"Now arriving at Ponyville station!"
The official announced yet another town that I didn't recognize. Unless the ponies decided to start renaming their settlements after the creation of Equestria, they were expanding rapidly. I supposed it made some amount of sense, considering the ease with which they could now travel. Resource distribution wouldn't hinder colonial growth very much after the advent of this train, and who knows how many of these machines they may have built.
I briefly considered walking off the train once it came to a halt, but Double Time was still unconscious. We would doubtlessly attract attention if I slung her across my back, and levitating her in a sphere of green magic would probably not go over well with the locals.
I had no other choice but to expend energy—again—on a fire portal to disembark. As it was already approaching evening, the light produced by the flames would be too conspicuous once we stopped, so I opted to make our exit while still in motion.
Lifting Double Time with my magic and placing her across my back, I once again created an emerald ring of flames but paused momentarily to consider a change in the portal's appearance.
The fire appeared to be reaching toward us as though a great wind was trying to blow it out, and it took me a moment to realize the portal itself was affixed to the floor while the flames coming off it were trying to remain in place as the train moved forward without them. Thankfully, though, passing through the portal was just as soothing as every other time I had ever created one.
Considering I had only brief glimpses of treetops from our hiding place, the fact that our exit point was in yet another forest didn't surprise me very much. Honestly, I was just relieved to have not exited into a solid object.
The trees around us were old. Much older than the comparatively youthful woods surrounding Colton or Hoofington. The canopy overhead was dense and shut out a significant amount of what little light remained of the day, as though it wasn't welcome—and we were barely a dozen steps beyond the treeline.
Looking back toward the train, I could make out the town and surrounding area quite clearly. Ponyville was significantly larger than Colton, Hoofington, and Dodge Junction combined. There was a tall circular building in the center of town, dozens of one- or two-story homes, and numerous colorful buildings with sculpted decorations—which I assumed to be places of business. Beyond the outskirts of town were massive fields of various grains and vegetables, as well as the single largest apple orchard I have ever seen.
If the number of ponies that field of trees could feed was anywhere near representative of the local population, these ponies had multiplied at a ferocious rate since I last traveled through this region.
Everything I saw seemed unnatural to me. It just wasn't possible to create a place like this in under a year—or even twenty! The Wendigo blizzard alone would have made planting those crops and trees all but impossible.
For that matter, I hadn't even given thought to how the Wendigos were defeated. That had to have taken significant effort and time. Right?
Too many significant events have been taking place down here in Equestria. Although, knowing ponies, they probably just sang the Wendigos into submission.
Imagine my surprise—years later—when I finally heard the story of Hearth's Warming, only to realize that my sarcastic remark turned out to be, more or less, the truth.
A stirring on my back broke my train of thought and reminded me of Double Time's presence once again. She was no longer—strictly speaking—comatose, though she wasn't quite awake yet either.
I retreated further into the ancient woods we had used as our exit point from the train and slowly explored our more immediate surroundings. The light that managed to pierce the treeline and canopy was dappled at best. Best of all, there was almost no evidence that ponies ever came more than a few steps beyond the line-of-sight from their village, so it didn't take long to find a place I considered safe from prying eyes.
That is not to say I considered the forest to be safe—far from it. Any natural environment that intimidated ponies demanded respect, even from a changeling.
I placed my captive on a hastily gathered pile of leaves and slumped down next to her to rest. I hadn't walked far, but the combination of her added weight on my back, the dense foliage I was trailblazing through, and the drain from multiple fire portals had finally caught up to me.
No longer concerned with the possibility of discovery, I relaxed my guard slightly and dropped my pony disguise. Once I was 'Carina' again, I began visually inspecting Miss Time from where I lay.
She had accumulated a few minor scratches from the bushes along the way but was otherwise unharmed. The fact that she was still unconscious worried me slightly, as it had been several hours since I dissolved her cocoon, but short of keeping her safe until she woke up on her own, there was very little I could have done.
After a brief rest, I got back on my hooves and gathered a few plants and berries from the area immediately around our makeshift camp. We were absolutely surrounded by foliage, but I wasn't confident in my ability to identify which were actually edible. Thankfully, I recognized enough to provide us with adequate sustenance.
