Love's Lost Decade

by Priceless911

Bk1/Ch1 Kingdom of the Charred Sand

Epilogue
The Black Sand Desert

The moon light shined across the desert as the black sand reflected its light making it seem like a black ocean with a slight glimpse of dawn’s twilight on the horizon. As the peaceful night slowly came to an end, a magic portal appeared at the top of a high sand dune as the purplish portal hissed and hummed over the sounds of the turmoil on the other side. With the portal sitting stationary, grass, dirt, branches and golden joke leaves came flying out of the portal as they were soon accompanies by an equestrian sword that flew through and embedded itself in the sand, then shortly after a changeling with one wing who emerged from the portal, hit the ground, and rolled down the dune passed the embedded blade and to the base of the hill.

As soon as he stopped rolling, Zeil picked himself up as he rubbed his head and tried to get over his dizziness. With his senses returning to him, Zeil realized what happened as he quickly looked up the dune toward the still opened portal that sat on its peak. Desperate, Zeil rushed up the sand dune as fast as he could in hopes of reaching the portal before it closed. However with the sand shifting under his hooves, Zeil found himself unsuccessful as the magic portal vanished mere moment before he was able to reach it. As soon as the portal vanished, Zeil reached the top of the dun as he looked at the ground where it once sat, “No… no…” he franticly looked around to see if it moved somewhere else, but saw nothing as he continued “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!!!”
In a fit of rage, Zeil punched the ground beneath him as his hoof buried itself in the sand.

With his mind circling his actions, Zeil took a few seconds to calm himself down as he closed his eyes and mumbled, “This… this isn’t happening… this has to be a dream… tell me this is a dr-”
Before he could finish, Zeil started to feel the sand surrounding his buried hoof as he picked it up and examined the sand as it poured out of the holes in his changeling hoof, “This… it’s charred sand… wait…” he looked around, this time at his surrounding, “The Land of the Black Sand… I’m back here?… but… how?...”
As he looked around he felt a strong gust of wind come from behind as he turned to look in the direction as he started seeing the twilight of dawn approaching. As soon as he saw the light he realized his danger as he spoke, “Sunrise… no… I gotta find shelter.”
Knowing the impending danger, Zeil started running down from the sand dune as fast as he could. As he ran, the wind continued increasing with the expanding air behind him. As he continued through the desert, he saw a high cliff in front of him as he rushed to its base hoping to find a crevice to take cover in. Unfortunately as he reached the base of the cliff there was no crevice or cavity to hide in so with a desperate sprint, Zeil rushed down the left face of the cliff as the sunlight emerged on its highest point as it ran down causing every stone it touch to begin smoking with the increasing heat.

As he ran, something fortunate caught his eye. At the base of the cliff just a few hundred feet in front of him, Zeil could see a small cave in the ground that went under the cliff’s base. Knowing that this was his only chance, Zeil rushed towards the cave as fast as he could, but as he closed on the cave so too did the sunlight close on him as he could already feel the intense heat from the imminent danger. Zeil rushed as fast as he could knowing that it would be down to the wire, only he was slightly wrong. Barely ten second before he reached the cave entrance, the sunlight made contact with his back and neck as it already started burning the left side of his body with intense heat.

With his skin burning from the sunlight’s contact, the desperate changeling dove into the cave entrance as he hit the ground rolling with his burned skin hurting every inch of his left side from the tip of his lone wing to the bottom of his hooves. Pain riddled but grateful he made it, Zeil with his body in too much pain to make quick movements, crawled to the inside wall of the cave as he panted in pain at the burns he felt and the increasing heat that started entering through the cave’s entrance. With the temperature rising and his body feeling a slight numbness through all his pain, Zeil laid against the wall of the cave as he thought about where he was and mumbled, “I… I’m… sorry… I’m sorry I won’t be able to meet you z… Zecora…”
With his body too exhausted to keep his senses, Zeil decided to stop talking as the increasing heat wasted no time in draining him even more, of his energy. As time started to pass, Zeil knew that with the cave he was in being too small, that he could only stay where he was till the evening, however with no food or water, he knew that his chances of survival was now next to none. Seeing that his options were limited, Zeil laid down on his right side as his left was completely burned by the instant heat of the outside sun.

An hour later, Zeil tried everything he could to stay awake as he laid on the bottom corner of the small cave as he started to mumble, “If its day here… then… sunset should have already passed in Equestria… meaning… Zecora is waiting for me… but… I won’t be able to make it… I won’t be there to tell her the truth… I can’t even explain to her why… I…” tears started to build up in his eyes as he looked at the holes in his hoof, “I can’t even tell her I’m sorry, or… or anything… It’s… it’s not fair… I… I didn’t…”
With the stress of his thoughts weighing down on his already exhausted body, the changeling didn’t have the strength to finish his sentence as he started losing consciousness. However just before he passed out, a pony like figure wearing a shiny metallic cloak emerged from the entrance to his small cave as it looked directly at him before everything went black.

