1. Revenge and Repercussions

The first thing I recognized was the sound of a scream, high pitched and brimming with terror. The air was permeated by a musk mixed with something which could only be compared to a half rotten sickly sweet fruit. It’s a cave of some sort that looks faintly like a beehive. The scream splits the air once again, and my ears ...twitch, my body trembling with fear from something I can't quite remember.

“Please! She didn’t have anything to do with it!” I heard a nasally, probably-male sounding voice shriek.

“Another step and I’ll do much worse,” a voice hissed, the sound reminding me of a hoard of cockroaches hissing in unison. “You stole my crown—my...my CHILDREN!” A hint of sadness in her voice buried under an avalanche of rage. I feel my body tremble all on its own, trapped in some sort of slime, everything feels so confusing. I try to see where they are talking yet I can only make out a few blurs of purple and green partially obscured by a wall of rock. Another small voice on my left calls out “Help! Over here!”

I turn to see a small horse of some sort with a pale green coat. Then it turns quickly on its own back without my control to the voices at the front of the cave. A viewer, but not a participant.

“Let them go Chrysalis, this is between us.” A feminine voice states with authority. I shiver, the surrealness of this entire scenario making me feel trapped with the flow in a lucid dream. What is going on?

Chrysalis only laughs in her strange voice. “Oh no Miss Sparkle. You see, keeping them here keeps you there. Truly marvelous isn’t it? Your pathetic weak little morality! I could have any creature from your little school and it’d be the same. Isn’t that right?”

Sparkle seemed silent at that, only prompting another laugh from Chrysalis. I’d laugh at their silly names if I wasn’t so terrified, or if I could even move.

“Please Chrysalis, we can work this out. I know what it’s like to be betrayed, to lose all you’ve worked for. Your children may have changed, but it is you who abandoned them when they needed you most!” Another female voice called out, another blur of violet and purple.

“You cannot imagine the pain I have endured, but you will ...oh you will know what it feels like...To have your, your everything taken away from you!” The creature makes a weird slurping noise that makes my stomach turn. “Your affection is delicious." She snarls with menace. "Go on… tell them how much you love them. This one last time, a small mercy I never had.”

I hear a scuffle of movement, some sort of metallic clashing is followed by a loud thump as the green blur is thrown into a wall. “You dare attack me!?” I hear a shrill squeal of some sort of child.

“No please! Please don’t hurt her!”

The nasally voice calls out, only to be followed by a sickeningly wet pop as something bloody lands in front of me. My eyes linger over it for only a moment. It’s a leg, insectile and littered with holes, splattering green blood on my face as my dream body acts in sync with me to scream in horror as the world turns white.

I wake up screaming, my whole body shivering and bed soaked with sweat. I pant desperately for breath for several moments. The sight of that… thing fresh on my mind. It wasn’t even a human leg so why did it scare me so much? “Stupid Dream, just a nightmare” I grumble to myself partially out of irritation, partly out of self reassurance as I try to steady my shaking body.

Perhaps a little explanation should help. My name’s Artemis Fletcher. No, it’s not a girl’s name. Still I usually go by Arty instead. My father works in the military. Frequent moves have always been part of life with changing deployments. As much fun as it is moving around, changing schools on senior year was most certainly the funnest of them all.

(That was sarcasm)

I let out a moan, then crawl out of bed. Time to make a good first impression ...again. Checklist go! Teeth, clothes—make sure they match—nothing that states any opinions or says anything notable just to play it safe. No impression is better than a bad one. Same short lanky frame? Check. Small breakfast to avoid the nervousness nausea and ... good! Wait, short spiky brown hair needs a little comb-over. Then glasses over my blue-green eyes annnnnnddd...Perfect!

Now for walking a mile to school, or well, more of a jog at this point I reckon. I glance at the clock and very nearly do a spit-take with my cereal. “Shiii--” I grab my backpack and am halfway out the door before I can even finish my curse, slamming the door just a bit harder than necessary as I begin running down the old road. At least in the city we didn’t need a car to get everywhere. Being late to class would definitely attract attention.

Fear of social awkwardness is certainly the best of motivators.

I’m certainly not the most athletic of youth, but I figure I can easily pace a mile in 10 minutes even with the several dumbbells worth of books I’m carrying (only most of them required). I pick up a little jog wanting to be on the safe side. The chill of the morning air is rather nice in early September, at least for running anyways.

I pick up the pace a little just as I encounter a small teensy weensy problem...You see, this place is ancient which means that they aren’t as pristine as what I’m used to. Out here running on the dirt and gravel covered landscape creates a problem that quite literally hits me in the face. My vision fills with white spots as the impact reverberates from the side of my head like a crash of cymbals as I smack into the concrete head first.

I cough a little of the cursed dirt from my lungs before getting up, much more than one curse at the forefront of my mind. “Please don’t be, please don’t be…” I reach up to touch the wound. Blood. “D’arvit!” I curse in...Faerie I think that was. Weren’t they making a movie of---Stop! Focus! Analyze the situation. It’s not to bad, Panic distorts, no one is going to give it a second look out here. Pick up speed, there’s the school and--

BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNNNGGG!!!!

God I hate Mondays.

Five minutes and one wrong turn later I have gotten cleaned up and with a deep breath I open the door as slowly as possible. Maybe I can just sneak in. My eyes meet the teacher’s like a deer caught in the headlights. “Are you Artemis Fletcher?” She states agonizingly sweet as every student in class turns to look. Well, almost everyone. A few are texting on the back row—it is a high school class after all.

I clear the sudden tightness in my throat. “Arty” I correct, my gaze searching the classroom desperately for a close seat that I immediately dash to as if the music just stopped in musical chairs.

Taking a few moments to catch my breath I take a moment to get a better look at the classroom. It, like the building itself seems to have been constructed sometime after the Mayflower arriving in America, but before the space race. Instead of a digital projector we still have those old school light projectors, the ones with the transparent plastic sheets and such, but at the front is a whiteboard at least. The chairs are wooden and there is an old-timey tube TV in the corner on a black rack.

“Psssst! Hey! New guy!”

I turn to the side and see a face full of freckles and black hair with purple streaks cut around the chin. “I’m Angela, captain of the Track and cross-country team...not that there was much competition buuuut--You look like you run ...enough. Though you look like you need help not hitting the ground.”

I quite frankly don’t know whether I was just insulted or not so I take the safe option. “A little, I take it you’re quite the athlete?” I return rather lamely still trying to get my binder out for class before she goes off again as I inch myself a little further from her vocal onslaught.

Of course she is completely oblivious to my discomfort as she carries on. “We just reeeaaallly need another guy so we can compete with other schools properly, all of the boys here just want to go horse riding or some shit. So whaddya say?”

I just stare a little dumbfounded. Taking obligations so quickly could cause trouble, but saying no might offend her and I’m certain I couldn’t outrun her given this morning’s performance. ‘Saying yes might mean a jealous boyfriend.’ a small voice whispers in my head that it wouldn’t be a boyfriend but I dismiss it....Oh crap, she’s staring. Say something idiot! “I uh...give me a week? I still need to work out my, uh, schedule?” Shoot, did I finish my excuse as a question?

She visibly deflates at my statement as I realize just how far she’s leaned out of her seat. “Agreed, but don’t be late!” she says.

“Wait what?” Right as I fall out of my seat falling with a clatter of papers hitting the floor..

“Artemis?” the teacher calls.

Dammit...she distracted me. “Y-yes?” I stammer timidly pulling myself back into my seat.

“Now I know you’re new here and all, but please keep chatter and distractions down. That goes for all of you. We have a busy semester if you want to pass your exams and I intend to make sure all of you pass no matter what it takes.”

“Of course” I reply feeling the sweat drip down my back as I wither under her gaze. The first day is just so annoyingly intense, but now the anxiety was everywhere. Though I’m certainly not the biggest fan of english, I do love reading. The count of Monte Cristo certainly doesn’t seem half bad either, if a bit aged.

Next class is math, calculus to be exact. I take a deep breath, “Normal people don’t like math...normal people don’t like math.” I repeat as bit of a mantra to quell my nerdom. I enter class, thankfully not late this time. I pick a seat near the middle edge. Close enough to answer a question without the whole class turning back to look, but not in the front enough to be stared at the whole time. Brilliant! I smile a little to myself. What could possibly go wrong?

One period later….

I exit the classroom quickly as the bells rings. Why wouldn’t anyone else answer!? The whole experience going through my mind. The class was small as most advanced classes were here, but the way the teacher looked at me every time she asked a question was nerve wracking. How was I to know the first few were rhetorical!? She didn’t even waste a moment on the syllabus. Just handed it out, not hesitating to start the first lesson. I bury my face in my hands as I leave the class, purposely avoiding eye contact and moaning out my frustration as I hurry to the lunch line. “This is why you never say that phrase. Never say it!”

The cafeteria is decently sized at least, the smell of food reminding me that I hadn’t eaten a decent meal yet today. Country Fried steak and potatoes were always a safe choice, I thought, looking over my choice. I grab a tray, then make my way to a corner table. Need to see their library later too. Hopefully it has a good fantasy selection.

Just as I’m getting into my meal, my eyes catch a bigger guy who I’m pretty sure was in my last class. I try not to stare as he makes his way over to my table and sits down across from me, right behind him is another one of his buddies. I give a nervous forced smile while he looks at me curiously. All the while I try to keep eating inconspicuously, but my steak is a little firm causing the styrofoam tray to squeak.

I finally decide to break the tension. “Uh...Hi?” He takes another bite. My mind racing, him and his buddies probably just wanted to sit somewhere, and I might be in their spot? I think to myself before I’m interrupted.

“I’m Ethan, my friend here is Mike. I’m part of the Peer Leaders group and we just thought we could come and say hi.”

He certainly had a charisma about him, the type that every popular person seems to exude. I respond “Arty” briefly in return. His friend certainly seemed a bit of a shy one in contrast. Ethan appeared to have a thicker build, darker tone and a faint curl in his black hair, the kind of guy that you’d expect to see with a surfboard and a toga, while Mike seemed ...spanish? and a little dwarfed by his friends massive stature.

“So, being new here and all, what’re you interested in? We have a few organizations around here. Nothing too big but it’d definitely help you make more friends than I’m already sure you already have.”

I laughed inwardly, He’s quite a glass half full guy ain’t he? Yet even with my cynicism it was hard not to like how genuine he sounded. “I do a lot of reading, and this hyper gal in my english class seems to have already signed me up for track...”

He nods with a smile “Yep, that’s probably Angela. She’s...a bit competitive you could say. We don’t have a book club or anything, but our library is in room 101.” He finishes before extending his hand in a friendly shake. I oblige him and his friend follows suit only for us both to give a small yelp as we shock each other.

“Sorry!” I quickly reply as we both give our hands a little shake to disperse the feeling he just nods and gives a small smile.

“It’s alright,” he says, clearly thinking nothing of it as anything as he and his friend head off.

Wow I’m on such a roll today. I inwardly cringe. With two more periods to go I head off to history, some minor breathing exercises helps as I enter the room sitting in the back for once. It takes a few moments for the rest of the students to shuffle in, I get out my things as roll is called looking at the rest of the class before noticing one of the students staring at me with an awestruck expression. Their lithe frame looks rather…sickly to put it nicely, his skin unnaturally pale. He’s wearing glasses that match his dark brown hair and overall seems fairly androgynous is not blatantly feminine with his clothing and appearance. He shakes his head and turns back to the lesson.

My head suddenly starts feeling a little dizzy. I pull away shaking my head in an attempt to clear a sudden ringing noise. I turn around and pay attention; watching the lesson not wanting to get in trouble again.

“This class is divided into various sections, tardiness makes my job difficult. I encourage discussion in my class so long as it pertains to the current topic. History is not something just to learn, but to experience and understand. Questions are encouraged. If you’re unsure, just ask. There are no dumb questions, only dumb…” he doesn’t finish but the meaning but gestures vaguely towards the class who break out in chuckles.

I try to laugh along with them, but this odd wave of fatigue keeps growing, I can practically feel my body tire as my head starts to sag, I shake my head trying to focus. “I will not apologize for ruining your childhoods, but a lot of what you’ve learned growing up was censored or outright lies. Columbus never set foot in North America and was a mass murderer. The Pilgrims elicited food from the Natives at gunpoint, and Pocahontas was abducted and she died of smallpox a few years later....” He drones on, but the class sounds nice. The fatigue grows quickly my head feeling more and more like a bowling ball and I can’t stop it from hitting the desk. The world starts to blur as I start to fall asleep. Wait...what is that pink stream…? I pass out.

I’m in a white room, a steady beeping coming from my right. I look upwards, my father, a few years younger is sitting in a chair next to me. His eyes are extremely red and he looks like he hasn’t slept in days. “Ar-artemis? You okay?” I nod. “My belly...hurts.” A much younger voice replies. “Everything is going to be okay, Arty.” Viewing this memory from an older perspective I can hear that he is saying it as much to reassure me as himself.

“Where’s...where’s mom?” My voice rasps, my chest hurting from the effort. “Mommy’s….mommy’s sick Arty. She’s...going away for a while.” I look at him, my eyes growing teary. If I remembered right I had cut myself on one of the knives in the kitchen and ended up in the hospital. My father moves in close hugging me gently stifling my rush of tears as I hug him back remembering how scared I had been. I bury my head in his shoulder wiping away some of my snot on his sleeve, but he doesn’t bat an eye. Just holds me close. I think I hear voices from the hallway, but they don’t matter right now…

“I’m telling you that isn’t him! That’s not my kid! My baby doesn’t like carrots and learned how to walk last year! This isn’t him, Please--Let GO of me!” That’s...That is...well was my mother…

My father sees my concerns and only hugs me closer. My chest burns from the movement but I hug him back as if my life depended on it.

BBBRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG!

I jump out of my seat practically falling over as I look around at everyone packing up for their next class. The class was over, and I’d slept through the entire lecture. I rub my eyes blearily, feeling very much not well rested if my racing heart and cold sweat was anything to go off of. If anything I felt like I’d run a marathon. I stumble to my feet heading to the door, nearly tripping over my own feet before catching myself on the desk. By then most of the class had already left.

I slowly grab my pack slinging it over my shoulders and lumber towards my last class. I don’t recall ever feeling this tired before. I stretch a little as I walk, already feeling the need to sleep again. I remind myself that teenagers need more sleep than other ages, but our schools start earlier and earlier out of our natural rhythms, perhaps that's an explanation?

AP Chemistry, certainly an interesting class, even if it was just for the college credit. I enter the door and look across the class eyeing my classmates...all 6 of them. I look to the teacher but he appears busy writing the usual blandness on the whiteboard so I take a seat with the others.

“All but one of us seems to be here...hopefully others will transfer in but if not we just have more time to get to know each other! Now, to get started turn to page 50 of your textbooks, the first few weeks will be boring theory work but I promise this will get a lot more exciting. Sure hope our missing student doesn’t miss anymore class because one of you will need them as a lab partner.”

I yawn, not that the class was boring but because it was hard to focus on anything when you feel like falling asleep on the spot. Just one more period…

Class doesn’t take too long, though I may or may not have dozed off a little which in itself is a challenge when there are so few students to hide among. The walk home doesn't take that long though, thankfully.

In our driveway is a car I don’t really recognize, I never bothered to study them much but it was a fancy red and looked pretty modern. That could only mean one thing. I slowly enter the house my aunt Lindsey and her latest boyfriend are on the couch watching Captain Marvel.

I have a bit of a different family dynamic. My father works in the military and is gone most days except occasional weekends. With his latest change being the reason for our move. My mother left when I was little, she had some mental health problems that she had to sort out. It’s more of an unofficial divorce as I haven’t seen her since I was nine. Her sister, my aunt lives with us because she got a job out here as a programmer for various corporations.

She was more or less my sitter while my father worked and we got along pretty well. Her boyfriends though...she went through one every few months, breakup, then get back with another guy that was the same with a new coat of paint so to speak.

“How was school?”

“It was kinda meh.” I check the fridge as we talk.

“I’ll get pizza later, your sister is at singing lessons and I’ll pick some up on the way home.”

I nod and head up to my bedroom feeling a headache spinning up, her boyfriend’s eyes follow me up with a friendly smile. They usually seem like nice guys, but maybe she’s got a bit of a dependence issue from how they tend to end up abusive and needy near the ends.

I barely make it to my bed before I collapse on it, an old spring mattress never having felt so comfortable. Sleep comes almost instantly and I settle into a dreamless sleep.

“Arty! You going to grab some dinner?”

I grumble incoherently as I stir from slumber, almost feeling just as tired as when I’d lain down the first time. The promise and smell of pizza though is certainly enough to get me to roll sloppily out of bed. I hurry down the old wooden stairs hoping there will still be some left.

I’m greeted to the sight of my little sister grumbling about something while pulling the pepperoni off her slice. My father is present, though that’s not often the case. He spends a lot of his time at the military base nearby. Usually he’s only here on the weekends, he must’ve gotten some time off with the move.

“Lindsey! I don’t want pepperoni! Do you have any idea what they do to those animals? It’s cruel and inhumane!”

“Amanda, this is what we have.” She tries to state in the most placating way she can, though with a bit of irritation. It seems like her boyfriend has gone home already. “If you don’t like what we have you don’t have to eat it, but don’t expect us all to do the same.”

I roll my eyes at her antics. For her it’s always something from the latest television show or the latest internet trend.

“Amanda...not eating meat isn’t going to stop them from being killed. It’s already dead, if you want change like that you have to work for the FDA or be a politician.”

“I don’t care! It’s not right!”

Choosing not to encourage her insanity any further I just purposely grab the biggest slice I can and take the biggest bite I can fit. I can practically see her ears steam as she picks up her de-meated slice and runs to her room.

“Artemis...that really wasn’t necessary.” My father chides while Lindsey texts on her phone. “Arguing with her will only make her more stubborn, you just have to let things play out.”

I sigh, it’s not that I wanted to make her upset, well, maybe a little. Getting caught up in the moment I guess. We’ve always been polar opposites for as long as we’ve lived. I was the book study introvert, she was the outgoing socialite. She was a performer who lived for the stage while I had social anxiety and stage fright. She also had friends no matter how many times we moved, while I just didn’t need them.

I finish the rest of my meal in relative silence, it wasn’t that I was depressed I just had better things to do than making new friends every two to four years. An occasional internet chat just doesn’t maintain the relationships we made in person. On that gloomy thought I head upstairs and head to bed and after messing with my phone for a bit I eventually fall into a dreamless slumber.

Author's Notes:

First off, thanks for taking the time to view my story!
"Chrysalis was put into stone yadda yadda comments"
Can't spill much about that escapade until later chapters...but you'll have an answer later on. I will tell you this is some time after the end of the finale, beyond that you'll have to wait.

If you liked it, or hated it I want to hear about it in the comments!
As another author once stated "Comments are a writers food pellets" or something like that.

Special thanks to "Horse Girls are Watching" for doing a review.

2. Changes and Curses

A lone figure heads down the road of the all too familiar town, the darkness of the hour a fear for others, makes them feel all the more at home. Prey know to fear the home of predators. The thought brings a faint smile to his lips, the kind of smile that makes children cross to the other side of the road. It’s short lived though as they remember the cause of the encounter. Two in the same place could be an accident...but this many had a reason. Greed or heart, either one needed...rectifying.

He watches the rogue from a distance, the town just on the edge of a forest. The buildings too far apart to keep the height advantage, but a simple drone is nothing against a soldier. They drop down from their hiding place to trail their target, keeping close as they creep around the corner.

“Drone.” They instruct, no need to dignify them with a name. The figure halts in their tracks. Slowly turning to face the advancing soldier. The solder's trained eye catching a flicker of light in their grasp. “You had one simple job. Keep them apart and here you are now...on my turf of all places.”

“I...frankly thought this was public property,” they quip. Is that...a smile I see on the defects face? That alone removes any doubt that this one is broken, perhaps even infected with that filthy virus of friendship. The mere thought of the word making him want to gag at what it had done to their race.

“Get it out of here.” The soldier turns, heading back the way he came, sick or the imbeciles he had to work with…

“No.”

“That wasn’t a request drone.” He clenches his fists, a rather disgusting human habit he’d picked up. He’d tried to be a good commander, being as merciful and effective as he could be, yet disloyalty could not be tolerated.

“I’m going home.”

“The portal is sealed, you know that. None of us could get through it or even open it if we wanted to. To speak of even trying is treason.” The warrior stalks closer, shifting his hand into the comforting form of a blade.

“I’m going to open it, back to a world of magic and actual food not the table scraps from this hell of humankind.”

“Then you leave me no choice, By order of the Queen I declare you defective, submit yourself for termination.” The drone takes a step back, having none of it. The warrior rolled his eyes, one of the perks of a human form that he’d begrudgingly admit. Before striking forward and stabbing for the traitor’s chest before hissing as their arm hits something solid wincing as they retreat back. The drone moving out a thick blade of iron wielded with thick black gloves.

The warrior winces back screeching eyeing the burning along their leg. “A filthy human toy.” They hiss, before diving forward and slicing at the drones forearm, causing the fool to drop their pitiful weapon. With a blade so thick and dull how could they ever cut anything with it? They follow-up the cut with a kick to the chest sending the fool to the ground.

“What did you honestly think you’d accomplish with this? Even if by some twist of fate you won this fight, what then? I’d be replaced, you’d be eliminated and everything would go back to the way it w--”

BANG!

A splatter of green erupts on the soldier's chest, their mouth gaping as they stumble backwards. Their form shrinking, retracting like shrink-wrap under heat to resume their true form, one hoof clutching to the wound.

“I’m going home, brother. To a world better than this, I only wish you could’ve joined me.”

Another crack splits the night as the alien creature collapses, to move no more. The drone tosses the gun aside, along with the gloves. “I’ll get there, for both of us.” They close the soldier's eyes, before covering the body in gasoline and igniting it. “May the hivemother bring you peace.” They turn around and run, leaving the remains to crack and splinter within the flames.

I wake slowly, then the alarm goes off followed by several incomprehensible grumbles as I fumble for my phone, but grab something metallic instead. I open my eyes blearily and see some sort of necklace with a purple stone on a gold chain. Lapis? No amethyst...I think. Just looking at it, the jewel seems to swirl into itself with a spiraling inner design. Why would Lindsay leave her jewelry in my room? Better yet, what was she doing in my room?!

I take a look at the clock and roll my eyes quickly getting ready for school. I set the necklace on her dresser and grab some toast. The house is abandoned by this point, my dad and aunt off at work and Amanda already dropped off at school. I take a bite of the toast and head to school for an early start.

The morning has the chill of fall, yet feels dry as sandpaper. I get to class in good time before the bell. Gym, unfortunately. I visit the library and check out an interesting novel before the bell rings, stashing my things and heading off to the dreaded class.

I enter the changing room, the smell of male musk thick in the air. Unwashed gym shorts and sweaty armpits galore. I take a small breath as I enter the room trying to evade looking at the others, a new place like this I could hopefully last more than a week before the rumors start. Forget what would happen if my father ever caught wind of it.

As I jog outside I feel something metal bounce against my chest. Moving to the side of the crowd I reach a hand around my neck feeling a familiar thin chain. The stone no bigger than my thumb is honest to god glowing and burning rather uncomfortably.

“Hey! Get over here whatever your name is!”

I quickly let it go and move in line with the others, unfortunately I spot the hyper girl from yesterday in the other row. More importantly, how the hell did this thing get around my neck? Did I not put it onto the desk? If I’m being honest it wouldn’t be the first time I’d failed to do something I thought I did in a daze.

The group takes off running laps, round and round the torn up soccer lawn. I hang back thinking I can maybe dodge her, or at the very least convince her I’m not a runner.

“Hi again!”

Goddamn it, she’s lapped me already, but it’d be rude to change my pace now. I jog along just giving her a polite wave and slow down a bit more so I have the air to breathe properly. “Hi….Abig--” I manage to get out trying not to be rude. I could’ve sworn I was in way better shape, yet my legs are burning and my back is killing me. “I swear I’m usually better than this.”

“It’s Angela, but sure.”

I try to hide my embarrassment in a chuckle, but it turns into a groan as I double over from a charlie horse that would make a charlie horse whimper. I collapse on the field as much in emotional as in physical pain. My ankle and calves seem to be ripping apart, it only takes a few moments but Angela is staring at me the pain disappearing almost as soon as it started.

“Damn that hurt...never had a charlie horse like that.” Several of the other students pass us, not giving us more than a passing glance. Those that don’t cat-call us anyways. “We should get going, got a lot of laps to catch up on.” Angela just stares, I track her eyes and see she’s staring at the amulet that had slipped out of my shirt during my little episode.

“Where did you get that?”

I follow her gaze and see it lingering on the necklace that had slipped out of my shirt when I doubled over. “It’s uh...from my mom. She got really sick when I was younger.” The pinnacle of honesty, I was not. I quickly tuck it back into my shirt then get up moving to jog again but am stopped by her hand on my chest. I look up to see that she has a similar pendant in her grip, but instead of purple, hers is red.

She raises an eyebrow. “Sure you didn’t find it this morning?”

“How did you--?”

“Because I found this one this morning, but I tur--”

“I don’t see any running!”

The coach, teacher? Comes around the corner jogging toward us and we both start moving hurrying to get back to running. Yet he just speeds up and starts jogging right beside us. “We’ll talk at lunch, don’t you dare try to hide!” I can do little more than nod, out of breath at trying to match the coach’s pace, and then she just rockets off like our pace was nothing. How did I get so out of shape?

The class passes slowly, but eventually I finish the laps. Angela keeps giving me worried glances when I pass by her. I eventually just wave for her to go change, the amulet around my neck seeming to get heavier and heavier. I don’t even complete my laps by the end of period and have to rush to my next class pleading to all the gods I don’t believe in that I might make it before the bell. Always have time to get answers to our questions later. Track meets after school don’t they? I could wait a few hours to find out what some girl knows about this petty jewelry.

I barely make it to the next class before the bell. Nursing! One of the classes I was actually quite looking forward to, well at least a little. Unfortunately at the entry levels I know I’m likely going to be stuck cleaning bedpans and other such muck, but progress! I smile a little to myself as I sit down and ready myself for the lesson.

Roll call is taken, then our instructor crawls forward into a lengthy discussion of the syllabus while handing out textbooks. As the teacher drawls on about the minutiae of what constitutes various grades I’m already flipping through the textbook to look for something that’s quite clearly a better use of my time.

I flip through the pages a few times but I’m quickly reminded of the amulet hanging around my neck that has started feeling a bit tingly again. I move to take off the thing but wince back in surprise. It’s warmer than I was expecting, not only that but it seems to be getting warmer. Was this thing radioactive? I quickly dismiss the idea, no idiot in their right mind would do make radioactive jewelry. I quickly take it off and stash it in my backpack.

The class passes by, the teacher not seeming to have that much passion for the subject. Just sitting back in their chair and clicking away at their powerpoint certainly doesn’t do much to help my expectations of class, yet the calm pace works wonders on my nerves after the embarrassment of gym class. Though my muscles certainly seem to be protesting my lack of proper stretching.

The class, despite its rather uninformative content eventually concludes. I’ll admit I was a rather...bad lesson? We had just read from the textbook the entire time. Does that make me a bad student? No, but it might’ve been a bit disrespectful in retrospect. Yet if the teacher wasn’t expecting or even seeming to desire our attention, was it really disrespectful? I shake my head to clear my thoughts, I could get stuck in such loops for ages on the silliest things.

As I pack up my things and head to lunch I feel the metal of the amulet around my neck once more. This time I know for a fact that I hadn’t put it back on, but honestly, what could I do? I enter the cafeteria, my entire body definitely reminding me that straining exercise from Gym doesn’t combine well with sitting in a class for around an hour.

I grab my food and a tray, starting to move for an empty seat. I let out a yelp as my leg suddenly tightens in an all too familiar pain. It gives out as I fall forward, my tray launching forward in a mass of potatoes and gravy as I crash to the floor with the rest of my food, my eyes looking upward to see two individuals splattered with its contents. I groan with emotional and physical distress wishing I could melt into the floor when my chest tightens suddenly and I can’t get enough air.

My chest heaves as I gape breathlessly, seeing spots. I see a few concerned glances, at least one camera goes off scarring my vision like a flashbang. Everyone’s voices grow distant, its seems to suddenly be a million degrees, then suddenly I’m not there anymore.

I’m back in the cave. The insectile leg, tossed ahead of me still twitching. My scream concludes with the others around me, for several agonizingly long moments there is a scuffle just out of view. I yank several times at the sticky goo encasing my legs. Eventually, a giant beetle? No...it only has 4 legs? Some sort of dog insect? “Changelings” My mouth whispers, terror deeply infused in my tone. Memories not my own spring to the front of my mind. Tails and stories told late at night, of the old Queen locked away in stone. I needed to get out, I needed to escape!

I needed to run. I get to my hooves, they seem quite different from what they should be, yet I have no time to figure out why. I instinctively shift to stand on my rear legs and take off finding myself take on an unfamiliar rhythm with ease. Everything hurts, it's all too bright. So many strange creatures that look...like me? I screech my voice so scathingly unfamiliar. I look around seeing only more of the strange buildings but...the forest! If I could just get there I could find Zecora! She would know how to fix things! Not having any better option I dive into the forest.

I don’t know how long I’ve been running, but I’m surrounded on all sides. This...this isn’t the everfree, but where was it? Wait...what the hell is the everfree? I snap out of my daze, what had I been running from? Talk about an anxiety attack, I try to get to my feet then wince. My back hurting something fierce. I try to reach for my phone but it keeps slipping, I get an awkward sensation as my fingers brush against its smooth surface.

I glance down and let out a very unmanly yell. I stare blankly at the empty space where my hand should be. Below my elbows is covered in a light blue fur , the tip seeming to have solidified into a colorful keratin mass. Looking downward I see my mouth has elongated slightly and is still growing outward. My scalp tingles as dark blue hair with an odd pink accent drifts forward into my vision.

I start to scream again, but my throat latches itself closed as the changes spread down my neck while burning as if I’d just swallowed ash. My muscles twitch and spasm as I fall to the ground unable to do more than yell as my body contorts and shifts in agony. My muscles shift beneath my fur like snakes slithering under my skin. My bones cracking as they compress or lengthen causing my body to stretch horrifically to adapt in ways I am certain aren’t physically possible. When my innards start to shift and swirl I just can’t take it anymore and black out as the changes continue spreading inch by merciless inch across my grotesque frame.

I don’t know how long its been when I re-awaken. I can’t even bring myself to move. The pain has faded leaving me in a stir of agony induced euphoria. It must’ve been a couple hours given by how the evening light shines through my eyelids. I hear something moving through the grass behind me and my ear twitches, flicking again at a strand of hair. I groan once more only to cough, my throat raw from all my screaming.

What the hell just happened?

My ear twitches again as I start to hear voices. Thank god someone must’ve heard my screaming. I try to roll onto my knees but the world spins as I right myself and I just fall right back over.

“I’m over here!”

I yell, or at least try to. My throat catches after just a few syllables as a voice passes my lips that is definitely not my own, nor does it resemble anything that could pass for English. A quick glance at my 'hands' quickly reminds me of the impossible I had just seen earlier. I’d been drugged, clearly, but by whom? I try to steady my uneven breathing, trying to stay calm. Yet knowing its an illusion doesn’t help as much as I wish it would. Plenty of vivid dreams come to mind on that as I try to cope with my terror through rationale. I just needed to get help, you can't trust yourself if you're hallucinating.

I inch forward, not trusting myself to walk in my current state. My knees aren't where they should be anymore, forcing me to rely on my hips and the stubs of my misplaced arms as I work towards where I had heard the voices. I try to yell a few times, knowing that they’d at least hear me even if it sounded distorted. Drugs could definitely do that to you. Heck, I could even smell them mixed with the scent of fuel exhaust more potent than I had ever smelled anything before. My ears now able to pick up the sound of an engine getting really close.

The sound keeps getting louder and louder as the smell gets exponentially stronger. I swear if they run me over...Yet just when I think they are right around the bend it just keeps getting louder and louder as if they were doing laps around my head. I give a yelp as I see a four-wheeler ATV roll over a bush at the edge of the clearing. Since when did they sell such a massive version? I weakly flop one of my arms at them as they turn the monster off. One of the riders seems to be about my age with brown hair and matching eyes with a toned build, while the other is a bit of an aged man looking much the same but with blue eyes. I’d guess them to be in their 50s. A spike of panic jolts through my system as I see they both have rifles and hunting equipment. Why the hell did I run into the forest!?

“The hell is this Pa?”

“I ain’t got a fuckin’ clue, looks like a miniature horse with a dye-job.”

Horse? Dyejob? How could they know what I was hallucinat--Oh...Oh no. Oh hell no! My eyes widen with horror as I look down at my arms again seeing the mud smeared fur.

“You think some blockhead did some illegal hunting?”

“Nah, not enough blood. Poor thing was probably tortured by some kids, look at those clothes it's got on it.”

When did he get so close? I try to inch away a bit further, but my hind legs just refuse to work properly. Instead I feel a disturbing sensation as the feedback for sensation only vaguely comes from my hand as I brush up against a tree. I see “Pa” unfurling a length of rope and start tying a knot. It takes only a moment for me to put two and two together and I redouble my efforts to get away. I can’t get captured like this!

“Whoa now Bessy, I ain’t gonna hurt’cha.”

My eye twitches as he starts making clicking noises as he starts to spin up his rope. Like hell am I going to listen to him! I try to scramble away once more but my now oversized shirt quickly trips me up and I feel the rough texture of sinew slide over my neck and it gets pulled tight yanking me back as I see it tied to the ATV. Stupid stupid! I’d never been to a rodeo before, but now I was about to get a very personal experience with hogtying!

I bite at the rope trying to loosen it but it’s a futile effort. Pa rushes at me grabbing two of my legs before dropping me back onto the ground knocking the wind out of me and making me see stars as some sort of stick jabs at my head. I barely even register as he loops the rope around my legs tying them up in just a few moments as I lay there gaping for air once more.

“Nice one Pa! What’s that thing on its head?”

Pa circles around and I do my best to keep watch. What does he mean what’s on my head? He keeps a good distance out of biting range, clearly experienced as he stares at something above my head.

“Damn kids must’ve glued on a cone.”

It’s at this point that I realize I should probably start talking before one of them gets a muzzle.

“H-hey! Stop! There’s been a mistake!”

They both stare at me for a moment before they start dragging me towards the ATV, not giving any indication that they’d heard me.

“Please! I-I’ll pay whatever ransom! I’m a human!

“Sure does sound weird for a horse, don’t you think?” The kid asks.

“Lil’ Bessy here probably is just worn out. Sure was walking funny. We’ll take them to the vet in the morning, will call animal control tonight. Would be a shame if they had to put her down though. Kids these days, no respect for wildlife.”

“Looks like there is some stuff over there, cops might want to see it.”

Moments later I see the remains of my torn clothes and backpack brought over, tossing it on the back of the ATV. Then the son returns back then carefully position themselves on either side of me.

Buck buck buck buck! I curse as they work together to pin my head down another length of rope crudely being wrapped around my mouth, ignoring all of my frantic pleas as I’m silenced then plopped onto the front of the ATV and tied down on a bag that absolutely reeks of death and even has several bloodstains on the inside. I’m sorry I made fun of my sister! I’ll never eat meat again! My thoughts growing increasingly incoherent in panic as the ATV starts up again and heads back down the trail.

I wince as the ATV goes over yet another rock slamming my head against the metal grill on the front my spine twitching in frustration as I’m reminded of the newest addition to my skeleton, not sure what the spike...no Who am I kidding?! I’m a bucking unicorn! A tiny little unicorn just over two feet tall! My heart pounds in my chest and I’ve got a headache like no other that keeps erupting when my horn bangs against the damn vehicle.

I twist my head over the next bump taking a hit in the mouth? No muzzle rather than having another horn pounding. We finally seem to have cleared the forest. “Pa” just grabs me around the waist like a dog and holy crap is that a long fall! I stare down at just how much higher a few feet seems like now, my limbs locking up at the thought of just being dropped from three times my height while tied up. Oblivious to my plight they just get into the passenger’s side of the car.

“Park the ATV and drive, I’ll be sure to handle our lil’ unicorn till we get them into a stall at home.”

His son just nods, obviously quite disappointed about his hunting trip and I hear the rev of the engine as he goes up the ramp and onto the truck. Moments later we’re on our way down the road. Even though Pa is keeping a painfully tight hold on my horn I twist my head slightly to look at the sunset. Had they even noticed I was gone yet? How long would it take for the cops to start looking? Then to stop looking? I quiver at the thought as I’m held a little tighter, rolling my eyes at the irritating noises Pa keeps making.

“I’m not a dumb bucking horse!”

I yell at him, but he doesn’t understand a word of it and only smiles and--errrgh--pets me some more. The ropes around my legs and muzzle have formed abrasions across my sensitive skin making the whole ordeal somehow more miserable.

“It’s okay girl, it’s alright.”

I huff in exasperation, then blink. Did he just…? I try to look downward but his firm grip on my horn makes that a non-option. Come to think of it my voice does seem higher and there seems to be something between my--Nope! Not gonna go there. To my surprise I find my eyes watering as the reality of my situation starts hitting home. The adrenaline and panic fading away just for dread to start twisting in my gut starts to make itself known. The same kind of feeling I get after I would get caught staring at a guy from across the room and realizing they’d known what that stare was.

I grit my misformed teeth in a sob mixed laugh. Least my dad would never know now! Damnit why does his petting have to feel so good! My tears soaking into the fur below my eyes, of all the problems I have right now the fact that this one gets me to tears is beyond it all.

“Son...I don’t think this is a normal horse”

“Oh, you’re just getting that dad?” His son mocks from the driver’s seat. “Looks a lot more like some sort of freak from a cartoon, just look at those eyes! Wait...is it? Crying?

I feel my ears flatten at “freak”, yeah, tell me something I don’t know kid. I notice him looking at me and quickly turn my head, no sense in letting them find the human trying to hide in this little horse.

“You think they’re doing experiments up at the military base?”

“Hell if I know, but I wouldn’t put it past them, in either case we shouldn’t have them for very long. I’ll call the vet tonight instead. That face is more expressive than any critter I’ve ever seen. Kind of gives me the creeps to be honest.”

The car pulls up and they both get out. There is a fairly modern looking country two-story house that seems to have a modern take on a log house. The property itself seems to be several acres, their fences extending well beyond view in every direction. A barn larger than the house is behind it. The whole place reeks of manure and soiled hay.

Once again I’m hefted like a toy by Pa and dragged off towards the barn. Should I escape? What would I even do if I did? No one can understand me, I look more like an alien than anything on earth. What would I honestly do? So, I just wait.

The barn smells even worse on the inside and is dusty as can be with dirt infused into every nook and cranny of the place. Thankfully he cleans out the cubicle? No, stall. So at least that’s something. Then I feel him grip the remains of my clothes and I just lose it. I yell and try to escape his grip. Please! Don’t let him take away my last shred of humanity! God, the idea of just being as naked as the other...as the horses just makes my skin crawl. I’m not one of them damnit! Unfortunately Pa seems to greatly misunderstand the situation.

“Poor gal, they sure did a number on you. Don’t worry, I’ll get those off for you.”

“You touch me and I’ll ram this horn were the sun don’t shine and buck you up a few octaves you son of a--”

“Oh you’re such a cutie, don’t worry it won’t hurt a bit.”

I very nearly break down again, it’s hopeless. Do I try to reveal that I’m at least intelligent? Surely they’ll notice at some point. I give a whimper as I hear the snip of some sheers as the remains of my clothing are cut off, feeling the ground push directly on my skin feeling filthier already. They grab my horn again seeming to look over it before sighing then carefully start untying the ropes around my legs retreating quickly as soon as they’re loosened.

I just lay there, thankfully Pa seems to leave moments later clicking the door shut behind him. The compartment seems huge compared to my small size. The walls towering over me several times over. I inch myself over to the corner, feeling the reassuring wall against my back and just let it all out.

My tears have long since dried up when I hear the barn door open. I never did get the kid’s name, but he steps up to the gate of my stall and stares down at me for several moments. I just stay huddled in the corner until I see a flash and hear a click then look up to see him holding his phone.

“Sorry gal, wanted a pic. Dropping you off at the vet, okay? Don’t uh...gore me with that spike of yours, alright?”

I nod, but he wasn’t waiting for my reply, obviously, being an animal and all. He’s carrying a small cage, judging from the feathers and their excrement is from their chickens. I retch and gag at the smell as my nostrils fill with it at a strength I feel should definitely give me a headache, but doesn’t. Thankfully he seems to notice, chuckling.

“Probably should clean it out first, shouldn’t I?”

I’m given a few more moments as I hear the water running and some scrubbing. The sun has just slipped past the horizon. Yet I still seem to be able to see alright, and speaking of sight it is truly weird to have such a wide range of view.

“You know, you’re definitely not a horse.”

He’s at the gate again with a clean cage that now makes my eyes water from cleaner. He gets in and opens it, arms spread wide as if trying to spook me into its direction. Instead I just sit there and scowl not moving batting away his foot as he tries to push me over.

“I’m not moving.”

He pauses, staring at me for several moments. He seems to be texting on his phone. While he’s distracted I examine the cage, then look at my...hands. It is a simple latch flip, not that I could reach it with these things, but...I look upward trying to spot the horn that had sprouted from my head. I could certainly flip the latch with this...thing. With that idea in mind I just crawl into the cage trying not to breathe through my nose too much.

The guy just stares at me, clearly confused, and I just scowl right back at him. He shrugs, picking up the cage making me wobble back and forth a little from the sway and off-centered balancing of the thing. My horn banging more than once painfully against the wire walls.

I’m set in the back of the truck along with...Oh YES! He tosses my backpack and the scraps of my clothing in next to me. Probably submitting it as evidence. Now I just need to escape!

The truck starts and the cage slides a bit across the floor but I quickly get to work. I slowly poke my horn between the wires trying to flick the latch. It’s quite harder than you’d expect. Not being able to really see where it is even from looking right up I can barely see the tip and my eyes quickly start to ache from the strain.

Several strenuous minutes pass. How far is the vet? I honestly don’t have a clue. Finally I manage to position my horn in the right spot then push forward. I quickly realize with a pit of dread that my horn is too thick to pass far enough through the bars to flip the latch. All my pushing manages to do is painfully pinch against the damn thing and I eventually yank it back out with a wince. I try pushing it, I try kicking it, hell I even tried to lick it open. My tongue definitely longer than it used to be but I can’t get a grip.

I’m pissed. Truly and fully enraged. I start to see houses pass knowing that I really am running out of time. Above it all I’ve got a huge headache, probably from bashing my head to hard against the latch. I start hyperventilating, my mind scrambling for more ideas. I glare at the latch, that tiny piece of metal wouldn’t have stopped me if I...if I hadn’t been turned into this!

I suddenly feel a strange set of muscles unclench above my forehead and I see a spark of light as a beam shoots forward from my horn and sears straight through the latch and burns a hole into the rear bed of the truck. My headache vanishes as if it was never there but now my body starts to tingle slowly intensifying like I’ve got pins and needles all over my body as if I’d just relieved a shiver with every inch of my body.

I look down at the lock, the metal still glowing from where the beam had struck it. I waste no time pushing the door open. I bite onto the strap of my backpack and fling it out the back where it rolls to a stop on the road, quickly followed by the rest of my stuff. I hop up, my arms hanging over the edge. I can figure out what the hell just happened later.

Now how do I jump without killing myself? I glance down the road, but there isn’t a stop sign up ahead. I take several deep breaths, my rear legs are near useless but before I can psych myself out of it I pull myself up and over using my mutated arms and over the side.

The wind is knocked out of me as I strike the ground. Despite being grass it still hurts like hell. I tumble head over heels, landing quite painfully against a mailbox post. For several moments I lay there catching my breath before I remind myself that I can’t be seen. I crawl forward gathering up my stuff, the tingling in my limbs keeps intensifying, surpassing the bruises and overextended injuries and all else.

I see a green-ish glow on my horn and it starts shrinking before disappearing entirely. My mouth and throat start changing as the glow works its way down, It hurts, but I’m turning back! I’m so relieved as I see my fingers start to re-emerge from the stump at the end of my arms. Nowhere near as painful as the first time in just a few minutes I’m back to my old regular self!

I let out a whoop of sheer elation, then quickly remember I’m kind of...in the nude at the moment. That is...except for the glowing pendant on my chest. I stare in shock at the small thing, even as its light dims to nothing. I rip it off and fling it into the grass, I’ve had enough of the damn thing.

I dress myself as best I can, putting on my gym clothes from my backpack. I’m still bruised, and my ankle feels sprained just as it was before but I hardly care. I hobble my way down the street, looking for familiar landmarks as I make my way home practically crying with joy.

Author's Notes:

Special Thanks for Ephemeral for editing advice!
As always comments good or bad are welcome.

3. Devices and Discussions

I was pissed. Scanning over the track one more time I still spotted no sign of the new kid. I look around to make sure I was alone, by now the small track group we have had finished their run. In the absence of a true coach we’d just been running on our own to keep in shape hoping that eventually we would have enough members to qualify as a team.

I reach under my shirt and bring out the pendant. It was a gold centered with a ruby, something I’m quite certain was pretty valuable. I’d found it this morning on the way to school, smeared with some thick green slime. My first thought had been to turn it into the police, but figured the school’s Lost and Found could get it to them. Imagine my surprise when around an hour later I felt it around my neck when I was running next to Arty.

I’d of course turned it back in again, though much more reluctantly. It wasn’t mine after all, as tempting and beautiful as it was. Just wearing it made me feel all tingly and bubbly... What? A tough gal can have her soft spots too you know! Not being an idiot, and knowing something was definitely going on I had kept the thing. Honestly, I don’t think I could bring myself to give it up again.

“Hey Angie! Need a ride home?” That would be Sarah, one of my best runner friends. She had short cropped brown hair and a lithe figure, only just a little taller than me and with excited green eyes.

“Nah, I got it today. To be honest I don’t think that run was enough for me today, I’ll just run home. If you could drop off my backpack at the edge of the inlet I’d appreciate it though.” I grab my bag and pass it off to her. “You haven’t seen that new kid around have you? The awkward one with the thick glasses and dark hair?”

“Actually might’ve, during first lunch today I think he had some sort of anxiety attack and ran off. Poor guy seemed like he outright pissed himself. He apparently spilled his lunch over one of the student body officers.”

I wince more and more as she details the scene. “That at least explains why he didn’t show up for practice today.” I sigh rubbing a hand through my hair. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll see you tomorrow then. We can do the canyon run tomorrow if you and the others are up for it.”

She nods and drives off while I kick and scuff the dirt a little. Darn guy was as shaky as a leaf. Maybe inviting him wasn’t the best of ideas. I eye the amulet again, feeling it’s warm metal against my skin. I wonder if he had his own oddly teleporting amulet too. He didn’t seem like the type to want to be noticed very much.

I shrug it off and begin the jog home one step after another. Nothing can clear stress like a steady jog, let me tell yeah. I just felt so energetic today! I took off, entering into my PR (personal record) pace and held it steady for the next 200 yards. I yelp as I feel a zap of electricity as I look down and see my body arching with electricity. My eyes widen as I realize my legs are moving in a bit of a blur and that I’ve just passed my best friend… in her truck… going 40 miles per hour down the road.

Then within a blink time seems to go back to normal, unfortunately I still kept my forward velocity and stumbled forward into a roll. The static clinging dissipates immediately, years of experience allowing me to catch myself by rolling down the ravine on the side of the road. My friend passes down the road seemingly oblivious to me having passed her. As I catch my breath a wave of fatigue and nausea creeps up on me and I vomit into the ditch suddenly feeling sick all over.

My whole body itches and tingles, the amulet burns like a hot coal on my chest. A green flame even flickers from it sporadically. I claw at the cursed thing and move to pull it off once more when it just stops. It’s so sudden that were I still not aching and feeling so sick I would’ve thought I’d hallucinated the whole thing.

I slowly get to my feet, brushing off a bit of the mud and grime. Starting my way home, at a walk this time, I move down the block. Once more I stare at the strange gem, despite feeling like crap I had just outran a car. This jewel had teleported itself, not once, but twice to me. I could feel my heart race at the possibilities. I grab it tight and tuck it into my bra hiding it from sight. One thing was for sure,

I was never letting this amulet out of my sight again.

School drags on slowly as it usually does, its my last class of the day and as much as I’m trying to pay attention the teachers drawling tone makes it hard to focus properly. A large bit of ADHD can do that. Wait, where is that tapping coming fr--

“Mr. Arnesto?” The teacher calls, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s calling my name and I realize the tapping has stopped.

“Thank you.”

I blink confused, then am made aware of a tingling in my fingers as I feel them grind against the hardwood desk. A not-unpleasant buzzing sensation informing me that I had been the one tapping on my desk. I let out a large sigh, why are all of our classes so theoretical? Just let us do something already! I glance at the clock seeing just how much time is left, then huff then lean forward and lay my head on my arms and try to sleep away the rest of class. Even then I can feel the urge to tap my fingers growing, my leg hitting just the right spot and starts bouncing.

The ticking of the clock is just the icing on the cake and I pull out my phone, desperate for anything to keep myself occupied. Peer leaders was always a noisy group, but a few scrolls has an onslaught about some kid that apparently had a panic attack and fled the building. Hearing Ethan had gotten splattered made me cringe. The gentle giant was probably the most worried about the kid of all of us. I join the conversation glancing up just often enough to make it look like I’m still paying attention, delighted to have something less mind-numbing to focus on the remaining time passes quickly.

I finish grabbing my supplies from my locker and head for the bus. I squint at the oppressive sun as I exit the school doors. It hadn’t even been all that dark inside, but I wince all the same. I scratch at my arm a little, that shock from earlier still hadn’t faded.

The bus ride home goes by without an issue, being the last stop though definitely got old fast. How the hell did we end up being both the first ones on and the last ones off? The old bus cranks to a stop shuddering with what is every indication of a death rattle. I get out and look at our small duplex, as run down as the rest of the place but it wasn’t what it looked like that made it perfect.

I hurry inside setting my pack down, Dad always loved to cook the craziest meals that drove my mother nuts. She’s working her way through medical school and currently works at the hospital as a registered nurse. Apparently he’s cooking some german dish called rouladen, I don’t really care, but it smells good.

“Survive school?” He asks with a smile.

“As well as any other day, Ethan got dunked on by some kid with a panic attack.” I grab a pear from the counter while I slide onto our old couch.

“You keeping up your practicing?” He steps to the side showing off the prosthetic strapped on his arm. Even the scar across his cheek couldn’t hide his charismatic smile.

“Enough, I guess.” He had always been a martial arts fan, apparently it’d been a big family tradition. My two arms and legs still weren’t a match for him despite the endless lessons and competitions I’d been in. I’d done decent enough I suppose but never anything particularly special.

“Antoine is out with his buds, and Tim is on minecraft in his bedroom, Mum is working a late shift tonight so she’ll be home late.”

I nod in affirmation and head off to my room, I only had one class with homework but that could wait. My little brother Tim might be 12, but he still carried around the same innocence and adorableness of a kid half his age.I ruffle his hair as I walk by smiling as he scrunches up his face in a pout with that perpetual baby face he still has.

“Michael!” He whines patting back down his some-what longer black hair, his freckles standing out on his tan skin. He leaps at me in a tackle and we both go down in a wrestle, he’s definitely not a slacker with his moves but I’ve got size and muscle on my side and soon have him in a leg lock and giving him a noogie.

“Fine, fine! You win...again!” He grumbles as I let him go but not before giving him a quick hug to make sure it is kept friendly. We both get up and I let him get back to his game while turning my own old laptop on and setting it next to his, both of our blood pulsing from our good tumble -- honestly nothing’s a better stress reliever than a good tussle. Not to mention how cute he always looked when he lost.

“Nether again?” I ask turning on the game and he nods in reply. The rest of our evening passes by quickly interrupted only by dinner which is delicious as ever. I can’t help but look at the clock several times though, Antoine had always been so busy with his new job lately and mom with her new position on the hospital staff made the house feel so depressingly quiet.

I start on the dishes, what with it being my night and all. The sun having just passed the horizon, the barest hint of stars showing in the sky. The crisp air flowing through the house mixing delightfully with the homey smell of my dad’s cooking. I see him exit the back door and head onto the back porch just to head for his nightly walk.

I just finish up with the dishes, then freeze. The moon has just crested the horizon. My arm starts itching like crazy and I blink shaking my head to clear the after-images of the moon on my vision. I scratch at my arm until its red but there is no indication of why it would be so itchy in the first place. Not only that but it seems to be spreading up and over my back.

I rush to the bathroom quickly stripping as I turn on the shower. I groan as my eyes start to burn but I clench them tightly shut and start scrubbing. I sigh with relief as the sensation fades and I’m left panting and feeling rubbed raw by the scrub brush but at least the itching is gone. With that all over I wash myself up, get changed, and head off to bed. Must’ve been poison ivy or other I reckon.

If only I’d paid a bit more attention I might have noticed the pair of golden eyes reflecting back at me in the mirror...

Getting home was fairly easy once I got myself oriented.I’d barely put any actual thought into what I was going to say once I actually arrived though. I manage to stumble through the door, still favoring what I hoped was just a twisted ankle and immediately got swept up in my little sister’s embrace. My aunt though, was less than happy.

“Where the hell have you been?! First we hear about you running away from school then you disappear off the face of the earth?” She dials into her phone giving me a look that could kill if I wasn’t withering already. “Yes officer, we found him, yep, I understand he will get a talking to, you have a good night.”

The panic attack, my thoughts grasping at that lifeline. Clearly they’d believe that over everything else I’d been through. Coming from a deeply religious upbringing if I told her what really happened I’d likely end up having an exorcism of all things. So instead I say the actual logical thing.

