"Hey Rainbow Dash, I got to do something. I'll see you later." I said to Rainbow Dash.
"Ok, Lightning. See ya later." Rainbow Dash said as she zoomed off.
(Go to the Everfree Forest.....) I heard in my head.
I was curious and headed to the Everfree Forest, I walked inside the entrance and kept walking along the path. I came to a clearing near a lake. I wondered what had called me.
"You have answered my summons..." A voice had said.
"I'm here, show yourself." I said, quickly spinning around to the direction of the voice.
"All in good time, Lightning Bolt." The voice said as it emerged from the trees.
It was a tall alicorn-like insect. It had holes in it's mane, horn, hoofs and tail. It was midnight black with luminescent green eyes and insect-like wings.
"So you know me? Care to tell me your name too?" I had said, ready to attack if it was hostile.
"My name is Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings!" She triumphantly shouted.
Other smaller changelings appeared out of the tree line behind Queen Chrysalis. They snarled at me viciously when they caught sight of me. One of them walked up to Queen Chrysalis and spoke in a language I didn't understand.
"Don't worry, dear. You need not to attack this one." Queen Chrysalis said, looking down at the changeling.
Queen Chrysalis looked back to me. She walked over to where I was standing, she looked at me and said "I have called you here for a reason, the prophecy predicted that you were to be alongside me in the conquest and downfall of Canterlot and Ponyville and soon Equestria."
"What prophecy, and how do you know I am to be allied with you?" I questioned.
She turned to the lake and said "Look at your reflection..." I looked into my reflection of the lake, nothing was different about me. A black cloud of smoke had engulfed it and my appearance changed drastically: I had grown to the size of Queen Chrysalis; holes had appeared in my hooves and hair. I had turned into a insect-like colt, with insect wings, and a small spot in my underside had appeared transparent, showing off my internal organs. A horn grew and bent in crooked angles, they also bore holes. It disappeared and reappeared in a wall-paper image, standing alongside Queen Chrysalis on the outlook of Canterlot. Ponyville was empty and barren. The picture faded and created another of a dark cavern filled with cocoons. Ponies were imprisoned in them. Changelings flew over Ponyville in the picture and had returned to the evil me and Queen Chrysalis on the hill. The images in the water faded as I withdrew from the lake.
"This couldn't happen, but it will. I haven't a choice." I went over what had just been shown to me.
I stopped pacing and walked toward Queen Chrysalis and stopped in front of her. I faced facts and kneeled before her.
"I am yours to do whatever you wish to me." I said as I pledged my allegiance to her.
"I'm glad you came around, come with me…." She said evilly, and lead me to a large nest.
We were about to enter when she cast a spell on me, the spell emitted an orb around me.
"The neurotoxin will kill you in one minute, this will protect you while you are transformed into a changeling, only then you will be immune to it." She explained the spell as we walked into the hive. I felt a slight pain when after the spell had been cast.
We entered a breeding chamber filled with cocoons.
"Just go into one of those and await the transformation" She explained
I entered the cocoon and a changeling sealed it, a dark liquid excreted from the walls of the cocoon. The liquid knocked me out. Darkness surrounded me and the liquid swirled around my body. I felt changes to my body and I awoke from the transformation. I saw Queen Chrysalis maliciously smiling from my cocoon, I was fulfilling my destiny of being a Changeling King.
The liquid was absorbed and then the cocoon opened, I stepped out in my new form, just like it was in the lake. Queen Chrysalis walked up to me and declared "You are now known as King Firefly!"
"I am honoured, my Queen…" I said to Queen Chrysalis.
"I will call you when you are needed, until then, go back to your original form." She said
I changed from my evil form to my Pegasus form, I shrunk back down to my original size and left the hive. I went back into Ponyville and Rainbow Dash sky-tackled me. We slid into the side of a building and Rainbow Dash got off me.
"Found him!" Rainbow Dash called to her friends then turned to me.
"Lightning! Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!" Rainbow Dash asked me.
I stood up and said " I went for a stroll in the Everfree and got lost, but I'm back now."
"Good to see that you're safe." Twilight said to me when the group arrived.
"Oh my gosh, you're all filthy." Rarity added when she saw me.
"Well, it happens when a Pegasus spear-tackles you into the grass." I said, brushing some of the dirt off.
"Heh heh, sorry about that…." Rainbow Dash said
"It's all good, Rainbow. You don't have to be sorry." I said, putting on my trilby.
"You seem alright about anything, you don't get angry much, do you?" Applejack asked.
"It's not worth getting upset about some things, you just have to deal with it." I answered.
The group and I started walking around Ponyville, talking about social and random things.
"You said before you were from Appleloosa, you met my cousin Braeburn?" Applejack said
"Can't say I have. Appleloosa is a nice town, after all the buffalo stopped bothering the residents about the orchard ." I answered Applejack.
"Have any relatives in Equestria?" Pinkie Pie asked me.
"Relatives….. I'd rather not talk about that if you don't mind…." I said sadly.
I had not spoken to my (human) parents in a long time. But Rainbow Dash and the rest did not know that.
"I'm sorry for asking, Sparky…." Pinkie Pie said.
"It's alright Pinkie, you didn't know. Any other questions?" I asked the group as we trotted along a road.
"Where in Equestria did you get that fancy hat?" Rarity asked.
"Oh this? I got this in a fancy clothing store in Manehattan." I said.
"It looks nice on you…" Rarity complimented.
"Thanks, Rarity" I replied.
