"Keep your arms in tighter. Yes, like that," Ezikeal said as he held up his hands and caught some punches from Rainbow Dash. He didn't get incinerated by the princesses, so he had set out to make good on his little deal with the rainbow pegasus, who was showing a large amount of enthusiasm for her want to get some pointers from him. They had been at it for around an hour now, and he had been watching her "show off some moves" before stepping in to give a little advice on what he had seen. She certainly knew how to handle herself well enough, that much was clear. The strength that she was able to exert was impressive, but while strength alone could get one far, there was a certain elevation that only combining that strength with better form would be able to reach. So, he was having her work on her technique.

"Hey..." she huffed a bit, "can I talk to you about something?" she asked, nailing his palm. He didn't mind the small burn in them from taking several hits for the majority of their session. Her request gave him pause, but he nodded, not indicating for her to stop, so she continued, furrowing her brow as she seemingly tried to piece together how she wanted to say what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry...for uh...that whole thing," she said, frowning and finally taking a second to pause.

"You don't need to apologize," he said and lowered his hands, "you were right. I didn't get incinerated. I think I actually...got offered a job, and accepted. So, that's something, right?"

"Ha...I mean, yeah I guess," she chuckled shallowly, "still, Princess Luna was...that was uncomfortable to sit through," she admitted, "...why'd you take that thing after all that?" she nodded her head towards his hand, where he had been wearing the ring. He was thankfully able to actually take it off, significantly reducing his initial suspicion of the item. Ezikeal had to admit, thinking back on the whole situation, that he should not have let himself be that passive. He silently blamed complacency on his part -- he was used to being the guy to follow the orders; just being the weapon that was deployed, not the guy up at the steering wheel making maneuvers around political leaders. The second factor he blamed was his fear towards them, and the idea of angering some kind of goddess without any backup plan aside from relying on his powers, which might not be enough to combat the two of them, sounded like it would be suicide.

"To be completely honest, it seemed like the most peaceful option," he said, looking at the pocket he had stashed the ring in, "to agree to their terms, try to keep my head down and deal with a problem that I was already involved in." Dash seemed to think on that answer.

"She just...pushed you around, dude," she sighed, "it doesn't sit right with me." She looked like there was more she wanted to add, but kept whatever it was to herself.

Me neither, he silently agreed, and the two got back at it.

"So Princess Luna is normally much more...?" he asked, catching another series of punches.

"Friendly, yeah," she landed a couple more, and Ezikeal approved of the adjustments she applied quickly as she focused on doing them right, "I've never seen her so...aggressive towards somepony like that, not to mention a lack of sympathy..." she landed her fist against his hand and held it there. Ezikeal raised an eyebrow, meeting her eyes with a curious tilt of his head.

"I'm gonna be honest, dude, you seem a decent amount of shady and shifty, with reason from the looks of it, but I can see you're trying to make things work out around here, which I, personally, appreciate," she pulled her arm back, "and you're focusing on fixing a problem you had a hand in," she smirked, before it fell some at the gravity of the mess he was involved in.

Ezikeal let out a smile at her words. She seemed to just be being down to earth and level with him, and being told she appreciated him specifically, rather than just the vague 'champions' card that other leaders on Azeroth would give while somehow managing to avoid interacting with him directly in most cases, gave him a warm feeling of comfort.

"Thanks. Now, I think it's time I start hitting you back a bit myself, hm?" he asked, letting the mood of the moment carry him for a bit.

"If you can," she shot back.

Amber Gem kept her head on a swivel, eyes sharp as she patrolled around the edges of Hayville, one of the smaller towns that was deemed "at risk" of some sort of Changeling attack by higher authorities. Amber hadn't been briefed on what exactly the cause of the sudden increase to security around certain parts of Equestria was, only that the Changelings were now to be treated as violent threats, meaning something deeply troubling must have happened. That fact set both her and her fellow guardsponies on edge. She was on patrol with two others, her taller fellow guard and earth pony, Ivy Blossom, who had blue hair under her helmet and green eyes surveying their surroundings, as well as the third member of her patrol, Pearl Wing, the pegasus with silvery white feathers and blonde hair with brown eyes. Amber was the unicorn of their trio, and so if anything happened it was most reliably up to her to signal of danger to the other guards stationed in the small town.

"I'm worried," Ivy said, speaking what seemed to be on all of their minds, "to station several times the normal amount of ponies here," she shook her head. Sure, they had basically been the only guards stationed in the town, but now there were two other trios sharing in providing protection to the town, that alone was setting alarm bells off in everyponies' heads, even the normal citizens had taken a notice that morning. Masking their concern was necessary though, it was their responsibility to preserve the peace, so answering and dismissing a few questions here and there about what was going on was more of a reprieve from dwelling on it personally.

