When they arrived at the castle, Starlight was panting. “I need to sit down,” she said breathlessly as they entered the building.
“Maybe Twi should have carried you then, since I could have walked myself,” said Philip, giving Twilight a look.
Twilight looked sheepish. “Sorry,” she apologized, “I just thought we should plan out Philip’s speech beforehand. I read in my old Public Speaking textbook that you should rehearse your speech at least fifteen times before giving it.”
“Actually Twilight, I was just going to wing it,” said Philip with a smirk, locking the door. “Thought I’d just answer some questions, explain a little about how I have amnesia and don’t intend to harm anyone.”
Twilight looked aghast. “Philip!” she exclaimed. “You can’t just…wait.” She looked puzzled. “Why’d you lock the door?”
“Because if I don’t, even the werewolf could just waltz in here, not to mention the Talons of Shadow,” said Philip, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Good point, Philip,” she said, “although I don’t think wolves can open doors.”
Just then, there came a scratching at the doors. Philip unlocked them, and Lupe opened them and entered. She nearly bowled Twilight over to get to Starlight, who she immediately licked. Wolfram flew in after her and settled on Philip’s shoulder.
“Hello Wolfram,” said Philip, as the raven landed on him.
“Did that wolf just open the door?” asked Twilight from the floor.
“Yes, Twilight, she did,” said Philip, smirking at her just a little as he shut and locked the door. “Wolves are very smart, smarter than a lot of people realize. Now, what were you saying before?”
“Oh! You can’t just ad lib it!” finished Twilight, picking herself up. “You could forget what you were going to say! Or you could get nervous and embarrass yourself!”
“I was kidding, Twilight,” said Philip, as Wolfram flew to perch on a nearby bust. “I’ve already started planning out what I’m going to say. It needs to be heartfelt but well-written; if I’m going to convince the ponies once and for all that I’m not dangerous, I need to be sincere and choose my words carefully.” He began to pace, thinking about what he could say. Then, he turned and ascended the staircase, the two mares and the wolf following him. He strode down the hall and stopped at the door to the library. He opened it for the mares, and entered after them.
He walked over to Twilight’s writing desk. “May I?” he asked Twilight, and she nodded. He sat down, picked up a quill, and began to write. The girls left him to his thoughts, Wolfram staying to watch him work while Lupe followed Starlight.
“How goes your work?” asked Starlight half an hour later, trotting into the room. To her surprise, Philip was chuckling to himself. As she watched, he wrote down a bit more, and then put the quill back in its well.
“Done,” he said, stretching and yawning.
“Are you feeling alright?” asked Starlight. “You look rather tired.”
“I am getting tired, now you mention it,” said Philip, “but it’s not like I didn’t sleep enough; it’s more like I haven’t got much energy. It’s like I’m worn out, or something.”
“Well you did do quite a lot of work yesterday on the apple farm,” she said, sitting beside him, “and after that came the party. You did quite a bit of work at Fluttershy’s cottage this morning as well. Helpful as you are, I imagine you could become quite worn out with recent events.
“Philip,” she continued hesitantly, leaning against him, “I want to thank you. The night before last, when I came to you with my problems and my fears, you were so kind. I felt so much better about myself. I am still lonely at night, however,” she said, rubbing her foreleg, “and lately…I have been having rather melancholy thoughts.”
“Oh? Would you like to talk about it?” asked Philip.
“Well,” she said, staring at the floor, “when I came back from being…away, Twilight was one of the first friends I ever made. She helped me when everyone else thought I…had not changed. But, I am…I am immortal, Philip. I will live on as my friends fade to dust. I will never forget any of them, especially not Twilight, but…but someday, she will…all of them will…” she began to tear up. Philip quickly began to stroke her mane, making shushing noises as she composed herself. “I apologize for making you see that,” she said, only to have a finger cover her lips.
“Don’t apologize,” said Philip. “I told you already; you have friends. Even if we won’t always be physically with you, we are always in your heart. Those we love never truly leave us. We may miss them,” he said, wiping tears of his own from his eyes, “but they’re always with us.” He stopped, wondering why he was crying, but then dismissed it; the important thing now was Starlight.
