Prologue

A/N: Before any of you start reading, I'd like to say a couple of things.

This story is a sequel to my last fan fic, "A New Friend". If you have not read it yet, then it probably would be a good idea to go back and read it before continuing on this story. Although, this prologue takes place before my last story, so it'd be okay to read just this chapter first.

For those of you who have read "A New Friend", then you're good to go. The story will begin with this prologue, which takes place before the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.

I figured that I should give the story of what had happened before, so you guys could gain a better understanding of where Princess Naractia is coming from. Anyways, let us begin!

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On the top of one of the Equestrian mountains, Princess Naractia stood beside her mother, Queen Chrysalis. They both looked down from where they stood at the large city below them. The ponies that lived in Equestria called the city Canterlot, the capital of their land and home to their leaders, the royal alicorn sisters. However, all of this meant nothing to the royals of the changeling hive.

Naractia squinted her eyes at the city in distance. Below, she could see the ponies roaming the streets below, care-free and oblivious to the world around them. Their life-styles sickened the changeling princess to the core. If any changeling in the swarm wanted live like these pathetic ponies, they would be considered weak and be eaten alive by the other drones. There was no room for any weakness within the hive.

However, the ponies in Canterlot would be doing other things, aside from the meaningless lives they led. The changeling spies that Chrysalis had sent throughout Equestria had gathered information saying that a wedding was to be held in the royal palace. The niece of the alicorn princesses, Princess Cadence, who also was an alicorn, was to be married to the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, Shining Armor.

Chrysalis had found this as the perfect opportunity to strike. And now, after careful days of investigating, the changeling swarm was ready to begin their plans.

But as Naractia looked down on Canterlot, she took note of the hundreds of soldiers that were spread throughout the city. From the look of things, they would be ready for any attack on the city. Naractia continued to observe the ponies below, speaking over towards her mother, "Are you sure that we should attack this city? There are others all across Equestria, less fortified than Canterlot."

Chrysalis nodded, "Yes, Naractia. We will start our invasion here. Once we take Canterlot and defeat these ponies' beloved princesses, it will be all too easy to take the rest of the Equestria."

Out of the corner of her eye, Naractia saw green wisps of fire suddenly consume Chrysalis. Once the flames had subsided, a brown, earth pony mare stood where her mother had been before.

Chrysalis, in her disguise, turned to her daughter, "Come, Naractia. It's time for our plans to be put into action."

Naractia focused on her body as green flames erupted around her as well. When the fire disappeared, she looked like a yellow mare with a green mane. With her change complete, Naractia nodded, "Yes, mother."

The two changelings galloped down to Canterlot, readying themselves for the events that would unfold.

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Chrysalis and Naractia reached the front gate of Canterlot within a few minutes. There were only two soldiers posted at the gate, and Naractia knew she could take them out with ease. However, they weren't here to fight. Their main task was to send fear into the city.

Chrysalis approached the soldiers with a smirk on her face, with Naractia staying slightly behind her. The soldiers took notice of the strangers, but stood their ground at the gate.

Chrysalis stopped in front of the guards, "Will you allow my daughter and I to enter into the city?"

"Do you have any identification?" One of the soldiers questioned.

Chrysalis chuckled at him, "But I don't believe that I need any." She began to walk through the gate, but was quickly stopped as the two soldiers barred the way with their spears.

"Sorry. No identification, no entry."

Chrysalis felt a wide grin begin to grow on her face. This was exactly what she'd been hoping for. This was the perfect opportunity to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who was watching.

Suddenly, Chrysalis burst into green flames, not changing, but simply making an illusion. But illusion or not, the guards were caught off guard (No pun intended) and fell backwards from the flaming mare. Everypony in town that could see the gate was now staring at the massive column of green fire, fear evident on their faces.

With everypony watching, the flames shrunk down in size, but did not completely die. Now the changeling queen had the appearance of light green mare, with a mane made of green flames. Her eyes glowed with an unearthly green, and they seemed to burn as they looked at the two guards of the gate.

Chrysalis sneered at the frightened soldiers, "Must I make it clear? I don't need identification." She laughed evilly at their expressions, as they were conflicted between fear and awe, "Fortunately for you, I don't plan on entering the city yet. I'll be back to claim your pathetic kingdom, and I won't be alone next time."

The changeling queen raised her voice for all to hear, "Let this be a warning to all of you pathetic weaklings. Canterlot will fall, and your precious land of Equestria will be destroyed, and all of this will be done by my army."

Chrysalis laughed evilly, and Naractia couldn't help but chuckle at the horrified expressions of the onlookers. Chrysalis lowered her voice to where only the soldiers could hear, "You'd best warn your pathetic princesses. However, they won't be able to help any of you once I'm through."

Suddenly, Chrysalis erupted into flames once more, which was the cue for Naractia to run. Amidst the confusion of the ponies, Naractia and Chrysalis changed back into their original forms and flew as fast as they could around the outside of the wall, unseen by any of the onlookers.

As the two changelings flew around the wall, they could hear an alarm sound within the city, warning the rest of the ponies of possible danger. This was the distraction that both Chrysalis and Naractia had hoped for. Soon, the royal changelings reached the wall that stood on the outside of the palace.

Naractia flew up and glanced over the barrier, finding no guards around due to their distraction. Then, she spotted the balcony of Princess Cadence's room, their destination.

The changeling princess waved to her mother, giving the signal that it was clear, and they both flew fast until they were on the balcony. They hid to the side of the archway that led out onto the balcony. Naractia cautiously looked inside Princess Cadence's quarters, to find the alicorn princess inside. However, she wasn't alone. Her fiance, Captain Shining Armor, was standing by her.

Chrysalis chuckled to herself, "This is going more perfectly than I had imagined." She turned to Naractia, "Distract Shining Armor while take care of the princess. We need the captain unharmed, and the princess locked away."

Naractia nodded and buzzed her wings as she prepared herself. Chrysalis gave the signal and Naracta flew into the room at top speed. Suddenly, the two ponies inside the room turned to see a giant, bug-like creature flying straight for Shining Armor. Without any time to react, the captain was tackled into the wall by the changeling.

Shining Armor landed hard, knocking the wind from his lungs. His attacker pinned him to the ground with its hooves, which were covered in several holes. The captain struggled under the changeling's hold, but then he spotted another one, much larger than the one on top of him. He turned his head towards Cadence, "Run! Tell Princess Celestia we're under attack! I'll be fine!"

Cadence turned towards the balcony, wings outstretched, but then she was blocked by Chrysalis.

The changeling queen laughed as she closed and locked all exits from the room with her magic, "I'm sorry, Princess Cadence, but I can't have you leave."

Cadence snorted at Chrysalis, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Chrysalis smirked at the alicorn, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Queen Chrysalis, queen of the changelings. I have traveled far with my swarm for food to feed our people."

Cadence cleared her throat, "Well, I'm sure we could provide food for your subjects, but-"

Chrysalis cut her off, "You do not understand, princess. We will only feed off of the love of others. When we feed off of a creature's love, we grow stronger in our power. You could call us changelings a parasite of sorts."

The queen laughed, "My subjects and I have traveled over many lands, draining each one we pass through of all love and life. But when we arrived in Equestria, there was so much love in the land that it was almost mouth-watering. Once my changelings drain a single town in Equestria, we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of. And so, we have decided to begin our invasion here, in Canterlot."

Shining Armor grunted as Naractia held him, but several times he had come close to breaking out of her hold. He glared at Chrysalis, "You will lose. Princess Celestia will stop you."

Chrysalis tsked at the captain, "Oh, but Celestia won't know about my changelings or myself until it is too late. You see, we changelings have the unique ability to change into any pony that we want." Suddenly, Chrysalis was consumed in green fire as she changed. When the flames died away, everyone was looking at the changeling in the form of Princess Cadence.

Both Shining Armor and Cadence stared in shock at the changeling, while chrysalis only laughed harder, "You see, I plan to impersonate you until the time comes for my changelings to attack. But before then," Chrysalis's horn glowed in a green aura, "I need to dispose of you!"

Suddenly, Shining Armor kicked off Naractia just as Chrysalis fired her spell. Dazed, Naractia looked back to see Shining Armor dive in between Cadence and the spell. Chrysalis's spell hit the captain square in the chest, sending him sprawling to the side. The captain landed against the hard, polished floor, his body smoking slightly from the spell he had taken for Cadence.

Chrysalis laughed, "What a fool. He took the spell instead of you. However, now that dear Shining Armor is out of the way for the moment, it's time to send you to a place where no one will find you."

Cadence's scream was muffled as Chrysalis engulfed the princess in a ring of fire, which slowly dragged her down to the forgotten caves of Canterlot.

Naractia was glad that the first phase of the plan had gone accordingly to plan, but something didn't feel right. A little thing tugged at her conscious from the back of her mind. When Naractia had watched Shining Armor take the spell for Cadence, a strange feeling had come over her. The changeling princess couldn't describe it, but it had something to do with what the captain had done for his fiance. It made her feel empty and cold.

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A few days had passed since Naractia and Chrysalis had attacked Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. Now Chrysalis was going around Canterlot, acting like Cadence, and Shining Armor was under a mind control spell.

During her few days in Canterlot, Naractia had been hiding in Cadence's room as a newly hired maid. She hardly left the confines of the room, fearing that somepony would reveal her as a fake. But since she never left the room, she had plenty of time to herself and her thoughts.

For the past few days, Naractia had been continually puzzling over that strange feeling that she had when Shining Armor had taken that spell for Cadence. It was all that she could think about. Even though she had spent all of the past few days thinking about it, she couldn't figure out what it had been or why it bothered her so much.

"Ugh," She bitterly moaned, "Why can't I figure this out?!" She paced around the room in the form of a chestnut earth pony, her disguise. It was the late afternoon and Naractia could hear everypony in the city preparing themselves for the upcoming wedding.

The changeling walked over onto the balcony, and looked out over Canterlot, which was now covered in a purple dome of magic. Ever since she and Chrysalis had made the threat against the city, Shining Armor's protection spell had protected the city.

Naractia sighed as she looked down at the city. Several ponies were going about their businesses in the streets, carefree. The changeling princess would have called them fools in her mind, yet now, she wasn't too sure what to think of them. They seemed to have something that she didn't, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

As Naractia looked out from the balcony, something caught her attention. Down below her, in the royal Canterlot garden, she spotted two ponies. One was a large, unicorn stallion and the other was a smaller, pegasus mare. They were sitting together under a tree, holding each other closely. Naractia peered over the balcony to get a better view, careful not to be seen by the two below her.

The changeling princess could see the two were talking to each other, but she couldn't hear what they said from the balcony. But then, she watched as the stallion used his magic to grab a flower from a nearby patch. The small flower floated over to them until it was in front of the mare. The pegasus smiled as she took the flower from him, holding it up to smell it.

All of this would have disgusted Naractia before, but ever since she came to Canterlot, she was starting to doubt what she knew. She continued to watch the couple, feeling the same feeling of emptiness that she had experienced from Shining Armor and Cadence.

The two ponies in the garden below continued to talk to each other, but then they stopped for a moment as they both looked dreamily at each other. But then, Naractia watched as they did something that she'd never seen before. The two leaned forward and closed their eyes as they planted their lips against each other's.

Naractia knew this to be something called a kiss, which was only done between ponies that had a deep affection for each other. As she watched, her mind was brought back to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. In an instant she realized what it was that made her have that strange feeling. It was envy, for the love that the ponies gave each other.

The changeling princess was envious of their love. Any love that a changeling would receive would have been taken by force, to be fed on by the parasites. This love was different than that, as it was more pure. The love Naracita envied was one that would be freely given to her, by friends or family. In the changeling hive, there was no love to be shown, even from her own mother, Chrysalis.

Suddenly, Naracita realized why the ponies of Equestria seemed happy and care-free. It was because they had love given to them from their friends.

Naractia was overwhelmed by her discovery, and ran back into the room, collapsing in a corner. She huddled herself together, quietly whispering, "We're wrong to attack them. We hide in their skins and feed on their love. We're all just fakes. They don't deserve violence, and we don't deserve their love." She felt tears begin to stream down her face, which was surprising. She had never cried before.

She sobbed as she made a vow to herself, "I won't help my mother hurt anypony any more. I'll stop her, even if it kills me. I won't be a fake."

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The sun had set and it became night. Naractia stood up from her corner, wiping away the tear streaks on her face. She was still upset, but now she just felt a mild sorrow. She walked into the center of the room, as the door suddenly burst open.

Naractia jumped and whirled around to see Chrysalis, still looking like Cadence. From the look on Chrysalis's face, she was angry; Very Angry.

"Naractia!" The queen barked, "I need you to do something."

"What, mother?" Naractia said, trying to hide all emotion.

"Yesterday, a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle came to Canterlot to help with the wedding with her friends. She is Shining Armor's sister. I knew that she suspected me when I first saw her, but I did nothing about it." She stomped her hoof in anger, "But tonight, she tried to reveal me in front of everyone. Luckily, I was able to keep anyone from believing her. But now, I have a task for you to fulfill."

Naractia cringed as she knew where this was going, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you dispose of Twilight Sparkle, and take her place in the wedding."

Naractia's heart skipped a beat, No, I... I can't do that. I promised that I wouldn't be a fake. She looked at her mother, seething with anger. No, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to be a fake.

Naractia put her hoof down, "No!"

Chrysalis gasped in shock, "What did you just say?!"

The changeling princess shook her head, "I'm not going to impersonate another pony. I'm not going to help you hurt anyone again!"

"You dare defy my orders?!" Chrysalis screamed, "You ungrateful little twit. You've grown a soft spot for the ponies in Equestria, haven't you?!" She spat out, "Sympathy for these pathetic ponies is a sign of weakness. There is no room for weakness in my hive!"

Chrysalis's horn glowed as it fired a spell at Naractia, sending the changeling princess flying out onto the balcony. Naractia stopped as she hit the railing of the balcony, making her head spin. She quickly looked back at Chrysalis to see the queen's glowing horn pointed at the her.

Chrysalis glared at Naractia, "I don't care if you're my daughter or not. I banish you from the hive. Leave Canterlot and don't come back." Naractia felt the hold of Chrysalis's magic as she was raised into the air, "And if I see you again, I will kill you."

Suddenly, Chrysalis flung Naractia through the air and into the protective purple dome surrounding Canterlot. Naractia passed through easily, seeing as the spell was meant to keep everything out and not inside. She changed back to her changeling form in mid-air and powered her wings to slow her fall.

Naractia lighted down on the ground far outside of the protection spell. She sighed as she looked helplessly at Canterlot. There was a storm brewing inside the city, and she was the only one that knew. But now that she was outside of the protection spell, there was no other way to get inside.

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Naractia watched what happened over the next 24 hours from atop the Canterlot mountains, far from the action. She saw the swarm surround Shining Armor's protection spell as they began to hammer away at it. She watched the shield shatter and the changelings race into the streets of the city. She saw the chaos that followed afterwards, and she lost all hope for Canterlot.

But then, Shining Armor's protection spell appeared again, dispelling all of the changelings out of the city. Naractia watched as her swarm, as well as her mother, were thrown outside the border of Equestria and into the bad-lands.

From then, Naractia followed her hive, disguising herself as another changeling drone. Soon, all of the changelings gathered back together in the bad-lands, under the rule of Chrysalis. However, the queen never discovered that her daughter was again among them.

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A/N: So there you have it. This is Naractia's back story.

You need to take into account all of this before any of you read the rest of the story.

The next chapter will start two months after the events that happened in my last story, "A New Friend"

So, if any of you didn't listen to me back in my first note and continued to read this prologue anyway, it'd be a good idea to read it before you read the later chapters.

Banished Once More

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A/N: Okay this is the last time that I'm going to warn you readers.

If you haven't read my last story, you should go back and read it. If you continue to read this story without reading "A New Friend", then you are going to be very confused.

Otherwise, you're good to go. I won't write this warning anymore. You'd think after two chapters, some people would take a hint.

Anyways, let's get this show on the road!

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Naractia wandered through the tunnels of the new changeling hive. This was a habit that she'd developed ever since the swarm had begun to gather again. The hundreds of changelings that had returned now were seething in anger from being thrown across the bad-lands for a second time.

It had been almost two months since Rowan and his friends had defeated Chrysalis. The changeling queen had been badly wounded, but Naractia, feeling sympathy for her mother, had spent the past weeks healing her, as well as helping to gather the remaining changelings that had been scattered across the bad-lands. Chrysalis might have thought that this was Naractia's way of redeeming herself, but the changeling princess had other intentions. She wanted all of the changelings back together so she could keep an eye on them and prevent them from entering Equestria again.

Chrysalis had recovered from the injuries that she had acquired, somewhat. However, the power of the Elements of Harmony had drained the changeling queen of her magic, including her ability to change into a pony. Along with this, she had received a scar from Rowan, who had punched a hoof into her face. The scar was a single crack in her exoskeleton that ran down between her eyes.

As well as working on the tasks of gathering the changelings and healing Chrysalis, Naractia had given herself the job of finding another hive, suitable for the changeling drones to survive in. She was actually surprised to have found the cave that now served as the hive. It was about the same distance away from the Equestrian border as the old hive, but the new hive was situated a few miles away from the old one. And now that Naractia had gathered up the last of the remaining changelings, the new hive was buzzing with the sound of a thousand changeling wings.

Naractia had spent the last week caring for her mother, but when she wasn't, she took strolls down the hundreds of tunnels of the hive. This wasn't to get exercise or because she was bored, but rather it was to keep her eye on the activities of the changeling drones. She didn't want any of them to sneak away and attack somepony in Equestria. She knew that they would if the chance was given to them.

Naractia had finished her usual rounds through the hive, and started to head back down the tunnel leading to the queen's chamber. Her wings powered her through the tunnel at high speed, throwing her green mane back in the air. She laughed as she recalled that for the past several months, she had been disguised as a drone. After all of that time, being in disguise, she had forgotten what it was like to have any hair. But now that her mother had accepted her back into the hive, she was back to her original form.

Soon, the entrance to Chrysalis's chamber came into view, and Naractia lighted down onto the floor of the tunnel. Once she was on the ground, she began to walk towards the chamber entrance, but then a voice stopped her.

"So, you've decided to come out of hiding."

Naractia turned to see a single changeling standing in the shadows of the tunnel. She narrowed her eyes as she recognized the voice, "You're that spy that Chrysalis put in Ponyville. You stole the Liber Tenebrarum from me."

The spy laughed, "That's as close of an identification for me, seeing as I don't have a name." His laugh subsided and was replaced by a frown, "Although, I didn't think that the queen would have allowed a weakling like you back into the hive."

Naractia glared at the changeling, "What do you want?"

The spy sighed, "I'm just letting you know that not everyone in the hive is happy with your return, especially me. You see, when I brought back the Liber Tenebrarum, I expected a reward from Chrysalis. But she told me that I would receive it in a few days, after she had full control of the book's power. But since you came back, the queen has all but forgotten about me."

Naractia sighed, "So you're just angry with me because you didn't get your reward?"

The spy chuckled, "No, not for that reason alone. When you weren't able to bring the book to the queen, you tried to win back her acceptance by helping her recover from her injuries. It might work for now, but once the queen doesn't need you anymore, she'll get rid of you."

He pointed a leg towards the changeling princess, "You of all changelings know that when a weakness exists in the hive, it doesn't last long. If I were you, I'd leave now and save myself the pain of death."

The spy gave Naractia a mocked bow, "I must be off, *princess*." He spat out Naractia's title, and flew away into the depths of the hive.

Naractia shook her head as she whispered to herself, "You don't know me, or why I came back. No changeling would understand why, except me."

She turned back to the chamber and walked inside. In the chamber, was a stone pedestal that served as a crude throne, and on top of it, was Chrysalis. Her face was contorted in anger, making the scar on her face scrunch into a cruel shape.

Naractia stepped up before the throne, "Hello, mother."

Chrysalis said nothing as she looked down on her daughter with narrowed eyes. Naractia, surprised by her silence, began to feel uneasy at the angry expression Chrysalis held.

But then Chrysalis spoke, "Naractia, I have something to ask you.."

"Yes, mother?" Naractia wasn't liking the sound of this.

"I have heard rumors wandering throughout the hive; reasons of why you came back to me after I banished you. Many say you came back to redeem yourself. Others say that you came back to steal my throne." Chrysalis leaned forward towards Naractia, "And I want to know, why did you come back?"

Naracita felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on her as she stared at her mother in silence, Should I tell her? Would she understand? And more importantly, would she banish me instead?

The changeling princess swallowed down the lump in her throat, "Mother, I came back for one reason, and one alone. I came back because you are *my mother*."

Chrysalis didn't seem phased as she continued to hold her fierce gaze, "I do not understand. Explain yourself."

"Well, you're my mother and the only family that I have. I came back and nursed you back to health because I... well, I love you." Naractia explained, trying to keep herself from showing any emotion at all, whether it be fear or sympathy.

Chrysalis looked down at Naractia, "You feel love for me... Is that right?"

"Yes."

Chrysalis sighed, "Naractia, you should know that no changeling can feel love. You have deluded yourself in the ideas of those pathetic ponies in Equestria. Changelings only feed off of love from other creatures, because they are incapable of showing love. And wherever our hive goes, the love dies along with the creatures that held it. This is all because..."

Suddenly the queen shot into the air and landed hard onto the ground in front of Naractia, making large cracks in the floor of the chamber. Chrysalis screamed in a horrific voice, "Love is a weakness!"

Naractia stumbled back, startled by her mother's outburst, "No, love isn't a weakness."

"Then why are those pathetic ponies that love so much so easy to frighten? With our power, they deserve to be crushed."

"No! We don't have to hurt them! They are good and innocent! What we do is evil. We don't need to-"

"Shut up, you weakling!" Chrysalis barked, cutting Naractia off, "I want to know why you would lower yourself to being a traitor."

Naractia glared at her mother, "When I was in Canterlot, I saw something that I wanted, which everypony in the city had. They had love from their families and friends. I know what the love that we steal is like, but this love is different. It isn't taken, but rather given. I want to experience that love for myself."

"Bah! This is nonsense! No changeling can ever show love. It's not in our nature." Chrysalis let out a high-pitched shriek that only a changeling could make. Naractia's eyes widened as she realized that Chrysalis had made a signal call, and now the changelings in the hive would be coming soon.

Chrysalis glared at Naractia, "When I was injured by Rowan and his friends, I needed you to heal me. But now, I'm back to my full strength, and I won't be needing you anymore. My changelings will tear you apart, limb from limb. And then after that, I'll destroy Rowan and the rest of Equestria." Chrysalis let out an evil laugh as the tunnels of the hive became loud with the buzz of changeling wings.

Naractia crouched back swiftly, pointing her horn at Chrysalis. Her horn glowed softly with a green aura as she readied her spell, "Sorry, mother, but I won't let that happen. You don't have your magic anymore, so you can't stop me."

Chrysalis only laughed, "You fool, you know no magic that can save you. You will die anyway, so why even try to escape?"

Naractia let out a small grin, "Actually, I know more than you think. Back before you got the Liber Tenebrarum, I ripped out a page. I used it to learn a couple of spells, using shadow magic."

Chrysalis let out an angry snort, "What are you talking about? The Liber Tenebrarum is destroyed. There's not a single bit of it left in existence."

"No you're wrong. One page survived, and I learned shadow magic from it." Naractia smiled as she saw a surprised look appear on Chrysalis's face. She couldn't help but gloat, "And you know what, I don't even have the page anymore. I gave it back to its original owner."

Chrysalis let out a startled gasp, "You mean..."

Naractia nodded, "That's right. Rowan has it, back in Equestria." Naractia felt the buzzing of wings reverberate into the chamber, "Now if you'll excuse me, I don't plan to die today."

Naractia turned back to the tunnel that emptied into the chamber, horn glowing as she readied her spell. Soon, in the dim tunnel, she could see the swarm of changelings approach at high speed. Wasting no time, she let her spell loose and a green beam of magic shot out from her horn.

The beam didn't hit any of the oncoming changelings as it exploded against the ceiling of the tunnel. However, Naractia hadn't been aiming for any of the changelings. It was in her nature that she didn't want to hurt anyone, not even the changelings.

The beam of magic had exploded against the ceiling of the tunnel, causing large boulders to fall down in front of the oncoming swarm. The massive boulders blocked most of the tunnel, making the swarm screech to a halt. Several of the changelings crashed into each other, due to the sudden stop, which disoriented most of them.

Naractia was pleased with her work, but then she spotted a small space open between the boulders. Now, time to get out of here. Naractia powered her wings and flew through the opening in the boulders. She entered into the tunnel and flew as fast as she could.

Far behind her, she heard Chrysalis scream, "Kill Her! I Want Her Dead!"

The changelings behind Naractia quickly recovered from their confusion and began to pursue Naractia. Naractia beat her wings even faster, building speed greater than the changelings behind her. Flying faster than she had ever flown before, she navigated herself through the hundreds of tunnels of the hive.

She laughed as she found that she knew every corner of the new hive. I guess those walks I took really paid off. But then her thoughts were cut off as she heard the changelings behind her start to catch up. Naractia cursed to herself, They're going to catch me sooner or later, unless I do something fast. I need to slow them down.

Naractia pointed her horn to the ceiling of the tunnel above her. She fired a beam of magic, which exploded in the ceiling above her as she flew past. Boulders dropped down behind the fleeing changeling, blocking the tunnel like the time before.

Even though her pursuers were slowed down for the moment, Naractia didn't falter in her speed. She raced through the tunnels of the hive. But then, she saw the light of day begin to trickle down into the hive as she neared the exit to the hive. In a large burst to effort, Naractia propelled her wings, flying her out of the hive and into the light of day.

Naractia allowed herself a moment to catch her breath and she landed behind a large boulder. She breathed deeply as she looked around at the bad-lands. The new hive was situated in the center of a vast desert, which was dotted with boulders, like the one that Naractia was hiding behind now.

Her breathing slowed as she managed to catch her breath, "Chrysalis wants revenge on Rowan and his friends, and now she wants me dead, too." The changeling sighed, "I hoped that this wouldn't happen. But now, I need to get out of here and warn Rowan."

With no time to lose, Naractia beat her wings and took to the sky. Once she was high above the desert floor, she turned towards the direction of the Equestrian border. Leaving the hive behind her, Naractia flew through the air, towards her destination; Ponyville.

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The changeling spy looked out from his hiding spot to see Naractia fly away into the distance. A wide smile spread across his face, My plan worked perfectly. All that I had to do was tell those rumors to the queen, which would make her question the motives of Naractia. And now, Chrysalis wants her dead, He chuckled to himself, And as for me, I can finally claim the long awaited reward that I deserve.

The spy turned to the three changeling drones that he'd brought with him, before chaos broke out in the hive. Pointing a fore-leg at the fleeing princess, he ordered them, "Track her down. Do not let her detect you. She needs to think that she's safe from danger. And then when that happens, seize her and bring her back to me."

The three drones grinned wickedly as they powered their wings and took off into the air, following Naractia's course to Equestria.

The changeling spy laughed to himself as he watched his minions chase after the princess, "Keep running, Naractia. You'll never be able to come back now. A weakling like you has nowhere to go in this world."

He beat his wings and flew into the air. He turned back towards the hive and dove down into the depths of the cavern, planning in his mind how he was going to relay this news to Chrysalis. Hopefully, if he played his cards right, he could get his reward along with so much more.

Luna's Request

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Rowan sat at the desk in his study, busy with his daily task of copying the last page of the Liber Tenebrarum. Ever since the rest of the book had been destroyed, he had busied himself with copying all of the information it showed each day. On his desk was the page, a brown book that was mostly blank except for the things that Rowan wrote in it, and two different scrolls.

Rowan's book, which he'd named "The Book of Shadows", served as his replacement for the Liber Tenebrarum. Everyday, when the page of the Liber Tenebrarum changed, he would copy the information from it to The Book of Shadows, slowly rebuilding the lost tome of shadow magic.

The two scrolls that he had on the desk were letters. Everyday when he copied the page of the Liber Tenebrarum, he'd copy the same information onto both of the letters. Afterwards, he would send both of the letters to their destinations, with the help of Spike.

The first letter was his report to his teacher, Princess Luna. Along with the copied information from the page of the Liber Tenebrarum, Rowan would write to his teacher any discoveries that the page had not revealed.

The second letter was a report of his findings, which was to be sent to the professors at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. About a month ago, the school had contacted Rowan, asking if they could study his findings on shadow magic. They promised that if he sent them a report everyday, then they'd pay him for his research.

Since Rowan had been in the need of a job, he asked Princess Luna if it was acceptable if he took the offer. Luna approved of the idea, and now Rowan had a steady income of bits. With his new way to earn money, he now had money to buy what he needed, as well as a few things extra. After only a month of getting paid, Rowan was able to buy some other things for his house.

Rowan sat at his desk, reading the page of the Liber Tenebrarum while using his magic to write with three seprate quills. Each quill wrote the exact same thing, one quill each to write in his book, the report for Princess Luna, and the report for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It was difficult for him to copy the page like this, but it was more efficient than writing the same thing three times, one after another. So Rowan had to do this task in complete silence, so that he wouldn't lose focus on his magic.

However, with this way of writing, Rowan had to focus more on what to have his quills write, rather than what the page actually said. He would phase out any information that came to him as he copied the page. But usually after he was done copying the page, he'd go back through the Book of Shadows to see the information that he'd transcribed.

It was late in the morning when Rowan finished copying. Sighing with the relief that he was finished, "Man, even after a month, this is starting to get old." The gray unicorn put away the quills and placed The Book of Shadows on the book shelf of the study.

Turning back to his desk, Rowan picked up the page of the Liber Tenebrarum. Using his magic, he accessed his storage spell and deposited the page in it. He never went anywhere without the page, because he didn't want a repeat of the changeling incident that happened a couple of months ago.

He picked up the two letters, sealed them with a ribbon, and stowed them away in his storage spell as well. He smiled at his completed work, "Okay, I better find Spike so he can send my letters."

A bark suddenly came up from the corner of the study. Rowan turned to look at Shade, his pet shadow wolf, who sat in his corner on a pillow that Rowan bought for him. Shade let out a short, impatient yip.

Rowan looked curiously at Shade, "What is it, boy?"

The wolf quickly glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall of the study. Rowan followed Shade's gaze and his eyes widened as he read the time.

