//------------------------------//
// An Equestrian Nightmare, Act 2 
// Story: The Changeling Chronicles 
// by Shadow Beast 
//------------------------------//


The Changeling Chronicles



Book 2:  An Equestrian Nightmare



Author:  Shadow Beast



Act 2:  Midnight Revelations


Chapter 1:  Like a Revolving Door...
Shadow stepped outside.  He needed the fresh air... no, he needed positive energy, any kind of positive emotion that could give him strength.  He sat down on a bench, soldiers constantly watching him.
“I’m opening it, okay?!”
He took the envelope that the princess had given him, and undid the seal.  The instructions were on a single piece of paper inside:
“Dear Shadow Beast,
Your journey for self-discovery has led you astray.  Your punishment is to put things right:  you must resume your true journey.  Many of my subjects have completed these types of trips, and they have all felt success in finding out who they really are.  Once you too have learned a lesson, you must return to Canterlot and write of your travels... including those with Trixie.  If you foresee any obstacles and require extra help, please see me.  I would be happy to supply you with whatever you would need for your pilgrimage.  
Signed,
Princess Celestia”
Shadow smiled at those last few words... the idea of confronting the queen being a “pilgrimage” was an utterly ridiculous sentiment.  He approached the guards with a simple command, “Take me to the Princess.”
The solar beauty that was princess Celestia sat upon her throne, resting from the stressful events of the day.  Shadow entered the throne room, approached the throne, bowed, and asked for some supplies.  
“What kind of supplies will you require?”
“I need food.  That’s one of the main reasons  why I followed Trixie around all that time.  All I ask for is a few ponies to help me on my journey.  They must be ponies who I can trust, and can handle themselves in a fight... you know, in case we come across any monsters.”
“Where exactly are you going, Shadow Beast?”
“I cannot lie to you, Celestia.  I am going to track down Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings.  She has found a way to haunt my dreams, and I must confront her if I want to end the nightmares.”
“I see...”
“Excuse me,” Shining Armor interrupted, seemingly out of nowhere, “you said you were going to fight the changeling queen?”
“I’m at least going to submit a formal complaint.  I can’t sleep at night anymore!”
“Well, I’ll go with you!  I’ve faced the queen before, she might be scared of me after what happened when she tried to crash my wedding!”
Celestia became concerned, “Shining Armor, you have too many responsibilities to go on a long journey, especially one so dangerous!”
“You can have one of your generals take care of things in my absence.  This trial made me realize how wrong I was about changelings... I need this, your highness.”
The princess was impressed with his new attitude, “If you insist... and don’t worry, I already know who I want to call forward to take care of your platoon.  They’ll be in good hooves.  Now go and prepare yourself for the long journey ahead.  And be quick, both of you, for I’m expecting some company soon.”
“Thank you, your highness.”
A few days passed before Shining had believed he finally had enough supplies in his saddlebags.  They met as planned outside the local donut shop, which Shadow had taken a liking to because of the love felt by the customers.  As they were deciding their next move from there, they were approached by a large, male pegasus.  His coat was cream in color, with bright blue eyes and a blue mane with white highlights.  He had a very muscular build, and despite the friendly appearance, did not seem like somepony you’d want to pick a fight with.  His cutie mark was two crossed swords, slightly obscured by the light armor he was wearing which was silver instead of traditional gold.  What appeared to be a combat knife remained in reach of the pony’s mouth at all times, placed in a sheath that was a part of the armor.  The soldier approached the two unicorns and saluted.
“Thunder Sword, Special Reconnaissance Company, reporting for duty, sir!”
“At ease, soldier,”  Shining said after returning the gesture.  “I’m not in charge anymore, you’re gonna have to speak with General--”
“You are in charge, because I’m here to accompany you two on the mission.”
“I was not informed...”
“I was just approved this morning.”
“We both needed more warning... we only packed enough food for one.”
“I’m already packed with enough rations for a five-day journey.  I travel light.”
Shadow had had enough stalling, “It sounds like he’s prepared.  Let’s just get going, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”  The trio began trotting down the road.
“So you’re Shadow Beast, huh?” The pegasus looked over the moonicorn. “I figured you’d be... taller.”
“Yeah, well I guess I should have mentioned my height in the autobiography...”
“Probably should have, but it’s fine.  I do have one question though:  you wield a spear in that nightmare of yours, yet there is no such weapon mentioned anywhere else in the entire story... how could you know how to use one so well?”
“Well, to put it simply... it was in a dream,” the changeling insisted.
“I understand that,” the winged soldier explained.  “What I don’t understand is how similar your tactics were to those of the most elite unicorn spearponies.  You expertly wielded a weapon that was just introduced to you in the dream; it’s simply too... perfect to be coincidental.”
“Enough talk of dreams,” the blue-maned unicorn interjected, “we’re not even close to the Deadlands yet!” 
The black-maned moonicorn agreed and the trio continued toward the border.  Upon crossing the border, they headed downhill and towards a river.  They stopped at the bank to rest and the captain pulled a map from his saddlebags.
“So what’s the plan?” Shadow asked the bearer of the map.
“Well, this river leads straight to the Deadlands,”  Shining Armor replied, not looking up from the map, “I say we set up camp here for the night...”
On outstretched wings the third pony ascended to take a peek at the map.  
“You’re in my light, Sword.”
“You don’t need light to realize that the river runs right through that dense jungle... an extension of the Everfree forest.”