“I know,” she said, “but that doesn’t help when you know they’re going to leave you.”
“Sure it does,” he said. “It means you realize that you need to make as many good memories as you can while you still have the time. That way, you’ll have plenty of good times to look back on. And you can always make new friends. Always.” He rested his forehead on hers, an arm over her shoulder.
“Aww,” said Twilight, coming into the room with Spike.
“Yeah,” said Spike, “that’s real cute.”
“Let’s keep the public displays of affection to a minimum, you two,” said Twilight with a grin.
Starlight Dream blushed, but Philip just said, “Of course. Wouldn’t want ponies to get the wrong idea, would we?”
“What do you…oh,” said Twilight, blushing.
“Philip!” said Starlight, slugging him in the arm with her hoof. He just chuckled.
“Come on, you three, I’ve got to rehearse my speech; want to be my audience while I practice?”
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash crashed through the window. “Did somepony say audience?” she said excitedly.
“Rainbow!” yelled Twilight. “How many times have I asked you to use the door?”
“Doors are for slow ponies,” said Rainbow, dusting herself off. “Now where’s my audience?”
“Twilight, Starlight and Spike were about to tell me if they wanted to listen while I practice my speech,” said Philip. “Would you like to hear it?”
Rainbow Dash nodded reluctantly. “Okay, sure; it’s not like I have anything better to do,” she said, earning a huff and a glare from Twilight.
Philip gave his speech, timing himself to make sure it wasn’t too long or too short. By the time he finished, Rainbow Dash was chuckling, and Twilight was giggling a little as well. “And here I thought this was gonna be boring,” said Rainbow Dash. “Boy was I wrong!”
“You certainly know how to give an entertaining speech,” said Starlight Dream, holding a hoof over her mouth to stifle her chuckles, “though I don’t know why you included humor.”
“Because it helps break tension, and gets the audience’s attention,” said Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh,” said Starlight, “then perhaps I should be humorous. It might help me make more friends if I told a joke, might it not?”
“I suppose so,” said Twilight.
“Well, I guess you should start practicing,” she said, turning to Philip. “Fourteen times to go, after all.”
“Great, ‘cause I wanna hear it again!” said Rainbow.
Just then, Wolfram fluttered over and landed on Philip’s head again. “Nice crow,” said Rainbow.
“Raven,” said Philip, “he’s too big to be a crow. He’s also too quiet, and doesn’t rock on his feet when he vocalizes.”
“…Really? You can tell the difference?” said Starlight.
Philip nodded and said, “He also lands more sedately than a crow; crows move around a lot more when they land. His tail is wedge-shaped rather than fan-shaped, and his beak is longer and more curved than a crow’s; he’s more Roman-nosed. He has large throat-hackles, and he doesn’t flap as often as a crow does.”
“When did you notice all this?” asked Twilight.
“When he flew into the room at Fluttershy’s,” said Philip.
“You noticed all that in the few seconds he was flying in?” asked Starlight. Philip nodded.
“Cool,” said Rainbow, “so what’s up with him?”
“He thinks he’ll get some food if he hangs around me,” said Philip. Wolfram nodded the affirmative, and Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t ravens eat, you know, meat?” she said, motioning with a hoof.
“Like I said, it can’t be a good sign,” said Philip. “He probably thinks I’m going to kill something; ravens hang out with wolves for the same reason. They do eat other stuff, though.”
“Why would he think that?” asked Rainbow.
“No idea, but I’d bet money if I had any that it has something to do with the way the other animals reacted to me. We’ll think more about that later, though; who wants to hear my speech again?”
Philip recited his speech fourteen more times, and each time Rainbow laughed. Afterwards, Wolfram and Lupe returned to Fluttershy’s cottage, and Philip decided to wander around Ponyville for a bit until dinner. Rainbow went along to make sure he did not lose his way. As they were walking, they noticed there were still whispers about Philip, but they paid no attention to it.
