//------------------------------//
// Chapter 63 - Chasing Shadows 
// Story: Off The Mark 
// by Goldfur 
//------------------------------//

Damn.  Well, despite what Star Swirl apparently thought, recriminations weren’t going to get us anywhere.  Nothing to do but go forward.

Before I could say more, my wife cleared her throat and spoke in a slightly wavering voice.  “Honored heroes of old.  On behalf of myself Trixie Lulamoon, Twilight Sparkle, and … Mark Wells, we, the Triarchs of Equestria welcome you back to your home.”  Wait, Trixie used my real name?  Being in the presence of the Pillars and Star Swirl, in particular, must have really unnerved her.

Star Swirl rounded on her with a frown and his horn glowed briefly. “An irresponsible alicorn and a pegasus too young to shave lead Equestria?  Times are more dire than I had imagined.”  He turned dismissively and walked away.  “And I’ll just pretend that I didn’t see the fake alicorn.”

I know my nostrils flared and I heard Twilight gasp to my left. I also saw Trixie narrow her eyes. My brain told me that disrespecting the former showmare would put her back on her hooves, so to speak.  Any breathless adoration she may have had for the mage was gone now.  My heart was telling me to do something entirely different.  After grinding my teeth for a few moments, I still didn’t trust myself to speak.  Twilight moved her mouth but no words came out.

Starlight came to our rescue.  “Everypony!  We’re going up to the map room now.”  She led the way towards the stairs.  The rest of the Elements trotted after her, effectively ending any discussion on the matter unless somepony wanted to stay in the lowest floor of the castle.

As everypony followed my advisor, I saw Mistmane smiling in delight at the sparkling crystal hallway.  As she passed by potted plants, they grew and bloomed merely from her presence.

“Such a beautiful castle!” Mistmane exclaimed.  “And so well-lit despite the lack of windows.”

Twilight explained, “It’s part of the magic of the castle. Each room and hallway has exactly as much light as it needs.”

Rockhoof smiled as he looked one of the crystal walls up and down. “Oh, aye.  Made wi’ earth pony magic.  Ah ken the signs well.”  He reached out a hoof and placed it midway up the wall.  When he pulled it back, the outline of his hoof pulsed green for a few seconds before fading.  The stallion grunted with a nod of satisfaction and walked after Starlight.

Twilight trotted up and lowered her head, squinting at the spot that now looked exactly like the rest of the crystal.  She closed her eyes, let out a deep breath, and reached out to place her hoof in the same location.  However, when she returned her hoof to the floor, there was no sign of any reaction. Her ears perked up and she cantered after the earth pony.  “Um... excuse me?  Rockhoof?”

Applejack came up with a wry smile on her face.  She tapped the wall once, eliciting a dull green flash. “Yup.  Thought so.”

I came up beside her as she followed the others.  “You gonna teach her how it’s done?”

“Nope.  And doncha go tellin’ her about my knowin’ how neither.”

I chuckled.  I had no doubt Twilight would learn this nuance of earth pony magic eventually... just not right away.

We followed the others and entered the map room just as Twilight finished explaining how to use the table.  The mage frowned and stroked his beard, staring hard at the map.  Occasionally, the view would zoom in and out on a spot then traverse to a different location.  As I walked up between Star Swirl and Pinkie Pie, I heard him mutter, “A most remarkable artifact.  So much of Equestria has changed…”  The pink mare was looking down at her hooves with her hair somewhat deflated.

I said to her, “I think we’ll need a ‘Welcome Back to Equestria Party’ to lighten the mood, don’t you think?”

Before she could answer, Discord appeared over the center of the table, a margarita in his paw and a huge noise rattle spinning in his clawed hand. The sunglasses, Hawaiian shirt, and yellow sombrero completed the outfit with absolutely no regard to taste.  He yelled, “Did someone just say, ‘party’?!”

“Demon!” shouted Star Swirl as he lowered his stance and his horn glowed with power.  I have to thank Crimson Boulder for what happened next.  Instinctively, I lashed out with a hoof exactly as I had been trained to do.  It impacted the base of the stallion’s horn, disrupting his magic completely.  He fell onto his side with a cry and I advanced, staying within striking distance.  I heard shouts of alarm from around me.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Starlight’s blue magic holding everypony else back from the two of us.

