---

---

I open my eyes to a white sterile looking room, I look to my right and see a beeping machine hooked up to me with wires. I then look to the window and see It's dark outside, so it's night time then, how long was I out? After looking around for a while, I lay my head back down. 'Arg, I feel like shit,' I think to myself.

I place my left hand on my chest and slowly heal myself. Once I'm feeling much better, I sit up on the bed and stretch my arms. I look down and notice I'm in a thin gown with my clothes beside me on a side table. I get up and get changed into my clothes after removing the wires. The machine then starts making a long constant annoying beep sound.

Once dressed the door flies open and Doctors and Nurses rush in with panicked expressions on their faces. I just stare at them with a raised eye brow. "What?" I ask.

"How are you standing? You were poisoned with a potent neurotoxin... it would take a week or two for your damaged nerves to heal," the Doctor asks flabbergasted.

I shrug my shoulders. "My healing magic is just better than yours," I reply, trying not to brag.

"Errr." The Doctor shakes his head. "Please sit on the bed so we can check your vitals," he tells me. I do so and he holds a device in his hand, it has a screen and two crystals on each side. He starts hovering it up and down over my chest and head, it beeps a few times and a green light turns on. "Your nervous system seems to be in perfect condition now, what ever you did fixed everything. Please wait here while we inform the Princesses of your recovery," he tells me.

"Where are the Princesses?" I ask.

"Princess Luna went to check on the guard in the medical wing while Princess Celestia is with the changeling prisoner," the Doctor replies and leaves.

I wait on the bed for the Princesses to arrive while twiddling my thumbs in boredom. Luna suddenly teleports into the room and instantly jumps me. "Thank the stars thou art alright," she says and kisses me.

She then breaks away and hugs me tightly. "I'm fine, Luna. I healed myself the moment I woke up... How long was I out for?" I ask her.

She lets go and sits up on my lap. "Thou has only been asleep for two hours," she tells me. Huh, could have been a lot worse. My stomach then rumbles yet again and Luna smiles. "Stay right there, we shall bring thee something to eat," she says and teleports away.

---

---

The changeling is just glaring at me. I had him chained to the wall with a special mouth piece to prevent him from biting his own tongue off, though I believe he's trying to starve himself since we can't force feed him the normal way. I've tried reading his memories, but he's got a barrier with magic I'm not familiar with protecting his mind, I can't break through it.

I hope Adrian awakens soon so he can 'nullify' it like he did before. A few minutes later the doors open. "Princess. Sir Adrian has awakened," a Nurse tells me.

For the first time in hours, I smile. "If he is well enough, can you bring him here please?" I ask her.

She nodded. "Yes, Princess," she replies and walks out.

I look back at the glaring changeling and smirk, making his glare turn to a frown. Soon... we'll know what you're doing here and why.

---

---

I sit on the bed next to Luna as we both eat a very early breakfast. "So what's happened since I've been out?" I ask her.

She swallows her mouthful and answers. "We have been guarding thee personally since we brought thou in. Our Sister has dispatched the other gryphons as well as kept an eye on our changeling assassin," she tells me.

"I see, so have you found out why he's here and who he's working for?" I ask.

"Nay, we have tried reading his memories already, but a powerful barrier is blocking our attempts and we cannot seem to remove it," she replies. "We have been waiting for thou to awaken so thou can remove it with thy 'nullify' spell, as Tia said thou called it," she tells me.

"Well I feel fine now and rested, and I really want to find out who wants us dead," I reply.

We open the door to see a Nurse reaching out for the handle. "Oh! Princess Celestia has requested for you in the Dungeons as soon as you can," she tells us.

"We thank thee for the message. Come, Adrian! Tis time we get our answers!" Luna says and I follow her to the Dungeons.

Along the way, guards are all over the place, running back and forth following Shining's orders. We arrive at the Dungeons and see Celestia sitting in front of the chained up Changeling, she turns her head at the sound of us closing the door and smiles at us.

"It is good to see you up so soon, Adrian," she says.

"It's going to take more then a knife to put me down. So I take it he hasn't been very talkative?" I ask as the changeling looks at me stunned. I guess he didn't think I would get up so soon.

"Not at all, I guess Luna has already told you, but we need you to remove a barrier that is shielding his mind," she replies.

"Sure, I'm not sure how it's still there after the first time I used nullify on him." I walk up to the glaring changeling and cast the spell. "Did it work?" I ask.

Celestia walks up to him and places her hand on his head. She frowns in concentration and then smiles, she then gasps and looks shocked.

"What is it Tia?" I ask.

She scowls and lets him go. "Prince Blueblood was captured in Manehatten and replaced with a changeling. He's being held in a Changeling Hive at the borders of the Badlands," she tells us. The changeling goes wide eyed and starts struggling against his bonds. Celestia's horn glows and the changeling passes out.

Luna and I look surprised. That would explain his sudden shift in behaviour when he returned! "Are we going to go rescue him?" I ask.

"Yes. You and Luna will go with three-hundred of our guard to retrieve him, but first, we must confront the impostor before he finds out what has happened," Celestia replies.

