//------------------------------// // CH 4 - Beware a Bull's Horns // Story: The Boy and the Bug // by Mr B //------------------------------// Five Months Before the Storm Thunder flew down an open, chaotic street. Ponies rushed back and forth, screaming and shouting in fear as hundreds of angry, green meteors rained from above.  All around the fireballs crashed into the pavement, sending shockwaves that tossed guards around like ragdolls. He’d played his part as instructed but now found himself weaving around other changelings avoiding spell bolts and spears like his life depended on it.  He didn’t care who’d win this clash, only that he lived to tell the tale. Two whole years of rushed infiltration training hadn’t prepared him for a warzone and his body was running on autopilot. Flying through falling building debris and around panicking pegasi chased by ferocious changelings, his heart felt ready to burst. “Where do I go?! Where do I go!?” He rolled and narrowly dodged another green fireball intended for somepony else. A piece of flaming green debris from a destroyed cart flew up into the sky and he covered his face with his hooves to shield himself from the worst of it. This proved futile as his purple fur was singed, his body bracing as he collided, sending wood shrapnel and burning planks in several directions. He had just enough time to look forward again when he crashed directly into a falling changeling. The two tumbled through the air before smacking onto the ground, leaving a soft crater from their hard landing. Thunder scrambled to his hooves as he turned and faced the changeling, it was Overseer Fang.  “Isn’t he meant to be at the castle?!” “Hey! You're meant to be guarding the Elements!” He snarled in Vespid, face twisted into an angry scowl. Thunder’s body locked up, he wanted to run away and never look back. He didn’t want part of this damn attack anymore, but his body seemed to have other plans. Had he not had adrenaline coursing through his veins he might’ve already lost the internal battle warring inside himg. His own psyche and will to live clashing against his body’s natural drive to obey the orders of a superior. He stood there for a few moments, quivering and twitching in front of the Overseer. Then a rising guilt started creeping in, equal parts dread and regret wormed their way into his guts as he stood firm. Why was he refusing so much? It wasn’t that bad surely he could just take a couple steps forward and-  “No! Damn it Shellac don’t throw your life away like this!” He jerked his hoof back into place as he realised he was about to act out what he was thinking. Images of him stealing from a homeless pony and blowing raspberries at a foal’s ruined birthday party rushed into his mind. The guilt grew and grew inside him, threatening to override his senses and force him to give in.  Fang started approaching him, now full of the kind of anger one would have dragging a disobedient child away to a naughty step. “Fine! If I must I’ll take you there myse-” A bolt of bright yellow energy slammed into the side of his head and he fell to the ground in front of the young pegasus. A guard clad in bright yellow armour thrusted himself between the two, disrupting Thunder’s train of thought before turning to him.  “Go! Get out of here kid!” The guard then brought his spear up above Fang but Thunder managed to regain control and ripped his gaze away before he saw something he wouldn’t soon forget. With that he once more bolted off, the sharp reminder of the danger he’s in now overriding any conscious thought of guilt or sorrow. He quickly found an open sewer cover in the street and jumped inside without thinking. Landing onto hard stone before picking himself back up, he turned to look all around him and saw nopony else.  “I…I’m alone? I’m alone.” He felt his pulse begin to slow and the burning from his muscles fully set in as more loud crashes sent tufts of dust raining from the ceiling above. He could still hear the panicking ponies stampeding around but for the moment he felt safe. Sadly, he wasn’t afforded much time to celebrate however as the guilt from before returned with a vengeance, a reminder he still had a part to play in this invasion. Once again, he locked up and twitched, jerking his head as more forged acts of villainy flooded in. Taking a lollipop from a crying foal in a pram, throwing a bucket of paint over a grieving family at a funeral… Thunder struggled to stay upright, his limbs violently quivered as he stared at the sunny spotlight from the manhole a few hooves away from him. Again, he felt his gut twist from the mental agony he was in, praying for some kind of relief! Just a step or two could take the edge off right?  Slowly, he moved one hoof forward and instantly felt as though a sharp dagger had been taken out of his skull. Once he started, he couldn’t stop, one after the other, little by little he returned to the spotlight and looked up, the smoke filled sky washing him in grainy sunlight.  He could already feel his wings unfolding, his body coiling up for take off- “No stop it!” Immediately, he jerked his head to the side before pouncing, ruining his flight check and instead, slamming into the hard stone ceiling. Falling, he collided with the  sewer side walk, finally laying completely prone.  Utterly frozen with pain, Thunder cocooned himself in his wings, with his hooves firmly planted on his head. Fresh tears rolled down his tightly shut eyes as he watched himself set an orphanage on fire. “Stop it!” A colt no older than nine was kicked into a muddy puddle on a cold day, crying out for a mother that'll never come. “Please! No More!” He saw himself tripping up another changeling from the hive, but this time instead of guilt a new emotion sparked inside him. A purple flame that burned brightly and grew rapidly as if one was to pour lantern oil directly onto it: Anger “I Said….STOP!” He suddenly interjected with his own mental image of the time he’d been glued to his seat and had fallen over in front of Miss Tibia. Rage warred with regret, anger fought off anguish and conviction clashed with control. A vision of him pushing over an old nanny was suddenly shoved aside with all the times he’d been cornered and pushed around by the other changelings.  “Screw you! Screw all of you! I’m my own changeling!” He remembered all the times he’d fractured his wings during training, the burning in his lungs and legs from flying and running around day in and day out. The fire grew and grew, burning away the false memories. A vision of an angry father shaming him for harming his young filly was ripped away, revealing him dangling from the hive ceiling, covered in resin with no way to dissolve it with his saliva, forced to wait a whole cycle before someone found him!   And then the insults came. Soft shelled, cockroach, motherless, abandoned… Unloved. “Buck you, BUCK YOU!” His face twisted into an angry snarl as a wave of energy washed over him. He heard pops in his eardrums, like the air had been whisked away briefly before something big blasted through the city above. His body was alight with magical energy and the walls bright with lavender light. And then, like a bad stomach ache, the guilt, regret and dread began to subside. Leaving the angry changeling to his lonesome.  “Breath in…count to ten…breathe out…” Shellac opened his eyes and saw he was now undisguised. He felt grogginess set in as he slowly clambered to his hooves. They felt like jelly and he leaned against the sewer wall for support, gasping and heaving. He looked up towards the sky and could no longer hear any explosions or cries, no more shouts or the clashes of blades. “D-Did we win?” His answer came as he heard orders being shouted from above, armoured hooves clopping on the streets. “We didn’t win…” With this revelation, he knew he had to find somewhere safe. Quickly, he tried dawning his disguise again, only for the flash of purple to fade away halfway through. Sure he must’ve expended a lot of energy during his little tantrum, but he  had to have some reserves left, disguising cost next to nothing!  No, something else had to be interfering with it. He did feel tired after that, was it concentration? That couldn’t be it either… “What am I doing?! I’m right next to an open cover, if a single pony so much as looks down I’m done for!” Right, priorities, he turned and flew down the tunnels, making sharp turns where needed. Thankfully memorising the district’s sewer system was one of the first things he was tasked with in preparation for today. Eventually, he slowed down and settled onto a dark corner within the sewers, a section of the stone bricks had been dug out and led into a passage he’d made a while ago. He got low and crawled through, tiny purple luminescent lights provided just enough that his night vision could do its thing. A quick scan revealed a hole in the floor that led into an abandoned mine shaft, where the air was cold and stank of iron. Listening closely, he could hear his wings flutter from miles away and were it not for the crumb trail of lights he'd made he would have found himself in total darkness.  “The others are gone, but don’t worry Shell, you prepared for this.”  Pushing forward, he carried himself to another section of the mine where another dugout lay and removed a large wooden pallet. Heading inside, he was  welcomed into a small little chamber of his own making. It was the safe room he’d made in case something went wrong. It wasn’t much, a few dirt walls and some lights he’d crudely dug, but for the time being, it was home. Shellac stepped inside and looked around. There was no way he’d be sleeping on the rough, rocky ground unless forced to, he’d gotten far too used to pony beds. Instead, he rolled his shoulders, bought his leg up and focused on the glands inside the holes. A royal purple resin began to leak out from them, which he gathered into clumps, which could be stretched and rolled into large panels. He spat and mixed his saliva to keep them malleable as they extended out to the length of his body, poking a hole in each corners and using a few gooey clusters to stick them to the opposite sides of the wall.  