The Adventures of Fragment

by A Dark Reminder

First published 5th of May, 2013

Fragment, a changeling with amnesia, is brought to Canterlot after the failed invasion. What will the princesses do with him, and what about the life he has unknowingly left behind?

If you want this story, P.M. me; I'm done with this.

Meet, Fragment. A changeling with amnesia. With his memory loss adventure ending before it could begin he is brought before Princess Celestia who takes this lost changeling under her own wing in a hope to mend the two species' relations, but many trials will be had which will strain this changeling's trust between the hive he knows nothing about or the ponies that sheltered him. Fragment's past will pursue him as flashbacks slowly show him what his life used to be...

Cover art by sicher999! (dA page here!)

Thanks to Out of Place for helping with the description.

Chapter 1: Consciousness

Author's Notes:

There are a few things that I want to make perfectly clear to you before you get into this story:

1st) The amnesia isn't like it is in real life, mostly due to the fact that when I Googled it I found a lot of conflicting results, so I kinda had to wing it.

2nd) The quality isn't the best for the first few chapters but becomes drastically better after chapter ten, so please be patient with this.

3rd) I'm still a fairly new writer, so I'd like as much constructive feedback as possible throughout the story, not just this chapter.
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Well, for those of you who shall continue reading, let the adventures begin!

~A Dark Reminder

One moment it was just quiet darkness, then, I felt pain throughout my body. Especially in the back of my head and left foreleg.

“Ggggggguuuuuurrrrrr…” I groaned in pain as I lied on the floor. I opened my eyes and was met with painfully bright light. I shut my eyes and moved a hoof to my face in an attempt to block the light I opened my eyes again and allowed them to adjusted, after they did I began to take in my surroundings. I looked at the white floor and saw what appeared to be dried blood around me.

Seeing this bothered me, so I looked further and could see bits of broken glass and wood. Some of which were stained by blood as well. Pain coursed through my body as I moved. I slowly tried to get up but failed and fell back down. Why am I in so much pain?

I tried to get up again, but the pain only grew as I moved, especially in my left foreleg.

“What in…?” I groaned again as I tried and failed to stand I looked around more, starting with the area around me.

Before examining the room further, I began to examine myself. Maybe figure out why I'm in so much pain. I started with my left foreleg, given that it was in the most pain. I saw that my leg was pitch black and hard as bone. There were holes in the lower part of it, though they appeared to be natural. As I brought my gaze to the upper part of the leg, I saw a large crack just above my knee with a lot of dried blood around it.

Oh great... I tried to stand again but I hadn't prepared myself, and when more pressure was put on my leg the pain was too much and I fell to the floor. And as a result the pain just sharpened.

“OW!” I yelled as I collapsed. Okay, let's be more careful of that.

I thought to myself. As I started to stand again, I saw some fresh blood flowing down my leg. Well this is getting worse.

Being mindful of my leg, I continued looking around to examine my surroundings as I stood. I saw a few ponikins, mirrors, rolls of fabric, and a chest of gemstones. Where am I? A clothing store? A boutique maybe?

Resuming the evaluation of my surroundings, I saw what at first looked like a spotlight shining on where I was. My eyes followed the light up to the ceiling and saw that the light was coming in through a hole.

Well that explains the debris. Did I crash into this place or something? Taking yet another look around, I saw the mirrors again.

Maybe I'll get a better idea as to why I'm in so much pain and overall condition. I thought as I hobbled my way to the mirrors. Stepping in front of and looking into them, I got a better idea of my physical condition. in addition to the injuries I already saw, I had cuts and scratches on most of my face, and some dried blood here and there. I saw a large amount of dried blood on the right half of my head.

I turned my head to the left to try and see if there was damage, and at first it was just more blood but the more I turned my head the more blood I saw. As I continued turning my head while keeping my eyes on the mirrors, I saw a large crack in the back of my head with a lot of dried blood around it.

Oh good, I have a head injury. I thought sarcastically.

Looking at the mirrors again, my body appeared to be a hard black exoskeleton, with a dark blue shell on my back, there was a curved horn on my forehead, and a few holes in the lower parts of all four of my legs. I had two solid blue compound eyes, fangs, and wings; they were bug like. I slowly spread them out. They didn't look very strong and kind of damaged, but it could have been worse.

Then I noticed something else in the mirror, something small and white in the background. I couldn't see all of it because it was hiding behind a ponikin, but I could see a white coat, a white horn, and a two-colored mane. Part of it was purple and the other appeared to be a different shade of purple, and its eyes were light green.

A unicorn. A filly guessing from the eyelashes. But there was something else, some kind of scent coming from it. I don't know how but I knew what the smell was: fear. It was afraid of me. Slowly I turned to face it, and when my gaze had almost met hers, she quickly ducked behind the ponikin. I stopped and inhaled slowly, even though it hurt.

“Um, hello?” I asked as if I didn't know. “Anyone there?”

I asked trying to seem nonthreatening. No response. Not surprising.

“I'm not going to hurt you.” Again, nothing. Okay, I'm tired of this. “I can see you, you know.”

I said as I began to walk towards it. “What's your name? My name is…uh…” Wait a minute, why don't I know my name? I must have a name.

I tried to think as hard as I could on anything that happened before I woke up and in doing so I came to the conclusion that I don't remember anything! “I…uh…my na―”

My sentence was interrupted by something hitting me in the back of my head, causing me to fall to the floor in agony. “OW!”

I yelled as I fell to the floor and clutched the back of my head with my forehooves. I looked up and to the right to see a white unicorn with blue eyes and a mane and tail of some shade of purple.

“Why did you do that?!” I yelled, still holding the back of my head like it was going to fall off.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as I then noticed the scent from her; it was anger.

She's angry at me? What did I do? Well, other than crash into this building. I thought as I removed my hooves from my head, looked at them and saw fresh blood.

That's a good sign… I refocused on the situation at hoof.

“To answer your question, bleeding! That's what I'm doing here,” I yelled, as the object that hit me floated by.

A candlestick? She hit me with a candlestick?! I thought to myself.

“Why did you hit me?!” I shouted again as I stood back up without pressuring my left foreleg.

“Get out!” She yelled back, the anger growing. The candlestick was now in front of and pointed at me as if it were a sword. “I won't warn you again.”

“I'll get out when you tell me why you hit me,” I said not willing to go without an answer.

“I don't have to tell you anything, changeling,” she said, continuing to piss me off.

“Yeah? And I don't have to do anything you say,” I countered with my own anger growing.

“Don't make me hit you again,” she said, moving the candlestick slightly closer to my face.

“You know, you're a real… If I didn't know that a filly was here, I'd have called you something bad,” I said not thinking that one out, as I was then hit with the candlestick… again. “AH! Will you stop that?! What kind of example are you making for her?”

“Don't you dare talk about my sister!” she hissed at me angrily. “Now get out!”

“Not until you tell me why! You've hit me with a candlestick twice, you've yelled at me more times than I can keep track of, my leg is broken, I woke up in a pool of my own blood, and I don't even remember my own damn name! Do you really think I'm leaving without so much as a reason?”

“Get out of my house! I don't have to tell you anything.”

“And I don't have to leave, but if you tell me why, I will,” I said, thinking over what comes after that. But where will I go? Even if she tells me, that doesn't mean I'll have anywhere to go. I still won't know who I am, where I came from, or who I can and can't trust. This just keeps getting better and better…

She paused at what I said, thinking over her options. “You want me to tell you why I want you to leave?”

“Yes please,” I said with a forced smile and starting to feel a little lightheaded. Whatever. I'll deal with that later, I decided.

“I don't want you or any other changeling in my house. You invade Equestria, imprison one of my best friends, and impersonate a Princess on her wedding day. You should consider yourself lucky I'm letting you leave rather than calling a guard to have you arrested.” She said with her anger coming back some, then she took a deep breath to calm herself and spoke again. “Now leave.”

“What are you talking about? What wedding and what Princess?” I asked, very unsatisfied with the answer I got.

“I told you why I wanted you to leave, now go like you said you would.” she said with a little anger coming back.

“Fine. Maybe I'll find something that tells me where to…to…” The lightheadedness became overwhelming, everything was getting dark as I began to get dizzy.

What's happening to me? I wondered just before I lost consciousness...

(~Φ~)

The next thing I knew, was the same as the first thing I knew, darkness, pain, and not knowing where I was. Slowly my eyes began opening again, and I noticed that the pain wasn't as strong as before but it was still bad.

“Aaaarrrrgggghhhh… Fuck…” I said in both irritation and pain. “My head…”

I groaned, bringing my right foreleg to my head. My eyes instantly widened as I noticed my new surroundings. For starters, I was in a bed with blankets and pillows and everything.

“What the…?” I said to myself. And these were not the only differences. The room I was in was mostly pink, it had a closet and two windows and some posters of things I didn't know and other various things I didn't try to remember. My leg was even in bandages.

“What…?” How did I get here? And where is here? I thought to myself in deep confusion.

Okay, so first I'm injured and in the presence of somepony who tried to kill me, and now, I'm somewhere where it appears my wounds have been treated, it's relatively comfortable, and there's no pony here... So what did I miss? I wondered to myself as I then noticed voices coming from another room, I couldn't make out what they were saying but i could tell there were at least three different voices.

Hmm, I wonder what they're talking about, I thought, betting that I already knew as I began to get out of the bed. At least the pain isn't so bad that it kills me to move like last time.

I noted as my legs slowly reached the floor. The pain increased as I moved, but I still kept going and kept my left foreleg off the floor, just in case. Slowly and quietly I made my way to the door, but I still couldn't tell what they were saying. I opened the door and leaned my head out.

“You saw it yourself. It's really hurt,” I heard and understood what one of the voices said.

Wait a minute, I recognize that voice, that's the voice of the one that hit me with a candlestick! Maintaining stealth mode, I began heading for the stairs, hearing more of the conversation going on down below.

“Are you crazy? It's a changeling!” another voice shouted. “We should just throw it into the Everfree.”

What's the Everfree? I wondered as the conversation continued.

“Rainbow Dash! That's awful,” the one who attacked responded. Slowly I began creeping down the stairs, still being mindful of my leg. “It can barely walk on its own; it needs to be taken to the hospital; it needs help.”

Well no shit. Broken leg, memory loss, bleeding on everything. No, everything is fine, I thought upon hearing that.

“The changelings attacked Canterlot, attacked Equestria! Why should we help one of them?”

“Because we're not like them!” The attacker retorted. “Just because they attacked us doesn't mean that we should make them suffer.”

Okay, I know she’s trying to defend me, but saying ‘because we’re not like them’ implies bad things about changelings.

“If we're goin' t' help it we need t' be careful; we can't trust it,” a new voice said.

Hmm, all the voices are female. I noted as I stopped halfway down the stairs.

“AJ, you're not really thinking of helping it, are you? Am I the only sane pony here?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you don't really mean that, do you?” a significantly quieter voice asked.

“I mean it. They almost ruined Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding!”

“Twilight, dear, what do you think?” the attacker asked.

“I think we should tell Princess Celestia before we do anything. Spike, take a note.”

Well, I got here just in time to hear nothing. I sighed mentally. I should get back to bed before someone finds me.

I decided as I began to get back up. Sadly, I wasn't as prepared as when I got out of bed, as the first thing I put pressure on was my left foreleg, and as bad as the pain of putting pressure on that leg was, falling down the stars was easily more painful. I could hear parts of my body cracking on every step I hit while I fell down the stairs until I finally reached the bottom.

“Fuuuuuuuk…”

“It's the changeling!” somepony yelled.

“Don't shoot,” I said as I tried to get back up, and not die from pain.

“What are ya doin' down here?” one of them asked.

“Having a really bad day… And doing my best not to cry,” I explained as I tried and failed to stand up. After trying to stand, I looked up at the ponies in front of me.

There were six ponies and a dragon, the first one I saw was the one who hit me with a candlestick, but I noticed something different this time, in her scent there was a mixture of minor regret and lingering fear.

Regret?

The next one was a cyan pegasus with magenta eyes and a rainbow colored mane and tail. The next one was a lavender colored unicorn with purple eyes, a mane and tail with dark blue, dark purple and light purple. There was a yellow pegasus with blue eyes, and a pink mane and tail. An orange earth pony with green eyes, some freckles on her face, a blonde mane and tail, and a stetson hat. The last of the ponies, was a pink earth pony also with blue eyes and with a dark pink mane and tail. And there was a small purple dragon with green spikes and eyes.

Taking a small whiff of the air I found anger, fear, suspicion and traces of confusion in the air from the ponies and dragon. I tried to think of something that I could say to ease the situation, but everything I thought of wouldn’t really help unless they believed that I wasn’t bad. So I said the only thing I could that didn’t need to be trusted.

“Hello…” I said weakly as rolled off of my side and onto all fours.

“Are you okay? That was quite a fall…” the yellow pegasus asked in a quiet voice.

“Do I look okay to you?” I asked as I tried and failed again to stand. “It hurts to breathe, my leg is broken, I've been hit in the head with a candlestick, I fell down some stairs, I can't remember anything, and I'm starting to think my head is trying to kill me.”

“Wait a minute, you don't remember anything?” the lavender unicorn asked. “What do you mean?”

“What… you… I… the… THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I MEAN BY ‘I can't remember anything?!’” I shouted. I'll say it right now, I was just a little pissed off. I wasn't having a very good day. And given the fact that what I just told them was everything I knew, then in that case, I wasn't having a good life.

“Did you think I meant 'I know everything that can be known, I'm just not going to tell you'? Because that is NOT what I meant.” I said as I hyperventilated with anger.

“You don't need to be rude to her,” said the white unicorn.

“Oh, you want to talk about rude? Then let's talk about rude,” I replied not even trying to calm myself down. “It was rude of you to hit me with a candlestick, then yell at me to get out, and threaten me with the candlestick to get out. All of which for no good reason might I add. Not one that you've told me anyway.”

“I told you, the changelings attacked us. The changelings are enemies of Equestria.”

“So because of something that I might have been involved with, I'm the bad guy? Please tell me how that makes even a little bit of sense. Did you forget I have amnesia? Or does the word amnesia not mean what I thought it did?”

“How do we know you really have amnesia?” the cyan pegasus said. The only scent coming from her, was hate. “How do we know you're not lying to us?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, is the crack in my head not good enough for you?” I said, trying not to have some kind of homicidal outburst.

“Just because you got hit in the head doesn't mean you lost your memories,” she said almost pushing her face into mine.

“And just because I'm a changeling, doesn't mean I'm the bad guy!” I shouted back, pushing my face into hers. I was really tired of this. “I'm starting to think maybe you're the bad guys. You and her at the least.” Pointing at the white unicorn with my left wing. “As for the rest of you, I don't know.”

I said pulling back still glaring at the pegasus.

“Okay, everypony needs to calm down," the purple unicorn said. The scent coming from her was calmness and distrust. But the distrust was small. She seemed to believe me, but still didn't trust me. It was a nice change of pace. "You're right, we're not being fair to you.”

“Thank you. Now if we can do something other than yell at each other, that would be great,” I said with a little hope something good might come out of this. “So if I may ask, who treated me?”

“Um, that was me,” the yellow pegasus said quietly. “You were in pretty bad shape when Rarity brought me here.”

She turned away from me. She reeked of fear. I was surprised that she was even talking to me.

“And who is ‘Rarity?’”

“That would be me,” the white unicorn said.

“... You're not joking are you?” She just nodded her head in response. “So you, the one who hit me with a candlestick, twice and threatened me, got me medical attention?”

“Well, I might have been rude, hostile even, but I wasn't going to just watch you bleed out on my floor.”

“Well, uh, for what it's worth, thanks.” I said in relative shock. No, really, what the fuck did I miss? “And sorry for, you know, bleeding on your floor. And for my attitude.”

“Oh, it's alright. I wasn't exactly pleasant myself,” she said looking down slightly. It was then I noticed her scent: some regret and concern, but no anger. Another good change of pace. If I can just get all of them to cooperate with me, we might get something useful done.

“Moving on. So do any of you know how I got... wherever I was?” I asked as looked at the group.

“I might know,” the purple unicorn said “Rarity, you said there was a hole in your roof right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I think he may have crashed into it when Shinning Armor and Princess Cadence used their spell that repelled the changelings from Canterlot, but if that's how he got there, then that means he was a part of the invasion,” she explained, giving me an odd look with the last part of her sentence. The distrust in her became more potent as well.

Great. So either we do know what happened to me, and I actually was part of the invasion, and therefore I actually am the bad guy, or we just have no idea… Universe, what did I ever do to you?

“Um, mister changeling, you're bleeding,” the yellow pegasus spoke up, pointing at the floor under my broken leg. There was blood seeping through my bandaged leg to the floor.

“Oh dear. That probably happened when you fell down the stairs,” Rarity said, looking genuinely concerned. "Fluttershy, you should take him back to Pinkie Pie's room."

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy said slowly walking over to me. “Here, let me help you up.”

With her support to lean on, I kept my left leg above the floor lest I do more damage to it. Slow and carefully, we began to make our way up the stairs. As we reached the top I decided to break the silence.

“Hey, uh, thanks for treating me. I might be dead if it wasn't for you.”

“Oh, it's no trouble. I still can't believe Rarity hit you like that.”

“Fluttershy. That's your name right?”

“Um, yes. My name is Fluttershy. What's your name? If you don't mind me asking, that is.”

“I don't remember what my name is…” I said trying again to remember something, anything.

“Well, what should I call you until you remember?” Fluttershy asked as we made it into the bedroom. I reviewed the events of the day to myself, both trying understand why this was happening and to think a good name for myself.

Why don’t I remember anything? It must have something to do with my head injury. But what about them being so resentful of me? There isn’t a chance this is about crashing through a building. No, Rarity said something about changelings invading. There must be something bigger going on and I’m just a fragment of it at best. Hmm… Fragment…

“Fragment. Call me Fragment,” I said as I prepared to get back into bed.

“Well, um, Fragment, it's nice to meet you. Let me help you in bed.” I would normally argue with being helped into bed like I was a foal, but after being hit with a candlestick and falling down stairs, I've had enough for the day.

As she helped me into bed I saw a calendar on the wall that had the current day circled in red. Upon seeing what today was, I found myself able to say only one last thing as I rolled onto my back in bed.

“I hate Mondays.”

Chapter 2: The Road to Recovery

Sleep came easily, and while some of my injuries had healed as I slept, the pain was still there to greet me when I awoke and a tax on my body. Sunlight was shining through the curtains as my eyes opened.

“Gggggrrrrrruuuu…” Was all I had to say on that matter for the time being.

What sick mind created pain? I hope it's happy, because I'm not― My train of thought was interrupted when my eyes opened to see a small alligator both laying on me and staring into my eyes, though it felt like it was staring into my soul.

“Uh… please get off of me?” I said as it stared mindlessly. To this day, nothing has disturbed me more than that stare; that empty, soul piercing stare. “Please… get… off…”

I said slowly, hoping it would understand me, which It didn't. Time for plan B… Time to make a plan B… Got it!

Slowly bringing my right leg out from under the covers, I poked its side. “Go. Away. Please.”

It didn’t react, then, as if the reptile staring into my soul wasn't enough, out of nowhere came two huge light-blue eyes attached to a massive smile that shouted “HELLO!”

“Whoa!” I yelled in surprise as I tried to jump back from the pony in front of me, which only served to hurt my leg. Once the pony took a step back from me and wasn’t right against my face I recognized her as the pink pony from yesterday.

“You don't need to yell, silly. I'm right in front of you.” She had an unsettling smile on her face.

“Who… are you…?” I asked in between gasps.

“I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your name?” Her scent was happiness and syrup. I felt a strange feeling at one of those scents.

“Okay, a few things. First, I'm going with Fragment, for now. Second, you're the one whose room I'm staying in?” I turned away from Pinkie Pie and looked around the room again, examining it more closely. On the nightstand to my right was a pink lamp and a framed picture of Pinkie Pie and the other ponies from the day before. In said picture, the six of them were smiling and seemed to be having a picnic and a good time together.

“Yup, that's me,” she said as I turned my attention back to her.

“Okay. So what are you doing up here?” I raised a brow at Pinkie Pie.

“I heard you talking to Gummy, so I knew you were awake and to give you breakfast!”

“Gummy? Is that the alligator thing?” I asked as I looked back to the lizard who was just standing at the foot of the bed doing nothing.

“Yup! I named him Gummy 'cause he doesn't have any teeth. See?” She picked up Gummy and held him half an inch away from my face while holding his mouth open. Reluctantly, I looked inside, and sure enough, he had no teeth.

“That's… interesting?” So… what happened to his teeth? “So anyway, you said something about breakfast and why you came up here?”

“Because I wanted to check on you and give you breakfast!” she answered excitedly. Thank goodness someone thought of food! I'm starving. The emptiness in my gut was a strong and was made more potent by the thought of eating.

“Well that's nice to hear, but where's the―” Before I had time to finish my question, there was a tray with pancakes, silverware and a cup filled with what I assumed was orange juice sitting on my lap ready to be eaten. My mouth was watering already. “Thank you… so much…”

My stomach growled as I drooled. To this Pinkie merely giggled.

“You must be hungry,” she said.

“Well I haven't eaten since… I'm not sure how long ago I last ate,” I said as I took my first mouthful of pancakes. The mixture of perfectly baked pancakes with melted butter and hot syrup created an incredible flavor that I craved more of.

“I hope you like them. I made them myself!” she said as Gummy crawled from the bed to her back.

“If it's not too much to ask… can you not… let him stare at me? He was just staring at me when I woke up, and it kind of… creeped me out,” I said in between bites of pancake. Gummy’s head slowly turned to me when I made that request.

“Okay! He does that sometimes. How do you like my pancakes?”

“They… are… delicious,” I said still engulfing the pancakes, stopping once in awhile for a drink of juice which, as I thought, was orange juice. My answer made Pinkie Pie’s smile grow tenfold.

“Thank you!” she said as I swallowed my mouthful of pancakes.

“Hey, can I ask you some questions?” I asked as I started to finish the O.J. which also tasted excellent. “I really feel like I'm being left in the dark about something.”

“Sure! What do you want to know?”

“Well for starters, yesterday Fluttershy said that I was in bad shape when she got here, but how did I get here?” I asked hoping I could start getting some real answers.

“Well Rarity said that after you passed out Applejack came in because she heard all the shouting coming from Rarity's, so Rarity told her to bring you here while she got Fluttershy,” she said, taping her chin in thought. “After that she brought Twilight and the others here to talk about what we should do with you.”

Who’s Applejack? I wondered as I asked my next question. “What are you going to do with me? I heard someone from yesterday say something about a Princess, but not much else."

“I don't know. Twilight said she'd write to Princess Celestia after she talks to the ponies at the hospital about getting you checked out by a doctor.”

“Speaking of medicine, do you know how long it will be until I recover?” I looked at my bandaged leg, remembering how I bled through it.

"No, Fluttershy might know though; she knows more about medical stuff than me. You could ask her when she comes over later."

“She's coming over later?”

“Uh-huh! She needs to check all of your bandages and stuff,” Pinkie Pie explained. Noted.

“Next question: what are those symbols on you and the others?”

“That's my cutie mark!” she grinned brightly with happiness.

“Your what?”

“My cutie mark! A cutie mark represents a pony's special talent and personality. Everypony gets one at some point!”

“Okay…” I didn’t really understand the concept, so I decided to move on rather than ask more about it. “Anyway, here's a stupid sounding question coming from me, but what exactly can you tell me about changelings?”

“Well, we really don’t know anything about changelings, other than that they can fly and use magic like an alicorn, but changelings can shapeshift and they feed off of love,” she explained.

"Feed off of love? What the does that mean?"

“They need to feed off love to survive the same way we need to eat normal food,” said a new voice. Pinkie Pie and I looked to the door and saw the purple unicorn from the day before. This time she was wearing white saddlebags that had a six-pointed star on each side. “From what I’ve seen, love also strengthens their magic.”

“Hi, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie greeted as Twilight entered the room.

"Good morning, Pinkie," Twilight said, walking to the other side of the bed across from Pinkie Pie and removed her bags with magic.

What? I don't get a good morning? I thought, but kept quiet.

“What are you doing here? Did you write a letter to the Princess yet?”

“No I haven’t yet, I'm actually here to talk to him,” she replied as she turned to face me.

Oh joy, I thought as she stared.

“Would you mind leaving us to talk, Pinkie? I'm sure the Cakes need you downstairs anyway.”

“You're probably right. See ya later, Twilight. Bye, Fragment,” Pinkie Pie said as she turned around and began leaving.

“Hey, bring me some more pancakes, will you? I'm still hungry,” I quickly requested.

“Okay!” she called back as she left the room. “Hi, Spike,” I heard her say from the hallway.

“‘Fragment?’ I thought you didn't remember anything,” Twilight stated with a raised brow.

“And I still don't, but I thought Fragment was a better name than ‘changeling,’” I said as I took a small sniff of the air to get a sense of her emotions. Calmness and distrust… That seems familiar. “So what do you want to talk about?”

I questioned with my own distrust.

“I want to talk about your memories and how you feel.”

“Oh, you mean those things I lack? I'm pretty sure I told you I don't remember anything.”

“You did, I just want to make sure―”

“That I'm not lying to you?” I cut her off. “I don't think you'll admit it, but I know that this is because you don't trust me. But I'll tell you what, I'll answer your questions if you'll answer some of mine, deal?”

“That's not what this is about,” she told me. She seemed offended that I was distrusting her. “Your brain damage could be a lot more severe than memory loss.”

Twilight explained in a tone as serious as her scent implied. “I need to know how you feel; if your headache is worse, if you feel lightheaded, if it’s hard to concentrate or anything else.”

“You want to know how I feel? I feel annoyed and untrusted. And if you need to know if I'm okay, then why aren't I in a hospital? Surely the doctors there have the equipment to see if I was and a hospital is a much better place for someone in my condition, don't you think?” My eyes narrowed as I finished my sentence.

“I tried to, but they won't take you unless the Princess herself tells them to."

“Then why haven't you written that letter to the Princess, then? You started writing one before I fell down the stairs, so what happened to that? Did you just forget about it or did it just not matter enough? Do you remember when you said ‘we're not being fair to you?’ Well I’m getting the feeling that you’re still not and I know that you don’t trust me even though you have no proof that I’ve done anything wrong. Tell me why you don't trust me." Frustration grew within me, displayed by my eye twitching and my teeth being bared. I glared into Twilight's eyes as I smelled her emotions change to minor regret as she began to talk.

“Well,” she began with a sigh, “It all started when my brother was getting married…”

Twilight then told me the story of how her brother invited her and her friends to his wedding in the capital of Equestria known as Canterlot. That the mare he was engaged to, Princess Cadance, who was also Twilight's foal sitter years ago, got replaced by the changeling Queen who used her magic to brain-wash Shining Armor so he couldn't use a protection spell he had been using when Canterlot had been anonymously threatened.

After Twilight herself was captured by Chrysalis, she found the real Princess Cadance and they escaped the underground cavern where they were being held, but by the time they got back it was too late and almost right after they got to Chrysalis, the invasion began. Only when Shinning Armor and Princess Cadance used their combined power did they overpower the Queen. Then Twilight told me that the day I was found was just two days after all of this had happened.

The reason they weren't back until then was because there was a huge party to celebrate their victory along with repairs to Canterlot. Knowing all of this made it pretty easy to see why they didn't trust me and how I was likely part of the invasion. When Twilight told me about the invasion, my headache grew with every other word and I began to faintly hear something in the back of my head.

“Well… that explains a lot.,” I said as her story finally ended. “Do you know why they invaded?”

“Chrysalis said that Equestria has more love than any other land she's seen and that the changelings would gain more power than ever before,” Twilight told me as I rubbed my right temple with my hoof.

“If the invasion was what it sounded like and therefore was a conquest for power than you had every reason not to trust me.”

“But we still shouldn't have treated you like we knew you had anything to do with that. You might be from a different hive for all we know.”

“If I am, then how did I get here? But I think we can save that conversation for another time; we have more important things to deal with if story time is over. I believe you have some questions for me and I have some for you,” I said trying to get us back on track.

“Okay, we'll take turns asking. Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll be. You ask first.”

“Do you feel lightheaded at all?”

“No, but it does feel like my brain is trying to crawl its way out of the crack in the back of my head.” There’s a mental image neither of us needed.

“Okay, your turn.” The way she said that makes this sound like a game.

“Who is this Princess I keep hearing about?”

“Her name is Princess Celestia.”

“Princess is part of her name?" I joked, which surprisingly got a chuckle out of Twilight.

“It's just Celestia. She rules Equestria with her sister, Luna. Princess Celestia raises the Sun and Princess Luna raises the Moon, thus changing night and day.” They move the Sun and Moon? Note to self: do not piss them off.

“What's the last thing you remember?”

I tried to think of anything that happened before I woke up the first time, but the only result I got from that was slightly worsening my headache. So instead of just focusing on a general past I thought about the details of the invasion that Twilight had given me, and while at first I didn’t get anything out of it, the pain spiked dramatically as I saw the face of a pony with white fur. I grunted from the pain as Twilight leaned close to me with a concerned expression.

“I don’t remember anything from before I woke up where I crashed.” I tried to ignore the pain and carry on with the questions, but it wasn’t easy. "Why haven't you sent a letter to the Princess regarding me yet?"

“Before it was because I wasn't sure if we should help you at all…” she said looking to the floor out of shame. "But now it's because I'm not sure what she'll do; what if you had nothing to do with this but get in trouble anyway? At one point Princess Celestia had a short duel with Chrysalis and Chrysalis won, and what if the Princess takes it on you. I don’t think she’d actually do something like that, but the thought of it bothers me."

“Well I don’t think we have much of a choice; being a princess I’m sure she’ll find out about me sooner or later, I think it’d be better if you told her about the situation. And you should know there's a small purple dragon by the door, who is both afraid and curious of me,” I said staring at the dragon who hid slightly at me pointing him out.

“It's okay, Spike. Come in.” Twilight motioned for Spike to enter. Slowly, he came out from behind the door frame. As I thought, it was the same purple scaled green spiked dragon from before. He slowly and nervously walked into the room. He doesn't have wings?

“Uh… hi,” he said staring at me like I was going to eat him as he walked over to Twilight.

“Hello.” I used a calm and smooth voice similar to the one I tried with the filly from before, but it didn't seem to work. Just like before. “I'm Fragment. What's your name?”

“Wait, didn’t you say you didn't remem―”

“Yes, I know what I said. No, I didn't get my memories back. No, I didn't lie about having amnesia, I made up the name yesterday,” I completely cut him off and answered his question before he even finished it. “But anyway, when do you plan on writing that letter, Twilight?”

“I could do it right now if you really want me to,” she said as her horn began to glow purple while she levitated a quill, scroll, and inkwell from her saddlebag over to Spike.

“If you want to do it later, that's fine, but the sooner we get this over with the better.”

"Then let's do it. Spike, take a note." Spike picked up the quill and scroll, dipping the quill into the ink as he prepared to write.

“Dear Princess Celestia, yesterday Rarity found a changeling in her home and we don't know what to do with him. He has a broken leg and we think he has amnesia along with lesser injuries. For now we're keeping him at Pinkie's, but he needs professional medical treatment. I've talked to the Ponyville Hospital, but they won't take him unless you tell them to. I want to know what you think we should do and to ask the hospital to help him. Sincerely your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Done.” Spike set the quill down next to the inkwell then rolled up the scroll.

“So how long will it take for that to reach the Princess?” Spike then blew green fire on the scroll and in puff smoke―which then flew out a window next to me that I didn't know was open―the scroll was gone. “What just happened?”

“Spike used magic to send the letter directly to princess,” Twilight answered knowingly.

“Okay… So how long until―” My sentence was cut off by Spike burping up green fire. As the fire dissipated, a rolled up scroll with a gold seal fell to the floor, which Spike then picked up and began to open. “Magic?”

“Magic,” Twilight confirmed. “What does it say, Spike?”

“That reply showed up really quickly. Is she just up the street and is a fast writer or something?” Spike opened the scroll and cleared his throat.

“Dearest Twilight, you did the right thing by helping this changeling. I've sent a message to the hospital telling them to give him proper medical treatment. In addition, I'm sending a guard to Ponyville to watch this changeling. When he feels that he is able, please bring him to Canterlot so that I may speak with him personally. Your mentor, Princess Celestia.”

“She wants to talk to me? After everything that's happened? Why don't I feel like that's a good thing?”

“She told the hospital to help you; what’re you worried about?” Twilight asked with a raised brow.

“The changelings attacked Canterlot, her niece got captured and replaced by the changeling queen and she's helping me? That seems odd, don't you think? And she's sending a guard to watch me, because you know, I just might go on a killing spree with a broken leg,” I said unhappily.

“I'm sure it's just to keep everypony from worrying that you'll do something,” she said in an attempt to ease my mind. It failed.

“Do what? My leg’s broken! And in that case I don’t think one guard being there will stop them from worrying. Hey, how am I getting to the hospital anyway?”

“I guess we could bring you there.”

“Yeah, no. I mean are you going to carry me there, am I going to limp there, what are we going to do?”

"Do you think you could walk the way there with help?”

“I don't think it's a good idea, but if I made it up those stairs with Fluttershy's help then I bet I can get to the hospital with more help.”

“Then you can probably make the trip from here to the hospital. It would be best if we took you there sooner rather than later. Spike and I will get the others; it might be better if we go in a group," she said getting up and heading for the door.

“Yes, have more ponies travel at once; that's so inconspicuous,” I said rolling my eyes. Hmm, I didn't know you could roll compound eyes.

“I'll get Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack. Spike, you get Pinkie Pie and Rarity.”

“Okay!” Spike said excitedly as they left. I smelled something just before Spike left. It wasn't like any other emotion I had smelled; I was drawn to it, it smelled very flavorful and was what I’d almost call intoxicating. It was undoubtedly love. I didn't know who it was for, but Spike is in love with somepony. But that wasn't what caught my attention, something inside me hungered for it.

Is this that 'need to feed off love' thing Twilight was talking about? If I can’t find someone to feed off of then there won't be a doctor in this world that can really help me… Just then, Pinkie Pie walked into the room with a tray of pancakes on her back.

“Spike told me we're taking you to the hospital today!” The scent of happiness was flowing off of her like the smoke from a flame, and my hunger was drawn to it.

I can't stand this hunger! I need to feed. But I thought about the consequences of feeding if someone gets hurt. But then again, if I do and something goes wrong, I won't need a doctor. I'll need a eulogy…

Chapter 3: Making Progress

My instincts and hunger were desperately telling me to feed off of Pinkie Pie’s positive emotions. I tried to fight them because the risks were too great, but it's easier to give in. Pinkie Pie had barely been in the room for five seconds and I was internally struggling not to feed.

Control yourself, Fragment… Pinkie Pie placed the tray on the nightstand on my right. “I put chocolate chips in these ones!”

“Sounds good…” So hungry… Must feed… No, NO! I can't just go crazy and feed. But I can't just sit and starve either.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked, her happiness changing into concern. Whatever part of me that wanted to feed wasn’t happy to see it go.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just hungry,” to say the least.

“Oh, well then have some pancakes, silly,” she said, moving the tray of pancakes from the nightstand to my lap. Her happiness returned as she thought the problem had been so easily resolved.

“Thanks.” I took one of the pancakes into my mouth and let its flavors soak in. It was better than the first ones, but it wasn't what I wanted.

“Are you sure you're okay? You ate the first batch pretty quickly.” She caught on quickly. Since I couldn’t simply ignore my hunger and Pinkie Pie had become suspicious, I decided to come out with it.

“No, I’m not okay,” I admitted as I released a sigh. “Remember how Twilight said changelings need to feed off of love?”

“Ohhhhhh…” Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened as she realized what I was implying. The happiness that my hunger demanded began to fade again and was being replaced with unease. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“What? You want to help me… feed?” Is she joking?

“Yeah! What kind of pony would I be if I didn't at least try to help you?”

“Are you sure about this? I mean, I don't really know what I'm doing. It might be dangerous,” I said with a raised brow.

“Well, Shinning Armor had a bad headache but he said it was from using his protection spell, so it can’t be that bad. What could happen?” She's not joking, she's insane.

“Are you sure that you're sure? No one's going to like it if you get hurt.”

“Oh, quit worrying, silly head. I'll be fine.” She gave a reassuring smile.

“If you insist.” I was uncertain of doing this, but I knew I’d need to feed at some point anyway. “Just… I don't know, be happy; I think it’s something that I can feed off of.”

“Okay.” She stood firm as she readied herself for whatever I was about to do.

I let my instincts take control. I leaned forward a few inches, my mouth opened, my eyes closed and I inhaled slowly. I felt her happiness flow into me and my hunger being sated. Beyond that, the feeling was indescribable; I could feel her happiness transform into energy and strength. I could taste the happiness as I absorbed it. I felt my strength grow, my focus heighten, and the pain weaken as I consumed. I don't know how long I fed, but my feeding was interrupted when I heard a thud.

I opened my eyes slightly to see what happened, but upon opening them the first thing I saw was some kind of green glowing energy flowing through the air into my mouth. I followed the energy to its source and my eyes went wide at what i saw. Pinkie Pie was on the floor, holding a hoof to her head and trying to get back up.

“Pinkie Pie!” The stream of green energy vanished when I spoke. “Are you okay?”

“I… I think so. What happened?” she asked as she struggled to regain stability.

“It looked like you almost passed out. I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Did it work? Do you still feel hungry?” she asked, the fact that she could be hurt seeming to completely slip her mind.

“Aren't you concerned if you're okay?”

“No, I just need to rest a little.” Her smile returned as though nothing had happened.

I stared at her for a moment, unsure of if I should believe her, but she didn’t seem to have any lingering ailments nor did she seemed bothered by it, so with a sigh I said, “If you say so. Why did you do it?”

“Do what?” Pinkie Pie tilted her head to her left.

“Let me feed off of you. You didn't know what would happen, you don’t know if there are any side effects and on top of that you don't even know who I really am, so why did you do it?”

“I like helping others; when I see somepony else smile, I smile. When somepony else is happy, I'm happy. So why wouldn’t I help you when you needed it?” she explained with a bright smile.

I was surprised by what she said. After everything the changelings had done and without really knowing me, she gave me her happiness simply because she wanted to help. There was an awkward silence after that as I thought about what Pinkie Pie said, however the silence didn’t last long.

“Um, hello,” said a familiar and quiet voice. “May I come in?”

“Hi, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie motioned for Fluttershy to enter.

“Hello, Pinkie. Hello, Fragment.”

“Hello,” I replied.

“Twilight told me we're taking you to the hospital today.”

“I hope the ponies there will be as nice as the both of you have been.”

“Don't worry about it, they’re nice ponies,” Pinkie Pie said, trying to reassure me. “If they weren’t they wouldn’t be nurses and doctors.”

“I suppose. How long do you two think it will be until the others get here?”

“Well, Ponyville isn't very big, so it shouldn’t be too long. Twenty minutes at most,” Fluttershy said while taking a seat in a chair in the left corner of the room that Twilight didn’t use for some reason.

“So what do we do until then?” I asked getting bored just by the thought of doing nothing for twenty minutes.

“Well, we could just talk.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie seemed to already like the idea.

“About what? There's not a lot the two of you could talk about that I'd understand.”

“Maybe we could talk about your future, if that's okay with you,” Fluttershy suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, have you thought about what you'll do after you recover?”

“No I haven't,” I said, realizing that I had no plan whatsoever. What am I going to do after I recover? I don't think a changeling will be able to get a job in Equestria. Go back to wherever the changelings came from? What if I can't find wherever it is, or I do and I'm not welcome? I'd rather stay in Equestria then go off to find the changelings anyway. Maybe I could talk to the Princess about it; if she's as nice as Twilight says then she might help me. More than she already is, anyway.

“I don’t really know what I’ll do, but I should probably get everything sorted out with the Princess first. Do you think if I really needed it and asked really nicely, she’d help me with finding some kind of job? At least for a short time.”

“I don’t know. I’m sure Princess Celestia would like to help you as much as she can, but I don’t know if she could just get you a job,” explained Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie quickly jumped in and added, “It doesn’t hurt to try! Unless you’re like Rainbow Dash and you’re trying a new trick and it doesn’t workout so you just wind up crashing. That usually hurts.”

“I don’t really know what you’re talking about, but I get the idea of what you’re saying, Pinkie Pie.”

“Excuse me.” We turned to the door and saw a white stallion with gold armor blue eyes and a blond tail standing in the doorway. I couldn't see his mane because of his helmet, nor his cutie mark because of the armor. However I could see that he had no expression on his face.

“Oh, um, hello. Are you the guard the Princess sent?” Fluttershy asked.

“I am. Name's Striker. I've been sent to guard the ponies from the changeling and the changeling from the ponies.”

“So… you're a dividing line?” I asked. Striker didn't respond as he entered the room.

“It’s nice to meet you, Striker. I’m Fluttershy. This is Pinkie Pie and Fragment.” Striker looked at me with disinterest.

“Uh-huh, so how long ‘till we take it to the hospital?” It? I'm an it?! Screw you! Wait…

“How did you know we're taking me to the hospital today?”

“The Princess told me when I was sent here. When are we heading out?”

“Twilight said to wait here ‘til the others arrive so we can all go together,” Fluttershy told Striker. Striker took stood next to the bed between the girls and I. Once he was close enough I took a sniff of the air around him; the emotion I got was hate similar to that of the pegasus from the day before.

“So for now we're just waiting,” Pinkie Pie added with a smile.

And waiting is what we did. Striker and I were awkwardly quiet while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy talked. Ten or so minutes later passed before we heard what I assume was the doors closing, followed by the sound of hooves against the wooden floor. It was a lot of noise to be one pony and Pinkie Pie seemed to figure the same thing.

She swiftly made her way out of the room and down the stairs, where I heard some talking followed by the sound of hooves rushing up the stairs. Pinkie Pie then popped back into the room and announced

“Twilight’s back with the others!”

“Come on, Fragment, let’s get you out of bed.” Pinkie Pie helped Fluttershy get me out of bed. I had a strong urge to stretch once I was on my hooves, but the pain stopped me from attempting. Striker was the first one to start for the stairs. With me slowing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy down, he easily got ahead of us. When we got into the hallway, he was already most of the way down.

“Oh, I didn't know you had arrived,” Twilight said as Striker reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Well, I haven’t really been here that long.”

“Did Princess Celestia tell you we were here?”

“I was told to come straight to Sugarcube Corner and talk to whoever was here for instructions. However, my main job is to keep everyone under control.”

“I’m sure by ‘everyone’ he just means me,” I added as Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and I reached the bottom of the stairs. The same ponies from the day before were there. Rarity was the only one of them whose name I knew. The orange earth pony smelled of uncertainty while the cyan pegasus had the scent of hate and distrust. The smell was similar to that of something being burned.

“Shall we get going?” Rarity motioned towards the door.

“Are you ready to go, Fragment?” Twilight asked, turning to me.

“No. Let me gather my luggage…” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Alright, I'm ready.”

“Then let's go,” Twilight said as she began leading the way to the hospital. I was thankful there weren't many ponies around because the ones that were there stared at me with looks of dislike and fear, which was understandable after the attack and everything, but it still made me uncomfortable. It also led to reevaluate the idea of staying in Equestria.

All of them are afraid of me… There isn't a good chance I'm going to just live in Equestria, at least for awhile. Twilight said changelings can shapeshift, if I can learn how then I might be able to live here.

“So, um, Fragment is it?” Rarity broke the silence.

“For now. If I remember my real name I'll probably use it instead.”

“I was wondering, what do you plan to do after you recover?”

“I'm not sure yet. I’m not going to stay here though, that's for sure.”

“Why not?”

“What do you think I'd be able to do here? With all the ponies that stare at me when we go by, topped off with her hate,” I said, motioning to the cyan pegasus with my head, “staying here isn't a good idea.”

“I have a name, you know,” the pegasus said.

“Yes, say that like you’ve introduced yourself.” I flashed a fake smile. I turned to the orange earth pony. “I don't know who you are either.”

“Ah'm Applejack,” she said after a short pause. Oh; that's who Applejack is.

“Nice to meet you, Applejack. And you are?” I looked back to the pegasus.

“I'm Rainbow Dash,” she grumbled.

“We're here,” Twilight announced. I faced forward and gazed upon the hospital. It was a tan, three story building that had maroon roof tiles and held an emblem of a medical cross in a red circle at the top. “I'll make sure everything’s in order.”

We walked into the hospital and the moment we passed through the doors, everyone was staring at us. Well, me mostly.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle?” asked a doctor as he came up to us.

“Yes. You received Princess Celestia’s letter, then?”

“Yes. The Princess sent a letter about the…” he paused as he looked over to me, “the changeling. We have a room ready and we can have him in an X-ray machine in a few minutes.”

The entire room reeked of fear as many of the ponies whispered to each other while they watched me.

“Is there anything else?”

“No. However I can show all of you where he'll be staying if you'd like.”

“Sure.” With that the doctor began leading the way towards what would be my room for now. We passed a few rooms along the way and everyone I saw in those rooms fearfully stared at me.

This is going to be a bad time…

“Room one sixteen is where he'll be staying if you come by for whatever reason,” the doctor said as we entered my room. It looked exactly the same as every other one we had passed; white tile floor, a bed with safety rails, an inactive heart monitor, and one window with two plain white curtains.

“Looks cozy enough,” I commented.

“If you could put this on and get in the gurney, we'll take you for your X-ray,” the doctor said as he gave me a hospital gown while a nurse came up behind us with a gurney. Where exactly the doctor got the gown from, I have no idea. With Fluttershy's help, I put on the gown and got in the gurney.

“I'll be back later with some books for you to read while you're here,” Twilight said as the nurse and doctor began moving the gurney. Twilight and the others kept a pace just fast enough to be in talking range of me.

“You're leaving?”

“We all are. I need to get back to the library, Rarity needs to go back to her boutique and start repairs, Fluttershy has her animals―”

“I get it; you all have lives. If you really need to, stop procrastinating and go,” I cut her off while showing a small, reassuring smile.

“Don't worry, I’ll come by here tomorrow to check on you,” Pinkie Pie said as we reached our destination.

“You will?” I raised a brow in surprise.

“Of course.” She displayed a larger than usual smile.

“Thanks, but if we're done, I don't think we should keep them waiting any longer.” Taking that as their cue, the nurse opened the door while the doctor pushed me into the room.

“Why exactly did I need to come along?” I heard Rainbow Dash ask just before the doors closed.

The doctor had the nurse help me into the X-ray machine so we could begin. Once that was done the doctor, nurse, and another doctor went into a separate room which I assumed was for controlling the machine. Given the fact that there wasn’t anything else I could do, I decided to think about my plans for the future more.

Let's just assume for now that the princess doesn't hold anything against me, then what does she want to talk to me for? Maybe she wants to see what she can learn about changelings from me, or see if she can bring my memories back somehow. I guess I'll just have to wait until I meet her. But setting the princess aside for now, what am I going to do when this is over?

The ponies clearly don't trust me, if it were up to them I probably wouldn't be here at all. I think that no matter what I do, I need to learn how to shapeshift; if I can get that figured out then I can focus on getting a job or something, therefore learning how to shapeshift should be my top priority. If I can shapeshift, I stand a chance. And while I’m not sure if I’ll truly need to know, knowing how to fly and/or use magic could be useful.

I really don't know how much time I spent in each machine and test they put me through; the only way I had of telling time was the light coming through the windows. Especially since it never occurred to me to look for a clock. I was sure it was around noon when we got to the hospital and by the time we had finished, the sun was barely over the horizon.

“The results of most of your tests should be back in the morning,” the doctor told me while a nurse helped me back into the gurney.

“Is there anything you can tell me right now?” The nurse and Striker started pushing me towards my room, the doctor lazily keeping pace.

“Well, based on the size of your skull fracture, I'd say you're very lucky to be alive. But as far as the brain damage itself goes, we'll have to wait ‘till morning when the results are back.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Now get some rest. As for you, Striker, will you be needing a room for the night or anything?”

“No; I have strict orders to keep the changeling in my sight at all times.”

“So you'll stay here for the night then?”

“Yes,” Striker answered simply as he took a seat a few feet from the bed.

“Suit yourself. See both of you in the morning I guess.” The doctor and the nurse then left the room.

The room fell silent when they left; neither of us really wanted to talk to the other, him because I'm a changeling, me because I didn't like the fact that he didn't like me for being a changeling. I understood why he didn't like me, but it was still kind of frustrating. After about five minutes of silence, I broke it with “Goodnight.”

And with that, I did my best to just clear my mind and sleep.

(~Φ~)

I was awoken when I heard talking outside of my room, so I slowly opened my eyes. Through the window in the door I saw Twilight talking to a doctor. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but based on Twilight's expression, it wasn't good.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Striker standing next to the chair he was sitting in before I fell asleep.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Not sure. Twilight got here a few minutes ago but has been talking to that doctor since then.”

“Any idea what they’re talking about?”

“You.”

“Aside from that.”

“Medical stuff.” I sighed in annoyance. The room’s door opened as the doctor walked away and Twilight walked in. I noticed that she was wearing the saddlebags from the day before.

“Morning, miss Sparkle,” Striker said as she closed the door.

“Good morning, Striker. Good morning, Fragment. How’re you feeling?”

“Better than yesterday but still not very good,” I said as I adjusted myself into a more upright position.

“I have those books I said I would bring you. I would have brought them here yesterday but the doctor said you needed your rest.”

“Thanks for remembering me. I appreciate it.” I smiled.

“It's not a big deal; I can't imagine having to spend four weeks in here with―”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, did you just say four weeks? Four weeks, here? Twenty eight days, here? Are you joking?”

“They didn't tell you last night? The doctor just told me before I came in here that at best you'll need to be here for four weeks. The damage to your skull and leg was really bad, those alone will take a lot of time. He told me you shouldn't use your left leg for at least two weeks after they let you go and you've got some pretty bad internal damage. You're lucky to―”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm lucky to be alive. I don't know what kind of books you got, but I hope they're long.”

“I don't know what you'd like…”

“Neither do I.”

“So I got some of everything; history, science, biology…”

“Did you bring me anything that isn't educational? It’s not that I have anything against learning, I just don’t want to do nothing but read school books for four weeks.”

“Well, I could bring you some of the Daring Do books.”

“The what?”

“Daring Do. It's the most popular fictional adventure book series in Equestria,” Striker cut-in, causing both of us to look at him. “Or… uh… so I've been told.”

His eyes started looking around the room randomly.

“Well, anyway, I think I'll take you up on the idea. If it's not a big deal. I wouldn't want you to go out of your way just for me.”

“It's no trouble. I'll be back tomorrow with the first two Daring Do books. Also, Pinkie Pie told me to tell you she will be here later today to see you,” she said as she got the four books and four bookmarks out of her saddlebag with her magic.

“Okay.”

“Oh, and you should read this first,” she said while placing a book on my lap with her magic and the rest on the floor next to the bed. I took the book into my hooves and read the tile out loud.

“‘Basic Magic for Dummies?’ Are you implying something?” I asked with my eyes narrowing on the book in suspicion.

“There's a levitation spell in there that I think you should try to learn; it would help you a lot while you recover.”

“That's… a really good idea.” Note to self: learn that spell as soon as possible.

“Well, I need to get going. See you later, Fragment. Bye, Striker.”

“Bye, Twilight,” I said as she left, and with her gone, my attention went straight to the book. Index: Getting Started. Know What's Safe. Have S― Blah, blah, blah. Spells: Basic Ward Spell… Invisibility? On small objects… Dammit. Basic Illusion Spells, Mess Cleaning Spell. Where did they put the levitation spell?!

After a quick and angry look through the non-index pages of the book, I found the page on levitation, conveniently near the end of the book.

Finally, let's start working on this spell. I thought as I began to read the spell's instructions. I paid close attention to what was written in the paragraphs of levitation. Just, imagine myself picking it up? I summarized. Sounds simple enough. It should be; it's a book for dummies.

I took my eyes off of the book for the first time in about five minutes. I then noticed that Striker was gone, causing me to look around the room to see if there was any trace of him, then I saw him outside talking to one of the nurses. I don't know what they were talking about, but she seemed to enjoy it; based on the smile on her face.

So much for those ‘strict orders,’ huh? I looked to the books Twilight left for me. I focused my mind on the book on top of the pile. As I imagined myself holding the book in a hoof and bringing it back to my current position, I felt my magical powers come to life with a familiar feeling: happiness.

The happiness that I fed off of Pinkie Pie was fueling my magic, but at the same time I could feel myself weaken from trying to use it. It fuels my life as much as it fuels my magic, using it for magic will make me need to feed more. I decided to hold off on trying magic until I had fed more. Good thing Pinkie Pie’s coming for a visit.

Chapter 4: Patience

My plan was to feed off of Pinkie Pie when she came to visit so I could try to use the levitation spell Twilight told me to learn, but there was one problem: I had no idea when she'd arrive. So, I had to find a way to pass the time. Luckily, Twilight had brought four textbooks I could read to do just that. History, science, biology and chemistry… Why did she only bring me educational books? Oh well; it's either this or nothing. I guess I'll start with history; knowing Equestria’s past could be useful.

I leaned over the side of the bed and picked up the books one at a time, placing them on my lap. Using my right foreleg, I opened the history book and began to read. I started as far back as the book went, which was more than a thousand years ago, when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated the spirit of chaos known as Discord.

After that the Equestrians made them their rulers. Some time later, Princess Luna became jealous of Princess Celestia and attempted to bring eternal night to the world only for Celestia to defeat her and imprison her on the moon for a thousand years.

My reading was interrupted when I smelled something else in the room: it was food of some kind, accompanied by nervousness. I looked up and saw an earth pony nurse standing in the doorway. She had white fur and nurse clothes, a yellow mane and tail, and a tray of food on her back. Her nervousness was increased by me looking at her.

“In case you're wondering, there's already someone with the job of ‘Door Guard.’ Though I don't know where he went,” I said noticing that Striker was still off his post. Maybe I should tell Princess Celestia about his slacking off. “So are you supposed to be bringing me breakfast or something?”

“Oh, um, y-yes,” she stuttered nervously.

“Scary being in the same room as a changeling for you?”

“Um, a-a little.” She slowly started walking towards the bed.

“Well, if it’s any comfort, I'm not planning on hurting you.”

“How… how did you get inside Equestria?” the nurse asked after placing the tray next to the bed.

“I'm not sure,” I replied turning back to face her. “I've been told I most likely crashed after the changelings were repelled from Canterlot.”

“How?”

“I don't know. Maybe I'm just a bad flyer.” The nurse chuckled awkwardly at my joke.

“Hi, Fragment!” said a sudden, familiar voice.

“Hello, Pinkie Pie.” Excellent; now that she’s here I’ll be able to feed and― Wait, who’s that? I thought as a certain candlestick wielding unicorn entered the room with Pinkie.

“Good morning, Fragment,” she said.

“Rarity? What’re you doing here?” I asked as the nurse left. Well, crap; should I still feed off of Pinkie Pie with Rarity around? I don’t think she’ll be comfortable with the idea…

“Well, I still feel a little bad about hitting you and I wanted to see how you were holding up.”

“For the most part I'm still in bad shape, but I'm doing better than I was yesterday.”

“Good to hear,” Rarity said with a small smile.

“Hey, Fragment, guess what I brought you!” Pinkie Pie said with enthusiasm.

“Um… pancakes?”

“Nope! Cupcakes!” she said pulling a small brown paper bag out of her… mane? She keeps stuff in her mane?

“I made them myself!”

“Thank you.”

“So how have the ponies here been treating you?” Pinkie Pie asked as I took a bite of my first cupcake; It had vanilla cake, and green mint frosting with chocolate sprinkles.

“Good; they don't feel comfortable around me, but there're still helping, so I can't complain.”

“Where's Striker?” Rarity asked.

“I have no idea. He left about twenty minutes ago.”

“He didn't say anything to you?”

“No; he doesn’t do much talking at all.”

“That's odd,” Rarity said as she rubbed her chin.

If I'm going to learn to use that levitation spell then I need to feed, but Rarity is here too. I'm sure if I asked, Pinkie Pie wouldn't mind letting feed off of her, but Rarity however... It's now or never.

“Pinkie Pie, I need to ask something of you. And Rarity, there's something you need to know,” I said as I set my cupcake aside.

“What is it?” They asked.

“Rarity, before I was brought here, I fed off of Pinkie Pie's happiness.”

“You did what!?”

“IN MY DEFENSE, she offered.”

“Is this true?” Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah. I asked him if something was wrong and he told me he needed to feed, so I asked if I could help.”

“So you let him feed off you?” Rarity asked seeming to almost not believe us.

“Yeah,” was all Pinkie Pie said. Rarity paused and thought about what she had just learned.

“And… how exactly did he feed?”

“He kind of just, inhaled.”

“It didn't hurt or anything, did it?”

“No, I just got kind of lightheaded.”

“She almost passed out,” I corrected.

“WHAT?!”

“It's fine, Rarity. I'm okay, aren't I?”

“Well… as long as you're okay.” Rarity sighed and relaxed a little. “Thank you both for your honesty, but why are you bringing this up now, Fragment?”

“Well, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk about. See, Twilight brought me this spell book and said that I should learn the levitation spell that's in it. When I tried to use it, I felt it drain the happiness I took from Pinkie Pie, which tells me love is needed for my magic as well as my life, so…”

“You want to feed off her again?” Rarity asked, her eyes widening slightly, to which I merely smiled sheepishly.

“I’d really help me out. So, uh… please?”

“Well, I suppose as long as Pinkie is okay with it,” Rarity sighed.

“It’s fine by me. Feed when ready,” Pinkie Pie said while saluting me, for some reason.

“Okay…” As I began to feed, green mist from before began flow from her into my mouth. I tried not to lose myself in the feeding like last time, but still the feeling was overwhelming; the transformation of happiness to power was incredible. I kept my eyes open to help maintain control. I could see Rarity watching closely, monitoring my actions and Pinkie Pie’s responses. Though Pinkie had tried to reassure her, she was still wary. So was I.

After a few seconds, Pinkie Pie wobbled a little and winced. Taking that as my cue, I stopped feeding, causing the mist to dissipate.

“Thanks,” I said with an unsure smile.

“No pro― whoa…” she said as she wobbled back and forth a little.

“Are you okay, dear?” Rarity took a step closer to Pinkie Pie.

“I-I’m fine. Just a little dizzy,” Pinkie Pie said with her smile returning in an instant.

“Let's hope I won't need to feed a lot if I'm going to be using magic,” I said as Pinkie Pie regained her balance completely.

“Would you like any help with trying to learn that spell?” Rarity asked.

“No thanks. I think it'd be best if I tried this on my own; I can’t be too reliant on others helping me.”

“If you say so. Well, I do hate to leave so soon, but I must be home when the contractors arrive; make sure they get everything cleaned up and repaired,” Rarity said as she turned to leave.

“Hey, Rarity, what's your place called?”

“The Carousel Boutique. Why do you ask?”

“Because I figured I should know what the place I crashed into is called.”

“I see. Well, I really must be going. Get well soon, Fragment.”

“I'll try.”

“I should probably go too. See you tomorrow, Fragment,” Pinkie Pie said with a goodbye wave as she left.

“Goodbye,” was all I said as they left. I owe them a lot. Despite Rarity hitting me with that damn candlestick she got Fluttershy to help me while Pinkie Pie has fed me her happiness twice. No to mention those pancakes. And then there’s Twilight sending the letter to the Princess, someone who I still have no idea what she wants with me. All I can do is hope it's nothing bad.

After finishing my thought, I opened the spell book again and began reading. It was some time later, just when I had gotten back to the levitation page, that I heard the door opened. To my surprise it was Striker finally back on his post. He had a small smile on his face, but it looked like he was trying to hide it.

“Where've you been?” I asked as he took his seat.

“No where.”

“Sure, I believe you.”

“I don't need to tell you anything, changeling,” he said aa a glare replaced his smile.

“I do have a name, in case you didn't know,” I said returning the glare.

“As far as I'm concerned, your name is Changeling.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I said, turning back to the spell book. Fuck! I lost my spot! I should probably use those bookmarks I got. I thought as I started looking for that page again. Just as I found it, the doors opened again. I looked up and saw a nurse enter.

“Um, Fragment, I need to change your wings' bandages.” She seemed to be uncomfortable near me.

“Okay,” was all I said as she walked up to the bed.

“Lean forward, please.” I did as told while she took my left wing out from behind my back. I felt her start to unwrap my wing, but once the last of the bandages come off, I heard her gasp.

“What is it? is it worse? Is it infected?” I asked in half panic.

“It's healed!”

“What?” me and Striker asked at the same time. Without another word she went straight to the door and called to a doctor, who quickly made his way to the room.

“What's the matter?” the doctor asked as he entered.

“His wing is healed.” she answered.

“Already? That's impossible; those injuries should have taken days to recover, not hours,” he said as he approached the bed. I spread out my left wing so he could see. I noticed that it didn't hurt to move.

"How could your wing have healed so fast?" He said in more of a thinking out load way then really asking me anything.

“Is it possible that changelings heal faster than ponies?” the nurse asked as she stood next to the doctor.

“Based on the tests we've done, his biological setup is ninety-nine percent identical to a pony, it's unlikely that changelings simply heal faster, but that's the only reason I can think of that explains this…” the doctor said as he went around the bed and unbandaged my other wing, which also didn't hurt to move.

“What are you thinking?” the nurse asked.

“I think we should run some more tests on him and see if anything else has healed or shown any signs of doing so.”

“Striker, would you mind helping me move him?” the nurse asked Striker.

“Not at all,” he sighed as he took his place on the right side of the bed and started helping the nurse move me.

I wonder if feeding made a difference in my recovery rate. I guess I'll just have to wait to find out. I thought as I pushed the books off the bed before they began moving me to another room.

Before I knew, I was in yet another machine and more tests were being run, This time was faster than yesterday as yesterday was about five hours and today was only about two. When the last machine was turned off, I was brought back to my room and Striker took his usual post.

“Your lunch should be here in a minute,” the nurse told me as she started to leave.

“When will the test results be back?”

“In a few hours. Doctor Hoofman will let you know what the results are when they come back.”

“Thank you.” Now let's see about learning that levitation spell. I thought as I reached for the books. I felt my hoof touch the floor where the books should’ve been, so I looked over the edge of the bed and saw the books were about seven inches further away from where I would’ve been able to place them.

You have got to be kidding me. I tried to reach the books, stretching out my right leg as far as it could go, my reach ended with the books less than an inch from my grasp.

“Problem?” Striker asked after I pulled myself back into bed. He had a smile on his face. I sniffed to sense his emotions which consisted of satisfaction.

“You moved the books, didn't you?” as I glared at him.

“I may have moved them while they were scanning you. But hey, I stacked and alphabetized them for you!”

“Is it posible that I can get a less douchey guard once we get to Canterlot?” Striker chuckled to himself and leaned back in his chair. I looked toward the books and thought.

Well, I can either give up or try harder than before. Try harder of course. And with that, I leaned over the bed trying with all my might to get the spell book, which was on the top of the pile in an almost taunting way. I could just barely touch the spell book, but I couldn't move it.

“What are you doing?” a female voice asked. I turned to the door and saw a nurse, but not just any nurse, the nurse that Striker was talking to a few hours ago. She had a tray of what looked like my lunch on it on her back.

“I'm trying to get that book,” I said as I tried again to get the book, but I still couldn't reach it; seems the books didn't get any closer while I wasn’t looking. A hoof pushed the pile of books closer to me so I could reach them. I looked up and saw that the nurse had done it.

“Thanks,” I said as I pulled the spellbook up the side of the bed's frame and onto the bed. I heard Striker let out a sigh of disappointment. The nurse turned to Striker with her scent becoming one of anger.

“Striker, can I speak to you outside please?” Striker's scent went from the disappointment to fear.

“Uh… I, uh need to watch the changeling,” he said avoiding her eye contact.

“His name is Fragment,” the nurse said with a slight growth in anger. “And something tells me he's not going anywhere.”

“But I―”

“Now, Striker,” she said as she started walking out of the room with Striker hesitantly following her. After they left and the door was closed, I could hear them begin talking. I leaned forward and tried to eavesdrop but couldn’t manage to understand what they were saying. After a few minutes of talking, they came back in, Striker's head hung low in what smelled like shame.

“I believe Striker has something to say to you,” the nurse said as she looked at him. With a sigh he brought his head up and looked me in the eye.

“I'm sorry I moved the books out of your reach,” he said. His scent was honest. I was quite surprised by this and wondered what exactly she had said to him. Regardless, my senses told me he meant what he said.

“Apology accepted.”

“Now, I need to get back to work. I trust you'll try harder to get along, Striker?” the nurse said with a small smile on her face.

“I promise,” Striker said returning the smile, they shared a quick kiss and then she left. I could smell the love for the other they had as she left. With the smell of love in the air, my hunger to consume it awoke while I tried my best to ignore it.

“Is she your marefriend?”

“Yeah. Her name is Lightheart. We grew up here and started dating three years ago. I hardly ever see her because of my job, so it's difficult for us to be together. We stay in touch and I come here to see her as much as I can…” he told me ending with a sigh. He smelled of regret and love.

“Do you regret joining the guard?”

“Sometimes, like now…” he said frowning slightly

“Why did you tell me all of that?” He looked deep in thought for a moment then answered.

“I don't talk to other ponies that much; I don't have friends in the guard and the friends I do have are here like her. So I guess I wanted that off my chest”

“I hope it goes well for the two of you.”

“Thanks,” he said with another sigh.

Deciding that our conversation was over, I opened the spell book yet again, finding the correct page faster than before because of remembering roughly where in the book it was; about a headache from the back to the front, and a pain in the ass from the front to the back. Looking over the instructions again, I prepared myself to use the spell. ’Imagine yourself moving the object and let the power flow through your horn and do the work’...

I reviewed in my head as I focused on the history book. I felt the happiness from Pinkie Pie turn into power and that power grow in my horn. As it did, I heard a static hissing sound. I opened my eyes and saw some dark green light emanating from my horn, the same light enveloped the book as well. It started to move towards me slightly while Striker watched me carefully. I kept my eyes on the book and pictured myself picking it up, the book slowly lifting into the air with my thought.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it! I thought excitedly while trying to keep calm so I could work. Slowly, the book kept lifting into the air and towards me, but I could feel my magic draining, my strength with it, so rather than keep screwing around with the spell, I brought the book straight to me. With the book now on my lap thanks to the use of the levitation spell, I was incredibly giddy.

“Look, look, look! I did it!” I said with an oversized grin on my face, showing my sharp teeth.

“Um… good for you?”

“I know, I know! It's great!” I sounded dumber and dumber as I kept talking. “This is awesome! I have got to learn more magic!” I said as I went back to the spell book.

“Shouldn't you be conserving your strength so you can recover?”

“Probably, but I'm too excited not to do another spell,” I said looking through the book. “Mess Cleaning, Basic Ward, Teleporting, AHA! Invisibility on other objects,” I said with a grin.

“What kind of spell is that? What would you do with it, turn somepony’s door invisible to mess with them?” I ignored Striker’s question.

I began to focus on the book after going over the instructions with the intention of turning the book invisible. I felt the flow of power again with the static hissing from before, I focused on the book with my eyes open and saw that the book was turning transparent.

When the book had turned completely invisible, I felt massive pain in my head. The book became visible again as I brought my right foreleg to head.

“Son of a bitch,” I groaned as the pain grew slightly.

“What did you do?” Striker asked looking at me with an annoyed expression.

“I think I used too much magic, now my head is paying the price,” I replied as I rubbed my head.

“Too excited not to try to use magic now?” he smirked.

“Not anymore, but at least I'm making progress.”

Chapter 5: The Healing Process

With the recently self inflicted headache, I decided to take a break from magic for today, so I continued reading the history book. Most of the events described in it after Princess Luna's banishment were much less exciting; minor things like Starswirl the Bearded's research and how much he discovered in magic, along with many other things that didn't seem too interesting. Dammit Twilight, why didn't you bring the Daring Do books the first time? I thought as I looked over the other three books; I didn't really want to read them, but I didn't want mind numbing boredom, so I began to read the science book, and within five minutes I had enough thanks to all the big words I could barely pronounce. Well, this sucks. I thought as I began to eat the lunch that nurse Lightheart brought a few minutes ago; lightly buttered wheat toast, an apple, and oatmeal with syrup.

"So, why do you think your wings healed so fast?" Striker asked.

"Uh... um... " Fuck. Should I tell him that I fed off of Pinkie Pie and hope for the best, or say I don't know and hope I don't get found out? Either way, I'm playing the odds and hoping for the best. I'd rather not have lying come back to bite me in the ass. "Well... me feeding off of Pinkie Pie's happine―"

"Fed off what?" He asked getting out of his chair with some anger surfacing.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie's happiness." I said trying to back up slightly despite the fact I was in a bed that was against a wall. "But it was her idea, and if you don't believe me you can ask her when she comes over tomorrow." I said not liking how close to me he was getting.

"When did you feed off her?"

"When she was here with Rarity about ten minutes before you came back." I'll just leave out the fact that I've fed off of her twice for now; it's not lying, it's failing to tell.

"I will speak to her when she comes here, and if she says differently from you, the Princess will know of it." He said in a threatening way as he went back to his seat. As Striker took his seat, there was a quick knock on the door and then a doctor came in the room.

"Hello, Fragment. I'm your doctor, Doctor Hoofman, I'm here to inform you that the results from your most recent tests are back." He said as he closed the door behind him. "It seems your external injuries have healed either completely or at twice the expected rate. however, your internal injuries are only healing at about an extra fifteen percent faster then normal, but that is still much faster then we expected."

"So, this is good news?" I asked.

"Yes. If your recovery keeps this rate up, you'll be able to leave in about a week, and you'll be able to use your leg in less than three weeks."

"Awesome! Anything else note worthy?"

"Just that you really shouldn't be using your leg 'til it's completely recovered."

"Do you know why I'm healing so fast?"

"We have no definite reason why you'd heal this fast at this point in time."

"Well either way, thank you for the news." I said feeling some of that excitement from when I use the levitation spell coming back. With a nod, doctor Hoofman left.

"Isn't this great?" I asked with a smile.

"Sure?" Striker responded with a shrug. "You still don't have any plans though, do you?"

"Not a fucking one. But I should wait and see what the Princess wants with me before I make any definite plans." I said as I finished my food and went back to looking over the other books. Stupid smart pony books... I guess since I don't want to read the other books, I could just read the spell book and look over the spells but not actually try to use them. I began looking over some of the spells in the book, including the levitation, invisibility, and teleportation spells; Why an invisibility and a teleportation spell were in a 'basic' spell book for 'dummies' is beyond me, given the fact that both of those spells are very complex and the first thing they say is 'takes skill and time to master,' but either way, I read what the books said about those spells and pretty much memorized what it said about those three spells and looked over other spells that seemed interesting; like smokescreen, magelight, forcefield, and conjure mustache spells that I made note to try when I had the strength.

(~Φ~)

As time passed that day, which I had passed with simply reading the spell book more, it was clear that the last of the eventfulness was gone, so after I ate my dinner I went right to sleep; I was still pretty tired from the overuse of magic, so I quickly fell asleep, but unlike the other times I'd slept, I felt something. At first it was pain, but then I began to see. I was standing still, just staring out to something, my vision was too blurry to see what it was other than that it, along with most of the surrounding area, was white. I heard faint buzzing and hissing sounds in the distance. Then, without warning my surroundings changed from overlooking something to being in some long narrow path, I could almost say it was a hallway, but the blue sky above me told me I was still outside.

But there was something at the end of this red brick ally, something white, but it was too blurry to see what it was. I was slowly getting closer to it, there was some kind of odd humming and hissing sound coming from it, this sound would change it's pitch as I got closer, though I still couldn't tell what it was saying, assuming that it was trying to say something. As I got closer, the pain grew and with each step I took, the pain grew, and I had no control over what I was doing. I couldn't stop, I couldn't ask what was happening, I couldn't even scream from the growing pain. The pain, just grew, and grew, and grew, and I tried to scream, I wanted to scream in pain but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't.

Then, it stopped; The pain, the sounds, even the background was gone, and I had control again. I looked around trying to see signs of anything. Then, there was a flash of light from behind me causing me to turn around, and what I saw, well, 'surprised' would be an understatement, for the being that stood before fit this description: A dark blue coat, an equally dark blue horn, some kind of blue purple horseshoes, dark blue wings, a small black crown, and a cutie make of a crescent moon. And assuming that the history book is accurate, then this could only mean one thing: I was in the presence of Princess Luna. My eyes were as wide as I could make them and my mouth hung open at the sight.

"P-Princess L-Luna." I said as I quickly bowed, I then noticed my left foreleg was both out of it's sling, and it wasn't in pain. Come to think of it, nothing that should've been in pain was.

"Why do you bow to me? Surely you are not a subject of mine." She asked me raising a brow.

"I didn't want to be disrespectful, your highness." I said still bowed.

"You may rise." She said with a nod. "Do you know why I am here?"

"To oversee my dream?" I asked as I rose.

"Yes, as ruler of the night it is my duty to watch over the Equestrians as they sleep, but when I came here, I was quite surprised it was the dream of a Changeling that I had entered. More surprising is that you were in pain, so I ended your dream without waking you. But I feel compelled to asked you, what is your name?"

"For now, my name is Fragment." I said simply.

"For now?" She asked.

"I have amnesia. My memories only span three or four days, so I don't know my real name. The only reason I know who you are is because of a history book I was given."

"Ah, so you are the one Celestia told me about."

"She told you about me? Well you are her sister after all. So what did she tell you about me?"

"That you have amnesia, she made sure that you were professionally treated, and she will arrange for you to be taken to Canterlot."

"I hope she isn't planning on doing something bad to me..." I said quietly to myself. "Wait, that history book I read said you were imprisoned in the moon." I said now wondering how she was talking to me.

"I was, but my exile to the moon ended months ago, and I have been forgiven." She explained. "So, what do you think this dream of yours is trying to tell you about?" She asked.

"I don't know; I can't make anything out." I said thinking on what I had seen.

"And why do you think that is?"

"I'm not sure... Maybe... maybe it's not just a dream, maybe it's a memory, and because of my amnesia it's more difficult to remember." I said with some pain returning as I thought.

"And what do you think this memory is about?" The background returned as she asked that question, but it was still impossible to tell what it was as I stared at it, and as I did, the pain began to grow.

"I think... I don't know, a wall? It's too blurry to identify."

"Look closely, and you may learn what it is that you see." She told me as she stood next to me staring into the blurry background.

Well, if she knows the answer then why can't she just fucking tell me? Oh well, I should probably do these things on my own anyway. Okay then, let's think. Think on whatever it is we're staring at. Think and focus, there isn't a whole lot you can do, but both of those are things you can do. As I stared I could hear the sounds returning as well, and the pain was growing again.

"Pace yourself. Try to focus on the things you see first, not everything at once." She instructed.

With a small nod of acknowledgment, I focused on the background and tried to ignore everything else, and slowly the sounds and pain faded again, and slowly the texture of the background began to change and most of the blur faded. I could now see colors other than white, and I could tell individual things apart from each other, while I still couldn't completely make everything out, I could tell that I was looking at a city with cobblestone streets and brick and wooden houses, and towering over this city, a large marble castle stood tall stretching high up the mountain that the city was attached to.

"What is this place?" I asked turning to Princess Luna slightly, but the more I turned the more the background faded, so not wanting to lose what could be a memory, I turned back to the city.

"This is Canterlot, the capital of Equestria." She told me as we stared.

Great, there's only one reason why I'd be remembering the city that was attacked by the Changelings... "So what is your sister planning on doing with me?" I asked.

"I do not know what she wants with you, but you have no reason to be afraid of her." The Princess told me with a small reassuring smile.

"Are you sure she won't imprison me or anything like that?"

"I am." She said confidently. "Now then, I have other ponies to tend to. Goodbye, Fragment. I might see you in Canterlot."

"Goodbye, Princess." I said as I turned back to the blurry version of Canterlot and focused on it trying to make it clear, and slowly it began to clear to show greater detail. I was pretty far from the city from this point of view. I tried to get closer, but the moment I moved the sounds and the pain came roaring back and I was instantly crippled by it and a moment later, my surroundings changed and the pain grew, and I lost all control over myself again.

It looked like I was now in that ally way again based on that it was a long and narrow space, but it was also a dead end, but what really got my attention was that I wasn't the only one in the ally. At the other end was a white pony, everything was too blurry to tell anything beyond that. I was approaching this pony slowly. I heard static hissing coming from myself and I heard the pony talking to me but I couldn't understand what the pony was saying because it was too distorted. Then, everything began to fade, but just before it did, I heard and understood one phrase it spoke. "You're in danger!" A mare's voice said to me as everything finished, fading into black...

(~Φ~)

My eyes began to open as I felt my head throbbing in pain, and the tiniest sound made the pain grow. I heard Striker snoring as my eyes opened and I brought my right forehoof to my head. 'You're in danger?' What was she talking about? If she was telling me I was in danger, I hope I'm not anymore... I looked out the window on my left to try to get an estimate of what time it was, it was then that I noticed that the whole time I had been here and using the sun's position in the sky to tell time, there was a clock on the wall to my left that I somehow had missed when I was brought here. It was nine forty-two AM. I really need to pay more attention.

I thought as the pain slowly began to fade. I reached over the right side of the bed and got the spell book, I had no intention trying to use any spells right now, but I wanted some reading material while I waited for something to happen. All I did was read over the instructions of some spells, but for the most part I did nothing while I waited, a few minutes later a Nurse brought me and Striker breakfast, even though Striker was still asleep and snoring away. I ate my breakfast as I reread the spells I had the most interest in. By the time Striker woke up, his breakfast was cold, and I was quite happy he was awake, because if I had to listen to five more minutes of his snoring I would have thrown a book at him, but we kept to our selves that morning. About an hour later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Striker said as he sat in his seat.

"Good morning, Striker, Fragment." Twilight said as she, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy entered the room.

"Hi Fragment!" Pinkie Pie said as she bounced into the room.

"Hello." Fluttershy said as she slowly walked in. Once everypony was inside, Twilight closed the door with her magic and turned to me.

"Hello." I said as I adjusted myself to more comfortable position. "How's everypony been?"

"Everypony's fine. Rarity still has repairs at home to do but she told me that nothing irreplaceable was damaged."

"Are you Pinkie Pie?" Striker asked as he stood up.

"Yup, that's me!" Pinkie Pie said as she lightly bounced in place.

"Is it true that you allowed Fragment to feed off you?" Striker asked.

"WHAT?!" Twilight and Fluttershy asked in unison, though Twilight was easily the louder of the two.

"Here we go." I said with a sigh knowing this was going to be the same as it was with Rarity, Just with more armored security, and I'm not the one who brought it up.

"What do you mean he fed off her?" Twilight asked. I smelled disbelief in Fluttershy and disbelief and a hint of anger in Twilight.

"Yesterday doctor Hoofman said his wounds were recovering faster than normal, I asked Fragment why that might be happening and he said it might have something to do with feeding off Pinkie Pie." Striker said as he turned to face me.

"But she offered." I said defensively.

"Pinkie, is this true?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. but he―"

"Why would you do that? It could have been dangerous!" Twilight said becoming slightly hysterical.

"It's fine, Twilight. I was fine the first time and I was fi―"

"The first time?" Striker said turning to me again. "How many times have you fed exactly?" At this point Twilight and Fluttershy's attention was back on me, which made me very uncomfortable.

"Only twice, and only off of Pinkie Pie, and only with her consent." I said almost wanting to hide from sight at the moment.

"Why does everypony freak out when they hear about this?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Wait, who else knows about this?" Twilight asked as she turned back to Pinkie Pie.

"Rarity was with me when I came here yesterday and Fragment told her about it and wanted to feed off me so he could try to use magic." Pinkie Pie explained.

"And she reacted the same way both of you just did, but she seems fine with it." I added. "So do we really have a problem or do you just need to calm down?"

"Well, it's surprising; I didn't know you knew how to feed off love. Wait... Cadence said Changelings take the form of a pony and feed off the love that others have for that pony."

"Well it wasn't love I fed off of, it was happiness that I fed off of, and I really didn't know how to feed, I just let my instincts take control while I observed what was happening so I could do it again later without losing control, like how when Pinkie Pie and Rarity were here yesterday, I fed off of Pinkie Pie without losing all self control." I explained hoping I was at least close to being in the clear.

"If Pinkie says she's okay, then I don't think it's that big of a deal." Fluttershy said much to Twilight's surprise.

"I'm fine, Twilight. You really shouldn't worry so much." Pinkie Pie said.

"Well," She sighed. "if you really did let him and you really are fine, then I guess there's nothing to be upset about." She said with a soft smile. "So how have you been, Fragment?" Twilight asked.

"Fine, but bored. I've pretty much been reading the spell book you gave me over, and over, and over..."

"Why didn't you read the other books? There was science and―"

"I read the history book, but with the science book I couldn't even pronounce most of the words in it. And the other books just didn't seem too interesting."

"Well at least I have the first two Daring Do books this time." She said as she pulled two books out of her saddlebag with her magic. "Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire Stone; and Daring Do and the Temple of Doom." Twilight read the titles as she place them on the bed. "These should be a nice change from the other books."

"Thanks."

"How has using the levitation spell been going?" Twilight asked as Striker smiled at the memory.

"Oh it hasn't. not really anyway. I tried to use it after I fed off of Pinkie Pie yesterday but I kind of..." I trailed off thinking of my stupidity.

"He over used his magic." Striker said trying not to laugh.

"How did you do that?" Twilight asked. but before I could answer Striker was already talking.

"He levitated one of the books to the bed and got really excited, so he tried to use another spell to make the book invisible, and he got a massive headache out of it." Striker said with a big dumbass grin.

"Fragment, what were you thinking? You can really hurt yourself trying to use spells you're not ready for." Twilight said with a look that called me stupid and a scent of pity.

"Well I didn't know that! After I lifted the book with magic I thought I could do anything, so I tried to do something, and I thought that turning a book invisible would be cool." though an invisible book is a bit hard to read. "If I had more power I could've done it." I said crossing my forelegs in a small pout.

"How much love have you actually consumed?" Fluttershy asked.

"How am I suppose to tell?"

"Well, how hungry do you feel right now?"

"Well to put in terms of food, I'd say I've had a small lunch when I have a few days worth of eating to catch up on." I said trying to put in easy to understand terms.

"Oh my. Are you really that hungry?" Fluttershy asked feeling sorry for me.

"Kind of. I can ignore it pretty well, but when I smell an emotion that I can feed off of it gets kind of bad."

"That's terrible. Why haven't you fed more?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because I don't think it's as simple as feeding off that emotion, based on what happened to Pinkie Pie after the first time I fed off of her―"

"Wait, what do you mean 'based what happened to Pinkie Pie'? What happened?" Twilight asked with a little concern rising.

"Here we go again. Look, when I fed off of her the first time she was unbalanced and her eyes were unfocused and had rolled up into her head, and she told me she felt really lightheaded afterward―"

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted in astonishment, Fluttershy however, seemed less worried. I, unlike Fluttershy, was just plain irritated from everypony freaking out, and I was tired of trying to hide whenever somepony did freak out,
this time, I was going to deal with it.

"Oh for fuck's sake, calm down. does she seem hurt to you?"

"N―"

"Did she say she's hurt?" I asked cutting her off, which was something I was going to keep up in this.

"N―" She tried to say again, but I cut her off as I had planed.

"Do you think I would have done it twice if feeding did any real damage?"

