Author's Notes:

MUHAHAHA as I said I am crazy another extra chapter today, enjoy. If I crank out alot more chapters that arent published I will release more chapters early like these two, but till Wednesday enjoy.

Can I go back to sleep now.

NO! you sleep when you are a doctor!

But I don't go to a medical school.

Then you will never sleep.

Psycho.

The Alter Accords

Chapter Nine: Murder and Guilt

The train ride was rather soothing even if everypony and Spike was excitedly chatting, Velox found himself often nodding off for minutes at a time. Something about the lazy and rhythmic thumping and the rumble was soothing to him, most likely reminding him of a more excited version of the wagon home he shared with a mare so many years ago. As such it was a hip bump that slowly brought him out of his stupor as he heard the girls talking.

“-nothing by it, just tryin’ to wake em up.” All the girls were smirking, except AJ, Spike was looking confused and the mare who was the exception was blushing.

“I-I’m awake now.” It was said with a yawn and a shake to his body to get it moving again. He gave a wince as he felt some of his healing muscles protest as well as a twinge of pain from his still healing ribs.

He found himself suddenly being helped and supported by AJ, an action he found her doing a lot lately and normally would have bothered him, only he found himself being soothed by the mares scent, a combination of a honest working mare with an underlying scent of apples and…something slightly spicy at times that he couldn’t identify.

“Easy there Sugar, ya are still walkin’ off that beatin’ ya took.” The freckled mare said to him and while normally he would have been content to just lean on her and enjoy that scent she pleasantly radiated he seen some poofy hair slightly deflate and had to correct that.

Straightening himself up, he gave a smile and pushed out his chest and wings. “Na I don’t need help right now. Just need some fresh air to get into me and I will be right as rain, or a puddle whichever is better.”

The use of his new nickname that Pinkie had given him had perked her right up returning her poofy state which no one noticed had vanished since the eyes were on him at the moment. With that they all grabbed their bags with smiles and continued off of the train.

Twilight, being the stickler for schedules and charts she was, pulled out one of those said lists and began talking to the others. “Alright everypony, I have written out a nice list for us to go down that should let us all get to and see things in Canterlot we want to see, along with some extra time in case of emergencies or if something nice comes along.”

Everypony and Spike groaned at the except for Velox. “Nice Twilight, I haven’t been to Canterlot before so it is kinda nice to have a tour guide and tour schedule already made for this.” He blinked when they all groaned again at his words. “What?”

The first step though was to visit the palace and get settled in since they all had rooms reserved for them at all times, well except Velox but Twilight had mentioned if it’s a problem one of the girls could share a room with another and he and Spike could take their room. While he didn’t want to be an inconvenience more then he already was, the pegasus couldn’t find any way around it if it came to it.

Velox was lazily looking around the palace as they had gone through the main gate since last time he was here as Novo he had been in a rush plus he had a lot on his mind so he couldn’t take in the beauty of the place. It really was amazing in a lot of ways, but for some reason something kept nagging at his mind, so much so that it raised the fur at the back of his neck in worry.

“Twilight, why is everypony looking at RD, Flutter, and me all strangely.” It was a simple question he was sure there was an explanation for that would make the fur on his neck settle down.

However the look on the lavender pony’s face kept the fur at his neck up. “I don’t know, that is strange though, I wonder if something is going on that we don’t know about.”

‘Dang I wish I was Novo or Lego right now, they are better at reading others then Velox is.’ The ponies that all looked at them strangely also gave them a wide birth as they settled into their rooms. “So now we head to the throne to say hi to the Princesses right?” With a nod Twilight showed them the line of writing on her list that confirmed that with a grin. “Alright then, let’s not keep them waiting.”

On the way to the throne room the looks they got turned from nervous to suspicious and it nearly made Velox want to tackle one down and ask them ‘The buck is the problem!’. ‘Maybe Day and Night can help us here; they have to know what is going on to make everypony jumpy like this.’

The guards had almost denied them entry to the throne room when they had noticed it was Twilight who was in the lead of the group. “Awfully jumping aint they Sugar.”