"Where's my gear?" I ask them.

Luna's horn glows and I'm fully equipped. "I really wish I could do that," I say with a chuckle.

Celestia then orders the jailer to keep the assassin chained up and prepare for another changeling.

We arrive at Blueblood's bedroom where Celestia quietly opens the door with her magic. Sixteen guards are behind us, ready for anything. They wait at the door while Luna, Celestia, and I sneak over to Blueblood.

I cast another nullify spell and his fur turns into a black chitin, his horn curves back, and his hair disappears which is replaced by fins.

Celestia looks ready to kill the guy in his sleep. I gently wave the princesses back and point my stave and right hand at the changeling.

I channel two cold elements into my stave while channelling a single water element into my right hand. I shower him with water which awakens him with a yelp, I then blast him with the cold elements and encase him in solid ice from the chest down. He struggles for a few seconds before getting angry.

"What is the meaning of this!" he demands, but then goes wide eyed. I guess he noticed his voice is now different.

Celestia ignores him and puts a ring on his horn and her hand on his head. He starts struggling, so I grip his horn and hold his head still. "Thank you," Celestia says to me.

The impostor tries to break free but can't move an inch. Celestia lets go and orders six of the guards to take him to the Dungeons.

"Now what do we do?" I ask Celestia.

"We formulate a plan to rescue our nephew. I got most of the hive's layout from the impostor, Blueblood is being held in the back of the forth level, I shall also draw up some maps and give Luna the same memories to use as well. You will go with her to cancel out the changelings guises and to protect her," Celestia tells me.

"Alright, what will you be doing?" I ask.

"I'll be looking for a way to get into Aries Peak so we can take out the gryphons Council. I should of kept one of the gryphons alive for information... but my anger got the better of me," she replies with a sigh.

"So what is the changelings connection to the gryphons?"

"The gryphons apparently offered them half of our populace as a food source and all of Equestria should they help in their invasion," she says.

Wait... If this Blueblood was a changeling... what about his guard? "Celestia, can you gather all of Blueblood's personal guard in the Throne Room and lock them in? There's a chance some of them could be changelings as well. Once gathered, I'll nullify the entire room, revealing any changelings among them," I tell her.

"That's true. Very well, head to the Throne Room with the guards here and act like you were summoned by us as well," she tells me.

I nodded and leave for the Throne Room, the ten guards still here follow behind me. We enter and I head over to the few guards already gathered.

One of the light blue armoured guards yawns. "What's going on?" he asks the man next to him.

"How would I know? I'm just as clueless as you are right now," he replies.

The first one who spoke spots me. "Hey! What are we doing here?" he asks me.

I just shrug. "I don't know, Celestia just told me to come here," I yawn and cover my mouth. "Said she had an announcement for the guards or something, I would rather be in bed right now though," I tell him with a tired expression, getting a few agreements and chuckles from the others.

After thirty minutes, all of Blueblood's guard are gathered along with some of the royal guard. Celestia and Luna walk in and stand in front of the throne and gesture me to stand with them.

"You are most likely wondering why I we have gathered you all here. Just a few hours ago, Sir Adrian and myself was just attacked by a changeling assassin along with ten gryphons. We have also discovered that Prince Blueblood was replaced with a changeling three months ago when he returned from Manehatten," she tells them.

The gathered guards start mumbling to each other. "So, I have gathered all of Blueblood's personal guard to find out which of you are changelings or not," she says and looks at me. "If you would?" she asks holding her right hand out towards the guards.

I raise my stave and cast the nullify spell. Four of the guards turn into changelings and the royal guard instantly pounce on them. They struggle but in the end are captured and have rings placed on their horns.

"Now that we have exposed the impostors, we are planning to attack the Badlands hive to rescue Prince Blueblood and anypony else held captive there. My sister Luna will lead the attack along with Sir Adrian Stormsword. Gather squads one, three, and six from each division as well as Captain Hammer Strike and Captain Bright Mind," Celestia tells them. "I want ten of you to take these changelings to the Dungeons and chained up," she orders the guards.

They Salute and head out to get the Captains and the squads. The changelings are dragged out of the room by their legs as they're tied up good.

Over the next two hours, the guard has been gathered, briefed, and equipped for the attack. Luna leads us to the back of the Castle to a place I haven't been to yet. It looks like a port with boats around it... except these boats have large balloons above them and propellers attached to the sides.

Luna leads me to the largest one that looks like a galleon with cannons all along the sides, two harpoon ballistas on the deck and a rotating cannon at the front. Luna's and Celestia's marks also adorn the sides.

There are also four schooner like ships as well as six sloops, they all have cannons, but not nearly as much as the galleon. I've been living here for months and I haven't noticed these?

"Where did they come from?" I ask Luna.

"Hmm? Oh, they have always been here, we just don't use them unless for emergencies or important meetings in foreign lands as they take a lot of magic and fuel to power. So they just sit here, waiting for a time such as now to be called into action," she tells me.

I watch as the guards get on board different ships. "Alright, let us be off and bring back our nephew."

Next Chapter: Chapter 24: Badlands Assault Part 1 Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 17 Minutes