Back on the train with their supplies, the four found the empty car and sat down. Mirage and Gravity sat on one side, Thunder and Midnight on the other. Gravity kept her beak pressed against the glass, staring almost uneasily out the window over the boarding station.
“Still worried you were followed?” Midnight asked.
Gravity’s beak stayed at the glass and her eyes remained focused. “I wasn’t followed. If I could be tracked, I would have been caught a long time ago.”
She lurched forward as the train began to move. She finally turned from the window and crooked her head toward Midnight.
“What can you tell us about wretchers, now that we've met them?”
He sighed. “I suppose it’s time for some explaining then?” The others nodded. “Alright... I’m going to take this slow so everyone in this conversation can understand.” His eyes glanced around, staying on no one pony in particular. “In order to understand a ‘wretcher,’ we must first understand a changeling. What is a changeling?”
Mirage smiled, eager to answer. “It’s like a big bug pony, with holes all over it.”
“No.”
“A changeling,” Gravity answered. “...is a shapeshifter, so it is whatever it wants to be.”
“We have a winner!” Midnight smiled. “And when it wants to be itself, it reverts to that exoskeletal form you...” He turned to Mirage, his throat choking on all the wrong words. “Mentioned.” He turned back to everyone else. “Now, if a changeling can be whatever it wants, then all changelings are the same, aren’t they?”
“No,” Thunder answered. “The Queen is special, and the hierarchy of the Hive would have been impossible if every single one was exactly the same.”
“Precisely,” Midnight said. “Every changeling is slightly different. Weight, height, fang, horn, and mane lengths are all individual. And you never see two changelings with the same holes in the exact same places.” He cleared his throat. “These changes are what make a changeling into a wretcher.” He looked around to make sure everyone was still following. “The blueprints of a changeling’s true form are imbedded deep in the subconscious where no spell may touch them. Instead, a changeling simply masks itself with the likeness of its prey. The form is still there, acting as a fulcrum in their identity balancing act.” He looked around once more. “Now what do you think would happen if a changeling took the form of another changeling?”
“I mean... it’s just a cloak, right?” Thunder asked. “Just a terrible disguise...”
“Right. But, what if the changeling were highly trained? What if the changeling learned about their fulcrum, and shifted it. Moved it along such that they might actually think that they were whatever they took the form of?” Midnight checked for confusion on the faces of his friends. “It’s a common strategy of saboteurs. It keeps their stories strong, and helps infiltrate even the tightest security, and be overlooked by the highest scrutiny.” He smiled. “So what is that changeling? A pony or...” He looked at Mirage. “A bug?”
“Still a bug,” Gravity answered. “You don’t forget who you are that easily.”
Midnight chuckled. “Well, you’re right about one thing. Changelings don’t forget who they are very easily at all.” He looked toward Thunder. “But make one mistake, and even that may become unclear.” He looked back toward the others. “I lost my memory twice because I valued a secure disguise over my own identity. But I was lucky. I had taken the form of ponies. I even convinced myself that I could fit in here.” He looked at Gravity. “Now I have to teach others to as well.” He looked at the others awkwardly. “...but I digress.”
Mirage chuckled. “Classic.”
“O shush,” Midnight snapped. He smiled again, looking over the others. “The point is, when a changeling that is desperate for a perfect disguise shifts their own identity for a new, changeling identity...” He shook his head. “Horrible side effects can occur.” He sighed. “The changeling’s ‘true’ form gets overwritten; its own mind cannot give a clear picture of what they really are. How curvy were those fangs? How long? How many holes? How many arms? Lungs? Who knows!” A frown and a smile fought for control of his face. “If their true forms get overwritten, or leave holes that must be undone, it requires even more desperate measures to fix.”
“Like eating your own kind,” Gravity said in an almost solemn tone.
“Yes.” Midnight nodded slower than usual. “As they eat other changelings, they can project their shapeshifting magics onto their flesh, forcing it to take whatever form they want... whatever form they need.”
“I shouldn’t have left you two alone with those freaks,” Thunder said. “If I had known...”
“You’re fine.” A purple hoof rested on Thunder’s shoulder. “Advantage is a good... well, pair of wretchers. They mean no harm.”
