//------------------------------// // 27: Gods and mortals dance to Scream's tune, whether they like it or not. // Story: Halls of the Changeling King // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// “Annoying… stupid… don’t tell me anything… grrr...” Seven grumbles to himself as he walks down the dwarven tunnels. A quick peek into Three’s sleeping mind lets him easily find what he’s looking for in his memory, but there are mental blocks he can’t get through regarding recent events. These are similar to what Eight created inside their heads to avoid dwarven alarms, but vaaaastly more powerful and certainly on a level of subtlety that no one can ever mistake for Eight’s. “Everyone’s gone… stupid… could have magicked stuff up to help… now everyone’s in pieces...” With a huff, Seven stops right in front of a circular steel door buried deep into all sides of the tunnel. “Well, no sign of the black goo things. There’s good news if ever I saw some. Anyway, here goes,” Seven takes a deep breath and concentrates. One quiet ‘pop!’ later, he teleports on the other side of the flood gate, and gasps for breath. The air in the short stretch of tunnel between the flood gate and the cave in is stale and full of dust. “Okay, I’ve got a minute tops,” he mutters and conjures a flicker of light from his horn, “Ah hah!” Six is lying next to a rock, hibernating with his forelegs clutched to his chest just like the boss. The good part is that, from all Seven can see, he isn’t hurt in any way, only empty. Seven walks over to the drone, and just as he’s about to levitate him up on his back, he hears: ”Finally, a mind interested in real magic.” “What? Who? Where?” Seven, rapidly turning his head around, drops Six, “Oops, sorry.” ”Let us leave the what and where for later. As for who… I am the master of magic, its creator as you might say, and I welcome open minds set on bending the world to their will.” “Well, I’m not too set on bending stuff, more the understanding pa-hhhhh!” Seven starts choking. Apparently, talking openly to the voices in one’s head inside a tunnel with limited air supply isn’t the smartest idea. ”Let me help.” Information pours into Seven’s head through his open hive mind link - symbols, feelings, patterns for energy manipulation, components for a spell, as his trained head can recognize. Surprisingly, the forcefully learned spell is actually very simple, and even in his growing choking panic he can cast it. An unexplained gust of wind sweeps through the tunnel, and fresh air fills Seven’s lungs, resulting in his relieved gasping. “Whuh- wha- what was that?!” ”Just a little… gift. A taste of things to come.” “Did you just teach me magic… like that?” Seven’s stuttering wonder makes the voice take a short break before answering. ”Yes, I did. I am the ultimate master of magic and will, and in you I can see a mind willing to delve into the deepest secrets of the universe.” “Yeeeeeah...” Seven very carefully admits his interest, “On the other hole, anonymous voices in the darkness can’t exactly prove their credentials and intentions. And if there’s something I learned in my year of life, it’s that no one gives anything for free.” ”Now that is where you are wrong, Seven the changeling. My credentials are clear, as I was the one who created the primal alicorn of Magic himself, and my proof is the ease with which I showed you but a tiny grain of sand of the desert of my knowledge. It is so difficult to find interested minds these days, and you have piqued my curiosity. As for nothing being free… I suppose I will just have to prove it to you. My dream is for everyone to realize their full potential. For now, haven’t I simply taught you a spell within the span of a second? There is much more where that came from.” “That does make some sense,” Seven hums to himself, “But I really should get Six back home.” ”He lasted long enough, and you have just taken care of his air problem. What’s the hurry? Don’t you trust me?” Ummm hell to the fuck no? On the other hole… Six IS physically okay and the air problem HAS been sorted. Plus… fire cubes are cool, but what about lightning spiky balls? Now THAT would be something to discover. And proper hypnosis magic would sort all of the love problems… Then Seven wouldn’t just be the changeling who can’t feed himself anymore. He could become a top tier magician as well as master of venom-less seduction. Just imagining pure love coursing through his veins makes Seven grin. “You’re right, voice. Six lasted for days with the air he had and now it’s all reset. So, show me what you’ve got.” ”Knowledge, that is simple. Power, though… your body is not meant to withstand the power you will require, but I can help with that as well. All you need to do is follow my instructions. But... every relationship is based on trust, and while I am trusting you with my knowledge, you must also trust me enough to accept it. But, for now, I will settle for a single step - teleport behind this cave in.” “Waaaaaait… aren’t there some weird evil things behind it?” Alright, if the voice says there’s nothing bad there, Seven’s going to grab Six and run like all holes. ”Ah yes, the… Twisted, as the Silversmith race called their doom. A potential archmage such as you should not be afraid of such simplistic creatures. Mostly a plague given form. They served their purpose, if not completely then at least well enough. Let me