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Lilith flew with all haste from the town, she had just committed murder...

He had deserved it, but Lilith didn't particularly want to explain why to the townsfolk. Better that it be left a mystery.

Well, that town was no longer an option. It seemed she was back at the original plan. To Canterlot.

~

Lilith gathered up a fairly dense piece of cloud fairly high from the ground. Anyone flying would likely fly below, and anyone on foot wouldn't have a solitary chance of spotting her. She began to fluff up a small space to sleep in when the feeling that she was being watched crept upon her, delaying all thoughts for sleep.

Lilith immediately left, continuing her journey. She warily watched the skies behind her, periodically looking forward to check if anything was ahead.

This time when she brought her gaze forward her heart nearly stopped.

"Going somewhere?" A lava red pegasus spoke, leaning on a nearby cloud.

"F...Flare?"

The pegasus nodded and shot her a grin before disappearing behind the cloud.

No it couldn't be him, he was dead. All that blood...

The voice spoke out once again, causing her to swiftly turn her head to the other side.

"That's not a very nice way to treat your host Lil." Her eyes shot open as he faded behind yet another cloud. If it knew her name... Then it had to be him, but how? Even if he survived the loss of blood and the energy she had stolen from him would have left him too weak to fly.

Lilith shook her head, "It's just your mind playing tricks, calm down."

"Is it?" The voice spoke from in front of her this time.

Lilith reeled back, stopping her flight to avoid approaching him. Again he nonchalantly swooped behind a cloud, obscuring himself from view.

Faster than should have been possible his voice spoke from behind her. "You are a naughty mare..."

Lilith wheeled around, her twin hearts pumping, lashing out with a kick. Time slowed and her kick landed, striking the speaker in their side.

Flare sputtered a string of curses as he clutched his new injury, taking a quick dive behind another cloud.

He had flown to the right but his voice now came from her left. "Just give yourself up easy now Lilith."

She dashed towards the speaker, intent on causing further harm, but a second form crashed into her side. Lilith was sent into an aerial tumble as she rapidly descended.

Lilith fell well below the clouds before becoming able to slow the descent. Alighting on the ground she looked around frantically, searching for any sign of her attacker.

Her eyes locked on a questioning sight. She hadn't been hit that hard, so why was she seeing double?

Two identical Lava red pegasi flapped side by side, staring at her with vitriolic expressions.

Lilith knew there was one way to be sure... She reached out mentally, awaiting the perverse touch of Flare's mind. Instead she found two minds, both far more sane than he had been.

But if they had Flare's image that meant.... Changelings. And they had witnessed everything that had happened.

Lilith's scared dread evaporated, only to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of danger. With her month trapped in the forest it was only logical that Drauth already had spies and assassins waiting for her...

The two glided down and began circling her, throwing taunts and insults in Flare's voice.

"Such a dirty little slut, why didn't you escape earlier? Did you actually want him to defile you?"

"Maybe we can have a turn before we drag you back to Drauth." The other spoke.

Lilith pushed back her disgust at their comments and replied calmly. "How did you find me?"

"Isn't it obvious." one of the changelings shifted to an exact copy of her current form, tapping his foreleg. Lilith looked to her golden armband... How could she be so stupid, Drauth had obviously seen her wearing it during their encounter.

Lilith slid off her bags and let her golden band fall to the ground, she then launched herself at the Changeling who had taken her appearance.

"Damn it, shift back!" The other, still disguised as Flare yelled as Lilith slammed into his partner.

Lilith dragged her copy to the ground with the extra weight, assaulting his mind with her own to prevent him from transforming. She rolled along the ground in a time infused spin to entangle them in a battle that the other couldn't join due to the confusion.

Lilith forcefully aimed a kick at the changeling's ribcage and was rewarded with a howl of pain.

Good, he was the one that she had hit in the same spot earlier.

As they grappled on the grass Lilith was scratched and battered by her attacker. She continued to focus her blows on his ribcage, waiting for the right moment...

