The Rise of the Guardians and the Fall of One Hero

by TrinityDragon

Dodge City//Chapter 8

AHHHH!!!!” A shriek surged down the halls.

Startled by the sound, Phebe jumped out of bed and crashed onto the floor. Until that point, she had been sleeping soundly in her the hospital to this point. After rubbing her head and standing up, she wondered, What was that about?

A nurse burst into the room. “Phebe, right? We don't have time, so follow me!” She beckoned to Phebe.

Still recovering from grogginess, the Phebe shook her head violently. That did not help her, however. Can't think. Eyes foggy. Feel terrible. She suddenly became aware of the uncomfortable bandage around her torso. Ugh, so constricting. “What's going on?”

“Timberwolves are marching down the streets. We have to get to the basement shelter. Come on.”

“Timber-what!?” Ignoring the medical aid's advise, she hurried to the window.

Upon gazing on the streets, her eyes widened. Sheer terror skid down her back. “How... how...?” Combined with her already discombobulated state, the sight threw her into distressful bewilderment and paralyzing fear. That's not possible. One might wonder what would cause Phebe, one who has been in a battle against an army of Changelings, to fret to this degree. Per say, a dozen Timberwolves in the middle of the city would be extremely unusual, but the police of the city would be able to handle them. If only there were a dozen of them. In the limited view Phebe had, she counted over fifty. As far as she knew, a pack of Timberwolves rarely exceeded twenty, and they typically avoided towns and cities.

Started by a rush of adrenaline, Phebe broke free from her cloudiness. Realizing that time was short, she pondered for vital answers. They went after my Element last night, and they knew to break my horn. Something devious was going on, and soon enough, she realized one important fact. This is not a scavenge for food; they're after me!

“Phebe, we must go.”

“No.” She faced the nurse. “Go without me. I'll be fine.”

“But-”

“GO!” The nurse nodded hesitantly and left. Hoshana, now alone in a room on the second floor of the hospital, had to work out the situation. She peered out the window once more. Ponies were outside, but the Timberwolves weren't attacking them. Instead, the wooden creatures steadily guided them into buildings. Celestia will know soon. She'll come to stop this, but I have to survive until then. I hope Artemis and the others are okay. She spun about and examined the room. I have to prepare. Somehow... what to do, what to do... Her mind ticked at the thought of her horn. No spells. Crabapples! Did they make their move because they knew I couldn't escape by magic? I mean... I could try to muster a spell, but that almost killed me last time. Suddenly a loud crash sounded from below. That's probably the door, so they've broken into the hospital. In all likelihood, they can track my scent. I can't hide. I can only delay them. Intending to go to the roof, she dashed out of the room and to the staircase. As she arrived, she saw a Timberwolf jogging up the stairs from the lower floor, and it saw her. Oh... come on! Overcoming the pain from last night's wounds, she sprinted up the stairs at top speed. The beast howled before giving chase.

In a few moments, she reached the roof. She slammed the door behind her and held it shut while she scrutinized her surroundings. Think, think, think! I have to go. I have to go somewhere!

Crunch! The Timberwolf rammed into the door. The force was enough to knock her away from the door. A second ram threw the door off its hinges. Phebe rushed to the far edge of the roof. Over the ledge, she found an innumerable host of Timberwolves surrounding the hospital.

How are there so many of them!? Before she could do anything further, six Timberwolves surrounded her. Figuring she hadn't any other options, she tried to engage her element. Unfortunately, it did not activate. What, really? This kind of timing?! She growled to herself intensely. There was not any way for her to escape.

One idea dawned on her. The whistle?! Surprisingly, she had brought the item with her to the forest last night. Since she had intended on taking her life, she had no idea why she brought it with her, but, regardless, it was fortuitous that she did. Now thanks to that, she had it on her possession.