“Then why didn’t we bring them with us?” Mirage asked. “If we had a legit good wretcher on our side, it could just eat all the bad changelings!”
“And where do we draw that line between good and bad?!” the changeling argued. “And what of those points when the twins’ hunger becomes too much? Do we watch friends suffer? Do we watch lesser friends die? Advantage has always been a... a thing of inner beauty. Underneath those masks, the twins are twisted and deformed beyond your own nightmares.”
“I don’t know, man,” Mirage said with a smirk. “I’ve had some pretty bad nightmares.”
“Honestly,” Thunder said. “I’m surprised I didn’t think how disturbing those two would be without the zebra faces.” He shuddered. “I... I’ve seen a lot of things in my time, but creepy twins that hold hooves and do that head crook thing...” He shook his head. “I can’t. It’s too much. Too creepy.” He looked out the window, toward the peaceful landscape rolling by. He exhaled deeply. His eyes squinted as the sunset caught them. "Midnight, get me my armor."
"On?" the changeling asked, his hooves rummaging through the luggage.
"On." Green magic clamped the silver armor around the pegasus's chest. As Thunder's eyes focused, he counted in his head. Three. "Gravity!" he commanded. "Duck!"
The griffin ducked down. All she could see was the floor of the train car, but she could hear the glass of the train's window breaking, and the feeling of broken glass landing on the back of her head. Meanwhile, Thunder Sword was ready. He grabbed his knife and slashed at the griffin attacker's arm. The scaly arm retreated back outside the cabin, and footsteps could be heard, coming from the roof of the car. It all happened too quickly for Midnight and Mirage to react.
"What the heck was that?!" Gravity screamed. She shook subtly as she inspected the broken window and the pegasus who sat across from her.
"A griffin just flew up to the window and tried to grab you," he explained, putting down his knife and noticing the red tint of the blade.
"It just can't be simple can it?" Midnight asked, looking at the floor. Amidst all the broken glass, a thin splatter of red blood stained the flooring. His concentration was broken by the sound of the door opening at the end of the car facing him.
A large, armored griffin stepped through carrying a ornamented spear. It walked on two legs, its dark brown wings spread for balance as it carried the spear with its gray claws. The griffin wore silver armor with some unique gold trimmings. Instead of a helmet, it wore some form of headdress with a round, black gem embedded in it. As it continued to step forward, his right claw dripped red onto the floor. As it stepped closer, almost everyone could see that the griffin was male. His large beak was a giveaway to all but the lone unicorn who still ducked behind his seat. His dark gray head held two green eyes that looked over the cabin before settling on Midnight.
"What do you think you--" Midnight tried to say. Without warning, the spear shot out a bolt of magic that struck the changeling out of his form and onto the floor.
Desert ducked under the seat entirely as the griffin checked Midnight's body. "Primitive," the griffin said in a somewhat posh, but distinctly foreign accent. He turned in time to counter Thunder's knife attack. The blade smacked the handle of the spear, and the griffin's palm struck the pegasus's chest, knocking him onto his back. "Foolish," he said over the fallen pony. He looked up toward Gravity. "Did you really think you could get away with it, 'Gravity?'" He chuckled, stepping over Thunder. The griffin put his back foot onto the pony's chest, preventing further attacks. "So why don't you come with me..." He outstretched his arm toward her. "We both know you're the only one who deserves to die here."
Desert jumped over the seat, grabbing the griffin's spear with his magic. Pulling it from the bird's grasp, he attempted a few quick jabs with his forelegs. All of them missed. The griffin jumped backwards and lowered to four legs. His wings folded to his sides as Desert pointed the blade at him.
"Now tell me, yellow one," the griffin said. "Do you even know how to use that?" His eyes and the gem above them shined green.
The point of the spear began to glow as well. It flashed as a beam of powerful, green magic burst from the tip. It collided with the griffin's chest, hurtling him into the door behind him. He broke through, smashing into the door to the next car and landing at its bottom. The griffin looked up at the smiling unicorn.
