Chapter Two: Lovers' Quarrel

A gentle breeze billowed through the balcony of the darkened, dilapidated castle. Entering the balcony, one would find the throne room, dimly lit with torches lining the walls of the corridors. A gastly air seemed to eminate from all corners of the room, bringing a feeling of sadness and depression upon any living thing inside. The room was devoid of any life though, save for a few spiderwebs, rodents and maggots. From a stray hole in the wall, a spider sneakily crawled from it's interior and sprinted to the balcony's open door, and billowing curtains.

To the spider, everything was gigantic to it's point of view. It's 8 speck-sized red eyes darted to the top-right, and sunk back in amazement at the sight before the arachnid's many, many pupils. It's eyes widened in shock as a massive circular shadow loomed over it, getting darker and darker with every inch. The arthropod attempted to scuttle away before it's fate would be decided. And it's fate had been decided, with a big black hoof.

As if a squeal of pain echoed off the walls of the throne room, the death of the spider was met with a satifying crunch, along with the mournful crackle of the insect's exoskeleton. The black hoof, coated in silver armor retracted from the remains of the insect, leaving behind a bit of gooey liquid on the floor. The stallion's forearm raised up to chin level with a sadistic, if not gleeful expression. A croaky chuckle escaped the stallion's throat as a harsh breeze blew through his silky black mane and matching sideburns, and the red cape by his side fluttered in the newfound breeze. A purple mist trailed from the green eyes of the dark monster.

A millennium's age, with the patience of stone, the great King Sombra stood before the balcony overlooking the wasteland of a kingdom, and savagely licked the spider into his mouth, with another crunch akin to the same from the kill blow his hoof had dealt to the now deceased arachnid. Not long into his relishing, a door marked with a green arcane-esque symbol shuttered open, and without even a turn of Sombra's head, he already knew who the figure was that had just entered his domain.

"Greetings, my dearest king. I trust you are relishing in your recent victory?" an echoing, layered voice rang from the errie silence, as if two voices had spoke in unison. The mighty king turned from his blissful stance to face the voice in question.

"Indeed. I was merely reveling in the facilitation of Phillydelphia your Changeling army has provided." King Sombra's voice reverberated similarly to the queen speaking to him. The Changeling Queen remarked cheerfully to his statement.

"Only another pathetic landmark we have conquered. Only to add to the several others we've already crushed." the lanky Queen continued with impatience. "I'm growing a bit weary of needlessly conquering cities. When shall we strike our main objective?"

"Still yourself, Chrysalis. You must have patience before you will achieve victory. Of course, we could rally our troops in an ill-fated spirit run on Canterlot in an hour or so, but where's the logic in that?" Sombra asked, and Chrysalis opened her mouth to argue, but the king pressed on his testiment.

"Before we engage with Equestria's capital, we must ensure that Canterlot is good and distracted. That is when our plans can be carried out." Sombra spoke in a tone that held utter calmness.

"And then what shall happen?" Chrysalis asked in anticipation. The King of Darkness's furrowed his brow as a smile of sick pleasure twisted his muzzle.

"That's for another day, Chrysalis. For now, let me celebrate my insured victory." Sombra said, and with a throaty chuckle, he turned his back to the balcony once more as Chrysalis bowed and took her leave from his throne room.

High in the sky, deep in the unknown reaches of the Everfree Forest, an indigo light flashed brightly, glaring down on the surface like a mass of blue flames. Twilight and Aqua instantaneously took form within the mass of light. However, as soon as the pair emerged from it, they immediately dropped out of the sky akin to a fallen bird plummeting to the ground. Clutching onto her coltfriend's back, Twilight's muzzle wore a face of fright, closing her eyes as she buried her head in his neck, as Aqua gritted his teeth and desperately managed to steer himself. The combined weight Twilight posed on him did not help the situation no less. With a twist of his foreleg, he pulled a dense pile of leaves into an open clearing, then fully surrendered to the inhumane curse of gravity.

CRASH!

What would've been a bone-shattering smash against the cold, hard dirt was prevented by a rather smooth crash landing into the condensed pile of leaves, alleviating the pain of the landing. Twilight groaned in distain as she rolled off of Aqua's back and laid on her own, panting from exhaustion. Aqua however, taking the blunt of the fall, was happy to have not been injured severely. Getting up from her facsimile cushion, Twilight stretched her legs with an involuntarily crackle, turning to offer a hoof to Aqua, still spawled on the forest floor.

