> Scratchback
>  by FightorFlyT
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Scratchback











Written by FightorFlyT


with support from


FreelancerZENA


….............................................................................





Prologue


        I wish I could start over...

        Have you ever had that thought? Have you ever had a bad day? A shitty weekend? Got in a fight with your girlfriend, crash your car, do something so ridiculously stupid that afterward you just sit back and can't help but think, “How could I have been so dumb!”?

        Have I had any of those moments?

        Well... I guuueeess you could say tha- yes. More than I can count. I used to be a complete poster boy for screw-ups.

        Yeah. I was a nerd who got wasted at every party I went to. I drove my best when drunk. The closest I'd been to a pair of actual tits was when I fell into a paramedic's breasts after (surprise surprise) I was being resuscitated at a college rave. Granted, I wasn't even a college student, so that cooouuuld be counted as a bonus...

        Anyways, I was a complete mess. Most of my days was spent either (trying to be) hacking Blizzard to level up my WoW character without actually spending the time to level him up, trying miserably to pass the sobriety tests I had to face every two weeks due to my spotty track record, or training.

        I was, at the prime age of 19, a Senior Airmen in the United States Air Force. I had a decent job, cyberspace security. I would like to say I landed the job with ease and was the head of my own department simply because I was that awesome, but I have to admit that the only reason I was there was because of Ned, the Officer in charge of my entire department and my personal mentor in life. Recently, at least. Ned had always been a good friend to me and, whenever my dad was off at rehab, a kind of adoptive father to me. He was only ten years older than me, but if I ever were to return home, he would be the first guy I'd want to see. He gave me the chance to join the Air Force, doing a short stint as a recruiter before silver-tonguing his way back to cyberspace security.

        Actually, he'd be the only person I'd want to see. I had absolutely zilch for friends, save ol' Neddy. I mean, I had drinking buddies, but lets face it: that's ALL they were. I hardly knew them. I didn't even know their names! But they had given me the nickname 'Lycii', my new name, and that is the ONLY reason I have any need to even mention them. They said I drank more than a werewolf with the munchies, yet another product of our booze-soaked contribution to the world. Thus, my nickname. It was actually a slur of Lycan and... well, something that sounds like a drunk nerd gargling a bottle of dirty quarters. Beautiful, I'm aware.

        But that was my life before. Then, I thought I was on top of the world. Boy, was I wrong. Looking back, I can't believe that I even made it that far.

        I'm not going to tell you much more about my past life because, honestly, anything else you need to know will be told in the following story.

        Story?! That's right, story! Go grab some popcorn and a NOS, snuggle up in a cozy chair, and read on. This story is of my life. My REAL life. The life I wouldn't mind sharing with my sister and brother, if I ever see them again. The life I can die proud of. The life that I made with some help, but made right. Not some conglomerate a drowning sorrow and irresponsibility.

        I'll be honest, I'm going to get sappy at some parts. I'll be frank, I might sound angst-y at others. And lets face it, I'm going to be extremely passionate about... the rest, really.

        But this is how I changed.

        This is the story of how I went from destroying my life to saving somepony else's. This is the story of a certain lucky colt who happened to be at the right place at the right moment, and because of that was able to turn everything around.

        This isn't a new beginning. No, this is more of a...

        Scratchback.


> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Scratchback











Written by FightorFlyT


with support from


FreelancerZENA


….............................................................................





Chapter 1





        I am never drinking again... Ever.

        Those were my first thoughts as I woke up. How did I wake up, you might ask?

        By feeling the wind whipping past my face as I free-fell from the freaking sky!

        My first words?

        “What the- WATCH OUT!!!-” KA-BOOOSH!

        Priceless.

        I didn't see who I crashed into until I, well, crashed into them. Pain wracked my skull, and I bounced off, shrieking as I did so.

        When I stopped bouncing around, I just laid there. I could hear whispering around me.

        “Do you think he's dead?”

        “Where'd he come from?”

        “Did you just see that?!”

        I really, really didn't want to stand up. My head ached, my arms and legs felt like rubber, and I thought I was going to hurl. Probably the results of last night...

        Wait. What happened last night, anyways? I was so wasted, I really couldn't remember much. There was a lot of dubstep, booze (of course), and then... Everything went black. Figures. That had been happening way too much recently.

        Still, why had I been falling? And more importantly, why did I feel like I was laying on a warm pillow? A warm, fuzzy, soft-yet-firm pillow, mind you, but still! Slowly, I opened my eyes.

        And found them locked to a set of cerise eyes. A set of angry cerise eyes. A set of angry cerise eyes that were glaring into the depths of my soul. And in the reflection of the angry cerise eyes that were glaring into the depths of my soul, I saw a surprised pony.

        … Yep, I was drunk.

        “So, you gonna get off of me anytime soon or are you just going to admire the sights?” An angry voice sounded from beneath the set of eyes. They sounded rather feminine, with quite a bite to them. I assumed they were associated with the eyes.

        “Huh? Oh, sorry...” I muttered awkwardly, and tried to push myself up. Yeah, there's one thing about this situation I wasn't comfortable with... I was laying atop a girl who I'd never met before in my life. Being a broken-condom baby, I was a little sensitive to these types of situations.

        I tried pushing myself up, only to find that my arms didn't want to move the way I wanted them to. I glanced back and them, and that's when it hit me.

        I was DEFINITELY drunk.

        My arms weren't mine. I mean, they were mine, but they weren't... oh, you know what I mean! They were shorter, stubbier, and ended in a stumpy end that just screamed to be called a hoof!

        It was when this all clicked in that I suddenly found the ability to fling myself backwards and snap out my wings, landing on all four of my hooves.

        Why? Cuz that's what I did- wait... WINGS?!

        I spun and twirled, looking every bit as crazy as I felt. I swear I saw just about every patch of my body in detail that day.

        I was an equine of some sort, a pony as it felt. I had a coat of deep electric blue, and my... mane, I guess... was a monotone dark gray with a few bright streaks of blazing orange in it. My wings were... well, wings. Not much more to describe about them. My tail was long but tapered sharply at the end, and I counted (one, two, three) three similar orange streaks in the dark gray hair.

        I was, without a doubt, a pony.

        'And would you look at that,' I thought to myself as I stretched out a hoof, 'I even have a light gray outline! Brilliant!' I continued studying myself over for what felt like hours, until I felt someone tap me on my shoulder.

        Well, actually she punched me. I think she was aiming for my face, but me falling on her must have messed with her depth perception a little bit.

        “What was that all about!!” The cerise-eyed mare screamed as she stumbled after me, gathering even more odd looks towards us. I now saw her coat was almost pure white, but it had a tinge of yellow to it... A shade of butter, perhaps? Her mane was obviously that of a DJ or similar, and was two shades of bright blue and an icier tone. Her tail had a similar, except longer, vibe to it.

        While I was taking this all in, she had obviously taken the moment to regain her bearing, and I found myself at the receiving end of her two back hooves, neck pinned to a wall. She held me there, and it wasn't until she took a few steps back that I noticed she had a horn that was glowing a vivid pulse. I could only assume that force was what was holding me up, choking against a wall.

        Huh, well what do you FREAKING know, I've pissed off a unicorn!

        “I can- hnnng- explahn!” Geez, I barely was able to choke those words out!

        She just continued glaring at me.

        “Oh really?” she chortled.

        “Yeah!” Or at least, that was what I was trying to say, but I think it only came out as a garbled wad of phlegm.

        She leaned in closer, eye-to-eye with me. “Then stick it to me! What-”

        -She poked my bare chest with a rather pointy hoof-

        “Gives?”

        I was in a bind. Why? Cuz I COULDN'T explain! WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?! Twenty or so seconds ago, I woke up falling from the sky! No reason, no lead-up, just BOOM!

        BOOM!

        … I swear, that wasn't me.

        Another BOOM racked through the night (hey, it WAS dark out!), shaking the world around us. I saw random ponies who must have been watching the scene unfolding before them dart away, and from far off I heard the tell-tale tinkling of breaking glass. Probably from a window, I assumed.

        BOOM!

        Again, we were jolted around. The unicorn's light cobalt magic slipped from around my neck and dissipated as she teetered backwards. I fell to the ground, the earth shaking beneath my hooves.

        I looked around me, finally paying attention to where we were. I was on the sidewalk(trot?) of a narrow alleyway between what I could only assume were commercial buildings, probably leased as clubs or the like. As I turned around, taking in my surroundings, which I was just now noticing was a huge city, my back hoof nudged something that skittered behind me. I looked down to find a pair of deep violet-red glasses, which had huge lenses. Well, I guess they weren't really huge for a pony's face, they were probably just... large.

        I picked them up clumsily in my hoof, having to try a couple of times (and with an earthquake happening, no doubt!) before I finally managed to lift them from the ground. They were light, and as I glanced through the glass I saw they weren't even polarized. They were simply for show, nothing more.

        “Hey-” I heard the mare from seconds before call, probably to me. I spun to face her, propped up against a wall. “Those are- ahh!” She fell to the side as another huge tremor rolled out, knocking us both across the lane. Seriously, what gives?!

        “Those are mine!” she yelled.

        “Oh,” I responded rather casually, not really betraying how weirded out I was by the situation.

        Suddenly, something big and dark crashed into the pavement a few... paces, away from us. Now, I might not be the brightest bulb out there (that's a lie, I'm a freaking genius when I feel like it), but even basic training had placed enough paranoia in me that when something crashes into the ground next to you, it's either:
        A.) A mortar, so run;
        B.) Something equally dangerous, still run; or
        C.) A and B, run like Hell.

        Naturally, I assumed the worst. I could see the flashing 'X' prompt in front of me, begging to be button-mashed. I gladly cooperated.

        I leaped over to the strange mare and swung one of my front legs under her barrel. I still didn't know how to use this body well, so I kind of body-slammed her with my entire weight. Whoops.

        “WHAT was that for?!” she screamed, but oddly enough she simply grabbed onto me as I jumped back onto my hooves, one holding her against my chest.

        “Quiet,” I hissed. Aw yeah, I was zoned in.

        I gathered my rear legs under me, and did something I assumed was very un-pony-ish: I ran. On two legs.

        I am quite aware I probably looked like a retarded chicken as I raced down to street, but as I passed by numerous surprised and scared ponies I was pleased to see I was still faster than them, even with the added weight of... whoever this was. That's right, I'm fast. Tends to help when you've run from the po-po as often as I have.

        I could feel the thing that had crashed by us chasing after me. Not good. If that thing was after me, then things would get very ugly. Why? Because I'm ME, fools.

        I banked right, tucking into a clean roll and popping back running the opposite direction down a side alley, even more narrow than the last street. I heard the beast behind me crash into the wall, then continue the mad dash after me. I really didn't like the sound of that. Taking a brick wall like a boss was usually the first sign of dedication. Horseapples.

        Wait, I thought as I jumped and twisted around litter and garbage cans dotting the lane, did I seriously just think Horseapples!? This place was already starting to mess with my mind- I should have thought of a colorfully vulgar word, not something so... colorfully un-vulgar. Totally weak.

        A quick glance over my shoulder showed the creature gaining on me. Dang, that sucker was FAST!

        “W-what's g-going-g on-n?!” I heard the unicorn cry out, face plastered to my hide.

        “We have company,” I growled, then darted between two dumpsters, spinning into the connecting alley between them and slamming my free front hoof and one of my rear hooves into the sides of them and crashing them together as I swung backwards, clear of the SLAM of them crashing together.

        … I could get used to suddenly being bad-ass enough to do that!

        “I think we lost it... for now, at least,” I stated as I fell to my haunches, letting the mare go from my grasp. Surprisingly, she didn't even nudge, just hung on for dear life to me. “We stopped,” I alerted her. She groaned in relief and slumped down, hugging the ground like a long-lost friend.