"... N―"

"Then calm down." I said almost feeling proud of myself for dealing with that myself, but at the same time feeling a little ashamed for being such an asshole through the whole thing. "But as I was saying, the reason I haven't tried to feed more is because I don't think it's just the emotion, but life force. I mean really, what makes more sense: feeding off love, or feeding off life force? And that would make sense for how Chrysalis could gain enough power to beat the Princess and leave Shinning Armor too weak to cast his protection spell." I explained as the others listened.

"That does make sense, and that's a good reason not to feed." Twilight said. "But if you need love for your magic, and you really feel that hungry, then I think you really need to feed, and I think we can help."

"Wait, what?" Striker said being caught off guard.

"Are you really telling me you want to feed me?" Am I really that persuasive? I wasn't even trying to do that.

"Well if you can't use magic then it will be really hard for you to do things on you own while you heal, and at the least it would help with your hunger. So what do you say, girls?" Twilight said as she turned to her friends.

"You want us to feed him?" Fluttershy asked being a little surprised.

"Yeah. It's obvious that feeding off Pinkie alone hasn't been enough, so I think we should all pitch in." Twilight said.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked almost in disbelief.

"I think it's a great idea! It'd be mean not to help you after all." Pinkie Pie said happily.

"Well, if Twilight thinks it's a good idea, I'll do it." Fluttershy said with a small smile.

"Are you sure that you're sure?" I asked still not sure if they really came to this decision.

"We're sure." Twilight said as they faced me.

"Are you okay with this, Striker?" I asked surprised he hadn't objected to the idea.

"If the Doctor hadn't shown me the damage to your brain, I probably wouldn't have let them in here in the first place. I don't trust you, but I do believe you." Striker explained simply.

Seems a bit contradicting but okay. "Are you ready?" I asked as I turned back to the girls.

"Ready." They said at once.

Without anymore delays I began to feed on their general fondness of me, I guess I'm growing on them. Feeding off of Pinkie Pie was one thing, but feeding off of three ponies at once was unreal, every moment I felt myself growing stronger, I felt everything I had felt before, just on a much larger scale then before, but just like last time, I kept my eyes open to help maintain control, which was much easier than before. I watched closely to make sure I didn't take too much from them. I saw that Striker was also watching closely, I don't know if it was out of suspicion or curiosity. As I consumed, I saw them start to weaken, Fluttershy had brought a hoof to her head as if she had a headache, Pinkie Pie was beginning to wobble from side to side, and Twilight was struggling to keep her eyes open, and with that, I stopped feeding, and I felt more invigorated than ever before. "Wow..." Was all I said as the feeling lingered.

"Are you all okay?" Striker asked.

"I think so." Twilight said as she rubbed her head.

"I feel a little dizzy." Fluttershy said as she took a seat in Striker's chair.

"It feels really weird." Pinkie Pie said as she regained her balance.

"How do you feel, Fragment?" Twilight asked as she faced me.

"I... I feel like I could go for a jog. Really, wow..." I said as I could still feel the power fresh for use.

"If feeding does help you heal faster like you suggested, then how quickly to you think you'll recover if you conserve that power?" Striker asked.

"Well if I remember correctly, Doctor Hoofman said I'd be out of here in a week if my healing keeps this rate up, so... I think maybe two or three days, but we should have Doctor Hoofman run some tests or something to be sure." I said. I hope I recover that fast, that'd be awesome! And when I get out of here, I have to go to Canterlot and talk to the Princess. But for now, I'll wait.

"I'll go get Doctor Hoofman. Be back in a few minutes." Striker said as he left for the door.

"I should get going, I can't leave Spike to take care of the Library all day." Twilight said as she began to walk away. "I might come back tomorrow. Bye, Fragment. Bye, girls." She said a she left.

"You two are staying here?" I asked Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"I don't need to get back to my cottage for a few minutes, and you haven't had much company other than Striker, have you?"

"No, I guess I haven't." I said.

"Yeah! And I don't need to get back to Sugarcube Corner for another hour!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Thanks for feeding me, and for sticking around." I said with a smile.

"No problem, Fragment. How could I let my favorite Changeling be all alone while he's in the hospital?" Pinkie Pie asked with a big smile.

"Do you even know any other Changelings?" I asked rising a brow.

"No, but why would I be so mean to my first Changeling friend?"

"You... consider me a friend?" I asked surprised.

"Well, yeah! Just because Changelings attacked Canterlot doesn't mean all Changelings are bad. And it'd be so cool to have a Changeling as a friend; you can fly, use magic, and shapeshift! Imagine the pranks you could pull with shapeshifting!"

Dammit, now I want to play pranks with shapeshifting! "Thanks, Pinkie Pie. That means a lot to me."

"You can just call me Pinkie, everypony does." She told me with a smile.

"Hey, as long as we're on the subject of friends, how come those other two, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, haven't come here?"

"Well, Applejack works an apple stand in town, and she works on her family's farm most of the time, and Rainbow Dash is captain of the weather team." Fluttershy explained.

"You all have jobs too, but you all made time to come here. It's because they don't trust me, isn't it?" I asked with my head tipped to the left.

"Well... um... maybe?" Fluttershy said with a painfully obvious fake smile.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it." I said flatly.

"It definitely is, yes." She said sheepishly as she hid behind her mane.

"And why don't they trust me?"

"Well, I think Applejack plain and simply doesn't trust you because of the attack, but I don't know why Rainbow Dash seems to dislike you so much; I tried to get her to come here with me, but she wouldn't even talk about it. I'm not sure why, but she doesn't think we should have helped you in the first place."

"So do you think either of them will give me a chance, or is that one of those 'in your dreams' kind of things?"

"I think they'd like you if they gave you a chance, but it won't be easy to get them to give you one."

"I'll save that for a later project." I said with an annoyed sigh.

"I need to get going. I'll see both of you later." Fluttershy said as she headed for the door. "Take care of your self, Fragment."

"Why? I have Doctors for that." I said with a smile as she left. As she did, Striker and Doctor Hoofman walked in.

"So Striker told me you've been feeding." Doctor Hoofman said as he looked over my medical chart.

"Oh did he now?" I said as I glared at Striker.

"Yes, and he says you want to run more tests to see if it has any effect on your recovery." He said as a Nurse entered the room. "So if you're ready, we can take you and start running tests now."

"I'm ready I guess." I said with a shrug. "What are you going to do, Pinkie?"

"I could bring you some Cupcakes!" She said with a growing smile. "There'll probably be a bag of Cupcakes waiting for you when you get back from your tests! Bye, Fragment!"

"B--" I didn't even have time to really say anything because she bolted out the door so fast, but nonetheless she was gone, and I had some tests to do. So with that, we were off to run more tests to see if feeding has any effect on my regeneration, but this time, I actually looked at the time to see how long it had been when I got back. It was eleven twenty-seven A.M.

Just like before, I zoned out as the Doctors did what they were trained for, only this time I didn't have anything to think about while this was being done; I had already thought over what the Princess might want with me and that I shouldn't make any final decisions on what I'm going to do after all of this until I hear what the Princess has to say, so my only real option was to wait. some time later I was brought back to my room, and as we entered I saw that the time was one seventeen P.M.

As my bed was put back into it's proper place in the room and Striker sat back down in his chair, a nurse brought me my lunch; broccoli, beans, and mashed potatoes. I looked over the side of the bed and saw the Daring Do books on top of the other books and next to a brown paper bag that wasn't there when I left, and there was a note attached to it with some tape. Focusing my magic, I brought the bag and the first Daring Do book to the bed, it was much easier to do this time, if it was because I had more power, used the spell before, or both, I was unsure, but regardless of that I began to read the note, which simply read 'Cupcakes for Fragment. Singed Pinkie Pie.'

Using my magic, I opened the book as I reached into the bag. I slowly ate the cupcakes as I read the book, turning the pages with my magic, so I didn't risk getting frosting on the book and so I could better adjust to using magic. I will admit, I very quickly liked this book; the way Daring Do got through all the predators in the jungle and the traps in the temple, all of which without the use of her wings, due to the fact that one was broken, I was hanging on every word in the book, it reached the point where I had stopped eating the cupcakes altogether after eating the first one, I was about halfway through the book when I heard a knock on the door, I looked to the door, then to Striker's chair; which had a note on it, but no Striker.

"Uh, come in." I said as I grabbed the note with my magic and brought it to me as the door opened and Doctor Hoofman, entered the room.

"Fragment, your test results are... Where's Striker?" Doctor Hoofman asked as I read the note.

'Fragment, if you find this note before I get back, I'll be surprised. You didn't notice me leave the first time, which was to get the paper and quill to write this note, you didn't notice me come back, write the note, and then leave again. I left to spend some time with Lightheart while I'm in Ponyville. This note was written at one thirty-six PM, and I should be back by two twenty PM. Show this note to any Doctors/Nurses that ask for me while I'm gone. ~Striker.'

I looked at the clock after I read the note and saw it was two forty-one P.M "I don't know where he is, but I know what he is; late."

"What?" He asked as he raised a brow in confusion.

"He left a note saying that he'd 'be back by two twenty,' but it seems he's behind schedule." Just as I said that the door opened again, and this time it was Striker. "Oh look, you're back. So how'd it go?"

"Now then, the reason I'm here is even though not all the results are back, we noticed some immediate changes in your health; like your leg has healed dramatically faster than we thought, that and how most of your other injures have nearly, if not completely healed, and this is just a few hours after you last feeding, which tell us that feeding is not making you regenerate faster, but straight up healing you." Doctor Hoofman said.

"Wait, what?" I said thinking I might be hearing things.

"His feeding... is healing him? how?" Striker asked.

"I don't know how, I just know that it is. It just shows how little we know about Changelings; for all we know you could regrow limbs just by feeding." Doctor Hoofman said.

"That's incredible. If feeding causes everything to heal like that, then based on that how long do you think I'll need to be here?"

"I can't be sure 'til all the results are back. And given that it doesn't heal your internal injuries like your external ones, you'll still need to stay off that leg for a few weeks. But as far as getting out of here goes, I'd say if all goes well and as expected, you might get out of here tomorrow." That last part made my jaw drop.

"Are... are you... Really?" I said as my mind tried to catch up to what was just said.

"With all of your external injuries completely healed, and your internal ones in much better shape than before, you can most likely leave tomorrow." Doctor Hoofman told me again. "We won't know for certain 'til the rest of the tests are back in a few hours."

"... Wow." Was all I had to say. Well, I guess that means I'll be meeting the Princess a lot faster than I thought.

"Thank you for the news Doctor Hoofman." Striker said as Doctor Hoofman left. I noticed a hint of sorrow in Striker's scent.

"You don't want to leave Ponyville just yet do you?"

"I didn't get to spend much time with Lightheart." He said with a sigh.

"Then what are you doing here? If this is our last day here, then you should spend it with her, not foalsiting a semicrippled Changeling."

"Are you sure?"

"I mean really, what do you, or anypony for that mater, think I'm going to do? Sure I'm healing faster than expected, but I don't know how to fly, and my leg is still broken, so running away is kind of out of the question. If you really think I'm planning on doing something while you're gone, then stay, otherwise, go out and have fun."

"I'll try to be back before midnight." He said as he headed for the door. "Oh, and Fragment." Striker said looking over his shoulder. "Thanks." He said with a smile as he left and closed the door behind him.

With Striker gone and nothing else to distract me, I got the Daring Do book and resumed to re― FUCK! I forgot the fucking bookmarks, AGAIN! I thought angrily to myself as I began the search for the page I was last on. After ten minutes of searching, I found the right page and resumed to read. As I read further into the book, I was drawn into the story more and more, the pressure plates in the room with the Sapphire Stone, the lava and how Daring Do had to jump from pillar to pillar to escape, after I read it, I began to read the second book, but only made it a few chapters in before my dinner arrived, when it did I looked at the time, it was already six P.M.

As I ate my dinner I decided to save the rest of the book for tomorrow; perhaps it will provide something to do on our way to Canterlot. As I drifted into sleep, I heard faint sounds in the back of my head and I felt some pain return, though it didn't keep me awake, I heard one thing before I blacked out in sleep: You're in danger!

Chapter 6: The Scene of the Crime

I was awoken the next morning by sunlight through the window, though it's an unpleasant way to wakeup, it is effective. I let out an annoyed groan as I sat up. I rubbed my eyes with my right hoof, I then heard a familiar and slightly annoying sound. I looked to the right of the bed and sure enough, Striker was dead asleep and snoring away in his chair. I looked at the clock and saw it was eight eleven AM. I wonder if I'll be heading to Canterlot today. I thought as Striker's snoring continued, which gave me a fun idea. I lifted the spell book with my magic and began to look through it until I came to the spell I was looking for. With a smile on my face, I charged the spell hoping the static sound of my magic wouldn't wake him. at least not until I used the spell that is.

With one last thought, I cast the spell, causing a dark green flash of light just under his nose. I grinned widely at my work, happy that it both worked and he didn't wake up from it. And now I wait. I thought as I did exactly that; wait. About ten minutes later a Nurse brought me and the still sleeping Striker our breakfast, it didn't seem like the Nurse saw what I did to Striker, she did see me smiling stupidly, but she left all the same and I ate my breakfast while I patiently waited for my master plan to come together. Just like the day before, by the time Striker woke up, his breakfast was cold and I had finished mine. But I still wore a stupid smile which Striker noticed. "Good morning, Striker." I said sweetly.

"... What happened?" He asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"Nothing. Why?" I replied trying in vain to fight my smile .

"You're happy for some reason, so I assume you did something last night while I was out."

"I didn't do anything last night other than read the rest of the first Daring Do book and some of the second." All of what I said was true, but I was still smiling and he still didn't believe me.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Striker asked with his eyes narrowing on me.

"Go look in a mirror." I said trying not to laugh. After a moment of glaring, he sighed and left to find a mirror. He walked outside the room and looked into his reflection in a window, he then walked back into the room glaring at me more as I began to laugh.

"What? Do you not like your mustache?" I asked as I laughed harder.

"Not. One. Bit. A mustache is one thing, but a pink mustache is another. Now get rid of it."

"Are you sure?" I said as my laughing began to die down.

"I am."

"Fine." I said with a sigh as I charged another spell to get rid of the mustache, a dark green flash of light later it was gone.

"Thank you." He said with a roll of his eyes as he sat down to eat his cold food. As he did, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said as Doctor Hoofman opened the door and came in.

"The last of the tests came back late last night and as we thought, the majority of your injuries have healed enough so that you can be discharged." Doctor Hoofman told me.

"So, I can just leave whenever I want? What about paying you? And when can I take these bandages off my head?"

"Princess Celestia sent compensation when she sent the letter instructing us to take care of you, so you don't need to worry about it. As for the bandages, you can remove them in three or four days. So whenever you're ready, sign these papers and you'll be free to leave." He said as he placed a clipboard on the bed, then left.

"Hey, Striker, mind doing something for me?" I asked as I looked over the papers.

"What?" Striker said still sounding a little annoyed about the mustache incident.

"Could you tell Twilight that we're leaving and to bring me something like a cloak to cover me?"

"I guess." He said with a sigh as he got up.

"Please and thank you." I said just before the door closed. I signed the papers I was brought and waited. I waited ten minutes before Striker came back with Twilight and a Nurse. "Are you ready?" Twilight asked as the Nurse began helping me out of bed.

"No, I had Striker get you so we could gossip for an hour." I said as my hooves touched the floor and the nurse untied the gown. The floor is colder than I remember. "Did you bring me a cloak or something?" I asked as the nurse grabbed the papers.

"No, but Rarity did; she's outside with the others." Twilight told me as she grabbed the books and put them in her saddlebag with her magic and began leading the way.

"How many of the others are coming with us?" I asked as we walked through the hospital, or limp in my case, and on top of that, just about everypony in the hospital was staring at me as we walked through.

"Everypony is; Princess Celestia wanted all of us to come with you to Canterlot."

"I'm sure Applejack and Rainbow Dash are nothing but thrilled about that." I said knowing I was less popular with them than with the others.

"They won't bother you if you don't bother them." Twilight said as we reached the front door.

"But still, I'm sure this is just going to be a long awkward and silent trip to Canterlot." I said as Twilight opened the door, and just like she said, all the others were there, including spike.

"Hello, everypony." I said as we stepped out of the hospital.

"Hi, Fragment!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Hello, Fragment." Rarity said.

"Hi, Fragment." Fluttershy said, though the others remained silent.

"Twilight told me you requested a cloak, so I brought you this one." She said as she brought a cloak out from her back with her magic; it was solid black with dark green trim at the edges.

"Thanks. It looks very nice." I said as I looked it over.

"Well try it on, it's yours to keep if you like." She told me as I lifted the cloak with my magic. I carefully took it from her and gently put it on with the hood down. It had a tie around the neck that I tied in a simple bowtie.

"Do you like it?" She asked as she admired her work.

"It's long enough to hide most of my legs without being so long that I'd step on it as I walked," I said as I raised the hood. "the hood is big enough to hide my horn and most of my face, so I'd have to say I like it a lot." I said smiling.

"Thank you, Fragment." Rarity said returning the smile.

"So how are we getting to Canterlot anyway?" I asked as Twilight began leading the group.

"Princess Celestia sent all of us tickets so we can use the train to get to Canterlot."

"And we get to use our own private car!" Pinkie Pie added happily.

"And how long will it take to get from here to there by train?"

"About an hour." Twilight said, in response to which me and Striker moaned in annoyance.

"Didn't you know that, Striker?" Twilight asked.

"No, The Princess had me use the royal chariot to get here because it was faster."

"Well, seems you don't have much choice this time." I said.

We walked, or bounced in Pinkie's case, for a few minutes to the train station, and as I had hoped, the cloak did what I wanted it to do; stop anypony from seeing that I'm a changeling and therefore stop them from staring at me. The walk to the train station wasn't quiet, but I was, I didn't listen to anything that they were talking about due to the fact that it wasn't any of my business, I just walked quietly behind the rest of the group thinking to myself when I suddenly felt something bump into my right hind leg, and then another something, and then another something, almost causing me to fall over since I wasn't using my left foreleg. As tried to stop myself from falling I heard giggling from behind me, then I heard somepony speak from behind me.

"Excuse us." A filly's voice said as two others continued to giggle. I didn't face them so they wouldn't know I was a Changeling.

"Uh, it's no trouble." I said as I resumed walking, seeing that the others were getting ahead of me I tried to pickup the pace, which isn't easy when you're limping rather then walking.

"Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before." The filly asked as I heard the sound of hooves following me.

"I guess you could say that." I asked hoping they wouldn't find out I was a Changeling and make a scene.

"How long have you been in Ponyville?" A different filly asked.

"Three or four days." That I was conscious for

"Ya don't know?" A third filly on my left asked.

"Well, uh, it's hard to keep track when I've, uh, been having so much fun." I said starting to get nervous of this interrogation.

"Oh really? Where have you been having so much fun?" A filly on my right asked. They were surrounding me and I wasn't that close to the others, I'm surprised they haven't noticed my absence yet. Guess that's what I get for being so quiet...

"I've spent most of my time at Sugarcube Corner."

"Ah'm guessin' you've met Pinkie Pie then." One of the fillies on my left said. Sounds like a younger Applejack.

"I have, She's nice."

"Hey, why are you limping?" The other filly on my left asked.

"I, uh kind of... crashed." Or at least, that's we believe to have happened.

"How'd you crash?" The filly on my right asked.

"I uh, wasn't feeling well."

"Why not?" One of the fillies on my left asked

"I, uh, because, uh, I... had too many cupcakes." That makes sense; I said I spent most of my time at Sugarcube Corner.

"You shouldn't eat so... much..." The filly trailed off for some reason, which made me nervous. "Hey... Where did you get that cloak?"

"I uh, got it from somepony named Rarity."

"When?"

"Uh, today."

"Well that's weird, because The Carousel Boutique is closed for repairs." She said increasing my nervousness.

"Well I didn't say I got it from The Boutique, now did I?" I said as I was finally catching up to the others.

"So Rarity just gave you that cloak?" She said obviously not buying it, even though Rarity really did just give it to me.

"Y-yeah. Like giving potential costumers samples of your product; this cloak is a sample of what she can make."

"Okay, well tell me this... why do you have holes in your hooves?" At that point, I knew I was caught, but I didn't want to admit it when I was just a few feet away from the others, so what did I do? I may have done something along the lines of panic.

"Oh hey look over there, what's that? It's a tree! You should check it out, it seems suspicious." Before I knew it, the three fillies ran in front of me and faced me, thus stopping me from completely rejoining the group, when they saw my face their faces went from looks of determination to ones of fear. One of them was an orange Pegasus with a purple mane, tail and eyes, the second was a yellow earth pony with a red mane and tail, orange eyes and a pink bow in her mane. The last filly was the one I had seen in The Carousel Boutique, this was Rarity's sister, and it looked like she remembered me as well.

"Uh... I have a train to catch." I said as I quickly moved around the fillies and tried my best to reach the others, who had no idea what just happened. As I drew closer, I heard the fillies running up to me again.

"You're a Changeling." The orange one said. as they got in front of me without blocking my path.

"So I've been told. Now why don't you find something less me related to do." I said annoyed that they weren't done with me.

"You're the one who was in the Boutique a few days ago." The white Unicorn said.

"I know, I was there and everything, and I remember you, you were a lot more afraid of me then compared to now." I said as the others looked at her.

"I wasn't afraid! I was just, uh, spying on you." She said defensively.

"You were afraid." I said staring at her with an unamused look as I walked.

"Was not!" She shouted.

"Was too." I replayed.

"Was not!" She shouted again.

"Was too." I said again.

"WAS NOT!" She shouted again and louder, it was surprising we still hadn't drawn attention to ourselves.

"Was too!" I shouted back as I at last reached the others. Am I really having this argument?

"WAS NO--"

"Sweetie Belle? What are-- Oh dear." Rarity said as she looked at us, which got the others' attention.

"I wasn't afraid of him in the Boutique but he says I was." 'Sweetie Belle' said getting a little angry as she walked up to Rarity.

"What's going on anyway?" The orange one asked.

"I left a note explaining this to Sweetie Belle, but Princess Celestia has requested that we come with Fragment to Canterlot."

"His name is Fragment?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"He's going to meet the Princess?" The orange one asked.

"What kinda name is Fragment?" The yellow one asked.

"He decided to call himself Fragment, yes." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle.

"I don't know why, but he is." Rainbow Dash said to the orange one.

"It's the amnesic Changeling's kind of name." I said to the yellow one.

"We shouldn't be gone for too long. I'll see you when we get back." Rarity said.

"All aboard!" Somepony on the train yelled.

"That's our cue." Twilight said as she boarded the train and gave our tickets to the pony at the train's door.

"Try not to get into too much trouble while we're gone." Rarity said as she boarded the train with me and Striker in tow.

Striker got on first and as I got on the train I turned around and looked at the fillies. "One last thing." I said getting their attention. "You was too afraid!" I shouted. "WAS NOT!" Sweetie Belle shouted back just as the doors closed, with that I turned around and saw the ticket collector who jumped back about a foot taken by surprise from the sudden Changeling.

"W-w-what is--" The ticket collector stuttered as Striker cut him off.

"I have orders from Princess Celestia to bring this Changeling to Canterlot." Striker explained.

"Uh, okay then..." He said as he looked at me uncomfortably before leaving to a different part of the train.

"Well that could have been worse." I said as I took my seat and lowered my hood.

"There isn't much to do on this train, is there?" Striker asked as he also took a seat.

"Nothing but whatever you brought with you." Rainbow Dash said with an annoyed sigh.

"Which is why I brought us all some books." Twilight said as she Levitated books out of her saddlebag and distributed them between everypony, the only book that I saw the name of was the Daring Do book Twilight brought me. As I took the book with my own magic, I noticed something annoyingly common with me and books, mad at my own stupidity, I hit myself in the face with the book twice before I opened it.

"Something wrong, Fragment?" Twilight asked with a raised brow.

"Do you remember those bookmarks you let me use? I forgot to use them, again." I said as I began trying to find my place in the book using my hoof to turn pages rather than my magic.

Just like our walk to the train station, I was completely silent, but this time I had a book to keep myself occupied rather than my thoughts. Eventually I found my place in the book and resumed reading, and just like before I couldn't stop reading I was so drawn into the book, every word, every trap, every danger, she overcame all of them. I don't know why, but something about the book had me hypnotized, and I wanted more of that kind of action; going into ancient temples and such to get to the treasure that waits for those with the skill to get it.

When I finished the book, I was still thinking over what I had read, and what ideas it put in my head. I don't know if it's just me or what, but reading this book makes me want to just go out into the world and find these kinds of temples and artifacts. Now that I think about the idea of it, that might not be a bad idea if I can learn how to fly and use magic, I could just fly past obstacles, and I could use magic for combat and other spells like teleportation and invisibility for tactical support, I think that if I can learn how to do all of that, then treasure hunting might be a good occupation. However, I still need to hear what Princess Celestia has to say, but I think I have something that I can roughly call a plan.

With that settled, I decided to practice magic to pass the time. What exactly did I do? Levitated the Daring Do book, and when my horn lit up with my magic, I could feel that I had just gained everypony's attention. The dark green glow of my magic surrounded the book as it began to lift into the air.

"Shouldn't you be saving your strength so you can recover?" Rarity asked as the book rose higher into the air.

"According to Doctor Hoofman, fe--" I stopped myself mid sentence. Twilight and Rarity freaked out when they heard I fed off of Pinkie, I don't think I want to know how Rainbow Dash and Applejack will react. "Uh, do they know?" I asked motioning to Rainbow Dash and Applejack as I set the book down.

"Know what?" Twilight asked.

"That, uh... The thing I did that freaked you and Rarity out." I said knowing there was no easy way to keep this a secret.

"You mean feeding?" Rarity asked. "If that's what you mean then yes, we told them yesterday." She said as I looked at them, nether of them looked too happy, but they weren't mad either.

"Did they react the same way you two did?" I asked as I turned back to Rarity.

"Yes, but we explained everything to them and they calmed down." Rarity told me.

"Seems explaining fixes everything. But to get back to what I was saying; Doctor Hoofman told me that feeding was directly healing me, so I think I can use magic without my healing actually being affected by it, unless it will reopen my wounds, which I doubt, and so I decided to practice magic now that I've read the book."

"So after reading a book, you play with it?" Rainbow Dash asked. Amazing that she's talking to me.

"I'm not playing, I'm practicing, there's a difference." I said as I resumed playing with the book, lifting it back into the air with that dark green glow around my horn and the book, I noticed that the spell seemed to getting easier to use, I don't know the exact reason, maybe because I was using the spell more so I was getting used to it, or something else, but the bottom line was it was easier.

As the train made it's way to Canterlot I just played around with the levitation trying to master it, I began moving the book back and forth rather than just holding it, but I decided to be a bit more creative than that and I started rotating and spinning the book, getting more complex as a way to test myself, I had the book begin to orbit me. I shut my eyes and just tried to imagine myself with the book orbiting me closely. I did this for a few minutes before I began to get a headache, so I stopped and just waited to reach Canterlot while the others talked.

About ten minutes later, Canterlot came into view from the train, and it was just like how it looked in my dream, expect it's in much better detail when you're awake. "We're almost there." Twilight said as everypony came to the left side of the train, which was the side I was on, and stared out the window to the city.

As I stared at Canterlot, I felt pain in my head, and I heard sounds in the back of my head. It was hard to tell what the sounds were other than that they sounded like buzzing and hissing, then I faintly began to hear voices, again, I couldn't tell what it was other than it was talking, though it sounded more like muffled shouting, like if you were to hear arguing in the house next door. These noises only served to further the pain. Then, as if hearing voices in your head isn't enough to trouble you, now throw in the fact that I was starting to see things, small blurry black dots in the sky above Canterlot. Great. Now I'm going crazy. I thought as we got closer to Canterlot.

A few minutes later the train began to slowdown and the Canterlot train station came into view. "Everypony ready?" Twilight asked as she gathered the books. Everypony either nodded or said yes, except me, I just stared out the window and I could still hear those sounds in my head, but at least I stopped seeing things. "Fragment, are you ready?" Twilight asked as the train stopped.

"I guess." I sighed as I brought the hood of the cloak back up over my head. I got out of my chair as the train's doors opened. Unlike in Ponyville, I took center position of the group to make sure I didn't have anymore unwanted run-ins with anypony. Twilight and Striker took the lead with Spike on Twilight's back, Applejack was on my right and Pinkie Pie on my left, and Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy were behind us as we made our way trough Canterlot.

We walked relatively slowly through Canterlot, and as I looked around, the pain and sounds and hallucinations came back, I saw Changelings fighting guard ponies, and Changelings divebombing the city with dark green energy around them, as some of the divebomber Changeling hallucinations faded, I saw the craters they left behind still in need of repair, and the more hallucinations I saw and noises I heard, the more the pain grew, and the more the pain grew, the harder it was to walk trough Canterlot, everywhere I looked I saw something that was either a hallucination of the battle, or the remnants of the battle, but no matter which it was, the sight of it brought more pain, and it got to the point where I struggled to not groan in pain, and I wasn't sure if we'd make it to the castle before I had a complete breakdown, but my suffering didn't go unnoticed as Applejack proved. "Ya alright there, Fragment?" Applejack asked giving me a concerned look.

"No. I'm having painful flashbacks." I said as the groups attention was on me as we walked.

"You're having flashbacks?" Twilight asked.

"I think so, but it's not just remembering, I'm seeing and hearing things too. It's like I'm watching a movie, only it hurts. A lot." I said as I shook my head in an attempt to lessen the pain. Too bad it didn't help.

"What do you see?" Twilight asked.

"I... I think it's the attack. I can see the Changelings fighting guard ponies, and-- AH!" I yelled as I fell to the ground clutching in pain. The pain was too much now. Everything was too much; the sounds were deafining, I could still see the hallucinations with my eyes shut, and the pain was unbearable.

I could faintly hear my name being called through all my yelling and the sounds in my head, but I couldn't do anything with all the pain. Then my hallucinations shifted from me just watching the battle to me being a part of it, an example of which is I saw myself flying over a guard pony Unicorn and me shooting magic bolts at him. I faintly heard the static of magic, then I felt some kind of magic hit me, everything stopped, the pain, the sounds, and the hallucinations were gone, leave me lying on the ground weakly groaning in the remaining pain.

"Are you okay, Fragment?" Fluttershy asked as I opened my eyes and felt Applejack and Fluttershy helping me up.

"I... I don't know... What happened, other than me screaming?" I asked as I tried to shake the lingering pain away.

"I used a calming spell to try and stop whatever was happening, and it looks like it worked." Twilight explained as I saw that my breakdown had drawn a lot of attention from other ponies, thankfully the cloak stopped them from seeing that I was Changeling.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine. Please resume your daily lives." I said as the ponies slowly found other things to do. "Let's just try to get to the castle before that happens again. And thanks for using that spell." I said trying to get moving again.

With a nod, Twilight continued leading the way, as we walked I kept my gaze to the ground so I wouldn't see anything that would trigger more flashbacks, and the sounds had faded as well. A few minutes later Twilight spoke.

"We're here." She said causing me to look up from the ground to see two guards at the entrance to the castle's courtyard, and they could plainly see I was a Changeling thanks to the sun's position in the sky, though they didn't try to stop us, so I could only assume that it was because they had been informed ahead of time.

We walked up to two large doors that the guards in front of them opened and we began walking trough the castle. The castle's interior was amazing; the paintings, the stained windows, the stonework that made up the castle itself, though, I wonder if you could call it 'stonework' when it's made out of marble, but the point is that the castle was very nice.

Eventually, we came to two more large doors with two more guards, to which Striker simply nodded and the guards opened them and we stepped inside, and as the doors closed behind us, I looked up to see two thrones, one with a symbol of a crescent moon and the other with a symbol of the sun, and below that symbol, was Princess Celestia; a pure white coat and wings, gold horseshoes, crown, and necklace, magenta eyes and a colorful mane and tail that flowed in some kind of 'Princess Luna and Celestia only' wind, who was writing on some paper.

My evaluation of the Princess was interrupted when Twilight spoke as everypony, but me, bowed. "Princess Celestia." Quickly catching on, I hastily bowed, I tried to anyway, my haste was too much to really follow through with, so rather then bowing, I just fell forward, and if that wasn't bad enough, I'll let you guess which of my legs took most of the fall.

"Grrrraaahhh..." I groaned as I tried to get into a bowing position. We're off to a good start... I thought as the Princess rose from her throne and began to approach us.

"You may rise." She spoke as the others got up, I however stayed on the floor unsure if I was included. "You must be Fragment." She said as she stopped three feet away from us.

"I am, your Highness." I said as I looked up at her, to my surprise, she was smiling.

"I said 'you may rise'." She said as she brought her head down to my level. "So why didn't you?" She asked with a small frown.

"I, uh... wasn't sure if I was included, your Highness." I said as I steadily rose.

"And why wouldn't you be?" She asked as we both stood at our normal heights.

"Uh, because I'm... a... Changeling...?" I said unsure of myself.

"What race you are means little to me, Fragment. What does matter, is what you remember about who you are. Who you really are." She told me as I tried to relax a little. "Tell me, Fragment, what do you know about yourself?" She asked in a soothing voice. Taking a deep breath to both calm myself and to get a sense of her emotions, which seemed to be curiosity, I began to talk.

"Leaving the obvious aside, I know that love isn't the only thing Changelings can feed off of, I know that feeding heals me, and I know that there's a Changeling queen named Chrysalis. But those are all things that I've leaned over the past four days, anything that's happened to me before then I swear to you, I can't remember. Though, I have been having flashbacks while we were walking here, none of it was very enlightening, but if those flashbacks were really my memories, then I cannot deny that I was at the least a soldier in the attack." I said awaiting an overdramatic reaction to the fact that I've fed in the time that they've been helping me, and that I was a part of the attack, but that never came. She wasn't the least bit surprised by these developments, why that is I do not know. She simply nodded as a response to this as she thought for a moment.

"If you were a part of the attack, that makes you an enemy of Equestria, did you know this?" She asked to which I merely nodded in response. "Then why did you tell me?"

"I guess I don't have a reason to lie; If I tell you the truth and I'm your enemy, then I'm at your mercy, but if I had lied about knowing I was part of the attack and you found out later, then I'm still at your mercy only it would most likely be worse on me because I lied. I want you and everypony else to know that I can be trusted, I really don't remember anything, and I don't think lying will help me." I explained. She smiled lightly and began walking back to her throne.

"Is there anything else you should mention?" She asked as she sat back down.

"Um... Oh yeah, Princess Luna came to me in a flashback dream I had two nights ago." Everypony but Princess Celestia looked at me with a surprised look.

"Luna told me you were worried about what would happen to you when you met me, so allow me to put ease to your thoughts. I believe you are being honest with me, I believe you don't mean to cause anymore trouble, and, I believe we might be able to bring your memories back." That last part received all of my attention.

"You... You can?" I asked fairly well shocked.

"We might, be able. Twilight, do you remember the memory spell you used on your friends when Discord escaped?" The Princess asked as Twilight walked a little closer to Celestia.

"You want me to use it on Fragment?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, it won't be the same as when you used it on your friends because Discord had repressed their memories, but amnesia is why Fragment doesn't remember." Princess Celestia said as I got closer to them.

"Are you sure I can do it?" Twilight asked smelling a little nervous.

"It isn't a question of if you can do it, Twilight, it's a question of if the spell would work on brain damage." Princess Celestia said with a reassuring smile.

"Are there any risks I should know about?" I asked worried that the spell had a chance of melting my brain or something.

"Just the possibility of some pain. Nothing that you really need to be worried about." Princess Celestia said confidently.

"I have bad experience with pain, but I'm guessing that you'll stop if I start screaming in pain." I said as Twilight began charging the spell.

"Hold still." Twilight said as she touched her horn to my forehead. The feeling of magic pushing it's way through your head is a very uncomfortable feeling, like if there was a worm moving around in your skull, but wherever it was it created a tingling sensation.

I kept my eyes closed as she used her spell, but it didn't seem like it was affecting me, because I wasn't getting any flashbacks or hearing any sounds other than Twilight's magic, and then the pain hit me causing me shout in pain as I fell to the floor and clutch my head, it was the strongest pain I had ever felt, like someone was pulling apart the part of my head where the crack was open. Even though Twilight's spell had stopped, I was still in pain and my eyes were clenched shut, but after a moment or two the pain was gone and I opened my eyes to see everypony, from Rainbow Dash to the Princess, was around me with concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you okay Fragment? I don't know what happened; I was just using the spell and th--"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I said as I got back up. "Let's not do that again." I said as I shook my head a little. "So, we've established that my memories are likely not coming back with the force of magic, so what do we do now?" I asked as I stood once again.

"Now I'm going to do what I can to help you." Princess Celestia said as she began walking toward a hallway to the right of the throne and she motioned for us to follow. "Because you have amnesia, you don't know how to do anything that you could do before, but I can help you relearn, and there is a lot that we don't know about Changelings; like how exactly you feed or the exact reason why you need to, and I believe if we can answer those questions and many others, it could benefit Changelings and ponies alike. If we can understand each other, then maybe there can be peace." She explained as we walked through the hallway, passing several rooms and other hallways until we came to another set of doors, but these were unguarded and the doors were much smaller than the ones that lead to the throne. "This is where you'll be staying while you're here." She said as the light gold aura of her magic opened the doors.

The room was pretty much what you'd expect from a castle; everything met five star standards of the finest hotels, and then some. A queen sized bed, which had five purple pillows, a white sheet, a yellow comforter, and a large purple blanket, there was a large window on both sides of the bed that overlooked the city, a large walk-in closet and a very fancy looking bathroom. "We'll begin your magic training tomorrow, until then, feel free to explore the castle with Striker's supervision. Any questions?" She asked as she turned to leave.

"Just one." I said as she stopped. "Is that bed as comfy as it looks?"

Chapter 7: The Royal Treatment

Princess Celestia was going to help me? Help me relearn magic? And if I understood correctly, help me learn to fly? I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing, but she didn't stop there, she gave me the nicest room I had ever seen, which isn't saying much, since I've only seen a few rooms and been in less, but nonetheless, a six out of five star room in a castle, food, training, and all of it was free of charge. I was still processing all of this as Princess Celestia left the room and I laid on my bed, which was comfier than it looked.

"You get to stay in a Castle? How cool is that?!" Pinkie asked enthusiastically as lightly bounced in place.

"I must be the luckiest Changeling in the history of everything." I said as I lazily laid on the bed with a goofy smile.

"I'll say. Most ponies aren't lucky enough to stay in Canterlot Castle for free, but I guess when you've lost your memories, barely know any magic, don't know how to fly, and have a tendency to be in pain, a lot of pity comes your way." Striker said as he examined the room.

"And it's not something I'm going to argue with." I said as I sat up. "I'm really glad my fears weren't true." I said as Twilight walked closer to me.

"When did Princess Luna visit you? And why didn't you tell us?" Twilight asked as they got closer to the bed, I guess they were more curious about it than I thought.

"And where was I when that happened?" Striker asked as his attention was also drawn to me.

"I didn't tell you because it kind of slipped my mind, and you were asleep."

"Right, 'cause getting a visit from a Princess is so hard to remember." Rainbow Dash said very unconvinced.

"So what do you want from me then? Want me to tell you what happened?" I asked thinking this wasn't a big deal.

"It'd be nice. How exactly did she come to you in a dream?" Twilight asked giving me her full attention.

"I don't know how, but she entered my dream two nights ago, she told me it's her duty as Princess of the night to oversee the dreams of Equestrians, and when she came to my dream she was surprised that I was a Changeling, and that I was in pain." I explained.

"Why were you in pain?" Twilight asked.

"Because I was remembering in my sleep; that's why I said 'flashback dream.' And it seems that remembering in anyway is a painful experience, and since I know you're wondering, the flashback was about the attack on Canterlot it wasn't a very clear flashback but thanks to it I know for sure I was part of the attack, but to get back to the subject of Princess Luna, she came to my dream and told me it's her duty to watch everypony's dreams, then she tried to help me with the flashback; you could say she was coaching me, but either way, she told me that what I was seeing in the flashback was Canterlot, and that's how I figured I was part of the attack. After she left I lost what control I had over the flashback and I saw from a first-person view myself in an alleyway with somepony, and they were trying to tell me something but everything was too distorted to tell what, and just as the dream ended I heard a mare's voice say 'You're in danger,' and with that the dream ended."

I said as the look on Twilight's face and her scent told me I had just given her more questions than answers.

"A mare told you you were in danger? Why were you in danger? because of the spell?" Twilight asked as she tapped her chin with her hoof.

"I think the real question should be: what sane pony would want to warn the Changelings about anything." Rainbow Dash said as she crossed her forelegs.

"In the middle of the battle nonetheless. But beyond knowing for sure that I was part of the invasion I can't say that I got any helpful information out of that dream." I said as I tried to think of something else useful that was in my dream.

"Can you describe the mare that was talking to you?" Twilight asked as she shifted her attention back to me.

"Not really; everything in the dream was blurry and distorted. All I can say for sure is that she had a white coat." I said with a shrug.

"If you remember anything helpful you should tell Princess Celestia right away." Twilight told me as she got up. "You know, we could give you a tour of the castle if you'd like." Twilight said as they others got up as well.

"Why not?" I said as I slowly got off the bed. "Lead the way." With that Twilight started showing me the castle and telling me about all its glory. She told me about the castle's history, who made the stained windows, what the art in them meant, the architects who made the castle, but as we walked through the castle and we passed all kinds of guards maids and butlers.

The guards watched me with clear dislike in both their eyes and in their scents, the maids were obviously afraid of me and they tried to stay as far away from me as possible, and the butlers just did their best to ignore me, but it bothered me all the same. I just hoped that it would improve over time.

We had been walking around the castle for about twenty minutes when we reached the castle's statue garden where many statues of historical figures could be found around the gardens. Twilight told me the history behind most of the statues we passed, which seemed to bore everyone but Twilight, until we came to a very strange statue; it had the head and torso of a pony with two mismatched horns, bushy eyebrows, a single fang noticeably longer then his other teeth, a small goat-like beard, a bat wing and a pegasus wing, a lion's leg as a right forearm and a eagle's talon and leg as a left forearm, it's right leg was reptilian and it's left leg was a goat's, it's tail was like a dragon's and it had a tuft at the end. I stopped and stared at this statue and asked the all important question.

"Hey Twilight, what in the name of holy Tartarus is that thing?" I asked as the others stopped.

"That's Discord, the spirit of disharmony." Twilight said as we gathered around the statue. I could smell resentment from them as we stood.

"This, is Discord? When I read about him in that history book - about how evil and powerful he is - I had expected something more... intimidating." I said as I looked the statue over and some of the others gave a short laugh.

"He might not be all that scary to look at, but we had a lot of trouble with him when he was free a few months ago." Twilight said as she too stared at Discord.

"How did he escape? Isn't the statue magical?" I asked.

"Princess Celestia told us that when she and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony on Discord they thought that the spell would keep him imprisoned forever, but when they became disconnected from the Elements of Harmony the spell weakened, and he was able to escape. He wasn't free for long, but he caused a lot of chaos while he was." Twilight explained.

"You should've seen it, Fragment! He turned the roads into soap and the corn on the cob into pop-corn on the cob and he made cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate milk! HE MADE IT RAIN CHOCOLATE MILK!" Pinkie shouted excitedly.

"He also turned us against each other." Rainbow Dash reminded as she glared at the statue with dislike that surpassed the dislike she had for me.

"Like a big MEANIE!" Pinkie shouted at the statue.

"So how did you re-imprison him?" I asked ignoring Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.

"We used the Elements of Harmony like the Princess did a thousand years ago." Twilight said as Pinkie started making faces at Discord's statue.

"Can anypony use the Elements of Harmony?"

"No, we can use them because we're the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The six of us are the embodiment of an Element of Harmony. Applejack represents honesty; Fluttershy represents kindness; Pinkie Pie represents laughter; Rarity represents generosity; Rainbow Dash loyalty; and me magic." Twilight explained as Rainbow Dash joined in on making faces at Discord.

"Is that what you meant at the Hospital when you said you're the element of laughter, Pinkie?" I asked getting Pinkie's attention.

"Uh-huh!" She said simply as she resumed making faces.

"Hello, everypony." A voice said from behind us. We to turned around to see, though applejack blocked my view so I had to peer around her, and we saw a tall white Unicorn with a blue mane and tail that had a streak of light blue, and a pink Unicorn with a purple, pink, and light yellow mane and tail. But wait, that's not a Unicorn, it has wings. Another Alicorn? I thought as Twilight ran up to them.

"Shining! Cadance!" Twilight said as she ran up to them, then she and Cadance did the strangest thing I have ever seen. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

They said together doing some motions I could vaguely call a dance, one that I don't want to describe, which left me wondering.

What the fuck? Wait... did she say Cadance? and Shining? As in, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor? The ones who's wedding was almost ruined by the Changelings? With this in mind, I casually brought my hood over my head with my magic to hide from them.

"Hi, Twiliy. How have all of you been you been?" Shining Armor asked as Twilight and Princess Cadence stopped doing whatever it was they were doing.

"We've been good." Twilight said with a smile.

"Who's this?" Shining Armor asked as he looked at me. Twilight and the others' faces became uncertain ones and I was afraid for me life.

"Sir." Striker said getting Shining Armor's attention. "This is Fragment, he's the Changeling Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville for." Striker explained as Shining Armor and Princess Cadence stopped smiling and looked at me. Knowing that they knew I was a Changeling, based on their reactions, I lowered my hood slowly showing my head and my nervous face.

"Heh, heh, hello." I said with a nervous smile. They said nothing, and there was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"Well." Twilight said as she cleared her throat. "Me and the girls should get going, and I'm sure Striker should take Fragment back to his room anyway." Twilight said. "We'll probably come back to Canterlot in a week or so. We'll see all of you then." Twilight said as the group began walking away.

"Goodbye." we said as they left. "Striker, could you please take me back to my room?" I asked as Shining Armor continued to glare daggers at me.

"Ah, yeah. This way." Striker said sounding a little nervous himself as he began leading me back to my room and I brought my hood over my head again. As we walked through the doors into the castle I let out a huge sigh of relief, to which Striker merely chuckled. "And what makes this worse for you is that both of them live right here in the castle right now."

"Great. That's just great. How well do you know him?" I asked as we made our way back to my room.

"Pretty well I guess. We're not really friends but he's a good stallion. Why?"

"Because I want to know if I should be looking over my shoulder and sleeping with one eye open." I asked as Striker laughed.

"He might not like you but there isn't a chance he'll try to kill you or anything."

"Are you sure? Because he looked like he would back there. And you sounded pretty unsure yourself."

"I don't like tension. But to get back to my point, no pony is going to look like they like you for a long time with the invasion being so recent, but I highly doubt anypony will try to hurt you when you're a guest of the Princesses. They don't like you, but they'll respect the Princesses' decision."

"I hope you're right..." I said as we reached my room. I saw a clock over my bed saying it was five o seven P.M. "So when's dinner?" I asked.

"Dinner in the Castle is around six, so you have a lot of time to kill." He said as he took a seat.

"Well, I don't know what you're going to do but I'm going play with the levitation spell." I said as my horn began to glow dark green, I untied my cloak and hung it in the closet.

"That's really the only spell you can do isn't it?"

"No, I can also do this." I said as my horn flashed dark green. "I think you'll remember that." I said with a smile as Striker felt his new large handlebar mustache.

"Right... That." He said as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"And don't forget it." I said as I drew power again and with another dark green flash, the mustache was gone.

"Shouldn't you be saving your power for actual training? Keep in mind that the others are gone, so you don't have anypony to feed off of, and if you run out of love there isn't much we'll be able to do." Striker explained in a serious tone.

"Good point. But in that case, what are the Princesses going to do about feeding me emotions? Even after I fed off of Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, I was still hungry, and it's only going to get worse over time." I asked seeing a big problem in this set up.

"You should ask the Princess about that at dinner." Striker said.

"In the meantime, I'll be taking a nap." I said as I pulled the covers off the bed, got in, and pulled the covers back over myself. "Have somepony wake me up when it's dinner please." I said as I adjusted myself. It's even comfier when you're in the bed.

"Yeah. Have a good sleep." Striker said as he got up to leave.

"I'll try." I said as I closed the curtains with my magic and tried to sleep.

(~Φ~)

Some time later I was woken up by somepony knocking on my door and before I could ask who was there, the door opened as I leaned up to see a white Unicorn guard pony wearing typical gold steel armor standing in the doorway. "Princess Celestia sent me to inform you that dinner will be ready in five minutes." He said as I did my best to stretch without stretching my left foreleg. "And I am also to supervise you until tomorrow morning when Striker is back on his shift." The guard explained as I yawned and began getting out of bed.

"So who are you then?" I asked as I was fully out of bed.

"I'm Blast Shield." He said simply as I grabbed and put on my cloak with my magic but left the hood down.

"Nice to meet you. I assume you know who I am." I said as he simply nodded. "Well, let's not keep the Princess waiting." I said as Blast Shield began leading the way with me limping along.

We walked for a few minutes until we came to a large room with a long rectangular table with fancy looking chairs around it, and at the other end of the table were two large almost throne like chairs, each one had a symbol of the Princess who used it. As I took my seat at one of the chairs near the end of the table, and with Blast Shield sitting next to me, the doors on the other side of the room opened as Princess Celestia walked into the room, when she did the other four guards in the room, two by the doors we came through and two by the doors the Princess came through, bowed as me and Blast Shield got out of our chairs so we could do the same, but unlike last time I was careful when I bowed so I didn't fall and look stupid.

"You may rise." She said as we all stood back up. "Hello Fragment." She said with a small smile. "How has your stay in the castle been so far?" She asked as we took our seats again.

"It's been nice, the castle is a marvel of architecture and the garden is nice and peaceful, other than the kind of creepy statue of Discord. The only thing is that I almost had a heart attack when I met Shining Armor and Cadence." I said as some maids and butlers began bringing the food and silverware to the table. Don't ask me what the food was because I couldn't identify any of it. Princess Celestia simply nodded at my statement.

"They're not fond of the idea of the castle housing a Changeling after the attack, which is perfectly understandable given everything that's happened because of the Queen, but they haven't even tried to give you a chance to prove you're not bad. Cadance may be willing to try, but I think that Shining Armor will need a lot of convincing." The princess said as she started eating.

"I'm sure that'll be easy." I said sarcastically as I began to lift a fork with my magic. "And by the way, Striker pointed out a big hole in this set up." I said as I took a bite of my food. It's better than the stuff at the hospital, to say the least. I thought as Princess Celestia spoke.

"Is it about feeding on emotions?" She asked seeming to have read my mind.

"... I'm going to guess that since you guessed it on the first try you already have a plan for it." I said as I took another bite and noticed that Blast Shield's plate was empty save for the small amount of crumbs. Fuck you eat fast.

"I have thought about that form of feeding, and I'm not sure what we can do other than the possibility of a power transfer. My idea is that I can, in a sense, give power to you instead of feeding or stealing." She said as she continued to eat.

"What do you mean 'feeding or stealing?' Can Changelings just take emotions instead of posing as a pony to feed on the emotions?" I asked as I took another bite of my meal. "Twilight said that Equestrians didn't know much about Changelings, so how do you know that?"

"Let's just say that Chrysalis can monologue for a while." Princess Celestia said with a smile. "And if Changelings couldn't steal love instead of pretending to be a pony who's loved, than the whole invasion would have been pointless." She explained as she took a drink from her cup. "Because the ponies would eventually stop trusting those around them believing that they were Changelings, so if that happened there would be no love for the Changelings to take."

"Good point." I said as thought about the ability to 'steal' love. So changelings can actually steal love? And here I was thinking that they meant take somepony's place and pretend to be them, and in that way, 'steal the love of a pony.' Is that something I want to know how to do? Why would want to know that? That's the kind of thing that makes ponies hate and fear Changelings, so why would I want to do that? Why am I even asking if I don't think it's something I should learn? Maybe it could be useful at some point, but generally it's not something I should use. I thought as we ate.

Other than the sound of our eating it was a quiet dinner since it was already decided that training would start tomorrow, so after we finished our dinner, which the medal for doing first goes to Blast Shield, and after desert, which was cake and ice-cream, I said goodnight to the Princess and headed for my room with Blast Shield leading the way as I tried to remember the layout of the castle. About five minutes later we reached my room and Blast Shield stopped and stood by the side of the door as I entered my room.

The only light in the room came from the moonlight shining through the windows, which made it hard to see. "Where's the damn light switch?" I asked the open air as I blindly felt the wall next to the door.

After a few seconds of searching I found and turned on the light switch, but the sudden and drastic increase in light shot pain through my eyes as I shut them. "Fuck." I said as I eased my eyes back open. With the room now lit, I made my way to the bed as I put my cloak in the closet pulled the covers off the bed and got in bed. As I pulled the covers back I turned the light off using my levitation to grip and pull the switch down. Once that was done I slowly and carefully crawled into bed and pulled the blankets over myself and tried to get some sleep. I had a big day tomorrow.

Chapter 8: Class is in Session

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to learn some magic. I leaned up in my bed and yawned as my eyes adjusted to the light. The sunlight filling the room was a light bronze color.

"I must be up early..." I said to myself as I got out of bed. I stretched most of my legs and my wings (not like I was going to be using my wings anytime soon), as I stood. I shook my head to help wake myself up more as I opened the curtains with my magic.

As my eyes adjusted to the increase in light I looked out the window and saw that some ponies were already awake; some just walking to work, others shopping at the market square, and I saw construction ponies working on the remaining damage of the Changeling attack throughout the city.

"All of this damage because of the changelings, and the Princesses are helping me…” I said to myself as I rubbed my eyes. "I really am the luckiest changeling, aren't I?"

I said as I looked to the clock in the room and saw it was six twenty-two A.M.

"I should have asked when breakfast was when I had the chance." I said as I pulled my cloak out of the closet and put it on. I looked out the window again and just watched the ponies outside as I waited for a guard or somepony to tell me it was breakfast.

I was waiting for breakfast by just watching the ponies working on the city, when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said as I turned to the door. Blast Shield opened the door and took a step into the room.

"Princess Celestia has requested you." He told me as I closed the curtains.

"Okay. Why did she request me?" I asked as Blast Shield lead the way.

"Don't know; I was just told to get you." He said as we walked out of my room with me closing the door.

"Where's Striker? You said he'd be back by morning." I said as we passed the dinning room.

"He'll be back around eight. Until then, I'm your supervisor." Blast Shield told me as we came to a set of doors that had a guard on each side with a spear.

With a nod from Blast shield, the guards opened the doors revealing Princess Celestia in what appeared to be a training room with various targets and dummies. There were a few somewhat random items like a small red ball and a baton, along with a small stack of books, five multicolored juggling balls, some paper, and an inkwell.

As we walked into the room Princess Celestia looked up from the scroll she was writing on and smiled at us.

"Hello, Fragment. Did you sleep well?" She asked as the guards outside the room closed the doors.

"I did. And I feel ready to learn some magic." I said as my stomach growled, to which Celestia gave a short laugh. "To translate for my stomach, when's breakfast?"

I asked as I looked around for a clock and didn't find one.

"Breakfast will be ready by eight thirty. Until then, I believe we can train." She told me as I walked up to her.

"How did you know I was awake? There aren't any spies in my room or anything are there?" I asked as Blast Shield took his post by the door.

"I told Blast Shield to tell me when you woke up, and he told me he heard you talking to yourself." Princess Celestia told me. "Anyway, shall we begin? It will be awhile until breakfast." She asked me as I took off my cloak and folded it up with my magic.

"Let's get started then." I said.

"First, I need to transfer some power to you." She said as her horn began to glow with gold light. "Hold still." Princess Celestia said as she touched her horn to mine, then I felt her power flow into and strengthen me. After a moment of power transfer I felt Princess Celestia pull her horn away.

"Now we can begin. We will start with basic things that are easy to learn or you already know like the levitation spell and minor conjuring spells, then when you can use them with little to no trouble we will move on to more advanced magic such as teleportation and shielding. Once you have learned all the magic that you would need help learning, we can begin to try and figure out your shapeshifting." She explained.

"Do you really think you can teach me how to shapeshift?" I asked unsure how she could help me on that matter.

"I don't think it will be easy for either of us, but I'm sure we can figure it out with enough effort. It's mostly a question of whether it's an emotional trigger or a thought command like most spells. Now, let's start with levitation. You use that spell frequently, but can you master it as easily? We shall start with manipulating three of these balls at once. Normally I would start you off with a single ball, but given how easily you've used the levitation spell with your cloak and other objects, I believe it would be an insult to your skill to start you off with something that low level." Princess Celestia said as I lifted up three of the juggling balls with my magic.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do? Juggle them?" I asked as I examined the juggling balls.

"Close your eyes." She told me as I obeyed. "Picture the balls in your mind, then try to lift them into the air without opening your eyes."

I did as instructed. I could hear the static hissing sound of my magic as I levitated the balls. Because my eyes were closed I couldn't tell where the balls were, so I had to completely rely on my memory. Which seemed weird based on my history with memories.

"Now, I want you to have the balls orbit you while keeping your eyes shut." Princess Celestia instructed. It was convenient that I had done almost the same thing on the ride to Canterlot with the Daring Do book. I tried to do it, but it's difficult when you can only guess as to where the things you're trying to move are.

Nonetheless, as I tried to have the balls orbit me, I would occasionally feel one of the balls bump into me and when it did I tried to remember where it was and move it a small distance away from me while having it follow the others. Or at least I hoped I was, I still had my eyes shut so I wasn't sure.

"What's the point of this? Is this supposed to be like muscle building or something?" I asked as another ball bumped into my wing.

"It's to train your mind. First you need to trust yourself with what you're trying to do. When you believe in yourself you can do wonders. To truly master a spell you must know that you can do it at will and without mistake." She told me as another ball bumped into my ear. "You are doing well with this exercise, but now I want you to try something more complex. Drop one of the balls, then have the remaining two orbit you in opposite directions. You may open your eyes for this; it can be difficult even when you can see what you're doing."

Opening my eyes, I dropped one of the balls and held the other two in front of me for a moment, then I began to have them orbit in opposite directions, which is harder than you may think. If I didn't stay completely focused my mind would try to have both balls go in the same direction. But despite that I kept them on their own paths. We practiced for a while, mostly with levitation, we also used some conjuring like the mustache spell I used on Striker. After sometime there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Princess Celestia said as the doors opened and Striker walked in wearing his royal guard armor and a saddlebag.

"Good morning everypony." Striker said with a suppressed yawn. "Your majesty." Striker said with a small bow as Blast Shield left.

"Morning." I said as I attempted again to conjure a bucket of water but failed.

"You can take a break now if you'd like, Fragment. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." Princess Celestia said as she walked towards the doors.

"I think I'll take you up on that. Doing this for so long is giving me a headache." I said as the doors opened for her.

"I will send a guard to inform you when breakfast is ready." She said as she walked out of the room leaving me and Striker to our selves.

"So how's your morning been?" Striker asked as he walked over to me and examined the things I had been practicing on.

"Pretty good. I got really fancy with levitation a while ago. What about you?" I asked as Striker picked up the toothbrush I conjured.

"Don't know yet, it practically just started." He said as he dropped the toothbrush. "So what have you been up to?"

"Princess Celestia has been teaching me magic. She says I've practically mastered levitation even though I haven't been using it that long." I said as I sat down.

"Impressive. But what's all this stuff?" Striker asked as he picked up the baton.

"Most of it is stuff I conjured, the rest of it is stuff Princess Celestia had me practice with." I explained as I looked over the items I had conjured; including but not limited to: a candle (wick included), a match, a rubber ball, a wooden chair, and an operational clock.

"Well aren't you a fast learner. By the way, this package showed up for you." Striker said as he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a brown paper bag.

"A package for me? Who even knows I'm here?" I asked as I levitated the bag. I examined the bag for a second before I slowly opened the bag, and the moment the bag was slightly opened there was a loud pop sound and confetti shot out of the bag causing me and Striker to jump back in surprise.

"Confetti?" I said as I looked into the bag and saw a letter, a cupcake with vanilla frosting and a cupcake with green mint frosting with chocolate sprinkles. "Pinkie..."

I said with a small smile on my face as I set the bag down, pulled out the note and began to read.

'Hi, Fragment! It's me Pinkie Pie! I was just making some cupcakes when I thought 'I should write to Fragment!' so then I tried to find some paper but I couldn't, so I asked Mr. Cake if we had any paper and he didn't know so I had to look some more and I still couldn't find any so I went to Twilight's and she was like 'what do you want paper for?' and I said 'so I can write to Fragment!' and she gave me some paper and I ran back to Sugarcube Corner and then I was about to write the letter when I realized I didn't have anything to write with!' "What's it say?" Striker asked as I noticed I was only half way through the letter.

"It's a letter and a two cupcakes from Pinkie Pie." I said as Striker walked to my side so he could read it himself as I resumed reading it. 'So I started looking all over the place for a quill and some ink but couldn't find any of that stuff either! So I was looking EVERYWHERE but I still couldn't so I went back to Twilight's to borrow some ink and she asked why I didn't have any and I told her I didn't know so she gave me some ink to use and then I started writing this letter! So what's up? Is the Princess really nice to you like we were? I wouldn't believe you if you said she wasn't. Anyway there's a cupcake for you and one for Striker in this bag. P.S Tell Striker I said hi.' "Well... that's interesting." I said as Striker picked up his cupcake and took a small bite of it.

"Vanilla's my favorite. Do you think she knew that?" Striker asked as he looked at the letter suspiciously.

"She wrote all of that... just to ask what's up? Oh and before I forget. Striker, Pinkie says hi." I said as I folded the letter up, put in the bag and pulled my cupcake out.

"She seems rather eccentric, but she makes damn good cupcakes." Striker said as he ate what was left of his cupcake whole. "And it sounds like she expects you to write her back." He added with his mouth full.

"I guess I'll have to ask Princess Celestia for some paper and something to write with." I said as I took a bite of my cupcake. A few minutes later the doors opened and a guard told us breakfast was ready.

I was surprised when we got to the dining room to find that Princess Celestia wasn't there. The same guard who told us it was time also told us that training would resume in an hour, something came up that required Princess Celestia and Shining Armor, but Princess Celestia left some books for me in my room to study while she was occupied. Nothing noteworthy happened at breakfast and after we were done we went back to my room.

"So what do you think came up that required Princess Celestia and Shining Armor?" I asked Striker as we walked back to my room.

"No idea." Striker said with a shrug "Maybe the changelings are back and causing problems. Or maybe a dragon. Take a guess, you might be right." He said as I opened the door to my room. As we walked in I almost immediately noticed the new addition to my room; a large bookshelf to the left of the door that had four shelves, each one held as many books as you could fit. Most of them were text books on magic and there was one Daring Do book on the shelf.

"The Princess certainly didn't underdo the books did she?" Striker said as he examined the forty or so books.

"I'll say." I said as I picked out a basic combat magic spell book. "Why would she give me a combat magic book?" I asked as I read the index.

"Who knows?" Striker said as he took the Daring Do book. "Maybe she wanted you to have variety. The real question is what do you want to read?" He said as he took a seat in the new chair by the bookshelf.

"I'll go with the conjuration book." I said as I pulled out the 'Conjurations for the new student' book. "I doubt you have much interest in magic, but conjuration is really cool." I said as I got on my bed and opened the book.

Me and Striker spent our time quietly reading in my room waiting for somepony to tell us it was time to resume training, he read Daring Do and I read a conjuration textbook. Conjuration is difficult to learn, both due to it's magic cost and it's general complexity. According to what was explained in that book, me being able to successfully conjure an operational clock was impressive to be pulled off by an amateur because of the complexity of the gears and such to make the clock work properly.

The ability to materialize objects out of nothingness is difficult magic that someone as inexperienced as me shouldn't have been able to do with only a few mistakes. The more I read the more I wondered how I could do these things without the days of practice the book claimed would be needed, and I also wondered if Princess Celestia was at all surprised by how easily I was doing all of this. I hadn't tried to smell her emotions to get some kind of idea what she was thinking, but I made note to do so later.

Some time later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said as I got off my bed thinking and hoping it was time to resume. The door opened as a dark gray Pegasus in full gold royal guard armor walked in.

"I was sent to inform you that your training will continue in five minutes and the Princess would like you to return to the training room now." He told me as Striker got back up.

"Thank you." With a nod the guard left and Striker began leading me back to the training room. "What time is it anyway?" I asked after we had walked for about five minutes.

"About eight fifty." Striker said simply.

"Striker!" A voice called from behind us. We turned around to see a light gray earth pony guard running up to us. "Captain Armor has called all guards to the courtyard in twenty minutes." The guard said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why? What's going on?" Striker asked.

"I don't know. I was just told to inform the other guards." He said as he began jogging down one of the hallways.

"Okay… So first Shining Armor and Princess Celestia are required for something, and now there's some big guard gathering…? What the fuck is going on?" I asked as we began walking again.

"I honestly have no idea, but it seems pretty important…” Striker said as we came to the doors to the training room. The guards opened the doors for us and we entered the room. As we walked into the room I looked around and saw that the Princess wasn't there.

"Well where is she?" I asked as Striker took his post.

"She shouldn't be too long." Striker said as the doors began to open again. "See?" Striker said as Princess Celestia and some white Unicorn with a black vest and a blondish mane and tail and a compass rose cutie mark walked in.

"We haven't even discussed the costs of such things. We cou―" The unicorn stopped talking the moment he saw me and there was a short awkward silence as we stared at each other. "..."

"...” I didn't know what to do other than nothing.

"..."

"..."

"CHANGELIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed In an incredibly high-pitched tone causing me to try and cover my ears, which meant dropping to the floor so I wouldn't fall. Thankfully his screaming only lasted a few seconds until he fainted and Princess Celestia began to laugh.

"What in the name of deafness was that?!" I shouted trying to talk over the ringing in my ears.

"Fragment, this is Prince Blueblood." Princess Celestia said as she conjured a small cup of water and poured it onto Prince Blueblood causing him to stagger back to his hooves.

"What happened? I thought I saw one of those nasty changelings." He said as he turned and saw me again.

"I'm going to ignore that insult." I said with a glare.

"AUNTIE! Why is there a changeling in the castle?!" He shouted as he hid behind Princess Celestia.

"What? Everyone in the castle gets the memo except h― Wait, what does he mean by 'Auntie?’" I asked thinking the very illogical.

"Prince Blueblood is a very distant relative of mine. Blueblood, this is Fragment. He was found in Ponyville a week ago and he is my guest here for now." Princess Celestia said as Prince Blueblood cautiously walked out from behind Princess Celestia.

"Why was I not informed of this sooner?" Prince Blueblood asked as Princess Celestia's smile grew.

"Did I not send you a letter?" She said as she tapped her chin in thought. Her horn then flashed gold light and a scroll appeared. "Ah, here it is."

Princess Celestia said with smile as Prince Blueblood opened and began to read the scroll.

"Amnesia?" Prince Blueblood asked as he looked at Princess Celestia.

"Yes, and I'm going to help him regain some degree of skill in magic and if possible, in flight. Though he seems to have plenty of skill at learning."

"Well regardless, as I was saying there needs to be extra security around Equestria. The Secretariat comet has begun passing Equestria." The Secretariat comet? I wondered as Blueblood continued. "The damage of the events that are sure to come would be very harmful to the economy, therefore we need―"

"I am well aware, Blueblood." Princess Celestia said cutting Prince Blueblood off as she began to walk out of the room motioning for us to follow. "Me and Shining Armor have already discussed this and he will be debriefing the guards in a few minutes, then he will begin to ship them out; large battalions to larger cities like Manehattan, and smaller ones to the smaller settlements."

Princess Celestia explained as we walked. There were a lot of guards heading down one hallway.

"Striker! Come on, this way!" The same guard from before called from the mass of guards. Striker ran to catch up to the other guards leaving me with Princess Celestia and Prince Blueblood as we walked to a balcony over the courtyard where the guards were gathering. Shining Armor was in front of them.

"Princess Celestia." I said getting her attention as we walked onto the balcony.

"Yes, Fragment?" She said as she watched what was going on below.

"Other than a comet, what is the Secretariat comet?"

"It's a magical comet. As it passes by Equestria all magical creatures will be strengthened in power. I'm sure you felt it when you woke up this morning, you just didn't know that you were. alicorns, changelings, unicorns, dragons, and countless others will have far more power as the comet passes, and when this happens many evils tend to pop-up. Because of this we need extra security around Equestria until the comet passes."

She explained as she looked into the sky. Following where she was looking I saw the comet. It was dark red and left a fairly long streak behind it.

"Do you think the changelings will try to use it's power to get revenge?"

"I doubt it. They had the advantage of a surprise attack before, but now we're on high alert for changelings." She explained as Shining Armor began informing the guards of the situation.

But in the back of my mind, I felt like something was wrong somehow…

Chapter 9: Preparations

“Alright everypony, listen up! The Secretariat comet has begun passing through the Horse Head Nebula. That means all magic and magical creatures will feel a power surge and are bound to become highly aggressive. I have gathered you all here to send you out to the other settlements in Equestria to protect them until this event ends in three days time. I can't tell you this will be an easy mission, I can't say you'll see the action some of you might be looking for, I can't even be sure that you'll all come back in one piece if at all, but I know that this is what the royal guard is for; to protect and serve Equestria and it's citizens.

“This is what you joined the guard for. This is what must be done for all of Equestria and the Princesses!” Shining Armor said rallying the guards as Princess Celestia, Prince Blueblood and myself watched from a balcony.

He makes it sound like they're going to war. Though I guess in a way they are.

“Does he really think some of them may die?” I asked as Shining Armor's speech continued.

“It depends on what they fight. If it's some unicorn trying to gain power there won't be much trouble, but if they end up fighting a dragon…” Princess Celestia trailed off as the guards cheered to something Shining Armor had said.

“How many guards are staying in Canterlot?” I asked as the guards began moving out.

“Only a few dozen. With Luna and myself here to help protect Canterlot the other settlements need more guards than here,” Princess Celestia said. “Now then, Blueblood, if we're done I have some teaching to do.”

“Yes, I believe we are. I have things to attend to anyways. I shall be seeing both of you around the castle. If it's still standing when the comet has passed,” Prince Blueblood replied as we began to walk away.

“So what will happen if something does attack Canterlot?” I asked as we walked back to the training room.

“If Canterlot is attacked we will do everything we can to protect it. Though I'm not sure what would be foolish enough to attack Canterlot at a time where the city is on high alert,” Princess Celestia said as something outside a window we passed made my jaw drop.

“What about a dragon?” I asked as Princess Celestia looked at what I saw.

“Oh, pony feathers.”

A dragon's tail smashed into the window next to us knocking us down as it dragon flew by. Princess Celestia got right back up as the dragon began circling the castle. It had dark blue scales and yellow claws and spines. “Fragment, go back to your room while we deal with this,” she said as she helped me back up.

“What? Just hide and let everyone else deal with it? I want to help,” I protested as the dragon began breathing fire on one of the towers, which is stupid since stone isn't flammable.

“You can't help right now, you don't have any combat training and even if you did you're in no condition to fight,” she told me as her horn began to glow gold light.

“But―”

“Now, Fragment.” She then teleported away in a flash of light.

“Yes, mom,” I said in a sarcastic and annoyed tone as I began limping back to my room. “A dragon starts attacking and what do I do? I get told to go back to my room like I'm a foal. I know she's right, but come on, I'm sure I could do something. Wait, maybe this is why there was a combat magic book in the bookshelf! She knew about the comet, maybe if I study the book fast I can help! Of course, it makes perfect sense!”

I said as I tried to limp faster to get to my room. I limped as fast as I could toward what I thought, and hoped, was my room. I opened the door with my magic as I reached it, and thankfully it was indeed my room. Scanning the bookshelf quickly I found the combat book and grabbed it. After a short search I found the spell.

“Ah-ha! 'Magic Bolt' spell. ‘Concentrate your magic in your horn and project it at your target. This is a very basic spell and the most common combat spell.’ Looks and sounds easy enough, now I just need something to practice on. The targets in the training room! Perfect! Now I… now I have more limping to do…” I said as I began my annoyed limp to the training room.

After five minutes of limping and silently cursing my broken leg, I at last reached the training room. I opened the doors as I felt the castle shake and then heard the dragon roar.

“They'll probably have dealt with the dragon by the time I figure out this spell.” I walked to a spot about fifty feet away from a target. I looked over the spell again as I prepared to use it. Looking at the target in front of me, I began charging a magic bolt and after letting the spell charge I attempted to fire at the target. ‘Attempted’ is the key word. The end result was failure as instead of shooting a magic bolt the charged magic exploded, with enough force to knock me off my hooves and backwards a few feet.

“Oooowww,” I moaned in dazed annoyance. "Why did that happen? I did everything the book said to do." I said as I carefully got back up.

“Perhaps you overcharged the spell?” a voice from behind me said causing me to turn around and charge my horn reflexively. I turned around and saw a relatively old brown earth pony stallion with blue eyes a yellow mane and tail, who was wearing the same kind of suit the butlers were wearing.

“Hello. Didn't see you there,” I said as I picked up the book and reread the magic bolt spell while letting my magic discharge.

“I wasn't here until I heard the explosion. When I did I came here I fast as I could,” he told me as I turned my attention back to the target.

“Good hustle,” I said as I began to charge the spell again.

“One should be careful when using magic with no pony to help them,” he said as I let out an annoyed groan as I let the spell discharge again. “You should wait until the princess is here to help you.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?” I asked as I looked at him. “I don't know what you've been told about me, but I've been sitting on my flank doing nothing while everyone around me has been taking care of me even though the changelings attacked Equestria. I feel like I should be helping them after all they've done for me,” I said as I turned back to the targets only to see he was now in front of me.

“Princess Celestia wouldn't want you hurting yourself out of a need to help. Be patient, and when the time comes, you will repay your debt.” I discreetly sniffed the air to sense his emotions. He was serious, but he understood how I felt.

“What's your name?” I asked as I closed the book.

“I am Rightmen,” he said bowing his head slightly.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Rightmen. In case you didn't know, I'm Fragment,” I replied with a friendly smile.

“And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Fragment.” The castle shook again followed by the dragon's roar. “Come now, Princess Celestia will deal with the dragon, then she will address you and perhaps teach you that spell,” He began leading me back to my room. I came all this way, just to go back to my room… I thought as we walked.

“How long have you worked at the castle?” I asked as we left the training room.

“I have served Princess Celestia for more than fifty years,” he stated proudly as we continued to my room.

“I take it you enjoy it here.”

“Of course; getting to serve the princesses is a great honor. They're kind and wise, they never act like they're above everypony, even though everypony treats them that way. The only reason ponies go through such trouble to make things special for them is because they love them so much.”

“What about Prince Blueblood? He screamed and passed out when he first saw me; my ears are still ringing,” I said as the dragon roared again followed by the sound of a magical attack.

“He… needs to learn humility. Unlike the Princesses, he does think he's above everypony and he expects everypony to do exactly what he says. It's ponies like that who start wars,” Rightmen said with a small shake of his head.

“So in other words, you don't like him,” I said as a yellow maid with a blue and white mane and tail came into view at the other end of the hallway and started walking towards us. With a single glance at me she almost stopped dead in her tracks, but she soon forced herself to move forward and walked up to Rightmen without looking at me.

“Good morning, Missis White,” Rightmen said bowing his head a little. Is it really still just morning? I woke up way too early…

“Morning, Mister Right. The head chef wanted to speak to you about dinner,” she said looking at me uneasily out of the corner of her eye.

“Very well. Would you mind bringing Fragment here back to his room?” Rightmen asked as she gulped.

“I-I guess so…”

“How do you know where my room is?” I asked.

“The maids made note to avoid the room with the changeling in it,” Rightmen said simply as he began walking away leaving us in an awkward silence. We just stood there for about three minutes until I spoke up.

“So… are you going to take me back to my room?”

“R-right. This way,” she said as she began leading the way. We walked in silence as we made our way to my room. I wanted to make small talk or something along the way but I knew there'd be almost nothing we could talk about. I didn't know a subject she could talk about, and the scent of her fear deterred me from trying to communicate with her, but to my surprise she was the one to break the silence.

“So… what happened to you? All we really know about you is that you have amnesia,” she said through her fear.

“I don't know. From what I've been told it's most likely that the spell that repelled the changelings caused me to crash in Ponyville. And I obviously hit my head and broke my leg on something when I crashed,” I told her as we walked.

“Is there anything you remember?” she asked as her fear began to subside.

“I've gotten a few flashbacks, but nothing very helpful. All I know is that I was part of the attack,” I said as some pain came to me out of nowhere.

“Do you wonder who you were?” she asked as my room came into sight and I pondered the question for a moment.

“No. I don't care who I was, because even if I was general, or something as petty as a conscript, I'm not that changeling anymore, and unless I get my memories back then that changeling is dead as far as I'm concerned, and for that reason I don't spend time wondering who I was,” I explained as we reached my room.

“I see. Well we're here. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go prepare some tea for the Princess. She always has tea after a stressful event." She said as she began walking away. “Goodbye, Fragment.”

“Bye,” was all I said as I opened the door and went inside. Closing the door behind me, I walked over to the bookshelf and put the combat spell book back, then I walked over to the window. I saw the dragon was still flying around Canterlot, only now Princess Celestia was fighting it head-on. I still wanted to help but there was still nothing I could do, so I simply watched the fight, and after about ten minutes of fighting the dragon began flying away as fast as it could and the moment it was passed Canterlot's walls there was some kind of pulse sound and then a pinkish purple bubble surrounded the city.

Is that a forcefield? It looks… familiar somehow. I thought as I suddenly felt pain in my head. Before I could even yell the pain became unbearable and I fell to the floor. I didn't even have the strength to stay conscious as my vision began to blur…

(~Φ~)

The blurriness was replaced by darkness as the pain disappeared, then the darkness was replaced with a blurry vision. I was hovering over a forcefield that looked the same as the one that was just put around Canterlot. And I wasn't the only one there. There were dozens of changelings around me, and hundreds more beyond them, but the further away they were the more they looked like black blobs. Most of them were just meaninglessly slamming into the forcefield while others just waited like me.

“Major Gezähnt!” a changeling called. I looked to my left and saw a changeling next to me wearing dark blue armor, similar to guard pony armor, and a changeling flying towards us. other than the armor, there were no real defining features about either of them. How changelings tell each other apart is beyond me. The changeling flying towards us stopped a few feet from us and gave a salute that was returned by the changeling next to me.

“What is it, private?” Gezähnt asked as they ended their salute.

“Reports of pony activity near one of our camps. A request to investigate has come in. What should we do, sir?” the changeling asked.

“It doesn't matter!” Gezähnt laughed. “After we take Canterlot we'll have all of Equestria! Let the ponies wander near the camp. Victory is at hoof!” Gezähnt said as the Changeling nodded and began to leave.

“Stop!” a different voice yelled. The three of us turned around to see a changeling in dark green armor flying towards us. “Tell your C.O that Colonel Tödlich said that if the ponies near the camp look even slightly like guard ponies or anything of the sort, kill them all,” Colonel Tödlich said as the changeling again nodded and flew off.

“Kill them? Why?” I asked though I had no control.

“I don't want any unwanted surprises. If we do take Equestria, I don't want to have to deal with a resistance trying to liberate Equestria,” he said as he gazed through the forcefield to the city below. I knew it was Canterlot.

“But still, killing them seems so... wasteful,” I said as I watched the other changelings bash the forcefield.

“And besides, where's the fun in just winning?” Gezähnt said with a dark smile. “We could just play with them. let them think they're going to have an attack on our camp, but as they move in to strike… WE POUNCE! Watch the terr―”

“This is why you're not a higher rank, Gezähnt. You'd rather play with violence than win for the Queen." Tödlich said shaking his head a little.

“They say ‘do what you love,’ and I love violence. And even if there is some kind of a resistance, we'll easily crush them!”

“Even so, I―”

“It would appear the time for talk is over,” I said as the forcefield cracked and a moment later the forcefield shattered with the sound of breaking glass, the changelings began dive-bombing Canterlot and my vision faded again.

(~Φ~)

I felt my eyes begin to open as I groaned from my headache. I'm getting really tired of this kind of sh―

“It's about time you woke up,” a voice I placed as Striker said.

“What happened?” I asked as I rubbed my head and opened my eyes completely.

“We were going to ask you the same thing. Princess Celestia and I got to your room to resume training and you were unconscious. We brought you to the castle's infirmary and made sure you were okay,” Striker explained as I looked around. The room I was in looked similar to the one I had in the hospital and I saw the time was ten fifty-two A.M. The only ponies in the room were me and Striker, and of course, Striker had a chair.

“The doctor said you were fine and you probably passed out from dehydration or something. And what did happen to you anyway?”

“I had a flashback when I saw that forcefield,” I asked as I began getting out of bed. “I was with the changelings over Canterlot just before the attack started, and two of the changelings I was with were really high ranked; a Major and a Colonel,” I said as I carefully got to my hooves. “What was that forcefield?”

“Princess Celestia had Shining Armor put it up to help protect Canterlot. And you should tell Princess Celestia about that flashback after training,” Striker said as he got out of his chair.

“I thought Princess Celestia was going to be training me, what happened to that?” I asked as Striker motioned me to follow him.

“The Secretariat Comet happened. She needs her full attention on keeping Equestria safe, which is part of the reason she's having you be taught some of the magic from that combat book,” he said as we came out of the infirmary and walked down a hallway. “So she found somepony else to teach you while she deals with other things.”

“Who's my new teacher?” I asked as the training room came into view.

“Prince Shining Armor.”

“WHAT?!” I shouted as I stopped. “Why is he teaching me?!” I could have been over reacting, but I could still smell the almost hate Shining Armor had for me, and it scared me. “I'm sure he doesn't want to teach me anymore than how comfortable I feel around him,” I said as Striker continued walking towards the training room.

“It'll be fine, Fragment. I was there when the Princess asked him to do this, he wasn't angry or upset in anyway. I think he was like how he was before because he didn't have a lot of time to adjust to the idea, but I think with you not causing any trouble while you've been here and kind of making friends with Rightmen has gotten you some trust points,” Striker said as he stood by the door to the training room.

“Just because he didn't seem angry doesn't mean he wasn't. You didn't sense his emotions like I did. I really doubt that's changed in all of the two days I've been here.”

“This is getting old. If you want to help you need the training first and this is it. Take it or leave it.” I was about to say something but I knew he was right. After a moment of trying calm down and prepare myself, I walked towards the doors as Striker opened them. We walked into the room and saw Shining Armor standing there watching us.

“So how much of that did you hear?” I asked as I limped up to him. Smelling his emotions, I could tell that he wasn't as aggravated as before but he still didn't like or trust me.

“Almost every word. And you're right, I don't really want to do this, but if Twilight and Princess Celestia think I should give you the benefit of the doubt, then I'll give you a chance.”

“Well let's get started. So what exactly are you going to be teaching me?” I asked.

“Princess Celestia told me to teach at least these three spells; magic bolt, ward projection, and teleportation.”

“Why teleportation?”

“Princess Celestia thought it would be a good way for you to get around since your leg is broken. Now, because Magic Blot is the easiest of these spells to cast and is the one you'll need most it's the one we'll work on first. Rightmen told us you were trying to use the magic bolt spell when Princess Celestia told you to go to your room.”

“Good job on that by the way,” Striker added.

“Technically, I did what she said. I was told to go to my room, not go to and stay in my room,” I said with a smug smile, only to see a displeased look Shining Armor had. Obviously being a smartass didn't get me anything good from him. "Heh heh, so about the spell..." I said trying to change the subject.

“The magic bolt spell is versatile do to the fact it's strength is based on the amount of magic you put into it, but this also makes it easy to overcharge. Now, because you've read the instructions of the spell and therefore know how to cast it, it's just a matter of learning how to balance the power you use and the amount you can control. Try to hit that target with a magic bolt. Start off with a weak bolt.”