AJ said quietly to him, for some reason he didn’t know she had started dropping the cube part when talking to him. “No kidding, just about ready to jump out of their skin if we so much as blink the wrong way…I don’t suppose that the Princesses would be mad if I-”

He had to drop that line of thinking as the doors to the throne room opened and there sat the twin rulers of Equestria, though to be fair it was really only one sitting the other was half dozing as she wasn’t used to being up at the day time. “Greetings my little ponies, it is so good to see you all.” When they all greeted her with Princess and Luna the same way she smiled. “We are all friends here so you don’t always have to greet me as a Princess. You can refer to me casually if you all wish.”

None of them wished it though it seems as they each in turn said ‘Yes Princess.’ Well not all of them. “Ok Sunbutt.”

All eyes turned to Velox as he said that, most with a gasp, a few guards leveling their spears at him, but most of all was the glinting laughter in the two Princesses eyes. “Oh that is rich, Sunbutt.” Luna said loudly causing a mass look of confusion that they weren’t angry or offended.

Celestia, now Sunbutt, looked to her sister with mirth in her smile. “You realize sister dear, that if I am Sunbutt, that makes you Moonbutt.”

This of course caused all the ponies that had gasped at him, to gasp now at her, while the guards were completely confounded on what to do. “To be fair Sunbutt, she always displayed her moon openly so it’s no surprise.”

Apparently with the rulers playing into the joke it helped to play into it as well as Dash and Pinkie just burst out laughing hearing that. The laughter seemed to be infectious as well soon all ponies of all stations were soon laughing.

Sadly it wasn’t to last as a messenger ran into the throne room and hoofed over a scroll to Luna who sobered up quickly and showed it to her sister. “I am sorry my little ponies but this will have to be the end of our visit, while I normally wouldn’t say this to avoid causing a panic, I would take it as a personal favor if you all stayed inside the palace grounds during your visit.”

With that they were escorted out of the room and back to their quarters.

Twilight was trying to redo her schedule for the evening, with Spike’s help of course, so that they could get just as much in within the palace grounds as outwards. Fluttershy was out in the animal gardens trying, or retrying as he was told, to friend the animals. Rarity was content in the palace as she got to go around and rub noses with some of the more fancy ponies that came there, well almost all of them, but he understood why after a quick meeting with a stuck up Blueblood, a meeting he was sure that if he had to do more than once he would strangle that stuck up stallion.

This left a quartet of ponies from the group that was not taking their captivity well. “Soooo boring.” The cyan flyer said, normally the others would try to cheer her up but considering most of the group right now agreed with her they just voiced similar opinions.

“Darn tootin, ah mean if ah would have known we would be pinned in like this ah would have just stayed homed and bucked more.” Applejack had her hat off and as she had thrown it to the ground in a huff.

Pinkie Pie wasn’t fairing to much better as at one point the group seen her actually bouncing up a wall, there were no questions hurled towards the pink pony but one dark blue Pegasus did hit his head against a wall. “Twilight can I see the old schedule?” Twilight was too busy to respond, mostly muttering to herself as she levitated the outdated time table to him. “Ok well I know what I am doing.” Taking the paper he smiled and looked to his other bored friends. “Care to join?”

Pinkie had stopped bouncing wherever she was at before and appeared in front of him. “But didn’t the princess say to say in the palace grounds?”

RD came to sadly agree with her. “Ya, she said not to go out.”

“No she didn’t.” The smirk on his face was wide. “She said she would take it as a personal favor, and while we should, it’s not right to have our vacation interrupted I think.”

AJ had her hoof to her chin. “We did drop our plans to come here to relax.”

The flier who had been getting stronger hovered for a moment with a smile, seems her grumpy attitude was slightly relieved hearing this. “You are right, I mean I could be training or something.”

“I thought you were on break from training Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie stated evenly only for her friend to huff.

“Exactly we all need this, and if nothing else we will only go out for an hour or so, can’t get into much trouble by that point right?” Velox asked them, but unfortunately the universe was listening and it loved to prove ponies wrong like this.

Velox sat in jail with a bandage around his head where a growing knot was forming making his head throb in the most unpleasant of ways. Blood was all over him as he had not been allowed to wash as of yet, worse yet the blood wasn’t his own.

