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Reciprocity: A Metro 2033 and MLP Crossover

by MrSing

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: A Brother to Changelings

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A Brother to Changelings

The cave was quiet. No sounds could be heard except for the buzzing of our wings and the plodding of heavy boots on rock. Even these sounds seemed muffled however, as if they were absorbed by the dark.

’You all know the way, correct?‘ Brother’s red eyes were barely visible in the green light. Sister and I both send out a thought of acknowledgment. For insurance, he had shared the route and dangers with my Sister and me, in case we got split up. Or in case something worse happened that I did not want to imagine.

Yuri threw out a beam of light ahead of us in the tunnel, but it dispersed before it could illuminate anything but dust particles in the air. “Always nice to be included, guys,” he scoffed.

’Sorry, buddy,‘ Sister gave the human a pat on the back as she flew past him. ’We wouldn’t want to risk blowing out your brain with our unfathomably complex ideas.‘ She poorly imitated explosion noises as she threw up her hoofs around Yuri’s head.

Yuri waved her away. “You could have just told me. Or written it down on a napkin. No need for magic.”

Sister hovered in place for a moment as she put her hoof to her chin. ’Huh, now there is a good idea. Oh well.‘

’Don’t worry, Yuri,‘ I said as I looked around for any signs of traps and other dangers. ’We’ll stick to you like shadows.‘ Involuntarily my body recoiled for a fraction of a second as the human rested his gloved hand behind my horn. ’I’m not a pet,‘ I growled.

The human laughed, making it all the more difficult not to bite him. “You have to watch your shadow closest in the dark, that’s where it disappears.”

’Well, well. As long as we are on the subject of disappearing,‘ Brother started, his white ears popping out behind the book he held in front of him. ’It would be wise to disguise ourselves once again, agreed? If we regard what is coming up.‘

With a flash once again there appeared three diamond dogs in our places. In the absence of our light the dark rushed in to nearly overwhelm us. If it had not been for the light that Yuri held that bravely stood its ground.

The darkness seemed to stick to our skin and push down on us. With some shame I felt my heart beat faster as the world seemed to be reduced to a mere line. There was nothing outside of the four of us, the light, and the ground we walked on. Even the smells of the rocks and minerals seemed to fade away. As if by instinct we all huddled closely together.

“It’s-” The human swallowed as he led his light across the walls and floor. “It’s a lot darker than I thought.” He spoke in soft tones, and we thought hushed answers back. We were all captured in some bizarre awe for the lack of light.

’Yeah,‘ Sister said as her ears drooped.

’Indeed, indeed, but it would be worse if she saw our lights.‘ Brother said from some unseen part in the dark behind me. ’It would be a dead giveaway, as they say. Though your light should be fine.‘

“She?”

I fluttered my wings as I shuddered. ’The fort is not the only defense and the Minotaurs are not the only guards.‘

’She was brought here when she was small. So she could defend this place from intruders‘ Sister continued. ’When she still could walk through these tunnels.‘

I closed my eyes a bit as a wave of warm air rolled over us. We were getting closer.

’But she grew and grew, until eventually she could only dream about leaving here. And as she grew in size, her bitterness grew too, when she realized her fate.‘ Sister’s blue eye twinkled in the dark as she stared ahead. The warm waves grew hotter and now came in regular intervals. ’She despises the world and everything that lives in it. Her only joy and sport left is cruelty. She would kill all who enter, if she didn’t depend on the bulls in the fort.‘ The cave slowly starting opening up into a larger chamber. As we approached it a distant light coming from around a bend in the cave chased away the dark around us. ’She respects their rules in exchange for food and such.‘

’Quite the perfect guardian,‘ I remarked. ’But while it was clever to bring her here, it is never wise to be hated by others you depend on. Especially by the likes of her.‘ It figured that one of the few times the other races used their brains, they made such a fundamental mistake.

“What kind of creature are we talking about here?” Yuri asked as we could almost see into the chamber. A large blue flame was hanging from above, beating back the dark. And under the flame lay a truly monstrous shape that became less obscured by the cave wall the closer we got.

First the tail came into view. Adorned with blue scales that had no shine to them, it erratically swept across the floor in restless patterns. Yuri stopped at the sight of it, his hand on his gun and his face growing pale, but I spurred him on. Even as he whispered frantic swears.

Next came the legs, as tall and broad as a Minotaur with black claws the size and sharpness of swords. Its body followed, standing several times higher than the human. The rising and the falling of its chest in accordance with the now almost painfully hot air that swept across the cave. Small, deteriorated wings hung like rags from the creature’s sides, infested with fat worms and leeches.