Taking a moment, he admired his new hammock. Sure it wasn’t pretty and it lacked any kind of pillow, but it’d keep him warm down here. Plus it gave him a small sense of satisfaction in building something himself.  Hammock now complete, he allowed the clumps to harden and settle, before climbing inside and wrapping himself up. It took some time to fall alseep, all the excitement from today had really done a number on him. Eventually though, he grew tired and was soon whisked away to dreamland… Three Nights Before the Storm It hadn’t been that long since the family had lunch. Copper and Gleaming had taken the two kids to get some fresh air and clear their senses, which led to them going to a public park.  A painted frozen steel post fence littered with icicles guarded a large playground, with well worn climbing equipment, lovingly used swings and slides of all kinds dotted about. A few snow covered trees shadowed the playful ponies below, kids of all ages and their parents were rushing around, taking turns on the many attractions the playground offered. Some had even come by to simply watch the joyful innocence at work, the elderly, the expectant, a pair of mares sitting on a bench with one of them not sitting correctly… Raining and Thunder were practically stumbling over one another trying to get inside and were now happily playing together again. Copper and Gold found a vacant bench to occupy under a tree and watched on with content, Copper in particular sighing with relief at getting off his hooves.  “Piccafilly Circus, you really know how to put on a show don’t you honey?” “I’ll admit, it was mostly for the eye candy, but come on I can see even you were having fun.” Gleaming covered her husband with a wing and held him close. “Isn’t that why you chose to come here all those years ago? To have fun?” She cooed.  Memories came flooding in of a bright starry sky, a quiet autumn eve and a question that he’d been holding in since the two had met. Copper looked down at his coat and with his magic he pulled out a brass plated, half heart pendant. “You got me there honey, I still remember when we first got these.” Gleaming giggled and pulled out her own rose gold half, “I remember how you didn’t want to buy a ring.”  “It wasn’t because I couldn’t afford it!” He exclaimed. “It was because it didn’t feel right at the time.” “Didn’t like the idea of being the only one with a horn to have a ring around, oh you were so adorable.” Gleaming kissed his cheek to which Copper smiled and reached a hoof around her shoulder. “And you never said you were conventional. Felt like the perfect thing at the time.” “And it isn’t? Deary they’re perfect for us.” “Heh, glad I made the right choice then.” The two looked on and saw Raining hopping onto a swing with Thunder right behind, the both of them with smiles to rival the element of laughter. Thunder began pushing Raining as he yelled in joy, Copper and Gold felt their hearts flutter at the sight and a warmness rose within their chests. “Aww, for once you're not having to push him honey.” “It’s good to see him finally play with somepony else.” “Even if it’s with a…you know?” Copper darted his eyes to the side, fearing what might come. “Anything to take his mind off that colt, dear.” “Right, right, It’s just…I dunno how to feel about it.” Copper let his smile drop. “Raining can’t live with us forever, no matter how many times you indulge his interest in your job with those “take your son to work” days or help him paint your models.”  Copper’s smile returned for a brief second before he solemnly looked at her. “And you think giving him a false friendship’s gonna help with that? This can’t last either.” Gleaming’s smiled waned, the argument from that morning coming to the forefront of her mind with a dark reminder of Thunder’s true nature. At the same time Lamplight’s offer at the library also cropped up, and with it, a glint of hope for the future.  “Maybe it could…” She sighed and watched as the two slid down an enclosed spiral slide exalted with joy, heedless of the other children’s avoidance of them. Their actions now sparking a somber longing within her heart, “I just want what’s best for him, Casing, It’s the first time I’ve seen him play with another colt his age in…” Gleaming paused trying to flick through her mental trove of memories, only to draw a blank. “...A long time.” “He’ll find somepony honey, new year means a new school and with it a fresh start, no bullies to harass him.” Copper tried to assure her, confident in his claim, though he shared her worries. Gleaming however just continued to watch on as her concern refused to budge. “Of all the colts in the world to pick on, why did he have to choose ours?” Copper sighed, having asked himself that same question. “I donno sweetheart, maybe he got it from his dad?” Gleaming turned to him with morbid curiosity. “He was a guard, wasn't he? Didn’t you know him?”  Copper’s voice sank low with an undertone of sentimental regret buried within. “Yeah…Scythe was a good stallion, hot headed sure, but he was the biggest softy I’d ever met. I think he was out with his family when the attack started. He…wasn’t so lucky.” A  weight suddenly fell upon her as Copper finished with a slicing motion to his neck. She shrank as her husband pulled her closer in for comfort. “D-Do you think it’s…affec-” “Affected them? Why wouldn’t it? If I kicked the bucket I can’t imagine how Raining would react, let alone you.” Gleaming swallowed her breath, horrible images of a grim rainy day outside a church came to mind. She quickly banished them away best she could and without thinking she tightened the grip of her wing, lest she fear he’d vanish. “I don’t think I could live without you Casing, you're my rock.” “And you're my sweetheart, you might not think it but you're stronger than you give yourself credit for. How many times have you remained faithful to me while I was on tour huh? Must’ve gotten lonely in that house all by yourself.” The mare lightly laughed at her husband’s complement as the grim chill of death left her presence. With that she let her wing go slack. “Oh you! You know my friends keep me company when you're away.”  “Still didn’t stop me from worrying! Yet year in and year out, sleeping in tents and barracks, I always had you to go back to when it was all over.” Copper nuzzled against her neck. Gold couldn’t stop giggling from his teases having echoed what she’d said earlier that day. It went on like that for a while, the loving couple watching as the kids slid through slides and dizzied themselves on round-abouts. Getting a few scrapes and falls, yet never to the point of serious injury. Eventually though, as the minutes ticked by they’d carry themselves to the couple and asked to go home. Packing up their belongings and kissing a few small bruises they trotted back home, hailing a taxi halfway through to save time and offer relief to  Copper’s leg. By the time they’d  reached the front door, the sun was already setting and the sky turned a gloomy blue. They derobed themselves inside the reception two at a time and flooded into the living room where Thunder splayed himself out on the couch with a soft sigh of relief, welcoming the cushy fabrics of his old bedding. Raining however was still at work, trotting up to the fireplace he removed the steel gate and changed the ash trays. Piling on a few chopped logs and adding shredded bits of newspaper as kindling to the fire to be. Copper and Gleaming didn’t seem to care much as Raining went about preparing the fireplace so Thunder assumed they trusted him with the task.  The unicorn colt hovered a fire poker in the air and then his horn began to glow, plumes of orange flame swirled around his magical bone as the end of the fire poker then turned a cherry red. Raining plunged the poker into the shredded up newspapers and it ignited, as orange whisps flew and dissolved into the air before quickly spreading. The fire now forming,  Raining closed the metal gate and set the poker in its pot, leaving it to cool.  The fire was small at first but gradually grew until it radiated warmth throughout the room where it's beautiful ember lights flickered in Thunder’s eyes. The faint smell of smoke and iron hung around them as he observed its hypnotic dance, the crackle of wood and the slow transformation of its once brown texture into blacked, hardened charcoal. He hadn’t even noticed Raining take a seat beside him with his usual cheery smile. He tapped the pegasus on the shoulder once, no reaction. He tapped him twice,again no reaction, his smile dropped a little as concern began to creep in. “Thunder?” At the mention of his name he awoke from his trance “Oh! I uh…” He flicked his gaze between the fire and Raining, “Was just looking, fire is really pretty.” He grinned. Lead stuffled a snicker as his smile returned once more. “Thunder please don’t tell me your greatest weakness is a bug zapper.” He jested. By now Copper and Gold had taken notice and were equally amused by the prospect. “Uh, well I mean…I-It just looks nice okay?” Thunder’s grin turned sheepish and his cheeks a rose red. “I guess that explains the high use of fire magic at the wedding.” Copper laughed, recalling more than a few panicked looks from guests that saw said blazes. . Thunder rubbed the back of his head in a vain attempt to comfort himself. “Hey Mom? Dad? Is Thunder staying over another night?” “I see no reason why not.” Gleaming smiled. Copper seemed less enthusiastic, but still nodded in approval, and Raining’s resulting glee was like a nice refreshing cup of lemonade for Thunder, which he gladly tasted, even if Raining wasn’t aware of it.  “A lot of his emotions tasted that way, but then again he’s excited most of the time.” “Hey Thunder? What’s something you’ve never done before?!” “Like that.” Thunder rolled his shoulders and straightened his posture as he once again exercised a part of his brain that he’d left atrophied. “Um…well, a lot of things I guess.” His gaze danced around the living room, there was a bookshelf full of large model boats, several framed photographs hanging from the walls, but ultimately he was drawn to a snowglobe sitting atop the fireplace. It had a small house inside with tiny pony shaped models prancing around. Then it hit him, “I’ve never gone sledding before.” Raining gasped in exaggerated shock and pulled his hooves out in front of his face. “Haybales! You’ve never went sledding before!?” He leaned in. “To be fair deary, there’s not many places you can in Canterlot.” Gleaming added. Raining deflated some and his ears went low. For a moment Thunder could taste a bitter tinge rising within his core, only for  the brass colt to spring right up again and ask another question. “What about a snowball fight?” Thunder’s eyes darted from side to side as he considered his response. He’d seen other kids hurl chunks of snow at each other from the playground, something he’d never tried for fear of getting cold. “But come to think of it, it did look kind of fun.” So he slowly shook his head and a smile formed at the corners of his mouth as Raining’s own grew ten times. He snapped towards his parents with the follow up already on the tip of his tongue. “Hey Mom? Dad? Can we go outside for a snowball fight?!” Gleaming happily nodded but the same couldn’t be said for Copper who frowned upon looking at the clock. “I don’t think so son, It’s getting dark out.”  “Oh come on, pleeeeeeese?” Copper’s mouth hung open, a confirmation of his decision at the back of his throat. But he seemed to hold his breath for whatever reason and instead he huffed and got up from the couch, his eyes darting to Thunder once or twice before hobbling over to the stand grandfather clock. Thunder could sense something was up, his emotional state had gone from that of stubborness to confidence at the drop of a hat.  “Well I suppose it’s not that late.” The stallion added, knowing he couldn’t win this argument. Raining was beginning to bounce in place as he eagerly anticipated his father’s answer. Thunder however wasn’t as enthusiastic, if anything, it’d been a long day for him. All the running around had left him weary but he didn’t want to ruin Raining’s mood if he could help it. Both because he’d taken a liking to the colt and because he was a pretty potent power supply. So he kept himself quiet as the stallion made up his mind. “Okay, Raining? Thunder? You can go out-” “Yaaay!” Lead cried, his voice actually causing the windows to shake. “-But! I want you back in an hour. Stay outside for any longer and you're in big trouble, got it?” “Yes dad!” Raining gave a playful salute, Thunder quickly doing the same. Copper wasn’t finished though as his horn began glowing with deep, orange energy. In a moment Raining was washed over with a wave of magical power and swirls of amber light flowed from Copper’s horn all around the colt before then returning to its caster. When it was over Copper wore a faint grin on his face.  “Just a quick anti-freeze spell, nothing you should worry about Lead.” “Oh, thanks dad!” With that he turned to Thunder with a glint in his eye. The pegasus had been mystified by the enchantment spell and was cartoonishly yanked behind the door frame with a yipe. Leaving the chuckling parents to themselves but not long after Gleaming slowed down, curious as a cat. “Dear what was that? Because it wasn’t anti-chill.” She asked. Copper turned to her with a smug grin, “That honey, was a tracking spell. If he’s not back by the end of the hour, or they get too far from home, I’m calling the guards.” Gleaming went wide eyed and her smile dropped to the floor as concern now fitted on her face. “You…really don’t trust him do you? I-I have my doubts too, but isn’t that a little much?”  “Honey I just sent our only son outside by himself with a Changeling, consider this the exercise!” He jested.  Gleaming sighed and sank her head into her hooves as the book from the library came to mind. “This is it,” she thought. “Please be genuine, please come back Raining.” Raining and Thunder trotted down the sidewalk. Canterlot’s night lights had yet to kick in as it wasn’t dark just yet, just gloomy. Ponies could still be seen going up and down the streets, but as the winds picked up more and more, they confided themselves to the warm sanctuary of home.  “So where are we going?” Thunder asked, effectively following Raining along. “There’s an old playground I know. It's been there for nearly three decades,but most ponies that live around the place are old so it doesn’t see much action.” Raining replied.  “And we’re going there because?...” “Because we’d have the place to ourselves!” Thunder shrugged and kept walking, his reasoning was good enough. As he walked though, his mind wondered and he thought back to some of the models that lined the living room bookshelves. They all looked like model boats of some kind and were painted a wide array of colours. Seeing them reminded him of the sense of satisfaction he’d felt months prior when building his first hammock.  It left him with a question he couldn’t hold in.  “Does your dad like models?” Thunder asked. “Hmm?”  “You know, using model kits to build stuff. I saw there were a lot of them back home.” “Oh yeah! Dad loves building models! It became a hobby of his after his injury. He does it for boats, trains, airships, wargaming minis, he loves it!” “Wow! I didn’t realise it was such a big thing. Have you ever built any models before?” Thunder inquired, eager to learn more.  “A little here and there, mostly miniatures that dad then paints. Those Pikeponies I had? I put em together myself!”  “Cool! Think he’d let me try some time?” Thunder smiled, mind already aquiver with ideas. “Oh totally, it can be a bit tedious trying to get all the little pieces to fit in with each other and I swear it’s like you need to play a hidden object game  to clip out a part from those piece boards. But seeing them come together is really fun! You feel like those little guys really belong to you.” “Maybe I can ask when we get back?” “Yeah! Oh hey I think we’re here.” The duo came upon another set of high iron gates where more playground equipment stood inside, but they showed clear signs of age. Paint was peeling, metal was rusted, and the gate made a horrible creek when Lead pushed it open. The area however couldn’t be better, much of the equipment provided some shelter from the elements and acted as natural cover. A lot of snow had also piled up over the day and, true to his word, it didn’t seem like anypony else had disturbed it. “So how long do we have?” Raining turned to the overhead lights above with the answer already on the tip of his tongue. “Usually the street lights turn on at around a half past five, I reckon it took us a good fifteen minutes to walk here. So how about we get ready with snowballs and when the lights turn on, we have our game?” “Sounds good!” The two split up and established their areas of the playground. Thunder had a bunch of slides he could hide behind and Raining had some merry-go-rounds, with metal climbing equipment and overhead structures.  Quickly, Thunder scooped up clumps of snow using his wings and moulded them into balls, which he’d settle into several small piles near him. His thinking was to be fast and outpace Raining, so he had to pack light and split up his ammo to prevent Raining from just sitting on his stockpiles.  Raining meanwhile had gone with a more defensive gameplan. Grabbing snow with his magic, he quickly set about  a few large pyramids hidden from view. Sure he could terrorise Thunder with his special talent, but he wanted him to have fun as well.  Of course, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t use other tricks he’d learned with his magic.  There was a palpable silence as the two waited for the lights to switch on. Raining hid behind a bench while Thunder waited inside one of the slides. They waited and waited as it quickly grew colder and darker, both started growing impatient.  But once the street lights flickered to life everything changed. Thunder burst out of the metal tunnel with several snowballs under his arm while Raining levitated at least ten of his own and sprang out of cover.  The pegasus weaved and winded around the incoming projectiles as muscle memory and training kept him snow free. He rained snowballs from above, Lead hopping and skipping out of the way,  but even he wasn’t ready for Thunder diving bombing him with enough speed to kick up his ammo. Two snowballs belted his side and he laughed before turning around and enchanting one of them. It wasn’t his auto-hit spell but it was one that still landed him a decent chance of hitting.  As it flew skyward Thunder prepared to twirl around it like the rest but moments away from impact the snowball glowed and exploded, its fragments bouncing off his coat.  “He can make them explode by proximity? Damn it!” Thunder was forced to change tactics, he flew low to the ground and began galloping across the playground where Lead couldn’t easily launch his snowballs. Now he had cover to work with and quickly popped his head over a barrier to chuck a snowball over at him. It fell just short and Raining retaliated, rapid firing on Thunder’s position, using his stockpile. The pegasus was forced to keep his head down as tides of white dust flew overhead.  