A Changeling Takes the Midnight Train

View Online

The walls of the Central Spire were much more smooth than the rest of the Hive. It also had instances of masonry and carpentry with ceramic tiles on the floor and great wooden archways and doors. There were also slabs of stones that had been attached to the walls with green slime. Each slab depicted historic happenings and important decrees by the changeling monarchs. The slabs were carved by the Hive's archivists at the end of their life as their collective wisdom and memories helped them preserve the Hive's history. The further down the hall one went the older the slabs became and the more mythological events they depicted.

Princess Lampyridae had taken 1077 there for no real discernible reason. Most likely it was a ploy to annoy the Queen or the prime minister. The princess did have a bad habit of sneaking away from her lessons. And he had a bad habit of going along with it.

"Have you ever seen the corridor of echoes before?" she looked over her shoulder and asked him.

Princess Lampyridae had a pink mane and tail which were both large and puffy. Her eyes bore the same pink color and she held pink patches all over her body where many other changelings were blue or green. Her form was sleek and her legs held no holes. She was given a diet of pure undiluted love, one of the few in the Hive that was afforded that luxury. 1077's own stomach cramped up at the thought of such a feast, but his face remained neutral. Warriors were not meant to showcase such weakness, at least not fully grown Warriors. He had earned his armor and then his position as Lampyridae's protector. He was above hunger.

"I have not been given the pleasure of visiting before, your highness. Duties have called me elsewhere in the Hive and the Prowl."

The Prowl. An unofficial name that was given to the stretch of land which surrounded and protected the Hive. It was their hunting ground, the borders of their realm, and part of the Queen's de jure domain. It was a dead piece of earth haunted by powerful dust storms that were meant to keep away a large number of enemies, as they'd be unable to forage or hunt for any supplies. Water was the only thing the Prowl offered, and even that tasted like ash. Purified water was a luxury commodity for the royal family. And now him, he supposed.

The princess eyed him for a second with a smile. "Well, would you like to see the Seamstress' needle?"

1077 balked at her for a second before he regained his composure and calmed his breathing. His heartbeat was erratic as her words bounced around his skull. "With all due respect, your highness, I am but a humble protector and I am not legally allowed to enter that chamber without the express permission of the Queen. Princess Lampyridae, you should know I can not accept any such thing—"

"Firefly."

"I— What?" he stopped in the middle of his speech on the unseemly nature of a Warrior seeing such a valuable artifact with much confusion.

Lampyridae grinned at him. "I want you to call me Firefly."

"The queen has expressly forbidden me from doing so when she assigned me as your protector," 1077 said.

"And I am ordering you to call me that. You are supposed to obey me after all."

She had him there. He shuffled on his hooves for a moment and then nodded with a sigh. "As you wish Princess Firefly."

"Just skip the titles! Firefly is fine!" she said with a laugh and continued down the corridor.

He hurried after her. "It would be unseemly."

"What is unseemly is disobeying your princess, is it not? I could legally have you call me mistress swallows-a-lot and you couldn't refuse it."

"Princess!"

She grinned at him and bumped her flank into his side. "Ease up a little, mother isn't here to punish you. And I wouldn't tattle on you. I like you too much."

1077 sighed at her and gave her a small smile. "You are going to make me turn grey, Firefly."

"Oh, I hope not. I like your shiny chitin and I'd rather it didn't age before it could be dressed up in something better than that boring old armor. Like, have you seen some of the outfits the Infiltrators brought back from Canterlot? Such magnificent dresses and suits that they make even mother look like a pauper in comparison."

As they reached the end of the corridor they stood before a large stone gate that had the Seamstress carved into its surface. A female creature that looked akin to a changeling, but with four spider legs sprouting from her back and a neck that was way longer than that of any changeling. He gulped at the sight and took a step back. There was a hum in the air. A green glow came from beneath the door. The air felt stale and old.

"I can not do this, princess..." 1077 said in a hoarse whisper.

She just rolled her eyes at him and pushed open the door. "Yes you can, come on."

As they entered the chamber he was struck by the beauty of the object in the middle of the room. It hung in the middle of the air, a large shard of green crystal that glowed so brightly it seemed akin to a flare. It was no wider than a coin and no longer than a knife's blade. The Seamstress' needle. The object had woven space and time together as one and created the very tapestry of fate.

1077 fell to his haunches, bowed his head, and prayed. He prayed in gratitude for the sight, for the Seamstress' sacrifice, and for his luck in life. He thanked her for allowing him to be chosen as Lampyridae's protector, and for the many strengths which had earned him that position.

The princess sat down next to him and marveled at the needle alongside him. "Mother showed it to me when I was a nymph. She said only those that are worthy may see it. But it is just so beautiful that I felt like I had to share it with you."

He looked up at her with awe. "Princess, I have not even earned my name, much less the right to see the Seamstress' needle."

She smiled at him and leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Then earn this, and we can return to see it again."

Her closeness made his throat grow tight. His heart beat faster and faster and he swallowed. Her heat streamed through the armor and through his chitin. In the light of the needle, of the tool of creation, he leaned his head against hers and smiled. He may not have earned his name. He may not have been worthy of the sight before him. He did not deserve the princess' affection. But at that moment, next to Princess Lampyridae in the holy light of the needle, he was happy.

The train ride was smooth, silent even. The hills, fields, and windmills passed them by at lightning speed and the moon bathed the landscape in its soft glow. Mute was half-asleep, yet his blue eyes bounced from object to object. He traced the outline of the fields and imagined a changeling Infiltrator that ran alongside it. It lessened the thickness at the back of his throat and distracted him from the dizziness in his head.

Though the changeling had a hard time as his focus was constantly disrupted by the waves of suspicion and discomfort that rolled off Private Holy Vow that sat opposite him. Private Vow had watched Mute since the lieutenant gave him the order to do so and he stared at the changeling with a frown. He shuffled whenever Mute glanced at him and clutched the spear in his hoof even harder as Mute mimicked his movements. If Holy breathed, Mute's chest rose at the same pace. When the stallion moved, Mute flowed into the movement so it became akin to a mirror. When Holy scowled at him, Mute just scowled right back with a glint in his eyes.

"Stop that," the Private muttered.

Mute's mimicry seemed to disturb the stallion, as the changeling movements were like water. Mute couldn't suppress a grin as he continued to mirror Holy's every move. Finally, the guard stallion huffed and pressed a button, which made Mute yelp as an electrifying pain coursed through his skull and a dull blue glow rose from his horn. The changeling clutched the metal device around his horn with a whine and glared at the Private.

Mute hated the inhibitor ring.

Holy just shook his head at the changeling and tapped the butt of his spear against the floor as the minutes passed. The Private suppressed a yawn and closed his eyes for a second and slumped against the seat. Mute tilted his head at the pegasus stallion and slowly reached for the remote in Holy's hoof, only for the Private to jolt awake and look around in a panic. Mute quickly pulled back and just gave him a vacant stare. The pony grumbled in response and looked around the cart.

The rest of the guards all slept on seats not far away from Mute and Holy Vow. The cart had been emptied of all other passengers for their safety and only the silent snores of one of the guards filled the cart. Zarathon was in Mute's shirt pocket and he had not uttered a single word since they boarded the train. Perhaps the pebble thought it would benefit them if he did not speak, but Mute honestly just missed his voice, self-indulgent as it was. Mute pressed onto the hard round object in his shirt pocket and there was no response. Zarathon did not rest often, as he had no real body that needed rest, but Mute recognized the silence and the lack of glow from his pocket. His friend would not respond for many hours, not until he could cast magic again. Mute leaned back into his seat and continued to observe Holy vow.

The pegasus stallion eventually sighed and pulled out a deck of cards from his armor with his right wing. He placed them onto the table in front of him and began to lay them out.

Mute tilted his head at the display and leaned in for a closer look.

"Ey! No touching! These things cost me a foreleg to get my hooves on!" the Private said.

Mute leaned back and looked over the cards. They looked old, yet well preserved, and on the back, they each had a red sun
which was drawn with sharp edges and points. For all intents and purposes, they were just a fancy deck of cards, and so Mute pondered on why the pony was so defensive over them. The changeling watched as Holy laid out the cards for a round of solitaire and he promptly laid his chin against the table and sighed in boredom. He lightly swatted at one of the cards with his hoof until Holy grunted in annoyance.

"Hey! What did I say about touching the cards?!" Holy grumbled and glared at the changeling.

Mute pointed to the cards, then to himself and the Private.

"You want to play?" Holy asked and halted his game of solitaire.

Mute nodded.

"...Fine. Have you ever played turn-10? It is easy to learn if you haven't," Holy said and pulled back the cards.

Mute shook his head and listened carefully as Holy went over the rules. As they started to play—and Mute quickly found that his luck with cards sucked—Holy's discomfort soon gave way to curiosity.

"So... What it is you and the rock do? Like, you two just showed up one day, built a house, and then you demand lordship of Ponyville and the Everfree. That is just strange. And then there is the big scary monster that just showed up followed by you setting the whole town on fire! Like, I am just trying to wrap my mind around it," Holy said.

Mute tilted his head at the stallion and pondered on the question. Just how much could he reveal to the Private? Zarathon was never happy when secrets were revealed, but to establish trust there needed to be some well-laid foundations. Even if stallions that bore Celestia's mark were the enemy, or at least they once were—Zarathon had not been clear on the matter—there could now be a mutually beneficial relationship. Mute played a Queen and then he mimicked the act of writing.

The Private shook his head. "We saw what you did back in town. You carved those runes into the dirt and the entire town caught fire. I won't let you get your hooves on any writing supplies or any supplies for that matter."

Mute frowned and pointed to his horn.

"Aye, your horn is busted, which is why I was even more impressed you could still cast all that magic back in town. My sister is a unicorn and she can't cast magic for a week if she hits her horn hard enough against a wall. You have cracks and stuff all over yours and sparks still fly everywhere. And yes, I do know you also have a magic inhibitor ring on your horn. But there are magicks that don't need a horn to be cast, and I cannot let you do that."

Mute slammed his head into the table with frustration and sent some of the cards up into the air. Holy hurriedly grabbed them with his wing and glared at the changeling. "I understand, it is frustrating to go through the process, but leave my cards out of it."

Mute glowered at the stallion and huffed. He wished he was back home in the grand palace. He could have slept on his soft bed and known he was safe thanks to the multitude of wards that Zarathon had set up around the perimeter of the grand palace. No shade could touch him or poison his mind inside the walls of that building. Or at least so he hoped. He thought back to the shade in Ponyville, how it had so easily slipped into the heart of town before Zarathon even felt its presence. Perhaps the wards were already broken. Perhaps Zarathon trusted a bit too much in his intuition when it came to the whereabouts of shades. Or maybe something had simply changed and the shades had grown a tolerance to the first fire. Though, such thoughts made Mute shudder. He thought back to the southern jungles and the shadows that moved when you did not look at them.

Holy Vow noticed his wayward stare and waved a hoof in front of Mute's face. "You alright?"

Mute swallowed thickly and nodded. He sat up and rolled his neck before his eyes fell on Canterlot in the distance. The lights from the city made his eyes widen and he pressed his face against the glass in awe. He had seen the city before, but never in the middle of the night, and never with such a glow.

"Heh, yeah I looked just like that when I saw it for the first time as well. The lights, the beauty, and the sense of... power, I think. It made my legs turn to jelly, and it didn't go much better when I saw the princess for the first time. Like the fool I was, I almost started to cry as she inspected us recruits. She just radiated this sense of authority I had not seen anywhere else. She looked much more serious than I had ever seen her for a second, then she smiled and welcomed us into the guard. And suddenly the city became more than just lights, it became a purpose I suppose," Holy said with a small smile.

Mute looked at him with a curious look. There were no longer any feelings of discomfort or hint of fear, the stallion seemed to be at ease around the changeling. Holy noted his questioning look and smiled at him.

"You don't seem evil or like some sort of rabid animal. I think you'll do fine with the princess as long as you and your rock friend stay respectful and tell her everything she wants to know. Do that and you'll be given back your writing stuff."

Mute nodded his head in thanks to the stallion's trust and he observed the city in the distance. Canterlot awaited, and within its pristine walls a creature as old as Equestria itself. Mute breathed in a calming breath and then slowly breathed out. He would need to convince a living goddess about the legitimacy of Zarathon's claim. It would surely not end well, but as he pressed his leg against the bulge in his shirt pocket he felt a wave of determination and he stared toward the castle in the city. He was a lord of cinder now, and it was time to prove his diplomatic proficiency. Zarathon would be very proud of him.

Somewhere in the garden of Canterlot castle, a strange statue, frozen in a funny pose with its face in terror, scoffed in amusement at his thoughts.

A Changeling Meets with Two Princesses

View Online

Canterlot Castle was a magnificent structure. It rose high above the rest of the pristine marble city with its formidable walls. The parapets had sharp crenelations which ran alongside the curtain walls and the allure was patrolled by a squad of at least five guards every few minutes. The gatehouse was manned by guard stallions twice Mute's size dressed in heavy armor and with all manners of weaponry in their hooves. Spears, glaives, pikes, maces, and crossbows were just some of the weapons he spotted. The unicorns were the ones with longsword attached to their sides and one particular large stallion had a great sword which he rested a hoof on. They were the guardians of the castle gate, and they vetted anyone that dared approach the castle. Not that many ponies seemed afraid of them. On the contrary, the locals seemed at ease with the well-armed stallions around to defend them.

They had not bothered to vet Mute. They had simply looked him over, been handed a letter from the lieutenant which had ordered Mute to meet with the princess, and then let him through. Private Holy Vow had to stay outside the walls, as did the rest of his squad. Only the lieutenant followed Mute through the gate and into the bailey, and well inside he immediately handed Mute over to two unicorn mares dressed in black and orange outfits with glaives at the ready. He did not say farewell or even acknowledge Mute's existence. It seemed like the older stallion simply did not like the changeling, and Mute could understand him. Ponyville had caught on fire due to Zarathon's magic, but there had been no other way to purge the greater shade.

Mute remembered for a second how he had once stood in a jungle before a very similar creature, one that had him in an iron grip and refused to let go. He had screamed, screamed so much his voice died down into rusty coughs. The fear that had gripped him still made his legs stiff, his throat dry up, and his ears press so hard against his head that they hurt.

"Follow us."

One of the mares broke Mute out of his memories and he nodded at her. He had no quarrel with the ponies and wished not to anger them. Or well, he did have a grudge at that pair of twins which had fooled him out of his first coins. They had said a bath in a tub of... mayonnaise they'd called it. Mayonnaise which was blessed by a Blezabin—a demon that had ascended to goodness and become a pony—which was supposed to cure his wounds.

It had left him smelling like a particularly foul sandwich and Zarathon had chewed him out for his foolishness.

Mute once again shook his head to break out of his memories and he followed the two mares through the bailey. They eventually reached a small staircase and followed it upwards until they reached an elevated section of the castle that overlooked the city. A nice garden opened up before them filled with trees, flowers, and stone statues that dotted the landscape. But they quickly left that section of the castle and entered through a pair of large doors into an empty ballroom. They walked past maids which cleaned the large open space and walked through several smaller corridors and larger halls.

Mute felt dizzy with the sharp turns and multiple rooms they simply walked past or through to get to their destination. It seemed like the two mares took the quickest path they knew, yet the walk took several minutes.

Mute could only admire the wealth which was on display along the way. Old urns and vases created centuries before were simply placed on wooden tables in the halls with equally beautiful flowers in them. Huge tapestries hung from the walls which depicted a golden sun and a crescent silver moon. And sometimes a third banner was seen which depicted a heart made from blue crystal. Yet it was the glass cabinets that made Mute truly see the wealth that the sun goddess held. Golden necklaces, enchanted weapons, and works of art were preserved through the ages so that their beauty would never be lost. Mute had seen a fair share of wealth on the western and eastern coast, not to mention the hidden treasures of the Hive's Central Spire, but never something akin to this.

One of the mares noticed that he had stopped to gaze at the cabinets and she slammed her polearm into the floor to get his attention. Mute jumped and hurried after her. She just gave him a frown and continued to lead him on until they finally reached their destination, a pair of pristine white doors that bore the emblem of the goddess' golden sun.

"Princess Celestia waits inside, and so does Princess Luna. They expect a detailed report of what occurred in Ponyville and they expect full compliance. The princesses take the security of Equestria very seriously, but doubly so does the security of the Canterlot and Everfree region. You will answer their questions, you will address them as 'your highness' or 'your majesty' at all times and you will not try to harm them or deceive them in any way. Failure to adhere to these guidelines and rules will result in severe punishment, such as prison time. Do you understand?" one of the mares said and positioned herself next to the door.

Mute opened his mouth and pointed to his tongue. He then mimicked writing on a piece of parchment.

The other mare steeled her gaze at him. "She wasn't addressing you."

Mute felt Zarathon flare to life in his shirt pocket and he took out the pebble. He held up his Lord for the two mares and he felt Zarathon's flames twist and turn, more so in contemplation than fear. Zarathon did not fear this meeting, at least not enough for Mute to feel it. But there was unease and a sense of uncertainty in the pebble.

"It is good we ordered that chocolate cake, my friend. It will surely aid our chances of not being banished to the moon," Zarathon said with a nervous chuckle.

Mute blinked. That was an option? Suddenly the pristine white doors felt very very large and very very cold.

"Zarathon of house Holtam, have you understood what is expected of you during this meeting?" the mare sneered.

Zarathon huffed and his fire flicked in annoyance. "Of course I do. This is not the first time I meet with rulers or important players in the great game. I have made deals with Discord and withstood the great Tirek, persuaded the demoness Yursa from invading the south, and spoken with the golden dragon of the west. I understand what awaits inside, or I am not a Lord."

The mare huffed right back. "That's the thing, 'honored' Zarathon, you are Lord of this land no longer."

The white doors swung open and Mute walked inside. What awaited them made him want to shrink and crawl along the floor. Two alicorns sat by a round table with a multitude of old tomes, letters, and parchments spread out across from it. There was also a smaller cart on wheels next to the table with a chocolate cake on it. A single piece had been cut out and eaten, the rest had been left.

"See, I told you she'd like it. She will be more receptive now," Zarathon whispered to him.

The sun goddess, tall as Chrysalis, watched them with a frown as they entered. Her multicolored mane flowed in the same ethereal wind as Zarathon's fire and her eyes seemed ablaze with magical power. The smaller darker alicorn watched them with badly hidden contempt. There were dark rings under her eyes and she angrily sipped on a cup with a black liquid inside. It seemed her already foul mood was not improved by their arrival.

"Zarathon," the sun goddess said it so matter-of-factly, not like when a greeting was dispensed. It was a statement, Mute realized, an assertion that Zarathon was indeed in the same room as the two alicorns.

The moon mistress said nothing. She eyed Mute with curiosity for a second before her eyes landed on the pebble with a hateful glare.

Mute gave them a grunt in greeting. He could do no more, and it took all his willpower to not squeak in fear. These creatures could kill him if they wanted to, and their glares certainly made it seem like they considered it.

"I apologize for my compatriot's lacking ability to express proper manners and salutations. I am afraid he lost the ability to speak due to a grievous injury and can only communicate through writing. If you want him to properly communicate with you procure ink, quill, and some paper. Actually do procure these items, my friend would like to be able to communicate again," Zarathon said.

The moon mistress shot up out of her seat and slammed her hooves onto the table. Mute jumped as he realized her hooves and lower legs were clad in adamantine armor, adamantine armor which surface was covered in glowing runes. Then she spoke, and her voice boomed through the room as if she had amplified it with magic. Mute placed one hoof behind the other and pressed his ears against his head.

"You dare make demands of us!? We should shatter what remains of you and scatter you across the winds you low-feeding, conniving—"

"Luna."

The moon mistress shot a glance at the larger alicorn. One of Celestia's white hooves was raised in an attempt to calm the younger princess. She nodded at the black throne on which Luna had previously been seated upon and with a mutter she slowly sat back down.

Then the sun goddess turned her gaze upon Mute, or rather the burning pebble in his hoof. "You are supposed to be dead."

It was a simple statement, yet it filled Mute with such indignant rage. Who were they to decide who lived or died? Zarathon had done nothing but help him and others ever since that night in the jungle, and they dared say he was supposed to be dead? Mute bared his fang at the two alicorns and hissed.

"Calm yourself, Mute. She is merely confused. As far as they know I lost in most graceful of combat and was destroyed by their elements and the traitor. Can you imagine it? Me, an honorable lord of cinder, dying to two immortals that had not even lived through their first century? The humiliation I'd suffered in the golden fields would have been soul-crushing. The pleb— I mean my subjects would have been in their full right to banish my name of the record if I had died in such combat. And my family as well. And those strange scribes in that weirdly shaped tower. But the matter of the fact is, I survived your petty attempt at my life, and I now would like my rightful lands returned to me."

The moon mistress ground her teeth as she listened to Zarathon speak. She leaned over the table and glared. "Those lands have not been yours in over a thousand years."

"Correct, which is why they must be returned immediately! Have you seen the state of the royal forest? There are shades that run around and corrupt the subjects with impunity! The commonfolk are in charge of the land, the wards have not been renewed for at least four centuries, the labor force has been disbanded, and do not get me started on the state of the local militia—"

The sun goddess slammed a singular golden clad hoof onto the table. "Enough. We called you here because of the recent events in Ponyville. This shade that attacked was able to corrupt an element bearer and it posed a great enough threat that it could have resulted in the loss of the entire town. You will explain what you did to summon them here, and how they may be defeated."

Mute had so many questions. Who was the traitor Zarathon had spoken of who had helped the goddesses defeat him? What wards, in particular, was Zarathon referring to? The ones around the grand palace still held. Why did the sun goddess assume that Zarathon had been the one to summon the shades? Did they not know what Zarathon's main purpose was? Had they forgotten the holy flame so easily? Mute could just stand there and swallow thickly as the giants continued their game.

"With all due respect, Celestia, Luna, I am a lord of cinder. I am the rightful owner and inheritor of the lands surrounding Ponyville and all of the Everfree. My position as lord of the area was not chosen at random and I was meant to destroy shades. The fact that they only attack now and not before my arrival only speaks of my skill in eradicating their kind. Such a blow I must have dealt them that they hid for over a thousand years. I am quite proud of that if I may say so myself," Zarathon said with a satisfied tone.

Luna shook her head. "Lord Crazst sealed away the shades after your defeat. I would say he did a much better job at keeping the peace in the Everfree than you ever did. That seal seemed to have held until you returned. And why would you not unseal them, as it would give us a reason not to destroy you."

Zarathon's flame shifted in a strange manner. Mute could feel waves of confusion roll off the pebble. Zarathon spoke with some hesitation. "How was such a seal constructed? It should not have been possible. I fought them for decades and no manner of spell or ward could permanently lock them away."

Luna smirked at that. "It seems your rival was a better spellcaster than you."

"No. No that is what is strange, he was not..." Zarathon mumbled in bewilderment.

The sun goddess was once again the one to bring back the conversation to the topic at hand. "We can not contact lord Crazst, no one has seen any of your kind since your destruction. So you will tell us how to defeat these shades and we may consider sparing you and only put you in a locked strongbox for the rest of the century."

Mute took a step back. He would not let these creatures hurt his friend, goddesses or not. He shook his head and drew a rune in the air. Fire followed his movements until a burning rune hung there in the middle of the air. It depicted a symbol that looked a bit like a shield with an 's' inside it.

"Mute, there is no need. They do not plan to kill us, we are still useful to them. Furthermore, I must request that you give back my land! It is far too important to let this matter be handled by beings not connected to the holy flame or the darkness. Mute and I can eradicate the shades and keep Ponyville safe, and other settlements of course. All I request is to be given back my titles and lands. I must immediately begin reforms, cultural and economic ones. I also need to reform the labor force."

Celestia gave the pebble a deadly glare. "You will never enslave another creature as long as I breathe."

Luna snarled at the mention of slavery and her eyes glowed with magic. "You dare state such things in front of us!?"

Zarathon muttered. "Slavery allowed the poor to earn a roof over their head, money in their pocket, and a greater social standing than a beggar or pauper. A slave of a well-off lord slept on a fine bed, could care for the lord's children, and be allowed freedoms that many others could only dream about. All he had to give up was his will a few hours a day. It was a contract, willingly signed by both parties."

"You call such an arrangement willing!? A creature being so poor they had no choice but to sell their free will to some arrogant lord that thinks himself a god!?" Luna shouted and threw herself at Zarathon and Mute.

Yet before she could reach them and swipe at them with her hooves she was grabbed by the sun goddess' magic and dragged back to her seat. Mute could feel his legs shaking in fear and he took in a deep breath to calm himself. Celestia just glared at Zarathon and shook her head. "This is why we deposed you."

"You helped a traitorous snake gain a title he had not earned and you undid years of progress to a previously prosperous kingdom. Do not be a hypocrite and claim I am the evil one here when your armies razed my factories and villages to the ground, killed all who fought for me without thought, and dismantled my House with brute force. You may invoke my 'crimes' to justify your war, but I can very easily invoke yours to prove you were no better," Zarathon sneered.

"You were a tyrant who enslaved a large portion of your people and who expanded your borders time and time again at the cost of your neighbors. Do you want to say we are the aggressors? You threatened our ponies, and so we acted before it was too late!" the moon mistress shouted so loudly that the room shook.

"Resources were needed to expand my economy and let my people grow. Furthermore, those resources were spent containing the threat of the shades. I do not believe you that Crazst was able to seal them away. My efforts must have kept them at bay, not the wards of that charlatan. I will ask that you reinstate me as a lord a final time, and after that, I am no longer asking."

Mute nodded defiantly at the two alicorns. Zarathon needed the authority to continue the fight against the shades.

Celestia finally seemed to notice Mute. Her eyes glanced over the changeling and then looked back to the pebble. "Did you enslave this one, too?"

Zarathon made a gaff, clearly offended by her words. "Mute is a very cherished companion! He is my friend and fellow lord! He is the one that cast the spell which saved your precious ponies, so if anything he deserves your respect! I expected some change since our last meeting but this is ridiculous. At least be a decent monarch and reward those that have served your people!"

Celestia frowned and looked over Mute. "Is what he says true? Were you the one to banish the shade and save our ponies from its control?"

Mute nodded. It was kind of true, after all, he had written down the runes and channeled Zarathon's magic through himself. Even if it was Zarathon that cast the actual spell.

The sun goddess leaned back into her chair in contemplation. "You said that your fire is the only thing that can destroy them. Is this true?"

Zarathon's fire flickered. "I have never lied about my magic or its purpose. I can not destroy them on my own I am afraid, not in this... reduced form. I need Mute's help to incinerate them."

Celestia hummed and Luna looked at her with a quirked brow. The moon mistress eyes suddenly widened. "No... You can not be serious, sister! He must be locked away or destroyed! He is far too dangerous to be allowed out there!"

"He is an asset against an enemy which we know scarcely little about. He has fought them before and it seems his companion cares for the lives of our subjects. Do not worry sister, I will not grant him a noble title or land, but I shall give his friend a role in the defense of Ponyville and greater Equestria. Mute, you are to watch Zarathon's actions and you are to be assigned to the guard barracks in Ponyville. You will have the rank of private with the special designation of shade hunter. You will report to us every week and you will use Zarathon's power to destroy the shades wherever they show up. The lives of our subjects takes paramount to all other things. Furthermore, as we can not ascertain the true threat that Zarathon poses to Equestria you will be given a warden. The instructions and orders from this warden should be regarded as my own. Should either of you fail to adhere to these rules and expectations you both shall be locked away in the castle dungeon, is that clear?"

Zarathon muttered about extortion and perversion of justice. Mute just took a deep breath and nodded. What other choice did he have? Especially when it was already his purpose to kill shades.

"Besides the warden, you will be watched by my very own student, both of you. She wants to know more about Zarathon's magic, and since she learned about changelings she wants to learn more about Mute. And let me make something very clear," Celestia leaned in close from over the table with a glare, "if either of you hurt her, I'll kill you both."

Zarathon huffed. "As you wish, 'your majesty'."

Mute could only swallow thickly and slowly nod at the alicorn of the sun.

Somewhere deep in the Everfree, way beyond civilization and settlements, there was a hole in the ground surrounded by ruined watchtowers and stone walls. It was not easy to spot from the air, and if one walked through the woods one could fall into it. Yet it was distinct in comparison to other sinkholes or artificial ditches. It seemed never-ending. It was so dark that light seemed to be drawn to it. Yet there was a clear hint of something inside. Maybe stars? No, the specks of light were not distant stars, they were eyes. Eyes that watched the world above, eyes that waited for nightfall before they could hunt and move their stiff limbs. At the very depths of the hole, if there was an end to such a place, there was a solid black mass with one large red eye which stared up at the sky. It twisted and turned in a revolting manner, and if one looked closely it looked like the eye expressed mirth or amusement.

"So Li'tagnofh failed in capturing the ember. I should have expected such, he was weak, foolish, and acted without thought. It was not expected to be a success, yet such failure is an affront to our kind."

The voice was dark, bitter, and filled with spite. The smaller black masses twisted and bent at the beast's words. They seemed to shy away with fear at the venomous words spoken by the eye, but they quickly returned to stare upwards as it soon sank back into its mirth.

"I wonder what he thinks... If he understands what has happened. Has he even seen the western mountains? Has he discovered what was done? No. No, if he had he'd already been here, or truly dead. We can not reveal our cards too early. No, we wait, as we have done for centuries. Let no other try to claim the ember, only feed on the weak and lie in wait for now. The time is almost upon us. We can soon be free once again. I hope you remember me well, Zarathon, for I remember you, and I am hungry," the eye hissed.

The dark shapes in the endless hole shrieked in triumph and rolled around the eye like a storm. And the eye laughed, and it laughed, and it laughed as its spawn poured out from the hole and into the woods.

A Changeling and a Princess Travels through the Prowl

View Online

A great dust storm rolled over the Prowl with the howling wind. It tugged on the secretion barricades that covered the cave entrance and the outside seemed to vanish in the thick wall of dust. The wind picked up its ferocity and something hit the barricades, likely a branch or a trunk of a tree that had been picked up by the storm. 1077 wondered if the Hive had managed to lock all the storm-doors before the dust had hit them. His thoughts lingered on his comrades and a yawn escaped his mouth. Gnat and Louse had nice and fresh pods they could sleep in, he would have to find a relatively comfortable rock.

1077 was at least not alone with his pain since he heard many grumbles from the Infiltrators and Warriors that traveled with them for their final exams in disguises and love extraction. The smaller and more slender changeling Infiltrators tried to curl into crevices in the cave while the more bulky changeling Warriors laid themselves to rest where they stood guard. The changeling Scouts had been sent out into the storm to train in ambush tactics and Prowl survival. The cave was quiet without the constant buzzing of the Scouts' rapid and impatient movements and as most changelings slept a serene calm fell over him. Only a few of the drones worked tirelessly to keep the storm-door secure but they tried their best to not disturb their sleeping brethren.

That was when light steps echoed over the cave. Each hoof was placed slowly and tactically to avoid as much noise as possible. 1077 yawned and looked over his shoulder only to snort in amusement and shake his head. He watched as Princess Lampyridae made her way across the room until she stood by his side and watched the shaking green storm-door.

"Seamstress forgive my words, but the Prowl is damn ugly today," Lampyridae mumbled and sat down beside him.

1077 gave a sideways glance at the princess before he continued to watch the entrance. "You should return to your pod, Firefly. The others get antsy when you approach the storm-door."

"They are asleep if you hadn't noticed, and you should be too. Furthermore, I know enough wards to keep a bug-bear at bay, a storm wouldn't hurt me," she said and stretched. "And storm can't go on forever. I give it two more hours, or I decree that I shall die of boredom."

1077 looked out at the howling storm which showed no sign of waning and he shook his head. "I don't sleep while on watch duty. And I believe it will last for a lot longer than two hours, princess. But I can at least rescue you from boredom."

Lampyridae's eyes lit up at the suggestion and she leaned in close. "And what do you suggest?~"

"Likely nothing close to whatever perverse imagery your mind has conjured up."

"Hey, I am not perverse!—"

He held up a hoof to silence her and he pointed to the sleeping changelings. The princess reluctantly backed down and 1077 gave her a small smile. "I do have some stories you might like. From when I was in training with my brood-brothers."

The pink-maned changeling smiled in excitement. "Alright, I'll bite. I want to know what is the stupidest thing you did during your training."

He flushed for a second and coughed to hide his embarrassment. "I... I accidentally disturbed the nest of an empress spider..."

"You what!?" Lampyridae whispered.

Another changeling Warrior that sat up on guard duty piqued up at their conversation. He grinned at the two of them. "1077, you do mean when you managed to—"

"Yes."

"And we were forced to—"

1077 cleared his throat. "Do not spoil the surprise, Dragonfly, the princess herself asked to hear the story."

Dragonfly let out a quick 'ah' and bowed his head in respect before he returned to keep watch over the camp.

Lampyridae looked at 1077 over with a sad frown. "You should have a name by now."

"I'll get one when I have earned one, Firefly. Now, about my story," he replied and sat down.

The princess leaned in close with a small smile and looked at him expectantly.

"I had just passed my fourteenth cycle when I was sent out into the Prowl with the rest of the Warrior brood. My brood-brothers, Gnat and Louse, or 1054 and 1071 as they were called at the time, suggested we do some exploring of the forest perimeter when we got to Fort Cicada. I was apprehensive at first but I was convinced it would be good survival training and that we might even run into some pony mares if we ventured deep enough," 1077 said.

Lampyridae gave him a small grin. "And what exactly were three broodlings gonna do to some helpless pony mares?"

"Extract their love. It was purely for the sake of the Hive."

"Sure," she deadpanned.

1077 cleared his throat. "Anyway as I was saying we ventured out into the woods, feigning that we were gonna check up on the wards meant to keep away wildlife from the fort. In reality, we completely abandoned our duties to have fun instead. I still suspect our commander knew that we were up to no good, but either he didn't care enough to stop us or he simply thought we couldn't get into any real trouble. After all, Fort Cicada is in one of the more peaceful regions of the forest."

Lampyridae nodded. "I visited once maybe three cycles ago? I remember it as being in a lush part of the woods with no real dangerous beasts."

"Well, you would be wrong. As we explored I decided to venture off on my own, mostly because I wanted to find a nice quiet place and sleep. I still wasn't used to my new chitin or how much more taxing it was to cast the new combat magic. I often dozed off in the middle of a march or fell asleep during guard duty. Not unheard of, but annoying to my superiors and the Praetorians that accompanied us. Praetorian Scourge was assigned to supervise my brood and he once chewed me out for falling asleep during my guard duty. The cranky old bug had me run thirty laps around the fort grounds and then deprived me of love for two days. I still remember how he glared at me..." he said with a shudder.

"Yeah, cranky old Scourge... I miss him. He was fun in his own way. Always had a snide comment ready whenever my mother approached. I swear he feared nothing. I bet you he wouldn't have thought twice about insulting the Seamstress if he found himself in her presence," Lampyridae grinned.

1077 smiled. "Yeah, good old Scourge. I used to resent him until the day I went exploring with Gnat and Louse. Speaking of which... After I parted ways with them I searched for a place where I could hide, maybe build a quick bed. And I did find such a place, a beautiful cave that beckoned me. Like I was possessed I flew into its inviting maw without a care in the world. I was a fool. You see, Firefly, there is a reason we have broods specialized in different things. As a Warrior, I am meant to act as a soldier and guard the royal family. Infiltrators are meant to be able to perfectly mimic the movements of any creature and quickly adapt to their surroundings. Praetorians are meant to lead our armies and act as the shields of the queen. Scouts are meant to collect all relevant information about an area without making a sound or leaving a mark. So tell me, Firefly, why do you think it might be a bad idea for a Warrior to go explore as I did?"

She hummed and looked him over for a second. "You didn't have threat assessments when it came to places?"

He shook his head. "Well, that is not entirely true. I did have some semblance of safe and unsafe, but it was rudimentary in comparison to my extensive education in the martial. You see, a scout would have given the cave one glance and known to keep away and mark it as a danger on the map. A scout would have known the cave was inhabited. I just waltzed in like an idiot with the quest to find sleep."

"And instead you found an empress spider."

"Oh, I sure did. I walked all the way into the main chamber of the cave, did not see a single sign of it being a nest, and almost—forgive my crude words—pissed myself when I saw it: Three times as large as the queen with a giant white line on its back, six mandibles that ended in sharp spikes, hairy legs which moved so quickly I could barely register them, and blue eyes that glowed in the dark. I screamed and ran. And as I left the cave the empress spider chased me. I just so happened to run into Gnat and Louse on the way and we all proceeded to run, hollering and screeching like banshees as the empress spider chased us," 1077 said and slid a hoof down his face.

"What about the wards? Or your spells?" the princess asked.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "We were young and stupid, but not that stupid. No one was gonna attack an empress spider! The Seamstress herself sired them. And the wards were completely ineffective against it. We passed the stone inscribed with the warding runes and the empress spider toppled it as it chased after us. It did not even flinch! So there we are, running and soon flying away from a very hungry empress spider while we scream our heads off. As we reach Fort Cicada the guards at the gate, also of our brood cycle, just stand around like particularly surprised trees. They don't immediately try to lock the gate or fly into action to save us, they just scream and run inside.

"We fly over the wall and the empress spider crashes through the gate. There is absolute chaos. The Praetorians tried to form a formation to repulse the spider but they are literally sent flying by a swipe of its legs. The Warriors are running around absolutely terrified, the Scouts have already fled, and the damn Infiltrators transform into barrels and tools to hide from the spider, basically leaving us to be eaten. And to top it all off the spider crashes into the latrines as it tried to eat a fellow brooding."

Lampyridae couldn't help but laugh at the imagery. "And what happened next?"

"Good old Scourge happened. He marches out of his quarters, roars in rage at the pandemonium that's happening in the camp, and grabs a bo-staff. The old Praetorian begins whacking away at the spider's legs and slowly but surely he forces it out of the force. He even uses a light-blast spell for good measure to disorient the beast and then he casts a shield spell that envelops the entire fort. The shield is in place until the spider disappears into the forest and a scout confirms it has returned to its cave. Eventually, all the chaos dies down, the Infiltrators are chewed out for cowardice by their superiors, the Praetorians are tasked with setting up more powerful wards, the scouts do not get new love rations for three days, and finally, there was me and my brood-brothers. Scourge gave me the biggest dressing down I'd had in my entire life, I swear I showered in his spit as he yelled at me. He said I had to be the most stupid, selfish, foolish, and tactically braindead changeling he'd ever met. I swear he wanted to kill me. Luckily the old bug was somewhat lenient as I got to keep my life, but I had to repair and take care of the latrines for the rest of my stay in Fort Cicada."

Lampyridae had rolled over laughing as he told his tale and she wiped tears from her eyes. "And despite that, you liked old Scourge?"

"He saved my life, and it was he who recommended that I'd be trained for a bodyguard position three cycles later. He was a strict and cranky superior, but he encouraged those under him to pursue valuable roles in the Hive. I dedicated myself to being the best in my brood after the spider incident and he took notice. He was many things, but not unjust," 1077 said with a smile.

1077 continued to tell Lampyridae some stories from his time as a broodling as the storm raged on. As the hours passed the two of them sat closer and closer until Lampyridae leaned her head on his shoulder. The Scouts did eventually return, which prompted them to temporarily separate, but once sleep reigned over the cave once more 1077 continued.

As the storm eventually lost its strength and the storm-door stopped shaking Lampyridae got up to stretch. She looked out at the dusty plains of the Prowl through the green crystal of the storm-door and she seemed to sink deep in thought. "Do you think I will pass the exam? I worry I'll fail."

1077 shrugged and noticed that the other changelings slowly woke from their rest. "Infiltrators that are your age extract love all the time. I mean, even I managed to do it during my exam. And even if you should fail you wouldn't be the first. We all blunder and fail in the beginning. Though I believe you'll find it easy to extract love. Just follow your instincts. Emotions ebb and flow from ponies and they're easy to grasp and siphon."

"Thank you," Lampyridae said with a smile.

The princess looked around them, waited for the other changelings to look the other way, and she then leaned in to kiss 1077's cheek. He stared wide-eyed in surprise and he gave the princess a bewildered look.

"Firefly..."

She pressed a hoof to her lips and shushed him. "There's scarce few moments of happiness in the prowl or Hive. Let's enjoy one for a while, together."

And he couldn't help but smile at her words.

Author's Notes:

This story is indeed not dead. I am working on this story and King of Cosea simultaneously and I will make a blogpost eventually about my plans for both. You won't see any updates for King of Cosea in a while though.

Some things about the chapter: Originally this was intended as a short flashback but it was soon expanded and since I am trying not to go over 3k words in a chapter I could not add the modern-day stuff. Furthermore, I decided on a "name" for Mute which I have incorporated into the flashback back in chapter 1. Why 1077? I am not really sure. But I needed something to call him before he earns his name since using "he" and "him" all the time seemed monotonous. I also expanded a bit on the changeling lore while giving you some fun images of Mute running away from a very angry spider. I hope you liked the chapter and have a good day!

A Changeling And a Pebble Holds a Lesson on Shades

View Online

"Mute, it is paramount to our continued survival that we do not reveal the full extent of our wards, spells, or the vulnerabilities of the shades to our captors. We tell those bottom-feeders enough so they can fight off lesser shades but not so much we'll become superfluous. Do you understand?"

Mute nodded at Zarathon's words and mimicked a ziplock over his lips.

"Now I shall do the talking—"

Mute gave the pebble an unamused look.

"Oh come now, Mute, you know what I mean. I will present the information to the Celestial soldiers and you will handle the diagrams. You will also show them one of the incantations. I suggest the blitz-flare spell since the non-casters would be able to use it as well," Zarathon said. "Also because it would be very funny if they accidentally cast that one on themselves."

The two of them were seated in the lounge area of the grand palace. Mute sat leaned over the mahogany table and he had scribbled down many diagrams of runes and layline circles. He labeled each paper with a number and a word such as: '1. Repelling' or '7. Incapacitating'. He also had several calculations under each rune and line with esoteric symbols as well as numbers.

"That is quite the handiwork if I say so myself. Not a single misplaced leyline or rune. Even the amount of arcana required has been calculated and distributed between the different parts of the wards. I am impressed, my friend."

Mute gave the pebble a grin and twirled his charcoal pen between his hooves. He then placed it in his mouth and shuffled together the papers.

"Now, I do believe that we have to address the yak in the room."

Mute tilted his head.

Zarathon's flame flickered in annoyance. "Our warden that is sleeping in the master bedroom, MY master bedroom. Do you have no sense of the amount of trouble this will bring? Imagine her defiling the palace plumbing with all that fur! Or how her presence will make experimentation impossible! I can not cast complex wards in these conditions! And the lady's snores are not becoming of a member of the nobility! There is clearly only one solution."

Mute gave the pebble a questioning look and he dragged his hoof over his neck in a slicing manner.

"What? No! We would never be able to hide the body! Obviously, you must seduce her instead!"

Mute let out a surprised grunt and accidentally swallowed the pencil. He gagged on it for a few seconds before he spat it out. The slime-covered pencil hit the table and bounced away. Mute took some deep breaths and wildly gestured in the air with an angry expression.

"It is the perfect plan! You seduce her with your ruggish martial charms and she'll give us information on the sun goddess! Trust me, my friend, mares love scars. After all, I would know," Zarathon said smugly.

Mute wasn't certain how the pebble could claim that scars attracted mares when for most of their journey all ponies had avoided them, mares most of all. Furthermore Mute was relatively certain that Zarathon did not have any scars, his pebble-self was in a pristine condition that glistened with an expensive polish through the ethereal flames. Said polish had been rubbed onto him by Henry the Third so that, in Zarathon's own words: 'All would be able to partake in his magnificent form.'

Mute just shook his head at the pebble and he grabbed a new pen. Mute wrote down his response on a piece of paper. 'I will not seduce any mare. I am not interested, and you KNOW that."

Zarathon gasped in realization. "Yes of course! Forgive my insensitivity, Mute. I sometimes forget."

Mute eyed the shrine in the corner of the lounge area. 'I wish I could.'