        “What was that thing, anyways...” I voiced. As if the cosmos were just waiting for me to say that, the dark shape shot over the dumpsters, crashing and rolling down the street between the mare and I. An audible snap could be heard when it hit the ground.

        “OW!!!” It yelled, voice young and childish.

        The unicorn was on her feet immediately, prepared to beat hoof. “Ah!” was her unique form of acknowledgment.

        I was about to follow suit, but then something struck me. That thing had just cried out in what sounded like honest shock and pain. I looked at the form that had been tracking us.

        It had a similar body shape to the mare, having a long skinny horn on it's head and having a generally pony-shaped body. However, it was immediately clear to me that this was no piny. It's coat was all black, and numerous holes seemed to be punched randomly in it. It's eyes were a glowing green, with no pupil. The fangs on this bug was short but sharp, and there were so many sharp angles on it that it looked almost like a ponified Decepticon, but in the flesh.

        “That's a changeling!” the bright mare yelled out, already backing away. “This is bad! If there's one, that just means-”

        “NO!” The changeling suddenly spoke up, it's face grimacing in pain. “It's just me!” I instantly likened it's voice to a young male.

        “What? That's impossible! Changelings always travel in swarms!” unicorn mare spat. Dang, I really needed to learn her name.

        “I swear, it's only me. For now, at least! If we hurry, it might stay that way!” he cried, struggling to get top his hooves. I instantly saw one of his hooves had snapped at a narrow part, right at the skinniest section of one of the punches. His back right hoof was useless.

        “No way! I saw what you did at the Royal Wedding,” blue-mane said coldly. “I can't even think of helping something like you.”

        “I wasn't a part of that! Which is why I need to get out of here now!”

        “Why are you even here, anyways?” This time it was me who spoke up. I had no idea what their conversation had been about, but it seemed this unicorn had a beef with the... 'Changelings'. This guy, however, seemed to not follow suit with the other changelings, as evident by him trying to get away from them and wanting to leave before they arrived. But if he was trying to run away, then why...

        “Why were you following us?” I asked him directly. He turned his pleading (I guess...) eyes on me.

        “I saw you fall from the sky, and our queen had sudden interest in you. She spoke of the time arising, and then we set out after you. I traveled ahead of the others, but they'll be here soon!” Again, he struggled to get to his hooves, only to collapse from the effort.

        “Why was she interested in me?” I asked, suddenly engaged with this creature. “What does she know?”

        “I... uh- AH!” He suddenly screamed as a larger changling with blue eyes smashed into him. I instinctively flared my wings, but the unicorn mare surprised me. Her icy cobalt magic enveloped the new changeling and threw him against a nearby wall.

        “Fine. You want to help him, then do it. Now. We need to move!” She turned to face the deep buzzing sound that had snuck up on us. I could only assume it was the changeling swarm.

        I rose to my feet- er, hooves. “Brace yourself,” I warned the green-eyed changeling.

        “T-thank you-” he began, but I interrupted him.

        “After this, I want answers,” I said sternly. He nodded.

        I slowly hefted him up, and tossed him across my back. I turned to the unicorn, and then it finally hit me.

        “How're we going to get out of here?! I can't run with BOTH of you, I only have two hoofs-” I glanced at all four of my hooves-. “You know what I mean!” I cried.

        She looked at me with a face of pure pity. “A pegasus who can't fly? Sad.”


- - - - - - - - - -




        Turns out, flying is a lot easier to do when it's just to spite somepony.

        “Where do you want me to land?!” I called out as we passed by the last of the large complexes, soaring across a wide stream on the outskirts of the town. A sheer cliff-side was coming into view not far ahead.

        “Up there!” the unicorn yelled back.

        I swept my wings down and shot towards the sky. I was holding the unicorn under her front shoulders, her legs dangling beneath her. She gasped very loudly as we put on the altitude. The changeling on my back held on for dear life with his good hooves.

        I barreled over the top of the bluff, and attempted to land on the grassy cliff top. Big mistake.

        I think I might have been able to land if I wasn't carrying cargo. Heck, I probably would have landed good if I'd ever had practice before!

        We crashed. Hard.

        Three loud OOF!'s cried across the bluff as we all simultaneously ate dirt. Oddly enough, it didn't actually taste as bad as I'd thought it would. It still tasted like dirt, though. Rather... dirty.

        “You really need to work on that,” the mare whined as she pulled herself up to her hooves.

        “Yeah, I probably should...” I grunted, following suit. Glancing around, I saw we had an excellent view of the city, and there was a forest's edge behind us, not too far from the edge of the cliff. But it was the city itself that really took my breath away.

        It looked like a swarm of gnats had dropped down on it. A thick cloud of darkness coursed throughout the streets, and I could hear sirens of public service teams being choked out through the sheer mass infesting the city. Crazy, right?

        “I didn't even get to pull my rave...” the unicorn whined, again. Okay, this was getting ridiculous not having names for my two new travel buddies.

        “Okay, this is getting ridiculous, not having names for you two.” What? I'm a verbal guy.

        “I'm Vinyl Scratch,” Vinyl said while running a hoof through her thick, forward-blown mane, “but my stage name is DJ PON-3.” She pronounced it D-J Pon-three. I now noticed she had slipped her shades back on, probably nabbing them from me sometime in the past few minutes of insanity.

        “Alright-”

        “WOAH! Dude, What's that on your back?” Vinyl interrupted me, rushing to my side.

        I arched an eyebrow, craning my neck to see what she was talking about. I cracked a grin when I saw what she had noticed.

        I had a thick patch of icy blue fur, lighter than the bright patches of her hair, running down my spine. It started where my mane left off, and ended at the base of my wings. Cool!

        “I would garner a guess that it's fur,” I said sarcastically. Honestly, though, it was pretty cool. It was actually kind of wolf-like, in truth. Nice.

        “So, how about you?” I asked the changeling, turning my gaze to him. “You got a name?”

        “Yes, I do, but-” he began. Vinyl Scratch cut him off.

        “No 'but's. Tell us now.” Her voice was still cold with him. Oddly enough, I didn't sense any of that when she had addressed me. Must be a severe case of racism.

        “Well, we changelings have names that may seem strange to you ponyfolk, so-”

        “Don't care,” I quipped. “Just spill it.”

        “... Fine,” he breathed giving in. “I'm referred to as... Contradiction.”

        Vinyl Scratch and I stayed silent. Silence. More silence... A little bit more..... Just a tad-

        “BWAHAHAHAHA!!!” Both of us fell backwards, bursting into laughter.

        “What kind of name is that?!” Vinyl questioned as she rolled on the ground.

        I don't know why, but it was just so funny! I just thought that he'd have had a more... well, a better name than that! I mean, seriously?! Contradiction?! What kind of name is THAT?!

        “It's mine, actually,” Contradiction moped. I slowly stopped laughing, not finding it any less funnier but running out of breath. I love a good laugh.

        “Ah, okay...” I inhaled deeply, re-inflating my lungs.

        “So, you said you would explain stuff when we stopped. We stopped. Start explaining.”

        Contradiction sighed. “Very well,” he said.

        His horn lit up a bright green, and he levitated some rocks into a circle in the middle of us. Some sticks soon followed suit. A spark lit up, and we had a small fire going.

        “Might as well make yourself comfortable, because we're going to be here for a while.”

        “Is this really going to take THAT long to explain yourself?” Vinyl growled.

        “No,” Contradiction replied, “but we need to stay put. As soon as the Royal Empire of Equestria is alerted as to what happened here, it would be best to be out of their way. I've seen what they do to citizens who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not pretty.” Sorrow gleamed in his eye momentarily.

        “Okay,” I began. “First question, why is there a changeling swarm her in... in...” I glanced at Vinyl, who seemed to understand my confusion.

        “Fillydelphia,” she assisted.

        “Fillydelphia,” I repeated. Where the buck is that? No, where the buck was I?! Better yet, why was everything I thought being censored?! This place was weird. I blame booze.

        “Our swarm was drifting. We just moved out of the badlands, and was following the east coast. We heard that there was a large storm over the city you called Baltimare, and storms hurt our feeding sources. SO we skipped around it and ended up here in Fillydelphia.”

        “So you just... attacked?” I fished.

        “No, actually,” he responded. “We were going to wait a few days, but then a huge anomaly occurred. A huge rift appeared over the town, and from that came, well...”

        “Me,” I finished for him. Contradiction nodded.

        “Speaking of which, where are you from anyways... uh...?” Vinyl asked, and I knew she was waiting for me to tell her my name. From what I could tell simply from their names, my name would have been too odd for the area. Plus (well, the main reason), I HATED my name.

        I thought for a second, then remembered a nickname some of my drinking buddies called me when I went animal on a bottle of everclear. I glanced back at the patch of fur, adopting a fanged grin. I had the perfect name.

        “Lycii,” I responded. Note: it's pronounced “Lie-psy”.

        “Lycii?” Vinyl asked. “Weird name,” she commented.

        “Yeah, I get that a lot,” I completely bull-chitted her (again with the censoring).

        “And I'm not from around here,” I added. I made it a point to sound a little stubborn with that, like I wouldn't explain any further. I wouldn't.

        “A-huh...” she thought aloud, and I know she was giving me the creeper-eye from beneath her shades.

        “ANYWAYS,” I said loudly as I shifted the topic back to Contradiction, “that leads me to another thought. You said you were running from them, or something like that-”

        “I never said I was running from them-” he tried to interrupt, but to no avail.

        “SO, why? What made you want to get away from them?”

        I stared him down, and he eventually gave in.

        “Well... this is why.”

        His horn sparked up, and a wave of green magic washed over him, starting at his horn and ending at his tail. I was now looking at a pale red unicorn stallion, complete with a mess of dark chestnut mane and tail. His eyes now looked normal, although the irises still glowed a menacing, sickly green.

        “I don't get it,” I stated bluntly. Contradiction sighed again.

        “It's more for metaphoric emphasis. I was socially cast out of my swarm for having sympathy for the ponies we feed on. My queen cursed me with this form, making it so my transformation abilities only allow me to shift to this.” He sighed again, sad. “I'm an outcast.

        “But then, you fell from the sky! The queen, she showed interest in you, she seemed almost afraid of you! So I knew I had to find you, to take down my queen-”

        “Wait, what?!” Vinyl suddenly yelled, surprised as a horse. Wait a second...

        “You mean you want to STOP your queen?! Isn't that a bit treacherous, even for a changeling?” Jeez, she really needed to loosen up on this guy. I could feel for him, at least a little.

        “Our swarm queen is heartless,” Contradiction explained, looking dejected. “She does not care if we run our hosts dry. She simply craves the power to grow strong enough to stand above all other swarm queens. I cannot sit by and allow that to happen.”

        Contradiction met Vinyl's gaze. “I'm not the heartless beast she is. I never will be.”

        Something clicked inside Vinyl right then. I think she finally got over her discrimination issues, or maybe she saw the truth in Contradiction's words. Whatever the case, I could feel the tension disappear from her. She might not have fully trusted the changeling yet, but she wasn't about to slit his throat in his sleep now, either. At least, I hoped not.

        “So how do I play into all of this?” I asked Contradiction. “You said your queen was scared of me. Why?”

        “Quite honestly,” Contradiction began, “... I have absolutely no idea.”

        … Figures.

        “But,” he continued, “I might, actually. You see, our queen is very sensitive to the power of those around her. She can feel when there is somepony very weak standing before her, or somepony much more powerful than her in her path. I think you may have fallen into that extreme.”

        “So... I'm what, a God now?” I muttered aloud.

        “To her, you just might be,” Contradiction said, surprising me.

        “What?”

        “She seemed very eager to find you. Coupled with her fear, you might just be powerful enough to defeat her-” His eyes suddenly lit up.

        “Say, can you help me take her down?! If she is as afraid of you as I suspect, then you must be immensely powerful! You could end her tyranny!” He was very excited. A little too excited, actually. Especially for what I was about to tell him.