"This is Azure Star, we see movement north of town," a voice communicated, echoing in Amber's head through the telepathic link she had established with the other two guard patrols after they arrived. Azure Star was another unicorn in one of the patrols. They had only met briefly, enough to exchange pleasantries, evaluate each other and coordinate communication between the three patrols.

"This is Amber Gem, we'll start heading in that direction, update us if you need us sooner." she sent back to prompt the third patrol to remain on their normal route, before relaying the information back to her trio. They maintained their normal route some before turning off and making their way towards the northern point. She knew Azure's team could probably handle a couple angry Changelings on their own if that was even what they saw, but the lack of response for several minutes as her trio walked in focused silence ate at her nerves. When she felt the telepathic link activate again, the voice that came through was not the one of dismissal she had hoped to hear.

"Changelings here! Help!" the message was quick and rushed, the voice Azure had communicated with being almost strained, as if she was sending the communication while casting something else. She and the other patrol sent affirmative responses and they went into action, rushing towards the scene.

"Pearl, go ahead of us, we'll be right behind you, there's Changelings and they need help!" she said, relaying the vital information.

"On it!" Pearl Wing said and shot off the ground to fly directly to where her aid was needed, another pegasus could be seen flying up from another spot at the edge of town as well, followed by a volley of strange, green magic being fired up at them. The pegasus swiftly, narrowly dodged before diving back down at the supposed Changelings.

That didn't look like typical Changeling magic.

Amber rushed faster, and panic welled up inside her when she heard what sounded like Pearl let out a scream upon their arrival. Amber's horn began to glow with a spell and Ivy was priming herself for the fight as they rounded the corner to help their fellow guardsponies.

Only to recoil at the sight in front of her, the spell fizzling out from the sheer shock of what she was now witnessing. There were four Changelings...or at least what looked like Changelings, something about them was off, they were an almost sickly green color instead of their usual black, and they looked much stronger than the typical run of the mill drone. That was the least concerning factor of the scene, what really sent a spike of dread through Amber was the very lifeless earth pony and Pearl Wing on the ground as two of the Changelings advanced on the remaining two guardsponies. The earth pony, Sturdy Shield, if she was remembering his name right, was motionless in a pool of red mixed with a glowing green substance, the mixture resulting in a bubbling, almost boiling sizzle to emanate from it. It appeared as if he had been blasted by some dark magic and stabbed deeply, the wound hidden with him being face down but no other possibility explained the amount of blood. Pearl Wing wasn't in much better shape. The pegasus was on her back, a terrified expression plastered on her lifeless face. One of her wings was at an odd angle, and what looked like a magical burn covered almost half her body, leaving a dark green, almost black layer of char over her armor and flesh. Ivy wasn't stunned for as long as Amber, and charged forth with an enraged scream dead set on avenging their fallen comrades.

"No, wait!" Azure cried out when she saw Ivy charge. The scream was enough to knock Amber out of her shock and she quickly cast a barrier over her ally. Thankfully it was in the nick of time, as the Changeling closest to Ivy whirled with a hiss, holding a polearm and swung. As the blade traveled through the air, a green flame engulfed it, leaving a trail of dark smoke before it impacted the barrier.

The loud sound of magic shattering rumbled through the area as Ivy scrambled to retreat with wide eyes and Amber shook her head rapidly, the pain of the barrier being overpowered staggering her for a brief moment, but she was trained for this and was able to recover quick enough to send a bolt of magic at the Changeling to cover for Ivy's retreat. It impacted the Changeling in a direct hit, pushing it back a foot or so and leaving a scorch of magic on the chitinous armor adorning the creature's body, only slowing it momentarily.

"They aren't normal!" Azure yelled, expending her magic to try to lock the Changelings in place while the remaining pegasus, Blazed Feather, remained close to Azure, taking a defensive strategy. The spell did little to slow the Changlelings, one focused on Amber and Ivy, while the other looked at Azure and Blazed. Disturbingly to Amber, two of the Changelings, not engaging in the combat right in front of them, seemed to be looking past the guards and into the small town. They appeared tense, like they wanted to move but were unable to make themselves. She narrowed her eyes with confusion, trying to puzzle that out for the briefest of moments, but a shout from Ivy grounded her once again.

"What's up with them!?" Ivy asked, panicked as the Changeling advanced on the pair while the other advanced on Azure's pair.

"I don't know!" Amber sent another bolt, this one packed with more magic, at the advancing enemy, following it quickly with a bright ray of light to disorient it. The results were as she hoped, an enraged screech and a momentary halt to the advance. Ivy capitalized on the moment to rush forward, spear primed and stabbed at the stunned Changeling.

