The action was very far from being aggressive—it was not even defensive, in the usual sense: it was undertaken under the stress of desperation, and in its essence was purely protective.

"Day, are you alright?" Starry asked quietly as she sat down next to me.

"Y—yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like you're about to be sick." She reached toward me, but I flinched away.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Starry sighed as she took out her aspirin bottle and shook out a tablet into her hoof. She paused, looking down at it; she was trembling. She shook out a second tablet and swallowed them both with a long sip from her flask.

"It's alright to be scared, Day," Starry said after a moment. She wasn't shaking anymore. "I know this isn't easy for you, but we're in enemy territory right now. And we're only going deeper from here—right into the heart of it. From what I got out of Chrys, we can expect them to try to mess with our heads. We won't be able to trust what we see or maybe even what we think or feel. So I need to know I can count on you to follow my instructions."

My eyes stayed fixed on the laser pistol she'd given me. I knew what she was getting at: she wanted me to be a killer.

"I won't lie to you," she said. "If I had a whole squadron of seasoned soldiers, I still wouldn't want to go up against these . . . creatures. But we're here, and we don't have any other options, so when things get hairy, I need you to be brave for me, okay?"

What a sweet nothing. Hadn't I "been brave" enough already? But I didn't have a choice, did I? I had a mask to wear: the mask of a soldier. I had to fight against others—others who would have just gone on living as they always had if not for me. This forest wasn't my home—I'd felt it almost since the moment we'd entered the forest: I didn't belong there; it wasn't my place. But there I was, drafted into a war against monsters in their very home among the shadows, and who grew stronger by feeding off those who didn't get along—those like me.

I'd always been a good pony. I got along. I never wanted to hurt anyone, just keep my head down and live my life quietly as I always had. I had to be exiled for murder to become a killer.

Starry was right: I felt sick. But as I looked over at Chrys, I remembered that my exile had shown me what I was capable of—that I could wear any mask I needed to, if it meant protecting someone I cared about.

I looked down at my gun, then back up at Starry. "I'll do what I have to do."

With my assurance that she could count on me, Starry went to the door and watched outside through the small window cut into the door. Kijiba was still busy mixing and grinding various dried plants. And Chrys was huddled against the back wall all by herself. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were wet from crying. She glanced up and saw me looking at her.

My first instinct was to turn away, pretend I hadn't seen her like that so she could pretend the same. But when I looked away from her, I felt something . . . a knot in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't just leave her like that.

"It's alright," I said softly as I moved over to sit near her. "Nopony's going to hurt you."

"Thank you." Chrys sniffled as she wiped a fetlock across her cheeks. "That's sweet of you, but that's not really what worries me."

"Well . . . what, then?"

"You wouldn't understand." She looked up at me, then glanced over at Starry briefly. "Well, maybe . . ." She sighed. "Everything I knew as a child . . . everyone I loved  . . . it all just vanished in the blink of an eye. I lost my whole world and—" She choked. "I never got to say goodbye. It was just so sudden. Everything was fine when I went to sleep, but when I woke up, it was the worst day of my life. Maybe I should have known it was possible—even expected it just a little, but I just wanted to believe everything would work out okay."

Chrys was quiet for a moment before continuing. "Ever since then, I've just been doing whatever I could to replace what I lost." She smiled a little. "I was lucky to find Mum. She took care of me as her own. If it hadn't been for her, if I'd stayed with the queen here . . . maybe I could have survived, but I needed a mother to love me so I could thrive."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "I . . . I remember my mother singing to me, but no matter how hard I try, I can't remember the song." She closed her eyes tightly, blinking the tears out. "I've never felt this alone before. It's like . . . like . . ."

"Like falling?" I offered. She tilted her head as she looked at me. "It's like you're falling, and everypony around you has no idea because the wind is choking you so you can't scream. And you're afraid to grab onto anyone for help because you'll just drag them down with you. And if you did, they'd just fight you and kick you away to save themselves. You're falling, but the ground never gets any closer. Just . . . falling forever . . . with nobody to hold you . . ."

"Hun . . ." Chrys stared at me, her mouth open, and her eyes wide. She looked about to start crying again when Starry called our attention.

"We've got movement outside."

