My hooves hit the flagstone floor, and I took a moment to catch my balance and orient myself in my surroundings. Behind me, I could feel the air ripple and distort as the portal sealed itself shut, becoming a simple mirror once again. I was in a bedroom. The furnishings and the paintings on the wall made my heart skip a beat as I realized whose bedroom it had previously been.
My guilt almost overcame me as I walked up and put a hoof to the bed’s undisturbed surface, knowing this was where Shade had grown up. I swallowed the guilt back down and took in more of the room. If nothing else, the omnipresent dust made me hopeful, because it meant this was a place where I was unlikely to be discovered. The dust lay spread right up to the door, which meant this room had been left unopened for a long, long time.
Okay, I thought to myself, taking a deep breath, time to get to work. One, find Fluttershy. Two, convince her I’m not evil. Three, get her out. I had to take a second breath. Only the first of those items would be simple, and convincing Fluttershy to trust me would probably be nearly impossible by this point, depending on how bad her captivity had been.
Still, I wasn’t about to gain anything by standing here and counting the holes in my hooves. I had to get to work.
Better to hide or go in disguise? I pondered. In disguise, I might pass unseen, but I would be expected to know how things operated around here. Besides, I might have been able to fool one guard’s detection spell in Ponyville, but the capital was crawling with changelings. It was probably better just to stick to the shadows for now, and my changeling form was adequate camouflage for that.
I listened at the door for a moment and, hearing nothing, decided to go. The door swung open silently despite its neglected state, and I crept into the hall. The corridor was dark—darker than I had expected. I slunk along the wall until I made my way to a window where I could glance out and try to get my bearings.
I thought back to before the attack on Canterlot; the intelligence reports that our scouts had brought back contained a basic layout of the castle and a few key locations. For instance, I knew that most of the servants’ quarters were in the lower floors of the eastern wing, and Celestia and Luna’s chambers were at the top of the western one, but I had no idea where I was at the moment.
Far below me, the castle grounds spread out, covered in guards as they escorted captive ponies to their duties and supervised. I could see the main gates and the front door to the castle, which put me in one of the wings—and quite a ways up, too. I tried to find a way to tell direction, but without the sun it was hard to tell north from south anymore. I bit my lip, worried, but then slumped as the answer stared me in the face.
I was in Shade’s bedroom. Shade was Celestia’s son. Of course their quarters would be close together, which meant I was in the western wing. The simplicity of the oversight was enough to make me slap a hoof to my face in exasperation.
Despite the embarrassment, the realization left me with a renewed sense of tension. If I was close to Celestia’s chambers, the odds were good Chrysalis was near, too. There would be plenty of guards and no shortage of suspicion. I was suddenly very glad I’d scrapped the disguise idea.
Glancing around, I hopped and fluttered up the wall to grab hold of the ceiling beams. Between the dim hallway and the gloom outside, I was nearly invisible. I would just have to watch out for detection spells and such. With a deep breath, I began to crawl slowly along the beam’s length, following the hallway further into the building.
Fluttershy awoke, automatically rubbing away the tears brought on by her recurring dreams. She knew it hadn’t been too long since she’d passed out—she was still as hungry and tired as when she passed out—but otherwise, she had no way to mark the passage of time. She sniffed one last time and looked around, hardening herself, like every other morning.
Clearly, Chrysalis hadn’t returned. It didn’t seem as though anyone else had, either. She rubbed gently at her bruised face, trying to get some blood flowing again after her restless nap, when a sound at the door made her freeze. She could hear a muffled thud, like hooves hitting the ground, and a soft grunt. Fluttershy rolled upright to watch the door carefully, and managed to keep herself from flinching when the latch clicked quietly.
The battered door slid open just barely wide enough to admit a single female changeling before it was closed again. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and her pulse began to pound. She had waited for a chance like this for a long time now...
The pegasus tried to appear resigned, as normal. “Well, it’s been a while since a female came here. No matter,” she said flatly.
The visitor froze, staring in shock at her. Fluttershy tensed, waiting for her to approach. The changeling’s mouth worked up and down, trying aimlessly to form words, as she took a hesitant step forward.
