A crunch of dirt, the soft clicking of teeth, the ragged breathing of being tired, the inconsistent crackling of the nearby fire.

All these sounds were processed through Cervius's awakening mind before numerous electrical signals were dispersed. Slowly, Cervius cracked open his eyes, greeting the flickering light caused by the fire. The Pilot was seated in his Stryder, the cockpit's seat proving to be much more comfortable than the ground. As well, it helped keep in the warmth as a storm raged outside the cave.

With his eyes open, he scanned the area in front of him through his unhelmeted eyes. There, at the edge of the fire and creeping closer, was what looked to be a member of the local population. Only, Cervius noted, this one was different. Instead of brightly colored fur, this one seemed to have a black carapace, the flickering flames softly reflecting off it's surface. The eyes, which Cervius caught a look at as the strange pony glanced back at his Titan, consisted of a dark blue over a lighter blue field. The pony couldn't have been very old if it's size told Cervius anything. It was much smaller than Twilight as it slowly approached the fire.

As it got closer, Cervius saw more. He saw the small, dangerous looking horn on it's head. He saw the strange, insect-like wings that were tucked against it's sides. He saw the water that dripped off it's exoskeleton. He saw the holes through it's legs and the gray, holed, tail that it had tucked between it's hind legs.

All of this wound down to one thing for the Pilot: This was not a pony. While he didn't know what it was, he did have a general idea why it was in their cave. It was cold, wet, and very alone. It made matters worse that the creature's size made Cervius think that it was a child.

Seeing the child-creature laying by the fire, Cervius slowly slid from his seat and climbed to the ground. His eyes never left the creature as he did. Child-like size be damned, this was an unknown creature and Cervius was not going to turn his back to it. The Pilot winced when his boot hit the ground with too much force, the 'thump' seeming to echo over the crackling of the fire and the distant sounds of the storm.

The creature jumped and turned, it's ears flat against it's head as it's eyes locked onto Cervius's. Cervius spotted the fangs poking from it's mouth as it lowered itself to the ground. Even with the strange eyes, Cervius could easily read the creature's expression. He saw fear, exhaustion, and... acceptance.

"It's okay," Cervius said softly as he crouched down, hands held in front of his chest, palms out, "I won't hurt you."

"Y-y-you won't?" it asked, surprised. The voice... it sounded as if the creature were both male and female. The two tones, while high-pitched due to age, conflicted enough to notice but combined enough to be easily understandable.

Mentally shaking away the revelation, Cervius gave a soft smile as he slowly took another step forward, "I won't. I promise."

"W-w-what are you?" it asked in it's strange, yet oddly melodic voice.

"I'm a human. My name is Cervius," the Pilot replied as he sat down, still a good two yards from the creature, "What are you?"

At this, the creature seemed to huddle into a smaller ball, it's strange tail wrapped around it's body. With it's muzzle hidden behind it's forehooves, Cervius had to strain to listen.

"I-i-if I t-tell you, y-y-you'll just y-yell at m-me."

Cervius's brow rose slightly in confusion and shock, "Why would I yell at you?"

"Because e-e-everyone h-hated us."

Cervius could see the eyes begin to glisten, "Hey, don't cry. I won't be mad or yell."

"P-p-promise?"

Cervius smiled softly, "I promise."

"I-I'm a... uhm... Ch-" the rest was spoken soft enough to be muffled by the child's, Cervius had no doubt of his age anymore, forelegs.

"Speak up bud," he commented in a soft tone with a friendly smile. This seemed to cause the kid to be even more bashful. However, it did listen.

"I'm a-a Changeling," it stated before closing it's eyes, as if expecting to be yelled at or hit. When nothing happened, the kid opened it's eyes and looked at the Pilot in confusion.

Cervius gave a sad chuckle, "Listen kid. I'm not exactly from around here."

"You're... You're not?" the kid asked, it's melodic voice picked up a tone of interest as the kid began to unfurl.