Kijiba moved to the door and looked outside. Almost immediately, he turned pale. Quickly, he returned to his workbench and poured what little powder he had made into two small cloth satchels. "My tribe is coming," he said gravely as he turned to face us. "Our time to prepare is done. We cannot stay here." He gave one satchel to Starry and kept the other for himself.

Starry motioned for us to leave, and Chrys and I got up. Chrys stopped me on the way to the door, though. She looked into my eyes. "Day, I . . . whatever happens out there, please try to remember: Starry and I are your friends. We'll never do anything to hurt you."

It seemed like a strange time to say something like that. But I gave a nod anyway, and, after holding my gaze for a moment, Chrys went ahead of me, and I followed her out of the hut.

Outside, I saw the rest of Kijiba's tribe—all of them. Every single zebra in the whole village: young, old, even those who looked deathly ill.

Their tired, emaciated forms shuffled toward us, ponderous and unceasing. And with beady, vacant eyes tinted pale green, they glared at us, through us. They trampled their own gardens without a single faltered step, all in a mindless march against us who had intruded on their collective. No, not mindless; for they were possessed of a single mind, intent on violently stamping out the unwelcome disruption of the status quo.

Chrys gasped. "They're here already. They have everyone entranced."

"Let's get moving before we end up like them," Starry said.

I was grateful to not have to fight them. It had been one thing when I killed to protect myself from somepony who was going to kill me, but those villagers weren't themselves—they didn't really want to hurt us. It was just whatever mind control the changelings had forced on them.

Chrys lead the way into the forest, and the rest of us followed quickly. Into the dark shadows, we galloped as fast as the dense trees would allow, which wasn't very fast, but we were able to lose sight of the villagers soon enough.

***

Small glints in the canopy told me that it was still light out, but the trees swallowed up nearly all of the day's light. It may as well have been an eternal night in the forest. And when I turned on my Pipbuck light to try and see the trees ahead of us more clearly, Starry told me to turn it off; the light would make us easier to track, she explained. So I did as she said. We had to rely on letting our eyes adjust to the dark woods.

"Do you even know where you're going?" I heard Starry whisper.

"I can hear them," Chrys answered quietly. "They're all around us. Just stay quiet."

"We're walking into a trap."

"They had us trapped as soon as they knew I was here. All we can do is try to catch them off guard and—"

We all stopped abruptly, and I began looking all around for signs of anything moving among the shadows. But all I saw were the shadows themselves.

I felt a chill run down my spine. Something had changed about the forest, but I couldn't tell what it was. The trees were the same stoic, looming pillars. The canopy was the same dark blanket, keeping the forest shrouded away from the gray sky above. The air was as still as ever.

My wings bristled as I felt a sudden realization stand up and scream at me from the back of my mind. I tried to ignore it, deny it at first. It wasn't possible! It couldn't be. If it were true—what that would imply . . .

I looked down at my hooves as I took a shaky step forward, and I watched as my hoof came down on a small, dry twig. I felt it snap under me, but that was all—I only felt it. I didn't hear it. The air was perfectly calm; not even the slightest sound carried through it.

"S—Starry . . ." I whispered. No answer. "Starry?" I turned my head to look at her, but she wasn't there. Frantically, I wheeled around. Kijiba and Chrys were gone as well. I'd gotten separated, but when? How?

"Starry!" I called out. "Starry! Chrys! Kijiba!" My chest heaved with each shout, but even with all the air in my lungs, my voice felt small and pitifully insignificant among the stony trees.

The air itself was choking me so I couldn't scream. I turned around and around in a dizzying panic, desperately searching for any sign of life in the dark woods. My screams for help were swallowed up in silence before they could even reach my own ears, and I nearly passed out from lack of breath.

Then I heard something, like a crinkle of leaves underfoot, and I thought I saw a shadow moving through the trees out of the corner of my eye. It could have been anything, but in that moment I couldn't imagine it being anything worse than the choking silence and the dark emptiness of being all alone. So I ran toward it.

Leaves and twigs crushed silently under my hooves as I bounded through the forest, weaving around trees that grew closer together the further I went. The trees became a dark, towering wall of bark and silent contempt, but still I could see something moving just beyond them. I pressed on, taking any path I could find through the trees until I found a gap in the wall that I could squeeze through.

