Cyno looked up at the red mare, the one that looked at him earlier. The stare had frightened him, but her voice wasn't so scary. Inviting, even. Maybe she was nice! He dropped the bits of teeth obediently and took her hoof in his claws, holding it like a child walking with their parent to school. "What do you say we go exploring, huh?"
Fire Lotus suddenly felt something hit her cheek, quite hard. She recoiled, with a great effort to not spook Cyno away from her. She turned her head, a hard glare at the one pony she knew would have the guts to attack her in broad daylight. Rossa Bellezza approached her, magic still enshrouding her horn as she reached down and pulled Cyno away from the smaller mare. "Yeah. Sorry, on my list of appropriate baby-sitters you don't even feature. Why you wanna walk off wit' a kid anyway?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a challenge.
"He looked lonely," Fire Lotus answered, trying her damnedest to keep up appearances. That Istalian mare could strike a rather hard magical slap..." "..though perhaps not as lonely as you've been these last six weeks, Rossa," she added cheekily. This last bit caught the attention of the others. It hadn't been the first time these two had come to blows, but to use the fact that Gabriel had preferred the shorter mare to Rossa this whole time? That was a sore spot. Rossa's indignation allowed the assassin to pull the child closer to her once more.
But to the assassin's surprise, Rossa threw her head back and laughed in a way that told her she did not have the edge. "Is that the best you got? I've heard better insults from whores half-passed out an' drunk protecting the outhouse she decided to sleep in!"
The entire crew present broke out into laughter, even though Ramani did not understand the context. She always did enjoy the banter between the two red mares, like it was some kind of popularity contest. While Fire Lotus' cheeks turned red, having been taken by surprise at the crushing blow she'd been dealt, the young zebra quietly stole away with the young griffon hybrid. Whatever the crew was about to share with Mimosa wasn't going to interest her, anyway, and she'd been looking for an excuse to get out from under Dendalla's watchful eye, as well.
Hooves clopped quickly through the heavy rainforest. A few hundred yards back, Ramani could hear the arguing and fighting. Ramani and the others had gotten used to the regular verbal baiting between the two, but rarely had it gotten so personal. "Red and taller red should just kiss and get married!" she joked to Cyno, who chirped in response and clung to her mohawk-like mane. In truth he was quite uncomfortable around 'red', but he still wasn't sure how to articulate this. Getting kidnapped by the stripy one was a much preferable alternative.
The two hadn't gotten very far when a bright blue light flitting through the trees caught Ramani's attention. She skidded to a stop, and the two approached the darkness in the heavier branches where the light had darted into. Hybrid and zebra peered in together. What had that light been? Some luminous bug or bird? They saw no trace of it, until there was an odd chuff behind them. They turned, and came face to face with a ghostly equine face. It reared back with it's half torso body, and let out a loud, angry cry. The two young explorers screamed, and fell back away from the creature. By the time they'd managed to scramble back to their feet, the beast had gone.
Ramani's heart raced in her chest. Had she seen what she thought she saw? Ghostly white visage, half a body, and enough horrible vibes to chill her to the bone? If she was right, she'd just seen a Windigo! Creatures manifested through intense feelings of hatred and leaving behind deadly cold in their wake. But what could possibly...Wait. The gears in Ramani's head began spinning in overdrive. Well, they always were, but this? This was truly eye opening. Could the feud between Red and Taller Red be intense enough to summon a Windigo here? But what if something else, something much bigger was at work here?
Cyno seemed to catch on to the zebra's trepidation. He clung to her and buried his face in her shoulder fur. "Is alright, baby," she said comfortingly. She pulled him up onto her back with a leg and smiled at him. "Windigos are bad news. Mimosa should know he is host to bad juju!" With that, she took off back in the direction she'd come at full speed, which was a little faster than the average pony. She returned to see Tall Red half sitting and half lying on the ground with a trail of blood down her forehead, but she wore a smirk. A few feet away from her was Steel Scabbard, nursing what looked to be a black eye and a bloody mouth.
Mimosa Palm stood between them, looking quite angry. "I told you pirates, fighting here in my home is absolutely off-limits! Gabriel, I will speak with you and two others, but the rest of you, especially you two," he gestured to both Reds, "out! If you want to explore the biodomes you may do so at a later time, but my patience for stupidity has reached it's end for today!"
"Of course, Mr Mimosa," Gabriel said with a sigh, then turned to the others as Dendalla appeared behind Ramani suddenly.
"Cannot take you anywhere!" Dendalla thundered, a brazen glare settling on Cyno. "And take off that th-"
Ramani shook her head and settled a hoof over Cyno's head. "No. Don't speak badly, Dendalla, they will come and freeze everything!"