“THE Everfree forest?” the worried moonicorn asked.  “The forest that’s filled with dangerous creatures that prey upon anypony who dares to venture inside?” 
“Yes, Shadow,” the pegasus replied, “you of all ponies should understand the size of Everfree.  It was your doing...”
“I helped.  No more, no less.  I’m just saying that there may be monsters and we should be prepared for anything.”  The two soldiers began to put down their saddlebags.  “Wait! We’re setting up camp here of all places?!”
“Too close to the trees?” the captain asked.
“Actually, I think we can get closer,” Shadow answered.  “There’s still some daylight left, I say we follow the river as far as we can.”
“Listen Shadow, I’ve lead very few of these kind of missions as captain of the Royal Guard, but I’m pretty sure that the forest is the last place we want to sleep.  There are simply too many dangers and too few of us.”
The changeling listened to the tactical advice and conceded to setting up camp at their current location.  They spent the last hour of daylight setting up their tents and making sure everything was secure.  Only two tents were put up, as Shadow refused a bed.  Instead when night came and his friends fell asleep, Shadow sat outside.  He kept watch of the trees, looking into many glowing eyes that threatened his existence.  Eventually, his gaze lifted toward the moon, and he wondered what had become of his old home.  Love of life lifted from the treetops and ascended to the stars.  Timberwolves howled.  The flightless changeling laid on his back and stared into the night sky.

Chapter 2:  Savage Nightmares
The moonicorn raised his head from the ground.  The forest around him flared up in a terrifying green blaze.  He turned and galloped away from the fire, only to find himself trotting through cold, deep snow.  Light shone from windows of a quiet town, and a castle broke the sky on the horizon.  The sky itself swirled above in a massive cyclonic blizzard.  Suddenly, the ground shook beneath his purple hooves and the great tower in the distance crumbled into nothing.  A familiar, feminine laugh echoed through the snowy town, and a large plume of green magic shot into the swirling clouds.  Changelings flew overhead and began bombarding the houses in a comet-like form.  Screams and explosions echoed throughout the town.  Shadow tried to make sense of the chaos that surrounded him, but then he saw Chrysalis’s shadow cast in the distance.  Now all he could hear was his heart racing, and his breath made a constant stream of clouds in the cold.  He turned around and galloped in the complete opposite direction of Chrysalis.  There was a deserted shack out there.  He stopped at the door to this house... he felt there was something strangely familiar, and strangely foreboding.  Despite the stigma he bucked the door open.  He trotted into the house and the door shut behind him.  He thought he was alone.  Suddenly the dark house was lit up from an unknown source.  The changeling gasped in terror as this new light revealed the shack’s lone inhabitant; a purple moonicorn lay dead on the floor.  
Shadow Beast trembled uncontrollably at the sight.  “Is that?... No... it can’t be! It’s... me. But it can’t be!”  He fell to his knees at his own dead body.  As he raised his head, he noticed ash falling onto his dead counterpart.  He lifted his gaze a bit higher and met two pony-like eyes.  A long, dragon-like snout protruded from the darkness.  As it opened, a fang caught the changeling’s eye.  
But as the monster spoke, all surrounding seem to shift.  It spoke with Thunder Sword’s voice, “Wake up, Shadow! It’s just a nightmare!”  Everything twisted and warped itself into a blackness until only the voice remained.  Shadow opened his eyes.
The sun had barely risen, but it was bright enough to see Thunder’s face staring back at his.  A smile warped the snout of the pegasus.  “You okay, Shadow Beast?”
The changeling had to catch his breath.  His heart was still pounding in his chest.  “Yeah... yeah...”  The pegasus stepped back, allowing the moonicorn to roll over and get back on all four hooves; he rose from the ground and shook off the dirt. 
Shining trotted out of his tent and, with his magic, swiftly packed up the two tents and placed them back into his saddlebag.  He approached the two ponies, “You okay, Beast?  Looks like you had a rough night’s sleep on the... dirt.” The white stallion’s eyes fell to the patches of dirt where excessive movement had removed once beautiful grass.  
“Let’s just get on with this.”  The changeling trotted past the captain.  “So we just follow this river to the Deadlands, eh?” 
“Not so fast, Beast.  We ponies still need our breakfast,” Armor explained.
The two ponies ate their breakfast, but the purple moonicorn stood still and looked beyond the river to the foreboding trees waiting for them.  Then he looked beyond them.  This past nightmare had taken a great toll, and was inexplicably unforgettable.  Visions of his own body... dead, kept flashing through his mind.  The dragon inside the shack with the pony eyes had to mean something, too.  Would he succumb to some kind of reptile during this trip?  There would be no dragons in Everfree, so he concentrated on the dark forest.  As he waited, the unhealthy thought brewed into a dark truth in his mind:  this trip will be the end of him.  He will never see Canterlot again.  Worse, he would never see Palomoono again.  His red eyes--from both color and lack of sleep--lifted toward the heavens.  The moon had already disappeared, and the sun was now only obscured by clouds.  
The cream pegasus and white unicorn, with both saddlebags and stomach full, joined their friend and continued to the threshold of Everfree.  The moonicorn’s thoughts became clearer as he trotted with his companions into the darkness.  After an hour of trotting through thick brush, they were able to locate a clearing along the riverbank.  Everypony took a seat on the shore to rest and plan, but a soft buzz broke up the idle chatter.  A small light blue sphere attached to insect wings blew into the crowd.  Landing in the middle and opening large, bright green eyes, the creature cooed and awaited the ponies’ attention.  
