Pyrite jumped out of the way as the frigid cold beam tore across the ground. The energy left dirt hanging in the air as Pyrite tried to locate his target. Immediately after recovering from the jump, he was struck by another beam. It clung to him and covered his whole body in ice, freezing him in place. Once the dust settled, Frost smirked triumphantly atop one of the old statues decorating the rear of the cottage. He raised his hooves in the air and waved to the ponies.

“Well, that was quick,” Rigel quipped with a shrug.

Aldus stared at the light blue unicorn with his mouth agape, then quickly regained his composure. But not before Marigold and Willow saw him.

Willow wrapped her forehooves around Aldus from behind and giggled, “You better not let Frosty see that look, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so impressed.”

Aldus huffed and shook the changeling off. It was true though, for a unicorn who almost died of a broken horn, Frost was becoming an adept at this elemental ice magic.

“It’ll take far more than a little ice magic to impress me, Willow.”

She smirked and shrugged her shoulders while cheering for Frost, “Woo! That’s some good magic Frosty! You showed him!”

“Don’t call me that!!” Frost shouted with a scrunched muzzle.

“He’s so cute when he’s all irritated,” Willow whispered to Marigold, who nodded and laughed.

Stormcaller chuckled and was met with cold shoulder from Ruby, clearly not enjoying seeing her brother frozen in a block of ice. He sighed and wrapped a wing around the filly, pulling her to him. “Oh don’t be like that, Ruby.”

She grumbled and stared daggers at Frost, “You wanted him to win?”

“Um...No?” he said with a hint of fear in his voice. “It’s just that Firebrand thought Pyrite would win... so I figured I’d put some faith in Frost.”

“Pyrite might still win,” Polaris said from behind the foals.

Ruby leaned against Stormcaller and frowned, “I don’t see how, Frost has powerful magic and Pyrite doesn’t even know how to fight.”

Polaris smiled warmly and sat down next to the filly, “No, but your little brother has heart, and you have no idea what that can do in a fight. Determination can be the tipping factor in a close battle. Watch...” Polaris whispered, “Your brother isn’t done yet.”

The ice around the armored colt began to crack, causing gasps to escape from some of the others watching. Frost couldn’t believe it.

Pyrite shattered the ice with a scream and glared at Frost, who took a worried step back on the statue. However, he quickly regained his composure and fired another ice blast. But this time, Pyrite was ready. He held up a hoof as part of the armored gauntlet transformed into a triangular wedge, a shield. Pyrite knocked away the blast then charged at the statue. With a single outstretched hoof, he punched through the support and toppled it.

Frost teleported away before it hit the ground, but Pyrite anticipated his move. Another hoof gauntlet extended with three curved prongs, two on the top and one on the bottom forming a claw. Before Frost could react, Pyrite caught him with the claw and held him in the air before slamming him into the dirt.

“Impressive,” Polaris said with a whistle, “Most impressive.”

“That looked like it hurt...” Blue Bell said with an uneasy look, “Is Frost okay?”

“Bah, he’ll be fine!” Firebrand said, “Pyrite showed him who's boss! You go little guy!”

Willow gasped and leaned against the veranda, a clear expression of worry on her face. This time it was Aldus’ turn to play. He sidled against her and whispered in her ear, “I’m glad you’re starting to get attached to these foals. Is Frost your favorite?”

Willow snapped out of her worried state and stared at Aldus, unamused. “That wasn’t messing around, Aldus. Frost is still recovering from the incident with the gryphons. Aren’t you worried?”

“No, not really. That armor Pyrite’s wearing has a few tricks, but so does Frost. In combat, it’s common to think if you can survive a spell caster’s onslaught enough to get close, the battle is over. This isn’t the case with me, and it isn’t the case with Frost. Pyrite’s about to learn that being near Frost is the last place you want to be.”

Frost struggled as he was squeezed and lifted into the air, Pyrite tilted his head as if he were smiling under those mouthplates. Something that began to anger Frost. “Sorry about that, it was Andromeda’s idea.”

