//------------------------------// // Ch.6: The Crust Moon // Story: Lunaria Borealis // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// Rushing through the barren land, Vinrod, Tal, Cluutie and Seven continued off towards their new destination as instructed by Seven himself. Exactly why they were heading off that way was a bit unclear for everyone else, but Seven was a bit more determined than he usually was to get to wherever Seven wanted to go. Luckily for them, the Crows apparently weren't aware of their disappearance, so none of Darkshade's guards or soldiers were sent to retrieve them. Seven was the most willing to continue, flying as quick as he could to reach the area. While going through the dry landscape, Vinrod and Tal were a bit far behind, making Seven wait a bit as they caught up. Running non stop to the destination wasn't much help either. "*pant* Seven *pant* Where are we *pant* *pant* Going?" Vinrod asked, a bit winded. "Yeah *pant* *pant* What's the deal? *pant*" Tal added, as Seven looked on ahead in the night. He may be a little tired too, but Seven was sure he had to get there. Eventually, the Changeling got over a height in the path, and rested there. "Guys, we're here!" Seven called, getting Tal and Vinrod rushing up to see. When they did, they all saw what Seven saw. In front of them, they all seen a huge monument within a mesa, various holes all over it like some beehive. It looked very large, and they could see a number of Changelings flying amongst it as well. However, these Changelings looked a bit different from Seven, a bit thinner, and wings striped unlike Seven's wings. Seven had found out about the horde's hive thanks to Darkshade's meeting and map, and the group had now made it. Vinrod looked to Seven. "Is this your horde?" Vinrod asked. "Not at all, but they have to be warmed of the Crows." "Why?" asked Tal, more tired than confused. "Because, while I was disguised, their leader Darkshade called on a meeting, saying they'll exterminate the hive tonight. I'm not gonna stand by and have that happen," Seven said, starting to fly ahead. Vinrod and Tal had never seen Seven like that before. He must really care about his species in order to drop the ball on getting back home to help another colony of Changelings. After looking at eachother, Vinrod and Tal started to follow. "Seven's acting much different now... But, It's something worth knowing," Vinrod thought while watching Seven fly. They all continued on for a while longer, heading right for the hive. At the hive in question, one of the Changeling scouts managed to spot them. At first, it felt like giving a call out, but when it saw Seven himself, it quickly flew back inside the hive to warn their leader. A few more scouts flew on outside, and landed in their path, making them stop in their tracks. Seven landed in front of everyone, as the other Changelings snarled in defense, making Vinrod back away. "Don't worry, Vinrod, I got this," Seven said, as he confronted the Changeling group. Compared to them, Seven felt only slightly smaller, and even a bit thicker, but that didn't deter him as he stood there in the way. Tal, Vinrod and Cluutie all watched with anticipation and confusion, as apparently no word was spoken. Not in common anyway. Seven raised his ears forward, and his neck fin raised, as he emitted some sort of odd sound, kinda like a sonar or a sort of bug call, like a long cricket chirp. Back and forth, the Changelings discussed through this weird form of communication, until one of the scouts eventually flew off, while the others left signaled them to follow. Afterwards, Vinrod moved over to Seven's side. "What'd you tell them?" "I told them that we have important news for their king. They didn't speak common, and barely understand it so I used my Changeling language instead," Seven explained, as they were brought into the hive from one of the bottom tunnels. The tunnels themselves were dark, cramped, and moist as they moved through. Tight enough for them to have to go through single file, Tal being the last in line. The ground felt slightly like mud, but more like goo than much else, something Vinrod and Tal were not used to. They could hear various Changelings among the hive, sometimes even seeing one or two fly by them through other tunnels, mainly at crossings. While the Changelings, Seven included, didn't have much of an issue, Vinrod and Tal could barely even see where they were even going, strictly relying on their other senses in order to get around. Eventually though, they all saw some sort of light up ahead, and they were brought right to it. The room it lead into was the main chamber, much larger with other tunnels leading into it. Almost the entire chamber had a ton of goo all over the place, only then did Vinrod and Tal knew what they were walking in. Seven and the Changeling guards flew to the middle, while Vinrod and Tal had to struggle with walking through the slippery goop downhill, making them slide all the way to where they were. Towards the front of the chamber, they all saw a throne, with their Changeling King sitting on it. The Changeling king was much bigger, tall as a horse yet thinner. His ears looked more like sails, stretching down to the top of his neck, and elongating at the top. The king had rings on his large wings, and his face longer, making him look more like an undead dragon than a Changeling. The guards made some more of those odd clicks and calls, most likely to explain the situation to the King. Since Tal and Vinrod couldn't speak Changeling, Seven was their main translator for the moment. Seven went forward, and also spoke the Changeling tongue for a sec, until the King made a low groan, like a demonic lizard or something. Seven then turned to Vinrod and Tal. "That's Lord Crusted Wing, he says he doesn't non-Changeling visitors." "Geesh, speciesist much?" Vinrod thought, annoyed with that. He kept that thought in mind as he cleared his throat. "Lord Crusted Wing, we're sorry to