I had walked to Ponyville on foot, which had taken about a month to do so. The reason being that the Changlings had lived so many miles away. It had gotten stormy within the week I left for Ponyville, and I had to stop several times because of flooded roads and collapsed bridges. I was extremely tired from my journey as I walked into Ponyville. I hadn’t slept in about three days because I thought that the red-robed skeleton would follow me back to Ponyville. Since it was around nighttime, there wasn’t anyone to see me.
I turned a corner, and saw ponies dressed up in costumes of various themes. I was caught off guard by one pony who was dressed as a chicken. She was accompanied by a pony who had on a wizard outfit, which was completed by a white beard. I decided to move on and look for Zecora or Luna, the only ponies who truly knew that I existed.
I headed for what the ponies called “The Everfree Forest”. It had naturally moving clouds, in fact, it was an almost Earth-like part of Equestria. I had a hunch that Zecora would be there, or at least after the festival was over. I headed deep into the forest, not knowing that some creature was stalking me.
I heard a snapping branch, as a chicken with red eyes ran at me. I looked directly into its eyes, as I felt a sudden sensation my feet. I looked down, my body was turning into stone! I couldn’t move my legs at that point, so I needed to take out the creature that was staring at me. I focused my powers into my fingers, as I shot at the creature.
It started shaking uncontrollably, as it clucked every few seconds. My legs were then free of the stone that held me there. I then stared at the creature as intensly as possible, as it turned to stone. I watched at the once dangerous creature now could become a lovely decorative piece. My head hurt a little after the confrontation, so I made my way deeper into the forest.
It must have been hours that I’d been in the Everfree forest, as I came up to a rotted bridge. There was no possible way to cross it, at least not without wings. I decided to make a rope and swing across the deep chasm. It wasn’t the brightest idea, but it was my only option at that point. Cutting off several feet of vines, I tied them tightly together using skills I had developed long ago. I made a lasso out of one half of the vines I had gathered, and tied myself to one of the posts that once held the bridge together. I made my descent to the bottom of my current vine, and I tossed the lasso up towards a post on the other side. All had gone well so far, as I cut off the first supporting vines. The post was strong enough to support my weight, as I climbed up the sharp and wet chasm. As I was halfway up, I felt my boots slip off the edge of a rock, I fell down to my starting point. I decided that I would climb the face of the cliff without boots, since they made me slip more than grip any rock surface. With my bare feet exposed, I made my way up the cliff slowly. I was barely a foot away from the edge, when I heard a cracking sound. I looked at the footholds I supported myself on, they were crumbling fast. I made a jump up towards the edge, as my footholds collapsed. I held onto the cliff edge with my bare hands, as I tried to pull myself up. I was sweating like a mule, as I gathered my strength and managed to reach the other side.
I headed towards an ancient temple, following a bright light inside. I saw the overgrown plants and holes in the place, and wondered how old it was. I walked further inside the temple, I saw a broken piece of glass on the floor. From what I could tell, it depicted six figures floating in the air. I could only gather that much about the glass, as a light appeared next to me and blinded me for several seconds. A calm voice echoed from the light, as it dimmed to a tolerable brightness. A white alicorn stood before me, as I recognized her from seeing her sister a few months back. This was her, Princess Celestia, the pony that I was assigned to eliminate.
“Who are you? Why are you here?” She demanded.
I stared into her eyes, as she spotted my injury from earlier.
“What in the world happened to you? You look battered and bruised, are you alright?”
She seemed concerned about my well-being, which was weird considering she didn’t know me. I suppose she could sense no hatred for her in my eyes. She seemed the motherly type, but I could tell that she could lay down the law if she wanted to. I could sense an overwhelming power from her, so it was best not to mess with her.
I made a slight bow, as I told her my business, “Princess Celestia, I presume?”
“Yes I am. I raise the sun every day and am one of the two rulers of Equestria.”
“I knew that. I have come to warn you of a danger coming to Equestria. A threat has been made on your throne, one that shouldn’t be ignored.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, “Do you know who made the threat?”
“Not exactly...”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?!”
Celestia became more concerned about the enemy, I needed to tread carefully.
“I had a few confrontations with them in the past, I didn’t catch their names. They have black bodies and can transform into anyone. Their eyes glow green, but they have one problem.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, “A problem? How do they plan to rule Equestria and defeat me if they have a problem?”
“That problem is me. Whenever they try to gather their forces, I break them up. I even know where they are now.”
“Then why don’t we go there and stop them?”
“Even if you sent your entire Royal Guards to stop them, they’d end up beating themselves. The changlings can take the form of whoever they see. We must not send them over to be slaughtered. Instead, we must wait until they come to us, so we can tell who is real, and who is an impostor. In the meantime, I need to talk to you about Twilight.”
“What does Twilight have to do with this?”
“She is another threat to the Changlings that they would want to eliminate. That is why I’m lending to you my services.”
“Twilight’s friends can protect her too, she’s not alone after all.”
“No. That will not do, we can’t have her worry about everyone trying to kill her. We wouldn’t want to drive her insane, nor should we limit her actions. That is why I must be her bodyguard and observer until the Changlings arrive.”
“Fine, but if Twilight winds up in a heap of trouble, or worse, you will regret ever knowing me.”
Celestia then flew off into the sky to raise the sun, as I pondered how to protect Twilight without her knowledge.