Chapter 13 - Sven's Past (Part II)

"My brother?! I can see him again?!" Silver Flare screamed giddily, quickly recovering her composure. Princess Celestia smiled at the sibling's excitement.
"Yes, he was the only successful stallion to complete our tests and has been allowed to reintegrate with the rest of Equestrian society," Princess Celestia explained. From outside the office, a few loud murmurs could be heard.
"I thought this was a private meeting?" Princess Celestia asked, turning her attention to the principal who quickly trotted outside to shoo away eavesdroppers.
"The thing is though that some side effects may occur due to the result of tests but other than that he should be the same stallion that he was when he left. Apparently the press already got a hold of the info and was preparing to release it until one of my guards intercepted the editor. The information will only be released through a special issue to your home. Your mother should've gotten it by now," Princess Celestia smiled, watching the mare jump up and down in excitement.

"That's all, you don't want to keep your family waiting now do you?" Princess Celestia smiled, waving goodbye to Silver Flare.
"I just hope everything goes okay after this," she mused, motioning for her guards to follow her as she left the office.

"Mom! I heard Sven's coming home!" Silver Flare screamed, bursting into the living room of her home. Silk Dancer, Octavia, and Vinyl smiled.
"We know! It's so epic! I've got to mix a track for him. I'm sure that whatever tests he was doing it was probably some lame classical music or something," Vinyl exclaimed, quickly turning to Octavia and giving her exception.
"I'll have to make his favorite egg omelets," Silk Dancer laughed quietly.
"I'll make that special brew of tea for him," Octavia smiled softly.
"I guess… I guess I owe him those four bits from two years ago…" Silver Flare sighed.

"Sven? That you? Hey! By Celestia's beard it is you! Hey! Sven's back from the dead!" a Royal Guard laughed, yelling for his friends. Sven had stepped off the carriage from the testing facility, finally arriving in Canterlot. His first stop was the Royal Guards Training Academy where his studies and training were abruptly cut short four months ago.
"Sven! Good to see you? Are you here to enlist once again? Or has all that testing made you soft?" Rain Runner chuckled, trotting over to his former trainee.
"Send your best at me and find out," Sven growled, suddenly feeling threatened. Oblivious to Sven's aggression, Rain Runner ordered seven of his best stallions to surround Sven.
"Attack!" Rain Runner ordered before a bright light engulfed the entire camp. As the light faded, the other recruits and officers gasped at the sight. Six of the stallions lay on the ground unconscious, bruises slowly forming on them while the seventh was being choked by Sven and held above the ground. Seeing how the stallion had passed out, Sven dropped him, his body making a heavy thud as it made contact with the earth.

"Got anymore?" he growled, Rain Runner significantly impressed.
"Sven, say goodbye to the Royal Scout Corps, and say hello to Celestia's Black Wing Recon Squad. Report here in a week. I assume that you'd want to catch up with your family and friends," Rain Runner chuckled, watching as the stallion left the encampment. As soon as he was sure that Sven was out of earshot, he turned to one of the captains.
"Inform Princess Celestia immediately."

"Where is he? He should've been home a while ago!" Vinyl complained. Luna's moon had risen already and the mares who awaited Sven's return were getting restless, Vinyl particularly.
"He probably got a bit lost. Who knows? Four months being tested, I know I'd probably forget a bit," Silver Flare assured, though nervousness laced her words.
"Octavia, you can stop playing the cello, just… come sit with us," Silk Dancer smiled softly, fighting against sleepiness.
"Why don't you just go to sleep Silk Dancer? We'll wake you up when he gets back," Octavia smiled warmly, handing the mare a cup of tea.
"Well…" Silk Dancer hesitated, not wanting to miss the moment of her reunion with her son.
"Mom, we'll take care of it, you need your rest anyway," Silver Flare assured.

Sighing in defeat, Silk Dancer trotted upstairs, placing a motherly kiss on the three mare's foreheads before closing her door shut.
"And now we wait some more," Vinyl sighed.

