"Well, here it is!" the Red Queen exclaimed, gesturing to a rather coarse-looking crate filled with various foodstuff ranging from exotic fruits, breads that were simply baked, and surprisingly enough, dried meat. Next to the crate was a rather fairly sized table which also had the previously mentioned food set on it, most of it being half eaten--presumably by the previous occupants.

"Huh. As expected," Chrysalis came in through the door after me. A scornful grimace formed on her face the instant she stepped foot on the wooden flooring of this seemingly random house. "those damned mercenaries aren't worth anything when it comes to rebuilding."

I nodded my head in agreement as I viewed the place around with a bit of contempt. Dust were everywhere. Countless of dust-mites were wreaking havoc on the lumber. There were still exposed areas of the structure that was blown off... probably from the siege prior.

There were some holes that were boarded up, but it was repaired in a manner that so lazy that it would've made the presumption that the one responsible for it was some ten-year old. Light was seeping from the covered up holes, but what was more concerning was that the wood used in boarding up the breaches are brittle.

Brittle to the point that a single punch might be able to break it.

"The tears in the wall are covered up by one to two planks of lumber..." Chrysalis said as she eyed the poor attempts at repairing. "The wood is either damaged by termites, water or by magical blasts." Just as she said that, her look became annoyed. "Did they actually reuse the house's already damaged parts in order to fix this!?" Chrysalis said aloud, clearly taken aback.

"Oh come on! No need to complain." the Red Queen cried out. "At least the place has food in it," she stated as she darted for one of the many fruits laying on the table before taking a large bite from it.

"What a lazy way of storing food," I said as I pointed towards the crate. Examining the food-filled crate, I took a cautious whiff of the scent exuding around it. The smell was surprisingly pungent, but nothing too aggressive. Most reassuringly, however, was the fact that it did not seem to be spoiled. "At least it's not rotten..."

The Red Queen chuckled. "The fruits here are far from their expiration date. I didn't really pay attention to the name of these fruits, but for now, let's call them Gryphon Fruit." Taking a bite from said fruit, she continued, "As one would expect, gryphon territory is quite uninviting. One would have to travel days, if not weeks to reach from settlement to settlement. In order to avoid food from going bad during their travels, they bred these."

Discarding the remains of the fruit she was eating carelessly onto the floor, she scooped another one in a cracked bowl with her hooves. Taking a casual bite, she shrugs. "What? I spend a lot of time with the gryphons. I know their stuff."

"I see," I deadpanned as I eyed on one of the fruits. Glancing at it, I hesitated on whether I should eat it or not. Suddenly, my empty stomach coerced me into taking a nibble. The skin was soft as well as the flesh. It was quite juicy. Red juices fall to the floor as I took another bite. "It's not that bad, actually." Reassured with the acceptable flavor. "Hydrating and filling... I can see why gryphon mercenaries use this for rations."

Chrysalis continued on inspecting the place. Much to her disgust, she was met only with more inadequacies. "Gryphon mercenaries in collaboration with minotaurs," Chrysalis said in a tone of disgust. "They're basically paragons of recklessness and laziness. This... what ever this is, is not surprising, to say the least."

"There were ponies, weren't there?" I asked, a bit of befuddlement plaguing my mind. "I take it that they're more organized when it comes to this. So why is this place a complete travesty to look at?" I said. Taking a look around for myself, I nearly tripped over a stone shard inconveniently placed on the floor that was among other similar shards.

Unfortunately, I let go of my grasp on the fruit by accident, sending it hurling towards the floor. With a splattering of juices everywhere, the fruit instantly became a victim to dust and dirt residing in the floor. Dismissing the lost of a fruit as a pester, I reached for another one.

"Ah." The Red Queen spoke out with her mouth full with food, "You see, they actually set up tents in the outer region," she pauses as she gulps down the food she was chewing on, "those tents are more... orderly." Like a glutton, she chomps down a piece of meat. Swallowing it, she continued. "But, since the attack is over, they probably packed up their things and left. They're probably licking their wounds back in their precious Canterlot."