Raining laughed to himself as he gathered several snowballs together forming one big one. It was the size of his head by the time he was done and he fired it high into the sky. While that was going on he turned back to where Thunder had hid and with snowballs in hoof he threw them in over his head one after the other, trying to keep him pinned.  “Oh Thunder!” He smirked. “Head’s up!“ The giant snowball completed its arc in the sky and fell back down, glowing with golden light as it gained velocity. It crashed into the ground behind the barrier and debris was kicked up in its wake. Raining rushed over with more in his grip and poked his head over the side only to see an empty spot where his mortar shot had smashed against the ground.  “Huh?”  He then heard Thunder’s voice from where he just was, “Hey Lead!” Raining’s ears drooped to his sides as he turned around. “Not again.”  Thunder flew towards him with as many snowballs as he could grab, and at once, unleashed them upon Raining. Several dark shadows appeared over his form as the contents of half a stockpile was dumped onto him.  Thunder snickered as he flew behind a large slide and landed on all fours before blowing out into full blown laughter. “That was too good!” He thought. “Raining was right, this is fun!” But before he could finish his cheer a snowball landed square on his face. He froze as his eyes opened up from behind the cold white mask. Raining was standing there with a smirk and had a few more snowballs held above him. “Hey Thunder, forgetting something?” Thunder shook his head from side to side getting the snow off his face and he looked back at him with a frown. “What? That you can tele-” “I can teleport!” A flash of light later and he was practically stealing Thunder’s breath as their muzzles mere inches away from each other. He happily smiled with cheery eyes and Chaser couldn’t help but share in his delight.  “Damn it Raining, why does your smile have to be so infectious?” “Wanna go for another round?” Raining asked, already forming several balls with his magic. “Oh you bet! We shouldn’t take too long though. Remember what your dad said?” “Yeah, yeah, one more round.” They then heard a whistle and turned just in time to see a speeding snowball hurling towards them. They ducked and the white missile shattered against the slide with incredible force.  The pony who threw it watched from behind the iron fences. A crimson red earth pony colt smiling back at them, with a lime green unicorn filly, covered by a large scarf standing behind him. “Got room for two more?” He asked. Raining and Thunder both looked at each other and grinned. “We’re gonna destroy these guys.” The colt pushed the gate open for the filly and they took up positions in Raining’s old area. Thunder and Lead gathered up more snowballs and got ready for the next round.  “You wanna get them from the sky while I keep them occupied?” Raining asked.  “You bet! I’d be careful of the unicorn though, I don't know what kind of tricks she could pull.” Raining nodded and they got to their positions where they waited for a little bit until the colt on the other side poked his head over and whistled, not long after the snowballs started flying. Raining didn’t have the same set up but was able to keep up some pressure which gave Thunder time to drop a payload onto the unicorn mare. Only for her horn to glow a turquoise blue and a bright dome shield surrounded her. The snowballs splattered and slowly slid down its magical surface. Thunder frowned at that. “Hey! You can’t just block them out! Where’s the fun in that?” He yelled. As if to reply, the earth pony hurled another fastball at him that slammed into his barrel, hard enough that it took the air from his lungs, even with his coat on.  He made a mental note of the colt and returned to Raining where he picked up more snowballs. Lead meanwhile had traded a volley of fire for consistent hits. Landing snowball after snowball on the colt whenever he popped out to lug one his way. Yet the colt didn’t seem to care as he threw one towards Raining, where it collided with his temple hard enough for his cloth cap to fall to the ground. “You okay Lead?” Thunder asked. Raining spat out several bits of snow that landed in his mouth and wiped himself clean. “Yeha! Yeah, just keep them coming!” Before Thunder could take to the skies again a sudden barrage bombarded their hiding spot. The unicorn had found one of Raining’s old snowball stockpiles and wasted no time in pinning them down. Both Raining and Thunder knelt down to avoid the incoming fire, and as they did so, Thunder caught sight of several hooves tearing up the snow from the otherside of the slide.  “Lead? We need to go!” “Got it!” The brass colt grabbed Thunder and in an instant both were consumed by bright yellow light. Thunder shut his eyes as he braced himself. Moments later he was hit by a wave of dizziness as he stumbled to keep his balance, his stomach whirling in protest and almost smacking into a nearby swing set.  “So that’s what it’s like to teleport? Lead makes it look so easy.” Raining quickly grabbed a snowball and tossed it at the unicorn filly, where it collided with the back of her mane. She spun around with a chuckle and threw some of her own back at him. The two unicorns duelled, leaping about, slinging snowballs at each other, and to her credit, the filly didn’t raise her shield back up, yet she still landed several hits on Raining, who returned the favour. Thunder meanwhile braced against a swing frame and tapped his head, the vertigo receding and his vision straightening. The crimson colt settled into view with his hoof already half-cocked as Thunder registered what he was looking at. He jerked his head to the side as a snowball raced beside his cheek and disintegrated upon impact with the swing chain. Thunder rolled his head around and unfurled his wings as the colt was packing another snowball smiling at him. He followed suit and the two found themselves at a little standoff, both had snowballs but waited for the other to strike first, the various colours of yellow and blue magic popping off in the background.  The colt went first and threw as hard as he could, but Thunder was faster and easily evaded before throwing his own at the colt’s chest. Exploding upon impact yet he didn’t seem at all phased, more amused if anything as he knelt down to pack another one.  “Not much of a talker are you?” Thunder asked. The colt didn’t reply and instead hurled another freshly packed clump of snow his way where it was met with yet another easy dodge. “No, I guess he isn’t.” Thunder flew up and over the colt, into the area they started, where he picked up a pack of snowballs and flew back. The colt had moved away and began throwing snowballs at Raining which left him wide open for Thunder.  “Seriously? It’s like he doesn’t even care.” Thunder twirled and kicked his snowballs one by one in an aerial dance, turning the colt and filly white with surprise by his bombing run before circling around to rejoin Raining. “Hey, wanna do that thing again?” “Sure!” Lead cheered. The two of them again teleported to another side of the playground, where Thunder was already bracing himself against a merry-go-round, fighting to keep the contents of his stomach in check. “Not what I meant but okay.” He brought a hoof up to his mouth as his cheeks turned green. Raining laughed and turned to where he thought the filly was and gathered some snowballs as he saw her dead ahead, still as a statue with her back turned. He launched several snowballs at her… Only for them to pass straight through, turquoise lights flashing from where they’d entered. “Oh come on, you know illusion magic to?!” He spun around, stopping a snowball dead in its tracks a hoof’s length away from his face. He looked past and saw the unicorn sat atop one of the metal slide frames. Having let her scarf down the two locked eyes, her smile now gone for whatever reason. “I’m so sorry about this.” She said, her voice heavy with regret. Raining paused, the air of the playground suddenly changed and he was left confused. He squinted and stared at her. “What do you mean?” Thunder knocked himself out of his post teleport nausea ready to go at it again when he saw a snowball smack the side of Raining’s head. but it didn’t explode, instead… Raining collapsed.  “Lead?” Thunder saw the object fall to the ground beside him. The colt from earlier reappearing into view with a smile on his face. That wasn’t a snowball… It was a rock. “Lead!” He rushed to his side and found his eyes closed, a thin river of crimson trailing from his temple where he’d been struck. He could still feel a pulse and saw he was still breathing. He turned to the others, “Guys stop now! My friend’s hurt!” The crimson colt halted a few dozen hooves away from him with the unicorn mare observing from above. It was only now Thunder paid attention to their emotional states and could sense her resigned guilt, the melancholy depression and buried frustration. The colt however had a malice he’d only seen from an adult changeling talking about ponies as though they were little more than food.  “Oh and why should I? That little brass mule’s been due for this since winter break.” “Winter Break?” He then recalled Lead saying something about the filly knowing illusion magic and suddenly things clicked into place. Of course, he’d forgotten all about him during the snowball fight, the pony he and his family kept mentioning but refused to elaborate on. “You're him aren’t you? Your Moonlit Lance!” “Oh whoop-de doo, took you long enough, Mirror?” The unicorn’s horn glowed and at once their colour pallets changed. Both sibling’s coats took on a deep shade of navy blue, with the sister’s mane taking on a lighter shade with tinges of purple. Lance’s mane however turned a solid black and as the illusion was dispelled Thunder saw him grow several inches, like a bad camera effect where the image became distorted until it sorted itself out. By the time it was done Lance was easily head and shoulders taller than him, he'd even dare say he was a few inches shy of an adult changeling. “Lead wasn’t kidding, he’s huge! Is he part horse or is that gigantism?” Lance rolled his shoulders and flicked some of the snow off his boot. “Now do us both a favour and walk away from him, you don’t need to be a part of this.” Thunder moved in front of Raining’s limp form and glared daggers at the massive colt. “Make me.” He spat. Lance scoffed under his breath, returning the glare, but with an added menace that put Thunder to shame. “Look, I actually kind of like you so I’ll give you this chance. Walk away, and I won’t break your wing like a toothpick.”  The way he stated it sounded less like a threat and more like a promise, a statement of fact he would act upon if Thunder didn’t back down. And, going by his appearance, it was a promise he could very easily keep.  In Spite of the threat, Thunder held his ground, his mind flashing back to the warnings from Sweet Fizz and Crossroads and how he’d told them he wasn’t going to leave over a simple brute. “Well Shellac, time to put your money where your mouth is. He’s just one colt, a very big, possibly unhinged manic, but a single colt nonetheless.”  He then turned back to the filly after having caught her name.  “Pretty sure I heard it was Mirror, right?”  She solemnly observed from above with a depressive air. Thunder couldn’t know for sure if she’d help, but judging from her emotional state he figured no. He refocused on Lance and weighed his options. Flying away and getting help was a no go as it’d leave Raining open and if he returned to Copper unharmed and presented him with his son covered in bruises it wouldn’t be pretty.  He could try going for his lungs as rapid strikes to his chest would wear him down but if he’s wearing a thick coat that’ll take a while. On the other hoof, he could also try hit and run, stay out of reach, then move in for a fast strike to his head before slipping away. Rinse and repeat until either he calls it quits or collapses. “That sounds like the best idea, I can fly and he can’t.” “So what’s it gonna be, you purple pigeon?” Shellac scowled. “Wow, even as a pony they somehow manage to make fun of my colour, pigeon’s a new one though.” “I’m not afraid of you.” Thunder shot back, planting his hooves firmly in the snow. “Yet.”  Lance began closing the distance between them and Thunder took off. As planned he flew rings around his enemy and struck him with a hind hoof to which he lunged forward. Lanced tried to land a hit, but the pegasus backed away, out of reach where he dived in again and landed another blow, this time on his back. Again Lance lunged and only caught open air.  Thunder could feel the anger and frustration building within the oversized pony. Pressing on, he dealt another blow to the brute’s skull and he groaned in frustration before he kicked up a cloud of snow. Thunder had been keeping a tight circle around him for sure but it was too tight as the snow ended up smacking into the side of his face, sending his vision went awol along with his control. Instead of crashing into the ground however his training kicked in and he was able to control his landing, hitting the ground with all four hooves before spinning back around wiping the snow from his eye. “Do you think I’m stupid? I’ve dealt with pegasi before you moron!”  “But have you dealt with a changeling?” Thunder could end the fight right here with a little resin to trap him and carry Raining away. But that would require dropping his disguise and that was off limits in public. There was one trick he had that Lance couldn’t beat no matter what though and if he played his cards right it wouldn’t give him away.  Lance charged towards him, head tilted downward into a ramming position, his spear like cutie mark faintly glowing as he did so. Thunder was quick to dodge and even land a counter kick to his barrel as he sped past, but it might as well have done nothing as he skidded to a half beside him.  The massive colt lunged forward with a right hook, intending to take the brawl into close quarters. However, while he might’ve hit like a truck, Thunder was fast, ducking and dodging away from every strike while landing jab after jab into his opponent’s torso and barrel.  The two gained some distance as Thunder backed away with his wings. Lance rolling his shoulders with a soft crack and seeming more annoyed than injured. With every clump of pain Thunder sent his way he could feel his frustration growing, that fire inside burning hotter and hotter. “He gets angry when injured? Oh that’s not good, he’s gonna go berserk long before I tire him out. I need to wrap this up quickly or he’ll just go after Raining.” It was time for Thunder to play his ace and he took to the sky flying high, higher than the buildings and began circling the playground, building up speed and momentum. A sheen of purple energy began to form around Thunder growing stronger as he flew around the playground, sinking the energy he’d passively gathered from the day. It was a gamble using so much power at once but if he didn’t take Lance out now he might not be able to. “Normally, you do this by going straight down. But it works sideways too as long as you build up the speed.” With that he adjusted his course and headed straight for Lance, racing through a lit street before passing the metal fences and right into his giant dumb face! The two collided and there was a brilliant flash of bright light that overshadowed any of the street lamps or decorations. A soft crack echoed through the playground and Mirror had to shield her eyes from its intensity.  What was left was a crater where it looked like a meteor had crashed into the frozen earth. The purple pegasus slowly climbed to his hooves, his joints popping and cracking as he recovered. A wave of sudden weariness washing over him from his energy expenditure.  Yet as Thunder turned around his heart sank, Lance had been thrown aside from the impact sure, but he was getting up. He could tell his attack had done a number on him as evidenced by his wobbly limbs and singed coat, but he wasn’t out, not even down! “No way! How in the sweet honeycomb is he still standing after that? He should be out cold!” Lance picked himself up, heaving and panting from the magical blast he’d been dealt. He turned towards Thunder with his face contorting into savage, snarling anger, a boiling kettle ready to explode rather than whistle. Then he relaxed briefly, his eyes darting to the side in realisation.  Behind him was Raining Lead still out cold on the ground. Lance’s frown turned into an evil smile wicked enough to challenge Chrysalis, as he twisted toward the unconscious unicorn. Thunder’s fear turned to panic, he couldn’t let him reach Raining no matter what! He dashed forward and took off putting his wings forward intending to strike the back of the damn colt’s skull. But in his panic he’d forgotten the first rule of flying in combat.  Never fly in a straight line towards your enemy.  Lance stopped and leaned onto his front legs, with the force of a freight train he bucked into Thunder’s head. sending him tumbling upwards as pain exploded inside his jaw and shoulder blade before he ungracefully crashed into the ground. Thunder’s brain didn’t even have time to register that pain before he faceplanted into the snow. The world was a hazy mess of colours and shapes, as several blurred copies of Raining danced around in his vision. He then felt something swirling around inside his mouth.  He coughed and tasted bitter iron, sending a clump of red liquid over his lip and onto the snow as he looked down for several moments as his vision readjusted. It was a small red stained object no large than a coin…a tooth. His heart rate skyrocketed as he heard Lance approach through the ringing in his ears. He commanded for his limbs to move, for him to get up, but he was painfully sluggish in doing so.  “No, please no!” Lance was faster and pinned Thunder to the ground using his immense weight and making it impossible to escape. He leaned in close enough for Thunder to feel his breath brush against the back of his neck. His mild tinnitus doing little to interfere with his next few words.  “Wanna know what the easiest way to be intimidating is?” He asked. Thunder couldn’t say anything, moving his mouth hurt and his lungs demanded too much air to make room for remarks. “You make good on your threats.” “Please don’t! I want to keep my wings!” Lance reared both of front hooves and Thunder braced himself, a moment of expectancy that he’d never wish came. “Please!” Lance bought all of his weight down at once onto the base of his right wing. There was a sickening crunch and before he could register what happened Lance bought another hoof down on the back of his head, burying his face in the snow.  Before Thunder could tolerate the pain from his jaw albeit with difficulty, but this was an entirely new pain on a level he’d not dealt with. Adrenaline did little to null it and, were his cries not muffled, they would’ve echoed throughout Canterlot City. He screamed his lungs out and threatened to tear up his vocal cords as if he’d been breathing nothing but sand. The poor pony struggled to get a breath, as more cries of suffering tore from his chest and tears rolled down his cheeks. His head fit to explode from the sheer agony behind his neck. Lance let go and watched Thunder squirm, now having expended the remainder of his energy right then and there. Thunder groaned in pain with his chest on fire and his heart fit to burst, but the oversized brute wasn’t done yet. Lance yanked on his collar and turned him onto his good wing, eliciting a yelp from Thunder as he rolled a shoulder and cocked a hoof. “And you know what? Here’s one for the road!” But before Thunder’s face was pummelled in a snowball pelted his face covering it in white dust. Lance used the half-cocked hoof to wipe it away and look up. Thunder followed suit and he wasn’t sure if he should be happy or horrified.  