Shining looked down at it and laughed. “Somepony lose a baby?”
“Not me!” Shadow responded, “the wings are too perfect!”
“Step away from the ‘baby,’ guys!” Sword said, appearing tense as though in danger, “That thing’s a parasprite!  We need to get it away from our food rations, or it’ll eat us out of everything!”
“Now let’s not be too hasty,” the changeling said, stepping closer to the blue sphere.  The parasprite looked into the red eyes of the purple moonicorn and, sensing no danger, hopped onto his snout.  “Well, I must admit I didn’t expect an all-consuming thing to smell so good!”  A slight smile creased the corners of the snout, not disturbing the blue creature’s rest. 
“Shadow, maybe you should consider Thunder’s advice.  Intel is his department,” the captain reminded.  
“Oh come on, guys,” the changeling said, carefully balancing the parasprite on his nose with great care.  “Don’t you trust me?”  The smile grew slightly wider, and changeling fangs were visible under his purple pony lips.  The parasprite’s relaxed eyes opened a bit wider upon finding a slight tint of threat in its new friend’s eyes.  It spread its wings and stretched its legs as the snout it was standing on flared up in green fire, revealing its worst nightmare.  But the parasprite was too slow, Shadow quickly snatched it up with his jagged, black changeling snout, causing the sprite to lose a couple wings on impact.  He chewed up the little sphere for five seconds before spitting out a couple detached wings covered in creases, rips, and holes.  After swallowing his meal, he looked down where the broken wings had landed on the ground in a puddle of changeling spit.  Green fire once again concealed his true form, followed by the familiar black and red mane and purple coat.  “Well, now he’s got holes in his wings!”
“I guess that’s what you call irony,” Thunder added. 
The three friends shared a laugh, and trekked further into the forest.  With parasprites now giving the team a wide berth, they were able to cross the dense flora without any further inconvenience.  Within about three hours, not counting rest and meal stops, they found themselves at the next threshold.  The wide expanse of the Deadlands were all that separated Shadow from the Hive.  The trio rebuilt camp, this time with a third tent, and prepared for the journey ahead as the sun neared the horizon.  They gathered around a fire and cooked their final meal of the day.  Except Shadow, who retired early in an attempt to evade a late nightmare.

Chapter 3:  Bad Breath
The two ponies exited their tents, ready to resume their journey refreshed after a good night’s sleep.  The changeling was waiting for them outside, with his tent already packed.  He sat by the fire, simply staring into it.  The visions of the wintry town, of the dragon and the corpse, had returned to him at night, and now he watched as the fire burned itself out.  Lines had appeared below the tired moonicorn’s eyes, and his breathing was irregular.  
“I hope you weren’t up all night,” Shining stated, unsure of Shadow’s capacity for the journey ahead. 
“It doesn’t matter,” Shadow replied, with a slight shakiness in his voice.  “This trip is going to kill me.”
Thunder looked at his officer and after an affirming nod he went to Beast’s side.  “You know, Princess Celestia wants you back in Canterlot after this is done.  According to my briefing, you’ve gotta be alive to write a book!”
The fire burned its last, and smoke rose from the ashes.  Shadow lifted his head and turned  toward his pegasus friend.  “The nightmare is the same every night.  A dragon appears in the ashes and all that’s left is a corpse.  My corpse.”
“What about Chrysalis?” Armor asked as he packed up the two tents.  “I thought the whole reason we were on this mission was to stop her from getting in your head?”
“She’s there... in the town.  Watching.  Laughing.  She has to be doing this to me, I just know it!” Shadow lifted himself from the dirt, and stretched his legs.  “I’m sick of her! Which way are we going?!”
“Hold on,” the captain replied, donning his golden armor and helping Thunder into his silver armor.  They put on their saddlebags, and Shining pulled out his map.  “According to this, we need to keep moving against the river’s flow, and then it’s just a matter of going uphill until we find the Changeling Kingdom.”
“Anything else we should know?” the changeling asked with a tired voice.
Armor floated the map over to Sword, and asked him if there was anything he knew about the land ahead.  “Well,” Thunder replied, “there’s a lack of intel on the Deadlands, but there are plenty of theories.  Summing up almost every theory in two words is simple enough: ‘Changelings.  Dragons.’  All three of us know that changelings do live here now, but  there is just enough evidence to support a dragon presence.  We’re talking giant lizards capable of eating all three of us in one bite.  That the kind of dragon in your dream, Shadow?”
“No... the dragon I saw was in the darkness but could make eye contact.  His eyes were like a pony’s for some reason.”
“Well, I doubt we’ll find any dragon like that here!”  Sword happily explained.  
The trio followed the river upstream until it finally ended.  The Deadlands were like a large desert with rock everywhere under the scorching sun.  The ponies ate juicy apples as they trotted along.  This gave them energy, and the rationing was able to keep them going for hours.  After a couple of said hours trotting across the open ground, they found themselves at a large canyon.  This canyon wasn’t marked on the map, so they chose to go along above instead of attempting to cross the dry riverbeds below.  The uphill climb was not a problem for the pegasus, who was strong enough to carry Shining to the top.  The captain then used his magic to teleport the changeling, allowing for quick and efficient mountain climbing.  Though it could only be done so many times due to cramped wings and horns, as well as a singed coat from a rough teleport.  They followed the canyon, hoping it may lead them closer to their destination, but they did not realize that they were being watched from above.  
