Razor started with the more threatening target – the unicorn whose powers were still a mystery to him. If he was going to defeat both Shark and this ‘Trixie’ pony, then he would have to know the extent of her abilities. That’s why, whilst still keeping his guard up for incoming attacks from both sides, he charged towards Trixie, using only mild attacks to provoke reactions from her.

Trixie activated the magic circle beneath her hooves, triggering a dozen spears to shoot out of the ground in Razor’s path. The changeling slowed to a stop for only a moment before continuing his assault through the illusionary spears.

Trixie’s next act of magic triggered a frost spell that summoned icicles from the ground, though only long enough to shatter them and freeze the ground over with their remains.

Razor’s horn lit up a dark-green colour as he focused his magic around his hooves, allowing him to cross the icy path without any problem. Trixie smirked and activated the second stage of this particular trap – melting the ice and gathering the water around Razor, followed by heating it quickly to surround her foe in a ring of scalding water.

Upon seeing the signal, Shark undid his disguise and sprang into action, flying above the ring where he encountered Razor in the air. He dove towards Razor and swung one of his claws, just barely missing his target. He swung again, but this time Razor caught the attack with his magic.

Trixie gritted her teeth together and quickly worked her magic to help Shark out. She lifted one of the nearby apple trees from the ground, grunting and planting her hooves down firmly to avoid slipping. The tree was cut into many logs, which were thrown at Razor and, as he was still in the fray, at Shark, too.

Razor saw the attack coming and quickly released Shark so that he could fly out of the way. Despite this, Razor was still hit by something. It was so sudden, and it took him a while to regain his thoughts before turning his head in time to see a log hitting him in the stomach. “What?” he spat out, before turning to face the blue mare below him, smiling victoriously. ‘An illusionist… Damnit…’

“My turn!” Shark shouted as he released one of his claws and threw it at Razor. Razor roared and fired a blast of magic at the incoming claw, blowing it away just as it was about to hit him. Using so much energy at once caused Razor’s wings to suddenly stop working, resulting in the changeling crashing down towards the ground.

“You bastards,” Razor said as he straightened himself up. Shark landed next to him on one side, and Trixie approached from the other. Razor used his magic to create a wall of fire that shot towards Trixie and then used the distraction to ran towards a nearby tree.

Trixie used her magic to create a small barrier in front of herself and charged up her magic into her horn. “Go after him!” she shouted to Shark, who was already way ahead of her. ‘I’ve gotta put this fire out!’ Trixie leaned her head forward and unleashed a spell to create a small raincloud above the fire. Thankfully the fire wasn’t that big, having been created in a hurry.

Razor clutched his chest and steadied his breathing as he kept his back against a tree, looking around for something that he could use. He saw Shark running towards him and levitated some of his bolts into the air, but rather than loading them into his crossbow he threw them at his pursuer.

“Heh! With no poison, those things are useless!” Shark shouted, charging straight through the barrage, only dodging enough to avoid blows to vital areas. He took a series of small cuts, but they did nothing to slow him down. He was close enough to Razor to strike. He raised his clawed hoof and prepared to strike…

“Stop!” Razor shouted, pulling something out from the bush behind him. Shark stopped and eyed Razor cautiously, but then laughed when all he saw Razor pull out was a red earth pony, bound by changeling magic. “Make a single move towards me and he dies!”

Shark continued laughing for a moment as he continued approaching Razor Tooth. “You think I care if somepony has to die for me to bring you down?” Shark released the claw from his hoof and fired his claw forward with his magic. He watched with excitement as it closed in on his target… until it suddenly disappeared.

“What!?” Shark shouted in shock, staring in disbelief at the sight. Razor, however, wasn’t so surprised, and was barely containing his laughter. “What did you do!?”

Razor shook his head and turned to face something behind Shark. Shark turned around to find Trixie standing behind him, holding the steel claw in her magic with a strong glare.

“You… You MORON! What hell d’you think you’re doing!? We had him!”

