Chapter 11 - Breakdown

Is he even alive?"
"I don't know, he hasn't moved in hours."
"Poke him."
"Like hell I will! I don't want my leg torn off!"

Voices echoed in Sven's ears, the stallion slowly coming too.
"Ugh… where am I? Did anyone get the number of that cart that hit me?" he groaned, rubbing his temples. Opening his eyes, he found twelve Changelings surrounding him.
"Well… Either I had too much Cider or I can't remember anything from last night," he muttered, sniffing his breath.
"Yeah, it's the second."

"Well look who's finally awake," a familiar voice chuckled from behind the Changelings.
"Horsefeathers," Sven groaned, rising to all fours, "You still angry at me?" Chrysalis slowly made her way through the guards and stood before Sven, a scowl on her face.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sven sighed. Chrysalis growled stepping forth and slapping Sven across the face.
"Yeah, you're angry," Sven muttered.
"I take it that he's still inside your mind. How's Cruelty doing?" Chrysalis sneered, earning a growl from Sven.
"Why are you asking me? You're the one who cursed me with him anyway," he spat, glaring at the Changeling queen.
"Guard! Bring it here!" Chrysalis yelled, a Changeling quickly rushing to the queen's side with what appeared to be a red and black orb.
"What are you up to…" Sven muttered, slowly backing off before Chrysalis thrust the orb into Sven's face. Sven froze, eyes widening suddenly before dropping to the floor yelling in pain. The Changeling guards looked at each other confused before grinning at the realization that this hurt Sven. Smiling, Chrysalis watched as Sven tried to move but fell to the dirt beneath him, being crushed beneath mental weight coming from his mind. Laughing, she placed the orb two feet out of his reach, ordering the guards to watch him until she returned. Sven's cry could be heard throughout the entire encampment.

Twilight let loose a weak groan, slowly opening her eyes to find a black canvas above her. Slowly she raised her head to find that she had been tied down to a table of some sort. The fabric seemed to wrap around her hooves, restricting her movement. Using her magic, she slowly began to undo the bonds before Chrysalis appeared before her.
"Welcome to my army's camp. Are you enjoying yourself?" the black queen chuckled, using her own magic to restore Twilight's bonds.
"Let me go Chrysalis, what do you even want with me?" Twilight growled, trying to use her magic once again only to have Chrysalis shoot her with a bolt of her own magic.
"Can you hear that?" Chrysalis asked, Twilight listening closely until a faint cry hit her ears. It sounded familiar. It sounded like…
"Kozak!" Twilight gasped, Chrysalis chuckling.
"No, not Kozak. SVEN. Sven. That's his real name. He's lied to you. And that yellow wimpy pegasus lied to you too. She knows," Chrysalis smiled.

"Leave Fluttershy out of this!" Twilight snapped.
"Feisty are we? Hmmm, I wonder what Celestia would think if she learned I had her protégée in my custody," Chrysalis smiled, a rumbling roar ripping the smile off of her face. A Changeling guard ran into the room.
"He's broken free! He's loose! Cruelty i-" the guard cried before five razor sharp jagged blades shot through the guards neck and lower jaw. Sputtering and spewing blood, the guard fell, Sven standing behind the now deceased guard.
"How did you br-" Chrysalis started before she was swatted out of the tent. It was only now that Twilight was able to get a good look at Sven. His coat was still covered by his cloak, though the article was flaring up and flowing wildly. Glancing quickly, Twilight spotted Sven's Cutie Mark, a black and red moon, almost identical in design to Princess Luna's. Sven's eyes had changed color, the emeralds now turned to a sapphire left eye and a ruby red right eye. His coat was a surprisingly calm light grey however, despite his appearance everywhere else. Sven's mane was pitch black, the hairs flowing freely as his magic flared wildly. A pair of razor sharp claws extended from his forehooves, Changeling blood dripping from the tips. What seemed to shock Twilight the most was the fact that Sven was now standing up right on his hind legs, slouching over to balance himself and using his forehooves to attack the Changelings.