Love’s Lost Decade
Book 1: Kingdom of the Charred Sand
Chapter 1
Year 00, Month 00, Day 01

Zecora stood on the cliff in the Everfree Forest as she looked at the forest through the dancing fireflies. Seeing her waiting, Zeil changed into his zebra form as he stepped towards her from behind as he spoke, “Zecora?...”
Without looking back at him, she spoke, “You said you’d be here… Where the fire flies dance… and I foolishly listened… I gave you a chance.”
Trying to recall how long it had been since the night he was supposed to meet her, Zeil replied, “Zecora I’m sorry, it was out of my control. You see I was th-“
Zecora turned to him and replied with anger in her expression and tone, “I know what you are, you are not of my kind, and you played me a fool, and toyed with my mind.”
the disguised changeling tried to replay, “That’s not true, Zecora I wasn’t trying to fool you to make fun of you, I stayed because I lo-“
Zecora held out a small black vial as she spoke, “Silence your words, for my heart you can’t mend, but I'll leave this to part, for we won’t meet again.”

With that, Zecora dropped the small glass vial as it hit the ground and shattered as the black potion inside the vial splattered on the ground into a small puddle. Confused Zeil watched the small puddle of potion as it hesitated for a brief moment before coming to life and slithering along the ground towards him at an incredible speed like a snake ambushing its prey. As the potion closed in on Zeil, the confused changeling stepped back as the slithering potion wrapped around Zeil’s neck and hooves before lifting him up and stretching his body out before solidifying into black vines. With the vines wrapped around each hoof and his neck, Zeil struggled to free himself while looking at Zecora, “Zecora… stop, please… I’m… not your enemy… I… I love you!”
With no sympathy for his words, Zecora turned away and slowly vanished as another voice replied, “What were you expecting Zeil?...”
Hearing the familiar voice sent a chill up his spine as Zeil froze in place. Slowly a tall changeling trotted out from behind him as she continued, “Were you expecting a warm welcome?... were you expecting a hug and kiss?... to embrace one another before leaving for you’re, happily ever after?” the voice chuckled, “You’re a fool…”
Zeil watched as the familiar changeling trotted in front of him and turned to face him as he spoke, “Queen Chrysalis…”

Queen Chrysalis stood before Zeil as she replied, “And what did you intend to do once I found out, hmm? Did you think I would allow it? Did you assume I would merely overlook your treacherous ways and wish you luck on this absurdity that you call, love?...”
Zeil didn’t know how to answer, instead he only stared at his queen in worry as she reached out and touched his chest. As the queen’s hoof touched him, Zeil’s body from that point outward started changing back into his changeling form as she continued, “Look at what you are… you think because you spent a few days under her roof that you could possibly pass yourself off as one of them?...” She turned away as she replied, “You are an even greater fool then I could expect from any of my drones. And…” A dagger magically appeared in her hoof as she replied “I HAVE NO NEED FOR FOOLS!!!”

With that said, Queen Chrysalis turned to him and thrust the dagger towards his chest. As the dagger made contact, Zeil opened his eyes in a state of panic as he pushed against the only thing in front of him as the membrane broke free causing him to fall out of a changeling cocoon. After falling to the floor, Zeil found himself in an underground cavern full of healing cocoons as he took deep breaths to calm himself down from the terrifying dream he just went through. As soon as he was able to calm himself, Zeil rubbed his head in relief as he sighed, “It… was a dream… but it was so re-”
A short second after rubbing his face, Zeil found that he had changed into his zebra form while he was unconscious so he could only sigh in hopelessness as he changed into a changeling and started to examine his surroundings. As he looked through each cocoon in the room, Zeil tried to figure out where he was. It was obvious that he was in a changeling hive, but where was this hive, and who ruled it? There was no hive without workers, and no workers without a queen. After looking at each cocoon, Zeil turned towards the only entrance into the cavern as he paused when he saw an armored changeling enter the cavern with a chipped horn. As soon as the two saw each other the familiar changeling smiled, “Zeil? I thought that was you. How have you been brother?”

Zeil smiled, “Super? You’re here? Wait… am I back in the Changeling Kingdom?”
The familiar changeling shook his head as he approached him, “I wish… no we are far from it. This is a new hive buried under the Land of the Black Sand. Oh… and no one calls me Super anymore. I go by Sonic now. It doesn’t sound like a superhero’s name, and it isn’t as wordy as Supersonic.”
Zeil tried to figure out what happened, “Wait… a new hive?”
The sibling smiled as he turned towards the chamber’s entrance, “Yea… wanna see? It’s pretty cool.”
With that Sonic led Zeil through the cavern until they entered a large chamber filled with busy changelings as they worked hard to construct the hive. Looking through the unfinished hive Zeil spoke, “So… we’re underground then?”
Sonic replied, “Well yea, you think we could make a hive like this on the surface? This sun would cook us in seconds… speaking of which, looks like your burns healed nicely.”

Zeil felt the left side of his face as he looked down his body and noticed that the burns the sun gave him before he fell unconscious were gone as he replied, “Looks like it… those healing cocoons work fast. Though… it would be better if they regrew limbs.”
Sonic nodded, “Yea… that’s true. By the way, I notice both your wings, did Shining Armor do that to you?”
Confused, Zeil turned to look at his only wing, “Both? What are you tal-“
As Zeil looked at his only wing, he was surprised that though it was there, there was something strange about it. Rather than being greenish and transparent, he could see strange glitter like color patches that seemed to be incased in them on the inside. As he looked at the discoloring, Zeil grabbed his wing and looked at it carefully as he spoke, “What is this?”
Sonic replied, “I donno, I thought it was rot when I first saw it, but it didn’t get healed by the cocoon so… I have no idea.”