“You say you are innocent when we caught you redhoofed, the blood of your victim was all over you when the guard found you. What is more the victim is still alive, when she comes to we will find out just what sort of sick bastard you are. But then again I am sure when she comes to she will tell us how right we were to arrest you.” The royal guard member told him even as he kicked him in the gut causing all the air in his lungs to leave him. “I seen you with the Element Bearers, I bet the rainbow one or the model was your next target, getting all close to them so they wouldn’t suspect you, I heard them trying to defend you, you seem to have them all wrapped around your hoof you disgusting worm.”

A hoof came down on the spot between his wings causing him to nearly squeal out in pain and he felt it again and a third time before the stallion was pulled away by another identical guardsman. “Hey pal take it easy.” The heavy hoofed guard walked away muttering as his friend came over to help Velox up. “Look buddy, we caught you redhoofed, even with the bearers trying to back you up, you went missing before they found you long enough to do what you did to her. I am not saying you are guilty, but right now everything is pointing at you so even if you were to try to defend yourself you are just making it works. Best to confess and try to get a better deal for prison cause how it looks right now you are going to be banished to Tartarus.”

Velox knew what was going on, standard good guard bad, guard policy to get him to confess but he wouldn’t, because he wasn’t guilty. The silent treatment he gave them just cause the two to switch out, which would be the regular thing for nearly an hour before they had to leave.

They gave him a warning that he wasn’t to tell who done this and he would have chuckled if it didn’t hurt to do so. ‘You all look the same in that enchanted armor you assholes, couldn’t pick you out of a crowd if I wanted.’ They must have known about his injuries prior as they had stayed away from his broken ribs, but not anything else.

Closing his eyes he would remember what had happened to lead up to this. RD, Pinkie, and Applejack all went to a bar with him to down some drinks. For Dash and AJ it turned into a competition that decidedly neither of them won forcing himself and Pinkie to start carrying them back to the palace half passed out.

It was then that things turned sour as they were approaching the last turn to head to the palace he heard something and asked Pinkie to watch AJ who had elected to hang on him while rambling drunkenly something about lassos and the barn to him that he couldn’t make heads or tails of cause of how slurred it was and how she would often just randomly stop talking and picked it up later as if she never stopped.

Heading down an alleyway he thought he heard a muffled scream and he bolted down it coming around a dumpster he found a hooded figured standing over the downed figure of a mare who was passed out and badly cut up. “The Buck do you think you are doing?!”

The smile that came from under the hood of the garbed pony was a nasty yellow that gleamed sickly. “Well, well, well, you are the last pony I thought would catch me first, though maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.” The voice was gravelly and harsh sounding as if it came from a throat that ate too much gravel in its lifetime, or smoked from a pipe way too much. “But don’t worry, I won’t attack you at least not till I finish up my goal. It’s the least I can do to prove who I am.”

Velox was about to stop him when fog seemed to form around him and he vanished from sight. He went to check on the mare and found she was still alive but bleeding badly. The thought that he should go get help came and left almost as quickly as the wooden end of the spear that hit the back of his head knocking him out.

‘None of it makes sense, he seemed to recognize me for sure but I have never heard his voice EVER.’ Shaking his head to clear his thoughts proved to be the wrong move as it would make his vision swim in a way that he was sure he would pass out if he hadn’t stopped.

He would later get treatment from a unicorn helping out his injuries and even healing his ribs up a bit more than they were to the point that the unicorn said that ‘A few more of these and you will be completely fit to stand trial.’

That worried him as no pony had come to talk to him since the beating and if the healer was talking of a trial it meant he was the prime suspect and the one whom was thought to have done this and they had enough evidence to prove it.

The only visitors he would get was the following day after he had been nearly healed to full almost wishing there were more unicorns like that one to go around to heal ponies. “We wish to know the truth Velox, are you the one who is doing these most vile of acts.”

It was the Princess of the Night; she was with two others he couldn’t see thanks to them being in shadows. “Princess, I won’t lie, I have killed before, I have done so when lost to my own self but I can tell you I didn’t do this. I don’t know who did this but they seem to know me which worries me to no end.”