"Oh, I forgot!" Rowan face-hoofed himself, "I was supposed to meet Caramel and Thunderlane for lunch!" He quickly raced out of the room, shouting goodbye to Shade as he ran past. Shade merely shrugged and went back to his morning nap. Being a nocturnal creature in a day-loving environment was really draining for him.

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Rowan sighed to himself as he galloped through Ponyville, on his way to the local Cafe. He had completely forgotten about his lunch with Caramel and Thunderlane.

Ever since the whole changeling incident two months ago, Rowan had been feeling the need for other friends. He wanted friends who could actually relate to him. Sure the main six were good friends, but Rowan needed some guy friends who were like him.

But then, his usual friends, the main six, had gone out of town, due to the sudden appearance of the Crystal Empire. He had asked if he could come as well, but Luna had disagreed since she believed that it would get in the way of transcribing the Liber Tenebrarum. That's when Rowan started to hang out with Caramel and Thunderlane.

Rowan let out a sigh of relief when the cafe came into view. As he got closer to the cafe, Rowan could see Caramel and Thunderlane sitting at a table, waiting for him. They both noticed Rowan, and waved him over.

Rowan gave the two ponies a sheepish smile as he reached the table, "Sorry, guys. Lunch completely slipped my mind. You know, since I was-"

"-Copying the Liber Tenebrarum." Caramel finished for him, rolling his eyes. Then he smiled, "Yeah, we sort of figured that."

Thunderlane let out a chuckle as Rowan sat down, "Seriously, dude. Everything that you do involves that book. I swear, you spend more time reading than Twilight Sparkle, and that's saying something. You've really got to get out more."

Rowan rolled his eyes, "I've already told you. It's important that I get each page of the Liber Tenebrarum copied, otherwise the information it contains could be lost for who knows how long." He cleared his throat, changing to a different subject, "So, have you guys ordered your food yet? You know that you didn't have to wait for me."

Caramel chuckled, "Yeah, we knew that. That's why we ordered for us, as well as for you."

Rowan lifted an eyebrow, "Well, in that case, you better have ordered something good for me. I haven't forgotten about the time that you put a whole bottle of hot sauce in my sandwich."

Thunderlane and Caramel both burst out laughing. Thunderlane was holding his sides as he laughed, "Oh, yeah! That was hilarious. Aw, man, I can still remember the look on your face when you took a bite out of that thing. Priceless!"

Caramel was the first to recover, "Yeah, don't worry, Rowan. We got you a hay sandwich, without hot sauce this time."

Rowan smiled, "Thanks."

Within the same moment, a waiter brought them their food. Rowan lifted up his sandwich with magic, and began to eat away. Rowan looked past his sandwich to see what his friends had gotten. Caramel got a salad, and Thunderlane got a sandwich as well.

Rowan looked at his two friends, "So, what's going on with you guys?"

Caramel shrugged as he took a bite of his salad, "Not much. Nothing really exciting is happening for me." He turned to Thunderlane, "What about you, Thunder?"

The black pegasus shrugged, "I've been helping Rumble with his costume for Nightmare Night. He's being a zombie, and considering that I have no experience with making costumes, making it was sort of difficult. "

Rowan looked up from his sandwich, "Oh yeah, Nightmare Night is coming up in a few days." He let out a small chuckle, "I still don't know what my costume is going to be."

Caramel inhaled sharply, "Uh oh, I forgot. I was going to ask Sassaflash to be my date during Nightmare NIght."

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at the earth pony, "Wait, isn't that the mare that was your date during Hearts and Hooves day?"

Caramel nodded, "Yes, she was. I guess I should ask her as soon as possible." He looked back at his friends, "How about you guys? Are you going on a date with anypony?"

Thunderlane shook his head, "Naw, I'm spending the celebration with Rumble." He pointed a hoof towards Rowan, "What about you, Rowan?"

Rowan looked down and shrugged, "I don't know. Really, I'd rather spend the night with friends rather than dates. Besides, even if I were to go on a date, who would I ask?"

Thunderlane shrugged, "What about Twilight Sparkle? You two seem to spend a lot of time with each other. Do you have a thing for her?" He said, nudging Rowan with his elbow.

Rowan glared at the pegasus, "No, I don't have a thing for her. We just spend a lot of time with each other because we both happen to be students of the princesses of Canterlot."

Caramel shook his head, "Thunder, there's no need to provoke him. He is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, after all." But then the earth pony gave Rowan a smirk, "Besides, he's already got Lyra chasing after him." Both of Rowan's friends began to laugh loudly, while Rowan simply rolled his eyes.

Lyra, who was a fanatic about humans and Anthropology, had learned that Rowan had been a human before. Ever since then, she had continually pestered Rowan with questions about the human world. Rowan was fine with answering her questions, but soon, she began to ask questions that were.....preferably left unanswered. After Lyra attempted to ask these questions several times, Rowan began to avoid her at all costs.

Rowan looked at his two friends who were beginning to regain themselves from laughing, "That isn't funny guys. Just because I'm from a different world, doesn't mean that I mind teasing."

Caramel was chuckling as he wiped a tear from his eye, "Right, right. Sorry, Rowan, but it's just too funny."

Thunderlane was able to calm himself down, "Yeah. We know that you could make us stop with your magic anytime." He cocked his head towards Rowan, "Speaking of which, did you learn any cool spells recently?"

Rowan grinned, "Yeah, I've actually found this one that's pretty cool. It should be handy the next time Lyra comes after me. You see, the spell is a shad-"

"ROWAN!" A voice called out from down the street.

Thunderlane snickered, "Speaking of which."

Rowan turned and let out a startled yelp, as he saw Lyra running fast towards him. Rowan jumped up onto all fours, with eyes as wide as dinner plates, "SorryguysGottagoSeeyoulater." Without wasting a moment, Rowan shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth a took off sprinting down the street, away from Lyra.

Caramel and Thunderlane sat with amused looks as they watched Lyra race pass them as she chased after Rowan in a fury. But as they watched Rowan and Lyra disappear into town, a thought struck Caramel's mind.

Caramel turned to Thunderlane, "Hey, who's going to pay for Rowan?"

Thunder threw up his hooves in defense, "Not me, dude. I payed for him last time! It's your turn."

Caramel sighed, "Fine, but next time this happens, you're paying for all three of us." He

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Rowan ran down the streets of Ponyville, continually searching for any place where he could lose Lyra. So far, he couldn't find any place that would work in helping him to escape, and he could hear Lyra closing in from behind. The gray unicorn was surprised that Lyra could run this fast, but considering how many times that she had chased him, she must have built up quite a bit of endurance.

Rowan looked back towards the road in front of him, and screeched to a halt as his way was blocked by a green and purple dragon. His sudden stop kicked up dust clouds in front of him, and into Spike's face.

Spike coughed as he waved the dust away, "Rowan, what's the hurry? Do you need me to send your letters to Canterlot right now? AGH!" Spike let out a yelp as he was suddenly picked up by Rowan's magic and placed on the unicorn's back.

Rowan started to gallop down the street again, before Lyra could catch up to him, "Sorry, Spike. We've got to go!"

Spike held on tight to Rowan's sides as he tried to not get thrown off the unicorn's back, "What? Why are we running?"

Suddenly, Lyra shouted out to them, "I need to ask you something! Stop!"

Spike turned his head to see Lyra right behind them. The dragon let out a small yelp as he saw a burning fury in the mint-colored unicorn's eyes. He fearfully shouted up to Rowan, "Step on it!"

Rowan was breathing hard as he ran through town, but Lyra clearly wasn't showing any signs of slowing. Rowan sighed in frustration, "Ah, come on. I can't keep running for much longer." But then, he spotted an alley-way in between two houses, completely hidden from the sun.

Rowan grinned as he shouted back, "Hold on, Spike! We're getting out of here." He turned sharply into the alley, nearly sending Spike flying off of his back. Rowan ran through the alley, which was only about fifty feet long, with a brick wall cutting off any other exit.

The wall was completely covered in darkness, which was exactly what Rowan needed. Putting in a final burst of energy, he charged the wall, making his horn glow with shadow magic.

Spike's eyes widened when he saw the wall in front of them, "Uh, Rowan? What are you doing?!"

"Hang on, Spike!" Rowan's horn began to glow brightly with black aura as he prepared to use his spell.

With only five feet between Rowan and the wall, he unleashed his spell. Suddenly, the shadows that covered the wall began to wave out, like tentacles, as they made a dark portal appear in the brick wall.

Rowan didn't stop as he leaped into the portal. Spike let out a yelp as they both passed through the dark void of space, disappearing from view. As soon as they both were safely inside the darkness, the portal closed, just before Lyra could get through.

Lyra stomped a frustrated hoof on the ground, "Darn it! I lost him, again!" She shook her hoof to the sky with rage, "Rowan! I will find you, and then you will tell me what that middle finger is!" Huffing with anger, Lyra turned back out of the alley and onto the street.

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Rowan leaped out from the darkness, just outside of Twilight's library. Spike was still clinging tightly against the unicorn with his eyes shut.

Rowan nudged Spike with hit head, "Hey, Spike. You can let go now."

The little dragon opened his eyes, "What? Did we lose her?"

Rowan smiled, "Yeah, I think so. We did just jump from the far side of town to the library."

Spike climbed off of Rowan's back, "What was that spell that you did? I don't think Twilight has ever done anything like that."

"It's a new spell that I learned recently. It's called the shadow warp spell. It allows me to use the shadows nearby to jump from one point in space to another point that is also in shadows. And with darker shadows, I can travel greater distances."

Spike grinned, "Wow, that sounds pretty handy."

Rowan shrugged, "I guess so, but like all magic, it has a cost. I can't use it frequently and I can't go that far, distance wise. Not to mention that it does take a pretty large amount of my magic." He shook his head, "Never mind, we should get inside. Who knows when Lyra will pop up again." He started towards the door of the library with Spike following after him.

Rowan opened the door to the library to see Twilight busy with rearranging the shelves of books.

Hearing the door open, Twilight looked to see who it was. She smiled at Rowan and Spike, "Oh, hey Rowan. What're you doing here?"

Rowan shrugged as he shut the door behind him, "Well, I was out with Thunderlane and Caramel for lunch, but then Lyra started to chase me through town, like always. I just barely managed to slip away from her."

Twilight snickered a bit, "So, I take it you won't answer her questions about your world anymore."

Rowan rolled his eyes, "I don't mind telling her about my world, but it's when she asks weird questions that bothers me. But anyways, I'm probably going to stay here for a while until Lyra gives up her chase. She usually does around 3:00." But then Rowan remembered, "Oh, speaking of which, I should send those letters to Princess Luna now."

Spike stood at the ready, "All right, I'm ready to send them."

Rowan pulled out the letters out of his storage spell, and handed them to Spike. The dragon opened his mouth and breathed a small stream of green, wispy fire. The fire consumed the two letters, making them into a cloud of silver dust, which floated out an open window.

Spike grinned smugly, "Okay, they're on their way."

Rowan smiled, "Thanks, Spike."

But then the little dragon suddenly convulsed, as he belched out a cloud of fire. The fire swirled in mid-air until it formed the shape of a scroll, which dropped to the ground.

Rowan cocked an eyebrow, "Hm, I guess Princess Celestia sent her mail at the perfect time. What does it say, Twilight?"

Twilight picked up the letter and looked it over, "Oh, it's for you, Rowan. It's from Princess Luna."

Rowan grabbed the letter and curiously read it aloud,

My loyal student,

I am pleased with your progress in the art of shadow magic, and with your continual efforts to restore the Liber Tenebrarum. However, I have a request for you that is unrelated to shadow magic.

As you are probably aware, Nightmare Night is approaching, and I would like you to help organize the celebration. Since you are my student, it is fitting that you have some portion of responsibility in the celebration. You will need to talk with Mayor Mare to find out what to do to prepare for Nightmare Night.

Also, be sure to make this the best Nightmare Night of them all. With your skills, I have no doubt that you are the perfect one for the position. Please make this year's celebration fun and entertaining for everypony.

Until then, continue with your studies

~Princess Luna

Twilight smiled as Rowan finished reading the letter, "Wow. Princess Luna really thinks you're the right pony for the job. With your shadow magic, I think you could come up with something that could really scare everypony, since I'm guessing that it's part of your magic's nature."

Rowan held an uncertain look, "I don't know. I've never organized anything like this. I don't really know how to get started. What am I supposed to do?"

Twilight thought for a moment, "Well, I do have some experience with organizing Ponyville's town events. I could help you in organizing Nightmare Night."

Rowan beamed, "Really? That'd be great. Thanks."

"Sure, what are friends for?" A small silence passed between them, "You should go speak with the Mayor. It'd be better if you started the preparations for Nightmare NIght right now."

"All right, I'll go right now."

Spike spoke up, "Wait, what about Lyra? Wouldn't she still be looking for you right now? The Mayor's office is halfway across town, and Lyra could pop up at any time."

Rowan smiled down at the dragon reassuringly, "Yeah, but don't worry. I'll fly there. No one will notice me, unless they're up in the air, too. See you guys later."

Without any time for a response, Twilight and Spike watched as Rowan evaporated into a cloud of black smoke and flew out of the library.

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However, nopony knew that at the same moment, 4 changelings were flying towards Ponyville. And the one closest to the town was unaware of the three pursuers behind her. They would arrive in her destination by nightfall.

The Encounter

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Rowan walked out of Town Hall to see the sun set behind the mountains. He smirked to himself, "Hm, I didn't think that planning out Nightmare Night with the Mayor would take all day." He shrugged, "Oh, well. I still managed to get most of Nightmare Night planned out with the Mayor."

For the past six hours, Rowan had been with Mayor Mare and a few other town officials as they planned out what activities would happen during the Nightmare Night celebration. Almost all of the planning was done, and the town officials had promised that they'd take care of the rest, but now Rowan needed to check with the ponies around town to make sure that everything was in order for the celebration. He needed to make sure that all of the supplies and ponies were ready for Nightmare Night.

Rowan shook his head as he thought about the task, "Nah, I'll do that tomorrow with Twilight. She's way better at keeping every detail organized. Until then, I should probably work on something for Princess Luna's introduction."

Introducing the princess to everypony in town was an important task that had fallen onto Rowan, seeing he was the princess's student. Although, Rowan assumed that it wouldn't be too difficult. All that he had to do was put on a little presentation in front of the town that would give everyone a good scare. And with his proficiency with shadow magic, Rowan would be able to pull it off smoothly.

However, Rowan figured that it would be better if he got advice from someone who could do these types of things easily. And there was one resident who lived in the Everfree Forest who fit the ticket: Zecora.

Rowan started through town at a leisurely trot, enjoying the falling night around him. He looked up at the sky as he walked, and smiled as he saw the moon rise up in the air. Ever since he'd come to Equestria, he'd felt a deep connection to the night, whether it be because of his talent with shadow magic or the fact that his teacher watched over the night. The darkness had always felt like a place of safety that he could always retreat to.

Suddenly, Rowan was jolted from his thoughts as he heard a bark sound behind him. The unicorn quickly turned around to see Shade loping along behind him.

Rowan smirked at the wolf, "You broke out of the house again, huh?" Shade only walked up alongside his master, tail wagging vigorously. Rowan sighed, "All right, we're taking a small walk through the forest. Stay close to me."

Shade let out a yip and followed Rowan as he trotted through town. With only the light of the moon to guide them, the two soon reached the end of town and the Everfree Forest came into view. Without any pause, they walked into the thicket of trees, on their way to Zecora's hut.

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Naractia flew through the air quickly as the moon began to rise into the sky. She was sure that none of the changelings were following her, but she still flew as fast as she could. She needed to reach Rowan as soon as possible.

The changeling princess looked forward to see a range of mountains. She knew that these mountains lined the Everfree Forest which was located just outside of Ponyville. With a surge of energy, she powered her wings and flew up parallel to the face of the mountains.

She reached the peak of the tallest mountain and saw the lights of Ponyville in the distance. As she looked down at the town, she noticed that several lights from the houses below were going out as the ponies began to sleep.

Naractia felt a moment of relief, "Okay, they're all sleeping, so I'll be less likely to be noticed by anyone." But her wings began to nag at her, tired from their long and fast flight. She sighed, "Even so, I should keep down low, just in case somepony *is* up and about."

She slowly began to descend to the ground below, trying to fly as close to town as she could without her wings giving out. But her wings were too tired, making her land in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Her wings were aching from the long journey, making her wince as she moved them, "I guess I should walk to town from here on out. I don't think that I could fly another hoof, let alone all the way to Ponyville."

She looked towards the trees in front of her, darkened by the night. They were somewhat inviting, but Naractia knew that she should proceed with caution. No pony or changeling really knew what was in the forest, and Naractia did not want to find out. The changeling princess took in a deep breath and started through the thicket, heading towards Ponyville.

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Rowan looked up at the sky, obscured by the canopy of leaves and branches above. The moon still gave him and Shade some light, but in the forest it wasn't enough to see clearly. However, Rowan utilized his illumination spell, pushing back the darkness around them.

They had only been walking on the trail to Zecora's hut for a few minutes, but Rowan knew that they were close to the zebra's home. He had been to Zecora's before, but only once. It had been about a week after the changeling incident, and Rowan had been practicing shadow magic in the forest. But then he had almost accidentally caught Zecora in a spell that he was experimenting with.

Rowan smiled as he remembered how Zecora had simply laughed at the event, calling it a simple mistake. She'd forgiven Rowan for the small accident and then invited him to her hut. Ever since then, Rowan and Zecora had been fairly good friends.

Rowan grinned as he thought of seeing her again, blocking out everything else around him. However, little did he know that this wasn't going to be an ordinary visit, due to the events that were happening inside the forest.

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Naractia walked cautiously through the dark forest, aware of everything around her. Although she hadn't run into anything dangerous in the forest yet, something nagged at her in the back of her mind. Something didn't feel quite right. It was as though someone was watching her.

The changeling princess stopped and glanced around at the forest uneasily, expecting something to jump out from behind the trees. Suddenly, something rustled in the bushes behind her. Startled, Naractia whirled around towards the sound, horn glowing with shadow magic.

She called out cautiously, "Who's there?"

Silence followed. Naractia carefully began to walk backwards away from the bush, keeping her horn directed at it.

Suddenly, The bush burst as three silhouettes flew out of it, racing towards the changeling princess. Naractia let out a startled yelp, instinctively beating her wings to try to get out of the way. She flew to the side a couple of feet and the three figures just barely missed her, flying through the trees where their target had been.

Naractia let out a breath of relief, but then her exhausted wings gave out, dropping her into a crumpled heap on the ground. She hit the dirt hard, but she got up quickly, fearful that those things would come again. She sighed, "Great. I need to get out of this forest *now*! But without my wings, I don't know if I'll make it."

Suddenly, a tree branch broke above Naractia as the three silhouettes crashed through the trees towards her. Not wasting a moment, Naractia broke into a fast run in the opposite direction of her pursuers.

Running through the thick forest was difficult alone, but it was even harder for Naractia as she weaved between the trees as she tried to lose the things following her. Several rough branches and roots stuck out from the soil, making the ground uneven and difficult for Naractia run on.

Naractia glanced over her shoulder to see the three figures begin to catch up to her quickly, as they were flying. But then, she ran through an open grove, where the moon illuminated the forest with light. As Naractia ran through the grove, she watched as her three pursuers entered into the light of the moon. Her eyes widened as the darkness around the three figures dissipated, revealing three changeling drones.

The changeling princess cursed to herself, "Dang it, they must have followed me the whole way from the hive. But I exhausted my wings, so they'll catch up to me eventually. I've got to get to town." She continued to run away from the drones, but then a thought came to her mind, If I can get to Ponyville, then somebody there will be able to get these guys off of my back.

But then Naractia found that this plan presented a problem, But if I run into town, then the ponies there will probably drive me out, too. They wouldn't know that I was being chased by these drones. They'll just see me as another changeling. And If they drive me out, then I won't get to speak with Rowan. Naractia ran through the deep underbrush of the forest, breath thinning as she pushed herself to exhaustion, trying to think of a solution.

Suddenly, it hit her, What if they don't see me as a changeling, but as a pony instead? Naractia wasn't pleased with the idea of putting on a disguise, but it was necessary if she was to warn Rowan and the others about Chrysalis.

She trudged through the darkness, avoiding the low-hanging branches of the dense trees, while in her mind's eye, she prepared the appearance of her disguise. She was thinking a yellow skinned mare with a red mane. This would do, but she also thought about the cutie marks that everypony had, so she decided to make her cutie mark a simple rose.

And what if she needed to unexpectedly use her magic? Anypony would notice something wrong with an earth pony using magic like a unicorn. And seeing as she couldn't use her wings at the moment, Naractia thought it would be fitting that she became a plain unicorn.

With her disguise in mind, she focused on her ability to change, implementing the image she held in her mind. Green flames erupted around her as she felt the change happen to her body. Her hole-filled legs changed into the smooth ones of a mare. Her mane became smooth and soft as it changed from her natural green to a deep red. In a strange sensation, she felt her wings disappear from her back as the change reached them. And finally, she felt her horn become a short, smooth point, rather than a gnarled changeling's horn.

Within an instant, the change was finished, but the chase still continued as the drones flew after the changed princess. Naractia looked back at the drones to see them within a few hooves of her. She felt exhaustion begin to catch up to her as well, as her legs began to shake with the strain that she'd put on them. They'd catch her within a minute at this rate.

However, as she was looking over her shoulder, Naractia didn't see the sudden drop in the terrain of the forest. She let out a startled yelp as her hooves met air instead of dirt, sending the rest of her body off of the ledge. She let out a scream as she was unable to use her wings to stop herself from falling towards the hard ground below.

Little did she know that at that moment, somepony and his wolf were at the base of the ledge, on their way to a certain zebra's house.

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Rowan walked beside Shade, illuminating the narrow path to Zecora's. Right now the path curved around a tall ledge. They were almost at the end of the road, Rowan knew. They only had a little ways to go before Zecora's house came into view.

But, Shade abruptly stopped and began and began to sniff the air, apparently having noticed something.

Rowan stopped as well, "What is it, boy?"

Shade looked up towards the top of the ledge, growling loudly as he sank to his haunches. Rowan followed Shade's gaze until he spotted something at the top of the ledge as well. In the moonlight, he saw a single pony, a mare from what he could tell, running towards the edge of the cliff. She looked like she was running from something or someone.

Suddenly, she lost her balance and began to scream as she fell towards the ground, right above Rowan and Shade.

Rowan didn't have any time to think, as he suddenly flared his horn with shadow magic. Gathering in the darkness from the surrounding area, Rowan manipulated the shadows into one single mass. Flaring his magic again, Rowan condensed the shadows together, making them into a flat surface, perfect for catching the falling mare. Within a second, he finished making his mat of shadows and positioned it under the falling pony.

Not a moment too soon, the mare landed in the cushion of shadows, grunting slightly as the mat bent beneath the force of the drop.

The mare shook her head as she gathered her wits, "What- What happened?"

Rowan walked up to her, lowering the mat made of shadows to the ground, "Hey, are you okay? That was close. You could have had a pretty nasty landing."

The yellow unicorn's eyes widened when she saw Rowan, "You... You're Ro-" Suddenly she cut herself off as she looked up at the sky. She quickly pointed a hoof up towards the sky, "Watch Out!"

Rowan turned around to see three creatures he'd hoped to never see again: Changeling drones. They were flying towards them with rapid speed. Shade growled loudly as he reared back, ready for the changelings to come.

Rowan realized what was happening, That mare must have been running from them. I can't let these changelings hurt anypony. He snorted at the oncoming drones, lighting his horn with shadow magic as he prepared for the fight.

The three drones raced towards Rowan and Shade, with only a few feet between them and their targets. Rowan flared his horn as he used his signature spell: The flaming crescent. He shot out two flaming projectiles, which were enhanced in power due to the vast darkness of the forest.

But even though the flaming crescents were stronger and faster than normal, the changelings avoided them with ease as they split away from each other, one flying to Rowan's right, the other two flying his left.

The two changelings looped around and came back towards Rowan and Shade, while the other one came down on the group from above. Rowan quickly put up a shield, protecting him and the others from the oncoming two changelings. However, the third changeling had managed to slip past the extent of the shield, smacking Rowan in the back of the head as it flew past.

For a split second, Rowan lost focus and dropped his shield, giving the other two drones the perfect chance to strike. Rowan glanced up to see the two drones fly towards them, but then Shade suddenly leaped out at one of the changelings.

The wolf tackled his drone in mid-air, sending them both sprawling to the forest floor, locked in combat. But despite Shade's efforts, the other changeling was still coming towards Rowan. The colt struggled to get up, but he knew that he wouldn't be quick enough to get out of the way. He cringed as he braced himself for the hit.

But suddenly, a green beam of magic shot out from behind Rowan, hitting the oncoming changeling aside. Rowan looked back to see the mare that he'd just saved.

She rushed up next to Rowan, "Get up. They're coming back around."

Rowan did as she instructed and stood up to see the drones, excluding the one Shade was snapping at, looping around. They flew in between the trees quickly, heading straight for Rowan and the yellow mare.

Rowan cursed to himself, I can't use my magic because they'll expect that. They'll see any spell that I've cast in an instant. But then an idea hit him, But if they couldn't see, then I could easily beat them. He glanced over to the mare, "Get down and don't move."

The mare nodded and got down on her haunches. Rowan then stepped forward towards the oncoming changelings. He waited as they came closer.... and closer.... and even closer. Soon, they were only a couple feet away, but still coming in fast.

Rowan grinned as he lit his horn with shadow magic, I never did get to try this spell. He flared his horn and a huge wave of darkness burst out from it. The wave of darkness flew out in all directions, darkening the entire surrounding area. It reached out beyond where Shade and his drone fought and past the oncoming changelings.

Rowan beamed as he looked at the spell with satisfaction. It was called the darkening sphere, which covers the area where it's used in complete darkness. Nothing could see through the darkness, not even the caster of the spell. But fortunately, the spell was an extension of Rowan, which meant he could sense the presence of everything within the darkness.

The unicorn colt grinned as he felt the changeling drones all begin to wander around in the darkness, completely confused to what was happening. In their confusion, Rowan quickly ran to the closest of the drones.

Once he was within reach of the first drone, he fiercely smacked his hoof against the side of the changeling's head, knocking the creature unconscious. After he'd taken care of the first one, Rowan ran to the other two changelings and did the same to them.

With all three of the changeling drones unconscious, Rowan let out a deep breath and released the spell. The darkness dissipated around them, letting the light of the moon shine into the area.

Rowan looked down at his work, smiling in satisfaction at the sight of the unconscious drones.

"Wow." A voice spoke up from behind. Rowan look past his shoulder to see the yellow unicorn mare walk up to him. She was beaming widely at him, "That was incredible."

He smiled, "Thanks." He glanced back down at the drones by his hooves, "So, who are you? Why were the changelings chasing after you?"

The mare looked down at the ground, "Well, I was being chased-" She was cut off as Shade began to frantically bark at her.

Rowan tried to stop the wolf with a hoof, but Shade leaped past it and ran up to the mare. Once he was directly in front of her, the wolf began the growl loudly, baring his teeth fiercely.

The mare quickly stepped back away from Shade, but stopped as she ran back into the wall of the cliff.

Rowan shouted at Shade, "Hey, Shade! Get away from her!"

Shade ignored the unicorn as he continued to press the mare against the wall. Rowan observed the wolf carefully, Man, what could have Shade in such a fix? He has never acted this way around anypony since the changeling incident, but even then- But then an idea hit him. I doubt that's very likely. I don't see why these changelings would chase one of their own. Even so, how would I prove if she's even one?

Rowan observed the mare as he mentally went through his array of spells. But then, he remembered a spell that could help. Without saying a word, Rowan sent a pulse of shadow magic through his horn. The pulse spread out from the tip of his horn and reached out to the surrounding area. Rowan then watched the ring of magic extend out until it reached the mare.

As soon as the mare was within the circle of magic, a deep hum emanated from the Rowan's spell and green flames engulfed the mare. The flames disappeared, leaving behind a single changeling, confirming Rowan's suspicions.

Shade growled even louder at the new changeling, but Rowan continued to look at her. He noticed that she wasn't at all like the drones, and looked more like Chrysalis with her green, tattered mane.

The changeling looked at herself with a horrified expression, "How... How did you do that?"

Rowan cleared his throat, "It's a spell that I learned a while ago. It's called the shadow scurge. It instantly wipes away any enchantments in the general area of the caster, including the illusions of changelings. So tell me, who are you? why were these drones chasing after you?"

The changeling coughed, "You know me, Rowan. We've met before, but I didn't look like this. I'm the one who gave you the remaining page of the Liber Tenebrarum, and by the looks of things, you've learned a lot from it."

Rowan inhaled sharply, "You mean- You're Naractia?"

Naractia nodded, "Princess Naractia, actually, but I guess that doesn't apply now."

Rowan glanced back at the drones who laid unconscious on the forest floor, "But why were they chasing you?"

The changeling sighed, "After you'd told me that my mother had survived, I went back and cared for her. I thought if I could gain her trust again, then I could keep her from attacking Equestria again. But once she was back to full strength, she attempted to dispose of me. I couldn't let her kill me, so I ran, but then she sent these guys after me." She gestured towards the drones.

Rowan raised an eyebrow, "Only three? Knowing Chrysalis, she would have sent the entire hive if she wanted somebody dead."

Naractia shrugged, "They were a little busy with the mess that I made on my way out. But anyways, I came here to warn you and the other ponies in town. Chrysalis is angry and wants revenge, *badly*. She's going to turn her forces onto Equestria soon, and she's going to start with Ponyville. Even if she doesn't succeed in taking over Equestria, she'll be happy with at least you dead. You're really the main reason why she's so angry."

Rowan looked at the changeling with a puzzled look, "So, she's that angry with me?"

"She still has a scar from your last encounter."

"Where?"

"It's just a single crack in her exoskeleton that runs down between her eyes. Truth be told, it sort of suits her. But the real scar is that the Elements of Harmony completely drained her of all of her magic, including her ability to change."

Rowan's eyebrows raised, "Wow, I can see why she'd want me dead." Rowan looked back at the forest around them, "We should get out of here. Who knows what else lives in these woods."

Naractia looked down at the drones on the ground, "What about them? We can't just leave them here, and we can't let them return back to the hive and report to Chrysalis my location."

