As Big Mac stomped down the hallway, his scowl grew deeper and deeper with each step he took. Every few turns, he’d pass by a royal guard, whom would immediately jump out of his way. The anger he felt from his conversation with his sibling mere minutes ago radiated off him like heat from the sun. Normally, he was as calm and collected as they come. Even back home, he rarely spoke that much, and when he did, it was usually a soft ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but in this instance, he was livid. The fact that Luna had encouraged Applejack after he’d already expressed his disapproval made him so upset he couldn’t think straight. It even took him a moment to realize that he was back in front of the night princess’ door. He opened it without knocking, still stomping as he entered. His eyes scanned the room for his lover, and he found her sitting on the bed. Her head snapped towards him as she got up, offering him a smile.

“Oh! My goodness, you startled me Big Mac!” she said as she walked slowly towards him.

She stopped right in front of the stallion studying him intently. Her eyebrow quirked in confusion as gazed into his eyes.

“Big Mac, is something wrong?” she asked concerned.

“Is there something wrong?!? Really?!?” he retorted forcefully.

“I…I don’t…Big Mac, please, you look upset. Tell me what happened,” she said as her nerves began to unsteady.

“Ah’ll tell ya what happened! Ah ran into someone on my walk! Guess who that was?!?” he said as each word uttered increased in volume.

“What? Who? Who did you see?” she said bringing her right hoof to her chest.

“Well, Ah just happened to run into my sister on her way to see Twilight Sparkle! And sure enough, when we chatted, she told me something VERY interesting about her conversation with ya! Something about you encouraging her to go see Twilight! And Ah seem to remember the last time we talked, Ah told ya Ah didn’t want my sister near her!” he shouted.

“Now wait just a minute…” Princess Luna began before the earth pony cut her off.

“No, YOU wait a minute…” he stated before the alicorn interrupted him.

“Do NOT raise your voice to me, Big Mackintosh!” she shouted back.

His eyes narrowed at the command. She may have been used to giving orders to other ponies, but as far as he was concerned this was a completely different situation. He was not her servant. He stomped forward, as he went right up to the mare, their noses practically touching. Neither of them was giving an inch in this debate. His scowl deepened as he whispered harshly.

“Now, let me tell you somethin’ princess! When it comes to keepin’ my family safe, Ah don’t care who you are! Ah don’t care if you’re the queen of the whole dang planet! Ah’m the one whose supposed to keep Applejack and Applebloom outta harm’s way! Ah’m their big brother, and Ah will have a say in what happens to them! How dare you go behind my back and tell her that it was ok for her to meet Twilight, after Ah specifically said that Ah don’t want her goin’ anywhere near her! Ya had no right to do that, and Ah don’t want you ever doin’ somethin’ like that again! Do you understand?!?” he hissed.

“You are out of line, Big Mac! First off, this was HER decision to make, not yours, as I’ve been telling you! But you’re so obsessed with keeping her safe that you are risking her getting emotionally scarred! They had a past, Big Mac! They were close friends once, and they did great things together! She needed to get some closure for those wounds! I know it and you know it! And for the record, I never agreed with you on this, so, please stop making it seem like we came to some sort of consensus and then I betrayed you, because that’s not what happened!” she responded forcefully, puffing her chest out.

“Don’t play dumb! Ya know just as well as Ah do that you wield a tremendous amount of influence over these girls! She came to ya to get yer blessing! If you’d told her NOT to go, she woulda listened to ya!” he countered.

“You will watch your tone!” she growled as her wings straightened.

“Ah ain’t yer servant!” he shouted back, standing his ground.

“I am still a princess of Equestria! You WILL treat me with the proper respect! I made a decision, Big Mac! I supported her wanting to see Twilight Sparkle! It was her intention all along to go and talk to her! I merely agreed with her conclusion! Her mind was already made up!” she retorted.

“And what about what Ah felt, Luna?!? Didn’t that mean anything?!? She’s MY sister, not yours!” he bellowed, stomping his front right hoof.

“Yes, she’s your sister! And in case you haven’t noticed, your sister is a grown mare! She can make her own choices!” she exclaimed.

“You said it yerself, she’s makin’ these decisions based on her emotions! She ain’t thinkin’ clearly! What if she gets hurt, huh?!? What’ll happen then?!?” the stallion pushed.