“Trixie will not allow you to sacrifice an innocent life!” Trixie shouted before turning to Razor. “We’ll let you go, but under the condition that you release that stallion!”

“Are you out of you mind!?”

Razor could barely contain his laughter as he levitated a bolt up to the stallion’s neck. “You’re not in any position to be making demands, little filly.”

Trixie’s eye twitched at that comment, but she decided to let it slide given the circumstances. “… Then what do you want?”

“I want you… to kill that changeling right there.”

Shark shot a glare at Razor, before returning his gaze to Trixie. “Hey, now. Don’t screw with me!”

Trixie looked conflicted as her gaze drifted between the two changelings. “W-What!? Are you insane!? Trixie could never-”

“Don’t think of him as innocent,” Razor said. “After all, he’s killed many ponies… and changelings, and griffons, and… well, let’s just say that Tartarus has been waiting for him for many years now.” Trixie still looked conflicted, so Razor decided to give her one final push. “Take that murderer’s life, and this innocent pony will be spared. You have my word.” ‘And then whichever of them dies first, I can finish the other one off myself.’ Razor chuckled as he looked at the red stallion in his grasp. ‘Never underestimate the power of taking a hostage.’

Trixie fixed her gaze on Shark for a while, who was staring back at her with an angry look on his face. “Oi, don’t do something you’ll regret,” he warned as Trixie took a step towards him. “One more step, and you’re dead!” Trixie’s horn flared up and, before Shark could react, she had performed a teleportation spell to get right next to him.

Trixie charged her magic, lifting up a chunk of the ground and shaping it into a spear. She aimed it at Shark and prepared to thrust the spear into him… but she felt something pierce her stomach before she had the chance to. Her hold over the makeshift spear faded tried to retreat, but Shark moved swiftly, pulling out his claw from Trixie’s stomach and slashing her throat.

Trixie’s body fell limp. She dropped down to the floor, no longer breathing, her face showing the utter shock that she felt as she saw Shark about to kill her. Shark turned to Razor, who had thrown the red stallion to the side and was already charging towards Shark. “One down, one to go!” Razor shouted, levitating Shark’s other steel claw with his magic and throwing it back at its owner.

Shark dodged the claw, but was now wide open for an attack from Razor. Razor didn’t let this chance slip by; he levitated whatever bolts he had left and fired them all at Shark. Shark let out a pained yell as the many sharp projectiles pierced and cut his body, tearing it to shreds.

His eyes widened as she saw Razor snatch his remaining claw and lift it into the air. “You… bastard…”

Applejack and Twilight Sparkle galloped as fast as they could towards Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight could feel high levels of magic being used there, and Applejack had had a bad feeling running through her body ever since she had bumped into Trixie earlier. It was urging her to return to the farm immediately.

They stopped when they saw a blue mare dragging a red earth pony stallion behind a tree. “Macintosh!” Applejack shouted out as she neared them. Twilight followed, keeping her eyes fixed on the blue mare who had turned to face them. “What happened?” Applejack asked as she stopped in front of the two ponies.

Twilight was finally close enough to see the blue mare clearly and recognised her immediately, despite the blood running down her face from a large wound on her forehead. “Trixie?” she asked, approaching her slowly, before stopping when another pony appeared behind her. It was a white unicorn stallion, wearing the armour of the Royal Guard of Equestria.

“Stand back,” he said to the two mares, though only Twilight obeyed. Applejack stayed by Big Mac’s side, demanding an explanation on what had happened. “A changeling spy has bound him with magic. Don’t worry, it will wear off, in time. But for now, he won’t be able to move or speak.” The guard knelt down and whispered into Trixie’s ear, “I’m going to chase after him. You coming?”

Trixie panted heavily as she turned to face Shark. “As much as Trixie hates to admit it,” she whispered back, “That last stunt of mine took a lot out of me…” She thought for a second and remembered that Shark was just as badly injured as she was, perhaps even more so. She reconsidered her answer. “Actually, Trixie will follow you,” she said, slowly getting up to her hooves.

