, stifling a yawn.

There was a flash of light while she had been speaking, signaling Twilight had returned.

“Yes, I’m curious to know the reason as well.”

Lady Celestia walked over with Twilight and sat by a particularly large crystal.

“Princess Celestia, there’s something I need you to do before I begin,” Twilight said before he could answer. “Can you make a connection with my brother and Cadence? The crystals here can be used to communicate with somepony, and they’re the last two I need.”

“I can try, Twilight Sparkle, but I expect you to explain everything afterwards even if I don’t succeed.”

Twilight nodded, and Celestia’s horn began to glow. The crystal beside her started to shine, different colors of light coming out of it. A few moments passed before the light flickered and Shining Armor and Princess Cadence’s images came into view.

“Twily!” Shining Armor said, a smile coming over his face as he noticed his sister. Twilight waved to him and Cadence, a nervous smile on her face.

“Hello Shining Armor, Princess Cadence,” Lady Celestia said, drawing both ponies’ attention to her. “Forgive me for interrupting your sleep like this, but Twilight Sparkle wished for you two to be present for… something.”

Everypony’s eyes fell on Twilight, who sat down nervously.

“I’m sorry to have woken everypony up, but there’s something I need to talk to Heart Shield about, and I can’t do it without each of you contributing.”

She explained that she had sent him to Canterlot, wrongly she now realized, because she had thought he might have been under, or was about to be placed under, Chrysalis’s control. Both Shining Armor and Cadence where shocked to hear mention of the Changeling Queen, but allowed Twilight to continue. Heart shield was asked to explain how Twilight’s actions had come about. Apart from Twilight, who already knew everything, everypony looked at him as if he had grown a second head, as he told them how he had come across Chrysalis injured in the Everfree Forest, not knowing who she was, how he had helped her recover and how Twilight became involved. Twilight shrank back when he told her to explain the rest of the story. She didn’t meet anypony’s eyes as she explained how he had gotten in the way to protect Chrysalis from her spell, his wings getting destroyed, how Chrysalis suddenly attacked her, how he had stopped the Changeling Queen from continuing to attack and made Twilight heal her, how Chrysalis had used the rest of her magic to repair his wings. She didn’t talk about what Chrysalis had told them –something that earned her a glare from Heart Shield, but he allowed her to continue and didn’t bring the subject up –though she did said how Chrysalis’s actions were not at all how they were before, and how Heart Shield tried to convince Twilight that she had changed, how she sent her away and sent him to Canterlot out of fear that something had, or would have, happened.

“This explains how your wings had Cadence and Shining Armor’s magical residue and only a hint of the Changeling Queen’s,” Lady Celestia said. “I think now I understand why you’ve brought us here Twilight Sparkle.” She looked at Heart Shield, nodding in thanks for him giving Twilight a chance to explain everything.

“Heart Shield wanted to know why I did all of this, and I decided the best way for him to fully understand the reasons, I needed to have everypony tell him everything that happened at the wedding.”

“Well I can understand why Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are needed, but what possible reason did you have to bring us along Twilight?” Rarity asked. “After all, everything the five of us know is the same that you know.”

“Exactly,” Twilight replied. “You five fought against the changelings with me, you’ve seen what they’re capable of, and you’re the only ponies I can think of who can help Heart Shield see exactly the kind of threat they posed and why I couldn’t risk Chrysalis staying.”

“I’m not sure exactly what it is you think we can add Twi, but if you reckon we can help, I guess we can give it a shot,” Applejack said.

“Thank you. Cadence, Shining Armor, I need you two to start in off since you two were the first to encounter her.”

“We’ll tell what we can Twilight, but Shining Armor doesn’t remember all of what happened while he was under her spell,” Princess Cadence told them.

“I think I can remember enough, though,” Shining Armor added.

Princess Cadence began by telling Heart Shield how she and Chrysalis had crossed paths, that the changeling had taken her image and imprisoned her in the crystal caverns. Shining Armor picked up from there, helped out now and then by Lady Celestia and Twilight when he didn’t remember some things. The Guard had been put in place to protect Canterlot from an unknown threat, with him in charge of keeping up the entire magical barrier around it. Chrysalis, in Cadence’s form, would “help” him with the headaches caused by the strain of keeping the barrier up all by himself. She used those headaches to her advantage, to feed off of his love for Cadence and to make sure he was completely under her spell so as to not only never suspect she wasn’t his bride-to-be, but to also cause his protection spell to weaken. Twilight and the others continued the story, with Twilight being the main contributor. She had, like everypony else, thought at first that Chrysalis was truly Cadence. Chrysalis was able to copy the Alicorn Princess’s looks, but not her memories. As such, she – or rather “Cadence” – didn’t remember Twilight at all from her foalsitting days, or even the special saying the two had shared.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Twilight and Cadence both said, going through the entire routine together. Lady Celestia cleared her throat and Twilight continued, she and Cadence both looking away, flustered.

Twilight was upset that “Cadence” didn’t remember her, and began to get angry when she didn’t act like the Cadence she had known. Chrysalis was insulting, hurtfully sarcastic, shallow, and deceitful, all of which Twilight noticed, though everypony else just attributed it to wedding nerves. She, however, with each increasingly distasteful action, decided that Cadence was not a fit pony to marry her brother, and went to his quarters to tell him so herself, when she saw Shining Armor having another one of his headaches and Cadence, looking evil, using magic on him, which made his eyes glow green as the spell took effect, and think nothing of it afterwards. The next day, during the wedding rehearsal, she stormed into the hall and accused Cadence outright, listing everything she had done and causing her to run crying from the room. Shining Armor, angry with her for treating his bride like that, told her that what she had seen was Cadence helping him recover from the magical strain, the bridesmaids were replaced because the only reason they wanted to be there was to meet Canterlot royalty, and that if she hadn’t been on her best behavior it was because with him being so busy Cadence had to be making all the decisions on her own, which really stressed her out because it was really important to her that the wedding be perfect, accusing Twilight of not seeing that as important and that she would no longer be his Best Mare, or even be allowed at the wedding. Everypony grew angry with her and left her, even Lady Celestia was furious. Left alone she began to question her suspicions, deciding that she had been being overprotective. Cadence came back and Twilight apologized only to have Cadence trap her in a magical barrier, forcing her down to the caverns. When Twilight came to, she realized she was trapped. Chrysalis, still imitating Cadence, declared that she had plans for Shining Armor, and, furious and desperate, Twilight began to blast each reflection of Cadence in the crystals, eventually destroying the ones that had kept the real Cadence trapped. She almost  blasted the real Cadence had she not proven to be her real self, remembering who Twilight was from when she foalsat her and doing their “Sunshine Sunshine” dance. She told Twilight that the Cadence she had met was an imposter, and together they managed to escape, though they were too late to stop the wedding. Everypony was shocked to find that there were two Princess Cadences until Cadence told everypony what the fake was. Chrysalis, no longer needing to hide any longer, abandoned her guise as the false Cadence and revealed to all her true self as well as her plan to allow her Changelings to invade and feed off of everypony’s love, allowing them to gain more power than they had ever dreamed of. She then used her power over Shining Armor to weaken the barrier enough for her Changeling army to break through and invade.

“Queen Chrysalis declared that she would first take over Canterlot, then all of Equestria, Heart Shield,” Lady Celestia told him, taking control of the tale. “Her conviction was true and her heart as black as her appearance. She was truly a monster both inside and out. I had to stop her, and so I attacked. She countered my own magic with her own. At first, I overpowered her, and it seemed certain that I would win, but she managed to force my spell away, obviously drawing on Shining Armor’s love for Cadence for more strength. I held her back as best I could, but I am ashamed to say that for all my effort, I was unable to protect my subjects, and was defeated. The queen of the changelings proved to be stronger than myself. We had one last hope, and that was the power of the Elements of Harmony, and I sent Twilight Sparkle and her friends to find them and defeat her. While they ran to follow my request, and fought against the changelings, I was knocked out. When I came to, I was trapped in a changeling cocoon, and unable to use my magic or get free. Shining Armor was under her complete control and Princess Cadence was bound by the same material that had my prison had been made of. I don’t know what happened between my black out and regaining consciousness, but I believe you have some friends who hold those answers.”

Twilight and the others backtracked to after Celestia had sent them out. The changelings finally managed to destroy Shining Armor’s protection spell and began their assault of Canterlot. They ran through the streets, trying to avoid the changelings crashing into the ground like meteors, but they became cornered. Surrounded, they could only watch as the Changelings each transformed into their likenesses. With no way out and no other option, they had to fight their way out, but with all the changelings looking like the real ponies they appeared to be, it was difficult to tell ally from foe. However, they managed to beat all of the changelings, or so they thought until a second wave hit Canterlot. When they got to where the Elements were kept the changelings were already there waiting for them. They were outnumbered and outmatched and captured.

“We were brought back to the wedding hall, corralled by those changelings like sheep in a fence,” Applejack said. “An’ all we could do was watch as that queen sent them into Canterlot and attack innocent ponies.”

“She was gloating the entire time, you should have seen it,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “And not just that, she was SINGING! I uh… something about a perfect time when little I think?”

“This day has been just perfect, the kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small,” Cadence sang. “Everypony I’ll soon control, every stallion, mare and foal. Who says a girl can’t really have it all?” She shuddered and Shining Armor held her close, comforting her. “That’s a song I’ll never be able to forget.”

“That’s the one!” Rainbow Dash looked pleased, as if she’d been the one to know the words. “But she was too busy with her celebration that she never saw Twilight here sneak over to Princess Cadence and free her. And then Cadence went to Shining Armor and she did some of her special magic and his eyes stopped being all wonky. But then Chrys… Crissie…-”

“Chrysalis,” Heart Shield said.

“Yeah, her; she went to them when she saw they were free-.”

“So Cadence told Shining Armor to use his spell-,” Twilight broke in.

“Yeah! And she was all ‘It’s too late, my changelings are already here, bwahaha,’ but he tried the spell any way-,” Pinkie said, standing on her hind legs as she did her impression of Chrysalis.

“But it didn’t work, and Cadence went to him and she lent him her strength-,” Fluttershy added.

“And in a beautiful act of teamwork by the two of them they combined their spells-,” said Rarity.

“And then they shot out a gigantic blast that spread throughout all of Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash cut in, determined to finish recounting the events. “Only it just washed over everypony, but the changelings? They were sent flying! You should have seen it! They were all hit by it and then Bam! Womph! Kerchow! Knocked right out of Canterlot and out over Equestria to who knows where!”

Heart Shield nodded slowly as they finished telling him everything. Lady Celestia asked Twilight if she could bring her friends back to Ponyville while Cadence and Shining Armor returned to their night together, but requested that Heart Shield remain behind. The crystal beside her returned to its normal state and Twilight, after glancing at him for a moment, teleported Applejack and the others back home.

“Heart Shield, I wanted to thank you for allowing Twilight Sparkle a chance to explain things, and for allowing us to hear the details of what happened in the Everfree Forest.”

He said nothing. When Twilight appeared again, Lady Celestia requested that the three of them return to her room in the castle, where Twilight instantly transported them. Twilight took a hesitant step towards Heart Shield once they had appeared in the room. “Do you see now? She was completely evil. No matter how she may have been found in the Everfree Forest, she wasn’t a good pony at all.”

“Maybe not,” he said, getting to his hooves, “but you and I both saw a different side of her there. She’s changed Twilight.”

“She was going to take over all of Equestria a month before that!”

“Because she was convinced that was the only way to keep the changelings from dying!”

"You don't know if she was telling the truth about that!"

"And you don't know if she was lying!"

Twilight and Heart Shield’s voiced got louder as they tried to prove to the other that their version of Chrysalis was the true one. They moved closer with each argument until they were literally butting heads.

“She locked up Cadence, attacked Princess Celestia, and took over my brother’s free will!”

“She did that because after seeing how you treated Nightmare Moon and Discord, how was she supposed to know you wouldn’t have done the same to her kind like you did to them!”

“We did that to save all of Equestria!”

“For Nightmare Moon, yes, because Lady Celestia wasn’t able to save Lady Luna from the jealousy caused by everypony ignoring her night, everypony except the changelings, who loved her night! With Discord, you all acted because he bent reality a few times in the past and never gave him a chance to change! You just went and turned him back into stone!”

“We did what we had to do!”

“Which is exactly why Chrysalis never sought help by coming to Lady Celestia directly! Your answer for everything is to blast it with the Elements!”

“That is enough you two!” Lady Celestia declared, using her magic to separate them.

“Why don’t you tell Lady Celestia what Chrysalis said to us after she fixed my wings?” Heart Shield demanded, glaring at Twilight.

“Heart Shield, that is enough fighting,” Lady Celestia said before looking at Twilight. “And what is this about Queen Chrysalis telling you something Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight squirmed uncomfortably.

“If you won’t tell her everything, I will,” Heart Shied said when she didn’t speak. “The only reason Chrysalis attacked Twilight was because I had gotten hurt protecting her from Twilight’s spell. She saw how badly injured I was, stumbled over to see me on a broken leg, and got angry that Twilight had hurt me! After Twilight healed her, Chrysalis went to me to mend my wings, saying that she was trying something different for a change, exhausted all but a little bit of her magic to save somepony, rather than hurt them. And when, after her actions because of something that happened to somepony else, Twilight still accused her of being evil, she told us everything! Why she did what she did, didn’t she!”

Twilight squirmed more.

“Twilight Sparkle, is Heart Shield saying the truth?” Celestia asked.

“Yes…”

“And she told you two the reason why she had acted, why she resorted to attacking Canterlot?”

“Yes Princess Celestia…”

“And what reason was this?”

Twilight looked at Heart Shield, her expression pleading. “Heart Shield, please, you don’t even know if she was telling the truth. For all either of us know, she was telling us this because she knew that you already cared enough for her to protect her and she wanted to say what you would want to hear, to make her seem like she was doing those terrible things for a good reason. She could have even been trying to win me over.”

“Twilight Sparkle, what was it Chrysalis said to the two of you?” Celestia asked again.

Twilight looked down at the ground as Celestia gently placed them both down. “She said that they were the last of their kind, and that because we had already shown ourselves to see things that we don’t understand as evil, the only way she could save the Changelings was to act like the monsters we would have thought they were. She told us that they were dying because they had no love to feed on, while we continued our lives with no thought about them, that we had completely forgotten them from long ago. They saw how we reacted to Discord and Nightmare Moon and that given how we treated them, she believed that there wasn’t any way that we wouldn’t react like that if they presented themselves as someponies needing help.”

“And what else did she say?” Heart Shield demanded. “Tell her what Chrysalis said after you said that she would have drained us all dry.”

“She said… that she would have gladly drained us of our love and strength in order for them to survive… but not anymore… because even though we treated them like monsters for what they did, Heart Shield never once looked at her like that…”

“All I saw when I first found her was somepony who was injured and scared. I didn’t know what happened in Canterlot, and even if I did, nopony should have to suffer like she had been in the forest,” Heart Shield said. “She wasn’t the Chrysalis you had known Twilight. You and the others always showed me that a little kindness, a little friendship, can do things that magic can’t, that it can change somepony. Look at yourself. You told me that when you first came to Ponyville, you couldn’t believe that you had to try and make friends, and had to learn lessons about friendship. But see how much you’ve changed since then because of it?

“The changelings have never known kindness from us, they see us and see monsters. That’s how Chrysalis saw me when I found her, she saw somepony who meant her harm. But she changed as she learned that I didn’t mean her any harm. She could have flown away with all that magic stored in her the moment her wing was healed, but she stayed. When she could have used it to get rid of us both after you healed her, she used it to heal me. She wasn’t a monster anymore, can’t you see that? She changed for the better, she doesn’t mean anypony any more harm. I believe that, Twilight. I trust her, like you should have trusted me.”

Twilight was silent as he said all of this. He was right. Chrysalis hadn’t acted like the Changeling Queen she had known. The old Chrysalis would have never helped out Heart Shield if he got injured protecting her.

“Heart Shield, Twilight Sparkle, you both have listened to each other’s side of the story,” Celestia said. “Do you both accept that each of you has a different view of Queen Chrysalis?”

They both nodded.

“And can you both see how each of you had come to the conclusions that you had come to?”

They nodded again.

“I hope you two have both learned a lesson from all of this.”

“Yes Lady Celestia.

“We have, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia smiled at the two of them. “Then I expect a letter from each of you, explaining exactly what you two have learned from this, but not tonight. You two have a lot to digest, and have had a lot to deal with this past month. I want both of you to get some sleep, and in the morning, see how things between you have become.”

“We will,” they said simultaneously.

Twilight’s horn began to shine as she prepared her teleportation spell, but a quick shake of Celestia’s head stopped her.

“You two are going to sleep here tonight, tomorrow you can return to Ponyville.”

“Here, Lady Celestia?” Heart Shield asked, not understanding her meaning.

“I thought that all of the resting houses were closed this late at night,” Twilight said with a frown.

“Which is why you two are going to be staying with me tonight,” Celestia replied, pointing her horn at where her bed lay. Two beds sparked into existence on either side. She looked back at the two ponies, who were currently staring at her as they grasped her words. Both Twilight and Heart Shield thanked her, each choosing a bed gratefully. She climbed into her own and pulled both of their blankets over them. “Good night my little ponies.”

“Good night,” they replied.

Chapter 8: The Encounter

Chapter 8: Encounter

Chapter 8

Encounter

"No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger." —Heraclitus

Twilight and Heart Shield woke with the rising sun. They said nothing to each other, each thinking over what was said the night before. Heart Shield’s head was spinning. He couldn’t deny that, after everything that everypony had said to him, and what Chrysalis had said herself, there was another side to her that he hadn’t known. She had been a bad pony, but from what he himself had known, something had changed. If she truly was the monster everypony had seen, then why hadn’t she used her magic to heal herself and destroy him and Twilight when she had the chance? Was Twilight right after all? Had Chrysalis seen how kind he could be and used that to her advantage? Tried to convince him that she was good? He just couldn’t bring himself to accept that as a possibility, not after what he’d seen.

Twilight was struggling with her own thoughts as well. She had seen a different Chrysalis than who she had encountered before. She had attacked out of concern for Heart Shield, stopped when he said to, and used up her magic to fix his wings. Twilight couldn’t get over her own view of the Changeling Queen, but Heart Shield had always seen things in everypony that no one else had, he could tell, somehow, whether or not a pony was trustworthy. He trusted that Chrysalis had changed, could he have been right after all? Had she acted out of her own anger at the queen and refused to accept the possibility that she’d changed for the better? Had she been wrong? But there was one thing about this that had her troubled. His thoughts, since he’d found the queen in the forest, had become just about her. It felt like it had gone beyond just his trust for her. Like there was something between him and Chrysalis that was making him go out of his way for her. She had to know.

“Heart Shield,” she said, breaking the silence.

“Yes?”

“About Chrysalis… you have so much faith in her, you take her at her word, and you put yourself in harm’s way for her.”

“Of course, she’s good; she’s changed from what you-.”

“Has she? Has she really changed?” Twilight looked him in the eye. “She’s managed to fool other ponies before. I know that she healed you, I won’t deny that’s out of character for her, but-.”

“Are we on this again?” he interrupted, irritated. “I thought we had agreed to Lady Celestia to accept that we both see her differently.”

“That’s just it. The way you see her, the things you did for her, is that because you truly see something in her that’s different, something that’s changed? Or do you see her that way, do those things, because you’ve grown to care for her? Not the way Applejack, Fluttershy and I have, but…”

“Twilight, what are you trying to imply?”

She bit her lip, knowing that what she asked next could very well change everything between them.

“Heart Shield… are you… are you in love… with her?”

Heart Shield took a step back, startled. He hadn’t expected that kind of question from her.

“Is that why you’re so adamant about her having changed? Because you want her to have changed? Because you love her?” Twilight stepped toward him.

“I… Twilight, she’s not who you think she is,” he said, backing up as she continued to come toward him.

“Why? Why are you so convinced about that?” She wasn’t going to let him off the hook until she got an answer from him. “What’s the reason you don’t want to let yourself think that she’s different than how you see her?”

“What’s the reason you don’t want to think she’s not?”

“Stop dodging my question! Are you in love with her, Heart Shield? Yes or no!”

The door to Princess Celestia’s room opened at that moment. Both ponies turned to look as Princess Luna stepped in.

“WE ARE-,” she began, then stopped, clearing her throat. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I heard your voices from outside. Is everything okay?”

Twilight looked at Heart Shield, who wouldn’t meet her eyes. “We’re fine, just finishing a discussion is all. How are you Princess?”

“I am well, Twilight Sparkle. My sister has been educating me on everything that has changed while I was gone, and I am no longer seen as the mare who became Nightmare Moon. Things have… returned to normal, as they had been for me before any of this had happened.”

“Not everything,” Heart Shield said, drawing an inquisitive look from Lady Luna and Twilight. “Ponies now spend some of their time around at night. I don’t know how it looked a thousand years ago, but I saw the night Lady Celestia controlled, and the night you control, and there are plenty of ponies who, like me, see yours as better.” He knelt down in a bow to her. “On behalf of them, and of my own self, I wish to thank you for giving us such beautiful nights.”

Lady Luna looked surprised at his actions. She folded her wings and smiled as he rose back up. “Then I wish to thank you and all of them for those feelings. It is wonderful to hear that ponies like you all see my nights and think them so. I shall be sure to keep making such nights for all those who are able to see them.” She nodded in thanks for his words and looked from him to Twilight. “There is something else I have to say; my sister has requested that you both come to see here, I believe there is a matter of which she needs to discuss.”

“Of course, we’ll be right there,” Twilight said. “Thank you for letting us know.”

“It is nothing, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied, stepping aside to allow them to pass. “Both of you take care.”

“And you as well.” Twilight gave Heart Shield a look to let him know she wasn’t through with their previous discussion before leaving Celestia’s room.

Heart Shield nodded to Lady Luna and followed, stopping for a moment when she laid a hoof on his shoulder. “I am truly grateful that you and other ponies feel such ways for my night. Thank you, Heart Shield, for saying that.”

“Not at all, Lady Luna,” he said. “I merely said what many ponies were feeling. A… a friend… told me a while ago, that there were others who felt the same a thousand years ago. I thought you would like to know that, and that there are those today who love the nights you make. I hope that this is something that will bring you happiness to have learned, both that there are many now  who are grateful for what you have done, and, even if their voices never managed to reach you back then, there were others in the past that loved them as well.”

Lady Luna looked to the floor and spoke quietly. “Thank you for letting me know this Heart Shield, the news that there were some ponies who felt that back then… it lifts my heart to hear. For their memory, and for the ones today who enjoy it, I promise to continue making such nights that everypony, even those who cannot see them, shall love.”

Heart Shield smiled and bid her farewell, hurrying to catch up to Twilight, who, thankfully, let the conversation they had been having alone. They walked to the throne room in silence, neither looked at the other, something Lady Celestia picked up on when they entered.

“I see you two are not as over your fight as you claimed to be,” she said, slightly disapproving, slightly disappointed. “I had hoped that you would accept each other’s views on this matter.”

“Just because we accepted it doesn’t mean we agree with each other,” Heart Shield said. “And,” he looked at Twilight, “just because I’m back doesn’t mean I forgive anything that happened, or that things will go back to how they were. I gave three little fillies my word that things were going to be fine, so I will do my best to make sure that will happen. However, no matter what your reasons were, no matter what past you shared, you had no right to do that to me and you had no right to send away somepony who meant us no harm. No matter what you do to try to make up for it, I will never forgive you Twilight. You were in the wrong and you will never be able to fix this.” He turned back to Lady Celestia. “If there is nothing else, then I believe I’m done here and I’ll be heading back to Ponyville; I do still have work to do.”

“You will stay right here Heart Shield,” Celestia said sternly, giving him a look that froze him in place. “Twilight Sparkle may have acted rashly, but she has tried to explain her reasons and she acted in a way she believed would protect you. I understand that you are angry, and your words have truth behind them, but you must move past your anger. It does nothing more than make a terrible situation worse.”

He bit back his retort and looked away.

“And there is still the matter which I asked you both here for. Heart Shield, you shall be remaining here in Canterlot. I allowed you to return to Ponyville because I believed that you would be able to handle things in a mature fashion and you had been away from your friends for too long. I can see that you are not yet ready to go back yet, and so you shall remain here. I believe I can provide you with a suitable job until you have learned to control your temper-.”

“Forgive me, Lady Celestia, but you’re wrong if you think all of that,” he interrupted. “I can control my temper much better than you think I can. I have no quarrel with anypony but your student, and as such I am leaving the job I have with her.  And as I gave three fillies my word, I will be going back and I will return to the life I had before all of this started. You also overstep your bounds if you think you can keep me here against my will.” He looked at her, challenging her with his gaze. “By all means, if you wished to you could use your magic to force me to stay, or you could arrest me and keep me in the cells again. Do so if you feel you must, but know that if you do, you have a witness here who would never forgive you if you did so. So I’ll say this again, if there is nothing else, I’ll be heading back to Ponyville.”

“Heart-,” Twilight began.