Three small dragons appeared as if from nowhere and apprehended the ponies from above.  They appeared to be teenagers from the looks of them, their leader was a tall red dragon, there was a large, brown brute, and a skinny, purple accomplice.  The brute grabbed ahold of both Thunder and Shining, holding the soldiers tightly.  The tall purple one grabbed Shadow and held him down.  Their leader landed and and stared into each struggling pony’s eyes.  
“What do you dragons want with us?!” the purple moonicorn pleaded.
Surprisingly, the dragons had the capacity to speak.  “You stupid ponies are on our turf,” the leader explained.  “That means we get to take whatever we want from you!”  
“Listen, we’re on royal business!” the changeling retorted.  “Maybe the pony government doesn’t matter to you... but I’m here to see Queen Chrysalis of the changelings!” 
The scaly arms around the purple moonicorn shook uncontrollably; the three dragons had burst into laughter at his sentiment.  The red one was able to calm himself enough to speak to Shadow.  “Well, we wouldn’t want to trouble puny weaklings now, would we?”  He rejoined his gang in laughter. 
“You think you’re so tough!?” Beast yelled, having heard too much laughter after too little sleep.  “Have your goon let me go and let’s see just how tough you are, dragon!”
After yet another laugh, the dragon happily obliged.  The purple dragon let go of Shadow, turning away to begin removing the soldiers’ saddlebags.  The leader stepped forward, as did the changeling.  The opponents looked into each other’s eyes with hatred for one other.
A smile creased his purple snout. “Alright, let’s see how tough you really are!” But before the winged lizard could attack  green fire erupted from below the moonicorn.  When it cleared, the dragon found himself staring into his own eyes... his own form now stood before him.  The purple dragon attempted to flank the imposter, but it jumped out of range... and into the original.  Before long, the two were fighting so intensely that nopony could tell which one was the leader and which was the changeling!  
In this moment of weakness, the soldiers made their escape from the brute’s grasp.  A violent flapping of strong wings along with powerful magic was all it took to throw off the brown dragon’s balance.  The purple dragon turned from scratching his head over the dragon scuffle he was witnessing and tried to subdue Thunder from behind, only to receive a strong buck to the chest.  He hit the ground hard, but his large friend was just getting started.  He rose from the ground and attempted to scorch the two ponies with his fire breath, but they were able to dodge it, for a while.  As the fire focused on the pegasus, it was up to Shining to take down this dragon.  He had a good view from the side, and aimed for the brute’s eye.  The magic struck the dragon with perfect accuracy, causing him to turn his attention toward the unicorn instead.  
The golden-armored unicorn stood his ground.  Light pink magic sparked from his horn, and all he needed was a good hit.  However, the brown dragon began inhaling, leaving no room for escape.  It was down to who struck first.  Armor had to be sure that his strike counted.  
Meanwhile the pegasus, exhausted after using a lot of wingpower to dodge dragon flames, called to his captain from the sidelines, “Shining! Aim for the throat!” With a flash, a blast of pink magic left the horn and collided directly with the brown dragon’s windpipe.  With all the choking and coughing, the dragon had no defense.  The unicorn charged into the brute’s chest, horn first.  The thick scales protected the reptile from impalement, but the force of the charge sent him buckling forward.  Shining turned and delivered a strong buck straight to the dragon’s jaw, throwing the brute to the ground.  The two ponies once again donned their saddle bags, just in time to see the red dragon being strangled by the other with a red tail.  After the loser had lost consciousness, the victor released his grip and his tail took back its place behind him.  He stepped toward the ponies, went down on all fours, and returned to his moonicorn form with a large burst of green fire.  
The three travellers trotted onwards, a large mountain stretched into the sky about a quarter-mile away.  About halfway up, insectoid silhouettes entered and exited view from what appeared to be a large cave on the side.  They had found the changelings’ hideout, now they just needed to get there.

Chapter 4:  Where Shadow Meets Beast
The trio began climbing the mountain, but questions soon came to the pegasus’s mind.  He turned to his moonicorn friend for the answers.  “So, Shadow, how were you able to take down that red dragon?”  The moonicorn looked up at his flying friend and explained how fighting a double can be very disorienting, especially to the original.  With a weaker mental state, the physical state couldn’t truly counter every attack, and would eventually succumb to the assault.  This didn’t answer Thunder’s question though, so he explained.  “You strangled the dragon with his own tail! That’s not exactly easy...”  The moonicorn responded with an explanation that it was technically his changeling tail in a dragon form.  He was just lucky no one noticed his malformed wings.  Turns out that because a certain changeling never tried to heal his broken wings properly, they had become deformed as they were hidden away.  He would never fly again.  Sword smiled at the changeling’s honesty.  It was nice to know he wasn’t just slacking the entire trip, which was very near to its conclusion.
They arrived at the cave, and two changelings walked out to meet them.  Both wore special armor that would blend in case of form change.  It was a special changeling-made alloy that allowed them to become perfect copies no matter their rank or attire, and still offered some protection.  These were obviously high ranking changelings, so Shadow stepped forward.
He turned to his two companions, “you two have served your purpose.”  A green flash and a changeling faced them.  “Now you’ll have to wait out here.  I don’t want you getting hurt.”  His bright blue eyes turned towards the changeling soldiers.  “I made a deal with these two ponies;  they got me here unharmed, so they’ll leave here unharmed.  Now, I want you to take me to Queen Chrysalis!”  
