Pain. All that Amaryllis felt was mind-numbing agony. There was none of the love from Thiemo, the affection of Auralia, Lyra’s concern, or any other emotion, only pain. Every muscle in her body protested as she began to move her legs. Her reserves had been filled to bursting, and her body had already begun to repair all the damage that had been caused by the impact with the asphalt. She just hoped that it would not take too long.

The last time her wings had been so badly damaged, she had had nothing but the sympathy of her coltfriend. This time, she was filled with not only his love, but the adoration of the Empire as well.

Breathing heavily, she managed to put one leg on the ground and opened her eyes. The fuzzy outlines of several buildings came into view. The lower floors had large windows, and several shapes could be seen scurrying back and forth within them. Signs had fallen down, with numerous chairs, tables, and glass from several windows having also not survived the impact. Then the princess realized where they had landed — in a shopping district. The difference was that there weren’t panicked ponies galloping to safety, but humans. No, not all, she realized. Some had those phones pointed at her, and stared at her with wide eyes. She did not need to read their emotions in order to know what they felt upon seeing her.

When her last hoof was firmly on the ground and she had straightened herself out, the emotions came flowing to her. Thiemo and Auralia were still in the hotel, while she could make Lyra on the roof from which she had just been thrown.

With this in mind, her head rose to the skies, allowing her enough time to raise a shield around herself. Megan slammed down a few metres away from her, her knees bending slightly as they easily absorbed the shock. Even more of the street became destroyed, and projectiles flew into different directions. The humans around her scattered as they were pelted by the debris, some screeching into their phones. When she had time later to think, she would wonder at their preoccupation at the devices rather than focusing on escaping from an ordeal that could have ended their lives.

Amaryllis braced herself for a new incoming attack, but Megan did not move from the spot, instead looking around at her leisure. The changeling could not afford to miss this opportunity. She broke off the shield and charged. Magic gathered at the tip of her horn, and she was ready to ram it into the chest of her opponent. This attracted Megan’s attention, and flames immediately shot right in front of her at her hooves. Instead of stopping, though, the princess sprinted through, determined to cause at least some damage. Several burns already adorned her body, but even these would heal. However, Megan responded immediately, crouching down again and aiming a hand at her.

Amaryllis would not fall for that again. She fired her magic as one large projectile, just three metres in front of the human. Megan managed to raise her hands to protect her face, but the attack still collided into her. Her hand slammed into her own body due to the force of the projectile, and she was knocked off her centre of balance. Then Amaryllis’ horn drilled into her shoulder.

For the first time since the beginning of the fight, it was Megan who let out a scream. However, Amaryllis did not stop at that point, for underestimating her opponent could mean the death of her in a very literal sense. She quickly gathered magic in her horn once again, and this time did not release a projectile, but a shock wave of pure magic.

With a meaty thud, an arm fell to the ground.

Megan jumped back, now that she was no longer impaled on the princess’ horn, and imitated her tactics. She wrapped herself in her wings like a cocoon of fire. Amaryllis, anger bubbling in her stomach and her body still aching, released a battle cry and fired one bullet after another through the flames. All came through on the other side again and crashed on the walls of the buildings around them. The flames were extinguished, and nothing but hot air remained where the Avatar of Fire had been hovering just a moment before.

Amaryllis buckled, her front legs deciding that they had had enough at that moment and forcing her to her knees. She could feel the burns healing all over her body. Fur grew back and the skin closed with every second that passed, but this drained her reserves at an alarming rate. During the tournament, she had not encountered this problem. In the Empire, there had been so much love saturating the air that she had practically always been full. Right now, however, her reserves had disappeared faster than she had thought, or she had miscalculated when assessing her condition. No matter what it was, she needed a few quiet minutes to take a deep breath, refuel her supplies, and lick her wounds.

More noise caused her to stir again. The short break was apparently enough for the first humans to come back out of the places they had sought refuge in, and looked around. Some still had their phones focused on her. She could do nothing about that, though, seeing as she was still trying to pump oxygen into her lungs.

"That!" a voice suddenly shouted. "Was a mistake!" Amaryllis’ gaze looked over her shoulder to the back. There, in all her glory and with outstretched wings, was a pretty nude Megan. "I liked that outfit!" A kick to the changeling’s stomach made her lose her footing as the air was mercilessly driven out of her body. Still in the air, Megan’s fist collided with her cheek and sent her flying into the wall of another building.

Amaryllis laid in more glass and debris when she regained awareness. That what had once been a shop for fine craftsmanship was now no more than a pile of rubble. Even now it was still raining plaster from the ceiling. That was not what interested Amaryllis. Her eyes were fixed on the woman, who seemed to be now be constructed more of flames than flesh as she rose through the hole in the wall that had been formed when they had impacted against the store. There was still no clothing in sight on her body, but she did not need it. The glass on the ground melted long before her feet even touched down, and her body shone with an intensity that made it impossible to see more than her rough shape. A shape with two arms and hands.