        “Do I have to fight her to make her stop?” I asked, my voice wavering.

        “Yes, and slay her.”

        “Then no.”

        Both Contradiction and Vinyl raised an eyebrow to this.

        “But... why? Contradiction asked, his voice distraught.

        “Well, it's just...” I started. Should I tell him? It would only make matters worse if I tried to lie about this... Fine. I took a deep breath.

        “I don't fight. I can't fight.” I set my jaw. “I'm a pacifist.”

        I waited for the draw of breaths, then the laughter that would ensue. I prepared myself for the jeers, the insults that would follow. I braced myself for the sucker punches I'd grown accustomed to. I readied myself for all of these, but I wasn't expecting what happened next.

        “Ah. That's a shame.”

        My eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they'd ripped off my head.

        “Wait- you aren't mad? You don't find that stupid, so foolish, so-” Wait, he wasn't in the Air Force with me. All the responses I'd had to deal with weren't what I should expect from here. In fact, judging by his reaction, it sounded as though pacifism was a relatively common thing here.

        “No, I should have seen this coming-”

        Suddenly, a loud thunderclap cracked through the sky in the middle of the city. Contradiction laid flat against the ground, petrified.

        “She's angry that she couldn't find you...” he whimpered. “I can feel her rage.”

        I glanced at Vinyl, who stared sadly at Fillydelphia.

        “Hey Contradiction, how long are they gonna be there for?” she asked.

        “Depends. If the queen is intent on finding Lycii, then it could be weeks. If she simply feeds, then I would assume only a few days.”

        “Is there something-” I began, but she interrupted me.

        “Mix Beat is still down there,” she stated. “He works with me, he was setting up the equipment for our gig tonight wen... when...” she shuddered.

        “If he is down there, then he is already lost,” Contradiction said solemnly.

        “Excuse me?” I questioned suddenly.

        “As I said, my queen is merciless. Once she finds a feeding ground, she drains it of all happiness and love. I'm afraid that anypony trapped down there will soon be a walking shell of the pony they once were.”

        “No...” Vinyl whimpered. “NO!” she cried again, and I knew what she was about to do before she did it.

        I leaped over at her and barely managed to catch her around her chest before she jumped down the cliff side, determined to charge in and find this guy. I may have barely known her, but she was one of the only two peopl- er, ponies, I knew here. I needed her.

        “MIIIX!!!” she wailed, clawing at my leg. I held firm. “MIX!” she cried again, and I felt her go limp. Her body went limp.

        I gently pulled her next ot the fire, and when I let go of her she curled up in a tight ball next to it.

        I looked at her, then at Contradiction's tired face. We needed to rest.

        “We'll discuss this more in the morning,” I told them. “For now, we sleep.”

        Contradiction nodded and curled up where he lay, and I could hear his breathing deepen as he settled into a deep sleep almost instantly. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted from trying to outrun his own family.

        I laid down next to Vinyl, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her. Why was she still with me? She could have ditched me back when we first picked up Contradiction, but it had actually been her idea that we move on. Together. Did that mean I had somepony I could trust, even if only for a short time?

        And speaking of trust, could I trust Contradiction? Sure, he seemed like a scared kid who'd been kicked out by his own kin, but it could have all been a ploy. He could be trying let us loosen our guard, then drain us to death in our sleeps as he planned to do.

        No, I doubted he would do that. I could feel his sorrow. I could relate to having no family. He was where I had once been. That wasn't his aim, at leas that wasn't all of it.

        Thinking like this wasn't going to help me sleep, I finally decided. I laid my head down on the ground and rolled onto my back, staring up at the stars. They were so mysterious.

        I'd done this many times, gazed at the heavens in the night sky, but this time it was different. These weren't the stars I was familiar with. I couldn't pick out any constellations, I couldn't name any of the brighter stars, I couldn't feel comfortable with them. They were alien to me.

        “I'm going back in tomorrow, whether you're with me or not.”

        I turned my head to Vinyl, who had adopted a pose similar to mine.

        “Excuse me?”

        “I'm finding Mix Beat. I can't leave him there. I won't.”

        I saw her grimace. “I couldn't live with myself if I left him there.”

        I cracked a soft grin.

        “Then we can head in before sunrise. Most of the changeling will probably be asleep then, so we can sneak in and sneak out without too much problem.”

        Vinyl turned her head slightly to face me, lifting her shades to show me her eyes.

        “Why do you want to help me,” she asked.

        “Why are you still with me?” I asked in reply.

        “Heh, touche,” she chuckled. “Guess I just need somepony next to me to convince me this is all real.”

        Something made me guess she was referring to more than just the changeling swarm.

        “So this Mix Beat, is he your...” I ventured on a guess.

        “Coltfriend,” she finished. Assumption confirmed.

        “Wow, rather open are we?” I joked.

        “More like scared,” she admitted. “We aren't exactly the closest, really. I like him a lot, I do, but he's always been a little... I dunno, really. I just don't want to loose him.”

        “You won't,” I assured her. “We'll find him, just you wait.”

        “We better,” Vinyl responded, turning on her side and facing away from me. “And if we don't, I'm blaming you,” she added jokingly.

        At least, I think it was jokingly.

        I chuckled nervously to myself, then glanced back up at the stars. Today had been short, random, and strangely enough, nice. I'd learned to fly, I'd... well I'd... Huh, guess that's all I'd really done today. Well, besides meet Vinyl and Contradiction.

        I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me.

        Tomorrow was going to suck. Gut feeling.



-END CHAPTER 1-



> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Scratchback











Written by FightorFlyT


with support from


FreelancerZENA


….............................................................................





Chapter 2




        
        “She left,” Contradiction stated.

        “No kidding, really?”

        “Yes,” Contradiction replied, not catching the intended sarcasm.

        “We need to catch up to her.”

        Contradiction huffed in acceptance, however upset with the situation he might have been in.

        When I'd woken up, the sun had been a few clicks into the sky already. And of course, a certain brash figure was long gone. Figures.

        “She can't have gotten far,” I said to nothing in particular, kicking some dirt onto the already dead fire.

        “True, but if she ran into my brethren-”

        “We'll find her before then,” I stopped Contradiction. “We'll get to her before then.”

        With that, we set off. I snapped open my wings, and was about to take off when I glanced back at Contradiction. He was still laying there. Oh, right. Broken hoof and everything...

        “You just... stay put,” I told him. Then I jumped from the cliff.

        - - - - - - - - - -

        “Mix!” Vinyl Scratch called out in a strained tone. She did NOT want to run into any changelings, definitely not while she was alone. Celestia damnit, why'd she run off without Lycii?!

        “Mix! she called again. “Mix!”

        Vinyl reached the entrance to the club they were going to play at the night previous.

        The entire city had been a ghost town. Nopony to be seen, not a soul of life in the place. Her short journey had been entirely uneventful so far, not even running into a changeling. Where were they all, anyways? Wasn't the city supposed to be infested with them?

        But no, she had yet to sight anything twitching the entire excursion, and it didn't look to change as she pushed open the door to the club they'd rented out. It was dead inside.

        Vinyl shuffled slowly into the club, glancing this way and that. There were posters and graffiti on the wall. The party must have already started when the changelings attacked.

        “Yeah, and I would have been here if that pegasus hadn't fallen out of the sky...” she muttered, eyes glued for any sign of life.

        “But then I'd be in this mess with 'em,” she contemplated, kicking at an empty, discarded paper cup on the floor. The room was littered with them, a well as random streamers and shreds of paper, probably confetti.

        Vinyl reached the far side of the room, approaching the DJ hub. There were still a few discs on the stand.

        A shape suddenly flitted at the edge of her view.

        Vinyl jumped around, coming face-to-face with a changeling. It's eyes were a cold blue.

        She dipped her glasses down a notch, showing her cerise eyes. They were burning with rage.

        “Where's Mix?” she demanded, voice barely above a snarl.

        The changeling jumped at her. A quick flash of cobalt magic, and the changeling crashed against the ceiling. Vinyl was in his face again.

        “Where's MIX?!”

        - - - - - - - - - -

        I knew that voice...

        I barrel-rolled out of my flight lane, aiming myself for where the voice had originated. Of course, I wasn't that good of a flier, so instead of performing a beautiful sweeping dive, I rocketed down to the pavement where I face-planted it. Perfect.

        I jumped to my hooves at a growl. A changeling stood before me, eyes blue and cold.

        “So...” I said, inching away from the threat.

        “Beautiful weather, isn't-” The changeling jumped at my, fangs flashing through where I stood seconds before.

        “AAAH!!!” I screamed, half a block away and running for my life.

        The changeling pursued me. And dang, it was FAST!

        I rounded a corner and tripped over a sleeping changeling. At least, it was sleeping. Now, not so much.

        I screamed my lungs out as two seriously peeved changelings tore up the ground behind me. They were obviously gaining. Dang, how did I manage to out-run Contradiction when I was carrying Vinyl?! He couldn't have been any slower than these guys were!

        I took a left down a street and jumped through an empty doorway, and seconds later I saw the changelings keep on running right past the open door. And to think, all my life I thought that only worked on Scooby-Doo...

        I looked around at the inside of the building I found myself in. It looked like what had once been a club of some sorts, and there was trash littering the floor everywhere. Looked familiar.

        I trotted across the large room, taking in the posters on the wall. They advertised bands and energy drinks and all sorts of stuff. It was actually pretty interesting. I was reading everything I could. Corporate Mare, Falling Hooves, Fourth Day's Grace, all sorts of information on this world's musical and recreational hobbies and habits. To the side, near the back, there was a DJ table, discs still on a stand, ready to be struck up. I walked over towards it, curious as to-

        CRUNCH!

        … Uh-oh.

        I glanced under my hoof and saw a familiar pair of glasses. I picked up Vinyl's set of shades, noticing I'd broken one of the lens. The glass was like plastic, further confirming my suspicions that they were simply for show.

        Wait... Vinyl had these when she left, as they weren't at the 'campsite' when I left this morning... That would mean-

        Vinyl had been here. I was sure of it.

        “Vinyl?” I called out, quietly enough that the changelings outside wouldn't hear me but hopefully loud enough that anypony inside would be able to catch my voice.

        There was no response.

        “Vinyl?” I called again, a little bit louder. From behind a pair of double doors in the very back of the room, I heard a very faint shuffle of movement. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to freak the clop out of me.

        I swallowed pathetically and headed towards the brief disturbance.

        “For the love of pie and all things sacred,” I whispered to myself as I moved towards the doors, “If a little doll in a sailor outfit jumps me-”

        I stood in front of the doors, not willing to open them. You know, maybe I should just leave this place behind me. It's not like Vinyl couldn't handle her own, I'd seen her handle one changeling before. She wasn't an easy nut to crack, this much was plainly obvious.

        I took a step back, and then I heard it. It wasn't loud, but it was just enough for my ears to catch up on it. It was a sound that infuriated me so much, I lost control. Buck pacifism, by baked goods somepony was going to die if my sickeningly accurate gut was right.

        I charged through the double doors, following the hall that it opened up to.

        I'd heard the muffled, pained moans of a certain off-white mare.


- - - - - - - - - -


        Contradiction sighed, letting his magic dissipate again. Not far off, a small rock fell back to the ground, meeting many of it's brethren at the bottom of the cliff-side below.

        “They were supposed to be here by now...” he grumbled.

        He cast his eyes up to the sky, watching the dark clouds that shadowed an overcast on the city drift above him, creating sinister-looking patterns in the sky.

        “Seriously,” he muttered again, Returning his view to the city, picking up another rock in his magic as he started whittling slow, careful runes into the stone's surface.

        “They need to hurry up, before I become angered.”


- - - - - - - - - -


        “Vinyl!” I screamed, rage coursing through my veins. I followed the halls for what felt like hours, clearing the structure methodically and thoroughly. No sign of life anywhere so far. The only section I hadn't searched was the basement floor, which I was saving for last. Not because I was scared of basements, mind you, but because... well okay, they still freaked me out a little bit.