“I uh..need to see a doctor.”

Her withering gaze disappears almost immediately into a look of concern. “Are you hurt? Your leg just seems twisted bu—“

“I really need to see a doctor.”

“I-okay, give me one second to grab my keys. Can you tell me wh--”

“I...I just really need to speak to a doctor.”

She nods, her face looking as if she’d seen a ghost. We quickly get in the car and drive to the local ER, I know she’s just bursting with questions, but what honestly could I tell her? I needed to know if there was a reason for why I had such a vivid experience.

It’s a bit of a wait, especially with having no apparent physical injuries being busy I’m passed off to a nurse for an intake visit. Not typical procedure for sure as they inform me.

“So...can you tell me where your hurt?”

I sit across from her, occasionally shivering a little in memory of what happened. She definitely seems nice, just being around all these professionals just makes me feel more and more ridiculous with all the others they have to treat with real problems.

“I uh…I might’ve...had a concussion? Or...m-maybe been drugged.”

She looks a little concerned, but maintains her gentle demeanor. She appears to be a shorter latino gal. Having curly dark hair and vivid brown eyes on her healthy form, looking like a gal who wouldn’t be out of place in the gym.

“We are not legally required to report drug related illnesses if that’s what has got you so shaken.” She states sitting down across from me in what seems like a too obvious attempt to appear non-threatening. “We aren’t the police, we just want to make sure that you are going to be okay.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes, if only out of respect for her professionalism. “I uh..had a panic attack, I...ran into the forested area a ways in front of the school. I was having a d-delusion. Hallucinations, things that shouldn’t have been, but were.”

Her face is impassive, but she nods looking only more concerned. “Will you consent to us drawing blood and having a urine test? We can have more to go on after that, if you...” She thinks for a moment. “You got affected by something and feel better now it might’ve worked its way out of your system.”

I consent to her testing, preliminary results all come back normal she re-assures me. She notes that my blood sugar is low and all that saying I must have exhausted myself. No drugs, no toxins, hell, even the MRI comes back clean.

It’s well beyond midnight at this point. With nothing further to go on we drive back home. Lindsay obsesses over everything, despite at least being informed of the tests. I’m ravenous with my appetite and devour pretty much anything we have left in the fridge, my aunt thoroughly pissed at my lack of a clear answer. I told her everything that I could be sure of, the last thing I needed was a psych trying to mess with my head even more. With that I flick off my light and fall into blissful, dreamless sleep.

The next morning comes too quickly, I sluggishly get ready for school. Could I call in sick? No, I’d just gotten a clean bill of health from a doctor and everything just last night. Ideally given a period of just over a week could certainly take back some of the awkwardness of me outright splattering my lunch tray all over an S.B.O of all people, whatever his name was.

The house is empty this early in the morning, little sister and aunt already having driven off to school. My father of course is still at the military base doing who knows what. I grab a granola bar and think it through. I’m nearly running late by the time I decide that embarrassment would be worth it, if only to apologize to the nice guy who’d gone out of his way for me previously. Better known as a nervous spazz than a nervous spazz and an ass.

Watching the sidewalk carefully I make my way to school in good time. I nearly jump out of my skin as I feel the cool touch of metal that I know for a fact wasn’t around my neck a second ago. The necklace my hand shivers as it brushes over it’s jeweled surface. It might’ve been my imagination but it makes my fingers tingle oddly in a sensation resembling a shiver. I tuck it into my shirt and enter the building. Head down, red hoodie flipped up. Maybe I could make it to first period with--

“Hey Artemis?”

I feel my body stiffen at his voice, my throat suddenly seeming to have forgotten how to swallow. I clench my jaw feeling a pressure behind my eyes and nose, yet like so many other times not a teardrop falls. For the best at least this time. Eye contact, nervous smile. Just apologize and get it over with you idiot!

“H-hey….”

I trail off awkwardly realizing I had forgotten his name already. My face flushing with heat and I find myself sweating despite the slightly chilly hallway. I glance right and left, his other buddy, the other SBOs and several students have halted their path. They know. Every last one of them.

“Are you okay?”

I feel my insides heave, a shaky rattle traveling up my back. Of all the things to say why’d he have to make me feel even MORE guilty! I clear my throat, but because of the lingering tightness I nod once, then a few more times. “I-I’m the one th-that should be asking that question.” The bell rings and a few of the students start to shuffle off to class, the big guy and his little buddy ...Mike? I think it was.

He chuckles at that giving me a firm slap on the back. “Kid you got me out of football practice on leg day. Just like you I’m probably just as sick of everyone asking me if I’m okay as you no doubt are already.”

I give a small chuckle at that. Kid wasn’t in his position for nothing after all, unlike too many of my other schools this guy seems to have more character and charm then wealth could buy the others.

“Not to mention you’re shaking like a leaf and my old man works on the force and heard you were missing. You’ve already been through shit already, so let’s move on, and I’ll be seeing you on the track team.” He hits my shoulder good naturedly and turns off to class, Mike right behind him.

I let out a breath that feels like it’d solidified in my chest. My head spinning with a euphoric dizziness, I grab my pack and head off to class arriving just before the bell and taking my seat. Sometimes all it really takes is one really awesome person to fix a really crappy problem. I can’t help but smile slightly as role it taken and the class begins.

By the time lunch rolls around life seems as if it might be returning to a sense of normality. There are certainly less stares than I had expected with all the chaos of the previous day. I sit down to eat before I become the one with the staring problem. Across the cafeteria is the kid that had quite literally kidnapped me the previous day. He certainly doesn’t seem in any particular mood. Concrete evidence of my delusion is enough to send my head spinning again. I have to know for sure, grabbing my tray I head over.

“This seat taken?” I ask.

He looks around, likely noting that their are open tables and his expression narrows with a look of confusion. “Suuuure…” He drags out clearly making his hesitancy clear as I sit down across from him. His stare doesn’t linger and goes back to his phone and meal.

“I uh...saw you yesterday. You catch any game in the forest?” I try to ask casually, but know that it sounds intrusive, yet I need to know and steel my nerves. My gaze matches his curious gaze.

“Yeah, we caught something alright. You live by the forest?” He asks now seeming a bit more wary.

“Not exactly. I uh...well, I was in the forest. I thought I saw you pick a critter up with your dad. Did you…” It’s now or never. “Find a unicorn?” I blush a little at the ridiculousness of the question but his expression turns guarded.

“I…” He hesitates, but the look in his eyes is all the confirmation that I need. “I honestly don’t know what the hell it was, but it was able to melt solid steel, if you had any sense you wouldn’t go looking for it. More likely though it was some sort of sniper with some hi-tech area 51 BS rifle. Either way its trouble.” His expression narrows, “You were the jerk that tortured the poor thing in the first place! That’s how you knew about it!”

I wince at the mention of the truck. The events of the previous night seemed a bit fuzzy from the adrenaline, I’d been more preoccupied with escap--What the hell am I thinking? I really turned into a buck--fucking horse! What do I say to that without sounding more crazy?

“I--”

“There you are!”

I wheel around and see the sports gal from earlier heading towards me. My memory very kindly reminding me that I had stood her up yesterday. She looks so excited which immediately puts up all the red flags. She eyes the guy across from me for a moment before nearly yanking me off of my seat.

“We need to talk.” Her expression, though stern conveys not anger but a barely withheld excitement. I wince feeling a shock through her hand that makes my arm feel a little numb. She flinches away a split second later having seemed to have the same reaction.

I glance at… “What was your name again? I’m Artemis, you have no reason to believe me but I swear I didn’t...” I pause for a moment trying to think of how to phrase it without lying. “I didn’t hurt or abuse any animal. I can’t really explain something I don’t understand myself, but can you meet us after school to talk?” I nod at Angela to emphasize my point.

He rolls his eyes but eventually nods. “I’m Aaron, you choose after school, I choose the track.” He looks over my shoulder. “Funny...that’s the same backpack we saw around the unicorn.”

I try to open my mouth to try to explain, but Angela beats me to it. “Your amulet changed you into a unicorn?!” Her eyes seeming to have doubled in size, she reaches out towards my chest before seeming to remember what happened last time she touched it.

Aaron’s expression is unreadable. I look between the both of them, giving Angela an almost imperceptible nod my throat suddenly feeling tight. I start to hyperventilate as I feel the familiar tingle I had last time, I can almost feel my fingers cramping as a headache starts to form. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing. Already on the fringes of my mind I can feel what seems like another mind brushing against my own, one terrified and hurt.

Something wet trickles down my forehead and just as quickly the disturbing sensation is gone. I reach a hand to my head, traveling up the slick trail until I feel an uncomfortable twinge as I feel a bony protrusion that shrinks away to nothing. My hand comes away covered in blood as I stare up at Aaron and Angela. Aaron is just staring blackly at me, speechless, but Angela passes over a napkin that I gratefully take to clean myself up.

“Was that a…?” Aaron starts to ask before I cut him off.

“Stop, just stop. I don’t want it to happen again! You have no idea what it was like!”

“You’ve got to be shi--”

BEEEEEEEEEP!

Angela takes over, eagerly butting in. “After school, Track.” She grabs her stuff and takes off with more speed than I’m sure was necessary. Aaron doesn’t make any move as I grab my bags, I’ve barely even touched my lunch. I wolf down what I can as I put pre-packaged food in my bags and the rest in the trash.

“You weren’t seriously that thing were you?” Aaron asks, barely more than a whisper.

“I have to go.” I don’t reply further than that and head off. I give my face a quick wash in the restroom, the cold water helping more than anything else as I dry off and go to class. It was real repeating over and over in my head. Something impossible, the scientific part of my mind amazed at the possibilities. Yet, more pressing was the thought of being trapped as a small creature that couldn’t speak, not even mentioning the raw agony of the change in the first place. That, now that terrified me. Some small part of me though, couldn’t deny that it wanted to do it again and that scared me even more.

School passes quickly after that. My mood swings from a quivering terror, to that of begrudging excitement. The extraordinary happened, and I am confused. The only way this could be solved is with research. That’s not to say I’d going to be an idiot and jump right in.

The bell rings and I head off at a slow walk. Watching as the crowd disperses, a day passed by without any more embarrassment. Angela and Aaron are already waiting, the old track empty of any individuals. Angela probably had something to do with that.

“Let me get one thing straight. I’m not going to try changing into that...thing again. Even if I did know it happened I’m not ready for that again.”

“If that was really you I might have to make you pay for damages.” Aaron smirks while crossing his arms in a huff.

“Only if I get to charge you with kidnapping.” I joke in return. “I think being forcefully stripped of my clothes and shoved in a cage makes us even. Some may even consider that rape...”

Aaron’s face goes as flushed as a tomato at that one. “Considering you were a mare at the time. How was that anyways? I’m sure Angie wants to know about that as much as I do.”

I nod setting my pack down and leaning against a nearby tree. “It started in class I think. I seemed to forget who I was and started running from something, some kind of insect I think. After that I started having what was kind of a painful seizure, I don’t know how long it took but it felt like a long time. After that you showed up and dragged me off with your dad.”

Aaron nods and continues where I left off for Angela’s benefit detailing the rest of the story. At the end I fill him in about my escape detailing the beam that had come from my ‘horn’ apparently the damage wasn’t that bad to the car, not even an inch, but left a fairly ugly melt in their bed.

“Alright, you’ve told your story now it’s time for mine.” Angela smile and gets to her feet stretching her legs. “Watch closely because I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it again.” With that she lines up next to the 100 meter dash line. She gets in position curving into the sprinter’s stance. Then with a crackle of electricity her form blurs with her speed as in just over a second she’s at the finish line. Leaves are blown away by her aftershock all around and she crumbles dry heaving.

“Did she just...?”

“Yeah” I reply. As we both run to catch up to her as she starts to stand back up, coughing a little. Her clothes are dripping a little bit of vapor and she seems to be sweating despite the chilly fall air. “That was incredible!” I examine the track but it doesn’t show any sign of damage, nor does she appear to have damaged anything she had been wearing.

“I’m alright, just really hungry and nauseous at the same time. Something something energy conservation or whatever. Can you do anything like that?” She looks at me expectantly as she leans against a tree to catch her breath.

“I...don’t think so, but I guess trying certainly wouldn’t hurt.” I try the run as she has, but quickly seem to be making a fool of myself even with Angela trying to give pointers as I run back and forth without change. Once I’m feeling a little winded I stop and head back over pulling out my amulet. “I think we have different amulets, obviously what is happening is from them.”

I hold mine out for her to take and she reaches for it only for it to fly out of my hand onto the ground as she does so. I pick it up, grasping it a bit more firmly as I hold it out to her. As she reaches closer it pulls in the opposite direction, like a magnet facing the same polarization. “That’s a no on sharing, least with you.”

I turn and face Aaron offering it to him. He shakily extends his grip, but he seems to be able to touch it, unlike with Angela it doesn’t resist.

“It feels kind of funny.” He comments before slipping it onto his neck, then quickly taking it off swaying a little and looking a little green. “Nope, that’s a nope for me.” He passes it back. “It doesn’t make you sick?”

“Besides the occasional crippling seizure and a bad hair day? Not really.” I start scribbling down notes, Angela rolls her eyes as I do so. “Hey! We gotta keep track of this somehow. I grumble at their stares feeling no small bit self conscious, but I keep writing. “So yours lets you run really fast, while mine turns me into a horse that can shoot a laser. Surely not the worst superpowers in existence.” I look over my amulet, it seems like a rather simple thing. Thin golden chain and a set jewel, fingering over it. It tingles at the touch, like static electricity on a trampoline.

It’s tempting, it’s so tempting with how it seems to be asking to be used, but I can’t. “This is mind blowing and all, but after uh…yesterday I really need to head home to avoid another incident with my family. We all agree to the typical super power secrecy thing?”

“Cliche, but telling others would just cause social drama. I’ve no idea what the government or such would do, I mean we aren’t at war right now.” Aaron shakes his head looking at the both of us with a bit of jealousy. “Not like I have anything to show anyways. Next time let’s meet in the forest, this is an objectively horrible place and about as secret as a Starbucks.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” I chuckle. “I definitely agree with Aaron on that one. Tomorrow alright?” The others nod and I grab my bags and head home. Just leaving the two of them feels like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders , the subtle feeling of my chest relaxing as the social anxiety bleeds away.

Author's Notes:

As always please leave your comments and I'll try to answer the occasional question or two. Hoping to update at least monthly.

4. Murder and Moonlight

I take a deep breath, watching my target. She’s just left the house and got in the car. I don’t move a muscle from my perch until she’s left the driveway and turned the next corner. I steady my nerves looking over my invitation. It’s pretty lame, but something fancy would definitely be awkward as she barely even knows me.

I creep up to her front porch eyeing the windows for any lurking faces. I delicately slide my sculpted bouquet of flowers onto their porch. I had used a wire frame to make the words, then strung the rose petals over it alternating between colors while bending it into a wreath. In the middle I place the small box of chocolates, one of which has my name under it. My deed done I make a hasty approach, sneaking back in my older brother in law’s car slamming the door behind me.

“Ah...my little bro finally getting some nerve. Here I thought you were just gay…” He’s obviously teasing, but his casual homophobia irks me. Sometimes you just have to deal with family. He shifts the gears in his manual transmission Ford Fusion, the engine groans as he floors it down the street, drifting slightly over the gravel.

“You know that’s illegal right?” I jab in return indicating to his turn. “Annnd she is not the first girl I’ve asked out! I asked Carrie to the fall dance...she just...was busy.” The memory was a bit of a rough one and he knows it. I’d been trying to branch out last year, unfortunately I got the feeling that she had her eyes on a jerk from the debate team.

“You hanging out with your buds again tonight?” I ask trying to divert the conversation. He worked in construction most of the time, he’s also a certified electrician. Long hours but great pay from what I’ve heard, despite the occasional out of town job. Lately he’d been working a few odd jobs at the military base so he could stay local. His friends seemed decent enough I guess, we typically didn’t see much of them.

“Yeah, its movie night. If you ever get your head out of your school work it’d be fun to have yea.” He’d always been a reckless driver, maybe from the early years he worked driving an ambulance. He’d been working as an EMT just after graduating. We’d always been in a bit of a casual relationship, him being 25 and me just being 17 kind of made it hard to relate properly growing up.

He turns around one of the back alley blocks and I spot a flicker of something in the gravel. “Uh...Antoine? Is that blood?” He follows my pointing hand and pulls over, but keeps the engine running.

“Naw, blood doesn’t turn green like that, probably more likely a chemical of some sort. Smells like something got charcoaled though.” At that he turns off the car and heads out too inspect it closer and I’m right behind him, joining him as we gawk at the burnt remains of something definitely not of human origin.

“Hey Mikey? I think we need to call the cops in for this one.” I most certainly didn’t disagree and dialed in the number.

Redmond had seen a lot in his life. He’d served in Vietnam, earned a purple heart for a serrated kidney and scarred lung. He’d moved across the country in the damnable drug war and saw every which way of several communities before being “unofficially” retired by being made Sheriff of this little place. Backwater it may be, but it was his backwater old town. He was only in his late 60s after all.

This mess however, was something he had never seen in the entirety of his long career. The creature was relatively small, unburnt he assumed it would be just about 4 feet on all fours. The creature had taken two GSWs, one of the chest, and another point blank to the head. Either that or the strange chitin covering its body had just been a lot thicker on their chest.

The creature had the burned remains of what appeared to be normal clothing, incredibly large eye sockets for its size (sockets as he could assume the eyes had been burnt away). It had a vague structure resembling wings, while it had a skeletal protrusion on its head mostly burned away. It’s horn and legs appeared thoroughly perforated with holes as if acid had been slowly poured over until it came out the other side.

He was no mortician but someone had evidently killed the creature. Witnesses would certainly make settling this mess a little easier. After getting a statement from the callers he watches them driveoff. The glisten of the burnt fangs and shiny carapace from the sinking sun unnerved him.

The fact that the killer had not only failed to call it in, then tried to burn the body disturbed him more. Without hesitation he flipped his old dinosaur of a phone open and made a call.

By the time Antoine drops me off at home the sun has already disappeared below the small hills in the distance, only a few last traces of its rays remain. I head inside and wave to my dad cleaning up around the house. “Sorry I’m late, we found the strangest thing on the way home today.” I walk up to the counter and snatch a small taco from the tray. “Found some sort of weird insect thing someone had shot last night. Damn thing was huge.”

I head to my room and set my stuff down, turning on my laptop before heading back to the kitchen. Dad has a grim look on his face and is staring out the window at the moon, his remaining arm grasping at where his other used to be. “Son...has anything unusual happened lately?”

His eyes meet mine and for a moment I could’ve sworn I’d seen slitted silver eyes staring back at me, but it’s gone before I can blink. After a moment I shake my head. “Nothing I can really think of. Yesterday I had a bit of a weird itching sensation before bed, but I reckon it was just poison ivy.” He’d always been a bit reserved on how he had lost his arm and I had a strong feeling it was related. “What’s going on dad?” A bit of my worry ebbing into my voice.

“Nothing we can do anything about anymore.” He replies sullenly flexing his fingers in the moonlight. “All we can do now is hide and pray to Luna that they don’t find us.” He gazes into the moonlight some more before getting back to the dishes.

Luna...that name was one he threw around fairly often. I had always assumed it was a cultural thing from what I thought was his hispanic heritage. He’d tell us stories of a night maiden when I was younger, a watcher of dreams and whose strength guided the moon across the sky. “Dad, I know I’ve never really been into your culture and all...but you know something. Something about that strange creature don’t you?”

I step forward into the moonlight away from the artificial lighting behind me. I yelp and wince backward as the moonlight hits my skin. Just like it had yesterday. Dad is by my side in an instant after.

“Are you okay?” He asks. Yet his expression seems more curious than concerned. He hesitates for a few moments then becomes preoccupied with my hand holding it within his own. “Son...do you trust me?” He won’t even meet my gaze, but his voice carries a longing sorrow I’d never heard from him before.

I nod, a wave of dread stirring in my chest. What happened to my joking lighthearted father that made him turn as grim as the grave? You’d be hard pressed to make him be serious about anything in the past, something that irked my mother to no end. “Tell me what’s going on,” I demand.

He doesn’t reply, instead he slowly pulls my hand back into the moonlight streaming through the window. The tingling grows and intensifies, I try to yank it back just from the sensation alone but he holds firm and I quickly see why. Fur is sprouting up from my hand. It’s a dark grey in tone, the itching quickly starts spreading up my arm. My fingers stiffen and seem to merge into my middle finger which starts to swell and harden into a conical shape.

“D-dad?!” I squeak but his grip remains iron. I feel a wet splatter sink through the newly formed fur and see that he is starting to cry, but a smile on his face sends my head reeling. He pulls me further into the moonlight, the sting of moonlight like one would feel on a hot summer day radiates through my skin as I hear my jaw pop and crack as it pushes out forward in a rather uncomfortable, but only slightly painful manner.

The sensation starts to spread even faster now, burning in my chest as I feel my organs squirm around and I vomit into the sink that I can still just barely reach as I start shrinking. Already having lost an entire foot of height. I hear something and I feel an unfamiliar muscle twitch at the side of my head as I look back at my dad. “Whw-what?” I try to speak but my tongue is longer than it used to be and my mouth’s new shape distorts the sound.

His hand caresses my cheek and he angles my muzzle up to his eyes as he searches over my expression. “This is who we are son. This is what I used to be.” Every word smacking into my head like a sledgehammer crippling me with dread.

I wince away from his gaze as my teeth start to feel like they’re being drilled into, the agony of that making me start to scream before Dad clasps his hand over my muzzle and I feel a sharp stab on the right side of my lip, my eyes watering from the pain. Several moments later it seems to fade to tolerable levels and he releases my...my muzzle.

As I look up at him again I see his towering form lurking over me. Right now I’m barely up to his knees in height, the pain in my mouth apparently had distracted me from the rest of my body changing. My clothes are laying on the ground beneath me except for my shirt which now feels a lot more like a dress.

“I know this is a lot for you to take in, but you need to listen--”

But I’m not listening, I smack his hand aside as I slip and fall onto the ground, tripping over my mutated limbs. I’m barely thinking anymore, just reacting. I tear off my shirt and try to take off as at much of a sprint as I can muster. I hop on a chair, then the counter before bounding out the window falling a good 5 feet to the ground. Though I somehow don’t break any bones it does knock the wind out of me.

I hear my dad call out from behind me, but I really don’t really want to talk to him right now. My pace is pitiful more of a disjointed dragging jog. I hear the door slam behind me as he seems to head after me. I barely even make it a few yards before he catches up and cuts off my escape. He reaches out to grab me but withdraws after I give him the most vicious hiss I can muster.

“I...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done this so quickly. It was wrong of me to force you to change, but we don’t have the time to take things slow. That creature you saw out there? That was a changeling. A shapeshifter that feeds on the essence of other creatures. They could be anyone, anywhere, and if they find us we’re all dead. Dead as in painfully torn apart piece by piece and made to suffer to teach the rest of our race a lesson!” He gestures to his arm with malice, rage burning through him in a way that terrified me.

“They invaded our world, yes another world than this one. We are their predators, natural killers that can see through their illusions. Our numbers had dwindled for over a thousand years. Hundreds of us were rounded up, countless more died. They took my arm in the conflict. We were forced to surrender, then exiled to this place. A world without magic, without any hope of ever returning home.”

“Don’t you see how important this is? For the first time in over 35 years we have magic again!” His face is stained with tears, his eyes caring no small amount of jealousy as he gestures to me with his hand kneeling awkwardly in front of me to sort of match my height. “Your birth mother struggled with the transition to earth, yet she still wanted a child. Once we settled here we had you, shortly after your birth she died of magic starvation. She dreamed you’d one day be able to see what we truly were, and here it has happened!”

“Turn me back! Change me back right now!” My voice is heavily distorted by my reformed vocal chords now making it a lot harder than it was earlier to speak. Despite my attempts most of what comes out of my mouth are angry squeaks and other horrible animal noises. Seeing that fail I try to sound out the words syllable by syllable. “Tee-Ueerr-Een B-eeackee!”

He has the audacity to giggle at my attempt to speak english which makes me fume with rage bordering on crumbling into tears. I crawl forward and smack his leg as hard as I can muster.

He yelps and move back a step. “Damn, I’d forgotten how hard we could hit. Guess not teaching you all Equish was a mistake...but explaining that to your mother would’ve been a challenge.”

I growl again and smack the ground with a hoof before pointing it back at myself in an effort to get himself back on the actual important topic.

“Yeah yea...you probably don’t like it.” I growl again in affirmation and he rolls his eyes. “I may not have my old body or magic anymore but I doubt it’ll last much longer than the night. Our kind were always at our greatest strength under the moon. Without magic we’d just die in our natural forms, so you must have gotten some from somewhere or maybe growing in a magic starved environment might have caused your body to adapt.”

He rubs his head a little and hesitantly reaches forward. This time I let him as he inspects my legs, mouth, and ears. I give a small yip as he starts removing my shirt, I had to have some dignity after all!

“Relax, I just need to make sure your wings have developed properly.”

I blink, staring at him a bit agape. He doesn’t give me long to swallow that fact before he literally just yanks at my shirt and pulls it over my head. I yelp as I feel something on my back get pulled at a fairly painful angle, and then I see them.

Laying across my back are two very bat looking wings. One of them has been pulled out so it’s almost fully extended. It’s easily as wide as I am long on its own. I poke it with a hoof, feeling the firmness of my leg against the leathery texture of my wings. I try to bend my shoulder blades to try to see if I can move them, to no avail.

My father comes to my aid for that and gently pulls both of them out to their full length before grabbing me around my middle and lifting me into the air. “What are you--EEEEEEEEEE!” I squeak as he suddenly drops his hands I feel myself in freefall. My legs lashing out in open air and I smack my head with a wing before he stops the drop and pulls me back up.

“You need to relax, just do what comes naturally!” He insists firmly already moving to do it again. I’m really starting to hate being so small as the ground shrinks beneath me until I’m several times my own height in the air.

“No no no no no NO!!!” I try to say but it all comes out as a frantic chirp as he does it again. This time though I start to feel the connections as I flap my wings instinctively. As I fall I feel my muscles twitch as I get a bit of feeling. Like how you learn how to wiggle your ears I feel the muscles that had been absent my entire life. When he raises me up this time I don’t complain, fascinated by the new feelings and sensations.

I don’t know how many times he does the cycle, but I take to the sensations quicker than I would’ve expected. They didn’t feel as new as I would expect them to be. Whatever that would mean in this context. I’m soon doing basic flaps and have a small range of motion for them before he finally sets me back down.

“Thanks” I mutter, even though he can’t understand me. None the less he rubs behind my ears, which if it didn’t feel so good I would think was patronizing. Then I remember that he probably is just remembering his times as a fuzzy little bat horse thing. As I relax from the “flying” practice I look around, taking the time to fully take in how much wider of a view I have now, not to mention how much brighter everything seems to be despite being a bit washed out in the pale glow of the moon.

Looking up at my father quickly reminds me of how much I’ve shrunk, I’m probably just about a foot and a half. Yet as I examine his form I start to notice a few strange things. In the moonlight his body seems to briefly flicker, occasionally I see a lighter grey fur across his body, a hint of hooves, but most prominent of all his eyes are slitted and light blue, that remaining constant while the others flicker. Perhaps this is what he meant by being able to see other’s true form?

Looking over his form I start to feel the itch for a mirror to see what I look like. To communicate it I wave my hoof in a circle around my face, then cup them over my eyes as if looking through binoculars. Luckily he seems to get the meaning.

“You want to see what you look like?”

I nod and start heading for the house, but he fairly quickly steps in front of me holding his hands out in a placating manner.

“We probably don’t want the rest of our family to see you like this quite yet. So...is it okay if I carry you into the bathroom for now? We can come back outside right after if you’d like” He takes a moment to just study my form a moment longer, his eyes tearing up a little.

“Your mother would be so proud to see how much you resemble her.” He chuckles a bit in a way to mask his sorrow before he picks me up, hiding me inside his jacket and carries me inside the house.

It’s stuffy inside his coat, the sensation of the fuzz against my muzzle makes me sneeze as its swarmed with his thick ‘male’ scent. It doesn’t take long before I’m placed on the counter, feeling the chill of the plastic surface on the underside of my hooves hearing the subtle click of my hooves on the counter.

The creature in the mirror is in the uncanny of alien category. The eyes though are so massive that they would never pass for natural on this planet. I swear they will pop out of their sockets. Slitted with a golden iris that seems to reflect the light when turned just right. On top of my head are a few tufts of purple hair that travels down my neck. The dark grey fur descends all the way down my back which ends in another short cut purple strand. I open my mouth and see a pair of fangs matched by a smaller pair below. The rest seem vaguely human in shape if adapted to an elongated mouth.

“It’s really something, isn’t it? You’ve taken to this a lot better than I took to being a human, I’ll give you that.” He sits up on the counter, making sure the door remains closed. “When you’re done, how about I take you back outside and I teach you a few moves? Maybe you have enough magic I can show you some actual casting.”

My ears twitch at his voice reminding of that recent addition. An uncanny feeling in my chest as I realize I had thought of them as natural. I wasn’t sure if that was something to be afraid of or grateful for that I hadn’t completely lost my mind in terror. I’d literally been changed into what essentially amounted to a cat with wings and I felt eerily calm. Yet...I was more excited than I ever had been before.

Well, who could possibly refuse that offer? I nod enthusiastically, I stumble back towards him and quite nearly flop off the counter but he catches me and stuffs me back into his jacket. I don’t exactly fit, but it's big enough to hide most of me as we head back outside.

I’d lurked after school for some time now. Ever since I’d seen that strange kid in history class I’d felt different. I stayed late after school mostly because my parents simultaneously wanted to know everything I was doing while at the same time not caring about what I was actually doing.

“You need to head home?” a face full of black hair and confidence asks.

“Sorry Sam, I know you were wanting to do some more studying but you know how they are.” I rub at my arm absent-mindedly, adjusting it a little. He offers me a wipe and I use it to remove what little makeup I was wearing. My parents definitely would’ve grounded me for that. I change my clothes in the bathroom changing to the bland generic stuff I have from home.

“Thanks again, for everything. It really means a lot to me.” Every time I hung out with him just filled me up with the warm fuzzies and made me feel better. The only person in this whole world that knew about my little ‘secret’ and true self, the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

“Hey, it's no problem man, your parents can shove it. You help me so much with school it's only fair I help you in what little ways I can too.” They wave and head off down the hall after packing up their books. “I’ll catch ya later.”

I grab my bags and start to walk home, it was a long walk but that was fine by me. Plenty of time to listen to music and pretend I could sing the songs. We live fairly far out by the forest, my father would probably be home by now from his ‘work trip.’ Something he went on a lot. Walking felt good, even on the days it hurt. Made me feel like less of a cripple that way. I’d been diagnosed with some sort of rare genetic disorder, whatever fancy name they gave it last time. Essentially I’m dying, decaying bit by bit from the inside out. They spew all this stuff about new treatment but for the last few years it's only been slowed.

Depressing right? But hey, when life is shit its the little things that make life all that much better. A good friend, a decent lunch, when the weather is just right. Things like that. Course relying on small things like that could make me get a bit more sensitive to things others would find frivolous but most others would just shrug it off and label it as “just another weird thing from Jake” because it would be culturally insensitive to upset the kid who looked like death half the time.

Yet...after school yesterday I felt healthier and stronger than I had in well...ever. I could even take up a light jog without feeling the harsh grind of my bones rattling against each other. I was happy, excited even. You never value your health more than when you’ve lost it, and I’d be damned if this wasn’t an early christmas present.

I eventually make it home well before dark, I set my things in my room then smile at my mom sneaking an apple from the table. She’s on the phone and so only raises an eyebrow to my upbeat attitude. With my homework done there isn’t really much I have to do tonight. I observe my expression in the bathroom, smiling at the faint hints of color returning to my skin. Maybe if I could manage to eat more I could look more substantial.

I work through my chores for a bit over an hour, I start to grow a little concerned that my mom has been on the phone the entire time. Several times I even heard her screaming before she switched to her mobile and went outside. After reading some more books about fantasy worlds I wish I could experience and about heroes I wish I could be I hear the door slam rather harshly.

I carefully creep forward peering out of the hallway. My mother is sitting at the table sobbing. I feel a lump form in my throat as my body stiffens. ‘Oh shit’ is all I can really think as I quickly move over putting my arm around her shoulders and hug her gently.

Time passes, how much I couldn’t say for how long I hold onto her. Feeling her body wracked with sobs. Yet she eventually seems to run out of strength, the air quickly becoming punctuated with a grim silence. She turns her head to look me in the eye, for a moment there is a question in them, maybe a hint of wonder before it crumbles back to her sorrowed demeanor. “How can you…? Nevermind it doesn’t matter.” She clears her throat. “You’re really something, you know that right?” She hugs me a little in return, a pregnant pause passing between us before she speaks again.

“Your father is dead.”

I blink, for a moment I almost forget what I’d just heard, then it comes back as I realize what those words actually mean. I’d never really gotten along well with him, but this… this filled me with more regret for that very lack. My thoughts drift back to the last time I’d seen him, the last things I said and did. It was all meaningless as I hugged her all the tighter and we shared a long cry.

Neither of us really wants to move some time later. My eyes ache as I’m sure hers do as well, our bodies both begging for slumber to take this loss away in a way we both know will be back in the morning. Several times I try to work up the nerve to ask the how, but just seeing my mothers fallen face my words die on my lips. Instead she eventually gets up, brushing her hand through my hair gently before silently heading to bed.

I follow her shortly after getting ready myself, I feel robotic as I go through the motions, showering, changing clothes, brushing my teeth. Everything is just numb at this point. I’d grown so used to the lurking sorrow of my own death, but I’d never expected it to hit someone else first. I move to my bedroom and sit in bed for a few moments before sighing at the inevitable.

I pull up my sleeve, and pull off my glove and stare at the scrap of metal that is my arm. With a few small flicks of my real left arm I feel the weight of the instrument flop onto the bed. I stare for a moment too long and glimpse the horrible scar, gritting my teeth as I pull my sleeve back down. I set the arm aside, turn out the light and quickly succumb to the warm oblivion of the night’s grasp.

5. Magic and Mishaps

The SWAT team is poised outside the door. They’d had received the call from an officer just earlier. Target armed with a handgun had been involved in a gang shooting. They had potential info on further gang targets and needed to be taken into protective custody. Not only that, but their team had to go through an odd screening process. At their side was reinforcement from the local military base.

All in all? It was the weirdest call they’d ever gotten. They knock on the door, without knocking it down. They wait for several moments, then pound on it harder. “SWAT! We need you to answer some questions!” Your life is in danger!” They wait even longer, repeating it once more.

“Celestia-damn it.” The drone curses, checking through his binoculars. “Supposed to arrest him for murder!” What did he do wrong? The gun was right, they saw his body, was the fire some cultural thing? He’d even given the officer a direct description.

Then it hit him. “Oh...they don’t have changelings here.” He really missed the hivemind, speaking aloud to himself just wasn’t the same. Peering through the binoculars he sees the door open and the target walks out. It had taken him so long to track down their network, but now he had his way home.

Guess it was time to improvise. He’d studied the weaponry of this world since his arrival. Their thirst for bloodshed would put the queen’s thirst for power to shame. Merging with the crowd he stepped towards the perimeter, working his way to the sniper’s nest.

The SWAT leader lets out a breath as he sees the figure emerge. A quick glance proves to match the description they were given. Anything with this many people would really be a hell to mess up.

The drone looks side to side before shifting into his true form, a process much harder here than in equestria, but he’d eaten well. Scaling the building was a cakewalk after that. He’d never been good enough to be chosen for an infiltrator rebirth, but that didn’t mean he was useless. His magic flared for just a moment, causing a tapping on the outward facing sniper’s shoulder. A trick he’d picked up from their admittedly more advanced picture shows.

The sniper flinches, turning their head words forming on their lips. Then he strikes, lunging forward he bites into the humans vulnerable neck injecting it with his toxins as they stiffen and go limp in his grip without so much as a whimper. Yet his falling to the ground does not go unnoticed by the other sniper facing inward.

They quickly start to turn going for their knife but they don’t make it by the time his hoof connects to their skull slamming them against the edge of the building. He takes their long rifle and takes aim only to be body tackled as the soldier gets back up in a pounce pinning his frail body to the ground, their blade cutting at his exoskeleton nearly severing his front right leg.

This isn’t a battle he can win, instead he contracts his second stomach and expels a wad of slime into the humans face blocking their vision...but more importantly their breathing. He doesn’t have to do anymore as the soldier futilely scratches at the slick substance blindly trying to cut at it.

He takes the opportunity to grab the rifle again and focus down his target.

BANG!

The SWAT team drops to the ground. The leader of the raid gaping at the hole in the VIPs abdomen. A typically non-fatal wound, but that’s not what truly made this seasoned officer freeze. Green blood spouted from the wound in pulsating spurts. No human had a heart there, but that kind of wound you don’t forget after seeing it before. Training kicks in as despite it all he applies pressure but he knows it's too late. Even as the ‘man’ in front of him melts into some mutated bug he does the best to fulfill his mission. HQ was gonna have his ass for this one, whatever the hell this is.

The job done he allows himself a breath, seeing the now still soldier he decides to share. He spits saliva onto the hardened slimey mesh then rips away the chunk blocking his nose pausing for just a moment to make sure they were still breathing. They know about us already, no point in hiding it now. He shapeshifts into a local bird, then flies off into the sky as the chaos unfolds.

It had been three days since the transformation, though not for lack of the amulet’s trying. I’d quickly grown tired of taking it off as it kept coming back and I wasn’t a big enough idiot to try to damage it. This was magic we were talking about and whatever mystical being, organization, or whatever would probably not take kindly to destroying it either.

Several moments I had felt that familiar tingling, feeling that warmth and pressure was a bit intoxicating. Like a warm blanket on a cold day that has a mind of its own. I hadn’t exactly been keeping track, but they had been growing more and more frequent. Today it had progressed to shivers that pulsated down my spine and gave me a headache.

The others were enraptured by the idea of me shifting again, but I wanted to learn more about what we were messing with. These things didn’t have a manual, what happens if I change too much?

Wait...there’s that feeling again. I look around looking for any of my fellow history classmates, none of them really seem to be paying much attention, except for that fem-guy. He or they could be a she, keeps staring glances at me from his desk across the room. Now that I think about it they look a lot better than they did the first day of school. Their skin had darkened to a nice tan, their cheeks less sunken, and they seem to have gained a couple pounds.

I try to ignore him, whatever that slight draining feeling was it was definitely making me feel like I was less likely to start shooting sparkles from my fingertips. Which, admittedly would’ve been cool had I not already spent a few (private) hours trying to see if I could expel it. Perhaps I’d watched too many movies, if magic did exist wouldn’t it likely require methods no one else had ever used?

I scribble out a few more lines of notes as I copy down the board. Then, like a switch being flipped in my head I realize that a while ago, mid-sentence I had switched to using abstract symbols which only faintly resembled any language I was aware of. What’s more is that I could read it, right now I couldn’t exactly recall the syntax or individual symbols, but as a whole I could understand.

For the rest of class I continue my note taking, but I don’t find myself writing in the strange language again despite trying to recall its spelling. After class ends I feel a lot less ‘fuzzy’ with what I think would be most aptly described as magic given the circumstances.

Yet with it gone I feel a strange tugging sensation, comparable to an actual hunger or thirst, but for a direction. My last class passes slowly, each minute it seems to intensify and grow. At first I think it’s just pulling me out of my chair, then I realize I’ve slid a good foot in that same direction while sitting.

The bell can’t ring fast enough, by then I’ve already lept out of my seat and the magic tingles have returned with a vengeance. Every moment I struggle against the call I feel the changes start to surge. The cramping of my fingers, the blistering headache, stiffening joints, my clothes feeling a bit more loose.

Yet...something is different this time. It’s as if the feeling is being concentrated at my hips. Taking a quick semi-awkward look at them reveals nothing out of the normal, besides a little bit of sprouting fur. I chuckle to myself, strangeness is the normal now.

“Hey you!”

Behind me I see the SBO’s friend. What was his name again? Pausing just for a moment makes the burning grow even more. “I’m sorry but I really have to go!” I’m quite nearly pulled over as if someone had attached a rope to my skull and pulled. I can feel a faint horn starting to sprout, thankfully without blood this time.

“Well I’m coming with you then.” He moves over quickly at a jog. I feel a sharp sting at his touch, just like the last time when we had been introduced. The pull weakens, if only for a moment. “I should’ve known you had something to do with this.” His voice is accusing, but lacking of any malice. “Unicorn, right?”

“H-how?” How the hell does he know that? “Look, I don’t know what you know but I literally can’t stop right now.” The pull has now forced me into a half-dragging jog, wherever this magic is wanting to take me it’ll take me.

“Thestral, we uh...can see things. Dad really wasn’t kidding when he said you were real…What the hell are you doing out of equestria anyways?” He keeps pace fairly easily, my main concern right now is just not getting run over by traffic.

“The hell is equestria? Aren’t thestrals those weird skeleton things from Harry Potter?” I look at him for a moment before social awareness kicks in. “Uh…no offense of course.”

“None taken, and uh... well, thanks for sharing your magic earlier. I mean, Equis, that place is where we come from and all. Were you forced here after the invasion too?”

If this guy wasn’t so cute I might’ve started to get frustrated with all this weirdness. “Look Michael, I have no idea what all of this is. I got a damn amulet that has a curse or some shit that has caused all of my weirdness. More importantly, do you know why this bloody thing is dragging me off?”

The pull seems content to keep me at a jog, yet as I get closer to--and then I see it. The Hospital somehow I know that’s where it wants me to be, but why? The tug has all but disappeared now, but moving away seems to trigger and pull me back to this place again.

“Uh...not really, well, maybe. Dad said it happened to a unicorn one time when she was getting her cutie-mark--she was apparently one of their national heroes or something.” He looks around eyeing the building. “My mom works here if you really need something. Just...don’t tell her about the pony stuff quite yet if you would.”

We both enter the building and I walk in a bit of a circle trying to locate where the pull is taking me but it remains stubbornly constant. “That’s the weirdest stuff I’ve heard since the gal on the cross country team broke the world record on the 100 through 1600 meter dash, but you know what? Sure, let’s go with that.”

We sit in a pair of chairs in the corner away from the actual patients. He tells me about changing into a Thestral, or Bat pony as they’re called. Discovering a changeling burned on the side of the road, the story of the elements and Nightmare moon. It’s all a bit far-fetched, but honestly it’s something to go on yet it leaves me with a burning question. “So, who gave me this amulet--and more important than that. What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Well...if you’re up to it I really think you should meet my dad later. He seems a bit more of an expert on all of this.” I roll my eyes a bit at the non-answer, checking my phone its been an hour since school ended. My aunt will be getting home soon, and if I’m not home things would definitely not go well.

I head to the restroom to wash up, as much for actual use as to take notes on what I remember of what he had told me earlier. Then my body starts convulsing, the change surging up through my body without warning as I topple to the floor in the thankfully empty room. This time the change doesn’t take hours, but a bit over a minute.

This time it isn’t as painful, though still uncomfortable as my bones stretch and shrink. As I finish changing I notice Michael by the door locking it closed with a switch. “The hell are you changing in here?!” He hisses doing a quick look around ensuring that the place is empty.

“It wasn’t my fault!” I protest, but his eyes only signify confusion. Of course, he doesn’t speak horse. I point to myself, cross my arms in an ‘X’ then widely gesture over my body and stomp my foot for emphasis.

“Okay okay I get it. You need me to grab your stuff?”

I nod enthusiastically and clap my arms together to signify my thanks as he gathers up my discarded clothes and stuffs them into his backpack. Then he kneels down and holds open his jacket gesturing for me to get inside. I’m a bit hesitant, but my backpack and his are full at the moment so I concede and try to slip inside though its obvious I fit rather badly.

With everything packed up he takes off towards the opposite direction of the entrance. “We can use the rear staff entrance, fewer people that way.” I huff into his shirt in return as we head down the hallway.

I can do this, we’re almost outside. Totally not going to be trapped in a facility full of needles and overly curious medical professionals. Nope! Not that at all! Then the tugging starts up again. My horn starts glowing with a vibrant green glow as I’m yanked by my horn to the floor, now quite literally being dragged across the linoleum, my hooves occasionally clopping as I move ahead faster than Mike can keep up, left, then right into an empty room before it drops me unceremoniously next to a bed.

I groan, rubbing my sore limbs as I look around. It looks fairly normal for a hospital. Heart-rate monitor is steadily beeping, but a hanging IV bag with an attachment covered in the ‘radioactive’ symbol draws my attention. I start to leave then pause. The pull is completely gone now, I know I could just walk away. And yet, I know it brought me here for a reason, being a magical unicorn must mean that I can do something.

I turn back around and walk to the front of the bed to read that stats chart. I’m certainly not a doctor, but I know what a Pontine Glioma is. A brain cancer located near the brainstem. I give a small sigh walking towards the door. Then I close it. Turning back, I can see a little girl sleeping in the bed. Her hair is missing under the medical cap.

I don’t know any magic, don’t have any medical training, and this is probably a horrible idea. Yet, watching her I can’t turn away. I may be discovered, I’ll definitely get into trouble, but there is nothing you could do to stop this unicorn from trying to make this little girl’s day.

I hop up onto her bed and carefully crawl forward, knowing that she’s likely immunocompromised I keep away from her face and nuzzle her hand a few times. I feel ridiculous doing it, but being here I suddenly feel a passion for what she’s going through that I hadn’t felt before.

She wakes slowly from her nap. They had grown more and more frequent lately. With her headaches from being sick and the stomachaches from the medicine though it was a relief when it came. She feels something pulling at her fingers and stares at the creature sitting on her bed. Then she reaches over to pick up her glasses and her mouth drops.

Nuzzling her hand is the tiniest little horse she had ever seen! She can’t help but give a small squeak of excitement, then she notices the small stub sticking up from its head. Her eyes start to tear up as she begins to realize what this means.

“A-am I in heaven?” She manages to stutter out, her chest tightens with a cough. Mommy had told her that unicorns weren’t real, her momma told her that heaven had unicorns though. That and people with wings. She reaches out and hugs the little animal close, they give a small whinney in protest and she just laughs, feeling their fur under her fingers. The rise and fall of their chest and that steady thumping that that monitor noisily kept beeping out. She really wished they would turn it off, but they’d always say it was important.

Her eyes tear up as she thinks back to her parents, they said they’d see her in heaven. So where were they? “Uh...M-misses unicorn?” The creature looks up at her with a very human expression of concern. Of course, this was heaven after all. She bet they were really smart. Smarter than their puppy ‘Max’ for sure. No matter how her dad liked to show off his little dancing trick.

Yet they weren’t here now. She wondered how long she would have to wait. Maybe baby Jesus knew. Daddy said Jesus knew everything. She turned back to the unicorn and started petting their mane. “C-can you t-tell Mommy and Daddy I miss them?” She whimpered and started falling into sobs. She didn’t want to go to heaven yet! Mommy had told her all about the fun things she was going to do in her kindergarten class!

Her head starts hurting some more as the machine starts to beep in the bad way again. The one that always brought the mean men in white coats. She hugs the unicorn tightly, they don’t even protest this time as she sees they are crying like she is. “I--I want to go home, I just want to go home!”

The unicorn’s horn started to glow and the angry noise from the dumb monitor stopped. She was feeling awfully sleepy now, but she didn’t want to! Not with the unicorn! She hadn’t even met the wing people yet! Her head was feeling really fuzzy now, she giggled and poked the unicorn’s horn. They winced back before neighing at her unhappily before going back to...whatever they were doing.

Why was its butt glowing? She’d never seen a horse do that before. Then again this was heaven. Maybe they did lots of weird things up here. Things were getting really fuzzy again, her fingers were all tingly too! Then everything went black.

Goddamnit that unicorn! What was he thinking running off like that? I grumble as I search up and down for where they could’ve gone. Broom closets, empty rooms, none of the nurses had seen ‘Anything unusual’ either. Then I felt it. A tingle of what I’d come to know as the feel of moonlight trickled through me. I checked the time, it was several hours to sunset. What is that unicorn up to?

Then it crashes into me, a wave of magic thick with purpose bursts through the hospital nearly stealing the air from my lungs. A quick glance around shows the rest of the staff looking around for a moment, before going back to their duties as if nothing had happened.

Quickly following the direction of where it came from I come across a door in the cancer treatment ward and slowly open it to peek inside. “Artemis! Get your pony ass--” I hesitate seeing the little kid in the bed, though thankfully asleep. “Get over here!” I hiss.

The pony slowly crawls down from the bed and hobbles towards me swaying back and forth before passing out after just a foot or two. Groaning in frustration I pick up the critter and shove him into my jacket. Just after I leave a trauma team hurries down the hallway and enters the room. Not wanting to know what kind of trouble he’d made I hurry out of the building.

I walk a ways from the hospital, my ‘fuzzy little friend’ slowly coming back to his faculties and very nearly stabbing me with his horn. Or would it be her horn? Admittedly not my biggest problem right now. I set them down on the grass and sit next to them under the tree.

I see a splash of color on their flank and facepalm. “Of course, you were getting your cutiemark.” Duh, I think to myself, thinking of my own flank. Apparently ponies could go crazy over them, I didn’t have my own yet--but judging from this experience, I certainly wasn’t in any rush. Maybe I should ask dad about that one later.

Looking over at Artemis I frown, is it me or are their colors looking a little...dull? Their lungs are heaving and hyperventilating as if choking. I press two fingers along their neck where I’d assume their jugular to be. It could be the wrong place, but it feels incredibly faint. He’s definitely not looking very good.

I scoop him up in my arms. Bringing him to the hospital would be a terrible idea given they have more animal than human biology. A vet might be better, but I didn’t really know where a local one is. I pull out my phone and hurry down the road, dialing as I go.

“Hey son, how was sch--”

I cut him off. “Dad, I need a pickup now. I have a unicorn, h--she did some magic thing. Respiration is hampered, BP is low, and they’re looking pale. We’re by the hospital, I--I don’t know who else to call.”

His friendly demeanor disappears in an instant and his tone goes no-nonsense. “Magic starvation, earth doesn’t have natural magic for her to recover with.” He hesitates for a few moments. “It’s what killed your mother.” He remarks grimly, the sounds of him moving around cutting through the silence. “We need to find them a source of magic, its nearing sundown. When you start to change I’m going to give you a quick crash course in magic, okay?”

It takes several agonizingly long minutes for him to show up, a slight chill permeates the air from the incoming storm clouds. Every second making me want to just run into the hospital, consequences be damned. By the time he arrives I’m already feeling the tingles of the night coming on, yet the moon isn’t even up yet. “Uh...dad are you…?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling it too. Only felt that kind of magic a few times. One was during a sonic rainboom, the other was in the presence of her Majesty of the night. Maybe it’ll be enough for her to recover on her own. I still want to hear where the hell you found her once we make sure they are stable. I just wonder why she hasn’t just changed back to being a human.”

I feel her stir on my lap, her breath heaving intensely before she seems to fall back into unconsciousness. We pull up minutes later to our house. I pick her up and follow my dad to our backyard. The moon would be up any minute now, I could feel the tension flowing through my arms, as if I’d just gripped a live wire.

“The full moon is coming next week, there is a lot for us to prepare before then. You remember that I’ve told you that our magic doesn’t come the same way as the other ponies right?” He waits for me to nod before continuing.

“Our power comes from our ancestors, from those that have gone before us. When we die our spirits slowly merge with our worlds magic, we are then slowly joined with the force that is known as harmony. A magic that has been used time and again through wielders, known as the elements of harmony. Ponies chosen by the ancestors to best embody their respective attributes. Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Friendship which binds them all together.”

“That’s really corny and all, but can you really get to the point of all of this? You just told me that he--she’s in magic shock or whatever and that it was what killed my mom!” The hell is he honestly playing at with all of this? If I wasn’t a living shapeshifter every night I might’ve just thrown it all away as gibberish. “I think we have more important things than a lore lesson right now.”

“Because with harmony being a world away, the magic you’ll be calling on tonight will be your mother’s. You don’t have runes or a moonblade yet either, so you will have to work on your bond with her.”

“But I never knew my birth mother, as you said she died shortly after my birth.” I could start to feel the change now. The first strands of moonlight passing over the horizon, I take off my shirt as the fur starts to sprout, feeling the start of my leathery wings brush against the cotton.

I glance at my father, seeing him stare into the moonlight. He flexes his remaining arm, a rune flickers on its surface as a silver glimmer erupts from above his wrist. I blink owlishly as I see a blade, just about a foot in length is now strapped onto his arm. I groan as my face contorts into a muzzle causing some discomfort as the tail emerges, wincing away from the sunlight as I see the world grow brighter.

“Not enough magic for me to change yet, but enough for what we need.” My father says turning to look at me again. “Look to your friend, struggling from the very ailment that took your mother’s life. Centuries before its due, you can’t let her die. Think…” His voice cracks a little. “Think of the loss that will come if she dies here.”

That’s hardly difficult for me right now. I see her laboured breathing, even now I can barely see her chest rise. Her face is pained, she is hurting, she is dying. The thought sends a shiver down my spine as I feel something very real brush against my hoof, holding it ever so gently. I turn my head to look at my limb only to see nothing, I feel something pat my hoof ever so gently a feeling flowing through my gut that makes my heart melt with its warmth. “Mother…” I breathe.

Concentrating I can just barely make out an indiscernible wisp encircling my leg. I can hear her, not with what she speaks but by the memories that start to flow in front of my eyes. Her pulsating affection, her fiery protectiveness, but most importantly the love she feels for me. Love I immediately feel unworthy of. Love from a being that has feelings beyond what I can even fathom, Love from a being I feel ashamed to not even remember.