“No, he’s right Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said, looking at the pegasus before her as if she were meeting him for the first time. “If I did so then I would be in the wrong just as you were. Very well, you may leave, Heart Shield, I still have something I wish to discuss with my student.”

Twilight watched as her friend turned around without so much as a word and strode out of the room. This wasn’t like the Heart Shield she knew.

“Let him be,” Celestia said to her student, “he has much to think about, and you and I have much to talk about. Perhaps it is best to let him be for now; allow him to calm down on his own.”

“Yes Princess…”

***

Things remained strained between the two friends for the next few weeks. Heart Shield refused to go anywhere near Twilight at first, but eventually he relented after seeing how worried Apple Bloom was and the two began to reform a tentative friendship. He remained upset with her, but he forced himself to get past it. Twilight, he knew, had only done what she thought was best to protect her friend, and no matter how much he disliked her decision he decided that she had been through enough. They both knew that things would not return to how they used to be, but their friendship still remained. Three weeks after he had been allowed to return, Celestia asked Twilight to come to Canterlot. When the unicorn returned, it was with the news that the Crystal Kingdom had returned. Heart Shield remained behind as his friends traveled to the Crystal Mountains in the Frozen North. While he waited for their return he spent a lot of time at the library, looking over book after book that contained history and myths in Equestria. He was convinced that if he could learn everything he could, he might be able to find some way to locate Chrysalis. He received old maps from Lady Celestia, he suspected she knew why he wanted them, even if he claimed it was for research in case Twilight needed some help. By the time his friends came home he had learned all there was to know about Equestria, but was no closer to finding the Changeling Queen than he had been a month earlier. Life in Ponyville was peaceful, and everyone celebrated the defeat of King Sombra when they heard of it. Everything was great… until the attack.

***

It happened without warning, without provocation, without any hint. One second, everypony was going about their normal lives, the next, the fields were covered in bright green flames, the shops were in shambles, houses were smoking, and everypony was in a panic. Everywhere they turned, something was exploding before them. The destruction’s path soon corralled everypony in the center of the town; Twilight formed a magical dome around them all to protect them from the debris flying around, and the mysterious balls of fire falling from the skies, which had gone dark underneath the ominous black clouds that now covered the town.

“What the hay is going on?!” Heart Shield shouted, helping Applejack get the last of the young ponies inside the safety of the barrier.

“I-I don’t know!” Twilight replied. “Everything’s just going crazy, I know as much as you do at this point.”

“Did anypony see what started this?” Applejack asked, joining the rest of the older ponies in the circle they formed around the foals and fillies.

“No, it just suddenly started,” said Fluttershy.

Another ball of flame shot at Twilight’s barrier, exploding against it; temporarily covering everypony in a bright green glaze before the flames died. Twilight was struggling to maintain the spell with each blow to the barrier. Even with every unicorn in Ponyville helping her, it didn’t seem like the spell would hold much longer.

“Twilight, can you teleport large groups?” Heart Shield asked as another explosion rocked the barrier.

“I-I’m not sure, I’ve never tried anything more than six.”

“Can you try to get everypony out of here? If we get the town to safety, we can try and find the cause of all of this.”

“I’ll give it a shot, but we won’t be able to go very far.”

“What’s the farthest you think we can get?”

“Sweet Apple Acres? The outskirts of town, maybe the Everfree Forest?”

“That one! Take us to the forest!” Heart Shield said, a plan forming.

“Are you nuts?!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “Why do you want us to go there?! We should go to the outskirts of town, get the others to safety then come back here!”

“She’s right, why would we go there? I admit that it would be less dangerous than Ponyville at the moment, but-,” Twilight began.

“The ruins! They’re big enough for everypony to hide in and we can still find the cause of this from afar.” Heart Shield pleaded. “Twilight, the ruins, please!”

Twilight thought it over, racking her brains to try and figure out which was the better choice, which gave them the best chance. Finally she nodded. “Okay, the ruins it is. Everypony stick close.” Her horn began to glow brightly as she abandoned the shield and surrounded everypony in a soft purple light.

Heart Shield looked at the sky as her spell began, watching the fire fall from the clouds. He thought he saw something moving in the darkness above them, but before he could get a good look Twilight teleported them to the ruins. Her knees buckled as the magical backlash hit her like a rampaging dragon. She gasped for air, struggling to catch her breath; she’d never felt so drained from one spell before. She waved off her friends when they rushed over to her.

“I’m… I’m fine,” she panted, “j-just a little… a little out of breath. I’m not g…going to do that again anyt-time… soon. Is… is everypony here?”

“Yeah, y’all did fine Twi, just rest a tick,” Applejack said.

“I never thought we’d be back here,” Rarity commented, looking around the remnants of the Princesses’ old castle. “It’s been what, three years since we were last here?”

“Three and a half actually,” Twilight replied, slowly regaining her breath. “You guys still remember what this was?”

“How could we not?” exclaimed Pinkie. “This is where we beat Ol’ Black Snooty!”

The six of them laughed at Pinkie’s words, remembering how she had tried to guess Nightmare Moon’s name years ago. Fluttershy glanced around and saw Heart Shield walking over to the pillar that used to house the Elements. He had a grim, yet sad, look on his face.

“This is where you took care of her isn’t it?” she asked, walking over to him.

“Yeah. It was safer here than anywhere else in the forest,” he answered, his voice wavering. He shook his head and turned away from the stone, heading to the entrance to the ruins. “The skies here are clear, whatever’s happening has to be just in Ponyville.”

“So what now?” Dash asked as the others joined him.

“Take to the skies, survey the area, assess the situation, then go to stop it.”

“That sounds like a plan,” said Twilight. “Spike, can you send Princess Celestia a letter letting her know what’s happening? We may need her help.”

“Of course! You can count on me,” the baby dragon replied, puffing out his chest.

“Thanks Spike,” Heart Shield said, crouching down. “I’m going to see what’s going on.”

He took to the skies, shooting up over the tree tops to look at their town. Just as he’d thought, the problem seemed to only be in Ponyville. The dark clouds surrounded the town like a blanket of pure destruction. The town was being destroyed with ease. He narrowed his eyes, peering at the clouds.

“Dash, get up here,” he called down.

“What is it Large-wing?” the pegasus asked, flying up next to him.

“I’m not sure,” he replied, looking at the clouds. “I thought I saw something in the clouds earlier. Does it look like anything’s in them that isn’t normal?”

“You mean  besides the fire?”

“Yeah, besides that.”

Dash squinted at the clouds, studying them.

“It looks like…”

“Something inside is moving around?” Heart Shield asked.

“Yeah. What do you think it is?”

They landed on the ground and told their friends what they saw.

“Fire coming from them, could it be dragons?” Heart Shield asked Fluttershy.

“No, the clouds aren’t large enough to cover any of the adult dragons we’ve seen,” she replied, shaking her head.

“What about adolescent ones? Like the ones we saw when Spike went on his trek?” Twilight suggested.

“No, they didn’t have wings, and those that did didn’t have ones nearly large enough to fly that high,” said Spike. “Those clouds definitely aren’t caused by dragons.”

“What then?” asked Applejack.

“Didn’t they look familiar?” Pinkie said suddenly.

“Did what look familiar?” asked Rarity.

“The fire silly-filly. Haven’t we seen that color before?”

Twilight gasped. “We have.”

Everypony turned to her.

“When? Where?” Heart Shield demanded.

“I-in Canterlot… at the wedding,” she said, her voice shaking. She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Why would-?” he began, then it hit him. “No. No you’re wrong. She wouldn’t do that.”

“It’s the only explanation.”

“And I’m telling you it’s wrong!”

“Would you two mind lettin’ us in on what y’all are talkin about?” Applejack said dryly.

“Changelings,” replied Twilight, looking anywhere but at Heart Shield. “They attacked with magic that same color. Queen Chrysalis trapped me in the same color flames as what’s attacking our home.”

“Stop saying that!” Heart Shield shouted. “It’s not Chrysalis!”

“Then why is it only Ponyville that's being destroyed!” Twilight rounded on her friend, looking at him hard. “Why else is it that fire the same color is attacking us? Why else would this be happening? She finally got her strength back and is taking revenge like she-.”

“You’re wrong!”

Heart Shield shot up into the sky, glancing back down at his friends. “And I’m going to prove- Nng!” He was cut off as something slammed into him from his right, sending him crashing through the trees.

“Heart Shield!” Fluttershy shouted, starting forward before emerald flames erupted up around her and her friends.

The fire rose above the trees, closing together to form a dome which quickly shrank around them. The six mares’ shouts could be heard from inside as the dome shrank until it forced them to huddle together. The flames dug into the ground beneath them, encasing them in a sphere of fire, which shot into the air and raced toward Ponyville.

***

Heart Shield landed on the ground with a thud, scaring away a pair of baby manticores who had been playing in the forest. He grunted as he got to his hooves and shook his head.

“What the hay was that,” he said to himself, giving himself a once-over to see if he was injured anywhere. Other than a few scrapes, he was fine. He took back to the skies and raced back to the ruins, skidding to a halt in midair as he saw the scorched earth. “What happened?” he demanded, looking at the ponies who were cowering inside.

“You got hit with some kind of flash and ma sister an’ the others got taken!” cried Apple Bloom.

“It looked like they were taken to Ponyville,” Cheerilee added, “judging from the angle of the attack.”

“Ponyville, got it. I want everypony to stay here, get as far inside as you can and don’t come out until we get back,” the pegasus said.

“‘We’?”

“I’m going to go and get them,” he said to the mare. “Just make sure that everypony stays safe.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. With one powerful beat of his wings, he shot straight up into the air before rocketing toward Ponyville as fast as he could. He may not be Rainbow Dash, but from a high enough dive he could still match her speed, though not to the extent of creating a Sonic Rainboom. He tucked his wings tight into his sides as he dove through the sky, heading straight toward the center of town, where the clouds looked the darkest. He knew his friends had to be there, he didn’t know how, but he did. The shops had been razed completely, homes were nothing but rubble – nothing was the same. As he neared the center, he noticed the clouds had suddenly gotten lighter. He spread his wings, alighting on the remains of town hall and looked around. The sky was still dark, but the back center had moved.

“They aren’t here anymore,” he muttered, scanning the clouds until he located the darkest part again, this was in the park now.

He didn’t bother looking around the town and rushed to the park. Where the darkness was, so were his friends; that was the only reason it could have changed! He ran through the streets as fast as he could, the flames slowly stopped falling and the clouds began to shrink, converging over the park. It confirmed his suspicions. Whatever was going on, it was happening in the darkest part of the storm, and that had to be where his friends were! The closer he got, the smaller the clouds became, until he finally reached the park. The moment his hoof hit the ground there, the clouds vanished. He looked around frantically for his friends. Something to his right caught his attention and he whirled around. His eyes grew wide.

“Hello there, Heart Shield.”

Chrysalis stood by a patch of trees, a smirk lining her lips.

Chapter 9: Betrayal

Chapter 9

Betrayal

"Et tu, Brute?" —William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)

“Hello there, Heart Shield.”

Heart Shield took a step back, staring at the pony before him in disbelief.

“Ch-Chrysalis?” he stammered.

She stood with her hoof on Twilight’s neck, looking at him with a small smirk on her face. His eyes moved from her to the bodies beside her. His friends lay on the ground, each one looking like they had been in the middle of a buffalo stampede. He looked back to Chrysalis, his heart pounding.

“What happened here?” he demanded. “Who did this to them?”

“I did.”

He jerked back at her admission to attacking his friends.

“Why…?” he said slowly. “What reason did you have to-?”

“What reason?” Chrysalis began to laugh coldly. “Why would I need a reason?”

“Because you changed! You aren’t the Chrysalis you were back at the wedding!”

She threw her head back, laughing louder.

“Changed? Me?” She looked at him and sneered. “Did you honestly believe that? You actually fell for that ruse?”

“R-ruse?”

Chrysalis stepped off of Twilight, kicking the unicorn aside. She slowly began to stalk toward him, her horn beginning to glow.

“You were so naïve,” she said. “You brought me back to health not knowing who I was. You trusted me completely, to the point where you actually got in the way of an attack meant for me. A few simple actions, a little healing, and you fell right into my plan, you trusted me, believed I’d changed. Your little friend Twilight was right all along. I used you, and you never knew it!”

Heart Shield took another step back, his head spinning.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, I don’t believe that!”

She fired a blast of magic at him, causing him to jump aside.

“You’re such a foal,” she laughed, firing at him again. “You’re still letting your emotions cloud your view of the truth.”

He shook his head again. “No, you changed. I heard what you were like before, and you aren’t like that anymore!”

Her next shot barely missed his right wing.

“You can’t honestly believe that still,” she sneered and charged him, knocking him aside with her head before he could react, sending him sprawling into the dirt. “So naïve, so foalish. You’d believe anything if it meant that somepony was good!”

“Chrysalis, stop this!” he shouted, getting to his hooves. “This isn’t you!”

“You have no idea what is and isn’t me!” she shouted back, hitting him square in the chest with another blast of magic.

He flew back several feet, only managing to skid to a halt by digging his hooves into the dirt and spreading his wings. Why was she doing this? This wasn’t the Chrysalis he knew, she’d never hurt him, never hurt his friends like that! She had to be under the control of somepony else, there was no other way she’d possibly be acting this way otherwise.

“Chrysalis, whatever spell you’re under, you have to fight it! Come back to your senses!”

She leapt into the air and shot towards him, firing another blast at his chest. He just barely managed to dodge it, but her next shot clipped his wing, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Please! Fight it!”

“I am under nopony’s control but my own!” she cried, slamming into Heart Shield.

He dug his hooves into the dirt, trying to gain some traction even as she pushed him back. The more he struggled the harder she pushed until he tripped over a stone. He was once again knocked to the ground, this time he wasn’t given a chance to recover, as she used her magic to lift him into the air and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. He cried out with each impact until the wind was knocked out of him. She threw him into a nearby tree then pulled him back to her before bucking him straight up into the air. When he smashed into the ground she pinned him down, planting her hoof on his throat and leveled her horn at his head.

“You were such a complete sap,” she sneered, horn glowing as she charged up her magic, “and so easily manipulated. All I had to do was stay silent and act interested in your annoying stories, act like a helpless pony, and you became putty in my hooves. You should have listened to your friend, Heart Shield. I must admit, you were quite the toy to play with, but a girl must outgrow her toys eventually, and you have outlived your usefulness. It’s time to say goodbye.”

Heart Shield looked at her pleadingly, begging her with his eyes to stop even as he saw that it was useless. He closed his eyes, preparing for the end, when suddenly, her weight was knocked off of him.

“Get yer heartless hooves off him!”

He opened his eyes, seeing Applejack lower her legs from bucking Chrysalis away. His body was surrounded in a light blue glow and he was raised up onto his hooves as Rarity helped him up and joined Applejack. A blue blur shot past them and slammed into Chrysalis, knocking her into the tree she had thrown Heart Shield at.

“That’s for ambushing us!” Rainbow Dash shouted, glaring at her.

“And this is for being a heartless mare!” Twilight cried, slamming Chrysalis with as much force as she could muster in her spell.

Chrysalis was smashed through the tree, flying back several feet before slamming into the ground.

“Stop it!” Heart Shield cried out. “Don’t hurt her, she’s got to be under somepony’s-!”

“Y’all need to stop defendin’ her and open yer eyes,” Applejack snapped. “She’s nothin’ more than a no good, back stabbin’ mare who’ll use whoever she wants to so long as she gets what she wants.”

“She’s right Heart Shield,” Fluttershy said, coming to join them along with Pinkie. “No matter how much you want her to be good, she can’t be the mare you want her to be.”

“You’re wrong!” Heart Shield said. “She’s not like that… She can’t… she can’t be like that.”

“I’m sorry, sugar cube, but that’s the cold hard truth of the matter,” Applejack said to him.

Chrysalis staggered to her hooves and narrowed her eyes at them all. “I’m tired of you six getting in my way!”

“Oh yeah?” shouted Twilight, firing another bolt of magic at the Changeling Queen. “Well we’re tired you destroying our home!”

Chrysalis smirked as the attack raced at her. Before the magic got within a foot of her a ball of fire shot into its path, exploding on impact with Twilight’s spell. The flare from the explosion blinded the unicorn and her friends. They heard more explosions around them, the earth shook from the force of each impact. Twilight counted thirty in total before the explosions stopped and her vision returned, and she couldn’t believe what she saw. Surrounding them were changelings, for there was nothing else they could be, larger than the ones they had faced before, but that wasn’t the only thing that froze her heart in her chest. They had an aura around them of pure darkness, stronger than even Sombra’s! Chrysalis took a step forward, laughing triumphantly.

“What do you think, Twilight?” she asked, running a hoof under one of the changeling’s chins. “Impressive aren’t they?”

“Wh-what are those things?” Heart Shield asked. The sight of them sent a cold chill down his spine, his breath caught in his throat. Those… those creatures, for some reason the mere thought of them filled him with fear. It wasn’t that their size was intimidating, though they were almost as large as Lady Luna. No, what terrified him was the darkness he felt coming from them, the way they seemed to waver in his sight like faint ripples in water. Whenever that happened, he thought he saw them change. It was never longer than a fraction of a second, but he felt like there was much more to these… things than first look. He wanted to turn and run, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

“Oh, that’s right, you’ve never seen a changeling before, have you?” Chrysalis sneered, fixing her eyes on him. “Well, savor this moment. The seven of you are the first to witness my new army’s strength.” She walked around her changelings as if they were her pride and joy. “These aren’t at all like the ones your friends encountered before. They- oh, but why ruin the surprise? You’ll find out what I mean soon enough.”

She turned around, meeting the gazes of the frightened ponies before her. Her eyes wandered over each face; not a single one of them could hide their fear, the fear her new pets would strike into the hearts of every pony in Equestria. They had no clue as to why they would cower, but as she had expected, they succumbed to their inexplicable terror.

“Go take care of Canterlot, I’ll deal with these ones personally. After all, I still have unfinished business with them.”

The changelings vanished in bursts of flame, leaving her alone once more with the helpless ponies before her. Her horn lit up and she knocked the group aside easier than she would swat a fly. They crashed together into the tree she had been sent crashing through. Without pausing for a second, she pulled them apart, lifting them high into the air until they looked like the ants they were, before bringing them back to earth like stones. Each of them smashed a crater twice their size into the ground, which grew larger and larger as she repeated the process again and again. She could hear their cries, their screams, of pain, of terror. It was the most wondrous melody she had ever heard, she was almost sad when they ceased. Chrysalis walked slowly over to the single crater formed from their final impact. She looked over each of their bodies, weak, helpless, broken, she was surprised to see that any of them still breathed, more so when they finally managed to stand up. What a truly pathetic sight they were. The ponies who had once foiled her plans were now battered like she had been, not a single one of them looked like they could remain standing for much longer. Her eyes fell on the foolish pegasus who had helped her, and a cold smile formed over her lips.

For a second, Heart Shield saw her eyes flash to a solid violet color, before they resumed their usual dual green. “It’s not her…” he whispered to himself.

Chrysalis’s horn began to glow.

“What’d y’all say?” Applejack asked.

“It’s not Chrysalis…”

He knew what he had seen, this wasn’t Chrysalis at all, she wasn’t the one who had done all of this, and that realization filled him with anger. Anger that somepony dared to attack his home disguised as her. Anger that somepony had attacked his friends hiding behind her face. Anger that he had allowed himself to believe for a moment that this was her. He jumped into the air, ignoring the pain that shot through his entire body, pointing at the Changeling Queen.

“That’s not her!” he shouted as he flew straight at her, his anger giving into rage, which became hatred, which he in turn used as strength.

Chrysalis, startled by his shout looked up at him, the glow vanishing from her horn as her concentration broke. Heart Shield rammed his head into her chest, tackling her to the ground. They tumbled over the earth for a moment before he jumped up and pinned her down, planting a hoof one of her wings and another on her chest, glaring at her.

“Who are you?” he demanded, digging his hoof hard into her chest. “And why are you pretending to be Chrysalis!”

“I have no idea what you mean,” she sneered, not even bothering to struggle.

Heart Shield moved quickly off of her, turning to buck her side like Applejack had taught him when showing him how to deal with some of the dead trees around the barn. Chrysalis was knocked back, tumbling around before she managed to roll over and dig her hooves into the ground. She stood up as fast as she could and was rewarded with another buck from the pegasus, sending her up into the air. Heart Shield raced after her, slamming into her from below, clipping her wings as he shot past before turning around in midair and shot down like a cannonball, a technique he’d picked up from Rainbow Dash one day. He rammed into her with as much force as he could muster, sending the both of them crashing into the earth even as his friends ran over. He forced himself to his hooves, stamping onto her sides as hard as he could.

“What did you do to her?!” he snarled, planting a hoof on her neck, preparing to bring his other crashing onto her head. “Tell me what you did to Chrysalis, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll spare your life!”

Chrysalis looked up at him and laughed. “You care for her. And you fear that caring might have been misplaced after all. You fear you’re as naïve as everypony thinks you are for trusting her.”

As she laughed, her voice began to change, transforming into a rough, icy snarl of a voice. It wasn’t the only thing that changed. Her dual-colored eyes shifted to be the solid violet he’d seen. Her teal mane and tail were replaced by a raging inferno of emerald flames. The horn on her head vanished into the flames as a white fang-like one emerged from her snout. Teal plating ran down her neck and under her entire body even as armor grew over her chest, back and legs. Her wings melded together until they resembled dragons’ wings, though the holes remained in them and her legs.

“Where. Is. She!” Heart Shield snarled again, pressing his hoof harder into the unmasked creature’s throat. “This is your last chance!” He raised the hoof poised over its head higher.

“Preparing for your kind’s destruction,” the changeling laughed. “We have become more than the changelings we once were, and it’s all thanks to you, and your unicorn friend of course. You gave us back our queen, and now we shall return the favor. We shall give you back your fear, your land’s darkness and destruction!”

Heart Shield brought his hoof down. Before it could land, he was grabbed from behind  and wrestled away from the changeling by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. He struggled to get free, to escape so that he could make that creature pay for everything. Twilight encased the changeling in a powerful magical bind she had been studying.

“Let me go!” he shouted.

“Not a chance,” Dash said, helping Applejack to force him to the ground. “You need to cool off!”

“Like hay I do! That thing still has to pay for attacking my friends! My home! It has to pay for using her face to do so! LET ME GO!”

“Stop strugglin’ before y’all break somethin’!” Applejack ordered,  pinning her friend down. “Twi, we could use some help here!”

Before Twilight could answer, another changeling, looking just like this one, appeared beside the first. “Assessments have been completed Captain. We’re heading back as planned to alert the Swarm.”

“Took you long enough,” the first growled, flames licking up around it.

The flames shot straight into the air, forcing Twilight to retreat back to avoid being burned, and when they died down, both changelings were gone.

“Mind tellin’ me what the hay just happened?” Applejack asked, still keeping her friend pinned down.

“I-I don’t know,” Twilight stammered, staring at the lingering smoke from where the flames had been, “th-that was a spell that should be strong enough to keep a full-sized dragon pinned down, I got it from one of the Princess’s books! I don’t know how they escaped!”

“You should have made it stronger,” Heart Shield growled from under Dash and Applejack. “Or better yet, let me have dealt with it!”

“And why would I do that?” she replied, rounding on him. “What the hay was wrong with you? What did you think you were doing!”

“Why did you stop me! We would have had one less problem to deal with!”

“You were going to kill it!”

“It would have killed us given the chance.”

“That’s not the point! You allowed your emotions to get the better of you!”

Heart Shield bit back his response and looked away. Twilight was right, he shouldn’t have acted like that. His friends allowed him to get to his hooves when they saw that he had calmed down.

“I’m sorry,” he said, not looking at any of them. “I over reacted…”

“That’s an understatement,” muttered Twilight.

“I agree, it was a rather disturbing display of brutish behavior,” said Rarity.

“I said I was  sorry,” Heart Shield said through gritted teeth. “Can we head back now? Everypony’s waiting for us back at the ruins, and I don’t think there’s anything left to do here…”

“Fine,” Twilight replied, “I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia anyway…”

***

Everypony crowded around them when they returned. The ponies who worked at the hospital tended to their injuries the moment the seven friends reappeared at the entrance to the ruins. Everypony demanded details from the group, but one look from Heart Shield quelled all questions for the moment. Twilight called for Spike after the nurses had finished, wanting to send a letter to the Princess immediately, but before Spike could even begin to write, he belched out a letter from Celestia herself. Celestia had received Twilight’s earlier letter and requested that they report to Canterlot immediately. Fortunately, the train station had been left intact during the destruction, so they were able to travel faster than they would by balloon. During the trip there was one thing on everypony’s mind.

“What were those things?” Dash said.

“Some new form of changeling I guess,” replied Twilight.

“So where did they come from?” asked Heart Shield. “How did they know all of those things?”

“Clearly-.”

“If you say Chrysalis is behind this Twilight, so help me-.”

“That’s enough out of the two of y’all,” Applejack said, stepping between her friends. “You have different opinions, but don’t let that cause any more trouble between us. We have enough on our hooves as it is without y’all fightin’ all the time.”