There, finally, we could see her long neck and head, tucked against her foreleg. Yellowed teeth rose up like daggers from the lower yaw that ended in a stump snout. Above its pointed ear on the left side of the creature’s head was a horn that curled in on itself, but the corresponding one on the other side was missing. The creatures eyes were closed, but moving rapidly under armored eyelids.

’A dragon.‘ I said, unable to keep my eyes of the shape.

The eye opened. The vertical slit pupil moved about behind a somewhat milky white haze. Yuri’s light struck it and the lid closed, followed by an angry rumbling and a wave of heat escaping from the dragon’s throat.

It rose up high, stopping only just before its head touched the ceiling. Its eyes fell on us and a grin spread on the creature’s maw. Small whisps of blue fire and puffs of smoke escaped from between the rows of teeth as it eyed us like a cat would at mice.

I noticed the telltale smell of charred coals. Sparing a glance at the floor I saw we were standing in a cone of soot. I swallowed nervously as the beast looked us over with hate in its eyes. A perfect guardian indeed.

“Dragon! Gaurdian of the wish granter and the cave that holds it! Stand down!” Brother’s voice thundered throughout the cave as he spoke in an ancient dragon dialect. He held up the flimsy book in his paws like a shield. “Our presence here is allowed in accordance with contracts made in times past. We hold the book, given freely by us by the leaders of the ponies. We demand you let us through.” He stood calmly, not a trace of fear on his disguised face. Chastising myself, I stood prouder and taller too.

The dragon stopped. Its gigantic head lowered down to the tome, displacing enough air to kick up clouds of soot. It studied the pages as my heart finally slowed down.

A rumbling escaped from the beast’s troath. “It’s been quite some time since I heard anyone speaking my language, small one.” Her voice was incredibly ancient, but even time could not take the strength out of the timbre of a dragon. “And even longer still since anyone pulled up those pages. But you are correct, the contracts made in those times grant safe passage to the races that signed it.”

A laugh escaped from Yuri as he smiled at me. He had apparently read enough from the situation to know the danger had passed. I smiled back as he patted me on the back.

“But,” the air turned to ice as the dragon opened its monstrous maw, “your kind did not.” Its hazy eyes flashed red with magic. A flash of green answered it and a feeling of extreme discomfort engulfed me and my siblings as we forcibly returned to our normal forms. A detection spell! “Changelings, the blight of the lands! Did you honestly think you could fool me? It will be a pleasure to kill you.”

Her terrible gaze turned towards the human as she prepared to spew her fire. “What’s this creature? Neither dog, pony, nor minotaur. Neither fish nor fowl, though foul in smell,” it laughed. Mother, it was making jokes before killing us.

“Whatever it is, it certainly did not sign anything. But it will burn just as-“ The dragon’s eyes blinked again. Suddenly its head shot back, colliding with the back of the cave and cracking the stone, but it did not care. “What have you brought into my domain?” It demanded as it took a step away. “What foolish scheme is this? Has your race finally gone mad?” The dragon’s breath came out in short bursts. “You will die for this!”

The dragon raised its clawed hand high, preparing to bring it down on my head. I grith my teeth and prepared to dash away when suddenly I felt Yuri colliding with my side, pushing me out of harm’s way. I prepared to be carelessly tossed against the wall by the shockwave, or to be crushed anyway, but the pain never came. Not even the sound of the impact that surely would have shook the cave.

I peered up, past Yuri, and saw the paw hanging in the air. So close it filled my entire vision. The palm was open while the claws were mere inches away from us. It slowly formed a fist above our heads and harmlessly retracted away.

Flabbergasted I shook Yuri from me. The dragon stared at us with absolute hate in its ugly eyes, but there was something else in there too. Disgust? Sickness? Fear! The beast was afraid. Afraid of the human.

“What’s- what’s going on?” Yuri said as he looked up.

I pushed the human away as I took to the air. ’Give me your knife,’ I replied

Yuri glanced at me for a moment with blank eyes, not wanting to spend any longer looking away from the dragon that pressed itself against the wall, as far away from us as possible.

‘Just do it!’ I hissed.

Soon the trench knife was in my magic’s grasp as the dragon carefully circled around us. Like a cat around mice. Boulders rolled away from under its feet like they were mere gravel.

“Dragon!” It stopped. “One more step and I’ll kill this thrall.” I pointed the knife vaguely in the direction of Yuri as the dragon’s language rolled awkwardly from my tongue.

“You wouldn’t dare!” The dragon roared in a terrifying display of power, but it stayed in place. Obediently.

“Let us through.”

“Turn back from where you came! Leave!”

I inched the blade very slowly closer towards the human, whose attention was wholy dedicated to the beast. “Let us through.”

The dragon let out a last deafening roar, but stepped aside, revealing the tunnel it had been hiding. With haste our group passed her as I kept the knife close to my human. We broke out in a mad sprint as soon as we passed the looming giant.