I emerged on the other side in a small area where the trees were much less dense, and I found myself with whom I'd been chasing.

"Starry!" I gasped. "Thank the Goddesses! I was all alone and—"

"Shut up, you sniveling little worm!"

I blinked, my ears drooping. "S—Starry? Wha—"

"I said be quiet!" Her hoof hit my cheek like a bolt of lightning, and I fell to the ground. Dark spots floated across my blurred vision, and for a moment my whole world was reduced to a ringing in my ear and the taste of copper in my mouth. As focus returned to my eyes I staggered to pick myself up, and my eyes turned up to see Starry looming over me, and I nearly froze at the sight of her hoof drawing back for another strike. Reflex took over, and I collapsed back onto the ground, throwing my forelegs over my face for protection.

"Starry, please! I'm sorry!" I whimpered.

"You're a pathetic, useless excuse for a pony. What good are you?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry!" I cringed and tightened my forelegs over my face while the rest of my body curled up and tensed, waiting for her to hit me again.

"'I'm sorry!'" she mocked. "All you do is whine. You can't do anything for yourself. I should just leave you to die on your own."

"No! Please! I don't want to be alone!" I uncovered my face to reach out and grasp at her forelegs, pleading. She took the opportunity to hit me again, this time catching me in the ear. I rolled over with a loud yelp, clutching at the side of my head. It felt like an ice cold knife had been jammed in my ear.

"You're worthless!" She hooked her hoof under the collar of my uniform and lifted me up to face her. "I don't have time to care for a little foal like you." As she sneered, her eyes flashed a bright green and I felt my hind legs grow weak.

I wanted to kick and scream and run away, but those eyes held me still. Her eyes glowed brightly, and all I could hear were those words: "pathetic," "useless," "worthless" echoing in my head. I couldn't even feel the stabbing pain my ear anymore. Trapped in the back of my own mind, I screamed at myself to get away, but those words drowned me out. They pressed in around my own voice in the same way that the trees in the forest had closed in around me.

Dark shadows rolled in all around me, seeping out from between the trees like a black fog. All I could see were those glowing green eyes. Even as I felt my body crumple under me as I was dropped onto the ground, the image of those eyes stayed fixed in my mind. Get up! Run away! Escape! I screamed at myself, but my body was completely numb, paralyzed. I had the sensation of moving, as if being carried, and slowly, those eyes that had burned themselves into my mind began to dim until I was left completely alone in the dark.

***

Slowly, I opened my eyes; I was alone. I looked down and saw that under my hoof was the steel plating of a stable corridor. I looked up: The trees were gone, replaced by matte gray stable walls. I was in a corridor, and knew exactly where it led.

I had to run, had to get out. I turned around and started to run, but skidded to a halt as I almost immediately ran into a door, a door that couldn't have been there, and yet there it was. I wasn't in the corridor anymore; I was in one of the living quarters. And I knew the door in front of me. Every door in the stable looked the same, but I knew this door. It was her door.

I turned around again to flee, but behind me I found myself inside her room. Everything was exactly as I had left it: her lifeless body on the bed, the sheets soaked in blood. Streaks of blood splattered all across the wall and even dripped from the ceiling.

Again, I turned in a desperate attempt to escape, but this time I was stopped by Starry as she stepped through the open doorway.

"So this is what you're hiding," she said in a casual, almost disinterested tone.

Words caught in my throat as I backed away from her. Her eyes shined with a baleful green light, and she slowly advanced toward me, backing me up against the bed.

"What's the matter? Afraid to defend yourself?" She snarled and raised a hoof back to strike me. I couldn't even flinch away, her glowing green eyes held me paralyzed.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" a voice called out. It sounded far away, muffled, as though I were listening to it through a tank of water.

Those bright green eyes looked away from me briefly, then back again. The room around me faded into darkness and so did the glow of those eyes. Once again, I was alone in the dark.

"Day!" that voice called again. It was closer. "Day! Open your eyes, Day!" I felt a hoof on my cheek.

