> Unleashing the Shadowbornes
>  by Golden Scrolls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A shrill scream pierced the night air as the sounds of breaking objects are heard. Sounds like this are extremely common every night. A stallion dashed past his aggressors and tried to find the only safe spot he knows, his room. He held a silver key and he jammed it into the lock and desperately turned it. The door obeyed his orders and he dashed in, shutting and locking the door behind him. Immediately, he trotted over to one of the corners of his room, laid down and wept. He did that every day of his life...

That stallion... was me

Another flashback...

I cautiously crept down the stairs of an abandoned house just outside our property... I needed it as a release from what was sure to come in almost no time at all. Once they figure out I left, I’m dead. A basement... one that was perfect but there was something else, a door at the far end of the basement. Curiosity and a sense of desperation kicked in. I forcibly opened the door and a long corridor stretched out in front of me. I slowly trotted down it, unsure if I wanted to go on or not. In the end, pressing on was the most logical choice because I would’ve been dead if I went back.

My hoof almost slipped on something I didn’t see until I looked down. It was a golden notebook. I cautiously picked it up and examined it. Dust was nonexistent on the front cover which made me wonder how long it was down there. I flipped it over to take a look at the back cover. My eyes immediately widened and they flicked from it to my cutie mark and back several times. It was an exact match. I hastily took the notebook and hurried on...

My eyes cracked open to the sound of running water. Immediately, they were blinded by the harsh light that the sun could only manage.

Where am I? I thought, beginning to pace. With a rush, I remember the events of the past few years that led me up to this point. I have been on the move for about a week. I was hungry, tired and most of all, sore. I shrug, casting the thoughts from my mind and began to look around for something, anything that could give me a sign of where I was. And then I saw it, a path that wound itself between the trees. I trotted down it, happy to see a different path because the old one got boring after a while.

For hour after restless hour, I trotted down the new path, hoping to find something that would give me clues to any sort of civilization at all. Eventually, I found it in the form of a clearing. I trotted faster, hoping to see a village or something. It was then I spotted a clearing in which a mare fell at my hooves.

I jump back, startled at the new development that was unfolding in front of me. “H-Hello?” I weakly call. 

She responds with an “umph” followed by a “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?” I gaze at the mare, unsure of what to do.

She stands up weakly and offers her hoof, “Yeah, I’m sure. My name is Shybeat, but you can call me Shy, and you are?”

I stare blankly at her “Hello... I am Golden Stream” I look away, thoughts and questions whirling inside my mind. And suddenly, the emotional barrier that was holding them back broke and I fall to the ground, weeping. 

“G-Golden?” I see her mouth “are you okay?”

I don’t hear her, the sadness keeping her words from reaching my ears but the movement of her mouth tells me she said something. I try to get up but the emotions just push me to the ground again.

“I-I-I...” I fall silent, unable to even speak.

She trots closer with a worried look in her baby blue eyes. “It’s okay... whatever it is, I’m here, I’ll take care of you.”

I drew back, as if I was stung. “How can you make me believe you? How can, after all these years, I trust anypony ever again? My life... is a lie.”

“Because, I am not your life... I just wanna help.” She responds a little too cleverly, almost like she means it. A thought then occurred to me maybe she does.

I slowly, almost cautiously get up and face her.

I know you just want to help,” I said quietly. “It isn’t that simple anymore... nothing ever is.” I sigh, something I haven’t done in years. “I just... I just don’t know what to do anymore. I... am all alone” I look down, ashamed of my reaction to her.

She looks me in the eyes, giving me a long and careful look as though she was peering into my soul. she gives one single nod and replies, “I-I understand what you’ve been through... but you don’t have to worry about that anymore... I won’t let anything happen to you anymore... I promise.”

“I... thank you...” I give her a hug. “You promise not to leave me here lost and alone?”

She hugs back and smiles, “Of course I won’t”

I just stare, still unsure of how to handle this situation. I just respond with a nod. I feel empty inside, like a big chunk of my soul is missing, never to return.

“T-Thanks again,” I try and muster up a smile but it falls flat.

She returns the smile, “You’re welcome.”

“I... just don’t know what to do or where to go...”

“Don’t you have a home?” She asks cluelessly. Not knowing my past, that question may seem harmless to any other pony, but to me, it brings so many bad memories, so many things i try to avoid, try to forget.

My gaze hardens and I turn away. “I... don’t want to talk about it...” My voice came out cooly and I realize my mistake. “I’m sorry for reacting like that...”

The smile on her face fades and the look of worry returns. “No... I-I’m sorry. it’s a soft subject, i understand.”

I sigh, unable to get my emotions under control. “Y-You didn’t know...” Another sigh. She remains silent, appearing unable to think of anything to say. Her thoughts wandering freely to my head. Her curiosity about me shows in her expressions. Her desire to help is almost overwhelming. She‘s a pony who cares, this I can tell for sure

I continue to stare blankly, unable to comprehend why she cared so much. “I... still don’t know what to do or where to go. I am... lonely” I look down, still unsure of myself.

She appears to be thinking for quite some time before responding. “Consider yourself lonely no more... you’re coming home with me.” She smiles.

I froze in my spot, my mind reeling at her last words. I try to get the thoughts together. “Y-You mean it?” I wanted to turn the other way and tell her that I don’t believe her but there was something about the way she said it. There is something... friendly about the way she said it. I just nodded.

“Of course! Consider yourself family.”She said smiling fondly.

I stare blankly at her still unsure what to say as my emotions are still all mixed up, partially from the excitement, I think, but mostly from what I left behind. Endless days of torture, abuse, anger, everything I dealt with on a daily basis. I  just simply nod and she continues staring at me, smiling with such excitement I don’t quite understand just yet. I notice her eyes fading from the baby blue shade, to a green color. I force down my temptation to ask, figuring it would be best not to.
“Maybe I should show you around Ponyville, I don’t believe you are from around here.” she continues to smile happily at correct prediction. 

Not wanting to leave her hanging, I nod my head and manage to muster, “no... I am not.” I don’t know if she understood me, or if she did, i wonder how. She doesn’t respond right away, which leads me to believe maybe she doesn’t know what to say.

“Uh... follow me?” she says, still a little unsure. She spreads her wings and jumps into the air and hovers waiting for me who is still very unsure, even more so now. I mimic her actions waiting for her to lead, without any idea where exactly she is taking me, or even what Ponyville is. Of course I had assumed it was a town, but then again, I didn’t know for sure. She takes off flying doing a few flips and twirls every now and then, I just watch occasionally mimicking her moves.

After a while of flying we land in the center of a small town. I feel like the buildings are all huddled close together, close and snug, almost friendly. I look around, noting a building that looks similar to a gingerbread house with an oversized cupcake with three equally oversized candles. The roof is decorated with frosting swirls and gumdrops. Not too far from that strange building there is a large tree with an arrangement of balconies and windows. Outside the tree, there is a sign with a book on it, instantly grabbing my attention. The next building to grab my attention was a tall building, much like a castle. This one is well put together, neat and organized. I don’t like it too much, it seems too marified. A little further in the distance, I saw a cute little cottage that appeared to be carved out of a hill. In front of it, there was a small little bridge hanging over a decent sized stream. In the front yard, there appears to be an array of small bird houses. Looking closer, I notice small little holes sticking out of the ground. My thoughts are possible rabbit holes, or other creature’s. In the far distance behind the town, there is a large orchard, filled with every type of apple tree imaginable. Looking at them, my mouth begins to water. I imagine hidden among the trees, there is a small farm house with a barn.

Any normal pony would’ve smiled if they saw Ponyville for the first time. But I’m not a normal pony. I never was a normal pony. I am just taking in the surroundings but that’s about it. After I cried, I feel so emotionally drained. It seems like I am a shell of who I once was and I thought I would stay that way forever... until Shy turned around and gave me a warm smile.

“Like it?” She asked, indicating the whole entire village. I wanted to say something, anything, to dispel what I was feeling since I met her. Nothing came out, not even a nod or any other acknowledgment came to me. I took another look around the village and something came to me... a slight smile.

Eventually, I work up the courage to say a response, “Y-Yeah...” I fall silent again, still unable to comprehend what she was showing me. In fact, I wasn’t able to comprehend anything since she fell and landed right in front of me. I do the only thing that comes to mind, look down and sigh.

“So, is there anywhere you wanna go? Anything you wanna do?” She asks excitedly. I turn my gaze towards the strange tree, the only thing that remotely caught my eye. It appears , she understands my gesture. “That’s the library,” she smiles proudly, “it’s definitely one of the most unique buildings here in Ponyville.”

“I... kinda want to go there” I say quietly. “It looks rather interesting.” Almost immediately, my hoof goes to a saddlebag that was strapped to my back. It lingers there for a bit before grabbing something out.

Her eyes turn to the object I am hesitant on pulling out, her curiosity clear in her expression. She doesn’t say anything about it, instead she trots towards the library. “Well, come on then!” she calls back, clearly excited by my interest in something.

I trot after, trying to muster up a smile... and succeeding. “I’m coming!” I responded with a small smile etched on my lips. She’s breaking through, I thought. She laughs a sweet, tinkly laugh as she looks back noting my smile. I catch up to her, the smile still holding on my lips. She is actually making me feel better. My smile widens a bit.

“Heh... I think I am finally breaking through.” she says as if she read my mind, though I don’t think she meant to say it out loud because shortly after her cheeks are flushed with a light pink color. 

I notice her reaction and the smile increases yet again. “Yeah, you are breaking through. And I thank you for that.” I finally pull out the object that I wanted to bring out before I got here.

She looks at it, her curiosity getting the better of her for once. “Is that... a notebook?” She opens the wooden door that separated the library and trots through it.

I follow, unsure of how to respond. “Y-Yeah...” I open the notebook to the first page and hold it there, as if I was going to start writing something.

She simply smiled and immediately began to trot to one of the nearest bookshelves that lined the walls. She began to pick books off of them and gazed at the covers, putting them back where they belonged when she was done. I just found an empty spot at one of the tables and laid my notebook on top of it. I feel through my saddlebag to find a pen, pulling one out in the process.

“How should I start this?” I mutter, tapping the pen on the smooth wood. I stare at the page, hoping that it would give me some sort of inspiration. I found it almost immediately and    began to write. Shy noticed this and sat down next to me.

“Whatcha ya writin’?” She asked. I don’t even look up to acknowledge her presence, too focused on the task at hoof. I catch her peeking over my shoulder before guilt gets the best of her and she looks away.

I noticed the curiosity in her gaze before she looked away. I thought for a moment or two before sliding the notebook in her direction. She takes it carefully looking at me to make sure it’s okay. I just nod and offer a slight smile. She takes it and pages through it. 

“How... is it?” My slight smile fades and I am back to feeling emotionless again. Well, it was good while it lasted I thought glumly.

“Wow! You have amazing talent! No joke, I love it. Have you published anything?" 

I just stared, ”No...” I just sigh and look at her. “Can I have it back now?” 

“Oh... right.” She hoofs it back to me a carefully. “I was wondering because your writing is very excellent.”

I continue to stare, attempting to comprehend her words. “Thanks...” I fall silent again as I begin to write with her watching me. She turns her gaze to a bookshelf and picks a book out and begins paging through it fairly quickly. My eyes then leave the paper in front of me to the bookshelves. I slowly get up and trot over to see what they have for books. I idly pick one out at random and look at the back cover. I debate on if it is worth it or not, decide that it isn’t, and put it back. I sigh and move on to the next ones, repeating the process until one finally catches my eye. I sit back down, put away the notebook, and began to page through the book. It turns out that I am a pretty fast reader much like Shy. In around ten minutes, I was finished and I put the book away.

“You must be a really quick reader... much like me.” She smiles and trots back over as I pull out my notebook and pen yet again.

“I.. just noticed it now.” I confessed, closing the notebook. “But there is something I want you to see.”

“And that is?” I flip over the notebook to where the back cover was showing. She looks at it with a curious expression on her face. Her eyes flick from my cutie mark back to the cover and back again. The curiosity in her gaze heightened. “T-They are an exact match. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t really know. I was hoping you would know...” I sigh and put a hoof on the back cover. Unbeknownst to me, the mark glowed and something black shot out of it and into me. I tuck the notebook and pen back in my saddlebag.

Her eyes widened slightly, W-What was that? She thought.

“Are you ok?” I ask, plainly noticing her reaction.

“Y-Yeah...” She responds a little too quickly. “I’m alright...” She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” I ask, peering at her carefully. “Did I do something wrong?” A glimmer of an emotion washed over me... and promptly left leaving me the same as before.

She shook her head, “No... as far as I’m concerned, you did everything right.” A slight smile played on her lips.

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Good, for a second there, I thought I did something wrong.” My slight smile returns for the briefest of moments before it fades. “But I didn’t... that’s a good thing right?”

She giggles, “Yeah... doing something right is a good thing. Although doing the right thing may cause... pain for others. It’s how the world works... replenish rain to a dry land makes it habitable but it could put others in drought by doing it. Do you understand?”

I try to comprehend her words, Well then... what about me? I have lived neither... I ran from them but I still betrayed them. I sigh yet again.

She smiles, giving a small effort in trying to cheer me up. “Do... you want a muffin?” Her smile widened as she saw my reaction. “It looks like you do. Come along, I know a place.” She trots out leaving me with no other choice but to follow.

“I... never really had one before.” I confessed, she turned to me with an incredulous look in her eyes.

“Y-You didn’t? What kind of life did you live?” I frowned and the worried expression returned.

“Please... don’t ask for my sake.” I trot quicker to catch up to her. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Ah...” She trailed off, her curiosity in me increased with every passing moment. We trot to the cupcake shaped building I had noticed earlier from the tour. We trot up to the wooden door and push it open, trotting inside. “Welcome,” She said, indicating the whole building. “To Sugarcube Corner, or as I like to call it, the Corner.” She grinned and trots up to a pink pony.

“Hiya! Can I help you? I mean, I know I can help you... that was a rhetorical question. Anywho! what would you like to order?” the pink pony rambled on. Her attention soon drawn to me. “Oh my! are you new? I mean you must be, I’ve never seen you before! And i know everypony in Ponyville so you must be new!” She smiles excitedly.

“Ah... erm... I am new. My name is Golden Stream,” I said, smiling. “And you must be...”

The pink pony smiles, “Hiya! My name is Pinkie Pie.” She continues to smile. “And I suppose you didn’t come here just to talk to me. I mean if you did, I would be one of the happiest ponies in the world.” She continues to ramble on.

“Erm yes...” I interrupted. “We did come here for some muffins.” Pinkie’s face brightens and she trots out a door in the back. She almost immediately returns with a basket.

“Here ya go.” She shoved the basket into Shy’s hoofs, smiling brightly. “Have a nice day!”

“You too.” Shy says, returning the smile with one of her own. “C’mon! try one!” she says excitedly as she shoves a muffin into my hoof. I stare at it blankly unsure of what to think. I bring the muffin to my nose and breath in the sweet aroma of it, causing a smile to play on my face. When I take a bite, I feel my eyes and smile widen. I then decided that muffins are my new favorite treat.

“Mmmm.....” was all that escaped from me as I nommed the muffin in pure enjoyment before reaching for another. Shy smiles at me, letting me know that’s all she needs to hear. I watch as she eats one as well, seeing the same enjoyment in her. I think my life is now complete. I mean, what could be better than muffins? This thought manages to widen my grin.

“I take it you like it?” she giggles knowingly. It makes me wonder why she asked such a rhetorical question, but I don’t mind because I find it funny. I just nod, not wanting to talk with my mouth stuffed. “Heh.. the way you love these muffins, I’m almost sure you would give Derpy a run for her muffins.” I just chuckle to myself, not wanting to admit I don’t know who Derpy is. I assume she is a mare who apparently loved muffins, and anypony who loves muffins has to be good. I reach for yet another muffin, not wanting to question why I felt this good. I let my mind wander for a few minutes, trying to find any idea for my first story. I also might use it as a defense sometimes just in case somepony rambles on about topics I don’t care about. My mind wandered further and further until it... touched something else. My eyes widened and I tried to withdraw my wandering mind to no avail.

“Whats wrong?” She asked, curiosity and worry etched on her face. I tried harder to withdraw my mind but it was held there like some sort of captive.

“I-I don’t know...” I said, trailing off at the end. “I... felt something interesting.” I tried to withdraw my mind yet again and it held firm. Then all of a sudden, the things mind opens up to mine. My eyes widen further and the concerned expression on her face increases.

“G-Golden?” She gazed at me for several moments. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I gasp and close my eyes as its thoughts crossed my mind.


> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“W-What is that?” I muttered desperately. I needed to find my way out of its mind and I need to do it fast. And all of the sudden, it let go of me, returning my mind to where it once was. I gasp and reopen my eyes.

“G-Golden.... what just happened?” Her voice shaky and distressed. “Are you okay?” She continues to ask pleadingly.

“Y-Yeah... I guess I’m fine” I responded weakly. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was fine or not and that scared me. I didn’t want to tell Shy because it might make her worry more. I wanted to avoid worry and try and skip to happiness, but it never is easy, never was easy at all. I search out with my mind and still feel it there, waiting for the next move. I inwardly shivered and tried to shake its presence off my mind. I work up a slight smile despite the situation. “Believe me, everything’s fine.”

She looked at me for what seemed like a long time. “A-Alright, I believe you. Just let me know if anything changes.”

“I will let you know,” I work up a smile and nom a muffin. “You will be the first to know.”

She smiles warmly, cheering me up all of the sudden. “Good. I don’t want to let anything happen to you.”

I smile. “I’m glad I can trust you... actually, you are the first pony I can trust.”

“Really? The first you can trust?” She asked innocently, meaning no harm.

“Yup... I still don’t want to talk about it.” I shifted my fore hoofs on the ground, mind flipping back to what feels like a past life. I shuddered when I recalled the more sensitive memories.

“Ah” She simply responded, gazing at me. “I can respect that. Some things take time to talk a while.” She frowned, “Mine... I try to avoid talking about on a daily basis.” I nodded, understanding why she said that. I relaxed as the memories faded away. I avoided asking what it was that bugged her to be considerate.

“Same here... I relive it every night in my dreams...” I shuddered and she lays a hoof on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. “Nightmares... are truly powerful.”

She nods, “I know... but let’s not dwell on our pasts anymore. What we should focus on now and then the future.”

“Yep,” I responded with a slight smile. She makes me feel better no matter what I was feeling “Those two are the only things that matter now... but when I do think about the future, all I think about is the past...” My smile falters. “I guess living my life like what I did changed a few things inside me.”

“You... can only hide your past but eventually, it catches up with you and you begin to notice things you haven’t before...” She perks up slightly and looks me in the eye. “Things don’t stay bad for forever.” I guess meeting her was quite the improvement, but something inside me still felt empty, as if it were left unstirred. I tried to ignore the feeling, I tried to cast it away but it still was there.

“You’re right... but if things stay so bad for so long, you forget what good things are. I... can’t remember any good things from my past...” I shift my forhoofs on the ground, a little unerved at my revelation.

“It really was that bad?” Immediately, she regretted asking because my gaze hardened slightly.

“You don’t want to know, and I don’t want to tell you.” I said, the words coming out harsher than I intended. “Nopony should ever go through what I have gone through... and I have the scars to prove it.” I gaze back at my heavily scarred wings, sighing lightly.

“Oh... I...” She fell silent, gazing at my wings, the look of curiosity etched on her face. “I... don’t know what to say...”

“Please... for my sake, don’t say anything...” My gaze softens back to what it was. “I... don’t want to expain at all...”

“Than you don’t have to tell it to me...”

“I won’t tell it to you yet. Just be warned that I can and will explain to anypony who asks. Nopony asks, nopony tells.” I try working up a faint smile, but nothing was there to work up. My emotions felt rather empty, as if everything that was there faded into oblivion.

“Ok” She noms a muffin slowly, as if she was contemplating something important. “What if I do end up asking?”

“Than I would tell you what happened... even if I don’t want to.”

She continued to ponder for a while before finally saying, “No... I’m not gonna ask... but I certainly am curious.”

“I noticed.” I nom another muffin, savoring the sweet flavor that went along with it.

“I thought you would notice,” She said with a smile. “You seem to be very observant.”

“I’m really not that observant, I never have been.” I confessed. She just smiles and noms a muffin again. I smile back and take one out of the basket. “These things really are good.”

“Yup!” She noms yet another one and I smile in amusment

“Somepony’s hungry,” I said.

“True enough, what do you want to do after this?” That question surprised me. I have never been asked it before, especially by somepony as nice as Shy. I just stare blankly, unsure of how to even answer the question.

“I don’t really know,” I respond after a while of thinking. “You took me around Ponyville, showed me the library and gave me muffins. That was the nicest thing anypony has done for me and for that I thank you. I’m... not sure if I want to stay here anymore though.” I get up and begin to trot towards the door.

“Wait... please don’t leave. It’s perfectly safe here in Ponyville so why leave?” I halt just before I reach the door.

“S-Safe?” Finally safety, something I’ve been looking for during the past few weeks after I ran off. She gets up and smiles sweetly.

“Yeah, you’re safe here. It also looks like you need a place to stay that is if you decide to stay here.” She slowly trots toward me. I reach for the doorknob but I halt just inches from touching it. Wait… what if she really is telling the truth? I have been looking for a safe place ever since I left… but is it really safe here? Is it full of ponies I can trust? I sigh and draw back from the door, conflicting emotions showing on my face. She smiles faintly as I trot back to her.

“Really? For the first time I’m safe?” She nods and I breathe quite a large sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia…” My smile gets wider. “I’ve never even been safe before… but now I am.”

She continues to smile, “How does it feel?” My smile widens further.

“It feels good, really good.” I trot back to the table and sit down; she follows not far behind me, smiling widely. “How about this, do you want to go back to the clearing where we met? I mean, it really seems like a peaceful place.” She thinks for a moment or two before nodding.

A few minutes later, we finish off the rest of the muffins and trot out of Sugarcube Corner and toward the clearing. After five minutes, we arrive and I immediately trot over to a large oak tree in the middle. I look at it and lie down in the shade, sighing contently. She manages a small giggle and trots over to a willow tree next to mine. She immediately lies down and smiles at me. I smile back, plucking a blade of grass and toying with it. I continue doing this for a moment before I gently put it on the ground.

“I can do this all day and never get tired… laying in the shade is one of my new favorite things.” I said. She giggles and nods in agreement.

“Same here.”

I smile and reflect on what happened earlier today. Clearly the best point was meeting Shy but something she said kind of bugged me a little.

“Did you really mean what you said back there? That you now consider me as your family?” The words come out as indifferent as my emotions were earlier today. She smiles warmly

“Of course I did mean that… I would never turn down a pony like you.” Now that I think about it, why did I even ask her that question? What was the point in questioning her about what she said earlier? I remain silent, contemplating her words.

“You seem nice… and I really do need a home...” I shift my forhoofs.

“Like I said earlier… you can come home with me.” I snap out of my mental funk, her words finally reaching me.

“R-Really? You would do that after everything that you have done for me?” I said, clinging onto the hope that she would give me shelter and solace from the ones who absolutely ruined me.

“I would. I promised you that you would be safe with me and I am not backing down on that promise. I never have backed down and I certainly will not back down to you.” My smile widens further.

“Thank you… for everything. If it wasn’t for you…” I trailed off, not wanting to think about it at all. The look of curiosity appears on her face again. I could tell she was curious which is why I couldn’t stop the next few words from coming out. “I would be dead…” I clamped a hoof over my mouth, immediately regretting what I said as the look of curiosity on her face increased. She went silent and that was exactly what I’ve feared I would do. I tried to hide my past from her but part of it slipped out.

What have I done? Now surely, she would ask… I thought frantically. The curious look on her face grew with every passing moment…

“I… don’t want to know… doing that may set you off…” I nod, knowing all too well that it was the truth. I wanted her not to ask, I couldn’t bear to tell her what happened earlier in my life because I knew I would lose it emotionally. Losing it in front of others is something I want to avoid. After a long pause, she spoke again. “Ok… I’m not gonna ask… for your sake”

I smile softly, “Good… I don’t want you to see me depressed… we already had too much of that today.” I sigh happily and pluck another blade of grass. “Way too much…”

“Yup! I totally and completely agree with you,” She said, smiling slightly, “and if I’m right, if you spend some time with me, you won’t be so depressed because I make others happy.”

“That’s great! And now I am a part of your family... so I can stick with you and be happy?” She nods and my smile widens yet again. I pull out my notebook and write something down pretty fast before putting it away. She looked at me and then looked at my notebook. I could tell she wanted to ask what I was writing but I didn’t want to show her, at least, not yet. The reasons behind that were mine and mine alone, nopony else should know. I have to know that I could trust Shy fully before showing her and even then, it wasn’t finished. I doubted that it would even be finished in a month, maybe perhaps a year. 

The both of us remain silent for a while, enjoying the surroundings and each others company. My mind brushed against the thing that seemed to have taken root inside my mind. This time, it didn’t react negatively to it and I relaxed ever so slightly. That experience was interesting but I really don’t want to experience it again. I didn’t really know that my mind can brush up against whatever it was that attached to me and I really didn’t know that it could make me react negatively to it. I guess that there is a lot more in life that I didn’t quite understand. I smile and pluck another blade of grass, inspecting it in the sunlight. I could tell she wanted to know why I did that but again, I’m not telling because it’s something sensitive. There is a bunch of things I can’t tell her just yet because I don’t trust her enough.

“So, what do you want to do next?” She asks, breaking the silence that descended upon the clearing. I racked my brain, trying to think of any possible thing to do. As usual I come up with a blank and I just look at her.