Raining stood up, dried blood trailing from his right temple down his cheek and the same rock he’d been struck with now held within his telekinetic grip. “Y-you g-get away from h-him.” He said, his right eye shut tight. “Raining no! You didn’t need to do this!” Lance released Thunder with a thud and power walked towards him where Raining applied an enchant to the rock and launched it at Lance. He stopped and braced himself just before it stuck his chest but still stumbled back a few hooves. Thunder felt that rising fire within the navy blue colt positively exploded with rage as he snapped back and picked up the rock.  “This isn’t fair, I did everything right!” Lance again threw the solid stone projectile but charged forward as he did so, his cutie mark lighting up again as he flattered another trail of snow below his hooves. Raining was forced to choose between one or the other and his reaction was to jump out the way of the missile which left him open for Lance. In a moment he was tackled to the ground where Lance spewed endless profanities and laid into him with both hooves.  “I’m so sorry Lead, I’m sorry!” Thunder could only look on in horror as he heard Raining’s desperate pleas for help. He was no stranger to guilt and dread but the other times he’d felt it he knew it wasn’t genuine and so that knowledge took the edge off. Here though, he was provided no such luxury, and cried for his friend, for the pain and agony he couldn’t prevent and the suffering he himself had been put through. He wanted to help him, to oh so desperately rip Lance off him and beat that colt a new face, but he’d given it his all and it wasn’t enough.  How could anypony be so utterly cruel? Why was he doing this? To get some kind of power high? To prove something? To settle some score? It didn’t make sense and it wasn’t fair! Why would he do this?! Thunder could ask himself these questions all night long but he’d never get an answer, the break in his wing was like two metal cheese graters, grinding the insides of his skeleton, aching in pain from any kind of movement. But he had to do something! He couldn’t just lay there! That’s when he heard another set of hoofsteps from behind him. He just about saw Mirror’s silhouette from his periferia vision when she stopped beside him and raised her voice. “Lance! That’s enough.” She said. But he kept going and struck Raining again and again. Mirror kept her distance and spoke with a nervousness befitting that of a scared little girl trying her best. “Lance, please stop!”  But he didn't. Thunder could now see trace amounts of blood splattered on his boots, enough to make his stomach churn and his throat tense.  “Lance! Stop you’ve done enough!” She shouted. This time the colt paused, her message having got through. He rose up above the now incapacitated Raining Lead and turned to her with an aura of suppressed frustration hanging around him. He glanced back at Raining and seemed content with his work before walking away back towards the playground’s gate leaving them alone.  Mirror rushed towards Raining and pulled out a small red bag with a white cross on it. “On no, is it that bad?” Thunder thought. He had to help, had to get to Raining and had to do something. He felt a familiar conviction return to him, a grim determination that ignited a fire inside and he forced his limbs forward. One after the other until he was standing up straight. His body protested of course, his shoulder, wing and the lower half of his face gave him every excuse to just lay down and wait the pain out. But he pressed on against the agony and soon Mirror took notice. She rushed to his side and offered support to which Thunder was hesitant but her actions just now had at least made him open.  Mirror seemed more like an unwitting accomplice than a pony with ill intentions. Thunder accepted but kept his guard up and hobbled over to Raining. Lance had done a number on the poor colt as lumps of black and blue tissue were spread across his form, his right eye and left cheek were swelling over and his nose was bleeding like a faucet. Mirror set down and pulled out several cotton buds and adhesive plasters which she used to help clean him up. Sealing over the worst of the cuts he’d got from Lance’s steel-capped boot. “Raining…oh Raining, I’m so sorry.” Thunder felt more tears welling up behind his eyes as he stared at his new friend. He’d done everything he could and this was the outcome. Copper was going to kill him when they got back, he’d failed.  Raining suddenly coughed, a glob of red spit sputtered from his mouth as he stirred. “R-Raining!” Thunder cried. “Help me get him up, we need to get back home!”  Mirror did as requested and helped him climb to his unstable hooves. The brass colt was half blind and his limbs were like jelly. Thunder struggled to support his weight as he got upright and saw one of Raining’s front legs had more bruises than it did healthy skin and so he wasn’t using it. The filly then began backing away with her first aid kit, Thunder snapped to her. “Hey! Where are you going, I can’t bring him home by myself!”  “I-I’m sorry, but I have to go home as well. I-I wish you luck though!” Thunder scoffed, “Luck?! Forget luck, we need help! You can’t just leave us, especially after you helped cause this!” Mirror looked at the two with clear regret and somberness in her eyes. Yet all it took was a glance back at the colt waiting for her on the other side of the fence to remind her where she had to be. She shut her eyes tight and jerked away, power walking through the gate but she at least kept it open with a wedge for them before trotting off with Lance. Thunder was left alone with a barely standing Raining who struggled to speak. He turned to him with his remaining good eye left but was leaning heavily on Thunder’s left side for support. “C-Come on Raining, we’re going home…w-we’re going h-home.”  Raining’s only reply was to groan which Thunder couldn’t blame him for. It was probably taking all of his willpower just to stay upright and keep a steady pace. The two managed to make it past the playground’s front gate and onto the brightly lit street. The house wasn’t far but their speed was agonisingly slow as they had to take their time to prevent either of them from stumbling and falling. “You can still do this Shellac, you can still do this.” They moved one hoof after the other, keeping a slow but steady cadence, every step sending needles of pain through their bodies. It was an uphill battle the whole way through, and several times, Thunder thought Raining would slip, but he managed to hold on. Everypony was indoors by this point and the streets were barren of life but had plenty of light so they could at least see where they were going.  Thunder’s jaw may have been swollen and he may have had the urge to pull his teeth out from irritation, but he wasn’t giving up! Yes, every inch of movement only added to the crunchy aches in his back and the limp wing that now hung towards the floor, but with every step he fanned the flames of a lavender fire that refused to be snuffed out. Determined to push through like he’d always done, soon enough he could already see their house down the street and smiled as he turned to Raining. “Come on! We’re nearly there, we’re nearly there, just stay with me Lead!” Gleaming watched the grandfather clock with discomfort, fifty eight minutes past and still counting. She’d tried reading to pass the time but the anxiety proved too much as she felt something was wrong. The fire still crackled behind her and Copper had resided himself in the back room with his model kits.  “Knowing their exact location must be nice.” “Copper dear? Two minutes to six, don’t you think we should do something?” She called, trying to hide her concern.  “They're on their way back now honey! Don’t know what kind of fancy snowball fight they had but they're taking their sweet time.”  Gleaming looked back at the clock nervously tapping a hoof. “They’re fine Gold, your overreacting, your hubby’s not going to call the guards over a few seconds off the dot.” She took a deep breath and moved to the coffee table and picked up her tea with a wing before taking a sip. “They’re probably just exhausted is all, it’s Raining’s first time with a playmate and he probably let himself go.” She moved over to the window where she could get a view of the front lawn. Butterflies building in her chest as she took another nervous sip. Ever since Copper had told her about his spell she felt unease rather than assurance even as he gave her an update when they reached the playground. Sure Raining’s movements were a little odd but that’s to be expected when your son can teleport.  The fact Raining was on his way back did help calm her nerves. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder why exactly she was so on edge. Sure she had some insecurities about Shellac but the whole point of this was to dispel those concerns, if anything that should’ve relieved her. “So why wasn’t it? Why am I so tense?” Soon she saw a pair of silhouettes emerge from behind the neighbour’s hedges and she smiled as she drew the curtains back, hoping to open the window and- Her tea cup fell to the floor with a loud smash. Copper was working on another model wooden boat, this one of a Mare-O-War. Probably the biggest he’d have in his collection to date. It had a full interior, model ponies he’d painted himself,even metal cannons with cotton clumps he’d used as cannon smoke. The best part was he could open and close the whole thing with a set of hinges and so long as it was closed properly, it would float!    