The changelings scanned over him, looked at each other, then scanned over him again.  Finally, they spoke up.  “Heed our warning, outsider.  You should turn back... we know not whence you learned our great queen’s name, but you are new to the Hive.  We will take you to the Queen if you insist, but you should take your ponies and leave while you can.”
“I have come too far to be deterred now!  Take me to Chrysalis!  And my friends better be here and unharmed... we still have unfinished business outside this cave.”
“Very well.  Follow us...”
Beyond the dark entrance to the cave was a deep chamber eventually leading to the throne room.  Luckily for the new changeling, there were stairs going all the way down.  He trotted the stairs alone, his new companions using their wings to get to the door faster.  Finally he reached the bottom of the steps, and the armored guards used their green magic to open the double doors to the throne chamber.  There were multiple doors throughout the staircase, probably leading to different living quarters, but these doors were three times the size.  The changeling walked into the throne room alone.  On the throne sat the tallest changeling he had ever seen.  She was about as tall as Celestia, with bright green reptilian eyes that stared through him.  Her faded pale blue mane flowed around her horn, which was twisted by the power it held.  Her wings were huge for a changeling, but like the others she had holes throughout the mane, tail, wings, and limbs.  She smiled as the outsider approached.  Her fangs were much smaller than most changelings, and she had a second set on her bottom jaw.  
“Look who finally came crawling back!” Chrysalis announced with a laugh.
“So you’re Chrysalis?” the small changeling said, looking over the source of his nightmares.  “Nice to finally see your true form.”  
“Oh, my little executioner... what did those ponies do to you?”
“You must have me confused with someone else... I’m Shadow Beast!”
The Queen burst into laughter at the sentiment.
“What are you laughing about?”
“‘Shadow Beast?’ What kind of name is that for a changeling?!”
“My parents gave it to me... it’s from a poem:  
‘For you are the shadow, 
the light from the beast.
You use our love to grow,
and will always have a feast.’”
“That’s no poem!” the Queen remarked after another burst of laughter.
“What!?  It rhymes doesn’t it?  My parents recited it to me every night!”
“What were their names?”
“What?”
“Your parents.  What were their names?!”
The changeling smiled, but then realized he did not know the answer.  Horror shown on his black snout as he answered, “I... I... I can’t remember.”
“Let me try again, then... where were you born?”
“The Moon.”
“More specific!”
“Palomoono!”
“Lies!”
“Not this again... I’m not lying!  Quit telling me I’m lying!  Every night you say that and I’m sick of it!”
“Wait... ‘every night?’”  Chrysalis felt very uncomfortable about that sentiment.  It was clear she didn’t realize he was onto her.
“Yeah, about that... I want you out of my life!  I want you to stop giving me nightmares!  Why do you think I came all the way out here?  You just don’t listen!”
“Have you gone insane!?!”  The fear was visible in her eyes.  She knew her plans were foiled.
“If I’m insane for wanting independence, then yes!”
“Midnight Masquerade!” the Queen burst out.
“Excuse me?” the changeling asked, confused.
“Your name,” she explained, catching her breath.  “That’s your name...”
“No... it’s not.”
“Stop lying...”
“I’m not lying!”
“Don’t interrupt me this time! Stop lying... to yourself!!”
“You really think I’m going to fall for this?”
“Think for once, Midnight... your new name, ‘Shadow Beast’ comes from the words of our former leader, Discord.”
“But... but you and Discord never got along!”
“I never said he was our beloved leader...”
“I don’t understand... this is contradicting everything I know!”
“And you know so much,” Chrysalis added, stepping off of her throne and towards Midnight.  Her horn began glowing with a strange, green glow.  “Allow me to remind you!”
With those words, a great ray of green light flew towards the changeling, whose only choice was to counter it.  The magic was too powerful, and he was overwhelmed.  As it connected with his own horn, visions flooded his head.  The nightmare was back, but this time it was uncut.  He screamed.

Chapter 5:  Midnight Masquerade
Finally the visions ended.  Finally there was silence in the head of the changeling.  There would be no more nightmares... in fact, there never were.  Chrysalis was right, he had gone insane.  He wasn’t born on the moon, he was born in the wintry Deadlands.  He rebelled against Discord with all the other changelings.  They eradicated all the ponies who resisted, unknowingly exhausting their own food supply in the process.  When they finally stormed the old unicorn palace, now turned epicenter of chaos, they were met by Discord.  At first he was indifferent, but then all the ponies still at his side turned to changelings... including a certain purple moonicorn.  After that happened, Discord just laughed and said the words that would haunt every single changeling, including Chrysalis:
“You’ve struck down my ponies.
And replaced them with phonies, 
But understand one thing,
My little changeling:
For you are but shadow
And do not fully know.
You were made from my power:
Magic from this beast allowed you to grow
Into the disgusting forms you now bear in my tower.
You needed their love to truly glow.
This fact you need to know.
For this land is now dead
And desolate too.
Despite all your dread,
There is no room to argue.
Now spread all your wings,
We must find a new source of life,
With food for all the changelings,
And never ending strife!” 