After swallowing a mouthful of vegetation, I ground up all the safe berries I could find using a pair of smooth stones and collected the resulting juice on a decently large leaf which I then slowly poured down Double Time's throat—a few drops at a time.
"I'm sorry, Miss Time," I said out loud. "I didn't really intend to capture you when I came to your city. I was after the Crystal Heart so my queen and hive wouldn't starve to death... ironically, I seem to have failed in both my immediate and long-term objectives. I thought bringing you back would at least buy the hive a few more months... I thought..."
I thought... what? What did I think? Did I expect that explaining myself to this sleeping pony would absolve me of my failure? Did I hope that my release of one walking love buffet would bring my queen back!?
My thoughts turned bitter as I stared at her sleeping face. Her complexion had recovered, and she actually looked peaceful...
...and at that moment, I hated her for it.
The following day was spent gathering berries and other plants that looked edible. I was unfamiliar with this forest, so my haul was sparse; a few bushes worth of blueberries, a couple of pathetically small carrots, and some daisies I found in a small clearing.
This is it? I thought as I deposited the food on a large leaf I'd plucked from a nearby tree to act as dinnerware. I am sure that there is more to eat than this, but I've never seen most of these plants before. I'm sure I could cope with a few bad meals, but the pony is gonna be hard enough to feed without poisoning her.
Not for the first time, thinking about Miss Time drew my eyes toward her. She had shifted in her sleep while I was foraging, but there was still no sign of her regaining consciousness. Knowing what I did about cocooning prey and forcibly draining ponies, it wasn't too concerning when she didn't wake on the train, but I'd have expected her to be mobile by now.
I found myself watching her breathe, slowly in and out, as I ate my meager meal and settled in for another evening in the forest.
After waking up, I wasn't sure if it was actually morning yet or not due to the canopy of leaves above us, but I rose from my pile of leaves anyway.
"Why won't you wake up," I asked, not expecting a reply.
"Hmm? It's too early; the sun's not even up yet," came a distinctly feminine and decidedly groggy response.
My surprise must have been audible because a moment later, Double Time shrieked. She tried to get to her hooves and flee but stumbled and fell on her face—probably because she'd not actually used her legs for weeks.
"Get away from me! Help! Warden!? Where am I?"
Recovering my wits, I tried to calm her by sitting down and reaching out toward her with a single hoof.
"Calm down, Miss Time. It's okay, you're safe here," I said, forgetting I was in my natural form. "It's me, Headway."
"Headway," she replied, "no, you're not! You... you did something to him! You killed him, didn't you? And now you're gonna kill me?"
Again she lept to her hooves, managed to remain upright, and launched herself through the underbrush which surrounded our campsite.
"Oh, for the love of queen and hive..." I muttered as I ran after her.
I half expected her to be far easier to catch than she ended up being. For a pony who had effectively been in a coma for as long as she had, adrenaline overcame any weakness she may have had.
Our race through the trees took us through game trails and small clearings before she lost her balance and crashed headlong into a lazy brook winding its way through the woods.
I slowed my pace as I approached the stream, coming to a halt just shy of entering the water.
"Calm down, Miss Time, I am not going to hurt you," I called out to her as she regained her hoofing. "At least, not anymore."
She didn't look convinced, but she did hesitate before backing away from me again. The impromptu bath left her mane plastered to her face, forcing her to blow errant soggy locks out of her eyes.
"I don't believe you," she replied, then repeated her earlier question. "Are you going to kill me?"
"No," I responded immediately. "I was never going to. I'm... I'm sorry. I took you out of the Empire because you knew what I really was, and my mission was too important to risk. Then there was something worse than Sombra in the city... Everything happened so fast that I automatically resorted to my training. I regret what I did to you. Again, I am so sorry."
The words tumbled out of my mouth faster than I intended, but a burden I hadn't even realized I was carrying seemed suddenly lighter.
Miss Time stared at me while I explained myself. Her expression remained doubtful, but I could feel traces of confusion, sadness, and even a little bit of hope swirling around in the emotions she gave off.
It was difficult not to take advantage of that.
"I..." she began, "I don't know. Are you really Headway?"
I made the mistake of smiling when she asked that.
It entirely slipped my mind at the time that bearing my fangs would be viewed as aggressive. Changelings, unlike ponies, are omnivorous, which means we do, on occasion, find meat on the menu.