“May that wretched thing die in a place you call home, changeling.” I heard it call out. Its voice rolling over us as it was carried by a wave of heat. Its milky eyes were on us for a long while, before another bend in the tunnel carried us out of its line of sight.

In a near frenzy we ran in the cave, boots pounding on rock, wings beating away air and our lungs burning as we rushed through a maze of tunnels. Combining Brother’s knowledge and my own sense of directions I managed to prevent us from getting lost in the mad dash.

It was Brother falling from the air that finally made us stop. He stood woozily on his hoofs as he started dry heaving in his exhaustion. ’Need rest,‘ the thought was weak and unfocused as Brother lied down. ’Sorry.‘

Sister hopped over to him, seeming a bit lost on what to do she settled on holding a hoof on his back as moral support. ’We could all use a break,‘ she said as she stared back at the way we had come from.

I sat down next to the human to keep an eye on him as the Infiltrator doted over Brother. Yuri had taken off his helmet and was wiping the sweat from his face as he recuperated. He stared at me with tired eyes as I adjusted my shawl.

“I can’t believe I saw a dragon,” he said with a sheepish grin, looking very much like a giddy child for a moment. He ran a hand through his gross oily hair as he laughed. “Everyone is going to think I’m crazy when I get back home.”

’I can’t believe I managed to bluff us past her,‘ I stretched my legs. ’Don’t forget to tell your psych ward about my heroics.‘

“Oh yeah,” Yuri joked as he put on his helmet again. “I’ll get right on that. Can’t forget my giant alien insect friend who talks to me in my head. They’ll love that.”

We shared a laugh and fell silent for a moment. Brother already seemed to do a bit better, though his legs were still shaking under his own weight. Sister seemed happy to support him though.

“Did they do it on purpose?” the human began. “The dragon, I mean. Did they get her stuck in here on purpose?”

I shrugged. ’Maybe they tricked a young dragon into defending this place without realizing the consequences. Or maybe she simply grew to loath her choice in time. Who could really say? It was such a long time ago she might have forgotten the truth herself.‘

“Poor thing,” the human said wistfully.

’Poor? Might I remind you that it tried to kill us?‘ Mother this creature was clueless. Always when I started to think it might be competent it would go ahead and say something idiotic like that. ’You misplace your sympathies, as usual,‘ I scoffed.

Yuri stood up, the tiredness ebbing away from him. “I’m not saying that it was harmless or that we could help it. I just understand why it is the way it is. It’s been forced to live in this horrible place for almost all its life. Underground and in the dark, with no way out.” He gestured at the dark, barely held at bay by our own light. “No wonder it’s bitter and lashes out at everything. What else could she be? You, of everyone, I’d expected to understand. Or did you forget how you felt in that forest?”

I let out a indignant gasp ’That was different. I’m nothing like her.‘

“Yes, it was different. You still had hope. And you got out.” I bit down on my cheek in anger, but held my tongue. I tried to imagine it, being stuck in this dreariness, not for hours or days, but for centuries. One day waking up and knowing that this place would be the last thing you saw before you died, and the only thing you’d see in all the days leading up to that last one. My stomach knotted up thinking about it. It was strange to imagine the fate of others. Their lives and cares always seemed so washed out and colorless compared to changelings. Yuri had a way of putting himself into the hide of other creatures though, as many other non-changelings had, I supposed. But feeling what he felt about others made them seem uncomfortably more concrete.

I shuddered as I shut down that way of thinking with a resolute shaking of my head. I sauntered over to my siblings to check up on Brother. He had one hoof hanging over the Infiltrator’s back as she supported him and was still breathing somewhat erratically.

Sister glanced up at me and give a nervous smile. ’He’s okay, just a bit winded‘

’What happened back there?‘ Brother’s red eyes bored into me with such intensity that it made me freeze up in mid-step. It wasn’t that there was anger in his eyes, but instead a sort of concern that deeply troubled me.

With one hoof hanging awkwardly in the air I nervously clamped my wings to my sides. ’I don’t know, it was afraid of the human.‘ I stared at the ground, as far as I could see it, like a foal that had been caught.

Sister scoffed. ’A dragon. Afraid of that.‘ She pointed at Yuri who was shining his light in the tunnels ahead.

’He did take down a chimera, and whatever those things were on the train.‘ I said.

’A dragon is a whole different order than those things. It was practically pissing itself.‘ Sister said as she carefully let Brother stand on his own hoofs again. She looked at the human. ’We’re moving again,‘ she included him for a short moment to send the message. Yuri made a gesture with his hand and nodded, apparently ready to keep going

’It wasn’t afraid of the human. It was afraid of hurting it.‘ I took point and flew a short distance from the rest.

