It had been almost a three days since Ezikeal had asked Twilight about a sword with no response. He didn't know what kind of rules might be involved with requesting a weapon, and if it had to be shipped from the capital city it was likely going to take some time, especially if there were further security issues that Twilight had to navigate. As it stood now, he was just waiting. He had gotten back to work on the farm, and today was sent to the outskirts of the orchard to make sure the newer trees were growing in right. A fence had marked a boundary where the edge of the farm was, and Applejack had told him about the Everfree forest being relatively close to the edge of the orchard, just a relatively short walk away, informing him that the forest was host to many wild dangers for a person. Ezikeal could see the forest now from over the fence in the distance, it didn't look too far away. The trees were very much imposing and giving it a dark atmosphere as he gazed into it. Applejack hadn't specified, but he wondered what kind of danger was present within it. The more he thought it over, the more he concluded that the forest could give him an opportunity to investigate the full properties of his sword in private, since nobody wanted to stray into it normally due to the supposed danger.

Well, it was about time for a break anyway. He wouldn't be gone long, but he needed to figure these things out sooner, rather than later. He climbed over the fence and made his way to the unexplored (to him) treeline of the Everfree. A small pang of uncertainty echoed in his mind, what if something got the jump on him? Or he grossly overestimated the power of his blade or his ability to wield it and encountered something deadly.

You've faced worse unknowns. His mind said simply, silencing his doubts as he walked forwards into the darkness. A cold wind blew past him, and soon he was traversing through the dark, winding trunks of the forest trees. The sounds of wind and the rustle of tree leaves accompanied him in his walk. He kept himself alert, anything that sounded more than just the wind he looked towards, but otherwise he just searched for any semblance of a clearing to isolate himself.

A distant howl.

An echoing thud.

The sound of water rushing through a river in the distance.

The Everfree was most certainly alive.

Alright, this should be good, Ezikeal thought, finding a small clearing that gave him enough room to really move around easily. He took a breath, reaching back over his shoulder and grabbing hold of the hilt of his sword. He gripped it firm and a dull hiss echoed as the runes along the guard ignited with blue magic as he began to pull. It was locked in place for the briefest of moments before drawing, along with an icy chill enveloping Ezikeal's entire being, growing only colder as he continued to draw the blade.

Pain!

A searing, unbearable pain pierced through him and he couldn't contain his groan of torment, that soon grew louder into a anguished shout as he drew the blade, yanking it fully out of the sheath. He breathed heavily as agony racked through his body, muscles and bones. He felt...empty...familiar. He couldn't see it, but a blue glow had overtaken his eyes, signifying the power once locked away in his blade now flowed freely through him. He gripped the blade with both hands, anguish boiling over in his very blood. He felt it, then, the hunger, the hunger that Death Knights were plagued with. It tore at him from the inside, urging him to lash out in violent fury. He had felt it before - he had lived with it, contained it, but the break he had taken from it's presence was now by no means unappreciated. He felt his emotions dull, the calm he had attained for himself leaving with barely a whisper in his mind, the other stresses and troubles faded - the only thing he felt was the hallow, searing agony of his being.

The grass around his feet froze solid.

He had to focus. He looked now upon his sword, several large runes glowed brightly, thrumming with power as he observed them. The familiarity of their strength provided some comfort. He went to stand straighter, breath and body shaking. Billows of frost floated out from his mouth as he exhaled roughly.

Focus! Focus! He growled to himself, finding it a little easier now to reach the old steel of his resolve. It could not fully be what it once was, his body was not numbed by undeath and his senses of feeling were very much sharper. The pain felt amplified, much further than he had remembered it, but he wrenched his thoughts away from it as best he could and focused on getting what he had set out to do. He had a purpose here, and could feel his fortitude slowly cracking as the strain of death forced itself to flow through him. He needed to be quick about this.