Zeil released his wing as he replied, “Well… it doesn’t hurt or anything… so I guess its fine… for now anyways.”
Sonic added, “So… the other wing was Shining Armor then?”
Zeil shook his head, “No… I lost that one shortly after the attack on Canterlot. In fact you should have seen me after that fight, I was a total mess. It’s a miracle I survived at all.”
Sonic smiled, “I’m sure, leave it to my big brother drone to take a full-fledged beating and still live to evade the prince for this long.”
Zeil sighed with irritation, “I told you to stop calling me that. Anyways, the chip is still there, so looks like you weren’t injured in the attack at all were you?”
Sonic sighed as he rubbed his chipped horn, “Not really, that weird pink pony shot me in the face with some sort of… confetti cannon, giving me a head ache from Tartarus. Then not long after the queen and the rest of us were tossed out of the city like rag dolls. I survived the fall, but I was found unconscious in a tree then tossed into some cell in Trottingham with a broken rib. A few days later, Prince Armor visited me and transported me and a few others here. Since I was among the first few, the princess made me captain of her guards.”
Zeil smiled, “Really? Lucky yo- wait princess?” he turned completely to his brother, “You mean… Princess Mira?... She’s still here?”

Sonic smiled with pride, “Yea she is… and is she gonna be stoked to see you, Sir Zeil.”
Zeil thought to himself, “Sir Zeil, what are yo- Oh that’s right, she refers to us alpha drones like knights or something like that. I didn’t think she’d still be here after all these years though.”
Sonic nodded, “Yea, ever since she and the queen had their argument over how the Marble Oasis fell, she’s been living here and striving to build her own hive away from the changeling kingdom.”
Zeil nodded, “Surprising… this place was barely livable to begin with… and she’s been living here for almost five years? I’d think she would make up with Queen Chrysalis by now.”
Sonic nodded as he replied, “Well I guess Sibling arguments aren’t resolved as easily as we thought… luckily we’ve never argued like that.”
Zeil replied as he looked around the hive, “Yea… luckily.”
Sonic smiled as he pat his broth on the back, “Well it’s not like she hasn’t been doing well for herself. Look at this place, with her leadership and our help, she has turned this place into a fully functioning hive. All its missing is the nursery, and she is seeing to that as we speak. Actually we should go see her. Like I said, she’ll be happy to see you I’ll bet.”

With an excited step, Sonic jumped into the air and flew off towards the nursery chamber as his flightless sibling stood where he was and waited a few seconds till Sonic realized he was flying alone and turned back to return to his brother. When Sonic made it back to Zeil he spoke in embarrassment, “Yea… sorry. I forgot you can’t fly anymore.” Sonic landed as he started trotting up the path, “Guess we’ll take the long way.”
Zeil sighed, “Yea… I guess so.”
With that Zeil followed Sonic up the path as they started on their walk to the nursery chamber which was closer to the surface. As they continued, Zeil asked, “So… how long was I out?”
Sonic replied, “About twelve hours or so.”
Zeil thought to himself as he mumbled, “Then… Zecora probably realized I’m not coming by now.”
Unable to hear his exact words, Sonic spoke, “What was that?”
Zeil replied, “Oh… it’s um… nothing.”
Though Zeil did sound convincing, he didn’t fool Sonic for a second, but since they were close, he knew that Zeil would tell him if something was truly wrong, so he just disregarded it for the time being.

As they trotted to the nursery, Zeil tried to get his mind of Zecora, so he asked, “So, any word from the Queen or any of the changelings in the attack?”
Sonic sighed, “Not much… I hear the queen made it back to the kingdom with most of us, but about fifty were banished here. You’re the only alpha drone.”
Zeil was surprised, “Fifty? And I’m the only alpha?”
Sonic shook his head, “Yea. A lot of us were dispersed since the attack. Every drone in the queen’s ranks went missing. Apex, Pharynx, even Thorax but seeing that he was kind of a wimp I'm sure he is dead.”
Zeil thought to himself, “Yea Thorax… he was never really the toughest egg in the nursery.”
Sonic chuckled, “Yea… well after the attack things here have been a little uneasy, but we go about it like it’s the norm. I almost forgot how different the princess was compared to the queen. Much more elegant, but at the same time tough. I'd like to think that if she had fought with us in Canterlot we would have beaten those ponies like a dirty rug.”
As curious as the thought was, Zeil didn’t respond. His thoughts were more on Zecora, Equestria, and what his next action should be.