He clutched his wounded chest with one hand, and pointed at Desert with the other. "I will see to it that you all pay for--"
A blast of magic from the spear interrupted the speech. The blast destroyed what was left of their car’s door, and there was nothing left of the griffin except for a few singed feathers and a puddle of blood. Mirage caught his breath and turned to Gravity who smiled back at him, her horn protruding from her griffin head.
"Of course I know how to use that thing." She chuckled as the unicorn released his magic, catching the spear with his hooves. "Careful, Mirage."
"What? Am I going to blow something up if I touch this?" He smiled as his hooves glided across the handle and lifted the point skyward.
"No, you're just awfully close to tripping over our friends." She gestured to the changeling and pegasus still on the floor; the latter smiled back at Mirage.
Desert quickly picked up Thunder, who then quickly picked up his knife. Sheathing it, he met Gravity over Midnight's body. Desert stayed back, studying the new weapon. Midnight just lay on the ground. No movement caught the pair's eyes. Thunder trotted a few steps forward and picked the changeling's glasses up from the ground. He stowed them carefully inside Midnight's bag.
"Well," Gravity said before exhaling. "At least he's not dead."
"He's unconscious then?" Thunder asked.
She nodded. "Changelings have a way of losing their 'blueprint' when mortally wounded. We turn to dust when killed... Usually."
"Usually?" Thunder asked, trying to be patient.
"It takes special magic or a lot of training to not let a changeling turn to dust. Wretchers like using liquid states, and the smiths of the Hive used some special tactics themselves." She looked from Thunder to the body and back. "He's not dead."
"So how do we revive him?" he asked.
"We wait. He'll come to eventually." She sighed. Her head shook as she tried to think of something. "I guess we could take him to the sleeping car with us?"
"No, he stays here," Thunder said. "With us." He could see the disagreement on Gravity's face, and the utter lack of attention on Desert's. "If that griffin comes back, I don't want any civilians getting hurt when he tries to kill us."
"Griffin's dead," Desert said cheerfully.
"He jumped before the flash," Thunder explained. "There would be way more blood and feathers if he was dead. Just look at Midnight!"
"Good point," Gravity admitted.
"So, while we sit here for the next 12 hours, how about you tell me why that guy wants you dead."
"Yeah, let's do that!" Mirage said, taking a seat with the spear and inviting the others over.
"Alright," Gravity relented. Her magic picked Midnight off the ground and gently placed him in the seat across the car from them. Finally, she joined the unicorn and pegasus at their usual seats.
"In case you don't know where to start," Thunder said. "I can say that I know who Gorman is."
"Who?" Desert asked.
"The one who attacked us," he explained. "A powerful political party in the Griffin Kingdom, namely a bunch of ruthless swords and tax collectors, is all run by Gorman. Been that way for almost a thousand years."
"Technically," Gravity added. "The name is passed down from generation to generation. This one that tried to kill us was Gorman the Tenth."
Desert scoffed. "Why is some rich guy trying to kill us with a magic spear then?"
"You think that little empire is ruled by nepotism?" Gravity asked. "Gormans always respect the ability to fight amongst those who wish to become their heirs."
He scoffed again. "Alright, why is some buff rich guy trying to kill us with a magic spear?"
"Gormans are very protective of their power," Gravity explained.
Thunder scoffed. "Understatement of the year."
"Well," Gravity said aggressively, annoyed by the interruption. "I may have upset his ascendance to 'Gorman the Tenth.' I managed to kidnap him just as he attained the title. Took him back to the Hive..."
"And then?" Thunder prodded.
"I don't know," she said. "I had already knocked him unconscious. I ordered him beaten within an inch of his life and turned into a changeling." She looked down at the red stains on the floor. "Looks like he escaped before any of that could happen."
"And how much time passed after that before the Hive fell?" Thunder asked.
Gravity thought for a while, stroking her chin with her claws. "It would have been... At least a whole month before the Hive fell. Then a few more before the Crystal Empire reappeared." She shrugged. "Or something like that." They both stopped to contemplate.
"Can we just stop," Desert said, breaking their concentration. "And appreciate how awesome this spear is!"
Gravity turned to him, exhausted of patience. "Desert, do you even know what gives that spear its power?"
