Mute entered the bakery and looked around. There was a small table set up in the middle of the room with a platter of cookies on it. Perfect. Mute walked up to the table as Pinkie hurried around doing... Mute couldn't tell what she was doing. He assumed she placed out more treats for the guests. And more guests did enter the bakery, if a bit cautiously as they noticed him. Mute just stared at the new guests, his large eyes peering into their souls. For a second they stood frozen in fear until they looked away and hurried to the different huddles of ponies across the room.
"Weak, these did not even last for five seconds. Even the children looked at you for longer," Zarathon whispered.
Mute nodded and picked up the plate of cookies. He starred at it for a second and then tilted it into his mouth. As a cookie entered his maw the changeling chewed and tried his best to swallow it. The sweetness made him smile, though he sighed in annoyance as he received no love from the sweet. Or well, it wasn't entirely void of love. It was made with love, as he could still taste it, but there was no pure love in it, not even diluted love.
He was going to have to feed of some ponies again.
"Cheer up! I am certain the praise and adoration from our new subjects shall be enough to sustain you for a month!" Zarathon said as Mute placed him and Henry the third onto the table.
It was at that moment that Pinkie appeared before him. Mute yelped at the speed of the earth pony and then he looked in awe at what she held. It was a vial with a pink liquid inside. Mute felt himself salivate as he saw it and he slowly took the precious vial from the earth pony. He looked at her with adoration and Zarathon chuckled.
"See! They can accommodate your needs as well, my friend! Is that not wonderful?"
Pinkie smiled at them. "I borrowed Twilight's book on changelings and other than all the creepy and spooky stuff it said you eat love! So I had Twilight make that with magic! It is my love! And it made me feel very dizzy when she made it but now it is in there and you can have it! Gotta go I have to fix the last little things!"
As Pinkie zoomed away Mute couldn't help but smile and look at the vial. He placed it onto the table and looked around at the other ponies. A few eyed him and Zarathon with curiosity while others seemed scared to approach. Mute turned back to his friend with a quirked brow and motioned to the rest of the room. He felt no adoration from the ponies as Zarathon said they'd have. No, he felt fear, trepidation, exotic wonder, and... was that lust? He blinked in confusion and saw one mare eye him like he had eyed the vial of pure love extract. Her coat was pure white and her mane was mostly white with a blue line running through it. Her eyes were such a light blue they almost seemed to glow. Her cutie mark was that of a beetle with a pin through it. She sat alone with a cider in her hoof and stared intensely at him. He tilted his head at her and she gave him a wink and sultry smile.
There was something about her smile that made his skin crawl and Mute looked away with an uncomfortable look. She giggled at his reaction and waved.
"See! Already a potential suitor! This feast is great! Now we need to get everyone in a festive mood. Order that the orchestra play their songs and that we may be approached by any one of our subjects," Zarathon said with glee.
Mute did not like the idea of courting the mare with crazy eyes, but he did as told. He walked up to Pinkie as she finished with the last plate of sweets and he pulled out a charcoal pen and paper. He wrote down 'where is the orchestra?' and Pinkie laughed at him.
"Oh, Mute you're so funny! We don't need an orchestra, silly, we have a DJ!" the earth pony said and pointed to the unicorn mare with the purple glasses.
Mute bowed his head in thanks and hurried over to the small stage and wrote down 'start the music' on the paper. He held it up to the unicorn mare who nodded enthusiastically and with a flick of her horn the machine buzzed as it came to life. And Mute flew back as an infernal sound escaped the black rectangular boxes. The changeling pushed his ears against his head as the constant beat of a drum alongside noises akin to a lightning storm filled the room. The ponies seemed more relaxed and as multicolored light filled the room a few of them began to dance. Mute crawled along the floor and hid under Zarathon's table.
"You know, Mute... I do not think this is a work composed by Trotzart or Neiydn," the burning pebble said.
Mute missed the hive orchestra. The buzzing of wings and clacking of rock against rock had soothed him and made him join in. This sound made his exoskeleton vibrate and he became acutely aware of his heartbeat. The changeling looked around for an escape when he noticed a new mare enter the party followed by a few others.
The first was a blue pegasus, or maybe turquoise was the right word, with a mane and tail made from up with all colors of the rainbow. Mute stared at her for a second and got out from under the table. He watched as Pinkie greeted the pegasus with a hug and then bounced over to the others that had joined the party. An orange earth pony with a blonde mane and a straw hat, a white unicorn with a meticulously maintained purple mane, and finally Twilight. They all seemed to be good friends with Pinkie Pie, and their arrival prompted many greetings from the other party-goers.