Shark nodded and turned to face Twilight and Applejack. “Stay here and look after him. I’ll escort our witness here to Canterlot, where she’ll be safe.”

Twilight nodded. “Maybe I should contact Princess Celestia.”

“No!” Shark shouted quickly, startling Twilight. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. “N-No. You see, uh… s-she’s currently engaged in battle elsewhere!” he said. Twilight’s eyes widened with concern. “There are changeling spies all over this country and she’s personally involved in taking care of them. So, sending her a letter now would be a bad idea…”

“I see,” Twilight said, looking down at the ground with a worried look on her face.

“Don’t worry,” Shark said. “The Princess will be just fine. She has reigned over this country for over one thousand years, y’know?” Twilight smiled and nodded again. With a final farewell, Shark and Trixie took off towards the Everfree Forest. Shark noticed an odd look from Trixie directed at him. “What? I just didn’t want her getting the princess involved, that’s all.”

Back at where Big Macintosh was, Twilight and Applejack turned around when they heard hoofsteps approaching. “Shock?” Twilight asked, seeing the earth pony approaching them.

“Hey there. Wow, what a mess…” Shock said, looking at the small part of the orchard that had been completely destroyed by Shark and Trixie’s battle against Razor. Applejack hadn’t noticed before, being so concerned for her brother’s safety, but when she took a look around and saw the damage, she was furious. Shock walked up to Twilight, ignoring Applejack’s tantrum that she had started to throw, and then looked off into the direction that Shark and Trixie had run off in. “That’s odd… If he’s going to take her to safety, then why are they heading towards the Everfree Forest?”

Twilight and Applejack both turned their heads to see the two of them disappear off into the distance, indeed having headed towards the Everfree Forest. Suddenly, Twilight realised something. “No way!” she shouted. “How did I not see it before!?”

“What?” Shock asked.

“That guard!” she started, “His Royal Guard insignia, the one on his armour… It was outdated!”

Applejack looked confused at that. “So… what does that mean?”

Twilight thought about it for a second and a chill ran down her spine. “It could mean… that he’s be the changeling, in disguise!”

Shock and Applejack both gasped in horror at the thought. “Let’s go! Quick!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Yeah! Trixie may be in danger!” Twilight agreed.

“Then,” Shock said, drawing the attention of both mares, “May I suggest I go with Twilight, whilst you stay here to look after your brother?”

Applejack looked down at Big Macintosh, who was looking right back at her. She smiled. Even without him saying anything, she could understand what he was thinking just fine. “Nah,” she said, rising to her hooves. “He’ll be fine. Changeling’s gone, right?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Shock said, “And it may have backup.”

Twilight looked around and found a nearby bush. She turned to Big Macintosh, who was now sweating nervously as he realised what Twilight was going to do. “Sorry, Big Mac, but it’s for your own safety.”

He nodded reluctantly and felt Twilight’s magic lift him up, with some effort, and move him over to the bush, dropping him gently into it.

The three ponies, now satisfied that Big Macintosh was safe-and-sound, nodded to each other and took off together towards the Everfree Forest.

Razor stumbled through the Everfree forest, breathing heavily as he extended his wings to keep his balance. “Damn… Can’t believe… I fell for that…”

Razor laughed manically as he watched Shark fall to the ground, his life hanging by a thread. “Now I just have to take care of that princess, and then Lord Odysseus will-”

“‘Odysseus’?” Razor jumped and turned around quickly, to find Shark standing behind him, firing both of his claws with his magic. One of them missed, but the other hit Razor in the stomach, breaking his concentration before he could finish conjuring up a spell. “‘Lord Odysseus’? Why, that almost sound treasonous, Razor Tooth.” Shark smirked, and pulled back his two claws, which were attached to his hooves by strings of magic. “Well, not like I care.”

Razor stared at Shark in shock, wondering how he had managed to not only fake his death like that, but had also managed to sneak up on him. “… Damnit, that’s right. That brat’s an illusionist, isn’t she?”