Amaryllis made the mistake of attempting to move. Glass had drilled into her body, and every movement made sure that it pierced into her flesh even deeper. The worst part, however, was that as long as it was in their body, her healing would be rendered just about useless in the long run. If this went on for too long, new flesh would grow over the glass shards, ensuring that they would have to be opened again to remove the shards.

Megan put one foot before the other, taking quick steps through the destroyed shop while walking around it, even the walls began to glow. She came to a halt in front of Amaryllis and held her outstretched hand in the direction of her snout.

"Nap time." For a few seconds, Amaryllis did not understand what was happening. Then the world turned black as her saliva started to cook.

Thiemo was feeling numb, or at least his body did at that moment. Still, that was still relatively preferably, for as soon the numbness eased, which was the result of the beating he had gotten a few minutes ago, the pain would come. That wasn’t what kept the human’s mind busy as his legs were dragged over the ground. ‘Escorted’ by two security guards in black suits, he was carried through the floors of the hotel. The third, as far as Thiemo could make out with closed eyes, walked behind them and kept his eyes fixed on him.

“What should we do with him?” one of the three asked. It was impossible for Thiemo to know who spoke. “Lock him in a room and continue our search for the ponies?”

“That’s always your solution. Lock someone in a room and let mother do her thing. How about we show her that we can deal with things like this on our own?”

“It worked with the guy from the FBI,” came the meek response.

“Yeah, but that was necessary. This isn’t an agent who could be a danger to us, just a crazy fan who snuck into the building. Once everything is over, we just throw him out of the back door and that’s it. We’re allowed to defend our property in this country, even with force, after all. You should do your homework.” Thiemo tried to open at least one eye, but his cheeks were swollen, and a short spike of pain made it impossible. The tournament in the Empire had made him forget that a real fight was something else entirely, especially without a spell that weakened all attacks.

In his mind, the battle played out again. The moment his mobile phone had hit the ground, he had dashed at his enemies with some help from his totem. However, the three bald heads must have learned some kind of martial arts. Before his fist could connect with his target’s stomach, the paw—because you could call it nothing else compared to Thiemo’s hand—of said target gripped his wrist, and with one fluid motion, he was pulled in the middle of the three men. Before he could even blink at that, a fist from the side connected with his jaw and a leg kicked in the back of his right leg, forcing him to the ground. After that moment, the only memory he had was fists connecting painfully about his body and him trying to shield his face with his arms. As the world came back in focus, he had already been dragged through the floors of the hotel and into an elevator.

“We’ll do it like this. We lock him up and later call the police because of him breaking and entering private property. Tell them he resisted and everything. Then he won’t be a problem for a couple of years. Let the humans deal with him.” Thiemo could make out a door being opened as the card was inserted into the lock….

And then his world erupted in pain. For a second, a hazy thought crossed his mind that one of the thugs had pulled a gun and shot him in the back of the head, but the pain went through his entire body like a wave. It slowly began to fade as suddenly as it had come, only for a horrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness take its place like he had never felt before. His eyes were now open, as he now realized. The security guards had released him, and he was lying face-down on the floor, breathing heavily in the aftermath of a scream he never noticed he had let out.

For a moment he couldn’t make heads or tails of what happened, but then he noticed it. He was alone. Amaryllis’ presence had completely vanished from his mind. The little feeling in the back of his subconscious that let him know his girlfriend was with him in spirit was missing, the magic that connected them torn apart like a tightrope. It hadn’t been a bullet that struck him, but the residue of the connection, a magical backlash. He had read about what happened if a unicorn’s spell failed. This was the mentioned pain. That meant that Amaryllis hadn’t disconnected of her own free will, but that the decision was made for her.

‘Amaryllis was in danger,’ was the thought that finally surfaced from the jumble of thoughts and pain in his head. Amaryllis was in danger.

“What happened to him?” Thiemo heard one of the three ask, and he felt a hand touching his shoulder.

Lauren looked out of the window of her apartment, her mobile phone pressed against her ear with one hand while the other held her noteblock. Human electronics were a wonderful invention, but she wouldn't save the numbers she just dialed on any electronic device in this world, no matter how safe it was said to be. Every single one of the twelve numbers in her noteblock belonged to the one human that she would have to call in for his services soon.

During the time she had talked with the last person, at least for a moment, her eyes had caught sight of a horror scene. Megan’s burning form had disappeared down a street, followed soon afterwards by another loud explosion that sent shockwaves throughout her body. The humans had left their vehicles on the street and fled on foot with their kids in their arms, their beloved ones at their sides. Some of the more seriously injured humans were pulled off their feet and backs and carried as they all sought shelter. The buildings near the fight were covered with raging fires of varying intensity, while nearly every window that wasn’t safety glass had been shattered and lay strewn about the sidewalks and roads.

Lauren cut the call with a sigh. As Megan’s magical energy was on par to her own strength, it made it near impossible to get a real reading on what had happened to her. She only knew that her friend fought against Chrysalis’ offspring, a pony, and a alicorn. She had already seen her niece and the pony, but not the alicorn so far, even if she could definitely feel its power.

