Chapter Twenty: Sleep

Augury watched the ground rushing quickly below him, the grass and trees of the large forest passing by in a slight blur. The changelings carrying him stayed silent to each other as they held tight onto the gooey sling supporting Augury, the changeling general’s hooves still bunched within the binds placed on him earlier. Wind rushing by Augury’s ears accompanied the quiet symphony of fluttering insect wings along the flight over Equestria’s outskirts, muffling any other noise that soared through the air. The green landscape was a nice sight for Augury after spending a while in The Hive, though the changelings carrying him could say just about the opposite. The setting sun across the horizon gave the forest a slightly eerie orange glow, though the scenery was the last thing on Augury’s mind.

“Well? Are you going to say something or what?” A voice echoed.

“Like it would have made a difference...” Augury whispered.

“Can I go now?”

Wincing slightly, Augury rested his head on the sling supporting him. “Just... go.”

“Hey, Salvation?”

“...What?”

“Take care of her.”

Augury stayed silent for a moment, shifting his eyes to watch the forest below. “I couldn’t even save you... what makes you think I’ll be able to save her?”

“You can always try.”

“Trying something only got me into this mess, and look where you ended up.”

“All that fire and yet you have such a cold heart.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“And you think for others. It’s who you are, right?”

“I... I don’t know. Is it?”

“That’s for you to decide.”

Augury shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. “I don’t think my decisions even matter anymore.”

Silence.

Sighing, Augury tilted his head down and burrowed it into the bottom of the gooey sling holding him. “She’ll pay, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she does. Now... get out of my head. I don’t need this right now.”

Augury opened his eyes and looked over the side of the sling. The edge of The Hive had come into view, the sickly brown landscape of The Hive bringing a feeling of dread into Augury’s heart. Spire raising high into the sky, Augury felt the eyes of his condemnation watch him. No doubt that Chrysalis had already heard of Augury’s actions from the changelings that had gone ahead, and the consequences that raced through Augury’s head only made him on edge even further. The factor of what Ruin had done could provide a bit of cushion to Augury’s punishment, though as he had assaulted another changeling, Chrysalis wouldn’t let that slip past unnoticed.

The dry air of The Hive quickly fell into place on the changelings flying into their home, the changelings whispering amongst themselves. Their work on Ponyville had brought back plenty of ponies to provide a source of food, and by the looks of it, the changelings that stayed in The Hive had begun to carve another feeding grounds into one of the other mountains. Smiling slightly as they saw the abundance of cocoons hanging from the overhang that the primary feeding ground provided, the changelings carrying Augury quickened their pace through The Hive. As the spire came close, Augury cleared his mind and adjusted his position within the bright green sling. Chrysalis didn’t delay in showing herself as the changelings set down Augury on the large doorstep of the spire’s entrance, the changeling queen emerging from the tower and walking over to the general laying on the ground.

“Care to explain?” Chrysalis asked as the changelings beside Augury unraveled the binds around his hooves.

“You wouldn’t understand. You’re a changeling.” Augury muttered, averting his eyes to The Hive.

“I don’t care if I’ll understand, I want to know why you decided to assault the only other general that’s helping you. You’re lucky you were stopped, or else I would be facing Tranquility herself instead of you right now.”

Though the changelings had taken the binds off of his hooves, Augury remained laying on his side as he watched the two changelings fly away from the spire. “So many threats and yet none of them fulfilled.”

Chrysalis shook her head and stood over Augury. “Tell me what happened.”

“Why don’t you just ask Ruin when she gets back?”

“Because I need to hear it from you.”

“Would it matter who it comes-?”

Growling, Chrysalis lifted her hoof up and slammed it back down on the ground, just barely missing Augury’s head. The changeling general only stared at the hoof obstructing his view of the disgraceful landscape, trying his best to find a hole in the queen’s hoof to peer through clearly.

“It matters who it comes from because I need to hear both sides. Tell me.” Chrysalis demanded.

Augury slowly stood up onto his hooves and gave Chrysalis a brief glance, though he turned away and slowly started to sulk away from the changeling queen. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Augury stated.

Chrysalis, growing even more enraged, grabbed onto Augury’s back hoof with her magic, the general coming to a stop a few feet away from her. “Augury, I’m ordering you to give me the information of what happened.”

