The early rays of the dawn began to crest over the mountains by Ponyville, gently lighting the inside of Rowan's bedroom. Of course, since it was still early in the morning, the young colt was still asleep.
But suddenly, something butted against Rowan's side, stirring him from sleep. Groggily, he opened his eyes due to the unexpected touch. Still half-asleep, he turned over on his bed to see what had woken him up.
Rowan's eyes suddenly went wide as he found himself looking face-to-face with Shade, who sat just beside his bed, prodding Rowan with a paw. Now suddenly feeling very awake, Rowan jumped back away from the wolf in surprise. But Rowan found that jumping backwards off of a bed wasn't the best idea in the world, as he fell backwards onto the ground, yet again.
Quickly getting back onto his hooves, Rowan stared at Shade, who sat on the floor like an obedient dog waiting for it's master.
"How the heck did you get out of the bind?", Rowan questioned the wolf. Shade gave no sign that he understood. Rowan sighed, "I guess the bind must've worn off." Rowan looked questionably at the wolf, "Although, it doesn't seem like I need to put another one on you."
Rowan looked out the window and was surprised that the sun hadn't even risen yet. There was only a little light coming up from behind the mountains. Rowan smiled at Shade, "I just wish that you didn't wake me up so early." Shrugging his shoulders, "I guess that it wouldn't hurt to sleep for a little bit more."
Before Rowan could get back in bed, Shade suddenly stood up and let out a short growl. Rowan stepped back, startled. Shade then turned around and ran out of the room, barking the entire way. Rowan quickly ran after the wolf, "I hope that wolf doesn't get into trouble." But then, another thought came into his head, "Shoot! I wonder if I locked the front door last night."
Following Shade's barks downstairs, Rowan raced into the main room to see the wolf barking his head off as he pushed against the door leading outside.
"Quiet, Shade. You're gonna wake up the neighbors." Rowan was about to pull Shade away from the door, but then the wolf ceased its barking and stepped quickly away from it. Rowan let out a sigh of relief, but his relief was short-lived as Shade charged at the door. Rowan expected the wolf to smash against the door, but at the last second, Shade melded into his shadow and slipped under the door.
Rowan gasped, "Uh, oh." He quickly ran out of the house after the wolf, who had begun to bark loudly as he ran down the road. As Rowan pursued Shade, he heard several ponies wake up from the wolf's barking, and they now were peering out their doors and windows to see what was going on.
Rowan ran after Shade, until the wolf suddenly stopped in front of Twilight's library. Shade was now jumping up and down, barking as loud as it could. Rowan reached the wolf and in an effort to quiet Shade, he grabbed the wolf with both hooves.
Shade and Rowan began to wrestle against each other, Shade trying desperately to get out of Rowan's grip. In the commotion, Shade managed to nip Rowan's hoof, not too painfully, but still enough to make the unicorn let go. Rowan sat on the ground, rubbing the spot that Shade had bitten, watching the wolf bark at the top of his lungs.
The door to the library opened and Twilight walked out, along with Shining Armor behind her. Twilight ran over to help Rowan up, "Rowan, what's going on? What's Shade barking about?"
Rowan shook his head as Twilight helped him up, "I don't know. Shade woke me up early this morning, and then he ran out the door, barking his head off."
But then, Shade suddenly stopped barking as his ears stood up. In a flash, the wolf turned around to face towards the Everfree Forest, beginning to growl loudly.
By now, almost all of Ponyville had woken up, and were gathering to see what the commotion was. The crowd of ponies gathered around Rowan, Twilight, and Shade, who seemed oblivious to everything that was happening.
Rowan ran up next to Shade, "What is it, boy? What do you hear out there?"
He looked towards the mountains behind the forest, where the sun was beginning to rise over the tall peaks. But as the bright, yellow sun rose into the air, suddenly hundreds of black figures flew up over the mountains, obscuring the sun with their vast numbers.
Everyone in the crowd gasped at the sight, but Rowan and Twilight just stared slack-jawed with wide eyes. Shade continued to growl at the cloud of figures in the sky, but then Rowan understood why Shade had been on edge that morning. The wolf had sensed that they were coming to Ponyville, and had been trying to warn everypony.
