The Encounter
Rowan walked out of Town Hall to see the sun set behind the mountains. He smirked to himself, "Hm, I didn't think that planning out Nightmare Night with the Mayor would take all day." He shrugged, "Oh, well. I still managed to get most of Nightmare Night planned out with the Mayor."
For the past six hours, Rowan had been with Mayor Mare and a few other town officials as they planned out what activities would happen during the Nightmare Night celebration. Almost all of the planning was done, and the town officials had promised that they'd take care of the rest, but now Rowan needed to check with the ponies around town to make sure that everything was in order for the celebration. He needed to make sure that all of the supplies and ponies were ready for Nightmare Night.
Rowan shook his head as he thought about the task, "Nah, I'll do that tomorrow with Twilight. She's way better at keeping every detail organized. Until then, I should probably work on something for Princess Luna's introduction."
Introducing the princess to everypony in town was an important task that had fallen onto Rowan, seeing he was the princess's student. Although, Rowan assumed that it wouldn't be too difficult. All that he had to do was put on a little presentation in front of the town that would give everyone a good scare. And with his proficiency with shadow magic, Rowan would be able to pull it off smoothly.
However, Rowan figured that it would be better if he got advice from someone who could do these types of things easily. And there was one resident who lived in the Everfree Forest who fit the ticket: Zecora.
Rowan started through town at a leisurely trot, enjoying the falling night around him. He looked up at the sky as he walked, and smiled as he saw the moon rise up in the air. Ever since he'd come to Equestria, he'd felt a deep connection to the night, whether it be because of his talent with shadow magic or the fact that his teacher watched over the night. The darkness had always felt like a place of safety that he could always retreat to.
Suddenly, Rowan was jolted from his thoughts as he heard a bark sound behind him. The unicorn quickly turned around to see Shade loping along behind him.
Rowan smirked at the wolf, "You broke out of the house again, huh?" Shade only walked up alongside his master, tail wagging vigorously. Rowan sighed, "All right, we're taking a small walk through the forest. Stay close to me."
Shade let out a yip and followed Rowan as he trotted through town. With only the light of the moon to guide them, the two soon reached the end of town and the Everfree Forest came into view. Without any pause, they walked into the thicket of trees, on their way to Zecora's hut.
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Naractia flew through the air quickly as the moon began to rise into the sky. She was sure that none of the changelings were following her, but she still flew as fast as she could. She needed to reach Rowan as soon as possible.
The changeling princess looked forward to see a range of mountains. She knew that these mountains lined the Everfree Forest which was located just outside of Ponyville. With a surge of energy, she powered her wings and flew up parallel to the face of the mountains.
She reached the peak of the tallest mountain and saw the lights of Ponyville in the distance. As she looked down at the town, she noticed that several lights from the houses below were going out as the ponies began to sleep.
Naractia felt a moment of relief, "Okay, they're all sleeping, so I'll be less likely to be noticed by anyone." But her wings began to nag at her, tired from their long and fast flight. She sighed, "Even so, I should keep down low, just in case somepony *is* up and about."
She slowly began to descend to the ground below, trying to fly as close to town as she could without her wings giving out. But her wings were too tired, making her land in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Her wings were aching from the long journey, making her wince as she moved them, "I guess I should walk to town from here on out. I don't think that I could fly another hoof, let alone all the way to Ponyville."
She looked towards the trees in front of her, darkened by the night. They were somewhat inviting, but Naractia knew that she should proceed with caution. No pony or changeling really knew what was in the forest, and Naractia did not want to find out. The changeling princess took in a deep breath and started through the thicket, heading towards Ponyville.
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Rowan looked up at the sky, obscured by the canopy of leaves and branches above. The moon still gave him and Shade some light, but in the forest it wasn't enough to see clearly. However, Rowan utilized his illumination spell, pushing back the darkness around them.
They had only been walking on the trail to Zecora's hut for a few minutes, but Rowan knew that they were close to the zebra's home. He had been to Zecora's before, but only once. It had been about a week after the changeling incident, and Rowan had been practicing shadow magic in the forest. But then he had almost accidentally caught Zecora in a spell that he was experimenting with.