’What? Why?‘ Brother piped up as he jumped over a sizeable hole in the ground. Being too tired to fly he seemed to prefer walking.

’I don’t know, it just was.‘

’I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.‘ Sister flew next to me. ’The prey is bad. We should ditch it.‘ She stared behind her at the unsuspecting human, who was shining his light down another small tunnel that opened up into ours.

A cold shiver ran down my back as she spoke. ’We need him!‘ I flinched back at how aggressive I had answered, but the Infiltrator ignored my rudeness, still staring at the human.

’No, we don’t! We’ll just use the wish granter for ourselves.‘ She threw her hooves in the air. ’Mother, that’s what we should have done in the first place.‘

’She’s right, yes? The human is no good. We’re playing with something we don’t understand.‘ Brother said.

’We- The caves are dangerous. We’ll need his energy to make it.‘ I answered. My logic was sound. The human was strange and disturbing in his own way, but we could not let fear deprive us from his help.

’Listen to yourself, baby Sister. You’re sitting here, making excuses for that thing. The thrall isn’t a friend.‘ The human was walking around some of the other holes in the ground, like he was looking for something in them.

’He isn’t! When we’ll get to the wish granter we’ll get a few humans and whatever else we’ll need and that will be it. The humans are a valuable resource and it would be a waste to not use them, even if we use the wish granter.‘ My heart beat faster as I argued with my Siblings. I did not like it. An argument between changelings was never good and I loathed being the one too stubborn to give in. Especially with the both of them against me. But my point was sound. Without the human we would endanger ourselves even more.

’Indeed. And would you object if this thrall wouldn’t be amongst the humans we’ll bring back, yes?‘

’I- I can- Of course not! It would just be inefficient. I invested a lot of time in enthralling this prey. It would be a waste, but that’s all. One human is just as good as the other.‘ I felt sick to my core, but somehow I could not give up. It would be bad if we gave up on the humans. I knew that much to be true.

Brother and Sister exchanged a quick glance. ’Baby Sister, we’re your family. You need to open up to us. We are worried. We think you might be unwell.‘

’I’m fine. I’m not even tired.‘ I tried to brush of their concerns. The last thing we needed was them worrying about me in this place.

’We did not mean your body, indeed.‘

’You were alone for a very long time. Even we had trouble, but at least we had each other, the Hive and a roof above our heads. You were in a cold and dark forest, all alone. Cut off. That’s too much,‘ Sister stroked my mane as she spoke. Nervousness bubbled up in my stomach. Perhaps they were right. I had felt so strange since I had met Yuri. The world seemed less clear and I felt awful and angry so often. I remembered being happy before the forest. Even when I was alone and exploring the world, the Hive was always there as a soothing embrace and I always felt at home. My eyes grew watery. I did not like who I was becoming.

’Maybe Mother made a mistake,‘ Brother’s thought came out with some pain. ’We shouldn’t have led the human into the Hivemind, especially when you were already so close to it, yes?‘

I looked around for a second. Yuri had fallen behind a bit, he was completely obscured by the dark, except for his light that shone down a hole in the ceiling. I tried to work up some energy to chew him out for wasting our time, but I couldn’t bring myself to it. Instead I landed on the ground to wait for him to catch up. ’Maybe- maybe you are right,‘ I admitted while trying to smile at the two changelings. It should have felt like a relief to admit it, but instead I felt hollowed out and worn, like a dead changelings husk.

Sister practically glowed as smiled at me. ’Oh, Baby Sister, I knew you’d come around!‘ She made a twirl in the air before landing next to me. ’But don’t you worry. We’ll get through this.‘

The human stepped into our light, his face deadly pale and shivering as if he were ill. But it was the expression he bore that made us quiet and drove an icy needle in our hearts. His face was completely blank and his eyes seemed hollow, like a creature that realized it was standing in some kind of trap and there was no way out. He held a shaking finger to his lips and squatted down.

’We’re surrounded.‘ It was strange to hear Yuri only use the Hivemind, I had gotten used to the undertone of his strange language whenever he spoke. It now had the eerie effect of making him sound even more like a changeling. Far more pressing than how he said it, however, was what he said.

’It’s a Lurker’s nest,‘ he continued. We pricked up our ears, twitching them in the direction of wherever there might be sound. ’I’ve heard of them from visiting merchants. Nasty creatures.‘

He shone a light on one of the many holes that littered the tunnels all around us. ’They burrow holes for homes, and for ambushes. A single one isn’t much of a danger when you’re armed, but when they are in packs-‘ He trailed off. ’Who knows how many there are.‘ He got out his shotgun, holding the unwieldy thing to his shoulder. He lay a hand on my back and pointed at the network of tunnels ahead. Nodding, I carefully led us further.