Frost struggled as he was brought closer to Pyrite’s face, “Let go!”

“I will if you give up,” Pyrite said, now sounding a bit more like his old self.

“Not a chance!” Frost screamed as a frigid wind erupted from his mouth, blinding Pyrite.

The earth colt screamed in surprise and dropped Frost, recoiling while trying to clear his vision. Frost seized the opportunity and slammed his forehooves into the ground causing large ice crystals to spear outwards in all directions. Several caught Pyrite and threw him into the air and he landed with a loud thud. With an angry roar he righted himself and charged Frost, who was already preparing another spell. Just as Pyrite closed the distance Aldus teleported between them and both halted Pyrite’s advance and squelched Frost’s magic. “That’s enough.”

Frost wheezed while glaring at Pyrite, who stood stoically without saying a word. “That’s enough, Andromeda.” Selene said from the veranda. “Pyrite is getting tired, relinquish the form.”

The armor on the earth colt linked to a black sphere on the colt’s back as he himself began to shrink. Soon, Pyrite was dangling in Andromeda’s gentle hooves as they both touched down. She kissed Pyrite on the cheek and gently rubbed his chest and tummy. “Was it better this time?”

Pyrite stretched and nodded with a yawn, “It was, I wasn’t scared at all.” He looked at Frost and frowned, “I’m sorry if I hurt you, I didn’t mean to.”

Frost glowered at the earth colt for a moment before feeling the eyes of everypony else on him. He gingerly got to his hooves and pushed past Aldus not bothering with a response to Pyrite. He trotted over to Willow and coughed, “Can you heal my chest? I think some ribs might be broken.”

The unicorn mare nodded and lifted the colt onto her back before trotting into the cottage.

Pyrite frowned and slumped into the dirt, only to be comforted by Andromeda, Blue Bell, Firebrand, Polaris and his sister.

“Frost is mad at me,” he said while wiping away a tear.

“It’s just pride,” Polaris said with a reassuring pat on Pyrite’s shoulder. “An older brother won’t likely take it well when the younger bests him.”

“Don’t worry about him, kid.” Firebrand said, sweeping him into a playful hug, “You kicked flank today, I’m impressed. And I’m not easy to impress.”

Ruby watched her brother’s mood change with the orange pegasus. It was as if all the bad feelings and misfortunes were drained away when he was with Andromeda or any of the other children of Selene. She was glad they were here to help take care of her brother. For so long it seemed she was looking after their group, what with Frost’s nearly broken horn. Now that it had been repaired, it was nice to have help looking after her family.

In the cottage, Frost lay on his back while Willow healed him. Aldus appeared at his side and ran a hoof through his mane, “Nothing to be ashamed of, you did well.”

“It’s not good enough,” Frost said, “I wasn’t powerful enough.”

“Power isn’t everything, Frost.” Willow cooed before planting a soft kiss on his cheek, “All done.”

“She’s right, Frost. You think I was the most powerful unicorn from one thousand years ago? I wasn’t, that was my teacher, Starswirl.”

Frost yawned and snuggled into the covers on his bed, “Whatever, I just don’t like to lose. But I trust you, master. ”

“Good,” Aldus said before tucking him in, “Tomorrow you’re going to go into the city with Rigel and Iris. You’ll be picking up some things for me and for yourself, then traveling to the citadel where we’ll meet and continue your training.”

-------------

The next day seemed a blur to Frost as he was dragged around by Iris to several different stores while Rigel looked after them. He said Iris could buy whatever she wanted, so the gryphon was getting lots of trinkets for Frost as well as for herself.

“Here!” she squeaked, “Try this on, it’s a bracelet.”

“Iris I-” Frost murmured as the bracelet was shoved onto his hoof. “Thank you, but this is too mu-”

“Oh! Look at this... it matches your eyes.” Iris held an amulet in her claw that was made of light blue glass. “They look like ice crystals.”

The gryphon blushed and walked over to Frost and ran her claws around his shoulders. She leaned and gave him a light peck on the cheek while fastening it behind his neck. “It’s beautiful, Frost. Do you like it?”

