Finding Your Voice

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter One

Prologue

Something poked Fluttershy in the face and woke her. It was still dark, and she could just make out the outline of a long eared critter against the dimly illuminated world outside her side window. It took her a few seconds to wake up enough to realize the critter was gesturing to her.

“Angel Bunny... what is it?” she asked.

The rabbit made a few quick gestures that she couldn’t make out in the gloom.

“Are you hungry for a midnight snack?”

The rabbit shook his head and waved his paws around again.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

He shook his head again.

“Did you have an ‘accident’ in your bed again?”

He let out a small cry and slapped her hard enough to turn her head towards the back window. Then he was next to her, pointing towards it and jumping up and down. She got up and made her way to the window. Looking down she saw a half dozen chickens milling around in the moonlight, leaving tiny tracks through the snow.

“Oh my! They should be in bed. How did they get out?” She turned to the rabbit beside her. “Come on. We need to get them back inside before they freeze their little wings off!”

She hurried downstairs and grabbed her coat before stepping outside. It was freezing, and even with her coat the still night air almost instantly sucked the heat from her. The end of winter was close but it was still brutally cold, and a layer of snow a few inches thick covered the ground. Shivering, she trotted out to the group of chickens and shoo’d them back towards their coop. They clucked and tried to scatter, but she managed to keep ahead of them. She turned to ask Angel to check for more on the other side of the house, but the only tracks leading from the door were her own. Her eyebrows scrunched up in a slight frown. It looked like she was on her own.

It took her a few minutes to corral the birds back to their pen and when she got close she saw what had let them loose. Someone had opened the gate. And that someone had left a trail in the snow. She didn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t a pattern of footsteps, but two inconsistent thin trails, spaced close together, like something small had drug its feet most the way. It came from beyond her yard, went around the chicken coop, and led straight inside through the now open gate.

She paused. What should she do? Whatever was inside could be dangerous. Should she take her chickens back in the house? They’d be warm, but they were so messy! She stood in the cold snow for several seconds, indecision paralyzing her. She started to turn around, to head back to the house, but then she stopped and shook her head. No. This was their home. She would just have to see what was inside. Besides, Rainbow Dash would never let her live it down if she found out.

Steeling herself she slowly approached the small building that made up the henhouse, doing her best to remain silent. A small amount of light came from the single light bulb she had placed in a corner inside to keep her chickens warm, enough to make her squint painfully when she pushed her head inside. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light. When she could finally open them she swept her gaze around the building.

It was just a simple henhouse, with a dozen small alcoves running along the wall, each occupied by an empty nest. Her eyes widened when they reached the corner alcove under the light. There was something there! It was small and black, and had sandwiched itself between two nests, placing one on top of itself like a blanket. It was trying to stay warm. But even curled up between both nests right underneath the lightbulb it still shivered uncontrollably, shaking so hard strands of straw fell from the nests.

Her face softened at the sight and she spoke to it as calmly as she could. "Why, hello there.”

Its reaction was quite the opposite of what she had intended. It scrambled from the nests and pressed into the corner, trying to get as far away from her as possible. Shaking and shivering it stared at her with large blue eyes reminiscent of an insect’s below the small bump of a horn on its forehead, and Fluttershy gasped when she realized what she was looking at.

It was a Changeling. A small one, barely the size of one of her chickens. And it was wounded. The nest it had been curled up in was stained from several open, dirty wounds that still leaked blue blood down its hide.

“Oh my goodness!” She pushed her way inside, struggling for a moment to get through the opening. It was a tight fit and she filled almost a quarter of the henhouse herself.

The changeling cowered at her approach. He shrunk down and let out a cry. Or, rather, he tried too. His mouth was open and his little chest heaved, but nothing emerged other than a wheezing, rasping sound. That’s when she saw the ragged wound at his throat and her chest tightened in concern.

She stopped a few steps from the little changeling. He was scared. No, he was absolutely terrified. His head moved left and right and he wheezed hard with each breath, and Fluttershy was certain that had he been able to make a sound he would have been bawling. It broke her heart.

“I... I’m sorry, but I have to take you inside or you’ll freeze out here!” She moved closer to him. “Don’t be scared. It’s okay.”

She reached down and scooped the changeling up. He was small and light enough to hold in one foreleg. Whatever fear he had must have doubled when she picked him up. He shook terribly, wheezing harder than ever, each breath shaky and labored, and she imagined he viewed her as some terrible monster, come to take him away.

Her chickens forgotten, she trotted awkwardly on three legs as fast as she could back to the house, speaking softly to him as she went. “Shhhh. Everything is okay. No one’s going to hurt you here. We’re just going to go inside where it’s warm and clean you up.”

The door burst open and she hurried through to the kitchen. She deposited the changeling on the counter next to the sink and started the hot water. Angel was nearby. “Go get the bandages!” she told him. He frowned and crossed his arms. She didn’t have time for this. "Now!” she said in her sternest voice, scowling at him. The rabbit’s ears fell and he scampered off to a nearby cabinet.

She wetted a rag and started to clean the changeling on her counter. He tried to pull away from her, but she held him still with one hoof and ran the warm cloth over him with the other. He was filthy! Mud and dirt covered his body and she’d have to clean him just to find all the wounds. She panicked for a moment when the rag went through his leg and something fell out. It was a plug of mud. Relief hit her and made her smile when she realized the hole, similar to the ones the larger changelings had, was supposed to be there. She worked as quickly as she could, moving the warm cloth over his little body again and again, humming and singing softly as she did. Gradually the changeling’s shaking died down and he mostly stopped crying. Every now and then a hiss or rasp would come from him as she worked.

But even though she was cleaning and singing her mind ran. Where had he come from? What or who had done this to him? What would she do with him? Should she keep him? Would her friends approve if she did? No answers came to her and she could do nothing but keep running the cloth over him as she thought.

Finally, after her sink was coated with muddy bits of straw and feathers, he was clean enough for her to work on his wounds. Those concerned her. What should she use on them? Did changelings respond to the same medicines that ponies did? She couldn’t take him to the hospital, after the attack on Canterlot by the Changeling Queen they’d never take him in. She fretted while she worked, but eventually decided to simply clean them out as best she could, apply some bandages, and hope for the best. After all, most of the wounds didn’t look too bad. A long, arcing wound across his flank wasn’t deep, and it clotted quickly. A shorter one on his shoulder was worse. It was packed with dirt and oozed blood and she had to be rougher than she’d liked to get the dirt out. It hurt her, each time she darted in he would hiss and shake and a cold shock would hit her that mirrored his suffering.

“I know it hurts. But be strong, we’re just about done okay?” If he understood her he didn’t show it, but she thought he stayed a little more still after that.

Finally she was done and moved on to his throat. Unlike the others, this one really scared her. It was a short gash, deep, and the area around the wound was dark and cracked. She gently pulled it open to see how bad it was and the changeling violently exhaled, giving a near silent cry of pain that still managed to make her cringe. Luckily it wasn’t bleeding badly, so the wound probably wouldn’t kill him, but the little guy may never speak again. She cleaned and bandaged it and moved on to the rest of him, thankfully finding no other major injuries.

He seemed to have calmed down now, and was staring up at her with half-lidded eyes that blinked slowly as she sung softly to him. The sight of him, so small and innocent and cute made her smile.

“Ohh, I know you’re tired sweetie. We’ll go to bed soon but we’ve got to get you nice and clean first. Is that okay?”

He slowly nodded and her heart soared. He could understand her! She hadn't known if changelings spoke another language, as other than their queen none of them had spoken during the attack on Canterlot other than to growl or hiss at them.

Once his wounds were taken care of she gave him a thorough washing. Most of the dirt was gone and it didn’t take long until all that left to clean was under the dark blue carapace that covered his back. That must be where he kept his wings. He didn’t resist her touch when she reached in and pulled one out. They were beautiful things, thin and translucent like a dragonfly’s with a tinge of light blue. She touched them, gingerly, afraid of damaging the thin membrane, but they were strong and tough, and the dirt washed easily from them. When she was done he folded them back up and she reached for a towel.

“There we go. All done. Are you ready for bed now?” she asked after drying him off. He looked up at her and his mouth moved, like he was trying to speak, but only a whisper of sound came out. And it hurt. By Celestia it hurt so much. Like someone had kicked her in the chest. Tears welled in her eyes and she scooped him up, hugging him as she fought to control herself.

“Don’t you worry now, okay?” She stroked his head. “You’re safe here. No one’s going to hurt you.”

She carried him upstairs and gently laid him down in her bed, curling up around him. He snuggled into her as she did, as if seeking her warmth, and she lay a foreleg over him before leaning down and gently kissing his head. And then she sang. Not just to him, but to herself, trying to get both of them to fall asleep.

She continued to sing long after he fell asleep, unable to drift off thanks to the thoughts running through her mind. Her earlier questions remained unanswered. And what if she couldn’t find where he came from? Would she keep him? She had plenty of experience with animals, but she wasn’t a mother. The changeling was obviously small. Not a baby, but nowhere close to being grown. She didn’t know what she would do, or what she could do, but she knew that no matter what, she wasn’t going to abandon the little guy or let anyone else hurt him.

Chapter Two

Fluttershy paced up and down the train car. It had been two days since her and her friends had gathered to decide what to do with Quintus. Worry had gripped her both days, holding her in its suffocating embrace while she waited for word back from Princess Celestia and tried not to panic at the thought of Quintus being rejected by her majesty. Then, after what seemed like weeks of waiting, Twilight had shown up that morning with train tickets and a summons from the princess.

Oddly enough they had the entire cart to themselves, and Fluttershy would bet anything that Celestia herself had arranged it. She’d sent the tickets herself and the departure time would put them in Canterlot after dark. It made sense. Why scare people with a changeling? Still, she stamped the floor every time it popped to the front of her mind. Quintus wasn’t a threat to anyone. It wasn’t fair that he had to hide. How long would he have to do this?

She paused her pacing and looked to Rainbow, who was lightly snoring on a cushioned seat in the corner of the car. It was a large seat, long enough to lay down on and almost wide enough for two ponies, and Rainbow was sprawled out as if it were her own bed at home. Fluttershy wanted to join her in sleep, to drift off and wake up in Canterlot, not hours, but moments later. She’d actually tried, but thoughts ran through her mind faster than she could fly, and even though she’d gone to bed late and gotten up early she was unable to drift off.

She resumed her trot back and forth through the car, occasionally stopping as Quintus ran in front of her. He hadn’t been in a train before. Not if his behavior was any indication. He was a colt at the fair for the first time, marveling at the wonders he hadn’t known existed until now. He would stare out the window at the passing landscape as it flew by, pointing to different animals and land features as the countryside gradually changed to the mountainous terrain Canterlot sat upon. Then, with no warning, he would turn and scramble to the other side to point something else out to her. The ground was mostly snow covered, and had little interest to Fluttershy, yet up and down the cart he ran, never staying still for more than a minute or two.

Luckily his wounds were healing well. He still wore bandages on his three worst injuries, his right shoulder, right flank, and his throat, but they had healed well enough to where she wasn’t concerned about all the physical activity. And even though she worried a little that he might stumble and hurt himself each time the train bounced or swayed, it wasn’t Quintus that she was really concerned with. It was Twilight.

The unicorn had barely spoken a word since they’d departed Fluttershy’s house. It was obvious to Fluttershy that Twilight hadn’t yet gotten over her fears of Quintus, as every time he would run by her seat she would draw her legs up close to her body and put her ears down.

But it wasn’t really Quintus himself she was scared of, it was the past. Twilight had been right. She was the only one whose entire world had nearly been destroyed at the royal wedding. Her entire family, all her friends, and even most of the people she knew growing up had been in danger when the changelings attacked. And the worst part was that she’d failed. She hadn’t been able to protect them. Only by the magic of love itself had her brother, Shining Armor, and his bride to be, Cadance, banished the changeling Queen and her army out of Canterlot.

The train shook and one of Twilight’s books fell from her seat and thumped to the floor. She didn’t notice and continued to stare out the window at the distant horizon.

Fluttershy approached her. “Um, Twilight?” When the unicorn didn’t answer she again said, “Twilight? Your book fell.” Twilight still didn’t answer, so she reached down and picked it up. It was large and heavy, and she had to use two hooves to lift it onto the seat where she flopped it down beside Twilight, who finally registered someone was talking to her.

“Huh? Oh. Thank you,” she said. Fluttershy waited for a moment but Twilight was back to staring out the window.

“Are you okay Twilight?”

Twilight nodded but didn’t look at her. “I’m fine.”

“Oh. Umm, okay then.”

She waited a few awkward moments and then lay down on the seat between Twilight and Rainbow. She had just settled down when Twilight spoke.

“I-I meant to ask you a few things about...him.”

“Quintus?”

“Uh, yes, him.” She levitated a scroll and quill out of one of her bags. “Umm...” She paused and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. When she opened them she looked into Fluttershy’s. “I’m sorry...just give me a moment.”

Fluttershy was at her side in an instant. “It’s okay Twilight. I know it’s hard for you. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“No, I need to do this. I can’t let some irrational fear of a tiny changeling do this to me, right? You’ve got to face your fears, isn’t that what they say?”

Fluttershy lay down beside her on the seat and said, “Oh Twilight, it’s not irrational. It’s perfectly normal. And yes, I think facing your fears is exactly what you need to do. Well, if you want to that is.”

Twilight nodded and then spent the next half hour asking her questions about Quintus. What he ate. Whether he had performed any magic yet. Whether he could fly. She started slowly at first, and Fluttershy could tell she was nervous, but she gradually fell into her normal groove and by the end she sounded almost like the normal, checklist-loving unicorn that Fluttershy knew and loved.

When the last question was done Fluttershy went back to her seat and laid down. She closed her eyes and just listened to the sounds around her. The thump of the wheels on the track. The creaking as it swayed back and forth. But something was missing.

Quintus. She didn’t hear his hoofsteps. She rose up and his name was in her throat when she saw him. He was with Rainbow, who was on her stomach with her legs stretched out beyond each end of the seat and her wings half open. Quintus had crawled underneath one and was asleep with his mouth open, his tiny body mirroring the larger one next to him. Her wing covered him almost completely, with only his head and hooves visible as they poked out on each side, and each breath he took would cause the tip of one of her feathers to sway back and forth slightly.

Fluttershy smiled at the sight. She couldn’t believe how well the two had taken to each other. Rainbow had come over the last two nights after her work with the weather was done and spent several hours with them. She’d even insisted on accompanying them to Canterlot this morning. Well, if ‘insisted’ meant flying into the train car fifteen minutes after they had left the station, saying, “Quint isn’t meeting any princess without me.” And then she punched Fluttershy in the shoulder, saying, “That’s for not telling me you guys were leaving.” So here they were, off to the throne room, with no idea what to expect.

They arrived in Canterlot hours later, well after Luna had raised the moon. Fluttershy watched snow covered rooftops pass by and had to force herself to exit the train once they’d stopped.

They stepped off onto the platform and five guards came forward through the otherwise empty station. They were as professional as ever, with their polished golden armor, silver spears, and rigid posture, but their eyes had bags under them and they were half-lidded. One of them, a large white pegasus with sergeant stripes and a mangled wing stepped ahead of the others. He looked around their small group and Fluttershy shrunk from his large armored form, nearly hiding herself with her mane.

“Magic...” He nodded at Twilight.

“Kindness...” A nod to her. When he did the light from a nearby lamppost fell on him just right and she noticed a scar running from the outside corner of his right eye to somewhere under his helmet. Her eyes widened at the sight but he didn’t give any indication of noticing.

“And...loyalty.” He actually saluted Rainbow, who stood a little straighter, raised an eyebrow, and gave an awkward salute back before he continued, “Welcome to Canterlot. Now, we were expecting a changeling. Where is he?”

Rainbow spoke. “He’s right here. What do you want with him?”

“I want to see him so I can get this over with and get me and my boys out of the cold. Mind cooperating?” His tone was a little stern, but not harsh, and Fluttershy found his voice mildly pleasant, like her father’s.

Rainbow hesitated a moment, then took a step to the side and Quintus squeezed in between her and Fluttershy. He wore a dark blue scarf, or ultramarine as Rarity termed it, and a purple coat that was too large for his frame, both given to him by the seamstress. The scarf was his, made by her the day before, but the coat had belonged to Sweetie Belle when she was younger, and both had the effect of covering up the bandages he still wore.

He looked up at the sergeant and yawned.

“That’s him?” the sergeant asked. He pulled out a piece of parchment from a small bag attached to his armor and spent a few moments reading over it before putting it away. Then he looked back at Quintus and laughed, his chest heaving in and out in a hearty roll of laughter that Fluttershy was sure could be heard in Ponyville.

“You gave us quite a scare, boy!” he said. His face was friendly and he was grinning at Quintus. “I brought four of my best guards down here for you, a welcome that most visiting royalty don’t get. So you better appreciate it, you understand me?”

Quintus nodded.

Twilight took a step forward. “Is everything alright sergeant? We weren’t expecting an armed escort to see Princess Celestia. This is highly irregular.”

“And we weren’t expecting to pull double shifts when we got out of bed yesterday morning. Life’s always got little surprises like that, don’t it?”

One of the two unicorn guards came forward, levitating a set of manacles in front of him and looking at Quintus. “Uh, sergeant, do you want us to...” he said, nodding towards the manacles.

The sergeant scowled and said, “I don’t put children in chains, so get rid of those.” The guard nodded and put the manacles away. Turning back to Quintus the sergeant asked, “What’s your name, son?”

Quintus opened his mouth and poked at his throat a few times. When the sergeant raised an eyebrow Quintus turned and looked at Fluttershy with a frustrated look on his face.

“He umm, he can’t talk.” Fluttershy told the sergeant. “He was injured when we found him. Right at his throat. It’s healing, but...” she trailed off. It was too painful to say he may never speak again in front of Quintus.

The smile on the sergeants face disappeared at the news and he looked down at Quintus. “Accident?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say she didn’t know, but Rainbow spoke first.

“No. Not an accident. Someone did that to Quint.”

One of the guards put a hoof to his mouth and turned away, shaking his head and saying, “It ain’t right...”

Fluttershy’s heart fell to her stomach at the revelation. What?! How did Rainbow know that? She wanted to turn and ask, but the sergeant was talking again.

“That true, son? Someone do that to you?” Quintus made to turn to Fluttershy again but the sergeant said, “Don’t look at her, answer me.”

Quintus quickly turned back. He met the sergeant’s eye for a moment, then looked down and pawed at the ground. When he looked back up he found the sergeant still staring at him. Then Fluttershy found herself shaking her head back and forth as Quintus slowly nodded his own.

No. It couldn’t be true. Who would do something like that? The thought of harming a child was utterly incomprehensible to her and she closed her eyes, trying to will away the memory of that little head with that little nub of a horn nodding in affirmation of the terrible truth. She had hoped that it had been an accident. Even an animal attack. Anything but this.

“Was it someone close to you?” The sergeant asked.

She opened her eyes. Quintus was staring at the ground.

“Son, did someone close to you do it?”

Fluttershy wanted to grab Quintus, to tell him he didn’t need to answer. That it didn’t matter who had done it to him. She wanted to sweep him up in her arms and take him away to someplace warm and gentle to spare him the pain. But she didn’t. Like every other pony there, some part of her simply had to know.

Quintus was shaking. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he stared at the ground, and Fluttershy couldn’t seem to breathe as she tried to force herself to say something. Then a voice spoke up.

“Sergeant.” It was Twilight. “You and your guards are cold and I’m sure Princess Celestia would like to see us as soon as possible. I think we should head to the castle now.”

He looked at Twilight and his face turned to a gentle smile. “Yes ma’am. I think that would be best.”

Fluttershy let out the breath she had been holding. Thank Celestia for Twilight.

Then the sergeant reached up, pulled off his helmet, and gave it to Quintus, saying, “I’ve had this a long time and it’s done me good. You wear it anytime you’re feeling afraid and it’ll protect you. Okay?”

Quintus took it and immediately put his head inside.

The sight of his head disappearing into the far too large helmet sent the sergeant bursting into laughter again, and somehow Fluttershy found herself laughing with him. She reached down and picked Quintus up, head still in helmet, and carried him as the sergeant led them away from the train station and into Canterlot. She heard Rainbow whisper to Twilight as they fell in behind the sergeant, “Thanks Twilight.” If Twilight responded, Fluttershy didn’t hear it.

They had made it out of the train station and onto the snow covered stone road in front when Twilight asked, “Sergeant, where’s our carriage? I believe proper royal procedure is to have arriving guests or... prisoners, transported to the castle in a carriage, correct?”

“Yes ma’am, it is proper procedure. But it looks like doing things the good, proper way has been thrown out the window tonight.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know the whole story, and probably don’t know even half. But supposedly Princess Celestia got a letter a couple days ago about a changeling. Since then half the royal guard’s been mobilized and sent out on patrol, the castle’s been locked up tight, and the people of Canterlot barely leave their homes. Rumor has it Celestia’s locked up in the throne room, and the only time she leaves is to raise the Sun. On top of it all, the guard ain’t been running like it should either. Orders have been mixed up, incorrect, or not given at all. In short, it’s a right mess we got here.”

“That’s odd. That doesn’t sound like something Princess Celestia would let happen. What about Princess Luna?”

“As far as I know she’s been gone for a few weeks, off on some diplomatic something or another, and just got back today. I’m not sure she knows anything.”

Rainbow spoke up. “Sounds like everyone is flying scared.”

The sergeant nodded. “Scared like you wouldn’t believe.”

“But why? Quint’s just a kid, he couldn’t harm a fly even if he wanted to!”

The sergeant thought for a moment before saying, “It ain’t the little guy himself that’s got everyone worked up, I think it’s the bigger picture. If one changeling is found, who’s to say there aren’t more? How would you know your neighbor ain’t one? Your spouse? Your child?”

“I-I guess.”

“I was transferred here right after the changelings attacked, and I’ll tell ya I ain’t never seen a city so distrustful in my life. The attack, well, it hurt the city bad. Put a scare in them that was fiercer than anything I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s terrible!” Fluttershy suddenly said. “No one should be afraid like that!”

“No, they shouldn’t. But it ain’t about what life should or shouldn’t be, but about what it is. And what it is, is that the news of changelings being back has...” He trailed off.

“Has what?” Fluttershy asked.

He sighed. “I was gonna say the news ripped open old wounds. But I don’t reckon those wounds ever closed at all. They were just covered up and forgotten, left to fester in the dark until something like this rips the bandages off and throws salt on them.”

No one said anything further as they walked into Canterlot, surrounded by four guards. The sergeant had fallen back and was walking next to Rainbow in silence. Fluttershy noticed her eyes kept going to his maimed wing and hoped it didn’t bother her too terribly much. The sergeant seemed like a nice stallion.

Still, even though they had been treated well, Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel like the were prisoners being escorted through the streets. The normally bright and cheery buildings were dark and grey in the moonlight, only turning to some semblance of their normal color whenever they passed a streetlight. Instead of hearing thousands of ponies going about their day to day business she heard only the clop of their hooves on the stone road and the occasional passing pony.

After a few minutes they turned onto a wide street that led through the middle of the city and straight to the castle gate. As soon as they rounded the corner the guards in front stopped.

“Uh, sergeant?” one of them said.

A crowd was gathered in front of them, blocking the street. There was a mix of ponies, from high class royals with expensive cloaks to the food stand vendors wearing more moderately priced coats. No class separation existed here and Fluttershy clutched Quintus tightly at the sight of their scowling faces.

“They don’t look too happy to see us.” Rainbow said.

More ponies spilled out of a nearby alley behind them and cut off the route they had come from.

“To the corner boys, now!” the sergeant said. They took off towards a nearby L shaped building, piling into the corner with the sergeant and his guards taking position in front.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow, who merely shrugged in response.

Twilight looked around and asked, “Why are we backed into a corner? Shouldn’t we be running?”

One of the guards spoke. “There was nowhere to run to. All the exits were blocked.”

“Should I teleport us out of here?

“Do it!” The sergeant said.

“Okay! But it will take a few moments for the spell to charge!” she said as her horn began to glow.

Through the spaces between the guards Fluttershy saw a unicorn, orange in color and dressed in a dark, regal cloak, step forward out of the crowd. He glared at them through one eye, the other hidden behind an eyepatch. A long horn, adorned with a silver ring, erupted out of his slicked back blue mane. It began to glow as he channeled magic through it and deep red, elegant scripture appeared on the ring. Twilight and the two unicorn guards gasped and grabbed their horns as a shimmering, pink bubble suddenly burst into existence around the group.