intrude, but we're here to help," Vinrod explained. Unfortunately, Crusted Wing didn't seem to understand him at first, looking at him for a minute or two, so Seven saved the trouble and translated what Vinrod had said with a few chirps. Still, Crusted Wing glared down at them for a sec before giving a few groans and moans in his communication. "He doesn't believe you," Seven translated. "Crusting Wing, it's true, those Crows nearby captured us for no reason!" Tal retorted. Seven translated it fast, and got a surprised expression on Crusting Wing's face. the translated 'Crow' word made the Changeling King angered, teeth bared. His ears raised and the groans turned to growls and even some snarls as translation. "He's a bit ticked off on hearing that. Seemed he hates the Crows a ton too." "I see. Guess with birds like that it's not that surprising." After that, Seven turned back to Crusting and starts another barrage of clicks, groans and chirps, explaining in detail what the Crows were trying to do, down to their plan to take out half of his horde with the trench nearby. Crusting Wing had a look of surprise on his face, which turned to despair. Ears lowered, Crusting Wing told Seven his thoughts on the matter, which Seven didn't translate that time, leaving his friends out of it for the moment. Crusting got off the throne, and walked over to Seven, towering over him. Crusting continued some language talk with Seven for a bit until Seven turned to them. "Well?" "Crusting Wing said he's thankful for the information, and that they can use that against the Crows in the upcoming event. Sounds like things are going good," Seven explained. Crusting wing placed a gentle holed hoof on Seven's shoulder, catching his attention again. Crusting wing, again, began telling Seven some other stuff, which made Seven chuckle a bit in agreement. "What is it, Seven?" "Oh...uh, it doesn't translate well," Seven said, saving them the trouble of what Crusting Wing had said. Then the Changeling King grew serious again, and looked to the guards, giving them orders and sending them off as the guards flew through the tunnels. Afterwards, Crusting Wing nudged Seven, smile on his face, and seemed to make some sort of offer with him. Seven gave a solute soon afterwards with a smile. He accepted the deal. Vinrod and Tal glanced at each other in concern, as Crusting Wing went off on his way, and Seven going back to the others. "Seven, what did you agree to?" Vinrod asked. "Oh, we're fighting the Crows now." "What?!" Tal and Vinrod gasped, Tal louder than Vinrod. So Seven wanted to fight Crows? What kind of choice was that?! "Seven, what's with you? What happen to the straight-headed, rude Changeling we knew before?" "First of all, shut up. Second of all, I make an exception when it comes to my own kind. Sure, I've been rather rough before, but this is my species now, I'm not standing by for this one. If you don't wanna help, fine, but I'm helping them out regardless of the issue," Seven said, sounding oddly noble, as he walked away. Vinrod and Tal looked at each other again, as they watched Seven walk off. "What happened to our Seven?" "I don't know, but we might as well let him...It's the least we can do..." Vinrod and Tal started to walk out, but they were having doubts about their own decision, as they looked to the tunnel where Seven had entered to leave. They've known Seven for quite sometime, and considered him a friend -at least Vinrod did-. And here they were, letting their friend fight all alone in this battle. They couldn't just let him go alone. ~~ As time ticked away, and the Moon moving further down into the sky, the Changeling horde was preparing for the fight later on, as instructed by Crusting Wing. Seven was also busy getting himself set for the fight ahead, more ready than ever. Besides, it would make him even up against the Crows for the sudden false jail time, ignoring the fact they could be right for him fighting the fight to begin with. Seven continued on through set up, and getting his game face on for the battle, alongside the other Changelings with him. Meanwhile, Vinrod and Tal both were keeping an eye on Seven for a while, seeing how willing he was when ready to fight for his kind. Soon, the time came. Crusting Wing got his troops all set up and ready to go as the Moon signaled for the moonless hours to almost begin. Light was very dim, but every Changeling present didn't care for that. The leader stood boldly on top of the Hive, looking out to the direction of the Crow's base of operation, as if expecting the birds to come at them in any second. However, while looking farther out after a minute, Crusting then noticed something else high up in the sky: a single orange light fluttering around in the air. The light belonged to one of the Crows, Starfeather, with a lit torch in his beak. In the Hive, the Changeling soldiers were getting a bit overwhelmed and anxious on seeing the light, Seven looking past the glow and more at the bird. Starfeather flew close to the Hive, trying to get the Changelings to fly after him to continue the plan, but since they knew of said plan it was harder than it looked. Vinrod and Tal finally appeared, and went right to Seven amongst the Changeling crowd. "Seven, there you are," Vinrod said upon finding him. "So you two decided to stick around?" "Of course we are. I'm not missing out on this," Tal said. "Besides, you're our friend, we're not gonna let you fight this one alone," added Vinrod. Seven smiled to them, and looked back out, ready to fly, as they saw the suicidal Crow flying around with the flame. The Changelings stayed put, although some of the inexperienced actually started to hover in place from anticipation. Starfeather finally took the danger route, and flew right next to the tunnels! That triggered many of the inexperienced fighters out, and soon were chasing the bird, despite Crusting Wing trying to call them back. Luckily, Seven wasn't one of those Changelings, held back by Vinrod so he