Frost picked the amulet up in a hoof and smiled, “I love it, I can see myself wearing this.”  

Rigel leaned over the bench where the foals were trying on the jewelry and grinned, “So how much of this stuff will I be buying?”

“Just the amulet, Rigel,” Iris said with grin, “It’s the only thing Frost seems to like.”

Frost gasped and shook his head, “What? I liked all the stuff you’ve shown me so far!”

Iris fluttered her eyelashes and grinned slyly, “We both know that’s not true,” she said while sideling up to him and draping a wing over his side. “You were just trying to make me happy, I appreciate the effort.”

Frost blushed and Rigel chuckled at the foals, “Alright you two, let’s go.”

As Frost and Iris walked with Rigel to the tram that would take them to the citadel, Iris stopped and wanted to get some food for the ride. She waved Rigel away and told him they’d catch up. As they got in line, Frost reached into his saddlebag and produced a bag of bits, making sure he had enough to pay for the food. Aldus had given him more than enough for the robes and spell books he was tasked with buying.

When the couple in front of them walked away, somepony bumped into Iris and quickly apologized before scurrying off. As Frost made sure she was alright, another pony came up beside him, deftly unhooked his saddlebags and ran off.

“Hey!” Frost shouted.

“Stop! Thief!” Iris shouted trying to get the attention of the nearest guards.

Frost growled and tore after the pony, he had just bought those for his training and wasn’t about to let some stupid thief take them, not to mention all of Aldus’ money. He trailed the pony through various alleys and streets, each time he thought he had him something obstructed his view or the pony threw an object in his way. Frost almost tripped over a barrel of apples toppled to the floor by the escaping colt. Anger building, Frost saw an opportunity and teleported in front of the colt, blocking his escape from the alley. He fired three small ice spikes that would spread rather than pierce, hoping to immobilize the colt. Each shot missed, but one tore threw his hooded rags revealing the identity of the thief, it was a zebra.

The zebra scowled at him and turned around, forcing Frost to give chase again. Before Frost could catch up, the zebra disappeared around a corner. Winded, Frost frantically searched for where he had gone. Upon closer inspection, he saw an upturned sewer entrance and heard a splash come from below. Grunting, Frost jumped into the hole and plummeted to the bottom. Surprisingly, he didn’t fall into a pit but rather through a set of tubes where the water likely flowed into some reservoir. He saw the zebra ahead of him and tried to get closer. Just as he got near enough to get off another ice blast, the zebra grabbed hold of an opening to his left and stopped himself. As Frost flew by carried by the rushing water, the Zebra kicked him in the face. Frost screamed in rage as the tunnel turned into a steep drop, dumping into a large dark pool of water. Frost landed with a splash and looked around in the murky depths. He thought he saw something big move. That was enough to get him out of that water. He teleported to the side and leaned up against the wall just in time to see a large ridged fin slide out of the water where he just was not seconds ago. Frost gulped and caught his breath, cursing to himself in the process.

He had no idea where he was and estimated he had fallen to the depths of the city. That little rat zebra had gotten away and he had no idea how to get out.

“Drat!!” he screamed and slammed his hoof into the metal floor causing a loud echoing crack.

Frost sat down and cleared his mind, the water in the reservoir seemed to be flowing out somewhere. He could feel a cool breeze on his face coming from his left so he decided go that way. As he distanced himself from the water, he heard a strange sound coming from below him. Upon stopping to investigate, it sounded like... crying?

Frost saw a small opening near a drain and put his head to the floor to listen more carefully. The sound he heard was definitely crying, and it sounded like it was coming from a mare. He opened the drain cover and saw an opening. He slowly lowered himself down and let go of the floor. Frost entered a small crawlspace and heard the metal buckle beneath him. In seconds, it broke and he fell into a dark room.