"Mute, would you kindly have our subjects gather around me?" Zarathon said.
Mute walked up to the five mares by the door and Pinkie smiled and bounced around in excitement.
"This is Mute! Mute, this is Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash! I think you already met Twilight and Fluttershy... Where is Fluttershy?" Pinkie said and looked around for the yellow pegasus.
Mute wrote down 'she hid in her cottage' on the parchment and handed it to Pinkie.
"Oh..." Pinkie's mane deflated for a second before she shook her head and smiled at him. "Well, we can go and have you two become friends later! Now we should enjoy the party!"
The changeling eyed the three mares he hadn't met before and he felt a mixture of fear, disgust, and anxiety from them. The fear came from the pegasus, the anxiety from the earth pony, and the disgust from the unicorn. He gave them all a friendly grunt and then wrote down Zarathon's order. He held it up and pointed to the burning pebble on the table.
"With all due respect, Mr. Mute, I do not think we should approach an object that is on fire," Rarity said with an uneasy smile.
'It is fine. Go and listen to him,' Mute wrote down and held up for them all.
"What are you anyway? You look like a bug," Rainbow said and circled him like a curious cat.
'Changeling', Mute wrote.
"And what is that?" the pegasus asked.
'It is a changeling?' Mute tilted his head at her in confusion.
"It is a shapeshifter! Ah' keep telling ya this thing will replace us and trick our families! Granny Smith knows exactly what these critters can do, she has been to the badlands!" Applejack huffed.
'I can't shapeshift,' Mute wrote down with a frown. 'I can not do any magic.'
He pointed to his cracked horn and glared at the earth pony. He then continued writing. 'I am not an infiltrator, I am a Lord of cinder. And as a Lord you will listen to my command, and if not to mine then to my friend's. He would like you to listen tó him, so would you kindly do that?'
"Darling, maybe we should listen to what the pebble has to say? Mute here doesn't seem dangerous," Rarity said to Applejack.
"Yeah, I think he's alright. But he looks a bit weird though, and I am keeping an eye on you buster! You better not try to look like me or any of my friends!" Rainbow said.
'I wouldn't dream of it,' Mute wrote down and eyed Applejack.
"...Fine. I'll listen, but that doesn't mean I'll trust you!" she said.
The trio walked to the table and kept a close eye on the changeling. Twilight walked up to him with an awkward smile and Pinkie looked at her friends with a sad expression and her pink mane deflated again. Mute just wondered how a rainbow-colored mane was beneficial to the survival of a species or how a mane even could deflate.
"Please excuse them, ponies are a little bit on edge about things that come from the Everfree. It doesn't help that Applejack has been going on and on about shapeshifters since she saw you," Twilight mumbled.
"I hoped you'd be good friends... I suppose I'll have to try extra hard." Pinkie took a deep breath and then waved. "Everyone please go to Zarathon! He has something to say!"
The other ponies in the room soon gathered around the table and eyed the rat-drawn carriage and the pebble within. Mute joined the congregation and pushed through so he stood side by side with the pebble. The crowd murmured and Mute looked at them and wrote down 'be quiet, please'.
Once every party-goer had joined the crowd and the music was considerably turned down Zarathon began to speak. "Ponies of Ponyville, I am Zarathon, son of Lyrden and Henthia. I am the tamer of the Zanerian queen, conquer of the beastlands, and native of the western mountains! I am a Lord of cinder, the rightful keeper of the first ember, and as of today, I am your rightful liege-lord! Rejoice, ponies of Ponyville, for you have a new protector! The sun goddess will be obsolete with me as your guardian!"
Whispers and conversation erupted from the crowd. Muted tasted skepticism and mirth from many of the ponies, he even felt a hint of amusement. Many in the crowd found this situation funny. Mute did not. The changeling tapped his hoof against the wooden floor and pointed to Zarathon. He gave the crowd an annoyed grunt and gestured for them to bow.
Twilight was the one to speak first. "With all due respect, lord Zarathon, Ponyville has never had a liege-lord. Such archaic means of governance have not been used for at least two centuries. Our lords and ladies do not rule plots of land the same way their forefathers did, and they never will again. They have inherited wealth from their ancestors and they help govern Equestria, but they do not have peasants or levies. We have a professional standing army you know? It isn't very large, but still! We own our allegiance to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and before that, we have a mayor! I'm sorry but you can not be a Lord."