The changeling general tugged at his leg. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You’re only making this hard on yourself! Tell me what happened!”

Irritated himself, Augury turned his head to Chrysalis. “What don’t you get!? I don’t want to-!”

“Tell me what happened!”

“There is nothing to say!”

“Tell me!”

Anger taking over, Augury pulled as hard as he could at Chrysalis’s hold on his leg, and to Chrysalis’s surprise, he managed to slip out of it. Stumbling from the release slightly, Augury stabled himself and glared at Chrysalis, his eyes partially glowing and his voice coming out distorted.

“She bucking killed Frost, alright!?” Augury screamed. “The coldhearted bitch murdered him right in front of my eyes! I wasn’t going to let her get away with killing my best friend! Is that what you need to know!?”

Chrysalis, in partial shock, only stared at Augury with wide eyes. A loss for words had taken over the changeling queen, her mouth open but no sound coming out. The chatter of the changelings off in the distance had come to a standstill, The Hive sitting in a stillness that almost shattered the ears of its inhabitants. Augury clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he lowered his head, the distortion in his voice and breathing disappearing as he forced himself to settle down. The tension in his body released and Augury just barely caught himself from falling onto the ground. Given by the silence, he knew he had let himself get a little out of hoof.

“Augury.” Chrysalis began. “I didn’t think-”

Sticking his hoof up in the air, Augury intervened. “Just... just shut up. I don’t know how much more I can take without losing control. Let me be... please.”

Chrysalis kept her eyes on the changeling general as he lowered his hoof and trotted further into The Hive, his head tilted toward the ground. It didn’t take much to see that Augury was on the verge of giving up, and considering the amount of anger he had expressed to Chrysalis, he was also close to shattering everything around him. Despite knowing that he would have to go through thick and thin, Augury never anticipated the thick to be lined with sharp edges. Running on the will he had left in him, the distraught changeling general could only rest.

______________________________________________________________________

The green glow of The Hive sent an ominous shade of light into the starry night sky above. A waning moon helped light the darkest areas of the landscape of changelings, but the changelings themselves were too tired to admire the sky. A day of fighting guards and military had lead to another successful raid on Equestria, the changelings that made it out of Ponyville with their lives bringing back plenty of ponies with plenty of love to feed on. Ponyville was left with about a quarter of its population remaining in the town, the ponies happy to have survived, yet terrified and paranoid. Families torn from each other and friends lost in the panic, Ponyville got a first hoof experience of what Cloudsdale had gone through, no matter if they would have been better without. Numbers over power, the royal guards and honor guards were of little help along with the military next to them. Devastated, Ponyville was nothing but another town to be rebuilt.

Augury stared out at The Hive from the tip of a still standing mountain near the edge of the wasteland, trying his best to not roll onto his side and let his emotions get the best of him. Even if he wanted to curl up and cry himself to sleep, the image of Frost slowly losing his life branded itself into the general’s mind. He never got to say goodbye to his lost friend, and knowing that Frost never knew that he was the changeling held against his will to watch his friend die, was probably for the best. Hatred or not within Frost’s heart, the knowledge of Frost thinking that Salvation was just fine was the only thing that consoled the changeling general wishing he could have done something. All that was left of the icy blue stallion were memories in Augury’s mind, but with the help of a certain mare, that was all that mattered.

Sighing, Augury tilted his head up to the nocturnal abyss. Barely any clouds blotted out the twinkling stars floating in the vast blackness, a clean view of another beautiful night sky. Compared to the barren and complicated structures that were strewn throughout The Hive, the sky was a nice escape for Augury’s eyes. Losing himself in his mind was a state that Augury would rather not have fallen into at the moment, so the stars and the moon occupied his thoughts. Night seemed to be even more graceful out in the land of changelings, such a serene sight blended in with such an abhorrent place.

“General. Is something troubling you?” A voice spoke out from behind the lone changeling staring into the sky.

Augury tilted his head back down to look at The Hive, taking a deep breath in before releasing it through his nose. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I thought I told you to stop calling me general.” Augury said, turning to look at the Tranquility replica behind him.

