Inhale... Scream... Repeat.

Inhale... Scream... Repeat.

They say if you scream enough, it offers a sort of relief to whatever that ails you. Well... I don't feel like I've done enough screaming. But you may be wondering why this is my beginning thought.

It was a long day... a long two days, actually. And it started off with my killing a Pinkie-impersonator. From there on, it's all been tumbling down to where I'm currently strapped to a bed, screaming my lungs out. But let's get back to where it all started, back when I was staring at the pink body for several minutes before it transformed back into it's true form.

So... what is the calling card of the changelings? To be able to mimic your friends and family, lull you into a false sense of fidelity, and even going so far as to imitate experiences. But the thing that makes it crazy is that they can be capable of even knowing your nicknames. They can perfectly match the pitch of any one pony you might know and could trust. And a well-informed changeling could even completely replace the one you know and love.

However, when it comes to remembering certain details about one's life, they seem a bit cloud-minded when it comes to recalling the scenario and what all was said. I could've made up the fact that Pinkie had a funeral for her mom, God forbid, and she would've ran with it. They're trained actors, true thespians to the art of putting on a show and displaying emotions.

Yet... they only focus on one aspect: love. Why does it have to be just that one thing? It could've been hatred, anger, joy, happiness, confusion, sorrow, or fear. I guess they decided to go with the one thing that makes you go insane. It has been proven that an absence of love could ultimately destroy one's existence. It's not just pertaining to people who could be single throughout their lives, or individuals who constantly experience heartbreak at every turn.

This pertains to the love a mother would give to her child, a father would demonstrate to his own, a sibling would share with others, a friend who would show that they care, or even a significant other who could give you that indescribable release. Without any of that, one's will to live would be unceremoniously buried. We'd lose sight on the single purpose that brought us into this vein of existence. We'd become resentful and bitter, and find ourselves more susceptible to an early curtain call.

Yes, those things that can annoy us so much can be wrought from love. Pain can be born from it, and sometimes it would feel like love would rather shut us out than embrace us. And our only response to it is desperation, almost like we were a drug addict looking for our fix or a new high, ultimately becoming so dangerous that we'd risk our lives for the thrill of being able to touch the skies above. And yet we can't live without that drug, the drug that nearly kills us or does kill us in the end.

The drug that claims millions of lives every year, the one thing that the pharmaceutical companies can't hope to mimic.

But these changelings, they've got it to where they can sell it to you right off the street. They've become these pseudo drug dealers, giving you the fix you need for a bit of your existence. And much like any other synthetic drug, the toll on the body can be devastating. You could be happy for the rest of your life, but that happiness would be short-lived. You could swear that the sky was within your reach, but you're actually sinking even lower.

The higher you feel, the further you fall, the future jumps end up going from stepping stones to sky-scrapers, to space elevators. Now suddenly that jump you used to get doesn't seem so high, yet it's the same jump you had when you started. And the further you go, the deeper you fall into the stigma, the higher your reaching point feels. All relationships can feel this way, as if things are getting old.

And again, the changelings offer that second drug, the one that has a little more pizzazz than the last one... you know.

The cycle continues, until eventually you run out of payment. Your condition worsens, your skin loses it's glow, you become ghoulish, you lose track of time and self. Now ordinarily, this is the part where you become desperate and try to steal, pawn, borrow, beg, and kill for that next hit. But that's not the case in a changeling's eyes.

Once your payment's up, that's it. They see you as a nuisance, and will treat you as such. And what does a dealer do to a problem? Well, what does a crooked man do when he wants to tie up loose ends?

Pursue and strike until the target has been rendered silent.

At first, I thought the changelings were just some militia of bug equines wanting to overtake a region of land for the sole purpose of expanding their territory. But as of late, I ended up learning a much crueler truth...

Our venture back down the stairs was a lot less energetic than our ascension. Instead of running down like we finally got rich and found a way to leave the country, we took it slow and quiet as Cheese came to terms with what happened back there. I know that I'd be out of place if I had an identity thief take the role of my girlfriend, whisper sweet words in my ear, let me fuck her shitless, and find out that she was nothing more than a fake... all of this after something I perceive to be a break-up.

Hell, the grounds for what he did would constitute a long-term separation period. Then on top of that, he's under the pretense that the real Pinkie's done with him. And the main thing that's on his mind is the fact that he has to walk up to Pinkie and tell her that he cheated on her, but not really because he thought the changeling was her... Huh, that is one hell of a dilemma.

Do you know how many pastors on the down-low would love to have that as an excuse?

Whatever. Religious quips aside, this seems to be a very steep situation to get yourself into. I mean how would anyone respond to something like this? How do you react if you heard about this coming from your significant other? It's a lot to think on, and I know that I'm probably somewhat relieved that I myself don't have to think on that level. I fucked a changeling, how do you respond to that? I mean it's not normal, but even then there's some animosity to be had in the fact that you're unable to differentiate between what's real and what's make-believe.

Ooh, I feel sorry for the dude.

"Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, Santificado sea tu Nombre. Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad. En la tierra como en el cielo."

Well that's familiar. "Rickey, what now?"

Alex power-grabbed my shoulder and shoved me forward to see what all the commotion was about. "You're the one talking about rocks, executions, deceased spirits and shit. EXPLAIN!"

It didn't take me long to see what they were pointing at. At the center of the courtyard was a dirtied, spotty gray mare with a long pink mane standing beside the rock. She seemingly cried softly over the stone, her body jolting at each sniff. I tried to get a better look but ended up bumping the muzzle of my rifle against the stone wall of the stairwell.

By then, we were noticed... and we really... REALLY, didn't want to see what was staring back at us. There were bloodied appendages upon her back that opened up like a pair of plucked wings. As she looked back to us, her head was completely inverted as she first smiled at us, then screamed like some sort of eldrich horror. She bent down, bracing herself for a leap. The bloodied appendages spread wide open as the screaming apparition took into the air and disappeared right before our very eyes.

The majority of us wouldn't do nothing but look at each other. But I was left wishing I could do at least that much. My chest rose and fell at a rapid pace, my heart throbbed faster than what my breaths could keep up with. My hands trembled as they found their way to my mouth. My jaw quivered as this icy chill shot down my spine and persisted in the back of my head... almost as if she was right behind me.

Quickly, I twisted around to see if my nagging sense of fear was correct. Instead, I was relieved to find myself in the wrong. But I was not one bit satisfied in knowing that thing existed, much less it being here in the castle.

After we waited for a few seconds to see if it would show back up, everyone else stopped holding their breath. There wasn't a single one of us who weren't left with a chill down our spine as we all let our paranoia set in. We looked at each other, looking up to the ceiling above, glancing around the outside while popping our heads back in the hole like a tortoise avoiding trouble.

"Shit!" Rickey whimpered as he grabbed my arm, shocking me out of my thousand-yard stare. "Dude, what the fuck was that!"

I only shook my head. "No... Nope... We need to go. Now."

"What. In creaming... Cthulhu FUCK was that?!" Alex asked as he tried to regain his breath.

Suddenly, Cheese brought up an idea. "Um... Is that supposed to be one of the legendary ghouls that haunt this castle?"

The three of us turned to the stallion with an incredulous expression, quietly asking if he actually implied that there were MORE of these creatures lurking around the castle grounds... ON TOP OF BEING A FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR SEVERAL DOZEN OTHER PONIES THROUGHOUT THE PAST WEEK. That was not okay to ask, not out loud.

I nearly felt myself release solids as the sound of rattling chains echoed from up the stairs. Rickey's face contorted as he pointed up the stairs, Alex's grip on his rifle got even tighter, Cheese grew paler than he already was, and I was trying to urge myself not to release any sort of bodily waste.

Not even gonna spare seconds here. "Go. Go. Go. GO. GO! GO!!!"

All four of us made a break for the outside and ran like hell for fear of not wanting to see that thing again. Our hearts raced as we made it past the rock at the center of the courtyard and back to the small wall that separated the rest of the yard from the 'festivity' area.

Cheese turned back around to look at whatever made that sound, while I was trying to grab at him in an attempt to urge him forward. "What the hell are you looking at? Let's go!"

Cheese quietly pointed back to the tower, and stared blankly. After that, it was as if he was completely ignoring me. I decided to satiate his desire for me to look and glance back at what he pointed to. And not even a fraction of a second, I was already cursing myself out for making that mistake. From on the rusted hooks that prodded out of the tower's walls, two chains held the body of the changeling I killed. It swung silently, twisting and turning peacefully as the still expression on it's face was still worn from when it smiled at me, just before I pulled the trigger.

I got a hand-full of the stallion's mane and pulled violently to get him to run. The next thing we heard was that unholy scream that thing made from when we first discovered it. When we reached the doors to the inside of the castle, we closed them quickly and ran towards the front entrance, not daring to look back a second time.

We were not making any return trips any time soon.

Back at the front entrance waited Melanie, Cliff, and Stanton, who all waited impatiently for us. Fortunately for them, we were not going to waste any time with a conversation of how their tour of the lower levels went. As soon as they saw us, they cheered for Cheese's safe return. Meanwhile the four of us ran right past them screaming.

"Get that ass moving, Mel!" I shouted as I breezed past the other three.

"¡Vamos al la ciudad! ¿¡AHORA POR FAVOR?!" Rickey shouted as he zoomed between Stanton and Melanie.

Stanton quirked an eyebrow as he turned to Rickey, who had blurred by him. "Um, translation?"

"Let's go back to town! Now, please!?" Cheese hollered back to Stanton.

"What are y'all running from?" Cliff asked as he picked up his weapons and started to run in the same direction.

"Don't ask! Just run!" Alex shouted.