"Nope," Cervius replied with a shake of his head, "I'm from a place far away from here."

"Did you come across the ock-ee-an?" the kid asked, struggling over the last word.

"The what?" Cervius asked, his face a look of pure confusion.

"The ockeean!" the kid exclaimed in it's flanging voice, "I read about it in a book. It's where there's a lot, lot, lot, lot of water!"

"You mean an ocean?" Cervius corrected with a smirk on his face. The smirk grew to a smile as he watched the kid tilt it's head in confusion.

"Oh-sheen?"

"Ocean," Cervius repeated in a clear tone.

"O-cean?"

"That's it," Cervius stated with a smile only matched by the child's.

"Ocean. We don't have an ocean back home," the kid's happy look died almost instantly as sadness overtook it's features, "Home..."

Cervius scooted closer to the kid and, seeing that it wasn't going to run, sat next to it. When the tears began to come, Cervius carefully scooped the kid into his arms and, being careful with the horn, held the crying kid to his chest.

"It'll be okay," Cervius whispered, "I'll get you home."

He felt the kid shake it's head against his chest, "T-t-t-there i-is no m-more home."

Utter despair washed over the Pilot as he held the crying kid to his chest, tightening his embrace just a little. This kid was cold, alone, had lost it's home and, presumably, it's family and, if their first encounter was anything to go by, was a member of a species that was hated by the world.

Cervius didn't realize there was someone next to him until a white-gloved hand came into view and softly stroked the back of the kid's head.

"Shhh," Rachel whispered. She was crouched to Cervius's right and, from the look on her face, had heard at least the tail-end of the conversation between the Pilot and the kid, "It's alright. You're safe here."

"Y-you're n-n-not gonna k-kick me o-out?" the kid asked as the sobs slowed in tempo. It removed it's head from Cervius's armored chest to look up with sad eyes into Rachel's kind ones. The female Pilot didn't seem at all fazed by the strange flange effect of the child's voice.

She shook her head softly and gave a kind, motherly smile as she continued to gently rub it's head, "No, little one."

"T-t-thank... you..." slowly, the kid drifted to sleep in Cervius's embrace, final tears rolling down it's cheeks. Rachel withdrew her hand when the kid began to breathe in the slow, steady rhythm of a creature asleep.

"Thank you," Cervius whispered, looking over as Rachel stood.

"I couldn't sit by and do nothing," she whispered back, "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," Rachel gave a soft nod and, after giving a sad smile to the Changeling, turned to return to her Stryder. Looking down at the Changeling, Cervius smiled. The kid had nestled into his chest and had it's chin resting on one of his pouches. Carefully, to avoid both the horn and awakening the child, Cervius shifted the two of them so he was laying back. The child, squirming softly, quickly readjusted to be laying entirely on his chest, body curled and head resting on the same pouch as before. Cervius gave the same sad smile Rachel did as he drifted to sleep, stroking the back of the child's head.

--------

Again, Cervius woke up to the sounds of activity. He noticed that the storm was still going, though a bit lighter than it had been. A weight on his chest and the feeling of bare ground underneath him reminded him of last night. His eyes opened as his face shifted into a smile. The Changeling had shifted in it's sleep so that it was laying on it's back, it's head still using the same pouch as a pillow. Cervius's left arm was draped over it's chest, it's hooves over his arm and holding it close like a blanket.

"I see we found another alien," Cole stated, having the sense to whisper from where he crouched on the other end of the dying fire. There was no more wood, which meant that the fire was well into it's death throes.

"Yeah," Cervius whispered back, "It's just a kid though. A lost, scared, lonely kid."

"We'll watch over it," Cole stated with a determined nod.

"Yeah. We will."

"Well," Cole began after a minute of silence as he lazily waved to the fire, "I was hoping the storm would have let up by now. Even if it did though, everything would be wet."

"What about the treasure?" Cervius asked.

"What about it?"

"It has chests. Wooden chests."