"What? What are you babbling abou-"
"You two," Gabriel called. The group made an opening for Gabriel's lofty form to step closer. "Dendalla, Ramani, I'd like you with me while we speak with Mimosa. The rest of you clear out of here...and maybe steer clear of each other, Rossa?"
Rossa got to her hooves proudly and shook out her blonde mane. "That's all right with me. I'm-a gonna find me some food. Look for somethin' with a little taste for once."
Steel Scabbard got to her hooves a bit shakily and wiped at her mouth. She glared once at Gabriel, then turned and hobbled quietly towards the exit. The crew watched her go for a moment. There would be different accounts of what happened there just moments before, but they could all agree: Steel Scabbard wouldn't be returning to the ship with them.
"Now, if you'll come with me, 'captain'," Mimosa motioned, deeper into the jungle.
Gabriel sighed and nodded to the two Zebrafrican natives, with Cyno hobbling along at her side. He glanced backwards, noticing 'Red' watching him go with the barest of scowls. He let out a chirp of panic and scrambled onto the zebra's back, eliciting a series of squeaks and giggles from the girl. As Mimosa began speaking of things the hybrid wouldn't understand, he spotted a familiar face in the trees. The nice bird woman, shorter than his normal caretaker. She smiled at him and waved, content to see him safe.
Ten minutes later, the pirate group emerged, laughing and jeering at Steel Scabbard's expense. "What a joke! Takin' a beating from the navigator, no less!" Rossa crooned, garnering laughter from her shipmates. Fire Lotus followed after quietly, Rising Mist coming to walk beside her.
"How humiliating," he said, boldly risking injury.
Fire Lotus smirked humorlessly. "It certainly was difficult, having to throw that fight. Rossa has a mean hook, but she has bad timing. I had to put myself into the path of her blows to make them halfway effective. I swear, if I didn't need the ride to Breen I'd've killed her happily."
"Yes, about that..."
Fire Lotus stared at her old companion, her eyes narrowing. "Do not tell me that I'm out. I have one contract to carry out here, but at least half a dozen in Breen! I need that ride!"
"You should have thought of that before picking a fight with Rossa at every opportunity! You couldn't even win those fights without giving yourself away!"
The mare scowled and stomped her bum leg to feel the pain dealt to her by Ampelus months earlier. "It's the principle of the thing..."
Rising Mist continued, disregarding his companion's anger. "You cannot expect to act so recklessly and without consequences. You have probably ruined your chances of sailing with us, and I will be unable to intervene on your behalf. It's bad enough that we speak like this, the others are already suspecting our little talks. I am the crew's lookout, not yours. You made your bed, Fire Lotus." The pegasus wisely took off into the air and resumed his post to watch out for the others, leaving the assassin to stew.
She grumbled to herself. Did she really have to be so competitive with the Istalian native? Sure she was a pain in the ass, but she was also highly intelligent. She knew Fire Lotus was trouble, and kept picking fights in order to eventually get rid of her. If she'd just played it cool there wouldn't have been a problem!
She stopped in her tracks. Somewhere in the woods, she felt an unmistakable thirst. It was like her own, thick, intense. But for Fire Lotus, there was always a mix of sensual violence in her bloodlust. There was none of that here. Just a pure, intense bloodlust. She hadn't even felt something like this coming from Shimmering Oasis. "All right," she called, hooves digging a little into the earth in preparation. "I know you're watching, show yourself."
"Hm..." a quiet voice said, soft and feminine. A figure seemed to slither from the bushes. She was a pony, at first glance. On second glance, her appearance was off. She was a blue color, somewhat like the sea, with a hint of green. Her mane was much too solid to be a mane, it resembled a thick, solid wave of seaweed, and her ears were long, flat, and with little ridges on the end. And that was there the pony resemblance ended, because the back portion of her body was long and winding, like a snake. She gently grasped her chin in a foreleg as she studied Fire Lotus. "You come with the pirates, who are neutral...but I saw you speaking with the dark pegasus like you're friends, and he's definitely an enemy, so you must be one, too!"
Fire Lotus couldn't really say she was wrong, but there was no time to refute this as the snaky mare dashed forward. The assassin just made out the shiny tip of a needle before striking out with her own hidden kunai. The elongated pony paused halfway back into her hiding place and turned around, eyes wide with surprise. "Wow. You're fast! You should totally be on the ground by now, flopping like a fish and gasping for air." She spoke without an ounce of sarcasm or mirth. Something about her irked Fire Lotus, but she would need to stay on her guard. This creature was very fast, and she couldn't even see where the needle had come from or where it had gone. Her hooves were empty!
