Chapter 12. - Formica of the Three
If being in the caves for days came with an advantage to the pair, it was the fact that their sleep cycle adjusted to them being awake in the night, but at the same time, this appeared to be a double-edged sword. While they could make good progress under the dark veil of the night, they would be vulnerable in the daytime when resting. Lantern was nervous about the seemingly burning horizon, as the first rays of sunlight hit the bottom of the clouds.
They entered the forest in the valley at the base of the mountain they descended from, and the place seemed to be dense enough to provide cover from wandering eyes for the time being, but they would need to come up with a plan in the following days of how and where to hide when the sun was up.
Lantern, being a pegasus, came up with the idea of making a ‘nest’ and sleeping up a tree. Their first day passed without incident. When the night descended on them, Lantern got the flightless nymph in his hooves and brought her down from the tree.
Now that they were on the surface, food wasn’t a problem for Lantern anymore. He enjoyed the variety of berries that the undergrowth provided for ‘breakfast’. He could’ve done without the thorns though. In the end it was all worth the trouble. He swore he’d never touch another mushroom of any kind, ever again.
Lantern stuck his head in a bush looking for more tasty little berries, but suddenly withdrew with a hiss and a quiet “Ouch.”
Archive was next to him in a moment as she heard him quietly yelp.
“What happened?”
“Argh. It’s just a scratch. A thorn caught me on the cheek in there.”
As he spoke, a line of red appeared on his cheek, and a single drop of blood dripped from his fur, onto the ground.
“Ooh, that looks nasty. Here, let me…” Archive said and cupped his face with her hooves, gently turning his head to the side to take a better look at the wound. She used one hoof to brush his fur out of the way, revealing the bleeding scratch to be quite deep for a thorn cut.
Lantern’s heart was picking up pace steadily under the nymph’s stare.
“Hmm, it’s not deep enough to leave a scar later, but it would be for the best to clean it before it gets infected.” said Archive, and without missing a beat she leant closer and slowly licked the pegasus’ wound.
“There. It should be fine now.”
“T-Thanks.” stammered Lantern as he looked away.
After that, they made their way to the mouth of the valley, where the first real obstacle of their journey lay.
They came upon a small village, not more than twenty little houses and some farmlands, but the problem was, they were in the dead center of the mouth of the valley.
To either side of the village were steep cliffs, forming a gorge that would be impossible for the duo to climb in their current condition.
Crossing the village was way too risky, and the night was still young enough that some of the houses still had some lights in their windows, and they could even make out a few stray ponies walking about in the distance.
“Well, this is a pickle.” said Lantern.
“You think we should wait here for a while?” Archive asked.
“Wasting the night in the hope that there’s no Guards in a village as small as this?”
“Well, I don’t see any armored ponies up ahead.”
“The thing is, there should be at least a pair of them. One for the day, and one for the night. They might not have guard armor, but one of them should be patrolling right now.” Lantern said, matter-of-factly.
“Then what? We sneak across?”
“No, that would be too risky. Looks like we’re going to have to fly over, and hope that none of them are pegasi.”
Archive eyed the sky above the village looking confused.
“Why? What difference would that make?”
“You know, earth ponies and unicorns rarely look up, but if there are pegasi in the village, we might get spotted. It’s kind of an instinct for us to look up frequently.”
“I say it’s worth a shot, and even if we do get spotted, you’re a pretty fast flyer.”
“I’m pretty sure any decent flyer could catch up to me while I’m carrying you .”
“Well, down in the hive you tore plot pretty fast, and it’s not like flying over the village is a crime. They shouldn’t even come after us.”
“Yeah, but they might get suspicious of two ponies just snooping around in the night, if the news of the invasion reached here.”
While they were going back and forth in the cover of the treeline, a shadow snuck up behind them. It kept its distance and listened in on their chat, and smirked at them from its hiding spot.
A glint of moonlight reflecting off of something catched Lantern’s eye, and he fell silent immediately, motioning for Archive to do the same and get low.
He swivelled his ears around listening for the sound of movement, but aside from the noises of nature around them, he couldn’t pick out anything. His eyes were searching their surroundings, but he couldn’t see any more of the thing stalking them but quick glimpses of a pair of eyes.
He was in full combat mode by this point, and he gestured to Archive to stay where she was, then bolted into the forest after the shadow as it moved away from the village.
Archive heard a feminine giggle from around her, then a whisper, coming from every direction.
“Follow him!” the voice said.
Archive ran after Lantern without a second thought.
While running, Lantern could see a ghastly shape ahead, and suddenly he saw the thing in its entirety for a split second through a gap in the bushes.
