//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 // Story: Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 19 ___________________________________________________________ “Gooood morning, Sheffield! After a day being gone thanks to a certain someone, Lair is back on the air,” Irma’s voice says over the school speakers. I glance behind me as I close my locker, Will nodding to me. Thankfully, this morning, Aunt Sue agreed that, since we weren’t showing any signs of sickness, we could go back to school, as did the rest of the girls. And, yes, I call Will’s mother Aunt Sue now. Kinda don’t have a choice as my Drop accidently forgot to say the rest of the name “Susan” during the brief encounter they’d shared when she came to give our Drops lunch, so, to avoid any suspicion, I have to do the same now. I stay close to Will as we make our way down the hall towards our class. It may have been several weeks since I started coming to Sheffield, but, I still feel like being myself isn’t going to go over too well, so I’m sticking with the “nervous cousin” act, only a little less intensely. I’ve obviously started becoming friends with Alchemy, so I can be a little more myself around her and, the longer I’m friends with Alchemy, the more I can be myself until people won’t question why I don’t act anxious anymore. Unfortunately, today is not going to be such a day. While the girls and I didn’t get sick because it was our Drops who’d been soaked by Uriah, Alchemy and Matt were actually there, so they’re both off sick, since they got colds. This being the case, I can’t rely on being around Alchemy to excuse my acting less, thus being myself and everyone just seeing it as Alchemy helping Will’s cousin come out of her shell. Unfortunately, my next class it one Will isn’t in, so I’ll have to double down on the acting anxious, since I’ll be alone in there, as without Alchemy at school and Cornelia not being in that class with me, I’m on my own. Due to using Astral Drops a little, I haven’t had to worry so much about that Sylla guy. However, thanks to Alchemy being what from the outside looks like the rock helping me not get nervous due to the first encounter I had with Sylla, in which I’d genuinely become anxious due to the odd vibes I was getting from him, I had been subtly observing him, which, in turn made me realize, he was observing me. At first I had chalk this simply to the fact I look like Miranda when she’d been pretending to be a girl named Melinda and I was going by the same name… but it can’t just be that anymore. He’s been (I’m sure he thinks) observing me unnoticed since that day whenever I was in his class, but I have been well aware of it. The fact he seems so fixated on me whenever I have a class with him creeps me out. Of course, thanks to coming from a world where this world is fictional, even if I don’t remember it, I’m aware these are some serious red flags. However, whenever the girls and I discussed it, we agreed something felt of from what this could normally suggest. Do I think the guy’s a pedo and I’m his type that he wants? No. I watched enough news reports about those kinds of people back in my old life to tell this was something else. He doesn’t give me those kind of looks when he didn’t know I could tell he was watching me. If anything, it’s more like he’s trying to figure me out, as if he can tell there’s something not right about my identity as Will’s nervous cousin and is trying to figure it out through observation alone. As I enter his class, I can tell Sylla’s eyes are on me specifically, so I just follow my usual act and just try to do the assigned task. “So, Mel, can I ask you something?” I almost jump. I’d been so focused on keeping to the task, I hadn’t realized Sylla had come right up behind me and was now leaning towards me on my right. “S-s-s-sure,” I stutter, not acting there as I am actually having to quickly calm myself to keep up the act. “You said you used to live in Australia before moving in with your aunt and cousin,” Sylla says casually. “I was wondering, where exactly did you live in Australia?” “Qu-Qu-Queensland,” I say, quickly running over the cover story Witness Protection has me going by. “I-I lived in Queensland.” “No kidding?” Sylla says in a way that’s clearly supposed to suggest recognition, but I lied a lot in high school, enough to see clear through this one. “I’ve a brother who lives up there. Maybe your family know him? James Jones?” I shake my head meekly. “S-sorry. Don’t think so. Th-the name doesn’t sound familiar.” More than likely because there is no James Jones. If not for the vibes I’d gotten from him before, and the fact I’d known something was up with Sylla since the end of season two, I bet I might have actually fallen into that obvious trap and lied, saying that I thought my fictional parents in Queensland did know someone by that name. Then I’d have had to stumble through more lies that would very quickly backfire, since there is no James Jones. It’s brief, barely a flicker, but I notice a look of annoyance pace over his face, before he shrugs, saying “Oh, well,” and moves on. Taranee? I call out mentally. Taranee, you there? Hmm? Yeah, Mel? Taranee replies, sounding a little distracted. Sorry, I say. Bad time? No, Taranee says and I get the feeling she shook her head. Just a bit of a headache. What’s up? Warn the others that Sylla’s back at it, I warn. I think he knows something about me. He just asked me where in Australia I lived before moving in with Will and Aunt Sue. With Alchemy not in class, I think he was hoping my defences would be too low and he could get something out of me he could use. How do you figure