His eyes scanned the weapon again. "Uh... The comfortable grip and the cool, glowing point?"
"Desert, it's a changeling weapon."
"Oh, obviously," he half scoffed. "I mean, it's glowing green!"
Gravity sighed. After a short pause, a sinister smirk creased her griffin face. "Well, do you know how changeling weapons of that quality get their power?"
Desert shook his head, unsure where she was going with this.
"Well, when a qualified officer of the Hive decides he wants an upgrade for his old spear, he goes down to the 'Worker Den.' That's where all the worthless changelings are."
"I know what workers are," Desert said, growing bored.
"Well, he chooses someone out of that den, picks 'em up and guts them alive!" Her grin grew bigger as Desert recoiled in shock. "He spreads the changeling's remains all over the spear, imbuing it with magical energies. Sometimes, it can take up to three workers to get the job done!"
Desert's shocked face turned to the sharpest part of the spear. He watched it glow subtly and gently glided his shaking hoof up the handle. "So you're saying..." He gulped. "You're saying it's a limited edition!?" A large smile creased his whole snout as he looked upon the weapon with eyes shining with excitement.
Only a fraction of the smile disappeared from Gravity's face. "Well, you're not wrong..."
"Oh, girl, you know you gotta show me how to work this thing!" Desert said excitedly.
"That could have been phrased better," Thunder complained from the side.
The griffin stepped back for another reason. "What did you just call me?" Her smile was gone.
"...Girl?" Desert admitted, his brain too occupied by the weapon to come up with an excuse.
The smile returned to her beak. "Okay, sure. I can teach you exactly how to work that spear." She walked up to him and nuzzled into his neck. "You'll just need to figure out how to project your magic through the spear, and command it to do what you want!" She pulled her head from underneath his, looking him in his red face. "And I can help with that."
"Umm..." The back of Desert's neck suddenly itched as Gravity crooked her head, still smiling. "Would you wanna catch lunch with me sometime?" He smiled half as hard as he sweat.
Gravity giggled. "Sure. I'd love to."
Thunder hid his face behind his hooves and let out an exhausted sigh. The two finally returned to their seats. Desert looked toward the other side of the train.
"So when's Midnight waking up?" he asked, his eyes now glued to the changeling's body.
Thunder finally lowered his hooves. "Yeah, when does that happen?" he asked Gravity after a brief glance toward his unconscious friend.
"I'm sure he'll be awake before we get back to Canterlot," she replied. "...I hope."
"What, you don't know?" Desert asked her.
"Well," she looked over the body. "I don't know... No." They watched her shake her head, and she could feel Thunder's resentment. She stopped shaking and braced herself. "Look, when that guy was in the Hive he was fit. Well fed, powerful magic, and despite his insane rambling he survived missions no one could possibly come back from!" She sighed and turned back toward the body, shaking her head. "I don't even recognize that changeling. His form was taller, his eyes burning green, his voice deep and his horn long. What happened?" She turned her beak back to the pegasus.
Thunder sighed. Then his eyes widened in realization. "When did you last see him like that?"
"Just after the Hive fell."
"Oh...”. He gestured toward the unconscious changeling. “They found him like that over in the Crystal Empire." He turned to Gravity. "He thought he was a crystal pony. Was very protective of a lantern he got there." His eyes widened again.
"What?" Gravity asked.
Thunder smiled. "Nothing, just thought of another question I'll have to ask him."
Hours passed as the train rolled closer and closer to Canterlot. Desert eventually fell asleep, slumped over his new spear. Gravity held his hoof and rested on his shoulder. Thunder just watched the landscape go by through the broken window. He turned every now and then to check on Midnight. The changeling was still slumped over in his new seat. Scrawny build, common horn, and closed eyes that hid nothing special.
Thunder thought back to the day the Hive fell. It was a clever spell and timing that sealed the Queen's fate, or so he heard. At the time, he was still recovering from near mortal injuries. A hit squad of killer changelings had almost taken out his entire team, leaving him stranded in a hospital bed for most of the real fighting. He still remembered the time Midnight came back after his triumph over a similar hit squad. He had become exactly what Gravity had described. A thousand years and nothing changed. He was lucky Shining Armor found him in the Empire. Common soldiers fear changelings. Thunder's eyes stopped halfway to the window. Gravity nuzzled into Mirage's neck. He watched the soldier sleep with the changeling's beak inches from his own neck. A smile creased his own tired snout. He was never a fan of relationships between members of a team, but this pair was somehow refreshing. ... At least for now.