Midnight Masquerade followed Discord to the new land of Equestria.  He found himself in the throne room with Chrysalis and other changelings to witness the final battle.  A battle that would end with defeat for the forces of Chaos.  With Discord’s horrifying, stone-cold defeat, most of the changelings went into full retreat.  Midnight simply took the form of his first blood, a moonicorn who had seeked refuge in the Earth pony town back in the Deadlands.  It was the only form he had that he knew would not put him back on the battlefield.  He couldn’t go back.  The fear of the power that now ruled over him was overwhelming.  Somehow he found himself wrapped up in the civil war, and following Nightmare Moon, who appeared to be the more powerful of the two, to the moon.  He thought he had escaped the madness, but Nightmare was terrifying, and his new job was even worse.  He had to turn innocent creatures into monsters.  Fear and regret swelled in his brain until he could take it no longer.  He finally snapped... forgetting everything and becoming somepony completely new.  When he tried to remember, the only thing left was that speech... that’s where he got his new name.  His brain did plenty of backflips to avoid any negative memories, but somehow they still found a way through...
“MIDNIGHT!” The Queen’s all-too-familiar voice broke through the changeling’s thoughts.
“That’s my name,” Masquerade accepted, looking up from the floor into Chrysalis’s eyes.  
“Glad to hear you’re on the path back to sanity,” she said smugly.  “I’m glad you could get something out of this meeting.  You see, here at the Hive our resources are very low and, well... you’ve brought two ponies with you!”
“I will die before I let you touch them!” Midnight burst out, mouth moving faster than his mind.
“Very well, then.  I see you have made up your mind!  You’re exiled.”
“What?...”
“You heard me.  You’re exiled.  I never want to see you in the Deadlands again.  You will be destroyed on sight.  Now, get out of my Hive, you wretch!”
The changeling had no choice.  Broken wings faced the Queen as the broken changeling exited the throne room.  Midnight trotted back up the steps, hundreds of hundreds of changeling eyes stared as he ascended.  He donned his moonicorn form, trying to shield himself from their prying eyes.  Finally, with a bright light, he had reached the cave entrance once again, and his pony friends awaited.  He was happy.  The changelings didn’t care anymore, but the ponies would listen.  He needed someone to listen to what he had to say.
“Shadow!  You’re back!”  Shining greeted the changeling, who looked shyly back at him.
“You alright, Beast?  You’re not hurt, are you?”  Thunder seemed concerned, but he didn’t know...
“That’s not my name.  I was lying... even to myself.  My name is Midnight Masquerade.”  His purple legs carried him past his friends and towards the steep cliff overlooking the vast Deadlands.  
“What, no ‘hello?’”  Shining asked, now feeling confused and concern as well.  
Masquerade reached the edge of the cliff.  He turned back towards the soldiers, barely able to see them through his black and red mane.  He smiled.  “No... just a goodbye.”  Then he turned back towards the cliff.
He jumped.

Chapter 6:  An End To Suffering
The ground below loomed closer and closer, and then stopped and turned a bright and shiny pink.  “I can’t hold him much longer!  Get him!” was all that could be heard before a streak of cream, blue, and silver crashed through the magic spell and safely placed the changeling on the solid ground.  
“What in Equestria were you thinking?!” Thunder demanded to know.
“You’re a soldier too, Sword.  You should know what I was thinking!” the fallen changeling pleaded.
“Shadow--”
“MIDNIGHT MASQUERADE!  ‘Shadow Beast’ was a giant lie.  My ENTIRE LIFE has been nothing but a LIE!”
“What the hay did Chrysalis do to you?!”
“She opened my eyes...  Sh..she showed me what I had been keeping from myself...”
“Through the nightmares?”
“There were never any nightmares... only memories.”
“And you were trying to block them out...”
“Yes.  I’m sorry that you had to save me... you shouldn’t have to do that.”
“It’s fine.  As long as you’re okay.”
“Yeah... I’ll be fine.  It was just... so much... so fast.  I just need some fresh air and a good night’s sleep.  Let’s just get back to Canterlot so I can write about my travels with Trixie.  Then I’ll be out of your hair for good.”
“Excuse me?” Shining interjected, having just reached the ground using his hooves.  
“His name’s Midnight Masquerade.  It always has been.  PTSD causing a Fugue state resulting in a case of hysteria and nightmares.”
“Well, excuse you...”
“Allow me to rephrase, he forgot who he was and was lying to himself, and therefore us, this entire time.”  The pegasus turned from his captain and back to the changeling.  “Now, wait a second, you actually remember the events of your life under the name ‘Shadow Beast?’”
“Well... most of it.”  The changeling looked toward the sky.  “I’m really not sure when the transition was, so there’s just a gap in memory between my past life in Equestria, and being on the Moon.”
“Listen... Midnight,” Shining said, still not used to the change in identity. 
“It’s fine!” Midnight sternly and almost angrily assured the captain.  “Let’s just get out of here... we’ve gotta get to Canterlot.”
Going downhill lead the trio back toward the river in no time.  Luckily, no dragons were there to ambush them, but that would not save them from having to cross through the jungle a second time.  The sat on the river bank to catch their breath, and the sun soon began making way for the moon.  The ponies pitched their tents and the changeling worked on a fire.  The events had left them physically exhausted, but mentally excited.  The soldiers knew that their changeling friend was in no stable mental condition, and they needed to keep an eye on him, lest he attempt to end his life again.  
The changeling sat down and stared into the flames of the campfire.  His memories came back too fast, and he was beginning to recognize more events that had transpired in his past.
Thunder Sword appeared from his tent, all of his armor removed.  He sat next to the wilted moonicorn.  “You keeping warm?”