ease your mind a little - if you prove your heart and teleport past, I will teach you an invisibility spell.” Seven breathes in and out, his heart racing. On one hole, the danger posed isn’t just to him. He can save Six, but if he leaves him here then the others are in such bad shape they might not get to him in time. However, it’s clear that Six staying here is a condition for Seven’s learning. On the other hole, though… an insight into magic which would impress Scream herself. Seven bites his lip, and teleports. A single black, equine-like creature with large mandibles and long, spindly legs is standing right in front of him, looking in the opposite direction. “-” Seven’s eyes go wide as he nearly swallows his tongue. A fresh barrage of magical knowledge is seared into his receptive brain, and without much thought, Seven repeats the steps, and when he raises his hoof again, he sees only a faint purple shimmer showing its outline. “...that’s not gonna fool that thing...” he whispers as quietly as he can. ”Only you can see the glow. To the others, you are completely invisible and mostly inaudible. You can talk like normal.” Well, that makes sense. Not knowing where his own bits are would just make the caster clumsy. Seven decides to test the noise theory now when he can still quickly teleport away before the Twisted reacts. “Voice. Voice?” Nothing, the Twisted keeps standing still, its legs quivering slightly. ”Well?” Seven sneaks past the Twisted, his heart jackhammering so hard that without the noise dampening of the hiding spell it would be enough to attract attention. “You got me. So, what do I do next?” ”Now we shall begin with the training.” “Yessss, more spells!” Seven punches the air. ”Now where would be the accomplishment in that? I can see the shape of your mind, future archmage. What would satisfy you the most would be a successful research of your own. Besides, tell me... what spell would you want to know?” “Three burning green skulls which scream as they plummet at any unfortunate enemy and explode with the power of a thousand suns!” ”Heh heh heh. There is no spell like that, but if I teach you the deep principles of magic, you will be able to make a spell like that yourself.” Seven has to agree that kinda makes sense, although this does make his suspicion return. “You win this one, voice.” ”Then let us begin.” Seven follows the voice’s instructions, his mind opening to arcane principles Scream tried to explain to him and he couldn’t grasp. Everything is within his reach! He barely registers the instructions to keep going deeper and deeper into the dwarven mines, at least until he finds himself in front of the opened seal previously locking the Twisted in the depths. A sight like that breaks even his reverie of knowledge, and he hesitates before passing into the hexagonal steel tunnel which Three’s memory has marked so strongly with fear that even a different changeling’s mind can recognize it. ”A little too late for hesitation, isn’t it? You know that what I’m offering is real.” “Well yeah, but I’m not stupid enough to keep following a voice that leads me down to where my hive mates last remember meeting a super strong and immortal bad guy.” ”Would it surprise you if I told you I wasn’t lying?” “Not really. What would surprise me would be if it was true.” Echoing, overbearing laughter resonates through Seven’s mind. His head hurts, overwhelmed and his concentration weakened by processing the arcane patterns. He tries to strengthen his mental barriers, but facing something which so easily got to his mind already and knows it well enough to teach him directly is proving difficult. ”It is true. Learn, grow, and accept my gift so that your body can keep up with your mind.” “G-Gift?” groans Seven, now more focused on pushing the influence away than on committing the magic patterns to memory. ”The power I offer is immense. Only bodies containing divine power can fully wield it. Fortunately, one of my disciples is here to help you access your full potential.” “Who?” Seven, grimacing while fighting now blinding headache, backs off when he sees a tall pony walking out of the dark tunnel. “Me,” says the Vigil. “Oh fuck no,” Seven turns around and bolts forward, or at least he tries to. Before he can take a single step away from the Vigil, a set of claws is holding his tail and pulling him backwards as if his arguably average weight meant nothing, “Still fuck no!” Adrenaline caused by immediate danger washes away the pain for long enough to let Seven teleport away, past the big gate. He was expecting to only go few pony lengths, but the fact that he cleared over triple the distance in a single spellcast is a good indicator that he’s able to do far more than he used, or at least do the same thing, but better. “Invisibilityyyy-AAAAH!” he screams, realizing that it took the Vigil only three Seven’s breaths to reach the changeling. The blow which grazes his backside afterwards makes him spin in the air, clearly showing that invisibility isn’t something that’s going to work here. However, Seven’s adrenaline keeps on giving, and he teleports away mid-spin, landing in a different shaft which according to the hive mind map isn’t far away, but separated by a wall. Unfortunately… he’s not alone. A Twisted’s jaw snaps right next to Seven’s neck as he rolls away. “Damn it, I KNEW those assholes weren’t peaceful because of the crappy