“Fine,” Heart Shield replied, glaring out the window of the car they were in.

“I don’t know why you won’t just face the facts,” Twilight muttered. “You just keep letting your feelings for her cloud your judgment.”

“Drop it Sparkle.”

“No! You need to get over yourself and see that she is not the pony you thought she was!”

Heart Shield turned around and glared at his friend until she backed up. He walked past her to the door to the next car and kicked it open. “I’ve had enough of this,” he said  as he went inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

Rarity sighed and looked at Twilight. “Honestly, the two of you are so stuck on this fight. Perhaps you should consider that topic taboo before one of you says something you’ll regret.”

***

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Celestia said when the group of friends stepped off the train. “As you can see, we too had an attack not long ago.” She waved her head at the city.

The ponies she had asked to come stared at what they saw. Though Canterlot appeared to be much better off than Ponyville, there were still dozens of burning houses and shops, the stadium where the Wonderbolts’ races were held was nothing more than rubble, even the walls of the castle had giant holes smashed into them, the tower where the library could be found was burning with around thirty pegasi were busy trying to put out the flames.

“I-I can’t believe it…” Heart Shield said, unable to comprehend the amount of destruction to his old home.

“What… what happened Princess?” Twilight asked, trying to soak it all in.

“Soon after your letter arrived Canterlot was attacked by changelings. We thought that our new defenses against them would help, but we were as helpless before them as we were at the wedding. These changelings had no particular target in mind, in fact, it seemed as if they were merely testing our reaction time. As quickly as they appeared, they vanished,” Princess Luna said, gliding through the air to land beside her sister.

“That explains what that changeling meant by ‘assessment,’” Heart Shield muttered. “They were testing us…”

“For what reason?” asked Fluttershy. “Why now?”

“I’m wondering that same thing Fluttershy,” said Celestia, her tone sounding as if she were treading on thin ice as she looked at Heart Shield.

“I know what you’re thinking Lady Celestia, and you’re wrong. Chrysalis isn’t behind this, not directly at least. One of them impersonated her and attacked us, playing us all for fools. Why do that? If Chrysalis was behind the attack, wouldn’t it have been much easier to be here herself? Something has to have happened to h-.”

“You need to stop defending her! Look around you, the evidence is all here! Why are you so stuck on believing she’s good!” Twilight shouted at Heart Shield.

“Because the fact of the matter is that you saw a different side of her when you sent her away, and she was not taking part in the attack,” he said calmly.

Celestia shot her student a look and turned to the young pegasus. “And what makes you say she wasn’t behind this, other than your own personal stance on the matter?”

He looked back at her. “For one, she wasn’t part of the attacking force. Given what you all had said about her, it stands to reason that she wouldn’t sit back given a chance for revenge, nor would she waste her time with an attack like this. She would be at the forefront so that she could take care of those who stopped her before, and she would have brought an entire army like before. For another, from the sound of things, the original changelings had similar magic to hers. I’ve felt what her magic is like, and the false Chrysalis’s magic felt nothing like hers; I’d go so far as to say that it felt like it was at the opposite end of the spectrum. The mere sensation of being encased in it was painful.”

“This does not mean that she isn’t behind the attack.”

“Then let me prove it.” Heart Shield took a step toward Lady Celestia, a determined look in his eyes. “Give me the chance to prove that she’s innocent in this matter.”

“And how would you propose doing that?” Lady Luna asked.

“I’ll find her,” he declared. “I’ll find out where she is and I’ll get the truth from her.”

Twilight snorted. “You wouldn’t be able to tell if she was lying even if you found her.”

“Now who’s letting their emotions cloud their judgment?” he shot back. “You owe me for what happened. You acted out of spite and didn’t trust your own friend, so back off and trust me now! I’ll know if she’s lying to me.”

“You would still have to find her,” Luna pointed out. “How do you plan to do so, to find somepony who we’ve searched all over Equestria for?”

“By looking elsewhere. I’ve looked over all the documented histories of Equestria, all the maps from over the centuries, and I can’t find a single place that looks like she’d be hiding out in. And I know why now. She’s not in Equestria. That’s why nopony can find her. From what she told Twilight and me, the home of the changelings is far from Equestria; I don’t even think it’s on the same continent as us, otherwise, wouldn’t there have been reports from other nations of their activity?”

Celestia mused over this for several minutes.

“It is possible,” she admitted, “and it does make sense. I’d sent word to every nation, even to those as far away as Saddle Arabia, and nopony anywhere had even heard of the changelings. Tell me, how are you going to find her when nopony has been off this land since Luna and I were young?”

“Your unicorns were able to find a tiny amount of Chrysalis’s magical signature on me before, I’m assuming it wasn’t enough to get a trace on her location otherwise none of this would have happened. There’s a lot more magic lingering around Canterlot and Ponyville than there was on me, can you use that to track the changelings to where they came from?”

“We might be able to. Several members of the Guard managed to isolate the magic for that reason.”

“If you can, you need to use it as a focus. I doubt we’ll get the exact location, but a general sense of where to go would be ideal at first.”

“Very well, I’ll see what can be done,” Celestia said, looking at Heart Shield with calculating eyes. “If we succeed, what do you plan to do.”

“Find her, or at least find those changelings,” he replied, standing up straighter. “Find the truth.” He paused and thought for a moment. “If it does turn out that they are not anywhere on the continent, I need to borrow a ship; chances are that any land overseas will be at least a few days away, too long to make the trip by flying alone.”

Celestia and Luna exchanged a look at this. Luna nodded to her sister.

“Sister, it would be wise to allow it,” she said. “It will need to be repaired, and fixed for haste.”

“Nopony has left on such a journey for centuries, are you certain that is the ideal choice?”

“Nay, but ‘tis the only one we have.”

Celestia sighed and turned back to the pegasus. “Very well,” she said. “There is one that we used to use to visit Dragon Isle, an island several days journey from here, before it was damaged by Nightmare Moon. Since then, nopony has even laid eyes on it. I regret to say that in order to show me how powerful she was, what forced me to use the Elements of Harmony against her, she attacked the island. Due to this, the dragons there forbade any contact from anypony, lest they retaliate and lay waste to us. I shall have my best ponies working on repairing it if it turns out we must use it, but on one condition.” She looked at Heart Shield with a grave and serious expression. “If you embark on this journey to find her, it shall be to attempt to prove her innocence in these events as you so wish, but should another attack come before that happens, consider it a reconnaissance mission to identify the location of our enemy so that we can strike back. In other words, if Chrysalis is behind this, or if Equestria or any nation here is attacked, we shall be at war.”

Heart Shield met her gaze, defiance lighting his eyes like a wildfire. “I accept your terms Lady Celestia. If another attack takes place, or if she truly is, as you all are determined to believe, behind this, then I will send word when I find her to prepare Equestria’s army for war.”

Twilight stared at her friend. She had expected him to refuse Princess Celestia’s condition, or to take much longer to decide.

“You shocked as much as ah am sugarcube?” Applejack whispered to her.

“Yes,” she whispered back. “He agreed so easily, it’s like he didn’t even think about it for a second!”

“I’m surprised too,” said Fluttershy. “Given how much he seems to care about her… this had to have been a difficult choice. He’ll have to stand against her if he’s wrong.”

“So then why agree that quickly?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“You don’t think he doesn’t plan to do as Princess Celestia says do you?” Pinkie said.

“Go against a direct order from the Princess? Why I don’t think anypony would be that foolish, no matter how much they cared for somepony else,” interjected Rarity.

“After everything we just saw today, how quickly he reacted, how completely unlike himself he was, I don’t think we can say that for certain,” Twilight muttered. “He’s acted like a completely different pony ever since he met her.”

“No, that don’t sound like our Heart Shield,” Applejack replied. “If ah know anything about him, it’s that he stands by what he says. If he agreed to do as Princess Celestia said that quickly, then it’s because he believes completely that mare is innocent.”

Celestia searched Heart Shield’s face for any hint of dishonesty and found none. His words were sincere. She nodded. “Very well then. I’ll instruct everypony who can help with the spell to trace the magic back to its source to do so at once, and I’ll let my best working team know that we need to repair the ship. The spell should be complete within a day or two, I’ll send word to you as soon as it’s finished, but I suspect that the ship may take a while longer to be fixed.”

“Whatever needs to be done,” replied Heart Shield. “I need to help rebuild Ponyville as it stands anyway. There are a lot of ponies without a home now, and from the looks of things here, Canterlot will be too busy with the same to help out or house those of us needing shelter.”

“Will there be anything else you require?”

Heart Shield turned to look at his friends over his shoulder. “Supplies for all of us, enough for at least a few weeks since we have no idea what’s out there. I’m going to need my friends with me in case things turn out badly, if they agree of course.”

“You must have hit your head hard earlier if you think for a moment that we’d let you go off on an adventure like that on your own!” declared Rainbow Dash.

“What she means to say is of course we’ll come with you,” said Twilight, smiling a little at Dash’s enthusiasm.

“Then it’s settled,” said Celestia. “I’ll let you know what we find in a few days’ time.”

“Thank you Lady Celestia…”

“Sister, I know you wished to speak further with them, but we must assist with the reconstruction of Canterlot. Now, more than ever, are we needed by our subjects,” Luna said, looking regretfully at her sister.

“I know Luna,” Celestia sighed. She looked back at the young ponies who stood before her. “I will let you all know what we find. For now, please return home, I’m certain your friends will need your help in rebuilding Ponyville. Once Canterlot has been put back together I’ll have some of the ponies here come help you, I have a feeling that your home may be in  worse shape than ours.”

“Thank you Princess,” said Twilight.

***

Ten days passed before Ponyville began to resemble its former self. Even with magic the reconstruction moved slowly. Supplies were limited and they kept having to travel to neighboring towns and cities to get what materials they needed. Almost everypony had lost their homes, and many with foals and fillies had to leave and stay with family until they once again had a place to stay. The aid from Canterlot helped to move things along quicker, but from how everything looked, it seemed that it would be at least another month would pass before all the houses were rebuilt, and then another month before the shops were completely restored. While the rebuilding progressed, there was one thing on everypony’s minds: would there be another attack? So far, there was no sign of any more changeling activity, but the threat still remained.

Princess Celestia notified Twilight and her friends that the spell to trace the changelings was a success, and that it did indeed look as though they would have to travel by sea a few days after their return to Ponyville. A week later, another letter arrived at each of their homes.

My little ponies, it appears as though the time has arrived at last. The ship has been fully restored and remodeled for Heart Shield’s specifications. We do not know if or when the next attack will arrive, so I require you all to come to Canterlot at once, time is of the essence. My Guard will be awaiting your arrival at the station and they have been instructed to lead you to a gate Luna and I set up so that you can meet us at the bay. You will need to be taught everything you need to know by the technicians who recreated the ship. I wish I could say more, and that I could be less cryptic, but this has been kept a secret from everypony save for those involved. I pray that you understand.

– Princess Celestia

Chapter 10: The Winds of Fate

Chapter 10

The Winds of Fate

"There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go." —Tennessee Williams

“Will you put that down already? I told you we aren’t adding flames to it!”

“How do you expect them to deal with the legion of darkness then? You took out every defense I put into the blueprints-.”

“I let you keep the masthead’s protocols didn’t I?”

“After decreasing the efficiency…”

“You mean making it safe for the seven ponies who were going to be stepping onto a deathtrap because you wanted to test their reaction time to dealing with nerve gas and fireballs?”

“We need to know if they’re ready to handle the dangers. And I need to know I’m not letting seven incapable ponies set foot on my warship.”

“Tool, first off, it’s not a warship. Secondly, you didn’t want to know if they could handle the dangers, you wanted to make sure they weren’t a part of your conspiracy and you know it.”

“It is not a conspiracy, Nero, it is a known fact! The dark herd is out there, perhaps even among us now!”

“You still aren’t going to be adding a flamethrower to the ship! Where did you even get that anyway?”

“Found it.”

Heart Shield and his friends rounded the corner from the spot the guards had accompanied them to and stared at the two stallions – a light-tan unicorn and a blue pegasus – who were busy bickering with each other in front of a massive, tarp-covered object. The latter was in the air holding what looked like, to Heart Shield, an oversized faucet and puffed his wildly untamed, vibrant red mane out of his eyes, which were narrowed in annoyance.

“Excuse us,” Twilight called out, “we’re-.”

“Minions of the darkness!” the pegasus cried, dropping the nozzle. “I told you they were among us!”

Before it could hit the ground, a light-green glow surrounded the metal and moved it safely to the side.

“Ah, you must be Miss Sparkle and her friends, Princess Celestia told us you would be here soon,” said the unicorn who had been arguing with the pegasus. He walked over to them and shook hooves with each of the group. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name’s Nero, and the conspiracy theorist up there is Tool.”

“Likewise,” replied Twilight.

“Mind if I ask what that was all about?” Heart Shield asked Nero.

“What, him?” Nero said, nodding to Tool. “Just some nonsense he’s gotten into his head about some army of darkness that plans to crush us all.”

“The changelings?” Rarity guessed.

“The changelings are nothing compared to what the dark herd has in store for us,” snapped Tool as he landed beside her. “But you all know that already don’t you?”

“What dark herd? Nero, please tell me you know what-,” Heart Shield began.

“This one is obviously a spy for them,” said Tool, popping up behind Heart Shield. “Of course, I’d have expected more, they should have made him look more like a pegasus.”

“Looks like Pinkie’s been giving lessons,” snorted Rainbow Dash, seeing the pegasus appearing from nowhere like her friend.

Heart Shield huffed and turned around to face Tool only to find that he’d vanished.

“Although, they would have known I’d be onto them if they sent such an obvious trap,” Tool continued, now beside Nero. “The wings and mark give him away… so if they knew I’d know, then they’d have him as an unwitting decoy. Unless they knew I’d know they’d knew and set the decoy as a trap to throw me off guard…”

“I am not part of some dark herd,” Heart Shield said.

“That’s exactly what a minion of darkness would say.”

“I can assure you, none of the ponies who are here are a member of the horde you speak of.”

Everypony looked up at the voice. Lady Celestia walked towards the small group with Lady Luna in tow, smiling at the odd pegasus.

“These are the ponies who are on a mission to find one who may be a leader of that enemy force,” she continued, flashing the seven ponies who’d arrived a look that told them not to contradict this.

Tool frowned, pondering her words before walking around the group, studying them. “The orange one and the one with the rainbow hair appear to be the ones who could possibly be of the most use, in good shape, look strong and fast… The pink one seems like an excellent idea for a diversion. The purple appears to be strong with magic, she would be best for backup, perhaps even strategizing. However, the other three do not look like they’re up for the task. The male stands out too much and would only be useful if they were to believe him a member. The yellow is too timid, she would do nothing more than hold them back, and the white one does not strike me as of any use whatsoever,” he said bluntly.

“How dare you!” Rarity snapped. “I’ll have you know that all of us are more than capable of handling ourselves, and neither I nor Fluttershy are useless!”

“I think that’s enough,” Nero said quickly, moving forward to cover Tool’s mouth. “Tool, how about you do some final checks on the ship, make sure everything’s in working order, I can handle things here.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” said Rainbow Dash, who had gone over to Fluttershy to comfort her friend, who looked like she was about to burst into tears from Tool’s words.

Tool nodded and flew towards the object under the tarp.

“And don’t you dare think of modifying anything!” Nero called to him before turning to the group. “My apologies. Tool did the same assessment of me when we met; he does so with every new pony he meets it seems, trying to determine their use in case that obsession of his actually happens.”

“Well whatever the cause, there was no call for his blunt rudeness,” Rarity said disapprovingly.

Heart Shield looked at the Princesses skeptically, wondering why she had asked Tool to work on the ship, but he kept his opinion to himself.

“I promise you, as… odd as Tool may seem, he is a genius at what he does,” Nero said to the group. “I wouldn’t have finished nearly as fast as I did, with the quality in such a short amount of time, if he hadn’t been here to help.”

“How much longer are you going to drag this out?” Tool called from under the tarp. “We have a warship to sail and the longer we delay, the greater the chance of discovery and sabotage from the dark ones!”

“For the last time there are no dark ones!” Nero groaned, putting his hoof to his forehead. “But he does have a point. Come on, it’s time for you to get acquainted with your new home for the duration of your trip.”

His horn glowed lightly as he magically lifted the tarp away. Heart Shield’s jaw dropped as he stared at the boat. It was as big as Twilight’s tree, maybe even larger! The masthead was an intricately designed gold and ivory alicorn, he guessed. There was the head, which, if it hadn’t been for the runic designs carved into it and the sheen from the smooth surface, he would have believed it was almost alive, with its majestic curves and long, brilliant horn, the ears shaped to perfection. From there, stretching back until it connected with the ship, were two large wings, flanking either side of the bow. Extending down the boat’s prow, the masthead was carved with more runes; parts of it flowed back into the ship in small tendrils that made it appear to be embracing the sea vessel. The base of the masthead connected with the keel, which had extended forward as if it were an extra rudder, though it remained solid rather than on hinges. The ship’s hull was a brilliant mix of Lady Celestia’s royal colors for the upper half and melded into Lady Luna’s starry mane’s color scheme towards the bottom. On either side of the stern was what appeared to be exhaust pipes attached to blade-like fins that looked as if they could rotate 360° parallel to the ship’s sides. Windows lined two portions of the upper hull, to what Heart Shield assumed were the rooms he and his friends would stay in. He could clearly see a dome-like cabin on the deck towards the rear, and three sets of masts with oddly sparkling sails attached to them, and a crow’s nest atop the center mast. A single flag with both Lady Celestia and Lady Luna’s cutie marks rose up out of the middle of the crow’s nest. Nets lined the port and starboard bulwarks, and a gangplank was currently lowered to the ground, inviting the party aboard.

“If you’ll follow Tool and me on board, we’ll give you the rundown of what you’ll be dealing with,” Nero said. “Much of the ship is controlled differently than how you would expect, and a firsthoof look at everything would be simpler than trying to follow a long explanation.”

“It looks like it’ll be fast,” Rainbow Dash commented, flying up to one of the fins. “Whoa! Are these-?”

“Jets? Yes,” Tool said, a pleased look on his face from where he hovered. “As time is of the essence I believed modifications to the original design Nero created were in order, specifically this propulsion system.”

“Jets on a boat? Isn’t that dangerous?” Twilight asked.

“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Tool replied. “Now get up here, you all have a lot to learn about this if you’re to take on the legions of darkness.”

Everypony obeyed without comment, even the Princesses climbed aboard their old ship to see everything the two ponies had done to it, after all, Nero and Tool had transformed a broken, rotting sailboat fit for two into this massive creation. Nero and Tool led them throughout the ship, going into great detail every single aspect of it. The cabin was a control room for the entire boat, with a large counter covered in panels and buttons lining the front of the room, maps and sea charts hung on the walls, and a giant crystal held between metallic spikes that jutted from the floor and ceiling. The counter, Tool explained, was the navigational system and controls for the ship. A red button in the center, when pressed, released a large sphere of green magical energy, which developed a point soon after appearing. This sphere was to be their compass, and housed the magical traces that Celestia’s unicorns had collected from the changeling’s attack, locked onto the changeling’s signature and should point them in the direction they needed to go. Another button released the crystal, which hovered between the spikes. Nero told the group that this crystal was to be the power source and fuel for the ship, and ran on magic. It allowed the jets to be activated for faster travel and folded the sails to the masts so as not to destroy them, as well as powering an automatic navigational system for night travel so that everypony could sleep and be assured that the ship would stay on course. As with any fuel source, the crystal’s magic was limited, but luckily housed enough power to run the ship constantly for five days before it needed to be recharged with a more magic. The sails were designed to withstand even the harshest storms without tear, and, as Nero explained, were coated with a special lining of miniscule crystals provided from the Crystal Kingdom for the journey, which allowed the ship to continue sailing should there be no wind present by harnessing the power of the sun and moon.

Below decks were four levels. The first was lined with eight doors, seven of which were rooms for the ponies who were to be traveling, and the last held fresh sheets, pillows, blankets, and all sorts of other necessities for their comfort. The second level contained a dining room and kitchen to the front, food and other supplies on either side of the hall, and two sets of bathrooms fully decked with everything they could need, including showers and sinks. The third level was stocked with tools and extra planks and supplies should they need to make repairs to the ship, not that they would need to, Tool said, if they knew how to control the ship. Nero also had a small library on this level, filled with a manual for the boat, along with books dealing with sea travel, and ones taken from both the Canterlot and Ponyville libraries for the enjoyment of the ponies onboard. The final level had a single room built into the middle. Heart Shield was the last to reach it, as he had been distracted by the selection in the library, and found himself stopped by Applejack’s outstretched hoof.

“Maybe y’all should steer clear of this room sugar cube,” she said to him, blocking his view inside.

“Why?” he asked, trying to get around his friend, but she kept moving between him and the room.

“Trust me, it’s not somethin’ for yer eyes,” she said, now moving him backwards toward the stairs they’d all come down.

“What are you talking about? Let me through,” demanded Heart Shield.

“Applejack is right,” Twilight spoke up from near the entrance to the room. “This isn’t a room you should be looking at.”

Heart Shield stamped his hoof on the floor. “Let me see it,” he demanded. “Why are you trying to hide it from me!”

“Heart Shield,” Lady Celestia spoke up, “perhaps your friends are right. I, too, believe that this room is one for you to avoid.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m a foal!” the young pegasus replied. “If I don’t see it now, it’s not like anypony can stop me from looking at it later.”

“Sister,” said Lady Luna to Lady Celestia, “he is right. Besides, he is the one who agreed to your terms. Do not try to hide this place from him.”

Celestia looked at her sister and sighed, nudging her student away from the door. “Let him pass, Applejack.”

Before his friend could object, Heart Shield jumped over her and trotted to the open door, determined to find out why nopony wanted him to look at the room. Twilight reached out to stop him as he neared, but Luna placed her hoof on the unicorn’s arm and shook her head. Twilight bit her lip as her friend poked his head inside. It took Heart Shield only a second to take in the large room, which had no windows, a small cot built into one side of the room, and was otherwise bare of anything save for runes carved into the ceiling, floor and walls. It took another second for him to grasp what the room truly was, and he backed out quickly as soon as he had.

“It’s a prison,” he said, stating the obvious as he looked at Lady Celestia, keeping his anger out of his voice and clear of his expression, “for Chrysalis.” He rounded on Nero and Tool, who stood off to the side of the hall. “You two built a prison cell.”

“Heart Shield-,” Lady Celestia began.

“No,” he interrupted, turning his gaze back to her. “Don’t. I fully understand why it’s here, and will use it if it is needed. I told you already, if she turns out to be behind this all, I will not hesitate to bring her to justice, whether that results in imprisoning her or bringing Equestria’s forces to her location and waging war. I will not go back on my word.”

He said nothing else through the remainder of the tour, barely paying attention to whatever else was said. He remembered Nero and Tool mentioning something about defensive protocols, and a button to be used only if they were in grave danger, but it was as if he were listening through water, so lost in thought was he.

“Heart Shield!”

The pegasus snapped out of his thoughts at the eldest princess’s raised voice.

“Wh-what?” he asked, shaking his head.

“We have been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes,” Celestia said, quieter this time, a faint smile on her face as she looked at the young pony. “Since you are the one who requested this journey, it has been decided that you shall be this ship’s captain, and, as such, it falls upon your shoulders to grant her a name.”

Heart Shield took a step backwards, startled. Captain? But he knew nothing of ships, he hadn’t even paid attention to what Nero and Tool had said about it! “C-couldn’t somepony more knowledgeable be in charge?” he stammered. “L-like Twilight? I’m certain that she would be more suited for this task. I cannot read sea charts, nor do I know how to understand the ways of the stars; we would be as lost as a deaf and blind bat if I were to lead us.”

“Do not doubt yourself so,” Lady Celestia replied. “As long as I have watched you grow, from the tiny foal found outside the sweets shop, into the young stallion who stands before me now, you have filled yourself with doubt and fear. But look at yourself now. You have more friends than you had ever believed you would possess, you have found a home where nopony judges you for the size of your wings, nor the state of your flanks, and you have found yourself more courage in the past year than I have ever seen in you.”

“I second this opinion,” said Rarity.

“As do I,” agreed Twilight.

“Y’all have my vote,” Applejack said, tipping her hat to her friend.

“We all think so,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Yeah!” said Pinkie, her cotton candy-like hair bouncing as she nodded in agreement.

“You’re no Daring Do, or fearless pony like me,” Dash said, placing her hoof on her chest with a smug look, “but you come in a close third place.”

“Gee, thanks,” Heart Shield grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Aw come on Large Wing, you know I’m just teasing.”

“Your friends have spoken,” Princess Luna said, stepping toward the pegasus. “And I believe that if they trust you to lead them, you should trust yourself.”

“Besides, it’s not as if you’ll be on your own, remember?” Twilight said with a smile. “The six of us are here with you. If there’s something you’re unable to do, then leave it to us, okay?”

Heart Shield looked at each of his friends. Not a single one of them showed an ounce of doubt in their eyes. He sighed and looked to the princesses.