The moment lasts for several moments. A silent conversation as I feel our emotions and desires flow back and forth. I can’t help but whimper as I feel her warmth move away, the chill of the night air now feeling like the arctic compared to the feeling I had just had. Then her specter turns back around, then dives right into my chest. The bond we had shared before with only a hoof now radiates through my entire body, then just as quickly seems to all but vanish and I look around in confusion, fearing that she may have left me again.

“She’s still there.” My father chuckles, sitting down beside me with a pained smile on his face. “Without the full moon the best we can hope for is her specter. Now close your eyes and relax. With her essence spread over all of you, you will have to pay very close attention to what she is trying to have you do. Specter’s can only enter you with your consent, and they can only give guidance. It is up to you to follow.”

I close my eyes and try to focus on what he is talking about. Frustratingly I feel nothing. After several fruitless minutes, I start to grow impatient. I don’t have time to play around! I look to Arty who has started to look a bit ashen despite her fur. I turn to my dad to voice my concern when I feel it. Just a small tingle that I feel in my front legs, I couldn’t have possibly missed that. Then I remember what he had told me about a sympathetic connection.

I step forward to her prone form, I close my eyes to help focus. My mother’s influence as slight as feeling the pulsing of my heart in my hooves. Every movement makes me pause until I can feel her stroke again. I gently guide my hoof into a pattern on the ground, paying no attention to what it was that I was sketching so much as just following that feeling. Then I feel a sharp prick on the underside of my hoof, and I yelp. Opening my eyes in surprise I see my father there, my hoof outstretched to prick itself on the edge of his blade.

“You don’t have a blade or runes yet, so blood is the best way for you to cast the spell.” My father reassures me. I’m about to voice a complaint before I’m reminded that a small prick is probably less important than my friend dying in front of me.

I close my eyes and nod. From the adrenaline pulsing through my system from the jab it's hard to get back into the groove again, despite knowing what to look for. I feel my hoof trace a shape across their forehead. Moments later I feel a rush as my breath escapes my lungs with a gasp. I very much feel like a balloon that had just popped as I feel my energy drain through my touch, feeling the vacuum that I know is Arty across from me greedily taking it in.

Yet at that same moment I hear them gasp and sputter as if I had just rescued them from drowning. My eyes open as I see a glowing white rune drawn on their forehead, it’s a little wobbly in shape but wouldn’t appear out of place in an egyptian tomb. Relief pours out of me as I feel her specter leave me, seeming to be as exhausted as I am. Her form seems to dissipate into nothingness before I can even tell her goodbye.

Artemis pants, heaving for air, but with much more strength than they had had earlier. They say something I can’t understand with their pony muzzle, though unlike my attempts to speak english their speech seems to incorporate horse noises. My father though, replies something equally incomprehensible before turning to me.

“They thank you for helping him with that.” He translates noticing my distress. “It’s truly a tragedy that your cutiemark had to come in like that. Typically it is a much more joyous occasion. The lack of magic here really can be lethal with that kind of exertion.” He replies in english for both of our benefit.

Artemis speaks a bit more in that strange language, and my father nods. “Yeah...your family is definitely going to be worried. Mom is home, being a nurse I’m sure she can provide a decent medical explanation. I fear that no matter what explanation we have you’re still going to have trouble.”

Artemis’s ears fold back, their tail tucking between their legs. I know that it's a really serious problem, but I have to stifle an “Aawwww” at just how cute h-she looks. Then quickly remember that I’m in a similar predicament, and how they are a mare now. That turned awkward really fast.

Artemis says something again, and my father replies. “Oh..clothes, uh yeah. Let me get those, I assume those are in your pack?” He grabs my backpack and ruffles through it pulling out the clothing I had gathered earlier. After giving it to Arty he turns back to me. “Says he feels like he’s turning back.” Arty heads a bit deeper into the woods, no doubt wanting some privacy.

While we wait for them to get back, I try to practice a bit more with my wings. The thought of one day being able to glide and soar from tree to tree is just exhilarating. It also helps to get a bit of the stress out of my joints from having a potential friend die right in front of me. Once I turned back I’d definitely have to learn more about our magic, not to mention studying up on that Ponish language.

Unfortunately, spending so much time awake at night had quickly started making it hard to stay awake in school lately. Dad said that’s because our race is naturally nocturnal, but that isn’t exactly possible in the current situation. Yet I’d trade our Algebra for Magic Studies anyday, or any-night in my case. Who wouldn’t, honestly?

Artemis comes back several minutes later, looking quite spent. Obvious red lines under their eyes, the way they lean heavily on the trees as they walk towards us showing that their ordeal hadn’t been without their repercussions. The glimmer of their amulet all too visible on their chest. Yet looking a bit further at them I see their form flicker, just like my father’s had.

“I uh...that mark didn’t go away.” He blushes a bit as he stares in our direction, looking quite uncomfortable. Meeting his eyes directly I also see that they have changed ever so slightly. It’s barely noticeable, but having seen them just before they now had the slightest purple tinge. I start to ask him what else has changed, but it all comes out as accursed squeaky gibberish which only makes him look a bit more confused.

He traces a hand over his forehead, feeling where his horn had been minutes earlier. His sigh is all the explanation that is needed to confirm. “There is a little bit of a knob there too.” He sits down across from us and runs both of his hands over his face before yawning sleepily. “I really need to get home, my aunt is going to have my hide as it is. After last time I don’t think she’s going to be as forgiving no matter what I say at this point.”

I wince at that statement, knowing at least a little the kind of fury that he might have coming to him. Thunder echoes in the close distance, the occasional raindrop splattering onto the ground. He gathers his things, immediately going to his phone and texting out a few quick messages before he turns back to me.

“Thank you, I can’t pretend to understand what any of this is. B-but th-thank you, I honestly felt like I was dying there. It was as if my entire body had forgotten how to breathe--It was like I was drowning!” Emotion leaks into his voice that makes me tense, then he suddenly reaches out and pulls me into a hug. Holding me for several moments as I feel a few wet teardrops soak into my fur. I honestly couldn’t blame him, poor guy seems like he’d been through hell.

“I need answers, I don’t know about any of this, but I also don’t want to interfere if this is...if this is something I shouldn’t get involved in. I probably clearly got this amulet by accident and I’m sorry if I damaged it or--”

My father cuts him off with a hand. “We’ll be happy to provide you some more answers. Though I can’t promise to know everything you’ll ask, our species has had little contact with your own over the past thousand years.”

“My species? I think you might be making a mistake. I’m pretty sure I’m a uh...human. Trust me, my family is well, not normal but very much human. Pretty sure they test that in the military or something. This pendant is what really is the unicorn thing.”

“If you say so, I can’t see your magic like my son can. Yet I must express my gratitude for you, inadvertently or not. Your magic--or the pendants has given us a way back to our heritage and way of life. Maybe even a potential way home someday. Now your parents must be worried sick, so let me give you a ride home. My wife is a nurse, a human, she uh...only knows about this as stories.”

Artemis nods in agreement and glances once more in my direction, giving a slight nod of thanks that I return. “I think it's best if I just head home right now, the fewer people involved the better.”

“Alrighty then, Mike? Try and stay safe and out of sight until I get back. I don’t want an incident without me here and remember what I said about changelings. Keep an eye out for them.

I nod as they get together in the car and drive off, before heading down the road. The rain is really coming down now, its chill really sinking into my fur as I feel the weight of all the water accumulate as I hop under a tree. Yet one thing kept bothering me. Dad said that thestrals can see through enchantments and disguises, something that had allowed me to see my dad’s true form. So why did Artemis have the aura of a unicorn?

6. Criminals and Consequence

From my perch I spied on my targets from above. For whatever reason my pendant was abuzz tonight. Especially after that wave from earlier, I had already felt better than ever before it hit, but now I could practically feel the lightning arching within my body just begging to be used. What better use for all this energy then living out a little superhero fantasy and beating up a few punks who I had seen bashing a few windows in a parking lot the other day?

I couldn’t just attack them though, no. I had to wait to catch them in the act. I re-checked my hat and bandanna to make sure it covered a good portion of my face. I step back a few feet towards the other side of the building, then charge forward at full speed. At the last moment I leap into the air, my vertical jump may be only slightly above average but my forward momentum easily lets me clear the 15 foot gap between me and the next building’s roof.

I groan at the impact before scrambling to pull myself up. With a bit of experience and practice I no longer felt much of the nausea of the speed rush anymore. Impacts where a lot less concerning now too. I not only felt lighter, I’d easily lost 30 pounds since I’d found this amulet yet my overall appearance hadn’t changed much at all. It definitely was noticeable when trying to open the heavy school doors though. Hard to have leverage without all that weight.

I eyed them below, today there was 6, yesterday there had only been a group of 5. Now though, it was just endless waiting. They didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular, besides migrating from our small little town to the bigger cities alleys nearby. It was incredibly boring, let me tell yea. Luckily I had my phone to keep myself occupied, though it was a challenge to keep it safe from all the impacts I keep having.

It was late out, but with it being a weekend and my parents being preoccupied with themselves I had no reason to return soon. I watch as the group turns down an alley, they’re spreading out into two different groups. Not spreading out enough to signal that they’re going home. No, they found something or someone. I smile, time to be a hero.

I leap across to the next building. It’s a little slick from the incoming rain, something I make note of, building leaping will get a lot more dangerous. Despite my speed and reduced weight, I’m pretty sure a long fall would very much still be lethal.

I peak over the roof’s edge, below me I can spot a pair of individuals walking down the sidewalk. A guy and gal couple, though it seems like they’re both a little tipsy. The group that split off undoubtedly heading around to block their exit on the other side of the road. I pull out my phone, making sure the flash is off, I take several pictures of the incoming group. People never think to look up, they’re making this too easy.

I move to crawl down the side, then hesitate. I’m not that much of an idiot am I? I pull out my phone again and dial 911. Damn, they’re moving fast! I have to get down there now or else I’ll miss it.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” A male voice asks, making me quickly dial down the volume to its lowest setting. God I hope they didn’t hear that, they couldn’t have, I’m just being paranoid. Enhanced hearing is just something my little amulet had granted me recently. The inability to eat meat was a bit annoying though, that’s a lesson I learned the hard way.

“Hi, yes. I’d like to report a robbery. 45th and Baker Street, first alley after the dry cleaners and by the abandoned Johnson office building.”

“We’re deploying units to that area, please make sure you stay away from the sc--”

I’m about to hang up, but then decide I can be a little nice. “No can do sir, do be careful though.” I can’t help but add “I’ll try to leave them in one piece.” Smiling wider than I had any reason to I hang up and quickly climb down the side. I then just jog to the drunk couple, no sense in letting them get caught up in my fun.

“Run! There is an armed shooter down the road! Dial 911!” I scream at them as I approach, trying to disguise my excitement as fear. They quickly turn and run down the other way that they’d come and away from the ambush, the guy nearly trips over himself in a drunken haze in his rush as he turns around.

I wait for them to turn around the corner, then I see 2 of the individuals slip out and they yell quickly backtracking down into the ambush. The second group must have split up again. “Well, fuck” I say as the group circles in around us. There goes plan A.

“You got a lighter?” One of them asks, as if their question could make me believe their innocence. They hang loosely, around us leaning against the buildings. They’ve got us pinned, right now they’re just trying to fish for what we have. Not risking anything the cops could do anything about if they don’t determine we have something they’d want. This isn’t hollywood where they just stick you up at gunpoint out of the blue. They aren’t idiots.

“We don’t have a lighter.” The drunken guy states, seeming to be sobered up by the situation. He holds his girlfriend close and they try to walk past the crowd, they spare a glance at me as they pass. Though I’m unsure if its gratitude or suspicion. Unfortunately they close in a little more as they try to move past, only softly blocking their exit.

“A dollar then? Mine is real broke, and I need a light. I just want a dollar.” The couple seems to tense at that and I see him reach for his wallet before I reach out a hand and stop them. They scowl at me for my movement, recoiling from my touch and showing a bit of their drunkness in their reflexes.

I stare at the one asking, meeting their partially cloaked gaze, a scarf thicker than is needed for the weather is around their neck. “They don’t want a dollar, they want to see your wallet and if you’re worth their time to rob.”

I see them stiffen as I call their bluff and they back away. “You’re lying man. I just want a dollar…” They don’t seem to be letting up and have gotten closer, but just keep lurking letting us know they’re there. If they can intimidate us into just giving over our money they could probably weasel out of any law trouble.

“You’ll let us past, or the cops will get involved.” I hold out my phone, of course I’d already called but they didn’t know that. Where were they anyways? I was just aching to teach these thugs a lesson, and if the cops handled it before my turn it’d make my hours of stalking useless. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately pulling out my fancy latest gen phone was probably not the best idea.

The guy brushes a bit of his brown stubble, then nods to his buddies before starting to walk off, covering his face up a bit more while we here the click of a handgun getting cocked from behind us. The talker we’ve seen, so obviously they wouldn’t be breaking the law tonight while we could identify them. Instead we’re greeted by another guy with a low headband and a more covering scarf revealing only his eyes.

“Alright, hand them over.” He yells, his voice straining in a way I could tell was faked. Now that the actual crime is being committed they want to get out of here as soon as possible. The couple quickly concedes and I see them empty their wallet and purse of cash, with the hammer getting cocked they reluctantly fork over their guards. “I don’t got all night! Hurry it up!”

I flinch from his yelling, knowing that it was all about intimidation didn’t make it any easier to resist. After the quick shakedown the couple is let to run free without any physical injuries. Yet I stand my ground, not letting them make me do anything.

I don’t have to wait long before one of the thugs reaches to grab me before I breathe in, then out. The shift as I’ve come to refer to it coming easier than ever on this rainy night. I grab his arm then yank it towards the gunman only mostly sure that the gun is unloaded. Without watching to confirm I then follow up with a punch, ramming my high speed fist into the stomach of another thug to my right. Then I run forward into the gap my movements created, the water stings to move through at this speed and my fist hurts like hell from the punch but the satisfaction is well worth it as they stare at me blinking owlishly as I fade back into normal time.

“The hell are you?” the ‘Need a lighter’ guy asks. The others are glancing at the guy I’d just punched and I look down and see them crumpled on the ground as they scream in agony clutching their side. The gunman and throwee quickly stumbling to their feet as I see him swapping his magazine of empty ammo for his live one.

“All the people you shouldn’t have messed with.” I reply. The sight of the gun worries me. I’m fast, but definitely not outrun a bullet kind of fast. “Now drop that gun o--” I flinch seeing him raise it up to shoot, but I’ve already shifted and started moving to the side. The bullet fires and I see it split past me easily twice as fast as a baseball pitch and missing me by inches. I definitely can’t outrun that, but I can keep ahead of his swinging arm.

Two of his buddies just take off running, dropping their stolen goods and fleeing as fast as their legs can carry them after seeing me shift again. The rest I see move to draw their guns, well, except for the guy I punched earlier. Okay, this just got waaay too dangerous! I sprint behind the office’s walls, hearing the pings of gunfire off of the wall. The hell is with these people?

I run down the alleyway, knowing I have to get out of their line of fire I dive through a broken window, tearing through the torn tarp covering it and landing fairly painfully on the uneven bare concrete floor. The weather has wrecked the building in the years since the company went bankrupt and it seems like no one had wanted the property enough to tear down the giant eyesore either.

The floor is ice cold under my hands, a firm contrast to the tingling spreading through my body. I’d pushed my abilities a little before, but today they seem turned up to 11. A gunshot ringing through the empty space brings me back to the present. I move to the staircase and start ascending as I hear the group yelling behind me as they break the glass to get in.

I shift again to get up the stairs, if I can get up a few floors then I could lose them across the rooftops. I make it only few steps before the tingling becomes an agony, my back erupting in pain as I feel my skin tear and stretch. My clothes start to feel more and more loose causing me to trip over myself landing painfully on the concrete stairs.

The sound of feet slamming against the concrete is getting closer. Being an athlete pushing through discomfort is familiar, though this is a bit more than a cramp. The adrenaline with their yelling from below driving me to climb floor after floor. I lose count of how many floors we’ve climbed.

“You can’t run forever you little bitch! We’ll wait here all night if we have to!” I hear them scream from below. My legs taking the exertion well, but unfortunately only just ahead of a bunch of men likely twice my age.

I slam into the push door at the top of the building breaking back out into the rain. It’s pouring now, and despite the rainfall my hair raises on end. The smell of ozone building in the air. As I move to the edge I see just how high I have gone. The nearest rooftop is several stories below, too far for me to safely jump.

“Nowhere to run now you little freak!” I turn around and see the remainder of the thugs move through the roof access. Their guns are leveled at me, but they haven’t fired just yet. Meanwhile down below I start to hear the blare of sirens coming down the street, great. Really could’ve used them earlier.

I back away towards the edge, then double over as a convulsion wracks my form. Now? Of all the times I’d tried to transform it has to be now? I can’t be captured, and I can’t outrun bullets. Then I feel a strange sensation from the small of my back. I raise my hands to brush over my head, nope, not a horn like Arty. To them though, it looks more like surrender.

Looking up at them, I start to see wariness building on their faces, my clothes are struggling to fit now that I’ve shrunk several sizes. I look over the edge eyeing the height, could I even fly before I hit the ground? The smell of ozone intensifies and I feel the current rattling my teeth, there isn’t a lightning rod up here...and yet, it feels oddly familiar.

If this fails I’m dead anyways. I tense through my new wings, feeling the buzz of arcing electricity. My pendant burns hotly, I close my eyes and lean back over the edge and let myself fall. Moments later I’m falling through the air, my belongings burnt by the strike. In the freefalling air my loose clothes scatter to the wind.

I grit my teeth trying to angle my body at an angle. For several terrifying milliseconds I tumble before the air catches under my wings and they’re forced open. Now I’m falling at an angle as I just try to tense my wings while shifting my body to angle them properly. The ground is coming up really fast, the water stings at my eyes, but far less than it should. I try to throw my weight backwards, but without something to push off of I just lose my balance and I fall into a spiral.

THUD!

I tumble across the ground, squealing as my delicate body gets bruised in ways it never could before. I initially had impacted grass, but had rolled across concrete sidewalk. I don’t move for several moments, content to just lay there letting the rain soak into my new fur. Thunder crackling through the sky as I rest on the ground. I just survived a 200 foot fall, and I laugh. It starts small before it turns into wheezes of amusement. I’d done it! Sure...I couldn’t stop them from taking the money, but I got them caught and gave one a good hit!

I try to turn onto my new legs before whimpering. Looking at my legs one of them is twisted at an improper angle, my wings hurt too much to even twitch. First priorities first I search the area this late at night, with the rain and thunder the road is silent. The old office building is further into the distance than I was expecting no way I haven’t lost them at this point.

Now that I’ve caught up I take a moment to look over my new body. My fur is a light cerulean with just a hint of brown, my hair has transformed from its usual color into that of a light crimson, soft blue, pale green-ish blonde, and purple. Some sort of mis-hapen rainbow, the change oddly kept the purple highlights I have in my hair. What strikes me the most odd though is a mark on my hip. It’s a simplified pocket watch with a rainbow lightning bolt through it. Perhaps the marking is a way of indicating that speed ability I have? I wonder what other secrets the pendant is hiding.

Several moments later I try to get up again, succeeding with no small amount of whimpering. I’m unbalanced on these new legs, and my dislocated right front leg is just agony at the slightest movement. I hobble forward down the road, stopping every couple meters to breath and rest. I make my way to where I parked a few blocks away.

Loss is oftentimes more about what it takes from you, than what it does to you. The next few days pass in a numb daze. Each hour breezing by, each one exactly like the last. Not depression, not sadness, but nothing. We hadn’t been close, in fact we’d argued frequently but he was my father. He had been rough at times, but others he had stood by my side and supported me in ways that made me a better person.

The worst part of it all though, the part that disturbed me the most is that my mother had moved on after our cry that night. She had hugged me a few times when I expressed my grief but she acted so...so eerily normal. When I tried to bring up his death she would just change the conversation, we hadn’t even gotten to see his body and she refused to tell me how he had died. That in itself was infuriating, how could she go from a broken emotional mess to so calm about it?

That certainly wasn’t the only odd thing that had happened either. These past few days I had felt stronger than I had in years. I could run more than a few steps, my body didn’t grind or protest painfully when I moved. The strangest of things though came this morning.

I woke up like normal, scowling at the sunlight pouring into my room. I rub my eyes with my arms and trudge my way to the bathroom for my morning shower. There is a bit of discomfort in my lost limb, sending no small amount of phantom sensations to tingle unpleasantly. As I strip I feel an alien sensation in the limb, catching my shirt slightly as I pull it off. Looking closer I see a crack in my skin, about five inches long and one inch wide. Underneath it appears to be a black protrusion that seems to be emerging. Flat and vaguely chitinous judging from its sheen.

As this is a bit out of the ordinary I quickly finish up and look around the house to see if I could get a ride to the hospital but my mother seems absent. I look at the odd crack and give it a prod, it has a bit of sensation but isn’t painful. Black could be a sign of gangrene, yet there is no fluid buildup or the aforementioned pain. No pus, no nothing. Looking at the clock, I ultimately conclude that I’ll just handle it after school.

The bus ride goes as it always does, this early in the morning it's mostly awkward silence with a little muttering. The bus itself noisey enough to make conversation a challenge works wonders. I adjust my prosthetic underneath my longsleeve shirt. At this point everyone knows I have it, but the fact that I don’t have to see it helps me feel better. The new crack on my arm though makes it a bit uncomfortable making it hard to ignore.

Going to school is reassuring, it's a sense of normalcy without the cognitive dissonance of home. It’s just something else to worry about. I read through most of them, only occasionally taking a few notes. Fantasy is always another world to get into, another life and adventure where I could be living a world so much better than my own. This method makes the classes go by rapidly but more importantly it gets my mind away from reality.

Lunchtime comes around, something I typically looked forward to. Meals at home typically were barely palpable. Honestly most of the time it was like they’d never cooked before, as a result I did the cooking at home when I could. Complaints were never in short supply, but for those of us that struggle for variety and actual meals it is one of the best parts of the day.

That said...today seems exceptionally bland. Not only that but chewing in itself seems off. My jaw feels like I’m wearing a retainer, each bite feels awkward. What is supposed to be a salisbury steak on mashed potatoes tastes more like salted cardboard. I swallow it quickly to reduce the experience but it only gets worse. I feel it ooze down my throat but instead of it fading from my awareness it feels incredibly present. I can feel what I’d just swallowed inside my stomach.

I cough and hack, but by now it's too late to regurgitate. Or at least it should. My stomach flexes in an oddly flexible manner but not enough to throw anything up. I stare at my styrofoam tray with frustration. I don’t care if it tastes like ass, I’m gonna eat this or I’m going to starve until a much less appetizing dinner.

With no small amount of nausea I quickly stuff myself with what I can from my meal. I only manage a fraction however before I have to call it quits. The meat of the meal was definitely the worst while the potatoes were only mildly bad and the fruit juice was at least slightly pleasant. The feeling of it all sloshing around in my stomach just ruins the whole experience though, at least by the end it seems to thicken a little.

Last class of the day is Gym, not typically my favorite in any case. Yet it wasn’t terrible. I just wish the teachers wouldn’t treat me like I was made of glass. Just ignore it, for the love of god just ignore it! Hell, if they noticed how much I tried to ignore it, maybe they’d wise up a little. Every year though they seemed to need a reminder.

In the changing room I just enter the restroom to avoid changing in front of the other students, grabbing my clothes from my locker. As I take off my clothes though, I feel a twitch in my absent arm. For a moment I pass it off as just another phantom pain, but then I feel it flex. I practically tear off the prosthetic, in my haste to look at my shoulder. The crack has widened massively, in fact defining it as a crack is an understatement. It had ruptured, protruding from my torn skin is an insectile looking nub.

I brush over it with my other hand, my chest tightening at the tactile feedback as my eyes bulge from their sockets. Only quickly clamping my hand over my mouth stops my excited scream. I make it twitch, I make it move in a small circle, I make it move. Tears stream down my face at the sight of it. It’s only about two inches long, but it is something. Something I didn’t have before, something that might become more.

Driven by morbid fascination I pull at the torn skin that had mushroomed from the protrusion. It gives and tears with a disturbing amount of ease, every inch revealing more and more of the insectile flesh. Pulling a little further my skin becomes slick, my skin cracking like an eggshell, blood oozing slightly from the cracks. Yeah...okay. That’s far enough.

I roughly adjust my prosthetic over my newly formed limb, it's a rough fit and if it gets any bigger wearing it probably wouldn’t be the problem in any case. I use a bit of toilet paper to wash off the blood trying to clean up a bit. I can’t wait to show my doctor this! Oh just the look on his face would be priceless!

As I exit the teacher gives me a little bit of a look, but then gives me an irritatingly pitiful nod. Of course he would assume I would need more time because of my ‘special needs.’ I grit my teeth and just get in line for the warm up stretches, adapting them as little as possible so I can look a bit normal with the others. I smile a bit in satisfaction as his eyes widen a little while I perform push ups, leaning on my arm just enough for balance while doing it one-handed.

Warm up done we all gather up to play badminton. Ratty old nets had been set up, most of which sag heavily and have a yellowish tint to them. Second-hand (Oh, I get it now...) rackets are passed out only with the saddest looking...birdies? Is that what they’re called? I don’t have a clue.

Looking around I can spot the guys going all out slamming the depreciated cock around (Now that is a fitting name). Not a chance to play with those crazies, there hadn’t been any direct assignments and so we’re all pretty scattered. I bite my lip as I try to look for a group I can possibly join.

“Hey! Wanna play?”

I look over across the gym and see a group of three gals. They were somewhat familiar, the previous years in school I had been able to participate with them on multiple occasions. The teacher didn’t seem to care much, and the guys always played too rough for me to keep up with or just were aggressive a-f. Relieved to receive an invitation I join them for the rest of the day.

It’s exhilarating just to get lost in the game. I’m paired up with a gal as my partner and it becomes a surprisingly even match. It’s just small stuff like being included and treated as an equal that could really make your day. By the end of the period I’m smiling like a lunatic, just having an all out blast. No awkward sitting around or trying to ask people that would only accept me on their team because they didn’t want to look like a bad person in front of their friends.

With just the arm thing and a good gym class my day is going amazing. Forget about lunch I feel like a million bucks. Yet, of course, things could only go down from here.

I get my things from my locker, my prosthetic arm keeps on wanting to shift out of place evidently not happy with the thought of being replaced. The crowds pass by me on either side, everyone getting their things and heading home. At this point I’d typically stay after to hang out with Sam, though I should probably get home to plan a visit to the doctor again. Doc was a great guy after all.

I’m about to hurry to the bus before I pause. Why not just go directly? I don’t have a phone to call, but I’m sure my mom would get over it, after all dad dying apparently wasn’t a big deal to her either. Damn that thought gives me the shivers, but her apathy has really been ticking me off. I wasn’t that close but at least I have the sense and compassion to at least miss the guy!

I wipe away a few loose tears and start down the road. It’s just a few blocks away and having a good walk these days just feels good. You never realize how much your health is worth until you lose it. I certainly wasn’t going to be running any marathons or winning any competitions but I could live again.

I enter the building and head to the front desk, with how often my visits are most of the staff know who I am and I’ve memorized a few of their names in return. “Hi Mary, is Doctor Judas in today?” Mary is a bit of an older slightly portly woman who tended to radiate a lot of ‘Southern Charm’ as its called.

“Oh why yes, here to join your mother? She came in just about an hour ago. You can head right in to join both of them.” She looks through a few files on her computer before looking up. “You can find them in room 207.” She says with her ever-present smile.

“Alright, thanks!” I reply quickly and hurry down the halls at a brisk walk. I see her just nod in reply as she goes back to her computer work. I can’t wait to see the look on the doc’s face when he sees what’s going on, he’d always been rather obsessive about my condition. I just hoped that it wasn’t something they’d have to remove.

It’s a bit of a walk up some stairs, but I wasn’t in any real rush. What was my mother doing here though? Did she have some other condition that needed attention, or something genetic? I grit my teeth a little. They better not be talking about my condition and health without me present. If something was going on I deserved to know. The last time they had tried to change my medication on me I… Wait, what did I do?

I try to think back to when I was certain they had changed my injections but the only memory I have is just agreeing to the change. Yet that can’t be right...I remember being absolutely furious that they were making changes without my consent, especially with reading up on medicine in my chemistry and biology classes. Even with all the testing I’d undergone they still had never given me a clear answer on what my condition was.

The door comes into view partway down the hall and my steps slow. My head starts buzzing all of a sudden as it feels like I just entered a hot tub. Waves of some sort of energy are just radiating from the room as I step forward. As I do so I’m aware of a ripping sensation around my missing arm that quickly starts to spread over my chest and over my left side. Am I getting shorter?

On one hand I’m pretty sure I should walk away, but on the other hand…. Well, I don’t have another hand but my curiosity is piqued. The buzzing in my head feels oddly familiar, but isn’t something I ever remember feeling before. I press my ear against the door, feeling the side of my head crinkle like an eggshell that’s no small amount disturbing.

“I just don’t know what to do Mandible, with Exo dead we just can’t keep up with her growth. With this many bucking ponies around she’s feasting more than I can hope to drain, not to mention how much harder it is getting to siphon her! I got a decent draw a few days ago when I used Exo’s death to garner her sympathy enough to feed but even that barely made a dent. Now with Antenna assassinated we can’t even get in touch with the rest of the swarm, we’ve been severed!”

“Get ahold of yourself Scutella, the Queen trusted us to keep her contained and we will. We’ve dealt with this several times before. Just put her into stasis for a few days or mare up and give her a bite and drain the little pest from the source!”

“B-but the queen said if we damaged her--”

“The Queen wants us to contain her! Without her the traitor Thorax don’t have a queen of their own to challenge her. Chrysalis only wants her for her own purposes and to strengthen her own hive, who cares if she doesn't lay as large of a quota? We can afford to damage her a little here and there if it means keeping her from getting out of her shell.”

I stumble back clasping a hand over my mouth as I do so. However at that moment I’m hit by a penetrating wave coming from the front of the hospital. It’s over in a moment but leaves my skin tingling with an afterglow that makes my skin burn as if I’d spent too much time in the sun. I hear a rush of steps and quickly start to retreat down the hall at a dead sprint. Sure they could be referring to something or someone else but too many things line up.

“Hey! Stop right there!” I hear the rush of orderlies behind me charging down the hall in a rumble behind me, their every step causing the group to shake ever so slightly. I slam open the fire escape and pour down the staircase my body burning with a newfound energy I had never felt before. My body is dripping blood from multiple cracks in my skin yet it’s painless, the skin flaking off to reveal the spread of dark exoskeleton.

I make it to the ground floor, plowing through a pair of orderlies waiting for me at the ground floor. Their stance protective and firm, yet when they look at me their jaws drop in horror as they take in my blood soaked clothes.

“N-now calm down now, you’re not thinking rationally…” They hold their arms out trying to placate me, obviously not wanting to tangle with a wounded patient. I have only moments before the rest of them get down the staircase.

“I’m begging you, I don’t know what’s going on here but my doctor” I point to him as he emerges from the stairwell “is trying to experiment on me without my consent.” The orderlies calm and relax for a moment, evidently satisfied they’d stopped my rush.

“We’ll get you another doctor then, how about that? You’re bleeding out and need medical attention. Let’s get that solved first okay?” Their look of concern feels so genuine, no it doesn’t just look genuine I can feel it. Radiating through my chest I can sense it. Like someone would compare taste to being a mix of touch and smell, this new sensation is like a mix of smell and taste.

I nod, moving carefully away from my doctor my entire body shaking with horror. My mother to her credit looking horrified, yet after what she’d said about what was most certainly my father I don’t dare trust it. “Keep them away, both of them.” I instruct through gritted teeth, my teeth feeling off as I do so.

“I’ll take care of him.” I turn around to see a hispanic nurse I’d only seen a few times before standing next to me. She’s already wheeled out a stretcher for me, with the amount of blood soaked into my clothes I’m not surprised. I eye her, trying to look for some amount of deception. What ultimately confirms it is the sensation I feel radiating from her. She’s greatly concerned, a little bit scared, and dare I say ever so slightly curious.

I lay down on the stretcher, my eyes not moving from my mom and past doctor. I’m quickly wheeled down the hall and into what I think is the ER. There is one other individual waiting in the room for us who has already donned a mask and is holding some trauma shears.

Not wanting to ruin my clothes further I carefully peel off my shirt, feeling no small amount of slick skin tear off as I do so. The guy in the other scrubs winces as I do so and stops me from going further than my shirt.

“No...don’t do that. You’re causing further damage...I think.” He looks over my form, he presses gently against my chest. It feels wet and my skin cracks a little more under it but there isn’t any pain and I inform him of such. “There is a uh...abnormality in his subdermal layer. Could you confirm for me Arnesto?”

She comes over, delicately feeling at my ribs again watching for signs of pain while looking at me. She gets a few pads and presses them against the bloody surface trying to clear it off. Looking down I can see an interlocking layer of chitin over my chest underneath the torn skin. It’s quite a mess but it doesn’t hurt at all, in fact I daresay it feels kinda good.

“I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t normal.” I reply a bit warily, rubbing over it gently with my own hand. There is a bit less sensation than I’d assume from skin, but only by a little. The chitin itself is moderately flexible and lighter on my chest then it is on my shoulder. The pair of medical professionals methodically start clearing away the shed skin examining it inch by inch.

“I’d say we get the skin grafts, but they would require a surface to adhere to. The blood loss seems excessive, but pupils seem normal and exertion seems normal. Unfortunately the blood pressure cuff isn’t working properly on your...anatomy.” She continues with the other doctor, however they quickly switch from cleaning the skin to strapping on bandages to try to keep the skin from falling off.

The door is slammed open with such strength that it makes both me and the doctors flinch. My mother walks in right after, glaring at us with confidence as she strides into the ER. The doctor quickly walks over while the nurse keeps working on the bandages.

“I’m sorry but you have to get out of here! This is an ER and you aren’t sanitary! Wait outside!” the doctor instructs, but she just walks forward and grabs him then lunges forward and bites into his neck in a smooth motion. His body goes limp within moments and sinks to the floor staring dopily across the room as if drugged. She strides forward as I roll off the table the nurse moving right behind me.

“Security! We have an assault! Contact the police!” She calls through the intercom, she holds a scalpel out towards her. I’m shaking like a leaf as I stare between the both of them.

“The hell are you!? The hell am I for that matter!?” I yell in a panic, edging along the far side of the room towards the car exit. The bandages feeling rather tight, yet at this moment I’m thankful that they're covering up part of the odd carapace under my skin.

“Nothing you’ll remember, now why don’t you just calm down and surrender before one of you gets hurt? I’m sure the good doctor here would like to live another day...” The nurse bristles at their statement gripping her small blade all the tighter. The doctor in her grip chuckles at that, his eyes unfocused and staring blankly across the room.

“Al-alright, I don’t know what the hell you are but we can discuss this like decent hu--decent beings.” She carefully sets down her scalpel on the operating table and holds her hands up sparing a glance at me as I do the same.

“Why my dear I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She purrs in a two-toned voice that sounds nothing like the mother I know. A green flame starts to dance over her body, her body shrinking and contorting as her skin blackens and hardens. Her head doesn’t change much in size besides growing a frill as their fangs expand out of their mouth. “Ah, so much better,” She purrs.

Mrs. Arnesto looks at me in shock, I can do little more than return the same, shaking my head slightly. I softly grip at my protruding arm seeing the similarities between us that send a shiver down my spine. “And here I was waiting for my Hogwarts letter…” I finally say somberly, leaning against the wall a little woozily.

The creature I’d formerly known as my mother stalks forward slowly towards the nurse, the horn on her head glowing slightly along with her eyes. Mrs. Arnesto was frozen stock still as she approached. I didn’t have to know everything to know something bad was happening.

“Snap out of it! Run!” I yell at her but she doesn’t even flinch. Instead she slowly relaxes her posture and sinks to the ground in a lazy sit now just above eye level with the creature. Her horn then erupts with a lightning bolt beam of green energy that strikes her between the eyes and she sags to the side unconscious.

“Don’t worry hun, this won’t hurt a bit.” She says as she turns to face me, her face oddly human in its expressiveness looking almost bored with the whole thing. “Without me you’ll be dead within the week, you cracked your damn shell and there is no going back now.” She chides stepping forward in a calm steady pace while I slowly back up towards the car entrance.

“N-no! S-stay back!” I squeak, my voice catching as it goes up a few octaves. A few quick coughs and I’m hacking up more flesh and blood, a few teeth coming out as well from my hacking. Their replacements already starting to grow in with a sickening schlick. “W-we need to talk about this!”

“Then how about we talk somewhere we aren’t going to be dragged off to a lab?” She purrs confidently stepping forward ever so slightly faster than my retreat. “My associate is already cleaning up the mess you’ve made already, do you really want to make things worse?”

My thoughts are racing a thousand miles a minute and I gesture to the nurse. “Are they going to be okay?” I ask assertively, coughing a little as my throat finishes clearing some of the ‘shell’ as she had called it.

“They’ll be just fine hun, now if you’ll just--” She doesn’t finish before I see another green lance burst from her horn and my head explodes with sensation dazing me for a few moments. Fatigue spreads through my limbs as I slowly collapse to the floor under their weight, all the while she maintains her beam. Everything feels so good, as if I had just received a mind numbing massage. I hear her saying something but it is as if I’m underwater sinking ever deeper.

No.

Not like this.

The thought bubbles up as casually as one might remember they had left the oven on. Then it grows from a passing thought, to a craving. I don’t want this. The craving as simple as needing a drink of water grows further into a desire. I want to be free. That alone bubbles up through the depths, it surges higher and higher, ascending through the apathy until…

It pops.

I sink into the abyss of nothingness, no longer just sinking, but falling. My stomach aches and twists from the stress, then suddenly I’m no longer sinking. The world snaps back into focus as I find myself vomiting a green slime all over the creature in front of me. Her connection broken I kick at her small form tripping slightly over the slimy residue soaking the floor its texture like slightly sticky jello.

This time I don’t hesitate to run as I slam through the double doors much to the surprise of the emergency crew yelling at me as I burst through their intake room. I stumble from the sidewalk crashing into the concrete using my good hand to break my fall while hearing a loud cracking noise. I look at my hand and see that I’m missing my pinky and fourth finger, dripping from where they used to be is a green fluid as viscous as an egg yolk mixed with only a little blood.

Please tell me I’m dreaming, this has to be a dream. Looking behind me I don’t see anyone pursuing me as I flee down the road, one of the doctor’s though, is squatting over where my ‘fingers’ had broken off and is inspecting it. Looking over my body my stomach churns at the sight of my body falling off like one might expect from the pictures of leprosy in the middle ages.

I make it only a few more feet before I collapse. I can feel my limbs shrinking back up into my core, my limbs quickly becoming unresponsive dull husks of a shell. My life is over, this is it. I can hear sirens in the distance heading towards the hospital, but much more closely I hear a scream as a middle aged man freezes on his lawn before stumbling backward and running back into his house.

I have to move, I crawl forward with my remaining hand, my prosthetic must have slipped off a while back not that it’d be any help now. I must have blacked out because the next moment I’m under a blanket and being dragged into a car, confirmed by the door slamming shut after being dropped onto a cushioned seat. I hear a police siren blast so loud it sends me ears ringing for several moments as it passes by. The car accelerates down the road with me in it as I succumb to blissful oblivion.

Author's Notes:

Thank you so much for reading!

If you liked or even disliked the story please consider leave a comment.

Fun Fact: Angela's PoV this chapter was partially based off of a real life experience I had escaping a mugging about 2 years ago.

7. Rebellion, Recovery, and Retrieval

“Are you sure they got them alright? The spells activated and everything? If their own production is not greater than the passive vacuum observed on that world you know what will happen!”

“Twilight” Starlight speaks calmly as she always has during my years of rule. I breathe in, hoof against my chest, then breathe out. How I missed Cadence, perhaps out of all of us her fate has been the most cruel. The waiting is over now, years of preparation. Nothing but a small blink in the eternal life of an alicorn, but it is not for my own struggles. No, it is the suffering of the ponies, the Yaks, the Gryphons, the Changelings, and all the other creatures I have fought hard to serve. Dozens disappearing daily as their loved ones petition me for aid I will not render.

“Twiiiilight.” Starlight says again to get my attention, waving her holographic hoof at me.

“Right, sorry.” I cough a little embarrassed.

“They have the pendants, ponies have died for this. We can’t afford to wait any longer, not with all that’s at stake. You know this, you promised this. Worrying and obsessing won’t get us anything until we reclaim the portal. We get that first, then we can worry about getting them all home.”

I nod to Starlight as she dispels her spell, the little music box she had possessed returning to its old shape. I smile briefly in remembrance of when our positions had been reversed. After she had heard of our surrender she had ran into the Everfree, disappearing into the unknown. Today, because of her we have a chance to strike back without losing everything we hold dear. I adjust my notes and nod to my ever faithful assistant Spike. “We are ready.”

With a flick the royal doors open at my command, even after all these years it still made my chest tighten a little with the roar of the crowds. Once upon a time I might’ve felt accomplished, but now their praise cut into my heart like a knife. Every day I had betrayed them, every day for years. The deal was that they wouldn’t kill them, but I had little in the way to confirm they had honored that promise. All this because I couldn’t make a sacrifice, because I had been fighting to win a no-win scenario.

As an alicorn, these years will haunt me to the end of my eternity. Today though, today will go down in our history as the day we take Equestria back. I stride onto the platform, the same one I had seen Celestia rise the sun from so many years ago. “Harmony give me strength.” I voice in quiet plea, before activating the canterlot voice for my speech.

“Ponies of Equestria! I welcome you all to the Grand Galloping Gala! This year has been long, yet no matter our hardships it is the same number as last year. Let us mourn for those lost, but remember. Today we stand together, today our losses are not just the scars that tear at our hearts. They are the resolve that will drive equestria into a brighter future!”

I eye the crowd, my ‘handlers’ I had come to identify watching me with a steely resolve. They had long since given up trying to hide, they knew I wouldn’t try anything with the hostages they held. That is to say, they had thought it would be. I give them a subtle nod, putting off their suspicion a little longer.

“Our elements might be split, fear might abound, divisions between our races might be more tense than ever. Yet I plead, no beg of you to come together in this trying time of our lands. I am not the Princess Celestia so many of you have wanted, Nor the Luna you have missed. I cannot hope to live up to their legacy of Love and Justice. Yet I promise you, this day I will strive to live their legacy.” My next words little more than a whisper. “No matter the cost.”

Then the bloodbath began. Ponies scream as quarrels erupt into the sides of dozens within the crowd panic erupts into chaos, then fear as they see the green blood bursting from their fallen foes. A platoon of Thestrals hidden in the alcoves combined with the might of my academy quickly felling dozens in various brutal ways, only some being non-lethal to my chagrin. They are as much slaves as we are, brainwashed from birth. Yet there was no other way.

“Ponies! Our land has been invaded! Your loved ones have been stolen, not killed, by Chrysalis! Cadence has been replaced once more, and their spies trot among us! Today we will strike back, together. Rainbow Dash is missing, and Fluttershy has joined the immortal stream of harmony. Yet today we have a chance to make things right. My ponies, my friends let’s take back Equestria together. WHO’S WITH ME!” I yell to the crowd that cheers in response.

“We fight not to harm our enemies, but to free our loved ones. I beg of you all to remember our allies. Thorax has strived and labored hard to help us get free of their influence. The zebra’s have worked to produce methods to detect their shapeshifters, the crystal ponies and yaks are leading a coup to retake the crystal empire, the hippogriffs are patrolling their routes. We fight together, united as one Equestria! Now let’s go put that cockroach back in her shell!

The crowd rallies together, they are not soldiers, but this war will not be won with the weapons of war, but the tools of peace. Now I can only hope that our children can survive with what we’ve given them. First we retake our homeland, then we can take back the mirror.

Now I just have to hope the strike team can make good use of our distraction and retake the portal, without it the lives of an entire generation would become blood in the sand.

“Tell me again, one more time what you saw.” We had picked up a bunch of punks off the road earlier tonight. We’d received a call earlier while I was answering an emergency call from the hospital, said call had been incredibly disturbing in that everyone had said things were fine. In fact no one remembered calling, though the screams on the other end and the chatter we’d heard had only confirmed the supernatural was likely at work.

“I’m telling you, this girl was inhumanly fast. Not just exaggerating either. After she outright attacked one of my buddies for no reason we ran after her, didn’t want her getting away for assault. Ricky had to be hospitalized for that hit. No way we were gonna let that little bitch get away with murder!”

I nod my head tiredly, but their story was BS of course. We’d received a call about the theft earlier that had been a lot more truthful. Not that we’d tell them that of course, not tell I got all I needed out of them. “Go on, we’re gonna look for her, no doubt. Tell me more about her jump.”

“It was insane man, we chased her to the top of the roof of the nearby building. She had robbed us after all too.” He added offhandedly. “Then the air got all tingly and smelled like electricity, then she just jumped!” He paused to breathe talking in a rush “A fucking lightning bolt struck her! Then she turned into a damn bird and flew away!”

I keep taking down notes of the report, most other days I’d pass this off as drug-addled rambling.Though the paranormal had started seeming a bit more believable lately, from the corpse we had picked up earlier this week, to the assassination on the murder suspect, and the recent event at the hospital. Just wish we could get more forces, our small town just too much for me and the small station to handle.

“And that is all…?” I inquire, trying to see if I can get any more details. They hadn’t given me much on her appearance, well at least much of anything consistent. The details would vary, but the story was more or less the same between them. I had been able to contact an old war friend in the pentagon, but he’d essentially told me the entire department was under a gag rule for national security. His team took the creature for an autopsy, and confirmed it wasn’t the only one they had seen. In return he had promised that he’d be sending down a team of investigators that I hadn’t heard a peep from all week.

“Too old for this shit.” I mutter, only two of them we had enough confirmation to claim for the night though. The rest just had misdemeanor trespassing and would just have a few fines to pay off. Nothing I can do about it but paperwork, but a secret this big can’t last long. I’ll get my answers one way or another. No weird Alien bug creature is going to get away with hurting people in my town. Semper Fi, I was a soldier not a spy but an oath isn’t something that expires with age and I was damn well going to honor it.

“Hey Redmond? We found something else lying around...”

I groan in frustration as I scrub my flan--hip with an alcohol swab, the entire area aches from the friction but looks no different. The mark itself is a red heart wrapped in a pink bandage with white sparkles around it. Identical on both sides and both tinged red from the rubbing.

“Honey! It’s time for dinner!” My aunt calls through the door making me curse under my breath as I quickly throw away the cotton swabs and clean myself up a bit. Looking into the mirror it’s nearly impossible to see any actual changes. My eyes have a slight tinge to them, but the horn emerging through my skull is small enough my hair easily covers it. I exit and head towards the table where the rest of my family, including my father this time (because its the weekend) is waiting for me.

“Geeez brother.” My sister whines as I sit down. “Was worried you’d drowned in there, we’re all starving!”

I’m too stressed to be bothered though and sit down in silence, my dad making us all sit together for prayer despite my protests. Unlike the rest of my family I didn’t really buy into the whole religious thing very much, but knew better than to voice my concerns with my father around.

After he finishes we all grab our plates and head over to the counter to grab the food my sister and aunt had made. It’s hamburger night, but my sister has made herself a pasta salad instead for herself. I take notice for a moment that it smells a lot better than I thought it would be before my stomach clamps as I feel bile form at the back of my throat at the smell of the cooked meat hits my nose. Though it smells mostly the same as before it makes my gut file for mutiny and I am forced to turn away, heading to the window for some fresh air.

“Something wrong son?” My father asks, watching me curiously.

“F-fine fine!” I reply with a forced smile.

“Arty had me drive him to the hospital earlier this week, but hasn’t said a word about it.” My aunt states bluntly, making her disapproval quite clear as I grit my teeth. “You’ll need to have a talk with him later because he sure won’t say a word to me about it.”

Without saying a word to feed that particular problem I start scooping up a large pile of pasta before returning meatlessly to the table. I can’t even make a single bite before my dad swoops in again.

“Not eating burgers, son?” He inquires sounding more accusatory than genuinely curious. He had really started getting on my back after I had refused to go on a date he and my aunt had set me up with on several occasions at the last school I had attended. At this point I think they at least would have a clue, but I think they just refuse to say it for fear of confirming it.

“Oh! Does this mean you’re going vegetarian?!” My little sister squeaks with excitement, practically bouncing out of her chair at the prospect. Today she was definitely a lifesaver as I give her a wicked smile before giving a small nod, desperate to change the conversation.

“I suppose I am, you know I keep hearing about how cutting down on meat helps so much with your health and all…” I drone before high-fiving my sister from across the table before digging into my meat-free dinner completely famished from all the events from earlier.

Their questions continue to mount as I try to get through my dinner, eating much faster than usual in an attempt to get away, despite knowing that my stomach is going to hurt later. My headaches a little bit, and my hips sting as I adjust my posture in my wooden seat. Everything about this house just screams ‘old’ to me and I hate it.

“Since you’re being unusually secretive about your medical visit I’ll just draw my own conclusions until you decide to talk to us then.” My father drones on, his stern bossy demeanor playing over his features. “Lyndsey tells me you’re hanging out with a group after school, something we’ve been getting after you to do.” He pauses. “But if they’re the kind of people that are gonna be a bad influence on you, you will cut ties. Should ask them to hangout here sometime, perhaps one of them will give us a better answer for why my son is getting into drugs…”

I nearly choke on my pasta as I force myself to swallow properly. The irony is not lost on me, after all I had thought the very same thing at first. “Dad, we didn’t take anything. In fact my blood was tested for drugs, no doubt you’ve already seen the invoice of all the tests they did.” I growl, making my displeasure evident at them poking their noses around my business again. “I just had a panic attack and concussion.” Keep it simple, easy to remember, easy to say, and way way easier to explain.

He glowers across the table at me about that, before squinting slightly. “Guess that explains the little bruise you have there then.”

I tense at the mention of it, which I’m more than sure he noticed but I just need to keep playing it cool. “Still visible huh?” I reply, “was really hoping it’d have disappeared by now...feel like the wreck after what happened.”

He nods, a bit more empathetically. “The vice principal called us about the whole incident, the guy you spilled everything over was apparently a good sport about it. You’re incredibly darn lucky you didn’t get into trouble.” He chastises, taking another bite of his absolutely vile burger as the scent wafts across the table making my stomach churn.

After that we eat for a little longer before he speaks again. “The fall dance is coming up, isn’t it?” I nod, internally rolling my eyes at the comment he is no doubt about to make. “You’re going to ask a girl out to it, I don’t bloody well care who but you will go out and socialize properly. You hear me? If you don’t ask someone by Wednesday I’ll have Lindsey choose for you. Got it?”

I grumble unintelligibly in response, it was always a pain when my father came home. Especially after changing between locations, that seemed to put the stress on everyone. Deep down I know he cared, but he just had a really rough way of showing it.

With dinner concluded I dismiss myself from the table, fatigue starting to hit me like a wave as I crawl to my bed. The haze of sleepiness hanging over my head like an anvil making everything seem slow and exhausting. Not sparing a moment I change my clothes and curl up with my pillows. “What a day.” I say to myself before succumbing to the sweet bliss of sleep.

Agent Kizakstan certainly wasn’t happy about being re-assigned from his incredibly successful position within the middle east at identifying cyberterrorists while launching counter campaigns to gather further intel. His pet project he had worked for just over four years being without him just filled his head with worry.

Turning his head he eyes his new ‘partner,’ no doubt a greenhorn. Her appearance though passable for typical formality was appallingly obtuse for someone in the art of intelligence. Her clothes had colors too vivid, her hair too well straightened and the dye covering it was quite obvious. The perfume she was wearing was likewise extravagant one that would no doubt elicit memories of her purpose.

“Agents?” A much older man with glasses and wrinkled skin enters from a door nearby carrying an iPad. “I’m Doctor Mantchev, if you would follow me.” Being the only two in the waiting room certainly leaves no doubt who he was referring to. Kizak was just hoping that it’d be worth being transferred from his very successful project.

“I assume we’ll be getting answers for why we’ve been reassigned so quickly? I had a very important job where I was before I’ll have you know.” Kizak states as they follow after the scientist. The security here was intense as he sees the doctor prick his finger on a pad then hold his wrist up to some sort of RFID scanner.

“I’m sorry, but before you get any answers we need to confirm that you are both who you say you are.” He picks up a thick and crude iron rod and holds it out. Thoroughly curious I grasp it after a moment of hesitation as does my new ‘partner.’

“And what, pray tell is this supposed to tell you?” Kizak’s partner asks, releasing as the doctor sets the object back into a slot before pulling the plastic off of a tiny needle.

“One of two things, please, have patience. Once we discuss what your next mission is you will truly understand, but I promise you that what we’ve discovered is more important than anything you’ve ever been assigned before. Half your team is already in deployment and waiting for you.”

Thoroughly intrigued we both submit to a small prick without further issues. The doctor seeming satisfied without even doing any tests on the blood extracted. Moving deeper into the facility we are both brought into a medical room which looks about as standard as it gets. “As part of this assignment you will both be implanted with a micro-device so that we can verify who you are without extensive testing each time. Our enemy has a means of copying anyone and most anything they can see with few exceptions.”

“What, you mean like shapeshifters or some advanced cosmetic sculpting? I got to admit its not the most extreme thing I had in mind, but with today’s advances I wouldn’t put it past a few other developed nations making that kind of tech.”