“How long until I burn, Thunder?”  The moonicorn’s voice was stern... almost monotone.
“What?!  Don’t talk like that!  It’s gonna be okay...”
“Don’t lie to me, Thunder.”  The moonicorn’s red eyes met the pegasus’s blues.  “I’m a war criminal.  You were right about the spear... I was trained to use it.  I guess you just can’t forget some things... like I’ll never forget helping end the lives of so many Earth ponies.”
“I’m sure Celestia will understand... won’t she, Shining Armor?”
The white unicorn appeared from his tent.  He, too, had discarded his armor for the time being.  “Yeah, you’ve learned your lesson, haven’t you?”  He smiled at the purple pony, but the changeling could sense his apprehension.  
“These memories... it’s like I’m reliving the nightmare of being under their control all over again.  My whole life is falling apart...”  The changeling’s head fell to the ground, and a visible tear made its way down his long, purple snout.
“Can you think of anything we could do to help?” Thunder asked, putting his foreleg around Midnight.
Masquerade shrugged it off.  “I’m going to sleep,” he said, getting up and trotting slowly toward his tent.
“Like this?  Are you sure?” Armor asked, seeming very concerned.  “You could get nightmares...”
“Nothing new.”
“Is this really the ending you want for this day?” Shining asked, standing up now.
Midnight turned his back toward him.  “Better than the ending the bottom of the cliff almost gave me, right?”  The changeling smiled.
“Don’t joke about that!  You scared us half to death back there!  Just promise you won’t try anything like that again!”
“You have my word that I won’t try anything like that again...” Midnight said, resuming his trot and reaching the threshold of his tent.  “...of course, the word of a chronic liar doesn’t mean much.  Goodnight, you two; I will see you in the morning.”  He closed the tent before either soldier could say anything more.

Chapter 7:  A Changeling’s Best Friends
It was the first peaceful night in Equestria for Masquerade.  He awoke from his dreams and almost immediately forgot them.  It felt so good to be refreshed, and he felt he had finally made peace with the fact that his life would soon be over.  He stretched his legs and packed up his tent.  The pony soldiers were awake, armored, and eating breakfast.  Shining saw that Midnight was awake and put the packed tent away after greeting him.  When everypony was done eating they moved forward; the Everfree forest awaited them.  
They trotted through the trees, unsure what dangers may confront them this time.  The darkness hid anything that would have been staring at them, but the sounds of the beasts were not so well hidden.  
The source of the growling revealed itself as six timber wolves appeared from all sides.  The three soldiers put their backs together, leaving no room for surprise.  “Wait for them to strike first!” the changeling warned his friends.  “The one that strikes first is the Alpha... and I want him!”  
Shining and Midnight readied themselves mentally, ready to cast a powerful spell on whatever tried to harm them.  Thunder took his knife in his mouth, ready to strike with deadly precision.  One of the wooden hounds charged and jumped out of the pack, directly towards Sword.  The pegasus quickly dodged out of the way of the pounce and, with a skillful counter-attack, severed the creature’s head from its body with his knife.  The other timber wolves appeared unaffected by the loss of their Alpha and slowly closed in all at once.  The ponies looked around, and the pegasus found himself unsure of what to do next.  “I killed the Alpha... why are they still coming?”
“The Alpha?” the changeling asked in disbelief.  “Toss me the head!”
Thunder was unsure of the moonicorn’s plans, but he trusted him.  He sheathed his knife and used his mouth to grab and throw the head of the fallen Alpha to Midnight. Green magic caught the decapitated head and placed it over the changeling’s.  He worked the head like a mask the rest of his body burned away to make room for timber wolf hide.  The new Alpha howled toward the sky, and before long every timber wolf in the pack had joined in.  With a plume of green flame, the changeling returned to his true form; the head of the timber wolf reduced to ash.  The pack saw this, but did not seem affected.  
“I reminded them who’s in charge!” Masquerade happily revealed in his natural, changeling voice.  “They won’t try to hurt us anymore.”  
“What about other ponies?” Sword asked, curious about the effects of the ritual.  “Are they... tame now?”
“I’m afraid they’re simply too stupid to ever truly be tame,” Midnight sadly revealed.  “They smell their Alpha on us; an Alpha they think is still alive thanks to the group howling.  This effect should last until we can get out of Everfree.”
“Then we have no time to waste!” Armor said, retaking control of the group.  “Masquerade, will taking your pony form agitate the wolves in any way?”
“It shouldn’t... why do you ask?”
“I’m still not used to your changeling voice is all.”
“Well you’re gonna have to get used to it. After what happened before, I refuse to lie to myself.  This form is the real me.”
“If it makes you feel better...” the unicorn refused to argue with something that was so broken.  
The trio were able to follow the river all the way out of Everfree.  The timber wolf pack could not go beyond the boundaries of the forest, but it was for the best.  The sun began to set yet again, and so the two ponies proceeded to set up camp for the last time.  They were so close to home, but they needed their rest. The two ponies made their last dinner that they would have together.  This campfire was a bittersweet spectacle.  While everypony looked forward to getting back to their jobs, they did realize that it would split them up for a long time.  Even Midnight felt it.  He hadn’t felt this way since he was with Trixie in that courtroom waiting for the sentence.  Even before then, he felt this way when the two of them had to leave Gilda behind.  