Tink echoed blade against armor. The spearhead didn't penetrate the carapace, so Ivy settled for shoving as hard as she could, successfully pushing the Changeling onto its ass and narrowly dodging an uncoordinated swing from the polearm before rushing back to Amber's side.

"'Not normal' is an understatement," Ivy said firmly, slivers of panic in her voice. Amber didn't have time to check on how Azure and Blazed were fairing as the Changeling's horn lit up with a bright, strange, intimidating green fire of magic.

What is that!? shot through Amber's mind as the feral look of hatred and violence in the Changeling's eyes met hers a moment before the spell was unleashed. A fireball of the same intense green launched towards her and she let out a yelp, not expecting an explosive looking spell like that to be cast at such a close range. Did this Changeling not have any concern for itself!? With a quick wave of both hands a wall of magic solidified in front of her and she poured all the magic she was able into it.

The resulting explosion and shattering magic swiftly sent her tumbling back and a sickening scent filled the air. Her shield was destroyed and the resulting blast sent a burning feeling across her skin. She hissed as she got to her elbows, tiredly blowing a gust of wind with a weak spell to dissipate the smoke. The ground around the impact was charred and small green flames were engulfing patches of grass. The Changeling was shakily getting to its feet, the blast seeming to have at least rocked it, but before anything more could happen a large spike of ice was sent from somewhere and shattered against the Changeling's body, sending it stumbling a few feet to the side, followed by another, and another. Someone thudded against the ground behind Amber and hooked their arms under hers.

The last patrol finally arrived.

Amber felt relief dampen the dread and panic.

"Can you stand?" The pegasus asked, she never caught this one's name.

"Y-Yeah," she answered and he helped lift her up, "wait, Ivy!?" Amber called, looking for her ally, she hadn't had time to shield them both, so she hoped Ivy was behind the barrier she put up enough to avoid the most of the damage.

"I'm...I'm okay..." A coarse voice called out from the ground several meters away where the earth pony was laying. She looked burnt, but not badly.

"Get to Icy Wind, I'll get your friend," the pegasus said, gesturing to the third unicorn now in the fray, flinging spikes of icy magic at the Changeling. Icy Wind was a higher ranked unicorn in the guard, sent as a tougher reinforcement to the small town, and if her current output was anything to go by, she was decently stronger than both Amber and Azure. Amber nodded and quickly set to making her way to the unicorn. As she did, she glanced around, noticing that Azure and Blazed were holding their own relatively well against the Changeling after them. Azure was flinging magic at it, and Blazed was carrying her away with a few flaps of her wings whenever the Changeling got too close. Icy Wind, the unicorn with pale skin and striking blue eyes, gave her a glance but remained focused on channeling her energy into the barrage of ice lances. Amber silently admired the skill of the other Unicorn. The ice was no longer pushing the Changeling back, now only slamming against a transparent green barrier instead.

"I sent Stern Hoof to go move ponies across the village to safety," she explained, noting the lack of the earth pony from her trio. "If we cannot disable either of them we are in serious danger when the other two decide to stop spectating," Icy said, some exertion clear in her voice as she channelled the barrage, "what can you tell me about them?" she asked as Amber finally had a moment to pull a mana recovery potion from her satchel and downed it. The pegasus landed by them with Ivy a moment later.

"Their magic is very strong, it broke my barriers in a single hit each time. They are resilient to physical weapons, Ivy's blade did not pierce their natural armor," Amber reported, now scanning the encounter to figure out how to aid. She saw the Changeling attacking Azure light up like a torch, finally starting to use magic itself. She had room to breathe for the moment, so she took a deep breath, small swirls of magic whirling around her horn as she channelled a more complex spell, and prepared to cast.

Energy Drain

A light blue swirl of magic channeled down from Amber's horn, to her hands, and shot out towards the Changeling like a bullet, impacting the Changeling's horn not even a second later. The Changeling let out a shrieking roar as energy was quickly siphoned. The blue magic shifted to a green hue as it traveled back to Amber. She quirked a brow, energy drain didn't usually change-

Agony.

Searing, white hot agony tore through Amber's entire being the moment the green passed through her hands back into her system. She cried out and cut the spell off immediately but the damage was already done. She panted and groaned, falling to her side as the strange sensation clawed its way through her.

"Amber?!" Ivy asked, concern evident in her voice as Amber thrashed. Amber didn't respond, couldn't respond as the pain ran its course. She didn't know how long the mind numbing pain lasted, all she could register were the hands trying to shake her at different points. When the pain dulled to a constant throbbing centered in her head she was breathing hard, body feeling weak, and seeing Ivy's concerned face staring down at her.

"Amber, hey! Amber, are you with us!?" Ivy asked, glancing over somewhere to the side where the sounds of magic clashing echoed, but Amber couldn't muster the energy to turn her head to investigate the noises.