Almost... Fluttershy thought, growing frustrated. “Well, come on, then,” she said in the same monotone, keeping her expression lifeless, “what do you want? Just come to beat me, or are you just looking to get off?”
The changeling froze, her hoof stalling in midair. “What?”
Dammit, close enough! Fluttershy leapt up, hooves outstretched and teeth bared. Still frozen, the changeling had no time to react, merely flinching slightly as the pegasus charged at her throat. The chain around Fluttershy’s neck snapped taut, jerking her clean off of her hooves with nothing left in her grasp but a few stray hairs from the changeling’s mane.
The visitor backpedaled quickly, eyes wide and fearful. “What are—Fluttershy, why—”
Fluttershy jumped back onto her hooves, staring the changeling down. “You’re either brave or stupid to come in here alone. Your Queen expressly forbade it, after all. Don’t remember the last one of you I got my hooves on?” The pegasus chuckled darkly. “Well, come on. If you want it, you’re gonna have to take it.”
“Fluttershy, it’s me... Misty...”
Inside Fluttershy’s mind, everything seemed to go dark as her memories rushed back. In a heartbeat, she was at the end of the chain, straining to get at Misty. “You!” she shrieked. “You did this to me!”
Misty recoiled. “N-no, I never... I want to help—”
“Help me? You tricked my mate. You tried to kill us both, and then you practically succeeded! My love is dead because of you.” The pegasus slumped, her rage evaporating in an instant as she collapsed into herself, wrapping her hooves around her body. “Do you know what my life has been like?”
Misty shook her head slowly. “No, I’ve been... away. My mother and I aren’t really on speaking terms right now.”
Fluttershy’s eyes glittered darkly as she looked up at Misty. “Oh, really? Maybe I should alert the guards to you being here, then. Maybe they’d do me a favor and kill me already.”
“This—this isn’t you,” Misty whispered. “What did they—what did I do to you?”
“Every single day,” she began, choking back a quiet sob, “every day I’m either starved, beaten, humiliated, or raped—if not all of them.” She could hear Misty’s gasp, but she continued on anyway. “Chrysalis uses me like a puppet, to parade on a leash for all of Equestria to see. She uses me to show everypony how useless it is to fight back, because she could break the Element of Kindness.”
Misty took a hesitant step forwards, taking a closer look at the captive pony’s condition.
“I’ve lost so much weight my feathers are starting to fall out,” Fluttershy muttered. “There’s not a part of my body that hasn’t been abused by Chrysalis’ guards. I don’t ever have any privacy, not even to use the bathroom, and nopony has said a kind word to me in months.”
Fluttershy looked up to stare into Misty’s wide eyes. “And it will never, ever change. There is no hope. She won’t let me die, and even if I got away the only reason would be to kill myself. I could—” she sniffed, breaking down. “I could almost endure it if I knew Shade were alive. All I want to do is see him again.”
Misty put a hoof gently to Fluttershy’s shoulder and almost jumped as the pegasus instantly latched onto her, weeping fiercely into her chest. Near tears herself, Misty put an awkward hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulders and tried to comfort her as best she could.
“Fluttershy, I—” she hesitated, unable to find any words that would do justice to her feelings. She finally settled on “I’m so sorry.” For several anxious minutes, Fluttershy let her emotions pour out. As the sobs began to subside, Misty drew back enough to look her in the face.
“There’s something you need to know,” she said softly. “Just being here is a death sentence for me, so there’s a very big reason I came to see you.” She reached out a hoof and lifted Fluttershy’s chin. “Shade isn’t dead.”
The pegasus’ eyes widened and then darkened as she shook the hoof away from her chin. “Don’t you mock me,” she muttered.
“I’m not, Fluttershy. If I’m discovered here, I’ll be killed, but I’m going to get you out. Shade is barely alive, and he can’t recover without your help. He’ll die unless he can get the love he needs.”
“Then why don’t you help him, since you love him so much, too,” Fluttershy countered, her mocking tone taking on a hopeful tinge.
