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- >The train ride back is the longest of your life.
- >You can still taste the filly's blood in your mouth.
- >None of the ponies you rode with could see it in your disguise, but you could still taste it.
- >And it tasted good.
- >Shame fills you at that thought, and you turn to look at Sparkler, who's wearing one of her rare, satisfied smiles.
- >She was always keen to please her master.
- >As if sensing your thoughts, the purple mare turns to you, appraising you with a keen eye.
- >"You know, Bon-Bon, I really didn't think you had it in you."
- "Like I say, you don't know much about my kind."
- >"Really, I'd always thought of you creatures as monstrous...but you struck me as a coward. I'm glad to see I was wrong."
- >She puts a hoof on your shoulder, and you have to stop yourself from shuddering.
- >"Blueblood will be pleased."
- >You roll your eyes at her.
- "Fantastic."
- >Sparkler frowns.
- >"Don't be flippant! This is a grand step for your kind as a whole! Perhaps the King will come to trust your entire species!"
- "He won't."
- >"No, most likely not, but it's good to hope."
- >You snort, and Sparkler grins.
- >"I just wish you had allowed me to...help, with the filly."
- >You don't respond.
- >"It could have gone so much slower...why, I even brought along my favorite set of knives..."
- >You block the noise of her voice out, just as you block out the taste of blood in your mouth.
- >Just as you block out the poisonous outflow of hatred and sadism that flowed from Sparkler like water from a faucet.
- >It made you sick.
- >You are Bon-Bon the changeling, and you have done a terrible thing.
- >When you step off the train into Canterlot's streets, Sparkler is STILL talking.
- >Mostly about weaponry and different aspects of unicorn magic, but you've stopped paying attention.
- >You just want to get this over with, wash the taste out of your mouth, and make sure Lyra's alright.
- >But you know you can't.
- >You still have something else you need to do.
- >First, though, an audience with the King.
- >Sparkler is practically bouncing on her hooves as the pair of you trot towards the throne room.
- >At least she is until the doors open.
- >Then she's back to being the calm, stoic, sadistic little nutcase you know and hate.
- >The Throne room doors open on what is coming to be a familiar scene.
- >Blueblood, seated on his "borrowed" throne, his cheek leaning against one hoof as if bored.
- >A begging, kneeling diplomat, pleading his case before the new King.
- >A griffin, this time. Not surprising, really. Blueblood had been slowly but steadily cutting all ties to that nation, closing down foreign exchange programs, dissolving trade agreements, and other such things.
- >King Blueblood was sending the rest of the world a clear message.
- >If it wasn't a pony, it was his enemy. Ironic, really.
- >"Please, Sire, reconsider! We are not your enemy! We simply-"
- >Blueblood holds off a hoof, and the griffin silences himself.
- >"I believe I've already told you to leave, have I not?"
- >"But I-"
- >Blueblood leans up in his chair, and the "royal guards" at his side point their spears at the griffin.
- >"O...of course, Your Majesty."
- >The griffin bows and scrambles out of the room, allowing you and Sparkler to approach the throne unopposed.
- >Blueblood greets your approach with a wide, sickening smile.
- >Sparkler bows immediately, and you lower your head after a moment's hesitation.
- >"Amethyst Star. Bon-Bon. I trust that your mission was successful?"
- >Sparkler smiles, and you have to brace yourself against the sickly-sweet wave of pure LOVE flowing out from her towards the seated king.
- >You can feel that love. And it's fucking disgusting.
- >"Yes, Sire. We succeeded in our mission."
- >His smile widens.
- >"So you have my wedding gift?"
- >Spakler's eyes shift to you for the briefest second.
- "I'm afraid we were...unable to procure a head."
- >Blueblood's smile vanishes into a frown.
- "I got hungry."
- >The frown turns into a grimace, and he begins to rise from the throne.
- >Sparkler's horn glows, retrieving the still-bloodied lock of Sweetie Belle's mane from her satchel.
- >"We did not return without trophies, Your Majesty!"
- >Blueblood's expression lightens again, his eyes locking in on that bloodied tuft of hair with an iron intensity.
- >"Oh...this will do nicely..."
- >He rises from the throne, accepting the lock of hair with a flash of white teeth in his perfect grin.
- >"The perfect wedding gift for my bride-to-be."
- >You knew who he was talking about.
- >You'd been told.
- >You'd been told everything.
- "Your Majesty?"
- >His eyes switch to you.
- >"Ah, yes. The Changeling. You have done EXCEPTIONALLY well, my dear. I will reward you any way I can. You and your...food source...will always be welcome in my kingdom."
- "...Thank you, Your Majesty. I only have one small request."
- >"Name it."
- "The Queen wishes that I see your Bride to be before reporting back to the Hive."
- >The Queen wished no such thing as far as you knew.
- >"But of course. Come with me."
- >You followed the new King through his stolen castle, idly wondering at what drove him.
- >He was passionless. Cold. Mad.
- >You could taste nothing from him but avarice.
- >It was terrifying to be so close to him, to be behind him, and to feel nothing from him. Nothing but a keen, mad mind bent on-
- >"We've arrived."
- >He turns to you with a flourish and a grin.
- >"I will allow you in first, dear Bon-Bon. Just make it quick. I have a marriage proposal to make."
- >You bow to him and move to enter the room.
- >You change as you enter, fire flaring around you.
- >Razor passes you, on his way out to give you some "alone time" with the prisoner.
- >The room itself is clean, spotless. More like a noble lady's powder room than a prison cell.
- >Were it not for the "implements" lying on the table next to the chained prisoner, you would think it so.
- >You wince at viewing her appearance.
- >Tiny cuts and scrapes mar her coat. It seems like when hooves weren't enough, Razor began to cut her.
- >Her hair is over one eye, and the other is bloodshot.
- >Her horn is what makes you wince most. It's been cut, with delicacy and precision, tiny bits of it scraped away methodically.
- >That must have been agony. An organ as sensitive as a unicorn horn...defiled in such a way...
- >Rarity stares back at you, sipping quietly at a cup of tea that she cups in her hooves.
- >"You must be Razor's replacement? Here to 'break me,' too?"
- >You catch a tiny glint of fear in her sapphire eyes as you approach.
- >Her sisters eyes held the same fear.
- "My name is Bon Bon. I'm here to help you."
- >You catch the distrust in her eyes.
- >"Bon-Bon? I knew Bon-Bon. She lived in Ponyville. She was friends with...Lyra, the unicorn. She's not a-"
- "Not a changeling? How could you know that, Rarity? How would you have ever known for sure?"
- >She laughs, a cold, mirthless sound.
- >"Is this some sort of new tactic? Torture didn't work, so you're going to convince me the ponies I knew as friends were changelings?"
- >You close your eyes, and your voice shifts into something deeper.
- "No, just me."
- >You shift your voice again, going over the different voices you've used during your life as a pony.
- "I promise you, I'm here to help."
- >Rarity's staring at you, wide-eyed and fearful.
- >"Bon-Bon? How are you...why are you...you're a-"
- "We don't have time for this."
- >You trot over to her, pushing your black snout close to her face so you can whisper to her.
- "Rarity, Anonymous is alive."
- >"I know that, but-"
- "And I know where he is."
- >"Where!? Is he alright? Captured? Torture-"
- "I don't have time to explain. I know where he is, and I'm going there next. I'm going to free him."
- >The suspicious gleam comes back to her eyes, and you have to credit her for her intelligence.
- >"Why?"
- "Because I know how Blueblood took the throne. I know what happened to the Princess. I know what he's planning. He can't be allowed to succeed."
- >"Can you take me to him?"
- "No. Not now. We'll be captured."
- >"Then can you-"
- "I'll deliver a message to him. Anything you want to tell him, he'll hear with your voice, from your lips."
- >Her eyes brighten. You have her.
- "Just make it quick."
- >The white unicorn leans in, and gives you her heart.
- Blueblood's perspective.
- >Razor is kind enough to show the changeling out.
- >The wretched creature will return to her hive, most likely.
- >Their Queen has been keen on maintaining a portal from the palace to the depths of her murky den, and you haven't dismantled it yet.
- >The creature has served you well, and you suppose that bought her little mint snack another week of life.
- >You open the door to your beautiful, glaring bride and strike in.
- >Your wedding present, you keep hidden behind your back.
- >"Hello, Blueblood."
- >She's smiling, the vapid little whore.
- >Razor was specifically tasked with removing her ability to smile.
- >It appears that physical punishment just wasn't enough anymore.
- "That's King, to you, subject. And your King has arrived with a magnanimous proposal."