Sven's eyes shot to Twilight, the lavender mare gulping in fear before he slashed her bonds and roared at her. Not waiting another minute, Twilight quickly teleported herself back to Ponyville, leaving Sven to rampage through the camp.

"Twilight! Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!" Rarity exclaimed, rushing over to a fallen Twilight. Twilight's teleportation spell didn't go as planned, making the mare appear ten feet in the air before crashing to the dirt beneath her. Rarity was on her way to her boutique after finishing some shopping for soup, something that Vex seemed to enjoy enthusiastically ever since her release from the hospital. Along the way, she witnessed a bright light appear before her before Twilight came falling to the ground.
"No… I'm not… I have to contact the prin…cess…" Twilight groaned before passing out. Rarity strained her magic to carry Twilight along with her groceries before galloping back to her home. Upon arrival, Sweetie Belle came bouncing towards her older sister, suddenly noticing Twilight.
"Is she alright sis?" Sweetie Belle asked, bags of groceries being shoved into her face.
"Take these darling and give them to Vex and Aurora, they'll know how to cook it. I've got to get Twilight back to the library quickly!" Rarity exclaimed, turning around to find Applebloom and Scootaloo.

"You two! Get the others please? Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie. But leave poor Fluttershy out of this, she's going through a hard time already," Rarity ordered, the other two fillies sensing the seriousness in her voice and dashing off. Rarity galloped to the library at breakneck speed, barging through the door and startling Spike.
"Hey! Rarity! Why'd you bre- TWILIGHT! OH NO! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Spike yelled, rushing over to Rarity's side, the white unicorn galloping up to Twilight's room and placing her into her bed.
"Spike, do you know how Twilight does that portal thing to talk to the princess?" Rarity asked, Spike nodded and dashed off, returning with what appeared to be a small container full of a mystical orange substance.
"Just remove the cap and make a circle with the liquid," Spike informed, Rarity quickly doing so to the wall in front of Twilight's bed. At this point, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash came roaring into the library, Applejack glaring at Rainbow Dash.

"I still don't fully forgive you for what you did to poor Shy," the farm girl glared.
"Put that aside, Twilight's in danger!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, noticing Spike beckoning for them to come upstairs. Upon entry into the bookworm's room the three mares found Rarity standing before a portal revealing Princess Celestia.
"Hello Rarity, how did you figure out ho- Twilight?! Oh no!" Princess Celestia gasped, noticing her protégée beaten up and lying in bed.
"I don't know what happened to her! I was on my way back to the boutique when she appeared out of the sky!" Rarity replied.
"Princess! I saw another ShadowHawk!" Rainbow Dash suddenly blurted out. The mares turned their attention to the prismatic pegasus.
"What did you say?" Princess Celestia asked, not sure she heard right.
"I saw another ShadowHawk! He said he knew Kozak, who's real name is Sven for some reason, and he asked if the other ShadowHawks were here," Rainbow Dash informed.
"Did you tell him?" Rarity asked, worried mainly for Vex's safety for the time being.

"Yeah. He seemed interested in them and had the same cloak like they did so I assumed he was one of them. He said to call him Silver Wings and wouldn't tell me his real name. He also left me this note," Rainbow Dash replied pulling out the note that the stallion left her, showing it to Princess Celestia.
"Silver Wings? And he has a brother? This is serious then, two more have entered the board," Princess Celestia muttered, thinking deeply on the current situation. A weak groan was heard from behind the mares, all eyes turning around to find Twilight weakly turning in her bed.
"Twi!" Applejack gasped, rushing to the now waking unicorn's side.
"Appleja- AAAAH!" Twilight screamed, her eyes squeezing tight before a moss green light began to emit from her chest. Slowly, an emblem of a jagged horn came into sight, glowing the sickening green color before it projected what appeared to be the head of Chrysalis.

