Amaryllis fell on her bed, exhausted and confused. Why was she so confused; why were these new feelings of indecision and helplessness now assaulting her? She knew how her brothers and sisters were born, and she knew what happened when they showed weakness. She had always known this, so what was different now? Was it because of her own uncertainty of whether or not she would have been too weak to escape an egg had that been the circumstance of her birth? Would she be here now if she had been born as a drone? Would she have been thankful for the chance the human would have provided? She sensed the drones’ emotions – they were full of thankfulness and affection. Even so, she still couldn't wrap her head around the human's emotions: confusion, then anger and sadness. About what? It was just a nymph, a servant, one of many.

“You look disturbed, Amaryllis.” She turned as her nurse entered the room. This was the being who had looked after her since she was born, as her mother had always been too busy. Changelings, especially the ones of lower status, had no name. Thus, she was known as simply ‘wet nurse’.

And that was what she called her. “It's nothing, wet nurse, just this human. He is so disturbingly different.” She closed the door behind her and sat down on the floor in front of Amaryllis' bed.

“I heard he angered the broodmother. Do you want to talk about it?” The concern she received from her wet nurse was soothing and more than welcome. To say she was confused was an understatement.

“Why does everything here look the same?” Thiemo grumbled as he felt his way through the dark corridor. Since there was no changeling here to activate the glowing moss, he had to contend with the constant darkness as he slowly proceeded. Still, it did provide him with an advantage since it showed him the presence of his enemies early enough to allow him to hide, even with his hurt leg slowing him down. Small gaps or other corridors were usually enough to get away. One patrol had waited a long time at a crossing, and he had been afraid they would come into his corridor, but they had kept going. “Black, grey, and oh, look at that, even more black,” he commented on his field of view. He had made very slow progress as he tried to make as little noise as possible, stopping after every step to ensure he was still alone. Everything remained quiet around him before he finally reached his destination: the landing bay. He saw light at the end of the corridor, the place where he had taken a hard fall some hours ago. He checked his surroundings one last time before he stepped outside.

The time must have passed faster than he thought. The light he saw wasn't from the sun but from the moon. From the inside, there was no way to tell. Thiemo looked at the steep wall and the flowing sand that fell down at intervals. There was no way to climb this wall, and so he would have to use his talismans, but those were taken away from him by Chrysalis and hidden somewhere in the hive. Maybe she even threw them away, but that was a thought he didn’t want to entertain. Searching for gems would be useless since his tools was in his backpack, which was probably in the same place as his cloak.

Thiemo kept looking around and finally found what he was looking for: his staff. Quickly, he stumbled across the open expanse and grabbed the handle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone so long without it that it actually felt cold. This was his guarantee for survival. There were so many dangers in this world, and he had nothing else to protect himself with. Thiemo swung it experimentally a few times. The staff wasn't damaged or anything, and he steadied himself with it. Until he met any changelings, it could serve as a cane. Of course, enough time hadn’t passed for the staff to recharge – it would have been too perfect to just teleport away. Now it was time to start up his brain again and find Aura and the rest of his equipment. The latter was probably in some kind of armoury or storeroom. Aura, on the other hand, was taken somewhere else, but at least now he had something to work with. Thiemo went back into the corridor and was surprised that when his staff touched the moss, it shrank, shrivelled, and turned brown.

“A magical plant?” he wondered to himself and tried another place. Same result. If he didn't want to leave a trace, he would have to avoid using the staff. Sulking about the fact that he had to dispose of his newly acquired help, he continued on his way. He now took the right corridor instead of the one he came out of, and for a while, nothing happened… until he heard voices. There weren't just two or three – it rather sounded like ten or twenty. Thiemo stood there for a while, and when he was certain that they weren’t getting louder, he kept on going, now with an idea of where it might lead. Somewhere there had to be living areas for the thousands of changelings and nymphs. It was certainly a bad idea to approach them.