"Uh, look, I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. I'm a little stressed right now, but I'll do you a favor." Fire Lotus whipped her mane back out of her face, noting that the long pony's body was curling under her, preparing to strike again. "I am not in any way affiliated with the dark pegasus Spark Storm. He's my enemy, but I needed him to play along so that my plans wouldn't be ruined. I need the pirates to get inside here and take care of...something."
"Mimosa's place? Take care of something?" The creature grasped her chin again in thought. "Hm, no, I like the idea of fighting you better. You seem plenty strong and fast, and I'll bet you're going to be a threat to my plans, sorry." The creature zipped at Fire Lotus once more, the assassin prepared. But...where was the needle? The mare jumped over her assailant, but the long pony stopped just under her and thrust her long tail upwards. Fire Lotus slashed at the tip, which pulled away at the last second and zipped out again, catching Fire Lotus' leg under the pit. She felt a pull, and quite suddenly was back on the ground on her back, the long tail wrapping around her torso and squeezing.
The flash of metal came quickly, aimed at her neck. She had only a second to act and flipped the knife to hold it in her teeth and interrupted the needle, which was held in the elbow of her kidnapper's foreleg. The long pony was taken by surprise once more as Fire Lotus managed to change the direction of the needle with her knife and pushed the tip into the long body. "Ouch!" she cried, but only seemed to wear a disappointed expression. "Aw, I only brought the one vial, too. I'm immune to my own poison, see," she said, knocking away her prisoner's knife with the long, fan-like tip of her tail.
"Sorry..." Fire Lotus croaked, struggling to get free of the surprisingly moist coils around her middle. She let out an involuntary squeak as the coils began squeezing inbetween her rear legs. "D...do you mind? That's...kinda turning me on..."
"Ugh. Why is it always sex?" The long pony seemed perturbed and turned her back to her prey. "All the time, it's 'ooh what a pretty body', 'Hey, what can those coils do?' 'Do you have any oils for prolonged sexual pleasure?' Rrrgh!" The coils moved faster against Fire Lotus' thighs, who squirmed, helpless as the eel-like creature rattled off her problems. "My body is not your plaything, my body is your death. I don't like romance, or "touchy-feely" stuff, but every time I've got my coils around someone, it's 'Fuck that's hot' or using my naturally moist curves to get off and I hate it! I'm trying to kill you, not gratify you!"
"You don't say?" Fire Lotus coughed. As the long pony squeezed harder, the closer those coils came to actually slipping inbetween in...and suddenly, there was a pinch on the inside of the assassin's thigh. She let out a yelp and fell over as the long creature released her to the ground. "Ow...why? You were so close! What did you...?"
"Cyanide," she told Fire Lotus. The assassin got to her hooves, eyes wide.
"...What?"
"My name is Seaweed Cyanide, and there's a good reason." Fire Lotus watched, wide eyed, as the long body slowly shrank and an average-sized pony with four regular legs stood before her. She patted her hip, to which was strapped another needle. As her name suggested, her cutie mark was a clear bottle with a cork stopper in the midst of seaweed. "Anyway, I think my job is done here. Whether you're a friend of the dark pegasus or not you're still a threat. Were. Good luck finding an antidote to that poison I just hit you with, it doesn't grow on the island. You've got about twenty minutes, I guess. I need to go find your friends and put them down, too, so Lusus can kill that princess."
Fire Lotus' head was swimming. She teetered back and forth, finally falling on her side. Was it her side? She couldn't tell, because her world was turning over and over. She gasped and flailed her legs, making it worse. "Wha...w-w-what...d-d..done...you...m-m...meee?" she managed. Seaweed peered down at her and waved a hoof in front of her eyes.
"Don't worry, the spinning will be over in five minutes. Then everything gets a bit numb after that. It's not painful...I don't think. Maybe the others were just a bit too sleepy to scream? Anyway, I respect your battle ability, so I gave you something that won't make a big mess."
Fire Lotus closed her eyes, but that didn't stop the spinning. Shit...shit, shit! she thought. It was difficult to even think. How was she going to survive this? There was so much more she needed to do! So much death to cash in on! But more than that, she needed to find Shimmering Oasis and kill her for trying to bury her alive with all their enemies!
In her despair, Fire Lotus did not notice the rhythmic flopping sound approaching. "Ohhh dear," an older female voice said, garnering the assassin's attention. "Seaweed's at it again, is she?"
Fire Lotus let out a groan not unlike something out of an undead film as she tried to focus on whatever had found her. It was...some kind of enormous, fat frog? "Whaaaafug?"