        The doors to the basement loomed in front of me. I gulped hard. To the outsider, they might look simply like any other door. I knew better. These were a portal to another world. These led to the dark abyss, the depths of a building no pony should ever have to endure suffering through. These were the gates of Hell, these were the beginning of the end. Here, there be clowns, or something equally as scary.

        This was the entrance to the basement.

        I gulped again. A cold sweat had sprung up on my brow. Once again, I had second thoughts, pictures in my head of Vinyl standing right behind me, perfectly fine. I glanced behind myself, just to confirm this was just a hopeful thought, and nothing more. Dang it.

        I gently pushed against the doors, only to find that they wouldn't budge. I furrowed my brow. SO they wanted to play that game, eh? Well, two can play at that!

        I stood on my two hind legs, spitting into my front hooves. I rubbed them together, generating a little friction, then slammed them against the door. I started pushing, my rear hooves digging into the floor.

        No give.

        I doubled my efforts, grunting under the strain. I felt the doors buckle only slightly under my attempt, bu they remained as impassive as ever.

        I poured every ounce of strength that I could into pushing the door open, but it was to no avail. They would not give in.

        Slumping down, all of the frightened adrenaline I'd accumulated dissipated instantly. I set my head against the door, looking blankly the the left.

        And of course, right on the wall, was a red and yellow sign that read PULL.

        … Horseapples.

        I hopped back to my hooves. There, right in front of me, was a pair of looped door handles, plenty large to accommodate a pony hoof. I pulled gently on the door, secretly hoping it was locked... okay, not so secretly... but it was unlocked. The door creaked open in my grasp.

        Swinging the door towards me, my nose was instantly met with a foul rancid stench. I couldn't place a hoof on quite what it was, but it was sure as hay NASTY.

        Light from the hallway I was in bled into the darkened stairway. At first glance, it looked as though it simply went down to a single floor below it. However, when I trotted carefully over to the metal railing and looked over it, I saw this staircase went down quite a few floors.

        Then I heard a voice. A raspy, tired voice. Directed straight at me.

        “Figures somepony would show up eventually.”

        I swear, I leaped out of my hide right then and there. I spun around, expecting to see either a clown or a doll about to slice my head off with a rusty meat cleaver. Instead, I saw a dark gray unicorn with a bright green mane, swept forward like mine and Vinyl's.

        “Who are you? We're you expecting me? Where's Vinyl?!” I shouted.

        “Vinyl?” he asked, exasperated. “You're looking for her too? That's... good,” he finished, a relieved look on his face. He then trotted over to me and stuck out a hoof.

        “I'm Mix Beat. You?”

        I returned his hoof, awkwardly of course. What was I supposed to do with it?! In the end, I simply bumped my own stubby hoof against his, which seemed to be the socially accepted way of returning such a gesture, as he lowered his hoof after.

        “Lycii,” I said evenly.

        Mix Beat flashed his blazing blue eyes and a grin came across his face. “Glad to see somepony else came. I have no idea what's been going on here, do you know what's happened?”

        “Changelings took over the city,” I explained to him. “I... ran into Vinyl Scratch-” realization came over my mind, albeit a little later than I would have been comfortable with.

        “Wait... Mix Beat- you're Vinyl's coltfriend!” I shouted, putting one and one together.

        “Yeah,” he sighed. “So you ran into her? Then what?”

        “Oh yeah, I ran into her and we escaped the city, but she came back this morning before we woke up and started looking for you. She's been here, I found these,” I showed him Vinyl's glasses, which I had been wearing backwards at the base of my neck, tucked between the bottom of my mane and the beginning of the tuft of icy fur.

        “So I take it you've cleared the rest of the structure?” Mix asked.

        “Yeah, I just have this area left,” I stated. “And by the looks of it, it's larger than I expected.” I glanced over the railing again.

        “Much larger.”

        Mix ran a hoof through his mane. “Then I guess we should keep looking.”

        “Yeah,” I agreed.

        We started walking down the first set of stairs.

        And no, I didn't trust this guy. He was a little creepy, and for him to not know what had happened while being inside of the same building Vinyl Scratch had last been in (as far as I knew) was a little too suspicious. There was something up, and I was going to figure it out.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Vinyl groaned, slowly returning to consciousness. Her eyes were heavy, and she felt a painful welt on her right temple. She could feel from the blood rushing to her head that she was being held upside-down.

        With a pitiful groan, she remembered how she must have gotten into this mess.

        She'd been yelling at the changeling, and her magic was crushing it's throat. There had been a sharp blow to her head, and she flew to the side. Apparently there had been another changeling nearby.

        She opened her eyes slowly and painfully. I liquidy haze stung her eyes, making tears well up, and her vision was fizzed over with a sickening green. She tried to move her legs, but they were strung up above her. With a jolt, she started kicking in fear, but to no avail. She could remember what they'd done to her.

        Vinyl struggled again, desperate to free her legs. They were suctioned into a fleshy trap that she elicited gargling noises from as she squirmed.

        “Ahaha, and the cheeky little heroine realizes the pickle she's in. How cute.”

        Vinyl froze. She recognized that voice. Anypony could recognize that voice...

        Vinyl glared hard, trying to see through the much she was in, pulling herself up with her legs. It felt like she was suspended in a thick gel-like substance. She managed to pull herself up just enough to see over the crystallized base of her cage, and she saw her.

        There was the changeling queen Chrysalis, staring right at her. Several other similar cages surrounded them, each with what Vinyl assumed to be other inhabitants of the city.

        “Poor, poor innocent little pony,” Chrysalis taunted, casually strolling through the numbers of cages. “All we need you for is a trap, as bait. Don't worry though; that dolt of a colt that ran off with you will be here soon enough. And then you will no longer be needed.” With that, Chrysalis wandered off, cackling madly.

        Vinyl struggled again, but stopped when she realized it was hopeless. She wasn't going to get out.

        “Mix...” she whimpered.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Mix Beat and I slunk through the rooms, and what we found wasn't pretty.

        There were tons upon tons of ponies I assumed were from the city, strung up in the sickly glowing green wraps of cages, fleshy and slimy. They were suspended in a mucus-like gel, and they all looked asleep. That, or dead. I hoped for the former.

        “I don't think she's here,” Mix Beat whispered.

        “Why are you whispering?” I asked out loud like an idiot.

        A snarl from half-way across the warehouse-like room told me why. We ducked behind the stem to one of the cages, listening carefully. There was some pittering hoofsteps, and I peeked around the think stalk.

        There was a huge changeling patrolling the room, glancing this way and that. There was no doubt that he'd heard me. I cursed at myself for being such a... well, a dolt as it felt. Odd, a sudden case of deja vu raced over me.

        “Snap, that's one hulk of one, isn't it?” I heard Mix breath on the other side.

        “Yeah,” I responded. “How do you think we can get around it?”

        “Leave that to me- AH!”

        While we'd been talking, a changeling had snuck up behind Mix and wrapped him in a bear hug, snapping at his throat. A sudden pulse of green magic, and the changeling boiled off of Mix and sailed up over him, shooting straight through the stalks of some cages.

        “Run,” Mix stated evenly.

        Don't mind if I do.

        We took off running, and as luck would have it our path inevitably met with the hulk's as well. Of course. It took one look at me and I knew it was thinking of how it should fillet me. I would recommend plucking the wings first, maybe a slow broil after that...

        Mix pushed me aside as we raced around the beast. Turns out I was worried about nothing. With two targets to track instead of just one, the poor guy must have had an aneurism or similar, it's head was shaking so bad!

        We met back up in front of some double doors. I was more following him, and was amazed as to how he knew his way around this place, like he'd been here before. Duh, paranoia. This guy still was a little fishy, but I'd worry about that later. The matter at hand now was that we weren't being gnawed on by a retarded changeling steroid beast.

        We leaped through the doors, and suddenly I felt like I'd missed something. We stumbled (well, I stumbled) into yet another hallway (this place had a lot of them), and came face to face with a group of grizzled-looking ponies with sashes wrapped around them and devices that looked a little too much like rifles in their arms.

        My response to this: What the fu-

        One of them grabbed my hoof and pulled me after him. Seconds later, the door crashed open behind us. The 'tarded changeling was responsible. It was also bounding after us. Quickly.

        “Come on!” The one pulling me along shouted. Mix was right beside me.

        A few of the battle ponies opened fire on the changeling beast, and I was sadly confirmed that the rifle-looking things were, indeed, rifles. Why, cute, cuddly ponies, WHY?!?!

        We rounded a corner and the three of us ducked behind it. I saw my savior as it were was a deep red unicorn, with a pure white mane. He actually reminded me a bit of Santa Claus.

        Although the last time I recalled, Santa Claus had an orgy of gay little elves making toys for all the poor unexpecting children of the world, not a gang of grizzled mercenaries. I liked this guy already!

        But what he asked me freaked me out just a little.

        “Are you Lycii?”

        … Okay, try a LOT.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Contradiction felt the battle begin. It was time.

        Smirking, he rose to his hooves, using his magic to repair his 'injured' hoof.

        “The fools,” he muttered in glee. “They were suspicious but oh so gullible. I know just what you are, dear Lycii. And I know just how to get to you...”

        Contradiction phased out, and reappeared over the city, fluttering his razor-like wings to keep him aloft. He was back in his changeling form.

        “You shall not escape me,” Contradiction laughed as he landed right in front of the door to the club where Vinyl had disappeared from.

        “Or my mother.”








-END CHAPTER 2-



> Chapter 3 - Blessed Deception
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Scratchback











Written by FightorFlyT


with support from


FreelancerZENA


….............................................................................





Blessed Deception





        “Uh... yes?” I responded. How the heck did this guy know my name?! I wasn't exactly from around these parts, if you know what I mean. Of course you know what I mean.

        “Good. Then we need to hurry.” His voice sounded VERY Russian, and between that and the red and the white I HAD to ask him one question.

        “Where's Waldo?”

        “I is Waldo,” he stated.

        … Ho-ly shiii-

        I immediately regretted saying that, though, when he glanced at me with the evil eye.

        “How did you know about Waldo? Waldo never met you before,” he growled.

        “Oh, uh,” I stammered. How could I explain something as simple as Where's Waldo? to a talking magical red-and-white pony named Waldo? “Internet?” I fished.

        “Of course,” he spat. “Internet (he pronounced it int-yer-naht)!”

        “Sir!” a skinny, scared pony who didn't have a horn or wings appeared around the corner. He looked terrified just being there. Welcome to the club.

        “Did you tell-” Waldo began, but was interrupted by a giant glob of sizzling blue phlegm (I think) smacked into Internet, slamming him against a wall. A sickening scent of ozone followed it's wake, and I knew Internet wouldn't be talking again. Poor guy.

        “No! Darchneps!” Waldo cursed.

        I'll admit, I don't think there was a language on earth that what he said could be translated into.

        “He was new,” Waldo explained. “It's a shame. We shall remember him, though. It is what we do.” He stuck a dramatic pose.

        Cute. Anything else I needed to know? Oh yeah, how about-

        “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!”

        “We are in middle of large battle with shifterbreed. We were here on leave, being from far off Stalliongrad, and POOF! We fight!”

        … Yeah, cuz THAT explained everything.

        Although actually, that was the most explanatory statement I'd gotten since I'd been here.

        “So Waldo, how'd you hear about me?”

        “Easy,” he said. “We crawl through vents, we hear things. Being skilled like we, it's good trick.”

        I noticed his dialect slowly reverting to what I assumed was more familiar for him.

        “So we here from big queen-pin, we hear of newcomer. She is with unicorn pony, white yellow. She a stubborn one, she is. She knows you, no?”

        White yellow? Who knows me? That must mean he knew where they had Vinyl!

        BOOM!

        A huge explosion rocked the complex.