Mute blinked in confusion at the purple unicorn and then looked to Zarathon. Did they have no right to rule as lords of cinder then?
"You misunderstand me, dear subject! I am not asking to be a lord under the sun goddess! I am claiming your settlement as part of the ancestral lands I am entitled to as Lord of the region you call the Everfree. I held this land long before your ancestors were born, and I am not asking for them to be returned to me. I am taking them, whether you like it or not."
Mute looked around at the faces of the ponies present. The mood had shifted. The ponies had been eased by the food and music but now ponies scowled, looked around for an escape, and some just looked confused. Pinkie looked sad, and Mute felt sympathy for the pony. She couldn't help her friends' foolish behavior.
Twilight frowned at the pebble. "We will not accept something like that. This is our home."
"And it is also mine, long before it was yours. I defended this land from invaders, chaos spirits, shades, demons, and your ancestors for a long time, do not think I'm unable to take it from normal ponies. If you accept this vassalization peacefully then I shall continue in my duty of using the holy flame to defend your settlement. If you reject it, then I will be forced to take your home by any means necessary," Zarathon said.
Mute swallowed thickly as he felt the anger from the ponies. Zarathon refused to back down, and Mute could not abandon his friend. But they were outnumbered, and Mute could not cast magic. He could not even speak. He wouldn't be able to write fast enough to convince the ponies of Zarathon's righteous character or true claim to the land. He tapped his hoof three times onto the floor and Zarathon glowed brightly three times in response. They needed to calm down the crowd before things turned ugly. Or at least have a way out when it did.
"I told ya' that he was trouble! Now they threaten us! We are loyal to the princesses! We will not accept whatever a pebble wants!" Applejack said.
"Yeah! We won't let you bully us like that!" Rainbow said and flew up above the crowd.
Rarity huffed at the two of them. "I was willing to give you a chance, darling, but that is just awful! Even if I wanted a Lord it would not be one so rude and callous!"
Twilight's frown deepened. "I think it would be better if we all went home and forgot about this conversation. We can still be friends, but if you try to hurt anyone then we will stop you."
Pinkie just sat on the floor behind the crowd. Her mane was completely straight and she looked ready to break down in tears. The party had not gone in the direction she'd hoped. Mute looked to the vial of love she'd given him and sighed sadly. He glared at the ponies and bared his teeth as one very muscular stallion took a step forward.
The other ponies started to agree and more and more joined in to defend their town's sovereignty. Their cries for Zarathon and Mute to leave grew louder and louder. Mute hunched down and growled as the muscular pony stared him down. Zarathon remained quiet. Mute looked to his friend to say something, to do something to diffuse the situation. But instead, he said a single sentence.
"A shade is here."
Mute's eyes widened and he grabbed Zarathon. The changeling ran through the crowd of ponies and pushed them aside. He hissed and growled at anyone that tried to grab him and he pushed through the door to the outside. Mute did not make it far before something slammed into his side. The changeling flew a few meters and hugged Zarathon and Henry the third close to his chest. Mute landed and rolled across the dirt path with a grunt. He gasped for air and quickly got to his hooves, but he hissed and grabbed his left side as he did so. His beret and writing supplies had flown away.
"Mute! Focus! The shade is right there!" Zarathon said with a growl.
The changeling looked up to see a tall creature next to the bakery. It was half the length of the building and it was made from a thick black fog. Many appendages grew from the creature's body which tore pieces of wood and masonry from the surrounding buildings. It held aqua eyes and two pony-like ears on its head. It opened its mouth to reveal needle-like teeth, and the creature shrieked.
The ponies that had chased Mute and Zarathon outside stared at the creature in shock and horror. They screamed and began to run, only for many to be snatched up by the appendages. They were pulled into the inky darkness of the creature and it grew in size and mass.
It leered at the ponies that remained. Mute felt his heart beat faster and faster. It was like that night in the jungle all over again.
"What is that, Twilight!" Rainbow yelled and narrowly avoided an appendage that tried to grab her.
Twilight stared at the creature in horror. She took a step back and began to run. "I don't know, but we need the elements! Find Fluttershy and I will get them!"
Rainbow saluted and flew off.
"And what about us?!" Applejack shouted.
"Keep it from taking anyone else!" Twilight said and ran off.
Mute watched as Applejack, Rarity, and soon Pinkie ran around to save ponies from the appendages. They grabbed foals and the elderly first and helped them inside their homes all the while they dodged the appendages.
"We can not just lay around! Begin the preparations. Now," Zarathon said.