"Wollypog, actually. We've been monitoring Seaweed Cyanide's presence on the island. She and Lusus keep pushing boundaries, testing limits. Lusus actually attacked us earlier today, of all things!" As she spoke, the wollypog reached up into the branches that grew out of her back and withdrew a handful of leaves, or padful, or whatever counted as fingers on her oversized dextrous feet. She put them in her mouth and chewed for a bit, then pulled out the slimy wad and pulled open Fire Lotus' mouth and stuck it in. When the mare made to spit it out, the wollypog clamped her mouth shut with a foot. "If you don't want to die in twenty minutes like she said, I'd chew that if I were you. Swallow the juices, don't eat the leaves. That'll kill you, too."
Fire Lotus dry heaved, resisting the urge to vomit, but did as she was told. She let out a long, irritated groan as she felt the amphibian grab her around the middle and start dragging her into the bushes.
The sun bore down on the forest at it's zenith. It was hot, and quite humid. Eight figures strode in between the trees, seeking shade, especially Spark Storm and Callie, the two heaviest on account of their fur and feathers, and Spark's dark colors absorbing the sunlight. The pegasus turned to the two new changelings, Echo and Light Fire, still awaiting an explanation. The female, Light Fire, gave him a look of mock exasperation. "All right, you're right. You've been very patient, Sparky."
"I didn't say anything..."
"You dont have to." Her antennae twitched as she offered him a smile. "...yes, I can read your thoughts. A little. Not just your feelings, either. Changelings from Breen are...a little different."
Spark's eyes widened. "I, uh, thought you only picked up on feelings..." Ampelus also perked at this information.
"Oh please," Light Fire giggled. "I can tell all three of you are hiding things from each other, but you don't need to be telepathic to pick out your cues! Animalistic lust is kind of hard to hide!"
Even Callie turned to look back at the changelings, but it was clear that she was listening. Spark Storm and Ampelus both looked annoyed, but the nymph looked ready to strike. Sonar took a step forward to stand in front of Light Fire, but the female changeling darted forward, almost nose to nose with Ampelus. "Well?" the changeling asked cheekily.
Spark stared at the two, wings twitching nervously. Ampelus had not had a good day, though his opinion was a tremendous understatement. Finally, Ampelus sneered and turned away from her, and continued walking. "Its not lust," she said under her breath.
"No, it isnt." Ampelus growled, but continued. She could already tell that having these two around would be a tremendous pain in the ass.
Spark storm sighed as Ampelus passed him by. Danger averted. "So," he began casually.
Light Fire nodded after a moment, her whole body seeming to dim. "Of course. So yes...the hive has been destroyed. A few of us remain behind, hiding. They wait for us, hoping that we'll have found our old comrades."
Spark Storm frowned, then shook his head in Anorax's direction. "I think you mean, hoping you'll find the princes and princesses that were sent to aid the Equestria hive."
Echo and Light Fire stared at the pegasus. Even Callie, who seemed to know more than most, looked shocked. "You...didn't read that?" Spark asked.
Light Fire shook her head. "That must've been a deeper memory. I can't dig that deep, just surface thoughts."
I'll have to keep that in mind.
Light Fire let out a peal of laughter. "Good! You're catching on."
Spark managed a grin that confused Ampelus and Callie. He had a feeling that he was going to like these new changelings, at least Light Fire. He couldn't get a read on Echo yet. "Okay, so...Madalah and Kecnic are next in line for the throne..." Spark Storm frowned thoughtfully as he turned to Anorax. "I think I can piece it from here. The Breen changelings need to get home and continue the line, but...where does that leave you, Anorax?"
The white changeling, who refused to change back to pegasus form for now, looked away distantly. Madalah sighed and gave her lover a comforting nuzzle. "Anorax is, of course, welcome to stay with us in Breen. But...I'm afraid he'll be required to take on a less...involved role. The others waiting for us are on a higher tier than Anorax, who literally has no standing..."
Spark Storm felt himself getting angry. "...So? Change the rules!" He continued despite the dirty looks the changelings gave him. "You're going to be the new Queen of the Breen hive, aren't you?? Change the rules, make an exception!"
"Dude! These are their rules and traditions going back hundreds if not thousands of years!" Anorax chided loudly. "Show some respect!"
"What about you, Anorax?! You risked your neck for these guys and the girl you love, now she's gonna shack up with some other changeling and let you hang around and watch her rebuild the hive with some other guy?!"
"That's my choice to make, Spark! And don't say it like this isn't difficult for Madalah, either, because it isn't!" The changelings were quiet as Anorax railed into his friend. There was a quiet, sad reverence about them. "Yeah, it's not ideal, but Madalah wants me there, and as long as she does she has my support, no matter what has to happen. I promised that to her, and I'm not going to take that back."