I took a deep breath and began charging. Facing the target as the buzzing of my magic got louder, I pushed the energy forward in an attempt to fire the spell. There was a bright flash of dark green light and a blast that sent me back almost to the wall, leaving me dazed.

“What happened?” I asked as I got back up, rubbed my head and noticed the smell of something burning.

“You overcharged the spell, causing it to literally blow up in your face,” Shining Armor told me while Striker chuckled and spoke up.

“Don't worry about it scorching your horn; it looks the same other than the smoke coming off it.” Oh, so I'm what's burning. I thought as I limped back to my spot.

“The Secretariat Comet is giving you more power, so you need to be more careful with how much power you use,” Shining Armor said.

“Thanks for the heads up.” I turned back to the target for another attempt. Come on, Fragment, you can do this… I reassured myself as I took aim and began the spell, this time not letting it charge as long.

I tried again to fire the magic bolt and once again there was a flash of dark green light, though it wasn't as bright as last time. I saw it shoot out from my horn and hit the target almost directly on the bull's-eye.

“Good. Now do it again, get yourself more used to the spell.” Upon casting it, I was surprised by how much easier the spell seemed to be. I charged and shot the magic bolt much faster and this time hit the bull's-eye. “Again,” Shining Armor said. And again I fired. He had me repeat this several times.

“Stop,” he said after the tenth time. “How’re you feeling?”

“Uh… fine?”

“Do you feel physically weak or impaired in anyway?”

“No. Why?” I asked as Shining Armor examined the target.

“I haven't seen anypony as new to magic as you do something like that without experiencing headaches or migraines before,” he said as he set the target back up. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

He then began levitating six targets and started moving them around me; three of them at ground level while the other three circled in the air. He pulled out a stopwatch and said “Shooting is one thing, hitting is another. This time I want you to get a direct hit on every target as fast as you can. On my mark, start firing.”

My horn lit with magic.

Shining Armor prepared to start a stopwatch.

Striker took cover behind a spare target.

“Three… two… one… FIRE!”

I fired at one of the targets in front of me but missed it by a few inches. I continually shot at that target, missing it again and again. It became obvious that this point and shoot strategy wasn't working, so I changed to shooting into the target’s path, allowing me to hit it at last.

Shoot in front of, not at. I mentally noted as I fired in front of another target and hit it fairly close to the bull's-eye. Leading the shot was key for hitting them and after I picked up on that it became much easier. Once I hit the last target they all stopped and floated back to the floor.

“How’d I do?”

“Well you didn’t shoot my or the captain, so I’d say decent,” Striker remarked.

“Not too bad, but you definitely need improvement,” Shining Armor said as he examined the stopwatch. “Let's try again.”

He lifted the targets again and resumed his pattern from before with the targets going faster. This time was much easier because I was cutting off their paths with magic bolts, hitting all the targets in less than half the time it took before. After that, Shining Armor increased the number of targets from six to ten and we started again. We repeated this process until I had hit fifteen moving targets in under seven seconds, which was a massive pain in my ass to do. I was exhausted by the time we had finished, panting heavily and with a small migraine.

“You learn quickly,” Shining Armor remarked.

“Probably a changeling thing… Need to learn fast when you survive… by pretending to be something else.”

“I think you've earned a lunch break. I expect you back here in less than twenty minutes.and when you get back we'll start training with forcefields,” Shining Armor said as he began walking away.

“Great… looking… forward to it…” I said as Striker walked up to me.

“Come on, let's get something to eat.”

“I didn't think training would be like this. Was your training similar?”

“Similar to that? No. It was much worse, but that's probably because I had only physical combat to learn, so there were a lot more bruises involved. Blast Shield told me magic is a lot harder than physical combat, it's just not as painful as long as you don't screw up your spell or overuse magic. It shouldn't be too much trouble for you given how fast you seem to learn.”

“I don't know how I do it, it just seems so much easier the second time around. If there is a reason that isn't I'm just a fast learner then I'd think that changelings learn fast.”

“Faster learners, shapeshifters, love eaters… You changelings are weird.” Lunch was short and uneventful, which was fine by me; I wasn’t really feeling up to another dragon attack. After we had lunch we waited another five minutes so I could have a longer break then headed back to the training room where it appeared Shining Armor had been waiting the whole time.

“Ready to begin forcefield training?” he asked as I limped up to him and Striker stood by the door.

“I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't.”

“Let's not waste any time then. This version of a forcefield, a ward, is the weakest and most basic. It's primarily about focusing your magic into a wall, to actually make your power into something tangible to stop both physical and magical attacks. The size of the ward and the distance between you and it is based on what you focus those to be. Try focusing your magic into a ward now.”

I focused as hard as I could, my magic slowly working to project a ward. A small dark green semi-transparent wall of magic began to form in front of me with a stem of energy connecting it to my horn. The ward was only about three feet around and away from me.

“Not bad for your first ward, but can you hold it while being attacked?” Shining Armor asked as he walked in front of me and his horn lit up with a maroonish colored aura. Is he going to― He was, I didn't even have the time to finish my thought before he shot a magic bolt at my ward.

When his bolt collided with my ward, I felt some of its momentum travel through the ward’s stem to my horn, causing me some pain. Shining Armor’s attack left a large crack in my ward which I quickly repaired, but just as I did so it was hit by another bolt making a new, larger crack.

It didn't take me very long to find out that a ward being bombarded costs a lot of strength to keep up. With every shot I felt my power weaken and strain, the ward becoming more transparent as its size shrunk. Determined to withstand as much as I could, I held my ground and put every ounce of effort into the spell.

After a few minutes of bombarding, Shining Armor was beginning to show signs of exhaustion; partially labored breathing, pauses between shots and most importantly, the meager wall of magic once known as my ward was able to block without being completely destroyed. At that point was when he decided to stop.

“Impressive, I've never seen somepony stand against an assault like that before.”

“Thanks,” I said as I allowed myself to fall to the floor, breathing heavily with a throbbing headache.

“I think it's about time we take a break.”

“Couldn't agree more.”

“You’re not tired, are ya?”

“No, Striker, I just find this floor to be very comfortable.”

We’ll take a few minute break then we can begin teleportation tra―” Shining Armor's sentence was cut off by a loud bang from outside. The two of them rushed to the window as I lazily followed them. At the window, we saw something on the outside of the forcefield. It was about the size of a house, had the head and legs of a chicken and the lower body and wings of a dragon.

“What in holy ugliness is that thing?” I asked.

“Is… is that a giant cockatrice?” Striker asked.

“Looks like it,” Shining Armor said as we stared at the cockatrice, then we saw two more come up to the first one.

“This is going to suck.”

Author's Notes:

I know that they say a cockatrice is half snake and half chicken, but those wings - and kind of the legs - are like a dragon's, so I'm going with dragon.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 10: Socializing

The three of us watched from the window as two of the cockatrice attacked part of the forcefield while the third flew over the city. "And what do we do about that?" I asked as the Cockatrice shrieked.

"'We' don't do anything. Both of you are staying here while me and Princess Celestia deal with this." Shining Armor said as me and Striker looked at him and asked "What?!" like whining foals. "Striker, if you leave I'm demoting you. Fragment, if you leave I'll tell Princess Celestia lock you in your room." Shining Armor said as he teleported away.

"Why can't I help?! Isn't this why they were training me?" I asked as I put on a pouty face.

"Well I don't think they expected a giant Cockatrice. I think one that big could beat a Dragon. And besides, you still need that break." Striker said as he walked towards one of the targets; the one he was looking at had cracked almost it's full length from top right to bottom left.

"But― I― they― it's just... urgle!" I was so agitated I couldn't even form a sentence to describe how agitated I was. This was the whole point of them training me with combat magic, wasn't it? And now I'm still just going to sit around in the castle?! "So what am I supposed to do now? Go to my room and read more books? If I can't help I at least want something less boring to do." I said as Striker sighed and walked back up to me and put one of his hooves on my right shoulder as he spoke.

"You need to wait. I'd think that you'd see by now that if you did stupid stuff like charging into battle with a broken leg and being new to magic you'd probably get killed. Waiting to help is you best bet right now. Now come on, let's try to find something to do."

"I'd learn that teleportation spell if there was somepony to teach me. Obviously Princess Celestia and Shining Armor are occupied, so I can't have them teach me at the moment. Hey, what about Princess Luna? I haven't seen her the whole time I've been here." I said as I wondered why I haven't seen her since she was in my dream.

"I'm not entirely sure, but from what I've heard she's basically nocturnal because she raises the moon and she's part of the night court like how Princess Celestia is part of the day court." Striker said as he shrugged.

"So in other words, there's still nothing I can do but wait. Great, that's really great."

"Oh stop whining, it's not like it helps you or anything." Striker said as I sighed. "Maybe if you behave Captain Shining Armor will tell you all about the fight." He said condescendingly.

"Fuck you, Striker." I said as Striker laughed a little. "But really, what am I going to do while I wait?"

"Well, have you thought about what you're going to do when you get out of here yet?" Striker asked as we left the room.

"I have, but you might think I'm joking." I said as Striker chuckled and replied.

"I've heard some crazy things before. Come on, let's hear it."

"I was thinking of being a Treasure Hunter, kind of like Daring Do." I said as I waited for him to laugh at the thought, but it didn't happen. In fact he seemed to think it wasn't that bad of an idea, based on his expression.

"Yeah, I've definitely heard crazier things before. I think that wouldn't be half bad; having magic and wings would make treasure hunting much easier, that and you seem like the kind who'd want to go out into the world anyway."

"Why do you ask anyway?"

"'Cause you're going to need social skills of some degree, so why not train you in that?" Striker asked as we reached the courtyard where we stopped walking.

"Social skills? Why would I need those?" I asked as Striker rolled his eyes.

"Gee, I don't know, maybe to make friends or something. You know, since you need love to survive and all that? If you can't socialize, you can't make friends, and if you―"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it; if I can't socialize and make friends, I'm dead. But how do you think you can 'train' me to socialize? Just go around trying to have small talk with random ponies?" I asked as I sat down by the doors back into the castle.

"Actually yes. Minus the random part. And not just some ponies, I was thinking everypony."

"That's your master plan? Just go around talking to the castle's staff saying things like 'nice weather we're having' while in the distance you can plainly see Canterlot being attacked and me not doing a damn thing to help?" I said having no faith in this so-called plan.

"Again with the not helping thing? I don't think they'll expect you to be helping a whole lot with a broken leg. It's starting to seem like you forgot about that detail."

"It's been broken for so long I kind of do forget. But either way, it seems like a stupid idea to do this while Canterlot is under attack."

"And what do you suggest we do until your training resumes? If you have any ideas, I'm listening." Striker said as he walked around the courtyard aimlessly.

"Well, we could go for a walk through the garden." I said still having no idea how to pass the time.

"Really? That's what you― You know what? Fine, since you're going to be so stubborn about socializing. There is a maze in the garden, so maybe that could help us burn some time." Striker said as he sighed and I got up.

"So which way do we go?"

"Follow me." He said as he lead me. The walk to the garden was pretty short and when we got there it looked as boring as the idea, but I still thought this would be a better way to spend time than socializing with ponies in the castle. But that quickly changed as we entered the maze, got bored, and walked back out. We literally smelled the roses, and I don't see what the big deal is. Our screwing around ended after a boring as death game of hide and seek. We lost in total about twenty minutes of our lives before I gave in. "Fuck it! Let's try socializing." I said as I limped back towards the castle.

"Finally! Something useful we can do!" Striker cheered as he caught up to me and we went back inside.

"So what are the details of this plan?" I asked still thinking this was stupid and a waste of time, though it seemed less wasteful than what we were doing before.

"Trust me, socializing is easy. See that maid over there?" Striker asked as he pointed down the hallway to a maid who seemed to be taking a break or something. She was a Unicorn with a green coat and a dark gray and blue mane and tail with a cutie mark of a feather duster. "Go talk to her."

"I may not be an expert on socializing like you pretend to be, but I'm pretty sure it's more complicated than that. What am I supposed to say?"

"Ask her how her day's going."

"Do you actually think she'll talk to me? I'm a Changeling, which alone may not be a good reason, but having fangs and a generally creepy look might have some kind of negative influence."

"Hey, if she's worth talking to she won't judge a Changeling by it's shell."

"You couldn't pass that one up, could you?" I asked as I rolled my eyes and Striker continued.

"Though it is more of an exoskeleton than a shell..." He said as he tapped his chin.

"Can we please get back on subject?" I said, getting annoyed.

"It's not that hard, Fragment. Just go up to her and ask 'how's it going?' or something."

"Are you sure it'll seem like socializing and not like trying to get a date?"

"Of course... I have absolute confidence..."

"You don't do you?"

"Well not anymore. I thought it was fine 'til you brought it up." Striker said as he groaned to himself a little.

"Just because you didn't think it was a problem, doesn't mean it wasn't. Do you have any other brilliant ideas I should be warned of?" I said as Striker gave me a short glare.

"You want my help or not?"

"I want your help to be helpful." I said getting another glare out of Striker.

"Very funny. That's all I have on short notice."

"You know what just occurred to me? I'm getting social advice from the guy who told me himself he doesn't have any friends in the guard. What a great idea this was." I said as I began limping towards the maid. Striker may have over looked some details but this was still the best way I had to spend time until somepony was around to teach me teleportation. As I walked up to the maid she looked toward me and watched me suspiciously which made me a little nervous, but I pushed on anyway. "Hello." I said as she narrowed her eyes a little. "I'm Fragment. What's your name?" I asked as I put on the friendliest face I could, which isn't a very good one when you have fangs and sharp teeth making your smile seem more menacing than friendly. But she wasn't scared of me, just suspicious. But I'm not sure if that made it any easier.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked with an unpleasant look on her face.

"Because there's nothing else to do." I said with a shrug as my smile vanished and was replaced with an annoyed frown.

"Then go find one." She said as she turned around and pulled a sandwich out of a bag.

"Been there. Done that. There's nothing to do here." The maid nodded when I said that.

"Got that right. I don't get why Rightmen loves it here so much. I can barely stand the place." She said as she bit into her sandwich.

"Maybe he's just used to it. He's been here longer than anypony else."

"When you say 'it' do you mean the castle or the boredom?"

"I guess both. But I don't know how anyone could get used to boredom."

"Princess Celestia has her ways of keeping things interesting." A voice said from behind me causing me to jump a little. I turned around to see Rightmen standing right behind where I was.

"Uh, hello, Rightmen." I said a little nervous about how he'd respond to what we said.

"Good evening, Fragment. Keeping out of trouble?"

"I'm trying to keep out of boredom. So what are you doing?" I asked as he walked around me and spoke.

"I'm informing miss Dex here that her services are required in the ballroom."

"I'm on it." She said as she ate the half a sandwich she had left in one bite. "Oh, and Fragment."

"Yeah?" I asked surprised that she had something to say to me.

"It's nice to see I'm not the only one who thinks this place is dull." She said and then immediately left.

"The castle is only boring when the Princesses aren't around. Princess Celestia has ways of making things interesting from time to time." Rightmen said as he began walking away. "It shouldn't take too long to take care of the Cockatrice." He said as he walked away and somepony's hoof was put on my shoulder.

"I think that went well." Striker said as he walked up to me.

"It went better than I thought it would, that's for sure. So what do we do now? Find another member of the castle's staff to talk to?" I asked as we heard a very loud shriek that caused us to cover our ears. We looked out the nearest window and saw the three Cockatrice fleeing from Canterlot. I could vaguely see Princess Celestia flying over Canterlot after them.

"Well it looks like your training will resume shortly." Striker said as we began walking back to the training room. At this point I was confident that I could find my way back to both the training room and my room on my own. When we got back to the training room rather than finding Shining Armor waiting for us, we found some other guard pony.

"Are you Fragment?" He asked the stupidest question I'd heard in a while, so I had to call him out on it.

"Nope. I'm Striker and he's Fragment. We're trying to confuse everyone." I said as Striker chuckled and the other guard narrowed his eyes at me.

"Captain Armor said to tell you that training will not resume today due to the issues Canterlot is facing."

"WHAT?!" I shouted in both surprise and annoyance.

"He'll see if there's anypony who can fill in for him, but for now your training is over." He said as he turned around and left.

"Daaaaammit..." I groaned as I let myself just drop to the floor. That's how irritated I was. "Well... what do we do now?"

"Well, we could try socializing again." Striker said with a shrug.

"What if I don't want to?" I said as I began limping back to my room with Striker following.

"What if there's nothing else to do? Which we both know there isn't." He had me there, but I still wanted to do something more interesting than that.

"What about you?" I asked.

"What?" Striker asked with a risen brow.

"Would you say we're friends, Striker?"

"Yeah." He said as we got back to my room.

"Well other than your name, what you do for a living, and who your marefriend is, I don't know anything about you."

"So, you want me to just tell you about my life or something?"

"If it wouldn't be a big deal. I don't think I need to highlight the fact that we still don't have anything better to do, and it's not like I can tell you about myself, since I don't remember it." I said as I got on my bed and was instantly comfortable.

"There's not much to tell. I was an only foal, I grew up in Ponyville, my mother was a traveling Salesmare and my father worked for the weather team."

"Your father was a Pegasus?"

"Yeah. Anyways, I was an average student, made a few friends here and there, including Lightheart of course, and life was pretty normal. When I was seven I got my cutie mark, when I was fifteen I got the courage to ask Lightheart out, and when I turned eighteen I joined the guard."

"What is your cutie mark anyway?"

"Two crossed spears over a heart." He said as he looked at his armored flank. "It stands for protecting what I care about."

"What did you do to earn it?"

"One time at school Lightheart was being picked on for having braces, and these two stallions wouldn't leave her alone, so I told them to back off and they just laughed at me and one of them took my family's locket..." Striker paused for a moment seemingly remembering that incident. I took in the smell of his emotions and he was sad about something. Something about the locket? I wondered as Striker continued with a sigh.

"He threw it down the hall while the other one started picking on Lightheart again, after that I turned around and bucked the one who was picking on Lightheart in the face. I broke his nose." Striker said with a chuckle. "After that I got my cutie mark, my locket, detention, and they never picked on either of us again." Striker ended with a proud smile.

"What was so special about that locket?" I asked as his smile lost some strength and his emotions changed to bittersweet.

"It had an old picture of my parents in it." Striker said as he looked out a window. "When I was five my mother was mugged and murdered in Los Pegasus. It's why I became a guard pony; I didn't want anypony to feel what it's like to lose somepony you love and not see justice done."

"What happened to your locket? You said you got it back, but I haven't seen you wearing it."

"After that incident with those bullies the locket was pretty damaged but it wasn't broken so I keep it safe at my house."

"At least those bullies got what they deserved."

"Yeah." Striker said with a short laugh. For a while after that we talked about what he had done while in the guard, which wasn't much that was very exciting, then we talked about the Daring Do books for a little while when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said hoping it was somepony to teach me teleportation, but much to my disappointment it was just a maid.

"Mister Rightmen sent me to tell you that dinner is ready."

"We'll be there in a bit." I said as I slowly got off the bed.

"Where's Blast shield? He's supposed take his shift around dinner time." Striker said as he got up.

"I don't know, but Rightmen might. You should talk to him about it."

"Thanks." Striker said in a slightly annoyed tone as the maid left. "Well let's not let our food get cold."

"Right behind you." I said as he headed out the door. When we got to the dinning room there were only two spots set at the table and Rightmen was waiting for us. As we took our seats and began to eat, Rightmen spoke.

"Princess Celestia has told me to inform both of you as well as the castle staff that she along with Shining armor will be too busy dealing with whatever forces attack Canterlot, so until the Secretariat Comet has passed I will be over seeing the castle and it's staff." He explained.

"So who's going to teach me the teleportation spell?" I asked as Striker added: "And when is Blast Shield going to take his shift?" To which Rightmen replied.

"I am unsure who will teach you that spell or when they will, but I'm sure that Princess Celestia will think of something for you. As for Blast Shield, Shining Armor has called him to Canterlot's walls with many of the other guards to better defend the city." Rightmen said as me and Striker shared an annoyed groan. "So until further notice, Striker, you're staying on duty to night. And your training, Fragment, is on hold. Now, I must attend to other matters of the castle." He said as he left. Once he was gone I let out the biggest groan of annoyance in my life as I facetabled.

"Just give it time, Fragment. If you're lucky you'll learn how to teleport by this time next week." Striker said as I smacked him in the back of his head, which he simply shrugged off as he began eating his food. Once again, our meal was quiet and uneventful and within a few minutes we had finished eating and were on our way back to my room.

"So what are you going to do now?" Striker asked as we walk down the hallway.

"I guess I'll read a book until I get tired and then get some sleep. But I'm still hungry, and not for food." I said feeling what power Princess Celestia had given me had worn off. Most of it had really worn off while in training, I had just been ignoring it, but now it had gotten pretty bad.

"So feed off me. I don't mind." Striker said simply. I wasted no time on that offer and began feeding. To put it in terms of food, the amount I fed off Striker was about the equivalent of another small lunch, and Striker just kept walking like nothing had happened.

"Thanks." I said savoring the slight high from feeding as we made it back to my room.

"Any time." He said as we walked in side. "I guess I'll just read too." We both got a book off the bookshelf, me a book called 'Creatures of the Wild' which is basically an encyclopedia of wild animals, and Striker got a Daring Do book which he told me he had already read and was rereading. For awhile we just sat quietly reading to ourselves, faintly hearing some kind of battling going on in the distance as it slowly got darker when there was a knock on the door again.

"Uh, come in." I said being caught by surprise by having somepony knock on my door this late. As the door opened I looked at the clock and saw it was eight twenty-three P.M. I looked at the door and got quite a surprise. I saw what at first glance looked like a pony, but the glowing yellow cat-like eyes changed that belief quickly. It had bat-like wings folded to its sides, one of which was also holding a dark purple helmet. It wore dark purple armor, the center of which had a gem that resembled an eye, it had gray fur, and a black mane and tail.

"Princess Luna summons you." He spoke in a rather deep voice. "Follow me." He said as he turned around and began walking away. Me and Striker were confused but quickly moved to catch-up to him. I still had no idea what this thing was, but Striker didn't seem to bothered by it. As we caught up to it I spoke.

"Who are you? And why did Princess Luna summon me?" I asked as we headed for what I believed was the training room.

"I am Sinistar." He said simply as we walked. I was starting to get uncomfortable, he didn't answer my other question, and he seemed to have no interest in me or Striker whatsoever. But I figured I should play friendly for now.

"Nice to meet you, Sinistar. I'm―"

"I know who you are, Fragment." Sinistar said cutting me off. I took a small sniff of his emotions and found he had no positive feelings towards either me or Striker. In fact, it seemed like the last time he was happy was about five or more years ago. That's how unhappy Sinistar was.

"Okay... So, why did Princess Luna summon me?" I asked again.

"Princess Luna volunteered to teach you teleportation." Those words excited me almost as much as when I first used levitation, all of my minor suspicion was gone as I hopped up next to Sinistar.

"Really?! She's going to teach me teleportation?!" I asked with a huge grin on my face.

"Noooo. This is a very complex prank to get you excited for nothing." Striker said as he probably rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Princess Luna will teach you how to teleport." Sinistar said as we walked.

"Awesome!" I shouted as the training room came into sight. Without waiting or even knocking, Sinistar pushed the doors open with his forehooves. As the doors opened and we walked in, we saw Princess Luna standing in the middle of the room apparently examining a target.

"Your majesty." Sinistar said as we all bowed. She turned around to see us and smiled lightly.

"Thank you, Sinistar, you all may rise." Princess Luna said as she walked toward us and we stood back up. "Hello, Fragment. It's about time we meet face-to-face." She said as I walked up to her and Striker and Sinistar toke posts by the doors.

"It's an honor to meet you, Princess Luna. And I can't tell you how happy I am to finally learn that spell." I said as she smiled a little more.

"Then let us not waste any time. As Princess of the night it is my job to protect Canterlot while my sister rests." She told me as we walked to the center of the room. "Now, teleportation is a very difficult spell and costs a lot of power to use because it allows you to move through space. We'll start with short distance teleporting and as you progress we'll try further distances." She told me as she moved the targets and dummies aside.

"Teleportation can be very dangerous, deadly even, because there is almost always the chance of teleporting into a wall or another pony. The safest way to teleport is to directly see where you're going to go. I want you to teleport from here to four feet forward. As with most spells teleporting relies on your thought. You must, in a sense, mentally transport yourself to the location you're trying to reach." She explained as I began to focus and then let it go as something occurred to me.

"Wait, the Magic Bolt spell literally blew up in my face when I didn't do it right, what will happen if I mess this spell up?" I asked.

"That is hard to determine. All magic carries with it the risk of harming those who use it, but if you wish to use it at all, then you must try despite the risk." Princess Luna said as I nodded. I began gathering power and focusing my mind on the spot Princess Luna directed me to. I heard the static of my magic as I focused on the spell. There was a moment of magical buildup, then a very strange sensation came over me, a numbness throughout my body and I felt a little nauseous and lightheaded with a small headache. I tried to shake the feeling as I heard Princess Luna spoke. "Well done, Fragment." She said as I looked up. I looked at where I was and turned around and saw that I wasn't in the same spot as before.

"Did... did I really just teleport? On the first try?!" I asked, getting excited at the achievement. Princess simply nodded with a small smile to my question, which made me smile widely.

"I must say, I was kind of looking forward to seeing you blowup." Striker said as he chuckled and Princess Luna gave a short glare to Striker, until she heard what I said.

"Don't let that hope die too quickly, Striker. I'm sure we're going to be doing this for awhile." We practiced teleportation for almost an hour before it was decided that Princess Luna had to start overseeing Canterlot and it's protection and that I should get some sleep. As I got in bed I could see the Secretariat Comet's yellow trail in the night sky through the forcefield around Canterlot. "I hope nothing major happens out there..." I said as I closed the curtains, got comfortable and began to sleep...

Author's Notes:

I've been working on this story all the time since I posted it, after every chapter was done, I started working on the next chapter, and so on like that. Why? Because this story is my child and Fragment is a Changeling version of me. But I'm going to take a break. With this chapter done I'll finish chapter eleven which will be known as "Onslaught," which will probably take all week like most of the other chapters to complete, then when it's done I'm not going to post it but instead spend some time with friends and in Skyrim. By next Sunday chapter eleven will most likely be done, and by the Sunday after that I'll post it. So I'll see you all two weeks from now. Thanks.

P.S Pack your battle song for Onslaught.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 11: Onslaught

Author's Notes:

This chapter is in serious need of revision...

I was running through Canterlot shooting Magic Bolts at every guard I passed, nailing one in the chest. I was heading for the castle, which was straight ahead of me. Why I was running instead of flying I don't know, but I do know that something was on my mind.

For her own sake, she better not have lied to me... I thought as I ran, narrowly dodging an attack from a guard, whom I quickly turned around and punched in the face. These ponies don't know how to truly fight. It's pathetic, but they've never needed to before. I thought as I started running again. I was close to the castle now, but I still didn't know why I was going there. I truly wish it didn't need to be like this, but this is for the betterment of our kind... Right?

I stopped moving and was breathing heavily. I turned around to the scene behind me, changelings fighting ponies, ponies running for their freedom and maybe their lives. The Queen told us this was to happen. We remember the ancient tales of the changeling council and how diplomacy had failed them... What else can we do but die? Maybe-- I was brought out of my thoughts by a bright glow from behind me. I turned around and saw a wall of pink magic emanating from the castle coming at me, and this wall seemed to only affect changelings.

"What in Tartarus is that? This isn't what she told me about." I said as I jumped into the air and started flying away as fast as I could, but this magic was too fast and it would catch me soon. By the Queen, I pray she was wrong... I thought as I began charging a spell. Dammit! I don't have enough magic to teleport safely and without draining my stored love to dangerously low levels. I thought as I dove to gain speed while changelings around me were hit by this magical wall...

(~Φ~)

I leaned up and gasped as I was brought out of my flashback. As I tried to catch my breath and rubbed my right temple from pain, I noticed there was quite a bit of light on the left side of the room. I turned and saw the curtain and it's rod had fallen down. I carefully got out of bed and walked over to the window. I looked at the clock and saw it was seven o four A.M. I then turned my attention back to the curtains.

"How did that even ha--" My sentence was disrupted by my room shaking violently, causing some books to fall off their shelves along with the other curtain. I then heard a shriek from outside. I looked out the window and saw that not only that the forcefield was gone, but there were dozens of those giant cockatrice in Canterlot.

"What did I sleep through?" I asked myself as I grabbed my cloak and left the room. As I stepped into the hallway and put my cloak on, it occurred to me that Striker wasn't here, and as I looked around the hallway I saw I was the only one there. Striker's probably out there fighting the cockatrice, but where's everypony else? Maybe there's a-- The castle shook again almost knocking me over.

"Okay, let's try to find a way outside." I said to myself as I began heading down the hallway opposite of the training room.

"I need to find out what exactly is going on; are they going to evacuate Canterlot or something else? At least if I have to I can help fight. All I really needed to fight was Magic Bolt but the other spells make it easier." I said as I limped through the hallway looking for the way out. It was kind of hard to focus with my stomach growling, my need to feed off love, and the occasional shake of the castle, but still I made my way through the castle towards what I was hoping was the way out.

I knew leaving the castle without Striker or anypony could've been bad, but if I wanted to help then I'd just have to hope that them seeing me fighting the cockatrice instead of the ponies would be enough to stop any guards from attacking me. After a few minutes of limping I somehow wound up in the castle's garden. "Well at least I know where I am." Just as I said that, I heard a mare's scream from somewhere in the gardens. I wish I could sprint. I thought as I tried to limp quickly to the source of the scream.

"Somepony help me!" The mare yelled from wherever she was.

"Come towards my voice!" I yelled back as I began levitating myself into the air to try to find her.

"Where are you?!" She asked as I lifted myself into the air more still seeing no sign of whoever was there.

"I'm near Discord's statue!" I said as I placed myself on top of a statue across from Discord's. From there I saw a tan mare with green hair running towards my direction with a manticore sized and three normal sized cockatrice chasing her.

I tried to keep a good grip on the statue as I charged a Magic Bolt. I remembered from my training how Shining Armor had the targets moving around and how I had to aim where they were going, and that's what I did with the cockatrice. I aimed in front of the biggest of the cockatrice and fired the bolt, which instantly left me feeling weaker. My Magic Bolt went into the path of the cockatrice, causing it to run into the bolt face first.

The resulting explosion caught the attention of the other cockatrice, allowing the maid to get away from them. I floated myself back down as the maid grinded to a halt at the sight of me. "Hi." I said as I leaned on the statue and rubbed my head. "Shall we get away from them? I don't have the power to fight them off."

She hesitated, but then nodded and I led her inside and closed the door behind us. "I don't know if cockatrice that small can break that door down, but I'd rather not wait to find out. We need to find some guards and stick with them." I said as we began walking away from that door. "Do you know where the guards would be?"

"I-I'm not sure, probably outside fighting more cockatrice. We were told to stay on castle grounds, but it looks like it isn't safe here either." She was nervous of my presence, but she was far more afraid of the cockatrice.

"So what do we do?" I asked as I stopped to lean against a wall and rub my temple. That Magic Bolt took a lot out of me...

"T-the castle's staff was supposed to meet in the break room when the forcefield went down. Rightmen's probably there, and we can talk to him there. He'll know what to do."

"Sounds like a plan. Lead the way." She nodded and began walking down a hallway at a moderate pace. Rubbing my head one last time, I got to following her. We walked through the castle as we heard the battle going on outside.

"It's just up ahead." She said as the castle shook again, and then a window ahead of us shattered and a cockatrice a little bigger than the one I shot landed in front of us.

"You've got to be kidding me." I said as we began backing up. The cockatrice turned it's head to us and let out a shriek as it began to charge at us. The maid turned to run while I turned to limp. I looked over my shoulder and saw the Cockatrice running at me. I didn't have the strength to maneuver out of it's way or to attack it, so I turned forward and tried to move faster but couldn't. I then heard a loud shriek from the cockatrice. I turned around and saw a large slash across it's face. Then I saw something flying behind the cockatrice.

The cockatrice swung it's tail at whatever was attacking it as it turned around. With it's back to me I saw another large slash on it's back, then it shrieked again and fell to the floor, with blood flowing out it's freshly cut neck and with somepony standing on the now dead cockatrice. The pony wore purple armor, had a gray coat and black mane and, wait...

"Sinistar?" I asked as he jumped off the cockatrice. He looked up at me and I saw his eyes were glowing yellow and cat-like.

"What took you so long to wake up?" Sinistar asked as I heard the maid cautiously make her way back to us.

"It took a very unpleasant shake of my room. How long has this been going on for?" I asked as the maid rejoined us and I noticed Sinistar's weapon; it was a pair of bracers on his forelegs that were the same shade of purple as the rest of his armor, but these bracers had a blade about ten inches long on them. Most of the blade was towards his elbow so the front of the blade wasn't forward enough to scratch the floor but, but it seemed it was still a very deadly weapon for Sinistar.

"The siege began about three hours ago, but the forcefield has only been down for a few minutes. Captain Shining Armor told all the guards that if they saw you to direct to Princess Celestia, who is as of now on the front lines fighting the cockatrice." Sinistar explained as we began walking to the room me and the maid were headed.

"And why am I being directed to her if she's there?"

"So she can transfer power to you. The comet might be near it's peek, but it enhances your magic, not gives it to you."

"That's really great. I suppose breakfast is out of the question too." I asked as Sinistar simply nodded as he opened the door. The room appeared to be a break room of some kind. There were about fifteen other ponies in there, including Miss Dex, Miss White, and Rightmen.

"Jewel!" Dex yelled as she ran up to and hugged Jewel, almost shoving me and Sinistar out of her way in the process. "Where were you? We were all worried!" Dex said as they walked over to the others with me and Sinistar following. Most of the other ponies in the room were alternating between giving me and Sinistar nervous looks and looking concerned for their co-worker.

"I was on my way back here from the gardens, and four cockatrice came out of nowhere and started chasing me. I ran as fast as I could but they wouldn't stop chasing me, I was calling for help but nopony could hear me. I-I was so scared." She said as she hugged Dex again and started to cry.

"How did you get away?" Dex asked as Jewel cried into her coat.

"I-I heard somepony call to me, telling me to come towards their voice, and when I got near it, something hit one of the cockatrice and the others stopped chasing me, then Fragment showed himself." She said as everypony in the room turned to me. "I might be dead if it weren't for you. Thank you, Fragment." She said as her crying slowed.

"While I saved you in the garden, it was Sinistar here who saved both of us in the hallway when that other cockatrice came through the window." I said as everypony's attention was divided between the two of us.

"Thank you both so much for saving my sister." Dex said with a tear sliding down her face as they kept hugging.

"Are there any guards to protect you while you're all here? It's not safe to stay here unprotected." Sinistar said as he looked around the room.

"There were three with us before, but they thought the castle was safe so they left to fight the Cockatrice directly." Rightmen said.

"Hmm... Stay here and be quiet until we get back. We'll bring some guards back to keep you safe." Sinistar said as he began walking towards the door.

"What do you mean 'we?' I'm in no condition for physical combat and I don't have the power to use any magic to help." I said as I walked to him a little bit.

"We still need to get you to somepony who can transfer power to you anyway, so you might as well follow." He said as he opened the door with me following closely. The door shut behind us as we walked with Sinistar leading the way.

"So we're just going to find some random guards and say 'hey, there're some ponies who could use protection, and we want you to do it'?"

"Something like that, but we need to find them first."

"You could find those guards a lot faster if I wasn't slowing you down." I asked feeling like dead-weight.

"Would you prefer to wait here and hope no more cockatrice come while I get the guards?" Sinistar said as he raised a brow.

"Point taken. But still, I--" I suddenly felt myself being lifted into the air, causing me to panic. "What's happening?!" I shouted as I grabbed onto somepony's leg. Wait, what? I thought as I looked up and saw Sinistar was carrying me.

"I'll be blunt." He said. "I don't like to listen to you whine, and this is faster after all."

"You could have at least warn--" Before I knew it, Sinistar was flying through the castle while I did the only thing I could do: hold on for dear life. It didn't take long for Sinistar to find an opening out of the castle, and when we flew outside, I saw cockatrice everywhere. Canterlot had guards and cockatrice covering it, fighting to determine who would have it by the end of the day. Without warning, Sinistar dove almost straight down. After our speed had built-up, Sinistar turned left and began heading for the front of the castle.

As the front of the castle came into view, I saw that there were five guards at the doors fighting off a thirteen foot tall cockatrice. Sinistar flew down behind the guards and placed me on the ground, then he flew around the cockatrice and stabbed it's back rapidly then jumped back into the air, flew around it and slashed it's neck leaving it gushing blood as it fell.

"Thanks for the assistance. These mutant cockatrice are hard to bring down." A unicorn guard said to Sinistar.

"There are ponies inside the castle and it isn't safe. There have been at least five cockatrice on castle grounds and only one has been taken care of. The ponies inside need some protection, and I'd suggest that you send at least two of your men in there and I'll bring two to replace them here. But either way the ponies in the castle need guards." Sinistar explained as I walked around the guards, causing the guard closest to me to jump when I came into his peripheral vision.

"You two!" The guard said to the guards on his right. "Get in there A.S.A.P!" The guards gave him a quick salute before running inside. "We'll need those two replacements fast, the Cockatrice seem to be more focused on the castle as they get closer."

"I need to make a delivery then I can roundup some help for you." Sinistar said as the other guards finally noticed me. Before any of us had time to say another word, Sinistar was carrying me through the air.

Sinistar flew fast toward the front lines where I could see Shining Armor was on a rooftop commanding the guards while shooting his own Magic Bolts at the cockatrice. Sinistar dove down again and slowed when he got there. Most of the guards were focused on the cockatrice, but a few saw me, some of them simply turned their attention back to the cockatrice while others glared at me. Sinistar flew up behind Shining Armor and put me down.

"Captain Armor, Sir!" Sinistar said as Shining Armor turned around and saw us.

"Fragment? What are you doing here?" Shining Armor asked as I noticed how tired he looked. His mane was a mess, he reeked of sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"I was told that Princess Celestia wanted to see me when I woke up, so Sinistar brought me here." I said as Sinistar flew away without another word.

"Skyward, tell Princess Celestia that Fragment's here." Shining Armor said to a dark gray pegasus, who nodded and flew off.

"So how many of these Cockatrice are there?" I asked as he blasted a Cockatrice down the street in the side of it's head.

"I don't know. Most of them have been attacking from the start, which shows just how few of them we've killed."

"Sinistar seemed to have no trouble bringing one in the castle down."

"Yeah, that was one by itself I'm guessing. These ones are sticking together and making it a lot harder to bring them down. We have to fight them in grouped forces to bring even one of these bigger ones down, but when they're in groups it's almost impossible." Shining Armor said as a bright beam of gold light blasted a Cockatrice in the face. I looked to the source and saw Princess Celestia flying towards us. As she landed Shining Armor bowed his head a little as the other guards kept fighting.

"How many more cockatrice are beyond the walls?" Shining Armor asked.

"Not many. I think they're beginning to retreat." She said as she quickly turned around and shot a beam at another cockatrice.

"Good, I'm not sure how much longer we can do this." He said as he turned his attention back to fighting with the other guards.

"Good to see you're well, Fragment. I noticed some of the cockatrice were reaching the castle."

"Yeah, I blasted one in the face and now I'm pretty much out of strength. So how's your morning been?" I said noticing the scratches she had across her body.

"I've had worse." She said with a small smile. "Now I'm going to transfer power to you and then I want you to go back to the castle."

"What? Why?"

"It's safer for you there, and with some cockatrice getting in the castle it will need protection on the inside." Before I could protest further, she touched her horn to mine and transferred power to me, and it was a lot more than before. "Now go. And be careful." She said as she took off with a single flap of her wings.

I didn't know if Shining Armor had heard what the Princess had said, but I didn't think I'd get very far in my condition during a battle like this. So I took a stance and began charging a Magic Bolt. I saw a big cockatrice climbing up another building that had guards on it. I put more power into my Magic Bolt, causing my horn to glow brightly as I then fired at the cockatrice hitting it's wing and causing it to fall off the building. I heard a shriek from behind me and turned around to see two small and one big cockatrice headed up the building I was on. I quickly charged and shot a Magic Bolt at one of the smaller ones, knocking it off the building as the other small one jumped at me.

I quickly moved my face out of it's way, but it slashed my right foreleg as it landed. I picked it up with my levitation and threw it at the bigger one, but I underestimated it's wings as it used them to stop itself from hitting the bigger one, which lunged at me. I cast a ward to try and stop it, but it's force was too strong and it not only broke the ward, but there was enough force to knock me back a few feet. My head was now hanging off the edge of the roof, I saw that this wasn't a very tall building, but the fall would still be a painful one. I got up and turned back to the cockatrice and saw that one of the guards was fighting it with a spear.

He stabbed it's chest, causing it to shriek and then it turned around and swung it's tail at the guard knocking him off the building, but I grabbed him with levitation and brought him back to the building as the cockatrice turned back to me. I set the guard down and lifted myself back up, then I charged another bolt, but when I looked at it to fire, I felt as if I was paralyzed when I saw it's eyes. I couldn't look away or fire my charged bolt. Then I felt my legs start going numb as the guard I grabbed was fighting the other cockatrice. Suddenly a purple bolt hit the cockatrice in the face knocking it back and breaking it's eye contact with me. As another guard shot a bolt at the cockatrice knocking it off the building, Shining Armor walked over to me.

"Never look in the eyes of a cockatrice. They can petrify you if you stare too long." He said as we heard growling coming from below us. Before we had time to look, the cockatrice that had been knocked off the building was back and with another cockatrice the same size as it. Me and Shining Armor charged a bolt and shot it at them, Shining Armor hit his in the face while mine spun around and hit me with it's tail as my shot missed, and before I could get back up it hit me again, only this time it hit me hard enough to knock me off the building.

I was only a few feet from the ground before I caught myself with levitation. As I placed my hooves on the ground, the cockatrice jumped down a few feet in front of me. It growled at me as I charged and fired a Magic Bolt at it but it sidestepped it and then charged at me. I shot three bolts into it's face and one into it's leg causing it to lose balance and fall before it got close to me. Then I felt something bite my right hind leg, which caused me to buck it. I heard a sickening crack when my leg made contact, then I turned around to see a cockatrice laying on the ground as three other cockatrice were walking towards me.

I lowered my head and charged a Magic Bolt and blasted the middle one in the face while the one on my left jumped at my face and the one on my right ran around me. The cockatrice latched to face, scratching my face with it's talons as I shook my head to get it off. Once I got it off my face I blasted it with two big Magic Bolts, leaving it at the least unconscious. I felt blood running down my face as I turned around to try and find that last Cockatrice and saw the one that had followed me off the building was getting back up, so I blasted it with a large Magic Bolt, knocking it further down the street. As I looked around to find the cockatrice from before, I felt something land on my back and bite at the back of my neck, causing me to shout in pain.

Focusing on where the pressure of it's feet was, I used levitation on it and pulled it off my back then slammed it on the ground in front of me, then I blasted it at near pointblank range, knocking it into the side of a building. I heard a shriek from behind me, and as I turned around all I had time to see was the cockatrice jump at and then bite my side. I quickly shot a Magic Bolt that scraped it's head causing it to back off a little. I was losing blood and facing a cockatrice about a foot taller than me, I knew this wasn't good so I focused on my room and charged Teleportation, but before I could cast it the cockatrice slammed into my side with enough force to send me into the side of a building, knocking me out...

(~Φ~)

My face hit the ground with painful crack as I groaned. I was bleeding, in pain, exhausted, I could hear other changelings laughing at me, and I was still trying to fight. I slowly got back up and turned around to face the changeling I was fighting. "You must think you're tough or something, otherwise you'd stay down." He said as I wiped the blood from my nose.

"I... I can beat you... I just need--"

"More training, discipline, and strategy to fight with. Otherwise you won't stand a chance against me or anything on the battlefield." He said as I charged at him. Once I was about two feet away from him, he sidestepped and attempted to punch me in the face, but I saw that coming and punched his foreleg away and then punched his face, then he spun around and double kicked my chest, knocking me back down and most of the wind out of me.

"I... I got you!" I said proudly as I tried to stand again, only to have a hoof press my face into the ground.

"Yes, very impressive. You've hit me once while I hit you seventy three and a half times. And that wasn't even a very good punch, but my kicking your new blood ass might have something to do with that. Now then, this so-called fight is over, and hopefully you'll learn to respect the orders of your superiors. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Colonel Tödlich, sir." I said as I tried to catch my breath.

"Good. Dismissed." He said as he removed his hoof from my head and started walking away. "Someone get this new blood to the infirmary and patch him back up." I smiled to myself as I felt someone help me back up and we started limping towards where I hoped the infirmary was.

"So I missed most of the fight and what started it. What did you say?" The changeling helping me asked.

"I... I was given an order... and... and thought it didn't make sense." I said as I tried to recover some of the air I lost.

"That's not what you said, that's what made you say it."

"I-I said... 'who in their right mind made you a Captain?'" I said with a weak smile.

"Keep saying things like that and they might kill you. If you're lucky you'll just get thrown out of the military. Rule number one: do as you are commanded. Rule number two: don't be a smart ass. And rule number three: obey the rules. Do that, and you might make it through you're first week."

"Thanks. What... What's your name?" I asked as blood flowed from my nose and I began to get lightheaded.

"Gezähnt. Sargent Gezähnt." He said as I passed out...

(~Φ~)

As I woke up, I felt a lot of pain through my body as I groaned. I could feel that I was in a bed and had more bandages than before, and I could hear snoring. Striker... I thought as I slowly opened my eyes. It looked like I was in the castle's infirmary again, only this time I felt terrible, Striker had a spear, and I didn't feel like hopping out of bed. And was very hungry.

"So, have you learned to do what you're told?" A voice asked from the left corner of the room. I looked to my left and saw Sinistar sitting in a chair watching me.

"What are you talking about?" I said as I tried to adjust a little, but quickly gave up when I felt the pain.

"Princess Celestia told you to go back to the castle, and what do you do? You stand and fight cockatrice like it was smart or you're in good condition to fight. You're very lucky she expected you to do something stupid like that, because you were about to be eaten by a cockatrice when I got to you." Sinistar said as he began walking towards my bed. "I had to drag your sorry flank back here and get Striker to make sure you didn't leave the castle."

"If you had to get Striker to watch me than why are you still here?" I asked as Striker started to wake up.

"The cockatrice ran away from Canterlot about twenty minutes ago, so the guards are getting a much deserved break, and because of that I decided that I should be here when you woke up to tell you that by the orders of Princess Celestia, you are not allowed to leave the castle until the Secretariat Comet has passed." Sinistar said as Striker yawned and fully opened his eyes.

"I want to argue about being grounded, but I also want to sleep the pain off. That cockatrice hit me pretty hard."

"That's probably the best idea you've ever had. Striker, now that you're awake I'll let you watch him alone, I have other things to do."

"Have a nice night." Striker said as Sinistar left. "So..." Striker said as he stretched his limbs. "How does it feel to actually do something with what you've learned?"

"At the moment, it feels sore. But before I got knocked into a building, it felt pretty good."

"There's a certain satisfaction with fighting for what's best, you know?"

"I think I actually do." I said as I noticed it was much brighter outside than when I was fighting the cockatrice. "Hey, how long have I been unconscious?"

"About a day and a half."

"What?! I've been out for that long?!" I said as I looked for a clock.

"You lost a lot of blood before Sinistar got you back here, you're lucky you didn't die and not wake up at all." Striker said as he rolled his eyes. "And it's three thirty-six."

"Jeez, I was out for awhile. I guess I'll do what I'm told when I'm told for awhile." I said with a sigh. "How much damage did the cockatrice actually do anyway?"

"More than the changelings did, that's for sure. But let's just hope nothing worse than giant cockatrice attack Canterlot. Most of the guards are exhausted. Myself included." He said as I looked at and around his eyes and saw his condition wasn't much better than Shining Armor's. "Not to mention the battles that are probably going on in the other settlements in Equestria and the guards there that might not be having a break like us." Striker said as he looked out the window.

I could tell he wasn't concerned for just for the other guards and towns. "Hey, Lightheart will be fine. She lives in the same town as the Elements of Harmony, you know." I said with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. But when you're truly in love with somepony, you can't help but worry about them in times like this. She's probably just as worried about me as I am about her since being a guard means it's my job to go out and protect and fight for Equestria." He said as he slowly turned away from the window and back to me. "The only thing we can do is hope the other will be okay by the end of the day."

"Another reason why your relationship can be difficult?" Striker simply nodded as an answer. After a few minutes of silence, I decided I had ignored my hunger long enough. "Striker, do mind if I feed off you?"

"As long as I don't pass out or anything I don't really care."

"Noted." I said as I began to feed. After almost a minute of feeding, which Striker didn't seem to have much reaction to, I stopped and savored the feeling. "How do you feel? That was quite a bit of feeding on my part."

"Pretty woozy, lightheaded, and a headache... I've had worse." Striker said as he rubbed his temple. "I'll get somepony in here to give you your breakfast and lunch." He said as he got out of his chair and started walking towards the door. "Try not to break anything." The door shut before I could say anything, and with that, I was alone in the room to my thoughts, and there was absolutely nothing to do! I had no books, no company, I didn't even have a rubber ball to bounce off of a wall. Just me with my thoughts. Nothing else. I would have used magic, but I figured it'd be best to conserve my power in case something else attacks Canterlot, so I thought about the flashback I had before I woke up this morning.

Why was I trying to reach the Queen? Does it have something to do with that mare who told me I was in danger? I don't like this at all. I feel like there's something bigger going on, but I can't do anything about it because I don't remember any of it. What was I warned about? It couldn't have been about Princess Cadence and Shining Armor using their spell could it? How could anypony have known about that? If I could have my memories for any reason, it'd be to know if what's going on is still a threat. If a pony was concerned about this to the point of bringing it to a changeling, then I think something was, and maybe still is, very wrong...

For a few minutes I tried to focus on that memory of trying to reach the Queen in hopes that it would bring back more memories, but of course that plan failed; I ended up just giving myself a minor headache. Not too long after that Striker returned with a maid who looked familiar. "Hello. Your name is Jewel, right?" I asked as Striker sat back down in his chair.

"Yes it is." Jewel said as she set the tray of food she had on her back onto the stand next to me.

"You know each other?" Striker asked.

"Yeah. One of the first things I did this morning was attack a cockatrice that was chasing her." I said proudly as Striker looked confused.

"... Wait, really?" Striker asked looking between us. Jewel nodded slowly, unsure of Striker's behavior, while I just smiled and chuckled.

"Where were you this morning anyway? Just, out in Canterlot fighting, or were you given more specific orders?"

"I was helping get ponies out of their homes and to a safer location. I had been doing that for almost two hours before Sinistar told me to make sure you didn't do anything stupid, and here I sat for a few hours 'til I dozed off." Striker explained as I began devouring the food that Jewel brought.

"Do you think cockatrice will come back?" I said through a mouth of food. This food is delicious! I thought as Striker continued.

"I don't know but I really hope not. A lot of guards were hurt fighting the cockatrice, thankfully nopony was killed, but it weakens Canterlot's defenses and I don't know how much more we can take."

"Well let's just hope the guards get a good long break." I said as Striker nodded in agreement and I took another mouth full of food.

"You're really hungry, aren't you?" Jewel asked as I drank some water that had been brought with the food.

"I haven't eaten since last night at dinner, so I'm very hungry. Thanks for bringing me food by the way."

"Thank you for saving my life." She said with a small smile.

"Anytime." I said as I resumed my vast consumption of food and water. After Jewel left I decided it was time to get out of bed. Striker got one of the castle's doctors, who examined me and said I was well enough to leave but to 'take it easy.' "So what do we do now?" I asked as we left the infirmary.

"Beats me. You're not supposed to leave the castle and I'm supposed to supervise you, so there really isn't much we can do now."

"This sucks." I said as we sighed knowing the boredom to come. As we walked down the hall, we saw a flash of light from outside causing us to look out the nearest window. We saw that Shining Armor's forcefield was active and being refreshed. Looking at the forcefield brought back the pain from having flash backs, so I quickly looked away.

"You okay?" Striker asked as I tried to shake the pain.

"I think so. Seeing that forcefield gives me headaches because I remember it. Remember last time?"

"When you remembered a Major and a Colonel? I recall that. Why does remembering hurt anyway?"

"Maybe we should ask the doctor about that."

"Hey, speaking of that memory, did you tell Princess Celestia about it yet?"

"No. She's been kind of busy lately. I think I'll talk to her about it when the comet has passed. Until then I guess I'm stuck in this castle." I said as we heard a loud shriek from down the hall. As Striker ran and I limped down the hall, we saw Jewel come around a corner with two pony sized cockatrice chasing her.

I quickly charged and fired a Magic Bolt into one of them while Striker charged the other one with a knife he pulled from somewhere. I few bolts to the cockatrice's head and mine was down, and one quick stab to the throat and Striker's was down.

"What is it with you and these damn cockatrice?"

"Where did these cockatrice come from? Shining Armor still has his forcefield up!" Striker said as another guard came around the corner while Jewel huddled next to me. Which seemed a little strange to me.

"Blast Shield, what's going o--" Striker's sentence was interrupted by a loud explosion from outside.

"cockatrice are using the old mining tunnels under Canterlot to get past the forcefield. Some of them are in the castle but most of them are going into the streets." Blast Shield explained as he gave his spear to Striker.

"You mean the same tunnels where Princess Cadence was being held?" I asked and he nodded. "Maybe the Princesses should get that place sealed up better."

"That'd be best. Now there are dozens of cockatrice running through the streets while bigger ones outside are bashing against the forcefield." Blast Shield told us as I looked out the window. I could see cockatrice running through the streets and guards fighting them. Outside the forcefield were five giant cockatrice trying to break through it.

"What do we do? We can't just stay in the castle and watch can we?" Striker asked as Blast Shield slowly shook his head.

"Orders from Captain Armor are to stay in the castle and keep the cockatrice at bay. I don't like it either but it's our orders."

"Who else is protecting the castle? Surely the three of us can't do this alone." Striker said as me and Jewel got closer to them.

"Excluding Fragment because I'm not sure if he counts yet, it's you, me, Sinistar, Princess Luna and those two guards that were sent to protect the employees."

"So seven ponies to protect an entire castle. Great." I said as Blast Shield continued.

"Princess Luna ordered that we meet up in the ballroom immediately. Jewel, you should come with us to be safe."

"Let's move out." Striker said as he and Blast Shield took the lead. As we walked, the only thing I could smell was Jewel's fear, and that prompted me to talk to her.

"Everything's going to be fine. Both Princesses and plenty of guards are here to protect Canterlot and it's citizens." I said in an attempt to ease her mind.

"How do you know? The changeling Queen overpowered Princess Celestia herself! And these cockatrice are being strengthened by the comet! And what if the changelings try to use this power to take Equestria again? I don't know if we can fight all of this at once." She said with a slight bit of panic in her voice.

"If the changelings come back, they'll have to deal with a superpowered Princess Celestia and Luna. Not to mention that the Elements of Harmony will be more powerful than ever with the comet. Attacking again would be suicide for them." I explained as a wall ahead of us was broken by two large cockatrice that were barely small enough to fit in the hallway at the same time.

Striker quickly took a fighting stance with his spear while Blast Shield charged a spell. I began to charge my own spell when I heard a scream from behind me. I turned around and saw three more Cockatrice down the hall and running towards us. "Get behind me." I said to Jewel as she did so.

Once she was out of the way I charged the Magic Bolt and fired a large blast down the hall, hitting two of the cockatrice, one them directly. The third one leaped at me while I copied that move I saw from my flash back by spinning around and double kicking the cockatrice in it's chest. As I turned back around, one of the cockatrice landed on my face, digging into my chin with it's talons, and began biting around my right ear. Before I could do something about it, somepony hit it off my face. I looked and saw Jewel had hit it with her bare hoof. I could tell because of the blood on her it.

"Thanks." I said as I turned and shot another magic bolt at the one that had bit me. It was me and a little bit of Jewel verses three cockatrice while Striker and Blast Shield fought two bigger cockatrice. Once again I blasted one of the cockatrice in it's face as another one of them attacked Jewel and the last one ran around me. I shot the one I had already hit again and bucked my right hind leg, and to my surprise I actually hit the cockatrice. I peered over my shoulder and saw the cockatrice was unconscious, I then turned to Jewel and saw she was doing a decent job of fighting the cockatrice, but before I could lend my help, the whole hallway shook. Then it shook again, and again. I looked around and even the other cockatrice seemed to be unsure of what it was.

The distraction allowed Blast Shield to attack both cockatrice, an idea which I stole by shooting the three on our side. After another strike from Blast Shield's magic, the other two cockatrice were down. Then we heard a deep shriek from the hall we had come from. As the hall shook more frequently, we saw a cockatrice come around the corner and begin charging at us.

"RUN!" Striker yelled as everypony turned to run. Everypony but the one with a broken leg that is. I didn't have much time to act, so I decided that the best thing to do was levitate myself and use that as a way to fly. I lifted myself up and darted down the hall to catch up to the others.

As we ran, there was a bright flash of light ahead of us and when the light faded, Princess Luna and Sinistar were standing there. Princess Luna's horn began to glow and then a beam of navy blue light shot from her horn straight into the cockatrice's head causing it to shriek in pain. it thrashed it's head to try and get the burning laser from it's face, but doing so caused it to slam it's head into a wall causing it to stumble. Sinistar took the opportunity to fly at the cockatrice. He landed on it's neck and began stabbing it. As the blood splattered, the cockatrice's sound's died with it.

"Are all of you okay?" Princess Luna asked as Sinistar slowly, and casually, walked away from the dead cockatrice and back to us.

"For now we are." Blast Shield said. "I thought we were going to meet in the ball room."

"You were taking too long to get back, so we came looking for you, and it seems you needed the help anyway." Sinistar said as he stood by Princess Luna's side.

"We must secure the castle then begin helping purge the cockatrice from Canterlot. Be vigilant." Princess Luna said as she began leading us down a hallway.

"What about Jewel? I don't think it's safe for her to come with us as we fight cockatrice." Striker said as I looked over my shoulder thinking I heard something.

"After we re-secure the ballroom we'll bring her back to Rightmen and the others." Sinistar said was we came to a set of large doors.

"Prepare yourselves." Princess Luna said as her horn began to glow. She slowly opened the doors a little reveling dozens of cockatrice, most of them being bigger than Princess Luna.

"Were there that many when we left?" Sinistar asked as the rest of us tried to peek into the room.

"It doesn't matter. We'll clear them out and begin searching the rest of the castle." Princess Luna replied. "On three. One... Two... THREE!" She shouted as she swung the doors open. All the cockatrice looked to us as Princess Luna and Sinistar flew into the air, with Princess Luna shooting a beam at them, while Striker Charged in head and spear first and me and Blast Shield shot Magic Bolts into the cockatrice.

With me and Blast Shield's bolts, Princess Luna's aerial attacks, and Striker and Sinistar's melee combat, we pretty quickly mowed down the cockatrice, leaving the ball room to us, but we didn't have time to make our next move before the whole room shook as we turned back to the hall we came from and saw another huge cockatrice heading our way.

"Blast it!" Princess Luna shouted as she charged her horn. Sinistar and Striker took a fighting stance as me Blast Shield and Princess Luna prepared to fire. Once it was close, we bombarded it with magic. Blast after blast we shot at it, but despite that it still charged at us. The door frame was too small for the cockatrice to get through, so it just broke through the whole damn wall, and with a few more cockatrice following it in for us to fight.

"I'll deal with the big one, the rest of you get the others." Princess Luna commanded as she shot another beam into the big cockatrice.

We all attacked in our own ways. In melee, Striker used his spear to stab the cockatrice from a safe distance, while Sinistar literally dove right in, using his bladed bracers to slash the cockatrice swiftly, and in magic, I shot highly charged Magic Bolts while Blast Shield was shooting bolts of lightning, leaving smoking black spots on whatever they hit. Striker and Sinistar did their best to keep the cockatrice away while me and Blast Shield killed them with magic. One cockatrice went around and attacked my side, but before I could react Jewel came out of nowhere and stabbed the cockatrice in the back with something.

As I got back up I saw she had stabbed it with a golden trident. "Thanks." I said quickly as I levitated myself back up and continued fighting. "Where did you get that anyway?" I asked as I shot another cockatrice in the face.

"Pulled it off of that armor stand." I looked to where she was pointing and saw a suit of armor designed for a Minotaur by the looks of it, only it's hands were in a position like it was holding something, but it wasn't anymore.

I was thankful that Princess Celestia gave me more power than last time, because I was burning through it quickly. The cockatrice were dropping like flies, but wouldn't you know it, two more about half the size of the one Princess Luna was fighting came into the fight along with a averaged sized Cockatrice that stayed by the doors, or where the doors were rather, and just watched.

As we were almost done with the wave of cockatrice, the two new big ones attempted to trample us, luckily we were fast enough to avoid their charge. Sinistar flew towards one of the new large cockatrice while Blast Shield shot lightning at it's legs. Me and Striker were left to deal with the other new cockatrice ourselves since Princess Luna was fighting that first big one. Striker ran around it's side, stabbing under it's right wing while I shot Magic Bolts at it's head. The cockatrice focused on Striker and attempted to hit him with it's tail, but Striker is surprisingly agile for wearing armor like that.

As Striker avoided an attempted peck from the cockatrice and countered with a stab at it's neck, I began charging a large blast, a ball of dark green colored magic building up at my horn. Striker was fast and well trained, but we was tiring and therefore slowing, and the cockatrice could see that. It swung it's right wing at him, which he dodged, and followed it up with swinging it's tail at him, only this time Striker didn't avoid it and was hit and slammed into a wall. Striker fell unconscious and dropped his spear as the cockatrice turned to face him. Seeing this I decided I had charged long enough and fired the blast into the cockatrice's side, knocking it over. I used levitation on Striker's spear and limped over to the cockatrice to make sure I'd hit it in a kill spot. It tried to get back up but seemed to be too weak, so I took aim at it's throat and shot Striker's spear into it's neck causing it to try to make some kind of sound in response to the pain, but simply made a weak noise and let blood flow out of it's mouth.

I charged another Magic Bolt and was about to fire when I saw that the cockatrice that had stayed by the doors ran to the cockatrice I was going to kill. The larger one slowly turned it's head to the smaller one as it made a weak whimper. It was then that I smelled their emotions. Sorrow, fear, and love. Maybe they're family or something, but either way there was some kind of loving between them, and the scent made me want to feed on it. Unlike feeding of off Pinkie Pie or Striker or anypony else, I didn't care if I had their permission to feed. We were killing them anyway, so why shouldn't I feed off them? It would mean I wouldn't have to feed off of ponies as much, and that extra power could be used to help kill the rest of the cockatrice.

The decision was made, and with that, I began to consume. The feeling wasn't as great as when I fed off of a pony, but this time I had no intention of leaving any love behind as I continued to feed. As I felt the last of it's love flow into me, I could also feel it's healing power restoring me. Once the last drop of love was gone, I turned to the smaller one, who's emotions were still strong and fed off of that one too. Though it didn't last as long, it still healed me and still made me stronger. Once I was done feeding, the cockatrice just stood there staring blankly at it's possible family member, and didn't even notice the blast of magic I shot at it. Didn't notice until it hit, that is, but at that point it was probably dead before it even hit the wall. After I killed that one, I turned back to the first one and saw it was already dead, likely due to blood loss, so I turned to the other cockatrice.

I felt more powerful than ever, and I put that power to work. I turned to the cockatrice that Sinistar and Blast Shield were still fighting, and began charging a bolt. After a few seconds of buildup I shot the side of the cockatrice's head with a blast that was about the feet all around. Blast Shield looked at me with an expression of shock while Sinistar simply seized the opportunity and quickly slit the cockatrice's throat. As I saw that cockatrice was down, I turned my attention to the one the Princess Luna was still fighting and gave it a high-powered bolt to the face, allowing Princess Luna to charge her own attack more and aim it at the cockatrice's face, blasting it in horribly causing Blast Shield to look away while Sinistar simply watched like this was his daily life.

I turned to Striker and saw Jewel was tending to him and he seemed to be regaining consciousness. Now that the fight was over, I decided it was about time I removed my bandages. Using levitation, I carefully took off my bandages and for the first time, I placed my left hoof on the ground, or floor in this case, and didn't stumble in pain.

"Good job, everypony." Princess Luna said as Jewel helped Striker back up. Princess Luna quickly noticed my bandages were now off. "How have you healed so quickly?" She asked as then everypony noticed.

"Apparently feeding heals me along with increasing my power. I was fighting that cockatrice when a smaller one came from the door way and over to the bigger one, and they showed some form of love for the other, and I decided that since we're going to kill them anyway I should feed. Both so I would heal and so I could use that power to help fight. But I didn't think it'd heal my leg enough to use it." I said as I examined my at last healed leg.

"Well I say we should refocus onto the cockatrice." Sinistar said as we walked over to one of the windows. "After we clear out the castle we should go outside and help there. It's not looking good."

"Sinistar is right." Princess Luna said. "Blast Shield, you take Jewel back to the others and meet up with us in the courtyard."

"Yes, your highness." Blast Shield said as he gave a quick bow and rushed out of the room with Jewel following.

"Come on. We need to check the rest of the castle before we go outside." Princess Luna said as she ran out the hallway we used to get here. We ran quickly to catch up to her, but she was fast.

"You run pretty fast for a guy who just got the use of his fourth leg back." Striker remarked as we ran and Sinistar flew.

"Comes from a need to get a really bad cramp out of my leg." I said as Striker chuckled. As we ran, I saw the destruction in Canterlot outside; some buildings were on fire as others were simply collapsed. I could see that even though the ponies had been evacuated there were still random ponies running through the streets looking for a safe place. And it was then that I saw a red mare with a yellow and orange mane running from a large cockatrice that was chasing her. But there was something running alongside the mare, it was light blue whatever it was. Once I realized what it was I stopped dead in my tracks. It was a foal. I couldn't tell if it was a filly or a colt, but it was a child nonetheless.

"Fragment! What's the hold up?" Striker called from down the hall. I was going to answer him, but I saw the mare and foal run into a building with the cockatrice trying to break through it to get to them. I had to do something, and I knew exactly what.

"I'll be right back." I said as my horn glowed and I focused on a spot near their location.

"What are you--" Whatever he was saying I didn't hear because of teleporting out of the castle and to the street behind the cockatrice that was trying to get those two ponies. I shot a small bolt into it's back getting it's attention. It turned around and growled at me, to which I simply shot another bolt at it's face, enraging the cockatrice. It charged at me exactly as planed. Once it was only three or so feet from me I teleported again, only this time it was inside the building. As I found myself inside I saw it was somepony's house and not just some generic building.

I took a quick look around, but heard soft crying coming from behind the couch. As I slowly walked towards them, I heard the mare talking. "It's going to be alright. Shush, it's okay." She said with a slight crack in her voice as it seemed like she was fighting back her own cries.

"M-mommy, I-I'm scared." The colt said through his sobs. I decided then was as good of a time as any to show myself.

"Are both of you okay?" My sudden voice surprised them, but not as much as the fact I was a changeling. They froze at my sight, their fear held them captive, but then the cockatrice from before smashed into the house again, shaking it violently. "Are both of you okay?" I tried again. I was asking because I wasn't sure if teleporting them would be a good idea if one of them was bleeding or something.

"Y-yes, we're fine." The mare finally said.

"Hold still." I said as I charged teleportation, and a moment later, I saw we were back in the hall in the castle.

"Fragment!" I heard from my left. "What did you... do?" Striker asked as he, Sinistar and Princess Luna ran up to us. "Who are they?"

"I saw them being chased by a cockatrice and no guards were fighting it, so I teleported to them to help." I explained as I looked back to the two I had brought.

"Thank you..." The mare said as tears flowed from her eyes freely.

"Ma'am, if you will follow us we can take you to a safer location." Sinistar said as the pair looked up and saw Princess Luna.

"O-of course. L-lead the w-way." She stuttered, clearly still shaken by what had happened. As we walked through the castle, the colt stayed very close to his mother, but he kept looking at me and it made me uncomfortable. I was about to pull my hood over my head to help ignore his constant staring when he spoke up.

"Um, mister changeling sir?" The colt said.

"Yes?" I replied, unsure of what he was going to say.

"Why did you help us?" He asked causing his mother to look at him and me to raise a brow.

"Because... you needed help?" I said unsure of where he was going with this.

"But, the changelings attacked Canterlot and they hurt Princess Celestia and they tried to takeover Equestria and we were told that changelings were bad, and if we saw one to report it to a parent or legal guardian or guard right away." He said, causing me and his mother to raise our brows in surprise while Striker peered over his shoulder.

"I take it he does well in school." Striker said as I replied.

"Well, I'm not like the other changelings because I don't think they're very good role models. I don't know why we attacked, but I'm not going to do it again." I said as the colt looked up at his mother, who just smiled at him. After a few minutes of walking, we came to a door guarded by two guards armed with spears who bowed to Princess Luna and opened the door.

"The three of you will stay here until this is over." She said as Jewel, the mare and her son headed for the room.

"Wait." The mare said as they reached the door. "What's your name?" She asked as she turned to me.

"Fragment. My name is Fragment." I said with a slight smile.

"Thank you, Fragment." She said with her own smile as the three of them walked into the room with the guards closing the door behind them.

"Well aren't you making your mark." Striker said as we began walking away.

"I hope so."

"I believe it's about time we get into the fight outside." Princess Luna said as Sinistar gave a dark smile. "Prepare yourselves." She said as her horn glowed brightly and flashed with blue light. When the light faded I saw we were in what appeared to some kind of market square. And there were a lot of cockatrice around. Princess Luna and Sinistar took off while Striker and Blast Shield took fighting stances. Me? I simply charged a Magic Bolt.

"I'll try to keep them from getting too close while you two use your magic to take them out. What do you say?" Striker said as the cockatrice began turning their attention to us.

"Sounds like a plan. You think you can hold them all alone?" Blast Shield said as he shot a large fireball at a small group of Cockatrice.

"I kind of have to, don't I?" Striker said as the fighting for us began. Striker used his spear like a master, Blast Shield used spells of every element of the world, while I shot huge Magic Bolts. The fight had been going on for about half an hour when Striker spoke. "How many of cockatrice are there?!"

"Too many, that's how many!" Blast Shield replied as he shot a bolt of lightning that struck four cockatrice at once. I shot another cockatrice in it's face when one from a building top tried to land on me, but a blast of green fire knocked it off course. Once it hit the ground I blasted it and turned to where the source of that fire was and saw the last thing in Equestria I would've expected to see in Canterlot at this time.

"Spike?! What are you doing here?" I asked as Spike breathed heavily.

"I... the Princess... the Queen... I need..." He wheezed. He had a few bandages here and there but seemed fine otherwise.

"You need to breathe." I said as I quickly turned around and shot a cockatrice in it's face and then turned back to Spike. "Why are you in Canterlot at a time like this?"

"I... need to talk to Princess Celestia, and I have a little... but I need a weapon." He said as he started to catch his breath.

"What kind?" I asked as I shot another cockatrice.

"I don't care as long as it's sharp." He said as he turned to the side and blasted more green fire at a cockatrice that was charging at us.

"Where am I--" I stopped myself mid-sentence as I remembered the trident that Jewel had used in the ball room. "Hang on." I said as I teleported into the ballroom. I looked around and quickly found the trident on the floor near the armor it went to. I levitated it and teleported again. I reappeared at the markets with the trident ready.

"A trident?" Spike said with a raised brow.

"Take it or leave it." I said as I prepared another bolt. With a shrug, Spike picked up the trident and ran back the way he came. As Spike left I turned my attention back to the fight, seeing that some cockatrice were surrounding him, I shot a burst of five bolts into them and then followed it up with a large blast that hit four cockatrice and sent them into the side of a building. After about another hour of fighting, there was a loud shriek that seemed to stop all the cockatrice. And a moment later, they were running away. "What's going on?" I asked as Sinistar landed in front of us.

"The cockatrice are retreating. There was a cockatrice that was larger than any of the other ones that attacked, and it seems that killing it has shown the cockatrice we're too strong for them. Come on, there's something you should see." Sinistar said as he began walking away. I pulled my hood over my head and followed as the four of us walked. After a short walk we came to a large crowd that had gathered as Princess Celestia spoke. I saw Princess Luna was with her, but there was a third with them.

"No way." I said as I realized who it was. Spike was being given a medal for heroism.

"He killed that huge cockatrice I mentioned with a trident." Sinistar said with small smile. As the crowd cheered, Princess Celestia and Spike began walking away and the crowd began walking away Princess Luna walked over to us, and we all bowed.

"You have all fought bravely and could use some rest. We all could at this point." She said as she looked around at all the destruction. "Call it a day. From my understanding Shining Armor already has." She said with a soft smile.

"Thank you, your highness." Sinistar said as Princess Luna walked away. We said our goodbyes and went our own ways, which meant me and Striker headed back to my room. Once we got there he told me how exhausted he was and was going to sleep for a few days. I probably wasn't nearly as tired as he was, but I was pretty sore from combat, so I hung my cloak in my closet, made a mental note to wash it at some point, and crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep, although fainted would be more accurate.

(~Φ~)

I slowly opened my eyes as sunlight poured through the window I didn't put the curtains back on. "Noooooo..." I whined. "It's too early..." I said as I heard shouting coming from outside. "Please be something good, please be something good, please be something good..." I said as I got out of bed and walked to the window. And what I saw snapped me awake. There was a convoy heading for the castle. Four armed guards surrounded it, and two pulled what could be described as a cage on wheels. But it was what was in said cage on wheels that got to me.

Inside this cage were three changelings...

Chapter 12: Four of a Kind

I watched in shock as these three Changeling were being brought to the castle. Where did they come from? Was there another Changeling attack? Are they going to be imprisoned or will Princess Celestia punish them beyond that? Those questions rushed through my mind when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I said as I turned to the door to see who it was.

"Princess Celestia says there's something―"

"That I should see?" I cut Striker off as I turned back out the window. "Is it the three captive Changelings?" I said as I opened the window to better hear what was going on. "So where did they come from?" I asked as Striker walked up next to me.

"Apparently the Changelings attacked Ponyville three days ago. Most of the town was found trapped in some kind of pods." Striker said as we saw a pony in the crowd throw a rock at the Changelings, missing all of them and hitting a bar on the inside. "These three were captured and are now going to be interrogated, after that the Princesses will decide what happens to them." He continued as a Changeling slightly more buff than the others picked up the rock and threw it back at the pony, nailing him in the forehead. One of the guards pointed his spear at the changeling through the bars. The Changeling then put the spear through a hole in both his forehooves and quickly took the spear from the guard and pointed it back at him. Two of the Unicorn guards charged magic and pointed their horns at the Changeling. The Changeling then slowly released the spear and let out a hiss loud enough for me to faintly hear at the castle. After that, the Changeling turned away from the crowd and to the castle, and then to my window.

I ducked down as fast as I could to stay out of the Changeling's sight. Why I didn't want it to see me I'm not sure. "Anyways, it turns out--" I couldn't hear what Striker was saying as I suddenly heard very loud ringing in my ears, Along with this ringing I could hear a deep distorted voice speaking, but I couldn't understand what it was saying. I didn't know what was happening, but the pain that came with it was excruciating, and it made me clutch my head.

"You okay, Fragment?" Striker asked as the pain faded as quickly as it came.

"I... I don't know. I was hearing something in my head, but now it's gone." I said as I looked back out the window and saw that they had passed.

"Think seeing those Changelings was giving you a flashback?" Striker asked as I closed the window then grabbed my cloak from the closet and put it on.

"I don't think so, that was too different to be a flashback. But what were you saying about this Changeling attack?"

"The Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, captured three fillies and brought them to the Changeling kingdom. We should get you to Princess Celestia, there's more she wants to talk to you about. I'll talk along way." Striker said as he walked to the door. As he lead me to the Princess, he told me about how Queen Chrysalis made Twilight and her friends, excluding Spike, journey to the Changeling kingdom where Twilight fought and defeated Chrysalis herself. I asked about what Spike was doing here and Striker told me that Spike had been trying to contact Princess Celestia but couldn't, so he decided to come straight to Canterlot to talk to her and while in the process of explaining what was going on, he got into the fight here.

"And there was something about a bucket, but you'll have to ask Spike about it." Striker said as we reached the throne room. The guards opened the doors and we walked in. I saw Princess Celestia sitting in her throne talking to Prince Blue Blood.

"And what should I tell the Press at this time?" Prince Blue Blood asked.

"Tell them the truth. The Changelings we've captured have not been interrogated yet and I provide the media with answers myself once they have been. As for the possibility a third Changeling attack, while I think that's unlikely, I will assign more guards to Equestria's borders. Now if you'll excuse me, I have much to do at the moment." She said as Prince Blue Blood nodded and began to leave. Me and Striker stepped aside as they left.

"Good morning, Fragment." Princess Celestia said warmly as me and Striker bowed. As we stood back up, I noticed Princesses Luna and Cadence enter from a different hall along with Shining Armor. "I assume Striker told you about the Changelings." She said as she rose from her throne and the others approached us.

"I saw them outside when I woke up. And Striker told me about the attack on Ponyville." I said as I noticed out of the corner of my eye the mix of emotions that Shining Armor had. "So what are you going to do with them?"

"I am unsure right now, but it's time to see what these Changeling know, and I want you to be with us." Princess Celestia said as she and the others began walking down the hall that Shining Armor and the other Princesses came from.

"Why do you want me to be there?" I asked as we walked with them.

"Because I believe you should have a chance, if you want, to speak with them. Perhaps one of them knows you." She said as we walked. I thought about the possibility of one of them knowing me, and I wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

"Did I mention that you have a huge scar on the back of your head?" Striker asked.

"Scar? What scar?" I said as I felt the back of my head. It felt like a crack in a rock or something, but it didn't hurt to touch.

"There's a scar where your skull was cracked." Striker said as I couldn't feel anything on my head.

"What does it look like?"

"Like a big dark purplish zigzag with some parts branching off on the back of your head."

"After all that feeding I did I have a scar?" After a short walk, we reached the interrogation/observation room. As we walked in I saw Sinistar was already here and was staring through the window watching the Changeling.

"Any change in behavior?" Shining Armor asked as Sinistar glanced at us.

"None. He's just been sitting there. In fact I'm pretty sure he's asleep." I looked into the room and saw a Changeling with it's head on the table and it wasn't moving other than it's chest rising and falling from breathing.

"Well let's wake him up." Shining Armor said as he and Sinistar left the room and entered the other as the rest of us watched. Princess Celestia pressed a button and a red light came on. Shining Armor and Sinistar walked into the room as the Changeling's eyes opened. "So... the Changelings attack Canterlot and fail, so you attack a more vulnerable settlement?" Shining Armor said. The Changeling sat up in it's chair and looked at Shining Armor with a blank expression. "You're in a lot of trouble with Equestria now, but we'll take it easy on you if you help us. We want to know what the Queen is planning. What her next move will be." Shining Armor said as he leaned closer to the Changeling looking it in the eyes. The Changeling just tilted it's head in response.

"Can it even talk?" Striker asked.

"I can talk, so why wouldn't it?" I countered as Striker nodded. After a few more questions that were answered in the form of a confused facial expression and more head tilting, Shining Armor and Sinistar came back to our room and the Changeling was sent back to it's cell.

"Well that was unhelpful." Shining Armor said with sigh.

"We still have two more Changelings to deal with, maybe one of them will provide something useful." Sinistar said as we all heard talking as the door to the interrogation room and a different Changeling was brought in, and already this Changeling was different.

"And he said that it was a part of his 'master plan,' to which I replied, 'your master plan lacks plan' and then I got sent to the brig." The Changeling spoke in a kind of high pitch voice as the guard who brought him there looked like he was about to kill this Changeling. "And you know what happened next?" The Changeling continued as the guard left the Changeling next to the chair and slammed the door shut as he left. "Fine, be that way." He said as he made a pouty face and that guard came into our room.

"Have fun with that one, he doesn't stop talking." With that, the guard left. Shining Armor and Sinistar went into the room with the Changeling.

"'Go out into the world,' They said. 'Be somepony,' They said. Well how was I supposed to know that's not what they meant?!" The Changeling ranted.

"Do you know why you're here?" Sinistar asked.

"One of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? Is it all just so―"

"Do you know why we brought you to this room?" Sinistar said with his eyes narrowing on the Changeling.

"I'm not here to get my dry cleanings, that's for sure. I'm going to guess that it has something to do with that cupcake I stole, but I think it's ridiculous that I'd get dragged all the way here for petty theft. But you don't know how good those cupcakes were. And I―"

"You're here because of your part in the attack on Ponyville." Shining Armor said in clearly frustrated tone. A tone that either the Changeling didn't notice, or didn't care about, as for the next five minutes he continued to blab on about every subject, going from things like the idea that if Princess Celestia raises the Sun and Princess Luna raises the Moon, then who makes Volcanos, to who was the first one to have a cup of tea with a plate. All the while completely ignoring the questions that Shining Armor and Sinistar were trying to ask. Shining Armor even at one point used his magic to hold the Changeling's mouth shut, which did nothing to stop the Changeling from talking, only stopping the rest of us from understanding. Though I don't think any of us really understood what he was talking about anyway. So that Changeling was sent back to his cell and the next one was being brought.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Shining said as he picked up a cup of coffee drank about half of it in one gulp as the interrogation room's door opened and the last Changeling was brought in. This was that large Changeling that threw a rock at that pony and disarmed a guard. "Let's try this again. Are you ready Sinistar?"

"I guess." Sinistar said as they once again went into the other room. "You have committed crimes against Equestria and it's citizens, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Sinistar said as the door closed behind them. The Changeling, like the first one, just stared silently, only instead of having a confused look, this one had more of a hateful glare.

"We could imprison you for a very long time as a terrorist to Equestria, but the Princesses are willing to cut you a deal if you cooperate, so we have some questions for you, and if your answers are true then the Princesses will speak with you themselves and make a deal." Shining Armor said. The Changeling did nothing but glare.

"Shining, can I talk to you in the other room?" Sinistar said causing everyone other than the Changeling to look at him. Shining Armor nodded and they returned to our room.

"Why do we need to talk?" Shining Armor asked.

"We need a new strategy. We've been getting nothing out of them, and we need to know if their Queen is going to make another move, and nothing we try is getting them to help." Sinistar said as there was a pause for thought.

"Maybe I can try." I said, causing everypony to give me a surprised look. "Maybe being a Changeling will make him more likely to talk. And not just go on and on about nothing like the last one."

"Are you sure about this?" Princess Luna asked.

"Well we haven't exactly been getting anything out of them, and what's the harm in it anyway?" Sinistar said as he looked back into the other room, where the Changeling was quietly sitting.

"What do you think, Shining?" Princess Cadence asked. Shining Armor paused and thought for a few seconds.

"I think we don't have much choice. Sinistar is right, we haven't been making any progress with them, so why not let Fragment try?" Shining said as Princess Celestia nodded "Come on Fragment, we're going in there." He said as we walked out of the room. As the door closed behind us and Shining Armor gave a nod to the guard at the interrogation room, he opened the door. When Shining Armor walked in, the Changeling's eyes were locked on him, when I walked in the room, it's eyes widened and became locked to mine. I noticed this changeling's spines that were supposed be on the back of his neck appeared to have been mostly burned off.