“I’m not entirely sure,” I confessed. “I did everything I even wanted to do today and it was all thanks to you.” She just smiles and gives me an appreciative look and a nod. “You turned my life around.” The look of curiosity appears again and fades quickly. I could tell she was curious and I wanted to tell her what happened earlier in my life but I just couldn’t. In response, I just moved closer to the tree wanting to close my eyes and the memories were slowly filling my mind. I didn’t try and let them in, to protect myself and Shy but even then, things still poured through and I was absolutely powerless to stop them.

A sharp knock came from my door and I silently moved to the back wall, whimpering quietly. The knocks came again, much more forcibly and I still didn’t answer. All of the sudden, the door slammed open and an angry looking silver alicorn with grey eyes and mane trotted in towards me.

“N-No” I whimper. The alicorn just smirked and continued advancing on me. Her eyes glowed a shade of silver and my hooves leave the ground and I get pinned against the wall, trying my hardest to break it. She just smirks and draws a silver knife. I struggle harder and harder, trying my best to either break the spell or at least get her far enough away from me. It doesn’t work, it never works.

“Yes.” Her voice rang through the air and my mind. It was directed toward me with so much force and malice; I shrank further back against the wall just wanting it to end. “I know you are a failure... and I shall treat you as such.” A look of pure malice crossed her face as she put the knife to my neck. I shut my eyes expecting the worse but hoping for the best. I call out weakly and struggle against her iron grip. I kicked her with my hind hoofs and her grip slackens enough for me to wiggle out and escape. She tackles me to the ground and tries to impale me with her horn. I growl deeply and roll out of it, getting up and galloping off.

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“G-Golden... G-Golden? Golden, you need to wake up. This isn’t good, I don’t wanna see you like this. Please?” I wake up to Shy’s desperate voice, unsure of what has happened. “Hello? Are you awake?”

I open one of my eyes slightly to find it is still dark out. The only thing I can see is the moon shining crimson behind Shy and her outline. It takes me a few minutes to realize where I am and that I was only dreaming. My dreams always feel so real because of how often they portray my past life, well my past life as of a couple weeks ago. 

“Huh?” I manage to respond still half asleep.

“Are you okay? You were shaking... and muttering in your sleep... I tried to hum hoping that would soothe you... but you just kept shaking... and I figured I should wake you up and make sure you’re okay.... are you okay?” I look towards her face and notice her eyes are a cyan color, worry creasing her face. Though I have done nothing wrong, I begin to feel bad. There was absolutely no way I could even stop the nightmares from occurring. They happened every single night since the day I left. The expression on my face turned from the horror of the dream to a  hard look of having a hard life.

“Does it look like I’m okay?” I whisper, shuddering inwardly. She just continued looking at me worriedly. She just shook her head and my frown on my face increased. She pulls me into a hug and I lay my head on her shoulder. “I’m not okay... ever since the incident that happened earlier in my life I have been having nightmares. Normally they would fade if it was any normal pony... but they never fade from my mind. It drives me crazy and tears me apart.” More memories flashed through my mind and I manage a slight gasp. “M-Make it stop... please...” I whimper. She looks like she was debating something for a few minutes before managing a slight nod.

“Ok... I will because I don’t want to see you suffer like this... but it will only be a temporary thing.” I just nod and one of her forehoofs glow. “Just hold still...” She touches it to my head and a calm and soothing feeling washed over me. The memories that were fresh in my mind slowly faded away into nothingness. I relaxed quite a bit and gave her a small smile.

“Thanks... but how did you do it?” I was genuinely curious.

“Well... I can calm anypony down and make their lives better... even if I had to get rid of the memories temporairly to do it.” She smiles sweetly.

“Well... I’m glad you helped even if it isn’t permanent.” I smile at her and she returns it with one of her own. All of the sudden, something clicked inside my mind and I felt a warm friendly presence. I cock my head slightly at the presence. She looks back at me with a look of interest.

“Something wro-” She gets cut off as her expression changes suddenly.

“I was going to ask the same for you... are you alright?” She slowly nods her head, as if contemplating something.

“O-Of course... why wouldn’t I be?” I just shrug but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the presence seemed so familliar. It was so warm and comforting and I didn’t ever want it to leave. All of the sudden, something shot off from my mind into Shy’s. It appears that she didn’t notice because she didn’t react. I shook my head and tried to clear away the thoughts running about in my mind. I wanted to ask her if she felt anything strange but apparently, she beat me to it. “I felt something after I touched your head.”

“You did too? What... was it exactly?” Her expression flickers to one of recognition.

“I think I have an idea... I think our minds connected.” I fell silent, contemplating her words.

“How?”

“Well... I think you were desperate for some sort of interaction...” I nod, not quite understanding how she knew. “And it was so strong... it immediately seeked the closest mind which was mine. I know you knew you needed me... but I didn’t know you needed me that much.”

“I do... you are the only one that I can trust.”

“I’m glad you trust me too... trust is always one of the most helpful things.” I nod, knowing that I could trust her fully and completely. She turned my life around for the better and I could actually face the day with my head held up high. And now she made me family.

Family... one of the only words that evaded me all these years. My heart constantly twinges at the memories my past gave me and I guess I could accept it. Accepting it was the hard part. I could no longer forgive them for what they done. All the sadness, all the pain and the emotional wear that they caused created a veil of sadness around me. Now that I truly had a friend and a family member I could trust, the sadness is gone. That leaves one emotion, one so powerful that it can cause the death of others: Anger. There was nothing left inside me besides anger. I took a deep breath to try and calm my emotions down.

“Something wrong?” She asked, looking at me with a look of worry. After a while, I shake my head.

“You know those moments when all your life, you only felt one emotion... and now that emotion is gone, it only leaves anger... that is what I’m experiencing now. They had no right to do what they did...” Her look of curiosity came back and I mentally sighed. I knew I said too much and now she is curious. I also knew she didn’t want to ask but I could also tell that if she didn’t, it would be bugging her for a long time.

“I... know I don’t want to ask...” She pauses for a bit, unsure if she wants to go on.

“I know you want to know... and I know that you are curious... but I’m not sure if telling you would be one of the best options. Some say that telling others their problems would solve them... but if that problem lies in the past, it doesnt solve any issues. Plus, I don’t really want anypony else to know... I’m sorry... but I can’t tell you just yet. I hope you understand.” I interject, really not wanting to explain anything to her in fear of a breakdown.

Please... I thought Do this for me... Her expression softens and she slowly nods.

“I wont ask... for your sake.” I work up a weak smile.

“Thanks...”

“No problem...”

I close my eyes to quell the anger inside me but it refused to even die down. Her look of concern increased tenfold when I was practically shaking in anger.

“I-I need to release some of this emotions... now.” I reopen my eyes, “Or else...”. I dig my hoofs into my saddlebag and take out my notebook, beginning to write rather furiously, the pen tip dancing on the paper as I form elegant sentences on the paper. I tuned out everything in this state and I continued writing for the next hour and a half, not caring about the poor light generated by the moon. She watched me with a hint of facsination on her face, wondering how long I could keep going. When I eventually stop, I sigh lightly and put my nlotebook away, curling up on the cool ground.I glance at Shy who seemed to doze off when I was writing, I smile softly and doze off as well, evemtually falling into the not so peaceful clutches of my dreams.

Dawn eventually broke over the Equestrian landscape, painting the land a vibrant orange color. My dreams faded into passing memory and for the next few hours, I slowly drift out of sleep. My eyes flutter open and I notice Shy is already up, watching over me, humming softly. I don’t say anything because that would inturrupt her so I just listen. The tune filled my mind and immediately, I tried coming up with lyrics. It didn’t work well, either I had no ideas or the song was too disorganised. After a few minutes, she stops and smiles faintly.

“Good morning Golden,” She says. “How’d you sleep?”

I pause, gathering my thoughts into something organized. “Well... after the little memory I had... I slept well... as usual.”

“Nothing out of the... ordinary?” She asks, tilting her head in what looks like confusion.

“No... not really... I did have a good dream though... that’s a first...”

“How so?”

“Normally, after I recover from the nightmare or the memory, I have a dreamless sleep... but not last night...” My gaze softens slightly. “Last night was different...”

“How?”

“Well...”

I was trotting down a forest path, Shy at my side. She looks a bit fearful of her surroundings.

“The Everfree forest... where everything works on their own... the clouds move by themselves and the weather isn’t controlled.” She explains. “Not scary... just unnatural.”

“I see...” I respond, unsure if I really do understand. A figure then steps out from behind a tree, red eyes glowing in the dark. I immediately stare at the newcomer, unsure if he is hostile and he stares back.

“W-who are you?” The figure just keeps staring then he inclines his head slightly.

“You’ll know in time...” He says.

“What do you mean?” I ask, tilting my head in confusion.

“You’ll know that too...” The figure says before backing into the dense Everfree foilage.

“And that is what happened...” I finish my retelling of the dream I had and she falls silent for a long time.

“Interesting...” She says.

“Indeed...” She slides a basket of muffins in my direction, smiling softly.

“Here you go... basket of muffins... I got them earlier.” I thank her and pop one in my mouth happily. She just watches over me, smiling.

“That dream was rather interesting...” I quip, nomming another muffin. She appears to be deep in thought.

“Ya know... I can’t really remember mine...” She responds. “First time that has happened in a long time... I wonder why. Meh... I’ve got to stop worrying about it...”

“You do...” I smile and she returns it with one of her own.

“Alright... fair enough.” She gets up. “I wanna go do something...”

“Same here... we have been here for too long... doing nothing.” I get up and spread my wings, grinning slightly and taking the basket.

“Where do you wanna go?” She asks. I pause thoughtfully.

“Hmm...” I respond. “Well... we could always go to the library.” She smiles and nods, leaping off the ground and into the sky. I copy her, doing a flip in the process. I immediately climb higher, gazing down at the landscape below me. She draws up next to me and smiles, speeding up. I keep pace with ease and soon enough, Ponyville comes to view. We land next to the libraries entrance and trot in. I scour the shelves for a book, pick one out and sit down with it, opening it to the first page. She sits next to me, book in hoof and she begins reading it.

For the next several hours, we spent time together in the library, reading to our hearts content. My thoughts drifted from the books to, inevitibly, my dreams. The one I had last night was weird and very abnormal. There was something about that mysterious figure, something that I couldn’t piece together in my mind. My attention turned from the book I was reading to the notebook in my saddlebag. I tilt my head in deep thought and pull it out, flipping it to the back of the front cover. There was nothing there except the cover, nothing out of the ordinary. I put it back just as Shy sits down with another book. I close my eyes and look at the link between Shy and I. It seemed to resonate with power.

I needed her, I thought. I needed her more than I have ever needed anypony. Does this mean something, anything? At first, I thought that my future had no hope, no light to spread to anypony else. Now that I think about it, it shouldn’t have been that way. I immediately shut off my thought process, shocked that I even thought such a thing. I shake my head, more thoughts crossing my mind. It shouldn’t have but it did. Now that it did, I don’t want to go back, surely she understands? I reopen my eyes and scan the room. Nopony was there except for us and I was kinda thankful for it. My mind turns to the link again. It was rather weird, the mind works in strange and mysterious ways. If my mind seeked hers, who knows what else it could do? I wanted to find out an answer to that question so badly.

“Hey Shy?” I ask, looking right at her.

“Hm? What is it?” She responds, closing her book.

“What if... that isn’t all I could do? I mean, my mind seeked yours... that clearly isn’t an everyday occurence.” Shy fell silent to these words.

“I dunno... it happens more often than you think.” She responds, unsure.

“You sure? Because I just looked into what we had... into.” I respond, putting emphasis on the last word.

“And... what did you find?”

“Well... the first thing I saw was it was really powerful... I mean really really powerful. It... seemed to resonate inside me.” I gave her a slight smile. Beliving me was one of the things I wanted jher to do. I was unsure if she believed what I told her was true.

“I...” She shook her head. “I... believe you,” She confesses. “There is something about us that is different from... other ponies... my heart really went out to you when I landed by you... then I felt something... connect between us.” I tilt my head ever so slightly.

“Connect?” I ask, not quite understanding what she meant.

“Yeah... it was rather interesting... maybe we can look deeper into it later...” I nod. We reopen our books and begin reading again. It went like that for several more hours untill Shy got up and streched.

“Ya’ know... I want to do something else than read...” She says. I get up and flash her a smile.

“Me too...” I spread my wings out, streching them as well. “I think the sky is calling me... and I’m totally gonna answer it.”

“Fair enough,” She says, smiling and spreading out her wings as well. I trot out and immediately leap into the air, flapping my wings several times to gain altitiude. “How good of a flyer are you?”

“Well... pretty well..” I smile and do a flip, barrel rolling at the end of it. “Very well in fact...”

“You must’ve had practice,” She muses, looking at my little routine.

“Eenope! It all comes natural to me” I quip, shooting upwards and doing another barrel roll. She chases after me, smiling widely.

“Good! Try to keep up with me and it’ll be fine,” She suddenly changes direction and goes toward the Everfree Forest, gaining speed. I easily keep up with her, closing my eyes and enjoying the wind in my coat and mane. I do yet another barrel roll, enjoying the forces associated with it. I draw up next to her and flash yet another smile.

“I’m enjoying this,” I say, repeating the barrel roll several more times. Yep... this is the most fun I have had in a while... in fact... my whole life. I thought with a grin. And I’m not gonna let it end ever again
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After several days of doing nothing but enjoying life, nomming muffins and dreaming about my past something interesting finally happened.

I sit in Sugarcube Corner with Shy, nomming muffins.

“So... have any ideas for any of your stories yet?” She asks. I smile and nod slightly.

“I actually do... but I left my notebook back at the library so I can’t quite show you. Nopony will steal it anyway.” I say.

“Well, lets go to the library anyway... I kinda want to go anyway.” I nod and get up, streching my legs out. I trot out and I jump up into the sky, spreading my wings. I gained altitiude rather quickly. There was no need to rush, the library wasn’t too far from Sugarcube Corner. Not too long after we took off, something went wrong. I didn’t notice it at first, the slight weakness that I was feeling. It then got signifigantly worse. The world seemed to swirl around me as a pang of dizziness struck. I moan quietly and lose altitude quickly, my wings feeling heavy. Appariently Shy noticed and she looked at me with a concerned expression on her face.

“G-Golden?” She asks. “Are you...?” She trails off as I impact the ground, sliding a bit before hitting a tree. She lands next to me and rolls me over.

“W-whats going on? Why do I... feel so weak?” I groan again and put my head in my hoofs. “Headache...”

“I-I don’t know... what is going on... open your eyes first...” Relunctantly I open them and she takes a reflexive step back. “And they’re glowing green... shoot... we need to get you help now.” She helps me up and takes me to the library.

“That means?” I ask weakly, glancing at her.

“Well... a changeling is trying to possess you... and I really don’t want an angry version of you threatening anypony...” She frowns and opens up the library door, motioning for me to go in. I flash her a weak smile and I trot in with her following. She goes to the back of the room and trots up the stairs. I stumble when I reach the top and I see a unicorn with a light purple coat and a dark purple and pink mane and tail. She is staring out a window.

“No... not that way... THAT way... yes...” The unicorn yells.

“Ahem...” Shy says and the unicorn turns around.

“Ah... hello Shy...” Her words fade when she notices me. Shy notices this and glances at me.

“Yes, we need you to eradicate this... changeling that... is attempting control over my friend here.” The unicorn just nods and levitates a book over to her and opens it. The pages flip and she stops at a certain spell.

“Just... hold still...” Her horn glows brightly and a figure shoots out of me and takes bodily form. Without hesitation, the unicorn impales the creature with her horn several times, letting it bleed out. She sighs lightly and stewps back. “There...”

Shy nods, “Thanks Twilight...” Twilight warpsthe body away and manages a slight smile before turning back to the window.

“You alright?” Shy asks, poking me with her hoof. I stare at the spot where the figure died at and I slowly nod. Shy smiles and trots back downstairs. I gaze at the spot for a bit longer before following her. I think back to what I saw just a bit ago. There was something about it that didn’t make sense. The first being the lack of hesitation from Twilight I thought, She could’ve checked if it was an actual changeling. But... I don’t know what one actually looks like... so I can assume it was one. If it wasn’t... Shy would’ve said something... Right? I shake my head, growling slightly, somewhat tired of my thoughts running like they did. The both of us trot out of the building, looking for something else to do. I want to bring up the topic with Shy but that can wait untill later.

A few hours later, we are in the center of the clearing where we met.

“Ya know... this could be our special spot...” Shy says, smiling faintly.

“Yeah!” I respond excitedly. “The spot where my life actually changed for the better... for once.” Shy just nods and smiles before laying down and closing her eyes.

“Heh... I wouldn’t be suprised if your life only gets better from here on out... you have me now... I’ll protect you,” She says before dozing off. I smile faintly, having a feeling she was right but having another feeling mixed in with it. It was a feeling of being cared for... of being loved. I knew she accepted me as family and that was definitely more than I ever asked for. My mind then flipped back to what exactly happened to me. It felt like a drain of energy, as if my energy reserves were tapped into and sucked dry. I glance at 
sleeping mare beside me and smile faintly, brushing a few strands of her mane out of her eyes as she slept. She sleeps rather peacefully. I observe silently

"Much more than me..." I finish out loud quietly. I sigh ever so lightly and curl up around her protectively, not wanting anything to even touch her being the only one who really cared about me. I thought that was weird, her being the only one. I recall meeting Twilight but she didn't really smile directly at me and really meant it. I frown, eventually  realizing that nopony will really smile, or care directly like Shy ever has towards me. Would it really be right to withhold  all this info about me? Would it really be right now? No... it wouldn't, I'm gonna tell her...

Shh whimpers ever so slightly in her sleep, low enough for me not to hear. I gently poke her chest once.

"Shy..." I say quietly, poking again. She groans silently before her eyes snap.open, quickened pulse slowing.

"W-where? W-what?" She looks around before glancing at me, seemingly calming down "O-oh... Golden..."

"You alright?" I ask. She slowly nods and I flash her a slight grin before my expression turns stern. She notices this but keeps quiet. "Shy, there is something rather sensitive... and personal I'd like to tell you..." Her silence holds a bit longer and she nods.

"A alright, let's hear it" She says. I take a deep breath, steeling my nerves and emotions from the potential outbreak it'll cause.

"You sure?" She just nods again and I release the pent up breath I was gathering.

"Now... I know you aren't gonna like what.I'm about to tell you. That's perfectly fine with me... it'll stir a rather interesting reaction from me... possibly the both of us. I'm about to tell you about one of the most sensitive experiences in my life." I hold up a hoof as she opens her mouth. "Save it for later. Anyway, its about my foalhood. I was born into a family with only a mother and a father... no siblings... or anypony else for that matter..."

"...But what about.your parents?" Shy blurts out unexpectedly.

"I... they" I look down, already starting to feel the sadness fill me. I.hold it back before continuing. "They never loved me... they never really cared about me... they even went as far as attempts on my life... They hunted me down... almost every damn day... and they pretty much tortured me." My body gives off a slight glow and outlines of various scars and markings appear around my body. Shy's eyes shifted from emerald to a light blue. "I don't want to go into further detail because it'd probably kill our moods if its not too late. Every night, I went to my room and cried... hoping things would get better... they never did. Birthdays forgotten, holiays never celebrated... hell, absolutely nothing was celebrated."

"W-why?!

"How should I know? I lived my life in fear..." I close my eyes and grimace.

A loud cry and a searing pain...

The cold pojnt of a knife followed by another bout of agony as it slid down my chest and sides. I watch, powerless as my lifeblood drips down from my body and stains the floor in a dark red color.

"Fear of not seeing the light... of not making it the next morning"

The cries intensified along with the pain. I was shaking rather violently, not wanting any more but forced to endure it. "Please..." my voice was weak and quivering. "Please..." I kept repeating that until my head was knocked against the , rendering me unconscious.

"Fear of other ponies like you"

Cornered against the wall, I stared at my aggressor in the eyes, fear coursing through me, calling me to gallop away. There was nowhere to go

"Fear of living life free of fear"

Absolutely nowhere to gallop and hide... the door was blocked by an overturned table and the windows were magically sealed and heated up to discourage and then prevent escape. I.cowered deeper into the.corner I was in, fearing for my life

"Hell... they put so much fear in me that even now, it still runs rampant when I truly think about it"

"Sorry there Golden... but I cannot.. and will not stop." A chill ran through me when she.spoke those words and a sense of dread kicks up. I shut my eyes, waiting for the ever present pain. Most wounds from past cuts still weren't healed and stung to the touch.

"Fear was a legit part of me... until I met you... then it sorta faded away..." I tear up, unable to keep my emotions in check any longer. I wipe a tear away. "They... don't deserve to be my parents anymore" My frown deepens and I reopen my eyes. Shy pulls me into a tight embrace.

"I..." She manages softly

"They ruined me... I..." She holds me tighter.

"Golden... I didn't think you had a past like that....I thought.you were well raised... because you're so..."

"Nice...?" I chuckle softly. "Looks are rather deceiving aren't they? Yes... on the outside... but on the inside..."

"Depression... sadness... a bit of anger....all mixed up into a whirlwind of emotions that could confuse anypony..." I glance at her quizzically.

"Actually... wait... how did you know?"

"You really haven't noticed yet?" She says just before I feel my sadness increase. I facehoofed and realized something. I.just made the connection that her eye color changes according to her emotions. Sadness... but... it seemed more then what it should've been.

"We... can feel each others emotions?" I ask. She just nods

Well... today has been interesting... I thought, breaking the hug and laying down then curling up into a tight ball. Shy lays next to me protectively and quickly falls asleep. I follow suit not long after, drifting off into the restless world of my dreams.

The next time I wake up is in the middle of the night. The moon shines brightly overhead, illuminating Shy. I get up and stretch my legs, craving muffins. I knew the dangers of being out late at night but this was for muffins... a special case. I look back at Shy before trotting towards Ponyville.

A few minutes later, I'm in front of Sugarcube corner. Their lights were still on despite the time of night. I shrug and trot in

...Only to have a pony leap in front of me, effectively halting my progress. Said pony growls and advances on me. Not wanting to get trampled, I back up.

"Who are you?"

The figure remains silent before it bares a set of fangs. I hold steady, recognizing them. Not wanting to be threatened, I pull out my knife. "Stay back..." I calmly say. "Before I'd have to use this..."

Before I could react, the figure spins around and kicks me square in the jaw. I don't even flinch but the figure steps back into the shadows. I sigh and rub my jaw. Vampony... I thought. Like me and my father... so it's not just us...

I get my muffins and trot back out, successfully avoiding the bright and cheerful Pinkie Pie. I pop three in my mouth right away, savoring the flavor they give me for a little while at least. I mentally debate on wether to go back to the clearing again or not. I sit in one of the benches strewn about and think about it for a little while.

Eventually deciding that Is be safer in the clearing, I finish off the remaining nine muffins, put the basket down and trot back towards the clearing.

Shy is still sleeping when I arrive and so I quietly lay down and fall asleep, full from my meal.

Several hours later, a slight glow envelops my body without my knowledge. Ten minutes after that, I wake up yet again and rub my eyes.

"Uuuuugh..." I groan. "Too... early." I lay there for the next several minutes, gathering my lethargic thoughts and glance back at Shy who was still asleep. "Heavy..."

Before I could continue, Shy's eyes open as if she heard me. "Mornin' Golden!! She says a touch too cheerfully. I blink once, trying to clear my blurred vision from sleeping.

"Aren't you cheerful this morning?" I say with the slightest of smiles. "I hate mornings..."

"Hehe... yeah... I suppose I am in a good mood..." She smiles before stretching.

"That's good to know... anything special you want to do today?" I ask, taking out a butterscotch candy and popping it into my mouth. The sweet flavor made me smile softly. I spread my wings and flap them a few times to stretch them out, enjoying the slight breeze. I glance up at a cloud and fly straight up to it, landing neatly and laying down, enjoying the feeling of the.cloud under my body. Not planning for anything else to be done, I just fall asleep. Shy just lays on the ground and looks up at me.

When he wakes up... I wanna take him somewhere... special, she thinks before drifting off to sleep as well
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn silently  broke over the Equestrian landscape and with it came the clouds. My eyes snap open when the limited sunlight touched them. I looked down and saw Shy still asleep. I bounce on the cloud several times, testing it's durability for no reason at all. The cloud darkened slightly and I stopped bouncing on it.

"Heh..." I say, glancing again at Shy. "Clouds are good beds to nap on..." I sit back down and look around. The cloud gave me a bad vantage point so I fly next to it and push it over to where I have a good look at Ponyville. At least that gave me something better to do with my spare time. J wanted to fill it up with something I wanted to do all day long. Of course, writing came to my mind. I pull out my notebook and flip it to the first page, slowly reading the words on the page. I smile softly, they were good, coming from the darker part of my life. That was my only story so far. I secretly hoped I could write a story like that again but I knew the chances of that were slim.

I close my notebook and tuck it away just as my right leg started to hurt slightly. Noticing this immediately, I look at it, inspecting it for anything that might've caused the pain. I stare at it for a while before it fades quickly.

Dabuq? I thought. What was that all about?  Nothing seemed wrong with the leg at all, unless it was internal. I frown and glance back at Ponyville. The town was very quiet, most residents still asleep. What I did fail to notice though was figures beginning to surround me. They take off and fly up to my cloud. One chuckles before kicking me off.

"W-wha?" I snap out of my daydream as I go into freefall. Before I could spread my wings, I slam into the ground.

Shy's eyes snap open, sensing my distress and quickly flys over.

"Changelings!" She growls. One turns around and totally surprises me by saying:

"Back off mare... this stallion is ours" The changelings voice was soft and almost hard to hear. Shy's eyes narrow.

"No... he isn't.."