Suddenly, they heard a dejected sigh. “What was that?” asked Rainbow. Philip paused, and then pointed to an alleyway nearby. They looked down the alley, and saw Scootaloo sitting up against a building rubbing her muzzle and sniffling. They looked at each other, and then approached with expressions of concern.
“You okay, kid?” asked Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo whipped her head around, gaping in horror, then hurriedly wiped her muzzle and donned a wide smile that was less of a grin and more of a grimace.
“I wasn’t crying!” she said. “I mean, uh…why wouldn’t I be alright? I’m f-fine!”
Rainbow and Philip shared a glance, and then Rainbow knelt down in front of her, and Philip sat down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Squirt,” said Rainbow, “It’s alright if you have something you need to talk about.”
“It’s just,” said Scootaloo hesitantly, “it’s just, I still can’t fly on my own, and all the other pegasi my age can. And some fillies in my class say…they say I’ll never be able to fly! Why are my wings so little and wimpy? Am I going to be stuck on the ground forever?” She was crying again by this point, despite her attempts to conceal it.
“Gosh, kiddo, I…I don’t know,” said Rainbow Dash, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the ground. Philip, however, was deep in thought.
“If you can’t fly with your wings,” he finally said, “then I’ll just have to show you how to fly without them.”
“…Okay, this I gotta see,” said Rainbow Dash. Philip grinned, and then ran at the wall opposite them. To the astonishment of his two friends, he leapt up, hitting the wall with his foot, and then leapt to the wall Scootaloo had been leaning against, and then back and forth, going higher until he reached the roof. “Hop on,” he said, jumping down, “and I’ll show you that just because you can’t do something the usual way doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”
Scootaloo climbed on his back, and he took off, Rainbow Dash flying along. Philip leapt up to the roof again, and then ran along until he reached the edge, where he leapt along to another roof. He kept on going until he ran out of roofs, at which point he leapt to a balcony, then to an awning, then from there to the ground. He then ran along, taking corners by running on the walls and leaping over any obstacle. He leapt onto the rail of a staircase and slid down on his feet. He jumped off at the end, and landed on a brick wall. He ran along the top, and then began to leap across a busy thoroughfare by jumping between carts. Landing on a narrow ledge on the other side, he walked along it for a distance, then leapt to a balcony rail and jumped onto the building’s roof from there. He ran along the roofs again, then leapt back down into the alley where they had started.
“Here comes fun part,” said Philip to Scootaloo. He did several handsprings, sometimes twisting in midair. Then, he ran straight at the wall at the end of the alleyway, ran up it, and back-flipped.
“Whoa,” said Rainbow, “That was totally awesome.”
“…Cool!” squealed Scootaloo, “I wanna try that!”
“Wait, Scoots,” said Philip, “my point was that you could get in the air other ways than by flying. I’ve seen what you can do on your scooter; you’re very athletic, you just need to play to your strengths instead of the strengths of others. That goes for your Cutie Mark, too, by the way.” He pointed to her flank. “Your special talent will be something that feels as natural as breathing, as right as if you’d been doing it your whole life. It’s what you’re meant to do; when you find it, you’ll know with every fiber of your being that it’s what you were born to be.”
“Wow,” said Scootaloo, “That’s a lot more helpful than what everypony else says! They all just tell me that it’ll happen eventually and I should be patient.” She leapt to her hooves. “Okay, so it’s something that I’m good at and really like to do, right? So all I have to do is think about what I’m good at and what I like and sooner or later I’ll figure it out!”
“And then you can help your friends by passing on my advice,” said Philip, patting her on the back, “and by staying a crusader, even once you’ve found your special talent, right?”
Scootaloo nodded vigorously, smiling. “Yeah, I didn’t even think of that! This is awesome! You’re almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!”
Philip smiled. “Coming from you, Scoots,” he said, “that’s about the highest praise I could get.” He knelt down and tousled her mane.
“So you’ll be okay, now?” asked Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo nodded again, and then picked up her scooter and raced off.
“How long do you think it’ll take before she realizes how good she is on that scooter?” asked Philip.