Rowan smiled as he remembered how Zecora had simply laughed at the event, calling it a simple mistake. She'd forgiven Rowan for the small accident and then invited him to her hut. Ever since then, Rowan and Zecora had been fairly good friends.
Rowan grinned as he thought of seeing her again, blocking out everything else around him. However, little did he know that this wasn't going to be an ordinary visit, due to the events that were happening inside the forest.
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Naractia walked cautiously through the dark forest, aware of everything around her. Although she hadn't run into anything dangerous in the forest yet, something nagged at her in the back of her mind. Something didn't feel quite right. It was as though someone was watching her.
The changeling princess stopped and glanced around at the forest uneasily, expecting something to jump out from behind the trees. Suddenly, something rustled in the bushes behind her. Startled, Naractia whirled around towards the sound, horn glowing with shadow magic.
She called out cautiously, "Who's there?"
Silence followed. Naractia carefully began to walk backwards away from the bush, keeping her horn directed at it.
Suddenly, The bush burst as three silhouettes flew out of it, racing towards the changeling princess. Naractia let out a startled yelp, instinctively beating her wings to try to get out of the way. She flew to the side a couple of feet and the three figures just barely missed her, flying through the trees where their target had been.
Naractia let out a breath of relief, but then her exhausted wings gave out, dropping her into a crumpled heap on the ground. She hit the dirt hard, but she got up quickly, fearful that those things would come again. She sighed, "Great. I need to get out of this forest *now*! But without my wings, I don't know if I'll make it."
Suddenly, a tree branch broke above Naractia as the three silhouettes crashed through the trees towards her. Not wasting a moment, Naractia broke into a fast run in the opposite direction of her pursuers.
Running through the thick forest was difficult alone, but it was even harder for Naractia as she weaved between the trees as she tried to lose the things following her. Several rough branches and roots stuck out from the soil, making the ground uneven and difficult for Naractia run on.
Naractia glanced over her shoulder to see the three figures begin to catch up to her quickly, as they were flying. But then, she ran through an open grove, where the moon illuminated the forest with light. As Naractia ran through the grove, she watched as her three pursuers entered into the light of the moon. Her eyes widened as the darkness around the three figures dissipated, revealing three changeling drones.
The changeling princess cursed to herself, "Dang it, they must have followed me the whole way from the hive. But I exhausted my wings, so they'll catch up to me eventually. I've got to get to town." She continued to run away from the drones, but then a thought came to her mind, If I can get to Ponyville, then somebody there will be able to get these guys off of my back.
But then Naractia found that this plan presented a problem, But if I run into town, then the ponies there will probably drive me out, too. They wouldn't know that I was being chased by these drones. They'll just see me as another changeling. And If they drive me out, then I won't get to speak with Rowan. Naractia ran through the deep underbrush of the forest, breath thinning as she pushed herself to exhaustion, trying to think of a solution.
Suddenly, it hit her, What if they don't see me as a changeling, but as a pony instead? Naractia wasn't pleased with the idea of putting on a disguise, but it was necessary if she was to warn Rowan and the others about Chrysalis.
She trudged through the darkness, avoiding the low-hanging branches of the dense trees, while in her mind's eye, she prepared the appearance of her disguise. She was thinking a yellow skinned mare with a red mane. This would do, but she also thought about the cutie marks that everypony had, so she decided to make her cutie mark a simple rose.
And what if she needed to unexpectedly use her magic? Anypony would notice something wrong with an earth pony using magic like a unicorn. And seeing as she couldn't use her wings at the moment, Naractia thought it would be fitting that she became a plain unicorn.
With her disguise in mind, she focused on her ability to change, implementing the image she held in her mind. Green flames erupted around her as she felt the change happen to her body. Her hole-filled legs changed into the smooth ones of a mare. Her mane became smooth and soft as it changed from her natural green to a deep red. In a strange sensation, she felt her wings disappear from her back as the change reached them. And finally, she felt her horn become a short, smooth point, rather than a gnarled changeling's horn.