"We desire the... power that is his..."

"What power?" She glances at me, not quite understanding what's been said.

"We do not know... but the queen wants it... and what the queen wants, she gets"

Shy glances at me worriedly. Uh oh... the changeling queen? Why? What could she possibly want with Golden? 

I reopen my eyes after they closed just before impact. Noticing the surrounding changelings, I reach for my knife then halt entirely, gazing at the appearance of one.

Wait... that... I think, gears slowly turning in my mind. That... wasn't a... changeling Twilight killed.. then what... was it?

Shy's expression darkens. "Let. Him. Go"

The changeling glares back at Shy. "And if I don't?"

"Well... do.you really want to find that out?" She challenges. The changeling pauses, her words finally getting through to him. He glances to Golden, to Shy then to his comrades. He sighs

"Alright... but... we will not stop..." The changeling growls before withdrawing. The others follow suit and fly off.

I blink once, trying to comprehend what exactly was going on. I glance at Shy and she gives me a half-smile. I knew what existed beyond the smile and frowned.

Noticing the frown, she trots over to me. "You alright?" It was a stupid question but it was the only one on her mind.

"Honesty or trying to make you feel better?" My voice was toneless

"Honesty..."

"Alright... I feel like shit... you try getting kicked off a cloud and land... on your back... without breaking anything... it sucks... and when I finally did see a changeling... there... was something..."

She tilts her head in confusion "Huh?"

"Remember... the attack on me yesterday?" She nods. "That wasn't a changeling..."

"Wait... what?"

"It... wasn't a changeling..."

"How could you be so sure?"

"I saw it... with my own eyes..." I get up shakily and trot off.

"Wait!" She sighs softly and quickly trots after. What's his issue? She thinks, shaking her head still slightly angry at rhe incident.

"Ugh..." I trot further ahead, ignoring the slightly angry and.concerned presence behind me. I trot into the forest, keeping head low. Before I or anypony else react, when I turn a corner, a presence shoves me into the forest, putting a hoof over my mouth to prevent me crying out.

"Heh... gotcha"

That voice... I glance up at my assailant. It was the changeling.

"Now... don't try anything... if you value your life" He hissed, glaring at me. I chuckle inwardly. He doesn't know me at all... what an idiot, I think. The changeling nods and six more jump down from trees they perched in.

Seeing this, my self confidence fades slightly. Aw shit... six on one? Not fair... not fair at all...

Meanwhile, Shy continues trotting, still slightly angry at the incident between her and the changelings. Why? Why him? He didn't do anything to hurt them so they have no right to harm him. She thinks, kicking a rock down the trail, finding the silence a relief. Wait... silence?

The grip on my mouth tightens as I try to say something.

"No no no... we don't want that... do we?" I stop my faint struggling and calm down slightly. He gives me a false smile. "Good... now... we wait..."

Silence... since when? She glances back, frantically racking her brain. Since he... turned the corner... I don't see him....her left ear flicks and she turns in that direction.

"Of course... why am I not surprised?" She finishes aloud before trotting into the forest, feeling her anger rise with each step. "Those idiots just had to..."

"So... you are going to shut up..." I smirk under his hoof, sensing somepony all to familiar coming. "What?" He made out just before a blur of purple decks him in the back of the head. His grip slackens and releases me. Immediately, I pull out my knife and the six changelings attack Shy.

Shy ducks as a changeling flies at her and said changeling collided into a tree. It fell to the ground, knocked out by the blow. I tackle one just about to leap onto her and drag the.foe to the ground, cutting his throat wide open.

"Two down..." Shy observes, noticing the changelings regroup. "I should've known they weren't done with you"

I quickly trot up to her. "Indeed... we'll speak about this later..."

One of the changelings step forward and quickly met his demise through my knife. The remaining three growl and scatter off deeper into the woods. Shy spreads her wings and I quickly grab her tail as she takes off

"No Shy..."

She looks back at me, expression somewhere between anger and concern.

"You already done enough to help... no more... you couldn't stop it..." She just sighs

"I... they hurt you..."

"That was before I was yanked into the forest... you were asleep... it is not your fault... it's mine" Her expression softens and she smiles in resignation.

"Alright... just don't let it happen again... please?" My gaze hardens

"No.promises..." I say before trotting away. She follows very close behind me.

Eventually, we make our way back to the clearing and I sit against the tree, sighing lightly.

"What were you saying earlier? About the changeling?" Shy says. I glance at her as she lays next to me

"Alright... it wasn't one... did you see what Twilight killed?"

"Yes... and it looked like a changeling..."

"Well... did.you look hard enough?" Shy pauses at my words, thinking into the incident.

"There was.. something... before it died.. but... I.didn't have the chance to properly look at it. The body... flickered but I dismissed it as something else..."

"So... you think it was still a changeling?"

"Sort of... I'm not sure now..." She falls silent, looking at the grass. "You know... there is a third path out here..."

"Hm? There is?" Shy nods and points to a trail I never seen before.

"I seen it every time I have been here but... I didn't go down it... if we do, try not to get ambushed" She smiles slightly and I laugh.

"I'll try not to" I smile back and we begin trotting towards the path, not quite knowing what to expect.

Quickly the forest closes in on us and the path ahead is bathed in the shadow of the trees. I looked around to see any other signs of life but didn't quite see any. I shrug and look ahead, the path just continued to wind around with no destination in sight. My mind opens up to be more perceptive of any other signs of life but didn't quite sense anything. That is, until we reached a split in the path.

Staring down the right path, Shy says "I say we go down the right path... because... you know... right is always right" She begins trotting down the path. My eyes immediately widen, picking up certain activity down that path.

"Wait!" I call out. She stops and turns around. "Um... you... probably shouldn't go down that path... sometimes right isn't always right... you kinda need to go left.. off the beaten path sometimes... pave a new trail... that sort of thing"

I start trotting down the left path and she follows close behind.

"Alright... Shy... um... the 'right is always right' thing isn't... accurate... I mean... that right right there... wasn't.. good... at least... I think it was bad..." I say softly, glancing back at her. "Trust me on that one... not all right paths are good..."

"And if you doubt what's coming from the left?" I pause slightly and nod.

"Then take the right one... it'll be easier that way... but saying that a certain path or direction is right all the time is like... saying all murderers were bad ponies..."

"But they..." I hold up a hoof.

"No... not all were bad... past tense... as in happened before... some lived normal lives" We continue trotting in silence before I look ahead and see something different. The path looked like it opened up to a large clearing. I pick up the pace, hoping it was just a clearing.

"Aaaaand it isn't!" I yell out as I step into what looks like a small village. Small, two room houses lined the outer edge and shops took up the center.

"They fit all that in here?" Shy asks, looking one of the houses. She pokes ine with her hoof. "Clever... wood... they must've cleared out all this for the settlement.. but why here?"

"Thats a good question..." I glance at one of the shops. It was small, lime green and a sign of a peppermint candy is stuck next to the door. Shy follows my gaze, smile widening.

"Candy?" She says, taking a step toward it. I mimic her step and take another one. Slowly we end up in front of the shop and we trot in.

Once in, my jaw hits the floor. The store had various candies lining the walls and there was even more next to the cash register. My mouth immediately begins to water and I look for what I needed the most. That sweet candy I always kept with me. Butterscotch. Me and it have a rather inseparable history together.

There it was, along the back wall of the shop. I quickly grab a bag and glance back at Shy. She was picking out some mints and chocolates. Being a fan of those, I pick out a bag and trot to the cashier. Shy hoofs him the bits and we trot out.

"Best feeling in the world... having a fresh bag of butterscotch in your bag" I quip, pulling one out and sticking it in my mouth.

"Yep! Just don't let the chocolate melt on you... that is the worst experience anypony could ever have."

I laugh and smile. "Are you quite sure of that? Last time I checked... what happened to me was the.worst experience."

"Touche..." We make our way back to the exit, looking back. Nopony was wandering around outside and the houses looked rather empty for the time of day. Naturally, Shy picked up on that right away and told me about her observations.

"Ya know, I did notice the cashier pony was... being a little off... he didn't smile, talk, he just took the bits..." I observe. "This village is strange... but strange is good on occasion.. I can go back here next time..."

"So... what's our next plan of action?"

"Well.. I was thinking-"

It struck

It struck hard...

Immediately I felt my head began to hurt. Colors began to blend together and swirl as I put a hoof to my head and buckle under the suprise. Slowly, I felt a presence enter it. It didn't quite feel hostile but if you told my reactions that, they would just laugh at you and lash back.

The more I fight it back... the more it presses against my mental barriers. I fight it more and more but it felt like the aggressor was winning.

Shy blinks once, not expecting the sudden collapse. She lends a helping hoof with the mental struggle by connecting to my mind and helping.

It wasn't needed. With renowned vigor and a glint of silver in my eyes, I push the presence far out of my mind and right there and then, something clicked inside of me. At first, I wasn't quite sure what it.was because I was recovering from being attacked.

Eventually, my pulse slowed and I shakily got up, Shy providing a hoof for me to help.

"What was that all about?" She asks, concerned. I shake my head and blink, trying to confirm the building energy inside me.

"An attack... on my mind... not sure how, who, or why... but it's the thought that counts." I say, the power still building inside me, yearning for a release.

"The thought of an attack?" I nod and she frowns. "You ok?"

To be honest, I didn't know if I was fine or not. There was that strange power stirring inside me. I accessed the link between us and she read into my thoughts.

"Well then..." She says, glancing at me not as worriedly as before. "Shall we go?" I nod and that was all the answer she needed. We made our way back to the split in the trail and the presence brushed up against my mind again. Paranoid, I throw up mental barriers and it withdrew. I wasn't sure if it was a different pony or if it learned its lesson this time. I shrug it off and keep moving.

"Say... what is down that path?" I ask, Shy just shrugs.

"I can't sense it... whatever it is... maybe it's magically cloaked or something?"

"Maybe..." We travel along in silence, enjoying the forest as we did before. I glance back at her, unsure if she really sensed it or not. Clearly, something was up with that. Her inability to sense what was down there threw up a few red flags. I didn't quite know how far her powers went in detecting other ponies. If I could detect something she couldn't, either that ability is more refined inside me or the presences were intentionally hiding themselves from her. I secretly hoped for the former option.

Eventually, we make our way back to the clearing. After a few days of being in Ponyville, it pretty much grew on me. The concept of a small village where everypony pretty much knows everypony is rather heartwarming. Knowing you'll have somepony with you just in case something manages to go wrong (and it typically does) is a rather comforting feeling.

Over the past several days, Shy and I became rather inseparable, which was a good thing for me. It came to the point where she always was by my side wherever I went. That and, I didn't quite want to leave her be for fear of a relapse in certain behaviors. I knew I could tell her anything at any time without being looked at any differently.

Yet, there were certain things I didn't want to share with her. There were things I kept bottled up inside. I know that somepony, eventually, would want to know what it would be. Naturally I wouldn't say a word to them, even if I was on my deathbed.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes flutter open to the sound of the wind.

I am in an expansive field, obviously the one I fell asleep in. Looking back, I can remember coming here after leaving the clearing, laying down and falling asleep. My eyes scan the field, Shy was nowhere to be found.

"Forget it... she is not here... well... she might be... who knows?" Somepony says, voice projectng to me from across the clearing. I glance at whoever spoke and I feel my blood freeze. I open my mouth but nothing came out. I try to lift a hoof but it was stuck there.

Standing there... at the center of the clearing...

Was my father... he had a light blue coat and a black mane with a gold and red stripe. His expression looks rather conflicted. He stepped forward before speaking.

"Now... I know what you think of me... those thoughts are not from your own volition. There is a thing I have to tell you before jumpjng in. You will remember nothing of this conversation." He frowns at his last words. "Her thought manipulation does not work in dreams... so you are seeing me as... nice... but eventually I will go back to mt original thought." I nod slowly, glad that it is this way for a bit.

"Anyway... there are two things you need to know... to help you survive. The first... is... onto the subject of your blood. You may not be aware of this but... your blood is a mix of normal pegasus, vampony and alicorn. Usually having three types of blood running through helps you only if it is balanced to optimize the effects of the different races. Although, if the balance is way off... it weakens you. What I am trying to say is... if you become a full blooded vampony... you will stand a chance against my wife. Fair warning though... if you become one... she will come... quickly too." My mouth opens to say something again but no.sound came out.

"The second is slightly more grave... you will not like this... at all. My wife placed something on your subconscious mind that controls dreams... now... it connected that section to another... the one that has the power to activate pain cells and react to it. Normally, dreams don't affect the normal... awake body but if you can dive deep into the mind and link them, your dreams will begin affecting your physical body..." I blanched slightly at that revelation.

But... they're dreams... there is no way to link the dream life to the.waking world. It's impossible... totally and completely impossible.

My father flinched back and he put a hoof to his head.

"Shit... she's found out of my efforts... and is trying to control me... Golden... I..." He fell silent and a certain glint came to his eyes. His hoof came down and he stared at me emotionlessly, a silver glow emanating from him. He started trotting toward me and I tried backing away. Sadly, that same force that held me there was still there and all I could do was watch as he pulled out a dagger.

It came back... that same fear of mine that always surfaces whenever I was with him or my mother. That same primal fear that told you to get out of wherever it was that you were stuck in. I couldn't... being unable to move and my brainwashed father holding his knife to my chest. His outward expression was cold and unforgiving but I could see something under that. Some unwillingness to do what he will do to me. His gaze softened as he slid the knife into my chest.

I gasped and my eyes widened, feeling the pain that accompanied the knife entering me. All of the sudden I could move again and I collapsed to the ground, slowly seeing the world around me fade to black.

My father put his knife back and looked at me,

"Sorry... she was so close to total control... I was so close to making it fatal... so very close..." He trots away, leaving my severely injured form on the ground.

A mental nudge, Golden...

Then silence...

My eyes snap open to a very concerned Shy standing over me. I try to sit up but her hoof was on my chest. My chest tingled slightly as she removed her hoof. I try and get my pulse in control, sitting up yet again.

I was laying in the exact same field. What really threw me off was what exactly happened. I blinked several times and shook my head to try to clear my thoughts.

"I..." I say before staring at my chest. It was clear and free of any marks. "It... was only... a dream?" I was slightly unsure if it was real or if it was a dream or not.

"I... it was... you were... thrashing around quite a bit... I had to stop that before you caused any bodily harm to yourself... I don't like seeing.you like this... what happened?"

"My father... who didnt like me either... tried to kill me..." I say softly, staring at her. "He tackled me... and... stabbed me..." Shy's expression softens and she hugs me tightly, wordlessly, conveying more than what words could describe. I slowly felt the surface emotions and tingling fade away.

Deep down, something didn't seem right about the dream. He tried to kill me but something else stirred inside my memory.

Become full blooded and you stand a chance...

Dreams are slowly becoming reality...

I pull away from the hug, something on my mind. Again, she picked up on that right away.

"Is... there something up?" She asks, frowning slightly. I nod and describe to her what I remember what has been said to me. She tilts her head in confusion at first but then an understanding look comes across her face.

"To repeat... your dreams are slowly merging with your reality... and you need a vampony to solve the strength issue?" I nod. Shy lays down into a more comfortable position. "Well... I can help with the second option... but I cant even touch the first one..."

I smile faintly. "You're a vampony?" She grins, showing the fangs I was all to familiar with. "Good... because I..."

"I already know what you're trying to ask... I understand... just in case she comes back I wouldn't want her to end up killing you" She says. "When do... you want to...?"

"Now... if at all possible... please?" I didn't tell her... but I knew I was running out of time... food.could've only sustained me for a while longer. I had the fangs, the blood drawing abillity and the jaw strength for it but my body wouldn't accept it. I.wondered how I survived my foalhood that way.

Shy nods and tilts my.head. "Alright... just be still... it won't take long..." She says before gently biting my neck. I winced slightly as the bite happened but the pain quickly faded away, replaced with something soothing. When she started injecting the mutation into my bloodstream I let my mind wander.

It wandered to the topic of my changing... and if it would work on me or not. In all honesty, I wasn't sure but I didn't want to voice my concerns now. Before it could wander anywhere else, it was interrupted by a release of pressure from my neck. She was finished and I could honestly say that I expected it being worse.

"Well?" She prompted, "How do you feel?" Right when she asked that, I became slightly dizzy and an ice cold feeling runs through my veins.

"Well... its... interesting... to say the least" I say, smiling despite the interesting feelings running through me.

"Don't worry... the after effects will pass..." She says, relaxing and flashing mr a quick smile

"Okay.... anything I need to know beforehand?" I ask. "I don't qiite know a lot about beng a vampony... even if I was partially one all along."

"Um... feed off of only rabbits and changelings... that makes your life easier" Shy says. "Generally... stallions use up more energy than mares which means you need blood more often than me." i wasn't sure if I wanted to question her regarding the feeding advice she gave me. 

It seems... rather limited... ah hell... I'll go with it. I think, unsure if I was going to keep my word or not. Shy didn't pick up on my thoughts so I nod, not mentioning that it seemed kind of limited.

"I didn't know stallions needed more energy..." I say with a light smile.

"They do... maybe because of their larger... body size"

"Heh... that doesn't explain how I land so quietly." I spread my wings and leap into the air, flying up to one of the clouds then diving to the ground. When my forehooves nearly touch the ground, I flap my wings several times, slowing myself down so they touch the ground softly. When finished, I fold them up and flash her a smile. "Like so".

"Nice going!" She says enthusiastically. I bow slightly and her smile widens.

"Why, thank you Shy" I glance around, stomach growling. She hears this and giggles.

"Somepony must be hungry... did that flying wear you out? C'mon, let's go get muffins." She begins trotting and I follow closely behind her. Along the way, my mind recalls the events of my dream. I didn't want it to but it had the tendency to do that sometimes.

Seven minutes pass and I break out of my mental stupor by running into her as she stops in front of Sugarcube Corner.

"Hey... watch where you are going..." She says, glancing at me. I nod and she trots in. I sigh softly and lay down next to the entrance, questions running through my mind about what my father said to me.

"She is going to come... and I won't be able to fight her to defend myself..." I sigh heavier and dig through my saddlebag to find my notebook. I pull it out and trace the spine of it, filling me with comfort. A slight smile escapes me and I hold it to my chest, being comforted that a world is just a pen away. I consider writing something before abandoning it completely, deciding to get up and trot into the Corner.

There, I see Shy, conversing with one of the ponies inside, basket of muffins in a hoof. I just hang by the wall, ear flicking yet again much to my annoyance. I growl lightly and try to hold it so it won't do it again. Shy picks up on this and turns to me, eyes shifting to a darker green.

"Something up?" She asks. My mind tries to formulate a response but something else stopped it. A feeling, an all too familiar one too. I reflexively take a step forward.

Something's wrong... My gaze flicks to Shy and she looks at me worriedly. I don't know what it is... but something is off... why am I feeling this way? 

"Golden?" She calls with more concern lacing her voice. 

"Something isn't right... why do I... feel like this? It... fear... I feel fear... why?" My ear flicks yet again. "And then... there is the flicking..."

"Hm..." She mutters, staring at me. "That's odd... do you... feel anything out of the ordinary? Try focusing your mind".

Shutting my eyes and concentrating on the particular emotions I'm feeling made my ear flick again, this time in a different direction.

Near the Everfree... something in my mind told me and I take a few steps toward the door, eyes still closed. Shy looks at me quizzically, wondering what is going on as I continue to willingly trot towards the door.

It feels like a guiding hand on my forelegs, taking me where I need to go. I glance back at Shy and nod, nudging open the door and trotting out. She takes it as a cue to follow and my eyes slowly open to the sights and sounds of Ponyville. Suddenly, it seemed much more vibrant than I ever felt it before. I could hear many different things from different sources, the fluttering of the wings of birds and the conversations of the various ponies around me. I couldn't help but grin at the auditory overload.

"Like it?" Shy asks, grinning as well and playfully nudging me. "One of the perks of being a full vampony... heightened senses and stuff." I nod happily, continuing to head towards the outskirts of Ponyville. I could tell I was getting closer, the senses I felt were getting stronger.

"P-please... leave me a-alone..." A voice whimpers, my enhanced hearing picking that up clearly. "I-I haven't done a-anything..."

"Did you murder her?" Another voice growls. I stumble slightly, recognizing that voice. I glance ahead at said pony. The pony appears to be a stallion, both wings nor horn is present on his body. He has a black coat and an orange mane that seems rather roughed up. His black eyes harden when the other pony didn't respond. "Well?" He challenges, taking a step toward the other pony.

"N-no...! I didn't... leave me alone...!" The other pony cries, backing up as the black pony advanced. I immediately feel the sense of fear increase as the second pony begins backing away. It was mixing with another one though, anger.

My gaze hardens at that sight and I break into a light gallop, Shy easily keeping pace. I slow and tap the black pony on the shoulder. He whirls around, anger crossing his face.

"You!" He growls angrily at me. "I thought I wouldn't see you again."

I calmly take a step forward and meet his gaze with one of my own. "Why... are you hurting this innocent?" I could feel the anger rising inside him and I tried keeping down my own anger in response.

"Because he-" The black pony states and I quickly cut him off.

"Because you assume that he did because he didn't respond in a calm matter. Why you ask? If you get all angry with him... he feels pressured and pressure makes it hard for a normal response... so back off..." My gaze hardens further.

"No..." The black pony growls.

"Well then..." I could tell my anger was getting the best of me and I fear that it'd come to tbe both of us fighting. It never did happen. Shy steps in between us just before the conflict increases to blows.

"Calm down... both of you. Explain what happened" Her gaze turns to the black pony. "Just because I don't wanna get into a fight."

The black pony immediately seemed to calm down, noticing Shy's position between himself and I.

"Fine, not because you're standing between us. It all happened a while ago, I was trotting down a path to Ponyville when I heard a scream." His ears flatten against his head as he continues. "I recognised that scream as my best friend. When I got there, she was already... gone." He tears up.slightly, "Ever since then, I was trying to find whoever killed her. That explains my anger toward other ponies.".

I frowns as sadness replaces the anger, a deep, profound emotion. I speak up in a somewhat soft voice. "I-I wish I could help you with that problem. I wish the best of luck to you." I turn around and try trotting away but Shy's hoof descends lightly on my back.

"Wait Golden, there is something I can do." She says. "It's risky though."

I sigh and turn back. "Really Shy? How do you propose on doing that?" I was slightly irritated at the fact that she wanted to help but another part of me wanted to help the pony. Shy didn't answer to that. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

"Where is the body?" She asks, turning her gaze to the pony. "Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Shadow, and I don't really know where the body is anymore, it disappeared not long after I left." Shadow says, glancing down. "Finding it is out of-"

I feel something stir inside me and glance at Shadow. "Not so, it may be gone but that doesn't mean it isn't still there." I say, a smile crossing my face.

"It's gone, how can it be there?" Shadow asks, highly suspicious.

"You'll see, just be quiet, the both of you." I tell both Shadow and Shy, closing my eyes and concentrating on what lies in my mind. A slight silver aura builds up around me and I connect to Shadow's mind against his will. I take a quick scan of his memories and get the mental image of the.pony that died.

Slowly, the aura began flowing faster out and I neared the point as to where the pony might have passed at. A mental image flashed through my mind. It was a.clearing and it didn't feel too far off. Without warning, I teleport Shy, Shadow and I to that clearing.

My eyes flutter open and I glance at the clearing. "Wait, teleportation? How? Unless it's another power added onto the strange pony sensing," I mutter. "Go ahead Shy."

Shy stares at the empty space in front of her. "Here?"

"No, the moon. Of course here," I say sarcastically. "Do your stuff."

Shy nods and she closes her eyes, a light green aura streaming from her hooves. It circled around something invisible and slowly caused the pony to reform. The aura circled faster as the body finished reforming. Slowly, it sank into the ponies head, stimulating the mind much like electric shocks stimulate the heart.

She concentrates further as she wills the ponies mind to reactivate all other vital organs. Once the pony takes a light gasp of air, Shy withdraws from the ponies mind.

"It is done," she says, glancing at Shadow. "You just gotta wait."

I didn't catch her words even if they weren't directed at me. I was too busy watching the pony in front of my hooves.

The pony is a unicorn mare, a smaller size than Shy. Her coat was a medium grey color and she has a silver mane and tail, neatly groomed. Her chest rose and fell evenly, softly. Something stirred inside me deep down, an unexplained feeling. That feeling was interrupted by dizziness and I put my hoof to my head.

"W-what...?" I manage before collapsing, falling into a deep, unexplained unconsciousness.

Shy's gaze turns to me and her eyes widen. "Crap! What happened to him?" Shy says, somewhat confused. She trots over to me and pokes my chest. Finding no response, she lays down, wrapping a wing over me protectively, watching over the unicorn and I as a cloud drifts over the sun.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

More and more time passes in the clearing and nothing continues to change. I am still knocked out, the unicorn is clearly still in the recovery phase, Shy is still watching over me closely and Shadow is still watching over the unicorn. Shy turns to Shadow.

"What do you think caused him to react this way?" She asks, concern in her voice.

Shadow shrugs, "Your guess is as good as mine, I have my own pony to worry about here."

"Oh..." Shy turns back to me, watching the rise and fall of my chest. "How long would it be until the unicorn wakes up?"

"Hopefully soon," Shadow responds. Seemingly in response to his call, said unicorn stirs slightly. Shadow's ears perk up and he gazes expectantly at the unicorn. "And it appears she heard me."

"Or it was just coincidence," Shy replies.

The unicorn's eyes slowly open and she sits up, rubbing head.

"W-where am I? What... what happened to me? The last thing I remember is somepony cornering me and she pulled something out..." She falls silent for a while, mind eventually recalling the specific events. She continues with a shaky voice  "The pony injected me with whatever it was and that is the last thing I remember."