After a few minutes of trotting, the two finally made it to the nursery as they entered to see a tall beautiful changeling with a long pink mane, and iris eyes directing workers as both Sonic and Zeil approached her and bowed in respect as Sonic spoke, “Your majesty… you wanted me to show Zeil to you as soon as he recovered?”
The regal changeling turned to Sonic as she spoke, “Yes captain I did, and thank you for doing so.” She looked at Zeil “Sir Zeil?… do you, remember me?”
Zeil replied, “Yes your majesty, and it’s good to see you again.”
Princess Mira smiled, “As it is to see you, I’m grateful that you were able to be saved from the sun before it could cause permanent harm, but your wing… are you alright? I hope that injury wasn’t a result of my sister’s greed.”
Zeil rose from his bow as he replied, “Well… sort of… actu-”
Before he could finish Sonic spoke over him, “Its nothing your majesty. My brother here has always been the strongest of us all. If it wasn’t for him the queen wouldn’t have even made it into the city in the first place. In fact he can take on an army twice the size as the one in Canterlot and still brush off his wounds with no concern.”

Annoyed he was being talked over, Zeil looked at Sonic in irritation as the princess giggled, “Yes well, I hope it should never come to that…” She lowered her voice as she spoke softly, “Sir Zeil… could… could you and I speak privately for a moment?”
Zeil nodded as he replied “Of course your majesty, it would be a pleasure.”
With that, the two started trotting through the nursery as they left Sonic behind at the entrance. As they trotted through Princess Mira looked at a small hole in the ceiling as she spoke, “Do you like what I’m doing with this room? I thought it would be good to let in a small stream of sunlight in the middle of the room so that the eggs would get plenty of warmth. Of course I intend to block off the area so the young ones don’t herm themselves.”

Zeil nodded as he replied, “It’s um… nice… I guess… um… please don’t seem me rude your majesty… but, is there a reason you want my opinion on this room?”
The princess smiled as she replied, “Well since you will be overseeing the hatchlings in their youth, I want this room to be satisfactory in your eyes.”
Zeil was confused, “You want to put me in charge of the nursery?”
Princess Mira shook her head as she replied, “Well… actually Sir Zeil… you… will see to their lively hood both here… and well afterwards.”
Still not following Zeil gave her a concerned look, “What do you mean by that your majesty?”
Princess Mira blushed, “Well… you see… I’m a princess… and… to become a queen… I need an alpha drone… and… well… you’re the only one in this hive. So…”

Putting the pieces together, Zeil gave her a surprised look, “Wait… you mean…”
Princess Mira smiled, “Yes Sir Zeil, You will become my king. And here… we can recolonize the hive.”
Zeil sat down in disbelief, “But… I…”
Seeing him speechless, Princess Mira smiled as another changeling approached, “Your majesty, Dusk is approaching and we need you to select the changeling who will lead tonight’s search.”
Princess Mira smiled, “Of course, tonight I will lead the search party myself. I was hoping to stretch my wings anyways. Go see to preparations and I will be with you shortly.”
The changeling bowed in respect as he flew away leaving the princess to turn to Zeil, “Forgive me Sir Zeil, but I must see to my duties. Perhaps we can continue this conversation at a later time. For now, go rest and recover your strength. I wait anxiously to hear of your capture in Equestria. If its anything like your brother insist it would be, then it should be a most exciting tale.”
With that Princess Mira turned and flew out of the nursery and back into the main hive as Zeil continued sitting with the speechless expression still on his face.

When the princess was gone, Sonic approach as he smiled and patted his brother on his back, “Judging by your face, she told you the big news didn’t she? Congrats bro you did it. Soon you’re going to be the new king of the changelings… or, at least this hive. Isn’t that awesome?”
Sonic smiled and waited for a reply, but Zeil couldn’t give one. He could only sit with the expression of shock still on his face as a flood of emotions filled his head. Becoming a king, leading the changelings, but all while marrying Princess Mira. As this aching thought pounded away at his head with each heartbeat, there was only one thought that seemed clear to him. He can’t accept it. Sure the Princess was beautiful, but his heart belonged to another. With this, Zeil put his hoof on his aching head as Sonic became concerned, “Brother? You okay? Still woozy from the burns you took?”
Zeil shook his head, “No… I just… I can’t be king.”
Thinking he heard him wrong, Sonic asked, “What was that? I didn’t catch what you said.”
Zeil looked his brother in the eye as he replied, “I said I can’t b-”

Before he could finish, the light peering through the small hole in the ceiling disappeared signaling dusk as Zeil saw this and nodded, “I have to leave… now.”
With that Zeil rushed out of the nursery and into the main hive chamber as Sonic quickly followed, “Brother? Zeil wait up!”
After reaching the main hive chamber, Zeil quickly looked around trying to find the exit as Sonic caught up and asked, “Zeil what’s going o-”
“The Exit”
Sonic gave him a curious look, “What?”
Zeil looked at Sonic, “Where is the exit? How do I get out of the hive?”
Sonic was getting worried, “Oh no, first tell me what’s going on. Your acting weird, and I’m not letting you go out into the desert if you’re too out of it to return before sunrise. So… what’s up?”
Zeil hesitated, “I… I can’t say.”
Sonic reassured him, “Zeil, you’re my brother, whatever it is you can trust me. So spill it, what’s wrong?”