"Mmm… more pancakes please…" Vinyl drooled, slowly coming to from her pleasant dream. Blinking her eyes wildly, the white unicorn slowly rose to her hooves. It was morning, Vinyl had fallen asleep nuzzling up to Octavia on the warm rug while Silver Flare had passed out in one of the comfy chairs that resided in the living room. The smell of food being cooked wafted through the room, pancakes and blueberry muffins.
"Hey Vinyl! How do you like your pancakes? Plain? Chocolate chip? Blueberry? Strawberry?" a familiar voice called from the kitchen. Her magenta eyes widened as she met soft crystal emeralds that stared back at her. A long black mane blew gently in the breeze from the open windows. A small grin spread on the stallion's face.
"Well? Which one?" he chuckled, motioning to a platter of blueberry, chocolate chip, strawberry, and plain pancakes.
"SVEN!" Vinyl screamed, waking up the three other mares in the home. Without warning, Vinyl rushed towards the Sven, tackling him to the ground and laughing.
"Haha! You bonehead! When'd you get here?! We were waiting all night for you!" Vinyl laughed, tears of happiness leaking from her eyes as she nuzzled into stallion's neck.

"Vinyl, don't be so loud," Octavia yawned, trotting into the kitchen and freezing at the sight of her old friend lying on the floor with Vinyl a top of him. Chuckling softly, Octavia trotted over to the two, helping Sven up before hugging him tightly.
"Welcome home Sven," Octavia smiled warmly, Vinyl joining in on the hug.
"Girls… what's going o- SVEN! YOU'RE BACK!" Silver Flare screamed, leaping on her brother's back and wrapping her hooves around his neck.
"Girls? What's got you all so excit…" Silk Dancer questioned curiously before stopping midsentence as her eyes landed on her son in the midst of a group hug.
"Hey mom," Sven smiled warmly, the mares releasing him from their grasp and allowing the stallion to slowly make his way over to his mother.
"My son… my son is back!" Silk Dancer sobbed, throwing her hooves around Sven and burying her face into his chest.
"Yep, I'm back. Looks like I was the only one who passed," Sven chuckled, breaking the hug with his mother. Feeling like she should question what exactly Sven had to do, Silk Dancer decided to hold her tongue and simply smile at her son.

"Well? What are we waiting for? I made enough pancakes for everypony!" Sven smiled, trotting back to the kitchen to retrieve the food. The four mares simply smiled and followed Sven, all caught up in their moment of bliss to have the stallion back home.

"And that's what happened," Rain Runner reported, standing at attention before Princess Celestia. The white alicorn nodded, pondering the thought of what to do with this new piece of information.
"And you're throwing your vote in for him to join the B.W.R.S?" Princess Celestia asked.
"That's correct your highness," Rain Runner replied.
"I see. I'll allow it, but I'm trusting you to know when to terminate Sven if he gets out of control. The tests that were performed on him have most likely altered his genetic makeup and he'll most likely react more aggressively. If the situation calls for it, by your judgment, I want him terminated. Understood?" Princess Celestia asked, her eyes now burrowing holes through the commander.
"U-understood your highness," Rain Runner replied.
"That is all, you are dismissed," Princess Celestia murmured, thinking deep into the possible side effects of tinkering with Sven's genetic makeup. Bowing deeply, Rain Runner turned and trotted out of the room, leaving Princess Celestia to her thoughts.

"Well how does it feel to be back?" Octavia asked, trotting along side with Sven, Vinyl, Silver Flare and Silk Dancer. The five had decided to go out to lunch in celebration of Sven's return.
"It feels really nice actually. I hated those stupid white walls back at the lab," Sven replied, cracking his neck to relieve some built up tension.
"So Vinyl, how's my favorite DJ doing?" Sven teased, mussing up Vinyl's already messy mane.
"Oh you know, living the good life with my awesome marefriend and being ranked top DJ in Canterlot!" Vinyl laughed, Octavia cracking a smile.
"Should've expected as much. What about you Octavia? How's the orchestra doing?" Sven asked. Despite the fact that he was locked up for testing, he was often informed of what was going on with his loved ones or any other news that he wished to know, provided it wasn't something that was to remain private or secret.