“What name did your ship once hold?” he asked.

“Dreams of the Solstice,” answered Luna. “Our mother named it for us, but I do not believe this ship should share the same name. This is a new ship, for a new adventure, and should not be tied to the fate of its past.”

“Well spoken, Sister,” said Celestia, smiling at her sibling. She turned to Heart Shield. “Well?” she asked. “It is ill fortune to sail on a ship that has no name, and I see no better pony to grant her one than the one who wished for her to return to the sea.”

Heart Shield studied the ship. There were plenty of names that came to mind, but none seemed to fit, or seemed to be worthy of its grandeur. Lady Luna and Lady Celestia had valid points; this new ship shouldn’t be tied to its old self with its previous name, even if it had been granted a second chance to sail through the ocean. He would not burden it with the memory of its past, nor did he wish it to share the same fate.

Wait a minute… Fate, he thought, the word catching in his mind. The princesses’s old boat hasn’t been used for over a thousand years, and nopony has left the continent since. If those changelings hadn’t come, who knows if anypony would ask to travel the world like this? And we were lucky that Dreams of the Solstice was still around when we needed it most. Sure Nero and Tool could have built a new one themselves if Lady Celestia and Lady Luna no longer had it, but they rebuilt it. It’s as if fate wanted this ship to have a new journey.

The more he thought about it, the more that one word felt right, though incomplete. He couldn’t simply name the ship Fate, that would be ridiculous. He studied the ship more, his eyes wandering over every inch of it, from the starry pattern at its base, to the flag at its top which fluttered now and then, catching a wisp of a breeze.

Wind, fate… why do those two feel like they belong together? I know I’ve heard something before that involves the two of them…

“I’ve got it,” he said at last, finally finding the words that seemed worthy of this boat. “Fate’s Winds.”

“Where’d you come up with that?” asked Dash, sounding a little disappointed at his choice.

“There’s an old farewell pegasi used to say. ‘May the winds always be at your back, the air under your feathers lift you up, and the sky be your guide under moon and sun. Let your heart lead you through these treacherous winds of fate to the destiny you create.’” Heart Shield turned to his friends. “Winds of fate. In other words-,”

“Fate’s Winds,” Lady Celestia finished with a small smile on her lips.

“Exactly.”

“A fitting name don’t you agree Sister?” Luna said, looking up at the ship.

“I could not have found a better one myself,” agreed Celestia, her horn glowing brightly. “Very well, I hereby christen this ship, Fate’s Winds, may she serve you well.”

Along the side of the ship, golden letters blazed into being, until the ship’s name glowed brilliantly against the metal and wood.

***

“Captain’s Log. We have been sailing for three weeks now. Food has begun to become scarce, the others are growing restless. I fear that a mutiny may soon be at hoof. There has been no sign of land since we left the shores of Equestria, and no indication of when we might find any. Everything looks to be the same in this desert of water, and for all I know, we may have been going in circles. I have begun to question my decision to set out on this journey. What if this is a waste of time? Should we return to Equestria and prepare for the next attack? If we do not find land soon, I fear that we may-.”

“Rainbow Dash, what are you mumbling about up there?”

Heart Shield sat on one of the center mast’s beams, looking up at the mare who had claimed the crow’s nest only minutes after they left the shores of their homeland.

“Nothing,” she replied quickly. “Just talking to myself.”

“Already? It’s only been an hour since we began sailing,” her friend said with a grin, “I would have thought the sea madness would have taken longer to set in.”

“Oh can it Large Wing.”

Heart Shield laughed and hopped off of the mast, gliding down to the deck. Fate’s Winds bobbed up and down as it sailed smoothly through the ocean. Occasionally, a spray of salty water would reach the top of the ship whenever it landed over a particularly large wave, coating whoever stood near the bulwarks with beads of glimmering salt. Rarity had immediately taken refuge in her cabin, complaining about the water creating clumps in her mane and coat. Applejack stood to one side of the ship, leaning over the side of the railing, a queasy look on her face. Pinkie was currently hanging upside down on the mast head, cheering into the wind. Fluttershy stood nearby in case her friend lost her grip. Twilight was somewhere inside the wheelhouse, studying the sea charts that had been supplied by the Canterlot library the last time Heart Shield had checked. As for the stallion, he made his way starboard, looking out at the endless, glittering, aquamarine sea. For some reason, he found the sight of the small waves, the schools of fish that ventured close to the hull curiously only to scatter moments later, the reflection of the afternoon sun wavering in the surf, comforting and welcome. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind rushing through his mane. He allowed himself to drift back to moments just before Fate’s Wind had left the hidden harbor deep in the side of the mountain Canterlot rested upon.

“Heart Shield,” Lady Luna called as the pegasus moved to join his friends on the ship, “we would wish to speak with you for a moment before you leave.”

Heart Shield turned around curiously and walked over to the princess. She waited for him to reach her before she walked away from the ship, the curious pegasus following her. She stopped when she was certain they were out of earshot of the young ponies who had already boarded the ship and her sister.

“Lady Luna?” Heart Shield asked. “What is it you wished to speak of?”

The princess turned to him, silent for a few moments as she pondered her words. Finally, she spoke.

“At the royal wedding, I was not in Canterlot when Queen Chrysalis’s deception was made clear. I had left to tend to other matters, and I was unable to be there when my sister was injured, when my home was threatened.”

Heart Shield looked at her in silence, his face a mask of polite patience.

“All I know of the mare you seek, are the tales I have heard. I have not seen her true heart with my own eyes, and so, of everypony in Equestria, I alone am able to stand unbiased on all subjects related to her. I have heard both sides of the stories you and your friends have told. I know of the evil she caused during the wedding, and of the kindness she showed for you, the one who tended to her and trusted her when nopony else would… I do not know which side of the Changeling Queen is her true self – the cruel mare who sought destruction of an entire land, or the mare who gave up the last of her power to heal a pony who had lost something dear to him by protecting her – but there is one thing I do know, and that is this: there is nopony in this world who would go to such lengths for the sake of her when all others would seek their vengeance unless they believed in their heart, with utmost certainty, that there was good in her.”

Lady Luna paused, studying the silent pegasus.

“You once gave me some comfort with your words on behalf of those who have come before you and those who still remain among us, and so I would offer a small piece of wisdom in return that will hopefully bring you comfort. No matter what you may see, no matter what you may hear, no matter where you may go, always follow your heart. Despite what others may say about the heart’s judgment, I have found that it knows the truth more often than not. I say this from experience, young Heart Shield. A thousand years ago, as my jealousy began to take over, I knew in my heart that what I was doing was wrong, and that my night was not as unloved as I believed. However, I did not listen to it, and allowed myself to fall into anger and hatred. Listen to your heart, for it can connect with those of others and find the truth that may otherwise elude you.”

“Heart Shield? We’re ready to leave!” Twilight called out from the ship.

“Your friends are waiting for you,” Lady Luna said, nodding to the ship. “Please, heed my words.”

Heart Shield nodded. “I shall, Lady Luna. Thank you.”

***

The days and nights after the journey through the winds of fate began soon blurred together. Twilight marked each one on a small calendar she created. She sent daily letters to the princesses, using a runic spell Princess Celestia had taught her to deliver her messages. After a week of sailing with no sign of land, Twilight called her friends into the wheelhouse claiming she had urgent news.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said with a yawn, “for what reason did you call us here in the middle of the night? Can’t whatever be said wait until morning, a lady needs her beauty sleep after all.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “With all that mud on your face, I’d say you could use all you can get.”

“Forgive me for wanting to keep my pores clean,” Rarity retorted.

“That’s enough you two,” Applejack said, stepping between her friends.

“Thank you Applejack,” said Twilight. “The reason I woke you all is because Pinkie spotted land not too long ago. It’s still a ways away, we won’t be able to see it without the telescope until sunrise.”

“That’s all well and good,” yawned Heart Shield, “but I fail to see why this couldn’t wait until then.”

“Perhaps this will clear things up then,” she replied, pulling down the old map from Canterlot and floated it over to her friends. “If this map is correct, and the ship has been sailing in the right direction, then that island is Dragon Isle.”

“Did you say D-Dragon Isle?” Fluttershy squeaked, cowering behind Rainbow Dash. “With all of th-the dragons?”

Twilight nodded.

“But ain’t that the place that nopony is allowed to go?” asked Applejack. “Didn’t Princess Celestia tell us that them dragons forbade anypony from steppin’ on their island?”

“We can’t go there then!” Rarity said, now wide awake.

“We don’t have much choice,” Twilight replied solemnly. “The crystal is about to run out of magic, and the changeling’s trace points straight in its direction.”

“What?!”

“Of course,” Heart Shield said. “If I were a changeling I’d hide in the one place where nopony would find me.”

“Exactly,” Twilight agreed.

“But we’d be insane to step hoof there! Princess Celestia told us that the dragons said that if anypony landed on the island, they would attack Equestria!” Applejack said.

“I agree with Applejack, we cannot go to Dragon Isle,” agreed Rarity, moving to stand next to the earth pony. “It is foolhardy to do such a thing.”

“If the compass points to the island then we have to go there,” Dash interjected, standing beside Twilight.

“Dash is right,” Twilight said. “Besides, it’s the only option we have. We have no other leads to go on.”

“M-maybe we shouldn’t,” squeaked Fluttershy. “Maybe the changelings are on an island somewhere behind this one?” She looked at her friends with a hopeful expression.

“The dragons could be nice ones,” Pinkie Pie offered. “Like Spike! Plus nopony can stay mad forever, and Princess Luna isn’t Black Snooty anymore.”

The group fell silent and all eyes fell on Heart Shield. He took several steps back.

“What? Why is everypony looking at me?”

Twilight stepped forward. “Well, you are our captain, and there’s three votes each. It’s up to you.”

Heart Shield looked at his friends, his eyes shifting nervously from one mare to another.

“Heart Shield, what say you?”

He was silent for a long time.

“Heart Shield! What is your choice?”

“Are… are you certain that the changeling’s magic points to the island?”

“I would not have called you all here otherwise,” Twilight said. “I’ve tried sailing the ship in a direction that would lead us around it, but the sphere keeps focusing on the island.”

Heart Shield closed his eyes and sighed.

“Then we have no other option. We sail to Dragon Isle.”

I pray that this isn’t a bad idea…

***

They reached Dragon Isle sooner than they had expected, and not as unnoticed as they would have hoped. For just as the band of ponies had spotted the island, so had Fate’s Wind been spotted by those who inhabited it. Five massive dragons, covered in sharp scales, wings as large as the ship’s masts, with fangs large enough to skewer Princess Celestia if she stood on two hooves and sharp enough that they could easily rip through flesh and bone, stood at the shore as the ponies landed. The dragons easily towered over the ship, and the earth shook with each thundering step they took. They looked at the boat that had washed upon their land and spoke amongst each other in their ancient tongue.

“What have we here?” said the tallest, a fierce looking black dragon, whose voice came out so loud it rocked the entire boat.

“It looks like a ship, Aolraûn,” said a smaller blue dragon, green stripes lining its back and arms. “And look! There are tiny deer on it!”

“Don’t look like no deer, I’ve ever seen,” grumbled a thick, deep violet dragon, who walked around the ship, looking at the creatures who stood on deck through two squinting eyes.

“Bah, what would you know Ëaundïr, you fat oaf?” scoffed a green dragon who inspected his claws. “Your eyes are so bad you’d think a boulder was a boar.”

“You take that back Nnôrusk!” Ëaundïr roared, whipping his head around to glare at the green dragon. “I’m not so blind that I can’t smack some sense into that thick head of yours!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“I’ll knock you both senseless if you don’t stop your bickering,” snapped the smallest of the great dragons, a lithe, young looking fiery red female. She sauntered between the two, flicking her tail tip along their snouts and looked at the ship. “Ëaundïr is right though, these are not deer.”

“Well what are they then Dæos?” asked the green-striped dragon.

“Whatever they are Vvraün’gst,” Aolraûn said to him, “they look as if they would be good sport for the younglings.”

“Wh-wh-what do you think th-they’re saying?” Fluttershy asked her friends quietly, trying to appear as small as she could.

“I don’t know,” whispered Twilight, “they aren’t speaking like the ones back in Equestria, nor in any dialect I’ve ever heard.”

“I bet them dragons are fixin’ to eat us,” Applejack said, her voice quiet. “Ah told y’all this would be a bad idea.”

“Well there’s not anything we can do about it now!” Heart Shield hissed.

“Don’t sweat it, there’s only five of them, we outnumber them easily,” replied Rainbow Dash. “I say we take ’em!”

“Don’t be a fool Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped, keeping her voice hushed. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you tried to ‘take’ a dragon?”

“W-well that was a fluke, I wasn’t at my A-game!”

“Shhh!” Pinkie said to her friends. “Don’t interrupt them, that’s rude.”

“The younglings would have little sport with these things,” Dæos sniffed, “At least, not except with the winged ones. The others don’t look like they’d put up much of a challenge.”

“Eh? Those things on the blues and the yellow are wings?” Ëaundïr said, squinting at them. “Poor things. We’d be doing them a favor if we just ate them now.”

“Wh-why is that one staring me like that?” Fluttershy asked, pressing herself down onto the deck.

“Ëaundïr stop that, you’re scaring the poor thing,” Dæos said, thwacking him with her tail. “So,” she said, turning her attention to the creatures on the boat, “what exactly are you, little ones?”

“They are called ponies.”

All five dragons turned around and parted, their heads low as a new dragon approached. If Aolraûn was tall for a dragon, then this newcomer was a giant. The great golden beast was easily twice the black dragon’s size, and walked with long, thundering steps.

“Ponies, Lord Æundrïl?” Vvraün’gst asked.

“And young ones at that. You are a long way from home, young ponies,” Æundrïl said as he neared the ship, switching from his native tongue to one he had not used for centuries. “For what reason have you washed upon our shores?”

Heart Shield gulped and stepped forward, somehow managing to keep his knees and voice from trembling. Before they had landed, he had been confident that they could handle whatever happened here, but now that this dragon, whose head was as large as the ship and looked like he could easily swallow it whole, stood before them, all he wanted to do was turn the ship around and sail back to Equestria as fast as they could. The golden dragon leaned down until his head was level with the ship and watched the pegasus make his way to the bow. The sun caused his scales to shimmer, and showed telltale signs of aging along the mighty creature’s face; wrinkles could be seen nearing his brow, and a long, faded white scar wound its way down the left side of his head like somepony had carved it into his scales. The old wound went right over his eye, which Heart Shield realized must no longer exist. He walked to the edge of the ship, stopping only when the dragon narrowed his remaining amber eye.

“We do not mean any harm,” Heart Shield said, his voice was calm and confident, the exact opposite of how he felt. “We have traveled from-.”

“I know exactly where you have sailed from,” Æundrïl said with a low growl. “The years have not been so long that I would not recognize that flag.”

Heart Shield gulped again.

“Of course not, I meant no offense,” he said, bowing to the dragon.

“Has Celestia forgotten her oath in these past few centuries? Or does she no longer care for the safety of her people?”

“Neither, Lord dragon. It is true that my friends and I have journeyed across the seas from Equestria with her permission, but Lady Celestia knows not the path we have taken, nor our arrival upon your island,” Heart Shield said, addressing the aged dragon with the respect the noble beast deserved.

“Whether or not she knows shall not save her nor your friends. All ponies have been forbidden from coming within sight of our shores. Give me one reason why I should not roast you and yours where you stand.”

“Because the six ponies who accompany me are the ones who put an end to the mare who attacked this island, defeated the lord of chaos, saved an entire race that had been thought lost for over a thousand years, and not a single one of us would do harm to you and yours. We did not come here to start a conflict, we came to prevent one, one that could be the end of everything and everywhere, including this land.”

Æundrïl raised a horned eyebrow. “I’m listening youngling.”

Heart Shield took a deep breath before launching into the story of how Equestria had been attacked by the changelings, the events leading up to the attack —from the royal wedding, the discovery of Chrysalis in the Everfree Forest, her recovery, and her forced departure— and his request to discover the truth behind the attack. The dragon listened silently with the patience only one who had lived a thousand lifetimes possessed. When Heart Shield finally finished his tale, he bowed low to the great golden giant.

“And that is why we have come here, even if it breached the treaty of old. Please, if our arrival has angered you, do not force our loved ones to pay the price. We would not have dared such disrespect if we had another option, but time is not our ally at the moment and the lives of many rests upon our shoulders and our shoulders alone. I humbly beg forgiveness for our trespass Oh Mighty Lord dragon.”

Æundrïl remained silent as he studied the young pegasus for a long time. Finally, after many minutes, he spoke.

“You speak as though you were raised in a royal court; it is rare that one so young manages to convey such simultaneous respect and humility in face of death. Your words, if they are true —and your innocence in face of these conflicts gives me no reason to believe them anything but— are grave indeed. However, you have broken the pact your princess had accepted by coming here, no matter what your reason may have been, and I cannot allow this to go unpunished.”

Heart Shield’s heart stopped mid-beat and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

“Are you nuts? So what if we broke some dumb treaty, we’re on a mission here!” shouted Rainbow Dash, flying up to land on the dragon’s snout angrily. “Equestria is in danger and no stupid dragon is going to stop us from saving our home!”

“Dash, what are you doing!” Heart Shield hissed through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know what that deer, pony, thing… said, but I don’t like its tone,” Ëaundïr growled, a plume of black smoke billowing out of his nostrils. “I say we eat them.”

“That’s your answer to everything,” Nnôrusk replied, inspecting his reflection in his now polished nails.

“That’s because it works. If there’s something that’s a bother, you eat it, problem solved.”

“Silence!” Æundrïl roared, plucking the pegasus from his face.

“Yes Lord Æundrïl!” both dragons said in unison.

Æundrïl returned his attention to the ponies. “Your friends,” he said to the one he had been speaking to, “do not seem to share your respect for others.”

“Hey! Let go of me you giant lizard!” Dash shouted, squirming to free herself from the dragon’s grasp.

“Rainbow Dash, you are not helping!” Heart Shield called up to her. “Please Lord dragon, we didn’t mean any-.”

Æundrïl leaned down and sent a puff of smoke out at the youngling, silencing him immediately.

“As I had been saying, young pegasus, I cannot allow your trespass to go unpunished, and not a single thing any of you say will be able to stop that.” He pulled himself up to his full height and looked down at the ponies, his eye narrowing. “Whether or not you intended to, you broke the accord, and considering the terms of it, I can see only one solution…”

“Twi, can y’all manage to teleport us back home?” Applejack whispered, fearing the worst.

“No, it’s too far away, and we don’t know anything about this place,” Twilight replied.

“Well what about that defense thing Tool and Nero were talking about?”

“I might be able to…”

Æundrïl fixed his eye on the two ponies, halting their conversation.

“The only solution to your misdeeds is this,” he said, smoke coming out of his mouth as he reared back.

Heart Shield and his friends closed their eyes, hoping that their end would be quick and as painless as possible.

“We shall create a new treaty.”

Heart Shield opened an eye and looked warily up at the dragon, unsure if he’d heard correctly. Æundrïl was once more leaning over so that his head was close to the ship, a glint of amusement in his eye.

“Wh-what?” the pegasus asked.

“You did not think that after all these centuries, we would not have gotten over our anger did you?” Æundrïl said, chuckling a little. “No matter what had happened, a thousand years is much too long to hold a grudge over something such as that, even for those as long lived as we dragons. And even if it wasn’t, even we could tell that Nightmare Moon was no more, and thus the pony who had devastated our kind and island was no longer around for us to vow vengeance against.”

“You were going to forgive us this whole time?!” cried Rainbow Dash. “You scared us half to death!”

Æundrïl let out another chuckle. “A being as old as I am must be allowed to amuse himself when he can.” He smiled at the looks of astonishment and annoyance that came over the young ponies’ faces and chuckled again. “All humor aside though,” he said, growing somber, “this news you bring me is indeed grave. As few of us that remember Nightmare Moon remain, even less remember the changeling race. Only ten of those are still living, myself included. But this is not something to discuss out here by the sea. Come, we shall convene with the rest of my kind; they must be made aware of the changelings’ reemergence.”

***

“…and that’s how we came here,” Heart Shield said, finishing his detailed tale to hundreds of dragons that had come together after receiving Æundrïl’s summons.

He and his friends stood atop a large plateau overlooking a canyon filled with all sorts of the fierce creatures. The dragons had come from all over the island and were as different from one another as he and his friends were from everypony in Equestria. Here and  there in the crowd were dragons as tall as, and even taller than, Æundrïl. Some dragons had ancient battle scars carved into their scales, some looked as though they had just left a spa –their scales reflected the sun’s rays into beautiful single-colored rainbows, some were old, others young, there were fat dragons, thin dragons, large-winged, small-winged, horned, hornless, males, females; and all of them were looking up at the ponies. Because nopony had stepped onto the island in centuries, there were many dragons who couldn’t understand the pegasus’s words, so Æundrïl served as a translator and, by Pinkie’s suggestion, Twilight and Rarity’s magic provided stunning visual aids to help the other dragons fully grasp the situation.

Silence filled the cavern as the last of the magic faded and Æundrïl finished translating, stretching on for what felt like hours before each and every last dragon began talking and shouting over each other all at once.

“What are those things going on about? Changelings? Here?”

“Those are just old wives’ tales! Changelings aren’t-.”

“I saw one two months ago racin’ o’er the sky.”

“Like hell you did. That was one of Oeursa’s younglings chasin’ your ’nette and you know it.”

“I told you they existed! I told you they existed! Y’all’ve been callin’ me crazy for eons-.”

“That’s because you ARE crazy! Ain’t no such thing as-.”

Æundrïl sighed as his kind began to argue and bicker and turned to Dæos.

“Take the ponies to my cave, I shall deal with things here,” he said.

“Yes my Lord,” she replied, bowing her head to him.

“Dæos will be taking you to my residence,” Æundrïl said to the ponies. “I will remain here to handle things before I meet up with you.”

Heart Shield looked up at the golden dragon, then out at the roaring hoard.

“I get the feeling that our news hasn’t been met well,” he said.

“That remains to be seen. Go, I shall deal with this.”

The pegasus nodded slowly and turned around to join his friends atop Dæos’s back.

“What do you think is going to happen?” Fluttershy asked as the female dragon took to the sky.

“I don’t know…” replied Heart Shield, looking back at the dragons below them. “Let’s hope that it’s something good though…”

***

Æundrïl didn’t return to his cave until late in the night. Heart Shield sat outside, watching the sky while his friends slept, and nodded to the dragon when he landed silently at the entrance.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“It took a long time, but I managed to convince them that you spoke the truth,” replied Æundrïl. “We shall assist Equestria should another attack take place; I’ve already sent a message to Celestia explaining everything.”

“That’s a relief,” Heart Shield said, letting out a sigh. “Now all we need to do is search this island for-.”

“My kind are already on the job, youngling. If the changelings are here, we’ll find them. However, I believe that your compass has pointed you in the wrong direction. If I were to hazard a guess, your search should lead you to their homeland, a land far from here that has long been forgotten.”

“Their homeland? Do you know where it is?” the pegasus asked, looking quickly up at Æundrïl. “Where is it? How do we get there?”

Æundrïl sighed and shook his head. “Alas, any who could answer your questions are no longer amongst us. I am sorry.”

Heart Shield sighed and hung his head. “Should have known it wouldn’t have been that easy to find her…”

Æundrïl studied him for a moment. “You speak of Chrysalis do you not?”

Heart Shield nodded.

“Your own personal reason for taking this journey is different than what you claimed it was to my brethren, no?”

“I… If she really is behind the attack, I will keep my word to Lady Celestia.”

“That is not what I asked.”

Heart Shield raised his head to stare at the moon in silence for a long time before he spoke again.

“I’m worried about her,” he said. “I don’t believe she’s behind this, and I think she’s in trouble, and if she is then it’s all my fault.”

“And why would that be? Did you put this idea in her head if she truly is behind everything? If she is not, then did you force these changelings to attack?”

“No, but-.”

“Then this is not your fault, youngling. From what I understand, you did something that no one of your race would have done, and certainly not what your friends would have had they found her first. You did nothing but care for someone who needed help; there is no way you could have seen how things would unfold.”

“But if I hadn’t gone to Twilight for help-!”

“She would have found out eventually. Do not put blame where it is not due, that is a road that leads to your own destruction,” Æundrïl scolded.

Heart Shield sighed and nodded. Æundrïl was right, there was no way he could have predicted any of this would happen.

“If I might ask, what is Chrysalis to you, young one, to make you travel so far from home for her?”

“She’s…” Heart Shield hesitated. What was Chrysalis to him? The first thing that popped into his head was Twilight’s accusation and he shook his head to clear his thoughts immediately, his cheeks growing warm. Twilight’s wrong, it’s nothing like that! “She’s somepony I care very much for, just like I care for my friends… And, like my friends, if she’s in trouble, I have to help her. I’m going to help her, no matter what. I will find her, and I will discover the truth.”

“And should this truth turn out to be that which you do not wish it to be?”