wouldn't fly off on them. The group consisted of nearly 60 Changelings, chasing after just one Crow, as Starfeather flew towards the objective not too far away. Whatever soul stayed in the Hive could only watch as their inexperienced fighters flew out of sight into the night... Then they saw it. Almost a full minute after they flew away, they all suddenly saw a huge fiery blaze lit up from the Trench, as if a gasoline filled explosion was just lit. The explosion itself even reached the Changeling Hive, as they felt the sound waves blast into them, them all shocked on the result. Soon there was a wall of Fire through the trench, passing by the Changeling Hive. That explosion was overseen for miles around, reaching back to the Crow fleet. The second they saw the flame, all the Crows took flight to the Changeling Hive, ready to die for their cause. Seven, Vinrod and Tal couldn't believe what they saw, 60 Changelings all dead within the first minute, and before the fight even began! Seven took it the hardest, watching the flames from afar as the entire Hive heard the sound of angry Crows on their flying V right towards them, Darkshade taking the lead of the V. With the light of the fire guiding the way, the Crows charged right for the hive, as Crusting Wing commanded the Changelings to charge in for the attack. Crow and Changling were locked in combat after the first few minutes, various bird and Changling fighters duking it out high in the firelight sky, as the Moon finally hid off away in order to avoid watching the bloodshed. Seven, Vinrod and Tal went out as well, but Vinrod and Tal weren't as up to the battle as Seven was, whom already began to fight off whatever Crow came close. The Sphinx and Dragonequus kept pace with Seven, occasionally fighting off a Crow or two, but the spectacle of fighting with the fire for ambience made it look more evil than it already was. Silhouettes of Crows and Changelings flying and killing each other filled the night air, screams and battle cries echoing all over the place. With most of the Changelings succumbing to the explosion, Crusting and his horde were having a hard time holding their own against the Crow murder, more and more Changelings and Crows falling from the air. Meanwhile, farther away from the fray, the battle itself wasn't just viewed by those involved. The cries of dying animals was like a beacon to the scavengers, a large amount of figures starting to gather for the event. Back at the fight, Darkshade soon caught sight of Seven, Vinrod and Tal down on the ground, stopping once they too saw Darkshade. "YOU!" Darkshade bellowed, as he made a headlong dive right towards them. Seven braced for the full force of the hit, when at the last second, Crusting Wing quickly tackled Darkshade to the ground. The three watched Darkshade and Crusting Wing fight it out for a while more, but as they were, suddenly a very faint sound began to be heard from the horizon. Due to the light from the inferno, it was too hard to tell what was coming, but the sound of wild feral laughter was being heard around them. The first one to catch it was actually Crusting Wing, who stopped for a brief moment to scan his surrounding. However, Darkshade didn't care for the noises, and took the chance to dig his Crow feet into Crusting's neck! The wound was minor for a Changeling, but the position left them both deeply helpless to the oncoming danger, as Seven, Vinrod and Tal also caught the noise. Cluutie curled up in worry on Tal's back, sensing the threat. Soon, from the fiery light, came the sight of a huge group of strange and ravenous animals, rather large and insect like, looking almost like giant carnivorous beetles! Each one looked like their shells reflected off the light of the flames, but each one also had colourful bird wings, mostly blue on them. They also had an odd sort of gem on their back. "Venom Scarabs!" Tal gasped, getting everyone on edge. Scarabs around there were more dangerous than normal, while uncommon anywhere else, Venom Scarabs were much larger, about as big as Seven was. The Scarabs were looking at Darkshade mostly, since the Crow looked rather weak from his fight, blood flowing free from his feathers. As most of the Scarabs scattered at the other corpses, some of them targeted Darkshade and Crusting Wing. Seven, Vinrod and Tal back away that time, noticing some of the scarabs eyeing them. Luckily for them, they were more interested in the meat on the ground rather than hunt down fresh meat, so they left them alone as they scavenged on the Changeling and Crow meat. Seven felt most sicken when he saw 4 of them eat away at a Changeling carcass, feeling like he was gonna throw up just seeing it. He snapped out of it though when Vinrod pulled him back. "Seven, we have to go," Vinrod warned urgently. "But the Changelings -" "There's no time, these bugs will wipe out everything here, we have to go!" Tal yelled, as they saw a few scarabs took flight and attacked weakened fliers in the air. Crusting Wing gave the order first, and gave a bellowing screech to every Changeling present, just before he too was attacked. The message got to every Changeling as they tried to get away. Seven saw this, and had to agree with his friends; even if the fight wasn't a victory, he was assured they'll be alive. After that, Vinrod, Tal and Seven ran for it, leaving the battle behind them. The Crows however weren't so lucky, as Darkshade was too stubborn to give up just because of some bugs. However, despite that, some Crows were evacuating the battlefield, leaving Darkshade alone on the ground. "Come back! Get back ere cowards, beetles aren't dangerous!" Darkshade bellowed, angry as heck to see his comrades abandon him. After the yell, Darkshade realized he was fully surrounded by the flesh-eating scarabs, seeing Crusting Wing already succumbing to his wounds on the ground. Despite angered, Darkshade knew a Changeling horde can't last long without their leader. Darkshade smiled...and accepted his fate...