The two of them were interrupted by the sound of hoof steps descending down the stairs. Their warden rounded the corner from the hall and walked into the lounge area. She held a large brush in a white arcane grasp and she ran it through her pale mane. The mare was slim with sharp eyes—eyes that stared at Zarathon with a furrowed brow—and her mane almost reached the floor. Her ears did not stand up straight like most ponies but were rather curved to the sides and they flexed every few seconds. Her sharp snout twisted into a concerned frown as her gaze fell on the papers on the table.

Adamantine Will placed her brush on the mahogany table and she leaned over to inspect the papers with scrupulous eyes. Mute leaned back as the mare got close and her gaze immediately shifted to him with a glare. He froze. The mare glared at him and Mute couldn't look away, it was like she forced him to maintain the stare. He swallowed thickly and eyed Adamantine's horn and cutie mark, an adamantine shield encased in flames. The mare had been one of the two orange-clad guards that had escorted him to the princesses and being without her armor or weapon did not seem to mellow out her hostile personality.

Zarathon cleared his throat or at least made such a sound, and then he spoke. "Are there complications with the runes? Do you find the notes and calculations disturbing? Are you perhaps perplexed at my greatness for forging such powerful arcana?"

"The calculations are not correct. The leylines are not meant to curve or intersect, these runes do not exist, and the wards look akin to a child's drawing," Adamantine deadpanned.

That broke Mute's paralysis and he let out a low hiss at the mare. The calculations had been perfect!

"Perhaps not for the crude arcana cast by ponies or unicorns. This arcane is of the Qirans! It flows like water, each spell a different channel. It is my greatest feat to have expanded upon the arcane of my ancestors and created these intricate wards. By not selfishly keeping the ember to myself I managed to expand our domain of arcane knowledge a hundredfold! I made mages out of peasants overnight! I would like to claim that with my humble contributions my people must have flourished beyond anything this world had ever seen!" Zarathon exclaimed with a large burst of fire.

Adamantine gave a skeptical hum. "And where are they now?"

"I— Well that is..." Zarathon's flame flickered and grew smaller.

The mare huffed and gathered up the papers. "I have read about all the 'good' your contributions did, 'my lord'. It made warfare more destructive. It forced thousands into slavery. And it allowed you to subjugate free nations that had no wish to live under your rule."

"Resources were desperately needed! Iron, lumber, grain, manpower! If I had to enslave and colonize the entire continent then so be it! There was no choice, no other option. I either upheld my duty or there would be no continent."

"Clearly there was another option, since whatever threat your shades posed disappeared once you were vanquished. The princesses should have destroyed you back in Canterlot, but they still see you as useful. But know this, I will not hesitate to destroy you if I need to."

Mute glared at the mare with a hateful hiss. His sharp teeth glistened from the sunlight and he reared back to strike her. She knew nothing!

"Stand down, Mute. It is not worth it," Zarathon mumbled.

The changeling backed down with a huff and continued to glare at Adamantine.

Adamantine gave them a curt nod and then motioned to the door. "Prepare whatever things you'll need for the presentation. And don't make me wait."

Adamantine left them at the table. Zarathon's flame flickered back to its original size and he let out a small chuckle. "I believe my seduction scheme may have been a tad bit overzealous. I don't think that mare loves anything but the Equestrian flag."

Mute let out a snort in response.

The Ponyville barracks office had never seen such an odd sight. Placed on a pedestal, dressed in a white military jacket and cap, was a burning pebble. Next to the pebble stood a changeling, one with a large trinary horn structure and muscles which bulged the shirt he wore. The changeling held a piece of chalk in his mouth and he quickly drew complex symbols and runes onto the blackboard. There were six ponies in the office area that eyed the process warily. The lieutenant that had arrested Mute, Radiant Sword, stood by the podium and eyed the both of them scrupulously. Adamantine Will sat by the desk closets to the blackboard and podium. The other four, one of which was Holy Vow, spread out across the workspaces in the room.

"Listen up, you bottom-feeding, sun-loving, party-going, magots! This is Qiran runes and leylines! These are the tools which we use to weaken, capture, or kill shades!" Zarathon's voice carried to the other end of the room and it was filled with the gruff authority of an army general.

"What is a Qiran?" called a voice from the back of the room.

Mute peered his eyes and noticed the earth pony mare in the corner. She sat leaned on a chair and with idle hooves, she carved runic symbols over her desk with a knife. The mare had carved runes into her skin, some of which glowed as she breathed. The changeling cringed as he saw the runic scars and he nudged Zarathon.

The pebble's flames flickered with curiosity. "Qirans, the noblest and most powerful of all the sapient races, my kin, were the ones to forge these runes and map out these leylines. It was them who laid the foundation for how we kill shades. These spells are cast using ward circles drawn in the dirt, on parchment, or on oneself. Show them how one such spell is structured, Mute!"

The changeling hurriedly drew up a circle on the blackboard and he divided it into four parts akin to a pie chart. He filled each piece of the circle with a rune—one that looked like three jagged 'S's in a line, one which looked like a jagged half-sun, a third which looked akin to a rod, and the final rune was a hexagon with a line through it. Mute then drew curved lines over the divided circle which intersected and created even smaller rhombus spaces that encompassed the runes he'd drawn earlier. Each rune was placed in a rhombus but they did not mirror each other. Two touched the edge of the circle, one was near the middle of the ward, and another placed in the middle of the pie-chunk it was in.

"Normally one would draw the lines before the runes, but my compatriot is so skilled with the Qiran arcane he can do it in whatever order he wishes," Zarathon said. "As you can see, this artistic wonder is much different from a simplistic pony ward. It is not several circles with some frail runes interspersed between them! Each rhombus represents an arcane value that is either negative or positive. The four sections represent creation, destruction, light, and darkness. The old ward used the elemental system of fire, wind, earth, and water but that is irrelevant now. The ward Mute has drawn onto the blackboard is called: Flareblitz. This incantation will temporarily blind shades and force them to back away. It is useful against a group of shades or a singular individual."

"But what is a shade?" called Holy Vow from another part of the room. "Are they made from smoke or something?"

Zarathon huffed. "Smoke? Don't be ridiculous. The vile shades are made from the primordial darkness left over from the moment of creation, a gloomy reminder of the hollow void that once existed before life came to be."

"Oh, alright then," Holy said and sank into his seat.

"And what can they do? And how do you kill them?" asked a large earth pony stallion next to Holy.

Mute quickly drew a foggy blob on the blackboard and then drew a pony next to it. He then drew a tall sleek creature with a pony head and no discernable body except for an inky black mass with long tentacles. He pointed to the shade, then to the pony, and finally to the finished creation.

"You see, sun-lover, shades are parasites. They need hosts to grow in strength and to procreate. They are beings that possess living things and they try their best to entrap others with the same fate. Their strongest kin, the elder shades, can possess many beings at once, using them to grow in considerable power. This is what happened to the yellow pegasus. Though elder shades are rare to see, especially when the sun is still up. A lesser shade shuns any light and is only active during dusk and nighttime. A lesser shade can also only possess one creature at a time. To kill a lesser shade you only need to burn it with regular fire, to purge an elder shade you need my magic, which I can't give or teach you," Zarathon said.

The rune-covered earth pony mare looked up and nodded at Mute. "You taught him though, right?."

Mute gave the mare a half nod and then pointed to Zarathon's flames.

"I was able to teach him because I named him a Lord of Cinder. And there can only be two."

A young unicorn guard with a pink mane raised her hoof. She was seated behind Adamantine Will. "And how do you tell the difference between a lesser shade and an elder shade?"

Mute quickly drew a small blob and added a cat next to it. He then drew the same blob next to a pony and added them together to create a creature similar to the possessed Fluttershy, only smaller.

"As my fellow Lord has shown on the board: an ordinary shade is no larger than a house cat. An elder shade is as large as a pony. You can also tell by how a pony looks when possessed to determine what kind of shade has possessed them. If they still look like a pony but their irises are fully black and dark whisps come off their head they are possessed by an ordinary shade. If they take on a monstrous form of darkness then they are in the grip of an elder shade," Zarathon sighed as he said the last part. "And to remove an elder shade from its host is difficult, and it can end with the death of the host."

"What!? Are you saying you could have killed miss Fluttershy!" the large earth pony yelled.

Mute gave the pony a curt nod and wrote 'yes' on the blackboard.

"It was a possibility. She is incredibly lucky I am a teacher blessed with the patience and humility so that Mute was skilled enough with his wards. If I had been a lesser lord she would have been consumed by the darkness and become part of the shade's body."

"And you would have been fine with killing her!?" Holy Vow shot up from his seat and slammed his hooves onto the desk.

Zarathon's flames flickered. "Well yes of course. As long as the shade lived it would continue to drag ponies and all creatures alike into its body to grow its strength. They too would eventually have become its sustenance and with enough living beings consumed the shade would become immune to many of my spells. Our only option to save as many lives as possible was to purge the elder shade immediately. If that cost the life of one pegasus then so be it."

Mute added to what Zarathon said by writing on the blackboard. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, such is the law of the Hive, and such is the law in the war against the darkness.'

Holy Vow scoffed at Mute's and Zarathon's words and the larger earth pony stallion just shook his head at them. But it was adamantine Will that walked up to the burning pebble and leaned down to glare at him. "Neither of you will play fast and loose with the lives of Equestrian citizens, is that understood?"

"Like when the goddess of the sun and the goddess of the moon invaded my realm and 'played fast and loose with the lives of my people? Do not speak of things you do not understand, young one," Zarathon growled.

"You had to be stopped, it was a necessity."

Zarathon scoffed in amusement. "Was it? Then perhaps you can understand the necessity of the death of one pegasus for a town of ponies?"

Adamantine frowned at his words, but she offered no rebuttal.

Mute gave Adamantine a disapproving look and wrote on the blackboard again. 'Victory takes sacrifice. There can be no mistakes or distractions. Distractions are what lead to the deaths of innocents when every second counts.'

"Distractions such as compassion? Such as the need to save someone in need? Who gave you the right to determine if someone is necessary to sacrifice?" Adamantine growled.

Zarathon huffed. "What lady of the nobility and of the soldiery does not understand the need for sacrifice? We were able to save the pegasus, but if she'd died then that would have had to have been a necessary sacrifice to stop the shade. We did not determine if the pegasus was a possible sacrifice, the shade did that for us."

"And would you have mourned that loss?" Adamantine asked.

Mute nodded. 'She seemed nice, I think.'

"No," Zarathon said coldly. "I would not have mourned the loss of one pony life in exchange for hundreds."

The room seemed to grow colder. The ponies in the room glared at Zarathon and Mute. Adamantine leaned in even closer so her snout almost poked Zarathon. "What did you say?"

Mute shifted his gaze to Zarathon and shuffled on his hooves. He let out a grunt and the pebble's flames flickered in his direction. Zarathon let out a sigh.

"...I would have mourned her in the same way a commander mourns a singular soldier. It is a loss, but one must accept it when one goes to war."

Adamantine straightened her back. "We are not at war, lord Zarathon."

Mute looked away and swallowed thickly. Oh if only they knew...

"Oh, but that is the thing, honored Lady Will, we are. In fact, me and Lord Mute shall show this to you. The spell written on the blackboard, copy it on paper or in your grimoire in the case of you unicorns. You shall learn to use this Qiran arcanum against a shade once night falls. You will also set up a perimeter around the town with torches and lanterns so that no shade may enter it. This will allow us to fight the shades effectively."

Adamantine Will eyed the Qiran ward on the blackboard and nodded. "Very well. Show us how to fight this threat."

Zarathon's flame flared. "You hear that, soldiery of Ponyville? Tonight we hunt shades!"

Mute could not help but feel uneasy as he saw the guards write down the Qiran ward in their grimoires or on papers. The Qiran magic would no longer be a secret after this night. A squad of ponies would know it if only a little bit. It was with a stark realization that Mute came to terms with the fact that the war against the shades had returned to these lands. He looked to Zarathon and saw the pebble's flames flicker in deep thought.

Mute knew they'd regret it, but it was too late. Off to war they go, just like he had so long ago.

A Changeling Teaches Shade Hunting

View Online

Night had fallen over Ponyville and the citizens had been instructed to keep off the streets and have ample lighting in their homes. The number of streetlights had increased, and unicorn residents had conjured mage lights that hovered between houses and every dark corner the streetlights couldn’t touch. And if all else failed there were torches on every road, especially out to the apple family farm and Fluttershy’s cabin. Zarathon and Mute had tried to convince Zecora to move into the grand palace for her safety, but she had just responded that she could take care of a few malicious shadows. However, Arcane Song had given her a mage light just in case.

With the roads and town secured, there was time for the local garrison to prepare for the hunt. The soldiery was outfitted with bows and arrows dipped in oil. They were also given a few lanterns and some torches, and if all else failed they had some fireworks. As for their other weapons, they mostly went with spears on Zarathon’s recommendation⁠—except for Adamantine Will who brought her halberd—and dipped their blades in oil as well. They were also given matches and a tinderbox. The more equipment they were given the more it seemed to dawn on the soldiery that their assignment would be more dangerous than what they usually did for the town. It was true that there was the occasional disaster or creature from the Everfree, but none of those were usually sinister by nature. The shades were a true evil, one not meant to be encountered for the sake of a pony’s mind and soul. But they had agreed to the mission, to learn from Zarathon, and as such, they ventured into the Everfree.

Mute—with Zarathon behind his horn—took the lead. Despite the darkness of the forest and the moving shadows of the lanternlight, the changeling moved easily between branches, over shrubbery, and under fallen trees. It did not take long for Mute to get far ahead of the group.

“Don’t let them out of your sight, my friend. I feel no greater shades tonight, but that doesn’t mean the forest is harmless. A single shade can cause great harm if it gets lucky.”

Mute rolled his eyes at the statement and shook his head at his friend’s obvious words.

“I know you know this, as well you should, but one should always practice and revisit the basics. When all the fancy techniques fail and there is no special arcanum that can save you the basics reign supreme. Remember my words on the duel with Crazst: if you are someone with great magical power, even with little training on the subject, you can throw every fancy spell in the world at your enemy, but it would be without precision and wisdom. If your enemy then is a master of the basics, someone that is precise and wise, then all those fancy spells will be for naught. Or put in simpler terms: You may light the sky ablaze with an uncontrolled burst of magic, but it wouldn’t even crack a simple shield-ward if it was drawn by a master.”

Mute nodded at Zarathon’s words and clicked his tongue as he surveyed the surroundings. His blue eyes suddenly snapped to some movement in the undergrowth and he crouched down with a hiss.

“Focus, Mute. That is a squirrel or rabbit, not a shade. Feel your connection to the Ember, and let it guide your eyes. The Ember will show you where the corruption is,” Zarathon said.

Mute nodded and straightened his back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt
the familiar warmth in his chest, the ebb and flow of the Ember, and he felt it pull him east.

Zarathon’s flame gave an approving flicker. “Good work, Mute. Now lead them there.”

As the pebble and changeling ‘spoke’ with one another Holy Vow walked up beside them. The pegasus held up his lantern with his left wing and he swept it over the undergrowth. He observed the movement Mute had seen as well before he gave the changeling a concerned look. “Is it a shade?”

Mute shook his head and pointed his left hoof eastward, further into the woods.

“How can you see so well? In the darkness I mean? We have lanterns and I still feel like I can’t see crap,” Holy muttered and eyed their dark surroundings.

Mute pushed further into the dark woods and he shrugged.

Zarathon’s flames flickered in Holy’s direction and he cleared his non-existent throat. “Mute is a changeling warrior. As part of the noble changeling race, he can see in darkness. It is a gift bestowed upon those that can assassinate and hide in plain sight.”

“Assassinate? I wouldn’t call him stealthy,” Holy deadpanned.

Zarathon chuckled and his flame disappeared. Holy’s lantern went out at the same time until it suddenly relit. The pegasus blinked and looked around in bewilderment as he realized the changeling and pebble were both gone. He raised his lantern and looked around. “Hello? Mute?”

The pegasus let out a surprised shout as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and he felt a foreleg around his throat. He struggled for a second before he was let go and Mute walked past him into the woods once more.

“Do not underestimate a species made for infiltration and deception, Mr. Vow!” Zarathon yelled with a laugh as Mute led them further eastwards, a proud smirk on his lips.

Over an hour of walking took place before the group stopped in a clearing lit by the dim moonlight. Holy Vow and Adamantine made a campfire to keep away the chill of the night and the large brown earth pony stallion joined them. The pink unicorn mare sat down next to Adamantine and whispered something worriedly to her, to which Adamantine shook her head and gave her some reassuring words. The earth pony mare with runes carved onto her body sat down far away from the campfire by a tree. She used her lantern to examine the diagram she’d drawn of the blitz-flare ward.

Lieutenant Radiant Sword walked up to Mute who stood at the edge of the clearing and clicked his tongue nervously. The pony opened his mouth as if to say something, but he refrained and just watched the pebble and changeling.

“Hum… I feel them too, Mute. There are quite a few congregating here. They must be attracted to the nearby castle. Perhaps they feel safe in its dark halls. Or maybe they are looking for something which might help them. They will burn either way,” Zarathon said with a huff.

Mute nodded and looked at Radiant with a tilted head.

“I believe you should inform the group of what happens next. They are anxious to get started,” the lieutenant said with a nod and walked back to the campfire.

Mute headed back to the group and he held up Zarathon with his hoof. The ponies waited on the pebble’s words.

“Everyone, listen up! We are now in shade territory. Their stench is on every tree and rock in the vicinity and they are already looking for victims and safe places to build nests. If you see dark slimy holes then burn them, shades use them to rest during the day. If you see any shade then use the blitz-flare ward to temporarily paralyze them and kill them with fire. Should you encounter a possessed pony then lead them to me. If you were to run into a pony that isn’t possessed but your eyes sting just from looking at them then run, and I must put emphasis on this: run, and lead them to me as well. Remain vigilant and stick to groups. But I will first show you how you lure the shades to you so you may kill them.”

Mute placed Zarathon behind his horn again and he backed away from the group into the woods. Then Zarathon’s flame flickered out. As the changeling and pebble vanished there were suddenly the sounds of many things moving in the undergrowth. There was an unnatural shriek and Zarathon’s flames flickered back to life. A large worm-like creature was now attached to Mute’s right foreleg and the changeling gave the being an unimpressed look. The worm shrieked in pain at the light from Zarathon’s flames and a great many beings hurried away in the undergrowth, disturbing the leaves and shrubs. The worm tried to escape but Mute grabbed it with his hoof and an angry huff.

“Always quite feisty, these small ones,” Zarathon said as Mute grabbed hold of him and pushed the pebble’s flames against the shade.

The ponies looked on in awe as the shade let out a shrill screech as its body lit up faster than kindling. The creature wiggled in Mute’s grasp for a second before it turned to ash and blew away in the wind. With the shade dead Mute and Zarathon made their way back to the group.

Adamantine Will gave the two of them a skeptical look. “So you want to place us at the mercy of these shades by having us extinguish our lanterns?”

Zarathon’s flame swayed at her. “No, it is enough to cover them with a cloth. The shades will not approach as long as there is adequate light. The moonlight isn’t enough to make them flee, but they are still uncomfortable when they are exposed to it. Clearings are often safe because of this. No lesser shade will build a nest where they’d be exposed to light, but they can fight in a clearing if they are desperate enough.”

The small pink unicorn mare looked around nervously. “But if we fail at killing them, what happens then?...”

“Then you will likely become possessed and I will have to expend precious energy to remove the shade from you, so I would rather that you don’t fail, young… What was your name, young lady?”

“My name is Arcane Song, Lord Zarathon…” she mumbled and eyed the dark forest.

“You want us to use this ward-thingy but I don’t know how. You can’t just send us out there without any practice,” the large earth pony stallion slammed his hooves onto the ground and huffed at the changeling and pebble.

Mute took a step back and strained his leg muscles, ready to flee.

Zarathon just sighed. “I was getting to that mister… I don’t know your name either, nor the name of your strange brethren over there by the tree.”

The rune-covered earth pony mare perked up from the diagram she’d drawn as she was mentioned and she gave them a placid stare. “Thorne.”

“So miss Thorne and you are?...”

The earth pony stallion frowned at the pebble. “Iron Hoof.”

“Very well, Iron Hoof, I want you to draw the blitz-flare ward into the dirt and then channel magic into it. Once you stop channeling, the ward will shower the area with light that will stun and blind nearby shades. Most shades will back away if you do this,” Zarathon said.

Iron looked skeptical and he turned his gaze to Adamantine. “Thoughts, duchess?”

“Do as he says. I have shield spells at the ready to protect us,” she said.

Iron Hoof nodded and he began to draw the ward. Once he was done he placed his hoof onto it and closed his eyes as he channeled his earth pony magic into the symbol. It began to glow red like embers and he looked up at Zarathon and Mute.

“Now stop channeling,” Zarathon said.

Iron Hoof let go and the ward exploded with radiant holy light. Warmth washed over them for a second and shrieks came from the edges of the clearing. Iron rubbed his eyes and looked around. “Well, that certainly did something…”

The group watched as there was an explosion of movement in the undergrowth and a dozen shades fled into the woods. Though they returned after a few minutes, prowling at the edges of the clearing.

“Once they are no longer dazed they’ll temporarily flee, but they never go far. A shade is a tenacious and viscous parasite, and it rarely abandons its prey. Use that ward to stun and drive them away if you become overwhelmed. Your lantern light can also work in a pinch, but they fear its fire more than its light. The blitz-flare ward on the other hand comes from the Ember’s light and as such hurts them,” Zarathon explained.

Iron Hoof nodded and grabbed his lantern and covered it with a cloth. He walked toward the edge of the clearing where the fire’s light was minimal and he grabbed a stick with which he drew the blitz-flare ward. The stallion placed his hoof on the ward and waited, staring into the woods. Throne eyed him curiously from her tree and she too covered her lantern with a cloth so that darkness could fall over them.

The group watched with bated breaths as the forest rustled with the sound of shades and a mighty shriek fell over the clearing. The large silhouette of Iron moved and cursed as a shape attached itself to his shoulder and the silhouette of Throne moved to help him. Suddenly the bright light of the ward washed over the clearing once more. In the brief moment of light, the group saw two of the worm-like shades attached to Iron’s shoulder and leg with Throne by his sides trying to tear them off. Then Iron uncovered his lantern and revealed the two dazed shades. They wiggled in his hoof, making wet and sloppy sounds, and they let out small shrieks. The stallion looked at them with fascination and disgust. Throne leaned in to get a closer look and let an amused scoff as the creatures whined in pain.

“Now throw them into the fire!” Zarathon yelled, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

Iron blinked and seemed to come back to reality. “Yes, of course.”

The stallion hurried back to the campfire, each step in its light drawing terrified shrieks from the shades. Then he reached it and threw them into the flames. The shades let out pained screeches as they burned alive and became nothing more than ash.

The group stood huddled around the fire and watched as the ash was thrown into the air by the fire and drifted away in the wind. Mute gave Iron Hoof a nod of respect and then pointed in the direction of the castle of the two sisters, the imposing ruined castle seen far in the distance, a mere silhouette against the night. Zarathon’s flames flickered in that direction as well.

“Now you have seen how you kill a shade, but remember my words, do not underestimate them. They can be a true threat in large numbers and even one can possess you if it gets lucky. Use torches to burn them or spells if you have them. Use the ward to stun them if you want an easier kill. But most importantly do not go alone. Always have a companion by your side and have that companion be a unicorn if you are not one. Therefore: for Iron Hoof, you should go with Arcane Song. Thorne, you should stick with duchess Will. Lieutenant Sword and Holy Vow will follow me and Mute.”

Adamantine scoffed. “I give the orders here, Zarathon. We should stick as a group, not spread out! There are too many of these things in the woods.”

Mute dug a hole in the ground and he mimicked the movements of a worm with his foreleg nestling itself into the hole. He then spread his forelegs wide to showcase a large area.

“My compatriot is right, there are nests all over the forest. The more we destroy the more shades will perish during the day as they’ll have no place to rest and hide. We need to split up and work our way to the castle if we want to ease our burden for the coming days,” Zarathon said.

Adamantine sighed and reluctantly nodded at his words. “Fine, but we turn back immediately if something goes wrong, is that understood?”

Zarathon’s flames waved in agreement, not unlike a nod. “Of course.”

And so the group split up and went their separate ways into the forest, all heading east towards the castle looming in the distance.

“Is that a nest?” Holy Vow asked and pointed to a black hole in the ground with its sides smeared in black tar. The hole itself was no bigger than a small pumpkin, but the soil around it was raised and Holy’s hooves sank a bit into the ground as he stood near it.

“Careful, son. We don’t know if there’s any of them in there…” Radiant Sword mumbled and peered into the forest that surrounded them.

Holy Vow nodded at the lieutenant's words and he grabbed a lantern with his right wing and he held it over the hole. He’d peer into the black abyss and suddenly gagged. He coughed and quickly backed away from the hole with a look of disgust. “It smells like something died in there!”

“They are the embodiment of evil! Of course, something has died in there!” Zarathon said.

Mute approached the hole and sniffed the air. The changeling growled and rubbed his snout in an irritated manner. He’d motion for a torch from Liutentant Sword who quickly lit one and handed it to the changeling. Mute peered into the black hole and hissed into it. The low raspy sound echoed in the nest and soon there was a reply of several screeches. The changeling scoffed and placed the torch against the black substance coating the nest’s sides. Just like the shades the black substance lit up like kindling and fire quickly spread into the hole. There were multiple screeches, parts of the earth began to move underneath their hooves, and then there was silence.

Holy Vow gulped and looked at the disturbed soil. “How large are these nests?”

Zarathon let a hollow laugh. “Larger than you may think. The largest nests could hold a house or two and you’d never know. But it doesn’t matter if you have a fire. The problems arise from carelessness or bad luck. Or elder shades… Blasted elder shades can dim lanterns and touch normal fires…”

Mute hissed into the hole and then continued walking east. The two ponies followed the changeling and the pebble and Holy Vow leaned closer to Lieutenant Sword to whisper a few words.

“What do you think, Lieutenant? The duchess doesn’t seem to trust them but they’re doing what they said they’d do.”

The lieutenant hummed at his words. “From what I’ve been able to understand from whispers from a few friends in the castle guard and from the duchess herself Zarathon was not far from Sombra himself.”

“Sombra? Like King Sombra from the old foal’s tales?”

“The very same… Supposedly Zarathon supported Sombra when he lived and he had a hand—or maybe claw?—in the chaos that gripped the south at that time. Lots of broken kingdoms and the like.”

Holy eyed the trees, his face scrunched up in thought. “And Mute?”

The liutentnant shrugged. “There was no mention of changelings, my friends were just as confused by his appearance as we were. I asked miss Sparkle about it and she said there wasn’t a lot known about changelings. They're shapeshifters that live in the far south but beyond that, we know little.”

“So Mute can change what he looks like?” Holy asked.

“Change what he looks like? Have you seen his horn, son? He will never cast magic like that again unless his horn is healed.”

Mute flicked his ears and looked crestfallen as the two ponies discussed his broken horn. He did not blame them for speaking of it aloud, they didn’t know changelings had a powerful hearing. But his chest stung at their words. He ran his left hoof over his horn and sighed. He felt the cracks and odd dents, the soreness and stinging pain as his hoof touched the poorly healed structure, and most of all he felt how useless it was.

“Are you alright, my friend?” Zarathon said with a hushed voice, his flames flickering in concern, washing over the structure to give it a soothing warmth.

The changeling shook his head at the question but he gave the pebble a thankful nod as the holy flames washed away the pain. It was only momentarily though, the pain would always return. It refused to die, and perhaps he deserved it.

“We’ll find a way. I will honor my promise to you. After all I— Did you hear that?”

Mute had been so preoccupied with his horn that he barely heard the rustling of leaves. He looked to the trees at his left and he found himself staring into two inky black eyes. The changeling let out a loud hiss and moved to jump back, but the creature pounced. A white earth pony threw itself into Mute and it sent the changeling rolling over the undergrowth. Zarathon was flung from Mute’s horn, soared into the woods, and disappeared among the foliage. Only the dim glow from Zarathon's fire hinted at where he'd fallen.

"Mute! Mute come and get me! That commoner is possessed!"

However, Mute had no time to fetch his friend as the earth pony pinned him against the ground. The changeling spat and screeched as he tried to get the white stallion off him. He pushed his forelegs into the pony’s throat only for the attacker to sink its teeth into one of them. Mute let out a pained hiss and headbutted the pony, which in turn made the changeling scream as he struck his horn against the attacker’s skull. His skull rang like a bell and he felt his stomach flip from the pain. For a second he felt like he'd puke up whatever love he'd been able to feed off Holy Vow and the lieutenant during their walk. The attacker raised his hoof to stomp down on Mute's head with a mad grin.

“Get off him, you bastard!” Holy Vow, using his wings for extra speed, flew into the side of the attacker and sent him rolling across the ground. He grabbed hold of his spear with his right wing and snorted in anger at the attacker. “Lieutenant get the lanterns! There must be shades here!”

Radiant Sword hurried towards the two with the lanterns only for another pony, this one a black unicorn mare, to jump him from the trees. There was a great discord of sounds as the lieutenant and mare hit the ground and the lanterns were smashed into tiny pieces, casting embers into the air. In the light of the embers, one could see her black inky eyes and the black whisps of smoke that trailed from her skull. She hissed not unlike the shades and headbutted the lieutenant.

And within all this noise and chaos there was Zarathon’s voice from deep in the foliage. “Mute! You can't purge them without me!”

Mute and Holy were however in no position to help either the lieutenant or the pebble. The white earth-pony stallion rammed into them both and tried to bite them like a mad animal. Holy tried to keep him at bay only for the attacker to sink his teeth into Holy's neck. The pegasus screamed and stabbed the assailant, piercing the attacker’s chest, but the earth pony did not stop. Mute sank his fangs into the pony’s shoulder and tore out a chunk of his flesh, but the earth pony did not stop. The attacker wrestled the spear from Holy’s grasp and struck Mute’s horn, sending the changeling to the floor writhing in pain. Holy managed to push the attacker back and he pulled a short sword from his side. The attacker stumbled, the spear firmly lodged in his chest, but the pony did not fall.

“Mute! Get up!” Holy yelled and dodged to the side as the pony dove for him.

Mute’s vision danced with colors and his breathing felt uneven, yet he pushed himself up only to stare into the round maw of a shade. The worm shrieked and jumped at his head, attaching itself to Mute’s horn. The changeling let out a pained shriek and got up, desperately pulling on the worm.

Meanwhile, the lieutenant struggled to get the unicorn mare off his body. His horn lit up and a stream of fire shot out from his horn straight into the mare’s face. She fell to the side and screamed as the fire spread over the rest of her body. Radiant Sword got up and grabbed his spear that he’d dropped and he ran to Mute and Holy Vow. He let out a battle cry as he charged into the white earth pony and stabbed him through the neck. The attacker let out a gurgled hiss and stumbled back as black tar-like blood pooled from the wound. The white earth pony pressed a hoof against his neck and glared hatefully at them before his black eyes seemed to grow dim. He fell, his body limp, and he did not get back up. For a second the other attacker tried to stand up, her fur smoldering and skin burnt. She let out low raspy breaths and took a step forward only to fall onto her side. The smell of her burnt flesh and fur hung over the woods.

"Gods protect us..." Radiant Sword mumbled and looked grimly at the two fallen ponies.

However, there was no time to contemplate the two assailants. Mute continued to struggle with the shade on the ground until the creature suddenly turned to smoke and vanished into the changeling’s ears. Mute hissed and spat and got to his feet. He wildly bucked his back legs and slammed his head into a tree trunk. The changeling rolled his neck as if diseased and he fell back onto his side. Holy and Radiant hurried to his side only to be pushed back by a powerful kick. Mute got up and gagged before he opened his eyes to reveal them just as black as the attackers' had been. And then he puked black tar over the ground and his eyes cleared.

“What in the world…” Holy mumbled as he watched the changeling then chough out ash.

“Mute! Mute come and get me!” Zarathon yelled from the woods. “I can purge the shades from them!”

Mute stumbled through the branches and found Zarathon underneath the shrubbery. He grabbed the pebble and placed him behind his horn once more and then made it back to the others, panting for air.

“The stallion is dead. The mare, go to the mare!” Zarathon said.

Mute hurried to the burnt form of the unicorn mare and he quickly began to draw wards around her body. They came alive with the Ember’s glow and a golden light streamed over the mare’s body, mostly focused on her head. Part of the light streamed into the mare’s mouth and expanded her chest. Holy Vow and Lieutenant Sword walked over and watched in quiet awe as the mare’s breath returned to normal. Though the light died down before all her burns and wounds disappeared. Mute fell to his haunches and panted, shaking his head at the excursion. The wards then took on another glow, a deep red one, and the mare coughed up the same tar-like substance that Mute had.

“We can do no more for her. The rest is up to your healers and medicine,” Zaraton said.

Radiant Sword nodded. “I’ll signal the others. Hopefully, they found more nests than us…”

As the lieutenant send colorful flares from his horn into the sky Holy Vow helped Mute stand and he looked over the changeling’s horn. “You need to get that looked at. You were helpless once he struck it.”

Mute just gave him a tired nod.

“There is no healing it with your medicine and spells. But he might need a check-up nonetheless. I will not let a fellow Lord of cinder remain injured, not when we both must be present to handle the shades.”

Holy Vow looked at the corpse of the white earth pony stallion and shook his head sadly. “Poor bastard… I’ve never had to kill a civilian before...”

“And pray that you won’t have to do it again,” Radiant Sword said through gritted teeth and eyed the corpse. “I have fought in a war, I've seen many perish, but never have I had to turn my weapons against my people. I did so today out of necessity and I will do so again if the need arise, but we need a contingency for something like this, a way to ensure the lives of the infected. We must bring tools or learn spells that could aid in helping them. And we need to get Mute’s damn horn fixed.”

Zarathon snorted. “It refuses to heal, but try anyway. Furthermore, there would not have been any need for tools if Mute had not been distracted by our prattle, for that I am sorry my friend. I suppose I am a hypocritical Lord, telling you to focus and then distracting you myself.”

The changeling nodded thanks at his words and then he eyed the injured mare with an anxious look. Mute remember a burning carriage for a second, the pain of flames, and he shuddered.

“This war is a harsh one, ponies. Every friend you have ever made can be turned, and I will not always be there to purge the shade from them. You may have to kill more of the common pony, maybe some of your soldiers, maybe even your family members. That is the insidious nature of this war. If you can not purge the shade and you can not capture it without great risk at yourselves then you need to kill it,” Zarathon said.

"And once they've infected a pony, and if Zarathon is not with us, there is no way to remove them? You would be forced to kill the host?" the lieutenant mumbled.

Mute gave him a grim nod.

Zarathon hummed. "You could try to trap them, but the infected would try to kill you or try to drag you to other shades as you did so. It would be dangerous, too dangerous if you were faced with a group of them without time to prepare. Killing them would be safer at that point."

"Damn it all..." Radiant Sword grumbled.

Holy Vow eyed the corpse of the possessed earth pony and shuddered. “This is war huh?...”

"No, this is not war. War isn't meant to be waged on your people," Radiant Sword said and pulled out a pipe from his saddle bag. "This is just madness, son."

Zarathon's flame flickered and Mute felt a wave of grim amusement flow from the pebble. "You think this is madness? You just wait ponies, you have seen nothing yet..."

Mute sighed and lay down. He needed rest, and as he eyed the burned mare he felt an overwhelming urge to pray at the shrine in the Grand Palace.

A Changeling Helps a Princess with an Exam

View Online

1077 would never understand pony society. It did not matter how many meetings on strategy he attended, how many scribes and archivists he asked, or how many times Lampyridae explained it to him, ponies were just strange. This was demonstrated most clearly by the pony town far in the distance, Dodge Junction, with its stores, workers, coin, and culture. 1077 shuddered at the sight of the settlement as if it was a wet rag draped across his back. Even as he stood atop one of the numerous McIntosh Hills and with a desert between him and Dodge Junction he felt anxious.

Ponies did not work together as changelings did. They all strived towards their own goals, often in competition with one another. 1077 couldn’t claim there was no such competition in the hive, but such in-fighting was for prestigious positions and roles within one’s brood in service of the hive and hive Queen, not for frivolous things such as money, entertainment, or to reach the upper echelons of society. A poor earth pony in Dodge Junction might dream of the life that a rich unicorn of Canterlot enjoyed, and if his mind was not tempered against violence he’d do anything to reach such a position. A lowly changeling scout or warrior dreamed of being of service to the praetorians or the Queen, not to subsume their place, even if they were inclined to violence they never turned this against the hive. It was as things should be, a stable system where the Queen could direct the hive to greatness. It was a system where your purpose was found in your brood brothers and brood sisters. To keep your hive safe from invaders and dissent against the natural order was the greatest purpose in existence, something devised by the Seamstress herself.

“You have that look in your eyes again,” Lampyride joined him atop the hill and bumped his side. “You need to relax a bit. Ponies are fun, trust me.”

“They’re unnatural and strange…” he mumbled and eyed their camp below.

“Oh shush you. You are a Soldier guarding a Princess, you’re not anymore normal than they are.”

1077 huffed and looked towards the far-off town with a grumpy look. “A Soldier or Praetorian with sufficient skill and knowledge may obtain the position of royal guard if they come recommended by an older Praetorian. There is nothing strange with our relationship, Firefly, old Scourge just recommended me and I proved myself worthy, as things should be done in the hive.”

The changeling princess gave him an amused look. “And most royal bodyguards are affectionate with their charge and refer to them by cute nicknames?”

“I don’t know what you speak of, Princess Lampyridae.”

“Oh that’s cold,” she laughed and bumped her flank against his before she walked down towards the camp. “Come on let’s tell Infiltrator Tarsus that we’re ready to go.”

1077 gave her a confused look. “We? Princess, I'm staying at the camp. This is your exam and I don’t want to go anywhere near that—”

“Is it not your duty to follow me wherever I go and watch over me, 1077?” Lampyridae said and looked over her shoulder with a cheeky grin.

He mumbled a curse under his breath before he gave Lampyridae a stiff nod. “Of course, your highness, you're right.”

1077 followed the Princess down the hill to the concealed base camp. The camp literally buzzed with activity as young infiltrators prepared to infiltrate the town. Their cover stories were all simple: one infiltrator was visiting her grandmother, another was looking for a place to stay the night, and another was meant to visit the cherry orchard and look for work. They were the standard stories that ponies did not blink twice at and the stories were aided by the fact that a few infiltrators lived within Dodge Junction to act as grandparents, workers, and other convenient excuses. The operation was fairly old and some of the infiltrators that lived in the settlement were older than any living member of the hive, not counting members of the royal household of course.

“We’re ready, Infiltrator Tarsus,” Lampyridae said as they entered the camp and walked up to the main tent.

An older changeling Infiltrator looked up from a map splayed out across a table. Unlike the shiny black chitin of 1077 or Lampyridae, Infiltrator Tarsus chitin was dull and brown in places. The old changeling had wrinkles underneath her eyes and she wore a constant frown like she was gonna drive her head through the table at any moment. She reminded Mute a lot about old Scourge, though Tarsus did not scream as much.

“You see anything interesting, Princess?” the changeling mare huffed and looked back at the map, a younger infiltrator pointing to something on it and whispering in her ear.

“Nothing worthy to report. Though I did get a chance to ask my guardian for some pointers, like behaviors and the like,” Lampridae smiled and looked to 1077.

1077 was certain that nothing he had said was interesting or useful when it came to infiltration, but at this point, he was used to Lampyridae’s excuses. “Aye, the Princess needed some help with understanding their customs regarding coinage and trade. It is after all much unlike our system.”

Tarsus looked unimpressed at the two of them before her eyes settled on Lampyridae. The icy yet emotionless stare of the old changeling made the Princess freeze up. 1077 looked on, uncertain as to what was wrong.

“What is a bit worth in gold?” Tarsus asked with a commanding voice.

Lampyridae responded quickly and precisely. “It fluctuates! Normally ten bits are worth about twelve grams of gold but this can change!”

“How much gold is there in a bit?”

“Five percent!”

Tarsus scoffed. “Who and what is depicted on each side of a bit?”

Once again the Princess answered quickly. “Princess Celestia can be seen on one side with the mark of the royal Mint on the other!”

The old infiltrator cast a glance to 1077. “You would like to claim that the Princess needed lessons from a Warrior?”

1077 stammered. “I…”

“Don't try to lie to me, because I will know. Get ready to move out,” she said and turned to face the camp. “Everyone listen up! Know your disguise and story! We have infiltrators in town that can provide aid if need be, but this is your test! You must return with a vial of pure love before tomorrow or you will have failed the test! Should you fail then I’ll put you on latrine duty and I’ll drag you through so many lessons that you won’t know where the disguise begins and changeling ends!”

The infiltrators in camp immediately began to transform into their selected roles. One turned into a small pink pegasus filly, another into a meek green unicorn stallion, and a third into a large brown earth pony with a straw hat. Green fires rose and fall across the camp as the changelings transformed and Lampyridae took a deep breath before the green flames washed over her as well. The Princess took on the form of a sleek unicorn mare with a dark coat and pink mane. She rolled her neck and walked around to get a feel of her new body.

“It is always strange being this heavy…” Lampyridae mumbled.

1077 snorted. “And it is strange that you lack a cutie mark, Princess.”

She stuck out her tongue at him once again there was a wave of green flames that washed over her. She now had a cutie mark, a simple spellbook. It was rudimentary at best, but it looked real. 1077 gave her a nod and soon closed his eyes to concentrate. He felt the warmth of the transformative fire roll over his body and he imagined himself as a grey earth pony with large muscles and a cutie mark of a sword and shield. As he opened his eyes he saw the disguised Princess eye his form with an approving smile.

“I like the muscles,” she said.

“I don’t like pretending to be meek. I can do stupid, but I refuse to grovel like a craven.”

Infiltrator Tarsus walked up to them and eyed their disguises before nodding and pointing towards Dodge Junction far in the distance. “You two will enter from the train station and pretend you came by train. You are friends from Canterlot out seeing all the far corners of Equestria.”

1077 sighed. “Do I have to go near the train?”

“Yes you do,” Tarsus said with a growl. “You will not let the Princess out of your sight, is that understood? If anything were to happen I will have you sent to the Frozen North.”

Lampyridae rolled her eyes. “It is fine. Just seduce a stallion, get his love, and leave. Mother drilled me extensively for this trip.”

“And knowing you that might still not be enough…” Tarsus mumbled and hurried away to help the other changelings.

Lampyridae feigned offense. “Did you hear that, 1077? She accused me of being a bad student!”

“I can’t imagine why. You who always take studying so seriously, a bad student? It is not like you need the Queen glaring at you to memorize something,” he said with a laugh.

“Haha. Just lead on so we can get this over with,” she said with a smile.

“It’d be my pleasure, Princess.”

The journey to Dodge’s Junction was a long and grueling task. Once the desert started the heat hammered down upon the disguised changelings. The dry air felt rough against 1077’s lungs and his coat stuck to him like a wet rag. He cursed numerous times as they traveled over the sand and he tried to conserve as much water as possible. Lampyridae’s needs came first and she chugged down their canteens of water so quickly that he worried she was dying from a fever. But eventually, they neared their goal, the train station of Dodge’s Junction. Lampyridae was the one to cast the invisibility spell and they both snuck up onto the platform. They waited on ponies to step off the train and open the door to the station, and once they did so the pair snuck into the small wooden building. Once inside they both looked around for an empty room and stepped into an empty restroom. Lampyridae released her hold of the spell and they walked back out into the train station, both of them drenched in sweat.

“You two city folk?”

1077 turned around to see a white pony stallion watching them with a friendly grin. The stallion had a black hat on his head with a cherry patch sown onto its side. 1077 nodded at the stranger. “Aye, we’re trying to see most of Equestria this year.”

Lampyridae stepped forward and smiled at the stallion. “I am Lusterious Arcane and this is my friend Valiant Sword. We’re from Canterlot.”

“Ah! Not just city folk but proper capital residents eh? Well, welcome to Dodge Junction! I am Patient Birch, but call me Pat. We don’t get many folks from the capital coming all the way out here. Final station and all that.”