Within an instant, the change was finished, but the chase still continued as the drones flew after the changed princess. Naractia looked back at the drones to see them within a few hooves of her. She felt exhaustion begin to catch up to her as well, as her legs began to shake with the strain that she'd put on them. They'd catch her within a minute at this rate.
However, as she was looking over her shoulder, Naractia didn't see the sudden drop in the terrain of the forest. She let out a startled yelp as her hooves met air instead of dirt, sending the rest of her body off of the ledge. She let out a scream as she was unable to use her wings to stop herself from falling towards the hard ground below.
Little did she know that at that moment, somepony and his wolf were at the base of the ledge, on their way to a certain zebra's house.
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Rowan walked beside Shade, illuminating the narrow path to Zecora's. Right now the path curved around a tall ledge. They were almost at the end of the road, Rowan knew. They only had a little ways to go before Zecora's house came into view.
But, Shade abruptly stopped and began and began to sniff the air, apparently having noticed something.
Rowan stopped as well, "What is it, boy?"
Shade looked up towards the top of the ledge, growling loudly as he sank to his haunches. Rowan followed Shade's gaze until he spotted something at the top of the ledge as well. In the moonlight, he saw a single pony, a mare from what he could tell, running towards the edge of the cliff. She looked like she was running from something or someone.
Suddenly, she lost her balance and began to scream as she fell towards the ground, right above Rowan and Shade.
Rowan didn't have any time to think, as he suddenly flared his horn with shadow magic. Gathering in the darkness from the surrounding area, Rowan manipulated the shadows into one single mass. Flaring his magic again, Rowan condensed the shadows together, making them into a flat surface, perfect for catching the falling mare. Within a second, he finished making his mat of shadows and positioned it under the falling pony.
Not a moment too soon, the mare landed in the cushion of shadows, grunting slightly as the mat bent beneath the force of the drop.
The mare shook her head as she gathered her wits, "What- What happened?"
Rowan walked up to her, lowering the mat made of shadows to the ground, "Hey, are you okay? That was close. You could have had a pretty nasty landing."
The yellow unicorn's eyes widened when she saw Rowan, "You... You're Ro-" Suddenly she cut herself off as she looked up at the sky. She quickly pointed a hoof up towards the sky, "Watch Out!"
Rowan turned around to see three creatures he'd hoped to never see again: Changeling drones. They were flying towards them with rapid speed. Shade growled loudly as he reared back, ready for the changelings to come.
Rowan realized what was happening, That mare must have been running from them. I can't let these changelings hurt anypony. He snorted at the oncoming drones, lighting his horn with shadow magic as he prepared for the fight.
The three drones raced towards Rowan and Shade, with only a few feet between them and their targets. Rowan flared his horn as he used his signature spell: The flaming crescent. He shot out two flaming projectiles, which were enhanced in power due to the vast darkness of the forest.
But even though the flaming crescents were stronger and faster than normal, the changelings avoided them with ease as they split away from each other, one flying to Rowan's right, the other two flying his left.
The two changelings looped around and came back towards Rowan and Shade, while the other one came down on the group from above. Rowan quickly put up a shield, protecting him and the others from the oncoming two changelings. However, the third changeling had managed to slip past the extent of the shield, smacking Rowan in the back of the head as it flew past.
For a split second, Rowan lost focus and dropped his shield, giving the other two drones the perfect chance to strike. Rowan glanced up to see the two drones fly towards them, but then Shade suddenly leaped out at one of the changelings.
The wolf tackled his drone in mid-air, sending them both sprawling to the forest floor, locked in combat. But despite Shade's efforts, the other changeling was still coming towards Rowan. The colt struggled to get up, but he knew that he wouldn't be quick enough to get out of the way. He cringed as he braced himself for the hit.
But suddenly, a green beam of magic shot out from behind Rowan, hitting the oncoming changeling aside. Rowan looked back to see the mare that he'd just saved.
She rushed up next to Rowan, "Get up. They're coming back around."
Rowan did as she instructed and stood up to see the drones, excluding the one Shade was snapping at, looping around. They flew in between the trees quickly, heading straight for Rowan and the yellow mare.
