The princess and I soon stopped staring at one another. Regardless of whether we broke our stares, there was still tension in the air. Zecora dared not to interfere, in fear of a hasty action we might have taken. My breath slowed down, to an inaudible level, as I soon let the tension out of me. I closed my eyes calmly and sat down, as the blue alicorn continued to look at me intensely.
I put out my right hand, hoping to calm her down. After a moment, I got up to bow to her, she stuck out a hoof. I bowed low and began to rise to my feet, as the alicorn spoke, “What business do you have with us?” I stood tall, as I tilted my hat down to cover my face. “Clearly you haven’t come all the way here just to stare at me. We shall say it again, what do you want with us?” I didn’t move my lips, as I answered her question with silence.
Suddenly, a shout erupted from below, as a hole opened under me. I fell down in the center of the hall, as chaos reigned everywhere. Food was being flung left and right, as ponies panicked and scurried everywhere. In all the chaos, I wasn’t seen, as I jumped out of a nearby window. Hitting the ground on my two feet, I looked at the gaping hole in the ceiling. It seemed that within all the chaos, the princess from before lost sight of me. It seems that I had to go for now, as I was sure Zecora could escape without me.
I ran fast out of the castle grounds, as I feared someone may have seen me. I couldn’t be certain that I would be welcomed by anyone (besides Zecora). As I thought of turning back, over twenty armed guards came my way, and spotted me. “Halt! Who goes there!” Once again, I didn’t answer, as I stood deathly still. “Show yourself! Come out here!” I slowly walked out to the guards, as I tipped my hat upwards, to reveal a dark burn mark across my face. The guards were shocked at the sight, as a few in the back turned away, and the rest stood with their eyes wide.
The leader regained his composure first, as he asked me, “Who are you? Whatever you are, your not supposed to be here!” He motioned for his men to take me in, as I grinned and cackled wildly. “What’s so funny?” I stopped laughing for a moment, as I reached for my gun. The guards never had a chance, as the bullets tore through their shields. I took out nineteen of them, as I went for the last guard, I heard a small click.
I turned around, as I saw a black creature take over the deceased guards’ bodies. I knew that something was evil about these creatures, so I took the last remaining guard with me. He had wide eyes, as he saw his dead comrades come back to life. They all had a green tint in their eyes, as they began to attack. We managed to outrun them until we were outside of Canterlot. We were utterly exhausted, as we rested for a moment near a tree. It took the creatures only seconds to catch up to us, as they surrounded us.
They began to form into copies of us, much like shapeshifters, just like in those dark legends I heard of as a child. We fought back to back, as wave after wave of copies slashed and shot at us. Every time I shot one in the head, two others would take its place. The odds soon became impossible to overcome, as they quickly overwhelmed us. A dark light surrounded us, as a figure flew down and took out the shapeshifters. I sighed as the fight seemed over, and I turned to face the guard that I took along with me.
Instead of a guard, I found a tall and dark alicorn standing over me. This one had holes in its hooves and strange bandages around her waist. She had wings much like a bat, and her teeth were all jagged. She smelled like burning flesh, and her eyes glowed a neon green shade. Everything about her was jagged and mangled, like someone bent every part of her in numerous directions. She said nothing while she stared into my eyes.
I heard a voice from behind me, “Run away! She is evil, and she will try to take control of your body.” I muttered that she was stating the obvious, as the voice stopped.
The creature in front of me spoke, “You cannot stop me, for I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changlings. No mere mortal can defeat me.”
I looked her straight in the eyes, “Yeah, whatever you say. I seriously am doubting your power, Chrysalis.”
She gave me a blank stare, as she conjured two large Changlings, who copied my appearance. They twirled their guns around a few times, as they gave themselves time to adjust to my form. They both advanced on me, not caring to use the firearms they were supplied with. Apparently they favored hand-to-hand combat.
The one changling backed off to let the other fight me. He advanced and dove to take out my legs, which I sidestepped to avoid. I spun my body around and gave him a swift left uppercut to the jaw, which instantly knocked him out. The other seemed more cautious, as he slowly swayed towards me. He took a damn long time to walk within five feet of me. I grew bored of this, and took out my pistol, and fired four shots into his chest. He staggered backwards a few steps, but kept on advancing, as his blood oozed out of his wounds. He lost his balance and collapsed on his knees, as he whimpered in pain. I casually walked up to him, and knelt down beside him.
“Do you want the pain to go away?” I asked.
The changling muttered a small, “Yes...”
I took my hands and placed them around his head and neck. I swiftly jolted myself to my right side, hearing a loud snap coming from the changling’s neck. I rose to my feet, as he returned to his original form.
Chrysalis charged towards me, nearly impaling me with her horn. She kicked me with her hooves and sent me skidding several meters away. I reached for my gun, but she stomped on my right hand, breaking it in the process. I winced as the pain traveled up my shoulder, and I could no longer use my right arm. It seemed that I was done for, as Chrysalis fired a green light towards me.
Suddenly, the alicorn from before shoved me out of the way, as she absorbed much of the spell. She was taken aback by the force, but gritted her teeth and sent it back at its caster. Chrysalis dodged the attack, and flew off towards dark mountains off in the distance. I tried to pursue her, but the alicorn cut me off. “No. It is not a good idea to follow her alone.” I complied, and stood in silence.
The alicorn broke a smile, as she introduced herself, “My name is Princess Luna, thank you for luring Chrysalis out here. The truth is, my sister and I have been searching for her for years, and haven’t found her. That is until you came along. She is a threat to all of Equestria, perhaps even a greater threat than Discord was.”
I now knew that Luna had a sister, and this sister was probably Princess Celestia. I didn’t want to kill anyone at that point, at least anyone entirely innocent.
I spoke to Luna, “I am afraid that I must go now. I cannot stay here and jeopardize your people anymore. There is something far more dangerous than Chrysalis out here.”
Luna’s eyes widened, “Something more powerful than Discord or Chrysalis?”
“Yes. It’s hard to explain....Some demons want me to assassinate your sister, so they can gain power, and drain the life force out of this world. All they do is consume the hope that people have, then destroy their very souls.”
Luna stood shocked and said, “Then we must hail to arms!! We must prepare for the conflict!”
I shook my head, “No, these beings are nearly immortal, and cannot be stopped by regular means, only I can stop them.”
“You don’t have to go there alone. For all you know, there could be thousands, no, even millions of things out there like them! Don’t you have any concern for your own well-being?”
I sighed and looked Luna in the eyes, and truthfully spoke, “I haven’t had any concern for anyone in a long, long time...”
I left Luna alone and walked off to follow Chrysalis, in order to protect all of Equestria from evils that were impossible to imagine...