1077 eyed the stallion curiously. This Dodge Junction resident seemed friendly enough, though there was something… off. It took him a while to see it but he finally noticed the green shimmer in the stallion’s pupils. It would be hard to spot for a non-changeling, but 1077 was certain that he’d seen the tell-tale signs of a disguise. “Yes, we were told that our appearance would be a bit odd. You wouldn’t mind showing us around, sir?”

The stallion gave them a happy grin and nodded. “Of course, just follow me! I know all of Dodge Junction you see and I’ll happily tell you all about our little town!”

Pat led them out from the train station and out into the sandy streets of Dodge Junction. The small town was bustling with activity as ponies walked between the saloon and small shops. Most headed in the direction of the cherry orchard on the outskirts of town, likely to continue working after their lunch. As they passed the wooden buildings 1077 eyed the residents one by one. Now and again he caught glimpses of the same green shimmer he’d seen in the eyes of Pat in the eyes of other ponies, all of which gave him a curt nod.

“Our town may not look like much but we are famous for our cherries! You won’t find any more quality cherries than ours or workers as dedicated as those we have in Dodge Junction,” Pat mused.

“May we try some of these cherries?” Lampyridae said and licked her lips.

1077 gave her a confused look. Was that meant to be sensual? Why would she— His eyes widened in sudden realization and he choked back a laugh. She didn’t know. Perhaps Infiltrator Tarsus was right to worry if the Princess couldn’t tell their own people apart from the actual ponies.

“I can let you taste some! I have a few at home,” Pat responded to Lampyridae’s question with an amused grin and led them to a simple one-story house. He pulled out a key from his hat and unlocked the door, leading them inside.

As Pat closed the door 1077 sighed. “We don’t need an escort.”

The disguised princess gave him a strange look. “What are you—”

“I have orders from the Queen, as do every ling’ in town! We are to not let the Princess out of our sight for any reason,” Pat said. “You may have some muscle, but you’re still new to your duties. You guard the Princess and we keep an eye from afar.”

1077 sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You expect me to focus with every other pony in town staring at us? Let the Princess deal with it herself, she’s capable.”

Lampyridae watched the conversation with growing annoyance. “I am right here, you know?”

“The Queen gave an order.”

“And I am telling you—”

“Do not ignore me!” Lampyridae growled.

1077 and Pat immediately turned to face her and they both gave her a quick bow.

“That’s better…” she mumbled. “Now I want to know just exactly how many infiltrators we have in town.”

Pat swallowed nervously. “That information isn’t for—”

“Your Princess asked a question,” 1077 said and gave the Infiltrator a stoic stare. “Unless of course, you wish to disobey a member of the royal family?” He asked and placed himself next to Lampyridae.

Pat looked to have an internal debate, his gaze flicking between the two of them now and again until he let out a sigh. “Around forty. Fifteen are permanently stationed to help out new broddling infiltrators, me among them. The rest are here temporarily to grow accustomed to pony society before they are sent off on other assignments further inland. And then there are the Infiltrators that came with you. None of us will get in the way of your assignment, your highness.”

Lampyridae mumbled under her breath and looked out the window. “There’s more changelings here than ponies…”

“Not true! Dodge Junction has over three hundred—”

Lampyridae glared at Pat and took a step towards him, backing him into the door. There was a dangerous glow to her pink eyes. ”That. Is. Not. My. Point. How am I meant to learn about ponies if I’ll be surrounded by changelings at all times?”

1077 could not help but feel some amusement at the look of pure terror in Pat’s eyes. Rarely did Lampyridae get angry, but when she wanted something…

“Princess I assure you we—”

“Does mother expect me to learn by having me surrounded by fake ponies all day? Did you prepare a stallion for me as well? Is there a pony out there right now that’s been hypnotized or conditioned to be susceptible to my advances? Mother knows what my disguise looks like, did she plant the image of this shell in a stallion’s mind?” the disguised Princess hissed. “And don’t try to lie, I’ll know if you are.”

Pat swallowed audibly and gave a weak nod. “There is a stallion named Baeful Wind… He’s a newcomer, working at the cherry farm. A fool on most accounts. The Queen said—”

Lampyridae let out a spiteful hiss and leaned in closer, pushing Pat onto his hind legs and his back into the door. “I will not take part in mother’s game, I will find my own prey.”

Lampyridae’s horn glowed a brilliant pink and she picked up the fake stallion with a strong telekinetic grip. Pat let out a yell as the Princess tossed him into the living room and she opened the door and stormed off. 1077 cast an amused glance at Pat before he followed Lampyridae. The Princess cast deadly glares at any disguised changeling she saw and most scurried off or focused on other things.

“There must be some stallions in the saloon…” Lampyridae mumbled.

“Certainly, and perhaps something to drink. This heat is killing me…” 1077 said and wiped his brow. “Though I believe you will find it easier if you went to the orchard.”

The Princess stopped dead in her tracks and gave him a challenging stare. “What?”

1077 sighed and nodded in the direction of the orchard, the cherry trees visible in the distance. He looked around to make sure they weren’t observed by any ponies before he began to speak. “The Queen ordered it, did she not? While I am not fond of such underhanded tactics—and I will confess I see it as awful training—the Queen has commanded it. If you disobey her not just you will be punished but all Infiltrators in town. Many who are simply doing as they’ve been ordered will face penalties if you disobey. While they are craven for trying to trick their Princess, they are doing so to obey their Queen.”

Lampyridae cursed beneath her breath and eyed him closely. Her pink eyes stared deeply into his grey ones like she was trying to see his true irises beneath the disguise. “Would you follow me anywhere?”

“I would.”

“Even if it means punishment?”

“If that is a consequence for keeping you safe and furthering your education then so be it,” he said with a nod.

“Then today you will come with me to the saloon, disobey my mother, and help me find a real and unsullied stallion to feed from,” she said and stood tall, like a Praetorian giving orders to a Soldier.

1077 couldn’t help but give her a proud grin. “As you command, my Princess.”

The Dodge Junction saloon was surprisingly crowded despite it being mid-day. Multiple mares and stallions sat around the tables and drank cactus juice and cider, their chatter a constant buzzing in 1077’s ears. An automated piano sat by a staircase leading up to the floor above and the floor around it had been cleared so ponies could dance to the infernal sounds. And many did dance as the music had possessed them. Considering what it sounded like 1077 assumed it indeed possessed them. Despite the crowd by the piano, the saloon bar was crowded by stallions demanding cider to help with the dry heat. The sounds of laughter, inane conversations, and general chaotic air made 1077 scrounge his snout and he shuddered. Ponies were just like he remembered them. Especially since many let out loud greetings and a few threw some not-so-subtle hints at Lampyridae.

Almost as if she felt his discomfort, which she in all likelihood did, Lampyridae bumped his side and motioned to a table in the corner. “Come on.”

The pair sat down and 1077 looked at the ocean of ponies, and a few changelings, with a sigh. “We should return home as fast as possible.”

“I don’t know why you’re so against being around them. You have done this before haven’t you?” Lampyridae asked.

“I have, but that doesn’t mean I like being in Pony settlements.”

“What, never seduced some cute pony mare? I know you completed your exam.”

He let out an amused scoff. “It is not my place to seduce mares and steal their love. I guarded the Infiltrators as they fumbled about making fools of themselves. I never seduced anyone.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to steal their love you know? There are lings’ that have found a pony mate.”

1077 shook his head. “I am not interested in such treasonous thoughts. My duty is to find a strong Warrior and mate with her once the Queen demands a new brood. I follow the principles and orders that have guided our people for generations. Some Infiltrators might have ‘gone native’ as some lings’ call it, but I would not upset the natural order of things.”

The Princess rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because you always follow the rules when you’re around me.”

“I bend some of them to keep you safe, Firefly. I am still following the orders of the royal household by adhering to your commands and I am still supporting your endeavor to complete your exam by taking you to this place. I have yet to break any rules.”

She sighed at his words and leaned her head against her hooves. “You see ponies and changelings being together as unnatural, but odd couples are cute. I don’t see an issue in such relationships. A few changelings left the hive to be with their pony lovers and broke our rules, yet more love was had because of it. It was a positive change. Adhering to the castes at all times will stifle us.”

1077’s face darkened at her words. “Don’t compare me to the traitors! I would never abandon my brood brothers, even if there was a ‘cute mare’ waiting for me.”

The Princess pressed her ears against her head and looked crestfallen. “I was just—”

“I am not so selfish and stupid as to abandon my hive because I found some pony attractive. Odd couples are seen as odd for a reason. I know my place,” he said through gritted teeth. “You should know yours, Princess.”

Lampyridae sat up and looked at him with shock. Her expression quickly morphed into one of great sadness and she got up from the table.

1077 felt his anger dissipate as he saw her look and he looked at her remorsefully. “Firefly, I’m…”

“You want me to play my role? Fine, I’ll play my role!” the princess hissed and stormed off towards the dancing ponies.

1077 sighed and leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes. Conflicting emotions welled up within him and he did not know what to do with them. He felt a great amount of anger, both at himself and his charge. Who was she to question the divine order? And who was he to cause such great pain to the greatest changeling in the hive?... His anger quickly turned back into sadness and he tried to reason with his storm of sorrows. Why would he feel sorry? Even with the Princess being as affectionate as she was they could never be together. He was not a Praetorian. He was a soldier that had gotten lucky, enough Praetorians in the hive had told him as such. Yet… 1077 knew why she had brought up the traitors. They had broken the divine order, and he hated them for it, but they had not been struck down by the Heavens for their sin. The Seamstress had not whispered madness into their hearts as they left the Prowl.

1077 eyes drifted to the dancing ponies and he saw Lampyridae dancing with a stallion. She gave her dancing partner small smiles and moved her body in time to the piano. Each movement was meant to enchant and capture the attention of the male before her. The blue pegasus that danced with her was absolutely awestruck by the disguised Princess. A unicorn mare had to be rare this far out in the fringes of Equestria, and Lampyridae had chosen an alluring form that reminded 1077 a lot about her true self. Soon the disguised Princess and blue pegasus owned the dance floor, all giving them space to continue their twisting and quick movements.

As they danced and got even closer, the blue pegasus grinning as the false mare pressed against him, 1077 felt a great wave of rageful jealousy wash over him. He looked away from the dancing ponies and tried to clear his mind. "I know my place..."

But as the Princess kissed the pegasus' neck, drawing chuckles from the crowd, 1077 wished that he didn't. After the music stopped and the dance ended he watched as Lampyridae whispered something into the stallion's ear with a wink. The two of them went to the bar and after an exchange for some bits, they received a key from the barkeep. The pair then headed for the stairs and passed 1077, Lampyridae did not even acknowledge him, and they walked up to the second floor where the bedrooms were.

1077 just slammed his forehead into the table with a frustrated groan.

Zarathon's Tales: Rani an Funin Zeni (The People of First-Fire, Tainted-Fire, and Truth-Fire)

View Online

In the beginning, the people of the mountains lived in darkness. The great peaks of Zaranqui, Fianqui, and Vainranqui stole away the warm light of the sun and left the valleys below harsh and rough. As such the ivu Rani, the first people, took to the stone, the earth, and the mountains to find warmth. Soon their bodies resembled the mountains with a skin of stone, claws of iron, eyes of gold, and horns of copper. It was in this age⁠—called the Dau Huvan, or the age of shadows, by the Ran⁠i—that the Rani delved into the giant mountain of Zaranqui.

Within the greatest of all mountains, they found a cavern that led deep into the earth, deeper than any chasm they had found before. This path held warmth and gave strength to the Rani who tirelessly explored further and further into the mountain. After what seemed like days there was an end to the search and the Rani found themselves in a grand cave. In this cave, a tear opened up in the earth and from it streamed a golden flame that crackled with symbols and markings unknown. As the leader of the expedition touched these flames he was covered in a coat of golden flames and upon his head burned a crown of purest light that burned the eyes of all who gazed upon it for too long. This fire soon cloaked all Rani in its holy flames, both those above and those below, and it brought them a greater understanding of things. The first Ran who was chosen by its flames called it Ivuzen, the First-Fire, and he proclaimed it was a gift from the universe itself.

The first Ran, cloaked in fire and golden light, became the first leader of the Rani. He was renamed Zaran, or ruler, by a large council of elders and they proclaimed him as Zen Atinren, or chosen by the fire. The Dua Huvan ended and the Dua Ivuzen was born.

It is told that Zaran then ordered that a great hall was to be made for his coronation and so the Ivuzen gave unto the Rani greater knowledge of masonry, smithing, and construction. With the blessing of the First-Fire and the strong Rani under his command, Zaran dug himself a hall worthy of a king. The smiths had fashioned tremendous pillars from Roin, today called adamantine, to hold up the ceiling. The jewelers worked day and night to produce brilliant treasures for Zaran which they decorated with rare gems and diamonds. The stonemasons made wide tiles depicting the First-Fire for Zaran to walk upon and all contributed to a golden throne for him to sit on. The elders then found the most beautiful female Ran in the land and had her marry Zaran, renaming her Zarania, and her head too was crowned with holy flames of gold.

The ceremony that crowned Zaran and Zarania was held in the great hall with every Rani attending and both king and queen were given a band of silver and jewels to wear upon their neck. Zaran then seated himself on his golden throne, the monument to his greatness, and he declared that the hall was to become twice enlarged, and so it was. He declared that the mountain was to be filled with homes for all Rani, and so it was. He declared that the hall would become even larger and that it would not stop until it reached the golden flames, and so it was. The three declarations turned the great hall into a city that went ever deeper into Zaranqui until finally a grand temple was built around the Ivuzen. This marked the beginning of the Rani's magnificence and when they became the Quirani, the people of the mountain. And it was the birth of their first city, Mauvain.

To celebrate the Quirani held a festival in honor of the Ivuzen which made their fire glow even brighter and extended their lives far beyond that of their Rani ancestors. More ideas came to the Quirani from the Ivuzen and they build enormous wheels of stone that harnessed the power of the underground rivers. They build long sewers that wiped away many diseases and they constructed a deep and wide bathhouse warmed by the Ivuzen itself. Zaran ordered his people to study more the wonders of the First-Fire and soon they discovered the mighty power of the Ivuzen wards. With this great magic, the Quirani became mages of Ivuzen and their city came alive with a red glow that cast away all darkness.

Yet despite all wonders that the Quirani found in the fire, and despite all joys that were given to him, Zaran was never satisfied. He sired many children but in time found himself shackled to lust rather than love. He ordered the creation of many great works, but quickly they became things only for his own vanity. He learned more secrets from the Ivuzen but spent that knowledge on sloth, creating objects to do his work for him. And finally, his greed became untamable and that was when he heard whispers from the stone. Hoarse whispers called upon the king of the Quirani and he ordered his people to dig deep into the rock. Deeper and deeper they went, further and further away from the soothing of the fire and closer and closer to the cold whispers in the stone. That was when they found it, a lake of black. Zaran was rewarded with knowledge for his search as the lake would whisper to him dark and terrible things. It whispered that if Zaran wanted more knowledge he would have to do heinous things, and so he brought its darkness from the depths up to Mauvain.

With the dark lake's influence, Zaran waged war upon his people's minds. All were made subservient but a few and the once bright halls of Mauvian were cast into shadow. Not even the Ivuzen, the source of Zaran's greatness and legitimacy, was spared from this darkness. In a ritual that shook the earth, Zaran bound the lake and First-Fire together, forcing the golden flames to become purple and tarnished. The Ivuzen became the Daizen, the Tainted-Fire, and the Quirani became slaves to the darkness' will. So ended the Dua Ivuzen and began the Dua Daizen.

For two thousand years, the darkness reigned in the halls of Mauvain and the Quirani were naught but slaves to its will. But one Quiran refused this fate. The seventh son of Zaran, Zavain was able to break free from the darkness that clouded his mind. He did so with an ember of the First-Fire, a small light that came to him and then died. This light freed him and it returned his coat of flames. Zavain would free as many as he could with the fire he still had and he undid his father's evil work by breaking the link between the lake and the Daizen. But this did not return the holy flames of the Ivuzen, it only freed its husk. With what strength remained in the holy fire it whisked away Zavain and his followers from Mauvain and turned its terrible last breath against Zaranqui itself. The tallest mountain in existence shook, groaned, and crumbled into the depths that Zaran had built. The tainted city of Mauvain followed the mountain into the darkness and so did most of the once noble Quirani, a tragedy that shook the survivors for generations.

Zavain and his followers found themselves in a land of dust and darkness and even with Zaranqui gone no sunlight could reach the cursed valley that remained. All hope seemed lost until Zavain found that something burned his hooves. From the remnants of Mauvain, there were golden cinders, cinders that were quickly dying. Every survivor of Mauvain gave up their coats of fire and their immortal lives to the cinders to keep them burning and a surviving jewel smith fashioned a lantern out of crystal to keep the cinders in. The crystal had once been bathed in the Ivuzen and once inside the cinders burned without stopping. A new golden flame was born and each survivor instilled within it truth and valor to safeguard it from evil.

The lantern created a hallowed blue light that chased away the dust and shadow from the valley and slowly but surely sunlight hit the land. The surviving Quirani considered themselves to once again be the Rani and for a long time, they wandered beneath the shadows of Fianqui and Vainranqui until Zavain stopped before a natural cave in Fianqui and named it their new home. So the Rani once again became the Quirani and they built a new city they named Mauzaika, a second city more humble in spirit and size. There would be no dark greed from the depths in the second city and no king could rule forever for all that remained of the Ivuzen was the Zaikazen, the Truth-Fire, within its crystal lantern. The lantern was placed in a tower above Mauzaika so that's hallowed light could be seen by all and provide guidance to all that needed it.

And so ended the Dau Daizen and began the Dau Zaikazen, the Age of Truth-Fire. But it would become more famous by another name given to it by the Quirani descendants: Dau Zathon, The Age of Cinders.

A Changling and a Pebble Demands a Reward

View Online

“And there is no other way?”

“Please don’t tell me you still think me untrustworthy, Lieutenant! I saved that citizen on my own accord! There is no other way to purge the darkness from a living thing than with the flame of the eternal Ember. I swear upon the First-Fire and my ancestors that this is the truth. Furthermore, Mute can verify my words! Only I can save your ponies from shades.”

Adamantine gave the pebble a skeptical look. “And is Mute not your follower? A docile and loyal servant that would do anything you’d ask of him?”

Zarathon’s flames turned a crimson red. “He is not a servant. Never again will he be a servant for as long as I live.”

The Lieutenant had asked Mute and Zarathon to meet with him in his office after they had taken the survivor to the Ponyville hospital. The night had been waning as they walked to the barracks yet the darkness still clung to the streets and houses in Ponyville. There were many scaffoldings attached to homes and shops to allow workers access to their roofs. The fires had been put out quickly but the damage was still noticeable. The many wooden walkways around the buildings gave the impression that the town was only half built. As they all reached the barracks Radiant Sword asked the guards to wait in the office area while he took Mute and Zarathon to his office. The Lieutenant's office door was next to the blackboard and it bore his title and name in golden letters.

They had entered the office with quite some tension hanging in the air, especially since Adamantine joined them. The Lieutenant, being the gruff unicorn he was, demanded a detailed explanation of Zarathon’s means to ‘purge’ a shade from a pony’s body. Mute, after some hushed words from Zarathon, had placed the pebble on the Lieutenant’s desk and seated himself next to it, lazily eyeing the others.

The changeling could feel the annoyance that rolled off the Lieutenant and Duchess as Zarathon once more informed them that only the Ember could separate a host and a shade. Zarathon did so again, and again, and again. It reached a point where the conversation had repeated so many times that Mute had grown quite bored, and as such he tinkered with a newton’s cradle on the Lieutenant's desk. The ‘tick’ from when the metal balls hit one another was akin to a clock and the longer it ticked the more it seemed that Adamantine grew angry and Radiant tired.

“It is completely unacceptable that only you can—”

“No matter how many times I have to say it the answer will always be the same! I and my compatriot are the only ones that can save your ponies should they be possessed. Furthermore, it is not an easy thing to do even if it may look simple to a pony! There is a chance that a possessed creature will die as the shade is purged! It requires precision and a lot of learning to separate a shade from its host. So it would not matter if I taught you the entire Quiran tongue and every ward they conceived, you’d still be unable to purge shades, Duchess! You are untrained. For heaven's sake, you are not even a Lady of Cinder!” Zarathon shouted.

Adamantine growled. “Then make me one! I can master your Quiran arcane far faster than the changeling!”

Mute let an amused snort at her words, drawing a spiteful look from the mare. However, the changeling ignored her as the ticking of the newton’s cradle was far more interesting.

Zarathon on the other hand sighed in frustration. “I have said this before and I will only repeat it once: There can only be two Lords of Cinder. If I were to grant you the title I would have to forsake Mute, cutting his connection to the Ember, and I refuse to do so. Mute knows the wards and equations and he is dedicated to my cause. Mute is also reliable in combat and he is not sworn to serve Celestia. You are none of these things. Nor are you my friend.”

The Duchess grumbled before she pointed her hoof at the burning pebble. “For all we know you could be lying about who can use your magic! You could be lying about this Cinder business too! How are we supposed to know you are not just using this to gain leverage against the princesses!?”

“I am going to use this for leverage! I would be a fool if I let such an opportunity go to waste. But that does not make it any less true, you sun-loving!—”

“Enough!”

Mute jumped from his seat at the sudden interjection from Radiant Sword and he let out a disappointed huff as the older unicorn grabbed the newton’s cradle and dragged it away.

“As much as I don't like it, I think we have no other choice but to believe Zarathon’s words. We have seen nothing that would indicate there is another way to purge shades. I say that we write to the princesses that Zarathon is vital to our operations regarding the shades. We should also implore that they establish a specific branch of the army for the capture and safe-keeping of shade-possessed ponies. These possessed ponies can later be brought to Zarathon and saved,” the Lieutenant said.

Adamantine sighed but eventually caved. “Fine. I shall inform her of our conversation.“

“And in return for my and my friend’s continued cooperation as your ‘shade hunters’, I have a request. It must not be brought about today or tomorrow, but it is one I’d like to see happen soon. Mute has proven himself reliable when it comes to protecting your ponies and he has done so not with a wage or rewards but under threat of imprisonment, deportation, and even death. As such I would like for the Princess to apologize for her treatment of him by ennobling him and giving him land,” Zarathon said smugly.

Mute gave him a surprised look and he pulled out his notebook. He quickly wrote down ‘What about you?’ and showed it to the pebble.

“Later. You come first.”

Lieutenant Sword eyed the pebble with deep skepticism. The look he gave Zarathon would have been amusing if not for the frown on his face. "You believe the Princess would just give you a title?"

Zarathon chuckled. "Yes, I do."

Adamantine looked at Mute and Zarathon with a scowl. “Not happening. The Princess hasn’t made someone a noble in over a hundred years. Some families in Canterlot and Manehattan still hold a claim to their inherited titles such as mine, but that’s it! This is not something the princesses would grant you! And you would not get any land! The princesses know better than to let you rule over anything! The fact they have not torn down your 'Grand Palace' is more mercy than you two deserve!”

“How about a compromise then? If my friend can not be given land to rule then perhaps a place at the Canterlot court will suffice. Such an arrangement would be very beneficial for me and my friend," Zarathon said in amusement.

"You say I can not be a Lord of Cinder because I serve Princess Celestia, but you would be fine with him serving her?" the mare said with an annoyed frown and pointed to Mute.

Mute ignored her remarks, his focus squarely on the newton's cradle.

"Unlike you, Mute would not bend to her every word and tell her every secret I have. Additionally, your loyalty to the Princess is only one of the many issues I have with you, 'Duchess'. And if what you say is true, that Celestia would not grant Mute this courtesy (which would make her a fool), then you could send every possessed pony in Equestria my way and I would not save them. I'd let you watch as they are consumed by the shade, as they sire children made from flesh and shadow that serve the darkness unquestionably. I'll laugh as your cities are besieged by your possessed populace and wonder how such a prosperous and powerful race could have been so foolish.”

"Do not say such brash things, Zarathon! I will not have you toy with Eqsutrian lives for the sake of a title!" Radiant Sword said.

Adamantine slammed her hoof down into the table next to the pebble and she glared at him with a hateful hiss. “You dare threaten the lives of the innocents?”

Mute stood up, his every muscle tense and his stance rigid. He looked ready to pounce the mare and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Try me, child. I know how the Game is played and so do the Sun Goddess and Moon Mistress. The board might have a different coat of paint, and the pieces might have new shapes, but I know how to play nonetheless,” Zarathon said with a huff.

“I should shatter you right now!” Adamantine yelled and reared her head back, her horn ablaze with white light.

“Come then! Let me show you how I defeated Luna in the battle of the Prairies!” Zarathon yelled and his flames erupted like a bonfire around him.

Mute crouched down and let out a loud hiss, baring his fangs at the mare. The cracks in the changeling’s horn glowed and he held back tears as the pain flared, but he was too angry to not try! He’d show her what it meant to cross a Lord of Cinder!—

“THAT IS ENOUGH! All of you will calm down, right now! Lady Will, leave before there is a fight! Zarathon you will stop insulting the Princess! Mute you sit down or I will make you!” Radiant Sword yelled and got up from his chair.

The three looked stunned at the unicorn stallion's words, or at least Mute and Adamantine did. Zarathon's flames lessened in their intensity until they were their ordinary size. There was silence for a second before Adamantine growled at his words. “I am a Duchess of Canterlot! I am a protector of the princesses themselves! You do not get to order me around!”

“You are not in command here, I am! Leave before there is a fight! Tell the princesses of Zarathon's demands and let them deal with this instead!" Radiant huffed.

Adamantine's face twisted in rage before she let out a shuddering breath and stormed out of the office. The Lieutenant sat back down behind his desk and sighed in frustration. Mute gripped his horn with a pained groan and stumbled. He felt close to throwing up. Zarathon sighed and let his flames wash over Mute’s horn, soothing the pain. Mute nodded his head in thanks and sat back down beside the desk. While the fire did help he still looked at Zarathon pitifully.

“Still no improvement?”

Mute shook his head and eyed the Lieutenant. The stallion's rage seeped into the very air and smelled like burnt flesh, much to Mute's dissatisfaction. He opened his mouth and red whisps streamed from Radiant's chest into Mute's mouth. The changeling chewed it down as the Lieutenant watched in awe before the changeling suddenly gagged and hurried to a window. He puked out red goo onto the grass outside and desperately tried to get air into his lungs.

“You could have done that the entire time? Why did you not do that to the Duchess' anger?” the Lieutenant asked with a frown.

Mute returned to the desk with an unfocused stare and stumbled. He sat down and shook his head to clear away the fog Radaint’s anger had caused. Once his mind cleared the changeling wrote in his notebook once more. ‘I wanted her to be angry. It would give me an excuse to punch her.’

The Lieutenant snorted. “Fair enough.”

Mute put down his notebook and sat down in his chair once more. He gave Zarathon a curious glance and mimicked himself wearing a crown and then did a confused shrug.

Zarathon’s flames flickered in amusement. “Celestia will never ennoble me, even if I told her that the price of not doing so would be the death of any became possessed. But you… You are not me. You do not have my past or my grievances with ponykind. Nor have you battled with or injured the Sun Goddess. So if my price is for you to become a noble, then she might agree to it.”

Mute looked away and pondered on his friend’s words. Did he want to be ennobled by the Sun Goddess? Just being near her terrified him… He’d write down more words in the book. ‘I know naught how to rule.’

“You will learn, you must. A title gained through fortune requires more cunning and valor to keep than one gained by one’s virtue. Especially since you’d rely on the goddess’ grace to keep your title,” Zarathin mused. “And this act of mine is not just a kindness, it is an obligation I place upon you. You are a Lord of Cinder, yet by your admission, you know not how to rule. See this as your chance to learn.”

Mute gave the pebble a nod and looked out the window in the direction of the Ponyville library. He seemed to ponder on something, looking far more thoughtful than normally.

"They will agree to ennoble you, don't you worry about that," Zarathon said.

Lieutenant Sword on the other hand eyed the two of them with an uncertain frown. He especially looked disgusted at Zarathon's words regarding his demands. “It is a very cruel thing to do, Zarathon. You are the only one that can save those possessed, yet you're willing to withhold this unless Mute is granted some title? Do you think the Princess will agree to all of this? I may not know exactly what happened in the past but I can assure you they will not be happy with these demands. It's extortion. The chance that they'll grant Mute a noble title is slim at best. Not to mention that you're threatening my ponies. I won't let you keep away aid from them.”

Zarathon chuckled. “Aye, it is cruel. But it is necessary cruelty for the sake of the realm. You will not have to worry about your ponies going without aid, the princesses will agree. They can not afford to destroy me. Also, I choose to view this not as a gain through illicit means. This is a reward for my friend's valor! I think you'll find it easier to stomach if you think of it as such."

The unicorn stallion rubbed his forehead and mumbled in response.

Mute eyed Zarathon and pondered on his words. He wasn’t certain he deserved a reward for doing the right thing—the hive expected you to do the right thing—but he would not refuse it. Zarathon wanted this for him, that was clear. Though Mute couldn’t help but wonder why the pebble didn’t just ask the Princess to return the Everfree instead. Surely that would not be impossible to do? It was not like the forest was inhabited or used for anything. There were no ponies that used it for lumber or cut it down to make room for more fields.

Lieutenant Sword glanced back and forth between Mute and Zarathon. “If you're willing to go this far today... Just what did you do in the past, Zarathon?”

“What I must,” was the pebble’s only answer.

Radiant Sword looked unsatisfied with the cryptic answer but he gave the two of them a nod. “Very well, keep your secrets. It matters not as long as you keep my ponies safe, and you will keep them safe, title or not. Now, I must write some reports and see how the defenses worked during the night. You’re dismissed.”

Mute picked up Zarathon and they walked out of the office. They were met by the stare of all the guards. Arcane Song looked at them warily, fear and confusion rolled off her. Iron Hoof just looked angry, though Mute could feel that the large stallion was more confused than rageful. Thorne looked as placid as Mute, sitting by her desk and writing on some document. Holy Vow however walked up to him and Zarathon.

“What exactly happened in there just now? The Duchess looked real angry…” the pegasus said.

Iron Hoof let out a snort. “Angry? She looked ready to tear down the office! What in tarnation did you say to her!?”

Zarathon's flames flickered in amusement. “I shall not reveal anything. Mute can tell you later if he so pleases, but right now I believe we all need rest. It has been a long night, no?”

“I guess… I am tired after running around the forest,” Holy mumbled and stretched.

“Splendid! Then let us rest and we can speak of unpleasantries another time!”

Mute yawned and walked past Holy Vow towards the door leading out of the offices and onto the cold dirt road outside. It was the early hours of the morning so the sky was lit by a faint golden light, but it was still not light enough to cast away all shadows and darkness. Mute did note that Ponyvlle looked particularly beautiful as it was basked in the first light of the morning.

“Do you like this town, Mute?” Zarathon asked.

The changeling pondered on that question before he shrugged. He pulled out his notebook and wrote down a few words. ‘I don’t know it or the ponies well enough to say if I like it or not. But it is beautiful. And that one pink pony did give me a vial of pure love. So... I believe the town is worth protecting.’

“Yes, you are right. We have an obligation to this land. And you're correct, she did indeed gift you a vial! We must thank her later and ask her how she came across it. But now you must rest, and I must plan. We will find a way to regain my lost power yet.”

Mute nodded. ‘We must.’

So the pair headed for the Everfree, to their Grand Palace, for a well-deserved rest.

A Changeling Tries to Stop a Hoarding Dragon

View Online

It was a slow day in Ponyville. Or at least it felt slow and uninteresting to Mute. The changeling had his first day of guard duty which meant he had to dress up in armor (without the helmet since none fit him) and watch over the market. Mute found it exceedingly boring to stand by a street corner and keep an eye on the market stalls, but he had no choice in the matter. He tried to entertain himself by watching the ponies, but what he saw just convinced him further it was an unremarkable day. There were ponies trading in the market, mares gossiping at the cafe, and construction workers ran around to fetch building materials and tools. An ordinary day in pony society, and that made him want to sleep.

As the morning hours passed Mute eventually tried to distract himself by observing the market, but he soon grew annoyed as he saw bits exchange hooves several times. The changeling still did not get it. The concept of coinage was still weird to him. He could count the damn bits and give them to a merchant if he tried, but he still didn’t get it.

“Ah, still annoyed by capitalism I see,” Zarathon mused from his perch behind Mute’s horn. “You know it was quite the revolutionizing invention back in the day. Of course, it was not the same. Child labor was extremely lucrative but now there are ‘laws and regulations' and ponies keep refusing my business ideas because ‘children need education'. Humbug, I say! When I was a child I was sent to make arrowheads for the army and oil the soldiers' swords! Hard labor builds character!”

Mute let out a snort at the pebble’s words.

“Why are you laughing? I am completely serious.”

Mute tried his best to ignore Zarathon and he turned his gaze to the cafe. He tried to listen to what the mares were talking about. Some gossiped that something big was being planned in Canterlot. Another talked about the mare that had been submitted to the hospital after she’d been possessed. Another talked excitedly about someone named Ms. Cake and her pregnancy. The mares were oblivious to his ears bending in their direction until one mare noticed him staring. She mumbled to her friends and they quickly paid for their food and left.

“Well… I suppose I was a bit brash during the party,” Zarathon admitted sheepishly. “I do not blame them for fearing me. Of course, they should fear and respect me. But how are you to find a proper mate if no mare dare thread near me?”

Mute shook his head to rattle around the pebble, to which Zarathon let out curses.

“I apologize! But you must find a wife eventually! You can not—”

Mute rattled around the pebble some more until the talk of wives and mates stopped.

Holy Vow would eventually join the pair by the street corner overlooking the market. The pegasus yawned and held a cup of coffee with his wing. He observed the market stalls for a second before he gave the changeling and pebble a nod. “Morning. Is everything well?”

“Not a single dispute. No arguments, no curses, and no excitement. It is dreadfully boring standing here,” Zarathon mumbled.

Holy chuckled. “Yeah… It is a lot more fun watching the Everfree forest. You get to see a lot of animals walk past thanks to Miss Fluttershy having her cabin near the watch tower. Though I think you two should be happy that it is a calm day. Ponyville tends to get roped into all kinds of trouble.”

Mute piqued up and pulled out his notebook. ‘What kind?’

“Well… We have had an Ursa Minor almost crush the town once. That was fun… Then there was that time we were invaded by parasprites. The little buggers chewed down half my bed and were only stopped by Miss Pie leading them away with music. We also had a chaos god briefly show up and take control of everything. Not to mention the many monsters that try to walk into town from the Everfree every week… There are many kinds of trouble Ponyville finds itself involved with.”

Zarathon hummed in amusement. “I and my compatriot saw some of Discord’s handiwork in Manehattan during his return. I was quite impressed, though I will admit I felt great terror at his horrible sense of color. No hue fit with another…”

Holy Vow took a sip from his coffee. “I say you should enjoy these quiet days where you just watch the streets. There aren’t any monsters or gods here right now to muck everything up.”

At that moment a small purple dragon passed them by. The dragon wore a white hat with a red feather and he bounced along a blue and yellow ball. Mute tilted his head at the sight of the baby dragon while Holy smiled and waved at it.

“Afternoon, Spike! Happy birthday!”

The baby dragon turned to face them with a grin that bordered on mischievous. “Thanks, Holy Vow! Say you wouldn’t—”

Spike, as the dragon was aptly named, stopped as he noticed Mute and Zarathon. He stared at the changeling at a loss for words until Zarathon let out a deep chuckle.

“Congratulations, young one. I see you have been given a few gifts already,” the pebble said.

“I… Uh yeah! Miss Cheerlie was nice and gave me this hat! And Lickity Split gave me this ball! And before all that I got a lot of gifts! Today has been great!” Spike said. “Though… I think Twilight told me not to speak with you…”

“Nonsense! I have done no harm to the Sun Goddess’ pupil and I am quite fond of children. You have nothing to fear. In fact… Mute don’t we have something we could give to Spike?”

Mute shrugged and pulled his saddlebags from his back. The changeling opened them and pulled out a pouch of bits. He threw it to the baby dragon with a smile and a nod. Mute had always been fond of the broodlings in the Hive and he supposed the dragon reminded him a bit about them.

Spike caught the pouch of coins and looked at it with a wide smile before he looked up at the changeling. “Thank you!”

Mute gave the dragon a nod.

“Well I wish I had something to give you as well, Spike, but I’m afraid I got nothing. Unlike the ‘Lords’ here I don’t have a mountain of bits stashed away in a mansion,” Holy said with a mirthful smile.

Zarahon scoffed. “Mansion? It is our Grand Palace! At least call it by its proper title, Private!”

“Yeah, yeah. Grand Palace.”

“A mountain of bits you say?...” Spike mumbled. “Well I have to get going, but I’ll talk to you later!”

Zarathon chuckled as Spike ran off and the pebble seemed very pleased with himself. “We did a good thing, Mute. We have helped that dragon start his hoard. He will grow mighty indeed.”

Mute looked up towards his horn in confusion. ‘Hoard?’

“Aye! He is a Zenkai after all! They grow their size and the strength of their flames by hoarding objects. Marvelous creatures dragons are! Of course, it takes them many years to grow in size considering the competitive nature of their kind, but I find it an admirable trait. I should light a candle for Spike when we return to the Grand Palace. I believe the traditional blessing of luck would be advantageous. After all, one of the noble Zenkai being raised in an environment like this? It is bound to cause some problems,” Zarathon mused.

Holy gave the burning pebble a questioning look. “You saying Miss Sparkle isn’t taking good care of him?”

“Hum? Oh no, that is not what I am saying. He looks healthy. You ponies just often forget that the other races are not like you. The Quirani worshipped the flames, may they be of the bonfire or war. The griffons valued wealth and valor until their love for the first became the destruction of the other. The yaks are brutes, stubborn, and tribal, but loyal to a fault. Dragons are greedy and strong, their might is matched by few, and their will is matched by none. Ponies are prone to bicker over little things, but they are quick to forgive and when unified can accomplish great feats. Changelings are meritocratic, hate instability, slow to change, and slow to trust. All the races that walk this realm differ from the others.”

“I suppose you might have a point on the bickering…” Holy said dryly and observed a mare in the market argue with a fruit vendor. “Let’s hope those two don’t come to blows.”

Mute pondered on Zarathon’s words. Were changelings slow to change? It had seemed to him that the Queen had implemented her plans swiftly and effectively, breeding new legions of Warriors, Infiltrators, Workers, and Praetorians. The great expansion of the Hive had even prompted an expansion of the Archivists to help with the added logistical issues. The changelings had quickly adapted to that. Or at least it had seemed as such when Mute was a broodling. The older Warriors had often complained about how impatient and fast the Hive seemed to have gotten. Mute just remembered the speed and stress as something usual.

‘What about the Hive?’ Mute wrote down in his book.

Zarathon was quiet for a few seconds. “An anomaly, but an anomaly still bound to the castes. Expansion and construction were swift, but did your race change in any other way?”

‘No, I suppose not. Not yet anyway.’

“Then I am still correct.”

Holy Vow eyed Mute and Zarathon for a second like he was looking for the correct words to say. Then he tentatively approached the subject. “I know I asked this during the train ride to Canterlot, but I have so many questions about you two. One day you show up in the market, poorly haggling with Silver Wind for a spider necklace—”

“That was perfectly fine haggling!”

“You then build a mansion in a few minutes—”

Zarathon snorted in anger. “Grand. Palace. It is not some paltry estate of a low noble! It is a building benefiting my and my friend’s greatness! And I’ll have you know it took more than a few minutes! The interior wasn’t done!”

Holy shook his head in amusement. “You then show up to one of Miss Pie’s welcoming parties, demand that we vassalize ourselves, and then go on to defeat a large shadow monster. And throughout it all, I am more and more confused as to who and what you are.”

Mute found himself somewhat amused by the pegasus’ confusion. He supposed it was strange from a pony’s perspective to see a changeling and talking pebble. Especially since Holy Vow did not know about Zarathon’s merits as a leader. Mute had expected the vassalization to work because Zarathon had assumed such. However ancestral ties and merit did not mean much without an army.

‘Zarathon already described my race,’ Mute wrote down and yawned.

“And if you were to describe the changelings? How would you do it?”

Mute thought for a second before he began to quickly write down a paragraph in the book. ‘Changelings are loyal and unified. They follow the will of the Queen and royal family, with a few exceptions. There are circumstances where one may bend the rules, but these are rare and must only be done if it furthers the prosperity or unity of the Hive as a whole. Changelings also value other changelings in their caste. A brood brother’s life must be defended.’

“So you have a Queen… Well, what about these castes and brood brothers?” Holy asked.

‘Changelings are separated into castes based on our biology. Their society is structured around them and all must obey the limitations and restrictions it imposes. The Queen rules them all and they must take her into account for every decision they make. Below her are the Praetorians, they are generals and the commanders. Below the Praetorians stand the Warriors, Infiltrators, and Scouts. Below them are the Workers who expand and repair the Hive. At the bottom of it all are Outsiders and Exiles, those without any say or place in the Hive. I was a Warrior, which you can see by my build and trinary horn. Seniority and skill are very important things in the Hive, and such I answered to older Warriors, Infiltrators, and Scouts. They in turn answer to the Praetorians and the Queen. Well, technically all answer to the Praetorians and the Queen, but you get the point.’

Holy looked impressed as he finished reading. “My sister would love to see your race. She loves to explore other places and cultures. I probably wouldn’t like it though. I am too fond of Canterlot and Ponyville to stray far. Though I have to ask, why are you here? Why are you running around with Zarathon instead of being with the Hive?”

Mute looked away and closed his eyes. His face twisted with pain and he shook his head at the pony. He couldn’t. He did not have the strength to think about it right now. Mute felt the urge to light a candle for the shrine back home and he let out a shuddering breath.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“Some things should be addressed later, Private. Such as what I and Mute did before coming to Ponyville. Other things should not be spoken of at all,” Zarathon huffed. “Unless Mute deems them worthy of discussion.”

Mute shook his head at that. They were certainly not worth discussing now!

Holy gave the pebble and changeling an uncertain nod. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry I asked.”

The pegasus placed himself next to Mute and awkwardly watched the market. The rest of the shift passed without any real noteworthy event, the exception being Spike running back and forth with an assortment of items that kept building. Zarathon just thought it was amusing and when asked by Holy Vow if they should do something about it the pebble just said that everything would be fine. Mute was pretty certain Zarathon just said so because he found the dragon’s cleptomania funny, but the changeling ignored it. When their shift ended Mute quickly bowed his head goodbye to Holy and hurried home. The changeling wanted to sleep.

Mute was assigned to the Everfree watchtower the following day together with Thorne. The wooden structure stood at the edge of town and overlooked the forest perimeter and from it, Fluttershy’s cabin was partially visible. According to Thorne, the structure had only recently been erected after an ever-increasing influx of monsters came from the Everfree. Now with the threat of shades, it seemed more vital than ever. At the top of the tower, they had access to an alarm that would blare if any monster came from the woods and they also had access to a crossbow if need be. Zarathon had requested that Lieutenant Sword add a trebuchet or ballista to the tower weaponry, something the unicorn had rejected. So they simply sat in the tower and waited for something to happen.

“Are the ponies giving you stares?” Thorne asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the tower.

“Well of course they are! They are impressed by my luster and—”

“I was speaking to the changeling,” she interjected with a sharp look.

“How rude…” Zarthon mumbled.

Mute eyed the rune-covered earth pony with curiosity and shrugged. He was not one to take notice of ill-treatment or stares. Ponies had always stared once he began to travel with Zarathon. He took out his notebook and placed it on the table in the middle of the floor. ‘They do, but they always have.’

“Don’t let it get to you. They always stare when they see something new or unusual. A few have requested that the Lieutenant have the both of you sent away somewhere, but he has rejected those requests. They will get used to you in time. Eventually, the giant bug and talking burning rock will just be yet another common sight for them,” Thorne said and took out a pack of cigarettes. She grabbed one with her mouth and pressed it against a rune on her foreleg. The rune glowed red until the cigarette suddenly lit up. She breathed in the nicotine smoke and puffed it out her nose.

Mute gave the mare a thankful nod and observed her body. The runes had been deliberately made and taken much precision. Just how the mare had endured carving them onto herself he couldn’t figure out for the life of him.