"We're doing quite well actually, we've got another performance a week from now, I hope you'll come," Octavia smiled, pointing out a restaurant for the five to go to, Celestial Stars and Lunar Skies. The five made their reservation and began to wait to be seated.
"What about you sis? How's school?" Sven asked, curious to how his sister was doing academically.
"Things are going good, still ranking top in my class and I expect you to too!" Silver Flare smiled, playfully punching Sven in the shoulder. Sven smiled, suddenly noticing a Royal Guard approaching the group.
"Octavia? Take the girls to the restroom, just say it's for some girl talk or something," Sven whispered, the cellist looking at him confused before her eyes noticed the Royal Guard.

"Girl talk in the bathroom!" Octavia suddenly exclaimed, receiving strange looks from the other mares at the table.
"Girl talk? Since when have you ever been into girl talk?" Vinyl chuckled, suddenly being hoisted out of her seat and dragged off to the bathroom, Silk Dancer and Silver Flare following curiously. As soon as the mares were out of sight, Sven turned his attention to the Royal Guard who now sat across from him.
"You're a hard stallion to find," the guard stated flatly.
"Yes, I tend to like it that way, covert," Sven replied, "What do you want?"
"You've been drafted," the guard replied.
"By who's orders?" Sven questioned, his interest piqued. He had barely just arrived back home and was now being told that he'd be shipped out again! What would his family think?

"Her Majesty, Princess Celestia," the guard replied, his eyes locking onto three other guards who were approaching. Sven noticed this and glared at the guard.
"And you're just going to drag me away now? I'm in the middle of something called 'reunion with my family after four months apart since I was dragged away by you four'. Sound familiar?" Sven growled.
"Orders are orders. Don't refuse her request. That and Rain Runner cast his vote in for you," the guard replied.
"My ex-commander? What the hell was he doing talking to the princess?" Sven questioned.
"Classified. You are to be deployed into Princess Celestia's Black Wing Recon Squad. You have a week before we'll come to collect you," the guard replied, sliding a letter forward.
"What's this?" Sven questioned, eying the letter.
"Her official orders," the guard replied, trotting off with the other three.

The restaurant fell into a state of silence, all eyes on Sven. Growling, Sven signaled for a waiter to ask if she could check on his friends in the restroom. Within a matter of minutes, the four mares trotted out, their food being served to them. Smiles and laughs were exchanged between the five as the day carried on. However, Octavia could still not shake the unpleasant feeling that Sven was hiding more bad news from them. Deciding to ignore the feeling, Octavia let herself get lost in the happiness of the moment. Her friend had finally come back home and she was going to enjoy the time she had with him.

"What is this shit?!" Vinyl screamed, her eyes tearing up as she glanced over the letter that the guard had given to Sven. The four mares sat around the wooden table, the overhead light shinning on all of them. It had been a day since Sven was taken away in the middle of the night by eight Royal Guards, four of the eight restraining the mares.
"It's not fair… he was supposed to stay with us. And then they took him again," Silk Dancer cried heavily, holding Silver Flare tightly, recalling the that night…

BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Who could that be?" Octavia wondered aloud, trotting over to the door. Opening the door, the cellist saw eight tall bodies before she suddenly felt herself being grabbed and a hoof placed over her mouth. Struggling, she kicked her hind leg backwards, striking the assailant in the knee before galloping into the house, screaming.
"Vinyl! Silver Flare! There's int-" Octavia screamed before she was grabbed by her mane and slammed into the ground. Vinyl was the first to rush down stairs. Seeing her lover forced on the ground by a shadowy stallion angered her greatly.
"Hey! Let go of he-" Vinyl yelled before she felt a great amount of weight on her back and a leg wrap around her neck, choking her. Silver Flare and Silk Dancer ran downstairs to find their friends being held captive. Silver Flare screamed as one of the eight stallions grabbed her and pressed her against the wall. Silk Dancer felt a kick to her back, sending sharp pains through her body. Crying out in pain, she suddenly found herself pinned to the ground by another stallion.