"Ah, and that's why you're the nerdy one," Cole replied with a smile as he stood, brushed off his hands and started toward the tunnel.

"Yeah, yeah," Cervius replied with a shake of his head as he lowered it back to the dirt. He briefly wondered if he should try to wake the kid. The day has began, after all.

"Here," Rachel stepped into view and crouched, arms held out toward the Changeling. Smiling, Cervius tried to remove his arm, only to have the kid's hooves clamp down.

"Dang. Strong grip," he whispered with a wince, automatically censoring his language.

"Baby," Rachel teased. Nonetheless, she helped get his arm free. With Cervius's arm free, the child let out a whine and began to squirm in it's sleep.

"Shhh. It's alright," Rachel reassured as she picked up the kid and held it in her arms. As Cervius picked himself up from the dirt, the child began to awake, removed from it's human-shaped bed and blanket.

"H-huh?" it asked in it's flanging voice as it's blue on blue eyes struggled to focus on Rachel's face.

"It's alright," Rachel repeated. Able to hold the Changeling with one arm, she used her other hand to gently stroke the child's head, "You're safe here, with us."

A pop and a purple flash sent the Pilots into fight mode. Two sidearms found themselves drawn and pointed at a startled lavender Princess. Rachel had twisted her body to partially shield the, now fully awake and very frightened, Changeling. Recognizing the Princess, both Pilots lowered their weapons.

"W-w-what's happening?" asked the kid, it's eyes wide as it looked up to Rachel's face. The woman looked down at the kid, her face softening into a comforting smile.

"Nothing, little one. We were just startled by a visitor is all."

"Little one? Who's that?" Twilight asked, trying to get a better view of the kid who had been accidentally hidden from her view. Her brow was quirked at the strange flanging effect

"A kid stumbled into the cave last night, soaked and seeking the warmth of the fire we had going."

"A human child?" Twilight asked, excitement and confusion alike seeping into her voice as she craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse.

"No," Cervius shook his head with an amused smirk, "Said it was a Changeling."

"Changeling!" Twilight exclaimed, excitement and confusion replaced with shock and rage. Things happened fast after her exclamation. Her horn lit, the kid shouted, and and Autopistol was leveled.

"Let go of him!" Rachel shouted, giving gender to the Changeling as her face was contorted in rage and determination. Seeing what was happening, Cervius stepped closer to Twilight. His pistol was still gripped in his right hand but he held it toward the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he hissed as the sounds of a crying child began in the background.

"It's a Changeling! They are evil!" she shouted, her telekinetic grip still on the kid but not giving pulling while looking into the barrel of Rachel's pistol.

"Let. go."

Twilight let go as she saw Rachel's grip on her weapon tighten. For a couple seconds, it looked as though the Pilot would shoot her anyway. Finally, the Pilot lowered her weapon and with a "Handle her" to Cervius, turned and began on her way to the other cavern. She holstered her pistol and Cervius could hear her working to calm the frightened Changeling.

"Care to explain what the fuck that was about?" Cervius shouted as he turned his gaze back on the fuming Twilight.

"Changelings are evil! They are not normal!"

"None of this is normal to me! Or did you forget that already?"

"They feed off your emotions!"

"And I eat meat! It's how they survive!"

"It can change it's appearance into that of a pony!"

"Probably to hide from people like you!"

"They attacked Canterlot!"

"After this display, I would too!"

By now, the two were inches apart. Twilight looked shocked, betrayed, and confused as she took a couple steps back from the fuming human.

"W-what?"

"If all of ponykind is as racist as you, then you deserved the attack!" Cervius shouted as he took a step forward. Twilight took a step back.

"H-how can you say that?"

"You threatened a child based solely on it-his species! You see them as lower than you for their appearance! You see them as monsters for how their DNA dictates what they need to survive! You degrade them because of a trait that was probably a mutation to get around your hate of them! You brought the attack upon yourself!"