The other three didn't give the time to share a shrug as they just quickly fell in line with the rest of us. As we were running, the scream that terrified us just earlier sounded just from within the front corridor. Melanie, Stanton, and Cliff didn't bother to ask any further questions as they picked up their pace and matched us step for step.

We dashed through the trees and the beaten path as we continued to run as if we were still being chased. By the time we were close to making the fork in the road, we had started to slow down to catch our breath. I had leaned over to a nearby tree as the others puffed and wheezed from exhaustion. Mel was the first to ask. "Okay, what the fuck was that?"

Rickey was about to sit himself as he spoke. "Some seriously fucked up shit!"

"Like how fucked up?" Stanton questioned.

"The Blair Witch Project meets The Omen Child." Alex quickly responded.

We all turned around to see the figure standing on the road, calling out to me with a huge creepy smile on it's upside-down face. At that point, every last one of us screamed in horror as the grisly creature walked towards us slowly.

"We need an exorcist!" Melanie screamed.

"We're beyond that shit, we need an inquisition!" Stanton hollered as we started to run again.

"Fuck y'all mean? We need Jesus!" Cliff squawked.

"No, we need to run!" I corrected while running.

The creature began to increase it's speed and began to move at a quick trot. It continued to call out to me, referring to me as her knight and urging me to stay behind. From the inverted head, grew a long horn that glowed a dismal grey aura. Before I knew it, I felt something grab at my ankle and yank me into the ground. "SHIT!" I called out as I fell. The others jetted past me, Melanie and Alex slowing down to check on me.

"Nondis!" She cried out before I climbed back onto my feet.

"I'm okay, keep running." I said just before I was yanked back by another presence, preventing me from moving forward any further. My stomach filled with butterflies as I realized that I was probably going to have to hold this thing off for a few minutes, or at least long enough to let the others get back into town safely.

"Nondis, we are not going without you!" Alex stated loudly.

Looking at my ankles, I found myself being tugged back by some manipulated vines. I quickly pulled out my sword and hacked off the vines, stood to my feet and grimaced as I held my ground. "You don't have a choice, now go! I'll buy you guys some time!"

Alex tried to make a lunge for me, but was pulled back by Melanie. Grabbing onto his collar and wrapping her arm around his abdomen, she yanked him back with all of her strength. Alex initially tried to fight her, but eventually succumbed as he saw the creature slowly approaching me. He turned to Melanie and gave her a worried look. "Mel, I'm not leaving him."

She grabbed onto his wrist and started pulling as she continued to run. "Trust me, he's got this. He's one hell of a fighter."

"Mel!" Alex grabbed her back as he glanced back towards me.

I shouted out to the two stragglers one final time. "You two stop arguing and get the hell out of here!"

Alex groaned and ran behind Melanie, making their way through the path. "You better come back in one piece or I swear I'll kill you myself!"

"Duly noted!" That's if I don't die first.

Turning back around, I caught a face-full of the hellish image of her face smiling right at me. She tried to force herself against me while expanding those bloodied wings of hers. As her hooves tried to wrap around me, I backed up quickly and found myself bumping into a nearby tree. She lunged at me, thinking that I was completely cut off. Instead, I slid to the side and allowed the creature to land face-first into the tree.

Yeah... ghosts don't plant their faces into trees, nor do they yank back and scream from the pain.

With that small bit of confirmation, I tightened my grip on my sword and ran for the creature. And with a quick slash upwards from her right side, I carved into the red meat of her side. A hellish cry echoed through the forest as she stumbled over and tried to tend to the wound that I caused. Instead of granting her a chance to do so, I hammered my blade into the side of it's neck. The creature's cry went from loud and deafening squeal, to quiet and throaty groan. A long, garbled hissing sound came from where my blade sat, causing me to feel a bit uneasy. So I lifted my sword and swung for the spine.

A few seconds later, the body completely stopped resisting and fell to a peaceful silence. I was left panting from the image of this ghoulish creature standing before me, and took an observation of something strange at the front of it's chest. Just at the tip of it's inverted horn, was a T-shaped wound that appeared to be branded in place. Another thing I noticed was that the mane had also turned gray and weedy. And upon a closer look, I saw the blackened marking set on it's flank, resembling a circular object with eight black flames flowing from the center. Going against my better judgement, I brushed off the dirt and grime from the image to reveal a cutie mark...

...Oh dear God...

I came back to the castle a disheveled mess, my friends and brothers being the first to greet me. Shining and Cadance were also present as they continued to speak amongst Cheese. Melanie was probably the first to hug me, just before noticing a sizable amount of blood on my person. Mildly disgusted, she pulled herself back and gave me a soft pat on the back.

"Welcome home, soldier."

Alex stared at me with nothing but mere admiration as he looked me up and down. "Geez, what the hell did you kill!?"

"A changeling." I quietly responded.

"Wait, hold on a minute." Stanton interjected. "How the hell did you kill a changeling when the last thing you were fighting was a ghost?"

I turned to the purple mare who stood at the top of the stairs. "Yeah... I have a question to ask you, miss princess."

"Nondis!" She called out, teleporting from the top of the staircase to a mere inch before me. "Oh thank goodness! You're safe! As soon as I heard what you were up to, I wanted to fly right out to where you were! Are you bleeding?"

"Twilight, I'm not─"

She didn't let me finish as she summoned a rag and a bucket of water. "Okay, shirt off. We need to clean your wounds, now!"

"I'm not hurt!" I hollered out, causing her to remain at a standstill. "But I am a little shaken."

"What happened?" The purple princess questioned, still holding the rag to wipe the dirt and blood off of my face. "Did you run into something else?"

I nodded just before I tried to give her a concise answer. "Do you know of any changelings that can somehow feed off of anything aside from love?"

She started to wipe my face slowly as she answered my question. "No... I don't recall them being able to do something like that. Though I've heard of changelings who feed off of sex. And even a rare instance of a romance occurring between a pony and a changeling."

Alex interceded. "Forget the changeling bullshit. I wanna know what the fuck that thing was that chased us out of the ruins!"

Shining walked up to us and offered his input. "Wait, you said that you ran into a changeling you felt operated with a different premise, right?"

"Yeah..." I looked to my brothers and away with discomfort, knowing what revealing this bit of information would bring. "The only time I saw that thing... I had a nightmare about it just before we talked to Mel about this place."

Stanton was the first to throw his words in. "Whoa, hold on a minute! You had a nightmare about that thing? Why, how the fuck did something like THAT come up?"

I could only shake my head. "I don't know. I had it again just earlier this morning."

Twilight finished wiping my face and used her magic to hold my chin to face her. "Okay, look at me. How many times have you had any type of nightmare within the past few days?"

"...I wanna say two. But it's not as bad as you'd think."

My older brother groaned as he planted his face into his palms. "Oh fuck, Nondis. You know what this shit leads to. Why didn't you clue anybody in on this!?"

"I didn't think it was all that important. Two of the same dream with a few days in between, that's not too bad."

"Yeah, you keep saying that shit. You remember gramps saying the same thing?" He scolded.

"Alex, I'm not like him!"

"And what was it you said back there? Something about 'the eyes having a glossy haze' or some shit?"

"That's because the changelings fed on them to where they were too weak to move!"

"There's more you're not telling us!" Alex screamed. "You know it!"

"Alex, I'm okay!"

"Oh yeah, fine. Just perfectly sane? You're walking yourself into insanity if you think that being 'calm and collected' while the fucking world's falling around you is gonna get you by!"

Finally, Cadance intervened. "Okay, if I'm not intruding, what is it that you guys are arguing about?"

I walked away from the purple pony and threatened to leave. "You know what, if I'm not gonna get an answer to my question, then I'm going to change out of these clothes and take a long shower."

"Hold on!" Melanie silently instructed Alex to hold off while she spoke. "Okay... You said something about a changeling responding to something other than love? So being that this thing that was chasing us was straight out of your nightmares, are you insinuating that this individual changeling you killed was actually responding to fear?"

"Uh... that's practically impossible." Rainbow Dash suggested. "Changelings can't feed off of fear."

"No... we don't have very many accounts of changelings who could." Cadance added. "But they can practice fear tactics so that they're able to intimidate their opponents. They're adept practitioners in the art of psychological warfare. As far as feeding from the fears of an individual, the idea itself doesn't seem too entirely far-fetched."

"So what you're saying is that it's not impossible for that to happen?" Melanie questioned.

Cadance looked to her husband. "I don't like being in dark, small places underground. That's always been a fear of mine. Their method of getting rid of me so that they could take Shining Armor: throwing me in a small room in the crystal caves beneath Canterlot with no food, water, or light. The only thing I could surmise is that the ones who do this, they tend to be well-informed of their targets."

"So that's the changeling's trump card? Love me or fear me, huh?" Cliff questioned.

"I know they couldn't dare imitate what my fear is, I've already lived it." Shining said before he turned to me with a scowl. "But leaving others out in the cold about your condition does not help you in any way. You need to chill for a bit before doing anything else. Aside from that, I'll have Princess Luna talk to you tomorrow night. But as far as fighting is concerned, you need to take a break before you overwhelm yourself."

Cadance agreed with a nod. "You can't do that to yourself. If it's something in your dreams, we can help you."

"I thought that dreams have something to do with the subconscious." Stanton noted. "That being the case, I don't know if we can do much for him."

"Actually, Princess Luna's special trade doesn't only consist of moving the moon." Twilight informed my brother. "She's capable of tending to the dreams of ponies, dragons, and other beings alike. She even wandered into Nondis' dreams a few times. If his problems are so deeply rooted, then Princess Luna would be able to weed them out."

Alex gave a frustrated grunt. "Where the hell was this Luna lady when our grandpa needed a late-night rescue from his repeats?"

"Sounds hella convenient." Cliff stated as he started to stretch. "You think she might be up for visiting Nondis tonight?"

