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Ivor slowly stepped through the Order of the Stone’s temple, cautiously glancing around as he heard his own hoofsteps echo throughout the structure. After he had departed from the Order, his old friends convinced him to come back one final time in a letter, saying he “forgot something” back at the temple. Ivor wished they had elaborated what he had specifically forgotten, but he knew the process of writing back to ask them and waiting for a reply would take too long, and he didn’t want to keep them waiting. Their relationships with Ivor were already strained as is.
‘Where could they be?’ Ivor thought to himself as he entered the Order’s large enchantment room. Bookshelves coated every inch of the area, all filled with immense knowledge. The alicorn felt as if the atmosphere was too quiet for comfort, and so trotted speedily to the staircase at the end of the room. He assumed that if the Order wasn’t up there, then they were most likely absent from the temple.
When Ivor reached the top of the stairs, he was greeted by the sight of four other alicorns standing beside one another, eyes immediately locking on him. Ivor walked towards them, giving his friends a confused look.
“What have I left here?” He asked as he examined the horses’ faces. He noticed that Soren’s eyes looked oddly stern, a look that he never usually wore. The orange alicorn then sighed.
“I am sorry, old friend,” He began. “But this must be done.”
Ivor’s brows raised, when suddenly he felt his hooves lift off the ground. He frantically looked down, only to see multiple auras of magic starting to surround him. Panicking, he attempted to fly away, but the strength of the sorcery kept him restrained. The alicorn desperately looked to his companions, but was horrified to see that they were the ones conducting this, their horns harnessing their own respective glow. Soren and Magnus’ eyes laid fixed on Ivor, while Ellegaard and Gabriel kept theirs shut.
The black haired pony tried to plead with them, but was interrupted by shots of pain surging through his back. He yelled, glancing behind him to see the source of his agony. His screams heightened when he saw his wings shrinking into his back. Hot tears began to blur Ivor’s vision as he was further tortured, no longer being able to feel his wings, or what was left of them.
Ivor’s suffering abruptly ceased as the auras of magic dissipated, releasing Ivor as he crashed to the floor. He struggled to breathe as the pain lingered. Straining himself to view his back, Ivor observed in horror that both of his wings were now gone, two holes in his robes left in their place, along with horrific scars etched into his light green coat. He lay his head down as tears rolled down his face.
As the now unicorn shook from exertion, he heard hoofsteps approaching him. Lifting his head up weakly, he saw Soren, gazing at him with a stoic expression.
“W-Why?...” Ivor choked.
“My apologies again, Ivor,” Soren started, keeping his eyes glued to the poor unicorn. “But no one must know you were affiliated with us.”
“But-” Ivor coughed, “I already removed myself from the Order, wasn’t that enough?!”
“It was not, in fact,” Soren replied. “How could we know for sure that you would keep our secret? Especially since everypony would see you as the only alicorn citizen. It would cause immense suspicion, would it not? So, I hope you can see why you had to be reverted to your original form.”
Ivor forced himself to stand, still struggling from the surging pain in his back. He faced the ponies that stood behind Soren. He could tell all of them wore faces of shame, not daring to acknowledge Ivor.
“All of you are cowards…” He croaked, bearing his teeth.
“This was for the best, Ivor. You know it was.” Soren turned around and began walking back to the rest of the Order.
Fiery anger began building inside Ivor, the adrenaline blinding his afflictions.
“They’ll know! They’ll all figure out the truth!” Ivor yelled as he stumbled on his own hooves. Soren stopped in his tracks as he continued. “They’ll all know, even without me having to announce it!”
“...I suggest you leave, Ivor.” Soren said in a soft tone. Ivor knew he was holding back frustration.
“Nothing built can last forever, Soren!” The frail pony stepped closer to the orange alicorn. “That includes your reputation…”
“OUT!” Soren’s wings spread out as he turned to Ivor, his horn igniting a small spark before quickly dying out. Ivor’s eyes widened as his ears lowered. Soren had never yelled at him, or any of the Order for that matter. It didn’t help that Ivor had now gotten smaller than the rest of the alicorns due to his unwanted transformation. The pale pony did as he was told, exiting the temple just as fast as he’d arrived.
+~----~+
The temple became farther away as Ivor galloped, not daring to look back at the building that once held a special place in his heart. Memories of the numerous adventures he and the Order had been on suddenly flooded his mind, becoming tarnished one by one. The friends he had known for so long had betrayed him in one of the worst ways possible, stealing something that was rightfully his.
Once decently away from the place, the horse stopped for a breather. As he heaved breaths from exhaustion and terror, he froze as he felt a familiar liquid run down his cheeks. The pathetic unicorn sobbed as his ragged hair draped over his face.
As Ivor sniffled, he forced himself to replace his sorrow with rage. He knew crying would do nothing to get back at the Order for what they had done, so he knew he had to create a new plan. As he stepped through the open field in front of him, possible thoughts of revenge came racing through his mind.
He wasn’t sure what he would do, but he knew it would be something terrible. He didn’t know when he would do it, but he knew he would accomplish it before he died.
And he knew the world would have a hard time believing his story, but he’d make it work. Somehow, someday, he would get the world to trust him, and the Order to fear him.