1 Arrival

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Screams, the clashing weapons, and the surges of magic filled the air of the battlefield in front of the Tomb of Sargeras. The forces of the Alliance stood their ground before Gul'dan and his army of demons while the Horde overlooked the field, clearing the skies of the flying demons above. Ezikeal stood with the Alliance, necrotic energy dancing through his form, along his blade and into his enemies as he tore into them with the fervor of battle and violence only a death knight could muster. The thrill of battle and the rush of death surrounded him, but deafening to even those feelings fueling his violence something stood out abundantly clear to him.

Hopelessness.

The numbers of demons was never truly decreasing. The amount of corpses grew and grew, but only for more to arrive through Gul'dan's power, fueled by the fel magic rushing through the Tomb and into the sky above like a beacon of dread. Ezikeal let out a roar, unholy power echoing through his voice as the ground around him became coated in crimson, necrotic magic. The demons within growled and roared as their feet became snared in the dark energies of the corrupted ground. Ezikeal turned their anger into suffering as his blade promptly tore through them. The energies siphoned from the now deceased demons ran through his blade and into his body, strengthening him in his advance.

We are not going to win this fight. The realization settled itself firmly in his mind as he rended another demon's torso nearly in half. A green light shot down from the sky towards him, a ball of fel magic. Ezikeal watched it, a transparent shield of spinning runes encasing him as the fireball impacted his location. The flames washed over the bubble of runes like water over a rock in a river. Through the blindness from the smoke, an axe impacted his body, the blade grinding against Ezikeal’s armor as he slid back on his feet. In response to the attack, Ezikeal surged forward, cleaving into his assailant.

Around him, other champions of the Alliance, leaders of the nation he was loyal to fought alongside him against the demons. Jaina Proudmoore, one of the strongest mages in the world, along with one of the greatest warriors and his kind, Varian Wrynn, and many more legendary figures all gathered together.

And they were at a standstill.

No progress was being made in this battle, and that fact caused rage to surge through Ezikeal and fuel his unholy strength. They had not properly informed themselves of the sheer scope of the forces they faced and had rushed to aid those who had already landed on the shore of this damned continent.

Gul'dan. He was the source of this all, Ezikeal worked to get the warlock in his sights. He saw the hunched, robed Orc standing near the back of the demon's forces watching the fight with sadistic glee, simply summoning more whenever a sizable portion fell. If he could throw the warlock off balance, interrupt his interference in the fight even for a few moments, maybe some ground could be covered. It was just as likely to result in his true death. Ezikeal looked around at his allies, the Alliance he had sworn himself to as a representative of the Ebon Blade.

They have more potential to save this world. The capability to make this world grow, not wither. Ezikeal weighed his entire being in a few short moments, and made his decision. The air grew cold around him as he mustered the powers of an unholy chill, fortifying his body and surging forth with a ghostly shout. The dark ice formed and hardened over his armor and purple energy pulsed from his boots as he surged forward with a speed that contradicted his heavy armor. As he charged past a demon, his blade tore through it, tearing bone and sinew alike. The necrotic energies from the harvesting of its soul swarmed around him, and he let out a furious cry as he embraced the power. He faintly heard someone shout after him, but he did not care, he couldn't care now as he moved.

Closer.

Almost.

There! Ezikeal felt the ice chipping off his armor as blades crashed against him to stop his advance but he refused to let them slow him, slaying every demon in his path and healing the occasional wound with necrotic magic. He soon had Gul'dan within range, close enough to reach out with his magic and pull him to the death knight. He planted his feet and reached out, a black tendril shot out of his hand, rushing towards the warlock with the speed like a bullet. A moment before the magic made contact, Gul'dan's red eyes snapped to it and he swung his staff into the tendril of unholy magic.

He caught it!? The tendril shifted in hue, morphing into a sickly green. Ezikeal's eyes widened as he realized what was happening and felt his entire body get torn through the air as Gul'dan pulled him instead. The ground became a blur for a few short moments and Ezikeal realized that he would only have one chance. His grip on his blade tightened as he passed by the back line of demons and slammed feet first against the ground in front of Gul'dan. He went for a two handed swing the moment his boots made contact with the ashen ground. Gul'dan smirked at him and Ezikeal's pupils dilated as he felt something tear through his body and settle inside him, bearing down harshly on his very being. He let out a harsh, choked breath, the swing of his blade turning into a futile attempt to move as the sword fell limply from his grip. A phantasmal hiss sounded in his ears as the world drained of color, black surrounding the edges of his vision, offering a final chance to lash out but by the time Ezikeal could even begin to get his bearings it was too late.

"None can withstand the presence of my Master, death knight," Gul'dan laughed, "Don't you see now, your assault is doomed to fail." Ezikeal fell to a knee, his power sapped from his body and the ice coating his armor shattered, no longer held fast by his magic.

Pain.

Pain far greater than anything he had felt in his undeath pierced him as the presence of a greater being bore down on him. His vision was fading and his hearing became muffled. Despite this, the sounds of fighting became louder and before he collapsed to his side, Ezikeal saw Gul'dan's attention snap back to the conflict, huffing slightly as one would an inconvenience. The forces had gained ground — Ezikeal did it, he distracted Gul’dan long enough for the forces of the Alliance to push forward toward the warlock…

I achieved our advantage, for however long that may last... I served my purpose. The thought echoed in Ezikeal's mind as his vision faded to black, the last thing he saw was an ominous light in the darkness, and the last thing he heard was the distant echo of a horn.

Ezikeal's eyes shot open and he inhaled sharply, sitting up with a jolt.

Something is wrong! His mind screamed as he looked around, he was surrounded by apple trees, it was night time. He tried to slow his rapid breathing, lungs burning. Wait, lungs burning? He looked down at himself, noticing he was dressed in a simple white tunic and dull grey pants, brown boots shielded his feet from nature. His skin was...alive. He appeared similar in build physically but now his skin wasn't a deathly pale...it was fair, full of blood-he had a heartbeat! He pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the soft thumping of his heart against his chest, rapid from his panic. No, this wasn't right, he was a death knight, he couldn't be alive!

What is going on here...why am I..? He took a moment to just sit there under the tree, breathing the air, really feeling it. It was strange, he needed to breathe air to speak as a death knight, but now he needed to breathe to live. The new need was both refreshing...and intimidating. Along with that, the constant, radiating agony that he had learned to live with as a death knight, the curse of his undeath, was gone. Ezikeal wasn't sure how to feel about it, almost as if something valuable had been stolen from him, even if it was a positive.

A glint in the leaves caught his attention nearby and he saw it, a sword. It was a long, straight blade, that tapered to a point and secured in a black sheath. He grabbed the hilt, noting the heft of the blade. He took a closer look, seeing runes engraved on the guard, faded with a lack of power. He gripped the hilt, a red leather wrapping that connected the blade and a round pommel. He felt a chill run down his spine when he took hold of the hilt before pulling on the blade.

The small runes grew alight with power the moment it began to move from its sheath, and once the blade became visible a powerful sensation tore through Ezikeal. He let out a gasp that turned into a cry of pain as a familiar, painful sensation settled within his body and conflicted with his new mortal being. His blood boiled and his skin felt icy cold, creating a sickening equilibrium as agony ripped across his body. He drew the rest of the blade out, not noticing the icy glow that came to his eyes as he gazed upon the familiar runes etched along the flat of the blade. He breathed sharply as necrotic energy swirled around him, the power setting his nerves alight and pain receptors on fire.

He slammed the sword back into it's sheath and the sensation immediately ceased, leaving Ezikeal in a cold sweat with lingering pains from becoming filled with old power for those few seconds.

Okay...I am still a death knight...I'm just...different now...I'm alive...I should...try to hold onto this new life... He thought, looking over his weapon. He had a runeblade, one of the most powerful conduits of a death knights power that allowed them to perform complex acts of unholy sorcery. The feelings that his undeath had left him seemed isolated to his use of this strange new sword, a fact that was both fascinating and fear inducing. Confusion was racking through his mind as he tried to process everything that was happening.

I'll use this when I have to...while bearable...it is less pleasant than being like this... Ezikeal filed his new knowledge in his mind and stood himself up. Now it was time to figure out where he had ended up. He looked at the bulky trees around him, apples were strewn about their branches in a bountiful amount. He saw a break in the treeline to his left and went towards it, holding his sheathed blade in one hand and adjusting some of his hair out of his eyes as he adjusted to standing, feeling like he had not walked in weeks. For all he knew, it could have been just that long, if not more. He stepped into the open air to see...

A farm.

Ezikeal blinked. He took in the sight of fields and a barn house in the distance. A breeze blew by and he felt a shiver run through him. A pulse of satisfaction followed shortly after it. Cold... For almost as long as he could remember now, the cold had never had an effect on him. Now it felt real, it felt cold, and a smile threatened to crack his features. It was short-lived, however. If he was going to enjoy his new life at all, he needed to not freeze to death in the cold night. He started walking towards the barn. The farm didn't look abandoned, someone was bound to be around from which he could request shelter.

A few minutes of walking later and he was stood in front of the farm house door. He gave a few loud knocks, anticipating the grumbles of annoyance that would result from such a late night visit anywhere on Azeroth. He heard a bump inside, and then footsteps approaching the door. A muffled, "I'm comin' could be heard from someone inside with a country accent. Ezikeal took a step back from the door as the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal the first person he'd laid eyes on since his...relocation. A woman stood in the doorway, a tired look in her eyes and blonde hair slightly ruffled. She wore a thin plaid shirt with some shorts. From a brief glance over, she reminded him of some of the farmers he had seen in Elwynn and Westfall-- a strong physique with some visible muscle tone on her tanned skin, and she seemed to be of similar height to Ezikeal, what that could be specifically would have to wait until he measured himself but he assumed somewhere around 5'6. Her gaze settled on his chest before she slowly looked up to his face.

"Uh, howdy, stranger," She greeted, now more awake looking and slightly wary. She leaned against the doorway, one eyebrow raised curiously.

"Well met," Ezikeal spoke, throat almost dry feeling as he finally spoke, "I'm sorry to be bothering you so late, but I was wondering if you would be willing to provide me with shelter for the night." The woman looked him over, setting her eyes on the sheathed blade before looking back into his eyes.

"Not looking to cause a ruckus, are ya?" Ezikeal shook his head in response. She stared hard into his gaze before she seemed to nod to herself. "Well alright then, it is mighty cold out tonight. I can set ya up in the barn. Should be warm 'nough" She stepped past him, walking towards the barn a short ways away. He started to follow.

"So what's yer name?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Ezikeal, miss."

"I'm Applejack. Nice ta meet ya." She said, "Haven't seen many new ponies 'round these parts as of late."

"Ponies?" Ezikeal asked, raising an eyebrow. What did she mean ponies? They were both humans.

"Yeah?" She glanced back at him, noting his confused look. "Cold getting to ya, partner?" She asked, opening the barn door.

"I...think so." He stepped into the barn, taking a breath as he was filled with warmth, the cold night air thwarted by the insulation the barn provided.

"Ya can sleep up in the loft, some friends rest up there from time to time," She said, gesturing to the ladder.

"Thank you for this hospitality," He said, looking around the barn gratefully. It was well put together and cozy. He started climbing up the ladder.

"Mind if I ask where yer from?" It was a natural question, wondering where a visitor came from. Ezikeal hesitated in responding for a moment.

"Nowhere important," He brushed off, not sure how much he should really say. I have doubt that this is Azeroth, and saying that will only raise questions. He glanced back, catching a small frown on her face before she shrugged.

"I'll come check on ya in the morning, don't cause any trouble now, ya hear," She said, leaving him to his own devices. Ezikeal took his place in the loft, a small bed made out of hay and a tarp was set up. He set his sword down and laid on the bedding, sighing as his body relaxed. He actually felt tired, another new sensation as his eyes grew heavy, closing as he relaxed.

I'm alive.

2 A (Mostly) New Start

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Incomprehensible whispers, like taunting phantoms echoed, passing seemingly from ear to ear in the blackness of the void. Some sounded like they were trying to talk to him, others laughed, some even screamed. The metallic thud of an armored boot rang out above them, silencing any further utterances as a single, authoritative voice echoed, piercing the fresh silence.

"All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight."

Ezikeal's eyes shot open and a hand grabbed the sheathed sword at his side. He quickly calmed when he saw his surroundings. It's fine...I'm fine. He thought as his breathing slowed. As quickly as it came, his fear subsided, recognizing the voice as only a memory. Only a taunting, agonizing memory... He wasn't used to sleep, nor prepared for what dreams it might bring him now that he could. He looked down at his blade as a pondering thought entered his head. I should probably figure out how to get another sword so I don't have to go maximum force on any conflict that arises...now that I have that option. He looked out the window, seeing it was very early morning still. He saw Applejack approaching the barn, now dressed in clothes that looked ready to be worked in.

"How ya doing up there, Ezikeal?" She called, seeing him looking down at her.

"I slept well, thank you for providing me a place to sleep," He called back as she walked through the barn door.

"Ah, it's no problem at all, always happy ta help out somebody in need," She tipped her hat at him, "You got any plan on where you're headed? We're right near Ponyville," She said, grabbing a few hefty looking baskets that were set aside.

"I've never been," He admitted, watching her.

"Oh I know that, never seen ya around these parts in my life, I'm just wonderin' where yer going off ta with nothin' but a sword." She seemed bemused at his circumstances, not that he could blame her. It was unusual if he was a wanderer to have practically nothing on him.

"I didn't really plan ahead when I ended up out here," He said, starting to come down the ladder, noticing her eye lingering on him for a few long moments as he did so. Yeah. Definitely not just admitting I'm from another world full of death and destruction on a global scale... Whatever it is she saw in that look at him, she seemed satisfied enough and continued moving the baskets.

"Do you need any aid?" He asked. It seemed rude to take such generous hospitality and not offer some kind of return to that charity. She paused, giving him an appraising once over.

"I don't suppose ya ever done any apple bucking before?" At the shake of his head, "I can show ya 'n have ya try it, see what ya got. C'mon."

Ezikeal followed, confusion and curiosity melding together in his mind. Apple...bucking? He followed Applejack to the apple trees, where she set out several baskets under a decently sized tree and took a position in front of it. She was facing away from it, and looked at him.

"So the idea is, ya find yerself a tree and you just give it a..." Her stance widened slightly, followed by her raising her leg up and driving it back. A loud thump rang out as her boot impacted the thick trunk of the tree. Ezikeal raised an eyebrow in surprise, seeing her planted foot sink into the ground a little bit from the resulting force. The thick trunk of the tree itself shook noticeably from the force of the impact, much to Ezikeal's further surprise. Apples began falling out of the tree, landing in and beside the baskets. He had to admit two things right away: first, that was not a kick he would wanted to be on the wrong side of and secondly, the method is surprisingly efficient.

"What're ya thinkin, partner? Wanna give it a shot?" She looked, a self-satisfied smile forming as she took in his impressed look.

"I don't think I'll be anywhere near as impressive, but I'll give it a try," He set his sword down in the grass and helped Applejack put the rest of the apples in the baskets and move to a new tree. He stood where Applejack instructed.

"Ya bring your foot up like that, yes good, and then ya kick it back and give a nice strong buck," Ezikeal followed her instructions, bringing his knee up and looking back at the tree.

You've faced death itself, why feel intimidated by a tree?

Because you aren't a soldier of death itself any longer, human. You're weak now and your mind knows it. The thought bit into him.

Ezikeal let out a harsh breath and slammed his foot back into the trunk of the tree. A thunk sounded off an a small pain ran up his leg. He caught his balance before he fell and watched as several apples seemed to knock themselves loose and fall, but nowhere near as much as Applejack. She gave a whistle.

"Good start, ya got nice power," She came up next to him and spun into a kick, knocking the rest down, "With a bit of practice I reckon you could clear a whole tree in a few kicks." The two filled those baskets and took them to the collection area, grabbing some more baskets and heading out to some more trees.

"Seems like a lot of trees for just one person," Ezikeal remarked as he set some more baskets out.

"Ah, well, my brother, Big Mac is helpin' too, he's off somewhere on the other side with the wagon gettin' the far trees," She said, turning into another kick and clearing a tree. Ezikeal took the cue to begin trying to do his own tree. He focused more this time, landing a solid blow on the trunk and down came a small rain of apples. It took four more to fully clear the tree. Ezikeal let out a breath, his heart rate picking up as he worked on another tree.

A few trees soon became ten, then twenty and so on as the sun rose up through the sky. When his right leg became sore from the impacts he would switch to his left to give it a rest before switching back. The activity was reminding him of the training he had saw some monks doing in Pandaria with rocks instead of trees. Ezikeal had worked up a sweat and was breathing harder by the time noon hit. All the same, the exhilaration of feeling worked, of feeling tired out, kept him going. It reminded him again that he was truly alive. Applejack was appreciative of his help, and he was glad to be of use. Positive, productive use, that is.

"Sis' I got some food for y'all!" A young girl called. Ezikeal looked over, seeing a young girl, roughly ten or so by his estimate, light scarlet hair and orange eyes, wearing blue shorts with a red flannel over a white shirt. She was waving at Applejack, who was taking some filled baskets back. She chuckled and waved back.

"Time fer a break, ya been workin' real hard out here, I'm thankful fer it," She said.

"It's no problem, I'm glad to be of use after you were kind enough to a stranger," His thanks was sincere, he had expected to be turned away but instead she accepted him without hardly a second thought.

She doesn't know what monster she invited into her home. How many souls you have snuffed out before they even had a chance! The smile Ezikeal had faded some and he shook the thought from his head. He took his baskets to the collection spot and followed Applejack to her sister.

"Right, Ezikeal, this here's Applebloom, my sister. Applebloom, this here's Ezikeal, the visitor I mentioned." Applebloom looked Ezikeal up and down before extending a hand.

"Nice ta meet ya, Sir," She said, giving a formal looking nod as she spoke. Ezikeal couldn't help the smile forming as he reached down, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too," He said, "I hear you got some food prepared?"

"Yessir, it's inside, some nice toast and some apple dumplings and more," She said, looking up with sparkling eyes as she listed the food. Only then, hearing her talk about the food, did Ezikeal register how hungry he actually felt. His stomach growled.

The sound of wheels turning interrupted their greetings and Ezikeal glanced over, eyebrow raising at the man he saw approaching. A tall man, built like a tank, was pulling a large cart practically overflowing with apples. This must be Big Mac. The name cemented itself in his mind. This family was built like some of the strongest monks he had met on Azeroth, Applejack displaying a kick that could likely measure up to them with some honing and Big Mac could probably do equally as well. Big Mac set the cart aside and approached them. He looked Ezikeal over with cautious eyes and Ezikeal noticed that, unlike Applejack, who was similar in height to him, Big Mac was almost a full head taller.

"Big Mac, this here's Ezikeal. He's been helping us buck trees since this morning." Ezikeal met his gaze, the silent stare planting seeds of uncertainty in his head.

"It is nice to meet you," He tried.

"Eyup." Big Mac nodded, giving his sister a look. Applejack nodded and Big Mac shrugged, patting Ezikeal on the shoulder as he walked by him. Ezikeal looked at Applejack as they started walking to the house. What was that?

"He don't trust folk as easily as I do," Ezikeal nodded, the smell of food reaching his nose as he entered the house. He came to a table with various apple-based foods. The apple dumplings, along with toast, along with a few other baked goods for them to enjoy. He took a seat, extending thanks to Applebloom for arranging the food and looked at Applejack.

"I must thank you again for letting me stay for as long as I have, you didn't need to, but I'm thankful that you have."

"Why, did folks not often give ya a place to stay where ya come from?" Applebloom asked.

"Nothing like this," Ezikeal answered, taking a bite of toast. His mind practically froze up. He could taste it. Really taste it. He ate more, emotion welling up inside him at the tastes. Applejack glanced his way, head tilting ever so slightly before digging in to her own meal.

"Well I wouldn't have thought this was anything too special," Applebloom said, munching on her own food, "Least we could do fer a pony helping out my sis' is let 'em eat with us."

"Eyup," Big Mac chimed in.

There it is again...pony? He said nothing and continue to eat, letting silence prevail amongst them until Applebloom spoke up again.

"Yer an adventurer?" She asked.

Small nod, "Of sorts."

"Ya must've seen some amazing things out there, right?" Excitement bubbled up in her words and she looked at Ezikeal with wide eyes. Oh boy... Ezikeal thought. If she kept asking questions he wasn't gonna be able to answer it would be highly suspect, and he didn't want to make enemies yet, especially of the people who had been so nice to him thus far. An idea struck him.

"I was an adventurer in distant, obscure lands before arriving here," It was a small lie, the continents of Azeroth and Draenor weren't exactly obscure, but he needed to mask his world with some vagueness. It was safe to assume there were some hidden lands on this world nobody knew about, hell, some places on Azeroth were magically hidden until recently. He watched Applebloom's wide eyes grow even wider and she let out a gasp.

"Tell me about 'em!"

"I'm a decent bit curious myself," Applejack spoke up, but her tone seemed to lack Applebloom's enthusiasm, rather it was a curiosity mixed with...something else he couldn't place.

"Ah, I don't know..."

"Please, please, please!?" Applebloom pressed. The wonder in her eyes touched him, working at his resistance.

"Alright, alright," Ezikeal couldn't help a chuckle at her persistence, "One place I spent time in and adventured through was called the Stranglethorn Vale, a lush jungle full of ancient ruins and tribes of trolls." He put some emphasis on his words to try and make it sound more exciting than it really was to the young girl. She gasped, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Trolls!? I thought they hid in caves... I only heard about 'em when Twilight was helpin' us try to get our biologist pony cutie marks an' we found that book on the creatures of Equis," She said excitedly. Ezikeal blinked. A what mark? Equis? This land is Equis. Okay, 100% confirmation that I'm not anywhere I would know, that's good, I think.

Applebloom gasped, "Oh, Mr. Ezikeal, what's yer cutie mark?"

A moment of tense silence fell, Ezikeal having no idea how to reply to the innocent question. He was left scrambling to figure out a reply when Applejack coughed.

"I would wanna hear more about this here 'Stranglethorn' forest ya were speakin' of," She said, breaking the awkward silence between them and Ezikeal jumped on the escape.

"The jungle is beautiful, tall, green trees that could block the sun, beaches on nearly every side. The monuments that the troll tribes had built in the area were astonishing, carvings and statues surrounded their structures," he kept Applebloom engaged in his description, watching her hang onto every word he said.

"What'd ya do there?" Ezikeal heard the question, but he had a plan to say for that type of question already.

"Some of the structures had been abandoned when some of the tribes left the area, I found some of the ruins and explored for treasure."

"Oh, did ya find any!?"

"A little bit."

Off of corpses. You slaughtered them like animals to put down a rising tribe at the whim of your leaders! A voice cut through Ezikeal's mind. He faltered, blinking before recovering himself.

You know that's not all there was to it. He shot back at the intrusive thought.

"Now Applebloom, don't go tryin' to find no dangerous ruins fer some treasure huntin' mark," Applejack said sternly to her sister, who waved a hand.

"I'd never do somethin' like that!" At the look Applejack gave her, "Okay maybe I would, but I won't now!" She held her hands up in mock surrender.

"I mean it, ya worry me sometimes," Applejack huffed.

The rest of the meal was filled with idle small talk before they finished. Big Mac was the first to leave, and Ezikeal left with Applejack to start heading back towards the apple trees.

"Ezikeal-" Applejack started.

"Hey, AJ!" A voice called out, interrupting Applejack. The sound of wings caught Ezikeal's attention as he looked for the voice and he looked up, seeing a woman with...wings, gliding down to them. She kicked her legs forwards and landed on the ground in front of them with a small "hup." She was wearing a blue leather jacket with a black shirt under it, with darker blue colored shorts that didn't go down too her legs that much. It revealed a cloud with a rainbow thunderbolt coming out of it in her mid thigh. She had wild rainbow hair and magenta eyes. Two large, blue feathered wings folded at her back, framing her athletic build after her landing.

"Hey there, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack greeted. Rainbow Dash gave Ezikeal a suspicious look.

"Who's he?" She gestured at him.

"This here's Ezikeal, we gave him a place ta stay the night and now he's helpin' clear the apple trees, doin' a mighty fine good job of it too," Applejack explained.

"So he just...showed up? Where from?" She was acting much more openly suspicious than Applejack had.

"I'm not from around here-"

"You some kind of spy, huh? Who do you work for!?" She took an aggressive step forwards, but was stopped by Applejack grabbing her shoulder. Ezikeal was glad he had put his sword back up by his bed in the loft, that would definitely not have eased any suspicions about his intent.

"Now Rainbow Dash, Ezikeal's been nothin' but pleasant since he arrived," She said, admonishing the defensive pegasus.

"Er, sorry," She said, backing up, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria," She said, puffing her wings and raising her head, "Applejack seems to trust you, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," She stepped forwards and poked him in the chest, "But you do anything to hurt her and I'll make you feel it ten times as much."

"Noted," Ezikeal said, stepping away from the accusatory finger, "I don't have any intentions of hurting anyone, especially the person who gave me a place to stay so generously," He said. Applejack gave a small sigh at the exchange, prompting Dash to back up again, giving a nod that said "we have an understanding, then." Ezikeal just nodded back and her tone shifted almost immediately to a more cheerful mood.

"Good to meet you, then. Anyway, Applejack, I was coming to tell you that it's gonna rain soon, so get as much done here as you can before this evening, it's gonna be a big storm so you'll probably wanna stay inside for it." Ezikeal looked up at the sky, seeing it was practically clear aside from one or two small clouds.

"Are you sure..? It doesn't look like a storm is coming from anywhere..."

"Well, yeah, we haven't moved the clouds yet, dude," She brushed off, before noticing the perplexed look on his face and tilting her head. "What? You never see a pegasus move the clouds or something?"

"Ezikeal's from...pretty far away, they don't got any ponies in charge of the weather where he's from," Applejack chimed in.

"You just...move the clouds?" Controlling the weather wasn't unheard of to him, it was just most who were powerful enough to effect nature like that never did too much, figuring it was wasted effort of their strength.

"Yeah, we get some clouds and we move them into the sky. Today we got a big storm, so we'll be putting giant clouds all over. I got called into an extra shift helping out, cuz I'm that amazing. Just watch the sky later, you'll see me up there-others too." She said, the slivers of ego slipping through her cool persona again.

"I'll keep a look out," Ezikeal said.

"Thanks fer lettin' me know, Dash," Applejack said, tipping her hat.

"No problem! Alright, gotta go!" She shot off the ground with a flap of her wings and zipped away into the sky. Ezikeal watched her fly away. She's definitely backing her claim of being fast, huh. He thought, before turning to Applejack.

"What were you saying before, Applejack?"

"Ah, nothin' come on, we got ta clear out some more trees before the storm. If yer still fine helpin' out that is?"

"Of course, let's go."

3 Meetings

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By the time Ezikeal saw the clouds begin to move in, and the pegasi pushing them into place, over half of the apple trees had been cleared out. Ezikeal found watching the small forms of distant pegasi quite fascinating, as it appeared to be some kind of physical interaction with the clouds rather than magic. He would need to figure out a way to ask about it without sounding like a complete idiot.

He helped Applejack get all the apples into cover from the rain and went back into the barn, climbing up to his bed on the loft and watching the rain pour down upon the open field. The vibrancy of the green grass stood out against the oppressing grey the rain clouds produced. The cold air blew in through the small window he had, turning into a soothing cool in the barn's warm interior. He sat there as the grey began turning darker and darker as night fell. It was hard to see far into the treeline now, something he was unused to yet again, producing a small, savoring smile. He reached a hand out the window, catching some rainwater on his hand and watching it fall off his fingers.

His vision flickered before him and he saw his own arm, now covered in the familiar dark silver-blue armor he once wore. Blood was blood dripping off of it practically the same way the rainwater was after a violent fight, trailing down his fingers, dripping... The cheerful feeling welling in him was crushed in an instant and he retracted his arm. It will fade with time. These feelings...they will stop haunting me. He hoped. He laid back in his bedding, restless now.

Ezikeal wasn't quite sure when he fell asleep, but he was awake now from a dreamless slumber hearing the door to the barn open and soft footsteps entering. They didn't sound like Applejack's boots, nor did they support Big Mac's stature. He kept his eyes closed to focus on hearing. A few seconds later he heard Applejack's voice shouting from outside the barn.

"Hey, wait up a second there, Pinkie! He's restin'!"

A new stranger was in the barn with him. Pinkie, hm?

"E-zi-kealll!" A playful voice called out from below. Ezikeal sighed, the sheer energy that was transferred through her just saying his name was staggering. He opened his eyes.

She was right there next to him.

"Gah!" Ezikeal let out, sitting up sharply at the sight of the pink haired woman with vibrant, energetic eyes, wearing a pink skirt and top now next to him in the loft. She was...down there I'm certain, how did she-

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Applejack told me your name was Ezikeal and you're new around here so I just had to come say hi! You weren't really asleep so I came up," She spoke quickly, her smaller, nimbler looking body bouncing ever so slightly in her excitement. Ezikeal blinked, a series of confused emotions cementing themselves in his mind. How did she-she could tell from down there?

"How did you get up here?" He asked. She tilted her head with a smile.

"Why, I just went up the ladder, silly." Ezikeal slowly nodded. That ladder makes noise...how did you not... Ezikeal was trying to process the discrepancy in logic when Pinkie picked up the sheathed sword.

"Ooo cool sword! Applejack said you were an adventurer from far away, have you fought dragons with this!?" She was holding the sheath, looking at the details on the hilt and guard.

"Hey!" Ezikeal let out, grabbing it back, "Please, I don't want others touching it," He said quickly. I-I have no idea what happens if someone else tries to draw it. I do NOT want to test it. He turned, setting down the sword before turning back to speak further, but found Pinkie missing from her previous location.

"And he just helped you get a ton of apples? That's so kind!" She was down below again, talking with Applejack. Ezikeal looked over, catching her whispering something to Applejack, who just nodded before she quickly left the barn. Ezikeal looked down at Applejack with a questioning expression.

"Sorry ta disturb ya like that, Ezikeal. Pinkie gets real excited when someone new comes 'round," She looked back up at him apologetically.

"It's alright. How did she...?"

"Don't question it when it comes ta Pinkie. Trust me," She said, chuckling softly. Ezikeal stored that in his mind. Don't question the undetectable teleporting woman...got it. He looked out the window, seeing the early morning sun shining over the farm.

"Ready ta get back at it?"

"Yeah," Ezikeal nodded, heading out with Applejack to work more on the apple trees.

The morning turned to late afternoon very quickly. The combined efforts of the Applejack, Ezikeal and Big Mac served to sweep through the trees efficiently and at a good pace. By the time the sky began to turn the orange of late afternoon the trees were all barren, the apples harvested. Ezikeal sat down on a chair, wiping his brow with a bandana Applejack had been kind enough to give him. Applejack let out a content sigh and sat down next to him.

"I can't thank ya enough there, Ezikeal, ya speed this whole thing up and it's much appreciated," She said, smiling warmly.

"Helping is the least I could do in return for what you've given me," He responded, looking up at the sky. He really meant it, he had no idea where he'd be by now if she hadn't let him stay around. You gave me shelter, you gave me food. You gave me a new start to this strange circumstance of fate.

"I wanna take ya into town, Pinkie works at a bakery with some of the best darn goods ya'll ever taste," she said, "It would get ya out to meet a few folks too." Ezikeal nodded. If the pink haired woman was some kind of magical being, he wasn't going to doubt the food could be magical in taste as well.

"It would be nice to get to know people, wouldn't it," He said, agreeing to go to Ponyville. She was right, getting out to meet more people was going to be an inevitable event anyways, so he'd rather go about it now, rather than potentially becoming known as a reclusive shut in.

"Wonderful, I got some friends who'd love ta meet ya," she said, getting up, "We should get goin' soon."

Ezikeal went to the barn, pensive thoughts swirling in his mind. I'm fairly certain that this place is safe... He thought, looking at this sword, At the same time, I still wish to be cautious. If something were to happen, I would be unable to act because I had left the means to back here...No, this is the right choice, I can't risk leaving this alone for so long either. He adjusted the strap of the sheath and put it over his back, making sure he could still draw it while keeping it as unimposing as possible. He nodded to himself once he got it just right and went out to meet up with Applejack to head into town.

"Yer bringin the sword?" She asked, seeing him with the hilt sticking over one shoulder.

"I am not confident enough to leave it here for the time being, sorry," He said, tone brief. She just shrugged.

"Might make it a bit harder ta seem approachable."

"I don't think it's safe to leave it," He repeated, "Besides, you'll be able to pacify any fear by vouching for me, won't you?" He added a bit jokingly. He figured she had a decent reputation, so seeing her with him in town would help to ease any fears compared to if he just waltzed into town with the sword. She let out a small scoff-like laugh at the remark.

"Sure, I'll let em know not to be afraid, just don't go pullin it out on folk, ya hear," She started leading him down the road.

"Of course," He followed along. I have no intentions of drawing it, but if something were to risk my life I want to have insurance...

And assurance in the fact that no matter what you face, nothing compares to the monster that you are. The danger you pose. His mind bit at him. He tried to banish the thought as others remained along with it. The doubt, the guilt, the lingering regrets. No, he had control now, it wasn't like before, he had the ability to act with measure and mercy now. He had become so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the buildings of Ponyville until they were practically in the town.