As soon as she could, she blew it. To her own surprise, no sound protruded from it; on the other hoof, the Timberwolves squealed and cringed. They can hear it? Wait... is this a dog whistle? She blew it again, and this time the wolves began backing away. Phebe wondered if a dog whistle could be designed to have a painful volume and frequency for canines. If so, this was one such whistle. Why would Black Star give me a dog whistle?

Unfortunately, she only bought herself time. There would be only a matter of time before the wolves became deaf, and considering their determination to invade a city for an Element of Harmony, she doubted deafness would stop them for long. So, what now? She gazed at the sky around in hopes of finding some Pegasi. I could get lifted off this roof. That would be helpful. One Pegasus was nearby, and in fact, he was already coming her way. “Hey, hey! Over here.” She blew the whistle again to halt the Timberwolves for a little longer. Interestingly, once she did, the flying pony seemed to lose control of his trajectory; he ended up crashing onto the roof. “Oh... uh...” The monsters were still recovering, so without fear, she turned her attention to the Pegasus. Coming up beside him, she asked,“Are you all right?”

“Phebe, why did you blow that whistle again!?” He hurried to his hooves. “It's me, Artemis. That thing hurts.”

She cocked her head. “Changelings can hear such high pitches?”

“Yes. Now, let's go!” He scooped up Phebe and launched away from the hospital. “We're safe for now.” She gazed downward at the streets while he spoke. “What is it, Phebe?” He looked downward as well. “I know there's a lot of them. What about it?”

She shook her head. “They're not sentient creatures, Artemis. They shouldn't amass like this under any circumstance. ” Her brain strained trying to determine what would cause them to conglomerate as they have, but she was interrupted when she saw the police station held up by an army of the wolves. “Look! They're trying to break in.” Fortunately, the doors and windows of the structure were excessively more sturdy than others. Ah! “We need to go there. We can get some help and work out a solution.”

“I hope you know what you're doing.” He began lowering to the building's roof. When they landed, he commented, “I'll stay here. I don't know that I feel comfortable in their presence.”

“Okay.” She nodded before using the roof door and traveling down the stairs. They won't like to see me, especially if Fairoh is there. Hopefully, in a circumstance like this, she will put a side her differences with me. She rushed to the first floor, but when she got there, nopony was around. Huh? “What's going on?” The loud crashes of the Timberwolves smacking into the doors caught her attention briefly; fortunately, minimal damage had been sustained. “They won't be getting in for awhile.” She left the room, locked the door to the staircase, and came to the second floor. The deal was the same there as well. “Where did they all go?” This time she noted how everything was tidy. If there were a sudden attack on the city, one would think the officers would have rushed into action; nevertheless, Phebe didn't find a single object on the floor. They didn't leave here in a hurry.

She decided to investigate. The calender would be helpful. On one of the far walls hung the current month's activities, events, etc. She scanned for the current day, but when she found it, the overwhelming dread returned. “Field Day: Royal Guard Meeting.” Her hoof met her face. “This-this could not have happened on any worse of a day!”

As the previous sheriff, she knew exactly what that meant. For the purpose of thorough training, deep learning, and potential promotion, the majority of the police staff would journey to Canterlot. The Royal Guard worked one-on-one with officers. Not only would this increase morale, but also bring some new talents to the table. Too bad they had chosen the wrong day for this.

However, one question remained. “Where is the skeleton crew?” She hurried to the third and final floor. Something caught her eye in Ferris' office, so she went there. Six officers lay in the middle of the floor; they were breathing but unconscious. “Sleeping on the job?” Wait... In her last encounter with Fairoh, she had noticed seeing some shadow move around in one room. That's why she looked into the window back then. It was a Guardian! Their souls have been taken.

“PHEBE!” Artemis shouted, unleashing a incredible sense of distress.