“Then I will do what is necessary… If… if Chrysalis has to be stopped, then I’ll be the one to do it…”

Æundrïl nodded slowly. “Your heart is in the right place youngling. I pray, for your sake, that you are correct. Your Chrysalis-.”

“She’s not my Chrysalis!” Heart Shield interrupted, his cheeks burning. “She’s somepony I’d do whatever it took to make sure they were safe, but there isn’t… I’d do the same if one of my friends was in this situation!”

Æundrïl chuckled. “Very well then, your friend sounds lucky indeed to have someone go to such lengths. She sounds like someone I myself would aid had I known her.”

Heart Shield sat still, grumbling to himself about everypony’s misconceptions. Æundrïl laughed quietly at the pegasus’s reaction and watched the moon’s progression through the sky for several minutes.

“You should rest with your friends,” he said at last. “In the morning, my kind should have finished searching the island for any changelings that may be here.”

Heart Shield nodded and looked up at the dragon.

“Lord Dragon… Æundrïl…?”

“Yes?”

“You mentioned the homeland of the changelings before. Is there any way for us to find it? Any hint at all in where it might be?”

Æundrïl remained silent for a very long time. Heart Shield was about to ask him again when the dragon spoke.

“We dragons are a long-lived race. Once, this world was ours to explore at our leisure. Our ancestors traveled everywhere they could, and, like all travelers, they created maps for future generations. Many of them have been destroyed over time, but we do still have a few maps and star charts remaining. I shall take you and yours to them come morning, mayhap they’ll be of some assistance. As for anything more, I cannot assist you.”

Heart Shield thanked him and entered the cave to join his friends, falling asleep within minutes. Æundrïl remained outside watching the stars, his mind straying to the past. Yes, the Changeling Queen certainly was someone he’d have aided in the past, before everything had gone so wrong. He fought down a pang of guilt for having lied about none remaining who had remembered her kind completely, but that had been many many centuries ago, and he was no longer the drake he had been back then. No, this journey was not his to make, nor were these secrets his to share. He would help these ponies as much as he was allowed, but no more than he should.

“I had hoped that the fates created by your fiendish design so long ago would finally be at peace,” he said to no one, “but it seems like even in your banishment, your schemes still bear fruit… If only those two had been strong enough to finish you on their own, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

***

“These maps are amazing! There’s so much more than what we were provided with. I knew the world outside Equestria must be vast, but this goes far beyond what I had been expecting! Oh wait until Princess Celestia sees these!”

Twilight’s cry of delight rang throughout the ship. She had immediately taken to the maps Æundrïl provided them. While she busied herself with studying the landmasses and translations of the names thanks to Æundrïl, Heart Shield joined the others in restocking their supplies; the dragons had been kind enough to provide them with plenty of fruit and herbs for their journey to the next island. There had been no changelings on the island after all, but, as Fluttershy pointed out, their time spent amongst the dragons was not a waste.

“Now we can have a more accurate map, and the dragons are going to go to Equestria soon to help the princesses,” she said.

“Yeah, but I still hoped Queen Evil was here,” replied Rainbow Dash, sounding rather disappointed.

“I know what you mean Rainbow Dash,” agreed Rarity. “If she was here, it would have made things all the more easy for us.”

“Well if she isn’t here then we just need to go to the next island. Ooh! What do you think will be on that one?” Pinkie said. “Maybe we’ll find some gnomes, or there’ll be a giant volcano filled with chocolate!”

“I doubt we’ll find somethin’ like that,” said Applejack, putting the last of the fruit away.

“What do you think we’ll find Heart Shield?” Pinkie asked.

Heart Shield been looking out the window while his friends had been talking, and turned around when he heard his name.

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked.

“On the next island silly! I’m hoping for a chocolate volcano. Ooh! Or a taffy river!”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” he mumbled, glancing back out at the window. “I’m going to go check on how Twilight’s doing with the maps.”

He started to walk up the stairs when Applejack called out to him.

“We’ll find her sugar cube,” she said, looking at her friend. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her soon.”

“Yeah, I know…” the pegasus replied as he climbed the stairs. I just hope that it’ll be before something else happens…

Heart Shield slowly made his way out onto the deck where Twilight sat over the dragons’ maps and star charts, scribbling away at a canvas with a quill.

“Astrum Novus Librarium, odd name for an island, what’s on it Æundrïl?” Twilight asked as she put the finishing touches on their new map. It had taken a while, but with the help of those star charts she’d been provided with, she was able to create what should be an accurate map for modern times.

“I couldn’t say, that is one of many islands I’ve never visited,” Æundrïl replied. “This note beside it roughly translates into Secrets may be learned here.”

“Secrets? What kind of secrets?”

“Perhaps the true location of the land of which you seek.”

“I take it that the maps didn’t show where the changelings are,” said Heart Shield, walking over to them.

Twilight looked up from the maps and nodded. “We have a lot of sea to cover, and, even if none are their home, a lot of islands to check.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

“Just the ink to finish drying.”

Heart Shield nodded and looked up at Æundrïl. “Thank you for everything,” he said, bowing low.

“It is the least I can do for you,” replied Æundrïl.

“Will you come with us? We could use the extra help.”

“Alas, this is a journey you all must take alone,” Æundrïl said, shaking his head. “Our youngest and strongest will be flying to Equestria, while old fogies such as I shall remain here in case anything should happen.”

“I understand.”

“Heart Shield, I wish you and yours the best of luck. May the winds always be at your back, the air under your feathers lift you up, and the sky be your guide under moon and sun. Let your heart lead you through these treacherous winds of fate to the destiny you create.”

Heart Shield smiled at the dragon’s use of the old farewell. “And you as well.”

“Before you leave, I want to give you some words of warning. These islands you will be visiting, there are some that are dangerous for any who would land. Should you end up on them, stay only long enough to gather supplies, then leave.”

Twilight nodded, rolling up the new map. “Thank you Æundrïl, we’ll remember that.”

***

Æundrïl watched the fading figure of Fate’s Winds as it slowly sank into the horizon. He had done all he could for the ponies, at least all he could with his claws bound as they were by his oath not to interfere. Not for the first time, he regretted his decision to make that oath; it may have saved his kind from destruction, but what good was it if it meant not being able to protect innocents such as the younglings he had just sent away?

“Lord Æundrïl, are you certain you do not want any of the younglings to watch over them?” asked Dæos, walking down the shore to meet him.

“They must do this on their own… perhaps they could be the ones to wash away the sins of the past.”

“What sins?”

Æundrïl sighed and looked to the sky; clouds were forming in the distance.

“Ones that we could never make up for.”

He watched the clouds, not going into further details. There was something odd about those clouds, something he couldn’t put his claw on. They were moving closer to the island faster than they should, especially with the wind blowing towards the clouds.

“What are you looking at?”

“Those clouds… do they seem strange to you?” Æundrïl asked.

Dæos looked up at the ones in question and studied them intently.

“Not in particular; just storm clouds. Why do you ask?”

“I’m not sure… I’m getting an ominous feeling from them though…”

“Perhaps all this changeling business has-. Wait! Where did they go?” Dæos said, stepping back.

The clouds, which had been creeping ever closer to the island had suddenly vanished without a trace. Æundrïl narrowed his eye, scanning the sky for any hint of what had happened. Suddenly the sky turned black, dark clouds covered the island, blocking out the sun completely. The two dragons looked up at the sky, alarmed.

“Lord Æundrïl, what are these? What’s happen-.”

Dæos never got a chance to finish her sentence. A bolt of green lightning shot out of the clouds and struck her down. Æundrïl watched as her body fell limp to the ground.

“DÆOS!” he roared, starting to move forward.

Before he could take a single step, another bolt rushed from the sky, striking the ancient dragon in the head, joined by two more. Æundrïl’s eyes rolled up as his mind began to go blank. He looked to the sky as he fell. The last thing that went through his head was that he could have sworn there was something moving in the clouds. The dragon landed on his side with a resounding thump. All over the island, the dragons shared the same fate as him, each struck down by the lightning, until, at last, the final dragon fell to the ground, dropping through the sky like a stone. The clouds vanished. If any dragons had been left alive, they would have noticed the bright green flashes in the dark clouds.

Dragon Isle and its inhabitants were no more.

Chapter 11: Ignis Fatuus

Chapter 11

Ignis Fatuus

“1.  A phosphorescent light that hovers or flits over swampy ground at night, possibly caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by rotting organic matter 2.  Something that misleads or deludes; an illusion.” —The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

“Try it again.”

“Heart Shield, I’ve already done this thirty times, and-.”

“Try it again Twilight. Keep trying until it works!”

Heart Shield paced around his friend’s room frantically. Twilight sat in the middle of the room looking exhausted; her hair was matted to her forehead and her breath was slightly ragged. She shot her friend a look to shut him up before closing her eyes and concentrating. For the past two days Heart Shield had been trying to talk to Lady Celestia, but for some reason whenever Twilight tried to use her magic to reach their home, the spell failed. They’d tried everything they could think of, but no matter what they did, Twilight’s magic wouldn’t work; they were stuck, unable to contact anyone off the ship. Heart Shield didn’t want to think about what this might mean.

“Nothing,” Twilight said, gasping for air as the spell failed once more.

“Try-.”

“It’s not going to matter how many times I try!” she snapped.

Heart Shield winced and took a step back.

Twilight sighed and put her hoof to her forehead. “I’m sorry for snapping, but pushing me to exhaustion isn’t going to help anypony right now. Something’s obviously gone wrong.” She looked at her friend, who avoided her gaze. “Or we may just be out of range for the spell to work, the weather has been on our side more than it was before the past four days, and we’re farther from Equestria than we’ve ever been.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case,” Heart Shield said.

The pegasus sighed and apologized to his friend for being so demanding and left her room. This loss of connection with their home was putting a lot of strain on everypony and tensions were running high. Add onto that the fact that they hadn’t seen a single island since they’d left the dragons…

Why isn’t any of this working? Heart Shield thought to himself as he made his way to the cabin to check their course; the last thing they needed right now was to go off course.

Before he could make his way up to the top of the stairs though, the entire ship began to tip dangerously back, sending him back into the wall before it crashed back down onto the waves. Heart Shield’s head was spinning from the impact, but had no time to collect his bearings before the ship rocked hard to the side, knocking him head over heels down the stairs; another lurch had him sliding over the floor to collide with the other side of the hall before the ship reared back again. He was vaguely aware of a bell ringing throughout the ship. As the ship slammed down into the surf again, he kicked off of the floor, hovering a foot from the ground and caught Twilight as she slid out of her room.

“What’s going on?” she said to him, having to shout as the bell grew louder.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Take us to the deck, teleporting should be safer than trying to get up the stairs.”

Twilight didn’t need to be told twice, and in an instant both ponies found themselves being beaten back against the ship’s side by the force of the winds and waves crashing onto the deck. Heart Shield raised a hoof to cover his eyes as a flash of lightning lit up the sky, almost deafened by the crack of thunder that soon followed. Fate’s Winds tipped backwards as it climbed up a rather large wave before slamming back down, sending salt water smashing the two ponies against the door to the cabin; their fur clung to their bodies and both felt as though they had been dropped right into the world’s largest snow bank. A second later they were yanked inside just before another powerful wave crashed onto the deck. Rainbow Dash slammed the door shut behind them as Fate’s Winds rocked violently once more.

“That was a close one,” Applejack said, letting go of her friends, “y’all are nuttier than a sack full of acorns for goin’ out into a storm like that.”

“Look at you two, you’re absolutely soaked,” said Rarity, wrapping a towel around them and dried them off.

“Well we weren’t exactly sure what was going on,” replied Heart Shield once she had finished. “Thanks though.”

“T’weren’t nothin’,” said Applejack.

“Everypony brace yourselves!” Rainbow Dash cried, looking out at the deck. “Monster of a wave headed our way!”

Heart Shield flew over and stared at the wave headed towards them. The wall of ocean towered over the ship, nearly half as tall as Æundrïl.

“That thing’ll smash us to pieces!” he exclaimed, standing motionless as the wave rushed closer to the ship.

He racked his brains as the wave grew ever closer, trying to find a way for them to get out of this alive. It was too large for them to simply sail over unscathed and much too wide for them to try to find a way around it, not in the amount of time they had left anyways.

“Is there any chance you can teleport us to the other side?” he asked Twilight.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s on the other side of it, for all we know there could be another right behind it; it’s too dangerous.”

“Well then what are we going to do?!” said Rainbow Dash.

The wave was almost upon them.

“We ram through it,” Heart Shield said, thinking fast. “Twilight, quickly, surround the ship in your strongest shield.”

“But-!” his friend began.

“Twilight do it now or we’re all dead!” he shouted.

The unicorn heard the distress in his tone and closed her eyes, focusing all her might on forming the shield he demanded. Fate’s Winds was engulfed by a giant bubble of magic just as the monstrous wave crashed down around them. The ship shuddered violently as the wall of water smashed them against the ocean beneath it. Were it not for Twilight’s magic the ship would have been torn asunder along with the ponies it held; as it were, however, Fate’s Winds was flung underwater and slammed around in the undertow, knocking the seven ponies around the cabin. Twilight nearly lost her link to the spell as she was sent crashing into the controls at the front of the room with Pinkie Pie and Rarity smashing into her side before the three mares flew to the side and collided with their friends, but, through sheer force of will, managed to hold on to the magic. The ship eventually breached the stormy surface, buffeted from all sides by choppy, powerful waves, which sent the ponies inside bouncing around like rubber balls on marble until, with a single, thundering crash into an incoming salty stockade of sea, all seven were hammered into the ceiling and blacked out, their shelter and lives now at nature’s mercy.

***

Fate’s Winds sailed through the storm unattended for hours, buffeted by wave after wave –though, fortunately for the unconscious ponies aboard, none as terrible as the giant they had been forced to face– until it finally reached a lighter patch of sea, and rocked to and fro, slowly rousing the seven ponies back to consciousness.

“Ungh… ma head feels like somepony’s been usin’ it as a hammer,” Applejack groaned, rubbing her forehead as she stood up. “Everypony okay?”

“A little banged up,” Rainbow Dash replied, “but I’m all right.”

“What happened?” asked Rarity. “The last thing I remember, we were being tossed around like ragdolls in an awful storm.”

“We must have been knocked out while we were thrown around,” Heart Shield grumbled, wincing as a small stab of pain shot through his head.

“Oh no!” cried Twilight, rushing towards the controls all of a sudden.

“What? What is it?” Heart Shield demanded, startled by the distress in her voice.

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” she said, pressing buttons on the control panel frantically. “This is bad, this is very, very bad.”

“Twilight, what is it?” her friend repeated.

Twilight turned around slowly, a fearful look on her face. “The storm damaged the controls; I can’t find a reading of our location. It’s clear that we’ve gone off course, but how far and how badly, I couldn’t tell you. And that’s not all…” She pointed at the magic compass; it pointed out towards the rear of the ship, the sphere nearly flattened out from how far the tip stuck out. As they all watched, the tip swerved around, pointing to the left behind them, then to their right, up, down, as if its link to the changeling’s magic was extremely weak; though it always indicated the area behind them.

Heart Shield felt a chill run down his spine. “W-well we know that we got turned around, we just need to make a U-turn and-.”

“Heart Shield, I don’t think you understand… we’re so far off course that our only guide to where those changelings are can’t even decide our right destination. I don’t even know where we are, or if it’s even still day outside. It’d be easy if I could see the sky, but it’s completely covered with those storm clouds. We’re lost.”

“We can’t be that far,” he insisted, “it’s not like we’ve been out for days, right?”

“He’s right,” agreed Applejack. “C’mon Twi, can’t you just push some buttons on that doohickey?”

A sudden crack of thunder cut off the unicorn before she could speak.

“I’d need some time to look it over, see what can be done,” she finally said, looking at the controls with concern. “In any case, I won’t be able to so long as we’re out on the water; we need to find someplace to come ashore for a while.”

Heart Shield huffed irritably, but relented. Twilight had a point; there was no way they’d be able to so much as tighten a screw properly with that storm still around and no place to work without being afraid of having another giant wave come crashing into them. There was only one problem.

“How are we going to find out where to land if we don’t know where we are?” he asked.

“We choose a direction and hope for the best,” Twilight replied. “That’s all we can do right now.”

***

It was several hours before they spotted the island. A unanimous vote by the group had them sailing north, at least according to their damaged navigation system, away from rougher seas that surrounded them. Heart Shield and Twilight stayed in the cabin and tried to do the best they could to repair the console with the ship swaying in the waves. With the ship damaged they had to hope that the winds would carry them fast enough to escape the storm, but no matter how much wind hit their sails, the storm remained constantly on their tales. Everyone was exhausted; whether it was day or night didn’t matter after staying awake for nearly ten hours –none of them wanted to sleep in case the storm suddenly grew worse. As such, there was a collective sigh of relief when Applejack spotted an island just ahead of them; and if that wasn’t enough, she could just make out houses from where they were.

Finally, Heart Shield thought to himself, a little piece of good luck.

In a matter of mere minutes, all of them could see the island with their naked eyes, and after another five minutes Twilight was directing the ship into the shallow waters near the shore, following directions from Heart Shield and Rainbow Dash as the pegasi flew around the outside to make sure they weren’t about to run aground. When they had neared the shore as far as they felt was comfortable without damaging the ship, Twilight lowered the anchor and teleported herself and her friends onto the soft, sandy beach.

“That should do for now,” she said. “At least we won’t have to worry about the ship sailing away when the rest of the storm gets here.”

“Applejack,” Heart Shield said, turning to the earth pony, “you said you saw houses on the island, right? Could you tell how far they were from the shore?”

“I reckon they weren’t no more than half a mile,” Applejack replied. “If we head straight, I’ll bet ma hat that we’ll find ’em ’fore the worst of the storm gets us.”

“Okay, lead the way.”

“Do you think that there are any ponies on this island?” asked Rainbow Dash as they followed Applejack away from the beach.

“Could be,” Applejack called over her shoulder.

“I just hope that whoever lives here is hospitable and offers us a soft bed to sleep on,” said Rarity.

I just hope that whoever lives here doesn’t want to attack us, Heart Shield thought. He kept that worry to himself, no need to frighten the others.

They reached the first house just as the storm reached them. Rain quickly began to mat down their fur. Pinkie knocked on the door while Twilight cast a spell she’d been working on with Spike before they left, creating a magical umbrella that they could take shelter under if they squeezed together.

“They must be asleep,” Pinkie said, hopping over to her friends. She was the only one of them who didn’t seem to mind the rain coming down. “That, or they’re not home.”

“Has anypony else noticed how quiet it is here?” asked Fluttershy, looking around.

Heart Shield had noticed that too. If it was day, then wouldn’t whoever lived in these houses be wandering around? Or at the very least inside with a light on to take shelter from the storm? And if it were night, then why didn’t they hear Pinkie knocking? Sure they could have just been sleeping, but surely the sound of knocking on the front door would have woken somepony up. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt about being here.

“Come on,” he said, “let’s try a different home. Hopefully one of these has somepony who’ll help us.”

However, they soon found that not one of the houses on the island seemed to be occupied. In fact, the further they went into the town, the more the houses appeared to be in bad shape.

“It’s like a ghost town in here,” Rainbow Dash said. “There isn’t anypony in any of these houses. It’s almost like the whole town was abandoned.”

Heart Shield felt a shiver run through him that had nothing to do with the cold from the rain.

“I don’t like this,” he said. “Let’s just head back to the ship and wait for the storm to pass.”

“I am not going to sleep in a ship that’s being tossed around when there are perfectly good homes safe on the ground, ghost town or not” Rarity protested. “I say we just try the doors until we find a house that’s open and rest there.”

“Ah agree with Rarity,” said Applejack. “As spooky as it is here, I’d feel safer sleeping on a bed an’ not worryin’ about waking up in an overturned boat.”

“And I don’t want to spend a second longer out in the cold,” agreed Twilight. “I’d rather we take shelter in the first unlocked house we find.”

Heart Shield sighed and relented. Even after they found a few houses that weren’t locked, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was creeping over him. Several times, he could have sworn he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, but each time he turned to look, there was nothing.

This place doesn’t feel right, he thought after he and his friends had said goodnight. The sooner this storm is over and we get the controls repaired and away from this island, the better.

***

Heart Shield couldn’t sleep. He tried, of course, but whether it was the cold or the ominous atmosphere, it was no use. Eventually he gave up. The rain had ceased falling, but lightning continued to light up the sky now and then, illuminating the thick, black clouds overhead.

It’s not as bad as it was earlier… Maybe the storm’s finally clearing up, he thought, getting to his hooves. Since I can’t sleep, there’s no harm in checking on the ship. I might be able to even work on it a little bit before the others wake up.

He exited the house and slowly made his way through the abandoned town towards the shore where Fate’s Winds had been left, shielding his head with one of his wings as the wind began to pick up. As he passed the house across the street from where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were staying he heard what sounded like a giggle coming from the side of the house. He whirled around at the noise and scanned the area; a slight chill ran down his back that had nothing to do with how cold it was outside. Nothing there. So why did he feel like he was being watched all of a sudden?

“Probably the wind,” he muttered, trying to shake the feeling, and continued towards the shore.

He didn’t get much farther than a few feet before he heard the noise again. The giggle echoed eerily and he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone as soon as he turned around. The giggling came again, clearer this time. It was the unmistakable sound of a filly laughing, the voice was young, and far too high to belong to a foal.

“Who’s there?” Heart Shield called out, hesitantly taking a step into the alley between houses.

There was another giggle and this time, he saw her; or at least, part of whoever the voice belonged to. A white tuft of a tail disappeared around the back of the building. Heart Shield ran forward, determined to find out who it was. Was it one of the occupants of the town? He turned the corner to find… an empty alleyway. He stared at the long stretch of stone. Whoever he had seen had vanished. Looking around wildly, Heart Shield nearly missed the white tuft of hair that slid between two more houses, flicking a little as if to beckon him forward, followed by the faint echo of more giggling.

“Stop! Wait!” he shouted, running to the space between the houses where the hair had slipped past. “Hold on a second!”

He raced after the figure, but no matter how fast he ran, the filly always remained just ahead of him. She rounded corner after corner, leading him through a maze of stone and glass. Despite how dark it was, with the sky illuminated only by the occasional flash of lightning, the filly was never hard to find, with her coat of white almost shimmering in the darkness like the will-o’-the-wisps he’d heard Twilight mention could sometimes be seen in the Everfree Forest. He remembered reading about how legends said they could lead foolish travelers to their doom for entertainment and couldn’t help thinking how this felt like he was falling into the same pattern of mistakes as the ponies in the stories. Just as he was determined to stop the chase and turn back, he saw the filly duck into what appeared to be a run-down town hall. Deciding to get to the bottom of this, he followed her without a second thought, but all that he could find inside was a bunch of dusty furniture and an equally dusty floor. Worse, there were no windows to light the building, meaning he had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness –surprisingly darker than it was outside– before moving on. He studied the floor, trying to find hoof prints that would tell him where the filly had gone, but without a proper light it was nearly impossible for him to even see his own in the dust.

Twilight or Rarity would certainly be a help here, he thought, wishing one of the mares was here to light the place with their magic.

There came a giggle to his right and he made out the shape of a staircase and a pair of faint, almost white eyes staring at him from the top of the next floor. As soon as they met his gaze, another giggle rang out and they quickly pulled away, retreating further into the building. Heart Shield narrowed his eyes and rushed up the stairs after them, determined to put an end to this. There was another giggle from the end of the hallway he now found himself at and he spotted the filly entering the room at the far end.

I got you now!

He ran forward and dashed into the room, only to find it completely empty. Heart Shield stared at the empty room, unable to figure out where the filly had gone. There were no windows in this room, just like the rest of the building, and the only entrance was through the door he’d just gone through.

“What the-…?”

“Hee, hee, hee. You’re a funny one.”

The voice came from behind him and caused him to jump into the air in surprise. Heart Shield whirled around. The filly stood in the doorway, a faint light emanating from the tiny horn that barely poked out of her long, white mane, which hung over her eyes.

“Who are you?” he asked her. “Do you live in this town? Where is every-?”

“My name’s Clover Patch. Let’s play a game!” the filly said cheerfully.

“Play a-? No! I already chased you all over town!” he replied indignantly, stamping a hoof on the ground.

As soon as the words left his mouth the temperature in the room fell so much he could see his breath in the light cast from the filly’s horn. The filly was deathly silent for several seconds. When she finally spoke, it was in a cold, threatening tone.

“I SAID let’s. Play. A GAME.”

Heart Shield shivered, and it had nothing to do with the now freezing room. He was getting the feeling that this was no normal filly, and that it would be in his best interest to do as she wished. For now at least.

“O-okay,” he said. “A g-game. That sounds like… fun… What game should we play?”

Clover Patch brightened and peered at him from under her mane. Her eyes were as white as her coat, and appeared to be glowing as well, though it could have just been the light from her horn reflecting in them.

“It’s been so long since I had somepony to play with,” she said. “We can play my favorite game!”

“And what would that be?”

She smiled, but it seemed more like a smirk than a smile.

“Hide and Seek.”

Well, that doesn’t seem too bad, Heart Shield thought to himself.