Something...simple... He let go of the hilt with one hand, holding the sword now just in one. Clenching his now free fist, he let the fury that drove his hunger boil over to the forefront of his energy. A searing heat rolled through him inside, and he clenched his teeth hard at the sensation - it was like he had thrown himself into a furnace. He groaned, before opening his mouth in a ghostly snarl and thrusting his blade skyward as the energy of blood tore out of his body and rushed over him. Red ripples of energy flowed from his form in a rapid, wave-like motion. The ice around his feet melted some for a moment from the heat of the magic, before refreezing after it had subsided.

That...worked..! He thought triumphantly to himself as an almost light-headed sensation came over him. No, no he wasn't done yet. Can I use the runes? He thought. He had to check before the strain became too much for him. He aimed his blade towards the ground a few feet in front of him and let a different sensation flow forth. An agony, a necrotic magic lashing out at his mortal form as he harnessed it threatened to overtake him as it rapidly grew before the rune closest to the point of his blade flared up red and a ripple of crimson, necrotic energy flowed over his arm and then blade before it flared off the tip of the blade and launched itself forward, impacting the ground he had aimed at. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of liquid out across the grass - a ripple of crimson energy coated the ground in a large circle, the necrotic energies bubbled and drained all the grass it had touched of life as the death and decay he had harnessed exerted itself on the environment. A few long moments later and the pool dissipated.

Snap

A noise to the left at the edge of the clearing caught his attention - definitely a presence more than just the nature surrounding him. He reacted before he could think on it, arm snapping up and aiming at the noise. A chill coursed through him as a black tendril of magic shot out like a bullet. A loud gasp was heard before the tendril retracted, pulling a body along with it and ending with Ezikeal's hand gripping someone by the throat. He looked at who had intruded on his space, on who had tried to sneak up on a Death Knight.

A woman, dark skin with a black and white mohawk wearing a cloak over her body, struggled in his hold. The only thing saving her from being choked by his powerful grip were the gold rings she had decoratively around her neck. She struggled nonetheless, eyes wide with surprise as she kicked out at him, gripping his arm with both hands. Her feet landed solid against his body, but there was no pain she was able to inflict that was worse than his curse, which washed out any other sensations - he barely felt her blows. His cold eyes stared into her own cyan ones before a thought pierced through the fog of his pain and exhaustion.

What am I doing!? He suddenly threw her back, putting distance between them. She stumbled back, catching herself in a crouched position and watched him. He reached behind himself, putting the sword in his sheath and slamming it inside. A second later, it was like a massive weight had suddenly lifted from his very soul - sensation returned and the agony vanished. He let out rapid, shallow breaths as he felt...complete...again, like using the power of the blade had muted some part of his soul. The glow of his eyes drifted away, the chills of power surrounded him faded and his vision grew blurry. He looked to the form of the woman he had almost attacked in his blindness.

"I'm sorry...I...s-sorry...I didn't mean...to..." His vision suddenly looked sideways as he hit the ground and everything went black.

Chrysalis was concerned, to say the least, when she received reports of a "corrupt" Changeling returning from a scouting trip to observe Ponyville. Something had incapacitated her drone in it's mission, and the partner it was sent with had carried it back to the hive. When it awoke, they quickly had to lock it up due to how violent it was behaving, as if it were blindly lashing out at everything around it. It had reportedly injured three other drones before it was subdued by guards. She now was walking down a hall, her black, chitinous feet clicking rhythmically against the floor. Did those ponies have something to do with this? If so, it would only further fuel her vengeance. She came up to the door that the drone was being contained behind. Two Changeling guards bowed to their queen, stepping aside as she willed them to.

"Okay, let's see what has happened here," She said to nobody in particular as she opened the door, horn glowing with a dim green energy as she predicted what the "rabid" drone was going to do. She thought correctly, as ball of vibrant green flame slammed into a shield in front of her as soon as she was through the door.

She raised an eyebrow. That...was odd. The magic this Changeling was able to use shouldn't be that strong. She subtly increased the strength of her shield and got a better look at the drone. The drone hissed at her, firing another blast of magic that slammed against the shield.