“Are you alright Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. She was worried now. Her stomach felt like it had shriveled up to a tiny ball and even though her wings were already folded they shook from exertion as she tried to pull them even tighter to her body.

Twilight had two hooves on her horn and her face was a grimace of pain. “Feels like it’s on fire...” She said through clenched teeth.

“We’re here for the changeling. Where is he? Is he one of you?” The unicorn in the crowd asked. When no one answered he continued. “He can’t pass through that force field and you can’t use magic inside it either, so do the smart thing and tell me where he is.”

Fluttershy tightened her forelegs around Quintus, who did the same around her neck.

“I ain’t telling.” The sergeant replied.

“That would be a mistake. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” The unicorn’s eye moved over them. When he came to Fluttershy he stopped and squinted. “What is that?” He pointed to Quintus.

“Nothing!” she squeaked.

He took a step forward. “Show it to me.”

When she made no move his horn glowed again and she felt him pulling her forelegs apart. She resisted, straining against him, but he slowly overpowered her, finally winning as Quintus dropped to the ground. The helmet fell from his head, bouncing and rolling a few feet before coming to rest under the sergeant.

The unicorn eyed Quintus. “Is...is that him?”

The sergeant nodded, picking his helmet up and placing it back on his own head. “Yeah. That’s him. He’s just a colt.”

A murmur ran through the crowd and more than a few of their faces softened at the news. The unicorn looked around at the crowd, saw their reaction, and then in a loud voice cried, “Wait! How do we know one of you aren’t a changeling?” A few heads in the crowd nodded.

“You don’t.” The sergeant replied. “You’re just gonna have to trust us.”

“Why should we trust you?”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

The unicorn laughed and turned to the crowd. “Why shouldn’t we trust him, he asks! Why shouldn’t we trust the royal guard!? You really want to know? Because you failed! You let an army of changelings take over the city with practically no resistance. What happened? Did you forget where your shiny armor was?”

“That wasn’t anyone’s fault other than the changeling queen’s. She took control of Shining Armor and-”

“That’s right!” The unicorn yelled to the crowd. “She did didn’t she! She took control of the Captain of the Guard himself! So why don’t you tell us. Why should we trust you?”

The sergeant said nothing and the crowd started to get rowdy again at his silence. Suddenly he ducked behind the line of guards and went to Rainbow.

“Rainbow Dash, you up for a little flight?”

“You bet!” she said, spreading her wings.

He pointed to the castle in the distance. “You see that tower there? Third from the right?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah.”

“The barracks is at the base. Go there, tell someone what’s going on. Get help. Then get Luna. Her tower-”

“Yeah yeah! I know where it’s at!”

“Good. Remember, guards, then Luna. We need Luna or there’s gonna be a lot of ponies hurt tonight,” he said. Then he was back in the front.

Rainbow crouched and looked at Fluttershy. There wasn’t a trace of fear on her face as she said, “Hang tight. I’ll be back in no time.”

Fluttershy gave her a weak smile. “Ten seconds flat?”

“Not even.” She winked and then jumped, launching herself into the air and racing through the sky towards the castle.

Fluttershy felt like the last bit of courage within her had flown off with Rainbow. She wanted to run and hide somewhere, to just curl up somewhere warm and pretend this wasn’t happening. But she couldn’t. There was no way out. Not without giving Quintus up and she absolutely couldn’t do that. It wasn’t even a choice. She had made a promise to herself to let absolutely nothing harm him, and whatever the crowd, and especially the unicorn leading them had in mind, it could only be something terrible.

The unicorn was speaking again. “Give him up and no one has to get hurt. We just want to keep Canterlot safe.”

“And just what are you gonna do to him? Throw him a party?”

“Something like that.” The unicorn brought a hoof up to his face. He lifted his eyepatch and Fluttershy was suddenly staring into an empty pit. “They took my eye. I think it’s only fair I take one of theirs. So in the interest of fairness why don’t you stand aside.”

When he spoke the sergeant’s voice was almost a growl.“That ain’t gonna happen,” he said, and then, after the slightest pause, added, “Boy.”

The unicorn’s face contorted and Fluttershy was amazed anypony’s face could look so angry. He turned back to crowd and cried, “You see! They protect that which endangers us!”

They responded to his cries, and whatever fleeting compassion they had upon realizing Quintus was a child evaporated as rocks and rotten foodstuff pelted the guards in front of Fluttershy.

She grabbed Quintus and leaped over to Twilight’s side. Twilight was grimacing, and she opened one eye when Fluttershy put a wing over her. Through grit teeth she said, “I...am...magic...itself!” Her horn erupted in purple light and the bubble around them momentarily flickered.

The unicorn in the crowd cried out in pain as the ring on his horn flared brightly. He shot a hoof towards them. “They're trying to escape! They are a danger to everyone in Canterlot! Get them!”

The crowd rushed forward and Fluttershy’s stomach felt like it was trying to push up and escape out her chest. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the terrible scene as it unfolded in front of her. There was a crash as the first ponies hit the line of guards. Several bodies went flying. One of the guards reared up on his hind legs and came down on a pony in front of him. Hard. Another, the sergeant, slammed into a unicorn, throwing him to the ground, and then turned to jab his spear at a pony that came forward.

Screams of anger and pain filled the air as guard battled citizen. The noise was deafening. It was five against a hundred and Fluttershy thought they would be overwhelmed nearly instantly. But again and again the line of guards threw back their attackers and held their ground. Even the two unicorns, who must have been in just as much pain as Twilight was, were fighting as hard and with as much skill as the other guards.

A pegasus swooped in and tried to tear Quintus from her, but one of the guards reared up and snatched him by a wing, slamming him down on the street before throwing him into a cluster of ponies that were charging forward. A few stumbled over the downed flyer but the rest crashed into the guard. Yet their charge was for naught, as he was large, armored, and strong, sliding only a few inches before throwing them back, yelling a ferocious war cry that would’ve made Fluttershy’s ears pin themselves to her head had they not already done so minutes before.

Suddenly something in the air caught her attention. Acting only on reflex she shoved against Twilight’s side, knocking her up against the building as a rock the size of Quintus’s head ploughed through the air where they were just standing and crashed through the wall behind them.

Twilight cried out at the impact, but didn’t stop. She was locked in battle with the other unicorn, and both were shaking with exertion as magical energy flitted in and out of existence around them. The bubble started to flicker and for a moment it looked like Twilight would win the duel.

And then one of the guards went down.

A unicorn, seizing the chance, barreled through the opening and leaped at her with a snarl on his face. Fluttershy stared up at him as he came towards her. She could see every detail about him, from the whites of his eyes as they stared down at Quintus, to the tense muscles of his chest and legs, ready to stomp them out like they were old candles being extinguished for the last time.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She could only watch as death came down upon her. Then something hit her and the world ended. Not in blackness, nor in the white light she had often heard of, but in a spectrum of pure colors that blasted out from the street. The shockwave sent the unicorn smashing into the wall behind her and she held tightly to Quintus and Twilight as they were nearly tossed backwards.

She looked up.

Rainbow Dash was back.

“You like Sonic Rainbooms!?” Rainbow yelled to the ponies below as she hovered above the street. “I can do this all night!”

She was breathing hard. Her face was pure determination. Fluttershy had always been impressed by her. Always admired her fearlessness. Her loyalty. And at this moment she couldn’t be happier that Rainbow Dash was her friend.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy yelled.

Rainbow came down and landed next to them. “You guys alright?”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight. She was holding her horn and seemed to be in pain, but nodded. Quintus still had his forelegs wrapped around her neck and was shaking, but otherwise he was uninjured.

“I-I think so.” Fluttershy said.

“Where’d that unicorn go?” Twilight asked.

That’s when Fluttershy noticed the rest of the street. There were ponies scattered everywhere. Most were sitting or lying on the street with a dazed look. But a few...a few were lying motionless. Like the guard in front of her. The sergeant was over him, calling his name and slapping lightly at his face. She looked for the unicorn in the crowd, but couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Rainbow asked the sergeant, pointing to the downed guard under him.

“Dunno. He’s barely breathing and I ain’t a doctor,” he said, not looking up as he wrapped a ragged cloth around the guards bleeding head. “You get help? You find Luna?”

“Yeah. They’re on their way. Luna-” She was cut off as a small rock struck her face.

It came from a pony, barely old enough to be called a mare, who cradled the head of fallen stallion in her arms. She met Fluttershy’s gaze and stared at her with tears of either sadness or rage in her eyes, which one Fluttershy didn’t know. It could have been both. Then Fluttershy ducked as the mare threw a rock at her too. Again and again the crying mare reached down and picked up the nearest rock, pebble, or anything else within reach and hurled it at them. They weren’t hard throws, just barely strong enough to reach them, and the guards simply let the small missiles ping off their armor.

“You’re the elements!” she cried to them. “You’re supposed to protect us! Not bring those...things here!” She pointed to Quintus.

“I...we...” Rainbow started. She had a hoof to her cheek where the stone had struck and was staring wide eyed at the mare in the street.

With a sob the stricken mare made a final, feeble throw that landed a rock at the sergeants feet and then collapsed into a sobbing mess.

Around her the crowd was pulling itself up. A stallion followed the mares example, kicking loose a large chunk from the already broken cobblestone and hefting it in one hoof. Another had produced a broken spear from somewhere and was slowly walking towards them.

“Sarge! We need to get out of here!” One of the guards said. Fluttershy heard a hint of fear in his voice.

“Where’s Luna? Where’s our help?” she asked.

“Don’t know, darling.” The sergeant said. He looked to Twilight, who was still clutching her horn. “Can you teleport now that that bubble is gone?”

“I’ll try!” She staggered to the center of the group. “Everyone gather around!”

Her face contorted, and her horn lit up with purple light that glowed brighter and brighter as the seconds passed.

“Anytime now, Twilight.” Rainbow said as her eyes danced around the crowd. Most of them were back on their hooves and approaching slowly. A few pegasi circled above like vultures.

“Don’t. Rush me. Rainbow.” Twilight said through her concentration.

“Yeah. No rush. We got all day. There’s only a hundred ponies about to pound our flanks into the ground. No problem!”

The light from Twilight’s horn grew brighter.

Something hit the sergeant in the helmet and pinged off. “Spears out!” he yelled. The remaining guards raised their spears towards the crowd.

“Come on Twi! Come on!” Rainbow was dancing in place now.

“Almost. There.” Twilight managed to get out.

The seconds passed at a crawl. Fluttershy adjusted her grip on Quintus and, before she realized what she was doing, threw the other foreleg around Rainbow’s neck and squeezed tightly.

Rainbow returned the one foreleg embrace and said,“Hey, we’re gonna be okay. Alright?” She sounded confident, but Fluttershy could feel her shaking a little.

Still, she managed to nod and then watched as the crowd closed in. They were but a few feet away from the tips of the spears when they stopped, each looking to the other as if wondering who would be the first to run in and take the spears.

The street suddenly flooded with purple light and Fluttershy was pulled inside out, backwards, upside down, and back again. Then the light faded and they were somewhere else. It was warm and there was no light. The hard cobblestone street was gone, replaced by something softer. But the smell was...familiar.

“Where are we?” Rainbow asked.

One of the unicorn guards lit his horn up, casting a soft white glow that lit up the area. They were surrounded by green trees and plants, their flowers folded up as they waited for daylight to return. A few critters scampered away from the light and into the safety of darkness. Fluttershy inhaled again and suddenly she placed the scent.

“We’re in the Canterlot gardens!” she exclaimed. Somehow, even though it was winter, the gardens felt like it was a sunny spring day. Then she noticed Twilight nearby. The unicorn was holding her horn and almost crying.

“I’m sorry! I tried to get us as close to the barracks as possible!”

“It’s fine.” The sergeant said. “We’re inside the castle walls, that’s close enough.”

The guard he was tending suddenly shuddered and convulsed. The sergeant cursed and yelled to one of the standing guards, “Go get help!” The guard ran off into the darkness, apparently knowing his way. Then, turning to another guard, he said, “Get them out of here. Take them to the throne room.”

The armored pony nodded and then led them out of the garden and into the castle, taking them through the twisting corridors at a brisk pace. They had been walking for a minute or two when the other guard came rushing past with two medics in tow. Fluttershy pressed herself to the wall as they passed and her gaze followed them as they ran out of sight. Would that guard be okay? She hoped so, it was already so terrible, and she didn’t want it to get any worse.

She caught up to the group and heard Twilight whispering to Rainbow, “Tell me this is a dream, Dash. Tell me I’m asleep and we didn’t just get attacked by a hundred other ponies in the streets of Canterlot.”

“Uh, as much as I like other ponies having me in their dreams, this time I think it’s real.”

They continued through the castle, taking a dozen or more turns and a few minutes later the guard led them into a small waiting room.

“Wait here.” he told them, shutting the door as he left and leaving the four of them alone in the room.

Fluttershy set Quintus down on one of the long couches that were scattered around the room. He sat there looking around and breathing as if he had just ran a marathon.

“Quint? You alright buddy?” Rainbow asked him.

He looked up at her and then with a quick huff he flopped on his stomach and lay there panting.

She gave a weak smile and patted him. “I totally agree little guy.” Then she turned to Fluttershy. “You guys alright?”

“I think so.” Fluttershy said. The ordeal in the streets was barely over, yet, like Twilight, it almost felt like a dream to her. A horrible, terrible nightmare of a dream that her mother would wake her from when she was a filly, offering a cookie and a hug before tucking her back in for the night. But there wouldn’t be any waking up from this nightmare.

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight said. She closed her eyes and put both hooves on her horn. “I think it’s temporary, so I should be okay.”

“Still hurt?” Fluttershy asked.

She nodded. “Definitely. But I think whatever spell that unicorn used is fading.” She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Who was he anyhow? Have either of you seen him before?”

Fluttershy shook her head and Rainbow said, “No, but I noticed he had some kind of ring around his horn. You see it Twi?”

“Yeah. It appeared to be some kind of magical artifact. I think it was enhancing his magical powers, similar to what that amulet did for Trixie. I’ll do some research on it as soon as I get a chan-” she winced suddenly, and after seeing their worried faces said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. Just hurts.”

Fluttershy nodded and then reached back to take off her saddlebags before struggling out of her coat while her companions did the same nearby. Quintus barely moved as she removed the oversized purple coat he wore, but she had to force him to give up his scarf so she could check his bandages, as she was worried his wounds had opened up in the commotion. He made a weak, desperate grab for the blue cloth as she threw it in her bags before he sighed and settled back down.

As she worked she noticed Rainbow striding back and forth across the room while Twilight lay on a nearby couch. Both were silent. The unicorn gave her a weak smile when she looked over, but her eyes spoke of immense worry. She knew because she felt it too. The tightening in her chest. The way she’d blank out unless she was doing something. She knew worry well.

It took a minute or two, but then she was done with Quintus. His bandages were fine. He seemed to be far more resilient than she’d ever imagined. He hadn’t bled at all after the first day and his injuries were healing far quicker than she had ever seen. It hadn’t even been a week and the wound on his flank was almost fully healed. For a moment the hope that his throat would heal and bring back his voice pushed her own worry aside.

She rubbed his back when she was done, saying, “You’re healing up so fast! Pretty soon you won’t have to wear those awful bandages anymore! What do you think about that?” He simply shrugged and lay his head down. She smiled and curled up next to him.

They waited in silence, and Fluttershy was sure that neither of her friends wanted to talk about the fight. She didn’t. It was too soon, and she was sure the other two felt the same. A half hour rolled by and she found herself fighting to stay awake. They had arrived late, and she considered following Quintus and Rainbow’s example and nodding off. The latter had given up pacing fifteen minutes before, saying, “Wake me when we see Celestia.”

Another five passed and Fluttershy had just laid her head down when just as she expected the door opened. It was the sergeant who had escorted them here. His eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw them.

“Princess Celestia hasn’t seen you yet?” he asked.

“No. Should she have?” Fluttershy replied.

“Guess not.” He shrugged and took the couch between between Rainbow and Twilight.

When he turned to sit down Fluttershy had to hold in a gasp. He wasn’t in his armor anymore, and she now saw the full extent of the scar she had seen earlier. It was a long, ragged scar that ran from the corner of his eye, down his neck, and ended somewhere under his good wing. And that wasn’t the only thing she noticed. Now that they were in the light, and he was out of his armor, she could get a good look at him. He was older than any of them and his dark blue mane, just a bit darker than Quintus’ scarf, had a few grey streaks beginning to show in it.

And then there was his other wing. Even folded up as it was she could tell that it was horribly maimed, and she doubted he could fly at all. She realized she was staring and quickly looked away when he turned his head towards her.

“Is that injured guard going to be alright?” she asked.

“Dunno. Too early to tell,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she told him.

“For what?”

“For getting everyone into this mess. If I hadn’t brought Quintus here none of this would have happened.”

“Darling, there’s a lot of ponies to blame for this mess, but you ain’t one of them. Besides, weren’t you summoned by Celestia?”

Rainbow, who’d awakened when the door opened, said, “Yeah, this isn’t your fault. It’s those crazies out there who attacked us for no reason.”

Fluttershy nodded but only half believed them. Before she could say anything the door opened and a guard entered. He looked at Fluttershy.

“Princess Celestia is ready for you,” he said. When Rainbow and Twilight started to get up he added, “Uh, the Princess specifically said only you.”

Fluttershy’s stomach felt like it had been teleported away by one of Twilight’s spells. Princess Celestia wanted to see her and only her?

She heard someone lightly cough and realized she had been frozen up for several seconds. Taking a deep breath she pushed away a little of the fear and followed the guard out. It was a short walk to the throne room, only one turn and past a few hallways, but for her it might as well have been across the whole of Equestria given the amount of time she felt had passed between leaving the waiting room and arriving at the double doors.

There were two guards standing outside. They nodded at the guard escorting her before each one heaved a door open. Then Fluttershy was inside.

Celestia was there, sitting on her golden throne, a red carpet leading from the doors and up the steps where it stopped at her feet.

She was looking at Fluttershy and...eating cake?

Fluttershy blinked a few times, almost thinking she was seeing things, but it was true. A large piece of chocolate cake sat on a table next to the throne. A fork floated down and lightly clattered on the plate as Celestia gently set it down. She took a moment to chew, swallow, and then wipe her mouth with a nearby napkin before she acknowledged Fluttershy.

“Hello, Fluttershy. It is good to see you.” Her voice was just as it always was, calm, regal, and gentle, and it almost put Fluttershy at ease. Almost.

“Um...Hello.”

“Please, come closer and do not be afraid.” When Fluttershy had come close she added, “Would you care for a slice of cake?”

Fluttershy shook her head ever so slightly and Celestia shrugged before continuing.

“I received Twilight Sparkle’s letter. Is there anything you wish to add?”

That caught Fluttershy off guard. Add? What could she possibly add that Twilight wouldn’t have told the Princess already? Unable to think of anything she shook her head again.

“I see.” Celestia said. She took a moment to have another bite of cake before speaking again. “Then I am afraid the changeling must be removed from Equestria.”

“What?” Fluttershy cried. It took her several seconds to register that she had even spoken. “But...why?”

“He is a changeling. He is a danger to the kingdom and all its citizens. I cannot allow him to stay.”

“But...where will he go? Who will take him in?”

“That is not our concern. Let him take care of himself.”

“But he’ll freeze! Or starve! Or-”

She was interrupted by a tiny cough from Celestia. It was barely loud enough to hear, yet to Fluttershy it was as loud as the rainboom from earlier.

“He must go. Let him feed on love somewhere else.”

“He has nowhere else! He’s injured and lonely! He can’t even spea-”

“The guards will treat his wounds. Then they will take him away.” Celestia said.

“Aren’t you even going to meet with him?”

“Fluttershy.” Celestia’s voice rose just a hair above its normal volume. “I have made my decision.”

She was about to ask why Celestia had summoned Quintus if she wasn’t even going to grant him an audience, but an image of the guard carrying manacles popped into her head and she suddenly understood. She never meant to see him, only arrest and banish him.

Fluttershy couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. All she could see was a small black creature, dirty and shivering between two nests in her henhouse.

The scene changed and he was staring up at her with his big blue eyes as he was left in the snow to die.

His mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

She was calling to him, screaming his name as she was dragged away. But only the faintest of whispers emerged from her throat.

His face. He was crying tears. She hadn’t seen him cry tears before. Not once. Not even the first time she held him and he wailed silently in her embrace.

Again she called out. Nothing. Why wasn’t anything coming out of her mouth?

He held a hoof out, reaching, straining with all his might to reach her. To touch her. To curl up under her warm wing and do nothing but dream.

Once more she yelled, screaming with everything she had. Her lungs burned from the effort.

Nothing.

Then she gasped, inhaling a sudden breath and the burning in her lungs disappeared. She was still in the throne room. Celestia was looking down at her.

“Please leave.”

Numb, she turned and made her way to the double doors. She was halfway there when someone burst through and rushed past her. A dark coat and mane, wings, horn. Luna. Fluttershy turned and watched as the younger princess bounded up the steps to where Celestia sat.

“Tia! What is going on?” Luna cried.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?! I mean there is madness in the city! Rioting! Looting! Even my personal intervention has barely stopped it!”

“Then all is well now?”

“No! The city is ablaze with fear and hate and I cannot put it out myself!” Luna suddenly looked around, as if just now aware of her surroundings. Her eyes went to the cake and she took a step back.

“Cake, sister? The city is on the verge of chaos and you are sitting here eating CAKE!?”

“Please, quiet yourself, Luna. Remember, the Royal Canterlot Voice is no longer in use.”

For a moment Fluttershy thought Luna might slap her sister. Rage seemed to ripple through her body, as if a great battle were being fought inside the Princess of the Night. Her whole body was quivering. Then, order seemed to win out and she slowly stopped shaking.

“Tia. What is wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Because,” Luna said, her voice rising as she spoke. “You are sitting here in the middle of the night while the capital city falls apart around you, EATING CAKE!” Luna slammed a foreleg into the cake and sent it flying across the room. Fluttershy gasped and hid herself behind her mane. There was a sound of breaking china. Chocolate crumbs littered the stone floor when she looked out.

“Dear Fluttershy, is that you?” Luna suddenly asked. She had turned to inspect the mess and her eyes were now on Fluttershy.

“Um...yes?” she said, still peeking out from behind her own mane.

Luna looked between Fluttershy and Celestia a few times before saying, “What is going on?”

Fluttershy glanced at Celestia and for the first time ever she saw an emotion other than calm serenity on her face. She looked...upset. Angry almost.

“This.” Celestia’s horn glowed and a scroll popped into existence. “A letter from Twilight Sparkle.” She gave it to Luna, who spent a minute going over it.

When she was done she said, “The changeling... he is here?”

“He is.”

“Have you seen him yet?”

“I am not going to see him. I have already made my decision. He is banished.”

‘You...you sentenced him without even seeing him? That is not the sister I know! You must grant him an audience!”

“It is already done.” Celestia said.

“Nothing is done. Not yet.”

“Please Luna, I have made my decision and I would expect my own sister to support me.”

“Not until you see him. That is the proper procedure, is it not?”

“Not this time.” Celestia replied. Her voice was a little louder and more agitated now.

Fluttershy could only watch and listen as the argument heated up.

“Grant him an audience, Tia!” Luna said again, her voice stern now.

“No.”Celestia said, louder and angrier than before.

“Give him an audience!” Luna was nearly yelling now.

“No!”Celestia cried.

“Yes! I do not know what is wrong with you tonight but you must see him, Tia!”

“No! I will not! I cannot!” Celestia nearly shrieked.

Fluttershy recoiled and backed away a few steps. Celestia was shaking, quivering in her seat and Fluttershy couldn’t help but stare at her. The beautiful, calm princess she knew had ceased to exist. And then...

And then it clicked. Fluttershy knew exactly what was wrong with the princess. Before she realized what was happening the secret was tumbling out.

“She’s scared! She’s scared of him!”

Luna’s mouth fell open and she stared at her sister.

“Tia...Tia is this true?”

Celestia said nothing. Her eyes were closed and she was still shaking. All traces of anger disappeared from Luna and her voice got quiet.