"Are you ok, Aqua?" Twilight asked with concern as Aqua hoisted himself from the forest floor.

"Well, besides the back pain, I suppose I'll manage," Aqua answered as he brushed stray leaves from his tunic, "Though I'd be more worried about you."

"Just a little jolted from the bumpy ride, but I'm fine." Twilight said as she pawed at the ground before looking up at the sky with a frown. "Please don't tell me we're where I think we are."

Aqua took a moment to survey the surrounding area, then planted a hoof to stroke the blue hair accompanying his chin. "Perhaps we landed, or if you will, crash-landed in a recess in the Everfree Forest. Can't make out where, though." Twilight eye's widened in surprise as she glowered at the pegasus Jedi.

"So now we have no idea where we are," she said with a groan, "Great. Now how are we supposed to find our way home?"

"Take it easy, I'll find a way." Aqua said as he turned his back and took a step forward before plopping onto his haunches. Twilight heard him take a deep breath as his wings unfurled, his body now hovering off the ground. Minutes passed before he settled onto the ground with an exhale, standing up to face her.

"Ponyville is most likely in that direction." Aqua said as he gestured a hoof to his right. Twilight tilted her head with confusion.

"You can't be certain it's that way. These woods are like a natural maze." Twilight said. Aqua turned his neck to the side as he began marching in his direction.

"I would've expected you, the smartest mare in Ponyville to know her way around the woods, after studing it in that geography book I lent you a few hundred times." Aqua teased, a small smirk crossing his face, receiving a love tap on the shoulder. A caw of a flock of birds echoed off the trees as the pair disappeared through the brush and bushes.

"Hey Aqua, do you think the forest changes everytime we go in it?" Twilight asked curiously. An occasional bramble here and there, and the two begun to notice the fatigue overtaking them. The crash landing, along with the complex teleportation spell, had depleted them of most of their energies. Another concern was a distant snarl from the bushes, prompting them to hurry forward, their hoofsteps crunching against the leaves. Twilight stared up at the sky, noticing the sun now beginning to reach mid-height. Her distracted state, however, resulted in her bumping into Aqua from behind.

"Are you nervous about something?" Aqua asked.

"Oh. No, just looking at the sky a bit. Any idea what time it is?" Aqua stopped suddenly, glancing at a nearby tree, before facing her.

"If you had a compass on you, I could figure it out with the tree shadows." Aqua said.

"Don't bother." Twilight said with a bit of a grimace. "The magnetic polarity here is different than it is in Ponyville. Watches, compasses, somehow even maps just go nuts in this forest." Aqua's ears drooped as he started trotting again.

"Well we have no idea where we are, and no way to tell what time it is." he said, a blue hoof striking its owner's forehead.

"Yeaah, this'll work out just fine." Twilight quipped as she tossed a nearby stone across a puddle. Aqua lowered his head in frustration as he dropped to his haunch.

"May as well set up camp. We may be here a while. What do you think?" Aqua said.

"Best idea I can think of." Twilight said as she dropped her saddlebag to the ground and opened it, fishing out a water bottle, and offered it to him. He accepted it with a smile before unfastening the robe to his tunic, letting it drop amongst the leaves. Igniting his lightsaber, Aqua trotted towards a nearby tree, and swung hard at it. A sharp crackle reverberated through the area as the tree fell. Twilight watched as three more met the first tree's fate.

"Um, do you need help with this?" Twilight asked.

"No, I've got this taken care of. Why don't you go relax for now?" Aqua said as he started levitating leaves onto the top of the makeshift canopy. The lavendar mare decided to trot away to a clearing, and as she pulled a book from her saddlebag, she cast another glance at Aqua with a smile, and began reading. Shortly in the first chapter of it, she soon drifted off to sleep.