Thunder got up and moved across the car. They would be arriving in Canterlot within a few hours, and Midnight was still out. He sat down across the incapacitated changeling. He slowly put his hoof on his throat. No pulse. He panicked for a second before wondering if changelings even have pulses. He looked back toward the couple sleeping on the other side. He shook off the idea of disturbing them, turning back to Midnight. He nudged the body as one would nudge a sleeping brother. No response. Thunder turned back toward the couple. He carefully made his way to them, and began to unsheathe his knife. He stopped halfway, after weighing the risks. He leaned in close.
"Gravity?" he whispered. "You awake?"
No response.
Thunder carefully moved even closer, biting down on one of her feathers. With a quick and silent pluck he was on the other side of the train again. He peered cautiously over his shoulder to assure himself the couple were not disturbed. He pried the unconscious changeling's mouth open with his hooves and dropped the feather in. The mouth closed itself. He watched the exoskeleton shift slightly as the feather was swallowed. He prodded his friend again. No response. He sighed, but smiled at the more reliable evidence of his friend's survival. He slumped over across from him and tried to get a nap in.
Thunder was the first to wake back up. His sides cramped as he straightened himself, but the pain soon subsided. He dusted off the armor that he had neglected to take off and shook off what remained of his tiredness. Midnight laid on the seat across from him as motionless as ever. Desert was practically a "C" slumped over his spear asleep. Gravity rested her head on the wall of the car now, her feathers blew in the breeze of the broken window. Thunder's eyes stopped halfway back to Midnight, meeting a set of familiar, blue eyes. In the brightness of the train car, the pegasus could now see that the eyes belonged to two zebras. Zebra twins that moved in perfect sync and spoke in a rhythm that was foreign even to him.
"What do you creepy zebra twins want?" Thunder asked them.
"Only what we deserve," the male replied.
"Not just that," the female added. "We want Midnight."
"Is he awake yet?" the male finished.
"He's not waking up," Thunder growled.
"Is... Is he alright?" The pair crooked their heads.
"What do you care? Don't you have a Hive to get back to?"
"It is more than brutish ways," the female replied.
"A Hive needs Trust," the male finished,
Thunder did his best to cover his fear. "Where did you two even come from?"
Advantage gestured behind them, to the car beyond the broken door and the blood stains on the floor.
"Is that car empty?"
"Yes," the male replied as both heads nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"I know you're changelings and I'm starting to think your disguises are creepier than your bug forms."
The twins looked at each other. They shared a stare, just looking into each other's eyes with no semblance of emotion.
He gulped. "...is it?"
The two heads turned back to him. "Sadly, that is not the case," the female answered.
"I was afraid of that," Thunder said.
"You're afraid of a lot."
"Get out of here," Thunder growled, moving to the edge of his seat.
"We are scared too," the female said in a calm voice. "We need help."
"I said..." Thunder grabbed the knife from its sheath. "...Get outta here!" he screamed through the knife in his mouth. He was out of his seat now, taking steps toward them in an attempt to drive the creeps off.
"We just want to help!" the male pleaded as the twins backed up toward the door.
Thunder Sword trotted closer, and the two zebras found themselves too wide to get through the door at once. They turned to face the armed pegasus, who continued toward them.
"Thunder!" a female voice called from behind the pony. "Stand down."
Thunder turned to find Gravity awake and out of her seat. She glared at him. He glared back, keeping his stance and weapon in place. She looked past him, and her brow relaxed.
"Advantage? What are you doing here?" she asked the twins.
"We came for Midnight," Lesser explained.
"We waited for you to wake," Superior added.
"Where is this train going?" Gravity quickly asked them before Lesser could speak.
"Nice try," he smiled. "Canterlot."
She sighed, then raised an open claw. "Seriously though, would it kill you to not speak in Haiku all the time?"