The doctor hesitates a few moments before replying. “If you’ll both consent, we’d like to get these implants over with. After the mission concludes, one way or another we will happily have them removed from you in accordance out of respect for your privacy. Yet I really feel you’ll choose to keep them after what you see what we have.”

We both submit to the implants, wincing as a large needle stabs into our palms, just below our thumbs before retracting. There isn’t even a lump but the spot aches regardless as we’re bandaged up and follow the doctor still further, using our ID’s to get into a bio-containment zone.

“What I don’t get doctor, is why are we called to this facility for this mission? Surely you know about all the absurd theories of aliens as much as we have about this place.” He chuckles as they start putting on the various biohazard suits, aided by a few other assistants with similar apparel.

“Because, Mr. Kizakstan.” The doctor states as we pass through the decontamination chamber and through the 6 inch steel door. “Theories have become a lot more real as of late.” The both of us gape as we stare down the long hall.

“When do we begin?” We both ask near simultaneously.

“That’s what we want to hear.” The scientist remarks.

Tonight was a big night. After Arty had been given a ride home my father had returned and told me to wash up. Tonight I would be getting my first runes, markings that he said would help me channel the powers of my ancestors. Of course the thought of getting tattoos wasn’t all that appealing, but my father assured me they wouldn’t exactly work that way.

It wasn’t quite the full moon just yet, but it was getting closer. Every time I had shifted lately had felt better and better. The change itself becoming more painless with every iteration as it felt like my body adjusted to the change. One day I wondered if I might not change back, but it was fairly quickly pushed away. There wasn’t enough magic here for that from what dad had told me.

“We probably won’t be seeing any more of your mother tonight after earlier, but we can make sure that you’ll be able to interact better in the future. Did you look through the markings I gave you to study earlier this week?” I nod, remembering the practicing I’d done in the margins of my notes at school this past week. I could barely even stay awake at school anymore anyways. Especially during the later periods, my body quickly adapting to the night schedule.

“Tonight we’re going to try to keep it simple, whatever your friend did has helped make a bit of an aura here - but it isn’t all that much just yet. So we’ll make sure the runes you get are able to be sustained by it.” He writes a bit on a piece of paper and drops it in front of me to read. Soul, Sight, and Stealth. All rather self explanatory on their own, they weren’t exactly spells or enchantments in the way of earth ponies and unicorns. More like instructions for our ancestors to fill and aid with when we activated them.

“Draw them” My father instructs, sitting down next to me as he waits, watching me trace their runes into the dirt in front of me. It’s definitely not the best of hoof-writing as my dad calls it, many of my lines are curved or a bit sloppy but I think the idea comes across well enough. He nods, seeming to be satisfied after he adjusts a few lines. “Not bad, are you ready to draw them?”

I nod in affirmation, holding out my hoof as he unstraps his blade and passes it to me. As I tighten on the straps of the blade it seems to adjust its size to match. However strapping on the blade with a hoof proves a bit too much for my current skills and my father steps in to help me get it strapped in properly. He told me the process itself is painless, this time I was using the other side of the blade, the one in the pommel that is shaped into a small elegant knob that ends in a mostly dull point, a stele he had called it. This, my father had instructed was for carving runes on ourselves, others, and our environments. Though it was tradition for the first runes a Thestral made to be drawn by their own hand, or hoof, in this case.

I take a deep breath, feeling my heart pulsing. I lower it towards my chest for the first one, then pause. Wait, what happens if I mess up? I look to my dad then mime a writing movement with my hoof then draw a purposely sloppy rune before messing up the end then slowly crossing it out.

“Mistake?” He asks to clarify and I nod. “Don’t worry, they can be washed with water blessed under moonlight and they fade over time too. Though comforting it did little to wash around the anxiety of the moment. “Just go slow and steady” he says watching me. “We have plenty of time before sunrise.”

I take a deep breath and start drawing, my skin tingles and makes my fur stand on end as I trace over my chest. Next time I should probably trace it with charcoal or something first. I feel a faint warmth as I continue, leaving stark white lines that keep glowing as I finish drawing the ‘Spirit’ rune on my chest, the last stroke more satisfying than I would have thought. It glows for a moment longer then fades to a barely visible outline.

My father pats my back as I finish. “Well done! That will be a huge help when the full moon comes around.” He lays down on the ground next to me the excitement on his face making him look akin to a puppy. I smile a bit as I start tracing the next one on my left leg ‘Stealth’ perhaps this one would be a bit more interesting.

“And they’re just going to let you take them?” An irritated woman clad in a dark suit asks, watching her surroundings with distaste. “If it was so simple I would have just taken them myself and been done with it.”

“If you hadn’t played your hand years ago with that mockery of an invasion you would’ve.” The man chuckled, grinning like a cheshire. “They would know what you are the instant you tried to get through the door. You need me, and I’ll be holding you to your part of the bargain before--”

“Yeah yeah, before I can put a hoof on the artifacts.” After that though… she thought, well, he would have expended his usefulness. Not that she had any doubt that he wouldn’t be aware of said fact, but that hardly mattered at this point. These humans were only slightly more complex than the ponies she had played like a fiddle, a couple years and she’d rule them too.

That is, if her other partner did her part correctly on the equestrian side. That one definitely would be a challenge, but she could always deal with it later. This world definitely had lots of options for such messy arrangements.

She eyed his suitcase for a minute more, confirming that her little package was ready before nodding as he exits the vehicle and heads down towards the building’s entrance. As soon as he passes through the doorway she turns the car around and heads back out -- not she trusted the military contractor further than she could buck him.

“Jacob Martin?” the security officer asks as I enter the building, looking him over and watching with skepticism. “Access code?” He asks waiting patiently.

“TD4V65” He confirms, one of the safeguards added in place after the discovery. His eyes roll as they prick his forearm for a blood sample. Using finger pricks had quickly been ruled out by medical professionals early on. Apparently none of the officials were wanting finger scars. Though from what he heard they just got implants instead.

“Purpose and contacts?” The guard asks tiredly looking at his list and holding up a phone to dial. He pushes his suitcase through the scanner withstraining his smirk as it goes through without a hitch.

“Commander Richards.” He states while waiting for the guard to dial in and confirm the meeting. All this security about an enemy they didn’t fully understand, something he knew better than all those morticians trying to study corpses. He’d be a hero when all was said and done, so what if he didn’t earn a few billion and more power than money could ever buy from it?

After gripping the cold iron bar offered and showing his unburned palm then finally let him through. It takes only a few minutes for him to be escorted to the meeting room before they salute and depart leaving us to our own.

The commander finishes writing a bit on his report before pushing it aside. “Good afternoon commander” Martin greets him casually while shaking hands setting the briefcase to the side, casually knocking it on the floor, the clasps falling apart with a silent click.

“Spare me the sentiment Martin.” The commander drolls eyeing him with a glare. “You’re here to sell us something, from your call you said it would help us with our...Xeno issue?” He had been heavily opposed to Martin’s security clearance issue on the matter, but he had been there during the first attack those years ago. Not to mention how he’d been able to place his assets into the studies afterward...with a little help from the buggers.

“Oh come now Richard, this is just basic capitalism. You remember how my organization finally helped you guys fix those issues with the damned F-35 project? Tell me I haven’t provided critical service to our nation in the past.” He grunts at that before waving his hand cutting Martin off further.

“Just show me what you have come up with. I have…” He looks at Martin sternly then clears his throat. “I have other issues to deal with today.” Now that piqued Martin’s curiosity, but that would have to wait until later. Martin smiles at him in return before bending over to retrieve his now mostly empty briefcase pulling out a small manilla file.

“Here is our latest prototype to try to catch one of the buggers alive, as you recall during their last attack they tended to suicide on capture and appeared to silently coordinate and respond to events as a whole and--”

Shnick!

He watches as the commander goes limp, one of the changelings he had snuck in through the case having sunk their fangs into their neck. The toxin bypassing the blood brain barrier within seconds making their struggle end before they can even make a sound. Not much though...just enough to be suggestible as the other changeling’s horn glows and they make eye contact as the hypnosis slowly starts to take effect.

“Now, Commander Richards, I know you have access to certain relics that your organization has slowly procured over the years from archives from various ancient civilizations. You will take us to these vaults and grant us access.”

He garbles something unintelligible in response, the changeling trying to hypnotize him not breaking eye contact but speaking in raspy broken english. “A ss-strong one, too much venom would obviouss make. Have to do the hard way” they hiss.

“Well you better hurry, we’re on a timer here.” It takes a few more minutes for them to be satisfied with their brainwashing or whatever they wanted to call it. The effects would wear off given time -- from what Martin understood they have to use it regularly to entrench any longer lasting effects. They couldn’t use the same method on him because they needed Martin to act in ways simple orders couldn’t qualify, not to mention his intellect and knowledge of the organization as a whole. They just wouldn’t know the right questions to ask and the amount of venom needed would likely make the answers a bit suspect.

Keep your allies close, and your enemies closer. Martin thinks to himself, reminiscing about the clever phrase. With the Commander properly broken Martin recite the orders again, waiting for him to nod. Moments later they’re following him down the hall to the elevators the changelings put back in the case, waiting as he scans his arm and enters in the codes. The cameras here aren’t something they could really fix, but after a little convincing about the brainwashing that had been done to the commander it’d be easy enough to bluff. They could suspect him all they wanted, but at the end of the day his company was still their primary source for military vehicle production. Gotta love some good ol’ capitalism.

They enter the elevator and start to descend. The elevator is well built, if a little aged as they descend with only the occasional creaking. The Commander just stares blankly forward, lacking any of the usual movement that you’d expect. Not a twitch, no gentle swaying, blinking seems exaggerated but precise. Just how unnatural they look in the brainwashed state makes Martin’s hair stand on end.

Eventually the ride ends with a click as the heavy doors open. Two people are on duty to watch the archive. Of course there would be, Martin thinks to himself. Each is armed with AR-15s and in full military garb, not to mention with reinforcement likely behind their posts. He tries to force his posture to relax as they move closer, keeping the Commander ahead of him.

“Need to access the vaults.” The Commander states in an obviously fake tone, as Martin very strongly resist the urge to facepalm. The sentries, not being complete idiots immediately level their weapons at him.

“Sir, we’re gonna have to ask you to step away. We will not hesitate to shoot either of you.” One of them instructs, Keeping only one hand on their rifle while their other presses something on their side.

This is going to go to hell really quickly Martin thinks as the situation draws itself out. Every moment is another time for reinforcements to arrive. He set down his briefcase, triggering it to open the latches just by the motion before raising his hands in the air and standing back. Hoping those bugs can pull off a miracle here.

The Commander just stands there unmoving without further orders to move him forward. The soldiers wait, the situation gathering tension as they wait. Martin’s mind races for a way to still get the artifacts but all that goes out the window when the two changelings just change from their benign forms and charge. Gunfire erupting moments later as he dives to the side, a stinging pain erupting in one of his legs as he feels hot blood drip down his calves.

He’s not a soldier, hell he wouldn’t even consider himself brave so Martin huddled in a tight ball as the battle unfolds. The bullets ricocheting around the reinforced room, yet his curiosity overwhelms a bit of his fear as he forces himself to watch as the creatures launch themselves forward at blinding speed. One of them trailing green blood as they reach the two lookouts. Once they get into close quarters it’s just over. The soldier tries to grab their knife and engage in melee but the smaller size of their opponent makes it akin to a dog attack as they scream in pain as they dig in.

The other soldier valiantly holds his ground, hesitating several precious moments as he refuses to shoot as his ally. By the time he snaps out of it and starts shooting he only manages to take out one of them, his rifle clicking empty before he too is taken down in a brutal bloody fashion doing only marginally better than the other by cutting at the changeling’s wings and leg. Martin’s stomach revolts as he vomit until the concrete floor, they’re still screaming in agony left to bleed out and suffer.

When he feels a tap on his shoulder he can’t resist a scream as the remaining Ling is staring at him with disgust and hardened boredom. “Hurry, or we kill you too.” They hiss making their displeasure evident at his cowardice. Refusing doesn’t cross his mind for an instant, glad that he wasn’t on the wrong side of this war. He then proceeds further into the vault, hobbling on his wounded leg that one of them spat something slimy on to stop the bleeding.He leans on the unflinching Commander that doesn’t bat an eye as they step through the carnage.

The Commander ever so slowly starts unlocking the cases. There are several, but as evidenced from the first one most of it is filled with foam and preserving materials. These husks of artifacts look thousands of years old, and most look like little more than shiny jewelry or trinkets than anything truly dangerous. They’d lost their power long ago, or at least rapidly after their discovery. Martin hadn’t found of any human means to refill or restore their energy according to the archives they had taken before the mission. He didn’t know if the changelings could refill them or not but they seemed pretty worthless to them before.

They manage to gather a few of the cases, yet its an annoyingly small amount of the stockpile. Each of them separated and locked away in different compartments that meant for any kind of extraction to be slow. They barely get to the third casket by the time they hear the thundering of troops heading down the hall and the frenzied yelling.

Martin is skeptical about the exit strategy, but they had proven themselves so far. “You uh...got the teleport thing? We got all we can, if we don’t leave now we won’t recover anything.” He grabs the artifacts they’d been able to retrieve so far, stuffing them into his suitcase or in the other casket.

The changeling mutters something that was probably offensive in their primitive language glaring at them as their horn starts to glow, green fire erupting around Martin and the retrieved stockpile forming a ring of the unnatural fire. A dome forming over them, the ground below him seeming to liquify as it drags him downward the ground swallowing him up. Its suffocating from all angles, feeling the dirt and rock grind against him as it passes him like a thick muddy lake. Breathing keeps getting harder and harder as the pressure of the rock pushes in against his chest, Martin chooses not to think about how he’s even getting oxygen as it seems to pick up speed as it drags him away from the greatest heist of his life.

8. Rain and Reflection

Getting back to the car in itself is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Being so small was downright terrifying. Every shadow loomed in a way I felt smaller, not to mention the fear of being spotted was strongly on my mind. It wasn’t the shadows themselves, but the vision that would flash in front of my eyes at every twitch of the light. A pair of fangs silhouetted by two giant green eyes that I somehow knew would take everything away from me. In just the span of minutes I’d gone from a gal ready to take on criminals in the dark of night to a shivering filly shrieking at every hit of lightning.

Hobbling along on four legs had been a struggle at first. Yet I’d mastered the act using my wings to slightly offset my hobble quite fast. Too fast even. Being an athlete in numerous aspects I was familiar with the time it takes to train muscle memory and make a pattern automatic, this was unnaturally, well, natural. Another trick of the amulet? The amulet that I was slightly terrified that I had lost? I push the thought aside, it would just teleport back to me eventually after all with its disappearance.

I stumble to the car, my feathers seeming to repel that water a bit, though the same couldn’t be said for my fur that has made me start to feel like a walking ocean. I lean against the car as I work myself into a standing position to reach the door when it hits me.

I lost all my clothes.

I lost the things inside my clothes.

I lost my Bucking keys!

I scream in frustration, stomping into the puddles around the car with a fury before whimpering at my hurt leg getting jostled the wrong way. I have to go back. But I can’t. The cops are probably crawling all over the place now, they probably have them already back at HQ. I groan plopping my flank onto the cold hard ground. My Phone! Somehow I was rather skeptical about it surviving a few hundred foot fall and being struck by lightning. My cover could’ve been really well been blown tonight for my stupidity. I kick a rear hoof at the tire of my car, fighting back the tears threatening to spill out of my oversized eyeballs.

“Buck You Karma!!!”

I yell into the downpour, then shriek backwards as it responds with a crackle of lightning. I look under my car for shelter, then reconsider and head under a tall spruce in the parking lot. Lightning risk? Pffft, somehow I didn’t think those were as big of a danger anymore. Though I had to admit it was hardly pleasant. That Artemis kid said it lasted a few hours right? That means...I blush. That means I’ll be turning back into my naked self a few hours from now. In the middle of a parking lot at o’dark 30 in the morning. The police would have a hayday picking me up then. I wait a bit under the tree, fatigue starting to set in, not to mention just how cold things were now. Not as cold as I would expect, but enough for me to shiver and wrap myself into a ball of feathers and fur finding it immensely more warm once I’d shaken out a bit of the water. I watch the water trickle out of my fur. I stare at my wings feeling an odd desire swell up in my chest at the sight of my unruly appearance.

Why not? I think to myself. Birds preen themselves all the time, why not bird horses? I lean forward and gently run my muzzle over a feather, feeling them twitch under the delicate action. It wasn’t something I knew how to do, yet at the same time it felt familiar. Just as walking had. Besides it's not like I had anything better to do right? So I sit there under the tree and preen the time away. One thing I realize rather quickly is that my wings seem to have something that mixes with my saliva. As I preen I can practically feel them becoming more water resistant, seeing the drops of water trickle down them like a leaf.

I don’t know how much time passes like that, the process of preening itself seems to do wonders to ease the tension. That didn’t mean I didn’t nearly leap out of my skin when I heard a cat a little while ago. The little critter probably just about my size now. Now, at least somewhat in better condition I head back into the rain. My leg still hurts to much to put pressure on, but my wings feel way better than I expected them too. The sun has yet to arise as I reach the old building.

It’s empty. I search up and down the road but find nothing. Either the clothes were disintegrated or taken. I wish for the first, but I doubt it. Lightning would probably have charred it at most. Searching around I do see a few glass chips of my screen though and one of the buttons. I huff a bit more in disapproval, too tired from a sleepless night to do much else. Home was easily a couple hours walk from here, likely more in my current miniature and wounded state.

I look to my wings. I know they have the capability to fly despite my terrible divebombing earlier. I look up at the giant building. It had to be like the walking and preening, this body had to know how to do it. I just had to not be wrapped up in clothes and scared out of my mind. I leap into the building, my wings spreading automatically to glide me to the floor. Immediately the scents I had missed the first time hit my nose with the scent of rot, but I don’t care and start climbing the stairs.

My limbs ache after the first two flights (ha, pun). My quadrupedal form taking an immense displeasure to something my other form only had a mild tolerance for. Not to mention how many times I’d tripped and banged my head against them. Shoddy engineering I think to myself, then am reminded that they probably weren’t made for tiny horses in the first place.

Eventually I reach the top, after having to take breaks the inner athlete at me would’ve screamed at. I move over to the edge, facing out towards where I knew my house was. Even from up here I couldn’t see more than a few of the cities landmarks. I hop up onto the edge, staring down at the fall. Yet, I feel no fear. As if something inside of me scoffs at the very idea and it brings a smirk to my lips. A bird scared of heights? How ridiculous. I back up several steps, giving my hooves a little bit of a rest. The faint hints of the sun nearing the horizon driving my need to get back further. I have to do this or I’m screwed.

I take a few quick breaths then charge forward, yelling to psyche myself up. No room for doubt! I spread my wings wide, flapping them as I go, feeling the slight lift with their every wingbeat. I reach the edge tossing myself up with my good front hoof, then kicking off with my rear legs. I glide through the air like a diver kicking off the edge, the air streaming on either side as it whips at my fur.

I start to tip backwards, my legs kicking at empty air to try to balance myself forward to no avail. Then my wings curve to adjust and I’m falling forward into a familiar feeling dive. I angle them backwards slightly and again feel myself tipping before I adjust, now adding a few flaps to keep myself at the same relative height. The pattern goes back and forth until I’m no longer losing but gaining height through the ordeal. The ground below me shrinking away and causing a bit of vertigo that upsets my pattern for a moment.

This is so awesome! I yelp and cheer into the wind, letting the world know of my joy as I glide through the sky, the wind whistling through my ears and mane. My previous fatigue seeming to vanish under the chill of adrenaline as I soar across the landscape, pfft cars? None of those lame ground things could compare!

Unable to stop myself from at least trying I dive forward gathering speed, the wind growing louder and louder as it streams by me on either side. I force my good hoof out in front of me to help break through. My wings pumping like a machine as I feel little shocks zap and discharge across my mane from all the static. I see a flicker of something chromatic at my hoof just before I angle my wings upward, soaring through the wind as weightlessness envelops my body as I enter the loop--yet the usual stomach dropping sensation is absent leaving nothing but the thrill as I finish my somewhat sloppy (but awesome!) loop.

I careen through the sky I’d be home in minutes, my heart sinking at the thought of changing back. I’d have to figure out how to change back again. Was it the storm? The lightning? The fall? Regardless I couldn’t wait until the next one.

I awake slowly to a few distant noises but my fatigue bleeds it all away until I fall again into slumber once more. In and out, only occasionally seeing a bit of light through my closed eyelids. When I finally do fully awaken the first thing I realize is that I’m floating. My lungs slight strain the only hint that I wasn’t bringing air as the need to actually breathe seems to come unnaturally slow as I feel the liquid enter and exit my chest. My entire body aches and stings with no small amount of familiar bruises, but the worst of it all is in my arm...the arm that shouldn’t feel that much. It stings and burns like when you cross your legs wrong and it loses all the blood in it, then it all rushes back like pins and needles. That, except about a million times worse, or maybe a billion? Who knows, it’s not like its a logical comparison anyways. First and foremost I try to open my eyes, it takes a few tries as the light seems fairly blinding but eventually I manage to lodge them open.

I’m in a cocoon of sorts. It’s slightly transparent and has a bit of a green tint. Another thing that is immediately apparent is the small black lump at the middle of my vision. A leg lethargically reaches upward to touch it, tracing over the alien feature on my face. I look to my side and nearly scream. My once missing arm has grown out to some sort of elbow and with a hint of a hoof on the edge. With a moderate effort of will I manage to make it bend though it feels highly uncoordinated. My body is covered in black chitin, chitin filled with holes. The biology of it making my head spin. Did...did they do this to me? Or...I cast my mind back to my fuzzy memory of what had happened before. My skin had been falling off, not just that it was like some alien movie where I had literally shed my skin.

My stomach tightens with an unfamiliar sensation as it tries to represent the bile that I no doubt would have just wretched, but instead something a slightly different color of green comes up and settles slowly to the bottom of the cocoon like a lump of wax. I start to hyperventilate the slimy substance, my body straining to breathe the slime around me at the speed my body demands and I feel myself start choking. My hooves kick out at the walls of my prison and I feel it start to crack and give. My determination grows into desperation as I feel my head start to get fuzzy as I kick and thrash, then yank my head upward feeling something on my head cut through the slime to the cold air.

I repeat the action feeling the promise of air as I kick against the bottom and burst out of my prison colliding a bit painfully onto the floor with a little splat realizing moments later I’d been upside down. I retch and choke as the slime is expelled from my lungs as I heave and cough in fresh air once more. My body feeling incredibly slimy and fragile as the chitin covering my body flexes and curves, not quite hardened.

“Well, good morning sunshine!” I hear a voice call from in front of me, one I hadn’t remembered hearing before. I try to blink to clear the slime from my eyes before wiping it off on the floor which appears to have been covered with several towels. I look up and see a very familiar black shape. Though this one unlike my...the creature in the ER they had a reddish color and a purple helmet looking thing with large mandibles.

“Take it easy now, you’ve just emerged and need to wait for your shell to harden.” They instruct before tossing another towel at my face and walking back in front of the TV. Looking around it seems like we’re in an apartment of some sort. Looking up I can see the cocoon I’d just emerged from still dripping slime onto the pile of towels on the floor.

“What is--” I start to ask

“Bathroom is behind you, but I’d wait a few minutes. He presses a button and the room fills with the sound of artificial gunfire coming from the TV as the strange creature watches it from point blank range, their pupil-less eyes unblinking. I may not be an expert on bug anatomy, but the poor guy looks like he’s been through hell. His expression is that of a man trying to hold it all together and seems just a touch away from bursting into tears. A pair of thin wings occasionally buzzing intermittently on their back as they watch the film unblinking

I try to think of what had happened before, the bug in front of me didn’t look or act like any of the others I’d seen previously. Not to mention that he seems a bit smaller and less, well violent. My mind races through the events and everything seems continuous. Though of course if they’d captured and re-written my memories I’d probably think that anyways. I turn my head, then turn it some more, finding the range of my neck to be quite in-human as I stare behind me at the bathroom. The ability to move right now though escapes me as I lay there trying to make sense of the situation, coughing up a little more of the slime.

“Who--”

“Not now!” He yells quickly back in reply, not moving an inch to even look in my direction. Gazing emptily at the screen just over an inch from his muzzle.

I grumble in reply, though it comes out as more of a hiss. I sag my tongue out and open my mouth at the strange sensation of my tongue. It dangles several inches longer than a normal tongue, enough that I can see it fairly easily. It’s long and snake like with a fork at the end, then using it I carefully brush around my mouth, feeling a full set of fangs and much sharper teeth lining my mouth on both sides. I crawl forward towards the bathroom looking for a mirror. I spot one, but it's high up on the ceiling compared to my now much smaller form.

I crawl my way onto the counter as I try to adjust myself over the sink to get a closer look. Staring back at me is a similar insectile creature. Yet my eyes have a slitted aquamarine pupil, across my back is a shell with the same color. Sprouting out of my head is a curved horn that twists back and forth. A slight twitch of my back reveals a pair of sprouting wings something I’d imagine on a fly but several times bigger. The chitin covering my body with interlocking layers. Sprouting from my head and a tail is a green mop of...dare I say hair? The hair strands seem more like lengths of seaweed making the mop description all the more apparent.

My eyes linger a little longer over my new form, then my legs--hooves draw my attention as I stare at the holes. Lacking any hands I stick my tongue through one of them, flinching at the weird sensation, before pulling my tongue back into my mouth. Those were quite real, but...why on earth would any creature have something like that that looks so unnatural?

After a few moments I decide to head back, maybe he’d finished his bloody show and would give me some answers. Though staring down from the height of the counter that’s easier said than done. What if I break something? I don’t even know the critical parts of my anatomy to protect! My hooves hardly seem useful to grab at anything, and I’m not coordinated with them to attempt to leap a few times my height. Then it hits me and I blink rolling my eyes. The toilet! Aaaand he left it open. Bucking hell. I hiss in exasperation, having wanted to hop on that first and get down. I try to step back over but nearly trip when I find one of my hooves is stuck to the porcelain counter. I give it a few small yanks but it seems fairly tightly connected to the surface. At least enough that I won’t yank it hard enough for fear of knocking myself over. Instead I try to peel it off by bending forward. After a minute of struggle I feel something relax as it pops free.

Then I start pressing it next to the edge, trying to redo the adhesion before I feel it sink back in, as if the bottom of my hoof was made out of playdough as it adheres to the sink and I use it to carefully scale down the counter before I’m just left hanging from the clinging hoof and wiggling myself back and forth trying to get it unstuck before plopping a bit painfully to the floor.

I squeak a bit indignantly rubbing at my tail. Why should I trust this bug? I wonder if I could possibly escape. Then again...being a little alien bug creature that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film meant I probably couldn’t get far anyways. The bathroom has a window, but it’s far out of my reach and I’m not confident enough in my ‘sticky hooves’ to trust the climb. What if my chitin cracks open? Somehow I think that would be much worse than a pitiful bruise when my insides become outsides.

Not seeing any other appealing option I grumble and head back towards the main room, feeling my ear twitch at the much louder than necessary volume of his show. Screw this, if he’s--well, I think its a he but I certainly wasn’t in a place to judge--if he is on my side stopping his movie to get some damn answers wouldn’t hurt anyone. If it is, well...I can deal with that when I get there.

I crawl forward some more, having to pass over the remains of the cocoon to get to him. It honestly doesn’t smell bad either, a bit fruity even with a hint of honey. The slimy texture however makes it a pain as I feel it seeping into my new joints and making my every movement slick and gross. The carpet at least helps a bit with clearing it off after.

“I need some answers bud--”

“N-no!!”

“Buck no! You can watch your bloody damn TV anytime! I’ve just had the most fucked up day of my life after literally being scared out of my skin and having my mother turn into an alien psycho while talking with my doctor about messing with my head! Not to mention being this messed up monster!”

We scowl at each other for a drawn out moment, I can practically hear the protests cranking through his mind until he huffs and clicks his show on pause. Up close I can tell that he also has one of his front legs wrapped up tightly in a cocoon and seems to be favoring it. “Not even a full queen and already as bossy as one.” He mutters before leaning back and grabbing--is that a jar of honey? Before taking off the lid and he starts chugging it as casually as one might a beer.

“You want to hear about my day you ungrateful mite? I’ve traveled and scoured all across this horrible damned planet for the brothers and sisters I grew up with. You know what I had to do today? What I did yesterday? I. Bucking. Killed them.” He seethes, his wings spread aggressively as I take a step back. “I betrayed the only mother I ever knew, defied a culture I once believed in. All because of one little traitor convincing me that what we were doing was wrong.” He pauses for a few moments, drinking another chug of the honey. “He died trying to bring those precious amulets to the ponies here. I should know, I was the one who killed him.”

He clicks off the TV, turning away from me as he moves towards the couch. Not looking back he speaks again. “He wouldn’t fight me, even when I mutilated and cut his body. Striking and cutting his precious beautiful carapace. He kept telling me how much he felt sorry for me, how much this meant to all of equestria. More than that he told me there is a way back home. That if I brought the ponies back I’d be a hero, revered and welcome among the world. That the queen had been lying about the rest of the world.”

He turns to stare at me for a long moment. “I killed my brothers and sisters to keep both you and the ponies safe. Because I’m not good with words, I killed them with the human’s evil weapons like a coward. I’m not a warrior, not an infiltrator. I’m a buckin slime pusher.” He takes another long chug of the now almost empty bottle.

“You wan’ answers?” He slurs a little. “Fin’.” He clears his throat coughing up a little of the sticky substance that dribbles over his chin. “Yer a bloody love-suckin parasite harry” He says in a perfect imitation of Hagrid. “On’y instead oh yer father being the darky bad guy its yer mum. The real one o’course.” He takes another swig? Swallow? Of his honey jar before continuing. “You is one of duh queens, breeders and such, lay the eggs n’ all. ‘Cept you’s the only one the defects err...reforms have or had. No you, no eggs, they all die out. ‘Course you need to do their little ‘reform’ thing first.” He does in air quote with his good hoof.

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. You sound like you’ve been through a hell I can’t even fathom or understand. All I can do is thank you and try to understand. Just...you have to understand that this is all going over my head. I don’t have a clue what any of this is, and like you I’ve been plucked out of the life I thought I knew for something entirely different. The mother I thought I knew, and the doctor I trusted are both parasites that have been messing with my mind and keeping me imprisoned.”

“You wanted answers ‘em, you got ‘em!” He grumbles before taking another swig of the small little bear bottle. “The importan’ thing for you to know is I saved your damn tail out there. I freed all the other little ponies and friendship gibberish. You fed on them, and hatched from your stolen body, presto chango, you yourself again! ‘Course I didn’t know that they’d scrambled that head of yours that badly. All o’ you don’t have a clue who you even buckin’ are! That’s downright disturbin’ it is. I don’t know jack about mind magic, but those memories are probably still in there somewhere.”

I just stare at him, trying to process all that had happened. Memories blurring by of all the time I’d spent growing up. I’d questioned events certainly, but I just assumed I had remembered them wrong. With that little truth...how could I tell speculation from fact of how many times they had messed with my head? Was it every month? Week? Day? I wheel around, not able to hear anymore as he babbles in a drunken stupor. There really isn’t much of anywhere to go but the bathroom again, but this time I shut the door behind me. My body is already starting to heave and pant with a sickness I didn’t have.

I sit there on the sticky floor for a long time. Just focusing on breathing and calming myself down, then it hits me. My voice is different, higher and slightly two toned. In further retrospect I realize we weren’t even speaking english earlier. I look over my insectile form with new interest, seeing the slight curves and shape--but more than that sensing what wasn’t there. My throat has gone dry as I swallow, a very different sensation swelling up in my chest. Queen he had said, and if my memory serves... I turn my flexible insectile body around this way and that before reaching my good front hoof across my chest and belly, past my hips and up towards me tail when I feel it.

And I cry.

Despite all of this, despite my world being turned upside down, my mother betraying me, my body literally falling to pieces, despite the fact that my life will never be the same again. For the first time in my life something feels right. In that moment of clarity I weep with joy in this moment of terror and fear. Least if I die now today it will be as the sex I was supposed to be. That fact alone acts as a tether to my sanity as I wait, and sit, and weep, and cry, and cheer, and scream at all my new changes. After a few moments the other bug comes closer to grip me in a stern hug reassuring me in his own way. Who even am I anymore?

The next school day passes like most others. My aunt had reminded me of my father’s order from the previous night. Find a girl or she’ll find one for me. Yet passing through the school I just couldn’t focus on a single one. No ‘special connection’ or the ‘butterflies’ to feel, not even the sweaty palms or nervousness. They were, for lack of a better term, Just girls. Not to mention how rude it would seem to ask a girl out at random pretending, if even just a little, that there might be the possibility of a future with someone I was already pretty certain I wasn’t attracted to. Besides, wasn’t asking a girl to a dance on the basis of her looks pretty shallow?

Needless to say I can’t think of a way out of this by the time school ends. Today though I’m really much more interested in the little group we had started to form. I’d texted Mike during lunch about it, and chatted with his dad when he drove me home. He himself couldn’t attend because of his day job but he planned to eventually. As I arrive Angela is of course already there Mike and Aaron arrive shortly after. Angela herself is sporting a sling for her arm.

“You won’t believe what happened last night!” She squeaks looking as if she’d chugged a bit too much caffeine. “I changed into one too! Last night I jumped off a building and flew home! Oh my God it was so cool!” She pauses for a moment, her excitement taking a bit of a rapid downturn. “I uh...well you see...after getting hit by lightning and a chase by armed gunman I might’ve kinda sorta...lost my phone and keys that were probably picked up by the police.” She shuffles with an awkward smile.

“You...WHAT!?” I scream as I try to wrap my head around what she just said. “You were seen, you lost personally identifying info including your phone that had OUR personal info and texts?!” I take a deep breath, feeling my skin and forehead start to tingle as I try to calm myself. “Are you trying to get us all killed or locked up in area-51?”

“I was under a lot of stress okay? I was just trying to do some good with my abilities and all. With great power comes great responsibility!” She replies making me groan and roll my eyes at the absurd phrase.

“Responsibility not to get you and everyone of us killed! You’re not a police officer and all those super heroes always end up needlessly assaulting people and causing collateral damage. Perhaps you should pay a bit more attention!”

“Well excuuuuuse me princess. Who made you in charge anyways? In case you’ve forgotten to all the normies magic doesn’t exist. So what if they got a few weird texts? It was probably all blown to hell by the lightning strike anyways.”

I press my hand into my forehead, rubbing at the tingling nub of a horn just below my skin. “Tell me you didn’t pull a superman and kill anyone while disintegrating a building.” Though I had to begrudgingly admit that sounds kind of cool.

“No...at least I don’t think so. I was kind of busy fleeing for my life and I’m pretty sure I didn’t cause the strike anyways. Onto more important questions...what happened with you? Looks like you got a bit of a bruise on your head. Do a little of your own superhero work?” She grins like a cheshire while raising an eyebrow in a way I’d consider dangerously flirtatious.

“No!” I reply instantly. “After school last friday I was literally dragged across the entire town! Like someone with the force was pulling me all the way to the hospital. It turned me into a horse again--”

“Pony!” Angela interjects.

“Right right pony. In the middle of a hospital! Then all of a sudden it was like I became a different person. Was as if there was someone else in my mind trying to break out--and I...it was like I didn’t want to resist it. It felt so...so familiar. You d-don’t think they could be p-possessing us do you? What if they’re just giving us these powers so they can take over our minds? When you changed, did something take over your mind too?”

“You seem pretty much yourself to me.” Aaron interjects “Though I’ll admit I don’t really know you that much to start with.” He adjusts his pose leaning against the tree. “Though you kind of acted like a scared animal last time I saw you changed. No offense.”

I rub at my head, once against brushing the tiny nub on my forehead. Barely even noticeable, invisible at any kind of distance but that didn’t mean it wasn’t both literally and figuratively on my mind at every moment of the day. Every time I’d stare at Angela’s arm I would feel my thigh’s prickle as if they were filling up with a static charge. “I don’t think our changes are going to be temporary for very long. After...after my last change some parts didn’t change back. I’ve got a nub on my head, and the ass tattoos didn’t go away.”

“Neither did mine.” Angela states holding out her phone showing a picture of her pocketwatch and rainbow lightning bolt on it, passing it around for all of us to see.

“They’re called cutiemarks.” Mike finally decides to speak up. “My uh...Dad came from eque--from another dimension. He tells me they had a war there several years back, an invading species known as changelings had conquered the entire city and the entire ruling class.” He looks at the rest of us with a bit of nervousness. “I’m a Thestral, a bat pony of sorts. We deal with spirits and the like while being able to see through magical disguises.”

At last the part I was wanting to speak about. “You don’t happen to have any idea where these pendants are from do you? Or why you don’t seem to have one like us?” I look to the others who seemed like they’d only just now realized he was standing there. “He uh, got me out of a rough situation last friday. Magical starvation thing?”

He nods in affirmation. “This is as new to me as the rest of you, but here’s what I know so far. I don’t know much about Equestria--No, that really is what its called. Certainly not my choice. The closest thing I could think about those amulets is the elements of harmony, but those were commonly gold and a lot more elaborate. We don’t really have an earth pony to tell us more about the actual enchantment on it.”

I see Angela wince as she adjusts her posture, the sprained arm seemed to give her a bit of trouble. Yet just seeing the wince I feel a tremor over my body with a tingling that’s all too familiar. This time though it originates from the marks on my hips. “I...might have to go, my...mark is feeling all weird about Angela for some reason.”

“If you have a cutie mark telling you to do something, you probably shouldn’t ignore a call of destiny.” Mike responds casually, making me twitch at the term and ‘destiny.’

“I may not be an egghead like you Arty, but my talent is speed which definitely fits in with a stopwatch and lightning. You haven’t told us yours...but maybe it's something you can use even while being a human too…” She steps forward only making the tingling grow a bit stronger, as if she had become a space heater.

“It’s a lame cartoonish heart with sparkles!” I yelp trying to take a few steps backwards, my body starting to ache as I feel it starting to change. However I blink and she’s grabbed me in an iron grip using that speed thing of hers. At her touch my vision seems to tunnel.

The world seems to slow down around me as I look at her hand, only its not just her hand anymore. In a pulsating wave I am seeing through her hand through the muscles and bones, down to the marrow. It travels down her arm showing her arteries and tendons like a full scan MRI. The slight irregularity around her forearm where I somehow know she broke her arm a few years back. Yet it doesn’t stop there, the wave travels down her arm and across her chest giving me a full view of her muscles moving underneath her skin, across her clavicle and bones. Yet one thing strikes me as odd. Her bones are hollow. Not to mention her overall skeleture seems a bit unnaturally slick. As my vision passes to her spine I see a faint structure sprouting from behind her shoulder blades.

“Uh Artemis...?” I’m startled out of my daze as my vision seems to return to normal as I look up at her worried expression before I suddenly get a stabbing sensation in my arm making me grit my teeth to avoid a scream. I look over expecting to have been stabbed or other, but it seems fine. Not to mention my back now aches and my legs are burning a bit. With her arm on mine the movement seems to come independently of the pain before I realize what’s going on.

I’m feeling her pain.

I yank my arm out of hers rather forcefully and staggering back rubbing at the pain rapidly fading in my arm. “Don’t! D-don’t touch me!” I screech, terrified at the possibilities of what this could mean. Except now my cutie marks were burning harder than ever, as if enraged I had refused. “It’s a curse!” I reply staggering back. “I touched you and...I felt your every wound! My arm hurt like hell!”

I grit my teeth while slinging off my bookbag next to the tree in case I had to run. Is this what my destiny is? To feel those suffering around me? What kind of sick fuck would want that? I lean against the tree, shaking. The difference now is that the transformation tingles had faded a bit, but the hot sting of my marks was bordering on painful itself.

“I-I’m sorry…” Angela doesn’t move from her position. The previous excitement having all vanished from her face in place of concern. “I just thought...maybe it’d be cool? I...I didn’t mean to get you hurt too.” She moves away slowly and carefully back towards the railing around the track. “It’s...its gone now right?” I only give her a few small nods in response.

“It hurt...but I could see straight through you. Your tendons, muscles, blood vessels, everything.”

“I uh...hate to interrupt but you got some glowing pants there buster” Aaron interjects gesturing to my lower half, my eyes following his movements. On either side of my hips was a glow of light, though heavily distorted it was probably obvious to everyone what it was.

“It wants me to do something, it’s like it wants me to suffer." I scowl at the offending mark feeling its tingles getting stronger once more as my back starts to creak and my hands stiffen. “Whatever it is I really would like to avoid turning into a pony again. What if it keeps progressing and we can’t change back?”

“Regardless of that all, you probably better do what it wants before it goes nuclear or something.” Aaron states.

“Mine hurt too at first, a heart could mean a lot of things honestly. Love, empathy, maybe even healing. I won’t lie that’d be pretty cool. I highly doubt it could be limited by a curse.” Angela remarks. “Tell me you aren’t curious about what you can do. You don’t even have to be a pony to use it! Imagine what you can do.”

“Because it really freakin hurts. That’s kind of our bodies way of telling us not to do something. What if my ability is just feeling others pain? That’s not a gift.”

“Cutie Marks are a special talent, typically corresponding to what you are good at or will become good at. In their culture to insult ones cutie mark is a grave offense. It’s one of the things that tie their entire society together, there has to be more to it.”

“What he said, it doesn’t even really hurt that bad either! You just probably got it all at once. I mean ...I'll admit I’m a little biased here with the sprained arm and all, but come on now. I know you are curious, and despite saying how much you hate changing you keep doing it. What is really holding you back here?”

I grit my teeth and clench my fists trying to work through it in my mind. “Because I don’t want to be a mare! That’s why!” Angela steps slowly forward towards me. “I’m scared because it's something I don’t understand. It’s something that’s messing with my head, its something that is literally--AGH!” I yelp as my body pulses with magic and I’m forced to double over as my back curves forward. “F-fine! Anything to stop this damn thing again!”

“It’s probably only hurting so much because you’re fighting it. My change was nearly painless when it happened. I’ll hold your arm for five minutes, okay? Maybe if you do whatever your mark is trying to make you do you won’t keep changing.” She barely waits for my small nod, before grabbing my hand softly.

Instantly my vision snaps back to its scanning. Only this time it’s not sight anymore, I feel weightless and disconnected. My body drifting around much like I’d expect a ghost to, I could feel the throbbing of her heart as if I, myself, was the heart. Feeling my body stretch and contract, the tingle of every pulse. Yet that’s not what I’m here for. I can feel its pull even from here. The way her nerves occasionally spasm and throb as if pointing me to where it wants me to go, and so I follow.

I glide to the side, instantly feeling the chorus of pain singing from around the wound. The muscles, the tendons, and the bone joint too. What do I do now though? I could see it, I could feel it. Yet how could I help it? I try to brush my hand through the broken flesh, though it resembles a hoof now. A slight pressure forms at the base of my horn, as if hundreds of ants were crawling towards it across my skull. Push I instinctively command, feeling an ever so slight heat as the torn muscles slowly start to align.

“Mmmph…” I hear Angela groan from a body that feels far away as if deep under water. I very nearly lose my concentration by the double sensation before focusing back to the task at hand. How do I fix it now though? Luckily it seems like my magic has an idea of what to do and I try to tense the same muscle on my horn, trying to push more energy into it. I see her twitch and squirm as the fibers start to replicate, expanding outwards as they start to merge together on the micro scale. It’s clearly not a comfortable process, as her squirming and yelps attest, my own body mimicking the incredible itching. Not that I have the ability to satisfy it right now though.

It’s an agonizingly slow process, her body mending just a few hundred cells at a time. That might seem like a lot but that’s about a millionth of an inch at a time. Instead of trying to perfectly fix it all I change the process to heal in strips to bind them closer together. Watching her own biology slowly start to heal itself. I only slightly make it faster by the time I’m too exhausted to continue and my little daze fades back into my consciousness.

“--And what could I do as a human? The amulet did nothing but make me feel a little sick. Oh! I think he’s coming out of his little trance now.” Aaron states and the others turn to look at me, seeming to be in the middle of their own conversation. My head resting a little awkwardly against Angela’s shoulder, something I quickly rectify by scooting away.

“H-how long was I out?” I ask, trying to stretch out the cramps that seem to have filled my back and neck. Not to mention that I now have a migraine from my throbbing headache, it takes me a moment of rubbing my head to realize the changes from earlier had faded away.

“Just over an hour I think. Was some weird voodoo stuff you were doing, though I gotta admit it was really irritating at first. Now though it barely hurts at all so...Progress!” She chuckles, seeming rather thrilled at the subject. Me though? Feel like I just ran a 5K, but I have to admit I feel really good. Unnaturally happy even in a way I haven’t felt in years of lonely wanderings from school to school and it's not even from their praise. It’s as if just doing this simple act has filled me like I was chugging the happy pills.

“Uh...I think that’s enough for today. My aunt is probably going to be upset as it is with me being late and all. Well...there is one thing but I don’t really know how to phrase it.” I don’t really want to bring out the topic here, but maybe they’d know someone and just assume I was straight like all the other guys? “There is a dance this Saturday and my folks want me to fin--”

“Find a gal so they can keep pretending your straight?” Angela interjects casually as if she’d just announced the weather. Meanwhile I stare at her with a dumbstruck expression, my mind trying and failing to come up with any feasible response to get me out of this horrible situation.

“What? I hate to break it to yeah but its kiiiiinda obvious. Unlike the other dudes at the school you can go 10 seconds without staring at my boobs, you don’t try to assert yourself with the needless push for dominance, you completely blew off my teasing flirt earlier, and just now didn’t even blush when you woke nuzzling into my side like a little cat.” She gestures to the rest of the group. “Spoiler alert? I mean it was a guess--but still, am I right?”

Not seeing any other option with the corner I’ve been backed into I decide to confess. “I honestly...don’t really know. I just know I’m more comfortable around gals and don’t see them in a sexual way.” My palms start to feel sweaty at the concept of breaching the topic. “I just...can we not have this conversation?” I plead, hating to be put on the spot. Mike looks accepting, or like it was a casual thing. Aaron’s face is a bit more unreadable.

“Well...you do keep changing into a mare so…” Aaron starts off before I cut him off with a glare. Just the thought of that causing a bit of heat to rise in my chest and my mind to drift back to my previous experiences in that form.

“I’ll go with yea if you’re just needing a token gal.” Angela mercifully changing the subject. Her stern expression replaced with one of concern and patience that warms my heart a little at how rapidly her tone changed from before. “We can chat a bit more then? I’ll probably just drown in the punch bowl and text on my phone the whole time anyways. I may be an athlete but dancing isn’t a real sport.” She says with a smirk.

“S-sounds great.” I manage to get out while grabbing my bag, my entire body just filled with tension that only makes my new headache that much worse as I head home for the day with perhaps more questions on my mind then before.

9. Palaces and Professionals

“So...who are you anyways?” I ask. We’d been driving across empty roads for a bit over an hour now with little else to do I’d caught myself stealing glances at the new ‘partner’ that I’d been assigned. She had been sitting around, staring at an intricate cylindrical-cone device with dozens of small switches and levers that she had been grasping like you’d expect a religious fanatic would.

“Let go of the wheel” she says casually while eyeing me curiously. I’m a bit skeptical myself, but I figure why not? It’s a relatively empty road after all, and you have to give trust to get it. Personally I was intrigued by this enigma I’d been saddled with, codename Nova, yet what little there was of her file was heavily redacted. Even so I very slowly start releasing the wheel bit by bit only occasionally glancing in her direction, but not letting go fully. I’m a little startled though, when a faint turquoise colored light envelops the wheel, turning it gently back and forth. It only covers a small piece of it no bigger than my hand. Sparing a glance I stare at her, her eyes closed in concentration, her device giving off a faint glow in the same color. After a few seconds, and with what appears to be no small amount of effort she snaps out of it, wiping a little sweat from her brow.

“You’re a fucking witch?” I spout without thinking, quickly taking back control of the wheel as her little aura dissipates. She just rolls her eyes and slides the device into a leather strap on her belt, pushing it in with an almost religious reverence as is clicks into place. “You’re telling me we’ve had magic all this time, kept away from the public and for what? How has that not gotten out yet?”

“I’m not a witch, I just happen to have a rare genetic mutation that triggered when I was attacked during the first invasion. My immune system was compromised and the magic I was exposed to just...merged a bit. Not enough to do anything on my own, certainly not as strong as those creatures were, but with proper artifacts I can, for lack of a better word, cast a few spells.”

“Wait are you say--”

“And no, before you say it, it’s not something that we could repeat. Whatever they were using, magic or whatever left some effects. Those that were exposed to it got sick, our bodies treated it like a foreign invader. Some of the elderly died of exposure. You either died or your body fought it off. I’m here because I’m one of the only humans alive that can sense magic. That’s why I’m here Mr. High and mighty special agent.”

Well, that’s more than enough to send my head spinning, though I still feel like she wasn’t telling me the full story. This very well could be a suicide mission. Last I’d heard we don’t have a good defense for this kind of biological weapon. We’d have to handle the targets with extreme caution, though at least they’d stated we would have military backup if all hell broke loose, yet I had a bad feeling their involvement might involve one type of plane given the nature of the biohazard. We were here to learn what they were doing, where they were hiding, what they were capable of, and to run information suppression so that the discovery doesn’t get out before we as a nation were ready to handle it.

“You know this mission is sending me all the wrong vibes. The amount of authority we have here. Military strikes, data blackout, full access to all posts and internet history.” Nova pokes in.

“You joined the wrong job if that disturbs you. We’re not here to play petty politics, we’re here to gather intel on a very real, very dangerous enemy as you’ve mentioned. We don’t have the luxury of considering what might offend some people. You don’t want it to be abused? Then don’t abuse it. Having these options isn’t a bad thing.” If she thought that was disturbing she definitely wouldn’t have liked what else I’d had in my briefing about keeping her under control. I brush a hand against my sidearm, gritting my teeth a little. Whatever it takes to defend our nation, life stopped being black and white years ago.

I sit above the Crystal Empire’s castle, watching the changelings scramble about in response to the princess’s distraction, their Queen joining her troops soon after. I’d been appointed her royal advisor when it came to conflict and defense, though I couldn’t imagine any other pony that could come close to being as fit for this job as I. A country so long at peace forgets what war can really look like. I look back over my old armor, sculpted with the dark irons of the Storm King’s legion, his logo replaced years ago by Twilights more...diplomatic...symbol.

Needless to say, that is the only diplomatic thing that we’ll be having tonight. I grin at the prospect. The princess had always been so slow to conflict, the exhausting limitations of her pacifism had me rolling my eyes more than once. Yet it was a strength I’d come to admire. A great many years of peace by her side had allowed me to see the world a little differently, not to mention the gift of a prosthetic horn, making me feel as whole physically as she had helped me become mentally. To wipe the blood from my hooves and take up a life of service and defense. Tonight...it was like going back home to my old life, with a squad of soldiers I had trained personally, ready to fight a war the princess could not talk her way out of.

I couldn’t deny I was excited to once again put my skills to use.

“Forces have cleared, I want dive formation. We have one purpose. Get to that portal and I will lead our strike team to the other side. Squads 2 through 7 you will guard the portal while reinforcements arrive. If we are overrun you are to sabotage the portal, move it if you can, destroy it if you can’t. Some of us won’t live through this night. Some of us will never be the same. Yet Equestria will live on, better than it is now, with a future born of your sacrifices!”

They nod and clasp their weapons to the sides, their loyalty to Equestria hiding their terror for the briefest of moments.

“Begin the assault.”

We charge through the streets in tight clusters, our destination keenly in our minds. More than once a civilian will spot my armor and runs away screaming. Not all had forgotten my transgression so many years ago, but forgiveness was earned. I could only hope tonight will make a few more aware of my repentance.

The first of the guards goes down with a kick, before the other three quickly follow as their comrade is thrown against them into the wall, the impact of the hit injuring many of them. The others in my squad are slow to follow, their magic sputtering out as they enter into the radius of the Queen’s throne. Their over-reliance on their magic is something I had attempted to drill out of them, clearly I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped.

As we charge through the next door, entering in towards the main hall, a beam of green light bounces off of my dark-iron armor, burning a hole into the ground. The changeling that had fired it looks at me in surprise, then terror as the rest of the crew comes in. I just smile in return as they start to back up.

“Oh? Giving up already?” I dive forward, knocking their hooves out from under them then launch them upwards with myself before smashing them with a sickening crunch against the floor with their comrades. I look back seeing the rest of the changelings frozen. “Here’s the deal bugs, I want the portal, give it up nicely please.~”

Needless to say they didn’t. These creatures are much weaker than the ponies and hippogriffs I had fought before. Their magic struggles to find a weak point in my armor, typically deflecting right back into their allies. Their carapaces crack like eggshells under the clubs of the strike team as we make our way towards the basement, no small amount of our allied changelings struggling in the fight against their brethren, in more ways than just physical. The thrum of the portal guides us through the halls, and the yells of the other squads making their way through the castle assure us that the attack is going well.

The door is locked, but that hardly holds us for long as we buck through the wall. The room is dark and reeks of changeling byproducts. What’s most disturbing are the walls, lined with cocoons of ponies put into stasis to be fed on. Even the Storm King hadn’t resorted to such vile methods. Though stealing their magic wasn’t all that nice either.

“Oh Goodie...and here I was getting bored.”

What? No...it couldn’t be! We had seen her leave! As one our group looks upward, on the ceiling, we see the Queen herself lurking among the cocoons hanging from above. She drops into a dive, landing with enough force to make the floor tremble. Engorged on love after years of feeding freely, she and her army had grown in might to become more than the late Celestia’s equal.