"Well, that's a disappointment." I sighed as I grasped one of the chairs. Suddenly, upon mere contact, the chair collapses. Its legs fell to the floor slumped. Somewhat startled, I reached out for another chair. Making certain that it was stable, I sat upon it.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a shadow of something small scurrying into a hole, making a clanging sound as whatever it was bumped into something metallic. Chrysalis reacts to this almost immediately. "A rat." She ignites her horn with an astounding amount of energy before continuing, "I loathe rats."

Within seconds the atmosphere became heavy with condensed power alarmingly quick. I could feel the sheer intensity burning with fervor in her horn. "Wait! Don't you think you're being a bit too hasty?" I yelped out in distress. With that amount of power, she'll raze this place to the ground with us in it!

"A bit too hasty? She's going to decimate this place," the Red Queen stated.

"That pest must be eradicated," Chrysalis stated absent-minded. She takes a step forward towards the room where the rat scurried off to, building up even more energy.

I rose from my chair in a panic. "Please don't say that you're going to blast it out of its hole! You're going to demolish this place, burying us in it!"

Chrysalis sighed, as she dispelled the energy she has channeled in her horn. Taking a deep breath, she sat down on one of the chairs. "Sorry. I really, really don't like those nuisances. I've... had a terrible experience with them in the past."

Keenly, Chrysalis' eyes darts around the place with restrained bloodlust displaying within them. "There better not be another one. The last thing I want to be is going to be sleeping in a rat-infested house." Snarling, her horn flared up once more. This time, however, the energy was faint. It seems as if she's actually suppressing her power.

Turning her head to me, Chrysalis spoke, "Now'd be the best time for you to take a rest. I'll keep an eye on her." She eyes warily on the Red Queen who simply rolled her eyes in response.

"Eh? Are you sure? Wouldn't that be too bothersome?" I pondered into more grim thoughts. "What if she sneaks up on me while I'm sleeping and stab me in the throat?"

"Ha!" The Red Queen laughs almost giddily. "You kidding? I've not a single ounce of magic left in me. It'd be plain suicide if I do something risky like that." With that, the Red Queen resumes eating.

"Yeah... Exactly," Chrysalis skeptically glares at the other queen. She turned her attention to me as she spoke, "Go ahead. Find somewhere to sleep. You've been fighting since from the entire morning until afternoon."

"Against me and the princesses, no less." The Red Queen claps her hooves as if to commend me.

"Right, right..." I slowly make my way upstairs. "Hey, Red," I called out to the Red Queen. Her ear perks up as she turned her head to me.

"Hm?"

"Don't do anything fishy, got it?" I stated.

"Wouldn't even dream of it," she said as she stood up from her chair, doing a mock salute to me.

I couldn't help but notice the murderous glare stored in Chrysalis' eyes as I continued ascending the staircase. "And Chrysalis," I spoke out. Responding to this, Chrysalis took her scowl off the other changeling and directed her face to me. "Don't... Don't kill anybody, okay?" I said as I stepped out of view as I head out for the second floor.

Chrysalis sighs. "He said that I'm not suppose to kill anybody. If I suffocate you to unconsciousness, will that be fine?"

Red looks cautiously at Chryalis. "Okay, okay. I get it. You're a bit pissed off. How about we move on, alright?"

Chrysalis groans. "Injuring you would be ill-advised, so I'll prevent myself from doing just that for now." Heading into the other room where the rat is last heard from, Chrysalis shouts out, "Come on. We have to remove the pest."

Shaking her head, Red follows Chrysalis into the room. "To think everything was going so fine..."

I woke up, a feeling of cold lingering in my body. Spinning my head around, I saw what made me woke up; an opened window. Stepping on the floor, I made my way to close it, however, I stopped midway from closing it.

The sun drew to its end, the moon taking its place high in the starry horizon. The sounds of what normally emanates from the forest; the crickets chirping, the cries of the owls, the snarls and howls of predators were unfortunately completely gone, courtesy to the Everfree's total obliteration. The night's natural ambiance was effectively gone--replaced by a depressing atmosphere.

Instead, I was met with a chilling, listless sound of the freezing winds of the night whirling through the barren land that was known as the Everfree. It's much more depressing than one might think, actually.

I sat alone in the second floor of this random house that was thankfully not razed during the battle that took place here. Gazing through the window sill at the charred corpse of the Everfree, I sighed with a mixture of boredom and slight anxiety. 'Anxiety? No. It isn't that... but what is it then? Could it be depression--no. Not that. Gah. It just feels so indescribable. I'll worry about this later.'.

I suppose I shall attend to the feeling that I can identify--boredom. I was bored, surprisingly enough. It was rare for me to actually get bored, considering that being hunted down constantly would frequently bestow me much, much the opposite of it.

I'm still a bit shaken up from the encounter with the Red Queen, so I can't exactly sleep. Oh, and the fact that the Red Queen is alive and is my short-term companion makes it so that sleeping is not an option. Aren't I just lucky?

"No sleep for me it is then," I said, groggily getting myself up from the bed. "If only there was something I could occupy myself in." Looking through the window, I felt somewhat adventurous. "I feel well-rested anyways."

The only thing illuminating the room that I was in was the moonlight streaming from the many cracks on the ceiling that was no doubt caused by the past magic bombardments. It's going to be really difficult trying to find something to entertain myself if I can't even see. No worries, it shouldn't be far too difficult-

Not noticing a stray wooden plank protruding from the floor due to the poor visibility, I tripped over it. Without time to react, I was helpless to recover from my impending fall.

"Argh!" I yelled out as I fell down to the floor. The boarding cracked and snapped as I landed. Regaining my senses, I cautiously began to stand up. "That was rather-"

Suddenly, the floor below me suddenly gave way as it began to cave in. Seeing this, I reflexively responded by nimbly sidestepping just in time for me to avoid falling down to the first floor as the floor itself crumbled and collapsed. Sounds of wood and dirt hitting down the boarded floor played out constantly, filling the empty, dark streets with its noise.

Peeking downwards into the newly formed hole. I see two familiar faces--Chrysalis and Red--staring directly at me.

"Just as I thought... This place is much worse than it looks."

Red sighs at her fellow queen. "Now's not the time for that. There's something quite distressing happening?"

My eyebrow arced in skepticism as I hear those words. Jumping down the hole, I landed somewhat roughly on the coarse dirt below me, causing a cloud of dust to go everywhere. Coughing, I asked, "What do you mean?"

Chrysalis answered, "She is assuming that the Elements of Harmony have been retaken by Celestia in order to use them as her trump card against you." Chrysalis shrugs as she notices my lack of understanding shown in my confounded face. "I assume you don't know what the Elements of Harmony, yes?"

"Yes. So can you please fill me in with whatever those are?"

Chrysalis sighs. "I thought they simply existed in the world of rumors at first, but I was proven wrong. My espionage agents have not only reported to me that Celestia used those relics in order to defeat Nightmare Moon, but she managed to overcome many different opponents as well with them."

Red shakes her head. "No. Celestia herself didn't use those relics, her little underlings did."

"I'm having a hard time believing this, because last I've heard, her underlings returned them to that damned tree," Chrysalis stated.

I repeated in a confused manner, "That 'damned tree'? Mind giving me an explanation, please?"

"The Tree of Harmony. I know it's cliched, but it does exist. It's over there somewhere," Chrysalis points towards the direction of the castled. "During sometime ago, the tree has supposedly lost its magical properties, so in order to revive the tree, Celestia's underlings, bestowed them to the tree. If I knew more about that tree, I'd tell you. For now, let's presume something awful is going to occur if we don't return those Elements back to the tree."

"Ah. It's too late. Something bad is already occurring," Red stated. "Go see for yourself," she said at the opened door.

Heeding her gesture, I went to the door. With a slight push, the door was now wide open. The sound, or rather the lack of it, was the same. The trees remained the same; charred and dead. Suddenly, I was struck by something alarming. The air around the forest seems to be warping and shifting around. What was most off-putting, however, was the steadily rising amount of arcane power within the forest.

"Pardon me, I should have said feel it for yourself," Red corrected herself as she bowed to me in a jesting manner. "Judging by that startled face of yours, you can sense the awfully large amount of magic within the forest, right?"

Chrysalis steps towards me, her eyes squinting as if she's examining me. "I'm surprised... I didn't think you could be able to sense it."

Red replies, "Ah. He's been blasted by an awfully potent spell by the princesses. Maybe he assimilated some of it into his system?"

I dismiss the overwhelming feeling of magic radiating from the trees in order to face the two queens. "We can talk about this later, but for now, what is exactly happening? If Celestia knew this would happen, why'd she do it?"

Red giggles suspiciously. "I actually know why," she stated.

Both Chrysalis' and my glare fixated on the Red Queen. Seeing this, Red finally answered, "Celestia and I talked about this a while back. If the all-out attack on you failed, she'd have to use the Elements on you. I tried to dissuade her, saying that there'd be a lot of dead bodies if she ends up taking it back." Red shakes her head as if disappointed before continuing. "She said it was too late. That she already had enough research done to convert those objects into weapons, and that she conjured a spell that she had personally threaded herself."

"But doesn't she care for her subjects above all else?" I asked. I briefly turn my head to view Chrysalis' reaction to this. The concerned glare on her suggests that she was going to ask the same question.

"That is true, but she did say this: "If I do not use the Elements, the killing will simply continue. I must stop this at once,'" Red said in Celestia's own voice as she mockingly posed in a posh stance. "Also... do you know of those underlings, Chrysalis?"

"I know that there are six of them, and that one of them recently ascended into being a princess... but that is all I know, despite my spies' best efforts," Chrysalis said in a defeated tone.

"Well, if you must know, one of them was personally taught and, if you think about it, raised by Celestia to a certain extent. She was... basically a daughter to Celestia. During the first time you," she points her hoof at me, "arrived here in Equestria, you caused a lot of panic. They had to evacuate Ponyville... They persisted on staying to help fend of your little pets, but Celestia told them otherwise. So, obeying their master like the obedient dogs they are, they rode on a train."

My glare intensifies as beads of sweat ran down my head.

"Unfortunately, their train had an unwanted guest hiding within the train. With the little pest problem they had, the train went off-rail, and of course, wrecked itself. It wasn't long before it was intercepted. Their bodies were never found, so Celestia assumed that they were dissolved into puddles of acid."

I continued staring at her, my jaw agape. 'I killed Celestia's beloved student?'

"Oops. I wanted to keep this a secret a bit longer, but oh well. Now you know why Celestia is so pissed off at you."

Chrysalis snaps back from her trance as she spoke, "This is bad. If Celestia is in fact this dead-set on killing you, we must not make waste of our time. We must advance to Canterlot."

I shrug off the daze-like state that I was in. "Wait. Is there anything possible for me to do to revert this... corruption from spreading?"

The Red Queen simply walked by me. "There are two options, really," she said without looking back at me, "Celestia kills you and returns the elements, or you kill Celestia and return the elements yourself. Either way, both of them are going to be inevitably bloody."

I looked downwards, contemplating. Finally, after what seem to be several seconds, I snapped out of it. "There's no good if we just stay around here. Let's get moving."

Nodding, the two queens went ahead. I followed behind them. Nothing but the sound of our footsteps could be heard in this barren town. "...I-I can't even... How am I supposed to decide?" I muttered to myself as I vanished into the darkness.

Author's Notes:

One more chapter, and I'll work on my other stories.

Pre-readers:

TLSmokey

Note: Pre-readers wanted (obviously).