Mute got up and sprang into action. He placed Zarathon onto the ground and rushed to pick up a fallen beam. He grabbed it with his mouth and grunted as he dragged it across the ground. Mute hurriedly drew a large circle in the dirt and he then began to fill it with runes. The sharp and pointed symbols glowed red as they were finished and Mute grunted as he worked. Zarathon worked on the circle alongside his friend. The pebble controlled Henry to run across the circle and now and again he used magic to push down the wheels of the small carriage into the dirt. Zarathon was smaller but worked twice as fast as Mute when it came to etching the runes into the ground.
"Hurry, Mute!"
Mute growled in exasperation at the pebble as he stumbled back and forth to draw the runic circle. As Mute worked he watched as Rarity stumbled over some debris and was pulled into the dark mass with a scream. Her friends cried out in terror and at that moment Rainbow and Twilight returned.
"Fluttershy isn't home!" Rainbow yelled.
"Well dang nab it where is she!?" Applejack shouted and jumped behind a cart to avoid a tentacle.
"How are we supposed to use the elements without her or Rarity!?" Twilight shouted.
"I don't know!" the pegasus yelled back. "But I will get Rarity back!"
Rainbow dove towards the shade in anger and took a swipe at it with her hoof. She did no true damage to the beast and it only hissed in annoyance at her attack. As Rainbow accended she noticed that her hoof was covered in a shadowy dark mass much akin to the shade itself. She tried to wipe it off but it only grew until it covered her head and finally her wings. The black mass constrained the pegasus' movements and she plummeted from the sky. Twilight watched with horror and rushed towards the falling pegasus with five necklaces in her magical grasp. Mute noted the tiara on her head as well while he continued to draw. It made the air buzz with its magical power.
"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted and tried to catch her friend, but it was all for naught as a black appendage grabbed the pegasus and pulled her into its shadowy depths.
The shade grew even bigger and now loomed over the buildings around Ponyville. It smiled as more tentacles snaked their way around the town. They thrust into windows, broke down doors, and squeezed buildings so hard their foundations cracked. Ponies were grabbed from inside their homes and Applejack desperately tried to grab onto a filly torn from her mother. The earth pony only ended up being dragged into the mass alongside the foal.
"Give me back my friends you meanie!" Pinkie screamed and pulled out a cannon.
Where she got that cannon from only the gods could know. Or at least Mute assumed it was divine intervention, as when the party pony fired the cannon it shot out confetti—useless against the shade—but it also shot out fireworks. The sudden bright flashes made the creature shriek and it took a step back from the bakery. Though it then amassed its tentacles into a single mass and they all shot out to grab Pinkie and her cannon. The pink pony shrieked in panic as she was dragged into the shade.
Twilight desperately tried to fend it off with a fireball spell. The basic elemental magic did make the beast stop for a second, but it soon shook off its dazed state and glared down on the purple unicorn. Twilight fell onto her haunches and stared up at the being with fear.
As the creature peered down at the unicorn it noticed the runic circle and Mute far behind her. The shade hissed and one appendage flew towards the runic circle to grab Mute. As it approached the circle lit up and formed a wall of fire. The creature shrieked as its appendage was burned away to ash. The wall of fire soon fell away and Mute finalized the runic circle with a double helix in its middle. The distraction of the townsfolk had bought them valuable time. Mute held up Zarathon with one hoof and closed his eyes.
The pebble began to hover above Mute's hoof as the flame around it turned a bright white. The shade backed away and hissed at Zarathon who in return scoffed at the shade. "You are more powerful than a common shadow, but you are still but a shadow. I, Zarathon, Lord of cinder, banish you from this world. By the fire of creation begone!"
The same white fire erupted from the runes in the circle and it formed a whirlpool around Mute and Zarathon. Twilight watched the display in awe until she realized that the fire came ever closer. She tried to run but the flames passed through her without even scorching her fur. It did scorch the walls and roofs of the buildings, but most importantly it hurt the shade.
The creature shrieked and screamed and it was burnt away by the white fire and it desperately tried to escape. Yet was met by a wall of fire wherever it tried to run. Mute grinned as he looked down at the runic circle. The enchantment had blocked off the borders of the town, and the shade was now caught between Zarathon's fire and Mute's walls. The creature gave off a final horrible shriek as it was enveloped in fire and soon all sound had died down. Zarathon fell into Mute's hoof, the white fire faded away, and all ponies that had been grabbed laid on the ground where the shade had stood. One pony in particular interested Mute. Fluttershy stood up amongst the mass of people and hissed.