that? Taranee replies, sounding confused. Not to brag, and I’m not saying I’m proud of it, but, I was very good at lying in high school back in my old life on my world, I say. And, when you get that good, you can tell when others are lying badly, thinking they’re hiding it. It was brief, but he got a really annoyed look when I didn’t say I knew some guy in Queensland whose name he’d clearly just made up, hoping I’d fall into his trap and he could use that later. Noted. I warn the others to be more wary than usual, she replies and we end it there, myself going back to working on the task for class. At lunch, we meet up to discuss what happened, though that’s not all. Taranee informs us she’s signing up for some kind of joint venture program going on between Sheffield and another school called Redstone. To my surprise, it’s based in Australia, which immediately makes us all stop. Perhaps that was why Sylla had tried to get some info out of me. Not just because I was alone in class today, but because my identity of being Will’s Australian cousin was brought further to his mind because of this. “You know, if we all went to this Redstone place, we could probably avoid Sylla’s all-seeing gaze for a while,” Irma says, opening her eyes wide and making an image of a third one on her forehead with her hands. We have a bit of a laugh, before we all talk more seriously about it. The program requires students to take a test and, if they pass, would go spend just over a month in Redstone, like as exchange students. In truth, Will and Irma make it clear they’re not interested and I admit that I’m not either. I’m still technically getting used to Heatherfield, so, while going somewhere in Australia in this world would be interesting and even feel more like at home, I’d still rather not. Sure, being in Southwestern Connecticut is certainly different, but going from one different to another doesn’t help anybody. The rest of the school day goes by uneventfully, aside from the fact Taranee’s headache isn’t going away, even though she went to the nurse and got some aspirin. Soon as school’s out, we Fold to the alternate Equestria. We had agreed to start helping by seeing if we could find any loose wandering ponies or other creatures to take back to the Resistance’s camp. Will and I are one team, Taranee and Hay Lin another, with Irma and Cornelia staying at the camp, Cornelia planning on using the Green Speaking technique Kadma had taught her to see what she could find out. “Mel, you mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony and a Tree of Harmony a while back,” Will says suddenly as we’re staying in some trees, trying to see if the cost is clear before moving on. I glance at her. “Yeah? What about them?” Will frowns in thought. “Well, shouldn’t we put the Elements from this world back in the tree? I mean, the forest is pretty overgrown. Wouldn’t the Elements being back in the tree fix that?” “Yeah, but, things are different here,” I say as we fly up and through the trees. “This Equestria needs the Everfree to be overgrown right now. It’s the only way the ponies are able to stay safe from the Changelings.” Will! Mel! Heads up! Corenlia’s voice shouts loudly, causing us to halt in place. There’s a pair of Changelings near you and… I think that’s a yak? We glance at each other, before moving forward more carefully. A few moments later, we indeed find a pair of Changelings and a yak… though, while it’s hard to tell who the Changelings might be, I recognize the yak immediately. She’s a little younger than the version I know, but no fan of the show can forget Best Yak. However, an gut instinct to protect Yona that might have flared up due to the this being the Changeling timeline is halted when the younger Changeling, whom I now realize it around the same age as Yona, speaks… in a very familiar voice. “Thorax, I’m scared,” she says as she glances around. “I don’t know what’ll happen if the Queen learns about Yona.” “It’s oaky, Ocellus,” the other Changeling says, his voice confirming it’s Thorax. “If we can just find the ponies’ new camp, we might be able to get some help.” Judging by your facial expressions, you know both those Changelings and that yak from your Equestria? Will asks. I nod. Thorax was one of the first to abandon the hive and Ocellus is going to be a student at Twilight’s School of Friendship. And that yak is going to be another of the students. Will nods. Okay. Then let’s approach them. From the sound of it, Thorax and Ocellus of this world feel similarly. “Don’t move,” Will words make the three halt in place, their eyes wide with fear. We step out of the brush, myself bending down to Ocellus and Yona’s level. “Don’t worry. We’re the Guardians. We’re here to help.” Thorax’s eyes widen and he points at us. “You’re the Guardians, the one’s our Queen’s furious about?” Will nods, folding her arms a little smugly. “Yep. We came to put an end to her rein. Surprised to see you all out here, though. Wasn’t aware she was making her subjects as unhappy as the ponies whose land she’s been invading.” Ocellus clings closer to Thorax. “She… my parents, she…” Tears well in her eyes. Immediately my gut drops. Her parents? I can vaguely remember something about them, but not much. Worse, I remember they had two babies. “What happened?” Will’s expression firms and she kneels down. Thorax cringes. “We don’t know how, but Queen Chrysalis found out about a place called the Peaks of Peril, where she found something called the Stream of Silence.” Did I say my guts dropped before? Now they’ve plummeted. “What did she do?!” I ask urgently. Any number of things could be bad about this. After all, the Kirin went into the Stream of Silence Celestia knows how long ago, so, in this world, aside from maybe Autumn Blaze, none of them were yet cured, so wouldn’t have been able to turn into Nirik to defend themselves if what I think happened happened. Thorax sighs, looking down dejectedly. “Chrysalis easily overpowered the Kirin there and had her drones take several wagon’s worth of water from the stream back to the hive and, when Ocellus’s parents protested something she suggested… she had them dunked.” I can tell Will’s looking at me as I just stare in horror at Thorax as what he said really processes through my brain. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me and I grab Thorax by the shoulders. “Was there a Kirin named Autumn Blaze among the Kirin after Chrysalis overpowered them?!” Thorax looks scared for a moment, before his expression softens and he thinks for a minute, before shaking his head, cringing a little. “It took a while to get any names out of the Kirin, since none of them talked, but, no. I don’t recognise that name.” I rub my chin in thought for a moment, before turning to Will. “Okay. You take these three back to the camp. I’m heading for the Peaks of Peril.” “What? Why?” Will asks, confused. “There’s a Kirin there who can still be saved,” I say, before looking to Thorax. “Are any Kirin still at the Peaks of Peril?” He shakes his head. “All prisoners were taken to Canterlot. And, aside from a few Changelings to watch over the stream, the village is pretty much deserted.” I nod. “Thanks.” With that, I take flight, heading as far over the trees as I can, trying to keep in mind what I can remember from that episode. ___________________________________________________________ “Autumn Blaze, welcome to the Resistance,” I say as we enter the camp. The Kirin’s head darts back and forth, her eyes wide with joy, no doubt glad to finally have others to talk to again. Before we go further, Will comes over, Pinkie Pie and Zecora following. Will holds up the Heart of Kandrakar and nothing happens, confirming I’m me and Autumn isn’t a Changeling in disguise. I explain how, when I arrived, the Kirin village was indeed nearly completely deserted, save for a few Changelings wandering around. Getting Autumn out had been pretty easy, though the trip back had not been. We had to hide from several patrols and I even had to fight off a Manticore that had come after us, which had ended up with me having to web it to the ground and fly us away. “Mel, the girls, Zecora, Pinkie and I have been getting what information we can from Thorax and Ocellus,” Will says as we move further into the camp, towards where the Changeling prisoners are being kept. I nod. “I know. You’ve come to a disturbing realization.” I had been thinking about it too. it was as Autumn and I had been making our way here and I pointed out it was weird the Changelings knew about not only the Peaks of Peril, but the Stream of Silence too, when it had dawned on me. At first, when she revealed she had some of my fragmented memories, I’d known Miranda knew what I knew about Lilian being Earth’s Heart. However, it hadn’t occurred to me til that moment that my memories of W.I.T.C.H. aren’t all she has now. She has my knowledge about MLP too, which means any knowledge from the main timeline can be apliied in this one too… and that can lead down some incredibly dark roads if we’re not careful. “Don’t you dare talk to me, traitor!” a surprisingly familiar voice interrupts. “How could you just abandon the hive?!” “I didn’t abandon the hive!” Thorax’s voice says. “I was trying to save it’s future.” “That grub?! Are you actually being serious?!” We round the corner to find the Changeling’s prision. It doesn’t seem like much at first. Cages made of wood, held together by vines. It’s the markings around it, however, that are the real key to it all. Zecora made the markings herself, saying their magic from her homeland, written in a variation of the sav she uses to identify if someone’s a Changeling or not. The sav has a secondary factor I hadn’t been aware of the last time I was here. It can also stop a Changeling from transforming, thus the prisoners can’t escape by changing into something huge to break open the cage and the markings prevent them from using their magic. Thorax is standing by one of the cages, talking to another Changeling with a familiar colour scheme. “Pharynx, please, you have to understand,” Thorax is saying as we approach. “Chrysalis doesn’t care about the hive. She only cares about power. If she isn’t stopped, thing’s only get worse. That’s why I left the hive! If we don’t put the pony princesses back in charge of the sun and moon, our race will die out, along with everything else.” I blink, before my eyes widen as it clicks and I look to Will, who nods. “That’s what Ocellus’s parents protested. Since none of the Changelings have the gifts for raising the sun and moon like Celestia and Luna, it’s extremely taxing on their magic.” “Lies!” Pharynx yells, glaring at Will and then me. “The love we gathered and have continued to gather since taking over Equestria gives our kind more than enough power to do what those ponies did.” “But not without cost, Pharynx!” Thorax says, sounding desperate. “Yes, our kind can do that now, but it takes at least ten of us each day and, once the day is over, their magic is completely spent and they lose the ability to use magic at all.” Pharynx just scoffs. “Yeah, right. If that were true, they’d die because they wouldn’t be able to feed on love without their magic. The queen would never let that happen.” I look away, not wanting to see the look in Thorax eyes. She would. She totally would.