“Miss Thorne, may I ask you about the runes?” Zarathon asked.

The mare gave the two and small grin and flexed her muscles, showing off the many marks across her body. “These? They are my weapons and shields. I got them during the conflicts in Luna Bay. Pirates and bandits found a way to make runes work on their bodies, something that was unheard of before that point. And the fact a bunch of pirates figured it out only added insult to injury. I learn how they did it when I was stationed in the Diamond Isles and found that the runes agreed with me.”

Zarathon’s flames flickered slowly from side to side, a sign he was thinking deeply about something. “Tell me is Luna Bay the sea to the northwest?”

Mute grabbed Zarathon from behind his horn and put him down on the table. He wondered where the pebble was going with this.

“Hum? Yeah, what about it?” Thorne asked.

“The art of inscribing runes on living flesh to grant it further power was invented by a Quiran by the name of Vazlan. Zaivuira—that would be Lord of Cinders in your tongue—Vazlan of House Hozten, my ancestor. You see, our runes are complicated, superior to others, and intrinsically linked to life itself. No, it is more factual to say they are linked to the fire of creation itself. Vazlan followed their connection to life and through years of research infused himself with a rune to shield him from all blows. The ivu orin, or holy rune or First-Rune. That rune was lost after some tragic events so just ignore it. The most important fact is that our runes were interwoven with living things. That was why my ancestors struggled for quite some time to make our runes work with non-living materials. Yet despite the fact, your runes lack this connection to the Ember you have made it work with the harsh pony runes…”

Thorne grinned at the pebble. “I don’t know anything about Quirans or fires of creation, but I can tell you we have no problems with our runes. Maybe your runes aren’t as superior as you think?”

“Maybe pony… Maybe…” Zarathon mumbled thoughtfully.

That was when their conversation was interrupted by a large roar. The sound pierced the air akin to a javelin and Mute ducked for cover with Zarathon clutched to his chest. Soon he looked up and saw Thorne stare in disbelief at the town. Mute turned his eyes towards Ponyville and stared with an annoyed expression. It was the kind of low annoyance one had when reality seemed to offend one’s sensibilities.

‘Why is a dragon in the middle of town?’ he wrote down on in his book and pressed it into Thorne’s face.

The mare just continued to stare forward in disbelief, frozen.

Meanwhile, Zarathon cackled with pure excitement and it downright sounded maniacal. “Oh, I am getting my ballista now! I am getting my ballista!!!”

Chaos came in many forms. The divine kind is delivered by gods such as Discord. The natural kind happened in the Everfree and Prowl. And then there was the stupid kind, like when a dragon suddenly rampaged through a small town.

“How are we supposed to!?—”

“Help! Help!!!”

“Someone stop it!”

Mute watched it all as the dragon ran across town. It almost trampled several ponies, destroyed a blaring alarm, and then it approached the carousel-shaped shop. It reached in through a window and pulled out a familiar white unicorn (Mute tried to remember her name and landed on Medium Rare). The beast curled its tail around her and carried her along. The changeling watched as the dragon then eyed the items it was holding with uncertainty before it was struck by an idea. It hurried to a water silo and grabbed it. The water released flooded the streets and washed away ponies as well as debris. The dragon damaged walls and scaffoldings as it moved until it came to stop in the town’s main square where the market was usually kept.

The Ponyville guard looked on from a street close to the market. They stood unmoving, no one certain what to do with a dragon that could crush them with one step.

“What do we do?...” Holy asked and shifted his spear back and forth between his wings.

Mute shrugged.

“Get a ballista! A real large one!” Zarathon said with a giddy laugh.

‘I thought dragons were holy to Quirans?’ Mute wrote down and held up the book for Zarathon to read.

“There is no law against fighting them! A dragon slayer is also revered for defeating a creature of such might! Imagine the glory, Mute! Onward! We must attack!

“No ballista and no attacking! That is Miss Sparkle’s dragon, you lunatic! And he has a hostage!” Adamantine Will said with a growl.

Lieutenant Sword balked at that. “That’s Spike!?”

Zarathon stopped his mad laughter and his flames leaned forward as if to get a better look. The warm sensation from the flames enveloping Mute’s horn was quite nice to the changeling.

“...It seems she is correct, Mute. I retract my orders on the ballista. I suggest a large hammer and a blow to the back of Spike’s head instead.”

“I don’t think we got a big enough hammer, Lord Zarathon…” Arcane Song said and hid behind Iron Hoof.

As they discussed amongst themselves how to deal with the giant firebreathing lizard of death two ponies took it upon themselves to do it for them. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash (Mute was surprised he remembered their names) flew up to the dragon’s head and began to tell it to let its hostage go. Rainbow Dash tried the assertive approach while Fluttershy attempted soft-spoken diplomacy.

Mute wrote up two columns in his notebook and wrote Rainbow’s name over one and Fluttershy’s name over the other.

“Ah! Perfect idea, Mute! Everyone we are now taking bets on who will be eaten first! I will add a modest sum of twenty bits to the pot that the yellow one will become kibble,” Zarathon said.

‘The blue one has a grating voice though,’ Mute wrote under the columns.

“...point taken. Twenty bits on the blue one!”

“Ten on Fluttershy,” Iron Hoof said nonchalantly.

“Stop messing around! We need to focus on helping them! Private fly up and get them away from Spike! The rest of you help me lead him away from town!” Lieutenant Sword yelled.

Just as they began to move Spike roared and began to swat at the two pegasi with his tail. The guards watched as Rainbow and Fluttershy tried to dodge the attacks only to get caught on Medium Rare’s cape. The cape was torn off and the two pegasi fell toward the earth, completely enveloped in the pink cloth.

“Holy, now!” the Lieutenant said.

Holy Vow dropped his weapon and gave a mighty flap with his wings. He threw up a mighty gust as he soared through the air toward the falling cloth only to catch it at the last minute before it hit the ground. The pegasus managed to get it away from Spike’s feet before its weight became too much and it hit the ground, dragging Holy down with it. The pegasus stallion was launched straight into what remained of a fruit stall and he crawled out covered in sticky fruit juices. Fluttershy and Rainbow got up from the bundle of cloth and stumbled, both helping Holy onto his hooves.

Mute would have given the rescue ten points if he had any signs.

It was then Rainbow Dash excitedly pointed to the sky and Mute watched as three pegasi clad in tight-fitting blue outfits swooped down from the sky to take a swing at the dragon. Three. The Sun Goddess had sent three pegasi to defeat a dragon.

“Finally… The Wonderbolts can handle it,” Adamantine Will said smugly. “This is what Canterlot stock can do.”

“...Can I change my bet? Those three pegasi seem like much more likely candidates now,” Zarathon whispered to Mute.

As the guards filtered into the square Adamantine hurried along with Iron Hoof and Arcane Song to the opposite end of the open space. The Duchess yelled that they needed to keep Spike in the square and distract him. The Lieutenant nodded at the mare’s words and shouted orders for Mute and Thorne to stand with him. Zarathon let out a shrill whistle towards Holy Vow and the rescued pegasi mares (how the pebble produced such sounds was still a mystery to Mute) and Holy practically dragged the two mares with him towards the Lieutenant.

While the guards did their best to spread out across the ground the Wonderbolts flew back and forth near Spike’s head. The large dragon dodged the pegasi the best he could and roared in frustration as they avoided his grasp. Though the dragon soon laid his eyes on a mountain not too far away from the town and took a step toward it. Unfortunately for him, the path was blocked by Adamantine Will’s group.

“No, you don’t!” The Duchess yelled as the dragon tried to leave the square and she sent a blast of magic into his stomach.

Spike stumbled back at the sudden attack and he peered down at the unicorn mare with a glare. He huffed and black smoke escaped his nostrils. As the Wonderbolts swooped in to take another swing at the dragon’s head he grabbed one of them, a stallion with a black mane, and he hurled him at Adamantine.

To be fair to the Duchess she did catch the stallion with a levitation spell before he hit her. Unfortunately for her, that was all the distraction Spike needed and he ran past the group. Mute could have sworn he saw Arcane Song faint as Spike stepped over them on his way toward the mountain. Lieutenant Sword cursed and began to run, following the dragon. Thorne and Holy followed him along with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. However Mute just trotted after them, adding more names to the “first eaten by the rampaging dragon” chart.

“I do believe we should also be on the list, just in case,” Zarathon mused.

Mute scoffed in amusement and followed the Lieutenant as they picked up Adamantine’s group (excluding Arcane Song who they had to leave with Iron Hoof. She actually had fainted). They took the main road towards the river next to the town and passed some familiar ponies that watched the commotion from the bridge. Rainbow and Fluttershy quickly joined their friends while Adamantine stopped and grabbed hold of Twilight Sparkle with a growl.

“How do we get him to stop!?” she demanded of the purple unicorn.

“I— I don’t know! He is completely out of control! He began to hoard more and more stuff and he just kept growing!” Twilight said.

“Well, this sort of growth is not natural. A dragon doesn’t usually find such a large hoard in a day, but you ponies are a generous sort. I suggest we call on the Sun Goddess,” Zarathon said.

Rainbow Dash flew right up to Mute’s face, or rather his horn, and glared at the pebble. “Why don’t you do something!? You got all that special fire magic stuff!”

“With all due respect, blue one, I don’t have a ward or spell that would leave the dragon unharmed. Unless of course, you want me to harm him? I can tell Mute to get started on a ballista and the proper wards right away!” the pebble said with excitement.

Fluttershy gasped and flew up to them. “No ballista! You can’t hurt him!”

“What Miss Fluttershy said! No ballista, dammit!” The Lieutenant huffed.

Twilight glared at the pebble. “I will not let you hurt Spike, is that understood?”

Zarathon’s flames flickered out for a second and he huffed. “You ponies are no fun.”

While Spike at first headed for the mountain the dragon suddenly spotted something in the Everfree. His eyes lit up and he hurriedly ran towards the woods and reached down towards… Mute’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in horror. The great crash of stained glass and wooden beams made the changeling slam his head into the stone railing of the bridge.

“THAT IS THE GRAND PALACE YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD! LEAVE IT ALONE!” Zarathon screamed with indignant rage.

Spike would retrieve several valuable items from the Grand Palace all the while he dodged and swatted at the Wonderbolts. He grabbed golden candle sticks, rare books that thrummed with magical energy, sacks full of bits, a mirror with a silver frame, most of Zarathon’s wardrobe, some of Adamantine’s belongings (never before had Mute seen a unicorn puff up with absolute rage), and...

Mute let out a screech so loud it made the ponies jump from fright and the changeling set off towards the dragon while angry hisses and gargled yells escaped his throat.

Spike had taken the shrine. He had taken the shrine with all the offerings and finely crafted gifts. Mute was going to kill him.

“Mute! Stop! There is no point! We can’t fight him without the others!” Zarathon yelled and a wall of fire erupted in front of Mute.

The changeling stopped and gave the pebble a hateful hiss.

“Calm yourself! What would she think if she saw you acting like a rabid animal? Now go back to the others, we need a plan!” the pebble yelled.

Mute looked to Spike as he hurried towards the mountain and the changeling took a deep and calming breath. Zarathon was right, there was no point chasing after the dragon alone. Mute ran back toward the group of ponies with a determined look.

Spike managed to make it to the mountain and began to scale it before the Wonderbolts caught up. The dragon dug his claws into the rock and climbed up towards its peak. The Wonderbolts once again swooped down to take a swipe at Spike. This time they managed to cut off some of the dragon’s spikes, which just looked like they had given it an impromptu haircut. Spike, very likely annoyed that he had been given a catastrophic hairdo, hurried up to a cave and deposited everything he had in the water silo into it. Including the shrine. He covered the cave with his own body as the Wonderbolts swooped down one more time and narrowly missed Spike’s neck. This time the dragon looked furious. Mute could only give an unimpressed stare as the Wonderbolts flew down once more and landed straight in the water silo. Spike then promptly smashed the open end of the silo into the mountain to lock away the flying pests.

“Canterlot stock you said?” Zarathon said to Adamantine.

“Be quiet, you pompous rock!” The Duchess growled. “Everyone we need to move now!”

Mute grabbed the unicorn mare before she could run and shook his head. He pointed towards how far up Spike had gotten and gave her a questioning look. They needed some plan to get to the dragon first.

“My compatriot raises a good point, how would we fight him? We do not have enough pegasi for this. Not even Quiran wards would be able to reach him.”

Adamantine growled and watched the mountain with worry. “We must do something! Thorne, does any of your runes help with this!?”

“What? Against a dragon!? Are you mad, Duchess!?” Thorne yelled.

“What about a ward that acts a bit like a trebuchet?” Zarathon suggested.

Mute gave an enthusiastic nod at that. Just give him a chance and he’d deck the dragon so hard Spike would wake up the next Tuesday.

“How would that be any better than a ballista?...” Radiant Sword groaned.

“Well since we don’t have a big enough hammer we need to deliver blunt force trauma some way!”

“No weapons!” Twilight yelled.

As the group argued on what to do Mute noticed that Medium Rare spoke to the dragon. The mare gestured and showed off her ruined cape which only seemed to annoy the dragon who cast aside the ruined cloth. Mute watched then as the dragon stared at the mare and paused, seemingly entrenched by something he saw. It did not take long before Spike shook his head and began to shake. And then the very large dragon suddenly transformed into a baby dragon once more. The problem that immediately appeared was that Spike and Medium Rare now plummeted towards the earth.

Pinkie Pie—who had spent her time eyeing it all through binoculars—gasped and fell into her back. “Someone do something!”

“On it!” Both Holy Vow and Rainbow Dash said at the same time.

The two pegasi threw themselves toward the falling pair and flew as fast as they could. Holy grabbed Medium Rare and circled back while Rainbow did the same for Spike. As they landed Medium Rare was swamped by her friends who embraced her. Meanwhile, the water silo fell away from the mountain and allowed the Wonderbolts to flee. Truly they were Canterlot stock.

Mute did watch as Spike walked up to the edge of the bridge and sat down. The changeling walked up to the dragon and watched as he compared his claws to a large footprint next to the river. Mute placed his forelegs on the edge and leaned forward to eye the dragon. Mute couldn’t help but give him the stink eye.

“Are you alright, young one?” Zarathon asked.

“I guess…” Spike mumbled.

“Spike, I just have to tell you how absolutely proud I am of you.”

Mute and Spike both turned around and saw Medium Rare. The white unicorn gave the baby dragon a proud smile.

“Proud of me?” Spike asked.

“Yes. It was you who stopped… Well, you, from destroying Ponyville. You’re my hero Spikey Wikey,” Medium Rare said and kissed the dragon’s cheek.

Mute did find Spike’s bashful smile quite adorable. Though he did wonder how they were gonna repair the extensive property damage and retrieve all their belongings. His heart ached for the safety of the shrine. Zarathon also seemed to wonder about this considering his next words.

“So who will pay for the repairs? And how are gonna get down our belongings?”

Holy Vow eyed the burning Pebble. “Well, we can fly up and get it. But you are sitting on a small mountain of gold, are you not? When we have retrieved it that is. And you knew about the hoarding but didn’t tell Miss Twilight about it.”

“So did you, Private!” Zarathon said in shock.

“Because you told me it was nothing to worry about!” Holy huffed.

“Zarathon knew!?” Adamantine hissed.

Twilight stared at Zarathon in shock. “You could have stopped this yesterday!”

“I only knew that is how dragons grow! I never would have imagined this! It is not my fault you can not accommodate a dragon’s needs!” the pebble huffed.

The Duchess gave the pebble an unimpressed look. “You know, nobility in the Canterlot court pays taxes proportionate to their wealth. And you two seem to have a lot of wealth.”

“No taxation without representation! This is discriminatory against all Quirani!”

Mute felt a great bit of dread at the thought of his hard-earned bits being dragged away by the tax collectors. Though the ponies did have a point… Zarathon had allowed the hoarding to continue to amuse himself. And that had allowed the shrine to end up in a cave atop a mountain. Mute put down Zarathon the stone railing and gave him an unimpressed look and pointed towards the mountain.

The ponies present all glared at the pebble until his flames were tiny. Zarathon cleared his throat and his flames rebounded. “I, the gracious and generous Zarathon, shall rebuild Ponyville at my own expense! And I shall have your shrine returned to you as soon as possible, Mute.”

The tension in the air eased and the ponies discussed amongst themselves what to do next. Adamantine and Lieutenant Sword pulled Spike aside and gave him a proper scolding for his actions. Meanwhile, Zarathon eyed the main six. The pebble’s flames waved slowly from side to side and he spoke in hushed tones to Mute.

“I believe it might be in our best interest to be more proactive and engage more with those six. They each hold an Element of Harmony and as such are very valuable allies. I suggest we befriend the yellow one first, she lives closest to the Grand Palace. Or what's left of it... Furthermore, it might allow us to avoid situations like this in the future.”

Mute gave the pebble an annoyed look and wrote in his notebook. ‘You are at fault for what happened today though.’

“This would have happened with or without me, Mute! But in the future, I will do my best to ensure we are spared from chaos like this. Just trust me, my friend.”

Mute sighed and gave the pebble a nod before he eyed the far-off cave.

‘You better pay respect at her shrine later or I swear upon the Seamstress I will throw you in the river.’

Zarathon snorted at that. “Of course, my friend. I'll procure some expensive tea or incense to offer as well.”

Mute just grunted in response and looked at Fluttershy. For a second the yellow pegasus noticed his stare and she hid behind Rainbow Dash. Once the cyan-colored pegasus noticed her friend's distress she threw the pebble and changeling a stink eye. Rainbow spoke in a hushed tone and soon the six pony mares (and Spike) left the bridge. Mute let out a deep sigh through his nose and stared at the group. That was going to pose a problem.

A Changeling Befriends an Animal-Lover

View Online

“Is this not a bit excessive, my friend?” Zarathon asked.

Mute grunted as he wrapped yet another chain around the base of the shrine and anchored it to a metal ring on the floor. The chain was the last of five and as the changeling finally attached it to the floor he collapsed and panted for air. Zarathon watched him from the living room table, his flames bent forward as if observing the changeling intensely.

“While it looks very impressive I’m not certain that would stop another dragon from stealing it.”

Mute got up and inspected the shrine. It had taken several days to have the shrine returned to the Grand Palace. It had apparently fallen into some hidden chamber and it had taken the pegasi workers a long time to find it. Though considering the looks they had given him Mute was almost certain it had more to do with their dislike for him and Zarathon than a supposed hidden chamber. And the damage to the shrine made Mute grind his fangs in anger.

The fine oak base of the shrine had some scratches from its adventure with Spike and the bulbous spirit house on top of it had lost some of its green colors. The spire-riddled roof and wicker doors of the spirit house had also suffered a bit of damage. A few of the spires had been torn off and one of the wicker doors had a hole through it. Likey that was where Spike’s claw had pierced it. Mute eyed the damages with a sigh and ran a hoof along the damaged wicker door. For a second he felt a familiar scent and warmth envelop him and a soft smile graced his lips. The changeling made sure the chains were truly secure and then took a step back from the shrine. It had lost much of its glory, but none of its warmth.

Of course, the shrine was not the only thing damaged by Spike’s rampage. A great tarp covered the roof of the Grand Palace to keep out rain and workers toiled upstairs to fix the upper floors. Mute could look up and see most of the upper floor through a hole in the ceiling. He spotted a mare clad in a construction vest who walked up to her colleagues. The workers discussed how to get the roof fixed before the snow came.

From their tone, Mute imagined he and Zarathon would be without a roof for a while…

Zarathon hummed and observed the shrine, ignoring the conversations upstairs. “We can hire one of the carpenters to fix it. The ponies that are repairing the Grand Palace might be able to help once they are done with the roof and upper floors. That would mean it would remain damaged for a while. However, I don’t want you to see that as a failure on your part. You have not insulted Lamp—”

Mute threw the pebble such a spiteful glare that he didn’t finish saying the name. The changeling then turned back to the shrine and opened it. Inside he saw the silver spider necklace (thankfully Spike had not torn it from the shrine) as well as a green gemstone and a few wooden trinkets he had carved himself. Mute picked up the gemstone and pressed it against his brow. It was warm to the touch and pulsed with life. The changeling held it there for a minute and grunted, his best attempt at prayer, and then placed it back in the spirit house. He then went about the room, opened a cupboard, and gathered three red candles, a bowl, and incense sticks. He grabbed Zarathon along the way before he deposited the objects in the spirit house. He placed the three candles behind the silver necklace and held out Zarathon who lit them. Then the changeling went to fetch water from a rain barrel outside and he filled the bowl with it. The bowl was too placed in the spirit house and the incense sticks were placed on top of it. Zarathon lit the sticks as well and a soft rosemary and thyme scent spread over the room.

“It has been three years, Mute.”

The changeling ignored him.

“You must be able to say her name.”

Mute gave the pebble an unamused look.

“You know what I mean. Would she have wanted you to keep her name from the shrine? Will you avoid it until the Cinder grows cold?”

Mute grabbed his notebook with a scowl. He wrote quickly and with force, almost piercing the paper. ‘I am not worthy of saying her name. And her name is already inscribed in the large shrine in the central spire. The changelings won’t forget her name.’

“I am not speaking of the changeling race, I am talking about you! You will forget the light she brought you if you keep her name locked away! No even worse, her memory will become corrupted. How are you to grieve properly if you keep avoiding it?”

Mute shook his head and scoffed. ‘Wasn't it you who told me to reign in fickle emotions for the good of the realm?’

"I did, but you can not control those emotions if you do not even acknowledge them. You must allow yourself to grieve. As a Lord of Cinder, you must be grounded and balanced. You wield a power of the ancient world and you must be focused and stalwart to use it properly. You can not allow this imbalance to continue if you wish to be a Lord of Cinder."

Mute growled and wrote quickly. 'You wish to lecture me about grieving? Have you said your wife's name since you returned? Your daughter's name? Have you ever asked anyone about them? Or do you fear the answer so much you hide from it? So who of us is really imbalanced, Lord Zarathon?'

"Careful, Mute. You're treading on thin ice..." Zarathon said darkly.

'Then tell me their names. I told you her name after all. So talk about your wife and daughter. Or will you grow quiet and deflect like you always do? Will you pretend it never happened and then scold me about grief whenever I pray?'

Zarathon grew quiet at that.

‘Thought so,’ Mute wrote and threw the book to the living room couch.

The moment was interrupted as Admantine Will walked downstairs. The mare was dressed in a blue military jacket with golden emblems of the sun and her noble House on it. She also had a purple silk band tied around her chest. Quite formal for what Mute assumed was a normal day. The fact that the Duchess even had access to those clothes annoyed him. Adamantine had been lucky unlike him and Zarathon since her (in reality Zarathon’s) room had been left mostly intact after Spike rummaged around the Grand Palace. The changeling threw the mare a cold look before he prayed again.

Adamantine eyed the shrine for a second before her eyes settled on Mute. “I will need the house for the day. I must speak with some visitors from Canterlot and the living room is the only place we got left that isn’t trashed.”

Zarathon huffed. “Get your own Palace. Or better yet do it in the library or barracks! Do it anywhere but here!”

“I’m afraid I’m not asking. I suggest you and your friend here find something else to do while I discuss some things with my guests.”

Mute rolled his eyes at the mare and placed Zarathon behind his head. The changeling packed his notebook into his saddlebag and threw it over his back. He gave the Duchess a sour look and then he headed to the front door.

“You can’t just obey her, Mute! This is our home!” Zarathon exclaimed.

“For now,” Adamantine scoffed as Mute left the building.

The changeling would stretch as he walked out into the sunlit day and he observed the trees around them. Zecora might be home, but Mute would rather not interrupt her potion-making. The last time he (or rather Zarathon) had disturbed the zebra he’d felt a cold chill throughout his body for a week. So he thought of someplace else he could go. Slowly he remembered his conversation with Zarathon after Spike’s rampage had been halted, about how they needed to be more proactive regarding the element bearers. So the changeling walked into the woods.

“Do you have a destination in mind?” Zarathon asked.

Mute nodded and pushed through the branches and leaves of the Everfree.

Fluttershy’s cottage reminded Mute about the hollowed-out boulders and rocks the changelings used to hide from storms in the Prowl. All sorts of animals ran around the area and one, in particular, stood guard at the small bridge that had been erected over the stream next to the cottage. A small white rabbit stood there with a stick held like a spear and a deadly glare. Mute found it amusing at first until the rabbit poked his leg and the changeling backed up with a hiss.

“Move aside, rabbit! I have long conversed with your cousins of the south and I hold much influence in those circles! We wish to speak with Miss Fluttershy! A neighbor can not be ignored!” Zarathon said.

The rabbit continued to glare.

“...Very well. Mute, eat it.”

The changeling opened his mouth to reveal his sharp fangs and cut-off tongue. He gave the rabbit a grim smile and licked his lips. The rabbit shook and then set off running towards the cottage. The little white animal forced its way through a small crack in the front door which promptly shut behind him.

“Ha! Works every time!” Zarathon said.

Mute lost his gleeful and sadistic smile and returned to his neutral stare as he crossed the stream and walked up to the cottage. The changeling knocked on the door and waited. No one came to open the wooden door. Mute tilted his head and knocked on the door again, this time hearing shuffling from inside the cottage.

“Who— Who is it?” asked a timid voice.

“It is I, Zarathon! And my compatriot Mute is of course also here. We have come to strengthen our bonds with Ponyville’s animal keeper!”

Mute shrugged at that. It was one way to put it. Telling the mare ‘we wish to befriend you to avoid being destroyed by your great magical power’ certainly did sound worse.

“I— I think our bond is close enough!” Fluttershy said through the door. “And you just threatened to eat Angel! I won't let you hurt any of my friends!”

Mute cringed at that. Maybe their perfect approach had not been as perfect as they first thought.

Zarathon awkwardly cleared his throat. Well, he did not have a throat, but still. “I apologize for scaring your rabbit! I promise Mute only eats the finest quality love in the land, not meat. None of us do!”

The changeling snorted at that. Siphoning from half-baked niceties did not count as a proper meal. And quirans did eat meat, though Zarathon was hardly quiran and Fluttershy did not need to know that.

A small crack opened in the door. “You promise?...”

“Yes! We only wish to get to know our neighbor a bit better! Additionally, I can offer counsel to you. The shade attack must have been harrowing, but I can give you some assurances of peace in the future. Could we please come in, Miss Fluttershy?”

The door slowly opened and the yellow pegasus mare came in full view. She hid her eyes behind her pink mane but she backed into her home to allow them entry. Mute walked straight to the mare’s living room and deposited Zarathon on the table. He then waited for the mare to join them, but she kept herself in the hallway. For a second she looked at him and then looked away again.

“Mute will not hurt you, child,” Zarathon said reassuringly.

“But he is so… So…”

The pebble flames took on a deep red color, when he spoke there was thinly veiled anger in his voice. “He is not frightening. He is not repulsive or disgusting.”

Fluttershy looked shocked and she vigorously shook her head. “I wasn't going to say such horrible things! He is just so injured… I feel so bad for him! He should be in the hospital, Zarathon!”

For a moment Mute felt confused. The pony wasn’t afraid of him because of his fangs or build, but she felt… sympathy? She felt so bad for him that she barely dared to look. She wanted him in a hospital even! Mute wondered if his scars were truly that horrid to gaze upon. Perhaps they did look bad. Mute backed away until he almost stood in the kitchen. Only then did Fluttershy slowly approach Zarathon. Though the pegasus' kind eyes often strayed to the changeling.

The pebble was quiet until she stood before him. “I thank you for your kind heart, Fluttershy. I am sorry for assuming your intentions. He is indeed injured, and so far no amount of time or magic heal those wounds.”

The mare looked horrified. “Oh, I am sorry… I have some remedies that might—”

“We have tried Zecora’s potions. We have visited pony doctors. We even met with other changelings and asked them, and they had no answers for us.”

The mare nodded sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Mute closed his eyes and sighed.

“Don’t be, I am not one to lose hope. If all else fails there is a way...”

Mute’s eyes shot up at that and he stared in shock at the pebble.

Fluttershy looked relieved and she straightened her back a bit. “Oh that’s wonderful!—”

“But it is not something that can be done lightly. Nor at this time… I feel awful for knowing it, but it can not be implemented. Not yet at least. It must be done at the right time, and I will know when that time has come.”

Mute shook his head in disappointment and looked away. Zarathon’s flames flickered in his direction before they turned back to Fluttershy.

“Let us discuss the matter at hand, Miss Fluttershy. I have the ability, with Mute’s help, to set up wards that keep away lesser shades. I have set up many near the Everfree’s edge, but there is a chance of failure in every ward. Not to speak of elder shades that can cross them without any discomfort.”

Fluttershy shuddered at the mention of the elder shades. “It spoke with me when it took me... It said such—”

“Don’t. If you have thought about it in recent days then you will stop today. They poison your mind with lies and turn your own thoughts against you. You and Rainbow Dash showed great initiative during young Spike’s hoarding. Look at that as a beacon of light, as an anchor point for who you really are. The elder shade is dead and it holds no control over you anymore. And to prevent any such thing from happening again I will place wards around your home and land so that no shades may attack you. I will also help with your nightmares,” Zarathon said.

"How did you know I have had—"

Zarathon's flames streamed out around the pony's head for a second. Mute had not noticed at first but a gloomy darkness that lay over the room seemed to vanish. At first, Fluttershy was startled and jumped back only to look around with wide eyes. When the pony spoke she was near tears. "It is so quiet now..."

"You would have been freed from the fog eventually, but I deemed it cruel to make you wait longer than you already had. Mute and I have been very busy, but we have time to help others now. You are likely not the only one that suffers from nightmares, even if your case was probably the worst. I will offer anyone that wants it a way to clear away the fog quicker than it would naturally disappear on its own."

Fluttershy gave him a slight nod and then she smiled at both pebble and the changeling. “Thank you for being so kind. If you can help the others as well... Oh, poor Rainbow has complained about her nightmares. But I should let you make your wards first. I will make some tea for you while you work.”

“That would be appreciated,” Zarathon said.

Mute was certain if Zarathon could have he would have given the mare a kind smile.

The wards applied around Fluttershy’s cottage were… intense. There was no other way Mute could describe them. As he drew the runes and leylines into the dirt they glowed red and he was careful where he placed his hooves. The wards reminded him of the one he had made to purge the elder shade, though they were not as powerful and unlike that ward, they would not drain Zarathon of all energy for a day. But they were certainly more convoluted than a simplistic ward to keep away lesser shades.

“She is brave that one…” Zarathon mused from behind Mute’s horn.

Mute grunted in confusion at the pebble and finished yet another ward.

“You can’t see it because your connection to the Ember is weak, but I can. Her head was still clouded by the shade’s fog. It wasn't severe like in some cases—I should tell you about my mother’s experience with it at some point—but seeing as Miss Fluttershy’s disposition is quiet and withdrawn I can only imagine the nightmares… She is lucky she holds an element of Harmony. Well, I suppose lucky is not the right word. To say her resilience is down to only luck would be a disservice to her character. It would be fairer to say that her strong heart aids her in many ways,” Zarathon said.

Mute looked up in surprise at the pebble’s words and he couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. The shy pegasus that had fainted at first sight of them when they first came to town supposedly had a strong heart. Mute thought that perhaps Zarathon was softer than what his pebble exterior hinted at.

“What? I never claimed ponies couldn’t impress me! I am not that egocentric, my friend! But she is an odd outlier among her kind! I would never be impressed by the likes of Duchess Will!”

Mute scoffed at the mention of the unicorn mare and began to draw the last ward, completing a circle of them around the cottage.

“Are you mad at me, Mute? I did not tell you I can heal you. I have good reasons for keeping it from you, but I kept it from you all the same…”

Mute stopped his labor and dropped the branch he’d been using to draw the wards. He eventually shrugged at the pebble’s words.

“You’re allowed to be mad at me, Mute.”

The changeling pulled out his notebook and flipped to an empty page. ‘It is not my place to judge you, Zarathon.’

“You are one of the few that absolutely should. You are a lord of Cinder and that means you need to look at the lord that came before you and see all his virtue and all of his faults. You should judge me because you need to,” the pebble said.

‘You are not dead yet.’

“Ha! That is true enough. You are lucky to have me to guide you, but most lords of Cinder have not had the same luxury, I among them. Our role is a dangerous one and too many lords have lost their lives to the darkness. That is why you must be able to analyze and judge my actions."

Mute hesitated for a second before he wrote in the book again. ‘Why did you not tell me earlier?”

“Because it is not simple. Because you’re were not ready. Because you’re still not ready. If I can find no other way to heal you then I will use it, but only when I am certain you’re ready.”

‘I am ready,’ Mute wrote down and muttered.

“I wish you were, but not yet. I will know when you are, do not worry. You will be able to cast magic again. I promised I would heal you and I will keep that promise. You are close enough now that I do not worry about hiding the existence of a solution from you. But you need just a bit more time, and if there is another way we should take it.”

Mute felt an ill sense of foreboding at Zarathon’s words. ‘You make it seem like the final option we got if all else fails.’

“Because it is. Once we do it… I just hope it won’t become necessary. It would not be pleasant for you.”

Mute nodded and put away his book.

Just at that moment Flutteryshy looked out from the cottage door and eyed the smoldering symbols. “Oh my… I hope it won’t hurt any of my friends.”

“Do not worry! They will fade into the ground in a few minutes and lay dormant until needed! No animal or pony shall suffer injury because of them,” Zarathon responded.

“Oh thank goodness! Well would you like to have your tea now?” she asked with a small smile.

Mute found it reassuring she already seemed more at ease with them and he gave her a courteous nod. Tea was one pony invention he liked. Coffee tasted bitter like sorrow or guilt but tea tasted like happiness or gratitude. However, coffee was more efficient at waking him in the morning.

“Gladly! Mute would you kindly take me inside?” Zarathon asked.

The changeling walked into the cottage and found a tea set had been placed on the living room table. He sat down and placed Zarathon next to one of the cups. Fluttershy joined them and sipped on her tea. Mute smelled his tea before drinking it. Sweet and wild. Berries from the woods perhaps? Well, it did not matter to Mute what had been used in the tea, it tasted fine.

“So, Miss Fluttershy, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? We know very little of our newfound allies and it seems rude to me we have not taken an interest in you before. For that, we apologize.”

Mute just nodded at the pebble’s words and sipped his tea. He would rather not handle this conversation. He could tell the ponies grew annoyed with his writing from time to time.

Fluttershy seemed to ease into her chair. “Well… I care for the animals in Ponyville. I count how many there are, make sure they are fed, and treat them if they’re hurt. I’m not a veterinarian though! I just know a bit…”

“Well, that is respectable! Though I will never understand the pony way of subjugating nature. The Everfree is the only part left of the old kingdom that seems normal to me. Or at least as normal as it can be with the amount of magic and curses it holds,” Zarathon mused.

“Well… I am not sure I would call the Everfree normal… But what do you mean by old kingdom, sir?” the pegasus mare asked.

“Call me Zarathon. I speak of my ancestors' kingdom, the land that belonged to the Quirani race. From their birthplace in the southwestern mountains to the Everfree my ancestors ruled it all. Of course, that is no longer the case now. As far as I am aware there is no part of the old kingdom still ruled by quirans, except our mountains. Though I have not seen them yet…”

Fluttershy leaned forward, interested in the pebble’s words. “Are your people talking rocks?”

Mute snorted tea out his nose and looked away to laugh.

Zarathon just sounded amused. “No, we are not rocks. We stand on two legs, have two arms with clawed hands, and hold heads with great horns. Though our skin did appear akin to stone and some nicknamed our race ‘copper horns’ in later years when we spread out from our mountain prison. Though the fact they focused on our horns and not our golden eyes always did offend me.”

The pony nodded. “But then why are you a stone?”

“I am all that remains of my true form. I lack the strength to retake my true and glorious shape, but Mute has promised me to find a solution. And in return, I promised to heal him.”

Mute nodded at those words. They would both find a way to heal. Neither of them would have to rely on the other to survive and both would be able to fully harness the Ember’s true power.

“That is a very nice thing to promise, Zarathon,” Fluttershy smiled.

“Of course! I am a generous lord of Cinder! I am not one to break my word nor am I one to fail. Though Mute and I would first need to meet with my people. It's just that the journey would take time and be very treacherous. The land is untamed with no railway leading there. Some say bandits even lurk in the area!”

“Oh, how horrible!”

“It is isn’t it? My people’s descendants must be quite lazy if they only stick to the mountains. We used to have dreams of spreading the Ember’s light to every corner of the world. Without the Ember, they must have decided cave fishing and mushrooms were far more interesting.”

Mute snorted in amusement at that and Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle.

“But I want to hear more about you, dear Fluttershy! Where are you from? How did you come to live in Ponyville? Do you have any family here? I wish to know my neighbor!”

“Well I am not from Ponyville. I am from Cloudsdale and so is my family, though they stayed in Cloudsdale, even if not all of them should…” Fluttershy muttered.

Mute was surprised at the sour tone from the pony and Zarathon’s flames flickered forward in interest. “Family troubles?”

“You could say that. But it is not something I wish to talk about,” Fluttershy said.

“Ah, well we are willing to help if that trouble comes here. The quirans value community and kin, so I offer our friendship to you. Should you ever need it we have resources: coins and strength. Though the coin is certainly lighter after Spike’s rampage…”

The mare gave Zarathon a small smile. “I’d like that. Though Rainbow told me to stay away from you two... But you’re nothing like what she told me! And you’re much more polite now than during the party.”

Zarathon’s flames grew smaller and Mute felt embarrassment roll off the pebble. The changeling eyed his friend in surprise. Had the great Zarathon regretted his conduct at the party? The world must be coming to an end.

“I was quite determined to regain my lost land. I still am. But I realize now that I must have scared you. It was not my intention to be rude, but I fear for all of your safety. I fear for the safety of the woods. That was why I was so forceful. I can not regain what I lost, so I will have to attempt something new instead in the framework given to me,” Zarathon said.

Mute made an inaudible ‘ah’ at Zarathon. That was yet another reason why the pebble had chosen Mute over himself to be ennobled. That would be worth it in the end. If Mute was ennobled that was.

“Well don’t threaten my friends again, is that understood mister? And you better release that poor rat from the magic collar you made!” the mare said.

Mute rolled his eyes.

“What? We have already discussed this! Henry the third is perfectly happy as he is! He gets exercise from driving me around and he is given fine cheese every day! Not only that he is allowed to sleep inside on a soft little bed! He has it much better than all other rats in the Everfree.”

Fluttershy puffed up her chest. “That doesn’t mean it is okay for you to steal his mind, mister! Twilight told me all about the collars that you used in the past! You did some really bad things with them!”

“Steal?... I… How about this, miss Fluttershy? I will give Henry two more hours without the collar and even better food. I will also ensure that the collar does not function as the past ones. Suggestions and rewards, not commands. His mind would be his own. How does that sound?”

The mare eyed Zarathon for a minute and then nodded. “Alright… But you better keep your promise. Rainbow Dash said you put those collars on some birds in the Everfree, I want them removed as well.”

Mute’s eyes widened. They knew about the surveillance pigeons! Damn it all!

“And remove your collars from those poor moles! I spoke to a few of them the other day and they find them very uncomfortable!”

Fluttershy had even found out about operation Underminer? Mute wondered if a curse had been placed upon him and Zarathon. Or maybe the land that the Grand Palace stood on was haunted?

But the pegasus wasn’t done. “And I want you to remove them from those poor timberwolves! They’re very aggressive but they don’t deserve that.”

Mute just stared straight forward at the pony but his eyes were glassy, like his mind’s eye was elsewhere. It had likely been dragged to a realm of immense pain considering how many hours it had taken to catch and collar the timberwolves.

Zarathon smoldered for a few seconds. The pebble muttered and cursed under his breath before he sighed heavily in acceptance. “Fine. But when a shade sneaks up on our home I will blame you! Not that they get past the wards… Fine, fine. I will leave all the animals in the forest alone. Do you now accept our bond of friendship?”

The pegasus happily nodded. “I do. Though you should probably talk with Twilight as well, mister Zarathon. She has been anxious about speaking with you and Mute. She found a lot of old books and has a lot of questions. Though she was told by the princesses to not speak too much with you. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don’t like you.”

Mute chuckled. Twilight likely wanted to know all their secrets, and probably even more so if the princesses had told her to be cautious around them. Well, he and Zarathon could share a few secrets if it meant she too accepted their bond of friendship. And it would not hurt to ask her to stop telling every pony in town about Zarathon’s past. Even after Ponyville had seen an elder shade they still would not understand the true darkness that Zarathon had tried to keep at bay. Mute hoped they would not have to come to that realization.

“We will speak with her on a later date then. We must hunt shades tonight and need to rest before we do so. Furthermore, I must speak with the carpenters repairing our home about a few things, so it is about time we leave.”

"Oh already? I wished to ask Mute some questions too," Fluttershy said in disappointment.

Mute tilted his head at her. She wanted to ask him more questions when Zarathon was still in the room? He gave her a polite smile and shook his head. There was nothing he wanted to tell her. Or rather there was nothing he could tell her.

"I'm afraid my compatriot is not fond of speak—" the pebble caught himself at the last second for once, "He is not fond of writing about his past. He can tell you a few things surely but he is sworn not to mention too many details."

Fluttershy looked at them in confusion. "Sworn to the princesses?"

"HA! No. He is sworn to another that is neither me nor your princesses. But that is all I will say. Now we really must get going. Mute!"

Mute picked up Zarathon and bowed his head at the pegasus in respect. She bashfully looked away at his formal farewell and followed them to the door.

“Just be safe!” she said and waved them goodbye.

As the changeling walked down the dirt road and over the small bridge Zarathon scoffed in amusement. Mute looked up towards his horn and tilted his head.

“She knew about the collars. Well, she and her blue friend. We were able to hide it from the Duchess and Lieutenant but not an animal caretaker and weathermare. I am just amused that these ponies keep impressing me when their ancestors so often did the opposite.”

Mute pondered on that for a moment before he pulled out his notebook. ‘We are not our forefathers.’

“Wise words I shall take to heart, my friend. Now onwards, we must rest before tonight. I feel a nest close to the forest border I’d like to burn before it becomes a problem. Hopefully, the Duchess is done with her meeting by the time we're back. Also, I have an idea for collars that could be placed on a few worms...”

The changeling snorted in amusement at Zarathon. Always the master of puppets... Mute headed into the forest and walked back towards their home.

A Changeling and a Princess Travels Home

View Online

Lampyridae had not spoken to him since they had left Dodge Junction. They had moved out when the night fell over the town and it was easier to sneak into the desert. Lampyridae had walked some distance from him and she clutched a vial of pure undiluted love with her mouth. He’d looked at her a few times, trying to come up with anything to say, but ultimately 1077 had given up and just kept walking.

They joined up with the broodling Infiltrators and Warriors a few miles into the desert. The Warriors gave him respectful nods and questioned him on their conduct. 1077 had honestly not paid any attention to the broodlings during his time in the pony town, so he gave them a few common pointers and tips that any ling’ could have given them. Though they looked satisfied with his words all the same. A few of the Warriors then returned to their true forms and 1077 had to firmly tell them to remain as ponies until they reached the McIntosh Hills. Too many times careless broodlings had been spotted by pegasi and the like when they thought themselves safe, 1077 among them.

The Princess kept to herself and only conversed with a few of the Infiltrators. The broodlings seemed ecstatic to be near the Princess and she smiled at their adoration. 1077 could not help but find her smile beautiful.

Once the group reached the camp in McIntosh Hills they shed their disguises and Mute reported to Infiltrator Tarsus. The older changeling gave him a thankful nod and told him to prepare to leave. They still had a few hours of darkness, which meant they could fly without being spotted. They’d be by the Prowl border before morning. 1077 nodded at the older changeling’s orders and left to speak with Lampyridae. But before he could find his charge he was approached by Dragonfly who gave him a questioning look. Dragonfly was the only other member of 1077’s brood that had qualified to guard the broodlings during their exam and as such he knew 1077 better than most. That meant he also knew when 1077 felt like a diseased rat. 1077 felt a headache form but he pulled his brood brother aside to a quiet area of the camp where they could speak.

“Did you fight with the Princess?” Dragonfly asked.