Shadow frowns at this revelation. "That's what happened? I heard a scream and rushed to you but you were already..." His voice trails off.

"N-no," The unicorn whispers. "It can't be, how am I here then?"

Shy decided to speak up here. "You have me to thank, I was the actual one to revive you. My efforts wouldn't be possible if my friend here never decided to figure out where you were at," She indicates me.

"I thank you both," The unicorn says, glancing at me. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know what caused him to fall unconscious. It happened after I finished your revival," Shy responds.

"Maybe he helped you revive me? Either way, my name is Marly Adams"

"Strange name for a unicorn," Shy quips. "Why that last name?"

Marly paws the ground, uncomfortable, "Just because that's how it works."

"Touche," Shadow grumbles impatiently. "Shall we go?"

Marly's gaze moves from me, to Shy, then to Shadow. "Wouldn't it be rude to leave if the pony that helped revive me is like that?" She indicates me.

"I guess it would be," Shadow grunts. "How long do we have to wait?"

Shy's ear flicks and she glances at me. "Not long now, apparently he has recovered once you woke up. All we have to do is wait. Be patient Shadow, I know you'd like to spend time with her."

Shadow nods in response and glances at me. "I was angry that you died. I should've been there to save you. I took out my anger on other ponies foolishly." Marly glances at Shadow, blinking in disbelief.

"No way... you? The pony that won't hurt a fly?"

Shadow sighs softly. "Yes me, the pony that won't hurt a fly even if it attacks me. Why are you so surprised about this?"

Marly frowns lightly, "Maybe because I care about you. That and-" Her voice fades and gaze flicks to me. "Looks like he finally decided to wake up..."

At her words, my eyes flutter open to Shy's gaze. I blink and slowly sit up. "What... what happened?"

"You tell me..." Shadow says, staring at me with half concern and half anger at previous events.

"Hey..." I hear the soft voice of Marly and turn to face her. She smiles and nods gratefully. "I thank you for reviving me."

"No, you should thank Shy. She did the actual revival, not me."

Marly shakes her head. "Then why did you get knocked out? I'm not saying you did revive me, I'm saying that you helped her."

"Oh, okay then," I respond, stretching out slightly. "That certainly helps things. I unknowingly helped with the revival?"

"Well.you certainly came to mind when I woke up," Marly says somewhat quieter, fidgeting slightly. "I didn't know if I should have thanked you or not."

Interesting," I mutter, glancing at Shy. She glances back and nods.

"Well, what do.you want to do now?" She asks. "We don't seem to be needed here anymore."

"There is always Sugarcube Corner," I respond, a smile tugging at the edge of my lips. "We can go there and hang out for a while. Maybe have some muffins or cake."

"That actually sounds like a good idea right now," Shy says, tail flicking happily. "It might recover the marginal amount of energy I lost."

"You actually lost energy?" I coyly say, getting up.

"You surprised?" Shy responds, nudging me slightly and playfully before she trots ahead of me.

"Not fair!" I call, catching up to her. Marly watches us go with a mixed expression in her eyes. Shadow turns to her and notices her expression.

"What is it Marly?" Shadow prompts. "Ever since you woke up, you haven't been acting yourself. What has been bugging you?"

Marly doesn't return the gaze but looks at her forehooves distractedly, quietly speaking. "I dunno, ever since he woke up, something stirred inside me. Maybe it was the thought that he helped revive me. Maybe it was something else." Her voice trails off.

"Let's hope it was only that," Shadow says. Marly's  expression shifts slightly and she stares up at Shadow.

"What do you mean by that?" Her voice came out angrier than she wanted it to and she instinctively gets up.

Shadow falters slightly, not expecting to stir up quite a reaction. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Well then how did you mean it?" She says in a harsher tone and then bolts off toward Ponyville. Shadow sighs and looks at her retreating figure.

"I guess I blew it..." He mutters before trotting towards the Everfree Forest. "I always have."

Eventually, Shy and I reach our destination and grab a basket of muffins. "Y'know, we should go back to that village sometime so.I can get more candy." I quip, eyeing the basket hungrily 

"Are you seriously out of candy?" Shy responds.

"No, I was just fooling you. Besides, it seems to be dangerous because of that last attack when we were there." I grimace at the memory of the mental assault. "And we don't know what lies down that other path."

Shy nods and takes a muffin in hoof. "I know, we should investigate sometime. Tomorrow perhaps?"

"Wait, we are actually going down that path? Shy, we have no idea what is." I gaze at her pleadingly, not wanting to go down there.

"We wouldn't be investigating if we know what it is. Be honest, have you even been slightly curious as to what is down there?"

"Um... yeah, I guess," I mutter, defeated. "Fine, we'll see what it is tomorrow."

Shy nods, pleased at the response I give her. I sigh softly and bite into a muffin. The opening of a door attracts my attention and I glance at the door having been seated at an advantageous position. I see Marly trot in and scan the room. Her gaze sweeps over mine and a smile appears. She trots toward our table.

"Mind if I sit here and keep the both of you company?" She asks, jade green eyes boring into mine.

Wait, what?  She wants to sit here with me? No, with us? Why? I think to myself, finishing off the muffin distractedly. Before I could respond, Shy did it for me.

"No, I don't mind. What happened to Shadow?" Shy smiles slightly.

"Shadow? He didn't follow me if that is what you are wondering. He... I don't think he wanted me to hang out with either of you." Marly sits down across from us, taking a few muffins.

"Do you know why?" I inquire, leaning back in the seat.

"N-no, I don't know why," Marly responds, stuttering slightly. "I honestly think that he just wants to keep me by his side".

I frown at that revelation, "Why would he want to do that?"

"He spent the majority of his time with me when I was here. He isn't used to being apart like this." Marly says, eating her muffin in one bite.

"Ah, that makes sense. I am curious though, what made you decide to stay with him?"

"It wasn't my decision, he was so caught up on being alone that he took the first chance to be a friend. He wanted me to stay with him, begged even." Marly sighs and grabs another muffin. "Eventually, I relented and agreed to stay with him. We became fast best friends but I could tell that he wanted to take it up a step."

"Well, did you?" Shy looks up from her half eaten muffin.

Marly shook her head. "No, I never felt anything around him at all. He insisted that time was necessary but I knew that even if we had a million years, nothing would change. I tried to keep telling him about it but he never listened." Marly takes out another muffin and looks at it.

"Sorry to hear that. He must be pretty stubborn to do that to you." Shy finishes off her muffins and gets another one, hoof scraping the bottom of the basket.

"He is, but I deal with it. I just wish he wasn't so clingy," Marly flashes me a slight smile and that feeling I felt when I saw her stirred to the surface once more.

What is this emotion? Or is it an emotion... is it a connection? N-no, I don't even know. I growl softly and shake my head. I don't even know why in the hell I am thinking about this. Let's just set that thought aside for a while.

Shy turns to me, a questioning gaze in her eyes. Sensing a question, I tear my gaze away from Marly and stare at the space on the table directly in front of me.

"Golden, you have been acting a bit strange. Or, at least, your mind is being a bit strange. Why is that?"

I shrug, not wanting to answer it but not wanting to leave that question up in the air. "It's nothing Shy." I immediately know that my response wasn't good enough.

"No, from your thoughts, something seems up. What is it?" I glance at Marly and she slowly nods.

"Ever since the first time I saw her, I felt something stir inside me. I couldn't tell if it was an emotion, a connection, or something unknown." I confess, Marly nodding.

"I can confirm it too, I never felt anything spring up ever before. I don't even know what it is." Marly says quietly. "It feels so... different."

"Huh," Shy mutters, finishing off another muffin. "Interesting".

"Yeah, it really is." I pick up the basket and look into it. The muffin basket is empty. "Well, now what?"

"Since we actually have legit company, we can do that one thing." Shy quips.

"What thing?"

"Wanna explore?" Shy grins and the basket is warped away.

Marly's face lights up and she nods. "I like exploration, where to?"

"Follow me," Shy gets up and trots out with Marly and I following.

"Why though? I thought you were going to wait," I say.

"I just want to get it knocked out of the way so we can be free tomorrow," Shy explains.

"Why would you want to be free tomorrow if we can be free today?"

"I'm just curious Golden," Shy replies, somewhat exasperated. "Admit it, so are you."

I nod, "Fine, yes I am curious."

The two ponies and I make our way to the familiar clearing that I always loved since I saw it for the first time. Marly looks around.

"Nice place, it looks well used." She indicates the worn grass around the trees.

"It is a nice place, we go here almost every day. Maybe the three of us can come here?" I ask, gaze sweeping over the two other ponies.

"Make that four and we're good," A familiar voice calls from the brush. Shadow steps out and advance on us non threateningly.

"Shadow?" Marly says, glancing at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you away from them, him specifically." His hoof points right at me and I take a step back.

"Now Shadow, you can't just tear me away from my friends," Marly pleads, backing up as well.

"Why are you being so damn defensive?" Shadow growls.

"Why do you care? If you want to take her away from us, you'd have to come with us." I turn on my hooves and trot down the path.

"Sometimes I need a break from you," Marly quips, eyeing Shadow with a mixed expression. "I need a break from your clingy-ness and your obsession over starting something with me. Why else do we have a rift in our friendship?" Before Shadow could respond, Marly gallops after me. Shy sighs and follows me.

Shadow sighs softly. "Damn... I have to stop this," He looks on after us and follows. "I really do, but I can't. I know I'm Golden's friend but, I want Marly back with me. Don't they understand?" He trots a bit faster.

Once we come to the split in the path, Shy halts us. "We know nothing about what is down this path. That is why we are doing this obviously."

Marly and I nod before trotting down the right path. Shy follows close behind, keeping watch of anything strange.

My ear flicks and I sense Shadow's presence. Shy also senses it through the link but neither of us pay it any mind.

I knew he wouldn't give up, I muse, unsure of his intentions. He doesn't seem the type to give up

"Woah..." Shy says, stopping abruptly in front of a clearing. "Something is up here, something strange. I can sense other ponies but nothing is here."

"Let me see..." I push past Shy and step into the clearing. I hit something that feels like thickened air. I glance back at Shy, a questioning look on my face. "Yo Shy! I think I hit something!" I call back. Shy obediently trots up next to me and halts, motioning back to Marly.

Marly then trots up behind me. "Now that is interesting. Keep going forward." I nod and keep trotting, hoofsteps getting more labored as I get farther into the clearing. The pressure around the air fades away.

"Holy-" I then begin looking around. The ground remains as it was but all around us were massive stone walls. Large, arched windows were placed in the center of each wall. My gaze then turns to the ground and I notice a stone walkway running to a large set of double doors.

"H-how is this possible?" Shy frantically says, looking around. "Where are we?"

I fly to the windows. "Still in the clearing, look." Shy flies up next to me and stares out the window.

"Impossible," She says, eyes flicking towards me as I dive to the doorway, knocking on it as my hooves touch the ground. The door slowly opens and I glance into it. Curiosity eventually overcomes me and I trot into a dark hallway.

Torches flare up along the walls and I glance back at Shy and Marly before trotting ahead. They follow close behind me, looking at the bare walls.

"Seems rather empty," Shy observes. The sound of an extra set of hooves breaks the void of silence.

"Not so, somepony is coming," I look ahead, squinting in the very dim light. "I can't tell who it is though".

The mysterious pony trots up to us. His coat and mane is completely black, allowing him to blend in the dim light. He has red eyes that glow in the light. The pony nods, turns around and trots down the corridor. He looks back, continuing to trot.

"We should probably follow," I say, following the pony down the hall. Marly nods and follows me along with Shy.

He leads us down a set of stairs into a large room which held around twenty more similar looking ponies.

"This is strange, I never thought that a clearing would lead here," Marly says, glancing around the room. "Hey Golden, take a look at them." She indicates a group, milling about in the corner.

"What are... those things that they are wearing?" Shy indicates a few dark gray anklets ringed around their left hind legs.

"They look like anklets. Why though?" I wonder aloud, looking at the ponies as the one in front of us leads us down another hall.

He walks up another set of stairs and leads us through a maze of corridors. Eventually, he stops in front of a red door and knocks on it. The door swings open and he steps aside. I trot into the rather spacious room. The walls are as bare as the rest of them were. A lone pony stands next to a chair situated atop a platform with stairs leading up to it. The room was bathed in a brighter light and a map of Equestria lined the back wall.

"Welcome," The pony speaks, stepping down onto the red carpet lining the floor. "My name is Cyrus Silver and on behalf of the Shadowborne race, I welcome you to our halls."

I step back in shock, mind slowly comprehending the surroundings. "Wait, I thought you looked familiar. The glowing red eyes, the black coat. Aren't you from my mind?"

"You could say that, yes," He laughs.

Why didn't I notice that one before? He looks just like the other guy and that group.

"Shadowborne?" Shy giggles. "Is this a joke?"

My gaze shifts to her in response and I shake my head. That quiets her completely.

"Anyway, the last time I interacted with you, you forcibly pushed me out because you thought that it was an attack. Remember? You were in the village when that happened." Cyrus says, sighing softly. "I didn't get enough of the information on you so I could channel it to others."

"What others?" I ask, somewhat miffed at the breach of privacy.

"The other leaders of the bases that are now spread around Equestria." Cyrus indicates the map behind him. "There is an issue though. With the increase of bases and strict leadership inside them, we lack a third party."

"The ones being the beings that reside inside the bases and the ones that lead them right?" Marly asks and Cyrus nods.

"Yep, in short terms, we need two ponies to keep watch over the bases and make sure that communication goes on not only between those two but those two and you. Not only that, but, we need said ponies to push us in the right direction."

"Cyrus, enough about the whole 'being vague' thing. You told us what we can do, tell us what we have to do," I say, somewhat angrily.

"Fine, we need two of you to lead us and the other two to serve as an advisor." Cyrus nods toward the door as it opens and a Shadowborne pushes Shadow in.

"This one was following them around," He grunts before trotting off.

"Ah, so glad you could make it," Cyrus says, glaring at Shadow.

"Not my fault I had to follow, they left me." Shadow glares at me. "Come on Marly, we're leaving." He moves towards Marly. I step in between those two.

"Absolutely not Shadow, you do not tear her away from us now." My eyes narrow and they flash a hint of silver. Shy steps back, escaping my personal bubble. "Just stay back and you'll be alright, okay?"

Shadow steps back as well, not wanting to stir up conflict here.

"Good," I turn to Cyrus. "How much longer will this take?"

"Only as long as you make it. Golden, I do know you want to be a leader. Don't even attempt to deny it. All we need is-" Cyrus is cut off as Shy steps forward.

"If he undertakes this task, then I will too," Shy's voice is determined and her gaze matches the tone. I nudge Shy questioningly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I am. Cyrus, do whatever you need to do."

Cyrus then nods and a giant chain appears in his hoof. It is made up of thousands of silver links. He stares us down and raises the chain as if he means to strike us. Some fear creeps into me until his pose slackens and chain drops to the floor 

The torches along the wall are slowly extinguished save for the two closest ones.

"Since there are two of you, normally I'd have to do this twice. Since I have a feeling you four are pressed for time, I'm doing the shorter version. Do you both, Shybeat Storm and Golden Stream, accept all.the rights and responsibilities of becoming a leader of the Shadowborne race? If so, touch the second and first links respectively."

Shy and I both nod and touch the aforementioned links. They shift to the color of gold and our names and cutie marks are engraved on them. The links are then copied and the copied links begin glowing and unraveling. They snap around both of our left hind legs.

Two more links change to a color of gold and silver and they are copied and sent to both Marly and Shadow. They stare at their newly acquired anklets and stare at Cyrus.

"Uh, thank you I guess," Marly quips.

"Now can we go?" Shadow says impatiently, hoof tapping on ground.

"You two can, Golden and Shy stay here." Cyrus pokes at the both of our anklets.

"C'mon Marly," Shadow begins dragging Marly away.

"B-but Shadow," She whines. "I don't wanna-"

"I don't care, you will spend time with me" Shadow says, glaring at me as he drags her out.

"What's up with them?" Shy asks, glancing at me. "She didn't want to leave and she has been acting against Shadow all this time. Why is that?"

I fall silent, sitting on the ground. Why do.I want her back?

"Eh, I guess we'll.figure that one out later. Huh? Golden, what's up? Again with the strange acting."

Cyrus interrupts us, "We'll.figure it out after we figure this out."

"What exactly are we trying to figure out?" I ask

"Simple, where we belong in this world. Normally, we'd be allies with everypony that is not Changeling. After a few hours of thinking, I decided that we should take a neutral standpoint. That would not screw things up and we would be able to watch over the pony race. I do know that Changelings will attack anything, even us. If we became allies with the pony race, they'd attack them first. If we were neutral, they would know that we can attack them back and they'd come after us instead." Cyrus explains.

"It would protect the ponies but throw the Shadowbornes into danger. Not enough danger for war though?" I ask, hoping for a good response. I wasn't disappointed.

"No, it won't blow up into full-scale war. Do you accept these terms?"

Both Shy and I nod, much to the relief of Cyrus.

"How are you going to face the world though?" Shy stares at Cyrus.

"No need to worry about that one Shy. You two are free to go." I nod.

"Shy, wanna go back to see both Shadow and Marly?" I ask hopefully. Shy nods and she warps us back to the entrance of the base. She trots to the wall and touches it, hoof sinking into it. The rest of her body follows after. I tentatively follow her out, stepping into the same forest trail.

"Alright, where did they go?" I wonder aloud, staring down the path, eyes flashing silver. "Screw asking, I can just find out on my own." I expand my mind out, sensing nothing from the village. I notice two presences in the clearing.

"Where are they?" Shy breaks off a branch and twirls it in hoof.

"The clearing, but I am too impatient just to trot there." I highlight my point by teleporting to the clearing.

Shy sighs, "Ever heard of flying?" She mutters, spreading her wings and taking to the sky after me.

My sudden presence in the clearing startles Shadow, who is laying by the base of the tree.

"I thought I was done with you," Shadow growls.

"Easy Shadow, I hope.you don't mind that we used your clearing." Marly says, flashing me a smile. "It is a nice place after all."

I return the smile with my own. "Why thank you Marly. The clearing could be shared with anypony."

"Good, I might have to go here more often."

"Great, just great," Shadow groans.

Marly turns to him, "What is your problem? Do you have an issue?" Shadow growls, gets up, and quickly trots away. Marly sighs softly and watches Shadow. "Sorry about him."

"You don't have to apologize for him at all. It is his issues that I shouldn't be concerned with." I say, gaze flicking at Shy as she lands atop a cloud.

"Yeah..." Marly flashes me yet another smile and I stare into her eyes.

Those eyes, they are... I mentally slap myself. Why am I thinking this? I sigh lightly and lay down in front of her.

"Is something wrong Golden?" She prompts, frowning at my sigh.

"N-no, there is nothing wrong here. It's just that, ever since you woke up-"

"Say no more Golden, I know exactly what you mean. I know you didn't really do the saving, but I never cared about that. The thing is, why haven't I forgotten? Why haven't I let go of the thought that I was revived?"

"I-I don't know either Marly," I stammer, thoughts whirling about in my mind. "Neither of us let go during that. You wanted to be by my side since then. You even went against Shadow. Why?"

"Well because..." Marly trails off. Ah geez, now I have to give him a legitimate reason. Marly thinks before continuing. "Because, I wanna spend time with you. More than I wanna spend time with Shadow. It drives me crazy, he thinks he can drag me away."

"That's why you didn't want to leave, right?"

Marly nods and I feel that same feeling again, this time much more intense. "Yes, that and I feel like I should be with you. It exists deep down inside me and I cannot change it no matter what I tell myself. No matter what Shadow tells me, I won't go back to him being overprotective of me. So please, save me from him and do me a favor and just, be with me. I don't care what he thinks about me anymore. Hell, he can go off and be with somepony else and I won't even bat an eye." Once Marly finishes, she lets out a soft sigh and moves closer to me, much to my hidden enjoyment.

This... proximity between us, it feels so right somehow. I secretly smile and move closer to her in return.

"Is it bad that I feel your heat all the way from here? You sure you don't have powers involving fire?" Marly quips, smile widening slightly.

"I am pretty sure I don't have powers involving fire. I wish I do though, fire is the one thing that totally calms me down. When I look in the flames, the dancing movements help me feel at ease." I explain, gaze washing over her. Feelings I never experience come to the surface as I did so.

Okay, now this is really bugging me. What are these feelings that have invaded my body? Why can't I stop not only thinking of her but wanting to spend legitimate time with her? Do I even need time to sort this one out anymore?  Is this even remotely possible that I feel this towards her because it has only been a few hours. I mean, I can grant her this favor but is it worth it in the end? My train of thought kept going and going. Questions kept repeating over and over in my mind with no end in sight.

Is it right?

Can it possibly happen this way?

Will it work out?

I just lay there, mind continuing to whirl. Eventually my mind forms a simple question.

"What exactly do you mean by me spending time with you?" I ask shyly, glancing at my forelegs.

"Well, that is for you to decide. In order to keep Shadow off my back, you and I would have to be together..." She trails off and glances up at me, hope shining in her eyes. "If that is to soon for you or, if you don't feel like-"

A single word then cuts through the still air. "Wrong..."

Marly's ears perk up and her eyes widen slightly as she hears the word coming from my lips.

"That is wrong and deep down, both you and I know it." I move closer toward her. "It may be a little soon, but from the moment I saw your chest rise and fall, something stirred up inside me. Hell, when Shadow mentioned something about the body,.something stirred inside me. I don't know why it did, nor do I care. The only important thing is, I do feel something and it is directed towards you." I poke her chest and her hoof descends upon it swiftly and softly.

"My eyes opened back there and I took a look at every face there. They all glanced over my eyes but one stopped me in my tracks. That one was yours," Her hoof presses down over mine. "There was always something about the way you look. The feelings confirm many things. Yes, I want to be with you. Yes, I do think you are kinda... cute," Her cheeks flushed lightly when she said that. "Yes, I am aware you think the same of me. Why be forever apart when we both know that we can be together?"

"I... I agree," I manage after a moment of thought. "Is it too soon though? That is my main concern."

"Yes, I understand your hesitation fully. If you don't want this..."

"Oh b-but I do," I stammer, a slight blush creeping through my cheeks.

Yes, yes I do want this. It took me hours to realize that I was in dismay as Shadow tried to take her away. I was defensive because he tried to take you, the mare that actually matters to me, away. Screw the too soon thing.

Before I could say anything else, she leans in close to me. "That's good, so do I." She plants a light kiss on my cheek and I recoil in pleasant surprise.

"I-I never expected a... kiss on the cheek. I thought you would hug me or something," I say, speaking the truth. Marly just nods and she moves so her body is curled up against my chest.

"Just give it time, maybe later okay?" She yawns and nuzzles my chest. "I don't suppose you expected this to happen to you eh?"

I chuckle lightly, "No, you caught me off guard there for a little bit. My mind was being assailed by many questions. I wondered if it would work or not especially when those feelings arose again." My hoof runs through her mane, feeling the softness of it. Marly stretched out when I did that.

"That is really sweet of you though. I was afraid that you would never accept. Why did you?"

"I didn't because I had three reasons. The first was quite obvious, Shadow. I was getting real tired of his shit around you. I wanted him to just go and leave you alone. The second reason is that I didn't really want to see you alone around him. The third, is slightly more personal but I can tell you now.

"Ever since I came to Ponyville and met Shy, I honestly believed that I would be good with her. Then I met you and whatever that was missing kinda showed up again. I also felt something I haven't felt before and I just knew that you were the one to be with me. It took me being... nearly alone with you to figure that one out " I explain, noticing Shy's presence atop the cloud.

"Let me guess, Shy's still here eh?"

"Yeah, she was tired though and decided to take a nap. I'm not surprised at all though," I yawn softly.

"Wanna just, I dunno, sleep here for a while?" Marly continues to nuzzle my chest. "That little trip into the clearing wore all of us out."

I nod and I form a silver shield around the clearing. "Clearing is shielded just in case," I say, closing my eyes, Marly following suit.

Just in case of Shadow and well, my parents. My thoughts then died down as sleep slowly overtook me.

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes slowly open to a sky of orange and red. The sun is sinking below the horizon, bathing the land in a soft orange. I smile softly and stare at the mare I have wrapped in my forelegs. My grip on her tightens ever so slightly and I kiss her mane gently, not disrupting her peaceful sleep in the slightest.

I stare at the outer edges of the clearing. The sunlight dances off the nearly invisible shield, causing the light to change to a slight silver color mixed in with the orange. I glance up at the clouds floating over the edge of the shield. A purple wing pokes out of the edge, stretches out then disappears as it drops out of my visual sight.

I lay back down and stare up at the slightly distorted sky caused by the shield. Eventually, the orange and red fades to a dark blue and stars appear along it.

"The sky always makes me wonder," I whisper lightly, gently stroking Marly's chest with my forehooves. She smiles softly in her sleep, taking comfort in the fact that somepony she cares about is close by. Her happiness radiates to me and I smile as I feel it invade me.

Silence descends upon the clearing once more and I sigh softly but happily.

Yesterday, I never expected somepony like her to spring into my life like this so quickly. Once before, I questioned the logic in this whole thing. I worried and worried that it would fall flat immediately. Much like with Shy, I was desperate for some sort of relation. Desperation calls for quick measures and this was almost as fast as being friends with Shy. I wonder how well she will take to the news.

I glance back up at the unmoving cloud and sense Shy still sleeping on top of it. A quiet moan snaps me back to Marly. She shifts in my hooves and her eyes open, turning her head to gaze at me.

"Hello there Marly, I trust you slept well?" I say with a soft smile.