“I—” Misty hung her head. “Because he doesn’t love me.” The changeling sighed. “He loves you, and without that bond I can’t help him. But he’ll die without you, and I won’t be able to live with myself if I let him fade away knowing that I could have saved him.”
Fluttershy looked up, awed. “You... You really mean it...”
“Y-yeah, I do.”
“Take me to him,” Fluttershy demanded, clenching at Misty’s shoulders with a surprising intensity.
“I will, but not right now.”
The pegasus’ eyes bored into hers as her grip tightened. “Take me to him,” she repeated, her voice desperate.
“I swear it, I will! The palace is crawling with guards, and your coat will stick out like the sun in the daytime!”
“I don’t care how many guards there are...” Fluttershy muttered, but released her hold on Misty anyway. She sank to her haunches. “So what’s the plan then? I won’t be alone other than now.”
Misty bit her lip as she thought. “Okay, Shade’s room isn’t under surveillance, so I’ll hide out there for the time being. After nightfall, I’ll make some kind of distraction, come back here, and get you out.”
Fluttershy’s face was uncertain, but she nodded. “Okay, if that’s the best way...”
Misty gave her one last hug. “I promise, I’ll get you out. No matter what.”
With a last thankful nod, Misty trotted over to the door, peeked outside, and slipped out into the silent hallway.
Fluttershy lay back down, trying to stifle her emotions lest something go wrong, but inside of her was a feeling that was so foreign she barely recognized it. The embers of hope that had been doused so long ago were flickering back to life, and the feeling lent strength to her.
She was going to see Shade again. They could be together. Things could be like they used to be. Nothing mattered other than that.
I crawled out from under Shade’s old bed some time after what passed for nightfall these days. I couldn’t afford the risk of someone just deciding to check the room, no matter how long it had gone unattended, so under the bed seemed like the logical place to catch a nap. The dust clung to me like a blanket, and I had to take a moment to get as much of it as possible off.
Once I was back to my usual lustrous black, I took off. I had work to do.
I made my way to the kitchens as carefully as possible, making sure to avoid any contact, changeling or pony.
Thankfully, the kitchen was deserted. After all, changelings don’t typically eat food. I had to break the lock off of the pantry with a bolt of magic, but it didn’t seem to draw any attention. Inside, I rubbed my hooves together in nervous, malevolent glee as I searched for my ingredients.
I grabbed a whole box of kitchen matches, and I took the time to cut the heads off all of them. The sticks I swept away onto the floor, and the match heads all found their way into a small sack. I found a length of rough rope that I could stuff into the mouth of the satchel, and I tied the sack as tightly as I could.
I was pawing through the shelves at the back of the cupboard when I heard the sound of a startled breath. I spun around to see a white earth pony mare in the doorway. We stared at each other, our eyes wide.
“Y-you—you’re the fugitive!” she gasped softly.
I winced. “Yeah, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about that.”
“Why—what are you doing?”
I grinned wickedly. “I’m gonna do something that’s going to make my mother very unhappy with me.”
The mare’s ears flicked forward curiously. “Like what?”
“I’m going to free Fluttershy.”
I thought the pony’s eyes couldn’t get any wider, but I was wrong. “Are you... You mean it?” she asked. I nodded in response. The mare put a hoof to her mouth as her eyes softened. “Bless you,” she whispered.
“Thanks,” I acknowledged. “Where’s the flour?”
“Um, back left,” she offered, still confused.
“Thanks!” I dove into the shelf and came up with a large sack. I portioned some of it out into a second, smaller sack and grabbed my bundles in my mouth.
“Good luck!” the mare said quietly as I bounded back into the hall and fluttered to the ceiling.
Thankfully, while the daytime was always dismal and gloomy, the nights were just as dark and shadowy as they always were, thanks to Luna’s efforts. I was able to crawl out a window and down the side of the castle without being spotted against the dark stonework. I looked around, taking the time to study the rough patrols of the grounds.
We changelings haven’t been the sticklers for discipline that ponies are, so our routines are slipshod at best, but I was still able to get a bit of an idea when no guards would be around. I stuck close to the wall, where no one would be able to sneak up behind me, and made my way as far to the opposite end of the building as I could.