Princess Luna straightened up, sighing to herself as she closed her eyes. They were getting nowhere. Clearly, Big Mac was too exasperated to continue this conversation, as it had already devolved into an argument. She’d done too much fighting during the past few weeks, and these quarrels were starting to drain her. There was nothing else that could be said between the two of them, at least for right now. She walked over towards her bed turning away from the farmer.

“So, then where do we go from here, hmm? Applejack must be speaking to her right now, so what do you want to do? You could have gone with her, but instead you’re here yelling at me,” she said in a calm tone.

“Are…are you callin’ me a coward?!?” Big Mac hissed.

“No! I’m saying that if you were really worried, you’d be at her side regardless! But in your mind you know that she’s surrounded by royal guards and that Twilight Sparkle is behind a magic wall of my own sister’s design that even her prized student’s magic can’t break! So, then why are you really here?” she inquired, turning around to face him again.

“Ya know what?!? Yer right! Why AM Ah here? Ya said it yerself, yer the princess, so ya don’t gotta listen to us little townsfolk, right? Ya can just do what ya want without havin’ to answer to nobody. So, Ah guess me bein’ here is a waste of time then, ain’t it?!?” he said as he looked away from her.

“That’s not fair, Big Mac!” she shouted, turning towards him with a hurt look plastered on her face.

“What?!? Yer the one that started with the whole ‘watch yer tone’ business, not me! Look, if we’re gonna have a relationship it can’t work if you can just pull rank on me! Especially when it comes to my family! That was outta line, and you know it!” he stated.

“But don’t you see that this is what was best for her? That maybe talking to Twilight before it was too late might actually help to get out all of the things that she was holding onto inside?!?” she said as she approached him, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

The stallion sighed as his head drooped a little. He closed his eyes as he took in her words. She wasn’t getting it. He didn’t want to fight, but he needed her to understand where he was coming from. He slowly lifted his head as he put his front hoof on hers, rubbing it gently.

“Luna…if…if Ah ever gave your sister advice that went against what you thought was right…and…and if you confronted me about it, and all Ah said was ‘couldn’t you see that’s what was best for her?’ what do you really think yer reaction would be? Do ya really think you’d have chalked it up to you and Ah just seein’ things in a different light? Or do ya think you’d be down my throat because Ah set yer sister down a path that you disagreed with? Especially if Ah knew that you disagreed with it before Ah talked to her,” he asked.

“I…I don’t know what my reaction would be,” the moon princess answered, her eyelids getting heavy as she looked away from her lover.

She took her hoof off his shoulder, and for a few moments, they simply stood there, not doing or saying anything. This was their first official fight since their relationship began. Neither of them thought that they’d be in this position so soon after beginning to see each other, but the complicated circumstances of the situation made things much tenser. Once again, Princess Luna looked up at her lover, asking the same question she did before.

“So? Where do we go from here?” she inquired.

“Luna, Ah…Ah got to be honest, Ah’m pretty upset right now. Ah…Ah know yer just tryin’ to do right by everyone, but…Ah…Ah think we need some space,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she pressed.

“Ah…Ah don’t think A.J. is gonna get any better bein’ here. Ah…Ah think it’s time she came home to be with her…family,” he said softly.

The princess’ heart skipped a beat at the stallion’s words. She did her best to keep her composure, but she soon found tears forming in her eyes. Still, she needed to show strength. She was royalty, and she required herself to act like one, despite the news. She nodded as she spoke.

“So, I…I imagine that means that you’ll be returning to Ponyville as well, then?” she said softly.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“So then…what about us?” she inquired, struggling to get the words out over the lump in her throat.

“Luna, Ah…look, Ah love bein’ around you, but…we’re talkin’ about my family here. Applejack’s been through enough. It’s time to get her home so she can be around the ponies that love her and miss her. Ah…appreciate everything you did for her. Really, Ah do, even though you may not believe me right now. But as for us? Ah’m sorry, Ah really don’t have an answer for ya. Ah mean, how can Ah be with someone who has the authority to tell me to sit down and shut up if Ah don’t like what she has to day? That ain’t no way to have a relationship. So, Ah…Ah guess Ah’m sayin’ Ah need some time to figure stuff out. Ah just need some time to think, that’s all,” he said.