Smiling at the general, Tranquility walked over to Augury’s side and sat down. “Sorry. It just slips my mind, is all.” She said.

“I noticed.”

Tranquility lowered her eyes slightly and looked out at The Hive. “I see that the raid on Ponyville went well. The number of ponies they brought back is quite the amount. Did the other general help with the mission? I forgot her name.”

Augury bit down on his tongue for a second. “Ruin. Ruin is her name. She... she made an effort to help.”

“So why did you try to kill her?”

“I don’t need this from you either. Please, can this just go away?”

“No, it can’t. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t help but keep thinking about you, Salvation. These memories that were put in me are making me feel as if you’re the only pony I have left. I worry about you, and I don’t even know why. It’s just all so confusing to me.”

“You’re a changeling by nature. From what I’ve seen, you all are just worried about getting love to feed off of. Emotions like this aren’t probably natural in you.”

“Couldn’t be a bit more subtle, huh?”

“I see Tranquility’s attitude has caught onto you.”

Tranquility turned her head to Augury, who stared at his hooves. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong? You seem troubled.”

Augury furrowed his brow slightly and looked up from his hooves, but quickly relaxed himself and sighed quietly. “I don’t suppose you have any memories of Frost, do you?” Augury asked.

Tranquility squinted an eye and looked off to the side for a moment. “I have a slight image of him. The unicorn that was obsessed with ice, right? Your friend.”

Augury chuckled to himself. “Yeah, that’s him alright. Always wanting to learn more and more about ice and its properties. He never really did take my advice and lay off on the ice in his house.”

“What importance does he have?”

“I... saw him at the raid. He looked angry and terrified at the same time. Ruin didn’t care, all she wanted was...” Augury let his mouth hang open for a second. “...I don’t know what she wanted.”

“Did something happen with them?”

“Frost is gone. His body shut down after Ruin cast a spell on him.” Augury smirked slightly. “Even in death he wanted to know what was going on.”

Tranquility’s eyes opened wide. “Frost? Ruin... killed him?”

“Right in front of my damn eyes. You don’t happen to know where she set up her home in The Hive, do you?”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to say where.”

“Worth a shot, I guess.”

Tranquility smiled weakly and looked back out at The Hive. A small thunderstorm had collected far off in the distance, the flashes of lightning visible only barely. Eyes growing heavy, Tranquility looked to Augury. The changeling general himself looked slightly tired, though it was hard to tell if he seemed that way because he was actually tired or his mind was set on something else. Feeling almost as if she had to, Tranquility slowly pushed herself along the ground, stopping as she felt her side fit snuggly against Augury’s. Motionless, Augury took no notice of the pressure on his side, keeping his relaxed dark blue eyes staring out at the landscape.

Sighing, Tranquility leaned her head against Augury’s. “Salvation?”

“What?” Augury asked bitterly.

“Why do you go so much to keep Tranquility alive?”

“What kind of question is...?” Augury blinked quickly and gave The Hive a troubled look. The question seemed strange coming from a changeling, even more so as it came from a replica of Tranquility herself. Though, Augury found himself at a loss for words for a second, his throat keeping him from saying anything. He loved Tranquility, no doubt, but everything he had gone through ever since he was assimilated was for one cause: Tranquility.

Augury shifted his head and looked at Tranquility from the corners of his eyes. Her mane stood in the way of her face, but Augury could slightly feel the replica staring at him patiently, waiting for an answer.

Swallowing lightly, Augury discretely looked back out at The Hive. “Tranquility and I have been through so much. I wouldn’t feel right if I just left her here to die or become a changeling. We’ve known each other since we were kids. I... I can’t leave her. She’s just about the only thing that I have left.”

Tranquility rubbed her head against the changeling beside her. “Does that mean you love me?”

Augury felt his muscles tense up and his eyes open wide. The question was real, and the sincerity even more so, but Augury didn’t know what to think. Could the question be raising from the memories that the replica had within her? A possibility, though it only made the matter worse. His love for Tranquility was sure, but love for a changeling with her appearance was something else.