At the southeast corner of the castle, I laid my parcels down, the tighter bundle underneath. I looked around anxiously; this was the part where anything could go wrong. If the wick didn’t stay lit, if a guard came across it before it went off, if it went off before I was in position—anything could make this a fool’s errand in a heartbeat.
Implying this isn’t a fool’s errand already... I thought darkly as I focused on creating the smallest possible spark I could on the end of the lengthy rope wick. The dry fibers caught, not sparking into life, but still smoking enough that I could tell it would continue to burn.
I crept back along the wall as quickly as I could, taking more chances than I was comfortable with. Once I was in position outside Celestia’s chambers, I could wait as long as I cared to, but every moment until then was a moment that could ruin my whole plan. The journey was uneventful, and I made it up the wall without incident. I flattened myself against the stone, just above the hall window outside of Celestia’s bedroom. I held my breath, waiting and watching, and while the guards were granting a few changelings access to the room I slipped inside to cling against the ceiling.
My hooves gripped the rough woodwork easily as I hung directly over the two stationed guards with nothing else to do but prepare myself for the signal. Inside the room I could hear a few voices, but I didn’t think anything of it until I heard the faint voice of Fluttershy coming from the door, pleading.
It felt like hours until I saw the guards come back out and head off down the hall. I gritted my teeth and tried not to make a sound. I was furious. I knew full well what had been going on inside those doors, but I couldn’t do anything about it. If I could succeed, my plan would be revenge enough.
Without a warning, there was a sound like a clap of thunder and the window frame flashed orange with an intensity that left me seeing points of light behind my eyelids, even as far away as we were. The guards jumped and stared at each other, not knowing what to do. I could hear voices shouting outside, and I took my opportunity.
I dropped from the rafters like a ton of bricks, driving the first guard’s head straight into the flagstones as I landed on him. The second guard gaped as I fired a bolt of magic at him, picking him up and slamming him into the wall with bone-rattling force. Both guards were still.
I yanked open the door and charged in. Fluttershy lay on her mat, completely oblivious to the commotion outside, curled up in a ball and sobbing quietly.
“Fluttershy, come on, we gotta go!” I called to her.
“Go away!” she yelled, her voice muffled by her coat. “Don’t look at me!”
I trotted over and pulled gently at her elbow. “Come on, Shade’s waiting for you!”
“You left me to this,” she muttered sullenly.
“Fluttershy, we need to go now. I promised that I’d get you out, and so help me, we’re going!”
I shoved my head underneath her body and levered her up. She had been right about one thing: she was almost pitifully light, and I quickly got her slung over my back. I charged into the hall and towards the window without stopping.
“I really hope you remember how to fly, Fluttershy...”
Fluttershy gasped in shock as I dove out the window. All four of her hooves latched around my neck and barrel as I struggled to get us airborne.
“FLAP!” I screamed.
Her threadbare wings extended, and with her help I was able to get us going up instead of down, but as I had expected, her butter yellow coat was very visible, and it wasn’t long before we were spotted. We both shrieked as the first bolt of magic flew past my head.
“Fluttershy, you gotta fly yourself now! We need to get out of here, Shade’s waiting for you at Zecora’s!”
She nodded resolutely and let go, granting me the mobility I would need to stay alive. We flapped for all we were worth, side by side. I fired a few stray bolts of magic back underneath me to try to discourage pursuit, but the fire was coming back faster and stronger as we climbed.
A few guards took to the air after us as we streaked off towards the forest on the outskirts of Ponyville. I glanced over. Fluttershy was steadfastly beating her wings to the limit, unwilling or unable to look anywhere but her destination. I peeled off, using the darkness to my advantage. I swung back, unseen, and caught our pursuers right across their flanks. The first went down with a hard cross of my hoof in his jaw, and I slammed into the side of the other, both of us firing our magic as we tussled in midair.