Luna’s jaw clenched as the tears in her eyes began to stream down her face. The hurt and pain that was welling up inside her at the farmer’s statement was beginning to overwhelm her. The worst part about it was, there was nothing she could to about it. She’d followed her heart, telling Applejack what she thought was right, but in the end, she ended up hurting the stallion she was falling for. She straighted up clearning her throat. She needed to keep it together, no matter how horrible she felt.

“Very well, Big Macintosh. I…I have a flight lesson with Rainbow Dash right now. Please feel free to take all of your belongings out of my chambers,” she said through sniffles.

“Yes, yer highness,” he whispered, bowing his head, his eyes closed.

As he straightened up, he felt a soft breeze tickle his face. Opening his eyes, he caught a quick glimpse of Luna soaring over the balcony, leaving the farmer alone, the darkness of the room his only company.

‘Ah’m sorry, Luna,’ he thought to himself as he turned around and walked out the door.

-

As the stallion trotted happily down the hallway, he couldn’t help but hum a little tune to himself. It’d been a few days since he’d seen his lovely Rarity, and for him, that was a few days too many. She was so beautiful, that he found himself longing for her, even after only a day’s separation. Something began to bother the royal guard, however. The last few times they got together, the unicorn seemed a bit distant. He stopped humming at the thought. He really didn’t want to hurt her, and he hoped that he wasn’t making her uncomfortable. Different scenarios began to play out in his mind with each step he took. Finally he sighed and put those contemplations out of his mind.

‘Just play it cool, hotshot,’ he thought to himself.

He needed to keep reminding himself why she was here in the first place. She’d been through an immensely horrible experience. Even he didn’t know the full details, but he didn’t press for any. Their time together seemed to get Rarity’s mind off her troubles, and for that, he was grateful. She was too pretty to be under such stress. Regardless, however, that was probably the reason for her distance lately. It was no secret what was happening to Twilight Sparkle. All of the soldiers in the palace were on a need to know basis when it came to Ms. Sparkle, but with her worsening condition, it became necessary to alert all of the guard staff who served in the castle to be vigilant in case something happened. No one knew who had attacked her originally, but the princess made it clear that the investigation was no longer active, but the guards had to be on the lookout for anyone unfamiliar. It had been weeks, however, and no one out of the ordinary showed up. Now that she was confined to one of the suites, however, the priority became watching her and alerting the princess if anything happened. He shook his head as he didn’t want to think about work right now. In a few steps he’d be right outside his lover’s door, and that thought pushed all others aside. A hissing sound startled him, however, and he backed away, looking from side to side. The sound once again pierced his ears. It was a high pitched sound, almost female. Hearing a loud thump behind him, the surprised soldier turned around taking a low stance. His eyes went wide at the monstrosity before him. He’d never seen a creature like it before. Although it looked like a changling, he could tell that it wasn’t. It looked somewhat like a pony, but there were mandibles where the bottom part of its mouth should have been. Instead of a coat, the epidermis was exposed, revealing a charcoal gray skin, shining against the light. He gulped as he shuffled backwards. It was a bit bigger than he was, with bow-legged hooves and two extra legs attached to its sides. They looked almost like insect legs. The monster’s dark horn lit up with a black aura as it encased the royal guard in a bubble, throwing him against the wall. He grunted as his back slammed into the wall, his helmet falling off. Shaking his head, he tried to stand up quickly, but before he could move, the creature was on top of him, using its legs, to pin the stallion to the ground. He struggled, doing his best to squirm out of its grip, but it was no use. Whatever this thing was, it was much stronger than him. For a moment it just looked into his eyes, confusing the stallion.

‘Wh…what the hay is it doing?!?’ he thought to himself as the creature’s mandibles widened.

-

Rarity had been lying in her bed for hours now, staring up into the darkness. She couldn’t sleep. Not only was she scheduled to have one of her romantic rendezvous, but the past few days had made her even more of a nervous wreck than she’d already been. She cursed herself for lashing out at Fluttershy the way she did during the meeting. She’d come so close to slipping, but she was able to at least maintain her composure long enough to get out of the room without telling them what’s happened to her over the last few weeks. It made her feel horrible however.

‘I hit Fluttershy, but here I am more worried about myself than about her! What’s wrong with me?!?’ she thought to herself.