We stayed on the ground, afraid of giving ourselves away with the buzzing of our wings. Yuri covered our backs, while Brother and Sister held a close eye on any holes we passed. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it in my ears. And all the while we passed more of the burrowed tunnels. The nest must have been gigantic.

I heard a rustling left off us. Claws on rock. Immediately I held still, even as Brother bumped into my back. With a hoof I pointed towards the hole. ’There.‘

We moved next to it, Yuri and I to the left, Sister and Brother to the right, and glued our backs to the wall. Yuri put his weapon on the ground as he took out the trench knife, the jagged blade gleaming in the green light as a shaking hand held it ready.

My tail twitched subconsciously as the sounds grew louder. Paws were furiously scratching the ground as the creature got closer to the opening. I bit down hard on my cheek as a head emerged. Much like Yuri’s, it had no fur and its wrinkled pink skin was bare. The eyes were milky white points that stared blindly ahead. Worst of all was its mouth. The skin around it seemed to be missing, like a horribly overgrown harelip. It revealed a set of needle-like teeth as it sniffed at the air.

It finally emerged completely and to my surprise, it stood up. A large, naked tail swept across the floor as it held its front paws like a dog begging for a treat. It was so bizarre I almost laughed.

It sniffed the air again, this time inhaling deeper. I cursed to myself, it had our scent. It would only be a moment before it would detect us. Shifting my weight and flowing magic to my legs, I readied myself. The creature sniffed once more, before letting out a low growl.

I had to strike now. Quickly. Quietly.

In a rush of movement, Yuri grabbed the creature, forcing its maw shut between his hand and his chest. He lifted up the monster with one hand as it scratched the air in front of it wildly. With an almost graceful move he slid the knife across the Lurker’s exposed neck. Blood came pouring out in a warm and violent flow as the creature slid from the human’s grasp. It looked at us in confusion and fear, trying to scream, but failing as its vocal cords were cut beyond repair. Weakly it tried to crawl away before collapsing.

“It’s uh-” Yuri coughed awkwardly as I stared at him. “It’s not that different from slaughtering a pig, really.”

A loud shriek pierced the air before I could respond. Startled I jumped up, seeing one of the ugly creatures popping out of the ground from a hole behind us. Yuri let out a curse before grabbing his shotgun and firing, but the creature had already ducked back into safety.

Faintly all around us I could hear similar shouts echo in the tunnels and a rustling sound that grew stronger by the second coming from all around us. “C-circle! Form a circle!” Yuri cried out as eyes gleamed in the dark all around.

He fired, lighting up ten or so shapes in the cave. An agonized cry rang out before the creatures hid away again, one of the shadows slumped over and lay still in the distance. Spent shells fell on the ground as he reloaded the weapon.

’Quick!‘ Brother shouted as green fire engulfed him. In his place now stood an imitation of one of the horrid creatures. Catching on to his idea Sister followed suit. ’Go! Go!‘

My Siblings ran into the dark. Pushing past surprised Lurkers that snarled at them. Looking back at Yuri, who shot a Lurker that tried to rush him from behind, I froze. They were abandoning the human. Cutting our losses.

My thoughts felt slow and heavy as I looked back to my disappearing Siblings and my human. My horn was charged up and ready to disguise myself at any moment. They were right, I thought as I let green fire wash over me. Letting out a deafening roar I jumped next to Yuri in the disguise of a brown bear. I had really lost my mind after all.

The Lurkers skittered around nervously as they assessed the new threat. I could see around a dozen of them in front of us, shrieking as they stepped over the corpses of their fallen brethren, but new ones rushed from and away into the holes constantly, making the count difficult.

The cave lit up again as Yuri fired behind me. Slowly we started to move back, roaring and shooting whenever the creatures tried to rush us. “Where are the others?” Yuri asked as he kicked a corpse at the pack. I could see them ripping apart the flesh and bones with ease while dragging chunks down into the holes.

’We got split up,‘ I said. ’They must be somewhere ahead.‘ I took solace in the fact that they would likely get past this all unharmed while we served as a distraction.

“There!” the human shouted. “Is that them?”

My blood grew cold as I looked back. There in the dark I could see Sister in the guise of a timber wolf and brother as a giant monstrous spider. ’What are you still doing here?‘ I asked exasperated as I swatted at the air in front of a Lurker that got too close.

’They sniffed us out,‘ Sister said as she rammed one of the monsters that stood between us. The creature hit the wall with a horrible crunching sound and crawled away. ’Why didn’t you follow us?‘ She said as she dragged Brother towards our little group.

’Later! Later!‘ Brother shouted as he scared away one of the things with a hiss. ’We have to leave this terrible place. We have to leave!‘

As we slowly advanced through the infested tunnels the monsters kept coming closer and closer towards us. Poking and prodding for weaknesses. They were testing our defenses, and with no way to back up our bluff, they found them lacking. Smashing into them with magic would leave us surrounded by the pack, and there was only so much Yuri could do.