I was just about to respond when she screamed and wheeled around to flee once more.
This time, however, she didn't get far. Almost immediately, I heard a thud and what sounded like the air being knocked out of her.
Shock.
Horror.
These were the overwhelming emotions that flooded out of her, even before I breeched the groundcover myself. Although, the roar that followed was obviously not produced by Double Time.
Shouldering a bush out of my way, I ignored the thorns which tried to pierce my carapace as I came face to face with a hydra!
Immediately, I took flight and charged my horn for battle.
Two rapid flashes of emerald energy impacted the beast, pulling its attention away from the prone pony. Another blast of green fire sank into the beast's hide, all-too-briefly igniting its scales as I tried to gain an altitude advantage.
One of its massive heads roared again as it rounded on my position. Its two other gaping maws lunged toward me, snapping closed in the air where I had been mere moments before.
I dipped low, flying beneath its chest, and aimed two more quick bursts into its less protected belly before banking to the side and climbing away from it.
On the ground, Double Time finally managed to get to her hooves. Like a deer in the presence of wolves, she remained frozen in place, staring at the monster trying to eat me.
Magical attacks have a limited ability to penetrate those scales, I recounted to myself. What can I become that could actually drive this thing off?
Several options popped into my head, and each one was ruled out for one reason or another. I continued throwing weak rapid blasts at the hydra to keep its attention while I considered my options.
The obvious answer is Maulwurf.
"I'm going to do something, Miss Time. Don't be afraid," I called out as the idea came to me.
Drawing out as much energy as I could from my emergency reserves, I wrapped myself in green fire, shivering in the delight of transformation.
I grew in size; doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and beyond. It was taxing, and the energy requirement was nearly as immense as my body was becoming.
It had been a few years since I last studied the Maulwurf. It resembled a mole (if moles grew to the height of trees) with excessively long claws, protruding teeth the length of a full-grown pony, and a thick hide that very few physical attacks could penetrate.
It was this aspect of the creature that I was most thankful for.
I had little time to inspect my work, however. The hydra took my new appearance as a personal challenge and lunged at me as I dropped from the sky above him.
Each of its heads bit into one of my limbs, drawing blood but doing no significant damage. Yet. There was a jaw locked onto each of my legs as well as my left forearm. That left my right claw free to return the favor.
Thank the queen for small favors, I remember thinking to myself. As I aimed my free claw for an eye gouge, it finally dawned on me that this hydra was still technically a juvenile—it only had three heads, the rest had not yet sprouted from its body.
An interesting fact for the aspiring scholars among us: Hydras are born with a single head and grow additional ones as they age. It's unknown how many they can theoretically acquire since their vicious nature and low intelligence ensure they, shall we say, 'are removed from the threat pyramid' long before reaching their full potential.
On occasion, rumors of one with eight or more heads circulate, but nopony credible has ever documented more than six. Most only ever live to see their fourth or fifth head grow in.
Be thankful for that, little pony.
My aim was good, and while I inflicted far less damage to its face than I had been hoping for, I did manage to poke him in the eye with what was effectively a pony-sized splinter made of keratin.
Its scream confused the other two heads, which let go, dropping me the rest of the way to the ground. As soon as I got my footing, it was my turn to lunge.
I sank my teeth into the soft tissue between its left front leg and underbody, then wedged my claws into the wound and pulled hard—as though I was digging through the ground.
All three heads dove toward me and retaliated. One had resumed its former place on my right arm, wrenching it away from its wound. A second head tried to extend its jaw wide enough to engulf mine. It failed—thankfully—but having a predator's teeth sink into the back of your neck is the stuff of nightmares, even if the Maulwurf's hide was thick enough to protect my spine. The third head tried to assault me as well, but the other two had given it no room to find an angle, and so it resorted to dragging its teeth along my sides like razers.
I continued to rake my own teeth and free claw into the gash I opened up, sawing back and forth against whatever tendon or muscle I could reach. I expected the young horror to retreat if I caused enough pain. I only hoped that it would give up before I did.
Unfortunately, the rest of the battle doesn't make for a very compelling story. Once we were committed to our mutual holds, the only thing that changed was the heightened amount of daylight now streaming through the trees. I continued trying to widen the wound while the hydra was unrelenting in its attempt to crush me in its jaws or pull me away. Neither of us gave much ground, and from Double Time's point of view, it probably looked like we were hugging each other rather than inflicting grave bodily harm.