She yawns and nods, "I slept really well thanks to you. I have never been so close to somepony and felt so protected in my life."

"I'm glad you feel that way; you have been the first to say that to me," My smile widens ever so slightly and I press her back against my chest.

"You like to be close to certain ponies eh?" Marly giggles.

"Well I certainly do not disappoint," I quip, resting my head on her neck.

"I know you don't, you haven't yet," She grins and kisses my neck softly, sending a shiver through my body. That shiver was then replaced by a warm feeling in my chest. She kisses again, holding it on my neck for a little bit longer before staring up at me.

"N-neither do you," I whisper, heart fluttering with the close physical contact.

Her ears perk up at my words and she flashes me a smile. "I'm a good pony and a good lover?"

"You definitely are, you need to show me more sometime." I say, grinning as well as my hoof strokes her chest. I realize that being this close to her makes me feel especially relaxed and I wanted more of it.

"Maybe I will sometime, you never know." I smile contently, watching her chest rise and fall.

Two hours slowly pass, I was very much awake and Marly slowly drifted off a hour ago. I glance up at the cloud as I sense Shy wake up. Neither of us moved during that span of time, neither one of us wanted to move for fear of loss of comfort.

Shy descends upon the shield and taps it. She tilts her head and knocks on it, sending vibrations through the whole thing. I create a gap in it below her and she glides down, hovering just above the ground, staring at us.

"What?" I softly ask.

"Oh... it's nothing," Shy responds, darker green eyes flicking towards Marly. "She must be tired."

"No, she's comfortable. There is a big difference you know." I reply. "We got our naps in earlier, when you were sleeping on that cloud." I nod toward the cloud still suspended over the clearing.

"Wanna go ahead and visit the Everfree Forest?" She asks. "Sometimes, I wanna see what lives inside there. By the way, where did Shadow go?"

"How should I know where he could've gone. You're actually worried about him?"

"Sort of, he has been kinda different since Marly was revived. He has been more snappy, do you know why?"

"Tch... no, I don't even know why." My foreleg tightens around Marly's chest instinctively. "Even if I did know, I wouldn't care. Maybe ask Cyrus, he may know."

Shy sighs softly and glances at the both of us. "Fine, but do you care about him in any way?"

"Maybe if he stops being so overly attached to Marly here," My hoof waves to her and she opens an eye.

"Hi there Shy," Marly says, smiling faintly before moving out of my foreleg and standing up, stretching. "That cloud comfortable up there?"

"Yeah, it was," Shy stares at the shield around the clearing. "What's with the shielding?"

"Just in case Shadow came back," Marly's gaze darkens slightly. Shy steps back, slightly shocked at the change of emotions in Marly's eyes. Marly sighs and turns to me, holding out a hoof. I take it and she helps me up, smiling as our hooves touch.

"I kinda do want to go to the Everfree, I haven't really been there much, if ever." I say, smiling and breaking the shield around the clearing. Shy dashes upwards for a bit and hovers, looking at me expectantly.

"Um... ah... go ahead of me Shy, I don't really feel like flying right now." I say softly, hope gathering in my eyes. She picks up on it and nods, suspicion hidden in her gaze. I silently cheer, watching her depart without words.

I knew there was something hiding underneath Shy's gaze but I paid it no mind as I glanced at Marly.

"She doesn't know?" Marly asks, surprised at the outcome.

"I wouldn't quite say that she doesn't know, I'd say that she won't say anything about it," I smartly reply, knowing Shy had a glance at my happiness.

"Oh well," Marly bounds forward playfully, glancing back and continuing forward. I chuckle and follow her towards Ponyville, keeping up with her surge in energy.

Eventually, the Everfree Forest comes into view and I stare into the darker areas. I shiver softly as a wind moves through the trees.

"The Everfree Forest, it's even more intimidating up close," I say, mind flipping back to the dream I had a while back. Marly nudges me, smiling warmly.

"No need to fear the forest Golden, you have Shy and I for support," She trots forward and I tag along, expression mixed between fear and comfort. Those two feelings battled inside me and climaxed as I stepped into the forest. The sun immediately hides behind the extensive canopy and I feel the temperature drop. I shiver heavier and fly up to one of the branches, using it as a lookout for Shy.

"Nothing yet," I call down. "Maybe she is further in, this is quite the extensive forest after all." I leap off the branch and glide back to Marly.

"Well, if she wants to go to the Everfree to do her things, why should we track her down?" Marly asks, plucking a blade of grass and looking at it. "We can do our own little things too."

"I do want to find her just in case," I reason. "Although, I would sense anything wrong through our link so we can do our own little things." A smile creeps up my lips.

"What things would you like to do?" Marly asks, nudging me playfully. My side strikes the tree softly and I bump her back.

"Oh, I dunno," I respond, feeling our bodies touch when I bump her. "Shall we figure that one out?"

"Yeah! I think we should!" Marly says enthusiastically, sudden pep throwing me off slightly.

"Excited to be with me, alone in the forest? Not that it'll mean anything." I chuckle nervously, pawing at the ground. A variety of thoughts involving her and I flashed through my mind. I cut off the thoughts before they became too obscene.

Are you kidding me? I think, sighing softly. Marly stares at me, noticing my reaction.

"Yeah, I suppose I am excited to be with you, alone in the forest. That makes me think that we can get away with different things that we normally can't get away with when she is around."

"Like wha-" I was then silenced unexpectedly when Marly planted a long awaited kiss on my lips. It was soft, enough to silence me but not enough to satisfy my desires. The kiss didn't last long, leaving me out of breath from surprise.

"Well, I suppose 'shut up and kiss me' is loads more appropriate for the both of us," Marly says, tail swishing back and forth.

"I-I... i-it..." I stammer, eyeing her tail. Before I could say anything else, I feel her lips touch mine. It feels like she did it because she wanted to instead of keeping me quiet. The initial half-suprise faded into the faint, but fiery inklings of coming passion. Her lips part from mine, but that wasn't enough.

She rubs up against my side, nudging me with her cheek. "I can already feel it, I know you want more of me." She says, nudging again. "I can see it, and I feel the same way about this. What is holding you back?"

Absolutely nothing at all. I think feverishly, realizing that Shy is nowhere to be found and we are alone in this section of the forest.

I kiss her on the cheek softly, moving toward and soon touching her lips. She melts right into it, a calming sensation spreading to the both of us. She unexpectedly breaks the kiss and pulls me down onto my side, wrapping forelegs around my neck and repeating the kiss.

I never saw that gesture coming at all but it didn't catch me off guard in the heat of the moment. My tongue prods her lips gently but she doesn't respond to it. One of her hooves begin stroking my mane as the kiss subtly becomes more affectionate. Her touch is soft and gentle much like mine.

The kiss lasts for several more minutes. When we pull apart, my emotions are all toward her. I never felt any emotions this powerful toward Shy or any other pony before. I grin and stroke her back as she continues running her hoof through my mane. Her body was extremely soft, reminding me of a cloud. I drape my wing over her and pull her close, nuzzling the side of her neck. She smiles as I do this and nibbles on my ear.

"Ya know, I don't think Shadow has ever treated me this way," Marly quips, continuing to toy with my ear with her mouth.

"Really? Glad I could be the first to treat you affectionately." I say with a slight grin, licking her neck softly much to her enjoyment. She stretches out slightly, resting her head on my neck, hoofs releasing their soft, affectionate hold on my body.

"I... yeah..." She sighs happily. "You are the first, and only one to treat me this way. I love it and I... love you Golden," Her cheeks flares up slightly as she announces her love. I try and say something in return but fail and manage a nice smile to compensate.

Inwardly, I am happier than I have been in a while. The world  around me seemed slightly brighter, more vibrant even though the silence was overtaking the clearing. Being with Marly has been a totally refreshing change. Gone was the pony that protected me from anypony and everypony and it was replaced with one that filled the gap in my heart.

"Where...?" I whisper softly, hoof tickling her chin. "Where have you been... my whole life?" She snorts and tilts her head back, allowing me to scratch it more.

"Wherever I was, I missed out on this."  She says contently. "Where have you been?"

"Elsewhere, not here... I wished I was though " I nip on her ear again. "Then I would have met you earlier."

She nods in reply and gently nudges my hoof away from her chin. I let it drop to the ground.

"I... love you... too," I say with a grin,  mentally cursing when it took me that long to respond. "I always will too, I feel like nothing could separate us. Can you agree with me?"

Marly nods, sending reassurance through my mind and making me relax even further. I nip at her mane affectionately before nuzzling it softly. Marly returns the gesture by gently kissing my neck and cheek, happy to be with me.

Elsewhere in the Everfree, Shy is laying on the banks of a nearby stream, hoof dipping into the water. She turned her thoughts to my link and finds that her thoughts are being repressed. She sighs lightly and looks back.

"I knew I should've stuck with them," She says, resting head on forelegs. "Oh well, he'll find me later."

I try looking through his mind, but I don't find much. Is that a good or bad thing? I never felt anything adverse happen... so why is he hiding things? Shy thinks. She then gets up and trots toward the location where she last sensed me.

I am in the exact same location with Marly. My wing is idly stroking her side and I am nuzzling her neck affectionately. She smiles and closes her eyes, feeling the various movements on her body.

"This is... so nice," She mutters, shifting her body so my wing can gently rub her stomach.

"I don't want it to end," I say, wing stiffening as Marly rubs it with a hind leg. There was something about her rubbing my wing that I especially enjoyed. A slight moan escaped my lips and she began stroking the underside. She continues the stroking motion for a while and I loved every minute of it. I was so relaxed while she rubbed my wing that neither of us noticed a third presence land on a branch. It was Shy

"Having fun you two?" Shy calls, staring at us. The both of us freeze and glance at the source of the voice. When we see her, I smile faintly.

"Oh Shy... hello there," Marly says, giggling as Shy glides down from the branch.

"Becoming affectionate already Golden? I... never expected this, especially from you." She trots to me slowly.

"Please tell me you aren't mad," I say quietly, looking over Shy. "It, Marly makes me happy... ever since she woke up I felt attraction toward her, actual feelings." I glance down but Shy uses a hoof to tilt my chin and gaze up.

"Hey, it's okay if.you find a mare you love, that you always want to be with. And I accept that," She wraps me in a hug. "No, I am not angry, why would you think I'd be angry?"

"W-well, I was afraid that you were lonely..." I shakily say.

She chuckles and lets me go. "No, I have an actual husband. I just hang with you when he isn't around. Sadly, he isn't always around, leaving me alone at my house." A hint of sadness is heard in her voice and I hug her again, sending comfort through the shared bond.

"You never told me you actually have somepony in your life." Marly quips, getting up and stretching. "I don't think you told Golden either."

"Neither of you really asked, I'll let the both of you know when he shows up. I would feel bad if I stayed here because it would make me feel that I would be intruding."

Marly and I frown as she tells us and I speak up. "N-no! Please, your company is as good as Marly's."

"Wait, really?" Shy asks, smiling faintly and tightening the hug. "Good, I'd hate to be alone. How do you two like the forest?"

"Heh, I love it! It is so quiet and peaceful, perfect for developing relationships," I say, nudging Marly. "Although apparently starting out slow wasn't an option, I don't mind it one bit."

"As for me, it is quiet, but that doesn't mean it's empty. Am I right?" Marly asks, Shy nodding in response.

"You are correct, there are other monsters in this forests. Most of them you really wouldn't want to meet. Thankfully, said monsters are rather secluded in caves and such." Shy glances around, scanning the general vicinity.

I'm not worried about the monsters at all, I'm pretty sure of my abilities to take them down. If one is several times the size of me, however, taking it down would be a totally different story. My imagination began to run wildly at the thought of what kind of monsters would reside there. I sensed the slightly elusive minds of manticores a few times before but never seen one in person.

I totally know that we are the only two ponies in the forest. I just was more concerned about the minds I couldn't really detect. Shy arouses my attention from my personal thoughts by flapping her wings, going into a hover.

"It's safe here, I done all I wanted to do." Shy flies to me and gently pokes my chest. "What do you wanna do?"

"Hm..." I muse, glancing to Marly then back to Shy. The temptation of staying with my newfound marefriend is rather great but the thought of spending time with Shy also is pretty good too. I hastily make my decision, turning to Marly.

"Sorry Marly, but I kinda want to spend some time with Shy if you don't mind." I say, softly touching Marly's side.

"N-no, that's alright," Marly says, not expecting that decision. "Want me to come with?"

"Um... sorry but... no because she is as important to me as you are and I also don't want to forget that she exists," I say. Marly steps back, slightly hurt but she flashes me a reassuring smile.

"T-thats alright I guess, I'll be somewhere in the forest if you decide to come back." Marly trots off.

"Well, shall we go?" Shy asks, smiling. "We have a while to do things still."

"I know," I respond with a smile, bounding ahead of her, spreading my wings. I leap into the air, weaving around the trees. Shy follows closely behind me, mimicking my movements.

"I know you know!" Shy says happily, doing a twirl. "It feels good being in the air with you."

"Heh, I do agree with you there. Sometimes, I totally forgot that I am a pegasus and have a perfectly usable pair of wings." Shy giggles and speeds ahead of me and looks back.

"Well? What are ya going to do about me being ahead of you huh?" She says, slowing and flicking her tail so it hits my face.

"That tail is rather soft, are you sure you want it to hit me square in the face?" I do a barrel roll, gold trail following behind me. I then flip over so my belly is facing up and continue flying normally. "I mean really, that tail is also useful for tickling ponies."

"You saying you want to be tickled?"

"No, I'm saying that you can use it that way." I slowly descend upon one of the buildings in Ponyville, hooves landing atop the roof. Shy lands on the ground next to the building, staring up at me.

"Yes, I know you can use tails for tickling, and hitting ponies like you in the face." She laughs, grinning when she circles the house.

I glance at her figure moving about the outer perimeter of the house. Her bright, almost neon blue tail flicked softly behind her and I smile faintly.

Nothing would certainly seem to break this peaceful streak. Or at least, anything in Ponyville. I know that there are threats against me and I also know that nothing could really stop said threats. At least I have Shy to keep me company and protect me.

Elsewhere...

My father sits outside the very same place I was born and raised in. The house was two stories and painted white, a porch wrapped around the back, showing off the barely cut grass and the surrounding forest. He gets up and turns to his wife, worry hidden deep inside. Her controlling gaze flicks to him and she smirks.

"Ready to bring him back?" She cooly asks, gray mane moving in the wind.

Father remained silent, wanting to disapprove but knowing the consequences. "A-alright," He manages. She nods and trots into the forest, the stallion pegasus following closely behind her.

I swear, if I fail in doing this, he is going to regret ever meeting me... his wife cooly thinks, keeping head low and mind attuned to Ponyville
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty-four hours after Shy and I spend quality time with each other, it was apparent that some new powers appeared to have surfaced.

I wake up in the clearing, marefriend snuggled up against me, wing draping over her body. Perfectly content with the positions, I continue to lay there, mind wandering as it usually does. The sun is well above the horizon, suspended directly overhead, signifying midday. I realize that I slept part of the day away which seems odd.

Shrugging the strange occurrence off, my attention turns to Marly. She stirs lightly and my wing retracts slightly in response. Her eyes open and she turns her head to look at me.

"Mornin Golden," She says tiredly but with a sweet smile.

"Afternoon to you too," I reply, stretching my wings out.

"No, it's-" She trails off as I point out the suns position. "Afternoon, isn't it? Yeah, that's what I assumed by looking at the sun." She stands up and I get up with her, nuzzling her side ever so gently. She stretches out as I do that and emits a small groan.

Sensing her pleasure, I continue to nuzzle her, moving up her side to her neck.

"You... really are good at that," Marly observes, smiling softly.

"I am?" I chuckle. "Good to hear, would you like more of it?"

"Maybe later," She yawns again and I stop. "For now, being with a sweet pony like you is all I need. Thanks for helping Shy make me live again." She kisses my cheek affectionately. I grin and nuzzle her side once more.

"Anything ya wanna do?" I ask, looking at Marly.

"Hm, normally I'd get muffins but that gets old after a while. I love them but not enough to have a few once a day. You feel me?"

"Oh, I understand completely. I'm much the same way."

"Where do you want to go today?" Marly pokes my side playfully. "I mean, there isn't many places to go. The village, Ponyville, the Everfree... that's all."

"The library is a viable option but, I am not in the mood to read. Maybe we need to... broaden our horizons. Ya know, explore farther out than the forest."

"O-oh," I respond, knowing exactly what is past the clearing. "Um... I won't do it mainly because I know what is past here."

"That's okay, I haven't seen it though. Would you deny a mare as sweet as me?" She moves a hoof down my side seductively with a coy smile. I look at her hoof as it moves.

"N-no, I don't want to. Hell, I wont deny a mare as... special as you." I say, smiling slightly. "Special in a good way, of course." She stops lightly brushing my side.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She trots to the back of the clearing and heads down the trail. I follow her, the memories flashing through my mind. I point out where I woke up the morning when I met Shy, along with various other places. She turns to look at me when we near a grassy field.

"It's amazing how you remember all this stuff," She says. "My memory isn't that great at all." She smiles shyly. "How do you remember anyway?"

My gaze moves to the edge of the field. "I relive it in my dreams..." And so my mind flips back to one of the recent memories:

A large field stretches far in front of me, as far as my eyes could possibly see. Much like the few miles I traverse, nothing is heard at all. Birds fail to chirp and the large field is as silent as any place always has been. Sitting down I pull out my gold colored notebook. Looking at it, I turn it in the light. Nothing seemed to change, which was expected.

My thoughts remain turned to what lies ahead and what exactly I gone through. The memories ran through my mind as usual, tightly shutting eyes in response.

"N-no, please no, anything but this, not now," I whimper. I see imagery of a scene from my old home, figure of my mother looming over me, something blurred held in a hoof as she advances.

"STOP! STOP IT!" I cry, curling up as the flash of a knife danced in my visions. "PLEASE!" Sadly, the cry of desperation is largely unheard except for a being that lived inside my mind ever since I left that hellhole of a home.

Are you alright? The voice says, concern laced through it. I wanted to respond with something to make him feel at ease. I never did that though, it seemed totally wrong to do that and I never lied to him.

"N-no! G-god no! I'm not alright!" I yell, shuddering as the memories get progressively worse. Whimpering, the memories fade after a while leaving me shaky and drained. I reopen my eyes, very exhausted. I eventually drift off to a fitful slumber.

"Hey..." Marly's voice is soft, nuzzling my cheek worriedly. "Hey Golden... hello?" She begins poking my side. I remain silent, not responding. She sighs, horn glowing as a stick breaks off, catapulting towards me. It slows down to whack my side several times. I flinch and snap out of it, remaining silent. "Are you okay?" She asks, looking me over.

Before being able to say anything, my ear flicks and I hug her tightly. "I'm fine, I really am. It's just... let's just go, let's go back to the clearing." I let her go and trot out of the area, almost nervously. Marly follows me, glancing at me with concern. I recall the moment when I snap out of the trance that I was in. I felt something intimidating nearby and I didn't like it, instantly fearing the worst. One or both of my parents are coming

"Dear, you seem off, what's up?" I falter slightly, not wanting to answer but not wanting to worry her further. I answered as plainly as possible, with a hint of fear, small but evident in my voice.

"They're c-coming," I respond, hugging her even more tighter. "I-I can't face them... b-but you need to go when I do."

"Absolutely not!" She says, "I'm not going to leave you so soon."

"But-"

"No buts," She says, determined. "Absolutely no buts about this one. I love you, I'd move the earth just to be with you." I am extremely nervous about letting her be with me. I know exactly what they would be like and that terrifies me. I never wanted to have somepony with me when I face them but circumstances now change that. I could eventually accept that nothing I'd say could ever change her mind.

Trotting into the fated clearing where my life was changed for the better, I look at my marefriend, staring at marvelous body, I nod.

"Alright, I know I can't change your mind. As long as we get to see Shy immediately afterwards."

"Fair enough," Marly smiles, nudging me.

"Anyway..." My gaze moves around the clearing edge, trying to find the ones who ruined my colthood. I slowly begin to inwardly seethe, not seeing any sign of any other pony.

What kind of game are they playing? I swear to god... My thoughts get cut off as my hearing picks up a slight displacement of brush not too far to my left. My head turns to that point.

"Alright," I say again, advancing on that area. "Where are yo-" Before I could keep going, I am tackled and rolled onto my back, knife held to my neck.

"Hello there, little Goldie," The assailant said, pressing knife down slightly, drawing a thin, but painful line of blood. I growl and kick at the pony.

"Don't call me that, Mother," I respond, kicking again. She grunts and gets off. I spring to a stand and slash at her with my knife. Her horn glows and the knife smashes into something invisible but extremely tough. A shield appears to have erupted around her. I take a step back, growling.

"I can call you whatever I wish. I brought you into this world." She says with a sneer, orange eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, and you obviously tried to take me out of it repeatedly." I respond, raw hatred being channeled. "Ponies like you sicken me. How was I different? How!?" I began to get angry, some spark being lit inside my heart and mind. I now learned that I hate her, beyond any doubt. Some silvery substance began leaking out of my body, it starts swirling as my anger rises.

"Heh, getting a little mad?" She asks, gazing at me coldly. "Good, I can't wait to get my hooves on you." She crouches down and lunges at me, a flash of silver slicing at me. Caught off guard, I dodge the silvery attack and get struck by her. Growling, the aura sinks into me and a rush of power causes me to kick her off and tackle her. She brings her knife out in response and strikes at my neck, laughing. My eyes glow, a stream of magical energy halts the blade and makes it fade away. Her eyes widen slightly.

"What? You actually inherited that?" She yells in disbelief. "Ah fuck... I don't care... you use magic, I use magic." Several silver swords jump to her sides, turning into raw energy and flying at me. By the time she finishes speaking, I'm back a safe distance, watching the silver swords. They swiftly close in on me and I form a shield, a newfound power. I grunt as the impact causes it to buckle slightly. Taking another step back, she spreads her wings and takes to the air, silver energy gathering around the tip of her horn.

Shit, I realize, eyes following her ascent. My hoof grip my knife and I throw it almost expertly, silver aura trailing behind it. She evades the knife and a silver beam erupts from her horn, aiming right at me.

Or so I thought until it phases through me and continues onward. I turn around, eyes widening as it heads towards Marly.

"Look out!" I call out, Marly turning around and looking at the blast, fury in her eyes. Her horn glows and she leaps to the side energy pulse moving out of her horn and striking my mother. My mother grunts as it hits her and she collapses.

"...You bitch," My mother remarks, glaring at Marly and I. She then teleports away. A second figure, hiding in the shadows disappears with her. Marly snorts and turns her back to me.

"I hate her now, she threatened you and tried to kill you," She says, malice dripping from her voice. "I think it won't be the last time I see her... and when I do..."

"Hey..." I respond, aura moving back out of my body and subsequently calming me down. "Let's focus on the good things, shall we?"

"What was all that about though? What was the aura about?" She asks, hugging me tightly.

Unsure of how to answer, I sigh and respond, "Well, I think it's a power of mine that I always had. An hour after I left Shy, I did some meditation because I remember hearing that it focuses the magical core in the body and also relax you. When calming down, I found something in my mind, a barrier that I never remembered being there. Maybe my mother obliterated those specific memories."

She breaks the hug and sits down thoughtfully as I continue, "When she came back here, I felt something snap partway inside me and I got mad. Suddenly, I felt energy and saw that aura and well, I stopped the blade with a thought. She was incredulous..."

Marly nods, "Wanna go see Shy now? I mean, you don't ha-" She gets cut off as I step back slightly, wincing for seemingly no reason. "What's wrong?"

"O-ow..." I mutter, hoof moving to my neck. "Mother of Luna... that hurts..."

Marly tilts her head, "You just noticed that?"

"Yeah, it was as if I couldn't feel it during the fight at all." I say.

"Hm," she says, kissing my cheek softly much to my pleasure. "Is that all? Anything else?"

I shake my head, frowning as the final blast Marly cast is felt. "I also felt what you did, and I don't know why. I do understand that I can feel a pony's pain literally but this is new. I could have stopped myself from feeling it and I tried. I honestly tried to stop myself from feeling the pain but it never worked."

"At least you tried to stop it, some ponies wouldn't even try." Marly reasons. "Anyway, where is that one purple pony with the cutie mark? I wanna see her... hehe," she giggles and looks around.

"Right here, I felt something go wrong," a voice says, descending from the sky and neatly landing in front of me. Shy looks concerned, looking right at me. "And oh boy, it seems that it did."

I sigh and look at her, "Yeah, my mother came and well, tried to kill me. I fought her off but Marly was the one that actually drove the bitch off."

Shy trots to Marly and gives her a gentle hug. "You saved him... thank you."

Marly looks confused and pulls away slightly. "She attacked me, I defended myself. Golden got injured and I was scared when I saw her fire the beam at me. I then got angry, I was angry at her so I channeled my energy and fired an energy pulse right back at her. It struck and drove her off," She says. I close my eyes and try and fight back anger from both Marly and myself. I stood there for a while, mentally counting down from ten and taking deep breaths.

Shy sees me and trots up next to me, resting hoof on my mane and running her hoof through it with delicate strokes.

"Shhh... everything will be fine." Shy softly says.

"Fine? How would you know? My fucking mother attacked me. She will keep at it until she gets me." My voice comes out slightly irritable and I didn't really care at this point. I was seething inside and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I get up and trot out of the clearing. Shy sighs and Marly follows me, concern in her eyes.

My eyes stare at a tree and I punch it, some bark shredding off it. Growling, I take my knife and plunge it into the wood, metal holding firm and taking the abuse. I then yank the knife out and put it away, some anger draining away.

