//------------------------------// // Chapter 37 - Student Six, Minus Two // Story: To Be a Changeling // by PlagueRat //------------------------------// Silverstream rested her cheek against the palm of her talon as she leaned on the windowsill with a frown on her beak. The young hippogriff watched Celsetia’s sun as it lowered over the horizon but, lost in her own thoughts, didn’t really ‘see’ it. “We should be out looking for Sandbar,” Smolder grumbled. “Not just sitting around here and waiting.” The dragoness was sitting on the floor, back resting against the side of Yona’s bed and bouncing a rubber ball in frustration against the wall opposite her. “Headmistress Twilight says we have to stay inside until the situation with Chrysalis is taken care of…” the hippogriff repeated in a monotone for the fifth time within the last hour or so. “Yeah, well I think it’s taking too long,” said Smolder as she threw the ball with a little extra muscle behind it. “This all Yona fault,” the yak said, laying in her bed and facing the wall. “If Yona not find little changeling cocoon, Sandbar not be in trouble.” “Yona, it’s not your fault,” said Silverstream, “You didn’t know what it was. None of us did.” “You think Sandbar really trapped in changeling pod like Ocellis said?” Yona asked, worry in her tone. “I hope not,” shivered Silverstream, “it sounds terrible.” “If Chrysalis and her changelings tried something like this in the dragon empire they would be flying away with their butts on fire,” hissed Smolder while twin trails of smoke rose from her nostrils. During one particularly hard throw by Smolder, the ball nicked the side of the dresser and ricocheted toward the opening dorm room door. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Gallus ended up catching the ball in his open beak. The blue griffon narrowed his eyes and furiously shook his head until it became dislodged. “Not the best welcome for someone with news,” Gallus grouched as he wiped saliva from his beak. “Well knock next time before you just barge in,” Smolder chided. “Sorry, but I was kinda in a hurry, since I know where Sandbar is,” the griffon deadpanned, “and thought you might like to know.” “Where is he?” All three females in the room cried out and turned to face Gallus at the same time. “Someplace south east called Rambling Rock Ridge,” Gallus informed them. “How do you know?” questioned Silverstream. “Did you see him?” “No I didn’t see him,” the griffon said, “but I did see a large group of pony guards go off on a search for him.” “What, wait?” blinked Smolder. “Okay, so this morning I saw professor Applejack with a group of guards and I got kinda curious,” explained Gallus. “So I snuck out, found a stray cloud, hid inside it and started to follow them.” “And they didn’t see a cloud tailing them around?” Smolder asked with crossed arms. “It’s not like I was right behind them,” the griffon said. “We griffons have great eyesight so I just stayed way up above them until they reached the Everfree Forest.” “What did you do when they reached the Everfree?” Silverstream asked. “l lost track of them for a while until I heard Applejack’s dog barking,” continued Gallus. “Then I spotted them searching around a clearing in the middle of the woods. When they went back under the trees I decided to fly down lower so I could trail them by sound.” “So what does this have to do with rumbling rock range?” pressed Smolder as the little orange dragoness impatiently tapped her elbow with a claw tip. “I’m getting there,” said the griffon, “and it’s Rambling Rock Ridge.” “Whatever, just finish the story already,” growled Smolder. “I will if you stop interrupting me,” mumbled Gallus before going on. “So the Everfree runs along the border of Rambling Rock Ridge and that’s where Applejack and the guards ended up. It turns out they had been using Applejack’s dog to track the changelings.” “Did they find any?” asked Yona. “That’s the thing, they just left!” Gallus exclaimed. “They wanted to wait because the sun was going down.” “So they just left without trying to save Sandbar!?” gasped Silverstream. “We have to go!” “Yeah if they aren’t going to rescue him then we will!” Smolder said determinedly, punching a fist into her palm. “Yona want to save pony friend too,” the yak agreed. “Take Yona to rocky road raisin.” Four specters descended from the night sky, gliding to a flat ledge among the near barren landscape. With great care three of the dark figures lowered their fourth member to the ground and then landed alongside her. “Can Yona open eyes now?” asked the juvenile yak who was now wearing a very dark green blanket on her back along with a little helmet from her homeland. “Yeah, we’re here,” confirmed Gallus before he pulled the hood of his black sweat jacket off his head. “So where should we start?” Silverstream asked, decked out in a dark grey turtleneck with a bandit mask over her eyes. “There are some caves along the cliff sides over there,” Smolder pointed out after lowering the bandana from her muzzle. “Okay everycreature, arm up,” said Gallus. With a determined nod the hippogriff opened the satchel at her side and each of them took a turn to remove an item from it. Gallus equipped himself with two cans of insect repellant and shook them both before stowing them in his jacket pockets. Smolder dual wielded two large fly swatters and made a practiced series of attacks against an invisible enemy. Silverstream pulled the plunger back on a bug sprayer and placed it in a holster just behind her withers. Yona didn’t need anything else other than her helmet because yaks smash. “Do we all remember the plan?” asked Smolder. “Yeap,” said Silverstream, “Smolder goes in first because she can see the best in the dark, Yona follows as her backup and me and Gallus guard the rear.” “Good,” nodded the dragoness, “now where do we start?” “That cave looks as good as any other,” said Gallus, pointing up at an opening in the cliff face. All agreed and once again the three creatures gifted in flight lifted their yak friend into the air and over to the opening in the stone. “We ready?” asked the griffon. “Let’s do this,” answered Smolder, “For Sandbar,” said Silverstream. “Time to bring pony friend home,” the yak snorted and pawed the ground with a hoof. Huddled together, the quartet slowly made their way down the tunnel. While helping the group slightly to see, the intermittent patches of glowing mushrooms and moss made their journey eerie and otherworldly. “This place reminds me of an underwater cave in seaquestra I once found,” whispered Silverstream. “These little sea slugs that lived there provided the only light from these glowing feathery things that grew on their backs. My brother touched one and they all sucked in their glowy bits and the cave went pitch black. We had to wait until they lit up the cave again before we found our way out. It was awful.” “Sssssh,” the dragoness held up an open claw to warn her friends to stop. “What is it?” the yak asked softly. “I think I hear something,” Smolder explained and squinted into the darkness ahead. “Um girls?” said Silversteam, “where did Gallus go?” Looking all around them the three friends discovered, much to their apprehension, their griffon companion was indeed missing, leaving only a few azure feathers behind on the stone floor. Yona bit her bottom lip and took a few steps backward, stopping when she heard the sound of something cracking beneath her. The freighted yak reflexively grabbed ahold of Smolder at her side and the two had barely a moment to realize their predicament before the ground gave way and they disappeared into darkness. “Yona, Smolder!” cried out Silverstream. When the hippogriff attempted to reach the hole her friends vanished through, one of her rear hooves tripped over something. Staggering forward slightly, she regained her balance only to have a large net fall on her from above. “Oooohh not good, not good…” she whispered to herself, struggling to get out from under the net. A low hissing sound came from behind the hippogriff and she froze in place. When she finally dared to turn around and look behind her, there was a set of glowing blue orbs staring directly at her. A fanged mouth slowly opened, its white teeth dripping with saliva, and it caused her to let out a sharp gasp. The creature’s long forked tongue reached toward her neck and all the lone trembling hippogriff could do was squeeze her eyes shut and lean away.