“I dunno,” said Rainbow, looking after the little filly, “but I gotta teach her to fly sometime. All pegasi should know how to fly at least a little.”
Philip shaded his eyes, looking at the sun’s position. “I’d say it’s about time to head back,” he said. “I’m getting hungry, and Twilight offered to feed me.”
“I’ll come too, said Rainbow.
They rejoined Twilight and Starlight at the Castle, and together they ate a supper of stewed apples and oats. Afterwards, Philip went to shower and put on his good clothes. Then he went to wait with Rainbow Dash while Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Dream took their turn with the shower. They entered the main library after ten minutes, with their manes and tails brushed. As they descended, Starlight turned to Twilight and said, “I have had a thought. Might it help the townsfolk if you and I were to examine Philip’s mind? If Philip has no objections, that is.”
“I trust you girls completely,” said Philip, “and if I’d known you could do that I’d have asked you to. Go ahead.”
“Are you sure?” asked Twilight.
“Absolutely,” said Philip, “you girls are my friends. I know you won’t do anything harmful or dangerous to me.”
Twilight and Starlight walked up to him, and he knelt to allow them easier access to his head, physically and metaphorically. “Watch closely and learn, Twilight Sparkle,” said Starlight, as she touched her glowing horn to his head. They remained in that position for roughly sixty seconds, and then Starlight stepped back.
“You really do care about us, don’t you?” she said.
“You girls are my friends, Star,” he said again, “so of course you’re precious to me.” Rainbow Dash made a gagging noise.
“Oh hush, Rainbow,” said Twilight, trotting up to Philip. At Starlight’s encouragement, she lit her horn with magic and touched it to Philip’s forehead. After a minute, she backed away. “I don’t see any trace of your missing memories,” said Twilight sadly. “I hope they come back.”
“I know they will, Twilight,” he said. “But in the meantime, let’s go tell Ponyville I’m not going to disembowel them in their sleep.”
“Yeah,” said Twilight, grabbing her saddlebags and putting on her royal vestments.
They travelled to the town square, where the entire town was gathered. The mayor stood on a podium in front of the crowd, the Town Hall behind her. She beckoned to Philip, and he quickly strode to the front of the crowd. As he went, he heard more whispers from the crowd.
“Derpy says he’s alright.”
“She’s so innocent, he probably tricked her somehow.”
“I don’t know; I hear he saved Princess Luna.”
“It’s a trick; he’s just waiting to steal our foals in the night!”
He reached the front of the crowd and climbed the steps to the podium, Starlight and Twilight alongside him. As he reached the top, he could see Applejack waving from the back of the crowd, Fluttershy near the front looking sweetly up at him, Rarity with a pair of opera glasses, and Rainbow resting on a cloud, Pinkie Pie standing on her back for some reason. He turned to face the crowd, and Mayor Mare began the event.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” she said, “I am pleased to welcome a creature some of you may have seen or heard about, but many of you may not know yet. He is a kind soul who helps others, even at risk to himself. He brought Princess Luna to the hospital nearby when she was gravely injured, and he stood up to a trio of bullies for our mailmare Derpy just yesterday. I’d like you all to welcome Philip the human!”
Philip took the podium. There was a smattering of applause, but most of the crowd was silent. Then, a stallion somewhere in the crowd shouted, “Freak!” and a tomato sailed through the air towards Philip. To the group’s astonishment, he caught it in midair and took a bite. “Your generosity is appreciated, and your compliment as well,” he said, smiling.
“Now,” he said, “I have a few words to say. Let me just get my cards.” He picked up a few notecards, and then cleared his throat and said,
“Attention criminal degenerates…wait a second...”
He shuffled his cards around. “Wrong speech cards,” he said, picking up a new set. This got a laugh out of the crowd.