Rowan frowned at this new problem, "Hm, that's true. But we can't take them back into Ponyville, otherwise everypony will freak out. And we can't leave them alone in the forest without a risk of them getting away." As Rowan thought about it, he came to a pretty reasonable conclusion, "Oh, I know. I have a friend who lives here in the forest who I was on my way to see. I bet that we can ask her if she could watch them."

Naractia thought for a moment, "Are you sure? Changeling drones are difficult to contain, especially when there are three of them."

Rowan grinned, "Don't worry. Zecora is one of the most reliable zebras that I know... Well actually the only zebra that I know, but she's the right one for the job."

Naracita sighed, "I hope that you're right." She grabbed one of the unconscious drones and draped it across her back, "Here, put one of them on your back. We'll have carry the last one together."

"All right." Rowan picked up the drone nearest to him and likewise draped it on his back. And then Rowan and Naractia used their magic to carry the last drone in the air between them.

Rowan pointed a hoof down the trail, "Come on, it's not far."

"Right, lead the way."

They started down the trail together, with Shade following behind them, glancing cautiously at the unconscious drones and at the strange changeling with the green mane. As he was a wolf, he wasn't sure why this changeling wasn't dangerous.

As they walked, Rowan looked at Naractia, "Hey, before we reach Zecora's, you should change back into a pony. It'd be best if we lay this on Zecora slowly."

Naractia nodded and her body was engulfed in green flames, once again leaving the red-maned, yellow unicorn mare. Rowan looked up and down at Naractia's new form, a strange look on his face.

Naractia looked at him quizzically, "What?"

Rowan shrugged, "I don't know why, but being a pony seems to suit you better."

Naractia raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah. Although, it's strange why I'd think that, seeing as we haven't known each other for that long."

Naractia felt a warm feeling recede from her body, "Thanks anyways."

Rowan smiled back, but said nothing as they continued to walk down the trail.

Naractia looked curiously at Rowan. In her mind, she thought, Is this what it's like? Is this what having a friend with you feels like? She pondered it for a moment, and then nodded in satisfaction, I think it is. I like it. She looked back at Rowan, Rowan, you're my one and only friend.

At Zecora's

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Zecora balanced herself atop her staff, lost deep within her nightly meditation. Quietly, she hummed an old tune from her native land. The forest around her hut was calm and peaceful, thanks to the enchantments that she'd placed in the area. The silence was necessary for the zebra to be able to stay balanced in her meditation.

Suddenly, a loud knocking came from the door of her hut. Zecora peered over at the door with one eye open, "Oh, I wonder who that could be, to come to my home so late and see me."

Pressing down on her staff with a single hoof, she leaped into the air. She landed softly in front of the door, despite the sound her hooves would have made against the wooden floor of the hut. Only several years of practice could allow her to do this.

Smiling softly, Zecora opened the door to her hut. She looked outside to see Rowan, Shade, and one other pony that she didn't recognize.

The zebra greeted them all, "A thousand greetings, Rowan and Shade. It appears that a new friend is what you have made. If I may not be too brash, but for your name may I ask?"

Rowan rolled his eyes, "You know, Zecora. You're cutting it close with those rhymes."

Zecora shrugged, "I'm indifferent to you, for that depends on your point of view. Now if I may ask again, what is the name of your friend?"

The mare with Rowan stepped forward, "My name is Naractia. Rowan told me that you could help me with a problem of mine."

The zebra raised an eyebrow, "And what problem would that be? I may be able to help, but the situation is what I must first see."

Rowan and Naractia walked into the hut, carrying three changeling drones between them. Zecora gasped, shocked by the sight. To her relief, the drones appeared to be unconscious.

"Why have you brought these drones, here into mine own abode?"

Rowan sighed, "Well, that's our problem. We need someone to keep watch over them. They can't be allowed to escape to their hive. I was hoping that you could help and keep them outside of town."

Zecora narrowed her eyes at the changelings, "I would not normally accept to something like this, but I will do this for a friend in a fix." Rowan and Naractia beamed at the zebra, but Zecora held a hoof up to keep them from speaking, "But my assistance, however, is conditional. For my help, you must tell me all."

And so, Rowan and Naractia sat down and explained to Zecora the situation. They told the zebra why it was vital to keep the drones away from everypony, and Naractia revealed herself to be the daughter of Chrysalis.

After they had finished their story, Zecora scratched her chin thoughtfully, "Hm, I see. You are in great need. I will hide the drones away in the deep wood, as well as provide shelter and food."

Naractia smiled at her as she sipped a concoction that Zecora had given her. Supposedly, it was supposed to help heal the strain that she'd put on herself over the last day.

"Thank you, Zecora. These changelings may have tried to kill me, but they still are part of my kind. I care for them somewhat. I'm different from my mother in that way."

Zecora nodded, "It is a pleasure, my young friend. You are loving and honest to the end." She turned her head towards Rowan, "However, I would think to advise, that seeking additional help would be wise. This situation is bigger than the three of us alone, for this matter exceeds those three drones."

Rowan frowned, "What do you mean?"

Zecora cleared her throat, "Chrysalis would have sent many servants after her daughter, resulting in a massive slaughter. Since there were only three, then I highly doubt they'd be from the queen. These drones cannot act on their own. They require guidance or else they only roam. The matter of these changelings is unsettling enough, but I suspect that there may be a true motive, hidden in the rough."

Rowan raised an eyebrow, "So, you don't think these drones were sent by Chrysalis, just because there's only three of them? No offense, Zecora, but that doesn't seem all too likely."

Naractia shook her head, "No, Rowan. I think Zecora might be right. I know my mother, and if there were any traitors that had escaped the hive, like me, she would have sent half of the swarm into Equestria, with orders to find and kill me. She would have known where I was going, and she would have sent at least twenty drones after me by now. There must be some other reason why only these three were sent after me."

Rowan sighed, "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He thought for a moment, "Okay, when I get back into town, I'll send Princess Luna a message, explaining what's going on here. With some luck, she might be able to tell us who sent these guys and what they plan to do next. Although, she won't be able to come here from Canterlot without attracting some bit of attention this way. It's not everyday that royalty comes into town unannounced, and the last thing we need are curious ponies following Luna here."

Zecora smiled, "But alas, there may be a way. Though it be not as easy as I say. The Nightmare Night celebration is coming soon. Instead of Princess Luna, seek help from Nightmare Moon."

Rowan's eyes widened as he thought about the zebra's words. He beamed widely at Zecora, "That's it! Zecora, you're a genius!"

Naractia on the other hoof, was puzzled by Zecora's comment, "What do you mean? What's this Nightmare Night, and who's Nightmare Moon?"

Rowan grinned at the confused changeling, "Oh, yeah. I'm assuming the changelings don't have any holidays." He chuckled a bit, "Nightmare Night is a celebration that we're having in town soon. Every year, Princess Luna comes to town, scaring everypony as the mare of darkness; Nightmare Moon. If we can talk to Princess Luna when she's here for the celebration, then we won't draw any unwanted attention to ourselves."

Naractia smiled as she began to understand the logic behind this plan, "That sounds good. How long until Nightmare Night is here?"

"Um... It should be in about three days." Suddenly, a thought occurred to Rowan, "Oh, that reminds me. I still need to make preparations for Nightmare Night." He glanced warily at Naractia, "Um, I think that you should stay here and help Zecora with the drones. Some ponies might think it'd be strange if some new mare shows up in town with me."

Naractia let out a large yawn, "That's fine. I'm too exhausted. I don't think that I could make it into town without collapsing a few times. The flight from the hive to here is more strenuous than you'd think."

Rowan stood up and started for the door, "All right. I'll try to be back tomorrow afternoon to see how you're doing. Come on, Shade." Shade quickly let out a yip and followed after Rowan.

But then, Zecora held out a hoof to the unicorn, "Rowan, I think it would be wise as well, this story to Twilight that you would tell. I would be careful to whom you speak about this. The more ponies that know, the more we are at risk."

Rowan sighed as he opened the door for him and Shade, "Zecora, you really are cutting it close with those rhymes." Zecora rolled her eyes at him. The unicorn chuckled, "All right, I'll tell Twilight tonight. I'll see you both tomorrow." With that, Rowan and Shade walked out of Zecora's hut, shutting the door behind them.

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Chrysalis looked down at the strange changeling spy that stood before her. He was bowed down before her, showing his devotion to her rule with his posture, showing no fear whatsoever. Both were things that pleased the queen, but it was the information that he'd provided that she enjoyed the most.

The queen grinned wickedly at the changeling before her, "So, you had predicted Naractia's treachery and during the chaos of her escape, you sent three drones after her?"

The changeling spy nodded, "Yes, your highness. She is not aware of the drones that I've sent, and by now, they will have captured her."

Chrysalis chuckled, "I am impressed, for none of my subjects have showed this amount of cunning and wit for the past few hundred years."

The spy's grin grew wider, "Even more than your treacherous daughter Naractia?"

Chrysalis waved a hoof away, "Bah, she is no longer my daughter. I will not be affiliated with that weakling any more." But then she glanced down at the changeling, "Hm, I believe that I have seen you before. You in particular, my subject."

The spy cleared his throat, "Yes, your highness. I was the spy stationed in Ponyville when I brought you word of the Liber Tenebrarum. And I also was the one to retrieve the book for you, my queen."

Chrysalis smiled, "Yes, I see. You have done quite a number of deeds that have gone unaccounted for long enough. I believe that now is the time you receive the reward that you deserve."

The spy beamed as he kept his eyes down in his bow, "And what would that be, my queen?"

"Since Naractia has abandoned the hive, I am in need of an heir. You have shown more cunning than any of my subjects, and I am proclaiming you as my heir."

The spy inhaled sharply, This... This is more than I'd expected to receive. I thought that the queen would have made me a general over a portion of the swarm, but to become her heir? He grinned evilly to himself, How could I possibly refuse? He turned his eyes towards the queen, "Thank you, your majesty."

Chrysalis thought to herself, "As my heir, you will need a name of royalty." She glanced down at the changeling before her, "From now on, you will be known as Vironect."

Vironect smiled at the sound of his new name. It sounded fierce and dark, which suited him well. He bowed his head again, "Yes, my queen. I shall not disappoint you."

Chrysalis nodded, "Yes, I'm sure that you won't, but I will warn you. If you fail me like Naractia has, then I *will* end your life." She waved him away, "You may go."

Vironect bowed his head once more, then stood up and walked out of the chamber. Physically, he showed no emotion as he exited the queen's chamber, but on the inside, he was smiling with glee. As soon as his drones brought back Naractia, she was in for a very nasty surprise.

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Naractia, still in her unicorn form, followed after Zecora as the zebra led her through the dark forest. On her back, Zecora carried one of the unconscious drones, while Naractia carried the other two, one with magic, and the other on her back as well.

A few minutes after Rowan had left the hut, Zecora had instructed Naractia to carry the drones outside. There, the zebra had led them through the dark night, without even a torch for light.

Naractia looked forward towards Zecora, "Hey, Zecora? Where are we going?"

Zecora didn't look back, "I see why you ask where you are led. There is a grove in the forest ahead. We will leave the drones there, for my hut does not have room to spare."

Naractia nodded, "Okay, I guess that makes sense."

The two walked in silence, only their hooves making sound as they walked through the forest. Naractia observed her guide through the woods, taking into account how the zebra always glanced into the trees, searching for any signs of danger. The forest made Naractia uneasy, and the silence from Zecora wasn't helping at all.

"Hey, Zecora?" Naractia asked in an effort to break the silence, "Back at the hut, how did you know that much about my mother and the drones? It's true that the drones share a subconscious link with the queen, but I didn't think anypony knew that the drones were... well, drones."

Zecora smiled as she glanced back at the changeling princess, "Your curiosity truly wants pure facts. Anyone can learn about a race by observing their acts. The past assaults from your hive were a perfect moment, for me to observe and mark your potent. I studied their actions, making notes of their behavior, but the information I gathered was nothing to savor. I only learned the basics to your culture, though they be crude. But I believe my words are beginning to sound rude."

Naractia shook her head, "No, that's fine. I really think that anypony's life-style is better than a changelings."

"Oh, and what would make you say so? Please answer truthfully, for I wish to know."

The changeling princess dug at the ground as she walked, looking down at the tracks that she left behind, "Well, it's really just..." She searched her mind for a way to sum it up.

But then she sighed, "We changelings feed off of the love of our victims, and I have done this for my whole life without truly thinking about it. But, during my time in Canterlot, just before the invasion, I watched as Shining Armor gave something to Princess Cadence. It was something that I had never seen before: True, pure love, willingly given from on being to another."

"After that, I started to wonder what it would feel like to have love given to me, rather than stealing it like a parasite. I began to envy that love, but then I came to realize why the hive at failed to invade Canterlot. Everypony shared some love with each other. Whether it be between lovers, family, or friends, it was still more powerful than our force."

Naractia sighed, "But even so, lots of ponies were still getting hurt and their homes were being destroyed. So I resolved to do everything in my power to drive the hive away from Equestria. But now my mother has banished me from the hive, along with sending these drones after me. I guess I can't help in the way that I did before."

Zecora smiled softly to Naractia, "You may have helped us while among your hive, but there is a way to help Equestria to survive. You must stay close to your friends and allies, for with them you shall reach the skies. And Rowan is one who will share a similar fate as you, for your destinies are more intertwined than you knew."

Naractia was caught off guard by Zecora's statement. She looked at the zebra with a questioning glance, "What do you mean? How can you be sure of that?"

Zecora looked forwards again, "Ah, but our conversation grows short, for we are here. It will be safe, but I advise that you stay near."

Naractia nodded, leaving their conversation behind. She knew full well that anything could lie inside the forest, and she wouldn't want to run into something dangerous. The two walked out from between the dense trees of the forest with the drones in tow, and stepped out into a large grove.

The floor of the grove was covered in nice, smooth grass, very unlike the vegetation of the rest of the forest. The entire grove was empty, save for three small trees. The trees were small compared to the massive ones of the forest, but still stood taller than four ponies who were stacked on top of each other.

Zecora walked up to the nearest tree and carefully laid the drone she carried against its trunk. She turned to Naractia, "Place those drones by the other trunks, if you please. I will get rope and we will bind them to each of the trees."

Naractia did as instructed and placed the changelings she carried by the other trees. Once she laid the last drone against the trunk of the last tree, Naractia looked back at Zecora to see the zebra finish tying a rope around the first changeling, fastening it to the tree it was under.

Naractia glanced warily at the bound drone, "Um, Zecora? What if they manage to slip free or cut open those ropes?"

Zecora smiled softly as she moved to bind the other drones, "These ropes were tightly hoof-woven from my home. They will not break and allow these changelings to roam. Many enchantments these binds do possess, which makes them fairly stronger than the rest."

Naractia, however, didn't find herself convinced by the zebra's reply, "Um, but say that they could break free of those ropes? If they got away, they'd be long gone by the time we noticed. Maybe we should keep watching them, just to make sure. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Zecora tied together the last knot of the drone she was binding, and was now moving on to the last drone, "Ah, do not worry, my young friend. If it would make you feel any better, I will watch them until the night is at end."

Naractia still wasn't sure about the idea, "All by yourself? I mean, do you think you'll be all right? I could stay here and help. I know more about the drones than you do, so I would know how to handle them."

Zecora smiled as she quickly tied the last changeling drone to the final tree, "It is quite all right, Naractia my darling. I have meditated through the whole of the morning. Go back to my hut and sleep in my bed. Your journey was tiring and you must rest your head."

Naractia let out an involuntary yawn, "*Ah*... Yeah, I guess you're right." The changeling turned around to head back to the hut, "Okay, Zecora. I'll be back here as soon as I wake up. Is there anything you want from the hut that I could bring when I come back?"

Zecora paused for a moment, scratching a hoof to her chin. But then the zebra replied, "Yes, there is something that I will need when these drones awake. I will require the saddle-bag with my herbal ingredients, for their sake. And it would please me if you brought a meal for me. I will be famished when the morning breaks free."

Naractia nodded, "Okay, your saddle-bag with herbal ingredients, along with breakfast. Got it. See you tomorrow, Zecora." With that, Naractia waved goodbye and walked into the forest, retracing her path back to Zecora's hut.

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Rowan and Shade came out of the forest and into the dark streets of Ponyville. Everypony was asleep, which meant that nobody would see Rowan visit Twilight's library in the dead of night. Although, Rowan hoped that Twilight hadn't gone to bed as well. He'd rather not have to wake her up in the middle of the night.

With the silence of a shadow, Rowan and Shade made their way through Ponyville towards the library. They turned the corner of a street to see the library, light still visible through its windows.

Rowan sighed with relief, "Good, Twilight must still be awake. That'll make things a bit easier." He looked down at Shade, standing by his side, "Come on, Shade. Let's go."

The wolf let out a quiet yip and they both walked up to the front door. Careful to not be too loud, Rowan knocked a hoof on the wooden door.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Twilight. She looked tired, seeing as there were dark rings under her eyes and her mane was sticking out from its usual place in several areas. But this was understandable to Rowan, seeing as Twilight had been up for at least 24 hours by now, no doubt doing a researching spree for Princess Celestia.

The purple unicorn held a surprised look on her face, "Oh, hi Rowan, Shade. What are you doing here?" She looked past them to see outside, "It's the middle of the night. *Yawn*, I really should be getting to bed."

Rowan smiled, "Well, there's something that I need to tell you. Can we come in?"

"Sure. Come in." Twilight stepped back out of the doorway to let Rowan and Shade in.

Rowan and Shade walked into the library, closing the door softly behind them, "Thanks."

Rowan looked around at the inside of the library. Instead of being clean and organized, like it had been earlier that morning, the library was strewn with books of all sizes. The only clear space in the library was a couch and a chair in the opposite corner.

Twilight smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about the mess. I had a little study night, but I didn't mean to go this late into the night."

"Naw, it's all right." Rowan gave her a reassuring smile, but then he remembered something, "Oh, hey. Where's Spike?"

"He's upstairs, asleep. You know he needs to go to bed earlier than everypony else. He is a baby dragon, after all."

Rowan sighed, I guess I'll have him send the letter to Princess Luna tomorrow, along with my daily report. Oh well, first I need to tell Twilight what happened.

Twilight walked to the far corner of the library and sat herself down on the couch, "So Rowan, did you get the Nightmare Night celebration planned out with the mayor?"

Rowan walked up to her and sat himself in a different chair, "Um, yeah, I did. But-"

Twilight cut him off, "So do will you need help tomorrow? You know, with making sure all of the preparations are made?"

Rowan rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'll need help with that, but-"

Once again, the purple unicorn cut him off, "This Nightmare Night is going to be great, isn't it? I can't wait to see what things we'll be doing different than last year's celebration. I'm sure you'll have some amazing things planned out-"

"Twilight!" Rowan stopped her sharply, "I'm not here to talk about Nightmare Night. There's something that happened out in the forest, and it's kind of important that you know about it."

Twilight let out a startled gasp, "Oh, sorry. What is it? What happened?"

Rowan scratched the back of his head, "Well, do you remember when I said that someone gave me the last page of the Liber Tenebrarum? You know, right after the changeling incident?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, I remember. Now that I think about, you never did tell us who you got it from."

Rowan grimaced, "Well... I saw her again tonight, and she needs help."

Another gasp, "Who is it? Where is she?"

Rowan's mouth pulled back into a grimace, "Her name is Princess Naractia. She's the daughter of Queen Chrysalis. She's on the run from the changelings, and right now, she's with Zecora in the forest."

Twilight's eyes widened as her mind instantly became filled with questions, "What?... But.... But, why would she have given you the page? Why did she come here for help?"

Rowan smiled a bit at Twilight's surprised expression, "Well, I'm going to have to do a bit of explaining. In fact, it might take most of the night, so you might as well get comfortable." With that, Rowan began to tell his tale, starting back to his first encounter with Naractia, when she gave him the page of the Liber Tenebrarum.

Preparations and Worries

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Rowan woke up in his bed the next morning. He'd gone to bed a few hours before sunrise, which wasn't nearly enough sleep for him. But still, he groggily got himself up, knowing that he needed to transcribe the Liber Tenebrarum, just like he did everyday.

The night before, Rowan had explained to Twilight the situation about Naractia and the drones. After a few questions from Twilight, Rowan returned to his house, dead tired, and fell asleep.

Getting off his bed, Rowan walked out of his bedroom and into the study, to do his daily task of transcribing the Liber Tenebrarum. As Rowan walked into his study, he remembered that he was supposed to get preparations ready for Nightmare Night with Twilight. And on top of that, he had promised to go check on Naractia and Zecora. Rowan sighed as he realized that his day was going to be practically full.

Oh, well. Rowan shrugged, I should try to transcribe the Liber Tenebrarum as fast as possible.

He looked at the clock in the study. It read 8:20, and Twilight was supposed to come over at 9:00 to help oversee preparations with him.

Rowan smiled, It usually takes me about half an hour to fully copy the page, so I'll have plenty of time. His stomach growled at him, making Rowan chuckle, Although, I should still work fast. I want to be able to eat before Twilight gets here.

In an instant, Rowan brought out all of the required materials for his daily task: One quill, two pieces of parchment, the Book of Shadows, and the page of the Liber Tenebrarum. With everything on his desk, Rowan quickly began to transcribe the page in a frenzy.

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Naractia woke up lying down on a bed, inside Zecora's hut. The hut was surrounded by thick trees, but as Naractia looked outside, she could tell it was morning from the faint light that trickled through the canopy of branches and leaves. Yawning loudly, she got out of bed, "I wonder how Zecora's doing right now."

But as Naractia got up, she remembered something, "Oh, yeah. I need to get some things for Zecora before I go back." She looked around at the inside of the hut until she spotted a saddle bag by the front door. She walked over to the bag and opened it, revealing an wide assortment of herbs and plants. Satisfied for finding it, Naractia closed the bag and left it by the door, making a mental note to bring it along when she left for the grove.

"All right, with that settled, now I just need to find some food for Zecora." Suddenly, her stomach growled, "Oh, yeah. I should probably get something to eat for myself."

Naractia walked around the inside of the hut, looking for anything edible. It was difficult for her, seeing as she had only spent a minimal amount of time among ponies and she never really paid attention to what they ate. Plus, Zecora's hut was filled with hundreds of different things that could be mistaken for food.

There was a plant on a shelf with several heart shaped leaves, but Naractia didn't think that it was common around town, so she assumed that it wasn't food and left it alone. There was a pouch of seeds in a cupboard, but when Naractia picked it up, a few seeds spilled out and fell to the floor. As soon as the seeds made contact with the ground, they burst in loud snaps, making Naractia jump back a to the opposite side of the hut.

Naractia let out a deep breath, "Okay, I doubt that's food." Cautious not to spill anymore seeds, Naractia put back the pouch. "Come on, Naractia." She sighed to herself, "If I were in a hut filled with dangerous ingredients for potions, where would I put some normal food?" She thought for a moment. The most logical answer to her was to keep the food in a secluded place, away from any dangerous plants.

Naractia scanned the inside of the hut until her eyes caught sight of a small cupboard on the opposite side of the hut. Naractia smiled as she made her way over to the cupboard. She opened it to find a few shelves filled with ordinary food, like bread, fruit, and veggies.

Naractia looked through the cupboard, "All right, I shouldn't take too much. Just enough for me and Zecora... Well, maybe I'll take some extra, just in case."

Being careful about the amount of food she took, Naractia grabbed a loaf of bread, a few carrots, and couple of apples and stuck them in a sack. Carrying the sack with her magic, she walked over to the door, pulled the saddle bag up onto her back, and raced out the hut, on her way to the grove where Zecora was waiting.

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Rowan sighed with relief as he put down his quill, having finished his daily transcription. He looked at the clock in the study. It read 8:40, which made Rowan raise his eyebrows.

"Hm... I finished in twenty minutes. That's a new record." He shrugged, "Anyways, I should eat something before Twilight gets here."

He quickly put away the Book of Shadows on his bookshelf and deposited his two usual letters, along with the page of the Liber Tenebrarum, in his storage spell. With everything in their place, Rowan ran downstairs to eat breakfast.

Rowan came down the stairs and into the main room of his house, walking to the kitchen on the other side of the room. But as he crossed the room, a deep snoring stopped him. Rowan turned his head to see Shade, sleeping on the couch.

Rowan smiled at the wolf, "Guess I should leave some sausages out for you before I go." Rowan walked for the kitchen, shaking his head, "Although, I don't see why I even bother. Shade usually gets his own food from the forest." Shrugging, he continued into the kitchen, "Anyways, I should eat breakfast quickly. Twilight will be here any minute."

Once he was in the kitchen, Rowan opened the fridge and muttered to himself as he tried to find something to eat, "Hm... Eggs?... No, I don't have time to cook them. Plus, I don't feel like cleaning up afterwards... Cereal?" He thought to himself, "Okay, cereal it is."

He grabbed a carton of milk out of the fridge as he levitated a box of cereal, a bowl, and a spoon onto the table. He quickly poured himself a bowl and began to eat. But as Rowan put the first spoonful of cereal in his mouth, his mind began to wander back to Naractia and Zecora.

He thought to himself, "I wonder how they're doing. Have the drones even woken up yet?" He certainly hoped that they hadn't. Rowan had only spent a short amount of time among changelings, but he had been around them long enough to know not to underestimate them. They seemed to be able to weasel their way into anything, as well as get out of anything just as easily. They could slip past anything and hurt any pony as they pleased

But Rowan shook his head, "Come on, Rowan. Don't worry about them. Naractia's been around changelings her entire life. She's sure to know how to handle them. Plus, Zecora's with them. That zebra can handle almost anything." But Rowan's attempt to calm himself didn't help. He still worried about them, both Naractia and Zecora.

Within a few minutes, Rowan had finished his bowl of cereal. Once he'd drank the last bit of milk, he levitated his empty bowl over to the sink and put away the cereal and milk in the respective places.

Having finished his breakfast, Rowan walked out into the main room and slumped down on the couch, still dead tired from his lack of sleep. Despite his desire to fall asleep right there, he kept himself awake.

Rowan shook his head at himself, "Come on, Rowan. You can sleep later. First, I need to check preparations for Nightmare Night with Twilight. Right after that, I need to go see how Naractia and Zecora are handling those drones." Then an idea struck his mind, "Maybe I should bring Twilight along when I check on them. I'm sure that she'd want to meet Naractia."

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking coming from the front door. Rowan got up and opened the door to reveal Twilight and Spike.

Rowan wasn't expecting to see Spike, but he still smiled at them, "Hey guys."

Spike waved a claw, "Hey, Rowan. I heard Twilight say that she was going to help you with Nightmare Night, so I asked if I could come along. Plus, after Princess Luna sent you that letter, I've been thinking a bit about the celebration and I've got a couple ideas that I want you to hear."

Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant, "Spike, I'm only helping Rowan with the preparations. Plus, I think that the entire celebration has already been planned out."

Rowan grinned at them, "Well actually, there's one part of the night that I still need to plan. I'm sure that I can listen to your ideas on our way to check the preparations." He looked at Twilight, "Speaking of which, where to first?"

Twilight conjured up a checklist and looked at the first item of business, "Well, first we need to visit Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack's supposed to be in charge of bobbing for apples along with a few other games."

Rowan walked out of his house and shut the door behind him, "Great! Let's get going."

Walking side-by-side, Twilight and Rowan walked through town towards Sweet Apple Acres. But as they walked, Spike, who rode on Twilight's back, talked to Rowan about his ideas for Nightmare Night.

Spike let loose a fury of ideas, "Ah man! It'd be sweet if you popped out of nowhere using that shadow warp spell. That'd freak everypony out! Oh, and I was thinking maybe you could cover the sky with clouds and make lightning storm!"

Rowan grinned at the dragon, "Yeah, that sounds good. It'd be perfect for the start of the night."

Spike beamed at Rowan as he continued to relay more ideas for Nightmare Night. But as Spike continued to blather about his ideas, Rowan found a chance to speak with Twilight.

Rowan glanced sideways towards the lavender unicorn by him, "Hey, does Spike know about what I told you last night?"

Twilight shook her head, "No, he doesn't know yet. Although, I was able to get him to send that letter you wrote to Princess Luna. He did ask why he was sending it, but I didn't tell him."

Before he had left Twilight's house the night before, Rowan had written a letter to Princess Luna that explained the situation about Naractia and the drones. Since Spike had been asleep when Rowan was there, Twilight had promised to hold onto the letter and have Spike send it in the morning when he woke up.

Rowan sighed with relief when he heard that it'd been sent, "Thanks, Twilight." He glanced back towards Spike, who was still oblivious to their conversation. Keeping his voice to a whisper, Rowan looked back at Twilight, "But we'll have to tell him what's going on. Not now, but just as soon as Luna tells us what to do about you-know-who."

Twilight nodded and looked forwards to the road ahead, "Hey, look! There's Sweet Apple Acres."

Rowan looked forwards to see the massive apple orchards that belonged to the Apple Family. Most of the trees were bare, since it was almost the end of Apple-bucking season. And right now, a certain mare was bucking a nearby apple tree with her back hooves.

Rowan called out to her, "Hey, Applejack!"

Applejack looked towards them and waved back. Leaving the tree for later, she ran towards her friends. Upon reaching them, Applejack had a wide smile on her face, "Howdy Twi, Rowan, Spike. What brings ya'll 'round here today?"

Twilight smiled at the mare, "Well, Princess Luna asked Rowan to oversee Nightmare Night, and I'm helping him check preparations for the celebration." She looked at her checklist again, "So, do you have everything ready that you're doing?"

AJ grinned smugly, "Why, yes-sir-e! I've got all of tha apples picked fer bobbing fer apples and all of tha pumpkins ready fer tha pumpkin launch."

Rowan grinned, "Great. Can we see?"

"Why sure! Of course ya guys can. Just follow me." Applejack turned around and started towards the barn, Rowan, Twilight, and Spike following after her.

As they all walked to the barn, Rowan caught something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see the edge of the Everfree forest, just lying outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Continuing to look at the forest while he walked, his thoughts began to draw back to Naractia and Zecora with the drones. And as the thoughts began to return to his mind, so did the worries that accompanied the thoughts, making Rowan grimace.

Twilight looked back to Rowan and noticed his expression. "Hey, are you all right?" She asked him.