Rowan watched in horror as the swarm flew closer to town and as the ponies in town began to run away. They were about to experience first-hand, the full force of a changeling attack.
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Shining Armor watched from the road as the horde of changelings raced towards Ponyville. The sight reminded him of the attack that the changelings had made back in Canterlot. He looked around at the crowd of ponies that had gathered together as everypony began to turn and run screaming back to their homes.
Instantly, his training as captain of the royal guard kicked in and he took control of the situation. Using his magic to amplify his voice to everypony, he called out to them, "Attention villagers of Ponyville! We are about to be met by a changeling attack! All able ponies that are willing to fight, meet me by the Everfree forest. Everypony else is to retreat back to Sweet Apple Acres with the foals, for their safety. We need to keep the changelings from entering into the town."
He turned towards Twilight, "Twi, I need you to get Spike and send a letter to the princess. Tell her that we'll need reinforcements if we want to survive this attack." Twilight nodded and raced back into the library.
The captain turned back to Rowan, "I'm going to use my protection spell to hold them off, but I'm unfamiliar with Ponyville, so it will take me a while to get the spell going. Until then, I need you and Shade to keep the changelings out of the town."
Rowan nodded and with Shade by his side ran towards the oncoming wave of changelings. Shining raised his horn to the sky and began to map out the town, placing down an outline for the protection spell.
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Rowan shook his head as he raced to the forest, "I must be crazy." He turned his head towards Shade who ran right alongside him, "What do you think?"
The wolf barked sharply once, and growled as he raised his canine head to the oncoming force. Rowan chuckled as he looked up at the changelings, "Yeah, I'm definitely crazy."
Within a few seconds, the two had reached the edge of the forest. Rowan stopped just outside the line of the forest and raised his horn towards the oncoming wave. He inhaled deeply, "Here goes nothing."
In a flash, Rowan's horn began to glow in a fiery blaze as he shot out numerous flaming crescents at the swarm. One after another Rowan shot out flaming projectiles, and each one hit its mark in the gigantic cloud, exploding in the crowd of changelings.
Rowan kept up his defensive attack for a while, but it became apparent that he couldn't hold off all of them by himself for too long. He began to breath hard as sweat started to trickle down his face. He had never done this much magic at once before. "Come on, Shining." Rowan silently pleaded, "That protection spell would be useful right about now."
Rowan cringed as he saw that the changelings were coming in fast, despite his efforts to hold them back, "Come on. Where's some help when you need it?"
His question was answered as he heard a voice above him shout out, "Take this, you over-sized bugs!" Rowan looked up to see a streak of rainbow shoot through the sky and crash through the wave of changelings.
Rowan gasped as he stopped his firing, finally able to catch his breath. He watched as the cyan pegasus zoomed out of the cloud of changelings and lighted down next to him and Shade.
Still catching his breath, he gasped, "Rainbow?"
Rainbowdash smirked, "Hey, Rowan. You didn't think that you could fight this one without me, did you?"
Suddenly three sparks flew over their heads and impacted against the changelings that were getting very close. Rowan and Rainbow looked to see Twilight and Spike running up to them. Behind them were Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.
Rowan smiled at Twilight as she caught up, "Glad that you could make it. I didn't think that I could hold all of them on my own."
Twilight returned a smile, "No problem." She cleared her throat, "This is the situation so far: Shiny has gathered most of the stallions, and he's positioned them across town, just in case he can't get the protection spell up in time."
Applejack stepped in, "Shinin' Armor sent everypony that ain't gonna fight over ta Sweet Apple Acres, so they're being looked after by Big Macintosh and a couple oth'r stallions. They'll be safe as long as this here fight don't reach them."
Rainbowdash interrupted them, "Hey, we still got a whole bunch of changelings heading this way," She smacked her hooves together, "And I don't know about you guys, but I say that it's time to make them pay for what they did back in Canterlot." And with that, the pegasus dashed back towards the changelings in a rainbow streak.
Twilight looked at everyone else, "Rainbow's right. We need to focus all of our efforts on keeping the changelings back until Shining can use his protection spell."
Everyone nodded and rushed over to help hold back the changelings, except for Fluttershy. The shy pegasus looked at Shade, who stood by Rowan's side, "Um.. Rowan? I don't know if Shade should fight. I mean, he is still recovering from his injuries."