“Ugh... that hurt...” he grunted to himself. He gingerly picked himself off the floor and winced at a pain in his leg. Then the crying returned, and in the very room he was in. It startled him at first, but then quickly changed to faint whimpers. Frost faced the direction of the sounds and conjured a light from his horn to illuminate the room. What he saw was horrifying. A yellow pegasus mare hung suspended from a rack on the wall. Several cuts and bruises dotted her body and the floor beneath her was still wet from water. Frost surmised it had been stained with blood and was recently washed away.

The mare opened an eye that wasn’t swollen shut and shook violently. “Please go away...” she whimpered, “I’ve already told you everything I know, I don’t have anything else, I swear. I swear!!”

Frost’s heart broke in two, one oh her wings was visibly broken and the other was burnt to a crisp missing much of its feathers. “I’m not here to hurt you, who is doing this to you?”

The mare sniffed and continued to shake, “The guards,” she squeaked, “The silver guard and the military ponies. They’ve been torturing me for weeks...”

Frost’s head was spinning, he had to do something. He recharged the light spell and made it brighter. There had to be something he could do to get this mare out of here. He saw a lever attached to a chain that ran the length of the room and over to the rack. Frost limped over to it and pulled with all his strength. A series of loud cracks and grinding gears signaled the torture rack descending to the floor. Frost smiled and limped over to the mare, but stopped when she began to convulse. Several parts of her yellow skin were burning away by some strange green fire. The splotches revealed a coarse grey skin and slender frame. Her legs had several holes in them near the hooves and her mane was a dirty matted yellow. Finally, her face changed from a pony to that of a fanged horror. Her head drooped for a moment before snapping up at Frost.

“You’re... you’re a... a...” Frost whimpered backing away slowly.

“A changeling, yes little colt,” the monster hissed.

“You’re not a mare... you tricked me!” Frost said backing into the wall.

“No I didn’t...” the changeling grumbled with a cough. Green liquid dripped from its mouth as it coughed again and again, “I couldn’t hold the disguise... I don’t have enough magic, those damned ponies drained me earlier today.”

“Why are you here?” Frost asked, still terrified.

“It doesn’t matter, kid. You should get outta here before the silver guard comes back.”

As if on cue, hoofsteps approached from behind one the large doors on the opposite side of the chamber. Frost whimpered something and tried to teleport away, but something was sapping his magic. The door opened revealing a very angry looking guard and his partner.

“What’s this?” the guard asked with a sinister smirk, “A colt?”

Frost didn’t have time to react before he was seized in a magical field, one of the strongest he’d ever felt.

“Are you some sort of changeling sympathizer?” the guard asked, bringing Frost closer.

“Oh yeah...” the changeling said, “When I was captured, my location when out to all the schools and orphanages so my secret squad of children could come rescue me...”

The torturer’s assistant produced a long catchpole and brought it to the changeling’s ribs. Between it’s prong a current sprang to life and ran through the changeling, causing her to scream in pain.

“You know the rule, Silth. Only speak when spoken to.” the torturer said, the grin never leaving his face. “Now, boy. You’ll tell me why you’re here and I might let your death be a quick one.”

“Death?” Frost croaked, “I haven’t done anything! I-I just fell in here, from over there.” he pointed to the destroyed metal from the roof. “I thief stole my things and I chased him into the sewers. I heard crying and investigated. I’m here with important ponies! Aldus! Rigel! Polaris!!”

Silth’s head snapped up, “What did you say?” Another surge of electricity shocked her and made her scream in pain. But it didn’t matter, how could this colt possibly know those ponies? What were the odds?

The torturer smirked and turned to his partner, both of them flogged Frost with laughter. “That has got to be the most impressive lie I’ve ever heard, and by Desalia I’ve heard a lot. Polaris, the legendary general? Even if the rumors about them returning and leading the assault to capture this changeling bitch are true, you couldn’t know them. Now, tell me why you’re here!”

Frost screamed in pain as the field holding him turned red and started to burn his skin. It felt like magma was poured over him and his skin was being melted away. “I already told you! Please stop! Please!”

