A New Friend

by Shadowflame

Duel of Shadows

Rowan and Shade stood in the middle of the dark night, finding themselves completely surrounded by changelings. Rowan turned towards the entrance of the hive while Shade growled at the changelings behind him. Rowan reared back, ready to blast his way through the swarm, "Here goes nothing."

His horn flared, as his magic was amplified by the surrounding darkness, and he fired a barrage of flaming crescents at the surrounding changelings. Flames burst and lit the night as the projectiles drove away the changelings. Rowan looked behind him to see that Shade was now biting and snapping the changelings that tried to get the him from behind.

But even as Rowan and Shade fought off the changelings, the swarm never seemed to end. Every time that one flew away, badly injured or scared away, another took its place in the fight.

Rowan kept up his spells, both attacking and defending with shadow magic. But then, Rowan suddenly felt a pain exert from his side. Grunting from the pain, he dropped onto a knee to see that a changeling had somehow managed to get a lucky hit, and now the changelings were surging towards him.

The hurt unicorn turned his head to look at Shade. The shadow wolf was being quickly overpowered by the vast number of attackers, and several of his bandages had been torn off from fighting. Whatever bandages that were left were being soaked red with Shade's blood.

The changelings now gathered around Rowan, and began to repeatedly beat him with their legs. Rowan collapsed onto the ground as they pounded away, holding no restraint.

Rowan winced in pain, "No," another hit, "I..." and another hit, "I can't go on much longer." He looked up at the changelings that surrounded him, who looked like they were ready to finish him off. Rowan closed his eyes and lowered his head as he lost all hope of survival. He gritted his teeth as he prepared to die.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naractia began to worry for Rowan as she watched him struggle against the swarm. It was clear that he wasn't going to last long. Not unless she did something. If she was going to do something to help Rowan, then she would need to do it fast.

Leaving her hiding place, she ran into the swarm of changelings, pushing past the drones as she tried to reach Rowan and Shade. The number of changelings thickened around Rowan and Shade, making it almost impossible to get through to them.

Frustrated as all of her efforts to get through were rejected by swarm around her, Naractia spread out her wings as she prepared to fly over the swarm. But as she began to take off, she was stopped as something cracked through the air.

Her and many of the changelings looked to find the source of the noise, which they found were two sparks that raced through the air. The sparks were made of magic, as far as Naractia could tell, but then she watched as the two projectiles zoomed through the air and landed in the middle of the swarm.

There was a slight delay time, but then the two sparks burst, pure energy lashed out at the changelings surrounding Rowan and Shade. All of the swarm stopped attacking the two intruders and looked towards the source of the sparks.

Naractia felt her jaw drop as, on top of a nearby ledge, stood a group of ponies that every changeling knew of. There were only six of them, two earth ponies, two pegasi, and two unicorns. They had been one of the reasons that the changeling force had failed to take over Canterlot, and now they were here to help Rowan and Shade.

The entire swarm buzzed in anger at the sight of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and several of the changelings charged through the air towards them.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and her friends stood on the ledge, looking down at the sea of changelings below. The changelings had noticed them and now began to charge at them through the air.

Back in town, before Princess Celestia had arrived with reinforcements, Twilight had begun to worry for Rowan. At the last second, she gathered her friends together and told Shining Armor that Rowan was going after the Liber Tenebrarum. Her brother had agreed with her that Rowan shouldn't had gone alone, so he decided to stay in town and wait for the princess while Twilight and her friends catch up to Rowan and help him retrieve the book.

But when they arrived to find Rowan in the middle of a changeling army, Twilight had thought that they were too late.

She looked at her friends standing beside her, "We all knew that we were diving head-long into a fight when we came. Ready, girls?"

They all nodded. Twilight smiled at her friends, "Try to find Rowan and we'll pull through this together." In unspoken unison, they turned and faced the horde of changelings before them. In an instant, the six friends leaped into the fight.

Rainbowdash was the first to leap into the action, as she dashed through the air at blinding speed, taking out the oncoming changelings, clearing the way for the others.

Twilight fired several bursts of magic, clearing the ground below. Applejack jumped into the middle of the swarm and began to buck everything that moved with her powerful hind legs. The others jumped off of the ledge and followed behind her, fighting off the changelings that came close. The five of them blazed a trail into the heart of the swarm.

They reached the middle of the swarm, and found Rowan and Shade lying on the ground, both of them badly bruised and bleeding. Applejack, Rainbowdash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy took up positions around the two. They began to fight off the oncoming wave of changelings while Twilight checked to see if Rowan was all right.

She bent down and gently shook Rowan, "Rowan! Get up!"

Fluttershy called out from her place in a frightened voice, "Um... girls? They're getting closer!"

Twilight glanced up to see the changelings start to move in on their group. She turned back to Rowan and shook him harder, "Rowan! Please be okay."