I felt his hooves against my face and horn, felt his ribs giving way under my hooves, felt a pinch in my midsection as a bolt narrowly missed. I tugged at his leg, rolling him underneath me where I could stomp down on the base of his wing and send him tumbling slowly into the foliage.
Panting hard, I caught up to Fluttershy, and we made our way west, the forest beginning to roll under our feet. She looked over at me.
“Misty, you’re hurt!”
I looked back, bewildered. Fluttershy was right—the bolt hadn’t missed me as much as I thought it had. There was an ugly scorched hole in my side that hadn’t been there before, and rivulets of thick blood ran out to be swept away in the wind.
I glanced around for any sign of pursuit. It looked clear, so we dropped down, coming to an exhausted landing in the thick of the forest. Without the adrenaline of the fight and the flight, I was realizing quickly just how hurt I was, and how much the day had taken out of me already. I turned to Fluttershy on shaky hooves. “Can you find your way to Zecora’s?” I asked.
She nodded. “I’m sure I can.”
“Good.” I dropped to my knees. “Because I’m not sure if I’ll make it there...”
I could see Fluttershy run over to my side, but I could feel my vision going a bit dark around the edges. Everything I had done that day, all the preparation, all the work, all the fighting—it had left me exhausted. I tried to pay attention to the buzzing sound in my ears, and I finally focused on Fluttershy’s voice.
“No, Misty! Please, stay awake.”
I frowned, unable to feel the touch of her hooves anywhere on my body. “I—I just need t-to rest...” I forced out, feeling myself start to give in to the pull of unconsciousness.
“No, please, please, don’t die, Misty,” Fluttershy begged, crying over my back.
Am I dying? Is this what dying feels like? I rolled onto my uninjured side and strained to look at my chest. The blood from the wound was pouring out steadily now. I really should be feeling something from that—I am dying...
Despite the revelation, I laughed. Fluttershy stared at me, confused and worried. I looked up at her. “I told you, didn’t I? I t-told you it was a d-death sentence to be there...”
The pegasus put a hoof to her mouth, trying to remain brave as her tears leaked out to fall on my body. “Misty, please...”
I slowly lifted a hoof and placed it on top of hers. “It’s okay. Just—just get to him. Help h-him. Give him all—” I gasped, forcing against the effort of breathing. “Give him the love that I can’t.”
She stared blankly at me. I met her eyes, my own cold and hard.
“And you make that bitch of a mother pay for what she did.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you, Misty. Thank you for everything.”
I tried to nod back as she faded out of my sight. I don’t know if I did or not, but I couldn’t fight it anymore. The black embrace was so warm and so deep, and I let myself slip into its arms.
The dark hoof fell, limp, away from Fluttershy’s, and the pegasus slumped over the still form, weeping.
How such a thing had come to happen, she would never understand, but in the space of an hour the changeling mare had gone from a hated enemy to a friend willing to lay down her life for the one she had wronged. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Fluttershy closed Misty’s eyes and kissed her gently on the cheek.
The gaunt pegasus stood, quickly finding her bearings in the familiar woods. She strained with the effort of lifting Misty’s corpse, but changelings were light as a rule, and she was able to situate Misty’s body over hers to carry, much like Misty had carried her out of Chrysalis’ room. Her steps were slow, burdened as she was, but Fluttershy was not going to leave Misty behind. She walked steadily into the forest towards where she knew her love lay waiting for her. Under the darkness of the night sky, it was hard to tell how much time was passing, but it didn’t matter. Nothing would keep her from Shade now.
Her steps remained constant. She was used to living with weariness and hunger. Undeterred, she finally saw the small glow of a light between the trees.
Zecora tipped the last of the warm broth into Shade’s mouth, wiping stray drops away with a cloth. She sang a Zebrician fable softly to herself as she placed the bowl in the sink, turning to her rack of herbs and medicinal plants. She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pondered over the choices, only to jump back and gasp as her door suddenly fell open.
“Oh my stars above, has your mission—” She stopped, staring at the yellow pegasus carrying Misty’s still form. “Fluttershy?” she breathed.
The pegasus lowered herself gently to the floor and allowed Misty to slide off her back before she fell unconscious.