"You've caused a lot of trouble while―" Whatever Shining Armor was saying was made un-hearable to me as that ringing and distorted voice came back with pain more intense than ever. Within a second I was one the floor screaming in pain, my eyes clenched shut and my hooves covering my head trying in vain to hinder the pain. Then the pain suddenly stopped, and I opened my eyes. I saw Shining Armor's horn glowing and pointed at the Changeling, who was glaring at me. "Are you okay, Fragment?" Shining Armor asked as I slowly stood back up.

"I... I don't know. What happened?"

"Well, well, well..." The Changeling spoke in a mildly deep and calm voice. "Seems something's wrong with you if you cannot hear me." He said as I realized that I recognized his voice, but I couldn't place it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as Shining Armor watched the Changeling closely.

"You want me to talk? Then you'll have to leave." He said to Shining Armor.

"I'm not leaving you two alone." Shining Armor replied as his eyes narrowed.

"Yes you are, or you're not getting anything out of me. And besides, we all know about the room behind that 'mirror,' so it's not like you'll miss anything." The Changeling said as he turned back to me. After a short moment of silence, Shining Armor left the room, leaving me, relatively, alone with this Changeling. "So..." He began. "What has been done to you that made you turn against your own hive?" He asked while he glared at me.

"No, that's not how this wo―"

"No." He interrupted. "It works by you answering questions until I know why you've betrayed us. And then if I am satisfied with your answers I will answer your questions." He said firmly as I glared back at him.

"And why should I answer anything you ask?"

"Because you have questions as well, and I will not answer them without answers of my own." I gave pause to that as I weighed my options. If the Queen is planning another attack, then we need to know about it. But what will his questions be about...?

"Fine. But we're going to take turns and I get to ask the first question."

"Deal. Now ask." He said as he crossed his forehooves.

"What did you do to me when I walked in here?"

"I used our Hive Mind. The minds of Changelings from the same hive are linked in a form of hive mind similar to an ant hive, but our hive mind is at will. It is an ability that all Changelings are capable of using, though it is usually used by higher ranked Changelings. When it is used, all Changelings within a six mile radius will hear it, however it seems that whatever has been done to you causes pain instead of receiving our thoughts." He explained. "How long have you been working with them?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"About a week. What's Chrysalis' next move?"

"I wouldn't know. I was given orders to infiltrate Ponyville and make sure those three specific fillies were taken."

"You expect me to believe that you weren't told about any other plans she may have had?"

"We take this one question at a time, Now it's my turn." He said with a smirk as I growled a little at him. "What did they do to you that made you turn your back on us?"

"They didn't do anything to me."

"Then why―"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's my turn now." I said with my own smirk. "What was so special about those fillies?"

"Those ponies, the ones who ruined our plan, two of them are related to them and the other is a friend of theirs. Now explain to me in depth, why are you helping them?" He said as I tried to get a sense of his emotions, and got nothing. I couldn't smell his emotions, even though it was obvious he had them. Rather than focus on that I answered the question.

"I'm helping them because they helped me. When I woke up I was bleeding and had a broken leg, and the ponies, who's town you just attacked, helped me. They fed me, gave me shelter, and got me medical attention. All of that even though we attacked them. This is the least I can do to repay them for everything. Satisfied?"

"There is a vital detail that has not been brought into account. Why didn't you return to the hive when you could? Does all that the hive done for you mean nothing because some ponies helped you? Have you forgotten the oath you swore?" He said, raising his voice slightly. "Tell me... What is my name?" When he asked that question, I knew he knew me because it sounded as if he expected me to know the answer.

"I don't know what your name is."

"And why is that?" He said as his glare intensified. As an answer, I turned around so he could see the back of my head. "A scar?"

"I have amnesia. When I woke up, I was in pain, my leg was broken, and I didn't remember anything." I said as turned back around to face him. "And they told me about the attack, about what we did. And even though they thought I was a part of it, they help me heal, and they gave me their love to feed off of." He seemed surprised by that last part but didn't seem to really care.

"Now it makes some amount of sense." He said as he leaned back in his chair. "But tell me, what do you know about the attack?"

"They told me that Chrysalis captured and replaced Princess Cadence, used some kind of hypnotism or mind control on Shining Armor, that from feeding off of him she was able to overpower Princess Celestia, and―"

"Well I see that they told you all that was obvious." He cut me off. "But there is a very important question that has not been answered. I don't think that the Equestrians even asked that question."

"And what question might that be?" I asked as I leaned over the table and got close to his face.

"Why?" He said simply. "Why did we attack Canterlot? What did we have to gain?"

"Power. All the love in Equestria to consume and become powerful." He just laughed at that answer.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Is that what they've told you? They never really were ones to gather the truth of our kind. Our kind has survived for thousands of years by taking the form of another and feeding off the affections towards that being. Staying for as little as a few hours to as long as a year, but we would never permanently replace someone. This is how we lived, until about three hundred years ago, the civilizations we had been siphoning off of took notice and became hateful of us. They did everything in their power to expel us, and over the years we've become desperate, and becoming aggressive is how our Queen has kept us alive. She is too prideful to let anyone other than her most trusted know that we didn't attack because we could, but because we had to." He explained with a very serous expression. "The sad part is that we've only ever done what we needed to survive, nothing more. All of this you used to know. Every question you've asked is one you knew, and now I challenge you, ask me something you want to know. Ask me something about who you are." He said as he leaned in at me with a glare.

"Why should I?"

"Because I've been cooperating. Unlike the others, I have answered the questions you asked.

"How did you know the others weren't cooperating with us?"

"Ha, ha, ha, who do you think told them not to? Now, I ask that you do something that could actually prove to be of some use to you. Ask me something about yourself." It confused me that he seemed to want me to know so much, it made me think that he might know me. I didn't trust him at all, he might be telling me all of this just to trick us, but I had no proof of if he was lying or not. I didn't think I should give him the benefit of the doubt, but I decided to play along a little with a question that was hard to ignore with his voice sounding so familiar.

"... What's your name?"

"Gezähnt. Major Gezähnt." My eyes widened at the name. This was the Changeling that helped me after that fight with the Colonel and one of the Changelings who was with me over Canterlot. He chuckled as he spoke. "Ah, so my name still means something to you? Interesting for someone with amnesia." Gezähnt said with a slight smile. "So have you been deceiving them or is there something more interesting than that to this?"

"I haven't lied to them! Sometimes I get flashbacks, and you've been in two of them. I would have told Princess Celestia about them, but with the Secretariat comet that has been a bit hard to do." I said more to inform the others in the observation room than to Gezähnt.

"And what is it that you remember about me?" Gezähnt asked with a risen brow.

"I remember you taking me to the infirmary after I got in a fight with a Colonel, and I remember you me and that same Colonel over Canterlot before the attack began." I said as he nodded a little.

"Colonel Tödlich. I recall both of those events quite well. Do you know why you were with two highly ranked Changelings moments before the attack began?"

"Do you know why I don't care?" At this point I figured he didn't know anything that would help us, and even if he did he probably wouldn't tell us, so I decided I was done with him.

"Don't be so simple, brother. If anyone I'm the one you should trust."

"Don't call me brother, and give me one good reason why I should trust you." I said as we glared at each other.

"Why should you trust them? All that you know about our kind is whatever they've told you. All you know about anything is what they've told you. Any lie, any trick, any betrayal, you would only know their side of it. Have you not wondered why they're helping you? Perhaps they wish to study Changelings and learn of any weakness that we might have, or perhaps simply dissect you for research. Do you really think they would be so forgiving for nothing?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, and trying to get me to question why I should trust them isn't a reason to trust you. You don't have a reason for me to trust you so you're just trying to turn me against them."

"You should trust me because we were friends. I helped you to the infirmary while others laughed at you, because you questioned an order that was foolish and would have gotten Changelings killed if it were not a exercise. We've been friends for more than a decade, fought together, served the Queen, and risked our lives for other Changelings. After all of that, do you think I'd betray you?"

"That's not a reason to trust you. Everything you just said could be a lie."

"When you start thinking like that, then you shouldn't be interrogating. Trust what I say or not, but know that you're not the one who loses something from distrusting me, brother."

"I'm not your brother. Maybe what you said is true, but the fact is that the Equestrians have been helping me, and I'm not going to stab them in the back. You'd be better off believing I'm dead." I said as I walked towards the door.

"Is that what we should tell your wife?" I stopped in my tracks when I heard that. I slowly turned to face Gezähnt and saw he was staring at me with a risen brow.

"What did you say?"

"Did you believe you were leaving nothing behind in the hive when you forgot everything? You have family beyond our band of brothers. You have a wife and two sons back in the hive who believe you're missing." Gezähnt said as I thought about this. "Do you want the Queen to tell them you're dead? Should they hold a funeral for a Changeling who is clearly alive?"

"... No... No, you're lying!" I desperately wanted to believe he was just lying to me to get in my head, but just the thought that I was leaving a whole family behind that was worried about me scared me. I didn't want to do that to anyone, but I couldn't know if this was a trick or not, and that drove me crazy. Gezähnt got out of his chair and leaned across the table as he glared at me. At this point I saw that he was about four inches taller than me.

"Look into my eyes and tell me I'm lying. And then ask yourself if you're the one who's lying." After he said that I tried to read his face for any signs that told me he was lying, but I just saw him staring at me like he was about to murder me. I couldn't stand it, and with a growl of aggravation, I turned around to leave. But when I opened that door he spoke again. "Pleasure talking to you again, Captain." With that last taunt I slammed the door behind me and began heading back to my room.

I needed to blow off some steam...

Author's Notes:

Wow I got this chapter done quickly. Work on chapter started early Monday, ended early Thursday.

Does Gezähnt really know Fragment? Have the Princesses been lying to Fragment? What was so special about that bucket that you'd have to ask Spike? Come back next week to find out! :D

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 13: Now Reporting

I stomped my way back to my room as I thought about everything that Gezähnt had said.

The Princesses wouldn't have lied to me! What would they even gain from that? Like I'm supposed to trust him because he's a changeling. If anything it means I should trust him less. He doesn't know a damn thing about them or me. Just because he called me 'Captain' doesn't mean he knows me. I probably don't even have a family either. I thought as I reached my room. As I walked into my room I slammed the door behind me with my magic.

Him calling me Captain and mentioning my family were cruel taunts. Who does he think he is? To talk about the Princesses like they're the ones who did something wrong. Gezähnt's just lying to get in my head, and he's probably laughing about it right now. I took a minute to calm down, taking in deep breaths while staring out the window, but then there was a knock on my door. As I sighed lightly I turned around opened the door with my magic.

"May I come in?" Princess Celestia asked from the doorway.

"It's your castle, isn't it?" I said trying not to sound rude as she walked in and I looked back out the window.

"But it's your room." Princess Celestia said as she walked up to my side and closed the door. "Are you alright, Fragment?"

"I don't know. Some of the things Gezähnt said got to me." I said with another sigh. "Like how he said that all I know is whatever you've told me. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you or anyone's lied to me, but if they did I probably wouldn't know. The Pony side of the story is the only one I've heard."

"We all want to know their side, but they had their chance to tell it and they didn't. Maybe the changelings can justify attacking Equestria and maybe they can't, but we know for a fact that they attacked us with no provocation. Until we know why they attacked, the public will make it's own assumptions. And it didn't help that the Changeling Queen herself said the changelings would become more powerful. But that's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"

"No... What if I really do have a family? What if I'm leaving a whole family behind to wonder what happened to me? If Gezähnt is telling the truth, then that means I'm leaving a Wife without a Husband and two kids without a Father. I don't want to do that to them, no matter why we attacked. They shouldn't have to go through that just because I hit my head too hard." I said as she placed her hoof on my shoulder.

"If you do have a family, you'll find them." Princess Celestia said with a soft smile.

"Thank you, your Highness." I said as there was another knock on the door. We turned around and I opened the door, revealing Prince Blueblood waiting with a newspaper held to his side with his magic.

"Auntie, the press is waiting for you outside." He said as Princess Celestia nodded.

"Let's not keep them waiting. Fragment, I think you should come. It would be a good chance for you to see what my subjects are most concerned about." Princess Celestia said as she began walking away.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, if everypony freaks out then that kind of ruins the press conference, doesn't it?" I asked as I reluctantly followed. Once I was out of the room, I saw that Striker had been standing by the door.

"I'm not asking you to just walk into view like nothing's out of place. Just observe." Princess Celestia told me as we began walking. Prince Blueblood then walked over to me and opened the newspaper to a certain page.

"You should read this." He told me simply as I grabbed the paper with my own magic and began to read, but the moment I read the article name, my eyes widened. The article was called 'A Changeling Among Us?' I read it thinking I was exposed.

'With all that happened during the Secretariat comet's passing, there were a lot of stories that were reported to us, but one stuck out the most. Reported sightings of a changeling here in Canterlot fighting along side guards against the cockatrice. At first this report seemed ridiculous, but as more reports and a picture came in,'

After that part is where they had placed the picture; it seemed to be from a roof or a high level floor. In it my hood was down so you could plainly see my head and one of my legs that at the time was being used to punch a cockatrice.

'It was time to investigate. Despite everything, gathering information was quick. No guards would confirm the rumor, but a mare who heard that we were investigating came forth saying they had a personal encounter with this changeling. The following is a statement by the mare who wishes to remain anonymous.

'Me and my son were running away from one of the cockatrice' The mare explained. 'We ran into somepony's house to try and hide, but the cockatrice was breaking through it to get to us, then we heard some kind of magic, and the cockatrice turned away from us and ran off to fight something, then we heard a voice ask if we were alright. When we looked to see who it was, we were shocked and scared to see a changeling but then the cockatrice returned to the building, trying to break through to us again.

The changeling asked again and I told him we were okay, and in a flash of green light, we found ourselves in Canterlot Castle where two guards, a night guard, and Princess Luna met up with us. My son later asked the changeling why he helped us which he replied with 'Because I'm not like the other changelings.'’ The mare goes on to say that she and her son were taken to a safe room to wait. She asked the changeling for his name and that he said his name is Fragment. We asked her what her personal opinion of 'Fragment' was, to which she told us 'If he'd go out of his way to save two strangers from cockatrice, then maybe he's not evil like his Queen.' Is there truly a changeling in the castle with the Princesses, and what does this mean? We have yet to contact either Princess for confirmation, but we anticipate answers soon.'

As I read the end of the article, I was stunned. I wasn't really surprised that I had been seen, and not really that a picture of me had been taken, but the fact that the mare I had helped not only informed the media, but she gave a positive opinion of me. Not that I expected her to call me a monster after saving her and her son, but to actually take what I did to the media was something I didn't anticipate.

"Well at least it helps your public image, right?" Striker said as I looked over my shoulder.

"I'm not sure about that... What if they freak out because I'm here?" I said as I looked over the article again.

"I highly doubt they'll freak out, especially since the Princesses know you're here. If they're letting you stay here, then that means they trust you, and who are we to question the Princesses' judgment?" Striker reassured me. After a few minutes of walking, we came to a set of doors where Princess Celestia stopped.

"Blueblood, please take them around to the back so they can watch." She said as we walked through the doors with me pulling my hood up faster than the reporters could start swarming Princess Celestia with questions. They were so focused on her I don't think they even noticed me and Striker as Prince Blueblood lead us to some kind of backstage while Princess Celestia walked up to the podium.

"Princess Celestia, is there anything you can tell us about what these captured changelings have said?" One of the reporters asked.

"The changelings we have captured are not cooperating with us, and I'm not sure if they will. All we have been able to get is that one of them is a Major and is named Gezähnt." Princess Celestia replied.

"What is going to be done with the remains of the Marshmallow Pony that attacked Manehattan?" Another asked.

"I'm having professional parasprite handlers bring in a swarm to dispose of it." Princess Celestia went on answering questions mostly about the damage that needed repair for about twenty minutes until she declared her time was up, but as she walked away one reporter asked

"What about the rumors of a changeling in the castle?" But Princess Celestia didn't reply. As the reporters began to leave while talking among themselves, I walked up to Princess Celestia.

"Why didn't you tell them about me?" I asked as the last of the reporters left and we began walking away with Prince Blueblood going a different way.

"Because that should be up to you. You must choose to either remain in the shadows as a rumor or let yourself be known and let them judge you themselves," she told me as we made our way to what I think was the throne room. I thought about what she said. I knew it would be easier to stay out of sight, but at the same time I knew that honesty was working well for me so far, so it really came down to if I wanted to keep being honest, which would help prove I'm good, at the risk persecution, or start lying for my own sake. But if the truth ever came to light after that, it would send a message that I'm just going to lie for my own benefit. All lies die in time, and the longer they are told, the worse the outcome when the truth comes out. As I thought about it, something else that was pretty important came to mind, something that I needed to talk to Princess Celestia and Gezähnt about.

"Princess Celestia?"

"Yes, Fragment?" She replied.

"You know how I've been having flashbacks every now and then?"

"Yes. What about them?"

"Well, I had one a few days ago where I was in an ally during the invasion and there was this mare with me, and she was trying to tell me something. She said that we were in danger and in a different flashback I was trying to warn the Queen about what I think was whatever I was told about. I don't know what she was talking about or who she was, but I'm worried about the 'danger' she was talking about."

"What can you tell me about this mare?" She asked with a raised brow.

"All I know is that her coat is white."

"And why are you telling me this? I don't believe I can help you find this mare with little knowledge of what she looks like."

"That's not why I'm bringing this up. I want to talk to Gezähnt about this and see if he knows anything about it, but I don't think he'll talk to me with guards nearby, so I want you to order the guards watching them to leave while I talk to him. Will you do this?" Princess Celestia thought about it for a minute as I took in a deep breath through my nostrils, sensing that her emotions were mostly concern. Finally she responded.

"I will." She said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Princess." I said with an appreciative smile. With that settled, Princess Celestia lead me and Striker to the dungeon where the changelings, and therefore Gezähnt, were being held. Once we reached the doors to the dungeon, Princess Celestia nodded to the two guards at the door, who bowed and opened the doors. I saw three guards in the room, one for each changeling I guess, and I saw that the cells were pretty basic; stone floor and walls, iron bars made the cells' doors, there was a single bed with a pillow and a blanket, there was a single sink, faucet, and toilet, but what really got my attention was seeing Gezähnt doing push-ups in his cell… while standing on the ceiling. So would that be a pull up? He was faced the other way so he didn't know we were here.

"I spy something… grey!" I looked to the cell adjacent to Gezähnt's and saw one of the changelings from before, and from his voice I knew this was the one who wouldn't shut up, and in the cell next to him was the third changeling.

"The wall?" The other replied with an annoyed tone. I guess he can talk after all.

"Yes!" The other said as he looked over his shoulder and saw us, but didn't really react then looked back to the other. "Your turn, Jäger!" He said in a cheery tone that reminded me of Pinkie Pie.

"Grrr," Jäger growled as he spoke. "I spy someone… stupid!" Jäger said with his right eye twitching.

"The guard?"

"No."

"Gezähnt?"

"NO!"

He looked back to us and then back to Jäger. "The Captain?"

"N― Wait, what?" Jäger said as he looked over to the door and saw us.

"Major Gezähnt, we have company," Jäger said as Gezähnt let out a groan and slowly started walking down the wall.

"Any 'company' we have better be the executioner to kill Hofnarr," he said as he reached the floor and looked forward seeing us.

"Well look who came for a visit," he said as I walked up to his cell and he walked closer to me. We ended up being only about a foot away from each other.

"Hello, Gezähnt." I said as we glared at each other.

"How cute of you to see how we're doing. And you even brought our immortal enemy with you. What an insult." Gezähnt said as I growled lightly.

"I came here because I want to talk to you," I said as he raised a brow at that then he walked away from the front of his cell and started doing push ups on the floor.

"And the Major's reaction… The Silent Treatment!"

"Shut up, Hofnarr," Jäger scowled.

"Yeah, I anticipated that. Princess Celestia, will you and the guards please excuse us?" I said as the guards looked at her with a surprised look.

"Come, let them talk in private." Princess Celestia said as they left. As the doors closed, Gezähnt stood back up and walked over to me again.

"I see you learned from before," he said as he stared at me and stood up against the bars.

"I came here to talk, so let's not waste time." I replied seriously.

"Is it about your family? You want to know if I'm lying about it."

"No. That's not why I'm here."

"So you truly don't care then? Shame, I had expected more from you." He was obviously trying to provoke me or something, so I tried to keep my cool and continued.

"I want to talk about a flashback I had." I said as he narrowed his eyes on me.

"I'm listening."

"A few days ago I had flashback that I was talking to a pony in Canterlot during the attack, she was trying to warn me about something saying that we were in danger. I don't know what she was talking about, but I think it must have been bad if she wanted to warn us about it. Do you have any idea what she might have been talking about?"

"No, this is the first I'm hearing of any danger to us. Could she have been referring to the spell that repelled us?" Gezähnt asked while Jäger and Hofnarr watched and listened from their cells.

"I doubt it. That spell wasn't really lethal, was it?"

"No. A few changelings were injured like you, but no deaths were reported."

"Maybe she was mistaken?" Jäger suggested.

"Was there anything out of the ordinary before or after the attack? Anything that might mean something was wrong?" I asked as Gezähnt tapped his chin in thought.

"Before the attack there was a reported sighting of ponies near our Canterlot base camp which we later learned were indeed soldiers, but they weren't any normal guards and that was all we saw of them. Nothing odd happened after the attack either."

"What about the sixty plus M.I.A. changelings? That doesn't raise any suspicion?" Hofnarr asked causing Gezähnt to glare at him

"What's he talking about?" I asked. Hofnarr opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Gezähnt.

"That information is need to know, and you don't need to know." Gezähnt said to me as he continued to glare at Hofnarr.

"But what if this is connected? Isn't it worth looking into?" Hofnarr asked as Jäger facehoofed.

"And who's going to 'look into' it Hofnarr? We're stuck in a cell, and he probably couldn't care less about the hive," Jäger said as he pointed at me.

"I have a name you know," I said as Gezähnt looked at me with an odd look.

"And what is your name now that you've lost your memory?" Gezähnt asked.

"I go by Fragment." I said simply as I looked back to Hofnarr. "What M.I.A changelings are you talking about?" Hofnarr looked at Gezähnt, who sighed and nodded to him.

"After the attack failed, sixty three changelings were reported missing in action, you being one of them by the way. We searched for them while the Queen planned our next move, but It was later decided that those changelings had either been killed by predators or deserted and therefore didn’t need to be found, because of that the number of our search parties was halved. I personally don't think they deserted because of one failure in more than six-hundred years." Hofnarr said as Jäger raised a brow at him.

"I never took you for a thinker, Hofnarr."

"I keep that hidden, and it keeps my work load small," he said with a smile.

"So what does this mean if the danger and the missing changelings are related?" I asked as they looked at me.

"The only thing I could recommend would be going to the Queen with this information, but I hardly believe that will happen. And even if you would go to the hive, they wouldn't let some random changeling who doesn't know his own name speak to the Queen."

"Then tell me who I am." Gezähnt raised a brow at that. "Believe it or not, I will talk to Princess Celestia about letting me go to the hive and bringing this to the Queen. I don't know what might be going on, or if it's even an issue anymore, but I don't want something bad to happen knowing I could have done something to stop it. And at the very least it will prove that you're not all bad." All three of them seemed surprised by my offer, but Gezähnt didn't look too pleased with this.

"You're asking for a lot of trust, you know. How can I know you're not just trying to get your name and other potentially security harming information and use it against us?" Gezähnt asked as the others looked between us like it was an epic battle.

"Okay, what do you want me to do to prove I'll follow through with the deal?"

"One of the guards who's stationed to watch us has a locket, a locket that reeks with emotion, leading me to believe it's some kind of family heirloom or something of the like... I want you to steal it and bring it to me."

"What? Why?" I was caught completely off guard with this request.

"Because I want to break it. I want him to watch as his oh so precious locket is shattered into hundreds of pieces." Even Jäger and Hofnarr seemed shocked by Gezähnt's request.

"That's not the real reason, is it?" I asked as my eyes narrowed.

"The real reason is I want to know that I can trust you, and by bringing me an object of sentimental value, something irreplaceable for me to destroy, I will know that you will keep to our deal."

"No," I said as our eyes glared daggers at the other.

"And why not?" Gezähnt said baring his teeth as he growled lightly.

"Because I've been trying too hard to prove to them I can be trusted to do something like that. I won't betray their trust for this. I'm done here," I said as I started walking away.

"Fine, continue being the Princesses' puppet." That was the last straw with him. I spun back around and slammed my forehooves on his cell.

"Don't talk about them like that! You don't know a damn thing about them!" Gezähnt responded by reaching his right hoof through the bars, hooking my horn with a hoof hole and slamming my head into the bars causing me to grunt in pain.

"And neither do you! Do not think for even a moment that just because they've been 'helping' you for a week, means you know them any better than I do," he said as he held my head to the bars. He was a lot stronger than me, and no matter how hard I pulled back, I couldn't break free.

"Right, like you even know me. I don't know what I was thinking when I came here; you're just an instigator who likes driving others crazy!" After that he pushed my head away, then slammed it back into the bars harder than before, then he unhooked my horn, letting me fall to the floor as I tried to fight the dizziness and stand.

"No, I am a loyal soldier of Queen Chrysalis and her changeling hive," Gezähnt said as I stood back up. "This is why I'm refusing to tell you who you are; because any information I give you has the potential to endanger the hive. If you know your name, then you could use it to infiltrate the hive and leak any information you obtain to the ponies. And the truth is that we were friends and it pains me to have to keep these things from you, but I must put the needs of the hive before myself and my friends." He told me as he slowly looked to the floor, no longer showing teeth or anything. Just letting his vision drift. Either he's a good liar or…

"You're telling the truth, aren't you?" I asked as he looked at me again.

"Does it really matter to you? Without your memories your past seems to be devoid of meaning," he said as he walked away from the bars. I wasn't sure how to feel about this, I was starting to believe him, but I couldn't shake the idea that he was lying to get me on his side.

"I guess we're done," I said as I started walking away.

"And by the way…” I stopped and looked back at Gezähnt as he spoke. "Your wife's name is Saphir."

With that, I opened the door with my magic and left. I saw the faces of the whole group of three guards, Striker and Princess Celestia herself had mixed expressions on them, which told me they had been eavesdropping on the conversation. But I didn't pay them much mind as I began walking to my room. I had a lot to think about…

Author's Notes:

Check out my blog post "Deception" for the stupidest comment chain ever... of all time. There will be a blog post like that every Wednesday, minus the dumb comments. :P (Maybe.)

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 14: Taking Chances

I walked back to my room as I thought about my situation while doing my best to ignore the fact that I hadn't had breakfast this morning or dinner last night.

Gezähnt was asking for too much. I couldn't do that to somepony because of something I wasn't even sure of. What if that mare was just crazy and delusional? It would kind of explain why she was talking to changelings while changelings were attacking. I thought as I heard hoof steps coming up behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Princess Celestia and Striker walking towards me, both of them looked concerned.

"Fragment." I stopped but didn't face the Princess as she walked up to me.

"How much did you hear?" I asked as Princess Celestia walked in front of me and Striker stood on my right.

"Almost everything. I heard what Gezähnt wanted you to do, and I'm glad to know that all that we've done means so much to you." She said with a small smile as my gaze slowly lowered.

"It means a lot more than I can tell, and I can't thank everypony who's helped me enough, but I can't stop thinking about the possibility of having a family, and what might be happening because I'm not trying to warn the Changelings about whatever it was. It's driving me crazy and Gezähnt's taunts aren't helping, but at the same time, I think he's telling the truth and really does know me and we used to be friends, and I'm not sure what to do now. If I don't work with Gezähnt than I can't help the Changelings, but in order to work with Gezähnt I have to hurt the ponies. Working with one side hurts the other." I said as a hoof lightly brought my face up, forcing me to look into Princess Celestia's eyes.

"You need to decide what you think is right, Fragment. I will respect what you choose." She told me with a small smile. "And, I will allow you to return to the Changeling Kingdom if you think it's necessary. Now come with me, I'm sure we could all use something to eat." Me and Striker cheered when we heard that as we headed for the dining room. Once we were about halfway there, Princess Celestia spoke up. "There is something we need to talk about, Fragment." She said as I raised a brow. "It was by sheer luck that you weren't asked about until it was too late, but there's another Press conference later today and I'm sure that you will be one of first questions if not the first. I need to know if you're okay with me letting them know the truth." I thought about it for a little as we walked. The risks scared me, but hiding would only last for so long.

"I... I need to think about it more. When's the conference?"

"Two P.M."

"... I'll try to have an answer by then." Princess Celestia nodded as we reached the dining room. It was a quiet breakfast, which was good, because I had a lot to think about. I really wanted to get more information about the missing Changelings and at least try to look into that mare from my flashback, but I couldn't do that without Gezähnt's help which he wouldn't give unless I brought him that locket, which there wasn't a chance I was going to do. And on top of that there's the Press conference and the likeliness of them asking about my presence and how unpredictable their reaction could be.

No matter which way I looked at my situation, I was taking a big chance for something that wasn't guaranteed. It was the same debate I had before, trying to choose between the risk of coming forth and the risk of remaining hidden. I was leaning towards the truth, but I didn't want to cause an angry mob to try to run me out of Canterlot, which I didn't really think would happen with Princess Celestia around. And as I've said before, lying would only last so long. After I finished my breakfast and thought about it more, I came to the conclusion that I needed a second opinion, and I knew just who I wanted to talk to, so once Striker was done we said goodbye to the Princess and left the room.

"So what's your plan now?" Striker asked as we walked.

"My plan is to talk to Rightmen about this and see what he thinks. I really need a second opinion on this." I said as we started looking for a maid or somepony who might know where Rightmen would be right now. "So what do you think I should do?" I asked Striker.

"How would I know?"

"Because you're a guard! Doesn't that mean you work with Citizens a lot?"

"I work with them a lot, but that doesn't mean I can tell you how they'll react to you. All I can tell you for sure is that as long as the Princesses are on your side nothing too bad should happen, and that probably no pony will sit next to you in a restaurant for a few weeks. Or in other words, they'll need to adjust to the idea like the castle guards did." Striker replied as I saw a familiar maid.

"Noted." I said to Striker as we walked up to Jewel. "Good morning, Jewel." I said with a smile as Jewel looked away from the bust she was cleaning.

"Hello, Fragment." She said, returning the smile. "I read about that mare you helped in the paper, it's amazing she actually came forward with this. I've heard that a lot of ponies would've kept something like that a secret." She said as Striker began walking away.

"Where are you going?" I asked as me and Jewel watched him walk away.

"Nap time. I've been up way too long and have had way too little to eat. And besides, do you really think I need to supervise you?"

"Aren't you worried about getting in trouble for disobeying orders?"

"No. You're a big kid now, Fragment, you can stay out of trouble on your own." Striker said as I rolled my eyes. I turned back to Jewel and resumed our conversation.

"So anyways, I was pretty surprised by that too, and I'm still wondering how the rest of Equestria will react. And that's kind of why I'm here." She raised a brow at that. "Princess Celestia says there's another Press conference later today and she believes that they're going to ask about me, and she wants to know if I'm okay with being known to the public. But I don't know if I do, after two attacks by the Changelings that happened this recently I don't think I'll be exactly welcomed."

"And you want advice?" She asked.

"Yes. I was looking for Rightmen to see if he has any suggestions, but if you have any I'll listen to them."

"Well, you're definitely right about not being welcomed so soon, but after what you've done for Canterlot, I'm sure they'll at least let you have a try. You saved at least three lives yesterday and helped fight the Cockatrice, and if that doesn't get you a fighting chance, then maybe they don't deserve to get to know you."

"So what are you saying I should do?"

"I think you need to give them a chance, and they need to give you one as well."

"Thanks, Jewel." I said with a small smile again.

"No problem. Hey, I heard that you talked to those three captured Changelings. I was wondering, what did they have to say?" my ears flattened against my head at the thoughts of what Gezähnt said.

"One of them had a lot to say, but I'm not sure how much if any of it can be trusted."

"What do you mean?"

"One of them is a Major in the Changeling army, and he claims that he knows me and we used to be friends." Jewel's eyes widened a little at that. "And I've had flashbacks that suggest that he's right, but he also says I have a family that I'm leaving behind, and I don't know if he's telling the truth or not."

"You have a family?"

"Assuming Gezähnt was telling the truth, I have a wife and two sons..." Just thinking about it bothered me. That I might be abandoning a whole family without even knowing it. Not for sure, anyway.

"What are you going to do if he isn't lying?"

"I don't know..." I said as I began walking away. "I still need to find Rightmen and get his thoughts on revealing myself to the public. So do you know where Rightmen is?"

"Last I saw he was in the northern wing of the castle."

"Thanks for the help, Jewel." I said as I continued walking down the hallway.

"You're welcome, Fragment. I hope Rightmen can help you."

Me too... I thought as I continued looking for Rightmen. As I walked through the castle, I began to think about everything I had learned this morning. If I have a family I need to at least try to find them. Even if I don't remember them, they should have some kind of closure. What did Gezähnt say my wife's name was? 'Saphir' was it? Just as I thought that I felt pain in my head and my vision blurred a little as I tried to remain conscious, then the pain began to fade.

I'd really like not to pass out right now, thank you. Why did I have to get amnesia? Why can't there be anything we can do about it? Gezähnt could help by telling me who I am, but won't without me doing something ridiculous to 'prove I can be trusted.' He taunts me about knowing who I am then acts like I don't want to know or I would only want to know so I could spy on the Changelings or something. Gezähnt is paranoid and that's why he won't help me. The thoughts of how Gezähnt probably did know me and wouldn't tell really bothered me, and as much as I wanted to believe he was lying, and I could tell he wasn't, at least not about everything, put that with the fact that thinking about the name Saphir gave me a headache, which is linked to flashbacks and therefore, memories, only made Gezähnt's case stronger.

I walked through the castle, half looking for Rightmen and half thinking about what Gezähnt had told me, I looked out a window to Canterlot and saw all the damage being repaired. I felt kind of bad for the workers, first they have to repair from the Changeling attack, then in the middle of that, the Cockatrice attack, giving them even more work to do. As I stared out the window, I heard talking and hoofsteps coming towards me. I looked to my left and saw a butler I didn't recognize and Rightmen. Convenient. I thought as I began walking towards them.

"We'll have to keep the icing cold until then, and don't worry too much about flavor of the cake itself." Rightmen said to the butler as they saw me walking up to them.

"Hello, Rightmen." I said with a slight smile as the butler walked away.

"Good day, Fragment." He replied.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"

"I'm sure you read the paper today." Rightmen nodded. "At this morning's Press conference one of the reporters asked about the rumor about me and Princess Celestia didn't answer, she told me she wouldn't reveal me unless I was okay with it, but I'm not sure if I want to take my chances with the public, and I thought you might be able to help me."

"Well, as much as I'd like to help you, Fragment, I'm afraid that my knowledge of how the public would react isn't sufficient enough to help you make a decision like that. However, I can recommend somepony you could talk to."

"Who?"

"Miss Dex. She has more of a social life than anypony else is the castle. She's currently in the courtyard tending to the plants."

"Thanks, Rightmen." I said as I began walking away.

"It was my pleasure." Rightmen said as he also began walking away. I resumed my thinking as I made my way to the garden.

Assuming that I do decide to go public, should I still try to stay out of sight or walk around like I'm just another pony? There's some risk in just walking into public with no disguise or anything, maybe some ponies hassle me and try to make me leave, or something else. But staying hidden brings me back to the whole debate of whether it would be better for my image to be in hiding or not. I debated the subject as I headed for the gardens, mostly to keep my mind off of my family, and luckily I had most of the castle's layout memorized, so getting to the garden was easy. I wandered around the garden for a few minutes before I heard humming.

The humming got louder as I approached, and when I reached the area near Discord's statue, I saw Dex watering some flowers as she hummed to herself. I walked to about five feet behind her before I cleared my throat to get her attention. She jumped a little in surprise as she turned around. "Oh! Fragment." She said as she put the watering can down. "You startled me." Dex said as she stood up.

"Sorry, I was kind of surprised to hear humming."

"So what's up?"

"I'd be lying if I said not much. I've talked to those captured Changelings and had two very… unpleasant conversations with one of them." Dex raised a brow as I said that. "His name is Gezähnt. He claims that we were friends while I was a part of their army. And he also says that I have a wife and two sons at the hive…”

I surprised myself with just how much talking about it actually bothered me.

"Damn... And this 'Gezähnt' just goes around dropping bombs like that on ponies?"

"And there's also the fact that I'm on Equestria's newspapers as a rumor, which is the real reason I'm here."

"What do you mean?" Dex asked.

"Princess Celestia told me there would be a Press conference―"

"Later today and she wants to know if it's okay with you to be publicly known?" My jaw dropped and my eyes widened as she laughed a little at it. "You should see your face right now. Ha!"

"How did―"

"I know? I've worked here a long time and I've seen how Princess Celestia acts. After you brought up her and the media, it was kinda obvious. So I'm guessing you want my opinion or something like that, right?"

"Yeah. I asked Rightmen if he could help me and he told me that you'd probably be able to give better advice than him on this."

"So what is it exactly that you want advice on?"

"I want your best guess as what the public's reaction to me will most likely be."

"It's not easy to say without personally knowing them, but if I had to guess I'd say they won't like you and you'll probably have to do more to improve your public image, and keep it looking good. I honestly don't think that just because the Princesses trust you means they'll play nice with you."

"But you think that I could gain their trust?"

"It'll take time for sure, but yeah, I bet once the memories of the attacks aren't so fresh things will be easier for you. I don't necessarily think it's smarter than not being known but it helps others trust you when you trust them, and from what the guards say, you're trying really hard to prove we can trust you."

"So you think I should let Princess Celestia tell them the truth?"

"It's for you to decide. Just 'cause somepony says it's a good idea doesn't mean it is. You need to do what you think is best for you, not what the Princesses or the guards think is best for you." Dex told me as she got up. "I hope that helps you. And thanks for the talk, I usually don't have anypony to talk to around here."

"No problem, and thank you for the help." After that she resumed her work while I headed back to my room as I thought about what it might be like if I just walked around Canterlot, or any Equestrian city, in my Changeling form. I remembered how the ponies in Ponyville stared at me when Twilight and the others were taking me to the hospital, then I imagined that without them or anypony by my side, just me walking down the street with everypony staring at me, reeking of fear and hate. The thoughts of how they might react to me were always negative.

I imagined it wouldn't be as bad in Canterlot or Ponyville; in Canterlot because of helping against the Cockatrice, and in Ponyville because I was associated with Twilight and her friends in a good way, but what about the other cities? The ones that didn't know much about me? Would they simply try to ignore me, would they welcome me to the community, or would they try to run me out of town? There was so much uncertainty involved in the whole situation that it made choosing very difficult, I was so deep in thought because of that I barely even noticed when I got back to my room. When it finally occurred to me that I had reached my room, I put my cloak on it's hanger in the closet with my magic and laid on my bed, thinking about what to do. I saw it was already eleven thirty-seven A.M and I wasn't much closer to making my decision, then I began to think about what kind of life I would have depending on if I became public; If I was known, then I might have to deal with some harassment or discrimination but overtime they might adjust, or I could avoid that problem altogether by staying in disguise, assuming Princess Celestia can actually teach me how to Shapeshift, but in that scenario I'd be living a lie, which is something I wouldn't be proud of.

After a few more minutes of thinking, Striker came back from his nap and told me it was time for lunch. He asked me if I had any luck in making my choice and I told him that I was leaning towards telling the truth but I was still unsure. Once we reached the dinning room I expected Princess Celestia to be there waiting for my answer, but she wasn't there. I was told that she was preparing to speak to the Press even though it was still about two hours until it was time. I was kind of thankful she wasn't there to ask me just yet, even though I was probably going to say I was okay with it. There wasn't really anypony I could talk to at this point either. I might have been able to talk to Sinistar, but I didn't know where to find him. I might have talked to Shining Armor if I wasn't unsure of how comfortable he was with me by now, so at this point I had expended everypony I could talk to right now. After we finished lunch, me and Striker went back to my room.

"So you're really having that much trouble making up your mind?" Striker asked breaking the fifteen minute long silence we had.

"It's not as easy as you might think, Striker. You haven't smelled what fear and hate smell like. Remember when we were on our way to the Ponyville hospital, how most of those ponies just stared at me?" Striker nodded and remained silent. "Well I can remember their fear, and it was strong. You can get a much better idea of how much someone or something fears you when you have the ability to smell emotion, and because I can smell their fear, I can tell you that those ponies pretty much thought I was going to attack them or something along those lines. I don't know if I want everypony staring at me like that everywhere I go."

"Isn't that the point of proving you're not evil? Once they realize you're just like everypony else, they won't stare at you, they won't discriminate against you, and they won't bother you. Well, not anymore than anypony else, but you get the idea."

"Yeah, but what if―"

"You shouldn't make a decision like this based on what you're worried will happen and instead on what's already happened. Look at how everypony here at the castle treated you; yes they pretty much just avoided you at first, but now no pony even flinches when they see you. They've gotten used to you. What's the worst you think is going to happen, Fragment?" I had to admit, Striker, like everypony else I talked to, made a good argument. After that, Striker began reading a book while I continued thinking this over in my head. I knew that my time was almost up and we would be lucky if Celestia could avoid any questions about me at the conference.

At around one thirty P.M. I made up my mind, and a few minutes later there was a knock on my door. "Come in." I said as I stretched and got off my bed. The door opened showing Princess Celestia standing there. Me and Striker gave a quick bow as she walked in.

"Hello, Fragment. Striker." She said as we stood back up. "I'll have to address in ten minutes, and I need to know if you've made up your mind, Fragment." Princess Celestia said as I sighed. "Have you made your choice?"

"I have." I then took in a deep breath and spoke. "I'm okay with them knowing."

Author's Notes:

I'd bet most of you saw Fragment's answer coming by a few miles, but whatever.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 15: In the Spotlight

I was going to do it. I was going to let Princess Celestia tell the Media about me. It was almost time for the conference with me, Striker, and Princess Celestia on our way to the conference room where it was almost certain I was going to be revealed to Equestria. As we walked Princess Celestia told me that the Media would likely want an interview with me given how much the public would want to know about me. "If they do want an interview, will you talk to one of them?" Princess Celestia asked as the doors to the conference room came into view.

"If I'm going public then I don't really see why not. Maybe it'll help everypony get a better idea of who I am and see I'm not evil." I replied as we reached the doors and the guards by them prepared to open them.

"You should stay here and watch." Princess Celestia said as the doors opened and she walked into the conference room. I looked into the room and saw dozens of reporters with mics and cameras.

"Princess Celestia, are there going to be increased border patrols since the second Changeling attack?" A yellow coated mare asked.

"It is an option me and Captain Shining Armor are discussing, but we don't want to give the impression that Equestria doesn't welcome others, but we will raise security around smaller settlements like Ponyville." Princess Celestia answered as another reporter raised a hoof.

"Have you learned why Ponyville was the target of the Changelings' second attack?" The maroon colored stallion asked.

"The Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, foalnapped three fillies from Ponyville and used them as bait to lure my student, Twilight Sparkle, to the Changeling Kingdom, where she planned to drain Twilight of her power and use it against us, luckily Twilight and her friends managed to overpower her and rescue the fillies." Princess Celestia explained as a tan earth pony with a blonde mane raised his hoof.

"Are the rumors of a Changeling by the name of Fragment was brought to Canterlot from Ponyville and is not a prisoner true?" There was the question I expected to be the first one asked. That question got all the reporters' attention, displayed by their silence as they waited for the Princess' answer. Princess Celestia took a moment before answering.

"They are." With those two words the reporters instantly began whispering to one another as a few others gasped. It stopped when the same reporter who asked that question spoke again.

"Why is this Changeling here if he isn't being held? And why was he fighting the Cockatrice with the guards?" The reporter asked. I saw a small smile form on Princess Celestia's face before she answered.

"Those are very good questions, and I think Fragment should answer them himself." My jaw dropped and my eyes widened when I heard that as the reporters broke-out into questions and whispers again. Princess Celestia turned to me and motioned for me to come out, I responded with mouthing the words ‘I don't want to!’ But she gave a small encouraging smile, and reluctantly I started walking out.

This is the moment of truth. This is where I find out how they'll react… I WISH I HAD MY CLOAK! I thought as I came into their view. Once again there were a few gasps, but no pony freaked out like I was really worried about.

"Heheheh, hello…" I said awkwardly as I stepped beside Princess Celestia. She stepped aside and I nervously walked up to the podium. All eyes were on me as I took a deep breath to relax myself a little. I decided to get straight to point and answer the questions they were all thinking.

"I was discovered in the town of Ponyville more than a week ago by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and they helped me. They asked me who I was, they asked why the Changelings attacked Equestria, but the truth was that when I woke up I did so in pain, with a broken leg, and most importantly, with amnesia." That took everypony by surprise. "When I woke up, I didn't, and still don't, know who I am, where I came from, how to fly, or anything else that I could do or anything about my past. I woke up being told I was an enemy and being treated like I was homicidal, but even through all of that they helped me; gave me food and water, and helped me heal as we tried to figure out who I am."

The more I talked the calmer I felt and the more they seemed to listen which helped me relax, but I was still pretty nervous as I continued.

"After a letter was sent to Princess Celestia, she decided that once I had healed enough I should be brought here to Canterlot so that she could speak to me herself, and after a few days in the hospital, I was brought before her where I told her that all I knew was that the Changelings had attacked Equestria and attempted to conquer it, and I only knew that because they told me what happened. For the past few days I've been here being helped by Princess Celestia herself as she has helped me relearn my magical capabilities and in the future how to fly. All I want now is to live in peace with the Equestrians." With that, I stepped back from the podium as Princess Celestia took her place once again.

"Thank you Fragment. Now then…" The reporters were still in a minor state of shock when Princess Celestia started talking again. While she was answering the questions that remained I walked back to the hallway where Striker was.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would." He said as I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I know. I kind of expected a screaming mob out there, but to my surprise they were actually calm and listening." I said as I looked back to the crowd that was once again focused on Princess Celestia. "I hope the rest of Equestria takes the news that well."

"So what are you going to do now? Just stand here and watch?"

"Do I have anything better to do?"

"You could talk to Gezähnt. That's always a fun time, right?" Striker said as I rolled my eyes. "But really, what happens now? Are you just going to resume training with Princess Celestia or what?"

"I guess. It's really up to Princess Celestia what happens, at least until I've learned all that I can from her."

"And after that you go off into the world treasure hunting."

"Pretty much." I said as I noticed that Striker was looking at me weirdly. "What?"

"I'm just wondering how you'll do against a manticore since you have no prior combat training. I don't see you winning that fight." Striker said as I chuckled.

"Who needs combat training when you have magic?" I said with a smug smile.

"Someone who doesn't want to spend all their love on one fight." Striker countered. He had a good point there, if I only fought with magic then I'd have to feed constantly, which could prove to be very inconvenient.

"That was a problem I hadn't considered. What should I do about that? I doubt Princess Celestia would have somepony give me combat training."

"You should talk to Princess Celestia about that." Striker said as I remembered something I should get around to.

"I should also talk to her about a piece of paper, some ink, and a quill."

"Why?"

"I should really write back to Pinkie Pie. Not only did she send me a letter asking how I was doing, but she also sent cupcakes for both of us, I should at least return the favor of writing a letter." I explained as Princess Celestia walked away from the podium and the reporters began packing up and heading out.

"You handled yourself well out there, Fragment." She said with a smile.

"I was terrified when you called me out to answer the questions myself, but when I got out there and saw them all actually listening I relaxed." I said as we began walking down the hallway. "So what do we do now? Just resume training or what?"

"Shining Armor and I have a lot of work to do now because of the attacks and the Changeling prisoners, so it will be difficult for me or Shining Armor to train you, so when there is time I will see if I can find you a magic teacher. For now, you could practice spells from one of the books in your room. I have confidence that we can find somepony who can teach you before too much time has passed." Princess Celestia explained. "I must return to my duties. Goodbye, for now."

"Before you go, I need some paper and something to write with."

"Why?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Pinkie Pie wrote me a letter a few days ago and I think I should write back to her." Princess Celestia's face formed a small smile as she replied.

"I'll have somepony get you the materials soon."

"Thank you." With that she went back to the throne room while me and Striker headed to my room.

"So what are we going to do to kill time?" Striker asked as we walked.

"We're going back to my room, getting a spell book, and going to play with some spells while we wait for whoever brings me something to write with." I replied. "It's not like there's anything better to do around here at the moment."

"Yeah, it seems like the only time this place is fun is when it's being attacked." Striker said with a chuckle. "So basically your plan for now is practice until somepony can actually teach you something?"

"Yeah, unless you have any better ideas."

"Actually, I might." He said as he rubbed his chin.

"What’re you thinking?" I asked not completely trusting what he might be thinking.

"We've already established that you're going to need combat training of some degree, so how about I show you some moves and give you some tips?"

"You teach me how to fight?"

"Well, yeah. It'd be a good way to pass the time, wouldn't it?" Striker said.

"Yeah I guess. So what exactly can you teach me?" I asked as we changed course to the training room.

"I can give you the basics, and like I said before, show some moves and give you some tips. Sound like a plan?"

"Better than any plan I've had today." I said as we walked. As usual it was a short walk to the training room, and unsurprisingly, we were the only ones there. Once we reached the center of the room I sat down and Striker began pacing back and forth in front of me.

"Now then." Striker started with a deeper voice I'd never heard him use before. "One of the most important parts of fighting is your stance." He stopped in front of me and took a stance where his right forehoof drawn back like he was going to charge and with the front half of his body lowered a little.

"You look ridiculous." I said as he then returned to a normal standing position.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"I want your help to be helpful. It looks like you're making it up as you go along, like that voice you were doing."

"That was my Drill Sergeant impression." Striker said defensively.

"It kind of sucked." I said flatly as he frowned a little. "I'm just teasing you. So other than a fighting stance and your Drill Sergeant voice, what else can you show me?"

"Well…” Striker explained to me some basic combat tips, like it's important to have a strong and balanced battle stance so you're always ready to react to your enemies moves. He didn't have much in the way of actual fighting moves to teach me beyond a few counter attacks, like if you dodge a punch you can attempt to grab their limb and punch the joint, forcing it to bend the wrong way. Striker mostly showed me some simple counters but he told me he'd teach more and some actual fighting tomorrow if I reminded him. After that we headed back to my room where the ink and stuff for my letter might be waiting for me.

"And when they think they have the upper hoof, you take them down quickly and in full force." Striker said as we entered my room. As I shut the door I looked around and saw that there were no writing implements or anything I needed to write with. "So what now?"

Striker asked as I hopped onto my bed and laid down.

"I'm not sure. We could always read books, but that's getting old." I said with a heavy sigh.

"Getting old to who? There's like fifty books here that neither of us have read yet."

"What is this, a book club?" I asked as there was a knock on the door. I got off the bed, walked over to and opened the door. Who I saw surprised me, it was the reporter who asked about me at the conference. The one with a tan coat and a blonde mane and tail, only now I saw that he was wearing a blue tie and blue and white flannel collar which the tie was tied around.

"Uh, hello. May I come in?" He asked sounding unsure of of himself.

"Yeah, sure." I said as I opened the door further so he could enter.

"Thank you." He said as he walked in. "My name is Broadcast, I'm with P.N.N. and I was hoping I could have a few minutes of your time to talk to you." Broadcast said as me and Striker gave him a mildly confused look.

"What, just talk, an interview or something like it?" I asked as I got back on my bed.

"An interview would be accurate, if it's no trouble." Broadcast replied as I sniffed the air. He was calmer than I would have expected.

"Not at all. Princess Celestia told me the Media would probably want an interview and I don't see it doing me any harm, so why not?" I said as Broadcast nodded. Striker got up out of his chair letting Broadcast sit there, then Striker left the room allowing me and Broadcast to talk in private. "So what would you like to know?"

"I think that everypony in Equestria is going to want to know as much as they can about you since you're the first known Changeling to live in Equestria, so let's start with some general questions then maybe move onto more personal questions. Okay?"

"Let's do it." I said as Broadcast pulled out a quill, notepad, and an inkwell.

"Who's idea was it to teach you magic and why?"

"It was was Princess Celestia's idea. She told me it would be a good chance for me to relearn what I've lost and for her to learn more about Changelings. She made it very clear that Equestrians know almost nothing about Changelings and that I gave them an opportunity to try to answer questions like why Changelings feed off of love and if there's an alternative to it." I explained as Broadcast wrote down everything I said. He writes surprisingly fast with his mouth. Once he finished writing he asked his next question.

"You said that you just want to live in peace with the Equestrians, but is that something you think can actually happen?"

"I do. I've actually already made friends with some ponies and I'm not even out on my own yet. I'm friends with my supervisor, Striker, and I've made friends with some of the castle's employees. And I'm also friends with Pinkie Pie and I think it's safe to say I'm friends with a Twilight and a few of the others. Sure that's only like ten ponies and there are thousands in Equestria, but it shows that some are willing to forgive and forget." Like before, Broadcast wrote down everything that I said then asked his next question.

"Is there any proof that you have amnesia?"

"I don't have it on me but the Ponyville hospital should have my medical records, and that should have the proof."

"Have you spoken to the the Changelings that were captured from Ponyville?" I instantly groaned in irritation at the memories of me and Gezähnt's conversations.

"I have, one of them doesn't talk much, the other doesn't stop talking, and the third one I don't like in even the slightest way. He talks like he knows everything, he claims that he knows who I am, and he completely refuses to talk to ponies."

"Have you tried to get information about yourself from this Changeling?"

"No. I don't believe I should hold onto my past if it's not even possible to get my memories back, because without them everyone I used to know will a complete stranger to me. If I spent my life trying to get my old life back only to learn I don't want it, it would mean all that effort was for nothing. I look at this amnesia as a second chance at life, a chance to live in peace and happiness."

"Do you plan to stay in Equestria, and if so what do you plan to do for a living?"

"Well I'm definitely staying Equestria, and as far as a living goes I've decided on being a treasure hunter." Broadcast raised a brow at me when I said that.

"Why a treasure hunter?" He asked.

"Partly because I'd rather be out in the world than stand at a stall selling produce all day, and because having magic and wings gives me a pretty good advantage in that kind of work." I explained as Broadcast quickly scribbled on his notepad.

"This question is more of something that I'm curious about, why did you go with 'Fragment' as your name?" I had not expected that question. No one asked me that before, and I wasn't really sure why I chose Fragment as my name.

"I... don't know..." I had to search through my thoughts to get the real answer to that question. "I guess, maybe because when I woke up, the way I was being treated, how everypony acted like I had done something to them, how they were all suspicious of me and how distrusted I was, it all made me feel like there was something bigger than just me going on. That I was just a piece or 'fragment', of what was really going on." I explained to both of us.

"Do you think that you being a publicly known figure will encourage other Changelings to try to join Equestrian civilization as themselves rather than impersonating somepony?"

"I have no idea. Although, if any Changelings do decide to attempt it, I'd ask them to at least try not to cause trouble. The more problems Changelings cause the harder it will be for Equestrians to forgive and tolerate us. I'd also give them the advice of be friendly and be polite."

"Is there anything you would like say to the Equestrians themselves?"

"I would say: if you give me a chance, I can show you I'm not evil." After that the Questions became less and less significant, and after about ten more minutes of questions we were done. I asked when this was going to be released and he said that it should be in Canterlot's paper tomorrow and over the course of a few days it'd be just about everywhere in Equestria. Once Broadcast left, Striker came back carrying a small brown bag.

"So how'd it go?" He asked as he sat back down.

"I think it went well. Broadcast said the interview should be in Canterlot's paper tomorrow, and later everywhere."

"Are you sure you're ready for that kind of publicity?"

"Not entirely, but I'm certainly not turning back now." I said as Striker placed the bag on my bed. "What's in the bag?"

"Your writing supplies. A guard brought it about ten minutes ago and told me what it was." He explained as I opened the bag and looked inside. There were a few dozen scrolls, two quills, and five inkwells sealed by corks.

"I guess she expects me to be doing a lot of writing." I said as I started getting the stuff out.

"I think you'll need to. Do you remember the letter Pinkie Pie sent to you? She'll probably reply to your letter, which I'm sure you'll reply to, and I'm guessing that will lead to a big back and forth of letters between you―"

"And then we'll start going out, get married, get a nice house away from civilization and live happily ever after." I said jokingly in a slightly high-pitched voice. "That's where it sounded like you were going with that." Striker just rolled his eyes and shook his head in response.

"What I mean is that the two of you will probably be sending letters to each other and you'll need all theses supplies so you won't have to ask Princess Celestia as often." Striker explained.

"You're probably right. And speaking of things I need to do, I still need to get my cloak washed. I'll talk to Princess Celestia about that at dinner." After that, we talked about what might happen now that I'm not a secret anymore. Striker said that for the most part I should just try not to cause trouble and maybe do some kind of community service to help show I'm good. At six P.M we left for dinner, where I told Princess Celestia about getting the cloak washed, she told me she'd have somepony teach me how to wash it tomorrow. I also told her about my interview with Broadcast, which she said she was well aware of, because Broadcast asked her if he could have an interview with me and he had to ask her where he could find me, but generally the rest of the night was uneventful and at around nine thirty I went to bed.

But the moment I closed my eyes, I felt a pain unlike anything else, but I was unconscious before I could do anything…

Author's Notes:

I'm going to stop the belief before it starts: There will be no MintPie shipping whatsoever, no mater how good it would taste.

Shout out to Breaking News who's avatar is what I intended to match with the description of Broadcast. He has a very interesting story that I like known as Changeling No More. Go check both of them out. :)

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 16: Persevere Through Pain

I felt agonizing pain in my head as I struggled against nothingness. It was just darkness and pain, but then my eyes snapped open and I shouted, then I saw I wasn't in my room at the castle anymore. My eyes were weak but I saw that it looked more like a dungeon of some kind. The walls were made of cobblestone, there were no windows, the door appeared to be made of solid iron, with a small opening that I'd guess was used for food trays or something like that and there was what looked like a small fireplace to my right.

But it wasn't the fact that I was in a dungeon that bothered me, it was the fact that I was shackled to the floor by a chain on each of my legs that hooked through a hole in them, and the fact that there were three Griffins in this cell with me; one of them wearing full body armor and had a sword, another was well dressed like some kind of minister or something, and the third wore some dark robes, a black faceless mask, and was holding a branding iron. And it was that branding iron that bothered me most… because the top quarter of it was glowing red like it was just pulled out of a furnace.

The masked Griffin pressed the iron against my chest hard causing me to thrash and shout in pain again. He held it there letting it burn against me for a few seconds before taking it away.

"I'm getting tired of this game of your's, Changeling." The well dressed one said as I tried to recover.

"Oh… oh really…?" I said painfully with a fake smile. "I'm not. B-because I'm having more fun right now than I've had all year. Hahahaha…” Talking, breathing, heart beating and thinking were painful at best. I had all kinds of cuts, burns, and dried blood across my body that still ached.

"This isn't a game, you know. Your kind is becoming an incredible annoyance, and the sooner you cooperate, the sooner your pain ends. Do you realize how much trouble you're in, insect? You've caused enough trouble to get me permission to do just about anything I want to you." He explained as I laughed a little more.

"And this is the best you could do, Councilor? You're an insult to torturers everywhere. Though technically he's the torturer, not you." The Councilor grabbed my throat with his right talon and squeezed hard, choking me.

"You attempted to assassinate a very important member of the Griffin Empire, and I am willing to do everything in my power to make sure your kind pays for it."

"S-seems unfair that you get to kill us… when we didn't even kill you. S-sounds like you just want the excuse." He let go of my throat and began walking towards the door. "Same time tomorr―"

We have them. A voice in my head informed me in the middle of my sentence.

"Hahahahaha!" I laughed as the Councilor turned around and glared at me.

"What's so funny?" He asked as I put on a very dark smile.

"Why are you stopping? Shouldn't you be getting home? Although I'm not sure who will be waiting for you there." The Councilor lunged at me, slamming me to the floor.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He shouted in rage.

"Did you really believe that a Changeling's shapeshift would reverse because of a sneeze? HA! Shows how little about my kind you know. I dropped my form and failed to assassinate the Minister on purpose to put your attention on me so you wouldn't notice the abduction and replacement of your family. You've been so preoccupied with me you didn't even notice as we one by one foalnapped them. And now we have you right where we want you." The Councilor snatched the branding iron from the other Griffin and jabbed it into my chest causing a cracking sound on impact.

"If you hurt any of them I swear I'll―"

"You'll what? Kill me? If I die then my friend Räuber will be given permission to do whatever he wants to them, and you don't want to see what he'll leave behind when he's done." I saw a tear in the Councilor's eye as he hit me in the head with the iron, knocking me out...

---

"AH!" I shouted as I leaned up in my bed. I brought both my hooves to my head to try to ease the pain that coursed through it as I saw that there was almost no light in my room even though both windows' curtains were wide open. I cast a spell that projected light from my horn, then I turned to the clock and saw it was four sixteen A.M, but how early it was was the least of my concerns at the moment.

What in Tartarus was going on? I was being tortured for fuck's sake! And I helped get a Griffin Councilor's family foalnapped! I seemed more like Gezähnt than myself... Is that what I used to be like? Just some psychopathic servant of Queen Chrysalis? I wondered in silence as the pain slowly subsided. I'm not going to spend more time thinking about that. I'm not like that and I never will be. Who I was is irrelevant to me now. As I calmed down, I tried to forget about the flashback then I laid back down, shut my eyes, and hoped that was the last I'd see of that memory.

---

Unfortunately for me, I wasn't done having flashbacks as I found that I was siting on a barstool with my vision focused on a small shot glass in front of me. My forelegs were crossed and my head was resting on them as I stared at my drink. The bar that my cup sat on was a dark brown colored wood.

"Dun?" That voice, it was none other than Gezähnt's. "Dun, are you listening to me?" Gezähnt asked as he nudged my shoulder to better get my attention.

"Yes I'm listening, Gezähnt." I said but just continued to stare at the cup.

"Really? Tell me what I was just talking about."

"Something about bashing in a Diamond Dog's head?" I asked as I glanced at Gezähnt out of the corner of my eye.

"Well... yes, but something's bothering you."

"I don't want to talk about it..." I said as I lifted my cup with my magic and drank the whole shot in one gulp. "Another drink, please." I said to the bartender. The moment my cup was filled Gezähnt took it away with his own magic. "Give it back, Gezähnt. I'm in no mood." I warned.

"What's wrong? I've seen you upset before, but you've been so distant lately that I'd say you're downright depressed." Gezähnt explained as he kept my cup away from me.

"Give me, the damn cup." I said with a throaty growl.

"This is about the Councilor, isn't it?" Gezähnt asked as I let out a sigh. "You can talk to me about this. You know that right?" Gezähnt said as he placed the cup back in front of me.

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it, I don't want to remember it ever happened." I said as I quickly gulped my drink again. "Another." I demanded as Gezähnt let out a sigh. "Since I know you're going to ask, it's about what we did... How am I supposed to just go home, hug my kids and kiss my wife like everything's fine after what we do something like that? It's not right." I said as I felt a tear come to my eye.

"It wasn't easy, it's not supposed to be unless you're as twisted as me, but we had to do wh―"

"What's best for the hive. But it wasn't best for the hive. The Councilor is the only one who had to die... I feel like sometimes we don't care who dies and who doesn't as long as we can say 'it was best for the hive'... Maybe we are monsters..."

"We do what we need to in order to survive. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And we use it as an excuse for everything wrong that we do. Our crime is far worse than any punishment we can be given." I said as the memory began to fade...

---

My eyes snapped open as I woke up again in the darkness of early morning. I used the light spell again and saw that this time it was four fifty-one in the morning. My thoughts instantly went to my newest flashback. What happened? What happened that made me so depressed? This is driving me crazy! I need sleep but I keep getting these flashbacks and waking up again. What am I supposed to do? Maybe a walk through the castle will help clear my head.

I slowly pulled the blankets off of myself and crawled out of bed. Once I got out of bed, I looked out the window to Canterlot, seeing nopony in streets, making it almost seem like Canterlot was abandoned. I could see the night sky was filled with stars, and the moon consumed much of the sky, shining like a dim sun in the darkness. I closed the curtains of both windows with my magic and turned away from them, heading for the door.

I opened the door of my room expecting to see Striker or Blast Shield, but nopony there. I quietly stepped out of my room, looking around the hallways, I saw they were completely empty. With only the moonlight to the hall, I began walking around aimlessly.

What happened to the Councilor? Did we kill him or something worse? In that flashback, I said it's what we did, so I wasn't talking about the torture. Though that might have played at least a small roll in my behavior. As much as I don't like it, I think I'll have to talk to Gezähnt if I really want to know what happened. But do I really want to? I asked myself as I stopped and looked to the moon. I told Gezähnt I didn't even want to remember what happened, but now that memory is haunting me and I don't even know why. What are the odds of having two flashbacks in one night that seem to be very closely related events?

I let out an annoyed sigh as I turned towards the dungeon to talk to Gezähnt about those flashbacks. As I walked through the castle, it seemed like I was the only one awake. I saw three guards as I walked, one was on patrol using his magic as a light source like I did, and the other two were just door guards. I was kind of surprised that nopony questioned why I was wandering the castle halls at four in the morning, but at least it made my walk quicker.

You'd think they'd have more security after the Changeling attacks. I thought as I came to the dungeon's doors, which was guarded by a fully armored and completely asleep guard. Wow. I thought as I quietly opened the door and walked into the dungeon. There were no guards actually in the dungeon, just three sleeping Changelings.

As I walked up to Gezähnt's cell I noticed that Hofnarr for once wasn't talking. I'm amazed he doesn't talk in his--

"Stop right there... criminal... gum..." Hofnarr mumbled.

Never mind. I thought as I rolled my eyes and turned to Gezähnt. He was sleeping on his side with his back facing the cell door and without his blanket covering him. "Gezähnt." I whispered. Gezähnt didn't react, so I used the light spell to shine light onto Gezähnt's head, causing him to groan and sit up as I canceled the spell.

"Whoever you are, you're going to die for that..." Gezähnt said as he rubbed his eyes and looked at me. "I'm not sure if it being you makes this better or worse. What do you want?" He said as he walked up to the bars and sat down.

"There's something we need to talk about." I told him as I also sat down.

"I'm getting tired of these little talks of ours, because they never go anywhere but to an argument."

"This time's different. I want to talk about a flashback I had." I said as Gezähnt looked around the dungeon.

"What time is it?" Gezähnt asked.

"About five in the morning." Gezähnt growled pretty loudly when he heard that.

"Why? Why did this conversation have to take place this early?" He said as he leaned closer to me with a very unhappy look on his face.

"Because the first flashback woke me up at about four sixteen, and when I tried to go back to sleep I got another one that woke me up about fifteen minutes ago."

"So because you can't sleep you decided neither can I?"

"I don't think my brain will let me sleep until I get some answers, and you're the only one who might have them."

"Arg, fine. What were these damn flashbacks about?" Gezähnt said as he facehoofed.

"I was imprisoned and tortured by Griffins." Gezähnt's ears fell and he looked to the floor when he heard that. "And the other flashback is after that, and we were in a bar of some kind. I--"

"You've said enough for me to know what you remembered. But I must ask, you told me at that bar that you never even wanted to think about that event again, so are you sure you want to be digging up things you've tried to forget in the past?" Gezähnt said as his gaze slowly met mine again.

"My flashbacks won't let it go, so I'm hoping that learning what happened will make it stop." I explained as Gezähnt sighed.

"Before you ask a question, ask yourself if you're ready for the answer. But it seems you think you are, so fine. The Councilor was there for your torture, correct?" He asked and I nodded. "That Councilor was a Griffin Imperial Diplomat. He was pushing the Council to a possible alliance with Equestria in the interests of 'benefiting both nations.' Normally we don't care about the politics of non-Changeling kingdoms, but this was two months before the invasion of Canterlot was supposed to be enacted, and if the Councilor's plan to ally with Equestria had been made, then the Griffins would undoubtedly come to Equestria's aid, and that was a war we would not have won, so naturally this member of the council had to be eliminated."

"One of our most ingenious minds, Lieutenant Klinge, came up with a plan that would; kill the councilor, gain valuable resources, and make it look like we had nothing to do with it. Klinge's plan was quick and masterful. Fake an assassination attempt on a different Councilor, then while the Diplomat was detracted with the assassin, you in this case, other Changelings would slip into his home, capture his family, and inform you via Hive Mind, and then you reveal the false plan to the Councilor. I was in charge of the captives, you were the assassin, and Klinge over saw everything personally. The false plan you revealed to them was that we had captured his family for ransom and if he didn't bring you and five-thousand bits to us, we would suck his family dry."

"We weren't surprised when the Councilor brought a small brigade with him. They 'peacefully' exchanged you and the currency for his family, but when they turned their backs Klinge ordered an open fire on the convoy. The Griffins put up an amusing fight, but our magic gave us the edge. We killed the Councilor, his convoy... And his family." My jaw dropped when I heard that.

"Klinge said later that the risk of loose ends were too great and needed to be dealt with. The mission was a complete success; we killed the target, got the coin, and pinned it all on a band of Changeling renegades, which Queen Chrysalis had put on wanted posters a few days earlier to correspond with Klinge's plan. That memory of us at the bar was about a week after those bandits had been publicly executed by the Griffins. Now do you see why you wanted to forget? Because of Klinge's orders four children and a woman died unnecessarily, and the guilt you felt for letting it happen ate you from the inside out. And now you once again hold the burden of knowing what we do for our own good."

I was stunned by what Gezähnt told me. Were we really so cold as to kill four children? I couldn't begin to describe how I felt about this. "How... How could we do something like that? Did anyone tell the Queen about that? something must have been done." I said as Gezähnt shook his head.

"The Queen was told every detail of what had happened... Klinge was given a medal and was praised for his dedication to the well-being of the Hive. So you see, 'Fragment,' in The Hive we judge good and bad outcomes by how much The Hive benefited as a whole, and we gained not only simple coin for trading, but the security that our plan wouldn't have undesired occurrences with another army." Gezähnt explained in such a deadpan way, it made me so mad that he could say we do all of this like it was fine or acceptable. I almost slammed my hooves against the bars of Gezähnt's cell in outrage, but managed to stop myself. I really didn't want to explain to a guard why I was talking to a Changeling prisoner at five in the morning.

"How... I can't even... Why?" I was so stunned and angry by this that I couldn't even form a sentence. We killed four children, there's nothing I can say about that. How could we do something like that? Did we actually think that children would be able to tell them that it was a conspiracy to prevent an alliance between the griffins and the Equestrians? They would have just watched their Father get murdered and would likely be traumatized by the ordeal. "How could we be so cruel?"

"Somehow I don't think getting the answers you're looking for will help you sleep tonight. Don't say I didn't warn you." Gezähnt said as he got up and began walking back to his bed. I had to take my mind off of what I just learned, so I asked the only other thing I could that might make sleeping easier. Might.

"In my flashback... you referred to me as 'Dun.' Is that my name?" I asked as Gezähnt peered over his shoulder at me.

"Dun was your nickname." Gezähnt said as he crawled back into bed. "And if you ever wake me up this early again, I will do everything in my power to kill you." After that, I slowly made my way out of the Dungeon. I gently pushed the doors open and walked back to my room where I planned to try my best to forget what I just learned...

---

I felt exhausted as my eyes opened. I had barely gotten any sleep and my mind was still plagued by thoughts about those flashbacks and what Gezähnt told me. I really shouldn't have asked about those flashbacks. Do we really just not care about anyone but ourselves? I don't want to believe any of it, but I can't deny the facts. I can't even deny that me and Gezähnt were friends anymore. I really don't want to believe it but it's ignorant to act like it's not true. But I shouldn't be thinking about this so much, because there's nothing I can do about it now. No matter how much I hate what we did no one can change it. I need to let it go.

I thought to myself as I slowly got out of bed. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock, I saw that it was seven twenty-one A.M. I wish I could have slept more. I thought with a groan as I Walked over to the door and opened it slowly. As I walked out into the hallway I saw Striker heading towards my room.

"Fragment? You're up early." Striker said as he walked up to me.

"You don't know the half of it…” I said as I yawned.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I replied as Striker raised a brow at me.

"Whatever." Striker said as he rolled his eyes and put on a small smile. "Well anyways, we have sometime before breakfast is ready so if you want to practice some more combat we could."

"We have nothing better to do, so let's do it." I said as we began heading for the training room. I hoped that training would help me forget about my flashbacks, and I was looking forward to learning something useful again, which helped me shake some of the tiredness.

"So how long have you been up?" Striker asked.

"Since four sixteen." Striker's eye widened when he heard that. "I had trouble sleeping."

"Why? Or is that what you don't want to talk about?" I didn't reply. "I'll take the hint and not push it."

"Thanks. So where do we start?" I asked as we entered the training room.

"We start with actually practicing those counter attacks I showed you yesterday." Striker said as we reached the center of the room. "Let's begin with that Evade Kick move." The Evade Kick is a pretty straightforward move, and like all the other moves Striker showed me, it was meant to be used in melee combat, not against magic. The idea of this move is that your opponent either charges or lunges at you, and you wait for the last possible moment to duck to one side or the other, and then kick one of their hind legs, knocking them off balance and dealing a good amount of damage to the limb.

"So are we just going to practice the motions again or we going to actually try them?" I asked.

"For now, we'll just go through the motions. After we've both had something to eat we can actually try them. Now, I'm sure you remember how to execute the Evade Kick, but can you execute it on the proper timing? That's what we're going to find out. What I want you to do is on my mark, duck and roll diagonally to your left and buck your hind right leg at where whoever you're fighting would be." Striker explained.

"Sounds easy enough." I said as I got up and stretched my limbs.

"This is just a warm up. After breakfast you're going to try it on me. Along with a few other moves."

"Wait, you want me… to fight you?" I was quite confused by this plan.

"Not a real fight, but yeah. It adds to the realism to give you better training than practicing on nothing. I'd just use dummies if it'd work, but dummies are more for target practice with magic and stuff. Now lets get back to work. On my mark, duck forward left, then buck with back right leg." Striker said as I took a battle stance, with my right foreleg drawn back and with my head lowered as I listened for Striker's command. Striker seemed to be testing my patience, because it had been more than ten seconds and I hadn't heard anything from Striker.

"NOW!" He finally shouted, and I almost instantly rolled to the forward left and as soon as I was back on my hooves I bucked at where my enemy would be. I bet it looked kind of stupid doing that with no obvious target, but I looked back to Striker for confirmation on how good I did. "Not bad for your first practice try, but you need to work on your stability. You didn't recover from your roll fast enough to give a good kick when you tried, so that's something we'll need to work on. Also that roll itself was kind of sloppy. You need to really put your weight into it to roll quickly and effectively." Striker reviewed as I listened.

"Regain stability quickly and put weight into the roll. Got it." I said as I walked back beside him and prepared to try again.

"On my mark... NOW!" We practiced the Evade Kick for about half an hour before Blast Shield told us breakfast was ready. As we walked to the dinning room Striker and Blast Shield talked, and as they did I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to those memories of the torture and the bar.

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that we killed four children and someone's wife as some kind of safety measure. We planned to frame some Changeling bandits anyway, and it's not like those Griffins would've been able to pick us out of a crowd, so killing them was completely unnecessary and cruel. As I thought about it I felt pain building in my head. I shook my head and tried to think about something else, but my vision had already darkened and I was starting to feel lightheaded. I stopped walking and brought a hoof to my head in an attempt to ease my pain, though it didn't work.

"You okay Fragment?" Striker asked as he and Blast Shield stopped.

"I will be." I said as I tried to refocus my vision. "Let's keep moving." I said as we started walking again. Then, my vision faded...

---

My vision returned, with me in an entirely different area. Instead of the castle's hallway, I was standing outside of a wooden door. I was wearing dark blue armor and held a helmet of the same color with my right foreleg. It was a cloudless sunny day, it was kind of hot but there was a cooling breeze that kept the heat from being an issue. I was smiling brightly as I switched from holding the helmet with my hoof to my magic and knocked on the door.

"Käfer, could you get that please?" A female voice asked as another voice replied "Yes, mom!" I waited patiently as the sound of hooves got closer to the door. I leaned down so my head was only about two feet off the ground. When the door opened a few seconds later, it revealed a small average looking Changeling, whose face lit up when he saw me.

"Da―" He almost shouted as I covered his mouth with a hoof.

"Shhh. Let's surprise your Mother." I said to him as he nodded his head excitedly. "Where's Hornisse?" Before Käfer could answer, his mom called again.

"Käfer, who is it?" She asked.

"Uh, it's just the mail." He replied as we walked into the house. The house wasn't anything special, it had a living room that had a couch, two wooden chairs, a coffee table, and a small bookshelf with three shelves that each held roughly fifteen books. "This way." Käfer whispered as he lead me further into the house.

As we walked quietly down the hall, I looked around, seeing a few pictures in frames hanging on the walls. Most of the pictures were of two young changelings playing together, one of them being Käfer, who was slightly smaller than the other. One picture I saw was of the same two changelings with two larger changelings standing behind them. One of them I recognized as myself, and the other changeling was nuzzling my neck as she looked into the camera with a smile. She had very dark blue eyes compared to mine.

As we passed a closet, we came to a door that was slightly open, and Käfer slowly pushed it in showing another small changeling sitting in the middle of a bedroom. There was one unmade bed with a blanket, a sheet, and two pillows. There was one window that looked out to the street and there was a closet that wasn't shut properly because of a few wooden toys that blocked it. there were a few toys in the room that weren't in the closet, and there were two books next to the changeling, one of which had a bookmark in it. The changeling in the room, who I figured was Hornisse, was holding a small black ball, which looked like it was made of glass, with a black eight in a white circle on it.

"Does Tulpe like me?" Hornisse asked as he shook the ball. Once he stopped shaking the ball he looked at it as me and Käfer tip-hoofed closer so we could see what the ball said. After a moment, the words "Ask again later" appeared. "Stupid ball." Hornisse mumbled as he rolled that ball away.

"I told you those things were a waste of time, didn't I?" I said as Hornisse spun around and instantly smiled upon seeing me, but before he could say anything that might ruin the surprise, I shushed him and motioned him to follow. Käfer lead us to the kitchen where there was a changeling washing some glass dishes as she hummed to herself.

"So who thinks we should go out to eat tonight?" I asked as the other changeling jumped a little and turned around. When she faced me her dark blue eyes lit up with joy as she walked towards me with a smile.

"Hello, honey." She said as she wrapped her forelegs around my neck and pulled me into a deep and passionate kiss that I happily returned.

"Ewwwww…” Käfer said as Hornisse rolled his eyes at us.

"Good to see you too, Saphir." I said as we broke the kiss. She pulled me into a hug that Hornisse and Käfer joined in on. As my vision began to fade again, I heard Käfer's voice say:

"We're happy you're home, Daddy."

---

My vision slowly returned to reality as I rubbed my head, then I noticed I was still walking with Striker and Blast Shield with the dining room in sight, which meant I did not pass out like the other times.

"I don't know." Striker said to Blast Shield. "He told me he woke up at four this morning, so he might just be tired."

"Why was he awake so early?" Blast Shield asked and Striker shrugged.

"He doesn't want to talk about it, but if I had to guess I'd say it was something that jerk changeling what's-his-face said." Striker said as he opened the door to the dinning room. The table had all kinds of assorted fruits and vegetables on it. Princess Celestia and Prince Blue blood were already sitting at the table and eating when we got there.

"Good morning." Princess Celestia said as we bowed and then took our seats. "Are you alright, Fragment? You look exhausted." She said as Striker and Blast Shield looked at her then to me.

"I, uh, had trouble sleeping last night." I said simply and then took a bite out of an apple, hoping she wouldn't pry too much about why. Princess Celestia seemed to think I was hiding something, but didn't ask about it.

"Maybe you should go to bed sooner." She replied as she took bite of her food. "So Striker is teaching you how to fight?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Yes. We decided that since I'm going to be a Treasure Hunter I'm going to need to know how to fight by non-magical means. If I was relying on just my magic I'd be in a lot a trouble in a fight." I explained. "Hey, as long as were on the subject of my training..."

"No, I haven't found you a new magic teacher yet. These things take time, Fragment." She said as she took a sip of tea.

"That's good to know, but that's not what I was going to ask." I regained Princess Celestia's attention with that. "I want to know what we're going to do for flying and shapeshifting. Are you going to teach me those things or will you hire someone to teach me?" I asked.

"I think I know somepony who could teach you how to fly, but I'll have to speak to her before I can say for certain. And as far as shapeshifting goes, I think the two of us will have to try figuring it out together."

"I hope it won't be too difficult to figure out how to do either of those." I said as we continued eat. Breakfast was quiet after that, which helped let my mind force itself to think my most recent flashbacks. I couldn't stop thinking about those flashbacks no matter how hard I tried or how badly I wanted to. As if just knowing that I have a family wasn't enough to bother me, I was getting flashbacks that were telling me about them, which made the emotional influence on me stronger. I tried to stop thinking about my family by thinking about my training, but I would still think about my memories from time to time as I ate. After about ten minutes, we finished eating and me and Striker headed back to the training room with Blast Shield following.

"So what are we going to do next?" I asked as we walked.

"First, we're going to try something more offensive, then we're going to give the Evade Kick a real try." Striker replied.

"I'll try not to hurt you too much." I said as we chuckled. After a few minutes we reached the training room.

"So as I said, now I'm going to show you an attack, we'll practice it a few times, then we'll have a practice fight to see how well you've learned what I've showed." Striker said as we walked to the center of the room and Blast Shield stood by the door.

"This move I'm going to teach you is really good for knocking your opponent off balance or disarming them, which also gives you a good opportunity to get in another hit before they're ready to defend themselves. This move is called the 'Crutch Knock.' using the word 'crutch' as a reference to a weapon or something that's generally relied on in a fight, and you're 'knocking' it away from them." Striker explained.

"Now unlike the Evade Kick, this you can't just do to the open air, you're going to try to knock me off balance while I basically try to beat you senseless in order for me to really tell if you're doing it right."

"Wonderful. So how do I use the 'Crutch Knock' aggressively? It sounds more like a defensive move to me."

"You use it aggressively by taking the initiative and striking first. This move is a two step attack, the first part being attempting to hit their head, which opponents usually try to block, then you attack the limb that's holding the weapon by hitting a joint." Striker explained as he walked over to one of the dummies and took a wooden sword from one of them with his mouth, then he walked back over to me and placed the sword in his right hoof.

"Now, you're going to try to hit me, then try to disarm me. If you can do it in five seconds you'll have done it at average time. And in case you're thinking it, no I'm not going to make this easy by just standing here doing nothing, I will attempt to counter attack. Try to read my moves and find a opening."

"Let's see if I can do this." I said as we both took a fighting stance and Striker took a few steps back. It didn't take me long to make my move.

I charged at Striker at full speed, and when I was only about three feet away from him I changed course so that I was more to his right than in front of him, then I turned and punched at Striker's head with my left hoof, which he blocked with the sword, then Striker slashed at my chest with the sword, scratching it a little. Not enough to cause bleeding because it was a wooden sword, but enough that you could see were it made contact.

As Striker's sword finished passing, I struck his ankle causing him to grunt from the pain, but he quickly recovered and tried again to hit me with the sword, this time aiming for my left foreleg and hitting it between the ankle and knee, I could feel that Striker had restrained himself so he wouldn't hurt me too much, but it still hurt. I tried to ignore the pain and once again hit Striker's ankle, and this time the wooden sword came out of his grip, and with that the practice fight was over.

"So… how'd I do?" I asked as I examined my leg for injuries.

"Well, it was pretty clever to switch from front to side like that, but you weren't very good at the actual disarming, which was the point. It didn't seem like you tried to read my moves at all, which would've help you a lot. So that's something we'll have to work on. Other than that you did good. Now, are you ready to try again?"