Applejack led the way, self-assured confidence emanating from her very being as they walked through town. Ezikeal noticed that while most people appeared as he expected, there were some similar to Rainbow Dash who had wings, and another more peculiar trait was that some appeared to have singular horns extending out from their heads. After some carefully placed questions, he had discerned from Applejack that these "ponies" were also unicorns. He really had to figure out the finer details of this world, the confusion gnawed at him and worked as a good distraction from his own thoughts.

Applejack led him through town and to a building made of purple tones and an ornate design. In the window displays of outfits stood and a sign over the entry read "Carousel Boutique." Ezikeal followed Applejack inside, a small bell ringing with their entry.

"Just a moment-Ah, Applejack! What a lovely surprise," A woman spoke up. She was wearing a stylish purple dress that contrasted nicely with her light skin and hugged to her body, accentuating the curves of her frame. She had purple hair done in waves that worked to accentuate her face and aid in the aura of sophistication and beauty she gave off. On her head a horn stood straight out, signifying she was one of these unicorns and if it weren't for her horn, she'd be roughly half a head shorter than Applejack, but the fascinating protrusion added almost an extra foot to her height. She looked pleasantly surprised at Applejack's arrival, before her eyes snapped to Ezikeal and gave him an appraising look. Thoughtfully, she continued, "and who have you brought along with you?"

"This here's Ezikeal, he came by a few nights ago and has stuck around ta help me with the farm. Been a mighty good help too, if I do say so myself," Applejack introduced him. She held her appraising look before glancing up into his eyes.

"Erm, yes, well, Ezikeal, it is truly wonderful to meet you, but..." She walked closer. The intense look held mystery to her intentions. Ezikeal shifted a bit on his feet, feeling unnecessarily tense. Was something wrong? Did she recognize something about him? That should be impossible, shouldn't it?

Maybe some people can just recognize danger. His thoughts chimed in.

Just having a sword does not make me a danger. He shot back.

Of course not, it's much more than just the sword and you know it.

"I hope you take no offense to this, but I must say your attire is-well, it doesn't quite work," She said. Ezikeal let out a shallow breath of relief, but raised an eyebrow and looked down at himself. He knew it wasn't the best looking outfit, but it didn't feel necessarily offensive to the eyes as this woman seemed to view it.

"It's all I have," he said, still looking himself over, questioning the white tunic and over grey pants, which were now slightly worn from all the work he had been doing. He pressed a bit, "If I might ask...why do you say they are so bad?" Rarity practically scoffed at the question and her horn became enveloped in a soft, light blue magic aura. Ezikeal stepped back in reaction, unnoticed to Rarity, who floated a mirror over to them and faced it at Ezikeal.

"Can't you see? It's dreadfully...dull! Not to mention those colors do not do much for you-"

"Now hold on, Rarity," Applejack cut in, "He's gonna need some new clothes anyway, but I'm takin' him around ta meet some of the others before we head on down ta Sugarcube Corner," Rarity checked her composure setting the mirror back into it's place.

"Ahem, yes, well, I would strongly recommend myself to assist in acquiring a new wardrobe," She stood straighter, "I pride myself on my ability to discern and cater to any client's needs and wants in their clothing," Ezikeal nodded. Despite the slightly abrasive introduction resulting in the emotional scarring of his clothings' emotions, it was clear that he wasn't unwelcome by her.

"I'm sure I will come here for that soon enough, your work does look astonishing," He remarked, looking at the various outfits that were on display in the boutique. While clothes back on Azeroth could be of elaborate nature, he was not knowledgeable on what that entailed for obvious reasons. Rarity perked up at the compliment.

"Thank you, I'll be sure that when you are ready, a most spectacular outfit will be made to fit just right for you! Do you intend to stay for a while in Ponyville?" Now that she mentioned it, he hadn't really thought about it. He knew next to nothing about this world, and he already had a couple friendly relations, so it couldn't hurt. He turned to Applejack, who raised an eyebrow slightly at the quick turn.

"Do you have other work to be done around the farm, Applejack?" He asked. She half smiled, seeing where he was going with this.

"There's plenty ya could be put ta work on," She replied. He felt a bit selfish for imposing on the farm further, but he supposed it was fair assuming he continues to do work worthy of staying there. It did look like there was more than just apple trees on the farm.

"Then I could stay for some time," He said, turning back to Rarity, who had a glint of appreciation in her eyes at the exchange.

"Wonderful! Well, you know where to find me now, should a need for attire ever cross your mind, Ezikeal," She said with a small flourish as the two left the boutique. As Applejack started to walk ahead, Ezikeal's pace slowed in his thoughts. I don't feel like I've done enough to deserve all of this generosity. He bit at the inside of his cheek in thought.

Of course you don't deserve it. You know you will never deserve it for what you are. It doesn't matter if you have a new body, a living body, if the corruption within carries over. Ezikeal shook his head.

I was not in control.

Even in our thoughts that feels flimsy to say. He deadpanned to himself. You were a part of the machine of death, it doesn't matter who was in control, you are part of the mechanism whether you regret it or not and those sins, those lives you snuffed out, will haunt you for whatever remains of this life and the next. Besides, even after you broke free of him you remained a machine of war.

"Ezikeal," Applejack called back. He snapped out of it and called back a quick, "coming," before speeding up to get back with her.

"Everythin' alright?"

"Of course," He brushed off her concern with what he felt was a convincing tone of voice, but he could tell the facade was flimsy when she saw right through it. Her gaze lingered on his for a brief moment.

"If somethin's botherin' ya, I'm here ta lend ya an ear," She said, starting down the road.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't want to impose on you any further than I have. I'm fortunate enough you are giving someone like me the opportunity to work-" A hand planted itself firmly on his chest and stopped his walking.

"Ezikeal, ya keep talkin' like ya don't deserve ta be helped," She looked up at him. Ezikeal was stunned for a second at the sudden contact. He almost grabbed at her arm instinctively, but caught himself before acting and instead just looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean?" he let out, mind scrambling at the sudden shift of tone.

"Ya talk with a tone as if ya don't even deserve ta be treated like a pony, that ain't productive ta yerself," She sighed, "Ya need ta go easier on yerself," she concluded. Ezikeal couldn't even come up with any response. She nailed what he felt, even if he took exception to being called a pony, but how could he communicate anything to her without being cast out of society for the monster he was. Despite that, the strength of the reassurance in the gaze she leveled at him sternly sent a warm feeling in his chest.

"I-yeah...thanks," He said softly. She nodded, flashing a smile before turning around and continuing. Ezikeal followed, mind wandering as he replayed the words. He sighed softly, quieting the voice in his head by focusing on his surroundings, the peaceful nature of the town around him as they went on to approach a large tree.

"Now listen, Twilight is the very studious type, so prepare ta get questioned," She said, tone warning in a not too serious way. Ezikeal nodded as Applejack knocked on the door. There was silence for several moments before the door opened to reveal a boy, looking to be in his teens by his small build and short stature. He had green hair and was wearing a a blue shirt and black shorts.

"Hey, Applejack," He greeted, before looking at Ezikeal, "You must be Ezikeal," the boy said and Ezikeal nodded. The boy had a cautious yet friendly expression as he regarded Ezikeal.

"Nice sword," Spike commented after noticing it. Ezikeal nodded in appreciation.

"Howdy there, Spike. Ezikeal, this here's Spike, Twilight's assistant. Speaking of Twilight, where is she?"

"I'll go get her. Come in, please." He offered them entry and went upstairs. Ezikeal looked at the cozy library. Bookshelves were along every wall, filled in their entirety with books. He went over and looked at the back covers of some. There was a large variety of subjects and topics. There's a wealth of knowledge here, this is great. He thought as he looked over the books. Among books about animals, species, history, and more, there were also fiction and stories he saw as well.

Footsteps caught his attention and he saw Twilight come down the stairs. She had dark hair with a purple hue, done fairly straight around her head and was dressed in a purple skirt that went past her knees, black leggings underneath and a similarly purple toned vest over a white, short sleeved shirt. On her head a straight horn stood out, and despite how non-threatening she appeared to be at the moment, that impossible to notice trait unicorns seemed to share made Ezikeal wary. Another magic caster, he recognized. She smiled warmly at him as she approached.

"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle, it's nice to meet you," She greeted warmly.

"I am Ezikeal, it is nice to meet you as well," He said, matching the warmth of her greeting. Spike went off to the kitchen while the three of them settled in. Ezikeal took a seat in one of the chairs, silently appreciating the cushioned seat.

"Have you been enjoying Ponyville so far?" She asked, settling across from him on the sofa.

"It has been nothing but pleasant to me for as long as I've been here," He said sincerely. There was nothing negative he could say, everyone he's met has been kinder to him than he felt was necessary.

"That's wonderful to hear," she said, "Pinkie had stopped by earlier and mentioned you, saying you were an explorer. I'm really curious about what brought you to Ponyville?" Her horn glowed with purple magic as a paper and quill floated over to them. Ezikeal looked at her quizzically. Applejack wasn't lying, huh. Unfortunately he'd have to disappoint her some.

"It wasn't for some big purpose, if that's what you thought. I just kind of...ended up here," He said simply. The quill moved in rapid gestures on the paper for a few seconds. Tension crept into Ezikeal; he wasn't expecting to have to be practically interviewed like this. He didn't know enough about the world for this, especially with the cover of being an explorer...

"I understand, where are you from? Your accent is slightly unique. I haven't heard it before," She remarked, a glint of curiosity forming in her eyes.

"A place I think I'd rather forget." He went to shut down that line of questioning real quick.

"Just the name would suffice, please?" She pressed. Ezikeal shifted a bit, a nervousness setting inside him. He wondered what Applejack had told Pinkie, and what Pinkie had potentially told Twilight.

"It isn't important," He further brushed off. He kept watch of her horn as the glow shifted with the movements of the quill, jotting something down. The glint of curiosity had only intensified, but a small frown of disappointment was present as well, having been denied new knowledge. She did seem to genuinely want to learn about him, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something...more.

"I'm not going to cast anything hurtful," She said after a moment, watching his gaze linger on her horn, "I'm just taking some notes."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to seem...I just have had some...pretty bad experiences with magic in the past," He spoke stiffly, voice almost forceful as he admitted something he hadn't anticipated in his impulsive scramble to save face.

I mean...I'm definitely not wrong...any normal person would have gone insane from the torture of that curse...

But not you, you let it turn you into a monster. His thoughts taunted.

Maybe I did go insane after all... He shot back at the thoughts.

"-It happened where I'm from, I'd rather not go into it," he added a second later, hoping to close off any further prying into Azeroth. Azeroth...it felt so distant now, he realized, even though it was only a couple days ago when he was last there.

"I'm sorry someone hurt you..." She seemed genuinely hurt for him by the implications of his statement. There were many ways someone could harm another with magic, and he supposed he was coming across as more bothered than he had realized. Applejack, who was seated next to Twilight, also looked concerned for Ezikeal's past self. An atmosphere of understanding another had been through pain settled in. If only they knew the extent of it...

If only they knew your past self.

"If you don't mind me pressing..." She began softly, "What was done to you?" Ezikeal stared into her eyes at the question, unsure of how to respond. Images flashed rapidly behind his eyes - his raising as a death knight from the unholy magic of the Lich King. Flashes of the murders, the atrocities he was a part of came to the forefront of his mind. The word monster reverberated in his head, something that the innocent had screamed at him often. He felt his heart begin to speed up, and his thoughts jumbled. Why did he have to think this way...it wasn't his fault...but he was there...it was him.

"...everything was taken from me." He said, looking almost distantly through Twilight now. She stared back at him, expression morphed into a sympathetic worry at his reaction to the question. He spoke as if a ghost had appeared before him, body having grown more visibly tense. She looked to Applejack, who had an expression of almost anger on his behalf, only cut through by the recognition of the pain he displayed and the sympathy that followed.

"I-I'm so sorry," Twilight said.

"Don't be. It's...in the past. This place has been infinitely better than where I came from and I'm glad Applejack is letting me stay here now, that's all I would like to say of the place I am from, if you'd please accept that," he asked, regaining his composure. Twilight quickly nodded and moved on to a different topic. Spike came back with some tea and poured everyone a cup. Ezikeal took a calming sip, thoroughly enjoying the taste.

The conversation had taken a more lighthearted turn with talking about his meetings with Pinkie and Rarity. Twilight had tried to study Pinkie in the past, but there was no proper explanation that could reveal the way she worked. It was both humorous and concerning to Ezikeal. On the one hand, Pinkie was incredibly friendly, energetic and lighthearted. On the other hand, however, she was an unknown entity and eluded rationale to even those who have lived with her for years now. He was mulling over what kind of scenarios Pinkie could conjure when a small cough from Twilight grabbed his attention.

"Ezikeal, I do have a...request of you, if you would allow me," She said.

"What is it?"

"Well...it does involve me casting some magic on you," She said quickly, "I know you really don't like magic, but it's a bit of a matter of security."

"Security." He echoed, giving a look demanding further explanation.

"Have you heard of Changelings?" She asked, and at Ezikeal's negative head motion she continued, "They're imposters, essentially. They take the forms of ponies, and pose as such in our society in order to feed off of the emotions of those around them. They often kidnap ponies to achieve this...It has been noticed recently that Changeling activity has been increasing some in recent weeks. I would like to cast a spell to identify if you have any Changeling magic acting on you...to...you know. I wanted to figure it out with some questions, but I don't want to step on your emotions by pressing on things you're truly sensitive about," Ezikeal blinked, the dynamic of the conversation having shifted completely.

So I was right, there was more to it earlier...at least it's not about me specifically at least. He thought, and then nodded to Twilight.

"If it helps to affirm trust in me, I consent to this," He said, extending his arms to either side in a gesture of surrender.

"Thank you, Ezikeal," She said, sounding relieved that her request didn't get taken the wrong way. Ezikeal tensely waited as the glow of Twilight's horn grew brighter before a small sensation of tingling washed over his body. He looked down at himself and saw a faint purple glow over his body. He watched Twilight now, her eyes were focused and curious as she searched for traces of the Changeling magic.

Her brows furrowed. A look of confusion and further curiosity became apparent. That doesn't bode well. Ezikeal thought nervously. The tingling sensation increased in strength.

"Well, Twi? Anythin'?"

"Mm-No I'm...not seeing any Changeling magic..." She said, barely focused on Applejack's words before she shook her head, snapping herself out of becoming lost in what she was observing and stopped casting.

"You're definitely not a Changeling," She said, expression returning to the neutral and friendly one she had had. Needless to say, the exchange left Ezikeal concerned.

What did she see?

Maybe she tried to peer into your soul and couldn't find it.

Unlikely.

"What did you see?" He decided to ask. It wasn't like she particularly hid her expressions as she did the observation so a direct question shouldn't be pressing too much. Her quill was taking new notes on a separate sheet of paper while she took a sip of tea.

"Well...it's just that you aren't like other earth ponies," She said pensively, "you see, most earth ponies have a very small amount of natural magic within them. You on the other hand, have...well, more than a very small amount in you. There's not way for you to utilize it in any way further than an earth pony because you don't have the traits of a pegasus or a horn, it's just...unique."

"How much more?" He asked. Twilight made a vague hand gesture that amounted to 'a bit' as she stumbled on her own words, almost as if...

Yep, something she saw is concerning. He was about to say something when a voice cut in.

"If you guys are done interrogating the new guy, I think we could pass the time until we head to Sugarcube Corner with this," Spike spoke up, and dropped a large pack of cards unceremoniously on the table.

"Time until?" Ezikeal asked Applejack.

"Er, yeah, Pinkie wanted ta make somethin' up fer ya before we got there," She answered, opening the cards.

As it turned out, Ezikeal was pretty bad at cards. They had played for several hours, and while he had a few lucky streaks, there was no consistency to his play - in other words, all luck and no skill. Spike was the one who managed to win the most games out of everyone present. He boasted that he had picked up a few strategies from Rainbow Dash, but refused to go into any further detail. The sunlight outside had started to turn orange as the sun lowered.

"Alright, I think it's about time we head on over," Applejack said, setting her cards down. The others followed suit and soon the four of them were on their way through Ponyville and making their way to Sugarcube Corner. Ezikeal took note of their surroundings as they walked. It wasn't that late out, was it? Hardly a soul were left on the streets.

"Is it usually this quiet in the evenings?" He asked. It was nice, he thought, the air was cool and the quiet was peaceful.

"Sometimes," Applejack said, "some days are just less busy, which is a nice change ta the pace of things." Ezikeal nodded in agreement to the sentiment. A little later, they came up to the vibrant colored building of Sugarcube Corner, almost looking to be modeled after a dessert itself. The first thing Ezikeal noticed was that there was no light coming from inside, as if the entire building was abandoned.

"You're sure this is...?" He asked as they approached.

"Yep," both Twilight and Applejack replied in unison. Applejack walked up to the door and stood by it.

"After you, Ezikeal," she said, extending an arm towards the door in an exaggerated welcoming gesture. Ezikeal smiled halfheartedly. This is...suspicious.

It's a trap. His mind shouted as he approached the door. He thought back on the day. Nothing in particular seemed too suspicious...no signs of any ill-will had made themselves apparent too him. Even further, they were letting him keep hold of his sword. What could the trick here be? If there even was a trick? Maybe the place just didn't have lights? That made no sense. Something was definitely up, but he had no reason to feel suspicious of these people. People who were nothing but kind and generous from the start with no discernible false sincerity.

Ezikeal took a breath, and walked inside.

4 A Party and Fragments of the Past

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The moment Ezikeal was through the door, a pang of adrenaline rushed through him as the lights flashed on and blinded him momentarily. A symphony of voices suddenly rang out - not necessarily in a threatening tone, but the surprise did not lend easily to calming his already high nerves. One foot instinctively shifted back, ready to more fully drop into a defensive position.

"SURPRISE!" His vision cleared, and he saw a lot of unrecognized faces. The interior of the building had been done up with vibrant, colorful decorations and a large banner hung from the ceiling that exclaimed "Welcome to Ponyville!" Ezikeal didn't even realize his breathing had noticeably sped up as he scanned his surroundings until he felt a hand on his back as Applejack took a place next to him. Her hand gave him pause for enough time to further process things and calm down some. Pinkie stood at the forefront of the sudden crowd. He recognized Rainbow Dash and Rarity in the crowd, but the rest appeared to be strangers.

"Welcome to your Welcome to Ponyville Party, Ezikeal!" She cheered, rushing up to him and practically bounced with overflowing excitement.

A celebration..? The tense shock washed away and soon a small smile found its way onto his face with his sigh of relief. This was much less deadly than his body and mind was preparing him for, all of the small red flags that were setting alarms off in his head about something being amiss...

Breathe. He did, tension fully subsiding.

"You did all this just because I showed up around here?" He asked, accepting a plate with a brightly colored pink cupcake on it. Of all things he could have anticipated, a kind of grand reception of him just existing here like this was not one of them. There were a lot of people here, almost an uncomfortable amount, but they were here for him, and nobody appeared outwardly hostile...he should accept this gratefully.

"Of course! Any new pony in Ponyville deserves to be celebrated!" She said, voice dripping with excitement as Ezikeal tried the cupcake. It was very good. He savored the taste - the frosting was sweet and the cupcake itself was fluffy and delicious. All of the flavors in it tasted new and unfamiliar in the best kind of ways. Ezikeal hummed in approval, taking another bite. The taste of sweets...he didn't even remember the last time he had ever had something like this, even before he became a death knight...though he couldn't remember much of that time in general.

"This is delicious, thank you, Pinkie, for all of this," He said, earning a gleeful noise from her. Soon the party dispersed into more widespread celebration as he was no longer the sole focus for everyone present. He walked over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity with Twilight, Spike and Applejack still close by, offering some greetings to those who said hello as he passed by.

"Man, the look on your face," Dash chuckled, earning a dismissive scoff from Ezikeal. He could not deny his surprise, or the fallback to being ready for a fight, but even so, he was grateful he was able to contain his actions - with the help of Applejack in aiding his quick recovery from the surprise.

"I did not expect so many to attend a celebration like this on such short notice," He admitted, looking around. He caught some stealing glances at him, no doubt curious as to what his nature was given the sword strapped to his back, but it seemed that Pinkie's enthusiasm washed away all doubts about him, for now at least.

"Yes, well, there is not a whole lot that goes on in Ponyville when compared to more busy locations such as Canterlot, and with Pinkie's persuasive energy and reputation for parties, it comes as no surprise that many were swayed into attending," Rarity said. She was dressed in a slightly more formal dress than what she had worn earlier, but managed for it to not stand out in the more casual theme of the crowd surrounding them. Ezikeal took another bite of the cupcake.

As Ezikeal went to sit he became aware of a new presence he hadn't originally noticed, and it appeared she did not want to be particularly noticed as well, practically hiding behind her pink hair in a seat that conveniently had blocked her from view behind Rainbow Dash. She was in a thick yellow sweatshirt that obscured practically all of her torso with some simple jean-style pants.

"Um..hello," She said meekly, meeting his gaze for a brief moment before glancing away.

"Hello," Ezikeal replied, keeping his volume low, now worried he might scare her away if he spoke too loud.

"I-I hope you're enjoying it here," She said, offering a timid smile before shifting, making herself appear smaller under his gaze. She seemed practically terrified of him.

"Pinkie probably already mentioned my name, but I am Ezikeal, what's your name?" He asked. I'm afraid just talking to her might break her... He thought nervously. She remained in her shrunk posture as she answered.

"Fluttershy..." She answered. Dash scooted back and draped an arm around her friend's shoulders, who jumped at the sudden contact.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, Ezikeal's chill," She said coolly, looking at Ezikeal as she spoke and he did not miss the underlying edge in her eyes - the warning look of "you better be" solidifying for a brief, unmistakable moment. She didn't trust him yet, he knew that for certain, he couldn't expect everyone to be unquestionably trusting of such a strange arrival to their town. Fluttershy hadn't noticed the subtle threat in her friend's protective statement, relaxing into the side-hug a bit.

"Look at us! All getting along!" Pinkie said in her unstoppable positivity. The group of them settled around a table, Pinkie supplying them with a seemingly endless amount of food and drinks, occasionally moving in motions that were just about too fast for Ezikeal to follow. I will never understand her...

"Twilight here has often held that very same expression," Rarity remarked, noticing Ezikeal's subject of focus. He glanced over at Twilight, who shrugged with a small laugh.

"She makes no sense...I tried...really hard to figure Pinkie out. I ran tests, observations, interrogations, everything...I've ended up keeping her filed her away under a force of nature. When she wants something accomplished, especially if it relates to parties, it will happen," She said conversationally. Ezikeal couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the statement, but didn't doubt it.

"I have seen some things in my time...nothing of the nature she seems to display," He said. There were plenty of powerful entities and heroes all over Azeroth, but he hadn't quite seen someone able to perform the actions Pinkie was in such subtle manner. He didn't dare think what those kinds of abilities could be truly capable of if these people were not so peaceful. Not to mention he had no idea the full capabilities of Twilight's, or Rarity's, or, well, any unicorn's magic. Perhaps he could gain some information on that, so he continued, "In my travels I had next to zero interactions with unicorns," He said, gaining Twilight's attention, "could you tell me a bit about their magic?"

"You haven't met many other unicorns in your travels?" She asked, genuinely surprised. Oh no, how unrealistic was that statement? For all he knew the land could be full of them. He shifted a bit, keeping his nervousness towards his potential misstep under wraps as he worked out an explanation.

"There were very few, the ones I did have experiences with were...unpleasant, other than that, nothing that gave me further insight into how magic functions," He elaborated. Twilight cringed, remembering him saying how he had been hurt before.

"Right, I'm sorry," She said quickly, steering away from that topic, "every unicorn has magic that they can advance through study and practice. The skill level of every unicorn naturally varies, with some having certain affinities towards certain schools of magic or magic in general--"

"And Twilight's the strongest unicorn there is!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Dash, please, I'm not the greatest spell caster in Equestria," Twilight said quickly, flustered at the sudden praise, "My cutie mark represents my affinity for magic as a whole, I have been studying it since I was just a foal, and as a result I was able to realize myself as the element of magic," She explained, watching his reaction. Ezikeal was absorbing the information in silence, thinking through the statements. I still don't know the full extent of these "cutie marks" and how much of an impact they have on the people they attach to.

"Element of magic?" He asked.

"One of the guardians of all of Equestria, yeah!" Spike spoke up. Guardian? That got Ezikeal's attention. No doubt the word had a different meaning in this world, but the way they were describing her...defender of a nation...it was no doubt at least somewhat similar. In Azeroth, the Guardian was someone of unimaginable magic power, capable of feats that were next to god-like. He hadn't seen one in action, personally, but had heard tales of their strength and the powers they wielded from individuals that had. If that was the case, that this person was of any even remotely similar stature, this person was no doubt incredibly powerful. He scanned Twilight's gaze for any indication of her thoughts, but only found, a little surprisingly, a nervousness in her eyes as she looked at him, seemingly watching his reaction as well.

"Y-you guys are making me sound more important than I am!" She said, almost sensing the growing reverence in Ezikeal's view of her, "I-I can't do a whole lot on my own, it takes teamwork, all of the elements together is what matters." She said, mustering a positive, supportive tone towards the others. Ezikeal blinked. There were more elements? If not magic, what else..?

"There are more of these Elements?" He asked, and noticed the six of them looking at him with some kind of collective knowing. "All of you?" Surely not... Their nods in response to the question gave him some serious pause. All of these people were some kind of guardian figure for an entire nation. He hadn't sense any kind of power of that level from them. Even now, nothing seemed to radiate any kind of power...

"What are the other elements?" He asked.

"Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Rarity is the Element of Generosity, Pinkie is the Element of Laughter, and Applejack is the Element of Honesty. We embody and represent these things as the Elements of Harmony," Twilight explained. Ezikeal listened close, looking at each woman as Twilight named them. They are...attributes to a person? Magic is the outlier. What powers do the others hold, I wonder... The name 'Elements of Harmony' was also something to think on, but not now.

Would they be a match for you? His internal voice finally spoke up against him again.

They are the guardians of a country, I'm sure they could handle a-

Machine of death that faced off against the Lich King, Deathwing, the might of the Iron Horde and the Burning Legion, not to mention the other other powerful foes that came along?

You leave out that I was with MANY other champions in those encounters. I was supported by the full might of the Alliance, and sometimes even the Horde as well when our collective interests aligned such as with Icecrown. Here, I am all alone. Any thoughts I have on my capability here would simply be wild speculation in the face of a totally unknown power!

"Ezikeal?" Twilight broke his train of thought. He blinked.

"Sorry, I was just...thinking," He said. Twilight seemed to take his pause in some different way.

"Don't think you need to treat us any different than anyone else here, we're still just normal ponies," She said, seeming to see in his eyes the growing want to address them more formally at the revelation of their status. Ezikeal nodded in agreement. That would probably be for the best. Everyone else seemed to be treating them very casually as well, why shouldn't he?

The group split up after a bit more conversation, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash with Ezikeal while the others met with and talked to other people in the party.

"So, you use that thing very often?" Dash asked, trying to break the silence that had settled between them with some casual talk. Ezikeal looked at her, seeing her gesture to the sword on his back.

"Ideally I do not need to. I know how to, and have several times," Well, he assumed he knew how this sword worked. When he drew it when he first arrived, it seemed like it stored his curse, and once drawn he became, at least mostly, a Death Knight again, with all the pain, and all the power. It might be a good idea to experiment in private at some point with this...but that was a thought for later.

"I see there are some markings on it...I don't recognize them," Twilight remarked, following up with Rainbow Dash's approach of the topic of his weapon and noticing the runes engraved in the crossguard. Okay, that could be problematic, he realized. It would be hard to just tell someone about runes without them having many questions. He was quiet for a second, looking between the two before speaking.

"It's an enchantment," he began, "attuning me to it, allowing for enhanced capabilities with it. I do not draw it often because of the draining nature of using it. Only when I have to," He said. That was...borderline truthful, at least he thought it was. It gave him an excuse not to use it, and would hopefully satisfy Twilight's curiosity some. Twilight seemed to hang onto every word, and an excitement grew in her eyes when he finished.

"An engraved enchantment? Those are so uncommon nowadays! And one I don't even begin to recognize with those markings - they're so different looking than what I have studied in the past! I would love for a chance to study it..." She said in an almost pleading tone, unable to keep herself from asking while seeming to know what his answer was going to be anyway.

"I'm sorry, no, just drawing it activates the enchantments," He said, keeping his tone as polite as he could. She sighed, nodding in acceptance.

"That's badass, though," Dash said, catching his attention, she went on, "That you can like...push yourself past the limits with that thing. If only there was something like that for flying!" He supposed if it didn't carry such a heavy price...something like that could be considered pretty cool, useful even...but the cost for such power...they couldn't even imagine it.

"You already push yourself so hard, Dash!" Twilight let out, earning a laugh from the other.

"Yeah! But I could go faster!" The assertive confidence radiated from her as she flared her wings out and took a pose for a moment. Ezikeal let out a small chuckle at the action as Twilight let out an exasperated sigh at her friend's antics.

"Having fun, E?" Pinkie appeared from...somewhere.

"E?" He asked, and Pinkie let out a laugh and nodded, placing down a plate with a slice of cake on it. Ezikeal could only shrug and accepted the mystery, taking a bite.

"I'm having a good time, Pinkie, thank you for setting all of this up," He said sincerely, smiling as his words seemed to make her glow with happiness. He felt the warmth of positivity all around him. People were happy, having a good time, some he had gotten the names, but most were still unknown to him. He knew, though, if he stayed here, with time, the chance of having friends, knowing people...maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out.

That was a nice feeling.

Sitting alone in the loft of the barn once again, Ezikeal found his mind quiet after the positivity of the party. No intrusive thoughts were gnawing at his mind over his past, or his unworthiness of being treated with even a little respect. He decided to take advantage of the quiet and try to get some easy sleep. He laid down and let himself drift off. He didn't know how long it had been, but when his eyes opened, he was looking a wooden ceiling. It was not the ceiling of Applejack's barn, it was somehow something more familiar and yet distant at the same time.

"Ezikeal! Breakfast is ready," A woman's voice called out. Ezikeal groaned a bit, sitting up and stretching, still groggy from sleep.

"I'll be down in a minute, mother!" He called and pulled the simple blue sheets off himself and got up with a small yawn, wiping his brown hair back with a hand. He pulled on a white shirt to go with his dark blue pants before looking in the mirror at himself. Soon, he knew, he would go enlist to become a paladin to fight for the Alliance, like his father. He looked himself over, his young form, ripe with potential before heading downstairs in the small house. A woman, his mother, had set the table for him. He sat down to eat, looking down at the food. A stew with a side of warm bread, a common meal on Azeroth during the time.

"Any news from father?" He asked, eating the first few bites of the meal. He didn't mind that he didn't taste anything, that fact didn't even register to him. For Ezikeal, it was just as good as always, it only made sense that it was.

"Nothing yet, I think the post was delayed, his next letter was set to arrive a two days ago..." His mother said, her tone thoughtful but concern evident, "It isn't like him to miss writing to us," She concluded, then looked at Ezikeal with a small pause, "And I suppose it won't be like you, either?" She added, shifting the focus to her. It was inevitable, given the state of things in the world - the conflicts raging across Azeroth...the constant presence of the Horde, and now the Scourge threat having risen up more prominently and all able bodied individuals were being urged to join the fight. Ezikeal was nearing the age now, being 15, where he would have to leave and join the fight. He wished to follow his father's footsteps, joining the forces of the Alliance as a paladin. The training for that was much more in-depth compared to the average soldier, requiring dedication and building a connection to wield the light's gifts; he'd have to leave a year earlier, once he was 16. Ezikeal, like many others his age who were filled with a sense of grandeur towards the concept of glory in battle, was eager to begin his training. He had already procured several texts on holy scripts to prepare himself ahead of time for his future training.

"Of course not, mother, and one day when I have become a paladin, I will help stand up for the good of the people, for the Alliance, just as father is! I'll stand and fight alongside him!" He declared, the prospects of his future, and the grim reality of them were far from set in his mind. He still had the bravado of a young boy preparing for a fight nobody would ever rightly want. He took another bite, "None of that would keep me from writing to you, to let you know I was in good health."

"That's good to hear, I would hate to lose you..." A flash of worry had passed over his mother's face for a brief moment, but was gone as soon as it had appeared. She was proud of what he was growing up and striving to be, she just wished things in the world didn't have to be so grim to lead to these circumstances.

A knock pierced the quiet of the morning.

"I'll get it," he said, heading to the door. His pace faltered when he saw a gleam of metal from a shoulderplate through the window of the door. He rushed to the door quicker, opening it to come face to face with a taller man in armor, the silver and blue of a soldier of Stormwind adorned his body.

"Hail, Sir," Ezikeal greeted, standing a bit straighter. The man did not look happy as he held his helmet under one arm and a roll of parchment in the other. Ezikeal's warm greeting faded as he looked into the man's eyes, almost hallow of emotion, save for pain at seeing the young boy before him. He felt a bit fuzzy as he stared into those eyes, slowly gaining more awareness of the dull brown color they held, as if realizing that was how they really were. The sensation subsided as quickly as it appeared.

"Greetings," The man said, trying to muster a polite smile. The result only confirmed that he was not there for any pleasant reason. "Is your mother around?" He asked.

"Ezikeal, who is..." His mother trailed off behind him. Silence dominated the three for a long, drawn-out moment. Ezikeal looked back at his mother, who had clearly paled and brought a hand over her mouth.

