Chapter 10
Midnight howl
Cloud Gazer and Ember rested in the shadows of the cage when somepony walked in. "Why hello, Cloud Gazer!" The grey stallion looked up wearily before setting his head on his hooves. "I didn't expect to see you here!" The mysterious pony sounded like a stallion but the black cloak hid his features. "I don't know you." Cloud Gazer closed his eyes just to be lifted up, sending a sharp pain through his shoulder. "Ouch. Seems like my arrow struck you." Cloud Gazer looked up to see shiny, white teeth. "Get off me!" Cloud Gazer struggled to get away. Ember was lifted up by another mysterious pony, and the two were carried to another room. "Where is she when we need her!" The second mysterious pony growled before taking off his hood. Cloud Gazer gasped in shock. "FlameDust!?" The yellowish stallion turned sharply to face his enemy. "All lookie here! It's Rainbow Dash's little guardian!" The pegasus taunted Cloud Gazer happily. "Shut up, FlameDust!" A mare appeared out of no where and sat down on a crystal throne. "We all know that Rainbow Dash is a failure and she shouldn't be an alicorn but Celestia had to pick her." The mare was dressed in a shiny, black latex suit. "So true!" The mare slowly turned to face the other stallion. "Maybe you should shut up too!" Cloud Gazer rolled his eyes, and sat down beside Ember. "What are we doing here?" Ember was the first to speak about their little trip. "Well, I don't know why they brought you, Ember, but we need Cloud Gazer-" Cloud Gazer looked around the large room when Ember interrupted the mare. "Why?" The mare sighed and unzipped her latex mask, revealing her face. Cloud Gazer looked at the mare for awhile before jumping to his feet. "Misty!?" Cloud Gazer wasn't glad to see his old friend though. She's a... Unicorn! "Sit down! It's not respectful!" Cloud Gazer looked at his hooves before sitting back down. Wait! Why am I obeying her? "Good! You'll be an excellent addition to this team!" Cloud Gazer's eyes widened in terror. Misty jumped out of the throne and ran into Cloud Gazer, ramming him with her horn; everything went black as misty's magic leaked into his bleeding heart.
Rainbow Dash guided the mares back into the open. "We got to go!" The cyan alicorn was breathing hard. Sapphire stopped to look at her mother. "No! We're not going anywhere until I know what's going on!" Rainbow Dash glared at her grown daughter. "Do you want to go back in there? I know that your friends don't want-" Sapphire put her muzzle in her mother's face, "Maybe I do! Maybe I wouldn't mind going in there! At least Cloud Gazer would protect me!" Rainbow Dash looked hurt as she trotted off with the other mares, leaving Sapphire alone. "He'd protect me right!?" The young alicorn sat down as it started to pour. Somepony from behind her chuckled. "He might of, but I don't think would now!" Sapphire sharply turned around and faced her opponent. "You!" Thorn chuckled again. "Once Misty, is done with him, he won't protect anypony but his team." Sapphire tackled him, angrily. "What did you do to him?!" Thorn smiled. "Oh. I didn't do anything to him, but don't worry! You got me." Thorn's smile turned into a wide grin. Sapphire looked confused, "I gotta go back for him!" Thorn growled before grabbed her by the tail. "Your not going to go anywhere, but home!" Sapphire tried to run, but stopped after she realized that she wasn't getting anywhere. "Please! I need to get him!" Thorn started to drag the weeping mare home. "He's gone! He's a lone wolf now, leave him." Sapphire yanked her tail free before growling at Thorn, "You said he had a team!" Thorn shook his head. "Yeah, but I didn't say that he'd trust them." Sapphire looked around before following Thorn. "How can I trust you?" That is such a stupid question! Thorn laughs, and then smiles. "You can't." Well at least he's honest.