"They... they killed ponies!" Twilight shouted, tears in her eyes as she took another step back.

"That's war! People get hurt! People die! Shit gets damaged!" Cervius shouted as he took a step forward, using his free hand to jab the points home with his index finger.

Twilight shook her head, flinging a couple tears to glint briefly in the soft firelight, "No! That... they..."

"They were left with no other choice!"

"Th-they could've talked-"

"You saw them as monsters!"

"B-but-"

"That 'monster' was scared and alone!"

"I-"

"You what?"

Twilight just fell back to her haunches, struggling for words as tears fell freely from her eyes. Cervius could see her emotions raging havoc as she tried to come to terms with what just happened. Finally, her horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of purple and an audible pop as the air rushed in to fill the empty space.

Cervius snorted, "Of course."

"Well shit," Cole stated, "That was pretty fucking intense."

Cervius turned to see Cole dropping pieces of wood onto the fire. The fire quickly began to engulf the offered fuel, growing. The fuming pilot watched the crackling flames for a moment, the flickering fire serving to help calm his raging emotions. One thing rolled around in his mind: He had just yelled at a Princess and the only pony that has really talked to them.

"Something tells me our stay here is about to get a lot more interesting," Cervius stated.

Cole chuckled, "No shit. Figure that before or after you told her that her city deserved to be attacked?"

Cervius shook his head with a hand to his forehead as he finally holstered his pistol. He had really lost it, in hindsight. He should have had better control but the past is the past.

"Just watch the entrance."

"Not much else to watch."

Ignoring the reply, Cervius began the walk to the other cavern. As he did, the crack of thunder sounded from outside as the storm continued. The human listened to the distant storm as he walked. He forced his mind to be still as he walked, looking at the ground. He had made a mistake losing his temper but he would still stand behind what he said.

Reaching the larger cavern, Cervius easily spotted Rachel sitting on a chair of coin. The Changeling was curled up in her lap, head resting on her leg as she softly stroked his head. When Cervius got closer, he shot Rachel a reassuring smile.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"Gone," he replied as he looked at the kid with a sad smile, "How is-"

"He's fine. We heard your yelling."

"I was just so..."

"I know."

At their talking, the Changeling stirred. Sleepily, he looked up at Cervius, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey little guy. You alright?" Cervius asked as he crouched down to be eye-to-eye.

"I- I mean," the kid paused as his throat flashed a soft green, causing Cervius's brow to shoot up. When he spoke again, the flanging was gone to be replaced with a purely colt voice, "I'm okay."

"What happened to your voice?" Rachel asked, causing the kid to swing his head around to look at her.

"Well. You've been calling me a boy so I changed my voice to match."

"Hey," Cervius began softly, gently turning the kid's head to face his serious but kid composure, "Never change. No matter what."

"O-" he paused with a smile as his throat flashed green again. When he spoke, the flanging was back, "Okay."

"There we go," Cervius stated with a smile as he rubbed the kid's head, "Be proud of who you are. No matter what everyone else says be proud of what's here," he tapped the kid's head, "and here," he tapped his chest.

"I will. I promise," he replied.

"Wanna see something cool?" Cervius asked with a smile. The kid nodded enthusiastically. Cervius chuckled, "Alright, come on."

As he took the Changeling from Rachel, Cervius saw her mouth something: 'Name?'. Cervius mouthed back: 'Later.'. Rachel just nodded as the Cervius settled the Changeling in his arms.

"I-I can walk," the kid spoke bashfully as he looked up at Cervius with confused eyes.

Cervius chuckled, "You could but you would miss out."

"On what?" he asked as he tilted his head.

"On this."

Running to the tunnel, Cervius activated his jump jet and flew to the wall. A glance back showed that Rachel was following, wall running on the opposite side. Cervius found that wall running with a child in your arms was a lot more difficult than doing so with a weapon but, he also found out, that the giggles and squeals of delight were a lot more rewarding. Next Chapter: Seek Judgement Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes