Two full days passed rather uneventfully. Phebe and Black spent most of their time searching the books. They came across one other letter written by Celestia, but it was unfinished. What was finished was unreadable. The rest of their reading provided some practical information for magic use, but not helpful enough to fend off the Guardians. They also gained some historical and scientific information, but they satisfied curiosity and no more.

Artemis and half the Changelings focused on mapping out the Everfree. While remaining completely hidden, they managed to find the boundaries of the forest, the house of a Zebra, the lair of a Dragon, the swamp, a few Timberwolf dwellings, and several locations for food. In case of Guardian attack, they would not be hampered by their surroundings at least.

The other half determined to make a home out of the castle. As best they could, they developed the kitchen into a full-fledged storage room, transformed a basement room into a cozy bedroom, and modified the throne room to a meeting hall. The first required the most effort, while the other two need simple and easy changes for the needed accommodations.

On the second day, Black spent the afternoon in Ponyville purchasing more food. He was there much longer than needed to acquire the supplies, but no one questioned him about it.

Lastly, somewhere along the way, Artemis and Black were having discussions clearly denoted by the fact they would regularly disappear simultaneously. Because of what Artemis had said before, Phebe determined that he was asking Black about marriage.

A third day came along. This day, something major occurred.

“Kirk Briar is here!”

Even from the library, Phebe heard the shout. “Kirk?” Dropping the book she had been scrounging through, she darted for the throne room. When she arrived, Artemis Reform and another Changeling were speaking with their long lost brother. “Hey!” Excitement abounded in her voice. If Kirk is here, then I imagine Dark is as well. “You made it!”

Kirk, lacking the armor he had when he had left, turned to her and grinned. “Phebe, it's good to see you.” He came up to her and hugged her briefly. “We were just catching up on details.”

Artemis specified, “I was just telling him about Dodge.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Before you get further, can I ask about Dark Shade?”

“Ahh... yeaahhh.” A mix of anxiety and excitement fluttered about his expression. Before Phebe had time to get worried, he explained, “It's all good, but you'll never guess where he is right now.” While he went on, Phebe drifted a little closer as if to better hear. “Under his disguise as Balc Rigger, he was asked to join Celestia's Royal Guard.” Artemis' eyes shot wide-open, Phebe jolted backward, and the other Changeling fell over. “He... accepted. Right now, he's training for duty as one of Celestia's personal guards.” Then Phebe flopped onto her back.

“That's insane!” Artemis objected. “If he gets found out, he could be killed!”

“He... doesn't care.” Kirk shrugged, then smiled, and finally chuckled. “Last time I talked with him, he was as happy ever. He knew the risks, but he wanted to it. He said he wanted to disprove the bad name Changelings have, and that would be how he would make up for betraying us to the Guardians. I haven't seen him since he told me that.” Phebe picked herself up—barely recovering from her astonishment . “As for me, I found a cave below Canterlot. Well... it's the cave our Queen entrapped Princess Cadence. Nopony goes down there, even after our attack on Canterlot. It's not much, but I'm teaching myself the spell that'll allow us to pass through walls. Our Queen was the only one who knew how to do that, but I think I might be able to eventually. If I can, then we can escape the grasps of the Guardians into that cave. Though... it seems you found a save haven anyway.”

“Yes, indeed, they did,” Black said walking up from no where. “Sorry to interrupt.” He moved to Artemis and pulled him a side. The conversation between them was hardly quiet. “I'm going back to Ponyville. I need to check on something. It may prove to be helpful... or a wild goose chase. Nonetheless, I'll be gone awhile.”

“Okay. We won't worry, if you stay missing for awhile.” Artemis jabbed Black in the side. “If you don't ever come back, then I'll just assume one of your accidents ended up fatal.”

“Hah. Hah. Funny.”

The Changeling grinned and sneered, “Actually, I wouldn't need your approval anymore, if that did happen.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Exactly,” Artemis returned. Though Star readied to answer, he found himself unable to come up with a retort. “Heheh, get along then. We won't expect you for lunch.” Black grumbled to himself before teleporting away. Artemis returned to the other group. “Okay, you should know about the situation here, Kirk. I'll need my second-in-command to be prepared for whatever may come.”

Kirk cocked his head. “Second-in-command?”

Reform nodded very slowly. “Yeah... you still have the position set by our Queen.”

“Right... okay.” The other hesitantly stepped forward. “Then, I suppose we should get talking.”

“Yup.” Artemis then began rehearsing the ordeal in Dodge City after Kirk Briar and Dark Shade left.

Phebe didn't stick around to listen since she already knew everything about it. She returned to the library. “Kirk is back. Dark is doing well,” she told herself. Contentment hovered above her mind, nearly in reach. She was certainly happier knowing that they were well, but the Guardians still posed a threat. She couldn't relax yet. Unable to solve her concerns at the moment, she returned to studying.

Another set of days passed, and in these days, peace and prosperity abounded. The Guardians neither showed their faces nor any signs of their existence. Plus, thanks to the combined ideas of Phebe, and decisions of Artemis, the money stretched a whole extra week. She recommended relying more heavily on the Everfree's food supply, and as efficiently as possible, he put that suggestion into action. Furthermore, they created a cozy enough home for themselves in that broken and dingy castle.

Despite these positive indications, the bad news, though only one piece, outweighed the good. After searching half the books in the library, Phebe, Black Star, and some other Changelings could not find anything useful to fend off the Guardians. Interestingly enough, pages had been ripped out of dozens of them; all of those books carried information either on history or lore. In other words, the only books that might have had anything about the Guardians had pieces taken out. Black Star concluded that the information of the Guardians had been deliberately removed from these pages. Whether this was true, Phebe could not confirm in any certainty.

Overall, even though so much went well, if they could not find a method of defeating the Guardians, she and her people would be unable to have victory.

“Ugh... this isn't going well at all,” Phebe groaned as she finished skimming another book. “Any luck, Black Star?” She looked to the mysterious stallion sitting at the table with four different books in front of him.

Without looking at her, he replied, “In terms of finding a solution, no.”

Great. Giving up for the day, Phebe carelessly threw the book onto the floor. I am fed up.

“We're going for a walk.” She gave him a look, but he was still focused on his reading material. “Actually, scratch that. There is a certain librarian we need to see.” Phebe allowed her head to drift into a sideways tilt. “Come.” Black teleported beside Phebe. “You'll want to hide your element.” He strapped the earlier saddlebags to her back, took the Element, placed it in one bag, and then teleported with her in his grasps. They landed in front of Twilight's library. “Here.” Neither he nor she cared if somepony saw them. He normally didn't care about details, as she learned over time, and she was simply too disgruntled to care. He knocked gently. A little Dragon answered the door. She didn't recognize him, but Black did. “Hi, Spike. Is Twilight home?”

The Dragon nodded. “Yup. Lemme go get her.” He left, and moment later, the purple Unicorn entered the scene with the flash of her teleport.

“Did you do what I asked?” A heavy tone jumped from Black's throat.

Taking a heavy sigh, Twilight stated, “Yes.” She motioned for them to enter. After they did, she shut the door. Phebe scanned the host's expression, and she noted how Sparkle reflected exhaustion, anxiety, and frustration all at one time. Whatever Black had asked her to do, it was a great strain to her, but regardless of that strain, she seemed to be holding herself together. “What do you want to know about first? The Changelings or Hypatios?”

Phebe blinked. Her ears wiggled. What did she just say?

“Hm...” Black Star took a strong but brief gaze into Phebe's eyes. He successfully drew her attention; though she didn't fully understand what he tried to get across, she determined to stay silent due to his stare. “Let's hear about the Changelings.”

“All right.” Twilight lit her horn, and thereafter, a scroll floated in front of her. “I dug up what I could. It's not much but...” She read aloud what she had written down. “The Changelings, if allowed to feed off the love of a Unicorn, will drain that Unicorns magic.” She added, “That happened to my brother.” Taking a deep breath, she resumed reading. “If that Unicorn has another source of magic on them, like the Alicorn Amulet, then theoretically, the Changelings will feed off the amulet's magic because it is mixed with that Unicorn's. If enough has been taken from the amulet, then—again theoretically—the amulet's power can be completely drained. It is possible all magic-empowered items can be drained in this manner.” While Twilight wrapped up her explanation, Phebe tried to grasp what was being said. How was this important? And why would Black have her look into the matter? “That's the best I could find. It's not even definite either.”

Black bowed his head briefly. “That is undeniably a helpful piece of information. You've not told anypone else, correct?”

“Spike knows some, but only because he helps me find the books. Otherwise... I've kept it a secret.” Another heavy breath escaped passed her lips. “Not my best friends. Not even Princess Celestia.”

Black bowed. “Thank you.” Then he bowed to the floor. “No, thank you. You're trusting me a whole lot especially after all the damage I've done, and I cannot describe to you how valuable that is to me.” Twilight gave a little smile. Once he got up, he pressed to the other topic. “Hypatios?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nothing. If he existed, there are no records about him.”

“Or they were destroyed,” Black muttered. “Okay. Thank you for that. Then, my question is... how can I repay you? You've done so much for me, and I've been only trouble.” He outstretched a hoof.

Immediately, Twilight's demeanor shifted from the tired, serious one to that of over abounding energy and lighthearted glee. “Nothing.” Confidence rolled off her tongue. “Friends don't 'repay' each other; we are simply kind without expecting something in return.”

Nearly falling over, he went stiff and wide-eyed. This caused Phebe a bit of amusement; he rarely if ever saw him stunned. “Uh... wow. Just show me up, why don't you.” He chuckled. “Okay, Twilight... friend, I don't need anything else. Thank you again. We'll get out of your hair.”

As he turned away, Twilight reached out a hoof. “Wait.” He turned back. “I do have one favor to ask. My friends and I have been talking, and we would like to have a dinner with you.” Grin. “We once had a person we were trying to befriend. He was much worse than you... though a little similar in the chaotic sense. Having a friend changed him, and since you look so lonely and glum all the time, we thought it would be nice for you to have dinner with us. Would tomorrow night work?”

Flatly, Black returned, “No.”

Both Phebe and Twilight jolted back. The latter, still baffled by his snap reply, stammered, “W-uh, uhm... when would work?”

“Never.”

“What?” A hint of anger, revealed partly by lowered eyebrows, touched her tone. “Why not?”

“Heheh...” He put a sideways look to her. “So many reasons... too many to ignore. We'll be leaving.” His mouth curled into a cocky smile. Twilight didn't say anything more, nor did she try to stop. He exited out the door. Phebe glanced back and forth between the two. Due to their brighter attitude on life, she didn't necessarily like hanging around Twilight and her “gang,” but she wouldn't refuse dinner like that. Though, she knew even her scars could not compare to his. His past still haunted him, and whatever that meant it kept him from enjoying the company of these kind ponies.

In attempt to give Twilight some closure, Phebe explained, “He has had a rough life. I think he may be afraid of getting too close. I'm sorry.” The host nodded slowly. “Thank you for helping him.” Hoshana took after her “father.” Once outside, Black took her and teleported back to the castle library. “Woh.” She didn't expect to go so quickly. “Hang on.”

“You're going to try to convince me to go the dinner.” His sentence flowed in monotone.

“Uh, what?” She actually wasn't going to. “Black Star, slow down. What's wrong?” Even as her question came out, Black's forelegs began to wobble. A droplet fell from his face. “Oh...” He tried to walk away, but she put a leg on his shoulder. “You're not going anywhere. If you teleport away, I'm coming with you.”

“Just leave me alone.”

“No.”

“I said, leave me alone!” He swatted away her hoof. Immediately, she put her other hoof upon him. A deep throaty growl flew out next. “BACK OFF!!!” She did not obey. “Fine. FINE.” His eyes poured out a waterfall of tears. “I'm not just... I can't.... there is no way that I can be with her...” He choked on his own words. “I can't... so much... so many...”

“What are you babbling about? Just spit it out, Black Star.”

He spun around to face her. “STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Spit flung into her face. She was unfazed, however; all the physical and verbal abuse she had received in her life had hardened her to this kind of thing. Realistically, his words were minor compared to the harsh treatment her biological father gave her. “Gah... stupid, stupid. I can't spend time with her, all right?”

“Why not?”

“It's not okay. I-I...” He couldn't put out the explanation. In addition to the tears, nervous sweat ran down his face. “I can't...” He continued to quake. “I'm done with that!”

“I get it.” Despite his incoherency, she recognized at least part of the problem. He was attracted to Twilight. Having lost two wives and a fiance before them, he had scars from losing those close to him. He didn't want to lose any others. Perhaps there was more, though.

“No, no! No, you don't!” He slammed a hoof into the ground causing a dent in the cement floor. “I love her! She's so... perfect! I can't do it. Might I lose her? Yes... yes! Might I also corrupt her with my foul temperament and violent behavior? Yes! What else can go wrong? If I lose my focus... I might lose you too. The Guardians are still a threat, and I can't back away. I can't step away in any way.” He stomped the floor five more times. “I'm not happy. I want to be married, though! This isn't good enough for me. GRAH!” One more pound on the floor threw a crack across the whole floor. “It hurts so much. I failed those first two wonderful ladies... and the third I could not keep. I don't even know where my kids are! Are they alive? Are they dead? Who knows? Who even cares?”

He proceeded to laugh, “Ha. Hahahah! Hehehahabwahahah! I care! I CARE! Does anyone else? Anyone? Maybe, but it's never enough. I can't be allowed happiness in my life. The one thing... the one thing I want to have while on this mortal plane is to settle down for a family. But, no. No! Hah. HAHAH. You know what that is? That's the voices... laughing at me. 'Look at that poor sap. His God has forsaken him.' Of course, my God has not, but where is he?” He let loose a roar of frustration. “Where is my God? I can't get myself a wife. I cannot earn his favor to make him get me one either, but I'm suffering... suffering endlessly. Why did he make me with a desire as this and yet to never have it fulfilled? Does he enjoying torturing his children? Is that where I get my sadistic nature from? Eh!?” He marched half way down the room and then back. “So, you know what? Oh well. Too bad, I'm in pain.”