As if she could read his mind, Clover Patch smiled wider, and he was certain that it was almost smug.

“We can play with my special rules,” she said as she backed out into the hall, her voice was as cold as it was cheerful.

Before he could ask what she meant by that, the door slammed shut. Heart Shield ran to it and tried to turn the handle but it wouldn’t move; she’d locked him inside!

“Hey!” he shouted, banging on the door. “Let me out!”

There was a giggle from behind him. His blood ran cold as he turned around. Clover Patch stood in the center of the room, grinning wide at him.

“I’ll let you go,” she said, “but only after I explain the rules.”

Why don’t I like the sound of this? Heart Shield thought.

“First, it’s a team game. We’ll play with your friends and mine.”

There was eerie laughter and giggles, both male and female, from the other side of the door.

“My team will start off being It and you and your friends can hide. When we find all of you, then your team is It and you have to find all of us, and then we’re It again,” she continued. “We can play until the storm passes, and whoever’s team is It when it ends loses.”

Heart Shield felt like he wouldn’t like the answer, but he had to ask.

“And what happens to the losing team?”

Clover Patch smiled even wider. “If we lose, then I’ll let you and your friends leave.”

“And if my team loses…?”

There was more giggling from the other side of the door, and it was louder now.

“Then you have to stay here and play with us, forever.”

Heart Shield felt like the wind has left his lungs for a few seconds at this. Clover Patch giggled and there was a click from the door, which swung open.

“The game starts now,” she said. “You and your team have ten minutes to find a hiding spot before we start looking for you. Better hope that they’re good ones too!”

And with that, she vanished. It wasn’t in a flash of light like when Twilight teleported. The filly was simply there one second, and then her whole body flickered like a dying light bulb and was gone, leaving Heart Shield blind in the dark until his eyes readjusted to the lack of light. As soon as they did, he raced out of the building, soaring through the air as fast as he could towards the houses where his friends slept unaware of the game that had just begun. He shouted for them to wake up, slamming his hooves on the doors of each house until they had all roused.

“What’s the meanin’ of wakin’ us up like that?” Applejack asked him groggily once the seven ponies had gathered in the house Twilight and Rarity had taken.

“Yeah,” yawned Rainbow Dash. “Can’t this wait until morning?”

“No, it can’t!” Heart Shield said urgently. “It’s an emergency! Island! Ghosts! Hide and Seek! Have to leave, now!”

“Heart Shield, what in Celestia’s name are you talking about?” Rarity said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What emergency?”

Hurriedly and pressed for time, Heart Shield explained everything that had just happened. By the time he finished, none of his friends appeared to be remotely tired anymore.

“Do y’all mean to say that yer playin’ a game with a ghost?” asked Applejack. She sounded a little skeptical. “Are ya certain it weren’t just a dream?”

“Yes! I mean, no. Er, maybe? Gah, that’s not the point!” Heart Shield cried exasperatedly. “Look, I know how crazy it sounds, but I’m telling you the truth! Please, you have to believe me!”

His friends still looked like they didn’t believe him, and Twilight opened her mouth to try to calm him down when there came a giggle from the top of the stairs in the house.

“You’re not very good at this game, are you?”

Clover Patch poked her head down the stairs and giggled again at the shocked look on the mares’ faces, and the horrified look on Heart Shield’s.

“Ready or not,” she said from the top of the stairs in a sing-song voice, “here I come!”

Chapter 12: Hide and Shriek

Chapter 12

Hide and Shriek

“After all, we all know Hide and Seek can be a scary game, especially when we don't want to be found.” ― Callie Hunter

Heart Shield stumbled through the dark town, breathing heavily. The mud kept tugging at his hooves, almost as if the island itself had it out for him. His fur was matted down from the rain that had once again appeared, and through the splashes and sloshes as he ran through puddle after puddle he could hear Clover Patch’s laughter behind him. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t shake her. How he wished his friends were with him right now… But he was on his own now, and he had to hope that he could last until the storm broke.

“You must be getting awfully tired,” Clover Patch called from somewhere behind him, and then she began to mock him in that annoying sing-song tone of hers. “Run around like a lightning bolt, you’ll never escape me you silly colt. We grabbed your friends, one by one, and soon we’ll have you; you’re almost done.”

I hate to admit it, Heart Shield thought as he rounded another building, but she’s right, I don’t know how much longer I can last. If only Twilight and the others were still here…

***

Twenty minutes earlier…

“Ready or not,” Clover Patch said from the top of the stairs, “here I come!”

She slid through the banister as if it were mist and jumped down towards the ponies below. Twilight reacted instinctively and, with a flash of violet light, teleported herself and her friends out of the house and into the streets before the filly could reach them.

“Did you see that?” Rarity gasped. “That little filly just walked right through solid wood like it was nothing!”

“Now do you believe me?” Heart Shield cried.

“There has to be a logical explanation for that,” argued Twilight. “She used a spell to change the molecular structure of the wood, o-or cast an illusion charm. There’s no such thing as ghosts!”

“Y’all might want to tell them that,” said Applejack, pointing to the houses around them.

Inside each one, peaking out through windows, sticking their heads through closed doors, even stepping through solid walls, were dozens of young foals and fillies; pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, all looking around the same age as Apple Bloom, and all with wide, leering smiles.

“Found you,” said a pale pegasus foal with a spiked, white mane, as he stepped out of the door to the house right across from them.

“Found you,” echoed a unicorn filly with a similar coat, walking through the wall of the neighboring house.

“Found you, found you,” said the other foals and fillies, picking up the chant and repeating it as one by one they made their way into the open. “Found you, found you, found you.”

“You were saying?” Heart Shield said, more than a little distressed, turning to Twilight.

“There’s always room for error,” Twilight replied quickly. “Run!”

Her friends didn’t need to be told twice and bolted as one towards the town’s entrance. The foals and fillies swarmed the path behind them, pursuing the ponies who had become their latest prey. They taunted the fleeing ponies with jeers and sing-song chants that echoed throughout the night. The taunts only served to motivate the seven friends to run faster and faster, even as more of the ghostly figures wandered out of more houses, and even from behind trees as they raced through the forest towards the shore where safety lay.

Get to the ship, Heart Shield thought to himself, his hooves pounding into the soft earth beneath him. All we need to do is reach the ship and get away from this island and we’ll be safe and sound. Once we’re in the water we can just sail away using the currents while we wait for the crystal to recharge; just so long as we get off this crazy island!

However, it seemed as though the winds of fate weren’t flowing in their direction this time. Applejack was the first to reach the shore, and came to an abrupt halt almost immediately, causing her friends to collide one-by-one with her, unable to slow down in time.

“AJ, what the hay?” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her head as she pulled back. “What’s with the sudden stopping? If you haven’t noticed, we don’t have a lot of time to waste on sightseeing.”

“Y’all might want to see the sights a little before ya say anythin’ else,” Applejack replied.

She pointed toward the shore; or, at least, to where it should have been. Her friends stared in shock and dismay. Instead of the safety of their ship and the ocean, the land suddenly dropped off to a black abyss, leaving nothing but swirling black clouds in the distance. The water was gone, their only escape had vanished; they were trapped on an island of phantoms who wanted to add them to their ghostly family.

“Th-this can’t be,” Twilight said, walking over to the edge. She stuck out her hoof to test the sudden fall and her hoof went straight down. She pulled it back and shook her head. “This… this is scientifically impossible. There’s no way the rest of the world could just disappear, even if magic were being used; there isn’t a pony alive who has that much power, not even Princess Celestia!”

“We aren’t exactly dealing with ponies that are alive here,” Heart Shield reminded her. “Ghosts aren’t exactly ones to obey the laws of physics and magic.”

“Even so, it’s utterly impossible for any of them, even all the unicorns combined, to cast a spell like this. This isn’t some simple illusion; the island has been completely cut off from the rest of the world!”

“But, i-if that’s true,” Fluttershy said, fear creeping into her voice, “then how are we supposed to get out of here?”

“You can’t.”

The voice came from behind them. The friends turned around as one to see Clover Patch and her ghostly gaggle of foals and fillies stepping through the trees and grass, slowly surrounding them in a half circle.

“I told you,” she continued, “you aren’t allowed to leave until the game is over.”

“They tried to cheat!” called a pegasus foal from the back.

“They were going to break the rules!” shouted a filly to the left.

“Dirty cheaters! Give them a penalty!” another said from the right.

The group slowly closed in around the seven friends, chanting, “Penalty! Penalty!” over and over.

Heart Shield and the others slowly began to back up, but with no land behind them, they were soon cornered. He racked his brains, trying to find a way out of this situation, and came to one conclusion. He opened his mouth to tell Twilight to teleport all of them out of there, but before the words could leave his mouth, Rarity and Fluttershy let out cries of fright that were cut short in less than a second. He turned to see what the cause was and felt his heart stop. Three of the ghostly young ponies had surged forward and jumped his friends. Before his very eyes he saw the two ponies vanish in the blink of an eye.

“Rarity!” shouted Twilight, startled.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash cried out, shooting towards the phantoms.

Heart Shield tackled her and yelled at Twilight to take them back to the town. Twilight hesitated for a moment, still reeling from the shock of her friends disappearing, but recovered quickly and cast the teleportation spell just as the mob of ghosts leapt at the remaining ponies. In a single, blinding flash, the five friends reappeared in front of the house they had gathered in minutes earlier. Rainbow Dash kicked and struggled underneath Heart Shield, screaming at him to let go of her. She twisted around to face him and slammed one of her hooves into the side of his head, causing him to see stars momentarily before he pinned her arms down.

“Will you stop struggling and get a hold of yourself!” he shouted at her. “You aren’t doing anypony any help at all by going nuts!”

“That’s easy for you to say!” she shot back, glaring daggers at him. “Your best friend didn’t just disappear!”

“She was my friend too!” he replied. “Fluttershy and Rarity both! I know how you feel, but you need to get a grip.”

“If you felt the same then you wouldn’t have stopped me; you wouldn’t have just abandoned them like that!”

“That’s enough, both of y’all!” Applejack interrupted, pulling Heart Shield off of Dash. “Now ain’t the time ta be actin’ like a bunch of Timber Wolves fightin’ over a meal.”

“It’s his fault this happened,” Dash accused. “If he hadn’t gone wandering off in the night, they’d still be right here. Or even better, we’d all be back at home if he wasn’t obsessed with a mare who tried to destroy us! We’d have all just been better off if he’d never come to Ponyville in the first place!”

Heart Shield blanched at her words.

“Dash, that’s not fair,” Pinkie protested. “It’s not his fault those ghosties don’t play by the rules.”

“I don’t care what it is, he’s the reason we’re all in this mess!”

“If you’re done,” Heart Shield said, trying to keep his voice even, “how about we try figuring out what this island is, how to get our friends back, and how to survive until the storm passes. We can save the whole ‘let’s go at Heart Shield’ thing until after this is all over, sound good?”

Rainbow Dash got up and walked over to Heart Shield.

“If we don’t get them back-,” she warned.

“We will,” he said, cutting her off. “Now how about you take a few deep breaths and help us come up with a way out of all this.”

Rainbow Dash huffed, but backed off for the moment.

“Good. Now,” Heart Shield turned to Twilight, “Twilight, you’re more familiar with the map Æundrïl gave us, can you think of any islands near where we had been when the storm first hit us? Figuring out where we are might help us find a way to get Rarity and Fluttershy back and off the island; or at the very least it might give us a reference so we can figure out where we can hide from them. Maybe if we manage to win this thing we can get the others back.”

Twilight shook her head.

“That may be, but I can’t remember if there was or not,” she said. “If I had it in front of me, then maybe we could do that, but unfortunately I can’t tell you off the top of my head. I think that we’re at least on one of the islands he warned us about…”

“Gee, you think?” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

“Rainbow, how about you take to the skies and see if you can find any place where we can hole up for a while,” Heart Shield said, struggling not to snap at her. Her attitude wasn’t helping things.

She shot him a look but said nothing as she flew into the sky in a flash. Heart Shield put a hoof to his head and sighed. She was right; they might have been able to get out of here without any trouble if he’d just stayed in the house he’d been in. Because of his stupid decision they were trapped on an island of ghosts who’d already grabbed two of their number.

“Maybe if we get them to agree to a different game,” Pinkie suggested, “like charades, or checkers, they’d let us go.”

“Ah doubt that, sugar cube,” said Applejack. “They don’t seem like the kind of ponies t’play nice with others.”

“So that leaves one option for us,” Heart Shield said in a resigned tone, “play their game and win…”

But will that get us Rarity and Fluttershy back? And will Clover Patch keep her word?

“Well you may want to follow me then,” Rainbow Dash called from the air. “We’re about to get company!”

She pointed towards the forest where faint chants of “Gonna find you,” could be heard.

“Right,” said Twilight with a nod, “Rainbow Dash, lead the way.”

Rainbow Dash flew ahead of them, leading them through the town to a broken down chapel. Twilight brought up the rear as she magically rid the mud of their tracks. When asked why she was doing this, she explained that this way the phantom ponies would have to search every place, and should buy them some more time.

“It’s not the best solution,” she admitted, “but it’s about all we’ve got.”

Heart Shield angrily kicked a brick that had broken off one of the pillars in the church and swore. Twilight gave him a look at that.

“Keep it together, Heart Shield,” she said. “Getting angry and losing your head isn’t going to help us at all.”

“Yeah, like he’s been all that much help already,” Dash called from the top of a broken staircase.

“That’s enough,” Applejack scolded. “Ah know y’all are upset, bu-.”

“‘Upset’?” Dash said. “Upset doesn’t even begin to cover it!”

“Ah said that’s enough! Don’t y’all make me come up there and slap some sense into ya.”

Dash said nothing, but gave Heart Shield a glare and turned away to watch out one of the windows for any signs of the phantom ponies. Applejack sighed and went to search the remains of the church for anyplace they could use as a better place to hide, or escape if need be. Pinkie seemed to be the only one enjoying herself, popping in and out of drawers and impossibly small spaces between slabs of rubble and even managed to perfectly hide herself behind a thin lamp. Heart Shield and Twilight kept a lookout as they brainstormed how to get out of this mess. Twilight was trying to figure out how the island had suddenly closed itself off from the rest of the world, believing that if she could find that answer then they were home free.

As the minutes passed, Heart Shield began to believe that maybe, just maybe, they might manage to get through this without losing anyone else. A foolish notion, as the moment he thought this Applejack let out a cry. Everyone whirled around just in time to see her vanish, leaving behind Clover Patch with her hoof outstretched.

“Found you,” she said with glee.

“Run!” Heart Shield shouted.

His friends raced towards the entrance when another dozen phantom ponies blocked their path. Turning around to attempt to get around Clover Patch they were intercepted by even more of the ghostly grinning foals and fillies.

“We’re trapped!” Rainbow Dash said. “Now what?”

“Now you lose.”

Clover Patch appeared behind them. Before any of them could react, she reached out and touched Pinkie Pie’s leg. The mare vanished instantly.

“Four down,” Clover Patch said, slowly approaching the trio that remained.

Twilight let loose a blinding light from her horn at that moment. There were cries of surprise from the foals and fillies as the bright light obscured their vision. Heart Shield was suddenly aware of grass beneath his hooves and blinked several times to clear away his blurry vision from Twilight’s spell. She’d teleported them once more, this time to the edge of the forest. She put a hoof to her lips to signal him to stay silent and motioned for him to take cover behind a bush. He did so just in time to avoid a patrol of the phantom ponies that wandered past. When they were certain they were in the clear, Twilight spoke.

“What do we do now?” she asked desperately.

“Easy,” said Rainbow Dash, “all we need to do is keep teleporting away from them until the storm clears and we’re in the clear.”

“There’s no way it’ll be that easy,” Heart Shield replied. “Doing that spell takes a lot of energy from Twilight and we don’t even know how long this storm will last.”

“That may be,” said Twilight, “but Rainbow Dash does have a point. If we get caught, there’s no way we’ll be able to help the others.”

Heart Shield knew she was right, but he was worried about what would happen if she ended up overexerting herself. However, they didn’t have the luxury of being able to form a new plan. More phantoms were swarming the woods, almost as if they could sense the trio’s fear. It wasn’t safe to remain there much longer.

“Very well,” he said. “Let’s go.”

He hurried to where Twilight and Rainbow Dash hid, doing his best not to be seen. Twilight’s horn glowed as she prepared another teleportation spell. The light grabbed the attention of several phantoms, but the group was gone by the time they converged on their location. The three friends reappeared atop one of the houses in town, not unnoticed however.

“Up there!” shouted a pegasus foal, Heart Shield recognized him as the first ghost foal they’d seen as he pointed up at them.

In an instant the house was surrounded. Foals and fillies of all kinds flitted in and out of distance like flickering lights, growing closer by the second.

“Twilight,” Heart Shield said warily, scanning the roof as the young ghosts began their chant once more.

“I need another minute to recharge,” she replied, edging towards her friends, eyeing the area as well. “The spell isn’t meant for rapid use.”

“They’re getting closer,” warned Rainbow Dash.

Ten foals and fillies had appeared on the roof and began to stalk towards the group.

Heart Shield looked to his friends.

“Run?” he asked.

“Run,” they agreed, nodding.

Heart Shield let Twilight climb onto his back and leapt into the air with Dash at his side. They couldn’t go too high as lightning continued to strike down from the clouds, so they glided over the roofs of the houses, their hooves touching down now and then on the hard stone as they rushed from building to building. Rainbow Dash, not weighed down as Heart Shield was by Twilight, began to pull ahead.

“Dash! Stay close!” Heart Shield shouted. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if they didn’t stick together, something bad was bound to happen.

He was right. Heart Shield and Twilight watched in horror as Dash reached the next building only to be met by a unicorn foal who flickered into existence right before her. She had no time to react and flew right into his outstretched hoof.

“DASH!” Heart Shield cried out as she, like the others, vanished in an instant.

“Heart Shield look out!”

Twilight grabbed his mane and yanked hard to his right, steering him towards the ground just in time to avoid a filly who attempted to grab them. Heart Shield and Twilight landed on the ground hard, the impact sending Twilight tumbling off the pegasus’s back. Heart Shield got to his hooves, shaking his head to fling the mud out of his mane and ran to her, helping her up.

“Thanks Twi,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” she replied. “Come on, we need to get out of here right now, before we end up like…”

She choked up, unable to finish her sentence. Heart Shield nodded.

“Right. How’s the recharge coming?”

“I’m good, ready to go whenever you-.”

Twilight was cut off midsentence, flickering out of existence. Heart Shield stared, horrified, at Clover Patch standing right where his friend had been not even two seconds earlier.

“And then there was one,” she said, her eyes alight with malicious glee.

Heart Shield turned and ran.

***

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Clover Patch called, slowly walking along the streets. “You can’t hide from us forever, so just give up. Stay here and play with me and my friends forever and ever.”

Yeah, like I’ll actually do that, Heart Shield thought, ducking inside an open house.

He needed to catch his breath; his stamina wasn’t going to last much longer if he didn’t get a chance to rest for a moment. He chanced a glance outside as he panted. What looked to be about thirty foals and fillies wandered the streets, steadily making their way into the different houses, but they were still a little ways away. His gaze wandered to the sky and his heart skipped. There was a small crack in the clouds! As he watched, several more slowly appeared and the rain began to lessen.

The storm’s breaking!

Maybe he had a chance to save his friends after all. All he needed to do was wait out the storm and-

“You really need to work on your hiding skills.”

Heart Shield jumped. Clover Patch’s head stuck out through the wall beside him, grinning from ear to ear.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of practice soon,” she said.

Heart Shield tucked his wings in front of his head and leapt through the window. The glass broke as he crashed through and he felt himself getting cut by several shards, but the pain was worth being able to get away. He landed on the ground and shook himself, sending the small shards in his feathers into the mud before running into the forest.

“You aren’t going to get away!” called Clover Patch.

“I don’t need to get away,” Heart Shield said to himself as he ran, “I just need to not get tagged until the storm is over.”

He pushed his body to run faster once the trees swallowed the sky above. Chest burning, legs aching, sweat and blood clinging to his fur, Heart Shield frantically raced through the darkness. The sounds of his panicked flight and the haunting chanting from the ghosts echoed all around him. He was so focused on running away that he failed to notice the root of one particularly large tree until he had already tripped on it. Heart Shield tumbled through a bush and landed flat on his back. Winded and sore, he lay there in the dirt as the chanting grew closer and closer. He didn’t have the strength left in him to get to a better hiding place either. He closed his eyes as one of the voices stalked over to where he lay.

I’m sorry, everypony…

“Tuck your wings in and stay quiet.”

Heart Shield jerked at the command but clapped a hoof over his mouth to keep from crying out in surprise. He looked up and saw the head of one of the foals sticking through the bush. Their pale eyes were narrowed in a hint of annoyance at his actions.

“Tuck in your wings!” the foal repeated in a hushed command. “Or do you want to be trapped here forever?”

Heart Shield shook his head and pulled his wings into his sides, keeping his hoof over his mouth as he tried to slow down his breathing.

“Good,” said the foal, “now, stay small and head south as quietly as you can. There’s a little trench there that’s a far better hiding spot than this.”

“Hey, you find anything, Feather Wind?” called another ghost that Heart Shield couldn’t see.

“Just a couple feathers,” the foal replied, pulling his head out of the bush. “It looks like they went flying again. They probably went back to the town to hide.”

“Do you really think that they’d head right back there after Clover Patch found them?”

“Wouldn’t you?” asked Feather Wind. “Where do you think he’d have better luck hiding, the place where all of us are looking, or the place he just led us away from?”

The other ghost must have accepted this response because a couple seconds later Feather Wind stuck his head back through the bush and hissed at Heart Shield.

“I’ve bought you another couple of minutes, but there will still be more of us looking around here, so get going!”

Without another word, the foal vanished, leaving the pegasus staring questioningly at the place the ghost had been. Should he trust Feather Wind? The foal had the chance to end the game right then, but chose to lie and let him escape instead. Did that mean that some of these ghosts were on his side? If they were, that might bode well for him and his friends, but there was always the chance this was a trick. Still, Heart Shield didn’t have much else he could count on at the moment, and if there was the possibility that he could survive this then he had to take that chance, for his friends if nothing else. He waited for another few seconds to make sure the coast was clear before making a break for the trench Feather Wind had mentioned.

Feather Wind’s lie seemed to have reached the other phantoms for Heart Shield didn’t spot any on the path to the trench, then again, it could always be an ambush he was about to run into. He wasn’t sure if he liked the lack of phantoms— after running into so many before, not seeing any felt ominous rather than relieving. More gaps began to appear in the clouds as he ducked into the trench, and he could see hints of the blue sky on the other side.

Just a little longer, he thought, taking the chance to catch his breath. Come on, hurry up already!

He stared intensely at the clouds, willing them to part faster. Already the rain had stopped and the clouds were considerably less grey than before. The clouds steadily grew less and less densely packed, revealing more of the morning sky. He just had to hold out a little longer and then the game would be over and he and his friends could get off this crazy island and never return. Just as hope began to fill his heart the last voice he wanted to hear rang out.

“Find him!” Clover Patch demanded from the forest. “He’s here somewhere!”

Heart Shield swore under his breath and looked at the sky again. The clouds were nearly gone now, but he knew he couldn’t rest until the storm had completely ended and the sky was clear –something told him that Clover Patch wouldn’t play fair even if technically the storm had broken as per the terms of the game. He spread his wings and took flight, rushing high enough in the sky that his only threat would be the pegasi ghosts. Sure enough, a cry came as someone spotted him and a few seconds later he saw a dozen of them fly through the trees after him.

“Get him, get him!” shouted Clover Patch. “Don’t let him escape!”

Heart Shield waited until the ghosts were almost upon him before tucking in his wings and diving back to the ground, his tail just barely avoiding the grasp of one of the ghosts. He unfurled them just before he reached the ground and soared low towards the beach. Behind him the phantoms ran after him as fast as they could. Heart Shield raced as fast as his wings would carry him. There were only a few wisps of clouds in the sky, in a matter of seconds it would be clear and this game would be over. Suddenly a flash of light appeared in front of him. Clover Patch stood in his path, a triumphant look on her face. She was too close, there wasn’t enough time to change direction and avoid her. His eyes went back to the sky just as the ghost leapt at him, her hooves outstretched.

The sky’s clear!

Clover Patch reached him even as he registered that thought. He passed through her, a sense of intense cold washing over him before he landed in the sand.

“I win!” the filly declared, turning to face him. “You’re It!”

Her horn lit up and a moment later Twilight and the others reappeared beside Heart Shield. Behind her, the rest of the ghosts grouped up, crowding around them all. The sound of the ocean reached the colt’s ears and he saw that the island had returned to normal, complete with their ship.

“I win,” Clover Patch said again and strode toward the group of friends. “Now you have to stay here forever!”

“Not so fast,” Heart Shield said. “The rule was that the team that was It when the storm broke were the losers. That storm ended right before you reached me, meaning your team was still It.”

The filly stamped her hoof angrily.

“That’s not true! I got you fair and square, you’re just trying to save your butt!”