"Can I just... dammit... DAMMIT WHY!?" I yell out, reminding me strongly of my past flashback. They seem to be occurring more and more ever since I met Shy and Marly and I didn't exactly know why. However, I didn't care at all and didn't want to worry anypony so I just kept quiet. When I feel a hoof touch my side, I whirl about, still not over my mother's appearance.

"What!?" I say loudly. Marly flinches back, hoof dropping back to the ground.

"I-I... I just w-wanted to c-check up on you..." Marly stammers, surprised at my outburst. Guilt settles in my chest and my facial expression softens ever so slightly. I wrap my hooves around her in a tight hug. "I-I... I d-didn't know..."

"Shh..." I say, soft voice contradicting my emotions. "I acted irrationally... I am still angry about my mother. She ruined my life, I was forced to fix it on my own." I was telling the truth and she realizes that. She plants a kiss on my nose and nuzzles ever so softly. My anger simmers down and is replaced with a numbing feeling of absolutely nothing. Anger seems to be all I had inside me and she tames it. I stare at her eyes blankly and she gives me a reassuring smile.

"H-hey," She says softly. "T-that's quite alright." She runs a hoof down my cheek much to my enjoyment. "It happens to the best of us."

"Getting royally angry at your very best friend who saved your own life? Doubt that." I sigh lightly, looking past Marly. "I want to apologize..."

"I know you do, but she knows what stress you went through. You two are connected, never forget that," She kisses my cheek and I return it by one on the lips. She smiles and brushes past me, whispering in my ear. "Nightmare Night is coming up in a week, just to let you know."

"Nightmare Night?" I ask, staring at her questionably. "Care to elaborate?"

"Of course!" She happily prances around me, bumping and brushing against my body. "Nightmare Night is a special night where ponies dress up as something else and go door to door asking for candy."

I perk up at this, "Wait, really? Heheh, I'm in!" I say with a grin.

"D'aww, cute grin," Marly grins as well and nuzzling my neck softly. I blush ever so slightly and turn head to kiss her cheek.

"You stop being the adorable one," I mutter in her ear. "Or else I'm gonna cuddle with ya." I smile softly, liking the contact between us.

"I know you will," Marly quips knowingly. "So why don't ya get started?"

"Ah, um... well... I kinda want to do something more productive. Cyrus tells me that several Changelings were located around Ponyville inside the town perimeter. Since, well, since I want to protect the town, I want to get the jump on the bastards before they get any closer." I explain. "Before you ask, I have felt a rift between the Shadowbornes and the Changelings. I fear that they may not like each other."

"Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure as to why the Changelings don't like them. I'd have to ask Cyrus about that one."

Marly sighs, "Alrighty then, can I come with though?"

"Eh, you might as well, I would need more help."

"If I do go, then you have to promise me something." Marly giggles and whispers in my ear. "We do it later."

I grin as I hear it and nod. "Right on. I just have to summon Cyrus and let him know that I'll go ahead and eradicate the Changelings in the area. Do you think Shy wants to-"

I am cut off as Marly rubs against me again. "No, just you and me for this one."

"But she's in it too," I reason.

She covers my mouth with a hoof, "Shhhh, she doesn't have to come. Just you and me... okay?"

My mind then turns to Shy.

The aforementioned mare is sitting down atop a cloud, belly up. She groans softly, feeling the warm rays upon her soft chest. Her wings stretch out, soaking up the rays.

"Wonder what he is up to? Probably off, shooting things or something. At least I can't feel it when he does," Shy mutters, turning onto her side, folding up the wing she would have laid on. "Lucky me... he's so gentle though, even if he is a tough, mentally conflicted stallion".

Ears perking up, she feels that somepony specific is brushing against her mind. It is a familiar presence and she smiles faintly, feeling that I got over my past anger.

Hehe, he isn't angry anymore, good. Maybe I should check up on him. She stands up, stretching out her wings and looking at the ground silently. But again, I'm on a cloud, they can be moved. She mentally scolds herself and hovers alongside the cloud. Gingerly, she begins moving it towards the sky above me. She hesitates slightly, unsure if telling me that she was going to check up on me is a good idea or not. She shakes her head and continues pushing the cloud.

Eventually, she has it over my position and she gets back onto the cloud, peering over the edge.

I have Marly wrapped up in a tight hug, softly stroking her mane with a hoof. She smiles and nibbles on my neck.

"Ready to go now?" She asks, somewhat concerned, somewhat excited. "It won't take long?"

"If everything goes as it should, it would only take around... ten minutes."

"Ten? Alright," Marly lets go, smiling softly. "Let's go get 'em."

I nod and begin trotting, Marly tagging along with me, tail rubbing a hind leg.

"He should be nearby," I mutter, eyes scanning the woods. "I felt him."

"So did I," Marly agrees, eyes moving around a different sector. "I could locate him for you."

"No need... no need at all." A pair of glowing eyes emerge from the trees just behind us, belonging to Cyrus.

"Cyrus!" I exclaim, wrapping the Shadowborne base leader up in a light hug.

"H-hello there Golden," He says with a light bow. "How are you? Or... how fare you. Or... dammit."

I giggle lightly, "I'm rather well, how has leading the Ponyville division been faring?"

Cyrus responds to the giggle with a faint smile. "Hard work, I actually want you to help me some days but with your schedule..."

"What schedule?" I ask jokingly, releasing my long time friend from the hug.

"Touche, so, why have you decided to speak to me?"

"I heard Ponyville has a Changeling issue?" I prod his side, nuzzling it affectionately.

"Ah, it does, you are going to take care of it?"

"Yes!"

"Good leader," He smacks my back playfully. "Very good leader."

I grin slightly and nuzzles him slightly, his body tensing up in response.

"Ahem, Golden? We should get going," Marly says, staring at me. I nod and step back before turning and trotting off, marefriend following. "Getting a touch affectionate around him, eh Gold?"

I sigh softly, "Yeah, it's nothing though..."

"You quite sure?" Marly asks, stare darkening slightly. I shrink back under her gaze.

"Y-yeah, I... I am.. I think," I stammer. "It's nothing... just... don't worry about it" Marly's gaze softens slightly and hugs me tightly.

"Please don't ever leave me... you and Shy gave me a second chance and I don't want to blow it."

I nod, understanding where she was coming from. Shy gave me the option to stay and I took it, not wanting to blow it either. My mind turns outward to the Changelings outside town. I feel their presences but something seemed wrong.

Freak. Unnatural one. Various insults ran through a lone Changeling's mind as he gallops through the Everfree Forest, dangerously close to Ponyville. He fights back a sob as he dives into a bush, eyes scanning the ground in front of it. When he sees several ponies pass, he shrinks back and closes his eyes.

Please don't see me. Please don't see me. Please don't see me, he silently pleads to nopony. Nopony will ever come and see my struggle, nopony will care about me because all I am is a freak like they said. He lays down softly, hearing the hoofsteps fade into the eerie silence of the forest.

He continues to lay there, emotions eventually winning control and causing him to break down and begin sobbing. He stopped caring about who would hear him because he is convinced that nopony would care.

A half a mile away, I enter the town of Ponyville and look around, Marly trotting beside me.

"Feel anything yet Gold?" She asks, eyes following mine. I continue trotting, a frown obliterating a slight smile. Something was wrong and I could feel it quite clearly. Sadness resonates through my body and my movements began feeling sluggish. Depression... sadness... Those two feelings were way too familiar to me and I hated them with a passion now.

"Hey, you okay dear?" Marly pokes at my side and I mumble something. "Speak up please, I can't hear you." The request gone unanswered even when I reached the edge of town, looking at the forest. Still ignoring it, I trot in, ducking under a few branches. "Seriously... tell me what is going on so I could help."

I don't hear her, however. I'm too concentrated on the source of the sadness and now the sobbing as my ear flicks, turning towards it and continuing to trot. Marly continues to attempt to ask me what was wrong but gives up, dejected.

The Changeling then notices the faint hoofsteps of an oncoming pony and backs off ever so slightly.

"H-hey... c'mon out," I say softly staring at the bush. "Please, I won't hurt you... I promise." The Changeling is unmoving, still under the impression that I'd hurt him even if said otherwise. He spoke in a shaky voice.

"H-how do I-I know t-that you w-won't lie? H-how do I know that you won't hate me!?" He continues, repressed anger bubbling to the surface "H-how do I know if y-you aren't a C-Changeling and w-want to take me back?!" I step away slightly, blown away by his reaction to my genuine promise and formulate a response.

"Sir, I may not know your exact situation nor what exactly makes you a... freak." I confess calmly, "If I was a Changeling, then I'd strike by now and a normal pony will not help you."

"I know I... won't," Marly whispers to me, I give her a look and she shuts up.

"My promise is genuine, I won't go back on it. Please, come out of the bush, you shall be shielded." The Changeling sticks his head out of the bush, glancing at me. I look into his eyes and see a mix of emotions.

"Y-you sure?" He says softly.

"Yes, would I be the one to lie? Does it look like I'll lie?" The Changeling looks rather unsure.

"You look like you could attack at any moment," He responds, suspicion seeping into his voice. "Hell, how do I know that you won't?"

"You don't, but you have to trust me on this one." The Changeling pauses, before stepping out of the bush.

"Alright, I'll trust you for now. My name is Moonlight Fang and well... love is my lifeline."
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"You look like you could attack at any moment," The Changeling responds, suspicion seeping into his voice. "Hell, how do I know that you won't?"

"You don't, but you have to trust me on this one." The Changeling pauses, before stepping out of the bush.

"Alright, I'll trust you for now. My name is Moonlight Fang and well... love is my lifeline."

Golden does a double take and looks at the Changeling in front of me. The Changeling stares back, conviction in his eyes. "Now, I know that you may be thinking that this isn't true, but, I'll assure you that it is. Would I lie to you?"



"Deliberately, yes, you would lie to him. You are a Changeling, you would do anything to feed off of love. I highly doubt that you of all possible ponies would tell the truth." A shadowed figure stands in front of a screen, displaying Golden, his marefriend and Moonlight. 

The figure watches the scene with a somewhat stern expression. He doesn't seem startled at all when a smaller figure appears right beside him. The mare speaks in a soft voice which counters the other pony's strong voice.

"Now brother, who are you to judge him? You certainly haven't seen enough to say that he'd lie to Golden." The smaller figure rests a hoof on his shoulder. The figure faces her.

"Visual and auditory evidence are damn near convincing enough. All I'm missing is the anecdotal evidence, and then that would be enough."

"No, brother of mine. You know that we can't exactly do it yet, he has to meet Desert first."

"Why him?"

"Because, that's exactly how it has to work. You do know this, don't you? Sure, he may not be our best choice in this matter, but it's a better choice than what you might expect. We can't see Golden right now, give it time." The smaller figure pats her brother's mane softly. He releases a barely audible sigh and nods in defeat.

"Fine, but how should we introduce him to our little friend here?" He asks gently, placing a hoof on the screen as it zooms in on Golden.

"How else? Through Shybeat, we can do many things. She's an asset to us right now, whatever she says, Golden follows unquestionably." A second screen next to it fires up, divided into two sections. One section shows Shybeat, laying on top of a cloud, humming in a very soft tone. The other shows a roughly Shadow-sized pegasus pony with a dark brown coat, a red and black striped mane, and blue eyes. He appears to be trotting in Ponyville, a holstered handgun on a hind leg.

"Alright, we got the players, all we need is the plan," the mare figure quips. "I want it to be done as quickly as possible, in one hour." The other figure nods, turning to the first screen.

"As you wish." The stallion bows and disappears. The mare sighs softly.

"You better get it done, brother of mine. This is vitally important to his future. It will make him survive the trials not too far ahead of him." The mare figure says before trotting to a corner and laying down. She then dozes off, leaving her brother to plan things out.



Back in the Everfree, I continue to stare down the smaller Changeling in front of me. He was just done telling me that he survives off of actually feeling love. I was contemplating if the pony was telling the truth or not. Shaking head, I step back a safe distance, figuring out only one way to test his words.

"Prove it," I say, words hanging in the air above us. "Prove that you survive off of the love you are given. I don't trust your word or your race."

Moonlight sighs softly, "How am I supposed to prove it if there is nopony I possibly love here?"

"Then how are you still alive?" Marly asks, curiosity in her eyes. "You seem like a fascinating being." I almost decide to glare at her but end up with glancing at her somewhat passively.

"The reason I am still alive is because I find mares around town and cuddle with them," Moonlight responds, twitching slightly. "I disguise myself as a good looking stallion and hang out with them."

I could slowly feel his anger rising; something told me to keep on going. "Does it go any farther?" I ask.

The Changeling shakes his head quickly, a little too quickly for my liking. I instantly get suspicious. "So it does go further!"

My marefriend sighs, "Golden, enough pestering the poor guy, can't you see that he's growing angry? You could feel it," She hugs Moonlight, the Changeling sinking into it and smiling softly.

"Thanks," Moonlight says.

"Back off though, he's mine," she responds, letting go of him and hugging me. I smile and stroke her forehead, feeling the heat of her body.

"I'd assume you two would love some alone time?" Moonlight asks, stepping back.

"No," Marly says. I respond with the opposite, then silence descends upon the area.

The tension builds up, Marly's smile fading to a thin line. She speaks in a soft, but authoritarian tone, "Dear, why won't you let him stay with us for the day, maybe a few? I don't have a problem with this Changeling. He is different from the-"

"No! I don't want to spend time with him!" I shout, pulling away from her. "It's nothing personal, I just don't like Changelings."

Moonlight tries to lay a hoof on me but I flinch away. "Why?" He asks. That was one question too far. I stare at the Changeling, tone of voice flat but angry. "I don't like them because my mother had a thing with Chrysalis! Ask me one more time and I swear to the gods that the life will leave your eyes instantly!" I take to the sky, a red trail following me as I fly away.

Sighing, Marly lays down and curls up. "Why must he do this? Why you of all ponies?" Marly glances at the stallion as he shakes his head.

"I honestly don't know," he says before trotting off.

"Where are you going?" Marly asks, watching him leave. Moonlight stops and looks back.

"Away... I'm going away," he says before trotting out of sight.

"B-but Moonlight," Marly protests, standing up. "If you leave-"

"If I leave then he will leave me alone! Hell, I'll have a chance to find somepony that will love me!" He shouts before breaking into a gallop, leaving Marly there. She slumps against a tree, staring at the dissipating red trail I left her.

Seething, I land in the all too familiar clearing. My wing glows slightly and I stare at a tree. The air heats up around the tree and the energy from the wing is transferred to the tree. An ember touches the base of the trunk, and it sizzles when it makes contact. My stare heightens in intensity, and I will the base of the tree to catch fire. Soon, the fire climbs up the trunk, and then engulfs the tree completely. I take deeper breaths, then rub my head. The faint throb of a headache makes me feel even more upset. I growl louder as the urge to burn the clearing rises.

I don’t like them, I think. They have a connection with my mother, so that makes them bad. My thoughts end up feeding the fire. The leaves blacken, then are ripped from the tree. The air currents send them in, then eject them warmer than they were when they were ripped off. I watch as the grass smolders below it, wanting to expel all the negativity I hold bottled up inside me. I was never told to vent it out slowly. I lay down, breathing harder now. Ash and smoke blow towards me, but I don’t care. I stopped caring when I saw him.

That makes them all bad. I wasn’t raised with any sense of morality, and nopony loved me. Nopony would care if I raided one of their hives. NOPONY! Suddenly, a great pain comes to my chest. I touch it, but the pain doesn’t fade. In fact, it worsens, and I bite my lip. Before I can question what it is, the pain fades. However, the hated still remains. One rational part of me says that my anger is unreasonable, and that those close to me would worry even more. Yet, the large angry part does not care about the reason. I don’t even think Marly would care. Would she care? No, she wouldn’t care. At least, I don’t think she would care. I don’t know. Do I know? I silence my thoughts, by curling up just a bit. I notice how warm my wings are. They are visibly smoking, but I don’t care. There is a lot of things I don’t care about. I tune myself out of the world, and then become preoccupied by my own thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ponyville provides a stark contrast to the troubles in the clearing. The sky is calm and clear, and the town is busy with ponies that don’t recognize the somewhat intimidating stallion trotting down the main road. A small breeze blows down the street, and the stallion doesn’t particularly care for it. He had other things on his mind, namely the variety of hard cider only gotten from one of the Ponyville’s bars. Once a thought like that crosses his mind, it doesn’t leave. The pony in question is Desert Storm.

Desert has been having an extremely boring couple of days. Of course, extremely boring for him is normal for everypony else. Like Golden, he has a passionate distaste for Changelings. Unlike Golden, he is actually married. He wonders why his wife puts up with his rather explosive shenanigans, then he shrugs. The scent of alcohol fills the air, so he sniffs it. The scent doesn’t placate him. He tenses up a bit as a gust of wind brings the smell of smoke. A part of him is relieved when he realizes that he won’t be bored any longer. He turns, then takes a step toward the smoke, but halts.

Maybe I should take a drink with me? Nah, it can wait. He blinks, then shakes his head. He sighs, then pulls a bottle from his wing. Des temporarily forgot about the quantum storage area he calls his wings. He pops open the bottle, and takes a swig. He then trots with more determined steps toward the clearing. The smell of smoke excites him a bit. He always enjoyed burning things, so he fancies himself a bit of a pyromaniac. A relatively sane part of him is curious why the forest is burning, while the rest of him just wants to burn it all down. 

Soon, he leaves the bustle of town, and heads toward the plume of smoke billowing out from behind some trees. He casts his gaze on the path, because he doesn’t want to lose it. He wanted to find his way back. Moments later, he trots into the clearing, then frowns a bit as he sees the damage.

By the time he came by, most of the tree has burnt down. The grass around it has blackened, and the smell of it does not please him. He trots to the gnarled remains of the tree, then pokes it. The heat doesn’t bother him, so he keeps his hoof on there. A pony catches the corner of his eye, so he looks toward me. He sees the smoke billowing out from the wing, then trots to me. 

Since I am lost in my thoughts, I can’t hear the throat clearing; and the poking and prodding. With enough of it, I snarl and swipe at the pony. It’s blocked, and I feel an intimidating gaze on me. The leg I hit was warm, almost unnaturally so. I clear my throat, then speak in my soft voice. “Why hello sir. I see that you have enough skill to not get hit.”

“I see that you have enough skill to catch a damn tree and half the clearing on fire. I also see that you’re the pony my wife spoke to me about. If you were anypony else, I would probably have been far less forgiving… if I was in the mood for it,” Des says in a cool voice. He didn’t think I had these kinds of abilities, so this was a first for him. He sighs, then rubs his hoof through his mane.

I suddenly became aware of the gun he had on him. I never seen a gun, nor did I know how guns work. A part of me says that guns are ridiculously overpowered, which is why so few ponies own one. Another part says that I shouldn’t care either way. I was growing tired of the constant internal bickering, which doesn’t help my mood. “Forgive me if I’m in a shitty mood. Changelings,” I grumble. “I can’t trust any of them. No, I won’t tell you why. I don’t trust you.”

Desert’s frown deepens a bit. “Oh, I know how that feels.” He rolls his eyes, then trots away. He doesn’t feel like engaging on a deeper level with me. He wasn’t a fan of me so far, and that feeling worsened when he heard hoofsteps behind him. He didn’t have to turn to know who it was. “Why are you following me? Stop following me. I’m not in the mood to talk with you.”

“Why not?” I ask. I follow a safe distance behind him. “I’m not in the mood to talk with anypony, so look at me.” My speaking was met with silence. I, too, fall silent. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but a rather heavy one. I had the feeling that Desert doesn’t want to talk. I quicken my pace, then lay a hoof on his shoulder. That was a bad move.

Desert quickly grabs my hoof, then twists it behind my back. He then sighs. “Rule one, don’t scare me like that. Rule two, don’t ever zap me with lightning. I hate that, and it scares me. Yes, a hardened bastard like me has fears. Would you like to be hit with your fear?” My silence ends up confirming with suspicions. “Ah well… it’s not a good thing to leave a pony behind. I was told of your appearance in the clearing. You then promptly burned that down earlier today, so it lost its magic it had to you. Good going.”

“What? Are you proud of me, or what?” I ask with a huff. The agitation still crawls at my coat. It feels like I want to murder someone, and I know that it’s irrational to do it.

“Neutral,” He responds. “Like everypony you meet. Yes, I do form initial opinions of others. You’re lucky enough that I don’t have one of you yet. Get on my good side, and you won’t end up dead one day. You don’t want that, do you?” His tone of voice makes me shy back a bit. I didn’t like it. It reminded me of the life I left behind. Des then chuckles. “I don’t really apologize for that. I am a rather intimidating pony, which means they don’t fuck with me.”

“I can see that, Mister Storm,” I respond politely but nervously. I was still rather unsure of him. “You really are intimidating. It’s kinda scary.” I really meant the part of being scared, and he nods. As soon as we reach Ponyville, we part ways, and I then sit down. I’m not sure what to do next, so I stand back up, then make my way to Sugarcube corner.

I gaze around town as I trot, and ponies seem to recognize me. It fills me with a warm feeling, and I am filled with hope. I hope that I have escaped my past, and I hope that Marly also feels like she wants to be in my life. Wait a minute, why’d I think that? I think, somewhat puzzled. Of course she does. I know she will agree to it.

I sigh a bit when I trot up to Sugarcube Corner. Here I am again. Why do I keep coming here? Is it sanctuary for me, since I burned the old sanctuary like a dumbass? Typical. Maybe I shouldn’t be allowed near safe places. Will that be my legacy? I blink when I feel a pair of eyes stare into my back. I hear a throat being cleared, and the tapping of an impatient hoof. Annoyed by the impatience, I make a show of it by slowly opening the door to the bakery. I slowly trot up to the hyperactive pink pony known as Pinkie. The impatient pony then trots past me, which annoys me further. I quash my annoyances and pet peeves, then wait in line.

I’m a doormat, I think bitterly. Since when? I huff, trotting up to Pinkie when it is my turn. I feel her energetic eyes on me. I open my mouth, then close it as I look at all the baked goods she has. Suddenly, I feel overwhelmed.

“U-um, I’m sorry. I’ll have to think about what I want,” I say shakily. I wasn’t the best at approaching other ponies and talking to them. Pinkie grins, then assures me that it’s okay. I then scan over the baked goods. The cookies seem nice. I might get them. I dunno though. There are cakes? I never had a cake before. Is one made of cheese? I sigh, then look up at Ms. Pie.

“I’d like a cheesecake?” I ask. “Well, a slice. I dunno if they are called that.” My ears flatten a bit as I feel out of touch with society. It has always been at the back of my mind. Pinkie gasps softly, stares at me, then conforms my suspicions.

“You never had cheesecake before? Did you live under a rock?” She asks. The then swiftly serves me with a slice. “You’re going to love this!” Pinkie now grins, and I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. I then try a bit of the cake, then gasp.

Wow, she really was right, this is amazing, I think as I dig right into the cake. I never tasted something like it before. I wasn’t sure why I thought the cake was made of cheese. It didn’t really taste like cheese, but it was pretty good. I soon finish it up, then flip a few bits onto the counter. The pink pony takes the bits, then thanks me for paying her. I then learned that she was going to give that one for free, but I shrugged.

“I have a few bits left, so I might as well make them all count,” I say with a sigh. When I pat at my saddlebag, the sounds of a few coins fill the air. I then realized how bad my financial situation really was. I recalled that I was given forty bits from a pony who sympathized with me, but I knew that wasn’t enough for much longer. 

I trot out of the bakery, thoroughly upset at my situation. My thoughts then turn to Marly. I didn’t know where she was, but I wanted to apologize for my actions. Guilt then crawls at my chest. Aw man… I abandoned her. Heh… some friend I am. Some lover I am. Good job, you moron. That Changeling hates me, Marly probably doesn’t like me, Shy isn’t here, and as for that new pony, my thoughts pause for a bit as I look up to the sky. He’s interesting. I sigh, shake my head, and then fly up to one of the roofs. I close my eyes, then doze off, hoping that my situation would eventually improve.



Meanwhile, the Changeling gallops through the woods. He was extremely tired of how ponies viewed him. He really wants to stop caring about that, but he can’t. He wants to feel loved, but he feels like he can’t. Suddenly, a large shadow looms beside him. He turns to it, then tilts his head. He noticed that the shadow was quiet. “Hello?” He asks. He hears a giggle.

“Why hello there, dear Changeling. I have the feeling that you and I are going to be great friends,” A cool voice is heard. Sounds of twigs snapping are heard when she moves. “I’m not going to harm you. Why don’t you come with me?” A sizable grey mare trots out of the forest. Her mane ad tail are black and somewhat messy. She runs her tail under his chin, and then down his side. “I swear, I won’t harm you.” She then giggles, trotting deeper into the forest. She knew he was going to follow, and follow he did. She knew she couldn’t turn back now.



> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Marly now sits somewhere in the Everfree forest. After the confrontation with Moonlight and Golden, she decided to make her way to a shack that Shadow built himself. However, she didn’t know the way from where she is, to the shack in question. Instead of getting lost more, she decided to sit down. Her thoughts have been on her husband for the longest time. Man, he was being an ass, she thinks calmly. She was mad that I left, then she got over it. She knew that she had to get used to my outbursts. She sighs softly, then lays down. Wind blows from the north and messes up her mane further.

“Well, this sucks,” She groans. “This really sucks. Lost in the forest I should have known completely by now. Let’s be honest here, no feral knows this forest completely. I don’t even think it’s possible.” Before she could continue her monologue, hoofsteps are heard. She also hears some mumbling. Her ears perk up, then flatten when she realizes how familiar it sounds. She stands, then trots to the source. It’s Shadow.