Shark charged forward towards Razor, who reacted almost instinctively by reaching into his satchel and pulling out a small flash bomb, throwing it at Shark.

Razor grinded his teeth together as he crouched down behind a large rock, breathing heavily and clutching onto the wound that his stomach had sustained. ‘Damn, now I can’t see very well… I have to find somewhere to rest up, and then return to Lord Odysseus. These two together are too much for just me alone to… Wait, him! The one I saw in town! He should be coming to my aid soon! I just have to stay alive long enough for him to-’

“I found him!” Razor flinched when he heard Shark’s voice behind him and scrambled to his hooves in order to flee deeper into the forest. “You’re not gettin’ away, Razor!”

Razor used his magic to knock down the trees around him, hoping to slow down his pursuers. He reached a fork in the road, and stopped for a second to pick a direction. He noticed that the right path offered a lot more coverage for him to escape and quickly took off down it. He was about to reach the point where the forest became much denser, but then a sudden blur passed in front of him, followed by a sparkle as a steel claw approached him quickly.

Razor extended his wings and flapped them quickly as he jumped back, avoiding the sudden attack from Shark. Shark ran towards Razor and attacked again, but Razor managed to dodge it despite his injured state. ‘Wait, his attacks are kinda slow, and inaccurate… He must be exhausted! I might still have a chance!’

Shark’s horn lit up as he tried to cast a spell to trip Razor up, but a sudden counterattack knocked him onto his back, his claws slipping from his grasp and flying off to either side. Before he could get up, Razor had pinned him down and threw a hoof towards his face. Shark raised his own hoof to block and tried to push Razor off of himself, but couldn’t find the strength to do so.

Razor pulled his hoof back and charged his magic into his horn. Shark charged his own magic, ready to defend against the incoming attack. Razor pointed his horn down, but his magic faded when a powerful shock passed through his body. He gasped in shock, before falling face-first onto the ground.

Shark released his magic and examined Razor’s body. There was a burn mark on his back with smoke rising up from it, and he could sense residual magic from the attack. He turned his attention to Trixie, who was panting as she pointed her horn at the two changelings. “You… idiot…” Trixie panted, raising her head up and glaring at Shark. She took a moment to catch her breath. “Why did you… go off on your own?”

“Well, you were kinda slow,” Shark said, getting up off of the ground. “I didn’t want him to get away.”

“… In any… case… we should g-go. Trixie will u-use a binding spell to-”

Before Trixie could finish, Shark threw one of his claws at Razor, impaling it into the downed changeling’s head. Trixie gaped at the scene, watching in horror as blood poured from Razor’s head and almost throwing up when the claw was removed. Blood shot up out of the wound and Trixie’s face turned pale, her hooves feeling very cold.

“W… Why did you do that?” she asked quietly, shaking on the spot as she stared at Razor’s motionless body. “He was down… You didn’t have to kill him!”

“Better safe than sorry,” Shark said, adjusting the claw on his hoof. “Now that he’s dead, I’m free from Chrysalis’ grasp.” Shark pointed a hoof to the ground, which Trixie followed to see a small device by Razor’s hoof. “Besides, he wasn’t unconscious. If I hadn’t killed him, we’d have both died just now.”

“… An explosive?” Trixie muttered as she levitated the device to her face and examined it closely. “But even so, you killed him! Surely there was another way!”

“Maybe, but this was the most effective, and by far the most appealing.” Shark’s ears twitched and he quickly picked up Razor’s body. “I’ll be taking this. Gotta destroy it before the Royal Guard finds it. If they uncover the secrets behind changeling magic, they can dispel our disguises, and then I’d be back to running for my life again.”

Trixie heard the sounds of approaching hoofsteps and ponies shouting closing in on them. The sounds were drawing closer and, whilst she was distracted, Shark took Razor’s body and fled deeper into the Everfree Forest.