1077 gave his fellow Warrior a tired look. “Do we have to discuss this now?...”

“I am only looking out for you, brother. You need to keep her safe but it doesn’t hurt if she likes you as well. And having fights with her is a recipe for disaster. You don’t want to anger the Queen, do you?”

1077 sighed and dragged a hoof down his face. “I did not mean to argue with her, brother. I hate arguing with her. But she spoke of things that should be beneath her.”

Dragonfly scoffed in amusement. “Maybe, but you know how she is. Once she is Hive-Queen I can only imagine we will see some dramatic changes. Probably even more dramatic than the breeding programs.”

“Maybe, but Fire— I mean Lampyridae would not abandon tradition. Or at the very least I can’t see her going against the Seamstress’ commandments. However, she speaks of enjoying the ponies’ company and culture. I could imagine she might want to make them aware of us,” 1077 said.

“Eh, they are aware of us. We can’t move thousands of broodlings through Equestria and expect none of them to mess up,” Dragonfly shrugged.

“Of course, a few of them know about us, but they don’t know about the Hive and they don’t know how far we’ve reached into Equestria. If Lampyridae revealed we have walked around Canterlot for decades she’d create much animosity. And I would rather not have their living goddess come south to burn down the Hive…”

“I saw their Princess Celestia when I was assigned to Canterlot a cycle ago. I don’t think she is the kind to burn down the Hive. Then again her kind face might be as fake as our disguises…” Dragonfly mumbled.

“Exactly! That is why I worry about Lampyridae. She might bring about change that would hurt the Hive, and I can not accept that. Very few ponies both know of our existence and happily live with our kind. I can think of two exiles that managed to find a pony mate and we only know of them thanks to the Infiltrators. Do you know what happened to the rest? They were driven out from whatever community that discovered their true self.”

Dragonfly let out an annoyed groan. “Then speak to her then, tell her about your worries! You’re one of the few that can do so! Maybe you can help her see reason or maybe she will ease your fears. Either way, you need to talk with her.”

1077 exhaled deeply and then nodded. “You’re right. I can’t hide from it like a broodling.”

Dragonfly nodded at him and tilted his head in the direction of a smaller personal tent at the edge of the camp. Inside Lampyridae had her sleeping pod, some personal belongings, and a few weapons if they were needed. She had offered 1077 a spot in her tent when they had first arrived, but he’d refused because it would be unseemly. And because Infiltrator Tarsus had overheard the offer and given him such a dark look 1077 was certain he’d be instantly killed if he accepted.

1077 took a deep breath to calm his nerves and Dragonfly gave a light punch to his shoulder. He left Dragonfly behind and approached the tent. He felt annoyance and a bit of sorrow roll off the tent and he could not help but sigh. He had really hurt the Princess’ feelings. 1077 walked inside and found Lampyridae seated by a table absentmindedly reading a book on pony culture. She looked up in surprise when he entered but she quickly scowled.

“What do you want, 1077?” she muttered.

Ouch. He felt his chest sting at her so casually added emphasis on his numbers. “I need to speak with you, and apologize.”

That drew a more soft look from the Princess and she closed the book. “I’m listening…”

“I am worried about you. I worry that you will offend the Seamstress with your words and in doing so have the Queen punish you. I am sorry I was so brash back in Dodge Junction. I am just worried that you don’t take the ponies seriously. They are a threat to the Hive,” he said.

“I don’t believe they are, at least not all of them. I have studied them and spent time with them since I was a broodling. They are often dismayed by outsiders at first but are quick to accept you when they get to know you. Most of them are not violent and the few that are tend to be shunned by their society. But I understand your worry. You’re worried about the changelings that are gathering love and information in Equestria right now. You’re worried I would end up hurting them when I am Queen.”

1077 nodded. “I am.”

Lampyridae smiled at him. “You are kind. Do not worry, I would not put their lives in jeopardy. I want to change many things when I am Queen, but I will never hurt my people. Mother has similar worries about my disposition and so does my sister, but I will not fail the Hive. If we could gather love freely we could much more easily feed our people. Mother’s expansion of our Hive and population has always been her oddest decree, and it has left us with so little love. But I plan to find enough love for all of us when I ascend to the Throne.”

He took some solace in her words, but his heart still felt conflicted. “Would you break with the castes, Firefly? Even though they are the word of the Seamstress?”

“Arachia never decreed that our people had to only breed within and advance in the caste they were born into. The Seamstress of Fate saw it fit to give us roles in society and traits that would help us prosper, but never did she say we had to adhere to them as absolutes or hold onto them for all time. Arachia valued merit, wisdom, and kinship. Those are her commandments to us.”

1077 bit his lip but nodded. “I am only repeating what the Archivists told us when we were broodlings. Watch your brood brother’s back, listen to your elders, obey every command from a Praetorian unless the Queen overrules it, and only mate within your caste.”

“Those old bugs in the tower have read every document and tablet our people have made over our existence, and despite that, they have not picked up on that the Seamstress never commanded us to breed within our castes. It was the Hive-Queens that strictly enforced the castes, but they see the two things as the same. The Hive-Queens sit on the throne because Arachia deemed their bloodline the purest, therefore a Hive-Queen’s interpretation of Arachia’s words must be pure. I hate it. A few younger Archivists feel the same and they too are interpreting the old texts in new ways. Of course, a few interpretations are… unique, but they’re more open to much-needed change. I can introduce you to them when we return to the Hive,” Lampyridae smiled.

“Firefly, do you wish to stop enforcing the castes because of me?” 1077 asked and walked up to the Princess.

Lampyridae gave him a slight grin. “You’re one of the many reasons I wish to break them. Another reason is that I feel it stifles our progress. You can exceed in your caste, but you can not learn skills outside it. I have seen Warriors recall old songs and texts just as well as Archivists and I have seen Praetorians being twice as fast as a worker at rebuilding a wall. It happens so rarely but there are instances where I see changelings do tasks outside their normal duties and excel at them. Now I know what you're gonna say: that the castes are not just social, and you'd be right. You do not have an Infiltrator's ability to transform into anything. You can't use a Praetorian's voice to control hundreds of changelings at once. Unlike the Scouts, you can't communicate over long distances and memorize an area at a glance. But you could still aid every one of them even if you lacked their traits. That is why I believe strict adherence to the castes stifles us. I wish to give our people the choice of what they do for the Hive, like how it worked before the Hive-Queens enforced the castes.”

1077 nodded slowly and sighed. “I am still not sure about this, Firefly. I do not want to anger the Seamstress and I do not want to bring disorder to our society. The castes make us powerful, they are like the many arms of a creature all working together towards a common goal. The castes are what give our people unity and stability. But I have not read the old texts. If you say that our people would be better off moving between castes then I will believe you for now. But I wish to see proof of that before I support it. And I will never leave my caste behind.”

“You won't have to become a Praetorian just because you could," she smiled and touched his shoulder, "and I will show you proof of my ideas' validity. Now help me pack up the tent before we lose any more darkness.”

1077 gave her an uncertain nod and touched the hoof she had on his shoulder. “As you command, Princess.”

Their flight across the McIntosh Hills was quick and agile. Though it was certainly not quiet with dozens of wings buzzing in the air. 1077 led the way with Dragonfly to his right and another Warrior to his left. Lampyridae flew behind him with more Warriors flanking her. They even had Warriors that flew above and below the Princess, creating a buzzing shield of chitin around the royal daughter. Behind them flew a larger group of Workers and Infiltrators with Tarsus leading it. In front of them flew another smaller group of Warriors that in turn had a group of Scouts far ahead of them. As there was no Praetorian with them they answered to the oldest changeling present and that was Infiltrator Tarsus. The old changeling would bark out new flight paths now and again which was relayed to the front with the characteristically fast clicks of the changeling Scouts. Each group had a Scout present that could quickly relay information. 1077’s Scout was next to Lampyridae.

The four groups made good headway over the hills even with their equipment slowing them down. The Workers carried most of the load but each Warrior carried some of the equipment to ease the load. But even with the Warriors helping the Workers grew tired quickly. There were several breaks along the way until they finally reached the Appaloosan Mountains. The mountain chain separated Equestria from the southern jungles and the Prowl and there was only one pass in the east that allowed passage.

“Be ready to land and disguise yourselves. The Scouts report that there were other travelers in the pass. They are ponies and griffons,” 1077’s scout said through his clicking mandibles.

There were plenty of travelers that came from Caracows in the west who wished to purchase Equestrian goods and sell them to the small villages that dotted the southern jungles. This had made the pass somewhat of a hard place to pass undetected and where once changelings could move without disguise they now had to wear one long before and after the pass.

They would land a bit away from the pass and resume their disguises. A heavy fog had pulled in and it was hard to see anything as they moved around. Infiltrator Tarsus, who had disguised herself as a red unicorn mare, gave them all orders to go in smaller groups and not to arouse any suspicions. If any pony or griffon asked they were just pilgrims going south to the old holy sights in the jungles. 1077 wished they had appropriate attire to come across as pilgrims, but ponies and griffons were quite gullible and as such, they likely would not be too suspicious. Or at least he hoped so.

The Scouts would enter the Pass first with Tarsus following behind with the Workers. 1077 was told to wait with Lampyridae and the rest of the Warriors for a few minutes before they made their way through the pass. Finally, the Infiltrator broodlings would go through the pass, being supervised by their Scout. 1077 gave the young lings' a few encouraging words before he pushed onwards into the foggy pass with his group.

“Something feels wrong…” Lampyridae whispered to 1077 as they lost sight of the broodlings.

1077 tried to ignore her words, but he too felt it. The air in the pass felt stale and old. The great rock walls that reached ever upward felt like they came closer. When they finally reached the middle of the wide pass the fog cleared enough that 1077 noticed a large group of griffons and ponies to their right. The ponies and griffons had gathered around a couple of wagons and sat around a campfire, told tales, and ate some food. It seemed like any other meeting with travelers, but 1077 could feel a chill down his pine. He pressed Lampyridae into his side and swept his eyes over the rocky walls. The fog made it downright impossible to see anything. 1077's eyes returned to the travelers and for a second he saw a green shimmer in one of their eyes. An Infiltrator traveling alone with ponies and griffons?

“Firefly I want you to prepare a shield spell,” he whispered.

The Princess nodded and 1077 looked to Dragonfly.

“I noticed it too,” Dragonfly, disguised as a grey pegasus, said.

1077 eyed the travelers and once again caught the green shimmer, this time in a pony’s eyes. Then again in another griffon’s eyes. Were they all changelings? If so why had they not come to greet them?

“I don't like this... Move faster, Tarsus is waiting on the other side of the pass,” Dragonfly mumbled.

Their group hurried up until 1077 noticed a shape in front of them. The dark form limped towards them in the fog and 1077 made himself ready to drop his earth pony guise. He would need his horn to defend Lampyridae. Dragonfly readied a dagger and nodded to the other Warriors. 1077 could feel the tension in the air and he turned to the Scout.

“Tell the broodlings to wait outside the pass and hide,” he said.

The Scout nodded and let out fast clicks with his mandibles. He splayed his long ears wide and listened for a reply but quickly grew concerned. He clicked his mandibles again and waited. This time when there was seemingly no response the Scout grew white. “Talia is not responding…”

“Try Tarsus!” 1077 hissed to the Scout.

The changeling tried but shook his head. “It is completely silent.”

While they tried to get into contact with the broodlings and Tarsus the dark figure came ever closer. 1077 could now hear the figure’s labored breaths and hoarse whispers. He could not make out what the figure was trying to say but he held the Princess close and growled.

“Who goes there!?” he yelled.

A red unicorn mare stumbled out of the fog. Blood poured down her head where a slash had destroyed her left eye and she looked at them with horror. An arrow stuck out from her side and her blood coated the rocky ground. It took a second before 1077 heard Tarsus’ words.

“It is a trap!!!”

The arrow that whizzed out from the fog and pierced Tarsus’ skull shattered her disguise and the senior Infiltrator fell dead on the stone. Lampyridae screamed in panic and threw a bubble shield around the group just in time as more arrows flew at them from the fog. They impacted the shield and created small cracks and dents. The ponies and griffons by the fire lost their disguises and revealed themselves to be changelings clad in white robes. 1077’s Scout clicked his mandibles together to send out another message but 1077 had a feeling he knew what had happened to the poor broodlings and Scout Talia. He shed his disguise and the others followed.

“We are surrounded! Push through to the Prowl or we are all dead!” he yelled. “Drop the shield now!”

The shield dropped and 1077 opened his elytra. He beat his wings faster than he had ever done before in his entire life and flew upwards. Lampyridae joined him with the other Warriors close behind. The changelings in white pursued them and more arrows came from the fog. One arrow hit a Warrior in the chest and he fell out of the sky. Lampyridae cried in fear and 1077 gritted his teeth as they flew higher and higher. Dragonfly narrowly dodged an arrow and one of the attackers caught up to pierce a Warrior’s back with a spear.

1077 gritted his teeth as yet another changeling fell to an enemy arrow. It was a slaughter! They needed to get out of there and back into the Prowl!

1077 whistled and grabbed onto Lampyridae before he dove back down toward the ground. The air whipped his face and the Princess screamed in fear but the other Warriors followed. Dragonfly pulled up first and shot through the fog and 1077 followed him. They saw dozens of changelings in white robes with bows attached to the sides of the walls as they passed. The enemy quickly realized what they were trying to do and they filled the air with arrows. 1077 held Lampyridae to his chest as the projectiles whizzed past them and he cried out as he felt one lodge itself on his back leg and another in his shoulder. Several Warriors were riddled with arrows as they tried to break through the fog and they fell dead. But their quick plan succeeded. They made it through the final stretch and pushed through the fog into the fresh air of the jungles. But they could not stop, they were still pursued.

“Where do we go, 1077!?” Dragonfly screamed. “There had to be over a hundred of them!”

“Fort Cicada! It is the closest fortification we have!” he yelled and still clutched a crying Lampyridae to his chest.

“What about one of the storm shelters!?” yelled the Scout.

1077 laughed bitterly. “We have no workers! How do you expect us to fortify it!? No, we go to Fort Cicada!”

The survivors would fly south towards the Prowl with the changeling in white hot on their heels. At one point they lost two more Warriors, one as he fell behind from exhaustion and another as a javelin hit his side. But they could not afford to stop. They flew for over two hours until they finally noticed the fort among the trees. The changelings in white pulled back and retreated the way they had come while 1077 felt his vision dim. The blood he had lost was too much. He would do his best to slow himself down but he crashed his side into one of the watch towers, giving the broodling on guard a fright. 1077 soared through the air and saw the courtyard below him. He gave one last buzz of his wings, threw Lampyridae into the air who opened her elytra and flew after him, and he hit the ground with a pained yell. Lampyridae quickly flew to his side and screamed for help.

“Please we have been attacked! We need a healer!” she said through panicked sobs and clung to 1077 side.

Dragonfly landed with a stumble next to 1077 and the Princess. He hurried to 1077's side and inspected his wounds. “Seamstress curse them… HEALER! WE NEED A HEALER!”

Their Scout and surviving Warriors landed next to them and collapsed from exhaustion. A few of them too had wounds from the attackers' weapons or arrows lodged into their chitin. 1077 could only hope they had not lost as much blood as he had.

There was absolute pandemonium in Fort Cicada as broodlings ran around trying to figure out what to do and senior Warriors and Infiltrators desperately tried to calm them down. Praetorian Barks, Old Scourge's chosen replacement, eventually emerged from his quarters and began to yell out orders. Wards were activated that enveloped the fort in a bubble shield, a large horn was blown to recall all changelings outside the fort, and healers rushed to the survivors. The Princess had to be pried from 1077 by Dragonfly to allow the healers access.

1077 vision darkened as the healers hurriedly began to look over his wounds. His last thoughts before he lost consciousness were of Lampyridae and how he hoped she wasn't hurt and of Tarsus' look of horror before she died. They had been betrayed. They had been betrayed by their own people.

Surely only more death would follow.

A Changeling Befriends a Bookworm

View Online

The Ponyville library reminded Mute of the central spire in the Hive. This was not due to its size, the spire was far greater, nor was it due to its color since the spire was black. No, the thing that reminded Mute of the spire was the many ponies that visited the library to obtain knowledge. He had seen many praetorians and archivists enter the central spire several times a day. They had gone there to take part in its great collection of scrolls. Many more had gone to visit the hall of echoes and pray. A privileged few had gone to see Arachia’s needle.

Though unlike the central spire all were welcomed in the library. And unlike the central spire, the Ponyville library seemed much more welcoming and warm. The library used no artificial lights to create this effect, it glowed beautifully under Celestia's sun. Mute was quite certain she would have loved to have seen the central spire under sunlight. She would have loved it even more if it had welcomed all who wished to seek knowledge.

“Focus, Mute! We can’t stand around all day. We have to go and bribe the princess’ pupil before she tells the town about my military blunders!”

The changeling would shake off the old memories with a laugh and walk through the propped-up front door. A few ponies inside clung a bit closer to the bookshelves as he entered but he simply gave them a bow of his head. That seemed to somewhat calm them and they carried on with their book searching.

“We seek the one called Twilight Sparkle! I wish to administer bribes!” Zarathon yelled.

The ponies present gave them more weird looks and Mute couldn’t help but snort in amusement. Quiran honesty would always be funny to him.

“Just give me five minutes!” came a call from the upper floors of the library.

Zarathon blistered. “She intends to make us wait? We’re hardly at a high-class dinner.”

Mute shrugged and eyed his surroundings. The library had been built inside the trunk of a large tree and as such had rounded walls. The bookshelves were placed against this wall and therefore Mute was surrounded by books on all sides. He read the back of a few books and realized the library had everything from children’s tales to basic lessons on magic. Though it seemed the library had a few new additions as well. Mute spotted quite a few books on history that all seemed focused on the same age of Equestria's history. ‘Sombra, a history of evil’, ‘The great kingdom of stone’, ‘The history of slavery in Equestria and beyond’, and ‘Fire-king Zarathon the Evil’ were just a few of the titles he read. Zarathon seemed to do the same and scoffed at the titles he saw.

“Fire-king? Call me Lord of Cinder if you have to translate it you buffoons…” the pebble muttered.

While Mute empathized with Zarathon’s annoyance he would admit that ‘zaivuria’ was not an easy word to pronounce. If Mute had been able to speak he was pretty sure he'd be unable to pronounce it correctly. Quiza was not an easy language to read, much less speak. He could still vividly remember Zarathon's lessons. 'There is always emphasis on the second syllable, Mute!' 'That is not how you write daizika, Mute!' The changeling felt exhausted just remembering it.

Eventually, their waiting ended and Twilight Sparkle descended the stairs. The purple unicorn held a stack of papers and a quill with a magical grip and she held such a gleeful smile that Mute felt a bit worried. The energy that radiated off the unicorn was the same that he got from Zarathon whenever the pebble saw large weaponry.

“We can go down to the basement! I have sooooo many questions!” Twilight said with a grin.

"Not even a hello or introduction? Should we share no pleasantries, scholar to scholar?" Zarathon asked.

Twilight stopped mid-step and gave them a sheepish smile as realization hit her. "Of course, I'm sorry I got a little bit too excited. We've met before but that was hardly a proper introduction. I am Twilight Sparkle, I'm a student of Princess Celestia and librarian of Golden Oak library."

Mute bowed his head at the pony in return.

The pebble behind Mute's horn mimicked the changeling's movements with his flame. "I am Zarathon of House Holtam, I am a lord of cinder and shade hunter under Celestia's employ. With me I have Mute, my fellow lord of cinder and shade hunter. Now we are acquainted and as such we must partake in hearsay and tales! I must know everything!"

Twilight laughed at Zarathon's words. "Well, I wouldn't say I have many tales or hearsay to share."

Zarathon let out a snort. "Nonsense! A student of the sun goddess with no tales? That is unthinkable."

"Sun goddess? Princess Celestia is no goddess," Twilight said.

"How many other creatures have you seen that can move celestial objects in the sky?" Zarathon deadpanned.

"Point taken, but the princess has said on many occasions she is not a goddess. Oh! I could give you a book on the subject! Celestia helped write it herself! It tells about her childhood and what she thinks about gods!" Twilight said and rushed over to one of the bookshelves.

Mute eyed the pony with a small amused smirk. This book was gonna be trite, wasn't it?

As Twilight returned she held a thin booklet that bore Celestia's golden sun on the cover. The title read: 'On the question of divinity'. Mute eyed it with some curiosity and he felt Zarathon have a similar inclination to the booklet. Perhaps it would be an interesting book? Even though it was written by the rather foolish sun goddess.

"Princess Celestia talks a lot about how she and Princess Luna grew up as ordinary ponies and it was only through great deeds they became as powerful as they are. She even discusses other beings that have claimed to be gods and disproves those claims! Now when I think about it you might be mentioned in here somewhere..." Twilight mumbled and flipped through the pages of the book. "Here it is! 'Though the fire-king of the west was formidable he was never divine as he had made his people think. Through subterfuge and lies, he made them believe him a god, and as such, he became one in the eyes of his people. But he was defeated by the elements of harmony all the same.' That is what it says."

Zarathon let out a gasp at her words. "A god!? A liar!? I may have been arrogant once or twice in my lifetime—"

Mute failed to hold back a laugh at that.

"—but I never claimed myself a god! Nor did I ever tell my people I was one! That is all hogwash! The fire I wield holy, I am not! This piece of divinity I hold has been passed down through my family for generations! We are guardians, not gods! To even claim I would lie about such a thing is such an insult... I... I am just very disappointed!"

Twilight blinked for a second before she came to again. "You're saying Princess Celestia was wrong?"

"Yes! What is written in that book is not true in any regard! And I would even go so far as to say she lied to you about her connections to divinity! She is as close to divinity as we get on this rock! And she used that power to enable a liar and traitor for the sake of her power and prestige!"

The ponies in the library gasped at his words and Mute slowly removed the pebble from his horn and placed him on a nearby table. The changeling took a step to the side so the Zarathon and Twilight could speak face to rock. Mute wanted no part in the verbal fight.

Twilight looked confused and walked up to Zarathon. "What are you talking about? She would never do something so horrible!"

The pebble laughed. "You are young and easily impressionable like your for-bearers. Your population desires peace and stability. Most of all they desire strong leaders, leaders that they can look up to. If they don't have leaders with greatness and prestige then your people fall apart due to infighting. Celestia knows this and as such, she knows that she must do everything in her power to make herself look good. Always being the hero against an evil world is one such way."

"She is not like that! I have known her since I was a filly and she is kind and wise! She would never hurt anyone! You don't know her!" Twilight said with a glare.

"Neither do you."

There was an awkward silence in the library and the other ponies slowly crept away. Mute watched the tense stand-off between Zarathon and Twilight and he pulled out his notebook. He wrote down a few words and then held the paper between them. 'Let us return to pleasantries and Miss Sparkle's many questions. We can avoid sore subjects for all parties, no?'

Zarathon sighed. "My compatriot is right. I am making a fool of myself before the commoners. I apologize for my harsh words, Miss Sparkle. The princesses and I have never seen eye-to-eye. Our cultures and beliefs were always different, especially so when we became neighbors. But I should be above such petty anger. I will tell you why I see that book as factually incorrect and many other such things without shouting."

Twilight eyed the pebble wearily before she gave a tense nod. "I'm sorry I shouted as well... It's just... Please don't insult the princess."

"I won't."

"Good. Would you mind joining me in the basement? I do have a lot of questions I want to ask you."

“What about your clients, Miss Sparkle?” Zarathon inquired with a lot of amusement.

Twilight looked around at the empty library and cringed. "It seems we scared them off... But we might get more..." She would turn her head to the stairs, "Spike! can you watch the library for a few minutes?”

Spike hurried down the stairs. “I got it!”

The unicorn smiled before she hurriedly ran to a door at the back of the room. She opened it and ran down to a basement below “Come! Come! Oh, I am so excited!”

Zarathon chuckled. “I believe I will quite like befriending this one!”

Mute couldn’t help but agree and he followed Twilight into the basement. Once down in the underground room he noticed the amount of scientific equipment and books Twilight stored in the basement. He saw machines that measured all sorts of magical and non-magical values, vials and beakers for chemistry, and a few charms meant for good luck. Mute was so taken aback by the equipment he hardly noticed Twilight preparing a table for them. The unicorn seated herself opposite Mute and pointed to a chair in front of him. He sat down and placed Zarathon on the table.

“Alright, so I have many questions for you two! Just let me get the list ready…” Twilight said and picked up her stack of papers.

Though Mute quickly realized that it wasn’t a stack of paper as it began to unfold and it hit the floor. The list unfolded underneath the table, pushed back Mute’s chair, and continued to a corner of the room. Mute wondered if the paper was sentient as it tried to continue unfolding against one of the walls.

Zarathon scoffed at the long list. “My friend and I came here today to offer you our bond of friendship, not to answer every question you have on that list. We would also like to request that you stop telling the town about my past.”

Twilight smiled at that. “Oh, this is great! Not only can I tell Princess Celestia I've befriended you, but you can also tell me so much about the past! Why would you want me to stop talking about it? The age you lived in is one of the most mysterious periods in Equestrian history!”

“Mysterious seems correct… I read the titles of the books you keep on the subject and I can only assume you have been telling outright lies.”

Twilight dropped her quill in shock. “Lies!? Those books were written by some of the best historians Canterlot has!”

“That doesn’t mean that they’re not lies. The Great Kingdom of Stone? Your historians understand nothing of Quirani culture and history. My ancestors were accomplished stonemasons, that much is true, but they used mostly wood for construction after they spread out from the mountains. Only a few castles and military installations were made entirely of stone. Our kingdom should be known for fire, not stone.”

Mute just leaned back and eyed the brewing storm between the pebble and the unicorn. This would be fun. Hopefully…

“They called it the kingdom of Stone because the Quirans had skins made from stone!” the unicorn huffed. “And that is one of my questions! Did your ancestors really have stone skin?”

“To answer your question: Yes. Now I have to say they might as well call it the ‘kingdom of copper horns’ if they—”

Twilight gasped. “Your people had horns made from copper?”

Zarathon grumbled in annoyance at the interruption. “Yes. We used to decorate them with strips of cloth and gems and a few carved patterns into them. I carved the flames of the First-Fire on my horns in my youth together with a few unseemly symbols concerning war and lies to spite my father. I regretted that quite a lot as zaivuira. I covered my horns with a cloth when in presence of the traveling court.”

Mute couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Zarathon as a young quiran carving obscene markings onto his horns just to make his father angry. Though he quickly shut up as Twilight glared at him. It seemed it would be dangerous to interrupt the interview.

Twilight returned her focus to Zarathon and her eyes shimmered with glee at all the information he gave her. She pulled a notebook from a desk and wrote down his words. “What is the First-Fire? Why were those symbols seen as unseemly? And if you had horns that means you were quiran once, why are you a pebble? What does zaivuira mean? Why did your court travel?”

Zarathon chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Many questions… But I will answer a few. To explain the First-Fire would take some time, but see it as the predecessor of the power Mute and I share. As for my title? Zaivuira would roughly translate to ‘ruler of the holy remains’ but I have always translated it as Lord of Cinder. I could not call myself king since there was only one king on the continent: King Guto of the griffons. When the griffons were mighty and they held land in the east one listened to their proclamations. And if King Guto said he was the only king on the continent then you listened.”

Twilight nodded with an attentive look and continued to write down what Zarathon said. “I never knew the griffons held that much power back in the day... Yet your race was mighty too, weren't they? Why submit to another king by only calling yourself a lord?"

"Submit? Guto never ruled over my people. No, my people were masters of the arcane and statecraft. Efficiency for the sake of the crown was desired above all else. But while we mastered magic and how to run a government Guto's people mastered war... It was glorious miss Sparkle. Have you ever seen a hundred thousand griffons marching to war? Their home across the sea allowed them to become martial, unlike all others before them. Imagine a peninsula protected from the north and the south where the people of that peninsula could fight for hundreds of years. I can not imagine a better environment to forge a kingdom more efficient than all others in matters of war. This strength gave them the ability to unify all of their people under one banner. And with all of their people united they conquered all in their path.

"You see all the east was once controlled by Guto and even dragons coveted his lands and respected his strength. That is why there was only one King. The king of the East. If I had proclaimed myself the king of the West that would have been very foolish. Guto would not have understood the meaning of zaivuira seeing as my people always perplexed the griffons, but he would have understood if I called myself a king. Of course, it did not help in the long run. War was destined to happen between our people from the moment the griffons landed on the eastern shores. It was a war my people won thanks to our magic, but it was crippling. I would even say our war with Guto is what brought me to this moment. Things would never have happened as they did if not for the war..."

Mute eyed Zarathon with the same interest as Twilight as he told the tale of the griffons. Mute knew Zarathon had seen many important events, but it began to dawn on the changeling just how much power Zarathon had once wielded. The pebble had clashed with titans and sent ripples through the world. Twilight seemed just as transfixed and she wrote down Zarathon's account. Though Mute detected quite a lot of discomfort as Zarathon described the martial and war-like nature of the griffons.

Ponies did love their peace.

"I know some things about the griffons, but to have a firsthand account... I must take you to the Canterlot Museum of History and introduce you to the historians there. Princess Celestia is always elusive with that period of our history for some reason, but you could tell them so much!" the unicorn mare said excitedly.

Zarathon hummed. "Perhaps. It would annoy the sun goddess... I promise to tell these historians of yours a clear recollection of those years."

Twilight let out a giddy laugh and snort and got up to dance in happiness. Mute eyed the display with a quirked brow while Zarathon laughed.

Twilight stopped and calmed herself with a deep breath. She gave them a sheepish smile and sat down once more. "Let us return to my original questions. Why are these holy remains so important? Is it because of the shades?”

“You are indeed correct. It is with the remains of the First-Fire that Mute and I can kill shades and purge them from the ponies they possess. And before you ask just know that shades are evil parasites spawned from the Darkness. These creatures have been a threat to my people for generations and they must not be taken lightly. They reproduce and feed by possessing sapient races and they hate all life that is not subservient to them. And no, do not ask me how they reproduce. Just know there are two ways and both are horrifying.”

Twilight swallowed thickly. “And— And if we get back to the symbols and your court? And your current predicament of course!”

Zarathon’s flames flowed from side to side before he spoke. “I won’t go too far into detail on what symbols I used—I would rather not teach you profane imagery and insult the Ember—nor why my current form is the way it is. I will tell you that quirans value honesty and truth. Truth is holy to us. Lies poison the light and warmth of the Ember and it gives the Darkness strength. Omissions and half-truths are what we used when doing politics. To outright lie was always taboo. Or at least it was before our people became so enamored with the other races. A pony could lie and her village would be fine. A quiran could lie and open himself up for corruption. Sin manifested itself physically among our ancestors as a black fire that oppressed them for generations. That black fire only came to be thanks to lies and greed. To keep away such Darkness one must speak the truth."

Twilight wrote down his words and then placed a hoof on her chin. "But you said this changed, right? Your people began to lie more?"

"It became more accepted over time. Normalized. Many quirans saw that lying posed no danger to other races, and as such, they thought themselves safe. But shades would always find liars more easily possessed than honest quirans," Zarathon said.

Mute took out his notebook and wrote down a question within: 'Tell her about the possessions.'

Twilight beamed at the changeling. "Yes! I want to know more about the shades and possessions!"

Zarathon let out a small chuckle. "Well... Shades possess one of the sapient races by attaching themselves to a limb—they do this using their teeth—and then turn into smoke. This smoke will enter through the mouth, nose, or ears and will attack the brain and soul. This is where most creatures are immediately possessed as they lose quickly to a shade. But a few with strong minds and honest souls can fight against this possession. If they are powerful enough they can outright throw the shade out of their mind. But should you fail to fight the shade it will take control of your body and it will lock you away within your mind. It's a harrowing experience."

Twilight eyed Zarathon with wide focused eyes as he spoke but she wiggled in discomfort as he described the possession. "And how do you free them from possession?"

"By burning the shade with the holy fire. There is no other way. Once I could do so with a touch of my hand but now I rely on Mute and wards to do it. Once Mute's training is complete he will be able to free possessed ponies with a touch as I once did."

Twilight looked to Mute with curiosity. "You're not done with your training? But I've seen you defeat a ginormous shade!"

Mute shrugged and drew a ward into his notebook. He placed his hoof onto it and closed his eyes. He pulled on his connection to the Ember and tried to focus arcane energy into the ward. Yet nothing happened. He opened his eyes and shook his head.

Zarathon sighed. "Mute cannot use the Ember's magic without me. I theorize it is due to the state of his horn and because he has only been connected to the Ember for a short time."

Mute rolled his eyes at that. Three years was not a short time.

"Do not roll your eyes at me, young one. I needed a decade before I properly harnessed its power. You have made significant progress in a third of that time. Be proud of how far you've come, but do not mistake progress for mastery."

Twilight looked at Mute's horn with sympathy. "You've tried to heal his horn, right?"

"Every morning for three years have we drawn up wards meant to heal severe wounds. Every time it fails. But we cannot afford to give up," Zarathon said. "We've also visited pony doctors and other changelings. None knew what to do."

"Well, the princesses might—"

"No!" Zarathon said. "No, we are not talking to them about this."

Mute nodded in agreement. It would be daring and bold to ask the princesses to heal him, and it would give them leverage. If they could hold a cure for his injuries over his head then Mute was certain he'd end up as their servant. They would wedge their cure between him and Zarathon to deprive Zarathon of any allies. Mute would not allow that to happen. He was not an oathbreaker.

Twilight sighed at their stubbornness but she nodded. "Fine, you don't need to ask them now. But I want you two to think about it. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are both very kind. You and Mute have helped Ponyville with the shades for a few weeks now, they would most likely reward you for that."

'We've chosen another reward,' Mute wrote into his notebook.

"Like what?" Twilight asked and tilted her head at Mute.

Zarathon chuckled. "A noble title for Mute; a place at Celestia's court where he may observe and learn necessary skills. I can not teach him politics with books and conversations, he must see it for himself."

"Why would you want to get involved with all of that? All the politics and scheming the court do is just so barbaric and gross," Twilight said and shuddered.

'I must know how to rule if I am to be a lord of Cinder,' Mute wrote.

"Furthermore, there are many things I do not know of your modern institutions. With Mute granted a title I may learn new ideas for the sake of creating an effective shade-killing bureaucracy."

Twilight gave them both a skeptical look. "And it is not just because you want power?"

"My duty has always been first and foremost to eradicate shades. If I must have my friend attain a powerful position to do so then so be it," Zarathon mused. "Not that I complain about the power and responsibilities. I have been removed from the machinations of state for far too long."

"I don't think Princess Celestia wants you anywhere near the court, Zarathon..." Twilight deadpanned. "Considering your past deeds and reputation you are not a good leader."

The pebble gasped and his fire flared in shook. "Not a good leader!? Silence your blasphemous words! I had an incredibly successful kingdom. My actions were for the good of all, even if ponies can't understand it."

"Slavery was for the good of all?" Twilight asked with a glare.

"It was. My indentured servitude was not Sombra's ineffective and cruel torture, but a way for the poor to help the kingdom. The poor could sign away their will for a few hours a day and help build critical infrastructure and manage farms. In exchange, they were given food and housing. It was a far better system than the griffons who simply let their poor waste away or the ponies who coddled their poor and refused to push them onto the right track. A few of servants could educate themselves in exchange for their labor," Zarathon explained.

"Then why was it necessary to remove their free will if this program was so good?" Twilight asked and took more notes.

Zarathon let out a deep sigh. "To work on public works often meant repairs to the fortifications around the Blackpit or general work in the Everfree and surrounding area. It was a dangerous job where workers could become possessed. As long as the collar was active the worker would be resistant to shades, but it also meant they would not abandon their job should shades come, which they often did. They would do exactly as ordered and as efficiently as their bodies allow. But many did fall prey to shade attacks."

'Sometimes what one race sees as evil another sees as good. My people are strict when it comes to castes and positions within society. One can not move between castes or choose a path outside of the castes. It is a rigid but stable system. Ponies would choke under the pressure of such social weights,' Mute wrote with a scoff.

"Anyone would be crushed by a system like that," Twilight replied. "And Zarathon, you said the workers were safe with the collars?"

"Not safe, more resistant. It was less likely they would become possessed but it was still possible. And once a shade had a hold of a sapient's mind then the collar became useless. You could not control a possessed worker."

Twilight added it to her notes and put down her quill. "There's so much I want to know about the quirans. How they thought, how they reasoned, and how they viewed themselves and others. The same goes for changelings. But I don't think we'll have time to go over it all in one afternoon."

Zarathon hummed. "Let us make a deal, Twilight Sparkle. I shall return with Mute every few days and regale you tales from my people's ancient past. I will tell you why we do certain things and how those practices came to be. I shall also tell you about the Ember, how it feels to wield its power and what it is. In return, you shall accept our bonds of friendship, stop telling the town about the false me from your books, and help us with befriending the other element bearers. Miss Fluttershy was easily swayed by removing our surveillance pigeons—"

Twilight blinked. "Your what?"

"—And Miss Pie has shown great understanding for Mute. The others, however... They will need convincing and I am afraid they dislike me. And Mute can only write so fast."

'I will not be able to argue with them using paper," Mute wrote down with a small smile.

"So that is where you come in! You help us befriend them and I will tell you my people's history," Zarathon said. "In fact... Ready your quill and notes, I shall tell you the tale of the First-Fire and the birth of my people!"

Twilight gasped and hurriedly prepared her notes as Zarathon began to speak. The unicorn sat attentively and leaned in close to listen as Zarathon spoke of the first quirans and their history with the fire and black lake. Once the story was over Twilight looked at them with a wide grin.

"What happened after that?" Twilight asked and held up her notes, ready to write down more details.

"That we will save for another time, young unicorn. "Mute and I must rest before the hunt tonight."

"Ah, well another time then. And I accept your offer! I will happily help you befriend the girls if it means you tell me more stories," Twilight grinned. "Though... What about Mute? Could he also tell me some stories?"

Zarathon's fire shook from side to side. "No. The fact he told you about the castes is quite generous. He is sworn not to say too much about his kind."

'I can tell you a few things, but most of it must be kept secret for the safety of my people," Mute wrote and put away his notebook.

Twilight nodded at that and she led them up from the basement to the front door. "I understand. I'll be glad for anything you can share with me."

Mute bowed his head to the pony as a farewell and he left the library with Zarathon behind his horn.

"That went surprisingly well, wouldn't you say?" Zarathon hummed.

Mute nodded. For once things seemed to go well for the two of them. In fact that made him worry about the coming hunt. Hopefully, their good luck would continue during the night.

A Changeling Hunts Shades in a Castle

View Online

Night had once again fallen over Ponyville. The moon was hidden behind dark grey clouds and a light drizzle fell over the town and Everfree forest. The rain stuck to the undergrowth and leaves and it brought with it a chill that shook ponies and changelings alike to their core. Mute wished that they all could just go inside and warm themselves before the fire, but that was not an option. Tonight they hunted shades.

“I think we’re walking over a nest right now…” Holy Vow mumbled and eyed the ground under his hooves.

Mute nodded at the pegasus’ assessment as his hooves sunk into the dirt. They stood on a large one, a nest that likely housed hundreds of shades during the day. Mute let out a disgusted grunt as his hoof sunk through the ground and touched something slimy. He pulled it back and urged Holy to walk forward.

“The entrance must be close-by… There are some shades around but they have not noticed us yet. Walk with caution and tell me when you find the entrance,” Zarathon said in a hushed whisper.

They worked their way forwards through the undergrowth until they saw the black pit in the ground. Holy backed away and covered his snout in disgust as a deathly stink flowed out from the hole. Mute on the other hand felt his stomach curl at the smell of despair and sorrow that seemed to seep out of the ground. The changeling removed Zarathon from his horn to light the entrance on fire when a waft of rage came up from the nest. The smell made the changeling hiss and gag. Mute backed up and took desperate deep breaths to clear his mind. The putrid rage of the shades felt like a disease crawling beneath his chitin. Mute imagined small and malicious ants crawling through his nostrils and he snorted.

“Feel the Ember, Mute. Concentrate on its warmth,” Zarathon instructed calmly.

Mute nodded and closed his eyes. He reached for the bond he shared with Zarathon, the magical presence in his mind that was always there. He felt warmth stream from the bond into his body, the warmth of the Ember. He heard the crackling of flames and he felt the air clear. He opened his eyes and he was keenly aware of the shades that crawled around them. They kept away thanks to the light of Zarathon’s flames, but they hissed and sounded agitated. Holy Vow anxiously eyed the writhing shapes in the dark forest.

“I wish I had some magical ember to calm down…” the pegasus mumbled.

Zarathon scoffed. “You have wings, private. We’re stuck on the ground should the shades decide to attack. And they do want to attack. They know why we’re here.”

“Good, let them know they’re not gonna sleep anywhere when morning comes,” Holy said through gritted teeth as a shade hissed at them from the woods.

Mute walked up to the entrance and held Zarathon against the dark liquid that coated its sides. The liquid caught fire almost immediately and the changeling ran away from the nest with Holy right behind him and Zarathon behind his horn. The flames flowed into the nest and the ground rumbled before the fire erupted out of the entrance and lit up the woods. Holy and Mute watched from the trees as the ground collapsed into the nest and shrill shrieking filled the woods from angry shades.

“And so a third nest has been destroyed. Hopefully, many shades will perish when morning comes. Let us regroup with the duchess and lieutenant and hear how they have faired this night,” Zarathon said.

Mute nodded though his gaze fell on the many shades that crawled around them. He shook his head to get Zarathon’s attention and nodded at the many shades.

“We come out here every other night and I always feel like there are more of these things around our hooves…” Holy Vow mumbled dejectedly.

Zarathon’s flames grew larger and brighter and it looked like Mute wore a crown of fire. The shades fled back at the sudden bright light and Mute began to walk forwards. Holy followed behind them and peeled his eyes for any movements around them.

“Private Vow, you are more correct than you could possibly imagine…” Zarathon said. “We are thinning the herd near Ponyville but that will only do so much. Even when Mute and I place wards they are only effective at keeping shades away from a small area. I fear this work of ours is merely treating the symptoms, not curing the illness.”

Mute nodded at Zarathon’s words. This nightly hunt would keep the population of shades near Ponyville small, but it would not help in the long run.

“So how do we cure the illness then?” Holy asked and walked up alongside Mute.

Mute shrugged and kept an eye on the shades. The creatures followed behind them at a distance. They waited for an opportunity to strike. Not that they would get one without any force to throw at them.

“My people asked for hundreds of years ‘how do we rid ourselves of the shades?’ and never did we find an answer. Our solution—as imperfect as it was—was to monitor and guard their spawning grounds. We built several rings of walls and fortifications around the Blackpit which was guarded by mages and accomplished soldiers at all times. Many times my people tried to build structures over the Blackpit itself—a tower, a dome, a forge—and every time they would crumble into the Blackpit. Keeping them confined to a kill zone around the Blackpit was my grandfather’s solution and both my father and I followed it. It allowed us to use the Everfree for lumber and other things, but some shades would always slip out. Even during my reign when the fortifications around the pit were improved and our arcane expanded some shades still escaped. Simply put there is no way to cure the disease, just treat it,” Zarathon said.

Holy Vow nodded and looked thoughtfully into the woods. “You said you couldn’t build anything over the Blackpit to keep shades from leaving it. But wasn’t there a seal or something on it the last thousand years?”

Zarathon hummed. “I still have yet to verify the existence of this seal. But seeing as no shade had been seen in a thousand years I must assume there was something done to the Blackpit. Whatever it was is gone now, but if it could be recreated… No matter, we will find out eventually what was done to the Blackpit.”

“Let’s just travel to it during the day. We should be safe then, right?” Holy asked.

Mute shook his head in response. He motioned to where they stood and then tried to point far into the woods.

“Mute is correct, the Blackpit is far away. It would take us a day of flying to reach it and a few more to walk there. And even if we investigated during the day it would still be dangerous. Elder shades would guard it and we struggled to defeat one when it attacked Ponyville. Furthermore, I am not powerful enough to face the Blackpit, not when I am in this form. Its master would destroy me. If we traveled to the Blackpit it would be suicide. We’d need an army just to ensure our safety.”

Holy Vow eyed the pebble in curiosity. “The shades have a master?”