Queen Chrysalis strolled through the corridor at a brisk pace, accompanied by a Changeling in black armor. The hall was decorated with the usual you would expect a Changeling hive to be; green slime hardened over into crusty hives, cobwebs, the occasional drone attending to a ruptured hive. All reministic to the hive to a swarm of bees. The queen was outfitted in a black cape, very well hiding the lankiness of her body. To the insects that were her clan, they paid it no mind but as an aesthetic choice. She finally reached the door when she made a gesture with her hoof, silently telling the guard that he was dismissed. When she was alone, she put a forearm to the door and slid it open like a glass patio door. With his back once more to her was King Sombra, now positioned on the crystal covered throne of the palace room. The dark king's eyes were closed, giving off the impression of sheer tranquility. Chrysalis approached the throne regally, and bowed to him. Chrysalis waited patiently for Sombra to make any interaction, to break from his meditation. A deep, masculine breath seemed to escape the corrupt unicorn's throat as he sat in his peace.

Seconds turned to minutes before Sombra finally opened his eyes, and turned his throne to her diarch companion. "Thank you for coming, Queen Chrysalis. I sense you are wondering why I have called you here?" Sombra said in a tone that would've made anypony else besides them quiver in their horseshoes.

Chrysalis rose her head in acknowledgement. "The guard escort had detailed to me that it is of great importance."

"Yes. It appears I have located a lone Jedi, deep in the recesses of the Everfree Forest." Chrysalis' eyes widened slightly as she kept her head raised.

"A Jedi? At last." Chrysalis said with an almost relieved sigh.

"Indeed, Chrysalis. Along with his little friend...oh what's the name?" Sombra began, tapping his chin with his hoof, "Ah yes, the ever more magical Twilight Sparkle."

"Are you sure?" Chrysalis asked in bewilderment. Sombra stamped his hoof on the armrest of his throne, producing a heavy clank, echoing through the room and even beyond the halls.

"Do you doubt my powers, Chrysalis? The same power rivaling that of the Princesses ruling over this country?" he said with a prideful smile.

"I would never doubt you in the least, my king! What do you plan on doing about this Jedi?" Sick pleasure stormed through Sombra's mind, and as it happened he licked his lips blissfully, his eyes turning redder and redder with each second passing. He rose from the throne, and stepped down to face the kneeling Changeling.

"We shall make a little visit." Sombra whispered, pure venom seeping through his words like the venom from a Manticore stinger.

The faint sound of raindrops fell upon the dry forest floor. In the clearing laid the purple mare, spawled across the dirt on her side, clutching the book she was reading in her forehooves. Her mane was slightly disheveled from her slumber, and her body was sparkling with the drops of rain. Aqua exited the door of his campsite to find the mare in her position, and took note to notice all of her features. He noticed that she was also drooling a bit. With a playful roll of his eyes, Aqua hoisted her by her legs and situated her on his back, and without a word, Aqua carried Twilight back into the campsite as the sprinkle of rain increased to a practical downpour.

It was much more spacious than it looked from the inside, and had the appearance of an old log cabin, save a few windows, but they were no concern to him. Closing the 'door', or rather levitating a massive log of wood to block the entrance from intruders and rain, Aqua rested Twilight on a pillow he had retrieved from his saddlebag. Thank Celestia he had brought it with him when he thought the negotiations at Fillydelphia would take a long time. Nonetheless, he threw a spare log over the now growing fire he had constructed moments prior. In only a minute or so, Twilight was woken up by the crackling flames, and she jolted awake with a fright.

"Oh Celestia, is the forest burning?!" Twilight shrieked as she flailed her hooves in fear. Aqua held her tightly to quell the panicked mare.

"It's alright, it's just a campfire I made." Aqua said in a chilled voice. Twilight tilted her head in disbelief.

"You...made a fire...in a wooden campsite?!" Twilight hollered as panic overtook her fully now.

"Relax! It's not going to burn, look around." Aqua said, motioning around the large room. It was indeed quite spacious to the mare, the fire contained by dark stones in the middle of the room could not burn anything around it, not if Aqua had anything to do about it. A table and bookshelf was also constructed, albeit a bit of shoddy workmenship was evident without powertools being around.

"Ohh, ermm, how long was I asleep for?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Only long enough for me to make this little hut. Took me the better half of twenty minutes, and that's just building the table and shelf." Aqua explained as he flopped onto his back with a tired groan.

"Well it's pretty nice, very...roomy." Twilight said before she facehooved, "Oh shoot, I just remembered!" Her horn glittered as she opened her bag, revealing a few simple bedsheets tucked that were sandwiched inside, and spread them out on the floor. Aqua took a moment to gaze at their saddlebags.