Trixie glared down the path in front of her, before groaning and turning around, preparing to leave the forest. Before she could, though, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her body. She suddenly remembered all of the energy that she had used that day and realised that it was starting to take its toll on her. She fell down onto her front and failed to pick herself back up again.

“Trixie!? Are you there!?”

Trixie panted as she felt her body grow more tired by the second. She tried again to get up but her body was suddenly heavier than it was moments ago, and was growing moreso with each passing second. Ultimately, her attempts only resulted in Trixie falling onto her stomach again.

“Trixie!”

“Hang in there, Trixie! Twi, go’n warn everypony in town ta stay away from the Everfree Forest! Shock, help me get Trixie outta here!”

Trixie looked up at the blurs of the three ponies above her. “Trixie does not require any help…” she whispered, before her eyes closed and the voices invading her ears slowly faded away into silence.

Trixie awoke in an unfamiliar room. Its walls and ceiling were white, and to her right was a small window, where Trixie could see the night sky outside. Beneath her, Trixie could feel a very comfortable mattress and when she looked down at her body, she could see a clean bed sheet covering her body.

It didn’t take her long to realise that she was in hospital, and that her wounds must have been tended to by the ponies that worked there. Trixie sat up in the bed and heard someone next to her mumbling. She looked to her left to see an orange earth pony sitting next to her, resting her head on Trixie’s bed as she snored away.

“… She must be the pony that brought Trixie here,” Trixie reasoned, before lying back down on the comfortable bed. “How did Trixie get here, anyway?” Trixie thought about it for a bit and then shot back up again as she remembered Aura. ‘I have to check on Aura! I left her all alone!’

Trixie slid out of her bed carefully, both to make sure that she didn’t wake up her guest and also because her wounds were still hurting her. Trixie looked around for her belongings and found them stashed away underneath the bed. She put on her hat and cape and strapped on her saddlebags. ‘I hope Aura stayed inside the trailer.’

Trixie quietly exited the hospital room and made her way through the silent hospital. It was surprisingly empty; she had expected to see at least one doctor or nurse walking around somewhere, but there was no sign of anypony at all. ‘Maybe things work differently in this town?’

“Leaving so soon?” Shock asked as Trixie walked through the hospital’s front doors. Trixie turned around with a jump, narrowing her eyes at the pony who had, again, managed to creep up on her. “Y’know, that farmer, Applejack, sacrificed her entire day to look after you. She wanted to make sure you had somepony there when you woke up. Maybe you oughta thank her before leaving?”

Trixie scoffed and turned her head away. “Trixie didn’t ask to be looked after by anypony! And besides, it would be rude of Trixie to wake her up, would it not?”

Shock sighed and shook his head. “… I’ll tell her you said ‘thanks’.”

“Don’t bother. Trixie won’t do you any favours.”

“Still, are you sure you’re ok? Those wounds looked pretty bad, but the main problem was how much magic you used. You were almost completely drained, y’know?”

Trixie’s glare turned into a suspicious gaze. How was an earth pony like Shock able to tell how much magic she had used? Trixie shook the thought away. “Trixie will be leaving this town soon. Don’t worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie will not die from something like this.”

“Die?” Shock asked before laughing. “Wow, what’s with that? I was only saying you might pass out on your way home.”

A tinge of red crossed Trixie’s cheeks, but thankfully, with her back to Shock and under the cover of darkness, she was able to keep that hidden. “A-Anyway, the Great and Powerful Trixie will now be taking her leave. Good day.”

“Good night,” Shock said with a wave of his hoof. Once Trixie was out of sight, Shock sighed and began to walk away in the opposite direction. ‘Razor’s dead, Shark managed to get away, and Aura’s on her way to Canterlot… Man, this is quite a mess. But it’s none of my concern. I have my own job to do, and I can’t afford to be distracted right now.’

Trixie approached her trailer with a series of tired pants, her legs feeling like lead and her back threatening to snap at any given moment. Her head wasn’t doing much better, either, and she didn’t know what the ringing in her ears was, but she was sure that it wasn’t a good sign.