“You fool!” the mage practically spat.  “That’s a draconequus!”

“I know!” I yelled back.  “He’s also one of our closest friends.”

Star Swirl struggled to get back onto his hooves.  “It’s a being of pure chaos!  You can’t make friends with something like that!”

I sneered.  “Already have.  Already did. Discord has proven himself and we all trust him with our lives.  I don’t know much about your time, but here and now, the Magic of Friendship means a lot.”

“Then you are even more a fool than I imagined.  You simply don’t understand because you are too young and too ignorant.”  He cast a sneering glare at all the others watching him with expressions varying from anger to shock.  His eyes settled on Trixie and Twilight.  “It’s clear that the leadership of this nation is manifestly inadequate if it permits the likes of that creature to be free.”

Discord gave Star Swirl a hurt look and his magic flashed, leaving him dressed in a robe with paper angel wings covering his real ones and a halo held up by a wire.  “Whatever did I do to you?  Besides…” He turned into a stone statue but his voice continued.  “Been there, done that.”

My wife gave Star Swirl a disgusted look and Twilight was evidently dismayed.

I stared at Star Swirl through slitted eyes.  “Yeah, I know your type.  Quick to judge and dismiss anything or anyone that doesn’t meet your personal biases.  So used to being the smartest pony in the room that you’re immune from admitting you are wrong.  Think you know it all?  Well, guess what, grandpa?  You’re over a thousand years out of date.  Twilight ascended by finishing the spell you couldn’t complete.  Multiple ponies modified your time-travel spell.  Twilight reconstructed your banishing spell and figured out how to reverse it from your poor notes in only a couple of days.  If you are going to be any use against the Pony of Shadows, you need to take the ‘I’ out of your worldview of ‘team’, and you need to do it now.”





Star Swirl glared back.  “I will not be lectured to by a pegasus foal!  Begone!”  His horn lit up and his magic surrounded me before I could react.  He started pushing me out the door but two could play at that game.  I switched to pegacorn form and used my magic to dispel his telekinetic grip on me. Then I marched right up to him, wings spread, glaring down at him furiously.

“Who do you think you are to manhandle (ponyhandle?) a legitimate ruler of Equestria like that?  Your age and reputation do not give you that right!”

Star Swirl stared in surprise and retreated a step.  “C-Celestia?  Is that really you?  Why were you masquerading as a pegasus stallion?”

“Because she isn’t, you fool!  I’m Princess Mark Wells, not her.  Check out the cutie mark, and then stop making and acting on assumptions!”

Twilight stepped up then.  “Mark Wells is right – just because we’re all young does not make us incompetent.  Yes, we still make mistakes but everypony does, even you.  I let tiredness cloud my judgement and I should have listened to my friends when they told me to rest instead of working on your banishment spell. While I don’t regret releasing you and the other Pillars of Old Equestria, we need to stop arguing and start figuring out ways to deal with the unintended consequences.”  She started to turn away but then paused.  “Oh, and one more thing, Star Swirl – don’t ever disrespect my fellow Triarchs again.  Trixie held Equestria together in the absence of Celestia and Luna until Mark joined her. As prescribed by Alicorn Law, I challenged her right to lead Equestria and lost, but she still reached out to me and asked me to rule by her side. She is part of what makes the Triarchy strong and you will treat her with the respect that she deserves.”

Trixie gave her a gratified look.  Star Swirl seemed conflicted, but in the end, he nodded and replied, “As you command, Your Highness.”

I was impressed by how Twilight had grown a backbone and, satisfied that the old mage was at least deciding to be cooperative for the moment, I switched back to my stallion form.

Star Swirl said, “I have not seen the likes of this magic before. You are not a unicorn mage, so how is it that you can transform so readily?”

“Long story for another time.  We have bigger problems right now.”  I turned to Twilight.  “Until we can figure out some plan of action, I strongly recommend that you get some sleep. You’ll be of far more use to us when your thinking is not affected by fatigue.”

Twilight looked ready to argue for a moment before she sighed in resignation.  “You’re right, Mark.  Just promise to wake me if something important comes up.”

“Deal.  Spike – get Twilight hot cocoa and make sure she goes to bed.”