The pony of the moon looked to her left and she received a nod, looking to her right she also got a nod. “You are telling the truth, but tis unfortunate because the evidence won’t believe you and thus your piers won’t believe you when you go to trial.”

Velox stood up to that and nearly shouted. “What evidence, all the guard that hit me seen me checking on the mare before I was about to go get help.”

She shook her head and sighed. “There is more than just that.” He was about to ask her when she instead told him. “This atrocity had been happening for the last few days, and coincidently right around when you were released from the hospital. What is more there is a dark blue feather that was left at the scene of one of the attacks that matches your coloration. As it stands right now there is more evidence, mostly circumstantial but it will all still point to you, especially once your abilities come to light.”

Twilight was robed and hidden in the shadows with her truth spell active was to Luna’s left, AJ with her innate ability to tell if somepony is lying was robed and on the right in the shadows. So far as Twilight could tell he was telling the truth, he wasn’t the one responsible though she knew that, though it did disturb her to know that he had killed a pony before. She watched with her friend as the Princess asked him several things and talked about what was going to happen, Velox couldn’t see it from where he was but she could, AJ was shedding tears as Luna had told them even if he is found to be not lying the evidence was staggering and he would most likely find himself in Tartarus.

“My abilities?” She heard her friend ask from behind the bars of his cell.

Luna would nod. “At the crime scene there appeared to be attempts to wash the body of the victims each time, as such it leaves a lot of water behind, along with the lacerations your Current skill will most likely come to light and-”

“Wait…you said water all over?” when she nodded for now ignoring his interruption he frowned and muttered something that Twilight barely heard as ‘-can’t be right.’ “Was there anything else strange about the victims?”

The unicorn could understand his need to know wanting to try to solve the problems and prove his own innocence from here but it wouldn’t work like that for him she thought. “Yes, besides ending the attack with cutting the victim in two-” the words nearly made Twilight gag as she imagined it. “The murderer would also attack only pegai and remove one of their wings, always on the right side.”

The shocked look on Velox’s face concerned her and she was about to get something for him to throw up in as she noticed his coat pale in color all over. “No…” She would watch as he shook his head and seemed to suddenly go mad and shout. “NO!” he would glare at the princess with a look of pure fury that she had never seen him hold before even when she had teleported at the end of his fight with the Manticore. “You have to let me out Princess. You have to let me out right now!”

They were all startled at this sudden change in their friend. “We cannot let you out Velox we am sorry. Come along my servants we need to report to my sister what we have learned and let him calm himself.”

Twilight left with Applejack right beside him, just as shocked listening to him yell out loudly to let him out though as they walked out neither saw Luna’s horn glowing.

‘I have to get out, I can’t let this bucker keep doing this.’ He looked out the window of his cell and seen it was starting to head towards evening, sun was to set soon and he knew he had to act now. ‘Thank you unicorn guy I never got the name of.’ He thought as he shifted to Novo and looked at the bars of the window. ‘Should be just enough room for me to squeeze through as Novo, not Velox though with his wings and definitely not Lego.’ His horn would glow green as did the bars for a moment before they were turned to iron dust and he hopped up to start to squeeze through.

He was nearly through the bars when he heard the clop of hooves coming down the hall and right as he landed on the outside he heard the voice of the brutal guard shout out. “The prisoner has escaped, THE PRISONER HAS ESCAPED!”

It wouldn’t look good by a long shot for sure but he didn’t care. This was more important than his own life, this was more important than going to jail. This was about keeping a promise he made long ago.

Starshifter was in his Pegasus form and he was traveling through an area that brought so many bad memories to his mind that he had to stop sometimes and just let his emotions out, letting the tears of loss flow through him and outwards. He couldn’t stop himself, he had to visit the scene as he always did whenever he came to the canyon.