Her thoughts quickly turned to her breakdown in front of Twilight. She’d never felt so many emotions at once before: Betrayal, anger, hate, sadness. She’d felt them all, as she held her hoof up against the clear wall up against the unicorn’s own deformed appendage. She’d obsessed over what to do, but she had no answer for the questions gnawing at her mind. She was lost. And the worst part about it was, she had no one to turn to. The only solace that she’d been receiving was from her lover, but even then, it was a mixed bag. She’d been falling for him for a while now, and there was some part of her that loved his embrace, but she couldn’t see past Twilight’s act of vengeance, and his presence was a constant reminder of that.

‘Can I be with him? After everything I’ve gone through?’ she mused as she turned over under her covers, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Suddenly, a loud bang startled her, rousing her from her bed. She made her way over to the door as quickly as she could.

“What in Equestria was that?!?” she whispered to herself as she used her magic to swing her door open.

She walked out into the hallway briskly, before turning around and screaming at the sight before her. It was a monster. It was the monster. The thing she and the rest of her friends feared the most. The shape was a little different, but there was no doubt that the beast in front of her was Twilight Sparkle. Rarity’s heart stopped as she gazed upon the scene. She was on top of a stallion, and was pinning him to the ground. Her eyes widened further as tears formed in her eyes as she recognized the royal guard.

“HALBERD!” she screamed as she rushed forward.

“RARITY, NO STAY BA-AHHHH!” he screamed as a white milky substance splashed on his face.

Rarity shrieked as she looked on helplessly. Halberd’s head thrashed from side to side, as his fur melted, and his skin began to blister. He choked as smoke shimmied up into the air, while pieces of flesh fell from his face revealing parts of his jaw and cheekbones. Another burst shot from the beast’s mouth again splashing onto the stallion, as his muscle tissue melted away, remnants falling to the floor like wads of wet paper. Within a few moments, Halberd’s form ceased all movement, as the skull which once contained the face of Rarity’s lover fell to the side.

Rarity whimpered at the sight of her dead lover’s exposed skull. Her heart was beating faster and faster with each passing second. Relying on pure instinct, she turned, trying to run as fast as she could back into her room. A tremendous weight came crashing down on her shoulders, however, forcing the unicorn onto her belly. She screamed again, writhing underneath Twilight’s new hybrid form. She needed to get away, lest she end up like Halberd. Fear kept her mind petrified, however, as the creature struck Rarity on her side with one of its deformed appendages, turning her over onto her back. Rarity shuffled away as quickly as her hooves would allow, trying desperately to get back into her room. The beast leapt forward, however, its face mere inches away from the fashion designer’s. Tears streamed down her face as she looked into its cold eyes. All she saw was anger. Rage. And she seemed to be its focal point. She whimpered as the hybrid studied her. Rarity couldn’t move. She dared not. She needed to concentrate however. She took a deep breath, shivering, as she cried out to her former fellow element.

“Tw…Twilight, please…please don’t hurt me!” she begged, shaking underneath the fleshy body weighing her down.

The creature just moaned in response, its glare intensifying. It then took hold of Rarity’s hooves, spreading them apart, still keeping her firmly on the ground. The sensation was familiar to Rarity. Her eyes widened as she remembered her fight with Twilight in her room. How she defeated her. Her horror intensified at the thought.

“TWILIGHT, PLEASE! PLEASE STOP! DON’T HURT ME, PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!” Rarity screamed as she continued trembling with tears streaming down her face.

From her side, she heard heavy hoofsteps barreling down the hallway. The creature looked up and over to its right side, as Rarity did the same. Three royal guards crashed into the hybrid, releasing Rarity from its grip. As she turned to see the stallions wrestling with Twilight’s new form, she felt herself being dragged away from the scene. She screamed at the new development, until she caught sight of a royal guard standing in front of her.

“Ms. Rarity, are you alright?!?” he asked.

Before she could answer, however, he was knocked away, as one of the guard’s own colleagues crashed into him, a black magic aura dissipating just after they made contact with the ground. The unicorn turned to see the fly hybrid monster tossing the soldiers from side to side. She needed to do something. By her estimation, they were earth ponies, but she was a unicorn. A magic user. She needed to help them. Looking around, she found a large curtain ordaining one of the stained glass windows in the hallway. This was her chance. Taking a deep breath, she activated her horn, dislodging the drape from its rod, and throwing it over the beasts head with a guttural grunt. She’d succeeded in surprising the creature as it began rolling around trying to fight its way out of the curtain.

“RUN!” one of the royal guards shouted, as they each surrounded Rarity, taking off down the hallway as fast as they could.

The hybrid finally released itself from its cloth prison, turning around, trying to assess the situation. No one was there, and she was alone. She let out another ethereal moan as it ran down the other side of the corridor.

-

Rainbow Dash panted as she completed yet another loop through the cloud ring. She’d been at her practice session for a while now. The pegasus got there a little early, and decided to get some warm-ups in before her flight lesson with Princess Luna. She’d learned so much from her during these past few weeks. Even though she was usually more rough and tumble than cerebral, her injury forced her to be more analytical, a side of her flying that now that she’d been force to use, she found sorely lacking. Now that she had to slow down and concentrate more on the finer points of flying, she really began to appreciate the night princess’ guidance. She’d become fascinated with the ancient flying techniques that Luna had been teaching her. They were unlike anything she’d ever read about, and she was grateful for the tutelage. It was one thing to read about these movements in a book, but entirely another to have someone show her in the flesh. Especially someone who actually used these techniques over a thousand years ago. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and one that Rainbow Dash decided to take full advantage of. She’d been writing down some questions to ask the royal alicorn as she thought of them. It was part of Luna’s mental exploration of flight, which, although she doubted at first, had come to absolutely adore. As she completed the next loop, she spotted Princess Luna flying towards her from the corner of her eye. Stabilizing herself, she floated down to the ground, before neatly tucking her wings in. She immediately offered her teacher a warm smile, but the smile quickly became a frown as she watched the princess of the night approach her. She could tell that something happened. As Luna landed, Rainbow Dash approached her tentatively.

“Princess? Is…is everything ok?” the pegasus inquired softly.

For a moment, the dark coated alicorn didn’t answer. She simply stared at the ground, her eyelids heavy. Her demeanor worried Rainbow Dash, as the young flyer walked closer to her.

“Princess, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“What? Oh, it’s…it’s nothing,” Luna said.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s ‘nothing’ to me. You’re upset. It’s obvious, even to me. So, what happened?” she pressed.

Princess Luna turned away from her new student, crossing her front right hoof over her torso. Rainbow Dash’s frown deepened at the sight. Luna had been so good to her, and she wanted to return the favor. She reached out and put a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. Luna stiffened at the contact and her head snapped around looking the pegasus in the eye.

“Look, you’ve been helping me get my feelings out ever since all this stuff started with Twilight. Coming out here…it’s been better than I ever hoped! You…you taught me not to keep my feelings all bottled up and that I should talk about them with someone I trust. Well, that someone has been you for a while now. I may be overstepping here, but why not take your own advice? It’s just me, ok? No one else is around here. So, talk to me. Please?” she whispered.

Luna couldn’t help but smile. She was right. Perhaps talking to someone was the right course of action here. Just because she was over a thousand years old didn’t mean that she couldn’t get confused once in a while. Using her front hoof to remove Rainbow Dash’s from her shoulder, she sat down, clearing her throat.

“I…Big Mac and I had a…fight...and…it didn’t end well,” she started.

“What?!? What happened?!? I…I thought everything was going great between you two?!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, taking a seat across from the moon princess.

“It was, but…well…you know my feelings about Twilight Sparkle. As much as I understand that it may be difficult for you and your friends, I urged you, and still urge you to talk to Twilight before…before it’s too late,” she said looking away.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been thinking about going to see her, but…I’m…I’m still kinda collecting my thoughts on the whole thing. I’m…I’m just not sure if I could go through with it, you know?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yes, I know. That’s why I merely expressed my opinion, and I haven’t tried to really push you into doing something that would make you feel uncomfortable. Ultimately, it must be your decision to make, I cannot force you,” Luna stated.

“But…I’m confused here. What does that have to do with you and Big Mac?” the pegasus pressed.

“He had…expressed to me his disapproval of my perspective, especially when it came to his sister. He’s scared that since Twilight’s status has become…unstable, that it would pose a danger to his sister if they were in close proximity to each other,” she explained.

“Hmm. Well, yeah, I guess that kinda makes sense,” the young flyer said while rubbing her chin with her left hoof.

“We discussed the matter, but before we could reach an agreement, we were interrupted and could not continue the conversation. Applejack came to see me later on, and I told her that I was alright with her seeing Twilight. I encouraged her to go. Big Mac found out about it, and suffice to say, he wasn’t very happy with me,” the moon princess continued.