“On it!” Spike replied.  “Come on, Twilight – I’ve had stuff ready for you in the kitchen for ages.”

I chuckled at the look that the old-timers had on their faces as Spike led the alicorn away gently but firmly.  “Yes, that dragon is Twilight’s adopted brother and he dotes on her, not to mention being her number one assistant.  Bet they didn’t do that sort of thing back in your day.”

“Nay, they did not,” Flash Magnus replied.  “It is clear that much has changed in our absence.”

“Aye.  I fought many a dragon,” Rockhoof said, “but none served me dinner.”

I grinned.  “I think you will enjoy learning what Equestria is like a millennium later. Pinkie – that’s your cue.”

There was an explosion of streamers in the air and the sound of party noisemakers.  “Yes! It’s time for your Welcome Back From Limbo Not The Dancing Kind Party! Follow me, everypony!”

Star Swirl blinked.  “Are you seriously suggesting that we drop our efforts to deal with the Pony of Shadows?”

“No, but instead of working yourselves into a frenzy, go have something to eat and drink, relax, catch up with current events, and then discuss the situation calmly and rationally with your new friends.  Trust me – that works better than you may believe. We have some of the smartest and most competent ponies in Equestria gathered together, and the map table will still be here later when you need it.”

The bearded unicorn very reluctantly walked after the others.  I followed behind to make sure he didn’t try to slip back.

“Oh, and one more thing – if you value your sanity, don’t try to figure Pinkie Pie out.  There are some things a pony is not supposed to know.”





We gathered together in the Great Hall which had been decorated for a party complete with a “Welcome Back” sign that probably hadn’t even existed a few minutes ago.  By now, I had learned not to question such things. The party pony’s magic extended to a table laden with various foods and drink appropriate to the occasion which she probably whipped up early this morning on a body-twitching premonition she would need them later.  I actually had regrets about warning Star Swirl about Pinkie’s uncanny abilities – it would have been fun watching him go nuts trying to determine how she did what she did.  Pinkie was already serving cake to Somnambula by the time I arrived.

I waited for everypony to get a snack excepting Star Swirl who seemed determined to be contrary, then I called for attention.  “On behalf of Princess Twilight, I welcome you all to Friendship Castle.  Due to certain recent events, everypony here is familiar with the Pillars of Old Equestria despite your absence for over a thousand years.  I’d like to take this opportunity to formally introduce ourselves to you.  First of all, you have already met Twilight who is not only the alicorn Princess of Friendship but also the Bearer of the Element of Magic and the most powerful mage of the modern era.”  I looked pointedly at Star Swirl before adding, “Bar none.”

He grumbled but said nothing.

“Next, I would like to present my wife, Princess Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie is the senior of the Equestrian Triarchs and wears her wings as a badge of office.”  As Beardie had already outed my wife as a fake alicorn, I thought that this was the best way of explaining why she had them.  “This information is not known by the public at large as that knowledge might cause panic.  We would all appreciate if you would not share it.  Since the disappearance of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, she has been responsible for the welfare of the citizens of Equestria and has earned their respect.”  No need to tell them that she had been a little over her head with the task. From her glance, I knew that I had earned a few snuggle points with her though.

“Next, there is me, Prince Mark Wells, completing the Triarchy.  My role started as Grand Vizier to Princess Trixie, advising and assisting her with my unusual knowledge and way of thinking. Our relationship grew into something more, however, and eventually, Trixie decided that I was her stallion and I could not disagree.  We were wed and due to the laws of the realm, that made me a prince too.”  I switched shape to Marklestia.  “In this form, I have my own horn to go with my wings but I am not a true alicorn.  I call this form a pegacorn, capable of both average unicorn magic but superior pegasus abilities.  And yes, I am truly female in this body.”  I switched back.  “However, I still prefer my natural stallion form.”

“As do I!” Trixie added with a smirk.

Many of those assembled chuckled before I continued.  “I spoke of Twilight being the bearer of the Element of Magic, but there are five others.  First, Rarity Belle – Bearer of the Element of Generosity.”

“Charmed to make your acquaintance,” Rarity said.

“Rainbow Dash – Element of Loyalty,” I said, pointing to the colorful pegasus.

“Hi!  No need to thank us for getting you outa Limbo!”