Seriously!? Her immediate reaction forced her legs into motion, but when she stepped onto the first step to the roof, she stopped. Think about it. This is way too convenient. On the day my horn happen to be broken and the police are off duty, the Timberwolves attack. Then, the Guardians attack the on-duty crew. The Guardians must be behind this whole thing... somehow. Frustration pent up into her stomach. I can't believe I thought we had bought ourselves some time. No, instead, they've probably been planning out a superb strategy to get my element!? How intelligent are these things? How powerful are they, for that matter? A throaty growl permeated the air from her voice box. Lord, I AM, help! She lowered her head. We need help. We need help so badly. I don't know that our situation could be any worse. Literally, there is no way out. Her prayer was cut short when Artemis shouted again. Crabapples... it's in your hooves, I AM. She rushed to the roof.

What she feared was true. Artemis, who had returned to his Changeling form, hung in the air in the grasps of a Guardian. This Guardian was not masked by darkness, so she saw all its detail. Like the last one she encountered, this one had claws. “I'm sorry, Phebe,” Artemis sighed. “I tried to get away. It just moved so fast.”

“Silence,” The Guardian ordered. “Surrender to the Element to me, and I will let him live.” The ghost-like being drifted higher into the air. “Actually, give it to my pets.” It pointed to the Timberwolves below. “Oh, wait!” Phebe noted how this Guardian had some distinct personality, but she cared little. “Before that transaction, I must warn you of using that element against me. I am Bellua Domitor and Doctus Dux Vick Axcenti. You may call me Vick.”

They have names? She rolled her eyes. That's completely pointless.

“As I said, do not use that element on me.” Vick flaunted its free claw. “I am a Prime of the Guardians. I have led the Guardians into many a victory.” It raised its altitude further. “Today shall be no different. Do you see those Timberwolves down below? I trained them myself. Aren't they the most loyal pooches around?”

“You... trained them?” Surprised by this bit of information, Phebe bobbed her head backward.

Vick laughed. “You underestimated us, Phebe Hoshana, just like your queen.”

Chrysalis...

“Anyway, I had a point behind my bragging.” Vick tightened his grip on Artemis. “If you do kill me, those Timberwolves are trained to ransack the whole city and kill every living soul. And, don't think about delaying until your precious princesses arrive. By the time they hear of the invasion, we'll be long gone.”

He's the mastermind behind all of this. Phebe immediately strained her mind to conjure some solution; unfortunately, time was not on her side.

Overtly self-assured and unquestionably confident, the Prime Guardian boasted, “Unless you wish to see your Changeling friend dashed into a million pieces, you have thirty seconds to toss your element over the edge of the building. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight...”

Think, think! She wanted to plan an attack, but nothing she conceived proved remotely possible for success. I'll have to use my words. What can I say that would catch his attention? She tapped her element. This is what it wants, right? Ah! There are six others! “Vick, can I ask one question?”

He scoffed, “Sure! But, you've got only twelve seconds. Eleven.”

Realizing her limited time, she blurted, “What are you doing to do about the other six element of Harmony?” Vick stopped counting immediately. Hah, gotcha! “I wield only one. There are others who use them, and they are all much more proficient in their use of them than I.”

After a notable pause, Vick resumed his countdown. “For another day, I will deal with that. Ten. Nine.”

“No!”

“Eight.” Unable to construct another plan, Phebe caved to the demands. She removed her Element and promptly threw it to the Timberwolves. One of them caught her element. “Wise choice.” Vick released Artemis. “Though, along with some good news, I must share some bad. I cannot simply allow this city to remain in its current state, but all lives will be spared. Good-bye, Phebe.” Vick began to travel to the wolf with the element, but before he reached it, a green beam zapped the creature. The beast sustained enough damage to be stunned. In the meantime, a Changeling swooped in, grabbed the element, and returned it to Phebe. Several more Changelings—all, oddly, in their natural form—landed by Phebe.

With relief, she eyed the necklace which had then been placed into her hooves. “Wh-what are you all doing here?” She counted them all, and she discovered that the whole crew was there—minus Dark Shade and Kirk Briar, of course.