Mute nodded grimly and drew a large eye into the ground. He wrote 'master' next to it.

“They have a king of sorts. The oldest, or perhaps the largest, shade in the Blackpit directs and commands the rest. My ancestors speculated that this shade was the first spawned from the pit, but that was a guess. In truth, I have only seen it once, a large dreadful eye at the bottom of the Blackpit. Though it is hard to say if the Blackpit has a bottom…” Zarathon responded.

Holy Vow shuddered. “How do we kill it?”

“I don’t know. And neither did my father or his father before him.”

Mute felt a chill in the air as the rain began to pick up and it pelted them. Zarathon’s flames hissed as the rain hit them and their light slightly dimmed. They began to hurry their steps and walked in the direction from whence they came.

“Let us hope Duchess Will did a thorough job,” Zarathon mused.

When the Ponyville Guard regrouped in a clearing not far from the Castle of the Two Sisters they were all drenched and looked weary. Many were covered in black sticky tar from the shades and Adamantine Will had a wound on her leg. The group tallied the number of nests they had burned and the shades they had killed.

“The lieutenant and I found five small nests and two dozen shades,” Iron Hoof grunted and tried to wipe his old dirty armor.

“Arcane and I found two nests of medium size and killed about sixty shades I think?” Throne said.

Arcane Song nodded. “And we ran into a traveler in the woods as well. He claimed to want to sleep in the old castle but we led him back to the main road. We explained that the woods were dangerous at this time of day but he did not believe us.”

Zarathon chuckled. “Hubris shall become that pony’s downfall then. What about you, duchess?”

Adamantine Will was the dirtiest of all of the guards. Grime clung to her white mane and normally spotless armor. Her fur seemed completely drenched and she shivered whenever a gale flew through the clearing. Adamantine spoke through gritted teeth when Zarathon addressed her. “Seven nests, four small and three large. I must have killed over a hundred shades. But they never stop coming! Are we truly doing anything by burning these nests?”

“As I explained to Private Vow, we are merely thinning the population. Until we can do something about the Blackpit—the shades' spawning ground—then shades will continue to be an issue. Unfortunately, we can not get to the Blackpit for some time, so continuing these hunts will be the only way to mitigate the shades near us.”

Mute eyed the castle not too far away from them and he noticed movement in its dark and decrypt windows. He nodded at the castle and everyone turned to look at it.

“Are there shades in there as well?” Adamantine asked.

“There are,” Zarathon said. “But I believe we have done enough for one night.”

“No. We clear out the castle too. Twilight Sparkle has expressed her wish to explore it and I will not let any harm befall the princess’ student,” Adamantine huffed.

Mute rolled his eyes before he nodded and began to walk in the direction of the castle.

“Mute! Stop there is no need! We tell miss Sparkle to keep away from the castle and all will be fine.”

Adamantine laughed at the pebble’s words. “You think she would avoid the castle just because it was dangerous?”

Mute stopped to think and then shook his head. The purple unicorn’s appetite for knowledge was insatiable and danger alone would likely not make her reconsider.

Zarathon muttered under his breath. “Fine. If the sun goddess’ pupil is hurt Mute and I will suffer for it. Lead the way, duchess.”

The mare smirked and brushed past Mute as she headed for the ruined castle. The rest of the guards followed and Holy flanked Mute as they walked through the woods.

“Do you think that are any elder shades in there?” Holy said in hushed whispers to Mute.

Mute shook his head in response and kept an eye on the shades that followed them in the underbrush.

Zarathon on the other hand scoffed at Holy's words. “We would know if an elder shade was nearby. The air gets a distinct deathly smell and there is pressure on your mind. We will tell you if one is near.”

“Oh, well that’s good. I’d rather not fight an elder one…” the pegasus mumbled.

“You will have to eventually, private. We will have to travel to the Blackpit if we wish to contain the shades. So far we have done a good job at culling them here in the Everfree, but they will spread far beyond here. In fact, I am surprised we have not received reports of them appearing elsewhere. They are not normally restrained…”

Mute looked at the shades that followed them with a worried look. Abnormal behavior in shades was a bad thing. When the shades were predictable one could fight them and keep them at bay. When they changed their behaviors it meant a lot of unnecessary suffering.

The rest of the walk to the castle was a quiet affair.

The halls of the ruined castle were not filled with hundreds of shades nor possessed ponies. It was eerily quiet with only one or two shades coming out from the shadows to attack them. Mute did not like the fact it was quiet. He liked it even less that there seemed to be so few shades when Zarathon insisted he’d felt many. And Mute hated the fact that the air felt wrong. There was a strong smell of decay and misery around them. It was not the smell of an elder shade (Mute thanked Arachia for that) but it was different from the usual stench that came from shade nests.

“Can we please leave?” Squeaked Arcane Song as they rounded yet another corner. “Something feels very wrong…”

“I agree. I think we should leave and forbid ponies from coming near this place…” Iron Hoof mumbled.

Lieutenant Sword tsked at the two. “We’ve killed many of these things before and burned many nests. Just keep your eyes peeled and watch over each other.”

Holy Vow shook his head at the lieutenant’s words. “Sir, I think they’re right. We should leave.”

Adamantine growled at them from the front of the group. “We don’t leave until these ruins are secured and warded.”

Zarathon was quiet. The pebble’s flames flowed back and forth in an absentminded manner and Mute had the distinct notion that Zarathon listened for something. Mute however felt a chill throughout his body the further in they got.

Thorne would silently join Mute’s side and lean in so she could whisper. “Do you know what is in here?”

Mute shook his head and peered down the long stone corridor they found themselves in. For a split second, he swore something moved at the end of the corridor and he hissed. The rest of the group stopped and they held up their lanterns to see better, but there was nothing there.

“Quit it, changeling! I don’t need you scaring the soldiery!” Adamantine growled.

Mute glared at the mare and pointed into the darkness before he rummaged around his saddlebags for his notebook. He pulled it out and stared as water poured from it like a faucet. Adamantine scoffed in amusement at the sight and Mute let out an annoyed breath. He put the notebook back into his bag and secured it properly with the hopes it would keep out some of the rain when they returned outside. Mute then tried to gesture that he’d seen something, but the duchess would not have it.

“We have Zarathon’s special fire, correct? That can take care of anything that is hiding here. Or would the great Lord Zarathon like to admit that something here is beyond his capabilities?” Adamantine smirked.

Zarathon’s fire bristled and crackled red. “Nothing is beyond me, pony. Onwards, Mute, we must prove this mare is beneath us.”

Mute peered into the darkness and swallowed thickly. He did not like this but Zarathon seemed determined. Furthermore, he could feel that there wasn’t an elder shade nearby, so there should not be any real danger to him or his companions. Yet Mute felt cold in every part of his body and his legs would not move.

“Mute, I said onwards.”

The changeling took a calming breath and walked forwards. As he reached the end of the corridor he saw no signs of any creatures and he could not hear anything out of the ordinary. There was the occasional hiss of a far-off shade, but that was to be expected. Yet the air still felt heavy. Mute grunted as Adamantine bumped into him and walked past him down yet another corridor. The changeling bared his fangs and took a step toward the pony before he calmed his rage. It would not be worth it.

“Remember when I suggest you seduce her? I deeply apologize for ever suggesting such a heinous thing,” Zarathon whispered quietly to Mute.

The changeling chuckled and followed Adamantine. The rest of the guards followed behind with their lanterns held high to chase away the shadows that clung to everything in the stone corridors. Old rusty armors were on display near some of the walls and Mute felt like they moved with the shadows. Normally he did not fear dark places, especially since he could see better in darkness than any pony, but today he truly felt unnerved.

The winding stone corridors looped around again and again. Some passages had caved in and the group was forced to find ways around them and others lead through large desolate halls that had probably not been opened since the castle’s abandonment. Yet even though they drew wards with chalk and secured every room and corridor they passed through the unease never left them. In fact the closer they got to the largest part of the castle, the throne room, the worse it got.

After many wards had been drawn and a few more shades burned they arrived before two large oak doors. The old wood looked ready to fall apart and rot ate into it. Whatever enchantments that had once rested over them were long gone. However Mute was more aware of how warm and putrid the air felt. It reminded him of the stench that came from a rotting animal. Zarathon’s flames grew brighter and fear and anticipation were palpable in the air.

“We should leave. Now,” Holy said and readied his spear.

Radiant Sword eyed the doors scrupulously and gave in. “Leave some wards in front of the doors and then let us leave.”

But their words fell on deaf ears as Adamantine Will pushed open the doors with a firm magical push. “We burn this room.”

As the light of their lanterns and Zarathon’s fire fell over the old throne room the soldiers' eyes widened. Adamantine took a step back with a look of pure disgust on her face. Holy Vow stepped back and shook his head in fear.

“Please let us go!” Arcane Song said with a near sob and she looked ready to pass out from terror.

Mute just stared with a shuddering breath.

The room was filled with cocoons. The dark fleshy pods were twice the size of a pony and they wriggled as the light hit them. The cocoons were covered in a slimy secretion that pooled around their base and seemed anchored in the stone floor with fleshy protrusions. The floor itself was covered with shades, but they did not move. In fact, the shades seemed grey and decayed—as if they’d died from natural causes—and they created a webbing that bound the cocoons together. But by far the worst aspect of the room was the towering fleshy structure that grew in the middle of it. It was attached to a stone diorama with several pedestals. The tower itself was made up of hundreds of shades that had fused together into one being.

“What is this cursed thing?...” Adamantine asked and observed the tower as it pulsed. “That diorama was used to store the elements of Harmony. Whatever that thing is, its draining power from it.”

Even Mute with his broken horn could feel the residue of the magical power that flowed from the diorama into the black tower of shade-flesh. The magic was palpable in the air, corrupted by Darkness and lies.

Mute swore the Ember screamed at the sight.

“That’s impossible… There hasn’t been enough time,” Zarathon said in disbelief and his flames took on a white color, “No matter! Mute, burn it all!”

The changeling nodded and hurriedly began to draw up quiran wards on the ground. That was when one of the cocoons made a squelching sound and moved.

The ponies stared in fear and disgust as a dark liquid began to pour from the cocoon and it unfurled like a flower, spilling liters of the dark liquid onto the ground. A figure fell from the now-opened cocoon and landed on the shade-covered stone floor. It looked akin to a pony, but it was malnourished and completely black without any fur.

“Are there civilians in those pods?” Adamantine asked through gritted teeth.

Zarathon’s flames shook quickly from side to side. “Those are no longer ponies. Whatever they were before they are no longer your citizens. I can not purge the darkness from them.”

Adamantine turned to look at Zarathon with a snarl. “Why not!? We can not leave them here to die!”

“They are already gone! There is nothing left of the host. The parasite has completed its transformation. Mute, burn the damn room!” Zarathon commanded.

Mute hurriedly drew more and more wards as the figure in the room stood up. Mute’s eyes stung as he looked at the creature and its inky black eyes peered at them from the darkness. The other cocoons began to shudder and unfurl as well, adding more and more shadow ponies to the room. Arcane Song was inconsolable at this point, screaming that they had to run. Lieutenant Sword gave the order to pull back and Mute let out panicked breaths as he kept working on the wards. The room needed to be completely cleansed or the Darkness would remain.

That was when the fleshy tower shuddered and liquid began to pour from its top.

Mute stared in horror and he dropped the chalk.

“Ember save us all…” Zarathon mumbled.

Eight long legs, each with eight joints, pushed out through the fleshy top of the tower. They grabbed onto the sides of the flesh tower and pulled out the rest of the monster's body with a disgusting squelch. It was truly a grotesque creature. With eight spider-like legs and a distorted and oblong pony body, the creature was unlike anything Mute had ever seen. The thing landed on the floor with a disgusting wet smack and it stared at them with the same inky eyes as the shadow ponies. Though, unlike its brethren, the spider-pony smiled and revealed needle-like teeth.

“We should not have come here, this foe is beyond you all. Run. Run!!!” Zarathon yelled.

The ponies set off and Mute hurriedly grabbed the chalk and finished the last rune. The monsters shrieked and ran toward him. Mute dropped the chalk and ran. As he did so Zarathon’s fire streamed into the wards and lit them with a red glow. The wards exploded with flames that washed into the throne room. The creatures inside screamed in pain as the fire consumed everything in its path and lit up the castle with a yellow light.

Mute ignored the frightening shrieks from the shadow ponies behind him and followed the ponies down the corridor. That was when a large cry tore through the air and Mute looked behind him to see the spider pony jump over the flames and land in the corridor. Its legs thundered against the floor as it followed them and it opened its maw to reveal a long forked tongue.

“Run, Mute! We must fight it outside! We have no room to maneuver in here!”

Mute nodded and threw himself to the left as the corridor curved westward. He heard the spider-pony crash into the stone wall behind him and screech, but he had no time to focus on the abomination. Mute and the others would continue running until they returned to the door they had used to enter the castle. They practically crashed through it and piled outside into the rain.

“Form up! Be ready to kill this thing!” Lieutenant Sword yelled and the ponies readied their weapons just in time for the beast to emerge from the castle.

“Do not let it touch you!” Zarathon yelled. “You are not immune to its poison!”

“That thing is poisonous!?” Adamantine yelled as the spider reared back.

“Shield up!” The lieutenant screamed and Arcane Song cast a pink bubble shield around them all.

The spider pony crashed into the shield and the impact made Arcane cry out in pain. Cracks formed in the shield and Adamantine quickly cast another white shield beneath it. As the spider crashed into them once more it broke Arcane’s shield and crashed straight into Adamantine’s. Small cracks formed in the duchess’ shield from the first strike and she gritted her teeth.

“What do we do, Zarathon!?” Holy yelled and held his spear up against the beast.

“Give Mute time to draw the wards! This damn mud is hard to work with!” the pebble yelled back.

Mute quickly drew wards into the muddy ground and growled in frustration and panic as the mud and water broke them. The spider slammed into Adamantine’s shield once more and this time riddled it with so many cracks it looked ready to fall apart.

“Lieutenant!” Adamantine said with a wheeze and Radiant Sword formed a golden shield underneath Adamantine’s.

This time the spider-pony broke through Adamantine’s shield and as it crashed into the lieutenant’s it riddled it with cracks almost immediately. Radiant Sword grunted in pain and looked at Arcane. “Song!”

The pink unicorn shook and formed a new shield underneath the lieutenant's shield. The unicorn mare looked ready to collapse already. “Please hurry!”

Adamantine also formed a shield underneath Arcane’s and stumbled as she did so. “Zarathon you better not be stalling!”

Mute finally managed to complete the ward and threw Zarathon at it. The same second Zarathon hit it the ward lit on fire. It happened just in time as the spider reared back and slammed six of its legs into Sword’s shield. The spider pony shattered the shield and then its legs impacted the second shield and shattered it too. Then its legs went straight through Adamantine's shield like paper. The lieutenant grunted in pain, Arcane’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she passed out, and Adamantine fell to her haunches with a pained cry as her shield was destroyed. But it had bought valuable time as the spider-pony landed right on top of the ward.

“Perish,” Zarathon said underneath the spider pony as a column on fire erupted from the magic circle.

The spider-pony shrieked and tried to get back as the fire burned its body but Mute threw himself at it with a growl and held down its neck and head. The monster bit into the changeling’s shoulder and he let out a scream, but Mute slammed the monster right onto the ward. The beast screamed as it burned and its legs flailed as they caught alight. Its legs eventually snapped like burnt twigs and the monster let out a final screech as it turned to ash. The fire stopped burning and only lantern light fell over the group.

“Are you alright, Mute?” Holy asked and walked up to the changeling on shaky legs.

Mute nodded and placed a hoof on his shoulder. He felt warm blood pour from the wound and he hissed in pain. The poison in his blood quickly burned away, but the wound would not do the same. Mute pointed to Zarathon and Holy nodded.

“Of course,” the pegasus said and hurriedly retrieved Zarathon for Mute.

Zarathon sounded horrified upon seeing Mute’s wound. “That fiend! I wish I could burn it twice over for this insult! We must draw the wards quickly and seal the wound!”

Mute nodded and placed Zarathon behind his horn. He looked to the others and saw Iron Hoof and Thorne helping Arcane stand and Adamantine remained on her haunches, breathing deeply to calm herself. Radiant simply stood and watched the ash of the monster, a disgusted and rage-filled expression on his face.

“What was that!?” Lieutenant Sword yelled and turned to Mute.

“That was what happens when you leave a possessed pony for too long! This is how shades procreate, by taking the body of a living sapient creature and using it to strengthen themselves. They can use their new body to sire more normal shades,” Zarathon said.

Adamantine growled. “And why were we not told about this before!?”

“Because you did not need to know at the time! And because the risk of meeting such creatures was near impossible! Shades only appeared in this area recently! They have not had time to turn any hosts!” Zarathon said. “They must have come from somewhere else. They were attracted to that stone diorama. Magic had seeped into its very being. Why was that there!?”

Adamantine grumbled under her breath and watched as the ash became part of the mud in the rain. “As I said, the elements of Harmony were kept on it.”

“The sun goddess kept her most powerful weapons on display in an abandoned castle!? The fool! No wonder the shades were attracted to that damn stone! They must have been able to siphon arcane energy from it. That is how they were able to create such a hideous creature,” Zarathon said.

Lieutenant Sword growled and walked up to Mute. He pointed his hoof at the pebble behind Mute’s horn and scowled. “Do not insult the princess! This could all have been avoided if you had told us everything about the shades beforehand! You will tell us everything from now on, is that understood!?”

“I will call on the princesses if you keep information from us in the future,” Adamantine growled.

Radiant Sword turned his gaze to Adamantine and his scowl deepened. “And you! I did wrong by agreeing to explore those ruins, but we should have immediately pulled back when something was wrong! You are equally responsible for getting us so close to the throne room! Your and Zarathon’s pride could have cost me the lives of my soldiers!”

Adamantine looked stunned and she scowled back at the stallion. “Do not insult me. I bear no responsibility for what happened here! If the gracious lord in our company had cared to inform us more on shades we would have been fine!”

“You are both equally responsible for us ending up there! You two must stop fighting like foals!” the lieutenant said. “But that will have to wait until later. We must get back to town and rest.”

The group nodded. Deep exhaustion hung in the air and Mute drew a healing ward into the dirt. Zarathon’s fire lit the ward and Mute felt the chitin close over the wound, though the muscle underneath would need some time to properly heal. They would slowly make their way back through the forest, accosted by hissing shades on all sides. The group looked ready to collapse and Arcane Song clung to Iron Hoof’s side, hushed whispers passing between them. The ponies were scared of what other horrors awaited them in the woods. And perhaps they were scared for what other things Zarathon had not told them.

Holy Vow would join Mute’s side and he let out a tired yawn. “Will it always be like this from now on?”

Mute nodded. Shade hunting was a dangerous and unpredictable thing.

Holy sighed and nodded at Mute’s words. “Then maybe we should look at hiring more guards…”

“You all did fine, private. Tonight is a good night. You helped kill a creature that would have preyed on many innocents. Not to speak of the many nests you destroyed! I think this was a success. I even showed you more of my true power. I could have killed ten of those things if need be!” Zarathon boasted.

The group gave the pebble a tired look and continued walking. Mute just found their annoyance a much-needed amusement after the horrible encounter. In fact, he was reminded of an empress spider when he thought of the monster. A corrupted perversion of an empress spider that had needed to die.

All in all Mute thought it had been a good hunt.

Zarathon's Tales: Tsizen Davin Filevren (Tsizen Shatters the Lantern)

View Online

After the Dua Daizen had ended, King Zaran had died, and the great mountain Zaranqui had fallen, the people of Truth-Fire had settled their second city, Mauzaika. And only a few years after Mauzaika's construction there was great strife. This strife came not from daizika—the lies of the dark lake—but from doubt.

Questions regarding who should lead the quirans, what their purpose was, and whether or not their immortality should have been sacrificed were raised. Even with the Truth-Fire shining its light over Mauzaika from atop its adamantine tower there were those that longed for the days when their own fire had given them guidance. The act that had saved the quirans was now being questioned.

Where before a quiran could rely on his own flames to guide his path he now only had the blue glow of the lantern, and it provided barely a whisper. A whisper few heeded or heard, for the hallowed light was a presence that had to share its truth and guidance with all of Mauzaika. It was not enough in the eyes of many. Greed once again took hold. This time it was not greed for power, but greed for the splendor that had been lost. Many regretted their choice to save the cinders of the First-Fire.

Immortality was desired most of all by the greedy, especially by the elders who now experienced death. But there was also greed for purpose and guidance. There was a wish to once again be certain of things. All fueled by fear of the treacherous path the quirans now walked with the First-Fire forever lost.

Zavain was the first to be questioned by the inquisition of doubt and greed. The son of the former king, the savior of the quirans, was confronted in Mauzaika’s main square and lambasted for his decision to keep the Cinders alive. It is said Zavain listened to the mob’s words, closed his eyes, and communed with the whispers of the lantern. The king then pleaded with the mob to see reason. He reminded them that they all had given up their fire to keep the Cinders burning and that they had willingly followed him into Fianqui to build Mauzaika. He reminded them that they themselves had given the Cinders truth and valor to safeguard it from lies and Darkness.

But the mob was beyond reason.

The inquisition of doubt and greed—called the daivazran or daiva by Quirani scholars—would question Zavain’s right to rule. They accused him of harboring cursed blood. They said he would bring the same Darkness to the second city that had destroyed the first. Zavain tried to explain that he had not seized power but, like his father before him, the quirans had chosen to follow him. Yet these words did not soothe the mob.

The leader of the daiva, Tsizen, climbed the fountain in the main square and accused Zavain of treason. Tsizen proposed to all of the inquisition that Zavain had freed them from the darkness not to bring them into the light but to control every quiran that survived Zaranqui’s destruction. Zavain begged the people to see reason once more and he pleaded with the quirans that did not follow the daiva to stop their brothers and sister from making a terrible mistake. Yet none dared to cross the anger of Tsizen nor the doubt that the daiva spread.

After many hours of heated debates within the daiva it was decided they needed to reclaim the light they had lost. They would shatter the lantern and retake the fire and truths they invested within the Cinders.

Zavain would not abide by this. He warned that what such treason would bring, that it would once more cast them in darkness. Zavain told the daiva that their immortality and cloak of flames had come from the First-Fire. If they shattered the lantern and destroyed the Cinders the golden flames of the First-Fire would be forever lost.

Tsizen told his people that the king lied and they marched to the adamantine tower. Zavain, distraught and full of terror, commanded the good people of the second city to stop the daiva. He told them that if they did not, then death would befall them all. Darkness would return to their halls without the glow of the lantern Finally other quirans opposed the daiva and terrible fighting befell the square and streets of Mauzaika. Tsizen forced his way through this fighting to the tower and Zavain followed.

As the daiva leader and king reached the tower they fought. In the ensuing struggle, Zavain was mortally wounded and Tsizen made his way up the tower. Zavain followed, though his wounds made him slow, and by the time he reached the top of the tower he found that Tsizen held the lantern. The daiva leader shattered the lantern against the adamantine floor and a great rush of golden light fell over the city before it was cast into absolute darkness.

But there were no celebrations. The golden cloaks that the daiva longed for did not return. The longevity of the Quirani race did not resurface. And the guidance they had sought was now truly lost. Tsizen, strict by regret and grief at his actions, threw himself off the tower and became lost in the darkness of Mauzaika.

Zavain cradled what remained of the Cinders and prayed to it to forgive the quirans. That is when the king heard a single whisper, one that promised him that the quirans would not be judged for one moment of doubt. The Cinders coalesced into a singular ember that sunk into Zavain’s chest and bound itself to his heart.

As the Cinders became the Ember it gave Zavain a mane of fire and eyes of burning gold. His wound was healed and he was once more made privy to the secrets of the First-Fire. Zavain’s golden fiery mane was the only light in the city and from atop the adamantine tower he spoke to the population. He demanded they stop their fighting and told them that their prayers had been answered. Silence fell over the city as the entire Quirani race waited for their king’s words.

Zavain told the quirans that the Quirani race would never again hear the whispers of the cinders, something that caused cries of anguish from the crowd, but he silenced them. He told his people that the Ember now resided within him and that it gave him guidance. As long as Zavain led them they would never be without clear guidance from the Cinders again. The people were moved by the king’s words and they prostrated themselves before him. They called for him to lead them out of the darkness and to forgive their lies and sin.

Zavain would descend the tower and decreed that the body of Tsizen needed to be found. With Zavain’s golden fire they found Tsizen’s body and wrapped it in white cloth. The body was taken to Zavain who forgave Tsizen’s sins. Zavain then decreed that a great pyre was to be built outside the gates of Mauzaika for Tsizen’s funeral. The people were so moved by Zavain’s act of forgiveness and respect that they all sacrificed items of value and importance to the pyre as it was built. Even Zavain gave a sacrifice to the pyre, a shard of the broken lantern.

It was said that from the moment the pyre was lit until its fire died, quirans claimed that they could feel the warmth of the First-Fire once more.

Once the pyre was naught but ash and Tsizen gone the people of Mauzaika were surprised and in awe as a warm blue light flowed from the ash. Zavain dug around the ash and found that the shard of the lantern now glowed an ethereal blue light. Zavain proclaimed it a holy object blessed by the Ember. The people then claimed the glowing shard was proof that it had not been a mistake to sacrifice their immortal lives for the sake of the Cinders. Some even said that following Zavain was now a privilege as only he had insight into what the Ember wanted.

In the valley outside Mauzika Zavain decreed many more things. He cast away his father’s title, Zen Atinren, and took the title of Zaivura which meant ‘guardian of the holy remains’. He also proclaimed that the quirans would expand the city and build a great array of mirrors so that sunlight may find its way into Fianqui. Zavain then commanded quirans to explore beyond the valley and go east of the ruined Zaranqui. It is said that within a decade the quirans established a settlement on the plains beyond their mountains and named it Ivulan, the First-Shield. Many quirans would move to this settlement and learn much of the world beyond their mountains.

With access to forests with good lumber, the quirans learned carpentry and they built their settlement out of wood and stone. A great bell tower was established in the middle of Ivulan which was blessed by Zavain. This bell would ring out and inspire strength and hope in the quirans that in turn turned this hope into a desire for knowledge and land. More and more quirans built villages eastwards, farms and agriculture developed that yielded far more food than the mushroom plantations of the past, and many were born outside of Mauzaika with a love for the sun.

The great expansion and migration east had begun, and the final fog of the old world was swept away. Zavain died and the Ember passed to his son Zarin, a lover of arts and writing. It would be Zarin who created the first proper Quirani state and it would be Zarin who created the written language all quirans used thereafter. And it would be Zarin who pushed even further east until he met with the most mighty of all races, creatures worthy of worship and respect, the Zenkai. Or as they would later be known, the dragons.

A Changeling Meets with an Old Friend

View Online

“So you wish that I ennoble you,” Celestia said. It was a statement, not a question, and a curt one.

Mute slowly nodded up at her. He had to crane his neck to meet the alicorn’s gaze and her swan-like neck did nothing to aid him. In fact Mute found himself annoyed by how the light seemed to bounce off her pristine fur straight into his eyes. However, he remained composed and tried to keep his worry off his face. He needed her to exalt him and he couldn’t give her any reason to doubt his ability or motive. Zarathon relied on him to see this through.

The two sat in a round chamber with a large window overlooking the statue gardens to their left. A table separated them and the princess had poured them both a cup of tea. Mute had tried the hot beverage but found it lacking. It had tasted like worry and uncertainty, not like her tea.

Celestia sighed and leaned back into her seat. The heavily cushioned chair creaked from the princess’ weight and she gave Mute a tired look. “Do you have any idea what you ask of me?”

Mute nodded again and grabbed his pen. He wrote into his notebook that lay splayed out on the table between them and turned it around so she could read what he’d said. ‘I know that there are many responsibilities and much administrative work. I also know I would aid in running the realm in various other ways.'

“No, I mean if you understand the position you’re putting me through by asking this? You are asking me to give Lord Zarathon Holtam access to my most important officials and servants. You are requesting that I give Lord Zarathon Holtam permission to view the restricted section of the Canterlot Library. You are telling me to let Lord Zarathon Holtam walk around Canterlot Castle,” Celestia said and placed a hoof on her brow like she wanted to massage away a bad migraine.

Mute blinked in confusion at her and flipped around the book to write more. ‘This is for me, not for—’

“Don’t finish writing that. Where you go, Mute, Zarathon follows. I had to order you to leave him outside this very room, did I not? Would you like me to believe you would not bring him with you during your duties here? That he would not use your position to his advantage? Zarathon is a security risk to the realm and the only reason he is not locked away is due to us needing his magic. The fact you follow him willingly gives us even less reason to trust you with a noble title,” Celestia said in exasperation and took a sip of her tea.

Mute frowned at the princess and flipped to a clean page. ‘It is Zarathon’s price to continue aiding you.’

Celestia sighed heavily and put down her teacup. “I know. The selfish snake… He is willing to use my people’s lives as leverage for a cushy existence. Does that not tell you that this is a bad idea? Ask that he name another price, one that is attainable and realistic.”

‘He has no other price, and neither do I.’

The princess gave him an annoyed look and shook her head. “Zarathon will not strongarm his way into power, not here, not now. He will not make demands or weasel his way into power through the element bearers. This will be an equally beneficial agreement or I shall reveal to Equestria of his misdeeds and manipulations. Do you believe you can keep your newfound allies if they knew what Zarathon is trying to do? With what you are aiding him to do?"

Mute looked away uncomfortably and shook his head. The ponies would not be happy if they knew Zarathon used them as leverage. Furthermore, it would create more animosity between the element bearers and Zarathon, something they could not afford when they needed them on their side.

Celestia looked at him with a huff. "If Zarathon wishes for you to have a noble title then so be it, but I decide what privileges you hold. I will not allow you entry into the restricted section of the library. Your voice, or rather writing, will be advisory in the court, not legislative. Zarathon will have no hand in my laws. Furthermore, Zarathon may not accompany you during any of your duties. He may remain in your room at the castle but he is barred from entry into day court. And should I find out you reveal confidential information to him then your title will be revoked. Zarathon will also pay a price for this exaltation. He, or you, is to teach the soldiery of Ponyville more quiran magic."

Mute’s eyes widened and he felt his body twitch. He wanted to jump up and slam his hooves into the table in frustration. He felt like he should growl and yell at the princess so she understood, but he took his pen with a calm hoof and wrote. ‘While unfortunate, I can accept limitations. Though you should know it will be hard to convince Zarathon to teach anyone but myself.'

"You will have to convince him if you wish to become a noble," Celestia said with a glare. "I will not accept that Zarathon keeps this information to himself. Tell him he either agrees or you will not receive a noble title. Or you teach in his stead. Either way, this magic can not be kept from us any longer."

'Fine, but I need access to the restricted section. That is part of Zarathon’s price that is non-negotiable.’

Celestia gave him a suspicious look. “Why?”

‘I can not tell you. Zarathon does not wish for you to know.’

“Yet you expect me to give it to you nonetheless? I can answer any question he has without letting him see the archives,” Celestia said and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes traced a mural that was painted there, one of a peaceful valley full of trees.

Mute pondered on her words for a second before he shook his head and wrote. ‘He is certain you would not be truthful on the matter.’

Celestia’s eyes widened in shock and she snarled in anger. She slammed her hooves onto the table and shook the porcelain teacups. “Not truthful!? How dare he! Zarathon holds the lives of my people over my head and despite that he says I’d lie!?”

‘He was adamant you would lie. He wishes to know more about the disappearance of his people and he has been told that any relevant information is in the restricted section. I suggested he ask miss Sparkle to look for us, but he only trust my eyes.’

“Is that why he wants all of this? To look at old papers?...”

Mute snorted in amusement and shook his head. ‘No. He wants me to learn governance as well. He wishes for me to be respected by your people. More than anything he wants a guarantee I will be safe.’

Celestia looked out the window in deep thought. “I know little about what happened to the quirans. They returned west and disappeared. There is nothing there but wilderness and bandits now. If he wants you to look into the old documents… He will find nothing but pain there I’m afraid.”

‘Even so, he must know,’ Mute wrote down firmly.

“So in exchange for saving ponies who become possessed, Zarathon wants an agent in my court and to look into the restricted section… Fine. I shall grant you the title of viscount and permission to look through any old documents in relation to quirans. But, you will not have that right until after the ceremony. And I will give you the documents on the quirans and nothing else. The restricted section will still be off-limits for you. I shall also be kind and grant you an ascension ceremony so that you may be exalted in front of the court and have your respect. I will call upon you when the ceremony is prepared,” Celestia said. "And Zarathon may not attend."

Mute chewed the inside of his cheek in frustration and he muttered under his breath. But he did not have much of a choice. He bowed his head at Celestia and closed his notebook. He placed the book into his saddle bags and threw them over his back. He walked to the door and touched the handle only for the princess to call to him.

“Mute…” Celestia began, her eyes stuck on the statue garden outside, “It was war. We seldom have a choice over our actions when the need is dire. What my sister and I did, we did for Equestria and our people. Remember that when you read through the documents.”

Mute eyed her wearily before he gave her a slow nod and left the chamber.

Perhaps it was his thoughtful and downcast look or maybe the fact he was a more common sight in the capital city, but the ponies seemed less abrasive this day. They did not walk as far away as possible from him nor did they glare or look at him in fear. They still gave him cautious looks, but many just ignored him. Progress was still progress. Though the two guards that followed him looked at him with disdain. They must have noticed the foul mood of their beloved princess.

“You’re being quiet, Mute. Did Celestia say something to offend you?” Zarathon asked.

Mute shook his head in response and looked up. The cobblestone street was filled with unicorn stallions and mares that went into cafes and shops at fast paces. In fact, it seemed like the city itself moved at a fast pace, like it did not have time to think. It reminded him of Manehattan, though he preferred the stone buildings of Canterlot far more than the glass and steel behemoths of Manehattan.

“I have a hard time accepting the price, but I need to see those documents. I will have to teach the ponies more of the basics and reveal details about our runic alphabet. It pains me to do so, but I must for the sake of my people. moreover, you claimed she will exalt you soon, but did she mention what you will be doing? Will she assign you property or wealth? She said your role will be advisory but will you manage affairs of state?”

Mute shrugged in response and scanned the street. There might be more guards watching over them and he’d rather not be near them. He needed to think.

Zarathon hummed. “And she does not want me to see the forbidden section. Typical... I can not attend during any of your courtly duties or even look into those documents without the censors getting to them first. Who knows what she will remove!?”

Mute nodded at that and spotted an empty table at a cafe. He walked up to it and sat down, placing his notebook on the table. ‘She said you will only find pain in those documents.’

Zarathon’s flames died down and Mute felt the pebble grow cold against his horn and skull. He looked up in concern only for the pebble’s flames to return.

“So be it. I’d rather know the truth than remain ignorant. I need information if we are to find them. If I have an inkling about Crazt’s reforms and decisions I might have an idea what to expect,” Zarathon said.

‘Even if we learn what he did before vanishing it has been a thousand years since then. They might have returned to the old ways or found entirely new ways of governance and culture. We will still not be prepared,’ Mute wrote down quickly and with annoyance.

Zarathon scoffed. “Perhaps, but it is better than nothing.”

‘Why are you not honest with Celestia about what you want? We both know it is fruitless to look for clues about modern quirans in the past. Tell her what you really want to know.’

“I do not ask it because I fear the answer. Because I fear I would kill her if she gave me a very wrong answer.”

Mute put down his pen with a heavy sigh and looked around the cafe. The other patrons seemed to avoid his gaze and the serving staff did not dare approach his table. Not that he wished for pony food, but still. Mute refocused his attention on Zarathon and understood why the pebble did what he did. Mute would have done the same.

That was when Mute’s eyes caught sight of a green shine. He looked into the street and noticed a grey pegasus that stared at him with wide eyes. Mute once again caught sight of the undeniable green shine in the pegasus’ eyes and he stood up abruptly. It could not be…

The two guards that had followed Mute since the castle—said guards standing by a clothes shop in a poorly disguised manner—eyed his sudden reaction with suspicion. Their eyes fell on the grey pegasus who composed himself and walked away into the back alleys behind some shops.

“Follow him, Mute. Lose the guards as well,” Zarathon mumbled quietly.

Mute nodded and quickly drew up a ward into his notebook. He then stood up and walked away from the cafe. Mute did not walk down the same alley as the pegasus but rather he followed the main road toward the market. He glanced over his shoulder and noted that the guards followed him. They spoke of something, and Mute thought they looked agitated before they hurried their steps.

That was when Mute dove into an alleyway. He opened his notebook and ripped out the page he’d drawn a ward on.

“I always hate these kinds of wards…” Zarathon muttered and lit the arcane symbol.

As the ward burned the paper was consumed by flame, but the magic worked. The light shade of the alley turned more and more black and it filled out the open space between the brick walls. Mute felt as if he dipped his hooves in icy water and as if molasses flowed over his back as the shadows enveloped him. The light of Zarathon’s flame died down and the ward was completed.

As the guards rounded the corner and walked into the alleyway, they faced a wall of complete darkness. They stopped and looked at each other anxiously as if neither were willing to explore the unnatural blackness. But in the end, they did not have to as the firm shadow evaporated and returned the alley to its true form. But Mute and Zarathon were gone.

The guards’ cursing drew a lot of confused stares from passers-by.

Mute followed the back alleys back up the street where he’d seen the pegasus. He opened and flexed his elytra as the sun once again touched his chitin and he tried to shrug off the sensation of shadows coiled against his body. He tried to move his wings only to grunt in pain. It was not worth it. They did not heal any more than his horn.

He tried to ignore the pain in his back and closed his elytra as the alley widened and the smooth brick walls gained doors and windows. Small apartments were nestled behind the bustling shops and cafes, though they looked abandoned and run down.

“I wonder how much rent they’d take for one of these… Maybe we can become landlords? I feel our coffers could use a steady revenue stream, especially if something like Spike’s rampage happens again,” Zarathon mumbled.

Mute laughed at that and continued down the alley.

As they rounded a corner Mute looked around and he noticed the grey pegasus further down the alley. The pony stood next to a door of one of the apartments. The pegasus eyed him wearily and looked over his shoulder. The pony fidgeted and seemed poised to run away. Mute understood his worry, but the guards were gone.

Mute approached him slowly and eyed the pegasus’ features. A cloud cutie mark, a large muscly build for a pegasus, and a scar along his left side. It was him.

Mute stopped in front of the grey pegasus and they eyed each other wearily. Neither moved or made an attempt to speak or in Mute’s case write. Eventually, the grey pegasus took a step forward and spoke, uncertainty and trepidation in his voice.

“Tibia, is that you?...”

Mute recoiled from the name and looked away with a snarl.

“Do not call him by that name! He is Mute, lord of cinder, now. He wants nothing to do with that name!” Zarathon huffed in anger.

Dragonfly looked at the pebble in surprise. “It spoke… So the rumors are true. And Mute? What is that? A cruel nickname?”

“No! It is a name not tarnished. Do not speak that name again or Mute will likely hit you. He does not want to hear it,” Zarathon said adamantly.

Mute refused to meet the other changeling’s gaze. He did not want to be reminded. He just wanted to make sure Dragonfly was in good health and then leave.

Dragonfly looked uncomfortable and uncertain, but he gave them both a slow nod. “Fine, Mute it is. But still, you’re alive! We were certain you had died in the jungle!”

Mute shook his head and opened his notebook to write. ‘I wandered for days until I met Zarathon and a parasite. Do you remember the stories of the parasites? They are real.’

“I know they’re real, we lost a few scouts to them just a month ago. We’re lucky enough we had Praetorians with us that were able to kill them before they escaped. Still, the Everfree and Ponyville are both off-limits for all lings’ until the infestation is gone or brought under control. Yet I heard rumors here in Canterlot of a changeling that has been fighting them. Is that you?” Dragonfly asked.

Mute gave him a wry grin. ‘I have nothing better to do, right?’

“I gave Mute the tools needed to kill shades. We will get the infestation under control eventually, but until then I recommend all changelings leave Canterlot and the surrounding areas. Any settlement or road with a connection to the Everfree might be infested. We can not afford possessed changelings during times like these. Mute and I do not have enough say or arcane power to deal with such threats,” Zarathon firmly said.

Dragonfly nodded in understanding. “I respect your advice, but I and all other lings’ in the city are here on the queen’s orders. I am training Broodlings and the Infiltrators brought dozens of Workers with them. Our operations in Canterlot have tripled since you left, Mute. We can’t just leave.”

‘Tell Chrysalis it is too dangerous then! This is about the safety of the Hive!’ Mute wrote down with a frown.

“No can do, brother… She has increased our activities in Canterlot more and more without an end in sight. Ever since Lampyridae, you know… The queen has been obsessed with Canterlot,” Dragonfly sighed.

Mute put down his pen at the mention of her name. Could he still not even say her name in his mind? He closed his eyes and tried to will away the mental images of her smile and pink mane. Zarathon’s flames caressed his horn in support.

“Please don’t mention the princess. My friend is not good at grieving, and he is yet to let go. Give him time, please,” Zarathon said quietly.

“Ah, of course. I apologize, Mute. I didn’t mean to… You know what I mean. As I was saying, the queen won’t stop operations in Canterlot. And I highly suggest you don’t talk to anyone but me. Gnat and Louse are stationed elsewhere and they are some of the few that would be friendly. The Praetorians would not hesitate to kick you if they walked by.”

Mute cringed at that but nodded in understanding.

Zarathon mumbled beneath his breath at ungratefulness and traitorous behavior and it brought a small smile to Mute’s lips.

“Please don’t blame the other lings’ too much. The Whitecoats are still a problem even though the Queen struck back against them. They raided the hatchery three months back. They never reached the eggs, but it was close,” Dragonfly said grimly.

Mute’s eyes widened and he quickly opened his notebook. ‘The Whitecoats are still alive?’

“Barley. The Queen can’t quite kill them all. It is hard to kill some of their more seductive ideas after all… So seductive some lings' are willing to do anything, even to the detriment of the Hive. After all, there was an attempt at the Queen’s life last year. Due to the attack, the young Princess Ovin was moved here for her own safety, not that this is public knowledge,” Dragonfly sighed. “I need a drink…”

‘Ovin is here?’ Mute wrote in disbelief.

Dragonfly just nodded.

Zarathon hummed in concern. “You are putting yourself and the princess at risk by telling us all of this.”

“Ti— Mute, would never hurt her. In fact, she would probably want to speak with him. She liked you, you know? She begged the queen to lift your exile for a month after they left you in the jungle,” the disguised changeling said with a small smile.

‘She’s a good kid…’ Mute wrote slowly, desperately trying to calm the raging sea of emotions that tried to force themselves upon him.

“She never blamed you for what happened. Neither did the prince. He was outraged when he learned what happened, you know? ‘You bring him back this instance, mother!’ is what he said when he returned. That got him thrown in a cell, but he probably thinks it was worth it,” Dragonfly chuckled sadly and leaned against one of the brick walls.

Mute couldn’t help but smile at that. Prince Coxa the Unmovable. It would be hard to find a stronger voice of dissent than him or a more loyal friend. ‘Is he in the Hive?’

“No, he was sent north as a punishment. He is to be given as little information about the Hive as possible until he repents, which is unlikely to happen. He’ll be allowed back eventually like he always is,” Dragonfly said with a shake of his head.

The two stood silent for a minute before Dragonfly flexed his ear. He sighed and dragged a hoof down his snout. “I can hear ponies approaching. I must go. If you see me alone again then please speak to me, but try to avoid me if I am with Praetorians or Broodlings. They wouldn’t be pleasant to you. It would also jeopardize their safety.”

Mute nodded in thanks and embraced the grey pegasus. They patted each other on the back and Dragonfly hurried down the alley. Mute quickly wrote up the shadow ward once more and darkness blanketed the area. By the time the two guards arrived in the alley, Mute was gone.

The changeling and the pebble would reemerge until they reached the train station. Mute tried to shake off the tired feeling that fell over him and he sighed.

“Chrysalis is about to do something, Mute. We should hurry with our search before something happens. Once the changeling queen makes a move that will cast us adrift,” Zarathon said quietly.