“Then there’s Applejack Apple – Bearer of the Element of Honesty.”

The mare doffed her hat.  “Pleased to meetcha.”

“Fluttershy – Bearer of the Element of Kindness.”

“Umm… hello.”

“And, of course, your hostess and Bearer of the Element of Laughter – Pinkie Pie.”

Confetti showered from everywhere and the mare was nearly overcome by giggles.  “And I just wanna say how happy we are to have you back with us and we can hear all the marvelous things that you did as heroes of Equestria and all the places and ponies you’ve met and parties you’ve had and you gotta meet all our friends in Ponyville and the rest of Equestria and then there’s Seaquestria too because I know that the hippogriffs are going to want to talk to you too and not to mention—”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” I interrupted.  “I’m sure you can tell our guests all about that later.  I have a few more ponies to introduce still.”

“Oh.  Okay!” Pinkie replied brightly and went about serving up drinks.

“Next, I’d like to introduce Starlight Glimmer, my personal advisor and a powerful mage in her own right.  Then there’s Twilight’s own advisor and Royal Researcher, Moon Dancer. Sunburst is also a scholar and advisor to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire.  He was the one who discovered Star Swirl’s last journal which enabled us to learn what happened to the Pillars of Equestria so long ago.  The bat-pony is my personal guard and close friend, Penumbra.  And last but not least, Discord, the Lord of Chaos and a heck of an Ogres and Oubliettes player.”

“Well, it’s about time somepony acknowledged that.  I put a lot of effort into setting up those games, you know?”

“I still feel that you are a fool befriending a draconequus,” Star Swirl said in a surly tone.

“Chaos is not inherently evil or good,” I replied.  “All Discord needed was a reason to choose between them. Because you apparently never understood the Magic of Friendship, you could never achieve what these ponies have done.  I suggest that you get used to the idea that you have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Harrumph!  And what are these Elements that you so proudly boast about?”

“Only Equestria’s most powerful defense against the forces of evil,” Rarity replied.

“Then we are going to need them if we are to stand a chance of capturing and re-imprisoning the Pony of Shadows,” Star Swirl declared.

I said, “Speaking of which, I want to hear about everything that happened when you released the Pillars.  Applejack, could you enlighten me?”  I chose her because I trusted her not to embellish the tale.

Applejack described how Twilight had gathered all her friends to help with the ritual.  When she couldn’t find me, she was too impatient to wait and took off for Ponehenge along with all the tokens that we had found.  They were needed to act as anchors for the spell to draw the six Pillars back from Limbo which they succeeded in doing.  However, they belatedly found out that they had drawn the Pony of Shadows back at the same time.

“Why didn’t any of you consider that possibility?” I asked.

Starlight raised a hoof.  “I did, actually, but Twilight was too fatigued and focused on the task to pay attention to me.  I’m sorry – I should have stopped her when I could.”

“No recriminations, Starlight.  What’s done is done.  Besides, I’m not sure if anything would have stopped Twilight short of tackling her and forcing her to rest and think it over.  She also needs to take better care of herself now that she’s pregnant, so we all need to look out for her.  I also could have made her take a break, but that was my failure.  We need to move on and start considering how to deal with the Pony of Shadows.”

“But how are we going to find him?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Somnambula replied, “The Pony of Shadows could always be found where the darkness was deepest and evil beings lurked.”

“Perhaps the map table could help us there?” Sunburst suggested.

“Not a bad idea,” Starlight replied.  “After all, it was what got us started on collecting the tokens in the first place.  Surely it had a reason.”

“I’m still wondering how an inanimate object can be such a know-it-all,” I muttered, then louder, “For what reason would the Pony of Shadows seek that kind of thing out, besides the obviously cliché, of course.”

Star Swirl smirked at me.  “Don’t you know, Prince Wells?” he said sarcastically.  “The Pony of Shadows consumes the dark of heart to make himself stronger.  Why do you think we needed to sacrifice ourselves to send him to Limbo?  If he gets too powerful, not all the magic in Equestria will save us.”