Rowan quickly shook his head out of his thoughts, "Um, yeah, I guess. I'm just worried about them." He pointed his head back towards the forest.

Twilight understood that when Rowan said "them", he meant Naractia and Zecora. She smiled at him reassuringly, "Don't worry. I'm sure that they're fine."

Rowan shook his head, "Well, it's not just them that I'm worrying about. It's what Zecora said when she explained that someone else must have sent those drones. There's something going on that nobody knows about, and it could happen at any moment. What if something already happened to Zecora and-" Rowan cut himself short as they reached the barn.

Applejack opened the door to the barn and led the others inside, "All right ya'll, this where we're keepin' all of our supplies for Nightmare Night."

Rowan walked into the barn and looked around at the interior. On all sides of the barn, stacked high to the rafters, were dozens of baskets of apples and at least a hundred pumpkins. Rowan couldn't believe that Sweet Apple Acres could supply this much from their crops alone.

As Rowan and Twilight inspected the supply, Spike jumped off Twilight's back and stood in the middle of the barn, looking at the vast inventory of apples and pumpkins. The dragon laughed out loud, "Wow, Applejack. I think we'll be good for Nightmare Night."

Applejack smiled smugly, "Well, Ah certainly hope so. Last year, we did just fine when it came to apples, but we ran out of pumpkins a bit before th' end of the night. Ah don't think that'll happen this year, though."

Rowan smiled as he finished inspecting the supply, "Yep, it looks like we're all set here."

Twilight nodded at him at marked off an item on her checklist, "Okay, we have Sweet Apple Acres all set for the celebration, but we still have a few more things to check before we're done."

Rowan nodded, "Right, we should probably get going. I want to be finished with this as soon as possible." He looked back to Applejack, "Thanks, AJ. I hope we didn't take too much of your time."

Applejack shook her head, "Naw, that's all right, sugarcube. Ah always have time for mah friends."

Rowan grinned at the mare, while Spike climbed back onto Twilight's back. All of them walked out of the barn together, and then Applejack shut the door behind them.

Rowan, Twilight, and Spike waved good bye to Applejack as they began to walk back to town. As they walked, Rowan looked Twilight, "Okay, where to next?"

Twilight looked on her checklist, "Next we need to stop by Carousel Boutique, to see if Rarity has all of the decorations ready."

Rowan nodded, "Right, let's get this finished as soon as possible." With that, the two unicorns, accompanied with a small dragon, galloped back towards town.

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Naractia walked into the grove, momentarily blinded by the sudden increase of exposure from sunlight. Once her vision adjusted to the brightness, Naractia saw Zecora sitting in front of the bound changeling drones, watching them closely with an unwavering eye.

Naractia glanced over at the drones to find them beginning to move, but it didn't look like they were fully awake. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked up to Zecora.

Upon reaching the zebra, Naractia quietly whispered to Zecora, as to avoid waking the drones, "Hey, I'm back."

Zecora nodded as she kept watching the drones, "There is no need to be quiet around the drones. They will wake soon, and it won't matter if it be from our tones."

Naractia nooded as she understood, "Right. Well, I brought the things you asked for, including breakfast." She lifted the saddle-bag off of her back and placed it in front of Zecora, along with the small bag of food she carried.

Zecora glanced down at the saddle-bag, smiling as she recognized it as her own, "Thank you, Naractia, for bringing my bags. Of course, you must be hungry, for I hear your stomach urgently nags."

Naractia's stomach growled at her, making the changeling grimace, "Well, I didn't eat yet. I thought that I should eat later with you, so that I wouldn't keep you waiting here alone."

Zecora smiled sideways towards her, "That was a wise decision to have made. It is wiser to accompany those who are alone, than to leave them in wait." She bent her head down and began to leaf through the saddle-bag, "You may eat first, but before these drones wake, I need to make a particular brew. It would be easier for them to take it without seeing any fear of what it may do."

Naractia nodded and began to help herself to some of the food that she'd brought. Meanwhile, Zecora was grinding several herbs together between her hooves. Naractia glanced curiously at Zecora's actions as the zebra prepared some sort of mixture with the herbs.

As she bit off a piece of bread, Naractia asked Zecora, "Hey, Zecora? What is that for?"

Zecora didn't look back as she replied, "Every drone has a instinctual link to their hive. The purpose of the concoction that I make is to overpower this link, and allow their minds to thrive. Without their instinct, their urge to return to the queen will not be due. And with their minds, we may be able to learn who sent them after you."

Naractia paused for a moment, taking in what Zecora had said, before she replied, "Well, drones have never thought for themselves when I was with the hive. They've always required the guidance of the queen to survive, so they've never really needed to think for themselves. In fact, I didn't think that they had real minds of their own."

Zecora stood up, "It is finished, ready for the drones to take. We can only hope it will work, for their sake."

Naractia inhaled sharply, "Wait, you mean it has a chance of failing? What happens if it doesn't work?"

Zecora didn't respond, which Naractia figured was a bad sign. Neither of them spoke, as they thought about the nasty result that could follow if the potion failed. Just thinking about it made Naractia shudder.

Ending the silence, Zecora held up a small cloth filled with a light green powder, "This is the brew that the drones will need. We must hide it in their food, and then wait for them to feed." She looked at the drones, who were beginning to rouse, "I need you to give them the food that you brought, with the potion hidden inside. I would advise that you do it quickly before they open their eyes."

Naractia took the powder from Zecora and began to sprinkle it on the rest of the food in the sack. But as she did this, Naractia noticed Zecora begin to walk back into the forest, her saddle-bag laid on her back.

The changeling called out to her, "Hey, wait! You aren't just leaving, are you?"

Zecora looked over her shoulder as continued to walk, "I am sorry, but I have other matters that require my attention. Just make sure you keep watch over the drones and give them my potion. I will be back after I have done my jobs, but do not fear, for I will not be too long." With that, the zebra disappeared behind the line of trees surrounding the grove.

With her zebra friend gone, Naractia returned to her task of applying the potion to the drone's food. By taking the sack, and shaking it vigorously with her levitation, Naractia was able to quickly mix the potion and the food. But as she finished mixing the powder among the food, she heard buzzing and moans from the drones as they began to regain consciousness.

Quickly stashing away what remained of the potion, Naractia split all of the food three ways, to feed all of the drones.

The changeling drones wearily opened their eyes, taking in their new surroundings. Suddenly, they became aware of the ropes that held them bound to a tree. They all struggled with their restraints, but they stopped as they saw that they couldn't break free.

They all thrashed about frantically to get free, or even loose. That is, until their eyes rested on a yellow unicorn mare that stood nearby.

One of the drones hissed at the her, eyes burning in anger, "Release us now, you filthy pony!"

The mare sighed, "I'm guessing that you don't know who I am." Suddenly, the pony erupted in green flames, revealing the banished princess, Naractia.

The drones glared fiercely at the revealed princess. "Traitor," They all spat, "Release us now! Weakling!"

Naractia shook her head, "Sorry, but I can't allow that." Being sure to keep at a safe distance, she levitated three equal portions of food, placing them just in front of each of the drones, easily within their reach.

The drones eyed the food cautiously, until one demanded, "What is this rubbish?"

Naractia gave them a idle glance, "It's food. You can choose to eat it or not, I don't care either way. But this is all that you'll be getting for now."

All of them hissed at the banished princess, "We wouldn't eat this, even if the queen commanded us to. Take it away!"

Naractia shrugged, "Fine, starve to death. It's not like you drones care if you live or not. You're all just too scared to eat anything that an 'enemy' gave you. Just know that I could have left you in the forest to die." In a humph, Naractia walked away from the drones, leaving the food in front of them.

Once she was at a decent distance from the drones, Naractia reverted back to her unicorn form. She pretended to gaze up at the sky and watch the clouds pass overhead, but in truth, she was watching the drones in the corner of her eye.

Her plan had been to key into the drones' instinctual behavior to rebel against the enemy. She had said that she didn't care if they ate the food, but by doing this, it would be their instinct to rebel against anything that she'd said. And as Naractia glanced back at them, she figured that her plan had worked well, because all three of them were slowly nibbling the food, along with the potion that covered their meal.

Naractia grinned slyly to herself, Now that they've taken the potion, now all I have to do is wait and see if it actually works. If it does, I may be able to find out who's behind all of this... She trailed off for a moment, But if it doesn't, I could lose that information, along with the drones.

For a moment, she stood silent, occasionally glancing back to the drones as they ate. They didn't seem to notice her as she watched them. But Naractia was surprised that none of them had noticed the potion as they ate it. Naractia shrugged, as she assumed that Zecora had somehow made the potion tasteless.

Naractia sighed to herself, "I shouldn't worry. If Zecora made it, then it has to work. Rowan's told me about all of her experience with this kind of thing, and she's never failed once." She shuddered, "Still, I just hope she hasn't failed today."

Unused Minds

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"All right, Rarity. All of the decorations look good for Nightmare NIght. You really did a great job." Rowan smiled at the stylized, white mare. Behind him, Rowan could hear Twilight mark off decorations on her checklist.

Rarity waved a hoof nonchalantly, "Oh, darling. You give me far too much credit. This year's decorations are far less extravagant than the ones that I made for last year's celebration."

"No way, Rarity!" Spike piped up, "Anything that you design is great!"

Rarity giggled at the dragon's compliment, "Thank you, my little Spikey-Wikey."

Spike smiled smugly, which made Twilight roll her eyes. Rarity turned around and began to head into the back room, "Sorry dearies. I have some other priorities to attend to."

Rowan chuckled a bit before turning back towards Twilight, "All right, we should get going. We have a few other preparations to make."

Twilight nodded, "Right." She looked back at Spike to see him staring dreamily at Rarity as she walked away. She rolled her eyes yet again as she picked him up with her levitation, placing the dragon on her back, "Come on, Lover Boy. It's time to go."

Spike simply let out a sigh as he continued to stare in Rarity's direction. Rowan shrugged and lead Twilight and Spike out of the Boutique. He looked over his shoulder, "All right, Twilight. Where to next?"

Twilight checked the next item on her list, "It looks like we have Sugar Cube Corner next. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are supposed to be making treats for the celebration."

Rowan nodded, "Right." As they walked through town towards Sugar Cube Corner, Rowan couldn't help but glance over towards the Everfree Forest in the distance. Instantly, his worry for Naractia and Zecora rose into his mind, and he began to scan the forest for anything out of the ordinary.

Twilight glanced sideways at Rowan, who was intently looking at the forest. She knew what he was thinking about; Naractia and Zecora, along with the three changeling drones they were watching. She glanced back to the road in front of her and she caught a glimpse of her library. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.

She stopped for a moment, sticking a hoof out to stop Rowan from subconsciously walking any further. Rowan ran into her outstretched hoof, stopping with a lurch of surprise.

Rowan glanced quickly at her, "What? Why're we stopping?"

Twilight flashed him a grin, as she then glanced back towards Spike on her back, "Hey, Spike? Why don't you head back to the library? Rowan and I can finish the preparations on our own."

Spike scratched his spines in confusion, "Wait, really? Won't you need my help?"

"Spike, it's fine. Besides, since you came with me to help Rowan with preparations, you didn't have time to do your usual chores around the library. You didn't think that I'd just let you skip out on your regular duties, did you?"

Spike groaned, "But Twilight..."

Twilight cut him off sharply, "No 'buts', Spike. Go back to the library and finish your chores."

Spike sighed as he dropped off of Twilight's back, "All right. Bye, Rowan. I'll see you later."

Rowan waved goodbye to the little dragon as he watched Spike waddle down the street and into the library. Once Spike was out of sight, Rowan turned to Twilight.

"Why did you send Spike back to the library?" He asked curiously, "Knowing you, you would have let him tag along until we were finished."

Twilight smirked as she put away her checklist in a flash of magic, "We're taking a break right now."

Rowan raised an eyebrow, "We are?" He shook his head, "But we need to get preparations done quickly, so I can check on Naractia and Zecora as soon as possible."

Twilight smiled as she began to push back down the street they came from, "And that's exactly what were doing. We're going to check on them right now."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, so far, you've spent most of the day just staring at the forest. I can tell that you're really worried about them, so that's why were taking a break from preparations and paying Zecora a visit."

Rowan looked questionably at the lavender unicorn, "You're going off of your schedule? Are you sure that you're Twilight Sparkle, and not some kind of changeling impostor?"

Twilight laughed, "Come on, Rowan. We don't have all day." She galloped past him, heading directly for the Everfree Forest.

Rowan grinned as he then galloped after Twilight, without a single moment to lose.

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Naractia sat on the her haunches, as she continually stared at the three drones who were bound to the trees of the grove. The drones had finished their meal, and with nothing else to do, they simply returned Naractia's steady gaze with a glare of their own. And so, complete silence passed between the four changelings, none of them caring to speak.

After a few minutes of showing no emotion whatsoever, Naractia broke the silence, "So, aren't any of you going to say something?"

"None of us would speak to a traitor like you." The first changeling spat, "To speak with a weakling like you would be a disgrace to the hive."

Naractia wasn't fazed. This was the usual opinion of the drones, as a whole. She sighed, "Don't you even know why I went against Chrysalis in the first place?"

Another drone hissed at Naractia, "We already know why. It was because you were weak and incompetent. A fool like you does not deserve the acceptance of the queen."

Naractia shook her head, muttering softly, "No, that's just how you see it. The real reason... was because I discovered something that would never be given to a changeling: Pure love, willingly given."

One drone spat at her, "Love. That's a pitiful idea these ponies have. You are a fool to believe an absurd sentiment like that. Their love has no power over the world or the hive. The power of the queen is greater than anything."

Naractia's eyes narrowed, "Then what do changelings feed on to make them stronger? How were Shining Armor and Princess Cadence able to repel the entire hive, when every drone was within the city? *You* are the fools if you think that love has no power, because in reality, love is the most powerful force in the universe, and Chrysalis can't come even close to matching it."

The drones all stared at Naractia in silence, as they began to comprehend what the banished princess had said. Naractia allowed herself a tiny grin, Zecora's potion must be working. Any normal drone would have rejected everything that I said in an instant. She looked at all of the drones, to find them all lost in thought with confused expressions evident on their faces, Not to mention they're actually thinking. I've never seen a drone in the hive think at all. They just obeyed the order of the queen.

Naractia smirked at the drones, "I guess you never had thought of that before. You only followed the truth that the queen gave you, but little did you realize that she has been playing you to direct anger towards the ponies of Equestria."

One changeling paused, "We are... thinking?"

Another spoke, "We've never been able to think before."

The third drone gasped, "How... How are we able to think? We have never needed to think under the queen."

All of the drones were awestruck, and Naractia jumped into the opportunity made by their confusion, "You've never had to think before, because you've had Chrysalis to dictate you. But when she was leading the hive, she lied to you all in the process. In fact, she doesn't even want you to be able to think for yourselves. She wants you all to be her own army of slaves, forever."

The drones all hissed in anger, "Shut up, traitor! You know nothing! We follow the queen, and no other."

Naractia sighed and stood up, knowing that this conversation wasn't leading anywhere good, "You probably won't be able to understand, but I thought it was worth a try." She turned her back on the drones, "Just so you know, I was telling the truth. You've been lied to for your entire existence. But it feels good, doesn't it? To think for yourselves?"

Silence followed, as all of the drones fell silent in their thoughts, refusing to say anything to Naractia. But that was quite all right with the changeling princess. She didn't want to say any more.

Taking the advantage of the silence, Naractia laid down on her back, and looked up at the blue sky overhead. Above her, several clouds traveled through the air on their own, without the need of a pegasus pony to push them along. With the soft grass under her and a small breeze above, Naractia finally got a chance to enjoy the beautiful morning that she had come to miss.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Rowan huffed loudly as he galloped through the Everfree Forest, dodging any underbrush or tree roots that stuck out of the path he was following. He glanced to the side to see Twilight, who was racing hoof-to-hoof with him.

Twilight met his glance with her eyes, narrowing her eyes into a competitive glare, "Try to keep up!" Looking back to the trail ahead, she surged ahead of Rowan with surprising strength.

Rowan grinned, "Oh, no you don't!" He quickly sped up his gallop into a full sprint. In a flash, Rowan ran past Twilight. Rowan glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled. Having been a human before gave him a few advantages in Equestria, one of which was having the speed and endurance of a human enhanced with the durability of a equine. Because of this, Rowan could run exceedingly faster than he could as a human, making it easier for him to beat a non-athletic pony like Twilight.

Rowan looked ahead to see Zecora's hut at the end of the trail. He grinned, "Here's the home-stretch." He ran at a rapid pace towards the door, and with Twilight so far behind, this race was his for the taking.

Well... or so he thought. Right as Rowan was five feet away from the door to the hut, a flash of bright light appeared in front of the entryway, making Rowan stop suddenly. When the light suddenly subsided, Rowan looked to see Twilight smugly place a hoof on the door.

She smirked at Rowan, "I win."

Rowan grinned, "Oh, whatever. I would have won anyways. I guess next time we race, I need to make a 'no magic' rule."

Twilight chuckled, "Come on. Let's see if Zecora and Naractia are here." She knocked a hoof on the hut's door.

After a moment, the door opened to reveal Zecora. Although, Rowan and Twilight were both taken aback by the zebra's appearance. Zecora's mane was in a wild mess instead of her usual mo-hawk, and she had dark rings under her eyes, indicating tiredness.

Zecora stifled a yawn as she looked at her visitors, "Oh, Rowan, Twilight. I did not expect you to be back so soon. Have you finished preparations for Nightmare Moon?"

Rowan shook his head, "No, we haven't finished preparations. We just took a break to check up on you and Naractia."

Twilight looked at Zecora curiously, "Hey, Zecora? Are you all right?"

The zebra nodded, "I stayed up to watch the drones throughout the night. I couldn't sleep then and risk letting them out of my sight. Naractia, though as strong as she may be, was too tired to take up the task effectively."

A thought struck Rowan, and he peered inside Zecora's hut. But as he looked inside, he couldn't see any sign of Naractia. He turned back to Zecora, "So where's Naractia and the other drones?"

Zecora yawned quietly, "They are in the grove where you practice your magic often. There, the hearts of the drones Naractia hopes to soften. I have given the drones a brew that will help her do so. But if you wish to see her, now would be the best time to go."

Rowan knew the grove that Zecora had mentioned quite well. It was his usual place to practice using shadow magic. For the past two months, he had practiced magic in the grove, rather in town where anypony could see him. He was sure that anypony would be unsettled by the fact that he was using magic that they had thought to be evil. So to avoid any conflict from the ponies in town, he'd decided to practice in the forest.

Rowan nodded to Zecora, "Right, I know the way there. Thanks, Zecora."

The zebra smiled softly, "Your welcome, my courageous friend. But for now, I must go to bed."

"You know, Zecora. You really are cutting it close with those rhymes."

Zecora merely chuckled as she walked back into her hut, closing the door behind her.

Now alone, Rowan turned to Twilight, "All right. I know the way to the grove from here. Just try to keep up." With that, he galloped past Twilight and into the depths of the forest.

Twilight yelped slightly before galloping after him, "Hey, wait up!"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naractia looked up at the skies above her, keeping herself entertained by watching the clouds. They were all like soft piles of cotton, ranging in several shapes that both confused and pleased her at the same time. With the wind billowing softly through her mane, a unique sense of peace washed over her. For a short moment, she wondered why the hive wanted to destroy anything that was so peaceful.

She glanced at the drones, tied up under each of their own trees. They were all silent, refusing to say anything else to Naractia. The changeling princess shrugged, drones had always been stubborn to their ideals, and she doubted that even if they thought for themselves it would make any difference.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. Instinctively, Naractia jumped up onto her hooves and faced the source of the sound, horn glowing as she prepared her magic.

Rowan quickly waved a hoof to her, "Wait, hold your fire."

Naractia released her focus on her magic, "Oh, sorry Rowan. I didn't know it was you."

Rowan chuckled, "Hey, no problem. I just came to check on you and the drones. Plus, I'd like you to meet somebody."

Naractia looked past Rowan to see a lavender, unicorn mare standing behind him. Rowan stepped out of the way to make introductions, "Naractia, this is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia, sister of Captian Shining Armor of the Royal Canterlot Guard, and bearer of the Element of Magic." He turned to Twilight, "Twilight, this is Naractia."

Twilight stepped forward and held out a hoof, "Hi, Naractia. Rowan's told me a lot about you. I couldn't wait to finally meet you."

Naractia shook Twilight's outstretched hoof, "Likewise." She paused for a moment, withdrawing her hoof from the shake. Silence followed as no one said anything, making the absence of noise long and somewhat awkward.

"So, Naractia." Rowan broke the silence, "Are the drones awake?"

Naractia nodded, "Oh, yeah. They've been awake for a while. You should check on them."

"Right." Rowan trotted past Naractia towards the bound drones.

Twilight began to follow after Rowan, but then she stopped as Naractia called out to her, "Wait, Twilight."

Twilight turned around, "Yes?"

Naractia looked sheepishly down at her hooves, "Look... I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Well, I'm sorry for everything that the hive has done to you. Invading Canterlot during your brother's wedding, attacking Ponyville to steal the Liber Tenebrarum, and..."

Twilight cut her off as she put a reassuring hoof on Naractia's shoulder, "It's okay. You don't have to apologize for what your hive did. The other changelings were the ones who followed Chrysalis, not you. Besides, you've done so much to help Equestria."

Naractia looked at Twilight with a small smile, "Really?" But then, she paused, "Twilight, there's something that you should know."

"What?"

Naractia looked down at her hooves, "Well, back before the Canterlot invasion, the night before the wedding day, Chrysalis had come to me, telling me that you had tried to reveal her true identity. She had just barely managed to escape being discovered as an impostor, but she didn't want anything like that happening again. So, she ordered me to dispose of you and take your place in the wedding."

Twilight let out a small gasp, "Really? But you didn't, did you?"

Naractia sighed, "I didn't do it. Chrysalis had asked too much of me and I refused. I just couldn't do anything like that, or else I couldn't live with myself. But even so, Chrysalis banished me from the hive so I couldn't help you when the invasion began. I could only watch the events unfold, useless to anypony."

Twilight smiled as she pulled in Naractia close, "Well, if you hadn't refused Chrysalis, then I couldn't have found Cadence in the caves underneath Canterlot. And if I hadn't found Cadence, then the changelings would have taken Canterlot for sure." Twilight gasped as she reached a conclusion, "Do you know what this means?"

Naractia shook her head

Twilight beamed at Naractia, "Because you refused Chrysalis, you sent a chain reaction that helped to save Equestria from being taken over by the changelings. You've been a bigger help already, and you didn't even know it."

Naractia was a bit taken aback, "Wait, I helped do all of that?"

Twilight nodded, "Without you, Chrysalis would have taken control of the entire country. I don't care what anypony says about the changelings or about you, you're just as good as the best ponies that I know." She held out a hoof to Naractia, "So, friends?"

Naractia paused, until she smiled and shook Twilight's hoof, "Friends."

A brief silence passed between them both, before Naractia looked back towards Rowan and the drones, "Hey, we should see if there's anything we can do to help."

Twilight nodded, "Right." And they both walked together to sit down by Rowan.

A changeling's View

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Night loomed over the grove as the lead changeling drone sat bound under a tree, just like his other two comrades. The moon rose into the sky, almost full in the night sky. A single zebra sat a few feet away from him, who he had learned was called Zecora. The zebra had taken over the night watch to keep an eye on him and his fellow changelings.

Before night had fallen, they had been visited by the infernal unicorn known as Rowan, along with the banished traitor Naractia and the student of Celestia, Twilight Sparkle. During their visit, they had questioned him and the other changelings why they had followed Naractia here. It was clear from their questions that they thought someone else had sent them, besides Queen Chrysalis.

But the truth was that they had been sent by someone other than the queen. They had been persuaded to pursue Naractia by a spy changeling. The spy had been situated in Ponyville before, so he knew a fair amount of knowledge to help in the capture of the banished princess. But the spy had also told them about a plan that he had put into motion already, and capturing Naractia was a crucial part of the plan.

The plan was that when he, the lead drone, had captured Naractia, then the spy would mobilize his forces and-

"Psst!"

The lead changeling was startled from his thoughts as a sound emanated from his right, behind his tree trunk. He craned his neck around the base of the tree to see the source. It was one of his fellow changelings who was also tied up like him.

His comrade saw that he had the his attention, "Psst! Have you found a way out of these ropes yet?"

The lead changeling glared at his comrade, which he knew to be a female, not that it mattered to him. "Quiet you. I haven't found any way to escape yet, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you in front of the zebra."

The female groaned, "You're just useless, aren't you? I don't see why you were made the leader." But then, something caught her eye. It was her other comrade, the other male. He didn't seem to be doing anything, except possibly watching the grass grow.

The female hissed at him, "And what do you think you're doing?"

The male shook his head as her voice brought him back to reality, "Wha-? Oh, I was just... thinking."

The female scoffed mockingly at him, "Oh, and just what were you thinking about?"

The male's eyes narrowed, "I'm only thinking because I've never been able to think before. I would have expected you guys to have tried it as well." None of the other two spoke, making the male sigh, "Haven't you thought about what Naractia said, about the queen lying to us? Do you think it could be true?"

The leader humphed, "It couldn't be true. It's all just a lie that the traitor planted in our minds."

The male shook his head, "But... our minds. We've never used them before today. And since we've never used them, then we couldn't have recognized if the queen was lying to us or not. Now, I don't like the sound of it, but Naractia's claims do have some... logic behind them."

The female paused, "Leader, he does have a point, but we must be loyal to the queen at all costs. What should we do?"

The leader stopped as he went through his mind. He was both conflicted by his duty and devotion to the queen, but Naractia's accusations were strong enough to match his loyalty for Chrysalis. How was he supposed to know what was true?

After thinking for a few moments, the leader reached a conclusion, "It's obvious that these ropes are weaved with enchantments, so we won't be able to escape for a while. But until then, we will watch Naractia and see if she shows any signs of having lied to us. If she slips up and accidentally reveals herself as a liar, then we continue with the plan as before."

The male piped up, "But what if she's not lying? What do we do then?"

The leader sighed, ".... I don't know."

Silence passed between the changelings. Not a sound was made, save for the occasional noise from the forest that surrounded them.

Suddenly, the male piped up, "You know, Naractia was right about one thing."

The female gave him a side long glance, "And what would that be?"

"It does feel good to think."

The leader narrowed his eyes at him, "And what's so great about thinking?"

The male smiled, "I've been doing a lot of thinking and it's helped me see some great things in life. I've come to realize that I take pleasure in several things, things that I've never bothered to notice. Things like animals, the trees, and even the bright colors that the hive lacks. Oh, and Flying!"

He looked up to the night sky, a grin spread across his face, "Don't you guys realize how great it is to fly? With the wind blowing in your face and the height at which you fly, it's the best feeling I've ever felt. But without the use of my mind, I could never have noticed how great it is. It makes me anxious just to get out from these ropes and fly away, forever." He paused and sighed, "It makes me wonder how much we've been missing out on in the world, and I doubt staying in the hive could help me see that."

The male turned his head towards the female, "What about you? What do you like?"

His question caught her off guard, "What?!... Um... I don't know. I haven't been doing as much thinking as you have."

The male shrugged as he turned his head towards the leader, "What about you, leader? What do you like?"

The leader shook his head as he groaned in annoyance, "Look, I know that you want to get us to start thinking about everything that we haven't before, but now is not the time. Perhaps you can use your thinking skills to figure a way out of these ropes. If not, then just go to sleep. We'll need some rest if we are to escape any time soon."

The male rolled his eyes, "Yes, leader. I'll just go to sleep. I'm tired of you two and the hive anyway." He rested his head against the trunk of his tree and closed his eyes. He was in the need of some rest. After all, anyone could get tired of thinking.

Author's Notes:

Okay, this chapter was pretty short, but that's because I've been busy with making a new story with my friend, Darkend5ky. It's called Brony Game Online, and I'll be working on it for it a while with him. I'm sorry to say that this means that I won't have as much time to work on Naractia's Nightmare-(Night) as I usually do, so you can either expect longer wait times for my next chapters or shorter chapters (Probably the later).

If you want something else to read, then I suggest try reading Brony Game Online. It's under my stories and I'm liking it a lot as well.

For those of you who are wondering, I am not stopping the Shadow Magic series. I wouldn't dream of it. I'll just be working on it less than I usually do. Who says that you can't manage two stories at the same time?

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

Exchanging Ideals

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"Hey, wake up."

The male changeling groggily opened his eyes as a voice woke him. Still half asleep, he looked up at who woke him. It was Naractia, in her unicorn form. She was placing a small plate of food on the ground in front of him, easily within his reach even when he was bound to a tree.

Naractia nudged the male's plate towards him, "Come on, eat up." The male looked up at her face to see the smallest hint of a smile around her mouth. The male nodded to her without saying a single word and began to eat. Meanwhile, Naractia went to the other changeling drones to give them their food.

The male's food consisted of hay and apples, which were fairly common food for ponyfolk. However, this wasn't the case for a changeling. The changeling hive did not find anything like this to eat, since neither hay nor apples grew in their native territory, the bad-lands. And so, every changeling had to fight for whatever food they could find, even if that meant eating one of their own kind.

The male shuddered at the thought of killing another one of his kind, since he now saw it as repulsive after being able to think for himself. "I hope I never have to do that again, just to survive. Being a cannibal just feels... wrong." He looked down at the food he ate now, It feels strange to be given food, rather than having to fight for it. He shook his head and resumed eating.

But then, he looked in front of him to see Naractia again, lying on her back, looking up at the sky above. He raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you doing?"

Naractia was startled for a moment, as she didn't expect any of the other changelings to talk to her, not after their conversation the day before. She looked at the male, "What?"

The male cleared his throat, "I said, what are you doing?"

"Oh," Naractia looked back at the sky, "I'm watching the clouds. I don't know what it is, but I find them... interesting."

The male glanced up at the clouds that floated over the forest. To him, they just seemed like big masses of smoke, not very interesting in his mind. "What's so interesting about them?"

Naractia shrugged, "Well..., we never see any clouds back in the bad-lands, so I've never been able to appreciate them. All of them are completely different from one another, whether they're big or small. They all come in different shapes, and it's kind of fun to figure out what they resemble."