Zeil didn’t know what to do, but since Sonic was the only changeling in the swarm that he felt he could trust, he could only sigh as he replied, “I… I have to get back to Equestria. I can’t stay here. I have to leave.”
Sonic thought he was joking as he laughed, “Good one, why would you want to go back to a place like that?”
Zeil sighed, “I need… I need to get back to, some…one…”
Seeing he was serious, Sonic’s expression became worried, “Wait… your serious aren’t you?”
“I am…”
Sonic became nervous, “What?... what are you talking about?”
Zeil explained, “After the attack, I was saved by a zebra. She saved my life and taught me all abo-”
Sonic interrupted, “Wait wait wait… SHE?... you mean to tell me that the one you need to get back to is a female zebra?”
Zeil replied, “Well… yea. Bu-”
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!”
With Sonic’s shouting echoing through the hive, a number of changeling stopped working as they paid attention to the two as Zeil replied, “Shhh there is no need to shout.”

Sonic replied in anger, “There is perfect need to shout… What you’re saying is tantamount to treason! Why would this zebra be wort traveling all… the way… to…” he realized something as he took a step back in shock, “Wait… you’re?... no… You have feelings for this mare… don’t you?”
Zeil didn’t reply, but his expression said it all as Sonic shook his head in disappointment, “I can’t believe it… you of all changelings… you of all drones.”
Zeil replied, “I’m no better then you…”
Sonic replied in anger, “YES YOU ARE!!! You’re an alpha drone! But now look at you, you’re talking about leaving to meet up with some mare in Equestria… You’re talking about abandoning your own kind for some striped… flank.”

Feeling she was being insulted, Zeil replied with a defending tone, “Easy…”
Sonic continued, “What are you thinking? Why would you even consider something like this?”
Zeil replied, “Because she showed me something that I would never had seen as a part of this swarm. She showed me love.”
Sonic replied with an angry tone, “We don’t feel love… we feed on it. What you think because she batted her eyes at you that you can just abandon the swarm like that? What about the princess? You’re supposed to lead the next swarm! What do you think will happen without you? Think about the hive, think about me!”
Zeil shook his head, “It doesn’t matter… not anymore.”
Sonic took a few steps back as he gave Zeil an untrusted look, “No… I guess it doesn’t… I guess there is only one thing I can do…” he sighed in disappointment before looking back at his brother and yelling in anger, “TRAITOR!!!”

Hearing the call, the changelings watching the conversation charged Zeil as they tackled him to the ground as Sonic spoke, “Throw him in the pit. Don’t bother closing the top… he can’t fly anyways.”
One of the changelings replied, “Sir, what about the princess, she already left with the night search team.”
“Then we will wait till she returns, if she is focused on the search then we will wait till she’s done before telling her about this.”
Zeil replied as he struggled to free himself, “Sonic! What are you doing?”
Sonic replied in anger, “What I have to for the good of the swarm. Maybe you should consider doing the same.”
Zeil tried to explain, “Sonic listen to me… I have to get back… you don’t understand. I-”
Sonic interrupted, “I don’t want to hear it… if you want to betray the swarm then be my guest… But I won’t be part of it or even support you. We may be brothers, but I know where my loyalty lies”

Outside on the surface, the night sky lit up the black sand desert as a magic portal appeared on top of a random dune. With the portal hissing, small number of Equestrian Royal Guards trotted out and looked around in curiosity as the lead soldier spoke, “This should be the place. Remember, we are here to find the changeling that was banished yesterday, so if you see anypony. Don’t attack them.”
Another guard spoke up, “Why are we here anyways? What makes this changeling so important?”
The same guard replied, “Yesterday he fought Prince Armor then cured him of a curse. So we are finding him to thank him and give him the option of returning to Equestria.”
The second guard spoke again, “Why should we try at all? He’s a changeling, he’s better off here where he belongs.”
A different guard replied, “You heard Twilight Sparkle, she said that this changeling was a good friend of her zebra friend. Besides, if it wasn’t for him then I would be trapped in this place. He stopped me from being pulled into the portal then sacrificed himself so we both wouldn’t get pulled in. at the very least, I owe it to help bring him back.”

The first guard replied, “And you believe that story? You were unconscious the whole time.”
The guard replied, “I’ll admit it doesn’t sound like a changeling, but that is what Prince Armor and Twilight Sparkle told me. Why would they lie?”
“A proper question… however, those ponies have always been insincere with us.”
Surprised by the unexpected voice, the royal guards braced themselves for a fight as Princess Mira and her small squad of changelings landed around them as one of the guards gave an order, “Soldiers stand down…” He looked at the princess, “We arrived here with peaceful intent, so we request that you acknowledge this and treat us with the same.”
The unamused princess replied with a threatening tone, “A respectful request, however I cannot promise that we can carry it out. You see, you and your kind have always treated my subjects with such indecencies. However in light of my own curiosity, I will restrain my soldiers long enough for you to answer the following… Why have you come to this place?”