"It is cultural," Lesser explained.
Gravity looked to Superior in anticipation. "Is it not just beautiful?" the zebra added.
Gravity's beak went back to Lesser, but the voice came from elsewhere. "No, it's actually really creepy," Thunder said.
The zebras shrugged in unison. "That is your own taste," Lesser said.
"Also," the pegasus continued, "Why 'Advantage?' Two names not good enough for you?"
"Lesser Advantage," the male said, naming itself.
"Superior," the female said, naming itself. "We are one."
"Two heads are better."
"Then shouldn't your names be 'Fewer' and 'More?'" Thunder asked them. "Or 'Lesser and Greater' or 'Superior and Inferior?'"
"We have our reasons." Lesser tightened his grip on Superior's hoof.
"Aren't we digressing a bit?" Superior said, squeezing back.
"Does it matter?" Gravity asked. She glanced toward the body. "He's not getting up anytime soon." She crooked her head toward them. "You think you can help?"
"Yes, of course we can!" Lesser happily began to explain. "A simple..." The twins looked at Thunder for a short moment. "...Soup dish."
"Bring us a bowl or bucket," Superior said.
"We'll cook up the cure." They smiled. "While you all do that..."
"We will retreat to that car," Superior finished, gesturing behind them.
"Bring us what you find."
The two zebras carefully squeezed through the doorway awkwardly, neither one willing to yield and let the other one go ahead. Their hooves never separated from each other's grasp during the entire struggle. Finally, they made it to the other side. The door to the next car was pulled open by green magic, and they began squeezing through the second threshold.
"Are you sure we can trust these freaks?" Thunder asked her. "What if they're trying to kill Midnight for not letting them in?"
"If they wanted any of us dead they'd have killed us in our sleep." She watched Thunder shudder before finally sheathing his knife. "Now come on..." She beckoned him forward. "Let's find this soup dish."
"I don't suppose you brought one?" Thunder chuckled. "This isn't exactly first class dining on these trains. They probably don't even have bowls."
Gravity's eyes widened in realization. "Oh..."
She smiled back at Thunder and buried her claw into her bag. She pulled out a small cylinder with strange adornments. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it as the bottom half of the lantern that Midnight had loved so much. The glass had been neatly cut away, but it was uneven overall.
Gravity stared at the lantern piece in her claw. "A little less practical, but it worked for me." She smiled and looked up at Thunder.
"They're not going to do that to him, do you think?" the pegasus asked. "Turn him to liquid?"
Gravity shrugged. "They didn't do it when we were asleep. And that's hardly their decision anyways."
The griffin walked past the pegasus and into the next car. Thunder watched the door close behind her, somewhat happy he didn't have to deal with those creepy twins for a while. Then he heard Gravity scream.
"Just five more minutes!" Desert called out. Thunder couldn't tell if the unicorn had actually awoken, as his body slumped right back over after the outburst.
By the time he turned around, Gravity was already back inside the car. Her eyes were wide, and her stance subtly shook as she navigated around him. Held by both of her claws, the lantern half was filled with a strange liquid that was a familiar shade of green. She knelt down by Midnight, then looked toward Desert. The unicorn remained asleep. She turned toward Thunder.
"C-can you serve him this?" she asked.
He looked away from her and toward the closed door to the next car.
"Please!" Gravity reached out to him. She shook her head. "Don't go in there. Advantage is... Out of their disguises."
"That bad, huh?" Thunder trotted to her and knelt down. He smiled and nodded. "Give me the lantern."
Thunder took the broken fixture in his hooves, careful not to spill any of its green contents. Against his better judgment, he leaned in for a sniff. Gravity cringed, but the pegasus smelled nothing but steam. Ignoring the griffin, the pegasus took the lantern to his friend’s mouth. He nodded to Gravity, who carefully pried open the changeling’s dormant, fanged maw. Thunder poured the twins’ concoction in. They watched the changeling instinctively swallow every drop. Gravity winced. When the last drop was downed, Thunder passed the empty container back to her. She walked away from him with it. She stumbled around the still sleeping Desert to throw the lantern out of the broken window. Finally she sat down next to the unicorn again, and leaned in for comfort.