Rowan's eyes slowly opened and he said in a weak voice, "W-What?" His eyes turned over to the purple unicorn standing above him. He moaned, "Twilight? You came?"

Twilight smiled, "We all did."

Rowan glanced around at the group surrounding him and Shade, keeping the changelings at bay, "Thank you, guys. I thought I was doomed."

Applejack bucked a changeling away from the group, "Yeah, we're glad to see ya, too, Rowan. But we ain't out 'f the woods yet."

Twilight ran to join her friends in protecting Rowan, "Right. We need to get inside the hive and retrieve the book." She looked around at the swarm before them, "But first we need to get through these changelings."

Rowan struggled as he wearily stood up, "Don't count me out just yet." Slowly, he walked up next to Twilight and his horn began to glow, "I'm ready for another fight." Rowan's head jerked as he was prodded from the side. He turned to see that Shade had gotten up, and now stood by him, ready to fight as well.

Rowan smiled and looked back at the swarm. In that instant, the entire swarm leaped at the group of friends.

With that, the full-on battle began. Everyone in Rowan's group stood together, trying to keep what ground they had. Rowan attacked with his arsenal of spells, sending the changelings around him flying back into their comrades. Rowan was surprised, despite the fact that he was bleeding in numerous places and exhausted from being nearly beaten to death, he was fighting better and harder than he had fought before.

He grinned as he realized that it was because he was fighting beside his friends, "I guess friendship really is magic."

As he fended off the changelings in front of him, he stepped backwards by Twilight. Keeping an eye on the fight he shouted to her, "The changeling queen must have the Liber Tenebrarum inside the hive. We need to get into the hive before the queen can use any of the magic in the book."

Twilight nodded, "When I give the signal, we blast a path through the swarm. Then everypony run inside."

She and Rowan turned towards the changelings in front of the entrance of the hive. Twilight shouted out, "Rowan, on three!"

Rowan nodded as the purple unicorn began to count down, "One... Two... Thr-"

She was suddenly cut off by a booming voice, "I command you all to be silent."

The changelings instantly stopped their assault at once. The changelings that stood in front of the entrance to the hive parted to the sides, revealing the changeling queen.

Rowan and the others glared fiercely at the queen as she walked towards them. They all still had the memory of the changeling attack at Canterlot fresh in their minds.

Chrysalis smirked at the ponies, "Well, this is a surprise. You seven have come peacefully into my domain."

Twilight glared at her as her horn lit with magic, "Give us back the Liber Tenebrarum, now. Princess Celestia and the Canterlot soldiers are on their way here right now."

Chrysalis laughed at them, "Oh, do you mean this lovely tome?" She brought out the black book from behind her back, levitating it in the air next to her.

Rowan snorted in anger, "Give it back, unless you want me to smack that grin off your face."

The queen only laughed harder, "I'm sorry, my dear Rowan. You won't be doing anything for the moment."

Her black horn glowed with a green aura as shadows began to gather around her. Everypony reared back from the queen, ready to fight her.

But as Rowan watched Chrysalis perform the spell his eyes widened as he recognized it. He turned to warn the others, but was unable to as the queen's spell took effect. Rowan was frozen in mid-pose, trapped in a severe shadow bind.

He looked at the others, who were too frozen in their positions. Everyone held a look of worry in their eyes as they found that they couldn't move or speak.

Chrysalis cackled wickedly, "In case you were wondering, I learned a couple of spells from the Liber Tenebrarum. This one is called a shadow bind, as it uses the victim's own shadow to hold them in place." She sneered towards Rowan, "I'm sure that you're familiar with it. Aren't you Rowan?"

Rowan glared at the queen, unable to say several curse words to her in his frozen state.

Chrysalis laughed as she walked forward and began to stroke a leg under Rowan's chin, "Oh, yes. That's right. You couldn't answer me even if you wanted to. I guess I'll be doing all of the talking now." She laughed hysterically as she turned around and began to walk back into the hive.

The queen turned to the changelings, "Bring them along. I wouldn't want them to miss their own demise."

Rowan struggled under the bind as two changelings picked him up like a statue and began to carry him into the hive. Behind him, he heard the sounds of his friends being carried into the hive as well.

They entered the cave that served as the entrance to the hive. Inside was a tunnel that ran down into the dark depths below. As they ventured far into the cavern, Rowan saw that the hive was a complex network of tunnels that connected several chambers like a spider's web. The entire hive was lit by a dim green glow that exerted from the walls of the hive.

The changelings carried Rowan and his friends down to the deepest, and certainly the largest, chamber of the hive. Rowan and the others were placed down on the ground in front of something that resembled a throne. Queen Chrysalis was seated on top of it. The chamber became filled as all of the changelings covered the edges of the chamber.