"Bring it." I replied with a smile. We practiced both the Crutch Knock and the Evade Kick for awhile until a butler told us that lunch was ready. Me, Striker, and Blast Shield made our way to the dining room, this time neither Princess Celestia nor Prince Blueblood were there. Lunch was rather short and uneventful and we were done eating quickly, and with that out of the way, we headed back to the training room for me and Striker's practice fight.

"So everything I've taught you so far is truly going to be put to the test this time. Do you think you're ready?"

"No but I think it'll be fun regardless." I said as we walked into the training room.

"Let's see if you can hold your own." Striker said as I took my place on one side of the room and Striker on the other. There was no way I could win this fight since Striker had a lot more training and experience than me, but I was determined to try my best. We took a fighting stance and waited for the other to make the first move. For almost thirty seconds we just stood staring at the other, then, we charged at the other simultaneously, as if we read the other's mind. We were closing in on the other fast ready to fight, then we heard a loud whistle and we both grinded to a halt and turned to see who the whistler was. We saw a black Pegasus with a dark green and white mane and tail and was wearing standard gold armor.

"What in sweet Celestia's name do you two think you're doing?!" He sounded like he was angry, but I could smell that he wasn't, though Striker and Blast Shield seemed very uncomfortable with him.

"I, uh, we, Sir―" Striker stuttered as he was cut out by this guard.

"Dammit, Striker, do you think I give two sweaty shits about what you're doing? The shipment of new upgraded refined steel plate armor is here and all guards are getting them. You two need to get down to the barracks and get your own armor." The guard said as Blast Shield and Striker relaxed a little.

"Yes, Sir!" Striker and Blast Shield said as they started walking away with the other guard. "What are you going to do, Fragment?" Striker asked as he stopped in the doorway.

"I guess I'll take this opportunity to finally write back to Pinkie Pie." I said as I started walking to the doorway. "So I guess I'll see you later." I said as Striker nodded and ran to catch up to the others. I thought about what I would tell Pinkie Pie as I walked back to my room. I was happy to be communicating with Pinkie Pie and maybe the others again, and I was wondering how everypony was after the changeling attack. I was sure that the second attack did nothing to make me look better in Rainbow Dash and Applejack's eyes, especially in Applejack's considering the fact that her sister had been foalnapped. Hopefully I could find a way to prove I'm not like Chrysalis' changelings. After a few minutes I finally reached my room and walked into it. As I walked over to my bed I picked up the bag of writing supplies with my magic and set it on my bed. I crawled onto the bed and took a quill, scroll, and an inkwell out of the bag, then I put the bag back on the floor next to the bed. I carefully opened the inkwell, unrolled the scroll, dipped the quill into the the ink, and began writing.

Dear Pinkie Pie

Sorry it's taken so long for me to reply to your letter, but things have been pretty hectic around here lately. I'm sure you've heard about the giant Cockatrice attack on Canterlot. Speaking, or writing in this case, of attacks on Equestria, I heard about the attack on Ponyville by the Changelings. The three Changelings involved with the attack that you and the others captured were brought here for questioning, which was very unsuccessful. After Shining Armor and a Night Guard by the name of Sinistar tried to interrogate them and failed, I offered to try, thinking that maybe they'd cooperate with me because I'm a Changeling as well, but that plan fell apart quickly as the Changeling I tried to talk to used the 'Hive Mind' to try to speak to me mentally, which only affected me by causing extreme pain.

This Changeling, 'Gezähnt,' refused to talk to ponies and would only talk to me if we were alone. I think he really hates ponies. My conversation with him was the most unpleasant conversation I can remember. He tried to convince me that the Princesses and everypony else was trying to trick me so they could use me against the Changelings. I almost punched him because of it. But as if him trying to make me turn against the Equestrians wasn't enough, just as I was leaving he claimed that I have a family in the Changeling Kingdom.

I don't know how I feel about that. At first I denied it and said Gezähnt was lying, but I've since had flashbacks that show that he was telling the truth. Somewhere I have a wife and two sons who think I'm either dead or missing and I don't know what to do about it. I'm going to change the subject because I don't know what to do or how to feel about my family other than hope they're doing okay without me. So besides those Changelings things around here have been fine. I'm learning a good amount of magic and Princess Celestia told me that once we think I have learned all I need to from her, she will teach me how to fly. Well, she said she has somepony in mind who could teach me to fly but she hasn't told me who that is yet. That's basically all I have to say for now, and I think I'll visit you in Ponyville after I'm done learning here. Tell the others I said hi.

Sincerely, Fragment.

P.S Could you send me another mint cupcake? Those things are really good.

As I finished the letter I put the cork back in the inkwell then began going over the letter for a few minutes for spelling errors and other things. After about ten minutes of going over the letter I decided it was fine and rolled up the scroll. I put the ink and quill back in the bag and got off of the bed, but before I could take another step, I heard some kind of pulse. I looked out the window and saw what I quickly identified as Shining Armor's forcefield had just passed my window. What in Tartarus? I thought as I walked over to the window and saw that only the castle was within the forcefield. Before I could question any further the door to my room swung open. I turned around and saw two guards I hadn't seen before. One of them was a white Unicorn and the other was a dark grey Pegasus.

"Captain Shining Armor wants to see you right away." The Pegasus guard said.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked as I walked over to them and they began leading the way.

"The Changelings have escaped."

Author's Notes:

Saturday 3:01 AM 8/31/2013 Fire alarm went off. There was no fire, smoke, steam, candles, caps, cigarettes, or even a fire being displayed on a TV. F@%k my life.

I again apologize for that wait and I hope this helps make up for it. I pretty much sealed myself in my room for a week getting this thing done. Yeah, my Age of Empires/Skype friends weren't too pleased with that.

P.S Having fun, Demegor?

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 17: Lock Down

My mind was racing with fear and panic as the two guards lead me to Shining Armor. How could they have escaped?! This is the fucking castle for crying out loud! Is it possible that the Queen sent someone to break them out? What will happen if Gezähnt tells Queen Chrysalis that I'm this M.I.A. Captain they were looking for? Will she try to take me back to the Changeling Kingdom against my will, or will she decide that it's too much of a risk to let me live at all? Calm down, Fragment, they might not have gotten far, so there's still a likely chance we will capture them again. But how did the they even escape from their cells? There must be a logical reason for them to be able to get out. Hopefully Shining Armor can tell me more. I thought as we walked. After a short time we came to the doors of the dungeon, which was now guarded by three guards.

Little late with the security. The dark grey Pegasus nodded and a guard opened the door. As we walked into the dungeon, I saw Striker, Blast Shield, Sinistar, Shining Armor, and a few guards I didn't recognize.

"And where were the two of you?!" Shining Armor shouted at two guards, who were barely able to stand through their fear of Shining Armor's rage. I noticed there was a guard holding an ice pack to the left side of his head sitting next to Gezähnt's cell, which like the other two Changelings' cells, was empty.

"We left to get coffee, Sir." One of them said with his head hanging low in shame.

"Both of you should know better than to leave only one guard to watch three prisoners!" Shining Armor yelled, then he took a deep breath trying to clam himself down. "How long were you two gone?"

"Not even five minutes, Sir, and when we got back we found Recoil unconscious and the Changelings were gone." The guard explained as Sinistar walked up to Shining armor and whispered something in his ear, then two of them walked away from the guards and began talking in private as Striker walked up to me.

"So aside from the obvious, what happened?" I asked as Striker shrugged.

"We have no idea, all we know is that those two guards left," Striker said pointing at the guards Shining Armor was just talking to. "and when they got back they found the third guard, who had been left to watch the Changelings, was out cold."

"What did the third guard say happened?"

"We haven't talked to him yet. When the other guards got back, one of them got an ice pack and the other told Shining Armor that the Changelings were gone, and Shining Armor got Sinistar and a few others before he got here."

"Is the forcefield for keeping them from getting outside?"

"Yeah. The castle is officially on lock down to make sure they don't get away."

"I bet the ponies outside are worried by the sudden forcefield." I said as Striker nodded. I looked and saw that Shining Armor and Sinistar were still talking, and neither one of them looked happy. "Any idea why they brought me into this? It's not like I have Changeling sensing powers. Not that I know of that is."

"No idea. I didn't even know you were coming. Hey, looks like they're about to start questioning the guard who was watching the Changelings." Striker said as Shining Armor and Sinistar walked up to the guard who was still holding the ice pack to his head. Me, Striker, and most of the guards in the room made a circle around the three of them.

"So, Recoil, can you tells us what happened?" Shining Armor asked.

"Not really. All I know is that about a minute after the others left to get coffee, something black hit my face, and when I woke up the Changelings were gone and I didn't have my coffee." Recoil said as Shining Armor sighed, then turned around to face the rest of the guards.

"Listen up everypony, I want this castle searched top to bottom. I don't know how dangerous these Changelings are, but I know that they are soldiers and they likely will try to take your lives. I want patrols throughout the castle in teams of three to five. Me and Sinistar are going to gather more guards and set up checkpoints around the castle's exits. Every team must have at least one Unicorn that knows the reveling spell, and if you find any of those Changelings, I want you to attempt to subdue them, we still need to do further interrogation. You two stay here, Striker, Blast Shield, you two with Fragment, and somepony get Recoil to the infirmary. Any questions?" Shining armor said as he and Sinistar watched for any hooves being raised, and after a few seconds a yellow earth pony raised his hoof.

"I have a request, Sir." He said as he put his hoof back down.

"What is it?" Shining Armor asked.

"I would prefer that Fragment does not get involved in this."

"What?" Me, Striker, and Shining Armor said. "And why don't you want Fragment getting involved?" Shining Armor asked as all eyes were now on this guard.

"I was told that Changelings have something called a 'Hive Mind' that they can use to communicate telepathically, and what if they can also use that to sense other Changelings? Then they'd be able to sense Fragment and therefore know we were close." He explained.

"That's an interesting theory, but if they could do that then they probably would've sensed me when they were first brought to Canterlot." I said as everypony's attention followed whoever was talking. "The morning they were brought here, one of them used the Hive Mind to try to communicate with any Changelings in the area, but when I got into the interrogation room, he was pretty surprised to see me, so I don't think they can by any means sense other Changelings. The only reason I know they used the Hive Mind is because it hurt quite a bit when they did it."

"And why should we take your word for it?" A different guard asked.

"Because out of all of us I'm the one who would know?" I replied, unsure of why he was questioning me.

"And you'd know if that's true or not, and we wouldn't."

"Isn't that pretty much what I just said?" I said as Striker faced the other guard more directly and spoke.

"Are you implying something?" Striker said in a very serious tone.

"Yeah, I am. Why should we trust him to help us find the other Changelings? What if he let them out?"

"What?!" I yelled. How could he think I had something to do with this? I thought as Shining Armor stepped up.

"That's a big accusation with no evidence to support it." Shining Armor said with a glare.

"How else could they have gotten out? There's nothing they could have used to pick the locks and Recoil didn't have the key on him. There's no way they escaped without outside help." At this point, I was angry that he could so easily blame me for this, concerned that we were wasting time arguing, and worried by the fact I had a headache from out of nowhere that was growing fast.

"And how do you know the Queen didn't send a different Changeling to do it?" Striker asked.

"Because it'd be a lot easier to use the Changeling who's already in the castle. We've already established that they can communicate telepathically, so it wouldn't exactly be difficult to make a plan like that, would it?"

"I fought the Cockatrice with the guards, I saved a mare and her son from being killed, and I tried to help interrogate the Changelings. What makes you think I would help them and betray all of you after everything I've tried to do?" The pain rapidly increased and was joined by lightheadedness as the argument steadily escalated.

"What you tried to do? You tried to invade Canterlot and do Celestia knows what to everypony here. You're a Changeling, you're evil, and you shouldn't be trusted." He said with hate in his voice. I wanted to punch this guard, but I didn't and couldn't because it would only serve to further his point and the pain in my head was too much for me to fight. I tried to fight the pain, but as usual it was losing battle, and it wasn't long before I collapsed and fell unconscious...

My eyes were focused on a newspaper that was being held by another Changeling. I was reading a small article about a Changeling patrol being ambushed by Diamond Dogs. I was sitting on the floor surrounded by small wooden toys that seemed to be organized into a battle. My view of the Changeling in front of me was blocked by the paper he or she held, but I could see that it was sitting on a wooden rocking chair, and then I noticed I was pretty small compared to the Changeling in the chair, so I was probably much younger than in my other flashbacks.

"Grandpa?" I said in a voice that was a much higher pitch than usual. The other Changeling lowered the paper so he could see me. I saw that this Changeling wore glasses, had a chipped fang, and a dull looking horn.

"Yes, Dunkel?" My Grandfather asked. His voice was quite deep, even compared to Gezähnt's.

"Why do we have to fight?" I asked as he folded up the newspaper and set it beside his chair.

"Because we need to survive, and fighting is the only way we have." He said as he then picked up a glass mug of coffee and took a sip from it.

"But if we need to feed off of love, then shouldn't we make friends? Changelings can get along with Changelings from other hives, so why can't we get along with Griffins or Diamond Dogs?" I asked as my Grandfather smiled and picked me up with his magic and placed me on his lap.

"I can see you've thought this through." His smile became smaller as he continued to speak. "Well you see, Dunkel, the other races don't trust and don't like us because we feed on their love, and if we overfeed on it, then it destroys their ability to feel it."

"But we don't overfeed, so that's not a problem, right?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"Unfortunately, just the fact that we can do something like that is enough reason to make our kind hated, so we survive in the shadows, taking on the form of those who are loved, and always having a powerful military ready to fight for the Changelings. Your Father was a very brave stallion, and he fought so you could have a life worth living." He explained to me as my ears flattened against my head at the mention of my Father.

"I miss him, Grandpa." I said as my Grandfather pulled me into a tight hug and a few tears rolled down my face.

"I know you do, Dunkel. I know you do..." His words echoed in my head as the darkness came over my vision again and the memory faded...

There was plenty of pain coursing through my body as my eyes slowly opened and I rubbed my head as I thought about my new flashback. Dunkel... My name is Dunkel. I thought as it became apparent that I wasn't in a usual room. This room had two chairs, one of which I was in, a table, a single light in the center of the ceiling, and mirror on the wall ahead of me. "What the fuck...?" I mumbled as I sat straight up in my chair.

"You were out for awhile." I turned my head to the right and saw Striker was standing next to the door. "How're you feeling?" He asked as I looked around the room more.

"I feel like I've had enough flashbacks for today. Where are we?" I asked, thinking the room looked kind of familiar.

"This is the interrogation room." He said as my eyes widened.

"And... why am I here instead of my room or the infirmary?" That guard didn't actually convince them I helped the Changelings escape, did he?

I have no idea. After you passed out Shining Armor and the other guard kept arguing and Sinistar told me and Blast Shield to take you to the infirmary, but when we got you about halfway there, Sinistar told us that there was a change of plans and to take you here, I have no idea why though." Striker explained as the door opened and Princess Celestia walked in, causing me and Striker to quickly bow.

"Thank you Striker, now leave us to talk, please." Me and Striker weren't too sure about this, but Striker left the room anyway, leaving me and the Princess to talk. "There's something we need to talk about, Fragment." She said as she sat in the other chair.

"I didn't help the other Changelings escape! You need to believe me." I was in a minor state of panic in this situation. I wasn't sure if they were going to imprison me or something else, but I was scared nonetheless.

"I do believe you, Fragment, but that's not what this is about." I smelled the air to sense her emotions, and it consisted of confusion and concern.

"It's... It's not? Then why am I here?"

"While you were being brought to the infirmary, Sinistar told Shining Armor that he saw you at past four thirty this morning leaving the dungeon." My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. I didn't want to tell her about what Gezähnt told me, about the plan that got four innocent children killed and framed others for it. What would she think of me for doing all those things? The fact that we can kill carelessly as long as it helps ourselves only makes Changelings look worse. "I saw that something was bothering you at breakfast, but I didn't push it out of respect for your privacy, but now there are three prisoners of war free in the castle, you having been seen leaving the room where they were being held, there is a twenty minute time period where nopony can account for your whereabouts, and the guards think you had some involvement. If you want us to trust you then you need to tell me what's going on, Fragment." Princess Celestia said as I broke eye contact with her.

"I... I didn't tell anypony what was bothering me, because I just wanted to forget about it, and because... I did something horrible, Princess." I could feel tears coming to my eyes as I suddenly had a brief flashback of that moment. I saw those Griffins walking towards their convoy, they were only halfway back when a voice in my head commanded 'Open fire.' and the next thing I knew there was a swarm of dark green magic bolts blasting the Griffins, leaving their bloody bodies laying on the ground.

"It was in a flashback." I continued, trying not to have a meltdown and hoping I wouldn't have anymore memory flashes. "I was being tortured and interrogated by Griffins, having attempted to assassinate a Griffin Councilor." Princess Celestia's eyes widened in surprise when she heard that. "That's what woke me up the first time this morning, and I tried to forget about it, but when I fell back asleep I got another flashback where I was in a bar with that Changeling Gezähnt. I was depressed and kind of drunk because of something related to the Griffin Councilor from the other flashback, and I woke up again. I decided I might be able to get some sleep if I figured out what these flashbacks were about, and I thought that because Gezähnt was with me in the last flashback, he might have some information and could tell me what happened." Princess Celestia was listening very closely to what I was saying, and I think she noticed how emotional I was trying not to be.

"So I went to the dungeon to talk to Gezähnt, and he told me that the assassination was a distraction so that other Changelings could capture the Councilor's family and hold them for ransom, but that wasn't the real motive for what we were doing. That Councilor was an Imperial Diplomat who wanted to create an alliance between the Griffin Empire and Equestria, and with the Queen's plan to invade Canterlot only a few months away we couldn't let that happen. The plan was to capture his family and hold them for ransom as a cheep way to both gain resources and to get the Councilor into the open. After they gave us the gold for his family... we killed them." Though she didn't express it, I could smell the shock she felt. I guess coldblooded murder isn't something she had anticipated. "We killed the Councilor, his wife, and his kids. Four kids died because of what we did... I-I didn't want anyone to know that we did something like that, and I was afraid of what would happen if you or anypony found out... I-I couldn't sleep after what Gezähnt told me, a-and--" I then felt pressure on my left shoulder. I looked and saw a white hoof resting on it, so I looked up and saw Princess Celestia had come to my side of the table and put her hoof on me I guess in an attempt to comfort me.

"I'm sorry, Fragment." I could smell guilt coming from her as I still fought to hold back the tears of my own guilt. "You don't have to talk about it anymore." Princess Celestia said softly as she held me lightly. After a few minutes of silently crying, I regained my composer and spoke.

"So am I going to help find the Changelings?" I asked trying desperately to change the subject.

"Shining Armor and Sinistar haven't decided yet, they wanted to know why you were in the dungeon before they made a final decision." She said with a small frown as she looked up from me to the mirror, which I knew was one-way.

"They've been listening the whole time, haven't they?" I asked as I looked up to the window and saw Princess Celestia nod towards it. "I'm going back to my room. If you need me, you know where to find me." I said as I got up and started walking towards the door.

"I understand." I heard Princess Celestia say as I opened the door and left. After I shut the door, I stood there for a moment thinking about everything that was going on, and then I saw the door to the observation room open and Striker walk out, then towards me. But then I started walking away and back to my room.

What will they think of me now? I helped get innocent Griffins killed. Children nonetheless. How could they look at me the same way after that? I don't know what scares me more; the fact that they know what I did, or the fact that they so easily decided to interrogate me. Yes, it is suspicious to be in the dungeon with the Changelings just a few hours before they escaped, but after everything I've done they still just assumed that because I'm a Changeling I helped the others escape, even though there's medical evidence that I have Amnesia and I therefore have no legitimate obligation to help them. I thought as I walked through the hallways, and after a short time I reached my room. I walked in and closed the door behind me, then I got onto my bed and quietly thought to myself as I waited for word of anything. I laid on my side, facing the wall as I let the time pass, but it wasn't even a minute before I felt somepony's hoof on my shoulder. "I don't want to talk right now, Striker." I said as the hoof was removed.

"It's rude to call someone a name that isn't their's." My eyes widened and I instantly turned around when I heard that.

"Gezähnt." I said as Gezähnt wore an almost sinister smile. "How did you know this was my room?"

"That's not important right now, brother. And I'm surprised you're not asking how we escaped, or trying to tell the ponies that I'm here." He said as I got off my bed, he walked over to the door, and locked it.

"What do you want? I'm sure you're not here to turn yourself back in to the guards." I said as I tried to think of some way to signal for help.

"You've seen how weak their trust in you is, brother, how they blamed and interrogated you with little to no hesitation."

"How did you know they interrogated me?" He simply chuckled to the question. "What do you want, Gezähnt?"

"I want you to come with us. Back to the Hive. There's so much you have left behind, your family, your friends--"

"Friends like you? I'd rather not."

"Can you so easily say the same about your family? And I may not be a good Changeling but I am a good friend."

"I want you to stop trying to use my family as a way to manipulate me."

"Dammit, brother, why isn't your family more important than this? You've gotten flashbacks that have only showed you that I am right, and you still try to deny it."

"I've remembered a lot in the week and a half I've had Amnesia, and do you know what I've remembered? I've remembered fighting, being tortured, and getting drunk because of the things we've done. I remember that my Father died in the Changeling--"

"You've remembered your Father?" Gezähnt asked with risen brow.

"My grandfather told me he died fighting so I could have a life worth living. I also know what 'Dun' is short for now." I couldn't really read Gezähnt face, so I had no hint to what he was thinking.

"Dunkel..." He said almost contently. "Tell my what makes returning to the Hive such a bad thing. Something that doesn't include the phrase 'betray the ponies' or anything that even remotely sounds like it."

"I would be a soldier, serve Chrysalis, and I'll have no one to turn to."

"You have a family, you wouldn't have to rejoin the army if you didn't want to, we could teach you everything you have forgotten, and there are more benefits than that." Gezähnt told me as he walked a little closer to me.

"If all that's true then why can't I just come back to the Hive on my own instead of you trying so hard to make me do it? And on the point of my family... Do you actually think we'd ever be a family again? I'd be a stranger to them and they'd be strangers to me. No matter how hard anyone tries, they can't make us a true family again, because without my memories... everyone is a stranger to me..." I realized just how depressing that idea was as I said it out loud.

"I want you to come back so badly because I know the things that could happen to you if they decide they've had enough of you. And at least in the Hive you wouldn't need to hide who you are. No one would discriminate you, and no one would hate or fear you. You would be treated fairly." Gezähnt said. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't think of a comeback. I tried to organize something, but was interrupted by a sudden pain and loud humming inside my head. I dropped to the floor and clutched my head with my forehooves, but Gezähnt appeared to be listening closely, so I figured that one of the others was using the Hive Mind. After a moment, it stopped and I slowly got back up. "It seems I've run out time. You need to make your choice now, Dunkel. Stay here and take your chances with Equestria, or come with me, to your home, and your family. Please, Dunkel, come with me." There was silence as his words sank in. I didn't want to just leave all the friends I had made behind.

"If you see Saphir... tell her I'm sorry." I said at last. Gezähnt nodded slowly and turned to leave... Then I attacked, lunging at him and slamming him into the wall. "I didn't say I was just going to let you walk out of he--" Pain and that humming shot through my head as I fell to the floor.

"It would have been less painful if you did." Gezähnt said as he unlocked and opened the door, and then was knocked to the floor.

"Striker?" I said as I stood back up and Striker looked up from Gezähnt to me.

"I was trying to talk to you before but you came back here--"

"Striker, lookout!" Striker didn't have enough time to react as Gezähnt jumped back up and bit Striker's neck, causing Striker to grunt in pain as blood ran down his chest. I would've blasted Gezähnt, but with his teeth in Striker's neck I'd have done more damage to Striker than Gezähnt, so I did the only other thing I could think of and I bit the back of Gezähnt's neck near his burnt off neck spines, making him release Striker. Gezähnt flipped onto his back with me under him creating a cracking sound, with my teeth no longer attached to his neck, he got up and punched me in the face. Hard. I spat out some blood and tried to get back up, only to get kicked in the chest by Gezähnt. I tried to catch my breath and saw Striker quickly get back up jab Gezähnt in his chest then punch him in the face, but when Striker attempted to punch Gezähnt again, Gezähnt punched the still bleeding neck wound, causing a small spray of blood to mist the air. Gezähnt punched Striker's chest then did some kind of spin kick, hitting Striker's head and knocking him over, then Gezähnt sprinted out of the room, leaving me and Striker wounded.

Striker got back up and helped me get back up. "Come on, we might be able to catch him if--" He tried to say as he coughed up some blood.

"Striker, you need medical attention. Look how much you're bleeding. Come on, we're getting you to the infirmary." I said as I charged the teleportation spell. Because of how many times I had been in the infirmary, it was easy to visualize, and in a moment we were in the room in the infirmary where I had been, and there was conveniently a nurse standing in the doorway. "Striker needs medical attention." I said as the nurse quickly grabbed some bandages from a nearby desk and began wrapping it around Striker's neck.

"What happened to him?" The nurse asked as I prepared to teleport.

"He was bitten by a Changeling." I said as I teleported back to my room. I ran out into the hallway looking for any signs of Gezähnt, and found a small trail of blood leading off to the training room. The blood must be from me biting his neck. I thought as I ran as fast as I could following the blood towards the training room, then I saw Shining Armor, Sinistar, and two others walking through the halls. "Shining Armor!" I yelled as they turned to look at me. "Me and Striker found injured one of the Changelings and based on the blood trail it's heading for the training room." I said as they started running towards me.

"Where's Striker now?" Shining Armor asked as we ran.

"The changeling bit his neck, so I teleported him to the infirmary and made sure somepony was with him when I came back." I explained as we came to the training room's doors, which were closed. There was a small amount of blood smeared on the door.

"Be ready for anything." Sinistar said as Shining Armor swiftly opened the doors. We charged in a whole three feet before we stopped at what we saw. On the floor in the center in a growing pool of blood, was one of the escaped Changelings, coughing up some blood. It's neck spines were intact, so it wasn't Gezähnt, and it looked bigger than Hofnarr, which just left Jäger. We ran up to him unsure of what to do. Once we got to him, we saw there was some kind of dagger stabbed into his chest. So much of it was in only the handle was visible.

"Who did this?" Shining armor asked as Jäger coughed more blood, then Jäger looked at me.

"C-come... closer..." He said weakly. I wasn't sure what he was planing, but I brought my left ear next to him so I could hear, then, using whatever strength he had left, Jäger wrapped both of his forelegs around my neck and touched his horn to mine, there was a bright green glow when he did that, and I felt power begin flowing into me. None of us had time to do anything, because after only about five seconds, he let go and fell to the floor.

"What just happened?" A guard asked as Sinistar examined Jäger's corpse.

"He's dead." Sinistar said as he stood back up and picked up a black feather that had been stained by Jäger's blood. "And it seems a Pegasus had something to do with it. But what did he do to you?" Sinistar said as he gave the feather to Shining Armor and looked at me.

"He... he transferred his power to me." I wasn't sure why, but that is definitely what he did. It felt good to have the extra power, but I had no idea why he gave it to me.

"Strange..." Sinistar said as Shining Armor tucked the feather into his armor.

"You two, stay here and make sure that nothing touches that body. Sinistar, you tell Princess Celestia what happened and do as she says. Fragment, you're coming with me." Shining Armor said as he began following a trail of blood that lead out of a different door. "We're going to find the other Changelings." I began following Shining Armor as Sinistar flew off the way we came and the remaining two guards stood by Jäger's body. Me and Shining Armor walked through the hallways following the still going trail of blood.

"Isn't this heading back to the dungeon?" I asked as I looked around to see if there were any traces of a Changeling.

"Looks like it, but why would any of them go back there? And why is there so much blood?"

"I bit Gezähnt's neck when me and Striker were fighting him, so if this is Gezähnt's trail I think a bleeding neck would explain it." I said as the dungeon came into view. "Seems he was coming back here after all." I said as we charged towards the door. Shining Armor opened the door quickly and as we entered we saw two knocked out guards and blood leading back into Gezähnt's cell.

"Be ready for anything." Shining Armor said as we slowly walked towards Gezähnt's cell, then we quickly moved in front of the cell's door and looked into it. In the middle of the cell was another unconscious guard. We slowly walked over to him when suddenly the gate behind us slammed shut. We turned around and saw Gezähnt standing at the cell door with a dark smile on his face and some kind of cloth wrapped around his neck. I turned to the Gezähnt's bed and saw that the bed sheet was missing,then back to Gezähnt.

"Took the bed sheet as a substitute gauze. Clever." I said as I charged and fired two Magic Bolts which Gezähnt quickly avoided. Gezähnt then ran back out of the dungeon.

"We can teleport out, come on." I said as Shining Armor's horn began to glow, and in a flash of light we were out side the dungeon's doors.

"Great. Now there's no blood to follow." Shining Armor said as we looked around and found no trace of Gezähnt.

"What's the plan now?" I asked as we continued walking down the hallway.

"I guess we just keep looking like before. How did you and Striker find that Changeling?"

"Well, he actually found me, I just said we found him because it was faster to explain."

"What do you mean he found you?" Shining Armor asked as we took a left down a hallway.

"After my... questioning, I went back to my room to lay down, but I think Gezähnt was waiting for me. He tried to convince me to help him and the other Changelings to escape and come with them back to the Hive, but we got into a physical fight which I easily lost, then Striker came in and the two of us fought Gezähnt some, but he still got away and gave Striker a pretty bad neck bite. Gezähnt is a dirty fighter." I said as we walked. After some time of finding no trace of Gezähnt or Hofnarr, Shining Armor decided that we would just have to wait for them to make a move of some kind. He told me that guards would be stationed at my room in case Gezähnt tried to make contact with me again, which I doubted. Also extra guards would be assigned to places where food was being kept to make sure they'd didn't get any. They'd have to try to get food at some point. I'd had enough of this day, so I was planing on just reading until it was time to eat, however, when I had almost gotten back to my room, Blast Shield came up to me.

"Fragment, you're not going to like this." He said. He smelled nervous about something, but I had no idea what.

"What's going on?" I asked already thinking it was Gezähnt's fault.

"Striker's condition has gotten worse. A lot worse."

"What?! How? He was just bitten."

"That's the thing, that bite was poisonous." My eye widened at that. If Striker dies because of this, I'll kill Gezähnt if I get the chance.

Author's Notes:

Blood now flows in the castle, and a mystery follows it. Who killed Jäger and why? Certainly there were questions he could have answered. Right? And now Striker has been poisoned by Gezähnt's bite. Will the Changelings be caught and will Striker survive the poison?

In one flashback I both revealed Fragment's true identity and a piece of his "larvehood." You two happy yet?! But no, I did the larvehood thing because Bronydragon is right that it would be nice to see more of Fragment's life and help you understand why Fragment's done some of the things he has. As for showing Fragments real name, well it just seemed weird that his grandfather wouldn't call him by it, you know?

Bronydragon, you have one more wish, make it count...

P.S "Dunkel" is German for "Dark." The more you know.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 18: Complications

"Explain to me exactly what the doctor said." I said to Blast Shield as we ran through the hallway to the infirmary. Striker being poisoned by Gezähnt's bite was a revelation I really wasn't happy with, but nothing's going to change it now.

"He told me that a few minutes after they cleaned and bandaged Striker's neck, he started freaking out, screaming something about burning skies, the Gates of Tartarus, and some other things until they sedated him." Blast Shield explained as we passed a few guards and the dinning room. "He was obviously hallucinating, but the doctor is worried about the possibility of death."

"How could Striker die from hallucinations?" I asked as we came to a checkpoint guarded by five guards. I guess Shining Armor decided checkpoints at the exits wasn't good enough.

"Because it might not just be a hallucinogen, the doctor thinks it could be a neurotoxin, something that doesn't just make you hallucinate, but can cause brain damage and even death. They're running tests now to try to determine what we're dealing with." Blast Shield said as a Unicorn guard scanned him with what I'd guess was the identification spell. After the scan was complete, the guards stepped aside and we continued to run towards the infirmary.

"So what do we do if the poison is lethal and we don't know a cure?"

"Do I look like a doctor or something to you? We'll just have to see what Doctor Harness says, but either way there probably won't be much we can do. The only reason I'm bringing you to Striker is because the Doctor told me that since the two of you are friends, you'd probably want to know if he's dying or not. That, and he wants to talk to you, most likely about the poison but I have no idea what exactly he could want." Blast Shield said as we did our best not to trip on anything as we ran full speed through the castle. After a few more minutes of running, because teleporting wasn't something I could think of, we made it to the infirmary front desk, where a light grey pegasus with a blue and silver mane and tail worked.

"We're here to see Doctor Harness about Striker."

Blast Shield said as a pale red unicorn stallion, with a yellow mane and tail wearing a white lab coat and glasses stepped into the room from a door past the desk.

"Well you certainly took long enough to get here." He said in very unhappy fashion. "You must be Fragment. Please, both of you follow me." We followed him through the door to a part of the infirmary I was not familiar with.

"Striker's condition isn't getting any better, not that we expected it to, but we are preparing to transfer him to the Canterlot Hospital where there are more trained professionals who can try to help him. He'll be in transit to the hospital in about ten minutes and actually be there in about twenty-five minutes. We are running tests on Striker's blood to see if the toxin coursing through him is anything we've encountered before, which I doubt." He explained as we came to Striker's room. Striker had some bandages around his neck and seemed to be shaking a little, but otherwise appeared fine. "We're keeping him sedated for his own safety."

"What exactly is it doing to him?" I asked as Doctor Harness went to Striker's bed and pulled the bandages down some showing the bite on Striker's neck. The area around the mark had turned dark purple. I smelled Striker's emotions to see what I would get, and all I smelled was fear. And when I thought about what Blast Shield said Striker seemed to be seeing, I couldn't imagine what else he could be seeing.

"All I know for sure is that it creates extreme hallucinations with minor pain. We don't have the proper equipment to tell what else it's doing, but that is all beside the point of why I wanted you here."

"So what's this really about then?"

"The venom. If we have a sample of it, we might be able to crate an antivenom, and I think we can extract some venom from you and work with that."

"How are you going to get the venom? I don't think you can milk it the same way as a snake since my fangs don't work that way."

"Well, we could just use a syringe to extract it directly from your venom glands."

"Let's do it then."

"It's not that simple. I don't know where a changeling's venom glands are, but I could examine the dead changeling and find them with him. His body is already being transported to me for an autopsy, so it will be some time before I locate the venom glands and then be able to extract it from you."

"So what do I do in the meantime?"

"Whatever you want for all I care. Why don't you keep looking for the loose changelings? Maybe try getting what they know about changeling venom while you're at it? It'd be absurd if changelings didn't know how their own venom worked. Just stay some place where it will be easy to reach you when it's time to extract your venom." Doctor Harness explained as me and Blast Shield began to leave. Once me and Blast Shield were out of the infirmary and back in the hallway, Blast Shield spoke up.

"So what exactly is our plan now?"

"Now, I'm going to find Gezähnt or Hofnarr, get them to tell me about the poison, then bring them to the guards."

"And how do you intend to do that? Most of the guards have been told to guard specific areas rather than search for them." Blast Shield said as we came to the training room. As we walked inside, I instantly noticed that Jäger's body was gone but there was a large amount of dried blood where his body used to be.

"Well, I know that Gezähnt is a psychopath, but at the same time is pretty smart. Hofnarr, however, seems like he's just doing whatever he's told, so if we find him I'm sure we can get him to talk with some intimidation. Shining Armor and Sinistar weren't very rough with him in interrogation, but I bet we can get it out of him when he sees I'm in no mood for his endless blabbering."

"You're attitude's certainly gone through a scary transformation since Striker's been bitten." I then noticed Blast Shield's facial expression match is words in concern and uncertainty.

"How am I supposed to act when a friend of mine could be dying? I can't stop thinking about the very real possibility of this venom if it's lethal. Even if they can make an antivenom, which alone could take days, what if the venom works too fast? What if he--" Blast Shield placed his hoof on my shoulder, causing me to stop talking and look at him.

"Don't think like that. Let's find those changelings, lock them back up, and get back to helping Striker in whatever way we can." Blast shield said with a very confident and serious look and tone of voice. "Now let's start looking for those huge cockroaches you were talking about." Blast Shield said as he resumed walking down the hallway with me quickly following suit. We walked rather slowly through the castle as we looked for any signs of Gezähnt or Hofnarr, but after about ten minutes of finding nothing that even suggested they were near, Blast Shield spoke up again as we left the dinning room. "So... have any strategy to help us find them?"

"Not really. Since they can both fly and walk on walls, there are a lot of places where they can hide. I don't know how easy or hard finding Hofnarr will be, but finding Gezähnt will probably be ridiculously difficult." I said as I looked up the walls to the ceiling high above us. "I guess it'd be smart to look in dark corners and other places where they'd blend in. Keep your eyes open." I said as I looked into the corners of the ceiling in this part of the hallway.

We passed two patrols as we walked through the castle's hallway, and as we came to an area near the Dungeon I saw something in the corner at the other end of the hallway move behind one of the pillars. I silently motioned to Blast shield and walked down the hallway. I knew if it was Gezähnt we'd have a real fight on our hooves and possibly another guard getting poisoned, but we weren't going to let who ever this was slip away. Once we came to the pillar, I quietly went around the right side and Blast Shield the left. After a few careful steps, I saw part a changeling's hoof against the pillar, so with one swift move I came around the pillar with my right forehoof in full swing, nailing Hofnarr in the face and slamming his head into the pillar. He let out a low groan as he slid down the pillar and me and Blast Shield dragged him out into the hallway.

"I think... you broke my face..." Hofnarr said as he slowly wiped some blood from his nose. I pressed his shoulders to the floor, pinning him and causing him to look at me as I brought my face just an inch away from his. "Heheh, so what's up?"

"Where's Gezähnt?" I said as pressed him against the floor harder, causing Hofnarr to struggle a little.

"Where's Gezähnt? Where are you? Where are any of us in li--" I don't know what he was going to say but I knew it wasn't going to answer my question, so I punched the left side of his jaw as hard as I could, then I made him look at me.

"Where. Is. Gezähnt?" I made it very clear that I was not playing games with him.

"I-I don't know! We split up after that crazy pegasus killed Jäger." Hofnarr said as he tried to get out from under me.

"What crazy pegasus?" I asked as there was a loud 'thud' from behind me, and as I turned to look I was punched in the face by a black colored hoof, knocking me off of Hofnarr.

"Me." A voice said as I shook my head and tried to get back up. I heard the sound of hooves against the marble floor, and by the time me and Blast Shield were on our hooves again, all we saw was a black coated pegasus flying after a changeling.

"Who in Tartarus is that?" Blast Shield asked as we started running down the hallway after them.

"I have no idea, but Sinistar found a black feather when we found Jäger, so this is probably the same Pegasus." I replied as Hofnarr and the pegasus turned a corner ahead of us.

"But if he killed one changeling, what's he going to do to the others?"

"I don't know, and that bothers me." As we came to the corner they went down, we saw Hofnarr and Gezähnt fighting the pegasus. This pegasus had a black coat and feathers, a blue-green mane and tail with a dark grey strip through both. He wore brown leather armor. His cutie mark was hidden by his armor.

"Who... who do we fight?" Blast shield asked as he charged a spell.

"I'm obligated to think we should fight the escapees." I said as I charged and fired a Magic Bolt at Gezähnt, hitting him in the side while the pegasus swung his hoof at Gezähnt and Hofnarr tackled the pegasus. Blast Shield shot a Fire Ball at Hofnarr, which he barely avoided.

"Hofnarr, get out of here!" Gezähnt Shouted as I shot a Magic Bolt at him and hit his left side.

"But―"

"NOW!" Gezähnt didn't give Hofnarr the time to argue as Gezähnt punched the pegasus again and I shot a Magic Bolt at Gezähnt again.

"If you think you can deal with these two then I'll go after Hofnarr." Blast Shield said as he charged another Fire Ball.

"Get more guards. It would be better to get these two than just Hofnarr." With that, Blast Shield shot the Fire Ball, hitting Gezähnt and skimming the pegasus as he ran down the hallway.

I charged and fired another Magic Bolt at Gezähnt, but this time he grabbed the pegasus and used him as a meat-shield, the pegasus then punched Gezähnt and turned to face me. I saw his eyes were light green and he wore a steel bracer with four pipes on his right foreleg. I began to charge another Magic Bolt, but the pegasus brought his bracer to his lips and blew into it. Before I could react there was a small dart in my neck which I quickly removed, then I felt numbness spreading through my body. The pegasus turned back around and blew another dart out of the bracer into Gezähnt's neck. I fired my charged Magic bolt at the pegasus, but missed by a lot as I fell to the floor.

I can't move! What did he do to me?! I could barely breath as I was completely unable to move. I saw the pegasus walk over to Gezähnt and put what looked like cuffs on Gezähnt's forelegs, then he turned back to and started walking towards me with a creepy smile on his face.

"Fragment, the changeling that saved a random mare and her son from a cockatrice. A very admirable thing you did. Surely something that makes you look like the good guy, right? I don't really care. Since I know you're wondering what I did to you, paralysis dart. Did it to this big pain in the ass as well." He said, motioning towards Gezähnt. "And you know what I love about this poison? The fact that you can't move, but can still feel." He said as he pulled out a small knife from a belt he wore.

"And no matter how hard you try, you can't scream for help." With the knife he quickly made a circular cut around my left ear, and I could feel blood start to flow down my head. "But, unfortunately for me, I have a job to do." He said with a sigh as he put his knife away.

"But who knows, maybe we'll get to play some day? Time will tell." With that he turned around, and then was knocked to the floor with a grunt. I saw Sinistar standing over the pegasus, wearing the same bladed bracers that he had during the cockatrice attack, and Sinistar quickly brought the blade to the pegasus' neck.

"Make one move and it will be your last, Cyclone." Sinistar warned as Cyclone chuckled a little.

"Now aren't you feeling violent this evening? But I guess it's to be expected when you have a name like Sinistar to be sinful by nature. How is Storm doing these days?" Sinistar's ears flattened when he heard the last part.

"How do yo―" Cyclone quickly moved Sinistar's foreleg, punched him in the face then shoved him off. Sinistar snarled and lunged at Cyclone, but Cyclone rolled out of the way and threw a knife from his belt at Sinistar, which Sinistar deflected with his bracer, then Sinistar charged and slashed Cyclone across his chest, drawing some blood.

Cyclone brought his bracer to his lips and attempted to shoot another dart, but Sinistar quickly picked up the knife the Cyclone had thrown and threw it back at him. Cyclone ducked to avoid the knife and the threw another knife, but it looked as if it came straight out of his wing, Sinistar blocked it regardless and then flew at Cyclone, and when Cyclone attempted to roll out of the way again, Sinistar swerved into Cyclone's path and slashed his left foreleg, then Sinistar spun around and kicked Cyclone's chest with his right hind leg. When Sinistar turned back around Cyclone pulled out a small black glass looking ball and threw it at Sinistar's hooves, causing it to shatter in a cloud of blackish dust.

"My eyes!" I heard Sinistar yell as he then flapped his wings, clearing the dust and revealing that Cyclone and Gezähnt were gone.

"Run, coward." Sinistar said as he turned and walked over to me. "Let's get you somewhere more dignifying than the floor." He said as he picked me up with his forelegs and began flying to I'd guess the infirmary.

---

After Sinistar brought me to the infirmary Doctor Harness examined me and said that the poison would wear off in less than half an hour, he also got my ear stitched and told me, because he knew I was fully aware of what was going on, to just be patient, and after about ten minutes I began to regain feeling. After about fifteen minutes Blast Shield showed up and told me he was sorry for not being there to help and that there was no sign of Gezähnt, Hofnarr, or Cyclone. At around twenty minutes I was able to move again.

"Remind me never to get paralyzed again." I said as I steadily sat up in my bed.

"So what happened after I left? Sinistar didn't tell me much, he seemed to be in a hurry to speak with the Princess about something." Blast Shield said as I placed my hooves on the floor one at a time to make sure I wasn't going to fall or anything.

"Gezähnt got paralyzed like me, then Cyclone cut around my ear, then Sinistar fought him and Cyclone used some kind of smoke ball to get away. And speaking of him, where's Sinistar now? I want to talk to him about―" The door to the room we were in opened and Doctor Harness walked in.

"Now that you're less of an inanimate object, I would like to inform you that my autopsy of the other changeling is complete and I now know where your venom glands are. So if you'll just sign this, I can extract some of your venom and send it to Canterlot Hospital where they can begin crating an antivenom." Doctor Harness said as he levitated his clipboard, inkwell, and quill to me. I signed the paper and gave it back to him, then he picked up two syringes from a stand next to my bed and took the covers off of them.

"Open your mouth." He said as I cooperated, opening my mouth as much as I could. "You're going to feel a slight pinch..."

Doctor Harness said as he used his magic to slowly pushed the needle into the roof of my mouth about two inches behind my right fang, then I felt the pressure increase, which was a very strange feeling, and after about two seconds, the syringe was pulled out. As the syringe floated back to Doctor Harness I saw that it was filled with pitch black fluid.

"Now the other gland." He said as he repeated the process. "Now then, take this cloth and keep it against where the syringe was, to make sure that no venom leaks or anything." In response, I simply turned to Blast Shield and inhaled, feeding off some of his emotions.

"Feeding off of emotions heals me, so that won't be necessary." Doctor Harness just shrugged and put the syringes in some kind of case.

"Then you're free to go. Striker is at Canterlot Hospital now, which is where these syringes will be sent to."

"How long will it take to create the antivenom?" I asked as the three of us walked out of the room.

"That's hard to say, but it'll take a few weeks at least."

"A few weeks?! But Striker could be dying!"

"Keep in mind the fact that we didn't even know that changelings had venom. Most didn't even believe changelings existed until Canterlot was attacked. We don't know how the venom works or what we can do to slow its progression due to our sheer inexperience." Doctor Harness said as I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Thank you for your help." I said to Doctor Harness as me and Blast Shield began to leave. "So what do we do now?" I asked as we walked into the hallway.

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk to Sinistar about something?" Blast Shield said as I nodded.

"Where is he now?"

"I think he said something about talking to Princess Celestia." Blast Shield said as he began leading me to Sinistar. After a short walk we came to the throne room, which had four guards at the doors. They opened the doors and stepped aside so we could enter. When we walked in, we saw Sinistar was talking to Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, as well as Shining Armor. The doors closed behind us as Sinistar spoke.

"I don't know exactly what he's been hired to do, but we need to be very careful and ready to fight him if we see him again." Sinistar said as me and Blast Shield walked along the wall, trying not to be distracting.

"And you're sure that whatever he's here for it has nothing to do with us?" Princess Cadence asked.

"He may not have been sent to kill you but I am certain he will if you get in his way. It seems that whoever hired him wants the changelings. The condition his employer wants them in is unclear, since he killed one of them but appears to have captured the other."

"How could he have gotten in here with my forcefield active? It would take hours to get break through the forcefield alone and you can't teleport through it." Shining Armor said.

"He was most likely inside the castle before the forcefield was up. Remember that Recoil said he was hit in his face, and based on the distance he was from the cell when the other guards found him, it is impossible for one of the changelings to have done that. How Cyclone was able to get a hit like that without being seen is beyond me, but that's aside the point."

"You're sure that this is Cyclone Shade?" Princess Celestia said with a very serious expression on her face.

"There is no doubt in my mind, your Highness."

"Shining Armor, you know what to do." Princess Celestia said to Shining Armor as he gave a quick bow.

"Who's Cyclone Shade?" I asked as me and Blast Shield stepped forth and got everypony's attention.

"Cyclone Shade is the self proclaimed World's Best Assassin." Sinistar explained. "He's a heartless killer who's only in it for the fun and profit. He'd kill his own client if the target paid better." As Sinistar finished his sentence, the doors to the throne room swung open again and a guard ran in.

"Captain Shining Armor!" The guard said as he stopped to catch his breath.

"What is it now?" Shining Armor said with a half groan in his voice.

"One of the escaped changelings has just turned himself into the guards."

"What?!" We all said is surprise. "Why would any of them do that?" Princess Cadence asked.

"I don't know, but he just kept saying 'please don't kill me.'"

Author's Notes:

You're welcome, Beerforce.

At 2:37 this morning I woke up, feeling like I was going to puke, so I made my way to the bathroom in my half-sleep discomfort and there I sat, with my head leaned other the toilet and waited... Ten minutes later, I went back to bed after not puking, then woke up again at 8 ish and felt fine.

In other news, I have been going over my plans for this story and have tried to come up with an estimation for how many chapters there will be, and I think it's safe to say this: Buckle up people, we're looking at 45 chapters at least!

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 19: Fear & Pain

"So let me get this straight, this Changeling just came out of nowhere, laid on the floor with its forehooves behind its head, said 'please don't kill me,' and you were sent to tell me?" Shining Armor asked as him, me, Blast Shield, Sinistar, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance made our way to the dungeon.

"That's exactly what happened, Sir." The guard replied with a nod.

"Which Changeling is this?" Princess Cadence asked.

"How am I supposed to tell?"

"Do you know if the spines on the back of its neck are still there?" I asked.

"I think they're there." The guard said as he looked over his shoulder to me.

"If they are there then that means it's Hofnarr, the Changeling that doesn't stop talking." I said thinking about all the things Hofnarr talked about when Shining Armor and Sinistar interrogated him.

"I can't imagine what would cause an escapee to turn itself back in." Princess Luna said. After a few minutes of walking we reached the dungeon where there were still four guards stationed at the door. They all bowed and opened the door for us, and as we walked inside I was surprised that I didn't hear Hofnarr talking. Other than our hooves against the floor it was silent. There were three guards in the dungeon, one on either side of the door and one standing by Hofnarr's cell. As we walked over to Hofnarr's cell the guard by it bowed and stepped aside. When we walked in front of the cell, I was surprised and confused by what I saw. Hofnarr was laying on his bed in the fetal position, not moving or talking or anything, just... laying there. If it weren't for the fact he was breathing I might not have know he was alive.

"Open the cell." Shining Armor said as the guard nodded then unlocked and opened the cell. Shining Armor and Sinistar walked into Hofnarr's cell, but Hofnarr didn't seem to care. I found it a little disturbing and I'm not really sure why. "We have a lot of questions for you, Hofnarr. But the biggest question I have right now, is why. Why did you turn yourself back into the guards?" Hofnarr's state didn't seem to change even as he spoke.

"Have you ever been alone, Captain Armor? Have you ever felt like everything you knew abandoned you? Because that's how I feel now." Hofnarr said as Shining Armor and Sinistar looked at each other with uncertain expressions.

"What are you talking about?"Shining Armor asked.

"Why should I bother telling you? You wouldn't understand." Hofnarr said, then to our surprise, Princess Cadence walked into the cell.

"Will you two excuse us, please?" She asked as Shining Armor whispered to her.

"What are you doing?" He asked as Sinistar casually left the cell.

"I'm trying to help. Go, I'll be fine." She said as she kissed him lightly. Shining Armor hesitated, but left them and stood with the rest of us as Princess Cadence sat down beside Hofnarr. "Why won't you talk to us?" She asked in a gentle voice, but Hofnarr was still silent. "I can see in your eyes that you're afraid, I can see that you don't know what to do, and I see that you're alone. I know what it feels like, and it's not something you or anyone should have to go through." Hofnarr turned his head a little to better see her face while I sniffed the air to sense her emotions, and to my surprise, it was genuine concern and sympathy. "Talking about it helps more than you might know." After she said that, I saw a few tears stream down Hofnarr's face as he spoke.

"Today... I-I saw one of my best friends get killed, the only one I trusted to h-have a plan is gone... there's a Pegasus out there trying to k-kill me, and I feel so scared and lost." Hofnarr said as he held back sobs. To everyone's surprise, Princess Cadence got closer to Hofnarr and gave him a light hug, comforting him. I couldn't believe she was doing this genuinely. I'd find it more believable if she was just pretending as a way to get information out of him, I could smell the honesty from her, and I could smell the surprise from everyone else. Everyone except Princess Celestia, that is.

"Tell me what happened." Princess Cadence said as Hofnarr tried to speak through his sobs.

"W-when two of the guards had left... h-he appeared behind the guard, knocked him out, then before any of us could really say or do anything, he was unlocking our cells and told us that Queen Chrysalis had hired him to break us out, a-and Gezähnt said to listen to him... so we followed him out of the dungeon, but after a few minutes of walking Gezähnt got suspicious because whenever we were going to turn a corner, the Pegasus never checked the corner to make sure there were no guards, l-like he knew where the guards were going to be... so to be sure he was who he said, Gezähnt asked him to name us, because the Queen would have told him who we are, but when the Pegasus wouldn't answer, Gezähnt tried to have us go in a different direction, the Pegasus attacked us and the three of us fought him a little before he looked at his watch and ran off, and almost immediately after he did a patrol started coming down the hallway... s-so Gezähnt told me and Jäger to stay hidden and stay together while he tried to talk Dunkel into helping us."

"Who's 'Dunkel?'" Shining Armor asked with a raised brow as I let out a sigh. Another unpleasant memory I have to talk about.

"I am." Everyone turned to me when I said that. "My birth name is Dunkel. I remembered it after I passed out while we were arguing with that guard who didn't want me to get involved." None of them seemed to know how to react to this information, so I tried to get back on subject. "So you were saying Hofnarr?" I said as everyone turned back to the other Changeling, who was still half crying.

"W-we hid for a few minutes before that Pegasus came out of nowhere and got in a fight with me and Jäger. He tried to hit us with some kind of darts, but Jäger used what l-little power he had to make a forcefield stopping them, then the Pegasus said he'd give us one chance to come with him willingly or he'd just kill us. I-I wasn't sure what to do but Jäger fought the Pegasus, a-and before I c-could help him, t-the Pegasus took out a knife and stabbed Jäger, a-and... and..." Hofnarr's crying got stronger as Princess Cadence shushed him and tightened the hug a little, this time with Hofnarr adjusting so that he could cry into her shoulder. Shining Armor didn't look or smell very comfortable or happy with it, but he didn't intervene. "I-I'm scared that Pegasus is going to kill me..."

"We can help you; keep you safe and fed, but we need your help first." Hofnarr looked up at Princess Cadence when she said that.

"M-my help?" He said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"One of our guards, Striker, was bitten by one of the Changelings and has been hospitalized because of the venom. We need to know everything we can about this venom, and you can help us. We need to know everything you know about a Changeling's venom." She explained as Hofnarr sat up.

"Well... it's a very powerful hallucinogen that makes you see and hear very vivid things. We use it as a last resort, like if we get discovered as a Changeling, we bite whoever found out and while the population is worried about the one who believes the sky is trying to kill them, we leave the settlement, return who ever we replaced, and by the time the venom's effects wear off, we're long gone. And with everything they've seen and screamed about, a pony sized bug seems about as likely as the trees propelling themselves at houses, so no one would believe we were ever there."

"So it doesn't kill?" Shining Armor asked as he took a step closer to the cell.

"It can kill, but only if whoever was bitten was overdosed." Hofnarr said as I raised a brow. "An overdose can cause minor brain damage, and an extreme overdose can be fatal."

"How can we tell if Striker's been overdosed?" I asked.

"Uh... The signs of an overdose vary, but the most common are the bitten area becoming black and veins bulging out, becoming more noticeable. There are other signs, but it'd easier to show than tell."

"Last time I saw Striker the bite was dark purple, what does that mean?"

"In that case he's definitely been overdosed, but how long ago was... Striker, bitten? And when did you last see him?" Hofnarr asked as most of his former composure returned.

"He was bitten almost an hour ago and I last saw him about half an hour ago."

"If the dose he has is lethal, the signs will be visible now." Hofnarr said as Shining Armor walked over to Princess Celestia.

"I think we should take Hofnarr to the hospital to look at Striker. He did say that signs vary, and the doctors won't know what they're looking for." Princess Celestia nodded at what Shining Armor said. She turned and looked at Hofnarr, who was quietly waiting for an answer. Princess Cadence was still siting by his side though she wasn't hugging him anymore.

"Very well, but be careful. We don't know if Cyclone Shade is still here." Princess Celestia said as she, Princess Luna, and Sinistar began to leave. Princess Cadence walked out of the cell with Hofnarr following closely. Once they were out of the cell, Shining Armor took a set of cuffs from a guard and prepared to put them on Hofnarr, which it didn't look like he was found of.

"Is that really necessary?" I asked.

"I'm not going to take the chances of him trying to escape again or another guard getting hurt."

"This isn't the same Changeling that attacked a guard, this is the one that talked for five minutes straight about the conspiracy of gravity."

"It just so happens that whenever you trip on something, you fall. Tell me that isn't even a little bit suspicious." Hofnarr said as all of us looked at him, most of the guards having very confused expressions on their faces. "That's what I thought." He said as Shining Armor rolled his eyes and put the cuffs around Hofnarr's ankles.

"Come on, we don't have time to lose." Shining Armor said as he, Princess Cadence, me, Blast Shield and Hofnarr left the dungeon.

"If you're worried about me escaping, then shouldn't you be restraining my wings too?" Hofnarr asked as I looked at him with a raised brow.

"Is that what you'd prefer?" Shining Armor asked without looking at Hofnarr.

"I-I'll just be quiet." Hofnarr said quickly.

"So how long will it take us to get to the hospital from here?" I asked.

"Not too long. We'll be there in about ten minutes once we reach the royal carriage." Shining Armor replied. As we walked through the castle, I saw how most of the guards we passed were very confused by the fact that there were now two Changelings walking through the castle. I can't say I was surprised by it, I myself felt kind of weird walking with another Changeling. It was weird that it was weird, walking with my own kind. It was a short and relatively silent walk to the carriage, when we got to the castle's front doors and the guards opened the them, we saw that the forcefield still surrounded the castle. Forgot about that. I thought as Shining Armor's horn lit up and a small bolt of magic shot into the forcefield in front of us, creating an opening that we used. And it was as the forcefield resealed behind us that I realized the fact that I did not have my cloak with me, and we were going to a public place. Though I guess it wouldn't have mattered much since Hofnarr didn't have anything to cover himself with. Still, this wasn't going to be very smooth. "Come on, this way." Shining Armor said as he lead us down the castle steps to wherever the carriage was. The walk to the carriage was short, but quite a few ponies stared at me and Hofnarr as we walked, and neither of us were very comfortable with it. Once we did reach the carriage and we were in closer proximity to the ponies, it really started to bother Hofnarr.

"Make them stop staring at me." He whispered to me was we walked up to the carriage.

"I will as soon as you tell me how to do that. Just try to ignore them." I said as Princess Cadence spoke to the armored guards of one of the carriages.

"Take us to Canterlot Hospital, please." She said and they nodded in reply. Shining Armor opened the door of the carriage and stepped aside so the rest of us could enter. It was kind of cramped with the five of us in the one carriage, but we made it work, with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence on one side and me Blast Shield and Hofnarr on the other. Me and Shining Armor sat closest to the door, with Hofnarr next to me and across from Princess Cadence, and Blast Shield on the very end. It was a quiet and kind of awkward ride, but it was the silence that bothered me. because it meant my mind had a chance to wonder, and I never liked where it went. This time it was focused on Striker. What if Striker's been lethally overdosed? If it takes weeks to make an antivenom then Striker could be doomed. This is all Gezähnt's fault! He's been the source of all my problems ever since he got here! Why did I have to volunteer to try interrogating him? I should've just walked away and let them take care of him, then he wouldn't have known I was here, wouldn't have tried to get me to help them escape, and Striker's life wouldn't be on the line. Striker... I hope you'll be okay... I sighed with that last thought. After a few more minutes in the carriage, it came to a stop and Shining Armor opened the door. We stepped out one at a time, starting with Shining Armor, then Princess Cadence, then me, though I was very uncomfortable as I stepped out. Hofnarr got to the door of the carriage and stopped. He saw how many ponies there were around the hospital and a lot of them were already staring at me.

"The longer you stand there the longer they can stare at us." I said as Hofnarr gulped and slowly stepped out of the carriage with Blast Shield finally getting out. After that Shining Armor lead us into the hospital, with a pretty large group of ponies staring at us and whispering to each other. I tried to keep walking, but Hofnarr wasn't fairing as well. The longer the ponies stared at him the more nervous he got, and not much changed when we entered the hospital. Thankfully Shining Armor didn't waste any time approaching the front desk and asking where Striker's room was, when he did a doctor walked up to him. He was a Unicorn with a yellowish orange coat and green mane and tail.

"Hello, Shining Armor, I'm Doctor Morgue, and I've been assigned to Striker's case, and it's not looking good." Doctor Morgue said as he lead us to Striker's room. "We haven't been able to complete many tests, and his vitals aren't looking good. His heart rate has increased dramatically, parts of his brain are starting to show signs of deterioration, and we still don't know what to do. We've kept Striker sedated, but that's really the only thing we know we can do."

"That's why we're here." Shining Armor said. "We brought this Changeling, Hofnarr, to look at Striker. He can tell us if Striker's going to die or not." Doctor Morgue looked from Shining Armor to me and Hofnarr and it was a moment before Hofnarr spoke.

"O-our venom isn't supposed to kill, but it can if whoever's been bitten was overdosed, which there are symptoms of." Hofnarr said as Doctor Morgue turned to look forward again. It wasn't long before we got to Striker's room, and when we did I could hear faint sobbing coming from inside, but it sounded like a mare. Before I could ask, Doctor Morgue opened the door, and I saw Lightheart at Striker's bedside crying into a hoof of Striker's she was holding. Shining Armor looked surprised but Princess Cadence didn't.

"Lightheart?" I said as we walked into the room with Hofnarr trying to stay out of sight. Lightheart looked away from Striker and to us with a somewhat surprised expression on her face,

"F-Fragment? What--" She stopped herself mid sentence as she looked between all of us, though it didn't look like she saw Hofnarr. "What are you all doing here?" She said as I noticed the tears that had been running down her face.

"We came here to have Hofnarr examine Striker." Princess Cadence said as she motioned to the Changeling who was trying to use me as cover. Hofnarr just grinned and chuckled nervously as he slowly came out from behind me.

"Please, can you help him?" Lightheart asked Hofnarr as he walked over to Striker's bed with Doctor Morgue, and Blast Shield closed the door.

"How did Lightheart know Striker was in this condition?" I quietly asked as Hofnarr and Doctor Morgue examined Striker.

"Who is she anyway?" Shining Armor asked.

"She's Striker's marefriend." Princess Cadence said as Hofnarr nervously looked between Lightheart and Doctor Morgue. I couldn't tell if it was just nervousness or something else. "When I heard what happened to Striker I sent her a letter and the royal chariot to bring her here. If Striker could be dying she should be with him." She explained as Hofnarr and Doctor Morgue walked back over to us.

"Well? Is he going to be okay?" Lightheart asked.

"He's definitely been fatally overdosed, and I don't think there's anything we can do." Hofnarr said as he avoided eye contact with everypony.

"W-what do you mean?" Lightheart asked, looking like she was about to breakdown into tears.

"Doctor Morgue said there are already signs of brain damage and Striker hasn't even been poisoned for more than two hours. It takes almost a day and a half for the venom's effects to wear off. There's too much venom in his body and not enough time to do anything about it." Hofnarr said as tears began to flow down Lightheart's face and I spoke up.

"So what, that's it? There must be something we can do!"

"If there is anything you can do I don't know what it is. There is no currently existing antivenom for our venom and their isn't enough time for anything else. Over the past two-hundred years some Changeling Queens have actively tried to prevent the creation of an antivenom or any kind of cure because they don't want it cured and we don't need it. While we're not immune to our own venom we are highly resistant to i--" I grabbed and slammed Hofnarr into the nearest wall, pinning him to it.

"Fragment!" Princess Cadence yelled, but I ignored her.

"So Striker's going to die and we just have to sit here and watch?!" I shouted angrily as Hofnarr tried to cover his face with his forelegs.

"I-I'm not the one who emptied his venom glands into someone."

"What do you mean 'emptied his venom glands?'" I asked as I let go of Hofnarr.

"If the venom's already causing brain damage then I'd say that Gezähnt used all the venom in both his venom glands on Striker." Hofnarr said as he backed away from me and and thought about that. Gezähnt used all the venom he had to do this... Gezähnt knew what he was doing and didn't care! If I ever see that bastard again I'll kill him! I was so angry I wanted to punch something, I thought about punching Hofnarr, but I knew he didn't deserve it, he wasn't the one I was angry at. At least Hofnarr tried to help us. So I let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to Striker's side. Lightheart was coming to tears again as Shining Armor spoke.

"How much time does he have left?" Shining Armor asked as he stared at Striker. I could tell he was sad by the look in his eyes.

"Two hours... Probably less." Hofnarr said as he looked between all of us. Lightheart started crying again when she heard that. She got closer to Striker and hugged his unconscious body. "I'm sorry. This isn't what we're supposed to do..." Hofnarr said as he once again avoided eye contact with everypony and stood silently in the corner I had slammed him into.

"Please don't leave me..." I heard Lightheart whisper to Striker as she cried into Striker's shoulder, and I couldn't stop a few tears of my own from flowing. It was all the fear and love and sorrow in the air combined with my own that was almost too much. I did my best not to start full on crying like Lightheart, but there wasn't much I could do. There wasn't much anyone could do...

"Shining, we should give them some space." Princess Cadence said as Shining Armor nodded. I started walking towards them when Princess Cadence raised her hoof. "If you want to spend a little more time with him you can, if that's okay with you, Lightheart." She said as I looked over to Lightheart.

"Y-you can stay i-if you want." She said without letting go of or turning away from Striker.

"I'll stay here then..." I said as I walked back to Striker's side and the others left. It was just me Lightheart and Doctor Morgue with nothing but the sound of Striker's heart monitor and Lightheart's sobbing. All I could do was sit there and stare. I knew he was going to die, I knew there was nothing we could do, but I still hopped and prayed to the universe that he would live. But after about an hour it became clear that my prayers were unheard, as Striker's heart rate increased dramatically and suddenly. Doctor Morgue called to somepony in the hallway and a moment later there was a whole team of ponies in the room. They told me and Lightheart to leave but she didn't want to, and I can't blame her. Still I had to practically drag her out of the room so they could try to save Striker, but deep down I knew they wouldn't be able to. Once I got Lightheart out of the room she instantly turned and hugged me for her own comfort. There really wasn't anything I could do but stand there and let her cry into my shoulder. I didn't know how to comfort her and I didn't know where Shining Armor and the others were, so I stood there while she cried. We got some odd looks from the nurses and others but nopony bothered us. After a few minutes Doctor Morgue walked up to us and told us Striker had died. I didn't know what to do, so when Lightheart began following Doctor Morgue to fill out papers I walked away back to the front of the hospital.

I'm sorry Striker...

Author's Notes:

Striker's life ends, Lightheart is heartbroken, and Fragment has lost his friend. How can they move on after something like this? Too much sad!

Must change the subject! What would a Changeling's eyes look like if they were bloodshot?

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 20: Remorse

My mind was racing as I quickly walked through the hospital and tears streamed down my face. I was filled with anger towards Gezähnt, sympathy for Lightheart, and regret that I didn't do more.

This wouldn't have happened if I had just attacked Gezähnt when I saw him in my room. I should've tried my hardest to kill him when I had the chance, but I didn't, and now Striker's... gone... He didn't deserve to die like that, alone seeing horrifying images as he slowly died... I deserve that more than Striker with what I've done, killing innocent children at the whim of some Lieutenant. That's just something I'm aware of. Who knows what else I've done...

When I made it to the main lobby I saw Shining Armor and the others waiting there, with almost all eyes on Hofnarr, who was trying to hide from sight behind the others. As I walked through the lobby Blast Shield walked up to me.

"Did... Striker―"

"Yes." I cutoff as I walked by and towards the doors. Blast Shield began to say something but I didn't stop to hear him, and after a few steps I was out of the hospital.

As I stepped outside, I saw that the Sun was setting and there were several ponies staring at me as I stepped into the open, but I ignored their gaze and slowly walked to the carriage. As I started to close the carriage door behind me, I saw Princess Cadance and Hofnarr coming out of Canterlot Hospital and were walking towards the carriage. I sat down in the same place as before and waited for them to reach the carriage. Hofnarr slowly stepped in but Princess Cadance stayed outside.

"It's going to be a few minutes before we leave, so both of you can stay here." She said as she looked between me and Hofnarr.

"Okay." Hofnarr said as Princess Cadence looked at me. I just nodded and turned to look out the window of the carriage. I heard Princess Cadance start to say something, but she stopped herself and closed the door of the carriage, leaving me and Hofnarr alone.

What will Lightheart do? Will she arrange Striker's funeral? Did Striker even have a will? I thought about that and more as I stared out a window, but after a few minutes in silence, I heard Hofnarr clear his throat.

"I am sorry for what happened. There's no excuse for what Gezähnt d―"

"Don't talk about it to me. And why do you even care what happens to a guard pony? Aren't they just the enemy to you?" I said with an angry glare.

"We're not all like Gezähnt, and I don't like killing anyone. I joined the military because I wanted to protect those I care about, not kill because of an order."

"And how's that working for you?" I asked rhetorically and turned my head away from him and looked out the window again. As I peered out into the mass of ponies going about their daily lives, I saw Cyclone Shade standing next to the Canterlot Hospital sign as he glared at me. I moved my head away from the window a little as he stood there, like he was waiting for something, or maybe he was just trying to mess with me.

"What is it?" Hofnarr said as he started to look where I was looking, but before I could stop him he looked out the window, gasped and pulled his head away. "H-how did he find us? What's he even doing here?" Hofnarr asked as he moved to the other side of the carriage with a terrified expression on his face.

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll be fine; he'd be foolish to try something in public." I said as a familiar pony walked up to Cyclone Shade. Seeing her brought pain to my head and a quick flashback of her face. It was the mare from my memories, the one that was trying to warn me about something. She was an Earth pony with a pink mane and tail with a goldish streak through both, and her eyes were blue. I couldn't see her cutie mark because of an upper-class silver-trimmed purple dress she was wearing.

"Who are you...?" I said to myself as Hofnarr found the courage to look at where I was staring.

"You know her?" Hofnarr asked as Cyclone started talking to the mare, breaking his eye contact with me.

"Kind of; I've seen her in one of my flashbacks, and in it she was trying to warn me about something. Whatever it was must have been important, because in a different flashback I was trying to tell Chrysalis about what it was, but Shining Armor's spell stopped me from warning her." I said as I stared at the mare and the pain in my head slowly grew. For once I was actually hoping I'd get a flashback.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Hofnarr asked as he looked out the window to Cyclone Shade again.

"I have no idea..." I said as the mare began to walk away and Cyclone Shade continued to stare.

I'd bet that whoever she is, she lives here in Canterlot. If I had a chance to talk to her I might be able to get some answers. Hopefully I'll have that chance at some point... I thought as she disappeared from view and the pain in my head began to fade. Cyclone Shade still stared at me as he stood by the hospital's sign, which made Hofnarr very uneasy.

"Who do you think hired him anyway?" Hofnarr asked as I looked away from the window.

"I don't have the faintest idea... To be honest, Chrysalis makes the most sense to me but I don't think he'd kill someone he was hired to rescue, but then again Sinistar did say he'd kill his own clients if it paid better." I looked back out the window and saw that Cyclone Shade was gone, which worried me a lot, but after a few more minutes, the carriage door opened and Shining Armor and the others were getting back in.

"Cyclone Shade was watching us." With that phrase I had everypony's attention, especially Shining Armor's.

"What? He couldn't have gotten outside of the castle with the forcefield still up!" Shining Armor said as he looked out the window trying to see Cyclone Shade.

"Both of us saw him; he was just watching us from the Canterlot Hospital sign, then a mare I remember from one of my flashbacks started talking to him."

"What mare?" Princess Cadance asked as Shining sat back down and the carriage started to move, taking us back to the castle.

"I'm not really sure. She was trying to warn me about something during the attack on Canterlot, but your spell knocked the changelings out of the city before I could reach the Queen." I explained as Hofnarr turned to me.

"Why didn't you just use the Hive Mind?" He asked.

"I don't know, maybe there was too much interference or something."

"What does this mare look like?" Princess Cadance asked as Hofnarr mumbled something to himself.

"She has a white coat, mostly pink hair with a streak of gold though them, and when I saw her just now she was wearing some kind of dress." I said as Blast shield turned to me and Princess Cadence tapped her chin with a hoof.

"Do you know what her cutie mark is? It's the best way to identify somepony." Blast Shield said.

"I don't, when I saw her in my flashback everything was too blurry and like I said, she was wearing a dress when she was talking to Cyclone Shade."

"I think I know who you're talking about." Princess Cadence said, getting our attention. "If I'm right, then that mare is Aura. She's Goldman Sacks' daughter. Their family is one of the most well connected and wealthiest in Equestria. I'd be surprised if they were involved in any of this." She said as we got closer to the castle.

"How did their family get so rich?" I asked.

"Goldman Sacks owns weapons and armor factories that produce most of the guards' equipment and owns the largest trading fleet in Equestria, making shipping Equestrian products to oversea countries easy." Princess Cadence explained. After that, the mood returned to its previous setting of silence. I was caught between trying to think about Aura and what connections she might have to the situation, and thinking about what it's going to be like without Striker around, but no matter which I tried to think about the other would comeback, stopping me from making progress. After a few more minutes we were back at the castle and getting back out of the carriage, starting with Shining Armor and ending with me.

"So what happens to me?" Hofnarr asked. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other. I guess neither one of them really had a plan with him.

"I'll talk to Princess Celestia and see what we can do, but for now you'll be staying in your cell." I smelled regret and sympathy from Princess Cadence as she spoke. Hofnarr didn't reply as the five of us began walking towards the castle. Like before, Shining Armor used a spell on the forcefield that still surrounded the castle to make an opening for us to go through.

"How long are you going to keep the forcefield up?" I asked as the guards at the castle doors bowed and let us in.

"I don't know. If Cyclone Shade got out even though it was active then there's probably no reason to keep it up. I'll talk to Princess Celestia about it." Shining Armor replied as we walked down the hallway.

"If anyone looks for me, I'll be in my room. I think I need some time alone..." With that, I changed my direction and headed for my room while Shining Armor and the others took Hofnarr back to his cell.

I quietly walked through the hallways back to my room as I thought about the pain Lightheart must have be going through, and how it is undoubtedly worse than what I feel. As I walked in relative silence, I saw Dex down the hallway, and when she saw me she started heading my direction.

"Hey, Fragment, what in Tartarus is going on around here? I hear that the changelings escape and the castle's on lock down, then I hear something about a guard getting bitten and a venom assassin or whatever it was Skyward said, and nopony's told me exactly what's going on around here so I'm annoyed and asking you if you know and can tell me what's going on. Soooo... what's going on around here?" Dex explained with a sigh as she finished. "Hey, are you okay? You look kinda depressed."

"Striker was bitten by one of the escaped changelings, Gezähnt, and was poisoned by changeling venom."

"Goodness, is he okay?"

"No." I said as I began to walk past her. It was kind of rude, but I didn't want to talk about it. But she did, I learned as she came running to catch up to me.

"What do you mean 'no?' He's at a hospital now, isn't he?"

"He's dead, Dex." She gasped when I said that. "Gezähnt's venom killed him..." She had a look of sheer shock on her face as I resumed walking to my room, but I didn't get very far before Dex caught up to me.

"How're you holding up?" Dex asked as she followed me.

"How do you think? I just lost my best friend..."

"I'm sorry, Fragment. Is there anything I can to help?"

"I don't think so. I need to be alone for awhile." As I said that Dex gave me a light hug, which I returned. After a moment we ended the hug and I continued to my room. When I got back to my room and closed the door behind me, the full weight of how I felt hit me like a train.

Tears started pouring down my face as I sobbed to myself. I slowly walked over to my bed and laid on it as I let my emotions flow freely. The emotional breakdown I didn't have at the hospital was now in full swing, and I didn't bother trying to stop it. After what felt like more than half an hour of sobbing, I felt someone sit down on the edge of the bed and a hoof rest on my shoulder. I didn't care enough to look at whoever it was or try to restrain my sobbing. A few minutes passed and whoever was with me remained silent as they got a little closer and hugged me, but it did little to comfort me. Though it helped nonetheless. After another ten or so minutes, I had slowed my sobbing to crying.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Fragment." Princess Celestia said as I sniffled. "I wish there was something we could have done. Shining Armor talked to Lightheart and she decided to have Striker's funeral here to be put to rest with other guard ponies. It will be a week or two until then." I didn't react at all, but I could smell concern, regret and empathy coming from Princess Celestia. "Due to the fact that Cyclone Shade managed to escape the castle despite the forcefield I have decided to have the forcefield removed at noon tomorrow."

"This isn't why you're really here is, Princess?" I asked without looking at her.

"I want to see if you're okay. You must be in a lot of pain after something like this." Princess Celestia said as I wiped some tears from my eyes and sat up.

"It's not just Striker, it's everything. In less than two days, I've learned that I was best friends with a sociopath, have a wife and two sons who I might not see again, and I killed four children because I was told to. And now Striker's dead, all because I didn't call for help or anything when Gezähnt was in my room." I explained as I began to cry again, which Princess Celestia responded to by slightly tightening her hug.

"I-I just stood there while Gezähnt tried to convince me to help him. I-I should've called a guard or attacked Gezähnt or something! Not just stand there..." I said as I leaned my head on Princess Celestia's shoulder, letting some tears stain her white coat. "I-I feel so horrible and guilty about Striker's death and my past, and I don't know how I'm supposed to be able to deal with it all."

"Just because you did bad things in the past doesn't mean you can't make up for it. The venom you donated for research will be used to create an antivenom that we will give to nations that have more severe Changeling problems, and I'm sure you can find a way to make up for your past beyond that. I have faith in you Fragment."

"You make it sound easy."

"It won't be easy by any means, but making up for your past is better than pretending it's not there. Dinner will be ready soon, should I have somepony bring it to you or will you be present?"

"I don't feel like eating, I've had enough of today." Princess Celestia nodded in reply and slowly got up, ending our hug. As she reached the door and I laid back down on my bed, she turned back to me and said: "Don't forget that you have friends here, and we're here for you."

With that, she walked out and closed the door, leaving me in silence. As much emotional pain as I was in, I was exhausted from all the stress and the lack of sleep from the night before, and as one last tear ran down my face, I fell asleep, hoping for a peaceful rest...

---

My head was resting on my crossed forelegs as I looked over the city below. I was on top of one of the highest towers of the castle, giving me a view over the city and much of the surrounding forest and wastelands. The sky was a very dark grey as a storm was moving over the kingdom. With no roof on this tower, I would get soaked when the rain started falling. There were thousands of changelings in the city, completely unaware of me and the pain I felt. All the noise below was out of my hearing range, the only noise was the wind, my breathing, my heartbeat, and my annoyingly persistent friend's almost quiet hoofsteps.

"What part of 'I need to be alone' don't you understand, Gezähnt?" I asked as Gezähnt let out a sigh.

"Being alone doesn't help you, Dun. It doesn't make the pain go away, it doesn't let you forget what happened, and it doesn't bring your mother back." Gezähnt said bluntly as I growled and turned to face him with my horn glowing brightly.

"And what does, Gezähnt?! What does make it stop?! What gives me a reason to go onto the battlefield and fight?! My family is dead and it's because of me! Do you have any idea what it's like to know that you're the reason someone you cared about died?!" I shouted as tears ran down my face. My head and eyes were sore and my vision was blurred from my combined anger and sorrow.

"No, I don't know what it's like, and you and I know that nothing will bring her back or weaken the pain, but I do know that this isn't the end of your life, Dun, no matter how much you hurt, no matter how much life throws at you and no matter how dark things get, there is always a reason to fight and to live. You shouldn't let this stop you from living." Gezähnt said as he took a step closer to me, which I responded to by conjuring and shooting a dark green crystal shard near Gezähnt's hoof, which pierced and got stuck in the stone floor of the tower as there was a loud crack of thunder and the rain started to fall.

"One night, Gezähnt... The one night I decided not to do as my mother asked, the one night I decided it would be okay to have some fun with my friends, my Mother needed me, a-and because I-I wasn't there she died! How am I supposed to be able to live with myself?! My father died in battle, my grandparents died of sickness, and my only brother hates me! And now this?! What's stopping me from just jumping off this tower? What's holding me back?!" I asked as backed closer to the edge as Gezähnt walked a little closer, causing me to shoot another crystal at him.

"And what exactly makes death a better idea, Dunkel? Just because you'd be dead as well doesn't mean you'd feel better. I don't know what awaits us in death, but I do know that even if you rejoin them, you'll still feel guilty, and they'll still be dead. But here, with the living, we need you, Dunkel. We need you not just for the sake of the Queen, but all Changelings. As long as you're out there fighting you're showing everyone and everything that we won't go down without a fight. Please, Dunkel, you still have things to live and fight for." Gezähnt pleaded as he took another step closer to me.

"I'm sorry, Gezähnt... I'm done." I said as I turned around and took one last look over the kingdom I used to live for, and I prepared to jump.

"What about Saphir?" I stopped. "Are you going to abandon her? She cares about you more than anyone else, and she's in pain as well."

"What're you talking about?" I said as I looked over my shoulder and a tear slid down my cheek.

"Her sister was murdered in a renegade Changeling raid yesterday, you didn't know because you were at your mother's bedside when the news of the attack came in. She's in pain too, Dunkel, and both of you need comfort. If you want to kill yourself because of the ones you've lost you damn well better not forget the ones you haven't." Gezähnt said as I paused, looking between Gezähnt and the ground far below me.

I thought about Saphir and Gezähnt and my other friends and all the times we've had together, whenever one of us was sad the rest of us were there for them, and Gezähnt was trying to be here for me, and I was pushing him away. Saphir did seem to care about me a lot. When we first heard what happened to my Mother she was the first one to join me at the hospital, and she was there with me for almost the entire time.

"Please don't do this." Me and Gezähnt quickly turned to the tower's door and saw Saphir standing there, and despite the rain I could tell she was crying. "Dunkel, please listen to me, I know things are hard right now, but suicide doesn't solve anything... Dunkel... I love you."

"What?" Me and Gezähnt said with an equal amount of surprise as Saphir walked closer to me and my horn dimmed.

"I love you Dunkel, I love you with all my heart and I have since that day in the field hospital, and I don't want to lose you too. I don't know if I can take it." She said with sniffle as she was now at the ledge with me. "Please..." She said almost as a whisper. I looked over the edge again, but this time the ground below didn't look as welcoming as it did before, so I turned back to Saphir and hugged her as she did the same.

"I-I'm s-sorry." I said as I stepped down from the ledge so I was on the same level as Saphir and Gezähnt. We just stood there in each other's embrace for a moment before Gezähnt cleared his throat.

"Come on, none of us should be out in the rain for too long." Gezähnt said as he conjured an umbrella and held it over me and Saphir with his magic as the three of us walked back towards the tower door, me and Saphir staying as close to each other as we could the whole time.

Author's Notes:

Season Finale Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYJx9tvuK0I

Well, it's been ten chapters since the last time I took a vacation, but this time is going to be different. This time around I'm going to take a few weeks off. Why? (Because fuck you.) Because last time, I didn't really get a vacation, we got a twelve-thousand word chapter that had a lot of errors for the first few hours it was out, so in the hopes of getting a real vacation out of this and not a error filled chapter when I come back, it's going to be more than two weeks. So, just hang in there while I get some R&R.

(Who knows, maybe I'll read one of my 50 unread chapters.) Don't worry too much, I've got some plans for when I get back to work, including but not limited to: Fragment's flight lessons, Fragment tries to learn shapeshifting, a reply from Pinkie Pie, a mysterious new Changeling, and returning to Ponyville! (Note that that's not the order it happens in.)

