The dust exploded into the air around us as millennia old stone cracked and crumbled, collapsing to the ground below. "Hold up! You can't just bring the whole building down and not say anything about it! Are you even listening to me?!" I shouted at Andromeda, who didn't bother to respond.
The guard's limp corpse hung lifelessly in her grasp, like some sort of sick, twisted mockery of a doll. She'd been completely silent ever since she had seen the... "lovely" display that had been left in her sanctum. I hesitated to call it shock — hay, I didn't even know if she could go into shock. But I could tell she was affected by what she had seen, though I didn't think I could ever truly appreciate how much.
As we walked outside, she sank back into my body, and a large chunk of earth was torn out of the ground in the telltale misty aura of my passenger. “Oi! What do you think you're doing?!” She then proceeded to fling the mangled corpse of the guard into here newly created hole.
"Hold on a sec! This isn't even close to a proper—" The large mass of loose earth and rock was dropped into the hole. "—burial..."
"His soul reaches Elysium all the same," she said plainly, as if talking about the weather.
I huffed, kicking a wayward stone. "It's about respect, damnit! Proper rites and all that jazz! Hay, you can do weird teleport-y stuff! We could have at least dropped the body off at the Canterlot morgue or something!"
She scoffed at me. "And expose us to further assault from any Changeling agents that happen to be nearby? Nay, ‘tis better this way. Eldritch magics have touched that corpse, and it would be unwise to expose anypony else to its corruption."
"And you can't do anything about that? No horn-wavey, magical shenanigans you can pull to make it safe?"
Her head emerged from my chest and raised an eyebrow at me. "Exorcisms and holy magics weren't Luna's forte, or mine for that matter. That particular specialty belongs to her snake of a sister. Even if there were something I could do, we've not the time to dally with such nonsense! Time is of the essence if we are to find those responsible."
I rolled my eyes at her. "Okay then, Miss Priss. And I assume you know exactly where to look? Equestria's a big bucking place after all, lots of little nooks and crannies for crazy cultist ponies to hide in."
"Tch. I've no desire to listen to your snark. I've an idea of where to look, and for that matter, ‘tis one you would appreciate."
"Oh? And where, pray tell, would that be?"
She chuckled, wrapping herself around my neck like a scarf and looking me in the eyes. "I'm sure you would appreciate letting your parents know that you are alive and well, correct?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The train rumbled and shook, jostling me in my booth seat, which was comfortably in the far corner of the car. "Remind me again why we're taking the train and not teleporting?" I muttered under my breath, casting a furtive glance to the multitude of empty seats in our cart. The only occupant, other than myself, was a lone server mare, who seemed busy enough wiping down seats. By this point, we'd probably been sitting there for a good few hours, and the sun was already peeking over the horizon.
"For the twentieth time now... I aim to conserve our energy, should we come under ambush, or enter a conflict. Shadow-walking such long distances takes an incredible amount of magic, and I am unsure as to whether or not you are 'down' to replenish our reserves for the time being." She hummed to herself a bit, sending tingles all over my scalp. "Prithee, flag the cart over and ask for some of that custard tart, if you'd be so kind. And do mind our guise, it may break if you make any sudden movements, due to its rushed nature."
I grimaced at the thin sheet of illusory magic covering my body. My previously midnight blue coat was now a creamy yellow, and I could see my hair had been turned a lovely shade of bucking pink. To top it all off, she'd slapped some butterflies on my flanks and called it a day. "Uh-huh, fine. But I swear to Faust if you ever disguise me again, I'd better not look like some filly's doll by the time you're done with me, or I'll shove my hoof so far up your spectral flank you'll wish you had just turned me brown!" I hissed out as discreetly as I could.
She giggled at my misfortune. "Of course. I am nothing if not benevolent."
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," I snorted, flagging the mare with the cart over. "Hey uh, could I get somethin' real quick?"
She trotted over, a fake smile plastered onto her face. I couldn't blame her. it was five AM on a train bound for the sleepiest town in Equestria. The poor mare had to be tired. "Of course, dearie! What can I get you?" As she looked at me, she had this... worried look on her face. Almost as if she expected me to lash out and bite her.
Curious.
"Yeah, could I get a few of the custard tarts you've got there?" As I spoke, I gave her a quick once-over, looking at her carefully. Nothing seemed off...
"Look closer!" Andromeda growled out, causing me to blink.
I had to restrain myself from gasping at what I saw. There was now a Changeling standing in the mare's place, the area around it covered in a green haze that was vaguely in the shape of a pony.
The bug slid a few tarts off of the tray and onto a small plate, setting it on the small table in front of me. "Of course! That will be five bi—MMPH!!" It was cut off by Andromeda clamping the bug's mouth shut with her magic, silencing any potential cries for help.
"You want to handle this, or should I?"
"I shall allow you to engage with it. I am interested to see how you perform."
"Considering your method of dealing with it would get blood all over the cabin, I think any outcome I can get is better than that."
"I resent that statement, no matter how true it may be."
I looked at it crossly, glaring holes through its skull. "Okay, here's how this is gonna go. If I allow you to open your mouth, and you scream, you're going to have a very bad day. Are we clear, you swiss cheese abomination?" I growled at it, struggling to keep my voice from shaking. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but if I bucked up then I was fairly sure Andromeda could salvage the situation. This was her gig, right?
The Changeling nodded fearfully, dropping its previous guise. Andromeda released her grasp on its muzzle, causing the bug to gasp. "H-how did you know?"
"None of your business. How many more of you are there?" I grabbed the shirt it was wearing, dragging it so I could get in its face, causing my disguise to break. "And if you try killing me like the last bunch, I will gladly repay the favor in kind." Truth be told, I was talking out of my ass. I wouldn't be doing anything to her...
That was Andromeda's job, after all.
The bug gulped, staring at me with those big, beady blue eyes that made me want to chuck it out of the closest window. "J-j-just me! Nobuggy else, honest! P-p-please don't hurt me!"
I looked around, making sure that there was nopony in the cart other than myself and the quivering insect. This one wasn't like the bugs that had attacked me. It didn't have the angry look of a predator. It was... fuller. There were no holes in its legs, it was a bit on the chubby side... it almost looked cute, in a way. I almost felt bad for roughing it up.
Almost.
I pulled it into the booth with me, Andromeda swiftly grabbing the custard tarts within her magic to prevent them from falling to the floor as I did so. I held the Changeling against the wall of the train cart, pinning it in place with supernatural strength. "Why are you here?"
It was on the verge of a panic attack now. "I-I-I j-just wanted a life away from the hive! The Q-Queen exiled me! I haven't hurt any ponies... please... please don't kill me..." It just continued to mutter those same words, screwing its eyes closed and curling back into itself.
"Intriguing. I was not aware that Freeminds were born upon exile."
"The hay's a freemind? And are you sure we should be letting this thing run around freely?"
"'Tis exactly as the name implies. A changeling capable of free thought. Unlike the Queens and their relentless hunger for power, any Freemind that Luna and I encountered were law abiding citizens... most of them, anyway. I leave it up to you on whether or not this bug deserves to live."
The train lurched to a stop, and my ear flicked as the conductor's bored and unenthusiastic voice came out from the intercom system. "Last stop for Hollow Shades. I repeat, last stop for Hollow Shades."
I looked back at the bug, my hoof still pressed against its throat. And as I looked at the creature's face...
I knew what needed to be done.