“Wait, so, you knew he’d have a problem with Applejack seeing Twilight, but you told Applejack it was ok anyway?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Yes,” Luna answered simply.

“But…why? I…I mean, they are brother and sister, and they’re really close. I…I don’t mean to speak out of turn here, but are you really that surprised that Big Mac found out?” the pegasus said.

“Rainbow Dash, as I’ve said before, this must be your decision to make. Twilight’s change, in whatever form it takes, is coming very soon. I…I just wanted to offer you closure. Closure that none of you got the last time. I…I guess I…” she stammered.

“What?” the rainbow-maned mare pressed.

“You…you know, my sister and I never talked about my return,” Luna stated.

“What do you mean?” the flyer asked.

“When…when you all broke me away from the nightmare’s grasp, my sister was happy to see me. She…she told me over and over again how happy she was that I was back and that she missed me. And…and although it felt good to hear those words, we never actually talked about why I changed. We never addressed the issues that caused us both so much pain a thousand years ago. A few weeks ago, Celestia and I had a fight, and during it, we said some nasty things to each other and…and she brought up my time as Nightmare Moon. It hurt me deeply, Rainbow Dash. It was after that quarrel that I realized that we’d never actually talked about what happened between us, and…and all of those emotions ultimately came out in a fight that ended up hurting us both,” she said.

Rainbow Dash nodded as Luna stood up and continued.

“I…I just didn’t want you and your friends to go on the rest of your lives without having the opportunity to say the things to her that are in your heart. I know the regret I feel and I just didn’t want you to experience that. Maybe…maybe I projected too much of myself into what Applejack was trying to do, but I honestly thought it was the best thing for her, and for the rest of you,” Luna explained.

“Look, I…I get what you’re saying, but…well…I guess there really is no clear cut right or wrong answer to this, huh? I…I mean I get what you’re trying to do, but I also see Big Mac’s point. I just…I dunno,” Rainbow Dash said looking over her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Rainbow Dash. I wasn’t looking for you to give me an answer. And you’re right, it was…nice to have someone listen to me on this. Thank you,” the moon princess stated, bowing her head.

“You’ve been doing the same for me, Princess Luna. I’m glad I could oblige,” the pegasus answered offering a warm smile.

As the flyer stood, they both turned, hearing the sound of flapping coming from behind them. Three royal guards approached them quickly, almost panting at the effort. Both Princess Luna and Rainbow Dash were immediately concerned. As they landed in front of them, the lead guard approached the princess of the night, a solemn look on his face.

“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia has summoned you and Rainbow Dash. It’s…it’s begun,” he said.

-

Fluttershy stood on her balcony, enjoying the night air as the cool breeze tossed her mane to the side slightly. Every once in a while, the breeze would become more powerful, tickling the cheek where she sported the bruise that Rarity gave her. She lifted her front hoof and rubbed it gently over the injured flesh. It still stung a bit, but it seemed to be going away. Fluttershy sighed as she once again thought back to the incident. She felt horrible after it happened. The animal lover had let her anger take control over her and she ended up pushing Rarity into a corner until she lashed out. Granted, it wasn’t like her to do so, but she couldn’t blame the unicorn. Twilight’s return and current transformation had been taking its toll on all of them emotionally. Princess Luna had encouraged her and the rest of them to go see Twilight before it was too late. Fluttershy had tried. She’d really tried. There were so many times when she’d walked over to her door, reaching out to open it, but sure enough, her fear got the better of her, and she just resigned herself to staying in her suite. She needed to find a way to make the vicious circle stop. Each time she got scared, it angered her. She felt like she couldn’t control herself, which just fed into the fear and anger even more. It needed to stop. How could she put a stop to it, though? She’d thought about approaching Princess Luna about her issues, but she’d been spending most of her time with Big Mac and Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t speaking to Applejack, she didn’t want to talk to Rarity, not after what happened, and it seemed like Pinkie Pie had no intention of reaching out to her either. Princess Celestia was busy with the telepod project, as well. The mere thought of those mechanical monstrosities sent a shiver down her spine. Fluttershy sighed deeply, looking up at the stars in the sky. It was a beautiful night. Princess Luna had outdone herself. Her eyelids became heavy as she lay down on her belly.

‘I guess I really am alone, huh?’ the pegasus thought to herself.

A loud thumping coming from inside the suite snapped her back to reality, as she got up quickly, moving into the bedchamber, and quickly opening the door.