Finding the pile of rubble still in place he smiled as he went down the rock tunnel he had made those years ago. “Hey Cascade, I am back and still searching, but no luck. I think I am going to have to go overseas to get any hints, I could go to Canterlot but again the thought of Celestia there gives me the heebie jeebies for some reason.” Star was looking at a grave he had made for her after he had transformed into his unicorn form the first time. Bringing out some flowers he always managed to get even if he had no plans to stop by he laid them on her tombstone and began to gather up the cleaning supplies to clean it off. “I miss you, but in a way since your words are always with me, I always have you looking out for me.”

He had just about finished when he heard clopping coming down the tunnel even as he summoned his Current to surround himself with water. He was still angry beyond believe at those who had done this and had imagined himself more often than not doing to them as was done to him and Cascade but worse.

It was a dark blue Pegasus that appeared carrying flowers in his mouth and tears in his eyes though those eyes became filled with fear as he seen Star. “Who are you? Why are you at my sister’s grave!”

The rage that had been building up inside him slowly vanished when hearing that. “Sister? You knew Cascade?”

The Pegasus wiped his eyes and moved to set the flowers down on the grave though looked surprised to see it was cleaned and fresh flowers there before his. “I take it you also knew Cas?”

Star gave a nod and soon they were retelling how they both knew the darken mare. Star told the pony how Cascade had rescued him and taught him things after he had lost his memory. How he was on the search for it currently and how he was there with Cascade Night’s during her last moments.

The dark blue Pegasus with a lighter blue mane smiled and was glad somepony had made his sister laugh and was there so she wasn’t alone. The Pegasus had a five point star on his flank that had a multitude of four star point chains wrapped around it. He had revealed he was also traveling to know more about the world.

They had stood at the grave for two days talking and reminiscing about the one lost that they had become great friends so much so that Star did something he didn’t do anymore. He shifted in front of him letting him know his secret. He tried to teach him how to shift but it turned out only Star could do such a thing, so in the end it came down to being able only to teach him one thing.

They were on the road and had stopped for that day when it came up. “I call it ‘The Current’.”

Novo was searching the city now, he knew where ‘he’ would go right before he would search for his next victim. “Someplace overlooking the city to get a lay of the land, normally a cloud would do but…ya I don’t think he can do that anymore. Either that or an observatory to see the stars.”

The unicorn would think for a moment and decided to ask about the observatory first, thinking if it was elevated enough it might serve both purposes. He came across so many snobby unicorns that didn’t want to give him the time of day and he was getting tired of it. The thought to lift one up to get answers out nearly come to fruition till he got a rather nice couple that was walking together.

“Oh of course, my daughter used to go there at night to look up at the stars, though its not really visited anymore.” The mare with a gray coat and a lavender and white mane told him. “Dear mind giving him the directions?”

The Stallion just smiled and his horn gave a glow as he pulled out a quill and parchment. “Here you go, I hope this helps.”

He bowed to both of them something he didn’t like to do but considering the importance of this he felt it was appropriate. “You two have no clue how much this helps.”

They smiled and waved off the bow as they told him it was no problem at all as he walked away. “What a nice colt dear, think we should try to set him up with Twilight?”

The blue coated stallion shrugged causing his dark blue mane to rustle. “I am not much of a match maker dear you know that.”

Novo was already out of hearing range though and focused on where he was going to hear that though.

Velox as he was now named just had come from the latest photo shoot from Photo Finish, something he was hating more and more as it kept happening. Though luckily she had to go back to Manehatten for now but told him that they would continue next time he was there. Something he told himself wouldn’t happen no matter how much he needed the bits.

“Hey S-” his voice rose to call to the cabin he walked towards from the quant village only to find the place had been torn up. “Oh no.”

Running outside he started calling out for his friend and somepony he considered a brother. Worry was coming stronger and stronger as he took to the sky to find him before spotting him in a clearing surrounded by other ponies.

“I won’t let you get away with what you have done you bastard!” came the voice of the larger stallion as he rushed him.

The Pegasus though was using the Current and easily dodged him with a smile. “I didn’t do anything your daughter didn’t want to happen, you should tell her to stop teasing and playing hard to get though if she really didn’t want it.”

Another pony rushed at him from the side only to be dodged. “Want it? Want it! You raped her!”

Velox nearly lost a beat and dropped a few feat in the air as he listened to this thinking it couldn’t be right.