The remaining four stallions approached the basement door, one of them knocking the wooden barrier down.
"We know you're in there Sven! Come out immediately," one of the stallions bellowed. When silence answered the four, one stallion slowly began his trek down the steps before a chair collided with his face. Sven leapt through the threshold, flipping backwards and smashing his hind legs into the faces of two other stallions, the fourth suddenly leapt back, pointing his hoof at the four mares who were being subdued.
"Come with us NOW! Or they'll suffer," the stallion ordered.
"Who the hell are you?" Sven growled, noticing the other three stallions rising to their hooves again.
"You had a week and you ignored it. And now we're here to collect. After all, you've been drafted," the stallion chuckled, the three stallions behind Sven suddenly jumping him. Pinning Sven to the ground, the fourth kicked Sven in the face, knocking him out. As they began to drag the unconscious stallion out of the house, the other four who held the mares rounded them up into a corner.

"Sven! No!" Silver Flare screamed.
"Give me my son back!" Silk Dancer yelled. Vinyl, still full of rage, tried rushing past the guards only to be kicked harshly in the chest.
"Give… him… back you bastards!" the DJ yelled, coughing harshly from the kick. Octavia tried to approach Vinyl only to be slapped by one of the stallions.
"If you know what's good for you. You'll all forget about him. Forget he ever existed. Forget he was ever here. Goodbye," the stallion spoke, suddenly throwing a small pouch onto the ground. The bag exploded, creating a thick white smoke that separated the mares from the stallions. As the smoke cleared, the stallions and Sven had vanished.
"Dammit!" Vinyl yelled, rushing back to the basement and then to the front door.
"They… they took my boy again…" Silk Dancer stuttered, her eyes fixated at the open front door. "Why… why did they do it?" Octavia sobbed, Vinyl quickly rushing to her side and comforting her. Sobs echoed throughout the house for the rest of the night.

"Sven! Soldier get suited up. We've got our assignments already, let's get moving!" a dark grey stallion yelled. Sven blinked, ripping his eyes from steamy mirror in the bathroom. It had been a year since Sven was taken away from his family once again and the stallion still held great resentment to the other ponies he worked with.
"Whatever," he muttered, trotting over and donning his black hooded cloak and grabbing his sword. Being the only stallion who could fight on his hind legs, Sven was specially equipped with a sword, courtesy of Princess Celestia. He refused the offer at first but was soon 'encouraged' to accept and use the weapon.

During his time in Celestia's Black Wing Recon Squad, Sven had received no letters from his family or friends. At first it was understandable, he could imagine how upset they would've been. However, after four months, he began to worry, though he kept it to himself. By the sixth month, some of his squad mates could tell that something was bothering him. The first member to ask him received a quick flip and a knockout kick to the head before Sven went back to pondering in his bunk. After that incident, most of the squad members tended to leave the stallion to himself. Sven sighed, looking at the letter he had just wrote to Vinyl, knowing that she'd never reply back to him again. Crumpling the piece of paper up, he tossed it onto his bunk before trotting out to the main camp grounds.

Luna's moon washed over each individual squad mate, giving them a mystic appeal in the dim lighting.
"Alright, listen up. Princess Celestia's Royal Scouts have reported an encampment of Changelings to the East. It's our job to sneak in and figure out what's going on. If you fall behind, you're on your own," the commander barked, "Any questions?"
"Yeah, when do I get to slit some throats?" one of the members chuckled.
"Stow it Water Drop! Alright! Move out!"
harbinger "What do we have here?" Sven wondered, watching a Changeling enter a massive tent. While the rest of his squad had slipped into the northern or western side of the Changeling encampment, Sven decided to take the south entrance. After slipping by some guards, a particular conversation caught his attention, resulting in him tailing a certain Changeling.
"You think the queen's plan will work?"
"It's got to. Those dumb ponies are probably too dumb to realize what's happening."
"Fair point. I'm going to go report back before she wonders what's taking me so long."
"Alright, see you later."