Biting his lip, Augury slowly turned his head to look at Tranquility from the side of his vision. As before, her mane covered her face, only the tip of her nose visible from the little flip of her hair. A feeling of sympathy ran through Augury’s mind. The replica had been created by Chrysalis to be someone she wasn’t, and with the application of Tranquility’s memories, she seemed to believe that she actually was the original. To Augury’s knowledge, the replica’s sole purpose was to give him company in the distant land of The Hive by acting as Tranquility. But inside, she was only another changeling.

Augury let go of the grip his teeth had on his lip and sighed quietly. “Of... of course I do. No matter what form, Tranquility is who she is.”

“Then why don’t you just leave and take me?” Tranquility asked, turning her head to face Augury.

Eyes met with Tranquility’s, Augury winced slightly. “I... uh...”

Tranquility’s eyes didn’t make the situation any better, and the growing pressure that Augury felt in his throat only made him start to sweat.

“Salvation?” Tranquility asked.

Augury exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. “This isn’t right.” Augury thought to himself. “She’s not Tranquility, she’ll never be. But...” The changeling general opened his eyes again, Tranquility still staring at him. “...maybe I’m better off.”

“Are you okay?” Tranquility asked as she tilted her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Augury gave Tranquility a smile before he stood up, the replica stabilizing herself as Augury left her side. “Here, let me show you something.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll... you’ll see. Come here.”

Tranquility lifted onto her hooves as Augury reached his hoof out toward her, the changeling general holding her hoof for a bit after she stood up. The two changelings stared at each other for a small moment, Tranquility’s smile growing bigger the longer she stared into Augury’s eyes.

Augury motioned his head away from The Hive. “Look out at the mountains. Trust me.”

Nodding, Tranquility let go of Augury’s hooves and turned away from Augury, resting her eyes on the landscape. She scanned the mountains tops with curiosity in her heart, wondering what Augury wanted her to looked at.

“What am I doing?” Tranquility questioned, rotating her head to look at Augury.

“I want you to look at the mountains. Observe them, get to know them.” Augury said calmly as he walked to Tranquility’s side.

“Get to know them?”

“Just look at them.”

Tranquility looked back out at the mountains. The snowy tips of the rock giants gleamed only slightly with the moonlight, seeming to send a lullaby into Tranquility’s eyes as she stared at them. Her eyes slowly grew tired the longer she looked out at the mountains, Tranquility suddenly feeling a weakening sensation flow throughout her body. With time, the changeling barely had enough energy to stay up on her hooves, and found herself falling to the side. Her break was fallen by a pair of hooves, however, just barely stopping her head from hitting the ground. Tranquility weakly moved her head around as she was lowered to the ground and let down delicately, her eyes crossing paths with Augury’s once again.

[Optional music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9b__8OoNbk]

“Salvation... why do I feel... so sleepy?” Tranquility asked quietly, her eyes just barely open.

The changeling general slipped his hooves out from under Tranquility and sat down next to her, gently placing a hoof on her cheek. “You’re just tired. Don’t worry. It’ll all be fine once you get some rest.” Augury spoke softly.

“But... I wasn’t tired before...”

Augury rubbed Tranquility’s cheek with his hoof, the changeling in front of him leaning her head into his hoof. “It’s okay. Just fall asleep. I’ll be right here.”

Tranquility’s breathing had become significantly quieter, and her eyes had completely closed. “...Promise?”

“I promise.” Augury placed his hoof on Tranquility’s forehead “I’ll be right here the whole night. I won’t leave your side. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“G... Good... night...”

Not a second later, Tranquility slipped into her eternal sleep. Breathing halted, eye shut, and muscles still, the changeling laying on the ground slept a sleep she would never return from. Augury sighed and lifted Tranquility’s hooves onto her chest, putting one on top of the other. The spell had casted just right, and even though it whispered Frost in Augury’s ear, the changeling general did what he needed to do.

Augury leaned down and gave Tranquility a light kiss on her cheek, sitting upright again and staring down at her with wistful eyes. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you carry on like this.” Augury whispered. “You were something that you weren’t, but you believed that you were. When I said that I loved you... it was true, but true for Tranquility. I just couldn’t do this to her.” The changeling general reached out and moved Tranquility’s mane out of her face. “Sleep tight.” Next Chapter: [21] Overcome Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 3 Minutes