“We're here to fight,” one replied promptly.

After landing, Artemis added, “We cannot lose the element to them. No matter the cost.” He gave a glum expression. “I'm sorry I got captured. We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.”

“Trouble, indeed,” Vick stated as he returned to the group. “You have won the bout over the Element. You may have it for now.” Placing his back to them, he made a final comment, “Too bad your precious city won't be so lucky.” Before Phebe could react, a bang rippled through the air, and Vick disappeared. In the moments after, agonized shrieks sounded across the city.

“They're killing them!” Phebe hurried to the edge of the roof. She saw Timberwolves begin dragging ponies out of their homes. “This is going to be a massacre! We have to do something.”

Artemis replied, “There is no way we can deal with that many of them, Phebe.” The screams made him cringe. “This is so wrong. I-I...” He shuddered.

“Plug your ears!” The Changelings eyed her with curiosity. “Plus your ears, now!” This time they obeyed. She pulled out the whistle. Black Star, don't fail me now. Her mouth pressed exceeding amounts of air through the object.

“Hm? You called?” Black Star appeared from the staircase that lead below.

Phebe stomped repeatedly. “Don't waste time, you know exactly what's going on! Do something! Ponies are being slaughtered with every word we speak.” He nodded. “The only thing I have to work with is this whistle, and the Changelings can't do much against-”

“The pitch is burnable.”

“Huh?”

Black Star shook his head. “Now, time for you to listen to me. We're going to burn down the city. The Timberwolves don't like fire. this is the only way. Phebe, you come with me. Artemis, go to that building.” He pointed to a four story hotel which was constructed completely by bricks. “Clear everypony out of there. Bring them back here. GO!”

Artemis Reform nervously tapped the floor. “We-we can't change into pony forms, Bl-”

“Did I misspeak? Go now!” No more debate remained; the whole of the Changeling forced obeyed Black's command. “Phebe, I need something to start a fire. A match, flint, anything. What do you have?”

Phebe hadn't the opportunity to second guess herself or fumble over ideas, so she didn't. “Downstairs, we have flares. Lots of them.”

“Show me.”

From this point, her every action and thought transformed from delayed and well-developed into spontaneous and unplanned. She sprinted back to the first floor of the station, and Black Star followed. Fortunately, the Timberwolves hadn't broken in yet. Taking advantage of that fact, she sped to the supply room, opened up a certain locker, and pulled out a whole bag of flares. “We need something for these to catch on. Would our desks work well enough?”

“Yes.” He swiped a flare. “You carry these; follow me.” He sped back to the main room. While clearing off a desk with a single swipe of a foreleg, he lit the flare and put it into his mouth. From there he toppled the desk over, swiftly pushed it to the front door, and put the flare to the desk until a flame began. Once a decent enough fire had started, he pushed the desk into the front doors. For whatever reason, the doors swung open as soon as the desk contacted them. While Black pushed it out the door, the fire, having grown considerably, caused the Timberwolves to back away. Realistically, the fire should have been burning Star as well, but he managed to ignore whatever pain there was.

The desk was set some yards in front of the entrance, and now the wolves wouldn't even come close anymore. Satisfied with the result, Black returned to Phebe inside. He snatched the bag from her grasps and emptied half of its contents. “That desk will only last a few minutes. Keep feeding it with more desks to keep them out. Am I clear?”

She nodded. “Please hurry! We don't know how many more are dying as we speak.” As he nodded in return, he started two more flares—both of which ended up in his mouth. Promptly, he left the station and went for the hotel, and she turned to the nearest piece of furniture. Can't let the fire burn out. She was not as strong as Black, but she would have to make due somehow. She mimicked his action, eventually bringing the desk to the same location as the previous one. Lastly, she placed the chunk of wood atop the burning pile. Next one. She repeated this twice more. The wood beasts stayed their distance. By the time she finished those two, the hotel across the way showed signs of internal fire.