Finally, after what felt like days but was probably less than an hour, I felt a snap beneath my claw. The force of the taut tendon was like an immense whip cracking across my face, showering me in viscera and blinding me with fountains of bright red.
All three heads howled at that, releasing their grip on me and roaring into the sky. The hydra stumbled backward, knocking over trees as it did so, and fell over when it tried to put weight on the ruined limb.
The thrashing monster shook the ground as it landed hard, and its massive tail swung back and forth aimlessly as it tried to roll over and stand up. In its excessive throes, it managed to slap Miss Time, sending her flying quite a distance before slamming headlong into the trunk of a tree.
Once it was clear that the hydra had disengaged, I resumed my natural form and rushed over to check on her. I could tell that I was wounded again, but the adrenaline coursing through me allowed me to ignore it for the time being.
I was careful about moving her when I saw how she was lying—crumpled as she was—at the base of the tree. I used more of my dwindling magic to lift her and rotate her onto her back without moving the relative position of her head. The last thing I wanted on my recently awakened conscience was to break her neck.
She was breathing, which is always a good sign. There were several angry bruises already forming under her fur, but—thankfully—it didn't seem like anything was broken. I charged my horn once again and sent tendrils of magic into her flesh to inspect what I could.
I am not, nor have I ever impersonated a doctor, but the nature of changeling transformation requires extensive knowledge of anatomy. I used my remaining energy to tend to her wounds before apologetically siphoning some of her own to finish the job. In the end, if nothing else, I was at least satisfied that her neck was not broken.
Realizing that remaining where we were would be tantamount to suicide, I gingerly placed her on my back and limped out of the clearing.
The rush of battle and fear for her safety subsided, and I suddenly felt all of my own injuries. Both my rear legs felt as though the chitin had been punctured in multiple places. My left foreleg, too, felt like it was on fire with Miss Time's additional weight on my back. There were long scratched rent into my abdominal carapace, and the back of my head throbbed with as-yet-unknown damage.
A few hours of hobbling through the dense forest eventually took its toll on me, though. I stumbled more frequently and nearly dropped my pony charge from my back on more than one occasion.
Ultimately, I could go no further. I slid Miss Time off my back and collapsed next to her. I had intended to merely catch my breath and recover my strength, but once on the ground, I found it almost impossible to convince myself to rise again.
Darkness closed in around us like the shadow of Cerberus, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I had managed only a few minutes of rest before a rustle in the undergrowth alerted me to the approach of some nocturnal beast.
I forced myself to my hooves, then jumped into the air, hovering above Double Time's prone form. I charged my horn with what little energy I had left and prepared to defend myself and the slumbering pony beneath me.
In hindsight, that was a foolish decision that I can only attribute to exhaustion. The glow gave me no advantage, as it was too weak to pierce the surrounding foliage, but perfectly drew any eyes nearby to my position.
Within seconds, my strength gave out, and I could no longer buzz my wings hard enough to stay aloft. Against my will, I slowly lost altitude and eventually resorted to simply draping myself protectively across Double Time's body as the magic stored within my horn grew dimmer and flickered out.
I tried—futilely—to fire portal us away, even if only a few dozen paces. Such a short hop would do nothing to protect us from an intelligent opponent, but displays of magic often frighten away lesser threats, and that is what I was counting on. Embarrassingly, the emerald flames that surrounded us were barely powerful enough to start a campfire. They were nowhere near strong enough to envelop us in a sphere of teleportation magic and, consequently, flickered out almost immediately—as did the green glow of my now-spent horn, leaving us defenseless.
My eyes lost focus, and as I struggled to remain conscious, the only thing that went through my mind was:
At least I will be with my queen soon.
Thankfully, it was not a three-headed guardian dog—or a revenge-driven hydra—that found us. The creature that stepped out of the foliage was much more pony-shaped than I had expected and far more surprised.
I barely registered the husky sing-song voice of a zebra before everything went black.
"Oh, my word. What have we here—A changeling holding crystal dear? In no fit state is either soul; how long's it been since each was whole? Into my care, I'll take these two, in time revived by special brew."
I dreamed of my hive and of faces that I'd never see again.