"Queen huh? This sounds big," Sven muttered, using his magic to quietly slip inside the tent. He made a mental thank you to the scientists who taught him how to use his magic before staring straight at the moss green eyes of the Changeling queen.
"Get him," she ordered, pointing a hoof at Sven. Before the stallion could react, six Changelings tackled him to the ground, ripping off his cloak and stripping him of his sword.
"How'd you see me? Hey! Give those back!" Sven yelled, angrily.
"Silence in the presence of Queen Chrysalis!" one of the Changelings yelled, kicking Sven in the side of the head. Chrysalis approached Sven, smirking.
"So it's just you hm? Nopony else?" Chrysalis laughed, extending her wings to attempt to intimidate Sven. Growling, Sven simply spat at Chrysalis's hooves, angering her.
"Such a barbaric action! I'll have fun razing Canterlot to the ground. And your loved ones too!" Chrysalis growled. Sven froze, his mind drawing up vivid situations where Vinyl, Octavia, Silver Flare, and Silk Dancer were killed during a Canterlot raid.

"So! Since you've eagerly volunteered yourself, I'll allow you to be the harbinger of destruction to Canterlot. Minions! Bring forth the crystal!" Chrysalis yelled, two Changelings approaching carrying a black and red crystal on a red pillow.
"And what's this? the jewel to your tiara?" Sven chuckled.
"No, just a little friend to keep you company and to occupy that little mind of yours," Chrysalis smirked, using her magic to press the crystal firmly against Sven's head. At first nothing happened. Sven grinned.
"Looks like your little trinket didn't wo-AH!" Sven roared, feeling pain surging through his body. Black and red strands of magic were violently flowing freely from the crystal, all of them attaching to Sven's body.
"This is Cruelty, call him an Element of… Disharmony if you will. He'll keep you company! That and probably cause you to break out into a violent rage whenever it deems necessary," Chrysalis laughed.

Anger suddenly began to surge through his veins, a sharp pain now chipping away at his heart and mind. He could feel something pumping through his legs and head. His eyes widened before everything slowly began to dim…

"Take him down! Take him down!"
"But sir! We can't get close enough to him! Those claws are ripping us apart!"
"I don't care! Find some way to kill him!"
The shouts and yells of Sven's squad mates and commander rang in his ears. Slowly coming too, Sven glanced around, finding the dismembered or mutilated bodies of his squad mates surrounding him.
"What happened?" Sven groaned, moving towards one of the frightened stallions A thrust from a spear quickly caused Sven to move back.
"What happened? Why are you all trying to kill me?!" Sven yelled, confused by the sudden hostility from his squad mates. Sure he didn't like them and he was sure that they didn't like him but he never tried to kill one of them.

Glancing down at his hooves, he found that they were soaked in blood.
"What? What happened?" Sven yelled, slightly frightened on the issue that he was soaked in blood. Four stallions slowly began to close in on them, their spears aimed at Sven's head.
"That's not very neighborly," Sven muttered, suddenly feeling a surge of rage flow through his body.
"Wait! What's happening to me?! AAAAAAAH!" Sven screamed before he slowly began to black out ounce again, the sounds of yelling and cries from his teammates filling his ears before everything slipped into a black void.

It had been two years since Sven lost control and unconsciously slaughtered the majority of Celestia's Black Wing Recon Squad. Ever since that incident, he was labeled a threat to Equestria and accused of committing treason towards the throne. For the past two years, he had been traveling from city to city, town to town, and even region to region. He had even snuck back into Canterlot under the cloak of night. Quietly trotting through the brightly lit streets, he found his home, some lights still on. Morbidly curious he trotted over to the kitchen window, peering inside to find Silver Flare sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea and reading a book.
"Still an egghead," Sven quietly smiled, softly now noticing his mother trotting into the kitchen to join Silver Flare.

Sven soon snuck around to the back of the house, quietly climbing up to the second floor to find Vinyl fast asleep in his bed. He noted how much his old room had changed since he gave it to Vinyl and Octavia. Smiling, he quietly opened the window and slipped inside. He was about to take a good look at Vinyl again before the door creaked open. A soft gasp was heard before Sven quickly grabbed the mare and covered her mouth.
"Shhh, they can't know I'm here. You understand right Octavia? I'm innocent, I swear," Sven whispered quietly, gently releasing Octavia's mouth.
"I don't know what happened, I felt something well up inside of me and then… well I blacked out. And this all happened after Chrysalis hit me with this strange crystal," Sven whispered, Octavia leading him to the bathroom so they could talk.