Rowan cursed to himself, I can't use my magic because they'll expect that. They'll see any spell that I've cast in an instant. But then an idea hit him, But if they couldn't see, then I could easily beat them. He glanced over to the mare, "Get down and don't move."
The mare nodded and got down on her haunches. Rowan then stepped forward towards the oncoming changelings. He waited as they came closer.... and closer.... and even closer. Soon, they were only a couple feet away, but still coming in fast.
Rowan grinned as he lit his horn with shadow magic, I never did get to try this spell. He flared his horn and a huge wave of darkness burst out from it. The wave of darkness flew out in all directions, darkening the entire surrounding area. It reached out beyond where Shade and his drone fought and past the oncoming changelings.
Rowan beamed as he looked at the spell with satisfaction. It was called the darkening sphere, which covers the area where it's used in complete darkness. Nothing could see through the darkness, not even the caster of the spell. But fortunately, the spell was an extension of Rowan, which meant he could sense the presence of everything within the darkness.
The unicorn colt grinned as he felt the changeling drones all begin to wander around in the darkness, completely confused to what was happening. In their confusion, Rowan quickly ran to the closest of the drones.
Once he was within reach of the first drone, he fiercely smacked his hoof against the side of the changeling's head, knocking the creature unconscious. After he'd taken care of the first one, Rowan ran to the other two changelings and did the same to them.
With all three of the changeling drones unconscious, Rowan let out a deep breath and released the spell. The darkness dissipated around them, letting the light of the moon shine into the area.
Rowan looked down at his work, smiling in satisfaction at the sight of the unconscious drones.
"Wow." A voice spoke up from behind. Rowan look past his shoulder to see the yellow unicorn mare walk up to him. She was beaming widely at him, "That was incredible."
He smiled, "Thanks." He glanced back down at the drones by his hooves, "So, who are you? Why were the changelings chasing after you?"
The mare looked down at the ground, "Well, I was being chased-" She was cut off as Shade began to frantically bark at her.
Rowan tried to stop the wolf with a hoof, but Shade leaped past it and ran up to the mare. Once he was directly in front of her, the wolf began the growl loudly, baring his teeth fiercely.
The mare quickly stepped back away from Shade, but stopped as she ran back into the wall of the cliff.
Rowan shouted at Shade, "Hey, Shade! Get away from her!"
Shade ignored the unicorn as he continued to press the mare against the wall. Rowan observed the wolf carefully, Man, what could have Shade in such a fix? He has never acted this way around anypony since the changeling incident, but even then- But then an idea hit him. I doubt that's very likely. I don't see why these changelings would chase one of their own. Even so, how would I prove if she's even one?
Rowan observed the mare as he mentally went through his array of spells. But then, he remembered a spell that could help. Without saying a word, Rowan sent a pulse of shadow magic through his horn. The pulse spread out from the tip of his horn and reached out to the surrounding area. Rowan then watched the ring of magic extend out until it reached the mare.
As soon as the mare was within the circle of magic, a deep hum emanated from the Rowan's spell and green flames engulfed the mare. The flames disappeared, leaving behind a single changeling, confirming Rowan's suspicions.
Shade growled even louder at the new changeling, but Rowan continued to look at her. He noticed that she wasn't at all like the drones, and looked more like Chrysalis with her green, tattered mane.
The changeling looked at herself with a horrified expression, "How... How did you do that?"
Rowan cleared his throat, "It's a spell that I learned a while ago. It's called the shadow scurge. It instantly wipes away any enchantments in the general area of the caster, including the illusions of changelings. So tell me, who are you? why were these drones chasing after you?"
The changeling coughed, "You know me, Rowan. We've met before, but I didn't look like this. I'm the one who gave you the remaining page of the Liber Tenebrarum, and by the looks of things, you've learned a lot from it."
Rowan inhaled sharply, "You mean- You're Naractia?"
Naractia nodded, "Princess Naractia, actually, but I guess that doesn't apply now."
Rowan glanced back at the drones who laid unconscious on the forest floor, "But why were they chasing you?"