        “What the buck was that?” I shouted, grabbing onto Mix Beat for dear life.

        “A little present,” Waldo snickered. “We must move, there is more than just coal waiting for these chargne's!”

        As I contemplated on whether he just dropped a Santa joke, Waldo pulled out a small but stubby gray disk, slamming it into the wall next to us. Instantly, a small stud inlaid in the center lit up blue, flashing red momentarily.

        “What's that?” I asked cautiously.

        “Bomb,” Waldo stated.

        … Fun.

        “We go now,” he said, and we ran like the wind down the corridor. A narrow ventilation duct hung from the ceiling above us.

        “In! In!” Waldo shouted at us.

        I grabbed Mix Beat and tossed him up, and a quick snap of my wings later I joined him in the shaft.

        Waldo coiled up, about to spring, but suddenly a billowing cloud of dust and concrete smashed into him.

        He disappeared into the industrial avalanche.

        “WALDO!”

        I tried digging my way through the concrete and dirt that blocked my way, but it was hopeless. Waldo was lost.

        “Come on,” I heard Mix Beat say beside me. His horn lit up in his green magic, like a lantern.

        “I heard some of the other guys talk about where they found the hive center. If I'm correct –and I usually am– then we need to take this tunnel all the way down, hook a left, and drop to the bottom. I guess there's a huge cave hollowed out there.”

        “Okay...” I muttered, still upset about losing Waldo. That was the first time I'd ever found the guy!

        We followed Mix's route in it's entirety, and dropped down into what I assumed to be a ventilation chute. A ceiling fan below us, we were in a small pocket. I could look down into what was indeed a HUGE cavern, easily five times larger than the biggest aircraft hangar I'd ever been in.

        And dotted everywhere, even clumped together, were the sick, green fleshy cages we'd seen before. From the top, we could see roots growing from the top in them, dangling ponies in them. There were hundreds- no, thousands of them.

        “Where do you think she is?” I asked Mix Beat. I got no response.

        “Mix?” I said, turning.

        He was gone.

        … “HORSEAPPLES!”


- - - - - - - - - -




        Vinyl took in her surroundings more. She noticed a few ponies beside her from around town, simply ponies she'd seen.

        She tried to yell, but there was a thick, fleshy vine choking her mouth.

        Gross.

        “I've delivered the target.”

        Vinyl perked her ears. She knew that voice.

        “Excellent,” she heard Chrysalis respond, and then the two of them were in her view.

        “As soon as the fool drops down like the hero he believes himself to be, he will be all mine. Nothing can stop my plan, NOTHING!” she cackled, throwing her head high.

        Vinyl couldn't help herself. She shed a slew of tears, barely keeping from bursting into full waterworks.

        Because there, laughing alongside the changeling queen, was Mix Beat.

        She thought she'd known him. They met two years ago, in a club. His bright blue eyes caught her attention, and she'd had to meet him. They'd shared a few drinks, and the next thing she knew he turned out to be a recruiter for a record label. He'd give her three years, and then if he liked what he heard, she'd have the world in her hoof. Metaphorically, of course.

        And then... she fell for him. They always spent time together, and looking back at it all it seemed so inevitable. And as soon as they began, Mix quit. Vinyl had gained enough reputation that Mix wanted her to make herself famous on her own.

        “We don't need you to make us money,” he'd told her. “We just need you.”

        So... why was he there, now? Why was he in league with Chrysalis? Had she been wrong about him? Had he lied to her this whole time? Or was he just not the same stallion she'd fell in love with?

        Mix glanced her way, and the look in his eye confirmed the worst for Vinyl.

        He hadn't changed. His smirk was the same, his indifference as cold. He looked at her as he'd always looked at her. It hadn't been love, had it? No, he'd used her. She knew it. Deep down inside, she knew it.

        Mix shrugged before turning and trotting down a lane of cages with his mistress.

        And Vinyl did the unthinkable.

        She actually cried.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Contradiction scraped the halls clear of the mess with his magic. The oaf at the entrance hadn't recognized him for who he was! Now, the fool would never make that mistake again.

        With a vengeful heart, Contradiction made his way slowly and confidently through the structure.

        He would have his revenge on his mother.

        The snide queen had dared curse him with a pony's form! That part of what he'd told Lycii was true. His mother was a cruel, horrible wretch. All Contradiction had wanted was to have a friend, play with a single innocent foal who didn't seem to care as to how Contradiction had looked. The foal's ignorance had cost him his life.

        Contradiction growled in anger.

        He truly regretted meeting the child. If he hadn't have met the child, he would still be rightful heir to the throne. If they had never met, Contradiction would still have his full powers.

        If they had never met, the child would still be alive.

        “Why!?” he spat, confusion wracking his mind. “Why must I battle this... this weakness...”

        Perhaps that was why mother envied the new pony. Now he had to grovel at the hooves of him, the new heir. He wasn't even from their swarm, yet he'd done such a fine job in recent years that Chrysalis just had to accept him.

        How he hated Mix Beat.

        He would make the plebeian pay. Pay for humiliating him. Pay for daring to steal his throne. Pay for everything.

        What a twist of fate, though.

        “He would never expect that I meet the mare he's been having a fling with,” he grinned.

        “Without that, I never would have known where you were hiding at. Only you would be foolish enough to prepare a hideaway at your own club, you insolent spawn.”

        With a raging push of his magic, he slammed through multiple walls, and he felt the structure shudder. He'd damaged vital supporting structures, and building began imploding on itself.

        “Damn,” he growled.

        With a press of his magic, he found the most direct route to the hidden cave. It was quite easy actually, given there were no wards up trying to stop hm. He shot the energy forward, and the falling building turned itself into a rippling force of mass. Like a rolling stone, the path to the cave was carved out. And near the entrance, he heard music to his ears.

        “WALDO!”

        It was the ignorant stallion.

        Oh, this was just too good...


- - - - - - - - - -




        Mix had ditched. Figures. I'd only known the guy for, like, an hour tops anyways. I should have seen it coming. I mean, he was the entire stereotype for treacherous scumbag. If I had a dictionary on me and looked up the word snitch, I would have seen his face grinning up from the page.

        And I was the idiot who'd trusted him.

        To top it all off, I had seen him waltz off between the cages, right at home. Man, was he full of it. Let me guess, all the changelings were under his beckon call, too?

        As he trotted right over to one and locked it in a fearsome noogie, I facehoofed. Figures.

        I cringed at my own stupidity. What was I even doing here? I'd followed some deranged unicorn who obviously was on his way to double-crossing me, just to save some girl. And she was a HORSE. I swear, this was the most lucid trip-fest I'd rode to date.

        “Now just to wake up,” I muttered through gritted teeth. But there would be no waking up for me. This wasn't a dream, and I knew it. This was real life, not some made-up fantasy. So why was I possibly risking my life?

        Vinyl Scratch flashed through my mind. I'd only known her a short time, but in that short time I'd known her for, it already felt like I'd known her for longer. She was the only pony I knew here, if only a little bit. Plus, I'm not that guy.

        I'm not the kind of guy to go chasing skirts. Well, I mean, I am, but that's not who I am... you follow? I used to do it (all of 24 hours ago), but in the past day I felt like that wasn't important anymore. I didn't want to be known as a party animal. I didn't want to live the rest of my life waking up with a killer headache, sprawled eagle on some random dude's couch downstairs because I'd passed out right where I'd buzzed out. I didn't want to be who I used to be.

        I wanted to change.

        I smashed my head abruptly against the wall of the venting I was in.

        WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT?! Of course I wanted to party some more! Partying and getting sloshed and being a complete idiot was who I was! How could I just want to... give that up?! Just like that?!

        … Why did I want to give that up? I shook my head in confusion, trying to clear my mind. This place was already starting to affect the way my thoughts worked. I needed to get home.

        But... how? There was no viable way for me to get home as I was now. I seriously doubted I could just fly upwards and keep on flying and suddenly I'd wake up. Nope, life (at least my life) doesn't work that way. Something seriously made me doubt that it would suddenly start working like that.

        I knew the answer, of course. I wanted to learn about this place. Generally, when I fall into a female back home, I get stabbed. Here, I do the same thing and I end up on a rescue mission for her.

        Speaking of her...

        I needed to rescue her. Personal qualms aside, I had to get her. I could figure out what I was going to do afterward, but for now I needed to get to her before something... bad, happened.

        I took another look at the cave, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes. When I opened them, the cave did so as well, but in my own special way.

        I could see the blips from every patrol. An exceptionally large blip from where Mix Beat must have been at now.

        Routes spread before me like trickling veins of a network, thousands of different variables calculating in my mind. I needed to find a way through, but more importantly I needed to find Vinyl.

        Sifting through media is a tiring job. Doing so on a security detail is even worse. Double-checking every equation, re-calculating each and every source you create. It's irritating, to say the least, but it grows on you. Me, anyways. And eventually, you learn stuff. Like how to find exactly what you're looking for, even if you don't know where or even what it is or looks like.

        Right now, it was the same thing. Sure, I was already creating an escape route. More importantly, however, I was trying to find her.

        All of my senses were peaking. I swear I was concentrating so hard, I could hear the blood flowing through my brain.

        Then I heard it.

        A whimper.

        My focus zoned in on her. Two hundred yards forward, thirteen to the left. Twenty-seven meters down.

        I shifted my view. She sounded confined, almost as if in a cage. This was different then what I'd been expecting of these cages, however; I was getting a thick, pulsing interference. Not surrounding her, either. It seemed to originate with her. I shook that away. I wasn't going to completely discredit this disturbing variable, but I couldn't allow myself to loose sight of my next move.

        There. Every three seconds, I had a blind spot. None of the guards would be looking my direction, so if I began my descent right as they're view was distracted-

        I slowly opened the vent bottom, careful not to let it make any noise. Nopony noticed the movement, or at least nopony registered it. I held my breath, silently counting to myself, and fell.

        My feet barely touched the ground before I was flat against the stalk to a cage. My little radar-vision buffered, then returned. I navigated through the cave, using it like a little mental GPS.

        I made it half-way across the cave before I stopped. I could hear Mix Beat talking with another pony. Listening in, I could barely make out what was being said.

        “... I am well aware as to where he may be from, my queen, but even with your forms of... motivation, he might not tell us how to get back to his home.”

        “I shall deal with that when the time comes. As for now, find him. I will not-”

        CRASH!

        A huge section of the cave wall imploded on itself, then flooded into the cave like a rocky wave. Dust sprung up everywhere, and the entire room was shrouded in thick haze.

        “Chrysalis! You shall answer to me!”

        … Wait, was the Contradiction?

        The earth continued shaking, and the entire room seemed about ready to collapse on itself.

        “Fool! You dare barge in here as if you were still worthy of my presence?!” the one I assumed was Chrysalis shouted back at him.

        “You are the one who shall answer! And you shall answer with death!”

        The shaking increased dramatically, and as I felt the floor beneath my shoot up, I knew I was right.

        This day sucked.


- - - - - - - - - -




        The dark purple mare flicked an ear.

        “What was that?” she asked herself aloud, running a gloved hoof through her wild pink mane, complete with a few coal black stripes.

        “What was what?”

        Beside her, a small sapphire-blue baby dragon looked at his friend curiously, his blazing red fins winking in the mid-day sunlight.

        From their peak vantage point, they could see much of Equestria's east coast spread out before them. Foal Mountain provided them the perfect view.

        And it shook once more. It was very subtle, but the mare felt it.

        She adjusted the odd, clunky spike-like device atop her head, flicking a switch and feeling the energy flow between her and the conduit. She may have been an earth pony, but that didn't have to stop her from using magic.

        A simple flick of her synthetic craft levitated a small orb with a set of differently shaped needles towards her, as well as a rough map of the country and an angular dial.

        After tinkering with the devices, she waited for the next tremor. It was sure to come.

        Thus, she waited.

        And waited.