Fluttershy gasped at the sight. There were three royal guards standing there, looking at her intently. She felt her fear rise. Why were they here? Did something happen? Questions began to permeate her mind, as she stood underneath their gaze. After a moment, the lead guard spoke up.

“Ms. Fluttershy, it is imperative that you come with us right away!” he said sternly.

“Oh…oh, my, did something happen?!? Is…is everything alright?!?” she inquired worriedly.

“I’m afraid not, Ms. Fluttershy. There’s been a development. We’ve been instructed by the princess herself to bring you to the rally point unharmed,” he answered.

‘What?!? Unharmed?!? Rally Point?!?’ she thought to herself as she brought her right hoof to her chest, backing away from the entryway.

“Wh…what happened?!? Please…please tell me what happened!” Fluttershy shouted as her breathing became more labored.

“Everything will be fine, as long as you come with us, we can assure…” the guard started before feeling something drip onto his nose.

It was a white, milky substance, and whatever it was, it burned. The stallion, grunted, shaking his head from side to side. He looked up to see where the leak was coming from.

“What was th-AHHH!” he screamed as a wave of the acid poured down onto his face.

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as she screamed. She slammed the door shut, locking it instantly. The pegasus put her back against the door, bracing it with every ounce of strength she had. She knew what that was. She’d seen it before. Everything came together in her head. Why the guards were there, what they said about there being a ‘development’ and that grisly scene she just experienced. Twilight’s transformation was complete and she was on the loose. She shut her eyes tight, as she felt her heart begin to beat faster. She could hear the struggle through the door. The ethereal moan was just like the one she heard come from Twilight after her transformation. She was out there, right now. Fighting royal guards. They and this two inch door of oak was the only thing that separated her from the beast that lurked just on the other side. She could hear the screams of the men as they fought bravely. As hard as they battled, Fluttershy could tell that they were losing.

‘Please win, please, please, please win!’ she thought to herself, as she did her best to maintain control.

The animal lover soon felt three hard thumps, one right after the other against the outer wall of her room. After a few moments, she pressed her ear up against the door, shivering and whimpering at the evidence of what just happened. There were three guards, and there were three loud bangs. The silence was killing her. The not knowing what was going on behind the door, not knowing whether or not she was going to be safe terrified the element of kindness. A loud and forceful hit against the door caused her to yelp, as she continued to brace the door with all her might.

“Go away, please, please, go away!” she whimpered, as the hammering against her entrance continued.

She heard the moan again from the other side, and then nothing. No more beating, and no more movement or sound. Fluttershy let out a deep breath as she let her muscles relax. It seemed that she was gone. As the pegasus began to get up, the door crashed on top of her, the hinges snapping like twigs. Fluttershy shuffled away, looking up at her attacker. It was her. Twilight’s hybrid form stood before her, staring at her menacingly. The yellow mare screamed at the top of her lungs, as tears streamed down her face. This was her worst nightmare realized. Reacting on pure instinct, she made a mad dash for the bathroom. The hybrid stuck out one of its appendages, however, tripping the pegasus. Fluttershy grunted, as she slid on the bathroom tiles, her face crashing into the far wall. She turned around, shrieking again, as she saw the monster approach her.

“HELP, SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE, HELP ME!” she screamed as loud as she could.

Once the beast entered the room, it shut the door, approaching Fluttershy slowly.

Suddenly, they both heard hoofsteps coming from outside. Before she could react, the monster grabbed her and dragged her into the tub, cradling her like a foal. Fluttershy didn’t know what to do. The beast then wrapped one of its appendages around the mare’s throat, squeezing tight, causing her to whimper. Too frightened, and without any air, Fluttershy couldn’t scream.

‘Please, I’m in here, please come in here!’ she thought to herself as she felt a huge weight on her chest.

Fluttershy looked down to see what else the monster was doing to her, but she saw nothing. The weight on her chest kept getting worse and worse, until she opened her mouth even wider at the painful sensation within her torso. She’d never felt pain like this before. Her legs had gone numb, and she felt like she was drowning. She shut her eyes tight, trying to think through the pain, but they quickly shot open as she realized what was happening.

‘No, no, I’m having a…’ was her last thought before the darkness took her.

-

Well, there ya go! Another chapter down! I can’t believe I wrote 20 chapters! Rest assured, there is quite a lot more to go in this tale, so stay tuned!