"Unfortunately, she's tending to a report of nightmares from the survivors of the Queensave Operation." Shining answered. "We'd be lucky if she even accepts our request to tending to Nondis tomorrow. But doing nothing is only going to make things worse."

After they were informed of Luna's abilities, I promptly took a gander at the shirt I wore, covered in changeling blood. I decided that I've gotten the answers I needed for now and would tend to my showers. "Well... this was one hell of a day. I'm tired, I'm a bit icky, and I think I'm gonna take up Shining's advice to chill."

The others quietly watched as Rarity stepped forward. "Nondis... you really need to hand me that shirt once you're done. I can't let those stains hold or else they'll ruin the fabric. I'll escort you to your room. You can give me the shirt there and I'll run it to the boutique."

"Thanks..."

After I had returned to the comfort of my room, I couldn't help but feel as if the lights were vastly dimmer than what I was comfortable with. I couldn't shake this urging feeling to look behind me every five seconds. If I was to ignore that feeling, then there would be this uncomfortable tingle in the back of my neck, shooting up to the the rear portion of my brain. And anything hidden in darkness prompted a significant amount of hesitation on my part. Even walking into my bathroom to turn on the light was a bit of a chore.

I haven't had this much going on with me since I saw The Exorcist when I was a kid.

And much like then, I was trying not to keep my eyes closed for any significant amount of time. The only problem with that was the hot shower that made me feel a little more laxed than what I would've liked. Add the fatigue I suffered from the daily venture, plus the rescue, then the run from the ruins, and my not being able to eat anything all day, and you'd get me leaning lazily against the shower wall in hopes of finding some comfort.

The only thing was that I saw that thing's face every time I kept my eyelids down. So I'd startle myself back to life, and continue to scrub away. Then the fatigue starts to set in again, I lean against the wall, I close my eyes, I see that thing again, I wake up, and the cycle repeats itself. That whole task took me what normally takes five minutes, a whole twenty to complete. Realistically speaking, I didn't want to even step out of my shower, or this bathroom for any reason other than it being morning.

But that wasn't going to happen. The bathtub is way too small for me to sleep in comfortably. And I was going to give myself a nasty crick if I tried to stay in here for over six hours. The rest of my night is going to be like this, isn't it?

"Nondis... Are you alright in there?"

The sudden sound of Rarity's voice began to fill me with a sense of comfort. But I also knew that I had to keep my guard up. "I'm fine, I called back out of the bathroom, finding it strange that she would find her way in my room. "How did you get in here?"

"I know you're going to be mad when I say this, but I had the door latch set where the door would stay cracked."

If I wasn't so tired, I'd be steaming a little. Way to compromise my security, Rarity. "Augh... okay. What are you doing here?"

"I need you to come by the boutique when you're finished." She said through the door.

I held up my guard. "Rarity, I can't run anymore errands."

"Look, will you..." She paused for a moment, seeming as if she sounded a bit upset. "...Nondis, can you trust me? I know what you've been through and I know that you need to find some moment to relax. But I can't help you if you won't let me."

Maybe I'm being a little too on-guard. Perhaps this is the real Rarity and I'm thinking too much into it. Perhaps I do need to slow down and take it easy for once. "Okay... Let me get dressed."

"I'll be waiting out here."

When we finished making our way to the boutique, I started to notice that my legs were feeling a little heavy. I wrote it off being nothing more than the fatigue from the day's outings. But that didn't stop Rarity from dragging me in from the collar of my shirt. She continued to trot along as I stumbled behind her.

She marched us both back into the kitchen and sat me at the table. She then used her magic to open up the oven and pull out two plates of food, one with a slightly damaged appearance while the other seemed to remain untouched. She offered me a fork as she sat the food on the table. She pulled out a chair and sat herself while pointing to the empty chair behind me.

"Sit. Eat."

Meanwhile, I was left with a look of astonishment. "Huh? What's all this?"

She gave me a furious scowl. "Do you really expect me to slave over a hot stove and let my food go untouched, especially while you haven't even had anything all day?"

"W-w-well I-I... Uh"

"You've had a long day." She said as she took the fork she gave me, dug it into the food on my plate and held it up for me to consume. "There's no reason to have you malnourished as well."

"Rarity..." I wanted to say it was just a meal, that I could go by without one day of food. But the determination she showed at the moment, I wouldn't dare insult her. How could I? If anything, she was like my mom at the moment.

...Yeah. Mom would do something like this. She always did.

7 Years Ago

Here I was again. This makes it the ninth time in the past two years. I'm at the dinner table with my cheeks swollen up, a bag of ice planted just above my right eye socket, my arms scarred to heck, my older brother slightly bruised, and my father screaming in my face over how much of a disappointment I proved to be. He's been on this for the past hour and a half, mainly because my brother almost got suspended from school for going to another school and beating someone up.

It's like the fourth time this happened in the past two years. I hate middle school.

"You gotta learn how to defend yourself!" My dad said, screaming at me again.

"Dad, please. I think he's got the point already." Alex said, trying to take up for me like he usually does.

"Obviously not. He almost got you suspended... again." And the next time, Alex won't be so lucky to get off with just a warning and a phone call to dad.

"Harold, he's not gonna get any better if you keep berating him." My mom called out as she started placing our plates on the table.

"He's gonna get it through his thick skull one day, he needs to learn how to defend himself. I'm starting to think that having him live with his grandfather isn't such a bad idea. Obviously he can teach these other boys how to be men." Dad mumbled, causing grandpa to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"HAROLD!" Mom shouted, slamming his plate on the table.

Dad looked up angrily to mom, seeming as if he was going to direct some of his anger with me at her. But he held himself against her, a perk he didn't think of offering to me. He pointed his finger at me sharply as he made his point clear. "You're gonna stop getting your older brother in trouble. If you don't stand up for yourself the next time, I'll bring you home and whip your sorry ass myself."

"Did Nondis get beat up again?" Stanton asked, seeming to push a few buttons with me.

"Jeremiah!" Our mom called us by our middle name whenever we did or said something bad. And being that my middle name is what it is, I really don't wanna get myself into trouble when in public.

Meanwhile, my dad didn't seem to pay Stanton no mind for his comment. He continued to hound on me, like he usually does. "...Fucking... I just wish you would wake up one day and do better. I would like to wake up, go to work, get a phone call saying that my son got suspended for fighting and beating up someone in self-defense. I look forward to that. This..."

"Harold, not another word." Mom said through gritted teeth, slapping him on his chest. She turned to grandpa and sighed. "Dad, can we get a word of prayer?"

We all bowed our heads as grandpa spoke. "Dear heavenly father, we come to you today with a heart full of forgiveness and an appreciation of all that you give to us each day. We give you our thanks for each and every day you guide us through yet another hardship in our lives, causing us to take yet another step on this Earth which you created. We bow before you as we take a moment to reverence you and your mighty works. We ask that you would bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and minds, bless the hands that prepared it, and may we be given yet another day to walk in your grace and favor. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen."

"Amen." We all said, including myself.

"Eat up, sweetheart." Whispered to me with a smile and a wink.

Dad took a moment to offer his own prayer. "God, grant my son the strength so that he may be able to stand for himself and ward off any enemy presence that threatens him."

Grandpa, who sat right beside me, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered to me some encouraging words. "Whatever, tell 'em that you'll get 'em next time. You've got a fighter in you somewhere, I can see it."

Dad didn't like the fact that grandpa was making me feel better about myself, but was silenced as my mom held up a steak knife as she glared back at dad. He started to eat his food without any further interruption. Meanwhile, mom looked at me with a stern glance. "Don't wait for my food to get cold."

With fork in hand, I quickly responded to my mother. "Yes ma'am!"

Present Day...

"Nondis... my dear, is everything alright?"

Somehow I completely missed the tears streaming down my face. Why was I crying? "Uh... Sorry, I don't know what's going on." I said as I wiped my eyes. "Something came to mind and I guess..."

Rarity got out of her chair and walked over to me. "Come here." She said softly as she brought her hooves around me in a hug.

"Ugh... Have you ever thought about what it's like to go back? Not really being homesick or nothing, but─"

"Going back to when things were simpler?" She finished.

"Yeah." I confirmed as she continued to hold onto me. "I never really knew how much my granddad held me together... even when I was a total disappointment."

Rarity laughed off my statement. "I'm not sure as to whom you feel would view you as such, but I can assure you that you're far from it."

I shook my head as I answered her. "My dad... If he saw me like this, he'd be telling me that I should be stronger."

Rarity kissed me on the cheek as she used her magic to bring the fork closer to my mouth. "Open up your mouth."

I rolled my eyes at the mare and complied. "Ahhh."

As the taste of warm food graced my mouth, I felt a painful hole open in my heart, releasing a stream of emotions. My eyes watered some more, a few tears escaping as the alabaster mare continued to speak. "I don't know any other being as strong as you are. You need to stop giving yourself so little credit." She placed the fork back into the plate and shoveled up some more food to stream into my mouth. "You've had a rough day and it's been eating away at you. Whatever little pampering you get, you deserve it. It's not often one would put their lives on the line for something, fight the very manifestation of their fears, become strong enough to battle through all of it."

"Now you're giving me too much credit." I answered back, prompting the white mare to poke my nose with her hoof.

"Shut up and eat my food."

Meanwhile in the Everfree Forest...

Changelings gathered around a lifeless body, seemingly hacked into by something with a considerable amount of strength. The changeling queen buried her face into the bloodied side of the changeling who remained lifeless on the ground. After a few more seconds, she raised her head and sniffled one last time as she ordered another two changelings to cover the body and carry it away. Still silent, she turned to her assistant who spoke on her behalf.