"You dare attack your Queen!?" She exerted her will onto the drone, trying to force her thoughts to superimpose his own, to grasp the his mind and force him to submit. The drone snarled, and Chrysalis observed him as his head thrashed back and forth, shaking her will away with concerning ease. That shouldn't be possible, Changelings were attuned to her at their births, her control over them should be absolute. Something was interfering with this drone. She stared hard, and noticed that the normally dark black chitinous plates of the drone's body were instead appearing to hold a slight green tint to them. Unnatural...

"Drone, address your Queen, I command it," She tried again, horn glowing brighter as she forced the drone's head to stare into her eyes, which glowed with power as she fully pressed against the drone's mind without restraint. The drone thrashed and cried out before falling to his knees, gazing up at Chrysalis with subdued rage.

"Queen," The drone said, glaring. Chrysalis could see it more clearly now, the drone's vision was clouded by whatever had happened to it, it wasn't able to think straight through the fog of its anger. She would have to help it. With her magic, she exerted powerful waves of calming energies into her drone. It breathed harshly, but she could feel the anger get pushed back enough for them to hold a conversation.

"What happened to you on your mission? Tell me, now." Chrysalis commanded. The drone strained under the power of her will, putting up much more fight than Chrysalis had anticipated it capable of. What was going on here?

"On our way, I came across a strange substance. I sampled it. I...feel so powerful..." The drone said, "So...enraged..." Chrysalis approached the drone now, kneeling down in front of him to look at his face.

"What was it?" She asked.

"I don't know...but I can feel this power...coursing through me!" The drone let out, "I want more, the...the strength..." The drone snarled suddenly and lashed out, thrusting himself horn-first at his queen. Chrysalis was on her feet in an instant, gripping the drone's horn and angling it to the side as it fired off a blast of green magic that whizzed by her head. The offense of being attacked so closely by such an underling overrode her curiosity for a moment and she snarled.

"How dare you!" Her horn flared brightly and the drone was surrounded in a green aura before being launched backwards into the wall with a yelp of pain. Blinded by anger or not, no drone was to get away with such a brazen show of rebellion without punishment. The drone impacted with such force that it left an indent as it fell from it's place of impact. Chrysalis took a calming breath. The things the drone was saying had piqued her curiosity. Something had infused it with power which had allowed it to become so strong? Whatever that substance it had mentioned was, and it was overwhelming the drone.

Drip...drip...drip...

Chrysalis's eyes looked to the soft sound, focusing on the drips of blood falling from the drone's mouth. Hmm? Instead of the expected dull green blood that was typical to a changeling, the blood that was impacting the floor was tainted by a much brighter, glowing green liquid, it was actually...glowing? It was a mixture between the normal green blood of a Changeling, but overpowering it was this new...substance. The A small pool of it had formed under where the drone's mouth was. Chrysalis walked over to it, lifting the drone away with her magic and holding him tightly, immobilizing him.

"Do you know the cause of this?" She demanded.

"That...looks like what I found," he answered. Chrysalis looked down at the substance, the...strange blood mixture. This is what had empowered her subordinate so much? He had sampled it, drank some of it. She looked at it, an enticing thought entering her head. If it really empowered them...it would empower her, would it not? No doubt she was more capable of controlling her rage than a lowly drone, and the stronger she was, the more easily she could claim vengeance and capture every pony in Equestria to feed the hive. She would have to drink it as well, but first...

"Disguise yourself, now." She wasn't about to to something risky if it meant crippling basic functions. The drone's body engulfed itself in green flames and when it cleared he had taken the form of a man, black hair and green eyes. Chrysalis scrutinized the disguise, finding no obvious fault in it's construction as she scanned it. It seemed perfectly normal. She forced the drone's disguise to fall away, levitating him closer.