"Hello ponies. I suppose you're wondering about what's wrong with your dear friend here?" Chrysalis smirked, growls and protests of anger coming from the mares.
"What have you done to Twilight?!" Rarity yelled, Chrysalis smiling at the unicorn's anger.
"Well, your little protégée here my dear Celestia bears my mark. And if anything, your dear Stalker friends should know what that means. After all Celestia, wasn't it YOU who decided to send them out so you could observe the effects of my marks on them?" Chrysalis smiled, a collective gasp emitting from the shocked mares as eyes turned to Princess Celestia.
"How many did you send? One hundred? Two? Dare I even say three?" Chrysalis mocked, "And how many did you restrict from using their magic with your so called 'protective' spell? Oh that's right! All of them!" Chrysalis cackled.

"And now guess- AAAAH!" Chrysalis screamed as she suddenly appeared to be swatted away before Sven appeared in the image, still as possessed as he was before. Roaring, he swiped his claws at the ponies, severing communication between them. Eyes turned to Princess Celestia and then to the unconscious Twilight.
"Princess, what does she mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Quite, what did she mean by implying that you knew what it meant?" Rarity asked.
"Is Twi gonna be alright?" Applejack asked.
"What haven't you told us?" Rainbow Dash asked. Princess Celestia looked at the Elements of Harmony before gazing at Twilight.
"Princess!" Rainbow Dash yelled, snapping Princess Celestia out of her trance.
"Her mark. It's known as the Jagged Decay. It means that Twilight will endure excruciating and unimaginable pain for long periods of time before having a small moments of rest and recovery before it starts back up again," Princess Celestia whispered softly.

"Buuuuuut she'll get better right? The doctors or unicorn magic could help her!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed hopefully.
"Eventually the pain will begin to affect her heart," Princess Celestia murmured quietly.
"Her heart?! Oh goodness me!" Rarity gasped, shocked by the continuation of her friend's pain.
"But she'll be alright right? She ain't gonna get hospitalized or whither away like some old apple right?" Applejack asked, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. In the back of her mind, she began to envision the worst. Princess Celestia remained silent, her eyes now fixated on her protégée who appeared to be in great pain.
"Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously.
"She'll die. Just like every other pony who has been cursed with the Jagged Decay"
Silence in the library.

"Where'd he go?!"
"I don't know but find him! The queen demands it!"
"But we've been searching for almost an hour!"
"It's either hours or the queen personally punishes you."
"Moving!"

Sven panted heavily, his chest throbbed as an excruciating pain plagued his hooves and chest. Coughing into his hooves, he found blood stains.
"Shit," he spat, leaving a trail of bloody saliva trickling down the bark of a tree before continue his painful gallop through the dark forests.
"What happened to me back there?" he wondered to himself.
"You lived"
"Oh not you again… I told you to go away!"
"You really think it's that easy to get rid of me? I'm almost insulted."
"Well then be insulted and banish yourself to the moon."
"Not without you."
A sickening voice spoke constantly in Sven's mind as he ran. Every step he took he could feel the pain and pressure increase on his mind.

"Leave me alone!"
"Now there's no need to snap at ME. I'm just your true element. Hey, remember when we were with that mare Fluttershy? When we were running from the alpha male Timberwolf? We fell into that pit where the other Stalkers were and the-"
"Shut up! I don't want to remember anything! I just want to get help! I feel like I'm dying!"
"But you are… deep down you are."
"What do you mean?"
"Nope, I'll leave you alone for now… but just remember, you got lucky this time…"

The voice in Sven's mind finally silenced itself, leaving the stallion and his bleeding self to figure out where he was. The yells and shouts of the guards had died down and Sven found himself quite lost in what he assumed was the Everfree Forest.
"Well… It can't get worse than this…" he muttered, the roars of Timberwolves immediately negating his statement.
"Ah horsefeathers."