"Iris has been a great warrior in our times of dire need. And often, she would speak of her fears of not being able to help provide for the hive. Often times, she could consider herself a useless asset, unable to feed from love or give love to others. But we know that this wasn't her fault, this was something she was born into. But upon her latter days, she began to realize how her services could be used for the betterment of the hive. From that day onward, I often seen her smiling as she identified her purpose. Eager to serve, she yearned for a role in which she could participate."

The saddened Queen Chrysalis choked back a sob as she closed her eyes. The assistant paused for a moment so that she could regain her once-stoic nature. For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sounds of the wild creatures talking in the distance. With a deep breath, she opened her eyes and spoke. "Continue."

"She soon found her path leading to the ruins ahead. And in these ruins, she thrived in using her special talents to pave the road which we traveled to get here. But now... she rests knowing that her duties were well-served and her life had meaning. And as what the hive have given to her, it shall be returned unto it. Hide and shell, blood and bone, these things shall remain. But the magic she took upon birth, it shall be returned to the hive so that it may retain purpose. Iris... may Mother call you home."

Chrysalis took a deep breath as she slowly loomed over the lifeless body, whispering to it. "My child, you may rest."

As she opened her mouth, a lime green mist began to rise from the body. The queen's horn glowed a similar color as her body also became enveloped in a similar aura. The mist manifested into a magical vapor, winding it's way into the queen's maw as she inhaled. The body's color began to slowly drain, turning from it's charcoal gray hue to a vastly lighter ash gray. As the magic finished flowing, the queen's body stopped glowing and the deceased changeling was then a husk of it's former self. Chrysalis' eyes opened and flashed a bright emerald green as she looked at the emptied body below.

"...This is the fourth time today." She moaned painfully.

The assistant walked up to comfort her queen. "I am certain that we will be successful in our endeavor, my queen."

"We have no other choice but to be." The queen murmured as she raised up and turned to the army silently waiting before her. "We will validate their existence, by carrying out what they had been assigned to do. They will rest, knowing that the hive shall flourish. For soon, our weapon shall be in hoof. We shall regain what is rightfully ours from the wretched claim of that arrogant, inept Princess Celestia! They think that we are defeated, that all that remains here are nothing but mere stragglers. I say we let them believe that for this one final night, and show them our true strength come the following days!"

The assistant bowed her head before the queen. "We have everything we need to know about the creature spoken from the zebra. All information has been shared. If we are to strike, early morning would be our best time."

Chrysalis petted the assistant tenderly as she announced to the army. "I have sanctioned you all a feeding. Zecora will prove to be a worthy host for the time being. If you should wish to feast, she will be in her usual dwelling pace. Take from her what you will, but leave enough for the others. It will be plentiful, but not infinite. Feed, my children! You will need your magic to be strong in the coming days! Let us show these Equestrians why they should continue to fear us!"

Off in the distance, back in her hut. Zecora remained devoid of strength as three changelings looked at her lustfully, their tongues licking their lips. One of them approached from behind her and forcefully turned her head to where they could sink their lips into hers. The zebra closed her eyes and screamed into the mouth of the first changeling, the next changeling began to feed from the nape of her neck. The sound of Chrysalis' voice could be heard from the distance as they continued to assault the zebra.

"FOR THE HIVE, LET US SWARM!"

After I finished eating, Rarity was kind enough to escort me home. Yeah I know, seems kinda wimpy for me to be escorted by someone else, but she thoroughly insisted that she'd show me to my room. And she was even more persistent that I would allow her to stay the night. Unfortunately, that was a request I was going to turn down. I didn't want her away from her place of work when she's set to wake up so early and work. Her place is all the way across town and I wouldn't want to put her in a position where she'd have to run from end to end just to get her work done.

I know, a long-winded excuse to have her not see me suffer at night. I know, selfish. But at the same time, I'm beginning to understand why gramps didn't want us to stick around for too long whenever we were at his house. Usually, he'd have spells where he'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming for medics, reinforcements, and a bunch of other things. Other times, he'd ended up being an incoherent mess who couldn't stay sleep without his gun. It's an embarrassment of self, and I didn't want to let her see me like that.

So instead of carrying a gun to bed, I decided against sleeping in it altogether and running a warm bath in hopes of resting there for the night. I knew that I was going to wake up with a stiff neck, but the arm water would be a great thing to sit in when I need that soothing off to slumber land.

Like that helped any. Every forty minutes or so, I had to toss and turn because of that nightmarish image tormenting me. And I couldn't get away with going to the bed because of the significant light difference between the bathroom and the bedroom. The lights in here were almost at daylight capacity, and that's what I felt the most comfortable in.

I timed myself for six hours... at least trying to get some rest in that time period. Eventually, the fatigue just took over and my brain simply decided that it was time to shut down. Thankfully, I was so tired that I couldn't dream of anything for the final two hours. By the time my alarm rang, I breathed a sigh of relief when the numbers read 6 A.M..

Silver lining: I was already well-bathed.

My day would start a whole lot earlier than usual. All I had to do was throw on some clothes and make a quick march for Sugarcube Corner. As to be expected, Mr. Cake was the one running the counter. Unfortunately, Pinkie was till caught up in her symptoms and had to be boxed off for a temporary time. Meanwhile Cheese was still recovering from the side-effects from being a feeding victim. His recovery time would take no longer than a day, so there's that to his advantage.

The only problem is that he's been really wanting to see Pinkie, while she's been readily trying to avoid him... and me... and any male presence for that matter. But thankfully, her symptoms should cool off within the next two days. Those spores are bad news if they hit anypony nearby, causing them to suffer an entire twenty-one days of the summer heat effect. But Twilight's managed to have a book hidden in her library that has an antidote formula that could ultimately curb the effects, bringing the entire cycle to an end in the matter of a few days. Doesn't work for the real thing, though.

Now if only it had something for nightmares and lingering thoughts. That would be great.

Since the sun seems to be out in all of it's blazing glory, I made the decision to stay outside of my apartment for the remainder of the day, or at least until it got dark. That way I can see everything that's going on, what's coming from behind, and what to avoid. Of course, it's common sense to avoid hanging around the alleys for too long. It's also a good idea to refrain from staying in a room by yourself, lest the paranoia start to fester.

Yes, being in a public place where others continue to roam seems like a better idea than locking myself in a room. Maybe I should've considered that last night. I suppose sleeping would've been a little easier.

Per usual, hindsight kicks my ass one day at a time.

"Ah! You!"

I turned around and tried to identify a voice that came from behind me. I looked down to see Zecora standing directly behind me. "Oh hey, what's up? Making your rounds for herbs and spices?"

"I cannot believe how long it took." She said, seemingly out of breath. "To find you that is... though I'd say you'd look rather shook."

She's not the first to notice. "Yeah, rough night. Took a stroll yesterday and ran into some uncanny company. I'd advise you to keep your guard up, there are still some stragglers about."

The zebra laughed heartily as she placed her hoof on my hand. "My dearest Nondis, you needn't worry for me. Many a tool for defense I hold, and deadly would they be."

Good to hear she's armed. That's no change from Pinkie's story from yesterday. "So I heard you ran into one, or that one ran into you. Whatever happened with that?"

"Oh, well I had to clear that one out. I couldn't let it roam. It caught me at my most intimate, within my own home."

"So the guy got caught looking, huh? What a pervert."

"Indeed, I've found myself a victim of that awful spore. My legs were shaking, my body was aching, I couldn't take it anymore." She confessed before realizing she was saying this in a public street. At that point, her cheeks started to turn cherry red as she quietly spoke to me. "Forgive me if I may sound so crass. My body still longs for relief, so I may seem to lack my usual class."

As long as she's not up to practice a new form of 'stress relief' then I'm perfectly fine with it. "You're fine. But you might want to get that checked out. I heard Twilight's got an antidote that would clear that away within the next few days."

"As to the reason why I am here, I've used much of my herbs. The antidote is very costly to make, but I had enough for a potion to quell the urge." She said as she pulled out a scroll. "So I've come to town to find more ingredients for a new brew. And then I happen to run myself into you."

So she's practically dropping by to say hello. "Oh, okay. So you came around to say good morning?"

She smiled coyly as she gave me a strong bump against my leg. "You do not visit me enough, I began to feel so sad. Is it possible that my being near you makes you feel bad? Perhaps I make you feel ill when I am around? Please let me know if I were to bog you down!"

"No! That's not it at all." I said, trying to convince her that my lack of visitation wasn't out of disinterest. Then again, she's always been like this with me. Out of anyone I know, she's probably the last one I'd get to see because of her location. I don't go in Everfree as often as I'd wander around town. And then I'm often busy with something else to go see her about anything in particular. I haven't even got started giving Sweetie Belle voice lessons like I promised months ago. Then again, I might leave that to Cliff since he's actually a singer. "I was just busy with a few errands that I'd have little chance of walking around the forest, especially given how dangerous some of the creatures are there."

"I could've sworn that I heard you say you took a stroll. Then perhaps I should make it where visiting me should be your toll."

A little aggressive today, aren't you? Well she did warn me that she was going to be in a mood of sorts. And given that they have cramps during estrus, I should probably avoid anything to do with annoying or stimulating her. "Okay, okay. I promise on my next visit to Everfree, I'll drop by."

She proceeded to smile as she put away her list. "That was all I could ask. But I would like to know, what is it that made you lose your usual glow? Your eyes seem to sag and your face seems flat, now tell me what could've caused that?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I answered her. "Eh... lack of sleep. I saw something in the forest that kind gave me a bit of a scare."

"Oh?" She grew curious. "Permit me to ask, if it wasn't too rude, what was it that you saw that put you in this mood?"

I thought about telling her, but the mere mention of it caused that image to pop up every time I'd blink. "...I much rather not say."

