//------------------------------//
// Mission Revealed 
// Story: Lost Family, Part 1 
// by FanofAwesomeness 
//------------------------------//

	It took a matter of seconds after the creature said those words for it to completely dissolve. Nothing was left of it. ot even dust. "That's not the worst thing I've heard," Nightwolf commented.
First thing's first, he thought. I have to find my sister. I need to go back to the forest.
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"What the hay happened to my house!?" Rainbow Dash screamed upon entering her cloud home. The walls were dented, the floor had a hole in it and there were steel bars protruding from the clouds themselves. "It looks like there was a fight."
"There might have been," Twilight said. "He might have come here looking for you."
"Why would he come looking for me?"
"You're his sister. Why wouldn't he?" Twilight was examining the steel. "It looks like some kind of summoning. Very basic. Just like he said."
"Wait," Rainbow Dash said. "Did you talk to him? After he used you as a pony shield? You went to talk to him?"
"Just a little chat!" Twilight tried. "I wanted to know more about how he did that. It shouldn't be possible. But he did it!"
"You and your knowledge," Rainbow said.
But it was the last thing she said before being attacked by five adult changelings.
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"It should be here! This is the perfect climate for the root!" Nightwolf exclaimed as he went searching for the last herb that he needed for the tracking spell. "Where is it?!"
He turned around, only to find the herb a few steps in front of him. "What the hay? I guess I was just being blind," he said to himself. He took one step forward, but paused. He would have noticed something as prominent as that if it were there before.
Quickly, he took a step back, stumbling on a tree root. He took out his crushing bowl and crucher and began mixing herbs. After finishing the last of the set that he needed, he mixed some water in to make it a paste. Finally, he sprad te paste around his eyes. "Just as I thought."
The herb that was there was surrounded by dark webbing. a trap laid out by a creature so deadly, feweven knew of their existance. "Fool's Doom."
"And you are no fool," the crature spoke from behind Nightwolf. He spun around to face thisthing while keeping hisdistance from the booby-trapped herb. "So I give you my offer. Would you prefer a mental or physical challenge?"
Fool's Doom was a creature that only had one or two per forest. Ithas a snake-like neck and head with the body of a tiger. It's tail can spin you around so fast your kneck snapps. But its real weapon is to lure in it's prey with a simple physical desire that would trap them there so it could pull them off the ground and eat the pony's face. Literally. It eats faces for meals. If you don't fall for the trap, it will give you a choice between a mental or physical challenge. If you win, you neverhave to worry about that specific Fool's Doom again. But if you lose, you lose your face.
"Since I'm more limited in my physical strengths," Nightwolf said, "Test me mentally."
"As you wish," the thing said. It ten reached down and pulled out the now familiar purple mare from a nearby bush. "You should know that she was following you. So here is the challenge. You can walk away, with the herb, and save yourself, or you could save her, giving up your own life."
"Nightwolf!" screamed Twilight.
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"We have to get out of here!" Twilight screamed over the sound of magic discharging. The beams were flying everywhere. if one of them tried to escape, they'd become swiss cheese.
"Tell me something I don't know!" Rainbow retorted. they were both hiding behind a table, but they were two seperate tables. "If you can think of a way to get out of here without one of us getting blasted, let me know."
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Twilight knew that she had to find a way out. But how did these things even find them? How did the changelings know where they were going to be? Who was leaking this information?
"If you want to think a little faster, it would be appreciated," Rainbow said.
"Don't try to rush me! I've never been in this situation!" Twilight replied. Wait, Twilight thought. Does Rainbow Dash even know what 'appreciated' means?
"What would one of the characters in your books do?" Rainbow asked, disturbing her thoughts.
"I have an idea," Twilight said. "But you might want to brace yourself." She readied her magic and jumped up. the changelings jumped back in shock. There was a release in magic and Twilight passed out on the spot.
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There was a large sound of magic release and the blasting of magic suddenly stopped. "Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, hesitantly.
There she was. Laying on the floor, passed out, was Twilight. The magic use must have been a bit much. But Rainbow would have to worry about her friend later.
Rushing over to the nearest changeling, Rainbow took some rope that she had and tied up the thing so it wouldn't get away. After repeating the process with the rest, she tied the creatures to one of the steel bars.