“Oh Tia...dear Tia...” she said, gently wrapping her forelegs around her sister. “I am here...”

Fluttershy stood there and watched as the two celestial sisters embraced one another. Several minutes went by as the two hugged and talked in low voices. While they spoke Fluttershy’s mind dredged up unwanted memories of that battle during the wedding. It made sense now. The changeling queen had beaten Celestia. Easily beaten her. And now she was absolutely terrified of them.

“Guards!” Luna suddenly cried. When the doors opened she told them, “Bring them in. All of them.”

A minute or two passed before her companions arrived and, surprisingly, the sergeant was with them. But it was Quintus who caught her eye. He had retrieved his scarf from her bags and wrapped it around his neck again. The sight of the blue material swinging back and forth with each of his tiny steps managed to bring the slightest of smiles to her face, despite the circumstances.

Once her friends were beside her Fluttershy turned back to the two sisters. They were still talking in hushed voices and Celestia was blocked by Luna, but the last look on the princess’ face was burned into her mind.

Fear.

How could Celestia herself be afraid of anything? It was almost unimaginable!

“Have the changeling step forward,” Luna said.

Quintus looked up at Fluttershy. There was fear on his face as well. Fluttershy nudged him, telling him it would be okay, and he took a few slow steps out, head down, before he increased to a trot that took him halfway to the throne steps before he stopped. There he sat, head bowed, as if he knew he was awaiting judgment.

Then Luna moved aside and both sisters got their first look at Quintus.

For the second time that night Luna’s mouth hung open. She looked back and forth between Quintus and Fluttershy a few times before saying, “That is him?!”

Fluttershy nodded. To be honest she barely registered Luna’s voice, as Celestia’s reaction had grabbed her attention and she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The Princess was staring at Quintus with a look on her face that Fluttershy couldn’t interpret. Her mouth was a slit that revealed clenched white teeth and she looked down at Quintus through wide eyes from atop on her throne. Wordlessly, she rose and took a step forward, stopping at the edge of the top step for a brief moment before stepping down. Slowly, haltingly, the princess descended from her throne until she was on the floor level with them.

She moved towards Quintus and when she got close Fluttershy could see the details of her face. Her eyes and mouth were quivering, just enough to notice, as one does when they are trying to hold back strong emotion. She danced her gaze between Fluttershy and the changeling in front of her a few times and then spoke. When she did her voice was higher pitched than normal, as if she were afraid to speak for fear of what might happen.

“He is...a child?” she nearly squeaked. Her voice broke on the last word and she squeezed her eyes shut as her hoof covered her mouth. Moisture leaked out from behind her eyelids and wetted the corners, staining the pure white with subtle darkness.

She spoke again and the words were almost inaudible from behind the hoof on her mouth. “I-I almost banished a child...”

The sight of the princess sitting there, holding back tears with all her might was almost too much for Fluttershy. She found tears of her own on her cheeks and when she glanced at her companions she saw that while Rainbow managed to hold back tears, both the sergeant and Twilight were crying. The former was staring at the scene before him with merely a small smile and moist eyes. However, seeing her long time teacher, friend, and regent like this must have overwhelmed Twilight. She was an imperfect mirror of her mentor, with two hooves to her mouth and tears cascading down from her open eyes and dropping to the floor.

For long seconds Celestia remained in her solemn position before she suddenly breathed in a single, sniffling breath. A moment passed and she collapsed to the floor as a muffled sob escaped her lips. Quintus leaped from his sitting position when she fell and took a step back, one small black foot held to his body.

He looked quickly between Fluttershy and the huge creature on the ground before him, as if uncertain what to do. Before he could do anything Celestia spoke. Her watery eyes were open now and she had a small smile on her face. Her voice was calm and soft, completely lacking the fear and anger of earlier, and had Fluttershy not been able to see the exchange before her she could have believed the princess was speaking to a tiny foal, fresh into the world on its day of birth.

“Hello little one...” Her voice seemed to calm Quintus, as he slowly set his foot down and visibly relaxed. “What’s your name?”

He huffed and hung his head for a moment. Then he sat, opened his mouth, and brought both front hooves up to gesture at his throat. When she only looked on in confusion he pulled his scarf away and showed her the bandage underneath.

It took a moment but realization appeared on Celestia’s face.

“He cannot speak...”

Quintus shook his head back and forth a few times.

A small noise escaped her lips and the princess again had to cover her mouth at this news.

Then something odd happened. Quintus, perhaps seeing Celestia crying in front of him, stood and took a few steps towards her before stopping in mid step as something caught his attention.

Her horn.

Long and with shallow recesses that spiraled up it, her horn angled up above him, and it occurred to Fluttershy that he’d probably never seen any ponies horn up close before, let alone the one belonging to the Sun goddess herself.

The tip of it was directly above him and he cocked his head to the side just a little as he stared at it for a moment. Then he rose, standing up on his hind legs, stretching out to touch the horn above him.

Not a sound came from anyone in the throne room. Fluttershy knew that if she looked around she would find every eye locked onto the little changeling reaching for the horn of a princess.

He was close, only inches away.

Stretching further, his right foreleg moved to within an inch or less, and not even the most glorious garden, filled with hundreds of beautiful, exotic animals could have ripped Fluttershy’s gaze from the spectacle in front of her.

Further he stretched, bringing him so close that a single strand of her hair could barely have fit between that little black hoof and that wondrous white horn.

Fluttershy spared the briefest of glances to look at Celestia’s face. She was completely still, her teary eyes wide open and staring at him as he reached up to touch that terribly precious part of her.

He was so close, yet it seemed that he wouldn’t quite reach it. With a huff he gave a final effort, coming down slightly before pushing back up in an attempt to use his momentum to carry him the rest of the way.

And then he stumbled, losing his balance and tipping over backwards.

Fluttershy gasped, and she was certain she wasn’t the only one. Her body seemed to react on its own as she lurched forward to catch him, regardless of the fact that she was much too far away. But then a spectrum of colors nearly blinded her and she paused.

Was it Rainbow? Then the colors faded and she could see again.

He was up on his hind legs with his little wings spread open to either side, their thin membrane reflecting the light from the chandelier above and turning it into a dazzling chromatic dance on the walls as they lightly fluttered.

And he had reached it. The tip of Celestia’s wonderful horn was in his hoof. His wings kept him balanced as he inspected the object he had been reaching for.

At that moment, that one glorious instant in time, he was everything to her. He was a butterfly on her flank. He was a young colt on the playground, reaching a hoof up to the heavens as if the Sun itself was what he dreamed of. He was even the kindness in her heart she gave freely to all things. He was all of this and more.

And then it was over.

Seemingly satisfied, he dropped back down. Then, as if seeing his wings for the first time, he reached out and flicked one once before smiling widely. He looked back at Fluttershy with excitement on his face and then turned back to Celestia.

The princess was smiling. A genuine smile, one of relief and happiness. Calm serenity seemed to emanate from her again as she gazed down upon Quintus. Then she looked to Fluttershy.

“His name?” she asked.

“Quintus,” Fluttershy told her.

“A beautiful name...”

Then Quintus was moving again. He stepped forward until he was barely a foreleg’s length away from Celestia and sat down before holding one hoof up to her. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and she looked to Fluttershy and her companions.

A cough sounded out. Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down from her mouth and held it out towards the sergeant, who brought his own into contact with hers in a hoof bump. Celestia looked back down at Quintus and slowly brought her own golden-shod hoof towards his. A low clack sounded and she let out a single soft laugh that brought a wide smile to Fluttershy’s face.

“Luna,” Celestia called to her sister in a calm voice.When Luna was beside her she said, “Please see that Fluttershy and her friends are given rooms for the night. I’m sure they are tired from the days events.”

“Of course, sister,” she said. She motioned for one of the nearby guards to come forward but the sergeant suddenly spoke.

“I’ll do it, your highness. I’m the one assigned to them,” he said, leaving the throne room when she nodded.

Luna turned her attention back to her sister. Celestia was talking to Quintus but her voice was too low for Fluttershy to make out the words. She could only see him occasionally nod or shake his head in answer to her questions.

Then Luna tore herself away and approached them, saying, “Twilight Sparkle, it would have been most helpful if your letter had included more details on the changeling. Why did you not tell us he is a child?”

“But-but I did! It was all in my letter!” Twilight replied.

Looking confused, Luna levitated a piece of parchment over from the table near the throne. She gave it to Twilight, who looked at it, turned it over once, and then spoke.

“Where’s the second page?”

“Second page? There was only one page.”

“But I sent two! I remember giving Spike both pages!”

“Then I would recommend questioning your assistant when you return, as my sister only received one page.”

Twilight sighed, shook her head, and then said, “I’ll be sure to do that.”

With that Luna returned to her sister. Several minutes passed before Celestia had finished with Quintus. She sent him back to Fluttershy, watching him trot away with a sweet smile on her face that disappeared when she looked up to Luna.

“A child, Luna...I almost banished a child,” she said, barely loud enough for Fluttershy to hear.

Luna lay down beside her sister and embraced her. “But you didn’t, Tia. You didn’t.”

Luna continued to talk, but whatever she said went unheard by Fluttershy as the sergeant returned and ushered them out of the throne room. They retrieved their belongings and then he led them through the castle hallways and up several levels until they stopped outside a set of double doors that were far smaller than those that led to the throne room.

“Royal suite. I hope y'all like it,” he said with a smile before opening the doors and leading them inside.

Fluttershy nearly gasped when they entered into the main room. Plush furniture and decor adorned the suite and two glass doors led to a balcony that overlooked all of Canterlot. Rainbow Dash plopped down on an expensive looking couch and sighed.

“Now THIS is royal treatment,” she said, sounding far more tired than she looked. “I should've come here sooner...”

Twilight stuck her head into one of the four bedrooms adjacent to the main room. “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t we all receive individual rooms, sergeant?”

“Security reasons Ma’am. It’s easier to guard one big room than three smaller ones.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“I think it is.”

Fluttershy spoke up. “But why? Surely we’re safe inside the castle, right?”

“Normally I’d agree. But with things the way they are I think I have to say no.”

“But...why not?”

“I’d rather not tell you this, but I think you should know seeing how you’re the one carrying around the little guy there,” he pointed to her feet where Quintus was before continuing. “I think we have a traitor in the guard.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe it. A traitor in the royal guard? But they were supposed to be the best and most loyal soldiers in all of Equestria! Lost in her worrying she almost missed when Twilight spoke.

“Is it because of that ambush in the city?”

“Yes Ma’am. Only the guard knew when and where you would be, so to have that many ponies in one place and acting with that kind of coordination speaks of conspiracy.”

“That’s unbelievable,” Fluttershy said. “What should we do?”

“For now, sleep. I’ve got guards posted outside the doors and pegasi watching the balcony. I know them all personally. I’d even trust them to leave my poker hand alone if I had to leave for the bathroom.”

“Is that supposed to be reassuring?” Twilight asked.

A small laugh came from the sergeant. “Don’t you worry now. The guards have orders to get me if anything out of the ordinary happens, so y'all just head on to bed and I’ll see you in the morning.” With that he turned and left.

Twilight shrugged and took the first bedroom while Fluttershy ushered Quintus into the second and put him to bed. She was tired, but after the days events wasn’t quite ready to sleep. Unfortunately Twilight had already gone to bed and Rainbow had apparently passed out on the couch moments after lying down. With nothing else to do she opened the glass doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

The view nearly took her breath away. The lights of Canterlot were spread out before her, lighting up the city in multicolored hues that reminded her of the mane and tail of a certain pegasus asleep on the couch. It was cold and a little windy, but she leaned on the railing and let her thoughts roam for a while. The day's events were difficult to accept. She’d been there, the entire time, watching both terrible and wonderful things unfold before her eyes, and yet she almost couldn’t believe they’d happened. This was truly one of the strangest days in her life. Which, after all she’d been through over the past few years, was saying something.

Sighing, she pushed the thoughts away and closed her eyes. She meant to only rest them for a moment, but she was shivering when something woke her. It was one of the pegasus guards assigned to watch the balcony.

“Are you alright, Ma’am?” he asked.

“Oh! Uh, yes. Thank you. I’ll just be off to bed now.”

With that she went back inside as he took off and disappeared into the night sky. Rainbow still lay uncovered on the couch so Fluttershy fetched a blanket from one of the other bedrooms and draped it over her. As she did so she noticed Rainbow quiver as a soft mewling sound came from her throat. A few seconds later it happened again. Smiling softly she reached for her friends hoof, holding it until Rainbow stopped shaking and only her breathing sounded in the dark.

Finally she returned to her room, curling up around Quintus and hoping that she wouldn’t get kicked in the stomach by a small hoof tonight.

Chapter Three

Quintus woke Fluttershy the next morning. She opened her eyes and gave a startled squeak at the sight of his compound eyes, large and blue, two inches away from her own. He jerked backwards at the noise and promptly tumbled over of the edge of the bed and onto the floor.

“Oh my goodness!” she said, poking her head over to see him lying on his back blinking up at her. “Are you alright, sweetie?”

He looked around for a moment and then grabbed at something half hidden under the bed. It was his scarf. He pulled the blue fabric to him, bunching it up under his chin and smiled up at her, nodding in answer to her question.

She giggled at the sight and asked, “Are you ready for breakfast?”

Again he nodded, eagerly this time, so she pulled herself out of bed, put Quintus on his feet, and then opened the door and entered the main room of the suite. The rising sun, just visible above the horizon, shone through the glass doors leading to the balcony and she yawned when the light hit her. It had been well into the evening when they had arrived in Canterlot the night before and between everything that had happened and her time spent on the balcony she was still a little tired. But Quintus was up now, so she couldn’t go back to sleep.

Rainbow was a knot of appendages, colorful hair, and blanket on the couch and Fluttershy paused and watched as Quintus cantered over to her. His scarf was wrapped around his neck now and the ends swayed back and forth under him as he hurried over. He nosed his head under the blanket and after a few seconds one of Rainbow’s wings twitched and she groaned.

“Quint...” she said as she poked her head out and squinted in the bright light. “Aunt Dashie needs about five more hours of sleep, okay?”

With that she covered her face back up and rolled onto her back. Quintus stared at her for a second and then reached up and pulled the blanket down. He motioned with both hooves, bringing them to his open mouth and moving them away a little, repeating the motion a few times as she watched with one bleary eye.

“Quint, buddy, it’s way too early for me to be playing guessing games,” she said.

“I think he’s telling you it’s time to eat.” Fluttershy told her, mildly surprised at Rainbow’s callous statement. But, this was Rainbow Dash after all. She wasn’t a morning pony by any means.

“Food? This early? You’re both crazy,” she said before pulling the blanket over her head again.

“Will ‘Aunt Dashie’ not be wanting breakfast then?” Fluttershy asked her.

Rainbow groaned once more. “Alright. I’ll get up. But only once the food is here. Until then I’m not moving a wing.”

Speaking of food...Fluttershy looked around. There didn’t seem to be a kitchen. She went to the suite door and opened it, revealing two unfamiliar guards. She froze for a moment as both guards turned to look at her, uncertain which one to address. Finally she decided on the one on the right, a large unicorn mare.

“Um... ex-excuse me,” she said, “but is there any way that, if it’s not a problem of course, that we could have breakfast sent up?”

The unicorn nodded once and said, “Of course ma’am. We’ll have food for three sent up immediately.”

“Oh. Um...well, actually there are four of us.”

“Miss Sparkle left to see Princess Celestia an hour ago. She told us to tell you that she’d be at the archives after that and would probably be there all day.”

Fluttershy thanked the guard and closed the door. She turned around and had to suppress a laugh at the sight of Quintus rolled up in Rainbow’s tail like it was a giant, multicolored scarf that covered his whole body.

“Quintus! You stop bothering Rainbow Dash and come over here so we can change your bandages before breakfast,” she told him.

He looked at her and pushed his bottom lip out.

“Don’t you pout at me,” she said, forcing herself not to break into a smile at his cute face. “Now come on, let Aunt Fluttershy take a look at those bandages.”

Rainbow snorted from underneath the blanket. “Aunt Fluttershy huh? We keep this up and soon he’ll have more aunts than Applejack.”

Fluttershy giggled at the comment and trotted over to unravel Quintus from Rainbow’s tail, only to stop when the other pegasus peeked out from under the blanket and held a hoof to her mouth, signaling for Fluttershy to stay quiet. She slowly pulled the blanket down and leaned towards him. He was looking at Fluttershy and didn’t notice the pegasus bearing down on him until it was too late. As soon as he looked over Rainbow threw off the blanket and made a grab for the little changeling, yelling, “I’ll get him Fluttershy!”

He tried to leap from his spot in her tail but became tangled and Rainbow grabbed him before he made it further than the edge of the couch. Both fell to the floor where they rolled around in play.

“Thought you could get away, huh?” Rainbow said as she tickled him under one of his forelegs where his carapace was thinner. “Nopony escapes the great Rainbow Dash!”

His hissing laughter fill the room as he tried squirm away and he finally managed to escape by grabbing Fluttershy’s leg and pulling himself to her. He smiled up at her from the floor, breathing hard on his back with two forelegs wrapped around her one, and she returned the expression. Abruptly, his smile faded. He rolled over, leaped to his feet, and stood there with a blank look on his face.

“Quintus? Are you alright?” she asked, her wings pressing themselves to her side in worry when he didn’t respond.

Rainbow got to her feet and came around to his front, looking from Quintus to Fluttershy. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I-I don’t know. He just stood up and blanked out.”

She lay on the floor to get down to his height and Rainbow did the same. He looked from her to Rainbow and back several times, blinking in a quick, irregular pattern.

She reached out to touch him but stopped when he let out a sudden hiss and held a hoof to the top of his forehead where his horn was. She brought her hoof back and half a second later a green glow came from underneath his hoof.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and the hoof she had reached out with suddenly found Rainbow’s and squeezed.

“What’s happen-” she started to say, but was cut off by a flash of green light that dazzled her. She shut her eyes and waited until the afterglow faded before she opened them again.

Quintus was staring at her with his head cocked to the side. She glanced to the side to see Rainbow blinking and looking at her.

“What the heck just happened?” Rainbow asked.

“I...I don’t know,” she replied before looking back to Quintus. “What did you do, sweetie?”

He shrugged and then wandered off into their bedroom like nothing had happened.

She looked back at Rainbow. “Should we be worried?”

Rainbow shrugged her wings. “Heck if I know, I’m not a changeling. Maybe he just had a little magical build up or something he needed to get out?”

“Maybe...” she said, looking towards the bedroom.

She rose and followed Quintus, wondering what had happened. Nothing in the suite was out of place, so he hadn’t levitated anything, and other than being blinded for a few seconds she didn’t feel any different. She entered the bedroom and found him staring into the full length mirror on the wall, holding a hoof up to his horn.

“Are you okay? Ohhh, you’re not hurt are you?” she asked.

He turned to her and motioned to his horn. She stepped closer and looked at it. The small nub had become much more prominent, extending about twice as far out as before and was noticeably pointed now. Not sharp, but it definitely wasn’t the gently rounded bump it had been before.

“Rainbow!” she cried. When Rainbow flew in she said, “Look at his horn.”

Rainbow fluttered close and Fluttershy had to avoid a flapping wing as the blue pegasus inspected him. “Huh. That wasn’t like that thirty seconds ago was it?”

“Not that I remember. Have you ever heard of anything like this happening to unicorns before?”

“Nope. Maybe we should go see Twilight after breakfast?”

“I think that would be a good idea.” Fluttershy said. When Quintus gave her a worried look she added, “Oh sweetie, I’m sure you’re just fine. We’ve just never had to raise any changelings before, so we aren’t sure what to expect from you. Don’t you worry about it, okay?”

He nodded and then picked at the bandage on his shoulder.

“Let’s get that old bandage off and a new one on,” she said.

She removed the bandage and for a moment just stared in shock at the wound underneath.

“Rainbow.”

“Yeah?”

“Look at his wound.”

Rainbow landed and crouched down to look at his shoulder. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

“Exactly. It’s completely healed,” she said.

His black carapace was smooth and shiny, with no trace of the ragged wound that had been there last night. There wasn’t even a scar. Fluttershy removed the other two bandages and the two mares looked at the flawless chitin in amazement. All three wounds were completely healed. A sudden thought caused Fluttershy’s heart to drop. Even healed, Quintus still wasn’t able to speak. She had to force herself not to tear up and vaguely heard Rainbow talking.

“That’s pretty awesome, Quint. I wish I had a horn I could use to heal myself.” A small amount of excitement crept into her voice as she said, “Oh man, I wouldn’t have had to stay in that boring hospital bed when I broke my wing! Heck, I wouldn’t have to worry about a broken wing ever again!”

He nodded and then went rigid with the same blank look on his face again.

“Uh oh...” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy took a step back as his horn glowed once more. Again she was blinded by a flash of green, only this time it didn’t go away immediately. It lingered for several seconds and when it finally faded she found herself lying on the floor with Rainbow beside her. Blinking, she stood and saw Quintus nearby. He looked up at her with an odd look on his face and she felt a sense of confusion from him.

She felt the confusion from him.

Her breath caught as she realized what was happening.

She could feel it. It was dull and watered down, but she could actually feel the confusion coming from him. Like there was some connection, a link between them that hadn’t existed before. And there was something else too. Something from somepony else in the room.

“Okay,” Rainbow said as she rose to her feet. “We are definitely seeing Twilight after breakfast.”

She shook her head a few times and then noticed Fluttershy staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“Um, Rainbow, do you feel...different, somehow?”

“Huh? What do you...” she started to say, but then her eyes widened and darted back and forth between Fluttershy and Quintus.

Fluttershy first felt surprise come from the pegasus. But that quickly turned to fear and then to mild panic as Rainbow tried to process what was happening to her.

“What-what is that?” Her breathing got rapid and Fluttershy felt the panic in her rise, becoming stronger as the seconds passed.

Something pressed against Fluttershy’s leg and she looked down to see Quintus staring up at Rainbow. The confusion within him had turned to mild panic as well. If he could feel their minds like they could feel his, then...

She looked between Quintus and Rainbow and realized they were caught. Rainbow’s sudden panic had caused Quintus to panic, which further increased her own fear, amplifying his in turn. They were stuck in a feedback loop that threatened to overwhelm them both.

Then she realized her own breathing was becoming quick and her wings were jammed into her sides. She was caught up in their emotions and it threatened to overcome her too if she let it. Taking a deep breath, she fought the panic and managed to push it back down for the moment. Rainbow, however, was not doing so well. She had backed into a corner and held her hooves to her temples, shaking her head back and forth repeatedly.

“Get it out, get it out!” she cried.

Fluttershy was amazed at how distraught Rainbow was. It wasn’t like her to lose her nerve so quickly. Quintus suddenly wrapped himself around Fluttershy’s leg and she felt his tiny body shaking as he watched, and probably felt, the overwhelmed pegasus in front of him.

“Rainbow!”she said. “Rainbow, you have to calm down!”

“I-I can’t! It’s too much!”

That surprised her. She could certainly feel the emotions of both Rainbow and Quintus, and Rainbow’s were definitely getting out of control, but neither felt quite ‘overwhelming’ to her.

“Just focus on breathing, Rainbow! Take a deep breath!”

To her credit, Rainbow managed to take in a shuddering breath.

“That’s good! Come on, take another!”

Rainbow was halfway through another breath when she lost it, shaking her head before she returned to her rapid breathing. Her hooves dropped from her head and her wings popped out, and Fluttershy knew she was about to take off.

For a moment Fluttershy was lost, unsure of what to do. She didn’t know what would happen if Rainbow flew off in this state. Panicked, she might fly into a wall or hurt somepony before she could calm down. And she didn’t know what this new link would do either. If it didn’t let up and Rainbow was unable to handle the connection...

“I-I can’t take this, I gotta get out of here!”

She suddenly crouched, readying to take off. With no time left Fluttershy did the first thing that came to mind. She scooped Quintus up in one foreleg and dashed forward to throw the other around Rainbow, clinging to her as she whispered in her ear.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. Everything’s okay. Just breathe,” Fluttershy told her in a gentle voice.

Rainbow shook in her embrace, and for a moment Fluttershy was back in her henhouse holding a small black creature who was shaking so bad she could barely hold him.

“I-I-I can’t...It’s too much...”

“What’s it like? Tell me, let it out.”

“Like I’ve got three sets of wings but can only control one. The others are pulling me...I can’t fight it!”