- >She smirks, and you restrain the urge to lash out and remove that smirk with the back of your hoof.
- >Plenty of time for that later.
- >"Really? Is it another demand for me to submit to you? Asking my hoof in marriage, perhaps?"
- "The latter."
- >She rolls her eyes.
- >"Oh, how wonderful. Please, sweep me off my hooves."
- >You smile.
- "Of course. Allow me to show you your wedding gift."
- >You bring the lock of mane out from behind your back.
- >There it is. The crack in her eyes. The horror.
- >The breaking.
- >"She...she-"
- "Devoured by a rogue changeling agent, I'm afraid. It ate her alive. The poor thing. So young..."
- >She trembles, struggling, and you hold back a smile as you watch her break, a piece at a time.
- "It could have happened to anyp0ny, is the sad thing. It could have been another pony in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, maybe. Fluttershy? It could-"
- >"Stop. Please."
- "What was that?"
- >"Please..."
- >You smile.
- Sweetie Belle's perspective
- >You had to keep moving.
- >You couldn't stop, you just had to keep moving.
- >Pain blurred your vision and stole strength from your limbs as you ran.
- >Bon-Bon's fangs had cut deeper than she thought, and you winced every few seconds as you ran.
- >You had to get back to Ponyville.
- >You had to warn the others.
- >You remember your talk with Miss Bon Bon clearly.
- >You screaming....
- "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
- >She had pulled back from your head, a lock of your hair in her mouth and blood running from her jaw.
- >You'd winced at the pain.
- >She'd swallowed slightly, swaying, before replying.
- >"Making it convincing."
- "Wh-what?"
- >She'd swallowed the hair and blood, panting, before turning those featureless blue changeling eyes back at you.
- "You're in danger, Sweetie Belle. Somep0ny wants to hurt you, wants to hurt your sister's friends. I need to know why."
- "I...I don't..."
- >You'd panicked, frozen up, terrified of the idea of a changeling, one who'd BITTEN you, trying to talk to you.
- >And then she'd explained herself. Told you about the Princess. What had happened to her.
- "The necklace."
- >"Necklace?"
- "It's evil! I thought it was gone! But if the Prince put it on Luna..."
- >"Then the Princess hasn't 'been cursed to become Nightmare Moon' again. It's just Blueblood. It's ALL Blueblood."
- >You'd nodded at her, scared of the fervor in her eyes.
- >She'd said she had to go. She was going to keep you safe. She said she'd keep everyp0ny safe.
- >She was going to keep Rarity safe.
- >But she said you had a job to do. You had to find Rarity's friends. You had to warn them. You had to keep them safe.
- >You had to tell them the truth.
- >You were dying.
- >You could feel it.
- >Blood ran down your face in rivers, dripping from your mouth, running from your eyes.
- >Your lungs shuddered in your chest as you breathed, as the dark half laughed and howled at the changelings surrounding you.
- >Your guards didn't know what was wrong.
- >Neither did the Queen.
- >She paced back and forth in front of you now, muttering to herself in anger.
- >"What is WRONG with this creature? It's been fed, it's not sick, it's not injured...so WHY is it dying on us? WELL!?"
- >She lashed out at one of the guards, hissing in anger, and it fell back, pleading.
- >"It resisted us every DAY, and NOW it decides it just wants to die!? This cannot be allowed. If this thing is even HALF as powerful as Blueblood believed..."
- >She pauses, and her minions shrink back.
- >"It cannot be allowed to die. Such a weapon would change EVERYTHING if we could command it. Do you hear me!? KEEP IT ALIVE."
- >One of the creatures, a cringing, cowardly beast, approaches towards the Queen.
- >"Queen Chrysalisss....a spy drone has returned to the Hive. One who goes by the name...Bon Bon. She requests to see the creature."
- >"Does she think she can influence it in a way I CANNOT!?"
- >The changeling flinches.
- >"I do not know, my Queen. I know only that she waits at the portal..."
- >The Queen hisses and takes off, along with her retinue of guards.
- >Leaving you alone with the cringing changeling messenger.
- >You do not notice the flash of green as the cringing changeling shifts shapes into a more confident looking beast.
- >You do not notice as it approaches you, a smile on it's face.
- >You are too busy burning.
- >Fire.
- >Everything was on fire.
- >The inside of your mind raged with the burning blaze that was consuming your body.