“So what if I did?” the ground plummeted towards till Star managed to remember to flap his wings again finding tears in his eyes hearing his ‘brother’ mention his own guilt. “We both had fun, she got what was coming to her for teasing, and what is the problem I mean I am strong, it’s our right to take who we want if we are strong.”

Velox couldn’t believe his ears, his soft hearted kind brother, the one who wanted to be stronger to help out, was no abusing what was taught to him. It sickened him to know it was his fault that he did this, what was worse, he should have seen the attitude change, but somehow he didn’t, either he had hid it well or Velox was just blind to it.

“But since you all think you are stronger than me and look to cause me harm, here is some taste of true power.” The light blue maned Pegasus flapped his wings hard sending out a shotgun blast of water pellets that hit the ponies in the sides hard enough to draw blood as they fell to the ground.

This broke something inside Velox as he dove to the ground and tackled his brother, his student, and his friend and started to pummel him with hooves. “How could you?!”

Velox chest hurt as he got hit with two hardened water balls that pushed him off. “Star you shame me, after all I did nothing that she didn’t want. Are you going to believe them over me?”

“You shot them!” He found himself shouting. “They are family trying to protect their own, and I HEARD you admit what you did. They have a right to want to beat the ever living shit from you!”

The Pegasus he was furious at stood up and gathered more water as his look turned angry. “You are just like them Starshifter, you are just like my sister, and you are just like the village, ignorant of the world, you think your way is the correct way even when shown otherwise. You gave me the tools to show others my path and I will do so by becoming the strongest Pegasus in the world, stronger in magic then even unicorns with this current.”

Velox had tears in his eyes as his brother had been so corrupted he had forgotten he was taught that for protection. Gathering up his own Current he coated himself in water. “Then you will be the first star I shift ever my friend, I will end this path of yours and show you another, or one of us will die today.”

“Then if that is the case I will end your path and I will be the Starshifter!” the pony charged as he yelled out in anger.

Novo had switched out and was now Velox once more, he didn’t care that he had to fly past a patrol and gave them the slip as he headed towards his destination, all that mattered was who was waiting for him. ‘I will stop you like I did then, even if I die this time instead of you.’

Velox stood over the downed Pegasus as he panted they had battled for a good while ending up near the cliff edge that was overlooking a nearby forest, a tourist spot the village had set up to attract ponies to their town even if it rarely worked.. “You lost, you couldn’t hold your Current nearly half as long as me even if you consider the time you spent with the villagers back there. I am stronger and I am telling you, stop this now before I have to do something permanent.”

There were tears in his eyes and it was what made him react slow to the buck of the back legs that the former brother gave him knocking him back before taking flight, now able to do so thanks to the current no longer being active. “I will never give up my path, I will grow stronger then you, I will kill any who try to stop me, and you can’t stop me, I am a faster flyer then you and you know it hahahaha.”

The ironic part was he was right, Velox was slower in flying compared to him but it didn’t matter. “This was to be your next lesson but I guess you will never know it.” He said nearly silently to himself as he used the current to launch upwards into the air, using it as a spring board to send him hurtling above the pony that was flying away and no longer looking at his backside.

He turned in the air too late after hearing a whoosh before the bladed wing came down and took his own right wing off at the first joint.

A look of disbelief crossed his face even as the blood tumbled between them in a long string. “Why?”

The look of betrayal was kept on that face for too long even as the body came down through the trees below the long drop. “Good bye-.”

“Star Bound.” Velox called out to the hooded figure overlooking the city in his robes.

Turning and pulling off his hood that same yellowish smile gleamed at him. “Hey there brother, I see you finally remember me.” Came the same gravelly voice as before. “I have missed you and was hurt you didn’t remember it was me, after all you took something so precious from me and left me to die.”

Bound held out his stump of a wing on one side and smiled. “I left you to die because you were out of your mind, seeing you hear now means I should have looked for your body to make sure you wouldn’t live, but I couldn’t bear the thought of my brother’s dead body and that I had caused it.”