She was covered in the shadowy wisps of the shade.
"Do you still cling to your host? I. Said. Begone!" Zarathon screamed and a bright light enveloped the pegasus.
The wisps crumbled into nothingness and Fluttershy fell unconscious to her side. The dazed townsfolk slowly stood up and looked around at the destruction. The roof of Sugarcube corner was on fire, and so were the roof of many other buildings. The town rushed into action to put out the flames while Mute sat down and breathed a sigh of relief.
Twilight slowly approached the two. "W- What was that?..."
Mute glared at her and held up Zarathon. Maybe the ponies would finally understand why they needed a Lord of cinder.
"That was a shade. The reason I persist in this form is to destroy creatures like that one. It is my duty as Lord of cinder. It is my honor to do so. Yet you refuse my lordship! This is why I must hold these lands! For otherwise you are truly lost! This is where they are spawned from the darkness."
"Where have these shades been then? Why have we never seen them before? If you need to be here to destroy them then why don't we know more about them if this is their spawning ground?" Twilight looked desperate for answers, any kind of answers.
Zarathon took a minute to respond. "I do not know why they have only emerged recently. I met one shortly after Mute freed me from the twisting undergrowth of the southern jungle. I suppose they finally lost their cowardice after the defeats they suffered at my hooves. Or perhaps they were kept at bay by something. It does not matter why they did not attack or roam this area before, only that they are once again preying on the innocent. The smaller ones you can destroy with normal light and fire, but the strong ones, such as this one, needs the fire of creation to be purged."
It was at that moment some of the guards approached the changeling and pebble. Mute frowned as they came closer and he took a step back.
"You will come with us once the fires are dealt with. You will explain exactly what happened here to the princesses, how many of these things there are, and how to fight them. Furthermore, you will hand over whatever knowledge you have that allowed you to best this monster," the guard leader said with a scowl.
Mute grunted and shook his head.
"I agree with my compatriot, we owe you nothing. We defeated the shade and saved you without any promise of reward and despite the fact you refuse our lordship. Why should we agree to go anywhere when we want to remain here, close to the people and our home?" Zarathon said.
"If there are more of those things out there then the princesses need to know, Zarathon! They could hurt a lot of ponies!" Twilight pleaded with the pebble.
The guard leader nodded. "It is as she says. This is a security concern for Ponyville AND Canterlot. If they come from the Everfree then we need to set up perimeters, create squads that can hunt them, and find ways to safeguard civilians. I am not asking you to go see the princesses, I am ordering you to do so. As I assume neither of you is an Equestrian native I hold the right to have you arrested and handed over to border security, who would then deport you. So you either go see the princesses, or you leave Equestria for good."
Mute sighed in defeat and looked to the pebble in his hoof. The ponies were not aware, but Mute could feel the exhaustion that rolled off the pebble. Zarathon had called upon much of his energy to purge the shade, and he was in no condition to fight the guards. Neither was Mute. He could try to run, get Zarathon and himself into the grand palace and lock the door, but then what? The guards would simply break down the door.
"Fine. I shall concede to your demands. We will go see the princesses, but you must let us return to our home—"
"No, you leave the same second the fires are out. You will stay here in town until then," the leader then turned to one of his soldiers, "Private, watch the bug and rock. The rest of us will help with the fires."
"Yes, sir!" the private said and placed himself next to Mute and Zarathon.
Mute eyed the guards as they ran off to help and the many ponies that desperately tried to put out the fires. He could have helped, he still felt fine, but Mute simply laid down and sighed. It seemed the new age of cinder had failed before it even began. Mute looked up to see the Twilight reunite with her friends and help them put out the fire on Sugarcube corner's roof. Applejack gave him the stink eye and the others eyed him wearily.
"I suppose me must meet with the sun goddess. I fear we are at a disadvantage my friend, as I do not have any cake to offer her..." Zarathon mumbled.
Mute just buried his head between his forelegs and groaned. Though he soon felt something pushed against his cheek. He looked up at the face of Pinkie who pushed the vial of love extract against his face. Her mane was still straight, and she had cried, likely due to the damage to the bakery, but she gave him a small smile and gave him the vial.
"Thank you for saving me and my friends," she said and hurried back to help with putting out the fires.
Mute looked at the vial and hugged it to his chest with a small smile of his own. There was at least some kindness left in the world. Though as he looked to the guard that stood close to keep an eye on him Mute wondered how much longer such kindness would last.