Silth winced seeing the pain on the child’s face. She deserved this, but not a child. “He’s just a foal you monsters! Stop this! Is this the justice your Desalia represents? I shouldn’t have even entertained feeding on her. I should have just killed her instead!”

“Enough!!!!” The torturer screamed and shot Silth with a bolt of magic while still holding Frost. “How dare you speak her name you disgusting bug!!! Now that you’ve angered me and disrespected our princess, this colt will pay the price.”

The field enveloping Frost grew brighter until Frost’s world collapsed upon itself. Both his rear legs were snapped backward, breaking instantly. He heard himself scream, or at least thought he did. The pain was so intense he was sure his head exploded. He fought the urge to pass out when he saw the changeling looking at him, It was a strange thing. It was a similar look of concern Selene had when she was worried about Frost or the other foals. But it was gone as soon as it appeared, replaced by pain as the catch poll shocked her again. After he could no longer scream, he looked at the torturer and muttered something.

“What?” he asked.

Frost muttered it again, struggling to maintain consciousness.

As the torturer leaned in more, Frost snapped his head forward and breathed ice onto the torturers face and head. He screamed and dropped Frost on his broken hind legs, which didn’t affect him as much as he thought it would. Frost figured he was in shock. As soon as he hit the floor, Frost aimed his horn at one of the shackles holding the changeling and grinned at her.

Silth watched in awe as the little colt loosed an ice spike from his horn that broke the shackles on her right hoof. Wasting no time, she grabbed the torturers assistant by the neck and snapped it like a twig. She looked over to the colt, who was reeling from the pain of two broken legs. He smiled at her weekly and aimed his horn at her other shackle, breaking that one too. Silth saw his lips move before he fell backward and passed out.

The torturer recovered and broke the ice from his face, he stood over Frost and howled in rage preparing a spell to finish off the colt. Silth summoned all the energy she had and more. All her rage, all her hate, all her primal predatory strength and burst free from her remaining restraints. The torturer had no time to act before the changeling was on him. Like a feral beast she sank her fangs into his throat and tore it open, ripping it to shreds.

After she was done, she limped over to the door and looked around outside to make sure the coast was clear. With nopony in sight, she limped over to the colt and examined him. This colt had saved her, he’d smiled at her and said something before setting her free. Of course, his life was on the line as well. But still, she was free, and he had mentioned Aldus and his companions.The changeling bent over and sniffed the colt. Yes... she could spell traces of Aldus’ magic. This colt wasn’t lying. Silth frowned at his sorry state and gently picked him up off the floor. She cradled him against her chest and smashed the control console near the rear of the room, shutting down the magic canceller.

Silth felt her magic returning and transformed into the torturer. She grabbed his keys and studied his appearance changing subtle nuances to perfectly resemble him. With those things covered, she made her escape with Frost.

---------------

Aldus sat in one of the citadel’s studies going over research for Luna, he had dinner brought to him by Willow and was sipping coffee when a loud crash came from the other side of the room. Aldus closed his notes and slowly got up from his seat. He casually walked over to one of the decorative sofas and sat down on it.

“You know girls, its a good spell but it needs some work.” Aldus said to the apparent emptiness in the room. “Come now girls... it’ll be much easier to get the information you want if you simply ask me.”

Three unicorns materialized around Aldus, all with mischievous grins on their faces. Each of them were wearing necklaces denoting their royal status as daughters of Desalia. One was rather skinny and tall, she was the one to speak first. “We demand you tell us about your involvement with Princess Seabreeze!”

“Demand? Well that isn’t very polite.” Aldus said with a comical frown.

Another unicorn, this one younger stepped forward and punched the tall one’s shoulder with hoof, “Stop it Scarlet! He’s really old, you should respect him.”

Aldus’ eyebrow twitched in irritation, “I’m not that old...”

“One thousand years,” the smallest filly said, “That seems pretty old to me. It’s amazing that I’m standing here talking with you, somepony out of the history books. I’m Katarina.”

Aldus smiled and stood up. He bowed graciously and took her small hoof, “You must be Desalia’s youngest... the pleasure is all mine, little one.”