Well, see you all in a few weeks!

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 21: Moving on isn't Easy

My eyes slowly opened as I awoke from my restless sleep. My room was dimly lit by the Sun's light as I sat up. I hadn't even bothered to cover myself with the blankets when I went to sleep last night, but I had still made a mess of my bed somehow; the pillows were out of place, the blankets and sheets were pulled from one side of the bed to the other, maybe in an attempt to cover myself in my sleep. I looked to the clock on the wall of my room and saw it was six twenty-four AM. With a heavy sigh I closed the curtains with my magic and laid back down. As I laid there my mind instantly went to my newest flashback where I had almost committed suicide due to my mother's death.

By the looks of it that's also where me and Saphir made a real love connection, but thinking about Saphir brought my mind back to my family which was something I didn't like thinking about knowing that I had practically abandoned them. I tried not to dwell on it too much, but there wasn't a subject I could think about that wouldn't either make me angry or make me sad. Striker, my past, my family, it all just made me feel so regretful and sad. Gezähnt, Queen Chrysalis, and being in the military in general made me angry; Gezähnt is sociopathic, Chrysalis doesn't care who dies as long as it benefits her, and me being in her army just meant I either didn't know or didn't care. But unsurprisingly, Striker's death was what I was most focused on.

What am I supposed to do now? Just move on and act like Striker's death doesn't bother me, or let the pain and grief drag me down more than it already has? Assuming that's even possible. I slowly leaned back up and let my head rest on my forehooves and let out a heavy sigh.

Maybe I should talk to somepony about this; both Princess Celestia and my flashback have suggested that's a good idea. Even if Gezähnt was the one who suggested it. But who should I talk to? I guess I could talk to Princess Celestia about how she got through Princess Luna being imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years. Though she had the advantage of knowing that Luna would be back one day... I shook my head a little and looked at the clock again, seeing it was still very early.

No matter who I talk to, I'm going to have to wait a while. I guess I'll walk around the castle until breakfast. Hopefully it'll be more helpful than last time. With that decided I got out of bed. As my hooves touched the floor I looked over to my bed. Seeing how messed up it was, I made my bed with the levitation spell and when that was done I turned to the door and walked towards it.

As I walked out of my room and closed the door behind me, I saw that just like the morning before the hallways seemed completely abandoned with no guard patrols or anything in the area of my room. After a moment I decided to go to the statue garden. As I walked to the gardens I saw more guards than yesterday probably due to the fact that there was an assassin running around trying to either kill or capture Hofnarr.

All the guards I saw looked pretty tired, which is understandable after the Cockatrice attack, the Changelings escaping, another guard getting killed and now Cyclone on the loose, all of which happening in a fairly short time frame. The guards didn't pay much attention to me as I walked through the hallways, either because they didn't care or because they knew that Striker was my friend and had died.

It wasn't long before I reached the garden, which I must admit looked rather amazing in the morning Sun's glow through the forcefield; the way the light glimmered off the flowers, but the beauty did little to ease my mind. When I stepped outside I could feel a light breeze through the garden; it was a cool but sunny morning, my black exoskeleton easily absorbing the Sun's warmth while glistening in its light. As I walked I examined some of the statues there, which proved pointless since I didn't know who any of them were, that was the case until I came to Discord's statue, which still looked kind of creepy to me. I hadn't really noticed the expression on his face the other times I'd seen his statue, but as I looked at his face, it seemed like he was afraid. I couldn't blame him if he was.

"Yeah... if I was going to be imprisoned for eternity being unable to do anything, I'd be scared too..." I said as I sat down in front of Discord. I sat there for a while just staring at Discord and wondering what it's like being trapped in stone. No one to hear you talk or scream or cry or anything. No one to even acknowledge you exist. Like being a ghost, forced to watch as the world moves on leaving you to helplessly go insane from being ignored by everything. I don't think there's much that can be worse than that. After what I'd guess was almost an hour I heard hoof steps from behind me, so I looked over my shoulder and saw Princess Celestia walking towards me. She wasn't smiling like she usually was.

"Good morning, Fragment. Did you have trouble sleeping again?" She asked as she sat down next to me.

"No. I slept just fine, but I still feel very tired." I looked back up to the statue as Princess Celestia put her hoof on my shoulder. "And the flashback I had last night doesn't help."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"Not really, but I might as well." I sighed then inhaled deeply before I spoke. "It was back at the Changeling Kingdom, I'm not sure how old this memory is, but this was before me and Saphir got married." A said as Princess Celestia listened. I told her about the flashback and how I almost committed suicide by jumping off a castle tower. About how my mother had died, Gezähnt tried to talk me out of it, and how Saphir confessed her love for me and begged me not to kill myself. It was emotionally painful for me to talk about it, but I knew that I should at least try. I could smell how sad the story made Princess Celestia, but she encouraged me to continue talking about what was bothering me. It occurred to me that I hadn't really talked to her about any of my flashbacks unless I was trying to get her to help with something.

So I went to the other flashbacks starting with the one where the mare who might be known as Aura first appeared in. As I recounted the flashbacks pain slowly grew in my head which I did my best to ignore it and keep talking. The last of my flashbacks that I told her was the one from over Canterlot, where I first remembered Gezähnt and Colonel Tödlich.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you any of this sooner." I said as I rubbed my head from the pain.

"You don't need to apologize, Fragment. I know talking about things like this can be hard." Princess Celestia looked from me to the sky as she said that. There was a short silence after that, which I broke with a question that'd been in the back of my mind.

"Princess Celestia..." I said as I looked to her. "What are you going to do with Hofnarr?"

"I don't know. He's been involved at least with the attack on Ponyville, which puts him as an enemy of Equestria, but he doesn't seem that bad."

"Especially when compared to Gezähnt."

"I'd like to have him help us contact the Changeling Kingdom so we could take a diplomatic approach, but I'm still not sure if I could trust him with something like that. I'm conflicted between what we could accomplish and how much I can actually trust him."

"What about when Princess Cadance talked to him in the dungeon?"

"He was afraid for his life. I've seen what some are willing to do when they think their life is in peril, and he might have told us more if he didn't think we'd protect him. Don't think that I believe we can't trust Hofnarr at all, but I think we should try some trust building between us and him before we do something like that."

"Do you have any idea how you're going to do that?" I asked as Princess Celestia turned away from the sky and back to me.

"I think one way he could prove we can trust him is by helping you learn how to shapeshift. He could also provide you with advice on how to fly."

"What do you mean 'advice?' You're going to have someone else teach me?"

"I think it would be better that way. But as long as we're on the subject of your training, I think we should hold off on it until Striker's... passing, isn't so recent. I know how hard it is to lose somepony..."

"You're talking about your sister, aren't you? From when she was imprisoned in the Moon."

"After I banished her, I felt so horrible and alone. I didn't care about what she tried to do; she's my little sister and I love her, but I didn't see the signs that she was in pain. Once she was gone all I felt was regret." Princess Celestia told me as she looked up to the morning sky again. "Immortality is a curse sometimes; watching those you care about slowly age until they..."

Princess Celestia didn't finish her sentence, but I knew what rest of it was. The mood was quite depressing at that point as we stood by Discord's statue. After a few more moments of silence Princess Celestia spoke again. "I must return to my duties in the courts, but I talked to Dex yesterday and asked her to show you how to properly clean your cloak. Talk to her when you're ready. Also, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." She said as she walked away.

"Breakfast? Is it that close to eight already? How long have I been out here?" I asked myself.

"Oh, and one more thing." Princess Celestia said as she turned around again. "If you think you need a break from your training then I'll give you a week or two to let things wind down."

"Thank you, Princess." Once I said that, she left me alone in the garden. After a little while of being alone with Discord's statue, I let out a heavy sigh and began walking back to the castle to look for Dex. I wasn't planning on actually washing my cloak until after I had eaten, but I figured I should tell Dex ahead of time.

I slowly walked through the castle looking for Dex or anyone who could tell me where she was but didn't have much luck. After a few minutes of failed searching I decided to go to my room, get my cloak, have breakfast and talk to her after that. After I got my cloak from the closet in my room I went to the dining room and found that Blast Shield was there waiting for me.

"Hey, Fragment." He said with a small smile, but I could smell the concern and pity he had for me.

"Morning." I said as I walked by him and sat at the table. Blast Shield took a seat next to me as I looked over the food on the table. The food consisted of mostly fruits and vegetables; nothing particularly special.

"Princess Celestia told me that I don't need to follow you around anymore, I think I'll keep it up."

"Why don't I need a supervisor anymore?"

"I personally don't know, but if I had to guess then I'd say it's because almost everypony here at the castle trusts you." Blast Shield said as I took a small bite of my food.

"What about that guard who said I couldn't be trusted because I'm a Changeling?" I questioned with a raised brow.

"The key word was almost. And besides, to be honest I don't think anypony really listens to that guy anyway." Blast Shield told me with a shrug and continued. "So what do you have for plans today?"

"Not much for now. Dex is going to teach me how to properly clean my cloak, but beyond that I don't think I'm doing anything today." I said as I ate some more food. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Are you going to be taking a few days off from your training and stuff?"

"As of right now I'm not sure, but I think I need some time before I get back to it."

"It's understandable." Blast Shield said as I finished the rest of my breakfast. I was really hungry from not eating dinner last night. Once I was done eating me and Blast Shield started walking through the castle looking for Dex.

"Hey, Blast Shield." I said as Blast Shield's attention snapped to me from out one of the windows.

"Yeah?" He replied as we passed the doors to the garden.

"Do you have a family? In all the time I've known you I haven't really gotten to know you."

"Well I do have a family, but it's a brother and two sisters. I don't have any kind of relationship going on and my parents died a decade ago." Blast Shield said with a shrug as I raised a brow.

"And you're perfectly fine with talking about your parents being dead?"

"Well yeah. Ten years is plenty of time for it to stop bothering me. I suppose I get a little saddened if I talk or think about them for awhile, but overall I don't have a problem with it."

"How did they die? If you don't mind me asking."

"They were miners; went into deep hazardous mines and dug up minerals like iron. But the mine wasn't properly supported and caved in." Blast Shield's mood changed to a more negative one once he said that, but it quickly changed back to his normal positive state. "Luckily for us we were pretty rich given the fact the company paid well, both as a job and as compensation for everypony who died. Because of the cave in my sisters, brother and I had to get jobs too make sure the money would last."

"Sounds like an... eventful foalhood." I wasn't really sure what to say to that. I knew I asked, but I hadn't thought about what I'd say.

"It was. It was a very sad time in our lives, but once we got good at the jobs we were happy with things started looking up. I think the whole tragedy brought us closer together as siblings and strengthened us as ponies. Our parents would be proud to see us where we are today." Blast Shield said with a smile. I was quite surprised by how easily he could talk about something like that and then smile. What was also surprising was that I could smell that he was generally happy.

"How hard was it... dealing with their deaths when you were so young?" I asked as we came to the break room.

"Really hard, but it helps when you have family ready to help you when you're down. And I don't just mean relatives." Blast Shield replied as he opened the door and we walked into the room. Once we were inside I saw that Dex and some Pegasus guard I didn't recognize were sitting at a table in the room talking. "S'up, Skyward?" Blast Shield said to the guard, who just waved a hoof back to Blast Shield without looking away from Dex. I noticed he had a small smile on his face.

"Hi, Fragment. You here for washing your cloak?" Dex asked as she turned to me from Skyward.

"I am." I replied simply.

"Um... Meet me in the washroom in about twenty minutes and I'll show you the basics, okay? There's really nothing to it."

"Uh, okay I guess. Where is the washroom?"

"I know where it is." Blast Shield said as he walked back to the door. "Come on, it's not too far from here." Blast shield said and walked back into the hallway with me following. Once we were back in the hallway I closed the door to the break room and Blast Shield began leading the way. in less than five minutes we were in the wash room, which had some shelves of towels, a cupboard of cleaning tools and chemicals, and some tubs with scrubbing racks and bars of soap near them. The tubs had waters of different temperatures with some being icy cold and others near boiling, creating steam. So there we sat, doing absolutely nothing for almost half an hour where the only thing happening was the occasional maid coming in, taking some items, and leaving.

"Well... what now?" Blast Shield asked as he lightly banged the his head against the wall out of boredom.

"I don't know." I replied as I carefully stacked the neatly folded towels into a pyramid.

"In that case, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to find something else to do." Blast Shield said as he slowly walked towards the door, which had been left open by the last maid.

"So wait, you're just going to leave me here alone to wait for Dex?"

"No, I'm going to see if you can make that stack of towels reach the ceiling." Blast Shield said with a grin as I facehoofed. "Oh relax. How bad could it be?" He asked as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. So now I was alone in the washroom with nothing to do but stack towels in the fanciest ways I could think of. After awhile of that I got bored with that and put the towels back, played with the bars of soap a little, folded and unfolded my cloak a few times, then stuck my hoof in one of the tubs pretending to fish in it, and after a few minutes of that Dex finally showed up.

"That took longer than I expected." She said as she closed the door and shook her head lightly.

"Tell me about it. I've been fishing for the past five minutes and haven't gotten a single nibble." I said as I pulled my hoof out of the semi-soapy water and dried it on a washcloth.

"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" She asked with a very confused look on her face.

"Probably not. What were you doing that took so long anyway?" I asked and tilted my head a little.

"Skyward."

"What?"

"Never mind." Dex said as she shook her head again and put on a smile. "So like I said before, there's really nothing to it. May I have your cloak for a minute?"

She said as I levitated my cloak over to her. She felt the cloak's fabric a little before speaking further.

"First off you need to make sure the water is hot." Dex said as she walked over to one of the tubs that had steam coming off of its water with me following. She slowly stuck the tip of her hoof in the water for a moment and pulled it back out.

"Good, it's hot but not burning hot." She said and turned to me. "Feel the water so you know about how hot it should be."

I did as she said and stuck the tip of my left hoof in the tub. It stung a little at first but my hoof quickly adapted to the heat.

"It's pretty hot." I told her as I pulled my hoof back out of the water.

"Try to remember how hot; it's important for this kind of material." Dex said as she grabbed a bar of soap with her magic. As Dex explained to me the proper way to take care of my cloak -or any clothing really- a part of my mind drifted and thought about my flashback from last night. More specifically that part where Saphir told me she loved me.

'Since that day in the field hospital...' I wonder what happened there. Was one of us wounded? It was likely me given the fact that I was a soldier. Though she may have been one too for all I know. Thinking about Saphir was giving me a headache, but I was snapped out of thinking about her when I was splashed in the face by hot soapy water causing me to react by shaking my head vigorously trying to shake the water off.

"What was that for?" I asked as I picked up the washcloth from before and dried my face with it.

"I was telling you how to use the proper amount of soap to use but I saw that you zoned out." Dex said with a concerned expression. "Was it about Striker?"

She asked as she pulled the cloak out of the water and let it drip.

"It was about a flashback I had last night." I sighed.

"I won't push if you don't wanna talk about it." She said as I looked into the tub and saw my reflection. I hadn't even noticed how sad I looked, but I felt much sadder than that. I took in a deep breath and spoke as I continued to stare at myself in the rippling water.

"Do you remember when I told you that one of the other changelings said I had a family?" I asked.

"Yeah. Gayzähnt or something, right?"

"Gezähnt." I corrected.

"Why do you mention him?"

"He wasn't lying; I have a family... I had hoped he was lying so he wouldn't have something over me, but I've had flashbacks that proved he was right. And just like he said, I have a wife and two sons."

"What are you going to do? Like, are you going to try to visit them once your training is done?" Dex asked with a very interested look on her face which I could see in the reflection of the water.

"I need to. I have no idea how I'm going to do it, but I need to see them again; get closure and let them know that I'm okay."

"How does this relate to the flashback you had?" My ears fell as I recalled the flashback in my mind.

"Both Gezähnt and my wife, Saphir, were involved. I was at the castle in the Changeling Kingdom in one of the towers. My mother had died recently, I don't know the details, but I had gone to that tower to be alone. I don't know how long I had been there, but at some point Gezähnt showed up and tried to talk to me, but instead of helping he made me snap. I threatened to jump off the tower as I ranted about my father being dead as well and my brother hating me. That's when Saphir got involved. I don't know if she had been there the whole time eavesdropping or what, but when she heard me start talking about jumping she came out into the open and told me that she loved me." Talking about my flashback was giving me a very bad headache, so I decided to spare the details and finish.

"The flashback ended with the three of us going back inside the castle." We stood in silence for a moment before Dex put her hoof on my shoulder and said:

"I don't think I need to say it, but you've been through Tartarus and back more than a few times."

"Tell me about it..." I sighed as I turned from the now settled water to Dex, who had a small frown on her face. "Have you ever lost someone who was close to you, Dex?"

"No. I have some family and a few friends but none of them have died in a way like Striker. Although I do know some ponies who've lost others they cared about and I've seen what it does to them. You know that night guard Sinistar?"

"Yeah. Wait, are you saying someone he cared about died?" I asked as I raised a brow in surprise. I didn't know much about Sinistar other than he was a guard who took his job very seriously.

"To be honest I have no idea if he has. I don't think anypony here knows him that well. All I know is that some nights he goes to the highest non-royal tower, gets drunk off his flank, and starts ranting at the sky. No pony's dared talk to him about it but from what I've over heard, I think his marefriend died and he blames himself. He usually shouts the same things like 'I'm sorry' and 'forgive me.' I don't know what kind of demons Sinistar has, but I think he needs therapy that's a bit higher in quality than a bottle or two of alcohol. Sinistar is definitely depressed, and that's what happens when you let depression get you; you get drunk and bitter." She explained to me.

"When does he do this?" I asked getting an idea. A bad one most likely, but an idea nonetheless.

"He doesn't really have a system, it's just sometimes he'll be there with something to drink."

"Does Sinistar have any friends that you know of?"

"I've probably talked to every guard in this castle at least once, both day and night guards, and none of them claimed to know him. Pretty much all anypony knows about him is that he joined the guard, rose through the ranks, and became Captain of the night guard."

"This getting drunk and ranting thing, does he do this like once every week or what?"

"Usually yeah, once a week there's a drunk Batpony in a tower."

"Do you know when the last time he did this was?"

"Almost three weeks ago now. Wait... Why do you want to know?" I think she caught on. I thought as I replied.

"I want to talk to him about whatever he's upset about." Dex facehoofed when she heard that.

"Fragment..." She said with a sigh. I could smell minor annoyance from her. "Sit down while I explain to you all the reasons why that's a stupid idea." I did as Dex said as she hung my cloak on a drying rack for obvious reasons. "First of all, if you don't know him that well then what makes you think he'll tell you what happened? Second, talking to an upset drunk isn't usually a good idea. And third, it's just an overall bad idea."

"Well someone should talk to him and find out what's wrong. I mean, why hasn't anyone been there for him? You said that he doesn't have any friends here, which means he's had no one to support him. I haven't even been here half as long as he has and everyone's been there for me. The very least I can do is pay it forward." Dex raised her hoof as if to object, but she couldn't find the words and so with a sigh she let her hoof drop back to the floor.

"You've got a good point, but I'd still suggest not talking to him when he's drunk. I don't know what kind of drunk he is, but it's for your own safety. Well." Dex said as she looked over to my cloak. "I guess that's it as far as washing clothes goes. Now you just kinda let it dry and you're good to go."

"So we're done?" I asked as I walked over to and felt my cloak, feeling that it was still pretty wet.

"Yup. I guess I should get back to work then. And again, be careful when you talk to Sinistar if he's drunk; drunks aren't always fun to be around." Dex said as she walked out the door with me following, leaving my cloak behind to dry. "See you later, Fragment."

"Bye, Dex." I replied as we went our separate ways through the castle. I wasn't sure when Sinistar would be awake, and preferably sober, so decided to wander the castle and think to pass the time. After about ten minutes of walking I saw a clock saying that it was eleven sixteen AM, so I had a lot of time to pass before I could talk to Sinistar. Once it was close to noon I headed towards the dining room, where I figured I could talk to Princess Celestia for some background information on Sinistar. If anyone knew something about Sinistar's past, it would be either a Princess or Shining Armor. I got to the dining room less than a minute before Princess Celestia did.

I was disappointed but not completely surprised when Princess Celestia told me that no one knew that much about Sinistar. What she told me was what she was told by the previous Captain of the night guard. Sinistar joined the night guard when he turned twenty-one, he was sent to a combat specialist in Manehattan for advanced training when he showed impressively high fighting skills when he was twenty-three, at said training he was well known as the fastest learner in class.

Sinistar was in this training for four years until he left saying that he 'had learned all he could,' though his trainer never confirmed that he had finished. Soon after he returned he was promoted to Captain of the night guard. After lunch I went back to my room and got the magic for dummies book to read to pass the time. It was hard to focus on reading with all the thoughts that were running through my head. Striker dying, Cyclone Shade being on the loose, Hofnarr's fate being uncertain, the identity of the mare from my flashbacks being revealed as Aura, and now this information about Sinistar. It was a lot to take in on a short time frame, but I didn't have much of a choice. The book ultimately served to give me the appearance of doing something when I was just thinking.

---

After a few hours of 'reading' night fell, which meant it was time to start looking for Sinistar. It occurred to me as I put the spell book back on the shelf that of all the things I had thought about, I hadn't thought about how exactly I was going to get Sinistar to tell me what happened. As I stepped out of my room into the hallway I remembered that I had completely forgotten about my cloak and should probably get it before it slipped my mind again. While I walked through the castle to the washroom I found Blast Shield wandering around.

He told me that when he came back to the washroom and saw that I was gone he decided to hangout with some other guards who were on break and after that he just started patrolling the castle because he could. I asked him if he had seen Sinistar tonight and he said that Sinistar was heading for the northern tower with a bottle of wine. When he asked why I wanted to know I just told him I wanted to see what else he knew about Cyclone Shade. I lied out of respect for Sinistar's privacy even though Dex made it seem like most of the staff already knew.

After I got my cloak I asked Blast Shield for directions to the northern tower I then told him I might see him at dinner, and we split-up. It was a quick walk from the washroom to the northern tower, so I didn't have much time to formulate a plan by the time I got there. I was wearing my cloak and was standing outside of the room Sinistar was in. I knew he was in there because I could hear him talking. I think he was talking to himself based on that his voice was the only one I heard. I decided that being generally concerned for Sinistar would be my plan for getting him to talk. Maybe a little talk would help us both. I took a deep breath as I slowly opened the door.

"You know I'm sorry, right?" Sinistar said as I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I saw the wine bottle Blast Shield was talking about and it was was a little more than three quarters full. Sinistar's head was resting on the edge of the balcony that was in this room. There was little else in the room. Mostly astronomical equipment.

"Ahem." Sinistar jumped a little at my sudden noise as he looked over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Sinistar asked as he turned back out the balcony, overviewing Canterlot.

"I heard you come here sometimes and drink and I thought you might want some company." I said as I walked closer to Sinistar and he got off the balcony so he could turn to face me.

"How stupid do you think I am?" He asked bluntly as he took a drink from the wine bottle.

"What?"

"You heard a lot more than I 'come here and drink sometimes.' I've come to this tower for years and no pony has ever come here to give me company. But you? You want an answer to the mystery of why I drink. Well it's none of your damn business why I drink. Now get out of this tower before I put your flying skills to a real test." Sinistar threatened. I wasn't sure if I should take my chances with him, but I figured I could beat him while he was drunk. I wasn't going to back down that easily.

"And what, you like being all alone to feel bad?"

"I'd rather be alone than with anypony in this damn castle. Now leave."

"You're right, I do know more than what I said. Dex told me that you come here sometimes, get drunk, and shout at the sky. And I thought you might want someone to talk to about it; everyone needs a friend."

"Not everyone deserves them." Sinistar said as he took a big gulp of wine and wiped his lips. "Go be friends with someone who wants to be your friend."

"I'm just trying to--"

"To what?!" He snapped at me. "To 'help' me? To 'ease my pain?' Or do you usually stick your nose where it's not welcomed?" The scent of alcohol was strong, but I could smell Sinistar's anger and regret through it.

"Just because you don't think you deserve help does not mean you don't. I want to help you, Sinistar."

"YOU DON'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT ME!" He shouted as took a large step closer to me. I stepped back in response.

"If you knew what I did you wouldn't have come here." The statement unsettled me. It was already implied that Sinistar blamed himself for something, but he made it seem so much worse than what I thought. And the fact that alcohol was coursing through his veins didn't help the situation.

"All you need to know about he is that I am a coward, and I shouldn't be comforted by anything. Now leave me alone!" I could see tears in Sinistar's eyes as he turned and walked back to the balcony with the wine bottle tucked under his wing. I wanted to get something out of him, but I didn't think I'd be able to with him being drunk, so I decided to cut my losses and leave. As I closed the door behind me I saw two maids and a guard had been eavesdropping the whole time. We didn't say a word to each other as I left to go back to my room. I couldn't help wondering what had happened to Sinistar that was so bad that he believed he deserved to suffer alone.

---

Eventually dinner time came around. I had left my cloak back in my room as I made my way to the dining room. When I had almost gotten to the dining room I met up with Blast Shield again. "Tell me again, why did you want to talk to Sinistar?" He asked with a curious look on his face.

"The guard or one of the maids told you what happened, didn't they?"

"Oh yeah. Cover Fire told me Sinistar was 'yelling his head off' at you, so I really don't think whatever you two were talking about had anything to do with Cyclone Shade. So are you going to tell me what you two were really talking about?"

"Did you know that Sinistar gets drunk?"

"Everypony here knows that. Wait, did you try to talk to him? While he was drunk?"

"Yeah. I thought I could find out what was wrong, but you can see how that turned out." I told Blast Shield as I let out a sigh.

"Some just don't want to be helped." Blast Shield said with a shake of his head as we walked into the dining room. Princess Celestia was already there and eating when we arrived. Our dinner was relatively silent as I thought about what might've happened that made Sinistar how he is. Slowly my mind backtracked to earlier today when me and Princess Celestia were in the garden. She told me that I didn't have to continue training if I felt like it was too soon. But did I feel like it was too soon? I wasn't sure. Sulking around doing nothing but reading books, eating, and sleeping wasn't what I wanted. It wouldn't make the pain go away faster either. No, I had to keep going. I wasn't going to put my life on hold for all of this. With this in mind, I spoke up.

"Princess Celestia?" I said after I finished my glass of water.

"Yes, Fragment?" She replied as she levitated a small plate with a piece of cake on it.

"I don't want to delay my training. I think It'd be better both for keeping myself from thinking about everything so much, and to get on with my life. I've decided that once I'm done here I will see my family again, and the sooner I do that the better." Princess Celestia smiled at my words, seeming to be proud of me.

"If you think that is the best thing you can do, then I'll make sure you get training tomorrow. Flight training to be exact. You should try to get some rest for tomorrow. Learning to fly won't be an easy task." I nodded to Princess Celestia with an appreciative smile. Once I finished my dessert I went straight to bed to get some sleep. Feeling confident that this time would provide rest.

Author's Notes:

I'M BACK FROM VACATION!!!

Hello, everyone! It's been a nice few weeks with Skyrim, Age of Empires, Magic: The Gathering, Team Fortress 2, my Birthday and Halloween. I also got the new album of the band September Sky called "Letter to Fear," a new computer chair, and a Disturbed T-shirt xD. But I must say that I feel content in just sitting down, staring at a screen for a week, with the end result being Fragment having a bad day. >:) Yeah, if Fragment ever met me, he'd probably throw me out a window...

Everyone remember what I've got planned coming up? Well, next chapter is flight lessons! Guess who's going to be teaching Fragment. (Not an OC)

So how's everyone been while I've been gone? Breaking News caught up yet? No? I'm not surprised. XD

I'm sure you all noticed the new cover art. Sicher999 made it. Thank you so much, Nova!

In other news, Number of unread chapters when vacation started: 50 Number of unread chapters at vacation's end: 60

Big posting change!

Much to all of your misfortune I will as of now only be posting once every two weeks. Why? Because Fuck You More. No not really. Not really about the fuck you. I'm changing because lately I've finished the chapters almost the day that I'm supposed to be posting them AND the fact that this story really cuts into me time (like playing video games I get.) So yeah, there're your updates.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 22: Takes One to Know One

Light shined through the curtains awakening me from sleep. Unlike yesterday I felt rested, which was a welcome feeling after all of the recent events. However thoughts about Cyclone Shade being around and whatever was bothering Sinistar were still on my mind. Especially Sinistar. I want to help Sinistar but I can't. Maybe talking to him while he was drunk was a bad idea. I doubt he'll even consider talking to me about it anytime soon after last night. I should definitely give him some time before I try again. Whatever it is though, it must have something to do with what Cyclone Shade said before their fight. Something about someone named Storm... I pondered as I stretched my limbs.

I got out of bed slowly and attempted to use my magic to grab my cloak from the closet. But when I began to use the levitation spell, I felt weak due to how little love I had fed on recently. I made a mental note to feed off of Blast Shield when I saw him. Without the help of my magic I grabbed and put on my cloak then looked at the clock. I saw it was eight twenty-four AM as I walked over to the door. I guess I slept a little too well. I thought and left my room. I wondered who would be teaching me how to fly as I made my way to the dining room. Princess Celestia told me yesterday that she wanted Hofnarr to help me with certain things, mostly shapeshifting I'd guess, and I was curious if she'd ask him to help me fly. As I walked through the hallway I was surprised that I hadn't seen Blast Shield so far. I arrived at the dining room and found that food was still on the table but Princess Celestia wasn't there.

"Excuse me, Fragment." A maid said as she walked up to me. "I was asked to tell you that once you've finished breakfast you need to meet up with Blast Shield in the training room."

"Thank you for telling me." I replied with a nod of acknowledgment. I wasn't sure if the training room was a good place for flight training because it didn't have a particularly high ceiling, but I nonetheless headed there once I finished eating. I was surprised and confused when I got to the training room and Blast Shield wasn't there. I paced around the training room getting a small workout while waiting until I heard voices coming from the door. As the doors opened Blast Shield and Hofnarr walked in.

"And then he flips out. He starts yelling at me in the middle of the cafeteria about 'coordination' and 'immaturity' all the while I'm just trying not to laugh 'cause he's still got frosting on his cheek." Hofnarr said as Blast Shield closed the doors behind them with his magic.

"That's amazing." Blast Shield said in a careless tone. He and Hofnarr slowly walked further into the room as Hofnarr went on.

"All I'm saying is just because I hit the wrong guy with a cupcake doesn't mean I need an accuracy lecture."

"It's a shame they pick on you like that." Blast Shield said.

"They don't pick on me too much." Hofnarr replied with a shrug. I then noticed that Hofnarr's front and back hooves were cuffed and his wings were bound to his sides by brown leather straps. I guess they didn't want him getting away, even though he didn't have that much restraint when we took him to the hospital.

"I hope you got well quick." Blast Shield said and Hofnarr gave him an odd look.

"What are you―"

"If I was there I would've paid for the damages."

"That doesn't―"

"I just hope your hoof's okay."

"Fine! Be like that." Hofnarr said and put on a pouting face as Blast Shield smiled at his victory. "Hi, Fragment." Hofnarr said without looking at me.

"Do I want to know what you two were talking about?" I asked as Hofnarr lit up with a big smile as he got closer to me.

"Well you see, when I was in magic kindergarten―"

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Blast Shield shouted as he dropped to the floor and put his hooves over his ears. Hofnarr shook his head as he said

"Oh stop being so dramatic. It's not like that time―"

"Please stop talking." Blast Shield said as he got back up.

"Jerk..." Hofnarr mumbled as I stood there with the most confused expression I have ever had on my face. I decided not to think about it and shook my head.

"So what else is going on? Why is Hofnarr cuffed and bound like this?" I asked hoping I wouldn't hear anymore of whatever Hofnarr was talking about.

"I don't know. Princess Celestia sent me to bring him here and told me to make sure he was 'secure.' Seems weird if he's going to help you fly."

"Well I certainly feel secure. Despite my insecurities." Hofnarr said as he tried to adjust his left wing. "Wait a minute, neither of you know what we're doing?" He said as he looked between us.

"Apparently not. Why?" Blast Shield asked as he raised a brow. Hofnarr smiled widely before he answered.

"Because I do know what we're doing."

"What? How do you know?" Blast Shield asked as Hofnarr continued to smile.

"Because Princess Celestia talked to me last night." Blast Shield and I opened our mouths to say something but Hofnarr cut us off. "At some point after dinner had been brought to me Princess Celestia came to my cell and asked me to help Fragment learn how to fly by helping the pony she's asking to teach him. I wanted to know what I'd get out of it and she said that for starters I would get better meals, but if I was willing to help where I could then I might even get my own room like Fragment. There were a few catches like this annoying amount of chains, but overall for me it's worth it."

"She told me yesterday that she wants to build trust between you and the ponies here. And she also said that once she feels she can trust you she'll send you back to the Hive to try making some kind of treaty between Equestria and the Changeling kingdom." Hofnarr and Blast Shield looked very surprised by that. Then Hofnarr just started laughing.

"Hahahaha! That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a month!"

"Why is that ridiculous?" I asked with a glare.

"Because in the thousands of years that changelings have recorded history every time we try to make peace it's either never considered, or, we get betrayed. The last time a changeling kingdom tried to become allied with a non-changeling nation it got destroyed. The Diamond Dogs let the changelings of that kingdom openly trade with them. Some changelings went as far as to immigrate. But when the changeling kingdom's guard was down the Diamond Dogs annihilated them. Slaughtered every changeling regardless of age or gender and publicly executed the Queen. The few changelings who survived the massacre fled to different kingdoms to tell what happened. After that the High Changeling Council declared that changelings were to never again attempt peace with anything else. This was about fifty years ago. The Queen's name was Thorn." As Hofnarr finished explaining I found myself at a complete loss for words. What could I say to something like that? Now I see why Gezähnt was so distrusting...

"Equestrians aren't like that." Blast Shield said and Hofnarr and I looked at him. "Equestria hasn't even been involved with a war in more than a thousand years."

"Doesn't change the fact that every other time we've tried to be nice we got burned. And as if that weren't enough reason for me to believe a treaty of any kind would be impossible, then the fact that this is Chrysalis we're talking about would be. To keep this simple I'll just say that she doesn't play well with others. From what I've heard not even with other changeling kingdoms. She likes things done her way or not at all. Besides, from what I last heard she's not on good terms with the other Queens and doesn't want to further their disapproval." Hofnarr said.

"What can you tell me about Chrysalis personality wise?" I asked.

"Well the word 'friendly' comes to mind... but only long enough for her to kill it in front of someone who cared about it..." He nodded to himself with that. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"No. I think I've heard plenty for now." As my sentence ended I began to feel a little lightheaded from hunger. "Do you mind if I feed off of you, Blast Shield?" I asked as Blast Shield shrugged.

"Go for it." I took the offer and began to feed, Green energy flowed from Blast Shield into my mouth as I kept a careful eye on him to make sure I didn't feed too much. After a few seconds Blast Shield began to lose balance and so I stopped feeding. "Feels like a head rush." He said as he shook his head to help regain focus.

"Side effects may include, headaches, nausea, lightheadedness, migraines, confusion, drowsiness, ringing in the ears, boredom, poor sexual performance, the need to blink, heightened awareness of life, spontaneous crying and the need to slap something very specific." Blast Shield and I just stared at Hofnarr as he grinned.

"I don't think the last one is true, and I really have no idea about the one before it." Blast Shield said as Hofnarr's happy expression turned into a small frown.

"Are you okay, Hofnarr?" I asked as Hofnarr looked at him with sad look on his face.

"I haven't fed on emotions in days..." Was all he said. There was a bit of an awkward silence after Hofnarr said that. I considered the fact that he had no one to feed off of and was slowly starving. I wasn't going to make him suffer.

"Let me transfer some power to you." Both Hofnarr and Blast Shield gave me surprised expressions once I said that.

"You... you will?" Hofnarr asked with a growing smile while Blast Shield looked uncertain.

"Of course I will. It'd be flat out cruel not to. Now just hold still and let me focus." Hofnarr nodded and stood perfectly still as I slowly touched my horn to his. When our horns touched there was a spark of green light which remained as a dim glow as I felt my power slowly transfer into Hofnarr. It was weird to be on the other end of feeding. It felt a lot like when I was losing consciousness, but at a much slower rate. After a few seconds I cut the transfer by pulling my horn away from Hofnarr's. I felt weakened but not so much that I'd have trouble in training.

"Thanks." Hofnarr said with an appreciative smile. As I rubbed my head I heard voices coming from the doors. As Blast Shield and I turned to the doors they opened, revealing Princess Celestia and a pegasus that I didn't recognize. She had a yellow coat with a mane and tail that had two shades of orange. She was wearing a blue shirt with some badges and she wore a whistle around her neck. Blast Shield and I bowed as Princess Celestia and the pegasus walked in. Princess Celestia gave the room a quick look around before she spoke.

"Blast Shield." She began as the two of us stood back up. The pegasus was giving me an observative look. "Where's Hofnarr?" Both Blast Shield's eyes and mine widened once we heard that. But before either of us could say or do anything we heard the sound of a throat being cleared from above us. We all looked up and saw Hofnarr casually standing on the ceiling literally looking down on us.

"What are you doing?" I asked beginning to regret feeding him.

"They said I could become anything, so I became a chandelier." He said as I facehoofed. However Princess Celestia seemed to find it amusing.

"Would you come down here please?" She asked as Hofnarr nodded and started walking back down the wall.

"So who is this?" I asked as Hofnarr stepped next to me and took a pose imitating a guard pony, with his chest out and a blank face. Blast Shield wasn't amused by it.

"Fragment, this is Spitfire, Captain of the aerial performers the Wonderbolts. And for the next few days she will be your flight instructor. With Hofnarr to provide advice for both of you." The moment Princess Celestia's sentence was over Hofnarr raised a hoof. "Yes, Hofnarr?"

"Where are we going to be training? This room isn't nearly big enough for real flight training."

"That's part of the reason I asked Spitfire to help. She's not only going to be teaching Fragment flight, she will also take you to the Wonderbolt Academy as a place to train." Princess Celestia explained.

"How are we getting there? From what I know the Wonderbolt Academy is impossible to get to without flying." Blast Shield asked. Princess Celestia motioned for us to follow her with a hoof. I tried to get a sense of Spitfire's emotions and sensed a mixture of curiosity and unease. The unease wasn't like fear. More of just uncomfortable.

"To answer your question, Blast Shield, you'll be taking the royal chariot to the academy. A flight from here to the academy using it will take about an hour." Princess Celestia said as we came to a part of the castle I hadn't been to before. After a few minutes in that area of the castle we came to a large balcony where the chariot was. "If all of you are ready, you should leave now. All of you will be staying at the academy until four PM." She explained as she walked away leaving Blast Shield Hofnarr and I with Spitfire and the two pegasi who would pull the chariot.

"Let's not waste time. We have a lot to cover and you're not the only one I'm teaching." Spitfire said as she stepped onto the chariot, pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket and put them on. One by one we stepped on board with Spitfire, me being in front with her, and Blast shield with Hofnarr in back. It was a bit of a tight fit with the four of us but there was enough room. As the guards began to pull us into the air I looked back over my shoulder to Canterlot. Viewing the city from the air almost instantly reminded me of my flashback where I first remembered Gezähnt. A small amount of pain grew in my head as I stared so I turned to face forward again. For about ten minutes our flight to the Wonderbolt Academy was silent aside from the wind. But Hofnarr decided it was time to start talking again.

"I have a question."

"What is it, Hofnarr?" Blast Shield asked in an annoyed tone.

"How does the wind work?" Even Spitfire looked at Hofnarr with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Um... what?" Blast Shield replied.

"Well there are the Princesses for day and night, but what about everything else? Why do the Sun and Moon need to be moved around by someone but things like gravity, wind and earthquakes work on their own?" None of us had anything to say to that. That was actually a good question and there was nothing any of us could do about it. We all sat there trying to think of an answer.

"I've got nothing." Blast Shield said after a time.

"Me neither." Spitfire said as she looked at a watch she was wearing then to the air in front of us.

"I don't get you, Hofnarr. Are you just stupid when you feel like it or is this just a bolt of genius for you?" I asked as Hofnarr laughed lightly.

"I like to act stupid so that others can feel good about themselves." We stared at each other with blank faces after he said that.

"That's a lie, isn't it?"

"Biggest one I've ever told." He replied with a smile while I rolled my eyes. "Anyone want to play a game?"

"What kind of game do you think we can play here? We're hundreds of feet above the ground." Blast Shield reminded.

"Let's play I spy!" Hofnarr happily suggested. "I spy something... white!" I facehoofed while Blast Shield groaned in annoyance. "Oh come on! You don't have fun if you don't play." Hofnarr insisted as Blast Shield gave in.

"Um... a cloud?"

"Yup! Your turn." Hofnarr said with a smile.

"I spy something blue."

"Fragment's eye!"

"No."

"His wing."

"No..."

"Spitfire's shirt?"

"No." Blast Shield didn't seem to be enjoying this as much as Hofnarr was.

"That lake down there?" Hofnarr asked as he looked over the side of the chariot.

"Did it look like I looked over there?"

"I don't know. Is it... Um..."

"The sky." Blast Shield said.

"The sky?! But that's the most obvious thing up here to choose!"

"And yet, you didn't pick it."

"Of course not! No one picks the sky!" Hofnarr shouted as he attempted to cross his forelegs, but his cuffs made that rather difficult. "You wanna play, Fragment?" Hofnarr asked me.

"Nope." I replied quickly.

"Spitfire?"

"Not interested." She said without bothering to look at Hofnarr.

"Aw. You guys are no fun." Hofnarr whined. After that it was quiet for awhile. All the way to the point when Hofnarr started asking: "Are we there yet?"

"No." I said through clenched teeth. This was the fifth time he asked and the fifth time I answered with no.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

"Which do you think would hit the ground first? My spit, or Hofnarr?" Blast Shield said as he glared at Hofnarr.

"Well we've been flying for like two hours!"

"It's been forty minutes." Spitfire said with a growl in her voice.

"And we didn't bring any snacks for the trip! Or any drinks! What if we get into an accident? We'll have no supplies!"

"An accident with what? There's nothing up here but us and clouds!" Spitfire shouted. Hofnarr's constant stupidity had spared none of us from getting angry, it just seems that Spitfire had more tolerance to it than us. But she nonetheless gave in.

"Are you saying that there's no more traffic in the whole sky? 'Cause that's just crazy."

"Blast Shield, do you by chance know a silencing spell? Or maybe have some duct tape?" I asked as I felt a non-flashback related headache coming on.

"I still think we should just throw him off and claim he escaped." Blast Shield said as he peered over the side of the chariot.

"Then you'd have to explain to the Princess how you dropped the ball on making sure I was secure." Hofnarr countered with a smile.

"We're here!" Spitfire said as we all looked forward. Through a thin layer of clouds we saw a large, vertical mountain with grass and buildings on the top. The academy itself didn't look too special, but I guess being associated with the Wonderbolts was all the special it needed. Our chariot slowly lowered to level with academy grounds, and as it did I looked in the air above the main building and saw groups of pegasi in formations flying through all kinds of obstacles made from clouds in a rather large track. As the chariot touched down I saw a light blue stallion in a shirt like Spitfire's with a dark blue mane and tail flying towards us.

"Please keep your hooves, tails, wings, horns, heads and other appendages inside the vehicle until the ride has come to a complete stop." Hofnarr said in a happy tone as the chariot slowed down and Spitfire hopped out. "Thank you for flying with―" Blast Shield smacked Hofnarr upside the head.

"Stop it."

"Didn't have to hit me..." Hofnarr said as he tried to rub the back of his head. As we stepped off of the chariot the new pegasus landed in front of Spitfire.

"You were gone longer than you said. What held you up?" He asked as Blast Shield, Hofnarr and I walked up next to Spitfire. To my surprise, the pegasus didn't seem bothered by me or Hofnarr at all.

"There was a lot the Princess had to tell me." Spitfire said as she stepped aside and gestured to us with a hoof. "Fellas, this is my colleague and friend, Soarin. Soarin, this is Fragment, Blast Shield and Hofnarr." She said, pointing to us as our names were spoken.

"Why did you introduce me last?" Hofnarr asked, sounding offended.

"Nice to meet you all." Soarin said with a friendly smile. "So you're Fragment?" He asked with more focus on me. "I read about what you did in the newspaper. You saved that mare's life as well as her kid's." Hofnarr looked between Soarin and I with a very confused expression.

"Did I miss something? Something rather big and/or important."

"I'll tell you later." I said as one of the groups in the sky started to come down to land.

"I still have the newspaper, so you could read it yourself." Soarin said.

"Before we get started with your training, I'm going to explain to the cadets what's going on." Spitfire said as the seven cadets landed. Most of them looked at Hofnarr and I a few times before turning their attention to Spitfire. Before Spitfire even started talking they formed a straight line side by side. "Listen up, everypony." Spitfire said in an assertive tone, easily getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure you're all wondering why there are two changelings here. Late last night I was contacted by Princess Celestia herself, asking me to come to Canterlot today so we could discus me giving training to someone specific. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when she told me that that someone was a changeling. This is Fragment." She pointed at me as she said my name. "I'm sure you know about him if you've read the newspapers or heard the latest gossip."

"No, really, what did I miss?" Hofnarr whispered to me as Spitfire went on.

"For those of you who don't know, he has amnesia, and Princess Celestia has decided that she should help him. And now, I'm going to be helping him learn to fly, with the assistance of Hofnarr." Again, Spitfire pointed at the one she named.

"Why does she keep introducing me last?!" Hofnarr angrily whispered as I shushed him.

"Let me make this perfectly clear to everyone." Spitfire glared at Hofnarr with the last part of her sentence. "I don't care what your personal opinions of changelings are or if you think we should be helping Fragment or not. Princess Celestia thinks I should help him, so I'm going to. And I expect all of you to treat both Fragment and Hofnarr with respect. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am!" The group said in unison.

"It's like hoof camp all over again." Blast Shield said as Spitfire turned to me.

"Okay, Fragment, are you ready to begin training?"

"Yes." As soon as my sentence stopped, Spitfire got right in my face.

"Yes, what?" She asked threateningly.

"Yes, ma'am." I said again as Hofnarr chuckled and said

"This is gonna be fun to watch."

Author's Notes:

If anyone wants updates on next-chapter progress, I'd advise following me on twitter @A_Dark_Reminder. At the moment I'm not tweeting updates because I have no fan-followers.

Also, I read the first chapter of Living The Hive Life by Deepshift. You guys gotta read it if you like comedy fics!

No, really, go read it... Now.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 23: The Pros & the Cons

"Hello, everyone. My name is Hofnarr, and I will be your support flight instructor for today. Here to laugh at your mistakes and be glad that I don't have to do something that makes me look as stupid as you." Was the first thing Hofnarr said as Spitfire prepared to begin our training. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous. I wasn't nervous about making a fool of myself as much as I was about hurting myself. I had no idea what to expect from Spitfire nor did I know how easily I'd learn to use my wings. I may have had them this whole time but I had never used them before now.

"First things first." Spitfire began. "Hofnarr, you need to give us basics on changeling flight, which means Blast Shield will need to unbind your wings." And with that, I knew that I could predict nothing from Spitfire.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you; I had a crazy idea in my ear. You want me to do what?" Blast Shield said, hoping he simply misheard Spitfire. However I could smell Spitfire was dead serious about it. And I think Blast Shield figured it out from the expression on her face.

"Unbind him." Spitfire said seriously. Blast Shield hesitated before he turned to Hofnarr and his horn began to glow with blue magic. An aura of the same color appeared around Hofnarr's wing binds and Blast Shield pulled a key out of somewhere. As the straps around Hofnarr's wings came off, Blast Shield used the key to unlock the cuffs around Hofnarr's hooves, which fell to the ground afterwards. As Blast Shield gathered the straps and cuffs, Hofnarr stretched his limbs while he smiled.

"Let me tell you." Hofnarr bean as he cracked his neck. Which was weird because it wasn't restrained in anyway. "It does not feel good to have your mobility brought below that of a snail." He said as Spitfire turned to him with a serious look, instantly making him lose his smile.

"Don't try to get too comfortable, Hofnarr. You're going to be right here with me helping Fragment fly. Got that?" She said as she brought her face up to Hofnarr's.

"Depends on how you define 'got.'" Hofnarr replied with a new smile. However, it slowly faded once he saw how unamused Spitfire was.

"Word of advice." Soarin said as Hofnarr turned to him. "Take this seriously." Was all he said as he began to walk away. Hofnarr turned back to Spitfire with a nervous smile.

"S-so what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Like I said, first I want you to show us the basics of changeling flight, then you and I are gonna work together to teach Fragment. So, why don't you demonstrate how you fly?" Hofnarr's nervous expression became one of confidence as his wings began to buzz very quickly. His semi-transparent wings became a blur as they flapped and Hofnarr lifted about a foot into the air.

"Challenge accepted." Hofnarr said as he began to fly around Spitfire, Blast Shield and I while he kept his body facing us. His wings were causing quite a bit of loose dirt to be knocked into the air and carried away by the wind. "Observe the fact that I can keep flying in this circle around you and keep myself facing you. This is something you can't so easily do with pegasus wings. Or almost any other kind of wing. Our wings can't make us go as fast as others, but are far more maneuverable than most. Hovering and strafing are easy and stable. But to get to telling you how to use them, most of the idea is to always keep your wings moving; while it is possible it's very hard to glide with these wings. Thus, keep 'em buzzing. Beyond that it's pretty similar to other flight methods." He said as he landed in front of me. "Now start flapping. I'll give you more instructions as you progress."

I still wasn't sure of my capabilities, but I knew I had to try, so I mentally prepared myself and removed my cloak. With what felt like very little effort my wings started flapping incredibly fast, becoming a light blue blur while they made a rather loud buzzing. My wings flapping was also kicking up loose dirt. Hofnarr and I noticed that I was beginning to lift into the air.

"I'd recommend staying down here a bit longer, buddy. Don't want a hawk or something mistaking you for something it wants to eat."

"I think I could deal with a hawk if I needed to." I said as I slowed my wings so I was firmly on the ground.

"Regardless! Spitfire, how 'bout you take it for now and once he's in the air I hop back in and give him a helping hoof from there?" Spitfire thought for a moment before nodding to Hofnarr's idea. With that decided Hofnarr stepped aside while Spitfire walked up to me.

"Pay attention, Fragment, because if I have to repeat myself no one's going to be happy." I found her attitude rather scary. "One of the key elements of flight is balance. If you can't keep balance you can't stay in the air for long. Assuming you can even get into it. Once you're in the air you should keep your legs either tucked in or sticking out in front of you, that way there's less drag as well as better balance." She explained as she jumped into the air and darted off into the sky, with Blast Shield, Hofnarr and I watching.

"I think it's implied that you observe." Blast Shield said. Taking what he said into account, I examined Spitfire while she flew. She kept her hind legs close together and her forelegs sticking out in front of her. Wouldn't it be easier to just let your legs be against your sides rather than in front of you? I wondered as Spitfire followed a seemingly random path in the sky until she made a U turn and flew back to us.

"It's only as hard as you let it be." Spitfire said as she landed in front of me. "Now it's your turn. Start flapping your wings and slowly increase your speed." With a nod, I began to flap my wings again, buzzing loudly while kicking up debris and slowly elevating me into the air. Once my hooves were completely off the ground, I felt very uncomfortable. It was weird to have no sturdy surface to stand on. I tried to keep my calm as I got higher off the ground while Spitfire and the others watched me with the same observant expression.

"See? It's not that hard." Hofnarr said with a grin while Spitfire's expression remained unchanged. The further I got from the ground the less debris was knocked into the air. I felt very nervous once I reached six feet off the ground.

"Okay, now hold your altitude and try some actual flying." Spitfire said as I gulped nervously; there wasn't a chance she would settle with a causal flying speed. Taking in a deep breath, I began flapping my wings harder and leaned forward. I was surprised by how fast my movement was with my wings, but the speed wasn't exactly helpful at this point. I tried to lean back to stop but over-corrected and ended up going backwards. I saw Spitfire facehoof and heard Hofnarr laugh as I tried to regain stability. "Hofnarr, get up there and help him. This is what they brought you for." Spitfire said as Hofnarr's laughs turned into a disappointed 'aw.'

"I didn't sign up to do my job." Hofnarr said as he flew into the air and quickly got to me while I still struggled to stabilize. "Good morning, sir. How may I help you today?" Hofnarr said with a large smile.

"Help me hold still." I replied as I almost flew into Hofnarr. Hofnarr hooked my horn with a hoof hole, thus stopping me from going very far and somehow helping me regain balance. Once Hofnarr was sure I was balanced, he removed his hoof.

"Okay, Captain silly, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, flight is a rather difficult for a noob like yourself. But don't worry, I'm here to help ya through it!"

"That does not comfort me, Hofnarr." I replied as Hofnarr displayed a hurt and sad expression. Whether it was genuine or not I couldn't tell.

"Now that kinda behavior is why no one likes our kind. If you want my help with flying then you gotta not be rude or a jerk. Okay?" He finished with a raised brow.

"Okay, okay." I said with a sigh as my hovering became unstable again. "Can we start with keeping balance, please?" I asked while I stretched my legs out in different directions in a futile attempt to stabilize myself.

"First of all you need to calm down, then I can start helping." Hofnarr said as he crossed his forelegs and laid his head on them, like they were resting on a table or something. I stopped pointlessly flailing my limbs around and took a few deep calming breaths while still failing to gain stability. Once I appeared calm to Hofnarr, he spoke. "First things first, relax your legs. You're flying, so your wings are what you're counting on." I did as told. "Not to become balanced, you need to be up but kinda leaned forward. Like if you were standing on your hind legs and leaning over a balcony. Of course you don't need to when you get good at it. Heck, you just need to be decent and you'll do fine. As far as balance goes, that is." Taking Hofnarr's advice, I straightened up and leaned forward some. It took a moment but in that position my stability was regained at last, and I was able to truly relax for a bit. I gave a sigh of relief as Hofnarr began to circle me.

"So what's next?" I asked as Hofnarr tapped his chin and Spitfire began flying towards us.

"I was thinking some slow flying so you could get a better feel for it, but let's hear what the pro here thinks," He replied as he stopped circling me and Spitfire got to our level. "What do you think, madam? Shall we continue at a less than skilled speed or kick things up a notch?"

"With how poorly you've been doing compared to the average flier, you should probably start slow." She told me while Hofnarr chuckled. "Hofnarr, you're going to help Fragment with basic flight techniques while I check on the other teams in training. Got it?" Hofnarr gave a salute as a reply. Spitfire then turned and flew to Blast Shield. "Make sure neither of them do something stupid." She told him before flying off. Hofnarr looked at Blast Shield and said:

"What exactly can you do from down there?" He got into a laying down position while hovering as he continued. "I mean, what's stopping me from just flying away and going home now? I hardly think Fragment could catch me."

"Oh, I think I know plenty of spells to stop your get away. But I suppose if I can't then that assassin pegasus will." Blast Shield gave a relatively dark grin as he said that, but Hofnarr gave a visible shudder at the idea.

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" I said as I clumsily flew closer to Hofnarr. "So, basic flight techniques. What can you tell me?"

"Well keeping balance is pretty much the most important part, the thing now is just learning how to keep that balance while you fly. You'll need to constantly adjust based on your speed. It's more of something that you learn yourself than it is something you're taught because everyone has their own style. I can give you a few tips here and there, but you're otherwise on your own. I'd suggest we start with the most basic kind of flight. Moving forward. Go on and lean forward nice and slowly, and be careful about your balance; speed equals unstable." I nodded as I turned away from Hofnarr a little.

Still feeling nervous, I took another deep breath to try relaxing. However it didn't help much. Deciding that I needed to work through the nervousness, I leaned forward and slightly increased the rate I was flapping my wings. I started to move forward with Hofnarr staying near me. My flight speed was the same as my walking speed but was much less stable. I was wobbling rather uncontrollably as I moved, but as I adjusted and picked up speed, it became easier to fly stably.

"Good, good. Now let's gain some speed, eh?" Hofnarr said as he darted ahead of me. "Come on, slowpoke!" He taunted as he kept going. I began to move fast as I tried to catch up to Hofnarr while paying close attention to how stable I was. Hofnarr stopped once he had gotten about two-hundred feet ahead of me and turned around. He crossed his forelegs impatiently while I tried to fly faster. I kept my stability decent as my speed increased, but once I was about halfway to where Hofnarr was, I heard what sounded like someone screaming. But not a scream of terror or pain, but more like someone was... falling? I stopped and hovered as I tried to locate the source of the noise. "What's the hold-up?" Hofnarr asked as the screaming became louder and more understandable.

"LOOOOOOOK OUUUUUUUUT!" Before I could even ask, something slammed into my side, completely destroying my balance in the process, sending me plummeting to the ground below. As I tried to stop my fall, I saw the pegasus that had hit me crash into a table with various drinks on it, sending them into the air, with one cup full of water landing on Blast Shield's head upside down, thus spilling the water onto him. Once I was only a few dozen feet away from the ground, I felt someone grab me. I looked up to see Hofnarr holding onto my mid section, bringing me to the ground.

"What the hay's going on over here?" Soarin asked as he landed near the crash site. Once Hofnarr let me down, we both ran over to Soarin and Blast Shield to see what exactly had happened. When we got there, we saw Blast Shield pulling a pitcher of water off of a grey pegasus mare's muzzle. This pegasus had a blond mane and tail, amber eyes and was wearing some kind of bag with what appeared to be letters sticking out of it. She had a cutie mark of... Bubbles? After a few seconds of struggling with the pitcher, Blast Shield yanked it off creating a loud 'pop' sound.

"Thanks." The mare said as she rubbed her face with a hoof and stood back up. I noticed that one of her eyes was looking off to the side.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Soarin asked.

"M-my name is Derpy, mister Soarin sir." She said nervously. "I'm supposed to deliver a letter to Fragment from Ponyville." She explained as she pulled a letter out of the bag with her mouth.

"A letter for me? From Ponyville?" I asked as I stepped a little closer to Derpy. She didn't feel too comfortable around me, but she nodded and put the letter in her hoof. I picked it up with my magic and examined it. It appeared to be an ordinary envelope, but with no return address or name. Just a stamp saying Ponyville and information about where to be sent.

"Why is it surprising that you got a letter from Ponyville? I thought you were exchanging letters with one of the ponies there that had helped you." Blast Shield said.

"I am. But I haven't sent my reply to her yet." I said, making mental note to send the letter once I was back in Canterlot. But then I refocused on the letter I just received. "Do you know who sent this?" I asked as I looked back to Derpy from the envelope.

"Yeah! It was an earth pony filly. She had a bright yellow coat, a pink mane and tail that had been braided, and she didn't have a cutie mark yet!" She recalled as my mind focused on a single part of what Derpy said.

"A filly sent me this?" I asked, to which Derpy just nodded. "A filly?"

"Yup."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh!"

"... And you're sure?" I asked again, having no idea how a filly could've known where I was or what they could possibly want to tell me.

"I don't know why you're questioning me when I'm giving you the same answer." Derpy said as she hopped back into the air and started slowly, and clumsily, flying away. "Sorry about the mess!" She said before picking up speed and flying off. Once she was gone I looked back to the letter while Soarin mumbled something about cleaning up this mess and walked away.

"So who do you think sent that?" Blast Shield asked as he and Hofnarr stared at the envelope.

"I have no idea. A filly, who somehow got the information of exactly where I was―"

"Wait, wait, wait, does the letter say that supposed to be sent here? To the academy?" Hofnarr asked with wide eyes.

"No, it says Canterlot castle. I guess whoever Derpy talked to at the castle told her that I was here." I replied as Blast Shield rubbed his chin.

"Why didn't a Canterlot mailpony deliver that here?" He asked.

"Well either way, open it and we might get some answers." Hofnarr suggested. As I moved a hoof to open the letter, Hofnarr shouted: "WAIT! A letter sent by a mysterious filly with no return address...? It's obviously poisoned!" He exclaimed dramatically as I rolled my eyes and opened the letter. I pulled out a folded up paper from inside, unfolded it and began to read it out loud.

"'Dear Fragment, you have gotten yourself quite a bit of publicity since you have been in Canterlot; being in the local newspaper is not something changelings are known for doing of their own choice. Nevertheless, given the information provided from the headline, I am well aware of your status of having amnesia. It must be very hard to cope with such a condition, having no idea who you really are or who you can turn to. But I believe I can provide you something that you will desire...'" I stopped reading as I saw the next word, "... Dunkel..."

"Whoever this is knows your real name?" Hofnarr asked as he tried to get a better look at what the letter said. I shook my head and resumed reading.

"'I do not know if the Equestrians will try to view the content of this letter without your consent, so I will simply say this: return to Ponyville and I will contact you again. I can teach you what a pony never could. Alicorn or not. Share this with no one.' It's signed by 'a friend.'" I said as I finished reading the letter. I began rereading it as Blast Shield spoke.

"Who in Tartarus are you dealing with? Someone, a changeling no doubt, from Ponyville apparently went through the trouble of writing that letter, shapeshifting into a filly, and personally bring it to a mailpony to have it brought to you. And that's not even taking into account the fact that he or she knew exactly where you were." He said as Hofnarr seemed to be deep in thought.

"Shapeshifting into a filly isn't that challenging, actually."

"What if it's Gezähnt? The bastard seems Tartarus-bent on giving me problems." I said as Hofnarr looked at me and shook his head.

"Gezähnt doesn't work that way. He'd take someone that you cared about so that you'd have to come after him."

"He already has..." I said bitterly as Hofnarr took half a step back from me.

"A-and that assassin got Gezähnt anyway, so how could it be him?" Hofnarr said with an unsure smile.

"After Cyclone Shade paralyzed me, I saw him putting cuffs on Gezähnt's legs. I don't know what Cyclone Shade wants, but I don't think it involves killing."

"Say that to Jäger..." He replied with a sad expression as his head slowly looked down. In that moment I was reminded that Jäger was Hofnarr's best friend. When we had tried to talk to him after he had turned himself back in, he said that he had lost his best friend and the one he could count on for a plan, and given that Gezähnt was the highest ranked of them, that most likely meant that Gezähnt was the one Hofnarr counted on for a plan. Hofnarr cleared his throat after a moment. "Well... if you're done with the non-poisoned mystery letter, I suggest we get back to business. Kind of the whole reason we're here, you know?" Hofnarr said as he jumped into the air and started flying up and backwards.

"Right..." I said as I folded the paper back up, put it in its envelope and tucked it with my cloak. Then I started flapping my wings, slowly lifting back into the air. This time around, my flying felt much more stable and natural. Because of this, I decided to increase my speed and climb higher into the sky. Hofnarr looked rather surprised when I flew past him and kept heading up. The more elevation I got the more I increased my speed, and once I got fast enough I started to enjoy it. The rush of air past my ears, the freedom of the open sky, and the pure adrenaline was amazing. Going as fast as I could, I was quickly approaching a large layer of white clouds. Seeing no reason why not, I moved fast toward the clouds, when I suddenly felt massive pain in my head. "AH!" I shouted as I clutched my head. As the pain in my head grew I unintentionally stopped flapping my wings, thus causing me to free-fall. I could faintly hear a distorted voice in m head as I fell. Fragment... I heard as I plummeted to the fast approaching ground. I was only a few hundred feet from the ground when I felt myself slowing down but didn't feel anything touching me. As I opened my eyes to see what was going on, I felt the pain in my head decline. I saw Hofnarr fly towards me from a few feet above with his horn glowing.

"What the heck happened up there?" He asked as I started flapping my wings again and he released me from his magical hold.

"I don't know. Everything was fine before my head started to hurt. I heard something say my name while it was happening." I explained as Hofnarr facehoofed.

"That voice was me. I was trying to tell you not to go through those clouds."

"Why? And didn't you know that I get hurt from use of the Hive Mind?"

"Yeah, Gezähnt told me what happened when he tried to talk to you with it, I just kinda... forgot. And I was trying to stop you from going through those clouds because this is a pegasi academy, meaning that those clouds are probably part of an obstacle course where you might have been hit by someone flying it." Hofnarr explained as I looked back up to the clouds above. The thought of suddenly finding myself in front of a speeding pegasus was rather intimidating.

"That would have been bad..."

"Exactly." Hofnarr replied as he flew past me. "Come on. You seem to be getting the hang of it, now let's try some new tricks." I nodded as a reply and flew to catch up. "Last one to the front doors of the academy building is a smelly tomato! GO!" Hofnarr shouted then darted off. Figuring that his challenge would be a decent way to test myself, I too quickened my flight and headed for Hofnarr. The main building of the academy was nearly a hundred yards away and I had to closely monitor my flying to make sure I wouldn't abruptly lose balance or something. I was gradually gaining on Hofnarr, but his superior experience gave him a strong advantage.

Hofnarr made a display of how confident he was by making various loops and barrel-rolls as I tried to close at least some of the distance between us. Every time I got within a thirty feet of him, Hofnarr would instantly push himself to get further ahead of me. Using all of my strength and will to try to catch up, I found myself quickly gaining on Hofnarr but also very unstable. We were getting close to the academy and I was getting pretty close to Hofnarr, but once we were within twenty feet of the academy he stopped in mid air.

"BRAKES!" He shouted as he flew to the left to get out of my way. My mind barely had time to process what he had said when I realized how close to the building I was. Knowing that there was no way I'd be able to stop in time, I pulled up, narrowly avoiding the brick wall of the academy. It did not, however, stop me from slamming into a window above that wall. With a loud 'smack' I hit the window, making what appeared to be a janitor inside jump in surprise. Turning to the window, he looked frightened by me but approached anyway. With me somehow still sticking to the window, the janitor said

"I just cleaned that window ten minutes ago." He said with a dissatisfied look on his face.

"Sorry..." I said as I then started to slide down the window, creating a squeaking sound and leaving a trail of saliva from my mouth. Once I reached the bottom of the window I fell off of it, hitting the ground about ten feet below with a thud. As I groaned in pain I heard buzzing and then Hofnarr sigh.

"I said brakes." He said as he landed next to me.

"A little sooner on the warnings next time, please." I said as Hofnarr helped me stand back up. Then I heard the flapping of non-changeling wings.

"What in Tartarus are you two doing?" Spitfire asked in an angry tone.

"I was testing Fragment's reflexes and chose a bad place to do it." Hofnarr said as Spitfire gave him a very unpleasant look. Strangely, Hofnarr seemed completely unmoved by her.

"In what way were you 'testing Fragment's reflexes?'"

"I said stop when we got close to this building. It was bad idea without a doubt."

"You're lucky that no pony got hurt in that stunt of yours. Keep your training away from the cadets and any Wonderbolt property. Do I make myself clear? To both of you?"

"Yes, ma'am." Hofnarr said calmly while I just nodded. With that, Spitfire walked away. "As the arrangement says, let us not do that again." Hofnarr said casually as we began walking back to where we had started training.

"You handled that well." I commented as I followed him. "I expected you to say something along the lines of 'Fragment did it' or 'you should be more careful where you put your buildings.'"

"You really don't know how I work." He replied with a chuckle. "You can't be a wise ass all the time. It's all in the timing of remarks like that. If someone like Spitfire is pissed off, you'd better watch your mouth and answer their questions. I may act stupid but I assure you that I'm not."

"Then why do you? It just pisses everyone around you off."

"Because I don't see a reason to get so serious and stressed about the little things. And for me, getting on everyone's nerves is a good way to build tolerance, and for the observer it's a stress reliever. Look at it like pranking; it's all for fun and no one really gets hurt." Hofnarr explained as he hopped into the air and started flying up. "Now if I'm not mistaken, you still have flying to do. Put those wings of yours to some good use and let's go!" With that I took off into the sky and followed Hofnarr, while doing my best not to crash.

---

Hours of training had gone by, and I was improving at a rate that surprised even me. I was no pro, that was for sure, but my flying was nowhere near as bad as it was when I had started training. It was getting close to three P.M when Spitfire came to us.

"How's your training going?" She asked as I landed on Hofnarr's right while Blast Shield stood on my right.

"Well, Fragment hasn't crashed into a window recently and I haven't gotten hit with a blunt object for about ten minutes, so I'd say we're doing good. So what's going on with you? Come to actually teach Fragment instead of me?" Hofnarr replied with a cheery smile.

"Actually I'm here to tell you that you should get going." She said as she looked into the sky directly above us.

"What? Why?" I asked as Blast Shield tapped my right shoulder. When I looked at him I saw him point up. Looking into the sky, I saw that where there had been white clouds before there were now dark storm clouds.

"That storm's due to go through here and Canterlot bringing lots of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. While the cadets can train through that, I'd suggest getting yourselves back to Canterlot. Trying to train in this sort of weather isn't safe." Spitfire explained as there was rumble of thunder, as if to emphasize what she said.

"I see what you mean." I replied as I grabbed and put on my cloak. I tucked the envelope under my right wing.

"So, if we're all in agreement then I'd like to get under a roof before the rain starts pouring." Hofnarr said as he looked into the sky.

"Right. So are we supposed to come back here tomorrow or what?" I asked Spitfire as there was another rumble.

"Princess Celestia said that all of you will be coming here every day for the next week or so. So yes, you'd better be back here tomorrow. Ten A.M. sharp. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." I said as there was a bright flash from a lightning bolt, followed shortly by thunder. "Come on, it looks like we don't have much time ahead of this storm." With that, Spitfire headed back to the main building while Blast Shield Hofnarr and I began heading back to the chariot.

"Two things just occurred to me." Blast Shield said. "First, what have the guards who brought us here been doing this whole time? Just standing by the chariot doing nothing?"

"I have no idea what they've been doing. What's the other thing that occurred to you?"

"We're about to take a forty-five minute flight to Canterlot... with Hofnarr." Hofnarr just grinned as I stopped at the thought of it, after a moment I at last said all I could think of.

"Well Fuck."

Author's Notes:

I think I could've done better with the flying, but I don't know sh!t about aviation.

Sorry again for the wait.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 24: The Storm's Shade

"And because pegasi can move clouds by pushing them, there is no reason to have wind at all. It serves both good and bad purposes; good ones being pulling kites for the kids and turning the big fan turbine thing of a mill, but it serves bad purposes because it ALWAYS blows your hat away when you're not ready to catch it. Also if the wind gets going fast enough it can not only blow away a hat, but a whole picnic blanket, and just like that your Saturday activity is ruined. Not even gonna mention what happens when it gets to your newspapers. Have you ever noticed that when your newspaper does get blown away by the wind it's always when you're reading a funny story or article? It's like you're about to get to the punchline, then BAM, wind kicks up and your paper is flying away laughing at the joke you didn't get to finish." We had been flying for five minutes and I already wanted to throw Hofnarr off. Me and Hofnarr were seated in front with Blast Shield behind us. Of all the cuffs, chains and binds that Blast Shield had used on Hofnarr, not one of them could make him shut up. With a large storm behind us, the pegasi pulling our chariot worked overtime to get us back to Canterlot sooner rather than later. Sadly, Hofnarr was a condition that they couldn't out-fly.

"And then there's the jet-stream, which is like wind on steroids meets super strength. Why is that a thing? It's like, if you get caught in one of those you'd better hold on for dear life and hope you land somewhere nice."

"Why do you talk about things no one cares about?" Blast Shield asked as he lightly banged is head on the side of the chariot.

"Which brings us to currents, which are basically jet-streams underwater. And it's also something where if you're caught in it, all you can do is hope for the best. Never you mind that if you're in one you're deep underwater and will probably drown before it's done with you. But onto a less grim subject. Let's talk about―"

"How about shutting the fuck up?!" I shouted as my left eye twitched. Hofnarr simply stared at me with a blank face as I savored the silence.

"I have a question." Hofnarr said after a few seconds of beloved quietness. "What do we do if someone needs a restroom?" I heard Blast Shield slam his head on the chariot with a groan of annoyance. "It's a legitimate question!"

"I don't care if Canterlot's ten minutes away or ten hours away. It's going to take too long." Blast Shield remarked as Hofnarr chuckled.

"You're too easily stressed, dude. You're gonna get your blood pressure too high and feel all tired and all kinds of other things I'm not even gonna mention because they're so horrible that they'd give you nightmares. Speaking of nightmares, Princess Luna oversees your nightmares, right?"

"Yes..."

"And so she also oversees your dreams, right?"

"Yes..." I said, somewhat curious as to where he was going with this.

"Then does Princess Celestia oversee your daydreams or does that still fall to Princess Luna?" Drawing a blank, I looked to Blast Shield, who raised his right hoof and opened his mouth, but after a moment he said nothing and let his hoof drop back down. Hofnarr just smiled at this. Then it faded with what he said next. "Something else occurred to me. We haven't had lunch!" Hofnarr exclaimed with a look of panic on his face. "And we still didn't bring any snacks! If we crash this time we're dead for sure and we'll go down is history as the guys who didn't even get a last lunch! It'll be a story that'll make everyone who hears it sad."

"WHY WOULD WE CRASH?!" Blast shield snapped.

"Well for starters there's a big storm behind us and who knows, maybe there's an asshole of a dragon around here just waiting to make a sad story."

"Hofnarr, look over the side of the chariot, then tell me about how many seconds you'd have to realize you talk too much before you hit the ground." I said as Hofnarr peered over his side of the chariot.

"I am so freaking high right now..." He said as he pulled his head back. "And since you mentioned hitting the ground, let's talk about gravity."

"NOOOOOOO!" Blast Shield and I shouted in dread.

"As I said before, gravity does a lot more harm than good, because it makes you fall, usually with enough force to cause serious pain and damage. And if it weren't for gravity, nothing would fall because of an earthquake. Also it's because of gravity that only things with wings can fly. If there wasn't any gravity then everyone could just swim through the air which could potentially be less tiring than walk with gravity. Think about it and it makes perfect sense!"

"You know Hofnarr, I wouldn't mind you talking so much if you didn't talk about things that either didn't make any sense or just plain weren't important." I said with an annoyed sigh.

"Important things are too mainstream." Hofnarr said with a chuckle. "But I suppose we could talk about something more relevant. Like who could've sent you that letter."

"Is that a subject you actually care about?"

"I don't care, but I am curious nonetheless. It most likely is not a trap of some kind, but I have no idea what kind of changeling would take the risk of sending a letter like that. Even if it doesn't say this changeling's exact position, we do still know that it came from Ponyville and it will be waiting for you."

"Speaking of the letter, are you going to tell Princess Celestia about it or 'share this with no one?'" Blast Shield asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I don't think Princess Celestia would do anything bad to this changeling, but what if whoever this is decides to not help me because I told the Princess?"

"Well in that case you could always just tell the Princess after it's done helping you." Hofnarr suggested. "It's not a question of will you get helped or not, it's a question of who's trust you're going to betray. Either you tell Princess Celestia, thus betraying this random changeling's trust, or keep this a secret from Princess Celestia and thus betraying her trust. Although I guess her trust wouldn't be betrayed as long as she never found out.”

Hofnarr said as he looked to the storm behind us. "However you could also look at this as who do you trust more. If you do tell Princess Celestia, it shows that you trust her not to do something unpleasant to this changeling, and if you don't tell her it shows that you trust that this isn't a trap of some kind." Hofnarr finished as me and Blast Shield stared at him.

"You really weren't joking about being smarter than you seem." I said as I turned forward again. A couple of minutes had passed while Hofnarr talked about dragon fire breath being a side effect of living in or near volcanic areas, when I thought of something. "Hofnarr." I said getting his attention.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm giving very important lessons about the strength of a Leatherback Baloth?"

"What are the chances that the one who sent this letter is someone from Queen Chrysalis' kingdom? I know that Gezähnt isn't the only changeling who knows me."

"I might be able to give you an answer if it weren't for the fact that I have no idea who your friends were. Do you know the names of any of your former friends?"

"I don't know if he was my friend, but I at least knew a 'Colonel Tödlich.'"

"Again, that isn't his style. If Colonel Tödlich did try to contact you, he'd be a lot more direct about it. He'd probably just shapeshift into a guard, walk up to you and begin questioning you. He'd also only do it if the Queen told him to. But I don't think it's anyone from our kingdom; that letter suggests that whoever sent it learned about you from the newspapers, which would imply reading the newspapers, and no one in the Kingdom of Queen Chrysalis reads an Equestrian newspaper. They have no reason to; we're kinda in the mind set of 'they don't care about us so we don't care about them.'" Hofnarr said as looked ahead.

"In any case, you should probably tell the Princesses. That way if it was some kind of trap they'll know to send someone to look for you or something." Blast Shield said as we continued to make our way to Canterlot and I thought about the changeling near Ponyville.

---

Another half-hour passed before we finally reached Canterlot. By then the pegasi moving the storm had made the rain start to fall, and it was coming down hard and with constant lightning. As our chariot landed Hofnarr leaped over the side of the chariot. Which was impressive since he was still in wing and leg binds.

"Being in the middle of a dark rainy storm with lots of lightning and thunder is a little scary. Not that I was scared or anything."

"You practically screamed every time there was a lightning bolt. I'm surprised you didn't start crying for your mother." Blast shield remarked as he and I got off. Once we did, the pegasi who had pulled it detached themselves from the harnesses and began to walk away.

"Nah. I learned to stop crying for my parents a long time ago." Hofnarr said as he walked back over to us while Blast Shield gave him a puzzled look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blast Shield asked as Hofnarr sighed.

"Nothing. So do I get a room or am I still stuck in a cell for another day?"

"For now, the cell. Princess Celestia will decide if you get a room to yourself or not." Blast Shield said as he began leading Hofnarr back to the dungeon. "You coming, Fragment?"

"No. I'm going to have lunch and then get some sleep. But first I'm going to put my cloak away." I replied. As I was about to start walking back you my room, Hofnarr shouted:

"USE YOUR WINGS! The more you use them the faster you'll get good with them! Practice makes perfect and all that stuff." With that in mind, I started flapping my wings and began to fly back to my room, carrying the letter from the changeling with levitation. After so many hours using them I had gotten pretty good at not crashing or losing balance in general. However my confidence in my flight wasn't as good. I would constantly stop long before I would've hit a wall, a bust, or in one case a guard. After weeks of just walking around, it felt weird to be using my wings for general mobility. It was a short and somewhat uncomfortable flight back to my room. I landed in front of my room's door and opened it. The first thing I noticed as I stepped into my room was the brown paper bag on my bed.

"More mail for me?" I asked myself as I magically removed my cloak, placed it and the envelope on my bed, and focused on the bag. Walking up to it, I saw that the words 'for Fragment from Pinkie' were written on the side, which reminded me: "But... I never even sent my letter." As I said that I noticed a small note with my name on it next to the bag. Picking up the note with my magic, I began to read.

'Dear Fragment

I know you have been having a hard time lately, with Striker's death and Cyclone Shade, and I know you said you weren't going to let it get in your way, but even if you are not showing it I know that you are in pain. So I sent your letter to Pinkie Pie after you returned from the hospital the day Striker died. I'm sure that even without being here she can lighten your day. I hope you don't mind me just taking your letter too much.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.'

I put down the note as I continued to process what it said. I was very surprised that Princess Celestia took and sent my letter to Pinkie Pie, but I was far from upset. I didn't have a real reason to be. She did me a favor. I smiled thankfully as I put Princess Celestia's note down and opened the bag Pinkie Pie sent. Like the last time, there was a burst of confetti, this time it was less surprising. I reached into the bag and pulled out an envelope with a stamp of what looked like Pinkie's cutie mark on the front. I opened it and took out the bright yellow paper within.

'Dear Fragment

OH MY GOSH you're a dad?! That's so cool, right? When you come back to Ponyville I think I'm gonna give you a BIG being a dad party! But wait, that means you're at least 25 or something, right? Do you know how old your foals are? Are changeling kids called foals like ponies? I told Twilight and the others and everypony was REALLY surprised that you're married and stuff. We all have A BUNCH of questions. Twilight wants to know more about what that meanie changeling said and Rarity wants to know what kind of magic Princess Celestia is teaching you. Fluttershy is wondering who the Princess will get to teach you flight. Hey, speaking of the magic you're learning did you learn the spell that the Princesses use to send letters? 'Cause your letter arrived from Spike burping it up.

We all also read about you in the newspaper! Well, Rarity's the one who read it, but she showed it to the rest of us, so I guess we all read it, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash are still kinda uncomfortable with the idea of you being around, ESPECIALLY after we got back from the Changeling Kingdom. Oh yeah, WE WENT TO THE CHANGELING KINGDOM! Queen meanie pants foalnapped Rarity and Applejack's sisters and made us go to the Changeling Kingdom to get them. And then when we did get there she tried to get Twilight to become her student instead of Princess Celestia's. But we beat her and rescued the C.M.C! C.M.C stands for Cutie Mark Crusaders! They're the fillies you talked to before we brought you to Canterlot! I think I should stop because I've almost run out of room to write on this page but maybe if I write really small I can keep going. When do you think you'll be able to come and visit? WAIT! Maybe WE could come visit YOU! Unless you'll be visiting soon. Write back soon!

Pinkie Pie

P.S: Your cupcake's in the bag. Don't forget to give Striker his!'

Reaching into the bag again, I felt two cupcakes. Looking into it I saw that one of them was the chocolate mint for me, and the other one was a vanilla cupcake, which I instantly remembered was what she had given Striker last time. I let out a sad sigh as I thought about what to do with it. I wouldn't feel right eating it, nor would I with just throwing it away. So I took out my cupcake and rolled the bag shut with Striker's cupcake inside. I slowly ate my cupcake as I walked over to my closet. I opened it, hung my cloak on a hanger, and took out the bag of writing supplies Princess Celestia gave me. Once I finished my cupcake I began to write my reply:

Dear Pinkie Pie

First of all, I don't know how old my sons are, but if I had to guess, then assuming the flashback I saw them in wasn't from too long ago I'd say that Käfer (youngest) is about ten years old, and Hornisse (oldest) is about fourteen. So I'm probably older than 25. And if it's okay with you, Pinkie, I'd rather not have a party for being a dad. Because I haven't even seen them since I've had amnesia, so it would seem really weird to me. As far as what the 'meanie' changeling said, I think I'll save that for when we're face to face. And to answer your question, I have no idea when I'll get to visit Ponyville so if you really want to you can come here and visit.

As for what I've learned, as far as magic goes I've learned teleportation, wards and magic bolt. I've also gotten good with levitation. Today I started my flight training with the help of one of the other changelings, Hofnarr, and help from Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. I haven't gotten much accomplished yet but that's where my flight training is. There isn't really much to say in that area. But there is something that you should know... Striker's... dead. Two days ago the three changelings we had here were broken out of their cells. At one point the 'meanie' changeling tried to talk me into helping him and the others escape, but I refused and we got into a fight. Striker showed up and tried to help me and got bitten. We didn't know it at the time, but changelings have neurotoxic venom in our fangs that is used to make the bitten hallucinate so that if a changeling's cover is blown it can escape while the victim is going crazy. But the changeling Hofnarr told us that you can die from it if you're overdosed. There was nothing we could do for him.

This is all I'm going to put in this letter. I've had a long day and a hard week without enough sleep. Like I said, I don't know when I'll be coming back to Ponyville so if you want you can come here.

Fragment

I placed the cork back in the inkwell and put away the quill as I finished writing the letter. After giving it a quick look for spelling errors and finding none, I folded it up and tucked it and the envelope from the changeling under my wing. I put the writing supplies back in my closet then left the room to get some food. Once I reached the dining room I was surprised to see that there was already food set at one end of the table, and Princess Celestia sitting at the other end of it. I gave a quick bow and said: "Good evening, Princess."

"Hello Fragment." She replied with a small smile. "How did your training go?"

