Assassin's Tears IV: Loyalty by Corruption

by MisterGTFO

Dangerous and Troubled Roads

Chapter Eight: Dangerous and Troubled Roads

Silent Wind woke up to the noise of scraping on the ground with a broom and faint mare voices. He slowly opened his eyes and stood up with his hoof to his forehead, still slightly tired from his nap. Spike soon stopped cleaning as he walked up to him, giving him orders from Twilight. Silent Wind turned his head towards Spike, giving the drake a questioning look.

"What do you want?" Silent Wind asked. Spike was slightly hesitant to talk after what had happened with him and the Silentblade, but he knew that he had to still say it under Twilight's order.

"Uh, Twilight wants you to go downstairs. I would've woken you up, but uh.. I was cleanin' here." Spike said as he went back to cleaning around the bedroom floors and organizing the books in the shelves. Silent Wind flew out of the bed and below the kitchen ground below. Once he was calm and normally on the ground, he walked downstairs to check on what were Twilight and the 'gang' were doing. As he got downstairs, they were all gathered around the door, preparing the leave out. Silent Wind didn't know that they were leaving somewhere now. He quickly trotted to them, wanting answers.

"I didn't know you were all going now. Where are you all going?" Silent Wind asked. Twilight turning towards him and walking forward. Pinkie Pie had quite a cheerful face, despite knowing the conflicts.

"Oh! You were sleeping because your head was sleepy?! I have a lot of sleep too!" Pinkie Pie said before slumping down on the ground, falling asleep. Twilight turned her head towards Pinkie Pie who was snoring on the ground. Her other friends checked on her , even though they saw that it was just her silliness faking a sleeping Pinkie Pie. Twilight turned her head back to Silent Wind.

"We were waiting for you. I wish you didn't sleep too long, it's not rather healthy to sleep in too much." Twilight said. Silent Wind sighed and tilted his head back as he rubbed his leather bracers, checking if they were tight enough. His clothing were fine, despite being a bit dusty and dirty.

"Yeah, thanks for the 'health' lectures, but you didn't ask my question." Silent Wind reminded. Twilight had gotten off-topic and apologized for not answering. She then started off where she had gone off-topic. Twilight got a bit closer to the Silentblade as she wanted to whisper, not wanting her friends to feel a bit odd by hearing what Twilight said.

"I thought I told you... didn't I say that we were going to the Everfree Forest to check something?" Twilight whispered. Silent Wind was a bit uncomfortable being a bit too close by Twilight. But, he replied to her with his whisper.

"Well, sorry. I forgot about that.. I'm going to come along since we don't even know if it'll be dangerous. After all, I swore that I'd protect you." Silent Wind whispered. Twilight knew that there would be danger ahead since she knew that Changelings were spread throughout Equestria. But, she didn't want Silent Wind to feel uneasy by saying that danger was assured so she just nodded.

"O-Okay.. come on, my friends are waiting.." Twilight stuttered as she pulled back from Silent Wind's face. Silent Wind eyes narrowed as he swore he saw a pink blush from Twilight's face but a moment later, he shrugged it off. Twilight who didn't notice her blush, had to admit that it was slightly warming to know she had somepony to protect her.

"Hey! Let's go already!" Rainbow Dash hurried. Twilight quickly trotted as she opened the door with a magical pull and trotted out of the library. Her friends followed her out the moment she trotted out. Pinkie Pie woke up spontaneously and hopped out of the library. Silent Wind walked out the last.

As Silent Wind got outside, he saw that it was around the afternoon and near sunset. The sky looked like it was setting down for nighttime. He quickly caught up with the others by flying towards them. He didn't want to waste energy just galloping to them. Once he caught up with the others, they all left Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest, finding out the things that were killing many ponies within the Everfree Forest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia looked over at the skies of Equestria, she could see that it was near sunset and frowned at the distant, green skies far down in the south. Princess Luna opened her door to her room and had a concerned look for her sister. Usually she was rather blank-faced and had courage in her heart. But this time, it felt much more different. She approached her sister, making Princess Celestia turn her head to her left to see her younger sibling.

"Is something wrong, my sister?" Princess Luna asked. Princess Celestia lowered her head and looked back at the horizon of the clouds.

"I have been thinking for several moments now, I wonder how Shining Armor is fairing over in the badlands. Surely, the Changelings have been rough on them for months now..." Princess Celestia said. Despite having the utmost faith in Shining Armor, she knew that Shining Armor wouldn't last at the badlands, not without the Elements of Harmony. He would most likely be slain if not given reinforcements. This gave Princess Cadance a dark fear that she would not see in reality but for Princess Celestia knew that it would be devastating to lose the Captain of the Royal Guard. Despite of the dark hour, Princess Luna putted a hoof on her shoulder, giving her slight hope.

"Do not fret, sister, I am sure Shining Armor is doing his best to hold them for several months. What we must have in such a dark time, is hope. Isn't that what mother and father taught us?" Princess Luna said with a smile. Princess Celestia was quite surprised by her sister's words, she was usually the one telling Princess Luna things, but this time, it seemed like the roles were changed. Nonetheless, she smiled at her sister and gave her a hug. Princess Luna hugged back.