“Friends, Ponies, and angry villagers who I hope don’t burn me at the stake,” he said. There were raised eyebrows at this. “When I first woke up in the hospital, I had no idea who or where I was, what I was doing here, or why I had Fluttershy lying on my chest reassuring me. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, Flutters, whether it was necessary or not.” Fluttershy blushed, hiding behind her mane. “I still have no idea who I am, but the other questions have been answered. I have been treated reasonably well for a stranger, especially one of a different and previously unknown species. I am honored and privileged to have been accepted into your beautiful town with only minor rumors that I was ‘waiting to attack,’ to quote one of you, or that my friends ‘have no idea what they’re getting into,’ to quote another.” A couple of ponies looked uncomfortable at this, and Starlight and Twilight exchanged glances; this had not been in his original speech. “Yes,” continued Philip, smiling, “I could hear you. I understand your caution, but let me assure you, I have had my thoughts examined by none other than the Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle, and while they were unable to restore my memory, they were able to confirm that I pose no threat to you or your foals. Three of them seem to have taken a liking to me.”
“Yeah, Philip!” shouted Scootaloo.
“Thanks, Scootaloo!” Philip replied, waving. “Now, I’m sure you’ve seen monsters who were greedy, or proud, and caused trouble because of that. That’s what made them monsters, right?” There was a ripple in the crowd; ponies were nodding their heads. “Yes,” continued Philip with a sad smile, “But let me ask you this; have you not also shunned ponies who were different? Have you never heard of other creatures treated like a threat, merely because they were different?” His voice dropped low. “Has it never occurred to you that some monsters are made of fear? Or loneliness? Or even an unfulfilled desire to be loved? As Jean de la Fontaine said, ‘On rencontre sa destinée, souvent par des chemins qu’on prend pour l’éviter.’ One often seeks their destiny on the road they took to avoid it.” Many ponies looked stricken at this. They realized what he was saying; a judgmental attitude could not only make monsters out of them, but cause them to create monsters as well. “So maybe now you see; I am not going to ‘steal your foals in the night.’ I am just a man; all I want is to regain my memories and make some friends while I’m here.” He smiled. “It was Socrates who said, ‘I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.’ We sometimes forget that for all we think we know, much of it could be wrong and there is so much more we do not know. I hope that while staying here, I can teach you all something, and learn something myself in the process. It is the duty of friends, after all, to help each other grow.”
“Oh, really?”
The crowd parted, and Stone Slab and his Griffon friend marched up to the podium, followed by five stallions in Guard armor and waving an official-looking piece of parchment. “I told you we’d get a warrant,” said Stone Slab, cockily, as Philip took it, “so you’d better come quietly, or we’ll have to resort to force.” A haughty-looking grey mare with a yellow mane and tail done up in buns, and green eyes perched behind a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, slipped from behind the line of guards and nodded.
“Now wait just a minute,” started Twilight, before being silenced as Derpy landed right next to her.
“Let me see that,” she said authoritatively, holding out her hoof.
“Look closely at the seal,” said Philip, handing it to her.
“No need, I saw it from the air,” said Derpy. “I see a lot of official documents; I may be clumsy with furniture and other big stuff, but I’m great with delivering paper items.”
“I see lots of official documents as well,” said Mayor Mare, approaching her.
“I’ll look at it, too,” said Twilight, “I am a princess after all.”
They all looked the document over, muttering to themselves. “You over there! Guard!” yelled Stone Slab, and Pike Line separated from the crowd and trotted up. “Help us bring in this dangerous creature.”
“I’m right here, pinhead,” said Philip.
“I only take orders from my superiors,” said Pike Line, “so unless the princesses give the order…”
“We work for Princess Celestia,” snapped the Griffon, “so help us take him in, or we’ll have you court-martialed!”
“I doubt that,” said Philip, “but let’s say you’re telling the truth; would Princess Celestia really approve of the arrest of someone who had been deemed safe by both her sister and her student? Would she approve of arresting someone who had saved her sister’s life?”
“Well,” said Stone Slab with an oily smile, “Princess Twilight is so young, so inexperienced; it would be easy for a criminal mastermind to fool her. And let’s face it, why would anyone trust Nightmare Moon?” The other five stallions chuckled.