***

I was dizzy. My ear was still ringing from when I'd been hit. A stabbing pain shot through my neck as I tried to move, and my eyes snapped open as I let out a pained gasp.

"Chr—Chrys?" I groaned, seeing her there in front of me. It had been her voice that I'd heard.

"Shh. Don't try to move. Just hang on. I'll get you out of this, I promise," she whispered through a forced smile to reassure me, but as I moved my eyes to look around, my heart sank like a lead weight inside my chest.

All around us were changelings. Their eyes gleamed in the shadows between the trees and in their boughs. The air hummed with their shrill chittering and hisses. And I was helpless before them; my legs were wrapped up in a sticky green slime, trapping me as much as when I'd been paralyzed by their stares.

I looked around and saw Kijiba there with me. His eyes were tinted green and he was just staring off into space. Two changelings stalked around him in slow circles, hissing and baring their fangs at him between fits of what I could only assume was laughter—a high-pitched warble that made my skin crawl. Kijiba seemed oblivious to their threats and cackles. He only swayed unsteadily on his hooves with that vacant stare on his face. They hadn't even bothered to restrain him as they had with me.

"Please! They're my friends!" I heard Chrys plead. She was kneeling, begging to a dark form in the shadows.

Two bright green eyes hovered over Chrys in the darkness. "What do you need friends for, little one? You have us now. You know we missed you dearly ever since you left us. But that's alright. We won't punish you for it. You were just confused. Isn't that right?"

Chrys glanced back at me over her shoulder, then back into the shadows. "Y—yes . . . I . . . I'm sorry. I promise, I won't run away again. Just, please, let my friends go. They won't cause any trouble. I swear."

"You know we can't do that, sweetheart. We have to think of the swarm first, you know. The swarm is what keeps you safe, keeps you fed. You know that, don't you?"

"Please! I beg y—ahh!" Chrys tumbled over with a loud cry of pain.

"Now look at what you made me do." The figure stepped closer, out of the shadows to where I could make out her shape in the darkness. Twice as tall as any pony I'd ever seen, her dark hide, like the other changelings, made her almost invisible in the shadows. Her mane and tail shimmered ever so faintly in the sparse light that filtered down on her. She must have been the changeling queen. "Why do you have to be so selfish? Haven't we done enough for you? We found you, woke you up from your slumber, gave you a home, a family, and let you join in our feast. Is this how you repay our kindness?"

Chrys climbed to her feet and stood tall as she faced the queen. "I'll never stay with you!" she screamed defiantly. The buzzing and chittering around us quieted, and all the glowing eyes in the dark were on Chrys. She glanced in my direction, and her expression hardened. "Only if you let my friends go. Only when they're safe will I let you keep me."

The queen laughed. It wasn't the chilling warble I'd heard from the others, but more like a warm belly laugh. "Oh, little lost daughter, we don't need your permission to keep you." The queen's horn, long and wickedly jagged, glowed with a bright green aura. "Now, let's get you out of that unnatural pony disguise."

A ring of green flames rose up around Chrys, and I heard her scream as it closed in around her. It flashed brightly and then it was gone. When my eyes readjusted to the darkness, I saw Chrys on her knees again, shivering in her naked black hide like the other changelings.

"Look at you," the queen sneered. "How can you stand that oppressive costume for so long? We've let you have your fun little rebellion, and now it's time to come back to us and be a good girl."

Chrys struggled to stand, but the queen pushed her down again.

"Tsk. So weak, child. You must be starving. Here: we'll let you be the first to feast on this . . . creature." The queen turned toward Kijiba. Her eyes glowed, and his shined in response. Slowly, he walked over to her.

"This thing has been a nuisance for us for quite some time now. Those damned books it found; it thinks it can fight us. We saw what it did to you, poor child—that powder that stole your magic, and that infernal noise-maker. We're ever so grateful that you convinced it to destroy that thing for us."

"It wasn't for you!"

"Silence, child. Remember what this creature did to you. It humiliated you, had you at its mercy. It would have held you captive and done unspeakable things to our precious little daughter."

"He was only trying to protect—"

"He?" The queen laughed again. This time her pitch ascended into a shrill warble that made my bones itch. The entire forest echoed her laugh in waves. "Sweet little child. This creature doesn't deserve such recognition." Her eyes glowed brightly as she stared down into Kijiba's eyes. "See how simple it is to control? Such a beast isn't fit for more than being food for the swarm.