"If this...substance, is the key to securing the future of my empire...I must have it," she said, looking into the drone's eyes, "I need your blood." Her voice betrayed the sinister desires flooding her mind in that moment as she took the drone's arm in her hand, one claw slipping beneath the natural armor and piercing the flesh beneath. The drone let out a hiss as the glowing, green blood flowed from the wound, down Chrysalis's finger and pooled in the palm of her hand. It was hot, almost burning even, but that didn't matter to her. She brought her other hand up, cupping it with the other to gather the blood in both hands before stepping back from the drone. She looked down into her hands, the glossy, brightly colored liquid with traces of the original dull green of Changeling blood. It let off a green glow, illuminating against her own black form.

Slowly, a forked tongue poked at the liquid, taking a small sample of it. Chrysalis tasted the blood and her eyes narrowed - it was bitter, burning, but...as she swallowed, she felt her magic...reacting. She felt her magic mingle with whatever energy she had just absorbed, amplifying the effects of the diluted blood mixture inside her as her magic grew more powerful. She brought her hands to her lips, tilted her head back and drank greedily. The low heat in the pit of her stomach soon grew into a burning sensation that began seeping into other parts of her body. She let out a hot breath as the sensations began to overtake her. Her body was hot, a dull pain throbbing through her, but alongside it, power radiated. The reaction of the blood and her magic inside of her was...she couldn't describe it.

"More," she said, grabbing the drone's arm and piercing it with a claw once more, coaxing even more blood than was already flowing to drip down into her hands. The drone let out a yelp, but was still frozen still, helpless to Chrysalis's growing thirst. Chrysalis drank further, groaning as the burning became a bit painful. The combinations were indescribable, but as she thought she was becoming adjusted to the senses, she felt a pang of...anger, rise in her chest. Anger that...she didn't have enough of this...if she was going to stand up against the ponies...yes...the ponies, the ones she hated so much. Her anger targeted itself at her memories of the ponies, and the previous times they had foiled her plans, cast her back to the hives to starve. She growled, the glow of her horn intensifying.

"Q-Queen...t-too tight..." The drone squeaked out as the telekinetic hold bore down harsher on his form. As Chrysalis infused herself with the power of the blood, her connection had reaffirmed itself to the corrupted Changeling, as if reforging the bond that had been weakened by its original corruption by the substance.

"This...power!" She practically moaned in delight and pain as changes began to take place over her form. She was growing taller, stronger. A few dull cracks echoed as her body shifted. The sharp points of her natural armor began to become sharper, more prominent, her horn grew longer and the curves of it became more jagged and sharp. Her natural sleek, black color soon faded into a dull green, her hair shifted in hue as well. The changes washed over her, inside and out, and Chrysalis was eager to accept it as she felt her magic strengthen. Her hands ran empty once more. How dare this drone limit her in such a way, making her practically scrounge and beg for the drops of power hidden in it's blood, to drip feed from its body. It was of more use to her anyway! She had control of herself! Her magic reacted with it so absolutely positively! It belonged to her! The drone belonged to her so whatever power it found did as well!

Without even thinking it over, she floated the struggling drone close, grabbed him by both sides of the head, tilted it back and bit down hard on its throat. Her breathing sped up at the action, a heat of a different kind making itself known as she dominated the smaller Changeling in totality. The rush of it was thrilling, but she had no intention of going further with that train of thought - this was taking what was rightfully hers as Queen. Normally, she would not have considered hurting a member of her hive in the way she was about to so frivolously - that was unbecoming of her, but a thirst had made itself known within her and she could hold back from quenching it no longer! She promptly swung her head to the side, tearing open a large gash in the drone's throat. Blood gushed like water from the wound and the Changeling was only able to cry out and struggle for a few moments before falling limp as his Queen feasted from his body in such a visceral, desperate manner - the green blood that missed her mouth dripped down the sides of her face and body.

All of this power...mine! Mine! Allll Mine! She thought, the searing heat permeating through her form as she let her own magic flow freely and mingle eagerly with the magic of this strange substance.