“Who's there?” he heard a voice behind him, causing him to whirl around. The corridor behind him was slightly glowing, but just enough to barely see it. The voice sounded masculine, so he was probably dealing with a soldier. Thiemo kept quiet so the guard might think he was mistaken. “I clearly heard you. Show yourself.”

“I... uh... I'm just going for a walk?” he answered and crouched down a bit.

“All soldiers are supposed to be in the barracks when they are off duty. You can thank your lucky gods I'm not the general.” The light came closer, and Thiemo looked for a way to escape, his panic quickly climbing.

The light kept coming closer. “Hey! Why don't you light up the way?” He heard a clank of metal, probably the weapon of the approaching changeling. Thiemo tightened the grip around his staff and put everything on one card. If the moss was of magical nature, he might be able to let it glow with magic from his staff. He put his hand on the moss, and for the first time in a long time, he channelled energy as he had learned it. Shamans were only able to move energy or form it, but it was more exhausting than doing it with the staff. At first it was weak, but then the moss started glowing.

The guard stopped. “I just didn't want to get caught as you said. If the general... you know.” He was far enough away so that it was still too dark for him to recognize Thiemo as human.

“Mmmmm,” he heard the soldier agreeing. “Get outta here. If I catch you again, I will have to report you.” The soldier turned around, and Thiemo fell into the moss with relief as it turned darker again. That was too close for his taste. Carefully, he leaned against the wall, caught his breath, and allowed his leg some rest. He again heard voices, and he tried to hear what they were saying, but they were too many and too far away. Single words here and there, but no context. He took a deep breath. The last few days had been the most exhausting of his journey, not only physically, but mentally as well. When he was done here, he would rent a room somewhere in Equestria, relax, and read one book after another in the library to learn as much about magic as possible.

Again, it was light that caught his attention, only this time it was white and by far not as bright as the moss. Confused, he looked around and found the source. A soul. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

“Well, I think the fall damaged more than just my leg.” All shamans had a thing for transcendental stuff. His teacher had always talked about them and had said that he would see them as well when he was ready. One day, they had given him some kind of elixir, and after that, some kind of alcohol. He had drunk with the zebras until he had been plastered like a wall. But Zarni was right in one point. As soon as she threw a powder into the fire, countless souls had flew around their heads, although he thought it was just a result of the elixir. Now, here was one, and he was sober. The last possibility was to be close to death. Which was why he was now worried about his condition. Did he have internal bleeding he didn't know of?

The soul flew up and down in front of his nose in all its glory. They weren't much more than warm white lights. Humans often saw them when they died. Well, they actually saw thousands of them because they came to greet a new one. This one, on the other hand, was alone. Maybe he wasn't badly wounded. The question was still of what it wanted. According to its movements, he should probably get up, which he painfully did. The soul instantly changed its movements and flew down the corridor in the direction he was going to take. Did it want to help? But who was it? A pony that had been caught here and died and now wanted to avenge its death by helping him? Maybe a changeling who was still loyal to his queen and was about to lead him into a trap? Over all this thoughts, he stopped, and the soul came back, dancing in front of his nose again. “Alright.” He swiped his hand after it, but it went through. No surprise, as they were not made of matter. But in that way, he felt a familiarity, something that said to him that he had met this being when it was still alive. Maybe it had been on his journey and had followed him?

Slowly, he followed the soul, and together they reached the end of the corridor. They entered something which had to be a giant living room. Thousands of changelings were here in this room, which had to be as tall as a ten-story building and just as wide. It was round as the brood chamber, but more oval, and had a stone spiral going up the rim and leading through the whole complex. It was covered in moss that shone brightly. Hundreds of corridors led in all directions outside the room. It was like a small city, hidden underground.