Chrysalis smirked at the ponies in front of her, "Now, before I dispose of you, you all must be wondering how I knew about the Liber Tenebrarum."

Rowan gave no hint of response, but the queen continued anyway, "You see, this book actually belonged to my mother, thousands of years ago, before that filthy Princess Luna stole it. When she stole it, no one ever saw Luna, so they regarded the Liber tenebrarum to have been lost forever. After a few hundred years, without the magic provided by the book, we began to forget the ancient magic, growing weaker with every year that flew by. No one even remembers the old magic now."

She grinned at them, "However, I have spies all across Equestria, and they will report to me of strange findings. The one that I had situated in Ponyville told me of Rowan and about the presence of the Liber Tenebrarum. It was then that I realized that the book was my mother's tome that had been stolen all of those years ago. I realized that I could harness the magic within it and use it to take over all of Equestria."

Chrysalis sighed, "But as the language of the book is ancient and has been lost of hundreds of years, it was almost impossible for me to decipher the spells it contained. But luckily, I had some help."

The queen pointed towards an elderly changeling that stood by the throne. Rowan looked at and was surprised to see that it had a strong resemblance of Chrysalis. It looked like the queen, except for the changeling seemed older and gray.

The queen chuckled, "So, my little ponies. I'd like you to meet the queen before me, my mother: Queen Thorax"

Rowan's eyes widened as he realized how Chrysalis had learned the spells so quickly in a short amount of time. She had received help from someone that had actually read the Liber Tenebrarum before.

Chrysalis smiled with an ugly grin, "Yes, that's right. She gave me the ability to fully read the tome." She placed a leg on the book's cover, "Of course, since she was the last bearer of the Liber Tenebrarum, she knows all of its secrets." The queen lowered down to her mother, "Do it!"

A light suddenly exerted from the Liber Tenebrarum, and the book began to draw in the darkness around it. Rowan's eyes widened as he saw that the shadows flowing into the book. He squinted his eyes to see that the shadows were being formed into more words that added themselves into the pages of the book.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naractia stood behind all of the changelings, watching the scene that was happening in the throne chamber. Chrysalis had just barely ordered her mother, Naractia's grand-mother, to unveil the secrets of the Liber Tenebrarum. She watched from her position as the book began to glow and draw in the shadows around it, which formed more words on its pages.

But then the princess felt the single page she carried begin to shake violently. She looked down at it, grasping the page tightly. She watched as words began to appear on the page, just as it had with the book. She realized that even thought she had torn page out of the book, it was still connected to it through magic.

Naractia read the words that had appeared on the page. There were new words on top of each spell. The changeling's eyes widened as she saw that the words were actually labels and titles for the passages and spells, identifying them for the reader.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Rowan struggled to get free from the bind that was on him, but to no avail as Chrysalis held out the changed Liber Tenebrarum.

The queen laughed, "You see, I have complete control over the book and its magic." She walked away from them and seated herself on her throne, "So, Twilight Sparkle, I say let the Princess come. With shadow magic, I can easily destroy her. No one can help you or the rest of Equestria."

Rowan glared at Chrysalis, Come on! There has to be away to stop her. But then something caught his eye. It was Chrysalis's throne, or rather what was on top of it. On top of the throne was a single rounded stone, with the engraving of a crescent on it. The round head piece of the throne seemed familiar, yet Rowan couldn't seem to remember what it reminded him of.

Rowan thought to himself, Where have I seen that sort of thing before?... I mean, I don't think I've ever seen that exact stone before, but I know I've seen something like it... Maybe it was something from the show?... Let's see, um,... the only round stone that I distinctly remember from the show were the Element of Harmony in their dormant forms, but I don't see how they could relate to...

Rowan's eyes widened as he remembered the passage that he had discovered last night in the Liber Tenebrarum. It had mentioned that there were more than six elements of harmony, more that could add their power to the other elements. And now Rowan was looking at it: The seventh element.

Comments

[Mcayon]

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, I FUCKING HATE CHANGELINGS!!

[Shadowflame]

1673904I don't know about you, but I think that I might do a story with a bit of redemption.
But anyways, thanks for reading my story.

[BronzeFog]

1673904 lol you can't hate my changeling OC cuz she is only changeling to look for love in her true form

[Luckyfanisaac]

His horn flared, as his magic was amplified by the surrounding darkness, and he fired a barrage of flaming crescents at the surrounding changelings. Flames burst and lit the night as the projectiles drove away the changelings. Rowan looked behind him to see that Shade was now biting and snapping the changelings that tried to get at him from behind.

Chrysalis sighed, "But as the language of the book is ancient and has been lost for hundreds of years, it was almost impossible for me to decipher the spells it contained. But luckily, I had some help."

She realized that even though she had torn the page out of the book, it was still connected to it through magic.