All our guests were given rooms for the night although Star Swirl insisted that he would be working on ways of dealing with our foe.  I left Starlight to watch over and assist the old coot with strict instructions to let me know if he got up to anything suspicious. Trixie and I left for Canterlot via a daggerscale portal immediately afterwards.  Not only did we have Day Court in the morning, but we also had to put the Royal Guard on alert for sightings of the Pony of Shadows.  The Night Guard was put on yellow alert, doubling their numbers at key points in the castle.  We sent messages to the local authorities of the cities and major townships to look out for signs of this new threat.  The head of the Guild of Mages wasn’t thrilled about being woken. He always had an early night because of his regular duty as leader of the group that raised the sun and lowered the moon.  The sleep-deprived stallion also did not suffer from Twilight’s hero-worship of the returned mage.  He promised to send a research team to join Star Swirl in Ponyville in the morning before politely but firmly telling us goodnight.  Can’t say I blamed him.  At least he knew the value of getting a good night’s sleep before attempting anything important.

With those things accomplished, there was little else we could do besides worry, so my wife and I headed to our suite.  Neither of us was in the mood for anything more than snuggling up together in bed.  We lay there quietly for a while before Trixie spoke up.

“Dowser – thank you for having faith in Trixie.”

“No need to thank me, Lulu.  I only spoke the truth.”

She giggled.  “Only slightly embellished.”

“Sometimes the truth has to be embellished to be seen as the truth,” I replied with a kiss.  “Otherwise ponies would not know how truly Great and Powerful my wife is.”

“And a Great and Powerful Princess needs her Wise and Masterful husband at her side.”

“Always, my love.”

She was silent for a while before speaking up again.

“Will our child be safe, Dowser?”

“I promise that I will protect both of you with my life if need be.”

“Silly stallion – our daughter will need her father too.”

“I fully intend to be there for our son if possible.”

“You do realize that our foal is statistically likely to be a filly, don’t you?”

“Is it too late to order twins?”

She giggled again.  “You forgot to specify that when you rutted Trixie.”

“My sneaky wife failed to tell me that I could get her pregnant by making love to her immediately before the heat.”

“It’s a good thing that Trixie did or she might still be waiting for you to get your courage up for starting a family.”

It suddenly occurred to me that I might have been missing subtle cues up to that point.  Good thing one of us knew what she was doing.  After all this time, I was still learning how to be a pony.  “Sorry that I kept you waiting, Lulu.”

“Trixie forgives you because she knows our foal will be perfect.”

I nuzzled her and then we kissed.  We fell into silence once more.  I thought that she had fallen asleep when suddenly she said, “Hold us tight, Mark.”

I did as she asked, feeling the slight shiver of fear go through her body.  She had good cause.  We faced a villain stronger than six of the greatest heroes Equestria had ever seen. Even after joining forces with their modern counterparts, we were in for a tough battle against a foe that had declared his intention to bring darkness to the world.  Nevertheless, I was damned if I would let that happen to my wife and unborn child.  I knew I couldn’t do that alone, but fortunately, I had powerful friends.





While the map table had shown us a number of candidates for locations of darkness throughout Equestria, they were a bust.  Some may have been gathering places for evil a millennia ago, but they had been changed beyond recognition over the years.  The daggerscale portals did allow Twilight to give the Pillars a whirlwind tour of some places in Equestria.  I understand their reaction to Las Pegasus and Manehattan was comical.  Nothing like all the culture shock all at once.  Rockhoof caught onto one modern idea a bit too well though and got kicked out of the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Golden Horseshoe!

One ancient desert ruin had looked promising, but nopony had been home.  Twilight stationed a squadron of guards there along with several mages.   Constantly renewed portals to the area allowed reinforcements to be brought at a moment’s notice.  Unfortunately, the Pony of Shadows was busy elsewhere.

It didn’t take long before reports of anomalous occurrences started coming in.  The first was brought into Day Court on Tuesday by the Captain of the Guard who had orders to bring these to our attention immediately.  The Manehattan jail had been raided overnight and several inmates were missing.  A couple of hours later, Baltimare sent a similar message.  Neither of their reinforced security details had been able to stop the Pony of Shadows.  Perhaps the Element Bearers and the Pillars together could have achieved more, but we had no idea where our foe would strike next.  I should have known better.