Starlight gasped audibly at this. No no no, she thought desperately, please don’t let him find out!
“For your information,” said Mayor Mare coldly, “Princess Luna is very popular in Ponyville. She has a standing invitation to visit every Nightmare Night and play with the foals. We trust her with our children; we trust her in this as well.”
“And do you really think Princess Celestia would have made me a princess if she didn’t think I was ready? Would she really have bestowed so much power on me if she didn’t trust me completely?” asked Twilight grimly.
“Next time you come to Ponyville,” said Philip, his face neutral, “you probably shouldn’t insult two of their favorite princesses.” This got a cheer from the crowd.
“And if you’re going to go around forging documents,” said Derpy, “don’t get the royal seal backwards.”
Every pony in the crowd turned their heads to look at Derpy. “The royal seal is backwards on the warrant,” she continued. “Celestia goes on the right, Luna on the left. It’s upside down, too; the moon goes on the bottom, not the top. And that’s not even taking into account the number of grammatical errors.” She waved the parchment. “And I’m fairly sure that after having ruled for a thousand years, and probably being even older than that, Princess Celestia knows how to spell her own name.”
The other ponies all gaped. “She’s…she’s right, fillies and gentlecolts,” said Mayor Mare, addressing the crowd. “I honestly didn’t notice the sun and moon being switched until she pointed it out, though.”
“Well,” said Derpy with a blush, “just because I’m clumsy doesn’t mean I’m stupid; I’ve been told I’m very observant.”
“Adorable, too,” said Philip, deepening the blush on Derpy’s face.
“I guess that means you’re the ones being arrested today,” said Pike Line, his face flat and emotionless. “Philip, I hereby deputize you under edict four-twenty-seven-dash-eight. I accept partial responsibility for any action you take in the process of apprehending these criminals. Do you understand?”
“Clear as the day,” said Philip, moving to stand beside Pike Line.
“Think you’re so smart, don’t you?” said Stone Slab.
“Wait…” said Starlight, perking up her ears, “I know that voice!” With a brilliant flash, she changed back into Luna. “You were the stallion in my dream!” she shouted, an accusing hoof pointed at Stone Slab. “You are an agent of the Talons!”
Stone Slab smirked. “That’s right, Princess,” he said, the guards beside him readying spears while the Griffon drew a knife, “and now that you’ve so kindly revealed yourself, we can finish what we started at the hospital!” He threw off his cloak, revealing a Cutie Mark of a chair with an iron band protruding from the backrest.
“What are you doing?” Luna barked at the guards standing behind him. “Arrest that stallion!”
“I doubt they’re actually guards, Luna,” said Philip, his expression suddenly flinty. “I read about the charm on the armor of a Guard that makes him look exactly like the others, and it didn’t look that hard to duplicate. I’d bet money that’s what they did.”
“You’re smart,” snarled the mare. “That’s why we’re taking you out first!”
There were gasps among the crowd as the mare was engulfed in green fire. Grey fur became dark chitin, mane replaced by fin-like membranes stretched between spines. Eyes became large and insectoid, and holes appeared in hooves. What was left was an insect-like pony that hissed, baring her fangs at Philip.
“A changeling!” shouted Rainbow, landing on the stage next to Twilight. Pinkie popped out of a barrel nearby with a large blue cannon, and she joined the others in glaring at the new creature.
Philip turned to the crowd and said, “I’ve heard of horseflies, but this is ridiculous!”
A cyan hue went across the Changeling’s face as Rainbow and Pinkie burst out laughing, and there were scattered chuckles in the crowd. “Hey,” she said, frowning at him, “I’m not a horsefly, I’m a Changeling! I can look like anypony! You should be afraid!”
“You may be able to change what you look like, but I can tell by your scent and mannerisms who you are,” said Philip, smiling just a little when she paled. “Your whole op’s gotten pretty sloppy in fact. We all saw through your fake warrant, and now you’re up against a guy who can kick a petrified tree in two. In a single blow.”
“Yeah?” asked a voice from above, “Can you stop a spear?”