Shadow has been getting more irritable since he lost Marly. He hears hoofsteps, then turns to the aforementioned pony. He sighs, speaking with a rather cool tone. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want? Here to gloat over your coltfriend? Here to rub it in that you have a pony that cares about you, and I don’t? Save it… I don’t want to hear it.”

Marly blinks, then responds. “Shadow,” She begins with a sigh. “You know deep inside that I don’t want to gloat. Hell, I don’t gloat at all. Gloating is the last thing I would do. Why would I rub salt in the wound, when I can hug you?” She then promptly hugs him. Shadow will have none of that. He shoves her away.

“I can’t believe that. Marly, you know how I felt towards you… right?” He asks with a slight frown. He secretly hoped for a positive response. A sigh from Marly made that hope falter a bit.

“Shadow, weren’t you the one whose actions shoved me away? What did that colt think when he was trotting through the forest?” Marly asks somewhat unkindly. This wasn’t normal for her, and she knew that. She didn’t care though. “If it was a manticore, or a timberwolf, or anything less sentient, then I would be fine with it. But no, you had to go for the defenseless kid. Look, you know that’s not okay. You’re lucky that I forgave you, but that shot all chances of me sticking with you for life. I found somepony else now. Deal with it.”

Shadow winces, then sighs. He looks down, feeling some guilt now. However, Marly kept speaking. “Hell, I don’t think you know how important he is to me. Your actions didn’t make him or I feel welcome around you. Would a best friend hate somepony else that is close? Look…” She then kneels a bit, looking at him. “I know you’re jealous.”

The stallion blinks, not expecting anything she really said to him. He knew about his past actions, but he didn’t know he was hurting her now. He tended to think about his own actions, and how they were affecting him. He did give some thought about others too, given certain circumstances. However, he didn’t pay attention to others this time. He now felt worse. He isn’t sure what to say at all. His ears flatten when he realized that he, and not Marly, screwed up. He doesn’t hug her, stand up, or even acknowledge his mistake. He knew it was obvious. He then decided to apologize to her.

“Marly look,” He begins. “You know how I get. I tend to think of myself in the stupidest of times. I’m sorry.” He casts his gaze to the ground. “I’m really sorry, okay? I screwed up, and you know it.” He grunts when he notices that he just acknowledged something he didn’t want to. He couldn’t help it. “I really did. I hope you can forgive me.” Shadow looks away, hoping she can forgive him for what he did. Marly sighs, then hugs him gently.

“You stupid, lovable pony you. You know that I’m a little too forgiving sometimes. Eventually, somepony would do something extremely unforgivable,” Marly says. “Yet, you know I can forgive you. Can you forgive yourself though? I know it’s an issue for you. You can’t stop thinking about that colt, right?” A nod confirms her question. “Would you like to talk about it?” A pause, then she sees him shake his head. She sighs, then releases him.

“The memories are still fresh,” Shadow says. It was merely an excuse to get out of talking about that point of his life. He shivers as he remembers the struggle. He then shakes his head, growling a bit. Shadow hates the things that pop up unwelcomed. Shadow likes being in control of the things he can control.

Marly nods, then gives him one last hug. “I was going to check on you. I’m glad you’re fine. Do you want me to head on over to your place?”

“No. I wasn’t going over to my place. I was going to wash myself off in the lake,” the stallion says. He motions to his body, then frowns a bit. His body is dirty, bruised, and scratched up. He has been in a few fights. He sighs, then trots in the general direction of one of the lakes in the forest. He could have bathed in the river, but the currents were often too strong for him. 

Marly follows him, having the general idea as to where he was going. She has been to the various Everfree lakes, and they all have been an oasis. To them, the forest is loud everywhere but the lakes. An outsider will find every part of the forest quiet. This was often deadly towards the outsiders. Marly’s gaze softens as she recalls the amount of ponies that went into the forest, but never came out. She considered herself lucky.

Marly left her home in Ponyville at a rather young age. She was always a pony that cared for her family, and she was always a pony that took care of herself. She took it personally when the schoolfoals didn’t take notice of her when she attended school. She didn’t strike up conversation with them either, but she didn’t see the problem in that at all. One day, after school, she was tired of the kids not noticing her. She decided to go into the Everfree to see if they, or her parents missed her.

The weeks passed, and her parents long gave up the search. They assumed she was dead. However, she didn’t think that leaving them like that was right. She went back home and explained the situation to them. They, like her, were understanding. They figured that the time in the Everfree taught her more life skills than they could impart, so they allowed her to live in the forest.

Back to the present, she blinks a bit more when she realized that she survived the forest. Out of everything scary that the ponies mentioned, she beat all the scary parts. She didn’t mind that the weather wasn’t under control by the pegasi, and she certainly didn’t mind how dark it is. She acclimated to the sounds of the forest a long while back. The timberwolves’ howls made her smile, and the roar of the manticore reminded her to not feel fear. She giggles, then trots up alongside him.

“You’ve been quiet,” Shadow says. “I have been talking the whole time. Is your head in the clouds?” He then nuzzles her cheek softly. It was something two friends would do, instead of two ponies madly in love. She then sighs.

“Sorry, I have been thinking,” She admits. “About how lucky I have been. How come most of the ponies that come here get mauled?” It was a question that was always on her mind. Unlike Shadow, she wasn’t too intertwined in the forest’s politics. She always wondered what he did in the times she was away. Shadow sighs a bit when he heard the question.

“To be blunt, most of the population is dumber than a sack of rocks, or boulders, or sand, or something small in numerous amounts,” Shadow says extremely bluntly. While the ponies that live in the towns can be more educated in methods that they will use later in their life, he thinks that those things are useless. Shadow has no need for mathematics, geography, or the history of how Equestria because Equestria.

“Not my Golden,” Marly says, always quick to jump to my defense even when I am not there.

“Golden is different,” Shadow agrees. “I don’t know why. I will have to ask him. I’m going off on a tangent here, am I? Oh well. Anyway, they don’t know how to survive here. That’s basically it. Either ponies never learn, or they are forced to learn. Most ponies let their fear consume them, so that’s how they attract the beasties. They then run. Normally, running is good. Running is what you should do. No, what they do, is they go right through their territory. This kills the equine. Do you remember the three main rules?”

Marly giggles, never being able to forget. “Don’t fear, don’t pick fights you can’t win, and do tread carefully.”

“Yes, treading carefully is one thing they didn’t do. They were appropriately punished for it,” Shadow says, some of his colder side showing. Below the warm exterior, he is still a feral at the core. He doesn’t care about what stereotypes he is seemingly promoting. He knew that he was nice to a certain extent. “I don’t care about what other ponies say. That’s what I believe.” They both then fall into silence. Nothing more was to be said.

After an hour of trotting quietly, with some scattered discussions, they arrive at the lake. It was as if all ambient sound fades. The sounds of the beasts and the wind all fade as they stop. What stretches ahead of them is a still lake, bathed in the rare sunshine. Shadow trots into the sun, then leans back and groans as his fur catches it all. He loved the sun and needed it right now. Light deficiencies are a huge problem for him, Marly, and other ferals. They didn’t get as much sunlight as the townsponies.

Marly then trots up next to him. She isn’t as sensitive towards the sun, but she does feel its warmth. She then lays down, sighing as she touches the ground. The sun warms her enough, and she then feels sleepy. “I… I probably have to find Golden,” She says, stifling a yawn.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Shadow says. “He’s fine.” Shadow then rests his head on his forelegs, falling asleep. Marly can’t help but do the same. They weren’t aware that a storm has built up on the north-western edge.





Moonlight is sitting in another clearing, looking around. He wasn’t sure why he was told to follow the mare, and he was somewhat nervous about what could happen to him. The mare said that she had to go for a bit. She had to take care of something. Didn’t she? I hope she returns. Moonlight’s tail flicks a bit in anticipation. Who is she, by the way? She didn’t say her name.

In the corner of his eyes, he sees shadows dance in the tree line. A nervous feeling wells up in his chest, and he hates that. The mare then steps into the sunlight. She trots up to him, her eyes rather expressionless.

“Now, I don’t recall asking why a Changeling like you is in the forest. Aren’t Changelings supposed to be living in hives?” She asks, circling him. Moonlight’s eyes search for menace, but he finds none. He finds caution and confidence though, which makes him slightly more fearful. “Why do you fear me?” She asks. She stops her circling.

“I… I-I,” Moonlight stutters. “I don’t know. You were circling me. It was something the leading drones would do when they weren’t happy with me.”

“What made them unhappy?” She asks, frowning coldly at him. Moonlight looks at the frown. He has seen worse frowns from worse ponies.

“My methods weren’t to their liking. They say I get too involved. I just want to be loved,” He admits.

“Why,” The mare says. She trots up to him, looking into his eyes. She searches for any sign of lies, or any general dishonesty. When she finds none, she scowls. “You aren’t lying. Why aren’t you lying?”

“I’m not lying, because lying is bad. Lying is morally wrong, and I hate it,” Moonlight says. He sighs, knowing how absurd that sounds. Changelings don’t say they have morals. Why did I say that? His thoughts are interrupted by a giggle.

“They don’t just hate you, right?” She asks. “They kicked you out.” She smiles when he sees Moonlight step back.

“H-how did you know?” He asks softly. “Honest question.”

“Why… you went against the hive. You don’t go against the hive. Maybe you didn’t know that, or maybe you do know that. I can’t tell, because I can’t see it when I look into your eyes. You see, the eyes are merely a flag to me. They tell if a pony is lying. They tell if a pony feels fear or disgust. What do you think your eyes tell me? Go on, take a guess. I will be here all day long.” She sits down, then licks at her foreleg.

Moonlight falls into silence. He sighs a bit when he realizes that he can’t know the answer. “I don’t know what you see. You are a different pony, and they all see different things. Or, am I assuming too much? Who are you anyway?”

“One question at a time,” She snaps. She then stands and stares at him. She tilts her head a bit. “You are assuming correctly. You can’t know what I see. There is no mirror, and what you see can be different from what I see. As for who I am?” She huffs a bit, flicking her tail in agitation. “My name is Natalia. Don’t bother with the last name. And yours?”

“Moonlight,” He says. “Unlike you, I will bother with a last one. Moonlight Fang. As you can see, I am a changeling.” He then shifts into Marly to prove a point.

Natalia stares at that form for an uncomfortable amount of time. Her mind was whirring, putting pieces together, and tearing apart the ones that won’t make sense. Ah, that mare is connected to him. What a good thing to notice. Yes, you will be useful, and I have ways to make you stick around. She then shakes her head, storing those thoughts away to be accessed again. When Moonlight shifts back, Natalia nods.

“Tell me, do you need a home?” She asks, attacking a point he hasn’t raised yet. The mare figured that he looked that bad for that reason. A nod makes her smile ever so faintly. “Ah yes. This is good. Moonlight, follow me.” She then trots down a trail, and then he follows.

She leads him to another clearing. A few fires are blazing healthily, being fed by some earth ponies. Their cutie marks shouldn’t have placed them in the forest, but they were here either way. Natalia trots to the center of the clearing then sits down. Ponies glance at her, then nod, then continue on with their jobs. She then rests her head on her forelegs, beckoning Moonlight over.

Moonlight trots up to her, then sits next to her. He still feels somewhat uncertain, but that uncertainty fades when she licks at his cheek. He blinks, not taking that as kindly as other ponies would. He then stands, frowning a bit now.

“Why did you do that?” He asks, looking at her. The ponies around him halt, and the tension in the air skyrockets. He didn’t know what was wrong with asking a question. He then glances back to Natalia, but she was gone. He blinks, highly confused now. She was just here! His thoughts scream. Is asking a question so bad? What the hell?

Natalia then pokes at his neck. She is behind him. “Don’t ask questions until I allow you to, okay? The previous questions asked were allowed.”

Moonlight frowns a bit, sighing now. “Alright fine,” He grumbles. He then returns to the center of the clearing. Natalia joins him at his side, her tail flicking at his side again. Moonlight isn’t too comfortable with that at all, so he moves away from her. She mirrors that move, frowning now. Since continuing that is pointless, Moonlight stops doing it. The tension in the clearing fades, and the ponies go back to working.

“You look like a curious pony that wants answers,” She says. “Ask away.”

“Where is here, exactly? I’m not familiar about this part of the forest,” Moonlight says. He looks around, frowning more. Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t place the feeling at all.

“You could say that we are in the middle of a clearing. We’re in the forest, are we not?” She asks with a frown. 

Moonlight isn’t happy with the answer, but he continues anyway. “Who are these ponies?”

“Members of my clan,” Natalia says. She stands, trotting over to one, then nuzzling at his cheek. “They’re kept safe, and they do things that I want them to do. Yet, it’s all fair. Much better than your hives, right? They forced you into doing things for the benefit of the hive.”
He sighs, then nods. “They gave no fucks about the individual. Follow the queen, follow the queen, follow the queen,” He says.
“No need to follow me religiously,” Natalia says. You leave, and you’re dead. She thinks coolly. She is thankful that her unicorns stopped anypony from spying on their little clan. Ponies just loved to try and get the upper hoof. She easily countered that by telling the unicorns to make sure nopony can know what she is thinking. It has been a great success too.

“How will you get me the love I need?” He asks, frowning a bit.

“Oh, my dear Moonlight,” She says with a giggle. She stands, then rubs a hoof down his neck. “I have my ways.” She then gets up, giggling softly. “In the meantime, rest. You certainly will need it.” She snickers, then trots to a unicorn. She then starts to discuss things with him.

Moonlight shrugs, then closes his eyes. He dozes off, thankful for the warm fires, and the promise that he would have the love he needs.

> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Multiple days have passed since Natalia introduced Moonlight into the clan. The lycanequine did make sure he got all the love he needed and wanted. Currently, she is sitting along the clearing’s edge. A small fire burns in the center of the clearing. Moonlight sits next to it, licking at his own hoof. In order to prevent Natalia from working too hard, Moonlight has neglected to change into any other pony.

                Natalia sniffs the air and growls. In a flash she shifts into a wolf. An unfamiliar scent was in the air. Without saying a goodbye, she dashes into the forest. Who is this? What is this? She thinks. The wolf growls, slowing down and trying to cool off. Calm yourself, Natalia. Do not worry, as your clan is just fine. Don’t be so defensive. She turns her nose to the ground, sniffing for any scent that is unfamiliar. There were none within a sizable radius of the camp. Natalia knew the scents of her clanmates, Moonlight, and other notable individuals. She growls, continuing to search.

                Back at the camp, Moonlight looks back and sees that Natalia is gone. His wings buzz in agitation as he decides to walk over to a clan member.

                “Yo, where did she go? Natalia?” Moonlight asks with a frown. The gently armored stallion chuckles, looking at the bug horse. The stallion is no fan of him.

                “She likely smelled something weird. I don’t blame her since I smelled things too. Smelled unnatural. Yet, it came and went without me seeing anything so eh. Can’t be too bothered by something I can’t stop,” He says. “Must have went through by air. Hell if I know. Again, can’t be too bothered.” The stallion then trots to the clearing edge. He looks back at the Changeling and frowns again. “I’m not lying when I say that there have been sparse reports of a dragon roaming the Everfree. Best be on your guard just in case.” Before Moonlight can answer, the stallion disappears into the forest.

                A… a dragon? Moonlight thinks. He was in the hives the last time he heard about any dragon activity. The queen told him not to worry, since the king of the Dragonlands did not care for any of the ponies in Equestria. He certainly didn’t care enough to fight the Changelings on anything either. Naturally, this made it easy for Chrysalis to negotiate things regarding territory for her Changelings. Moonlight certainly remembered Chrysalis’ sweet smile when she said that they could freely use another territory. The Changeling then shivers, choosing to skip over the fact that he was kicked out a few years later. A dragon in Equestria. Funny. I thought it would never happen.

                Moonlight could not confirm the stallion’s claims. The only ponies who could were ponies who met the dragon. With a grunt of effort, Moonlight starts to fly up to the forest canopy. Tired of the shadows and the coolness that comes from it, he breaks through the canopy. Glancing up at the cloudy sky, he sighs in annoyance. Picked a bad day for flying. Hope it doesn’t rain. Knowing the Everfree, he would likely be wrong and it will rain. He makes his way to Ponyville, shifting into a Pegasus when he nears the village.

                The Changeling felt a little tingle as he lands in the village. It causes him to physically shudder and he licks his lips. Love? Mmmm I’m feeling it. Who? He looks around, then begins to trot.

                Sitting on the outskirts of Ponyville, I was nervous. Hell, I was very nervous. Being with her made me nervous. I wrap both my forelegs around Marly and giggle. “How are ya?” I ask. Even though I already knew the answer, she acknowledges the question with a giggle.

                “I’m well,” She says with a kiss to my cheek. “Very well. When I’m with you, I am very happy. I said that to Shadow, and he was quite accepting of it. Hell, he wondered when we will take the… the next step.”

                “The next step?” I ask. I reflect back on my life experiences, then come up with absolutely nothing.  “And what is that? What’s more than you being my marefriend. That’s the end of the line, right?”

                She giggles and shakes her head. “Being my wife,” She says with a smile. “I failed to see things in Shadow, but I see all sorts of things in you. You won’t be an ass to kids, right?”

                “K-kids? No, no I wouldn’t.” I shake my head in confusion.

                Marly smiles at me and giggles. “Good! So uh like,” She shifts a bit nervously. “You in? Look, I… I know it’s sudden. I can’t keep away from you though, and I want to make sure you are happy. Are you happy with me?” I nod. “I know I’m happy with you. I-if it’s too sudden, then I won’t expect you to say yes.”

                I didn’t think. Thinking was not my strong suit, and the ponies that I was brought up with didn’t really help my judgement. She loves me, and I love her. That’s important, right? What do I have to lose? I love this pretty little mare.

                “Yeah,” I say with a smile. I did not know how important it was for her, so I was taken aback by Marly tackling me and holding me close. She closes her eyes and nuzzles at my neck.

                “T-thank you. I know it wasn’t traditional, but-“ I nuzzle her, which causes her to stop mid-sentence.

                “I don’t care about tradition,” I say somewhat sharply. “I never cared about tradition. We’re doing this. I love you and I need you in my life. You brought me so much stability. Shy did too, but you were there for most of it. I… I don’t know what to say.” I then fall into silence. I don’t feel Moonlight sapping love from us, and if I did, I would not care. I’m with the pony I love, I think. That’s all that matters. Her hold around me tightens and she shuts her eyes. She leans into the heat I am radiating and relaxes.

                As the moments pass, I find myself growing tired. Sighing softly, I shut my eyes and give into sleep. Marly remains awake for a while, then drifts off. She is seemingly calmed by my soft breathing. I’m with her, I think, before beginning to dream.

                Moonlight trots up to us and tilts his head. He then chuckles. “Cute couple,” He says. “Very cute. The cutest. Natalia gave me a lot, but these two also have a lot.” His eyes flash green as he saps more love, converting it to energy inside him. He makes sure to be very careful such that we don’t wake up suspicious. Moonlight knows that the line between not knowing and fully knowing is a thin one, so he plays it safe and cuts it off early. He spreads his wings and flies onto a nearby roof and yawns. Even as a Changeling, he is susceptible to a pegasus’ laziness trait. He does not fight this, choosing to drift off in the hot sun. He does not notice the change of temperature as he is teleported back to Natalia’s clearing.

                A cloaked pony shakes me awake. I’m lying in the middle of a grassy field. I stir awake and look around, not knowing where I was or how I got here. Such is the nature of a dream. I don’t know I’m in a dream, so I just assume it’s real until I wake up again. I focus on the cloaked pony and stand.

                “W-who are you?” I shakily ask.

                “The name is Solacia. I’m your sister,” The pony says, having quite the feminine voice. She removes the hood, staring at me with her green coat and blue eyes. She giggles, then becomes serious. “I have no time to properly explain. Well… we don’t have the time either way. I will be blunt: You don’t have much time left in this world.” Her horn glows and the surroundings change. Everything shifts to a different color, as if I’m looking at things through a temperature scanner. However, this wasn’t temperature. I wasn’t quite sure what this was. Everything was dark purple except for my hoof and my general surroundings. They were bright red. I felt fear course through me.

                “What is this?” I ask, barely managing to keep things together.

                “Spatial fields,” Solacia quips. “They remain nearly steady all of the time. Yet, the only times they are disturbed is when ponies use general teleportation magic and anything else that screws with space.” To prove a point, she teleports a foot to the right. A trail of orange follows the path of the teleportation, and shifts to red where she reappears. There was no abnormal colors where she teleported from either. Solacia continues speaking. “I noticed this a little while ago, but uh… things have been building up around you and Marly. There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do, and my brother already said that I won’t be able to properly visit you. Something about getting all wrapped up in finding a fix for this. No, you’re not the only one affected. Since you came into Desert’s life, the same thing has been building up around him. You’re an anamoly, man.”

                “And the Shadowbornes?” I ask, wondering if Cyrus will be okay.

                “They go with you,” She says. “They’ll always go with you. It is their first law. They need you and you need them.”

                I think back a moment or so, then frown. I felt like there was something Solacia wasn’t telling me. “What do you mean by a little while?” My gaze becomes more suspicious towards her.

                Solacia’s horn glows and a copy of Golden forms. It shifts into a much younger version of him. The distortion around the colt shrinks significantly, but it is still able to be seen. The mare continues to focus and the copy de-ages to the moment it was born. The distortion has shrunk to a barely visible outline. She shakes her head and wills the copy out of existence.

                “Ya know, a good 18 years or so,” She says with a sigh. “Virtually nothing in the span of all things that have ever been. Look, I don’t know how much time is left for you. The only thing I do know is that I didn’t cause this. Even though I’m a higher power, there are those above me. Do they have plans for you? Likely not. Do they have plans for those that might be close to you? Maybe. Everyone is connected in some way. The least I can do is attempt to make whatever transition you and anyone else will have relatively painless. Note the ‘relatively’ I tacked on there. I can’t promise anything, dear brother.”

                When Solacia steps closer, I take a step back. I didn’t know her, and I wondered if what she was saying is true. The mare frowns, as if she read my own thoughts.

“You need to believe me,” She says. “You saw it with your own eyes. You can’t deny what you have seen. I don’t want it to take you by surprise.”

I hesitate, starting to question if all of this was real. I take another step back, my gaze falling on the distant treeline. They certainly looked real to me. I then glance towards the mare that seems to be my sister. She looked real as well, so I step toward her. A part of my mind screams that this is a dream, but I smother it in more self-control than I thought I had. I lick my lips, and nod.

“Yes uh…” I then trot toward her, giving her a rather gentle hug. “I believe you. It sounds insane, but I believe you.”

Solacia leans into the hug slightly and nods. “What changed your mind, brother? Normally ponies would think they’re right before they listen to a higher being.”

“You’re family,” I says, the word tasting sour in my mouth. “Even though you weren’t there when I needed the most, I have no reason to dislike you. You didn’t hurt me and experiment with me. Plus, your eyes didn’t tell me you were lying. Besides, you’re a higher being. You have likely seen more than I have ever seen. Same with your personal experiences. I defer to your judgment n-now.” I break the hug and look at her closely. I am met with a gaze full of conviction, and when I look deeper into the gaze, I see regret and a lot of pain. Seeing that only causes me to hug her again.

“You saw it?” Her gaze softens. “I try and hide it, but it fails all the time. T-the only one I know that has it worse than me is Raikia. Sometimes, she cares too much about the things she can’t control. S-she was the only one to suggest getting you out of there. In a way, she got that wish eventually.” Her mind drifts to the pink alicorn. “You need to meet her.” She says after a moment.

A moment after I tighten the hug, I let go and step back. I nod at her and she nods in return. She disappears, leaving me alone in the space I call my own dreams. Miraculously, Silver is not there. I am alone. To pass the time, I sit down and brush a hoof over some tall grass. Eventually, my surroundings go blurry and fade out as my sleeping self wakes up.

                The first thing that I sense is that the sun isn’t as warm. Even before I open my eyes, I feel a hoof rubbing against my side and the soft breath of Marly. I shift to face her and my eyes open. I stare into those jade green eyes and suppress a giggle. It felt good to wake up being stroked and loved by the mare I’m about to marry. I then roll onto my belly, standing and stretching both my legs and my wings out. I yawn softly and shake the drowsiness away. A quick glance to the sun informs me that it is rather late out.

                “I woke up a few hours ago,” She says. “Did you sleep well? You were quite silent.”

                “Yes, I slept pretty good. That isn’t a high bar to set though,” I reply with a chuckle. “No bad dreams.” When my mind drifts to Soalcia’s words, I frown slightly and look towards Ponyville.

                Marly smiles and giggles. “Who do you want to invite to the wedding?” She asks.

                “Desert and Shy,” I reply. “Despite my first encounter with Desert, I’ll give him another chance. As for anyone else? They will come if they know the location. The clearing with the willow and in two days. No rings, and no fancy dresses. Just you, me, and the ponies I like to hang around. I will manage security, and you probably have the delicate hoof for invitations. I love you and I believe that you will do a great job.”

                Marly smiles warmly at the faith I have in her. “And what are you going to do now?” She doesn’t expect the sigh that emits from me.

                “There is a pony I have to meet. Meet you in a few hours?” I look at her, hoping she would understand. She certainly does understand, waving and trotting away. I then look towards Ponyville, trotting to it with the hopes of finding the mare spoken about in my dreams.
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a light breeze blows through town, my eyes fall upon an alicorn that is as pink as Pinkie Pie herself. The mare’s deep purple eyes fall upon me and I smile softly at her. Yet, my smile falters as I see the pain behind her gaze, as if my very presence hurted her. The mare trots to me and hugs me rather gently, giving my ear a soft nibble. It takes her a little while to gather her thoughts, her tail flicking as she works on what to say.