Spark Storm fumed, regarding his friend for a moment. Finally he sighed, willing his anger to slowly deflate. "Ugh...I dont know, Anorax. I dont think I can appreciate the situation, and I dont agree with it." He held up a hoof when Anorax looked ready to argue again. "But...you are my friend, and if this is really what you want to do, I'll support you a hundred percent, 'cause that's what a good friend does." Callie smiled, impressed with Spark's resolve. She was starting to rethink her trip to Sunanwaves.
"Thank you. I know this difficult to understand. I just want to help them rebuild, in any way I can."
"I guess we can work on understanding each other at a later time." The others smiled at him, most admiring his loyalty to his friend, even if he didn't agree with his friend's choice. Ampelus rolled her eyes and peered sideways at the changelings. Their legs were the same, though with less holes. Light Fire's mane was actually hair, unlike the fin mohawks most changelings boasted, though Echo was all about the fins. He had blue circles all over his body, the larger shapes on his torso. They grew smaller on his legs and horn. He looked like the physical manifestation of what echo location might look like.
"But..." Callie chimed in, for the first time since the discussion began. "What about the kirins?" All others present turned their eyes on the griffon. "Well," she continued when no one questioned her question. "...the kirin came and destroyed your hive, forced ya to flee and hide an' regroup...so, where're you gonna rebuild, an' what's to stop the kirin from attacking you again? The kirin'll hear about ya again at some point - an' they'll come lookin' for ya when they do..."
"As good a question as that is," Spark interjected," and I'd like to get back to it." He turned to the changelings, who already looked nervous at Callie's question. "Why did they attack your hive in the first place? Why are they attacking anyone?"
Kecnic strode forth this time. "We'd have to things back a bit for that one. The kirin used to be peaceful creatures. Breen was once a paradise, full of creatures who valued creativity and intellectualism, and the kirin were no different. This all changed about fifty years ago. Quite suddenly the kirin called their people back to their capital city. All other races were cast out and prohibited from returning, even longtime citizens were suddenly homeless."
Spark Storm frowned, and Callie looked quite sad. "That's where my folks were from. They lived in Phear when they were kids."
"They lived in fear?" Spark almost immediately regretted asking.
Callie shook her head patiently. "No, the city is called Phear. It was called somethin' else a long time ago, though..."
"It was called Wellos," Madalah said. "It was such a beautiful place to be, especially since it all made sense. The kirin were healers."
Anorax coughed nervously. "Uh, what? Just how old are you?"
Madalah held a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. "Hm...I think I'll be ninety-five this year."
The white changeling seemed to pale a bit, however improbable that seemed. "Nu...ninety-five? I'm only fourteen!"
Madalah smiled and patted his head consolingly. "I'm royalty. I'll live to be well over a few thousand years old, ninety-five is still quite young. I'm at least your age in maturity!"
"Yes, anyway," Kecnic continued, hiding his amusement. "Wellos suddenly closed up and kept other races from coming back inside. Within the next five years they launched a campaign of conformity. They announced themselves as a military might, attacking other cities and settlements that did not immediately acknowledge the kirins as sovereign. It was so out of the blue and such a ridiculous concept that many of Breen's citizens tried to laugh it off. They were boiled to death."
Spark, Ampelus and Anorax were deathly quiet at this. "What do you mean?" Anorax finally said.
Echo spoke now. "All kirin have two major magicks that they excel in. Their secondary magic might be something silly, like the ability to paint a masterpiece, dusting the mantelpiece, or flying a kite. Their primary magic is something far more useful and versatile. At least...it's supposed to be. Every kirin, large and small, are able to generate infinite amounts of endless boiling water in the depths of their stomachs, which they used to spew out for their tea. Nowadays it is used for terraforming - and for punishing those who do not conform. It is...a terrible way to die." Echo sighed tearfully and rubbed at his eyes.
Callie looked like she could also cry. Before she could say anything, a distinct dragging sound could be heard. The group turned to look back at the way they'd come, and beheld a strange scene. An enormous frog with a foot-tall green bush growing out of it's back, dragging along a red mare. Spark Storm recognized both. "You! Uh...sorry, I didn't get your name..."
Callie let out a sound like a strangled squeak when she noticed the creature. "Ooh, we've got polite youngin's in our midst!" The wollypog joked, continuing to drag Fire Lotus towards the center of the group. "The name is Melba. And you-" she said, unceremoniously dropping the red mare at Ampelus' hooves. "-are the only one here who can save her life."