Heads whipped upwards; one of the fake guards was diving out of the sky, thrusting a spear directly at Twilight. Luna lit her horn to cast a spell, but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time, and Twilight seemed frozen in shock.
The fake guard, however, never made it to Twilight. He halted in midair as the point of his spear struck the palm of Philip’s hand, the man having moved to intercept it faster that Luna’s eyes could follow. The spear bent under the force and buckled, as if it had run into brick rather than flesh or bone. The stallion was thrown off balance and ran neck-first into Philip’s outstretched arm.
“Yes,” said Philip, before delivering a spectacular roundhouse kick to the stallion’s armored side…
…causing him to be thrown into the side of a building, erupting into green flame as he did so. The fires cleared to reveal a Changeling, lying on his side in a growing pool of ichor oozing from his mouth and hindquarters.
Luna gaped in shock. The force required to do that must have been incredible. She turned to Philip. Had he just killed one of the aggressors?
“Okay,” said Philip, turning to look at the remaining assailants, “if any of you aren’t actually wearing armor, I need to know right now so I don’t try and break it when it isn’t there. Otherwise I might break you.”
Unintentional, then, but still incredible.
The other four guards were engulfed in more green fire, revealing more Changelings. The female gaped at her half-dead comrade, and dove behind her remaining compatriots. There were panicked shouts from the crowd, and a dozen-odd more Changelings rose into the air to join the fray.
Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie readied to do battle with them, while Luna, Pike Line and Philip faced off with the ones on the platform. “Surrender now, and you will be spared worse punishment!” shouted Pike Line.
In response they charged, the knife-wielding Griffon outstripping the Changelings and Stone Slab. He was met halfway by Philip, who kicked the knife upwards and out of his claw. As the Unicorn and Changelings exchanged spells with the Alicorns, and Pinkie fired off her party cannon, Philip and the Griffon locked claws and hands, pushing against each other.
Suddenly, there was a shrill scream that quickly devolved into a sickening gurgle. Stone Slab had pinned Derpy to the ground, and was smiling eerily as another Changeling pressed its hooves to her throat, choking her. Philip snarled.
“You can’t stop us,” chuckled the Griffon, “We’ll get our claws around the Princess’s necks soon enough!”
His confident smirk dropped as Philip’s eyes glowed an angry red. The other combatants paused in their fights as the Griffon let out a screech of agony, Philip’s hands suddenly crushing his talons. Luna was alarmed to see razor-sharp fangs in her friend’s mouth as he shouted at the Griffon.
“Don’t bet on it, trout-breath!”
He suddenly leaned back. For a heart-stopping moment, Luna thought he had been overpowered. Then she, along with everyone still watching, gasped as Philip caught the knife in his mouth as it fell from the sky. He suddenly jerked on the Griffons talons, pulling his opponent close, knife held in his mouth by the handle.
The Griffon’s next scream was even more blood-curdling than the first. He rolled on the ground, clutching at his face, as Philip twisted and threw the knife. It struck the Changeling choking Derpy in the neck, right at the base of his skull. He fell without a sound, and Derpy gasped loudly for breath before being dragged away from the fight by a concerned Fluttershy. Turning back to the Griffon, Philip pinned him to the ground with one foot and grabbed his wings. To Luna’s utter shock, her friend then twisted the appendages until a pair of sickening pops could be heard, and the Griffon’s shrieks grew even more desperate.
“Now you can’t get away,” the man said, standing over his beaten, battered and bloodied opponent. He moved his foot to the Griffon’s neck. “And you’re going to sing like a bird when I’m done with you.”
Stone Slab charged his horn and disappeared in a yellow flash, and the Changelings turned tail instantly, apparently unwilling to clash with such a brutal warrior. The mare lagged behind, however, and Rainbow Dash grabbed her and threw her back to the platform, where Twilight’s magic held her spread-eagled on her back by the hooves.
“Now we have two Talons to interrogate,” said Twilight, smiling grimly at them. Rainbow did a hoof-pump behind her.