The changeling sighed, "After you'd told me that my mother had survived, I went back and cared for her. I thought if I could gain her trust again, then I could keep her from attacking Equestria again. But once she was back to full strength, she attempted to dispose of me. I couldn't let her kill me, so I ran, but then she sent these guys after me." She gestured towards the drones.
Rowan raised an eyebrow, "Only three? Knowing Chrysalis, she would have sent the entire hive if she wanted somebody dead."
Naractia shrugged, "They were a little busy with the mess that I made on my way out. But anyways, I came here to warn you and the other ponies in town. Chrysalis is angry and wants revenge, *badly*. She's going to turn her forces onto Equestria soon, and she's going to start with Ponyville. Even if she doesn't succeed in taking over Equestria, she'll be happy with at least you dead. You're really the main reason why she's so angry."
Rowan looked at the changeling with a puzzled look, "So, she's that angry with me?"
"She still has a scar from your last encounter."
"Where?"
"It's just a single crack in her exoskeleton that runs down between her eyes. Truth be told, it sort of suits her. But the real scar is that the Elements of Harmony completely drained her of all of her magic, including her ability to change."
Rowan's eyebrows raised, "Wow, I can see why she'd want me dead." Rowan looked back at the forest around them, "We should get out of here. Who knows what else lives in these woods."
Naractia looked down at the drones on the ground, "What about them? We can't just leave them here, and we can't let them return back to the hive and report to Chrysalis my location."
Rowan frowned at this new problem, "Hm, that's true. But we can't take them back into Ponyville, otherwise everypony will freak out. And we can't leave them alone in the forest without a risk of them getting away." As Rowan thought about it, he came to a pretty reasonable conclusion, "Oh, I know. I have a friend who lives here in the forest who I was on my way to see. I bet that we can ask her if she could watch them."
Naractia thought for a moment, "Are you sure? Changeling drones are difficult to contain, especially when there are three of them."
Rowan grinned, "Don't worry. Zecora is one of the most reliable zebras that I know... Well actually the only zebra that I know, but she's the right one for the job."
Naracita sighed, "I hope that you're right." She grabbed one of the unconscious drones and draped it across her back, "Here, put one of them on your back. We'll have carry the last one together."
"All right." Rowan picked up the drone nearest to him and likewise draped it on his back. And then Rowan and Naractia used their magic to carry the last drone in the air between them.
Rowan pointed a hoof down the trail, "Come on, it's not far."
"Right, lead the way."
They started down the trail together, with Shade following behind them, glancing cautiously at the unconscious drones and at the strange changeling with the green mane. As he was a wolf, he wasn't sure why this changeling wasn't dangerous.
As they walked, Rowan looked at Naractia, "Hey, before we reach Zecora's, you should change back into a pony. It'd be best if we lay this on Zecora slowly."
Naractia nodded and her body was engulfed in green flames, once again leaving the red-maned, yellow unicorn mare. Rowan looked up and down at Naractia's new form, a strange look on his face.
Naractia looked at him quizzically, "What?"
Rowan shrugged, "I don't know why, but being a pony seems to suit you better."
Naractia raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
"Yeah. Although, it's strange why I'd think that, seeing as we haven't known each other for that long."
Naractia felt a warm feeling recede from her body, "Thanks anyways."
Rowan smiled back, but said nothing as they continued to walk down the trail.
Naractia looked curiously at Rowan. In her mind, she thought, Is this what it's like? Is this what having a friend with you feels like? She pondered it for a moment, and then nodded in satisfaction, I think it is. I like it. She looked back at Rowan, Rowan, you're my one and only friend.
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Amazing story so far! I really hope Naractia and Rowan get really well acquainted with each other.
However I see just one flaw in this chapter. At the very end when Rowan said that he liked her being a pony better, it's going against to what she really is and what she looks like. In some stories the person that become a friend (or bf/gf) likes them for who they are. However, on the other hoof, since she doesn't really like the changelings at this point, she might even hate what she really is...
Other than that, I still love this fan-fiction.
1859422
Hey, thanks. I'm glad that you're liking it.
But really, that's what I'm trying to set into the plot. Naractia is someone who wants to embrace the ideals of ponies, and draw away from the way of the changelings completely. Don't worry, I'll clarify that in later chapters.