Black Star returned already. “It's working, but we need to speed up the process somehow. You know Dodge better than I.” He jogged in place as if to emphasize the need for speed. “Where can I find a place with lots of flammable stuff?”

Without any question to Black or his actions, she replied, “Go to the slums. The buildings are side-by-side, and many of them are rotting.” She pointed in a certain cardinal direction. “Go that way. Everything looks much worse there than the rest of the city. You can't miss it.” Black Star didn't speak back; rather, he darted from the place.

I hope this works. Phebe returned to stacking desks. By this point, she had stacked nearly half of the desks. The fire would last awhile, but she couldn't afford to run out of fuel. As she threw on another, she checked the surroundings for any other form of fuel. Besides some small stuff, such as backpacks, carpet bags, and papers, she found nothing worth using. There are desks upstairs. I have a few minutes, I'll see what I can do. When upstairs, she heard a loud thump, but this sound originated from the staircase. Huh? As she turned her head, six officers stumbled into the room with her. There were in a daze. Vick returned their souls? Her stomach churned at the thought that Vick had something “good.” If that's the case, he probably had something in particular planned. “Officers,” she addressed them, “There is no time to explain. I need all of these desks cleared off and brought to the first floor. The city is under attack, so don't waste time!” Not waiting for a response, she down the stairs.

When she got to the bottom, she found a good twenty ponies in the police building. They were presently situating themselves near a single wall tending to their wounds—all of them had been hurt. They found shelter. Good. “There are first aid kits in that room there.” She pointed to the supply room. “Use them as you need to.” Next, she tossed another desk outside, but, as she did, she saw a group of ponies in the distance coming towards the station, but a number of Timberwolves cut them off. They'll be killed! She glanced to the hotel. The flames had reached its every floor, and while that did significantly dissuade the wolves from the areas, the ponies weren't close enough for those monsters to leave them alone. She'd have to save them herself.

Turning to the inside, she saw the policestallions sliding the desks down the stairs. “Keep the fire fed. I'll be back!” Snatching a few flares, she rushed outside. If adrenaline hadn't already filled her body up, the drug did now. Her heart raced faster than she had ever experienced. I'll get there in time. I have to. Lighting one of the flares, she rushed into the fray. Immediately, her enemies backed away. After spitting out the flares, she shouted, “Get to the station! Hurry!” After lighting another flare and throwing it in the midst of the wolves, she lit the final one, placed that in her mouth, and lead the fugitives to the station. When she arrived, Black Star was there, and dozens more other ponies had shown up as well. Many were wounded.

She called out, “Hey, you're ba-”

Turning his attention to her, Black interrupted, “This isn't enough. We need something more.”

“What do you mean?” Tiredness had begun to set in, so she didn't want to bear any more bad news.

His head jolted to and fro, scanning the surroundings. “Stupid war!” Anger infiltrated his voice. “Those Timberwolves won't leave simply because of fire. It's only keeping them back long enough for refugees to get to safety. Once the city burns down, we'll have no way to keep them back.” He tapped his head. “Think, think! Lives are at stake, No Name.”

She began pondering what could be done, but she found her brain sinking into a foggy pit. Crabapples. I don't know that I can help.

One of the uninjured ponies interjected, “Maybe if you can stop those Changelings, they'll go away. They might be the cause of this.”

Wait, what? In disbelief, She gazed at the fellow. They think the Changelings are responsible. “Hold on-”

Black Star interjected, “They can't change forms!” He hurried to the door but then looked back. “The Changelings can't change. Why? If we can answer that, we might be able to make a solution.” She didn't see how that was relevant. “When did it start happening?” Since his question was directed at Phebe, the other ponies kept silent, but they did listen.