I frowned as I stood in the final hallway.  Ragged Edge and Lost Scroll swept the area ahead of me with wide beams from their horns.  Curiously, the motes of dust floating in the air reflected a different color back to us with each pass of their magic.  Not having anything else to do, I stood quietly.  It wasn’t often the Guild of Mages were conscripted into the defense of Equestria.  I certainly wasn’t going to insult their contribution by being impatient.

After a full minute or more, the elder of the two, Lost Scroll, said, “Clear!”

We marched forward— I couldn’t hear the dozens of hoofsteps behind me.  I expected that of the Night Guard, but Penumbra had also done something to mask any noise she made.  I suppressed a wince as we passed by the cell previously occupied by Flim and Flam.  A maid was wiping away blood from the back wall. The unicorn twins were expected to make a full recovery, but Flam would need to be in traction for weeks.

At the end of the corridor, the mages and guards performed a coordinated dance to exchange places with their counterparts already stationed there.  Each tried to carry out their movements without losing a direct line of sight with the cell’s occupant.  When that was done, Penny gave me a nod.

I walked up to sit in front of the open doorway I had visited only a week past.  Chrysalis lay in the same position, as far as I could tell.  Still knitting her scarf, though she was openly smirking this time.

I waited until she finished her current line of loops.  “I understand you had a busy evening.”  When she said nothing, I continued.  “You wanted to see me?”

With extreme care, the changeling queen set down her work.  She fixed me with a sardonic smile.  “I feel I was in error... and thought you might like to know.  It seems there is at least one pony who is both interesting and powerful enough for me to consider it to be an equal.”

Still no indication of what she wanted.  Fine.  I’d get what I wanted first: information.  I waved a hoof and nodded for her to elaborate.

Chrysalis sighed, looking almost, but not quite, like a young filly pining after an unrequited love.  “You may find this difficult to believe, but I was just lying here, knitting – not bothering anypony...”


~ ~ ~


Shouts came from further up the hallway – alarmed ponies yelling punctuated by occasional screams and horn blasts.  Two of my guards ran up the hallway, then one of the mages.  The final mage and pair of guards alternately glanced at me and the direction their companions had gone.  This continued until I heard a loud thump from nearby and a limp guard hurtled past my door, slamming into one of his fellow guardsponies. The lone remaining mage took a broad stance and his eyes and horn glowed white.  He said, “Cover your eyes,” doubtless to the armored earth pony next to him.

I narrowed mine to slits so I could witness his casting crackling sphere after sphere of power at some enemy I could not see.  The hallway was bathed in bright pulses of light that made him appear to be nothing but a silhouette.  Even in my room, enough light poured in to obliterate every shadow. The assault was having its desired effect if the thundering howls of pain were any indication.

The stallion nor his guard saw the tendrils of smoke coming up behind them.  The coils grabbed each around a hind leg and yanked them backward.  After a few loud thuds, their screams cut off.

“Well then,” I thought to myself as I set down my work. “Somepony went through a great deal of trouble to visit me.  I wonder if they are employed by the Storm King?  If so, my options are limited.”

The deep, echoing voice I had heard earlier had stopped to talk with the two dolts who also resided in my level of the dungeon.  “You two.  Truly your crimes must be monumental!  Recount them so we may revel in the glory of their retelling!”

A weak, trembling voice answered after a long pause.  “Well... uh... we’re accountants.”

The booming voice answered.  “Ah!  Truly! Truly!  And what is this ‘accounting’ of which you speak? Doubtless, it involves counting the victims you dispatch.  Tell me. What is your body count?  Between the two of you?”  The voice betrayed a hint of excitement. “Dozens?  Hundreds?”

More silence.  “Well... none, actually.”

The brother chipped in.  “We were stopped before we could make off with all their money.”

“That was unwise,” I muttered under my breath, picking up my knitting again.  True to my prediction, there was a very brief period of screams and thumping.

I heard the dark voice grumble as it grew closer.  “This era is so disappointing— even in the dungeons there is no true villainy.  Everypony farts butterflies and urinates rainbows.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a swirling gray shape stop outside my doorway.  Until it chose to do something, it was of no concern, so I continued with my work.  It glanced briefly at the fields keeping me in my cell, then the room plunged into darkness.  When light returned, the magic barriers were gone and it moved silently into my cell.  Only then did I notice my manacles were gone, as well as the chains that had attached them to the wall.  I had not heard or sensed their disappearance, which I found unnerving.  Still, I could show no weakness. I ignored the creature approaching me.