“Y-you left! We saw you go!” One of my followers trembles with fear, already starting to retreat. A coward at heart it seems, but their weakness doesn’t stop the rest of our forces from continuing to pile into the room.

“Or perhaps you fall for simple deception while expecting your own to work.” The Queen chuckles. “You think your little incursion could stop me? That you could end our conflict with a singular battle fought by hoof?” She stares at me curiously, stalking around the portal. “I’m just glad you took all this time to gather all the loyalists for me. So much faster to kill the rest of your insurgents here instead of hunting you all through that accursed forest.”

“I’ve taken down four princesses and a king. What’s one more Queen on that list?” I launch myself forward, raising a hoof to block her laser blast, my other legs crouching and digging in as she pushes me back, the armor straining under the might of the queen, its resistive properties making it heat up until I can smell the burning of my own fur and skin underneath.

“Grraaaaaugh!” I groan with the pain and force of her blast as I take it whole. When she stops to stare at her handiwork its in awe as she sees me still standing, only slightly winded from her spell, the rest of my squad cowardly huddling away from her might, leaving me to face her alone as I slowly limp closer.

“How could you…?” She starts off before I pounce forward, knocking her head to the side with a savage kick, grinning with satisfaction as I see a tooth of hers hit the far wall. She staggers back in a daze from the hit, spitting a few globules of slime in my direction, albeit with an incredibly sloppy aim that seems a bit odd for her.

“You have a lot to learn about Equestria, imposter.” I growl. Her horn glows to ready another blast, but it is silenced as I grapple with her, knocking her blocking foreleg out of the way and landing a firm hit to the base of her horn that makes her energy sputter out like a candle. She goes forward for a jab, but I move to the side only to slam my entire body down on her extended leg and feeling it snap as she screams in agony.

Her horn glows again as she moves back, keeping out of my reach by retreating instead of fighting me directly. I hear a bang and yelp, feeling hot blood drip down across my cheek, my jaw snapping on one side. I can barely raise my hoof to block the rest of the strange spell, feeling the sting of its projectiles like hornets against my skin. When I hear and feel the onslaught stop I gaze forward. Dangling in her magic is a long black weapon, akin to a crossbow and making a clicking noise, evidently out of its demented arrows.

“You haven’t won! I’ve got your young, and your future! There is no outcome where you come out on top!” She crawls towards the portal on her remaining functional legs, her magic sloppily fumbling with a pile of more of what I could assume were more arrows to her strange crossbow. I slap it aside as she tries to levitate it towards herself.

As we close in she leaps through the portal. I try to yell something to get her to stop, but my broken jaw makes it come out as a bloody garble. My head starts to feel dizzy, blood loss starting to kick in as the adrenaline wears out. I stagger back towards the battalion, nearly a hundred of my soldiers patrolling the building to keep it clear. One of them steps forward holding a potion which I gratefully take, trying to swallow as much of it as I can with a bit drooling down my shattered side.

They stare at me in horror, only those from medical positions ever having seen gore up close before. And with my jaw hanging halfway off my face along with the smell of seared flesh in the air from my leg, they have good reason to. As the potion starts to mend my injury I give them my creepiest smile despite the pain. “Thith ish war.” I slur as I feel it pop back into place, though it is still a long ways away from fully healed. Time however, wasn’t a luxury we could afford right now. “It isn’t pretty, and it isn’t nice.” I look around trying to spot my strike team. “Form up, we’re going in.” I command.

“Tell me again about the attack”

The soldier had been under scrutiny for the past few days since the target’s assassination, having been subjected to a toxin made of alien compounds, and his companion had been encased in the creatures slime. This attack though, stood out simply by the fact that the assassin had had every opportunity to kill the two operatives, but didn’t, instead only killing the changeling mark with a stolen rifle, which they hadn’t even kept while leaving the two soldiers relatively unharmed.

Obviously, given the most recent attack it was assumed they’d been planted as sleeper agents that couldn’t be trusted, no matter how many blood tests they went through. For reasons of national security, they were unofficial prisoners under watch.

“The creature was smaller than the ones you showed us. It lacked the thicker carapace seen in others of their species that’d been displayed. You know, if we’d been made aware that we’d be fighting fucking aliens it might’ve made our job a little easier. I was scouting the edges for human targets as I’d been trained.”

His companion nods in affirmation. “I think I managed to wound its leg, if that means anything for diplomatic relations. Though what the hell else should I have done? The damn thing near choked me to death and the fact it was just over my knees is a real slap in the face to my training!” He unfortunately had a family that he had to be separated from while maintaining the secrecy of the whole affair, making him a bit upset with the whole situation.

“Your country thanks you for your service, and we may have a few options available to you...off the record if you are interested…” This new member in the Pentagon had been recruited shortly after the first invasion, and the pin and designation on his shoulder wasn’t familiar to either of the soldiers.

“Practically anything would be better than being here.” One of them states, while the other nods, both curious at what could be going on.

“I, as you might’ve guessed, represent a specific organization. The Bohemian Club as casual media knows of it.” He smiles, pulling a device out from his belt, an odd looking gauntlet that he slips onto his hand. The soldiers both look intrigued, even more so when he pulls a small silver knife out of his belt, holding it out towards the both of them, hilt first.

“You know those aren’t allowed in here.”

“Take it.” He states plainly. He opens his palm, but instead of falling to the floor it hangs suspended in a red aura, before floating weightlessly over to them. As they watch in fascination at the act, both wave their hands above and below in a futile search for wires. One of them gently pushes it away.

“I’m here to offer you a rare opportunity, our world is on the brink of changing in ways you can’t imagine. Levitation, healing, death. What if I told you that the magic you witnessed has been around since before the first invasion? That you could help your fellow soldiers, and keep its perks long after the conflict ends? A perfectly safe pinprick on a sterile knife and I could transmit this ability.”

One of the soldiers hesitantly grasps the knife out of the air. “And what do you want out of it? I doubt you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart after all. If magic has existed all this time, why have you kept it all for yourselves?”

“Because until now we didn’t have a good source to take it from. We can’t generate magic on our own, and precious few have possessed the rare ability to both handle magic and cast it. You track down one of these beasts, alive, and we’ll extract its magic. For all of us to share, including you.”

The soldiers eye the cultist warily before one of them speaks. “I can’t get into something like this, I got a family to worry about.” The other sits patiently waiting for the cultist’s response.

“It’s an offer, and we’ve gotten you cleared. You’re free to head home to your family. I have no need to mention that if you feel off in any way we’d like you to come back immediately.” the soldier nods then takes his leave, eager to return to his wife and kid.

“I take it this is official and cleared by our commanding officer? Last I heard they couldn’t decide whether to attempt a diplomatic or offensive stance.”

“They have a team out right now, for surveillance of the targets. However we have resources that are a bit more accurate on how to pinpoint the creatures. Only military personnel are authorized to interact with the scene, obtaining one of the targets is controversial, but I assure you that it’s authorized. We had hoped to have the both of you, but with a strong enough tranquilizer it shouldn’t be an issue. You can pick your own squad from the soldiers we’ve vetted for the operation. As you’re the only one with experience you’ll be leading this operation.”

The prospect of hosting his own mission, making history by interacting with an alien species, and the potential of gaining abilities few other humans had ever possessed was too good an offer to refuse.

“I’m in.”

“Hold it together,” Tarsus instructs. As soon as I got used to the basics of just trotting around he had made me start practice shapeshifting. A steep learning curve if ever I’d seen one. The process itself came incredibly easy though, despite my earlier protests. It wasn’t long before I figured out the reason for his urgency.

I was starving.

Not the ‘Oh I missed breakfast’ kind of starving either. The ‘Oh my god the slime I’d just emerged from would be amazing right now.’ You know...if I could eat it. Our bodies weren’t made to digest most physical food for our own sake, but that of our prey. That hadn’t stopped me from eating an absurd amount of cheap soup though, which I’m sad to say did nothing to stop my mind numbing hunger. Especially as I’d vomited it all up within the hour in a half digested changeling goop.

“You want to eat, you have to shift.” He reminded me once again, clearly unhappy at the prospect of having to deal with my deteriorating mental state. “I couldn’t hope to feed a queen’s appetite with what I can harvest from these humans.” He spits with distaste, before going back to watching his absurd television show.

Changing back into my old self was fairly easy, if a bit disorienting. The body I’d worn for all of my life that I could remember no longer felt familiar, my small, vaguely equine body straining to match the size of my human one. He’d assured me that with practice my body would become more flexible, for now though I could only hold it for around a minute at most before my form snapped back like a rubber band.

“In your world, you tell me the ponies are at least similar to size and shape. You have to have something I can eat. Please, I’ve never been this hungry in my life.” I’m desperate, begging with him at this point. “What about that honey? You said it can help with the hunger pains.”

“Me? Give you honey? Unless you are wanting to get incredibly drunk on it and as addicted to it as I am you don’t want it. It’s the devil’s bargain kid. I couldn’t live with myself if I got you in on it too. There isn’t anything else we can do. You’ll have to wait and go back to school tomorrow. That’s where the ponies are, there are two of them. A unicorn and a pegasus, the unicorn goes by Artemis as a human. I don’t know the other one well enough, but they’re probably together.”

“I need some NOW!” I beg, my voice taking on a reverb, my body seeming to take on a mind of its own as I stare at him, my eyes dilating as the world turns to shades of gray. That is...except for a warm pink glow in the creature in front of me. Without even knowing what I’m doing, I find myself pulling at it, tearing it from the fleshy prison in which it is stored.

Then my vision snaps back to normal, my mind becomes my own as I realize what I’d been doing. I instantly cease the tugging, watching it pull itself back into them like a wounded animal. I stagger back, terrified at what I’d just done.

“I...I didn’t know…”

“Get out.”

“I-I’m so sorry!”

“I said, GET OUT!” He screams, baring his teeth and spreading his wings, my new senses feeling the combination of rage, fear, and hate blending together like tin foil and acid. I retch at the taste, trying in vain to spit it out to no avail. I shirk towards the door, hoping for a diplomatic option, a chance to make things right.

“Wha--what happened to me?”

“If we don’t sate our hunger, our hungers become us.” He all but whispers, moving slowly further away. “Sate your hunger elsewhere. Get out of here before you kill me.”

This time I don’t stop.

I grumble for the I-can’t-even-count-that-high-eth time. I’d been feeling really better! Honest! I stare at my empty pudding, having already licked it clean a long time ago. I press the button on the wall again, grumbling at just how bored I was. Within a few minutes one of those nice ladies comes in, but she hadn’t been as nice the past few times I’d pushed the button.

“What is it Tina?” She asks me tiredly, checking all those beeping machines and hurting my eyes with their light. “Bored again?” I nod, pulling at the uncomfortable blanket. “The doctor will be here any minute, okay? We just need to take a scan to make sure you’re getting better, okay?”

“But Miss Arnessy you said that last time!” I whine, and she smiles, putting on a mask and gloves before moving to sit on the edge of my bed. “I really feel better! Really!” She looks at me a bit curiously, taking on that tone the grownups always use when they’re trying to hide something.

“Your treatment must be really working then.”

“Tina?”

Doctor Adams peeks in the door. She was always poking me with the needles and putting me in the loud machine, though she always brought some candy that she let me have if I behaved. She disconnects the machines and all the wires with miss Ar-nes-toes help, I move to stand but she pushes me back. “I know you say you’re feeling better, but we need to be careful, Okay?”

I grumble in protest, but they only give me that annoying smile at my pout. I sit back with a huff as they push my bed down the hall, into the room with the big noisy machine. I don’t protest as they lift me onto its plastic bed, its cold touch rather uncomfortable.

“Now remember not t--”

“Not move, I know.” I whine. “I’m not a little kid! I’m a big girl!” I really wish they’d treat me like a grownup. They get to have all the fun and drink all the medicine they want. Mommy was really funny after that. I wonder if I could have some of Dad’s happy juice then too.

“Tina...hold still please.”

“I’m trying!” I insist, laying back and trying not to move. It was hard though! I’d done nothing but hold still all day long and the machine was really loud and I wanted to run around and play. I wanted to go to school! I have to be a big girl though, so I really try to hold still.

“...You seeing this Mary?” The doctors are talking again. I listen eagerly, happy to have a chance to listen into a grownup chat. They must be pressing the button still. “This is the MRI results from last week,”

“Uh huh.”

“And here it is today.”

“Bullshit.”

“Mrs Arnessy? Mommy says that's a bad word!”

“Fuck I left the--” the microphone cuts out rather abruptly as I tilt my head. Now that was a new one. I’ll have to ask mom when I see her again what that word means. I hear the machine start to go quiet as it powers down and they let me out of the big noisy machine.

“You’ve been a big girl Tina. You want a sucker?” Doctor Adams pulls a red one out of her coat pocket and passes it to me. I take it and just get up and start walking back to my room, both doctors just watching me.

“Uh Tina? Y--” But the doctor quickly shushes her.

“What Mrs. Ar-nes-toe?”

“Nothing, you still feeling okay?”

“Mhmm! What were you both talking about with the M.I. thing?”

“You’re getting better.” This time Doctor Adams speaks. “We’re going to have to run a few more tests and speak with your parents but you’ve been really good.”

I like the sound of that, so I take her hand and walk with her back to my room.

SPLAT!

“Ah damnit! That was a big one!” Charles groans at the sight of the giant splatter on his windshield. Only to have a few more of the bugs splatter against his windshield moments after, forcing him to pull over from lack of visibility. He turns on the sprayers and windshield wipers to max as it gets to work scrubbing it odd.

Looking out his window though he gets a good look at the things he had just ran into. Dozens of colorful, little, round bugs are buzzing around in the air. Then they seem to spot him, charging in through his window before he could close it. He’s only momentarily relieved when it passes past him, but then he sees it opens its mouth wider than it should be able to by all known laws of biology before swallowing the entirety of his burger, wrapper and all. Dozens of the other little pests quickly eating everything even remotely edible. Then they vomit up a furry ball that almost instantly becomes another one.

Fearing for his life he opens the door and runs for his life, screaming, while dialing 9-1-1.

Author's Notes:

A special thanks to Alsey, publisher of Five Score: A Prench Tale, for editing and feedback!
Go check them and their story out!

10. The Undying Past

Ever since I’d tried healing Angela I’d been obsessing over it. Did I actually even heal anything? She said it felt better, but I hadn’t really seen much of a difference. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I wondered about what would happen if I healed something improperly. Could I have just given her cancer? Was that really what the mark on my hips were? Thinking back to the incident in the hospital I had felt almost possessed, but I hadn’t felt any of the same sensations I had when I’d tried the thing with Angela. All I had really done was push the magic into the little girl. I hadn’t done any real focusing or dare I say channeling with it.

I sit on my bed, staring at the mark that had embedded itself on my hips. A heart, and a cartoonish one at that. Does that mean love? Healing? Compassion? Affection? Do these symbols even mean the same thing in the other world, Equestria was it? The name was rather absurd though, it’d be like calling earth ‘Terria’ or ‘Humanria.’

I stare at the knife I’d brought in with me. Disinfected with alcohol and boiled in water as well for good measure. Even so it wasn’t purely sanitary to proper medical standards to my knowledge. Though cross contamination I guess was inevitable. Just had to be careful about infections. I swab my forearm with an alcohol pad, clearing it out. Even so, I can’t bring myself to do it. It’s not like I was wanting to do anything serious with it either. Just a tiny little cut on the backside of my forearm. Completely minor and away from anything vital or bloody, at least, as far as I knew.

I position the knife over my skin. Just get it over with already! This whole thing is ridiculous! “Gah!” I clench my teeth and stare at the sharpened blade for the thousandth time. Then before I can reconsider it, I place it on my skin and give it a small, but quick push.

Immediately I regret it, cursing with every filthy word I knew and then some. It was a bit more than I’d intended, but still just over the measure of a few papercuts in magnitude. But damn did it sting! I apply pressure with a little bit of gauze, the blood coming out in a steady trickle moments later. To imagine the idiocracy of all the idiots who would cut their hands. Like honestly, cutting up your most delicate appendage with a rusty and often pre-used knife just for blood rituals in movies? Completely unrealistic. If you wanted safe blood you should’ve just given yourself a bloody nose or something else as benign.

I try to steady my breathing as my heart races, pounding in my ears with my own anxiety. Looking at my ‘thigh marks’ shows no sign of further glowing, and I don’t feel any compulsion to do anything in particular...that is, besides calling myself an idiot.

“So...it doesn’t care about my own wounds.” I huff. “Wow aren’t you useful?” I stare at the sliver in my skin a bit longer, then the knife that has just a trace amount of blood on it which I carefully clean off. Definitely not going to put that back into the cutlery, even with sanitation you don’t mess with blood. I pull up my pants to cover the mark and at least appear to look fully dressed. Then I sit down on the floor, leaning against my bed as I try to meditate on the same feeling I’d felt with Angela. This time though, I didn’t feel a compulsion or a sensation to guide myself into that same state. As the minutes go by I seem to be wasting my time, so I fall back on my other studies about meditation. ‘Start with your heartbeat, trace the pulsing in your chest through your shoulder, arms, then hands.’

I pause, slowing my breathing until I can feel the pounding in my chest, tracing the feeling slowly up my arm, going back when I lose it. I trace it to my upper arm, feeling the twitch of my wound with each pulse, the bleeding barely recognizable now from the outside. I concentrate on that error, trying to expand my sensation of the wound. I feel my forehead start to tingle with a soft buzzing from my markings, my vision blurring away as it had before as I become disembodied, flowing down my arm as I see my own anatomy. I laugh with exhilaration, the feel of using actual magic!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

I blink, then groan. Just like that it was gone, my concentration and the whole experience disappearing fast enough to make me think for a moment that it hadn’t even happened. I pound my mattress in frustration holding in a scream. I swear to bucking Faust...whoever knocked on that door is going to--

“Arty! Lindsay says you need to get ready for your daaaaate!” My sister sing-songs through the door, before just shoving it open and staring at me. “Is she cute…? Can I meet her? What’s her name!?” She assaults me with a barrage of questions that I have to resist the urge to laugh at. I was so glad Angela got me out of that rough spot earlier even if she had literally destroyed my little ‘magic study’ session.

“Was your head glowing?”

Wait what? I quickly press a hand to my head, but it feels fairly normal. There is a small bump, but it had faded enough that you wouldn’t know it was there unless you actually felt for it. The marks on the other hand though...and not to mention a bit of hair growing around my marks that were the same color as the pony I changed into had not gone away at all. Not to mention the slight change in my pupil color. A few people had said I looked different, but none of them could really explain why when asked.

“I think you’ve had a few too many sweets Sis.” I chastise her in response, Halloween was coming up and she was already getting more sweets than she should. “I’m getting ready, just hold your hors--you know what, nevermind. Just tell her I’ll be out in a few, okay?”

“Should dress up better than that.” Amanda scowls. To be fair I hadn’t been trying that hard to dress up, and despite it being more of a casual dress I’d more or less been cornered into wearing some unbearably uncomfortable clothing just to try to look nice for a gal I very much just viewed as a friend.

“Well, when you get a boyfriend you can dress him yourself.”

She thinks for a moment, what I’d said sinking in as I realize what I’d just said and blush a little. Then she runs out of the room as she finally gets it. “Liiiiinnnnndddssaaaaaay! Arty is being gross again!”

I allow myself a few breaths to calm myself, that could’ve gone bad fast. I look at the cut on my arm again, thinking back to how it had happened. Even if it’s just a little bit of magic, it's still something. A lot of medicine happened at the small scale too, the larger stuff people would just operate on anyways. My mind fills with the thoughts of all the people I could help with this ability. No need to turn into a miniature horse just for that, right? Of course, the fact that I hadn’t been able to replicate the incident and treating Angela hardly seemed to have done anything for her recovery wasn’t very good for my self confidence.

I’m distracted from my thoughts as I see a slight glow in the room, tracing it back knowingly to my ‘cutie marks,’ glowing under my pants and sigh. Here I thought getting a boner in the men’s room was weird. If I started glowing whenever I thought of people being sick...that is just wrong on so many levels.

Maybe...being a pony wouldn’t be so bad if it meant I could help heal people. I didn’t fully understand what the mark was, but it just felt so good to act on it. No one could ever know, I couldn’t stand people’s attention in the first place, and I get stage fright from my mere name being said in a group of strangers. Magic was real, something tangible and powerful, and undoubtedly dangerous, at least in Angela’s case. It would be anyone’s dream, countless people through the centuries having sought after such abilities that I’m terrified of. It’d be wrong of me to try to ignore something that could make such a huge difference for people. With that thought in mind I head out and go outside to pick Angela up.

The rest of this week passes quickly. Sleep had grown increasingly difficult for me to manage. I increasingly felt myself start to fall into more of a nocturnal rhythm, my dad said it was natural, though it was something that didn’t fit very well with keeping up my human life. I’d increasingly started to fall asleep in school, much to the dissatisfaction of my teachers. I could still do the homework and studying during the night though, my father was well versed in most everything but history, computers, and human biology. As a whole, ponies have a lifespan of a few hundred years instead of just over half a decade, and so he had quite the education. Though I have to admit that when he told me his real age it definitely changed my view of him. He wasn’t just a middle-aged man anymore, he was going on his hundred-fifties.

For the dance I just had to stay out of moonlight...on the full moon. My father wanted me back as soon as possible though for more training and experience with spirits. I myself was looking forward to seeing what my mom really looked like tonight. My clothes were nothing really fancy, just a simple dress shirt and pants, I just hoped it was enough to at least match my date’s.

Heading out to the car I take note of the setting sun, mentally reviewing the hours until sunset. The fear of turning into a little fluffy bat in front of my date would be a sure way to not only scare her out of her mind, but also reveal our existence to the rest of the world, or worse, the changelings.

The drive over is quick enough. I grab the flowers I’d arranged for the date, another tip from my dad. In his world they were actually arranged as one might a box of chocolates here. With ponies and bats alike able to eat them, or use them as seasonings. I knock on the door, straightening my bow-tie one more time. I hear the scuttle of feet and her younger brother before an older man answers the door.

“Mike?” He asks. His heavyset form makes the doorway look small with his broad shoulders and bristling muscles. Across his left arm was an army tattoo, that left little question as to where he had gotten got his bulk.

“Y-yessir!” I chirp in reply, slowly offering my hand which he then proceeds to crush within his grip. “I-I’m uh...you must be Britney’s dad?” I try to offer a small smile in return, trying to appear at least a little confident as he sizes me up, like a bear deciding whether or not I was big enough to eat.

“I sure hope so! I’m quite glad to see her starting to branch out a little. Don’t want her going after a rough guy like her father. From what I’ve heard you’re one of the strong silent types?” He looks behind him as Britney comes down the hall texting, only waving a little with one hand before going back to her text. “Back before 10 alright?”

“Will do sir, my old man wants me back even earlier than that. I’ll uh...try to do you both proud.” I look behind him with a small smile as I finally catch her expression as she returns a brief one of her own. The most beautiful gal in the 12th grade, and she decided to go out with me of all people.

I hold out the flowers I’d gotten, dropping onto one knee as I offer them to her. “My fairest lady, it would be my greatest pleasure if you wouldst accompany me this night for a time of splendor and entertainment.” I recite with an honest smile. With hers though, there isn’t nearly as much enthusiasm.

“Thaaaaaanks…” She says taking them, giving her dad a long look. I watch with anticipation as she takes them over to the table and puts them into a vase. She smiles a little more warmly when she returns. “I’m all ready. Let’s get going then.”

I blush as she returns her smile, giving one more nod to her dad as we head out together. He gives me a smile and a wink as we leave, seemingly more excited about her daughter dating me than she was. I try not to let that bother me, she’d given me a chance after all. I just hoped to live up to her expectations.

We head out to the car together, holding the door for her to enter before going over to my own. The trip to the school is in itself rather uneventful. I drive slowly and carefully to not jostle her as we go. My few attempts at light conversation seem to fall a little flat, then we arrive.

The school auditorium had been given a fresh coat of streamers and fall cutouts. Along one wall was an assortment of treats and drinks, while on the opposite side was a pair of old speakers blaring the latest pop music, though it tended to clip a lot in distortion, clearly not made for the volume of music being pushed through it. Even though it was a dance, next to no one was actually dancing. Most individuals choosing instead to wander around and just hangout, though many others had sat at the far tables and started playing the card games that had been laid out for the night.

“So uh...would you like to get something to eat?” I ask as she puts away her cellphone, searching over the crowd. She shrugs a little, looking around a little more before speaking.

“Sure.” She says, then after a few moments speaks again. “Thanks for taking me. You...wouldn’t mind if we hang out with a few friends of mine tonight, would you?”

“O-of course!” I answer enthusiastically, though how she says it sends off a few warning bells in my head. “I would love to get to meet them. Maybe we could all have some fun together? Maybe play some apples to apples?”

“Sure.” Came her reply again, she had started texting again as we waited in line next to the refreshments table. We’re joined moments later by a group of the popular kids and a few of the SBO’s. Cole, an intellectual jock that I’d heard about from a few other friends we had in common and a few players of the football team I didn’t recognize. I immediately feel a bit overwhelmed looking at all the guys around that make my self-doubt dial up to 11.

I try to chip into the conversations as we wait, but most of them are about what happened at cheerleading practice or one of the games. When I do chip in it also seems like I was straining their hospitality, like they were putting on a nice smile while politely asking me to stop. As we get our things and sit down though we hear a thudding against the windows, which in itself was saying something from how loud the music was.

Pounding against the windows are dozens of small sphere-ish looking colorful blobs with buzzing wings, things I’m pretty sure weren’t natural here. I quickly snatch a photo along with a few of the others at my table that had taken notice. I spot Artemis and Angela just chilling in the crowd and head over, excusing myself in a bit of a rush.

Artemis over the past week had started to get a better hold on his magic with a little instruction from my father. He still admitted that he’d had to flee class a couple times, but at least it was something he was starting to get better at. The shifting itself was still hard for him to endure, still fighting the change that we all knew was a part of him.

Angela, in contrast, had been obsessively searching for ways to induce her change. From dumping water buckets on her head, to getting sprayed, and more. She kept wanting to try jumping off a building, though thankfully we had managed to talk her out of that option. I still had a strong feeling she was trying to setup a skydiving session though.

“Hey guys? I think we’ve got an issue.” By now several people had started to take notice of the colorful blobs pounding at the windows. “You’re the smart one here Artemis, do these things look familiar to you?” I hold my phone out to show them the picture, though he shakes his head, moving away from the windows.

“No, I’ve never seen anything like it. Send it to your dad, it's probably something from his world.”

“You think critters from his world are coming here?” Angela asks.

“I thought he said the portal was closed?” Artemis responds.

I do try to ignore the conversation, instead putting it in a text to my dad, I hear a scream though before I can send it as the glass shatters and the gathered crowd starts trying to run away, tripping over each other in their haste. “Whatever they are, they aren’t friendly!”

“Yes!” Angela shouts and runs over to her backpack before putting a concealing mask over her face. “Time to put our skills to use!” Before either of us can even move she has sprinted over, grabbing a lunch tray that she swings like a club at the little critters.

“That….is a terrible idea.” Artemis deadpans as we watch her futilely trying to smack the critters. They seem rather resilient to it though, the horde mostly ignoring her and everyone else as they head over to the refreshments table devouring everything on it (and everyone else’s plates) in a matter of moments in a frenzy that sends people screaming. After that they seem to oddly move over towards the blaring music which has switched from ambient club music to a song.

My phone buzzes as my dad responds to the message.

“Parasprites, like music, quite tasty. OMW!”

“We need to get to the audio. They’re called parasprites and apparently are attracted to music.” He nods in response as we quickly make our way through the crowd. The DJ appears to be packing up their stuff, seeing the panic and destruction making its way through the room and the lurking alien creatures swarming around her stuff.

“Hey, you gotta keep playing the music! They’re attracted to it!” I say, while they just ignore me continuing to pack up their old speakers. To be fair I couldn’t really blame them.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’d just love to tear everything apart! I’m getting out of here and you should too!” She scowls but finishes putting her old speakers rather sloppily back into their cases and starts wheeling the whole thing out. A few of the students that had been filming the whole thing now seem to be fleeing the scene. The creatures devouring anything even remotely edible in the room. Occasionally they’ll pounce at a gal, swarming through their clothing before retreating unhappily. Maybe their fruity perfume smells like food?

“The hell do we do now?” I ask Artemis, watching Angela grow more and more frustrated as her smacking has very little effect on the swarm itself. He looks over the destroyed room, appearing torn between fleeing and doing something.

“Do...you think it has something to do with us? I want to run, and we should run. Yet this whole town will be under scrutiny if we can’t make this go away.” I nod, then my eyes widen as Angela starts running around them in a circle, trying to herd them all into one place using a plastic tablecloth she had grabbed. An idea comes to mind but it seems a bit sickening as we both respond at the same time.

“I can eat them”

“We could sing?”

We stare at each other for a moment, then gag at the others proposal. “Yeah, neither of those sounds really good. I’ve never been a singer, and I reckon you aren’t either?” Yet even saying that I feel a tingle in my throat and down my spine. Looking at him I can tell he just felt the same thing.

“Nope! Not gonna do it!”

WHOOSH!

We’re both distracted as the air suddenly yanks us both forward, then gape at the middle of the auditorium where a tornado had formed, seemingly out of nowhere. We both cling at the pillars, only just resisting the pull as we see the entire room start to get pulled into the cyclone. Tables, chairs, lunch trays, even loose patches of carpet. Moments later we see Angela rocket out of the flurry with a few bruises evident on her face and arms, she clings to the wall next to us.

“I...I just made a tornado!” She cheers, apparently thrilled at the prospect as we both cling to the pillars holding on for dear life.

“This is the worst idea and incredibly illogical!” Artemis yells as he clings onto his own, clearly struggling. “Why isn’t it dissipating!? The air currents and temperature--”

“Magic!” I yell back, interrupting his tirade of physics. We all yelp collectively as a few panes of glass shatter, being brought into the storm. That seems to snap Angela out of her excitement as shards of glass whizz past our heads. Luckily though that appears to be the worst of it. The tornado swirls a little around the middle of the room before it starts to slow. The parasprites now laying in a heap on the floor tangled in all sorts of debris, more than a few looking to have been pierced a bit gruesomely by the glass.

I laugh with relief as the storm dissipates, moving towards the pile of trash wanting to make sure they stayed down. Angela and Artemis are not far behind me as they carefully grab the tablecloths, starting to wrap up the dizzy or unconscious critters.

“Mike! Your face!” I hear Angela call from behind me. Looking back I can see the moonlight streaming across the floor I had just walked over. A quick brush over my teeth confirms that I’ve got a familiar pair of fangs. I hadn’t even noticed but even with half the lights blown out it looks brighter than before. A quick flex of my back also confirms the presence of partially formed wings.

“You’re one to talk, you’ve changed to!” I reply to her. She had grown her own fully developed pair of wings and ears. Artemis looking worriedly at the both of us backs up a little, clearly hesitant about even being near us. However I can tell his ears have migrated a bit and his horn has grown. Then I realize it wasn’t us he was looking at. Behind us I see a small kid that had been making his way over towards our group, yet a closer look sends a chill down my spine as the moonlight reveals what they truly are.

“RUN! IT’S A CHANGELING!” I yell to the others as they quickly start to retreat, even Angela having both heard my father’s story about them. I however growl at them, looking around for a possible weapon, grabbing a metal chunk of a broken chair as an improvised club I charge at the beast. In return the creature turns around and sprints for the backdoor.

“We aren’t going to just let you face them alone!” Angela shouts and starts to run after me, but the doors slam open revealing a woman with a glowing fist while holding an odd cylinder device

“Stop! I just want to talk!” She yells. I see a greenish aura form around Angela’s leg tripping her into the floor. Angie drags Arty out the broken window while I exit the door right on the heels of the changeling, their run being rather slow, frequently tripping over themselves or leaning against the wall for balance, in the spur of the moment it doesn’t seem odd.

For a moment I reconsider my decision. Our group is split, I’m going in solo while in human form no less. Then I remember that if I let them get away they’ll tell more of them and all of our lives would be in jeopardy. I open the door to run after him, ripping off my shirt as the moonlight tingles over my skin, rapidly shrinking into my pony self. The change is over in moments as I leap into the sky, gliding through the night air with ease, the refreshing chill of the air abuzz with power.

Picked the wrong night to strike I think internally as I stroke ahead of them, their own human form melting away in a green flame as they scramble like a newborn foal to escape. “Thought you could attack my friends and get away with it!” The simple fool clearly not expecting a bat to be waiting. I frown though as my voice is heavily distorted into angry squeaks and other horse noises that they probably wouldn’t understand anyways.

I dive forward, landing firmly in front of them to cut off their path. I fumble the landing a little, but the result is the same. I watch their eyes widen with terror before striking out with a hoof and smacking them across their maw, making them reel backwards from the blow. I grin in victory, moving to follow up but a buzzing of wings behind me gives me pause.

“Now this we don’t see very often.” A masculine voice says.

“That we don’t indeed.” Another voice replies.

Turning around I can see two much larger changelings prowling closer. One has a thicker carapace while the other is thinner, but with larger antennae with eyes that seem to be analyzing my every move.

I’ve been ambushed. It was all a trick and I fell for it, hard. I pound a hoof against the ground, drawing in the strength of the spirits as I see the world come alive with the walkings of the dead. My mother’s spirit, stronger than ever is fully corporeal yet I barely get a glimpse before I feel her enter my body and we merge. Just in time too, my hoof reacting faster than I could have as the armored one strikes with a club shaped limb that I block on their upper leg, stepping forward, spreading my wings, then kicking off their chest followed by a downstroke launching me into a tight twist that gets me airborne.

“Remember, we are the best in the sky and dark.” My father’s words of training come back to me as I gain altitude seeing all but the smaller one launch into the sky after me. I use my wingspan to my advantage as I gain height rapidly, then, with my mother to guide me I dive forward, with the moon to my back and with them lined up so the bigger one blocks the view of the other. Predictably he dodges out of the way, but the other sees my approach too late as I flip my body around and slam my rear hooves forward in a vicious buck that yields a satisfying CRACK!

“That’s for my dad!” I chitter in victory...albeit too soon. The slender one in my grip lashes forward with their teeth and bites into my leg lighting it aflame with agony as it burrows into my flesh. Not to be outdone I quickly return the favor, lashing at their exposed neck in turn and tearing at their weaker carapace. This close to the ground though I am forced to disengage, kicking off with only a partially successive buck.

“Child lookout!” I hear my mother’s voice grace my ears, but as I turn to look at what is behind me I feel a firm strike knock the wind out of me in the same maneuver I had just performed earlier. I feel my own ribs crack as I struggle to stay connected to my mother, the pain making it difficult to focus. I’m unable to recover in time before we both strike the ground splitting us apart. I feel more spirits surge into my form, my blood spilling onto the ground of what I now recognized as a graveyard. The smaller ling from before hanging back...having not participated in the battle in any significant way.

I recover faster than the bigger ling, but my vision blurs as the bite wound aches. I look at the wound on my leg, its bleeding freely, but the blood is tinged. I’ve been poisoned, I realize with dread. I don’t even see his next blow coming, one moment I was moving forward and the next I was up against a gravestone, stars dancing across my vision.

“You do your ancestors proud” The bigger one says, my vision making me see double. I watch them trot over to me. They vomit a blob of slime that binds my hoof to the grave I’d been standing on.

“Oh how the tides have turned...tell me, where are the rest of your kin?” The slender one circling around me, brushing their tail over my chest seductively. “You’ve fought with honor, but you’ve lost. Do you want to go out with your pride, or your life?” She asks, at least I think it was a she.

“Rot in hell!” I squeak in return, weakly yanking at my stuck hoof but it just won’t come free. Why didn’t I just run?! I chastise myself. The slender one just rolls her eyes before trotting off behind me.

“Very well, Let’s start with a leg.”

I see the bigger one hack up another blob of slime that sticks to my neck, pinning that down as well. They raise their thickened hoof, silhouetted against the moon as it forms into an axe. They hesitate for a moment, as if waiting for me to say something. Yet I keep my mouth stubbornly closed, not saying a word.

“I’m sorry dad...I’m sorry mom. I wish I could have made you proud.” I whimper into the night sky as I see them raise their hoof, standing up on their rear legs as much for intimidation as force.

“Oh, there we are Jake...knew you couldn’t stay aw--”

SCHLICK!

The bigger ling screams with agony before swaying to the side allowing me to see a large kitchen knife embedded into their upper chest and its steaming. Behind them I see the small ling I had chased out here in the first place just frozen, staring at the knife they had just stabbed into their comrade, apparently horrified at their action.

“Traitor!” the slender one yells launching forward, a bladed hoof outstretched as the smaller one turns to flee. The armored one though, grits their teeth before yanking out the blade with a savage motion and tossing it to the ground, covered in seared green blood. Not to be outdone he launches himself at the smaller ling, catching them in his grip as they both go down.

Seeing the ‘traitor’ apprehended the slender one turns back towards me. I tug at the slime, trying to get back in sync with my mother. With all the other spirits flowing through my form it is hard to focus, but seeing their hoof-blade swinging towards me our wills collide into one thought we all mutually shared.

Desperation.

My body bends with unnatural strength as the slime rips off of my neck, but my hoof remains stuck to the weathered marble surface. I raise my other hoof up to try to block the strike, but before they can complete the motion I feel a rush of air as something launches itself at the poised changeling, slamming them into another gravestone. Standing over their prone form is another Thestral, one that seems familiar, especially when I see their missing leg.

“DAD!” I shriek at the sight of him, a batpony with over a head of height on me. More importantly though I see their extended hoofblade glistening in the moonlight as it slashes brutally at the bugs chest, cutting their carapace like paper. Seeing him renews my vigor as I yank at my hoof with all my might, my eyes tearing up from the pain of fur being yanked out of my skin as I pull free.

The armored ling has pummeled the traitor under him, the smaller one covered in small cracks and at least one broken leg from their scuffle. They hack up the rest of their slime to pin the smaller one to the ground like he had to me before roaring as he turns to face my dad.

My dad is unsteady on his limbs, favoring his balance on his undamaged side. As I see the ling swipe at him he ducks low and swipes at their leg, cutting off a few inches of them as they lose their balance as blood pours out of their wound. Dodging a half-hazard swing he takes to the air flying rather slowly into the moonlight. The ling in a frenzy charges at him, quickly overtaking him.

“Behind you!” I shriek, before remembering he can’t understand me, only able to watch in horror as I see a well aimed swing move to his back...then disappear into a dark mist. I watch with bated breath, where did he go? Then I see a flicker of moonlight condense as he emerges from behind, striking his blade through the big lings back. Their movements spasming as they fall to the earth making a sound like a dozen cracking eggshells. Looking around the slender ling seems to have vanished.

I stagger over towards the little ling that had led me into the ambush. They don’t resist as I pin them down, shoving their muzzle into the ground as my father lands on the ground beside me. “Damn infiltrator got away...they know we’re here, but not where.” He looks to my captive before removing his blade and sliding it over my right hoof.

“P-please! I-I’m not with them!” I hear them shriek beneath me while I look to my father who is scowling at them.

“Tonight you make your first kill, not of rage, but of necessity. Remember they are tricksters, they live to deceive. Remember.” He indicates his missing leg, staring at them with barely concealed fury.

“This one saved my life though!”

“And you all of a sudden trust them? They’ve never been above killing their own to gain trust. They’ve impersonated bats then turned around and killed one of their own just to prove their supposed loyalty!” He spits with venom, lurking closely. “Hours later their entire party was led into an ambush to be slaughtered. Tell me, does that sound familiar!? Do it! Before you lose the spine!”

I stare down at my captive, what could I do? It’s not like we had a prison, if they lived they’d tell even more about where we were. One day they’d strike back harder than before, taking what I loved most dear as they had taken my mother. I think of my little brother, of him laying dead in his very bed. The thought of my adoptive mother, throat slit and bleeding into the street.

But its murder.

They aren’t even human!

Do you want their death on your consciousness?

Better theirs than the rest of my family’s!

They’ve surrendered!

They led you into an ambush to die.

You really want to do this?

I’ve made my decision.

I yank on a strap to tighten the blade on my hoof, then with one fluid motion I aim it at their neck, my heart thudding like a drum in my chest. Several of the spirits coming to the forefront, filling my mind with memories and feelings not my own.

Vengeance, Revenge, Honor.

I close my eyes, take a breath, then let it out. I draw my leg back a little further, then swing. I feel resistance as it reaches its apex, but can’t move it any further.

I open my eyes to behold my actions only to see my leg glowing with golden light aching with a familiar tingle.

Mother?

Looking down I see my blade hovering a millimeter above their throat, having just barely nicked them as they stare up at me terrified. My leg shaking as the haze clears and I realize what I had almost done.

“This isn’t the way child.” I hear her voice ring through my body as I see her leave my body to stand in front of me. “We aren’t the killers your father remembers us as.” Her voice is so soothing, but I can’t take my eyes off her form, my eyes tearing at the sight of her. My order forgotten I step over the ling and into her embrace, feeling her touch as real as my own softly rub over my back. Her soft golden glow warming my sore body, and I weep.

“I-its really you.”

She wipes away my tears with a hoof. “I’m here for you, now and always my little moonbeam.” She feels so real, so close. Over her shoulder I can see my father staring at us, expressions flowing over his face like a waterfall.

“They killed you.” He finally says, taking a few steps forward but keeping some distance. “They forced us here, they overran our capitol, enslaved our entire race! Do you not remember the siege?” He fumes, spittle dripping from his mouth with his rage. “They took my leg!” He cries out, tears streaming across his face. “Why, Why?”

“You can blame them for whatever you want. I died of my own choice and killing them won’t bring me back. I’m not asking you to forgive them, that’s not something they deserve.” She turns to me, her gold eyes staring into my own. “They took me away from my home, but they could not take us from each other. I’ve watched for years as you’ve grown, as you’ve found another life.” She looks back to my father. “And I am disappointed in you Eclipse. You’ve spent years wasting your life away on a hatred you can never avenge. Not with a thousand corpses could you be happy. No, that is not the worst of it. You have sat on your hatred and done nothing!”

“Moonsong--”

“I’m not finished! You have ignored our traditions, desecrated our honor. Paralyzed by guilt and rage you let it stop you from even telling our son the basic fact of our legacy! You gave up! You gave up on us, on each other! I’ve spent 18 years watching our child grow up in a world we don’t belong! You heard rumors of magic, and you did nothing. You gained a human life, a good one with a mare who is twice the woman I could ever be, and I am proud of it. The portal is out there, and there are ponies that need you more than anything. The cries of their mothers and fathers echo through the world in agony.”

“Be the stallion I married.” She pleads, moments later a cloud crosses over the moon and she dissipates back into nothingness. I grasp at the falling sparks of her body as they disappear into the ground. My father just stands there, silent as the graves we’re standing on. A moment later he is in tears, in an instant I’m by his side, hugging each other closely as I nuzzle under his wing. The ‘traitor’ changeling lying a ways in front of us seems to have passed out for some reason or another, though she doesn’t look too good.

I stare at the spot where they lay, then at the blade strapped to my wrist before staring up at the moon.

“Dammit it Artemis! You’re going to get us both caught!” I yell as I drag the nerd around. To be fair I was dragging him faster than most cars, but we had to get away from the fuzz. I yelp as his legs trip and kick me again. “Artemis! It’s like you’re trying to get us killed!”

“I-I’m changing again!” He shrieks as I take a fraction of a second to look over his form, a muzzle already starting to form over his face and his horn had emerged a few inches. I grit my teeth with envy at him, how come he got to change so easily? “For the last time, why are you being such a pussy about it? Do you just not care about getting supernatural magic powers? Always whining and complaining about how bad it is to be able to change so frequently into a creature straight out of legend. Grow some b--well...grow something and stop complaining!”

We round another corner and I take a second to regain my breath. Trying to speak while heading at 60 miles per hour is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. I peek back trying to spot our pursuers, but what I see sends a chill down my back. The younger gal is flying in a aquamarine colored aura as she is chasing after us.

“Oh buck me sideways!”

Instead of responding I just shove his or is it her? head out from behind the wall before I let him pull it back. “We are so bucked.” He replies in horror, shivering like a leaf. Me though? I don’t have time for this shit, and he wouldn’t last a minute under interrogation.

SLAP!

“Snap out of it!” I yell at them while applying a strong dose of palm to the face. “We’re going to get out of this if it's the last thing we do.” I stare at their terrified face, meeting their oversized eyes as I stuff their shedded clothes into my bag for later.

“Wasn’t necessary.” He scowls in return as his voice ascends a few octaves. “They have magic, what if they are on our side?” I roll my eyes and groan at his naive nature, so trusting against the people that are probably quite literally going to kill us. They know we’re out here, we could only hope that they hadn’t gotten a good look.

“I know you’re out here!” We hear the younger woman call, probably in her late 20s if my brief glance was anything to go by. “We just want to talk! We know about the changelings that are attacking--we can protect you!”

Just how stupid does she think we are? I hear her voice coming from a block over, her night vision probably a pale comparison to ours.

“What if we…?”

“Artemis...can it. If we’re talking, it's on our terms, not theirs. Damn are you so naive ....” I mutter.

“Well excuuse me princess, but I don’t exactly want to be in trouble with the cops!”

“For fucks sake Arty, they aren’t COPS!”

“There you are…”

Buck me sideways.

She emerges from behind the corner, her device spitting sparks like a flare. I grab Arty like a football and charge down the road dodging levitating trash cans and flying debris that glow in her unworldly aura. My wings greatly aiding my dexterity as I sprint down the road, the wind stinging my eyes as I stagger away from our attacker.

“Please! If we could just talk for one moment!” She calls from behind us. “I’m trying to help you both here!” She yells breathlessly, clearly not a competent runner.

A short while later I’m heaving for breath gasping from a run that I should’ve been able to do easily if I wasn’t sprinting at impossible speed and carrying an oversized cat. “I...I think we lost them.” I pant and gasp, dropping Arty perhaps a little too far above the ground as I hear them whimper at the impact and curse. He stares up at me with a scowl, but it only lasts a moment. “What? I’m sorry I saved your sorry flank!”

“I realized something. You...can understand me.” He states tilting his feminine head. “I’m not speaking english either.” I don’t hear anything different as he speaks, but I just shrug looking around. The moonlight flickers over my face as I lookup and see what seems like two large birds fighting in the sky, but I know better.

“Come on!” I yell, unable to do that super sprint anymore I take off at a jog as the road leads us towards the graveyard, the steady clopping or Artemis’s sloppy gallop behind me testing my ability not to laugh as I hear his feminine voice cursing about the hard ground, tripping, or stepping on a rock wrong.

A raccoon barks at us as we move forward before scampering off down the road, making me flinch at its sudden appearance making me curse. “Damn critters.” I mutter, then enter the graveyard to see what I assumed was Mike pinning down one of the buggers while another bat pony creature watched close by.

“Mike...I swear to god if you run off like that again I’m going to shave every inch of fur off your little body until you’re a bald little rat!” He exchanges a series of looks with the other bat, evidently having finished a conversation of sorts before looking over at us. Upon seeing us his eyes widen further than I would’ve thought possible and his mouth drops open. The other one is giving us a firm stare too.

“What? What are you staring at?” Arty asks, taking the words right from my mouth.

“Arty...you uh...wouldn’t happen to have a twin, would you?”

He thinks for only a short moment before shaking his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret answering this, but no, I don’t. Not that I know of anyways.”

I look between the both of them, but Arty doesn’t speak further and Mike doesn’t seem keen on spitting out whatever is on his mind either. “Well come on now, spit it out! What is it?” I command.

“I’ve told you before that thestrals deal with spirits right?”

“Yeah” I reply.

“And that its strongest on the full moon?”

“....Yes” I reply, my mind getting an inkling of what he might mean. "Why?"

He looks at me solemnly, his throat visibly swallowing as he looks between us before slowly nodding his head, not breaking eye contact. “Because according to what I’m seeing...both of you are dead.”

Author's Notes:

First off. Sorry this took so long! real life stuff And a couple re-writes of various parts delayed things a bit. A shoutout to Arcane for doing a bit of proofreading, and all of you readers for taking the time to read my story. Hope you've enjoyed the read!

(Obligatory request for comments, I like to hear feedback!)

11. Return and Recoup

I had expected many things when I passed through the portal. Twilight had been notoriously tight lipped about the other world she had visited, what little she had mentioned about the world seemed almost immediately invalid. First off, the portal didn’t lead to a school. In fact it didn’t really lead to anything one could qualify as a place.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

That would be my second in command, Honeycrisp, screaming her head off. I could only spare a moment to scowl at their foalishness. Granted, earth ponies weren’t very good with heights. Especially ones several miles in the open air without a parachute in sight. Concentrating on the land below I try to conserve my oxygen fighting to stay conscious. The wind was deafening, my armor clanking noisily back and forth from the drag as we free fall towards the alien planet.

My strike team of six is only about half coordinated. Two pegasi, two earth ponies, and another unicorn. Soarin and Flitter were struggling to get the others together though they keep looking at me for guidance, the math wasn’t hard, they couldn’t save all of us on their own. We don’t have a chance of communicating with how loud the wind is so I just try to point at some clouds I spot below us. The two pegasi dive at my command while I angle myself towards my flailing team.

I throw myself at Honeycrisp and we roll in a bit of a tumble somersaulting. One of my hooves gripped around her midsection as I force her to spread her hooves to stabilize our fall. “Get a grip Private!” I yell in her ear as I try to steer us towards Patch, our other earth pony and medic. He is much more resolved and we bind together fairly quickly. Sparing a glance at the pegasi below I don’t see a cloud being made for us, despite their aerial maneuvers.

We are running out of altitude. Looking below is a snowy hillside, a small boon but the impact still will definitely not be pleasant. The pegasi waste several more moments on the stubborn cloud bringing it up to catch us but even with Stellar Gaze (our other unicorn) casting the spell we shred through it like a dozen clumps of cotton. The pegasi finally getting it through their skulls about our situation finally help gather the others in a clump, but by then we have only moments. I feel their combined pull, nothing to shirk at pull us into a shallow dive but its too late.

Several flashes dart across my vision as I feel us colliding with several magical barriers Stellar must have conjured at the last moment to help break the fall before my vision fills with white and red. I’m conscious for only a few moments after the impact before the pain becomes too much and I black out.

I wake slowly, my head aching with the migraine of the century. I try to open my eyes, but immediately close them again, the light being overwhelming on my sensitive pupils. I take a few strained breaths, feeling a sharp pang in my side. The pain kicks my training back into gear, first step, analyze the situation. Tail? I give it a small wag. Spine intact. Rear right hoof? Check, Rear left hoof? Check...Neck? Sprained. All in all my front right hoof is in something solid, at least three ribs broken if my medical training is up to par. That all taken care of, I force my eyes open centimeter by centimeter.

What I see instantly gives me a wave of nostalgia. I’m in a cage. A small one at that, though with pitifully small wiring that makes me question if my captors had any idea who they are dealing with. I smirk, fools to underestimate me. A quick brush at the top of my head confirms that my prosthetic is missing along with the rest of my gear, deeply troubling as without the stabilizing enchantments we’ll start to lose our magic fairly quickly in the desolate environment.

Looking around I notice there are a few other creatures present, along with four of my crew. After a quick check I realize Stellar is missing, something that is deeply troubling. Why would our captors separate us? A moment more of thought and a quick whiff questions the notion. There is antiseptic in the air, the smell of medicine, a hospital perhaps? A certainly crude one at that.

The door holding me in has a simple latching mechanism that a foal could comprehend. Without my prosthetic, much to my dissatisfaction it will be a challenge to open with my magic. I take several deep breaths to calm my erratic heartbeat, falling back to my instincts forged in a lifetime of conflict. I feel the familiar sparks tingling my scalp as they flitter about erratically, occasionally stinging my ears and eyebrows. Yet the latch barely seems to move. Squeezing both of the pins requiring more effort than I had anticipated and without any conduit to really focus my magic it's incredibly inefficient.

I bash the door with frustration, the movement reminding me painfully of the absence of my armor. This realization was definitely the worst of it all. Various battle scars cover my chest and body, of battles hard fought and won before I had won the Storm king's favor. His army was strong, but ultimately dull and predictable. Brutal, yet power was a language I had learned well. Without my armor revealed my past failures for the world to see, including me. A bitter reminder of the life I had once led.

I glare at the door keeping me in, narrowing my eyes. I’m not going to let a pitiful excuse for a cage keep me contained! I channel the energy into my horn as I feel it concentrate into a circular orb of energy then unleash it in a blast that explodes against the lock. What I hadn’t anticipated was the energy to be conducted back around the cage that forces a scream from my lips as the shock circles back around with residual energy searing my fur and leaving at least a few potential burn marks.

Yet I don’t hesitate at the pain and I slam forward, breaking out of the cage with a charge that sends it clattering to the floor. Rage burning in my chest as I hear a clattering of movement moving towards the door. I hide around the corner, waiting for them to enter. The creature is fairly large, nearly twice my size, but that has never been an issue before. More importantly I see a metal device similar to the one Chrysalis had attacked us with earlier, so I don’t hesitate.

My horn crackles to life as I release a bolt at them as I watch them spasm in its aftershocks and collapse to the floor. With the creature felled I immediately spot another one behind him, dressed in a similar garb of heavily pocketed blue shirts and glistening badges. The twitch of their arm towards their belt is all they get before they join their friend on the floor.

The both of them handled, I quickly strip them of their weaponry and kick them across the floor. “Get up you recruits! We’ve got a job to do!” I yell at my sleeping companions. Opening the cages seeming rather trivial as I simply just bite the doors and pull them open. Waking them up however was another story. They all seemed dizzy and lethargic, more than one seeming to have a few injuries, but nothing appearing too serious. One of which had been equipped with a ridiculous cone shaped device. These creatures were obviously inhumane.