        … And waited...

        “Retro, what are we-” The mare cut off the small dragon with a hoof.

        There. She'd felt it. She studied the instruments, and gently laid the tip of her gloved hoof atop a section of the map. The brass studs against the hydraulic glaive glinted in the sun, too.

        She had her destination. Off in the distance, she saw the city. A dark cloud coursed through it, blotting it out against the sea.

        Fillydelphia.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Rage seared through Contradiction's mind as he locked magic with Chrysalis. Sparks flew from where their beams met, and the discharge sent a barrage of pure magical energy into the ground. The floor beneath them shot upwards, and the ceiling cracked apart as the cave inverted itself. It continued rising from the ground, shedding the building it had once hid in.

        The cave was now an elevated plateau.

        As the two powerful changelings battled it out, Mix Beat took a step back in horror.

        How could Contradiction dare confront Queen Chrysalis!? This was their queen, this was Contradiction's own mother! She'd been generous enough not to outright kill him when she should have. Now, he dares to try and strike her down!? Unbelievable.

        Mix Beat took another step back as a burst of magical energy flew out, striking him deep in the chest. Pain burst from the wound.

        As the coward he truly was, Mix Beat turned hoof and ran.


- - - - - - - - - -




        I grabbed the stalk I was hiding next to and held on for dear life.

        Bits of the ceiling rained down on me as daylight washed over the inside of the cave. The shroud of dust and debris still clung around, however. Disappointing.

        I tried pinging Vinyl again, but it was no use. The sudden arrival of Contradiction (I thought he was a cripple!!!) had ruined my focus. I'd have to hoof it out and find her on my own.

        On shaky legs, I raced through the cages, leaping over disoriented changelings and dodging the cages that had toppled over, bursting open.

        I traced the best path I could from memory through the mess. Finally, I arrived.

        And I thought it was too late.

        Her eyes were closed, and suddenly a few things made sense.

        She was hog-tied upside-down in the liquid-filled cage, and a fleshy vine had snaked it's way into her mouth from the wrap around her hoofs. The trap on her hooves looked like a weeping ulcer. There was a dark purple mark on her temple, and her coat looked rough.

        “Vinyl...”

        I pressed my hooves up against the clear boundary of the cage. She couldn't end this way.

        The first living thing I meet after I'm dropped into this place, and now she ends up dead? No way.

        “NO FUCKING WAY!!!”

        I smashed my hooves against the wall of the cage. It had the consistency of thick jell-o.

        I smashed again, shutting my eyes as tears streamed down from them, burning my cheeks. I smashed again. This time, my hoof went through.

        I tore the wall apart from the puncture point, and the gel within flowed out with a sick sucking noise. The ulcer released it's grip on Vinyl, and she flopped down into my waiting arms.

        “Vinyl...” I whimpered, stroking strands of her sodden mane from her face.

        “Vinyl...”

        I pressed my head against her chest, pulling her close.

        “Please... wake up...”

        I was flat out crying at this point. I didn't care who saw it at this point. I just wanted Vinyl back.

        Holding Vinyl's limp body up in front of me, I lost it. The waterworks were unleashed. I buried my head in her chest, begging to hear a heartbeat. Nothing.

        “VINYL!!!”

        Explosions rocked around us, but they were lost to me. I had no idea what to do. I had nowhere to go, nopony to turn to. I was alone again, right after I'd been dropped in a foreign land.

        I was so upset, I almost didn't fell the ba-dump of Vinyl's heartbeat. It was faint at first, but it was back.


- - - - - - - - - -




        She felt weight on her chest.

        Once again, Vinyl struggled out of unconsciousness. Her vision was obscured by a heavy haze, although sudden blossoms of green energy lit up before her.

        “I'm... alive?” she whispered. Not long ago, it hadn't felt like it.

        She looked down, and saw a pathetic but heartwarming sight.

        Lycii looked back at her, eyes red and weeping. His face was soaked with dirty tears, and he had numerous small cuts across it.

        “Vinyl...” he whimpered.

        “Lycii,” she breathed.

        He'd come for her. He really had.

        “Vinyl!” Lycii suddenly leaped up, swinging her around like a ragdoll. “I thought you were gone!” he cried.

        “Not today, I guess,” she yelled as she was swung around in a great circle.

        Lycii stopped twirling, and embraced her tight.

        “Once we get out of here, I'm going to have to meet you all over again,” Lycii chuckled. Vinyl didn't get the joke.

        “Okay...” she muttered, wrapping her front legs around Lycii. She really was glad that he'd saved her. She pressed the side of her head up against Lycii's chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It sounded... different.

        She took on a curious face, listening more intently. I sounded nothing like what a heartbeat should sound like.

        WubWubWubWubWub...

        It just repeated that way. Vinyl cracked a grin. Of course she'd be saved from a swarm of changeling by some guy whose heart beats in wobbles. She let out a painful wrack of giggles.

        “I'd like that...” she whispered.


- - - - - - - - - -







        In case you haven't picked up on the memo, I haven't had a clue as to what had been going on since I'd arrived here. I was out of my element, definitely far from home, and to top it off I was at least fifty percent sure I was going to die. Did I care?

        Nope.

        “Let's go.”

        I unwrapped myself from Vinyl and took her hoof, pulling her along beside me as I raced off in a random direction. I just hoped it would help us get out of there.

        We dodged obstacles and downed cages, and I saw hope. Cages that had burst were disgorging their occupants, and quite a few of the former residents of the city were already rising to their hooves.

        And they were fighting changelings.

        A nearby mare swiftly bucked a changeling upside the head as we raced by them, but then she was tackled by another changeling that leaped over its fallen comrade. I saw a large stallion rush to her rescue.

        We neared the edge of the area. I saw the drop-off ahead of time, and snapped my wings out, ready to jump into flight. We were less than twenty paces from the edge when I felt the bolt punch through me.

        My vision blinked, and my hoof slipped from Vinyl's. I stumbled forward, rolling off and over the edge. I tried snapping my wings open, but they wouldn't obey me. The ground rushed up to meet me, and I saw the sickening distance that separated me from a grisly fate. I knew this was the end. I'd just arrived in this strange world, and I was already about to die.

        Fucking perfect.

        I cringed as the distance closed. Thoughts rushed through my mind. It's weird how that happens, the ability to think at hyper-speed in the few seconds you have before you know you're about to die.

        What would Vinyl do? Where would she go? She'd probably move onto her next gig, if she was able to walk away from this. I wished I'd asked her a little more as to these 'gig's she did. Were they like generic raves from back on Earth? Were they magicked-up junkie parties? That would be pretty legit.

        And what about Contradiction? … Nah, didn't know him enough to really be concerned. Although... He'd lied about being injured. He seemed perfectly capable of showing up and attacking that queen changeling. There was probably more to him than I'd originally thought...

        I didn't have much time left, that much was obvious. Maybe a second or two, at most. With that last split moment, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see this.

        And I waited for death to come to me.





        … And waited...

        My body suddenly felt very light. Was I dead already? I though I'd at least feel a snap or two, or I dunno maybe my ass crashing through my brain. Simple things like that.

        “Am I dead?” I asked lamely. Hey, sometimes the most direct methods work the best.

        “No, silly,” I heard a female voice assure me. She had a spunky giggle to it.

        I opened my eyes. A faint red hue enveloped me, levitating me barely an inch from the ground. The breath from my nostrils was actually stirring up dirt into the air, that's how close I was.

        I looked at my rescuer, who was standing atop a pile of rubble. She was a deep purple mare, with gleaming amber eyes and a wild pink mane with a few streaks darker than the night sky running through it. She also was wearing a peculiar device strapped to her head, and with a start I realized it was enveloped with the same energy that was holding me aloft. I guessed it was a man- er, pony-made replacement for a unicorn's horn.

        She also had a strange glove running halfway up her front left leg. It had a number of small hydraulic pistons encasing it, and it was studded with brass tabs. The cloth beneath it was a dirty brown. She has a pair of brown aviator goggles hanging around her neck, over top of a snow white scarf.

        “Who are you?”

        She huffed. “I don't think that's how you thank a pony who just saved your life,” she stated.

        “Sorry, just curious,” I said as she dropped her magic. I fell unceremoniously on my face, eating gravel.

        “And the name is private. You can get it if you prove yourself,” she said with a wink.

        “Prove myself?” I asked, shifting to a sitting position. What was that supposed to mean, 'prove myself'?

        “Yes. What is going on here?”

        “I'd like to know that, myself...” I spat, turning away shamefully.

        “Wait, you-” she began, but I cut her off.

        “Look, I'm new here. A lot has happened recently, and I-” I snapped to my hooves.

        “Vinyl!”

        I tried snapping my wings out, but instead of the rush of wind through my feathers I felt searing pain cut through my back. I fell to a knee, gasping. Lordie, that hurt.

        “Are you okay?” Purple-mare called in shock, rushing to my side.

        “Yeah, I just got... hit. I dunno what by-”

        “And that's why you were falling?” she asked.

        “Yeah... What's the damage?” I asked, bracing myself.

        “Depends, are you supposed to have a giant black spike surrounding by red fur poking your back?” Her voice was a mix between sarcasm and pure horror.

        Fitting.

        “The fur is supposed to be an icy blue,” I breathed, suddenly feeling a little light-headed.

        “Then it's pretty bad,” she told me. “I don't think I can... well, I might... hmm...”

        “What are you-” I began, turning my head, but she straightened my head back with a surprisingly strong grip.

        “Scale!” she called out. I heard shuffling beside her.

        “Medical equipment?” Scale (I guess) assumed. Scale sounded like a young male, his voice still high and untamed.

        “Pliers and gauze. Lots of gauze. A small vial of recessive flux, too,” she told Scale.

        A few clinks and thuds, and suddenly I felt a hole open up in my back. It took everything I had to bite down on my lip and keep from screaming.

        “Warn me next time,” I hissed at her.

        “Nah, takes to long,” she laughed, though it was a rather unstable laugh. I felt her apply a cold, soothing balm to the wound, and she wrapped gauze around my barrel, placing a square wad of it directly over the hole in my back.

        Hole in my back. I feel a new meme coming on.

        She patted me on my shoulder in what I assumed to be a 'you're good' motion. I rose to all hooves, arching my back. The pain was still there, spider-webbing its way through me, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. That flux stuff must work wonders.

        “Alright, now that you're all patched up,” I turned to her as she spoke, and felt a familiar tingle of energy around me.

        “What're you-”

        “Hold your breath.”

        Okay, being in the Air Force teaches you at least one thing. When someone/pony tells you to hold your breath, you do it. Don't ask why that is one of the most important things I picked up, you don't want to know. Hint: involves large quantities of booze.

        I sucked in my breath and suddenly the air around me imploded.

        The pressure released almost as quickly as it had appeared, and I found myself standing in the middle of a fray of changelings and ponies fighting each other.

        “Woah...” I heard Scale mutter. I glanced at him, and had to do a double-take.

        “You have dragons here?” I breathed.

        Sure enough, Scale was a sapphire-blue dragon, complete with fiery red fins and a butter yellow stomach hide. His eyes matched his fins. Although... He was rather small and chubby looking...

        “Baby dragon, and he's my assistant,” the purple mare assured me.

        Yeah, cuz that explains everything...

        A quick shift of movement to the left of my vision was the only warning I had to leap to the side. Where I had been standing was now occupied by the sharp hoof of a nasty, hole-ridden changeling. Seriously, the guy looked worse than Swiss cheese.

        I ducked as it swung at me again. Sidestepping, I used every move I knew to avoid being sliced in half by this beast. Dodging a wild wheel of its leg, I threw myself under its hoof and appeared behind it. Now I could see its every move.

        Or not. I barely registered the flicker of its razor-sharp wings before they snapped out, almost gutting me. One word: DAMN!