It was something he thought only existed in horror tales, something made-up to scare little fillies and colts around a campfire.
He was chasing a Wraith. Dark, torn rags surrounded its body, but the creepiest thing were the eyes, and the fanged grin it was wearing while looking at its pursuer.
Lantern’s train of thought came to a screeching halt.
“Wait...what!?”
The blasted apparition was facing him, while running.
Lantern growled and shouted, “Are you mocking me!?”.
All he received in response, was an amused chuckle.
When Lantern reached a clearing in the forest, he stopped and looked around for the Wraith.
“Show yourself!” he shouted, anger rising in his chest.
“Mmm, no!”
“Come out here, so I can send you to the next world where you belong!”
“Haaah, such a fiery one.” sighed the Wraith, “Well, fine.”
Lantern braced himself for a surprise attack from any direction, but what he didn’t count on was for the Wraith to daintily walk out from the bushes in front of him, wearing the same creepy smile it did before.
Its eyes paralyzed him. He was wound up like a spring, ready to attack, but his body just wouldn’t move. The she-ghost came closer and closer, her movements silent and flowing like water. When she reached him, she circled around her prey, brushing up against him and then she came eye-to-eye with him again, sitting down in front of him.
She cupped his cheek in one of her forehooves and traced his scar with the other.
“Hmm, a real warrior. Such a rarity.” she said, then looked to the side.
“Ah, and here comes our little friend.” she stated, letting go of him and backing away from the pegasus.
Archive burst through the bushes panting.
“L-Lantern! That’s…” she held up a hoof, silently asking for time to catch her breath.
“It’s alright dear, take your time, we’re not going anywhere.” said the Wraith in a calm voice.
When she could finally breathe again, she looked at Lantern, and saw that he was nervous and confused.
“Lantern. That’s a Changeling.” she said in a perfectly calm manner.
“Indeed.” she said, her creepy smile widening even more, before an emerald firestorm erupted around her form, revealing a large female changeling in the place of the Wraith.
Archive’s eyes lit up, and she smiled warmly.
“Aunt Humbug!” she cried out as she tackled the larger female, who froze for a few seconds after hearing the name.
“A-aunt? HUMBUG!?”
She broke down, howling with laugher, hysterically flailing her hooves while rolling around on her back.
Archive let go of the thrashing changeling, looking at her with confusion clear on her face even to Lantern, who fell over from being suddenly released from his magical restraint.
He got up and stood between the two changelings, ready to protect Archive, while looking at the madly laughing ‘ling on the ground.
Archive called over his shoulder “Aunty, are..are you okay!?”
After hearing that, her laughing fit got a second wind, and she covered her ears.
“Aahahaaa, please, please no...no more. I can’t take it.”
The stumped pair just kept staring at her for a few minutes while she calmed down.
She was laying on the ground, panting hard, and still giggling from time to time, before speaking up.
“Haa, haa, I’m not HumBUG!” she said and erupted in another laughing fit.
It took another minute before she could speak again.
“Oh dear Queens, I needed that.” she finally said.
“If you’re not Hum…” was all Archive could get out before the other changeling snorted and covered her muzzle with her hooves.
“I-I mean, if you’re not her, then who are you!? You look exactly like her.”
“There is rhyme and reason for that, but it’s not something to be discussed in the open like this. My place is just a few minutes from here. Take your trophy-colt and let’s head on over there.”
The changeling looked over the pegasus and licked her lips, then motioned for them to follow and disappeared into the bushes.
“Archive, I have a bad feeling about her.”
“Don’t be silly. She could help us.”
“She called me a ‘trophy-colt’.” deadpanned Lantern.
“Well, I admit she’s kinda weird, but she might be the only one that could help us get to our destination.”
“Okay, but keep your eyes open. We don’t know anything about her.”
When they arrived at the house in the middle of the forest, it wasn’t exactly what either of them expected.
It was a two story building, made entirely out of timber save for the stone chimney. It had a white fence around it, and a rose arbor as the gate into the front yard. In the yard, there was a small fireplace, and a swing bed that moved in the gentle breeze.
The pair stopped under the arch that held up the obviously enchanted roses, and stared at the brightly glowing purple flowers.
“Wow.” they said at the same time.
Archive reached out for a rose, to see if they were real, when their host shouted at her.
“Don’t touch them!”
Archive flinched back from the sudden cry and retracted her hoof.
Lantern immediately jumped in front of Archive to protect her from the anger of the other changeling. His wings shielding the nymph, he took an aggressive pose, ready to react to any attack. He was serious, and he would kill the other changeling to protect Archive, or die trying.