"I'm...agh...I'm alive..." she said. Her mind whirled - she had no idea what just happened. Did the Changelings have counter-charms to energy drain spells? She had never heard of any that drastic in their negative reactions to enemy intrusions. Ivy fumbled through her bag and poured a small vial into Amber's mouth, revitalizing her energy, but doing nothing to dull the aching in her head. She finally turned to look at the state of the conflict.

A shrill shriek echoed from where Azure was, a bright lance of magic had finally pierced through the solid, chitinous armor covering the Changeling's body and it now lay motionless and prone in the dirt, a pool of bright green blood forming around it, leaving the grass it came into contact with withered and dead. Azure was practically collapsed on the ground, Blazed looked like the only thing keeping her somewhat straight as she panted, on her knees.

That left- she turned to see the other Changeling with several ice lances through its torso, blood sizzling against the ice and pooling down at its feet. Icy Wind was standing tall, holding a forced looking posture to keep from falling, panting and staring at the Changeling with her arms still pointed towards it and horn faintly glowing. The pegasus Amber still didn't know had several mana potions, most empty, and another filled at the ready to give to Icy Wind. It looked like to keep the barrage of ice going, she had been getting fed the potions as she channelled. Amber raised an eyebrow, that was a little risky for a couple reasons, mainly the way that would tax somepony's body, but she didn't have the capacity to weigh the positives and drawbacks right now. Both disdain, worry, and a visible tinge of regret could be seen in the icy unicorn's eyes. They didn't want to kill them, but this encounter only confirmed what they had been told...the Changelings were absolutely a lethal danger now.

And two more remained.

Or should have remained, would be the better term, considering both of the Changelings were now missing.

Dread solidified in the pit of Amber's stomach, even as Azure Star and Blazed Wing regrouped with them.

"We need to get to the citizens, now!" Amber practically screamed. A murderous Changeling with that kind of power was horrible already, but two!? The ice cold fear overwhelming her (and another revitalizing potion) spurred her on as she raced with the others into the town. As they ran, the worries only grew deep inside Amber Gem. It took so much effort to take down the first two, and they were already going to be quite exhausted going into this next fight with the not-even-a-little exhausted Changelings. Could they even protect the citizens? No, they had to try, it was their duty, a part of her duty that she didn't think would ever come to pass at a level like this; "to take the burden of danger so that others may thrive." They reached halfway across town when they encountered Stern Hoof once again, likely heading back to meet up with them.

"Where are the citizens?" Amber asked desperately, causing Stern to take a step back from the surprise at how forceful her voice had gotten.

"I took them across the town opposite of you, what happened with the Changelings?" he replied quickly.

"Take us to the citizens, two escaped into the town," Icy said and Stern's eyes widened before turning back the way he came from and leading the rest of them quickly.

Please please please don't be too late, Celestia please! Amber repeated in her head, the ache having finally dulled enough to be completely ignored by the adrenaline pumping through her system. As they neared the end of a street, voices could be heard. They sounded terrified, but alive, and the alive part was what mattered to Amber because of course they would be scared. When they turned the corner, though, a few factors practically gave Amber, and likely the others, a heart attack. For one, Stern Hoof was already dead and on the ground, discarded to the side of the terrified crowd who looked to have been herded into a clump. Secondly, the Stern Hoof they had been following transformed back into a Changeling with a burst of green fire, turning its weapon on them quickly. Third, another Changeling was present, a feminine figure that was much taller than the other two Changelings, with an impressively long horn and an unmistakably imposing presence.

Chrysalis.

Amber's blood froze. Time seemed to stop as the Changeling queen turned to look at the new arrivals. Her piercing, glowing green eyes locking onto each pony one after another, a predatory smile on her lips with her fangs shining in the light.

"My, my, if it isn't the little troop of troublesome ponies who have bested two of my lesser drones! Come to join in on the fun?" her voice practically bled through the air, a mocking, echoey scraping against Amber's ears as the Changeling Queen punctuated her sentence with a laugh, mostly to herself. Her laughter cut itself short when she gave her two drones a look. They let out a chittering growl in response to the mental order, and moved to stand guard by the collection of the citizens as Chrysalis walked towards Amber and the others. Amber felt her heartbeat hammer harder and harder in her chest as fear flooded her system. They could not even hope to best the Changeling Queen, even before they got their hands on whatever strange power was making even lesser drones such a catastrophic ordeal now. They needed a way out, they had to find some escape, to warn others of what was happening!c

It seemed the others had similar thoughts.

"You five get out of here," Blazed said, orange eyes not leaving the approaching Queen.

"Oh? How cute," Chrysalis smirked as the pegasus got ready to charge her.