Mute nodded and looked back at the city. Specifically, his eyes found the Canterlot library. They would need Celestia’s permission to attain the volumes they were looking for. But once they had it they would find the answers Zarathon sought.

Then they would go west, find the quirans, and return Zarathon to his throne. No matter the cost.

A Changeling Earns His Name

View Online

Warmth. A blanket of warmth and weightlessness was the first thing he felt. 1077 opened his eyes and everything was a greenish yellow. The liquid around him blurred his vision and made it difficult to see. He blinked and tried to clear his vision, yet he saw barely anything.

1077 did become acutely aware of the long black tube that ran down his throat. He felt how it connected to his lungs and breathed for him. He hated the feeling of his chest rising and lowering on its own accord. He felt ready to throw up. 1077 had always despised the medical devices employed by the Healers but he particularly hated the re-breather.

He moved his limbs through the thick sap-like liquid that surrounded him and pressed them against the green fleshy wall in front of him. 1077 grunted in pain as his muscles burned from the sudden movement and it prompted him to stop. His vision somewhat cleared from the pain and he looked around to discern where he was. Green translucent flesh surrounded him at all sides and he could just barely make out a sterile black chamber through the wall before him. 1077 could also see red figures that moved throughout the chamber in a quick and fluid motion.

He realized that they had taken him to the Healers in the Hive and placed him in a healing pod. 1077 relaxed and nestled his back against the fleshy structure. If he was back then that meant Lampyridae was safe. She had to be.

1077 observed the red figures for a moment before he tentatively moved his formerly injured back leg. To his surprise, he felt no pain, at least no pain from a wound. In fact, he noticed new shiny chitin along his leg. He would never cease to wonder at the skill of the Healers. 1077 rolled his shoulder as well and felt no complications from the arrow that had pierced it. He knew that wounds and blood loss as severe as his would have required days to heal, so how long had he been unconscious?

His calm moment of reflection was interrupted as the pod shook and suddenly drained itself of all liquid. 1077 fell to his haunches and shuddered from a cold chill as the pod unfurled and revealed the healing chambers. He looked around with unfamiliar eyes. His pod stood on a stone dais, elevated above a floor made from black granite. A drain was constructed around the dais that caught all liquid that he’d bathed in and he scrunched his snout at the distinct smells of the sterile room.

Some of the liquids used to make the healing gelly smelled akin to bleach and other chemicals that were common in Pony settlements. These smells filled every nook and crevice of the room. Though 1077 noticed a distinct lack of chemical smell from himself or the pod he’d just been in.

Only royal jelly lacked the smell. They hadn’t wasted such a precious healing agent on him, right?

1077 got up on shaky legs and grasped the tube in his mouth with a grunt. He pulled it out of his throat and gagged. He felt the smaller tubes in his lungs be pulled out with it and the feeling was nauseating, to say the least. Though he breathed a sigh of relief as the tube dislodged itself and he pulled it and the two connected tubes out of his mouth. 1077 simply let it fall onto the dais and he stretched. 1077’s muscles screamed in relief as he moved them for the first time in days, or what he at least assumed were days.

As he moved he noticed other pods to his left and right. In fact, he saw dozens of pods filled with unconscious changelings. Some pods were even grafted onto the black walls of the chamber, a process that was only done due to a lack of space.

“Where are you, Dragonfly?” 1077 mumbled under his breath and his eyes swept over the pods.

That was when one of the Healers approached his dais with quick steps. The Healers were different from all other changelings. The ones that served in the healing chambers were exclusively female and they were draped in a simple red cloth to denominate their station. They also held no elytra or wings, but rather spider-like limbs that ordinarily lay folded against their back. Furthermore, their heads were crowned by a black disc that served as their horns and long red manes. Moreover, they held blood-red eyes that were said to be able to see through changeling chitin and pony flesh.

The Healers also carried themselves with regal authority, control, and grace, even as broodlings. Gnat and Louse had nicknamed them ‘the faceless’ due to their seeming lack of emotions and similar appearance. A cruel nickname, but one that carried some truth. It was very hard to differentiate between Healers unless one knew them personally.

And 1077 had made sure he visited the healing chambers as little as possible as a broodling. The Healer has scared him. In fact, they still scared him as he could not keep his eyes off the other Healers just to make sure they did not come close.

“My apologies, honored Warrior, I was busy with another patient. I will first make sure there were no complications with the healing process and then I will take you to the washroom so you may clean yourself,” the Healer said with a monotone tone.

1077 noted the lack of emotion in her voice. It echoed eerily in the chamber and he could not help but feel as if there was no soul behind her eyes. Her blank stare was just like the Healer broodlings he’d met when he was young. She was beautiful and slim, but her beauty awoke no desire or reverence, only a chill down his spine and an urgent sense to flee. Her beauty was that of a beautiful corpse. Maybe serene and pretty, but still dead.

“Do what you must, Healer,” he eventually complied and got down from the stone dais so he stood before her.

The Healer nodded and unfurled the extra limbs on her back. She had six spider-like arms and each ended in three small claws. Without moving the rest of her body or even blinking she examined his wounds. Her clawed arms would press and prod at his shoulder. She scratched on his new chitin to check its strength and she even grabbed his front leg and moved it back and forth to see his shoulder’s mobility. Eventually, she moved on to his back leg and performed the same tests. 1077 could only try to keep a neutral expression on his face as she stared right at him.

“I am fine,” he reassure her and swallowed in discomfort.

“That remains to be seen. Trot around the room,” she commanded.

1077 complied and walked back and forth. Other Healers observed him as he walked with the same critical eye as his Healer and they all shared looks as if they could diagnose him without needing to speak a single word. His muscles did burn as he walked, but he refused to show pain in front of them. If they suspected anything was wrong they could immediately send him back to a pod.

As 1077 returned to his assigned Healer she would prod his shoulder and leg again. He hissed as she applied more pressure to the former wounds and her eyes took on a red glow. She stared at his limbs for a second before she nodded and let go of his leg and shoulder. She furled her arms against her back and lit her disc-like horn. A parchment floated over to them from a shelf on one of the walls and she gave it to him.

“Your chitin has hardened and holds resistance against my claws. You showed signs of pain but that is in relation to inactivity and the healing jelly, not the wounds. You are well enough to leave. On this parchment is a detailed report on your injuries and treatment. A copy has been sent to the Central Spire for future treatments should complications arise. Your report may be used in the training of new Healers due to the rarity of your case,” she said.

1077 gave her a bemused smile. “I was wounded by arrows, Healer. That is hardly rare.”

“You had one hundred and sixteen chitin shards in your body and severe blood loss due to the extensive damage these did to your muscles and flesh. The arrows were designed to break chitin and cut deep. Some Archivists have claimed your survival is a case of divine intervention by the Seamstress.”

He looked at her in shock and touched his shoulder. “I was that far gone?...”

“I estimated your chance at survival to be about fifteen percent. Senior Healer Wockia had similar conclusions. Not as bad as some other cases, but still notable,” the Healer said, her voice still monotone.

Even when seemingly interested she still spoke as if she was dead inside. 1077 could not help but shudder. “Well, thank you for saving my life. And I must give thanks to the other Healers as well.”

“They are busy with an overflux of patients and have no time for conversations. You may thank them at a later date or in writing. The healing chambers appreciate letters of gratitude,” she replied with a blank stare.

“Erm, yes of course. May I ask for your name then so I may thank you properly?” he asked.

She tilted her head at him, a forty-five-degree tilt, and blinked. “Healer 4263.”

“Ah, apologies. I thought all Healers were given a name upon completing their studies,” 1077 said with a bow of his head.

“Names are markers of merit and skill within one’s caste. They can only be given with the approval of a senior and the Central Spire. To assume such honorable markers would be given freely for merely completing one’s duty to the Hive is insulting,” 4263 deadpanned, if a monotone deadpan was a thing.

“I forget myself, I’m sorry. I should not assume all Healers have earned a name. But at least we’re both new-brood, we can expect to earn a name soon,” 1077 smiled.

“Terms such as ‘old-brood’ and ‘new-brood’ is highly discouraged by her majesty the queen and the Central Spire. It spreads dissension and seeds conflict between groups. All changelings are part of the Hive and any notion of self-serving or individual groups separate from the castes must be eliminated. While such notions may aid the armed forces of the Hive with cohesion they will not be accepted inside the Halls of Healing. If you spread dissenting thoughts I must submit an official inquiry to the Central Spire.”

“There is no need, Healer 4263. I apologize for using such language. It must be the effect of the jelly, it addles the mind,” he said with a strained smile.

Never again would he try to be friendly to a Healer. It was pointless.

4263 just stared at him. “Royal jelly is noted for giving the patient good dreams, not for affecting their minds poorly. Lying to a Healer is also discouraged by the Central Spire. Please refrain from doing so.”

“Of course, I apologize for offending the Spire and law. Just let me wash and I will leave,” 1077 said with a frustrated exhale. Though he kept his fake smile. “Though I must ask, you used royal jelly to heal me?”

“The princess requested such and the queen authorized it. It greatly sped up your healing and recovery. I must recommend you do not get injured in the coming weeks considering the expense it took to save your life. Royal jelly should be reserved for praetorians and the royal family. I personally informed the senior Healer Wockia that I found its use on you a waste, but the queen ordered it and so it must have been necessary.”

1077 started to remember more and more why he disliked Healer. “Well, I thank you for your honesty, Healer 4263. May I now wash?”

“Follow me,” 4263 said and led him through the doors into another chamber much larger than the first.

1077 looked around the chamber as they entered and he saw a myriad of healing pods on daises and grafted against the black chitin-like walls. He even noticed some pods in the ceiling. The Warrior also noticed cots that were laid out across the floor for less injured changelings. Pods could only be spared for those that needed them the most.

1077 knew that the main chamber ordinarily served as an operating theatre and examination hall, and he did see several tables with small water-filled wooden tubs next to them. Pieces of cloth covered in green blood hung from the side of the tubs and they miscolored the water. He could not help but wonder if the blood was his or Dragonfly’s, but he knew better. They were meticulous with sanitation, and that blood was fresh.

The chamber was also filled with several Healers that hurried around the room. Some checked pods, others spoke with changelings that were laid out on the cots, and some led Healer broodlings around to show them treatments and wounds. All of them looked similar to 4263 and all of them held the same blank stare and monotone voice. Not even the broodlings showed hints of boredom or agitation. They stood perfectly still before their seniors and listened to every word they said with unwavering focus and obedience.

Healers were some of the most important members of the Hive and 1077 held great respect for their vital function and skill. But they were strange and unnatural.

1077 tried to shake off his discomfort and he surveyed the chamber for any sign of Dragonfly or any other ling’ from the expedition, but he could not make out much through the murky liquid-filled pods. “Is Warrior Dragonfly here, Healer 4263?”

“The Warrior you seek left a week ago. His wounds were minor in comparison to yours, Warrior 1077. Furthermore, your extensive blood loss meant you required many more days in the pod than usual,” the Healer said in the same monotone voice as before. “Not to speak of the operation to remove all chitin shards from your body.”

1077 looked at her in discomfort. “How long did it take to operate on me?”

“Six hours. It was a difficult operation considering the number of shards and the fact you had flown for hours. You should thank Princess Lampyridae for prioritizing you over other patients or you would have perished.”

“I see… Well, I thank you again for saving my life. I am in your debt,” he said with a bow of his head.

She let out an amused scoff, the first hint of emotion since she began to speak. “It is my duty to aid you, you owe me nothing. But you are in debt to the princess and the queen. As stated before, Queen Chrysalis authorized us to use pure love to make royal jelly. Without the royal jelly, you would have remained here for another week at least.”

“The damage was that bad?...”

“Your muscles were torn to shreds. The fact you did not die from blood loss during the flight or transportation to the Hive is a miracle. Some say the princess saved you,” the Healer replied as they reached a white wooden door.

The Healer would lead him into a pristine white chamber with iron pipes running all over the walls and nozzles hung from the ceiling. It was one of the few pony inventions the Hive made use of, showers. 1077 cleaned himself off and the Healer examined his leg and shoulder one more time just to be safe. 1077 noted that the chitin along his shoulder and leg seemed much darker than on the rest of his body. Had his chitin faded with age?

“Senior Warrior Ita is waiting for you outside the chambers. He will take you to the throne room where you may report to Queen Chrysalis regarding the incident,” 4263 told him.

1077 gained an anxious look at the mention of the senior Warrior but he nodded in compliance. “Of course.”

Once again the Healer would lead him to a set of doors, but this time they were red in color and much larger than before. In fact, the two doors almost touched the ceiling. They swung open without touching them and revealed the black tunnels outside. Hardened green secretion covered much of the round structures to hold up the weight of the ceiling and all of it looked smooth and clinical. Not a meter had been dug in vain or a single drop of secretion wasted. All tunnels were perfect and they always filled 1077 with a sense of safety. The tunnel network could only be navigated by a changeling and as such, they were the perfect defense against outsiders.

Though he supposed outsiders were no longer their primary concern.

An older male changeling Warrior waited for them on the other side. The older male wore a determined frown and he nodded at the Healer in thanks before he walked down the corridor to his right.

“Seamstress bless your path, 4263,” 1077 said and hurried after the other Warrior.

The two would walk in silence through the maze-like tunnels and chambers that made up the eastern block of the Hive. Patrols passed them by every few minutes and in every chamber Workers labored hard with fortifications and security measures such as gatehouses by every tunnel entrance and exit. 1077 would glance at Ita now and again as they walked, mostly to admire the purple armor and helmet that crowned his head.

“Father,” 1077 eventually said, both as a greeting and statement.

Ita gave him a quick and stern look before he focused his eyes forward. “1077.”

1077 covered under Ita’s harsh gaze. “Tell me, is the princess unharmed?”

“She is.”

“And the attackers?”

“Yet to be found.”

1077 nodded and eyed the activity around them as they walked. Several more patrols of Warriors passed them and Workers dug new tunnels. “Do we know who they were?”

Ita sighed and shocked his head.

“Would it kill you to speak more than three words to me, father?” 1077 asked in annoyance.

“If you wish for small talk then find a mate already. Or better yet find your charge after the queen has questioned you. The princess fed you, believe this, pure love as they transported you to the Hive to keep you alive. If there is anyone that you should speak to it is her so that you may show her gratitude for keeping you alive,” Ita said curtly.

“She gave up the love she extracted during the exam?” 1077 asked with wide eyes.

Ita gave him a nod.

“But she needed to present it to the queen as well—”

“She wished to save your life. Accept that and move on. You do not question the decisions of the princess or the queen. Are we clear, Warrior 1077?”

He gave Ita an uncertain nod. “Of course.”

"You should be more focused on aiding the Hive than why you were saved. I assume you saw how crowded the Halls of Healing were? Your group was not the only one attacked. Several senior Warriors were injured and killed in our encampments in the west. We lost a whole class of broodling Scouts as well... We are lucky you reached Fort Cicada or it would have taken hours for any news to reach the Hive. Lives were saved thanks to your efforts. Now we must ensure the safety of the rest," Ita said gruffly.

1077 saluted him. "I will protect the Hive, father."

"I know you will."

The two of them eventually reached an elevator that would take them up to the ground level. The Halls of Healing were located underground for the safety of the patients and Healers. They had even been built underneath a large layer of rock to make it hard to dig down to them from above. It served safety well, but it did mean elevators were needed all over the level. The machinery was impressive with the metal chains and wheels that spun to make it move. Yet another outsider invention made to fit their society.

“I will lead you to the throne room, but I can not stay and watch. I must meet with Warrior Alyina,” Ita said as they boarded the elevator and pulled a level.

As the elevator rose it shook and groan. The journey upwards was slow and 1077 eyed Ita wearily. “And how is mother?”

“Worried. For you and for the royal family. This is unprecedented, do you understand? Never have we faced treachery of this kind. Singular traitors or pony-lovers are common among the Infiltrators, but hundreds? And not only were they numerous, not only did they attack several different groups at once, but they knew how to handle weaponry. Yet they were not all Warriors. Your friend Dragonfly reported that he saw Workers, as well as Infiltrators, attacking you. Workers have no weapon training and Infiltrators are not trained like us.”

1077 swallowed thickly. “If they have Infiltrators then they could subsume the position of a high-ranking official.”

“Which is why you need this,” Ita said and pulled out a metal badge from his armor.

The badge was blank and attached to a chain. 1077 grabbed it with a levitation spell and hung it around his neck. He eyed the blank piece of metal with confusion and then looked at Ita.

“They will engrave a unique string of numbers to your badge as well as your name. Because you have yet to receive your name it remains blank. It will not be blank after your meeting with the queen,” Ita said and observed him as if to garner his reaction.

1077’s eyes widened. He felt like his heart would beat its way out of his chest. Was his mouth open in shock? He composed himself somewhat before he spoke. “Will I receive a name today, father?”

“Be proud, son. You have earned it,” Ita said as the elevator stopped.

The two exited the elevator and 1077 looked around in surprise and the level of activity in the main square. The open area surrounded the Hive spires at all sides and connected to a dozen tunnels and elevators that led all over the Hive. While the square was ordinarily busy it was not normally occupied by hundreds of Warriors and dozens of Praetorians. Ita looked at the sight sadly and shook his head.

“The attack has created much insecurity and fear. We no longer know who is a friend or foe. You will keep the princess safe during this time, do you understand? We can not afford to lose royal blood to traitors,” Ita said sternly and looked at him with a glare.

1077 saluted. “I will guard her with my life.”

“I know. But you must go well beyond that. Suspect all, give in to none. Unless the queen herself orders you to do something you stick to the princess side at all times. You guard her when she sleeps and when she is awake. Your rest is trivial next to hers. There are others that can perform your duties should you fail. Do not disappoint me.”

1077 glared at him with a determined look. “I never have.”

Ita gave him a single nod and led him toward the Central Spire. The large towering black structure pierced the domed ceiling that surrounded the square at all times and it dwarfed the lesser spires next to it. The smaller spires served as study halls or storage facilities. The Central Spire was home to the throne room, archives, and of the Hall of Echoes. It was from the Central Spire decisions were made and the bureaucracy ran their business. It was in the Central Spire where every changeling has a record of their merit as well as their deviant behavior. Blessed by the Seamstress, held together by the queen’s divine right to rule, and functional thanks to the Archivists, the Central Spire was a marvel.

Yet it was the structure in front of the Central Spire that attracted most devout changelings. The black chitin-like structure reminded 1077 of a giant gazebo and several changelings prayed around it. Lit red candles were placed all over the floor of the structure and in the middle of it was a large piece of stone with dozens of names and numbers carved into it. Each name was written in gold, each a savior of the Hive or a royal changeling long gone. The Shrine of the Lost did not tower over them like the Spires, and yet it still felt so far above them that it might as well have levitated.

1077 always prayed when he saw it. Today was no different as he bowed his head and prayed.

Ita eyed his religious fanaticism with annoyance and nodded toward the spire. “You can thank the Seamstress and honor the dead after the queen is done with you. We have no time.”

1077 shot Ita a dirty look, but he complied and followed Ita past the shrine and up the stairs to the main entrance of the Central Spire.

Then began the tricky navigation of finding the throne room. 1077 could easily find Lampyridae’s bedroom and the archives, but the throne room was elusive even to him. Ita however had no issues moving between tunnel after tunnel as they pushed further down and further into the Central Spire. They passed multiple rooms filled with Archivists sorting through parchments and discussing important business in the Hive.

The long and sleek Archivists were always captivating to 1077. With their long manes and horns, they reminded him of the queen but their eyes held far less cunning than that of Queen Chrysalis. Archivists could memorize anything and they processed information far faster than any other changeling, but much like the Healers they were strange. Unlike the Healers they held emotions, but they were far more cryptic or hard to understand. They spoke with fancy words or with statistics that held no meaning to 1077. They could teach any subject in theory but could rarely perform what they taught.

“Come along,” Ita said with a huff.

1077 shook off the strange feelings he got from seeing the Archivists and continued into the spire.

Eventually, they reached a part of the spire that was quiet. The air felt tense and dangerous and 1077 could swear the tunnel walls vibrated. Ita grew tenser as they approached their destination until they finally emerged in a large open chamber. At the far end of the chamber was a large black throne and upon it sat the ruler of the Hive, Queen Chrysalis.

The changeling queen was a large creature. She towered above even the most powerful Praetorian and she dwarfed Lampyridae and princess Ovin. Her dark mane held a blue and green color which seemed to blend her into the shadows. Her dark body was also sleek like the Archivists, but unlike them, she held strength well above even the Praetorians. And her eyes held such a calculating edge it sent shivers down 1077’s spine. Though the most shocking thing was the golden badge around her neck. Not even the queen could escape the safety procedures.

Ita turned around and gave him an encouraging nod before he returned the way they’d come from. 1077 was left by the entrance and he swallowed nervously. It was an honor to be summoned by the queen, but it rattled one’s nerves. Even from across the room, 1077 could feel her oppressive gaze. He slowly walked into the throne room and up to the throne. The large chamber felt so empty. No guards, no advisors, just the queen.

“Warrior 1077,” Chrysalis said and leaned forward. “You saved my heir from traitors, for this, I must thank you. Give me your recollection of what happened during the attack.”

He looked up at her in surprise at her gratitude and bowed his head in respect. “You honor me, my queen. I shall tell you everything that I remember.”

1077 tried to as objectively as possible go over what had happened in the pass and what the attackers had looked like. Different kinds of changelings dressed in white robes. He recalled that he had seen Warriors, Infiltrators, and Workers on the walls. Though he had recognized none of them. Many had worn white cloaks close around their head, obscuring their faces. But their builds had revealed what they were.

The queen remained composed and neutral throughout his report, though she never lost the edge she held in her gaze. Eventually, she nodded at him to stop. “Thank you, 1077. Now on to the other matter at hand... You see, my daughter had the audacity to demand a name for you due to the incident. She even had the gall to come up with a name herself, circumventing both me and the Central Spire.”

He swallowed thickly at that and bowed even lower. “I am certain she meant no disrespect, your majesty. I will earn my name when I am ready.”

“You know my Lampyridae better than most of her servants. You know she did indeed mean to be disrespectful because that is in her nature. But that doesn’t mean she was wrong,” Chrysalis said with a glint in her eyes. “Rise and salute, 1077.”

He stood up and straightened his back before he saluted as commanded. He met the queen’s gaze and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He felt like his ears were clogged by barotrauma and he was not certain he could hide his fast heartbeats, but he tried his best for the queen’s sake.

“Princess Lampyridae, you may enter,” Chrysalis said.

A pink blur sprinted out from one of the tunnels and stopped in front of him. Lampyridae looked at him with wide eyes and her lip trembled. He gave her a small smile and nodded at her. She raised her front leg as if to hug him but stopped and she cleared her throat to compose herself. Archivists joined them as well, one who grabbed the metal badge around his neck and another who held a stone tablet.

“Warrior 1077, please bow your head,” Lampyridae began.

He bowed his head as instructed.

“Through valor of battle and at the cost of your own safety you defended me and the Hive from traitors and aggressors. You have shown dedication and strength of will to protect the Hive and all that it stands for. Through your actions, you have strengthened our resolve, and that must be rewarded.”

The Archivist with the stone tablet quickly and relatively quietly engraved Lampyridae’s words onto the tablet as she spoke. The other Archivist began to add a string of numbers to the badge. Queen Chrysalis watched them with scrutinizing eyes.

“Warrior 1077, from this day onward you will no longer be just a number. You will carry a name as your actions have been rewarded. From this day onward you will be Tibia, guard of my person and protector of the Hive. Rise, Tibia.”

Tibia stood up with a wide smile. He felt like he soared across the ground. And as he saw the proud tearful look of Lampyridae he felt he needed to renew his oath. “I swear to the Seamstress and the Hive, to the ground and the sky, that I will defend Princess Lampyridae with my life. Henceforth I will never leave her side until the threat is vanquished and I will destroy all traitors that wish her harm.”

Queen Chrysalis eyed them for a second before she scoffed. “Good. Now leave, I must see to other matters. The Praetorians never cease with questions.”

The Archivists finished their work. The Archivist with the stone tablet hurried down one tunnel while another hung the badge around Tibia’s neck before he too sprinted down another tunnel. Tibia picked up the badge with his magic and saw his name in bold letters written across the badge along with his number, 1077, and a long string of unrelated numbers. He was Tibia now, not 1077.

“Come,” Lampyridae whispered and dragged him out of the throneroom as Praetorians entered from tunnels in all directions.

Tibia noted with mild shock how a few of the Praetorians bowed their heads in respect to him as he passed.

Eventually, Lampyridae dragged them away from the throne room and she turned around and hugged him. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and sniffled. Tibia wrapped a forearm around her and placed his chin on top of her head.

“I thought you would die,” she hoarsely whispered, on the verge of tears.

Tibia squeezed her close. “I will never leave you, Firefly. I will honor my promise and I will keep you safe. You saved me, and I will repay that debt.”

The princess sobbed into his shoulder and he rocked her back and forth. He was finally home, he was where he belonged. For a second he could forget the Seamstress’ words, the queen’s righteous anger, and the castes, and held Lampyridae as she cried in relief.

Tibia would never let any harm come to her. He would die before that happened. He could never be with her, not if he did what was best for the Hive. But he could be there for her, and it was with a sorrowful smile he realized that he loved her. He stroked her mane and promised himself that until his dying breath, he would protect her life and honor.

For that is who he was. Tibia, guardian of Princess Lampyridae.

A Changeling Returns to Manehattan

View Online

The moment Mute stepped off the train in Ponyville, Holy Vow had met him on the platform. The white pegasus had worn a severe expression and carried a letter from Lieutenant Sword that instructed them to travel to Manehattan. They were ordered to investigate reports of disappearances and strange sightings near the harbor. These anomalies had at first drawn the attention of the Manehattan police and so they increased the number of officers patrolling the harbor. However, not long after officers began going missing as well. Witnesses spoke of shadows hiding in alleyways and of suspicious individuals hanging around the harbor at night. The situation was untenable and Zarathon's magic was needed.

Not that Zarathon agreed.

The ever-burning pebble had at first demanded to stay in Ponyville. He argued that his abilities were needed closer to the Blackpit. But any objections he had were overruled. Holy Vow made it clear that they had not been asked to investigate the disappearances but ordered to do so by the princesses.

So before they had even had a chance to sleep they were back on the train going east. And it had Zarathon grumbling.

"We don't have time for this Mute," Zarathon said from the seat opposite the changeling.

They had been given a private cabin away from prying eyes and Mute had to admit it certainly made the experience of traveling by train less strenuous. The green cushioned seats and clean wood furnishings gave Mute a refreshing feeling and the baggage holders above them allowed Mute to store his saddle bags. Though he kept his notebook and charcoal pen by his side.

Mute shrugged at Zarathon's words and looked at the hills and fields that rolled by. He picked up his notebook and wrote. 'We can not let them control a whole city. Imagine if they get onto a ship and infect places across the sea. What do we do then? Travel even further away from the Blackpit?'

"I know we can not let them get access to the sea! But we can not leave the Everfree to its own devices. The shades will know that we're gone and once that happens they'll become far more bold. Imagine another elder shade daring to attack Ponyville while we're gone. What happens then? They die, Mute, that is what happens."

The door to their private cabin slid open and Holy Vow walked inside, taking a seat next to Mute. He held a sandwich with one of his wings and threw a pink vial to Mute with the other. "You shouldn't discount the guards that quickly, Lord Zarathon. And Lady Will can certainly handle herself."

"You believe so? That any of you could survive an elder shade without me and Mute? Your confidence in your abilities is awe-inspiring, private."

Mute caught the pink vial in surprise and he bit around its cork lid, pulling it off with an audible 'plop'. He opened his maw and the liquid inside began to swirl before turning into a misty form. The pink mist flowed into his mouth and down his gullet and soon nothing remained of the liquid love. Mute gave Holy a thankful nod but he couldn't help but wonder how the pegasus had managed to acquire it. He quickly wrote into his notebook and turned it around for Holy to read. 'How did you get this?'

"Miss Pie sends her regards. When I told her you had to travel east she gave me that thing and told me to give it to you," Holy said and took a bite out of his sandwich.

Mute scoffed in amusement and tapped his charcoal pen against the notebook before writing. 'I don't know how she is able to produce it. Only changelings are able to do it.'

Holy sighed and massaged his temple with his left wing. "Don't question things when Miss Pie is involved, Mute. She can make things appear out of thin air."

'Fair enough. Back at the task at hand then. I think we should seek out sailors and dockworkers once we're in the city. They'll know what goes on in the harbor far better than police mares several blocks away.'

"Good point, Mute. But I believe such effort will not be necessary. We won't have to look far to find shades. All of this feels too deliberate and public," Zarathon mumbled, his flame swaying back and forth in thought.

Holy took a bite out of his sandwich and eyed the pebble with worry. "What do you mean?"

"It is all too unclean, private. They've taken any and all types of pony, from beggars to harbor workers to police officers. They are concentrated on one area rather than taking ponies from around the city. If they spread out the disappearances they could make them appear less suspicious. They are drawing attention to themselves. I fear they are baiting us in for some sort of trap. I want you both to be ready for anything," Zarathon said firmly.

Holy made a slow salute with his wing and took another bite out of the sandwich. "Will do, sir."

Mute just gave Zarathon a nod and held out his hoof, conjuring a tentative flame. He would be ready.

"Good... Good... Let us hope we are done quickly and can return to our duties in the Everfree before the week is over. I fear we shall never earn the trust of the element bearers or the town if we are constantly pulled away by the princesses."

'That was always going to happen, with or without the alicorns' orders. We are not long for Equestria after all.'

"Perhaps not. But I would like to make allies before we must leave," Zarathon said.

Holy eyed Mute's writing and looked at him suspiciously. "And where exactly are you going?"

"That is between me, Mute, and your princess, once I am certain of some things. Do not worry, private Vow, we will not leave in a week. Just be aware that to fight the shades and win, Mute and I will have to leave Equestria for a time."

"I see... Just, be sure to tell us before you go. We are going to need a heads up," Holy said and chowed down on the rest of the sandwich.

"We will, Private Vow, we will," Zarathon replied and turned his flames towards the window.

Holy Vow looked out towards the rolling landscape and he gained an anxious expression. "I had a cousin when I was younger. He had some kind of illness and was always weak. But he always smiled. Even as the disease ate away at his flesh and bones he smiled. In fact, the sicker he got the wider he smiled. He flossed his teeth and used all manners of things to keep them white, all so ponies would only see was his smile, not his dying body. Ever since the elder shade attacked, I look out at Equestria and I swear it is smiling just like my cousin. And I am wondering what I am missing as I stare at the teeth."

Mute frowned at Holy's words and he watched as the nightly landscape rolled by. For a second he imagined the fields, forests, and hills forming a terrifying black smile and he shuddered.

Manehattan was exactly like Mute remembered it. Ponies rushed past and pushed them aside when they walked down the street. Fast carriages rolled by so close to the sidewalk that it was a wonder no one got hurt. Above them all rose steel-glass behemoths that towered over the skyline. They reminded Mute of the Spire at home. Yet unlike the organic and comforting feeling of the Spire, these skyscrapers only made Mute's chitin crawl with discomfort.

"Cities are too big these days. I remember when a hundred thousand souls in a city was a great accomplishment. Now they can have a million and it is treated like it's ordinary," Zarathon said from behind Mute's horn.

"I agree, it is a bit too large for my tastes as well..." Holy mumbled and did his best to bump into any of the ponies rushing past them. "But it is impressive how many ponies can live in the same place without it all burning down once a week."

"The city might have a much worse fate than a great fire if we're too slow. Please hurry to the police precinct, Mute."

Mute hurried his steps and took them to a stone building a few blocks away from the harbor. Its towering monolithic presence lent to an oppressive air over the street. The pillars that held up its triangular roof gave it the feel of a temple, though the many mares rushing in and out in police uniforms certainly lent to a different feel.

"The detective we were supposed to meet is in there somewhere, let's go find her," Holy said and ascended the stairs to the gigantic police station.

Once inside they were met by an officer who pointed them in the direction of an office on the second floor. Past several cubicles, crooked hallways, and side doors they found a red door with the name 'Hard Case' printed on it in bold letters. Mute opened the door and went inside, being met by a cluttered and cramped office with overflowing filing cabinets, stacks of papers, books on various subjects such as history and medicine, and empty pizza cartoons all over the room. In the center of the office sat a wooden desk that was an oasis of cleanliness and neat organization with properly filed documents and no trash. And behind the desk, asleep on a cot beneath a draped window, laid a red, rotund, and snoring unicorn mare.

"I expected a stallion known for professionalism and staunch beliefs in organizing. I have found a fat mare that likely doesn't return borrowed books to the library," Zarathon said dryly.

Mute choked a laugh at that but composed himself just as quickly. He had to try and have manners if his friend wouldn't.

Holy couldn't help but side-eye the pebble "I thought you were all about acting proper, or at least pretending to."

"I do. But I also have little patience for things such as this when we are dealing with creatures that can cause catastrophe," Zarathon said and his flames flared, giving Mute a temporary crown of fire, "Now wake up, detective!"

Hard Case shot up out of her bed and looked around in panic before her eyes landed on the three of them. She yawned and grumbled, rubbing her eyes for a second before getting up. "What do you want?"

Holy stepped forward with a polite smile. "We are from Ponyville, ma'am. We were sent to help investigate the disappearances?"

Hard Case eyed them for a second before her eyes widened. "Oh by Tartarus, you are the ones with the evil cursed rock everyone was talking about."

"Cursed!?"

Holy smiled. "Yes, we do indeed have that rock with us. Though he has a name—"

"And that name is Lord Zarathon Holtham! Remember it, you cretin! Calling me cursed what a damn travesty this city is I ought to leave you to the shades!" Zarathon yelled.

Mute tried really hard not to laugh and he bowed his head in greeting to the detective.

Hard Case eyed Mute for a second. "Not often I see a changeling without his disguise. It is hard enough to deal with them when they want to hide. If they're willingly showing themselves then you know something is really wrong."

Mute pulled out his notebook and gave the mare a polite smile. 'Nothing is wrong. I am not here on behalf of my hive. I am afraid I suffer from a debilitating injury that prevents me from using ordinary magic. If I could take a shape more affable to pony sensibilities I would. Trust me, I would.'

Detective Case gave him an uncertain nod and looked up at his cracked horn, eyeing Zarathon warily. "I've been told you're supposed to be some ancient tyrant or warlord or whatever that the princesses vanquished long ago. I don't want any trouble in my city, do you understand?"

"Certainly. I am not here to add more problems, I am here to take away some of the existing ones. Specifically, I am here to ensure your city does not fall to an infestation of shades. So please, Miss Case, take us to the harbor and show us where ponies have gone missing," Zarathon said with a strained polite voice.

"I have to agree. We need to deal with this as quickly as possible," Holy said.

Mute just stared at the detective, wondering how she had gained so much weight in an active profession.

Hard Case gave them a tired look before she sighed and grabbed a bottle of something from behind her desk. She threw on a jacket and stuffed the bottle into her pocket before nodding towards the door. "Follow me, gentlecolts, and I'll show you where the beasties were seen."

The harbor stank of fish, salt, and industrial oil. Ponies rushed about to deliver cargo to a row of warehouses or to board departing ships. Several vessels were anchored in the bay and Mute couldn't help but marvel at the hundreds of ponies that worked on the deck and the outside of the vessels. For all of his complaints about pony individualism and their chaotic society, he had to admit that the harbor ran like a well-oiled machine. But the state of its cobblestone streets smeared with gull feces and the amount of depraved emotions that flowed from back alley pubs made Mute wish for the cleanliness of the Hive.

They stopped in front of a warehouse near an old tavern and Detective Case waved her hoof over the area.

"The ponies have gone missing around here and just recently a mare contacted us about an attacker with black eyes. She said he had worn dark clothes and glasses when he approached her but when he launched to grab her she managed to knock the glasses off. She claimed to have seen no light in his eyes. Does that description match your shades?" Hard Case asked and looked over her shoulder at the trio.

"That is indeed correct. It sounds like an infected resident trying to lure more unsuspecting victims to the same fate. Though it is being very public about it... I fear all of this might be deliberate to get us here and trap us, or worse. Keep an eye out for possible suspects and warn me if something seems amiss," Zarathon mumbled.

Mute nodded at that and looked around, scrounging his eyes as he tried to discern anything amiss. And much to his surprise, he did notice something. Something staring down at them from one of the upper windows of the warehouse. He grunted and nodded in the direction of the warehouse.

Detective Case turned around and squinted her eyes. "Is someone up there?"

Zarathon growled. "Not someone, something. Mute, get us in there."

Mute nodded and hurried to the large doors of the warehouse, dragging them open. As he did so light fell upon the dusty and packed room. Large wooden boxes stamped for various destinations cluttered the floor and shelves filled with tools and knickkacks were strewn about the place. Mute eyed the room for a second before stepping inside and looking up at the rafters. There was nothing up there.

"It moved. It is hiding somewhere in the room. Find it," Zarathon growled.

Mute hurriedly walked across the room and looked between the boxes and behind the shelves. Holy Vow tentatively followed and looked around in discomfort, his ears flicking and angling themselves to find any noise that seemed out of place. Detective Hard Case entered and gave the building an unimpressed stare.

"Where is your kidnapper, pebble?" the detective said.

"Hiding... Waiting to strike," Zarathon growled.

They spread out over the room and cautiously searched for the creature Mute had spotted. Yet all was quiet and seemingly normal. They found a shipping manifest for the cargo boxes, some miscellaneous notes left by dockworkers, and normal tools. It all seemed like an ordinary warehouse.

That was when a rattling came from one of the large boxes. Mute cautiously approached the box and looked it over as it began to rattle even more violently. Soon more rattling filled the air and Mute took a step back with wide eyes as more boxes began to shake. Zarathon's fire grew in size and cast light upon the shadowed room, revealing dozens of boxes that rattled with excitement.

"Open one of them, Mute," Zarathon ordered.

Mute approached one of the boxes and grabbed onto the side of one of its walls. He pulled on the wood and grunted from the effort. Soon the boards creaked and a small sliver opened up. Mute immediately dropped the boards with a gag and took a step back as a terrible smell of decay and corruption wafted out of the small opening.

Holy Vow eyed the boxes with increasing worry and he squeezed one of his wings around a long dagger he'd drawn from his side. "What fresh Tartarus is this?..."

Hard Case hurried up to Mute's side and telekinetically grabbed hold of the same wall Mute had pulled on. The boxes began to rattle even more violently and the sound drowned out all others in the room. Mute couldn't hear himself think. And then as the wall was ripped from the box the room went silent.

Holy Vow looked at the contents of the box in despair as inside was a wriggling, oily, and fleshy cocoon. "I think we found our missing ponies..."

Hard Case just stared at the cocoon with an open jaw, fear and awe in her eyes. "What is this thing?"

"How a shade enters the final stage of its evolution," Zarathon replied and his flame shot out to touch the cocoon.

The fleshy structure inside the wooden box lit up like it had been drenched in gasoline. For a second the cocoon moved and unfurled, revealing a grotesque sight. A pony with half of its face made from flesh and half made from shadow crawled out of the cocoon and screamed. But it had no hope of survival as Zarathon's flames reached it. The half-matured shade screeched and trashed in its cocoon as the fire consumed its body. It let out a final pained shriek before it and its cocoon turned to ash.

Mute let out a sigh of relief as the shade died. Holy looked ready to puke and he stepped back to get closer to the sunlight by the entrance. Hard Case just stared intensely at the burning box, her lips pursed tightly. The detective seemed deep in thought, ones that made her eyes fill with fear.

"The labels..." she mumbled. "They're boxes for shipping and shades are their cargo."

Zarathon let out a humorless laugh. "They are creating a pandemic. It is even worse than we feared, Mute."

That was when a powerful shriek sounded throughout the room and a black blur hit Hard Case's side. The mare let out a cry as she was thrown through some of the sleeves and skidded across the floor. Holy grabbed his dagger with his mouth and launched himself towards the blur. Mute in turn quickly faced the attacker with a snarl and jumped the pony-like shade. The changeling bit down around the shade's neck, black oily blood filling his mouth, making him gag. The shade returned the favor by biting down on Mute's cheek, drawing a muffled cry from him. Yet he didn't relent and he bit down harder to keep the shade in place. Zarathon's flames quickly enveloped the shade's head and it screamed. Holy finished the beast by swooping it and lopping off its head with a swift strike, barely missing Mute as he did so. The shade exploded into ash and the warehouse once again grew quiet.

Mute stumbled back and spat the black blood onto the ground. He desperately spat and tried his best to not gag as the taste of death spread around his mouth. Holy Vow on the other hand hurried to help Hard Case onto her hooves. The mare's left hind leg was bent at a weird angle and she hissed in pain as she walked. Mute sighed in relief as he saw the detective was alive. But the changeling was only given a moment of rest.

"Mute there's another one!" Holy yelled and pointed toward one of the corners of the room.

Mute dashed between the horrifying boxes and mundane shelves until he reached the corner. He bared his teeth and hissed, yet he blinked in confusion as he realized nothing awaited him. There was no shade in the corner. Though Mute noticed a small metal grate on the floor. He quickly walked over to it and bent down. However, as Mute got close he suddenly recoiled and gagged. A stank akin to death and decay rose from the grate and Mute desperately shook his head.

"Detective! Private Vow! We have found one of the paths to the shade nest!" Zarathon yelled.

Hard Case and Holy made their way to the corner, Hard Case having one foreleg wrapped over Holy's shoulders. She limped up to the grate and eyed it with a disgusted expression. Holy grabbed a cloth from one of the shelves and placed it over the grate, sighing in relief as the pungent smell was blocked.

Hard Case looked to Mute and Zarathon with a frown. "What do you make of this?"

"The shades here are in the form of ponies, suggesting it has been a while since they infected their hosts. And seeing as one of them was able to fit down that small grate I imagine there is nothing left of the hosts. An advanced stage of corruption is a very bad sign because that usually means there is a well-established nest close by to the creature's hunting grounds," Zarathon said grimly and flickered his flames in annoyance. "If only we had arrived earlier..."

Mute nodded in agreement and pointed to the now concealed grate before pointing outside. He mimicked lifting a heavy lid and descending a pair of stairs.

Holy let out an understanding 'ah' and nodded with the changeling. "He's saying we should find a sewer entrance if I'm not mistaken."

"That is exactly right, Private Vow! You are already understanding the intricacies of Mute's expressions! I am deeply impressed. I must recommend that the good lieutenant promote you when we are back in Ponyville."

Holy let out a scoff. "I don't think understanding charades will give me a promotion, Lord Zarathon."

Hard Case eyed them with a furrowed brow and nodded to the grate. "Why should we follow it into the sewers? That sounds like a dangerous goose chase without end. That thing can get to the other side of the city before we have the clearance to check the sewers. Not to mention how difficult it will be to find it. It is a maze down there. Furthermore, we need to clear this warehouse! If every last box in this room has one of those things inside it then we can't leave them!"

Mute rolled his eyes at the mare and took out his notebook. 'We can burn the boxes rather quickly. Dealing with the nest is far more important. Either the nest is destroyed or there won't be a Manehattan left in a few months, if not weeks.'

"My compatriot speaks the truth. If you let the shades fester down below they will slowly spread their influence into every aspect of life. They will replace mayors, police chiefs, representatives of the princesses, and many more. They clearly have replaced dockworkers. Once they're powerful enough they will harvest your population and create even more powerful and deadly monsters than before. Then their darkness will spread from here to the entire country," Zarathon said. "In fact... I am worried we might already be too late in stopping the infection from spreading..."

"What do you mean?" Hard Case asked nervously and looked around the warehouse. "We have stopped it at the source, no? All we have to do is search the ships on the shipping manifest we found and remove the infected boxes."

Holy swept his eyes around the large building as if shadows would jump him any second. "I thought we just had a nest to burn and some shades to kill. This is far more than that..."

"The shades have had weeks to prepare their special cargo. These ships leave every day. Even if we purge the corruption from Manehattan, even if we find every single contaminated box on the ships in the harbor, it might only be a temporary measure. Look at the shipping manifest again and tell me the dates," Zarathon said darkly.

Holy looked at Zarathon in confusion before he looked at the boxes and grew pale. He leaned Hard Case against one of the shelves and hurriedly found the shipping manifest. Holy looked it over with wide-eyed terror. "You mean..."

Mute nodded and held out his hoof to mimic a ship sailing over the waves.

Hard Case quickly grabbed the shipping manifest from Holy and her face paled as she read it. "They shipped boxes as soon as yesterday, and they have sent several before that as well... We... We need to quartine the harbor. We have to tell the higher-ups to search every ship for these things!"

Zarathon scoffed at the mare. "While a sound idea, a quarantine now won't do anything to stop the spread of the disease. We can stop the spread of more shades, but the ones that have already been shipped? They will settle down in other lands, either laying dormant waiting to strike, or immediately corrupting the population. And these foreign lands have no protection against shades with the exception of sunlight, and even that can only do so much against more powerful shades."

Hard Case swallowed thickly and eyed the covered grate in slight fear. "If what you're saying is true, then how do we stop it?..."

"No one can stop it. My ancestors learned that the hard way, as did I. We can contain it, minimize the damage caused, and teach others how to treat the symptoms. But the shades never had access to harbors in my time. My people always contained them on this continent. Manehattan is a stepping stone, Miss Case. Their real goal is the world, and your harbors have given them the best means to reach it."

The detective stumbled back and leaned against one of the shelves, her eyes wide in shock. "We must warn other nations, tell them to keep an eye out for these things!"

"Have your superiors write to the princess and let her deal with the ramifications. We first have a duty to fulfill here in Manehattan. We purge the shades in the sewers while your colleagues destroy the ones hiding on the ships. Then, and only then, can we discuss measures to secure the harbor and ships for future shade activities," Zarathon said.

Mute nodded towards the exit and wrote it into his notebook. 'Let us burn the cargo and prepare. We'll need a lot of ponies to check all those ships. However, we are also going to need ponies in the sewers. There is likely more than one nest.'

"Yes... Yes, I can scrape together a team to go with you. Let us return to the station and explain everything to the chief. Ponies must know what has happened here."

Holy eyed one of the boxes in contempt and nodded at it. "After we burn these things to Tartarus and back."

Mute could only nod at that and drew a glowing red rune onto the ground. A fire opened up underneath the wooden box and a terrible shriek filled the air. The muffled sound of a fleshy cacoon unraveling and a matured shade throwing itself against the box's walls sounded throughout the warehouse. The rattling grew weaker and weaker until the box crumbled into glowing embers, nothing but ash remaining of its contents. Mute growled at the remaining boxes and nodded at the exit.

"Do as Mute says! We must burn these boxes and be on our way!" Zarathon said briskly.

Once they all made it to the entrance of the warehouse Mute drew several runes in rapid succession on the ground. Fire after fire started to consume the boxes and screams from dying shades filled the air. Nearby dockworkers hurried to see what was happening and many stopped dead in their tracks as they saw grotesque monster-like figures writhe in the flames. A few demanded answers as to what was happening and a few ran to fetch the fire department. Mute just watched with a glare as the shades died.

Hard Case eyed the burning shades with wide eyes and she took out her liquor to take a quick swig. "Celestia save us all."

Holy snagged the liquor from the mare and downed some as well, shaking his head at the awful shrieks that filled the air.

"Indeed," Zarathon said sardonically. "Ember save us all."

A Changeling Enters the Sewers

View Online

As the sun descended from its zenith and the hours passed Manehattan prepared its defenses. Police mares and stallions scoured the harbor and they forced the dockworkers out. Rumors of what had happened in the port spread like wildfire, and soon almost every pony in the city knew monsters were hiding in the shadows. The citizens grew wary and afraid, keeping off the streets. Loud sirens blared warnings for ponies to follow a mandatory curfew and keep a source of light near them at all times. Manehattan was ready for its first shade hunt.

The ponies chosen for this hunt had been gathered near the harbor sewer entrance. The uniform-clad police officers all stood lined up and eyed Mute and Zarathon with serious expressions.

The officers and the bravest medical professionals had been called to the sewer entrance by the chief of police. Stretchers and ambulance wagons stood ready to care for any survivors or injured. Sandbags were stacked around the sewer entrance to give the personnel more protection should anything emerge from the sewer. And finally, there were a few combat mages at the ready as well. The mages had been instructed to use fire magic if any shade emerged and their purpose was to provide protection to the unarmed medical personnel.

Holy Vow found the mage strategy to be flawed. The private argued that the mages should be utilized against the shades and the nest, but Zarathon told them that if anything slipped out of the sewers then the medical personnel were dead without extra protection.

Holy had dropped the argument, but the pegasus had been uneasy ever since. Especially as Mute stepped in front of the gathered police officers and held up Zarathon to allow the pebble to deliver a speech.

“Below these streets hides an enemy unlike any you’ve faced before. It feeds on deceit and lies. It covets power and influence more than any crocked minister or politician. It sees us as nothing but puppets to play with for its own amusement. And above all, it hates light. We call these creatures shades; they have already killed many of your kinsmen. These shades start off as worms and they use a pony’s flesh and bone to grow themselves a stronger body. This has been the fate of many innocents in Manehattan. We shall stop it today!”

Zarathon’s words echoed out over the gathered police officers. The uniform-clad ponies wore serious and stern expressions. Mute noted how a few of the officers looked ready to explode with rage and he wondered if they knew any of the ponies that had gone missing. He pitied them. There would be no bodies to bury.

Holy Vow stepped forward from Mute’s side and the changeling backed up, letting the pegasus speak.

“These creatures are dangerous and fast! You must kill them on sight using either fire or light! And no matter what you must stick by the burning pebble! His flames can hurt the shades we can’t touch,” Holy said.

Hard Case soon limped forward as well, her injured hind leg in a stilt. “Do what the rock says when you’re down there. He and his changeling know more about these things than us. And for all that is holy come home, we can afford to lose you.”

The officers saluted at Hard Case’s words and she gave them a respectful nod before taking a step back.

Mute once again took the floor and he held up Zarathon so the pebble was visible to all present.

“Let us embark on our crusade against this evil! Let us avenge the dead!” Zarathon yelled.

That drew a few grins from the officers and they hurried to the sewer lid. With the help of a crowbar and a strong stallion, the lid was picked up and set aside. The officers stared down into the brick-walled sewer for a second before they climbed down the ladder to reach it.

“Let us go,” Zarathon said.

Mute nodded and hurried after the officers. Holy Vow gave Detective Case a respectful nod before he went after Mute. Soon they all descended into the dank and stinking underground, and as per Zarathon’s instructions, the entrance was closed. The only light that fell on the narrow passageways and low ceilings next to rivers of filth was Zarathon’s flame and the officers’ flashlights held gingerly in their mouths.

As Mute reached the bottom of the ladder he pushed past the officers and flexed his tattered ears. He listened intensely before he heard a hiss far away in the distance. He nodded down a tunnel to their right and placed Zarathon behind his horn.

“Me and Mute shall lead you. Follow our lead and do not get separated from the group.”

The officers nodded and Holy hurried to join Mute’s side.

“Let us kill some shades,” the white pegasus said with an uneasy smile.

“Yes, private, let us kill some shades.”

The tunnel and narrow brick passageways curved around another corner. As Mute passed it he found nothing new in the next tunnel. He pushed through a brick archway and no room filled with cocoons appeared. His ears flickered and flexed now and again as he picked up on hissing in the distance, but he had not seen a single shade. Furthermore, he was confused as to how far away from the harbor they seemed to be going. Where was the damn nest?

“It feels like we’re walking down the same tunnel over and over again…” Holy mumbled.

Mute watched as the pegasus stepped in some sort of slime and Holy wretched, drawing some laughter from the officers behind them.

Zarathon’s flames flickered in their usual wondering way before stopping mid-sway in shock. “That is because we are.”

The party froze and looked around anxiously. There did indeed seem nothing different about this particular part of the sewer. The curved ceiling hung low, the passageways were slippery and filthy, and the water flowed past them at the same speed as before. The only sound they heard were their breathing and the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. That and the ever-distant hissing. Nothing had changed for several minutes.

“That is just what the sewers are like! It all looks the same,” one police mare said and looked around them lazily. “We’re fine. Stop spreading panic.”

Mute growled at the mare and shook his head. They were not fine. They were very much not fine.

“Mute, we need to lead the officers back to the surface. If things have progressed this far then I was a fool to bring them down here…”

“What?! Why did we come down here then?” one officer said in outrage and slammed his hoof against the ground.

Zarathon growled. “You will listen to me. The shades have managed to amass enough arcane power to bend space down here. They can only do so when they have immense numbers or if there are shades present with incredible power. The shades are warping the tunnels and are leading us astray so they may kill us. We need to leave now before—”

The water next to them began to bubble and violently thrash. The officers pressed themselves against the wall and Holy stepped behind Mute. Zarathon’s flame grew in size and Mute grabbed a hold of the pebble, reading himself.

The water exploded towards the officers. A gigantic shade emerged from the filth, its head pony-shaped while its body seemed akin to a very long cloak. It towered over the ponies and it smiled, revealing sharp white teeth. It opened its mouth and spoke with a hoarse whisper.

“My name is Yeveltar. I am your death.”

Before Mute could react the creature shot out towards one of the officers. The stallion screamed as the shade bit down around his neck and then quickly pulled back. Mute threw himself forward to grab the officer only to barely miss him. The stallion was pulled into the filthy water with a scream and all went quiet.

Mute and the others stared wide-eyed at the water before one mare screamed and ran away from the group.

“Do not leave my light! My fire is the only thing that can hurt it!” Zarathon yelled.

The warning did not make the mare stop. She kept running with fearful cries until a black tentacle suddenly shot out of the water and pierced her side. The mare screamed in fear and pain as the tentacle quickly rolled itself around her midsection and pulled her into the water.

Holy Vow stared wide-eyed at the spot the mare had just been before he looked at Mute. “We… We need to run… We…”

“Flee you sheep born fools!” Zarathon yelled.

Mute ran and pushed Holy ahead of him. The officers hurried after them but one by one they were dragged into the water by tentacles or by Yeveltar’s maw. Their screams filled the sewers and Mute looked around for any sort of escape. They had no time to draw a rune. They needed a room so they could properly engage the monster.

As another officer was dragged screaming into the water Holy Vow let out a choked cry. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

“You won’t die, private! Keep running!”

The water to their left once again exploded outwards. Mute felt the world slow down as the elder shade threw itself towards Holy. He watched as it opened its horrible maw and revealed its needle-sharp teeth. Mute saw the fear in Holy’s eyes as the thing bore down on him and Holy froze.

Mute threw Zarathon across the ground and kicked Holy out of the way. Yeveltar’s fangs sank into Mute’s side and elytra, forcing a shrill scream from his lips. Green blood splattered across the floor and the elder shade bashed Mute head-first into the wall. Mute’s vision grew blurry and he felt blood pour from a cracked lip.

“MUTE!” Zarathon screamed.

The changeling struggled against the shade's grasp but Yeveltar dragged him into the river of filth faster than anyone could move to stop him. Mute felt as water rushed past him and the elder shade dragged him across the bottom of the river. He yelled in pain as his chitin was scraped across the ground, but as the filthy water filled his mouth he wretched.

Finally, the elder shade let go of his side, and a tentacle wrapped around Mute’s neck. Yeveltar dragged Mute further and further away from the warm bond he held with Zarathon.

“The master will want to see you~”

The elder shade said its hushed words in Mute’s head, penetrating any mental shields Mute believed he had. It laughed and slammed Mute once more into the ground, this time cracking the changeling’s skull against a rock.

Mute’s consciousness faded. The last thing he felt was Zarathon’s fear and worry, and he begged that his friend would forgive him.

As his senses returned to him Tibia felt soft plush velvet under his back. A thin blanket had been draped over his chest and he rested his head against a large pillow. A weight settled down next to him and soft silky lips touched his own. He pushed back against the kiss and opened his eyes to see the worried pink orbs of his love. She rested her head on his chest and stared up at him.

“Were you having a nightmare?” Lampyridae asked.

Tibia nodded. He looked around the room through the white see-through cloths that hung from the bedposts and noted the many stacks of books Lampyridae had gathered on the tables and desks. The books were her collection on subjects like pony history, modern international politics, cultural practices and customs, and of course studies on different kinds of institutions and their drawbacks and benefits.

All of the books in question were normally kept from members of the Hive, but Lampyridae was no ordinary changeling. Not even Queen Chrysalis had the heart to keep her heir away from the ‘corrupting pony ideologies’. Or she believed Lampyridae would grow out of her ‘pony-obessed’ phase. Tibia knew for a fact she wouldn’t.

Lampyridae the Reformer they would call her. He smiled at that and leaned down to kiss her forehead, drawing a cute giggle from his princess.

“I’m glad you’re alright. Would you mind telling me what the nightmare was about?” Lampyridae asked.

“I don’t know, Firefly…”

She pouted and kissed his jaw. She climbed on top of him and straddled him, her pink locks falling into his face. “Come on, I can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Tibia scoffed in amusement and kissed her before sighing in defeat. “I had a dream about the parasites.”

Lampyridae grinned. “Are you still afraid of those old stories?”

“Shush. You can’t look at the ocean without hiding behind me!”

She held a hoof to her chest in feigned offense. “Is my beloved guardian making fun of me?”

“It is just water.”

“It is a deep unfeeling void and you know it!”

They both chuckled and shared another kiss before Lampyridae curled up on his torso like a cat. She smiled down at him and nuzzled his neck. Tibia kissed her before wrapping a foreleg around her back, drawing a purr from the pink princess.

“Oh?~ Is someone feeling frisky in the morning?~” Lampyridae grinned.

“Not every ling’ in the Hive has your malfunctioning libido.”

She gasped dramatically and flicked her hoof against his horn. “It is very much functioning! You know it does!”

Tibia grinned at that. “Yes, it works too much.”

“Bah, like you hate it.”

He hugged her close and breathed in her scent. Fresh spring berries and dirt. She had been experimenting with her greenhouse again. And she had not even washed herself.

“You’re dirty, get out of bed,” he deadpanned.

She pouted. “But you’re so warm.”

“And I have to meet father today. I would rather not look like I am bending the princess over her desk every morning.”

She laughed. “And you call me dirty!”

“This is all on you. I used to speak like a respectable changeling Warrior,” he said.

Lampyridae rolled her eyes at that and ran her hoof in a circle along his chest. “Will you be alright today? I’m sorry for making fun of your nightmare.”

“I will be fine. I… I saw parasites consume ponies and spread themselves like plague. I think I was fighting them with a talking rock. There was something about purifying flames and an ‘old fallen civilization in the west’. I was going there with the rock. We were going to save the world and all that. You know, the ordinary crap my dreams throw at me.”

She nuzzled her head into his chest. “How were you going to save the world by going west?”

“The rock—Well he wasn’t a rock, he was a piece of bone—wished to regain his true form. He was a powerful mage in a past life and he wanted that form back. He also wished to see his descendants who lived in those mountains. I think it was one of those dreams where if you reached the goal the world would magically fix itself, as if there wouldn’t be a hundred other issues if we had reached those mountains.

Lampyridae sat up and smiled down at him. “So Zarathon is going west. I admire his positive outlook if nothing else, as naive and laughable as it is. Though I am mostly glad he is still so predictable.”

Mute looked up at her in confusion. Her smile morphed into a leer. The softness in her pink eyes seemed to give way to a harsh cynicism and she grabbed his chin, breathing over his face.

Her breath smelled of dirt and rot.

“Who is Zarathon? I don’t—”

Tib— No, Mute felt as his words turned into garbled grunts and he watched as Lampyridae’s mane began to drip with dark oil. The bedposts liquified and crumbled. The desks began to droop like the wood was melting. He breathed faster and faster as the books melted and toppled over. The blanket over his chest turned into a black viscous liquid and he began to sink into the bed. Throughout it all he could only stare with wide eyes and a shaky breath as Lampyridae melted away to reveal an oily jet-black creature that held the form of a unicorn mare. The creature’s eyes were a deep red and it hissed before melting into the liquid.

Mute struggled against the black tar-like substance as more and more of it filled the room and soon it covered his head. He screamed and kicked against the liquid. He couldn’t breathe! He couldn’t breathe! He couldn’t—

The last thing he saw was an infinite well of darkness. At its bottom, he saw thousands of eyes looking at him lasciviously.

A Changeling Meets the Lord of Shadows

View Online

Mute awoke in a void.

He lay prone on the ground and a chill ran through his body as his senses returned to him. Mute lifted his head and looked around. Her peaceful room was gone. He felt bile at the back of his throat as he remembered the shade had straddled him and he coughed in disgust as black viscous fluid flew from his lips. Though the act made him groan in pain. It was with a fearful expression he realized the extent of his injuries.

His left eye was closed shut by dry blood and filth. The chitin on his chest and back was cracked and chipped, digging into the muscle underneath. A searing hot pain shot through his body as he tried to move his right front leg and he let out a pained wheeze. It was broken. Mute tried to stand and almost immediately collapsed. His mouth tasted of blood and his lower lip stung. He moaned in pain and slowly looked around his surroundings.

He could not see anything. There was just darkness. Not even his faint connection to the Ember allowed him to peer through the void.

“So… He has chosen you. You’re the apprentice.”

Mute’s ears splayed out and his eyes widened in panic. The voice was deep and bassy, reverberating through Mute’s body with such power it moved the chitin pieces embedded in his muscles. The pain sent him reeling and gasping for air.

“I imagined you would be more… Impressive, young one. For the Zaivuria to choose you I imagined a powerful ally, not a broken child.”

Mute desperately twisted his head back and forth trying to see where the voice was coming from. It echoed around him in all directions and he couldn’t pinpoint its location. Ignoring the pain Mute got up and held his broken leg against his chest. He tried to control his breathing and briskly walked forward.

“Where are you going? You do not believe there is an escape, do you? You see I very much wanted to speak with you, Tibia. Or should I refer to you by your slave name, Mute?”

Mute growled and scribbled a quiran rune onto the floor. But no glow followed his writing and it created no light to dispel the infine darkness. Mute swallowed thickly and drew the rune time and time again. Each time he grew more desperate and his breathing grew erratic. His heart beat faster and faster.

“You need spells of a much higher caliber to cast light onto my darkness, Tibia. I am a bit disappointed this is all you know, but then again what can I expect from a mere toy? There is only so much Zarathon can teach damaged goods after all.”

Mute drew the rune a final time before he growled in rage and swiped at the darkness with his working leg. But he hit nothing but air. He couldn’t fathom how this thing knew his old name. He did not want it to know his old name.

“I do apologize for my son’s rough treatment of you and your fellows. I instructed him to just bring you to me, but he couldn’t help himself when he saw your allies. Yeveltar was always overzealous with bringing fresh meat to the nest. But it is good he created such chaos. I needed you to be separated from your master. Zarathon would not have allowed me to say what needed to be said,” the voice said.

Mute’s ears fell and he froze. He stared ahead wide-eyed into the darkness with an expression of true terror. The voice had called the elder shade his son. Mute took a step back and tried to control his breathing. He could feel tears gather at the corner of his eyes as something slithered past his leg.

“Oh, how long has it been since I felt true terror? You spoil me.”

Mute heard horrible fleshy squelching and something moved around him in the darkness. He looked around more and more panicked before it suddenly grew silent. Mute let out shaky breaths as a massive eyelid slid open before him. It revealed a grotesque red eye attached to a black oily mass. Tentacles grew from its sides and they slowly reached out to cup Mute’s chin.

“Tell me, do you know my name?”

Mute just stared at it with his mouth agape in fear. He tried to force his legs to move but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He did not know what to do. But he did know the creature’s name, and he knew its power. The elder shade that had attacked Ponyville and the elder shade in the sewers were nothing in comparison to the revolting mass.

The tentacle let go of his chin and the eye glared at him. “I suppose I might as well squeeze blood from a stone. I am Daugoz. And I know you well, Tibia.”

Mute growled and struck at the eye, but his hoof was stopped mid-air by an invisible force before it even came close to hitting it. Daugoz scoffed in amusement and flicked one of his tentacles. The black limb hit Mute’s head like a whip and threw him back with a scream of anguish. He landed on his side and he held his face as blood poured from a new crack in his chitin.

Daugoz ‘tsked’ at him and wrapped a tentacle around Mute’s neck. The monster picked him up and looked at him with sadistic joy. “I should curse you for even daring to strike me, but I suppose you’re already cursed.”

Mute chocked against the tentacle's grasp and he tried to shake away the creature’s words. He couldn’t listen to its lies. He wouldn’t betray Zarathon.

“Oh? You didn’t know? There is a curse placed on you. Don’t you wonder why those old wounds never heal? Has Zarathon not told you about this? Perhaps he feels too ashamed to tell you, seeing as it is his handiwork. Or perhaps he simply doesn’t want to tell you. After all, he could remove the curse and heal you, but he hasn’t. It would be an inconvenience to lose his most loyal follower. I’m afraid he is never going to heal you, Tibia.”

Mute growled and lashed out against the eye only to cough as the tentacle choked him. Yet he struggled and spat against the creature all the same. He knew the monster was lying! Zarathon would have told him if he was cursed! It knew nothing about what Zarathon wanted. His friend had promised he would heal him. Zarathon had told him there was a way to undo the injuries, but it was not something to be taken lightly.

“You think I am lying? He has manipulated you so well you do not even care he is using you. It brings me such joy to see another master at work. It is just too bad that Zarathon is no longer a worthy opponent. He clings to that vessel with far more ferocity than any of my children cling to their hosts. It is a miracle he has lasted for as long as he has.”

Mute pulled on the tentacle around his neck and struggled to breathe. He kicked his legs and coughed, his vision growing darker. He had to punish the monster for its lies! Yet no matter how much he struggled against the tentacle it wouldn’t let go.

“Perhaps a change of scenery would make you more agreeable? I know just where to take you.”

Daugoz’s eye looked at Mute in mirth before letting him go. As Mute hit the floor with a pained cry the world around him twisted and changed. The void gave way to hardened green secretion and black stone. The room expanded and twisted into a great hall with several tunnels in its walls and a large black throne in its center. Mute’s eyes widened and he quickly got up only for something to hit his horn. He felt the trinary structure crack and blood splatter across his head. Mute fell onto his side with a pained wheeze and he shook in fear. He knew where he was. He knew when he was.

Mute looked up at Queen Chrysalis wielding a familiar green crystal, the Seamstress’ needle. The artifact sent sparks of magical energy into the air as Chrysalis held it in one hoof while a Praetorian stood beside Mute with a hammer.

Then Chrysalis spoke. “It is interesting this memory. It is always so close in your mind, something you’re always ready to grasp.”

The shrill voice of Queen Chrysalis speaking with the cadence of Daugoz made Mute gag and he tried to crawl away.

“But we aren’t even at the best part yet!” the fake Chrysalis laughed and held out the Seamstress’ needle.

Mute closed his eyes. Yet he could not prevent the memory from playing out. He opened his elytra and flew, only for a wave of heat to hit his back. His wings burned and the flesh underneath the elytra screamed at him in agony. Mute crashed onto the floor and cried as a Praetorian pried his mouth open.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and yawned. “Enough.”

The memory faded away and the void returned together with Daugoz's true form. Mute shook and hid his face from the giant eye. He tried to think of every technique Zarathon had taught him to reinforce his mind, but nothing came to him.

The eye looked at him like it was giving him a mocking smile. “You seemed so happy before when I showed you another of your kind. Would you like to see Princess Lampyridae again?”

Mute hissed in anger and turned to face Daugoz. He glared at it and tensed his muscles. He wouldn’t die without a fight. He would not let this thing sully his beloved’s memory with its illusions and lies.

“I have no wish to kill you, Tibia. I only wish to tell you the truth. You believe you’re following a good king, a king that will save the world. Yet I can not think of anyone more manipulative and conniving than Zarathon Holtam. He knows what ails you and he has the means to cure it. Yet he is keeping it from you. He does not wish to heal you, because then he would lose his most willing slave. And if you fulfill his wish and travel west you will be cast aside once he finds his descendants. You’re a convenient tool for him, nothing more, nothing less. Your kind has always been a tool for the quirans. Zarathon enslaved your ancestors just as willingly as he enslaved thousands of others. You made for such good spies and scouts he couldn’t let you go. And despite that, he called you noble and venerable.”

Mute looked at the creature in uncertainty. What did it want?

“Ask him if he wants to heal you. Ask him if he wants to use the one means he has to cure you. Ask Zarathon if he could have removed your scars and wounds the moment you met him. Ask him if he enslaved your race and if it's his fault you’re cursed. Watch as he lies despite being a creature of supposed truth. Despite all of Zarathon’s speeches about my kind’s evil, we are not beings of lies and deceit. We are beings of truth as well. We pursue a singular truth, that of the eternal night. We do not wish to destroy this world, Tibia, we only wish to save it from its corruption. Light did not come first. Nor was darkness an anomaly in need of destruction. We accepted the moon because its gentle light does not hurt us, but the sun… The accursed sun hates us.”

Mute shook his head and growled. He wouldn’t listen to a word the being said. He couldn’t listen to it. Zarathon had warned him about how good they were at lying. He turned away from the eye and began to limp away.

“You may destroy the nest in Manehattan, Tibia, but we’ve already reached the other continents. You cannot stop the reckoning that is coming. But you could perhaps survive it. I offer you my friendship and a fraction of my power. I could heal you right now. If you swear allegiance to me I could even bring Lampyridae back.”

Mute froze mid-step and slowly looked over his shoulder. His heart drummed like it was going to war and memories flooded his mind with visions of her smile and laughter. The Lord of Shades claimed he could resurrect his beloved.

“I am not lying. I would allow you both to live in this world once it is made perfect. Once the sun’s light has been driven away and the night is all that remains you could finally have a family. Your proud race would rule in the shadows alongside me and my children.”

Mute tore his head away from Daugoz and kept walking. She was dead. She was gone. The seductive whispers of the shades could not be trusted.

“When you see the truth, Mute, I will welcome you with open arms. Just think about it. All you ever dreamed of could be returned to you. All you have to do is question Zarathon’s purpose and friendship. He is as crafty as me and twice as willing to break an oath. Do not trust him, for it will be the death of you.”

Mute kept walking until the void gave way to a low brick ceiling, oil-slick floors, and small wriggling shades moving across the ground. The room was a large cross-section among the tunnels and rivers, and the shades had turned into the most giant nest Mute had ever seen. Dozen upon dozens of cocoons were spread out across the room and pony-shaped shadows moved around like ants to reinforce their disgusting “home”.

Mute stared at the nest and his face twisted into a hateful snarl. He drew a quiran rune into the ground and stomped his working hoof onto it. A plume of fire shot out around him and hit shades and cocoons alike. Terrible shrieks filled the air and one of the pony-like shades threw itself at Mute. Mute tried to dodge but it sanks its teeth into his broken leg. Mute fell onto his back and screamed as the shade bit down hard.

That was when a familiar voice cried out from one of the tunnels

“Mute! We’re coming!”

Mute looked up just as Holy Vow flew into the room. The pegasus landed onto the shade attacking him with a cry and repeatedly stomped on its head until it split open. Holy was caked in filth and soot, his golden armor torn, and blood streaked down the pegasus’ face. But he was alive, and he held Zarathon in his hoof and used him as a bludgeon against the shade’s head.

“Mute the pegasus had gone crazy! Help me!”

Mute tore Zarathon from Holy’s grasp and sighed in relief as the familiar feeling of the Ember’s warmth flowed through his veins. The illusion of her and Daugoz’s words seemed to fade from his mind. Relief, finally.

“Let us kill these damn things and leave!” Holy spat and stomped once more onto the shade’s head. “Celestia dammit, they killed every last officer! They’re all dead!”

Mute nodded grimly and held up Zarathon above his head.

“Your hiding place was poor, monsters,” Zarathon growled.

The burning pebble lit up like a red star and Mute shielded his eyes. Holy hid under his wings as a great flash of fire rolled out over the room and shades fled down the tunnels as every last piece of corrupted stone was purged. The fire continued down the tunnels until the shrieking stopped. Zarathon’s flames flickered to a low blue flame and he sighed in exhaustion.

“Are you alright, Mute? Where is the elder shade?”

Holy nodded at that. “We’re not leaving that thing alive.“

Mute shrugged tiredly and held up his broken leg. He had no interest in pursuing the elder shade. He had no energy left.

“We need to get you to a doctor. Private Vow help him walk and I’ll keep the shades away from us as long as I can. I must confess it took a lot of power to purge the nest…”

Holy growled in annoyance but nodded and wrapped Mute’s good leg around his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Their journey back to the sewer entrance took a scarce five minutes. Mute wondered how they could have missed the nest before that point, but then he remembered Zarathon’s words. The shades had been powerful enough to bend the very space around their nest. Zarathon had not understood how they had gained the power to do so, but Mute knew. His expression grew grim as they ascended the ladder and crawled out of the sewers.

They were covered in filth and blood, and they stank of death. A few of the combat mages backed up in disgust while the medical team rushed to them. Hard Case quickly joined them.

“Where are the others? Did you burn the nest? A plume of fire erupted from the entrance and sent the lid flying! It reached high enough to be visible from the other side of the city! What happened down there!?”

“There were no survivors, detective… There was an elder shade that waited for us. It killed the officers, took Mute to their nest, and then vanished. We barely got Mute out of there. But the nest is destroyed.”

Hard Case looked at them in disbelief before she bowed her head with a sigh. "Celestia damn it all… We must keep the sewers locked down tight. We can't let more ponies die. I will ask the chief to prolong the nightly curfew as well."

“Please do, detective. And I am sorry for your loss. I take full responsibility for the death of the officers. I was unable to sense the danger I put them in…” Zarathon mumbled.

Hard Case eyed Zarathon tiredly. “They knew it would be dangerous. But I assured them they would be safe if they stuck by you and your changeling. I guess I was wrong…”

The red unicorn mare walked up to one of the combat mages and had a hushed conversation with him. Her words were solemn yet commanding and the mage saluted and hurried away from the scene to fetch more officers.

The medical team led Holy and Mute to the medical tent and they were forced to sit down. Holy’s wounds were minor and the biggest issue he faced was possible infections or diseases. Mute however was a different story. The medical team sprayed the filth off him with water and began to realign his broken leg the best they could. Though when it came to Mute’s chitin they seemed at a loss.

“There are shards of chitin in the cracks and holes. Remove those and place a patch over the wound. Mute will heal over time,” Zarathon said behind Mute’s horn.

The healers did as instructed and Mute hissed as they removed the pieces of chitin. Though as they did so Mute’s mind wandered and he mimicked writing.

Holy noticed it and nodded to one of the combat mages. "He needs paper."

One of the mages quickly gave Mute a pen and clipboard. The changeling quickly scribbled down a few words and held it up for Zarathon to read.

Zarathon growled as he read the page. "You're lying."

Mute picked up his friend and glared at him.

"He cannot be here. He is confined to the Blackpit. He cannot leave it."

Mute looked away with a snarl and mumbled under his breath. He put Zarathon down next to him and continued to write. 'Do you want to heal me Zarathon? Do you know what ails me? You did not tell me that I am cursed. Did you know?'

"I… I knew it was a magical malady. But does it truly matter if it is magical or not? I've told you I'll find a way to heal you. I truly want to cure you. You just have to be patient and—"

Mute hissed and wrote again. ‘You knew I was cursed and you didn’t tell me. Why?’

Zarathon’s flames shrank. “Please Mute you need to have your wounds looked over. The shade injured you greatly. We can discuss this later…”

‘How did you know?’

Zarathon let out a shaky breath. “I knew what ailed you from the moment I bonded you with the Ember. I know what curse had befallen you because I created it long ago.”

Mute’s eyes widened and he shot up with a snarl. He glared down at Zarathon before he looked away and wrote another question. ‘You knew this curse, and yet you didn’t tell me? Could you have dispelled these curses the moment we met? Did you always have the means to cure me?’

“We went over this when we visited Miss Fluttershy. I can heal you but only when you’re ready—”

Mute cut him off with a hiss and wrote faster. ‘And will that be when I am a noble? When you finally have access to the upper echelons of Pony society. Or will it be after I am made a proper noble with legislative power? Or will it be after I return you to your people when you’ll no longer need me? Am I a slave to you like my ancestors before me? And that is another lie! You told me you saved my ancestors and worked with them. You never told me we were just more slaves for your cause.’

“Mute, I…”

Mute wrote each word with angry tears rolling down his cheeks. ‘I’ve waited three years and I have only heard lies or excuses as to why you can’t heal me. And now I am told you’re the reason why I can’t heal in the first place? Because of you, I can't fly. Because of you, I can't shapeshift. Because of you, I cannot speak. You enslaved my kind in the past and I am supposed to believe you see me as your equal?’

The medical personnel withdrew from Mute and readied one of the hospital carriages. They instructed Mute to join them and Mute paid them no mind, his blue eyes transfixed on Zarathon.

Holy eyed the both of them with uncertainty. “Mute please rest. Let the doctors check up on you at the hospital. We can have this conversation when you’re out of harm's way.”

Zarathon’s flames flickered in annoyance. “Mute, I don’t know why Daugoz told you this, but he did not do it out of the kindness of his heart. I will admit I did not dare to tell you about the curse because I was ashamed. I knew I was responsible for its creation and seeing what it had done to you I… I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. But I have very good reasons for not healing you! It will hurt you, Mute.”

‘I don’t care if it hurts me! I am in pain every. single. day. You say Daugoz can’t be trusted and that he will lie, yet today he was the only one who told me the truth. You do not want to heal me.’

Mute left the piece of burning bone on the ground and he walked to the hospital carriage. He had been hurting for three years. He did not care if the healing process was painful. Zarathon knew he did not care if it was painful. As much as Mute hated to admit it, the shade had been right, Zarathon did not want to heal him. And that made his chest hurt so badly he struggled to breathe.

Holy Vow picked up Zarathon and he watched as low blue flames sparkled of him. He looked at Mute limping onto the hospital carriage before he sighed. “Can you heal him?”

“I can.”

Holy scowled down at him. “Then why haven’t you?”

“Because he is not ready. Only once I am certain he is ready and I know there is no other way, then, and only then, will I heal him. But please understand, Private Vow, the pain Mute is feeling would only grow stronger if I healed him now. He is not ready yet.”

Holy mumbled and cursed under his breath before he stuffed Zarathon into his armor. “You better not be using him. He deserves far better than that.”

“I agree, private. He deserves far better than me, but I am all he’s got.”

“Wrong. He has me and the others in the barracks now. And you got on well enough with Miss Sparkle and Miss Fluttershy. You are not his only friend, Zarathon,” Holy said.

Zarathon’s flames regained their yellow color and he chuckled sadly. “I suppose you’re right. He has more friends than before. I can only hope it will be enough.”

Holy walked up to the hospital carriage. “Enough for what, Zarathon?”

“For him to be ready.”

Holy let out another scoff and got onto the carriage.

Zarathon's Tales: Zenkai Riken (The Dragon War)

View Online

After Tsizen shattered the holy lantern and the Quirani pushed east they eventually encountered creatures of such magnitude and might that it shattered all of their preconceived notions. The Quirani believed that they alone had been chosen by the Ivuzen, but the first time they saw a dragon fly it changed their perspective forever.

Dragons challenged everything the Quirani knew about nature and magic. These creatures carried mighty flames that could wipe out entire forests and burn cities. A single beat of their wings could send a quiran flying. And their longevity awoke both awe and jealousy for the once-immortal Quirani. The draconic strength was inspiring, especially as Quirani culture valued hardiness and might.

Zarin, the first son of Zavain, and third king of the Quirani, decided to meet with the dragons personally.

Zarin traveled east from Mauzika with most of his court and they crossed the dangerous jungle to meet with a clan of dragons by the name of Firefang that lived by the east coast. Zarin expected the dragons to be kin and that they would welcome the Quirani with open arms. The poet king even brought hundreds of copies of his own literary works and several paintings done by the best artists in Mauzika. These offerings were meant as a message of peace and cooperation. Zarin hoped they would receive gifts in return and that their diplomatic mission would be a success. But he was firmly disappointed as the leader of Firefang, a colossal green dragon named Dirk, simply took the offerings and told them to leave.

Suffice it to say Zarin was displeased by the arrogance and greed of his supposed “kin”.

The court was not happy with the result of the diplomatic mission either. Many of the lords and ladies had been promised fine gifts from the dragons and when these gifts did not materialize it made the court grumble something fierce. Banners were raised, arguments ensued, and angry nobles inundated Zarin. The fighting was only broken up after clan Firefang chased away the Quirani.

This failure was thought to the be last of it. Zarin wrote scathing poems on the nature of dragons and many of the Quirani saw them as imitations of the First-Fire’s might. But all were in agreement, that was the end of their contact with the dragon race.

And then Mauzika was shaken to its very core as dragons landed on the plains of former Zaranqui.

Clan Firefang was made up of dragons known for hoarding knowledge and art. Their hoards did contain gold and diamonds, but cultural artifacts and expertise was valued far more than simple coin. So the clan of mighty dragons came to the western mountains and demanded tribute from the Quirani. Their best poets, writers, sculptors, and painters were to be given to the dragons along with the glowing shards of the holy lantern kept in Zarin’s palace.

Zarin marched out to meet the dragons and he refused their request. The dragons grew agitated and the Quirani forces began to gather outside the gates of Mauzika.

Ultimately, it all began with the mighty Dirk showering Mauzika’s entrance with flames to stop the Quirani from amassing more soldiers. The dragonfire slew many and Zarin, outraged by this wanton slaughter, ordered his soldiers to drive away the dragons.

The battle was fierce, the Quirani lost many of their best soldiers, and Zarin was gravely injured, losing an arm and an eye, but in the end, they stood victorious over the dead bodies of three large dragons and dozens of smaller ones.

Dirk had fled with his surviving clansmen and he swore vengeance on the Quirani. In return, the Quirani swore to protect the eastern borders from dragon aggression.

And so began the Zenkai Riken, the dragon war.

At first, the conflict was rather simple. Dragons both young and old would swoop in to ambush Quirani trade caravans and settlers, stealing their possessions and leaving many dead. This prompted the Quirani to build up mighty fortifications between their colonies out east and Mauzika. These forts were built out of hardy stone to withstand dragonfire and research to combat the dragons was prioritized over all else.

Five years after the dragons had attacked Mauzika, Zarin had trained enough soldiers to not just hold the eastern territories, but expand them greatly.

Clan Firefang kept Zarin at bay at first, destroying patrols and burning military camps as they saw fit. But it was then that the Quirani invented a machine of war that promised to drive off the dragons: the ballista.

The next few years became a one-sided slaughter where the Quirani protected their fellow kinsmen against unsuccessful dragon raids. Each time the dragons tried to deliver a blow to the Quirani it shattered against the stone walls of the eastern forts. And if the attack succeeded it was avenged ten-fold. Zarin delivered rousing speeches to the populace, poems and ballads were written about the Quirnai soldiers’ loyalty and power, and the seizure of dragon hordes became a favorite pastime of the nobility and soldiery.

The addition of ballistas to the eastern forts delivered a great blow to the dragon forces. Firefang went from a mighty clan of dozens of dragons to only a few. Seeing the Quirani’s strength and their rage, Dirk fled across the sea to his distant homeland, leaving his old home for the Quirani to settle and develop.

Zarin declared the war to be over and the spoils of war were distributed to the soldiers and nobility of the nation. Yet the calm that settled in was quickly shattered as the sky one day darkened from the appearance of hundreds of dragons. Dirk and the survivors of clan Firefang had called upon their kin from their homeland and they had rallied many others for the war. The land annexed by the Quirani was lost as quickly as they had gained it, and a war between a nation and a clan soon turned into a bloodbath between the nation of dragons and the nation of Quirani.

During these times many records were destroyed by dragonfire. While many battles were lost to time, it is known that Zarin fell in battle alongside his eldest son Zarok. Father and son called upon the power of the cinders and together they slew a hundred dragons—Dirk among them—before succumbing to draconic poison and fire. The dead dragons littered the northeastern fields with so many scales they became like shimmering shells and as such the the battle became known as the Battle of Scalefields. It claimed the lives of thousands of Quirani and in the end, they were severely weakened.

But the dragons faired no better.

The Battle of Scalefields crushed the draconic dream of victory and an uneasy peace settled in as both sides licked their wounds. Yet what ended their bitter feud was no great peacemaker or even time, but a common enemy. The shades had arrived.

Zavain II, the second son of Zarin, took his father’s throne not long after the Battle of Scalefields. As the Quirani rebuilt and grieved they soon learned of a new threat. Dark entities corrupted and consumed colonies on the fringes of the kingdom, and even the dragons had fallen victim to this terrible darkness. Dozens of dragons had been turned and they attacked their kin without care or sympathy. The same had happened to hundreds of Quirani and these hideous monsters marched south to bring doom upon the Quirani and dragons alike.

The Quirani immediately knew the darkness that killed and corrupted their people. A few venerable Quirani still lived who recounted tales of the Ivuzen and Daizen. They spoke of magical and mental chains that had forced the Quirani to serve evil. The horrific tales brought the Quirani together and they swore to never again let darkness thrive on the continent. Zavain II called for a ceasefire and for diplomatic talks to ensue with the leader of the dragons, a mountainous creature known as Dragon Lord Utgard.

Zavain II and Dragon Lord Utgard soon met to discuss an uneasy alliance. Though young Zavain was dwarfed by the monstrous Utgard, the dragon’s red scales fizzling with heat and fire, the king did not show fear. With the light of the Ember he brokered an uneasy peace and a strained alliance to stop the encroaching shadow.

The war officially ended with Utgard paying reparations in gold and Zavain II pledging the Ember’s light to cure the corrupted dragons.

The combined forces of the dragon and Quirani nations pushed the shades back and most dragons and Quirani that had fallen under their sway were freed by Zavain’s holy light. After years of fighting one another the dragons and Quirani gained a newfound respect for each other as they drove the shades north. Both dragonfire and the Ember’s light purged the shades from the world, but only Zavain II and his daughter and heir Zarina, remained immune to the darkness’ corruption.

The shade menace was ended two years after the peace treaty was signed. After the war the Quirani now both feared and respected the dragons. Many held resentment after having lost loved ones to the war, but many others had seen the dragons cleanse the landscape from darkness with their fire.

The old belief that the dragons were kin eventually returned to Quirani culture and society. The dragons were viewed as cousins, beings that too had been given a spark of creation that manifested itself in their fire. Eventually, these religious connections led to the dragons being viewed as holy creatures, though not without caution. The scars of war never truly went away, leading the Quirani to both love and hate the dragons of the Far East.

Yet is there no more truthful statement than for family to both love and hate one another?

After the shades’ destruction, the dragons returned east. Clan Firefang had been completely obliterated by the war and so their coastal lands were taken by the Quirnai. The people of the western mountains spread east on both sides of the Appeloosan mountains, called the Zenkaifi by the Quirani, and they subjugated both jungle and forest. North and south they spread, soon coming into contact with two of the most important peoples in the continent’s history.

The Quirani met the ancient ponies and the first changelings. And in these beings, the Quirani saw beings lesser than themselves. The Quirani saw perfect slaves, and so the armies of Mauzika marched south and north.

The Riken Huvan, the age of war, had begun. But most of the sentient races of the continent came to know it by a different name: the age of subjugation.

A Changeling Named Mute

by Lux Tenebris

A Changeling Takes the Midnight Train

A Changeling Meets with Two Princesses

A Changeling and a Princess Travels through the Prowl

A Changeling And a Pebble Holds a Lesson on Shades

A Changeling Teaches Shade Hunting

A Changeling Helps a Princess with an Exam

Zarathon's Tales: Rani an Funin Zeni (The People of First-Fire, Tainted-Fire, and Truth-Fire)

A Changling and a Pebble Demands a Reward

A Changeling Tries to Stop a Hoarding Dragon

A Changeling Befriends an Animal-Lover

A Changeling and a Princess Travels Home

A Changeling Befriends a Bookworm

A Changeling Hunts Shades in a Castle

Zarathon's Tales: Tsizen Davin Filevren (Tsizen Shatters the Lantern)

A Changeling Meets with an Old Friend

A Changeling Earns His Name

A Changeling Returns to Manehattan

A Changeling Enters the Sewers

A Changeling Meets the Lord of Shadows

Zarathon's Tales: Zenkai Riken (The Dragon War)