"Really?" The male looked up at the sky behind the clouds, sighing to himself, "Well, I don't really care for clouds. But the sky itself is what I like. I've never been able to enjoy it before I began to think for myself. But now that I know how to enjoy it, I can't. Since I've been tied to this tree, all I've wanted to do is just take to the sky and leave all of this behind."

But then another voice piped up, "What are you two fools talking about?" The male craned his neck around the trunk of the tree he was bound to, to see the leader glaring back at him and Naractia. The leader scoffed at them, "What's so great about the sky? There's nothing there."

The male paused before replying, "Exactly. There's nothing there. No troubles and no problems. There's nothing up there that can stop you from soaring forever. I think that's why I like flying so much. Makes me wonder why I've stayed in the hive for my entire life."

"But what I want to know," The female interjected, "Is the real reason why Naractia left the hive."

Naractia sighed, "I already told you. I left the hive so I could experience love. The kind of love that can never be found in the changeling hive."

The female rolled her eyes, "Yes, we heard you the first time. But surely you haven't forgotten one small fact: No one leaves the hive."

Naractia raised an eyebrow as she pulled herself up from the ground, "What do you mean?"

The female humphed rudely, "You may have ran away from the hive to try and blend in the ponies in Equestria, but you'll always be a changeling. If you try to hide yourself here, then one day, some pony will find you out. And when they do, they will hunt you down and either drive you out or lock you up. No changeling has ever made friends with a pony."

Naractia narrowed her eyes at the female, "Then what about my friends, Rowan, Zecora, and Twilight? They've never chased me out or locked me up, and they never will."

The female barked harshly at Naractia, "You must be daft. Every changeling knows that Rowan wasn't a pony by birth, Zecora is a zebra, and that only leaves you with Twilight. But that is only one pony out of a million in Equestria who would lock you up on sight. Face it, Naractia, you'll always be a changeling, no matter what you do."

Naractia was fuming as she looked at the female changeling in rage, "Well you know what? I'm fine with having only them as my friends. They've been kinder to me than the hive or my own mother."

The leader interjected, "Kindness is for the we-"

"SHUT UP!" Naractia shouted loudly at all of the changelings, making all of them recoil a bit in surprise. Naractia's face was contorted in anger and her horn was aglow with shadow magic, "You don't know what I've been through ever since I was banished during the Canterlot invasion. I was cast out by Chrysalis for wanting to help the ponies of Equestria. She took everything away from me except for my life and the name she gave me."

The female glared at Naractia, "Then you should be grateful. If any changeling drone disobeyed the queen, she would have killed them instantly. And you even have a name. Any changeling would kill at the chance to be given a name by the queen. Every drone is considered insignificant, and therefore never receive a name. You should be grateful that you have your life and your name, you traitor."

Naractia paused before she let go of her anger, "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Any changeling would love to be given a name, wouldn't they?" She sighed, "But not me. I hate the name Chrysalis gave me. It's an ugly name for a killer and a tyrant, and I'm neither."

The leader scoffed at her, "Well, you can't do anything about that. You were given that name for life, Naractia."

Naractia narrowed her eyes at him, "No, there is something that I can do. I'm getting rid of my name, and I'm choosing one of my own. A name that I can be called as a pony."

All three of the bound changelings went silent as they looked at Naractia with wide-eyed stares. The male looked at Naractia with a questioning look, "Choose your own name?"

The leader quickly composed himself and scoffed, "Please, you can try to rid yourself of your name, but in the end, everyone will still call you by it, *Naractia*." He finished with a humph, emphasizing the banished changeling's name.

Naractia had just about had it with these drones. So, she turned away from them and resumed with her usual activity of watching the clouds in the sky above. But behind her, the male was beginning to process new thoughts that began to spring into his mind.

Could she really change her name? Is it that simple? The male looked up at the sky, Could I give myself a name of my own? He looked back to Naractia and quietly called out to her, "If you could choose your own name, what would it be?"

Naractia whipped her head around back at him, "What? Oh... um..." She was clueless as to what name she would choose. But then her eyes caught the sight of her cutie mark, the one that she had chosen before coming here, a single rose. Suddenly, a name came to her mind, and she looked back at the male with a smile before replying, "Rosa."

"Rosa?" The male looked at her questioningly, "Okay, it's your name. But I would have chosen something cooler."

Naractia raised an eyebrow, "And what name would you choose?"

The male paused with a surprised expression, "Oh, me?... I don't know, I haven't thought about it."

Naractia grinned at him and rested her head back against the ground as she resumed watching the clouds above her.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Vironect walked through the dim tunnels of the changeling hive, inspecting every aspect of the swarm... Well, that was what Chrysalis thought he was doing at the moment. In truth, he was checking and receiving information from his personal spies throughout the hive. He needed to be aware of any other events that could interfere with his plans.

As he walked, he flipped his mane out of his line of sight. Ever since Queen Chrysalis had proclaimed him as her heir, Vironect had changed his form to that of a more regal presence. After all, he needed some way that would make him stand apart from the other changelings in the hive. As such, he now had a molted green mane that ran down to his shoulders.

But soon, Vironect saw one of his spies come into sight. He walked nonchalantly up to the changeling spy and when they were within a few feet of each other, the spy gave his report.

"There haven't been any events inside the hive that could mess with the operation." The spy said in a hushed voice, "However, the team that you sent to catch Naractia hasn't returned yet. It's been two days since Naractia fled the hive. Do you suppose they were unsuccessful?"

Vironect paused before cursing to himself, "If they've failed to capture Naractia, that will put our plans at risk of failure." He narrowed his eyes at his spy, "Gather a small group of our changelings, about twenty or so. Start sending them out of the hive in pairs of two, one after another. We need to leave for Ponyville immediately, but we can't let the queen or the other changelings know that we're leaving, got it?"

The spy nodded and quickly flew through the tunnels of the hive to complete his task. But Vironect stood in the tunnel alone, cursing to himself, "Those foolish drones. They must have revealed themselves early and alerted Naractia of their presence." He sighed, "I underestimated you, Naractia. Both you and your weak ponies."

Vironect turned around to see the first pair of changelings fly past him, flying up to the exit of the hive, "But now I'm coming, and I will not show any weakness." With a few beats of his wings, Vironect took to the air and flew up to the exit of the hive.

By his calculations, Vironect estimated that his party of changelings would arrive in Ponyville by the middle of the night. The darkness would help them in capturing Naractia and reclaiming his captured drones, without anypony noticing. However, little did he know that this night, the townsponies of Ponyville were celebrating one of their favorite holidays: Nightmare Night.

Author's Notes:

Hey everybody. It's been so long since I posted another chapter of this story... Too long, actually. But just so you know, I estimate that there will be only three more chapters for this story, and I've prolonged the story's completion long enough. It's high time that I knuckled down and finished this story.

But I've been busy, so I haven't been writing any chapters for this story for the past few weeks. I'm currently working on two other stories besides this one. If you're wanting some more stories to read, then I'll post a link for my other published story, Brony Game Online.

But on top of that, I've been getting into photoshop and flash animation. Hopefully, I'll actually be able to make something presentable and post it on the site.

Anyways, thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

Nightmare Night

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The sun had set in Ponyville and it was almost time for Nightmare Night. Back at Rowan's house, in his bedroom, Rowan was getting ready for the upcoming celebration, which included putting his costume on.

As Rowan tied on the cloak of his costume, he whistled a tune that sort of fit the occasion: Nightmare Night by Glaze and Mic the Microphone. Rowan smiled to himself as he whistled the tune. He liked to remember the music from the human world, more specifically the Brony fan music. But thinking of all of that made Rowan sigh. It was clear that he missed his home world.

Rowan shook himself out of his depression, “I’m still going back once I find the spell to take me home. But for now, I’m staying here. So I might as well enjoy it.” It did the trick to raise his spirits. After all, that was what he told himself every time he got homesick.

Finally, Rowan finished putting on the last touches of his costume and took a look at himself in the mirror. For Nightmare Night, he was going as a dark unicorn. It was a simple costume that consisted of a jet-black cloak with a hood and several black streaks that ran all across Rowan's body.

Rowan smiled at himself in satisfaction, "Okay, it looks good. Time to start heading out for the square to oversee the setup." And so, he turned around and began to head downstairs. Shade, as awake as ever, was waiting downstairs by the front door for Rowan. When the unicorn came downstairs, Shade began to violently wag his tail like an excited dog.
Rowan noticed this and grinned at the shadow wolf. Of course he would be excited for tonight, seeing as almost all of Ponyville was bustling around outside preparing for the celebration. Rowan walked past Shade and opened the door for the wolf, "All right, let's go."

With an excited bark, Shade ran out the door, with Rowan following right behind. Rowan closed the door behind them both and began to gallop after Shade, heading towards the town square.

As Rowan And Shade ran towards the town square, they passed by Twilight's library. But as they passed by, Rowan noticed the front door open and Spike waddled out.

Rowan stopped just in front of the dragon, "Hey, Spike. Ready for Nightmare Night?" But then he noticed the dragon's costume, "Um, what are you wearing?"

Spike was wearing a plain white, skin tight jump suit with a pair of cardboard wings attached to his back. On his head, he a headband with a cardboard horn attached to it.

Spike puffed out his chest smugly, "I'm an alicorn. I made this costume myself."

Rowan grinned at the dragon, "Nice work." He looked back to the library, "Hey, where's Twilight? Is she still getting her costume on?"

Spike shrugged, "Maybe, but it's been taking her so long that I decided that I'd get a head start on getting candy."

Rowan nodded, "Right. Do you know what Twilight’s costume is?"

Spike paused, "Well, no. She never told me what she was going as, other than she'd been preparing it for months. Although, come to think of it, she started to work on it after the changeling attack on Ponyville."

Rowan scratched the back of his head with a hoof, "Hm, I wonder if that means anything."

But then, Twilight called out from inside the library, "Spike, I'm ready."

Spike glanced back inside the library, "Ok, I'm out here with Rowan."

"Rowan? Oh, hold on a second." Just a second after she finished her sentence, Twilight teleported outside between Rowan and Spike.

Both Rowan's and Spike's eyes widened as they saw Twilight's costume. They were both impressed at how life-like her costume was. With her black skin and hole-filled mane, Rowan could have easily mistook her for the real thing. And with a pair of transparent wings attached to her back, it made the costume seem to be alive. Twilight was a changeling for Nightmare Night.

Rowan felt himself begin to smile as he looked at Twilight's costume, "Whoa, Twilight. That costume is amazing."
The lavender unicorn beamed, "Thanks, Rowan. I've been working on it for months. I got the idea for it after we went to the changeling hive a few months ago."

Spike was grinning as well, " Wow, Twi. This is amazing. Man, you even got the holes in your legs." To emphasize his point, the dragon poked his claw into a hole in Twilight's hind leg. But as he did, Spike's claw met contact with purple skin that suddenly rippled into appearance. Spike quickly withdrew his claw and the purple bit of skin disappeared again.

Twilight smiled at Spike as she explained, "It's an illusion charm. I've been working on it for a while, but it falters whenever it makes contact with anything."

Suddenly, Shade let out an urgent bark towards Rowan. Rowan smirked at the wolf, before turning back to Twilight and Spike, "Well, we better get going. I need to check on the setup for tonight and Shade's been waiting for this for a while now. And trust me when I say you don't want to keep a wolf waiting, especially Shade."

Spike nodded, "Right." He quickly hopped onto Twilight's back, and they began to make their way to the town square. But as they trotted along, Twilight leaned in close to Rowan and whispered, "So, what about them?" She nodded over in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Rowan gave Twilight a small smile, "It's okay, I've already got it worked out. All we have to do is welcome Princess Luna to town like nothing is wrong, and then after everypony has spent some time with Luna, we'll slip away with her and head for the grove. Then we can ask Luna if she can help with our situation."

Twilight nodded, "Right. Sounds good."

Spike suddenly craned his neck over Twilight's head, "What sounds good?"

There was a split moment of panic between Rowan and Twilight, but then Rowan quickly replied, "I was just saying that once I finish my introduction for Princess Luna, I was going to challenge Twilight to a game of spider tossing. I think I could beat her easily." Rowan passed a small wink to Twilight.

Twilight nodded in understanding, "I doubt that, Rowan. You've never even played that game before."

Rowan shrugged, "So? I could get lucky."

Twilight smirked at him, "Well, just don't be upset when you lose to me, 'the worst spider tosser in Ponyville'."

Spike chuckled a bit, "Oh, then can I play the winner?"

Rowan shrugged, "I guess so." Spike grinned in delight and continued to look at the rest of the town as they prepared for the upcoming celebration. But while Spike was distracted, Rowan leaned over to Twilight with a smug grin, "But seriously, I'd totally win."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess we'll just have to see."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Yes, it is."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naractia sat in the dark grove with the other changelings, the sounds of Nightmare Night sounding in the distance. Even from the grove, she could hear the sounds of ponies laughing and screaming in the distance. Rowan wasn't kidding when he said that this was one of the town's favorite holidays.

Naractia sighed as she turned back to the changelings, "All of those sounds almost makes me want to go and see what they're doing."

The changeling male, whom she sat closest to, simply mumbled his reply, "Right." He was still lost in thought. The entire day, he hadn't been thinking of a way out of his bindings like the others, but rather he'd been thinking of his own life. Back from his time in the hive, all the way up to here.

All throughout his past, his life had been filled with confusion and destruction. But up 'till now, he'd never thought about it at all. But now, he was at war with himself. He was torn between the life that Naractia led and the life he had before under Chrysalis. He was so confused now, and he was trying desperately to figure out what to do. It seemed as if he was missing something.

He was on the verge of believing Naractia and seeing why she left the hive, but there was something that bothered him and he couldn't tell what it was.

But as he glanced to Naractia, he remembered that her choice to leave the hive hadn't been hard. She'd been banished from the hive during the Canterlot invasion and had never been seen since. But after the business over the Liber Tenebrarum, Naractia was the one who had revived the queen and regathered the strayed changelings of the hive. But then she was again banished by the queen.

Then suddenly, a question popped into his mind. He looked to Naractia, "Why did you leave the hive? Really?"

Naractia looked back at the male, "I already told you, I wanted to find love. The kind of love that the hive could never give to anyone else. I wanted to experience that for myself."

The male nodded, "Right, but after you were first banished during the Canterlot invasion, why did you come back? Why didn't you seek out love like you wanted to?"

Naractia paused for a moment, before replying, "I came back because the hive had been my home before and I didn't want it to fade away into nothing. When I rebuilt the hive, I was hoping that I could keep the changelings from hurting anypony in Equestria. I was hoping that I could get my mother to see Equestria the way I saw it. Not as a source of power, but as a land where we could live peacefully with everypony."

Right as Naractia finished her statement, something clicked in the male's mind. All at once, everything seemed clear to him and he knew what to do. He found Naractia was sincere and he agreed that what she was doing was the right way to go. And he wanted to help her in the only way he could.

The male gave Naractia a serious look, "Princess,"

Naractia was caught off guard, as were the other two drones. Naractia stammered, "What? Did you just-"

The male cut her off, "I need to tell you something and you need to be silent, because we have very little time."

The leader glared at the male, "What are you doing? Are you-?"

The male shushed him and looked to Naractia, "The truth is that we weren't sent after you by the queen. It was a changeling spy who gathered and sent us after you. He was a spy in Ponyville before, the one who had told the queen about the Liber Tenebrarum. I'm sure you know him."

Naractia nodded, "Yes, I know him."

The female piped up from her tree, "What are you doing?! You worthless little..."

The male ignored her and continued, "He'd been planning this from the beginning, back since you began to rebuild the hive. He planned to influence the queen into banishing you again, and when he took the initiative to catch you when you tried to run, the queen would see him fit and make him the heir of the hive."

Naractia's eyes widened, "He was the one who told my mother? He's the one who got me banished?!" Suddenly, the conversation that she'd had with the spy outside Chrysalis's chamber had made sense. He had been gloating about his coming success.

The male continued, "Yes, he wanted to have more power over the hive. And when you ran, he planned to have you captured so his next phase of the plan wouldn't be foiled. He believed that if he were proclaimed Chrysalis's heir, some of the changeling drones would still be loyal to you, since you are of royal blood. In order to fully solidify his power over the hive, he needs you dead."

"And what's more, when he sees that we haven't returned with you captured, he'll know that we've failed. You need to know that he has been secretly gathering his own followers in the hive. Whether he's been proclaimed as heir or not, he'll be coming here to capture you himself. Enough time has passed that would make him suspicious of our failure, and he will be coming here soon."

Naractia paused, "But why would he come here? Wouldn't he think I'm already across Equestria by now?"

The male shook his head, "No, he knows you would come here for one reason: Rowan."

Naractia raised an eyebrow, "Rowan?"

"Yes. Rowan is the only pony in Equestria who can use shadow magic, and he knew that you would go to him for protection. And so, he'll lead his followers here to Ponyville, and he's probably on his way here now. You need to go to Ponyville as quickly as you can and warn everypony that they're coming."

Naractia glanced at the male changeling curiously, "Why are you telling me this?"

The male sighed, "I think you're right. The hive is a cruel, unloving place, only fit for mindless drones." He smirked, "And since I'm no longer mindless, it isn't the right place for me. My place is here, and my duty is to help you in protecting the ponies of Equestria, Princess."

Naractia smiled at him, "Thank you."

The male nodded as he narrowed his eyes, "Now go. There's not much time. Hurry. Fly!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Naractia changed herself into a pegasus and took to the sky and began to fly to Ponyville. Meanwhile, the male sighed in relief, "Go, Princess. Your friends need you."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Rowan, Twilight, Spike, and Shade soon reached the town square, where everypony was anxious for the celebration to begin. Everypony was in costume, running around with candy bags, screaming in joyous fright as they scared each other. Rowan let out a grin as he watched everypony in their festivities.

Suddenly, a pink mare in a green skinned costume popped up in front of their group, "Hey, Twilight changeling, Rowan the dark unicorn, and Spike the alicorn!!" Shade let out a bark of recognition, making Pinkie Pie giggle. She bent down and pet the wolf, "You, too, Shade!"

Twilight smiled at her friend, "Hey, Pinkie." But then her eyes met Pinkie's costume, "Um, what are you for Nightmare Night?"

Rowan looked closer at Pinkie's costume to see that it resembled an alligator's skin. Pinkie let out a giggle, "Can't you see? I'm an alligator. Me and Gummy are matching costumes this year!" Pinkie said as she bounced up and down in her usual way.

Spike scratched his head, "But isn't Gummy already an alligator?"

Pinkie giggled, "No, silly. Gummy's dressed like me!" Suddenly, Pinkie produced Gummy from behind her, wearing a pink pony costume.

Rowan was fairly impressed. Gummy's costume had pinkie's exact mane and tail style, and that's difficult to do seeing as Pinkie never really does her mane.

Suddenly, Pinkie placed Gummy on her back, "Oh, we gotta go. We're going to go collect candy from all over town, and we need to get going if we're going to fill all of our bags."

Spike perked up at the mention of candy, "Oh, can I come to? I have my own bag."

Pinkie beamed, "Sure you can!" She looked at Rowan and Twilight, "How about you guys?"

Rowan shook his head, "Sorry, Pinkie. I'd like to, but I still have to oversee preparations for tonight."

Twilight nodded, "Right, you guys go ahead. I'm a bit too old for getting candy on Nightmare Night."

"Too old for candy?!" Pinkie gasped, "NEVER!"

Twilight sighed, but Rowan just chuckled, "All right, you guys go ahead and we'll meet up after I'm done with the preparations. Save a candy bag for me."

Pinkie gave one last smile before grabbing Spike's tail and running down the street with the dragon in hoof. Spike was a bit unprepared and let out a scream as he was dragged at high speed by Pinkie, making Rowan and Twilight laugh.

Rowan let out a chuckle, "Okay, I guess I better get started."

Twilight nodded, "Right, let's go check on Applejack with the bobbing for apples."

Rowan looked around the town square until he spotted Applejack's wagon full of apples. He pointed a hoof, "There it is." And he and Twilight made their way over to where Applejack was setting everything up for bobbing for apples.

As they approached the farm pony, Rowan gave a small wave, "Hey, Applejack. How're things coming?"

Applejack looked up at them and waved back, "Oh, hey Rowan, Twi. Ah'm almost done setting up here." She paused as she looked at Twilight's costume, "Whoa, Twi. That costume is amazing. You almost look like the real deal."

Rowan glanced at AJ's costume to see it was a scarecrow, "Um, weren't you a scarecrow last year?"

AJ nodded, "Yup, but Ah've been mighty busy and Ah didn't have any time ta find a new costume, so Ah figured I could use this one for another year. Plus, Ah thought it'd be one that ain't too scary for Fluttershy."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Fluttershy? Why Fluttershy? She never leaves her cottage during Nightmare Night."

Applejack nodded, "Well, not this year. Ah'm tryin' to convince her that Nightmare Night ain't that scary." She then glanced back to the apple cart behind her, "Fluttershy, you mind gettin' me a few more apples for the pool?"

A small squeak came out of the cart and Fluttershy slowly popped her head out from under the apples, "Oh, um... Okay." She grabbed a few apples with her hooves and flapped out of the cart and lighted down next to Applejack. "Here you go." The shy pegasus handed the apples to the earth pony, shaking slightly from being out of her cottage during Nightmare Night.

AJ took the apples, "Thanks, Fluttershy. And look, Rowan and Twilight are here."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't notice." She looked at both of them, "Hey, Rowan. Hey, Twi-" Suddenly her eyes went wide as her eyes rested on Twilight and her costume. She let out a squeak before shouting, "Changeling!" In a flash, the shy pegasus zoomed back into the apple cart.

Applejack sighed, "Come on, Sugarcube. It's only Twilight. She ain't a real changeling."

Rowan felt himself trying to hold back a laugh. This situation was to funny for him. But then a voice called out, "Rowan! Twilight! Up Here!"

Rowan looked up towards where the voice came from to see a sight he didn't expect. It was Naractia in her pony disguise, except instead of a unicorn, she was a pegasus. Rowan was very confused. She was supposed to be watching the drones. What would make her leave them behind and come into town?

Before Rowan could say anything, Naractia lighted down next to him and Twilight, "Rowan, Twilight, I need to talk to you, now!" Rowan could hear a bit of panic in her voice, which meant this wasn't good.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at this new pony, "Who's this?"

Rowan and Twilight stopped themselves short, both unsure what to do. Rowan cleared his throat, "Um, Applejack, this is... uh."

Naractia interjected, "I'm Rosa. I'm new in town."

AJ nodded, "Right, well howdy do, Rosa?"

Naractia smiled, "I'm fine. It's nice to meet you." She turned to Rowan and Twilight, "We need to talk, now."

Twilight nodded, "Right. Let's head back to the library." She turned to Applejack, "See you later, AJ, Fluttershy." And with that, she began to gallop towards the library with Naractia and Rowan.

Applejack smiled as she waved them good bye, "See y'all later."

As they ran, Rowan looked Naractia, "Rosa, huh? Where'd you come up with that?"

Naractia sighed, "It's a long story. I'll explain later if we have time."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as they were back at the library, Twilight turned to Naractia, "Why'd you come back to town? And I thought that your pony form was a unicorn."

Naractia nodded, "Right, well it was, but I needed to fly here as quickly as possible because we don't have that much time." With that, she transformed from her pegasus form back into a unicorn, "I needed to tell you something that I learned from the drones."

Rowan nodded, "Right, if we don't have that much time, just get to the point and tell us what's going on."

And so, Naractia began to tell them everything she'd learned from the changelings. But little did they know that a small dragon was standing outside, and he had already seen Naractia change from a pegasus to a unicorn.

Spike's eyes widened, "A changeling!? But why would Twilight and Rowan be with a changeling? Unless..." Realization hit Spike, "No, they must be changelings, too! They replaced them both and hid them away. I need to get them back!"

Without a single pause, Spike turned around and ran down to the town square to get his friends to help. He'd need help from both Twilight's and Rowan's friends if he was going to take on these changelings.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, Naractia finished her explanation to see Rowan and Twilight with wide-eyed expressions.

Twilight stammered, "But, are you sure? Is there another changeling raid coming here?"

Naractia nodded, "Yes, but I don't know when they're coming. They could be on their way right now."

Rowan shook his head, "No, we can't let that happen. We can't have another repeat of the changeling attack when they came for the Liber Tenebrarum. There would be mass panic, not just in Ponyville, but all across Equestria."

Naractia sighed, "Then what should we do?"

Rowan paused before replying, "We're going to need to tell our friends what is going on. With their help, we can keep watch for any changelings that come. Until the changelings come, we need to wait for Princess Luna. When Luna gets here, we should be able to hold back the attack until more help gets here. But for now, we can't let anypony know what is happening, or else they'd panic. We need to keep calm if we're going to get through another attack."

Suddenly, the door to the library burst open and Rowan turned to see a gray blur fly through the air. As quickly as the door opened, Rowan was met with a face full of hoof and toppled to the ground. Before Rowan could react, his attacker landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Rowan glanced at the attacker to see that it was...

Rowan gasped, "Thunderlane? What are you doing?" Rowan quickly glanced at Twilight and Naractia to see them in a similar situation as he was. The ponies who now stood in the library were Rainbowdash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Thunderlane, Caramel, and Sassaflash. They had all been cornered and trapped by none other than their own friends.

Thunderlane stood glaring down at Rowan as he pinned him to the floor of the library, "Where is my friend, you changeling? Where is the real Rowan!"

What A Fright

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Rowan struggled under the hold of Thunderlane, but no matter how hard he tried, the gray pegasus still held him down. Rowan narrowed his eyes at all of his friends in the library, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Applejack stepped forward, "We ain't lettin' any of you go until you tell us where the real Twilight and Rowan are. We know you'll are changelings." She stomped her hoof to the ground emphasizing the last word.

Both Rowan and Twilight were dumbfounded. Twilight shook her head as she looked pleadingly at Applejack, "But we're not changelings! Who told you that?"

Rainbowdash quickly zoomed in front of Twilight, "Quiet, Spike told us how he saw that other pony change from a pegasus to a unicorn." She pointed a hoof towards Naractia, "That can only mean that she's a changeling. And since you didn't even react when she changed, then that means you're changelings, too."

Naractia spoke up, "Okay, it's true. I'm a changeling." As she replied, she changed back to her changeling form, "But-"

She was quickly cut off by Thunderlane, "Which just proves that Rowan and Twilight are being impersonated by changelings. Now I'll ask you again, where is the real Rowan and Twilight?"

Naractia quickly interjected, "No, they're not! Let me explain."

Rainbowdash quickly cut her off, "No, you'll probably just come up with some lie to get us to believe what you want us to believe, just like what Chrysalis did back at Canterlot. But it won't happen again."

Twilight groaned in frustration, "Come on! Why won't you listen? How can we prove that we're really not changelings?"

Rarity scratched a hoof to her chin, "Well,... The real Twilight could teleport. And I doubt that a normal changeling could be able to teleport as well. Seeing as I'm the only unicorn here that hasn't been accused, I do say if she can teleport, then she must be the real Twilight."

With that, Twilight quickly flared her horn and teleported next to Rarity. She looked at her friends, "Now do you see? We're telling the truth."

Rarity nodded, "I think she's the real Twilight. I may not have as robust of magic as Twilight, but I do know that no changeling could ever use a teleportation spell." With that explanation, everyone seemed to be satisfied, agreeing that Twilight wasn't being impersonated.

But then, Caramel looked back down at Rowan, "But what about you? Even if you are the real Rowan, you wouldn't be able to prove yourself with magic, seeing as Rowan's magic is the same as a changelings."

Rowan sighed in frustration, "Then quiz me. Ask me something that only the real Rowan would know."

Thunderlane nodded, still suspicious about Rowan, "Fine. Then what have I been doing with Rumble for the past week?"

Rowan quickly answered back, "You were helping him make his costume for Nightmare NIght, just like any older brother should do."

Caramel shook his head, "But that's too recent. Rowan's impostor could have been around long enough to have learned that from you. We need something that happened weeks ago, something that only the real Rowan would know."

Sassaflash then stepped forward, "Oh, I think I know something that will work." She turned towards Rowan, "Three weeks ago, at one point where Rowan and I were alone, what did I make him promise me?"

Rowan knew this, because three weeks ago Sassaflash had pulled him aside to talk to him. He knew exactly what she had said. Rowan cleared his throat, "You made me promise not to let Caramel go near any of my experiments with shadow magic. You didn't want to see him get hurt, and neither did I."

Caramel looked to Sassaflash, "Really?"

Sassaflash glanced back at the stallion with loving eyes, "Of course." She gave him a small nuzzle and then nodded to Thunderlane, "It's him. It has to be."

Thunderlane nodded and got off of Rowan, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry about that kick to the face. I was just being prepared in case you really were a changeling." He held out a hoof to Rowan, which Rowan quickly took.

Rowan rolled his eyes, replying sarcastically, "It's all right. I'll just have a bruise in that area later."

Ranibowdash wasn't satisfied, "Okay, fine. So neither of you guys are changelings, but what about that the one who *is* a changeling." Suddenly, 11 pairs of eyes fell on Naractia, making the changeling cringe nervously.

Rowan made his way to stand by Naractia, "It's okay. She's a friend."

Everyone in the library let out very confused "Huh?"

Twilight nodded as she also joined Naractia, "That's right. Let us explain."

Naractia looked to everypony who'd gathered and cleared her throat, "My name is Naractia, banished princess of the changelings, daughter of Chrysalis."

Fluttershy let out a small squeak, "Daughter... of Ch-Chrysalis?"

Applejack scratched the back of her head with a hoof, "Ah didn't know Chrysalis even had a daughter."

Naractia nodded, "Yes, but recently, my mother banished me from my hive because I didn't want to hurt anypony in Equestria. It all started back at the changeling invasion at Canterlot." And so, Naractia gave her story of how she had been banished, and then sneaked back into the hive around the time that Rowan came to Equestria. She told them everything that happened ever since the Liber Tenebrarum up to where she was banished again.

After she had finished telling her story, everybody was dumbstruck, Rainbowdash especially. The rainbow maned pegasus just stared at Naractia with wide eyes, "So, Chrysalis wants you dead and you came here to hide?"

Naractia nodded, "Yes."

Rainbow suddenly got a determined grin and put a hoof around Naractia's shoulders, "Well, if your own mother wants you dead that badly, then you can't be too bad."