Rowan glanced down at Shade, who gave him a bold look of determination. The unicorn sighed, "Sorry, Flutters. But Shade was the one who warned everyone about the attack. I think that it's only fair to let him fight if he wants to." He turned back towards the action, "I'm going to help protect this town with Shade by my side. If you want to help, then you're more than welcome to." With that, Rowan leaped back into the fight with his wolf companion.
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The changeling filly flew behind the front line of changeling drones. She was still confused as to how the ponies in Ponyville had been ready for the swarm when they arrived. She expected no one to notice the raid until it was too late to stop them.
Before the swarm had flown halfway between the mountains and the town, they were bombarded by a flurry of flaming projectiles. Their source had been a gray unicorn colt with a red mane. She couldn't be sure, but she suspected that the colt was Rowan. If she was right, then she would have to follow him to get the Liber Tenebrarum before anyone else did.
While the changelings were being fired at, she slipped down below the forest canopy below them, trying to reach the town without having to deal with any enemy fire. Flying low, zipping in between the trees, she made her way to the edge of the forest, where six other ponies and a dragon had joined the presumed "Rowan".
She ducked behind a tree and listened to their conversation.
The cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane, "Hey, we still got a bunch of changelings heading this way, and I don't know about you guys, but I say that it's time to make them pay for what they did back in Canterlot."
The changeling filly winced as what the pegasus had hurt her to the core. It was because of queen Chrysalis that they attacked Canterlot. Plus, she wasn't even there at the attack, yet here was a pony who blamed her and the entire swarm for the orders of the queen which they had to follow.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she realized that the rest of the ponies by "Rowan" were leaving to fight against the oncoming swarm. All of them, except for a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The pegasus looked at the gray unicorn and said something while the changeling eavesdropped on them.
"Um.. Rowan? I don't know if Shade should fight. I mean, he is still recovering from his injuries."
Wait. Shade? The changeling filly peered around the tree to see a wolf, black as night, covered in bandages, standing by, the now confirmed, Rowan. Quickly, the changeling filly tuned back into the conversation.
Rowan shook his head, "Sorry, Flutters. But Shade was the one who warned everyone about the attack. I think that it's only fair to let him fight if he wants to."
The changeling filly suddenly realized how they had been ready when the swarm had arrived. She reminded herself to not get close to Shade, since this wolf seemed to have very acute senses. It had to have that acute of senses to even detect the changelings before they arrived.
Rowan turned back towards the swarm, "I'm going to help protect this town with Shade by my side. If you want to help, then you're more than welcome to." Rowan then joined the fight against the changeling swarm again.
The changeling filly sighed. Now would be just as good of a time to approach Rowan. Quietly, she made her way over to the trees closest to Rowan. She peered around a tree to see that Rowan was occupied with holding the swarm back. Taking in a deep breath, she prepared to reveal herself.
In a flash of wings, she flew out from behind the tree and tackled Rowan headlong. The both fell into a heap on the ground, as Rowan's eyes widened in shock. The changeling filly grinned in amusement at his confusion, but then she felt herself get knocked off Rowan by Shade.
She was sent sprawling, but she quickly regained her footing. She looked back to see Rowan and Shade, ready to fight her.
Rowan glared at her, "Agh, I don't have time for this. Just get out of the way if you don't want to get hurt."
She only let out a small laugh, "I don't want anyone to get hurt. Do you know why we came here?"
Rowan held a confused gaze while Shade bent down and growled at her, "You're here because of what happened at Canterlot. You're just here for revenge."
She shook her head as she sighed, "Man, you ponies really are clueless. That is far from the reason why we're here."
Rowan's eyes narrowed, "Then why did you come to Ponyville?"
She gave him a fixed, serious gaze, "We came because of you. We came to retrieve the book that has been hidden for all of these years."
Rowan's eyes widened as he gasped, turning his head down the road towards the hiding place of the book. This was what she had been waiting for. Following Rowan's gaze, she flew down the road as fast as possible.
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How did they know about the Liber Tenebrarum? Rowan turned his head towards his house, which stood several houses blocks away. But then the changeling suddenly flew in the direction of his gaze. Rowan silently cursed to himself, "Oh, no. I just revealed where the book is!"