She smiled and bowed to the unicorn, grinning at her sisters. “See girls, this is all takes. Being polite will get you more than being assertive and rude.”

The other two unicorns grumbled and sat down next to Aldus on the sofa while Katarina snuggled up to him on the opposite side. The door burst open with three guards and a unicorn mare with an elegant silver robe staring at the fillies and Aldus. “Young ladies, you really shouldn’t scamper off like that!”

“It’s quite alright, I don’t mind the interruption.” Aldus said with a smile. A smile that didn’t seem to phase the mare.

“Girls, you must return to your chambers and prepare for bed. It’s getting late and your mother might be returning tomorrow.”

“But Aldus was going to tell us about Princess Seabreeze!” Katarina pouted.

“I was? Ow!” Aldus winced as scarlet kicked him in the ribs, “Umm... I was. It’s fine. I’m great with foals.” Aldus wheezed, smiling meekly to the intimidating mare.

“One hour. Then we’ll be back to collect the fillies.” The mare said before leaving the room and posting the guards outside the door.

Aldus sat back and rubbed his side, “Who was that?” he whispered to the fillies.

“Silver Linings...” the three fillies groaned in unison.

“Yeesh...” Aldus said, “Nightmare Moon wasn’t as scary as her.”

“Tell us about Nightmare Moon!”

“Yeah, how is Princess Luna now that she’s returned from the moon?”

“He still has to tell us about Seabreeze!”

“Relax girls, relax. All in good time. Now, what did you want to know about the love of my life?”

---------------

Silth shut the door and moved over to the window to see if she had been followed. She had flown through several districts to find a safe place to stay. Eventually she found the slums and a condemned dilapidated building with a small secluded attic. It was perfect, no pony would come looking for her here, and if they did she would have most of her power back by the time she was found.

The changeling heard moaning coming from the bundle she had deposited in the middle of the room. Frost removed the blanket wrapped around him and wailed in pain. He looked at his legs and began to cry. When Silth approached him he saw her and froze. His expression, one of pure terror, caused him to regain some control of his limbs and he tried to crawl away.

Silth frowned and shook her head, “No no... I can’t let you leave.”

Frost screamed in pain and pounded the floor with a hoof, “Let me go! Please... Please... let me go...” Frost sobbed as he buried his head into his forehooves, “Please... my life has meaning now, I have a real family now. Don’t kill me!!!”

Silth sat on her haunches and levitated Frost between her forehooves. The changeling took on an entirely different demeanor and shushed him, “Shh... I’m not going to kill you little pony. Look at me and know that I’m telling the truth.”

Frost opened his bloodshot eyes and saw swirling blue spirals. Almost immediately his body went limp and his Iris’ shrank to pinpricks, only to burst forth with the same blue spirals. He smiled and reached for the changeling’s face. Silth gently pushed his hoof back to his chest and made certain he was completely under her spell. For a moment, she forgot what she was doing and found herself licking her fangs and leaning toward the child’s mouth. Silth blinked and snapped herself out of it. No, not with this poor foal. She’d resist the urge, he’s been through too much already.

Silth examined the colt’s hind legs and winced, looking at her own. “This might hurt a bit...” she whispered as she seized his legs in magic. She counted to three then snapped the legs back into their proper place. Frost barely registered the pain, his pleasure centers being on full overload from Silth’s special hypnosis. His tongue was hanging out,  causing Silth to crack a weak smile.

The changeling cursed to herself and wondered what to do next, she looked around the room and found a plank to create a makeshift splint for his legs, but that was it. She had no magic to heal the broken bones and there were no changeling pods for him to rest in. It would be days before she had enough energy to make one of them. Then it hit her, it was so simple.

Silth broke the wood in half and tied a piece to each of his legs, then plucked him off the floor. His head lolled to the side and he smiled at her. Silth knew it was the compulsion from her powers, but it still made her feel that motherly instinct. It had been a long time since she last held one of her own in her arms.

“Feel better?” she cooed while moving her head around Frost. The unicorn stared at her eyes and allowed the colors to dominate his mind. He wanted nothing more than to stare at them forever.

Silth began to spit a green goop out onto Frost’s legs. It was a thick tangy substance that remained connected to the inside of her mouth. As more of the liquid emerged, she began to gingerly rotate Frost in her hooves, winding it around his body. The cool liquid started to harden around his legs when Silth was nearing his chest. She pushed both forehooves to his sides and continued her work until only his head and part of his shoulders were visible. Frost was now completely encased in a shimmering green cocoon. It was something changeling females sometimes did with their young to keep them safe and warm. The liquid was created in special glands in the mouths of mature changelings. It had slight healing properties and would numb his pain when he eventually woke up. She made sure to make it as tight as possible, it was no cast, but it would do for now.

The changeling sat on her haunches and rocked Frost back and forth in her forehooves, watching him stare into her still swirling eyes. He muttered something incoherent, causing Silth to chuckle. “Now little one, I wonder what your connection is to Aldus...”

“Ald.. Aldus...” Frost murmured.

“Mhm...” Silth whispered.

“He’s... my. He’s my master...” Frost said, now struggling to keep his eyes open.

“I see, so you’re his little student? Interesting...”

Frost nodded his head and muttered something else about magic, then yawned. The yawn was contagious as Silth soon found herself yawning as well. She levitated Frost’s cocoon and pulled out an old mattress from under a pile of junk. It was surprisingly soft despite having a veritable rainbow of stains on it. Silth despised being surrounded by filth, but at least she was no longer being tortured, and she had company. Silth gingerly laid down on the mattress and covered herself with a blanket she had swiped from a stand on their way to the slums. She held Frost between her forehooves and stared at him. “You should sleep, cutie. We both need our rest. So shut your eyes...”

Silth began to hum a song her mother had taught her long ago. A bedtime lullaby, she told herself it was for the poor pony, but that was a lie. It was for her as well. Thanks to her hypnosis, Frost was asleep in seconds, blissfully unaware of the tears streaming down the changeling’s face.

--------------

Several hours later, Frost awoke in a haze. He wanted to stretch but for some reason his arms didn’t move. Then he remembered the torturer and the changeling. Frost looked down and found himself bound in some sort of green cocoon. He couldn’t feel his legs, which meant no pain, so that was good at least. Frost heard breathing beside him and slowly turned his head to investigate. His fears were realized when he saw the changeling sleeping behind him.

Frost held his breath and tried not to scream, but he couldn’t stifle the rapid breathing. He squirmed as much as he could to free his forehooves. Eventually he decided to use magic to warm the cocoon around his chest and melt some of it away. Soon he had his two forehooves free and began to crawl away, dragging the rest of him across the floor. He had to move at a slow pace to not make much noise. Frost eventually made it to the window, he looked back to see the changeling still asleep and sighed in relief. He saw a way he could climb to the window. Frost dragged himself up onto a few boxes and crawled onto a dresser. As he traversed the piece of furniture, he accidentally knocked over a vase. Frost summoned what little magic he had to catch it, but to his horror it was already levitating in a magical field. He slowly turned to see the changeling laying on her side, grinning at him.

“And where do you think you’re going, you tasty little morsel?”

Frost gulped and backed away, not aware he was at the edge. He slipped off the side and landed on his head with a loud thud.

“Aww... poor baby...” Silth said in a pout while retrieving Frost with her magic. “But maybe that will teach that you shouldn’t try to escape.”

Frost gulped and shut his eyes, he didn’t remember much, but he knew this changeling had powerful hypnosis magic. “I don’t understand what’s going on...” Frost said, “I’m confused.”

Silth laid down next to him, inches away from his head and flicked her tongue against his nose. “That makes two of us, little one. What’s your name?”

Frost wasn’t sure what to do, but he wasn’t dead yet. He knew changelings fed on love. But that was it, he didn’t know what that felt like. Did she already feed on him? How could he tell?

“My name’s Frost. Why am I bound in this... stuff?” Frost asked.

Silth smiled and sat up, she gathered a pillow and propped it against Frost’s back so he could lean on something. “Call me Silth. Do you remember your legs being broken, Frost?”

He nodded, then shook his head, trying to forget the pain. “Yes, that guard was going to kill me. What happened?”

Silth licked her fangs and grinned, “He won’t be torturing anypony ever again. I fixed your legs and bound you in that cocoon to let them heal. Are you in any pain?”

Frost didn’t know what to think. Why was this changeling helping him? “No... I can’t feel them. There’s no pain.”

“Good,” Silth said with a sigh, “Now I have some questions for you, why were you down there? Why did you help me?”

“It’s like I told that guard, I was with... my friends.” Frost hesitated a moment, he didn’t want to reveal too much yet, “Then a thief stole my saddlebags. I chased him into the sewers and heard crying. That’s when I found you. Why were you being tortured?”

Silth growled and looked away, “I’m a changeling... that is reason enough. But why did you help me?”

“I was going to die if I didn’t... but...”

“But?” Silth queried

“No creature deserves to be tortured like that, changeling or no. It wasn’t right.”

Silth smiled, amused at this little colt. “Suppose I did something terrible to warrant it? Maybe I commanded an army vast enough to swallow this entire kingdom? Maybe I would have killed a lot of other ponies after I was done here? Maybe I would have set my sights on Canterlot next. What then?”

“Then you should have been killed,” Frost said, surprising Silth with how quickly he responded. His attitude and body language were ice as he stared into her eyes. “But not tortured.”

“You’re a strange little colt, aren’t you?” Silth mused.

“Well, what about you?” Frost quipped, starting to gain some confidence, “Why didn’t you just leave me there?”

Silth smiled and picked up Frost in her forehooves, “I may be a changeling, but I have principles. After helping me like that I couldn’t just leave you there. Also, I’d like to know about a certain unicorn wizard.”

Frost raised an eyebrow, “You mean... Aldus?”

“Mhm.” Silth said, “We’re... well. We’re acquaintances, you could say.” she said with a chuckle while licking her fangs.

Frost suddenly became worried, several things began to click into place as he looked at the changeling. “You’re going to eat me, aren’t you? After you find out what I know about Aldus, you’re going to feed on me.”

Silth shook her head and laughed, “Eat you?! No, child. I’m not going to eat you. I’m not even going to feed on you. You’re just a colt, even if I wanted to you wouldn’t provide me any meaningful amount of sustenance.”

“So then... you’ll let me go?” Frost asked with a meek smile.

Silth chuckled and kissed the colt on the forehead, “I don’t see why not... but I have some more questions for you first.”

“More questions...?” Frost asked, “What kind of questions?”

Silth leaned against the wall and sat Frost in her lap, “Lets start with this. When Aldus returned from his trip a few weeks ago. Did he return with any new mare?”

“No...” Frost said, “He just returned with Rigel and Polaris. But there was a mare that Aldus hired to come look after us and clean the manor. She arrived a day or two before he did.”

Silth raised an eyebrow and picked up Frost’s chin with a hoof. “What was her name? Was it Velvet? Mangrove? Violet? Willow? Rose Petal?”

“Willow,” Frost said, “How did you know?”

“Willow...” Silth mused with a laugh, “Oh Frosty, you looked so terrified when you first saw me. I don’t know why, I’m not the first changeling you’ve seen.”

“Yes you are,” Frost said, “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve met my sister, Ciaran. Or ‘Willow’, as she’s going by now. Wait... Aldus didn’t tell you? Oh my...” Silth said with a small gasp.

The two remained quiet for a few minutes while Frost’s mind raced in a thousand different directions. He eventually leaned against Silth and allowed her to wrap a hoof around him. “Silth...”

“Yes, sweetheart?” she said with a smile.

“How did you come to know Aldus?”

Silth smiled and ran a hoof through the colt’s mane, “Well, Frosty. It all started with a book.”