“It’s just too bad we couldn’t get them all,” mused Luna, looking in the direction where the Changelings had gone.
“Don’t count your Talons before they’re clipped,” snickered the Griffon through his pain. His jaw worked for a moment, and there was a crunching sound. “Use your pill!” he shouted at the Changeling.
Philip’s eyes widened as a look of realization dawned on their other captive’s face, and in an instant his hand was squeezing her lower jaw. Her mouth was forced open, and the man quickly pulled a small capsule out of her mouth. Her expression instantly changed to one of horror, and she began to struggle mightily.
“No! I need that so you can’t interrogate me! It’s how I escape!”
Luna smiled, opening her mouth to commend Philip on his quick actions…until she saw his face. His eyes were red, fangs were visible in his mouth, and his cold gaze chilled Luna to the bone.
“Would you rather wind up like him?” he said softly, pointing to the Griffon. Luna looked as well.
Her ears splayed back in horror as she beheld the Griffon thrashing about, foam on his beak, eyes rolling in his skull. Twilight and Rainbow were gaping at the spectacle as well.
“Philip, what did you do?” asked Twilight, turning to him in terrified awe.
“Nothing,” Philip replied, waving the pill in his hand. “From the look of it, I’d say it contains potassium cyanide. Just crack and swallow.”
Twilight went deathly pale and her magical aura vanished, but the others just looked confused.
“I don’t get it,” said the Changeling, not even noticing that Twilight’s magic was no longer holding her.
“No,” whispered Twilight. Shivers wracked her form.
“What’s the matter, Twi?” asked Applejack, just having arrived with Rarity in tow.
“I dunno,” said Rainbow, eyeing the Griffon nervously. He had stopped thrashing, and now lay frighteningly still. “Philip got him with his own knife using his mouth, which was cool, but then he crunched something, and now he’s like this.”
“He had a kill pill, too,” said Philip, who had busied himself with removing his knife from the other Changeling’s corpse and cleaning the blade. “Though he was able to use his.”
“He killed himself,” whimpered Twilight, shaking as tears formed in her eyes. “He killed himself…”
Luna was shocked. What did Twilight mean? Why would the Griffon kill himself?
“Yes,” said Philip grimly, “he killed himself to make sure that no matter what, we couldn’t get anything out of him. Dead Griffons tell no tales. And she-” he indicated the Changeling “-was supposed to kill herself too. I stopped her, but it was too late for him.”
Twilight slid into a sitting position, and the Changeling’s mouth dropped open.
“Alright,” said Philip, suddenly commanding. It was like a bucket of water was dropped on everyone; Luna shook herself and looked around. The others seemed to have been affected similarly, even Pike Line. “We’re going back to Twilight’s castle. Pike Line, take the rear.”
“On your six, Sir!” barked Pike Line, saluting.
“Why are you taking orders from him?” asked Rainbow.
“Because I’m pretty sure he outranks me,” said Pike Line, smiling nervously.
Turning to Derpy, Philip’s face became as gentle as a father’s, a startling change from the cold fury that had occupied it before. “Are you okay, Derpy?”
Derpy coughed once, then nodded. “I think so,” she rasped.
“You should go to the hospital,” said Philip, kneeling and stroking her bruised neck. “Your windpipe might be damaged. You want us to take you?”
“That’s alright, sir, I can handle it,” said a brown stallion. Derpy’s face lit up considerably at the sight of him, and she stumbled hastily into his arms. As the two shared a nuzzle, Philip sniffed the air, then turned with a nod to the stallion and signaled to the gathered Elements and Princesses that it was time to go. Luna nodded, and the rest of the group followed as he made his way past the dead griffon.
“You come too,” said Philip, nudging the Changeling as he passed her. She didn’t move. He sighed and slipped a hand under her chest, placing the belly of his forearm under her stomach and his hand on her collarbone. Lifting her under his arm, he addressed the crowd. “We’ll have to pick this up another time, folks; we have a conspiracy to thwart.” He turned on his heel and set off towards the castle at a brisk trot, the other eight following him with Pike Line bringing up the rear.