Eagle Eye panted and panted as he galloped wildly through the trees.
The changeling on his back winced with each jolt, clinging as tightly as it could. It fought the urge to sob with every bounding trot the stallion beneath it took.
"D-don't let go, Ebon," Eagle murmured, his face pale with sweat. "Please... st-stay with me." He gulped. "I'll get us someplace s-safe! Someplace where n-nopony will know a thing about changelings..."
"What..." The shape-shifter stirred, shuddering. "What about th-the Jury?"
Eagle grimaced in mid-sprint. "I don't want to risk anything..." He gulped. "I don't want to risk you anymore!" He slumped against a tree, pausing to shiver. "It's all m-my fault, Ebon... I've ruined everything." He whimpered. "I should have t-told you. I should have told everypony. But n-now... how can I be trusted?"
"EE, I..." The changeling stirred, squeezing one of the stallion's shoulders. "I... I tr-trust..."
Eagle bit his lip, reaching up and touching its forelimb. "We'll start over, 'kay? Someplace... somewhere..." He broke into a gallop once again. "It'll be different, y'hear?! No more battles. No more blood."
"Eagle..."
Eagle sprinted out into a tiny starlit clearing. "No more pain! None of mine, none of yours, none of th-theirs!" He was hyperventilating at this point. "You'll have love and peace! Just like I pr-promised!"
"Eagle, please, don't—"
Thw-Thwppp! A length of metal cable lashed out from the treeline behind them and wrapped around Eagle Eye's left rear leg. Twnnng!
"Aaaugh!" Eagle Eye sprawled to the forest floor.
"Ooof!" The changeling flew off him and rolled raggedly across the clearing.
Eagle struggled for about three seconds. Suddenly, he was hoisted up into the air. He yelped, dangling by his one leg. He looked up to see the metal cable pulled tight over a hanging tree branch. Something blurred in the corner of his vision. Breathless, he twirled to look.
Th-Thud! Roarke's four hooves landed heavily inside the clearing. She marched icily towards the collapsed shape-shifter.
The creature looked up, spasming fitfully. Upon first sight of the Searonese mare, it shrieked and scooted away from her. "EE! Eagle!"
"Nnngh—Roarke!" Eagle spat, his eyes twitching. He spun and fought with his binding. "Mmrfnnngh—Stop it! Leave him alone!"
Roarke kept marching. She was so close now to the shivering changeling that her starlit shadow spread over its porous limbs.
At last, Eagle took a deep breath. He aimed his horn at the cable ensnaring his leg. A violet light shimmered brightly at the tip of his skull. He gritted his teeth, hissing beneath his breath. Slowly, the cable started to bend and unravel. The stallion concentrated until a tiny river of blood trickled out his nostrils. At last—Snap! The cable unraveled with a loud pop.
Eagle Eye fell like a dead weight to the forested floor. Ignoring the pain of impact, he rolled up onto his hooves, unsheathed his shield, and charged at full speed. "Dammit, Roarke—Go away!"
Roarke calmly turned around—instantly ducking.
"Rrrrghh!" Eagle flung the shield at full force, then slammed it down over her neck. "Haaaaugh!"
Perfectly quiet, she backtrotted from the blow, side-stepped Eagle's next to swings, and raised her hoof as he jabbed forward with the disc. Her metal brace caught the shield's edge, then pulled down.
Whang! Eagle was uppercutted by the other end of his own weapon. Wheezing, he nevertheless shoved the object at her at full force. Roarke simply planted her hooves in the ground, taking the brunt of the attack. When her hooves could drag through the earth no longer, she lifted the shield up with both forelimbs, tossing Eagle Eye's petite body over her.
Eagle Eye fell hard to the ground and rolled into a tree trunk. Growling, he stood up and began galloping towards her immediately—
P-Pow! Roarke fired two large metal staples from her forelimb.
Cl-Clack! Both braces caught around Eagle's right legs, pinning him sideways to a thick tree trunk. Wide-eyed, he shook and struggled to get out of the trap. "Nnnnrghhh—Gkkkt! Sp-Spark! He aimed his horn at the tree, unraveling the bark like a peeled potato. The staples had embedded too deep, and the chances of getting unpinned was slim at best.
Without saying a word, Roarke swiveled around and trotted firmly towards where the changeling limply scurried.
"No... No, Roarke, p-please!" Eagle was sobbing at this point. "Don't d-do this to him, Roarke! I beg you!" He tilted his head up and hollered into the night air. "Ebon, Run! Don't let Roarke get near you! You hear me?! Don't let her touch you!"
The changeling was a whimpering mess. It kicked and scraped at the earth, sliding weakly away from the looming mare. "Please..." Its fangs quivered. "I... I-I didn't know! I swear!" Its clear eyes teared. "I-I wasn't spying for Mother—I mean Chrysalis!" It winced, covering its glazed muzzle with a pair of webbed hooves. "Don't, Roarke, please! Don't hurt Eagle! I-I beg you!"
Roarke's brow furrowed. She lowered in front of him.
"Ebon! Get out of here—"
"You c-can do what you want to m-me!" The thing howled, "But don't h-hurt Eagle! He d-didn't mean anything! He j-just wanted to protect me—"
At last, Roarke hissed, "Look at me."