"Hmm... very well. Though I am surprised, did Princess Luna not visit you to have your issue... neutralized?" She asked.

"I think she's busy. Could be occupied tonight for all I know. A town full of kids and adults dealing with a bunch of nightmares is more important than one person. And the worst of it all is that the survivors came from mostly Appleloosa. We have a few here, but she seems more focused on tending to the majority over a few cases spattered around here."

The zebra tapped on her chin as she thought aloud. "Hmm... I too remember a dream I once had. And much like yours, I found it to be quite bad. For nights it would replay in my mind, until there was this one potion that proved to be quite the find."

A potion? Perhaps I could probably wait out Luna's run, or have her become a permanent solution later with this potion being a temporary fix. Should my name run at the bottom of the list, I'd like to take a chance and alleviate the situation before I'm stuck with two sleepless nights. That seems to be a better idea. "Continue."

"It is an old shaman's potion, passed down from my homeland. It will grant you a night's rest, and your dream shall become wonderland."

If this were some sham-selling fuck who wanted my money, I'd pass on buying it. But Zecora has proven time and time again that she's has my best interests in mind. Still, I'm worried about the side effects. "Okay, so what's the catch?"

"It will require a full three hours before the effects begin to show. You'll become a little drowsy, then off to dreamland you go."

"No nightmares?" I asked one last time. "I'm not gonna turn blue, or grow a tail, or find myself walking with hooves?"

"Nothing like that, I give you my word. but it only works for a single night, meaning your nightmares will be deterred. I would need a few hours to concoct your little fix. I'd say wait for me at your place, I'll be by there at six."

"This evening?" Hell, I'm not gonna refuse. Anything but staying locked in the bathroom again. "Sounds good to me. Thank you so much!"

"I will assure you that no option would be greater. I will finish my shopping, brew the mix, and I'll see you later."

I started to walk off towards Sweet Apple Acres, realizing that lingering around town wasn't going to help me pass the time any quicker. I needed to do some farm work to keep me busy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I will do whatever it takes to pay you back."

As I vanished further down the road, Zecora walked in the opposite direction with a smile. "I'm sure you will."

Later That Evening...

The sun began to cast itself beyond the horizon, sending forth long shadows all throughout the town. Rainbow Dash flew towards the small motel just beneath the overcasting shadow of the castle. In her hooves were a variety of items, flowers, a card, a box full of chocolate, an old dreamcatcher, an embroidered sleep mask, and a small trophy with her name on it. She mumbled to herself as she landed on the ground and entered into the lobby.

"A trophy isn't going to help him any, especially one with your name on it." Rainbow said, mocking Twilight's voice. "Stupid egghead. It's the award for the most totally awesome! I was practically at war with myself when I thought about giving him this thing! I swear she has no idea on what to do with him. I'm not like everypony else, who do I look like giving Nondis flowers? AND WHY AM I THE ONE GIVING THIS SHIT TO HIM!?"

"Um..." Called out a young male's voice. "Can I help you this evening?"

The rainbow-maned pegasus blushed as she slammed everything in her hooves on the counter. "Yeah. Okay so check this out, I need you to deliver all of this stuff to room 149. The name of the giver is to remain anonymous."

"Oh... well actually, that resident hasn't come back yet. I'm afraid he hasn't been here all day."

The cyan mare reared back as she heard the news. "Wait, what? Seriously? He's not here?"

"Nope, hasn't been here since..." The attendant pulled out the log-book and took a note of the time of departure. "Approximately 6:03 this morning. But I can hold his stuff and be sure to give it to him once he comes in."

Rainbow Dash looked at the clock on the wall and groaned. "Applejack told me that he was going to come straight here! Something about Zecora giving him some medicine. I'd like to think that he'd be perched on his bed or something. It's like fifteen minutes till six."

"Well I can't do much if he's late. And if he doesn't come back for this 'Zecora' pony, I'm afraid that I would have to ask her to wait here."

The rainbow-maned pegasus snorted as she firmly planted her haunches onto the floor. "Then I'm waiting here for him so that he can come get his shit!"

"I thought you wanted the giver to be anonymous." The staffer quoted.

Rainbow rolled her eyes as she explained herself. "I'll give it to him and say that it wasn't from me."

The staffer cracked a smile as he coyly leaned over the counter. "Oooh, sounds to me like you have a bit of a crush on this guy."

Rainbow's cheeks began to turn a rosy shade of pink. "WHAT!?"

"Flowers, Chocolate, a miniature statue with your name on it? This all seems like little forget-me-not's if you ask me."

"I DON'T LIKE THAT BASTARD! HE'S FUCKING UGLY TO ME!"

"First step is denial, second step is anger, third is bargaining─"

The rainbow-maned mare slammed her hooves into the floor as she screamed at the stallion behind the counter. "IF I HAD A CHOICE TO HIKE MY TAIL FOR HIM OR A DIAMOND DOG, I'D GO WITH THE MUT!"

"Fourth step is depression..."

"FUCK YOU! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

Enraged, the pegasus disappeared into nothing but a rainbow blur. As the pegasus took her leave beyond the horizon, the staffer proceeded to giggle to himself. "Wow, the queen was right, you are an easy trigger to pull. Too bad, if you would've simply confessed, I might've let you say goodbye."

He walked away from the counter into the back office room, closing the door behind him as he looked at a severely weakened stallion lying helpless on the floor. His coat was significantly pale and his eyes devoid of color. The stallion who imitated the voiceless staffer smiled as green flames erupted all over his body. A changeling stood before him as the voice spoke to him in a feminine tone. "Well, you were one pathetic lay, couldn't even last for a good twenty minutes. And don't even get me started on the sex."

His eyes lazily looked to the female changeling that stood over him, her fangs showing as she closed in on him.

"Such a pathetic mate, untouched by a mare, completely inexperienced, average looking, meek and easy to take advantage of, not to mention totally tail-hungry. You're an ugly little pervert, the queen would waste her time sanctioning you for feeding. But I will say this..."

The stallion looked ahead, knowing what was to come next as she whispered in his ear.

"Poor little ol' mommy knew how to love such a foal. At least you proved useful."

I wasn't too thrilled to be waiting in the bathroom all this time. Again, the lighting in my room is piss poor. And keeping myself in there only made my episodes even worse. I already was in a bad mood thanks to Celestia deciding to lower the sun a whole ten minutes early. If I could've made an agreement with her to hold off until around nine, that would've worked for me. And this place being in the castle's shadow sure doesn't help worth a damn.

Hot damn, doctor's here.

I quickly ran out of the room and opened the door. Sitting in front of me was the zebra holding a small bag with what appeared to be a wooden cup. Strapped to her side was an exotically decorated waterskin. She smiled as she glanced around the room. "I must say, the mood seems a tad compelling." She said in reference to the lighting. "Perhaps there's a little bit of yourself that you'd be interested in selling."

Oh, she's got jokes now. "Sorry, but I'm currently off the market. And I am to believe that the spores are still doing the talking."

"One could have genuine interest, that you'll never know. Unless you were to force me down, and let your curiosity flow."

"Yeah, they're still talking." I deadpanned as I closed the door behind her. "So, you got the medicine done?"

She sat on the bed and pulled the waterskin from her side. "T'was a costly little brew, that detail I could not miss. But I will assure you that after the next three hours, you will once more know a goodnight's bliss."

Okay, let's just go on ahead and get this over with. "Great. So, can I try that medicine now?"

She pulled out the small wooden cup from within her bag and placed it on the adjacent night stand. She uncorked her waterskin and poured into the cup an odd-smelling concoction. She politely handed me the cup of the forest-green mixture. "This brew took a few hours, of that you could tell. Though I may warn you of the taste and smell."

"Nah, I get it. Medicine in our world isn't the best tasting stuff either. And sometimes it reeks of hospital and death, I'd have to damn-near air out the room. This seems relatively tame in comparison. But then again, this is all natural rather than that synthetic shit they have you take with all the side effects."

The zebra became inquisitive of the subject. "Interesting. Tell me more about your world's medicine."

I took a quick swig of the medicine in the cup, downing much of it in the first go. "Well, I told you mostly everything there is to know. It stinks, often tastes bad, and it's lab-rat formula. It's also expensive and damn near costs you your first-born child just to talk to a doctor. Don't get me wrong, the med science is top-notch. But the doctors in my home country are just too damn eager to charge you a lifetime of indentured servitude, just to pay for treatment." I finished the last that was in the cup before giving my opinion of it. "Huh... not bad. It's much better than what I was prepping myself for. Kinda on the sweet side, if you ignore much of the grass taste."

The zebra quirked an eyebrow. "Grass... taste?"

"Don't ask how I know how grass taste." I mumbled, remembering all of the times I was shoved into the ground when I was younger. "Just know that I've had a hard time outside of home."

"I do not find your past plight amusing for any reason. I prefer to think of it being more of an unfavorable season." She responded.

"Yeah, that happened to me quite often." I replied sarcastically. "Never did understand why."

"But you've grown so much stronger since you first arrived. It's been over ten months, yet you still survived. That is much more than any mere feat, to overcome death's grasp and cheat."

Yeah. Let's be honest, there were a whole bunch of times where I could've handed in the game and let the dealer take me in. Thankfully, it hasn't come to that just yet.

Well... I seem to feel fine. In fact, I feel a lot lighter on my feet.

...What?

Okay, I guess. I dismissed the internal ramblings as another paranoia episode and proceeded to walk to Zecora...

...no. Instead, I proceeded to fall on the floor in front of Zecora. My chest and neck were the only things I could move at the time. Yeah, now I know for certain that something's horribly wrong. "...Ze...co...ra... what... is..."

Oh no... it's getting really hard to breathe. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see a bright green flash. Suddenly, I was turned over to face...