Understanding washed over Ezikeal as to the man's reason for being there. He whirled around and looked at the messenger again. His world practically spun. His knees felt weak. He put a hand on the door frame for balance.

"Father...no...he's...?" He looked at the parchment in the man's hand, then at his face, as if pleading it not to be what he was assuming. His father couldn't be...no, no no no...

A hand rested on his shoulder as his mother took the parchment in a shaking hand. A blue wax seal in the shape of a lion's head held it in a neat roll.

"I'm...truly sorry, Miss," The messenger said, "On behalf of the King, I offer the deepest of condolences. There is more information within the correspondence." The grip on Ezikeal's shoulder tightened. Ezikeal was looking down at the floor, trying to keep any semblance of composure as his fists clenched, eyes burning and threatening to let out fresh tears. The messenger turned, silently walking back to his horse that was waiting down the path from their door, wearing similar silver and blue armor. Strung from its side a large satchel hung, through the small opening more letters of most likely similar nature were resting, awaiting their delivery to soon-to-be broken families.

Ezikeal felt himself drawn into a hug, dropping to his knees with his mother as she gripped him tightly, crying softly into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to keep from breaking down just as much. His father...his hero...idol...everything! Gone...it just...it couldn't be...

He didn't know how long he was there, held by his mother, everything had become...fuzzy, he couldn't tell why...or how. The next thing he was aware of was that he was in the woods, he must have came out here. He figured it was to take some time alone for himself, and to give his mother space to grieve to herself as well. Ezikeal rubbed his eyes, it had grown dark out, and he was seated at the base of a tree by the river. The sound of footsteps approaching got his attention. He quickly wiped at his face, clearing the remnants of tears from them as best he could as the stranger rounded the tree.

It was a woman, tall and beautiful in her graceful appearance. Skin as pale as the moonlight and long, smooth midnight black hair. She was in a long, dark blue low-cut dress. Her eyes were a vibrant, bluish green, and conveyed a strange sense of sympathy. She stopped, standing next to him. The stranger should have made him more curious than he felt, instead he simply existed in her presence, feeling the pain of...whatever had happened dull some.

"Greetings, Ezikeal," She said gently.

"Hello," He greeted, not finding it strange in the slightest that the stranger knew his name. She looked around them, watching the soft running water of the river and observing the strong, bulky trees surrounding them. An expression of concern had slowly formed on her expression as she looked around them, but when she looked down at him again it was gone.

"Tell us, what is this place thou has come to?" She asked, tone taking a more inquisitive angle as he too looked around.

"It's..." He looked around. He knew this place, right? "It's a river in Elwynn, near my home. I'm here...because..." He furrowed his brow, something didn't seem right. Why was he here? He knew where he was...it was an important place to him. Confusion etched itself across his face. The woman frowned a little, watching him close now.

"Thou does not know?" She asked.

"I-I do, I'm just...I'm here to be alone, I needed space," His voice wasn't confident in his words. Was that it? Was that all this spot was special for? A good place to be alone? No...this didn't add up. There was some significance he knew was missing to him. He stood up, walking around now. The air was cool as he moved, walking down along the stream. After a few moments of walking, he noticed a fuzzy sensation in his chest and his vision grew duller. He stopped, freezing in place and backed up, noticing the sensation fading and his vision clearing. What was that? He was about to take another step forward again to investigate further when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned. The woman gripped his shoulder and pulled him back a few more steps. For some reason, nothing about her actions made him any more concerned than he was.

"Ezikeal, what were thou doing before coming here?" She asked him. Ezikeal looked around, it had been morning last he remembered. He had to have been doing something this whole time. That fuzzy sensation returned when he tried to think hard on it, and it grew stronger the harder he thought. He wanted to remember, something was wrong here and he didn't know what. Panic soon grew within him - he couldn't remember anything! Nothing was making sense now! This place was important! This day was important! He couldn't even remember what had happened that morning anymore, but knew it troubled him greatly, and his mother, something upsetting had happened but it wasn't lining up in his mind!

"No...this is wrong, somethings wrong-" He let out a choked sound, no longer the young boy he had been this whole time. He was himself, as he was since arriving in this new world. His surroundings shifted into dull blurs as the world seemed to spin in his vision. The flickering of the moon through the tree cover flashing in his eyes. His hands found his head and he clenched his fists in his hair, trying to grasp at his mind through his own head as he leaned in on himself.

A sudden, chilling, ice cold feeling surrounded him, like it had suddenly turned into a harsh winter.

"Steady thyself, Ezikeal!" The woman said quickly, grabbing hold of both of his shoulders. It snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked into her eyes. They were wide with worry, but softened soon after locking with his own. His breathing steadied and as he gazed into her eyes he felt his thoughts slow, body warming, and a very...tired feeling overcoming him. His legs almost gave out, and the woman helped him to the ground, the grass of the forest floor now subtly frosted from a sudden chill that had encircled him.

"Rest," She said, and everything went black.

Ezikeal slowly opened his eyes, a small beam of light coming through the window onto his face. As he blinked and shifted, the memories of the dream he had just had rapidly faded into nothingness, leaving only the understanding that it was not pleasant. He sighed, feeling at least somewhat rested. It looked a bit later than early morning, he must have slept in some. He supposed that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Applejack had assured him that he wouldn't need to do much for the next couple days and told him to relax. He climbed down from the loft, stepping outside and taking a breath of fresh air. There were a couple things he had wanted to try to sort out, now would likely be as good of a time as any. First, he wanted to visit the library.

It wasn't a long walk, and soon enough he was there at the large tree. He knocked on the door, and after a moment of waiting it opened, the handle glowing a faint purple. He took a step inside, seeing Twilight sitting on one of the cushioned seats, several books resting on a table as she quickly flipped through them with magic, searching the pages for something.

"Hello again, Twilight," He said, causing her to let out a small sound and look up.

"Oh, Ezikeal," The book set itself down on the table, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon," She said.

"I hope that isn't a problem," He said, meeting her eyes.

"No, of course not! I'm just glad to see you comfortable enough to wander around on your own now," She said quickly, realizing how her previous statement had come across, "What can I help you with?"

"I had a request I think you could help with," He said, taking a seat as well, sitting straight with his hands on his knees.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" She asked, a paper and quill floating over to take notes if she needed to.

"I was wondering if there was a way to obtain another sword in any simple way?" He started, "I know it might appear impractical, but I want this blade of mine to be a last resort in any sort of situation...erm, there isn't exactly a 'soft' form of using it, if that makes sense?" Twilight nodded, the quill taking a couple notes as he spoke, "I would prefer a regular blade in the event I need to involve myself in a conflict that doesn't require..." He struggled for the words.

"Full force?" She asked.

"For lack of a better term, yes," He resigned.

"If I may ask, Ezikeal, why use something that sounds so...taxing, or at least not replace it with something that isn't so intense?" She asked. He couldn't fault her curiosity, he was well aware how he sounded describing this thing, and one couldn't truly understand what it meant to use the sword if he never drew it for example - which was not something he intended on doing.

"It isn't pleasant, but it has it's use," He affirmed, "It's kind of like...insurance, I suppose. If the situation is dire enough, it is likely to remedy it."

Ha! What an understatement. His internal voice snapped, You call the power to decimate a city almost unopposed insurance!? Who's gonna buy that? Ezikeal knew it was a flimsy excuse more to himself than anything, but disregarded the intrusive thought that assaulted his mind in that moment.

Twilight seemed to follow his reasoning enough, she had no idea what exactly he was faced with before coming to Equestria, and while it seemed like she wanted to ask, she appeared to be unsure of how to ask those sorts of questions and Ezikeal had no intention of broaching that topic first.

"That makes sense, I suppose. There isn't a direct way to obtain any kind of weapons in Ponyville, usually those sorts of things are reserved for Guards only. I can send a letter and request something, though," She offered, a new piece of paper floating over, "It might come with a few questions, but I'm confident something can be arranged."

"I think that would be nice, yes, thank you, Twilight," He said, bowing his head to her in gratitude. The quill began rapidly writing on the new paper.

"It's the least I can do, you're helping Applejack on the farm, which is very admirable. I'm also very fascinated by you," She said, "From what I've heard you come from far out of Equestria, from places I have yet to fully investigate. I would love for the opportunity to just...have you tell me things about these lands you've explored," She said, an almost dreamy look in her eyes as she faced the prospect of learning something so new.

"Maybe in the future," He deflected, "Thank you for taking my request, I know I must seem very odd, compared to everyone I've seen in Ponyville," He said apologetically.

"Being different isn't a bad thing, Ezikeal," She said reassuringly, moving over to sit next to him, "Everyone has something special and unique to them, and the experiences that they go through to make them, well, them is something magical. The talents they have, the skills they learn," She paused, resting a hand on his forearm, "The bad things too, there's lessons in misfortune," Ezikeal took in her words. She had no idea...there was no way to put into words that would align with the kindness of this new world that could properly convey the severity of his torment, the burden of his guilt, understandably.

"Even if...we've done bad things?" He said softly, not even fully realizing he spoke until he felt Twilight's grip on his arm tighten.

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption," She said, not a shred of doubt in her voice, "I know we're all still very new to you, Ezikeal, but if you need to talk to someone, any of us, we'd be there to listen. You seem like a really nice pony. You don't have to be going through anything completely on your own, friends are here to support you, help you when you need them!" Ezikeal nodded. He would need to find a way to...bring some level of truth into this eventually, but the thought of seeing his new friends, these allies he has made in such a short time, look at him in fear, in disgust to his actions...he wouldn't be able to face that judgement, not yet, at least.

He'd be able to tell them. Not yet, but eventually.

5 Things are Never that Simple

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It had been almost a three days since Ezikeal had asked Twilight about a sword with no response. He didn't know what kind of rules might be involved with requesting a weapon, and if it had to be shipped from the capital city it was likely going to take some time, especially if there were further security issues that Twilight had to navigate. As it stood now, he was just waiting. He had gotten back to work on the farm, and today was sent to the outskirts of the orchard to make sure the newer trees were growing in right. A fence had marked a boundary where the edge of the farm was, and Applejack had told him about the Everfree forest being relatively close to the edge of the orchard, just a relatively short walk away, informing him that the forest was host to many wild dangers for a person. Ezikeal could see the forest now from over the fence in the distance, it didn't look too far away. The trees were very much imposing and giving it a dark atmosphere as he gazed into it. Applejack hadn't specified, but he wondered what kind of danger was present within it. The more he thought it over, the more he concluded that the forest could give him an opportunity to investigate the full properties of his sword in private, since nobody wanted to stray into it normally due to the supposed danger.

Well, it was about time for a break anyway. He wouldn't be gone long, but he needed to figure these things out sooner, rather than later. He climbed over the fence and made his way to the unexplored (to him) treeline of the Everfree. A small pang of uncertainty echoed in his mind, what if something got the jump on him? Or he grossly overestimated the power of his blade or his ability to wield it and encountered something deadly.

You've faced worse unknowns. His mind said simply, silencing his doubts as he walked forwards into the darkness. A cold wind blew past him, and soon he was traversing through the dark, winding trunks of the forest trees. The sounds of wind and the rustle of tree leaves accompanied him in his walk. He kept himself alert, anything that sounded more than just the wind he looked towards, but otherwise he just searched for any semblance of a clearing to isolate himself.

A distant howl.

An echoing thud.

The sound of water rushing through a river in the distance.

The Everfree was most certainly alive.

Alright, this should be good, Ezikeal thought, finding a small clearing that gave him enough room to really move around easily. He took a breath, reaching back over his shoulder and grabbing hold of the hilt of his sword. He gripped it firm and a dull hiss echoed as the runes along the guard ignited with blue magic as he began to pull. It was locked in place for the briefest of moments before drawing, along with an icy chill enveloping Ezikeal's entire being, growing only colder as he continued to draw the blade.

Pain!

A searing, unbearable pain pierced through him and he couldn't contain his groan of torment, that soon grew louder into a anguished shout as he drew the blade, yanking it fully out of the sheath. He breathed heavily as agony racked through his body, muscles and bones. He felt...empty...familiar. He couldn't see it, but a blue glow had overtaken his eyes, signifying the power once locked away in his blade now flowed freely through him. He gripped the blade with both hands, anguish boiling over in his very blood. He felt it, then, the hunger, the hunger that Death Knights were plagued with. It tore at him from the inside, urging him to lash out in violent fury. He had felt it before - he had lived with it, contained it, but the break he had taken from it's presence was now by no means unappreciated. He felt his emotions dull, the calm he had attained for himself leaving with barely a whisper in his mind, the other stresses and troubles faded - the only thing he felt was the hallow, searing agony of his being.

The grass around his feet froze solid.

He had to focus. He looked now upon his sword, several large runes glowed brightly, thrumming with power as he observed them. The familiarity of their strength provided some comfort. He went to stand straighter, breath and body shaking. Billows of frost floated out from his mouth as he exhaled roughly.

Focus! Focus! He growled to himself, finding it a little easier now to reach the old steel of his resolve. It could not fully be what it once was, his body was not numbed by undeath and his senses of feeling were very much sharper. The pain felt amplified, much further than he had remembered it, but he wrenched his thoughts away from it as best he could and focused on getting what he had set out to do. He had a purpose here, and could feel his fortitude slowly cracking as the strain of death forced itself to flow through him. He needed to be quick about this.

Something...simple... He let go of the hilt with one hand, holding the sword now just in one. Clenching his now free fist, he let the fury that drove his hunger boil over to the forefront of his energy. A searing heat rolled through him inside, and he clenched his teeth hard at the sensation - it was like he had thrown himself into a furnace. He groaned, before opening his mouth in a ghostly snarl and thrusting his blade skyward as the energy of blood tore out of his body and rushed over him. Red ripples of energy flowed from his form in a rapid, wave-like motion. The ice around his feet melted some for a moment from the heat of the magic, before refreezing after it had subsided.

That...worked..! He thought triumphantly to himself as an almost light-headed sensation came over him. No, no he wasn't done yet. Can I use the runes? He thought. He had to check before the strain became too much for him. He aimed his blade towards the ground a few feet in front of him and let a different sensation flow forth. An agony, a necrotic magic lashing out at his mortal form as he harnessed it threatened to overtake him as it rapidly grew before the rune closest to the point of his blade flared up red and a ripple of crimson, necrotic energy flowed over his arm and then blade before it flared off the tip of the blade and launched itself forward, impacting the ground he had aimed at. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of liquid out across the grass - a ripple of crimson energy coated the ground in a large circle, the necrotic energies bubbled and drained all the grass it had touched of life as the death and decay he had harnessed exerted itself on the environment. A few long moments later and the pool dissipated.

Snap

A noise to the left at the edge of the clearing caught his attention - definitely a presence more than just the nature surrounding him. He reacted before he could think on it, arm snapping up and aiming at the noise. A chill coursed through him as a black tendril of magic shot out like a bullet. A loud gasp was heard before the tendril retracted, pulling a body along with it and ending with Ezikeal's hand gripping someone by the throat. He looked at who had intruded on his space, on who had tried to sneak up on a Death Knight.

A woman, dark skin with a black and white mohawk wearing a cloak over her body, struggled in his hold. The only thing saving her from being choked by his powerful grip were the gold rings she had decoratively around her neck. She struggled nonetheless, eyes wide with surprise as she kicked out at him, gripping his arm with both hands. Her feet landed solid against his body, but there was no pain she was able to inflict that was worse than his curse, which washed out any other sensations - he barely felt her blows. His cold eyes stared into her own cyan ones before a thought pierced through the fog of his pain and exhaustion.

What am I doing!? He suddenly threw her back, putting distance between them. She stumbled back, catching herself in a crouched position and watched him. He reached behind himself, putting the sword in his sheath and slamming it inside. A second later, it was like a massive weight had suddenly lifted from his very soul - sensation returned and the agony vanished. He let out rapid, shallow breaths as he felt...complete...again, like using the power of the blade had muted some part of his soul. The glow of his eyes drifted away, the chills of power surrounded him faded and his vision grew blurry. He looked to the form of the woman he had almost attacked in his blindness.

"I'm sorry...I...s-sorry...I didn't mean...to..." His vision suddenly looked sideways as he hit the ground and everything went black.

Chrysalis was concerned, to say the least, when she received reports of a "corrupt" Changeling returning from a scouting trip to observe Ponyville. Something had incapacitated her drone in it's mission, and the partner it was sent with had carried it back to the hive. When it awoke, they quickly had to lock it up due to how violent it was behaving, as if it were blindly lashing out at everything around it. It had reportedly injured three other drones before it was subdued by guards. She now was walking down a hall, her black, chitinous feet clicking rhythmically against the floor. Did those ponies have something to do with this? If so, it would only further fuel her vengeance. She came up to the door that the drone was being contained behind. Two Changeling guards bowed to their queen, stepping aside as she willed them to.

"Okay, let's see what has happened here," She said to nobody in particular as she opened the door, horn glowing with a dim green energy as she predicted what the "rabid" drone was going to do. She thought correctly, as ball of vibrant green flame slammed into a shield in front of her as soon as she was through the door.

She raised an eyebrow. That...was odd. The magic this Changeling was able to use shouldn't be that strong. She subtly increased the strength of her shield and got a better look at the drone. The drone hissed at her, firing another blast of magic that slammed against the shield.

"You dare attack your Queen!?" She exerted her will onto the drone, trying to force her thoughts to superimpose his own, to grasp the his mind and force him to submit. The drone snarled, and Chrysalis observed him as his head thrashed back and forth, shaking her will away with concerning ease. That shouldn't be possible, Changelings were attuned to her at their births, her control over them should be absolute. Something was interfering with this drone. She stared hard, and noticed that the normally dark black chitinous plates of the drone's body were instead appearing to hold a slight green tint to them. Unnatural...

"Drone, address your Queen, I command it," She tried again, horn glowing brighter as she forced the drone's head to stare into her eyes, which glowed with power as she fully pressed against the drone's mind without restraint. The drone thrashed and cried out before falling to his knees, gazing up at Chrysalis with subdued rage.

"Queen," The drone said, glaring. Chrysalis could see it more clearly now, the drone's vision was clouded by whatever had happened to it, it wasn't able to think straight through the fog of its anger. She would have to help it. With her magic, she exerted powerful waves of calming energies into her drone. It breathed harshly, but she could feel the anger get pushed back enough for them to hold a conversation.

"What happened to you on your mission? Tell me, now." Chrysalis commanded. The drone strained under the power of her will, putting up much more fight than Chrysalis had anticipated it capable of. What was going on here?

"On our way, I came across a strange substance. I sampled it. I...feel so powerful..." The drone said, "So...enraged..." Chrysalis approached the drone now, kneeling down in front of him to look at his face.

"What was it?" She asked.

"I don't know...but I can feel this power...coursing through me!" The drone let out, "I want more, the...the strength..." The drone snarled suddenly and lashed out, thrusting himself horn-first at his queen. Chrysalis was on her feet in an instant, gripping the drone's horn and angling it to the side as it fired off a blast of green magic that whizzed by her head. The offense of being attacked so closely by such an underling overrode her curiosity for a moment and she snarled.

"How dare you!" Her horn flared brightly and the drone was surrounded in a green aura before being launched backwards into the wall with a yelp of pain. Blinded by anger or not, no drone was to get away with such a brazen show of rebellion without punishment. The drone impacted with such force that it left an indent as it fell from it's place of impact. Chrysalis took a calming breath. The things the drone was saying had piqued her curiosity. Something had infused it with power which had allowed it to become so strong? Whatever that substance it had mentioned was, and it was overwhelming the drone.

Drip...drip...drip...

Chrysalis's eyes looked to the soft sound, focusing on the drips of blood falling from the drone's mouth. Hmm? Instead of the expected dull green blood that was typical to a changeling, the blood that was impacting the floor was tainted by a much brighter, glowing green liquid, it was actually...glowing? It was a mixture between the normal green blood of a Changeling, but overpowering it was this new...substance. The A small pool of it had formed under where the drone's mouth was. Chrysalis walked over to it, lifting the drone away with her magic and holding him tightly, immobilizing him.

"Do you know the cause of this?" She demanded.

"That...looks like what I found," he answered. Chrysalis looked down at the substance, the...strange blood mixture. This is what had empowered her subordinate so much? He had sampled it, drank some of it. She looked at it, an enticing thought entering her head. If it really empowered them...it would empower her, would it not? No doubt she was more capable of controlling her rage than a lowly drone, and the stronger she was, the more easily she could claim vengeance and capture every pony in Equestria to feed the hive. She would have to drink it as well, but first...

"Disguise yourself, now." She wasn't about to to something risky if it meant crippling basic functions. The drone's body engulfed itself in green flames and when it cleared he had taken the form of a man, black hair and green eyes. Chrysalis scrutinized the disguise, finding no obvious fault in it's construction as she scanned it. It seemed perfectly normal. She forced the drone's disguise to fall away, levitating him closer.

"If this...substance, is the key to securing the future of my empire...I must have it," she said, looking into the drone's eyes, "I need your blood." Her voice betrayed the sinister desires flooding her mind in that moment as she took the drone's arm in her hand, one claw slipping beneath the natural armor and piercing the flesh beneath. The drone let out a hiss as the glowing, green blood flowed from the wound, down Chrysalis's finger and pooled in the palm of her hand. It was hot, almost burning even, but that didn't matter to her. She brought her other hand up, cupping it with the other to gather the blood in both hands before stepping back from the drone. She looked down into her hands, the glossy, brightly colored liquid with traces of the original dull green of Changeling blood. It let off a green glow, illuminating against her own black form.

Slowly, a forked tongue poked at the liquid, taking a small sample of it. Chrysalis tasted the blood and her eyes narrowed - it was bitter, burning, but...as she swallowed, she felt her magic...reacting. She felt her magic mingle with whatever energy she had just absorbed, amplifying the effects of the diluted blood mixture inside her as her magic grew more powerful. She brought her hands to her lips, tilted her head back and drank greedily. The low heat in the pit of her stomach soon grew into a burning sensation that began seeping into other parts of her body. She let out a hot breath as the sensations began to overtake her. Her body was hot, a dull pain throbbing through her, but alongside it, power radiated. The reaction of the blood and her magic inside of her was...she couldn't describe it.

"More," she said, grabbing the drone's arm and piercing it with a claw once more, coaxing even more blood than was already flowing to drip down into her hands. The drone let out a yelp, but was still frozen still, helpless to Chrysalis's growing thirst. Chrysalis drank further, groaning as the burning became a bit painful. The combinations were indescribable, but as she thought she was becoming adjusted to the senses, she felt a pang of...anger, rise in her chest. Anger that...she didn't have enough of this...if she was going to stand up against the ponies...yes...the ponies, the ones she hated so much. Her anger targeted itself at her memories of the ponies, and the previous times they had foiled her plans, cast her back to the hives to starve. She growled, the glow of her horn intensifying.

"Q-Queen...t-too tight..." The drone squeaked out as the telekinetic hold bore down harsher on his form. As Chrysalis infused herself with the power of the blood, her connection had reaffirmed itself to the corrupted Changeling, as if reforging the bond that had been weakened by its original corruption by the substance.

"This...power!" She practically moaned in delight and pain as changes began to take place over her form. She was growing taller, stronger. A few dull cracks echoed as her body shifted. The sharp points of her natural armor began to become sharper, more prominent, her horn grew longer and the curves of it became more jagged and sharp. Her natural sleek, black color soon faded into a dull green, her hair shifted in hue as well. The changes washed over her, inside and out, and Chrysalis was eager to accept it as she felt her magic strengthen. Her hands ran empty once more. How dare this drone limit her in such a way, making her practically scrounge and beg for the drops of power hidden in it's blood, to drip feed from its body. It was of more use to her anyway! She had control of herself! Her magic reacted with it so absolutely positively! It belonged to her! The drone belonged to her so whatever power it found did as well!

Without even thinking it over, she floated the struggling drone close, grabbed him by both sides of the head, tilted it back and bit down hard on its throat. Her breathing sped up at the action, a heat of a different kind making itself known as she dominated the smaller Changeling in totality. The rush of it was thrilling, but she had no intention of going further with that train of thought - this was taking what was rightfully hers as Queen. Normally, she would not have considered hurting a member of her hive in the way she was about to so frivolously - that was unbecoming of her, but a thirst had made itself known within her and she could hold back from quenching it no longer! She promptly swung her head to the side, tearing open a large gash in the drone's throat. Blood gushed like water from the wound and the Changeling was only able to cry out and struggle for a few moments before falling limp as his Queen feasted from his body in such a visceral, desperate manner - the green blood that missed her mouth dripped down the sides of her face and body.

All of this power...mine! Mine! Allll Mine! She thought, the searing heat permeating through her form as she let her own magic flow freely and mingle eagerly with the magic of this strange substance.

Ezikeal groaned. What happened? Images flashed in his mind. Oh, right, he had come into the Everfree to test out his ability, and had found it incredibly draining due to the death magic rejecting his living form. He had...oh no! He sat up. He had attacked someone! Someone else was in the forest?! Not only that but they had likely seen some of his magic, no - scratch that, he used Death Grip on them, of course they know he was using some kind of necromancy-esque spells now!

"Calm yourself, stranger, I do not wish to encounter more danger," A voice spoke. Ezikeal looked to the noise. It was her! The woman was sitting by him. She held a wary look in her eyes as she watched him. Ezikeal looked around, seeing they were still in the clearing, and he was laid in the large circle of dead grass he had created with his magic. The woman was seated just outside of the circle.

"You...stayed here with me?" He asked. After almost killing her...

"You showed remorse, I do not fear your force. The blade upon your back," She pointed at him, "it guides you down a dark track?" Ezikeal raised an eyebrow at the rhyming, but took the meaning of her words. There was no way to dance around the truth of things with her, was there. She'd seen everything...

"It's...complicated," He said finally. She crossed her arms. How was he going to navigate this...he felt that no matter what he said, this might bite him later, but he needed to try to make things seem as "in control" as possible.

"It's unpleasant to use, but I can handle it," He reasoned.

"Rid yourself of the cursed blade, and peace in your mind shall then be made," She said, as if that was the obvious solution. Ezikeal groaned, it wasn't that simple, it couldn't be that simple. He shook his head, groaning softly.

"I cannot part with it," He said, "It's...very important. If I don't keep it, then someone else is going to get a hold of it," That was at least something he felt complete confidence in. This world seemed so much more peaceful than Azeroth, but that didn't mean there weren't places or people that lent themselves towards darker paths, who would seek out and abuse the power of a runeblade.

"Destroy the weapon then, so it cannot be used again," She tried. Ezikeal looked up into her eyes, seeing they held a determination to help him, but also a clear want to get rid of the blade entirely.

"I have seen it's dark power, which would no doubt make many cower. You dislike its hold, be rid of it before your will is to fold," She reached towards him. Ezikeal caught her wrist, seeing it angling more towards the strap of his sheath. She twisted her arm some, easily breaking away from his grip. She locked gazes with him sternly.

"I have seen corruption take root in many in the past, if you do not leave it you will find yourself not being the last. The power cannot be denied, but take a look inside. If you had another choice, would you take it or simply listen to its voice?" She pointed at the sword. Ezikeal followed her gaze and took in her question. Would he take another option?

Don't be ridiculous, do you truly think anything in this world could stop death itself? His thoughts suddenly surged forth as he began pondering.

I have faith that, at the very least, the elements-

The 'elements' are easily crippled. Too many parts to make a whole. You are not so fragmented. It countered. Ezikeal's features darkened at that. His thoughts had a point, if the strongest forces of this world required as many as six people to function, they were subject to being incapacitated - if not him, someone else could just as easily do so, couldn't they? He looked up at the woman.

"I've done this for a while," At her reasonably skeptical look, he quickly added, "Not exactly like this, I recently went through some...changes, I have to grow used to wielding this strength once more. I can do good with it, I have done good with it. Where I'm from we don't get the choice of just good or evil, sometimes it's the lesser of many brutal forces, and this...this is the lesser of many alternatives. I didn't choose it, but I cannot just give it up." The woman stood up, preparing to walk away, looking dis-swayed from speaking further as he tried to reason himself into justification.

"I know there's other forces in these lands that can do great acts of good, I've met the elements-I mean, I've been working for Applejack since arriving here-"

"You speak around your truth so commonly, yet you shelter with the Element of Honesty?" She sounded, and looked, completely shocked at that revelation. Why did the way she said that...concern him, what was he missing that she seemed to know? She was walking away and took a look back, conflict in her eyes before looking away.

"Be rid of it soon, or it may spell your doom. You weave a web of lies, the bigger it gets the weaker your ties," she said and disappeared into the forest, pulling her cloak's hood over her head. Ezikeal stared after her for a long moment before a realization dawned on him.

How long was I out?

"Mhm," Applejack crossed her arms, "ya really expectin' me ta believe that?" She was leaned against a tree as he returned and tried to spin a story about getting lost in the orchard. It was failing miserably.

"Not really," he conceded. He was missing for roughly 5 hours including his travel to and from the Everfree.

"I even had Rainbow Dash do a pass to look fer ya," She said.

"Yeah!" A voice from above sounded. Ezikeal looked up to see her lounging on a high branch of the tree, "And you were nowhere to be found!"

"Ya went to the Everfree, didn't ya," Applejack said dryly, "After I warned ya about it," she sighed.

"What? I mean..." He trailed off and just nodded his head, looking down, "I was curious about it," He said. He felt the stares of the two women, he didn't have much excuse for this but he was not ready to spill everything to them either.

"What else?" Applejack said, tone flat and foot tapping.

"Huh?" He looked up at her. She had a stern, slightly frustrated expression on her face.

"Ya ain't tellin' me somethin'," she said simply, "and with the way yer actin' I feel it might be rightly important. So, what else were ya up ta?" He could practically feel the suspicious eyes of Rainbow Dash glaring at his head from above.

"You conspiring with something in the Everfree? Is there a threat we should be aware of? Huh?" Rainbow Dash called from above, dropping down from her branch and landing next to Applejack, looking equally as suspicious towards him.

Me, maybe...

"I was practicing," He said.

"Practicin'?" Applejack seemed to somewhat dial back her interrogative tone now that some of his initial lies were cut down.

"I don't like people seeing me when I...have this out," he gestured to the sword on his back, "But I need to at least keep myself used to it. You said the Everfree was something everyone avoids, sounded like a perfect place to go to be completely alone. I'm used to danger, so it wasn't going to stop me that easily."

"Why so long?" Dash asked, her voice taking a much more interested tone at the topic of his supposed enhanced capabilities and the magical weapon on his back.

"I passed out," He replied simply, catching both of them off guard.

"Ya did what in the Everfree!? Ezikeal!" Applejack let out, both a deep concern and anger taking the forefront of her emotions. Ezikeal felt himself cringe away from the woman's rightful outrage. Okay, saying that out loud sounded much worse than he had intended.

"Dude..." Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head, suspicion fading a bit and in its place worry made itself apparent, "You could've gotten eaten by Timberwolves or something, that's like...mega dangerous."

"I didn't think I would pass out," he said defensively, "But I understand why you're upset..." Applejack let out a cough, the kind of cough you make when you demand someone's attention, and not in a good way.

"Ezikeal, I'm just gonna be straight with ya," Applejack began, "I know yer keepin' somethin' pretty important from us, and I also know yer pretty desperate ta keep it that way. I trusted ya when I asked if ya were a danger ta us and ya said no. I'd be lyin' if I told ya I wasn't havin' second thoughts about it based on the way ya been actin'. It's like yer afraid whatever the 'thing' is, is gonna make us all hate ya. Ya might not notice it, but it's been makin' a couple of us worried with how mysterious ya been actin' and while I greatly appreciate yer help on the farm...I need to look out fer us." She was staring him in the eyes as she spoke, being as direct and to the point as she could. He couldn't fault her logic here, but this was too soon...this was all too soon.

"Who...else? Have I worried?" He asked. Was he really that unconvincing of good intentions?

"Twilight mainly, which, I might add, is not the pony ya wanna have thinkin' something dodgy is goin' down. She got regular talkin' ta's with the princesses," Applejack warned.

She communicates regularly with the princesses...huh.

I don't suppose that would include letters supposedly designed to request a weapon for a reasonably suspicious individual, would it?

...Ah.

"I think I need to talk to Twilight..."

6 Shrouded Origins and Prying Eyes

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This was a mess, and Ezikeal knew he needed to think. He was sitting at a table outside the farm with Applejack while Rainbow Dash had left to get Twilight - Applejack didn't want to drag this out. He needed a way to keep the full truth away, as there was no possible outcome where that would go over well. Applejack would no doubt be horrified, knowing she harbored such a monster, Rainbow Dash was just as likely to start swinging right then and there and Twilight...he did not want to deal with whatever magic she would no doubt throw at him in order to neutralize the threat of him. Maybe the woman from the forest was right, and getting rid of the sword was what needed to be done.

Nonsense, you know the uses of this power. You're the only one who understands it. His mind voiced, a sickening, ever-present connection to what he felt was true. There was nobody else who understood it like him, not in this world at least. Nevertheless, he argued with himself.

Having to hide this...it is going to become too much, it might already have been too much! Maybe I should figure out a way to safely be stripped of this swor-

No! His own mind seemed to tear right through that train of thought. This power is yours. Wield it with all the righteousness that was stolen from you in death! You will take up this blade and protect those you care about! You must embrace it and press on. Ezikeal groaned at the rushed intensity his thoughts harbored. Why were his thoughts such a back and forth mess!? He just wanted to embrace his new life, the fresh start fate granted him, but why did it have to leave him with this final burden!? Why did he have to carry another blade that tainted the very bridges he was trying to establish!? He let his head rest in his hands.