"Nnnngh—no—!"
Fiercely, Roarke yanked both of the changeling's forelimbs. She pulled it up so that she could snarl into its face. "Look. At. Me."
The creature winced... shuddered... and eventually squinted at her with constant trembles.
Roarke's nostrils flared. She tugged on its left hoof until it rested against her beating chest. "Feel."
The changeling merely blinked at her, its gossamer fins twitching.
Roarke inhaled deeply. "Who... do you love...?"
The creature's breaths fell short. Its eyes glazed over, reflecting Roarke's lenses, then pulsed with a green flame. In five melting seconds, its black carapace gave way to a blue coat. A rainbow mane dangled off the mare's folded ears.
Eagle Eye gawked silently from afar.
Roarke sighed. "Who do you love?"
Rainbow's eyes quivered, then slowly turned violet. Her ragged hair waxed into a luscious purple mane. The starlight reflected a glossy shine over the petite stallion's lavender coat.
At this point, the air rattled with hoofsteps. The whole Jury galloped to the edge of the clearing, stopping with a collective gasp.
"There!" Props yelped, pointing. "There they are!"
"What in Ledo's name is she doin' to them?!" Josho growled, pumping his shotgun. He took two thunderous steps further. "Hey! Leave 'em be, ya bionic bitch—!"
"No..." Belle stuck her forelimb out, blocking the stallion. Everypony glanced wildly at her. She gulped and said, "Just wait..."
Pilate's ears twitched curiously. Kera sat on his backside, craning her neck to see. Zaid and Props watched with worried expressions while Booster Spice and Floydien squinted quizzically.
Roarke was leaning forward at this point. Still gripping the unicorn doppgelganger's hoof, she then pressed it to his own chest. "This... Feel this?"
The stallion bit his lip and nervously nodded.
"This is your home," Roarke droned, staring intently into his violet eyes. "It is your anchor. You can fly for millions of miles in any direction, but you'll be nowhere if you lose track of this. It's who you are. It's what you are. Your outside might change, whether you wish it or not, but that isn't what makes you you."
The unicorn shuddered, eventually mewling forth, "But... b-but I'm not real..." He sniffled, tearing. "I've never been. What if I'm not meant to have a h-home?"
"You had one as soon as you found him," Roarke said firmly. "And you sure as Hell won't be staying there if you run away... if you let fear and doubt get the best of you... the both of you..."
The stallion blinked, his breaths slowing, calming down...
Roarke took a deep breath and said, "I've not been truly living for most of my existence." She gulped. "That's all changed now, and even with my anchor gone, I know where I belong, and... I now know how to keep what I have real." She leaned back. "Can you say the same?"
The stallion clenched his jaw. He looked over her shoulder at Eagle Eye across the way. In a flicker of warm green light, his burgundy coat returned. "Yes," Ebon Mane said.
Eagle stared back, his features going limp in a soft breath.
Roarke stood up, staring down at Ebon in pure silence. A few seconds later, she jerked towards Eagle Eye. Th-Thwppp! She launched a pair of metal cables that instantly wrapped around the staples binding him to the tree. Cr-Crack! She loosened them in a hearbeat.
"Ooomf!" Eagle Eye fell to the ground, wincing. He didn't try galloping, moving, or charging. He didn't say anything. The stallion simply sat there, stunned.
"Go to him," Roarke said quietly. "He's been seeking a home for a very long time as well."
Ebon took a deep breath. He stood on strong legs, then shuffled softly across the clearing. When he reached Eagle, he squatted low, placing a hoof on the stallion's shoulders.
Instantly, Eagle quivered. He clenched his eyes shut and sobbed, "I'm sorry, Ebon... I'm so... s-so sorry..."
"Shhhh..." Ebon leaned in, nuzzling the stallion softly. "Don't be sorry..." He bore a tiny smile as a tear trickled down his cheek. "You're my protector, after all..."
A bittersweet giggle escaped Eagle's throat. His smile was a crooked thing, buckling under the first of many heavy sobs. His forelimbs snaked blindly forward, and Ebon caught them—caught him, enfolding the ex-mercenary in a heartfelt embrace.
"I l-love you, Ebon," Eagle whimpered, sniffling. "Spark help me, I love you s-so much. I'd do anything for you..."
"I know." Ebon rested his chin atop the shivering stallion's head, holding him close. "Just... n-no more running away, 'kay?"
"Hrmmmm..." Eagle squeaked, nodding tearfully. "'Kay..."
By this point, several shadows had gathered around the couple. The rest of the Jurists stood around them, some resting hooves on the stallions' shoulders while Props and Kera squatted know, nuzzling them with happy grins. Belle bore a teary smile as she leaned against Pilate.
"It's never too late," Roarke said. She inhaled warmly, her lensed eyes swimming across the tranquil forest. "It's never too late to begin again." At last, her gaze fell upon Josho.
The stallion stared back. He leaned on his shotgun and gave her a smug smirk.
Roarke's lips almost curved. Then, with a meditative breath, she turned from the warm scene and gazed into the cold mist of the northern mountains...