An idea sparked to life in Fluttershy’s mind. If Rainbow couldn’t fight the emotions, maybe she should just give in to them.

“Rainbow, I want you to focus on me, okay? Just focus on my emotions, let them guide you.”

“But-”

“Rainbow, I know I’m not the pony most usually turn to when they need help, but I need you to trust me. Focus, feel what I feel.”

Rainbow squirmed in Fluttershy’s grip. “No no no, it’s driving me crazy! I-I gotta get away from it!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried, desperate now. She pulled her head back, met Rainbow’s red eyes, and stared as hard as she could into them. “You’re caught up in a storm you can’t control. You try to fight the wind but you can’t. Everything you do only makes it worse. What do you do?”

“What? I-”

“What. Do. You. Do?!” Fluttershy asked again, her voice as stern as she could make it.

“You-you just...you just stop fighting it. You stop flapping and let the wind carry you.”

“And why do you do that?”

“Because if you don’t you’ll only tire yourself out and fall to the ground.”

“And do you want to hit the ground?”

Rainbow shook her head. “No.”

“Then relax.”

Rainbow nodded and folder her wings back up before sitting down on her haunches. Fluttershy could feel her two companions sitting on the verge of hysteria. Her mind flashed back to that night when she had first found Quintus and how she had calmed him down.

So she started humming. A soft, slow song her mother had taught her when she was young, and one that she used every time she felt like she was losing control of herself. She closed her eyes and pressed the side of her head against Rainbow’s so the mare could feel it as well as hear it, smiling when she felt Quintus squeeze himself around her and put his head to her neck to listen too.

After a verse she started to sway back and forth a little, matching the motion with the slow rhythm of the song. She could feel it working. The panic within her had already died out and Rainbow and Quintus were calming down as well.

She continued humming, and for a minute or two she was a young filly back at Cloudsdale. Warm feathers embraced her and she felt safe and secure in her mother’s wings as the mare sung softly to her before putting her to bed. She let the memory fuel feelings of happiness and hoped that the link would spread those warm feelings. Then, without thinking, she unfurled her own wings and wrapped them around Rainbow and Quintus, taking them up in a gentle embrace. The three of them remained locked together for another minute and by the time Fluttershy was done with her song both of her friends felt calm.

“There, that’s better,” she said as she pulled in her wings and released Rainbow.

“Uh, thanks. Didn’t mean to freak out on you like that,” Rainbow said. She averted her gaze and rubbed one foreleg with the other in embarrassment. After a moment she turned back and said, “I’m surprised you knew that stuff about the wind.”

Fluttershy smiled and shifted Quintus to get a better grip. “Well, I may not be Equestria’s greatest flyer but I did pay attention in flight camp. Um, as long as we weren’t flying at the time of course...”

“Yeah...uh, anyways, what happened?” Rainbow asked, her voice much calmer than before. “I can FEEL things from you two.”

“I don’t know. I think Quintus did something when his horn flashed. Are you okay?”

“I-I think so.” Rainbow tapped her head twice with a hoof. “If I don’t focus on it it isn’t as strong.”

Closing her eyes, Fluttershy focused on both of their ‘links’. Just as Rainbow had said, if she focused on either one they grew much stronger than if she just pushed them to the back of her mind and ignored them, like focusing on a single instrument in a band or a single voice in a noisy room. She guessed that Rainbow had focused intently on the link between herself and Quintus, catching the link at full strength before she even knew what it was.

“Do you think this is permanent?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Do you know, sweetie?” Fluttershy asked Quintus. He was still wrapped around her neck and shook his head in response.

“Great...” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “The little guy himself doesn’t even know.”

“I’m sure everything will be alright.” Fluttershy told her. “We all seem to be okay and I’m sure Twilight will be able to help. So let’s just stay calm, have some breakfast as soon as it arrives, and then go to the archives.”

“Yeah, okay...” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy felt a surge of worry come from her and put one foreleg on the other mare’s shoulder. “Please don’t worry, Rainbow. Your going to scare Quintus again.”

Rainbow looked from her to the changeling in her arms. She closed her eyes and took a single deep breath. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Opening her eyes Rainbow smiled and then rubbed Quintus’s head with her hoof a few times. “Sorry, Quint. You alright?”

He nodded, but held his forelegs out to her.

She looked surprised and hesitated a moment before taking him from Fluttershy. He wrapped both forelegs around her neck and squeezed. Rainbow smiled and returned the gesture, wrapping him up in her forelegs so tightly Fluttershy could barely see his body.

“Everything’s cool, Quint. Okay?” she said in a tone that was more soothing than anything Fluttershy had ever heard from her.

He nodded again and buried his head in her mane right where the green met the blue.

Fluttershy felt a surge of happiness from both Quintus and Rainbow as the other pegasus hugged the little black changeling and couldn’t help but smile. She wanted the moment to last, but breakfast was on its way up and they needed to see Twilight.

“Rainbow, why don’t you take a shower before breakfast gets here.”

“Yeah, I guess I do smell a bit thanks to last night's flight. Down you go Quint!” she put him down on the floor, gave him a hoof bump, and then trotted out.

Fluttershy sighed with relief as Rainbow walked out, glad to have defused the situation before it got out of control. She shoo’d Quintus into the main room just as there was a knock at the door. A servant pushing a cart laden with food entered when she opened it. He nodded and greeted her politely and then quickly set everything on the table. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, and oatmeal was breakfast this morning and Fluttershy’s stomach growled when the smell hit her. She eyed the dishes and wondered if she could eat the massive amount of food before her. The servant finished and nodded politely before leaving. Fluttershy helped Quintus into a chair at the table where. He sat just tall enough for his head to stick over the edge and sniffed at his plate of strawberry pancakes.

“Have you ever had pancakes before?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Well, they’re really good and I think you’ll like them, so eat up,” she said as she sat down. To think that he had never had pancakes before... but, he was a changeling after all. She had no idea what they usually ate and up until a few days ago had thought they survived exclusively off of love.

The smell of breakfast was almost overpowering. She was famished. Lunch the previous day was the last time she had eaten and she spent a moment savoring the smell before following Quintus’s example and diving into her food.

While she ate she focused a bit on the link between her and Quintus. There was a happy, focused feeling coming from him as he ate, as if the only thing that mattered in his little mind was the plate of food in front of him. After thinking on it for a moment she realized it was probably typical of most young ponies his age. Without understanding the world at large, their minds were focused on what was right in front of them. Hesitantly she shifted to Rainbow’s link, but quickly pulled away when her nerves got the better of her. Rainbow probably wouldn’t like somepony just barging in on her mind, regardless of the circumstances. She pushed the link to the back of her mind and continued to eat. She was halfway through her food when Rainbow was done with the shower.

“Awesome, breakfast is here. I’m starving,” Rainbow said, hovering into the main room and over to the table where her still damp wings sprayed a few drops of water onto Fluttershy. Rainbow appeared not to notice and started eating the moment she had sat down and folded her wings.

Fluttershy paused eating and watched with amazement as Rainbow devoured her food, easily finishing her entire meal before both Fluttershy and Quintus. Fluttershy looked down at her plate; perhaps there wasn’t as much food as she’d thought. After all, Quintus, a tiny little changeling, could eat practically as much as she could. Mentally shrugging the thought away she watched as Rainbow rose from the table and trotted over to plop down on the couch. A few moments after she lay down there was a knock at the door.

“It’s open!” Rainbow yelled.

Fluttershy, chewing a mouthful of food, turned to see a large white pegasus with a maimed wing and a scar running down his side walk in. It was the sergeant from last night.

“Morning, ladies. I hope breakfast was good.”

Rainbow answered with a burp.

“I guess I’ll take that as a yes,” the sergeant said, grinning at her.

“Oh, it was excellent,” Fluttershy said after swallowing. “By the way, I don’t think we ever got your name.”

“You didn’t? Well, I reckon that’s my fault for not introducing myself yesterday. The name’s Cloudburst,” he said, approaching Fluttershy and reaching a hoof out. “But most ponies just call me Sarge or Sergeant.”

She shook it and said, “Nice to meet you, Cloudburst. Uh, again I guess.”

“Likewise,” he said, smiling down at her.

She hadn’t realized just how tall he was last night. He was at least a head above her and she had to suppress the urge to cower down. Nice as he had been so far, she barely knew him, and she couldn’t fully get over her shyness until she utterly trusted somepony. And even then she didn’t get over it completely; it still flared up during awkward moments or embarrassing situations far too often.

“Cloudburst, huh?” Rainbow asked as she rolled onto her back and put both forelegs behind her head to prop it up.

“Yep. My momma lived out east when she was a filly. Said there were these massive storms that would roll in, all thunder and lightning but without any rain. They’d just roll over, blacking out the sky for hours without raining a drop. Then, without warning, the rain would start coming down like nothin’ else, as if the clouds themselves had just burst open. So, Cloudburst.”

“So I guess you’re here to babysit us then?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t think Miss Fluttershy here needs babysitting. Looks to me like she’s already got that taken care of with the boy there,” he winked at Quintus, who was chewing a mouthful of pancakes and had syrup smeared all over his muzzle. “But I reckon that just might describe what you need.”

Fluttershy grabbed a napkin and wiped the syrup off Quintus while the two talked.

“Yeah right, like I need somepony to babysit me,” Rainbow was saying. After he gave her a skeptical look she rolled her eyes and said, “I seem to remember saving your flank last night, Sarge,” she put emphasis on his nickname.

“Well, I suppose you did, and I’m mighty grateful too. I don’t think we could have held them off forever. My boys may be tough, but being outnumbered at least twenty to one ain’t good odds for anypony.”

Suddenly Fluttershy remembered the injured guard. “Um, is your friend okay? The one who was injured last night? Oh, I hope he didn’t... um...”

“Die?” Cloudburst asked. Fluttershy nodded and he added, “Nah, thanks to Miss Sparkle we got him to a doctor in time. He’s got a splitting headache and needs a few weeks to fully recover, but it looks like he’ll be fine.”

“But not everyone will,” Rainbow spoke up from the couch. She was sitting up and held a hoof to her cheek, looking worried. “That mare in the street, the one that hit me with a rock, she was holding a stallion. He was bleeding. I-I don’t think he made it.”

Fluttershy felt a twinge of sadness come from her and said, “How do you know? Maybe he wasn’t hurt as bad as you thought.”

“Maybe.” Rainbow shrugged before lying back down. “It’s...just a feeling, you know?”

“The only thing I know,” Cloudburst said as he scratched Quintus on the head with a hoof, “Is that worrying about it ain’t gonna do you any good. Like your friend here said, you don’t know what happened. So look on the bright side and tell yourself he made it. Okay?”

“Is that what you tell yourself?”

“No. I don’t have that luxury.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shook his head. “Oh, nothin’. Now, what’s the plan for today?”

Fluttershy met Rainbow’s eyes and said, “Um, plan? Should we have one?”

Cloudburst shrugged. “Unless you want to spend all day lounging about here in the suite, then I’d say so.”

“Usually I’d definitely be down for more sleep,” Rainbow said. “But we need to see Twilight.”

“Oh, yes, we need to talk to her about, um...” Fluttershy looked to Rainbow, unsure of whether to tell the sergeant about the connection between them.

“Stuff,” Rainbow said.

“Stuff?” Cloudburst asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, stuff,” Fluttershy said.

“Alright then. Well, whenever you three are ready to go see Miss Sparkle about this ‘stuff’ you let me know. I’ll be right outside.” With that he left and Fluttershy turned to the task of getting herself and Quintus presentable.

“Rainbow, could you help me with Quintus?” she asked.

He had finally finished his breakfast and was, as Fluttershy was quickly finding out, a very messy eater. He squirmed a little as she wiped the syrup and butter off his face.

Rainbow hopped up off the couch and trotted over to the table where they were. “Uh, sure. What are we doing?”

“Giving him a bath,” Fluttershy said with a slight cringe.

Quintus, as Rainbow found out, did NOT like water.

“Is he always like this around water?” Rainbow asked Fluttershy.

They had ran a bath and had been trying to convince Quintus to get in the water for several minutes now. Nothing seemed to work, however, and Fluttershy was unsure of what to do.

“Um, I don’t think so. He doesn’t resist when I wash him down with a cloth, but I haven’t been able to give him a proper bath since I found him.”

Rainbow looked down to where Quintus was wrapped around Fluttershy’s leg and asked, “Well...what do we do now?”

Fluttershy shrugged and then patted him on the head, saying, “It’s okay, Quintus. It’s just a bath. We have to get you cleaned up before we go see Twilight. Won’t you get in? Please?” He shook his head and tightened his grip around Fluttershy’s leg.

“Are you afraid of the water, Quint?” Rainbow asked.

He nodded at her.

“Quint, buddy, it’s just water. See?” She dipped a hoof in and then pulled it out to show him.

“That’s right,” Fluttershy said. “It’s just water, what are you afraid of?”

He looked down for a second before raising his head to meet her eyes. His expression changed from fear to concentration and after a moment his horn glowed. Fluttershy held her breath but no flash came. The green glow was weak and didn’t build up like last time. Suddenly her vision changed. Overlayed on top of her view of the bathroom was...something else. It was indistinct and she couldn’t make anything out but a large pool of water surrounded by darkness. After a few seconds she heard Quintus huff and the view faded away. He shook his head and the glow left his horn.

“Fluttershy? You okay?” Rainbow asked.

“I-I think so.”

“What happened? You kind of spaced out there for a second or two.”

“I think Quintus tried to show me something.”

“What?”

“I don’t really know. I couldn't make anything out except a big pool of water.”

“Oh man, this day just gets weirder and weirder. We really need to go see Twilight.”

“Yeah...” Fluttershy said.

She was shaken a little from the experience. What she hadn’t told Rainbow was that she had felt a profound sense of fear from Quintus. But it wasn’t from the water, it was from something else. A large figure that stood in the shallows. It was dark and she hadn’t been able to make out any details, but she definitely felt the terror in that...that memory. That’s what it had been, she realized. A memory.

She agreed with Rainbow. They really needed to go see Twilight.

Chapter Four

“Uh, are you two ladies alright?” Cloudburst asked.

Fluttershy cringed. They were walking through the castle corridors on their way to the Archives with Cloudburst and the two guards from outside their suite. She and Rainbow had been arguing over who was going to break the news about the link. For some reason it greatly troubled Rainbow, and she had been flat out refusing to talk to anyone about it, insisting that Fluttershy be the one to tell everypony.

Putting on her best ‘everything is okay’ face, Fluttershy turned to the sergeant.

“Um, yes. Everything is fine. Why do you ask?”

He gave her a look that told her he saw right through her facade. “Because the two of you been whispering to each other since we left the suite. Is there something I should know about?”

She glanced at Rainbow Dash, who rolled her eyes and nodded towards the sergeant, whispering, “Tell him.”

Fluttershy sighed in defeat and told him about the link between herself, Rainbow, and Quintus.

He reacted by raising an eyebrow and saying, “Huh. Ain’t that something. I reckon you three are in for an interesting time.”

“That, umm, doesn’t bother or surprise you?” Fluttershy asked.

He smiled and said, “Oh I’m surprised, but when you’ve been in the guard for as long as I have you get used to surprises. And as for botherin’ me... well, it ain’t like the little guy is going to mind control you and try to take over Canterlot. He’s standing, what, two feet tall? I’m pretty sure you need to be pushing at least three feet before you can overthrow a kingdom.”

She giggled and and a question popped into her mind. It took her a few moments to work up the nerve, during which she stared down to where Quintus was trotting beside her, his little legs moving quickly to keep up with their walk. Finally she turned to the sergeant.

“Umm, you’ve been so kind to Quintus so far, even putting your life at stake for him. And while I really appreciate it-”

“WE really appreciate it,” Rainbow said from beside her.

“Yes, we really appreciate it. But why, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you treating him so well?”

He came to a halt, causing the rest of the group to stop as well. There was a look of mild surprise on his face, as if he hadn’t expected such a question, but his face quickly became contemplative and after a few seconds he answered her.

“A couple reasons, darling. First, it’s my duty. I was placed in charge of escorting a possible prisoner to the castle. That requires that they arrive alive and unharmed. And now I’ve been made responsible for the safety of all four of you, which includes Quint,” he said. Then he smiled down at her. “But I guess I could have done that without being nice to the little fellow, so that doesn’t really answer your question, does it?”

She shook her head and he laughed a bit.

“Well, for one, he reminds me of my own boy at his age.”

“Oh, you have a son?”

“And a daughter. Proud as can be of both of them, too. But anyways, Quint’s a lot like my boy,” he said. Then he laughed once, “Hah! I remember the first time I was stationed here in Canterlot. I brought him to the castle one day when he was about Quint’s age. He was so excited to see where I worked and to be around all the other guards. I even let him wear my helmet for the day. You shoulda seen the smile he had by the time we left. You would have needed a sledgehammer to knock it off his face.”

“Did he end up joining the guard?”

“Nope. That’d be Zephyr, my little girl and fastest pegasus in the Royal Guard,” he said. Then he pointed at Rainbow. “And while you, little lady, may be the fastest pony in Equestria, I reckon that wouldn’t be the case if we strapped a full set of armor onto you. I’d bet my good wing that my Zephyr would whip the hay out of you in an armored race.”

Rainbow grinned and stood a little straighter, fluffing her wings out. “I’d take that bet. Just another chance to prove how awesome I am!”

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. Leave it to Rainbow Dash to accept a challenge against a pony she’d never even met. Turning back to Cloudburst she said, “Was there another reason? It sounded like you weren’t quite done.”

“Uh, that there is...” he said awkwardly.

She instantly regretted asking. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked!”

“It’s fine. No harm done, darling. I’d rather not get into the details, so let’s just say that there ain’t no reason to be anything but kind to a child. And trying to harm one...” he stopped and looked away as a scowl came to his face. A hoof went to his maimed wing and for a moment he was lost in his own thoughts. When he spoke, his demeanor, normally calm and friendly, turned angry. “There just ain’t no reason. Ever! And if anypony lays a hoof on Quint... well, then Celestia help the poor bastard if I get a hold of them.”

Fluttershy stepped back at the sudden change in him and hid her face behind her mane.

He looked back to her and his face softened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so upset.”

“Oh, it’s okay! I’m sorry I asked! I just-”

“Fluttershy,” he interrupted, “it’s fine. It’s my fault.” Then with a wave of a hoof he said, “Now you three run along to the Archives. I better go get into some armor before my shift starts. I’ll meet up with you afterwards.”

With that he trotted back the way they came and disappeared down a side corridor.

“His shift hasn’t started?” Rainbow asked the two guards following them.

The unicorn Fluttershy had asked about breakfast earlier that morning shook her head and answered. “Not yet. Sarge is assigned to oversee your safety while you're here in Canterlot. Usually whoever that is just assigns guards, makes the schedule, and takes care of all the background work, leaving the actual guard duty to their subordinates. But Cloudburst usually likes to pull guard duty himself.”

“Better than sitting at a desk in the barracks...” the other guard, an earth pony, mumbled.

“Yeah, well, he likes to do it. Especially when it’s somepony important like you three.”

“Um, important like us?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hello! Bearers of the Elements!” Rainbow said.

“Oh...”

“Plus,” the other guard, said. “I think he likes the changeling there.” He pointed at Quintus.

“He is cute, isn’t he.” The first guard smiled and waved a hoof at Quintus, who returned her smile and waved back. “Sarge has a soft spot for kids.”

“Yeah, I think he kinda pounded that into us just now,” Rainbow said. “Didn’t expect him to get angry like that.”

“Uhh, yeah... you haven’t seen Sarge angry yet,” the unicorn said. “And you really don’t want to. So I’d probably stay on his good side if I can help it.”

“That’s odd, he doesn’t seem like an angry pony,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh he isn’t. I can count the number of times I’ve seen him get legitimately angry on one hoof. But I uh, never want to see it again, and neither do you. Honestly, I doubt it’s even possible for you to get him angry, but just stay on his good side, okay?”

“Oh, umm, yes, I think we’ll do that.”

* * *

Fluttershy stretched a wing out and spent a moment enjoying the warm feeling as sunlight streaming through the glass dome above temporarily fought off the winter chill that the room’s enchantments couldn’t quite hold back. Filled with the scent of stale paper, old parchment, and dusty books, the Canterlot Archives was, exactly as she expected, first and foremost a library. Located just north of the keep proper, the Archives was a vast, multi-level monstrosity, shaped like an octagonal cylinder on the inside. The outer portion of each level overflowed with bookshelves, each crammed nearly to bursting with hundreds upon hundreds of books while the inner portion was hollow and empty save for a few dozen tables clustered together in the center of the ground floor where Fluttershy, her friends, and a few other random ponies currently sat.

Even though it was still early morning, the sun’s warmth poured in through the enchanted glass dome above them as if it was noon. According to Twilight the dome also worked its magic with the moon, and the unicorn claimed she had spent many nights reading by the orb’s silver light in solitude.

“So can you help us Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked from the beside Fluttershy. “Please say you can help us! As much as I like Fluttershy and Quint, this whole sharing minds thing is so not cool!”

Fluttershy folded her wing up and frowned. It had barely been an hour since herself, Rainbow, and Quintus had been linked together and already it was getting to Rainbow. She’d hoped her friend would be able to handle it better. The links weren’t THAT bad after all. Sure, it had been a bit of a shock when Quintus had first linked them, but she was already getting used to the feeling of two other minds within her own. She had quickly realized the key to dealing with them was not to push them away, and not to focus on them, but to simply let them be, as if they were as much a part of herself as her wings or legs were. Closing her eyes she let the links come to the front of her mind.

Quintus’s link felt warm and excited, which, given his apparent love of seeing and experiencing new things, suited him perfectly. She’d barely been able to keep him moving on the way from their suite to the Archives. Every new room and hallway they passed through held a dozen things that snatched his attention. He gawked at gleaming suits of golden armor that sat immobile in their alcoves, goggled at giant paintings of great battles past that hung on the walls, and saluted every guard they met with one little black hoof held to his temple, something which made their two guards chuckle every time.

Now he sat with his head buried in a book that Fluttershy had found for him. She’d spent a few minutes when they first arrived looking through various shelves for an appropriate book but there didn’t appear to be a children's section, at least on the ground floor. She’d eventually settled for one whose title was in another language but was full of intricate drawings of exotic animals that had grabbed his attention. Twilight, surprisingly, gave the book a look of approval when Fluttershy set it down in front of Quintus before she dived back into one of the dozen books of her own that lay scattered about on the table and floor.

Letting Quintus’s link go, she nudged Rainbow’s to the front of her mind. Where Quintus was excited and happy, Rainbow felt anxious and irritated. Not that Fluttershy needed the link to tell her that. The blue pegasus currently paced back and forth through their section of the archives, just like she’d been doing since they’d arrived fifteen minutes before, and showed no sign of stopping.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked across the table to were Twilight sat. She’d listened as they explained how Quintus had linked them together and was now trying to examine them.

“I don’t know if I can help, Rainbow Dash. You haven’t stopped moving long enough for me to examine you,” Twilight grabbed Rainbow as she passed in front of her. “So hold still!”

Rainbow frowned but sat on her haunches. A purple glow surrounded Twilight’s horn and a few seconds later Rainbow shuddered as the glow enveloped her.

“Uhh, is it supposed to tingle?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? You’re not going to turn my wings into cantaloupes or something are you?”

“It’s a basic spell used to detect whether magic is currently affecting something or has in the recent past. I’ve used it a thousand times before without any problems.”

“Hey! I’m just being careful. You did turn a frog into an orange once, remember?”

Twilight groaned. “That was completely different. That spell was- you know what, never mind. Just hold still so I can get this over with.”

Rainbow mumbled something unintelligible but held still while Twilight worked. Once she was done she repeated the process on Fluttershy and then on Quintus. As soon as it hit Quintus he squirmed and hissed in laughter as the spell tickled him, and Fluttershy had to hold him still while Twilight worked. The latter even cracked a small smile, much to Fluttershy’s delight.

Finally Twilight was done and the glow faded from Quintus. Her eyes met Fluttershy’s, whose heart dropped when she recognized the look on Twilight’s face.

“I’m sorry, girls. I couldn’t find anything.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t find anything?” Rainbow asked.

“There was nothing there. Nothing I could detect at least. Which means that whatever is linking the three of you together probably isn’t a spell. It’s most likely a natural ability.”

“Natural ability?”