"Ezikeal," Applejack said, prompting him to look up at her, and meet the level stare she gave him.

"Hm?"

"I'd really like ta think yer a good pony, ya know," she offered, tapping her hand on the table, "does this mess got anythin' ta do with that stuff ya mentioned when ya met Twilight? Ya said that ya came from a bad place...and ya seem ta act the most flighty when anythin' remotely related ta yer past, or that there sword, comes up." She was talking softly, knowing she was pressing on a personal subject, but unable to shake the feeling it was related somehow and Ezikeal knew it, saw it in her eyes.

This is happening too soon, I don't have a very good way to avoid this... He thought, offering Applejack a small shrug before speaking.

"It does," he answered, "the things that happened before I arrived here...I didn't live in a place even remotely as peaceful as this. Conflict was rampant, and I am a product of it. I cannot escape my past, it haunts me. I don't know if I can go too far into things, Applejack, but I will try to give at least the most general sense of what it is that I have going on, if that's alright?" He didn't necessarily like it, but he needed to try to appeal to her sense of sympathy to nudge this into the right direction.

"I...I get it, Partner," Applejack said, mostly accepting of his request, "I won't make too big a fuss if ya aren't fully detailed, but just make sure ya don't get too cryptic, ya hear? Show us some trust with knowin' yer story?" She asked. Ezikeal nodded, and she offered one of agreement in return. They returned to sitting in silence, waiting for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to get back.

Okay, he had time to think. The things he absolutely had to keep from revealing were the facts that he used to be undead, was from another world, who the Lich King was (at least mostly), and he needed to conceal the full extent of his blade's power. He didn't need to cause undue panic, but it was unavoidable to keep from admitting that his weapon at least operated with some form of dark magic or he'd have to keep avoiding questions about it. If he was going to tell them anything, he needed to leave out as much as possible or he would risk being cast out and despised - which was the outcome he did not want to happen more than anything. Ezikeal ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be a little troubling, wasn't it?

It was another fifteen minutes before Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived. Twilight looked a little concerned, looking Ezikeal over as she sat down at the table. Ezikeal had prepared a story in his mind, but seeing the harsh reality of how delicate he felt this situation was thundered in his mind. One misstep, and he'd surely be cast out or struck down- they were the guardians of this land, after all...

"Ezikeal, you asked for me?" Twilight said as she took a seat. Rainbow Dash eagerly took one next to her, no doubt impatient to hear what he had been hiding from them.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you, well, all of you three, about something. I do have a question first, Twilight," he started, addressing the one factor that he taken root in his mind since Applejack had mentioned it, "I heard you communicate with the princesses of this land. I'm going to make an assumption that I've come up in at least some correspondence?" he asked, watching Twilight throw a glance towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash before looking back at him.

"Well, yes, your situation is very...uncommon, so I have mentioned you to Princess Celestia. I'm her student-Look, Ezikeal, I don't mean to come off as distrusting with my actions, truly, but I'm worried about you and whatever is going on here. Ponies just don't go around acting as if they are hiding the gateway to Tartarus at all times," she said, tone growing a little defensive at the topic.

"You're right, and that's kind of what I wanted to talk about," he said quickly, disarming the conflict before it could begin, "I have been hiding things from you all, mainly because I have been worried about how you would...react to certain aspects of me," he started. Twilight floated a paper and quill out of her bag. Of course she would keep a record of what I am telling them... Alright, now he had to choose his words even more carefully.

"I'm listening," Twilight said.

Here goes nothing...

"Back in my homeland, I was put under a curse by an incredibly powerful, and equally evil sorcerer. He took control of my mind and forced me away from everything I had in my life. I was taken from the things I cared about, and he made me assist in their destruction. I was made to do...a lot of regrettable things," Ezikeal watched their reactions as he spoke. Twilight was writing down what he was saying as he spoke with her magic while she looked at him with sympathy, horror, and worry in her eyes in response to hearing his fate in the past. Rainbow Dash's initial excitement had died down to a morbid seriousness as he spoke, and Applejack held an unreadable expression, likely due to already being prepared to hear something bad from their previous conversation.

Alright, so far so good, right?

"What did this sorcerer want? What was their goal?" Twilight asked, voice soft and inquisitive as she pressed further on such a deeply personal, but terrifying subject.

"They were one of the purest forms of evil...they wanted everyone to suffer, and ultimately to die. He had a grudge against the world and wanted to see it burn." Leaving out the 'so he could then raise them as undead minions' part.

"He wanted to...kill everyone?" The steadily growing look of worry on Twilight's face had evolved into one of repulsed fear as he said that, as if the information had physically lashed out at her.

"Does that mean you were made to...you...?" Rainbow Dash trailed off, making a slicing motion across her neck. Ezikeal sighed internally, he was about to make the biggest risk he was going to allow himself to take in this conversation.

"I did," He confirmed, "I was made to kill under his control." A few moments of silence passed before a sniff caught his attention, and he saw Twilight looking down, holding in tears.

"That's...that's so horrible...that's not fair..." she said, on the verge of breaking down at the revelation, "You were...you couldn't do anything and he made you...how long?" She looked up at him.

"A while," He answered, lost in the emotional response he got. He had expected repulsion, not...such an raw, sincere response. He looked to the others and saw Rainbow Dash looking at her hands, any excitement over the story having been sucked away by his words. Applejack's mouth was pressed into a thin line, gaze somber and maintaining her mostly unreadable expression - as if keeping a strong face in the wake of tragedy, but had taken her hat off and set it on the table next to her.

"How did you escape?" Twilight asked.

"I cannot say for certain what allowed me to. All I know is that his hold on me, and the others like me, had weakened. We were able to free ourselves from his hold and fought back against him," he explained, a hint of confusion edging into his voice as he was reminded of the memories. Even without the egregious omissions he was making about the full story, Ezikeal was never sure what had allowed his will to free itself so forcefully from the Lich King. There were moments of doubt, a slow awareness coming over him that something about his existence was not...right. Those feelings had lingered temporarily before disappearing in the wake of new commands, but each time thereafter, the sense grew more powerful. It all led up to the battle at Light's Hope Chapel against Tirion Fordring and his paladins, where the Lich King made clear that they were expendable and meant to have died in the battle against the Tirion. It seemed that was the final straw, not just for him but the other Death Knights present as well, and the weakened control the Lich King held over his knights finally shattered. Perhaps it was a final, parting mercy from the Light on his damned existence...he'd never know.

"I was free, but...my curse remained. I did what I could to utilize it for good," He explained, gesturing to his sword. Twilight's sadness intermingled with the curiosity towards the "curse."

"Ezikeal...what is it?" Twilight asked, refocusing his attention to the new topic of his sword. Ezikeal took a moment to ensure his careful composure was not going to break in the wake of Twilight's inquisitive onslaught before speaking again.

"When I was taken control of, I was bound with dark forces and the sorcerer gave a portion of his power to me to use as an extension of his will. The sword is a conduit of this cursed gift," He didn't think that was pushing anything too far, and he fully believed it was some kind of curse that not even his strange resurrection into a new world could fully destroy.

"So it's some of that dark magic, just like the evil wizard was usin', is what yer sayin'?" Applejack asked, frowning when Ezikeal nodded in confirmation and was left to think on that.

"I've been doing my hardest to utilize it for good, to...atone for what I've done," He said. Twilight had regained a lot of her composure and refocused on the new revelation of interest that had come up. Ezikeal knew he had to tread even more carefully now, with Twilight's face of intense thought at his words now, he was sure it wouldn't take too much to raise suspicion of his story. A new paper had floated out of her bag and the quill jotted something down as Twilight pensively spoke.

"Every magic in the spectrum of darkness that I've studied has shown...deeply concerning properties that corrupt the wielder of it...do you not find that a risk with this at all? Have you ever felt corruption take root? Ezikeal, you should be looking to remove whatever curse it is and refrain from using it at all," Twilight spoke firmly, looking at the sword on his back with growing worry, no doubt cautious thoughts of what it might be capable of in such peaceful lands floating around her mind.

She has a point...I'm not sure how intense the hunger will get- His mind gnawed back at him in response to the thought, interrupting that train before it could finish.

No. They do not understand the complexities of this power like you do, this force that you hold within such easy reach. The power to write history itself...just think, the hunger it instills is easily overcome just like before. The undeniable strength of your will focuses this power in a way that does truly good, powerful acts. His thoughts sounded, echoing in his head as he pondered her words.

"It's totally cool, y'know, that you've been using that magic for good, Ezikeal," Rainbow Dash spoke up, "buuut I think I'm gonna have to agree with Twilight that it's likely more dangerous than even you realize," Dash said, siding with her friend's concern.

You have mastery over its properties. They are the ones who do not realize. His thoughts whispered. Ezikeal let out a groan, nodding a little more to himself in response of the thoughts.

"It has not overcome me. I do not intend to let it overcome me," he said with a similar resolve of Twilight's advice towards getting rid of it. Said unicorn was now looking at him with worried skepticism, Ezikeal could practically see her pulling up every mental file she had on dark, corruptive magics.

"Ezikeal, I understand that you have the most experience with it in the past, having had it for such a long time now, but, I mean, we haven't even seen it in use," she said with hinting tone, "I have never seen a wielder of dark forces not be corrupted. I...I'm worried about you- for you. And Rainbow Dash said you passed out in the Everfree of all places..." she trailed off, countless unspoken doubts visible in her eyes alone.

"I understand what these things are sounding like, Twilight, I truly do, and I know I am pressing the boundaries when I just ask that you trust in my judgement on this. I've been doing this for quite some time," Ezikeal tried. He needed them to believe in him, he needed them to feel some semblance of confidence in his ability to...be him. He wasn't going to become "corrupted" by it, whatever that would entail. His thoughts were right, he did have mastery over it. It seemed his story was being trusted, and to his credit, it was all technically true, just...missing details.

"I want to see it," Twilight said, which halted any further thoughts Ezikeal had been spiraling towards with those words.

"What? Twilight-" Ezikeal started, only to quiet at the raise of Twilight's hand.

"No, Ezikeal, please, it would make this so much easier if I could at least see what it is you are dealing with all on your own...let alone at all," the worry in her voice was evident, but so was the insatiable curiosity. Those two emotions would not mix well, and Ezikeal knew the answers she wanted, the semblance of reassurance she hoped for and expected, were not going to be presented to her even if he did go along with it and draw the blade right then and there. All witnessing his power would accomplish would be the justifiable increase of her fears. Ezikeal looked into Twilight's eyes then, measuring her unmasked emotions; he saw the hurt in her gaze, the sympathy, the curiosity and the fear. Agreeing would only make that fear so much worse.

"I refuse," he started, tone soft, earning a frown from Twilight, "you are asking for something rather unsightly, and unpleasant. The reason I passed out in the forest was because of the taxing nature of it. It is meant to be a quick, overwhelmingly decisive ending to the conflict and in my practice I held it for too long. Do not make me draw it again so soon," he said, hoping Twilight was going to accept that denial. It seemed, for the moment at least, that she did, as she let out a discontent noise but did not press him on it further.

"I'm thankful that you've shown this much trust in us to share the full story of what happened to you...and I'm so sorry you've had to go through something so...horrific..." Twilight said instead, redirecting the conversation from her pursuit of information on his magic and despite her frustration rooted in her worry, her words were sincere- Ezikeal could find appreciation in the sympathy she so readily offered.

If only she knew the full truth... A sinister whisper of his thoughts made itself known.

"I appreciate those words, and hope that this has put in some understanding of why I have been acting overly cautious about myself," Ezikeal said, watching her expression.

"It does," she agreed as the papers she had written on rolled themselves up and deposited themselves into her bag. Twilight left soon after their main topic of conversation ended, exchanging only some idle small talk. She was clearly still a bit tense, given the circumstances she had learned of, and had excused herself soon after, citing a need to process things and reiterating that Ezikeal was always welcome to visit the library. Applejack went to continue some work on the farm and had not said much at all, leaving Ezikeal with Rainbow Dash. The woman looked very pensive, counter to her usual bold and energetic personality.

"I'm sorry my story wasn't as grandiose as you had hoped," he said, noticing her still downtrodden expression. He hoped his words, as held back as they had been, did not trouble her too much. While he hadn't interacted with her as much as some of the others he had met recently, he still felt a strong appreciation for her acceptance of him, and even her initial suspicion- it showed her care to those she made herself loyal to.

"It isn't that...it's just," she made a clueless gesture, "I'm having trouble picturing someone who wants to actually kill others," she admitted, the word sounding almost foreign in the way she said it, "we've had some pretty large threats that we handled here in Equestria- in a super awesome epic showdown kinda way I might add, but...they didn't want to kill us, mainly just become our rulers. Discord wanted to cause chaos and Chrysalis wanted to feed off everypony's emotions but you're talking about someone who wants to just...have people suffer- it doesn't make sense to me," she shrugged, looking at him, almost helpless as if asking for him to answer a million silent, unspoken questions. Questions he knew he had answers to, but withheld for her own good. Telling her more would do no good, he had spoken enough as it is, but that didn't stop the pang of sympathy he felt looking into her eyes.

"There's never been a murder in Equestria?" he asked, keeping his tone soft, but a flicker of doubt could not help making itself known. Dash sighed.

"No, there are, it's just...different, I guess, and rare, and I've never interacted with the ponies that get driven to do such a horrible thing, so to hear that there's a place out there...where it's common unsettles me," the sincerity of her words struck home in Ezikeal, and he couldn't help the pang of sympathy that struck him.

"Some people just desire evil, it was something I had to come to terms with at a young age," he said, unsure of how to further console her. She was sad because of his past, sad for his past, and present, self. It was unfamiliar, and produced an unfamiliar sensation within him, moving him.

"Ezikeal?"

"Hm?"

"What happened to the sorcerer?" The question was innocent, and yet it garnered an intense response as freezing memories of the Frozen Throne poured out behind Ezikeal's eyes. The clashing of weapons and magic so powerful the fabric of life and death itself could be called into question in its wake. His hand rose to press against his chest- he still remembered the moment the King fell. The disbelief, the fear that welled inside of him of it not being true, but it was, and his tormentor met their end.

"We stopped him," he said, snapping out of his memories and looking at Dash, meeting her gaze and the silent question that lingered, "we did what was necessary," he added with a more gentle tone. Rainbow Dash somberly nodded, understanding the look of pain that must had crossed his face in the brief flash of memory.

"Well this has been a pretty heavy conversation, dude," she said, voice twinging up with dismissive energy, as if to disguise her obvious discomfort but unable to banish it completely, "I'm gonna head out," she said. Ezikeal nodded understandingly, it was a lot to take in.

"I'll see you around," she added awkwardly and Ezikeal gave her a parting wave before she flew off.

It didn't take long for the rest of the day to pass. Ezikeal spent it in soft contemplation with himself. Was he doing the right thing? Hiding the truth through vague, desperate concessions of truth that left so much detail unsaid? Every time his mind strayed towards the thought of getting rid of this curse he couldn't stop the sharp chastisement of his own thoughts fighting the very notion of it and the internal conflict tired him thoroughly. It was in that difficult, turmoil filled mindset that he found himself in the loft of the barn earlier in the evening than usual, just exhausted from the weight of his own mind crushing him. He groaned, laid down, and restlessly drifted into the darkness of sleep.

The smell of death and ash was thick in the air, the only things that could be detected by anyone in the area as the scourge tore apart everything in the vicinity in farmsteads of Havenshire. Havenshire was a small section of civilization, separated from the greater town of New Avalon by large walls of white stone. The lack of defensive positions for the town proved fatal when the Lich King had arrived from above in the Necropolis, Acherus, and the swarm of undead began to filter down into the lands, killing the citizens and marking the beginning of an arduous conflict with the Scarlet Crusade as the King sought to topple those white walls and bring ruin to the Crusaders.

Ezikeal surged forward, a metallic shriek ringing out as his runeblade tore clean through a desperate swing of an axe from one of the lumberjacks he had cornered, severing the axe head as the blade traveled through the man's chest, splattering gore into the dying lands beneath their feet. There was no room for remorse, no second thoughts, his actions were assured by the will of the Lich King and reinforced by the might of the Scourge.

"Kill them all," a voice rumbled in his head, superimposing all other forms of thought he could have had as his master, watching from above, directed Ezikeal's will. Ezikeal heeded his master's orders and pressed on, reaching out towards another citizen as they ran from him in fear, the black tendril of necrotic power coercing a panicked scream from them as he brought his blade down, meeting their flesh the moment their feet touched the ground in front of him. His movements were deliberate, focused, and the force exuding from an unrestrained Death Knight on the citizens Havenshire was awe inspiring in the worst, most sickening of senses. Other Death Knights were with him as well, not directly with him, no, but spread across the land enacting the collective will of the Lich King, slaughtering any and all who got in their way.

A searing agony flared up in his side as a smite of holy light struck him. He turned to face the fury of the Scarlet Crusade Paladin that was now charging him, giving the other citizens time to flee. Nothing but a numb, ever-present anger at the living paladin before him flashed to the front of Ezikeal's mind as he let out a roar, the sound echoing within his helm to give a metallic ring to his voice. He raised his blade and pointed it towards the Paladin and the runes on his blade flared up a vibrant blue before a pulse of white-blue light slammed into the Paladin. The Paladin's eyes widened at the sudden, searing chill of frost that forced a gasp from their lips. Blades clashed a moment later, locking for the briefest of moments before the unnatural strength in Ezikeal won out over the Paladin and knocked him to the ground where he was silenced by a swift motion of Ezikeal's arm.

The pursuit of carnage continued, razing Havenshire as the scourge grew more in number with every fallen soldier, necromancers walking the carnage and raising the dead into simple thralls hungry to abide by the Lich King's desires for violence. Ezikeal marched with the dead on the path leading into New Avalon, the Crusade had established strong defenses, Paladins and Priests stood in stalwart defiance of the dead's march in a line of red and white armor and robes. This was their purpose, to fight the damned, and they were going to stand until each one of them breathed their last. Ezikeal charged forth, an aura of light purple necrotic energy surrounded his boots as the magic bolstered his charge.

A motion caught his attention to the left as something approached at high speeds. He barely had the chance to register the glint of unnatural silver before an impact caused him to a not only a stop, but find himself thrown backwards. Surprise at the sheer force of the impact pierced through the fog of hungry fury that had consumed him through the violent advance of the undead. He stood firm now, looking upon who had dared to attack a champion of death itself.

A woman stood a short distance from him on the path, the waves of undead giving the two of them a wide perimeter as they passed by. She was dressed in intricate silver armor that covered her body, the heavy plate it must be made of conflicted with the agile appearance it seemed give its owner regardless. The symbol of a black crescent moon rested prominently in the center of the breastplate, and another crescent facing downward marked the sliver of an opening where two furious green-blue eyes glared at Ezikeal. Curiously, something that looked almost like a horn protruded from an opening near the forehead of the helmet. Attached the the shoulder plates a black cloak with dark blue lining hung, ending just above her ankles to never touch the ground. In her hand was a long halberd that shimmered with an unnatural light, the bladed end matching the insignia on her chest, a large crescent that looked almost like it didn't fit quite correctly in reality. A pure black made up the blade, and it was almost as if looking through a window into a starlit sky, shimmering with power. Ezikeal stared at her, the peculiar behavior of the world around them ignored as he prepared to face the strange assailant. She was not a Scarlet Crusader, that much was certain.

"What is this? What is thy goal here?" she gestured around them, her voice carried over the raging scourge surrounding them, muting all sound except her words as they rung out. They sounded strained between fury and confused disgust at the same time.

"You stand in the way of our Master's will, and for that you shall suffer!" Ezikeal snarled, the unholy, tainted rage he channeled through his dominated mind manifested in his words. She stared, unflinching as he approached and swung at her. His blade impacted against the shaft of her halberd, sparks like starlight exploding from the grinding of metal against her silver weapon. Another swing, another clash, but she remained steadfast, refusing to be pushed back by the force of his advance and soon simple blocks turned into a counter in response to a sickening roar from Ezikeal that radiated necrotic energy all around him. She was seemingly unaffected by the force of his magic and slashed, striking him across the chest, tearing into his chestplate and throwing him back again. That was twice now he had been uprooted from his position and he did not want there to be a third, such an event would show only weakness to the Lich King, an unworthiness of his status as a Death Knight. The runes of his blade shifted to a green hue as he sent an orb of dark energy at his opponent, who batted it with a twirl of her halberd, shifting sickly green to bright white and sending it back.

Ezikeal raised an anti-magic shell around his body, the swirling runes absorbing the impact of the magic, but the burning heat radiated over him like a burst of fire. Through the momentary blindness the starlight crescent tore open his helmet. Who was this woman to so easily pass through a Death Knight's enhanced perceptions so quickly, to so easily counter their magics that even the strongest paladins of the Scarlet Crusade would surely find troublesome!? The ground beneath the two of them turned blood red, and in the same moment dark ice encased Ezikeal's armor. The curious tilt of the woman's head was hesitation enough to grab her with a tendril of black magic, pull her forwards and slam the force of his body into her. She let out a muffled "oomph" sound before Ezikeal followed up with a merciless upward swing of his blade, charged with the necrotic energies of a horrid plague coating his edge. He felt the blade strike true, slicing up across her armor and pushing her back.

"Thou are outmatched, Ezikeal," the voice pierced through all sound once more as the sky above darkened. Her voice radiated a confidence that sent pangs of rage through Ezikeal's mind. Nobody could claim that they were outmatching a Death Knight so simply, he was the incarnate of death's will! And how did she know his name? The woman's...horn, was glowing bright as she ascended into the air, cloak billowing out behind her. Something was not adding up to Ezikeal's mind as he watched her, the corruption of the Lich King's influence aside. Reality seemed to ripple around them now. Were none of his allies seeing the enemy? They were ignoring her...and him? He lashed out to the side, watching his blade pass through a ghoul like it was an illusion. The sight gave him pause, one he regretted when the back of her halberd suddenly found his stomach, clanging against his armor with a thunderous noise. His surroundings grew dim, the world around him faded to black and his body shook with strange sensations and-

He was suddenly conscious of himself again.

"What!?" he gasped out, looking around him. He felt weightless, no longer dressed as a death knight and no longer reliving a horrible part of his past. Why was he reliving that moment!? Where was he and who was that person!?

"What we have witnessed of thy past. Troubling," a voice spoke and Ezikeal quickly looked to the side, seeing the woman he had just been fighting. Her helmet was off now and revealed a head of long hair, seeming to shimmer with starlight and radiate beauty. He found her face vaguely familiar, but couldn't place it. Ezikeal stared in wonder, but as the moment passed his concerns grew once again.

"Who are you?" he asked. He was floating, not on solid ground, but she seemingly could walk as if the ground was always right under her feet, even as she changed elevation and approached him.

"We are Princess Luna, Goddess of the Moon," even now, speaking softer, her voice radiated power and he could practically feel her exert her presence on the black void around them.

Princess? Goddess? Oh no.

"Thou dreamt of thy past, and we apologize for urging thy mind towards such unpleasantness, Ezikeal, but our Sister's student spoke of concerning things, and she implored of me to investigate the matter quite directly, hence our conflict," she spoke clearly, observing him as he was, floating and nervous of her presence.

"Why did you fight me? In that...dream?" he felt he already knew the answer, but wanted to be sure. It was a dream, yes, but it felt so...real, and that didn't sit well in his mind. Feeling so deeply corrupted once again, just for someone to poke around and witness him...that wasn't a comforting thought in the slightest.

"Dreams rooted in memory are made of thy knowledge, and such the knowledge of thy power, unhindered by conscious thought, gave us a picture of thy capabilities," she looked down, away from Ezikeal, "thou meddles with powerful magics, Ezikeal, dangerous magics," she met his eyes once more, gaze hardening, "thou holds this power presently, within our lands?" The accusation in her voice, the implication of restrained rage, was clear to Ezikeal and he took a breath to steel his nerves.

"Your Majesty, what you witnessed-- I was not of clear mind, surely Twilight would have mentioned such?" she nodded in appreciation of him adopting her formalities so quickly, and nodded thoughtfully.

"Our Sister's student mentioned thy past corruption. We wished to see it for ourselves. We are horrified by what we have witnessed," she narrowed her eyes, "and thy hold of that power remains tight."

"It does, your Majesty." he agreed.

"Twilight has supplied us with thy reasons, stay thy words," she raised a hand, stopping him from continuing to speak of his reasons yet again, "we have little interest in humoring thy moral quandaries. We instead hold interest in seeing our ponies safe," her blade found itself positioned near his face.

"Thou may hold possession of thy cursed power, for as long as it may be while we confer with our Sister upon what we have witnessed this night, Twilight's commendation of thy intent and character has granted thou this boon," she said, not giving any room for argument as she turned away from him.

"I understand," he said, thinking of anything he might be able to say that wouldn't get him into seriously deep trouble. She had seen! She had seen him at his worst, an almost mindless servant to the Lich King, slaying innocents and marching upon all who stood against them. Not only that she just saw, she tested his power as well, she now knows of its capabilities and admitted to being horrified. This was not bound to end well at all...

"We are sorry for thy suffering, Ezikeal," she said, voice quiet now, "if that was a sliver of what thou has told Twilight..." she trailed off before refocusing and changing her tone once more, "thy sleep will be dreamless, and thou shall awake rested. Thy memory of this night shall be foggy, but we may meet again in the waking world yet." Her horn began to glow.

"Wait," he called out, and she looked over her shoulder at him, "please don't tell Twilight and the others, I don't want to lose their friendship after just receiving it." Luna's gaze remained steady on him, showing no thought of what she thought of that statement.

"We shall see, Ezikeal," she said cryptically before a brilliant white light flooded through his infinity and his consciousness faded into a dreamless, restful slumber.

7 Danger Lurks

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It was nice to feel rested, Ezikeal thought as he woke up, but frowned as he tried to focus on what just happened. One of the Princesses (Goddesses?) poked around his mind which he had been trying to shield from the world. He couldn't remember many specifics, but he knew it was her, he remembered her name. Luna. He also knew she now knew more about his powers than any other at this moment, and that knowledge forced an icy chill to settle in the pit of his stomach. He was doubtlessly in danger because of that, they would surely decide he was a threat and he would not blame them for that conclusion, but there had to be some way to convince them otherwise...

Whatever train of thought he might have been drifting down in that moment was interrupted when Applejack opened the barn doors and called up to him, "Ezikeal, we could use yer help," she said, sounding a bit annoyed, not at him, but in general.

"Did something happen?" he asked, quickly descending the ladder and joining her.

"It's some mighty frustratin' work ta fix up a dead tree, 'specially a weird one," she said, grabbing some tools from the barn. An axe and two big shovels, "Gotta dig up the whole thing ta make room fer a new one."

"Weird one?" Ezikeal asked as they began walking out to the trees.

"Yessir. It looks...off, that's all I can rightly say about it, noticed it startin' ta look bad a few days ago but we had other things ta do before worryin' about it," confusion bled into her voice as they approached. The sound of an axe hitting wood echoed steadily and they found Big Mac working on cutting the tree down. Ezikeal regarded it with a sense of dark wonder- the tree was most certainly dead, the leaves had all fallen or withered, and the bark looked pale and brittle, almost twisted around itself and tilted at an off angle. With each hit of the axe, loose splinters of wood flew off the trunk.

"What caused that..?" Ezikeal asked, looking around the area a bit more and unable to shake the feeling that this spot was...familiar to him somehow. Big Mac just grunted extra hard during a swing as his response to the question and Applejack shrugged.

"Not rightly sure myself, would grind me ta figure out somethin' fishy's been happenin' under our noses," she said flatly, not sounding pleased by that prospect. Ezikeal could sympathize with her discontent, to think that some kind of tampering or incident happened to their own property would no doubt eat at someone. Ezikeal walked closer to the tree, steering clear of the swinging axe and rested his hand on the bark.

This place feels...oddly familiar...not just the tree, but the area around it... He let his thoughts wander on that as he looked closely at the bark. It was a pale white, like the life was drained from it. Withered. He ran a finger along the rough material and knocked a chunk of the bark loose, taking a hold of it and frowning as he felt it turn almost ashy in his grip as he rolled it back and forth in his palm. His eyes followed the flakes of dead bark as they fluttered through the air as they fell to the grass, which caught Ezikeal's eye. A foot or so away from the very base of the tree a ring of pale white grass surrounded a small indent in the earth. Ezikeal turned to point out the strange sight to Applejack when the view from this angle froze him to his spot.

He could see the farm through the treeline from this angle, and a clear memory of his first arrival in this place cemented itself to his mind. Things slowly clicked together- the familiarity of this spot was because it was where he first arrived here. He remembered the cold of the night as he walked to her doorstep. This was where he arrived, which meant...what, exactly? He looked back at the tree now, appraising it in a new light. Had something come with him through whatever magic whisked him away? If that was the case, then this was bad bad. He stepped back, avoiding the tree as it fell down with a final hit of Big Mac's axe.

"Woah," Applejack said and Big Mac made a curious, suspicious grunt. Ezikeal nodded in silent agreement with their sentiments as his thoughts raced with what he saw inside the tree. Instead of the typical concentric rings that they had expected, the ones inside the tree now instead appeared to be warped, as if they all had been collectively pulled towards one side of the trunk in an unnerving display. Ezikeal looked at the lines, following the direction they were seemingly being pulled to lining up with the location of the small hole in the grass. Suspicion gnawed at Ezikeal, something must have been there that caused the tree to die.

"Applejack, can I see one of those shovels?" he asked, and once she handed him one he sunk it into the dirt, feeling a thunk of the tool hitting something hidden from sight. A root. He scraped away the dirt on top of it, including the hole, and revealed what lay beneath. He stared hard at what he saw in the now uncovered earth. The root looked horribly withered, almost a black color as opposed to the ashy, drained white of the rest of the tree. The root almost coiled itself around where the small hole in the dirt would have been above it, as if drawn up towards it.

Something was there. There's no doubt about it now. Something drained a tree of life and disappeared... Ezikeal thought. Applejack frowned at the deformed tree root.

"Somethin' definitely ain't right with that," she grumbled, "looks almost poisoned..."

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed.

If something followed me from Azeroth I need to think, what could do this? Just drain the life from things around it by simply existing--oh no, no no no not that of all things! He looked over the tree again, panic swelling as he remembered his last moments on Azeroth. The fight against Gul'dan and the demons of the Burning Legion. Those demons were empowered by Fel, the corrupting substance that destroyed life, or enslaved others to the Legion's goals in exchange for power in a poisoned bargain. He remembered the scenery of the Broken Shore, the place was devoid of life, but remnants of nature did remain. Those trees were much closer to the black lifeless char that the root had compared to the ghostly white of the tree trunk. It wasn't too far of a stretch in assuming that the Fel caused this tree's death but was not potent enough to fully consume it like on Azeroth...But where was it now? Fel doesn't just go away without a trace like that.

Then it cannot possibly the Fel, can it? his thoughts whispered as he tried to puzzle the situation together.

The effect on this tree is undeniable... he shot back at his mind.

Yet Fel lingers. It stains. It doesn't get 'used up' as you think is the case here. You know this as well as anybody. Let it go, for now. Focus on helping your allies, friends. Ezikeal furrowed his brow at the way he phrased that to himself in his mind, but didn't give it too much thought as he started helping Applejack and Big Mac dig up the stump and clearing out the roots. The process was as Applejack described, frustrating, and since they didn't know for certain what had caused the tree to die and it was clearly not exactly natural, Applejack set out to dig up all of the roots to remove the chance of whatever happened to it from spreading to another tree or many. The end result was a large, almost crater like section of dirt having been dug up and put into a large pile nearby and a pile of brittle, almost disintegrating wood in a separate pile that Ezikeal was now helping them load all into a wagon to dispose of.

If it wasn't the Fel, which would be a worst case scenario, it was definitely something of a more unnatural variety, and if that was the case, Twilight might be able to use her own magic to detect what kind of magic did this to the tree. At least, that's what Ezikeal hoped would be the case.

"Hey Applejack, can I take this over to Twilight and have her investigate it?" Ezikeal asked, taking up the dead, black root from earlier.

"Yeaup...might be right ta get Twilight ta take a look at it, we'll finish up here just fine, only gotta put the dirt back and plant a new tree. Thanks fer helpin' out with this, Ezikeal," she said, much less agitated now that most of the work was done. He nodded, took the root carefully and set off.

Finding the library on his own wasn't very difficult, and he did notice a few people who were walking about giving him curious looks. A lot of faces he recognized, at least in passing, as someone who attended the party Pinkie threw for him-- which he still felt incredibly grateful that she would have gone through that effort for him. Others, who he hadn't seen at the party, looked at him with a more reserved caution, a look Ezikeal wasn't particularly unused to. He soon arrived at the library and after a brief conversation with Spike, was let inside to find Twilight surrounded by large piles of books and floating dusters as she organized and cleaned the shelves, the thoroughness of it was something Spike had assured him was entirely necessary.

"Hello, Twilight," he greeted, watching the books float out of shelves and back in after a thorough cleaning via feather duster.

"Ezikeal, hello!" she greeted back, not looking at him as she focused on checking over a book, the subject or content of which Ezikeal had no idea, nor the desire to pursue at the moment. He found her dedication to the action somewhat inspiring, seeing her eyes rapt with attention as they roved every detail of the cover and pages, scanning for any sign of damage.

"You'll have to forgive my intrusion, but I feel we may be in need of your magical abilities. Something peculiar has been found in Applejack's farm," he said. The book Twilight was investigating snapped shut and she looked at him quickly.