He was adding a layer of gloss to one of the top deck cannons with the as of yet unpainted masts sitting to the side. Though it slowed the process considerably, he wanted to take his time and paint things before attaching them or he might have troubles later on. Slowly, he was going over the metal tube with a thin brush when he suddenly heard the kind of shriek he’d have expected from a banshee. “RAINING!” Copper’s brush almost snapped and he whipped his head towards the kitchen door, his eyes wide with shock. He quickly got up from his seat and hobbled inside where he saw Gleaming gallop out of the living room with such speed her right side slammed into the wall and bolted for the door. “Honey! What’s happened!”  Gleaming ignored him, fumbling around with the keys until she stuffed the correct one into the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges in the process. Copper picked up the pace and raced outside with his wife, when he saw the state of the two kids he could only share in his wife’s horror. The two had been beaten to a pulp, Raining looked fit to pass out and Thunder groaned every step of the way. His limp, swollen wing sent goosebumps across the stallion’s body and the gap in Thunder’s teeth even more so. Gleaming stood a hoof’s length away in utter shock, her coat white with fright. “What in the blue blazes happened here?!” Copper shouted. Thunder cranked his head up to face the stallion, visibly shrinking under his authoritative gaze and dried blood trailing from his trembling lip. Fresh tears already welling up as the events of the past half hour replayed themselves in his head. “L-Lance, Moonlit Lance did this! I-I tried to stop him b-but…” Thunder gestured towards his wing. “H-he b-b-broke it.”  Copper’s breathing slowed and his gaze fixed upon the pegasus as he processed those words. A quiet rage built up inside him and his glare now comparable to a dragon as he levitated a coat and boot set from the reception. He lowered his voice to a near whisper and turned to Gleaming. “Honey, you were right about Thunder.” She jerked her head to meet him, eyes still as wide as dinner plates. He already had his coat fastened when he followed up. “Now get the kids inside and come tomorrow morning take them to the hospital.” With the last boot now secured to his leg he trotted down the front lawn past the injured colts. He’d already got past the front gate when Gleaming cried out.  “W-Where are you going?!” “To have a chat with those two, then I’m going to the Guard. The little buck’s gone too far this time and I’ve had enough!” Copper then snapped back towards her with the commanding voice of a guard kicking in. “Now get them inside!” Gleaming nodded and supported Raining best she could as the two got the living room where they finally allowed themselves to collapse. Gleaming helped take off their winter garments and scrambled to and from the kitchen with a box full of medical items, quickly giving Raining a few painkillers and some water to wash it down. Thunder shed his disguise and felt both relief and new pains seep in. Instead of a lost tooth. one of his fangs had been cracked and the softer, more flexible skin around his jaw now had a web of purple cracks. His wing however still dangled to his side, but it being more membrane than bone it felt so much better. Its base around his back shell still had a plethora of deep cracks that stung like the dickens and he still felt ghost pains from where the break had taken place.  Yet, the same couldn’t be said for Raining.  To say he’d been beaten black and blue would be a gross understatement. Much of his upper torso, legs and face had been covered in horrible discoloured lumps, so much so he’d now lost the ability to even open his battered eye or extend his right leg. Whereas Shellac had the ability to sit up, Raining did not. Gleaming was able to clean up the worst of the muck that had splattered Lead, but Shellac could taste her sour sadness seeping into the room. Her mouth trembled as she endlessly repeated how things would be okay under her breath. Trying to reassure herself just as much as she was for Raining. A few frozen bags of peas wrapped in kitchen towels had been placed over the worst of the bruises and Shellac’s bedding had been moved to the other couch to accommodate Raining.  “Oh my little Lead, why would anypony do this to you?” She mumbled. Raining couldn’t host a reply, he didn’t have the energy and he probably wouldn’t even be able to walk at this point. Thunder turned to the resting colt with a regretful eye and felt an urge to help him also, but knew even touching his tender lumps would send more hot daggers of pain into his body. He whimpered and weeped for his friend he’d failed to protect. Gleaming caught onto his soft cries and quickly took notice. She turned her attention toward Shellac and bought a cloth to wipe away his tears and clean off some dried…”Changelings have blue blood?” She stared at the cloth a moment longer before shaking her head and discarding it, facing him directly with motherly comfort. “Hey, shh, shh, you’re alright here, you're safe now, everything is going to be okay Shellac.” She solemnly smiled, only for it to drop at the now quivering and distraught changeling.  “I-I tried to help,” he sniffed, “I t-t-tried to fight him off b-but I…I couldn’t protect him.” For another time that night he broke down into tears and Gleaming embraced him gently rocking back and forth, caressing the base of his neck. This time Shellac really let go and flooded her coat with an open lake of sadness which drenched her warm fur. Everything he’d been through, everything he’d done, it all came flooding back and poured itself out into her shoulder. Gleaming’s response was to hum a gentle lullaby and help calm his nerves, or at least help him vent quicker. They kept at it for a few minutes as Shellac’s eyes flowed like waterfalls and his muffled cries filled the air, but Gleaming allowed him to go on for as long as was needed. Offering an emotional embrace his home at the hive never did.  Eventually he slowed down and the rivers dried up, replaced with stuttered breathing and well laden bags under his eyes. “There, there, everything is going to be okay.” She whispered.  Shellac released himself from the hug and looked up at Gleaming, with the weight of the day clearly visible on his weary face. She gave a warm smile and held his cheek which he solemnly leaned into, savouring her soft touch. “We all have bad days sometimes and what you did today was outstanding. I’ve never broken my wing before and I’m glad I haven’t, but you helping little Lead get home in such a state?” She paused for a moment to grab a nearby cup of water and gave it to Shell to take a sip. “I don’t think I could have asked for Lead to make a better friend, thank you Shellac.” He enveloped the cup within a purple swirl and drank, before he knew it he’d gulped the whole cup. Gleaming put it aside and examined his wing, which instead of a break, had a tear near its base that threatened to disconnect it were the wing sufficiently pulled. She winced at the idea of it falling off and Shellac receiving a bloody surprise the next time he changed.  “Is your wing going to be okay Shellac?” She asked. “It’ll be fine…if it falls off I can grow a new one, however.” He smirked. “I do know a trick.” She turned back to him at that, her curiosity peaked. “What do you mean?” “Changelings have their own kind of magic, a few spells ponies can’t cast. I know a healing spell that’ll help fix both me and Raining, but it requires a lot of energy. I uh…” He grimaced as he remembered his failed gamble. “Expended it all earlier though, fighting Lance.”    Gleaming stood awestruck and for a brief moment an intrusive thought asked her if this was some kind of trick but one glance at Raining was all she needed. She leapt forward and bound Shellac up in a tight, affectionate hug. Bringing her wings around to embrace him even further. “Then please help my little Lead, it pains me to see him like this.” Shellac shut his eyes and focused, up until now he’d been passively drawing upon their ambient emotions and been careful not to pull more than he thought was necessary. How could he be so greedy when these ponies sheltered and fed him? Yet, now he was opening himself up, he’d heard stories about the wonders of love given but had never experienced such a thing himself. Gleaming affection, her desire to see her child be well again, and the love she was pouring out to him, there was an explosion of colours within his core as he took his first taste. Gold’s love was sweet like nectar and Shellac eagerly drank. Solid food aside, it’d been the first time in over a week he’d had a proper harvest and his body went on autopilot. Snatching at all the colours he could as his reserves filled, going from near empty to almost full within a few minutes.  A sudden wave of weariness washed over Gleaming as she felt Shellac pull away. With a little nausea she balanced herself on all fours and stretched her back, bending her wings for good measure.  “So, this is what it's like to be fed on by a changeling? Funny, I was expecting worse.” She grinned, in spite of the slight weakness in her legs. Shell leaned back into the couch as a soft chirp escaped his throat. He patted his belly for a moment before he turned to Raining with a smile of his own. “Everything is going to be okay.” He thought. “I’ll go get you two something to eat…though I don’t think you’ll be wanting anything solid, right?” Both Shellac and Lead gently shook their heads, though with Lead it was more of a slight twitch. Gleaming sighed and made for the kitchen, she leaned down and frowned at the contents of the oven. “So much for potato and leak pie, at least tomorrow’s lunch is solved.” She moved to the dry cupboard and flicked through several cans before pulling out some tomato soup.  