“Yes, similar to how pegasi can manipulate the weather and walk on clouds without needing to cast spells to do so. I’d guess that this link is something innate to changelings. Perhaps he reached a stage in his development where it naturally activates and you two just happened to get caught in it somehow.”

“So does that mean you can’t do anything for us?”

“I’m afraid so, Dash. It’s not a spell, so I can’t even detect it, let alone alter or remove it. It appears that, for now at least, you’re going to have to live with it.”

“Oh man...” She lay her chin on the table and sighed, exhaling through her mouth and blowing her red and orange forelocks around.

“Don’t worry Rainbow,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure everything will be okay.”

“Yeah, once this link goes away...”

Fluttershy knew she couldn’t help Rainbow when she was in this kind of mood so she turned to Twilight.

“So, umm, what have you been reading about?”

“I’ve been learning everything I can about illegal magical artifacts.”

“That’s not...illegal, is it?”

“Actually it is.”

“Wait wait wait,” Rainbow said. “Twilight’s actually breaking a rule? Or in this case a law? I didn’t think you had it in you!”

“She doesn’t,” said a voice from nearby. They all turned to see Cloudburst and another guard walking towards them. The two guards walked into the sunlight and Fluttershy was nearly blinded from glare off their armor. Thankfully they stopped in a shaded area near the table and the sergeant continued. “Princess Luna gave her permission earlier this morning. Ain’t that right Ms. Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded. “This is the second time I’ve had to deal with another unicorn using some enchanted piece of jewelry to vastly increase their magical abilities.” She snapped her book shut, plopped it on top of a growing tower on the floor, and then pulled another from a pile on the table next to her. “Quite frankly, I’m tired of having no way to deal with them.”

“And,” Cloudburst said. “until we do have a way to deal with them, both Celestia and Luna think it’s a good idea for you to stay at the castle.”

“Fine by me,” Rainbow said. Fluttershy gave her a questioning look and she added, “A royal suite, free food, and room service? You won’t hear me complain.”

“Umm, what about our lives back in Ponyville?” Fluttershy asked. “I’ve got animals that need to be taken care of. And Rainbow, don’t you have weather work to do?”

“They can handle things without me for a while. Besides, what are they going to do? Tell me to ignore the princesses?”

Cloudburst raised a hoof. “Now now, no need to worry. If you can find somepony to cover for you or help you out with your animals then the princesses are willing to pay them for as long as their services are needed.”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Well I suppose I can hire somepony to take care of the animals around my cottage while we’re stuck here. But not for too long! Angel Bunny doesn’t take well to strangers and I don’t want to be away from him for longer than a few days.”

“Well, that depends on what Ms. Sparkle here has learned.” Cloudburst said. “Anything useful?”

“Well, I’ve only been at it a few hours, so not too much. Only that they increase the users spell power and in some cases their skill as well.”

“That’s it?” Rainbow asked. “Didn’t we already know that?”

Twilight shot her a look and then continued.

“Anyways, we all know that both the Alicorn Amulet that Trixie wore and this ring that our mysterious unicorn has in his possession greatly increase the magical abilities of whoever wears them. What I’m trying to figure out is how they function so I can hopefully devise a way to counteract their effects. Now-”

“Is this going to be a long lecture?” Rainbow interrupted.

“Yes.”

“Can I just leave now?”

“No.”

Rainbow sighed and thumped her head back down on the table.

Twilight frowned at her but continued. “Like I was saying. I have a hypothesis, but without any concrete information I’m mostly piecing things together from my own knowledge of how magic works. Basically, I believe these artifacts use a combination of enchantments to enable them to act as a reservoir for magical energy, a source for generating this energy, and possibly even increase the actual casting ability of the user.”

“Which means...” Rainbow said.

“It means,” Twilight said, “that the user is able to cast more spells, more powerful spells, and is also better at casting them. Which would explain Trixie’s sudden ability to cast spells that were not only more powerful, but were much to complicated for her to cast normally. Following me?”

“I think so,” Fluttershy said. “You also said you found out why they’re illegal?”

Something touched her foreleg and made her turn her head. It was Quintus. He pointed to a picture of a creature she didn’t recognize in his book. It was a hairy, four-legged animal with wicked teeth and claws, and the name underneath was in the same unknown language as the title. At first she thought there might be some reason he'd pointed it out, but he quickly turned the page and pointed to the next picture, another ugly beast she'd never seen, and she realized he was just excited like usual.

“Ohh, that’s nice, sweetie,” she told him and turned back to the conversation. Thankfully Twilight had waited for her to finish with Quintus.

“Yes, well, they’re illegal because of the possible side effects, which were, thankfully, easy to find. They weren’t even in the restricted section. Probably to keep anypony from wanting to make them in the first place,” she levitated a book from the pile on the floor to the table and flipped it open. “If the user of the artifact isn’t careful, well, bad things can happen.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Bad things like what?”

Twilight turned the book around to show them. “Bad things like burn out your horn. Or worse.”

On the page were various ink drawings of unicorns with melted horns, missing limbs, and one was, to Fluttershy’s utmost horror, turned inside out.

“Oh my goodness!” she held both hooves to her mouth and turned away.

“Speaking of side effects,” Twilight continued, “I think our mystery unicorn is inexperienced with his artifact.”

“What makes you say that?” Cloudburst asked. His ears had perked up at the news.

“Last night during the...incident...as soon as I was able to overcome the pain and fight back, he acted like maintaining the spell was painful. That means that he hasn’t built up a tolerance to channeling the amount of energy required to counteract my own spells yet. In short, he was literally burning out his horn.”

“It’s just too bad he didn’t finish the job then,” Cloudburst said. “That’d make everything a lot easier. So how long do you think it’s going to take to come up with a way to stop this magical, uh, thingy.”

“If I had detailed information on how the artifact works, not long. But without that information I’m forced to use my own knowledge and effectively start from scratch. Which is going to take a lot longer.”

“How much longer?” the sergeant asked.

“Weeks? Maybe months? There’s no way to tell right now.”

Fluttershy was again distracted by Quintus, who got her attention to point out another creature in his book. She feigned interest for a moment and then returned to the discussion. Cloudburst was speaking to Twilight.

“...until you figure out a way to counteract that artifact, the only ponies who stand a chance of beating our assailant are you, the princesses, and the strongest spellcasters in the guard.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“So we’re pretty much screwed until then?” Rainbow asked.

“Unless you’re capable of projecting an anti-magic field or have armor warded against magic, then yes.”

Rainbow turned to Cloudburst and bumped him with a shoulder. “So... uh, you guys got any of that armor, Sarge?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Of the quality we need? Let’s just say we don’t exactly keep it lying around the castle. I’ll have to put in a request just to see if the armory has any in stock. Until then, I think it’s best if y’all stay inside the castle grounds.”

“What, you don’t think we’re going to get attacked on the streets of Canterlot in broad daylight, do you?” Rainbow asked.

He pointed a hoof at Rainbow and said, “That’s exactly what I think is going to happen. And don’t fool yourselves. Daylight ain’t going to protect you. I’ve been doing this job for nearly twenty years and I guarantee you that there’s at least as much crime during the day as their is at night. So like I said, stay in the castle grounds unless you want a knife in your belly.”

“Look pal, there is no way I can stay cooped up in here. I gotta get out and stretch my wings or I’ll go crazy!”

“You really wanna risk your flank just to get a little wing-workout?”

“Oh come on! You act like that unicorn is going to suddenly grow wings and come after me!”

“Dash,” Twilight broke in. “I seem to remember a certain spell that gave a certain unicorn wings for the day, don’t you?”

Rainbow crossed her forelegs and glared at her. “And I seem to remember this certain pair of wings being so fragile they caught fire in the sunlight. And yours truly,” she held a hoof to her chest. “had to personally rescue this certain unicorn AND three of the wonderbolts all at the same time. Oh, you know what? I think I still have a certain crown to prove it, too. It says ‘Best Young Flyer’ on it. Ring a bell?”

“She umm, she does have a point, Twilight.” Fluttershy said. The memory of Rarity’s wings burning to a crisp in the sun, leaving the unicorn flightless and falling, followed by Rainbow Dash performing a Sonic Rainboom, flashed in her mind. “I don’t think anypony could catch up to her with wings like that.”

Twilight threw her hooves up in defeat. “Ugh, fine! It’s your life. Not like you don’t risk it all the time with your dangerous stunts anyways!”

“Hey! Those stunts are-”

“Ladies! Ladies!” Cloudburst cried, getting the attention of those few ponies in the Archives that weren’t already glaring at them for the noise. “Could we settle down for just a moment?”

Both Twilight and Rainbow lowered their heads upon realizing how loud they had gotten.

Cloudburst thought for a moment. “Well, with your reputation I think it’s unlikely anypony’s going to try to attack you in the air, as it’d be mostly pointless unless they can get close, which is something I sincerely hope you ain’t going to let happen. Besides, when it comes right down to it, I don’t think any of my guards could even catch you if you decided to fly off. Just stay moving and don’t let anypony get close, alright?”

“Fine.”

“Uh, Sergeant,” Twilight said. “Speaking of being attacked, has an investigation been started on last nights incident?”

“Yes ma’am, I officially started one last night before we saw Princess Celestia.” Then he nodded to the other guard with him and said, “Which is why the corporal is here. He needs to take your statements. Just answer his questions honestly and don’t omit anything, even if it’s hard to talk about or embarrassing, alright?”

With that they spent the next half hour answering questions and recounting the events of the previous night. The corporal had an intimidating glare and when it came her turn Fluttershy barely managed to stutter through. Only the fact that her friends were there gave her the strength to get through the ordeal. Finally they were done and the corporal thanked them before walking off.

“Oh, thank Celestia that’s over with.” Fluttershy said, letting out a sigh and letting herself sag on the table.

“That reminds me!” Twilight suddenly said. “I meant to tell you girls something.”

“Tell us what?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, umm...” Twilight fidgeted in her seat for a moment before continuing. “I met with Princess Celestia earlier before coming to the archives. She’s... taking a vacation. She’s already left.”

“For how long?” Fluttershy asked. The news that Celestia had left on a vacation, now of all times, worried her.

“She didn’t say.”

“So Luna’s running the kingdom for now?” Rainbow asked.

“Yep.”

“Can she handle it?”

“She seemed pretty excited about running the kingdom herself when I met with her earlier. Not quite ‘double the fun’ excited, but I’d say she is definitely looking forward to it.”

“Wait, I don’t get it. Why is Celestia going on vacation in the middle of a crisis? Shouldn’t she be around to, you know, help?”

“Perhaps you don’t remember last night very well,” Cloudburst said. “Princess Celestia ain’t really in the state of mind to deal with all this right now.”

“But why not? She’s Princess freakin’ Celestia! She’s like thousands of years old! She’s been through all kinds of stuff! How can this one little thing get to her?”

“Well, I wasn’t there at the wedding of Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, but from what I hear Celestia was beaten real soundly, real quick. That about right?”

Rainbow’s response went unheard by Fluttershy as Quintus interrupted her once more. Her brow bunched into a frown at being distracted yet again and she bent down to whisper in his ear. “Sweetie, this is an important conversation. We can look at the book later, okay?” She didn’t like being that harsh, but sometimes it was necessary. This was important after all. He hung his head and she had to force herself not to give in to his dejected look. “If you want, we can check it out when we’re done. How’s that sound?”

He nodded weakly but didn’t pick his head up and she barely managed to tear herself away from him and back to the conversation.

Twilight was speaking. “...practically immortal, you’ve lived thousands of years, and never once lost a fight. Ever. Then, suddenly, at the wedding of two ponies very close to you, an evil monster appears and thoroughly beats you in all of about five seconds. How would that make you feel? Think you could handle dealing with the sudden news that the only enemy that’s ever beaten you like that could be back and hiding as anypony in the kingdom?”

“I-I don’t know.” Rainbow said. “I guess-”

She stopped suddenly and her eyes stared past Fluttershy at Quintus. In the absence of conversation the Archives were eerily quiet except for a single sound that tore at Fluttershy’s heart.

Quintus was crying.

She turned to see him standing in his seat with his forelegs on the table as tears poured out from behind his closed eyes to stream down his cheeks and slowly pitter-patter on the book in front of him. Tears, like a strong river current that swept away everything else that mattered to her and left only the small, crying child for her to worry about.

“Oh my goodness! What’s wrong, Quintus?”

He opened his blue eyes, now puffy and red on the outside, and tapped the picture in the book twice. It showed several changelings sitting side by side in the dirt. Two were plain and wore nothing but their carapace, but the third wore a set of armor that she had seen on a few changelings when they had attacked Canterlot. Then an image of two changelings drawn in crayon, one dressed in armor much like the picture in the book and holding a much smaller changeling with one foreleg, popped into her mind. There was a word underneath. Daddy.

She yanked Quintus’s link to the front of her mind and had to hold back her own tears as the feeling nearly overwhelmed her. It was an ache, a longing that left a hole in her chest. She swept him up in an embrace and he buried his face in the yellow fur of her neck.

“Is he okay?” Cloudburst asked.

“He umm, misses his father,” she said.

Cloudburst covered his mouth with a hoof and turned away, mumbling something that was lost to her. When he turned back there was moisture in his eyes. “You want to get him back to the suite?”

Fluttershy nodded. Everything but the bundle around her neck was forgotten. They stood and trotted out of the archives. Cloudburst spoke with the two guards at the doorway and then motioned for her to follow. Neither spoke while they walked and the only sounds were of Quintus sobbing into her neck and the clicking of their hooves on the floor. The feelings pouring into her from the link became harder and harder to resist, and Fluttershy was on the verge of crying herself when they finally they arrived at the suite. The sergeant opened the door for her and followed her in.

“I’ll be here in the main room if you need anything,” he said.

She nodded and took Quintus to their bedroom, closing the door behind her before lying down on the bed and curling up with him. He clung to her neck still, and the fur had become cold and wet from his tears long ago. Finally, lying there embracing a crying child who desperately longed for his father, she surrendered to his emotions, and for a small while two bodies shook as they wept in aching sadness, lonely even in the company of one another.

* * *

Rainbow Dash buried her face in her hooves.

“Oh man...I knew this link was bad news,” she said to herself.

“Dash...are you alright?”

She looked up to see a worried Twilight. “Oh yeah, great, Twi,” she rolled her eyes and gestured towards the door with a hoof. “Fluttershy just ran off with Quint and now both are back in their room bawling their eyes out.”

“How do you-”

“The link Twilight! This stupid link! I can feel both of them in my head...” she tapped her head with a hoof. “In my chest...” she tapped her chest. “It’s like this icy pit that just gets bigger the more I try to forget about it. I mean, it’s only been like an hour but already I’ve nearly panicked worse than I ever have in my entire life and now I’m sitting here trying not to cry my eyes out in front of everyone. You gotta do something Twi! Please! I can’t take this!”

Twilight bit her lip and said, “Rainbow... I’m sorry, but like I said earlier, there’s nothing I can do about it. But I think if you just give it some time you’ll either get used to it or learn to better control it.”

Rainbow huffed but didn’t interrupt so Twilight continued.

“It’s like you said. You’ve only had this link for a little over an hour. You can’t expect yourself to get used to it that quickly. Nopony can. Just give it a few days and I bet it’ll be like the link isn’t even there anymore.”

Rainbow shook her head. “No no no, you don’t understand Twi! I can’t handle all these emotions and stuff! I’m not all sappy and emotional! That’s not who Rainbow Dash is! Rainbow Dash is-”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted, “is just a mare like all her friends are, and shouldn’t be afraid of crying in front of them or anypony else. Especially under the circumstances.”

“It’s never that simple, Twi. I-” she cut off abruptly and held a hoof to her chest as the pit suddenly grew twice in size and her breathing got rapid. She looked around. The walls felt like they were only a few feet away and the bookshelves suddenly looked dangerously close to tipping over onto her. Both Fluttershy’s and Quint’s links throbbed in her mind, and each pulse threatened to push her own emotions away and leave her a sobbing mess.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“I think...I think I’m gonna cry...” Rainbow brought a hoof to each cheek and looked around the room at the dozen or so other ponies that had been glancing over at them for several minutes now. “Not here not here not here...” she mumbled to herself again and again.

Twilight was asking her something but she couldn’t hear the words. Her mind was overwhelmed as it simultaneously struggled to repel the foreign emotions and keep her own urges in check. A tightening sensation gripped her heaving chest and she felt lightheaded.

“Can’t...can’t breathe...” she said to no one.

She could feel it. That worst possible thing. The damp, raw feeling creeping up behind her eyes. Her breath coming in quick gasps.

“Need...Fluttershy...” she managed to get out between breaths. “Where’s...Fluttershy...”

But her friend couldn’t help her, not this time. She held her head and blinked over and over again, trying to stop the oncoming flood. It was almost here. She inhaled, drawing in one last breath, and at the peak, right when her lungs filled, it happened.

“Oh no,” she managed to whispered.

Her chest and throat seized up. She squeezed her eyes shut but knew that wouldn’t stop it. A frigid, tingly feeling shot out from her breast and raced up her body until it reached her head. There it came to a focus, right behind her eyes, and...and...

She bolted.

Her legs moved on their own. Everything was blurry. She tripped on something and pain flared up her leg. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t feel it. She scrambled to her feet and leaped over another obstacle. Someone yelled at her but she couldn’t hear them. The doors and two golden figures blurred by. Then she was in the corridor. More figures and voices blurred as she sprinted past.

Window window window. She had to get outside. Where was a window!? The corridor turned abruptly ahead. She rounded the corner without slowing and her hooves lost traction. There was a loud smack as she fell to the floor and then yelling as she careened into somepony. A flash of dark blue fur, black splotches, and a crescent moon filled her vision and a voice cried out something that sounded like her name. Didn’t matter. She had to find a window. Her feet scrabbled at the slick floor and finally found purchase. Another turn coming up. She didn’t lose traction this time.

A window ahead! She willed her legs to move faster and leaped through the window at a full gallop. The glass shattered under her front hooves and the rest of her body followed them out. Cold, frigid air rushed into her lungs and lifted her up as she pumped her wings.

For long minutes she flew, sweeping her wings up and down as hard as she could. Up and up she went, the sunlight filling her vision and guiding her. Then when her muscles burned from exertion and her wingtips were numb from the cold she found a cloud nearby and collapsed. The vapor was hard, almost like solid ice, not soft and fluffy like it would be in another few weeks when spring started.

Her insides roiled. She slammed a hoof down on the cloud in an attempt to turn the fear and sadness and confusion into something more familiar; anger. Once. Twice. Three times. She poured everything she had left into each blow, channeling every bit of every emotion she had within to power her. Her hoof bit into the hard surface and sent up chips that dissipated into nothing in the air. She rose, screaming and striking the cloud repeatedly with both front hooves as tears etched small, frozen trails down her cheeks. The cloud was hard and unforgiving under her onslaught, and by the time her legs gave out her hooves ached and throbbed from the beating.

Finally, finally she felt empty. She looked around. Miles of air lay below her. Canterlot was a dot on the side of the mountain in the distance. She took a deep breath and let it out. Again. And again. No sound reached her but that of her own breathing. Then it hit her. She hadn’t drained everything. The sadness, the anger, the confusion were gone. But there was something left. Loneliness. A remnant from the link perhaps. It struck her like the ground when one of her stunts went bad, and she realized she was utterly alone.

A small whine came from her throat but went unnoticed as her eyes searched the empty horizon. She was alone. An ocean of white rolled out to meet the sky in all directions. And she was cold. Her icy perch had sucked the heat from her and she was shivering violently. She didn’t want to be cold and alone. Not now. Her mind felt frayed and her eyes had burning daggers behind them. Everywhere she looked there was nothing but snow and emptiness. Even the sunlight was frozen. Everything except...except inside her. She felt them. The links. No longer did they feel sad and lonely. Out of everything in her world right now, they alone were warm and welcoming. A single sob escaped her and she threw herself from the cloud and sped towards Canterlot. Towards the warmth.

Ahead, the castle grew in size as she approached. But it was slow. She was slow. Her wings ached, her legs ached, her chest ached, everything ached. A single pegasus guard came close and called her name as she approached their balcony but a flailing hoof sent him away. She was almost there. A figure appeared through the glass doors. She came in to land but her legs gave out when she touched down and she collapsed, sliding on the frozen surface until she thumped into the glass doors. They opened barely a second later.

“Rainbow Dash!” A gentle voice said. “Oh, help me with her!”

Warm limbs embraced her.

"Darling, she is freezing!" another voice, much deeper than the first, said. "Let’s get her inside to her bed!”

A few moments later she was in lying on something soft.

“Go grab my first aid kit out of my saddlebags. They’re in my room.”

“Do you want me to get a medic up here?”

“No no, she’s just a little banged up. I’ve had to patch and bandage her more than once after a crash. She’ll be fine.”

A short time passed and Dash felt her leg and hooves being wrapped. She looked up to see blue-green eyes staring down at her from within an ocean of yellow topped with pink. Then something clicked and she could speak again.

“Fluttershy?” she croaked.

“Right here, Rainbow. Are you okay? What happened?”

“I...was in the Archives. And... I-I panicked.”

“Oh, I know sweetie, I felt it. You had me so worried.”

“Then... then I was on a cloud. Miles from Canterlot. I was... angry. Confused. And then I was alone. And cold. Everything was so cold, Fluttershy.”

“Don’t you worry, you’re back now and it’s warm in here.”

“Everything except for...you. You and Quint. Suddenly you two were the only things I could think of. I-I didn’t want to be cold and alone anymore, so I flew back.”

“It looks like you barely made it. You must have been pretty far out.”

“Yeah...could barely see Canterlot. Was so tired. Legs wouldn’t work when I landed.”

“Well, you just lie there and rest, okay?”

“Okay... hey, Fluttershy?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t leave me alone, okay? I don’t want to be alone.”

“I won’t.”

* * *

Fluttershy looked down at the pegasus lying on the bed. She had just finished taking care of Rainbow’s scrapes and bruises, a task that wasn’t unfamiliar to her. Her friend had once had the nickname of ‘Rainbow Crash’ for good reason, and Fluttershy had practically learned her first aid skills by tending to Rainbow over the years.

She smoothed a few of the ruffled blue feathers on one of Rainbow’s wing and then put away her first aid supplies before standing. She saw Rainbow raise her head and look back at her through one half-closed, puffy eye and said, “I’m just going to put this back in my saddlebags in the other room and then I’ll be right back, okay Rainbow?”

Rainbow nodded weakly and laid her head back on the bed. Through the link, Fluttershy felt utter exhaustion from her. She didn’t know what Rainbow had done or how far she had flown, but it had completely worn her friend out.

Cloudburst was lying on one of the couches in the main room and turned to Fluttershy when she emerged from Rainbow’s room.

“She okay? What happened?” he asked.

“I umm, I think she had a panic attack. I wasn’t there to stop it this time like I was earlier.”

“This link thing...it’s really getting to you three, isn’t it?”

“I think Quintus and I will be okay. It’s Rainbow I’m worried about.”

“From what I heard about it earlier this morning, along with her attitude about it in the Archives and what just happened, it does seem to be hitting the girl pretty hard.”

“Rainbow... well, she’s always worried about what other ponies think of her. And... and I think that’s part of the reason it hits her so hard. She pushes away anything that she thinks will make her look weak, which I think makes her both strong and vulnerable at the same time.”

“She’s the one who stays strong when everypony else breaks down, but when it comes her time she’s hit ten times harder, and because she’s worried about her image, she can’t accept help. Sound about right?”

“I umm, I guess so. Is she that easy to read?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ve just had a lot of practice with my daughter. That girl’s as tough as nails, as stubborn as a mule, and there ain’t a sport, game, or race that she wouldn’t challenge you at and then beat you. Twice. Trust me, I know.”

They shared a laugh and Fluttershy trotted to her bedroom door. She opened it slowly, slipped in, and quickly placed her first aid kit back in her saddlebags, careful not to wake Quintus. Even though it was only late morning, his crying had managed to tire him out enough to take a nap. She went to leave but stopped short of the door. Should she leave him here? She promised not to leave Rainbow alone, but she also wanted to be near Quintus. After a moments deliberation she carefully gathered Quintus in a foreleg and walked back to Rainbow’s room.