"Did something happen?" concern laced her voice and her eyes darted to the strange root in his hand, "what's that?"

"I was hoping you could inspect this with your magic. One of the trees at the farm was dead, Applejack said she had noticed it starting to wither a few days prior, but hadn't gotten around to fully investigating until it was too late. We agree that it doesn't appear to be from any natural causes," he explained, tensing marginally as a purple glow enveloped his hand, then just the branch and pulled it into the air. Spike had set off to continue the work of cleaning the shelves manually himself while Twilight occupied herself with investigating the root. Her eyes narrowed on it as she slowly made motions with her horn, twisting it in small runic spell patterns.

"This is concerning," she concluded after a minute of analyzing it with her magic, "very concerning, actually," her eyes were alight with worry, but a great curiosity lingered under the supposed dire circumstance she saw in whatever her spell revealed to her.

"What happened to it?" Ezikeal pressed, seeing her starting to lose herself in her own thoughts as she turned the root back and forth in her magic.

"Something with dark magic impacted this...it's been magically drained of its natural energies," she said, setting it on the table, "do you have any clues as to what happened?"

"Nothing of significance. There was a small patch of grass by the tree that looked similarly dead surrounding a small hole in the dirt that that root was beneath, but other than that, I don't think I have any solid insight on what it is," he said. It was technically true, there was no way for him to tell for sure it was Fel, even if the signs strongly pointed that way. Twilight hummed aloud, adjusting her posture in her seat.

"I would need to investigate the location itself to determine what kind of entity this magic sourced from," she concluded, "Spike, you'll be able to handle the library for a little while?" she called over to her assistant.

"Of course, Twi! You can count on me!" he called back, saluting dutifully.

Twilight was, for lack of a better term, very worried. The lingering magic in that tree root, while faint, reeked with magic of a dark nature, to the point where it was almost dizzying at first before she adjusted, not expecting such a potent negative force to enter her senses. She looked at Ezikeal, pondering the slight tenseness in his form and the guarded look in his dark green eyes as he walked with her towards Applejack's farm. The way he looked at her when he was asking questions, it was almost...expectant, in a way, and she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she wasn't being told about this. It was another frustrating thing to add to her mental list of 'Things Ezikeal is Potentially Hiding from Us' but she trusted that if he knew anything that was going to cause immediate harm, he would speak up. He had good intent, she knew that much was clear in his voice when they spoke the other day. When they had reached Applejack's farm, she and Big Mac had almost finished covering the area in fresh dirt. Applejack smiled at seeing her and Big Mac gave a nod of greeting as he went to move the wagon full of dead tree away.

"Ah, heya Twi, I see Ezikeal got yer interest in whatever happened out here, huh," she said, glancing at their new friend before giving her a hug. She hugged back, smiling in the embrace before letting her expression fall as she looked around the area. She had work to do.

"Yes, I concluded that something magical happened here, but I wanted to investigate the location to see if I could get any more clues out of it," she explained, channeling magic through her horn as she mentally ran through the matrix of patterns to analyze the magic at play here, fine-tuning the spell to more specifically look out for dark forces since that was what was at play here. The result was a small orb of her magic forming in the air a few feet in front of her. It glowed brightly with magic and started to float around where she directed it. She saw Ezikeal eye the orb curiously, but his eyes flicked away to a different spot of the now clear patch of earth. She sent the orb to where he was looking, feeling for lingering magic through it.

A little bit of something here...

Growing more intense this way...

There!

She hovered the orb above a single location as she felt the intense presence of dark forces lingering in the inert magical energies in the air. It was...twisted almost, like some form of corruptive energy. She frowned as she felt the energies out in her mind through the orb, filtering the magic through to observe in her mind's eye.

But can I identify a source...did something cast a spell of this nature here... her horn glowed brighter as she altered her spell a bit. It was one thing to detect magic, a skill that she had a decent bit of practice in now since the Changelings were a constant nuisance, but it was a different level of challenge entirely to determine the source of a magical disturbance, something she only had to do a few times in uncontrolled environments with mild to relative success. She closed her eyes, focusing on what the orb of her magic was able to discern from the environment around them before a pang of sensation hit her through the orb's "eye" and she narrowed in on a different location entirely. Her eyes snapped open and she looked to where she felt the disturbance from to find...nothing there? She raised an eyebrow, not taking any time to answer the unasked questions she saw in Applejack and Ezikeal's faces when she glanced at them, and the orb floated over to that location. It was in the air, about three feet above the ground.

"Hm..." she chewed the inside of her cheek, lost in curious thought now as she felt a different type of magic from this location entirely. This was weird, two magical anomalies in the same location, both of a different type of magic. One was of dark, chaotic forces and the other she had yet to discern. She had a read on the anomalies and their locations now and dismissed the orb scanning the area around them, watching it turn into small sparkly particles before fading from existence. This called for a more direct investigation now.

"Anythin'?" Applejack asked, surely seeing in Twilight's face that there was something but wanted to get an idea herself about it.

"There's a second anomaly here, very different from the other. I can't get a good understanding of what this other magic is yet, though," she said, approaching the spot of the midair anomaly and letting her horn light up with magic once more. She needed to take a more direct analysis of this now, so instead of summoning a secondary spell to scan through the magic and filter what she saw through that orb, she decided it was time for an unfiltered adventure into unknown forces. Her horn, glowing with magic, pressed into the location of the anomaly and she cast a more powerful observance spell. Surprisingly, she felt whatever it was deflect her attempts to observe it, as it she were pushing a mismatched key into a lock. She furrowed her brow, that meant something was still here! That changes her approach entirely, and gave reason to investigate this even more thoroughly. She mentally shifted the magical matrix of her spell to go from simply observing, to slightly prying at the unknown force in front of her. Slowly, carefully as to not cause some catastrophic magical feedback, she eased a sharp prod of magic into whatever force still lingered in the air. What kind of magic lingered and acted as if it was locked...she racked her brain for a moment as she went through the mental motions of countering the magical flow redirection that she was encountering with the anomaly, instead forcing her magic to channel back into the anomaly again with even more force. Her goal was to eventually overwhelm it with more magical force than it was able to reasonably push back against (without causing an explosion), and her horn glowed brighter and brighter until...

Her eyes widened and she wrenched her head to the side violently, cancelling her magical prodding as soon as she realized what was happening-- as soon as she felt a deep, disturbing chill rip through her form as something was forced to open, just a crack before violently snapping shut again once even a little bit of her magic exertion was lost from it. She fell backwards, landing on her back and gasped at the sensation.

"Twilight!?" Applejack let out at her startle, and Ezikeal made a sound of similar surprise.

"Portal!" she rasped, shaking her head as she sat up, "there's a portal!" her head throbbed a bit from the sudden, violent dispersion of magic as she cancelled the channel. While her curiosity and desire for information and knowledge were limitless, her rationality was not going to allow her to simply open up a random portal leading to potentially anywhere or anything.

"There's a what now on my farm!?" Applejack exclaimed and looked at where Twilight had been focusing her magic. Nothing could be physically seen, but Twilight was sure of what she had encountered with her magical senses teetering on the very edge of a vast expanse on the other side of that anomaly, the extent of which she couldn't be sure of unless they fully opened it but something was keeping it forced shut. The amount of magic needed to open it just that sliver was a notable exercise in magical exertion, but Twilight knew it would only get harder to open it further than that. A hand took hers and helped her to her feet-- Ezikeal, she noticed, and she thanked him with a nod before getting her bearings back.

"Yes, a portal exists right about here," she waved her hand through the air at the spot, "and my theory now is that something came through that portal, resulting in whatever landed in the dirt and destroyed your tree. Whatever came through was of a chaotic dark magic but I can't pinpoint the origin...this could be really problematic, Applejack, I think you'll need to hold off on planting another tree here for the time being while I figure out how to handle this thing, I'm sorry," she said apologetically, knowing how important it was to Applejack to have everything running smoothly on the farm. Applejack looked a bit frustrated about it, but seemed to understand the significance of a random portal in her farm and seemed to weigh that risk over having one less apple tree.

"Don't worry 'bout me, Twi, s'long as we can figure out what the hay this is doing here and how ta get rid of it. I don't wanna see some wild creatures comin' out ta 'cause if that happens it'll be more than just a me problem, won't it," she said. Twilight was grateful Applejack was always so understanding and nodded in response.

"Can you tell where this portal leads to?" Ezikeal asked. Twilight shook her head.

"No, and since I cannot tell and it's possible there's more of whatever did this to the tree is on the other side, we need to be very cautious about this," she explained, noting the strange expression Ezikeal was failing to conceal but brushing it off as pressing him about it was likely to lead to nowhere. The truth of her own statement wasn't lost on her, if they didn't know where it was, it was not impossible for it to lead to some long lost part of the planet, or possibly even another one. Whatever made the portal itself, and was able to sustain its position here as if it was some sort of rift, would have to have tons of magical power. That fact alone was concerning her, but the fact that whatever remained on the other side of this portal likely brought some kind of dark chaotic magic through was on another level of concern. She had to send a letter to Celestia and Luna about this, they'd be able to help close it, surely.

Ezikeal was trying to process what this all meant. He knew what the portal was-- he strongly believed so, at least. A portal from Azeroth to this world, made of the same force that dropped him into this world having reformed his shell of a body into something livable as it went. A second implication also gripped him with this knowledge, because assuming this was the same pathway that dropped him into this world, that meant that on the other side of this invisible portal was the Tomb of Sargeras, and opening it would surely spill demons through to try and conquer the place. Twilight, thankfully, seemed to have a reign on her exploratory senses and understood the risk of opening the portal, even without him having to divulge more dangerous information, meaning that they were all safe, for now at least.

The second thing Ezikeal was very sure of now, was that some trace of the Fel followed him through the portal now. It all mostly made sense when laid out plainly. He died in the throes of demonic conflict, a portal opened in the last specs of his fading undeath, pulled his soul through, and somehow some kind of demonic essence followed him. Did Gul'dan see the portal and send Fel after him through the portal? That didn't seem too far fetched...he wouldn't be able to understand all the intricacies of what had happened without delving into mysteries he felt were best kept hidden.

This left the question, however, of where the hell did the Fel go? Fel was essentially demon blood, and it lingered for a long time whenever it was spilled upon the ground, usually requiring some kind of purging to be done of it. Assuming the amount was only enough to fill that small hole by the tree roots, there should still have been some kind of trace of it. He frowned to himself some. He was no mage, but maybe there was a chance that traveling through the portal destabilized the Fel enough for it to dissipate over time...he couldn't think of another way that it could disappear.

As long as the portal stays closed, then, we should hopefully have no issues... he hoped to himself.

"So what's our next steps?" he asked. Yes, that was a good question, he needed to know what the others were thinking about this as well.

"Our next steps, right," Twilight started, "The next thing we have to do is determine if we can remove this portal from here, I have a bad feeling about this, random portals are usually not a good sign of anything, and given the circumstances we found this in, I hope you can agree?" she asked, earning a nod of agreement from Ezikeal and Applejack both.

"Good, then I'll need to take a little bit to get prepared with some equipment and possibly some magical help from others knowledgeable about these sorts of things-- I can send a letter to Canterlot to see if Celestia or Luna has any insight on the matter, they have deeper magical knowledge than anyone I know and then I want to study it to find what caused this and understand how to more easily open and close these types of portals if possible," she spoke quickly as she thought it out, a quill writing down what she was saying on a peace of paper that had appeared from her bag as she made a list of tasks. At a glance, Ezikeal saw she had made two columns labelled "necessary" and "want" to organize her thoughts and priorities. He was a bit apprehensive about getting the Princesses involved, as he didn't know what they were thinking of him, what Luna was telling Celestia, or how they were planning to deal with him.

"I haven't seen ya get this worked up over somethin' in a minute, Twi," Applejack said, smiling fondly as Twilight had transitioned from explaining things to them to muttering to herself as her quill blurred over the page. She paused, looking at Applejack and smiled.

"There hasn't been anything magically interesting that's happened in what feels like forever, Applejack, and while this is an incredible opportunity for discovery and exploration, I am making sure to temper my expectations on what we will be able to do because this is a legitimate security threat to Ponyville, too, you don't need to worry about me getting carried away," she said, rolling up the paper and sliding it back into her bag.

"It sounds like it's goin' ta be busy 'round here fer the next few days, huh?" Applejack said, seemingly put in a much better mood at seeing her friend's uncontrolled excitement.

"Yes, I promise we won't disturb things around here too much, Applejack," she nodded, giving Applejack a hug and Ezikeal a nod before going on her way to get started on her work.

"Well, I'm gonna finish up over here, Ezikeal. I got nothin' more fer ya to do at the moment, take a load off, will ya?" she said. Ezikeal heard the tone she spoke with, noting she sounded a bit exhausted, no doubt from all the work, but still left him no room to argue so he simply nodded and retreated to the barn, looking at the evening sun as it had started to lower.

It was morning when Silver Spark found herself walking with careful attention through the central market of Ponyville. She, like a few others, had been stationed in the town by Princess Celestia to help keep a reign on the Changeling threat and to watch for anything suspicious. With that as the goal, she welcomed the surprise of Celestia's esteemed student, Twilight Sparkle, being so eager to help the guard strengthen security on the town. One measure she had taken with the unicorn guards, like herself, was to establish experimental pylons around the town that would signal those attuned to them of any Changeling magic being present in an area. When they went off, it was like a soft buzzing in the back of her head, pulling her towards the triggered pylon.

That alarm was currently buzzing in her mind in the market, meaning a Changeling was present or someone had inadvertently triggered the alarm somehow-- they were experimental after all. Regardless, being the disciplined guardspony that she was, this was to be treated as 100% true and thus she was now on the lookout for suspicious looking Ponies. She had signaled the other few guards in the area that she was investigating so that they could continue on their own patrol routes around town. The morning market was alive with the townsfolk, stands of fresh product were all around them. Everypony was looking at, bargaining for, or selling something, and she smiled knowing that she was, even if it was just a tiny bit, responsible that this was able to continue in undisturbed peace.

It was with that knowledge of her role in society that she continued so resolutely to do the best she possibly could, which helped in her having spotted one pony in particular that looked out of place. She was tall with deep blonde hair, wearing a vibrant green shirt and blue skirt. She shuffled among the others in the market, but didn't seem to be interested in any of the products on display. Rather, she was looking at the other ponies, resting an almost appraising gaze on them as she passed by them.

Silver Spark narrowed her eyes a bit and followed at a distance, noting how this behavior continued for several minutes. She didn't even have bags or anywhere to store her bits in, which was unusual for someone browsing the market, perhaps not so much out of ordinary for a spy browsing ponies. Suspicion fueled Silver Spark's actions as she slowly circled around the crowd to intercept the suspicious individual, and the two nearly bumped into each other when they crossed paths.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Silver Spark said, noting mentally how the other pony practically recoiled in surprise at the sudden appearance of a guard addressing them, "do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The other mare shifted nervously, "Um, actually, yes, I am in a hurry, actually, is this something truly important?" she said, making her tone sound rushed. Silver Spark raised an eyebrow. She knew for a fact that this pony wasn't in a hurry as she had been watching her for the past ten or so minutes. She considered her suspicions well-founded now.

"Of course, I wouldn't bother you with something I didn't think was important, miss...?"

"Violet Song," she answered, "please, really I must be-"

"Right, Violet Song," she said, cutting off any further excuse from the other mare, "I'm sure you're aware now that there's been an increase of Changeling activity in these parts, aren't you?" Silver Spark asked, noting how the tension in the other pony was only growing as she narrowed in on the root of her suspicions.

"I'm not sure of anypony who hasn't, ma'am," Violet said, shifting in place and looking warily at the ponies around them now, a few had stopped to watch what was happening with intrigue.

"I just noticed that you didn't seem to be in the market looking to buy anything, and now that would make sense since you've said that you were in a hurry to get somewhere, mind if I ask where you are off to?" Silver pressed.

"I'm going to see my friend, Ivy, at Sugarcube Corner," the lie rolled off her tongue, clearly practiced, Silver noted at how confident it was compared to the rest of her demeanor. She had caught this one off balance, likely they hadn't expected such thorough guard activity, or to be found out so soon after setting foot in town. She'd have to report to Twilight Sparkle on how well the pylon worked to detect the Changeling. In any case, she was confident enough to press on, certain she had caught one outright.

"That's strange, Violet, because Sugarcube Corner is that way, and you're heading almost opposite that direction," she said, her horn began to glow with the spell she had been taught to undo a Changeling disguise. A small rush of entertainment sparked through her at the other pony's widening eyes, but faded rapidly when she noticed that they quickly changed to barely restrained anger as she went to fully cast the spell on them. A flash of bright light blinded onlookers for a moment as the spell cast.

Something wasn't right, Silver Spark thought, looking at the Changeling-- it was definitely a Changeling, a dull green natural armor adorning its form as opposed to a usual black was odd, but that wasn't something that concerned Silver Spark. Something was horribly wrong, alarm bells were ringing in her head and she heard several panicked gasps and a faint scream...her hearing was muffled a bit with the sound of her own heartbeat...why? She narrowed her eyes at the Changeling, whose eyes glowed with green energy as it coldly glared daggers into her own, and she followed the line of its form with her eyes, trailing down its arm as it was outstretched out towards her...

Oh.

Her struggled breath caught in her throat as she looked down, seeing the Changeling was holding what looked like a knife. A knife that had been worked through one of the partings in her plate armor and was currently sunk deep into the side of her torso. With a insectoid hiss, the Changeling ripped its arm away, the knife with it and then the pain started.

Silver Spark let out a loud cry as she fell to her knees, one arm reaching across herself to press against the wound, but unable to reach her skin through the armor. She was trained about what to do in case of a puncture wound-- she needed to stop the bleeding with pressure and fast. She didn't care that the Changeling's wings began buzzing as it started to fly away, she needed to get her armor off to stop the bleeding! She needed to...her vision started to blur as she clawed at the straps of her armor as she fell to the side. The weight of another pony suddenly supported her as she was about to hit the ground, holding her up and she saw in the corner of her eye a head of rainbow hair.

"Rarity!" a voice practically screamed, but she couldn't make it out clearly enough. She felt hands quickly, shakily working at the straps of her armor.

"Hey, hey hey hey, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, alright," a muffled, distant seeming voice that sounded like it was trying to be soothing spoke, but sounded on the verge of breaking down as she felt her breastplate get worked off and a hand press against the wound. It was around her ribs-- that was bad, she knew that much. It was hard to breathe, she noticed, a raspy sound accompanying her exhales with a coppery taste on her tongue.

A second force worked on her body, she felt magic lift her, and a new hand pressed against the wound. She heard this new pony exchange words with the other and then she was left with one tending to her. She felt herself being carried quickly by magic somewhere, she assumed the hospital, that is where she needed to go right? She couldn't think straight anymore.

"C-cold..." she choked out, shuddering, ashamed of feeling so weak and useless. A second later the magic enveloping her seemed to heat up, responding to her pathetic, soft utterance for aid. How did she let this happen to her? She should have been ready for anything...but she wasn't expecting a Changeling to get...murderous, that just wasn't how they were...they wanted ponies alive, didn't they? Nothing was making sense and as she saw a blurry white sign indicating they were, in fact, approaching the hospital, the little sliver of consciousness she was holding on herself faded to nothing but darkness.

8 Rising Conflict

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Rainbow Dash had only strayed from Rarity for a moment, she had promised to help her with some shopping in town and while she was bored over the calm bustle of the market, she wasn't one to go back on her word like that, especially for one of her best friends. However, it seemed that the market wasn't going to just be all dull shuffling along the crowds as she saw one of the new guards that had been stationed at Ponyville looking rather suspiciously across the sea of bodies towards somepony. Intrigued by the soon-to-be spectacle, she followed to watch, and if by chance a Changeling was revealed, it was only natural for an Element to be present to ensure that it was safely captured, the entire thing was a win-win. So when she watched the exchange between the guard and her supposed target unfold and the spell to reveal a Changeling was cast, she took steps towards the two through the momentary flash of blindness.

She was forced to halt and her eyes went wide, however, when her vision had cleared and the sight in front of her left her in shock, just like the others who were watching the display. She practically felt all sense depart from her mind and the color drain from her face at what she was looking at. An enraged Changeling holding some kind of sharp object, likely a knife, sunk deep into the guardspony's side through a gap in the armor. That...that wasn't right, Changelings didn't...Rainbow Dash felt her brain almost short circuit in disbelief at what she just witnessed, her entire body felt frozen in place, unsure of what to even do with the information she just absorbed.

She just witnessed a Changeling try to kill a pony.

It took the guardspony a moment to even realize what had happened, her body already shaking and having stumbled a step to the side from the impact alone before the Changeling tore the blade from her and started to make a break for it. The poor guard let out a cry of pain, snapping Rainbow Dash out of her state of chilled observance. She recognized what the mare was trying to do immediately as she fruitlessly clawed at the armor she was now trapped in-- she needed to stop the bleeding. Rainbow Dash could practically see the moment when she was unable to stay upright on her own anymore and burst forward with a flap of her powerful wings, landing at her side quickly, shaking. She caught the mare and started trying to undo the straps of the armor, to untie the small knots keeping it secure to her body. Her fingers were shaking-- they needed to stop shaking!

"Rarity!" She yelled out, unsure of what else she could possibly say in that moment, knowing her friend was the most reliable with magic at the moment and they needed to act quickly. She grit her teeth as the straps finally gave and she pulled the breastplate off. A nasty wound was bleeding into the shirt the mare wore under her armor and Rainbow Dash pressed her hand firmly over the wound immediately, earning a strained hiss of pain from the other mare.

"Hey, hey hey hey, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, alright," she needed to say something reassuring, everything was going to be fine now that she was helping, of course it was. She had spoken quickly, voice almost broken as she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating in panic as she tried to soothe the mare in her hold. She wasn't ready to have somepony die, especially not in her arms. It seemed Rainbow Dash was not the only one of the two who had been attracted to the commotion, as Rarity was at her side almost immediately after she called out, floating the rest of the armor away with her magic quickly. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what was happening, a Changeling had turned actually violent, physically deadly...a Changeling that was currently escaping the scene. A seed of anger settled in Rainbow Dash's chest, quickly blooming into a deeper rage that worked to redirect her panic into more action. She looked up at Rarity, who had a horrified expression on her face.

"Rarity," she tried to force confidence into her voice, "you...you need to get her to the hospital, press your hand here to stop the bleeding, I'm gonna go put a stop to that Changeling." Rarity didn't even stop to show disdain at having to get her hands dirty and immediately did as she was instructed, but hesitated when she met Rainbow Dash's eyes.

"Dash, that...that beast is...it did this...I don't want you to..." Rarity was struggling to put her emotions into words as she lifted the pony with her magic, holding her hand firmly over the wound like she was instructed.

"I'll be fine. I'm not letting it get away to hurt anyone else," she said, voice firm despite the gnawing tenseness. Dash transitioned her panic into a solid, burning motivation to respond to what the Changeling had decided to do and it helped her steel her nerves as she launched off the ground, confident at Rarity's ability to get the mare to the hospital safely. Wind rushed by her in a familiar way as she ascended, seeing the form of the Changeling nearing the edge of town. If she wasn't fast it was going to escape.

And if nothing else, Rainbow Dash was fast.

She practically blurred through the air as she approached the Changeling, who only had a moment to look back at who was approaching before Rainbow Dash's body slammed into it, earning an enraged hiss as they plummeted to the ground. She made sure the Changeling was below her as they hit the ground in the middle of a street near the edge of Ponyville.

"You're not getting away that easily-woah!" she started to snarl before finding herself thrown backwards as the Changeling threw her off itself with surprising force. It whirled on her, an odd bend in one of its wings now and Rainbow Dash smiled at the sight despite the danger, knowing it wasn't going to get away so simply anymore. She got to her feet quickly as it rushed at her. With a powerful beat of her wings she hopped over it, but the sound of something slicing through the air echoed in her brain, draining any excitement she could have had at the brawl she had gotten into when landed and turned to see that the Changeling still had a knife.

She narrowed her eyes. She had to be careful here, very careful. But that's okay, careful was something she was good at, some might even argue the best. She took a breath as she tried to remember what she learned those few times at the special Wonderbolt training sessions they did with the royal guards sometimes. She wasn't a full member, so she only got to go sometimes (and only mostly paid attention to the long talks), but she remembered one of the guardsponies talking about how if someone had a weapon, it was something along the lines of...keep it away and try to get control of it? She couldn't remember if there were any further specifics, but that concept seemed easy enough, right? The Changeling went to swing at her again, so she dove towards the side, kicking up at its arm as she went under the knife. If she disarmed it, then it was going to be easy to keep the weapon away and then it would be back to the kind of conflict she was more used to. She felt her boot solidly connect with its arm, but any satisfaction at her own maneuver was lost when she saw that her strike didn't have much effect on the Changeling and now it was bearing down on her.

Buck.

"Gah!" she let out, kicking up with both legs as the Changeling used both hands to stab down at her. Her boots landed on its chest and stopped its body from descending further as she caught both of its wrists with her hands. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up into the Changeling's eyes, a green glow flaring through them unnaturally. She wondered about that for only a moment as the Changeling tried to force itself down more against her grip with a growl, causing her to yelp and push back harder. She needed to think fast, this was going to go badly real soon if she didn't get it off of her. Her eyes widened with an idea and dropped one foot off the Changeling, slamming her heel against the ground before kicking off and flapping her wings, launching herself backwards, leaving the Changeling flailing somewhat as she disappeared from under it.

That was too close, she thought, staring down at it from above as she hovered.

"Give it up, you're not getting out of here now!" she called down at it. It stared at her before its horn lit up with magic and became engulfed in a sickly, vibrant green fire. That was different, too, she noticed. Different moreso, was the ball of green fire that was sent her way. She rolled gracefully through the air out of the way, frowning as the heat of its vile magic passed by her. That magic...it felt bad, and she realized that was likely due to the fact that it was actually meant to kill her, just like the knife. This Changeling was a threat to everypony. She dodged another ball of flames and dove down at it-- she just needed to land a solid blow to incapacitate it, and she couldn't help the smirk the cracked through her expression as she felt her fist land solidly against the Changeling's jaw, succeeding in knocking it over. Ignoring the pain in her knuckles at hitting the harsh body of the Changeling, she took the chance and got on top of it, the blow having managed to stun it momentarily enough for her to grab it by the wrist and wrench the knife away, throwing it to the side. Now they were in her element, she punched down at it, nailing it again across the jaw. It shouldn't take too many hits like this to get knocked out. Only two or three should suffice.

On the fifth she found herself gasping for air as a fist nailed her in the stomach. She practically crumpled from the force-- way more intense than the times she sparred with other Wonderbolts and was nailed in the gut in practice. Her world practically whirled as she was rolled onto her back and she raised her hands, anticipating the rain of blows to begin on her in return. They didn't come. Instead, a firm grip snaked around her throat and her eyes widened. The Changeling was trying to strangle her! She grabbed at its wrists and tried to wrench it off, panic filling every sense she had as alarms started rung out in her head. A few moments later and her lungs started to burn. She flailed her legs and wings, trying to kick away, to do anything. When that failed, she started trying to punch, but she had no energy to put any true force into her hits. The Changeling stared down at her like a predator amused by its prey as blurriness filled the edges of her vision. She let out strangled chokes and tried again to pry its hands away, fingertips turning white with her efforts but nonetheless useless.

"Rainbow Dash!" a heat from a magic spell passed over her, and with it came a sudden lack of weight pressing down on her followed by air coming to her lungs. She rolled onto her side and choked out gasps, almost retching as the soreness in her neck and lungs burned. She looked at where the Changeling was thrown, and at who had thrown it. She saw Twilight and Ezikeal, the former with a paled, panicked expression and Ezikeal held a firm gaze on the scene, glaring at the Changeling, who writhed in pain from whatever spell Twilight had shot at it. Twilight was at her side in an instant, panic filling her voice as she spoke.

"What happened!? Are you okay!? It was-- it was trying to-- what's going on!?" Twilight ran some kind of spell over her, probably checking for any serious injuries as Rainbow Dash caught her breath.

"It...had a knife, Twilight," she practically saw her friend's pupils turn to pinpricks at the news.

"I had gotten alerted that something bad was happening and there was a Changeling- some of the detection pylons were going off, but-" Twilight started, confusion melding with panic.

"It stabbed somepony, I chased it down and almost beat it too, pretty awesome right?" Rainbow Dash said, boasting weakly to try to bring some levity to the painfully tense situation, but coughed, rubbing her neck. That was going to bruise, wasn't it. She looked over to where the Changeling had been thrown and saw Ezikeal standing over it, looking down at it. The Changeling glared up at him, but didn't attack right away, as if trying to match the intensity of whatever glare Ezikeal was leveling at it. Whatever patience it had for that moment quickly passed before it lunged up wildly to attack.

The thing's attack was wildly unfocused and Ezikeal used both hands to bat away the arm it tried to strike at him with, frowning at the effort it took to do so before leaning in and slamming the back of one fist into the side of its jaw. The part that disturbed Ezikeal about the Changeling, that's what this thing was from what he heard others say, was that the force behind its strikes and movements was rather...unnerving.

"Why are you aiming to kill others?" he tried demanding of it as it hissed, not giving any response. Before it had a chance to strike at him again, Ezikeal struck it first, using his other hand to drive a punch into its head. The hard flesh of the creature almost cut at his skin and he grimaced at the sensation. The punch had seemed to at least rock the creature some, as it shook its head before seeming to decide magic was a better way to handle Ezikeal. And it was when an all too familiar green fire engulfed its horn that Ezikeal's world came crashing down.

How could he have been so blind! He should've thought of the possibility that something would have simply taken the Fel's cursed power and that's why it was missing from the ground by the tree! Oh, this was now suddenly an issue of unknown scale. He didn't know how long specifically this Changeling had been taken by the Fel, or even if it was the only one, but it perfectly explained the sudden violence the Changeling was displaying.

A bright beam of purple magic knocked the Changeling over, interrupting whatever spell it was going to cast and a purple dome appeared around it. Twilight and Rainbow Dash came over, the latter of the two looking worse for wear.

"What...kind of magic was that..." Twilight breathed, looking at the Changeling, who seemed to be taking stock of its situation. Ezikeal wanted to tell them to run, or to urge the total destruction of the Changeling, but that would reveal he knew what was going on, and was hiding it from them. A strange hiss drew their attention as the Changeling seemed to right its crooked wing before its horn erupted in green fire again.

This situation is bigger than the fragile attachments I've been building...some concessions are going to need to be made here.

"Twilight, whatever strength this containment spell is, you need to strengthen it," he said quickly, seeing the Changeling's magic begin to cast.

"What!? There should be no way for it to be able to-gah!" She let out as an explosion of green magic practically shattered the dome and threw the three of them back. Ezikeal was the first to his feet and helped Twilight quickly stand and faced the creature. It stared at them before sending a ball of green fire towards them, but it was too high to hit them. The puzzle of how it missed so far was solved almost immediately when the ball impacted a house behind them, exploding into a green flame that started to spread over the building. At the same time the Changeling took off in flight again.

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow Dash yelled, voice still hoarse as she took off too.

"Rainbow-dammit!" he looked at Twilight, seeing a torn, panicking look on her face as she stared at the fire, but was deathly concerned to her friend.

"Twilight," he said firmly, getting her attention, "handle the fire, I'll go get Rainbow Dash,"

"Okay, yeah, okay okay, I can figure out what to do with this, I'm just- I haven't seen something like this before but I can figure it out," she seemed to be hyping herself up to tackle the stressful challenge instead of responding to Ezikeal.

"If it means anything to you, use magic based in Order. Arcane or something," he said quickly, getting ready to sprint off. Twilight whirled on him, eyes wide and looking at him like he had spoken some kind of secret mage code.

"You know what it is and know enough about it to know to channel an ancient, primordial force of magic to combat it!? Ezikeal, whaaat!?" She almost screamed, eyes practically popping out of her head and showing that he had somehow uplifted her entire worldview in one sentence.

"No time! I'll explain later if I must, but you should be able to do something, and quickly!" he didn't give that anymore time as the felfire started to spread over the building. He took off, racing in the direction Rainbow Dash and the Changeling had gone.

They had raced off towards the Everfree, that was not a good sign in it of itself, but Ezikeal knew he had to find them. It was a Fel infused Changeling, Rainbow Dash didn't know what she was up against, hell, she had almost been killed when they showed up, why did she rush off for a rematch so eagerly!? As he approached the treeline of the forest he silently thanked Applejack for putting him to work on the farm, allowing his endurance to carry him at a run the whole way. He heard a voice as he approached and found them. Rainbow Dash was rolled in the grass with the Changeling, looking to immobilize it from the looks of it. She was on its back, forcing its arms upward at an odd angle and jamming her knee behind its knee to keep it down. Ezikeal could see what she couldn't, however, as a second Changeling broke from the treeline, a weapon at the ready.

"Rainbow Dash!" He called out, racing towards them. She broke from grappling the Changeling not a moment too soon, raising her arms and barely deflecting the slice of the blade from the new attacker. Her eyes were wide with fear and a fist caught her head soon after, throwing her to the ground with disorienting force.

Ezikeal was not about to watch her get killed, and grit his teeth as he made his decision. He already had to explain a lot to Twilight, some talking with Rainbow Dash was just a little more on that list.