Rarity smiled in awe at Naractia, "My, with everything that you've told us, it seems that you've been fighting for Equestria this entire time. How admirable."

Applejack smiled at Naractia, "You were the one who gave Rowan his only other chance of getting back ta his world. It ain't no wonder that he made friends with ya first."

Pinkie Pie was bouncing all around the library, "Wow, I've never met a nice changeling before. Well, except for Twilight, but she's not a real changeling 'cause that's just a costume. But even if I did, I bet they wouldn't be as amazing as you, Naractia. OH! I know! I should throw a 'First Nice Changeling I've Ever Met' party!"

Everyone's compliments were making Naractia blush, "Thanks. But right now I need your help, from all of you."

Thunderlane nodded, "Sure, what is it?"

Rowan stepped forward, "When Naractia made her way here, she was attacked by three changeling drones from her hive. Luckily, I was there and managed to capture to these drones. For the past few days, we've been keeping them bound in the Everfree forest. But tonight, they confessed to Naractia that they had been sent by a changeling spy that had planned to take her place as heir to Chrysalis. To solidify his hold on the changelings in whole, he needs her dead to keep any changelings who are loyal to her from leaving his control. But since his drones never returned with Naractia captured, he's coming here to capture her with a swarm of changelings."

Everybody gasped. Caramel stuttered, "But, that means..."

Twilight nodded, "Yes, another changeling attack is coming. It could be on it's way here now as we speak."

Rowan interjected, "We wouldn't be able to take another attack like last time. But with luck, the attack won't arrive until Princess Luna arrives for the Nightmare Night celebration. What I need everypony to do is to keep watch throughout the town for any changelings. If any changelings come, I need you guys to hold them off until Princess Luna arrives. When she gets here, she should be able to help drive them back out of town."

"But until then, everyone needs to spread out and cover as much ground as we can. But be discreet. We don't want anypony to feel uneasy and think that something's wrong. While you guys are searching, we'll need to keep Nightmare Night going like normal."

Twilight suddenly gasped, "Rowan, Princess Luna! You have to do her introduction before she comes."

Rowan nodded, "Right." He looked back to the group, "Okay, here's what I want you guys to do. Applejack and Fluttershy, stay by the games in the town square. Even if you see something, keep everypony distracted."

Applejack nodded, "Sure thing, Rowan." However, Fluttershy simply squeaked in fear.

Rowan continued, "Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike, keep on the streets outside the town square. If anybody strays too far out, use any means to urge them back to the town square."

PInkie started to bounce up in down in her alligator suit, "Okie Dokie Loki."

"Caramel and Sassaflash, I need you guys to stay on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. If you see any hint of a changeling, come running to me immediately, or in your case flying, Sassaflash. Everybody else will come with me to the town square. Keep your ears open and your eyes peeled until Princess Luna arrives."

Everybody nodded and they all began to file out of the library and head for their positions. Once outside, Rowan caught Rainbowdash and Thunderlane, "Okay, you guys set for Luna's introduction?"

Rainbowdash nodded, "Yep, we've got everything ready."

Thunderlane added, "We saved a few clouds before the weather team could clear them for the celebration. We placed them just outside of town."

Rowan smiled, "Good, go get them right now. Princess Luna will need to be here any moment and we need to be ready for her introduction."

With a wave they took to the sky to retrieve the clouds. Leaving Rowan, Twilight, and Naractia on their way to the town square. But as they walked, Twilight was giving Naractia a funny look, noticing that the changeling was still in her original form.

"Naractia, you should change to your unicorn form before anypony sees you."

Naractia gave Twilight a brief smile, "Well it is Nightmare Night, isn't it? If anypony sees me as a changeling, they'll just see it as a costume like yours."

Twilight nodded, "Good point, but you should still stick with me, just so nobody gets the wrong idea." But then she suddenly glanced around, puzzlement on her face.

Rowan raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Twilight looked at Rowan, "Where's Shade? He was with us when we went to the square, but I didn't see him when Naractia came to us."

Rowan's eyes widened with realization and he face-hoofed himself, "Dang it, Shade." He sighed. Shade could slip away from anything better than a thief, especially at night. With Naractia urgently needing to talk to him and Twilight, he had completely forgotten about the shadow wolf. Rowan hoped his wolf companion wasn't getting into too much trouble.

Rowan sighed, "We don't have time to look for him. He'll come back like he usually does, but right now we need to get to the square. The celebration is about to start. I'll meet you guys there." With that, Rowan evaporated into a cloud of smoke and took to the sky, on his way to the square.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The leader of the changelings was fuming with rage. He couldn't believe that one of his own underlings would give private information to a traitor. It he hadn't been bound to a tree, he would have ripped out the male changeling's throat.

The leader glared at the male, "You no-account, idiotic imbecile! I swear, once I get out of here, I'll rip your throat out! Why would you give away our leader's plan to a traitor like that!? Answer me!"

The male didn't even glance at the leader, "Shut up. I don't take orders from you."

The female was also in rage, "Then that makes you a traitor. Once we get back to the hive, you'll be at the mercy of the queen."

The male narrowed his eyes at the female, replying with every ounce of seriousness he could muster, "I don't care, because I'm leaving the hive."

Both the leader and the female gasped in shock. The female quickly composed herself, "You can't just leave the hive! You're-"

"-Still a changeling." The male finished, "Yes, I heard you when you told that to Naractia. But still, she left, even if she was banished in the process. Who says I can't do the same?"

The leader growled at the male, "Why you incompetent weakling. Don't you see? Our leader is on his way right now with the rest of his swarm, and when they arrive, they'll release us and then kill you. The only way to survive is under the rule of the queen and our leader."

The male glared at the leader, "SHUT UP! Is that all you ever think? Loyalty to the queen will help you survive? Well, you're wrong. Naractia herself has gone against the queen this entire time and yet, she has survived. Even when she put herself in danger by coming back and rebuilding the hive, she survived. If it's survival that you want, it won't be from loyalty to Chrysalis or *your* leader." With that, the male slumped back against his tree.

The leader was stubborn to listen, "The power of the hive is absolute! Equestria will fall under our power, along with the traitors of the hive."

The male groaned in frustration, "You only believe that because that's what you've been taught to think." He turned to stare at the leader in the face, "Don't you see? Everything you know about the hive is a lie! For our whole lives, Chrysalis has lied to us. She has said that we need to take over Equestria for food, but she never said why hurting everypony in the process was necessary." He sighed, "I'm leaving the hive because I'm done with lies. For once, I want to live with the truth, no matter how horrible it is."

But, much to the male's surprise, neither the leader or the female responded. He glanced towards them to see them hanging their heads, like they were regretting something.

The leader sighed, "You... You're right. We have been lied to this entire time. But even when we were lied to, everything was simpler. But with this whole being able to think business, everything has just become confusing."

The female nodded, "Yes, and we've both just wanted things to be easier. We've only been doing what we're used to. But now," She sighed, "I'm not sure what to do."

The male thought back to before he decided to help Naractia. He remembered how he had been confused, but what Naractia had told him simply made things click. Suddenly, the male realized what had made everything so clear for him.

The male glanced back at the other two, "Do you know why Naractia came back, even after she was banished?" The two shook their heads, but the male continued, "She came back because she had love for her hive. Even after being cast out, she came back so the hive wouldn't fade. She did it to keep us from harming anypony in Equestria, but at the same time, she did it because she didn't want us to die."

The leader and the female looked at the male with confused expressions, "You mean, she cared for the hive?"

The male nodded, "This is what makes her different from the queen. Naractia doesn't want anyone to get hurt, both pony and changeling alike. But Chrysalis, the one who we've served for our whole lives, doesn't lift a wing when we kill each other over food. Tell me, who sounds like the better leader?"

The other two hesitated at first. But then the leader sighed in defeat, "Naractia."

The male smiled, "Yes, but she's the better leader because she loves. It's funny, but Naractia left the hive so she could experience love, but in truth, the only way to receive love is to give a little back. But Naractia has proved that even a changeling is capable of expressing love. She showed that to me, and in return, I follow her."

Suddenly, it was like a light had come on inside the leader and the female. Both of their faces were aglow as everything suddenly came clear to them.

The leader, possibly for the first time in his life, gave a sincere smile, "I... I believe you. We shouldn't follow our leader or Chrysalis. We need to help Naractia."

The female nodded, a small grin growing on her face, "I agree. Naractia was right. The hive doesn't have to harm Equestria, and neither should we. But what are we going to do? We can't get out of these ropes and the swarm will be here any minute."

The male paused, "I don't kno-"

Suddenly, the air came alive with the buzzing of a several wings, promptly cutting the male off. All three of the changelings looked up just in time to see about twenty changelings fly over the grove.

The male's eyes widened, Oh, no. The swarm is already here. He glanced at the other two to see them with similar reactions. Luckily, the trees they were bound to gave them sufficient cover from the sight of the over passing drones, and the swarm continued on past, towards Ponyville.

Once the swarm was out of earshot, the leader turned to his comrades, "We need to get out of these ropes, now. Any ideas?"

The female shook her head, "I've looked these ropes over and I've found that they were weaved with some magical enchantments. They can't be cut or burned through. I've already tried numerous times."

The male glanced down at the ropes with a frown, "It can't be cut, broken, or burned, which leaves the only way to get free is undoing the knot behind each tree. But none of us can reach it." He sighed to himself, "There has to be some way to-"

He was cut off as, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something emerge from the between the trees of the forest. The male turned to see a large wolf, black as the night, looking at the changelings as it stood just outside of the grove. The male's eyes widened at the sight of the large beast.

Quickly, he caught the attention of his comrades and nodded over to the wolf, "Doesn't that animal look familiar?" He asked them as they looked at the beast.

The female gasped, "Isn't that Rowan's wolf?"

The leader nodded, "I believe his name is Shade."

The male glanced back at the wolf, "But what's he doing here? Surely he knows that a whole swarm of changelings just passed overhead."

But then, Shade loped up to the bound changelings. As the wolf observed the captives, his features didn't show any signs of hostility, but the male changeling did detect a hint of cautiousness. Soon, Shade stood just in front of the male changeling. Suddenly, the wolf placed his snout just in front of the male's face and began to sniff him vigorously.

All of the bound changelings were immensely confused by Shade's actions. The leader exchanged a curious look with the male, "What is he doing." But with Shade so close to him, the male was afraid to reply for fear of startling the wolf into attacking him.

Soon, Shade was finished sniffing the male and moved onto the leader and likewise began to sniff him. From a distance, it seemed to the male that Shade was looking for something. But what could the wolf be searching for among them?

After sniffing the leader for a good deal, Shade moved onto the final changeling, the female. The female reared her head back as far as her bindings would allow her to, just to keep herself away from Shade. But after a short moment, Shade took a step back and let out a satisfied bark. Suddenly, Shade loped along until he stood just behind the male's tree, out of his sight.

But then, the male felt a small tugging coming from the ropes that bound him to the tree. He quickly craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the wolf behind him, "Hey! What's he doing?" He glanced at the leader to see him staring at the wolf with wide eyes. The male gave him a confused look, "What's going on?"

The leader stammered, "Shade, he's... He's untying your ropes."

The male was stunned by his answer, "Wait, what?"

The female also interjected, "It's true, Shade's using his fangs and claws to loosen your knots."

The male was seriously confused. Why would a wolf untie him, considering it was the wolf of Rowan, who still counted him as an enemy. The male began to question the others, "But why..."

Suddenly, the ropes around him fell to the ground in a heap. Now free, the male stood up and stretched his wings out. It felt good to finally be free. But then a small bark sounded from behind him. The male turned around to see Shade sitting on his haunches, but then the wolf nodded its head towards the other bound changelings.

The male nodded as he understood, "Right. Thanks Shade. Let's untie them. We have a fight to go to." And so, Shade and the male changeling began to untie his comrades.

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Rowan flew in his cloud form, just over the town square. Right now, he was running Princess Luna's introduction through his head, preparing to start at any moment.

The plan for the introduction was simple. First, Mayor Mare would begin the celebration and then Rowan would appear on the stage in the town square and make Princess Luna's introduction. Rainbowdash and Thunderlane would be up in the sky providing some special effects to make Luna's intro even more frightening. And then, after Rowan had finished making the intro, he'd end by sending a flare up into the sky in a horrific ending.

The flare would also be a signal to Princess Luna, who would be waiting in the sky near Canterlot. Once she saw the flare, then she would come and really kick off Nightmare Night.

The plan was simple, and Rowan had reviewed it several times. But now, he found that it was almost time to begin, because now everypony was gathering around the stage below him. He glanced around along the outside of the town square to see Rainbowdash and Thunderlane bringing in the last of the darkened clouds for the intro. And with all of the new shadow magic tricks that he'd been working on, Rowan was sure to make this the best Nightmare Night ever. Everything was set, and now Nightmare Night would really begin.

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Twilight and Naractia soon reached the town square and joined the group ponies as they gathered around the stage. Just as they arrived, Mayor Mare stepped up to the podium on the stage.

Twilight nudged Naractia, "Hey, looks like we're just in time. It's about to begin."

Everypony hushed as the Mayor began to speak, "Welcome, everypony, to our Nightmare Night festival!"

The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves in excitement, but they quickly quieted as the Mayor continued, "Now, as you know, for every year in the past, we've done the same thing for Nightmare Night. But this year, we will be doing things a little bit different." Without saying anything else, the Mayor stepped off of the stage. Everypony in the crowd was slightly confused.

Suddenly, a huge column of black smoke slammed down onto the stage, whirling in a dark cyclone of shadows. Everypony gasped in terror at the sight. But then, as the cyclone spun, the shadows began to shrink and converge into one solid mass. Out of the mass, a hooded pony stepped forward onto the stage, face unseen under his hood, and eyes glowing bright red to create an an-earthly presence around him. Although he was mysterious to Everypony else, Twilight and Naractia knew that this hooded figure was Rowan.

Without speaking a single word, Rowan swept his eyes across the crowd. An eerie silence passed between him and the crowd. But then, Rowan spoke. But instead of his normal voice, he spoke with a deep, evil way that Twilight couldn't have recognized it was him.

Rowan gave a deep chuckle, sounding terrifyingly evil,

"My, isn't this a sight.
To see so many ponies here tonight.
I am the servant to the one who casts out light,
A mare of darkness, a princess of the night.

An eerie wind began to blow through the crowd, making everyone shiver under it. Up above, Twilight noticed that several clouds began to cover the sky above the square, blocking out the light of the moon. Under the darkness, even Naractia and Twilight began to feel scared.

She has escaped her prison in the moon,
And now, she is coming here soon.
However, her highness has one particular goal:
To come for all of you and eat your souls!

Rowan let out a sinister laugh. Then suddenly, lightning struck from the clouds above, filling the air with lights and thunder, along with Rowan's deep laughter. Everypony in the audience began to scream in fear as they clutched each other, shaking.

Rowan let out a chuckle,

Now, now, there's no need to scream,
At this nightmare out of a dream.
But alas, you've come prepared
With your costumes, you shall be spared.

For if my mistress sees no ponies near,
Then Ponyville has nothing to fear.
She shall pass by if all is clear,
Then Equestria will be safe another year.

Rowan laughed evilly, sending another chilling wind through the crowd, a sinister grin crept to his face.

To heed my warnings, that is up to you.
But you shall be in peril, no matter what you do.
For soon to arrive is Nightmare Moon.
She is coming and will seal your doom!

Lightning struck and everypony screamed in pure horror. Rowan let out a maniacal laugh as he thought to himself, Now it's time to go out with a bang. He raised his horn to the sky, ready to send the flare to end the intro.

But then, something caught his eye just above the roof tops of town. He looked down to see Sassaflash flying as fast as she could towards the town square. Rowan raised an eyebrow, knowing something was up, Why would she be here? She's supposed to stay out by the forest to watch for... Rowan's eyes widened in realization, Oh, no. That means...

Rowan glanced behind Sassaflash to see a swarm of twenty or more changelings under the pale moonlight, flying right for the town square. Rowan's eyes widened, They're already here. The changelings have come.

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Princess Luna stood on the wall of Canterlot, ready to depart to Ponyville for the Nightmare Night celebration. Now, she only had to wait for Rowan to send up the flare of his magic to signal that they were ready for her. She knew that any second now, the flare would come, but so far nothing had happened.

Luna sighed as she roamed her thoughts, Hopefully, the changelings Rowan mentioned haven't caused any problems. But with the prospect of more changelings in Ponyville, no being would know what the outcome of this could be.

She turned towards her chariot, where two of her lunar guards stood ready, harnesses attached to carry her to Ponyville. Luna started to become anxious to go, Perhaps I should go now? Although, if I do arrive early, then I'm sure Rowan would be slightly distressed. The princess smiled at the thought of her angry student.

Luna sighed, I can wait a little while longer.

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Rowan stared wide-eyed in shock at the sight of the approaching swarm of changelings, mouth hanging open in utter horror. Several ponies down in the crowd noticed Rowan's pause and turned to see what he was looking at. One by one they all turned to see a fleet of changelings flying towards the town. However, since it was Nightmare Night, they didn't react like they usually would have.

One pony exclaimed in the crowd, "Wow, is this another part of the opening?"

Another spoke out, "Those guys have really cool costumes."

Rowan was taken aback at the town's reaction, What the... They think this is part of the act.

Suddenly, Rowan felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see the Mayor standing next to him. She looked warily at the approaching changelings, "Um, Rowan? I don't remember deciding to do this as part of the celebration. Did you plan this?"

Rowan couldn't bring himself to speak, "Uh..."

Suddenly, Rainbowdash lighted down onto the stage, "Listen up everypony! This isn't part of the show. Those are real changelings! Run!"

Realization dawned the crowd and they all began to scream in panic. Everypony began to flee towards the streets leading out of the square. But they were met by several changelings who dropped out of the sky, blocking off any exit out of the square.

From atop the stage, Rowan could see that at least one changeling stood at every exit of the square. The rest of the swarm was circling the sky, blocking any pegasus from flying away. They had completely surrounded everypony in the square.

Then, out of the sky, a single changeling descended on the stage. Rowan noticed that this one was different than the others, given the fact that he actually had a mane.

The changeling lighted down on the stage, a maniacal grin plastered on his face, "My, isn't this a convenience. Every pony in Ponyville gathered in one place. I'd consider myself lucky for a situation like this."

Rowan glared at the changeling, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The changeling raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I forgot. We haven't met, Rowan. But I know full well about you. I was actually present in this town when you first arrived from Canterlot."

Rowan's mind clicked in realization, "You... You're that spy that told Chrysalis about the Liber Tenebrarum. You were the cause of the first changeling attack on Ponyville two months ago."

Everypony who had been listening gasped in shock, only to be quickly silenced by the changelings surrounding them.

The changeling smirked at Rowan, "Yes, that was all because of me. But nowadays, I go by another name. I am now known as Vironect, proclaimed heir of the Changeling Queen Chrysalis." Vironect chuckled slightly, "But you, Rowan, know full well what I want. I want that banished traitor, Naractia, as well as my three agents who I sent after her in the first place. I know you're hiding them here."

Rowan pointed his horn threateningly towards Vironect, "No, you aren't getting any of them. And I won't let you hurt anypony here in the process."

Vironect only chuckled, "In case you haven't noticed, Rowan, my changelings outnumber those ponies who can stand against them. You are alone in this instance."

Rowan glared at the changeling, "I've handled worse." But in his mind, he realized that Vironect was right. Crap, if all of these changelings are as good of fighters as the first three Vironect sent, then this will be more difficult than before. I'll need all of the help I can get. Rowan turned to Rainbowdash, "Grab Sassaflash and Thunderlane. You three need to get everyone else to help."

Rainbow nodded and took to the sky. Meanwhile, Vironect had noticed Rowan's actions, "Why bring your friends here? You're smart enough to know that Naractia would need protection in the place where she is... Unless," Vironect looked up to his changelings that circled the sky above the square, "Search the crowd. Naractia is around here somewhere. Bring me everyone who resists or tries to run."

Rowan cursed to himself, Dang it, Vironect is smarter than I thought. I can't let him find Naractia. Rowan turned to Vironect, "You harm a single pony here, and I'll make sure that you won't leave this town in one piece." Instantly, his horn began to glow, emphasizing his point.

Vironect merely smirked at Rowan, "Do you really think it's wise to fight me? I'm more powerful than you think, but I'd be happy to oblige in sealing your death wish."

Meanwhile, the changelings descended out of the sky and began to sift through the crowd, looking for the banished changeling princess. Twilight drew closer to Naractia at her side, "Keep close to me. We can't let them find you."

Naractia nodded in agreement, "We need to get out of the square as soon as possible."

Twilight sighed as she whispered to Naractia, "I'd teleport us out of here, but I can only teleport so far and every changeling would notice. They'd catch us in an instant. And you can't change into disguise without sending up green flames. Again, they'd notice that to. It looks like we'll have to improvise."

Naractia nodded, "What do you have in mind?"

"We'll simply have to wait out their search. When one gets close, I want you to duck down behind me until it passes on."

"Right."

Meanwhile, back on the stage, Rowan and Vironect glared down at each other. Vironect glared at Rowan, "You've been a pain to deal with, you and Naractia both. But with both of my enemies befriended with each other, that just makes me tick. But now, I'm going to kill you. After all, think just how well Chrysalis will reward me when she learns that I've silenced the one who took away her power."

Rowan set his horn aglow in preparation to fight. Vironect did likewise, giving Rowan a taunting expression. Suddenly, Vironect let loose a ray of magic from his horn, right at Rowan.

Rowan quickly brought up a shield and deflected the spell, and he then countered with a flaming crescent. Expecting Rowan to attack with his signature spell, Vironect immediately powered his wings, flying sideways out of the projectile's path.

Surging forward on his wings, Vironect rushed at Rowan in the intention of tackling the unicorn. However, right as Vironect was about to hit Rowan, the gray unicorn suddenly melded with his shadow, avoiding the oncoming blow. Vironect passed overhead harmlessly and Rowan instantly reformed back to his normal form.

Rowan quickly whirled around to see Vironect coming in for another hit and brought up his shield. Seeing the shield, Vironect slowed his flight and, with his front legs, began to hammer away at Rowan's shield.

Rowan cringed with each blow Vironect dealt to his shield. This changeling was stronger than he had anticipated. It was becoming difficult to keep his shield up for much longer.

Suddenly, a small crack appeared in the magical barrier between him and the changeling. Rowan cringed, I need someone stronger to help. If only Princess Luna... Rowan's eyes widened, Crap, I never sent the flare to signal Princess Luna. I need to send the flare and quickly.

For an instant, Rowan thought about sending the flare, but he realized if he sent the flare, he wouldn't be able to keep his concentration on his shield. If his shield dropped and he hadn't sent the flare yet, Vironect would beat him senseless. Rowan sighed, That's a chance I have to take.

With that, Rowan raised his horn up to the sky and prepared the flare. Red sparks began to wrap around his horn as Rowan concentrated on the flare, but meanwhile, his shield began to waver. Seeing the opportunity, Vironect reared back and struck the fading shield with all of the force he could muster.

Instantly, the shield shattered under the changelings force and Vironect charged at Rowan, tackling him to the ground. In one moment, Rowan lost his focus on the flare as he was thrown to the floor of the stage. But before he could react, Vironect thrust his front leg on top of Rowan's neck, effectively pinning the unicorn to the ground and strangling him as well.

Rowan struggled under Vironect's hold as he gasped for breath. In retaliation, Rowan tried to fire a flaming crescent at the changeling, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind only had one thought, to find a way to breath again.

Vironect smirked at Rowan and nodded his head off to the side, "Look over there."

Rowan glanced to where Vironect pointed. Down off of the stage, there stood the changelings who had been searching for Naractia. Now, each of them were holding their own captives. To Rowan's relief, Naractia wasn't among them. But he was still concerned for the ponies the changelings held. But then, Rowan's eyes widened as he saw Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo struggling under the changeling's hold.

Vironect turned to his changelings, "Bring them up here."

All of the changelings with captives flew into the air and landed on the stage, keeping their prisoners in their grasp. Satisfied, Vironect turned to the crowd, "Naractia, I've given you enough time to decide, and so, I'll give you one more chance. Reveal yourself or else, for every minute you hide, I'll kill another pony, starting with this one." Vironect suddenly pressed harder down on Rowan's throat. By now, his lungs were burning as they struggled to find air.

Rowan's vision began to blur, but he could still hear the silence of the crowd. Naractia wasn't going to reveal herself just yet.

Vironect raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you aren't going to come forth when I ask, are you Naractia? Well, you'll pay for not respecting your authority. Now Rowan will pay for your mistake."

Rowan's eyes bulged as Vironect pressed down on his throat harder than before. Instantly, his vision began to turn black as unconsciousness drew near... or possibly his own death. The last thing that went through his mind was, Is this how it ends?... I never got to return home... I'll never return. The last thing Rowan heard was the screaming of the crowd before everything went black.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Princess Luna looked out on Ponyville below, worry beginning to come to her mind. She was beginning to get anxious to leave, It has been far too long. Rowan would have sent the flare by now. Something must have happened.

The Lunar diarch looked to her guards, "We need to leave for Ponyville at once." She started to get into her chariot.

One of her guards gave her a curious look, "But your highness, the flare hasn't been fired. Shouldn't we wait a few moments longer?"

Luna shook her head, "Something must have happened. We need to depart for Ponyville now, or else may be possible that we'll have a crisis on our hooves."

Her guards nodded and took to the sky, pulling the chariot along with them.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naractia watched wide-eyed in horror as Vironect strangled Rowan on the stage, whispering to herself, "Rowan... no..." Her mind screamed at her to fly onto the stage and protect Rowan, but the only thing that held her back was Twilight's grasp on her shoulder.

Twilight whispered into her ear, "No, you can't give yourself up. I know you want to help Rowan, and I do, too. But he wouldn't have wanted you to die for his sake."

Naractia glanced at Twilight, "Then what do we do? Vironect will keep killing everypony else until I give myself up. I have to do this."

Twilight's eyes widened, "You're not seriously thinking of going up there, are you? Y-You can't."

Naractia narrowed her eyes, "I have to if I want to save Rowan."

But then, out of the sky, three balls of green fire shot down towards the stage. The crowd of ponies gasped as the fireballs rushed at the changelings on stage. One slammed into Vironect, knocking him off of Rowan, while the other two shot into two of the other changelings holding ponies captive.

Naractia and Twilight stared wide-eyed at the scene that had just happened. Twilight shook her head, "What was that?"

Naractia stammered, "I know what that was, b-but why would..."

On the stage, Vironect stood up from being knocked back by a fireball, both dazed and furious, "What the heck..." He looked up to see a single changeling standing between him and Rowan. Vironect's eyes widened as he recognized the changeling, "What? What are you doing?"

The male changeling smirked at his former leader, "I'm fulfilling my duty to my princess, which includes protecting her friends." He was quickly joined by the female and leader as they stood at either side of him.

Naractia gasped as she looked at all three of the changelings she had spent the past days with, "They all... They all came for me?"

Vironect glared at the three changelings in front of him, "Have you three completely lost your senses? Siding with Naractia is an act of betrayal to the hive."

The leader narrowed his eyes at Vironect, "Well, for your information, we're no longer part of the hive. We will no longer serve under Chrysalis or you, a power hungry spy who will kill without a second thought."

Vironect spat at them all, "Quiet, you traitor. I am Vironect, proclaimed heir of Queen Chrysalis. It's my duty to snuff out any weakness in the hive, as well as the traitors to the queen."

The female smirked, "Sorry, Vironect. You won't be returning to the hive with Naractia. We won't allow it."

Vironect's face became flushed in rage, "Then you shall die first!" He turned to every changeling in the square, "Forget Naractia and the ponies. Kill these three traitors!"

All of the changelings, at once, leaped into the air and flew to the stage, surrounding the three changelings. The changelings on the stage let go of their captives and faced the three traitors as well.

Everypony in the square noticed that the changelings weren't blocking the way out anymore, but none of them ran. They didn't know if they should run out of fear or stay out of curiosity.

As the male, female, and leader changelings readied themselves to fight against their old comrades, the male glanced at his friends, "So, you guys ready?"

The leader nodded, "Yes, we will fight to the death. For the princess."

The female added, "For all of Equestria."

The male nodded, "Let's do this."

But then, a voice sounded out from across the square, "Hey, don't forget about us!"

Everybody, both changeling and pony turned to see a large group of friends standing on the opposite side of the square. It was Rainbowdash, Thunderlane, and Sassaflash, and with them they had brought Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike.

Rainbowdash narrowed her eyes at the swarm of changelings around the stage, "We are Naractia's friends, like those three changelings in front of you. We protect each other no matter what."

Applejack added, "Even if that means getting your hooves a bit dirty,"

Thunderlane interjected, "Our friends are what matter. Even if we don't know them as well as others,"

Caramel finished, "They are still our friends nonetheless."

Vironect glared at the group of ponies in front of him, "Hm, I had not realized Naractia would be able to befriend so many ponies in such short time. No matter, I will deal with you all after I kill these traitors of the hive."

Pinkie Pie shouted at Vironect, "Oh, no you don't! I haven't made friends with them, yet. Nobody gets in the way of Pinkie Pie making friends with others."

Vironect growled at them, "Fine, then I will kill you all now." He turned to his changelings, "Kill these traitors, both changeling and pony alike!"

In an instant, the two forces charged towards each other. With the commotion, all of the onlookers in the square got enough mind to run for cover. Everypony screamed as a mini war broke out in the square. Several ponies ran and hid underneath Nightmare Night decorations, while others barred themselves in the nearby houses.

When the entire crowd had cleared, there only stood two figures in the square: Twilight and Naractia.

Twilight tugged on Naractia's shoulder, "Come on, we need to get out of here, before anybody sees you."

Naractia hesitated, unsure what to do about the chaos that was unfolding around her. But then, she stood her ground, "No, I'm not going to hide and watch my friends get hurt." Before Twilight could object, Naractia spread her wings and flew high above the square. Inhaling deeply, Naractia yelled at the top of her lungs, "STOP!"

Immediately, everybody paused when they heard Naractia's shout, both changeling and pony, both onlooker and fighter. Naractia glanced at everybody, flying high where everyone could see, "I've had enough. I won't stand around and see anyone get hurt for me." She turned to Vironect, "I'm right here, Vironect. I'll give myself up, only if you leave Equestria forever and cause no more harm to anypony."