Rainbow was still lying on the bed on her side with her eyes half closed and staring into nothing. The sight of her brought a lump to Fluttershy’s throat. Her fur was disheveled, the edges of the colored bands in her tail and mane were tangled into a blur instead of their usual sharp divisions, and feathers stuck out at odd angles from her wings. Fluttershy mentally kicked herself. She should have realized this would happen. She knew Rainbow would have trouble and she should have brought her back to the suite with Quintus. Instead, she just... forgot about her. She couldn’t believe it. She forgot about Rainbow Dash! The pony who had been her dearest friend longer than she could remember! How could she do such a thing?

Sighing quietly, she laid Quintus down next to Rainbow, who immediately reached out and embraced the changeling, pulling him to her chest. He kicked a few times, but soon settled down and was still.

The bed creaked when Fluttershy climbed up and lay down next to Rainbow. Her stomach touched the cold fur on Rainbow’s back and she barely suppressed a gasp at the feeling. She was cold and, pressed against her, Fluttershy felt shivers run through her friend.

“Rainbow, you’re still freezing...” she whispered.

Rainbow’s head barely moved as she nodded.

The blanket was cool when she first pulled it over them, but with three bodies underneath it quickly turned it a comfortable temperature. Unfurling a wing she draped it over Rainbow and slid both forelegs around her to pull them together. The fact that Rainbow didn’t protest at the extreme closeness was a testament to how tired and confused she was, and Fluttershy couldn’t remember them ever being this close before.

“Just close your eyes and sleep, okay? I won’t leave you alone, I’ll be right here the whole time.”

“It’s gonna...get better...right?” Rainbow said with each shallow breath. “I’m not...gonna lose...myself...right?”

“Of course not. Everything’s going to be just fine. Now you just close your eyes and don’t worry about anything, okay?”

Rainbow nodded once more and closed her eyes. Something tickled Fluttershy’s face as she snuggled closer. Rainbow’s mane. Without thinking she brought a hoof up and ran it through the colorful hair. She started near Rainbow’s ears where the green began and went down, passing through blue and ending at the junction of her neck and torso where the violet stopped. Then she began again. Her yellow hoof at green, then slowly to blue. Now gently, from blue and easing on through violet.

By the fourth run she found her throat humming a barely audible tune, and by the tenth her friend had quit shivering. A short time later Rainbow’s breathing had become slow and regular, signaling that sleep had welcomed her and through the link she now joined Quintus in emanating a peaceful calm.

Fluttershy smiled and let it envelop her, sinking into the warmth, both physically and mentally. She knew there would be more tough times ahead but, for now at least, there was nothing to worry about.

She pressed herself against fur that was now warm and whispered, “You’re going to be just fine, Rainbow. I know you will.”

Chapter Five

It was eight days after they had arrived in Canterlot that Quintus almost died.

A week had passed without any progress in Cloudburst’s investigation. Despite dozens of ponies seeing and hearing the mysterious unicorn, no one seemed to know anything about him. Searches of several vendors and stores suspected of dealing in illegal magical items turned up no leads and the investigation was effectively at a standstill for the time being.

Twilight was her usual hyperfocused self. She mostly stayed in the archives studying and researching, and other than the few times they went to see her themselves, Fluttershy and Rainbow only saw her for a few minutes late each night when she returned to the suite. When they inquired about her progress she only replied that she was working on it before going straight to bed.

Meanwhile, the link continued to mess with them. Fluttershy found herself constantly under assault by mixed emotions from Rainbow and Quintus. Like the child he was, Quintus could easily swing between extreme excitement and happiness to flat out bawling at the drop of a hat. But those incidents were few and far between and Fluttershy was continually impressed by how well behaved he was. His link was usually a pleasant thing in her mind and she delighted in watching him play as she basked in the feelings of wonder and joy he projected into her mind.

Rainbow, on the other hand, was a mess. The panic attack had left her distraught and nearly terrified of being alone. She followed Fluttershy almost everywhere and only rarely left to go flying. The first two nights she’d even climbed into Fluttershy’s bed in the dark, shaking with fright, and Fluttershy had easily convinced her to simply join the two of them every night until she got over it. It was a little crowded with two grown pegasi and a small changeling all sharing the same blanket, but she didn’t mind. She had to admit, waking up to a warm body snuggling into your back was fairly pleasant. Of course the drool left on her neck every other morning almost made her reconsider. Almost.

But the worst was the nightmares. The link appeared to connect them even while they slept, and that first night Fluttershy woke from a terrible nightmare to find Rainbow flailing in her sleep. Had Fluttershy not been between them Rainbow would have likely knocked Quintus off the bed. After waking Rainbow, they had discovered that both of them had had the exact same dream about standing in the shallows of a dark, cold lake with shapeless monsters snapping at them from the shore. It was eerily similar to the picture Quintus shown her when he’d tried to explain why he wouldn’t take his bath. Yet strangely enough, Quintus didn’t seem to be bothered by the nightmare, nor by any of the subsequent nightmares they shared that week. If anything, the link seemed to almost die off when he was in a deep sleep and she had to concentrate to feel anything from him at all.

It was on the eighth morning that the unthinkable nearly happened. The morning routine had been normal. The scarred face of Cloudburst poked through the door right before breakfast and greeted them. After entering he gave them an update on the investigation and then they discussed what they would be doing for the day.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of breakfast, the servant his usual polite self as he set everything on the table before bowing and leaving them in peace. Fluttershy and Rainbow got up to go eat but Cloudburst stopped them.

“Quint can go ahead but I’d like to talk to you two for a second without him around,” he said, waving the little guy on.

“Alright,” Fluttershy replied. “Let me get everything set up for him and then I’ll be right back.” She helped Quintus up to the table and placed his breakfast dishes in front of him, making sure the syrup was well out of reach lest he decide to drench his food in it. Again. Once she was done she trotted back and sat next to Rainbow on the couch across from the sergeant. “What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“Well,” Cloudburst started, taking his helmet off and setting it next to him on his couch. “It’s about Quint. I’ve spoken with Princess Luna and she wants you to consider giving him up.”

Fluttershy’s mouth dropped and she stared at him for a moment before saying, “Give him up? What do you mean?”

“Think about it, darling. Both of you have lives outside of the castle, as does Ms. Sparkle. It makes no sense to keep the three of you around when you’d only be in danger.”

“So what would happen to Quint?” Rainbow asked.

“He’d go into foster care. With someone we can trust well away from the troubles here in Canterlot. Someone who is... well, a little better prepared to take care of a child than you are.” he pointed at Fluttershy. “Especially a child with special needs.”

“But... haven’t I done alright so far?” she asked.

He sighed and fiddled with the blue crest of his helmet, slowly dragging a hoof over the fake hair as he spoke. “Fluttershy... you’ve only had him for a little over a week, with most of that time spent here in the castle under guard. There’s a lot more to raising a kid than that. Trust me, I raised two by myself, I know what it’s like. It ain’t easy.”

She lowered her eyes. He was right. She had no experience at raising children. There was so much more to worry about compared to her animals. Things like school, how he’d fit in, if he’d make friends... not to mention how hard being unable to speak would make everything.

Rainbow spoke up. “But what about this link thing?” she gestured back and forth between them with her hoof. “You can’t expect us to just give him up when our minds are linked together. And it’s not like it gets weaker when you’re far away. I mean I was like a hundred miles from Canterlot and could still feel both of them just as well as I can right now.”

“I admit it’s not a exactly a perfect situation," Cloudburst said. "Still, it’s something to think about. The Princess wanted me to assure you that it would be Fluttershy’s decision. She won’t force her to give Quint up, especially with circumstances being as they are. It’s just something to think about. You don’t have to decide right this instant, okay?”

“Alright,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll umm... I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all Luna wanted,” he said before turning to Rainbow. “And speaking of the Princess, did you ever go apologize for running into her last week?”

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and then down at the floor. “Not yet.”

Cloudburst chuckled and shook his head. “Well don’t you worry, she wanted me to tell you that she understands you weren’t yourself at the time and that there’s nothing to forgive. Just be sure to open the window before you jump out of it next time, alright?”

“Oh, please, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t want you getting hurt agai-”

She stopped suddenly and her eyes widened as a wave of fear flooded in from Quintus’s link. Both she and Rainbow leaped to their feet and looked over to Quintus.

“What?” Cloudburst asked, his eyes dancing between them. “What is it?”

“Quintus?” she asked, “Are you okay?”

He was still sitting in his chair at the table, but something was wrong. She trotted over and when she was close she could see he was shaking badly and wheezing with every breath.

“I think something’s wrong with him!” she told Cloudburst.

“What?”

“I-I don’t know,” she said. “Quintus? What’s wrong, sweetie?”

His little head slowly turned towards her but he kept weaving back and forth as if he were dizzy. He leaned sideways and held out a single hoof to her, but before she could grab him he collapsed, falling over the edge and landing with a thump at the feet of the chair.

“Oh my goodness!” she cried.

“Guards!” The sergeant yelled as he rushed to kneel beside the tiny body shaking on the floor. The door opened and two guards barged in. “Go get a medic! Hurry!” he told one.

“What’s wrong with him!?” Rainbow asked from beside Fluttershy.

“I don’t know, darling, I don’t know,” Cloudburst said. “Maybe he’s allergic to something he just ate? Check his food.”

Fluttershy inspected the table. “No! He’s had everything up there before!”

“Damn it...” Cloudburst muttered. He thought for a moment and then looked to the other guard, the unicorn mare that had been with them for the last week. “Check the food for poison!”

Fluttershy’s chest suddenly tightened. Poison!?

“Poison?!” Rainbow’s surprised voice shouted. “Are you serious?”

Cloudburst ignored her question and waited while the unicorn worked. Her horn glowed a silvery-white for a short time and then without warning she leaped backwards as if she’d been slapped.

“Thamaline!” she yelled. “Sweet Celestia the whole thing’s laced with thamaline!”

Cloudburst’s eyes widened and his fur stood on end.

“Get away from the table!” he cried, grabbing Quintus and moving him to the center of the room where he laid him down on the floor and then backed away.

Fluttershy leaped away from the table at his outburst, but when she started towards Quintus he shouted at her, yelling, “Stay away from him or you’re dead!”

She froze. “What!? Why!”

He ignored her and turned to the unicorn. “Put a barrier around the table! As tight as you can make it! I don’t want any of that stuff getting out!”

Her horn flashed and a after a moment a shimmering bubble appeared around the entire table.

“Hey! What’s going on!?” Rainbow demanded.

“Darling, I’m sorry but I need you to shut it and let me think or Quint ain’t going to make it to sundown.”

Rainbow scowled and her mouth opened and closed a few times but she said nothing.

Meanwhile Fluttershy could only watch the scene unfold in front of her. Her wings were pressed into her sides and she was shaking almost as much as Quintus. From the link came feelings of confusion, fear, and and a feeling that really got to her. Pain. Half of her wanted to ignore what the sergeant had said and rush to the small black body lying on the floor. With the sight of Quintus suffering right before her eyes combined with the feelings coming in from the link she didn’t know how long she could keep herself away.

Across from her, on the other side of Quintus, Cloudburst’s eyes moved back and forth as he thought. Suddenly he looked to Rainbow.

“Dash! Go put on your saddlebags!” he said.

“But-”

“Just do it!” he yelled.

She turned and ran into her bedroom while he went to the balcony and flung open the doors. He whistled and one of the pegasus guards came down just as Rainbow reappeared with saddlebags on her flank.

“Dash, do you know where the Canterlot hospital is at?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, here’s what were gonna do. I’m going to put Quintus in your saddlebags and you’re going to follow him,” he pointed to the guard that had flown down, “straight to the hospital. Okay?”

“Yeah yeah. Got it.”

Looking at the guard he said, “Take her to the hospital. When you get there tell them you’ve got a case of thamaline poisoning and you need a quarantined room, got it?”

“Thamaline?!” the guard asked in surprise.

“That’s right, son. Now did you get all that?” Cloudburst asked.

“Uh, yes sergeant!”

“Good,” he said, turning back to Rainbow. “Now, Dash, on three we’re going to take a breath and run to Quint. I’m going to put him in your saddlebag and then you’re going to follow the guard. Do NOT breathe until you get outside with Quint, okay? And when you get to the hospital try not to get your face close to him.”

“You’re going to carry him in your saddlebags?!” Fluttershy asked as she eyed the pouch on her friends flank. “But he’s too big to fit! He’s going to fall out!”

“He ain’t gonna fall out!” Cloudburst shouted back. “Now, you ready, Dash?”

Her ears were plastered back on her head and she was shaking but she managed to nod.

“Okay... one, two, three!” they dashed in and seconds later Rainbow was out the doors and following the guard through the air with Quintus stuffed in one saddlebag.

“Okay! Everypony out! Now!” Cloudburst yelled. “Let’s go Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy hesitated and looked at the sergeant. His ears were laid back on his head in fear. But whatever he felt it couldn’t be anything like the fear she felt from Quintus. He was motioning for her to leave through the front door, but that wasn’t where Quintus was. He was the opposite way and quickly getting further away every second. She met the sergeant's eyes and then without a word she turned and ran through the room to the balcony where she threw herself into the cold air.

She flew as hard as she could, flapping her wings up and down faster than she could ever remember, yet the two figures ahead of her grew smaller and smaller as they receded into the distance over Canterlot. They became specks and she began to think she’d lose them when they abruptly dived towards a large rectangular building and landed on the roof.

By the time her hooves touched down on the emergency landing area she was breathing hard and her wings ached. While it wasn’t far from the castle to the hospital, the flight had practically been a sprint for her and she stumbled from fatigue when she landed. An orderly ran out to meet her and after she assured him that she was uninjured he let her pass.

Fifteen minutes of frantic searching turned up Rainbow Dash and the pegasus guard just outside a room on the top floor.

“Rainbow!” she cried as she cantered down the hallway. “What’s going on? How’s Quintus?”

“I don’t know! They won’t let me inside!” she said, pointing to a door covered in a shimmering blue barrier.

Fluttershy turned to the guard. “What’s going on? What’s thamaline?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you,” he said.

“Look pal, I don’t care what you’re supposed to do,” Rainbow said. She pointed back at the door. “Quint’s lying in there in pain and you know what’s wrong with him. So why don’t you buck whatever orders you have and start talking.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t have any orders. I just don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about it.”

“But-but why not?” Fluttershy asked.

“Security reasons.”

A surge of anger came through Rainbow’s link and she stepped up into his face and puffed out her wings. “Hey! Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time, pal, but-”

“Oh I heard you,” he interrupted, scowling and stepping forward so they were even closer. “I just don’t take threats very well, so why don’t you back down before I clip your wings, little filly.”

“Excuse me?! Why don’t you take that tin foil off,” she pointed to his armor. “and then me and you can take this outside and see who the little filly is.”

“Oh I’m not going anywhere. Unlike somepony here I’ve got an actual job to do. If you want to start something you do it right here, right now. Otherwise get out of my face,” he spat the last few words at her.

Eye to eye they stood. Rainbow’s muscles were so taut she was visibly shaking and Fluttershy felt the anger rising in her. It came in through the link like an oppressive cloud that she had to fight to keep out of lest she be suffocated by it, and she knew that unless she intervened things would get out of hand.

“Rainbow!” she cried, “Rainbow, leave him alone!”

“No way! He knows what’s wrong with Quint and I’m going to beat it out of him if he won’t tell us.”

“Please, Rainbow!” she cried “Quintus can feel how angry you are! I’m sure you’re scaring him more than he already is!” She wasn’t lying. The anger from Rainbow’s link was only matched by the confused, terrified feelings coming from Quintus. They mixed in Fluttershy’s mind like two weather fronts colliding and it was all she could do to keep a storm from forming and sweeping her up like she was in a hurricane.

“Then the sooner I get this over with the sooner it’ll be over for Quint!”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. She’d never seen Rainbow this angry and confrontational before. Was it because of the link, or would she have been this upset if they hadn’t been joined together?

The two pegasi in front of her glared at one another, each unwilling to back down, and it would be only moments before one of them snapped. It would be Rainbow. She knew it. Her friend’s wings slowly began to fold up and she crouched down every so slightly in preparation to strike.

The seconds passed and it felt like hours before the first blow landed. Striking like a snake, Rainbow shot a hoof up and nearly caught the guard on the chin. He must not have expected her to actually attack, as he ducked away with a look of surprise plastered on his face. But just as quickly it was gone as he twisted his muzzle away from a second blow. The butt end of his spear up came up and there was a dull smack as it impacted Rainbow full on in the face. She let out a muffled cry, stumbling backwards with one hoof held to her mouth and when she brought it down it was stained with a spot of red.

The guard sneered at her. “What’s the matter with you!? Attacking a member of Her Majesty’s Royal Guard? You’re lucky the situation is what it is or I’d have you in chains! Now back off before you get more than a bloody lip!”

A second or two passed as the two just stared at each other. Fluttershy’s heart wrenched itself from her chest when Rainbow shifted and made to lunge at the guard once more.

“No!” Fluttershy leaped forward and wrapped herself around Rainbow’s body, trying to hold her back. “Rainbow, please!”

“Get off!” Rainbow struggled in her grip. “He knows what’s wrong with Quint!”

Despite the attempt at holding her back, Rainbow Dash was a in excellent shape and far stronger than Fluttershy. She simply powered forward and Fluttershy found herself being dragged along the tile floor until both of them were a few feet from the guard. There was a sound as Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but the guard didn’t give her the chance. His spear was a blur as it shot out and clipped her in the knee. Off balance and with Fluttershy’s added weight, she collapsed and both of them fell the floor. The guard was on her before she could move and Fluttershy helped him hold her down.

“Lemme up!” she cried as she squirmed.

“Not until you calm down!” the guard said. He had the shaft of his spear laid across her neck so that if she raised her head or tried to get up she’d choke. Her forelegs flailed uselessly and almost caught Fluttershy across the chin as she threatened the guard.

“I’ll shove that toothpick right up your flank, shiny!”

Fluttershy tightened her grip and felt the wing under her shaking as Rainbow struggled. She couldn’t believe it! Rainbow Dash had just attacked somepony! The link. It had to be the link. Otherwise Rainbow would never purposely try to hurt anypony!

It took a few minutes for Rainbow to tire herself out, during which Fluttershy and the guard simply held her down and listened to her shout threats. Holding her best friend down nearly brought Fluttershy to tears, but it was for Rainbow’s own good. Several ponies came around the corner or poked their heads out of rooms in the hallway to watch and soon they had attracted a small crowd. Gradually Rainbow’s struggles weakened and finally she stopped and just lay there panting. A few moments later Fluttershy heard the sound of clopping hooves approaching and turned to see Cloudburst trotting up.

“You gotta be kidding me,” he shook his head and then sighed. “Alright, what happened?”

“She attacked me, sergeant. Had to subdue her and hold her down until she tired herself out.”

“He wouldn’t tell us... what’s wrong with Quint...” Rainbow panted out.

Turning to Fluttershy he said, “I assume this has something to do with that link?”

She nodded, “I think so.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Quintus is scared and hurting and... and, um...” suddenly the words wouldn’t come to her.

“You alright? You’re shaking pretty bad there, darling.”

Was she? Now that he pointed it out, she could feel it. Between the anger and rage coming from Rainbow and the pain and fear coming from Quintus, she was shaking so hard she could barely speak.

“I-I-I...” she trailed off, unable to say anything else.

The door to the room where Quintus was being kept suddenly opened and a purple unicorn in a white coat and mask poked his head out through the blue barrier. He took in the scene and then glared at them.

“I assume you’re done making a mess of my hospital?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled thanks to the mask over his muzzle.

Fluttershy looked down at her feet and pawed at the ground in silence.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said when no one spoke. “Now come inside. It’s likely you’ve all been exposed and need to be treated immediately.”

Cloudburst hauled Rainbow to her feet and said something in her ear that Fluttershy couldn’t here. Rainbow just nodded once and then followed Fluttershy inside. The barrier offered no resistance and only tingled a bit when they passed through.

The room was a long rectangular bay with six beds that ran down each wall and a group of nurses and doctors clustered around the bed in the far left corner. There was another shimmering blue barrier in place around the bed and a small black shape lay on the sheets.

The doctor gestured towards the other beds. “Find a bed and lie down,” he ordered.

Fluttershy hesitated. Quintus was in the corner bed. She took a single step towards him and immediately the doctor flicked his head towards her.

“There’s a perfectly good bed right next to you, Miss. Lie down.”

“But Quint-”

“Miss, you and your friends have broken at least a dozen hospital rules with your little scrap out there,” he said, pointing to the hallway. “Now the only reason I haven’t had all three of you thrown out is because I would be putting who knows how many in danger by letting three ponies contaminated with thamaline loose into the city. Now, if you don’t lie down, I will have an orderly strap you to the bed where you will remain until I can throw you out safely. Is that clear?”

“Yes, but-”

“Mouse!” he called over his shoulder.

From the group in the corner a dark green mare turned and walked over. Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She was enormous, easily as big as Cloudburst and would probably give Big Macintosh a run for his money. Like the doctor, she too wore a paper mask over her muzzle.

When she got close, she said, “Problem, Doc?”

Her voice was deep, and combined with the huge height advantage it made Fluttershy cower down.

The doctor waved a hoof at Fluttershy and said, “Please ensure these four patients take a bed and remain it in. If they wont...” he turned to glare at her. “You know what to do.”

With that he left them and made his way to the corner where Quintus was. The orderly cleared her throat and pointed to the bed behind Fluttershy.

Fluttershy gave a nervous smile and said, “I’ll um, I’ll just lie down...”

She climbed onto the bed and the orderly moved on to the other three in her group. The guard that Rainbow had gotten into a fight with tried to keep his spear, but a quick look from Cloudburst and he handed it over without incident. Then the two unstrapped their armor and piled it neatly onto the floor next to their beds before climbing in. Rainbow took the bed next to Fluttershy’s and lay down without a word. She was still seething, and through the link Fluttershy felt her friend’s anger.

Lying still on the bed with nothing to do was extraordinarily difficult for Fluttershy. Foremost in her mind was Quintus. Every so often she would catch a glimpse of black as a gap opened up in the crowd around his bed, but it always closed up again within seconds, leaving her with nothing but the anguish coming through his link. And anguish it was. Not just a single emotion, but a throbbing mess of fear, pain, loneliness, and a few others she couldn’t even name.

And it hurt. By Celestia it hurt. It ate at her. Tore her apart, both emotionally and physically. Nausea threatened to bring up what little food she had in her stomach and she shook almost as hard as Quintus had been when she’d found him sandwiched between two chicken nests in a futile attempt keep his tiny little body warm. That had been just over a week ago. It felt like so much longer. Like months or even years had passed since she’d burst into her house with a freezing little changeling in one foreleg, yelling at Angel to grab the bandages.

She looked over to the corner where Quintus lay. Barely a week and already she’d failed as a mother. Barely a week and that little colt, so full of energy and excitement and wonder, was now lying there on a hospital bed, dying probably. Poisoned by whatever this thamaline was. The face of the unicorn who had attacked them had been burned into her mind. Orange fur... blue mane combed up and back... and that eye. That empty hole of an eye, a bottomless pit that held only monsters and nightmares.

She shook her head and tried to get the image out of her mind. It scared her, now more than ever. Despite Cloudburst’s warning about a traitor, her initial fear had mostly faded away after several days with no incidents. The castle staff and guards had been overwhelmingly accepting of Quintus and by the time a week had passed she had almost forgotten about the attack. Although the link between Rainbow, Quintus, and herself had continued to stress her out she had felt safe. But not now. Her bubble of safety had burst the moment Quintus had reached out to her and fallen from his chair.

Lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize she was being spoken to until Cloudburst was right next to her bed and looking down on her with a worried look.

“Um, what?” she asked.

“I asked if you were all right,” he said. “You’re crying.”

She brought a hoof to her eyes and felt moisture.

“I... I just...” she trailed off, her throat tightening as she fought the urge to break down as the uncommon stress of the past week pressed down on her.

She’d been attacked, nearly killed. She’d seen the terror in the heart of a goddess. And then there was the link. She’d been there for Rainbow and Quintus every time they’d needed her. Through breakdowns and the heartbreaking ache for a missing father she’d held them both. She’d used her own hooves to bandaged their wounds. She’d even sang to them like a mother comforting her child. And now, when she needed it, there was no one. Rainbow was fuming on the bed next to her, oblivious to everything but her own anger, and Quintus was too young even had he not been poisoned.

“Fluttershy?” Cloudburst asked.