Rainbow Dash hadn't expected the second Changeling to come out of nowhere, that was totally not fair, but complaints of fair fights were the furthest thing from her thoughts as she clenched her eyes shut and tucked her knees up to her chest to try to stop the knife that was surely plunging at her that very moment. She lingered in her dizziness briefly, the sound of distant voice reaching her ears, before noticing that she did not seem to be getting stabbed. Her mind ran at a million thoughts per second as she opened her eyes, seeing the two Changelings standing around her, but facing somewhere else entirely and taking defensive posturings. She followed their gazes and felt herself freeze up at the sight before them.

Ezikeal.

He looked...different, and not in a great way. His skin had drained of its normal color, instead appearing as a pale, almost deathly, whitish grey. His eyes were alight with bright, blue magic that concealed their natural colors behind it and his face was twisted with what looked like pain and rage. His body was tense as he approached, sword in hand and swirling with power. The runes along the flat of it glowed in an intimidating display of whatever magic he was tapping into and despite how much she wanted to, Rainbow Dash couldn't look away from the sight. This was what Ezikeal had wanted to keep them all from seeing, this...transformation he underwent. The Changelings regarded the approaching aggressor with clear caution, hissing lowly before they both seemed to come to a decision of what to do as their horns ignited with the fire of that strange, sickening magic. Ezikeal raised a hand quickly and a wisp of blue magic snapped through the air before snuffing out the flame of one of the Changelings. Said Changeling let out a shriek of discomfort, grabbing at its own head, trying to shake of the lingering blue aura that clung to its horn.

Rainbow Dash looked at Ezikeal and flinched, letting out a small sound of shock when a black, shadowy tendril of magic shot through the air like a bullet, slamming into the other Changeling, who released a poorly aimed ball of green fire at its attacker with a panicked noise before being torn through the air towards Ezikeal. A cold sense of fear solidified in Rainbow Dash's mind as she watched Ezikeal move without hesitation and with a sickening, snapping crunch that mingled with metal shearing flesh, Ezikeal impaled the Changeling on his blade and held his other hand under the Changeling's chin, pointing its horn towards the sky presumably in case it fired off one last spell. The violence of his movement as he flung the now motionless body off his sword without seemingly any care had Rainbow Dash shuffling backwards, away form it, away from him. She didn't personally care about the Changelings, no, but seeing one get dispatched so forcefully and in a way that showed the snuffing out of life was second nature to the one she was beginning to like as a friend sent shivers down her spine and discomfort in her very being.

The other Changeling seemed to have recovered from whatever magic Ezikeal had used to cancel its spell and fired two bolts of green magic at him. Ezikeal went to step out of the way, but he seemed to hesitate, gasping out roughly in pain, somehow, and Rainbow Dash heard his voice, the chilling, unnatural echo it held within it as the sound left his lips. Why was he hurting? He didn't get hit, and as the blasts of magic approached he raised a hand. With a dull, unnerving hum, a swirling weave of strange, interlocking runes surrounded him and seemingly absorbed the first of the two blasts of magic, and he was able to sidestep the second. His eyes locked on the Changeling right next to Rainbow Dash and she felt with certainty that she needed to get away from whatever was about to happen.

What that was did not remain a mystery for long as Ezikeal rushed forwards suddenly, she could feel the temperature around her drop as he got closer before he brought his sword up and swung down at the Changeling, the edge of his blade glowing with a strange, dark red aura , fueled by one of the runes on his blade that had ignited in a similar color, before it faded to nothingness after he swung. The Changeling had backpedaled and Rainbow Dash saw an opportunity to be of some use, even if it wasn't required and she wasn't sure if she wanted to bring any attention to herself, still on the ground and vulnerable. She kicked out her leg and tripped it, resulting in the Changeling letting out a cry as stumbled back. She looked to Ezikeal and couldn't see past the glow of his eyes-- was he even conscious of his actions right now? She had no idea how the magic worked, but she did recognize how the hammering of her heart that she could practically hear in her ears was telling her to get away from him. The weighing of threats in her mind completely discounted the soon-to-be former Changeling and her fight or flight instincts were all reacting to Ezikeal instead, being this close to someone wielding strange magic and able to just thoughtlessly dispose of whoever opposed it pierced her heart with an existential panic. Dash closed her eyes so she didn't have to watch as a Ezikeal ended its rampage, a single snarl escaping it that morphed into agony for just a moment. When she opened her eyes again she was looking at Ezikeal, who was looking at her as he removed the blade.

"H-hey, Ezikeal...u-um.." panic gripped at her under his gaze, no, not panic, she didn't panic, it was just...her throat hurt from getting choked earlier, that's it. He made no movements towards her, something she was thankful for even as she continued to scoot away purely to give him space.

"Rainbow Dash," he said, and the way her name sounded in the cold, empty shell of his voice made her shudder. She wanted to leave so, so badly, but she felt similarly strong emotions at the prospect of just abandoning someone who just saved her, even if it had a small chance to be just saving her to be the last victim.

"Y-yeah that's me! S-So uh...You're not gonna...I mean- please don't if you're thinking it- I mean- buck!" She tripped over her words more than herself as she got to a standing position and primed her wings for a speedy takeoff if he made any sudden movements. The only sounds for a moment were their combined heavy breaths, Rainbow Dash from panic and Ezikeal from...pain and exertion? The noise escaping with his breaths drew her attention, cutting through the fear for just a moment, it sounded like he was in a lot of pain, did he get stabbed and she didn't notice? She was about to ask if he was okay when he made a move that silenced her immediately. He brought his sword up, and Dash raised her wings a bit more to get ready to take off. He raised a hand up in a calming gesture, and she managed to hesitate even as he sliced the blade to the side, throwing off the glowing green blood that stained its edges before he started to slide it into his sheath. As he did so, wisps of white magic seemed to flow out of the blade and back into his body. The color seemed to return to his skin and when it was fully sheathed, the glow fled from his eyes and he let out a harsh gasp before falling to his knees. The hilt, still visible out of the sheath, lingered, and the runes glowed with latent power.

"I'd never...wish to harm you..." he rasped out. She felt a pang of relief that his voice had returned to normal as well as a small pang of guilt that she was very seriously worried about that just a moment ago, well, worried he would try to at least, she'd be too quick for him, surely.

"Well...could've fooled me, dude..." she tried to put a coolness to her tone as she spoke, drawing close to him again as she saw him on the verge of falling over, "you alright...I mean...that was..." she trailed off as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry you had...to see it like that..." he said. What? He saved her life and was apologizing? Sure it was terrifying and she thought he might go after her next, but...

"Dude, we're fine, you saved my ass, so...thanks, for that, even if I have a lot of questions about what I just saw..." she put a hand on his shoulder to steady him, but tensed a bit at the coldness that still permeated through his form, "are you hurt?" the magic he used was...well beyond Rainbow Dash's understanding, but she knew enough to know that it was this "dark magic" that was taking a toll on him like this, and she also knew enough to know that she wasn't a fan of it doing this to her friend.

"Drained, exhausted. We need to get away from the bodies..." he said, urging her to move.

Right.

The bodies.

He had just killed two Changelings. The discomfort of that fact was evident on her face, she couldn't hide it and he didn't press as she helped him stand and led him a little bit further from the scene of the conflict before he asked her to let him down. He set himself down before he rolled onto his back, Rainbow Dash taking a seat next to him, uncertain of what else to do.

"Why'd you...go after it a second time?" he asked after a few quiet moments.

"I wasn't about to just let it get away with stabbing a pony...besides, I handled myself fine-" she caught a look from him, "well, mostly fine, I didn't expect them to be that strong...Changelings are usually pretty easily handled, they usually rely on numbers to overwhelm but that was...different," she said, really thinking back on everything that had happened. She decided to go after it again because she felt like she was more prepared for the second round with it, knowing it was stronger now, meaning she just had to use even more force, and with it being disarmed there was much less of a risk, at least that's what she was thinking.

"This shouldn't have happened...they shouldn't have gotten a hold of this power..." Ezikeal said, the somber tone in his already somewhat low, smooth voice caught her attention. Dash looked down at him, seeing the remorse plainly written across his face, the regret of something unseen dancing across his vision. She puzzled it over in her mind for a moment before the source of his distress clicked in her mind.

"You know it? From where you're from?" she asked, and when he gave a small nod in response she couldn't stop a small huff from escaping. Trouble always seemed to follow interesting ponies, now didn't it, and this was some serious trouble. If this power the Changelings were using came from Ezikeal's dark homeland, that meant a lot of trouble was about to be coming to light, wasn't it. She didn't feel ready, but it seemed like Ezikeal was going to be forced to reveal more of what he knew now, and clarity comes with truth, doesn't it? She was beginning to get a better understanding of why he was so secretive with himself, though. She couldn't really blame him, what she saw was, well, pretty hardcore, intimidating even, and would no doubt scare others who saw it, or what he could do with it. It made sense that he'd be scared of making friends and then having them find out there's this deep dark violent side... She let out a small sigh.

"I won't tell anyone about what I saw, not yet at least. I kinda get why you're hiding...that...from everypony. Besides, I owe you for saving me back there, I guess helping keep some of your privacy is the least I could do," her voice had dropped to a low tone, a humbleness she had to admit to from being saved, but she heard no response other than steady breathing. She glanced over, finding him unconscious, likely passed out from whatever exhaustion had taken a hold of him. A small, mirthful smile cracked her expression as she laid back in the grass, relieved that the conflict was done with, and stared up the sky-- she would keep her word on that, but no shot she would be caught hurting her own pride with that statement aloud again. He might be mysterious and absolutely terrifying, but he saved her, and so she decided that, at this time, he was a friend.

9 Strained Connections

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Ezikeal wasn't sure how long he was out for, but when he woke up he was still where Dash had left him. He heard some voices, too, and quickly sat up to take stock of his situation. It was late afternoon now and he was still okay, and after a glance around he saw Rainbow Dash talking to Twilight and Rarity a little ways away while guards were stood around the area. He saw the bodies of the two Changelings, separated by a short distance-- they hadn't been moved, good. He slowly got up and went over to the other three. Rarity looked to have been crying not too long ago, eyes still red with emotion, while Twilight looked tense and exhausted. Rainbow Dash had clear bruising setting in around her neck and cheekbone from the earlier choking and blow she took to the face. She smiled softly as he approached, while Rarity remained in a post-emotional state and Twilight looked at him with, understandably, heavy suspicion.

Time to face the music, huh. He thought dryly to himself.

"Ezikeal," Twilight said, tone masking any emotion as she took a step towards him and halted his own advance towards the three, "more than anything else, thank you for saving Rainbow Dash, truly," she said, and as Ezikeal went to reply she held up a hand, silencing him as she continued, "but I feel that it is only fair that we have some explanation of what happened here. Rainbow Dash is being very dismissive of events, so I wish to hear your own statement on the matter, as would Sapphire Charge here of the Guard assigned to Ponyville to make his own report on events," a tall, solidly built guard with black hair and green eyes stepped over to them at the mention of his name. Ezikeal nodded to the man, who looked down from his taller build at Ezikeal, in greeting, and he offered one in return. Was Dash protecting him? That part didn't make much sense, he remembered her being pretty clearly terrified of him, why would she keep information from people she had more of a connection to than him?

"Where would you like me to begin?" Ezikeal asked Sapphire Charge.

"At the earliest you feel necessary," the man replied, voice gruff and businesslike. Ezikeal nodded, took a breath and began his account.

"I was at Twilight's library when she had informed me that one of the security measures against Changelings had triggered. I went with her to investigate. As we approached the initial alarm, Twilight further informed me of other alarms going off, seemingly sequentially, which indicated a single entity was moving rapidly. We found Rainbow Dash in a conflict with one Changeling, being strangled. Twilight disabled it with her magic for a moment, but it escaped, setting a building on fire to cover its escape. Rainbow Dash followed the Changeling, but I determined she was in no state to handle the situation on her own. I pursued while Twilight remained behind to handle the spreading fire. When I located Rainbow Dash she was being attacked by the same Changeling, as well as an additional one who had come out of the Everfree. It was at this point I intervened with the level of force I determined necessary, which as you can see, resulted in the death of two Changelings," Ezikeal kept his tone level and at a pace that Sapphire Charge could follow. The interaction was reminding him of his few interactions with the Stormwind Guard when certain drunks would try to take their normally restrained prejudice towards the undead out against him. He didn't kill them, of course, but he never went easy on them with his fists either, so articulating his exertions of force to the authorities was practiced enough for him not to worry about his words with Sapphire Charge. The man nodded as he followed Ezikeal's story, glancing at Twilight to see if she had any dispute to what was said but she remained silent.

"How did you go about dispatching the two Changelings? I assume with your sword, based on the wounds we found, but are there any other details we should be aware of?" Sapphire pressed.

"I used my sword. There is nothing further of importance about it other than that it is made with powerful enchantments that I used to combat the magic employed by the Changelings. That is all," Ezikeal said and Sapphire nodded.

"Rainbow Dash, when we spoke with her, told us to stay away from the bodies as you had instructed as much, indicating you know something that we do not. I think it would be in the interest of the Equestrian Guard to have an understanding of what development we have faced today to make a more complete report, would you not agree?" Sapphire Charge prompted, and Ezikeal nodded in agreement. Twilight had also been recording his statement on a piece of parchment as well, and seemed to perk up at the topic that greatly involved her interests as well.

"They were corrupted by a dark magic that takes root in the bloodstream of those who absorb it. It grants a boon of physical strength and magical power at the cost of the user's sanity while amplifying the violent nature of the individual. I advised to remain at a distance because accidental contact with the blood, corrupted by this magic, can cause it to transfer and 'infect' another," Twilight frowned at the lack of in-depth detail but didn't press while Sapphire took his statement. A few more cursory questions were asked of him by Sapphire Charge before the guard was satisfied and thanked him for providing so much information easily.

"I have to make my own report of this, as well, you know," Twilight said, "and since I am a more versed in magic, and my report directly travels to Princess Celestia as I am her student involved in this matter, I expect a bit more specific information about this magic and how you have such intimate knowledge of ancient magical concepts at a glance," she emphasized her words with an air of authority, now seeming to have more than just a want to know what he did, but now had some kind of official avenue to pursue it with.

"You don't need to maintain such a formal tone, Twilight," he said lightly, but the unchanged expression Twilight held at him left him a bit off-balance, so he continued, "I know you have questions and I knew I'd have to provide answers."

"Good, because again, while I am deeply grateful you saved Rainbow Dash," her tone lowered some, "you withheld something that almost got multiple ponies killed today. So you'll have to excuse my want to remain somewhat...formal, for the time being, and get answers. Rainbow Dash wasn't just hurt, she was almost killed. One of my best friends was almost killed," her voice strained a bit when she said that, trying to keep itself even but emotion was clearly welling up in her at the thought of losing her friend. Ezikeal could sympathize with the sentiment, he had seen friends and families torn apart on Azeroth, some at his own hands in the worst of times, and some of the deep, true despair of some of those he had witnessed he had found extremely distasteful in undeath, and now when he remembered them it deeply unsettled him.

"I truly am sorry things came to this, Twilight. I didn't say anything because I was hoping it was not what I had thought," pain laced his own voice at the statement because looking back, he shouldn't have let things come as such a surprise like this. Twilight just huffed, looking away and grimacing at what her eyes rested on in that direction. This was all his fault...

"It's their blood, you said?" she asked. Ezikeal nodded.

"It'll take a while to...clean, then, considering the magic required," she gave him a sideways glance, "Order, huh, which makes this magic based in..."

"Chaos," he finished the statement. The cosmology was something he had learned quickly as he went on to fight the various threats around Azeroth. Understanding the source of an opponent's power was the first step to truly defeating them, after all. It was most useful for mages and the likes, but having that knowledge was invaluable when coordinating with another. Twilight gave him a look, and he met it.

"Is the story of how you know all this also going to make me sad?" she asked, voice less guarded than a few moments ago but she still maintained a barrier between them with her tone.

"The circumstances that required me to learn it would likely, yes, but the learning itself was actually dreadfully dull," he answered. Twilight couldn't help but give a small snort of amusement at that answer, but quickly returned to a neutral expression. He was a bit unsure about the frankness of this small moment they were having, but there was a certain clarity he was feeling with just...answering without thinking too much about his words that he found refreshing. If there wasn't the constant threat of being executed for black magic he might let himself speak freely more often.

"Do you know what that portal is on Applejack's farm?" she asked a moment later. Ezikeal was quiet for a long moment in response-- the short lived moment was gone, and now he was back to overthinking his words. How much could he really say about it?

"Nothing specific or useful," he finally said, and Twilight's silence announced her distaste to the answer.

You know they can't handle the truth, don't delude yourself with hope. His mind voiced. He wondered when the last time it really spoke up was, it had been a minute, but he bit back at the gnawing in his mind as best he could.

They seem to have been handling the truths I have said much better than I had thought... he argued back to himself, and didn't find himself coming up with a response to that. Good, at least he could agree with himself on basic facts.

"Ezikeal, how bad do you think it is? Assuming two Changelings have been corrupted by this magic already? You seem to know it more than us," Twilight asked again after another short silence. That was the big question, wasn't it. Ezikeal probably knew the answer to it also-- more than probably. He sighed.

"All of them are infected, most likely" he said, and Twilight seemed to wilt at the thought, shoulders dropping and looking at the ground, before she tensed up as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her.

"Chrysalis," she said and Ezikeal could practically see her pale.

"Chrysalis?" he repeated, asking.

"Queen of the Changelings, her power fluctuates, but she's been able to stand against the Princesses' in terms of magic power in the past when fueled by love, the primary emotion the Changelings seek to consume. If she got corrupted by this...you said it gives a boost to ones magical powers? Do you have a measure of how significant? " she asked, voice lowering a bit as a guard walked past them, "The Changeling we fought today was significantly more powerful than any regular Changeling I've faced in the past and if that level of amplification scales with magical power as you imply...this could be catastrophic." Ezikeal would have to agree with that sentiment, assuming this Chrysalis was as powerful as Twilight made her out to be, absorbing the Fel would be catastrophic. And if this Chrysalis decided to lead a Fel infused army against Equestria, as it stood now, they very well might topple the kingdom quite quickly.

This Chrysalis individual presented a new factor to Ezikeal's analysis of the situation, and there was little doubt in his mind that she was corrupted by the Fel. There was just no way there was enough Fel by Applejack's tree to fully corrupt multiple full-sized creatures with it like the two Changelings that they had just encountered-- one maybe. That left him to reason that for it to have corrupted several so fully they must have discovered how to "get" more of it through the corrupted blood of the original and whoever else's blood was infused by the Fel's power.

I should have mentioned it right away when he suspected it, Ezikeal thought as guilt colored his mind. He couldn't help but linger on the "what if"s, like what if he had spoken immediately, would that have still been too late?

Your mere existence has doomed this land, his mind snapped at him, sending a familiar sense of worried dread through him.

"What is our next steps, Twilight?" Ezikeal asked. They needed to start making a plan, and he was sure Twilight would agree.

"We meet with the princesses. They need to be informed of the situation, immediately, and they'll be able to help," she said, an idea of actions that she needed to take almost visibly forming as he watched her eyes shift and her head move slightly as she thought something out silently.

This has spiraled so far so quickly... he thoughts, nodding in agreement with Twilight's plan when she looked at him. He knew a meeting with the princesses was inevitable, but he had hoped to delay it knowing Luna knew what he was, at least somewhat.

"I'm going to be here for a little while longer, can you meet me back at the Library, I still have things I need to talk to you about, but I need to get this magic purified so we can...clean up," Twilight said. Ezikeal didn't argue and started walking back towards town. What more were they going to discuss? Were they meeting with the princesses right now? Possibilities swirled in his head as he walked, but soon a fear started to sneak its way into his thoughts.

They will find out and they will abandon you. They'll cast you out as a monster, seeing you no different than the Changelings. The thought made him sick, comparing himself to the Burning Legion-- they were not the same, he refused to consider it.

I can be an asset against the Changelings. I can be a weapon for them, just like I was a weapon for good on Azeroth. He argued back to himself, even if the thought made his shoulders drop. It was all he was good for, wasn't it, just being the sword of whatever power he happened to find himself under. Before his mind could fully begin arguing in circles, the sound of a soft beat of wings and two feet hitting the ground next to him sounded.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said, elbowing his arm lightly as she matched his pace walking. She seemed to have fixed her hair some, which had gotten ruffled up more than usual from the earlier fight, but the bruising on her neck was still plainly visible and there was still a small coarseness to her voice. Now that Ezikeal was closer, he could see the bruising more clearly when he glanced over at her. The Changeling's grip must have been crushing, he almost reached up to feel at his own neck in sympathy to the injury.

"Hail, Rainbow Dash," he greeted back.

"Guess stuff's gonna be getting pretty interesting soon, huh?" she asked. Ezikeal nodded somberly.

"Yeah, that is one way to frame it," he said, then after a moment continued, "Rainbow Dash, why are you keeping my powers a secret?"

"I'm not keeping it secret, I'm just...forgetting what I saw. Heat the moment, lot of things happening very fast, y'know?" she said cooly, brushing off the initial question before glancing around and lowering her voice, "was pretty badass, though, dude," she added. Ezikeal slowly nodded-- she was "forgetting" what she saw? Her motivations weren't lining up much to him, but he wasn't going to press the issue and risk her changing her mind.

"I understand," he said simply, and she nodded in response to that.

"However, if I get the inkling that not remembering might be putting my friends at any risk, I'm firing that info bomb, got it?" she poked him firmly on the arm. Ah, so it was sorta-kinda blackmail? Regardless, Ezikeal nodded in agreement.

"I have no intention of putting your friends in danger," he assured her.

"Good," she said, and a small silence settled between them, broken only by their footsteps before Dash spoke again.

"You said it isn't pleasant...but what's it like? Empowering yourself with that kind of magical power?" she asked, magenta eyes meeting his green in a sideways glance, holding a deep curiosity.

"Due to the nature of the magic, it is quite painful," he said, "It's a powerful font of magical force, but it exacts its price without mercy."

"Oh," her tone dropped a bit, before she seemed to rebound back to a more neutral state and continued, saying, "Well hey, if you'd hear me out, I have a question for you-- wellll, more of a request," she said. Ezikeal looked over at her again at that. A request? What did he possibly have that she would want from him? Was it something more in exchange for her "forgetting" earlier?

"I'm listening," he prompted after a moment, tone guarded.

"Look, here's the deal. I got my ass handed to me back there, right, and now I hear there's going to be more Changelings showing up that are just like those two. You seem to have more of a handle on these sorts of, well, very violent encounters than myself, and so I was wondering, y'know, if you'd be up to giving me a few pointers here and there?" she kept her voice dismissive as she spoke, as if she didn't care whether or not he agreed.

Oh.

Of all the things he thought she'd ask for, it was not that.

Ezikeal had never taught anyone how to fight before, the closest he had ever come to anything similar was watching some other champions dueling and commenting on where he saw weaknesses. Would his teaching simply come down to sparring and finding weaknesses to fix? What's more, is that now that he thought it over, clearly the level of combat ability she had, and presumably others had, were similar, was going to be found lacking in any conflict with Fel empowered Changelings.

"Have you ever had combat training before? This land seems so peaceful, so it's hard for me to picture," he asked.

"I'm part of, technically, one of the most elite groups of pegasi in all of Equestria, so I have some experience!" She said, a proud tone to her voice. Ezikeal suddenly felt very worried if what she said was accurate.

"Technically?" he pressed.

"I'm, well...not a full member yet, so I haven't actually done all that actual...combat stuff much. There's the occasional sparring or lecture on things like disarming the attacker which is what I tried to do to the Changeling earlier before you and Twilight showed up to help out," she explained. Okay, that made him less worried about the state of the Equestrian military-- for now at least.

"I understand. I'm going to be straightforward with you, I've never taught anyone before, so I have no idea how this will work out. But, assuming I don't get executed for witchcraft by the princesses in short order, I am willing to explore that route with you," he said, earning a snort of amusement from the Dash.

"They aren't going to execute you, dude, they aren't about that," she showed no signs of concern over his soon to be up in the air state of being, which helped to calm a few of his nerves as a realization came over him.

"Hey, what can you tell me about them? I've heard of them by name, but not much else," he asked.

"Oh, yeah. Princess Celestia controls the sun and rules over the day, while Princess Luna controls the moon and rules the night and dreams. They've been around for thousands of years, and have been keeping Equestria in a state of peace with other nations for as long as I can remember," she explained, then put a hand to her chin in thought, "I suppose that makes sense. Facing down two ponies with the power to move planets would be intimidating," she said and Ezikeal slowed to a halt.

"They move the celestial bodies with their magic?" he asked, not sure if he was understanding that statement correctly. Rainbow Dash looked at him and tilted her head with a small smirk, seeming to find his shock amusing.

"Yeah, Celestia raises and lowers the sun while Luna does the same with the moon, though there was a period of about a thousand years where Celestia did both of those while Luna was banished," she said, "you've really never heard of them?"

"That kind of power is...very, very few could ever hope to have the power to move a star once, let alone on a daily basis," he replied. Now he had real reason to worry. Celestia, at least, was capable of moving multiple celestial bodies, simply incinerating him would likely be no issue for someone that powerful. He was completely at their mercy and he knew that was going to be a nagging worry of his. A large, warm, feathered wing hit against his back, nudging him forward a step.

"Don't look so freaked out, dude," she said, noticing a growing unease in him as they continued walking, "you'll be fine." Her reassurance, while helpful, did not ease the concern welling inside him like a constricting knot.

"I can do nothing but hope that is true," he replied.

After arriving at the library, Rainbow Dash decided to stick around, and, after assuring Spike everything was alright for now, the waiting for Twilight to return began. Throughout the wait, Ezikeal was tense and lost in his own thoughts. He had taken a seat on one of the chairs and made idle conversation with Spike and Rainbow Dash, who had tried a few more times to assure him of the Princesses' merciful nature. He was relieved when the door finally opened and Twilight walked in, so much so that it even overshadowed the pang of dreadful anticipation of what was about to come. Whatever was about to happen, it was at least something tangible, rather than uncertain arguments within his own mind and worrying over possibilities. The first thing everyone seemed to notice, was the fact that Twilight had opened the door rather harshly, and was looking a bit exhausted but had kept an aura of seriousness to her posture and expression as well. She held up a thick, multi-paged roll of paper and Spike seemed to take a cue and move to her side quickly.

"Spike, send this to the Princess, please," she handed the boy the scroll, who nodded. Ezikeal watched with fascination as he held it in front of him and opened his mouth and a rush of translucent green flame suddenly burst from his lips, engulfing the scroll and making it seemingly disintegrate into sparkling dust. Ezikeal glanced at Rainbow Dash, who seemed to have ceased her own bout of restlessness to observe the impending conversation.

"Right," Twilight said, taking a seat directly across from Ezikeal, "I have a lot to say, so hear me out fully before you reply," she started, and after Ezikeal nodded she continued, "First of all, the magic was cleansed, but was incredibly resistant to most of my attempts first attempts. I had to infuse it with a large amount of raw arcane energies to destabilize it enough to run through a dispel of the chaotic magic at play in the blood. Had you not advised me of combating it with that kind of magic, I doubt I would have reached that solution on my own within the day, or multiple. This brings me to you, Ezikeal, and my demand for answers. The letter I have sent to the Princesses is a request for either them to come to Ponyville or for us to go to Canterlot, whichever is more convenient. It includes my recount of the day, the statements you made to Sapphire Charge and I, my thoughts on the information I have along with what you have provided me about this chaotic magic that is driving Changelings to violence along with the prospect that you seem very sure that Chrysalis is infected with it as well. I took a while to think about it as I cleansed the magic, and I agree that it very may well be possible that she is. That's most of the official stuff out of the way," she paused to take a moment to prepare her next statement. Ezikeal understood what she had sent and while glad she seemed to be taking the threat of this seriously, he was still worried about Chrysalis as well. Assuming the Queen of the Changelings could stand against another ruler with the power to move planets and succeeded, relatively, it could potentially be outright cataclysmic levels of destruction they were about to face.

"Now more personal matters," she refocused his attention, "Ezikeal I am...upset, very upset, actually, with you." Ezikeal tensed some from the directness and straightforward statement, but he couldn't truly say he was surprised by it either. Looking back on his own actions, they are inherently deceptive and were rooted in his own self preservation.

"We do not know each other very well, but I am trying to extend trust to you, to extend friendship your way. It is feeling like, to me at least after all that's happened, that you aren't extending that same trust back. Communication and trust is important for a foundation in a friendship, Ezikeal, but you're hiding, what I think, is just so many things. I can't get straight answers from you, they all avoid something and looking back on it, withholding that information almost got Rainbow Dash killed," she said. She kept her voice soft but firm as she spoke, trying to not come across too confrontational but still conveyed her upset at the scenario. Dash didn't voice any objections to being brought up in the conversation and was silently watching the exchange with Spike.

Ezikeal felt a crushing weight lay over his mind-- he wanted them to trust him, and he did trust them, just...not with the things in his past that would mark him forever unworthy of that trust, was that so wrong of him? Was it so wrong to want to leave the past behind, to move forward with a fresh start? Clearly it was, to an extent, it's why the Fel was allowed to progress so much. Was it all worthless if he never told anyone of his past, to give them that chance to accept what he had done, was that it? Did he need to face judgement, and only if he came out still favorable by whatever metric the judge deemed fit would he be permitted his existence in the eyes of others? He just wanted to move forward with peaceful intent, he just wanted to forget the past-- the ocean of blood that stained his history, he wanted to be absolved of his sins and wanted to be able to maybe have a shot at happiness, he just wanted to...

"I just wanted to be someone new...I thought I had that opportunity when I arrived here, but the past clings to me," he sighed, almost as if realizing the first part of his statement himself. He just wanted to be somebody else-- he didn't want to be Ezikeal, Knight of the Ebon Blade anymore, and in part he wasn't, but enough of that history still clung to him and followed him to his new life. So now what was he destined to be, Ezikeal the Reclusive Doombringer who hid vital knowledge of an approaching enemy? That didn't have the same ring to it. He needed to start making things right.

"What you are saying is true, things reaching this point was my fault and I cannot express my regret to that fact enough," he continued, giving Dash a sorry look and refocusing on Twilight, "I want to help fix things now, as much as I possibly can." He was backed into a corner now, he felt. Rainbow Dash was being very quiet, not commenting on the subject of this conversation, but from the few glances he sent towards her she wasn't displaying any outwardly negative emotions, either, he would have to ask her later. Twilight held up a hand before he could stumble his way through another apology, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and locking gazes with him.

"It is abundantly clear to me that whatever history you have, you are very apprehensive, scared even, to share with us. Ponies lives are at stake here, so concessions are going to need to be made, however I want to offer a compromise with you that might somewhat alleviate worry over us prying into your past?" she offered. Ezikeal tentatively nodded for her to continue.

"We need as much information as possible about what we are going to be dealing with. I would like you to be as straightforward, honest and thorough as you can about what we are up against and things related to it, and in exchange I can assure you that I won't inquire as to the circumstances that you learned the information, or anything relating to your past that you do not want to share with us first, and can see to it that others respect that boundary as well," Ezikeal stared at her as he thought that over. In exchange for making himself vulnerable to be completely outcast, all he had was Twilight's word on a fairly abstract topic. That felt...a little weak for an exchange, he had to admit.

She is putting you in a trap, nobody can guarantee what she promises and only you have stakes to lose. His mind voiced. Ezikeal frowned at that thought-- it felt even weaker than the deal he was about to make and didn't sit well with him. He argued against the thought almost without a single second of considering it.

What choice do I have? Really? Either this shred of trust or letting them all die. And no they have more of a stake in me, it's their world that is on the cusp of a Legion invasion...

"I agree. I don't think it would serve anyone well to obscure this any further," he said, nodding.

"Alright. I feel it would be best to go over the situation involving the magic with the Princesses, so I would like to take some of your time here now to have you explain something to me," a large scroll floated over to them and unrolled onto the table, showing a large image.

"Hmm?" Ezikeal hummed as he looked over it. It looked to be a partial cosmology diagram, however it was missing a few important pieces and looked to be copied from a relatively dated diagram. The forces were organized in a diagram with four diamonds. The diamonds were marked to included Order, Disorder, Life and Death, with some additional notes under each. One corner of each diamond overlapping to form reality, and the edges of the diamonds overlapped with one other force as well, and Ezikeal reasoned to himself that was due to the way the forces interacted, such as Life being related to Order to an extent. He noted in silent appreciation the small stylization of the outline of each diamond, with each seeming to be decorative and related to whatever force it represented.

"This is a diagram of the primordial forces of magic, some of the most base components of spells and difficult for a unicorn to tap into directly. Does this look similar to what you understand?" she asked, curiously watching his reaction.

Well, if Ezikeal was going to stick to his part of this deal, he might as well start with altering the cosmology chart to how he understood it, from what he could tell things worked the same here relative to how they did on Azeroth, with a few minor exceptions but nothing major enough to overrule his understanding of things. He could always find a way for her to check his work with her own knowledge and magic as well.

"No, where I am from this was referred to as a cosmology chart, and this one is rather barren compared to the one I had learned," he said, pausing himself as Twilight seemed to light up at that as a new, blank scroll appeared next to the diagram and opened. She offered him a quill and he accepted, taking it and obliging the silent request as he began to outline the circular representations of the cosmic forces under Twilight's watchful eye.

"Please, do tell me more," she urged as he drew.

Author's Notes:

First off, sorry for the long delay on this one, I had a lot of stuff happening these past couple weeks and couldn't find time/bring myself to really write much.