Moving back over to Twilight, Rainbow crouched down and picked up her friend to take her to the hospital. But as Rainbow stood up to take off, one word escaped Twilight's mouth.
"Traitor."
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"Don't worry, Twilight," Nightwolf said. "I'll figure out a way to get us out of here."
"There are two options," the Fool's Doom said. "You could let her go and sacrifice yourself, or you could leave and let her die. I'll even let you take that herb you want so badly."
"There has to be a third option!" Nightwolf screamed. He could leave, but what kind of brother would let his sister's friend die? But if he stayed, he wouldnever get toexplain to his sister. "Twilight?"
"Yeah?" she replied hesitantly. Fear was obvious on her face.
"Why didn't you do anything when you saw the changeling attack me?"
"What?"
"When the changeling attacked me, you did nothing. Why?"
"I didn't want to attack it," she answered.
Illusion, Nightwolf thought. The entire thing has been an illusion. "I asked you fo a mental challenge," Nightwolf began. "And that's exactly what you gave me." he thrust his hoof toward Twilght and saidone word, "Fo̱s!"
Twilight burst into flame and for a second, Nightwolf thought he had been wrong. but that theory was disproved when she simply vanished without a flash of magic. "You're clever. I never expected you to figure it out. I will leave you in peace with a warning. Beware your feelings. Control them and you might survive the upcoming ordeal. Don't, and it will be your gravestone added to the rest who resist."
"I'll keep that in mind," Nightwolf said, turning to take the herb. He walked over to and pulled it out of the ground, turned around and walked away.
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Twilight awoke in a hospital bed surrounded by her friends. "What happened?"
"You blasted all those changelings with one shot!" Rainbow Dash answered. "That had to be the most awesome shot ever!"
"Rainbow here told us that ya shot some of those changelings and that you had passed out," Applejack said. "We all came here as fast as our legs could carry us."
"We were so worried about you," Fluttershy put in.
"Well I know what we have to do," Twilight said definitively. "I need to check out of this hospital first."
"What next?" Rainbow asked.
"Next, we need to go talk to your brother."
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"Mārī śakti vāparō rē'īnbō ḍĕśa śōdhō. Znajsci jaje. Tēnā ṭrĕka karō. Znajsci jaje." Nightwolf completed the tracking spell ritual but got nothing. "What? That shouldn't be possible. I've got to try again," he said to the walls. "Mārī śakti vāparō rē'īnbō ḍĕśa śōdhō. Znajsci jaje. Tēnā ṭrĕka karō. Znajsci jaje," Nightwolf repeated. Still nothing. "That can't be right."
He walked over to his desk and took a piece of parchment out and began to write. "Please let me be wrong."

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1 week later
Dear Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie pie and Rainbow Dash,
I have some explaining to do, I know. I know I haven't really been around to talk to, but I hope I finished the research by the time you read this. Meet me in the forest within 3 days of reading this so I can explain everything. I set up a sensor so I would know when you got to this. There is a clearing. Remember. 3 days.
-Nightwolf
"What kind of ponies does he think we are?" Rainbow said. "He ignores us for a week and then says that he needs to talk to us?"
"There has to be some sort of explination," Twilight tried to reason. "He is your brother."
"Only by blood," Rainbow said, annoyed. "He isn't my brother since he used you as a shield. What kind of pony does that?"
"One pushed to his limit," Came Nightwolf's voice from behind them. He was badly wounded, covered in cuts and bruises. One wing was clamped tightly against his back, the other limp on his side.
"What happened to you?"
"I was attacked," he said. "I need to tell you-" he was cut off when he passed out cold.
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Nightwolf woke up in the hospital. "What am I doing here?"
"You were hurt," Rainbow said. "You needed the help."
"Always loyal," Nightwolf commented. "That's what makes you a good sister."
"You said something in your note about how you would talk about what you were really doing here," Twilight reminded Nightwolf.
"Right. Look, I didn't come here to visit. I didn't come here to see how all of you were doing. Those were just added bonuses that came with this mission. Princess Celestia sent me here to protect the town and its ponies. I was specifically sent to investigate some strange occurances. I did some research and found out that there was a pattern. One that I had seen before. The Queen is here and she is going to take over Ponyville if I don't stop her."
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked. "How do you know all this?"
"Because," Nightwolf said. "The Queen did the same thing to my tribe. And more importantly, she killed our parents."