He had a hoof on the bed and was so close she could see a tiny nick on the side of his eye that matched up to where his scar met the corner of his right eye socket. Those eyes... green, and full off kindness. Quite the opposite of the orange unicorn.

“I’m sorry,” she squeaked, barely holding herself together. “It’s just... hard...”

“Ain’t nothing to be sorry for, darling,” he smiled at her and put one hoof over hers. “I can’t even imagine what that link must be doing to you right now.”

She nodded and looked down to where his hoof lay over hers, his white covering her yellow. It was warm, and sharply contrasted with the cool hospital air. What had Rainbow said a week ago when she’d returned from her panicked flight?

Everything was so cold, Fluttershy.

Everything was cold. The air. The bed. Even the link. She was separated from most of her friends. Away from her beloved animals. Her world was an icy wasteland, gray and devoid of life or warmth, leaving nothing but pain, hatred, and fear, wrecking her and turning her into a shell of a pegasus that lay shivering and shaking on the hospital bed as she searched for something to save her from that terrible, bone-fracturing cold.

And it was there. Touching her. A single coal, orange and warm upon the ice, barely holding back the color-leeching sadness that ground away at her mind. She squeezed his hoof and held on tightly as she fought the urge to break down.

“It’s so hard...” she said. “It was getting better... but then this happened. And I’m not supposed to be the strong one.”

“The strong one?”

“The one who can handle everything. The one that doesn’t let it get to them. The one that can take everything the world throws at them and throw it right back. That’s not me. I’m the scared one. The one who has to be dragged out of her home to go save the kingdom. The one who hides behind her stupid mane every time she meets someone new. I’m supposed to be at home taking care of my animals, not linked to the minds of my best friend and a changeling who could be dying.”

She looked up into his eyes. “I’m just so scared... and the worst part is that Quintus can feel it too...”

With that thought she couldn’t hold herself together anymore. She closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks, not even opening them when she felt Cloudburst pull her head to his chest. She squeezed his hoof even tighter as all the stress from the past week and a half poured from her eyes in silent sobs that dampened his fur.

Several minutes passed and the doctor returned with several nurses also wearing masks. By that time she had stopped crying and simply lay there exhausted as they examined all four of them. When they were done the doctor scribbled on a clipboard and then looked up at her.

“Well Ms. Fluttershy, it looks like you and everyone else here will be just fine. You all were lucky. Your exposure to the thamaline was very minimal, well under the lethal dose.”

“Um, doctor, what’s thamaline?” she asked.

He stopped scribbling. After a moments silence he said, “It’s a poison. An artificial, magical poison and one of the most deadly substances known.”

“How deadly?” Rainbow asked. She had gotten up off her bed and was standing next to Fluttershy’s.

“Did something about it being one of the most deadly substances known not get through to you?” he asked.

Rainbow glared at him but said nothing.

Fluttershy stepped off of the bed and turned to the doctor. “What about Quintus? Will he be alright?”

The doctors face softened. He looked over to where Quintus lay and then his eyes met hers. “I don’t know. Unlike you all, he got a massive dose. I think the only reason he’s alive is because he’s a changeling.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, thamaline is extremely deadly to both pegasi and unicorns. Even an earth pony would have died within minutes after ingesting such a large amount. Frankly I’m amazed he’s alive, let alone conscious right now.”

“Can we see him?”

The doctor gestured towards the corner. “Just don’t enter the forcefield. Thamaline is expelled from the body through the lungs and pores and you’ll make yourself sick if you go in.”

Fluttershy immediately trotted over to where Quintus lay. Behind her Rainbow and Cloudburst followed.

“Oh my goodness...” she said when she slipped through the small crowd surrounding the bed.

There he was. Just through the blue forcefield surrounding his bed. His little black body lay halfway under a white sheet and he was shivering violently as small hisses came from his mouth. His eyes were mostly closed and a thick liquid seeped from them that turned the sheets a yellow color where it was absorbed. Fluttershy looked closer. His eye color had changed. It had turned from a light blue similar to Rainbow’s coat to something almost as dark as the fur on Luna’s flank.

She looked around at the nurses and doctors gathered around and said, “Why aren’t you doing anything?! He’s hurting!”

A nurse turned to her. There were tears in her eyes.

“We know,” she said. “We’ve tried a few things, but thamaline reacts very badly with most magic and we can’t give him any medication because he’s a changeling.”

“But why does that matter?”

“We don’t know how it will affect him. A simple painkiller could end up causing kidney failure or give him a heart attack.”

“But-but...” she trailed off.

“I’m sorry, honey,” the nurse said, “There’s just nothing we can do but wait.”

Fluttershy looked down at the tile floor. It was too hard to watch Quintus suffer. A moment later a wing covered her back and she looked up to see Rainbow standing next to her.

“I can feel him hurting, Rainbow.”

“I know,” Rainbow said as she leaned into her. “I can feel it too.”

A moment passed and Fluttershy turned to Cloudburst. The sergeant was standing on the other side of Rainbow and he caught her eye when she looked.

“Who would do something like this?” she asked.

He shook his head and said, “I dunno, darling. But poisoning a kid... it just ain’t right. It ain’t right at all.”

“Are you sure somepony poised him? It couldn’t have been by accident?” Rainbow asked.

“You heard the doc. Thamaline ain’t natural. I’ve come across it a time or two during my career and the guard trains us to deal with it. It’s expensive to make and doesn’t last long before it breaks down. No, somepony did this on purpose. And I think we know exactly who that somepony is.”

Fluttershy leaned her head against Rainbow’s and stared at Quintus. She couldn’t comprehend how somepony could possibly poison him. He was a child! He was innocent! He hadn’t done anything to anypony! She closed her eyes and just sat there, leaning against Rainbow and listening to the room around her. She heard the doctors and nurses shuffle out one by one and when she eventually opened her eyes only a single nurse remained.With most of the ponies gone, the room was quiet.

Rainbow heard it first.

“What’s that noise Quint’s making?” she asked.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“Shh!” Rainbow said, raising a hoof to shush her. “Listen.”

Fluttershy leaned forward until her head was nearly touching the barrier. Quintus still lay shivering on the bed and his hissing was now coming with every shaky breath.

“Fffshh.”

She heard it. Two distinct sounds joined together.

“Fffshh.”

“Either of you know what he’s doing?” Cloudburst asked.

“No,” Rainbow shook her head.

“Fffshh”

Fluttershy turned to her friend. “Rainbow...”

“Yeah?”

“It’s me,” she said.

“What?”

“He-he’s calling to me.”

Cloudburst put a hoof to his mouth. “Oh sweet Celestia...”

“Fffshh.”

It was her name. Fluttershy. Fffshh. The only part of it he could pronounce without his vocal chords. Again and again, with each breath he cried out in near silence.

“Fffshh.”

She took a deep breath. Her eyes felt raw but she didn’t cry. Not now. Not when he needed her.

“Fffshh.”

Without a word she walked forward. The barrier tingled as she passed through. Quintus opened his eyes a little wider and reached up to her with a shaking hoof.

“Fffffshhhh.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m here now.” She climbed into the bed and under the sheets before curling up around him so his back was too her. Her foreleg she wrapped around his body and he hugged it, pulling it to his chest and using it for a pillow.

She leaned down and touched her lips to his head before saying, “Don’t be scared. Everything’s going to be okay now. You’re going to be just fine.”

He nodded, just two slow motions with his head, and then closed his eyes.

“That’s it, sweetie. Just try to sleep. I’ll be right here the whole time, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

Lying there with Quintus shaking and shivering, with no relief in sight, she did the only thing she could.

She sang.

And when the thamaline made her dizzy and sick, she laid her head down and sang.

And when the coughing fit overtook Quintus, his tiny chest heaving in and out with a force the doctors couldn’t control, she sang.

And even when the poison robbed her sight of color, turning Rainbow’s mane a dull gray that matched the rest of her world, she sang.

She just sang.

* * *

Rainbow Dash shifted once more on the hospital bed in a futile attempt to fall asleep. She lay just across from Fluttershy and Quint, both of whom had drifted off themselves after Quint’s coughing fit had finally died out. She was grateful. The unceasing pain and fear that he projected into her mind had been driving her crazy and only ended once he finally fallen asleep. Now it was just a dull, uneasy feeling that she could mostly ignore. Through the window sunlight streamed in and she buried her head under a pillow to block out the brightness.

She felt terrible. Tired. Not physically, she was certain she could still clear every cloud around Canterlot in seconds. No, this was mental fatigue. The link had ground away at her mind over the past week. At best it was an annoying buzz that she could ignore but not get rid of. At worst it was somepony screaming into her mind and driving hot nails behind her eyes. During those moments it took everything she had to fight it off and avoid succumbing to whatever emotions Quint or Fluttershy had.

After several minutes of lying in the dark, she threw the pillow off and stepped down from the bed and over to the window. A wide street filled with ponies lay far below. Stalls lined the sides and the sound of their owners crying out their wares was barely audible at her height. Here and there a city guard moved through the crowd, and after several minutes of watching she realized there were far more of them than usual. She had just started to wonder why when the door squeaked open behind her.

Turning, she saw Cloudburst enter the room. His gold armor had been replaced with a set of shining silver etched with flowing lines that formed runic script. He strode towards her and stopped just in front of Quint’s bed where he stared through the barrier at the bundle of black buried in Fluttershy’s yellow fur and pink mane.

After a few long seconds he turned to her and gestured towards the door, saying, “I’ve got some time to kill. Feel like catching some air, darling?”

“Definitely,” she said.

She followed him out into the hallway and they trotted down the hall, passing a duo of guards that blocked off their section of the top floor before heading up a stairwell to the roof. At one corner of the roof several tables had been set up so visitors and staff could sit in the open air. There were only a few ponies there at the moment, and Cloudburst led her to an empty table near the edge of the roof.

The sergeant removed his helmet and set it on the table. There was a cold breeze and his blue mane danced lightly in the wind. In the sunlight she could easily see the gray strands that peppered his hair. Fatigue showed as bags under his eyes and the way his eyes didn’t quite open all the way as he looked at her. Still, even with the fatigue and the gray he was rather handsome.

“You look like you could use a drink,” she said.

He smiled, just with his mouth, and said, “I think I’d drink to that. If I had a drink that is.”

A landing pegasus caught Cloudburst’s attention for a moment and he turned, giving her a good view of his right side. His scar stood out in the sunlight, a trail of pale flesh through white fur that wound from the corner of his eye and down his neck to his torso where it disappeared under his armor. When he turned back she used a hoof to trace the trail his scar took on her own face and asked, “How far does that go?”

He turned so his right side faced her and lifted his good wing. The scar emerged at the front of the wing slot and ran back over a foot before it finally tapered off right under the trailing edge of his wing.

She shook her head. “That’s one heck of a scar. How’d you get it?”

His eyes opened a little wider and he smirked. “Dragon.”

Rainbow raised her eyebrows and her mouth parted slightly. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, you gotta tell me the story.”

He laughed and turned back to face her. “Alright, I suppose we got time. It was back during my first year with the guard. My first posting outside of Canterlot actually. Way down south. We’d been there just a few weeks when we started getting reports of travelers and merchants in the area coming under attack.”

“The dragon?”

“Well, actually no, darling. It turned out to be diamond dogs.”

“Diamond dogs?” she asked, her mind immediately pulling up memories of when Rarity had been attacked. “Those mutts kidnapped a friend of mine once. I hope you kicked their flanks good!”

“Trust me, they got what was coming to them. We tracked them to a cave in the area. It was full of all sorts of stolen gems, bits, and other goods. We got into a bit of a scrap and it turned out the idiots never explored the whole cave and didn’t realize that there was a tunnel in the back that led to a sleeping dragon.”

“Let me guess. You guys woke him up.”

He flicked a hoof at her. “Dead on, darling. He came stomping out and thought we were stealing his treasure horde. And to make a long story short he decided that I’d make a good snack.”

“He tried to eat you!?”

“Oh he didn’t just try. He damn near did. I tell you, you ain’t never smelled a more horrid stench than that of a dragon who hasn’t brushed his teeth in... well, ever I reckon. And I got to experience it from just about as close as you can get. The inside of his mouth.”

“Whoa whoa whoa. You mean to tell me you were actually in the mouth of a dragon who was trying to eat you? That’s... there’s no way!”

“Well, how do you explain this then?” he pointed to the scar on the side of his face.

“Okay smart guy, how’d you get out?” she asked, folding her forelegs across her chest.

“Well, luckily I still had half my spear. He gobbled me up but before he could get down to the real nasty business of chewing me to a pulp I jammed my spear in him like it was one of those chips that gets turned the wrong way and stabs you in the roof of your mouth.”

“Ohh, I hate those.”

“You know I’d guess he did too. He roared and shook me around in his mouth. I hit one of his teeth right here,” he said, pointing to the corner of his eye. "He stopped right when I hit and I managed to quickly crawl through the little gap between his teeth. It was too tight to get off that tooth though, and it cut me good as I squeezed through, all the way from my eye to my wing.”

She grimaced. “Ohmygosh that had to hurt.”

“Like you wouldn’t imagine. Second worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“What’s the first?”

He reached back with his left hoof and tapped his maimed wing.

“Wait, so the dragon didn’t do that?”

“Nope.”

“What did?”

The grin on his face disappeared and he looked away from her and off into the distance. “Uh, let’s just say that it’s been like that a good bit longer than I’ve had my scar.”

“Oh... uh, okay.”

An awkward silence fell. Rainbow idly looked around and prodded her lip where it had been busted. It still stung, but she’d had far worse injuries before.

“You know,” Cloudburst said as he pointed at her lip. “You should think twice before picking a fight with one of my boys. A split lip just don’t look good on you, darling.”

She frowned. “Yeah, well, he should’ve told me what I wanted to know.”

“Still upset about that?” he asked.

She just looked away and he gave a little snort of a laugh. She turned back to find him staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“This link... why don’t you tell me about it.”

Her frown turned into a scowl. Thinking or talking about the link was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

“Surely it ain’t all bad,” he said. “You sure it don’t have something good to it?”

She rolled her eyes and threw a hoof in the air. “Oh, it’s just great! I got all these feelings and emotions and all kinds of stuff in my head that aren’t even mine. Couldn’t be better!”

He glared at her. “Darling, I put up with enough sarcasm raising my little girl, so why don’t you knock it off and tell me straight up what it’s like. Oh, and roll your eyes at me one more time and I swear I’ll lay you over this table and wear your flank out like you was my own filly.”

For a moment they stared at each other. Then a grin broke out on his face and he winked at her, slowly saying, “Unless that’s the kind of stuff you like, in which case there ain’t no need to roll your eyes, little lady, you just got to ask.”

She blinked a few times. “Did you just hit on me?”

He broke out into laughter, his chest and stomach heaving in and out as he let loose volleys of sound that turned every head on the roof towards them. She put a hoof over her mouth to hide her own grin and waited until his laughter had died down.

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Got you to smile though.”

She shook her head and looked away. He was right though. She was smiling.

“So what’s it like?” he asked.

She drew in a breath before exhaling out her nose in what was almost a snort.

“What’s it like?” she leaned on the table and thought for a few moments. “It’s... it’s just like what I said. I can feel what Quint and Fluttershy feel.”

“What, just like happy, sad, that kind of stuff?”

“Yeah, but... more. Sometimes it’s just that. Sometimes it’s like I AM them. Like... like this one time when I was a filly at school in Cloudsdale. I saw a kid crash face first into the ground while trying to fly. And we were inside, so it was a hard floor, not the soft clouds that were outside. And trust me, it was a hard landing. I didn’t become Equestria’s greatest flyer without having a few myself. I remember watching him fall and then, just as he hit the ground, right as his face connected with the floor, I had this cold, tingly feeling run through me. And my face... for a second I swear I had hit the floor too.”

A shudder ran through her at the thought. “I think... I think that’s the closest thing I can compare it too. It’s like that, but it’s always on. It’s always there. Sometimes, like right now when both of them are asleep, I can ignore it. I can just push it away. But other times... other times I can’t.”

“Like when a little colt is crying.”

She nodded and looked down as the memory rose up. “Yeah. Especially then...”

They sat in silence for a few minutes until a unicorn in gold armor exited the stairwell and trotted over. Like most of the Royal Guards, he was white with a blue mane, and for a moment Rainbow wondered why the sergeant's mane was graying if it was just an illusion or dye.

“Private,” Cloudburst nodded in greeting when the unicorn got close.

The other guard returned the nod and pulled a scroll from a small pouch strapped to his armor. “Sergeant. Orders from the Captain,” he said, handing the scroll over.

Cloudburst unrolled the scroll and his eyes darted over the words. Then his eyebrows shot up. “About time...” he said under his breath before rolling the scroll back up and slipping it into his own pouch. He looked back to the private and said, “Okay! I want everypony that ain’t needed here to guard Ms. Fluttershy and the changeling formed up in front of the barracks in half an hour.”

“Everypony, Sarge?”

“Even the night shift. Now get goin’, we ain’t got much time.”

“Yes, Sergeant!” the guard said. Then he cantered back to the stairwell and was gone.

Rainbow looked at Cloudburst as he put his helmet back on. “What’s up? What’s going on?”

“We, darling, are about to lock the whole damn city down,” he said, rising from the table and starting towards the door to the stairwell.

She got up and followed him. “What for?”

“A unicorn, using an illegal magical artifact of unknown power, has riled the city up into a riot, created one of the most poisonous substances known, and used it to poison a kid while he was inside the castle under the protection of the Royal Guard.”

“So you’re going to go out, find him, and arrest him?”

He stopped at the door to the stairwell and turned to her with a scowl on his face. “He poisoned Quint. He hurt a child, on purpose, with a terrible, horrible weapon. Darling, if I find the son-of-a-bitch I don’t think there’s going to be anything left to arrest.”

A sudden thought occurred to her. “Let me help.”

“You?”

“C’mon!”

“You ain’t part of the guard, Rainbow Dash, and I don’t know what the princess would think if I let you go out and get yourself hurt or killed.”

“Hey! You aren’t the one with Quint in your head! I can’t keep sitting around on my flank doing nothing!”

He stared at her. “Sorry, darling.”

“Look, I don’t care what you do with me. Just let me help.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”

“Please,” she pleaded. “I can’t go back in that room and watch Quint suffer. I’ve already got enough of that in my head.” She didn’t mention that with Fluttershy under quarantine and Twilight spending all her time in the Archives she felt... alone.

His stare softened at the mention of Quint and after a moment he said, “Fine. But I don’t play around when it comes to my work. If you want to help then you’ll have to do it the good and proper way. I can conscript you. Make you a guard for the day. That way it’s legal and if you get yourself killed then it’s your own fault, not mine.”

“Do it.”

“Let me be clear,” he said, poking her chest with a hoof. “This ain’t some little race you can just blaze through. It WILL be dangerous, so you’d best follow everything you’re told to the letter or I will strap your wings to your side and haul you back to the castle so fast you’ll be shittin’ that rainbow thing out your ass the whole way back. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? You will be a member of the Royal Guard, with full responsibilities. It may only be for today, but that ain’t something to take lightly. Are you willing to put yourself in harm's way to protect somepony else, because, darling, that’s what it takes to be a guard, and a guard don’t run, fly, swim, or crawl away from their duty even if they’ve got the fire of terror lighting up their ass like it was a big ol’ bonfire. So you’d best be sure you’re good and ready.”

“I’m sure.”

He held out a hoof and said, “Then welcome to the Royal Guard, Rainbow Dash. You ready to find this wannabe foal killer and kick his flank?”

She grinned and shook his hoof. “Absolutely.”

Chapter One

A knock at her door drew Fluttershy from her bed. She eased off the bed and onto the floor, trying not to wake the sleeping changeling, but he raised his head and opened one blue eye halfway to look at her.

“Just go back to sleep, I’ll be right back, okay sweetie?”

He nodded weakly at her and laid his head back down.

She headed downstairs. Pausing at the bottom of the steps, she considered not answering and going back to bed. But another knock sounded and someone called out to her.

“Hey Fluttershy! Open up! Frozen pegasus out here!” It was Rainbow Dash’s voice.

“Whoa, you just wake up?” The light blue pony on her porch asked when she opened the door. It was late morning and cold, the sky an overcast grey that didn't let any warmth through and even though Rainbow wore a heavy coat she was hopping from one hoof to the other in an attempt to stay warm.

“Oh, hello Rainbow. Kind of.” Fluttershy ran a hoof through the tangles in her pink mane.

“Well anyways, I’ve got something for you.” Dash pushed past her into the house. She took off a pair of flight goggles, her coat, and saddlebags and hung them on the coat rack next to the door before taking a rolled up piece of paper from her bags.

“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.

“The schedule for this years Winter Wrap Up. Twilight asked me to drop it off for her since I was heading home and your place isn’t too far from mine. By the way, how would you feel about leading the Animal Team this year?”

Fluttershy recoiled. “Me? But...why?”

“Why not? You’re awesome with animals, you’ve been doing it for as long as I have, and well...I think you could use the experience.”

“What happened to Amethyst Star? She usually leads the Animal Team every year.”

“Last I heard her mother caught the flu up in Manehatten and she left to help take care of her. Said she didn’t know if she’d be back in time. So we need a new team leader and I think you should do it.”

“Oh I don’t know Rainbow. Leading one of the three teams has more to do with working with other ponies, and I don’t think I’m exactly leadership material. What about the other girls?”

“Doing the usual. I’m leading the Weather Team, Ajay is leading the Planting Team, and Twilight is the organizer for the whole event.”

“What about Pinkie or Rarity?”

Rainbow gave a snort.“You want one of them to lead the Animal Team? Are you joking? Pinkie would probably give the little guys a heart attack with her party cannon and Rarity can’t even get her own cat to like her. Face it galpal, you’re it.”

“But that’s an important job. What if I mess everything up?”

Rainbow sighed and put a wing around her. “Listen Fluttershy. You’ve faced down dragons, changelings, a minotaur, a cockatrice, and even Discord and Nightmare Moon themselves. I KNOW you have it in you. And I’ll tell you what. You can think it over and get back with me in a day or two. That sound okay?”

She sighed. “Okay Rainbow. I’ll think it over.”

“Great! Oh, you wouldn’t mind if I stayed here a while and warmed up would you? It’s crazy cold out there and my wings were starting to frost up. See?” She held out a wing and Fluttershy could see melting frost on the leading edge.

“Oh. Umm...” She looked away in barely concealed panic. What should she do? She couldn’t send her friend back out into the cold. But what if Dash found the changeling? Maybe Rainbow would warm up quickly and be gone before the changeling woke up.

“Well, okay. Just try to stay quiet. There are animals sleeping.”

Dash trotted over and flopped onto the couch, nearly flattening a dozing Angel, who managed to hop out of the way just in time. He scowled and shook a fist at Rainbow before scampering off into another room. She chuckled and turned to Fluttershy.

“Sleeping huh? I could use a nap myself. Twilight made me get up early and help her. Can you believe that egghead gets up at seven every morning? That’s like crazy early! You don’t mind do you?”

“Oh not at all, go right ahead.” She said. A sleeping Rainbow Dash was a quiet Rainbow Dash after all. Dash thanked her and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch. Fluttershy was certain she was asleep almost instantly.

With that, the house was quiet. Fluttershy went to the kitchen and, as quietly as she could, started making breakfast. She was halfway through when a thought hit her. What did changelings eat? As far as she knew they fed on the love of other creatures. But did they actually eat something? Surely they must, otherwise why would they have a mouth and teeth? And those fangs... did they eat meat? Live animals? She couldn’t bear to have any of her creatures eaten alive!

She stood there for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. Finally she put together a meal with a little bit of everything. An apple, a carrot, mushrooms from the forest, and a half dozen other ingredients. Surely he would eat something here. She didn’t know what she’d do if he didn’t.

Time seemed to drag while she she munched on an apple and waited. Rainbow slept on, and Fluttershy began to reconsider not telling her about the changeling. They were close friends after all, and had known each other most of their lives. If anyone would stand by her side it would be Rainbow Dash, living loyalty herself. Right?

Wait, what was she thinking? Of course she would have to tell her. And her other friends too. How could she have even considered hiding the little guy from them?