The memories sparked many questions in the mind of the changeling:  Why did he follow her in the first place?  Why was she even down there to catch him?  Why couldn’t he catch Night Jumper?  As the questions came together he realized they all had a similar answer.  The answer was simple, justice.  Such a simple word... but it sparked a much more stark question... and an ominous realization.  Because there is one piece of knowledge that has always been kept from him, even by the princesses.  What did the Elements of Harmony do to him?  Can he trust that the Elements simply returned him to his pony form?  What else could they have done?  These questions do not have such a simple answer, but there is an answer out there.  Somewhere.

Chapter 8:  Royal Inquisition
When the ponies awoke, they quickly packed their tents and prepared for breakfast.  The changeling awoke a short moment later from all the noise.  While waking up early wasn’t his plan, he was glad that the past couple nights were full of peaceful sleep.  He packed up his tent then joined the unicorn and pegasus outside.  They spent their last breakfast talking about what they looked forward to getting back to.  For Shining Armor, he would regain control of his Royal Guard platoon and return to his wife, Cadence.  For Thunder Sword, he would return to his wife, Emerald, as well as report all of his findings on the changeling Hive.  Midnight took the time to write out that the Queen was behind the tallest doors and that there were probably a few hundred changelings living there.  He also put in a small bit about the changeling armor variants and how they were ranked.  He then gave the paper to Sword for safe-keeping.  When asked if he was sure he wanted to do this, the changeling responded with “they disowned me, I disown them.”  Then the time came for the changeling to reveal what was waiting for him back at Canterlot.  For Midnight, he had nothing but a lot of writing waiting for him.  He didn’t add the assumption that Celestia would have him executed for his criminal past.  
The ponies finished up breakfast and the trio made their way back to Canterlot.  They proceeded directly to the castle, and many of the city’s inhabitants avoided them upon seeing the changeling.  Hushed whispers could be heard but most trusted the soldiers to handle the perceived threat.  Somehow they made it to the castle without any problems, and then it was a straight shot to the throne room.  The three entered and Celestia was waiting for them.
“I am glad to see you all made it back in one piece,” she said as they approached.  “Did the Queen give you much trouble?”
“A lot, actually...” Shining responded.  “I think I’ll let Midnight Masquerade explain.”
“Who?” Celestia asked.  Her gaze shifted around the room in search of the missing fourth.
“Me...” the changeling said as he shyly stepped forward.  “When I met Chrysalis, she showed me what it means to be a changeling.  A way of life that I had managed to forget after centuries of overwhelming stress and fear.  My name... my real name is Midnight Masquerade.  ‘Shadow Beast’ was a fake name I came up with in my madness.  I now know that I am unfit to live in these same lands as you.  In my service to her all those years ago, I helped level an entire Earth pony village.  My moonicorn form was derived from one of my victims.  I will write of my travels as you have asked, but I will understand if you also wish me banished or worse.”
“Do you want to go back to the Deadlands?” Celestia asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
“I can’t go back.  I made too many enemies: a group of young dragons for one thing. Plus, Chrysalis disowned me; she exiled me from the Deadlands.”
“Now why would she do that if you’re nothing but a changeling soldier?”
Celestia’s point flew over his head.  “I don’t know... she’s evil?”  
The princess sighed, then smiled.  “You’re not in her service anymore.  You’re in mine.  And before that, you were in my sister’s for more than a thousand years!  You’re nothing like what you were, so I forgive you of any crimes or atrocities you committed those millennia ago!”  A large case appeared from behind her, and floated in her golden magic toward the changeling.  “Here, I’ve had a special gift prepared for you.”
Midnight stared at the latch, still unsure if this wasn’t an elaborate trick.  
“Go ahead, open it!” the princess assured.  Tentatively, Masquerade focused his magic, and opened the chest.  Inside was something strange, he had not seen many things like it.  “It’s a saddle.  A very special saddle.  The Equestrian Royal Seal is inscribed on it, so my subjects should recognize that you are a friend.  I did have it based off your pony form, though.  I was not expecting you to grow wings...”
“These crumpled old things?  I never learned to use them right anyways!”  This was a half truth, as he had learned how to boost forward to catch prey, but that was back in the wintry Deadlands when his wings weren’t crippled.  Midnight lifted the saddle out the chest with his green magic and equipped it.  Using magic meant not only would it slip on without struggle but it would conform perfectly to his shape... no matter what.  He did, however, make sure it covered up his broken wings.  He looked up at the princess for the first time since the journey.  “Is it fireproof?”
Celestia chuckled and assured him that it was.  It was clear that she had put a lot of work into getting this for him.  Midnight could not understand how she could so easily forgive him and treat him to such a great gift.
“Do not think I have forgotten about you two!” Celestia said, looking into the eyes of the soldiers.  “Come on in!  They’re ready for you!”
The three subjects turned as the doors to the throne room opened and two mares entered.  One was a pink alicorn, the other a white unicorn.
“Cadence!”
“Emerald!”
The soldiers rushed to meet their wives, and embraced with pure affection that was strong enough to stuff the changeling.  Midnight turned back toward Celestia, having had enough love to spoil his lunch.  As for dinner, there was always the doughnut shop.  Having a full stomach was able to clear his mind from the grievances.  Having been forgiven by Celestia and wearing the Royal seal washed away the disgusting feeling he used to get from Canterlot.
“Are you ready to resume your duties as one of my subjects, Midnight Masquerade?” Celestia asked with a smile.
The changeling looked up at her, tears welled up in his eyes and an immense smile stretched his face.  “I am.”


The End