The changelings were flying around, walking around on the soft moss, talking to each other, and nymphs were playing here and there. It was as if he had just entered a normal city. When the first impression was processed, he quickly went back into the corridor. The soul just kept making its way down the stone spiral. Thiemo thought for a moment. If he waited any longer, he would lose his guide, but if he followed the soul, there was no way around being noticed. He decided to wait; the soul would turn around if it really wanted to lead him. It was more important since Aura might be here somewhere. He had to find a way in any case – he just had to stay calm. The few changelings at his arrival already were a big problem, now he was out of talismans and there were thousands of them.

He wouldn't rely on his luck, especially since his luck wasn't all that reliable.

He risked another look over the levels above him. It seemed to be one big living area, no shops or stalls, but what would changelings need other than the energy that nourished them? No money, no goods – only social interaction. Thiemo had to smile at his thoughts because if this were all humans, they would jump each other’s throats in no time if only to literally fight the boredom. Well, some would have gone to a more private place to do "the dance with no pants". Speaking of which, it was the first time he really paid attention to the outer mannerisms of normal changelings. Chrysalis and Amaryllis were rather open with their looks as most creatures in this world, and it was hard to misinterpret someone’s gender. Another thing that wouldn't work on Earth.

In contrast to the queen and princess, all the drones seemed to lack any sort of visible sexual organs. All there was to see was black chitin. Amaryllis' talk about her brothers and sisters seemed to make less sense. Also, Chrysalis seemed to have been pretty busy over the years, of which she might have experienced thousands, considering the number of drones.

He ended his perusal at the spiral where the soul had disappeared. It hadn't returned yet, and Thiemo thought it might have given up. He leaned against the wall again and put some weight on his staff. Suddenly, he slipped away and fell face-first onto the rock. "What was that?" he heard a voice ask as the pain radiated from his nose throughout his entire body. He heard the familiar sound of several changelings walking in his direction to check the entrance and his position. Still a bit dazed, he looked around and did the first thing he could think of. He crawled under the loose moss and lied there as flat as possible. The steps came closer and stopped about half a meter in front of him. He tried to slow his breath and made a fist. For a moment, he didn't breathe at all. Where was his staff?

"Did you hear that?" a higher-pitched changeling voice asked.

"Yes, did a rock fall down again?" It was quiet for a second, and Thiemo imagined them all looking up to the ceiling. He carefully lifted the dried moss and saw his staff lying at the rim. Slowly, he reached out a hand and very gradually pulled it under his camouflage.

"Hey!" Thiemo instantly froze. "The moss is rotten..." A changeling came over and he felt his hooves on his back.

"Maybe a nymph tried to gnaw on it?" someone suggested.

"Shouldn't the nurses be watching after them?"

"I don't know; I'm a soldier. But at the moment, we are deconstructing everything. Queen's order."

The hooves kept poking his back. "Do you feel that? Is there a stone beneath?"

"No idea? Normally, the mucus keeps everything in place." Mucus? He felt around. There actually was mucus; it had the same consistency as the mucus around the eggs, just that this one stuck the moss to floor.

"If so, it's a rather soft stone." Thiemo tensed his muscles. Well, the few he had. Since hiking was his only activity, there wasn't much to flex.

"You think there's someone under the moss? It suddenly hardened a little." Again, pressure on his spine and finally his patience. The weight of the changelings was hard to ignore, with that chitin and all.

"We should call for support and see what's under there." That was his cue. Thiemo jumped up, threw the loose moss over the changelings, who fell on the ground, and dashed away. The second he stepped out of the corridor, he felt hundreds of eyes upon him before the screaming started. They called for soldiers and screamed at him to stop. Of course, he ignored them and reached the spiral before the first changeling.

"See ya!" he yelled and slid down the spiral as he rammed his staff in the moss behind him before he quickly cut through it like a knife. It got dark. The only problem now was that he couldn't see anything himself when he had to stop or see how deep this spiral would go. There was still some light, but he quickly recognized it as the glowing horns of the changelings. "Well damn..." He somehow didn’t really get that they were able to do this. He slipped through the second turn and saw hundreds of glowing horns following him. At least they couldn’t see him as long as he kept to the edge.