"Plenty of interesting things happened." I answered as I levitated the changeling's envelope over to Princess Celestia. She took it into her own magical grasp and started reading it while I began eating my food, silently awaiting her reply. She read the letter top to bottom at least twice before she folded it back up and spoke.

"Do you or Hofnarr have any idea who sent this?" She asked at last as I sipped my water.

"Not one. I suggested it might be someone from Chrysalis' hive, but Hofnarr doesn't think it's likely."

"And what have you decided if you're going to meet this changeling?"

"I guess I could see what he wants. From that letter it sounds like he wants to teach me things you can't, probably things like shapeshifting and wall crawling, but Hofnarr could teach me that stuff anyway."

"If you do talk to this changeling, would you please tell him or her that I would like to talk?"

"Of course." As I finished the food on my plate, a question occurred to me. "Will Hofnarr be getting his own room in the castle? I know I asked you the other day, but other than annoying us he didn't cause any real trouble."

"That's not quite what Blast Shield told me." I raised a brow when I heard that. "I asked Blast Shield to tell me what happened at the academy, and he told me that you almost crashed into the ground and then you did crash into a window under Hofnarr's watch." Princess Celestia said seriously.

"Me almost crashing into the ground wasn't Hofnarr's fault. He tried to use the Hive Mind to tell me not to go into the clouds because they could be part of an obstacle course. He just forgot that the Hive Mind hurts me. He was watching out for me. As for the window, it was a poor judgment call I'll admit, but when Spitfire came to bite our heads off, he took full responsibility for it." Princess Celestia maintained her serious expression as she answered.

"I think he should have a little more consideration for the well being of others before I let him have his own room. It's not that I don't trust him, Fragment, it's that I think he would cause trouble by accident, based on his current behavior."

"I... guess that makes sense. But I still think he deserves a little more than a cell after everything that's happened to him."

"I'll tell you what. If Hofnarr doesn't cause any major problems, and shows a bit more thought in his actions, I'll arrange for him to be given a room. Sounds fair?"

"Sounds fair." I agreed and finished my very late lunch. As I reached the door out, I turned back around to Princess Celestia. "And Princess." I said getting her attention. "Thanks for sending my letter." I said with a small smile.

"Would you like me to send your next one?" She asked with her own smile.

"Sure." I said as I levitated my new letter to her. Her horn flashed brightly with gold light and when the light faded the letter was gone. I nodded and headed off to bed. I slept for a few hours before I was woken up for dinner. After an uneventful meal I went back to bed...

---

It was a hot and cloudless day as I walked through the streets. There were dozens of changelings around me going about their lives. I was carrying a sadlebag and heading towards a large stone building.

"And what, you're just going to go off and get yourself killed? Is that what you really want, Dunkel?" I was asked by the changeling following me. He was roughly the same height as me and was slightly less muscular than me.

"Why does this bother you so much? The military pays more than enough and I'll be able to help changelings while efficiently serving the Queen."

"Do you really think that's what's going to happen? You'll get killed on the battlefield like one third of our soldiers are. This is a bad and desperate idea and you know that!

"I didn't tell you about this so you could try to talk me out of it, Bruder, I told you so you could be informed." I replied as Bruder got in front of me, stopping me.

"This goes against everything you've believed! You're going to kill others at the command of the Queen or whoever your commanding officer will be!"

"That's not what the military is, Bruder. I'm going to be protecting the kingdom." I replied as I moved around Bruder. "And by the way, beliefs can change."

"So you're leaving. Just like that? You're abandoning us?" Bruder said as I continued walking. After a moment without an answer from me, he yelled "Fine! But if you come back, don't expect me to be here," angrily as he turned to walk away. Once I reached the the large wood doors of the building I heard hoofsteps behind me.

"You going to tell me what that was all about?" The changeling asked as I opened the doors.

"It's nothing, Abgrund. My brother just needs some time to cool down." I told him with a sigh as we walked inside and my vision instantly went black as I heard the word "Fragment" shouted throughout my head.

---

"Fragment!" I heard as I was shook from my sleep. Opening my eyes I saw Hofnarr with a panicked look on his face.

"What are you doing in my room and why are you waking me up?" I said as I cast a light spell and looked at my clock, seeing it was three in the morning.

"It's the assassin!" My attention was instantly brought back to Hofnarr as those words reached me. "He's back and tried to take me again!"

"Tell me the details and follow me." I said as I quickly got out of bed and we headed for the door.

"I was just sleeping my cell when a guard was slammed into the bars of my cell. The pegasus shot some kind of dart at me but missed, then when he opened my cell I punched him and ran." Hofnarr explained as we stepped into the hallway. It was still raining hard from the storm over Canterlot. Bright flashes from lightning followed almost immediately by their thunder. The castle's hallway was very dark, and given Cyclone Shade's color, it'd be easy to hide.

"And so you ran to me? Why didn't you go to a guard or something?" I asked as I kept the light spell going and began walking in the direction of the of the dining room. There was no way that we could beat Cyclone Shade on our own, so I knew we'd need to find help of some kind.

"I didn't know that was your room. I was just getting away from the nut job as fast as I could. And I haven't seen a single guard this whole time." Hofnarr said quietly as we moved through the hallway, while I used my light spell to try and spot anyone.

"First thing we need to do is get help, then we can at least try to find and hopefully capture, Cyclone Shade."

"You can try," a voice said from behind us. Hofnarr and I turned around as fast as we could, but when we looked we saw no one. "Hahahaha... Having trouble, little bugs?" Cyclone Shade asked from what sounded like above us. Looking around, there was flash of light from a lightning bolt showing me that Cyclone shade was across from us near a window. Seeing him I instantly turned my light to him and when he came into the light the first thing I saw was an evil smile on his face.

"What do you want with me?!" Hofnarr shouted as he got behind me and Cyclone Shade just laughed.

"That, my little prey, is confidential information. Unless you have a few thousand bits that you don't need with you." Cyclone Shade said as I shot a magic bolt at him which he easily dodged. "And hello to you too, Fragment." He said as he flew into the darkness above us, forcing me to try to locate him again. "How is your ear doing since our last encounter?"

"Like the rest of us: better off without you."

"I could help you with the 'off' part. Hahahaha!" Cyclone Shade said. Normally I'd just try to find and fight him, but I figured that if I could keep him talking and passive long enough then maybe a guard on patrol would find us and help. There was another flash of lightning, which briefly revealed where Cyclone Shade was in the area.

"What kind of pegasus are you anyway? Doing whatever you're told as long as you're paid enough."

"Oh, no, no, no. That's not how I work at all. I'll do anything violent as long as I'm paid enough; I'm an assassin, not a whore." He answered as I stepped a little closer to Hofnarr as I continued looking for Cyclone Shade.

"Point is you don't care what or who you kill as long as it pays." I countered as I caught sight of Cyclone Shade for a moment before he flew down and into another direction out of the light.

"What does it matter? Everyone dies sooner or later, I just prefer it be sooner."

"You're a heartless murderer."

"Is that the best insult you could come up with on the spot? How sad. Oh, and if you think somepony's going to save you, you can stop believing that now. None of night guards are near this hallway and they won't be. I've made sure of that."

"Like when you broke Jäger and Gezähnt and I out, you always knew when there was a patrol!" Hofnarr realized.

"Good to see that you're keeping up with this. Now then, Fragment, you can either walk away and let me take your friend, or you can stand here, have me kill you, and I still take your friend. Choose wisely." Cyclone Shade said as I looked at Hofnarr. I could see the fear on his face as he tried to get more behind me. He was terrified, probably for his life. I was not going to let Cyclone Shade get him that easily. I dispersed the light spell and wait for a moment. After a few seconds of relative silence, there was flash of lightning. In that moment I saw Cyclone Shade standing a few feet in front of me, and as the rumble of thunder came I quickly fired a magic bolt at Cyclone Shade. This time he didn't have the chance to avoid it.

"RUN!" I shouted as we began running down the hallway, with Hofnarr keeping close. As we ran I could hear Cyclone Shade laugh menacingly.

"Where do we go?!" Hofnarr asked as I looked for anyone who could help.

"I'm not sure. I think if we reach some guards we'll be okay. At least for a little while." I said. I constantly looked over my shoulder for any signs of Cyclone Shade, seeing none every time however. After we turned a corner I ran face-first into the chest plate of a guard, with enough force to fall back onto my flank.

"What's going on, Fragment?" Sinistar asked as I stood back up. As I stood I saw that Sinistar had five other guards with him, two unicorns another batpony an earth pony and a pegasus. And none of them looked happy to see us.

"It's Cyclone Shade! He's back and might try to kill me!" Hofnarr said as the guards gave each other puzzled looks. Sinistar, however, looked very serious,

"Both of you come with us. We're taking you to Princess Luna. She'll decide what we do next." Sinistar said as he began leading us to the throne room.

"Oh, Sinistar, so willing to ruin the fun." Cyclone Shade said with a laugh as we all looked around trying to find him. With another lightning strike, Cyclone Shade was revealed, along with his insane smile.

"Come on." Sinistar said as we began walking away, with Sinistar staying in back watching out for Cyclone Shade. The unicorns were using light spells to keep most of the area lit, but it did little to comfort Hofnarr. He was in the middle of the group looking around like he was paranoid. In his position I probably would be too.

"What, you're just going to walk away? Without even saying goodbye?" Cyclone Shade said as we kept moving. Sinistar was keeping a close eye on the ceiling above us and the hallway behind us. I used my own light spell as a spotlight looking for Cyclone Shade. "Well I suppose that's not exactly hard for you do, is it? Now who is it that I know that might be able to tell me about that..." Sinistar said nothing and I wondered if Cyclone Shade was referring to whoever Storm was. I also wondered how Cyclone Shade knew about this.

"How far away is the throne room?" I asked Sinistar.

"It's near the end of the next hallway." He replied as we heard Cyclone Shade chuckle.

"Come on, Sinistar, tell them all about what happened. I'm sure that they'll find it to be a truly wonderful story." Sinistar didn't show any kind of reaction. "You know everypony wants to know." Still Sinistar remained unresponsive to Cyclone Shade.

Then Cyclone Shade dove into Sinistar from above. While the guards quickly took fighting stances and Hofnarr got behind them, I fired a magic bolt at Cyclone Shade but he used Sinistar to block it. Sinistar then punched Cyclone Shade in the face as Cyclone Shade threw a knife into the leg of one of the unicorn guards. I used levitation to grab and pull one of Cyclone Shade's legs to the floor while Sinistar tried to punch him again. Cyclone Shade pulled another knife which he used to slice Sinistar's attacking leg, then he threw another knife at me, cutting my face. Cyclone Shade threw a small black ball into the other guards, exploding when it hit the floor and knocking guards back. Cyclone Shade threw some kind of powder at me which got into my eyes, creating a painful burning feeling in them. Remembering that the same thing had been done to Sinistar, I began flapping my wings to blow the powder away. Even with the powder cleared it was difficult to see exactly what was happening, however the pain was fading. As my eyesight returned I saw the other batpony and the unicorn with the cut leg were unconscious, and Cyclone Shade was flying down the hallway he came from.

"Why did he flee?" One of unicorns asked while the earth pony tended to the other unicorns leg and Sinistar looked around.

"Where's Hofnarr?" He asked as I noticed he was gone.

"Shit!" I said as I took off to catch up to Cyclone Shade and Hofnarr.

"Fragment, wait!" Sinistar called but I paid him no heed. As I turned the corner there was another bolt of lightning, showing me Cyclone Shade flying quickly down the hallway with Hofnarr ahead of him. Knowing that Cyclone Shade's flying was far faster than my running and Hofnarr having said that changelings can't fly as fast as pegasi, I did the only thing that came to mind to catch them. I charged my horn and in a flash of green light I teleported to near Hofnarr. Seeing that, Cyclone Shade flew over me while I shot a magic bolt into his flight path, knocking him out of the air and into Hofnarr. After giving Hofnarr a quick punch in the face, Cyclone Shade got up and turned to face me.

"You are quite the troublemaker, you know that? Why is it so hard for you to just let me do my job?"

"Because your job means hurting and killing others."

"Hurting Hofnarr, yes. Killing him, no. The one who wants him was very unhappy to learn I killed that other changeling. My pay would likely be halved if I killed this one too."

"What does your employer want with them?"

"Don't you think that if I were going to tell, I would have the time this one asked?" He said with a motion to Hofnarr "But no, that is something you are not to know. Now then, am I going to kill you too, or are you going to stand down?" Rather than answer I just fired a magic bolt at him. "I'll send your eyes back to your Queen when I'm done." He said as he threw a knife at me which I blocked with a ward.

He then pulled out three more knifes and threw them at the ward, but these ones passed through my ward like it wasn't even there. Two of the knifes stuck in my chest while the other one cut my leg. As I magically pulled one of the knifes out and shot a magic bolt at Cyclone Shade, as I saw that there was some kind of symbol on the blade of the knife, glowing red. Cyclone Shade flew above me then slammed into my ward, breaking it. Cyclone Shade Punched my face then flew back off of me. I tried to get back up but got hit across the back of my head with what I assume was Cyclone Shade's hoof. Using teleportation to get up, I saw Cyclone Shade flying down at me. I ducked and rolled out of his way and shot magic bolt into his side. Turning around, he flew further above me and dived toward Hofnarr. I jumped to Hofnarr and punched Cyclone Shade before he had a chance to touch him. With a frustrated grunt, Cyclone Shade pulled another black ball and threw it at my head, but I caught it with levitation and threw it back.

He jumped and flew over it then swooped down and punched me. Then he pulled out a glass vial with purple fluid in it and flicked his right hoof, making a blade come out of the bracer. He slashed at my neck with the blade, which I dodged, then he smashed the vial on my head, its effects becoming instantly apparent. My vision blurred and it became hard to focus. Moving faster than I could react, Cyclone Shade punched me in the jaw, knocking me away from Hofnarr. I tried to charge a spell, but couldn't. I was only barely able bring my forelegs up to block in time as Cyclone Shade leaped at me with his blade. He pushed the blade closer to my neck while I used my weakening legs to try to stop him. After a few more seconds of my strength failing, Cyclone Shade stopped pushing and slashed the blade across my left eye. Reflexively I moved my hooves to my eye. Then Cyclone Shade stabbed my stomach, and as he raised the bracer's blade over his head I heard him grunt. I was losing blood at a rather fast rate, and when I looked at Cyclone Shade, I saw him pull a dart like the ones from his bracer out of the back of his neck. He turned around and we saw Hofnarr backing away from Cyclone Shade.

"You little parasite." Cyclone Shade said as he tried to raise a hoof to hit Hofnarr, but he stumbled to the floor. As my vision began to fade, I saw Hofnarr standing over Cyclone Shade. With an almost proud smile on his face.

Chapter 25: Darker Insight

My consciousness slowly returned as pain made itself known in my stomach, right foreleg and across my left eye. I could feel the warmth of the Sun, the gentle pressure of a blanket on my body and some kind of cloth over my left eye as I heard the beep of my heart monitor. I tried to open my eyes but had to keep my left eye shut to avoid further pain. With my right eye opened slightly, I saw that I was in the castle's infirmary again with Blast Shield standing by. He didn't notice that I was conscious until I tried to move resulting in sharp pain in my gut.

"How're you feeling?" He asked as I gently laid back down.

"Like I was stabbed by a lunatic, but otherwise alright." I replied as I relaxed some letting the pain subside. "How long was I out?"

"About eight hours. Maybe more than that."

"What happened while I was out?" I asked and more carefully sat up, pain making itself apparent in the process.

"Not much. After you were taken here and Cyclone Shade was taken to the dungeon everypony tried to get some rest."

"What about Hofnarr?" I asked as I looked at a clock on the other side of the room and saw that it was past nine twenty A.M.

"Princess Luna gave him a guest room to use until we get this mess better sorted out. He was pretty shaken up and made it perfectly clear that he wouldn't spend a minute in the dungeon as long as Cyclone was there." Blast Shield replied as a unicorn nurse entered the room with a tray of food held by her magic.

"Your breakfast." She said as she levitated the tray to the bed and left. I wondered if she knew that I was awake or was bringing it now regardless. She was out the door before I could say thank you.

"So what's happened to Cyclone Shade since then?" I asked as I began to eat. As I did I felt the hunger for love rise.

"He's still in the dungeon but Shining Armor and Sinistar are going to try interrogating him soon."

"Should Sinistar really be a part of that interrogation? Cyclone Shade seems to know something about Sinistar that bothers him."

"All I know is that it was Shining Armor's idea." He told me as I finished my meal. Remembering that Blast Shield didn't really care if I fed off of him, I began to feed. A steady stream of green mist began to flow off of Blast Shield and into my mouth. As usual I kept a close eye on Blast Shield's condition while I fed, and once he began to seem unbalanced I stopped feeding. Feeling much better after that I slowly got out of bed. My stomach was still in pain, but it wasn't enough to keep me bedridden. My eye wasn't in much better shape either. It didn't hurt all the time, but if I tried to open it it hurt a lot. "Feeding really heals that much?"

"It heals enough. Will you take me to Princess Celestia?" Blast Shield nodded, got up and began leading me. The pain made the walk unpleasant. "What do you think the Princesses are going to do with him?" I asked.

"I have no idea. I do know that Cyclone Shade has a long and bloody reputation. From what I heard, there have been over four-hundred murders that he's claimed to be responsible for. He's wanted in six countries and has murdered more than thirty councilors, kings, queens and other important political members. He has been arrested before but he always escapes. In a few cases it was reported that others had been sent to break him out of wherever he was being held."

"Do you think that someone will try to break him out of here?"

"It's possible, but Shining Armor is taking as many precautions as he can to make sure no one so much as looks at Canterlot without a guard knowing and reporting it. Normally I'd think it's excessive, but knowing who we're dealing with changes the entire game. This isn't somepony we want to get away." After a few minutes of pondering we arrived at the interrogation room, which had two guards by its door. Blast Shield lead me into the observation half. Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance were there. Princesses Celestia and Luna weren't surprised to see me, but Cadance's eyes widened when she saw me.

"What happened to you?" She asked as Blast Shield and I walked over to where they were.

"Got into a fight with Cyclone Shade last night. Luckily Hofnarr got one of his paralysis darts and used it on him before he could do worse." I explained while Cadance continued to look at me with concern. I looked through the interrogation room's window and saw Cyclone Shade sitting quietly in his chair, with an amount of binds, cuffs and chains that made Hofnarr's look like nothing. "What are you going to do with him?" I asked.

"He's a mass murderer wanted in dozens of countries. We should just execute him, but we need to know who sent him here and why. Whoever sent him may send another in his place if we do execute him." Princess Celestia said as the door to the interrogation room opened and Shining Armor and Sinistar walked in.

"It's about time you got here. I was getting bored." Cyclone Shade said as a smile formed on his face. "So let's go through this old, dull, overused song and dance routine until you get tired of unsatisfactory results, shall we?"

"We want to know who sent you here and why." Shining Armor said as Cyclone Shade looked at Sinistar with a raised brow.

"What, do you have nothing to say, Sinistar? After all the trouble I've caused I expected something more... fierce." Cyclone Shade said as Sinistar put both his forehooves on the table between them and leaned forward.

"Who sent you?" Sinistar asked as Cyclone Shade's smile grew.

"What are you hiding from them? Would they even let you have this job if they knew?" Sinistar growled and moved his face right up to Cyclone Shade's.

"We could give you to the Diamond Dogs for the things you've done, and let me tell just what they'd do to you." Sinistar threatened.

"Something tells me that the torture they can inflict is nothing compared to the torture you've done to yourself, Sinistar. Such a disgrace to your family that you could―" Sinistar flipped the table out from between them and shoved Cyclone Shade to the wall.

"Sinistar!" Shining Armor shouted, but Sinistar ignored him.

"You arrogant psychopathic vile imp!" Sinistar said in rage as Cyclone Shade began to laugh.

"I am all that and much more. But what are you going to do about it? Look at you; your blood rushing, your wings flared with rage, and your teeth ready to rip out my throat, but you are held back like a dog on a leash. For once in you entire career, drop your foolish morality and paint this room with my blood." Cyclone Shade said as Sinistar pushed him harder into the wall and Shining Armor's horn began to glow. Sinistar stared into Cyclone Shade's eyes as he continued to breath heavily with anger.

"Come on! Rip this cocky smile off my face!" Cyclone Shade shouted through his smile.

After a few tense moments Sinistar released Cyclone Shade from the wall. Then he walked to the door and left, slamming it behind him while Cyclone Shade began to laugh again. Shining Armor left the interrogation room and came to our side of the mirror. As he started talking to the Princesses, likely about if they should continue with or without Sinistar, I left the room. I knew that trying to talk to Sinistar about this was probably a bad idea, but I figured I'd try while the others planned their next move. When I stepped out of the interrogation room I saw Sinistar slowly walking down the left side of the hallway.

"Sinistar." I said as I jogged up to him, but he kept walking. It didn't take much to catch up to him, but when I did Sinistar let out a long, agitated sigh and faced me. There was a vast mixture of sadness, regret and anger coming from Sinistar.

"Why can't you get the message through your thick exoskeleton head? What does it take to make you leave me alone?" He asked before I could say anything. Then he took a deep breath and looked at me with a less tense look on his face.

"I'm only going to say this once, so you'd best listen. I want to apologize for both now and last time. I know you're just trying to help and I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did. However, I shall also make this clear: I do not want to be your friend, nor do I want you to try to be mine. I don't care about you or whatever you want or whatever you have to say. It just isn't something I'm going to concern myself with, so you shouldn't waste your time trying. Do I make myself clear?" I simply nodded in reply. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me I need some time to think."

Without another word from either of us, Sinistar walked away. I turned around and began heading back to the interrogation room. When I got back to it Shining Armor was back talking to Cyclone Shade. The Princesses looked rather unsettled, which unsettled me.

"The griffins would burn my chest, gouge my eyes, scalp me, 'clip' my wings, pull my teeth and still have the gall to say that they know how to torture me. They know nothing of the craft." Cyclone Shade said as Princess Cadance put her right hoof to her lips with a suppressed gasp.

"Gotten anything out of him yet?" I asked as Princess Luna shook her head.

"Only things we'd rather forget. Anything useful he may know he has so far withheld. It's hard to interrogate somepony who doesn't seem to fear anything. Be it because of arrogance or courage I do not know."

"Let's be honest here, Captain." Cyclone Shade said, regaining our attention. "You may have all the evidence you need to prosecute me and such, but that doesn't get the answers from me you want. But nothing you have can scare the truth out of me. Because the truth is that there is only one thing you have to offer me. Freedom,"

"No. In no case do you get to walk away from this."

"Oh but I will. You see, very much unlike you I know who I'm working for, and I also know how hard he she or them will try to get me out of here. And let me tell you, I will leave this place, it's just a matter of if I am broken out by my employer or am let out after helping you. But do you know what? I'm done talking to you. Send me Princess Celestia and then we'll see if we can't make a deal." Cyclone Shade answered as he faced the mirror with a smile on his face. With a frustrated grunt, Shining Armor left the interrogation room and returned to our side.

"If Cyclone Shade refuses to talk to you then there isn't much that can be done." Princess Celestia said as she walked towards the door. "If he wishes to talk to me than I will comply." None of us were sure of what to say or do, so we just let her go and turned to Cyclone Shade. The moment the door opened Cyclone Shade's eyes were fixated on Princess Celestia while he chuckled to himself.

"Hello, your highness. How long has it been since our last, and first, encounter? After so many years of bloodshed I can hardly remember."

"It has been more than fifty years, Shade." Princess Celestia said as I looked at Shining Armor.

"If they met fifty years ago, then how old is he?" I asked.

"From the profile I read he's about fifty-nine years old..." Shining Armor said I refocused on the Princess and Cyclone Shade's conversation.

"Shade... It's been ages since I've been called that. Ha ha ha... Nowadays almost everypony's too afraid to even say my first name. Why did you call me that, Princess?"

"I remembered that you preferred it. You said that it had a nicer ring to it."

"And how do you remember that after all these years?" Cyclone Shade Said as he leaned forward with narrowed eyes.

"You skinned a cat. You were the first to do something like that in years, and it makes some things hard to forget."

"I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when you, Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and bringer of the night and the day came to speak to me after doing such a horrible thing. Tell me, Princess... why did you come see me all those years ago?"

"Because I wanted to know why anypony would do something like that. Something so cruel."

"And was the answer you got satisfying? Did it help you sleep at night knowing that I had tortured that useless animal because I was angry? Because I wanted to hear its suffering?" Cyclone Shade's smile widened with the words.

"I had a very hard time sleeping after that. But not because of what you told me. It was what you didn't tell me that kept me awake. You never told me what made you mad enough to hurt something like that." I could hear the sorrow in Princess Celestia's voice. We were all paying very close attention to what was being said. "You also didn't tell me how you had gotten your bruises and cuts. You had a recently broken nose when you were arrested. Who was hurting you, Shade?"

"And what did you think when my father paid to bail me out? Would surprised be an understatement?" Cyclone Shade asked like he didn't hear her question.

"Why would I be surprised? What parent wouldn't have gotten their son out of jail as soon as they could?"

"My father wouldn't let me leave the house for any reason after that. And do you remember what I looked like when I was brought to court?" Princess Celestia paused as she thought about what he asked. I heard her quietly gasp before she answered.

"Your father―"

"Yes, my 'daddy dearest' was the one who hurt me. He was an abusive drunk who thought it was funny to listen to me cry, begging him to stop hitting me." Cyclone Shade said as the creepy smile he had worn the whole interrogation faded.

"Shade... why didn't you tell me what he was doing? Why didn't you tell anypony what he was doing? We could have done something. We could have―"

"It was my word against his. And tell me, Princess, would you have sided with the colt who had just skinned a cat, or the stallion who just lost his wife? And as long as we're on that subject, tell me if you think my mother 'fell' down the stairs. There was indeed a fall, but it was no accident." There was silence after that. On both sides of the window. For a moment I could have sworn that I saw tear from Cyclone Shade's eye, but his black coat made it hard to really tell.

"And three years later, when I was released from prison, do you remember what the next headlining story was?" Cyclone Shade asked, finally breaking the silence. Princess Celestia didn't reply. "And you don't even know the details of what I did. All that was found of him was a blood stained skeleton with a heart carved into the forehead. I spent a lot of time and skill on that task. It was such a pleasing result as well. After that, I was in the wind. Both meteorically and literally."

"Why did you tell me all of this, Shade?"

"Because I want you to understand this, Princess: When I killed my father, I did it for vengeance and justice, but now? Ha ha ha. Now I kill and torture for fun. But you see, evil is not real. It is an idea and opinion that is chosen. To some, what I did to my father was right, but to others along myself... he didn't suffer enough." Princess Celestia seem very disturbed by his words. "But I think we've been off topic long enough, hmm? I know who sent me and why, you can let me go. So allow me to make you this offer. Two-thousand bits, and my release from your holding and in exchange... I give you the name of every client I ever had. Who they are, where they can be found and why they wanted the targets dead. This information includes, but is certainty not limited to, the one who sent me here to kill one of royal blood."

Everyone's attention was instantly increased.

"What did you say?" Princess Celestia asked with audible concern in her voice.

"Hahahahaha! Oh yes, I was sent here to kill a member of the royal family. And I must say that I got pretty damn close to achieving that goal. You want to know who sent me and who was supposed to die? Then you'll let me go and pay me. And just to make things more interesting, you have one hour to decide. Yes, I can tell if an hour has gone by without a clock." We all stood staring at Cyclone Shade with mixture of concern and fear.

"Who would want one of us dead?" Princess Cadance asked.

"Maybe Chrysalis..." Shining Armor said with an angry look on his face as Princess Celestia left the interrogation room. Then three guards came into the room to escort Cyclone Shade back to his cell. When Princess Celestia returned to our side of the mirror, the other Princesses had many questions. Mostly about the fact that she had known Cyclone Shade since he was young. But as they asked their questions Shining Armor pulled Blast Shield and I aside.

"Fragment, I want you to tell Hofnarr about Cyclone Shade's deal. Given that he's the one Cyclone Shade's been after the past few days. I think he has a right to know about the possibility of him just being let out."

"What, just tell him that there's a chance Cyclone Shade is going to walk away unpunished?" I asked, imagining Hofnarr's reaction to that news being less than agreeable.

"Make it clear to him that if Cyclone Shade does give us the information he promised then we'll be able to get whoever hired him to capture Hofnarr in the first place. No payment, no motive." I nodded in understanding as Blast Shield lead the way out. As the door closed behind us, I thought of something. "Where is Hofnarr, anyway?"

"I have no idea. I guess we'll just have to look around for him." Blast Shield said with a shrug as we began heading through the castle to try to find Hofnarr. I was curious as to how he was after everything. As we walked I could feel the pain from the stab wound in my stomach getting stronger as we walked. I knew that I'd either have to feed more or rest, and while the latter would take much more time, the former would tax whoever I fed off of. The pain got pretty bad after a few minutes of fruitless searching.

"I think I need a break." I said as we came to an four-way intersection in the castle.

"Why? We've barely been searching for ten minutes."

"It's this stab." I said and tapped my stomach to indicate what I meant. "I haven't recovered completely." I said as I heard what sounded like someone running up from behind me. As I turned to see who it was, I instantly felt myself caught in an air constricting, exoskeleton cracking hug. As I struggled to get some air, I noticed who it was that was hugging me. "P-Pinkie... Pie?" I managed to say as I also saw Twilight and Fluttershy heading our way from down the hallway.

"That big meanie changeling killed Striker and you couldn't do anything..." Pinkie Pie said as her grip tightened and I began to get an idea as to what was going on. But before I could actually put things together I had to get some air.

"Please... let... go..." I managed to say as Pinkie Pie only loosened her grip rather than let go. But at least I could breathe. I saw that Twilight and Fluttershy had very concerned looks on their faces.

"What happened to you? You look terrible." Twilight asked as Pinkie Pie let go of me fully, allowing me to catch my breath. I saw that she shared their concerned expression.

"I got into a fight with an assassin this morning." Their interest in what happened to me spiked as the word assassin passed my lips.

"My goodness, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked while she looked at my bandages.

"I'll be fine, I just need to take it easy for a while. But what are all of you doing here?" Pinkie Pie didn't give the others a chance at answering the question.

"I got your letter from Spike because he burped it up and I was so excited and was like 'oh my gosh Fragment replied super-duper fast!' And then I started reading you letter and when I read that you were taking flying lessons from Spitfire I was like 'Rainbow Dash has GOT to hear this' and then I told everypony that Spitfire was teaching you we were all like 'whoa' and Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it! She seemed kinda jealous but I kept reading and read that Striker was dead and we were all shocked! So I said that we should come here to make sure you were okay, but I knew that Striker had a marefriend so I said that we needed make sure that Lightheart was okay too so we decided that Twilight, Fluttershy and I would come here as soon as we could which was today while Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash checked on Lightheart!" Pinkie Pie explained in a single breath.

"In other words, we wanted to make sure you were doing okay." Twilight summed up as Pinkie Pie nodded. "But what happened to you? What assassin are you talking about?"

"It's kind of a long story. Come on, I'll tell you while we get Hofnarr." I said as Blast Shield started walking down the hallway again and I motioned for the others to follow. "His name is Cyclone Shade. He's the self-proclaimed 'world's best assassin' and is a sociopath. When I first fought him he used a paralysis dart on me, saying that he loved that poison because it stops the victim from struggling but lets them feel pain." I heard Fluttershy gasp at that.

"What kind of pony would do something like that? Much less make a living like that." Fluttershy said. Apparently someone who was abused as a child... I thought to myself.

"What happened with this assassin? Are the guards keeping security on high alert until he's caught?" Twilight asked as Pinkie Pie bounced up beside me.

"He was captured early this morning. After he tried to kill me Hofnarr stabbed him with one of his own paralysis darts."

"Who's Hofnarr?" Twilight asked. Pinkie Pie beat me to answering.

"He's one of the changelings we captured in Ponyville! He was the one who hit Rainbow Dash."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"You told me his name was Hofnarr in your letter, silly."

"Yeah but, how do you know that Hofnarr is the same changeling? The one that hit Rainbow Dash could've been the one that got killed or got captured by Cyclone Shade."

"Oh come on, Fragment, it's not that hard to figure out." She said as Fluttershy spoke up.

"What do you mean killed by Cyclone Shade?" She asked with much concern in her voice.

"From what we've learned, whoever hired Cyclone Shade wanted the changelings we had here captured."

"Why would they want to capture captured changelings?" Pinkie asked as she got ahead of us but bounced backwards so she could still face us."

"We have no idea. As I was saying, one of the changelings Cyclone Shade was supposed to capture he wound up killing instead." Fluttershy looked bothered by that. Just as I tried to think of a way to change the subject, Pinkie said:

"There he is!" She said pointing down a hallway on our left, where Hofnarr was...

"What the heck is he doing?" I asked as we stared at Hofnarr. He was walking along the inside of a door frame with a pegasus guard standing nearby watching him. Hofnarr didn't seem to notice us as we approached him, and once we got close enough I asked the question we had all been thinking.

"Hofnarr... what in Tartarus are you doing?"

"I am stressed! I am very, very stressed!" He said as he continued his walk.

"Uh... Why?" I asked as I still tried to figure out why he was walking along the door frame like he was. It was a very strange sight.

"Because the crazy assassin guy who wants to kill me, or capture me, or torture me, or capture me, torture me and then kill me is in the same building as me. That is a bothersome fact!" Hofnarr stated as he slightly increased his pace.

"Yes, but he's also in the dungeon. I'm sure after everything he's done Shining Armor wouldn't skimp on security." I reassured.

"You've got nothing to worry about, you big silly!" Pinkie Pie added as Hofnarr stopped at the top of the door frame, letting his body hang down. He seemed to freeze when he heard what Pinkie said, but his ears were panning for some reason.

"Who said that?" Hofnarr said after a few oddly quite seconds, then he turned his head and saw us. His eyes narrowed on the others. "It's you!"

Author's Notes:

Shining Armor and Sinistar are like the worst interrogators ever... of all time.

If you guys like random and funny sh!t, I'd advise going to UniqueSKD's YouTube channel. He's got some funny animations and some fic readings.

~A Dark Reminder

P.S: I hope everyone had a great holiday week!

Chapter 26: Negotiations

Hofnarr's gaze shifted between Twilight Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie as he continued to stand upside down on the door frame while they stared back at him. None of the others were sure what to do and neither was Blast Shield or myself. The silence went on for another minute or two before Hofnarr broke the silence. "It's you!"

"We heard you the first time, silly." Pinkie said in her usual happy tone.

"What do you mean by 'you?' If you don't mind me asking..." Fluttershy asked as Hofnarr walked down from the door frame and took three steps closer to the others. Twilight watched him distrustingly. I guess that just because I'm good doesn't mean she'll give Hofnarr a particularly warm, friendly welcome.

"You're the ones who defeated the queen and denied my kingdom its prosperous future!" Hofnarr said as his eyes narrowed further. "You hit me in the face with magic. You yelled at me. And you shot me." He said and pointed at Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in that order as his eyes went back to their normal width and his face gained a more calm look. "Don't get me wrong, I totally understand and we'd have done the same if you were attacking us for whatever reason you could have for attacking us, but because we lost we didn't get to have the big party everyone was planning." Hofnarr stated in a more casual tone.

"You were going to have a party?" Pinkie asked, taking a strange amount of interest in the idea.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't we after gaining a large new territory and enough love to sustain us for a few hundred years? We were gonna have all kinds of cake, games and drinks. Alcoholic and non." Hofnarr explained with a happy expression. But it faded as the next words came out of his mouth. "But we lost. So we don't get to have that party..."

"You should totally have a party anyway!" Pinkie suggested as the rest of us, excluding Hofnarr, just stared at her.

"But... we lost. Losers don't get parties. Unless it works differently here."

"Just because you lost doesn't mean you're a loser!"

"No, I'm pretty sure it―"

"And why do you even need to win to throw a party?! I throw parties for no reason all the time!" Hofnarr, along with the rest of us, stared at Pinkie with a blank face before he smiled widely and exclaimed:

"That's brilliant! How could we not have thought of that?" He asked himself as I remembered why it was that I was looking for Hofnarr in the first place.

"Hofnarr." He looked at me with a tilted head. "Shining Armor wanted me to tell you that Cyclone Shade wants to make a deal. In exchange for his freedom and payment, he'll give us all the information he has about everyone he's ever worked for." Hofnarr continued to stare at me, blinking only occasionally while I tried to read his face.

"They..." Hofnarr began. "They aren't really considering letting that nut out are they?"

"I'm not sure. But if he does tell us who he works for, then we'll know who wanted him to get you. Maybe even why they wanted you in the first place."

"So what? He's still the guy who killed my best friend along with who knows how many others. He's an assassin after all." Hofnarr said with a half frustrated and half sorrowful look on his face. "And he obviously likes messing with heads, based on the way that batpony stormed out of the interrogation room." He added as he walked back onto the door frame and resumed his walking... pacing... thing. "Why are you telling me this anyway?"

"Shining Armor wanted you to know what was going on. He said that you have a right to be informed." I answered as Hofnarr stopped briefly.

"Does having a 'right to be informed' mean I get to help decide if they accept his deal, or is it more like 'we're letting you know what's going on, but if you don't like it we don't care?'" He asked.

"I don't think Shining Armor would've had me tell you about this if they didn't care how you felt about this." I replied as Hofnarr once again walked off of the door frame.

"Well if it wouldn't be too much to ask, I'd like to confirm that. Like, talk to someone who has the authority to make that kinda decision."

"Do you want to talk to Captain Armor? I'm sure he'll know if you get a say or not since he's the one who sent for you." Blast Shield said as Hofnarr paused in thought. After a brief silence, Hofnarr let out a sigh.

"I'd rather not, but I guess it's the best way to get my answer." Hofnarr said with a slow nod as Blast Shield began leading us back. The guard that had been watching Hofnarr before we arrived just walked away.

"You seem uncomfortable." I commented. Hofnarr gave a fake laugh as he replied.

"Uncomfortable? Why would I be comfortable? You do remember we crashed the guy's wedding, right? Were you comfortable around him your first few times?" Hofnarr asked, causing me to remember that I acted very similarly to how he was when I first met Shining Armor. With that mind I wondered if Shining Armor would treat Hofnarr as well as he did me. I've had time to make up for some of what I've done. Hofnarr hasn't.

"Point taken. But it's not like he'll beat you senseless. If he were I'm sure he would've by now." Hofnarr seemed to take some peace of mind from what I said.

"So other than what you've already told us, how have you been?" Twilight asked as Pinkie instantly took her chance.

"How about you tell us more about that mare who's life you saved along with her colt from a giant mutant cockatrice when Canterlot was being attacked while the Secretariat comet was passing Equestria making magical creatures really super magically powerful! That sounds like a GREAT story!" While Blast Shield seemed to ignore everything Pinkie had said, the rest of us, including Hofnarr, stared at her until Hofnarr said:

"Wait, what? You did what where with the who when?" I don't think his face could really express how confused he was. I had forgotten that Hofnarr still hadn't read the newspaper that talked about what happened.

"Well, when―" Was all I managed to say before Pinkie took over.

"When Canterlot was being attacked by the giant mutant cockatrice Fragment saw from the castle a mare and her kid running from a cockatrice! So Fragment teleported to help them back to the castle saving their lives!" She explained with a big smile.

"It was just explained to me, but why am I still confused?" Hofnarr asked as I asked a rather big question.

"How did you know all of that? Weren't you and the others making your way to the changeling kingdom when all of that was happening? And I never told you that!"

"I just talked to the guards, silly." It still didn't make sense to me, but I was starting to wonder if I really wanted to know.

"And they say I'm loopy." Hofnarr said with a shrug.

"No, they say you're Hofnarr!" Pinkie said happily.

"No, they actually call me moron, stupid, idiot and sometimes annoying." Hofnarr replied as he casually started walking along the wall beside us, slowly making his way up to the ceiling.

"That's awful!" Fluttershy said as she watched Hofnarr continue to crawl on everything but the floor. "Why would they call you such mean things?" She asked, causing Hofnarr to look down to her from the right wall while continuing to follow us.

"Because I am an annoying stupid moronic idiot who loves expressing the fact. Oddly enough it's gotten others out of some really bad situations. Sure I get in trouble but it's so worth it!" Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with mildly confused looks as Blast Shield stopped outside a room I didn't recognize that had two guards standing by its doors.

"Okay. I'm pretty sure they're in there." He said as he walked up to the doors. Seeing that neither guard tried to stop him, Blast Shield knocked on one of the doors. A moment later they were surrounded by a gold aura and opened, allowing us to enter. We walked in and saw all three Princesses, Shining Armor and Sinistar talking. The room was rather small, had a shelf with various scrolls and files on it. There was a large circular wooden table in the middle of the room.

"Even if we could trust him to tell us who and where his clients are, it doesn't change the fact that he tortures for amusement and could potentially come back to kill Hofnarr, or anyone, for sport." Sinistar argued as the doors closed behind us and the Princesses looked at us. Followed by Shining Armor and Sinistar as the others and I bowed.

"Hello, Twilight." Princess Celestia said as she walked over to us while we stood back up. "I didn't know you were visiting Canterlot."

"We weren't planning on coming, but when Pinkie read Fragment's letter and how Striker had died she insisted we come here to check on him." Twilight said as Hofnarr crawled into the room from the ceiling, instantly catching the Princesses, Shining Armor and Sinistar's attention.

"Hello..." Hofnarr said as he stood directly above me on the ceiling. He appeared to be quite uncomfortable.

"You're not even going to bow?" Sinistar asked in the least pleasant tone I've heard him use.

"Why should I? They're not my princesses." Hofnarr replied, gaining disapproving looks from the others and I.

"No, but they are keeping the assassin away from you." Sinistar countered as Hofnarr's nervousness was raised. Hofnarr quickly got into a bowing position on the ceiling and said:

"Is there anything any of you need? A paper fan? A sandwich? A cup of tea? Oh! I can make a really good cup of tea! Okay, not a really good cup of tea, but I know how to make it." Princess Celestia chuckled a little at Hofnarr's extreme change of attitude.

"That won't be necessary, Hofnarr. What're all of you doing here anyway?" Princess Celestia asked as Hofnarr jumped down to the floor and Blast Shield cleared his throat.

"Captain Armor told Fragment to inform Hofnarr of Cyclone Shade's offer and Hofnarr wants to know if he gets a say in it." Blast Shield explained. The Princesses looked at Shining Armor with mildly confused expressions.

"Well Hofnarr was the one who Cyclone Shade was after. He has every right to at least be a part of this discussion." Shining Armor said. Sinistar nodded in agreement while Princess Celestia looked back to us.

"Well then you're just in time. If we take Cyclone Shade's deal, it could put hundreds of criminals away."

"But at the same time, Cyclone Shade is pretty much a few dozen cereal killers in one." Sinistar interjected.

"Is there anyway you could trace him with or something if you release him?" Twilight asked. "If you could do that then after he's told us who he works for you would be able to rearrest him."

"I like that plan. It's a good plan." Hofnarr said with a smile.

"I'm afraid the only spell like that I know of Cyclone Shade would feel affecting him." Princess Celestia answered.

"What if you put the spell on his equipment?" Hofnarr asked. "He's got a lot of knives you could put the spell on. Though I wouldn't recommend that given how much he throws them." Princesses Luna and Celestia looked at each other, then Celestia looked back to Hofnarr with a small smile.

"That could work." She said as Sinistar cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"Even with a tracking spell, it's more than likely that he'll try to hurt somepony before we can recapture him. And if we mess up a recapture attempt he will probably wonder how we found him. He's psychotic, but also smart." Sinistar explained.

"Part of the problem is that we don't know how he'll give us the information." Shining Armor added. "He made it clear that he wouldn't tell us anything until after we let him go."

"Then I think we need to talk to Cyclone Shade about this deal before we make anything finale." Princess Celestia said. She then began leading us to the dungeon. On our way to the dungeon, Twilight, Shining Armor talked with each other while the rest of us remained quiet for the most part. I noticed that Hofnarr still didn't seem very comfortable, but I think the fact that we were going to talk to Cyclone Shade was the primary cause for that. As we approached the dungeon's doors, the guards by them bowed then opened the doors.

"I must warn you." Princess Celestia to Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. "Cyclone Shade is a very disturbed pony, and he'll say whatever he can to get under your skin." Twilight and the others looked at each other. Although I had told them about my experiences with Cyclone Shade, they still largely had no idea what he was capable of. Even if his words were the only weapons he had now. After a moment of silent debating, Twilight nodded. Once we stepped into the dungeon we could heard Cyclone Shade's voice. What surprised us was the fact he was singing.

"If by chance I see a cat, I'll feed its corpse to my pet rat..." He sang to himself as Twilight, Pinkie and especially Fluttershy looked sickened by that.

"Remind me again, why are you considering letting him out?" Hofnarr asked as Cyclone Shade's singing turned to laughter, then he spoke.

"Well now, I wasn't expecting visitors so soon. Especially one I tried to foalnap. Have nothing better to do Hofnarr, or has you idiocy landed you back here?" Shining Armor, Sinistar, and Princesses Luna and Cadance stood by the doors while Princess Celestia walked ahead of us to Cyclone Shade's cell, which had formerly been Gezähnt's. How fitting. As Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy and I came into Cyclone Shade's line of sight, he gained a rather surprised look. I saw that even though he was just standing in the middle of his cell, his legs and wings were still bound, almost preventing him from moving.

"HAHAHAHA! Seems I have truly misinterpreted the situation. I am in the presence of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Half of them, that is. To what do I owe such an honor?" He said with a creepy and wide smile as he walked up to the bars, Fluttershy backing away a little in response.

“We’re here to talk about our deal.” Princess Celestia said, causing Cyclone Shade to look to her.

“You still have forty minutes to make up your mind, and my conditions are non-negotiable.”

“I want to know how you are going to tell us the information you’re offering.”

“You’ll get your information when I get out of these binds, this cell and away from Canterlot.”

“What’re you gonna do, send a postcard?” Asked Hofnarr. The moment Cyclone Shade’s eyes met Hofnarr’s, Hofnarr stepped back from the cell.

“Oh, how I love to see such feeble beings like yourself cower under my gaze. There are only a few feelings greater than being feared by so many.” Cyclone Shade said with a smile. “And to answer your question, yes. While it may not be Celestia’s way to backstab in such a manner, that doesn’t mean she won’t try to pull me right back into this cell once she has all the information she wants. So yes, I will be mailing you what you want to know. However if this makes you not want to take my deal, then how about you pay me half when I leave, and the rest after I’ve given you all the information I have. Say, leave the payment at a dead drop of my choosing? And don’t worry, I don’t mean ‘dead drop’ as in the place where I drop off my torture victims. No, that is my happy place.”

“T-Torture victims?” Fluttershy asked with fear and horror in her eyes. Cyclone Shade laughed before replying.

“Hahahaha. Why yes. I’m certainly not going to leave a pile of half torched and mutilated bodies laying around my hideout, am I?” Fluttershy fainted, being caught by Twilight and Pinkie before she could fall to the floor.

“You’re sick!” Twilight said as she looked at Fluttershy with concern.

“She’s the one who asked. I was simply answering her question. HAHAHAHA! And besides, you don’t know sick until you’ve drank someone’s blood with their severed penis as a straw.” There was a flash of green light to our left. We looked just in time to see Hofnarr, now shapeshifted into Fluttershy, faint as well, causing Cyclone Shade to laugh more. I’d had enough of Cyclone Shade’s sick sense of humor. In rage, I slammed my forelegs against the bars in front of Cyclone Shade.

“Consider yourself lucky there are bars between us.” I said threateningly as Cyclone Shade smiled and brought his face closer to me.

“Consider yourself lucky that my limbs are bound. Let’s face it, you without magic and me without equipment, I win every time. Heck, I could probably beat you even if you used magic. You severely lack the skill and experience to beat me in a fight. Every time we’ve fought there was always somepony to save you.” He said as he turned to Princess Celestia again. “So, how exactly do you think we should execute this little arrangement? I’m sure you didn’t come here wanting to know what my plan was unless you had decided that my offer was worth it.”

“Wait, you can’t seriously be letting him out. Can you?” Twilight said as she shifted her attention from the slowly recovering Fluttershy to Princess Celestia. “He’s a murderer! He thinks this is funny.”

“Oh, but it is funny.” Cyclone Shade butted in. “How can you not think it’s funny that those two fools can’t even handle the mental image of something so gruesome? Just imagine how they’d react to seeing it firsthoof. They would lose their lunches along with their consciousness.”

“See what I mean? He’s… he’s…” Twilight struggled to find the words to describe Cyclone Shade, which he found incredibly amusing. “Everything about him is just wrong!”

“The same goes for you, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looked at him with a confused, disgusted and angry expression. “Some would hail me as a saint while others, such as most Equestrians, would curse me a monster. But ultimately it comes down to this… Were you raised to think killing was wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as Fluttershy began wake up, looking very confused to see herself out cold next to her.

“There are a lot of things no one really understands, but one of the greatest things is the idea of right and wrong. Everyone thinks that killing is wrong and helping others is good, but who determined that? Who got to define right and wrong for all beings? It wasn’t your parents. They told you what they thought was right and what was wrong, but they have no such authority to say that it is right or wrong. And do you know why they cannot?” He asked as Hofnarr began to wake up. “Because what they think is right, what you think is right and what I think is right, is nothing more than an opinion. What you, or anyone thinks is right or wrong, good or evil, is just what they think of it. In truth there is no such thing as good and evil. They’re just ideas and words used to keep you from doing something someone else doesn’t want you to. Once you’ve come to terms with that, with the fact that nothing you have ever done or will ever do is good or bad, you let go of your worthless morals, and become truly free. No words, no laws, and no chains will ever hold you again.”

Cyclone Shade stared into Twilight’s eyes as his words sank into all of our heads. We were all at least a little disturbed by his reasoning, but I think deep down we knew that he was right. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence Princess Celestia spoke up.

“We’ve been off topic for too long. We came here―”

“Oh, I know what you’ve come here for. But, before that I would like a word with… Fragment.” Cyclone Shade said as he faced me with a large and creepy grin. “And I want that word to be in private. As in you and everypony else gets out so that it’s just me and the closest thing to a rival I currently have.” Princess Celestia turned to me with an uncertain expression.

“I’m sure whatever he wants to talk about isn’t going to be as bad as what Gezähnt had to say.” I assured. Reluctantly, the Princesses and guards made their way out, allowing us to talk. “What do you want?” I asked bitterly.

“This isn’t about what I want. It’s about what you want.” He said, keeping his voice down. I guess he was expecting eavesdroppers. “I’m sure you have many questions about who exactly the mare who spoke to me at the hospital was. Based on the way you looked at her. Either that or you have a good taste in mares.” He said with a chuckle.

“Aura…” I said to myself.

“Ah, so you do know her. How interesting. But that furthers the question, what does she mean to you?”

“Why does it matter to you?” Cyclone Shade’s smile grew.

“My reasons for this are not important. What is important, however, is the fact that I may be able to help you. Free of charge, too. But I must know, why are you interested in Aura?” With a reluctant sigh, I explained to him.

“She’s from some of the flashbacks I’ve had. In them she was trying to warn me about something during the invasion. Saying that I was in danger. I have no idea what she was talking about, but worried that whatever it was could still be a problem.”

“Ah, that sounds like her. Given that that is the reason, I can be of use to you after all. There is a place almost perfectly on the border between Equestria and the arctic north known as Frost Meadow Manor. A place where the occasional party for Equestria’s richest is held. In two weeks there will be one such party going on. Attended by many well known names such as Photo Finish, Fancypants, Hoity Toity, and Goldman Sacks, who of course will bring his daughter Aura. This is where you will have your best chance to speak with her.”

“What, you think they’ll just let me in?”

“HAHAHA― of course not. However, a little known fact about this party is that although he was invited, somepony known as Filthy Rich won’t be coming along. But if he so chooses to change his mind, he will be welcomed. Do you see the picture I’m painting?”

“You―” I stopped myself from being too loud, remembering that Princess Celestia, or anypony, could be at the door trying to hear us. “You want me to go disguised as Filthy Rich?”

“Want you to? Not necessarily. Suggesting it to you? Indeed. It doesn’t matter to me what you do. This is just me giving you the possibility of getting at least some answers.” Cyclone Shade said as he walked to his bed and laid down on it. “I have shown you all I will offer from behind these bars. I’m sure that nosy Princess will want to know what we were talking about for so long, and I’m sure you won’t really want to tell her about this, so if you are asked, tell them I challenged you to a rematch for once I get out of here.” After a few seconds of staring at him uncertainly, I began to walk away from his cell. “Oh, and do tell the orphan I’m going to get back at him.” He added just as I was out of his sight.

“What orphan?” I asked as I looked over my shoulder back to his cell.

“Really? He didn’t tell you? That doesn’t seem very trustworthy of Hofnarr, does it?”

“Wait, what?” Rather than reply, Cyclone Shade just chuckled. As I resumed walking to the doors, he began to sing again.

“Jeepers, creepers, where’d you get those eyes? Hahahaha...”

Chapter 27: The More You Know

Cyclone Shade’s mad laughter continued as I stepped out of the dungeon while Princess Celestia and the guards stepped back in, leaving two guards by the dungeon door. Twilight and the others were waiting for me, all of them had curious faces. Twilight was the first to ask:

“So, what did he want to talk about?” She asked as I looked at Hofnarr. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sneak into that party even if it meant I could talk to Aura. If I got caught I’m sure it would end up in the news, and therefore end up showing Equestrians that I shouldn’t be trusted. But at the same time, the fact that I didn’t know but wanted to drove the desire to go. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell them about this. At least not yet. But I also didn’t want to lie to them, so I told them the truth.

“He implied that you’re an orphan.” I said as I looked to Hofnarr. He looked shocked by what I said as his mouth hung open. Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were surprised by my statement. “Is that true?”

Hofnarr stood in silence as his mouth slowly shut. It seemed as though Hofnarr was deep in thought. At this point it was obvious to me that Cyclone Shade was right, but how he knew about it I had no idea. Hofnarr took a deep, shaky breath then turned around and started flying down the hallway as fast as he could. Taking a left further down the hallway, he was out of sight before any of us could do or say anything.

“Based on that, I’d say he’s an orphan. No other reason why he’d react like that.” Blast Shield said as we continued to stare blankly where Hofnarr went.

“Come on. We should see if he’s okay.” Twilight said as she began walking down the hallway with Pinkie and Fluttershy following.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? If he’s kept being an orphan a secret then I don’t think he’ll want to talk about it. With anyone.” I said as me and Blast Shield still stood by the dungeon door with the guards.

“He’s obviously in emotional pain, and that’s why we should see if we can do something for him.” Fluttershy said as me and Blast Shield glanced at each other then began to follow them.

“I’m not too sure about that, Fluttershy; some just want to be left alone. So, on an unrelated subject, how have things been in Ponyville since the changeling attack?” I asked as we made our way through the hallway to try to find Hofnarr.

“Things have been fine, I guess. Everypony’s still a little on edge about the attack and everything but they just need some time.” Twilight explained. Pinkie then gasped and spun around so that she could face me as we walked.

“OH MY GOSH! You shoulda been there when news about you came from Canterlot! Everypony in Ponyville was talking about you and some think you’re a hero but there are ponies who think you shouldn’t be trusted because you’re probably only helping us because you don’t remember yourself and I was like ‘that’s not true! Fragment’s really nice’ but they didn’t listen so then I was like ‘you’ll see the next time he’s in Ponyville.’ But the whole towns kinda split on the subject.”

“I think everypony just needs some time. With two recent attacks, ponies are bound to hold at least some resentment and distrust. But once everypony sees that you’re good they’ll come around.” Twilight reassured as we took the same left that Hofnarr had taken.

“I hope you’re right.” I said. As we turned the corner we saw that there was no sign of Hofnarr, and there were several rooms and turns to go to other hallways. “Well, finding him isn’t going to be too easy.”

“Fluttershy, when we find him you should be the one to talk to him.” Twilight said as I looked around for any signs of Hofnarr.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t know anything about being an orphan. Especially a changeling orphan.” Fluttershy said with an uncertain expression.

“I know, Fluttershy, but you’re the most compassionate pony I’ve ever met. If any of us can help him, it’s you.” Twilight reassured with a small smile.

“First we need to find him.” I reminded as I observed the area for anything out of place. “Any ideas on how we can do that faster?”

“No idea. Do you know where he might have gone?” Twilight replied.

“No. Princess Luna gave him a guest room to use until the Princesses come up with something else, so he might be there, but I don’t know where his room is.”

“I know where the guest rooms are, so let’s start there.” Twilight then began to lead us to the guest rooms. As we walked I began to feel guilty about just turning attention away from me and onto Hofnarr like I had. If he is an orphan then it’s probably not something he likes to talk about. Maybe not even think about. I didn’t want to tell them about what I was considering doing, so I threw all focus at him. I’d have to at least try to make it up to him. I then began to question why I was keeping this from them at all.

They’re my friends, aren’t they? They know that I wouldn’t sneak into a party like that without a good reason. Don’t they? They’ve only known me for about a week, but they’ve seen what good I’ve done. They know I’m not like the others. I don’t hate Equestria or Equestrians for fearing us. But what if they think something else? That maybe I have motives that aren’t good. I really trust them, so what’s the real reason I don’t want to tell them about this? Am I worried that they’ll try to talk me out of it?

This could be my best chance to get answers about what happened during the invasion. I might not even get another chance to talk to her. It’s important that I talk to her. At least I think it is… Oh who am I kidding? There’s no reason to keep this from them. They’re my friends and I’m theirs; I should be able to trust them with this. After we sort things out with Hofnarr I’ll tell them.

There wasn’t a sign of Hofnarr as we headed towards the guest rooms. We asked a few of the guards we passed if they saw anything and they said that they hadn’t. After a few minutes of walking we made it to the guest rooms. It was very different from the area where my room was. Here it was a rather short hallway with five rooms on both sides of it. Each door had a plaque with the number of its room on it.

“So how are we going to do this? I don’t think we should just barge into rooms without knowing if anyone’s in there.” Blast Shield said as he looked between the ten or so doors.

“We’ll just knock on the doors and ask if anyone’s there. If not then we’ll take a peek. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, you two check that side and we’ll do this side.” Twilight said as Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded then headed down their side of the hallway. We knocked on each door we came to, asking if anyone was there and getting no response every time. We had reached the fourth door on our side when Pinkie Pie came over to us.

“We found him!” She said in an almost whisper. “Fluttershy’s talking to him right now trying to get him to talk.”

“Why’re you whispering?” Twilight asked as she tried to walk over to where Fluttershy was, but Pinkie got in her way.

“Fluttershy said that it would be better if this was kept private until Hofnarr was ready to talk about it, so she thinks we should stay away for now.” Pinkie Pie explained with a not-so-happy expression. Twilight didn’t reply for a few moments when she let out a hesitant sigh.

“Alright, where should we wait?” Pinkie shrugged, unsure of that herself.

“What’s wrong with waiting here?” Blast Shield asked as he sat down on the floor and removed his helmet with his magic, letting his short red mane become visible. How have I not seen that his mane was that color before?

So there we waited. Blast Shield napped against the wall, Pinkie and Twilight played Tic Tac Toe while I just paced around our end of the hallway. Every moment that passed with no signs of change from Fluttershy brought me guilt. It was due to both that I brought it up in the first place, and the reason I had for doing. I didn’t ask just because I wanted to know. It was mainly because I didn’t want to answer Twilight's question about what Cyclone Shade told me. I didn’t consider the consequences for doing something like that. Hofnarr didn’t deserve that. Gezähnt yes, but not Hofnarr.

After a few more minutes, the door to the room Hofnarr was in opened. But before any of us could say something, Fluttershy walked into the room and its door shut behind her.

“What just happened?” Twilight asked as Blast Shield mumbled “Momma I don’t wanna” in his sleep.

“Maybe he let her in so they could talk more privately.” I suggested with a shrug.

“We should probably keep waiting. Fluttershy will let us know if there’s anything we can do.” Twilight said. So we continued to wait, occasionally hearing sobs and faint sentences spoken, each one strengthened my guilt. I had to make this up to Hofnarr. Telling the truth would be my starting point. As the minutes passed I could see the concern developing on Twilight and Pinkie’s faces. After what I believe was twenty minutes the door opened and Fluttershy walked back into the hallway, closing it behind her. I noticed that the fur on her right shoulder was slightly darker than the rest of her coat and appeared to be wet.

“Well? You’ve been in there for awhile. What happened?” Twilight asked as Pinkie put the games they had played to pass the time back into her mane. If that makes any sense. Fluttershy had a very sad expression on her face.

“Well, when he wouldn’t let me in, I told him that it’s better to tell somepony what’s bothering him than to keep it bottled up but he still didn’t want to talk about it. It took a lot of convincing to get him to let me in, but he still only barely talked to me. So I just hugged him for a little while and eventually he told me everything.” Fluttershy explained as Blast Shield woke up with a loud snort. Twilight, Pinkie and I got closer to Fluttershy as she began to explain.

“Hofnarr was brought to an orphanage by an unknown changeling when Hofnarr was only a few months old. He grew up in that orphanage because almost nopony, er, changeling, was adopting at the time. Conditions at that orphanage were terrible; the building was in disrepair, blankets were old and torn, the food was practically from the garbage, and worst of all, the other changelings picked on him. He was made fun of because of his strange ideas, being smaller than them, and because he liked to draw.”

“He used to take whatever he could and use it to carve things into the walls. He stayed at the orphanage until he ran away when he turned sixteen. After a few weeks of living on the street stealing food and trying to get some kind of job, he was caught by Gezähnt, who told him that he’d make a good scout. Soon after that, he enlisted in the changeling military.”

We were silent as Fluttershy’s words sank in, empathy and concern thick in the air as my guilt became more potent. Hofnarr’s foalhood was a terrible one and I reminded him of what is probably the worst fact of his life.

“He told me more detail than that, but he asked me not to tell you.”

“Is… is there anything we can do to help him?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. Not right now at least; he told me he was going to rest for a while.”

“How did Cyclone Shade even know that Hofnarr was an orphan anyway?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

“Maybe we should talk to him about that once Princess Celestia’s done with him.” I suggested.

“Are you sure we really should to talk to him again?” Fluttershy asked, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t think he’d just tell us what we wanted to know because we asked anyway.”

“He’s kind of the only one we know of who knows how he obtained that information, so we really don’t have much of a choice on that.” I replied as someone behind Fluttershy cleared their throat, causing her to jump a little.

“Are you sure it’s worth damaging your mentality?” Hofnarr asked with a raised brow.

“Hofnarr? You said you were going to rest.” Fluttershy said with a mildly concerned expression.

“Resting never did that much for me. I prefer to be out and about, even now when I’m sad.” He said with a small smile on his face.

“Are you going to be okay?” Twilight asked concerned.

“I will be. Thanks for the concern. All of you. Even after everything we’ve done to you, you show me and Fragment compassion. Equestria really does have more love than anywhere else, doesn’t it?” Hofnarr said as his smile grew.

“Just because your queen’s a big meanie doesn’t mean you all are. Why wouldn’t we try to help you?” Pinkie said as Hofnarr wiped a lingering tear from his left eye. I decided that now was probably the best time to tell them the truth.

“I, uh… I have something to say.” The others turned to me with curious faces. It made me a little uncomfortable to think about how they’d react to what I had to say. “Hofnarr being an orphan isn’t the main thing Cyclone Shade told me about.”

“What does that mean?” Hofnarr asked with a slight glare.

“Right when I was leaving the dungeon, Cyclone Shade said ‘tell the orphan I’m going to get back at him.’ When I asked what orphan he was talking about, he said that it ‘didn’t seem trustworthy’ of Hofnarr not keep that from us.”

“Wait, wait, wait. So he only brought that up when you were about to leave? So what did you two talk about the rest of the time you were in there?” Hofnarr asked as he took a step closer to me.

“Remember the mare who spoke with Cyclone Shade outside the hospital?”

“Princess Cadance said her name was, uh, Aura?” I nodded as a reply. “What does she have to do with this, aside from being in your flashbacks?”

“I’m not sure. But Cyclone Shade said that she’ll be attending a party at some place called ‘Frost Meadow Manor’ in two weeks. He told me that if I really wanted to talk to her that would be my best chance. The thing is that I’d have to take someone elses place to get in.” They had mixed expressions ranging from surprised to uncertainty.

“I’m going to sneak into that party and try to talk to Aura. I need to know what she knows.”

“Fragment…” Twilight began. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”

“Because I was worried that you’d try to talk me out of it or generally disapprove of the idea of taking a pony’s place.” I said shamefully, letting my head hang some.

“It’s for that reason that I said what Cyclone Shade had about you being an orphan. I was concerned for my own agendas and didn’t think about the possible consequences. I’m sorry, Hofnarr. I didn’t mean to upset or hurt you in any way.” Hofnarr stared at me with a mixed expression. He was obviously upset by the fact I used him as a distraction, but there was something else that I couldn’t identify just by looking. After a moment, Hofnarr took a deep breath and smiled slightly.

“Apology accepted.” He said as I pulled my head back up with a questioning look.

“Wait, really? Just like that?”

“Well yeah. For three reasons. First one being that you realized what you did wasn’t right and came out with it. A lot of changelings would’ve just kept that to themselves rather than come out with it. Second being that I can’t completely blame you. I’ve done things kinda like that before. You were worried that something that you thought was right would be viewed as wrong by not just others, but others whose opinions you care about, and that's why you didn't want to see their judgement.

And third… because I haven’t told anyone about my foalhood in… in at all. Only a few ever asked and I never told them. But after telling Fluttershy about it… telling her how much it hurt, it kinda feels a little better now. Like, as the clichés go, a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I can’t really say how I feel beyond that, but it feels good. I think it’s safe to say that, although it was unintentional, you did me a favor.” Hofnarr explained with a smile. I wasn’t sure what to say if anything. I had just put him through an emotional breakdown and he was almost grateful.

"What exactly is this party Cyclone Shade told you about?" Twilight cut-in.

"I'm not entirely sure. All he really said about it is that it's basically a party for the rich, a lot of well known ponies will be attending, Aura will be there and that I could pose as someone named Filthy Rich."

"I've heard of him! He lives in Ponyville and runs Rich's Barnyard Bargains. From what I've heard he's a really nice guy." Twilight explained.

"Do you think he has any connections to whatever's going on or generally knows about it?"

"Probably not; he's been known to give some of his wealth to charities and things like that. Being invited to that party doesn't necessarily mean he has something to do with it."

“I’d like to know how Cyclone Shade knew Hofnarr was an orphan in the first place.” Fluttershy said as she rubbed her chin with her hoof in thought.

“Me too, but I don’t want to talk to him to figure it out.” Hofnarr said with an uncomfortable look.

“I don’t think any of us do, but we don’t really have a lot of options there.” I said, shaking my head a little. “So should we talk to the crazy assassin again or something else?”

“If we really want to know, then we have to talk to Cyclone Shade.” Twilight said as she turned around and began heading back to the dungeon. As we began to follow, Hofnarr crawled up the wall and walked up there again. Unlike before, the sight put a smile on my face.

We were walking back to the dungeon when we ran into Dex. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself and looked up. “You two are cleaning where you’re stepping, not me.”

“Two?” I said and looked up, only to see that Pinkie Pie was using plungers to walk on the walls with Hofnarr.

“Pinkie, what’re you doing up there?” Twilight asked.

“What are you doing down there? The floor is lava!”

“That’s why I’m up here.” Hofnarr said without missing a beat.

“You listen here, Hofnak.” Dex said in an angry tone.

“Hofnarr.” I corrected as she ignored me.

“Do you know how big this castle is?”

“No, but if I had to guess I’d say it’s somewhere between big, really big and ‘does it go on forever?’”

“And do you know what my job here is?” Dex sounded as though she was getting angrier with Hofnarr.

“To keep it from becoming a boring place where the posh congregate?” Dex’s frustration was becoming painfully obvious, but Hofnarr didn’t seem to care and just kept smiling. Pinkie Pie had somehow gotten down from the wall without being noticed as they… talked.

“My job is to keep this place clean. Do you see how much distance there is between the floor and the ceiling?” There was silence as Hofnarr observed the the twenty foot distance.

“I think you’re trying to tell me something…”

“Yeah. I’m telling you that I’m not going to get a giant ladder just to clean up where you walk. So don’t walk on the damn walls or ceiling!” Dex snapped, making me take a step back even though I wasn’t the one she was mad at. Hofnarr quickly jumped down from the ceiling, using his wings to slow down before reaching the floor.

“Heh heh, won’t happen again?” Hofnarr said with a nervous smile.

“What’re you all doing anyway?” Dex asked as Twilight began leading us again, seeming to be a little uncomfortable with Dex.

“You went from being pissed off to being like 'hey what’s up' pretty quickly.” Hofnarr said causing Dex to glare at him.

“We’re going to the dungeon to talk to Cyclone Shade.” I answered as Hofnarr took a few steps away from Dex and followed Twilight.

“You mean that assassin pegasus guy?”

“That’s the one.”

“You forgot to mention that he’s crazy.” Hofnarr cut-in.

“I don’t know how crazy he is, but he must’ve said some pretty F’ed up stuff to make Princess Celestia take a tea break from talking to him.” Dex said as she began walking in the opposite direction.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as she stopped and turned around, staring at Dex.

“I was straightening out a painting near the dungeon about five minutes ago when Princess Celestia came out of it, mumbling something about a cup of tea. While the door was open I heard laughter coming from inside. I don’t know who the heck we’ve got locked up in there, but I wouldn’t want to talk to him.” She said as continued to walk away.

“Well that was an interesting conversation. She seems like a such pleasant pony to talk to.” Hofnarr said as we began walking again.

“She’s usually nicer than that.” I remarked.

“You know her?” Fluttershy asked.

“Her name’s Dex. She’s, obviously, one of the maids here and she’s also one the ponies that I’ve made friends with here.” I explained.

“It’s good to see that you’ve been able to make friends with ponies other than us. It’s a good sign that you’ll be accepted in public.” Twilight said happily with a smile.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. When Hofnarr and the others escaped, one of the guards didn’t want me to help in trying to find them because I was a changeling and therefore couldn’t be trusted.”

“That’s awful! Being a changeling has nothing to do with being trustworthy.” Fluttershy said as the dungeon came into view.

“I hope that it’s not the majority of the public that ends up thinking like that.” The guards by the dungeon doors stepped aside for us as Twilight magically opened the door. Stepping into the dungeon we heard Cyclone Shade talking.

“And so he says to me, ‘no! please! I’ll give you whatever you want! I have kids!’ To that I reply, ‘if you would’ve just given the Moon Fire gang their money that easily, you wouldn’t be in this mess!’ HAHAHAHA! And then I say, ‘and besides, the only thing you have that I want, is your left lung and a kidney. But something tells me you won’t give those up willingly.’” The guard standing by Cyclone Shade’s cell looked as though he had been scarred for life. I wouldn’t blame him if he was.

“Remind me why we keep talking to this guy.” Hofnarr said as Cyclone Shade began to laugh again.

“Well, well, well, look who’s back. The little orphan and the band of halfwits back in the dungeon with the homicidal pegasus. How may I be of service to you?” He asked as we walked in front of his view. Cyclone Shade was standing at the bars closest to the guard.

“How did you know I was an orphan?” Hofnarr asked in very serious tone.

Hahaha, is that all you’ve come to me for? That hardly seems worth the time of coming down here to speak with me. You must have absolutely nothing else to do.”

“Answer the question.” Hofnarr said, his tone unchanging.

“I don’t think you know how I work, bug. I’m not going to tell you something like that without some kind of profit in exchange. And as far as I can see, there is nothing you have to offer me.” Before Hofnarr could reply, the dungeon doors opened and Princess Celestia walk in. She looked surprised to see us there, however her look of surprise went to one of determination as she approached Cyclone’s cell.

“Princess, is that you? I had expected you to be gone longer…”

“If what you say about your employer is true then I need to get as much out of you as I can.”

“I will only tell you so much from behind these bars, Princess. In fact, I think I’m done answering your questions until I’m out of Canterlot.”

“You will answer me one more question before I even consider releasing you, or I’ll have the Elements of Harmony banish you.” Princess Celestia said firmly. Cyclone Shade stared into her eyes while she stared into his. After a few seconds, Cyclone Shade smiled and spoke.

“Never took you for the type to threaten like that. I’m proud of you. One. Last. Question.”

“You said you were sent here to ‘kill one of royal blood.’ I want who.”

“I Probably could’ve guessed that. I’ll warn you, you’re not going to like the answer.”

“Who was it? Did someone want my sister dead?” Princess Celestia seemed irritated that he hadn’t already answered her question.

"Oh, no no no no. Nothing like that. Why would somepony want the lovely Princess Luna dead? Raising the Moon as a rather important job. Though I guess you’re always around to fill in, which does make killing her more sensible. It’s why things come in twos; so you have a spare. HAHAHAHAHA!” Cyclone Shade’s remarks about killing Princess Luna visibly bothered Princess Celestia, made obvious by her enraged face as her horn began to glow and she took a step closer to Cyclone Shade’s cell.

“Who were you sent here to kill? Answer me!” She shouted.

“Oh, if you’re going to be so damn emotional about it then fine. You don’t even have anything to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t sent here to kill you, or your sister, or nephew or anyone else.”

“You said―”

“I said I was sent here to ‘kill one of royal blood,’ and if my research is correct, then Queen Chrysalis’ blood is royal blood.”

“WHAT?!” We shouted in shock.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Oh yes, I was sent here―on the day of the changeling attack―to kill Queen Chrysalis…”

Author's Notes:

WHAT A TWIST!

~Pinkie Pie

Chapter 28: Developments

“You were sent here to kill Chrysalis?!” Twilight said in confusion as Princess Celestia stared at Cyclone Shade with a look of disbelief.

Someone wanting Chrysalis dead sounds pretty understandable, but why during the invasion? And does this have anything to do with what Aura was trying to tell me about?

“So none of us were in danger? You just made it sound that way to make us concerned?” Princess Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she said that.

“HAHAHAHA! I warned you that you wouldn’t like the answer,” Cyclone Shade said with an insane grin.

“This is why we shouldn’t trust you or even consider your deal.” Princess Celestia sounded very angry at Cyclone Shade.

“Well if you weren’t so damn stupid you wouldn’t have this problem. I didn’t imply that your royal bloodline was in danger. You made that assumption all by yourself.”

“You intentionally made it seem that way so that you could manipulate our opinion.”

“Hahaha, I won’t deny that. What you need when dealing with me is a lawyer; somepony who reads the fine print when you’re not smart enough to do it yourself.”

“Who hired to kill her and why?” Princess Celestia asked, surprising all of us.

“What, do you actually care? She tried to take your kingdom as well as making an embarrassment out of you by overpowering you. You should be rewarding whoever made the request, or is that what you intend to do once you know who it was?” Cyclone Shade questioned.

“I have no intentions of rewarding somepony who ordered an assassination. I want there to be peace between us and the changelings, and based on how little the changelings seem to trust us then they likely would have blame us for their queen’s death.”

“That’s not true!” We all turned to Hofnarr, whose expression turned uncomfortable under our gaze. “Well, I wish it weren’t true; knowing the queen as much as I do, she’ll probably just assume it was you anyway and use it as an excuse to not like you. What can I say other than she doesn’t like making friends?”

“Regardless, I still think it’s worth at least trying to make peace.”

“Hahahaha, as if she would want peace with you either way.” Remarked Cyclone Shade with a grin. “And besides, it’s not like I’m going to give you every detail like that while you have me behind bars. And before you go back to the argument of ‘I need to know that what you say is valid,’ remember that I’ve already given you full details on a few of the less… exciting assassinations I’ve done.”

“You need to give me at least some of the information you have on this matter; I can’t simply sit on this information nor try bringing it to Chrysalis without details. I won’t ask you to tell me the name of who it was yet but I at least need to know their race and motive.” Cyclone Shade didn’t seem to like Celestia’s words, but he knew that ultimately she had the advantage in the situation.

“Fine,” Cyclone Shade said with disdain. “However you should be aware that I do not know the identity of both clients.”

“Both?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, both. Though I only spoke to and saw face-to-face one of them, he made it quite clear that my payment would be funded by two parties, but I never did get that payment because I failed to kill Chrysalis.”

“What can you tell us about the client you did see?” Princess Celestia asked.

“He was about as tall as me, blue eyes, deep voice and was a changeling,” Cyclone Shade said nonchalantly as Hofnarr’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“A changeling wanted you to kill Chrysalis?! How― why would― WHAT?!” Hofnarr said as he struggled to grasp the concept of the situation. “Maybe― they―… W-What was the color of of this changeling’s shell? Blue? Yellow? Red? WHAT WAS IT?!”

“Hahahaha! I almost don’t want to tell you just because this is entertaining, but I’d rather get you all out of my mane. A changeling’s ‘shell’ is the back part, correct?”

“Yeah, the rest of our body is an exoskeleton.”

“Blue, same shade as yours.” Before that statement I didn’t think Hofnarr could look anymore shocked, but when Cyclone Shade said that I thought he was going to faint.

“M-Maybe it was a renegade? Did he have have any kind of defining features, like a scar o-or maybe warpaint?” Hofnarr stuttered. Cyclone Shade shook his head as he then replied:

“Nothing of the sort.”

“What about some kind of special clothes or armor?”

“Hmm… The first time we spoke face-to-face he wore a dark red military coat; like what a griffin officer might wear.” Hofnarr went from shocked and confused to just being confused.

“I’ve never heard of a changeling wearing something like that before.”

“With your low I.Q. that isn’t a surprising fact,” Cyclone Shade remarked, which Hofnarr reacted to with a disdainful glare.

“Did this changeling ever say anything that might indicate where he could be found or what they were planning? Like if he mentioned a location where he had to be,” asked Princess Celestia.

“Not once, however he did have a silver pocket watch that he kept a very close eye on so he obviously had some kind of schedule to keep. I’m not sure if that really helps but I don’t truly care either. I think I’ve told you more than enough while you keep me imprisoned, you know what you must do, Princess, so get me out of here and give me my equipment so that I may be on my merry way; I have several captives back home that I’d like to kill on my own rather than allow to starve.” Princess Celestia looked uncertain, but nodded and began to leave, however Hofnarr wasn’t satisfied.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he said as the Princess left.

“We’ve already been over this; as long as you have nothing to provide I don’t have to provide you with anything. A fairly simple concept even for you,” Hofnarr growled in frustration as Twilight stepped forth.

“Well is there anything you want? Maybe some nicer food or a comfier mattress…”

“I’d like Celestia’s head on a pike if you could achieve that,” Cyclone Shade said with a wide grin, which he then dropped as he gave a more serious answer. “Among the equipment that was taken from me while I was paralyzed is a small tin flask. Fill it with some wine―something topshelf, I think I’ve earned it―then bring it to me. Accomplish that task and I’ll tell you how I knew Hofnarr was dropped of like common undesired filth.”

Hofnarr’s ears fell with Cyclone Shade’s words, seeming to be emotionally hurt by them. Twilight seemed confused by Cyclone Shade’s request.

“You want wine? Of all the things I expected you to ask for that wasn’t one of them.”

“I would prefer Celestia’s head or someones internal organ but I have to keep my demands within a reasonable area, otherwise I won’t be obtaining anything. Now go fetch me my drink.”

“Someone’s an alcoholic,” Hofnarr said.

“Hahahaha, if I were an alcoholic I would have asked for the whole bottle, not a small canteen. What difference does it make to you anyway?”

“It doesn’t, I was just noting the fact,” he replied as he headed towards the door while Twilight and the rest of us followed. I could hear Cyclone Shade chuckle to himself as the dungeon doors shut behind us. Once the doors were closed we stood there not knowing where we’d get wine nor who to ask.

“How exactly are we supposed to get him wine anyway? I doubt they’ll just give us wine because we asked,” Twilight pointed out.

“Are you sure? Aren’t you like the Princess’s personal student or something? I’m sure that’d get you at least some privileges,” Hofnarr said as I got an idea.

“It’s a bit of a long shot but I might know someone we could ask; Sinistar. He’s the batpony I told Pinkie Pie about in one of my letters and he’s… a bit of a drinker.”

“Ohhhhh, I don’t think I’ve ever met a batpony before! Are batponies nocturnal like other bats? Do they have really good hearing and use echolocation?” Pinkie asked as she bounced in place with excitement. Twilight answered before I could utter my first word.

“They are usually nocturnal and batponies don’t use echolocation but have really good night vision; the name batpony mostly comes from their wings.”

“How do you know that? Is there a book about them or something?” I asked with a raised brow.

“Not that I’ve been able to find, but I lived here in Canterlot my whole life before I moved to Ponyville and while I lived here I got to talk to a batpony a little bit. Another thing she told me was that batponies usually either live here serving the Princess or in other countries and try to stay away from the general populace.”

“Why? Are they antisocial or is it the populace itself that’s the problem?” Hofnarr inquired.

“I’m not sure; I never really thought to ask and I haven’t spoken to a batpony since then. Where do we find Sinistar, Fragment?”

“I’m not sure; he might be asleep right now for all I know. I did see him earlier today but he wasn’t exactly in a… pleasant mood. With that in mind I think we shouldn’t bother him unless we can’t find any other way of getting wine.”

“I’m sure that if we ask Princess Celestia and explained why we needed it she’d help us,” Fluttershy said as Twilight nodded in agreement. Twilight then began to lead us I assumed to Princess Celestia.

“Have you learned anything from your flashbacks, Fragment? Anything you haven’t already told Pinkie in your letters, that is,” asked Twilight.

“I’ve remembered getting in an argument with a brother I apparently have and…” Thinking about the other flashback I had in mind made me uncomfortable and I didn’t think Twilight or the others would react well to it, but after Twilight turned to me with a questioning look I pushed myself to answer.

“From what I can tell from the memory, I almost committed suicide.” The girls gasped and turned to me while Blast Shield and Hofnarr also displayed concern.

“Why would you almost kill yourself?” Fluttershy asked and took a step closer to me.

“I was depressed; my mother had recently died and I blamed myself for it. From what I know I had gone out with friends for a night and something happened to her during that time. I was on top of a tower at the castle and was going to jump, but was talked out of it by Gezähnt and Saphir.” There was pause as they processed what I said.

“Who’s Saphir?” Pinkie asked.

“She’s my wife, but at the time of that memory she wasn’t, but it was there that she confessed her feelings towards me.”

“Not the most romantic story I’ve heard about meeting someone, but I guess if it helps save your life it’s as romantic as it need to be,” Hofnarr remarked as Twilight resumed leading us to Princess Celestia.

“Something tells me that romance had nothing to do with it. So who do you think this changeling who hired Cyclone Shade is?”

“I don’t have the slightest idea. Well, no one specific, but I’d guess it’s the head of some kind of renegade changeling group - which is just a fancy way of saying a changeling gang. The thing that doesn’t make sense about that theory is that there’s nothing a gang would have to gain from killing Chrysalis; it’s not like we’ve been cracking down on renegades that much if at all, in fact Chrysalis seem to be perfectly happy with them around. I remember that one time we framed one such gang for the killing of a griffin councilor and a bunch of his guards.”

My eyes widened as I instantly remembered having flashbacks about that event; about the the children who were caught in the crossfire for no reason. I quickly replaced my expression of disturbance before any of them could see it. I didn’t want to hide something from them, but this was on an entirely different level; I had played a key role in the death a four innocent children along with their parents. No, I would never speak of it to them. They didn’t need to know about a horrible thing I had done nor did I need to take the chance of remembering more of that. I’m not that kind of changeling anymore and I don’t need them to know that I ever was.

“They framed other changelings for murder?!” Twilight asked, blatantly surprised by this, Hofnarr however didn’t seem to think much of it.