She was rewarded with a resounding crack as two of his ribs gave way. He shrunk over in a momentary overflow of pain, it was all that Lilith needed.

Time slowed as her powers flared up, a hoof striking his throat... As he gasped for air Lilith grabbed a wing and twisted it, hearing a crunch as the hollow bone snapped.

Lilith stepped away, allowing the copy of herself to fall to the ground. Her twin hearts pounded and she felt weak from the exertion, had those few seconds of time distortion been too much?

She needed to think fast, there was no way she could get into another fight and come out the victor at this point.

"And that's how it's done. Get her tied up with something." Lilith bluffed, hoping the other changeling hadn't kept good enough track of the fight.

"Really?"

Lilith nearly flinched but kept her composure.

"You just ruined all the fun, I wanted a piece of that action! Too bad the bitch couldn't put up more of a fight."

"Are you saying you wanted me to get my ass kicked?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Lilith nearly sighed in relief as the changeling dropped his disguise and flew down to his partner's side. Lilith looked around the ground, picking up a sizable stone. "Just wait, we can still have our fun with her before we head back." She spoke, continuing her deception.

"Well, actualy... you fought a little t-"

She walked up behind him and struck him with all her might. A spray of green changeling blood spattered across her as his skull cracked.

Lilith quickly rummaged through her bag, finding the small knife that she had packed. She grabbed it and returned to the injured changelings.

The one she had struck was unconscious, or worse. But the one she had fought was about to regain his footing.

Lilith kicked him in his broken ribs once again and he fell back to the ground.

"Please, we were just hired to capture you and bring you back to Drauth. If you let us leave I swear we won't bother you again." His form shifted once more as he dropped her image, returning to his normal changeling appearance.

"You know my name, you know my face... I'm sorry."

Lilith stabbed the knife into the back of his neck, it lodged itself in bone as his brain was disconnected from body. She wrenched it out and turned to the unconscious changeling, not bothering to check for a pulse before cutting his jugular.

A vision flashed before Lilith's eyes, showing her what would come from their death.

They would be found dead by another changeling hunter and he would send word back to the hive. Drauth, upon hearing of the failure would fall into a rage and slay the messenger.

After he would kill the dead changeling's widows, and children to sate his desire for death. The vision ended on Drauth's scarred eye as he reveled in the slaughter.

Lilith threw the knife away attempting to wipe the blood from her face. She realized her mistake as her hoof left an even worse blood smear.

Yes she had already seen plenty of blood today, but only at a distance. Being covered in it, having been the one to deliver the blow... She nearly gagged as the stench reached her.