- >Everywhere, the potion ran through your veins, struggling to complete desires it was not equipped to handle, tearing you apart as it did it's work.
- >You and the Dark Half struggled in the center of your mind's plane, shouting and snarling at each other as your shared body burned around you.
- >ARE YOU SO EAGER TO LET US DIE!?
- >It wraps one furred hand around your face, pulling you close and snarling.
- >Rather than let it escape? Let it rule your body on its own? Yes, you would choose death over that.
- >THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING YOU TO DO!
- >Isn't it? It's asking you to surrender yourself, your humanity, and to become one with it. It's asking you to die.
- >A DEATH OF THE HALVES, TO SAVE THE WHOLE.
- >And what worth was the whole if it was run by the same monster that killed your mother? That sought to kill the one thing you loved?
- >It tosses you away in disgust, roaring, even as the fires rise around it.
- >WHAT OF THE PONY YOU LOVE? ARE YOU SO EAGER TO LEAVE HER IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE PRINCE?
- >Between watching her be eaten alive by a body you cannot control and leaving her to Blueblood?
- >Blueblood, every time.
- >You refused to let her suffer for y-
- >YOU ARE WEAK. SELFISH. STUPID.
- >Selfish?
- >MAN IS SELFISH. YOU FEAR, AND YOU WILL LET HER BE TAKEN BY ANOTHER MALE RATHER THAN DEFEND HER.
- >It snarls at you.
- >ALL BECAUSE YOU FEAR.
- >It was calling YOU selfish? This hungering, greedy wolf?
- >YOUR FEAR WILL LET THE ONE YOU LOVE DIE. IT WILL LET US DIE. I WON'T ALLOW IT.
- >You refused to join with this monster.
- >You refused to let yourself be it's pawn any longer.
- >You would both burn together.
- >And maybe, in the fire, the stain of your sin and murder would be cleansed.
- >YOU SPEAK MADNESS AND DELUSION. I AM TRUTH. I AM THE WILL THAT HAS KEPT US ALIVE.
- >You are the maw that has seen us damned.
- >It snarls, and you snarl back at it before charging it.
- >Man and beast grapple and slash at each other in the burning hellscape that has become your mind.
- >It chokes you, even as you stab it in the throa-
- >A tapping interrupts your quarrel.
- >Something from...outside.
- >"...non."
- >What was that?
- >"Anon. Anon wake up!"
- >Your eyes open. You have burned for so long, you aren't sure who controls what.
- >Everything is...slipping.
- "WhAt dO You wAnt?"
- >"What's wrong with you?"
- "What hAppenS to Us is oF no concErn to you, GreEnlIng."
- >The changeling backs away, fearful and confused. It repeats itself.
- >"What's wrong with you?"
- >The dark half laughs with your mouth.
- "We bUrn."
- >It's blue eyes rove around your face.
- >"I don't know what's wrong with you Anon, but you need to snap out of it. I'm here to help you."
- "WhO?"
- >"My name is Bon-Bon. You met me on the train, briefly. I was watching out for you, trying to-"
- "LiAr. TrIckSter. GreEnlIng. DecIever. LeaVE."
- >She flinches from the dual tones of your voice, or from the spray of blood from your mouth.
- >You aren't sure which.
- >"Anon. I have a message for you. From someone who cares about you."
- "gO!"
- >She bursts into a plume of green fire, and you wonder if you are going mad.
- >Then the fire clears, to reveal...Rarity.
- >Rarity.
- >Cut, beaten, bruised, battered, but Rarity.
- >Her horn is chipped and abused, cuts line her shoulders and hooves, her fur is bloody, and dark bruises appear on her sides and face.
- >Horror rushes through you in a cool wave, adding to your burning suffering rather than lessening it.
- >THIS IS HER FATE.
- >The Rarity copy opens her mouth, coughs once, and speaks.
- >"Anon? Anon...I don't know if this is real...if she's lying...but if you're still alive...still out there somewhere...I have to take this chance."
- >The changeling inhales, and you close your eyes in pain.
- "StOp."
- >"I pray she finds you, Anon. I pray you're out there. I pray you're alive. If you are, than all of this..."
- >The changeling gestures to herself in a self-deprecating manner, imitating Rarity perfectly.
- >"Has all been worth it. Blueblood says you're dead. I know better, Anon. I know you're out there. Stay alive, Anon. For me. Stay alive. Stay safe. I love you."