"Go!" Blazed shouted.

"Yes, run!" The Queen mocked.

"What-" Amber began to immediately protest before the pegasus surged forwards at the Changeling Queen with a powerful flap of her wings. Chrysalis only seemed to be amused; she watched the brave pegasus and decided to humor her it seemed, nimbly avoiding the flurry of strikes. Azure grabbed Amber and Ivy's shoulders. Amber knew what they were going to do and it made her sick, terrified, and guilty all at once.

"We can't let this happen somewhere else so easily," Azure said, her horn lighting up with a spell. Amber's breathing only sped up, they were really about to just-just leave!? They were going to just run away and leave everyone!?

"But the citizens-" Amber started, only to be cut off by Ivy.

"If they wanted to kill them they would already be dead, there may be a chance to rescue them yet," she reassured. Amber closed her eyes.

"Where to?" Amber asked through gritted teeth, horn igniting with magic.

"Canterlot," Icy Wind said. Amber nodded, and charged the spell with Azure, needing to rely on each other to transport multiple people at once. As the spell was cast, she spared a glance to see Blazed finally land a hit, only for her arm to be grabbed by Chrysalis, an equally eager and violent look in her eyes.

A flash of light, a pop of sound, a change in temperature, and Amber's feet touched the stone flooring of the barracks of Canterlot before she promptly fell to her knees. Their sudden arrival, and the state of them, immediately caused a commotion but it was all a blur around her. She heard Icy talking loudly but everything was muffled. They were finally out of the danger, the adrenaline was wearing off, and the reality of what just happened was crashing into Amber Gem like a ton of bricks.

She had just witnessed the deaths of three, likely four other ponies, almost died herself, contributed to taking the lives of two other living things regardless of the danger they posed, and if that wasn't enough, she fled from the battle, leaving not only another guardspony in danger, but also the entire population of the town she was supposed to protect. She wanted to throw up, but settled for stinging of tears in her eyes and the heaving of her breaths as she broke down.

Celestia took a sip of her tea, her sister sitting quietly across from her in her chambers. The doors were locked and the windows closed. Her sister had conducted herself rather unfavorably the other day with Ezikeal, and while Celestia understood part of the reason, a cloud of mystery hung in the air for her. She hadn't anticipated her sister to behave so outwardly hostile in her interactions with the man. She finally had the time to really sit down and speak with her sister after coordinating things with the guards and tending to her responsibilities.

"Sister-"

"No," Luna said, recognizing the chiding tone of her sister immediately, "if thou intends to scold us like a filly, we ask thou to hold thy tongue and let us speak first." Celestia paused, setting down her tea cup and nodded for Luna to continue.

"Thou compares us, Sister? This Ezikeal and ourself, we mean," Luna said, setting her own tea down as well.

"I never said such," Celestia said and observed her sister through a calm, regal mask. Even if she knew her sister would be able to see right through the front, it made her feel more comfortable addressing these sorts of issues through it. The accusation was accurate, though, Luna and Ezikeal did seem to share a similarity in a corrupted past full of misdoings, even if one was considerably much more brutal, "but the fact remains, Sister, that we require the assistance of one who is more knowledgeable on the immediate threat to our subjects. It is also true that you do share, if not in the degree, the circumstances by which wrongdoings were enacted..."

"Yet Ezikeal clings to it," Luna spat, "We observed him thoroughly, and his refusal to forego such treacherous, violent power sickens us. We sought to abandon our own. To forget our horrible past, our grievous misdeeds. This Ezikeal holds them akin to a trophy, flaunting such power when it suits him. To speak as though we, who hath denounced, rejected, and moved beyond our history and this reckless one who wields the arts of death so brazenly, are within any means similar!? The notion itself is an insult, Sister." Luna's eyes burned with irritation, disdain and worry as she stared into Celestia's own. Celestia was silent for a moment, thinking on Luna's words. So that's why...

"Luna, you and Ezikeal are not the same," Celestia said softly, raising her hand to keep Luna from jumping in, "But you are similar, and I fear you have thrown away an opportunity to achieve what you had desired from him. You do not want him to cling to his power as much as I do. It is terrifying, and very clearly a danger. However, we must consider the person wielding the power as well, and what he must have gone through to make him want to hold this power as close as he does. Do you not feel you may have scared him into being even more defensive? I spoke with Twilight about what transpired before I had entered," Celestia's tone grew more firm as her words progressed. Luna's eyes widened ever so slightly before she looked away, crossing her arms.