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP
"I'm okay Angel… really I'm fine. I just need more sleep," Fluttershy whispered softly as her white bunny continued to thump on her door. It had been a whole day and none of her critters had even caught a glimpse of their yellow pegasus caretaker. While Angel Bunny was able to take over for food duties and small medical duties, he was starting to get aggravated and worried about his owner. Usually when a problem occurred, the yellow mare would hide away for an hour or two before Angel Bunny's constant thumping on the door would draw her out and force her to confront her problems. But today, he had been thumping for what felt like hours and the pegasus did not budge at all. Sighing in defeat, he began to hop away before a loud crash was heard from the entrance to the cozy cottage. Hurrying down, he found Sven covered in blood and barely breathing. The bloody stallion caught glimpse of Angel Bunny, weakly lifting a hoof to the white rabbit before uttering Fluttershy's name.

Nodding frantically as the stallion closed his eyes, Angel Bunny hopped into the kitchen grabbing a spoon from the drawers and returning to Fluttershy's door, wailing on the wood with the metal utensil.
"Angel, I said I was al-" Fluttershy whispered softly, cracking the door open to glare softly at her pet before the spoon was shoved into the gap and forced the door open. Angel Bunny began jumping up and down frantically, pointing downstairs to the living room. Unsure of what had her pet in such a riled manner, Fluttershy sighed and slowly descended the steps. Finding Sven, Fluttershy froze a mixture of relief and fear washing over her.
"Angel, go get the nurses from the hospital, I'll do my best to stop his bleeding," Fluttershy ordered, pushing Angel outside.

Fluttershy soon turned her attention to Sven, rushing to find her first aid kit. Upon return, she found the stallion slowly rising to his hooves.
"Chrysalis…" he grunted, struggling to stand on his own. Fluttershy tried to help him but was gently pushed away.
"She's here…." he muttered, taking his first step forwards before collapsing once again.
"Don't move! You're bleeding badly!" Fluttershy begged, gently rolling Sven over on his back so she could examine him for any wounds. Using a damp cloth, Fluttershy quickly began to wash off the blood that covered Sven's body. In a matter of minutes, she had nearly gotten rid of it all.

"You were covered in blood… but I don't see any wounds," she mused.
"Don't worry… it's not mine," Sven weakly chuckled, Fluttershy gasping.
"I lost it… and killed them… so many of them…" Sven sighed, closing his eyes.
"It's not my fault. I didn't ask for this. Any of this. I-" Sven began before he felt a pair of soft lips press against his. Opening his eyes, he found a teary eyed Fluttershy hold him tightly. Suppressing a sob, Sven wrapped his hooves around Fluttershy, the yellow mare breaking the kiss and holding him tightly.
"It's not your fault. Whatever it was, it wasn't your fault," Fluttershy cried.
"Well look at this, you made her cry! You really are a monster."
"Go to hell," Sven mentally growled.
"Now that's harsh, it's not MY fault that you gave me an opening to escape momentarily."

"Quiet. I didn't have any choice."
"BUT you LOVED the feeling. You loved the feeling of your claws ripping through their flesh. You loved the smell of their blood on your coat. You loved slaughtering them."
"I didn't. YOU did."
"You, me. Me, you. Same thing in the end. Face it, you missed that adrenaline, that rush."
"I'm just going to stop acknowledging you."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"…"
"Fluttershy wants to have sex with you."
"!!!"
"Got you."

"How long does she have princess?" Applejack asked, holding Twilight's hoof in hers.
"At her rate? Maybe from a few weeks to three months," Princess Celestia sighed. A sudden scream of pain from Twilight startled all the mares, worry glowing in their eyes.
"Twilight!" Spike gasped, rushing to his adopted sister's side. Twilight began to scream, thrashing around violently as she tried to cope with the excruciating pain that was surging through her.
"Make it stop! Please!" she cried, shaking violently.
"Twilight! Please calm down! Applejack! Help me hold her down!" Rainbow Dash yelled, holding Twilight's hind legs, Applejack rushing over and holding down the lavender unicorn's forehooves. Princess Celestia watched from the portal a knot forming in her throat. After a few minutes of restraining Twilight, the unicorn passed out.