Secondly, as of January 6, I have gone back through and made some small edits to the first few chapters trying to be a bit more descriptive to some characters as per some feedback (shoutout to Mean Sunnavagun). These edits are very small and I will try to be more detailed in character descriptions going forward.

I value constructive feedback and am always looking to improve, so I'm open to comments on where I can improve as a writer. This is my first fic, so I am expecting a lot will need work overall but I'm very glad people seem to be enjoying the story so far and I hope people will continue to do so.

10 In the Goddess' Eyes

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"This is...incredible," Twilight said, eyes roaming over the diagram Ezikeal had made. Rather than interlocking diamonds, the Azeroth Cosmology Diagram consisted of layers of circles, some touching and some separated. At the center was reality, and moving out were realms such as the Emerald Dream and the Shadowlands, followed by the elemental domains and cosmic forces, with Light taking place at the top and Shadow at the bottom. On the left rested Life and Order, to the right Disorder and Death. Opposites were situated at opposite ends of the diagram, and overall it was fairly straightforward-- Ezikeal was no artist, so it wasn't anything particularly fancy, but he was able to get the structure and important information down. Twilight was absorbing said information like a sponge thrown into a pool-- she was insatiable. To her credit, Rainbow Dash also seemed at least moderately intrigued by the information he was transcribing as well, but her bouts of interest were fleeting and not particularly often. Spike looked as intrigued as Twilight, and took a couple notes himself as Ezikeal talked about what he was making.

"So in the view of those who made this version of primordial forces, most domains that seem to hold any major significance are their own unique force?" she asked.

"Essentially, yes, but they are built in layers. For example at the highest level, the outer rings, you have something like Order, deeper in the cosmology, the element Earth is primarily influenced by Order so it only touches order in the diagram, while Water is influenced by both Order and Life, so it touches both," he explained, finishing the drawing and sitting back to give Twilight a fuller view of it.

"Fascinating..." she breathed, seeming to compare the diagram against information she already had in her mind when Spike's cheeks puffed up and he let out a belch of flames, producing a roll of paper with a seal in the shape of a silver moon holding it closed.

"That's Princess Luna's seal..." she murmured, floating the scroll up, undoing the seal and scanning over it with her eyes. She scanned over it quickly, eyes jolting side to side as they went down the text. They went wide a moment later as she finished the letter.

"What!? Oh sweet Celestia-- Spike start preparations! Princess Luna said she and Princess Celestia are coming here now!" She dropped the letter on the table before rushing off to do...whatever preparation needed to be done, Spike made his way into a different room, moving with similar haste. Ezikeal tilted his head a bit to better see what was written on the letter, now resting face up on the table.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Our sister conferred with us about the words thou have sent to her, and we have decided that this is an emergency quite dire. From thy written words, there is magic at play that has no place in our domain. Thy suspicion that Chrysalis has taken hold of such a magic leaves our sister, as well as ourself, in discomfort, as such a development in our standoff against the Changelings would be a travesty. Our sister has notified her guard to take extra precaution when handling issues involving Changelings, as we have as well with the forces of the night. As for what thou has written about thy new acquaintance, Ezikeal, we have necessity of discussing that directly and we shall see about the need of letting the magic he wields continue unchecked. The information thou provide is concerning, and we shall not be taking the situation lightly if there is truly an element of foul play in the arrival of such magic to the hands of the Changeling forces. Our sister and myself shall be visiting thy home in Ponyville at once. Our arrival may be expected in short order.
We are grateful for thy communications,
Princess Luna of Equestria

Ezikeal felt a sense of chilling tension after reading the letter. What exactly did Twilight say about him in relation to the Fel? At least from the looks of it, the Princesses were taking great heed of Twilight's words, and so they were taking the report of the threat very seriously-- Ezikeal just hoped they didn't see him as the threat as well. The question also remained of why Luna was the one to reply to Twilight instead of Celestia-- Twilight seemed perplexed to be getting a response from Luna, but Ezikeal figured that much would be answered after their meeting began. After about fifteen minutes by Ezikeal's estimate a short series of firm knocks had echoed through the library from the door. Rather than Spike getting the door as Ezikeal had seen as being the usual, Twilight rushed to it instead. She pulled the door open and gave a bow.

"Princess Luna! Welcome!" she said in eager reception of the Princess. Ezikeal stood as the Princess entered the room. A midnight blue dress adorned her body, somewhat low-cut and hugging to her body, exuding an aura dignified beauty as it hugged the subtle curves of her form. Her dress left her arms bare, displaying a subtle yet apparent tone of muscle to her somewhat pale skin that reinforced her visage with a sense of power. Her hair was flowing behind her, pitch black and looking almost like a portal into the night sky itself. Small sparkles, like flickering stars, gleamed within it as it flowed in an non-existent wind. Her horn remained the most intimidating reminder of her magical prowess, however, as it extended to a length greater than Twilight's, or any other unicorn Ezikeal had seen so far.

"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle," Luna gave her sister's apprentice a warm smile, "and Rainbow Dash," she added, looking into the room at the pegasus, who gave a respectful bow. Ezikeal followed the example and gave a bow of his own, rising to meet Luna's gaze, now firmly set on him and the blade on his back.

"Princess," Ezikeal greeted formally. Twilight had closed the door and had followed the Princess to the main room of the Library, taking a seat.

"Ezikeal," she said, lacking the warmth of her original greetings. Ezikeal pressed his lips into a line as he sat down like the others, maintaining respect towards the royal now looming over them. Luna looked them all over briefly before stepping over to the table, taking a look at the chart Ezikeal had drawn out, narrowing her eyes at something she saw, but Ezikeal couldn't pinpoint what it was that was drawing her ire.

"It seems a breakthrough has been made in speaking with our visitor, Twilight?" she asked, taking a seat herself now, sitting straight and maintaining an air of formality with every movement and breath. Spike came out from the kitchen with a large tray of what looked to be tea and started to pour some out for everyone.

"Yes, Princess, Ezikeal and I have come to an understanding of sorts," Twilight said, "it is clear that he is wary and wants to move on from his past, so I have agreed that we would not press or pry too deeply into his personal history, and that he could just tell us the vital information," she explained, "I ask you, Princess, that you accept the terms of the agreement we had made," she added, lowering her head as she requested the Princess abide by Ezikeal's wishes. Luna's gaze wandered over to Ezikeal, pointedly ignoring the request for the moment.

"Is that so, Ezikeal?" she asked, a slight tilt to her head conveying some dubious curiosity.

"It is. I don't want the people of Equestria to suffer when I have information that could help in combating the coming threat," he said. Luna's expression flatlined, seeming to take upon some kind of diplomatic mask of neutrality as she began to speak sharply.

"A threat that thou has intimate knowledge of. A threat that once witnessed, thou shied away with information and permitted this magic of chaos to fester and grow within our domain." Her statement was not a question, rather a statement of what she believed to be fact, that much was clear. Ezikeal silently grit his teeth before simply nodding-- it would not do well to argue that point any further.

"And now, thou desires to assist us with thy cursed power? We understand thou has saved the life of Rainbow Dash, an honorable act, yet tainted by the foundations of deceit thou has lain out that brought upon such a circumstance, Ezikeal," Ezikeal sat rigid as the Princess laid out her grievances with his being there. This is sounding very bad... Luna leaned forwards some, holding Ezikeal with firm eye contact as the thin mask of her neutrality broke, eyes sharpening with what Ezikeal could only understand as some kind of disgust.

"We have seen what thou are," she spoke in a quiet volume, tone like an iron chain wrapping around him, "poison, wielding a power that brings nothing but suffering. Nothing but agony. They have not seen what we have witnessed in the bareness of thy mind, Ezikeal, so we understand thy wish to conceal it but thou can not hide from us. To our judgement, thy power is a stain, fit for removal," her voice had maintained an icy, threatening tone and what she had said had clearly spooked Twilight, who looked almost like she was seeing a ghost, and Rainbow Dash looked a mix between awe and intense nervousness. Ezikeal gathered from the reaction that they probably hadn't seen the Princess get combative like this often, if at all. Ezikeal swallowed harshly, slowly nodding once the Princess had finished speaking. He kept one arm relaxed and both legs tense for action, readying himself to get up and go for his sword if she decided it was time to incinerate him then and there. Her anger was practically tangible as she no doubt ran him through with her weapon in her own mind.

"With all due respect, Princess," Ezikeal said, earning a suspicious gleam in Luna's firm gaze as he started to speak, "if you had truly investigated the bareness of my mind in full, you would see the unquestionable benefit that I can offer in your approaching conflict," he said, keeping his tone placating but pushing back against her accusations against him.

"The debasement of oneself in the exchange of power is a sin we do not take lightly, Ezikeal. Thou defiles thy form with every ounce of that power thou wields," she affirmed, tone growing even harsher. Before the tension could boil over, however, the sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention. Twilight stood up in a startle, letting out an eep as she seemed to realize who had arrived, and Luna briefly gained an expression of slight annoyance at her time to voice personal opinion being interrupted.

"With that said, our sister has urged for thy continued service in the objective of quelling the Changeling threat," she said, leaning back into a straight position again, tone losing all of its brutal sharpness and giving the sense that they had just been having a cordial discussion as a woman who was no doubt Princess Celestia entered the room.

Luna gave off an aura of unmatched beauty, but Celestia was positively radiant in her appearance. Fair skin framed in a bright white dress, cut down one side to expose part of one leg and hugging her more curvaceous form-- the sleeves looped around her arms, exposing her shoulders. Her eyes were a bright lavender, holding within them a sharp intelligence and conveying an unwavering aura of compassion that was almost completely stifling to any suspicions Ezikeal had when he met her gaze. Her hair cascaded behind her, a mixture of soft, bright colors ranging from turquoise to pink. She was taller than her sister, almost a head taller, and that height seemed to exude a higher authority than her sister now that they were both in the room.

"I do hope you are not scaring him, sister," she said, voice conveying a motherly, soft tone, "we are enlisting his service, not convincing him to flee." Ezikeal blinked. They were? He didn't let relief overcome him yet, but hearing the other Princess say such gave him confidence that he wouldn't be dying any time immediately.

"We would do nothing of the sort, sister. We simply were greeting Ezikeal and warning him not to be disloyal," she said. That was certainly one way to put the conversation they just had.

"Princess, I'm so sorry I didn't hear your arrival or I would have gotten the door-" Twilight started quickly.

"It is quite alright, my faithful student, I had just arrived and let myself in, I know my sister had already left and wanted to be here quickly. I am sorry as well for my delay, I was gathering some items that I think may prove useful in our coming discussion." she said. Twilight waved her hands frantically.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Princess!" she affirmed strongly. Ezikeal smiled softly at the frantic displays of hospitality Twilight was displaying, the idolization of her teacher quite evident. Celestia glanced at the diagram on the table, any reaction she had to it masked in a perpetual, friendly calm. She seemed to see something as well, however, and that put Ezikeal on edge at how in control of her outward emotions she was.

"I see you are acquainted with Star Swirl's ancient index of primordial forces. Curious," she said softly, horn igniting itself with a vibrant gold aura as an old looking paper appeared and laid itself next to his diagram. It was an old drawing, much more finely detailed than Ezikeal's own and written with a language he couldn't easily parse, but the main symbols seemed to display themselves rather clearly, nearly having a matching number of aspects, minus a few of the more minor ones like the Emerald Dream that seemed to be an entirely alien concept to Equestria, and the ordering was slightly different but the concepts and pathing were the same. So they had an old understanding of the cosmology?

"Why did you not keep this model?" Ezikeal asked, and Twilight made a noise of agreement, seeming to be confused as well as she absorbed the writing of this "Star Swirl." Celestia smiled softly, a serene calmness to her demeanor as she seemed to remember things from the past as she began her explanation.

"Star Swirl created this diagram after multiple lengthy scrying sessions into the magical forces in his studies. When he shared his findings with us, he was quite proud of the discovery, saying he had tapped into magics previously unknown to Ponykind. However, he had added that the danger of spreading the knowledge of certain forces and routes by which to access them," she gestured towards shadow, "would ultimately be a detriment to the greater vision of Equestria, which wasn't even fully founded yet, as those with harmful intent would take easier avenues towards attaining dark powers to destroy the peace that we sought to establish. He wanted to provide future scholars the tools to further reach magical heights, however, so we simplified the model, and a large majority of unicorn magic is rooted in Order due to the stable nature of that avenue of magic and only those with special authority may view the original discovery and Starswirls notes to gain an understanding of the other forces we maintained. I'm sure that you can at least concede the fact that those with this knowledge and harmful intent, from where you come from, have found enacting acts of darkness quite simple? Take for example, what we now face with the Changelings-- an avenue deeply rooted within the force of chaos has been unlocked, and already the results are endangering to the lives of everypony in Equestria." Her voice remained authoritative but when questioning when he'd agree, it adopted a more genuine edge, feeling out whether he would truly agree with what she was telling him. On most counts, Ezikeal understood her reasoning completely, but he was unsure how he felt about intentionally locking away a sector of cosmology, as that no doubt proved some hindrance to magical advances. The situation was certainly complex, and he didn't feel he had the right to make any sweeping judgements on the matter, not with what little information he had.

"I can concede that point, yes," he agreed. Celestia smiled at that, nodding in approval of his response as she settled into the seat next to Luna.

"Then we have an understanding. It seems now, however, that we must speak of less favorable topics now. I understand that you know more about this magic than has been stated already. Now that we are gathered, I would appreciate if you would inform us a bit more about what it is we are facing," she said, completely in control of the flow of the conversation. Ezikeal nodded, prompted to begin the explanation of his own.

"Yes," he started, "it's called the Fel, and it is a chaotic, destructive magic created and proliferated through demons. It was found in their blood, and it corrodes and absorbs other types of magic, most commonly life, to fuel itself. It offers a horrible bargain for the power it offers those who accept its corruption within. It results in the degradation of the mind, the amplification of violent, brutal mindsets and enslaves those who take it in to its destructive whims. To take its power, willing or not, one must either drink the blood of a demon, or those already infected by it, or be sufficiently exposed to the Fel in some fashion. It's addictive in nature, and once introduced uncontrolled to a group, it is usually not long before most have taken its power for themselves. It is because of that, that I am so certain this Chrysalis has taken it, and most Changelings have taken it as well or died for their rejection of it at the hands of their former allies." An expression of further disgust painted Luna's face as he described the harsh reality of what happened in societies ruled by Fel, while Celestia simply turned down her eyes in quiet contemplation.

"It's a terrible magic, sister," Luna said bitterly.

"It does seem that way, yes," Celestia said, looking back up at Ezikeal, "you know the ways to best push back against this threat given your experience with it?" she asked.

"I know how to combat the Fel itself from experience. What I don't have experience with is Changelings. I have no idea what they are fully capable of. The two we encountered did not show a large breadth of capabilities. I expect that there will be Changelings that show much higher levels of danger," Ezikeal explained. Celestia nodded, exuding understanding to his words.

"Princess, you know how to solve this, don't you?" Twilight asked after a moment of quiet, "Surely there won't be need to...to all of them..."

"Don't worry Twi, if anypony can fix this, it'll be the Princesses," Rainbow Dash said reassuringly.

"Please, don't distract thyselves with overconfidence," Luna said, looking to be in thought alongside her sister, eyes resting on the circle of Disorder drawn on the pages. Celestia let out a small sigh, her serene mask falling to show a downtrodden look. Ezikeal was certain that whatever she allowed him to see of her emotions was deliberate, the air of control she held was practically suffocating-- it put him on edge.

"From my understanding of what Ezikeal has told us, the Changelings are going to be producing a fundamental threat to the livelihood of everypony in Equestria, and along with that the sacred peace we have long sought to maintain," Celestia said, shaking her head, "It has been ages since a truthfully violent conflict has threatened our lands, but it seems that if we do not quell this as soon as we can, the era of peace will be ending in the very immediate future." Twilight visibly deflated at that response, and Rainbow Dash's expression had gone flat, brow slightly furrowed in dissatisfaction with the situation.

"Princesses," Ezikeal said, catching their attention and meeting both of their gazes, Celestia's soft and inquisitive while Luna held cold curiosity, "I have a question that I think may help us sort out a few short term priorities, if you would permit me to speak freely?"

"You may, Ezikeal," Celestia said with a quirk of her lips, amused at his request of permission.

"If the Changeling's launched an attack tomorrow, would the Equestrian guard be able to withstand it? Would they be able to answer with the force necessary to put down a threat to the very lives of those living in your domain?" He asked. Luna seemed to bristle at what he was saying.

"Thou insults us-" Celestia raised a hand, silencing her sister.

"They would not. My ponies are capable of fighting, but they are not hardened in the way of taking lives, that goes against the peace we had been maintaining. I'm sure you know that simply knowing how is not the same as running one's sword through a foe with true intent." Ezikeal nodded.

"The Equestrian guard would not stand alone! We shall aid them in battle, as we do have such experience," Luna said firmly, eager to defend the might of Equestria.

"What!?" Twilight balked at the bold declaration and Luna flinched, expression softening quickly as she faced Twilight. She seemed to had let something slip that she would have preferred to keep quiet, "Twilight Sparkle, before Equestria was founded, there were many a conflicts my sister and ourself faced. Peace had to be earned. Thou must understand, we did as necessary to secure such peace," Luna seemed very intent on appealing to Twilight to preserve the woman's view of her. Twilight seemed to hesitate at the response before Celestia spoke up.

"Twilight, we had always enacted such force as a means of defending the very lives of ponies when threatened in such a manner that did not provide any other avenue of peaceful resolution...please understand, it was always a final result due to the failure of friendship in those times," she said, like a teacher explaining a complicated concept to their student.

She lies. Ezikeal's mind voiced his with nagging concern at the Princess's statement.

He narrowed his eyes for the briefest of moments. It was clearly just to appease Twilight, and while Luna seemed flustered at having admitted to such in her past, Celestia was handling the revelation in stride. Was the experience in diplomatic presentation between them truly so vast? Whatever the case may have been, Twilight seemed to have been taken aback further by the Princess admitting that friendship had completely failed at times in the past, but she nodded in quiet contemplation to allow the conversation to continue. Celestia shifted, moving to sit closer to Twilight and rested an arm over her shoulders in a caring embrace. Twilight seemed surprised, but within a second had changed gears into pleasantly enjoying the compassion of her mentor.

"You don't think we will be enough on our own to assist our forces," Celestia said, summarizing Ezikeal's thoughts on the matter, to which he agreed with a nod of his head.

"With all due respect, I would think that if the conflict becomes further reaching, there is only so much territory you can individually protect I would assume?" He asked, ignoring the pointed glare from Luna at his statement. Celestia nodded, giving pause for just a moment before speaking.

"You would be correct," she agreed, "if conflict truly became spread across Equestria, we would be forced to pick our battles," her voice softened as she let her expression fall some, "It's going to be a harsh reality to face for my ponies, Ezikeal, but from the sounds of things, we must be swift," she took a small breath before changing topics, throwing Ezikeal's sense of the conversation further off-balance, "You seem to be the most knowledgeable on the subject and quite experienced in things beyond peace, Ezikeal, so I would like to offer you a position, temporary as of now, as an aide to the Equestrian Guard, both day and night."

An aide to the guard? An advisor position to help them prepare their defenses. It would certainly be beneficial for the guard to have someone with an understanding of the brutality they were about to face helping. He thought, pensively considering the proposition. As he considered it, a whisper of thoughts echoed softly, resurfacing from where he had mentally banished them.

They are luring you to a sense of calm in order to strip you of what makes you valuable. She spoke already, you are fit for removal. It spoke, the paranoia in his mind gripping at him. They see through you...they see you behind the curtain you so desperately pull to cover yourself. Run. Ezikeal swallowed, something in the thoughts piercing him deep and making his heart beat faster. What was happening? He looked around at the Princesses, Twilight and Rainbow Dash. When he met Dash's gaze, a look a concern seemed to cross her face. Ezikeal looked away quickly and refocused on the Princesses-- if they noticed anything they didn't show it. Slowly he took a soft breath before nodding.

Run. his doubts repeated.

"I think that is the best option, yes." I will not run. I can not.

"We are grateful for thy agreement," Luna spoke before Celestia could answer herself, "to that end, we have a gift. A token to mark the dawn of our exchanges." Luna's horn ignited and a small box appeared, on the table a moment later. It was blue, and opened to reveal a black fabric interior that housed a ring. The ring was made of a pure, polished silver and held within it a sizable, deep blue gemstone that seemed to keep a signature of Luna's magic, stars practically glimmered within it and signaled to Ezikeal that the ring was not ordinary in the slightest.

Cursed jewelry? Wouldn't be the first time I've encountered such items. He thought, gently taking the ring up in two fingers and turning it in his hand, looking on with slight suspicion.

"It's a beautiful piece," he spoke before setting it back in the casing, earning an inquisitive head tilt from Luna.

"Is something to thy dissatisfaction?" she asked.

"I'm correct to assume there are enchantments placed upon it?" he asked. Luna nodded.

"We shall be able to commune with thee, wherever thou finds thyself, through the magic of the ring and thou may contact ourself as well," she explained. Ezikeal could practically feel the ulterior motive dripping from her words, which were notably lacking all of her previous sharp edge.

It's a trap. You will be dismantled through some trick lain within the gemstone. They will remove you. His mind voiced as he picked the ring up again.

They would not sabotage one of their largest keys to pushing back the Changelings...not in front of Twilight at least. He reasoned firmly as he began sliding the ring on. He felt his mind surge, a spike of sharp anxiety trying to appeal to his fight or flight senses that sent a cold chill through him, giving the briefest of pauses before he fixed the ring into place on his finger and a sudden calm washed over him. He blinked, brow furrowing at the quiet, open feeling in his mind. That felt...odd. Luna's horn glowed again and a tingling filled Ezikeal's head.

"We may commune long distances like this, Ezikeal. Please refrain from frivolously using such a privilege," she sent through whatever link had been established through the ring.

"Why are you doing this? You spoke of me with such disdain at the start of our meeting," he returned rather sharply. A low suspicion overrode that strange calm. Nothing was lining up smoothly with these events. Luna enters, speaks so harshly towards him and now is the first one to offer some semblance of aid to him and a line of direct communication. Something was off.

"The salvation of Equestria is more important than our own opinions on thyself. But, we refuse to let thou roam completely unchecked. Consider the ring a simple reminder. Our eyes are upon thou, Ezikeal." she sent, voice echoing within his head. He briefly wondered what he had gotten himself into with this, and was about to press before Celestia let out a small "ahem" to refocus both himself and Luna on the actual conversation.

"Twilight, could we expect to see you in Canterlot with the other Elements at your earliest convenience?" Celestia asked. Twilight stiffened at the question, thinking through...something, in her head before she nodded.

"I can double check with the others, but we should be all free within the next couple days to make a trip like that," Twilight said optimistically. Celestia smiled, pleased by the response.

"Wonderful, we will need to discuss this topic with all of the Elements, among some other preparations my sister and I may have to prepare in the castle," she said, Twilight nodding along as she spoke.

"Ezikeal is to come as well," Luna added, "he may begin advisory duties upon his arrival." Ezikeal nodded. It was going to be better to start preparing as early as everyone was capable of.

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, may we have a private word with Ezikeal?" Celestia asked, expression and voice as serene as ever despite the ominous feeling that request radiated.

"Of course," Twilight said without hesitation before the three of them went upstairs. As soon as they were confidently out of sight and earshot, Celestia spoke.

"Ezikeal, I want to examine your magic, if you would allow," there was a sudden firmness to her voice, despite the empathy filled gaze she leveled him with.

"I'm not sure that's a good-" he started, but was silenced rather quickly by Celestia.

"Ezikeal," she said, making it clear that this was not an optional request, "it is for the safety of my ponies. I know not from where you come, but the magic Luna says to have witnessed sounded to be violent beyond measure. To ensure we at least have an understanding, I want you to draw your blade for us," she said, horn glowing with magic as a dome materialized over them.

"No sound will leave this barrier," she assured him. He had no reason to deny them this, it would only look worse if he refused. Luna had already seen it, and reported her findings to Celestia. Ezikeal stepped away from the immediate furniture, taking a place in a relatively open spot. With a deep breath, he took a hold of his blade and began to draw it. The familiar tingle before a void of feeling began to flood his entire being seared itself to his senses. He grit his teeth, growling in the agony as he drew the blade. It was becoming easier, somewhat, which was a good sign. He had an idea of what to brace himself for at least as the icy chill of undeath surfaced and the hunger took root. A mild frost coated the floorboards beneath his feet and he looked to the princesses, watching their reactions.

Celestia, as he had grown used to, had no direct reaction, simply looking him up and down. Luna, however, was more transparent in her reaction. It appeared like some horrid realization had come upon her now that she witnessed him in the real world. Her eyes were widened some, fists clenched at her sides. Ezikeal couldn't help but glance towards the stairs, hoping nobody would try to sneak a glance down at him. He refocused, looking at the Princesses.

"Does this satisfy your curiosity?" he asked, voice echoing with unnatural energies. The pain was steadily growing, blood boiling and the cursed hunger for death growing. His breaths became more sharp as neither princess responded, instead, Celestia approached and soon let her own expression change to one of...sadness? She reached for him, hand going towards his face. He caught her wrist before she made contact reflexively.

"You poor thing..." she said, looking into his eyes and seeing something in whatever was going on that Ezikeal was more or less blind towards to elicit such a response from her. The intensity of the statement threw Ezikeal into a hesitation, confused at her empathy. He let go of her arm and she stepped back.

"If you would permit me one experiment? I am curious about the depths of this power," she said. Ezikeal nodded. One quick test, he could do that.

"Luna said she witnessed you raising a shield around yourself that was notably strong against magical attacks. I would like to witness it," she said. Ezikeal nodded, raising his empty hand slightly and channeling the unholy energies surrounding him. His hand became engulfed in dark purple-black energy before it took on a green hue to expand and form into a weave of interlocking runes that appeared as a bubble around his form. Celestia looked him up and down, observing the runes before reaching up with one hand again, more distant from him now.

"May I test it?" she asked, almost cryptic in her tone.

"Very well," he said and immediately Celestia's horn flared up for a brief moment, letting out a single pulse of magic. A ring of golden magic, almost like a wave of water cascaded down her form from the tip of her horn, directing itself along her arm and gathering at her palm before a flare of magic slammed into Ezikeal. Ezikeal grunted in surprise, taking a step backwards from the impact. After the bright flash had let his vision clear the bubble of runes was in a fairly damaged state-- several of the runes were in shambles, but the shield still ultimately held.

"Hm. Interesting," she hummed, stepping back, "I am satisfied with my observations. Sister?" she asked, prompting Luna to say something. The younger Princess said nothing, looking at Ezikeal for a long, silent moment before nodding. Ezikeal slid his sword back into its sheath, gasping for breath once it was secured as if a large weight had been lifted off of him.

"What have you determined?" he asked. He wasn't completely blind to Celestia's tactics in this interaction, he knew what her test was for-- to get some measure of his realistic strength. It gave Ezikeal some understanding of her magic as well, however, showing him that whatever spell nearly broke his anti-magic shell had a cast time, meaning it could be interrupted-no, no, he shouldn't think too much about fighting the Princesses. Regardless of the weight of weaknesses and strengths between them, any conflict at this point would just be a test of how long Ezikeal could maintain his powers before succumbing to the toll it had on his body. Even now in that brief interaction, while it was noticeably easier for him to stomach than previous uses of his power, it had still worked stress and wear into his body.

"I think your magic is very potent, more so than even my sister gleamed from your dreams," she said, amused at Luna's previous shock.

"Indeed," she said, "it is concerning magnitudes stronger than what we had anticipated, likely due to the noticeable difference we see in this blade of thou's compared to what we have witnessed in thy dream." Ezikeal raised an eyebrow.

"What difference would that be?"

"When thou draws this blade, it drains thy body of its soul," she said. Ezikeal blinked. It was using his soul directly? That wasn't...typical for a Death Knight, not that he was a typical Death Knight anymore. It...made things make sense in a twisted way. Part of undeath was the desecration of the soul, and the fuel for necrotic powers rested in the wielder's ability to channel magic through their very being, attuning themselves to one of the aspects of death to direct runic power into manifesting a spell. The soul, or what remained of it, was typically only a conduit for this process, but if his sword in this world was using his soul directly as a fuel source, then it was no wonder the strength of his magic was significantly higher than expected.

"Your magic is disturbing," Celestia said, tone flat as she spoke as if reporting simple facts, "it is unlike any other dark magic I have witnessed in my many years of study. You must understand why we are naturally wary of it," she asked, and he nodded, so she continued, "Additionally, I think that you are true to your word with what you say about wanting to ensure the safety of our ponies and the defeat of the Fel Changeling threat, so I am inclined to allow this to continue, assuming it remains under control. I ask that you do not betray our trust on this matter."

"I would not hope to betray the faith you both have put in me," he answered quickly, "I have no intention of frivolously using my powers, they are draining, as you can tell. I will do my best to assist your troops in becoming prepared for the coming threat." He was not about to admit to not fully understanding that his new blade used his soul directly, that would surely erode confidence in him. Knowing that was the case now, however, posed him with many things to think about. He needed this conversation to end and to take some time alone. Celetia waved a hand and the dome around them came undone, seeming satisfied with their private talk.

"We shall be seeing you in Canterlot, then, along with the other Elements," Celestia said warmly.

"We shall contact thou in the event of an emergency, and thou shall do the same," Luna added.

"Of course," Ezikeal said.

The others soon returned to the room and the Princesses bid their farewells, thanking Twilight for seeing them on such short notice. Ezikeal took a seat after they had left, and felt the tension in his body leave as he sunk into the cushion some.

He had a lot to think through to evaluate his situation now. He ran one finger over the ring on his other hand. A constant mark of Luna having her eye on him, huh? If he wanted fuller freedom, it seemed he had to earn it, and that was going to cost effort. Without any doubts pressing on his mind, Ezikeal decided he was more than ready to put in that effort to genuinely earn the trust and friendship of those around him and stop the Fel before this world could fall to it.

11 Casualties

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"Keep your arms in tighter. Yes, like that," Ezikeal said as he held up his hands and caught some punches from Rainbow Dash. He didn't get incinerated by the princesses, so he had set out to make good on his little deal with the rainbow pegasus, who was showing a large amount of enthusiasm for her want to get some pointers from him. They had been at it for around an hour now, and he had been watching her "show off some moves" before stepping in to give a little advice on what he had seen. She certainly knew how to handle herself well enough, that much was clear. The strength that she was able to exert was impressive, but while strength alone could get one far, there was a certain elevation that only combining that strength with better form would be able to reach. So, he was having her work on her technique.

"Hey..." she huffed a bit, "can I talk to you about something?" she asked, nailing his palm. He didn't mind the small burn in them from taking several hits for the majority of their session. Her request gave him pause, but he nodded, not indicating for her to stop, so she continued, furrowing her brow as she seemingly tried to piece together how she wanted to say what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry...for uh...that whole thing," she said, frowning and finally taking a second to pause.

"You don't need to apologize," he said and lowered his hands, "you were right. I didn't get incinerated. I think I actually...got offered a job, and accepted. So, that's something, right?"

"Ha...I mean, yeah I guess," she chuckled shallowly, "still, Princess Luna was...that was uncomfortable to sit through," she admitted, "...why'd you take that thing after all that?" she nodded her head towards his hand, where he had been wearing the ring. He was thankfully able to actually take it off, significantly reducing his initial suspicion of the item. Ezikeal had to admit, thinking back on the whole situation, that he should not have let himself be that passive. He silently blamed complacency on his part -- he was used to being the guy to follow the orders; just being the weapon that was deployed, not the guy up at the steering wheel making maneuvers around political leaders. The second factor he blamed was his fear towards them, and the idea of angering some kind of goddess without any backup plan aside from relying on his powers, which might not be enough to combat the two of them, sounded like it would be suicide.

"To be completely honest, it seemed like the most peaceful option," he said, looking at the pocket he had stashed the ring in, "to agree to their terms, try to keep my head down and deal with a problem that I was already involved in." Dash seemed to think on that answer.

"She just...pushed you around, dude," she sighed, "it doesn't sit right with me." She looked like there was more she wanted to add, but kept whatever it was to herself.

Me neither, he silently agreed, and the two got back at it.

"So Princess Luna is normally much more...?" he asked, catching another series of punches.

"Friendly, yeah," she landed a couple more, and Ezikeal approved of the adjustments she applied quickly as she focused on doing them right, "I've never seen her so...aggressive towards somepony like that, not to mention a lack of sympathy..." she landed her fist against his hand and held it there. Ezikeal raised an eyebrow, meeting her eyes with a curious tilt of his head.

"I'm gonna be honest, dude, you seem a decent amount of shady and shifty, with reason from the looks of it, but I can see you're trying to make things work out around here, which I, personally, appreciate," she pulled her arm back, "and you're focusing on fixing a problem you had a hand in," she smirked, before it fell some at the gravity of the mess he was involved in.

Ezikeal let out a smile at her words. She seemed to just be being down to earth and level with him, and being told she appreciated him specifically, rather than just the vague 'champions' card that other leaders on Azeroth would give while somehow managing to avoid interacting with him directly in most cases, gave him a warm feeling of comfort.

"Thanks. Now, I think it's time I start hitting you back a bit myself, hm?" he asked, letting the mood of the moment carry him for a bit.

"If you can," she shot back.