I only get through just over half of them when the door opens again, my recruits woefully unprepared I turn to face the intruder. This one, however, was in a somewhat familiar white suit. Something our medical staff would often wear. Seeing they bore no weapon I growl a little remembering the ‘new’ rules of engagement. Their eyes only widen and they give a little yelp at seeing their two comrades on the floor, I see them quickly search over their belts then freeze, looking back over at me.

“That’s right, no sudden movements alien! Give us our stuff back and get out of our way and you’ll have no more trouble.” Yet the alien only tilts their head, looking more curious by the moment. Perhaps he was deaf?

“It’s okay little horsey, j-just calm down...I’m not going to hurt you. What the hell happened to these guys? Taser malfunction perhaps? None seem bruised…” The alien seems to be looking over the room, and at each of us in turn. “All still here though...perhaps this species is intelligent?”

I had no idea what the strange creature was saying, but the tone was recognizable. It was the tone of a creature that thought they were better. I smile, doing a quick look around, then grin even more as I spot their familiar tool that I pounce on and try to point in their general direction, growling for effect.

“H-holy shit! How’d you get their gun!?”

I only glared at them, wondering how they got the strange device to work. Yet internally I knew I had the floor. The sound of terror was universal, as was the voice of power. I flick my head towards the door, then feel a part give under my tongue while quickly getting a firm smack in the jaw as a deafening crack splits the room and a hole appears in the wall.

“F-fuck this!” They yell then quickly slam the door behind them with a telling ‘click.’

Damn! They had an exit strategy. No matter, Honeycrisp was coming too. “Crisp? The door, if you’d be so kind.” See? I can remember my manners, Twilight. I thought with a moment of mirth. Some of the weakest soldiers I’d seen since our invasion of Cant--you know what? Nevermind. I watch Crisp go at the door, the metal glowing and liquifying under their grip as it deforms under their magic and they kick it open with a loud bang as I rush forward with my crew behind me as he gets out of the way. Just like we’d practiced.

“Clear the perimeter!” I yell my command while grabbing the ‘bang’ device in my muzzle again. Moving down the short hall the room opens up into a fairly crowded space full of more aliens. For a moment I fear we might be outnumbered, but at the sight of me they scream and flee for the exits. The room cleared I quickly scan the perimeter, the tall alien creatures having seemed to have fled the perimeter, though many are holding odd rectangular devices. Yet more importantly I spot our gear behind a counter.

“Equip and move out, our position is compromised. Has anypony seen Stellar?” Finally having a moment I manage to do a headcount and realize their absence. The others shake their head briefly as we all quickly arm ourselves with our packs and equipment. More than a few showing a little evidence of tampering, but we don’t have time for examining that now. Strapping on my armor just makes my whole body relax once again to have its familiar weight.

“We need to put these necklaces on, without them our magic will slowly be sapped by our local environment. We should have enough ambient magic if we stick together, but we can’t be taking any chances.” Seeing the solemness in their eyes at the reminder makes me glad we had the intel. We had lost first contact with the other expeditions we had sent through, with our reception it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

“Species is evolved, complex structural environment, use of tools and weapons implies sophistication. Assuming they have a central form of government and their current reaction implies they are unfamiliar with our species. We are to evade them at all costs, understood?” I wait for them to nod as I center our compass. It didn’t point north, but to the previous amulets we had sent through. One of the vials is buzzing and making the noise of a scrying spell, but now wasn’t the time to answer.

I slide the prosthetic over my broken horn, feeling the slight pressure and slight click as it settles almost perfectly into the crevices of my broken horn. Typical spell magic wasn’t my forte, but I try to channel a location spell regardless. We would need her more sophisticated spellwork if we were to survive this alien environment. Yet my patience is quickly outgrown by my panic for urgency as I struggle to find the magic to guide my path. “Bucking Faust…” I curse under my breath. “Crisp? See if you can sense her magic around, feels like I’m suffocating with the lack of magic here.”

They nod without replying. A stoic silence that had earned them their place in command. They had, well, at least some spine when they weren’t falling to their death. After a quick circling around and tapping the floor in various places they nod in a direction towards the sun. “They are some distance away, but with the lack of other magical signatures…” She lets the rest go unspoken.

The rest of my crew, all prepped and ready, I charge for the exit, only to immediately smack into a bit of an invisible wall. A stream of curses passing my lips as I stare at the smudge of my nose and breath on the perfectly clear glass, then with a bit more of a shove the door is forced open. My eyes turn to daggers as I hear a few chortles of laughter from across the street from the alien beings that had retreated across the large street. At least my squad knew to keep their muzzles shut about it. Our immediate situation handled, we head off to recover our missing member.

When joining the royal guard we had trained for many things. The loss of our fellow soldiers, terrorist attacks, BBG (big bad guys/gals), even torture and capture. This though, this was not something she had expected. Tied up with a collar and rope while being tied to a post while lights were flashed at her was definitely not on her mind. “I think I’ll take the actual torture now.” She muttered. Though of course they ignored her, or didn’t understand her in the first place.

Her horn and head ached something fierce from her last minute spells that broke their fall. The spell shock rendering her abilities, at least temporarily, out of reach. Around her the group of three aliens would circle her, occasionally speaking in their strange language to each other and laughing. These beings must truly be despicable, they had her, that much was clear. Yet they also had to gloat about it to each other. She reckoned the rapid flashes must be from some sort of miniature camera, otherwise she couldn’t imagine what purposes it could serve.

“You think people will really believe it?” One asks.

“You better bet they will. We just need so many camera angles and movement that we’d have to be either professional animators or telling the truth, then they’d have to believe us!” The other replied.

Meanwhile she was thinking of the various ways to escape. They hadn’t strapped any blockers on her horn, the room itself seemed made out of wood and lacking any identifiable runes. All in all it seemed these savages had never encountered a unicorn before. She smirks at the thought, then a much darker one crosses her mind. If they had never seen a unicorn before...what terrifying experiments might they do on her? One of the legend tales of Rarity had been when she was abducted by diamond dogs and had to escape a potential lifetime of slave labor from the feral beasts. Judging by the smell of her captors she began to genuinely worry they were of a similar breed.

“Oh Faust no.” She gritted her teeth, trying to tear at the collar again, though that only made her captors cheer more. They were apparently quite pleased by literally everything she did. Least they weren’t poking her any more, so that was something. Once again she tried to channel her magic again, the situation straining her patience beyond her tolerance. A few sparks was all she was able to muster before the pain forced her to stop.

She wouldn’t cry. Never show your enemies your weakness. Tempest had told her over and over, her track record, for and against Equestria spoke for itself as to her leadership. Who was she to question it? Yet now, seperated from her squad, on an alien planet, and a captive of a foreign species she started to genuinely doubt that she would ever be a soldier Tempest could be proud of.

The first of her tears started to blur her vision which quickly turned into a sniffle. “I won’t cry..I-I won’t!” She yelled at her captors. “I-I’ll make Tempest proud.” She swore to herself, as she wiped her tears away with a hoof. Moments later she realized that her captors had finally gone silent. She turned back to face them, intent to berate them again, despite the language barrier, yet instead they looked genuinely concerned, or curious. Their small faces and eyes were hard to read compared to the creatures she knew.

“You think we just doomed the land to a curse?” One whispered to their friend.

“Do you really think any of the lores are accurate? I mean we haven’t drawn blood and it crossed our territory....” The other whispered in return.

She just stares up at the both of them, tugging at the leash she looks to the both of them begging with all the strength she could muster for them to let her go. Hoping somewhere in their smelly, weird bodies that they had a heart.

“Awww...Just look at how cute she is!”

“Gotta get this on Camera” The other says while holding up their odd camera device.

Her ears sunk moments later as she realized they had returned to their excited noises. Evidently only just reacting to the fact that her behavior had changed. Just a few more minutes. She thought, then she could use her years of magic to escape these primitive creatures. Though she winced a little at the thought, Fluttershy definitely wouldn’t approve of that kind of thinking of course. Then again, she wasn’t here anymore to tell her no. Her heart panged a little at the loss the entirety of Equestria had suffered through when she had disappeared. They had never found her body, only blood. Though the hope after all these years that she was still alive had been dashed as search party after search party came up empty. Especially those led by Discord himself, never before had the land seen such chaotic rage.

He too had disappeared shortly after the changelings took over. Without Fluttershy the elements couldn’t work properly, something Chrysalis had been smart--or cruel enough to realize. Celestia and Luna had been present at their retirement home, but a great many of their forces suspected that they were only changelings in disguise.

Turning back to the situation at hoof she just sat on the ground and rested. Waiting for her horn to recover while refusing to entertain the aliens any further. They seemed to quiet after a while of waiting. Several minutes later she heard a chime that echoed through the house that the creatures responded to and moved down the stairs. Just like the diamond dogs were known to do. Perhaps they really were relatives.

Seeing her chance to escape she gritted her teeth and quickly used her horn to cut through the rope, groaning a little at the fresh spikes of pain that shot through her skull. Though she couldn’t cut it all the way it was enough to catch flame and burn the rest. Once separated she quickly stamped out the residual embers. They may be cruel, but nopony--or creature in this case deserved to have their house burned down.

Her bonds undone she quickly shuffled over to her pack and supplies that lay on the other side of the room, sliding into it with the well practiced motion before tightening the chest strap with her teeth. Teleportation not being an option, she decided to move down the oversized stairs carefully making her way down. The two aliens had greeted another alien at the door that was holding a box that smelled of fresh bread, tomatoes, cheese and...ugh...meat. The scent making her scowl.

Unfortunately though, the delivery-alien as they appeared to look, spotted me as she headed down the stairs. Not to mention how loud her hoofbeats were, even with her best attempts to keep them quiet.

“Good god...is that a...unicorn?” They half-shout, half-scream.

Both of her captors spinning around as she tries to gallop around them. Yet with so many in such a small space one of them manages to get a grip on one of my rear hooves, lifting me up as the rest of them withstrain my front hooves.

“H-help! Someone! Anyone! I’m in here!”

She screams and yells, though one of them grabs her horn quite painfully to keep her from thrashing around while smothering her muzzle in their armpit.

“Help me get it upstairs!” One of the original captors yells.

Before they can even take a step though, the entrance explodes to a welcome sight. Tempest and the rest of the squad behind her all in a battle stance as they charge through the hole she had just made.

“Oh thank Faust!” She nearly whimpers in relief as her horn crackles, rage clear on her face as she stares down my captors. Very slowly she feels them set her down, not hesitating to run back to join the squad. Happy to be back with her herd, she stares back at the group of aliens. “I’m unharmed...just...had a scare--I’m just glad to see you all again.”

“Still would be more than happy to shock their flanks until they learn not to mess with us again…Curse Twilight’s new rules.” She shouts at their faces and blows up a hanging light above them just to make sure they got the gist, then with a head signal we head back out of the hole we had come from.

“Those bastards.” I curse, staring in at the hospital beds that now held the forms of my entire family. A sudden cancer, aggressive, and inoperable had formed seemingly overnight. They had come from nowhere, and the doctors were baffled as to how it had happened. A sudden aggressive tumor had formed around their heart and primary arteries making surgery a non-option. They said they would try chemo, but I knew it was unlikely to help. No, this wasn’t natural, too statistically impossible

Ever since the offer from the stranger at the pentagon, and getting attacked by a creature out of legend I had started to rethink what was possible. I knew who was guilty, I didn’t know what they had done, but they had done something.

“I’m over here”

I spin around, seeing the damned cultist that had made the offer just casually sitting on a bench. Without hesitating I grab the man and slam him against the wall, my military and physical training making it almost natural. “I know what you did bastard, and you’ll undo it right the fuck now or I’ll splatter your brains across the wall and leave your emasculated corpse for the crows.”

“Oh, I know. Yet you see, that is the problem. You kill me, they will die. It’s quite simple really.” He remarks casually, as one might about the weather. “You should probably release me too, the nurses are starting to stare.” He nods down the hall to a few other individuals, civilian and medical staff alike. “We’re perfectly fine, he just needs to--” He turns to me with a smile that makes my stomach churn. “--Calm down.”

I drop him back to the floor unceremoniously. “All this over a damned alien? Why? Why the fuck does it mean so much?!” I turn to look at my family in the medical beds, gesturing with an arm. “There are countless other soldiers you could get for the job, my family did nothing to you, I did nothing to you. What is wrong with you!?” A soldier is not one to cry easily, especially one with so many years, but now I can’t stop the tears from flowing. “Just please...leave my family alone. This magic, or whatever, if it's so important you should’ve made a conversation instead of putting them through all of this. Just why?”

“You seem to be mistaking me for someone who cares. You see, unlike the rest of you, I don’t. My skills in magic may be greatly limited, but you want to know why I’m so critical to them?” He pauses, circling me like a hawk. “Because I’m effective.” He half whispers. “When they ask, I perform. I don’t care if it's a man, woman, or child.” He gives me a disturbing smile. “I got you here, because they wanted you here. Why? Who cares? I sure don’t. So don’t waste your breath on me.” He pulls out an envelope from his suit and holds it over.

“I want them alive. Getting another soldier would require them to know about the situation and various other inconveniences. You tell, they die. You don’t hurry, they die. Simple orders for a soldier like you. Spout off about magic to your superiors and they’ll throw you in the funny bin in which you’ll develop a cancer and die from alien exposure.

I scowl at him trying to conceal my rage. “You might think you're some hot shit, but you’ll regret blackmailing an experienced soldier. We’ll see how much your magic holds out when you’re sniped from five hundred meters away. You’ve made yourself a dangerous enemy.”

The man just shrugs and smirks. “Unless you know how to cure a cancer better than the doctors I suggest you do the job and try to kill me later.” With that he just walks down the hall, one of the others joining him as they enter the elevator.

Using my training I immediately write down a description of their appearance and the events. I don’t care who they think they are, but their abilities defy modern medicine. They picked the wrong guy to blackmail, and I’d show them what a marine is capable of.

“You really think this is a good idea? We’re trying to ally with the military so we have more resources. I know I agreed to follow your lead, but you told me you’d use that magic to heal high profile military agents! Not targeting an innocent man’s family, can you even fix what you did?”

“No, not really. He is a loose end, and he probably told at least his wife. Killing the kids is just a mercy so no one else asks questions. Oh, and he’ll die soon too. While talking with me I’ve exposed him to enough he might have a week before he shows symptoms.” The older man just smiles. “You want your position, you’ll do as the order requests.”

“Yes master.” The apprentice states, hoping that their new leader would step in soon.

“Of course they would sue.” She groans reading through the paperwork. After the ‘miracle recovery’ of their daughter they wanted to sue us all for malpractice. Yet the previous two months of MRIs and documentation including bloodwork. The case is a farce, but they were all going to be dragged through the mud anyways.

“What kind of circus are you bastards running here!? Now look what you’ve done to my daughter!” The little girl in question sitting in the chair has one of the biggest smiles on her face as she just stares up at her parents curiously.

Not wanting to get into the argument I just wave to the both of them and nod to the desk staff. “Alrighty Tina, how about we do your checkup while mommy and daddy have a nice conversation with Mr Jenkins. Oh, and I really like your halloween costume. Is that a pegasus outfit? Those wings look really nice.”

“Yep! I really like them! The unicorn angel gave them to me!”

I chuckle as I take her blood pressure and heart rate, just the basics while we wait for the Oncologist to do their full check. The heart rate is a little high, but the blood pressure is fine. I put the stethoscope on her back. “Breathe in for me” I instruct, furrowing my brow a little further as I hear a fairly unnatural respiration. Then moving a bit further up I brush against something firm and soft.

“Uh...Tina? Could you take off your shirt for me?” I wait from behind as she takes off her shirt. “Good god...I’m not sure whether to call for a doctor or a pastor…” I mutter the last bit to myself.

Author's Notes:

Oof! This chapter is a lot later than I was intending. Sorry for the delay all!
School and COVID work issues are my excuses of choice.

Once again, thank you for your continued support from reading my ramblings. As always comments are appreciated.

It's still on the cliffhanger and I know those are definitely rough from personal experience but other parts of the story needed to be taken care of too.

I hope to answer that cliffhanger shortly and thank you all for your patience.

12. Police and Prisons

“You can’t be serious.” I shake my head, struggling not to trip over my hooves as I step closer to Mike. “I may not be a doctor, but I’m feeling fairly cognisant.” My mind reviewing the scattered memories of the consciousness scale. I was aware of myself, responded actively to my environment, even if my info was inhibited, which being a pony would certainly be explained by that would be hallucination. I was dropped earlier, that indicates ability to feel pain. “I think your vision might be broken a bit there.”

Mike just stares at me, then shakes his head. “I can’t understand you. I don’t speak horse.”

I facepalm, then wince at the firm appendage hitting a lot harder than I was wanting. “Sweet mother of Faust, can someone translate and give us some answers here?!” My eyes searching each of them, Angela just shrugs but the other bat steps forward.

“The nature of our adversaries suggests a more likely origin, and I can understand you. Are you familiar with our--the human’s lore regarding these creatures, the changelings?”

“A little, I did a little reading when you all first mentioned them. Families used to claim that disabled children were...were imposters.” My mouth suddenly feels incredibly dry and my chest tenses. “You aren’t….are you saying we are changelings?”

“No, we would have been able to see if you were. I believe you are exactly what you appear to be, a pony from Equestria, our homeland.” He pauses for a few moments, looking over at the remaining changeling in the graveyard. “My mare and I were chased through a portal that led here when thousands of them raided our capitol. Our magical defenses had fallen, and our guard had been incapacitated.” He looks over at the both of us.

“Does that mean our parents are these horse things too? Why wouldn’t they have told us about it, and none of them said anything about these pendants?” As fascinating as their history was we had more pressing questions.

“That ties into the second part. I don’t know where the pendants came from, but I’ve recognized that kind of magic before. They look similar to the Elements of Harmony, powerful artifacts that are the manifestations of the accumulated minds of our entire species. Not the elements themselves, but those artifacts I’d be willing to bet were made by an earth pony familiar with them.”

He sighs before continuing, looking up at the moon as if trying to beg it to answer for him. “This won’t be easy to hear, and by Luna I wish it wasn’t the most likely option. When we were exiled the portal was under the control of the lings. That means nopony got through they didn’t want to. That, plus the souls that look exactly like you means that you were brought here as captives. A perfect prison that drains at the magic of all who dwell within it, a jail as strong as Tartarus.”

“You see, the catch here, is that humans keep track of everything. When I first arrived they were obsessed about papers, documents, and where I had come from. Things you cannot live without here. The changelings likely realized they couldn’t just keep their captives in a prison. The humans would find it. They also couldn’t let you just naturally turn into a human, you would still have your resonance that could be tracked.”

Something clicks as he speaks, as if I had just remembered I had left the stove on. The back of mind starts to ache and burn as something forces its way to the front of my mind. Then everything goes white.

I’d been dragged across the ground for sometime now. Encased in that sickly green slime I could hardly even move. Hours had passed by, feeling every tree root, patch of grass, and patch of mud. The air here reeked of things I didn’t even have names for.

“Did you find a mark?”

“Yeah, we have one about the right age. Seems such a waste, but leaving them around could cause trouble later.”

In their grasp is a little bipedal creature, their mouth covered in green slime and they’re clearly trying to scream. They seemed like a dragon, but without wings, scales, or a maw. What were they doing with them?

“Let’s get this over with, the parents will be back any minute. Queen would flay us all if we messed this up.” The creature is forced to their knees right in front of my cocoon. The three changelings tracing a circle on the ground with a magical flame. An enchantment, but for what?

“Tell me you remember the spell…” One of them glares at the one standing behind the youngling.

“Of course I do! Shut your yap!”

“Faust, I miss the old ways, this just seems going too far.”

“The old ways failed us, the new order is what will bring us all to prosperity.” The supposed leader growls. Then they start to chant in a language I don’t recognize.

My eyes widen as I see one of the changelings legs shift into a serrated blade. Their horn with the others making the circle glow in sickly green light. I see them reaching forward. They can’t possibly be...oh buck NO! I scream within my encasing, the little youngling across from me, their face wet with tears, and yet oblivious to what is truly happening.

The blade is quick, in that, there are small mercies.

The little one moves forward, their neck splashing blood over the cocoon, as I feel my slimy prison soak up every drop like a sponge. The pain is agonizing as if I was being surrounded in fire as the slime turns red. Looking down I see my hoof start to flex and crack, a finger starting to form from the cracked keratin. My fur melting away into the mush, my back and hips cracking as my bones reshape and mend. My scream is silent in the slime, only making me choke as I struggle to properly breathe.

Th-these monsters! H-how could they do this to the little one? My eyes unable to look away from their stare as I see the life leave their eyes, the barest hint of my reflection in their vacant eyes, but it isn’t my reflection for long. I feel a rush as their life passes, memories not my own flooding into my mind, each one as nonsensical as the last even as my own start to grow distant. I whimper in realization. They had just killed both of us.

The snap back to reality is...grim, to say the least. The others looking at me with concern, none of them realizing the extent of what had just happened. Tears were already streaming down my face from the memory.

“They killed them.” I choke back a sob before pointing at Angela. “They killed you, they killed me, and then they killed whoever we used to be.”

“We were never human, we were monsters living in a skin that wasn’t ours. Stealing a life we stole from the dead.” My stomach starts to revolt as the memory crops up anew, I stagger over to a tree and promptly lose everything I’d eaten in the past hour. The taste of bile fitting for how disgusted I feel with myself.

“You aren’t making very much sense Arty.” Angela states, though she seems to have gotten the idea, but I really don’t have the nerve to spell it all out for her. Luckily Mike’s dad comes to my aid.

“You are from our homeland. The changelings abducted you, then to keep you hidden performed a blood ritual. A ritual that sacrificed a child for you to steal their lives and be impossible to find for any that might try to find you. Does that make sense to you?” He spits fuming with rage. “They are senseless monsters that deserve to rot in the depths of Tartarus!”

He gestures over to the unconscious changeling. “The young that are selected to be infiltrators or other higher classes get implanted into the living. Slowly devouring them from the inside until they hatch, then kill their entire families for food before returning to the hive. Tell me, does that make sense to you!?”

“We can’t just kill them now, they are unconscious, unarmed in an almost literal sense.” I stare at their body, the memory resurfacing of what they had done. “They are young, like we are. Like that child was that they killed. We don’t know hardly anything about them.”

“Didn’t your little flashback show you what these bastards do? Faust, you really are bleeding heart ponies. Some villains can’t be redeemed!”

I don’t really have anything to say to that. I’m not really in the best state to be making these kinds of choices. I just couldn’t stomach the idea of being part of a murder. Well, another one. I’ll never be able to sleep at night again, their face… my face staring back at me, seeing the life leave their eyes. What did that make me? Was I them? Were they me?

“We can’t kill them dad.” Mike finally speaks up. “Evil or not, this one tried to save my life. I couldn’t live with their death now. The other changelings didn’t seem to be on the same side, we can’t say all humans are evil because of a few.” He pauses, then looks up into the moon. “Mom said so.”

Eclipse just groans and stomps on the ground in frustration, walking in an anxious circle while deliberating. “We need a place to put them then, we’ll get answers and when they show you all how evil they really are we will kill them then.”

He looks sternly at Mike, but they don’t meet his gaze. If Mike were clenching his teeth any harder I swear they would break, clearly pissed about something, but he says nothing. Instead I just give an awkward cough. “Well, Eclipse, you’re the adult here and the only one of us who knows anything about where we came from. What the hell are we supposed to do?”

“We survive and keep a small profile.” Angela scowls at that, her wings clearly portraying her mood with their little flicks. Good thing it had a wide collar or else it would have ripped.

Eclipse continues on, ignoring her. “Listen, Equestria is gone. It’s taken over, going there is suicide. If the Lings are here, they could be anyone or everyone. The entirety of the government and law enforcement. We can’t trust anyone and rely on not being discovered.”

“We stay here, we are sitting ducks! You think they won’t notice that we killed a few of them and that they weren’t watching their prisoners?” Angela fumes. “We won this fight! And that was just the two of you! Let them send whatever they want, we’ll get better weapons, you can spot them and boom, dead.” She sprints in a circle around all of us for emphasis, her form a blur. “Last I heard they couldn’t do that.”

“A few, maybe. What happens when it’s ten? Twenty? How many do you think you could survive? Or better yet, how many innocent people will get hurt? I have a human wife, and three children.” He flies up on top of a gravestone. “They are assassins, influencers, and blackmailers. They won’t just kill us, they will destroy us. What happens when they see you on camera robbing a bank? Going on a shooting spree?”

I wince at the thought. No one knows about changelings in the first place either, they’d throw us into the loony bin for even suggesting it. Just...just like my mother. I need to see her, to tell her she’s not crazy, but then what? “So...we lay low. I doubt I could convince my family in any way to leave. Not to mention that they still know what we look like.”

“We kill the other one that got away before they report back and we can keep things quiet. Then we use this Ling to persuade the others that things are still fine. I’ve lived here for years, and now there are two of us to search.” Eclipse looks around the graveyard. “We stay here, play dumb and hide. So long as we aren’t making a scene and seem under control they probably won’t care too much. That’s the whole point of them banishing us here. They will search for the lost changelings and assume it was natural causes or human death. So long as we stay here we are safe.”

Angela sits under one of the trees. “We should move then. There was some weird anime chick chasing after us earlier and I doubt she would just give up. It’s a miracle they haven’t found us already. The changelings aren’t our only problem right now.”

“Speaking of which…” Mike interjects, his voice still terse. “I know it is probably not the most important thing right now but I promised my gal-friends dad I’d have her back before ten, and I think it’s a bit past that. Arty is the only one here that brought a car, and well, you shouldn’t be driving like that pal.”

“Oh buck, and I’m already on thin ice from the last time I stayed out this late.” I groan at the realization of how late it must be now.

“Each of you should go home. Try and...explain away this evening. The good news is that they want each of you alive. Else you would be dead right now. Evidently you were either somepony important, or related to somepony important. The both of us are the only ones in real danger here. So, we will take the body and dispose of the body properly.”

“The less I hear about this the better.” I state, grabbing the pile of clothes with my mouth while trying to drool as little as possible. I’d have to grab the car later, the excuse of delay would certainly at least make my absence explainable. Hopefully I would...well, what exactly? It’s not exactly changing back if this is what I really am.

“I need to get back soon too then.” Angela gives her wings a few flaps. “I love the wings, but they kind of make hiding from secretive government agents and nosey neighbors a problem and--Woah!” She tilts heavily to the side from one particularly strong flap. Her face cracks into a smile. “Okay, so we uh...meet again in a week?”

“We should also keep our online chatter quiet. Last thing we want is them to find any of our conversations and investigating.” My mind recalling the extent of all the internet archives kept of everything we say and do online as the paranoia starts to kick in. “I’ll show you all how to do proper encryption next time we meet. Monday?”

The others nod and start heading on their way. Eclipse hauls away the dead body on his back while Mike does the same with the still living changeling. Angela starts to run off using her wings to occasionally glide a little as she hops onto the rooftops in a way I can’t help but be a little jealous of. Left alone I start to slowly trot home, wondering how I could cope with the soul wrenching guilt of being the imposter on a child’s grave.

Losing the targets was certainly a blow to my plans, but hardly the end of things. I breathe in the air, feeling the tingle of magic. It was so powerful here. With a flick of my hand I levitate over a trashcan and thrust it against a wall hearing it crack from the impact.

“Nova? NOVA? What part of undercover and observation do you not get!? I know you can hear me!” His voice is evidently trying to be professional, but his rage is quite clear. Poor guy, just trying to do his job. Lucky for him our organization is in great need of people with his particular set of skills, all that stress will go away soon enough.

“I’m here, and I got an ID on our targets.” Play dumb, and let him be kept reliant on my observations. The Gifted will now be more cautious, buying me more time to convince them properly to join the cause. Just a little while longer to pretend that he is still in charge. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Have I mentioned that I love wings? I really love my wings. Feeling the crisp air tearing against my skin, the feel of the breeze through my feathers. If it weren’t so exhilarating I could fall asleep like this. Tap tap tap glide. I was really booking it, even if someone was looking up they’d barely get a glimpse and--woah!

I curse as I feel a bit of my thrust disappear, my shoulders aching as my wings start to numb. Unable to stop myself before the next edge I drop to the ground and slide trying to slow myself. I yelp as I feel the rough padding tearing at my skin regretting the decision instantly before dropping off the edge. Two stories pass by quick when you’re in a panic but the impact is rather...lacking.

I stagger to my feet a little dazed, but surprisingly intact. My arms, legs, and cheek are a bit rubbed raw though. Each stinging like a dozen hornets as they throb. “Damn roofs.” I curse and give the building a kick. Heading back to the street I see I’m not too far from home, with a final stretch I feel my wings finish receding into my back, losing the last bits of my true self with a depressing finality.

My mind goes through the conversation from earlier, trying not to think too hard about it. Poor Arty having an existential crisis, who cares what we’re made of? This is definitely me, and curse or no curse the less I was just the product of my human family the better. I belonged in the sky, that I’ve always known. The feeling of sprinting was always just so I could feel a small fraction of the sensation of flying, the wind blasting past me as I forced my way through it. I even remember earlier trying to convince my parents to let me have a motorcycle instead of my current car because I wanted to feel the wind. With how different I was from my parents they’d probably be relieved.

The walk home is short. Our house is fairly impressive, at least by relative standards here. My father is a businessman of fairly high prestige, my mother, an elegant lawyer for a pharmaceutical company. As such our house is fairly new. All that, but it still made me scowl everytime. What it represented about how my family spoke about others. I wasn’t a daughter, I was a trophy.

I give a brief knock before entering. I make my way slowly down the hall trying to keep quiet. Without my phone I’m unable to check my father’s schedule, and to walk into a potential meeting would certainly be bad for our relationship. Despite it all we got along okay, just so long as I kept out of his way. My mother and I tended to get along a lot more.

I’m halfway to the stairs when I hear the door creak open. “Angela? You’re late, could you come in for a moment? We have a guest.” I withstrain a groan as I hear my father call out. Slowly walking into the fancy living room. The blood drains from my face at who I see, a pool ball having spontaneously formed in my throat.

“Oh, there you are Angela. I hoped to catch you.” Sitting next to my father is Sheriff Redmond, holding my keyring while carrying a tamper evident bag next to him. The contents, I could more than guess. “Came across these keys the other day and thought to return them. There was a skirmish near the area and wanted to make sure you were alright.” He holds the bag aloft a little. “Perhaps I could ask you a few questions as well? Nothing bad certainly, but of a private nature. Mr. Fivouchi could we have a moment?”

“Of course.” He says sternly while giving me a glare that could fit an entire prophecy of doom into a single moment. A promise of what would happen if anything came of this. I sit down in the chair next to him feeling more like a marionnet who has just had her strings cut.

“Any recording device I should be aware of?” Redmond asks carefully. As if each word was a wire cut to a bomb. His face showing the depth of his years, his breath ragged with a slight wheeze to it. Yet something told me he still was as fit as a fiddle by the way he carried himself.

“No, my father only keeps those in his study or in person. Having one here is a legal liability with the kind of company he gets.”

He raises his eyebrow only a little at that and nods. “No need to explain that. I have more pressing concerns.” He lifts up the bag and cuts it open with a letter opener before passing it to me. “Found torn clothes, your keyring, and a broken phone that we used the SIM card of to find you.”

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but that’s a lot of work just to return a set of keys.”

“Suspicious then. Not that I could blame you. How about we take a drive? Your car is, after all, parked a ways away. All I ask is that you answer a few questions on the way. No trouble from any gangs, and no testimony unless you’re comfortable giving it.”

It’s suspicious, for certain, but I know I could likely escape or take him if I needed. Refusal would prompt further investigation as well, yet, I also had to take into account that he might be a changeling, but couldn’t let him know of anything that I did know. Where were the eggheads when you needed them? So I go with the simple answer.

“Sure.”

“I parked a little down the road as I was on another visit.” He states, but I don’t believe that for a moment. He parked away from here so I wouldn’t see him coming in. “We also had a bit of an incident at the school earlier today. Your father mentioned you were attending, I hope you had a good night up till then?”

“Yep.”

“Not very talkative then?”

“Nope.”

He sighs and just smiles. “You know I’m here to help right?” He stops and turns to look at me. I flinch as he reaches out a hand to my shoulder, and he cringes and pulls back. “I’ll be frank with you then. I have good reason to believe you’ve been involved in some rather...supernatural activities.”

“Oh?” I try to keep my breathing steady, not having expected him to be so direct. “Like E.T?” I ask, trying to divert his question with a question.

“Well, would you believe me if I said we’d found something?” He asks in return.

“Yes. I mean no!” Damnit! That was a trick question! “I mean, it would probably be just some strange cat or something right? Th-those are always faked.”

He smiles at my response as we approach his car. “You wouldn’t happen to be hiding any aliens in your basement would you?” He quips in a way just sarcastic enough to be considered sarcastic. Measured and exact in a way that makes me sweat.

“No, we keep them in the attic. Much easier to get into the UFOs that way.” Ha! I can play sarcastic too, Mr. Inspector!

“No, I suppose not.” He says and opens up the door to the back but I hesitate. “I’m not taking you to the station, it's just a ride. I’m fairly certain you’re not a criminal and I promise if you are, I won’t be arresting you here. Is that good enough for you?”

I scowl at him, then sigh. If I continue to refuse I look more suspicious, but getting in essentially makes me a prisoner, and yet I get in. “What is it you think I know about all this?” I ask trying to keep him on the defense before he can ask more questions. “You think I’ve seen an alien or are involved with one? You know this whole thing sounds ridiculous. Men in Black to a T.”

“Black is for funerals, and on wedding days. I think you might know something about some thugs that robbed a few people shortly after leaving the bar. I know you were at least close to the events that occured and might have been injured. I also know that you might know something about an individual that can move faster than any human should.”

“That’s a lot of things you think I know.”

“You’re a smart girl, and I didn’t hear no.”

“What would it matter if I did?”

“It’d mean protection, for us and you.”

“Some would say that’s a shady way to say prison.” I retort, making eye contact in the rear-view mirror.

“You know, I served a couple tours in my day. Unlike most cops I’ve had experience with what war and combat is. I also know that something is killing these creatures and that they may be at risk themselves. I’m asking you to tell us what’s going on before someone gets killed. I know I can’t force you, I can’t prove you’re involved, but I know you are.”

“Thank you for your service.” I reply a bit lamely after a moment of hesitation. I wish I’d studied more about changelings like the others did. Could really be helpful too, but how could I have him prove that he’s not one of them without letting him know I know to test him?

We pass by several blocks in silence, my eyes carefully tracking our progress in case he intended to change our destination. Not to mention that it also gives me a good excuse not to make eye contact.

“You aren’t the first person I’ve dealt with in a rough scenario. During my time in the East we encountered several individuals that were in places they didn’t want to be. I don’t know your place in this, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told them. We can protect you, more than you know.”

What could I honestly say here? I have to assume they are a changeling until proven otherwise, but how could I possibly prove them as what they are? The only time I’d ever really seen one...or at least remembered seeing one was in the graveyard. What made them different?

We arrive at the location and a solution comes to mind, just not a really good one. I have to wait as he comes around to open my door. As soon as I step outside time slows. With a smooth stroke I pull off his belt with one hand, and his gun from that with my other. Then I reach over my leg and push him to the ground and aim my gun at the spot next to his head because I’m not an idiot. I try to withhold a wince as I hear him go down.

“Not another move, Changeling!” I growl as fiercely as I can, pressing the gun against his chin. I watch carefully trying to see any hint of deception. The changelings would change form to fight and I knew they also had green blood.

“If you had intended to kill me you would have done so already.” He states with a calm that makes my body tense. “We are someplace private, and out of the way. If you were a killer you would have acted against those thugs in the alley. Only one of which is hospitalized, with a ruptured kidney. Something I can empathize with.”

“So you knew.”

“I had a hunch, the changelings, would that be one of those insect like creatures? We found one that had taken a few gunshots. I assume that was you as well?” He states with a little more caution, before coughing with a bit of a wheeze. “Yet, what is this supposed to prove?”

“I uh...well...it was supposed to…” Oh fuck, if he was human I was definitely in trouble. “If you are who you say you are, hold still.” I was in so much trouble, but if he was a Ling and I let him go now I’d be dead. At least with a human I’d be in prison. “I’m sure I’m in a lot of trouble for this.” I look through his belt while keeping his gun pointed in his general direction. I grab his knife and give a quick flick against his palm. A moment later I let out a sigh as I see red blood, setting his gun and belt down before backing away quickly.

He doesn’t waste a moment, scrambling to pick up his gun before ejecting the magazine and pushing in a new one from his coat pocket before smiling. “I knew you were faster than any human had any right to be, so I made sure my gun was empty, ‘course I forgot about the knife.” He winces as he holds up his hand and looks at the cut. “Could I ask what this is for?”

I sigh in defeat, sitting down on the ground. “A test.”

“To see if I was a changeling?”

I just nod.

“Have to admit that was awfully dramatic and could’ve really gone wrong in a dozen different ways. You are really lucky I didn’t just kill you, you should know better. Lucky for you I need answers, even luckier than that, I’m off duty.” He sits across from me, but at a distance, gun still in hand. Not that I could blame him.

“You’re right that it is complicated. Saying anything puts not only me, but several people at risk including yourself. The more you know, the more danger you and all of us are in.”

“I’ve been a soldier before, but I still have people to report to. I could promise to keep our conversation secret, but you know that’d be a lie. What you can trust me to do is to protect and serve and protect those under my watch, and so long as you act lawfully you have no reason to fear.”

“You have no idea what you’re up against. Those creatures you saw can become anything and anyone. They have abilities you’d hear about in fairytales. Lay low, and play dumb, and they’ll be gone. You try to find them, people are going to die and you’ll accomplish nothing.”

“Okay, we’ll lay low.” He says, standing up and quickly getting into his car.

“No you’re not.” I say matter of factly.

“Not really, no.” He says while turning on the car and pulling out. “I can’t force you to do anything, but when you are willing to talk, or trust us, I will be there.” He pulls out onto the street. “I just hope you come to your senses soon. You know where to find me.”

Author's Notes:

Oof! Sorry so long this chapter took to get out.
Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I'd like to start doing a few "Ask X a question." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters.

As always, thank you for reading and remember that comments are a writer's food pellets!

And again, a thanks to the wonderful Alsey for doing a pre-read of this chapter. Give them all the love because they deserve it.

13. Mind and Malice

They take their time, the response, likely delayed by the breaching team. I had the greatest of confidence in Tempest’s abilities. I just worried about what might be left. Despite it all I hoped for a chance of peace between our kinds and for Chrysalis herself, though now certain problems had arisen with that aspiration. One of which, that a certain Chrysalis was leading the army here.

I stand with the remaining four of my friends, the absence of kindness a cruel metaphor for the world she had left behind. We needed her now more than ever, and not just for her element. Her guidance had opened our eyes over and over to greater understanding and comprehension.

I stand with the other ponies of my village, Pharynx himself leading a group of changelings that had managed to sneak through the blockade. The marching of hundreds of changeling hooves clattering loudly as they track in unison. They have no need to disguise their presence any longer. The mere sight of them causing several ponies to cower in fear as they show their might.

“Twilight Twilight...we have got to stop meeting each other like this…” Chrysalis purrs from amidst the swarm. Her body infused with love enough that I could sense it from where I stood. She had clearly feasted well and then some.

“I cannot change the terms on which you act, but I can change the way in which we respond. Your tyranny has gone too far and your plans are at an end. This time, it is I asking for your surrender, for both our sakes. I know how you got free, how you have an army that shouldn’t be possible.” It had taken me too long to realize the full reality of what a separate dimension could have in store for us.

“Mother, it is time this is put to an end.” Pharynx states, moving forward ahead of the others. “We don’t have to do this, and despite it all Thorax still loves you as I do. You don’t have to keep fighting like this, our strength is greater together than apart.”

“Ph-pharynx? Y-you joined them too? After all I’ve done for you, for us. You would join ponies over your own kind?” Her impassive demeanor cracking, just a hair at the sight of her captain. “You were always my most loyal, and most dedicated. You knew what we had to go through to survive and you decided to go soft?! Look how weak they have made you! A toy in their games!”

“Oh mother, it is not I who has become the toy in this game. You think I would not recognize the differences between your armies?” He paces in front of the other changelings, eyeing them carefully. “It is you who has gone soft after the beatings you have done to yourself. Failure to stand for that which we know is right is no more soft than the lack of spine to do what needs to be done.” He stands forward, horn glowing with energy. “These lings are no more your children than they are mine.”

“How dare you! These are my lings and my hive! More loyal and true than you traitors have ever been!” Chrysalis retorts, spreading her wings and lighting her horn aggressively.

“You were always violent Chrysalis, but you were never cruel.” I state, searching for a hint of remorse in her eyes.

“I should have been!” She hovers behind her forces before yelling. “Attack!” The army leaping into action at her call, charging down the standing pony force as they start their attack.

My horn flares to life as I activate the runes we had scrawled along the perimeter. I was not my brother, but my barriers were nothing to be laughed at. A few of the other unicorns lend their strength to mine as the changelings collide with my lavender barrier before Pharynx raises up a corked flask and hurls it through the shield at the invading lings.

It shatters in a pink mist, the changelings caught in its blast losing their combativeness within moments, their eyes hazing over with its effect. I smirk at its success, one of many tricks I had learned from my own protege, Starlight. That and the insight from Applejack about visiting the Kirins proved essential in this weapon. Emotion is neither good or bad, it is a tool. Here, with a little magic it is the literal downfall of our enemies.

After the first launch dozens of the orbs are hurled into the invading forces, each one exploding in a plume of smoke as it dissipates into the closest sentient creatures it can find. Our numbers becoming more intimidating by the moment as her forces fall into disarray.

“Not this time!” Chrysalis roars as she fires a blast at the shield. I try to reinforce it, but not only is her magic stronger from her feeding, the chunks of her throne within her armor make our magic start to sputter and die out, tearing through our shield like cotton candy as she steps closer.

“She’s another you, just like the other me. Yet she is not you!” I check my armor, Tempest had been adamant about me having it. Something I had consented to but hoped never to wear. Now it was more than just armor...and yet so many hours of my work was useless within her nullification field. I step forward, bracing myself as she pounces forward.

“She’s what I should have been!” Chrysalis, our Chrysalis howls. A beam from her horn missing me by inches, my own horn flickering out as she steps closer. I parry from side to side, much more adept with my wings than I used to be. My new wingblades clicking as they extend, the plates on my forelegs as uncomfortable as ever but incredibly welcome in this instance as I deflect another blast to the side, scorching a line through the grass.

“You won Chrysalis! Don’t you get it? You have everything you want, but at what cost? When will you have won enough? All the love in the world won’t satisfy that hole in your heart! Love that is stolen is no love at all, it is naught but pity when it is not shared freely!” I catch Chrysalis’s own jabbing hooves, deflecting her bludgeons to the side. “546...545...544…” I count under my breath.

“How dare you lecture me on love! You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed for my children before they ripped my heart out! Now I have a second chance to save them...from you!” I dive to the side, forced to the ground as I tumble across the grass. I parry another beam then another I angle at her leg causing her to scream from the pain before throwing herself forward making us roll down the hill. “Without your magic you’re helpless! How could you possibly win?”

I cough and spit out some dirt. The fall wasn’t that painful, but I certainly wasn’t going to let her think it wasn’t. “Fluttershy protested your sentence you know. Surely you heard her. She tended to the garden of your prison, cleaned your statue, and did everything right. Then look at what your so-called twin did to her!” I edge slowly to the left, moving towards a very subtly marked area.

“I did...I did hear her. What happened to her...I was just so...so angry! I didn’t mean for that to happen! I mean...ARGH! Your cursed pony weakness!” She crawls forward, each hoof slamming into the earth as she stomps forward, closer and closer...right into the trap. The rest of her army dissolving into chaos with our unconventional alchemy.

“Now!” I order. The ground around us erupts as the reformed lings spring from their hiding places and pounce on the queen. Parts of her armor being ripped off piece by piece as I duck out of the way, the other lings having stripped the cursed inhibitors from her.

“You...filthy...TRAITORS!” She roars, scowling at the ring of them around her. Her horn alighting with energy intent to kill. The heat from her horn radiates making the other lings retreat. I grit my teeth as I see her energy charge. The trap is still 20 seconds away… “Even with your magic you don’t have a chance!”

“You’re right...but I measured the odds.” My horn alights with green magic, the purple tinge of dark magic flickers as black crystals encase her horn, inhibiting any more of her magic. Her magic flickers out within an instant as her eyes widen in horror.

“5...4…”

SLAM!

A metal cage drops from above with enough force to embed into the dirt, trapping the queen within. Well, at least our counting was close. “Surrender Chrysalis! It’s over!” She scrambles around the cage frantically looking for an escape, hissing as her hoof burns at the touch of iron. “It is long overdue that we have discussed peace between our kinds.”

“Have I mentioned that I hate being a pony? How do they even do anything with hooves of all things?” The two ponies sit atop the hill, a spotter and a sniper each with their equipment laid out between them.

“Get over it, Semper Fi remember? We have a job to do. Target is in sight, four twenty seven meters, two mph crosswind east, thirty seven percent humidity. Line up and take the shot. The tall purple one.” They adjust the strap on their hoof with their muzzle making sure the hook is properly attached. They peer through their scope eyeing their target, a moment later they take the shot.

A flicker of purple magic flashes, forcing them to close their eyes. Yet when they reopen the purple flicker is still there, and they can just make out the bullet within the glow. More than that they can see the pony’s eye glaring directly at them. Then they disappear in a flash of light, the scope is wrenched away from their grasp, then crumbled like a tin can. A very unhappy purple pony behind it.

“Oh fuck…” Me and my companion say nearly in sync.

“Such dirty words for such a foul act.” The purple pony seethes. Her horn alights with magic again and their world goes dark. “That wasn’t very friendly of you.”

I wince as I crawl away from the portal. The damn fiend was a fighter I had not expected from the peaceful pony race. I’d managed to disrupt it after exiting, but if they entered fast enough I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. I take a step forward, then immediately collapse back onto all fours, my body meshing back into my changeling form. My vision is hazy and my ribs are aching, undoubtedly several are broken. My loyal troops stand at attention, I hurry over to them as they salute. “If anything comes through that portal, kill it.” I command, however unlikely it was my understanding of their magic was unacceptably vague.

I move quickly to my office, that cursed princess would pay dearly for her strike. My magic was certainly primitive, but a simple activation spell on the scrying orb worked well enough. “Report on the captives.” I order.

“Subjects one through six are confined.”

“Subjects seven through twelve are confined.”

“Subjects--”

“I don’t care which are confined! Has there been any breaches?!”

“We have lost contact with a relay point. They went dark after saying they were having human trouble.”

“The captives?”

“Unknown, but there had been a report of captives moving out of their tracking zones. Last report a captain was investigating the error. We have not yet had a report.”

“Then get a report and ready the kill command. They have attacked us. I want subjects 42, 19, and 37 eliminated. I want it to be painful and I want their bodies on my desk!” I growl slamming the desk with enough force that it cracks. “They want to test my resolve, and I shall show them what defiance earns them. You have twenty-four hours, failure will result in your termination. That is all.”

Those ponies had been subdued for years until this incident. Clearly something has broken their resolve. I pull out one of the gems from a drawer, admiring the gold underneath it. Though this earth wasn’t my home it had demands they were willing to kill for. A mindless government that hadn’t even evolved a proper democracy. Their people would surely learn to see reason eventually, worshipping those abusive wannabe gods. They simply needed to be enlightened to true power.

Waking was a slow and painful endeavor. My body seemed to be full of needles that stabbed with every movement. I groan as I roll onto my front and start to stand, then immediately whimper as what seems like a branding iron burns into my back.

“I really am sorry about this.”

I open my eyes and look towards the familiar voice. I’m in what seems like a fairly large cage, completely made of interwoven iron except for the bedding on the bottom. Outside of that is a garage with an older looking car inside. “I-I’m alive?” I ask, almost fearing the answer from my captor. It’s the voice from the graveyard, but instead of being a small bat pony they are human. Mike I think his name was.

“I know there is no way to really say this that you’d trust me, but that… back there...that wasn’t me. What happened in the graveyard...I...I’m not a murderer! I just...something came over me back there.”

“What are you talking about? After...after that other changeling pounced on me I wasn’t really all there. I probably have one hell of a concussion.”

“What do you--Oh...Well...nevermind then. It doesn’t matter.”

“I...I might know what you’re talking about though.”

“What do you mean?”

I take a deep breath, my mind painfully recalling the fragments of what had happened the night before last. “I wasn’t trying to lead you into an ambush, I was just desperate.” I take another breath, wincing at the pain in my chest. “The night before…” My throat tightens at the thought and my eyes start to tear up. “I...I h-hurt m-my best f-friend.” I choke back a sob, his face of terror imprinted on my memory. The look he gave me as I stole the love from his body. “I...I didn’t know what to do, who to turn to. I just...changed into this, I was starving and alone.”

The thought of his terrified face as I lost my human form is etched onto my memory. I thought after getting a bit of whatever he thought was love that I would be fine for a bit longer. Yet...after only moments I could feel it just radiating from him something feral and alien had taken over, something very much not me. The thought of it taking me over again terrified me to a degree bordering on insanity. I had to know if he was okay.

“I just want...I want to know if he’s okay. He was my only friend, I don’t care what you do to me, but if you’re really going to kill me, at least let me die knowing if he survived.” After all my friend had done for me, the guilt weighed like a bowling ball on my chest. He’d been there when my parents had told me to push it away, when I had no one else to talk to, on the days I was sick of how my body made me feel.

“Did you not hear me? No one is going to kill you! What happened back there wasn’t me, and if you were changed like one of us you’re in the same damn spot too!” He replies back, snapping me out of my depressive stance. “You were a human before, so...when are you going to turn back?”

“I don’t ‘turn back’ as you put it. When I first turned into this thing another one of those change-things pulled me off the street after I was attacked by my own bucking mother! He showed me how to change back into a human but I could only manage it for a few minutes.”

He sighs and sits back on a chair, looking out towards the sunrise that we can see peeking through the garage. “We need to get ready for school though. If we just drop out or stop attending the teachers will notice and we’ll have the cops knocking on our door for truancy.” Just looking at him I can tell he isn’t really in the best state to be going anywhere. He looks like he could fall asleep any second.

“Does...that mean you’ll let me out of this cage?” I ask tentatively, being careful not to touch any of the iron mesh. “The cage I get, but did you really have to electrocute it?” I complain, glaring at the nefarious material.

“It’s just a cage...we uh...didn’t really have all that much time to look around but we did try to clean it first. My fath--shit--mentor I mean told me that changelings like you can’t touch low carbon iron. Something about your magic infused into your body makes it react and burn. It...seemed reasonable at the time.”

“Not comforting.” I remark, though it does explain several things around our house. Our door knobs were all brass, our silverware aluminum, all of our keyrings were plastic. The car I reckoned didn’t matter as much because it was covered in paint. “Though it explains a bit. Good to know at least, but that’s going to be a huge pain.”

“So you can’t touch iron and can only be human for a few minutes.” He states, reiterating everything in a way that makes me roll my eyes.

“What about you? I remember your voice from last night, but you definitely aren’t a bat anymore.”

He looks at me, then towards the door to the house. Following his vision I also note that there is some iron fencing cut into the shape of what I could only determine to be a net along with an odd shaped blade by his hand that I had seen him wearing last night. “I change into a bat when the moon comes up, and a whole bunch of spirit stuff. Back in the graveyard there were too many and I got possessed.” He spits it out as if every word was a bite of a lemon. “Something my mentor never told me.” He growls. “He said you were just trying to trick us, that this whole thing is a ploy to find and kill all of us.” Mike says as he sits in front of my cage.

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re possessed in your own way. I want to trust you, and the best way is for us to understand each other. No matter what form you take, I will know where you are. You feel that sensation coming, you tell and feed from me directly. Abuse it, and I will snap you out of it. We can get through this, together. Yet, you hurt my friends or touch my family… I will end you.” He jabs a finger forward with each word. Then steps forward and undoes the latch. “Come on, we’re going to school.”

My sleep is fitful, my leg throbbing with my every pulse. I’d emerged from the ground several hours ago, every inch of me covered in dirt and muck. The drone behind me either didn’t know English, or didn’t care about my pain. Knowing the lings, it was likely the latter. They weren’t big on a lot of things.

From my environment it seemed I was in the basement of what might have been an office building, if it had been abandoned and infested with oversized bees and left to rot. The architecture at first glance was strictly functional. Yet, looking closer it had several clever touches, each of the changelings had changed just a little to give it that personal feel. This room had several smaller cocoons carrying various fluids, what was most telling was the model behind her. There were several anatomical models, two large curled up next to five smaller ones. Perhaps an indication of their family unit? Certainly odd as only the queens are able to birth young…

“Martin, report.”

I quite nearly jump out of my skin, not having heard her enter. She certainly had a way of sneaking up on people. Yet...her voice was something you could never forget. I quickly stand at attention, holding the bag of stolen artifacts to my side.

“Infiltration was successful, we managed to retrieve several of the artifacts. I was exfiltrated by one of your changelings and arrived here.”

She snatches it from my grip, and I know better than to stop her. “Yet, both of my soldiers I sent with you are MIA and the Pentagon is on high alert. Two of the very things we didn’t want! You promised your loyalty, now it's time to deliver.”

“What else do you need my queen? I’ve done all you’ve asked.”

“And yet, you neglected to tell me that you were exiled from the Keepers!”

“But I can still get in! It doesn’t matter!”