        The beast growled, but stopped suddenly, gurgling. It fell to the ground, a sharp poke of iron rod sticking out its throat. A swift pulse of yellow energy crashed into it, tossing it to the side. The purple mare stood trembling, eyes screwed tight.

        “You okay?” I asked, resting a hoof on her shoulder. She stopped trembling, taking deep breaths.

        “Yeah,” she said. “It just felt...” she giggled softly.

        “Good...”

        I shuddered. It was never good when somepony got attached to killing. However, now was not the time for my philosophical qualms. Now was the time for me to change my fear of violence.

        Yeah, I'll admit it. I was pacifistic because I was scared of hurting others. I knew violence happened. There was no point in acting like it could be avoided. But now, I guess even I couldn't avoid it. I needed to fight to survive.

        And to find Vinyl.


- - - - - - - - - -




        “You betrayed me!” Contradiction shouted, his hoof directly connecting with Chrysalis's face.

        She definitely hadn't been expecting the little twerp to do that. She wouldn't make that mistake twice.

        She spun around, her rear hoof knocking Contradiction's hind legs out from under him. He swung his elbow down into her shoulder as he fell, cracking a solid blow to her.        They both fell, rolling away and horns flaring up again.

        Chrysalis was strong. Very strong. Contradiction had been expecting this, however. She'd defeated Celestia once with magical power alone before. He had no expectations to defeat her by that mean alone. So he went on the aggressive.

        He took another hoof to the face, and swung up his glowing horn to stab it directly into Chrysalis's other hoof as she tried punching him again. Contradiction grinned as he felt his energy eat her flesh away, and as she tore her hoof away she howled in agony at the new hole she sported.

        Her pain gave Contradiction a sense of sick pleasure.

        Contradiction poured energy into his horn, and a powerful surge of magic smashed into the changeling queen. She fell backwards, still screaming.

        “YOU are the one who betrayed ME!” she cried, swiping at him with her good hoof.

        “Your father would be ashamed of what you've become!”

        “Oh please, like you give a DAMN about father! You never once cared! NEVER ONCE!”

        Contradiction let his rage fuel him, lifting Chrysalis's body into the air with his magic and smashing her against a still-standing wall. She groaned as she struggled to return to her hooves.

        “You never once cared about me!” Contradiction cried.

        Chrysalis smashed into the ground, skidding across the ground. She was breathing heavy.

        “Now it is you who will pay for your insolence.”


- - - - - - - - - -




        Vinyl scrambled through the ruin. Behind her, the last stallion she'd ever wanted to see was chasing after her, a lust-filled, murderous gleam in his eye.

        Mix Beat.

        A changeling fell in front of her, ripped in half. She jumped over it, feeling its head crunch against the ground behind her. A split second later, it exploded as Mix Beat's magic plowed into it.

        “Why are you doing this? I trusted you, and you- you've been helping her?!” Vinyl cried, not daring to look back at Mix.

        “She is my queen! I will lay down my life for her!” Mix hissed back, gaining.

        “You're a monster!” Vinyl growled, and as she felt her anger rise she spun around to face Mix.

        His eyes were filled the same sickening blue that the changelings had. A green hazy wisp trailed from his horn, constantly draining the excess magical energy he was creating. He looked every part the evil beast he'd become.

        “I'd rather be a monster than a fool,” he spit out calmly.

        Vinyl charged up a ball of energy on her horn, but felt a powerful kick crash into the side of her head before she could complete it. It flew harmlessly off into the clearing sky.

        “And what a fool you have become...” Mix continued, studying her from beneath him. He had her pinned down, unable to move no matter how hard she resisted.

        “Maybe I can...” Mix bent his neck down and softly licked the side of her neck.

        “Fix that for you,” Mix finished, a throaty chuckle following it.

        What is he going to do?! Vinyl thought, scared. Stupid thought, I already know what he's going to do...

        Vinyl cringed as Mix lifted the front of his body up, and right as he was about to swing his front hooves down, the gravel behind him exploded, a pair of red legs wrapping around him.

        “Here's Waldo!”

        Waldo hurled Mix Beat over him and slammed him backwards into the ground, breaking Mix's neck. Mix laid there, paralyzed.

        “Sorry 'bout him, mizz. Fool had it coming, see? Never hit woman, we say in my country!”

        “Th-thank you, mister...”

        “Waldo,” Waldo said with a dramatic pose.

        “Now come, we must-” Waldo was cut short as he leaped at Vinyl, taking her down just in time so avoid a hurling chunk of gravel.

        “I could really use my gun,” Waldo growled in his thick Stalliongrad accent.

        Vinyl pushed herself up, taking in the battleground once again. Most of the changelings were either defeated or limping off, taking flight with battered wings and fleeing. There were a LOT of pony casualties, but Vinyl saw that the ponies were winning. There was enough of them up and fighting to bring hope to her.

        She also saw there were really only three clumps of concentrated combat. One of them was the queen Chrysalis. She was fighting another changeling, huge and with familiar, burning green eyes. Contradiction.

        “So he was tricking us,” she spat as she focused on the second group. Blazing streaks of magical pulses shot out from the melee, and there was a great deal of foreign curses flowing from the mess.

        “Comrades!” Waldo shouted, sprinting towards the second group.

        Vinyl started after him, but she saw the third group. A dark purple mare with a weird fake mechanical horn attached to her head was pounding the pulp out of any changeling that got too close to her. A small blue dragon, a baby probably, with red spines was stabbing away with what must have been medical tools.

        And not far from them was Lycii. He was bobbing and dodging his way through a slew of changelings. A long rod of iron was clutched in both hooves, and he looked like a combat veteran as he spun, swung and slashed his way through the oncoming horde. The changelings kept coming, but he didn't seem phased or tired in the least. Actually, he looked as though he enjoyed the rush.

        “Lycii...” she muttered. She'd seen him fall off the edge! She counted him as dead! And there he was, alive and kicking. She felt overjoyed.

        Waldo skidded to a halt, and followed her line of sight.

        “Ah, nowhere pony. He is alive, no? Good...” Waldo turned top face Vinyl.

        “Go,” he said. “He may look fine, but any pony worth a damn needs something to fight for.”

        Vinyl didn't need to be told twice. She charged towards Lycii, sending magic bolts at any changeling that got in her way.

        “LYCII!!!”


- - - - - - - - - -




        It's a beautiful sight, seeing somepony who honestly cares about you rushing towards you. Especially if they're charging recklessly through a frigging battlezone. I couldn't let her just go running on like that, unprotected. So, I met her halfway.

        I rolled over her, grabbing her and holding her close as I ducked behind a chunk of concrete. Pulses of blue magic shot all around us. The changelings were getting creative.

        “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

        She responded by punching me in my gut. “Only if you are.”

        “Good to see you, too,” I breathed.

        We embraced quickly, and I knew it then. I'd made a friend. In the worst of situations, under fire from an enemy force, I'd made a friend. I liked it. It was a new feeling, and I liked it.

        Wub.

        “What was that?” I asked, looking around.

        “I dunno,” Vinyl said, looking around for the sound with me.

        The sound didn't repeat, although suddenly my back felt a lot less painful. Must have been recovering fast in the melee.

        “Oh, some stallion named Waldo showed up a few seconds ago, said he knew you,” Vinyl told me.

        I had to crack a grin.

        “So the old vet lived, eh? Good for him-”

        “And he's fighting.”

        … Shit. Now I needed to go help him!

        “Where's he at?” I asked, rising to my hooves but still hiding behind my little concrete shield.

        “Over there.” Vinyl pointed at a swirling mass of changelings and blue bolts.

        “Figures, he seemed like the type to jump into the thick of it...” I muttered.

        “Stay here,” I instructed Vinyl. She refused with a shake of her head.

        “Nope, I'm going with you,” she insisted.

        “This is going to get hairy, I really think you-”

        She cut me off. “While its all sweet of you to be caring, I'm a little too pissed at the moment to just sit back. I'm going with you.”

        I smiled. “Well okay then. Follow me,” I told her, getting ready to make a rush towards the fun-fest that Waldo was in.

        I stopped, remembering something. I pulled a pair of vinyl lens glasses from beneath my mane. One of the lens was crushed.

        “Here you go,” I said, giving Vinyl hers shades back. “Sorry they aren't in tip-top condition... I kind of stepped on them...” I said, a sorry chuckle added for impression. Hey, I was actually sorry.

        “Oh... thanks,” she said, laughing as she put them on, pushing them up to the base of her horn.

        And with that, we charged towards Waldo.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Contradiction knocked Chrysalis down again, tears streaming down his face. His emotions were running wild now as he attacked the queen again, tearing new holes into her every time he sent a bolt of magic at her.

        “You never cared at all!” he bellowed. “Never!”

        His hoof punched clean through Chrysalis's stomach.

        “You abandoned me!”

        Another blow, and part of the queen's jaw cracked off.

        “I needed a mother, but you threw me away!”

        A powerful buck to her face sent her flying backwards, sprawling against the concrete.

        “I needed you! Now you shall feel the pain you have brought upon me, mother.”

        Chrysalis was lifted into the air, suspended by Contradiction's magic. Contradiction neared her, until he was staring straight into her eyes.

        “I only wanted your love, but now I see it is too late for that.”

        Chrysalis smirked. “Oh, is that all?”

        Contradiction's eyes shot wide, all too late realizing what was about to happen. He felt a certain kind of magic grab him, one that only changelings could master. It bit into him with a sickening ferocity. Contradiction's magic faltered, dropping Chrysalis as Contradiction staggered backwards.

        And Chrysalis began feeding on Contradiction.

        On his love.


- - - - - - - - - -




        I cleared a hole through the swirling mass of razors and bodies. Vinyl followed behind me, tagged by the purple mare and Scale. The hole I cleared was closed up right behind them, though. There were a LOT of changelings here.

        We fought our way into a shelter of toppled concrete. I looked for an entryway in, anything other than the little slits that were belching rifle pulses. Finally, I found one.

        And immediately had a rifle pound into my muzzle.

        “Ah, whoops. Thought you were one of the shifterbreed,” a younger soldier explained, dragging me in. The rest of my rag-tag gang followed, and the rifle returned to where it had been, firing a steady stream of seemingly infinite rounds.

        The inside of this little rocky hut was small, with six grizzled stallions firing away at the opposing foe. I spotted Waldo sporting a heavy-looking repeating cannon, easily the size of a smaller pony. I fired thunderous cranks of pure plasmic energy.

        “Waldo!” I shouted, getting the red stallion to turn his focus to me. Apparently with his focus came the barrel of his gun.

        “Whoa!” I pushed the end of the weapon back at the hole just as it shot out another slug, causing a changeling right outside the port to explode it a wet THUMP.

        “Ah, nowhere pony. Good to see you made it. Now, we have problem.”

        “As in?” I asked.

        “Buggers keep coming. Can't hold them back much longer.”

        “So...” I fished.

        “So, you must kill queen,” he told me. “With queen gone, they have no orders. Chaos ensues, good chaos. Easy to clean up,” he said with a hearty laugh, followed by the cannon burping out two shots in rapid succession.

        “Ooh! Two shots! This means this good idea!” He explained, a manic glee in his voice. I liked manic glee. It made me seem like the sane one.

        “Okay,” I said, not bothering to argue with him. I just wanted to end all the fighting. I couldn't keep fighting forever. My muscles were already starting to tighten up, the adrenaline rush I'd been experiencing beginning to wear off.

        “Queen be over there, with other shifterbreed. Be careful, he seems dangerous.”

        “I will, Waldo.”

        With that, Waldo and his entire team sent a thick stream of fire right at the entrance, providing me with a clear exit. My team and I rushed through.

        Right before I ran off to combat the queen, though, I turned one last time to Waldo.

        “I need to ask you one last question, Waldo.”

        “Go on.”

        “Is there a secret to finding you?”

        He grinned.

        “There's only one Waldo. Simple as that.”

        I grinned, too. Go figure.