However, what caused her minor headache was the weak but noticeable energy of another alicorn a few floors beneath her. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by it—after all, it could also be a diversion. Her children had only reported that they had found two humans so far who had apparently snuck into the hotel during all the commotion. No sign of an alicorn or a pony so far. It was weird, to say the least, because ponies sucked at sneaking. There was no need for niceties when it came to them.

Lauren jumped as she felt it. A powerful burst of magic was let loose in the building. She leapt out of her chair and over her desk, green flames covering her body that was still in air. It had been years since she last transformed into her original form. Long black legs, of which there were four, touched the ground. Orange wings unfolded,with an ivy-like white pattern spread over them, and green sparks flew around. Chitin, the flow only broken by the holes in her legs, covered her body like body armor. The queen immediately used it to break through the door of her apartment like it was only weak paper.

How could she ever have been so stupid? Chrysalis would never attack her unless she was sure that she could win. Of course there would be a secret weapon in play, and now her children were paying the price for her lapse in judgement. She galloped down the hallway and towards the elevators. She only needed a safe position to teleport since she didn’t know the hotel well enough to risk a blind teleportation. The only spot she knew was large enough for her with no obstacles in the way were the elevators. In the moment she passed the edge and could see the numbers to show the position of the elevator, Lauren disappeared for exactly a second and appeared back in front of the metal door a couple floors below.

Both doors blasted out seconds later through the hallway, through the wall, and into one of the guestrooms where they embedded themselves onto the ground. She wasted no time; before the doors even came to a stop, she was running again. She galloped down another hallway and slid over the carpet as she took the last corner.

The first thing she saw were two of her children on the ground, their disguises gone and blood dripping down their muzzles. The second thing she noticed was the human who currently fought with Kevin. With glowing blue eyes and shoulders, ice emerged from his mouth with every breath he took as he avoided each focused strike of her son with a speed that was almost a teleport. Chrysalis had a damned shaman at her side. Mothma lowered her head and stormed forward.

Her first spell moved Kevin away from the human at the same time his disguise dropped. She flung him behind her and shot magical bursts at the human, every single one large enough to barely fit the hallway.

The human acted immediately, his fist moving down to the ground and raising a shield of ice that shattered the first magical burst. The other two passed over his head. The second shattered the wall and the third and last one struck the nearby building.

Mothma rammed the human, who was still crouching, away from the ice wall he created, her horn scratching his cheek while her chest heaved against his. They both flew a few meters towards the freshly broken hole in the wall, but the human was way faster than her reflexes. She wouldn’t have believed it or even thought it possible, but his hands curled around her stomach, and even though the creature was only half her size, he threw her against the wall like she was a foal. The ceiling light were unhinged from the ceiling and shattered to the ground, releasing sparks all around.

Mothma crawled back onto her hooves as fast as she could, ready for the next attack, but it never came. The human turned his gaze away from her and looked outside.

“Amaryllis.” There were two voices that spoke the word emitted from the human’s mouth. The queen used the distraction, grabbed the broken cable from the ceiling with her magic, and wrapped it around the human.

His two-toned voice came forth again as his body shook under the voltage. To her shock, he didn’t break down, but slowly turned towards her. Sparks appeared around his fist, the electricity that was supposed to run through his body gathering there.

At the same time he pulled up his hand, a cake hit his face. The shaman turned around, and the lightning emerged through the hole in the wall. The queen hated using chaos magic, but in that moment she was glad for her father’s present.

Lauren stomped her hoof onto the carpet, and single fibers emerged from it and started to tie down the human, who was busy getting rid of the cake on his face. Another stomp, and a door that led to the room to her right came out from the wall, walked towards the human on two wooden legs, and opened itself several times into his face. Said human tumbled, and the only thing keeping him on his feet were the carpet strings. The door saluted towards the queen and returned to its position.

The human still stirred, his body not showing any sign that the door had just smashed him, while not showing a glimpse of fatigue. Mothma, on the other side, was out of breath. The last time she had used that much chaos magic was when she had been a young nymph. Craig also wasn’t here, and all her fans had fled the sudden outbreak of violence. She had no way to renew her reserves

With a loud groan, the human broke his binds and fell down onto his knees. The sparks still moved over his body, and at every place he touched the ground, ice grew. She had to bring her children away, and she had to do it fast.

Megan turned away from her opponent lying on the ground, looking in the direction of the hotel. She would have recognized that magical aura anywhere.

“Light…”

Author's Notes:

Well, it was about time for a new chapter. I'm very sorry for the long wait, but as I said in a blog entry a while ago, I'm moving into a new apartment at the moment. But I had this weekend free and wrote this and the next two chapters of Journey. So the next two weeks, the updates will be on time.

Now I'm writing a chapter for my other story, Inquisition. Maybe you guys want to take a look. (Not, it is not a crossover.)

Editors Note:They must be in America long enough

*starts beating on a dazed opponent*

STOP RESISTING! STOP RESISTING!

*continues beating unconscious guy*

I'M ORDERING YOU TO STOP RESISTING!

Special thanks to JBL and ScratchnTavi for translating my mess.