“It does matter. Do you know who is in charge now? DO YOU?!” The rage on her face makes me nearly piss myself, knowing what she is capable of. I yelp as I stagger backward putting pressure on my bad leg.

“It doesn’t matter, lucky for you I have a backup plan. The question is, what use do I still have for you?”

“You still need a way in, not to mention your casting is...in great need of improvement. You have no formal magical training besides the trinkets of your double.” I say it slowly and carefully, not wanting to anger the temperamental shapeshifter.

“Lucky for you. Now tell me more about their new leader, you know, the one that banished you.”

“She came out of nowhere, just some nobody off the street that we pulled because she showed some magic potential. Yet, she challenged our current leader. Wanting a chance to show his strength. He lost. The moment he cast a spell she pulled the magic right out of him, right along with all his loyalists.”

“Including you…how pathetic.”

“Her strength was unnatural, something our organization hadn’t seen in centuries. We had always relied on sacrifices to replenish our magic, but she could pull it right out of people. She had an artifact with her, it allowed her to cast complex spells faster than we could react.”

“Then it's a good thing you got these for me.” She brushes over the briefcase. Opening it open with a click as she looks at its contents. “Garbage...weak…”

“You don’t even know magic! These are priceless artifacts!” I protest thinking of all the work we had gone through to get it. She probably doesn’t have a clue what they really do. “At least let your duplicate lo--”

“NO! Never! She is never to see these things ever, you breathe a word and I’ll show you an eternity of suffering!” She roars, ramming her hoof into the desk so hard it splits down the middle before she knocks it aside. “Get out! Before I kill you where you stand!”

Not questioning her resolve I leave in quite a hurry very much valuing my head. If I could just get some of her magic I’d be welcomed back into the group with open arms. With the knowledge I’d bring we could finally fix this problem before it became a global catastrophe.

I’d spent the past evening with the buds, we’d had a good game earlier in the day. We had lost, but it had been a good fight regardless. Enough plays to be proud of. Walking home like this was quite relaxing, the evening air and the slight wind doing wonders to help dissipate the sweaty smell from my gym bag. The moon was fairly full out, giving me a good view of the road ahead. I’d called my parents ahead and told them I was heading home, so they wouldn’t worry. What worried me though was how Mike had grown so distant lately. He’d blown off several of our meetings, hadn’t come to the game, nor was he really answering his texts. Not to mention how he always looked so tired whenever I saw him. I sent him another text asking how he was doing, even though it was a little late. I worried about the kid after all.

“Could you help me cross the road?” I hear an older lady groan. I stop quickly, I hadn’t even noticed that she was there. “It’s quite dark, and my walker is a bit shaky.” I smile, my parents having taught me well.

“Of course! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” I offer my arm out to her as she clings to it. “Let me help you across.” She leans heavily against me as I help her to the other side of the road. Occasionally she trips a little, but I was hardly a marshmallow and held her fast. After we arrived I helped straighten her walker and made sure she was walking well. It was a little odd that she was out so late, I thought the center would be closed by now.

“Such a nice boy, you have no idea how many times I’ve had her cross the road today.”

I spin around quickly, but see nothing there. The whole street is clear except for the old lady making her way down the street. “I’m sorry, miss? Did you say something?” The old lady doesn’t even acknowledge my presence and keeps walking. I’m getting a little paranoid myself. “Hello? Is someone there?”

“Do you have a lot of friends at school?” The hissing voice comes again, once again, from nowhere.

“Yeah, so what does it matter?” I reply, taking steps further down the road. I may be a football player and a bit bigger than your average thug, but I still knew trouble when I heard it.

I feel a stabbing in my neck and yell, throwing a punch at whatever had just touched my neck, feeling it connect with something solid with a satisfying ‘WHAP!’ Something smacks into the pavement as I stagger away holding a hand to the wound, thankfully finding a lack of blood. I take off running down the road, but just a few steps in the world rotates and swirls off its axis and I hit the ground fairly painfully.

“A fight in you, I knew you were better than the others. Just my lucky catch for today.” I hear the hissing voice purr and get closer, a clopping sound making its way closer as I fumble for my phone. I need to call the authorities!

“What dijou doov teh mmph!” I try to yell, stalling for time as I fumble with my phone. My tongue seeming to grow numb in my mouth. What the hell did they hit me with?! I feel my head turned to the side and up as I get a look at my assailant. The appearance is so unfamiliar it takes me a second to process. It’s about the size of a large dog and covered in chitin like a beetle with two big glowing blue eyes.

“Nothing permanent.” The voice says in a perfect imitation of my own. “Just relax and make this easy for the both of us.”

Her eyes staring into my own make my head feel fuzzy, as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen to breathe. Then the most disturbing sensation I’ve ever felt starts to probe itself into my mind as if someone had just shoved an icicle into my brain. My scream is muffled only by the chitinous appendage shoved into my mouth which I immediately try to bite down on to be rewarded with something incoherent which I’m pretty sure was a curse of some sort.

“Buck! You humans are stubborn.” They growl. My limbs start to feel all tingly, as I feel the jab ramming into my head over and over as I start to see black spots in my vision. I see...some kid I had seen before at school. I think he had been hanging out with Mike, but I couldn’t be sure. I see myself staggering after them, feeling my pockets for something I was quite certain wouldn’t be allowed at school. I know where this vision is going and I don’t like it!

“Fight it all you want, it's in there now! Nothing you can do to stop it!”

The world starts to blur in front of me. I was walking home after a party, I helped an old lady cross the street...No...I was walking home after the party, I didn’t need a ride so I started...what exactly? I’m stirred out of my trance by another flash of green light, those glowing blue orbs. I feel a strong need to have my ears pop, the throbbing headache just makes everything miserable as I feel those glowing eyes bore deeper and deeper into my very soul.

Then it's gone.

Looking around I’m back home, no trace of a headache. The vision fading from my head like the last vestiges of a dream. I’m in my room with the computer running some video or other that I don’t remember watching. Feeling a bit disoriented I head downstairs, the last thing I remember was heading to a party...then nothing.

“Dad?” I call. He’s a bit heavier set than myself and an inch or two taller but has the form one might expect from an athlete.

“What’s up son? You changed your mind about having us take you to the hospital after that concussion?” He asks, staring into my eyes with a bit of worry. “I told you these things can be pretty serious, don’t let your pride get in the way.”

“A...concussion?” I ask, my memories scouring for any hint of the memory and coming up blank. “Uh yeah...just a bit dizzy.” I mean, that made sense. Memory loss around the event of a concussion is nothing unnatural right?

“Yeah, you told me when you stumbled home, something about a cracked sidewalk and helping an old lady cross the street. It’s a little bruised but I didn’t feel any fracture. Tell you what, let’s have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon then. Just to make sure everything’s alright. That sound okay?” He asks concernedly while starting with the dishes.

“Sure dad, I think that’d be best.” I head upstairs, struggling to even recall pieces of the event. Instead I just take a quick shower and brush my teeth. As I rinse a flash of green dances across my vision, reflected from the mirror. After a moment of inspection I shrug and head off to bed. I just need some sleep, my bruise hardly even hurts from what I’d expect from a head injury. Still nervous about the doctor’s appointment tomorrow though.

She watched the target recover without a hitch, no break or lapses as they went back to their residence. She takes a small orb from her pocket, a bit cracked from earlier skirmishes.

“It is done, the target will be eliminated within twenty four hours.”

The response is jagged and distorted. The New Queen lacked much of the others skill in magic and scrying, of course, one could never mention such matters to her face.

“Good, I want confirmation of elimination immediately and the body mobilized to the portal.”

“It shall be done.” I confirm, cutting the communication after she does so. Down below my target begins their daily slumber, a little present etched in their memory. A deadly payload, utterly untraceable and straighter than an arrow.

Author's Notes:

Mike: With the pony side of your life and this whole culture you've inherited taking so much place now, do you feel that some sort of divide could eventually form between you and the members of your family who aren't your father?

My older brother is a bit distant, and with how off my sleep schedule has been I've hardly been able to see him anymore. My dad said he'd speak with my mom about it, but it seems like he just keeps putting it off. My little brother certainly seems excited about things, yet I worry he might not be very good at keeping things secret. I hope we can tell the rest of the family soon, this isn't good for any of us.

---

Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a questions." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next.

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Another thanks to Alsey for a pre-read. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!

14. Just Following Orders

“We can’t keep doing this. Every single time you pull this just makes our relationship harder. I don’t care if this is what I am but this is not okay!” I scowl at what I had formerly been able to call ‘feet.’ Instead my middle toes had started merging together into a solid light blue mass that I could wiggle back and forth. My right foot had nearly lost all evidence of my toes while my left seemed to be stuck more inbetween.

The previous night I had just hurried home not really paying much attention at the time. I mean, who looks at their feet on a regular basis? Getting home had been an exhausting process on its own. After seeing the crowd around the school I had just gone home and gone to bed. Trying to stay hidden for so long and the stress of sprinting across open areas really did a number on me.

I wiggle my mutated appendage again, the lack of horror I feel only makes me more terrified. A quick glance at the clock reminds me that I need to get going. “Just have to keep going. Just keep going…” I tell myself over and over trying to will it to be true. Walking on its own is a very unpleasant process. Hooves are very much not intended for bipedal locomotion at all. What had previously been my foot is several inches shorter and slightly wider throwing my balance off substantially.

“How the buck am I supposed to wear my shoes?!” I curse in realization as I move towards the shower. I carefully peek down the hallway, listening for activity despite knowing my family should be gone. If my aunt saw this I’d no doubt end up in endless exorcisms, something that in my case seems twistedly ironic. Entering the bathroom and nearly tripping over my pajamas tells me I’ve already lost some height as my semi-hooves clack on the tile.

Stripping down I see the developments have moved even further. Fur has started sprouting on my chest and back. What little facial hair I did have is tinted the same blue color. My ears are pointier, and my eyes are definitely a size bigger. The small point on my forehead has crested through the skin revealing the horn fully. My hair is barely long enough to cover it...at least when not flattened. At the roots I can already see an uneven spread of dark blue and a little pink from the newly grown hair. How much longer do I have before other people notice? Or worse yet, my parents?

I stagger into the shower, washing off as quickly as possible, though the new patches of hair soak up water like a sponge. What I couldn’t see earlier was a small protrusion at the base of my spine just starting to form. It’s just a nub for now, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it would become. The question now is just how much time I have left.

After grabbing toast I return to my room and stare at my shoes. I can still fit my feet inside at this point, but balance will be an issue. Thinking creatively I grab some duct tape and cut a hoof indent in the top of one of our plastic cups before doing the same to another and strapping the makeshift ‘feet’ to either hoof. Now at least I have a little forward balance and my shoes still appear to fit. “Well, there is one thing fixed.” I mutter. Taking a few steps it still felt off, but it was an off I could adapt to.

The walk to school is a long one, but in this instance was a welcome one for practice. At least I’ll have a car to drive home, though I’m going to get a talking to when I get home today. Lyndsey needed it to drive to work and take my sis to school. Even after the events of last night I’m certain there would be murder waiting when I got back home. I hadn’t even bothered to check my phone and I sure as hell wasn’t going to now.

English is the first period, thanking my lucky stars that today wasn’t gym. I’m pretty sure when the coach told us to ‘hoof it’ that he didn’t mean literally. At the start of class the professor starts passing out our essays that we’d turned in on monday. The trouble comes however, when I don’t get mine back.

“Everyone get your essays?” The class around me nods in affirmation. He must have just missed it. I swore that I’d put my name on the last one, I’d only triple checked it. I’d been known to ‘forget my own name’ as it was often mocked by earlier grades in school. So I remain quiet, I’ll just have to pick it up after cla--.

“That’s good, unfortunately it seems we got a new student that wasn’t on the roster.” He holds up a paper that immediately looks familiar...Especially after I recognize that it’s a mix of english and ponish… “Does anyone know who ‘Morning Star’ is? I really would hate to have missed a student. They’ve clearly done some good work here, though I have to say I’m not the most experienced in runes...”

My face burns with heat as he continues his speech. The name...the name that rings with such agonizing familiarity that shouldn’t. I want my grade certainly, but not at this cost. I couldn’t possibly live with the embarrassment. But it’s a missed assignment! Worth a large chunk of our current grade! He’s even looking at you! He knows it's us because everyone else has theirs turned in!

Buck my life.

I only give a small nod at his look, he turns to the side and writes a little on it before setting it back onto his desk and starting the lesson. Thankfully he wasn’t feeling in a cruel mood for the day and decided to continue with the lesson instead of pursuing the topic. I bury myself into our reading as we go over the last few chapters we had read.

Calculus is next and goes relatively well, that is except for a constant cramp that keeps sneaking its way into my fingers. The stress and embarrassment from english clearly seems to exacerbate the issue as I see the tips of my fingers turning a light purple as I force myself to take deep breaths. I can do this, I can go a little longer without turning into a pony again. I could let it all out during lunch and everything will be fine.

In practice, however, trying to relax when I can feel the magic swirling around wanting to be released goes about as well as trying to hold in a hiccup. Despite my breathing exercises and attempts to relax I can feel the occasional warm pulse as the magic works its way to the surface. The room seems to grow hotter as I feel more fur sprouting around my legs and chest. The amulet burns with each growth, buzzing softly, but insistently like a hornet trapped within, though thankfully silent.

“Now can anyone tell me what use we might have for reduced row echelon matrices?” Our professor, Mrs. Descott asks the class, her eyes scanning the room for participation meeting my own before they stop and she tilts her head a little. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but the words die in her throat and she quickly looks away at the rest of the class.

“Solving Simultaneous equations without back substitution.” I state, only just realizing I hadn’t raised my hand to be called on and had just blurted it out to the entire class. Mrs. Descott looks more confused than upset though, a few of the students also glance in my direction, then give a snort and look back forward.

“Queer know-it-all.” I hear one of the guys mutter under their breath, which immediately makes me start to sweat a bit more as I try to figure out what could’ve triggered their attention as my ears...flatten against my head.

Oh no.

Despite the excessive heat of the classroom I grab my hoodie out of my pack and zip it up, pulling the hood over my misplaced ears. I expect Mrs. Drescott to point out school policy at any moment, but she remains thankfully silent and continues the lesson without any further interruption. Not risking to answer another question, no matter how painful the silence is after each question. At least now the magic seems to have calmed down a little and by the end of class both my ears and fingers seem to have returned to their normal-ish state.

The bell rings and we all slowly move towards the door. Not wanting to be caught in the way of anyone else I instead wait for everyone else to grab their things and leave before heading out the door. Even as I stand up at the end I know what’s coming.

“Artemis, are you doing okay?” Mrs. Descott asks, standing next to my desk with the rest of the class gone.

I really don’t want to answer, but I just have to. I owe it to her for her help today. I feel my throat tighten and my eyes water a bit as I try to hold it in. “N-no.” I manage to choke out. Swallowing back a half-formed sob I move down the aisle when her hand touches my chest and the world disappears around me.

I’m not in my body anymore, I’m in hers. My mind flailing about as if caught in an undercurrent as I reorient myself, feeling the sensations of two bodies into one. I feel her every physical ache. From the arthritis in her left knee, to the stiffness in her collarbone and back, then to the general stress in her circulation as I sense the pressure being higher than it should be and with a higher sugar content and--Snap! Just like that I’m back to normal, the lingering aches of her body fading away.

To her credit she just looks at me as if nothing had happened. To be fair it had probably only been a few moments of time before I’d managed to get away. “I-I’m fine, I’ll handle it. Thank you for your concern but I have to do this on my own.” I try to say as nicely as possible. She only wants to help but the only thing I want right now is to get far away from this scene.

The lunchroom is a mess of its own. The auditorium was a room over but with the amount of tape placed around and party wreckage it looked like disaster had struck. I quickly dry my eyes on my sleeve, cautiously feeling my ears to make sure they’d returned to ‘passable’ before taking off the hoodie. It’s just too hot for it in here.

The police are here checking out the scene, and likely several others examining every scrap of evidence of what had happened the previous night. I quickly slip into a lunch line to blend in as I recognize the girl from last night that had chased us across town. Of course, being a pony at the time she shouldn’t have a clue. I could only hope Angela kept her head down with all this going on. I don’t even know if they had cameras in there that might have caught us.

Today’s menu was spaghetti which I only realize after getting to the front, just taking what I was given while trying to get as much of the greens and non-meats as possible. The lunch ladies hardly seem to mind someone putting more of the healthier stuff on their plate after all. The sauce tastes a bit off, and after some picking at it I just abandon it entirely. The hamburger likely does not agree with the coming pony as I grumpily resolve to just eat the rest around it, silently cursing the loss of the food group.

Part way through lunch Mike comes over and sits at my table, his buddy Ethan following with him as we exchange brief greetings. Aaron joins in too, giving me a very impatient look of ‘I know it was you.’ Which I respond to with stuffing more of my roll in my mouth and gesturing vaguely over towards Mike and Ethan.

“Hey uh, Arty was it? Mike mentioned that you’ve been hanging out lately.” He gives a small hearty chuckle. “Here I was asking about your friends and you’ve gone and taken mine.” He pats Mike on the shoulder. “No offense, but maybe we could hang out and get to know each other after school? Have to miss practice because as an SBO they want us to help cleanup the mess in the auditorium. Now that is some crazy news, I missed the party for one of my own, but I hear it was pretty epic.”

”Yeah, it was definitely something.” Mike says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Quite an event, shattered glass and all those chairs getting flung around. Was definitely something. Probably had the music turned up too much or something. But hey, it would be nice if we could all hang out after school wouldn’t it?” He looks at me pointedly while nodding towards Ethan a little.

He wants to bring his friend into our group...I groan and rub my forehead with what seems like the beginning of a headache. “Michael…” I say with gritted teeth. “It’s a...support group. No offense but it’s kind of private…”

Ethan just stares at me blankly for a long awkward moment, his eye twitching before his vacant gaze disappears as quickly as it came. “Oh yeah, definitely. I wouldn’t want to be so intrusive, but I would like to hang out with you some more Mike. We miss you at our young men's group.”

“I for one think it’s a great idea.” Aaron chimes in much to my frustration, though it's not hard to see why. Being the only real human in the group certainly can’t be fun not to mention all of the things he’s missed out on.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on Arty here though…” He says with a tentative smile that reminds me of that of a predator that’s just cornered its prey. He’s played our whole conversation like a chess board to get his way in.

“It’s...complicated, you see...it’s about this condition and…”

BRRRIIINNNNNNNGGG!

I smile in relief at the bell. “We’ll have to talk about it as a group, the uh...others aren’t here for me to decide.” I say, quickly gathering my things and tossing the rest of my uneaten lunch into the trash. Ethan catches my shoulder with a soft hand as Mike and the others head off to class, Mike giving me a pleading look as he leaves. My mind temporarily spinning as the magic pulses through his form. He seems quite healthy outside of a headache, least, as far as I can tell.

“Hey uh Arty? Where are you heading next?” Ethan asks, keeping his hand on my shoulder.

“Uh History, why?” I ask, a little curious as to what is really on his mind.

“Because I need to show you something, Morning Star.”

My blood freezes at his statement and I feel my amulet burn hotly from my anxiety. I quickly move out of his grip in shock. “Wh--how the hell do you know that name?”

He holds up his hands slowly, then leans his head towards the hallway. “It’s something I can’t just say, I have to show you.” He says, his words taking on a very different cadence than his speech pattern from before. His words slow and exaggerated, monotone and lifeless. And yet...with words like that I can’t just let it go, what else does he know?

Unable to resist I follow behind him as he leads me down the hall, down past all the lockers and to the doors towards the back of the school. Each step and moment instills dread of the second bell. “Can this wait for after school? I’ve already stressed my teacher’s tolerance enough…”

He doesn’t reply, instead pushing open the doors as I follow him through. What is up with him? My first impression of him was a lot more friendly then well...this. “You know, this can wait. I can’t do this right now, I’ll see you af...ter...” My breath catches in my throat as I see his fist curled tightly around a switchblade, his eyes slowly starting to glow green.

“Oh SHIT!”

I grab the door behind me trying to yank it back open and dive inside but he body slams it closed with enough force I’m sure half the building must’ve heard. His free hand scrambling to grab mine as I turn away and try to sprint around the corner of the building, his strength terrifying me even further from the intensity of his grip. I make it only a few yards before he catches back up and sends us both spinning to the ground.

“E-ethan! Sn-snap out of IT!”

I yell in a very wasteful use of breath, but I don’t stand a chance against this guy! The blade slashes across my forearm making me scream as I see its depth. I bring my knee up and nail him right in the groin, but it only delays him for a moment as I slide under his left arm and twist my hips to pull myself free crawling across the ground on all fours. He quickly catches up also crawling before I rear my hind legs up and buck. The force of my kick sends him skitting a few good feet though not without a resounding ‘Crack!’ My amazement at the force of the kick makes me realize that in my attempt to escape I had lost my shoes entirely.

Unfortunately Ethan still gets right back up and charges, waving the blade menacingly with murder in his eyes. I dive forward grabbing a clot of loose dirt and fling it in his general direction. I have to get back inside the school, I get stuck out here I’m dead! I sprint for all my life is worth, but hooves just don’t like that kind of motion. Only a few steps in and I’m sent into a roll only to be immediately pounced on again. My head is pounding, and my arm is throbbing. I’ve lost a lot of blood.

This time he puts his full weight on me, his left hand firmly grasping my neck and squeezing as he raises his right arm then thrusts it down and I feel it connect as I feel like I’m starting to drown.

BOOOM!!

I see a burst of light as the school explodes behind me, chunks of brick flying everywhere with a resounding aftershock. The tension on my throat eases for only a moment, he was clearly as surprised as I was. At this moment I realize it doesn’t matter if he’s brainwashed or not, I’m not going to die! I feel my horn build up strength once more and I aim it right at him as he raises his hand to stab me again.

As he stabs downward again I release what little energy I had been able to push into my horn as he disappears out of view and I start to see spots color my vision. It hurts...god it hurts so bad. Pressure...have to apply pressure. The thought bubbles up through my addled mind as I flop my left arm over my chest and push, then just roll over onto it and cough blood all over the grass.

I can feel my blood gushing out between my fingers, too weak to hold it any tighter. I hear a siren going off from the building and the front doors of the building opening as a few students run out of the building. I can just see Ethan lying on the grass a few feet in front of me by the building. I hear screams from behind. My body seems to have just given up on trying to tell me how painful everything is instead telling me to sleep.

“Holy shit! Anna call an ambulance!” I hear a teacher call as I feel a hand on my arm that rolls me onto my back, fresh blood streaming from the wound as I feel something shoved into my side. The pain only sends different colors across my vision. I can’t even see anything, so much of my vision is covered in black smudges. The last thing I hear before it fades away is the sound of sirens in the distance.

Getting a call about a terrorist attack and potential mass shooting is not something any medical professional wants to hear. The hospital had been sent into overdrive and the local military base had been brought in to reinforce both the hospital and the school. I’d gotten the call from Mike some time ago telling me that he hadn’t been hurt, but I still felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. When the first ambulance arrives I take a breath and try to swallow my anxiety, and I’m not the only one. The rest of the staff looks as shell shocked as I am. We don’t know what’s going to happen, or how many to expect.

When the EMT’s move the patient into the ER and we start to work it doesn’t look good. The patient is a teenager covered in blood with a breathing mask while the staff is applying gauze and pressure onto their chest. “We’ve got a pulmonary laceration from a stab wound, and a cut across the left arm. Patient’s lost over a liter of blood…” They drone on the details as we get the trauma shears to get a better look at the injuries. With the return to procedure the tension seems to drop a few degrees.

“Do we have a medical history on this patient? ID?” I look at our resident then see what he was looking at. Our patient… has fur. To say that was a bit unusual would be an understatement, but looking at the rest of the staff we just push on. We’re here to do our job, not make unprofessional comments about our patients. As we finish stuffing the wound with gauze and stitching up the rest of him it seems to be going well.

...until we see his feet.

Or rather, where his feet should be. For a brief moment we comment that we really should’ve done a better intake. We had all been so distracted that we’d made an elementary mistake of not doing a full check of the patient. Their legs seem fully lacking any trace of toes or appendages, instead they have what could only vaguely be described as a hoof along with more of the oddly colored fur.

After the doctor checks them for any pressing injuries they shake their head and we wordlessly start to clean up, making sure we do a thorough check this time of the patient. A small protrusion on their head gives us lots of worry, but an inspection and X-ray later doesn't seem particularly malicious so we let it go. Countless other notes are taken on the subject, but before any of us leaves the room we go over doctor-patient confidentiality.

A good thing too. As soon as we wheel the patient to their room I get paged to head to the front desk. Sheriff Redmond is wanting, no, that’s putting it too nicely, he is demanding a full report on the patient we’d just taken in.

“I’m sorry Sheriff, but you should know the rules. We can’t disclose anything about the patient and no, we are under policy not to let anyone in there.”

“I know what the rules say, but fuck it! There is something big here, something you can’t possibly fathom going on. There are lives at risk. I have to know what happened out there. It's a matter of national security, you're putting other people's lives in danger here. I'm not going to ask twice.”

I flinch at the threat, we had gotten along well enough in the past, but he knew the rules. With a nod to the desk staff I hear her calling security. “It’s not that I don’t care, but we listen to these rules for a reason. Now you walk out of here or you’ll have such a big lawsuit on your ass that you’ll never be able to sit again.”

He gives me a long scowl as our two security guards arrive. “You don’t know what you’re doing. There is something out there that very well might kill you. I’m trying to do my job here!” Yet I can see in his eyes that he knows that this is a losing fight. The last time an officer had tried to force a medical professional to break the law in Utah with a blood transfusion it had made the news.

“You’ll regret stopping me.” He glares at me one last time before leaving back through the double doors. I step back over to the desk staff, the two guards remaining below just to make sure he leaves.

“God Mary...this is the last thing we need today. I know any number is a bad one, but I’m really relieved that it was just two. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the other attacks we’ve heard about. Being so close to a military base and all made me think they might be staging something bigger." I tell her.

“I know what you mean, Did Mike make it out okay?” I just nod in response, resting for a moment against the desk. “Only kid I really know is Jake, haven’t heard a word about him since you both went into the ER. What happened there? It honestly seems like everyone just forgot he was here. I just went on break and when I got back I asked about him returning and everyone seemed to have forgotten him. The scheduling for his appointment was changed too. Not to mention Dr. Judas, he seems to have just disappeared from our record entirely. The government trying to pull a fast one on us?”

“Jake stopped having appointments a few weeks ago. Why would he be here? He was in remission. Doctor Judas retired ages ago too. Apparently whatever cure they discovered was worth quite the fortune. Honestly Mary, I thought you would have heard about it already.” I feel a twinge of a headache and the world tinges green for a moment and I blink a few times from a wave of vertigo. “I’ll see you later Mary, I think the stress is getting to me. I’ll be on break.” Then I go on my way.

I wish I could say that we made a clear escape, but it wasn’t. The metal chariots that the humans had could easily outpace us on hoof. Only our pegasus seemed like they could outrun them. Not to mention the tireless endurance of their autonoma, something reminding me of our ships back home, though they didn’t have the smell of coal or steam.

“And you’re sure that we can’t blast them? Not even a little? Just to slow them down.” I ask Patch who has breathlessly kept pace beside us.

“No! The device is too complicated and moving at too fast of a speed for it to survive a complication. Why they even have such high speed death traps is beyond me. Their body structure is way too fragile from what I’ve identified. Seems like a bunch of lunatics!”

I groan as we turn another corner as I lead the squad out towards the trees towards our target, ditching the solid road in its entirety. The soft dirt a welcome feel on our hooves that will undoubtedly ache for some time. The metal carriages speed past us on the road, a few of them stopping to let out passengers but they are hardly of any concern to us on foot. I let off a strong blast at the road that sends them scrambling for safety.

“These creatures don’t take a hint do they!” I growl as we try to disappear in the foliage, the humans seeming to finally fall behind though I see several flashes that momentarily remind me of spells but they turn out to be nothing. “Flitter, Soarin, give us some cover!” I order watching them fly around in formation, Soarin seeming to take a moment to follow Flitter’s lead. Most...unusual of him. However the job gets done. Dirt and leaves erupt from the ground as they create a windstorm to cover both our retreat and tracks, not underestimating their tracking skills.

Several minutes later we regroup. Checking on the beacon we also sharply change directions. It’s well over an hour before I call a break, wanting to make sure that we had put some distance between us and our pursuers. The landscape had shifted a bit, from the dense foliage into a grassy plain with hints of farmland up ahead. We all stop and get out our food and water from our packs, each checking out enchantments to make sure this world isn’t siphoning off too much of our magic.

“How much farther do we have?” Stellar asks, looking a bit worse for wear from the long adventure. Not to mention that she still seemed a bit shaken from her capture earlier. Our hooves all ache from that solid substance we had run over resolving never to sprint across that again. Wouldn’t those creatures' feet also hurt from such hard ground? Thinking back they had a lot of clothing and appeared to be wearing things around their feet. Though it seemed a bit absurd, why make the ground hard in the first place? These humans were certainly strange creatures, though there were several others back home they could match.

“Tempest?” She asks again, foolish of me to get distracted.

“Apologies Stellar. The beacon doesn’t get a good signal here. It updates every few moments, however I was informed that the brighter it got the closer we were. Given the data the princess gave me on its scope I would say it's at least from ponyville to canterlot in terms of distance, I’d ask our pegasi to scout ahead but we don’t know the terrain or if any of the humans might be watching for us.”

“Not to mention we don’t have a train to take.” She grumbles a little, but munches on her oat-bar before drinking from her flask. The others seemed to have mostly gotten some of their strength back, but my business wasn’t done just yet. “Soarin? A moment if you would…” I ask, looking over their expression as their eyes quickly avert from my own and they trot over.

“I’m surprised I didn’t catch you earlier, though I’m not sure it's from your skill or my lack of perception. You’re not the real Soarin, and you’re too bad at the role for me to think you’re one of hers.” The changeling looks away, glancing back towards the others now out of view before they drop their disguise.

“I’m sorry, I was part of the invasion crew and Soarin broke his wing on the entrance.” Ocellus states. “We didn’t really have time to talk, but from the messages I’d gotten from Twilight and our briefing I knew he was part of the rescue squad. Please tell me you aren’t mad?” She asks, looking up at me with her big bug eyes that I definitely was not influenced by.

I give a sigh. “The portal is unhinged, we’re in hostile territory, and leaving you behind wouldn’t serve any purpose. You knew this once we entered and that even if you were revealed it wouldn’t matter.” I look back towards the others, more than one sending glances in our direction, Ocellus having angled herself perfectly out of view. She may be quiet but she is no slouch with her skills.

“You’re lucky I caught you before one of the others did, they might’ve...well no, they’re much too soft for that. I know you’re not Soarin, but we will still have recon missions for you, none of the other changelings would volunteer for this place, so why did you?” I ask. It was something that had bothered me to a high degree from my position as Twilight’s council. The changelings as a whole had tried to avoid this whole conflict as much as possible up until we had a plan.

“With all due respect Commander Tempest, they have a few of us captive here as well, including perhaps our last chance to avoid extinction. Without Chrysalis we don’t have any queens to lay any eggs, Thorax and Twilight both agreed we should stay out of it until we could strike properly.”

“About time somepony told me that.” I grumble, Twilight I realize had probably kept it from me because I’d have called on them for dozens of missions already with how badly we needed their infiltration abilities. “I see your point, but I don’t like it. Twilight vouches for you, but remember we are here to evacuate key targets, exfiltrate with what information we can, stabilize the portal and let in the reinforcements once they take back control of Equestria.”

She nods. “I understand. If...if I don’t make it back, will you tell Smolder and my family that I love them?” She asks, her emotions and gentle form making me almost reconsider having her camp out here, but we’re too far past that. Maybe, like the ponies once had, she would surprise me.

“I will.” I say, patting her shoulder softly. “Now, I believe you have something to tell the rest of the squad…” I say as I lead her back. Perhaps we could make this work for us…

I really wish I could fire her. Oh so badly I wish I could kick that rookie out so fast that her head would spin. “Insubordinate, blind, and seeming to willfully endanger our mission!” You just barge in there and chase after them? What were you thinking?! Command may have refused my request to haul your ass back home, but let me make this clear. You endanger this mission again and I will put you down.”

She just sits there, fiddling with her device like a petulant teenager just waiting for their parents to stop ranting so they could go back to doing whatever they wanted. “Feel better?” She asks, in a way that startles me with what seemed like genuine concern. “Now, would you like my report before or after you shoot me from behind like a coward?”

“You really don’t care, do you?” I ask as she just stares at me without a care in the world adjusting her device a little like one might a fidget spinner. “Go on then, tell me what you’ve found that’s so important that you tried to destroy our entire mission.”

“We have a confirmed unicorn. What’s more is that I saw a half transformed pegasus.” She levitates the object in her hand watching it spin and click. “What that means is that they seem to have human forms, disguised to live among us in ways we couldn’t see outright. Your entire crew scoping out the forest and wildlife isn’t going to find anything useful.” She spins her device again.

“I have the feeling you have a lead.” I say, sitting in the chair across from her, watching my computer scanning through the social media feeds in the area in an attempt to pick up possible chatter regarding the subjects. Unfortunately the vast majority of it seems to be random internet spam or roleplays. Kids these days.

“The passive magic in this area is increasing. Something that could likely be quite dangerous to non-magic users like yourself. Not to mention the effects it will have on the local biosphere. What you don’t know is that, a certain...organization that I run tends to clean this kind of stuff up. Keeping it from infecting and hurting other people.” She smiles in a way that reminds of a smug politician. “Put it to...better more...productive uses. Military or otherwise…”

“That’s not what it says on your file.”

“Oh? You read that bunch of hogwash I gave those suits? That’s cute, but we both know what they really want out of this.” She leans in a little closer. “Power.” She whispers as her device gives off a powerful glow. She’d been using it a lot more often lately. “You want to know the very first thing your people wanted out of this? Not a cure, not armor, not protection, not a word of our healing spells. They wanted a weapon. So scared of facing an enemy that had something they didn’t, terrified, that for once, they could be the ones on the receiving end of so much of the destruction they cause elsewhere…”

She levitates the device over to my hand, one of my knuckles stained white from how tightly I’m clutching my chair. “What we do, we do to protect people.” I growl, wondering how long it would take me to pull out my gun and just shoot her. If I could make it before whatever other sorcery she has could get me. “You know my loyalties, why are you even bothering to tell me this?”

“Because…” The device spins in my hand, making it burn from the energy flowing through it as I quickly yank my hand back. “Unlike the masters you serve, I believe in one principle above all.” She leans back, looking at me seriously for perhaps the first time. “Equality.”

“What do you have to gain from this?” She’s sounding more and more like the leader of some sort of cult. I don’t care what she says, I’m reporting this whole incident and every word of her betrayal once I get the chance.

“You see, that right there.” She points her finger at me accusingly. “Your thinking is so limited by what you have to gain. This world has conditioned you to think that is how people think, or at least how any logical person would. But I don’t. I don’t fit your little box of what you’d call a normal person. The people who follow me do so not for what they have to get but what they have to gain by working together in harmony. Think of how much this world could learn about magic! What devices and what powers and benefits to life it could bring!” She holds up her device for emphasis.

I’ve had enough. “You have left out the fact that as you’ve said before, magic is poisonous. Save your preaching for your own church.” I glare at her, knowing there is something much more sinister behind her bravado than she is letting on. I grimace as I leave the room though, brushing over my pistol. They hadn’t approved of her dismissal, she’s too powerful to simply kill. Leader or not, some high up individuals wanted her gone. If she interferes again, my only call would be to the morgue.

Author's Notes:

Didn't have any character questions last chapter. Feel free to ask them!
Not another alliteration chapter name this time, but this one was just too specific and "Orders and Obligations" just didn't fully capture the gravitas of the events. Hope you enjoyed it regardless!

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Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a questions." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next.

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Another thanks to Alsey for a pre-read. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!

15. Love and Loss

”She’s gone”

Just two words and my world is over. I bite back my tears as I wait on the line. They hadn’t even given me a chance. A clot had worked its way to her brain from the cancer and it was over. I’d been given a choice, and I’d made the grave for my beloved wife. Whatever was going on I knew was bigger than the both of us, something I couldn’t let go unanswered. I hang up the phone with trembling hands, too upset to muster anything more than choked sobs.

I’d reported the bastard to command as subtly as possible, yet even then I knew there was a strong probability they’d know. That didn’t matter. Semper Fi. Endure. This too shall pass. I’d given up my everything because I knew what a man like him would do and likely had done to countless others. I wouldn’t be the bomb to go off on the nation I loved, I wouldn’t play the part of any side that would commit such crimes. I draw my service weapon, an elegantly crafted rifle, built for singular purpose.

One of my kids had fallen into a coma, and should they ever awake would have brain damage for the rest of their life. My daughter I feared would have the same fate soon enough. In all our training we’d been prepared for the loss of our fellowman. In a nation so insulated from the vast majority of our own conflicts I had taken our safety for granted. She hadn’t even been awake to say goodbye. Her last words, telling me to be safe. Her life should never have been in danger. I’d dedicated my life towards protecting hers and so many others.

A teardrop falls on the barrel, trickling down its shaft like the blood I’d wish had been my own. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you soon. There is just one demon that needs a personal escort to hell first.”

I’d reached the town within a day, taking the quickest flight available to this small town. I head down the street, observing an old local pub. I hadn’t had a drink alone since we’d gotten married, a habit I had leaned on too much in my younger years. I hold my wedding ring as I deliberately speed past it. My phone rings with a dull tone and I answer.

“Tell me you have a lead.” I ask. They had promised every resource possible would be searching for this domestic terrorist when I reported the incident. My hand clutching my phone perhaps a little too tightly.

“We tracked the car leaving the hospital, it was heading towards Cali. They must have switched cars with someone along the way as it disappeared off the highway and hasn’t come back. We have officers and choppers swarming the area as we speak.”

“So, with all respect, you have jack shit.” I growl into the device, wishing I was there in person to demand a better answer. I’m certain such an outbreak would’ve earned me more than a simple demerit, but he doesn’t seem phased.

“We’ve got a squad ready, but you are not in any condition to join in this mission. You’re emotionally compromised and shouldn’t be alone. You’ll be a danger to yourself and those around you. You know this.”

“And you know that there isn’t a chance in hell that I’m going to let this son of a bitch get away with killing MY WIFE!” I scream into the receiver. Several moments of silence pass then I promptly hang up on them, stuffing it back into my pocket as I stride towards the hotel I had reserved for the night. Protocol be damned I can’t just sit here.

Passing down the sidewalk I see a gal leaning against the side of a building. She’s draped in a rather revealing dress that seems a bit out of place for this town and something you’d see at a formal dance. “You look like someone that could use some company.” They say giving me a pitying glance, their tone quiet and oddly sympathetic.

“I’m really really not in the mood, harlot.” I hiss striding past them only to hear the clacking of their shoes as they follow behind me. All the way down the street they follow but I don’t slow or so much as give them a glance.

“I know how to find him.”

The words stop me in my tracks as I turn to face the gal that had been stalking me only to see that she had somehow changed clothes to a T-shirt and skirt at some moment along the way, the dress I see stuffed into her handbag. I promptly pull out my pistol and level it in their direction.

“Who the hell are you?” I growl staring down at the gal that doesn’t seem the slightest bit fazed at having a gun pulled on her. She just leans against the wall without a care.

“The who wouldn’t mean anything to you, and the what you haven’t earned.” They state simply. “The bigger question is do you want what happened to your family to happen to others?” She looks up at me, straight faced and without an inkling of emotion for me to fathom what she is thinking.

“You some sort of witch too?” I ask.

“A witch? By Faust you people lack imagination. By your definitions perhaps it might be accurate. However you haven’t answered my question. Do you want to stop others from meeting the same fate as your own family?”

I look at her, searching for any hint of what could possibly be going on in her head. Looking up and down the street the place is deserted, not a soul in sight, not even from the bar. “Of course I damn well do, but if you think for one moment that I trust some sort of shady lady who drops out of thin air with information no one else should know you’re dead wrong.” I keep my pistol aimed in her general direction, but not as directly as before.

“I’m not here for some ill conceived revenge. I’m here because like you, I’m a soldier. In the world I come from creatures like me work to keep magic from exposing and hurting other species. You help me do my job to make sure no other humans get the chance to abuse that and I’ll show you how to find that murdering psychopath. It’s a win win. My motivations are aligned with your own.” She looks away, a tear trailing down her face as she struggles to keep her expression firm. “Besides, you’re not the only soldier that has lost everything in the service of their country. I lost my husband and my son soon after. Your commanders can’t even begin to understand what that means, but I do.”

She eyes my pistol with a frightening degree of certainty, as if she knew what my plans were with it. “What exactly do you want from me?” I ask with a bit of uncertainty. This was suspicious as hell, but it's not like I had any other leads, any other sources to turn to.

”You seek to end the life of one who used magic to wrong you, but my goal is much grander. I want to take our magic back where it belongs, where it can’t hurt anymore innocents. We are the caretakers of such beasts after all before they escaped... They may act friendly and nice, but deep down they are just waiting for whatever place they invaded to succumb to the disease they release.” She turns to look at me. “I won’t make you do anything, I’ll help you eliminate your target...after that it’ll be up to you.”

Seems an innocent enough offer, something that doesn’t have strings attached that I could see. Hell, I could even get some valuable information to my superiors that they would desperately need if this so-called infestation got worse. “I’ve nothing to lose with trying, but we follow my orders. We have laws here, and my folks don’t take kindly to strangers flaunting our rules.”

“Then it's a good thing I have you here to help me get around.” She smiles before gesturing down the road while I follow. Perhaps I could still be of some use to this world after all.

It started with a bang. We all heard it, it was quite impossible not to. The echo of its impact reverberating throughout the school with the basey sound of splintering rock. For a moment our class was shell-shocked. Everyone frozen for a fraction of a moment before our teacher and a few students ran to barricade the door.

For me, however, I feared it could be something much worse. I grab my backpack and sprint to the door being close enough to make it out before they slammed it behind me, only waiting a moment to scream at me to get back inside. I open my bag to see the little changeling shivering inside by a few of my books. Their eyes wide and fearful as they look up at me.

“The hell is going on?” They hiss, their voice occasionally taking on a two tone sound. For me I take out my case from one of the other pockets and pull out my blade, though much too small for my human form.

“I don’t know. Wish I could shift as much as Arty, but we’re a long way from nightfall.” The changeling wordlessly moves out of the back and follows behind me as I inch down the stairwell. I turn to tell them to hide, but the words die in my mouth. They walk behind me with hesitant courage, but they are following behind, a small flicker of determination in their eyes.

We pause for just a moment as some kids sprint past us down the hall, not giving us a second glance as they hurry outside. “There aren’t anymore noises.” I whisper as we make it down the hallway, rubbing over my arms to make my runes ever so faintly glow. My ears peeled for the popping of gunfire, but hear nothing. Instead I hear a scream and someone yelling for an ambulance.

“Get in.” I command, thinking that maybe the threat has passed. The changeling quickly hops inside again as I rush out the front doors and see a small cluster of students and two teachers. Against the wall of the school I see my friend Ethan against the side of the building next to the hole in the wall, their head sagging to one side and blood trickling down their face. What is even more disturbing is the knife in his hand, and it's covered in dark blood but they don’t appear to have any other wounds.

I hear sirens coming in the distance as the ambulances make their way down the road. One of the teachers is tending to him and says that he’ll be alright. They try to pull the knife from his hand but it's locked tight in a death grip and they quickly give up on it. Moving closer I realize that there is someone else further down the lawn, one teacher having ripped their shirt to shreds to make bandages and using their belt to tighten it around the individual.

I struggle to recognize who it is until we get closer, blood obscuring much of what I recognized as familiar, but then I glimpse their face and the world drops out from below me. I fall to my knees and suppress a scream by clasping a hand over my face. I can’t see the wounds under the bandages but I don’t need to too know it doesn’t look good. I feel my pack rustle behind me, the changeling likely wanting to get a closer look, but I can’t be bothered by that now. I try to move closer but a firm shout from the teacher keeps me back and the EMTs arrive on the scene to take him in.

I’m torn watching them, knowing they wouldn’t let me inside to go with them. Instead I spot Arty’s pack a bit further down the lawn, moving quickly to grab it remembering that he had left a car here the previous night. I search through it pulling out the keys and moving to the parking lot. Forget school, I’m not leaving his side. I open the door, toss my backpack perhaps a little too roughly into the passenger seat after hearing it squeak and take off down the road after the ambulance.

We wait outside the OR for what seems like hours. The attendants telling me that my mother was inside. My friend Ethan is out a lot quicker, having a hairline fracture. His door is kept locked and he’s shackled to the bed on suspicion that he may have been the instigator, but I know it can’t be true. He’d been framed obviously.

I sit quietly in their room while I wait for news on Arty, a change in their beeping alerting me that they were starting to wake. I start to get up to tell one of the nurses when his voice stops me.

“Is it dead?” He asks, his voice so far from his own that it sends a shiver down my spine not to mention the soft glow around his eyes. I turn on him instantly. My rage surging out of control at the conflicting thoughts that he would have wanted this. He couldn’t have! I grab the changeling out of my bags, squeezing them perhaps a bit too tightly.

“What the hell did you do to my friend?” I hiss, every word imbibed with venom at the ling that just looks at me with fear.

“I didn’t do anything! Th-they must’ve hypnotized hi--HOLY SHIT STOP HIM!” Their eyes widening in horror as they look behind me as my eyes follow. He’d ripped out his IV drip and was slowly and methodically stabbing himself in the arm, though his aim was rather poor.

“Ethan stop it!” I pounce on him, though he’s stronger than I am his movements are incredibly primitive and limited by the cuff on his other side making it easier to stop him by simply obstructing it with a tray. After only a few moments his grip seems to weaken before collapsing entirely, my chest feeling tight from those few moments of exertion. Then I very nearly lose it again when I see the ling--no Jake biting into their leg before releasing and stepping back, eyeing me fearfully, then they scamper behind the bed as the door starts to open.

“The hell is goi--” The nurse stops, then quickly presses the call button. “We need security in here now!” I grab my backpack again and scoop them up from the other side out of the view of the nurse, issue or not the last thing I want is security to have them.

Of course they won’t let me just leave. I’m forced to recount what I had witnessed, evidently the twisted assassin had made contingencies. I’m going to make those things pay for what they’ve done to my friends, and to think I had invited them to the meeting after school. Unbidden thoughts come into my mind, tormenting me with the possibilities. Did Arty notice something wrong? Did my trust in them put Arty in this situation? Was I responsible? Watching them take out Ethan, fully restrained on a stretcher is an agony I can’t bear to watch. They were going to move him to a mental hospital and put him on suicide watch.

I so badly want to tell them that it wasn’t his fault. That he had been hypnotized, tricked, forced into doing things he never in a million years would have done. Yet doing so would reveal my presence and that of my family putting us all in more danger. The thought makes me realize that Arty had been showing symptoms of his transformation. The doctors would have certainly noticed a few things during intake!

I hurry downstairs in time to see the sheriff leaving the hospital in a huff. “Anything on Artemis?” I ask Mary. She looks up at me with a firm expression, then it immediately softens as she recognizes me.

“He’s out of surgery, they’re moving him to a locked down room though. Only their attendees are allowed in or out. Apparently they think they need a quarantine which is certainly odd. The news crews will have a field day, but for the poor kids sake we’re trying to keep the media out of this for now. Your mom should be back in a minute, she’s in the break room.”

I nod in thanks and leave, heading into one of the bathrooms for some privacy. I open my backpack to a less than happy ling. “You really need to wash your bag out.” They say offhandedly, while avoiding my gaze. A short hesitation, then, “I know, I know...I bit him but I thou--”

“It’s okay, I’m...I’m not glad you did, but it worked. I just hope it doesn’t kill him.” The changeling visibly relaxes from my statement. The fear they seem to have for me makes me feel like trash. They’d been nothing but helpful and I’d been a huge a-hole about it because of my father’s fear mongering.

“Look, we haven’t exactly gotten off to a good start with our relationship and all, but...after all this, we need all the help we can get. All this time I’ve been worried about trusting you, but you have put all of your trust in us. What you did back there, and in the graveyard, it's more than what a bad friend like me deserves. I just...well, my father would tell us horror stories about changelings...or course then we thought they were myth and legend. How the times have changed.”

“At this point having a friend at all is all that I have going for me.” They rub their front hooves together, brushing it over their ears a few times nervously. “I-if we could though, could we visit my...well...probably ex-friend now? The guy I drained...I need to explain what happened and make sure he’s alright.”

“Sure, but first, we need to get Arty out of here before he ends up as the next Area 51 attraction. My mom’s on break so we have a half-hour without her around. She was also part of the surgeon team and could get us inside.”

“I’m sensing a but in there.”

I wince a little. “We haven’t exactly told her about any of this yet...My dad said he’d talk to her but we’ve kind of had our hands full a little as of late. And well...you’re a changeling, shapeshifting is your thing and all…”

“You want me to change into your mom?” They ask, staring at me like I’d lost my mind, crawling out of my pack and onto my lap as I sit in the cubicle.

“Can you?” I ask, flipping through my phone to come up with a group photo of our family as they look at it studying over her form.

“Not for very long…I’ve never tried anyone besides myself before.” He moves to get a better look at my phone before taking a long deep breath. “You sure you want me to do this? This just seems wrong on so many levels. What if she walks in on us? What if she doesn’t have access? What if I can’t get it right or it collapses! You going to just let them take me?”

“We don’t have time to make a huge plan, my mom is on break and will be for the next half hour or so at least. With me next to you who would question it? It’s not like these people even know that changelings exist.” I respond a little frustrated and guilty at the same time. The previous day I’d very nearly killed them after all and they’ve essentially been my prisoner all day. “I know I haven’t been the best friend to you, but we all need this right now.”

“It’s easy for you not to have a plan, I’m the one taking all the risks.” They say drawing my attention back out of my thoughts. “But fine. I’ll try it, but I want that blade of yours in return. Something to keep you from ditching me if things go south. You trust me to give it back, I trust you to help get this right. We get in the hospital and we’ll have a better plan there.” They move to the edge of my knee and look down, for a moment looking like they’re going to jump, but then turn around and slowly lower themselves to the floor. Thankfully they are cleaned to proper medical standards.

It’s only a single occupancy family bathroom so they have a bit more space, simply walking...trotting? Out from beneath the door. I open the door and follow as they take a few breaths then a green flame erupts around them as I see the somewhat familiar form of Jake, or at least a bit more feminine version of their old self.

I hold out my phone to them as they take it and stare at the photo, holding it up against the mirror as they stare at their reflection. I very nearly yell as they erupt into flames again, worried that they had just destroyed my phone, but it appears unharmed. Jake, on the other hand looks like a more generic form of my mother as if a random bystander had just been asked to recall her after a glance.

“The blade?” He/she asks in a voice more like his own than my mom’s. I realize that he had never actually heard her talk which could be an issue. I pull out the blade and give it a long hard stare. My father had entrusted me with it, one of the few things we had left of our true home. Not to mention the only piece of moonsilver that my family possessed for anymore runes. Yet the safety of my friend is worth more than that. So I pass it over and examine his form, another flash later and they are looking a lot closer.

“Her uh...chest is a bit bigger.” I say as casually as possible before he turns and just gives me a long look.

“And here I was trying to get her nose right. A photo doesn’t exactly do a good job of showing depth you know.” They pass a small scowl my way. “This feels so wrong.” They mutter under their breath, but another flash later they seem a lot closer to my mother’s form, if a bit more...shapely, but I really don’t have the nerve to comment on that again.

“This good?” They ask, their voice adjusting to be a bit higher with ease as they stand and gesture out. The ‘clothes’ they are wearing seem rather stiff and don’t exactly deform properly, but besides the other issues it seems passable. It’s just going to be a quick move anyways. “Feels weird to have clothes be a part of me.”

“Good enough.” I reply, just wanting to get a move on. “Just let me do the talking, my mom definitely doesn’t sound like that, let alone with that kind of accent, you’re trying too hard.” Looking at the imitation of my mother just makes the back of my neck ache. Despite the lack of reference or even a description the resemblance is uncanny. Even more grimly it reminds me of the caliber of the enemy that we have. Jake claims to be new to this...so what would an experienced changeling be able to do?

“Lead on then, you probably know this place a lot better than I do.” She says. “Not sure how long I can hold this shape without something slipping.”

My brain goes to weird places at their statement, that would certainly raise a few eyebrows. “Just keep close and quiet.” Checking that the coast is clear outside I lead them to the elevator with a few of the staff perhaps giving us a bit ‘too long’ of a glance, though apparently it isn’t enough for them to ask questions.

We enter the elevator and I push the button for the third floor. It’s at least where I think they would be kept from what I’d heard. Looking over I can see ‘Jake’ fidgeting a little in a way my mother definitely doesn’t while leaning against the wall. “Just relax, you look fine.”

“Doesn’t feel like I look fine, I’ve never really tried this before. I feel like such an imposter.”

“Her accent is lighter and your voice is about a bit lower than hers is.” I reply before the doors open and we’re there. I head over to the main desk.

“Mrs. Arnesto? I thought you went on break?” The attendant asks. I didn’t really know their name but they had brown hair and eyes with some freckles and were about middle aged.

My mo--Jake looks at me asking silently for permission, but I answer instead. “Arty and I are good friends. I just want to make sure he is okay.”The attendant looks between the both of us, looking a bit confused as they look over ‘Jake’ but seem unable to find whatever they are looking for and just sigh.

“He’s in room 307, they’re probably still unconscious and do try to keep it brief. Their family will likely be here soon. Remember that despite being stable they’re in pretty rough shape.” She says looking directly at me before nodding up at Jake.