Heart Shield shook his head.

“You lost, Clover Patch. The clouds were gone, and even before that the storm had clearly ended. Now keep your word and let us go!”

“Liar!”

“Actually, I saw the whole thing,” one of the ghosts said. It was the foal from the forest, Feather Wind. “I know who won.”

Clover Patch grinned, victory alight in her eyes.

“You see?” she said. “This game is all-.”

“It was a tie,” Feather Wind said, cutting her off. “The sky cleared just as you reached him.”

“That’s not a tie then, I won!” declared Clover Patch.

“You touched him, but you didn’t declare he was It immediately. The rules of Hide and Seek state that if you were the last pony to be tagged, then you only become It once the person who tagged you says ‘You’re It’. Since the game ended right when you tagged him but before you said he was It, neither of you was It. There’s no winner.”

Clover Patch glared at the foal.

“That’s not a rule, you’re making that up!” she growled.

“Ah’ve heard that rule before,” Applejack spoke up. “He didn’t make nothin’ up.”

“You’re just saying that so your team wins!”

“I ain’t lyin’!”

“Are to.”

“Am not!”

“Enough!” Heart Shield shouted, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I have a solution that will decide who’s the rightful winner.”

Clover Patch gave him a suspicious look.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“We play a different game, one I get to choose. If you win, then we’ll abide by your ruling and stay here, but if we win you have to keep your word and let us go.”

Clover Patch thought about this, trying to decide if this idea worked in her favor.

“It’s only fair that I choose the game we play, seeing as you chose the last one,” Heart Shield said.

“What game do you have in mind?” the filly asked.

This was it, Heart Shield had one chance to convince her that his plan was a fair one. Everything rested on how he worded this and if he could make her believe that she had it in the bag.

“It’s less of a game and more of a contest,” he said, judging her reaction carefully. “The rules are simple. You and I are the only ones who get to play. We each get ten minutes to tell a single story and ten minutes only. After the second pony has their turn, everypony here votes on which one they liked the most. Whichever one has more votes wins. Sound fair?”

“Heart Shield, what in tarnation are y’all thinkin’?” hissed Applejack. “That ain’t a contest ya can win if the audience gets to vote. They’re all gonna choose her story regardless of which one was the best.”

“Trust me on this Applejack,” he replied and turned back to Clover Patch. “Well? What’s your choice?”

Clover Patch looked over her shoulder at all the other phantoms and grinned darkly. This colt had to be even dumber than he looked if he was offering this option –his group was vastly outnumbered.

“Fine, we’ll do this your way,” she said. “But I get to go first.”

“Fair enough,” said the colt. “You get five minutes to prepare your best story.”

The ghost nodded and took a seat to plan it out. Heart Shield took this chance to speak with his friends.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash said. “There’s more of her friends than there are of us!”

“I know that,” he replied, speaking low, “and I’ve got a plan that relies completely on that, but I’m going to need help for it to work. Your help to be exact, Twilight.”

“My help? What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“I need you to use your magic on the phantoms, something that makes it so that they’re unable to lie. You need to do it during my turn, when everypony’s attention is on me so that Clover Patch doesn’t notice. Do you think you can do that?”

“A truth spell is simple, but I don’t see how using one helps us in this situation.”

“I made a time limit for a reason and I’m going to use it to our advantage. I know I can win them over, but without your spell they’re bound to vote for their friend regardless of who actually told the better story. In fact, Clover Patch is sure to be counting on that to happen. I know this is a risk, but I wouldn’t take it if I wasn’t certain I could win.”

Twilight studied her friend’s face and found no doubt in it. He really believed that he could use the phantom’s numbers to his advantage. She let out a sigh.

“Fine, I’ll do it, but you’d better be right.”

“Trust me, I can get us out of this mess.”

***

It turned out that Clover Patch didn’t need the full ten minutes to finish her story. She decided to go with a tale of horror, one Heart Shield couldn’t help but suspect was as true as she said it was. Her story had been about the island they were on and the events that led it to end up haunted by all the phantoms. A chill ran down the seven friends’ spines as she finished the story. Heart Shield had to admit that, as far as ghost stories went, that was one of the better ones simply from the sensation of fear it left on the captive audience. The story definitely would have placed first were it told in a similar contest held in Ponyville on Nightmare Night. Indeed, he could see Rainbow Dash’s honest appreciation for the story clear on her face. If even his friends acknowledged how expertly told the story had been, then there was no doubt that the other phantoms had similar feelings. It was up to him, and Twilight, to change that.

“Beat that,” Clover Patch challenged confidently.

Heart Shield shrugged and took a spot in the sand. He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts so that he wouldn’t make a mistake in his story. Everything rested on how he presented it and making sure that his plan was timed just right; there was no room for error here. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and began.

“Once, in the long forgotten land of Everlast far, far away, a young pegasus was found orphaned and abandoned in the night. Nopony knew where he came from or where his parents might be, nor even who they were; all they knew was that a tiny foal, barely a month old, was all alone, left in a basket outside the kingdom’s castle. And so the citizens of the castle city took him in as one of their own. For years they raised him, all of them looking out for him; and yet, despite all this, the foal never stopped feeling alone and out of place. He kept to himself, rarely interacting with other foals and fillies his age, rarely saying a single word to anypony. This continued for much of his foalhood, even after the wise and fair ruler of the land, a queen with the power to control the heavens, sent him to live with other pegasi in the city in the clouds, Nimbus, in hopes that he’d finally open up to somepony. However the opposite ended up happening, for this foal was no ordinary foal. His wings were the same as those belonging to the royal Everlastian line-,”

“Was he a prince?” asked one of the fillies, her pale eyes wide with excitement.

Heart Shield smiled and held up a hoof. “All in good time. Now, where was I? Oh yes. His wings were the same as those belonging to the royal Everlastian line, and the moment the other foals and fillies learned of this, the young foal became the target of their dislike and bullying. The foal felt more alone than ever before, that is, until one day he was approached by a filly who had also been the subject of much bullying for her own appearance. This filly didn’t tease him or make fun of him like many of the others did. In fact, she did something nopony had ever done before –she wanted to become his friend.”

Heart Shield heard a small gasp from Fluttershy as she realized what he was doing. He caught Twilight’s eye and gave her a small, almost imperceptible, nod for her to cast the spell. Throughout all of this, he continued to tell his tale, his spin on his own history, through the young pony’s foalhood to his arrival in the small town of Noctus where he was welcomed openly and warmly for the first time.

“Everything appeared to be all and well in the land of Everlast, and indeed it was, but only on the surface. For one day the young colt came across a curious creature deep within the forbidden forest outside the town. It was a mare, one the likes of which he’d never before seen with a coat black as midnight and a paired mane and tale of teal that rivaled that of the calmest waters in the ocean. She had a long horn, but the most shocking thing about her were her wings which were as teal as her mane and shaped similar to a dragonfly’s. The mare lay gravely injured in the forest, weakened from fending off the monsters that lurked within. The sight of the helpless pony touched the colt, who brought her back to Noctus to nurse her back to health.

“The mare spoke little to him, but asked that he keep her secret, for she was being hunted by a powerful sorceress who would stop at nothing to eliminate her, and should word of her survival reach the sorceress’s ears all in the town would surely be in danger. The colt agreed to her request and for weeks the mare remained undiscovered as her health and strength slowly returned. However, it was not to last for long. As hard as they tried to keep her hidden the mare was eventually discovered by one of the colt’s friends. Word soon spread of the strange and mysterious mare who stayed in the town and reached the ears of the very sorceress who sought her. The sorceress sent out her most wicked of servants to capture the mare.

“Obediently the servant obeyed and reached the small town that very night. He broke into the colt’s house and stole his way to the mare’s room. She fought off the servant as best as she could, the commotion waking the colt who rushed to her room. Unfortunately he was too late. The mare’s magic had not returned yet and she was unable to hold off the assailant for long. The colt burst into the room in time to watch, helpless, as the mare was bound in a cage of the darkest of magic and sent to the sorceress in a flash of light, quickly followed by the servant. He cursed himself for being unable to protect the mare and vowed that he would not stop until he rescued her. The colt gathered his friends and together they- Oh dear, that’s unfortunate…” Heart Shield said, bringing his story to a halt with a sigh. “It seems that we’re out of time.”

“You can’t stop there!” cried one of the ghost fillies. “What did they do?”

“Did they ever find the mare? What happened to the sorceress?” asked another.

Heart Shield shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I can’t say any more than that.”

“But you were just getting to the best part!” shouted a foal. “That’s not fair, you can’t just not finish it!”

“I know you want to hear more, but the ten minutes are up. It’s against the rules of the game for me to continue the story. We’ll just have to judge it based off what I could share,” Heart Shield declared.

“You can’t expect us to vote on an unfinished story,” Feather Wind said. “There’s no possible way we could make a fair decision.”

“The rules-,” Heart Shield began to protest.

“Forget the rules!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Finish the story!”

There were cries of agreement from the crowd of phantoms, all of whom had been listening to the tale with rapt attention. Even Clover Patch had been leaning closer, intent on hearing every minute detail. Again, Heart Shield shook his head.

“I can’t just break the rules, that wouldn’t be fair.”

Clover Patch stamped her hoof on the ground.

“Finish the story,” she demanded. “I want to hear the ending!”

“But that goes against the spirit of the contest,” protested the colt.

“I’m not winning by forfeit!” shouted the phantom. “That’s not a win! Finish the story.”

The phantoms all began to chant “Finish the story. Finish the story.” Heart Shield had to force himself not to smile as even Pinkie took up the chant. This was going perfectly. He acted reluctant, pretending to struggle with an internal argument. After several moments he let out a sigh.

“Do all of you want me to continue the story?” he asked the crowd, receiving a unanimous cry of affirmation from them. “I’ll do it, but only on the condition that you won’t hold it against me for going past the agreed time.”

“We promise!” said the phantoms, and he could hear the eagerness in their voices.

“As you wish then. As I was saying, the colt gathered his friends and together they set out on a quest to rescue the mare. This quest led them through many strange and even dangerous places, from a land ruled by giant and vicious dragons to the tallest mountains in the frozen northern wastelands. No matter what challenge they faced, together they overcame each one, for his friends had been gifted with a wondrous and ancient magic years before. With this magic at their disposal there was nothing they could not accomplish and soon they found themselves at the threshold of the sorceress’s dark tower.

“The friends entered the tower only to be separated by the wicked magic at the sorceress’s disposal. The sorceress had kept a keen eye on the young ponies for their magic was the counterpart to her own, and as she watched their journey she hatched an evil plan. Together, the ponies were strong and miraculous things happened around them, but if she were to keep them away from each other their magic would be useless. She left the colt alone for he had no power to speak of and was thus no threat to her. The colt, frightened and alone, pressed on and traversed his way through the tower until he reached the very top where the sorceress stood waiting. To his surprise, the sorceress was none other than the queen of Everlast. She had disposed of the rightful queen ages ago and molded the land to her own desires, hiding her identity from everyone lest her ruse be discovered.

“The sorceress revealed that the mare the colt had been taking care of was the last remaining descendant of the true royal Everlastian line, the only one who could undo her carefully crafted plan. The mare had been born with an ancient power, one that could strip her of her magic and banish her to the farthest realm where she would be sealed for all eternity. And so the false queen had hunted her for years, hoping to rid herself of this threat. Had the colt not found the mare, the queen may have not found her for many more years. However, because the colt had foolishly decided to nurse the mare back to health, the sorceress was finally able to get her hooves on the one she had sought for so long.

“‘You’ll never get away with this!’ the colt declared.

“‘Oh, but I already have,’ laughed the false queen. ‘As we speak, your precious mare’s life is being drained away. In a matter of minutes she’ll be nothing but a husk and then none shall exist that can stop me!’

“‘I can stop you,’ said the colt. ‘I will stop you!’

“The sorceress cackled at his declaration. ‘I’d like to see you try.’

“And so colt and queen began their fight. The sorceress had the upper hoof, easily keeping the colt at bay with her magic. He struggled against her powers, trying to find a weakness he could use, something he could take advantage of. The battle seemed like it would soon be over for him as it took all his skills just to avoid her spells. The sorceress pressed her advantage and soon had him backed to the edge of the tower; an endless drop to the abyss was all that waited behind the colt. She rendered his wings useless with a single spell and prepared to deliver the final blow.

“However, the battered colt finally found the weakness he had been waiting for. The queen’s crown always glowed as she readied her magic before her horn did. A desperate plan hatched in his mind, if he messed it up he knew it would be the last thing he ever did. And so he waited until the queen pointed her horn at him about to unleash her magic upon him, and when she did he leapt forth and snatched the crown from her head as he passed over her. He threw the crown to the ground and slammed his hooves against it, shattering it into pieces. The queen let out a wail of anguish as the crown was destroyed for the crown was the source of her powers. With it destroyed, her magic raged out of control and the sorceress was flung off the edge of the tower by her own uncontrolled power, falling deep into the abyss below to her demise.

“With the crown gone and the sorceress vanquished, all her spells were broken and the mare, the true heir to the throne was saved. With the help of the colt and his friends, the rightful queen took her place at the throne and led Everlast into an age of complete peace and harmony. The end.”

Heart Shield sat back as he finished the story and took in the astonished and amazed looks on his audience. While he was far from the greatest story teller in Equestria, he had spun a tale that fully entranced his listeners. It helped, of course, that he had planned his cliffhanger right as the ten minutes ran out, and his feigned reluctance to finish it had built up the phantoms’ need to hear the conclusion. Even so, he hoped that his plan had worked.

“You have now heard both stories,” he said to the ponies before him. “Now it’s time for you to all decide which was the better of the two. If you’re ready, I’d like each of you to declare which you liked most.”

His friends were the first to vote, happily stating that they enjoyed his tale. Clover Patch shrugged as if this were of no consequence and turned to the rest of the phantoms.

“Sure, that was an adequate story if you wanted to hear it before bed,” she said smugly, “but I think we all know what the obvious choice is. Go on, tell him how he failed this game.”

The ghosts looked at each other and said nothing, as though they were trying to find a gentle way to deliver bad news.

“I said, tell him that I’m the winner. You all like my story better.”

Still the ghosts said nothing, shifting around uncomfortably.

“What is wrong with you all? Just say it already!” shouted Clover Patch.

“We can’t,” said a filly with short, curly hair.

“I’m sorry,” Clover Patch laughed, “what was that you said?”

“We can’t say that,” the filly said. “It’s not a fair contest if we don’t give honest answers.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“We don’t like the story you told more than his,” Feather Wind said with murmured agreement from the other foals and fillies. “It’s not true. His was better than yours.”

“There’s an easy way to settle this,” said Twilight. “Everypony who preferred Heart Shield’s story, raise your hoof!”

Every last pony, save Clover Patch and Heart Shield who couldn’t vote, raised their hooves.

“Well, I’d say that’s a very clear answer,” Twilight said. “Sorry Clover Patch but it looks like Heart Shield’s the winner. We get to leave this island.”

“Better luck next time, kid,” Rainbow Dash boasted.

Clover Patch was livid.

“You all chose his story over mine?” she snarled. “That’s not what you’re supposed to do! I was supposed to be the winner, you know that!”

“It’s over, Clover Patch,” Heart Shield said. “The votes are in my favor. I won fair and square, now it’s time to keep your word and let us go.”

Clover Patch turned on him in a flash.

“You cheated!” she shouted.

“And how could I have done that? You agreed that you’d let me finish the story even though time ran out and I’ve done nothing but sit here and talk the whole time.”

“You cheated, you cheated, you CHEATED!”

Clover Patch slammed her hooves angrily against the ground, a cold, dark glow surrounding her body. She began to slowly grow, larger and larger, aging into a full-grown unicorn.

“You cheated!” she shouted again. “Nopony cheats me and gets away with it! You and your little friends are going to stay here forever!”

At this she turned her eyes on Fate’s Winds and a ball of magic began to form at the end of her horn.

“I’m going to make sure none of you ever leave!” she snarled and fired her blast of magic at the ship.

Twilight and Rarity reacted instantly, using their magic to form a barrier around the ship so that Clover Patch’s spell bounced harmlessly off it. Clover Patch screamed with rage and shot her magic at the ship again and again, each one deflected by the barrier. With a roar of anger, she turned to the ponies and readied another spell.

“Fine! If I can’t destroy that boat, I’ll just destroy all of you instead!”

Before she could unleash her magic, Feather Wind rammed her side, knocking her off her hooves and into the sand.

“I’m not letting you do that anymore,” he said. “You can’t just do whatever you want you spoiled brat!”

“You can’t stop me,” Clover Patch replied, getting back to her hooves. “You’re mine just like the rest! I won our game and you must obey me!”

“We’re not going to listen to you. We won’t stand back and let you trap any more innocent ponies on this island.”

Even as he said this his body began to glow and grow until he too stood fully grown. Behind him the other ghosts followed suit.

“We may be trapped here with you, but we can at least make sure that they aren’t!” Feather Wind declared and leapt at Clover Patch, quickly followed by the other phantoms.

Clover Patch screamed with anger and tried to knock them away with her magic, but the other phantoms outnumbered and overpowered her. Feather Wind looked over his shoulder at the seven living ponies.

“What are you waiting for, get out of here while we can hold her off!” he shouted at them before turning his attention back to keeping Clover Patch at bay.

Heart Shield and his friends didn’t need to be told twice. Twilight quickly teleported them aboard the ship and ran to the controls while Applejack and Heart Shield raised the anchor.

“Is the ship in working order?” Rarity asked her.

“Everything is fine enough for now,” Twilight replied, firing up the ship. “Any repairs will have to wait until we get far away from here.”

Outside they could hear the howls of rage as Clover Patch fought to get to the ship and claim her prisoners.

“Well what are we waiting for, let’s go!” said Rainbow Dash, shoving Twilight aside to frantically look at the console. A large, red button beneath a plastic cover caught her attention. She lifted the cover and raised her hoof over the button.

“Rainbow Dash, that’s for emergencies only!” cried Twilight.

“I’d say this is definitely an emergency,” Rainbow Dash said and slammed her hoof down on the button.

The crystal core issued a bright glow and the ship began to rumble furiously. A noise like a rockslide started to issue from the stern, followed by the sound of gears turning. Heart Shield ran to take a look at what was happening and stared as the jets on either side of the boat began to shift and rotate until they were perfectly perpendicular to it. The jets rumbled more and the noise from them grew louder, building up to a crescendo. Just in time, Heart Shield realized what was going on.

“Everyone grab on to something!” he shouted, latching his arms around the railing, unable to find anything else in time.

With a roar and a hard jerk that nearly knocked the pegasus loose, the jets came to life and shot the ship out over the ocean, rushing through the air at a breakneck speed leaving the cursed island far behind in a matter of seconds. The ponies aboard desperately held on, screaming as the ship took off. All, save for Rainbow Dash, who gripped the ship’s wheel and let out a loud whoop of excitement.

Chapter 13: Just Like Me

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Chapter 14: Reconnection

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Chapter 15: Knowledge

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Chapter 16: Breyta Mitos

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Chapter 17: The King and Queen

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Chapter 18: The Black Fang

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Chapter 19: Long Live the King

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Prologue: The Beginning

Change the Heart

By Heart Shield

Pre-read and editted by:

nero_33

Prologue

The Beginning

“Enjoy today, it’s what you hold in your senses now.” –Steve Maraboli

The sun shone through the curtains of the room, covering it with the nice warm glow of the morning light. The light spread across the room, eventually reaching the figure laying under the covers of the single king-sized bed. As if sensing the light, the figure shifted slightly, curling under the sheets further; all that could be seen was a glimpse of black and red hair before that too vanished. Undeterred, the light crept up further until the entire room was lit with the glow of the bright and shining sun. Try as the figure under the covers might, eventually the owner of the oddly colored hair had to admit defeat and sit up, yawning loudly. The blue pegasus rubbed his eyes before stretching, working out the kinks in his arms, back and wings. When he had finished he climbed out of his bed and walked over to the sink on the far side of his room, taking his toothbrush out of its holder and began to brush his teeth. After a few minutes of this he decided he had done a satisfactory job, spat out his toothpaste and returned the toothbrush to its holder before washing his face. The pegasus looked up at the mirror and shook his head dry, his black and red striped hair whipping around until it was dried off. He blew a tuft of hair that had fallen down out of his eyes and looked at his reflection, red eyes staring back at him. He studied it for a few moments before turning sideways so that his hip was visible in the mirror, sighing as he looked at his flank.

“Blank as always,” Heart Shield said gloomily. “Why am I not surprised…”

Heart Shield swished his red and black tail – the colors were switched around from his mane; while his hair was black with a single jagged red stripe down the middle, his tail was red with a jagged black stripe running down the center – around before hiding his flank with it. He was bothered by the fact that he was still a Blank-Flank after so many years had passed; he wasn’t a foal anymore after all, so why hadn’t he gotten his cutie mark yet? He didn’t like that he was different from everypony, something he’d had pointed out to him ever since he’d moved to Cloudsdale as a foal. It wasn’t just the blank flank that had made him the subject of many a cruel joke, though that was bad enough. Heart Shield raised his eyes from his hip to his abnormally large wings. These were the first thing everypony noticed and the item that made him the butt of as many jokes as his lack of a cutie mark, and more so they were the reason that he was teased and, though he knew they thought he didn’t know what they said behind his back, the object of some rather rude rumors. He might not have known what was said at all had it not been for Derpy flying to him on one his first days here, cheerily asking him if he was related to the Princesses like some of the other ponies were saying, which he mumbled that he wasn’t and proceeded to attempt to tuck his wings in to appear smaller. It was true that his wings weren’t like other pegasus's, and in fact were, now more than ever, the same in size and appearance as Lady Celestia and Lady Luna’s, but being labeled in cruel whispers as an illegitimate relation of theirs or other alicorns was the reason he tried to hide them every day as best he could.

He quickly tucked them into his body, grateful that they completely hid the fact that he still had no cutie mark, which he considered was the only good thing to come of having those wings, and walked over to the stand by his bed where two items lay neatly on top of it. The first was his newest copy of Daring Do, though it wasn’t the latest one, or even close to it; the second was a checkered black and white wristband, which he slid onto his right wrist just above his hoof. He looked at it, remembering the day he had gotten it.

*  *  *

He was sitting in the bleachers watching the other foals and fillies flying around the course the instructors had made, chewing on the mouthful of apple he had. The light-blue filly, Rainbow Dash, was flying circles around some of the older foals, showing off a little. She’d gotten her cutie mark a little over a month ago and was nothing if not proud of it. A movement on his right alerted him to somepony coming over. Heart Shield looked over and saw a yellow filly, Fluttershy if he remembered correctly, walking over to sit on the bleachers too. He and she hadn’t spoken much during the month-and-a-half since he’d been sent to Cloudsdale; she was as shy as he was around other ponies. He was about to turn back to the others flying around when she spoke up.

“Are you not flying today? U-um, it’s okay if you aren’t I mean,” she asked in a quiet, tentative voice.

“N-no,” Heart Shield replied, shifting his wings nervously. “I-I didn’t want to with e-everypony around…”

“Why not?”

Heart Shield squirmed uncomfortably, reluctant to answer. Derpy was flying by when she heard Fluttershy’s question. She skidded to a halt in midair, flying sideways as she stopped, and flew over to them, hovering in the sky.

“It’s because he’s shy about his wings,” she said, waving at Heart Shield. “Hi Heart Shield!”

“Hi Derpy,” he replied. He almost chuckled; she was always doing that, talking about things in a bubbly cheerful voice, even if it was something that wasn’t at all what somepony would say like that. It was one of the reasons they had become friends.

Fluttershy looked quizzically from him to Derpy. “How come?” she asked. “They’re such a nice pair, I’d be happy if I had ones like them. Ah, y-you don’t have to be though, th-that’s okay too.”

Before Heart Shield could reply, one of the older pegasi came over to them, a tall, red mare whose name he’d never learned. “Heart Shield, there’s somepony to see you. They’re waiting by the rainbow factory for you.”

“Somepony to-?” he began, blinking in confusion.

“-See you, yes,” the pegasus finished, looking down at the foal who didn’t seem to grasp her words. “And I’d suggest you don’t keep them waiting.”

Heart Shield looked confused but nodded and stood up. Derpy tilted her head, “You leaving Heart Shield? I thought we were going to get a muffin after flying practice?” The grey pegasus’s ears drooped sadly.

He looked over his shoulder at his friend, calling out to her, “I’ll make it up to you! Triple of whatever ones you want, on me!” Derpy’s face lit up and she cheered at the news. Heart Shield waved to her and Fluttershy as he followed the mare to the rainbow factory. Who would have come to see him, he wondered. He’d been an orphan back at Canterlot, though it didn’t feel like it. There were plenty of stallions and mares who had taken care of him, but he didn’t think any of them would come all the way to Cloudsdale just to see him. It wasn’t that any of them didn’t like him, he just hadn’t opened up, but everypony still enjoyed raising him until he’d been sent to Cloudsdale to spend more time with fillies and foals his age. Besides, even if somepony who’d looked after him had shown up, they would have sent him a letter, right? He got a few from some of them, but nothing more than news from ‘home’ and well wishes. The mare who’d come to get him wouldn’t tell him who it was, and eventually he stopped asking, letting his wings down gloomily. It took only minutes, partially because he was walking rather than his poor attempts at flying, partially because he hurried to get past some of the foals who made fun of him, but when they reached the factory, he stopped in his tracks, staring at who was talking cheerfully with some of the pegasi working there.