"We...see thy point. Still-"

"Still," Celestia kept going, "we are entering into troubling times, dangerous times. We are not strangers to conflict, Sister, but it has been lifetimes, and even more so, it involves powers from domains with which we had not held any desire to interact with. We," she reached over across the table and took her sister's hand, "cannot afford to be blinded by grudges or let our opinions on what we want done impact what needs to be done. Right now, we need Ezikeal," She squeezed Luna's hand, who's expression finally softened and she squeezed back, "he's the only one who truly knows what we are about to be facing head on."

"Sister...we are deeply troubled and worried for our kingdom..." Luna said softly.

"I am too, Sister." Celestia agreed.

A loud, rapid knock stirred them from the soft quiet they had settled into.

"Yes?" Celstia called, brow furrowing. She had specifically arranged for there to be no interruptions to this meeting, so why...

"Princess, there has been an attack from the Changelings!"

It had been two days since the Princesses visited, and Twilight had gotten everyone gathered and on the next train ride to Canterlot, leaving Spike to take care of things back at the library. The ride itself proved to be relatively peaceful, a fact that Ezikeal was glad about. He sat by a window, distancing himself from the rest of the group slightly and watched the world pass by rapidly. There truly was so much he had yet to fully have an understanding of about this world, and he silently kicked himself for not borrowing more books from the library, even if that meant enduring questions and conversations from a very clearly wary, borderline on edge, Twilight. He did not fault her for it, exactly, even if she could handle it better. From what he understood, it was likely the stress of having to deal with truly, actual lethal threats for once. He wished he had the skill his old group leader, Thorburn Prescott, a warrior from Elwynn who always exuded positivity and confidence and could manage to calm down even the most heightened of emotions in others. The energy that man brought to the group was undeniable, and kept them going when things got tough. Ezikeal had always dismissed his charismatic nature, but now he sorely missed it. Thorburn wouldn't have taken so much shit from Luna, either, Ezikeal reckoned with a small smirk, picturing the warrior fearlessly squaring up with the lunar deity regardless of what the outcome of that may have been.

Ezikeal glanced around the train car. Twilight was deep in a book, Applejack was asleep, Fluttershy was on the opposite end of the train car from him, in the opposite corner with Rarity and Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash was halfway between himself and Applejack. Rainbow Dash met his eyes when they fell on her and she shuffled over to sit closer to him.

"So...what are the cities like where you're from?" Dash asked, deciding the quiet of the train car had gone on for long enough.

"It depends on where in my homeland you were, but some were large and open to the sky," Ezikeal said, thinking of Stormwind, "others were more sheltered, one was built inside a mountain as a large fortress," he said, mind drifting to Ironforge, home of the dwarves. He noticed a perk up from Twilight across the car in the corner of his eye at the mention of it, but paid it no mind.

"Hm, Canterlot is built on the side of one," Dash said, glancing out the window. Ezikeal glanced as well, seeing the city coming up in the distance. It really was on the side of the mountain, a large section overhanging off of it completely. Ezikeal was no stranger to dangerous looking architecture and designs, given that Dalaran, a large city floating in the sky held up only by magic, existed, not to mention a plethora of other floating structures and precarious settlements he knew of, so he wasn't too shocked to see it.

"I like it," he said, earning a smile from Dash. It was true, it looked unique and he was excited to see how a city was in a time of true peace, even if that peace was soon to be very disturbed...possibly ruined entirely.

"Wait till we get into it, it's a lot cooler up close," she said as she nudged his arm, the small gesture served to put Ezikeal's mind at ease. For all his doubts about his situation and relationships, his connection with Dash seemed to be his closest relationship at the moment. Applejack was close as well, but she seemed to hold some, justifiable, reservations. Twilight was...Twilight, he didn't feel like he could trust her, even if her overall intentions were "good" in the general sense. The rest of them he hadn't interacted with enough to really gauge their standings, and that fact was something he wanted to mend relatively soon.

The trip on train to Canterlot station took a little over half a day; they had left early that morning and now the sun was already signaling the near-end of the afternoon. The train staff provided them with some meals, and Ezikeal got to try a couple food options from what was being served. Oatmeal and a slice of carrot cake, both were quite good to Ezikeal's taste, thoroughly enjoying being able to experience the taste of foods again. When they pulled into the station, Ezikeal looked out the window and saw the stone architecture of Canterlot, both similar and very different to the sprawling stonework of Stormwind. The buildings appeared colorful on their roofings and decorations, some shop windows were displaying merchandise, and the populace seemed to be bustling no matter where he looked. The insignia of Equestria was strung up on flags and banners, a blue background with white stars centered with what looked to be artful depictions of the two goddesses circling the sun and moon respectively. When Ezikeal stepped off the train, he caught several guards and a few of the other citizens looking his way warily from the sword on his back, but it seemed the presence of the other six was enough to dissuade any confrontation.