Vironect smirked evilly at Naractia, "Typical of you to make last requests, Naractia." He sighed, "Very well, I will keep my forces out of Equestria but only if you come without any resistance."

The male changeling called out, "No, Princess. What are you doing? You can't do this!"

Naractia ignored him, "But I have one more request."

Vironect raised an eyebrow, "And that would be?"

"Those three changelings that you sent after me, they are pure and good. They have become my friends as well. I want you to keep away from them and never harm any of them."

Vironect smirked at Naractia, "Sorry, Naractia, but that is a request that I can't fulfill. Seize her!"

Suddenly, three changelings flew at Naractia and grabbed her arms and legs. Naractia struggled under their hold, "What? No! Why won't you fulfill my request?"

Vironect sighed, "You are clueless, aren't you? If I allow them to live, then I will return to the hive having taken care of one traitor, but making three others in the process. You can imagine how Queen Chrysalis would react to that. She would kill me, and I can't let that happen. After all, I still have several plans for Equestria."

Naractia glared at him, "You- you said you would stay out of Equestria. You broke our deal!"

Vironect smirked at her, "I was lying, like I always do. I don't see why you would trust the word of the one who had you banished in the first place." He looked to his changelings, "Take her away."

Naractia screamed and struggled under the changeling's hold as they began to fly away with her in their grasp. But before they could make it very far, a blinding light, brighter than the light of the full moon, shot down around Naractia and the changelings holding her.

Everybody shielded their eyes from the brightness, but in an instant, the light subsided. Everybody looked to see the three changelings who had been holding Naractia fall to the ground. Above them, Naractia was held aloft by none other than Princess Luna in her chariot being pulled by her guards.

Naractia looked in shock at the Lunar diarch, "Princess Luna!"

Luna smiled at Naractia, "Yes, it is me Naractia. I have watched everything that has just occurred. I commend you for your bravery."

Naractia smiled back and Luna looked down at Vironect and his changelings, "Vironect, you are no longer welcome here, neither you or your forces. You have terrorized Ponyville, severely harmed my student, and you were the cause of the last full scale changeling attack on Ponyville. You shall not harm Naractia or the other changelings who have left your charge. From this moment on, they are under my protection and they are no longer a concern of yours. You shall not harm them and you shall leave Equestria with your forces, never to return. If you fail to do so, then I shall be forced to use the full extent of my power."

Vironect was aghast at the sudden appearence of Princess Luna, he looked frantically glanced around at the square. He had only brought twenty of his toughest changelings, and yet, here he stood against four changeling traitors, their friends from Ponyville, and Princess Luna herself.

Taking everything in, Vironect took a deep breath, "Very well. I know when I'm outnumbered. But know this, Naractia. This isn't the last that you'll see of me. Like I said before, I have big plans for Equestria." With that, he spread his wings and took to the sky, with all of his changelings following behind. In an instant, they flew over the Everfree Forest and out of sight.

With the changelings gone, Luna's chariot landed in the middle of the square. Naractia hopped out, followed by Luna. But when Naractia had stepped out, she found that everypony in town had gathered around them. She was stunned silent as hundreds of eyes rested on her, full of confusion, horror, and curiosity. Naractia wasn't sure what to do, but then the three other changelings lighted down on the ground next to her.

Naractia was pleased to have her friends around her, but she was still concerned about what everypony was thinking at the moment.

The male leaned into Naractia, whispering, "What do we do now?"

But then, after a moment of silence, much to all of the changelings' surprise, everypony began to cheer. They began to congratulate them for saving the town.

Naractia and the others were awestruck, "Wow, they really... like us?"

Luna smiled down at the changelings before her, "Of course they do. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't."

The male looked up at Luna, "But, we're changelings."

"Maybe, but anyone can look past any fact to find good in others."

Naractia smiled in satisfaction and waved to the crowd of cheering ponies. Soon, the others joined in. Naractia beamed to herself. This is where they belonged.

But then, out of nowhere, a shrill howl pierced the air, quieting the crowd. Naractia instantly recognized it to be Shade. She raised an eyebrow, "What the...?" Spreading her wings, Naractia took to the sky to get a clearer view of where Shade's howl had come from. Up in the air, Naractia spotted the wolf on the stage, standing over...

Naractia gasped with horror, "Oh, no! Rowan!" She quickly flew through the air and lighted down on the stage next to Rowan. She bent down next to Rowan's motionless body and began to gently shake him, "Rowan?"

There was no response. Naractia placed a leg on the side of Rowan's neck, trying to feel for a pulse... There was none.

Naractia gasped in shock, "No... no..." Behind her, several ponies began to gather around the stage. All of her friends joined her on the stage, surrounding the changeling princess and Rowan.

Naractia felt a tear fall from her eye as Twilight stepped forward to inspect Rowan. Twilight looked at Rowan, unsure what to do, "Is he...?"

Naractia let out small sob, "He's... He's dead."

Everyone gasped in shock. Taking the initiative, Twilight quickly called out to the crowd, "Somepony, get medical attention, now!" Without a moment of hesitation, several ponies ran in the direction of the hospital.

Up on the stage, Thunderlane looked to Princess Luna pleadingly, "Can't you do something, Princess? Anything at all?"

Luna shook her head, "I am sorry. Even my magic wouldn't be of use now. Too much time has passed, for if I had done something sooner, then I could have perhaps revived Rowan."

Everypony in the crowd was bustling in conversation, but Naractia didn't hear them. She only cared for her friend who was now gone. Her first friend ever since she left the hive. Her friend who had protected her until it cost him his own life.

Naractia broke down in tears, falling to the ground in front of her lifeless friend, "Rowan, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't want anyone to die for me." Even when surrounded by her new found friends, she felt completely alone with the loss of her dearest friend.

Epilogue

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Darkness...

That's all that Rowan could see. Not Ponyville or anybody else. He couldn't even see himself. The feeling was strange, but Rowan felt as if he were drifting through the endless darkness before him.

It was like he was dreaming, but instead of sleeping, he knew that he was dead. He couldn't control where he went, for there was no place to go.

Rowan sighed as he looked through the darkness, I wish... I wish I could have seen my home again... I wish I could have seen it one last time.

Still, a sense of prolonging clouded his mind, It's over. I just hope everypony else is fine back in Ponyville. I helped where I could and I never left my friends when they were in trouble... His mind drifted back to his fight with Vironect, But, what if Vironect has already destroyed Ponyville? What if he's already killed Naractia?

Again, he sighed, But what could I do? I'm already dead. I don't have another chance.

In lonely silence, Rowan drifted through the darkness of the abyss. Doubt was filling his mind, making him feel far from home... But then again, he'd always been away from home, hadn't he?

But then, something appeared in the middle of his vision. Rowan gasped as he suddenly saw a single light, like a star, shine just in front of him.

What... What's that? Rowan thought. He began to reach out for it, but then the thought "Don't go towards the light" came to mind.

Rowan shrugged it off, I'm already dead, aren't I? What else do I have to fear? Cautiously, he reached his mind out towards the light, seeing as he no longer had a physical body reach out with.

Lightly brushing his mind against it, Rowan found his vision suddenly fill with light and colors. Everything rushed past him in a dazzling blur. But soon, the colors began to slow down and Rowan could make out a few blurry shapes. But then, several other sensations began to come to him.

There were sounds... some sounds Rowan could make out as screams of terror, while others were cheers from a huge crowd. There were some voices, both loving and comforting, while others were full of hate and scorn.

Suddenly, all at once, the sights and sounds stopped in front of Rowan, bringing everything into focus. Rowan gasped as he saw the sight in front of him.

He was in Canterlot, but something was different. He stood in one of the streets near the castle, but it was night and the street was deserted. Off in the distance, he heard massive cheers roar from a crowd. Rowan looked to see a huge coliseum in the distance, just outside of the city walls.

Rowan wondered aloud, "What the heck?"

But then, he noticed a flash of light come from the sky above. Quickly, he looked up to see a massive comet in the sky. It was blue in color, passing slowly across the sky.

Before Rowan could say anything else, the scene suddenly shifted and Rowan found him inside a building, looking out at a full scale window.

Outside the window, Rowan saw the same comet and the coliseum, brilliantly lighting the night with their lights. Rowan looked around at his surroundings. He recognized the building he was in as the Royal Canterlot Library, as he was surrounded by several tall bookshelves.

But then, a light illuminated one of the aisles of the library. Rowan spotted a shadow extending from the light source, and his eyes widened as he instantly recognized the shadow. It was the shadow of a changeling, and in its legs it held a single book.

But then, a voice came from the changeling, "Yes, I've found it. After all this time... it's finally mine!" Rowan gasped as he recognized the voice as Vironect's.

Before Rowan could react, the scene changed again. In an instant, Rowan found himself looking out from the east wall of Canterlot. The sky was the first thing he noticed, for it wasn't its usual color. Instead of it's pale blue color, the sky was a deep crimson, resembling blood.

Suddenly, thousands of changelings rose up into the sky, dotting the crimson air with a swarm of black. Rowan gasped as he saw all of them suddenly charge towards Canterlot.

Rowan quickly looked around for a way to escape the massive charge. But as he looked around, he suddenly spotted a figure lying on the ground, breathing heavily as a green liquid oozed out of its body. Rowan inspected the figure and was surprised to see that it was Chrysalis.

Chrysalis, with her scar running down her face, was breathing heavily as she bled heavily. She opened her eyes and spotted Rowan. Without hesitating, she said in a ragged voice, "Naractia... Help me-"

Before she could finish, a blade suddenly stabbed into Chrysalis's throat, killing her instantly. Rowan looked up at the bearer of the blade and gasped as he saw Vironect grinning down at Chrysalis's dead body, gripping the sword with a leg. From what Rowan could tell, it seemed as if Vironect was completely oblivious to him. Vironect chuckled evilly as he looked down at Chrysalis, "The hive is mine."

And then, right at that moment, Canterlot exploded into thousands of pieces as the changelings crashed down on the city. And as everything was destroyed around Rowan, he found himself back where he bagan, looking at the single bit of light in the middle of an abyss of darkness.

Rowan was breathing hard as a thousand questions ran through his mind, What was that? What did I just see? Why...

Suddenly, another voice rang through Rowan's mind, "You cannot be deceased, yet. You were chosen to save this world, as such is your destiny. What you have seen is the purpose of coming to this world. You shall receive another chance, for it is crucial that you succeed if any life is to survive."

Rowan glanced around the darkness quickly, "What? Who's there?"

The voice spoke again, "Take what has been given to you just now, and use it to succeed. The evil will fall when the courageous stand together, in both love and harmony."

Suddenly, the one bit of light in Rowan's vision began to grow, consuming the darkness around Rowan's vision. The voice continued, "Now go. You're friends are calling."

In a flash, the light fully consumed Rowan, taking him out of the darkness.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Rowan, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't want anyone to die for me."

Rowan heard Naractia cry softly next to him, Wait,... Naractia? How..?

Around her voice, Rowan could here several voices of panicked ponies. Strangely, all of them were familiar to him. Rowan thought to himself, Wait... Am I in... Ponyville?

Slowly, Rowan opened his eyes. As he did, he began to see several familiar faces of his friends. From what Rowan could tell, he was on the stage in the Ponyville square, right where he'd fought Vironect before. Around him, he could see Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbowdash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Thunderlane, Caramel, Sassaflash, and even more surprisingly, Princess Luna and her Lunar Guards. They were all weeping or comforting each other, making Rowan remember that he was just dead a moment ago.

Beside him, lying with her face buried into the floor of the stage, Narctia cried to Rowan, "I'm so sorry, Rowan. I never got to tell you how great of a friend that you've been to me. I never got to thank you for everything you've done for me."

Rowan let out a grin as he replied, "You should do that right now. At this rate, I probably won't live to see next week."

Naractia, along with everybody else, gasped as they all looked at Rowan in pure shock. Naractia, eyes streaked with tears, suddenly pulled Rowan into a tight hug, crying out of relief, "Thank Celestia you're okay."

Rowan smiled as he hugged her back, "It's okay. I'm back now."

Thunderlane grinned at Rowan, "Man, you gave us a good scare there, but I think that was a bit too much for Nightmare Night."

Rowan laughed and another voice interjected, "You can say that again."

Rowan looked to see who said that and his eyes widened as he saw the three changelings who used to be bound in the forest, standing on the stage as well. With a yelp, Rowan tried to jump to his hooves, but he was held down by Naractia and Twilight.

Twilight laughed as she calmed Rowan, "It's okay. They helped us fight Vironect. They came just after you passed out."

The male changeling nodded, "That's right. We've left the hive to serve our princess, along with her friends, as well."

Rowan nodded with understanding, "Right, but what happened to Vironect?"

Applejack answered, "Why, after ya blacked out here on the stage, we all came to the fight."

Rainbowdash continued, "But when we were fighting the changelings, Naractia showed herself to everyone to stop us from fighting."

Caramel nodded, "Yeah, she tried to give herself up to save everypony else. But then-"

He was cut off as Pinkie interjected, "But then that meanie Vironect double crossed her and tried to take her away."

But then, Princess Luna cleared her throat as she stepped forward, "Okay, I'll handle the explanation from here. Rowan doesn't need everyone to be speaking at once." She looked at Rowan, "When Vironect's changelings tried to carry away Naractia, I came just in time to save her. I threatened Vironect and warned him that he would feel my full wrath if he ever came back to Equestria. Seeing that he was outmatched, Vironect took his forces and left Ponyville immediately."

Luna sighed, "But by then, we all thought that you had perished. Although, it never came to mind that you were simply unconscious."

Rowan shook his head, "But that's the thing, I wasn't unconscious. I was dead."

Naractia gasped, "But how did you know?"

Rowan sighed and began to explain everything that he had seen. Everything from the darkness and the little speck of light, and then everything that he'd seen about Canterlot and the changelings. And then, he finally ended with the voice that told him that he couldn't die yet, and that he had a purpose to fulfil.

After Rowan finished telling his story, everyone stood in silence, completely confused by what Rowan had told them.

Princess Luna was the first to speak, "Are you sure that's all you saw, Rowan?"

Rowan nodded, "Yes, Princess. But what does all of that mean? I'm the one who saw it, yet I can't make any sense out of it."

Luna thought to herself for a moment, "I am not sure about what you saw means, but I do know this. We will see Vironect sometime in the future, and he will be stronger than before."

A cold silence passed through everyone, making the night more frigid than before.

But then, Pinkie Pie broke the silence, "Wait! We never started the Nightmare Night party! We've wasted enough time with Vironect and the other changelings! We need to party!"

Princess Luna laughed softly, "Yes, I believe that Pinkie is right. We mustn't dwell on these past events for the rest of the night." She suddenly took to the sky, flanked by her lunar guards. In the air, she faced the crowd of ponies below, "Let the Nightmare Night celebration begin!"

Everypony let out a cheer and they all dispersed as the party continued just as it had been planned.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Fire!" The male changeling called out to the leader. With the order, the leader released the pumpkin catapult. Instantly, the pumpkin in the launcher flew into the air. Everypony watched as it arched through the air with perfect precision, heading directly for the target several feet away. The pumpkin splatted against the target in a gooey mess, and everypony gave out a cheer and stomped their hooves in congratulations.

The male and leader changelings grinned at their success as they hoof bumped each other, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

Rowan, Naractia, and the female changeling stood to the side of the pumpkin launch, grinning as everypony enjoyed themselves. Rowan looked to Naractia and the female, "Man, they've gotten good at that, haven't they?"

The female smirked, "Sure, it only took them about twenty tries to even hit the target."

"And how are all of you enjoying yourselves?" A voice said from behind. Rowan, Naractia, and the female turned to see Princess Luna standing behind them.

Rowan grinned, "Princess Luna, we're having a great time." Just then, the male and leader ran up to join them.

Naractia nodded, "It's been amazing. I mean, everypony here accepts us for ourselves as changelings."

The male chimed in, "Not to mention all of the treats and games. I've never had this much fun in my life."

The leader rolled his eyes, "That's because you've never had fun before."

Princess Luna laughed softly, "I'm glad to here it. But I have some news to bring you."

Luna cleared her throat, "Since it was I who protected you here, you are all now under my protection. This means that if you are in danger in any way, you are my priority. But it also means that if you step out of line, then I will be responsible for your actions."

Luna smiled warmly at the group before her, "But I trust that you can behave while you stay here in Equestria."

Naractia nodded, "Yes, Princess. We'll keep to our word and abide by your laws."

Luna nodded, "Very well. But I also have a proposition for all of you." She looked at all of the changelings, "Since you have my trust, I believe that you should be taught the ways of Shadow Magic as well. After all, it is your native magic."

The male gasped sharply, "Wait, what? You really want us to learn Shadow magic?"

Luna nodded, "Yes, that is correct. You will learn from the knowledge that I can offer, but Rowan will also contribute to your learning by allowing you all access to the spells from the Liber Tenebrarum. What do you say?"

Naractia looked to her friends, who reassured her with their nods. Satisfied with her answer, Naractia looked to Luna, "Yes, we accept."

Luna smiled, "Excellent. During the time of your learning, I would like for you all to remain here in Ponyville. Everypony here seems to have accepted you, so I believe that it would be wise that you stay here where it is safe."

But then, Luna paused, "Although, I have spoken to the Mayor, but I'm afraid there isn't any homes here that you could call your own in town. But I have spoken with Zecora, and she has agreed to help construct a home for you in the forest. I assume that it will be one that is similar to her own."

The changeling leader beamed, "Wow, a home of our own. Almost seems too good to be true."

Luna smiled, "Yes, it does, doesn't it?" She cleared her throat, "But I beg your pardon, Naractia. I know your name, but I never received the names of your friends."

The female interjected, "Well, actually. In the changeling hive, only royalty are given names, which is why Naractia has hers. But we aren't of royal blood, so we've never had names."

Luna paused, "Oh, I see..." She began to trail off in thought.

But then the male chimed in, "But that doesn't mean we can't have names now. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to choose my own name."

Naractia glanced at the male, "Wait, so you figured out a name?"

The male nodded, "Yeah, I've been thinking about it ever since our conversation back in the grove." He looked to everyone else, "From now on, I'll be going by Quicksilver."

The leader raised an eyebrow, "Quicksilver, huh?"

Quicksilver nodded, "Yeah, I figured since I like flying so much, then I should have a name that goes along with it."

The leader nodded, "Right, well in that case, my name will be..." He paused for a moment, "Duke. My name will be Duke."

The female chimed in, "I know what I want to be called. I'll go by Violet."

Luna smiled, "Very well. It's nice to meet you, Quicksilver, Duke, and Violet."

But then, Naractia chimed in, "Oh, but I think I should change my name."

Rowan cocked an eyebrow, "Wait, why?"

Naractia sighed, "Well, Chrysalis disowned me from her family. If I'm no longer part of her family, then I'm not really Naractia, the daughter of Chrysalis. Therefore, I think it'd be fitting that I have a different name."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Oh, and what would you liked to be called?"

Naractia smiled, "Call me Rosa."

Realization instantly clicked in Rowan's mind, "Oh, so that's why you called yourself Rosa when you came running into town."

Rosa nodded, "That's right. It was because just a day ago that I was talking with Quicksilver. But then we got on the topic of names and 'Rosa' appealed to me the most."

Rowan smiled, "It does suit you."

Luna nodded, "Yes, well with everything settled, I must return to the townsfolk for the festivities. They are all waiting for Nightmare Moon." With that, Luna took flight and flew off to the other side of the town square."

But then, a voice called out, "Hey, Rowan!"

Rowan looked to see Twilight galloping towards him. Rowan smiled, "Hey, Twilight. What's up?"

Twilight smirked at Rowan, "You challenged me to a game of spider toss, remember? Don't think that I didn't forget."

Rowan's eyes widened as he remembered, but then his expression changed to a challenging grin, "Oh, yeah. I did, didn't I? You ready to lose?"

Twilight grinned, "Then let's go. I get first shot." With that, she took off in the direction of the spider toss game.

Rowan turned to his changeling friends, "Hey, I'll see you guys later." They waved goodbye and Rowan galloped after Twilight. He definitely wasn't going to lose to a game of spider toss.

Author's Notes:

All right! Finished with Book Two! That took me forever, though.

Hey, a word of advice for any of you writers out there: If you want one of your stories to be finished quickly, don't start two other stories in the middle of the one you are currently working on.

Speaking of which, right now I'm working on another story for those of you who don't know. It's called Brony Game Online, and it's a spin off of the Japanese anime, Sword Art Online. If you need anything to read, then you should check it out, since I'll be working on that for a while before I publish Book Three of this series. So, if you want to read it just click the link here: Brony Game Online

Also, speaking of which, Book Three of this series will be called "Of Changelings and Comets". I won't be publishing it for a while, but when I do, I'll send out a blog post for it. So, if you want to know what happens next, just watch for it... or better yet, start watching me. :D

If not, at least give this story a thumbs up if you liked it.

Anyways, that's all for this story. Thanks for reading.
-Shadowflame

End of Shadows: ("This was your destiny,...")

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Princess Luna sat in her room atop her bed, idly sipping a cup of evening coffee. At this time, she really needed the extra boost of energy as a pick-me-up before she raised the moon to make way for the night. The night before, Nightmare Night, had been the funnest night of her life thus far. This year's festivities had been even better than last year's celebration, which had caused the Lunar Princess to stay up later into the morning than she had originally intended.

"Ponyville always seems to throw the best parties. I'll have to remember that the next time another holiday comes up." Luna mused to herself. Taking another sip of her coffee, she remembered back to the fun night she had with Rowan, and her newest, though unlikely, friends: The changelings Rosa, Quicksilver, Duke, and Violet. She had spent the majority of the night gleefully learning more about each of them and their personalities. Even though they had been raised as pure changelings, they were still as lively as anypony in Equestria.

Quicksilver had the demeanor of a cheerful pegasus, and could apparently fly as quick as a skilled one. He was almost carefree, and was easily amused, as his experience with the spider toss game had revealed. Luna chuckled a bit as she realized his reaction when introduced to the concept of fun was similar to her own last year.

Violet, on the other hoof, was more snide than the others. She always had a hint of sarcasm around her, but she did not give off an opposing presence when around friends. Though she did not enjoy flying like Quicksilver did, she did express an interest in Shadow magic more than the other two.

And Duke, the calm and collected stallion, Luna found was a born leader. He took challenges, though they were just games, seriously, and thought out every step as he went. And on one occasion, used his calm personality and reason to break up a small bickering between Quicksilver and Violet. He seemed to be the older brother of those two rather than just the former leader of their group.

Princess Luna recounted again how her actual meeting of Rosa had been. Smiling to herself, Luna recalled how cheerful Rosa had been to finally have friends around her for once. The former changeling princess was loving, and had shown that she'd give her own life to save those of others. It almost reminded Luna of the personality required from an Equestrian princess. Hay, maybe Rosa could even be proclaimed as Equestrian royalty, one day. But that didn't seem very likely, since she was already taking a liking to a new, normal life as a civilian in Ponyville... "Though somepony ought to tell her there's nothing normal about living in Ponyville." Luna joked to herself.

Suddenly, a knock came from Luna's door, breaking her out of her thoughts. Bringing herself back to the present, she called out, "Who goes there?"

A guard, one of the ones that had been standing guard outside, opened the door a crack and poked his head inside, "Your Highness, a messenger is here with a letter for you."

A messenger? The Lunar Princess questioned, I thought I told the mail carriers I wanted my mail brought to me after I have risen the moon... Unless this means this is an urgent message. She cleared her throat, "Show them in."

"Yes, princess." The guard withdrew his head and opened the door wider, allowing a messenger earth pony to enter the princess' room. Luna quickly took note that she had not seen him before around the castle, and that he carried a single, sealed scroll in his mouth: a letter. But as she looked at the messenger, she noticed that he lacked a postal service uniform, which was enough to for Luna to raise an eyebrow at. Something was different about this message, no doubt about it.

"Close the door." Luna ordered, once the messenger was inside the room.

The guards outside her door were hesitant at first, seeing as they didn't want to risk leaving a stranger in a room alone with the princess. But they reluctantly complied, figuring the princess knew better, "Yes, Princess."

Once the door clicked shut, Luna stood up from her bed and approached the messenger, "You have a letter for me?"

Simply nodding, the earth pony let go of the letter as Luna's magic took ahold of it. Levitating the letter to her eye level, she unrolled it and read,

Your royal Highness, Princess Luna,
To begin, allow me to apologize. I am most sorry for the troubles that have befallen your country for the past few months concerning the changelings. However, to add to the apology, I intend to rid Equestria of the changeling hive that is skirting your borders. If you wish to assist me in this endeavor, then come to edge if your borders, the area closest to the badlands, just past Mt. Mahoganeigh. Please be sure to arrive at exactly noon tomorrow. And please bring Rowan and the other changelings that are now inhabiting Ponyville.
Sincerely,
King Carapace, Overlord of the Changeling Empire
-P.S. If you are concerned for your student's and the changelings' safety, then feel free to bring as many soldiers you wish, your Celestial sister, or even the Elements of Harmony. If this becomes the case, I would advise discretion. If our enemies are alerted of your soldiers nearby, this operation I have set forth will fail and the hive will never withdraw peacefully. And I assure you, my only intentions are for peace between Equestria and the changelings.

Luna's eyes were wide as she finished the last of the letter. King Carapace? How did...

She glanced towards the messenger, frowning slightly, "Prove to me that you are truly the king's messenger."

Nodding solemnly, the earth pony suddenly burst into green flames, revealing a small, changeling drone. But this one wore a black chest plate, adorned with a green stylized seal on its front, depicting a changeling flame.

Hm, I suppose that proves it. Luna muttered, conjuring a piece of parchment and a quill, After I write this reply to this 'King Carapace', I'll need to send a letter to Ponyville. They'll need to prepare for the trip to the Equestrian border.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, in the far outskirts of the badlands, in the deepest chamber of the changeling hive, Chrysalis sat on her stone throne, scowling fiercely. Before her stood her proclaimed heir, Vironect, who had just barely come back from his pitifully failed attempt at retrieving Naractia. He had not only failed at finding and ending her treasonous daughter, but he had managed to lose three other changelings to Naractia's service in the process.

Chrysalis' wings buzzed furiously, concealing the bitter growl in her throat She glared at Vironect with a look that could've killed a stallion if it had been possible.

"Vironect, I cannot express my irritation towards your failure any more than it'd take to have you destroyed right now! Do you have any idea how this disgraceful loss reflects on our hive?" The fuming queen ground a hoof into her stone throne, "The ponies of Equestria have all accepted four traitors into their society, all because they were able to stand against a swarm of changelings. This has made our power seem weak in the eyes of those filthy hoof scrapers, and it was all because you fled out of cowardice in the face of a battle. Why should I have proclaimed you as my heir if you cannot obey orders?!!"

Vironect squirmed slightly as the queen's booming voice echoed through the changeling caverns. He didn't dare try to cover his ears with his hooves. Such an action would make him look even more spineless than before and, in turn, make him seem more disposable by the queen.

The proclaimed heir cleared his throat and looked up at Chrysalis with a straight face, "My queen, not all of Equestria has accepted the traitors. In fact nopony outside Ponyville knows of these changelings and what they've done."

"Silence!" Chrysalis barked, causing Vironect to flinch slightly. The queen's buzzing wings slowed to a stop, and her expression softened, though it was barely noticeable, "The only reason why I have not killed you yet is because of one reason, and one reason alone: I still need you for a simple task."

Chrysalis craned her neck behind herself to grab something, and looked back towards Vironect with a piece of parchment in her maw. She then opened her mouth and let the paper float down to Vironect, who caught it in his telekinetic grip.

"Read it." Chrysalis ordered.

Nodding, "Yes, my queen." Vironect looked at the paper to see that it was actually a letter:

Changeling Queen Chrysalis,
My agents within your hive have supplied me with information that you have banished your own daughter, Naractia, from your swarm, and replaced her position of heir with a changeling called Vironect. I assume this action was only for treasonous reasons from your daughter, and I approve of your decision to execute her. Such is the law of the changelings. However, I have written this message as soon as I heard that Naractia, as well as three other traitors, escaped capture and have sought shelter in Equestria. This will not do at all.
So, I propose a small proposition to you and Vironect both.
Come to the edge of the Equestrian border located closest to your hive. Though, I must I ask that you both come alone. There's no doubt that Naractia and the traitors will give away your hive's position if they have not already done so. Leading your army out to meet me will only attract unwanted attention towards your position. But do not fear, for the empire's own changeling force has already been situated in our rendezvous point. If all goes well, your army will join the action later.
Once you join me, we will sweep the ponies of Equestria away in one fell swoop, and along with them, the traitors will be ours.
Be sure to arrive promptly at my position at high noon tomorrow. Do not keep me waiting, Chrysalis. You have already failed me before, and for your sake, I wish you won't repeat failure.
King Carapace,
Overlord of the Changeling Empire

Vironect looked up from the letter back at Chrysalis, shocked by the Overlord's sudden contact. However, Chrysalis, having read the letter beforehand, wore a smug grin on her face.

"Our cavalry has arrived. King Carapace wishes to wipe out Equestria and Naractia, and I'll be more than happy to oblige." Her grin quickly transformed into a scowl towards Vironect, "This will be your chance to redeem yourself. We will meet Lord Carapace as he has requested, and you will obey his every order. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to slit your throat."

Vironect paused at the queen's threat, before bowing to her in submission, "Yes, my queen."

"Prepare yourself, Vironect. We leave for Equestria's border at dawn."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile in Ponyville, a small group of friends were heading back home to retire for the night... Well, the only place that had to call home for the moment.

Quicksilver was the first to burst into Rowan's house, flying into the living room at top speed. A few moments, Violet, Duke, Rosa, and Rowan followed behind.

As they walked in, they found Quicksilver lounging on the front room's couch, a smirk on his pegasus face. He was currently disguised in a form of his own, as were the other changelings, each one related to their names they had chosen for themselves. Quicksilver was sporting the look of a silver colored pegasus, with a blue mane and tail. His cutie mark was a simple, silver feather.

Quicksilver gave the others a smug look as he sat on the couch, proclaiming loudly, "First!"