Thunder looked back toward Midnight. He lied motionless on the seat. “How long until he wakes up now?” he asked the griffin without turning around.
“I don’t even know anymore,” she admitted in a whisper.
Suddenly the changeling’s body spasmed. It fell out of its seat and onto the floor of the train car. It shook for a short time there until finally holding still, belly down on the ground. Thunder prepared to gently roll his friend over, only to be met with a slight movement. The legs of the changeling moved by themselves, slowly finding places on the floor to put their hooves. They lifted the body up, then joined its neck in stretching and relaxing the long unused joints of the exoskeleton. Finally, the changeling’s eyes opened. Gravity got out of her seat to join Thunder’s side.
“Midnight?” she whispered.
The changeling turned towards them; its eyes squinted at them. Thunder smiled and trotted to Midnight’s saddlebag. He quickly procured the lost glasses and held them out to his friend. Green magic took them and placed them on the changeling’s black snout. Its eyes widened, and now Gravity could see how gray they had become. The gray eyes went from Thunder to Gravity and back.
“Well, what?” the changeling asked.
The griffin breathed a sigh of relief. “For a second there, I thought we lost you...”
“Yeah, you...” Midnight paused to snap himself out of a brief dizzy spell. He put his hoof up to his head. “Sorry, it’s been a long time since I’ve been revived like that.” He shook his head as though it were damp. “Wretcher blood is a heckuva pick-me-up.” Midnight balanced his head on his hoof as it crooked to Gravity. “Did you...?”
She quickly shook her head. “No. Advantage gave it.”
“Ah.” Midnight nodded a few more times than necessary. “They probably want to talk to me if they came so far as to...” He shook himself out of another dizzy spell. He turned and trotted slowly and carefully toward the car that contained the twins. “It’s this way, right?”
The others nodded. “Yep,” Gravity said, just happy to see him moving again.
Midnight made it to the threshold of the first broken door before falling on his rear. He simply sat up, shook off the inherent dizziness, and cleared his throat. “Advantage!” he called out. “You in there?”
No response.
Thunder trotted past Midnight as Gravity waited with Desert. A cream hoof opened the door to reveal an empty car. A light green stain on the floor was all that was left.
“Oh.” Midnight shrugged. “Must not have been too important.”
“But why--”
“Let’s save the questions until my head stops beating, shall we?” the dizzy changeling pleaded.
Thunder smiled and helped Midnight back to his seat.
Gorman the Tenth looked over his right arm, watching the blood drip dots of red onto the dimly lit, concrete floor. He sighed, not turning toward the footsteps approaching him from the dark.
“That was an absolute waste of perfectly divine resources,” he complained. He turned to the winged shadow. “Why is there so much you were willing to omit in your reports?”
“Sir, I swear...” the male pony voice pleaded. “She fled to the train alone. I have no idea how Midnight’s--”
The griffin raised a claw to him. “When new problems arise, we do not look for the source.” He shook his head. “We look for answers. Solutions. Ways to get around such troublesome obstacles.” Gorman smiled as the pegasus took a step back. “I want you to tell me everything about the white one and the yellow one. Why do they tend such a malevolent flock?”
“I... I don’t know, sir.”
“Then why are you still here?” he snarled.
“I... I thought you might want info on Midnight, sir?”
“The Cyclops that isn’t even a cyclops.” Gorman chuckled. “I took your advice. That sea vermin got his shell cracked open before he could finish a single plea.”
“He’s... dead?”
“But not ash.”
“The SRC reports, combined with your knowledge, sir, would imply that Midnight could be a...” The pony looked up from the ground to see Gorman glaring at him in impatience. “...a cannibal.”
“One of the Advantage’s?” Gorman smiled again.
“I mean... he might get better.”
“Quiet your soft beak, you overgrown parrot!” Gorman shouted at him. “Get out there and find out what you can about the white and yellow ones!”
The silhouette scampered off into the darkness. Gorman sighed in his solitude.
“If the bird is in a cage, a fool hides a key. A Gorman kills the locksmith.” He smiled. “It is time I got to better this ‘Advantage.’”