NO... NO, NOT AGAIN!

That thing, it's back again. It's speaking to me. And just like in my nightmares, I can't move. Shit, I fucked up! As the fear began to show in my eyes, I watched as the creature began to crackle and laugh as it's eyes flashed green. This time, the entire room glowed green as similarly colored flames engulfed the body. It's face became more horrific in the shadow of the eldritch-like fire. But before it's image could break me, it transformed into a far-less intimidating face. Rather than being unsightly, it was... horrifically beautiful.

A female, her eyes vastly different than many of the changelings I've slain. Upon her head sat a deformed, crooked crown adorned with pale-green pearls. Her eyes were a mix between emerald and jade green, her hooves had a similar length to that of Princess Celestia herself. Her fangs were not as huge, but her body would only make it appear so due to her immense size. Her neck was long, her wings dwarfed any others belonging to a changeling. She had a mane, unlike any other changeling I've ever seen, flowing down her body, collapsing all over my neck as she spoke.

"You've grown to be quite a delicious little tart, haven't you."

I wanted to ask who she was, but my body would only allow me to squeak and grunt in place of forming full sentences. "Uuh... ahh... urr..."

She forcibly turned my head and pulled it up to her as she continued to speak. "I am your existence. Now pledge me your fealty."

I was left helpless as she forcibly shoved her tongue into my mouth, more fluids being funneled down my throat as she crushed her lips against mine. Her eyes remained partways open as she sunk herself into me. She backed off for a quick snag of breath before resuming her assault. A quick pant sounded as she broke off to adjust herself, her tongue abused mine as I could only remain as motionless as I was when I fell. She quickly snapped herself out of it and yanked herself back. A large grin indicated that she was more than exuberant from the exchange.

"Holy mother of the hive, you're flooded!"

Once more, I tried to get my limbs to move, resulting in very little save a few twitches. She also took notice and raised her eyebrows, indicating that she was very much impressed.

"You still retain some movement? With as much venom that I had you swallow?" She returned her eyes back to mine. "No matter, I'm sure the fresh batch I sent into you will deal you a great deal of damage. You'll be lucky to be walking in a few days!"

I tried to avoid looking at her, she seemed dead set on making me look her in the eye.

"Oh, that's right. You don't seem to remember me at all, don't you? After all this time, you don't even remember the one who even brought you into this world."

...No... way...

She giggled a bit as she magically pulled my head by the hair. "You seriously don't? Well perhaps I could generously remind you of your miserable arrival." She hissed violently as she licked her lips, appearing to make for a second assault. "Now, show me again just how flooded you are."

This time, when she kissed me, I began to see a multitude of things. I closed my eyes, and saw not a haunting image, but almost an instant replay of what happened ten months ago. Things kept moving as if it was a slideshow going on and on, failing to stop for even a moment. Gradually, the pictures began to show motion, as if a roll of film sputtered at first and started to speed up to show the very scenes that were once locked away...

...I remember it, I remember now how I was brought here.

TownePlace Suites
Galveston, Texas
Ten Months Ago...

"Give me the fucking keys!"

For fucks sake. "Get out of my way! I'm just going to get a snack!"

Drowsily, I stumbled out of the hotel lobby and tapped the lock button for my car so that I could find it. As soon as I recognized the lights blinking in and out, I smiled as I aggressively pushed towards getting into my car. I pulled on the handle, realizing that I haven't gotten around to unlocking any of the doors. I tapped on the button once, unlocking the driver's door and quickly barricaded myself inside. Prett and Rickey continued to scream at me from outside.

"Nondis, get out of the car!" Prett screamed loudly.

I groaned as I watched Rickey stand in front of the hood, daring himself to not move an inch. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I screamed at the man before me, honking my horn as I threatened to start the car. My head was swirling as I impatiently tapped my fingers against the steering wheel.

"Yo, N!" Cliff called out as he ran up to my side of the car, banging on the window. "N, you know we can't let you drive around like this! You know you could get yo ass locked up!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY! I'M NOT GONNA SAY IT AGAIN!" I shouted, this time starting up the car. As the engine turned over, I could see Rickey trying to will himself to stand still. Prett walked to the other side of the car and banged on the window as hard as he could, doing all he could to break inside to stop me.

"Nondis, you are in no condition to drive! Get the fuck outta the car!"

"GET OUT OF-UGH!" I shouted, bashing my hands into the steering wheel. I shifted my transmission to drive, letting myself idle forward. Rickey's eyes grew wide as he backed out of the way. I started to drive myself out of the parking spot and recklessly swerved out on a right turn, nearly hitting Rickey and knocking back Cliff. Prett tried to make a grab for my passenger-side mirror, but I quickly left him in the dust. Pulling out of the parking lot, I could still hear them screaming at me to stop. I responded by turning my radio up to the loudest volume possible.

Why am I on this station and who the fuck even is this guy?

Nevermind, I'll keep this one on.

As the three men started to show up in my rear-view mirror, I pounded my foot on the gas as I drifted into traffic. A few other cars stopped to avoid being hit as I continued to let the song on the radio influence my mood... and ultimately my driving. So I began to sing along... singing my own skewed up version. I wasn't very knowledgeable of the lyrics.

"WALK AROUND THE CLUUUUUB! FUCK EVERYBODY! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK EVERYBODY! DON'T GIVE A FUUUUUUCK, FUCK EVERYBODY! FUCK EVERY LAST BITCH UP IN THAT LOBBY! YEAH!"

Bouncing my head along the beat, my eyes were practically closed as I began to... in Cliffian terms, 'feel myself'. Every once in a while, I'd check on what's going on on the road, making sure that I was avoiding any kind of attention from the cops. As if I wasn't eye-grabbing enough bouncing to the rhythm while I repeatedly used the horn to sing along with me. I was just too far gone to even notice where the hell I was going at that point. Eventually, I just kept driving, causing myself to become even more disoriented by banging my head up and down to the song.

A sound similar to a shotgun being fired on my left side sounded, causing me to rapidly come into a panic. As I looked up, all I could see was myself swerving out of the left lane and nearly into another car. I tried to drift out of the way of an incoming freight truck, then bumped my rear end into another car that stopped just ahead of me... or behind me... I don't know which direction it came from. But then I noticed that the road became significantly starry... and my headlights couldn't find any sort of paint lines. It was as if the road became non-existent, and for good reason.

The next thing my headlights found was a solid body of water. The windows became dark, my headlights flickering out as I tried to process where I was. Eventually, water began to fill my shoes, rising quickly up to my legs, and eventually engulfing my seat as I haphazardly pulled against the lever to open my door. My heart began to race as I started to realize that I was trapped inside. I tried to bang my fist against the window, hoping that it would somehow bash the glass open. I tried rolling down my windows, but they wouldn't respond on the account of them being electric.

"DAMN IT!" I screamed, as I turned my attention to the seat belt, quickly unfastening myself before I allowed the icy water to snuff out my air.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" I screamed to the top of my lungs, climbing as quickly as I could to the back of my car, where there was still a pocket of air. I started to pat around in my pockets for my cell phone, realizing that I'd still have a few seconds to talk to somebody before the battery short-circuited, but a dismal expression grew on my face as I realized that I didn't take it with me. I started to breathe quickly, screaming to whoever could hear me.

"HEL*blublublub* HELP! PLEASE! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

The water began to take over the backseat area, quickly sealing away the little pocket of air I had. Eventually, I realized that no one would come to help me, even if I asked 'God' for it. My only priority was to use this last gulp of air to climb my way out of this damn car. So with a deep breath, I felt myself being completely submerged. In a bid of desperation, I began to pull on the handles and use my feet to push the door open. Eventually, I managed to get one open, but I was running out of time.

I tried to swim out as quickly as I could, but I felt a crushing weight all over my body. The air that once filled my lungs was eventually snuffed out, being replaced by water at a rapid pace. I flung my arms for the surface as best as I could, but couldn't find the strength to climb.

It was too late. I started to black out, my arms grew weak, and I finally realized that there was no getting out of this. So I did the only thing that was available to me. I breathed in, choked, and waited...

I waited... as I quickly lost all sense of existence... This is it. This is how I leave. This is how my time ends, me being alone, no one even giving a damn, and the girl I love telling me to 'go die'. I really don't want to go out like this, but I don't seem to have much of a choice. Well Melanie, here you go. At least dad won't seem to give two shits if I die, he already labeled me as a disappointment. My younger brother did better than I ever did, my older brother's practically got his own life. And I lost everything that pushed me forward.

Lots of thoughts for a dying person? Turns out when this happens, you don't have all the time in the world to think. It all comes flooding out at once. Questions, concerns, regrets, fears, the terror of knowing that it's coming within a matter of seconds, you don't get the time to think about each one at a time, you rush through all of them. Lord, I don't wanna die.

...God has already damned me enough, why the fuck do I have to die here, like this?

It's hard to breathe. Not enough oxygen... Kinda need that to focus right now.

...Wait, I'm not dead?

Oh... fuck... air... I'm alive... I'm alive!..

"This... is what we summoned?"

Those words sounded as if they were still drowned in water, my ears haven't seem to fully reacquire their optimal functionality. And neither have my eyes, everything is blurry as shit.

"My queen... This is the deadliest creature you could've summoned, from any dimension?"

"I don't understand... I performed the spell perfectly! What is this thing?"

"Perhaps our magic wasn't enough?"

Ugh... what the hell is going on? My throat and chest feel like a half-empty juice box, my nasal passages are burning, and my body feels like a fucking rock. And who's voices are these I'm hearing?

"So many months of feeding... saving up for the one thing that could've saved our hive...

"All for this?"

"No! There must be some purpose for this thing to be here! I-I-I could probably feed from it, see if I can get back anything!"