"We should meet with the Princesses before we do any sightseeing," Twilight announced and began to lead the group into the city. Ezikeal was greatly impressed with the city from a first impression with how positive it seemed everywhere. Ponies were talking in the streets, swarming in and out of some of the more popular looking stores, and it didn't seem like there was much of a worry in the world for most of them. The guards looked a little on edge, surveying the crowds for anything suspicious, but Ezikeal figured that was understandable considering the increased danger of Changelings was likely now common knowledge amongst the forces. As they ascended towards the higher sections of the city towards the castle, the crowds thinned, and Ezikeal recognized the separation between the upper class sectors and the rest of the city. Ponies were still out and about in a high population, but not nearly as much as the lower sectors. Those he saw here were dressed much more nicely, and the stores much more high class. Rarity seemed to straighten her already rigid posture, glowing in her ideal setting, the dark blue dress she wore matching, and in several cases, outclassing, the other citizens who had dressed themselves up as they walked through the streets.

As they reached the outskirts of the castle itself, the armor of the guards shifted, indicating a switch from the usual guard to royal guard, with a more vibrant gold and blue look to their armor compared to the guards on the outside. From conversations Ezikeal had had with royal guards in Stormwind, the position was of great importance and honor, despite typically seeing little actual action. They took a stance of attention as the seven of them approached.

"Elements, Ezikeal," the guard addressed them and Ezikeal raised his eyebrow slightly, not expecting the guard to know him by name, "the Princesses have urgently requested your presence upon your arrival."

"Did something happen?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"You would be correct, please, go on ahead, the Princesses told us to inform you that they will be in the medical wing," he said, opening the gates for them, ignoring the startled sound Twilight and the others let out. A nervous air had materialized over the group, looks of nervousness taking hold of each of their expressions, even Ezikeal was concerned, though he had an idea of what the cause of such an urgent request may be involving. The Changelings, it had to be, the only question left was what about them? Did they already attack, had they snuck into the city, or had more information come to light? It was more likely an encounter, given they were heading to the medical wing of all places. Ezikeal didn't bother taking in the scenery of the castle as the group moved quickly into it, Twilight navigating them down several hallways quickly and easily until they came to a stop at a large set of doors. The stone aesthetic of the castle shifted to a more sterile-seeming one, smoother stones, almost like polished quartz, adorned the architecture in this section. There were more ponies in what looked like doctor's uniforms and lab coats, some pushing carts, others looking over papers. It didn't seem especially busy, but it wasn't lifeless by any means. It took only a moment for Twilight to talk to one of the nurses before the seven of them found themselves approaching the end of a hallway with an indicated room number. Celestia was standing outside of the room, waiting for them. A glance through the window revealed a pony wrapped up in bandages laying in the single bed and Luna sitting in a chair not too far from it at the side of the room. The pony had blue hair and the eye that wasn't covered by bandages was a soft green.

"Thank you all for coming here so promptly, I had not anticipated our meeting would be getting off to such a heavy start," Celestia said, face a depiction of empathy and concern, "I need to inform you about our current situation, as it is most dire, before we speak with those who have come to inform us of this situation," she explained, tilting her head to indicate the pony in the room as one of the informants. Said pony was looking through the window at the Element bearers with surprise before her eyes met Ezikeal's and a look of curiosity replaced awe. The Element bearers looked back through the window with varied expressions. Applejack's face was pressed into a neutral one, but Ezikeal had spent enough time around her to know she was concerned. Rarity's distaste for whatever treatment this pony had gone through was clear on her face. Rainbow Dash was looking sympathetic, same as Pinkie, who had even deflated a little at the sight. Twilight looked horrified and Fluttershy was no longer hiding behind her hair and was openly looking on at the scene in what appeared to be shock, but her clenched fists seemed to indicate she was angry, which surprised Ezikeal.

"What happened? Did the Changelings do this?" Twilight started to ask.

"Hayville was attacked by Changelings and Chrysalis herself made an appearance," Celestia said, "Of the nine guards at location, three passed away and one is unaccounted for," she said, earning a collection of gasps from the others.

"T-Three?" Rarity stammered, shock and sadness evident in her voice, to which Celestia nodded her confirmation.

"We want you here now to hear the reports so that you may have an understanding of what exactly has happened," she said, then looked directly at Ezikeal, "or press for details you think may be relevant." Ezikeal nodded, understanding his role in this. The Changelings had already attacked. That was not a good sign at all, especially with Chrysalis' involvement. Celestia let them inside the room.

"Ivy Blossom, I am sure you are familiar with the Element Bearers: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, and this here is Ezikeal, a very skilled pony with experience involving what is going on with the Changelings." Celestia explained and Ivy Blossom sat up a bit straighter, "they are here to help and compile information about what has transpired." Ivy nodded, her hands shaking a bit as she gripped her bedsheets.