“I don't know.” She gazed at those around her, unsure how much she should share. If they began to suspect something of her, then Fairoh would have all she needed to legally remove Phebe from the city. Then again, what city would there be to be removed from if they didn't save it first. Disregarding her fears, she opened her mouth. “Is it possible that the plan was to pin the blame on the Changelings?” Phebe shook her head. “That would be way too thought out. Vick couldn't have anticipated the citizen's reactions.”

“Actually, no, I've seen genius before,” he mentioned pensively. “It would not surprise me for Vick to have planned so thoroughly. The strategy is to attack on every angle. Even though it's impossible to cover every single base, one can get all the important ones. How does one counter that? I was never good at strategy. Grrr...”

“Black, go start more fires. I'll try to get Artemis or one of the others back here. They might be able to explain what happened.” She pointed to the outside. “For now, we need to delay the wolves as long as possible. If we don't stop them, everyone will die.”

“Kay.” Star grabbed some more flares, stuffed them into the bad he had, and rushed off.

“Listen up!” Phebe turned her attention to everypony else. “Like Black Star said, this is a war. We are not playing games. Do as I say, and we might get through this.”

One objected, “Who elected you leader?”

“I'm Phebe Hoshana.” She stomped her hooves. “Would you elect somepony else?” They knew who she was, but they needed the reminder. With that, no one else questioned her. “Good.”

Looking around, she had realized that the first floor had become crowded, thereby creating difficulties for the officers who were still feeding the fire. “Get the wounded to the third floor. Once that's done, I need every able hoof to grab burnable objects from this building and bring them down here. Keep feeding the fire at the front door. Without it, those wolves will get in.” Or at least, we won't be able to keep the doors open for more fugitives. When she spun about to check on the fire's status, a shout met her face.

“Pheebs!” Black burst passed the doors. “The Changelings—they're in trouble!”

“Huh?” Her ears perked up. “What do you mean?” He grabbed her by the hoof and yanked her towards the door. “He-hey!?”

“No time to explain! Come on!” Black Star let loose of her and darted outside, and after a second of deliberation she followed.

After having caught up the distance between the two of them, she inquired between breaths, “What's going on?”

His retort came sharply and quickly. “Look around.”

Her head twisted left and right while her eyes scanned the surroundings. What she found did not surprise her too much. Several buildings had been damaged, and a few were burning; moreover, injured and dead ponies were scattered across the streets. Nevertheless, nothing was too strainge; after all, the Timberwolves had been breaking into structures to abduct points and kill them, and the fire was created to deter the Timberwolves. Then Phebe caught on. “The Timberwolves!” She skid to a halt. “Where are the Timberwolves?” She torqued her head every which way, but she found none of those creatures.

“Why are you stopping!?”

“Huh?”

Being some yards away, Black pointed further down the street. “If we don't get there now, you might not be able to save your friends. Hurry up!” Unwilling to wait any longer, he dashed in the direction he had pointed.

“Okay, okay!” She pursued him at her fastest pace.

After passed several blocks, the two of them turned onto main street. There, they encountered a mob of ponies which crowed a relatively small area of the road. “What's going on?” Phebe asked Black, but he said nothing.

The shouts of the city folk answered her inquiry. “Kill the Changelings!

“They took away my husband!”

“I lost my children because of them!”

“My whole family is missing!”

“They are burning down our city!”

“Kill them!” The crowd began to chant. “Kill them! Kill them!”

Hoshana went wide eyed. They think the Changelings are responsible? But-but... Before she fell into a daze, she snapped herself to attention. “Are the Changelings at the center?”

“Yes. They have them trapped in a magical cage, so they can't fly away.” Black sighed. “I can't get them out in any peaceful way; I would definitely hurt the ponies in the process of saving them. You should be able to rescue them without much confrontation.”