Ezikeal groaned. What happened? Images flashed in his mind. Oh, right, he had come into the Everfree to test out his ability, and had found it incredibly draining due to the death magic rejecting his living form. He had...oh no! He sat up. He had attacked someone! Someone else was in the forest?! Not only that but they had likely seen some of his magic, no - scratch that, he used Death Grip on them, of course they know he was using some kind of necromancy-esque spells now!

"Calm yourself, stranger, I do not wish to encounter more danger," A voice spoke. Ezikeal looked to the noise. It was her! The woman was sitting by him. She held a wary look in her eyes as she watched him. Ezikeal looked around, seeing they were still in the clearing, and he was laid in the large circle of dead grass he had created with his magic. The woman was seated just outside of the circle.

"You...stayed here with me?" He asked. After almost killing her...

"You showed remorse, I do not fear your force. The blade upon your back," She pointed at him, "it guides you down a dark track?" Ezikeal raised an eyebrow at the rhyming, but took the meaning of her words. There was no way to dance around the truth of things with her, was there. She'd seen everything...

"It's...complicated," He said finally. She crossed her arms. How was he going to navigate this...he felt that no matter what he said, this might bite him later, but he needed to try to make things seem as "in control" as possible.

"It's unpleasant to use, but I can handle it," He reasoned.

"Rid yourself of the cursed blade, and peace in your mind shall then be made," She said, as if that was the obvious solution. Ezikeal groaned, it wasn't that simple, it couldn't be that simple. He shook his head, groaning softly.

"I cannot part with it," He said, "It's...very important. If I don't keep it, then someone else is going to get a hold of it," That was at least something he felt complete confidence in. This world seemed so much more peaceful than Azeroth, but that didn't mean there weren't places or people that lent themselves towards darker paths, who would seek out and abuse the power of a runeblade.

"Destroy the weapon then, so it cannot be used again," She tried. Ezikeal looked up into her eyes, seeing they held a determination to help him, but also a clear want to get rid of the blade entirely.

"I have seen it's dark power, which would no doubt make many cower. You dislike its hold, be rid of it before your will is to fold," She reached towards him. Ezikeal caught her wrist, seeing it angling more towards the strap of his sheath. She twisted her arm some, easily breaking away from his grip. She locked gazes with him sternly.

"I have seen corruption take root in many in the past, if you do not leave it you will find yourself not being the last. The power cannot be denied, but take a look inside. If you had another choice, would you take it or simply listen to its voice?" She pointed at the sword. Ezikeal followed her gaze and took in her question. Would he take another option?

Don't be ridiculous, do you truly think anything in this world could stop death itself? His thoughts suddenly surged forth as he began pondering.

I have faith that, at the very least, the elements-

The 'elements' are easily crippled. Too many parts to make a whole. You are not so fragmented. It countered. Ezikeal's features darkened at that. His thoughts had a point, if the strongest forces of this world required as many as six people to function, they were subject to being incapacitated - if not him, someone else could just as easily do so, couldn't they? He looked up at the woman.

"I've done this for a while," At her reasonably skeptical look, he quickly added, "Not exactly like this, I recently went through some...changes, I have to grow used to wielding this strength once more. I can do good with it, I have done good with it. Where I'm from we don't get the choice of just good or evil, sometimes it's the lesser of many brutal forces, and this...this is the lesser of many alternatives. I didn't choose it, but I cannot just give it up." The woman stood up, preparing to walk away, looking dis-swayed from speaking further as he tried to reason himself into justification.

"I know there's other forces in these lands that can do great acts of good, I've met the elements-I mean, I've been working for Applejack since arriving here-"

"You speak around your truth so commonly, yet you shelter with the Element of Honesty?" She sounded, and looked, completely shocked at that revelation. Why did the way she said that...concern him, what was he missing that she seemed to know? She was walking away and took a look back, conflict in her eyes before looking away.

"Be rid of it soon, or it may spell your doom. You weave a web of lies, the bigger it gets the weaker your ties," she said and disappeared into the forest, pulling her cloak's hood over her head. Ezikeal stared after her for a long moment before a realization dawned on him.