“I should probably remove those traps around town, especially the ones Sweet Apple Acres that I’ve already activated…” Trixie’s neck cracked as she looked up at her trailer’s door and she took in a sharp breath of air before rubbing the sore spot. “… Tomorrow… They can wait a few hours.”

She cautiously peeked inside the trailer, making sure that Aura wasn’t in her true form before opening the door, but she couldn’t see the youngling anywhere. She pushed the door open and walked inside. “Aura?” she asked as she used her magic to close the door – an action that she would regret moments afterward, as the very act of using magic made her headache much worse.

“Aura?” she called out again after not receiving a reply. She found a newspaper on her bed and leaned down to examine it, not wanting to use her magic again in her current state. The article on the front page made her eyes widen in surprise.

Three changelings arrested today – after a fight between three changelings disrupted the peace in Hoofington, the Royal Guard were called in to arrest the three possible terrorists. Currently, the three changelings are being held in Canterlot Castle’s dungeons, where they will be questioned and…

The article went on, but Trixie didn’t care about the rest. When she searched her entire trailer and found that not only had Aura disappeared, but that some of her supplies had been taken, she began to worry. She came across a note attached to her wall that read: ‘I’m sorry.’. Trixie immediately rushed out of her trailer with some supplies and galloped as fast as her aching body would allow her to towards the train station. ‘Oh Celestia, please tell me Aura didn’t go to Canterlot!’

Chrysalis looked over the report delivered to her by one of Alexander’s soldiers. She handed it back to him and dismissed the young soldier. “Things are moving along well. Tomorrow, Alexander, Odysseus and Aura will be avenged… Equestria will feel my full wrath for what it’s done to my children!”

“My queen,” Meta started, “With respect, we do not yet know if Odysseus is dead or not. We should arrange a small rescue party, just in case he’s still alive and fighting for his life.”

Chrysalis nodded and called in one of her guards. She told him to go to the general who had taken over for Alexander and arrange a small squad of the kingdom’s finest tracking and medical soldiers to search for and find Odysseus.

The guard saluted and walked off to complete his order. “With any luck,” Chrysalis began, “Odysseus is still alive out there. I just hope he doesn’t do anything rash.”

“He ran off to Equestria to avenge his brother… I wasn’t aware that the two of them were so close. To make Odysseus lose his cool and do something so illogical…”

Chrysalis chuckled lightly and turned to face her advisor. “I recall you said something similar, back when we still younglings, about me and my sister.”

Meta nodded and held back the smile that was trying to form itself on her face. “That’s right. The two of you were always arguing, and your ideals were so different to each other’s… I was shocked when she sacrificed her life for you like that.”

Chrysalis took a drink of her wine. “Well, despite our differences, we were still family. And I imagine it is much the same for Alexander and Odysseus… Besides, losing two siblings in such a short timeframe is enough to make anybody go mad with rage.”

“My queen…”

Chrysalis held up her wine glass and waited for Meta to pour her own glass join her in her toast. “I was a fool to even consider Aura’s proposal. Equestria will never accept us, just as my sister and I proclaimed. We must crush Equestria, before they can crush us!

“To the destruction of Equestria, and to the glory of the Changeling Kingdom! Tomorrow, we go to war!”

“Tomorrow,” Odysseus began, bringing his wine glass to his lips and taking a sip, “I want to fight alongside you. If you’ll let me.”

“I can’t do that,” Celestia said. “But if what you’ve told me is the truth… then, after this war is over, you and any other changelings that lay down their arms will be granted full protection by our country. After that, we can begin proper peace talks.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Odysseus said, taking another drink from his glass. ‘Tomorrow, Mother will fall… and with any luck, Celestia too. But regardless of the outcome, the moment that Mother is defeated, I can make my move.’ A laugh almost escaped Odysseus’ lips, but he restrained himself in front of the princess. ‘Tomorrow, I will declare checkmate on both countries’ rulers.’