Phebe considered the situation carefully. Unfortunately, mobs don't listen to reason. She had dealt with one during her sheriff days, and force had to be used to scatter the people. At that time, she had a whole department of police at her side, but since she didn't have that now, she had to develop another solution. If she had her horn, she could teleport in, grab the Changelings, and teleport out. Obviously, she couldn't do that. Her element was not working either, so she couldn't use that—not that she knew how she could utilize it in this circumstance. All conventional methods of rescue were out of the question, it seemed. “Hey, Black Star, do you have any more flares?”

“Several, why?”

“We're going to light them up and toss them into the mass of them.” She didn't bother to explain why; time didn't allow for her to do so. Nonetheless, the idea was to blind the crowd long enough to get the Changelings out, and if favor swung their way, the magic cage would fade away should the caster be blinded. Fortunately, Black Star jumped on her suggestion. He hoofed four flares over to her leaving four in his possession. Both of them lit two each. With reasonable precision, they launched the flares into the middle. Instantly, the bloodthirsty shouts faded to yelps and then groans. As Phebe had hoped, the cage collapsed, but counter to her intentions, the Changelings didn't fly out. They were probably blinded as well.

The noise of the crowd had actually quieted somewhat. Banking on her earlier discovery that the Changelings had sensitive hearing, she belted out, “Changelings, the cage is gone. Fly out!” After what seemed to be some hesitation, they did as she commanded. At that point, Black tossed the other two flares which he had lit. “Changelings, follow the sound of my voice!” She kept calling, “Over here. This way!” In the meantime, she had Black use the remaining two flares to keep the mob disoriented and confused.

Soon enough, the Changelings regained enough of their vision to navigate their flight without her voice as a guide. They landed beside her. “Thanks for the help,” one stated. She expected Artemis to be the spokesperson, but he apparently wasn't with the group. “We still can't change into ponies, so we're going to go below before anything worse happens to us.”

“I'll go with you,” Black Star stated. Quickly, he and the Changelings escaped.

That leaves me. She thought. In order to determine her following course of actions, she gazed all around her. The crowd was still in a daze, for some of the flares had yet to wear out. She would have to leave momentarily, lest she be suspected and mauled by them. Nonetheless, in her quick scanning, she noted billowing smoke in a far sector of Dodge. Oh crabapples. We forgot about the fires. How are we going to put them out? She began trekking to the police station. The hotel fire was more worrisome since it could spread and reach the refugees.

As she arrived, relief found its way into her chest. While, unfortunately, the hotel had toppled over, the building fell in the direction opposite of the station; moreover, the collapse quelled the fires that had infested the hotel. In addition to that, no other structures were signi harmed. She didn't fear that it had landed on anypony. The Changelings had already evacuated it, and since the most convenient path to the station was not where the hotel had fallen, the likelihood of it crashing upon somepony was unlikely. Besides that, she hadn't the resources or the time to begin digging up the rubble. Satisfied with her discovery, she went inside the police building.

Fairoh's voice rolled into Phebe's ears. “There's the culprit herself.” The mayor marched up to Phebe. Phebe's heart skipped a beat; apparently, they had returned early. “Working with Changelings, huh? How the mighty have fallen.”

“Wh-what?” Hoshana tried to back pedal. “No-no. You don't underst-”

“I think I understand perfectly. Lock her up.” A few officers, including Ferris Wheel, surrounded Phebe and they prodded her towards the stairs. “I'll talk to you soon enough.”

Knowing well enough that her imprisonment was guaranteed, Phebe stopped defending herself and yelled, “Fire! There's fire in the slums. You have to put it out!” Fairoh nodded sagely.

“I know.” That was the final word she gave Phebe. Moments later, Phebe found herself in the cell she had, at one time, locked Ferris in.

Comments

[Remmy4warlord]

In the Bible in Deuteronomy 14:2 KJV The Lord calls us to be a peculiar people set apart from the rest of the world. In context He was speaking to Israel at that point while they were in the wilderness, but it still applies to today. Also in Romans 12:2 KJV He tells us that He does not want us to "...conform to this world..." this just goes to show that as Christians we are called to stand out. We should not fit in with the norm of society. Not that we talk down to people or anything like that. We are supposed to show the compassion that Christ showed to us.