“What a vulgar and unsightly monster you are.  Doubtless, imprisoned because of the unpardonable crime of scaring foals.”

I laughed.  “Hardly, though I believe you are accurate about tales of me being used to terrify colts and fillies.”

I set down my needles and stared up into glowing, featureless white eyes. That was the only solid detail of its form as its outline wavered everywhere else.  “No, I am here because my invasion resulted in the death of... I’m not sure... a hundred and thirty ponies?  ... two hundred?”  I shook my head.  “I can’t rightly remember.  Anyway, there’s a scroll of their names and occupations in the far corner.  I’m supposed to read it and weep about them or some other pony-like reaction.”

The thing in front of me smiled, its lips pulling back far beyond what would have been possible for a being of flesh and blood.  Even I was a bit intimidated, though I could not dare show it. “Ah!  At last!  A creature of pure evil.”

I blinked.  “I don’t understand.”

The smile faltered.  “You are indifferent to the suffering you cause ponies.  You have no empathy for them.  That is the definition of evil.”

I laughed and stood up.  I started lecturing the apparition like I would a nymph.  “Oh, I see your misconception.  As you can tell, I am not a pony.  I am a changeling.  A queen changeling.  Ponies are food to me.  A tool to be used, nothing more.”

I moved close enough to see that the stallion was made of folding shadows, not smoke as I had first assumed.  “Tell me – is a cragadile evil for stepping on an ant mound?  Is a bird evil for feeding worms to its chicks? No.  It is nothing more than nature at work.”

The creature frowned.  “But ponies can think and feel.  They are sapient.  It is a crime to kill such beings.”

I shrugged my shoulders.  “Your argument is pointless.  What about manticores?  Or hydras? Are they evil for killing ponies? No.  They are simply higher up on the food chain, just like I am.”

“But you delight in their suffering, do you not?”

A dozen small clues from its speech and body movements coalesced in my mind.  At its base, this was a stallion... I was not sure yet of the tribe.  “No. My only concern is for the welfare of my children. That they no longer starve while surrounded by abundance.”

His wide grin returned.  “You lie.  I recognize that gleam in your eyes, regardless of your species.  You enjoy causing pain, rejoicing in your victories, crushing the spirits of your enemies.”  His head lowered until we were staring eye to eye.  “You crave nothing more than the moment when your foe realizes they have no hope.”

I answered his stare.  “I will not deny that such would give me pleasure in the past, but I no longer let such thoughts distract me.  That weakness was the cause of my downfall.  I have since purged it from my psyche.”

The creature began to pace around me slowly.  “Ah, but you have the potential to do so again.  Once you and your brood are glutted, you will return to the same thoughts, emotions, and actions as before.  Just having that capability is all that is required to make you evil.”

I smirked.  “Then you had best place every pony alive into the same herd.  All ponies would do reprehensible acts if put under sufficient stress for long enough time.  No. Mere potential is not sufficient. The capability to act on those feelings is required and my discipline will no longer allow it.  You imagine me to be on a path that no longer exists.” 

“Yet ponies died because of your actions.”

I tilted my head.  “You would judge somepony to be evil because of outcomes?  That is just as ludicrous.  The saintliest pony could unintentionally spread their disease to an elderly mare who does not survive.  Does that make them ‘evil’?  I intended no pony to die during my invasion because I valued all of them as a food source.  Does that make me ‘good’?  Your pony legend of Flash Magnus…”  The being snarled at the mention of the mythical pony’s name.  Interesting.  “… fought and slew dragons while his fellow soldiers rescued his compatriots.  Does this make him ‘good’ in the eyes of ponies or ‘evil’ in the eyes of dragons?  No, the label of ‘evil’ is arbitrary.  A meaningless word bestowed upon the loser by those who write the history books.”

I stamped my hoof.  “I am Chrysalis, Queen of Changelings.  I fight for the destiny of my race where no other has the courage.  I stand by my actions without repentance because they were mine alone.”

“So you physically consume your prey while they are still alive?”