"Exactly why did we bring that?" Aqua asked, noting the strangeness of their supplies.

"Well...remember a few nights ago? The night after Pinkie and I got rid of all her clones, and she threw that huge party?" Twilight asked as she blushed fiercely.

"Oh...that. Well. Now I see why you brought extra sheets in case." Aqua said as he awkwardly turned on his side.

"Hey, you brought it up with the bag. You were all like, 'We may be in Fillydelphia for a while; we may as well pack extra sheets.'" Twilight said as she intimidated the Jedi's voice, as if she were mocking him. Aqua tried his hardest to keep his poker face, but almost broke under the hilarity of her bad imitation. Rolling his eyes, he simply hurled his nearby pillow square into Twilight's face, knocking her completely off balance. Her eyes narrowed to near slits as she levitated both pillows, ready to strike.

"Oh so you wanna play rough now, huh? Go on, big boy." Twilight teased as she hurled the pillows back at him, only for Aqua to push them away with the Force like they were flies. She nearly gulped as Aqua pawed at the ground, removing his robe once more, exposing the form-fitting tunic covering him, and as he pounced onto the lavendar mare onto the pillows before she could raise her shield, and he rose a hoof to strike her in the most pleasant way possible.

By tickling her. Aqua ran his hoof along Twilight's stomach, causing the mare to burst out into giggles.

"N-No! S-Stop it, I'm ticklish!" Twilight gushed, beating her forehooves against Aqua's chest, but it was futile. Twilight was getting tickled, and she was helpless. Aqua continued his attack, bringing her hoof to Twilight's lower leg, unearthing another wave of laughter from the mare.

"No! P-Please! Not there! Not there!" Twilight screamed in delight as she had her leg tickled beyond repair. Up her waist, all the way to her flank, she was tickled by Aqua. Minutes passed while her laughter echoed through the hut so loud the logs shook from it.

He had been merciful up until now, but now was to close the deal. Getting up, Aqua heard her gasping for breath from her laughter, and a smile crept on his face as he lowered himself in front of her back hooves. Twilight eyed him with suspicion before her eyes widened.

"Celestia be marked, don't you dare, Aqua Blue!" Twilight cried, but it was inevitable. Aqua brought his hoof across her right back hoof, fiddling with the round surface of it like a rag doll, elicting even louder cries that any creature outside the hut would be utterly confused on what had been transpiring. Everything was good until a deep rumble shook the hut, jolting the inhabitants out of their enjoyment.

"W-Wait, stop! What--What was that?" Twilight asked in between her gasps for breath and of terror. Another rumble took place, as if something massive was heading towards them.

"Whatever it is, it wants us for a snack." Aqua said as another jolt caused a loose plank of wood to smash the ashes of the fire, putting out the flame with a few sparks. Twilight steadily held onto the shelf for balance on her shaky legs before another jolt rocked the log guarding the entrance away, exposing them to the darkness. Aqua ran out of the hut with Twilight in tow, they heard crashing steps in the wake of the bushes, and as they stood in fear, they saw red eyes peering from the bushes accompanied by a low growl.

In a flash, the entity revealed itself and jumped from the bush, showing itself to be a snarling Manticore. Deja vu hit Aqua like a saddlebag of bricks as he readied his lightsaber, and as the roaring monster reared onto it's hind legs, Aqua stood on his own legs covering Twilight. As he dashed towards the Manticore, he swung dead on for it, along with another jolt of deja vu to painfully strike him, in the form of the lion hybrid's claws.

SLASH!

The two opponents exchanged blows for a brief moment, and with a few swipes of his saber, the fangs, a claw or two, and the tip of it's stinger was bisected clean off the beast, but aside the cosmetic damage, it was uneffected. Aqua was not so lucky this time. In the same place as before, his shoulder had been slashed by the Manticore, re-opening the healed skin of the woung from months prior. Along with a few good slashes to his back leg and cheek, Aqua was downed.

Twilight screamed in fear as the beast grabbed him by the throat and roared, thrashing him against the tree, leaving a smear of blood against Aqua's head from the impact. Aqua bitterly spat blood at it's face, igniting another roar that basically said You're boned now. As it readied itself for the kill blow, a loud thwack resounded through the woods. The Manticore was struck in the back of the head with a massive log of wood, bringing it down in a second. Aqua slid to the ground, bleeding, and a magically exhausted Twilight ran to his side.