“You wished to see him, Princess?” the mare who’d brought him asked, dipping her legs down in a curtsy.

The alicorn princess, Princess Celestia, thanked the workers for talking with her and turned to face them. She smiled warmly, trotting slowly over. “Yes, thank you,” she said before directing her gaze to the young foal. “Hello Heart Shield, how are you?”

Heart Shield bowed deeply, so low in fact that he bonked his nose on the clouds they stood on. “G-g-greetings, Lady Celestia,” he squeaked, holding his wings tight against his sides. “I-I’m well, th-thank you for asking.”

The princess smiled more and laughed softly. “There’s no need to be so formal, Heart Shield. I apologize if I brought you away from your lessons, but I happened to come by today to request a lovely rainbow for tomorrow over Canterlot and I wanted to see how you’re adjusting to life in the clouds. Come, walk with me please.”

Heart Shield raised his head, looking nervously to the mare who'd brought him, who nodded to him, then hurriedly trotted over to Celestia. He stumbled a little as the tip of one of his wings got under his hooves, but the princess used her magic to keep him from falling over, lightly floating the nervous foal to her side before letting him down, walking slowly with him.

“Careful Heart Shield,” she said to him as they walked, “you’ll hurt yourself if you don’t keep your wings out of your way.”

Heart Shield lowered his head, tucking his wings in at their mention. This action wasn’t lost on Celestia. “Are you still ashamed of those?” she asked softly, slowing to a stop. Heart Shield’s silence was all the answer she needed. “My little pony, we’ve talked about this before. There is nothing to be ashamed of about your wings. They make you a very special pegasus, and you should be proud to present them, not hide them like a turtle in his shell.” Celestia knelt down and nudged one of the wings lightly with her nose.

“They don’t make me special,” Heart Shield mumbled quietly. “They make me different than everypony.”

“But everypony is different, that’s what makes us all special in our own unique way.”

“Then why does everypony make fun of them!” The young foal looked up at the princess, tears lining his eyes. “It’s not enough that I’m the only Blank Flank in Cloudsdale, but I’m also the big-winged freak!” He began to spill everything that everypony was saying about him, how he felt so alone, that if Derpy wasn’t the pony she was then he wouldn’t even have a single friend, how he never practiced flying unless it was night and everypony was asleep. “Please Lady Celestia, can’t you use your magic to give me normal wings?”

Celestia dipped one wing down and wiped his tears with its tip. “That kind of magic, as I‘ve said before, is dangerous, and even if it wasn’t I wouldn’t wish to change the things that make you special. Remember this as your lesson for the day: you are a very special pony, different, yes, but nonetheless special, perhaps more so than any other, and that kind of uniqueness often brings out the jealousy in other ponies. That jealousy is let out as teasing and rumors, but you should never let them bring you down. And as for everypony making fun of your wings or current lack of a cutie mark, well, you said yourself that you have a friend here, and I know that nopony in Canterlot speaks or thinks ill of you.”

Heart Shield nodded and sniffled, reaching up to wipe his eyes. Lady Celestia was somepony he looked up to and respected, and on the few times he’d been to the Grand Galloping Gala, or some times when she’d stop by the house of the family that was taking care of him at that time, she had seemed happy to speak with him; quite often she told him that he was a special pony, and even when he begged her to use her magic to change his wings, she said that she would not do that, explaining as she had today, that they were part of what made him special. Celestia smiled at him and leaned down, putting her wing around him in a hug as she always had when she saw he was upset. If Heart Shield hadn’t known in his heart that there was no relation between them, he might have assumed this gesture was a motherly way of comfort. Nevertheless, he leaned against her side, grateful for her kindness. When she rose up again, she looked at him as if thinking something over.

“Heart Shield, I’d like to give you something that may help you. Think of it as a gift for being a good student here, and for being brave to move to a strange new place where you didn’t know anypony.”

He looked up at her quizzically and nodded. Lady Celestia smiled, her horn glowing softly as she focused her magic. There was a flash of light around his arm as the glow vanished. He looked down, feeling something around it. Above his hoof was a black and white checkered wristband. He lifted up his arm, turning it around from side to side, staring curiously at the sudden appearance of the object before looking up at Lady Celestia.

“It isn’t much, but it’s a magic item that absorbs negative feelings and the mean things other ponies say or do, and amplifies good feelings and the kindness you’ll receive,” she said to him.

Heart Shield’s eyes widened and he stared gratefully at her. “Thank you Lady Celestia!” he said, bowing deeply to her. “Thank you very much!”

Celestia merely smiled at him before one of her royal guards showed up and whispered something in her ear. She nodded at the stallion and turned to follow him, pausing as she looked back at the young foal who clutched the present close to his chest. “I’m afraid duty calls my little pony, and I’ve kept you from your lessons longer than I should have. Hurry back to the other ponies and remember what I’ve said. One last thing before I go, everypony back at Canterlot wished me to tell you they say hello, and that we’re all proud of how well you’re doing here. The next Gala is in a few months, I know everypony would be glad to see you if you attend this year; a ticket should be arriving for you in a couple days.”

Heart shield nodded quickly. “Thank you Lady Celestia, I’ll be sure to come to it. Will… will you tell everypony hello and thanks for me?”

“Of course. Now, you should get back to the others. Until the Gala then.” With those words, Celestia walked with the guard to where her chariot was waiting.

Heart Shield waved goodbye to her, even though she couldn’t see him from where she was facing, and ran back to flying practice.

*  *  *

Heart Shield smiled as he looked at the wristband around his wrist. He knew now that it wasn’t magic, but Lady Celestia’s words had made him believe it was; he didn’t allow himself to be bothered by anything anypony said thanks to it. A knock came from the door to his room.

“I’m coming!” he said, trotting over to open it. He was greeted by a familiar pair of wonky yellow eyes and blond mane. “Hi Derpy, how are you?”

“Heya Heart Shield,” she replied, dropping the scroll that had been in her mouth. “Oops, my bad.”

Heart Shield picked it up and handed it to his old friend. “Are you here for a visit?” he asked. “Or just dropping by from a mail run.”

“I’m on one right now,” she replied, giving him the same scroll he’d just handed her. “Here you go!”

He laughed and took it from her, laying it on his back as he currently had nothing nearby to put it on; all of his things were packed up in the other corner of the room, having just moved into it. “Do you have any time to talk?”

Derpy’s ears drooped. “Sorry Heart Shield, I have to deliver to Ponyville right now. Maybe another time?”

“Fine, but dessert’s on you this time,” he chuckled. “You’re still coming over next week for the Wonderbolts’s race, right?”

She nodded her head so vigorously that when he put his hoof on her head to keep her from hurting herself, he almost swore he saw her eyes roll around. “Thanks,” she told him, shaking her head to steady herself. “I can try, but it depends on how fast me and Rainbow Dash finish moving the clouds for the rain that day.”

Heart Shield nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you there if you can make it, if not I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Thanks Heart Shield!” Derpy waved to him before she took off in the air and flew off.

Heart Shield waved to his friend as she left, slowly lowering his hoof. He sighed and stepped back into his room to take a look at the letter for him. Ever since Derpy had moved to Ponyville, they rarely got to see each other. As much as he put on a brave face and appeared to be doing fine, he missed his friend. Without somepony around to take his mind off of things, and nopony who didn’t look at him strangely for his lack of a cutie mark – everypony had long since gotten used to his wings, though there were still those who poked fun at them – it felt like he was a foal again, only this time there wasn’t a supposedly magical gift to make him feel better. At times he wished he could just go back to Canterlot, but it had been years since he last went, not since Lady Celestia had invited him to that Gala, and the letters from the mares and stallions who had taken turns raising him had long since stopped. He put the scroll on the bed stand and pushed it open. His eyes widened as he read the words on it.

“What?!”

Chapter 5: The Mare in the Woods

Chapter 5

The Mare in the Woods

"Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever." —Keri Russell

Heart Shield was putting away the Legends and Foal Tales of Early Equestria, 8th Edition that Owlowiscious had brought him when he heard the door to the library open and Twilight and Spike’s voices coming in.

“… is that a nice big fire ruby now and then isn’t too much to ask for is it? I mean come on Twi, I’m your Number One Assistant, right? Don’t you think a raise after all this time would be in order?”

“Having a raise would require you to be getting paid in the first place.” Twilight’s laugh came clear through the hall as she and Spike walked in.

“Well then how about we start paying me then, I’ll take two fire rubies every week,” Spike replied, the little dragon entered the room, looking proud, and slightly smug.

“I think that’s a bit too much for a beginning wage,” Heart Shield spoke up, gliding down to the floor beside his friends. “Maybe a monthly pay of two sapphires to start with.” He and Twilight laughed as Spike jumped a foot in the air, startled by the pegasus’s sudden appearance. “Sorry for startling you Spike. Today’s my day to work in the library, but you two were gone when I arrived.”

“Almost scared the flame out of me,” Spike grumbled to himself.

“Thank you for taking care of things while we were out,” Twilight said, smiling at Heart Shield. “It’s nice having somepony around who can look after the library when we’re not around. Did anypony come by?”

“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle dropped in earlier and wanted a book on daredevil and extreme stunts and activities, and Rarity wanted some artsy books for inspiration, oh and Pinkie Pie popped up wanting to know if you were going to attend your 2nd Anniversary of Twilight’s Arrival in Ponyville Super Party Extravaganza Bash in three months.”

Twilight shook her head amused, “That Pinkie, any excuse for a party. What did you let the Cutie Mark Crusaders get?”

“Just Equestria’s Records, 20th Edition,” he replied.

“Well, they can’t get any dangerous ideas from that at least.” Twilight walked around the library, looking at the shelves and her writing table. “Books stacked and organized alphabetically, shelves and floor clean, ink restocked, parchment and quills stored neatly, you did a great job today!”

“Thanks, Owlowiscious helped out too so it wasn’t that difficult, and after working here for a year I’ve gotten used to what needs to be done. Is there anything else that you can think of to do?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, it looks like you’ve done everything. Are you heading to Fluttershy’s to help out today?”

“Yeah,” Heart Shield replied, nodding. “I’m going into the Everfree Forest, some of the animals told her that there’s something in there that needs to be seen to.”

“Sounds like you’re really needed then, I won’t keep you then. Will you be staying the night with anypony? Or can I expect you back here tonight?”

The pegasus fluttered his wings in embarrassment, his cheeks beginning to flush. “D-don’t say it like that,” he said, flustered, “it makes it sound like the three of you are all my special someponies.”

She laughed. “Are you so sure that none of us are?” she teased.

“Twilight!” he whined, tucking and untucking his wings.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “The guest bed will be made up for you in case you stay here tonight. Now hurry along before it gets too dark to be in the forest.”

Heart Shield nodded and hurried out of the library, though not before he heard Twilight joking with Spike about his spot as her Number One Assistant might be in danger of being taken by somepony else. He took off once he was outside, beating his wings in long strokes as he flew. He may not be as fast as Rainbow Dash, but his wingspan was useful for making his way from one place to another without tiring. Derpy waved to him as he flew past, a large blueberry muffin in her mouth and he slowed down to wave back. Other than this, he made good time in reaching Fluttershy’s house.

“Oh good,” the yellow pegasus said when he alighted on the ground before her, “we were getting worried you weren’t able to make it, not that it wouldn’t be understandable if you weren’t.”

“Sorry for taking so long, I wanted to wait for Twilight and Spike to come back,” he apologized.

“Oh, it’s quite alright. Can you look for whatever’s in there that has the critters all concerned? Angel’s stuck here with a sprained paw, so I have to look after him.”

Heart Shield nodded. “Did they say where it was?”

“No, but it sounded like it was pretty deep into the forest.” Fluttershy turned away to grab something from inside her house. Heart Shield watched curiously. Eventually she came back out, balancing a picnic basket full of first-aid and some fruits, something Heart Shield remembered from his first lesson from her. Use the fruit to calm and befriend a hurt creature, then tend to the problem. “Remember, if you need any help-.”

“Ask the animals to get you or Rainbow Dash,” he finished. Fluttershy beamed at him, pleased that her assistant remembered, and allowed him to take the basket. The birds chirped to grab their attention before flying into the Everfree Forest. Heart Shield said goodbye to Fluttershy and hurried to catch up with the birds, holding the basket’s handle in his mouth. To say that it was hard to follow was an understatement. The birds were fast, but with the trees growing closer and closer to the path, it wasn’t possible for him to take flight too. Twice he lost sight of them, and almost got lost three times; had it not been for Zecora walking by the last time, he would have stayed lost. The birds took him as far as the other side of the river that ran through the woods, refusing to go any further. He argued with them, almost shouting after a few minutes of their stubbornness, before they pointed the way, chirping once in answer to him asking if they meant to just continue going straight.

He sighed, picking the basket up, and walked in the direction they indicated. As he went even deeper into the woods he began to wonder if they hadn’t just sent him the wrong way out of irritation for his arguing. When he’d gone straight for forty-five minutes and still hadn’t found anything, his frustration grew and he almost turned back and left, the only reason he didn’t was that Fluttershy would be beside herself if he turned back on a creature in need. By seventy-nine he was about to quit when he reached a clearing in the woods. He dropped the basket as he saw what lay there.

There, laying on the ground by a tree, was a pony, one like he had never laid eyes on before. She, for it was a mare, that much he could tell at first glance, was jet black, though she looked like, instead of a pelt like everypony else, everything was smooth, almost like her body was velvet covered, but it had an odd sheen to it, like silk. Her mane and tail were both teal, her mane hung down along her face, partially covering one eye. What he noted most about them was the literal holes in them and her legs, all towards the very end. The next thing to grab his attention was her horn. It looked like a twisted, completely mangled unicorn horn, or, more accurately, like Lady Celestia’s, as it was longer than any unicorn’s, and for a heart-stopping moment he thought it was broken, but he soon realized that it was supposed to be that way. The thought of Celestia brought his attention to the pony’s wings. He couldn’t believe his eyes, she had wings! This made her an alicorn, didn’t it? But her wings, they weren’t like his, or any of the alicorns he knew about. They looked like tattered insect wings, and he counted four in total, two up top and two directly below those, like a dragonfly’s. Her top left was bent at an odd angle, and he just now noticed the scrapes and bruises all along her body, she even seemed to be breathing weakly. She had to be the one the animals had told Fluttershy about. Heart Shield picked up the basket and stepped into the clearing. His hoof landed on a twig, and the wood’s snap seemed to echo through the forest. Instantly the odd alicorn’s eyes opened and she leapt to her hooves, wincing as one of her back legs hit the ground. She brought it up against her body tenderly, bent over slightly in obvious fear of the pegasus who had found her, her expression one of wariness, as if she’d had bad experiences around other ponies. He met her gaze, noticing her eyes. Like everything else about her, they were nothing like he’d seen before. Dark green, dual-colored eyes stared back at him, her pupils long and thin like a cat’s.

Heart Shield took a step towards her, stopping when she backed away. “It’s okay,” he said softly, “I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to help.” The mare’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Honest,” Heart Shield said, pulling the basket into view, and opened it, pulling out Fluttershy’s first-aid kit and showed it to her. “You’re injured pretty badly, that leg doesn’t look too good and your wing is broken from the looks of things. Please, let me at least help you with those?”

She continued to look at him through narrowed eyes, as if thinking his words were a trick, but eventually she bent her head, reluctantly accepting his offer. He trotted quickly over to her and, after a few fearful jerks from her when he reached out to her, got her to lay down as he checked her injuries. It was worse than he had originally thought. Her wing was bent over itself, definitely broken, her leg, as best as he could tell, had a slight fracture in two places while one of her forelegs was sprained. Her ribs were the worst though, from what he managed to feel, she had four broken, and the rest were bruised. Her legs and scrapes were going to be the easiest to patch up, her wing needed immediate attention. She allowed him to bind it between the two flattest bits of wood he could find, with barely any fussing, and even let him put a splint around her fractured leg, and tightly bind her sprained one. She winced as he cleaned her scrapes up, but didn’t voice any discomfort, though she grunted in annoyance and pain when he made her raise up while he bound her chest as tightly as he could.

“There,” he said when he finished, sitting back and looked her over. “I’m no doctor, but without magic, that’s the best I can do for you. I’d take you into town, but I don’t want to cause you any more injuries by flying, and this place is too far in for anypony to be patient enough to come help.” Heart Shield walked over to the basket and brought it over to the strange alicorn, laying the fruit out before her. “Eat, it’ll help.” She didn’t move, eyeing the food warily, so he took a bite out of an apple, and swallowed it. “See? It’s not poisoned.”

She relented and bit into the apple. Heart Shield studied her as she ate. So far, she hadn’t said a single word to him, and he had no idea how she got into this condition. Did she crash here from the sky? Or had she been attacked by some of the monsters in the woods? He shivered at the thought of anypony having to go through that. If that was the case, it was too dangerous to leave her here, even if it was to seek help from Zecora, who was closest to their location, and too risky to carry her or fly her out of here. Not to mention her seeming to be afraid of even an innocent pegasus, bringing her to Ponyville would likely be too much for her to handle. While he thought, the unknown pony finished off her meal and now avoided looking in his direction.

“My name is Heart Shield,” he said, to break the silence and the ice. “I live in Ponyville, it’s just outside the forest. It’s been a little over a year since I first moved here. Unfortunately, there isn’t any place for me to stay on my own, so some of the other ponies let me board with them. It’s a little odd, but I have a roof over my head and friends who look out for me. I like it here, things haven’t been like they are here my whole life.”

He began to talk about when he was a tiny little foal, how he was sent to Cloudsdale and dealing with being so different from other pegasi for his wings and lack of a cutie mark – “I still don’t have one, take a look.” – and had begun to tell her about leaving Cloudsdale when he noticed that her breathing had grown slow and steady; she was asleep. He smiled a little and watched over her through the night. Whenever something in the trees around them moved, he reared up as high as he could and spread his wings out to their full wingspan to frighten the creatures off, he was grateful that this worked, he didn’t know what he would have done if any of the creatures was brave enough to come near. The silent figure sleeping before him didn’t once stir until the sun rose the next day. She awoke with a start, feeling something all over her, calming when the memories of the last day came to her. Her eyes wandered around until they alighted on the pony who had treated her. Heart Shield yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes to stay awake, only noticing that the odd alicorn was awake as he lowered his hoof.

“Morning,” he said cheerfully. “How are you holding up?”

She eyed him, studying the one who seemed to be so blissfully ignorant of who and what she was. Hadn’t the tale of the events at the royal wedding reached Ponyville, wherever that was, during the weeks since she had been defeated by that infuriating band of ponies – who single-hoofly defeated her army where Celestia’s own Guard had failed – and cast out by her loving groom Shining Armor and darling Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. After several long minutes of silence she opened her mouth to speak when-.

“Heeeeeeey! Large-wing! You in here?” Rainbow Dash’s voice, though far off, came through the Everfree Forest clearly, joined by others.

“Heart Shield! Now where’d y’all run off to!”

“Oo! Oo! Maybe he’s-.”

“I don’t think he’s playin’ Hide an’ Seek, sugarcube.”

“Applejack’s right, there has to be a reason he never came home last night. Fluttershy, you’re sure you didn’t see him leave?”

“Oh no, Twilight, I didn’t see anything. Why, if you and Applejack hadn’t come to me earlier, I wouldn’t have known he never left the forest.”

“Oh that poor thing, spending all night outside in the cold forest with twigs and mud and all sorts of creepy-crawlies lying around, why I can’t begin to imagine how utterly awful it must have been.”

Heart Shield looked over in the direction his friends’ voices had come from, then back at the injured pony. Her eyes were wide with terror, and her whole body was shaking. If it was this bad just hearing voices… He stood up and walked over to her, placing his forehead against hers, like Lady Celestia had on occasion for him when he was scared, to calm her. Her shaking stopped immediately and she quickly pulled her head away, staring at him as if he had just done the Pinkie-Poky dressed like the Flim-Flam brothers. He supposed, since it was now day and all the monsters were gone, that she’d be fine, at least until the evening. “Hey,” he said to her softly, “don’t worry, I’ll stop them before they reach here, and I won’t tell anypony about you, not today at least. I’ll be back in the evening to bring you some more food, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but, after seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she bowed her head in acceptance.

“Stay right here until I come back, I don’t want to get lost in the woods for real this time.”

She rolled her eyes as if to say “And where exactly do you think I could go in this state?”

“Fine,” he laughed, tossing Fluttershy’s basket onto his back and hurried to the edge of the clearing. He looked back at her. “I’ll be back tonight, promise.”

She merely shrugged. Heart Shield waved to her before rushing off back the way he had come. Twilight and the others were still calling out his name, which made it easy for him to find his way back, and he made a mental note of every tree, rock, and bush he passed so that he’d be able to find his way back later. He saw somepony up ahead and sped up, thinking he had found his friends, skidding to a halt when he saw that it was only Zecora. The zebra raised an eyebrow upon seeing him, and motioned for him to follow her, which he did without question. He was surprised that she didn’t say anything, though she looked back at him with a knowing expression.

“Heart Shield! Where are you!”

“Fret not your search is at an end, I have found your missing friend,” Zecora said the moment she and Heart Shield reached the others. “He is safe, as you can see, though the cause of his absence is known only by he.”

Pinkie was the first to look over at Zecora’s words. “See!” she said, bouncing happily around. “I told you he was playing Hide and Seek!”

Heart Shield laughed, only Pinkie would consider an entire night in the woods a game of Hide and Seek. His friends ran to him and immediately he was underneath a pile as they hugged him, glad that he was safe.

“What were y’all thinking spendin’ a night out here?” Applejack chided him. “If you were in trouble, all ya needed to do was send some critters to Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash.”

“I wasn’t in any trouble-,” he began.

“Oh! Why just look at the state you’re in Heart Shield. You’ve got twigs and brambles caught all over your mane. Those will take ages to get out,” Rarity remarked, pointing at his head. He reached up and pat his hair. There were indeed twigs and burrs stuck there.

“Those’ll come out easy,” Rainbow Dash said as she floated in the air. “Just pluck them out-.”

“‘Just pluck them out’?” Rarity looked at her aghast, as if Dash had suggested they sheer off his tail. “One does not simply ‘pluck them out’ without the proper tools. Well, not unless you want to pull out clumps of your hair and leave broken bits of twig stuck there.”

Heart Shield, who had already been busy doing just that ever since Rarity had pointed it out, voiced his disagreement. “I seem to be doing okay,” he said, pulling the last of the burrs out of his hair. “Nothing a good wash and brush won’t fix.”

“There, see? What’d I say?” Rainbow Dash grinned smugly at Rarity, who huffed and strode off to Ponyville with her nose in the air. Pinkie followed, bouncing along the path in her usual manner. Rainbow Dash said something about needing to move some clouds around and flew off, leaving Heart Shield, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack standing there, Zecora having disappeared sometime while they were all talking. Twilight demanded to know what had happened, and Heart Shield told them what happened, or at least an edited version of what happened, as they walked back to Ponyville, claiming that the creature in question was a wolf pup who had gotten stuck in one of the thorn bushes and separated from her family.

“So you mean to say that you patched up this critter and got lost findin’ your way back?” Applejack asked.

“The trail was hard to see without a light in the dark,” Heart Shield quickly replied.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized, “I never thought that it’d be so far in you wouldn’t be out by nightfall, so I didn’t think to pack a flashlight.”

“It’s not your fault I waited for her to finish eating after we found her mom before I headed back,” he said, feeling terrible that she was blaming herself for what happened. “I’d have been out while there was still light if I hadn’t done that.” He returned her basket and yawned. “Sorry, I was awake all night…”

“I would think so,” Applejack said. “Why, anypony stuck there all night wouldn’t get a wink of sleep if you ask me. Go an’ take the day off sugarcube, I reckon me and Big Mac can handle things today.”

Another yawn came over the sleepy pegasus. “Are you sure? I can-.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Twilight chided, picking him up with her magic. “You are going to sleep; you look like you’d fall over snoring any second.”

“Besides, there are still some handy-hooved young’ns who want to give farmin’ another shot. Listen to Twilight and rest up.”

Applejack tipped her hat at him, like she had the day they met, and galloped back to Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy thanked him for taking care of things in the forest, and apologized again for not packing a flashlight for him, before she too left. He looked down at Twilight from where she was levitating him. “Am I going to be let down?” he asked with a grin, spinning over in the magic to look at her upside down.

“No.” Twilight laughed at his actions and brought him back to the library, letting him down once they were inside. Spike ran over, wanting to know what had happened, but Twilight shushed him, promising to explain later and to stop pestering Heart Shield.

The pegasus was grateful that she had done this for him and made his way to the guest room, collapsing on the bed the moment he stepped inside, asleep before he hit the pillow.