A noise from upstairs caught her attention. The changeling had awoken. She heard his light hoofsteps coming down the stairs and smiled at him when he reached the bottom. She motioned for him to come over. He started to, but hesitated when he saw Rainbow lost in her dreams on the couch. He waited for a few seconds, one hoof held up to his body, ready to back up or continue forward as needed, then he slowly put it down in front of him and started towards Fluttershy, taking one slow step after another, eyeing the sleeping pegasus the entire time until he was finally past the couch.

“Good morning.” Fluttershy said in a low voice when he got to the table. He looked better. He seemed alert and wasn’t limping. His bandages hadn’t leaked or soaked through, but they’d still need to be changed. But that could wait until after he ate.

“Hungry?” She asked. He gave a few eager nods. “I don’t know what you like, so you just have anything you want, okay?” She helped him into the chair and slid the plate of food towards him. He looked at the food and then back up at her a few times, his mouth open slightly as if he couldn’t believe it was all his. Then he attacked it, eating ravenously, barely pausing to swallow before he had another mouthful. She could hardly believe that something that small could eat that much food that quickly.

He ate everything. Almost more food that she herself could have eaten. When he was done he lifted a hoof up to his chest and burped. Not a quick, light one, but a real belch, long and loud that seemed to resonate throughout the house. From the couch she saw one of Rainbow’s blue wings twitch and the pegasus turned herself over.

“Nice one Fluttershy...” Rainbow said, only half awake.

This was it.

“Umm, Rainbow Dash?”

“Hmm...”

“I need to tell you something. It’s kind of important.”

“Mmmhmm...”

“I found something last night and, umm... well I guess it’s more of a somepony...”

“Uh huh... That’s nice.”

“I-I really think you should meet him.”

“No thanks... not looking for anypony right now...”

“Oh, umm, I didn’t quite mean it that way. Could you, if you don’t mind that is, get up and meet him?”

“What, is he right here or something?”

“Kind of...”

With that Rainbow rolled herself off of the couch and onto the floor. She yawned and took a few steps towards them before she saw the changeling. She stopped, one hoof held to her chest, mirroring his earlier hesitation on the stairs. She looked to Fluttershy and then back at him.

“Is that a changeling?” Dash asked.

“He is.”

“Scratch what I said. I do want to meet him.”

Rainbow Dash reacted far better than she’d hoped. Fluttershy expected the cyan mare to be shocked, to argue with her and tell her how stupid she was to rescue a changeling. But she didn’t. She even said she was proud of her for having guts when Fluttershy told her of overcoming her reservations about going into the chicken coop the previous night. That brightened her day a little bit.

Then she introduced them. The changeling shied away at first, but Rainbow laid on the floor and held out one hoof, saying, “Uh, hey there little guy. How’s it going?”

He approached her cautiously and slowly brought his own hoof to hers, and Fluttershy’s smile matched Rainbow’s when they heard the light ‘clack’. Fluttershy left them to play together for a few minutes while she put away lunch and gathered fresh bandages. When she returned she had to stifled a laugh at the sight of a small black hoof holding a reddish-orange lock of Rainbow's hair as its owner inspected it curiously. Rainbow glanced over and flicked an eyebrow up with a grin. Then she and Fluttershy started on changing his bandages. They were about halfway through when Rainbow spoke up.

“Hey, you said he left tracks in the snow right?”

“Oh yes, why do you ask?”

“Did you follow them and see where they went?”

“Not at the time. I had to get this little guy cleaned and bandaged, didn’t I?” She tussled his head where most ponies had a mane. He seemed to enjoy the quick head rub, as his eyes closed halfway and his head drooped slightly.

“I think I’m gonna take a look when we’re done.” Rainbow said. “It didn’t snow last night, so they should still be there. I’d like to see where they go before today's snow hits. Maybe I can find a clue as to where he came from.”

“Oh, okay Rainbow. Just be safe alright?"

"Of course! Aren't I always?"

"Um, no?"

"That's fair. Well, I'll be safe this time. Okay?"

They finished and Rainbow put her winter gear back on stepped outside. She was out of sight in moments, leaving Fluttershy alone with the changeling again. He was sitting on his haunches looking nervously around the house. She looked around. What did children his age usually like to do? She didn’t have any toys, at least ones that would be appropriate for non-animals, but maybe... maybe she had something. She went to the kitchen and fished around in one of the drawers, coming out with an old pack of crayons and some paper. Maybe he liked drawing? And if he knew how to write, maybe he could answer some questions.

His eyes opened wide and he smiled when she sat everything down in front of him. “Can you write your name?” She asked him. He took a crayon in his mouth and drew in messy letters ‘Quintus’.

“Your name is Quintus?” She asked.

He nodded.

“Well, I think that’s a beautiful name.” She meant it.

She asked him a few more questions, trying to find out where he was from and what happened to him, but he didn’t seem to be able to write more than a few words and absolutely refused to tell her what happened to him, shaking his head back and forth when she asked. All she got was that he was in the forest when it happened. Since his trail in snow came from the back of the house she assumed he meant the Everfree Forest. He didn’t know, or couldn’t tell her, where he had come from before that or why he was in the forest to begin with. After she had asked him everything she could think of they settled down, each with a crayon in their mouths, and drew.

Quintus. It really was a beautiful name, and she hoped her friends would think so too. The thought of friends made her think of Rainbow Dash. She was taking far longer than she should have. Rainbow was the fastest pegasus she had ever known and the Everfree Forest wasn’t too far from the house. Was she alright? The thought of something happening to her friend made her chest tighten in worry. She took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts from her mind. Rainbow would be fine. If anything happened she could just fly up out of the way. Yes, she would be fine.

Somewhat convinced, Fluttershy focused on the paper in front of her and let her mind wander while she drew. Between Quintus and herself, they had at least a half dozen drawings done before Rainbow returned over an hour later. Fluttershy left Quintus to his next drawing when Rainbow opened the door.

“Oh my goodness! Are you alright Rainbow? What happened?”

Rainbow had a blank look on her face and her eyes kept dancing between Fluttershy and empty space. And she was dirty. Brown, muddy water dripped from her soaked and shivering legs onto the floor. She shook her head. “You don’t wanna know.” With that she pushed past Fluttershy and went to the kitchen where she began to wash herself off.

“Did you find any other changelings?”

Rainbow shook her head. “No.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“So, nothing? But you were gone for over an hour. What happened out there?”

“I told you. You don’t want to know. Let’s just say the Everfree Forest got the best of me.”

Rainbow finished washing up and the two went back to where Quintus was drawing. Fluttershy handed Rainbow the paper with the little changeling’s name written out. She took it and went to the couch where she stared at it for a few moments.

“Quintus huh? At least we know his name. You get anything else out of him?”

“No.”

“Dang. That sucks. Now what do we do with him?” Rainbow asked, letting the paper fall to the cushion.

That was the question of the day. “Well, I guess he can stay here with me until we figure out something.” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, but, what if we can’t? What if he’s got no one? Who’s gonna take care of him?”

Fluttershy looked over at Quintus. He was laying on the floor, crayon in mouth, drawing carefully on the paper in front of him. She knew at once what to do.

“I’ll do it. I’ll raise him.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You?

“Is something wrong with that?”

“No, it’s just that you’re not the most... uh... experienced pony when it comes to children. Scootaloo told me all about the time her and her friends stayed the night.”

“But everything turned out okay in the end! And do you know anypony else who will take him?”

“No.”

“Well, then it’s settled. He stays with me.”

For a moment Rainbow looked like she was going to argue. But then Quintus appeared, carrying a piece of paper that he handed to Fluttershy. It showed two changelings side by side. One was himself, as it was small and his name was written underneath it. The other was much larger and wore some kind of clothing or armor. One of its forelegs reached around Quintus. She had to hold a hoof to her mouth when she saw what was written underneath. ‘Daddy’. Both were smiling up at her. It was a reminder that he had family out there who probably missed him greatly. Even so, the picture felt incomplete.

“Are you going to draw your mother too?” She asked him. He shook his head. “Are you sure? I’d love to see her. I bet she’s beautiful.” He shook his head again, harder this time, and she looked over at Rainbow who shrugged in response, so she decided not to press the issue.

Rainbow took the picture and looked at it. "They have parents? I thought Changelings were like insects, just a queen and a bunch of drones or something."

"I don't know. We don't know anything about them. But I guess they do."

Rainbow let the picture drop on top of the previous one on the couch before rising up and saying, “C’mon Quint, let’s do something fun.” Minutes later found a blue pegasus chasing a little black changeling through the house, both laughing and smiling. Well, laughing as much as possible at least. Quintus’s laugh sounded like someone trying to stifle themselves, like one does when they know they shouldn’t be laughing. It was all in the nose or from the mouth, with no vocalization, just hisses and snorts.

Oddly enough Rainbow seemed to get along well with Quintus. Fluttershy had known her a long time, and while the pegasus was by no means shy or uncomfortable around children, she never seemed to really get to know any. The closest she’d gotten was taking Scootaloo, a young pegasus who was probably Rainbow’s biggest fan, under her wing. But even then the two spent far less time around each other than Fluttershy had hoped they would. Scootaloo was a good filly and deserved to be around a good role model as much as possible.

So as it was it surprised her when Rainbow spent half the day with them. Fluttershy was glad to spend so much time with her. The two of them rarely did much together without the rest of their friends, probably due to being near polar opposites in personality and hobbies. Rainbow Dash was athletic, outgoing, and brash, while Fluttershy was reserved, timid, and had trouble performing even the most basic of flight maneuvers. Even the way they played with Quintus was different. Both of them were eager to keep the little guy’s mind off of whatever had happened to him and took every opportunity to draw, wrestle, or whatever else came to mind. Rainbow Dash did most of the wrestling of course. And the sight of a small changeling riding Dash around the house at one point was too much for Fluttershy, who collapsed on the floor, giggling like a filly. Fluttershy was afraid that his wounds would open up but he seemed to be made of strong stuff. Not once did he stop and complain, even when Rainbow brought him ‘crashing’ down on the floor in some kind of wrestling move that would have left him pinned under her had she not ‘accidentally’ let him wiggle out of it.

By the time the Sun had started to go down, ‘Quint’ as Rainbow called him, was already tired despite their late morning and it still being early thanks to the short winter days. They changed his bandages once more before eating and putting him to bed upstairs. He was already asleep by the time Fluttershy laid him down, and she softly ran ran her hoof down his neck a few times before heading back downstairs. Rainbow was on the couch, staring off into nothing.

“Thanks Rainbow.” Fluttershy said, curling up on the floor next to her.

Her eyebrows raised up. “For what?”

“For staying so long and helping me with Quintus. I think he really enjoyed your company.”

The corner of her mouth pulled back in a grin. “Hey, no problem. Quint’s cool. Even if he is a changeling.”

“I know what you mean. He’s just the cutest little thing isn’t he!”

Rainbow nodded, but her eyes weren’t on Fluttershy, instead her gaze was off into space again. Something about the blank stare worried Fluttershy, but she didn’t want to pry. Rainbow Dash wasn’t known for sharing her feelings. The two of them lay in silence for a while before Fluttershy worked up enough courage to say something.

“Rainbow?”

“Hmm?”

“Why’d you stay today?”

Rainbow’s face scrunched up and she was silent for a while. Only her multicolored tail moved, swishing back and forth every few seconds while she was lost in thought. Then she rolled onto her back and exhaled slowly, as if unable to find an answer to the question. Finally after another few minutes she spoke.

“You remember that day we all got our cutie marks?”

“Of course, how could I forget one of the most wonderful days of my life?” Fluttershy looked down at the three pink butterflies on her flank and smiled at the sight of them.

Rainbow continued. “And the race? Remember what started it?”

She nodded. She was being bullied by a couple of other pegasi about her lack of flying skills. Rainbow had come out of nowhere and defended her, which led to a challenge about Rainbow’s own flying talent. It had been decided by a race, where Rainbow had found out she enjoyed both flying fast and winning. The race had also caused Fluttershy herself to fall from the sky, and it was only thanks to a cloud of butterflies that caught her that she was here today. By fate or coincidence, both of them, plus the other four members of their group, had been linked when Rainbow Dash had performed a Sonic Rainboom during the race, causing all of them to discover their special talents and earning their cutie marks. And it was all thanks to Rainbow standing up for a scared little yellow pegasus who was getting bullied.

“Well...” Rainbow turned onto her side and looked at Fluttershy. “It’s kinda like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the little guy’s got it rough. What else could I do?”

“Even though he’s a changeling?”

“He’s just a kid, Fluttershy.”

That simple statement warmed her heart. Whatever reservations she'd had about introducing Rainbow to Quintus vanished as she realized that Rainbow saw him like she herself did. As a child, lost and alone and in need of help.

They lay in silence again, something quite unusual for Rainbow. Fluttershy only ever saw her be still when she was asleep. Otherwise the pegasus was constantly flying around, performing stunts, or doing anything she could do to be as active as possible. Fluttershy was sure something was bothering her, but elected not to say anything.

It was dark by the time they spoke again. Rainbow reached down and poked Fluttershy in the side to get her attention. “Hey, you know we’re gonna have tell the girls, right?”

She nodded. Of course they would have to. It just... scared her. So much was at stake. “Do you think they’ll like him?”

“Heck yeah.” Rainbow smiled. “And if they don’t, I’m gonna have to ‘persuade’ them.” She knocked her hooves together with a clack. “Twilight will probably be a pain, but she’ll come to our side in the end.”

“You think so?”

“Of course! I’m never wrong!”

Fluttershy smiled but had the feeling that Rainbow was just trying to make her feel better. Still, she appreciated it. Rainbow got up to leave a few minutes later, promising to bring the rest of the gang tomorrow. Fluttershy hugged and thanked her and then Rainbow was gone, flying away through the falling snow. Then the house was quiet, the only noise coming from her own hooves as she slowly made her way upstairs and lay down next to Quintus. He awoke and raised his head, giving a small huff into the darkness, as if asking who was there.

“I’m sorry sweetie, go back to sleep.” She whispered, covering him with her wing. He laid his head back down and was asleep again in a few moments.

It was odd. She’d been around animals for a while, but sleeping next to Quintus was different. His breathing under her wing, the knowledge that he wasn’t just some animal, it made him different. Not that she didn’t love animals. They were amazing and it’s what her cutie mark was about. It was just... different. Wonderful. Was this what a parent felt? The thought dance in and out of her mind until she joined Quintus in quiet slumber.

* * *

Rainbow lightly bumped her flank into Fluttershy's, saying, "Here we go. You ready?"

Fluttershy nodded but wasn't quite sure. She swallowed, trying to get the lump in her throat out, and looked at the other four ponies of their group as they sat around her living room. Her best friends. They had been through so much already, so it should be easy to tell them, right? So why did their staring faces make her stomach feel like it was strapped to the deck of a small boat, tilting and twisting in the middle of a hurricane?

She inhaled, slowly and deeply, and then let it all out with a huff before saying, "I, umm... I-I have something to tell everypony... something important..."

Pinkie Pie leaned forward suddenly, her curly pink mane, darker than Fluttershy's, bouncing around her head. "You're not turning into a tree, are you Fluttershy? Because I made exactly six cupcakes for us, and then who'd eat yours? Everypony knows you just can't split a cupcake up, that would be like sharing your own piece of cake. The cake's already been split, that's why it's a cupcake in the first place!"

"I... what?"

"Just go on." Rainbow told her.

"Oh, umm..." She lost her train of thought. What was she supposed to say? It was there in her mind, but she couldn't seem to get it out. "Well, it was the other night... and umm..." Dang it, why was this so hard?!

Then Rainbow's sweet voice was whispering in her ear. "We can explain later, just go get Quint."

She nodded and went upstairs, returning with the little changeling a few moments later. He stopped and hesitated when he saw six sets of eyes staring at him, four of them from ponies he'd never met before.

"Is... is that what I think it is?" Applejack asked.

She ignored the comment and softly spoke to him, "Come on, it's okay. These are my friends. They want to meet you."

He trotted over and sat beside her, pressing himself against her leg. She'd seen that reaction from other ponies children when they were nervous, so she reached down and scratched the back of his neck in an attempt to reassure him. Then she turned to her friends.

"His name is Quintus." She said. "And yes, he is a changeling."

She explained the entire situation to them. Their reactions were mixed.

Once assured that he wasn’t going to suck the happiness out of her, Pinkie Pie had immediately taken to Quintus. The pink pony had hugged him and then practically danced around the room in glee. She’d even produced a cupcake from somewhere, saying, "Aww, I didn't make one for you. But you can have mine! I'll just get another when I get home!"

Rarity, bless her heart, had looked at him with her critical eye before saying, “Well darling, I may have some old things of Sweetie Belle’s that might fit him. And if not, I’ll just whip something up. You know what they say, black goes with everything!”

Applejack surprised her, saying, “Are you sure about this sugarcube? Raising a kid is mighty tough, especially when that kid ain’t even a pony. Heck, I’ve got Mac and Granny to help with Apple Bloom and the filly still drives all three of us to buckin’ sometimes!”

“Oh I know I’m not the first pony you’d think of as a parent, but I’m willing to try. What else can I do? Who would take him? Would you?”

Applejack shifted, looking nervous before saying, “I don’t know. I just want you to understand that it’s tough. It ain’t like he’s a pet, Fluttershy.”

She sighed. “I know that.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Twilight spoke. When she did it was calm and collected, quite unlike her usual attitude. The unicorn typically had a strong opinion on any topic, whether major or minor.

“Who’s going to teach him?” She asked.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“He’ll need to have a proper education. Reading, writing, learning how to act within pony society, and much more. Who will teach him?”

“I will.”

“Are you a teacher? Do you know how to teach? Have you ever had any experience?”

Fluttershy looked away from her and shifted uncomfortably. “Well, no, but-”

“And what about his inability to speak? Do you understand how difficult it will be for him to fit in being both mute and a changeling?” She sounded like a school principle Fluttershy once had. The old mare would speak just the facts, completely devoid of emotion.

“Yes, I-”

“And what about friends? He won’t have anyone like himself.”

“He’ll have me.”

“But you can't be his friend Fluttershy. Not while raising him. A parent must be a parent first, not a friend.” She stated dryly.

Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof down, “Okay that’s enough!” she said. She scooted a little closer to Fluttershy. “We can’t solve any of those problems right now Twilight. All we can do is help Quint as best we can. Fluttershy has made her decision and I support her. As do most of the girls. You can either do the same, as a true friend would, or leave. Same for you Ajay.”

Applejack looked around the group. “Well, I suppose I ain’t one to turn down a friend. If you’re sure about this then I’m with you Fluttershy.”

“Well Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight’s eyebrows scrunched together in a scowl and with a sudden shift that surprised Fluttershy her earlier calm demeanor disappeared as her temper flared. “Why do you care about what happens to him so much?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"He’s a changeling!"

"So what?"

"They attacked us! They almost killed everyone in Canterlot! So tell me why! Why do you care so much?”

“Why? Because he’s worth it.” Rainbow said flatly.

“What?”

“I said he’s worth it. He wasn't there at Canterlot Twilight. None of that has anything to do with him, so I don't see why you're getting your horn all bent out of shape. He's just a kid who's lost. Right Fluttershy?"

Yet again Fluttershy was surprised by Rainbow's attitude. She was staring down Twilight, a determined look on her face, and Fluttershy couldn't help but smile. She didn't know how she'd ever doubted Rainbow.

"Look at him Twilight. He's just a colt that needs our help. How can we turn him away?" Rainbow said.

Twilight looked around at her friends' faces and then her eyes fell on Quintus. Her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds and when she looked up her eyes were watery. Without a word she turned a left, slamming the door behind her.

Rainbow looked stunned. “I-I can’t believe she left...”

Fluttershy ran to the door and went through. Twilight was just a few steps away from the porch. She hadn't grabbed her coat before she stormed out and was shivering in the cold daylight.

“Are you okay Twilight? What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” She said.

“I know you don’t think much of me, but I think I can-”

“Its not about you!” Twilight cried.

Fluttershy took a step back. “Then...what?”

“It’s about him.” She pointed back to the house.

“Quintus? What about him?”

“He’s a changeling Fluttershy! They nearly killed us!”

“But he wasn’t there! He’s done nothing wrong! You’ve got not reason to blame him.”

“I-I know." She said, surprising Fluttershy. If Twilight knew, why was she acting like this? Then she continued. "But that doesn’t change the way he makes me feel.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean...Every time I look at him it makes me sick. All I can think about is those hundreds of changelings at the wedding and...and I can’t take it!” She stamped one hoof into the ground.

“But... why?”

Twilight sighed. “Fluttershy, where does your family live?”

“In Cloudsdale, why?”

Twilight ignored the question and continued. “And were they at my brother’s wedding?”

“Well, no. But I don’t see why that matters.”

“Did you have anypony else there you cared about other than us? Your friends I mean. Me, Rainbow Dash, and the others. Anypony else you loved and care for?”

“I... what?” She didn’t know what Twilight was getting at. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t you see? Everypony I care about was at the wedding Fluttershy! Everypony!” Twilight’s voice was raised and she was speaking quickly now. “My parents, my brother, Cadence, all of you, the Princess... even Spike and the cutie mark crusaders were there. And every time I look at that...thing,” She gestured towards the house again. “I can’t help but imagine all of them, everypony I love, lying on the ground with their lives sucked out of them. They're just the remains of some sick, twisted feast that I couldn't stop. And then I'm alone...and I just can’t stand it...” Her voice cracked.

The lump in Fluttershy's throat was back. She moved closer to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. “I-I had no idea you felt that way Twilight. But you can’t hold it against Quintus. He’s just a colt.”

“I know that. I understand why. I really do. So why do I feel this way?” Twilight growled in frustration. “And it just makes me feel worse knowing that I can’t change my feelings!”

“Oh Twilight...” She wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn and Twilight clung tightly to her. Dampness was on her neck where Twilight’s face was buried. They held each other, shivering in the cold for a few moments before Twilight pulled away, wiping her eyes with a hoof.

“Look. I’m with you, okay? I can’t promise I’ll like Quintus, but I’ll give him a chance. I'll...I'll do it for you. Just...give me some time, alright?”

“Thank you.”

They went back inside. Quintus was eating his cupcake and huddled up against Rainbow, who raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy when she entered with Twilight but said nothing when she sat beside her once more. Still, she felt the unasked question in the air and leaned over to whisper in Rainbow’s ear.

“She said she’d give him a chance.”

Rainbow nodded and flashed a grin at her. “Told you she’d come around.”

She smiled and turned as Twilight started to speak.

“Before we go any further, I-I think we’re all forgetting something very important,” she said, fidgeting and looking everywhere but at the little changeling between Fluttershy and Rainbow.

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“What will Celestia do when she finds out?”

Oh no. Fluttershy hadn’t thought about the Princess. Surely Celestia wouldn’t hold Quintus accountable for the other changeling’s actions?

“Perhaps we should tell her highness before telling anypony else?” Rarity suggested.

“I think that would be a good idea. I’ll send the Princess a message myself.” Twilight said.

"Thank you Twilight." Fluttershy said.

"Well, girls," Rarity said, "I don't mean to be rude, but I have an appointment with an important customer soon. Are we quite done?"

"I don't think we can do anything more until we know what Princess Celestia will do. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from her." Twilight told Fluttershy. "I guess we just wait until then."

They agreed and decided to meet again after hearing back from Princess Celestia. As her friends were filing out, Rainbow Dash stopped and put a wing around her.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure Celestia will love Quint.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll challenge her to a race for the crown, win, and make sure no one touches him.” Fluttershy smiled weakly but didn’t speak so Rainbow continued. “Look, just imagine me at finish line wearing the crown, standing with one hoof on the winded, gasping form of Celestia while the other hoof holds Quint. The crowd is roaring ‘Princess Dash!’ over and over and showering us in flowers while the Wonderbolts scream by overhead! It’ll be awesome!” She winked and Fluttershy burst into giggles at the thought of Celestia lying at Rainbows hooves.

“Of course I’d have to drop the ‘Princess’ title for something way cooler." Rainbow added with a grin. "Maybe ‘Master’, or ‘Baroness’. Anyways, don’t worry. And let me know as soon as you hear from the Princess.”

“I will. Thanks Rainbow.”

Rainbow left and Fluttershy’s worries started to return. Celestia... what would the princess do? She shook her head, pushing the thoughts away for now. Rounding Quintus up, whose face was now covered in cupcake icing, she started her chores and tried to keep her mind busy while she waited for the most powerful being in Equestria to decide whether or not to punish a child.