"Aqua, you're really hurt!" Twilight screamed, picking him up from the ground. Aqua rolled his eyes to the ground in shame.

"I'm fine." he said between a mouthful of blood building in his throat. His tunic was torn and ripped from the sudden ambush, and he was battered horribly, shoulder bruised, and slashes all over him, blood escaping almost constantly.

"No! You're literally bleeding! We need to get you help!" Twilight said as a bit of his blood seeped onto her coat.

"I...don't need it. I can heal it." Aqua said, drawing the Force on his wounds, and pressure built on his wounds, slowly stopping the blood loss, but he was still unable to walk. He dropped to the floor with a shaky groan, his energy finally depleted.

"I...need to stay here. I need to rest." Aqua said as he tried crawling to the hut, but Twilight firmly put a hoof down on his tail

"You are not staying here. You're coming with me." Twilight asserted, hoisting him over her shoulder as she walked him from the hut, and another growl escaped the bushes. Fear struck Twilight, and Aqua closed his eyes in dispair. Another Manticore burst from it, angrier than the last, and towered over the two with the intent to kill. That is, until Aqua noticed the stinger missing. The Manticore instantly recognized Aqua, and it shifted to the near dead brother of it's clan. With a purr, the beast lowered to Aqua, and grabbed him gently. Aqua's body did not resist as he rested on it's red, wild mane. Twilight winked out onto it's back as well, and the Manticore took off with them.

"Where's it taking us?" Twilight asked.

"It's...taking us...to it's village. I made friends with it's clan, but...some weren't so well-receiving." Aqua moaned, blood now barely escaping his wounds. Pain rattled his lungs, and he lost consciousness in Twilight's hooves. Twilight let out a yell of fear as she clutched her coltfriend for as long as she could, praying he would stay alive, crying silently all during the ride.

Minutes passed quietly before Twilight finally opened her eyes, snuggling Aqua deeply as the ride came to an end. Dropping to the ground with him on her back, Twilight nervously lugged him to a nearby hut. The whole village was filled with tribal masks, torches, symbols of far off places, and the corpses of last night meals for the beasts.

Twilight pinched her muzzle to block out the smell of the rotting flesh as she followed the Manticore to the main hut of the village. As soon as she entered it, all the beasts' eyes narrowed to her, but as they saw the blue stallion laying on her back at near death, they softened. Twilight knew she couldn't speak their language, but she was overwhelmed with dispair.

She desperately screamed at the top of her lungs. "Help! Someone help! Please, my husband is dying!" The Manticore wit her roared in distress to the others, and all the beasts in the hut surged to action. Aqua was put onto a smooth, wooden table, and a roar called to someone nearby. A zebra trotted towards the scene, taking in every grim detail on Aqua's body. He was striped black and white, jewelery adorning his ears and neck, and wearing glasses. He took a face of concern as he saw Twilight, not holding back her tears as she held his unconcious hoof.

"What happened to him?" he asked, taking out a first aid kit.

"H-He was attacked by one of these...these monsters! You monsters did this! You hurt my husband!" Twlight screamed, ready to kill each Manticore in the room as the zebra held her back. A Manticore roared to him, and he translated it's call.

"Please. Do not hate the beasts. That one Manticore was not like the others. Full of anger, and aggression. Not like these others. It was an outcast to them, and they went after it when it heard...laughter. What seemed like much joyous laughter." the zebra said in a sympathetic tone. Twilight instantly felt guilty for what had happened, and swung for the zebra nurse.

"He's not going to die, will he?! He can't! He just can't!" Twilight shrieked, cupping her eyes as waterworks were unleashed.

"You are acting hysterical. Please calm down, he will not die. He just needs to rest for a few hours while I tend to his wounds." the zebra said as he shooed Twilight to a corner of the room so he could focus on Aqua. Twilight guiltily glanced over to the Manticores beside her, and she then turned to the unconscious form of her husband, and the zebra began to work on him.

Twilight could not stop another flood of tears to leave her purple eyes, and as she watched on, she only had one thought in her mind.

It's all my fault...