She warmed it up and dished out a pair of bowls with a couple of straws, held within her wings she slid one down in front of Raining while Shellac took the other.  “I hope you two get well, I’m not sure when Copper’s coming back, but it should be soon.” Gleaming then knelt down and kissed Raining’s forehead before proceeding to do the same to Shellac, who’s pupils shrank and cheeks flushed at the sudden injection of love, adding a sweet spice to the creamy red meal. She left the living room and prepared her dinner, the crackles of the fireplace ever present.  Shellac was the first to finish his soup with Raining not long after, the dirty dishes were put aside and Shellac laid down next to him, back against the couch cushions. Raining groaned in discomfort from the sudden movement but made no attempt to stop him. “Never done this with a pony before, or with two to focus on at once. Hopefully I have enough. Let’s take the slow and steady approach so we can save some energy.” Shellac’s horn flared up and thin wisps of magic crept out and sank into both kids’ bodies. Shellac had all night so he was in no rush to expend everything for the sake of time.  Raining slowly felt a warm comfort seep into his aching muscles, like the feeling of one’s body having already gotten used to their bedsheets by dawn, or dipping into a hot bath. The painkillers had taken the edge off already but the relief being afforded was almost divine. The pain went away but he could still feel its presence, his beating heart sending dull pins and needles through his body. Thunder took things one step further and gently hovered some of his bedding over, slipping a soft pillow under his head and covering them both in a bed sheet. Before he could tuck in though he heard Lead beginning to stir, parting his lips to mumble something at barely a whisper. “Shell…” “Hmm? Yes Raining?” Shellac leaned in.  “Are you…really sleeping…here tonight?” Raining huffed. Only managing short and stuttered breaths. “I need to be close for the spell to work and it’ll take time. Don’t worry though, it’ll carry on in our sleep.” There was a moment of silence as Raining tried to bring up the strength to speak again. His face still swollen and his lips still puffy.  “Could you…go and get…my Ursa toy?” “Ursa? You mean like a stuff toy?” Raining managed a weak nod. “I just, I’m used to…hugging something…when I sleep.” “Aww…” Shellac considered going upstairs to the colt’s room but he’d already got himself comfortable, and he couldn’t quite be bothered. That’s when another idea came to mind, like a lightbulb clicking on above his head. “Actually, I could be your Ursa for tonight.” Raining mumbled in confusion, then saw a flash of purple light from his good eye briefly paint the room. Now instead of hard chitin he felt something much more plush depressing against his back. He removed the icey pea bags with his magic and slowly but carefully turned around, little aches and pains reminding him of his injuries should he move too quickly. His limbs were stiff and numb, as weak as jelly but tender to the touch. When he did finally turn around and saw Shellac he was met with a pleasant surprise. He’d transformed again, but this time he’d become a soft toy version of himself, stitch marks dotted his joints, soft fur replaced hard shells and a smile was sewn onto his face. Yet despite all that, he retained his true form’s actual size and shape. It was weird to look at but Raining couldn’t deny just how cute he actually looked as a stuffed soft toy, was it normal for him to suddenly want to cuddle up to a sentient changeling plush?  Probably not, and for a moment he felt bad it wasn’t his Ursa toy, but he didn’t have the strength to complain. Raining’s horn lit up and he carefully moved Shellac’s limbs around to accommodate him as he held him in a tight grip. His fur was as soft as silk and the blankets lovingly warm, which helped to remove the chilly bite of the frozen pea bags.  There was something different about hugging a life sized toy that sent pleasant shivers through his body. Granted there were many things different about this but one aspect in particular stuck out to him, like how much more affectionate it was. It was like a hidden longing he’d had was finally being answered and he clinged to Shellac as tightly as he could without injury. If the nymph was still in his base form Raining might’ve actually crushed something but as is Raining’s love harmlessly depressed into his body. For Shellac it was like being drenched in a bathtub full of liquid love. He didn’t have much independence as an object but tried to return the squeeze with his stuffed legs. He altered his disguise so it’s eyes were shut tight and soon his reserves were filled to the brim, spilling over the cap from the sheer amount of affection the young colt had to offer. Even aside from that, being able to sleep with a friend was going to help prevent another nightmare.  “Last Night sucked.” The two basked in each other’s company until they quietly drifted off to sleep, Raining’s lumps gradually shrinking and Shellac’s cracks slowly sealing. It would take time and energy, but the young nymph had both in no short supply. Elsewhere in the kitchen, Gleaming had cut herself a couple slices of pie and looked at an overhead clock. It’d been around an hour since Copper had left and yet not a single knock on the door or tap on the window. She’d already stored the rest of the dish away within the refrigerator but now both their meals were getting cold.  “Where is he? Are the guards holding him up?” Gleaming was no stranger to waiting on her husband, especially nowadays with his injured leg, but he had friends in the guard who helped him out on occasion. A quick taxi to the Moonlit residence, then another to a nearby guard station and back. Perhaps it was just taking longer then she’d hoped? She did have an impulse problem. “Shellac’s proof enough of that.” Still, when they all got back from Piccafilly Circus she imagined everypony sitting down having a family meal. with Shellac included. But then of course things had to take a turn for the worst. Because nothing can be simple nowadays can it? There’s always some bump in the road you weren’t expecting. Gleaming sighed and picked up her plate with its lukewarm offering. She began digging into it before the pie slice got any colder and savoured the flavours. She wrapped Copper’s plate in a layer of foil before sliding it into the fridge with the rest of the pie as she chewed.  “He’ll have to warm it up when he gets back.” She thought. She did her evening chores as per usual, washing dishes, sorting through laundry, preparing Copper’s morning coffee ingredients. But as the minutes ticked by she anxiously anticipated a knock that never came. “No, something is wrong. If he was going to be out for this long he’d have said something.” “Maybe the guards are holding him up?” She mentally rehashed. “Maybe they have him and Lance in for questioning? But if so they’d have popped by to look at Raining for proof. Surely they wouldn’t just take his word for it?” She hung up her apron and looked at the clock, Eight Thirty PM. “He’ll be back by midnight at the latest right? Yes, yes he will Gleaming. Stop being such a Diamond Dog and be patient. He’ll come back…” “He has to…” … “Isn’t this what you told yourself before Raining and Shellac came back? Beaten and bloody? You had every reason to throw Shellac to the wayside yet you didn’t and he’s proven himself loyal. You have good instincts, why should you ignore them?” … “I can’t leave though, I have to stay here and take care of them. Shellac might have good intentions but if something’s gone wrong and I leave…” “No, I have to stay here. Copper’s tough, I know he can take care of himself. But the kids need me here.” Gleaming switched off the lights and hung her head. Dread sunk its terrible teeth into her weeping heart as she passed by the doorframe. She didn’t even notice the still forms of Raining Lead and Shellac cuddled up together. She made her way to the master bedroom, a large double bed flanked by two bedside cabinets. One with old pictures of Copper as a colt fishing and the other with a makeup stand and picture frame of the family. Gleaming instead moved to the window and drew the curtains. Hoping that maybe she’d catch him walking back to the front door but the thought was in vain. The stallion was nowhere to be seen even as she sat and waited for what felt like hours. “I have to stay awake. He has a key to get in but I have to see him myself.” Gleaming watched on as snowflakes piled onto the dimly lit neighbourhood street. It was a windy night and she was thankful that the two kids had managed to arrive back when they did but it spared no comfort for her thoughts on how her husband was doing.  A weight pressed on her shoulders as time ticked by with her eyes growing ever weary with each passing second. She turned around to look at Copper’s clock and it read Nine PM. Had she really been waiting for that long? She sighed and picked herself up, crawling into her side of the bed with a book in hoof. She’d borrowed one of Raining’s that she’d taken a liking to, an adventure book titled Lords Of The Sky. She laid there reading for who knows how long. All the while keeping an ear out for any soft taps or the sound of the front door opening. She got lost within the contents of the book and got through three more chapters before turning to the clock striking midnight.  That was enough, she had to go to sleep. She was only prolonging the inevitable by reading. With a heavy heart she closed the book and set it aside before tucking herself in. hoping against hope that by dawn, she’d be sleeping with her husband.