The wind in his face got stronger, just as the rapid flaps of wings behind him got louder. They were surrounded by green light and quickly approached him. Somehow, the green light seemed to minimize the friction of air. He tried to gain speed by using his arms, but it was of little use. Desperately, he looked for an exit and hardly saw the soul in front of one while swooshing down. Thiemo now concentrated again on the way ahead and the enemies behind. Aura would have to wait. He couldn't handle that many insects. He had to get rid of them and then get back here.

Without a warning, the sliding ended when his feet met resistance; he rolled over and landed on his back. Again he felt the moss under him which prevented him from another crash-landing. That stuff was really useful and would make for a great rug.

He quickly grabbed his staff and got himself up, hat strapped on his head, a strand of hair sticking to his face, and the mighty beard, lit by the light of approaching changelings. They landed around him again, and he quickly kept turning, expecting an attack. But nothing happened, and he realized that they were going to surround him. With slow steps, he tried to escape the circle but was soon greeted by the wall. "Drop your weapon and surrender, human," one of the changelings demanded.

He wouldn't lose his staff again because this time they would certainly lock it away. "You'll have to come and get it." Empty words since there wasn't much he could do against them. His attackers tried levitation, but the spell was immediately negated. A little surprised, they started an attack, and Thiemo took a swing. The metal hit the chitin-horn, and the staff did its work. The changeling cried as the magic was sucked out of him and went to the ground, his light extinguished. No one moved and everyone stared at the dry leftovers. Thiemo quickly added up the information. He stood there with a magic-eating staff in the middle of energy-eating creatures. Magic is energy. Ding!

"Alright, who wants a piece of me?" Thiemo grabbed the end of the staff and presented its full length. The changelings took all a step back, but instantly got ready for a counter-attack. The green light got weaker as they all charged their energy in their horns, ready to shoot. Thiemo looked at the thirty to forty enemies in front of him, then the countless crowd above him. No way in hell he could defend himself from this attack, so he did what anyone would do in this situation would do – he crouched down like a little bitch and prayed for a miracle.

Energy hissed through the air, then an explosion and smoke. Everything was shaken. Some stones fell on Thiemo, but aside from that, he wasn't hurt. Although a bit confused, he did his best to get some room between him and the changelings as long as the smoke was still in the air. He stood up, made a one-eighty turn, and inspected the hole the changelings created.

He stepped out of the room and found himself in a small storage room. Boxes of unknown material stood everywhere, and the room was again lit by moss from the ceiling. Thiemo went to the door, which opened when he channelled some magic into it. The changelings didn't seem to think that a stranger would find this. Or Trixie was such a bad sorceress that she couldn't open the door. Said door now closed behind him, and he found himself in corridor full of doors. One of which immediately caught all his attention with a changeling-bum sticking out of it and a spear leaning next to him. There was a good chance that this was the armory, and even if not, he could take the changeling hostage and maybe get some information about Aura and his equipment. He quickly got behind him, and the changeling was shocked when he saw the iron of the staff in front of his throat. "Calm down and you will live."

Unfortunately, he didn't listen to Thiemo and tried to bite him. The human quickly reacted and sucked all the magic out of him. He went down like his colleague, in a state reminding Thiemo of mummification. He kicked the remains away and entered what was actually an armoury. There were spears with black chitin-tips as well as some which seemed to be out of other material. Furthermore, there were swords, axes, and other weapons, although not in the same diversity. He passed the shelves and finally found what he was looking for. In front of him was a locked chest. If his things were anywhere, they were here. He grabbed a sword and smashed the lock in, and it fell down. "Well, you ask for talismans and get this." He smiled ear to ear. "Sometimes you just gotta love mankind."

Author's Notes:

I very happy at the moment because the German original has hit the 30000 Views ^^
26 Pages of comments, feedback and talk about the story. Its kind of exiting.

As always thanks to faktopus for proofreading.
A second time edited by JBL. Thanks buddy!