How long was I out?

"Mhm," Applejack crossed her arms, "ya really expectin' me ta believe that?" She was leaned against a tree as he returned and tried to spin a story about getting lost in the orchard. It was failing miserably.

"Not really," he conceded. He was missing for roughly 5 hours including his travel to and from the Everfree.

"I even had Rainbow Dash do a pass to look fer ya," She said.

"Yeah!" A voice from above sounded. Ezikeal looked up to see her lounging on a high branch of the tree, "And you were nowhere to be found!"

"Ya went to the Everfree, didn't ya," Applejack said dryly, "After I warned ya about it," she sighed.

"What? I mean..." He trailed off and just nodded his head, looking down, "I was curious about it," He said. He felt the stares of the two women, he didn't have much excuse for this but he was not ready to spill everything to them either.

"What else?" Applejack said, tone flat and foot tapping.

"Huh?" He looked up at her. She had a stern, slightly frustrated expression on her face.

"Ya ain't tellin' me somethin'," she said simply, "and with the way yer actin' I feel it might be rightly important. So, what else were ya up ta?" He could practically feel the suspicious eyes of Rainbow Dash glaring at his head from above.

"You conspiring with something in the Everfree? Is there a threat we should be aware of? Huh?" Rainbow Dash called from above, dropping down from her branch and landing next to Applejack, looking equally as suspicious towards him.

Me, maybe...

"I was practicing," He said.

"Practicin'?" Applejack seemed to somewhat dial back her interrogative tone now that some of his initial lies were cut down.

"I don't like people seeing me when I...have this out," he gestured to the sword on his back, "But I need to at least keep myself used to it. You said the Everfree was something everyone avoids, sounded like a perfect place to go to be completely alone. I'm used to danger, so it wasn't going to stop me that easily."

"Why so long?" Dash asked, her voice taking a much more interested tone at the topic of his supposed enhanced capabilities and the magical weapon on his back.

"I passed out," He replied simply, catching both of them off guard.

"Ya did what in the Everfree!? Ezikeal!" Applejack let out, both a deep concern and anger taking the forefront of her emotions. Ezikeal felt himself cringe away from the woman's rightful outrage. Okay, saying that out loud sounded much worse than he had intended.

"Dude..." Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head, suspicion fading a bit and in its place worry made itself apparent, "You could've gotten eaten by Timberwolves or something, that's like...mega dangerous."

"I didn't think I would pass out," he said defensively, "But I understand why you're upset..." Applejack let out a cough, the kind of cough you make when you demand someone's attention, and not in a good way.

"Ezikeal, I'm just gonna be straight with ya," Applejack began, "I know yer keepin' somethin' pretty important from us, and I also know yer pretty desperate ta keep it that way. I trusted ya when I asked if ya were a danger ta us and ya said no. I'd be lyin' if I told ya I wasn't havin' second thoughts about it based on the way ya been actin'. It's like yer afraid whatever the 'thing' is, is gonna make us all hate ya. Ya might not notice it, but it's been makin' a couple of us worried with how mysterious ya been actin' and while I greatly appreciate yer help on the farm...I need to look out fer us." She was staring him in the eyes as she spoke, being as direct and to the point as she could. He couldn't fault her logic here, but this was too soon...this was all too soon.

"Who...else? Have I worried?" He asked. Was he really that unconvincing of good intentions?

"Twilight mainly, which, I might add, is not the pony ya wanna have thinkin' something dodgy is goin' down. She got regular talkin' ta's with the princesses," Applejack warned.

She communicates regularly with the princesses...huh.

I don't suppose that would include letters supposedly designed to request a weapon for a reasonably suspicious individual, would it?

...Ah.

"I think I need to talk to Twilight..."

Another chapter done.

Ngl a bit worried about this one as I want to get the bigger plots going but still have them progress naturally.

Feedback and constructive criticisms always welcome!