Rowan and Shade quickly raced down the street after the lone changeling. But as they ran, Rowan looked up to see a beam of purple magic soar into the sky. About fifty feet above the town, the magic stopped as if it hit a wall and began to drop down into a dome, surrounding the town.
Rowan let out a sigh of relief as he realized that it was Shining Armor's protection spell. Okay, no more changelings should be able to get into town until the princess arrives with reinforcments. He turned back to his chase, But now, I need to get the Liber Tenebrarum first.
Rowan ran down the street until he reached the library, where Shining Armor was waiting with several other stallions.
The captain stopped Rowan with a hoof, "Rowan. We just saw a changeling race past here. What happened?"
Rowan breathed hard, "The changelings are after the Liber Tenebrarum."
The captain jerked his head back in shock, "What?!.."
"Shining!" A voice called out behind Rowan.
He turned to see rainbowdash flying fast towards them. The pegasus lighted down by the two unicorns, "We've got a problem! When you cast the shield, about a fourth of the changelings made it under the dome."
They both gasped as they turned their heads back to the forest. They watched as about a hundred changelings rose into the air below the protection spell.
Shining Armor raised his voice to the entire town, "Attention, everypony! The changelings have managed to get into town before the protection spell was fully cast. Prepare to fight, and be ready to drive the changelings back out of town!"
Shining Armor looked back at Rowan, "You need to get to the Liber Tenebrarum before they do. We'll hold them off, but your main task is to get the book and guard it until Princess Celestia arrives with reinforcements."
Rowan nodded and set off down the road towards his house.
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The changeling filly reached the house, which was easily distinguishable, since it reeked with the stench of a wolf. She raced inside and began to ransack the place for the book.
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Rowan raced down the road, Shade keeping up next to him. Soon, his house came into sight, and its door was left wide open. Rowan gasped, "Oh, no. Please don't let me be too late." Rowan started towards the door, but then he stopped when he heard three young screams behind him.
He turned around quickly to see Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo, riding on scootaloo's scooter. Behind them were two changelings, flying in the air closely to the three fillies.
In a flash, Rowan wasted no time and used his cloud spell. He felt the familiar sensation of his body being turned into gas, and in a second he was a cloud of black smoke. He flew fast until he was right over the two changelings who were pursuing the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Aiming carefully, Rowan let go of his cloud spell, turning back into a colt in midair. The two changelings looked up with a startled expression, as Rowan seemed to come out of nowhere. Rowan fell on top of them, flipped around in a barrel roll, and bucked them with his back hooves, sending the changelings sprawling back to the ground.
The two changelings crashed into the dirt road while Rowan landed on his hooves. He quickly whipped around to face them, his horn aglow with black mist.
The two changelings regained their composure and fled away from Rowan, back into town. Watching the two of them fly away, Rowan turned towards the CMC, "Are you three okay?"
They all nodded, "Thanks fer the help, Rowan." Said Applebloom.
Rowan sighed, "You three aren't supposed to be here. You all need to get back to Sweet Apple Acres with the others."
Scootaloo pouted, "But we want to help. Is there anything that we can do?"
Rowan glanced uneasily back at his house, I don't have time for this. I need to get the book before that changeling does. He sighed, "Fine, you three can help."
The three fillies beamed.
Rowan gave them a stern look, "There might be some other ponies that are still in town. I want you to go door to door and find all of them. Then I want you to accompany them back to Sweet Apple Acres. Got it?"
They all nodded and took off on the scooter. Rowan turned back to his house and ran through the door, where Shade was waiting.
They both went inside to find the main room completely trashed. The couches were upside down, and the coffee table was on its side. "Dang it." Rowan muttered. He worked his way through the room and up the stairs. Rowan galloped into his room to find it ransacked as well.
There was no sign of the changeling that caused the damage. Rowan desperately looked through the mess of paper, quills, and bed covers. His voice began to shake as he frantically looked through everything in the room for the Liber Tenebrarum, "No. No. No... It can't be gone."
Rowan fell to his knees and pounded on the ground with his hooves in frustration. Tears began to stream out of his eyes as he realized that it was gone. The Liber Tenebrarum, the only book of its kind, the only chance for him to return home, had been taken.