We stopped at a park. I noticed a extra to our group, a yellow furred Pegasus with a pink mane, I walked up to her and said "Hello I'm Lightning Bolt, what's your name?"
The yellow Pegasus didn't say anything for a while, I could tell she was the shy type.
She softly said "I'm Fluttershy, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," I turned to Rainbow Dash "Why didn't you introduce me to her a few days ago?"
"She was busy caring for her animals, I didn't think she'd have time to meet you." Rainbow Dash explained.
"Look at us, dilly-dallying, we got to get ready for the Grand Galloping Gala." Twilight said.
"Grand Galloping Gala? Is that a festival?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Yes, it is." Twilight explained.
"Sounds cool, mind if I tag along with you six?" I asked.
"Sure, we're going in four hours." Rainbow Dash said.
"Ok, I've got four hours to kill until then, where we meeting?" I said
"The train station, it's being held in Canterlot." Twilight said.
"Ok, I'll see everypony in four hours." I said, walking away from the group.
I walked in the centre of Ponyville and took off into the fly, I flew to my house and opened the door. I went into a training room and opened a small chest, I put on a white ninja outfit, I returned to the centre of the room and went from all-fours to a bipedal position and focused. I cleared my mind of all thought and spin-kicked toward a training dummy, I flew into the wall and got my hoof lodged in it.
"Seriously? I can't be that bad after a few months!" I angrily said after dislodging my hoof from the wall. A heard a knock on the training room door, I walked over to the door and opened it, removing the lower part of my face-cover. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of the door. She noticed my outfit and walked in.
"What's with the get-up?" She asked.
"It's my ninja outfit." I said. "I'm not really a ninja, but I can defend myself with my constant training of Taijutsu."
"Tai-what-su?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Taijutsu, the art of unarmed combat,. I don't usually have to use it, only when friends or I are in danger." I explained.
I went back into focus and spun into a tornado of white. After slowly regaining focus I flying spin kicked at a training dummy, my hoof hitting it's target and taking off the head of the dummy. I landed on the floor and heard a thud as I got up. I turned to face the rest of the room and saw the dummy's head resting near Rainbow Dash's hoof. I took off my outfit and put it back in the closet. I took my hat off a coat-rack near the closet and put it on.
"Wow! Remind me to not get on your bad side, Lightning." Rainbow Dash said in amazement.
"You're a friend, none of my friends can get on my bad side." I assured her.
I looked at my hoof with my watch on it. We still had almost three hours left, I looked back to Rainbow Dash, her smile alone was the only thing that could make me happy. A sudden pain hit my head, I reeled over in pain and went into my bathroom and locked the door. Rainbow Dash followed me and knocked on the door.
"Lightning, are you alright?" Rainbow Dash called from outside the door.
"I'm fine, just give me a minute." I responded.
I turned on the water valves in my sink, the water rushed out and I splashed my face with it. I looked up into the mirror and saw that my right eye had turned luminescent green. I wiped my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from the head-ache, I looked back, same result. How was I going to hide this from Rainbow Dash, let alone the rest of the group. I opened the door and faintly walked out. I fell unconscious in front of Rainbow Dash.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Doctor, is he going to be alright?" I heard faintly, gaining consciousness.
"I'm not certain, his right eye has turned green." The doctor pony said,.
I opened my eyes and sat upright. I caught sight of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy.
"Lightning, are you alright?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm fine for the moment, what happened?" I asked.
"You came out of the bathroom and passed out, so I carried you to the hospital and I called the group." Rainbow Dash said.
I turned toward the doctor pony and faintly said "Do you know what's wrong with me?"
"Well, according to my charts. You have a rare condition that only can be obtained by being hypnotised by a Changeling."
A Changeling? I knew it was too good to be true. Queen Chrysalis hypnotised me when we went into the hive. And me being turned into a changeling only made her control over me more dominant, I had to fight the corrupted part of my mind if she tried anything. My willpower had to triumph over hers.
"A Changeling? But they haven't been around since the Royal Wedding." Twilight grieved.
"The symptoms are having your eye turn green, which you have." The doctor pony said, referring to my eye.
"Is there any way to cure it?" I asked him.
"There are two ways; One, you defeat whatever is controlling you, Two, a strong bond between you and another can overwhelm the hypnosis." He said my options.
"I'm not in any pain, so I'm fine." I said, getting out of the hospital bed.
"If whatever it is gains control again, you need to remain focused and try to fight it." The doctor pony said.
"I'll be sure to remember that." I said.
I looked at my watch, one hour until the Grand Galloping Gala.
"The Grand Galloping Gala is in one hour, we better get ready." Twilight said.
"I'll be fine to come, despite this." I said, the green eye disappeared and was replaced my original rose coloured eye.
"Your eye is fixed, now you won't stand out." Twilight said.
"I'll see you six at the train station in an hour." I said.
"Right, see you there Lightning." Rainbow Dash said as we left.
I flew to my house and went into my bedroom. I opened the closet and pulled out a black tuxedo and put it on. I slipped on my ninja outfit and a small katana in my tuxedo. I looked in the full-size mirror and admired myself. I spent the rest of the time walking to the train station. I caught sight of Rainbow Dash and the others, they were wearing beautiful formal dresses. Rainbow Dash's looked the best, it matched her own fur and mane. I walked up to the group and said "I'm here, everypony ready?"
They all turned around and noticed me in my tuxedo.
"Wow, Lightning. You look nice." Rainbow Dash said.
We all walked into the train, it took five minutes to get to the Canterlot train station. The group and I got off the train.
"All right, let's go!" I said confidently, walking in sync with the group.
End of Part 4