With a shriek, one of the Lurkers jumped from an unseen hole in the ceiling right on Brother’s back. In horror I saw it bite down on his disguise. Green fire lit up the cave and Brother collapsed under the weight, his disguise gone. The Lurker pulled his head back, and with a sound that teared right through my heart, a piece of Brother’s back came loose. White noise filled our Hive mind as Brother’s small body lay splayed out on the ground, his red eyes twitching left and right.

The monsters swooped down on Brother and in only a moment they dragged him into the holes. Yuri shot his fire and death over towards them, but it was already too late. They, and Brother, were gone.

I think Yuri or Sister shouted something, maybe they were quiet and it was me. I didn’t know.

I felt strange inside as I looked at the hideous faces of the Lurkers in front of me. I thought I knew anger and hate. It always burned warm inside of me whenever I needed it, but this was different. It was cold, still, and pushed away everything until a single desire came into focus. They had to die. All of them.

Shedding my disguise I flew up to Yuri and opened my maw around his neck. I did not ask for him to trust me or to concentrate on me and I realized that I never had to. Magic always flowed free from him without a chance of rejection. A strange creature, an alien prey, I thought as I focused everything in my horn. Power build up like I had only felt before when I broke the spell in the prison, and I went even further, until stars swirled before my eyes and cracks of pain came from my skull. The cave grew subtly lighter and lighter as my horn burned a bright white.

Dozens of them came pouring out of their burrows and were advancing on us ever closer. I flew up until the ceiling touched me and looked down. They somewhat reminded me of rabbits from up here, looking up stupidly, never understanding what was coming.

Flapping my tattered wings one last time, I released the spell. I dove, the magic accelerating my speed to deadly levels, even within the confines of the cave. In an instant I was upon the first Lurker and felt his ribs and spine giving away easily under my hooves. Not stopping there I turned my dive into a sprint and tore through the cave. Three bodies flew like rag dolls in my path, breaking under me or against the stone until my momentum ran out.

The air was forced out of me as something heavy smacked into my side. Gasping, I managed to stay upright and turn to the Lurker that had hit me. Before it had a chance to pounce on me I let out a flash of light as bright as the sun in its face. Dazed and shrieking it fell to the ground as tears poured from its beady eyes.

Jumping forward a claw from behind just barely grazed my hind leg, bouncing of the carapace. Picking up the blinded monster I rammed it into the cave wall and jumped off its body to hit the other Lurker that had nearly crippled me. Getting the creature in the gut with my horn it shrieked as its warm blood ran down the side of my face. A paw hit me in my side, leaving burning scratches as the wounded creature kicked me away and fled down a hole.

A barrage of six shots flew past me, filling the cave with deafening sounds. Looking up next to me I saw Yuri had struck down four of the monsters that had nearly rushed me. My Sister had followed my example and was rampaging through her end of the tunnel, tearing at flesh and breaking bones wherever she could.

I jumped up again and let out another blinding wave of light before crashing down on a confused Lurker. Pain shot through my ear as the creatures blind claws scored a lucky hit and ripped it open, but it had left itself exposed and plunging my head down I bit its throat, crushing the windpipe and ripping out veins. Its struggle was over almost instantaneously as it bled out on the rocks.

Looking up from the fresh kill I could see the Lurkers stare at me with a strange hesitation. Their eagerness to rush me was gone and they shot looks at each other as much as at me, hoping for one of the courageous or the fools among them to make the first move and create an opening for the others. But all the brave and stupid were dead on the ground or dying.

Spitting out blood I screeched at them and charged. Their courage broke and with panicked shrieks they fled back, deep into their nests to weather the storm. I jumped next to the last slow and unlucky Lurker and rammed him into the wall, using its body to cushion my own impact and break my momentum.

Feeling the lasts breaths leave its wretched body I stomped onto its head with reckless abandon until I felt a crack. Letting out another screech I kicked the body twice again before I finally relented.

The three of us stood in silence for a moment, ears twitching left and right as Yuri’s light danced on the walls in erratic patterns. Heavy breaths escaped me, breaths so deep and hurried they hurt my lungs and made stars appear on the edges of my sight.

It stayed quiet. The rush of the fight escaped my body and left me with buckling knees. The cuts on my leg and ear made themselves known again as throbbing waves of fire, but I found it very easy to push them to the back of my mind.

My Sister turned around and looked me in the face for a moment, before turning again in confusion. Her eye-patch had been ripped off in the fight, revealing her milky eye and an upcoming bruise. ’Brother?‘, she called. It stayed quiet as I stared at the floor, trying very hard not to look at the spot where my Brother had been attacked. Trying very hard not to see if some blood glistened in the light or some left over part of him casted a shadow in that place.