"Four." Lilith whispered to herself. Four was the count of how many had died from her actions. And further innocents would die indirectly. This was blood that would forever stain her hooves, forever stain her conscience.

~~~

The next day:

Lilith still could smell blood... She had washed for three hours in the stream last night but the scent still plagued her. Lilith pulled a rag away from a scrape, it had been a minor wound and was nearly healed. She looked at the dried almost brown blood; that was another difference she had from regular changelings their blood is green, hers ran crimson.

She also felt disturbingly weak, all her strength having fled... As much as she hated to admit it she needed to feed, and not in a normal food kind of way. What little energy she had taken from Flare had been drained by her time-bending ability.

Lilith's guess was that slowing time in anything longer than half second bursts would cause a massive drain. It made sense as her fight the other day was the first time she had ever attempted to sustain her power. She had only used it for a meager five seconds straight but it had drained her far more than countless small uses would have.

Lilith was now on the last leg of her trip to Canterlot, Celestia's second attempt at a castle. Unfortunately Nightmare Moon had destroyed large parts of the old one before being banished.

Lilith had stashed her golden armband away, saddened by the fact she could no longer wear it safely. It was the only link to her father, other than the strange genetics he had passed onto her.

Lilith shook off her reminiscing thoughts and looked to the large mountainside city looming ahead of her. It swiftly grew in size as she approached.

Celestia at least needed to know that the hive leadership had changed. It would take some time to undo her mother's work, but a King like Drauth was likely to cause great harm.

She alighted in the mostly empty streets, finding the road that lead to the gold and alabaster palace. Coming upon the castle doors she noticed a few guards. How was she supposed to get an audience if Celestia didn't even know her?

Lilith stopped, noticing the guards eying her warily.

"I have an important message for Celestia."

"Ha, and I'm a manticore." The guard scoffed. "Now get going!"

"But I need to see her!"

"Yeah, you and all the other rabble. Celestia hasn't taken a single visitor since she moved to this castle."

"She can't still be in mourning. Luna was banished four years ago!" Lilith could still remember the sorrowful expression on her mother's face when she had returned home with the news. The two had grown to be close friends.

"Don't say that name!" The guard growled out. "Now go, before someone needs to escort you."

Lilith did as commanded, straying off the road as soon as she was out of sight. Fine then, no using the main entrance. She looked to the tallest tower, seeing the open-air balcony fixed to its side. "That will have to do."

Lilith skirted around the castle grounds, making sure nobody was in sight before taking to the air. Upon landing on the balcony she was pleasantly surprised at the fact no alarm had been sounded. She dashed into the confines of the room to stay unobserved, sweeping the area with her gaze.

Lilith's eyes flew to a crumbled and scorched stone tablet, a partial inscription written upon it. She walked over and peered at the writing.

"...There shall always be two, forever together yet forever apart...

Something drove her to touch it; she gingerly reached out with a hoof to see if she could wipe away some of the soot to see if it was obscuring another partial line.

As she touched the tablet a vision washed over her, she could see the original engraving in entirety. It took up nearly a whole wall, untouched even in the middle of all the wreckage.

"The world yearns for order, for balance. There shall always be two, forever together yet forever apart.

An existence of both harmony and conflict for both cannot shine at once, and neither can one exist without the other."

Celestia walked over to the tablet, an enraged blast shattering it to pieces. She then sagged to the floor of her destroyed castle sobbing.

"Why? My Moon, my sister. Why did you change? Why..."

"We will find a way..." Lilith could see Ardith as she tried to console the princess.

Lilith's vision of the past faded away as she heard a noise coming from the hall. She quickly dove behind the remains of the large tablet, hearing hoof steps enter the room seconds later.

The pony stopped in front if the stone, pausing long enough for Lilith to hear a single tear strike the floor. The steps continued towards the balcony, a yellow glow of magic lit the room.

Lilith emerged from her hiding spot, thinking to sneak away but stopped upon the scene.

Celestia exerted her power and the sun glowed its last for the day as it was pushed down past the horizon. The magic faded away and Celestia braced herself to go raise the moon, a dark aura surrounding her. The moon slowly rose to its spot in the sky, Celestia obviously straining to do the job meant specifically for her sister.

It wasn't surprising that Celestia needed to resort to dark magic to complete the task; she technically shouldn't be able to raise the moon at all.

Celestia whispered a few words to the moon. "Nine hundred ninety five years and two hundred seven days left. I'm so sorry."

"Both cannot shine at once, and neither can one exist without the other..." Lilith spoke, loud enough for Celestia to hear.

She whirled around, horn glowing. "Where did you hear that?" She seemed less concerned with Lilith's presence than the fact that those words had been spoken.

Lilith boldly steeped out into the light of the freshly raised moon, looking at the outline of a mare on its surface. "You found your way, one thousand years of magic and banishment to weaken Nightmare's hold... If there was a better option you would have used it."

"Who are you? Nopony knows that other than-"

Lilith cut her off, not finished. "You may live an eternity, but there's no use in wasting one thousand years waiting as the kingdom you fought so hard for fades away! I did not think a queen would be so weak."

The same rage that Lilith had seen in her vision entered Celestia's eyes. A massive bolt of energy flew from her horn towards Lilith.

Lilith's eyes widened as her twin hearts flared up on their own, the bolt slowed to a snails pace as she stepped aside. Instead of striking her the blast found its way to the remaining part of the stone inscription, blasting what was left into pieces.

The rage fell from Celestia's eyes as she realized what she had almost done. She collapsed to the floor and bowed her royal brow in shame.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been the ruler I should..."

"Then you need to show that you can be. Not to me, but to Equestria.

"Thank you. But, how is it that you know these things?"

Lilith wobbled on her legs, the sudden use of her ability having drained the small bit of remaining energy she had left.

"Can we go somewhere I can sit?" Lilith spoke before her legs gave out. "Never mind, this works."

"What's wrong? Did I do this with my magic?"

"No, it's... A condition. As a changeling, my mother had the same problem."

Celestia paused in thought, "With what you know there's only one person who that could be... Your mother, is it Ardith?"

"Yes, but there's something else, --" Lilith's head nodded as she involuntarily closed her eyes. She opened them with a start. "Sorry, I seem to have used up all my energy. At this point there's not much I can do."

"Will you be ok?"

"If I don't exert myself any further and find a source of power I'll be fine."

"Take what you need." Celestia gazed upon Lilith with a seriousness in her eyes. "It's the least I can do for the child of a friend."

Lilith reached out, feeling the warm embrace of the almost motherly love radiating from Celestia. She basked in the freely given energy, soaking it up as easily as a sponge.

Love really was one of the most powerful emotions. When freely gifted it had a strength of its own, separate from that of the givers. The exchange barely cost Celestia anything, but to Lilith it meant everything.

Lilith got to her hooves and embraced Celestia. "My mother... She's dead." Lilith began to sob into Celestia's shoulder, a comforting hoof finding its way around her back.

"Shh, your safe with me."

Lilith cried upon the princesses shoulder until she could cry no more, dropping her tough demeanor and falling asleep in Celestia's grasp.

"Oh little one. You may be barely an adult but you are still a child compared to I... There is no doubt that you speak the truth, but why would Ardith keep you a secret from me?"