I lead down the hall before stopping outside their door. One of the security staff is posted outside, but they only give us a passing glance as we enter with only a “keep it brief” in passing.

“Ouch! Son of a…” Jake curses holding their hand that appears to have a bit of redness over their palm that as I watch slowly starts turning black and chitinous.

“Mrs. Arnesto? Are you okay?” The officer looks at her concerned.

“Just...just shocked myself is all.” She says, her voice seeming to struggle to stay level. Looking at her face I can see she’s already lost a bit of the disguise, the nose is off and one of their eyes is a slitted blue. I give her a bit of an insistent shove to get inside. The officer just shrugging with a small laugh.

“Do be careful. We’re all a bit nervous with all this.”

I finish half shoving her inside as I follow in after closing the door behind us. The form of my mother eroding away within just a moment with a dozen flickers of green flame as they are back to their chitinous self and favoring their right front hoof. “Damn changeling iron burns.” They grimace while licking their hoof.

Dragging my attention away from them I see Artemis in the bed. Their skin is rather pale and their body seems ragged, every breath seeming to be a struggle through the oxygen mask. My chest is tight and heavy as I walk over and sit next to them, eyeing the IV drip that they are hooked up to. Even more than that I see the small horn growing from their head, no more than an inch in length. At the root of their hair I can see traces of dark blue and a strip of pink slowly growing outward. I reach out across their chest and carefully pull their amulet out to examine, the amulet looks inert at first glance, but as soon as I touch it a little of its purple glow returns, if faintly.

Jake moves over to the bed and hops up on the end sitting and staring at my friend. “You think they’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know what else to think. The world has gone to hell already. Right now, all I can think about is my little brother. We brought this whole mess down on him. My father thought we’d be safe if we just kept low, but now they’re actively trying to kill us and my best friend is in an asylum on a murder charge of attempting to kill a my other friend who happens to be a unicorn.”

”Do you think we could run? That we could escape whatever is happening?”

“Uproot my entire family after my mom has just gotten a job she loves and is on track for a promotion that our family needs? Pull away Angela and Artemis away from their family possibly without even saying goodbye? If we all disappeared after a fiasco this big the whole world would be out watching for us.”

“I’m still trying to process the fact that my mother was a shapeshifting agent that never really loved me and I lost my father just over a week ago. I’m not saying things are easy, I’m just terrified of what we stand to lose by staying here. I know it might be a bad idea, but couldn’t we talk to some sort of government official about this? The movies always make them look bad, but we can’t do this on our own here.”

I look over towards Arty, feeling a bit tense as I remember they have family on the way. “They’ll find out one way or another. It’s slight, but Artemis’s family doesn’t know anything about this and they’re going to freak when they see their son has a horn.”

“About that...You mentioned it was something about a changeling curse right? What if I could...just...you know, strengthen it a little, make them a bit more human?” He looks at my expression then quickly amends. “At least to give us some time! I don’t really know anything about changeling magic, but--”

Knock knock!

“Mrs. Arnesto? The family is on their way up.” The attendant says through the door.

“Shit. They’re already here!” I hiss looking at Arty’s unconscious form and at Jake. “Help me get him into the bathroom, you’re going to have to take his place for now. Alright?” I unstrap the IV from his wrist, carefully pulling it out before wrapping up their wrist with some more bandages.

“Are you insane?” Jake asks.

“Probably! Grab their legs.” I flip off the heart rate monitor before pulling it off their arm as we quickly haul them over towards the only potential hiding spot in the room. Jake looks over their form for several long moments.

“Are their spare clothes in here? I don’t think my rendition of them is very good.” They ask.

I look in the closet and pull out one of the spares before passing it to him. A flash of green later and we had a second Artemis that looked a lot more accurate than my mother’s looked. “This good?” They ask.

“Looks great. Now hurry!”

They quickly move over to the bed while I strap the monitor back on them before turning it back on and trying to adjust things to look restful. “Just for a few minutes. They shouldn’t be long, just play dead--err--unconscious.”

They lay down on the bed and just a few moments later the door practically slams open and I see a middle aged man in a military uniform enter the room with a face as impassive as stone. His eyes bore into my own like a wolf. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I-I’m Mike. We’re good friends at school!” I protest backing away from his imposing presence, slowly edging towards the door as he moves over to the bed.

“With all due respect, get out of here.” He states tersely. His eyes not even bothering to look at me as they scan over his ‘sons’ form. I really can’t leave them here, especially considering the promise I had just made with Jake. He doesn’t move or say a word as I feel the tense atmosphere building. “I’ll be back later then…” I say and promptly leave the room to wait outside, hoping I could react in time if something went wrong.

My chest tightens as I hear Mike leave the room, but I don’t dare open my eyes to check. My body was already starting to ache from holding two forms so quickly. How much longer could I hold it? I can’t even see what’s going on, but from my new changeling senses I could feel their presence. Their emotions flooding the room in a fairly muted way, the deep sadness feeling like a thick glob of peanut butter lodged uncomfortably in my throat, the rage from that making it burn in a very unpleasant fashion. I try to breathe a bit more out of my nose but that hardly helps.

“You’re probably out of it, and the doctor’s say you’re stable, but I just want you to know that even though I don’t always say it, I love you. I know things have been rough without your mom around, but we’ve always made do. That was the last time that I saw you in a hospital, you know? You probably don’t remember much, in fact you seemed to have remembered it quite differently. I just...I just never had the heart to correct you.”

I try to keep my breathing steady, but the steady beeping on the traitorous machine betrays my interest as I feel it hasten expecting at any moment for them to call my bluff. The growing urge to sneeze is definitely not helping. The way the blanket brushes against my nose makes it hard to ignore.

“The truth is...your mother was very sick. Just one day she got this idea in her head that you weren’t her kid. Imposter Syndrome they called it. She had some counseling but it didn’t seem like things were getting much better. One day though…” He pauses. The sound of his tense breathing filling the room. “One day she cracked. Hearing what happened to you just now brings back old memories and I should have told you years ago.”

“Your mother tried to kill you.”

The words ring through my skull as I feel so utterly repulsed with myself for tricking him like this. Hearing a confession that was not mind to hear while his real son was tossed away like a damp towel. This is the life of a changeling. I think, then immediately push it aside. I didn’t want to be like that, ever. Even then though...the taste of this father’s affection as he poured his heart out to me was intoxicating. The disguise I was holding feeling lighter by the moment as I start to feel like I’d had a long rest and a bowl of warm soup. The two conflicting feelings making me nauseous in a way I wouldn’t have previously thought possible.

“I stopped her before it got to far, and you probably remember the rest. After that they locked her away, but I still can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t even know what I’m doing. Maybe I just find it easier confessing when I know you can’t hear a word I’m saying. Maybe one day I’ll work up the courage to tell you properly.”

I hear a knocking at the door that opens a moment later. “I’m sorry Mr. Fletcher, we need to do a check on the equipment.” My chest tightens as I hear her step closer. “Damn, he pulled his IV out.” I feel a gloved hand pressed against my forehead, giving it a little squeeze as if looking for something.

So they know…

“Mr. Fletcher? Could we have you wait outside for a moment? I need to check their bandages and make sure everything is working properly.”

“Of course. We’ve got more family coming as well, let us know when they wake will you?”

“As soon as I can.” The nurse replies as I hear the door open and close. With them supposedly gone they speak. “Pulled off my break for this...they said you were put into quarantine…You’re awake, aren’t you? Or maybe their breathing is just restricted from...” I feel them lifting up the blankets. “What the hell…?”

The jig was up. I open my eyes and just barely hold in a yell resolving for a squeak instead. Right in front of my face was the nurse I had imitated moments before. “Uh...yeah hi. I know this might sound a bit crazy...”

I hear a loud groan from the bathroom as she looks in that general direction then back at me. “Considering you miraculously healed multiple contusions and lacerations within an hour as well as getting rid of a horn and fur, and the fact that earlier this week we had a little girl with wings that sounds about right. ”

“Might want to bring your son inside for this one...”

And so we tell her.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for a bit of a delay on this one! The greatest irony is that most of this chapter was actually written weeks ago. (There goes my 2/month spree). Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

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To Nova: "Oh hello human Starlight"
"That's certainly a strange name...but why does it sound so familiar...? Regardless, hello stranger, how would you like to learn some magic?"

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Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a question." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Another thanks to Melodiac for a pre-read. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat anytime.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!

16. Comforts and Conflicts

I really don't like these new doctors they brought in. Mom and Dad had a huge argument with one of the nice ladies earlier, the ones that brought in cookies and made the machines make you feel better. These people were not very nice. They reminded me more of one of the doctors with the sharp needles. I really didn’t like those.

“Now Tina, I know you really like those wings, but they are dangerous and could make you very sick.”

I just made them flap at that. They were so much fun! Flap flap flap! I heard the older man doctor say a very naughty word as they grab at their papers. The woman doctor just sits there, smiling.

I don't like her smile.

“Momma said heaven was a good place, and they have unicorns there and a unicorn gave me wings so it must be good! You’re just jealous because you want wings too, but you’ll have to find your own unicorn!”

The bad-smile lady just laughs at that while the black suit doctor mutters, “Had an easier time getting answers from insurgents in the middle east...” I don’t really know what that means, but I’m sure it wasn’t very nice. So I cross my arms and give my wings a big flap that makes their black glasses fly off their head along with their papers and I nearly fall over in my chair. But then the bad-smile lady waves around her little horn thing and all the papers hang in the air.

My mouth hangs agape. “Are you a unicorn too?!” I yell with excitement as I watch all the papers fly back to the table. The mean man shot her a look I would give my dad when he was being mean. “But where is your horn?” Then I gasp, she wasn’t a unicorn! She must’ve stolen their horn! “What’d you do with my unicorn?”

She gives a big sigh as she sets the horn down in front of her, rubbing her forehead with her fingers like my mom does when I ask her about where babies come from. “She doesn’t know Kizaky, and if she did she definitely wouldn’t tell some grown up stranger who’s a big bully like you.”

“First off, never call me that again. Second, can you fix it?”

“What exactly are you asking me to fix?” The lady asks.

“Mom said I am perfect just the way I am!” I protest. I really don't like how they are talking. I don't want to be fixed! Dad had Spot fixed after they had played with the other dogs and said that they couldn’t make little puppies anymore! I wanted little puppies!

“See? She seems perfectly happy the way she is.” Forget what I said earlier, she’s my new favorite doctor.

“You know perfectly well what I mean! Her parents are furious, the media will have a party, and think of how the others will treat her!” The mean man growls.

“Not a single one of your complaints is a problem with her. She’s special, with her chemo treatment it must’ve disabled her immune system enough that when the magic touched her it slipped right in. It will require the diligence of all of us to ensure that she is cared for and treated well.”

“Nova, you may think the world is all sunshine and rainbows but these wings paint a target on her back so big the entire world will be hunting her.”

“She isn’t the first, and she definitely won’t be the last.”

“I don’t like this anymore than you do, but this is going to hurt her, she just isn’t old enough to know it yet.” He looks at her sternly. “It’s also an order.”

“No! I won’t let you! This is mine! The Unicorn gave it to me!” I hop out of my chair and run towards the door, but I feel her grab at me with her bluish green magic. “Mo--” I try to yell but my voice is cut off and no matter how I scream I can’t make a sound despite feeling the vibrations in my throat.

“It won’t be pleasant, might not even be possible. Some of the worst criminals in history are those that just followed orders.” I hear the lady say. My wings frantically flapping around in the air as her evil magic holds me in place.

The mean man replies by pulling out a gun, pointing it at her, and making it click.

“I won’t ask again.” The mean man says.

I look at the lady, begging to her with my eyes more than I have ever begged to my parents. She can’t do this to me! I...I need to get out of here! Unicorn where are you?! I silently plead.

“Always first to violence, I have many allies and a long memory. You will regret this.”

“Do it.”

She sighs as I watch with terror as she draws closer, her horn glowing brighter and brighter as it draws near. I start to feel a bit tired, but once it touches my chest I scream. This time it isn’t muffled as the mean man winces and I scream even louder. It hurts! It burns! My body burns as if I’d just been stabbed with hundreds of needles! My wings and chest feel like when I’d accidentally touched the curling iron! I start to gasp for air as it gets harder to breathe, tears trailing down my face as I feel all dizzy and my vision fills with dark spots.

The horn starts to vibrate and shriek against my chest, its screams joining my own as I feel my body start moving on its own like it did just before my parents took me to the doctors for the first time, then everything goes dark.

My ears ring long after her screams are silenced. Realizing that I still have my gun drawn I slowly holster it, my eyes not leaving Nova. My hand doesn’t leave the grip though as I move closer to get a look at what she’s done. What I see is more than I could’ve hoped. Ever so slowly I see her wings shrinking, her pointed ears are migrating back to their rightful place.

“You did it...you actually did it.”

“Perhaps you should ask what it is you’ve had me do. The pain you’ve forced this child to go through. How long do you think this magic will be contained?”

“You’ve saved the child a great deal of pain. With a condition like this she would’ve been abducted and experimented on. Likely even killed”

“Here I am thinking you worked to stop those things.”

“You merely underestimate the power of capitalism. She’d be put in protective custody, and at her age that isn’t a happy ending.” I hear a few rough bangs against the locked door and the sound of keys. With a wave of her hand Nova makes the door swing open.

“I’m only going to say this once.” A doctor with short cut dark hair and a clean shaven face states. “Get the fuck out of my hospital.” They quickly move over to the fallen girl and press a few fingers against her neck. “She’s alive.” They report to the small crowd. The look the kid’s mother is giving me would kill me if given the chance.

“I don’t expect you to be grateful, but your kid is cured.” Nova is already heading towards the exit, not sparing a word. I quickly follow behind her knowing that things might get ugly if we tried to stay.

“Some help you were back there.”

“If you wanted to help, maybe you’d have listened instead of threatening my life.”

“The way you talked about magic I thought it would do a lot more than just give a kid wings. If you survived it how come it didn’t affect you the same way?”

“If you read the report the child was immuno-compromised. The radiation treatment wiped out almost the entirety of their immune system. That explains why it didn’t make them more sick.” She states tersely. Her little ‘horn’ as the girl had put it is glowing intensely, occasionally seeming to spark.

“With how aggressive her brain tumor was, the transformation likely saved her life. Once the magic finished developing inside her it would’ve become another part of her immune system and allowed her to fight off the tumor all on her own.”

“How the hell do you know so much about this? I’m tired of your whole mysterious act. The Pentagon assigned you to this, originally I thought it was just because you said you were a survivor and could withstand magic or whatever but only an imbecile would assume that’s the true story.” I say.

“Magic has been around much longer than you realize. It has merely been inaccessible for centuries, millenia even. What has happened now will put our entire world on a course that can’t be stopped. The only thing that matters now is what we are going to do about it.”

“Then we best be sure that we’re on the right side when it does.”

When our scanner started to pulsate red I knew things were going bad. It meant that one of the amulets we had sent out registered a pony in critical condition. The days and hours of trekking non-stop across this landscape, dodging the metal carriages and sneaking across their roads constantly exhausting and delaying our passage were starting to add up. We were tiring faster than we should too. The very air here seems to sap at our magic, our equipment working hard to stop the drain.

“Air team, report.” I command.

“Airspace seems clear, no more of those flying metal things. I’ve seen a lot of black vans that the aliens--er--humans have been getting into and driving away from us. Do you think they are trying to stay out of our way? I haven’t seen a carriage for a while now.”

Such news seems too good to be true. At first glance they had seemed incredibly curious, but as soon as we displayed even the slightest aggression they backed off. Perhaps they were as cautious of strangers as most ponies were. After all, most of my prior experiences with ponies I met before I changed sides tended to flee from any sign of danger...to let their princesses or heroes face the threat.

“Everypony stay close and form your ranks. Some creature is coming and it likely will be tough. One of our rescue targets is in critical condition, maybe even dead. We need to move fast so let me do the talking if any of them show up, got it? Don’t do anything to spook them or--”

“It’s an Ambush!” Soarin/Ocellus yells from the front pointing to a clump of leaves in front of us. Immediately we all dive for cover, but our exertion shows in our slow response. I hear several high pitched pings as darts appear on at least half my crew from all directions. They’d waited down wind on purpose!

I dive for cover, my armor protecting me from a stray projectile as I hear it ricochet. Putting a tree between us and the attackers buys us only a few moments, but that is enough. A quick count reveals that Patch, Stellar, and Honeycrisp are down. Ocellus dives down next to me covering my flank.

“Our crew is down, we’ve lost this battle already.” I say evenly. With a quick flick of my magic the tracking amulet slides around their neck. Another spurt and a crude arcane sphere envelops us. “They won’t rest until the commander is taken, and they don’t negotiate as we’ve seen.” I wince as my shield cracks under their impacts. Flitter knocks their advance back with a gust, but there are just too many hiding around and she gets tagged by several of them.

Her body collapses lifelessly with the others.

“They’re alive, we’ll be fine. Ocellus, I need you to fulfill our mission. Whoever they are, we can handle them. That’s an order, Ocellus.” I can see her doubt, but her expression is grim.

“You aren’t the only one who used to be a soldier.” She responds bitterly. “Lying to a changeling is a fool's errand. We fight in packs, we fight together.” I groan as my shield weakens further. I was just years behind in training compared to other unicorns. Twilight’s prosthetic was leagues ahead of anything I could have hoped for, but it couldn’t give me the experience I had never had.

“That is an order Ocellus.” I growl. “I don’t intend to lose or surrender. The only thing this is costing us is time. That’s something our mission cannot lose.” I wince as another dart clips the shield, watching it crack. “Now get out of here. Use the beacons when you’re done!” This time she doesn’t complain as she shapeshifts into some smaller creature as I disperse the shield.

“Alright you thugs, you want to fight? I’ll show you a fight!” I growl, stripping off my prosthetic and sweeping it into my bags as I leap out from around the tree going after the soldiers trying to flank me, not expecting us to attack so suddenly. My front hooves ram against some surprisingly decent armor as they go down with a whoosh of air as the wind is knocked out of them. With a quick kick to the head as a follow up I ensure that they’ll stay down….though definitely with one mean headache.

With them handled I take to the air with a spin, raising my hooves up to cover my muzzle to shield against the incoming fire until I reach the apex of my jump while charging my horn and unleashing it at the clustered group in front. With a smile I watch as the blast of energy surges past all their armor, and to my surprise travels down the length of their weapons to shock two others that scream from the pain. Hopefully not lethal, that would look bad on my friendship report after all.

The moment I land I prop up the body of the middle assailant, their form seeming just a little cooked, but it still deflects incoming fire just the same. A quick search counts five more hostiles, nothing I hadn’t handled before, but unlikely to end favorably. A single hit and I could be down and at their mercy like the rest of my crew. Aware of them spreading out around me to get a better angle, I grab a few green orbs from my pack. After Twilight and I’s first, shall we say rough experience, such weapons had been heavily frowned on, but being in charge of this operation meant it was my decision.

With a quick flick I launch one towards the flanking soldiers an expression of horror spreading across their faces almost as quickly as the stone. Their shock allows me to nail another before they can react, the impact close enough than it ensnares a second one.

“FLASHBANG!” One of them yells.

I see an incoming projectile, some sort of metal canister. Not familiar with the weapon, I knock it to the side, but it is my turn to be surprised as the other soldiers turn away and drop to the ground. I realize it must not be a contact weapon moments too late as my vision turns to white and my ears explode with pain. I can’t see or hear!

Blindly I leap to the side, tripping over my own hooves from my offset balance. Moments later I feel one of the soldiers piling on top of me and jabbing a metal prod between my armor plates. Energy courses through my fur as I roar in fury. My horn alights with energy and I hit them, grimacing as the beam arcs back across my skin as I feel it burn. They quickly fall to the side, whether from weakness or pain I don’t care to know.

“We’ve got men down! I repeat! Target is hostile!”

I don’t have to speak their language to know what it means. I do wonder who they’re shouting it to though. A quick hop over to their position I see them unarmed, their expression solidifying. Bravery. I can’t afford the distraction, but down to the wire like this I can admire my opponent. I don’t have the time, nor do I know their language, but I can show mercy.

They lower down into a battle stance and withdraw a blade, I take a step back, letting them make the first move. They make a loud yell and jab forward, their bipedal form betraying their action a full second before their strike that I easily parry, then bite down on their arm and slam them down opposite me, the blade dropping out of their grip. I give it a quick kick aside and move to let them continue, sparing a quick glance about to ensure that there are no others remaining.

I don’t see anycreature so much as feel someone, or something lurking in the evening shadows of the wood. Rotating around my opponent to face its direction I see a creature walk towards the others, dressed quite plainly compared to their comrades. Not taking any chances I immediately shoot my magic at their form but they deflect it with a small black dagger covered in what I could only assume to be blood.

What kind of dark sorcery do they possess? I wonder as they move forward as the disarmed soldier joins their side.

“We had it handled.”

“Emphasis on had.” They reply in a dark and smooth voice.

I don’t really care what they’re saying, but the confidence in what it was makes me nervous. I only have one orb left between the both of them, and raw power doesn’t seem like it will win this fight. Without removing my sight from them I pull out my prosthetic from my bag and strap it on, feeling it click in place.

“Oh come now, this one was even disabled!”

I didn’t need to know the meaning of that phrase to know what it was. My eyes burn with fury as I launch myself forward and launch a barrage of flames at their feet, feeling my anger fuel the flames as they’re forced to retreat, their fancy clothes singing and burning. Yet I don’t relent, I pounce through the fire, trusting my armor to take the worst of it. I levitate the soldier over with a flick and smash the orb into their face as I let them drop to the ground.

“COWARD!” I roar as they flee around the battle scene, my levitation spells failing to get a grasp at his form, dark oily magic seeming to coat his flesh. Instead I grab the knife from my combatant and hurl it at their chest, pacifism be damned! It embeds only slightly into their form as I feel a prick against my thigh. The world starts to dim and blur as I look back and see a dart embedded but no weapon that had fired it. I stumble forward as I hear the creature laugh as they pull the blade back out of their chest, black blood dripping for only a moment before it seals.

“A good try, horse.”

“It’s okay, honestly. You can’t expect to pass every test you take.”

I huff and stomp my hoof a bit, grinding it into the dirt. “You don’t understand! I can’t fail. Not when she never did. All these professors and the other students expect me to do at least as well! I study longer and harder than anypony I know and I can just barely get by most of the time! If I fail it means we both do.”

“Star, you can’t keep putting this kind of pressure on yourself. You know your mom would never expect it of you. She wants you to be your own pony, live your own life the way it was meant to be.” My friend Strudel always seemed to have a chipper attitude about everything we ever did, her uncanny optimism was one of the few things I could look forward to most days.

“I know she wouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it anyways. Whether everycreature admits it or not it’s what they think. They all know about the things my mom has done.”

“If you’re so concerned about the way others think of you, why don't you ever show any of your new spells to the other ponies or professors? You’re a genius, there is no way you should ever need to worry about a test.”

“Because I can’t stand the attention.” I groan with frustration and let my head flop onto the table in front of me. “It’s a paradox! I need to perform above everycreature’s expectations but the thought of showing off in front of others is what makes me nauseous! I’m not sick...I just”

“--Am anxious.” She replies with a quick hug, pushing my caramel milkshake back over to my muzzle. “You are so worried about what others think of you, not because of what they’ll think of you, but what you will think of yourself if you fail.”

“I….I just don’t know how to get over it. I’ve read every self help book in the library, I’ve tried Cadence’s breathing techniques, I’ve done all I can think of.”

“Everything except talking to somecreature about it. You’re a pony, we’ve all got our flaws. We’re not perfect, we make mistakes from time to time. You want to be everything everycreature wants you to be, and you’re utterly and completely miserable!” She stops me with her hoof and turns to face me. “I know where you’ve been, I’ve seen it with so many others. You bury yourself in all the pain and suffering of those around you because it distracts you from your own and depending on your ability to make others happy to keep you happy is not a good thing. It’s as bad and harmful as drinking or self harm. It will only make things worse. Being yourself is not always going to make people happy, sometimes you have to say no. You will offend creatures, you will make mistakes, but it is through our failures that we teach others who we are and discover what we want to be.”

“It’s time for you to be somepony.”

Waking up is a painful affair. For a long moment it’s as if the air is caught in my throat as I struggle to yell. Tears trickle down my face as I feel every fiber of my body burn with agony and betrayal, yet I can’t make a sound. It takes several moments for me to realize that the pain is gone, my nerves though still ache as if they’d been burned, but that too is fading. I wince as I take a labored breath, feeling a stab in my chest as the memories return back to me. I’m alone and in...a bathroom? For a moment I had felt something painfully hot pressed against my chest and heard the sound of a scream.

The door creaks open and I see a nurse along with the creature that we’d met at the dance the other night. The memory seems like an eternity ago. As I slowly grow to drug inhibited lucidity a memory sinks into my chest like lead. What had I done? I look at the nurse, not sure what to think of the bug creature just yet.

“Is he okay?”

I can’t resist the slight waver in my voice, the thought of me aiming my horn at them and just...unleashing it like that, and the explosion...oh god. My stomach turns and heaves, but nothing comes out as I feel it spasm a few times into the conveniently nearby toilet.

“He’s...I won’t say fine, but he’s alive. We think he might have a few mental issues, he tried to commit suicide as we were treating him. No one else was harmed. The uh...explosion didn’t cause more than a bit of fright and a few bruises.” I hear the nurse reply.

I wish I could say that hearing that made me feel better. It did, a little. But it didn’t change what I had attempted, what I had thought. At that moment I had wanted to kill him. A thought I can’t believe I was capable of thinking in my lifetime. A few moments later my stomach and gasping slow to a stop just leaving my throat sore. “Did...did anyone see…?” I look at the nurse with a little apprehension, then internally roll my eyes. Of course she saw. I look over my arms seeing fur growing up to my elbow on my left hand and about half that on my right. The webbing between my fingers on my left hand had merged up to about the first knuckle as well.

“I honestly don’t know. We’ve kept out as many people as we’ve been able. Your uh...friend here replaced you when your family came in. That’s why you were in the bathroom and such, we really need to get you back in your bed. You...took quite a beating out there.”

The bug creature looks away sheepishly. “Wasn’t really my intent, but it’s better if we choose when they find out instead of...well...like that. In your condition it probably wouldn’t be good for them to know just yet.”

I nod in appreciation. “That...certainly helps things a bit I guess, but it's only going to get worse from here. I don’t know how long we can keep from telling them.” I try to sit up, then immediately wince at the stabbing sensation again and lie back down.

“How about you just lay still. I’ll get a stretcher and we can move you properly. Tearing a stitch is the last thing we need right about now.” I open my mouth to ask another question but she quickly holds up a finger. “And no, as medical staff none of the others will disclose your current condition. I trust my coworkers in their ethics and the law is on our side there for now. Let’s just get you better first. Questions later.” With that she gets up and quickly leaves the room.

Left in just the empty silence staring at the ceiling isn’t doing my mind any favors. I really don’t want to figure out what happens if I can’t get my thoughts off that train so I turn to the bug creature. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Mor--Artemis” I correct mid-sentence, the ease of the slip up a bit too painfully vivid. Thankfully they don’t seem to mind, at least not visibly.

“My name was Jake before all of this.” They reach out a hoof to my hand to shake it lightly. “It’s...good to see I’m not the only one caught up in this.” He? She chuckles a little after saying it as if it was all a joke.

I look away for a moment, but now that the question is in my mind I have to ask. “So uh...you were a guy before the change?” I ask, all too aware of my own form with the change. I don’t even dare look there now.

“No, not really. Just the name.” They say before sitting down across from me as I tilt my head a little, confused. They take a deep breath and sigh. “Everyone called me a guy before, but that didn’t mean I was one.” They say a bit morosely.

“I get it.” I say as sympathetically as I can muster. I hadn’t thought of it before, but ever since that first change...it had just felt so right when I was a pony. Not the thought of being a girl per se, but of being a mare. That kind of thought certainly was a bitter pill to swallow, and I didn’t feel any better about it now then I did then.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You mean, another?” They chuckle with a small chirping noise.

“Yeah, that. How...how are you coping so well with this?” I ask. “No offense and all, but you have literal holes in your body and anatomy that…”

“Looks like a monster?”

“No! I mean...a little scary--er...fine, yes, a bit!” I stumble over my words.

“Least you’re honest about it.” They adjust their sitting position a bit before replying, thinking the question through a bit I assume. “It’s a bit complicated I guess. I mean, don’t get me wrong, on some level I’m still panicking and screaming whenever this weird body does something new, but this body? The way I am now? This is far less of a monster than I used to be. Can you imagine looking like a monster? Feeling like one every single day? You walk around and no one seems to notice the horror that you feel when you see yourself? Everyone just thought it was normal, like a little kid yelling about a monster in the closet. But this one was real, tangible, physical. And no one can see it but you.”

“Sounds like a nightmare.” I reply. “And trust me, I’ve had a few.”

“When you live a life where you aren’t comfortable in your own skin, one body isn’t much from another. The difference now is that what I am, monster or not, feels like me. Yes, I have holes, but they are my holes. I have a tail and hooves, but they don’t feel wrong. I’m scared, I’m confused, not to mention terrified, but I’m content. This is still better than what I was.”

“I thought I was happy with what I was...but now?” I raise up my left arm to let them see the changes. “Now all I can think about is that unicorn. How can a face I’ve never seen before look more familiar than my own reflection? Her name flows out easier than my own. It feels like an entirely new part of me just...exists now. With what we learned in the graveyard I can’t sleep at night. Am I the human? Or am I the pony? Or some mix of the two that will never be happy with whatever they end up being?”

“A word of advice for someone who’s been there. Don’t try to answer it all at once.” They reply. “Be patient with yourself, this stuff isn’t easy. I keep thinking about it too...though I already feel terrible for being implanted the way I was.”

We hear the door open and both tense for a moment before relaxing as we see the nurse from before, Mike is just behind her but seems a bit nervous. Looking at the partially covered window I can see it getting late as they help me back onto the bed. Once the nurse re-attaches the IV drip things start to feel a lot better within just a few minutes though it gives me a bit of a headache.

“I know you probably all want to talk, but you lost a bit of blood from the incident and still need your rest to recover. We’ll try our best to make sure you aren’t disturbed by any unwanted guests while you sleep.”

I can only give her a small nod in reply. With the drugs back in my system and the adrenaline fading my body cries for sleep more than ever. I just hope I’ll get some dreams that don’t make me feel worse than I already do.

Author's Notes:

First off, so sorry on the delay everyone!
Excuses include finals, new job, working double at past job, and family stuff.
I hope to release at least another chapter this month to make up for the absence.

As always thank you for the patience and staying with me through this story. It's always a joy to hear your feedback and comments.

---

Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a question." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Always a big thanks to Alsey for a pre-read and Hyreia for being a supportive friend (Go check out their story "Five Score and One for the Road"). Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat anytime.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!

17. Setups and Stakeouts

“You may be one of the smartest ponies alive Twilight.” I say. “But this is dumb.”

It had been a good night for Twilight, but our challenges were far from over. Their encampments, advanced training, and formidable weaponry had killed hundreds of brave creatures in just under a week. They may not be the most familiar with their new bodies, but they were trained in ways that could only come from a culture rich with war. Their moves were coordinated, planned, and organized with flawless precision. Though they had initially been taken off guard by our initial assaults they had quickly learned to adapt to our vulnerabilities.

“We went through all this trouble just to capture her, now you just want to let her run off? To give away our advantage and bargaining chip for getting these invaders away from here?” I ask. Chrysalis is a far ways off, still in her iron cage and definitely not happy about it.

“I will not use the tactics of an enemy that have bound our world in chains. As the Princess of Equestria I cannot stoop to their level. That’s even assuming that they would have loyalty towards her. You know how her kind of arrangement ends. The other Chrysalis will gladly see her gone at the soonest opportunity. Besides, we cannot keep her. She is starving, refuses to touch any of the love her children try to share with her. We cannot make her see reason, so we must guide her to that reason herself. I still believe there is good in her.” Twilight turns to look at me, her expression worn from the endless nights and battles. “We aren’t truly letting her go. We’ve trained for years for this moment. Your field testing during her last attempt at a takeover proves that they can’t detect our spells... We have secured this end of the portal, but we need to secure the other for our rescue to succeed.”

Having a reason for it still doesn’t exactly settle my worries, but Twilight knows to appeal to my practical side in times like these. “I know you still want to try to make friends out of this Twilight, but ponies are getting hurt. History will judge us for our actions, we just have to make sure that our reasons are worth it. Don’t forget those we are fighting for.” I turn to look at the cage again. Chrysalis is not very subtly trying to dig her way out, but that was kind of the intent after all.

“Starlight...if anypony could survive what they have done, it would be her. Don’t give up on her or the others. You stay here and secure this side. With the portal severed we may be able to starve them into a retreat. Securing both ends will end this war. I’ve always put my faith in my friends and harmony, it has never failed us in the past, and it won’t fail us now.”

She’s always so confident. Even after years of torment and suffering she still believes in following her ideals. “I understand, but you have to tell Rainbow Dash and Applejack why they couldn’t come when you get back.” I joke with an awkward smile. “You know how upset they’re going to be about this.”

“I’ll put it on the list.” She says with a smile, but after years spent with her I can see the worry behind it. Becoming an alicorn had forced her to mature to the needs of an empire that needed her before she was truly ready. I can’t imagine having to hide that worry and pain constantly to keep up the hope of all of Equestria. “Now, we have about four minutes and twenty three seconds until Chrysalis finishes digging her way out. By past analysis she will either be taking the form of a squirrel or a bat with about a ninety percent confidence interval judging by–.”

I put a hoof to her lips, silencing her. Her awkward smile shows through and her wings sag a little before I lift up her chin and nuzzle her nose before pulling her into a hug. She has always been the more physical one, but she needs this. “You’ve got this.”

“No. We’ve got this...Together.”

It doesn’t take long before she slides out of the small hole she was digging. I watch her activate her spell and take after the fleeing queen. Watching her go makes my chest feel tense. She’s defended Equestria countless times in the past, I didn’t feel ready to do it myself. “Take care of yourself.” I say into the darkness.

It seems I was one of the last people to hear about the incident. I’d been in class on the opposite side of the building. We’d all heard the bang, but not knowing what it was I just followed the class out with the others and dutifully waited as the teachers all took roll. The school quickly became a mess of fire trucks, ambulances, and a big black van with people armed to the teeth as they swept the building. As we heard more about what was going on I just wanted to kick myself for not investigating more. The teachers all seemed very tight lipped on details.

It felt like an eternity later that they let us all head home, for some reason or another they decided not to have anyone else get back in the building while they completed a more thorough search. It wasn’t until I got a text from Michael that I heard about Artemis. I then made what was likely a very illegal turn and sped right back down the road towards the hospital. The world slowed down around me as I picked up speed, I wasn’t running this time, but I could control it just the same. With how distorted everything felt at this speed pushing fifty on a small city road like this felt slow.

Parking at the small town hospital is a nightmare. The lot is already rather small, but now there’s a couple out of city ambulances waiting around with crews, likely to help distribute any other victims of the incident. Not that there would be any, but they are certainly prepared. With how remote the town is though and the scale of the incident I’m not sure what others would be arriving.

Unfortunately there’s already a van here, parked just outside the entrance with a big news station camera photographing the entrance with a blonde gal speaking into a microphone. A single cop car is in the parking lot, but no officer is to be seen. I can only hope that they could stand up against a changeling, but I don’t really believe it. Getting around the news anchor would be an issue though.

“I’m here in front of the Meadow Springs hospital. Earlier today a student was brutally stabbed by the school’s current Student Body President. The student, teachers state, had a history of speeding tickets and were on the school’s football team. They had no prior history of violence before this act. What makes this incident of national interest is an explosion that tore through a classroom. Luckily, no one was injured as the classroom was closed for a lunch break. Experts on the scene believe that the damage was caused by an explosive, though how or why the student had one in their possession is currently a mystery.”

“Coming up, another odd story circulating around this town. An invasive new fly species has sprouted up in this area, experts in the field say that the species most closely resembles the Mydas flies from Mexico...”

I see a deputy walking through the set of double doors and I get ready, staring at the camera facing the entrance. Just how fast can I go? The camera is off right? As the other door opens I take a deep breath and push that strange new muscle in my chest as I see the world slow down to a crawl, the sounds around me fading into incomprehensible bass tones. Then I start to run, the air around me parting as I run through an ocean of solidified air, feeling the burn and whip of air against my skin and forcing me to squint as it feels like knives against my eyelids.

An instant later I’m inside the door, exhausted by the short sprint more than anyone would have any reason to be. A few medical staff are present, but I try to move out of their frame of view before I feel a roar of sound as reality snaps back into place with a rush of air that nearly knocks me over and I lean against a wall. As I quickly look around it doesn’t appear as if I’d been spotted by anyone, though more than a few look up in the direction of the door, staring curiously as it whistles from the rush of wind.

I send a text to Mike to ask for the room number to wait at, it’s only a few moments later that he replies and I enter the elevator, more than a little tired from the earlier sprint. The wait isn’t long for the small facility, but as soon as the elevator stops I see a guy in a hoodie that looks faintly familiar...and another...and several more including one individual in a wheelchair. Before I can even complete my thought I feel myself slammed back into the elevator.

“YOU!” The thug growls, their much larger body pressing up against my own as the others crowd into the small space, each of them with rage on their faces. “You put our friend in a fucking hospital! Ruptured kidney, internal bleeding, and no less than five broken ribs!” I feel their calloused hand pressed up against my throat, my feet kicking wildly in the open air. One of their buddies pulls out a cellphone and the light turns on as they start recording.

“Go ahead, try it you little bitch. You try to use your powers on us again and you’ll be on the evening news followed quickly by a dissection in a government lab. Some goons were here earlier too, looking for freaks like you.” The bigger thug pushes painfully at my throat as I feel their thumb rub against my amulet. I see the look in their eyes as they see its slightly glowing form, before they yank it up over my head with a firm motion.

With it removed I feel more tired than before and I collapse to the floor. “So what is this little witch? Some toy of yours?” I try to slow down time to lunge at them but trying to flex that muscle from before just makes me ache and gasp for air. The smallest attempt makes me feel dizzy. “Now, you’re going to go with us nice and slow to our car, and we’re going to have a nice little cha–”

“Antoine?”

The group slows and turns around, one of them pressing the hold door button to keep it from closing. A hispanic looking guy from the crowd turns around and I see Mike standing just down the hall. “Tell me you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.” He says striding forward, the rest of the gang moving slightly to the side.

“Mike...it's complicated. I don’t–She’s not natural, this girl here beat up one of my best friends. She likely infected the girl that the feds were after earlier. You know that bug we saw earlier this week? She’s like one of them!”

“Tony, we don’t really have time for this. If we press it again it’ll likely set off the alarm.” The bigger guy that had been choking me says, not looking away from me. Their body is hunched and low, ready to strike as I glance between the four crowded around me. The fifth guy stayed out with the wheelchair.

Mike waits a little longer before silently stepping inside the elevator and we begin our descent. “Then I’m coming too, or would you rather I call the cops now?” He states plainly. He stares at ‘Antoine’, jaw tensing as he struggles to keep his expression clear, his eyes slightly teary. I look at him, giving my head a slight shake.

”You bastards think you can just abduct us like this? The hospital has cameras, no matter what you think is going to happen it isn’t anything you would want.” I growl between my teeth, watching the black haired thug with my amulet around his neck. He doesn’t seem to be looking very good. It’s only been a minute but he already looks about to puke.

I look at the big guy that tried to choke me earlier. In his right hand is a handgun, the other has a stun gun that they give a quick pulse with. “Get in the car.” He says, leveling it in my direction. My heartbeat quickens as I look between the different members of the gang. One of them, the hispanic looking guy, is staring directly at Mike. I almost facepalm when I recognize the family resemblance.

“I’m not going anywhere asshole.” I glare, trying to force some bravery into my words.

“I’m not ask–”

“Just do it.” I flinch as I hear the words from Mike behind me. “They aren’t going to try anything. I know my brother better than that.” He practically spits the word, the disgust evident on his face.

Not liking my chances against the group I follow them outside, wondering how we were going to escape from this situation. Once outside, at gunpoint, I slowly move inside their giant truck. The guy with the gun follows behind, taking the seat right across from me. “Don’t try anything.” They growl. Mike and his brother head off to the side and get into a much older and shabbier looking vehicle with scraped silver paint. I watch the guy wearing my amulet stagger into the truck with us, plopping into the passenger seat in the front as the richer looking guy takes the driver's seat and he starts off down the road.

The amulet has always returned to me before. I wonder if it’ll be different this time because someone else is wearing it. Would it bind to them instead? Or would it teleport back to me? I might be able to escape, but that wouldn’t help Mike in the other car. I can only hope that nothing worse is happening back there. Him and his brother definitely have a lot to talk about…

“It isn’t what you think.”

I just stare at my brother and pull up my hoodie a little tighter, the moon still at just past half. I can feel the energy behind it just waiting to transform me into my true form, but I can’t. Not now, not yet. “Then tell me what it is. I’ve already texted dad, give me a good reason not to call the cops.”

“They were my friends okay! I went to school with them, we were buds. Did all the normal teen stuff. We drank a little, pulled a few pranks but nothing ever really illegal. At least I haven’t. I’d heard some rumors about what they got up to, but I don’t believe that junk, least, not until now. I’d never known John to get so worked up like this. He really isn’t like this. These days I just hang out with them and occasionally make them a few things.”

“I don’t care what he’s normally like, look right out front. Right there. He just kidnapped one of my best friends. The justification doesn’t matter, this right now is illegal.” I insist. I feel a tingle on my hand, I go to scratch it and feel fur, then curse quickly pulling it inside my sleeve.

“Only thing I can do now is to follow them. I don’t know where they are going so far out here, this isn’t a place I remember us ever going. Call whoever you want and we’ll make sure this ends without this becoming an even bigger mess. I swear I don’t know what he’s doing, he’s never done anything like this. You have to trust me!”

“I’ll trust you when we get back home in one piece, but until then, promise that you’ll trust me. There are things you should know about our family and about what’s happening here. I can’t call the cops, but that bug we saw earlier this week was a part of it. Dad is part of it, I’m part of it, and Tim is too. My friend trapped with your other so-called friends are as well. I don’t know what they want with her, but I bet it isn’t good.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

”Dad...I’m scared.”

I look down at my youngest, feeling no small amount of guilt and pride at the same time. I’ve been playing catch with him out in the yard as the night drew closer. A task not to be underestimated. Tim, like many his age, is fascinated by Minecraft. The kid clings to his game more than a fledgling to their first moth.

I’ve watched for several minutes of moonlight, feeling only a slight tingle of the moon's call. It certainly isn’t as strong as it is on the night of the full moon, but it is stronger than it has been. I can feel its light spread across my arms and half of my face, my vision a bit distorted as one eye I assume has changed from exposure. “Just take deep breaths Tim. One at a time, you remember those stories I told you last night?” I’d read him a cute little story about a unicorn that had lived their life thinking they were a narwhal and...well...perhaps too many others with such obvious themes. There was only so much I could hint at this before he had to see it himself.

“You’re magical Tim. This is perfectly natural for ponies like us. Here...” I sit down next to him, pulling off my shirt to expose more of my skin to the moon as I feel the fur starting to slowly grow over my back. Maybe tonight I would have enough magic to sustain it. “See my eyes? The fur? It’s happening to me too. Just let it happen.”

“I-it hurts!” He whimpers a little as I see his back stretching as his wings start to come in. I hug him close to my chest as I feel my hooves start to grow in. “I...I don’t like this dad! H-how do I make it stop?”

“Shh...shh...quiet now, everything will be fine. Don’t worry, come morning you’ll turn back and everything will be alright, okay?” He definitely isn’t taking it very well, but it's something that was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s better for his first time to be with me instead of somewhere else at random and without me. Not to mention how humans would react to his sudden changes. Humans aren’t like ponies, I can’t fully trust them like I could the others back home.

He looks down at his hands, his expression turning mortified as he waves them around and pounds at the ground starting to freak out. “My hands!”

“Yes, these are called hooves and are--”

“I can’t play like this!”

I facehoof, perhaps a little too hard. “Tim, this will be so much better than Minecraft if you just learn how to use it a bit more.” I move my hoof to write a rune on the ground, but forget I don’t have my Stele. “I could teach you real magic! How’d you like to make things glow or...or go into a pony's dreams. Just wait until you learn flying! Isn’t that so much better?”

“This isn’t cool dad! I want to change back!”

“Come on! We’ll have so much fun on our little adventure!” I stare at him in disbelief, stunned that he could be so apathetic to the idea of learning real magic, not just some science trying to pretend.

“Yea! A way stupid adventure!” He pouts, crossing his hooves over his chest before losing his balance and falling over.

And then I hear the phone ring.

I’d seen many things in my time. The death of fellow soldiers, the loss of limbs and minds. I’d even seen more than a few choose death by their own ends. I didn’t know what was going on, not really. Being a soldier isn’t about the big picture. It’s about keeping your head down, eyes open, and following orders. I didn’t have to know jack about the conflict going on within the borders of the town I’d been tasked to protect to know that today was only the beginning.

We’d taken the kid to a psych ward. Locked in a room with padded walls, all sharp objects taken away. They had been clever in many other ways, but now being trapped in a straight jacket in a locked room under constant surveillance limited those options. Their eyes were haunted, and empty. Each word we’d said to the kid had gone in one ear and out the other as if we simply didn’t exist.

With what little I’d heard from the Angela girl, and the even less I had received from federal investigations, it could make even a skeptical old man like me think something unnatural was at play here. The occasional green glow from their eyes tended to help that belief along. The higher ups had stated they wanted them moved over to a secure facility for interrogation immediately.

I knew they wouldn’t have that long.

So I’d waited outside of the ward in front of the only entrance, dressed in white robes to look like just another part of the staff. I’d even gotten out my phone and was pretending I knew how to use it for something other than phone calls. The staff here had initially been hesitant for several obvious reasons, but I had a good enough relationship to convince them that this was important. I had sent many individuals here over the years instead of into the county jail. Mental illness isn’t a crime, and the world has too many innocents in prisons that I had fought years to liberate in other countries.

“Long night?” I hear a gal ask. Marcy I think her name was. She was a middle aged woman, had no kids of her own, single-divorced if I remembered right.

“The longest, you here to take over? Sarah doesn’t like it when we log overtime.” I ask, going exactly as I’d rehearsed in my mind over the past hour.

She hesitates briefly, just enough for a soldier to catch before she relaxes, then squints at me for a moment longer, a hint of suspicion flickering over her features. “Ye–” I don’t give her a second more, and I shoot.

The sound ricochets down the tiled hallway as she collapses to the floor, her leg spewing green blood across the tile. I stand up and fire another, hitting their shoulder as they move to jump, causing them to stutter and fall.

“H-how…?” I hear them gasp in a much raspier tone than any Marcy should have.

“A soldier knows a suicider when they see one. I saw the same expression on a child in Vietnam before they pulled the plug and blew half my squad to hell and left me with a chest of shrapnel. I knew this kid's family, hell, I knew this kid. I knew a bastard like you’d come along to cover your tracks sooner or lat–”

I yelp as a green light blasts from a horn that hadn’t been on the imposter's head a moment ago. A small portion of my forearm is taken with it, the pain taking several moments for my mind to process and I can’t withhold my scream. By the time I look back, red tinges my vision as I see them moving rapidly down the hall, a trail of their green blood making a river on the white tile that threatens to trip me up more than once. I hold my arm steady in an attempt to aim at the fleeing beast, but at their pace and distance and my own unsteady grip I holster my gun and move to follow then hesitate.

I don’t know how many of them there are, I can’t let them take away my only lead and actual witness for what happened tonight. I also have no chance to catch up to them, the other staff has been warned about an event happening and security will be waiting to protect them. I have to trust them to do their job and hope my deputy can keep the other one safe.

I wince as I try to move my arm feeling the hot burn of the wound. About an inch of flesh has been burned away, cauterized by the blast. Just another scar to add to the long list of sacrifices I’d made in my career. I can only hope that I have wounded it enough for the others to get them. I hold the wound steady and tear my white shirt as I patch it up. Maybe with my luck it wouldn’t be infected. I take another glance at the kid inside, he still has the same haunted and vacant expression, utterly undisturbed by the events outside his cell. I catch a glimpse of a tear rolling down his face, pleading for freedom that I could not give. I can only hope that we could find a way to help them. For now though, I will have to wait.

I had a name, and I had a place, and so I waited. I couldn’t say I trusted the creature that had sent me, but I trusted that the person that would be here would know something. The changeling that had attacked me and my partner just the past week didn’t seem too concerned with us, that kind of restraint isn’t something I’d expect of a soldier and gave some level of credit to my source.

I see a pair moving down the street to a recently moved in house. I can tell because they still have their ‘For sale’ sign out front. The two seem in quite a bit of a heated argument, so I sink back into my position on the other side of the street and wait.

“Where did you get that thing of yours anyway? Some abandoned mummy’s crypt?” The man asks. “I may not know shit about all this magic stuff, but I’m not an idiot. If you want me to make better decisions I need better information!”

“You expect me to tell you after you’ve treated me like dirt since we got paired together? I was asking you to make a choice on moral ground. It would’ve been hard, it might’ve had consequences, but it would’ve been the right thing to do.” She’s holding what looks like a unicorn’s horn in her hand and it’s glowing brighter than any glowstick I’ve ever seen.

“I was making the right choice! You may cast around spells and do the impossible, but the one thing I know you can’t change, no matter how much magic you have, is human nature. I’ve seen it before, this girl...she’s not the only one. You said you know about the race that calls themselves changelings right? You want to know what happened to them when the Pentagon got a hold of them?! You think I enjoyed seeing her suffer? To take away the little girl’s dream?”

“None of us can stop what’s coming either. Magic is a force of nature that grows and spreads like pollen in the wind. Humans have so little magic naturally, and no ability to use what little we have. These artifacts, banished here from the world beyond, are the only things our entire civilization has. You want to know how other humans got their magic before now? What will happen if we don’t embrace the magic while we still can?”

“I don’t have a clue, that’s why I’m asking. Yet what was so bad about before? The world is fine the way it is. This magic showing up is what has caused so many of these problems! The changelings can be anyone and anything, do you have any idea what their species could do to this Earth? They could throw us into a civil war, assassinate anyone and everyone that stands in their way. They attack in large numbers and are insectile. If they are anything like the insects here they will destroy us and there is nothing we can do to stop them. You think I’m not fascinated by your spells? I am bewildered, but we aren’t ready for this, and we won’t enjoy any of it if we’re dead.”

She sighs in exasperation in return. “I need to take a walk. Just...trust me when I say we don’t want things to go back to the way they were.” I see the man looks like he wants to protest, but instead he remains silent and enters the house. Was he the one I’m supposed to meet?

I feel something yank at my camo and I’m pulled out into the open, the gal staring down at me with disappointment. “Your mother ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?” I quickly reach for my gun only to be slammed against the brick wall behind me, her horn glowing and sparking dangerously. “I’d think carefully about your next words Mr. Manshen.” I hesitate for a moment, but then realize she probably knows how to read the tag on my uniform.

“I’m looking for the bearer of the Sanguine Blade, the demon named Montezuma, the heart cutter who ripped out mine when he slaughtered my family!” I rage, not caring for the spittle flying from my lips. My eyes see red as I recognize her use of magic, my anger only doubling as I fight against her unnatural grip.

“Oh good.” Her magical grip vanishes and I fall rather unflatteringly to the ground, confused. “Here I thought you were another assassin. That would’ve been awkward.” She gives a subdued laugh at that before her expression turns bitter. “If you’re trying to kill him that won’t go well. Believe me, I’ve tried. He’s ancient, and he’s had centuries to amass artifacts and make allies.”

“That’s not good enough. He can’t just get away! Please, you must know something about him. This is all I have left, I’ve lost everything else!” I plead, my throat tightening. “You may have given up, but I’ll die trying! With or without your damn magic!” I push past her, furious at this girl who thinks my loss is a joke.

“I was a child when he came for me. You want to know what’s worse than having your family taken from you?” She says quietly, but with the venom of a viper about to pounce in her words. Her horn glows and spits so many sparks I half expect it to explode. “Taking them yourself. I was just past eleven when I discovered my curse. With a touch I could steal away someone’s passion, their very reason for living, the magic that makes them special. Within hours they finished what I started and the cops found a little girl wondering why her parents wouldn’t wake up while sitting in a pool of blood.”

I just stand there shell shocked and wincing away from the girl, a week ago I would’ve dismissed such a claim, but I’d learned that lesson too painfully to deny from the pain I see in her eyes. An expression too numb to mourn again. “I’m sorry for your loss. Just tell me where he is. I’ll find a different way.”

“He’s too smart to be anywhere I would know, but I know he’s working with your people. How did you know to even come here anyways? Or better question, who told you where I was?” She eyes me suspiciously, but I guess given the circumstances I can’t blame her. That still doesn’t mean I trust her.

“A stranger pushed me in your direction. Said I’d find a few answers here.” I keep my source guarded, I don’t exactly know which side the bugs are on.

“Then we need to move again. My partner still isn’t ready to believe what’s really going on, but I have unfinished business here. If you really want to help, I have people that could teach you what you’re dealing with, but they’ll ask for a lot in return.”

“Give me a way to kill that bastard, and we’ll have a deal.”

“Good, now we just have to find a unicorn.”

Author's Notes:

Oof! Just missed that end of month deadline I was aiming for, but here it is!

Thank you all for your continued readership and support, it really helps a lot. As always a special thanks to Alsey for her help with some editing and pre-reading.

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Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a question." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next!

For all you dilligent Author's Note readers have a hoof! /)
And as always, comments are a writers food pellets ;)