invisibility,” he curses as he teleports again on instinct. Landing right under another Twisted who opens his mouth to puke at Seven can’t be healthy for one’s nerves. ”You think you can run?” “Trying to!” Seven mutters quickly, reappearing elsewhere yet again, this time in a large cavern lit only by the flickering dot atop his horn. Unfortunately, he can see the shapes swarming in the gloom where his light is barely enough to meld the darkness, “Sorry, Six! I shouldn’t have given in to the temptation!” This time without the popping sound of amateur teleporting, he noiselessly appears on the floor by hibernating Six’s side. The shove makes the drone rolls over, his legs touching Seven who screams and jumps on all fours before realizing where he is. Gasping for breath, he doesn’t wait for anything, grabs Six, and teleports up into the only place where he can even remotely feel safe again. The silence of the library greets Seven who carefully puts Six down before curling up into his reading armchair and listening with bated breath for anything even remotely resembling a voice not belonging into the hive mind. Minutes pass, and despite his breath calming down, he starts shaking more and more as well as whimpering with growing frequency. “What was it? What was it? What was it?” he doesn’t know when he started repeating this mantra, but he can’t stop. Something beyond the understanding of mortal minds touched him, and somehow he knows he’ll never feel safe again. Just a simple look at the massive library door is enough to make the panic attack worse, and he runs away to the back shelves where a simple cot of few blankets is lying on the carpet. He pushes it under a table, then stacks some of the less valuable books around so that he can’t be seen from the outside, and then pulls the blanket over his head. It’s nowhere close enough. The longer Seven remains in the silence, the more he thinks he can hear voices at the edge of hearing, but whenever he concentrates there’s nothing. Being alone isn’t helping. Seven stands up. “OW!” For some reason, hitting his head on the heavy table feels more calming than the peace of his previously safe spot. “Okay, work work work… anything that will stop this damn silence,” he grits his teeth after much more carefully crawling out from under the table, “Cleanup time!” After putting that part of the library back into some working order, Seven returns to Six who is unsurprisingly still lying on the carbet near the entrance. “Scream? SCREAM?!” he, well, screams into the silence, his voice echoing through the library. ”Who requires some holy smiting?” the alicorn appears with a smile which slowly dissipates when she looks into Seven’s horror-stricken face, ”What? Do I have someone in my teeth?” Seven takes a deep breath. Trying to calm himself down has failed, so the only way not to go crazy is to get straight to work. Going outside to gather love for Six is completely unthinkable. It’s not safe anywhere, and even here it’s questionable. “Remember how I asked you to help me summon a succubus? I think I can do it now.” ”Do you? Last time you had to beat that imp over the head with a chair. That’s not a banishment method that will work against a proper demon.” “I can’t go outside, and it would be useless anyway. A succubus is the only way that I can feed Six, and right now I’m the only one in the position to do so.” Scream disappears for a second, then reappears. ”Huh, you’re right. Only hug bug isn’t unconscious. Alright, if you want a succubus, I can easily provide the best one. But if you summon something with teeth instead of tits, don’t blame me.” “At this point, I’ll go for teeth tits ten times out of ten instead of going outside.” Scream shrugs. ”Let’s go. Got the books ready?” Seven nods to his reading table. “All three of them in this library - Daemonologicus summonus megaboobicus, Practicus succubus balldrainus, and Pleasureus maximus for dummiesus,” ”Enchanted chalk?” “Still got it here from our last attempt,” Seven pushes a box from behind a chair. ”You gonna roll the carpet away again?” “Fuck the carpet!” Seven crushes a piece of chalk in his hooves and starts drawing a circle. The preparations take close to an hour, resulting in Seven being covered in variously colored chalk from head to hoof. Scream examines his hoofwork, and nods her head. ”Much better. Let’s see if the ritual itself ends up different. Do you remember it?” “Yes, but please help me.” Scream blinks. Seven feels grim, focused, and straight to the point, which is vastly different from his usual happy excitement at revealing even the tiniest new forms of magic. That makes things a lot easier, though. To Seven, the previously complicated ritual is more like a chore now. He knows what the progress of how he feels means, how the magic flows through him now. He can categorize every magical nerve lighting up, and every level of power now filling him. The previously fast ten minutes now feel drawn out like reading an already once finished book. In the end, the magical circle glows, and fiery light with green undertones growing throughout the entire ritual coalesces into a winged equine form taller than Seven. This time, Seven can easily be certain he summoned a pleasure demon, because damn, she’s hot. The succubus is blood-red with bat-like, leathery wings. No horns, surprisingly in comparison to his previous failed attempts. Her