"I understand. Are you afraid that your mother and sister will react negatively to you?" Octavia asked, Sven shook his head.
"No, I just… I just don't think they're ready to see me yet. Not in this state and with this status that is," Sven replied sadly, glancing out the bathroom window.
"I understand. Well, it's good to see you again though. I've missed you, Vinyl has too," Octavia smiled, hugging Sven gently.
"Thanks, I've missed all of you. How's mother doing?" Sven asked.
"She's still doing well, not dancing as much as she used to. Age and all," Octavia smiled warmly.
"Understandable. How about Silver Flare?" Sven asked.
"Top THREE of her class," Octavia smiled.
"As expected," Sven chuckled, turning his attention to Octavia.

"And what about Vinyl?" he asked.
"She's coping still. She get's pretty sensitive whenever somepony brings up you or talks about you. I had to pull her out of a restaurant once because somepony was saying less than stellar things about you," Octavia replied.
"So basically nearly everypony in Canterlot hates me because of Celestia and that stupid incident where I was completely innocent," Sven muttered, Octavia sighing before nodding.
"Sadly, that's the case," Octavia replied.
"How about you? How've you been?" Sven asked.
"I've been coping as well. I miss you and wish you were back with us again," Octavia replied, hugging Sven.
"I know. But I can't come back to Canterlot, yet alone most of Equestria without Royal Guards patrolling around looking for me," Sven growled, glancing out the window to find four Royal Guards checking each house.

A knock on the door alerted Octavia and Sven, both ponies listening closely as the door opened and words were exchanged. Soon heavy hoofsteps began to sound throughout the house. Octavia turned to Sven, a look of worry on her face.
"I'll leave through the bathroom window, stall them as long as you can," Sven spoke flatly, quickly turning his attention the window and starting to crawl through it. At that moment, the door to Vinyl's and Octavia's room was thrown open, Vinyl yelping in surprise and turning to find the Royal Guards staring at her.
"What the buck do you bastards want now?" she spat hatefully, the Royal Guards ignoring her profanity and beginning to search the room. Octavia quickly came out of the bathroom, noticing that there were only two guards.

"Why are you here again? Come to take somepony else who's close to us away? Who is it this time? Myself? My marefriend Vinyl? Maybe you're after the studious Silver Flare or the beautiful Silk Dancer? What business does your kind have here?" Octavia venomously spat. The guards cringed at the coldness of her words before returning to the task at hand.
"Horsefeathers," Sven muttered from the bathroom, his cloak snagging a small part of the window and ripping. The noise was enough to make the guards quickly rush into the bathroom only to find an empty room. One of the guards trotted over to the window, glancing outside but seeing nothing. Returning to his partner the two left the room and returned to their search in other homes along with the other two stallions. Octavia sighed and trotted back to the bathroom, looking out the window. With no sign of Sven, she sighed sadly before her eyes noticed a piece of torn black cloth. Vinyl soon trotted into the room to find her lover looking at the corner of the window.

"What are you looking at Tavi?" Vinyl asked, curiously trying to see what her lover was staring at. Soon, she caught sight of the torn piece of cloth. A bittersweet smile spread across the DJ's lips.
"That idiot," she chuckled, leaning against Octavia, the cellist smiling before kissing her lover gently.
"Well, we still love him anyway," Octavia mused.
"Yeah, we still do," Vinyl smiled, leading Octavia back to their bed where the two of them fell asleep, pleasant dreams of the five being together once again.

"Hey there sugar, what's a stallion like you doing in a place like this?" Sven looked up from the his drink. An orange mare with an auburn mane and strawberry red eyes was smiling at Sven from behind the counter.
"Just passing through, looking for a nice place to settle down," Sven replied, keeping his face hidden by the shadows of his cloak.
"Well, Appleloosa is a nice place to start. My name's Golden Shimmer, but you can just call me G, babe. Speaking of which, what's your name cutie?" Golden Shimmer asked.
"Kozak. Just left Fillydelphia a week ago and just arrived here yesterday night," Sven replied.
"Kozak hm? Well, you're welcome to stay at my place if you don't have anywhere to bunk," Golden Shimmer smiled.
"Sure, why not?" Sven chuckled, downing the rest of his drink and reminiscing on the memories he made with his family.