[TrinityDragon]

5933639

As you're the only who, as far as I'm aware, keeps up with my story, that means a heck of a lot. Honestly, I doubt I would choose to press on if you didn't read it.

[TrinityDragon]

5933809

Would it be okay if I shared some of my learning from God? In my experience, the whole concept of being "separate from the world" has been used woefully incorrectly. I don't disagree with what the bible teaches on the matter, but I disagree with how it is presented in modern day.

Here is an example of what I mean. A modern musician once said that the key to life is to find and keep friends that love Jesus more than you do. In and of itself, that's not wrong; however, I've seen this used to say "non-Christian" friends are unacceptable. Likewise, the whole "be set apart from the world" theology is used to say Christians should never mingle or associate with non-Christians. Furthermore, the way it is talked about in Church leads to looking down upon non-Christians, which is specifically what you said we aren't to do. I agree with you on that, but I find it difficult to find any "Christian" group--whether church or other entity--that does not gaze down their noses upon the "unregenerate" people of the world.

As Christians, we are to be different from the "world," right? Well, the world separates itself into small groups and looks down about any who aren't part of its clique. Yet, that's what I see almost every time I go to church (don't get me wrong, I love going to church). From what I have seen and experienced, "be set apart from the world" means "be exactly like the world while thinking we're better than it." Ultimately, it's self-deluded hypocrisy--in Bible terms, Phariseeism. "Be set apart" has been corrupted from its original meaning.

What Jesus did in his time stands distinctly from today's more zealous and "spiritual" Christians. Unlike them, he ate with the sinners. That's huge! Back in that day, eating meals with people meant "becoming one" with them. In modern terms, this is the best way I can word it: Jesus staked every part of his being in investing into the unsaved. With that in light, would modern day Christianity accept Jesus as he was or try to correct him for being "carnal?" One thing is certain. Jesus was not a "be set apart from the world" person--at least, not the way we are today.

By contrast, he rebuked, spited, and humiliated the spiritual men of the day--what we would consider pastors.

What did God mean by "be set apart from the world"? I'm not God, so I don't know the exact meaning. However, no one does. That being said, I will not sacrifice the second most important commandment in the Bible--when there are thousands--because a large number of "spiritual" leaders say we should be separate from the world. I will love everyone like Jesus did.

Some might say the first commandment (i.e. love God) is more important, and, if there is a contradiction, it should be obeyed over the second (i.e love others). But... when does the first commandment ever contradict the second? Well, if I love God, I'll obey his commandments. God commanded us to love people. Thus, if I love God, I'll love people. Essentially, following the first leads me to the second. There is no contradiction, and I don't believe there ever will be one.

Therefore, when any other commands--from the Bible or a teacher--seems to contradict the first two, the first two stay and the other goes. That's it. Done. Jesus gave the precedence to these two commandments; I did not.

In light of that, please allow me to be absolutely sincere and clear. I have no intent to offend you or other Christians. Simply, my heart breaks at the suffering around me. I can't simply sit back and do nothing because a "rule" says so. I won't.

That said, you certainly don't have to believe as I do; no one should have to. These are my opinions and experiences; I'm not God incarnate speaking. I simply wish that Christians would think less of "being holy" and more of the the people who need love. The most holy Jesus did.

[Remmy4warlord]

5956667
I agree, you are to love the sinner and hate the sin.
What I meant by be separate from the world is that it should be obvious that we are Christians. not that we don't associate with sinners. Also with the religious leaders of the time, they were corrupt and teaching false doctrine.

[TrinityDragon]

5956870

Yup. I don't think there is anything here we disagree on, lol. I apologize if I was over-dramatic; it is something constantly on my mind.

[Remmy4warlord]

5963556
Is ok