eyes are strange - glowing gold with slit, black pupils on the background of black sclera. Her tail resembles a griffon one more than a pony - long, hairless whip with dark brown duster on the end. In fact, Seven has to admit, her mane of the same color does look rather… common in comparison to the rest of her. As she takes a step towards him, light slides over her inequinely short coat, drawing Seven’s attention first to her toned legs, then to her slim yet fit figure, and in the end towards her swaying hips. The impressive fact that she’s nearly a full head taller than he is despite not having a horn is lost on him, as the lust practically oozing from her paralyzes his changeling senses. Seeing Seven’s adoring stupor, the succubus smirks, her full lips glossy with golden lipstick matching her eyes only adding to Seven’s shock. In the changeling’s eyes, in the contest of sexiness she could give Scream a damn good run for her money. “I- uhh- I-” Seven needs a reboot. “You summoned me.” “Uhh, well, I, umm… did...” the changeling version of the blue screen of death continues. “Mmmm...” she walks towards the edge of the cummoning circle, but before she can leave, a magical barrier stops her. Tilting her head, she examines blushing Seven, “A changeling mage. I haven’t seen that in quite some time. Certainly a pleasant change from those amateur unicorn demonologists.” “P-Pleasant?” Seven keeps stuttering. Has he just been compared to someone in terms of attractiveness… and came out on top? “Of course,” the succubus winks at him, and blows him a kiss, “With how well both of us can shapeshift, I am certain tonight will be something to remember. So tell me, my master, in which form would you want to take me? A unicorn?” Pink fire envelops her, changing her features to a slender unicorn mare who would make Fleur de Lis do a double take. “I- uhh- me- us-” Seven stops talking and waves his hoof in a circle. His… servant understands, and cycles her body into that of a smaller pegasus, upon which Seven shakes his head, “I, umm… a small, fragile mare isn’t really my thing.” “A submissive then? My favorite,” the succubus chuckles, and turns into a well-built earthpony mare who looks like she could crush Seven’s head between her thighs. Seven gulps. On one hole, that form is something he really wants to try. On the other, the curiosity about what the succubus can really do is slowly winning over his fear. “You’re gorgeous, but I’d like to see more,” he manages to control his voice. “I’ve got a better idea,” she says, “Come closer,” as Seven stops directly in front of the line of the summoning circle, she looks deep into his eyes, “I knew you’d want this. You can’t beat the original.” With another burst of fire, Seven’s jaw drops when he sees a changeling on the other side of the magical barrier. She’s looks very similar to the succubus’ original body in shape and size, but her mane is yellow instead of brown, and her tail is… well, normal. The golden eyes and lipstick remain, though. With the tip of her hoof, she scrapes the invisible wall separating her from Seven. “Now the only question remains,” she says, “Who’s going to be on top?” Seven looks behind him at Scream giving him a sly grin. ”Fun fact, nerd bug - What do you think happens when you infuse a being whose life is based on love and lust with divine power?” the alicorn nods at the succubus. Thinking is much easier for Seven when it’s not related to mares, and he catches on quickly, mostly due to the ‘original’ comment. “She used to be a real changeling?” The changeling succubus turns around, flicks her tail to the side, and swings her hips before spreading her legs. “Why don’t you put your mouth to much better use?” she looks back at him. Seven, on instinct, walks into the summoning circle. Scream’s grin grows, and so does that of the succubus. “Tsk tsk tsk,” she shakes her head, “Walking inside the protected area without any shields of your own. Now THAT is what I call a rookie mistake,” as she turns around, which breaks Seven’s trance, the real changeling can see her rather small but sharp teeth, much more numerous than the mouth of any changeling or pony, like a grin full of needles. He backs off in fear, and the faint glow of the protective circle disappears. “Oopsies,” says the succubus, nodding towards the smooshed chalk outline on the carpet. Before Seven can react, she taps his forehead, and a new feeling rips through him, as if all his love and lust got torn out in an instant. Needless to say, he collapses on the floor, his body going into hibernation. The succubus returns to her demonic form, and stretches her wings. “To be honest, I enjoy a little more meat on my bones,” she says, looking directly at Scream who should be invisible to everyone. For the first time, the alicorn speaks out in a normal voice dripping with honey and eternal invitation to bed… and table… and garage… and the floor if nothing else is readily available: “Time to take matters into our own hooves for a moment. Hug bug does great massages, but I wouldn’t leave him in charge.” The succubus cracks her neck, and heads for the library door, carefully stepping over Six. “Thanks, I owe you one.” Scream smiles. “These guys looked like they needed your help.” “They always do. Let’s see if they deserve it.” The succubus leaves the library, not bothering to hide herself in any way, and Scream vanishes.