Amber Gem kept her head on a swivel, eyes sharp as she patrolled around the edges of Hayville, one of the smaller towns that was deemed "at risk" of some sort of Changeling attack by higher authorities. Amber hadn't been briefed on what exactly the cause of the sudden increase to security around certain parts of Equestria was, only that the Changelings were now to be treated as violent threats, meaning something deeply troubling must have happened. That fact set both her and her fellow guardsponies on edge. She was on patrol with two others, her taller fellow guard and earth pony, Ivy Blossom, who had blue hair under her helmet and green eyes surveying their surroundings, as well as the third member of her patrol, Pearl Wing, the pegasus with silvery white feathers and blonde hair with brown eyes. Amber was the unicorn of their trio, and so if anything happened it was most reliably up to her to signal of danger to the other guards stationed in the small town.

"I'm worried," Ivy said, speaking what seemed to be on all of their minds, "to station several times the normal amount of ponies here," she shook her head. Sure, they had basically been the only guards stationed in the town, but now there were two other trios sharing in providing protection to the town, that alone was setting alarm bells off in everyponies' heads, even the normal citizens had taken a notice that morning. Masking their concern was necessary though, it was their responsibility to preserve the peace, so answering and dismissing a few questions here and there about what was going on was more of a reprieve from dwelling on it personally.

"This is Azure Star, we see movement north of town," a voice communicated, echoing in Amber's head through the telepathic link she had established with the other two guard patrols after they arrived. Azure Star was another unicorn in one of the patrols. They had only met briefly, enough to exchange pleasantries, evaluate each other and coordinate communication between the three patrols.

"This is Amber Gem, we'll start heading in that direction, update us if you need us sooner." she sent back to prompt the third patrol to remain on their normal route, before relaying the information back to her trio. They maintained their normal route some before turning off and making their way towards the northern point. She knew Azure's team could probably handle a couple angry Changelings on their own if that was even what they saw, but the lack of response for several minutes as her trio walked in focused silence ate at her nerves. When she felt the telepathic link activate again, the voice that came through was not the one of dismissal she had hoped to hear.

"Changelings here! Help!" the message was quick and rushed, the voice Azure had communicated with being almost strained, as if she was sending the communication while casting something else. She and the other patrol sent affirmative responses and they went into action, rushing towards the scene.

"Pearl, go ahead of us, we'll be right behind you, there's Changelings and they need help!" she said, relaying the vital information.

"On it!" Pearl Wing said and shot off the ground to fly directly to where her aid was needed, another pegasus could be seen flying up from another spot at the edge of town as well, followed by a volley of strange, green magic being fired up at them. The pegasus swiftly, narrowly dodged before diving back down at the supposed Changelings.

That didn't look like typical Changeling magic.

Amber rushed faster, and panic welled up inside her when she heard what sounded like Pearl let out a scream upon their arrival. Amber's horn began to glow with a spell and Ivy was priming herself for the fight as they rounded the corner to help their fellow guardsponies.

Only to recoil at the sight in front of her, the spell fizzling out from the sheer shock of what she was now witnessing. There were four Changelings...or at least what looked like Changelings, something about them was off, they were an almost sickly green color instead of their usual black, and they looked much stronger than the typical run of the mill drone. That was the least concerning factor of the scene, what really sent a spike of dread through Amber was the very lifeless earth pony and Pearl Wing on the ground as two of the Changelings advanced on the remaining two guardsponies. The earth pony, Sturdy Shield, if she was remembering his name right, was motionless in a pool of red mixed with a glowing green substance, the mixture resulting in a bubbling, almost boiling sizzle to emanate from it. It appeared as if he had been blasted by some dark magic and stabbed deeply, the wound hidden with him being face down but no other possibility explained the amount of blood. Pearl Wing wasn't in much better shape. The pegasus was on her back, a terrified expression plastered on her lifeless face. One of her wings was at an odd angle, and what looked like a magical burn covered almost half her body, leaving a dark green, almost black layer of char over her armor and flesh. Ivy wasn't stunned for as long as Amber, and charged forth with an enraged scream dead set on avenging their fallen comrades.

"No, wait!" Azure cried out when she saw Ivy charge. The scream was enough to knock Amber out of her shock and she quickly cast a barrier over her ally. Thankfully it was in the nick of time, as the Changeling closest to Ivy whirled with a hiss, holding a polearm and swung. As the blade traveled through the air, a green flame engulfed it, leaving a trail of dark smoke before it impacted the barrier.

The loud sound of magic shattering rumbled through the area as Ivy scrambled to retreat with wide eyes and Amber shook her head rapidly, the pain of the barrier being overpowered staggering her for a brief moment, but she was trained for this and was able to recover quick enough to send a bolt of magic at the Changeling to cover for Ivy's retreat. It impacted the Changeling in a direct hit, pushing it back a foot or so and leaving a scorch of magic on the chitinous armor adorning the creature's body, only slowing it momentarily.

"They aren't normal!" Azure yelled, expending her magic to try to lock the Changelings in place while the remaining pegasus, Blazed Feather, remained close to Azure, taking a defensive strategy. The spell did little to slow the Changlelings, one focused on Amber and Ivy, while the other looked at Azure and Blazed. Disturbingly to Amber, two of the Changelings, not engaging in the combat right in front of them, seemed to be looking past the guards and into the small town. They appeared tense, like they wanted to move but were unable to make themselves. She narrowed her eyes with confusion, trying to puzzle that out for the briefest of moments, but a shout from Ivy grounded her once again.

"What's up with them!?" Ivy asked, panicked as the Changeling advanced on the pair while the other advanced on Azure's pair.

"I don't know!" Amber sent another bolt, this one packed with more magic, at the advancing enemy, following it quickly with a bright ray of light to disorient it. The results were as she hoped, an enraged screech and a momentary halt to the advance. Ivy capitalized on the moment to rush forward, spear primed and stabbed at the stunned Changeling.

Tink echoed blade against armor. The spearhead didn't penetrate the carapace, so Ivy settled for shoving as hard as she could, successfully pushing the Changeling onto its ass and narrowly dodging an uncoordinated swing from the polearm before rushing back to Amber's side.

"'Not normal' is an understatement," Ivy said firmly, slivers of panic in her voice. Amber didn't have time to check on how Azure and Blazed were fairing as the Changeling's horn lit up with a bright, strange, intimidating green fire of magic.

What is that!? shot through Amber's mind as the feral look of hatred and violence in the Changeling's eyes met hers a moment before the spell was unleashed. A fireball of the same intense green launched towards her and she let out a yelp, not expecting an explosive looking spell like that to be cast at such a close range. Did this Changeling not have any concern for itself!? With a quick wave of both hands a wall of magic solidified in front of her and she poured all the magic she was able into it.

The resulting explosion and shattering magic swiftly sent her tumbling back and a sickening scent filled the air. Her shield was destroyed and the resulting blast sent a burning feeling across her skin. She hissed as she got to her elbows, tiredly blowing a gust of wind with a weak spell to dissipate the smoke. The ground around the impact was charred and small green flames were engulfing patches of grass. The Changeling was shakily getting to its feet, the blast seeming to have at least rocked it, but before anything more could happen a large spike of ice was sent from somewhere and shattered against the Changeling's body, sending it stumbling a few feet to the side, followed by another, and another. Someone thudded against the ground behind Amber and hooked their arms under hers.

The last patrol finally arrived.

Amber felt relief dampen the dread and panic.

"Can you stand?" The pegasus asked, she never caught this one's name.

"Y-Yeah," she answered and he helped lift her up, "wait, Ivy!?" Amber called, looking for her ally, she hadn't had time to shield them both, so she hoped Ivy was behind the barrier she put up enough to avoid the most of the damage.

"I'm...I'm okay..." A coarse voice called out from the ground several meters away where the earth pony was laying. She looked burnt, but not badly.

"Get to Icy Wind, I'll get your friend," the pegasus said, gesturing to the third unicorn now in the fray, flinging spikes of icy magic at the Changeling. Icy Wind was a higher ranked unicorn in the guard, sent as a tougher reinforcement to the small town, and if her current output was anything to go by, she was decently stronger than both Amber and Azure. Amber nodded and quickly set to making her way to the unicorn. As she did, she glanced around, noticing that Azure and Blazed were holding their own relatively well against the Changeling after them. Azure was flinging magic at it, and Blazed was carrying her away with a few flaps of her wings whenever the Changeling got too close. Icy Wind, the unicorn with pale skin and striking blue eyes, gave her a glance but remained focused on channeling her energy into the barrage of ice lances. Amber silently admired the skill of the other Unicorn. The ice was no longer pushing the Changeling back, now only slamming against a transparent green barrier instead.

"I sent Stern Hoof to go move ponies across the village to safety," she explained, noting the lack of the earth pony from her trio. "If we cannot disable either of them we are in serious danger when the other two decide to stop spectating," Icy said, some exertion clear in her voice as she channelled the barrage, "what can you tell me about them?" she asked as Amber finally had a moment to pull a mana recovery potion from her satchel and downed it. The pegasus landed by them with Ivy a moment later.

"Their magic is very strong, it broke my barriers in a single hit each time. They are resilient to physical weapons, Ivy's blade did not pierce their natural armor," Amber reported, now scanning the encounter to figure out how to aid. She saw the Changeling attacking Azure light up like a torch, finally starting to use magic itself. She had room to breathe for the moment, so she took a deep breath, small swirls of magic whirling around her horn as she channelled a more complex spell, and prepared to cast.

Energy Drain

A light blue swirl of magic channeled down from Amber's horn, to her hands, and shot out towards the Changeling like a bullet, impacting the Changeling's horn not even a second later. The Changeling let out a shrieking roar as energy was quickly siphoned. The blue magic shifted to a green hue as it traveled back to Amber. She quirked a brow, energy drain didn't usually change-

Agony.

Searing, white hot agony tore through Amber's entire being the moment the green passed through her hands back into her system. She cried out and cut the spell off immediately but the damage was already done. She panted and groaned, falling to her side as the strange sensation clawed its way through her.

"Amber?!" Ivy asked, concern evident in her voice as Amber thrashed. Amber didn't respond, couldn't respond as the pain ran its course. She didn't know how long the mind numbing pain lasted, all she could register were the hands trying to shake her at different points. When the pain dulled to a constant throbbing centered in her head she was breathing hard, body feeling weak, and seeing Ivy's concerned face staring down at her.

"Amber, hey! Amber, are you with us!?" Ivy asked, glancing over somewhere to the side where the sounds of magic clashing echoed, but Amber couldn't muster the energy to turn her head to investigate the noises.

"I'm...agh...I'm alive..." she said. Her mind whirled - she had no idea what just happened. Did the Changelings have counter-charms to energy drain spells? She had never heard of any that drastic in their negative reactions to enemy intrusions. Ivy fumbled through her bag and poured a small vial into Amber's mouth, revitalizing her energy, but doing nothing to dull the aching in her head. She finally turned to look at the state of the conflict.

A shrill shriek echoed from where Azure was, a bright lance of magic had finally pierced through the solid, chitinous armor covering the Changeling's body and it now lay motionless and prone in the dirt, a pool of bright green blood forming around it, leaving the grass it came into contact with withered and dead. Azure was practically collapsed on the ground, Blazed looked like the only thing keeping her somewhat straight as she panted, on her knees.

That left- she turned to see the other Changeling with several ice lances through its torso, blood sizzling against the ice and pooling down at its feet. Icy Wind was standing tall, holding a forced looking posture to keep from falling, panting and staring at the Changeling with her arms still pointed towards it and horn faintly glowing. The pegasus Amber still didn't know had several mana potions, most empty, and another filled at the ready to give to Icy Wind. It looked like to keep the barrage of ice going, she had been getting fed the potions as she channelled. Amber raised an eyebrow, that was a little risky for a couple reasons, mainly the way that would tax somepony's body, but she didn't have the capacity to weigh the positives and drawbacks right now. Both disdain, worry, and a visible tinge of regret could be seen in the icy unicorn's eyes. They didn't want to kill them, but this encounter only confirmed what they had been told...the Changelings were absolutely a lethal danger now.

And two more remained.

Or should have remained, would be the better term, considering both of the Changelings were now missing.

Dread solidified in the pit of Amber's stomach, even as Azure Star and Blazed Wing regrouped with them.

"We need to get to the citizens, now!" Amber practically screamed. A murderous Changeling with that kind of power was horrible already, but two!? The ice cold fear overwhelming her (and another revitalizing potion) spurred her on as she raced with the others into the town. As they ran, the worries only grew deep inside Amber Gem. It took so much effort to take down the first two, and they were already going to be quite exhausted going into this next fight with the not-even-a-little exhausted Changelings. Could they even protect the citizens? No, they had to try, it was their duty, a part of her duty that she didn't think would ever come to pass at a level like this; "to take the burden of danger so that others may thrive." They reached halfway across town when they encountered Stern Hoof once again, likely heading back to meet up with them.

"Where are the citizens?" Amber asked desperately, causing Stern to take a step back from the surprise at how forceful her voice had gotten.

"I took them across the town opposite of you, what happened with the Changelings?" he replied quickly.

"Take us to the citizens, two escaped into the town," Icy said and Stern's eyes widened before turning back the way he came from and leading the rest of them quickly.

Please please please don't be too late, Celestia please! Amber repeated in her head, the ache having finally dulled enough to be completely ignored by the adrenaline pumping through her system. As they neared the end of a street, voices could be heard. They sounded terrified, but alive, and the alive part was what mattered to Amber because of course they would be scared. When they turned the corner, though, a few factors practically gave Amber, and likely the others, a heart attack. For one, Stern Hoof was already dead and on the ground, discarded to the side of the terrified crowd who looked to have been herded into a clump. Secondly, the Stern Hoof they had been following transformed back into a Changeling with a burst of green fire, turning its weapon on them quickly. Third, another Changeling was present, a feminine figure that was much taller than the other two Changelings, with an impressively long horn and an unmistakably imposing presence.

Chrysalis.

Amber's blood froze. Time seemed to stop as the Changeling queen turned to look at the new arrivals. Her piercing, glowing green eyes locking onto each pony one after another, a predatory smile on her lips with her fangs shining in the light.

"My, my, if it isn't the little troop of troublesome ponies who have bested two of my lesser drones! Come to join in on the fun?" her voice practically bled through the air, a mocking, echoey scraping against Amber's ears as the Changeling Queen punctuated her sentence with a laugh, mostly to herself. Her laughter cut itself short when she gave her two drones a look. They let out a chittering growl in response to the mental order, and moved to stand guard by the collection of the citizens as Chrysalis walked towards Amber and the others. Amber felt her heartbeat hammer harder and harder in her chest as fear flooded her system. They could not even hope to best the Changeling Queen, even before they got their hands on whatever strange power was making even lesser drones such a catastrophic ordeal now. They needed a way out, they had to find some escape, to warn others of what was happening!c

It seemed the others had similar thoughts.

"You five get out of here," Blazed said, orange eyes not leaving the approaching Queen.

"Oh? How cute," Chrysalis smirked as the pegasus got ready to charge her.

"Go!" Blazed shouted.

"Yes, run!" The Queen mocked.

"What-" Amber began to immediately protest before the pegasus surged forwards at the Changeling Queen with a powerful flap of her wings. Chrysalis only seemed to be amused; she watched the brave pegasus and decided to humor her it seemed, nimbly avoiding the flurry of strikes. Azure grabbed Amber and Ivy's shoulders. Amber knew what they were going to do and it made her sick, terrified, and guilty all at once.

"We can't let this happen somewhere else so easily," Azure said, her horn lighting up with a spell. Amber's breathing only sped up, they were really about to just-just leave!? They were going to just run away and leave everyone!?

"But the citizens-" Amber started, only to be cut off by Ivy.

"If they wanted to kill them they would already be dead, there may be a chance to rescue them yet," she reassured. Amber closed her eyes.

"Where to?" Amber asked through gritted teeth, horn igniting with magic.

"Canterlot," Icy Wind said. Amber nodded, and charged the spell with Azure, needing to rely on each other to transport multiple people at once. As the spell was cast, she spared a glance to see Blazed finally land a hit, only for her arm to be grabbed by Chrysalis, an equally eager and violent look in her eyes.

A flash of light, a pop of sound, a change in temperature, and Amber's feet touched the stone flooring of the barracks of Canterlot before she promptly fell to her knees. Their sudden arrival, and the state of them, immediately caused a commotion but it was all a blur around her. She heard Icy talking loudly but everything was muffled. They were finally out of the danger, the adrenaline was wearing off, and the reality of what just happened was crashing into Amber Gem like a ton of bricks.

She had just witnessed the deaths of three, likely four other ponies, almost died herself, contributed to taking the lives of two other living things regardless of the danger they posed, and if that wasn't enough, she fled from the battle, leaving not only another guardspony in danger, but also the entire population of the town she was supposed to protect. She wanted to throw up, but settled for stinging of tears in her eyes and the heaving of her breaths as she broke down.

Celestia took a sip of her tea, her sister sitting quietly across from her in her chambers. The doors were locked and the windows closed. Her sister had conducted herself rather unfavorably the other day with Ezikeal, and while Celestia understood part of the reason, a cloud of mystery hung in the air for her. She hadn't anticipated her sister to behave so outwardly hostile in her interactions with the man. She finally had the time to really sit down and speak with her sister after coordinating things with the guards and tending to her responsibilities.

"Sister-"

"No," Luna said, recognizing the chiding tone of her sister immediately, "if thou intends to scold us like a filly, we ask thou to hold thy tongue and let us speak first." Celestia paused, setting down her tea cup and nodded for Luna to continue.

"Thou compares us, Sister? This Ezikeal and ourself, we mean," Luna said, setting her own tea down as well.

"I never said such," Celestia said and observed her sister through a calm, regal mask. Even if she knew her sister would be able to see right through the front, it made her feel more comfortable addressing these sorts of issues through it. The accusation was accurate, though, Luna and Ezikeal did seem to share a similarity in a corrupted past full of misdoings, even if one was considerably much more brutal, "but the fact remains, Sister, that we require the assistance of one who is more knowledgeable on the immediate threat to our subjects. It is also true that you do share, if not in the degree, the circumstances by which wrongdoings were enacted..."

"Yet Ezikeal clings to it," Luna spat, "We observed him thoroughly, and his refusal to forego such treacherous, violent power sickens us. We sought to abandon our own. To forget our horrible past, our grievous misdeeds. This Ezikeal holds them akin to a trophy, flaunting such power when it suits him. To speak as though we, who hath denounced, rejected, and moved beyond our history and this reckless one who wields the arts of death so brazenly, are within any means similar!? The notion itself is an insult, Sister." Luna's eyes burned with irritation, disdain and worry as she stared into Celestia's own. Celestia was silent for a moment, thinking on Luna's words. So that's why...

"Luna, you and Ezikeal are not the same," Celestia said softly, raising her hand to keep Luna from jumping in, "But you are similar, and I fear you have thrown away an opportunity to achieve what you had desired from him. You do not want him to cling to his power as much as I do. It is terrifying, and very clearly a danger. However, we must consider the person wielding the power as well, and what he must have gone through to make him want to hold this power as close as he does. Do you not feel you may have scared him into being even more defensive? I spoke with Twilight about what transpired before I had entered," Celestia's tone grew more firm as her words progressed. Luna's eyes widened ever so slightly before she looked away, crossing her arms.

"We...see thy point. Still-"

"Still," Celestia kept going, "we are entering into troubling times, dangerous times. We are not strangers to conflict, Sister, but it has been lifetimes, and even more so, it involves powers from domains with which we had not held any desire to interact with. We," she reached over across the table and took her sister's hand, "cannot afford to be blinded by grudges or let our opinions on what we want done impact what needs to be done. Right now, we need Ezikeal," She squeezed Luna's hand, who's expression finally softened and she squeezed back, "he's the only one who truly knows what we are about to be facing head on."

"Sister...we are deeply troubled and worried for our kingdom..." Luna said softly.

"I am too, Sister." Celestia agreed.

A loud, rapid knock stirred them from the soft quiet they had settled into.

"Yes?" Celstia called, brow furrowing. She had specifically arranged for there to be no interruptions to this meeting, so why...

"Princess, there has been an attack from the Changelings!"

It had been two days since the Princesses visited, and Twilight had gotten everyone gathered and on the next train ride to Canterlot, leaving Spike to take care of things back at the library. The ride itself proved to be relatively peaceful, a fact that Ezikeal was glad about. He sat by a window, distancing himself from the rest of the group slightly and watched the world pass by rapidly. There truly was so much he had yet to fully have an understanding of about this world, and he silently kicked himself for not borrowing more books from the library, even if that meant enduring questions and conversations from a very clearly wary, borderline on edge, Twilight. He did not fault her for it, exactly, even if she could handle it better. From what he understood, it was likely the stress of having to deal with truly, actual lethal threats for once. He wished he had the skill his old group leader, Thorburn Prescott, a warrior from Elwynn who always exuded positivity and confidence and could manage to calm down even the most heightened of emotions in others. The energy that man brought to the group was undeniable, and kept them going when things got tough. Ezikeal had always dismissed his charismatic nature, but now he sorely missed it. Thorburn wouldn't have taken so much shit from Luna, either, Ezikeal reckoned with a small smirk, picturing the warrior fearlessly squaring up with the lunar deity regardless of what the outcome of that may have been.

Ezikeal glanced around the train car. Twilight was deep in a book, Applejack was asleep, Fluttershy was on the opposite end of the train car from him, in the opposite corner with Rarity and Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash was halfway between himself and Applejack. Rainbow Dash met his eyes when they fell on her and she shuffled over to sit closer to him.

"So...what are the cities like where you're from?" Dash asked, deciding the quiet of the train car had gone on for long enough.

"It depends on where in my homeland you were, but some were large and open to the sky," Ezikeal said, thinking of Stormwind, "others were more sheltered, one was built inside a mountain as a large fortress," he said, mind drifting to Ironforge, home of the dwarves. He noticed a perk up from Twilight across the car in the corner of his eye at the mention of it, but paid it no mind.

"Hm, Canterlot is built on the side of one," Dash said, glancing out the window. Ezikeal glanced as well, seeing the city coming up in the distance. It really was on the side of the mountain, a large section overhanging off of it completely. Ezikeal was no stranger to dangerous looking architecture and designs, given that Dalaran, a large city floating in the sky held up only by magic, existed, not to mention a plethora of other floating structures and precarious settlements he knew of, so he wasn't too shocked to see it.

"I like it," he said, earning a smile from Dash. It was true, it looked unique and he was excited to see how a city was in a time of true peace, even if that peace was soon to be very disturbed...possibly ruined entirely.

"Wait till we get into it, it's a lot cooler up close," she said as she nudged his arm, the small gesture served to put Ezikeal's mind at ease. For all his doubts about his situation and relationships, his connection with Dash seemed to be his closest relationship at the moment. Applejack was close as well, but she seemed to hold some, justifiable, reservations. Twilight was...Twilight, he didn't feel like he could trust her, even if her overall intentions were "good" in the general sense. The rest of them he hadn't interacted with enough to really gauge their standings, and that fact was something he wanted to mend relatively soon.

The trip on train to Canterlot station took a little over half a day; they had left early that morning and now the sun was already signaling the near-end of the afternoon. The train staff provided them with some meals, and Ezikeal got to try a couple food options from what was being served. Oatmeal and a slice of carrot cake, both were quite good to Ezikeal's taste, thoroughly enjoying being able to experience the taste of foods again. When they pulled into the station, Ezikeal looked out the window and saw the stone architecture of Canterlot, both similar and very different to the sprawling stonework of Stormwind. The buildings appeared colorful on their roofings and decorations, some shop windows were displaying merchandise, and the populace seemed to be bustling no matter where he looked. The insignia of Equestria was strung up on flags and banners, a blue background with white stars centered with what looked to be artful depictions of the two goddesses circling the sun and moon respectively. When Ezikeal stepped off the train, he caught several guards and a few of the other citizens looking his way warily from the sword on his back, but it seemed the presence of the other six was enough to dissuade any confrontation.

"We should meet with the Princesses before we do any sightseeing," Twilight announced and began to lead the group into the city. Ezikeal was greatly impressed with the city from a first impression with how positive it seemed everywhere. Ponies were talking in the streets, swarming in and out of some of the more popular looking stores, and it didn't seem like there was much of a worry in the world for most of them. The guards looked a little on edge, surveying the crowds for anything suspicious, but Ezikeal figured that was understandable considering the increased danger of Changelings was likely now common knowledge amongst the forces. As they ascended towards the higher sections of the city towards the castle, the crowds thinned, and Ezikeal recognized the separation between the upper class sectors and the rest of the city. Ponies were still out and about in a high population, but not nearly as much as the lower sectors. Those he saw here were dressed much more nicely, and the stores much more high class. Rarity seemed to straighten her already rigid posture, glowing in her ideal setting, the dark blue dress she wore matching, and in several cases, outclassing, the other citizens who had dressed themselves up as they walked through the streets.

As they reached the outskirts of the castle itself, the armor of the guards shifted, indicating a switch from the usual guard to royal guard, with a more vibrant gold and blue look to their armor compared to the guards on the outside. From conversations Ezikeal had had with royal guards in Stormwind, the position was of great importance and honor, despite typically seeing little actual action. They took a stance of attention as the seven of them approached.

"Elements, Ezikeal," the guard addressed them and Ezikeal raised his eyebrow slightly, not expecting the guard to know him by name, "the Princesses have urgently requested your presence upon your arrival."

"Did something happen?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"You would be correct, please, go on ahead, the Princesses told us to inform you that they will be in the medical wing," he said, opening the gates for them, ignoring the startled sound Twilight and the others let out. A nervous air had materialized over the group, looks of nervousness taking hold of each of their expressions, even Ezikeal was concerned, though he had an idea of what the cause of such an urgent request may be involving. The Changelings, it had to be, the only question left was what about them? Did they already attack, had they snuck into the city, or had more information come to light? It was more likely an encounter, given they were heading to the medical wing of all places. Ezikeal didn't bother taking in the scenery of the castle as the group moved quickly into it, Twilight navigating them down several hallways quickly and easily until they came to a stop at a large set of doors. The stone aesthetic of the castle shifted to a more sterile-seeming one, smoother stones, almost like polished quartz, adorned the architecture in this section. There were more ponies in what looked like doctor's uniforms and lab coats, some pushing carts, others looking over papers. It didn't seem especially busy, but it wasn't lifeless by any means. It took only a moment for Twilight to talk to one of the nurses before the seven of them found themselves approaching the end of a hallway with an indicated room number. Celestia was standing outside of the room, waiting for them. A glance through the window revealed a pony wrapped up in bandages laying in the single bed and Luna sitting in a chair not too far from it at the side of the room. The pony had blue hair and the eye that wasn't covered by bandages was a soft green.

"Thank you all for coming here so promptly, I had not anticipated our meeting would be getting off to such a heavy start," Celestia said, face a depiction of empathy and concern, "I need to inform you about our current situation, as it is most dire, before we speak with those who have come to inform us of this situation," she explained, tilting her head to indicate the pony in the room as one of the informants. Said pony was looking through the window at the Element bearers with surprise before her eyes met Ezikeal's and a look of curiosity replaced awe. The Element bearers looked back through the window with varied expressions. Applejack's face was pressed into a neutral one, but Ezikeal had spent enough time around her to know she was concerned. Rarity's distaste for whatever treatment this pony had gone through was clear on her face. Rainbow Dash was looking sympathetic, same as Pinkie, who had even deflated a little at the sight. Twilight looked horrified and Fluttershy was no longer hiding behind her hair and was openly looking on at the scene in what appeared to be shock, but her clenched fists seemed to indicate she was angry, which surprised Ezikeal.

"What happened? Did the Changelings do this?" Twilight started to ask.

"Hayville was attacked by Changelings and Chrysalis herself made an appearance," Celestia said, "Of the nine guards at location, three passed away and one is unaccounted for," she said, earning a collection of gasps from the others.

"T-Three?" Rarity stammered, shock and sadness evident in her voice, to which Celestia nodded her confirmation.

"We want you here now to hear the reports so that you may have an understanding of what exactly has happened," she said, then looked directly at Ezikeal, "or press for details you think may be relevant." Ezikeal nodded, understanding his role in this. The Changelings had already attacked. That was not a good sign at all, especially with Chrysalis' involvement. Celestia let them inside the room.

"Ivy Blossom, I am sure you are familiar with the Element Bearers: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, and this here is Ezikeal, a very skilled pony with experience involving what is going on with the Changelings." Celestia explained and Ivy Blossom sat up a bit straighter, "they are here to help and compile information about what has transpired." Ivy nodded, her hands shaking a bit as she gripped her bedsheets.

"We were doing our patrols like usual when Azure's patrol sent word of movement at the edge of the town, asking for another trio to come investigate with them. About halfway there it was announced that there were Changelings. We rushed to the scene, Pearl Wing went on ahead of us. When we arrived, Pearl Wing and Sturdy Shield were both already deceased. We engaged in combat with two of the four Changelings present, I can only be thankful they didn't join in at the time...The Changelings themselves were very abnormal. They were an off-color, incredibly strong to where my blade deflected off of their carapace, and wielded destructive magic that destroyed our barriers in single hits. Azure Star and Amber Gem used their magic and I attempted to assist Amber Gem while Icy Wind's trio approached. A Changeling shot a fireball that exploded, giving me the burns I arrived with, and after that Icy Wind's trio arrived. She sent Stern Hoof to go warn the citizens and take them to safety and engaged in combat with one of the Changelings along with Bright Gust. We ki-dispatched the Changelings and noticed the remaining two had gone into the town. We met up with who we thought was Stern Hoof, who led us to where the citizens were taken only to then find out that the real Stern Hoof was dead, replaced by the Changeling who led us to the citizens. Chrysalis was there. After telling us to go, Blazed Feather engaged the Changeling Queen in combat as Azure and Amber cast a teleportation spell on themselves and me, while Icy Wind took herself and Bright Gust to Canterlot, where we arrived in the barracks," as Ivy spoke, she gripped the sheets tighter and stared down into her lap. Celestia put a hand on her shoulder, soothing her gently. Twilight wrote every word down on a scroll while the others seemed to get even more distressed by the news. Ezikeal pondered the report for only a moment, before deciding where he needed to press for details.

"Aside from the odd new strength these Changelings had, did anything else out of the ordinary or of note occur?" he asked. Ivy slowly nodded.

"They resisted an Energy Drain from Amber, it left her in a state of anguish for several minutes," she said.

"Resisted?" Twilight asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, that is what it seemed. She attempted it, and shortly after was on the ground, disabled for several minutes due to the pain." Ezikeal nodded at Ivy's words, trusting Twilight to have written that down.

"What state were the citizens in when you saw them?" he asked next.

"They were herded into a crowd and were fearful. None at the location aside from Stern looked injured," Ivy reported.

"If they weren't dead, it is likely they will be used for some other purpose. What that is I am unsure of," Ezikeal concluded, looking at the others, namely Celestia, Luna, and Twilight to see if they had any objections to his conclusion.

"It is quite likely they intend to kidnap them all and use them to extract love. It sustains them," Celestia agreed, Luna nodding slowly alongside her sister.

"That means there's still a chance to save them..." Ivy said hopefully, Ezikeal nodded, despite the reservations in his mind. Assuming they still needed love to sustain them after being infused so thoroughly with Fel, it was safe to assume that the citizens were all, or at least mostly, still alive. That was also to assume that the Changelings did not do anything else aside from this "love extracting," which Ezikeal was not confident on. There was something else about the story that quietly nagged at Ezikeal's mind.

"Tell me about this Energy Drain spell, please," he said.

"Energy Drain, a semi-challenging spell in which the caster connects their magic to the target in order to siphon their mana and magical energy. In old texts, it was described by magic scholars as effectively becoming a magic vampire, taking another's magic into oneself. It was deemed effective at neutralizing unprepared magic users and boosting ones own magic power for a short period." Twilight answered quickly, as if she were reciting a text she had read, a fact Ezikeal didn't doubt. Furthermore, that alluded to something very dangerous if it truly worked as described.

"Thank you. I would like to meet this Amber Gem, I believe she may be in danger," Ezikeal said, locking eyes with Princess Celestia.

Author's Notes:

I'm back! Kinda.

Life has been busy busy, but I haven't forgotten this story, and others I want to write (realistically this chapter had been sitting like 60% done for several months now I just have not had the time/energy to finish it out until now). I truly appreciate the feedback from those who have followed this story and I am so sorry for the very long hiatus. I will try to post things a little more frequently, but I'm not going to make any big promises because idk what life will bring and tbh things are still kinda wacky and busy rn. Posting timeline is likely gonna be infrequent but I don't intend to fully abandon this story at all whatsoever.

Side note, I saw a few comments mentioning it should have an anthro tag a while ago now, and so I have added it, I don't want to mislead people into my story, so I appreciate being told about this. For some reason I thought the human tag would just cover it but I see where my logic kinda breaks with that heh.

As always, constructive feedback is welcome and appreciated! I am trying to make a good story, and this is my first real attempt at that so I am always looking for ways to improve.

Update: Life kinda decided that right as it was starting to settle to start being wack again so next post is gonna likely be a couple months again sadge sorry for my lack of consistency :(

Suffer Well, Death Knight

by UltraSynWeave

1 Arrival

2 A (Mostly) New Start

3 Meetings

4 A Party and Fragments of the Past

5 Things are Never that Simple

6 Shrouded Origins and Prying Eyes

7 Danger Lurks

8 Rising Conflict

9 Strained Connections

10 In the Goddess' Eyes

11 Casualties