“He’s-“ Yuri spoke up, his voice sounding hoarse and quiet. “They’ll be back. We are in their nest and they’ll keep coming back until we leave.” He looked very small as he rattled out his words. “He was-“ The human stopped himself as he coughed. “When it’s safe we’ll-” The words trailed off as my Sister flew up. With a loud thud she slammed him against the wall.

I looked on in a daze, not immediately understanding what I saw. ’Grief him? A Brother!‘ Sister shouted as she planted he hoofs against the human’s shoulders. ’We grief Sisters, Mothers and Fathers. Not Brothers, never Brothers!‘ She violently shook the human with her magic like he was a lifeless doll. ’Do you have any idea what he was? My Brother? Do you have any clue what he meant to all of us?‘

’Sister, you’re hurting him‘ She looked up surprised. As if she had forgotten I was there. Yuri’s gloved fist shot out, hitting her in the side. She screeched as she was thrown back on the ground. She sank through her front knees as she labored to breathe.

I shouted at Yuri, but he merely held up a hand in my direction, while his other rested on his gun. “This isn’t helping, Pizdabol! I know we’re all stressed, but we shouldn’t fight with each other. Uchenik wouldn’t have wanted-“

’That wasn’t his name! He wasn’t your Uchenik. I’m not your Pizdabol and she is not your Dozor! The Infiltrator cried out. He was my Brother. He was going to die, I always knew that. Mother, he was supposed to die months ago.‘ She sniffed as tears formed trails in the muck on her face. ’But- but that was alright, you know? Because he was going to be a Father. I’d lose him, but there’d be hundred of new changelings, who would all remember him like I remember my Father. Hundreds of them that all carried a little bit of him in them.‘ She sobbed, hiding her face behind a hoof. ’But now he’s gone and there is nothing left.‘

It was quiet for a moment as my Sister shivered in Yuri’s light. The human and I both searched for words or things to do, but we came up short. I hated this, I wanted to do something. Side with my Sister or remind her of the human’s importance, but I couldn’t find my voice. I was a pathetic shaking mess that sat in the corner. It was the Infiltrator who pulled herself together first. She wiped away the tears and snot on her face and stared at Yuri. ’This is all because of you,‘ she bared her teeth at him.

“That’s not true!” Yuri stood straighter as he held out his arms. “Uchenik wanted to go with us. He convinced me too-“

’We are here because of you!‘ Sister cried out as she took a few steps towards him. The human shrank back until he was against the wall. ’If you hadn’t shown up with your stupid problems none of this would have happened.‘ The infiltrator snarled at Yuri as her horn grew brighter.

’Sister, please calm down.‘ I gingerly reached out to her. For a moment I could see her stare at me with a fragility I had never seen before. That look almost hurt more than what had happened today.

She quickly snapped back towards the human, anger burning in her eyes again. ’You’re like some kind of mind poison. Brother and I spoke about it. About how easy it was to talk to you, how careful we had to be not to let anything slip. Do you know that I almost started to like you a few times?‘ She pointed towards me. ’You nearly got my little Sister too, when she was vulnerable and alone.‘ I stared at the hoof.

’We should have never let you into the Hivemind. Hearing a prey muddles everything up.‘ She trotted closer towards Yuri, who was unholstering his gun. ’I’ll fix that.‘ She stared at the gun, but the human didn’t have to heart to raise it towards her. ’Your fragile mind can’t even follow commands, except for one.‘ A green light flowed like a river from her horn towards the human’s head. Her eyes flashed green as she spoke a single word. ’Break.‘

The gun fell on the ground as the human stood dumbfounded. Slowly he reached his hands up to his head and pressed them against it. In the green glow I could see his face contorting in pained expressions, but he did not make a sound.

He fell on his knees, still silent, and started to curl up against the wall.

Weak. I was weak. I couldn’t move to help either one of them. I couldn’t help the Hive, Mother, my Brother, my Sister or Yuri. I was something small that scurried around in the dark, something pitiable.

I tried to tear my gaze away from the scene, but I found myself as helpless as he was. His eyes darted around in panic, like Brother’s had just before the end.

Oh Mother, I was about to lose Yuri too. Never talking to him again, never sharing a meal or borrowing his love. Never arguing with him because he was wrong about everything and just too stubborn too admit it.

’No.‘ I croacked out. Sister flicked her ears toward me for a second before focusing on my human again. ’Stop!‘ Before I knew what was happening, I was charging forward. My hoofs pounded on the cold rock as my wings hugged my side tightly. With a cry I tackled my Sister, toppling her over. The stream of light snapped off from her horn and Yuri collapsed at the wall.