"What happened to the other Stalkers? Did they go the same way?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"All of them, the same way Twilight will go. It'll be the longest weeks or months of her life. And with each passing second, she'll wish that somepony murder her quickly rather than this long and torturous death," Princess Celestia cried, "I never meant for any of this to happen to her." A shrill scream and shouts from other residents of Ponyville brought the other mare's attention to what was happening outside.
"The boutique! Someone's robbing the boutique! Where's Rarity?!" a voice yelled.
"Help! The hospital's being attacked!"
"Fire in the Everfree!"

"My boutique! Vex! Aurora!" Rarity gasped.
"Hospital? Archimedes!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Strings is in the Everfree!" Pinkie Pie gasped. All three mares rushed out of the library, each going to their respective location. Rainbow Dash and Spike were left alone with Twilight, the unicorn crying and thrashing around in her sleep.
"Twilight…" Spike sobbed.
"Rainbow Dash, you need to find Sven. This is of the utmost importance," Princess Celestia spoke solemnly.
"Why? So you can put another mark or whatever on him?!" Rainbow Dash accused angrily, Princess Celestia shaking her head.
"No, because if Twilight has been marked, then that means Changelings are coming and they'll be hunting for Sven," she replied.

"Why would they want him?" Spike asked. Princess Celestia sighed, seeming to be troubled with finding a way to easily explain. A minute passed before Princess Celestia finally found the most simple words she could think of.
"Because… he's not a normal pony."

"What in tarnation?!" Applejack gasped barging into the hospital to find growing fires spreading throughout the building. Firefighting ponies were pouring water into the flames but it was taking too long. Noticing a particularly large fire coming from a room down the east wing, Applejack quickly realized which room it was. Galloping as fast as she could without trampling anypony, she kicked the door in, finding Archimedes' bed empty. To Applejack's shock, it appeared as if the fire started FROM Archimedes' bed and spread its flames throughout the hospital.
"You! You were with him earlier! Please try and calm him down!" a nurse suddenly screamed at Applejack, grabbing her hoof and dragging her away to another room.

In the center of the once white room were multiple scorch marks, in the center, Archimedes appeared to be struggling with a internal conflict, something plaguing his mind while he yelled angrily at himself. However, what stunned Applejack was the fact that the pony appeared to be on fire, engulfed in a black and red flame. Rayne was circling around Archimedes cawing wildly at the stallion, but her attempts to get his attention fell on deaf ears.
"Archimedes!" Applejack yelled, the stallion turning and staring at the orange mare. His eyes glowed brightly, the emeralds being replaced with an orange yellow flame that seemed to burrow through Applejack's flesh. Cringing slightly at his stare, Applejack tried to hold her ground.
"Sugarcube! It's me! Applejack!" Applejack yelled, the fires flaring slightly.
"Apple…jack?" Archimedes spoke slowly, his voice distorted by the flames.
"Yes hon', it's Applejack! The mare whose barn you stay in! Remember? I found you in our orchard!" Applejack yelled, the fires slowly starting to die down.

"Barn…" Archimedes murmured, his eyes closing halfway while the flames became more calm, their flickering dropping to a minimum.
"Yes, remember? We ate apple fritters late at night when I found out outside again," Applejack reminded, feeling bolder and moving closer. The flames were nearly gone, Archimedes had sunk to his belly.
"Fritters…"
"Keep trying to remember!"
"Big Macintosh…"
"You're doing good!"
"Shower…"
"Wait what?"
"ARGHHHHH!"

A bright light engulfed Archimedes, Rayne cawed and flew out of the light's reach. The fires seemed to suddenly race back to the source, vanishing into the light. The light slowly faded away before all that remained was an unconscious Archimedes, a confused Rayne who perched herself on his side, and a small candle. A small candle whose flame flickered weakly in the darkness of the room.