“Well yeah, it’s not like Chrysalis was going to start a war with the griffins when we were preparing to attack Equestria; that’d’ve been dumb.” No one look pleased with Hofnarr’s statement, and with that being apparent to him he gave a nervous chuckle and said “well, uh, at least we still failed?”

“This kind of thing is probably why someone wanted Chrysalis dead,” Blast Shield said with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, I won’t argue that she had something like this coming; but the fact that a changeling played a role in it is surprising.”

“I still want to know why Cyclone Shade was supposed kill Chrysalis on the day of the invasion; if they knew about it ahead of time why not kill her before she made it to Canterlot?” I asked.

“Princess Celestia said that the changelings would’ve likely blamed us for her death, but what if they didn’t just blame us; what if they tried to avenge her?” Twilight suggested.

“You think that whoever planned this wants to start a war between Equestria and Chrysalis’ kingdom?” Hofnarr asked wide eyed. “But what could be gained from that? I’m sure that’s a war we’d lose, but we’d at least try to take as many of you with us as we could, but at the same time, I think Colonel Tödlich would rather sacrifice our kingdom’s pride than its subjects and try to stop a full on war from happening at all.”

“What exactly would happen to the changeling kingdom if Chrysalis died?” I inquired.

“Normally the throne would fall to the oldest prince or princess, but Chrysalis doesn’t have any children to ascend to the throne. I think in that case the changelings themselves would have to choose someone to lead them, probably from that point on given that Chrysalis is the only living queen of her bloodline.”

“What if one of those renegade changelings tried to seize power?” Blast Shield asked. “If that changeling Cyclone Shade was talking about was the leader of a bandit group then he could claim to be a suitable leader for having maintained his own gang for a time.”

“A good point, but if that was the plan then it wasn’t thought out a whole lot; almost all of our high ranking military could make the same kind of claim.”

“That might not stop them from trying altogether, and let’s not forget that we don’t know what the plan was and therefore we don’t know what the actual next move would have been; what does this extra client have to gain from overthrowing Chrysalis?” Twilight said as we came to a set of doors guarded by two unicorns that had a symbol of the sun and the moon on them.

The guards bowed their heads and opened the doors with their magic, revealing Princess Celestia sitting on her throne talking to a unicorn stallion who was wearing a black suite.

“I need those cases verified at once; everything Cyclone Shade tells us need to be checked thoroughly.”

“Of course, your highness,” he replied as he turned around and began heading towards the doors we had come through. As the stallion left Princess Celestia turned her attention to us as we bowed.

“I assume you spoke to Cyclone Shade while I was gone,” she said as we stood back up and Twilight nodded as she began to talk.

“We did, and he requested something in exchange for information.”

“Information about what?” The Princess asked.

“About how he knew that I was an orphan.” Hofnarr cut in. Princess Celestia look very surprised by this revelation.

“You’re an orphan?”

“You have no idea how hard I’m trying to not give a smartmouth reply, but yes, I am an orphan and have been since before I can remember. Somehow Cyclone Shade knew this and says that he’ll tell me how he knew if we’ll fill a flask he had with some wine. So yeah, we’re kinda here on a booze run for the loony psycho bonkers killer, could you help us out?” Hofnarr explained. Princess Celestia didn’t seem too sure about this, but she smiled nonetheless.

“Very well, the wine cellar is a few doors down the hallway from the ballroom; I’m sure Twilight can show you where the ballroom is. The wine cellar itself has a plaque that says wine cellar on it. As for Cyclone Shade’s flask, Blast Shield knows where we keep confiscated items, and that’s where it is.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Hofnarr said as he gave a bow and Twilight once again took the lead.

“How far is the ballroom from here?” I asked Twilight as she opened the doors with her own magic.

“Not too far; it should only take us about five minutes to get there.”

“How about I go get Cyclone Shade’s flask and we meet back up at his cell?” Blast Shield suggested.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Twilight said. Blast Shield nodded and began heading off towards a different hallway.

“Do you think if we drug the alcohol we’ll be able to get him to tell us everything without having to let him go?” Hofnarr said casually as he started walking up the wall again.

“I don’t think we have those kind of drugs here, and didn’t Dex tell you not walk up there?”

“She most certainly did, but not once during the conversation did she say please.”

“He’s got a good point, Twilight,” said Pinkie as we came to a stop and looked back at her.

“I really don’t think you should be up there, Hofnarr, there’s a lot of castle to clean even without needing to worry about the walls or ceiling,” Twilight said with a minorly concerned expression.

“Oh, what’s the big―”

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF THE WALL!” Dex’s shout was loud enough to make us all jump, which was bad for Hofnarr because when he jumped he fell off of the wall. We turned back to the direction we were headed and saw a very angry looking Dex coming our way.

“If she tries to kill me, you’ll stop her right?”

“I don’t know Hofnarr, you might not learn any other way,” I replied as Hofnarr put on a nervous grin and took a step back as Dex reached us.

“Why don’t you listen?!” Dex said with her left eye twitching from frustration.

“I, uh, they, uh.”

“What are you, deaf?!”

“I will be if you keep shouting at me,” he replied and rubbed his right ear.

“Don’t get smart with me!”

“You shouldn’t yell so much; it’ll damage your sarcophagus.”

“Esophagus,” I corrected.

“What’s the difference?” Hofnarr asked, tilting his head. I almost didn’t believe he didn’t know.

“One is your throat and the other is your coffin,” I answered.

“No I’m not.” I facehoofed hard creating a loud ‘smack’ sound in the process.

“That was a clever one,” Pinkie cut-in with a giggle.

“Why do I keep talking to you?”

“Because I’m adorable,” he said with a grin as Dex cleared her throat, reclaiming our attention.

“I swear, if you walk on these walls or the ceiling and you are not prepared with cleaning supplies, I’m going to slam your thick head into a damn wall,” she said in a slightly calmer tone as she started walking away. “And then I’d have to clean that up too!”

“Is it just me or is she kinda crazy? Oh well; I’m not gonna be walking on the walls anytime soon… soon today that is,” Hofnarr remarked as we resumed walking.

“You know, this is why Princess Celestia was hesitant to let you be free to roam the castle rather than having you in a cell; you’re irresponsible and inconsiderate,” I told as Hofnarr looked at me with a puzzled look.

“Did… did she actually say that?”

“When we got back from the Wonderbolts’ Academy I asked Princess Celestia about how long it would be until you got a room of your own and she told me that she wasn’t comfortable with the idea after the incidents at the academy.”

“Well it’s not my fault that you didn’t stop before you hit the window and no one told me that the Hive Mind didn’t work on you. And besides, it’s not like I blamed someone else when Spitfire came to yell at us.”

“That’s what I argued, and she said that she’d wait and see how things went after my next flight lesson,” I replied as we came to the wine cellar. Twilight opened the doors and stepped in, the rest of us following closely behind.

Within the wine cellar were what appeared to be hundreds of bottles of wine of all different brands and sizes on specially designed wooden shelves. Some of them looked like they had a lot of dust on them while others were reflective and shiny clean.

“If it weren’t for Cyclone Shade trying to foalnap me this morning we’d be at the Academy right now and I’d be proving how responsible how I am. Stupid assassin, ruining stuff.”

Twilight took a relatively clean looking bottle off one of the shelves with her magic and then turned around.

“Come on, let’s get back to Cyclone Shade and find out what he knows.” This time Pinkie was the one who opened the doors

“You’d think they’d have some kind of guards or something to stop somepony from just walking in and taking some wine,” Fluttershy remarked as we left the room and began heading back to the dungeon.

“Are we sure that we can believe what Cyclone Shade says about how he knew you were an orphan? Something tells me he either won’t tell us the whole truth or he won’t tell us any truth,” I said.

“Based on the fact Princess Celestia let us take some random wine for this tells me that she’ll try to verify what he says,” Hofnarr said confidently.

“Are you sure she’ll be able to verify something that is centered around a changeling family?”

“Umm… I’ll get back to you on that,” he said as the dungeon and Blast Shield came into view. Blast Shield was sitting on the floor with reflective tin flask next to him. As we got closer I could see the letters “C S” written on the side of the flask in red paint; or at least I hoped it was paint.

“Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked as she stopped next to Blast Shield as he stood up.

“As ready as I can get,” Hofnarr said as Pinkie nodded to signal being ready.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said as Twilight magically picked up Cyclone Shade’s flask while Blast Shield opened the dungeon doors. One by one we walked into the dungeon, and once we were all inside Blast Shield shut the doors.

“Back so soon? I’m not sure if I like that or not,” Cyclone Shade said as we walked to his cell.

“We got your wine, now you hold up your end of the bargain,” I said seriously.

“Fill the flask and give it to me, then I’ll talk.” Twilight unscrewed Cyclone Shade’s flask and uncorked the wine, then she carefully poured it into the flask until the wine was nearly at the brim. She passed the flask through the cell bars and placed it standing up at Cyclone Shade’s hooves. He took the top of the flask in his mouth and drank a large gulp then place the flask back down.

“Not the best I’ve had but it’ll do,” he said with a small pleased smile.

“Now how did you know I was an orphan?” Cyclone Shade’s smile faded a little as he closed the flask and Blast Shield took a big gulp of the wine from its bottle.

“It’s not so much a long story as it is a complicated one; and even then it’s not that complex, you’re just slower than the rest of us. How did I know you were an orphan? Giving no detail makes that an easy question, because the answer is that I made you one.”

There was a collective gasp when Cyclone Shade said that, but I noticed something that I wouldn’t expect from Cyclone Shade in a situation like this.

I noticed that he wasn’t smiling.

Author's Notes:

Sh!t be gettin' more sh!ty. ._.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 29: Sorting Through

“You… made me an orphan… Does that mean―”

“Yes, I killed your parents. I am the reason you grew up an orphan.” Hofnarr seemed to have trouble understanding what he was being told, and I couldn’t really blame him; Hofnarr was finally getting answers about his past only to find out that he was speaking to the one who murdered them and therefore forced him to live miserably at an orphanage.

“You… killed my parents…”

“Yes, now do please breakdown and cry; it will amuse me.” Despite his words, Cyclone Shade looked like he didn’t find this amusing, even though Hofnarr’s mind seemed to be melting from this knowledge. I took in a deep breath to sense Cyclone Shade’s emotions, but it seemed as though he was hiding it from me. How he could possibly do that was beyond me.

Hofnarr stepped away from Cyclone Shade’s cell and sat down on the floor. The others and I weren’t sure what to do or say, so we stood awkwardly in silence. Cyclone Shade took another gulp from his flask then walked back towards and climbed onto his bed.

“Are you okay, Hofnarr?” Fluttershy finally asked as she took a step closer to him. He didn’t react to her question as he seemed to zone out.

“Well that’s hardly a satisfactory result to my answer,” remarked Cyclone Shade.

“Why did you kill them?” Hofnarr asked as his gaze went from the floor to Cyclone Shade.

“Business was slow and the pay was decent. If you’re asking why my client wanted them dead? A family feud that had gone a bit over the top; I was told to rip your father’s head from his neck and your mother’s heart from her chest. It’s a good thing for me that they lived away from everyone else, otherwise I might’ve had to make their deaths relatively quick,” Cyclone Shade said as a dark smile came over his face, only to fade again as took another drink from his flask.

“What about me? Wouldn’t they want me dead as well?” Cyclone Shade didn’t reply but did take another drink. “They did want me dead, didn’t they? So how am I alive?”

“They said ‘leave no trace of their child,’ and that’s what I did. There was no blood, there was no connections, there was nothing that could prove that you were the same child that I was meant to kill. I put a lot of effort into getting you to an orphanage, and I felt that effort was wasted when I learned you ran away from it.”

“Wait, what? You brought me to the orphanage instead of killing me like you were supposed to? And how did you know I ran away from the orphanage?” Cyclone Shade groaned, sat up and took another drink before starting to explain.

“Yes, I brought you to that orphanage. Around twenty years ago, when this took place, I had just pulled your screaming father’s head off while your mother was long dead, when I began walking towards your crib - you somehow slept through the whole event. And yet, a single floorboard creaked when I approached you, and then you awoke. I had heard how foals would cry mercilessly for their parents, but you didn’t make a sound; you just stared at me as if I was the most fascinating thing in the world.”

“I observed your… curious behavior for a moment before I extended the blade of my bracer and brought it to your neck. I cut you a little when I did this, and in the instance of pain brought by my blade, your fear arose. Tears came to your eyes as a steady stream of blood surfaced on your exoskeleton. Your eyes may have - and still be - an empty void of blue, but I could still see something in them; I saw myself. Not as in a reflection of the one about to cut your head off, but as child who feared for his life.”

Now I began to understand. Of the six of us only me and Blast Shield had seen Cyclone Shade’s interrogation, and because of that we knew that Cyclone Shade’s father had abused him.

“Did I miss something important again? I feel like I need to read some kind of book that has everything I’ve missed in it.”

“You have no idea how hard I tried to kill you. It sounds like such a simple thing to do - just push the blade through your neck until I’ve turned your whole crib red - but it was impossible for me to do.”

“You of all ponies, could not bring yourself to kill me? That seems impossible.”

“I was far more surprised than you when I came to that conclusion…” Cyclone Shade said with another drink. “So once I realized that I couldn’t kill you, I knew I couldn’t just leave you there to be found and damage my infamous name, so I made you disappear, at least as far as the changelings of that area could tell. I brought you to the orphanage at the kingdom because it was miles away from that town, and no one from the city would be able to make that connection nor would someone from that town go to the city looking for a missing foal.”

“But how did you know that was me though? Unless you kept an eye on me or something there’s no way you should have been able to know that I was that changeling.”

“On the contrary, the name ‘Hofnarr’ was carved into your crib and woven into your blanket, so when I read your personnel file it was impossible that you were anyone else.”

“My personnel file? What the heck were you doing with that?”

“About three months ago I was hired to retrieve some information on a few high ranked military changelings from Chrysalis’ army, and while yours wasn’t among those I was meant to take I did stumble upon it while taking files. Seeing your name was all the incentive I needed to examine your file, and with a just quick look at your file I knew it was you. Though it was rather irrelevant until I was hired to capture you along with the others.”

“So let me get this straight,” Blast Shield said. “You were hired to kill Hofnarr and his parents, killed his parents but couldn’t bring yourself to kill Hofnarr and because of that you went miles away to a city full of changelings that would’ve likely been hostile towards you, just to get him to an orphanage? And then, years later you were hired to steal files on high ranked changelings, happened to find Hofnarr’s file in the process, read it but didn’t do anything with that information, and then months after that and after the invasion you were hired yet again to capture changelings that were already captured―for reasons we still don’t know―and it just so happened that one of them was Hofnarr, a changeling you could’ve killed years ago but didn’t?”

“You left out the part where I was hired to kill Chrysalis during the invasion of Canterlot, but otherwise yes that is what I’m saying.” This was a lot to process for all of us; Twilight just stared at Cyclone Shade with her mouth hanging open slightly. Pinkie looked between Cyclone Shade’s pokerface and Hofnarr’s ‘mouth hanging open, eyes as wide as possible and absolutely speechless’ expression while Fluttershy stared at Hofnarr with a concerned look. As for Blast Shield, he just took a few more gulps of the wine.

“But… why?” Asked Hofnarr as the shock slowly wore off.

“I do believe that I already answered that question,” Cyclone Shade replied before taking a sip from his flask.

“No, I mean why didn’t you kill me? What stopped you?” Cyclone Shade hesitated for a couple of seconds before talking.

“You know nothing of who I am or what I do, nor could you ever even comprehend what I was thinking, but you will know this; even with everything I have done and all the horrible things that I am, there are still boundaries that I will never cross and one thing that I swore I would never become. But make no mistake, I am fully capable of doing truly horrific things to you now.” With that, he drank whatever was left in his flask and Blast Shield took another gulp from the wine bottle. “Now be gone; I’ve told you all that I am willing to until my release.”

Twilight was the first one of us to start walking towards the exit, though Blast Shield and Fluttershy were close seconds. After them was Hofnarr and Pinkie with me following last. As I walked away I saw Cyclone Shade angrily throw his flask at the wall of the cell.

“I think you’ve had more than enough wine, Blast Shield,” Twilight said to him as I stepped out of the dungeon and its doors shut behind me.

“That may be, but it also may be that I won’t get a chance to get free good quality wine again,” he retorted before drinking more.

“Are guards really allowed to drink while on duty?”

“Are you alright, Hofnarr? That was one heck of a revelation back there,” I said to Hofnarr as I walked up to him while he stared blankly out of a window into Canterlot.

“I… I don’t know if I’m alright… a part of me is happy to know that my parents didn’t just leave me at that orphanage because they didn’t want me… but knowing that also makes the fact that they’re dead harder. They loved me… but they couldn’t protect me or themselves…” he said sorrowfully.

“If you need or want to talk about it, we’re all here for you,” Fluttershy reassured as she walked up next to Hofnarr.

He looked to her with a small smile and said: “Thanks. You know, back at the changeling kingdom we were always told never to trust other races because they ‘always betray us in the end,’ but you’re living proof that that’s false. Not just you, Fluttershy, all of you; you didn’t need to help me or Fragment and after trying to conquer your land you had all the reasons in the world to not help us. We owe you, probably more than we can repay, but if Princess Celestia will let us and if Queen Chrysalis will listen to us, I think that me and Fragment will try our hardest to clean up this whole mess.”

“Do you really think Chrysalis will at least try to make peace with Equestria? When we fought her to save the Cutie Mark Crusaders she didn’t seem very reasonable,” Twilight said with an unsure expression that matched her tone.

“It won’t be easy by a long shot, but I’m sure with enough persistence we’ll get her to try. Though it’s kinda of hard to predict her after two consecutive defeats; she wasn’t exactly what I’d’ve called ‘stable’ after the first defeat. Who knows what she’s like now?”

“Does she really take losing that badly?” Blast Shield asked.

“Kinda; it’s not just about being a sore loser.”

“Then what is it about?” Twilight asked. Hofnarr seemed hesitant and uncomfortable as he went on.

“It’s also about her image to the other kingdoms; I’m not supposed to tell non-changelings about this but there’s more than just one changeling hive. I don’t know exactly how many there are but there are five ‘major’ kingdoms, Queen Chrysalis’ being one of them and considered the least significant of them. Well, at least that’s been the case since Queen Chrysalis came to power.”

“What do you mean?”

“Weeeell, Queen Chrysalis only became queen when she did because her mother died of illness, and being the only living member of her royal family meant that she was forced to take charge of the kingdom while she was only fourteen years old. Back in those days our kingdom was better connected to the other kingdoms, and one of the queens suggested that Chrysalis let advisors do most of the ruling while studies how to properly keep the kingdom in check.”

“Wait, if Chrysalis came into power because when she was fourteen then how old is she now?” Asked Blast Shield.

”Umm… I don’t know exactly how old, but I think she’s only in her early thirties. So yeah, the other queens weren’t pleased when Chrysalis said that she’d take full charge of the kingdom, and after a few… disputes with the her they decided that not only would Chrysalis rule however she wants but would receive absolutely no aid from their kingdoms. I once heard Colonel Tödlich talking about it and he said that the announcement sent shockwaves throughout the kingdom. Almost everyone thought that the kingdom was going to fall apart within a month, and while that obviously didn’t happen things have been declining; with more changelings leaving or flat out going renegade.”

”But to get back to my point about looking good for the other kingdoms, attacking Canterlot―and Equestria in general―made her look bad, but losing made her look even worse, and then following that catastrophe of an invasion with a failed attempt at revenge and she’s likely the biggest laughing stock of all changeling kingdoms. She doesn’t like looking bad in front of the other queens because even after all these years some of them still try to convince her to let someone else take charge of the kingdom while she tries to learn how to be a good leader.”

“What does that have to do with making peace with Equestria? It’s Princess Celestia who wants her to try this, right?” Fluttershy asked.

“I guess, yeah, it is the Princess’s idea, but I think Chrysalis will think signing a peace treaty with Equestria under these circumstances would make her look weak, which as I’m sure you could’ve guessed, is something she doesn’t want. Sorry, but Chrysalis is probably gonna be stubborn on this idea.”

“Well hopefully you and I will be able to show her what good this could do.” As I finished my sentence my stomach growled loudly. “Does anyone know when lunch is?”

“I could be wrong but I think lunch is today. Though we had that yesterday too so they might’ve changed things up, you know, to keep things interesting,” Hofnarr said while rubbing his chin.

“Why do you answer questions with answers that you know are far from right?”

“Because, Blast Shield, it’s both what I do and part of my job description. You got a problem with that?”

“Hey! If you guys do get Queen Meanie Pants to make peace with Equestria can I throw a biiiiiiig party to celebrate?” Pinkie asked with excitement.

“On the condition that you don’t refer to her as ‘Queen Meanie Pants’ while any changelings are within earshot.” Hofnarr said.

“Oh come on, she’s totally a big Meanie Pants.”

“No no no, you’re right that she is, but it’s not a good idea to call her something like that when you’re trying to make peace. Also, can we please stop saying ‘meanie pants?’ It just sounds weirder and weirder the more it’s said.”

“Aww, okay.” Pinkie finally agreed.

“I’m glad we got that sorted out, but seriously does anyone know how long until lunch?”

“I don’t suppose anyone has a watch,” said Twilight.

“With how bad Fragment is at keeping time someone should probably get him a watch,” Blast Shield suggested as Hofnarr chimed in with: “Maybe as a birthday present or something.”

“Have you remembered when your birthday is, Fragment? You have got to let me throw you your birthday party! It would be so awesome and so much fun!” Pinkie said as she then pulled out a clipboard with what looked like a checklist on it.

“To answer your question I have no idea when my birthday is, however I did remember something that I haven’t mentioned yet.”

“You did?” Twilight asked interested. “What did you remember?”

“A few days ago I remembered that my real name is Dunkel, but even though I know what my name is I think I’ll stick with calling myself Fragment; help keep things simple, you know?”

“Dunkel… I like it!” Pinkie said with a smile as she nodded to herself.

“Come on, let’s see how long until lunch and maybe try to find something to do while we wait,” Twilight said as she began walking down hallway.

“I know! Let’s play hide and seek to pass the time!” Hofnarr suggested with a grin.

“Can we really trust you to not climb on the walls and ceiling?” I asked while giving him a suspicious look.

“I ain’t takin’ one step up there while that loony maid Dex is around. She seems a little… unbalanced in the head.”

“She’s actually pretty nice; I think it was just you giving her a hard time that got under her skin.”

“Me? Give someone a hard time? Well that’s just a ridiculous accusation! Do you have any evidence to back your claim?”

“Does me quoting you and Blast Shield being a witness count?”

“You know what the great part of being named ‘Blast Shield’ is?” Hofnarr asked and looked at Blast Shield, who just like me had an unsure look on his face.

“Umm… no?” Blast Shield said.

“Your initials are B.S.” All I could do was facehoof at Hofnarr’s joke while he smiled widely and Blast Shield shook his head.

“I don’t get it,” Pinkie said and tilted her head.

“You know, B.S. as in bull―” I quickly moved my hoof over Hofnarr’s mouth, effectively shutting him up.

“If you don’t already know then you’re not old enough to know,” I said and gave Hofnarr a glare while both he and pinkie pouted. A moment later I removed my hoof from Hofnarr’s mouth.

“So anyway, what’re we gonna do for… well pretty much the whole day?” Hofnarr asked as he rubbed his face. “We were supposed to be at the Wonderbolts academy for more flight training but that obviously didn’t go as planned, so there’s nothing to do.”

“Hey, maybe Fluttershy could help you fly!” Pinkie suggested. “What do you think, Fluttershy?”

“I don’t know; I’ve never taught anypony how to fly before, and certainly not a changeling. I don’t think I’d be very good at it.”

“C’mon, we’ll all be able lend a hoof where we can and Hofnarr will be here help too, just like at the academy with Spitfire!”

“Yeah! Wait, how did you know I helped Fragment at the academy?”

“I didn’t,” she replied, “so what do ya say, Fluttershy?” She asked and refocused on Fluttershy. After a moment Fluttershy smiled and said

“Alright, I’ll do my best to help you.”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile of my own.

“While we’re at it and if you think it’s a good idea, I think I’ll give you some advice on magic,” Twilight offered. Even though I knew them and we considered each other friends, it still surprised me that they’d take their time to help me learn flight and magic.

“I don’t see a reason not to. I really appreciate all of you helping me like this; you have no idea what it means to me.”

“It’s no trouble; you’re our friend and a good changeling so of course we’d help you,” Twilight said as we came to a wooden door with a plaque that read ‘breakroom’ on it. Twilight walked up to then knocked on the door.

“Wait, if your plan was to just ask someone, why didn’t you ask one of the guards at the dungeon or something?” Blast Shield asked. Before Twilight could reply the door to the breakroom opened with Dex on the other side. The moment she saw Hofnarr she narrowed her eyes on him and said

“You broke something, didn’t you?”

“Wow, really? That’s just uncalled for and rude,” Hofnarr said as he sat down and crossed his forelegs. “Still think it’s because I was ‘giving her a hard time,’ Fragment?”

“Look, I’m tired, overworked and have had a migraine all day, so excuse me if I’m not exactly a happy pony at the moment. So what do you all want?” Dex said while rubbing her right temple.

“We’d just like to know what time it is so we know how long until lunch,” Twilight explained. With a sigh, a Dex stepped back into the breakroom and looked toward her left then back to us,

“It’s a little passed eleven-forty, so you won’t need to wait too long ‘til you get something to eat.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a small smile, which Dex responded to with a nod as she shut the door.

“She still seems kinda mean to me,” Hofnarr remarked and stood back up.

“By ‘mean to me,’ do you mean mean to you, or mean in your opinion?” Blast Shield asked as Twilight began to lead us again.

“Uh… I’ll go with both. Hey, does anyone know what they’ll be making to eat?”

“They usually serve all kinds of food and drinks to choose from, so it’s hard to say exactly what they’ll have,” Twilight answered. After a few minutes of walking we came to the dining room - apparently it’s where she was taking us the whole time after talking with Dex. By the time we had gotten there the table was already set with food being brought out and set at six different spots.

“Wait, did they know that all of us were gonna be eating here?” Hofnarr asked as his eyes immediately went to a plate with watermelon slices on it as it was set on the table.

“Princess Celestia probably figured we would be and told them to have enough for all of us,” Twilight replied.

“Uh, Hofnarr? Any particular reason you’re practically drooling over the watermelon?” I asked as Hofnarr took a step closer to the table.

“I… love… watermelons! They’re so juicy and yummy and delicious!”

“Aren’t yummy and juicy pretty much the same thing?”

“Quiet, Blast Shield!” Hofnarr said as the last plate was set. “Thank you all… so much,” with that, Hofnarr took his seat and began putting food on his plate. The rest of quickly took our own seats. I think it would’ve been quite a sight to anyone other than us; so soon after two attacks by changelings against Equestria, here were two changelings and four ponies sitting and eating together like nothing had happened, like we were just other ponies having a pleasant meal.

I wondered if this would become normal for changelings and ponies one day; to be happy together.

Author's Notes:

I would like everyone to visit this blog post.

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 30: Conflict

Our lunch was peaceful despite Hofnarr’s poor table manners and Pinkie’s savage eating, however I will admit that they did make lunch more entertaining than it would’ve been otherwise. With our meals consumed, Twilight decided now would be a good time for her and Fluttershy to give me the training they had offered. Hofnarr was the last one of us to make it out of the dining room.

“BRRRRRUUUUURP!” Was the first thing out of Hofnarr’s mouth as the dining room doors shut. “Excuse me,” he added with smile while Blast Shield said

“You’re nasty.”

“BRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUURP!” All heads turned to Pinkie Pie as she giggled at our reaction.

“She’s just as nasty as you’re,” said Blast Shield as Hofnarr and Pinkie laughed and Twilight began leading us to the training room. I saw Hofnarr and Pinkie hoofbump before starting to follow us.

“Are you really in a condition to criticize us? You drank more than half of a bottle of wine; it’s amazing you haven’t passed out yet,” Hofnarr shot back.

“I’m perfectly capable of maneging my alcoholess.”

“I rest my case.”

“So what’ll we be covering first; magic or flight?” I inquired.

“That’s completely up to you; whichever you think you need more help with would be best,” replied Twilight.

“In that case I would rather learn some new spells; I’ve gotten decent at flying and there’s a lot more to magic.”

“Is there any particular spell you’d like my to help you with or would you like me to teach you some new spells?” Twilight asked as the training room’s doors came into view along with the two guards by them.

“I think I’d rather learn some new spells; make myself more versatile.”

“Variety it is. I’ve got two spells in mind that you might find useful,” Twilight said as she opened the doors with her magic, showing that the room wasn’t being used as usual.

“In the time that I’ve spent here I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else use this room,” I commented.

“Ta be honest I’m surprised that this room hasn’t been converted into something else already,” Blast Shield slurred as we walked in. There were three targets, three combat dummies and a clear crystal ball on a white marble pedestal. “This room’s pretty much only used for special occasions. I guess that you would qualify as one such occasion.”

“Does it really matter what this room is or who uses it? For right now we’re using it and it’s a ‘do whatever we feel like at the moment’ room,” Hofnarr said as he then flew a quick lap around the room to and from where we were. “See? Whatever. We. Feel like.”

“Well, let’s not waste any time; you’ve got a lot to learn,” Twilight said as Blast Shield shut the doors while the rest of us walked into the center of the room.

“So what spell are we starting with?” I asked Twilight.

“Let’s start with something simple; a heating spell. A heating spell is―”

“Is exactly what it sounds like; using your mind ‘n’ magic to raise something’s temperature; sometimes to the point of combustion. The Fireball spell is kinda taking that idea an’ mixing it with Magic Bolt,” Blast Shield interrupted.

“Yes, Blast Shield is right,” Twilight said, sounding annoyed. “The heating spell shouldn’t be too hard to cast.” Twilight’s horn flashed purple and a block of ice about a foot long on all sides appeared on the floor in front of her. “The rest of you should probably stay back; just in case.”

“Why do we have to stay back but you can stay right next to him? What if I want a front row seat?” Hofnarr asked while crossing his forelegs.

“I need to stay right here so I can keep a better eye on this and you should stay back for your safety,” Twilight explained as Pinkie and Fluttershy walked over to the targets and Blast Shield stood by the doors. Hofnarr mumbled something to himself as he joined Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Okay, like I said before it’s a pretty easy spell to learn. Concentrate on the ice while thinking of something like fire.”

“Since I’m going to use magic I should feed so that I’ll have more power to cast with; plus it’ll also help these injuries leftover from my fight with Cyclone Shade.”

“Oh, of course,” was all Twilight said. I opened my mouth and green energy began to flow off of Twilight’s body into me. As usual you kept an eye on her condition, but I decided not to feed off of her as much as usual because I also had Pinkie, Fluttershy and Blast Shield to feed off of. So after a few seconds of feeding I stopped, walked over to Pinkie and Fluttershy and began to feed. After I as done with them I feed off Blast Shield.

“Mind giving me some? Sharing’s caring and all that,” Hofnarr said with a smile. I walked over to him and touched his horn with my own, causing a spark of green magic as I felt power transfer out of me.

“Now that that’s out of the way I can take these bandages off and we can get started,” I said as I began removing the gauze from around my stomach and head, and as the last of it was removed from my head I noticed two things. The first thing I noticed was that my vision out of my left eye was mostly blurry, and I saw Pinkie and Fluttershy’s expressions.

“Your eye isn’t healed!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“What?! Could someone get me something reflective?” Twilight levitated the crystal ball over to me where I grabbed it with my own magic. Looking at my reflection in the ball, I could clearly see a scar on the left side of my head starting above the eyebrow and going down my eye to some of my cheek. The eye itself was clearly cut as well. “I-I don’t understand; feeding on love heals, doesn’t it?”

“It does, but…” Hofnarr said getting our attention. “Anything that wouldn’t heal on its own won’t heal with feeding; like if you tried to feed to regrow a limb, you’d heal lingering damage in that area but you won’t get a leg. It works that way because feeding accelerates natural healing.”

“So you’re saying that this is as healed as my eye’s going to get?”

“Pretty much. But hey, at least you have some kind of healing, right?”

“I guess I just have to deal with it.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Fire, warmth, ice, melt. I think I got it,” I said to myself as I stared at the block of ice and my horn began to glow dark green. I imagined a bonfire blazing at a campsite, feeling its heat on a cold night. Slowly but faster than normal I could see the block of ice begin to melt; beads of water flowing down its sides, forming a small puddle on the floor. I watched the ice get smaller and smaller as it became water and steam. Twilight really wasn’t kidding about how easy this spell is.

Once most of the ice was melted I focused on the remaining puddle so that it would evaporate, which didn’t take long. Once the last drop was gone Twilight examined the floor; looking closely and feeling it with her hoof.

“The floor’s warm and dry but it isn’t hot. Good job,” Twilight complemented. “Since you did that so easily let’s see how fast you can melt the ice and evaporate the water.”

She then conjured another block of ice. I immediately went to work with the heating spell, my horn igniting with green colored magic. Again the spells effect was apparent instantly as the ice slowly turned into a puddle, and once the whole block of ice was water I focused the heat on that.

“You learn fast,” Twilight stated. “I think you’ve got the hang of that spell so what do you say we move on to the next one?”

“Sounds good to me. What is the next spell anyway?”

“A repairing spell; it’s quite the complicated spell but very useful to know. But first we need something broken to use it on…” Twilight said she looked around for something we could use. Hofnarr picked up on that and turned towards one of the dummies.

“What about these? This is exactly the kinda thing they’re made for,” he suggested. Twilight walked over to and began inspecting one of said dummies.

“Maybe not the dummy itself but its stand; fabrics are harder than something like wood to repair,” she said as she removed the dummy and then snapped the stand in two with her magic. ”For this spell it’s easiest to do when you can see the pieces of the object you’re trying to fix,” Twilight said as she laid the two halfs on the floor in front of me. “Try to picture the stand the way it was before it was broken in your mind while focusing your magic on the pieces and how they would fit together.”

This spell didn’t sound easy but I had faith in my power and overall capabilities, so I took a deep breath and did as told. Green light emanating from my horn, both halfs of the stand as well as the bits of them that came off began to glow. Even though I had gained quite a bit of power from my recent feeding the drain of using this spell was noticeable. After almost a minute of nothing but the static of my magic the pieces began to move back into place.

As each little bit of wood went into its proper spot there was a very small flash of green, signaling that the damage had been undone. After most of the little pieces were back where they belonged, the two halfs inched their way to the other and when they finally touched there was a green glow around the area, and when the light faded there was no trace that any damage had been done. Twilight looked impressed by the display.

“You learn really fast; it took me almost an hour to get that spell right the first time I used it.”

“Changelings naturally learn quickly,” Hofnarr cut-in. “It’s part of how we survive; picking up on how those around us behave and learning how to be the same. That along with looking like any other changeling of our on hive is why we’re commonly considered to lack individuality.”

“Well I have to say that it’s a pretty useful quality to have,” I remarked as I levitated the stand and placed it rightside up. Then Twilight moved it back to the others and placed its dummy back. “So I got those spells easily, how about we go to flying now? For some reason I had a relatively tough time with that yesterday.”

“Alright, Hofnarr and Fluttershy, this is your part,” Twilight said as she took a spot next to Pinkie.

“Can’t you help us teach him somehow?” Hofnarr questioned.

“How could I help with flying? It’s not like I have wings.”

“Touché,” Hofnarr replied as his wings began buzzing, lifting him off of the floor and allowing him to hover. “Now, do I need to give you a rerun of the basics or do you think you remember what you’re doing?”

“We did this just yesterday; I don’t think anyone would forget the basics that easily.”

“Nonetheless!” Hofnarr exclaimed. “I want you flying three laps around the room NOW!”

Shouted Hofnarr. I began flapping my wings quickly, slowly lifting myself off of the floor while the others watched closely.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Hofnarr said before I could begin. “If you touch a wall or the floor, you start over.”

Without another word I took off going around the room flying along the wall. I was very careful about my flying, doing my best to maintain both good speed and keep stability, which was quite challenging. I kept myself about two feet above the floor and about one foot away from the wall. As I passed the others completing my first lap, I heard Hofnarr yell “come on, you can do better than that!”

Hearing that, I gradually increased my speed. I really wasn’t going that fast compared to an experienced flier, but it was better than I had done yesterday. I began to push myself to go faster while adjusting my balance, however I found that was becoming difficult to do. As I finished my second lap I felt my body wobble a bit, threatening to cause me to hit a wall or the floor, so I moved further away from the wall and higher above the floor. As I came around to complete the third lap I decided to try to stop without crashing into a wall or window or anything, so when I was almost at the others I leaned my whole body back which caused an immediate drop in speed. When I came to a complete stop, I was only about a foot away from having flown into Hofnarr.

“How’d I do?” I asked as I panted. I had done a few things that had gotten my heart pounding before, but that little lap race on top of some lingering nervousness got me going.

“Pretty good; the only problem I really saw was when you lost some balance on the second lap,” Hofnarr answered.

“Yeah, I still need to work on that.”

“You don’t say. Anyways, Fluttershy, think you could help him with the balancing act?”

“But you hardly did anything; you just stood there and told me to fly around the room,” I pointed out with a raised brow.

“Hey, I already showed all I really know. C’mon, Fragment, flying’s not that complicated or hard. All you really need to do is fly more often so you get the hang of it and you’ll be all set. Which is why I think Fluttershy here only really needs to show you how to not fall on your flank.”

“You’re so helpful,” I remarked with a sigh.

“Well, Fragment, let’s get started,” Fluttershy said as she walked up to me and Hofnarr stood by the others. “Since you’re already pretty good at flying this shouldn’t be too difficult for you,” she said. “Let’s do another lap around the room but at a slower pace, that way you’ll be able to get used to it faster.”

She began flapping her wings and slowly lifted into the air and I followed suit by starting to flap my wings, gradually lifting off of the floor a few inches. I leaned and began moving forward while Fluttershy followed me closely and watched carefully. I kept a steady speed as I moved, Fluttershy easily keeping up with me.

“You’re doing good so far. You only really had trouble when you were going faster, so let’s try that,” Fluttershy said. I began to fly faster as instructed to a pace that I would compare to slow running. At this point is when I was beginning to have some trouble with balance, which Fluttershy noticed almost immediately. She didn’t say anything until we came back around to the others and finished the lap.

“Something you could do when you feel yourself losing―” Fluttershy was interrupted by someone knocking on the doors.

“Don’t look at me; I didn’t order takeout or anything,” Hofnarr said as Blast Shield stumbled to his hooves and walked in front of the doors. He opened the doors and his mouth, but he was knocked away before he had a chance to say anything.

“Blast Shield!” We yelled at once as we then heard chuckling.

“Hahahaha, how unfortunate; he didn't even have a chance to defend himself! HAHAHAHAHA!” Cyclone Shade laughed as he walked passed the now unconscious Blast Shield into the room as the others and I were in shock. Cyclone Shade wasn’t just out of his cell, he also had his vest, utility belt and bracer. “Awww, what’s the matter? Thought that Celestia’s little cell would keep me contained? HA! What a fallacy.”

“How did you get out?!” I asked as my horn instantly began glowing. Twilight’s horn also lit with magic as she stood beside me while Pinkie Fluttershy and Hofnarr got behind us.

“Irrelevant. I have spent far too much time in this castle, so it’s about time I take what I came for and be done with this.”

“You’re not laying a hoof on him while I’m here,” I said with the most threatening voice I could manage. Cyclone Shade wasn’t amused nor threatened.

“We’ll see about that,” he said with a grin as he took a fighting stance.

“The three of you get out of here and tell Princess Celestia what’s going on,” Twilight told them quietly.

“Just the two of you against him? Are you sure you can hold him off?” Fluttershy asked.

“No I’m not, but you need to go.” Cyclone Shade quickly flew into the air and dived at us. “GO!”

Twilight said again as she put up a forcefield around us and the others made a break for the doors. Cyclone Shade slammed into Twilight’s shield then threw one of the knives with a glowing red mark on it through it. I pushed her out of its way but at the same time broke her focus on the shield causing it to fall.

“Crap,” I said as Cyclone Shade smiled and leaped at us with the blade of his bracer drawn. I charged and fired a magic bolt at him but he used his wings to dodge it. He slashed at me with the blade as I charged and fired another bolt at him, this one skimmed him. His blade slashed across my chest as Twilight got back up and blasted Cyclone Shade with a beam of magic. Cyclone Shade threw another knife at Twilight then punched me in the face. His knife stabbed into Twilight’s right leg as I recovered from his attack and shot another bolt at him which he only narrowly avoided.

As my attack passed him he ducked and rolled towards me then uppercutted me, knocking me down. Twilight levitated one of the dummies and threw at Cyclone shade, hitting him in his side with it. Using both of his forehooves he picked up that dummy and threw at Twilight then charged at her. I grabbed the dummy with my magic and threw it into Cyclone Shade, following it up with a magic bolt. Kicking the dummy off of himself, Cyclone Shade jumped into the air and flew towards the doors in an attempt to escape the fight and get to Hofnarr. An attempt that I stopped by magically shutting the doors just before he could go through them, making him slam into them.

“You son of a bitch…” he grunted as he staggered to get back up while I ran over to Twilight as she pulled the knife out of her leg.

“Are you alright?” I asked as I helped her up.

“I will be,” she said as she turned to Cyclone Shade just in time to see him buck one of the doors down then fly out. “Come on!”

We started running as fast as we could to catch up to Cyclone Shade before he got to Hofnarr. As we passed Blast Shield I felt bad for leaving him there but I knew Hofnarr’s well being was in greater danger. Once we were out of the training room I saw that the guards that were by the doors were knocked out like Blast Shield. Further down the hallway I could see Cyclone Shade flying after the others.

Twilight and I shot at him as I flapped my wings as hard as I could and began flying down the hallway. Cyclone Shade dodged our magic and tackled Hofnarr and Pinkie. Hofnarr was the first one to try and run but Cyclone Shade threw a knife into the back of one of Hofnarr’s hind legs, causing Hofnarr to grunt as he fell back down to the floor.

Pinkie and Cyclone Shade got up at about the same time, and to my surprise Pinkie instantly got into action and punched Cyclone Shade in his face as Twilight and I got close. Cyclone Shade punched Pinkie back then spun around and double kicked her with his hind legs, knocking her back a few feet. I growled with anger at the sight, quickly charging and firing a magic bolt at him and hitting him square in the chest, then I slammed into him from the air and pinned him to the floor.

He struggled beneath me as I punched him with my right hoof repeatedly. Cyclone Shade managed one of his hooves free and punch me back, then he shoved me off of him, got up and stabbed into my right shoulder with his bracer’s blade, then kicked me off of it, causing it to tear part of my shoulder. Twilight fired at Cyclone Shade but he dodged it and slashed her across her chest before punching her. He refocused on Hofnarr as he tried to limp away. I had hated Cyclone Shade since I saw how he behaved in the interrogation room, but after seeing Twilight, Pinkie and Hofnarr bleeding from wounds he gave them, my anger boiled over.

I began charging a magic bolt and let the power build, then once a large amount of magic was charged I fired the magic bolt. Cyclone Shade turned around and faced me just as the bolt nailed him, sending him over Hofnarr and down the hallway some. I teleported down to him as he struggled to get back on his hooves. I punched him again before he could completely get up. I was consumed with anger and disgust toward Cyclone Shade, making me shove him against one the windows in the hallway. I shoved him against it with enough force to crack it some. With a growl Cyclone Shade punched me with his right hoof, after he did that I grabbed his shoulders and hit his head with mine with as much force as I could muster.

In the midst of his daze I began charging another blast as I saw blood flow from Cyclone Shade’s nose and his teeth stained red. I allowed Cyclone Shade just enough time to regain focus before I blasted him with my magic, blowing him out of the window, shattering it. I was breathing heavily as I turned back to the others. They were staring at me with mixed emotions and expressions of shock and fear. I guess my rampage was at least a little frightening to them.

“Are all of you okay?” I asked as I tried to catch my breath.

“I-I think so,” Twilight answered as she examined her injured leg and Pinkie rubbed her slightly bloody nose. “Let’s tell Princess Celestia what happ―”

“Behind you!” Hofnarr shouted. I didn’t have the chance to react before I was knocked forward into Twilight. When I got back I heard Fluttershy gasp. I turned around and saw that Cyclone Shade had his left foreleg around her neck and the blade of his bracer against it. The others and I didn’t know what to do; he could kill Fluttershy before he could do anything.

“Now that I have your undivided attention, I will first say that if either of your horns light with magic, I’ll kill her,” Cyclone Shade said as Fluttershy struggled a little as she fought back sobs of fear.

“What do you want?” Twilight looked between Fluttershy and Cyclone Shade with a slightly panicked look. I could easily smell the fear coming from the others.

“You know damn well what I want, and if you don’t hoof him over I’ll have no choice but to cut open this pretty little neck and watch the blood gush. I’m sure that none of you really want to keep Hofnarr that much.”

There was stillness as we tried to figure a way out of this and found none; if we tried to take one step against him he would kill her and move on. That wasn’t a sacrifice we wanted to make, nor was it one we were going to. But to my surprise it was Hofnarr himself who spoke up first.

“You win; I’ll go with you.” Cyclone Shade looked at him with a somewhat surprised look. “You don’t deserve to be murdered like this, Fluttershy; you’re so kind and caring… and…” Hofnarr was on the verge of tears. “A-and I won’t let you die like this.”

“Aww, how sweet and noble of you. Now that that’s been sorted out, the three of you,” He motioned to Twilight, Pinkie and I. “will leave; just keep walking down the hall until Fluttershy here calls you.”

“How do we know you won’t hurt her when we leave?” I asked.

“Well look at it this way; if you stay I will definitely hurt her. Of course when I say hurt I do mean kill.”

“Come on, we don’t have a choice,” Twilight said as she slowly turned around and began walking away. Pinkie was next to start walking away. I gave Cyclone Shade one last glare before letting out a long sigh, then turned around and joined the others in leaving. My heart and mind were racing with concerns and fears of what Cyclone Shade would do; he was more than capable of killing Fluttershy just for fun before leaving.

As we walked I could hear Hofnarr say something and Cyclone Shade reply, soon after that there was a thud of something against the floor. Upon hearing it all three of us turned around in time to see Cyclone Shade pick up Hofnarr and fly out of the broken window. As soon as Cyclone Shade was out of sight we rushed back to Fluttershy, who was shaking with what I could only assume was trauma from having her life on the line like that.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked as some tears escaped her eyes.

“I-I’m fine…” I looked out of the broken window and saw Cyclone Shade flying away with Hofnarr in his forelegs. As I saw them I opened my mouth and began to feed off of the others.

“Fragment? What’re you doing?” Twilight asked as I stopped feeding and lit my horn with magic.

“Tell Princess Celestia what happened, NOW!” My wings began buzzing as I teleported. As my surroundings changed I found myself almost exactly where I wanted to go. I had appeared in the air in Cyclone Shade’s path, but I was too close to him, making him crash into me before either of us could react.

“You idiot, if he dies we both lose,” Cyclone Shade said as he dived down to catch the now free falling Hofnarr. I looked around below me and found a two story building with a level rooftop. I quickly teleported myself there then turned my attention to Hofnarr, who was getting dangerously close to the ground. I used levitation to pull Hofnarr away from Cyclone Shade and brought him over to the roof I was on. Cyclone Shade didn’t seem to like that. I gently sat Hofnarr beside me. He looked like Cyclone Shade had used a paralysis dart on him. I focused on the hallway I had come from but I was hit before I could. Cyclone Shade had rammed me in full force, knocking me away from Hofnarr before I could cast my spell.

“You just don’t give up, do you?” He asked as I stood up and charged my magic.

“I’d be damned if I did.”

“You’ll be damned soon enough,” he said as he extended the blade of his bracer.

[Ominous Fight Music]

Cyclone Shade made the first move by throwing a knife at me which I blocked with a small ward. How many of those damn things does he have?!

I retaliated by firing a magic bolt at him. He charged forward and rolled under the bolt to avoid it, and once he was back up he jumped into the air and kicked me with a hind leg which knocked me closer to the edge of the roof. I attempted to hit him with another magic bolt be he flew to the left to dodge, then he flew passed me then into my back knocking me away from the edge. I started flapping my wings and flew straight up and turned around.

Cyclone Shade flew up at me and punched me in the gut then flew around me. I turned around as quickly as I could and when I saw Cyclone Shade charging at me again I made a ward in his path, which he was not able to get around fast enough. Once he was stopped by flying into it I ceased the ward and fired a magic bolt into his chest, knocking him back a few feet. When I fired another bolt at him he dove under it then flew back up and rammed me.

Before I could attempt to use another magic bolt on him he punched my face, flew a little higher and then kicked me in the chest with both of his hind legs. I fired another bolt and hit him, then I fired two more bolts but he flew up again after the first one of the pair hit. Once again he dove into me but this time with enough force to bring me back to the rooftop. I punched his jaw as he then stabbed my left shoulder with his blade. I leaned my head up and bit onto his left foreleg, making him yell in pain.

I violently tore a half a mouthful of his leg’s flesh off then blasted him with a magic bolt, knocking him off of me. As I got back up I saw that he had already gotten out a small roll of gauze from his belt and was wrapping the bite wound with it. Cyclone Shade saw my horn begin to glow for another bolt, so he jumped into the air and flew off of the roof and down to what I’d guess was street level. I ran over to Hofnarr to make sure he was okay. He seemed to be okay, so I began to charge to teleport us away, but as I probably should’ve seen coming, Cyclone Shade reemerged on on left and rammed me again.

This time there was enough force to knock me off the building, so I latched onto Cyclone Shade and tried to roll us over so that we would land on him. However he had the advantage and would not allow that to happen. In the brief seconds I had I prepared for the impact. After a moment there was loud crack sound as my back slammed into the cobblestone road below. I heard gasps and shouts from the ponies on the street. Cyclone Shade punched me as I charged another bolt and fired it right into his head, effectively knocking him off of me.

We got up at the same time and found that pretty much everyone on the street was staring at us unsure of what was going on. Cyclone Shade laughed as I took a fighting stance and charged another bolt.

“How sad is it that I’m more than sixty years old - and about thirty years older than you - and I’m still kicking your ass?” He taunted as I fired at him. He simply sidestepped out of the way, allowing the bolt to continue into the crowd. The ponies barely had enough time to get out of the way. “And that’s another thing, Fragment, a great weakness you have is caring; I don’t care who must die to get my way, and therefore, collateral damage is acceptable,”

he said as he threw another knife at me, but rather than dodging or blocking it, I caught it with levitation and threw it back at him, however he blocked it with his bracer. He flew into the air again and threw two knives at me, this time I blocked with a ward. I lowered the ward and began rapid firing bolts at him, each shot he dodged. He dropped back to ground level where I had to stop my reckless shooting to avoid hurting someone. Cyclone Shade charged me which I reacted to by firing a magic bolt at him, but he ducked and rolled under it and at the end of his roll his face was almost touching mine.

He quickly brought both of his hooves up and slammed them unto my head, knocking me down. He punched me before I had the chance to fight back more, then I felt him get on top of me and punch me again. “Let’s see if I can do better than a scarred eye.”

He said as he began relentlessly beating my face. The constant assault on my head made it nearly impossible to focus a spell and I wasn’t fast enough to bring up a hoof in my defense. But then I saw something come in from my right and ram Cyclone Shade off of me. The moment Cyclone Shade was off of me I tried to get up, spitting a glob of blood in the process. What I saw surprised me; I saw a brown earth pony with a yellow mane and tail with a wrench as a cutie mark standing between Cyclone Shade and I. Cyclone Shade seemed to find this funny.

“What’s this? A random pony coming to the aid of a changeling in the street? You must be foolish.”

“I’m not usually one to get into a fight, but I know a bad guy when I see one,” the stranger said. “And on top of that, I know that this here,” he motioned towards me. “Is Fragment, the changeling who saved at least two lives when the cockatrice attacked, and I won't just watch you try and kill him.”

“Fine, then you can die with him.” Cyclone Shade threw a knife into the pony’s right foreleg then flew into him and stabbed into his chest with his bracer’s blade. I charged and fired a magic bolt into Cyclone Shade and knocking him away from the pony. Cyclone Shade began to laugh as he got up.

“You can either try to catch me and let this pony die, or you can save this pony’s life and I leave with Hofnarr. Your choice,” he said with a smile as he began to fly away. Reacting as fast as I could I shot a bolt into Cyclone Shade’s flightpath making him fly into it, then I ran over to the pony and examined his wounds. “Does anyone know which way the hospital is?” I asked the crowd.

“I-it’s just a few blocks that way,” a mare from among them said and pointed in my left. I levitated the stallion off of the ground and flew into the air pulling him along with me. As I flew towards the hospital I looked back over my shoulder and saw Cyclone Shade flying away with Hofnarr…

Author's Notes:

So, it's chapter 30. The next tenth chapter. I'm sure most of you remember what that means.

VACATION!

However this is going to be very different.

I'm going to put most of my time into fixing up all of the chapters; fixing grammatical errors, awkward sentences and anything else I can find that needs repair. It's going to be a very long and annoying task but it needs to be done, for everyone's safety and mental state.

I'm also going to try to get one of my other stories up and running before I come back to this one; I'm thinking I'll do the one-shot I have in mind and one of my darker stories. But we'll see how it plays out.

Also, The Adventures of Fragment theme song (which I found a few months ago) will be revealed!

For those of you who give enough fucks you can get updates on what I'm doing (writing T.A.F. a new story etc) you can follow me on Twitter @A_Dark_Reminder, but based on past experience no one gives a fuck.

See you all in a few weeks!

~A Dark Reminder

Chapter 31: Aftermath

My heart pounded in my chest as I flew above the buildings trying to reach the hospital as fast as I could. Once I could clearly see the Canterlot Hospital sign I focused my magic and teleported next to it. The ponies around were startled by my sudden appearance. There were gasps from some of the ponies at the sight of the injured stallion. I didn't hesitate to start running for the hospital's doors while the ponies stood in confusion and shock. I bust through the doors with the stallion in tow.

“This stallion needs medical attention!” I shouted. A few nurses and two doctors scrambled to get the proper supplies while others in the room watched with mixed expressions. Two nurses quickly brought over a gurney over which I place the stallion on.

Once my magic's aura faded they began moving down a hallway on the right while I took a moment to catch my breath and examine my own wounds. My head was pounding painfully, blood ran down my face and I had plenty of of cuts from Cyclone Shade's damn knives. Just as I was about to sit in one of the chairs a unicorn nurse came up to me. She had a typical nurse's uniform, maroon fur and a concerned facial expression.

“Uh, Sir, you should get some medical attention yourself.”

“I'll be fine, I just need―”

“If you knew what was good for you you'd take the lady's suggestion.” I looked to my left and saw a tan elderly unicorn sitting in a chair.

“Really, I'll be…” My head began to feel light and I began to lose balance as the adrenaline of the fight began to wear off. The nurse quickly went to my side and gave me support.

“Still think you'll be fine? Go get some bandages before you keel over.” Without further argument from me, the nurse began leading me to one of the nearby rooms. She helped me onto one of the beds then walked back into the hallway, calling a doctor over. The nurse went over to a medical cabinet while a unicorn doctor examined my injuries.

“What was the cause of these slashes?” he asked.

“Knives and some kind of hoof-blade.”

“And your head injuries?”

“Punches and being slammed into the pavement.” The nurse came back over to the bed with a tray that carried gauze, peroxide, cotton swabs and a washcloth.

“What kind of fight did you get into?”

“The kind that involves a professional assassin.” Both ponies gave me confused looks. “It's a long story.”

“I'm going to apply some peroxide to your wounds. It'll sting a bit,” the nurse warned as she poured a little peroxide onto one of the cotton swabs.

“I think I can deal with a little peroxi― OW!” I yelped when that cotton swab made contact with one of the cuts on my foreleg. The nurse just rolled her eyes.

“Tell me more about this… assassin,” the doctor said. I gave some details on what had transpired in the city while the nurse patched me up. I was thankful that the peroxide wasn’t as painful after the first time. I worried about what might be happening to Hofnarr since Cyclone Shade got away. At least I could trust that he wasn’t going to be killed, otherwise Cyclone Shade would’ve done that awhile ago.

I hope he’s okay…

When the nurse had almost finished with the bandages, the doors to the room opened revealing

“Princess Celestia!” the doctor said quickly as he faced and bowed to the princess, followed quickly by the nurse. Princess Celestia nodded to them as she, Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie entered the room. Twilight's injured leg had been bandaged and Pinkie's nose had been plugged. The princess looked at me with a stern, serious expression, which I found to be quite intimidating.

She walked up to me and asked: “What were you thinking going after and fighting Cyclone Shade all by yourself?”

“What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just let him get away!”

“But you weren’t ready to fight him; he’s had decades of training and experience coupled with his weapons and poisons while you lack all of those things.”

“So I should have just stood and watched while that nutjob went free to do who knows what? His very freedom is a danger to others.”

“Yes you should have; Cyclone Shade is irrational, reckless, and would certainly hurt or kill others to make sure he’d get his way. And that’s exactly what he did; by giving him the need to defend himself in an area where others were around you put all of them at risk.” Princess Celestia released sigh. I could smell the sourness of her disappointment. “Let’s just hope that you and the other pony weren’t hurt too badly. Are you strong enough to walk?”

“I think if I feed a little I will be.” The doctor and nurse were confused by that. I could smell it. Princess Celestia stepped aside as the others walked into the room; seems I didn’t even need to ask. Though Twilight didn’t look pleased with my flying off after Cyclone Shade.

The nurse and doctor stood to the side, watching as I consumed their energy. The doctor elbowed the nurse then pointed to a wound of mine that hadn’t been bandaged, seeing it heal before their eyes. Princess Celestia also watched intently.

After a few seconds, I ceased feeding and checked my wounds, seeing how much they had healed. I noticed right away that most of the pain I was feeling was gone, and I saw that the slashes across my body had healed enough to stop bleeding, though they probably still needed bandaging. However, what they probably needed wasn’t enough to convince me to stay put. I was still in pain, but at least I didn’t need adrenaline to keep moving.

“I’ll ensure that all expenses are paid for the both of them,” Princess Celestia told the doctor.

“Will you be needing anything else, your majesty?” asked the doctor.

“Can you take me to the pony that Fragment brought here?”

“Of course! Right this way, your highness.” Princess Celestia followed and motioned us to follow.

“What’s this pony’s name?” she asked as the doctor said something to the mare behind the entrance desk. She gave him a clipboard which he flipped through quickly before underlining a name with his hoof.

“His name is ‘Cog Weld.’ Suffered a deep stab wound to his foreleg and chest from knife and a leg blade in a street brawl.” He glanced at me then began walking down a hallway. “He’s in room three-ten,”

he said as we continued to follow him.

“How are the two of you holding up?” I asked Pinkie and Twilight.

“Alright, I guess; my cuts weren’t too bad and Pinkie just had a bloody nose. Though I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this cut make walking hurt.”

“How did Cyclone Shade even escape his cell in the first place?”

“We don’t know yet,” Princess Celestia said. ”But I told Shining Armor to investigate before we went out looking for you.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to track him down along with Hofnarr?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know if Hofnarr will be with him, but we’ll definitely find Cyclone Shade. Remember that tracking spell Hofnarr suggested putting on Cyclone Shade’s equipment?”

“You used it?” I asked with a spark of hope. Princess Celestia smiled slightly.

“I enchanted his vest with a tracking spell, so as long as he’s wearing it we’ll know exactly here he is. He may have escaped his cell but he hasn’t escaped us yet,” she said confidently.

“Let’s hope that we’ll get him to tell us what happened to Hofnarr,” said Twilight.

“Hey, how did all of you find me so fast, anyway? I’ve only been here for a few minutes.”

“When we went into the city to look for you we heard someone talking about a fight that had happened where somepony was taken to the hospital,” Twilight explained. “We weren’t sure if it was you or not, but since fights are pretty uncommon, we figured it had something to do with you or Cyclone Shade.”

The doctor stepped aside, opened the door for us, and bowed to the princess again.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile as we walked into room three-ten, where the stallion who probably saved my life was laying in bed with a nurse attending to him. Upon seeing the princess his green eyes widened.

“Y-your highness!” Cog Weld said. He tried to lean up but fell back to his pillow and put a hoof on his bandaged chest wound. Princess Celestia approached him as he stared in awe.

“Hello, Cog Weld,” she began. “You put yourself in grave danger to protect Fragment, something that I am sure he is grateful for.”

I nodded in confirmation.

“And while I can’t say that what you did was smart, Fragment might be dead if not for you. So I thank you for helping him.”

“Ah, it was no big deal.” Cog Weld looked at me. “I wasn’t gonna just stand by and watch after you saved those ponies’ lives. You’re a hero for crying out loud!”

“Thank you.” I gave an appreciative smile.

“I have also informed the hospital that I will be paying for all of your expenses,” Princess Celestia told him. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Princess Celestia nodded to him then turned to leave, the girls and I stepping aside for her. “Hey, uh. Fragment.”

I turned to him as the others stopped. “Yeah?”

“There were plenty of other ponies around, so why didn’t you have one of them take me here while you went after that pegasus?”

“I… I didn’t think of that; I was kind of under pressure and bleeding. Plus at the rate I was going I probably would’ve lost that fight.” Cog Weld nodded in agreement. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe it’s time to go. Thanks again for helping me.”

We then left the room. Once we were done at the hospital Princess Celestia lead us back to the castle as fast as we could manage, catching the eyes of many along the way. Some merely glanced at us before returning to their lives while the rest of the onlookers stared, unsure of the sight of Princess Celestia a changeling and three other seemingly random ponies going through Canterlot. I might have been bothered by the looks I was getting were it not for the fact that only a few of them were unpleasant; most seemed to recognize - or at least assume - that it was me.

Within a few minutes we had returned to the castle, where we could faintly hear shouting aways into the castle.

“What’s going on?” Princess Celestia asked a guard as we walked further inside.

“It’s Captain Armor, your majesty.”

“My brother?” Twilight asked with a confused expression. The guard nodded to her.

“He started shouting a few minutes after you left. One of the guards from that area came by here and we asked what was going on, but all she said was that the captain found something he didn’t like.” We looked at each other with uncertain looks before Princess Celestia refocused and began heading towards the dungeon.

When we got there, there were two guards nervously standing by the dungeon while Shining Armor could be heard shouting commands at other guards.

“I want you two to run background checks on everypony in this castle! I want to know where they come from, what jobs they had and who their family is, NOW! If you find so much as a smudge on their file, tell me.” Shining Armor’s voice sounded strained and slightly hoarse, likely from constant yelling. Two guards hastily made their way out of the dungeon and rushed off as we made our way in.

“What’s going on here?” the princess asked. Every guard was relieved that Princess Celestia was here, though they still seemed uncomfortable with Shining Armor’s anger. Shining Armor himself was so red in the face that it showed passed his fur. Though I suppose white fur wouldn’t hide it as well as a darker color would. Shining Armor took a deep breath before responding to the princess.

“After you told me to investigate I came here immediately and started looking around, but as soon as I got to Cyclone Shade’s cell, I found this.” Shining Armor’s horn lit as he levitated something from the side of the room. I was surprised and confused when I saw that it was Cyclone Shade’s flask that had been found.

“Cyclone Shade’s flask?” asked Twilight.

“I found it in his cell… with these inside it.” Two thin, iron lockpicks were magically pulled directly out of the flask. Shining Armor’s anger grew as he looked at them. “I talked to the guards who went over Cyclone Shade’s gear and lockpicks weren’t among the items. After that we examined the flask and found that there’s no special compartment or anything where these could have been hidden, which means there is no reason why these weren’t found once we took his gear; I made sure that it was thoroughly examined and cataloged after he had it.”

“Do you have any ideas how he could’ve obtained them?” the princess asked.

“I think somepony smuggled them to him. First of all these are enchanted; some kind of muffling spell was placed on them. Secondly, how exactly did his flask get in here in the first place?”

“We brought it to him,” Twilight said. “He had said that Hofnarr was an orphan and we wanted to know how he knew that. He told us that he wouldn’t tell us unless we brought him his flask and some wine.”

“They asked me before going through with it and I told them it was fine,” Princess Celestia explained.

“It was just the four of you and Hofnarr?”

“No, Blast Shield was with us.”

“Wait…” I said. “After you told us that we could take Cyclone Shade’s flask and give him some wine, Blast Shield suggested that he get the flask while we got the wine and meet up back at the dungeon. You don’t think that he…”

On the inside I was in absolute shock at just the thought of it. I mean, he wouldn’t really help Cyclone Shade escape, would he?

Would he?

“You don't really think that Blast Shield helped Cyclone Shade escape, do you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well for now he's who we need to talk to; he was the one who got the flask, so let's ask him about it,” Shining Armor said. He headed for the dungeon exit with us and two guards following him.

“I must return to the court, but I want you to tell me everything you've figured out by the end of the day.”

“Yes, Princess.” Princess Celestia then left and began heading to I'd guess the throne room. I turned to Shining Armor and asked,

“Where is Blast Shield right now, anyway?”

“He should be in the infirmary.”

“How badly did he get hurt?”

“Apparently he only got knocked out and a broken nose, which seems like nothing compared to what usually happens in a fight with Cyclone Shade.”

“Well they didn't really fight; when we found out that Cyclone Shade was free it was when he came to us at the training room. Hofnarr and Fluttershy were helping me learn to fly when there was a knock on the room's doors; Blast Shield opened the doors and was almost immediately knocked out by Cyclone Shade.”

“Either way, he should be conscious by now and able to answer our questions.” We fairly quickly made our way to the infirmary, none of us saying much along the way. There wasn’t much to say at that point with everything going on.

I kept going over everything Cyclone Shade had said prior to his escape, seeing if he had slipped anything that could tell where he was going or who he was working for, but I didn’t recall anything that could’ve been useful. I wound up thinking about that private party he had told me to go to; Frost Meadow Manor.

Filthy Rich… The pony who had been invited whose place I could take. If I really intended to take his place I would need to learn who he was and how to act like him, at least to an extent. Assuming of course that I would have learned shapeshifting by then.

A few minutes later we got to the infirmary. Blast Shield was laying in bed with a bandage on his nose and an icepack on his head.

“S’up?” he said flatly then pressed the icepack to his head harder.

“We need to ask you some questions,” Shining Armor informed while I took a seat next to his bed. Shining Armor stood at the foot of Blast Shield’s bed while Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy stood on the left side. I was surprised by how much he had calmed down since we were at dungeon.

“Okay, but can you ask them nice and quiet? My head’s killing me.”

“You were the one who took Cyclone Shade’s flask from confiscation, correct?”

“What, no ‘how’re you feeling?’” Blast Shield joked. “Yeah, I got it so that he’d tell us what he knew about Hofnarr. Why do you ask?” He was calm and a little annoyed, but I sensed nothing strange or suspicious with his emotions.

“And did you notice anything… odd? In the storage room or with the flask itself?” Shining continued.

“No…” Concern rose in Blast Shield.

“I found lockpicks inside Cyclone Shade’s flask,” Shining Armor finally said, Blast Shield’s eyes widening as the words were spoken.

“Wha― How could― That’s― What?!” Blast Shield stuttered. “Well… how… how did they get in there?”

“I was hoping you might have an idea. Are you sure that you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary?”

“N-no. Everything looked fine when I got it. The only pony I even saw at storage was the door guard.”

“What was the guard’s name?”

“Uh… I believe it was Bracer, sir.”

“I’m going to talk to him and see if he saw anything suspicious. You get your rest.” Without another word, Shining Armor left the room. I was a little confused by him just leaving; I had expected him to bring up the fact that Blast Shield was a suspect or something. I decided it would be better to leave it aside for now.

“So how are you?” Blast Shield chuckled at my question before cringing at the pain in his head.

“I’ve been better. Kinda wish I wasn’t sobering up though; might help with the pain. How about yourselves? Aside from the pegasus, none of you look too good.”

“We should be fine,” Twilight told. “We’re just lucky that Cyclone Shade didn’t cut anything vital.”

“Did anyone aside from us get hurt?”

“At least three other guards were knocked out, but no pony was hurt too bad,” said Fluttershy.

“What about Hofnarr?”

“Cyclone Shade took him.” Bitterness seeped into my sentence as I recalled seeing Cyclone Shade flying away with Hofnarr in his grasp.

When I find him, I’ll make him tell me what he did with Hofnarr, I mentally reassured myself. Blast Shield was saddened to hear that and was silent. All of us were. As we stood quietly, it dawned on me that he had managed to escape just as he said he would. Obviously whoever his employer was had someone sneak him those lockpicks, and now he had both Hofnarr and his freedom.

“So… what now?” Twilight asked.

“Is there anything we can do?” I asked as I walked over to a window. “Cyclone Shade’s in the wind with Hofnarr, and we don’t have a clue where he might’ve gone or who he was working for.”

I sat down and rested my chin on the windowsill. Not a moment after I did had Pinkie Pie hopped her way over to me, placing a hoof on my shoulder while smiling brightly.

“Hey, cheer up, Fragment; Princess Celestia and Shining Armor are on the case, and they’ll track that meanie assassin down. I mean, cooooome oooooon, it’s Princess Celestia we’re talking about.”

“I hope you’re right, Pinkie…”

“You don’t think that’s enough?” Fluttershy asked.

“I think it’s enough to capture him, but not enough to get information out of him, and that’s half the reason we’re trying so hard to get him.”

“Isn’t there a spell somepony could use to just pull the information out of him?” Blast Shield asked.

“There probably is a spell that could do that, but just taking thoughts out of somepony’s head like that seems kind of wrong,” Twilight answered.

“Wrong because it’s an invasion of privacy or wrong because taking a look into that guy’s head is a risk to our sanity?”

“It’s probably both,” I said before Twilight could answer.

“I don’t think I’d really want to know what he knows anyway,” Fluttershy threw in. Twilight seemed to be getting annoyed by us not letting her talk.

“You were going to say, Twilight?”

“It’s wrong because it’s an invasion of his privacy and there’s no telling what that kind of magic could do to him.”

“Who cares about his privacy and unless that magic could give him super powers I don’t care what it does to him,” Blast Shield stated flatly.

“He has a right to privacy, Blast Shield, and even if he didn’t I still wouldn’t condone using potentially harmful magic on him for information; it would be the equivalent of torture!”

“Hey, why not give him a taste of his own medicine? He brags about doing horrible things so why not give him some in return?”

“Because it’s immoral! Just because he’s tortured others doesn’t mean we should do it to him; if we did what would make us better than him?”

“The fact that we don’t make a living off of it and that we’re not doing it for fun,” I said. Twilight had a shocked expression. “It might not be right or moral, but it’s definitely something he deserves. Plus if it helps us find Hofnarr then I really fail to see a significant downside.”

“Why are you even defending Cyclone Shade? I doubt he’d appreciate it, much less change his ways.” Twilight was becoming more agitated with Blast Shield and I.

“I’m not ‘defending’ him, I’m defending what’s right; there is no excuse for what he’s done, but there isn’t one for us doing it to him either.”

“Twilight’s right; how could we say what he does is wrong if we did the same thing?” Fluttershy added. “No matter what Cyclone Shade did, it isn’t right to torture him. I think the reason you two said those things is because you’re understandably upset; he got away and hurt a few ponies along the way.”

“And almost killed you,” I reminded. Blast Shield was astonished to hear that.

“Wait, he what?!”

“He held her as a hostage to make us give him Hofnarr, which is one of the reasons I might seem in the mood for revenge.”

“Nothing good comes of revenge, Fragment. What you should want is justice. Lawful justice.” Twilight felt very strongly about this moral debate; I could tell she didn’t like Cyclone Shade anymore than the rest of us, but she along with Fluttershy still remained level headed. Pinkie Pie was oddly quiet throughout the discussion.

“Well let me change the subject somewhat,” Blast Shield said. “Assuming that there was a spell that could get information out of him and there were no side effects, positive or negative for him, would you use it?”

Twilight thought about that. I could tell that she still wanted to protect his right to privacy, but she considered the idea with what was on the line.

“I… I don’t know; if he really knew where Hofnarr was, who hired him to take him and all those other questions, then it’d probably be for the best. But I still don’t like the idea; I don’t want to know what made him this way.”

I was reminded of when Cyclone Shade told Princess Celestia about how his father abused him. I wondered if that was the only thing that had influenced him, which seemed unlikely; he killed his father a long time ago so why would he still be killing? He told Princess Celestia that he kills for fun, but was that the truth?

“Ultimately Princess Celestia will decide if something like that is done, and I’d bet she won’t use magic like that,” Blast Shield concluded. “So as far as flight training goes what’re you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll just have to work with Spitfire to learn whatever I can. Though to truth be told I think I need a break from all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“This past week’s been really stressful; with Gezähnt, Cyclone Shade and everything that’s happened in between I haven’t exactly been relaxing.”

“Hey!” Pinkie said. “I have an idea; why don’t you come back to Ponyville with us?”

“What?” we asked.

“You could take a week long vacation or something! We could play all kinds of games and hang out and other stuff! Think about it; it’d be a nice way to unwind, wouldn’t it?”

“Certainly sounds better than here, but how would everyone in Ponyville react to there suddenly being a changeling wandering around?” Pinkie frowned a little.

“You shouldn’t worry so much about what everypony will think of you. You’ve done a lot of good since the attacks and if ponies give you trouble for what other changelings did, then who needs them anyway?”

“I suppose you’re right, and guess it’s the best place for me for me to go to get away from things. At least for a little while.”

“Won’t you need Princess Celestia’s permission or something before you leave Canterlot?” Blast Shield asked.

“I don’t think that’ll be too difficult; after all that’s happened lately I think she’d understand.” I turned to the girls. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to talk to Princess Celestia about this sooner rather than later.“

“Well we’re pretty much just waiting around at this point anyway, so we could go talk to her now,” Twilight said while a smile formed on her face.

“You want to tag along, Blast Shield?” I questioned.

“Nah, I’m going to let this headache die down before I get out of this bed. You go see the princess about some R and R.”

“Will do.” Twilight was the first to start for the door with us following closely behind. In less than five minutes we reached the throne room, where Princess Celestia was addressing a few reporters about the street brawl and everything else. We patiently and quietly waited for her to be done with them, which took about ten minutes. She mostly spoke of Cyclone Shade; who he was and what she believed he was up to. When they asked her about the safety of Equestrians she explained that there was likely little to worry about because he almost always stays away from Equestria, however she had sent notifications to every large city telling guards to keep their eyes open for him.

“Do you really think Cyclone Shade will just leave now that he got Hofnarr?” Twilight asked as we approached her throne, bowing once we got close enough.

“After Cyclone Shade killed his father, he fled Equestria and the last time he was here was almost thirty years later. This is the first time he’s been here in a very long time; maybe it’s because such crimes are rare here or maybe he just doesn’t want to be in Equestria, but for whatever reason, he has stayed away, so I do believe he will leave with this job done.”

“Let’s hope he remains elsewhere,” I remarked.

“So what brings all of you here?” I stepped forth.

“I wanted to discuss the possibility of taking a vacation to Ponyville.” Princess Celestia paused and thought.

“Wanting a vacation is certainly understandable,” she began. “But how long were you planning to be gone?”

“Pinkie Pie suggested a week and I had no objections.”

“Well I think you’ve earned more than that. You take as long as you think you need.” I was caught by surprise with that reply.

“Really?”

“You’ve learned a lot in your time here; about magic, Equestria and yourself,” she began. “You’re adept at learning and have made a few friends here. I think that you have gotten all the help from me that you need, and that you’ve proven yourself trustworthy to be allowed in Equestria without constant supervision. However, if you would like to return at some point for further training or anything, feel free to do so.”

“I’m honored that you trust me so much, I’m… not sure what to say, really.” Princess Celestia rose from her throne and walked down from it to me.

“Say that you’ll show Equestria that changelings can be as nice as anypony else,” she told me with smile. I couldn’t help but bow to her again, to which she chuckled a little. However, I then sensed her mood turn more serious.

“But there are two things I want you to do when you leave.” I stood back up and listened closely. “The first is I want you to return to Chrysalis and tell her about the attempted assassination. I want to make peace with her and this is something she needs to know about, even if she doesn’t want a treaty.”

“How am I supposed to find her, though? I don’t remember where the changelings would’ve gone.

“We can show you the way!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We went there a few days ago to save Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom, remember?”

“Well in that case that’s resolved, but what’s the other thing you want me to do?”

“I want you to write to me every few days and tell me how well ponies are treating you. Can you do that for me?”

“It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me,” I said as I nodded in understanding. Princess Celestia smiled confidently as I then heard the doors open. We all looked to see who it was and saw a dark grey unicorn guard standing in the doorway.

“Captain Armor sent me, your highness.” Princess Celestia frowned, seriousness claiming her emotions.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Shining Armor will be questioning Blast Shield about his possible involvement with Cyclone Shade’s escape.” She walked around us and towards the door. Twilight was the first to start following her, the rest of us quickly following suit. The guard lead us to the interrogation room where we were directed to the observation portion. Upon entering it we saw that Princess Cadance along with a guard I didn’t recognize were staring into the currently empty interrogation room.

“Is Shining Armor really sure that Blast Shield is our best lead?” I asked.

“The guards that were in the dungeon when Cyclone Shade escaped said that all of you and Blast Shield were the last ones there before his cell opened and he knocked them out. That flask was the only thing that was brought to him aside from his lunch.”

“What if Cyclone Shade wanted us to think it was a guard that helped him escape?” Twilight suggested. “Shining said that all of the confiscated items were taken, so why would those be left behind? It’s not like he couldn’t use them again.”

“True, but Cyclone Shade has been known to betray his associates for a laugh, so he could’ve left those behind to get his jailbreaker caught,” Princess Celestia replied.

“Maybe he’s doing both!” Pinkie said. “He could have taken the picks and flask if he wanted to use them again and if he wanted to get whoever got him out in trouble he could’ve told us how it happened, so if he wanted us to spend time trying to figure out how he escaped while at the same time backstabbing his partner, like a meanie, obviously the best way of doing that would be to leave behind crucial evidence!”

We were all surprised by Pinkie Pie’s idea, both because of it being her’s and that it wasn’t impossible at all. We didn’t have much of a chance to think it over too much before the interrogation room’s door opened, giving entrance to Blast Shield and Shining Armor. Blast Shield still held an icepack to his head.

“Why isn’t Sinistar helping with this?” I asked.

“He’s been rather overworked lately, so Shining decided to let him get some rest,” Princess Cadance explained. Shining Armor and Blast Shield took their seats across from each other while Shining Armor cleared his throat.

“I spoke with Bracer once I finished talking to you. He confirmed that you were the only one who came to storage after Cyclone Shade’s equipment,” he stated.

“Well then how did Cyclone Shade get those picks?” Blast Shield asked.

“I don’t know, but I think that you might have some ideas,” Shining Armor replied, leaning forward a little. Blast Shield raised a brow and said

“Are you implying something, sir?”

“You were that last one to touch that flask before it was given to Cyclone Shade, none of the guards at the dungeon could’ve given him anything without the others noticing and no pony was with you when you were bringing it to the dungeon. You tell me where the evidence points.”

“Well how do you know it wasn’t Bracer? He was the only one at confiscation for who knows how long, he would’ve had plenty of time to place those picks in it.”

“Except there are two problems with that theory. The first one being that Bracer wasn’t alone in storage, Chase was there too. Neither of them could’ve slipped those lockpicks into the flask because one would’ve seen the other, and more importantly, neither of them even knew that the flask was about to be brought to Cyclone Shade. Of all the ponies in this castle only a few of them knew about that little exchange, and you are the only one who both knew about it and was alone with that flask. What do you have to say in your defense?”

“I would never help somepony like Cyclone Shade evade justice, for any reason.”

“I hear bits can change that kind of thinking,” Shining rebuttaled.

“I’ve been in the guard for more than a decade and you think that I’d turn my back on it for some bits?”

“I think somepony in this castle helped Cyclone Shade escape and you’re the one who had the best chance to do it.”

“I couldn’t have done something like this!” Blast Shield’s agitation grew.

“And why ‘couldn’t’ you?”

“Because it’s Cyclone Shade’s fault that Striker’s dead!” None of us were prepared for that. Shining Armor leaned away from Blast Shield a little bit while Blast Shield went on. “If he hadn’t broken Hofnarr and the other changelings out, Striker wouldn’t have been bitten, wouldn’t have been poisoned and would still be alive.”

“You hardly even knew Striker, so why―”

“I knew him well enough. I knew that he had a marefriend that he loved greatly and I knew that he was going to ask Lightheart to marry him the next time he was on vacation.” Blast Shield glared at Shining Armor as his breathing slowed to a calmer pace. “Now unless you intend to arrest me, I’d like to take my leave.”

Shining Armor motioned to the door, signaling for Blast Shield to depart. The moment the door closed behind Blast Shield, Shining Armor released a sigh and stood up, preparing to leave as well. I looked around the room and found that everyone had the same unsure and surprised look, save for Princess Celestia, she seemed to be pondering the whole situation and didn’t really display a particular emotion. Shining Armor entered the observation room and was instantly met with our stares.

“What do you think?” Princess Celestia asked simply.

“He seems sincere, but so can any good actor. I think we need to investigate further before we make a move against him.”

“Agreed. But I want you to give him two weeks of paid leave while you investigate; if he did have something to do with this then he’ll likely try to cover up any tracks he may have left behind.”

“I’ll have him off castle grounds by noon tomorrow and I’ve already ordered background checks on everypony in the castle.”

“Then I suppose we’ve done all we can at this point. I’ll use the tracking spell to find out where Cyclone Shade is and where he’s headed, then I’ll have a platoon of our best guards after him. I can only hope that no more get hurt while Cyclone Shade’s in Equestria,” Princess Celestia concluded. Shining Armor nodded as he and Princess Cadance left. Princess Celestia then turned to us. “I don’t know what other plans, if any, Cyclone Shade has while he’s here, but I want all of you to keep an eye out. I don’t think I need to tell you how dangerous he is.”

“What should we do if we see him?” asked Twilight, worry clear in her eyes.

“Stay away from him and alert the nearest guards. For now that’s all that you can do.” Fluttershy spoke next.

“What if he tries to hurt somepony?” Princess Celestia paused.

“Do your best to prevent anypony’s death but do not try to fight him. That isn’t a risk that you should take.”

“What about Blast Shield? What happens to him?” I asked.

“Exactly what Shining Armor and I agreed, he’ll be given leave while we investigate. If he helped Cyclone Shade escape he will pay for it. If something important involving Cyclone Shade or Blast Shield comes up I’ll try to notify all of you as soon as I can.” Princess Celestia and the accompanying guard left, leaving us in a somewhat awkward silence.

“You said that your train for Ponyville leaves tomorrow, right?” I asked.

“A little after noon, yes.”

“Well, we’ve got a lot of time to kill before then, so how do you want to pass it?”

“OH! OH! We could tell you about ourselves!” Pinkie hyperly suggested. “You know what we’re like but you don’t really know us!”

“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me,” Fluttershy stated.

“Sounds good to me.” Pinkie quickly exited the room with Fluttershy behind her. When I began to approach the door, Twilight got in the way.

“Are you going to be okay?” She held an empathetic expression.

“I hope so,” was all I said. She remained concerned but stepped aside. Once we were in the hallway I saw Pinkie had already gone down it some while going on about some kind of “changelings are decent ponies” party in Ponyville. There was plenty weighing me down, but I had quite a bit to look forward to. I just hoped that there would be enough in Ponyville to keep me from being too depressed.

Author's Notes:

Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wqn8PgyZwE&list=PLOdow99hviDRH5LZrjmuOwUVMSgHjdBCD&index=15

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