The leading royal guard stepped forward, “We came to find a changeling.”
Princess Mira smiled sarcastically, “Then it appears you’ve found one. I am Princess Mira, Sister to Queen Chrysalis and soon to be queen of the Changelings of the Black Sands.”
Acknowledging that they were speaking with royalty, another guard spoke up as he bowed, “Your majesty, the changeling we seek called himself Zine. He took the form of a zebra and befriended a friend of Twilight Sparkle.”
The lead guard continued, “He saved one of our own, and helped cure Prince Armor of a curse.”
Princess Mira gave the royal guards an intrigued expression, “Is that so?... A friend of a friend of Twilight Sparkle… And you say his name was Zine?”
The lead guard nodded as he replied, “Yes… Your majesty.”
Princess Mira looked at one of her changelings as she replied, “The changeling Zine… do you know of him?”
The changeling shook his head, “No your majesty, the name is unfamiliar to me.”
She turned to another of her changelings, “And you? Do you recall a Zine in our swarm?”
The Changeling shook his head, “Not at all your majesty.”

Princess Mira looked back at the royal guards as she spoke, “It would appear that this Zine of which you speak, is unknown amongst my hive. Meaning one of two things; either his name is false to protect himself from the likes of you, which is the most likely scenario. Or, upon his arrival, he wasn’t discovered by my search teams and perished amongst the morning sun.”
The lead royal guard was confused, “Perished?... What do you mean?”
Princess Mira picked up a hoof full of sand as she held it up, “This sand… isn’t black through natural causes… most of it, is burned and charred from the heat of the daylight sun. For reasons unknown, the sun here is almost three times as intense as everywhere else in the world. Meaning the ultraviolet rays will heat the air almost instantly while burning what it touches. The sun’s rays are also magnified by the black sand around us which absorbs the heat at a near impossible feat. Three seconds in the sun is enough to get serious burns, ten seconds is enough to cook your flesh. After thirty second, you’d be lucky to be alive, whilst no creature can survive one minute in the sun, nor can a body last a full day without being reduced to ash.”

Confused the royal guards looked at one another as Princess Mira spoke with an almost angry tone, “I know not the cruel executioner who devised such a barbaric punishment upon my subjects… but… if execution was your intent… then banishing them here was a promising attempt.”
The lead guard didn’t know how to respond, “W-we didn’t know.”
Princess Mira replied with an unamused tone, “Of course not, and why would you? No pony has ever had concern for the wellbeing of changelings.”
The guards felt guilty as Princess Mira continued, “You have your answer… the changeling you seek is not amongst my hive… so… be-gone from this place… and never return.”
The lead guard tried to speak, “Could you at least support us in our search, we only wi-“
“Perhaps I should repeat myself, you and your quest aren’t welcomed here. You bring nothing but pain in misery to my kind while you banish us without so much as leaving us our dignity. It’s these actions that would justify your executions here and now. However for once, one of us will show humility and allow you the mercy that my subjects were denied. So I tell you once again… Leave this place, and should you return, I will show you the full intensity of the Black sand’s rays, as I watch you blister from a stake atop the highest dune. Am I Understood?”

Princess Mira and her changelings glared at the royal guards as they looked at each other for a few second before realizing they had no choice. The lead guard looked at Princess Mira and bowed, “Understood… thank you for your time your majesty.”
Princess Mira replied with a disgusted tone, “Just… go…”
The guard turned around and used his unicorn magic to create a portal as the squad of royal guards trotted into the doorway and vanished. With no intention of trusting the guards, Princess Mira continue watching until the magic portal vanished into nothing as she turned back to her soldiers and spoke, “A changeling who cured Shining Armor… any changeling who would help ponies is a traitor to our kind and will be treated as such. That goes for this, Zine… and any from this point on. Understood?”
The changelings nodded their head as the princess continued, “Good, let us continue our search, less more fall victim to the pony banishment.”
With that the changeling set out to find any more changelings that could have been banished within the last day.

A number of hours later after dawn, Princess Mira trotted through the hive’s cavern beside Sonic as she spoke, “And these were his words exactly?...”
Sonic replied with an honest and serious tone, “I would never lie your majesty, not even in his defense. I have always looked up to Zeil as my older brother… but to see him act like this… I can’t tell who he is anymore.”
Princess Mira sighed in disappointment, “I understand your pain Sonic… to hear a sibling speak against you is a feeling of which I am familiar. And though I admire your honesty, I can only assume this to be a misunderstanding.” She looked down the corridor as she continued, “I only have faint memories of Sir Zeil before my sister’s fruitless campaign. But as I recall, Sir Zeil has always shown nothing more than unimpeachable obedience and loyalty. To hear him say such things seems… too outlandish for belief.”
Sonic shrugged his shoulders, “Perhaps your majesty… but… I know what I heard, and whatever the meaning of his words… I hope you will understand that if the choice comes to it, I will remain loyal to the swarm.”
Amused by his honesty, the princess smirked as she replied, “Your words are noted, though unessisary. I will convers with Sir Zeil myself and clear up this misinterpretation at once. Once it is cleared, we can put this all behind us.”
Sonic nodded, “I hope so your majesty… but what if he’s serious?”
Princess Mira sighed in worry, “I pray that isn’t the case.”