“Hello,” She says softly. “I… don't really know what to say. I told myself it would be easy to strike up a conversation with you. I guess I was wrong.” She shrugs, letting go and motioning for me to follow her. She leads me through town, sitting herself down on a bench near a few shops. Her softening gaze falls on the ponies walking down the street. It then turns to me when I sit next to her. She opens up a wing and I shift in behind it. She turns her gaze back to the street.

We sit in silence for a few more moments. She then glances back at me. “So, you're getting married,” She says. “To a mare that loves you deeply. If it isn't too much of a bother, I would like to be the one to lead it. You're my brother after all and I'd like to make things right.”

Make things right? I think. But she… didn’t wrong me? The thought bothers me enough such that her ear flicks and she tightens the wing around me, as if she was sensing it. Her gaze softens slightly and she continues to speak.

“Look, Golden… I need to tell you something,” She says bluntly, causing me to turn to look at her. “It’s serious, and I don’t expect forgiveness, even from someone as forgiving as you. Or… so I’ve heard. A-anyway, this is about your past.” Upon hearing that, I tense up and a jolt of panic runs through me. Before I can say anything, she places a forehoof on my head and rubs it gently, before moving it to my mane. “I-I know, but this weighs heavily on my heart, as you can likely sense. L-look, throughout your life, I was watching you. I saw what she did to you, and it pained me far more than everything else I ever had to deal with. I wanted to go there. I wanted to save you so badly.” She explains as her gaze softens.

It takes me a moment to take that in. I lean my back harder against the bench and the wood creaks in protest. I look away, trying to search for any appropriate emotions inside me, but finding none. “Why didn’t you?” I ask softly. She sighs softly and shakes her head.

“My damn brothers and sisters stopped me. Said that I shouldn’t interfere and that I’d paint a target on my back. They didn’t want Silver to go after the divine order. In retrospect, I don’t blame them for that.” She sighs softly. “They had to lock me in my own dimension, Golden. If they didn’t, I would have scooped you up and took you home to a family that would have cared about you. N-not only that, but I… blamed myself-” She is cut off by a hoof being placed over her mouth. My eyes stare right at hers for a long moment before I remove the hoof from her mouth.

“No, don’t blame yourself. Don’t blame them either,” I say with a somewhat shaky tone. “Please. You thought about doing what was right, and so did they. Throwing around blame won’t solve anything. I can feel the sadness inside you.” When I move to hug her, she collapses into my forehooves and buries her face in my chest. I am met with the familiar warmth of tears, my gaze softening when I realize how bottled up her emotions were. Gently, I run a forehoof through her pink mane, a part of me marveling at how well groomed it is. I shake those thoughts away, focusing back on my current situation. “To be honest, I’m honored that someone out there cared for me. Would you guys have rescued me if I got closer to death?” I shudder softly and look away.

The mare presses tighter against me as she nods against my chest. It takes her a fair while for the sobbing to calm down, and even longer before she looks up at me. “G-Golden?” She asks softly. “I… w-we need to take you somewhere, but I’m aware that you have another obligation here. W-why don’t you get it done before I show you and b-before it’s too late?”

“Too late?” I ask, only then realizing what she meant. A-Ah yes, the rift thingy? The… thing Solacia told me about. Anxiously, I give her cheek a little nuzzle. She nods at me, teleporting away only to be replaced with a very exhausted looking Cyrus. He’s standing on the ground, pawing at it tiredly. I look down at him in confusion.

“What do you want Cy?” I ask, curiosity overtaking the confusion. He hops onto the bench and looks at me.

“It’s time, Golden. Everything is established and everyone below me agrees that the induction should happen,” He shifts a bit, extending a hoof to my side, then withdrawing it quickly as if the air around me was burning hot. He grimaces but shakes his head and hops off the bench. He motions for me to follow him, so I do. As he trots, he reflects on exactly what happened back there. The air was burning around him, He thinks. The air was… burning. I’ll have to warn the others.

Cyrus silently conjures up a paper, using his telekinesis to scribble a short warning on it as he trots. With a thought, he seals the envelope and teleports it away. Some part of that felt wrong to him, but he shakes it off when he notes that I would do the same for him. The safety of his race is paramount to both himself and I, after all.

Silently, Cyrus leads me to the Everfree. I was more concerned with my surroundings than I was with him, as they were far more interesting. Just before we get to a clearing, the pony from my dreams steps out from the brush. She looks at me and indicates for me to stop. I stop, glancing at Cyrus when he stops as well. He stares at the pony and tilts his head, taking a step toward her as she trots to me.

“Golden, I suggest you… wait for this, okay? You’re temporally unstable, and Cyrus senses this. This is not only a dangerous move to you, but it’s likely temporary. I don’t know what will carry over when the event happens. If they do this, then this will be for absolutely nothing.” This gets Cyrus’ attention, so he turns to face her.

“What are you talking about? What event?” He asks.

“Did you not sense it? Do you want an explanation, or something? Soon, Golden, and a number of other ponies will disappear. Why? I don’t know even though this is more or less my domain.” Solacia sighs in frustration. “My best guess is that some higher power decided that certain ponies didn’t belong here.”

Cyrus narrows his eyes at her, and I then frown. “Cyrus, she tells the truth,” I say with a sigh of defeat. “There’s distortion around me. If you have to do it, then make it quick and out here, okay? I don’t want any of them to worry about me, and I certainly don’t want to cause any discomfort.”

Cyrus turns back to me and sits down as he tries to find an argument against it. “They’ll feel bad about it.”

“And? They’ll feel worse if I came. They will absolutely worry about what they are feeling. You think that I didn’t feel the shock and suspicion when you withdrew your hoof from my side? I felt a vague feeling of wrongness too a moment ago, Cyrus. Imagine the suspicion, but amplified twenty times. That would not only be stressful for me, but it would interfere with the induction ceremony. If… if I were you, I would do it here.”

Cyrus pauses a bit, then looks toward the clearing. He sighs softly, then nods. “O-okay… okay fine.” Cyrus looks a little shaken, so I hug him gently.

“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to be that firm with you. I j-just want what’s best for the race,” I look over at Solacia, whose gaze has softened a bit when I said that. She nods and steps back, which causes Cyrus to break the hug and stand up.

“First off, I’m sorry,” Cyrus places his hoof on my chest and I immediately yell out, a sharp pain coursing through it. The pain heads straight for my head, and the last thing I see is Cyrus’ face twisting into a look of horror before the world around me goes black.






Natalia’s wolf ears perk up as she hears the sound of a distant yell. She then giggles. Looks like the forest got another one. The forest does not like the weak. After a moment of elated thoughts, she focuses back on why she was actually here. She turns her nose back to the ground and sniffs. There was a strong scent of something foreign in the great number of tracks on the ground. With a smirk, she follows the main trail, only branching off to a much less utilized trail when she notes that the scent disappeared off the main trail. Her tail flicks as the scent becomes stronger the more she follows it. A few moments later, she halts when she hears faint movement to her right. She pads over behind a tree and lays in the dirt, slowly poking her head around the trunk. Her eyes widen as she sees a dark blue and blue-green tail disappear behind a tree.

Slowly, the wolf emerges from behind the tree and pads toward where the dragon is. She crouches down before poking her head around it. There was nobody. Her gaze turns to the ground and she looks at the flattened grass and snapped twigs. She follows the trail until it stops just past the tree. Confused, she sniffs for the scent, but does not find it after the trail stops. She tilts her head and sits down, any urge to attack or kill the target fading away.

“What? What the hell was that about? Teleportation?” Natalia stands, starting to pace. “No, that can’t be? As far as I know, dragons can’t teleport.” She sighs and shakes her head, finding it pointless to think about this further. Silently she pads back toward the clan encampment, trying to stifle the thoughts of the dragon. Why is this bothering me? She thinks. This shouldn't bug me. Stop it. Natalia growls and shakes her head, anger building up. The wolf turns to a tree and slashes at it with her sharpened claws. A scar an inch across and two inches deep is cut across the trunk. She snarls at it, then pads onto the main path. She shifts back to her pony form. Natalia starts to gallop down the main path after shaking off the feeling of cold dirt on her hooves.

When she nears the campsite, she slows down and stops when her ears perk up. Natalia immediately picks up on something strange. She trots into the campground and it is completely silent. The ponies that were taking care of the fire, guarding valuable ponies in the clan, and other nameless and faceless ponies are gone. Her gaze hardens as she trots around the clearing. Who did this? She thinks. Who DID THIS!? She stops and growls, slamming a hoof onto the ground. Angrily, she whirls around to face the one being that still existed in the clearing: Moonlight.

“MOONLIGHT! GET UP!” She yells, causing the Changeling to snap awake and stand up. He takes a few steps back.

“W-what?” He asks. “W-what do you want? W-what’s going on?”

“Just look around and then tell me what’s wrong.”

Moonlight looks around and thinks for a moment. “It… some branches are cutting into the clearing?” He nods to a few trees, their long branches poking into the clearing after not being pruned for a few months. This was unsatisfactory for Natalia. Her face contorts in rage and she shifts into a wolf. She slashes straight across Moonlight’s cheek, then tackles him and pins him to the ground.

“They. Are. All. Gone,” She says slowly and deliberately. “Do you understand? THEY ARE ALL GONE! WHY ARE THEY ALL GONE?”

“I-I don’t know, M-Mistress! I was asleep the whole time!” Moonlight shivers, fear coursing through him. Natalia stares straight into his eyes and searches for any deception. Finding none, she bites right at his other cheek. Moonlight tenses up and whimpers at that. Natalia then releases him from the pin.

“They were here when I was here. I was not gone for long,” Natalia drones, her angry emotions fading away to nothingness. “They had to go somewhere. Scour the forest for them, Moonlight. You are the only one that I have left and can trust. Go.”

Moonlight shakily stands and grimaces, turning and trotting away. “G-god damn,” He says softly. “S-she’s pissed.” When he glances back, he sees that Natalia is laying down on the ground. She looks somewhat exhausted now, so she decides to doze off. Undeterred by this, Moonlight presses on and heads to the west, unsure of what he will find.






Back at Ponyville, Marly trots out of Sugarcube Corner with the usual treats. She looks around, then shrugs and trots to the northern edge of town. Marly sits down and watches the townsfolk do their usual tasks. One pony that catches her eye is the pink mare that Golden talked to earlier. The mare turns around and looks straight at Marly. She whispers something to a nearby stallion, giggles, then trots over to her.

“Mind if I sit next to you?” She asks with a soft smile. She licks a hoof and smooths down a few unruly hairs in her mane. “I certainly hope you don’t.”

Marly eyes her and frowns. “An alicorn? Here? Uh… sure,” She says. “Why not?”

As the mare moves to sit down, her ear flicks and she momentarily feels a sinking feeling, as if something terrible just happened. The feeling surprises her, which causes her to sit down harder than usual. The mare grunts and rubs at her own flank. “The name’s Raikia. I’ll be the one to preside over the wedding. Two days, I assume?”

Marly nods. “And you are the one Golden met with?”

“Precisely. You’re a smart one,” Raikia smiles somewhat uneasily. “You know, I see ponies madly in love all the time. It never fails to make me happy. You two need to enjoy what time you have left. Treat each day with him as it’s your last. Do it for me… please?” Her gaze softens. “He’s my… brother, and it would suck if you two drifted apart.”

Marly tilts her head, then nods. “It’s a weird thing to request, but I’ll try my best to fulfil it. By the way, shouldn’t he have been back by now?”

Raikia’s gaze softens as she glances away. She knew something was wrong, and it involved Golden, but she wasn’t even sure what it was. Rai turns her gaze back to Marly. “He’s probably… preparing things for the wedding.” At least… I hope. The mare swallows nervously, then relaxes as she notices Marly relaxing. She seemed to have bought the excuse. Raikia could not bring herself to tell Marly that something terrible happened to the stallion that Marly loves. “Tell me, is the wedding date flexible?”

Marly shrugs, popping a muffin into her mouth. “It’s small and should be set up really quickly. Yeah, I guess. Why?”

“Just… wondering.” Raikia pats at Marly’s head. “It pays to be flexible. I won’t ask anything else.” She shakes her head softly and she stands.

“Hey, thanks for doing this,” Marly says. She only gets a nod before the pink alicorn trots away. Her body language suggests that the mare left relatively unhappy. Part of that does not sit well with Marly. She uneasily looks at her goodie basket.

What… what’s gotten into her? She thinks. The bad thoughts melt away when she bites into another muffin. Two more days, eh? Good. Marly glances towards the sky, pleased that Ponyville is free from the turmoil of the Everfree Forest, at least for now.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel… tired. I can feel a soft hoof brush against my side…

I can hear the sound of a calming voice in my ear. “Do not worry. I will be here waiting,” The voice tells me. I can’t tell who it is, as my memory is fuzzy. Or… is it fuzzy? I don’t know anymore.

I find myself in front of a large set of double doors. Their handles are as grey as the walls are, and they impart a sense of dullness to me. My forehooves touch the door and it’s a move that’s not exactly conscious. The door seems to be calling to me, so I answer the call. Once I step through the doorway, my eyes fall onto a jade throne. A large stallion sits on it and he looks down at me. Before I meet his eyes, my gaze turns to the back wall. I see that it is entirely made of glass judging by the large amount of light pouring through it. Absolutely nothing is discernible through the light. I would wager that the light is all there is. I don’t know where I am. The pony in front of me steps off the throne and I am compelled to bow.

“Greetings,” The earth pony rumbles. “Rise.”

I am compelled to rise.

“Thank you. Your name is… Golden? The poor, unfortunately named stallion from Manehattan? Or close to it? I don’t know. I only know what my files say.” A folder appears in front of him and he opens it up. “Ah yes, you need answers. Where are you? Somewhere off world. Why are you here? Something went wrong. You see, there are very few times when things around you need to step in. Whether it’s the magical threads that run Equestria, or if it’s the ponies around you, or if it’s me. You are not dead. You would never have died from the initiation either.”

I frown, mentally ticking off the questions I had. Before I can speak, I am interrupted by the stallion. “You still have questions. I watch over the gods that get in touch with you, along with the gods on a number of other worlds. The details are not important. You, my child, are a victim of the world around you. The world does not want you here, and you will not unlock your potential here. To fix this, I have to personally set things right. A simple shift will fix everything. Your memories of your shitty life? Not so much. Yet, you will be free. You will have freedom from her, at least until the time where you will meet her again.” The stallion sits back on the throne and the folder disappears. “And yes… you will meet her again.”

“What about my fiance?” I ask, eyeing him closely.

“She will be fine. I do hope you understand that you two might be apart for a little while. Meddling with the affairs of things would cause everything to go wrong if I was certain. Besides, you will definitely gain skills if you aren’t there with her.”

“So you’re planning on separating us?”

“That’s a little harsh, now isn’t it?” The pony raises an eyebrow. “Pay attention, dear stallion. It is not I who makes that decision. I am merely the one to make the snap judgment calls in order to keep things in line. I judge that you and the Shadowbornes do not belong in that Equestria, and I see to it that it happens.”

I take a step back, anger bubbling up. “I don’t want to be away from my fiance,” I say.

The stallion sighs, trotting to me. “There will always be a point in life where you just have to… take shit. You don’t want this. I know you don’t want this. You don’t want this because your sense of freedom and the mirage of freedom has been assailed by… well… me.” 

I take a step back. “I don’t-”

“You thought you were free. Would Silver just let you marry your fiance?”

“I…” I sit down when I realize that I didn’t think of it that way.

“Would Silver let you be happy?” He steps toward me. “Would she allow kids to be born?”

“I... “ I can feel my ears flatten and a pang of fear shoots through me. “No.”

“Do you agree that getting away from it all will… repair you?”

“No. The trauma runs deep. It won’t repair me completely, but I believe it will cause most of my life to get back on track.”

The stallion steps onto the throne and sits down on it. He looks down at me thoughtfully. “I can sense your fears. They are not misplaced at all. You want to learn how to cope?” I nod and he trots back to me. He lays his hoof on my head and I do not feel it. “Write. Fill that head of yours with the lives of others. Enact on the things you are passionate about. Doesn’t matter what it is either. You know how many pages that notebook has, so that’s your potential.” He rubs at my head.

“But I fear I’ll think of her,” I mutter.

“Oh, you will think of her. Given a sufficient amount of time, you will find yourself thinking less and less about her. There will be one day where you will never think of her name. With that, her influence will come to an end. With that, you will be free.”

It takes me a moment to respond. I feel a small hoof brush over my wings and I grunt. “So, you’re telling me that it gets better?” I feel torn. A part of me wants too believe this unknown entity, but another side whispers that it won’t get better. It takes me a moment to reject the second side. My gaze hardens in determination.
The stallion catches onto the shifting gaze. “Good… you’re ready. You’re free to go. Enjoy the rest of your time in limbo, and the rest of your time in this Equestria.” The stallion sits back on the throne. With that, I decide to trot out of the room.

“I love you, Golden,” A voice whispers. I turn to face it, but nobody is there. I then sit down on the cold stone, sighing and waiting for something to change.

Time passes and I soon feel the urge to sleep. I try and fight it, but my eyes soon shut, and my body goes limp.



The feeling of a hoof on my chest causes a groan to escape from my lips. I try to open my eyes and blinding light fills it. I groan again and shut them. After a moment, I slowly reopen them and try to sit up. I end up collapsing back onto the bed with a soft whimper. I glance to my sides and see Cyrus and Marly. Cyrus is speaking with a doctor, and Marly is watching me intently. The worry in her eyes breaks my heart. I try and shift over to her, but it hurts to move.

“N-no… don’t move, Goldie,” Marly says. She sniffs and nuzzles at my chest. The worry fades away into a rather calm feeling. “I’m h-here.”

I lick my lips while I search for words to say. Finding none, I choose to relax to her gentle nuzzles. Soon enough, Cyrus trots over.

“It’s been… two days, Golden,” He says softly. “Would you like me to fill you in as to what’s been-”

“No,” I say, almost sitting up but catching myself. “No I… I don’t want to know.”

“Don’t get up too fast,” Cyrus says. “Okay? The day is still young-ish, so you have time.”

I sigh shakily, laying in bed for what feels like hours. Huh, it certainly does not feel like two days, I think. I’m not hungry, nor thirsty, but I feel a slight pang for blood. I grunt, then shift to sit up. It takes me a moment, and it’s a bit of a struggle, but I manage it. I yawn softly and shake my head.

“Do you want to head out now, Goldie?” Marly asks softly, lovingly putting a forehoof on one of my hind legs. I look down at it and nod. I slowly shift to the edge of the bed and plant my hind hooves on the ground. I slide off the bed and shakily move my forehooves onto the ground. My body nearly collapses, but I manage to catch myself. I look over at Marly, then nod. Marly then leads me out of the hospital wing only to be stopped by Cyrus.

“And what are you two doing?” Cyrus asks, watching us trot out of the hospital wing. I stop and look at Cyrus, smiling weakly.

“I want to marry my fiance,” I say.

“But Golden, you’re not well,” Cyrus protests, eyeing Marly now.

The mare looks at Cyrus and shrugs. “He wants it, and so do I,” She says. “It might be rushed, but I kinda get his viewpoint. It’s the day of the wedding, and anypony that is going to be there is going to be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. Shaky reasoning, I know.” She sighs. “I just don’t want to disappoint Golden.” She gives my cheek a kiss and I nod.

“Cy, I would really like it if this happened. Really,” I say. I bite my lip when a wave of dizziness washes over me. I shake my head quickly.

Cyrus closes his eyes and sighs, rubbing his head with a forehoof. “Why do I even…? Fine, go ahead. I can’t stop you from being happy. Just let me get a security team set up. Start heading over to the clearing and they will be there.” He grumbles as he trots away.

Marly frowns and takes a step towards Cyrus, but then stops. The mare glances down the corridor, then makes her way towards the exit. She hums softly as she trots, and the sound of it puts my mind at ease.

“You really want to get this done, eh?” I chuckle. “So do I. I can’t stop justifying it in my head. I don’t want Cyrus to worry, nor anyone else, but I just want to spend my life with you and that comes first.” The words taste weird in my mouth as I reflect back on what I was told in the dreamscape.

Dreamscape? I think. He mentioned limbo. Was I that much affected by it?

“Hey Marly, how was I like when I was knocked out?” I ask, my tongue brushing over one of my fangs in nervousness. Her humming stops, replaced with a sigh.

“You were unmoving, and Cyrus said that your vitals were below normal. The only way we could tell that you were responsive was you reacting slightly to my touch. When you grunted, I thought you were almost out of it. No, it was still another seven or so hours.” She explains.

“What did you do during the two days?”

“Well, I delivered the invitations. Went to Shy and Desert, as planned. As you said, others will come if they know the location. Oh, and speaking of Shy, she wanted to pop on over to see you, but she got wrapped up in some things. I suppose she’s looking forward to seeing you!”

I merely nod, an uneasy feeling creeping into the pit of my stomach, I manage to shake it off when we step into the cool Everfree air. Marly then makes a beeline for Ponyville. A quick sniff of the air doesn’t reveal much, only that it recently rained. “Rain on our wedding day?” I ask. “We won’t be in the Everfree though!”

Marly giggles and nods. “Exactly! Enjoy the fresh air dear! You deserve it.” She smiles warmly and stops to nuzzle me. Her touch causes my heart to flutter a bit and I giggle, momentarily forgetting that this might be my last day on Equestria. I then kiss at her cheek.

“You’re a cutie,” I say. She flicks me with her tail and laughs before continuing to trot. She doesn’t say much else on the way to the clearing.

She seems happy, I think as I step into the clearing. My gaze immediately turns to the willow tree and I smile. Standing there is Raikia draped in a fuzzy purple robe, and Shy. She is leaned against the tree a bit, reading through a small book. Her ears perk up and she stops, smiling and looking at us.

“Why, hello!” Raikia grins and trots over to us, followed by Shy. The pink mare inspects Marly’s mane first, before moving to mine and sighing. She gently smooths down my mane and shakes her head. “Now I know you were unconscious. Doesn’t mean you should slack in the appearance department on your big day.” She giggles, then kisses my cheek before doing the same to Marly’s.

In the back of the clearing, Desert steps out from the brush and stretches his wings. He doesn’t say anything as he trots to the center of the clearing. He then sits down and yawns, looking toward Shy.

Shy trots up to us when Raikia steps to the side. She looks into my eyes and smiles softly. “I’m proud of you. You chose a good mare to be with. What are you going to do after the ceremony? I was thinking we can head on over to my place to celebrate!”

“That sounds good to me, Shy,” I smile warmly at her. Solacia teleports into the clearing in my peripheral vision, so I acknowledge her with a nod. Shy nods and trots to Desert, sitting next to him.

Raikia steps forward and clears her throat. “Ready?” She asks, smiling brightly at us. When Marly and I nod, she trots to the front of the willow tree. Marly and I follow her, both stopping in front of her and stepping off to the side a bit. Marly turns to face me and she smiles.

“Brothers, sisters, and friends; we are all gathered here on this blessed day in order to witness two lovers come together in the bonds of love. Marly and Golden met one day, and I can swear that they couldn’t take their eyes off of each other. I don’t know why they got attached as fast as they did, but love is a fickle mistress. Love does what love does. Love takes and gives what it takes and gives, and we can do nothing but watch. Love brings these two beings together, and love will hold them together for as long as they live. If they were to ever emotionally drift apart, the memories imparted by their experiences will still enrich their lives. Golden, you found someone… hell… a number of ponies who care for you. You found someone that loves you, almost without trying. You too, Marly.” Raikia looks at Marly and smiles. “Few possess that ability, so I commend you both for it.”

I giggle softly, nuzzling at Marly. My hooves are feeling slightly tingly, but I ignore it. “T-thank you, Raikia.”

“Thanks,” Marly nods at the mare, returning the nuzzle. I can feel a gentle sense of confusion emanating from her, so I respond with a nip to her cheek. The confusion fades away.

“Marly, do you wish to marry this stallion? I’m still… confused as to why I need to ask you guys this. Yes, I assume?” Raikia giggles. Marly nods without hesitation.

“And you, Golden?” She turns to me and I nod as well. I ignore the tingling, which is getting worse by the second. “Good. Now, kiss this nice mare. She’s been waiting.”

As soon as I hear those words, the world around me slows and I focus entirely on Marly. My smile is soft as I step towards her. It takes me a second to speak. “I… I love you,” I say before kissing her right on the lips. I close my eyes, leaning into it a bit as the tingling turns into a sharp pain. The pain rockets straight for my chest and I feel as if my head has been smashed by a hammer. The sudden escalation of pain causes me to gasp slightly into the kiss.

Fear, confusion, acceptance, and pain, I calmly think. I break the kiss, then gently wrap my hooves around Marly, ignoring the pain of every move. I open my mouth to issue an apology, but no words come out. I can only watch as a gentle glow covers both me and Marly. I search in her eyes and find nothing but confusion and fear. I gently rub a forehoof against her cheek. My gaze softens quite a bit. I hug her tighter and press my face against her neck, giving it a gentle nuzzle.

Acceptance, and pain. Oh my god the… pain. I bite my lip as I start to tear up. I c-can’t handle bringing her pain. O-oh god I’m so sorry. I-I should have told you. I-It will be alright. Just hold me. Hold me until I can’t f-feel you anymore. I move in to kiss her and she returns it, wrapping her forelegs around me.

Slowly, my surroundings fade around me. I can see Marly’s face slowly fading as well. The pain in my chest increases, as if one of Silver’s knives pierced straight through it. I don’t see Shy’s shocked face as her husband suffers the same fate as I, nor do I see Solacia and Raikia somberly watching from a distance. Every emotion I feel around me slowly fades into nothingness, and I fall with it.