~~~

The two spoke again the next morning over breakfast, Celestia tried to make sense of the information she had been given.

"So this Drauth has sent changeling spies into Equestria to seek you out? Why would he hunt a child?"

"I don't know, but he claims that my mother's virtues were a weakness. A weakness that he needed to purge from changeling society."

"I once thought all changelings were monsters, but Ardith proved otherwise. It is a shame the depravity of one can cast a shadow on all."

"Can you stop him?"

"It's not that easy Lilith. You helped me realize that I have a kingdom that needs me... I can't risk war in a foreign land just for the sake of removing a Changeling King from his position.

The remaining Royal Guard is a shadow of its former self, tensions have risen with the Gryphon kingdom, and the remains of the Crystal empire have been pulled into the void."

"Then I need training... If you can't help me I'll just have to do it on my own."

"You can't be serious?"

"Only one Changeling needs to die."

"Even I haven't killed. And I would never dare chose it as an option."

"That's our difference, I've been forced to choose." Lilith walked away from the stunned Celestia, escorting herself out.

Lilith pushed open the main gates to the castle, receiving startled glances from the guards. Lilith looked at the one who had prevented her entrance the previous day.

"Hello Manticore." She taunted sarcastically.

"You... Spoke with her?"

"Yes, and I'm joining the royal guard. Where's your captain?"

"But the royal guard is comprised of only colts, its always been that way!"

"Are you sure you want to disobey Celestia's orders?" Lilith bluffed.

"N...no, I'll show you the way."

~

Celestia watched the events unfold through a window. "Revenge isn't the answer Lilith. I hope you can learn that before you do something reckless."

A whirring, grinding, and echoing tone resounded through the hall as a blue police box appeared. Dr. Whooves steeped out. The somber expression on his face lifted slightly as he saw Celestia.

"Its good to see you up and moving around. I was afraid you would sleep the next thousand years away."

"I'm sorry Doctor, I heard about Ardith."

"Ah, that... I didn't want to be the one to break the news."

"Lilith did."

"Lilith?"

"She didn't say so, but I believe she's your daughter."

"No. That's... Not possible. If Ardith had a child it wasn't with me, our DNA couldn't be compatible."

"And yet she has your eyes..."

Author's Note:

As always, thanks for reading!