Archive could weakly feel the warmth of love emanating from the pegasus, and she blushed.
The other changeling started to shake, and her breaths left little puffs in the cold night air.
“I-I’m sorry.” Archive said meekly, looking out from behind Lantern’s wing.
The shaking changeling’s knees buckled under her and she fell to the ground.
Archive run up to her in panic.
“Are you alright!?”
When she looked at her, her eyes were distant, looking into nothing. She had an elated smile on her face, her tongue lolling out of her maw, and she was drooling and panting hard.
When her eyes came into focus again, she looked up at Lantern and stared at him with a dreamy look.
“Haaah, haah...I just came.” she said as bluntly as a hammer to the face.
Lantern’s face bloomed in deep scarlet and he looked away, hiding his face with a wing.
It would have been very rude staring at her, he concluded.
“What the buck was that?” he asked from behind his wing, still looking elsewhere.
Archive was blushing like mad, but helped her stand up.
“Lantern, would you please wait here?”
She started towards the house, propping up the still shaking changeling with her smaller form.
“I’m not going to leave you alone with her.”
Archive looked back at the pegasus with a hard stare.
“If you think I’m going to let you watch as I help her get herself presentable, you are gravely mistaken.”
“T-that’s not what I meant...”
Lantern lay on his stomach, and grumbled something to himself about ‘That’s a very dangerous mental image’.
“Good boy. Stay there!” said Archive.
A couple of minutes passed since the ‘lings disappeared into the house, and in the meantime Lantern had a chance to cool off himself.
The door opened and Lantern could see Archive standing there, backlit by the light coming from the house. She motioned from him to come in to the house.
When they entered the living room, Lantern saw their host lying on a sofa by the fire, covered in a towel, her mane dripping wet.
“Cold shower?” he asked flatly.
She nodded, and kept her eyes intently on him.
While he was waiting outside, he prepared himself to all kinds of awkward situations, and when he finally remembered that he was a Guard, he decided that he would use his most stoic Guard manners to shield himself.
It worked. He stared back at the changeling with an utterly neutral expression.
“Please, have a seat.” she purred.
Well, maybe it didn’t work, but it helped him to calm down.
The room had two armchairs opposite from the sofa, and a low table between them.
The pair settled in those, while keeping their eyes on her.
An uneasy silence fell between them, while the changeling looked them up and down smiling.
She broke the silence by clearing her throat.
“I imagine we have quite a few things to talk about, but before that, I would like to apologize for my earlier outburst. I didn’t mean to snap at you, but those flowers mean a lot to me, and I’d rather no one touch them. They were left behind by my special somepony, who worked really hard on them, and the magic they have is a very fragile charm that could be broken by a slight touch.” she explained.
“I’m very sorry, I didn’t know. They are just so beautiful, I couldn’t help but to reach out to them.” said Archive.
“That’s alright. So, would you mind introducing yourselves? I’m sure you’ve realised by now, but I’m not connected to the hivemind, so I can’t really forego such things by looking inside your head.”
“Actually, me neither.” mumbled Archive, earning a slight twitch of an ear from the changeling.
“My name is Moon Lantern, Royal Guard to Princess Celestia.” cut in Lantern with a flat tone.
“Day Guard? Weird. I would’ve pegged you as Night Guard, what with all the lunar pegasus vibe around you.”
“I’ve inherited none of the benefits of my ancestry.”
“Hmm, interesting.” she switched to Archive “And you, dear?”
“Arc Hive. Daughter to Queen Lilith, archive nymph. Call me Archive.” stated the nymph.
“Lithy named you herself, right?”
Archive just nodded.
“Yeah, I thought so. Anyway, my name is Formica, first born of Queen Seera, former Queen candidate, at your service.” said Formica. The last part of the sentence came in a sultry tone, and she winked at Lantern for good measure.
“So that means that aunt Humbug isn’t the oldest Siren alive?” asked Archive marvelling at the intricate horn of Formica.
Formica snorted at the name again, but kept her laughing fit in check.
“No, she’s not, but she never was, and neither am I. Me, your mother, and indeed, mighty Lamia ‘The Serpent’, or as you know her, Humbug, we’re nymphs, just like you are, darling. But our case is a little special, when it comes to castes. You see, we were born of the very first eggs that Mother laid, and Lamia and I came from the same egg, hence the uncanny resemblance. All three of us had the Gift, and so Seera had to choose between us. Being nymphs meant that we would all took to our studies well at an extremely young age. We were sent on gathering expeditions, just like the sirens, and that was where our Gifts would shine. Lamia had an incredible capacity to store emotional energy, your mother had her special heart, that she could use as a converter, to produce nectar, and I…” she trailed off smiling, before disappearing.