As the two continued, it wasn’t long before they reached the lowest part of the hive where there was a deep pit without a ladder or walkway as the princess looked down see Zeil meditating in his zebra form with his hooves crossed in the pit’s center. Seeing what was unusual to them, Princess Mira and Sonic looked at each other for a brief moment before Princess Mira looked back and spoke, “Sir Zeil?”
Zeil opened his eyes as he looked up and replied, “Yes your majesty?”
Confused as to how casual his response was, Princess Mira replied, “I’ve received some rather… troubling news regarding your loyalty to the swarm. And since I would rather hear your side of the statement… I have come to ask you personally… Is it true that you intend to leave swarm?”
Zeil with no expression replied, “I do.”
Princess Mira was concerned, “May I ask why?”

Zeil smiled in a disrespectful way, “Why?... look around us? We are a swarm in hiding… and this isn’t the first time… Every changeling everywhere is doing the same thing.” He changed into his changeling form, “Look at me… There is a reason the world looks at us with disgust! For centuries we have stolen the most precious thing to… everything. And only by feeling it myself could I ever understand why they look at us like they do.”
Princess Mira thought he was stressed as she tried to calm him, “Jest rest Sir Zeil… When you’ve had time to process we can discuss this rationally.”
Princess Mira started to leave as Zeil replied in anger, “I have never been more rational in my life! Chrysalis… you… the problem isn’t that we are the way we are, the problem is the way you chose to rule the hive!”
Amazed she hear this, Princess Mira stopped and looked back, “Excuse me?”
Zeil replied with a serious tone, “You heard me… for centuries we’ve only don’t what our queen has told us. Feed on love and deceive any creature we can to do so. It’s this logic that brought us here… hiding in a cave from an angry world. What we need to do i-”

Princess Mira replied in anger, “Who are you to tell me how to rule my hive? You may be an alpha… but you are still beneath me!”
Zeil nodded, “and that’s why we will be driven to extinction.”
Taking it as a threat Princess Mira replied, “Watch your tongue! You seem to be forgetting your place.”
Zeil shook his head, “No… I remember my place… but it isn’t here in this hive… its back in Equestria.”
Starting to feel skeptic, Princess Mira replied, “Equestria?”
Zeil replied, “The mare I love… after the failed raid on Canterlot, I was taken in by a zebra who helped me. If it wasn’t for her… I'd be dead.”
Princess Mira felt relieved as she smiled, “I see now… you were saved by a zebra… and now you think you have fallen for her. I'd hate to say, but what your feeling isn’t love, it’s a need to pay a life debt.”

Zeil shook his head, “I wouldn’t think so… seeing that I already paid back that debt in full.”
Not liking his tone, Princess Mira replied, “What do you mean, paid in full?”
Zeil smiled in a sinister fashion, “you know that curse that Chrysalis gave shining armor?… I cured it.”
Princess Mira became angry as she replied as calmly as she could, “What?...”
Sonic stepped forward, “You… you betrayed u-“
Sonic was silenced as princess Mira put her hoof us to stop him, “So… You’re the zebra Zine… Aren’t you?”
Although Zeil was confused that she could know of his false identity, he didn’t want to show doubt as he changed into his zebra form and replied while looking her in the eye, “Yes… I am… I am Zine.”
As she looked into his eyes, Princess Mira felt something strange, it was a combination of many emotions, but if they could be described, they would be disappointment, fear, and rage. Trying to maintain her composer, Princess Mira replied with an angry but calm tone, “I see… so you support the ponies then do you?”

Zeil shook his head, “I’m neutral to them… I only care about Zecora. But if you’re asking about my continued loyalty with this, or any hive… its safe to say that I have none.”
The rage now overshadowed her other emotions as Princess Mira continued to hide it as her eyes panned onto his missing wing, then to his remaining discolored wing. As she looked at his unusual difference from the rest of the hive, Princess Mira spoke, “Ah… so… it would seem that the ponies found a way to corrupt one of our own. Very clever… but fire can’t always win against fire.”
With anger, Princess Mira turned to Sonic, “Captain, Sir Zeil is obviously under the influence of some sort of pony curse. Therefore I want him kept here indefinably until either the spell runs its course… or… until we find another alpha drone to take his place.”

Sonic Asked, “And… if we find a replacement drone… then what?”
Princess Mira replied with a dark tone, “If we find a replacement, then… I’m afraid I will have no choice but to dispose of a potential threat to the swarm.”
Zeil replied, “You mean kill me… right?”
Princess Mira replied sympathetically, “For the good of the hive… yes.”
That said, Princess Mira turned around and started to leave as she tried all she could to speak without showing her anger, “Captain Sonic… I leave him in your hooves. Prove your loyalty to the swarm.”
Sonic bowed and replied as Princess Mira left the cavern, “No problem your majesty, leave him to me.”
As soon as Princess Mira was gone, Zeil spoke, “Well, that went well.”