"Of course, of course. We swear that we will fight to our last breath, to protect the Elements of Harmony."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silent Wind walked along with the Mane Six as they passed by the dark, atmosphere of the Everfree Forest. To Silent Wind, the Everfree Forest of the world he was in now was now more grim than the Everfree Forest of his world. He figured that it must've been the Changeling Influence that caused the once-green forest to slowly die out. Despite of the dark environment, Pinkie Pie stood happy and cheerful as she jumped through each vine to another vine. Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, with her forelegs crossed. Applejack looked for anything of the unusual and never left her eye from her rope around her waist, preparing to immobilize any that resembled as hostile. Twilight turned her head left and right, being very cautious. Silent Wind wondered what was going through her head and sped up a bit to catch up to her. He was concerned about their surroundings and told Twilight about his concern.

"Twilight, it's getting very odd around here. I feel like something is watching us." Silent Wind said. Twilight looked around, shifting her eyes left and right.

"There's nothing out of the ordinary. Come on, stop being paranoid and lets keep moving." Twilight replied. Silent Wind shook his head as Twilight turned her head back in front of her. The rest of the Mane six went past him as he slowed down. Silent Wind felt something very ominous behind him, but he could see anything, the path was quite dark. He swore he heard a hissing sound and raised his left hoof, about to take out his weapons. Before he could, he was knock out of his trance by a holler.

"Hey! Dozer, we're moving! Get your rump over here!" Rainbow Dash hollered. Silent Wind's head turned to the echo of the sound of Rainbow Dash calling and hovered quickly to the others.

In the darkness, a black, sharp claw appeared from within the nearby trees. Even more hissing started as the tall figure jumped up and into the high branches of each tree.

For at least an hour, Twilight and her group of friends including one Silentblade walked far from Ponyville. As they finally got to the border that separated Southern Equestria and Northern Equestria, they saw that there was a bridge. It looked old, very old. It's wood looked like it could break any moment. But the most that they saw first, was the five downed Royal Guards near the bridge. Fluttershy screamed in fear and buried her head. The others gasped. Twilight ran towards the soldiers, hoping that they were still alive. Twilight checked and so did Silent Wind. They both shook their heads as all of them were checked.

"Nothing. They're dead.." Silent Wind said, sadly. Twilight and her other friends lowered their heads, silently mourning of their deaths. Silent Wind noticed something.. odd. All the death blows he saw were mostly claw marks to the neck and bite marks. Whatever the monster was, it was surely no normal Changeling. Detailing from the wounds, all of them were taken down by a single target as they were patrolling the bridge. He quickly found out that all there was some kind of stalking monster hiding within the forest. As he was making his hypothesis. He quickly turned his head to Twilight and her friends, he heard a hissing sound again and it was near Twilight and her friends.

"Twilight! Get your friends away from the forests! There's something out there!!" Silent Wind yelled. Twilight and her friends shook at his words and all the sudden, a dark figure came out from the forests, pushing away Twilight's friends and jumping on top of her. Twilight froze in fear as she look at the horrific sight. It was some special species of a Changeling. It looked exactly normal only that it had more narrower eyes of blue, two large mandibles coming from the back of it's shoulders, and instead of hooves, it had claws. Very sharp claws. And it was three times her size, it's bladed tail stood still, not one motion. The monster grabbed her neck with it's left hand, holding her down. Silent Wind flew at it as it raised it's right claws, about to slash on the Lavender mare upon it. Silent Wind tackled it against a nearby tree and punched it with a left hook. But it retaliated with it's strong size and pushed the Silentblade back and he fell on the bridge. The Changeling jumped such a great distance that it surprised Silent Wind. Silent Wind grunted as he got up from his fall.

"That's a new trick..." Silent Wind mumbled as he remembered the jump the Changeling did. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood up and galloped behind the Changeling and supporting Silent Wind. The others were dazed, as they hitted several objects on their fall. Fluttershy was too frightened to do anything and Twilight was coughing from the stress on her throat.

"You just messed with the messed with the wrong pony, pal!" Rainbow Dash yelled, taking flight and bumping her hooves together. Applejack grabbed her rope with her right hoof and gritted her teeth.

"Ya ain't gunna hurt mah friends! Ah'l buck ya up!" Applejack promised. The Changeling looked behind him and in front of him, looking at the Silentblade who now had Black and purple Silentblade eyes. He had eyes of killer intent. But so did the Changeling.

"Let's do this." Silent Wind said, not leaving eye contact with the large Changeling before him. He touched his right upper arm and a small chain connect to a sickle fell out of Silent Wind's right long-coat sleeve and he threw it, grabbing the sickle with his mouth.

The Changeling turned it's head back and forth, snickering and hissing in excitement to kill the ponies upon him. It stood on two and it's mandibles twitched. He made a loud hissing sound, intimidating the three brave ponies. Rainbow Dash prepared to charge at it, Applejack threw her lasso and grabbed it with her mouth. Silent Wind stood in a prowling stance, not leaving his gaze on the monster.