My hoofs shot over my mouth as I realized what I had done. ’Sister,‘ I cried out. ’I didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry.’

I dashed to her side as I talked. Carefully I hoisted her up on her hoofs again. My carapace turned to ice as I saw the look in her eyes. Not anger, but hurt. ’Oh Sister.‘

It was strange for two changelings not to get along, even rarer for them to not care for each other. Even amongst cousins who were related by the faintest family bonds. For a changeling to attack another. We tried to forget those moments as best as we could as a species.

Sister stared at me for a moment with a dumbfounded look and I wished one of the monsters would drag me down into their nest. With care she slowly reached and ran her hoof through my mane. My knees shook as I tried to desperately press down the storm of emotions raging through my stomach.

’It’s alright Sister. I’m the one who should apologise.‘ Her eyes wandered toward the barely visible outline of the human who lay unconscious on the floor. ’That thing,‘ she spat out the word, ’Did this. It’s unnatural for a prey to get this close to us. To see us as we are. To talk in our minds as our Brothers and Sisters. No wonder it makes us act strange.‘ She said the last word like I had merely done something eccentric. Something that could be laughed about later when all was said and done.

’This is why we can never get too close to the prey. A changeling’s heart should be small,‘ she recited Mother’s words. ’We have to kill it,’ she said with cold anger. It was hard for me to admit there was a bit of fear as well in her thoughts.

’I can’t,‘ I pleaded with her. Feeling awful for disagreeing with her so shortly after what I had done, but I simply could not do it.

’I understand,‘ she smiled gently. ’It’s been too long since you’ve opened your mind to another. You’ve drifted apart from us. That is why you are feeling confused and lonely.‘ I stared at the ground again. ’Open your mind to me and I shall do the same. See through my eyes as I watch through yours and your doubts will disappear.‘

I almost nodded eagerly. We should have done this back in the fort, if I had not been too craven.

But. But there was that shred of lingering doubt that made me pull back. ’Sister,‘ I fidgeted with my hoofs. ’Maybe we shouldn’t.‘

She remained silent. Waiting for whatever possible reason I could have to follow. ’What if I,‘ biting down on my cheek I looked up, forcing myself to meet my Sister’s eyes. ’What if I accidentally make you see things my way instead of how they should be?‘

All expression bled from her face. ’You love him. Like he is a changeling.‘ It was not a question. I nodded. She stared at me for a long time, as if she wanted to ask me if I was sure. If I knew what it meant. I think she could see in my eyes that I understood.

’I’m so sorry,‘ she embraced me, hugging me tightly. Her horn started to glow more intensely as she powered up a spell. The spell.

I didn’t need to wonder what she was doing. I had damned myself by speaking the truth, but there were no lies between changelings.

Seeing a prey as if they were a changeling was sick. And sickness could not be allowed to spread. That was why I stood unresponsive even as she held me. That is why I did not run away even if my legs buckeled and my heart pounded in my chest. If others started to think like me, how could we hunt? How could we lie to and cheat those that we saw as family? The prey would never accept parasites living among them. Friendship wasn’t an option and affection that could not be answered only complicated our surivival. Returning to the Hive as I was now would put everyone that I loved at risk.

Something warm fell on my neck, but it slided off of my caraprace. My Sister’s mane tickled my nose, she still carried the smell of old books and Brother. Finally I returned her hug.

A spark flew from my Sister’s horn, another followed quickly. She leaned forward and for an agonizing second she held back before going on. Our horns crossed.

The world seemed to slip away for a second. Sounds grew dimmer, the green of my Sister’s horn dulled and even the complete darkness in the cave went from black to a dark shade of grey. It felt like the sensations of the world bled away like water flowed from a bottle that had been broken. My skin felt stuffy, like there was another extra layer between me and the world. My Sister’s mane no longer smelled like anything at all.

I was cut from the Hivemind.

“Baby Sister,” she spoke in the language of the Minotaurs. She stepped back and held my face in her hoofs. Her wounded and healthy eye seemed to have the same colour now. “You can get past this. You’re so young and so strong. Please don’t give up.” She tried to look for something in my face, but whatever it was, she could not find it. Her fragile smile broke as she let me go.

“I’m going to sneak past the dragon and return to the Hive. If- When you get better, please come back. ” She glared at Yuri. “Don’t let it take my Brother and my baby Sister.”

She took another step back until she was nothing but a green glow in the dark. “We love you, Sister. Don’t forget about us.”

She was gone.

I stood in the cave. I wanted to scream, cry, or curse, but all I did was pick up the book Brother had dropped and stand in silence, counting Yuri’s breaths until he woke up again.

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: Dirge of the Dead Estimated time remaining: 56 Minutes
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