There was anger in the violet eyes of the former student as he shouted. “Brother? Brother?! A brother would have understood my goal and my drive, a brother wouldn’t have cut off my wing and let me drop hundreds of feet to the forest below where the rocks nearly crushed my throat.” The Pegasus would pull his cloak down some to show the scares on his throat. “But its ok I forgive you my brother, cause if you hadn’t done what you did that day I wouldn’t have realized what being a Starshifter was all about. Now, I am a Starshifter.” Pointing down to Canterlot below he smiled even as the sounds ponies rapidly coming up the pathway caught their ears. “These ponies don’t know how good they have it, the privileged ones, the unicorns who think they are better, they rejoice cause they think this ‘killer’ only targets pegai, but that is what I want them to think, for soon I will make sure to hit them all, showing them that even with their precious magic they are no use against the strongest Starshifter in the world. After all its what you taught me that day, for when you end the path and life of a pony that you shift their star. So I will make sure the night sky will soon be devoid of all stars that shine less then my own!”

Rainbow Dash with her friends along with plenty of guards had arrived and was hearing the two ponies talk. One she knew was her friend and the brother of her teacher, least till the training went further. The other was the voice of a pony she had never heard before, a pony whose voice sounded like a cheese grater.

The guards, herself, and her friends, heard the voice confess its guilt as they came closer and closer to the top of the pathway. ‘Yes Velox is clear and free with that!’

Dash though simply even as the talking continued. “-So I will make sure the night sky will soon be devoid of all stars that shine less then my own!”

No pony there thought that was good sounding as they came to the top to see Velox staring down the pony with light blue mane and a coat similar in color to their friend’s. “Stop right there dirtbag!”

One of the guards stated only to get the sound of pellets hitting him quickly and dropping down and spurting a few times before he was dead. “See my brother, I have become a lot stronger than ever before.”

Dash was stunned, she had seen Velox use the current to kill the manticore but seeing a pony dead from it was another thing. “Dash, I want you to know something, I did teach somepony before and this is where his path led him.”

The cyan Pegasus looked up from the dead pony to her friend to see him looking at her with concern. “But-but-”

He shook his head. “This is what he is doing with it, when I taught it to him I told him, it was meant to be used in self defense, to never harm another unless they mean you harm, and to never take a life unless it was your last choice.”

She watched as the moisture gathered on his coat as he activated his own current. “Not very fast are we there brother.”

Dash didn’t like how this pony called him brother. ‘If Velox is telling the truth then they knew each other before sure, but brothers?’

“Though I am surprised you took such a weak looking mare as your new student, maybe its her flank, it does look rather firm, I wouldn’t mind a ride for sure.” He smirked and caught the punch of the hoof that Velox threw at him “Did I hit a nerve there or are you remembering the past, how I don’t mind mares who tease?”

Velox gave a yell of rage as he threw another punch and another as Bound kept catching them and tossing them aside. Everypony watched as the whooshing started and the dark blue Pegasus seem to vanish as he rapidly moved from one point to another only to be intercepted each time as the one winged Pegasus caught him each time.

“So fast.” Came one of the voices of the guards, watching the display with wide eyed amazement and horror look on their faces each not able to believe anything could move that fast.

Bound just laughed hearing that. “Its cause I have spent every waking moment perfecting my art in the current for the last few years. My ‘Master’ here only uses it when he needs to and is woefully outclassed now.”

To prove his point he started doing the same maneuvers that Velox had just tried, only much faster landing nearly every punch before throwing him down before them bleeding from multiple cuts from how quick the hooves had bite into his coat. “Ya you’re definitely good, and you definitely have mastered this form better than I have.”

Bound smiled a type of smile of surprise and of genuine pleasure hearing that. “Well thanks Star, good to hear you finally admit I am better, but now it has come down to reparations for damages dealt, which wing should I take?”

He was standing up just as Dash was about to jump in when she heard the pony talk about removing wings, she wasn’t going to let a friend go at this alone. “I said this form you have mastered, doesn’t mean you have mastered the current, Tartarus I haven’t either, but I have discovered more of its secrets then you.” Standing up firmly on the ground now he looked towards Dash and smiled. “Dash, if you ever get to this point in your training, with or without me, you must follow these rules. Never use what you are about to see for yourself or for your own gain.” She watched as something seemed to happen, the blue glow that always took him when he was using the current was brightening. “Never use this to harm another living thing.” The glow started to spread to the water making it turn white and a little hard to see. “And only use it on another thing, living or not, if they intend to harm others, these are the rules of ‘The Current’ at level two.”