Sapphire and Thorn walk up to the palace gate, and guards let them enter. "This way, Thorn." Sapphire led the stallion to the living room. "Want anything to eat?" Thorn shook his head and smiled. "No thank you." Sapphire shook her head, and left to go into the kitchen. The alicorn came back with two cups full of coke. "Enjoy." Sapphire laid the first cup on the table in front of Thorn. "I said I didn't want anything." I smiled. "You can't expect me to listen." He laughed, but covered his mouth with his hooves in embarassment. "Haha don't worry! Your allowed to have fun here." Thorn looked at his hooves. "Mother let us have fun, but how could you in that place?" Sapphire sat beside him, confused. "Wait. Didn't you have a home!?" Thorn shook his head obviously holding back tears. "No. Mother made us stay in one the cells while she went home with father. Father died a few years after Ember was born, and after that even Mother stayed in the caverns, and then Mother died." A single tear slipped down Thorn's cheek. The young alicorn sighed before wiping Thorn's tears away. "Don't cry, Thorn. It'll be okay, you have us now!" Sapphire drank the last of her coke before jumping off of the couch, and she headed towards the stairs. "Come on you can sleep in Cloud Gazer's spot." Thorn followed Sapphire upstairs, but stopped at her bedroom door. "In there?" Sapphire giggled. "Of course silly!" Thorn blushed, "Oh. Isn't this your bedroom...?" Sapphire opened the door and pulled Thorn in. "Of course! Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are spending the night so we're not going to be alone." Thorn blushed more. Oh great! I'm going to be in a room with a bunch of mares. Thorn sighed at his thought. "Thorn you can sleep on my bed or you can sleep on the floor with us." Thorn looked at the bed, and then looked at the floor. "Um I guess I'll sleep on the floor." Thorn looked at his hooves while Sapphire got blankets and some pillows. "Aw somepony gonna get lonely up on the bed?" Thorn blushed as the alicorn teased him.
"What is he doing here!?" Sweetie Belle jumped out of her sleeping bag and screamed. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo woke up, startled. Sapphire giggled, "He's with us." Thorn and Sapphire laid on the bed side by side. "No! He's with magenta!" Scootaloo scowled at her friend. The alicorn princess rolled her eyes. "Magenta is dead, Scootaloo! Thorn doesn't want to talk about her!" It was Apple Bloom's turn to yell at her friend, "Well, at least ya'll know it's name." Sapphire jumped off the bed and pressed her muzzle into Apple Bloom's face. "He is NOT an it! His name is Thorn and that's what I better hear you guys calling him!" Apple Bloom pulled away from her friend, in surprise. "Fine ya'll can call it what ever ya'll want." The yellow mare sharply turned around, and stormed out of the bedroom. "It's okay. They'll come to their senses." Sapphire sighed and laid her head on Thorn's shoulder. "I hope..."
Cloud Gazer's eyes fluttered open, "Where am I?" A mare came out of the shadows with new bandages. "it's okay." Cloud Gazer jumped back, ramming his wings into the wall behind him. A new kind of pain runs through his wings, and reaches his heart. "Ah! I...It hurts." The mare shakes her head, "It's going to hurt. Your very tough, not many ponies survives the transformation. Maybe that's why Misty chose you." The mare unwrapped the bandages around Cloud Gazer's heart. The grey stallion looked confused. The night was a blur, and all he saw was a deep hole that was leaking a neon green fluid. "Ew." The mare chuckled at the grey pegasus. "What transformation?" The question knawed at the back of Cloud Gazer's head. "The transformation to becoming a Tash." Cloud Gazer cocked his head in confusion. "What's a Tash?" The mare shrugged before turning around, and disappearing into the shadows. "Cloud Gazer!" Somepony whispered from beside him. "Cloud Gazer! Over here!" The grey pegasus turned to see Ember's eyes in the shadows.
Author's note- okay so the next chapter might have a little romance that you see in movies like making out and crap like that. If your not comfortable with it, please tell me before tommorrow :)