"We were doing our patrols like usual when Azure's patrol sent word of movement at the edge of the town, asking for another trio to come investigate with them. About halfway there it was announced that there were Changelings. We rushed to the scene, Pearl Wing went on ahead of us. When we arrived, Pearl Wing and Sturdy Shield were both already deceased. We engaged in combat with two of the four Changelings present, I can only be thankful they didn't join in at the time...The Changelings themselves were very abnormal. They were an off-color, incredibly strong to where my blade deflected off of their carapace, and wielded destructive magic that destroyed our barriers in single hits. Azure Star and Amber Gem used their magic and I attempted to assist Amber Gem while Icy Wind's trio approached. A Changeling shot a fireball that exploded, giving me the burns I arrived with, and after that Icy Wind's trio arrived. She sent Stern Hoof to go warn the citizens and take them to safety and engaged in combat with one of the Changelings along with Bright Gust. We ki-dispatched the Changelings and noticed the remaining two had gone into the town. We met up with who we thought was Stern Hoof, who led us to where the citizens were taken only to then find out that the real Stern Hoof was dead, replaced by the Changeling who led us to the citizens. Chrysalis was there. After telling us to go, Blazed Feather engaged the Changeling Queen in combat as Azure and Amber cast a teleportation spell on themselves and me, while Icy Wind took herself and Bright Gust to Canterlot, where we arrived in the barracks," as Ivy spoke, she gripped the sheets tighter and stared down into her lap. Celestia put a hand on her shoulder, soothing her gently. Twilight wrote every word down on a scroll while the others seemed to get even more distressed by the news. Ezikeal pondered the report for only a moment, before deciding where he needed to press for details.

"Aside from the odd new strength these Changelings had, did anything else out of the ordinary or of note occur?" he asked. Ivy slowly nodded.

"They resisted an Energy Drain from Amber, it left her in a state of anguish for several minutes," she said.

"Resisted?" Twilight asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, that is what it seemed. She attempted it, and shortly after was on the ground, disabled for several minutes due to the pain." Ezikeal nodded at Ivy's words, trusting Twilight to have written that down.

"What state were the citizens in when you saw them?" he asked next.

"They were herded into a crowd and were fearful. None at the location aside from Stern looked injured," Ivy reported.

"If they weren't dead, it is likely they will be used for some other purpose. What that is I am unsure of," Ezikeal concluded, looking at the others, namely Celestia, Luna, and Twilight to see if they had any objections to his conclusion.

"It is quite likely they intend to kidnap them all and use them to extract love. It sustains them," Celestia agreed, Luna nodding slowly alongside her sister.

"That means there's still a chance to save them..." Ivy said hopefully, Ezikeal nodded, despite the reservations in his mind. Assuming they still needed love to sustain them after being infused so thoroughly with Fel, it was safe to assume that the citizens were all, or at least mostly, still alive. That was also to assume that the Changelings did not do anything else aside from this "love extracting," which Ezikeal was not confident on. There was something else about the story that quietly nagged at Ezikeal's mind.

"Tell me about this Energy Drain spell, please," he said.

"Energy Drain, a semi-challenging spell in which the caster connects their magic to the target in order to siphon their mana and magical energy. In old texts, it was described by magic scholars as effectively becoming a magic vampire, taking another's magic into oneself. It was deemed effective at neutralizing unprepared magic users and boosting ones own magic power for a short period." Twilight answered quickly, as if she were reciting a text she had read, a fact Ezikeal didn't doubt. Furthermore, that alluded to something very dangerous if it truly worked as described.

"Thank you. I would like to meet this Amber Gem, I believe she may be in danger," Ezikeal said, locking eyes with Princess Celestia.

I'm back! Kinda.

Life has been busy busy, but I haven't forgotten this story, and others I want to write (realistically this chapter had been sitting like 60% done for several months now I just have not had the time/energy to finish it out until now). I truly appreciate the feedback from those who have followed this story and I am so sorry for the very long hiatus. I will try to post things a little more frequently, but I'm not going to make any big promises because idk what life will bring and tbh things are still kinda wacky and busy rn. Posting timeline is likely gonna be infrequent but I don't intend to fully abandon this story at all whatsoever.

Side note, I saw a few comments mentioning it should have an anthro tag a while ago now, and so I have added it, I don't want to mislead people into my story, so I appreciate being told about this. For some reason I thought the human tag would just cover it but I see where my logic kinda breaks with that heh.

As always, constructive feedback is welcome and appreciated! I am trying to make a good story, and this is my first real attempt at that so I am always looking for ways to improve.

Update: Life kinda decided that right as it was starting to settle to start being wack again so next post is gonna likely be a couple months again sadge sorry for my lack of consistency :(