Both Dash, Twilight, and even Bound spoke at the same time. “Level tw-”

Only to be cut off as a flash of lightning blinded their vision. When it cleared all those watching gasped as replacing the dark blue Pegasus covered in water was now a Pegasus who was glowing so brightly they appeared white, lighting covering their body as if it was a second skin occasionally arcing off towards the ground.

“This is Level Two of ‘The Current.’ Level one is Aqua Form, one point five the intermediate step is Cloud Form, and finally when getting to Level two you achieve Lightning Form.” The pony took a step forward towards the murderer as his face was completely neutral.

The murderer’s voice was far from calm and his face showed it, looking nearly terrified mixed with anger. “How did you do that, I couldn’t even do that and I tried. I tried to go further to condense the water to a later that could form clouds but couldn’t ever do so, so I thought it was impossible!” the look of horror on his face vanished as pure rage over took it. “It’s a lie. A LIE!”

A wing beat later and a storm of pellets shot at Velox at high speed, only to pop before they even got to him as the lightning arced to it of its own will. “You can’t win anymore Star Bound, it’s over.”

Bound didn’t want it to end, he shot up into the air using the water as a spring board like he had seen at the last moments all those years ago. “You won’t catch me this time Starshifter, I can fly without my wings and I don’t-”

Velox just vanished from sight with the sound of static and a slight hollow boom being left behind and Bound felt heat in his face as his body lost control of itself and impacted the ground. Because he couldn’t control his body anymore the current vanished from him even as he stared up in amazement in the sky. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were the first to see the look and look up where to he was looking.

In the air, wings beating and making the air crackle with lightning was Velox flying! “You can’t run, you can’t over power me, you can’t win. Surrender and live Bound.”

Bound’s body was calming down as he looked over at the lightning covered pony with horror. “I am a Starshifter now, I can’t lose to you, I am stronger I am better I am-”

His eyes rolled up into the back of his head as the hoof of the farm mare struck him. “Ah reckon that everypony was tired of hearing that as well?”

Smiles came all around as a small bit of laughter only for it to stop when hearing living lightning step back onto the ground. “I hope you don’t mind tying him up and his wings, I can’t do it right now without electrocuting him.”

His friends all came over to him as the guards did their job. “That was AWESOME!” the Cyan mare said excitedly. “You were all whoosh whoosh, though he countered then you went kerzap and he got all scared and try to jump away with his tail between his legs, then you were all, oh no you don’t, and there was that low boom thing and you were punching him in the face and were all like ‘I am badass stay down’.”

All her friends were laughing at Dash as she punched the air with her hooves rapidly though Twilight couldn’t keep silent. “So you can do this with the current, how come you didn’t say so before, I would have loved to test it.”

Velox gave a small smile as she said that. “You heard me talk to Dash before I used it, I put rules on when I can use this, plus the side effects are kinda killer.”

Twilight was in full interrogation mode though so she started to ask right away. “But it cant be that bad, I mean you were flying, meaning you did something to negate the side effects of drawing from other aspects of your Pegasus magic, I mean if can replicate that in oth-”

“Twilight, do you know how to restart a heart?” He asked suddenly which broke her out of her thoughts with a worried look.

“Yes I started learning about all that when you were in the hospital and your heart stopped, I wanted to be prepared in case it stopped while you are staying in the library.” She said with a smile proud of her accomplishment.

He gave a sigh of relief, which in that form sounded like static, followed by a small smile. “Good I really didn’t want to die today.”

She was about to ask what he meant when Dash suddenly got a feeling that something bad was about to happen. She was right, the lightning as quick as it came flashed brightly and was gone, leaving a collapsing Velox with his blue coat hitting the ground hard with no heartbeat.

Pinkie Pie screamed as she seen that and so had Applejack as Twilight quickly went to work trying to restart his heart.