I sighed.  Yet another morbid stallion.  “No, my kind does not.  We are emotivores, not carnivores.”  I tapped one of the bands on my horn.  “These prevent me from forcefully absorbing the positive emotions that sustain those of my kind.  I can feel you have none.  I am no threat to you.  But what use could you be for my goals?”

Its head jerked upwards.  “A collaboration?  I promise revenge upon those that defeated and imprisoned you.  After you join with me, you will help plunge all of Equestria into darkness and despair.”

I raised an eyebrow skeptically.  “‘Join with you?’”  I sat down so I could wave my hoof.  “Allow myself to be consumed body and mind for such a goal?  I think not.  My will is stronger than any pony’s.  More likely I would tear control of the shadow being away from you and make it my own, unicorn.”

The creature blinked, telling me my hunch was correct.  It wasn’t smiling anymore.  I pressed my advantage and asked for what I wanted from this monster.  “No.  I propose an alliance.  I share what I know of these ponies and their capabilities. You remove these bands and provide the muscle to defeat them.”

He sneered.  “Follow your orders?  Be a slave to your will?  I am no one’s slave.  I will rule over all Equestria and beyond.”

He was slipping away.  Time for the final appeal.  “Which is the same promise I have made to myself.  We are not so different, you and I.  As I have already said, I am not a threat to you.  We can accomplish more together than we can apart.”

“I think not.  I will leave you to rot in your cell, changeling.  Do not let me see you again.  If I do, you will be vivisected.”  The edges of the creature’s form collapsed.  It drew inwards upon itself until there was nothing left.

I sighed as I muttered aloud.  “Stupid ponies.  I actually liked that one.  Such promise. All wasted because it thought too much of itself.”

I stood up, stretched, then walked out of my doorway.  “Time to make the best of the situation.”


~ ~ ~


I frowned as I stared at Chrysalis.  She was positively beaming.

“Why aren’t you happy, Prince Mark Wells?  After all, you’ve been proven to be correct, yet again. Now I just have to sit in my cell like the parasite I am, waiting for the host creatures to deal with the problem I could not.”

After a pause, I said, “Just for the record, it was thirty ponies that died during your invasion.”

She gasped, her smile unchanging.  “Was it really?  Thank you for correcting me.  Though my debt to Equestria should be reduced by three or four, wouldn’t you agree?  My quick actions saved a few lives among the injured guards, mages, and the twin dolts, I am to understand.”

“Your application of first aid likely saved the lives of two guards and a mage.  Thank you. However, I know you were acting out of self-interest.  What is your game, Chrysalis?  Why did you stay when you could have made a run for it?”

The queen came closer to the restored magical field at the doorway and sat down.  “Perhaps I have started to make friends among the ponies that guard but refuse to speak to me?  No? Not believable?”  She tapped a magic suppression ring with a hoof.  “I would most likely have been captured or killed on sight.  I surmised the dungeons had been pacified but not the city or the rest of the castle.”

Her smile grew sharper and her eyes bore into mine.  “Besides, that powerful oaf and I were at cross purposes. Cause suffering and death among my food? How would that help me or my future hive in any way?  It was wise not to trust me.”

She leaned back.  “I know you will fight me to your last breath, trying to prevent me taking my rightful place as ruler of ponies.  But you could give me the other thing I desire.”

“The Storm King?  You know I can’t do that.”

Her fanged grin returned.  “Ah, but that’s just it, isn’t it?  Twilight Sparkle would not give it a moment’s thought.  Your beloved Trixie does not have it in her either, but you, Prince Mark Wells, would consider it.  Soon, you will find that reason.”  She waved a hoof.  “I am not indirectly threatening your wife or friends.  I am saying we live in interesting times.  Someday, you will need my skills to save your beloved Equestria. Out of all the royals, for you, the idea stops being a ‘can’t’ and becomes a ‘might’.”

I frowned and continued to stare at the smiling changeling queen. With the scarf hanging in arcs behind her, she looked very much like a spider waiting for me to step into her web.

I stood up.  “Until that day, Your Majesty.”

I didn’t wait for her response.  Once my bodyguard and I were up to the next level of the dungeons, I asked, “Your thoughts, Penny?”

There was no trace of frivolity to her voice.  “Let’s hope that day never comes.”


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