"That's weird, the fire died out on its own!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed to nopony in particular. Continuing her bouncing to Zecora's hut, Pinkie Pie found the ground around the abode singed. To Pinkie Pie's surprise, she also found the remains of multiple Timberwolves around the cozy home. A loud roar soon drew Pinkie Pie's attention to a Timberwolf that towered over her.
"Eep!" the party pony gasped before thing silver strings appeared to lace themselves around the body of the Timberwolf. In a split second, the strings shot back, behind the wolf and the animal exploded into a barrage of splinters and logs. Strings stood behind the destroyed Timberwolf, his eyes glowing white while his cloak flapped wildly while magic surrounded him.
"But he's not even a unicorn! He's an Earth Pony!" Pinkie Pie thought aloud. A wide grin spread across his lips before he turned his attention to Pinkie Pie.

"Such a flat tune! You must be fixed!" he roared, aiming a hoof at Pinkie Pie, the thing silver strings slowly slithering towards the baker.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! It's me! Pinkie Pie! I live with the Cakes! At Sugarcube Corner! Anything ringing a bell?!" Pinkie Pie yelled, feeling the strings slowly starting to dig into her skin.
"Stop delaying the inevitable! I will complete this symphony of screams!" Strings laughed, his eyes now glaring at Pinkie Pie.
"The foals! You foalsat the Cakes' foals! Pound Cake! Pumpkin Cake! Remember them?!" Pinkie Pie yelled, the strings suddenly slipping from her body. Strings sat on his flank, his eyes now fixated on the ground as the magic that surrounded his body slowly began to float away.
"Pound… Cake? Pumpkin… Cake?" he murmured aloud, the white light in his eyes beginning to flicker wildly. Letting loose a wild cry, Strings suddenly flung himself to the ground, grasping his head and began to thrash wildly.

"Strings!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing over to the downed stallion. The stallion suddenly froze, his body relaxing and his hooves dropping to the ground before a warm smile spread across his face. Pinkie Pie smiled, watching the unconscious stallion sleep before Zecora came galloping towards them, accepting Pinkie Pie's help and carrying Strings back to her hut.

"Aurora?! Vex?! Sweetie Belle?!" Rarity cried out, bursting into her boutique. To her partial relief, none of her materials or dresses were destroyed in the short lived fire.
"Up here sis! Hurry!" Sweetie Belle cried out, the white unicorn quickly making her way up to the attic. Upon entry, she gasped, finding Sweetie Belle struggling to prop up the unconscious sisters. Around the three, objects and other materials were scattered about the floor, either toppled over or even broken. Using her magic, Rarity hovered both mares to their bed, tucking the two of them in. As soon as she was sure that both mares were safe and sound, she quickly began to put things back in their original places. Sweetie Belle offered to help but her request was promptly declined.

Despite the filly's pout, Rarity quickly finished organizing the chaos and then turned to Sweetie Belle.
"What happened?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know! First there was this freaky sudden fire that just seemed to seep through the cracks of the door! Then suddenly I heard those two screaming in agony or something upstairs and rushed up there to see what was happening. They were possessed or something! Things were flying around and what not, some of them going invisible too, I swear! Then some of those things started to look familiar! It looked like a bunch of Opals! But then they turned back to whatever they originally were! It was so freaky!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, Rarity trying to comprehend the thought that the shy sweetheart Vex and tomboyish Aurora had a mental snap and caused all the chaos. However, seeing how Sweetie Belle's magic wasn't strong enough to cause such a mess, she had to accept the fact that the two ponies were indeed responsible. Glancing back at the two sleeping mares, Rarity gave an exasperated sigh.
"What ever is happening around here? What's happening to you two? What's going on?" she muttered, ushering Sweetie Belle downstairs to her room before throwing a final glance at the sisters. Shaking her head sadly, Rarity flicked the light switch. Darkness filled the room.