Lantern felt a shiver running down his spine as he felt a light warmth settle on his back, between his wings. Invisible hooves hugged him from behind, and when she appeared again, Formica’s head rested on his shoulder smiling at Archive.
“I’m the Chameleon.” she said cheerfully.
Lantern was as rigid as a statue, his face a perfect mask of an emotionless, stoic Guard, but internally, he was freaking the fuck out. The fact that he could spot Formica in the forest earlier, was only because she let them see her. At this moment he felt very much like prey to a predator, he could not escape.
Archive glared at Formica.
“Ouch, jealousy doesn’t suit you dear.” said Formica retreating from the embrace she kept Lantern locked in, and returned to her sofa.
“Why not share him, hmm? I’m pretty sure a stud like him, charged and ready to blow, could easily satisfy both of us at the same time...a real Love God, if I do say so myself.”
Lantern’s mask broke. He was blushing like a filly, and as he looked at Archive for help, she just turned her face away shyly, mirroring his blush in green.
“W-w-what do you mean?” asked Archive.
“Oh darling, have you not seen what he did to me outside? Quite frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t keel over spasming yet from all that love he exudes. Say, did you molt lately perchance?”
“Yeah, my carapace broke up very badly, so I had to. He actually saved my life when it happened.”
“Mmm, yes, that answers why you didn’t have any wings. Then this will be easy to demonstrate.”
Formica looked at Lantern, and froze him in place, then did the same to Archive.
“I’m going to hurt her.” she told Lantern matter-of-factly with the utmost seriousness.
As she approached the little nymph, she felt her fear, and saw a drop of tear at the corner of her eye. She could also feel the seething rage coming from Lantern, but most of all, the overwhelming warmth of love he radiated. Her knees were already shaking as she rounded the chair Archive was sitting in. She cupped her face in a hoof and turned her head towards Lantern, so that he could see her frightened eyes. She used the crook of her other hoof to take hold of her horn, and with a sickening, crunching sound, she yanked it upwards, simultaneously releasing Archive from her lock.
She let out a loud, but very short cry, before she fell forwards. Formica caught her twitching body, and when she came off her high, she let out a very unladylike sound before clasping her hooves around her face.
The larger nymph levitated Archive out of the room and called after her.
“There are some empty barrels in the corner, use those if you’d be so kind. It would be a crime to waste all that precious nectar, simply throwing it up all over my carpet.”
Lantern was struggling in the magical binds.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?” he demanded.
Formica smiled at him. It was not a cocky grin, but a genuine, motherly smile. Something that he was all too familiar with, being a Guard in Celestia’s employ.
“Why, I’ve just fixed her horn. I can’t imagine how could she have not realised that something was off with it. She must have only barely felt you and your emotions through that thing.”
Lantern was not convinced. He kept trying to break out from the magical body-lock, and he might have succeeded with his rage, but then Archive staggered back to the door, leaning on the frame.
“I’m good…” she panted, but just as she got closer to Lantern, she hurked again, and ran back to keep vomiting into the barrel.
Formica looked at Lantern again, her features serious.
“I didn’t actually hurt her, but I needed you to believe I did, so I could show her the cause of what happened out in the yard. I would never hurt my family. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have the obligation to return the courtesy she showed me, when she helped me wash away my shame. I’ll take her upstairs, to the shower, second room on the left. When we’re there, I’ll release you too. I want you to calm down your pretty plot while I do that. You being worked up is kinda punishing for us. Oh, and you are free to wait outside the bathroom, but should you dare barge in to seek revenge or some valiant save-the-mare bullshit like that, I will actually kill you. Better yet, make you my slave and suck you dry. Are we clear?”
The menacing nymph left the room without waiting for a reply. Lantern’s eyes following her as she swayed her hips on her way out.
Formica did as she said she would, and took her niece to the bathroom, and when Lantern heard the door lock upstairs, he could move again.
The primal parts of his brain told him that he should ignore the danger, and snatch up Archive and get the buck out of there, while the rational part was confused, uncertain, and hoping. That smile was honest, and what she said made sense in a way...also, she’s hella scary. Like a starbeast. Seriously! Dude, she’d kill you, or mind control you, or molest you!
There was chaos in his head right now, and somewhere a certain statue dropped a tear of pride.
Lantern stood up, walked outside, located a drum of rainwater under the leaves, and promptly dunked his head into the cool water.