"What a pitiful little creature, isn't it, child?" The queen turned her gaze back to Chrys. "We've been waiting for the day we could get rid of this. We're glad you could be here for it. Don't you see, child? This game you've played of pretending to be a pony; it's over. It's time to come home, dear."

"Chrys!" I managed to call out to her, though it felt as if my chest were about to implode from the effort it took. I could barely breathe.

"It looks as though your little pet found his voice," the queen said. "We thought you might like a chance to get back at this creature that exposed you, but we've seen the way you look at your pet. Go on, child, indulge yourself: feed on him if it makes you happy. He's hiding a lot. See what you can tease out of him." The queen helped Chrys back to her feet and pushed her toward me.

Chrys looked at me, holding my eyes in her gaze. Her face had gone completely blank, like she'd given up, given in.

"Chrys, please!" I begged as I struggled against the sticky green slime that held me.

She blinked slowly as her horn began to glow. "Trust me," she whispered. Chartreuse magic flashed around her, and she opened her eyes, staring into mine as she stood before me as Starry. She reached a hoof toward me, and I flinched back, but the sticky green muck around my legs and torso gave me nowhere to run. I opened my mouth to say something or maybe to scream, but my voice was lost as she held me captive in her glowing eyes and—

She kissed me.

Her forelegs wrapped around my shoulders, and she pulled herself close against me. I felt my whole body shiver, and then suddenly everything felt quiet, still. The forest and changelings around me faded away. I was weightless, floating in warm, white light. I felt somepony holding me, but it wasn't Starry anymore. I saw—

I saw my mother.

"Shh. It's okay. Mommy's here. I love you, my Lucky Day."

Choking back a sob, I gasped and clung to her tightly, burying my face in her neck. "I'm sorry, mommy," was all I could say.

And then she was gone. I was cold and alone again, and Chrys was there in front of me, in her pony form again. She was crying. Blinking, I felt tears roll down my own cheeks as I stared at her breathlessly.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly, her voice trembling.

"What are you doing?" I heard the queen demand.

Chrys turned away from me, and her horn shined brightly with her chartreuse aura. "You do not hurt my friends!" she yelled. Her magic grew brighter and brighter, and then a blinding flash burst forth from her horn in all directions. I felt a warm tingle as it washed over me, and then my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground as the green muck that had been holding me disintegrated. I was too weak to stand on my own. All I could do was stare out into the darkness, trembling in shock from what had happened.

There was yelling, buzzing, stomping of hooves, all swarming around me. I couldn't move. I wasn't even sure I was breathing. Even when I started feeling the shockwaves of explosions echoing through the ground, all I could see or hear was the lingering vision of my mother saying she loved me.

"Day!" somepony called out to me. "Day!" the voice called again.

I felt something around my shoulders, and then the whole forest began moving around me. The ground dragged under my hooves. Somepony sat me down. Her face was in front of me, but I could only look through it. My whole body was completely numb. More than just that; I felt completely disconnected from all my senses.

"Day!" the face was calling out to me.

Her forelegs wrapped around me tightly, and my head rested on her shoulder. Somehow, I became vaguely aware that it was Starry holding me. When did she get there? I wondered somewhere in the back of my mind.

"St—Starry?" my voice mumbled.

Slowly, I felt my body coming back to me. Then, in a rush, I gasped in sharply. My heart was pounding inside my chest, and I quickly scrambled away from Starry. "Don't touch me!" I cried.

"Day, Day, it's okay!" Starry said as she backed up from me. "You're okay. It's safe now. Look. See? They're gone."

I looked around. The eyes that had watched us from the shadows were gone. Their shrills and chitters were gone too. The air reeked of ozone and burnt flesh. Starry was sitting in front of me. Her mane was a mess; her braid had come completely undone and stray hairs clung to her sweat-soaked face and neck. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, but she was smiling at me.

"What . . ."