Sonic looked at his brother in disbelief, “What is your problem? Threatening the princess?... What’s gotten into you?”
Zeil replied, “You can take my word for it… or follow the princess’s excuse that the ponies put a curse on me… I don’t care.”
Zeil turned to the center of the pit as Sonic became annoyed, “I can’t believe you… why would you do this? She’s giving you control of the swarm on a silver platter! And your taking that plate and tossing it back at her. You’re an alpha drone! This is what you’re supposed to be bread for!”
Zeil replied, “I didn’t choose to be an alpha!… no more then I chose to be a king!”
Sonic shook his head, “You… you’re… just selfish.” Zeil looked at his brother as Sonic continued, “You have everything… EVERYTHING!!! And you’re giving it all up!... You know, I’ve envied you since we were hatchlings… the day we hatched, Queen Chrysalis trotted up to us and smiled… but it wasn’t us she was smiling at. It was you... you were an alpha drone. She knew that if the swarm had a future, it was you that would lead it. Every day hundreds of us are born, but out of every thousand, there is only one of you. Cuz of this, the queens treat you like you’re already kings. You’re the favorite when trained, you’re the first selected for important tasks and recognition… they even remember your names. We workers… we wish for the chance to be treated like you for a single day. But you… You just toss it aside like it’s nothing special. You’re not a drone… your just a selfish traitor.”

Seeing the anger in his brother’s expression Zeil replied, “Sonic… She used us… she treated us like we were special but in actuality she knew that we were the only ones who could stand up to her. But even then, I didn’t want special treatment. I didn’t want to be king, or lead a hive, or any of that. I just wanted to enjoy my life with my brother beside me.”
Sonic sighed in hopelessness as he replied, “I’m not a grub anymore… you don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better. I know I was nothing more than your pity party. Well I don’t need your sympathy… but I would like it better if you actually accepted the treatment they gave you for once. Instead of throwing it away like an ungrateful-… Never mind. You want to sit in this hole like it’s your high horse, then be my guest. I’m done with you.”

Thinking he lost, Zeil sighed, “I guess so… well… then I'll see you around.”
With that Zeil sat down with an intent of going back to his meditation as Sonic spoke one last time, “Can you answer me one thing before I go?”
Zeil nodded as Sonic asked, “This zebra… is she really worth it? Are you sure that it’s love that you felt?”
Zeil smiled as he replied, “She is… and yes, I am.”
Sonic smiled, “Hmm…Must feel good… You know… that if you forget this whole thing and say you will stay, the princess will forgive and forget all of this, right?”
Zeil sighed, “I’m not looking for forgiveness, nor do I intend on telling the princess what she wants to hear. If I get out of this, I won’t have any shame in how I do it. Lying to run away is a coward’s tactic. And I won’t do it anymore.”

Sonic shook his head as she sighed in irritation, “What happened to you?”
Zeil smiled in a motivational way, “I’m only following the wise advice that was told to me the night before I left Equestria.”
Sonic was curious, “Really? What advice is that?”
Zeil replied, “I need to show the princess who I am… not what I am.”
Sonic sighed as he turned and left the room, “Well who you are, is gonna get you killed… think about that. Sir Zeil.”
As Sonic left the cavern Zeil replied, “That doesn’t matter, I must do what I can to get back to Zecora.” He sat down in a meditative position as he mumbled, “Alright Rafi… what now… how do I get out of this.”

Comments

[TRIBOT 4000]

Lord, I have been waiting for a sequel to Never Meant To Be. You have made my day. You have no idea how excited I am.

May your days be long and Delightful.

[Priceless911]

9325443
sorry it took so long, I actually wanted to wait till the artist I commissioned for the cover art was finished before posting this but since she is taking a little longer then expected I decided to post it anyways. the rest of Book one is finished but i'm gonna wait till next Saturday to post the next, kinda give it time to sink in so people don't just fly through it without catching critical moments.

[TRIBOT 4000]

9325746
No problem. It takes me a long time to respond to stuff too. I do like that you're waiting to post the next chapter. Like you said, people coming back to the series will be able to let it sink in between chapters. Smart move. Anyways, have a wonderful day.

[Priceless911]

9333289
I'm glade you liked him, I hope you enjoy this story as much as the last. Book one is finished however, I will be posting the chapters weekly (on Saturday) until all the finished chapters are up. (currently I'm writing book 2 chapter 1.)

[Priceless911]

9333841
this story is separated in books, (mini stories) that all play on the same journey each book is going to be about 2 to 5 chapters long while the total number of books will be about 16. so far I only have book one finished which is 3 chapters long and im on book 2 chapter one. (not sure how long that one will be till its finished.)

Think of it like the old Avatar anime, 4 books/seasons with a number of episodes telling all the same story.

[Dashie04]

This story is excellent, perhaps catching me even quicker than the first one.

If nothing else, I’m quite enjoying cracking jokes to myself about all the grammatical mistakes.

And hey, I think I heard Green Day playing in the distance at that ending.

[Priceless911]

9765927
Thx I hope you like this as much as the last, its still a long way from being finished but its progressing smoothly. Sorry about the errors, I try to catch them as I see them but I never see them all. I used to be a green day fan, but i'm not sure which song seems to be playing at the end. though on occasion I do like to use famous lines from shows or references. example, I used a Frozen line in the most recent chapter. lol i'm sure you will spot it.

[tsaukpaetra]

To be fair, he is indeed being very selfish.
Rather annoyed that indeed the ponies very well could have immediately returned once Shining's malady was confirmed in progress of being cured.
And very disappointed that nopony thought to see what the other side was like. It would have been extremely obvious what was going on if only miss knowledge-seeker herself spent a single brain cell on the idea.