Violet, disguised as a violet unicorn with a dark purple mane, her cutie mark being a green fire that resembled changeling magic, gave Quicksilver an annoyed look, "We weren't racing here, Silver." She muttered as she took a seat as well.

Duke, a black unicorn with a dark purple mane, his cutie mark being a sword and shield in a crossed pattern, just sighed as he watched the two changelings start to bicker with each other, "I swear, I don't know how they managed to get along back at the hive. I'm actually surprised Violet hasn't ripped Quicksilver's throat out yet. What do you think, Princess?"

Rosa brought up the rear while Rowan closed the front door behind him. Rosa, taking up her regular unicorn disguise, simply smiled at her friend, "Duke, you know you don't have to call me 'Princess' every time you address me. I am trying to live a normal pony life now." She gave a sidelong look towards Quicksilver and Violet, the former currently blowing a raspberry at the latter, "As for those two, I think we all just need some sleep. After all, we did stay up all night during Nightmare Night yesterday."

As if on que, a yawn escaped Rowan's mouth, "Yeah, I could go for a quick rest." He glanced around at his living room, which wasn't quite suitable for four changelings to sleep in. "Although, I'm not sure where you guys are gonna sleep. Two of you can take the couches, I only have one bed upstairs, as well as a reclining chair in the study by Shade's bed. Unfortunately, I don't really have much in the way of extra pillows or blankets, and it looks like somebody may have to sleep on the floor tonight."

Quicksilver quickly booted Violet off their couch with a hoof and stretched out on top of it, "I call the couch!"

Violet glared daggers at him while rubbing the sore spot where she had been kicked, "Careful how you treat your siblings, Silver. After all, I know where you sleep now."

The pegasus/changeling smiled sheepishly, making Duke laugh from the side, "Violet can have the other couch. I can sleep on the rug tonight." He gave Rowan a glance, "And don't worry about pillows or blankets for us. We've been sleeping in a cold, dank hive for our whole lives. Even a carpeted floor to sleep on is a big step up from that."

Rowan nodded as he watched Duke lay down on a rug between the two couches, "Okay, I guess that works." He glanced towards Rosa, "But where are you gonna sleep, Rosa?"

"I can sleep in the study. After all, the only bed in the house is yours." Rosa replied.

Rowan quickly shook his head at that, "No, you don't have to sleep there. You can have the bed. I need to do a few things in the study anyways before I fall asleep."

Rosa blinked in surprise at the generous offer. But she then smiled, not wanting to argue with their host, "Okay. Thank you." She looked towards the others, "I'm going to bed now. I'll see you all in the morning."

Rowan, and the other changelings all replied 'goodnight' in their own ways as Rosa made her way upstairs to the bedroom. But as Rowan watched her go, he couldn't help but smile. As he thought back on the past, he couldn't believe that he had taken four changelings into his home. Heck, they were all his friends now. But Rosa had been Rowan's first, unlikely friend, and they had only gotten closer in friendship during the past few days.

Shaking himself out of his brief moment of thought, Rowan bid the other changelings goodnight and headed up to the study. Of course, once there, he immediately fell asleep on the recliner, seeing as he didn't actually need to do anything before sleeping. He had just needed an excuse to give the banished changeling princess a better night's sleep than a recliner could provide.

Meanwhile, after Rowan had gone upstairs, the three changelings there gave each other quick glances. As they realized they were all thinking the same thing, a smile began to form on each of their faces.

Duke chuckled a bit, "I guess we all felt it. Rowan's been leaking tiny bits of love all day, hasn't he?"

Violet nodded, "Yes, and it appears that it only happens whenever he looks at Princess Rosa."

Quicksilver had to cover his mouth to suppress some laughter, "I think somepony's growing a crush for a certain changeling."

Duke and Violet gave him a blank stare, "'Crush'?"

"It's pony slang." Quicksilver explained, "It usually means when someone is admiring someone from afar until they actually begin loving them."

"And you know this, how?" Violet asked.

"Pinkie Pie informed me on tons of slang words when we visited Sugarcube Corner today." His eyes suddenly popped open, "Oh, and word to the wise, don't ever ask her what a cherry-changa is. She will ramble off after that for an hour at the least."

"Duly noted." Duke chuckled again, "But I do hope this small attraction Rowan has for the Princess blossoms forth into something more."

"Why do you say so? Do you only say it because Rowan would feed Princess Rosa even more love and make her power grow past even Chrysalis'?" Violet guessed.

Duke shook his head, still smiling, "Because it'd make her happy. Like we saw during our first invasion attempt, not everything has to do with power. And seeing as Rowan was the Princess' first real friend, I think she'd be overjoyed if they ever came into that relationship with each other."

Quicksilver nodded in agreement, "True that."

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

All three changeling heads turned towards the front door, where the knocking emanated from.

Duke raised an eyebrow, "I wonder who that could be. I doubt anybody in this town would be up at this late hour."

"Well, only way to find out." Quicksilver hopped off his couch and flapped over to the door. He swung the portal ajar, only to find a stout purple and green dragon standing behind the door.

Quicksilver blinked in surprise, "Oh, hey Spike." He gave the little dragon a hoof bump in greeting, "What are you doing here?"

Spike yawned tiredly, no doubt from the late hour, "Nothing much, Silver. I just got an urgent letter for you from Princess Luna." He held out a sealed scroll, which Quicksilver took in hoof, "It woke me up right as I fell asleep."

Quicksilver nodded, "Thanks, dude. Now go home and get some sleep. I'll see you later."

Spike wearily nodded and began trudging back home while Quicksilver turned back to the other changelings.

"A letter from Princess Luna?" Duke wondered aloud, "Let me see." His horn lit in green mist, and the letter in Quicksilver's mouth floated out in front of Duke, opening up as it traveled.

Duke's eyes scanned over the letter as he read it silently to himself, while Violet and Quicksilver exchanged curious looks with each other, before looking back to Duke, eager to hear what the Princess had sent. They suddenly felt a pang of worry as Duke's eyes widened as he read the letter, almost as if they were to pop out of his eye sockets. His jaw dropped, and the letter drifted to the floor as his magic lost hold, due to lack of focus.

"Duke?" Violet asked, "Are you alright?"

Duke shook his head, "Wake up Rowan and Princess Rosa. They need to see this right now."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Celestia's sun rose higher in the sky of the mid morning day. The time was almost noon, and six specific ponies teleported outside the ridges of Mt. Mahoganeigh.

Rowan, Rosa, Duke, Quicksilver, and Violet all stumbled under their hooves as Princess Luna's teleportation spell warped them near their destination.

Duke held his stomach as a wave of nausea hit him, "Ugh... I guess there's a reason why changelings weren't meant to teleport."

Luna giggled sheepishly at him and the rest of the disoriented changelings, "I apologize. But you all are doing surprisingly well. Most ponies vomit the first time they teleport."

Violet groaned sarcastically, "Can't imagine why."

Rowan only groaned, both from his spinning vision and Violet's comment, "Ugh, no Harry Potter references, please."

"What does a hairy potter have to do with being nauseous?" Violet asked, incredulously.

"Oh, nevermind."

*Blargh!*

Rosa winced as she witnessed the splattering mess, "Um, I guess Quicksilver couldn't hold his breakfast."

"Sorry, Princess!" Quicksilver quickly apologized... before spewing vomit again onto the ground, "Aw, man! There goes my carrots from this morning... Wait, when in my life did I ever eat carrots?!"

"That's truly a mystery we've never been able to figure out." Luna replied, quite seriously, "But if everyone has regained their bearings, we must move on. King Carapace is awaiting us."

"Yes, Princess Lu- hrk~ *Blargh!*"

Rowan grimaced, "Dude, Quicksilver, how much did you eat this morning?"

The changeling smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "Um... probably a bit more than I should have. Oh, and we're also out of bananas now."

As Rowan groaned about the loss of his favorite food, the group traveled away from the mountains of Equestria, towards the nation's border. They were currently moving uphill, when suddenly,

Luna pointed a hoof towards the horizon of the hill they were travelling upon, "Look up ahead."

On the top of the hill stood a single, equine figure. From his body structure and size matched that of Chrysalis', but more masculine. Over his body, he wore a set of black armor, adorned by the same green symbol on the chest plate; green changeling fire: The symbol of the Changeling Empire.

The changelings in their group stared in awe at the lone changeling, each of them knowing just who it was from his vast fame throughout their native land, "King Carapace."

Luna continued onwards towards the changeling king, motioning for the others to follow her, "Come, we must meet him at once."

_______________________________________________________________

Queen Chrysalis and Vironect lighted down on the ground, maintaining as much stealth as possible. They were nearing the Equestrian border, and the last thing they needed was to be spotted by somepony in the air.

They walked for a ways, up until they reached the border of Equestria itself. But once there, they spotted someone in the distance, a long figure standing atop a hill.

"King Carapace." Chrysalis breathed in satisfaction, "Finally, we are getting somewhere." She turned and barked at her proclaimed heir, "Come, Vironect. We mustn't keep the king waiting."

The two changelings began making their trek up the hill towards King Carapace, anxiously anticipating what he could possibly wa-

... Chrysalis thought she saw something coming over the hill as well... Was that a horn she saw?

_______________________________________________________________

"Wait, is that...?" Luna grimaced as she saw another figure walking up the other side of the hill. She scowled as she recognized the newcomer, "Chrysalis."

Chrysalis glared back likewise, "Nightmare."

Vironect spat at the other group with hate, more focused towards Rosa and Rowan than anyone else, "What are you vermin doing here?" His horn began glowing green with magic threateningly.

"Us? What are you doing here?" Quicksilver shot back, putting his hooves up in a fighting position while the rest of his friends did likewise with their magic.

With a look twisted in fury, Chrysalis glowered at King Carapce where he stood, "Lord Carapace, why are these traitors here as well? Where is your army you promised me?!"

"What are you trying to accomplish? You set up this meeting intentionally like this, didn't you?" Luna asked the changeling king.

"Enough!"

King Carapace's horn suddenly glowed black with magic, before a pulse of magic shot out from the tip of it. The pulse traveled like shock wave until it passed over everyone present. As it did, to everyone's surprise, every horn lit with magic dimmed down to nothingness and green flames sprouted around Rosa, Duke, Violet, and Quicksilver as their disguises fell.

Everyone looked towards King Carapace in shock and awe.

Duke's jaw dropped, like most everyone else, "Did he just... cancel out our magic?"

Out of everyone, Rowan was even more shocked, "I-I know that spell. That's the Shadow Scourge!"

Violet raised an eyebrow, "And you knew that, how?"

"I found it in the Liber Tenebrarum, but the spell itself is too complicated for me to use. The whole structure of it took up three pages!"

"And yet, the king can use it?" Quicksilver whistled, impressed, "Wow, that's powerful."

King Carapace chuckled at that, "Yes, thank you for that." His expression immediately turned sour, "However, I did not bring both parties here to quarrel and brawl, though there will be enough of that later. Now, do any of you know why I have brought all of you here?"

Realization came to Chrysalis' face, and she hissed venomously at Carapace, "You fooled me, didn't you? Your army isn't here. You were never planning on invading Equestria alongside my hive, were you?"

"That all depends on the outcome of this encounter." Carapace replied cryptically.

Luna gave a look of a concern, "Carapace, in your letter, you stated that you would help drive Chrysalis' hive away from Equestria. What is this talk of helping them conquer my country?"

Carapace sighed, as if he were annoyed, "I request that all of you be silent whilst I explain."

Though there were a few defiant mutters under a few ponies breaths, everyone remained silent, and Carapace continued,

"As you know, we as changelings are very proud and strongheaded, though we are very stubborn as well. As the high king of the changelings, it is my duty to make sure these traits don't get the better of my subjects as a whole. However, the persistence of Queen Chrysalis' hive has come to my attention."

He turned towards the changeling queen, "Chrysalis, you have tried time and time again to invade Equestria, but have failed with every attempt. I'm sorry to say, your hive has no chance at taking control of the country at this point in time. Any more efforts from your hive alone will only waste resources and the valuable lives of our drones."

Though her pride was itching to retaliate, Chrysalis bit her tongue at the comment and remained silent.

Carapace then turned to Princess Luna, "To make sure there isn't anymore loss for the changelings, I hoped to move Chrysalis' hive away from Equestria. But given Chrysalis' stubbornness, my efforts would have been in vain. Her hive wouldn't have moved, and they would've attacked Equestria again and again, only to be defeated every time. I am keeping to my word, and I am going to help Equestria get rid of these changelings.

"However, there is only one way that can be done."

Carapace looked down at everyone present, "Another common trait among changelings is our affinity for our own rules. No matter how stubborn we are, we will back down from anything if our laws require it. We have one law which can rightfully decide whether the changeling hive stays or goes away. It is called, 'The Champion's Duel'.

"If there is ever a contention between two parties, they must both choose one champion, more specifically, their strongest champion, to fight to the death." Rosa recited, though shuddering slightly as she did, "The winner of the fight will then require the other party to comply to their wants."

Carapace nodded, "That's correct, Princess Naractia... Oh, yes, that's right, you call yourself Rosa these days." He glanced back towards Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis, "As you can most likely guess, I intend to use The Champion's Duel to settle the matter of whether Chrysalis' hive leaves Equestria. You must choose your strongest champion to fight to the death. If Luna's champion defeats the changeling's champion, then the hive will come back to the Empire with me. But should the opposite happen, the hive will stay and I will personally aid them in conquering Equestria."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "That's not very cheery. I thought you were against the changeling hive attempting to conquer my country."

Carapace nodded, "Yes, I am. Between you and me, I believe both changelings and ponies would benefit greatly if we were to establish peaceful relations."

"Phht, as if!" Chrysalis sneered from the side.

Giving the changeling queen a sidelong scowl, Carapace continued conversing with Luna, "You see, there is more love in Equestria than any other place we have come across. But with the prospect of being invaded and enslaved, the level of love in ponies would drastically decrease, and we'd end up with less in the long run if the changelings were to conquer Equestria."

Rowan could only cringe as he listened to the whole conversation, "Yikes, and he talks about taking over a nation right in the face of its ruler, as if it's a casual thing."

Meanwhile, Luna nodded to Carapace, "Very well then. The fate of Equestria will be represented by a single pony in The Champions Duel." She smiled softly, "And I do hope when the hive leaves our borders, we would gladly establish relations between the changelings. It would be a nice change from having to worry about a spontaneous raid every month." As she finished, the lunar princess glared at Chrysalis, who only glared back.

Queen Chrysalis growled in annoyance, "King Carapace, may I remind you that The Champion's Duel is a changeling law, which only applies to changelings?"

Carapace nodded nonchalantly, "Yes, Chrysalis. The law was created for changelings, but if you haven't noticed," He pointed an armor clad hoof towards Luna's group, "The majority of them are changelings. The law still applies to them, even with that technicality."

Quicksilver gave a laugh from where he stood, "Why's she concerned about technicalities? You afraid you'll lose?"

"Quiet, you little welp, before I come over there and tear out your throat with my teeth!" Chrysalis snapped, causing Quicksilver's bravado to instantly disappear as he took cover behind Violet.

Quicksilver peered around Violet, the latter of them being very annoyed by being used as a body shield. Quicksilver shuddered, "Geez, I'm not even one of her subjects anymore, and that queen still scares the living hell out of me."

"Enough of this banter." Carapace barked, pounding a hoof into the dirt to silence everyone, "It's time to begin The Champion's Duel." He glanced at both Princess and Queen in the group, "And to save time, I took the liberty of choosing your strongest, eligible champions already. I believe you won't disagree at how strong they are when I call upon them."

Before anyone could react to that sudden revelation, Carapace shouted, "Vironect, step forth. You shall be the champion of the Chrysalis Hive."

The heir stepped forwards, a sneer on his face, "Yes, my lord. I'll gladly kill off any of these traitors if it will destroy the rest of Equestria as well."

Carapace then turned towards the Equestrian group, "Rowan, step forth. You shall be the champion of Equestria."

Chrysalis gaped at King Carapace, “What? That pitiful foal is not a changeling! He cannot participate in the duel!”

My thoughts exactly. Rowan thought to himself. He meant no disrespect towards Luna’s decision to join in the duel, or King Carapace’s choosing him, but this was putting a lot of pressure on him.

The fate of Equestria rests on me defeating Vironect… no, killing Vironect in battle? Rowan shuddered to himself, I’ve never killed anyone before, and though I’ve fought the changelings before, it wasn’t to save the entire country!

But you have come close to doing so. Another part of his mind reminded him.

Rowan grimaced as he reflected back to his time inside Chrysalis’ hive. When the queen had destroyed the Liber Tenebrarum, almost destroying his only hope at returning home, he had wanted to kill her… and if it weren’t for Twilight or the others who restrained him, he might have anyway.

While Rowan was lost in his thoughts, Chrysalis carried on in complaints, “If it’s a pony you’ve chosen for Equestria’s champion, we will not participate! We shall conquer Eq-“

“Silence, Chrysalis!” King Carapace snapped, “The reason why I chose Rowan as Equestria’s champion is because he is a changeling!”

…

Silence fell across the hillside.

"What? No, I'm not!" Rowan shouted, "I'm a pony-"

"But you used to be a human, didn't you?" Carapace countered.

Rowan cut himself short, feeling his heart skip a beat. Nopony except himself knew what a human was... but apparently he was wrong. "How did you know that?"

Carapace only ignored the question, as if Rowan had never asked it, "Do you know how a pony is turned into a changeling?" Rowan remained silent, "A pony becomes a changeling when all the love in them is drained from their form, leaving behind a parasitic husk that will seek to reclaim even the tiniest bit of the love it lost. For every changeling, love is our power. Love is our magic."

Rowan shook his head, "Are you saying that I have no love inside me? I woke up in Equestria as a pony, not a changeling, so that can't be possible."

Carapace nodded in disagreement, "Back in your world, Rowan, did you have a family who loved you?"

Rowan nodded, to which Carapace continued, "Back in your world, you fed off the limitless amounts of love that your family provided. And since you were a human then, the love inside you had no outlet, so it built up over the years. You had so much love inside you, that of which changelings could only dream of.

"But when you came to Equestria, all that love could not be contained in a changeling form, like it could in a human form, so it began depleting itself slowly in the way it could only do subconsciously. You came into Equestria as a changeling, but the depleting love came out as a disguise of a pony."

Carapace pointed to Rowan, "Your appearance is only a disguise, that of which you never knew of. The amount of love from your home world was so great that it kept up your disguise indefinitely."

Princess Luna then stepped in, "This is a rather bold theory. But how could Rowan be a changeling? We have many wards and spells used to detect changelings, but Rowan was never revealed to be changeling through their use.

Carapace gave the princess a sidelong look, "With enough love, even the strongest of detection spells can overlook a changeling."

Chrysalis only barked her disagreement, "Bah, this is ridiculous! Lord Carapace, do you not realize how far fetched of a story this is?"

Carapace glared at her, "Why say that, Chrysalis, when all evidence points towards this? Rowan is the only Equestrian that can wield Shadow Magic, Changeling Magic. That in of itself is impossible, unless Rowan really is a changeling."

Rosa looked towards Rowan with wondering eyes, "Rowan? Is that true?"

Rowan shifted his gaze around, until he noticed that everyone now had their eyes on him... though the problem was that right now, even he wasn't sure of himself.

Carapace does make a good point... but is it really true? He looked down at his hooves, his gray fur running over them, Am I really not what I thought I was?

Sensing his uncertainty, Carapace spoke to him, “Rowan, there is only one way for all of us to learn the truth. You must seek out the constant flow of magic in yourself, the one that is holding your disguise in place. You haven’t noticed it because it is so small, but it is there. Once you find it, you must close it off.”

Rowan paused for a moment before nodding. He had once before done something sort of like this while training with magic, but he wasn’t sure if he would find this ‘small magic flow’. He closed his eyes and used his magic to search through his body.

But to his surprise, he did find something, just a thin trickle of magic. Rowan wondered why he had not noticed it before, since it was his magic being used. Perhaps, if Carapace was right about this trickle of magic, he must have just gotten used to it after more than a month of its constant flow.

Biting his lip, both in concentration and reluctance, Rowan forced the flow of magic within him to cease. As soon as he did, green flames suddenly engulfed him. They were changeling flames, and from what he could tell… they hadn’t come from anyone else.

The sudden flames subsided, leaving a wide eyed Rowan. But when he glanced around, he noticed that everyone else, Princess Luna, the changelings, Chrysalis, and even Vironect, were staring at him with similar expressions.

Rowan looked down at himself and felt his stomach jump to his throat. His gray fur was no longer there, and his legs resembled black Swiss cheese, covered in a hard shelling. His eyes wandered over the rest of himself, to find that the rest of himself had changed as well.

His mane and tail were still there, colored in dark crimson, but both were ragged and filled with holes; both felt more solid than regular hair as well. His back was covered by a solid, red shell, topped by two clear, insect wings. His teeth had warped into sharp fangs, two of which protruded out of his mouth. His horn had turned black, and now curved upwards like a knife.

He was a changeling, and by feeling himself, Rowan knew this wasn’t any sort of an illusion.

This was real.

Carapace gave a half sneer to Chrysalis, “Are you satisfied now, Chrysalis?”

The changeling gave an unamused look, “Hmph, fine. Vironect will fight Rowan in the Champion’s Duel. I have no doubt that Vironect will destroy him though.” She said with a wicked grin towards the newly found changeling.

Meanwhile, the other party was still reacting to Rowan’s transformation.

Quicksilver chuckled as he fiddled with the wings on Rowan’s back, “Wow, even though you’ve never flown on these a day in your life, they’re in prime condition! I’ll have to race you when we get back to Ponyville so we know how good they are.”

Rowan didn’t mind him fiddling with his wings, because his mind was currently trying to wrap itself around what had happened,
All this time, I’ve been a changeling? The shadow magic, the changeling attacks… no normal pony would have anything to do with that. But I wasn’t even a pony! How would everypony react when they found my pony self was just a disguise… He scratched his head, though he noticed he could barely feel it through the his thick carapace. Wait… I didn’t even know about it, so I can’t really be blamed for that…

Duke promptly stopped Quicksilver from pulling on Rowan’s wings, “Silver, focus please.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

Rosa looked at Rowan incredulously, “I- Did you know about this?”

Rowan shook his head, “No, I-I didn’t! I’m just as surprised as you all are.” He grimaced somewhat, “But it does explain how I always attract trouble from other changelings.”

Rosa’s expression drooped as she saw Rowan’s unsure look. But like any friend, she decided to try and cheer him up. Rosa smiled, “Well, if it’s any consolation, you look kind of cute as a changeling.”

Rowan blinked in surprise, “Wait, what?”

Rosa giggled a bit, bringing a smile to Rowan’s face.

Rowan chuckled, “Um, thanks, I guess.”

Princess Luna cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone in their group, “Yes, I’m sure we are all quite surprised by this turn of events, but there is another task at hoof.” She gestured towards Vironect, who stood by Carapace as he readied to fight, “Rowan? Are you prepared to face Vironect in a duel?”

Rowan gave himself another once over, “Hm… Yeah, I think so. Sure I have a few new things on me, but I can still fight like before.”

Luna nodded, “Very well, my student. It appears your destiny awaits you.”

Hesitantly, Rowan stepped forwards, so he was standing hoof to hoof with Vironect, with Carapace standing between them.

Rowan took a deep breath as he readied himself, I guess this is how it’ll end, just me and Vironect, fighting to the death. If I win, the hive will leave for good. But if I loose… Rowan bent himself down to ready stance, his black horn pulsating with black magic, … all of Equestria will fall. I can’t let that happen.

Carapace glanced between Rowan and Vironect, “You know the rules. This is a fight to the death. You all know what will happen if either of you win or lose. Are you both ready?”

Rowan nodded.

Vironect sneered, “Yes, my lord.” He grinned maliciously at his opponent, “I’m going to enjoy running my horn through your heart.”

Carapace flew up in the air, as to get out of the line of fire, “Then I, King Carapace, as the overseer of this duel between Chrysalis’ Changeling Hive and Equestria, I declare this duel will begin in 3…

“2…

“1…

Rowan’s and Vironect’s wings flared in anticipation, their horns alight with magic.

“Begin!”

Both changelings instantly charged each other, with no intent of showing mercy.

__________________________________________________________________

Thump Thump Thump

“Hello? Hello? Um… Is this thing on?”

…

“Ah, yes, good. Now we’re ready.

“Hello, everypony, changeling, dragon, and whatever race you belong to. Hay, if I’m lucky, you might even be human, but I seriously doubt this will reach all the way back to Earth. My name is Rowan, and I am recording this message to anyone who wants to listen.

“First off, you should know that I’m a changeling. I have been living in Ponyville for eight years now, and I even have my own family here… Of course, it wasn’t always that way.

“Back before I came to Equestria, I was actually born as a human. I lived on Earth in the human world for about 16 years. By now, everything that happened after that is an urban legend across the country, and as well as common knowledge among my friends.

“Eight years ago from today, I was taken from my home on Earth and dropped into Equestria, taking the form of an inhabitant of this world; I became a changeling. Left with nothing, I had to try and find a way back home to Earth. Of course, I know a lot of humans who would’ve loved to stay in Equestria if they were in my hooves. But not me; I knew I didn’t belong here.

“The next month after that was probably contained the most adventures I will ever have in my life time. Like I said, just about everypony knows them, but nopony really knows why it was me who got caught up in those events. It has taken a few years, but I have finally worked out the answer as to why I came to Equestria in the first place.

“Near the end of my adventures, King Carapace called a Champion’s Duel between Vironect, Chyrsalis’ champion, and myself, to settle the problem of the hive outside Equestria… Well… I won, but I’ve never been proud of what I did to Vironect, even if he did indeed deserve it.

“Having won the duel, King Carapace forced the changeling hive to immerse back into the whole of the Changeling Empire. But after that, something occurred to me… King Carapace acted like he had known every single detail of how the duel would work out, as if he had planned it all out himself. After thinking about it for quite some time, I realized that something was off, something that I had overseen.

“So, I travelled to the empire with Rosa, to ask King Carapace how he had known to come invoke the Champion’s Duel law for Equestria. But when I asked, I got an answer that I never expected.

“After all this time, it had been Carapace who brought me to Equestria.

“Needless to say, it was very shocking to me and Rosa. King Carapace then explained that I was the main piece of his plan to rid Equestria of Chyrsalis’ hive, so that the empire could form peaceful connections and benefit even more than they could’ve by conquering the country. After all, love is one thing changelings need the most, and Equestria has an abundance of it.

“Back before Carapace brought me here, he had heard about the hive’s failed attempt to take Canterlot. He knew Chrysalis would try to attack again, since most changelings are inherently stubborn (Just ask my family; they’re a prime example of that), so he put a plan into action.

“He planned to use the Champion’s Duel to evict the hive, but first he needed a powerful changeling to fight for Equestria. He knew it would look bad for the empire if he sent one of his own, and the hive wouldn’t agree with that, so he needed an entirely new changeling to defend Equestria.

“That’s where I came in. The amount of love I had been exposed to in the 16 years of my existence made me a prime candidate to be the champion Carapace needed. All of that love accumulated into changeling magic so strong that even I couldn’t contain. Heh, when I came to Equestria, that power leaked a bit, and for the first month I was here, I thought I had been turned from a human to a unicorn who could use changeling magic.

“Anyways, Carapace, after summoning me from the human world, waited a month for me to grow accustomed to my new skills, before bringing the duel into play.

“His explanation certainly opened my eyes on a few things, but I still dread what he said next. He told me the summoning spell he had used on me was a ‘one-way’ only spell. There was no way for him to send me back.

“… sigh… Even after all these years, I still miss my old home. But hey, the changeling threat is gone from Equestria, so that’s all that matters, even if I do still hold a slight grudge against Carapace.

“Anyways, I’m proud to say that I now consider Ponyville as my permanent home. And as the longer I stayed there with the other changelings, the more ponies became comfortable with us. Up to the point where Celestia began trading love from Equestria to the changeling empire. From what I can tell, the empire is doing far better off now, so much that they aren’t using quite as many parasitic means for obtaining love.

“Plus, dozens of changelings from the empire have moved into Equestria, into almost every town and city (except Canterlot. After all this time, all those nobles are still terrified of us).

“And as for me, well, I’m still providing my research on Shadow Magic, like before. Though now they’re paying me extra since there’s a higher demand in it, changeling empire relations and all. Plus, I’m still the Element of Courage. The Elements of Harmony require at least 6 bearers to activate them, and since there’s now seven, I’m sort of like a reserve element of harmony. So that gets me military privileges when I want them.

“As for my regular life, Ponyville is just as crazy as it was eight years ago, heck maybe even better. I married when I turned 19, to the most beautiful changeling in Ponyville: Rosa. Gah, that princess’ face when I proposed was priceless. Heh heh…

“Right now, we live in a new house, with two little foals, and we all lived happily ever after, yada yada yada. All that jazz…

“Yes, I know my human world is still out there. I haven’t turned my back on it, but I can’t turn my back on everything I have here either. I’m still looking for a way back to the human world, though I haven’t turned up with anything. But when I do, maybe I’ll stop back and visit my parents, my friends, my brother Lyle, but then I’m coming back here to Equestria. Earth might be the place where I was born, but now I’m an adult, and my home is with my family here.

“Until I can visit Earth again, then I guess I’ll just be a new friend in Ponyville.

“Take care! See ya later.

“This has been Rowan Anderson, signing off.”

Author's Notes:

Alright, now this series is officially finished! Yay!
I did promise you guys a final chapter that would complete the series, so here ya go.

Yes, I do realize the ending was rushed, but that's because I was beginning to lose interest in this chapter. I knew if I made it longer, it'd just be as crappy as it is now, so why prolong the time it took to write this when there are dozens of other stories I could write? So, basically what I'm trying to say is,

This is the final chapter of the Shadow Magic Series. Take it or leave it.

Anyways, thanks for all the support on both A New Friend and Naractia's Nightmare-(Night). These two were my first stories ever on FIMFiction, and all I can say is that I'm proud to have made them, because they've helped me improve and become the writer I am today. Sure they aren't my best fics, but they were my beginning stories, so what else would you expect? A Five Score fic? Not likely.

Okay, enough of me blabbering,
It was nice writing about Rowan and his adventures,
comment what you thought of it down below,
and I strongly encourage you guys to take a look at my other fics, because they are way better than this one,

Thanks for reading!
-Shadowflame