//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Past Shadows // by ChaosDragoon //------------------------------// “Calm down, you have nothing to fear from me,” Luna said as she flew from the sky to the ground in front of Weaponry. Bowing Weaponry said, “Princess, forgive me for-” but Luna put up a hoof to stop him. “It’s quite alright. However, why do you push yourself to such extremes? My sister and I are grateful to have a guard like you protecting all of Equestria, but we worry about you,” Luna said. Weaponry looked at her in confusion and suddenly his eye changed from brown to light blue. He started to step back, his expression turned from confusion to anger as he clinched his teeth. “How dare you!” he yelled as two black orbs flew from his horn and took the form of swords. “W-What are you doing. You dare lift your magical weapons towards your princess,” Luna yelled. “You’re not my Princess you filthy changeling!” Weaponry yelled before he charged at Luna. Rising into the air she yelled, “Treason! Traitor! I’ll have your head for this!” A sharp pain on the back of her head signaled her descent to the ground. An onlooker might notice the black hammer hovering above her previous location. As she lay on the ground her appearance changed from the graceful alicorn to a changeling. The two swords and hammer slowly hovered away from the changeling’s body before reverting into the orbs and returning to Weaponry’s horn. A black aura surrounded his horn and the changeling as it was lifted off the ground. “Killing you would be too easy. I have to find out what you’re planning,” he said before galloping towards the police station. ----- The Changeling awoke to find a bright light shining in its face. It squinted in the light before it was shut off, but spots remained floating in its eyes. As they cleared he saw a table and Weaponry standing across from him. The Changeling tried to move but found it was tied to a chair. “I see you’re finally awake,” Weaponry said as he walked around the table. He moved his hoof to the changeling’s head and turned it to look at him. “I’ll only ask this once: What are you planning? Why are you attacking Equestria? How are you able to take the shape of objects now?” He removed his hoof to let the changeling speak. The changeling looked at Weaponry and spat on him. “I will tell you nothing,” it hissed. “We can’t be stopped by the likes of you ponies.” Weaponry wiped the spit from his cheek and nodded before his horn glowed. A chair in the corner levitated and wedged the door shut. A pounding sound was heard as The Police ponies tried to break it down. The changeling felt the ropes around him loosen and his body floated to a standing position. Weaponry walked around it smiling. The changeling felt a sense of dread as Weaponry continued to walk like a shark circling its prey. “Your pitiful attempts at scaring me won’t work,” the changeling said. Weaponry stopped in front of the changeling and chuckled. “Who said I was trying to scare you?” the changeling’s wings were suddenly pulled up and extended. “You know, when I was a colt I loved art. I loved to look at it, critique it, but most importantly I sometimes wanted to change it to my liking,” Weaponry said as he examined the changeling’s wings. “As you must know changing an artist’s work is frowned upon, but that’s the paintings and the sculptures; things like that. However, nopony ever told me that changing the art of life was frowned upon.” “What do you mean?” the changeling asked. Weaponry chuckled again. “For example: your wings aren’t symmetrical, so therefore,” the changeling suddenly felt sharp pain in his back as he felt his wings being pulled upward. Its body stayed firmly on the ground as tears filled its eyes. Finally, the changeling felt its wings rip from its back. Its breathing heavy as the pain lingered in its back. Without a word the changeling’s body floated up and Weaponry examined its legs and hooves. The changeling was then placed on the ground before its left forehoof was extended. “Here’s what I’m talking about: three of your hooves have four holes in them. Except this one which only has two. We should change that to make your art more appealing,” Weaponry said before a black orb appeared from his horn and created a spear. “You wouldn’t,” the changeling said before it was cut off by the spear plunging into the hoof. The changeling screamed in pain. It tried to move but its body was paralyzed by Weaponry’s magic. The shaft of the spear suddenly grew small dagger-like appendages before twisting and turning to make the hole bigger. The changeling continued to scream, tears welling up in its eyes. Weaponry’s tongue was poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentrating. The spear stopped twisting as Weaponry examined the hole then the others on the rest of the changeling’s hoof. The pain still riding up the changeling’s hoof. “You can do whatever you want to me but I’ll never talk,” the changeling said. Weaponry stared at the changeling. “Oh, you can talk all you want. That won’t change the fact that I’m going to continue this until I can get the right radius of this hole to the others.” Screams were heard from the direction of the room’s mirror which caused Weaponry to look at it and smile. “We have an audience,” Weaponry said before he pulled the spear from the newly formed hole. Green blood stained the floor as weaponry lifted the spear up again. ----- “Weaponry! Weaponry,” Flash screamed as his hooves hit the glass. He turned to the police ponies. “Help me break down the glass!” “We can’t, the rooms enchanted,” one of the police ponies said. “Then we need to get the changeling to use its magic,” Flash said. “It won't be able to. Those shackles work with the room’s ability to disable anypony’s ability to use magic. Only when he leaves the room will he be able to use magical abilities,” the police pony explained as Twilight and her friends ran in. “What’s happening?” Twilight asked. “Weaponry found a changeling,” Flash moved away from the glass. The six walked up to see Weaponry’s spear had pierced the changeling’s hoof and was now twisting. They could hear the changeling scream in pain. Fluttershy collapsed to the ground and put her hooves over her ears. “What about the door,” Applejack asked. “He’s blockaded it, we can’t get in,” the other police pony said. “Come on AJ, we can knock that door down ourselves,” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack nodded and raced towards the door. ----- Weaponry looked at the door as he heard it creak. He saw it bend as the sound of two ponies slamming their bodies resonated into the room. The noise was overpowered by the changeling’s cries for mercy and whimpering. Weaponry lifted the spear from the hole; it’s barbed shaft covered in green blood and pieces of the changeling’s skin. Weaponry examined his work and sighed. “I didn’t make it the same size. Both holes are bigger than the others I’m going to have to abandon my work,” Weaponry said. The changeling didn’t show it but his mind was filled with relief. The pain it endured would stop and it would return to the queen. The hoof was suddenly placed in the table. The spear turned into a sword and was placed against the changeling’s leg. The changeling’s mind started racing and it began to sweat. ----- “You two have to hurry!” Twilight yelled. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and nodded. They adjusted themselves and both ran full speed at the door. The door fell into the room as they saw a black sword swing down and slice the changeling’s hoof clean off. Its green blood sprayed all over the table and Weaponry’s magic released the changeling’s body. It fell to the floor screaming. Desperately it tried to stop the fountain of blood coming from its leg.