The shadows in my eyes began to converge, finally coming back into focus. The lights, though they blinded me, were a welcome sight to experience. Even the pain I felt from my pupils dilating was a welcome feeling. But what didn't seem so welcoming was the fact that the little strength in my limbs felt like it was being drawn slowly out of my body... Though that only lasted for a short while.

"Aaaugh! Blech! Ugh, how revolting! I can't even feed from that"

My hearing finally phased into focus, I became perfectly capable of hearing the discussion taking place above me.

"Great, a useless vessel whom we can't even use? Even changelings can feed off the love of other changelings! But even now..."

"There doesn't seem to be any sort of magical energy within this thing! It's barren!"

"And our mutual feedings, the sacrifices of the hive, they've all been for naught!"

...Feeding? Magical energy? Hive? What the hell is all of this.

"Well, my queen, what shall we do?"

Before I could respond, I watched a pair of legs, seemingly filled with holes, walk up to me and stop just short of my face. I looked up to see a frowning face from an unrecognizable creature. Now I'm terrified beyond belief, all it needs to do is─

"This thing... is useless." There we go, now I can really start to contemplate whether I'm in hell or not. "You are barren. You have no magic. You show no form of intelligence, you only produce incoherent babble. Perhaps you are a sea creature that we pulled from it's habitat, judging from the water all over your body."

You know what... I'm gonna go with that if it saves my life.

The long-haired creature growled as she kicked dirt in my face. "If I had any of my magic, I'd find some compassion as to euthanize a mistake such as yourself." I really don't like the sound of that. "But... I believe that you will succumb to the other creatures within this forest. They seem to have an interest in larger game."

"So... we're going to leave it here to die?" One of the smaller ones questioned.

"If it lives, then perhaps we could take interest in it. If it dies, then so be it. I honestly prefer the latter." The long-hair responded.

Another one of the smaller ones ran from inside of a bush, announcing to the long-hair. "Patrol incoming. We need to leave now!"

"Rrrgh... Let us return to the hive. We'll continue to revise our plans there." The long-hair looked at me with a disdainful expression, her nose sitting high into the air. "Pathetic creature, you'll find death within the hour. I can assure you that."

...Not that I wanted to say anything, but I did have a response. I stumbled up to my hands and knees, slowly making my way towards wherever that creature came from. My body slowly dragged along as I dredged through the bush and found myself enveloped within the emerald-colored canopy.

Throughout my drudging around, I slowly began to regain the ability to run. Eventually, I started to push through everything that was in my way. I ran from whatever resembled a living creature. I shied away from anything that had eyes. I was not going to get myself killed here. I was going to live somehow, one way or another. I don't care if this was hell, or if this was a part of the mushrooms I took earlier, but I don't like it one bit.

I didn't keep track of time properly, but it felt like hours since I woke up in this forest. And the shades' angles seem to reflect the fact that I've been out here for a significant amount of time. I am lucky to say that I haven't encountered much aside from a few weird-looking snakes, a chicken with a lizard's tail, and an alligator of some sort. Eventually, I managed to run into a path and walked it's beaten surface until I ran into an opening.

After what felt like... I couldn't even tell you how long it felt. But I finally came to the forest's end. The sun shined down from above as I huffed and puffed from exhaustion. There were no creatures following me, none threatening to eat me, or challenge me for trespassing in their territory. I leaned against a nearby tree as I felt a bit of relief in knowing that I was safe.

"Hi!"

Correction: I once felt safe, that was until I looked up to see two huge blue eyes staring me down in the face. I screamed as I tried to make a break for the forest again, but was stopped short when I ran smack-dab into a low-lying tree branch. My vision flashed white as the impact sent me towards the ground. From there, I could only see darkness.

God... where the hell am I?

Present Day...

My vision blurred as I watched helplessly as a green ghostly mist came floating out of my body and slowly into her mouth. Chrysalis looked at me with exuberance while her jaws closed shut, her body glowing a sickly green. She happily cooed in my ear as she spoke.

"Mmm... And here I was, thinking that you couldn't be fed from! It turns out that you needed a bit of a tender love and care to get you into this wonderfully delectable state! But at least I came to make good on my promise. Since you didn't die, I suppose that I'll be taking you in now! DRONES!"

I couldn't do much in terms of looking around for what was going on, but I did hear my door swing open, followed by the sounds of two other changelings. "My queen, what can we do for you?"

"We got what we came for. Now proceed along with the plan. We move on to phase three. Have them leak the information and let them try and stop us! I FEEL LIKE A GOD RIGHT NOW!" She roared.

Her lackeys seemed to have responded to her energy as they started to buzz their wings happily. "Yes, your highness!"

I didn't feel much of them grabbing me and dragging my paralyzed body into the hall. The only thing I could surmise is that everything seemed significantly darker. At this rate, I was just so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open. I wanted to go to sleep, but I had some rational fear hidden deep within me that pretty much explained to me that if I were to close my eyes, there would be a strong possibility of my not waking up. So I forced myself, with what little strength I had left, to stay up and take note of everything I saw.

If I was going to be kidnapped, then I'm going to know where I am and how to get out.

It seems that they grew tired of dragging me around, opting to carry my body on their backs. It took about three changelings to completely suspend my body, including my limbs, off of the ground. The three continued to speak on the matter of how heavy and cumbersome I was in contrast to them carrying a pony, which is what they're probably used to the most. Then again, they've been doing this long since before I was even brought here.

As I was carted around to the back door, I had seen a wagon filled with dirtied pillows and stained sheets. Also, I saw a few changelings disguise themselves as what appeared to be transport workers. Each of them donning a Boston accent, or whatever pony equivalent there is to it. The three that carried me quickly transformed their appearance as well, speaking to each other as if I was nothing more than their next shipment... Hell, I was their next shipment.

"Alright boys, let's get this sack onto the dolly." One of them said as two other changelings that disguised as pegasi workers grabbed one of my arms and lifted. "One... two... three... HEAVE!"

Groans and grunts sounded ad nauseum, each of them struggling as my body was slowly lifted and lied out into the large wagon. Soon, frustrations were made verbal as they noticed that I couldn't fit into it straight. So they pushed on me until I was folded into a semi-fetal position. My back scraped against the wood as I was shoved carelessly against the side of the wagon.

At least I'm placed somewhere where the accommodations are moderately comfortable.

"Hold the rest of the pillows! We got another sack to load!"

I wasn't sure as to what they were referring to, but I can easily say that I wasn't too fond of the idea of them carting off more 'sacks'. And being that I couldn't move, I wasn't able to sit up and look for what they were loading next.

"Alright, this should be the last one!" A familiar voice called out. I immediately recognized this one as the stallion at the check-in counter. I was wanting to scream for him, but the venom I swallowed did such a number on my throat that I couldn't speak properly. Screaming was definitely out of the question.

Too bad... What happened next actually made me want to do just that.

They placed a bundle of covers right next to me as the stallion's voice called out to the others. "Alright! Finish loading so we can get out of here."

For a moment I laid quietly looking on in horror of the ear sticking out of the bundle of sheets. As they started to place more and more of the sheets on top of me and the poorly-wrapped body, a corner of the cloth unfolded itself and revealed the lifeless face of the staffer, who's voice still sounded just above these sheets. I stared for a few more seconds, growing all the more unnerved as I noticed a stark difference between the both of us. My chest rose and fell lightly, while his remained unmoved. He didn't blink once. On his face was the gloomy look of despair. My face contorted into a horrified cringe as it became more obvious of what was before me.

The staffer, who looked up to me every time I checked in, the one who greeted and sent me off with a smile every morning and night, he was no longer of the living.

The unsettling image remained ingrained in me as I was pleading with my body, urging myself to do something. Even so much as a twitch would be enough. But the only thing I could do was watch as the light that filtered from the sheets above slowly grew darker. His voice continued to speak his recently-deceased corpse lied in desolation right next to me.

The fact of his voice being spoken as I stared at his dead body was more than enough to take me off my hinges.

"Okay then! We're all set! Let's get a move-on!"

No... NO... You, whoever the fuck you are, how DARE you speak in his voice!

Fear started to transcend into anger and hatred. I was loathing whoever mocked his voice, whoever decided that it was appropriate to take his appearance after denying him his existence. I wanted them to suffer, more than what I endured. I wanted them to experience pain... slowly. I wanted to see them scream as I jammed my sword into their gullet. I wanted to see the expressions on their face change as I patiently tilted my sword from side to side, leaving them with unimaginable pain.

The worst of it all is that I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm their prisoner now, I'm at their mercy. I'm going to be interrogated, tortured, and possibly brainwashed into believing that I was in the wrong from the moment I declared myself an Equestrian citizen. I'm going to be harassed in my dreams, even more so now than ever because they will probably do everything they can to make me see them as my superiors, my masters.

I'm going to become their slave. I'm going to probably die as one.

The wagon started to move and shift, I couldn't find the strength to get those haunting images out of my head. Now I was seeing each and every one of them. That thing that haunted my dreams, the bitch who set me up, the face of the dead body I'm riding next to. And it's not like I could open my eyes and it all go away. I was in the dark, and just in front of me was my latest addition to my nightmare-fuel compost heap. And it's not like calling for help would do me any good.

"HALT!"

...Or maybe I didn't have to?

"Sorry, ma'am. We can't linger about here. We have a very tight shift and we need to get this laundry to the cleaners, ASAP."

The female's voice sounded very much like... Rainbow Dash? Then again, who's voice could I even trust at this rate? "A laundry call, huh? Last I checked, Call Bell didn't have a need to wash so many sheets at once."

This time, it was his the staffer's voice that responded. "Oh, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon?"

"Call Bell, what the hay is going on?"