The tone of his words changed. He no longer carried sorrow or pain in them, but he wielded anger and bitterness in exchange. “I won't let that stop me. I won't back down just because I hurt. Those Guardians have attacked the few that I do have. They harm what I care about.” He calmed a bit and the volume of his voice lowered considerably. “I'll do whatever it takes to stop them. If I have to kill them one-by-one with my own bare hooves, I will. If I have to deceive, pillage, and maim, I will. Heh... hahah! That's my voice laughing at them. 'Look at those poor saps. They have forsaken their God.'” Immediately silence fell. Black Star became straight-faced staring off into space. “No. No no no.” This time bewilderment overturned his attitude. “Yes! No.” He stepped one way. “Yes!” He stepped the other. “No. Hah! Yes!” Phebe was genuinely confused, but she let him speak. “Hah! I can't believe I've been missing that the whole time.” He faced his daughter. “Phebe?”

“What?”

“Answer this. Why are the Guardians called the Guardians?”

“Because... they're to protect something?” She wasn't sure. She had not given too much thought to the topic.

“Exactly. So, what were they protecting?” He questioned, but she shrugged due to a lack of knowledge. “Well, remember I looked into the Canterlot libraries? I found two mentions of Guardians. One was a group who oversaw a land in the south. The best we figured was that that land was the Badlands.”

Phebe's brain cogs twisted at an increased rate. “All right. Where are you going with this?”

“Well, the Badlands aren't lush anymore, right? Now, I know why.” He smiled greatly. “The Guardians failed in tending their own land. That was their one responsibility, and they forsook it. The Badlands fell apart because of their irresponsibility.” He hopped back and forth. “That explains why they appeared in the Badlands first. That's their land that they failed to keep together. Hah! One puzzle piece solved.”

“How are you so sure?” Phebe provided a good point. While Black Star provided a logical explanation, he lacked proof that would cement his hypothesis. He couldn't know for certain.

Despite the fact he couldn't, he answered, “I just am. Operating under that fact, not assumption... we might be able to figure out a bit more.” He strode gleefully to the nearest book shelf. “I'm going start reading right now.” He grabbed some literature, placed them on the nearest table, and began to dig in. Before he got too far into them, however, he gazed up at Phebe. “Pheebs, you're good. Real good. I don't think anyone else could have convinced me to go to that dinner. I'll talk to Twilight tonight.”

Huh? She had not idea how she accomplished that, but she didn't not object.

“Thank you, and I'm sorry for yelling at you.”

Her shoulders lifted and rolled. “I don't mind. I learned a thing or two, I suppose.” Actually, she did. One, he had an interest in Twilight Sparkle which would explain his visits to Ponyville, two, he had children which likely explained his desire to have her as a daughter, and three, he had lost children which explained his unrestricted defense of her and the Changelings. She tried to tally up some other things she had learned, but those three filled up her mind completely. She could retain no more information from that conversation. “I want to talk with Kirk some more.” More like she wanted to get away to mull over things, but she did intend on talking with Kirk.

As she left, Black Star called out, “Wait. I forgot one detail.” She turned back to him, while he put down his books. “Did anything Twilight share prove helpful?”

Phebe shook her head. “I wasn't sure how her information was relevant.”

He pointed toward her and then slightly down. “You can't get your element to work, right? Do you think it's because of the Changelings? You may not have noticed, but they have been feeding off our love for them.” Recollecting what Sparkle had said, she looked down at her necklace. “It does make sense, but...” He motioned to her indicating for her to speak.

“Well, perhaps...” In the midst of cycling through her memory, she noted, “What she shared was inconclusive, though, and I wasn't been able to use it on command when I first got it which was before I met the Changelings. I don't think that's the cause.”

He nodded while replying, “Okay.” Before returning to reading, he commented, “Twilight doesn't know you have an Element, nor does she know that we're tied with the Changelings. I simply asked her to check on a few things for me on faith that I wanted to do the right thing.” He chuckled to himself. “I didn't expect her to do so. She is a surprising one, indeed. Anyway, that's all for now. I really want to find some answers.”

“Okay.” Phebe strode away from the library. After some looking, she found Kirk and pursued some chatter. She merely wanted to catch up.

Author's Notes:

This is getting surprisingly close to the finish. I have no idea when I'll be done. Still, I will finish this eventually and do a sequel. You would probably kill me if I decided not to do a sequel, though.