"What happened? We got separated. It was hard, but I managed to stay a step ahead of their mind games. Heh. Lucky for you." She spoke at a frantic pace. I could barely keep up with what she was saying. "When I saw Chrys's bright big magic blast, I came in from above and laid some heavy ordinance into the enemy formation and with the enemy commander stunned and their ranks scattered, it took only a single strafing run to terminate the commander which in addition to demoralizing the enemy appears to have forced them into retreat."

Starry paused to take out her flask and aspirin bottle; she quickly downed a couple tablets and stood up, fanning her wings at her sides. "You're safe now, and don't worry. I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I told you, didn't I? I promised, and I wouldn't lie to you, Day."

"Starry—"

"What is it, Day? Are you hurt? What's wrong? You're safe now. Don't worry."

"Starry, I just . . . I need a minute," I said quietly.

"Oh. Of course. I'll just be over here, securing the area. Okay? Okay. Just yell if you need me. Okay? Oh, and here: they took your pistol away, but I got it back for you." She held it out to me.

"Okay," I answered, nodding to her as I reluctantly took the pistol and tucked it into my pocket again, not that it had done me any good so far.

My legs were still shaky, but I managed to stand up on my own. As I walked, I glanced over to see Kijiba slipping away into the forest; back toward his village, I assumed.

I turned away from everypony to look out into the dark forest, away from what I was sure was a bloody and gruesome battlefield. I didn't need to see any of it. I'd seen too much already.

Part of me fought to hold on to the memory of that strange vision I had when Star—when Chrys kissed me. Another part wanted to just let it fade and forget about the whole thing. All I could do was sit there, alone, away from the others, biting my lip as I struggled to keep from breaking down and crying like a little foal.

The sound of hoofsteps let me know somepony was approaching. Sucking in a deep breath and wiping the stray tears out of my eyes, I did my best to hide the turmoil I was going through. I didn't want to drag anypony down with me.

"Are you alright?" Chrys asked as she sat down next to me. I kept my head down and shuffled over a little bit to make room for her.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" She reached a hoof toward me. "You don't seem—"

"Don't touch me!" I screamed and recoiled as she put her hoof on my shoulder. Even I was shocked by my reaction, but at least Chrys backed off. "What . . . what did you do to me?" I asked, breathing raggedly. My chest felt heavy.

Chrys was silent for a moment before answering. "I fed off of you," she said. "I'm sorry. It was the only way I could challenge her. It's . . . not supposed to hurt . . ."

"I saw . . ." The words caught in my throat.

"You saw what you wanted to see. Or . . . what you needed to see."

My chest burned as I fought to keep from hyperventilating. "D—did you . . . s-see . . . ?" I asked, turning my head to look over at her, though I couldn't bring my eyes up to meet hers.

She sighed quietly and shook her head. "No. I can only taste emotions. I don't read minds. Whatever you saw, it was for you alone." She paused. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Clenching my eyes shut, I shook my head vigorously. It was a lie, and I knew it. But what else could I do? There was nothing to talk about. My life in the stable was over. All I wanted to do was just accept it and move on with my new life. "Just . . . just leave me alone."

"Day . . ."

"I said leave me alone!"

Quietly, she left. And I was alone.

I keep trying to just put it all behind me. But it keeps getting dug up.

What Chrys had said earlier, about needing a mother to love her . . . she has no idea just how lucky she really was. And then to go and—and . . . plant that dream in my head. I—

I feel like I'm falling, with no end in sight. I wonder if I'll ever hit bottom. I almost wish for it, just so I can stop falling already.

Nopony understands. I could explain it . . . but they wouldn't be able to fix anything. At best, they'd just fill my ears with sweet nothings because that's all you can do when you can't actually help someone—tell him that everything will be alright; lie to him and tell him it's not his fault.

Starry's over there, taking more aspirin. It doesn't look like it's helping much, but at least the changelings never got her like they got me. If she survived even half the things they put me through, she still wouldn't understand. And not Chrys either, not after what she did to me. Even Kijiba; whatever they put him through, he still hasn't had to do what I've—

"Starry? Starry! Day, I need help!"

"Wha— Starry! What's happening?"

"She's seizing! Dammit! I wasn't watching. How many did she take?"

"How many what? Aspirin?"

"Aspirin? Day, those are Mint-als!"

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