        With that, I rushed off and we charged towards a huge bubble of green energy.

        It was time to meet with the queen.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Contradiction felt his body tear from him. He could see his body spin apart before his eyes. This was the end. He braced himself for it to come, hoping it would be swift.

        He didn't need to mull over what had happened. He'd let his guard down, plain and simple. He'd made a mistake. Now he was going to pay for it.

        His only qualm was that he'd be dying at the hooves of his own mother. Yeah, that sucked.

        And then everything went black.


- - - - - - - - - -







        I couldn't do anything except watch as Contradiction's body unwrapped itself into a long streak of red energy, then be sucked up into the queen's horn like a siphon.

        Screw it if that guy had lied to me about being hurt, he was still just a kid! Ithink... point is, his last words were-

        “MOTHER!!!”

        Yeah, that was sick. His own mother just ate him. I felt like puking. I felt like running off. But more importantly, I felt like getting something very dear to me.

        Revenge.

        My own mother died when I was young. She was a prostitute, so I wasn't too surprised that something like it would happen when a customer go a little upset. But still.

        My mother had cared for me when I was younger. Raising me when my alcoholic dad was out. Guess I was following right in his footsteps, looking at my past life now. I really needed to have a heart-to-heart when everything calmed down a little...

        But for a mother to kill her own son? That sent a surge of rage into me. This wasn't a mother.

        This was a monster.

        The queen's eyes blazed a ghastly green, and she began levitating in the air from pure magical energy. She was overloaded. I needed to take her down, and fast.

        So I threw the iron rod at her. I pierced one of her legs, passed cleanly through. My stomach lurched, however, as the hole began healing itself.

        “Ah, so this is the mysterious Lycii,” she said, facing me.

        Her eyes were scaring the crap out of me.

        “Do I... know you? How do you know my name?”

        You know, the one I'd MADE UP only a day ago.

        “That's right, you don't know anything of this world.” She cackled, making my spine shiver. She was freaking me out, bad.

        “Please, inform me.”

        “From the ancient seers of the past, there was a certain prophecy of a changeling lord who would rise above the rest, who was destined to rule over all changelings. The lord's first test would be to defeat a creature not of these lands, from far away. That creature's name would be Lycii.”

        Great, so I'd just happened to choose the perfect name. Forget that bitch, this new realization was damn disturbing.

        “So you plan on defeating me,” I guessed. It seemed right.

        “But of course,” she confirmed.

        Damn, sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

        “Well, sorry to cut your dreams short, but-”

        I darted to her left and jumped at her, throwing a strong punch at her gut. She took it like a brick wall, stopping me in mid-air. My hoof was going to be sore in the not-too-distant future.

        “Not so fast, my little pony. We have to play a little game first.”

        Suddenly, the air around me turned pitch black.

        “The game is simple. Find your way out of my maze and you win. Give in to the pressure, and I won't even have a fight to fear losing...”

        She cackled, and I found myself in the midst of thick hedges.

        I stuck a hoof through one, and of course there was a brick wall beneath it. No cheating in the maze...

        And as I tried moving my wings, again to no avail, I was facing no flying, as well.

        Perfect.

        I started trotting through the maze, taking turns at random. I wasn't going to let this maze beat me. I marked the ground behind me, to make sure I knew if I'd gone over my own tracks.

        I was in for a long trek.


- - - - - - - - - -


        I lost track of time after a while. The maze must have been HUGE, because I was growing tired of walking and so far hadn't run over my trail yet. I wasn't getting anywhere.

        Finally I hit a familiar path, and groaned in despair. It was the beginning of my trail, where I'd started. This wasn't going to work.

        And no way was I going to give up.

        I felt myself getting angry. Good, I could use anger.

        The earth around me began to crack from a huge implosion of pressure.

        Not so good, I had no idea what that meant!

        I snapped back to focus and realized I was the one creating all that pressure. My wings were out, a orange hue bleeding from them. I felt alive, so much more powerful then I'd ever felt before.

        Good, you're awake then.

        I glanced around. Nopony was nearby. I was alone. Then... who said that?

        “Who's there?” I yelled out.

        Ah, that's right. You wouldn't be able to see me, of course... Let me introduce myself to you. Properly, that is. I'm Contradiction.

        “Ah, the lying son-of-a-power-crazed-bitch. Pleasured.”

        Not entirely my fault. I had my reasons for lying, just as you have yours for... whatever you have them for. Point is, we can both help each other out.

        “Well, I'm here for a while. What's up?” I said as I sat down.

        I wanted revenge on my mother, as I still do, and you need to get out of here.

        “Speaking of here, where am I?”

        Interesting place, this is. This is a suspended reality, like a box made of magic. You can put anything you want into it, and it can never get out.

        “I thought you were going to help me get out,” I growled, “not tell me it's hopeless.”

        I am trying to help you. I just want you to understand how important my help is to you right now.

        “I'm listening.”

        As I was saying, I want revenge. Here's why.

        Suddenly, a new scene flashed through my mind. A small changeling, with blue eyes, playing with a young orange colt. They were running around, playing tag. Suddenly, both of them froze, staring at the queen changeling.

        My mother, Queen Chrysalis...

        A swift bolt of green magic, and the colt fell down, dead.

        … killed the only friend I'd ever made.

        I watched as the scene changed. Chrysalis had a magical hold on Contradiction, and I saw his magic being sapped from him, and his body changed to the same form I'd seen him wear before.

        I knew what had happened. She'd punished him for having a friend. That was... awful.

        She abandoned me after that, gave up my throne. My own mother, she forgot me.

        I could feel Contradiction's sorrow. This wasn't a ploy. I knew he was being sincere.

        “So what do you want me to do?” I asked.

        Defeat her. For me.

        I sighed.

        “I don't like hurting others.”

        Then don't hurt her. Let me do it.

        Oh?

        “And how can I do that?”

        I can get you out of here, but as soon as I do, you have to focus on her. Every ounce of energy you have needs to be concentrated on her. I can use you as a medium to... deal, with her.

        “Are you sure this can work?” I asked.

        Certain.

        He sounded certain, that was for sure.

        “Then I have nothing to lose.”

        Except maybe your life.

        “You trying to talk me out of it?” I asked, irritated.

        Just letting you know the risks.

        I snorted. “Don't.”

        I knew Contradiction was smiling. Suddenly, I felt my body compress itself inwards. He was sending me back.


- - - - - - - - - -




        Chrysalis never saw it coming.

        I leaped out of thin air not two feet from her, and established the link with her.

        Contradiction was right on cue. I felt energy crackle around me, and suddenly a beam appeared between Chrysalis's horn and the base of my wings. From the beam, a crack of energy shot out.

        That crack was Contradiction.

        “For your sins,” he began, charging Chrysalis.

        “Your punishment shall be grave.”

        His horn pierced Chrysalis's heart, and in the split second she had before Contradiction released his final spurts of magic, I saw her eyes widen in shock. It wasn't a sudden sorrow for what she'd done to her son, not even a little apology.

        It was cold-hard fear. Sad, pathetic fear.

        I pitied her.

        And then, it was over.

        Chrysalis's body imploded on itself, and an eery silence descended.

        Contradiction looked terrible. He was a lot smaller than I'd last seen him, and he was in his stallion form, not changeling form. He looked young, almost as young as the colt I'd seen in his memory.

        This was the Contradiction from when he'd been cursed to wear only one guise.

        “It's... over,” he stated.

        But it wasn't. Changelings all around us rose to their hooves, growling. We were surrounded.

        “How're we going to get out?” Vinyl asked, backing up into me. I could feel her trembling. Hell, I was trembling.

        “Hold your breath.”

        And I did.


- - - - - - - - - -




        We popped back in the middle of some kind of camp. I fell down, rolling through snow. Contradiction ate shit, landing face first. By some celestial intervention, Vinyl and the purple mare landed on their hooves, with Scale on the purple pony's back.

        “Where are we?” I asked the purple pony.

        “My camp,” she said.

        It was simple. A single tent, along with some archeological gear strung up on a dead tree stump. A long-dead fire was burned out in the center. The snow was patchy, as though it'd been disappearing recently.

        “Homey,” I stated bluntly.

        “Hey, I try,” the purple pony said in reply.

        She dug into a bag with the archeological gear, and pulled out a shiny disc. It looked like a platter.

        “What's that for-”

        She tapped it with her makeshift horn, and it sparked to life, showing the reflection of a deep royal blue pony with a fancy crown on her head. She had a horn, so I guessed she was a unicorn. Her mane was a darker blue, like the night sky, with lights that looked almost like stars winking through it.

        “Princess Luna,” the purple pony began.

        “Ah, Retro. It has been too long. What-” Luna stopped when she saw us.

        “Oh dear... Tia! We require you!”

        Luna stepped out of view, and was replaced by a pearl white unicorn, with a waving multicolored mane.

        “Report,” she stated.

        “Princess Celestia, changelings have attacked Fillydelphia. I arrived in time to see these two-” she maneuvered the magic mirror to show me and Contradiction to Celestia- “defeat Queen Chrysalis. I have no idea how she managed to return to our lands, but she hopefully wont be back for a while.”

        “This is... disturbing, but good news. Thank you, my student. Luna shall take over this.”

        “Yes, princess.”

        Celestia disappeared from view.

        “Student? To a princess? How does that work?” I asked, but the purple mare shushed me.

        Luna returned to the view.

        “Well, I expect a full report by the time you return to Canterlot. I shall see you soon, my friend.” With that, Luna smiled. The purple mare returned it, and the mirror fizzled out.

        As she put it away, Vinyl lost it.

        “WHATS GOING ON HERE!? Who are you?! How do you know the princesses?! Wait, how are you a student?! Out here?! How-”

        “You're DJ PON-3, right?” The purple mare suddenly asked, looking like an excited fan-mare.

        “Well, yeah, but-” Vinyl toppled backwards as the purple mare shoved her face right up to Vinyl's.

        “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! I am SUCH a fan! We'll have so much to talk about on our trip!”

        She happily trotted off, packing the gear that surrounded us.

        “What does that mean?” I asked nervously. “Where are we going?”

        “We're going to go meet with the princesses, of course!”

        “Just like that?” Vinyl asked, an eyebrow raised.

        “Well DUH! They asked me to see them!”

        “I don't recall them actually telling you that,” I informed her. She brushed me off.

        “You guys just defeated Chrysalis. AGAIN. Without the help of the elements of harmony! Do you realize how huge this is?!”

        “Yeah,” Vinyl huffed, “Now I've seen her been defeated twice. Big deal.

        “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you've seen her twice? That must mean-” the purple mare sucked in a huge lungful of air.

        “You were at the royal wedding!” She exclaimed.

        “Well duh, I Dee-Jay-ed the after-party. Kinda was there the whole time.”

        “Ah, of course,” the purple mare said rather embarrassed, punching herself in the face with a hoof. I shall call it a facehoof and it shall henceforth be used in excess.

        The purple mare finished packing up her gear, and after giving the area good once-over, she started trotting off in a seemingly random direction.

        “C'mon!” she called over her shoulder.

        Vinyl looked at me. I shrugged.

        “After you,” I said, waving a hoof for her to go ahead of me. She flashed a cheeky grin.

        “Such a gentlecolt,” she said sarcastically.

        I followed her as we created a line of travelers. Was it just me, or was Vinyl swaying her hips just a little-

        Nope. Not gonna look. She's a cartoon pony, it's just weird.

        “So, how about that name?” I asked the purple pony. “And while you're at it, how about where we're going.”

        “Well, I guess seeing as you did defeat the changeling queen the least I can do is tell you. But first, what's your name?”

        I sighed with a smile at her playful attitude. It was refreshingly childish.

        “It's Lycii.”

        “Well, Lycii, we're going to Canterlot.”

        She looked back over her shoulder.

        “And as for my name, it's Retro. Steampunk Retro.”




- END BLESSED DECEPTION -