"Well we had a complaint this morning from Nondis that we had a bit of a bedbug issue. So I just thought that if I could replace the sheets and the mattresses, then we could quickly get rid of the problem. That's another reason why he hasn't checked in just yet. We're not set to be done with the replacement protocol until seven tonight."

"Ha... seriously? You've had bedbugs, this entire time, and just now decided to do something about it?"

"Why yes! He's the reason why I'm doing everything I can to remove them. I only have one guest right now, and he's paying the bills. I can't afford to lose him, or else I'll lose my business. I'm even lucky that his expenses paid to get the mattresses replaced."

"Well, you seem to have your reasons. But you totally fucked up on the escape."

"What are you talking about? Why would I be trying to escape anyth─"

"Because Nike isn't anything I've heard of before Nondis came here. And the shoe you left at the back door... still sitting there."

...Thank you. Thank you so much American retail! For once, you saved my ass! The faux staffer didn't seem to show much change in his tone. "What do you mean? There's nothing sitting th─"

This time, it was Twilight's voice that came from behind the wagon. "Oh... So this shoe doesn't belong to any of you, now would it? I don't recall stallions needing any hoofwear that reaches so far out."

This time, it was Cadance's voice that sounded. "Yeah, and we had visual confirmation that Nondis actually checked into his hotel at approximately 5:31 this evening."

Twilight's voice continued from where Cadance's left off. "I look outside of my balcony every time he checks in, just to make sure that he made it back in safely. And we made a small care package for him, to let him know that we were all still in his corner and that we appreciated everything he's done for us. For Rainbow to come back and tell us that the one at the register joked about her, we knew that it didn't sit right with us."

"Yeah." Rainbow cosigned. "And for you to sit here and make fun of me for something like that, I knew for certain that you weren't the one who we remember being there on a daily basis. He's a lot more unstable in a conversation than you showed yourself to be. He always stutters and apologizes when he says something wrong! And you just continued to press my buttons... Not so funny now, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! You're all crazy!"

This time, Rarity's voice sounded. "Yes... and I'm sure that the other shoe you left in the hallway and the drag-trail that lead up to a certain point was nothing more than mere coincidence?"

I love these girls. "Rrgh! We're leaving!"

"Oh no ya aren't!" Applejack's voice sounded from behind me.

Suddenly, the entire wagon was knocked over, causing both me and the staffer to roll out onto the ground. My body flopped as I was left onto my back, lightly sliding against the cobblestone. As the light flooded my eyes, Cadance came into view. "Nondis... no."

I looked back up to her, causing her to sigh in relief that I was still alive. Twilight stepped over my body and quickly ignited her horn. "You... You will suffer FOR HURTING WHAT'S MINE!!!"

Without a moment's hesitation, she unleashed a powerful beam of magic onto the changeling who mimicked the staffer, knocking it out of form and into a nearby wall. In response, the others removed their disguises and hissed at the purple princess. Cadance quickly levitated my body out of the way and made a break for the castle. Two other changelings, who saw Cadance take me, quickly gave chase. But their pursuit were quickly hindered as both Rainbow Dash and Rarity quickly dispatched them. Another changeling, still wearing their disguise, fought off both Applejack and Rainbow Dash with ease before charging for me.

Another magenta blast came barreling in from the direction Cadance ran to, hitting the cleaner dead in the chest. But this time, there was barely any reaction to the hit at all. As the changeling continued to charge, Shining Armor teleported behind his wife and blasted the changeling with everything he had. This time, the changeling fell back from the blow, but remained in form as it laughed.

"You're going to need to do better than that."

"Give me some credit." Shining responded. "I haven't even warmed up yet. Though I can tell you're a cut above the rest. Then again, the queen of the changelings wouldn't be so easy to topple and lose form like the others, now would she?"

With a coo, the cleaner unveiled to be none other than Chrysalis. "Ah, so I can't seem to fool you more than once. I'd expected as much from my dear husband."

Shining growled as he scraped his hoof against the dirt, readying himself for a charge. "I am NOT married to you."

"Oh poor Shining, you'll never be able to take away the fact that we both passionately made love for hours, shared our vows with one another, and turned your meddling little sister away. Just admit it, I'm so good that you'd disown your own sister."

"Just admit it, you'll never get over the fact that I disowned you. You could never get a husband on your own. My love was the best thing you've tasted in a while."

"Ugh, I've had so much better in the recent times. Now move out the way, I'd like to feast on more of it."

It's been an hour since the situation from earlier. I've been in this bed, quietly looking up to the ceiling as if I was staring at the heavens above. Secretly, I wish that they were the heavens above, just so I could scream at God and ask him why the hell all of this was necessary. Why did I need to suffer like this and be placed in this position? For what purpose am I to be thrown into something like this? What part of his 'master plan' is it that I'd be summoned by creatures who kill and abduct innocent lives?

I know I'm not one of those innocents, but there are several others who fit the bill.

Call Bell was far from anyone capable of posing harm to anyone. He was a young and quiet individual, one who actually was a fan of me long before I was a hero of the town. He'd even tell me how my being different and being an outsider was his inspiration to achieve greater things. Sure, he'd talk about mares like it's no one's business, but that's just who he was. He was shy, but opinionated. Didn't open up much when it came to casual conversations, but he was quick to input on anything of a deeper level. And every time he'd wake up in the morning, he'd tell me that he would find someone who'd give him a chance.

He was one of those seeking out something that he was unsure if it would find him otherwise. All he wanted was a humble little family who could help him run the hotel. On the broader perspective, you could compare him to Mr. Cake and notice nothing different aside from the fact that Carrot had found success in that area.

Now he's gone, unable to even live the dream he had spent so much time setting up.

I did everything I could to help the guy, even paying my rent months in advance just so he could keep the place running. I know he was somewhat upset that the lobby didn't have those complementary breakfasts the other places had, but he'd still share the morning paper with me, telling me what the reporters are writing about me. Little casual stuff like that, stuff that you'd think would be inconsequential...

All of it seems so big now.

What's also hurting me is that Chrysalis used Zecora's image to fool me into drinking that potion. Was Zecora even alive at this point? I'd be beyond terrified to find out that she too grabbed on to death's hand. It makes me look back at all the times she made a mention or cracked a joke about me not coming around to visit. I can't believe that I'm sitting here, loathing over the fact that she's either taken or gone completely.

I don't mean to ignore her. I just couldn't find the time to spend with her between dealing with my friends here, my friends on the other side of the portal, my brothers, politicians, fighting, and a bunch of other things. I wanted to make the time for everyone, I truly did. And if I had checked in on her yesterday when we finished our patrol... this wouldn't have happened. The events that transpired today wouldn't have even occurred, and both of them would still be here.

What scares me the most is that not only was she one of Twilight's friends, but that I had known almost little about her. If I had given myself the drive to go out in the forest and see her back when I was waiting for the portal to finish, I'd probably know her as much as I did Call Bell. But it's eating away at me, I can't speak much of her because I haven't put forth the effort to do just that. And I couldn't tell the difference between her and a changeling? She was one of the first ones to welcome me to the town!

...I lost both of them, in broad fucking daylight.

"H....haaa.... haaaa..."

My voice, it's starting to come back. If I could've screamed for help then, would it have mattered? He was alive just earlier in the day, he wasn't that cold... or was he?

"Haa....aahhh... Ahh..."

And Zecora, would she really risk herself to come out and make some medicine for me, even though I don't even give her the time of day?

"Ah..." *gasp*

Yeah. I think I know what to do now... I just need to take a deep breath, put it all into perspective, and...

Inhale... Scream... Repeat...

inhale... Scream... Repeat...

Ugh... the hardest thing about this chapter is the fact of trying not to make the protagonist look like they're holding the idiot ball. I get that there are times where we do hold the ball for a short while before dropping it. But sometimes when you have a scenario playing out behind the scenes, it begins to make the setup a little difficult. But that's just the on the writer's part.

However, I took a unique approach to how the MC would react to certain stimuli, given recent run-ins and certain circumstances. I wanted to approach the situation from the standpoint of an individual who watched a (good) scary movie before going to bed. Usually you might have that haunting feel that drives you to check behind you every time you have that crawling chill down your spine.

I tried to make his breaking point somewhat believable (probably failed massively at it). Now he's wracked with guilt and frustration, not to mention idled by fear and venom.

Of course, I always thought about a changeling's purpose. Their origin was that they were faries replacing a child during infancy. Then the show broadened the definition by giving them the leeway to replace anyone they so desired for the sake of feeding off of one's love. I wanted to expand upon the psychological aspects of these traits and take things a step further.

Lore Spoiler:
What would be the effects on those who found some of their friends being replaced, or deceased loved ones being recreated? We already saw in the comics that they were capable of draining love straight from one's body, nearly sucking the life out of them and rendering them useless. The fangs are just there to help subdue their prey as spiders often paralyze theirs. And the rational fear of being spirited away plays into their favor, proving to be a strong psychological edge.

I also took into account of any possible recessive traits that could be born with being a changeling since their drawing on love, while stirring fear, was their calling card. The worst thing is that there could be some who thrive solely on the psychological warfare front, rather than the emotional drainage... Enter: Iris.

Just as easily as love is sniffed out by the changelings, fear is easily picked out by anything that lives. Iris is a feeder of fear rather than love, giving the changelings more edge to that second side of their brand (I know, OC-ish). But given that there could be some who do specializes in fear tactics to prevent escape or to drive away unwanted company, I surmise that there are multiple facets to how the changelings are easily considered as a deadly adversary to the Equestrians.

But if I'm wrong in believing in that, please feel free to elaborate in the comments. I've always been up for a debate on changeling functionality and how far their abilities can be utilized for different tasks. Love these little creatures for the potential they have, and how easily they can be written.