- >The changeling explodes into a nimbus of green fire as you close your eyes in pain.
- "WhO?"
- >The changeling holds a hand to her head, as if suffering a headache.
- >Too many changes at once, perhaps.
- >"What?"
- "WhO dId ThAt tO hEr?"
- >The force in your voice surprises even you.
- >"Blueblood. Razor. Sparkler. They take turns. Blueblood's trying to marry her. Have 'pure heirs' or some nonsense."
- "WhY tEll mE thIs?"
- >"Blueblood has somep0ny I care about, too. I want her safe."
- >She says something else, but you've stopped listening.
- >Anger, hot and invigorating, courses through your limbs.
- >The pain is a distant memory.
- >You turn your mind inwards.
- >And you go to meet the dark half.
- >You return to the inside of your mind.
- >To the burning hellscape.
- >To the dark corner where it sits, waiting.
- >Watching.
- >Had it seen?
- >I SAW.
- >Does it understand?
- >You can feel it, even here.
- >The fury shaking your limbs.
- >The rage.
- >WAS IT BETTER, THEN, TO WISH FOR DEATH WHILE SHE WISHES FOR YOU? WAS IT BETTER TO LEAVE HER TO THE PRINCE?
- >No, it wasn't better.
- >It rises from the dark nook of your mind, padding closer to you, it's mouth stretched open in a wolfish sneer.
- >SO THEN. WILL YOU BURN WITH ME?
- >WILL YOU FIGHT ME FOR DOMINANCE, AND BURN ALONE?
- >No.
- >WILL YOU SUBMIT, AS I WILL?
- >ARE YOU WILLING TO DIE, THEN? TO LOSE YOURSELF, AS YOU ARE?
- >ARE YOU WILLING TO BECOME SOMETHING MORE THAN WE ARE NOW?
- >It knows your answer.
- >What you do, you do for her.
- >It looms over you, and for the first time in your life, you see uncertainty and fear flicker across it's lupine features.
- >It wasn't lying, was it? This was death. For the both of you. A true death.
- >DEATH. YES. WE WILL DIE. BE NO MORE. THIS FIRE WILL CONSUME US.
- >Fear fills you as you realize the impact of what it's saying.
- >BUT WHAT RISES FROM OUR ASHES WILL BE STRONGER THAN THE BOTH OF US.
- >Will it save her? Will it even bother?
- >WE CANNOT KNOW.
- >You close your eyes. You've made your choice. Do it for her.
- >It holds out one clawed hand, and you hold out yours. It leans down, pressing it's forehead against yours.
- >Everything goes dark.
- >For the last time.
- Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAZsf8mTfyk
- >You open your eyes.
- >The bleeding has stopped. The burning has stopped.
- >You see darkness. Only darkness, and the green light of changeling effluvia.
- >You are restrained.
- >All of these facts go through your mind in less than a second.
- >You dismiss them as unimportant.
- >Rarity. That's all that matters. She's captured. She is hurt.
- >Blueblood. Sparkler. Razor. Chrysalis. All are guilty.
- >All must die.
- >You look at the green casing holding your arms and shoulders restrained.
- >You reach up, your muscles shifting and sliding, bones cracking, as you change.
- >The force of your change breaks the changeling coocoon into pieces, your clawed hand thrusting outward to grasp Bon-Bon around the throat.
- >She screams, and in her terror you hear music.
- >You release her. Her terror was only to draw the others.
- >They are coming.
- >You rise, pieces of cocoon dropping off of your back and shoulders, bits of green goo sticking in the shaggy fur that coats your body.
- >You look up, as the darkness grows eyes. As hundreds of winged creatures begin to circle you, their Queen at the head. A cloud of carapaced forms rise above you, blotting out the dim light with the drumbeat of wings.
- >You are Anonymous. Neither Thief, nor Beast.
- >You simply Are.
- >You roar to the heavens, and the Changeling Hive trembles.
- >Chunks of rock break from the ceiling, and the changelings falter.
- >Their fear is sweeter than the freshest of roses.
- >You smile, your muzzle twisting into a ferocious grin, full of joy and murder-lust.
- >You laugh at their terror, at their trepidation.
- "COME, INSECTS! COME, AND DIE.”
- >You leap into the cloud of changelings, and the slaughter begins.
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