"Okay, that should be enough power. You can stop charging it now."
Cozy Hope Glow's dread increased tenfold as her mommy turned off her horn, panting with fatigue as Tirek patted her shoulder. The filly twiddled her hooves, occasionally clutching at her growling tummy as she anxiously watched the centaur wipe some sweat off Chrysalis' forehead with a hoofkerchief.
"You know, sometimes I envy how you can pull so much energy out of nowhere." Stated Tirek as he began to gather what little items of import there were to be brought with them. Cozy clutched her own baggie tight against her barrel, double-checking that all her things were inside. Wait...where's my...? Movement attracted the filly's gaze and she looked up just in time to see her favorite doll being tossed her way by Tirek's shriveled arms. She deftly caught and deposited it in her bag before attempting to give her friend a grateful smile.
Unfortunately, it came out as more of an anxious grimace, and that seemed to make him sad, because he sighed heavily.
"You know very well that it doesn't come from nowhere, Tirek. And it's only thanks to the strength of the bond which the three of us share that there's so much to offer." Mommy huffed indignantly, but Cozy could tell that her heart wasn't really in it. She was just as nervous as the filly, if not more.
"Oh, come now, don't sell yourself short, Chrysalis! No regular changeling could produce enough magic to power a teleportation charm in this short a timeframe." Tirek was probably trying to cheer her up, but the statement only made Cozy's mommy deflate even more.
"And yet, it was not enough to save my children." Cozy's heart hurt as she took in the depressive sight of her dear mother, and she hastily ran over to give her one of her finest hugs, straight from one caring soul to another. Soon, her centaur friend joined in as well, and the three formed a cuddle pile of pure love and comfort, which Cozy basked in with a tentative smile.
The group embrace was cut off when the filly's stomach growled once more, this time the loudest it had been all day. This ended the cuddle pile quite abruptly, with mommy giving Cozy a look that she couldn't quite read and one last savored squeeze before they separated.
Soon, the three clustered around the rune, which Cozy felt both mesmerized and confused by, as she always did. The swirling lines and spiraling figures reminded her of her own childish drawings, yet there was always some form to their madness, one that she could barely understand. Tirek once told me that it took him years to learn how to draw those. That's a whole lot of birthdays!
The filly knew, deep down, that she was just trying to distract herself from the coming terror, just as she knew the nature of the world that waited beyond. She knew that they were stepping head-first into very real danger, and there was a good chance that things wouldn't turn out okay like in all her storybooks.
Truly, Cozy Hope Glow knew many things that somecreature her age shouldn't.
The filly's breath hitched as Tirek placed his hand on the rune, and she tensed with anticipation, only to feel a reassuring squeeze across her barrel and a familiar nose nuzzle the top of her head.
"Hey, don't worry, Cozy. You'll be okay, I promise. Just stick close to us, okay? We'll protect you." Mommy's voice was so strong, so caring, so determined that Cozy couldn't help but trust in it entirely, giving a shaky nod in return as she looked at her.
Suddenly, a flash of orange light lit the small chamber, and with a rush of empty air and the overpowering smell of ozone, the trio was gone, leaving the last place of safety and the last reminder of the life they once had behind them.
Tirek took a cursory glance around at the fallen capital as his companions recovered from the abrupt teleportation, shooting Chrysalis an apologetic glance. The changeling returned the look with one of quiet acceptance, placing the dry-heaving pegasus filly on her back before striding forward, navigation tools held before her in a soft orange aura.
Cromochrona, the renowned Great Hive and capital city of the Changeling Kingdom, was in utter ruins. The ponies had struck hard, fast, and ruthlessly, leaving nearly no structure standing. The damage was infinitely worse than it'd been the night of the attack, what with the apparent looting parties and obscene graffiti. Tirek was now marginally shorter than Chrysalis, and so had to reach up further than he'd have preferred in order to cover Cozy's eyes through the worst of the imagery.
Everything of value had been either stolen or burned, nearly every last piece of rubble looked to have been moved recently, and there was still a visible haze in the air from the sheer volume of ash. Worst of all, though, was the ponies visible in every direction, still searching and sifting through rubble in hopes of finding one of the three's heads. There was undoubtedly a large bounty on them, Chrysalis most of all, being the former head of the most organized country in centuries. Killing her would send quite the message. Perhaps even more so than destroying the city. Said changeling looked to be taking the destruction harder than either of them, likely blaming herself for it. Luckily, she seemed to be focused enough on the task at hand, so the centaur didn't find the need to say anything yet.
The trio of friends hastily ducked low against a collapsed building, warily watching as yet another pegasus patrol soared overhead. Tirek spared a glance at his companions, noting how Cozy clutched at her stomach and her wings' fluttering slowed down. It's ridiculous how much food the ponies burn through on a daily basis. Cozy was always able to outeat me, even as a filly, but I suppose all that magic has to come from somewhere. The filly was clearly suffering some intense hunger pains, even though they'd run out of food merely the night before. Tirek himself, while certainly feeling the lack of nutrients in his system, was doing much better. I suppose being so shriveled does have benefits, small in number they may be.
Both he and Chrysalis carefully checked the surrounding area before continuing on, with the changeling glancing at her navigation tools every so often. It was a tense expedition, and they often had to dive for what little cover was in the immediate area as ponies traveled within line of sight, strutting confidently as though they owned the place.
Finally, they reached the city limits, and any ponies gradually faded from view as they crested hill after barren, rocky hill, all suffocating under numerous layers of ash. Plant life grew more abundant the closer they reached to their destination, all tinged with an unnatural yet splendorous bronze color.
The Changeling Kingdom was normally completely barren, its climate unsuitable for any sort of life save the changelings themselves. Living 'belts' such as the one they were heading for were so few and far between that each had a designated name and written location.
After surmounting the last hill, the threesome were gifted the sight of an enormous strip of bronze-colored mana less than three miles away, all pooling up from the ground like some hyper-dense water spring. The Bronze Belt was a mere three or so feet wide, but stretched on in either direction as far as they could see, with not a single curve or irregularity in its linear shape.
Most important of all, however, was the sheer number of plants that filled every available spot, all given life by the abundant mana and consequentially all the same bronze color. Every species of plant imaginable was present within sight, including many edible and even nutritious ones, the direction of which the three immediately set off to.
Most notable of all, however, was that there was not a single animal, sapient or otherwise, anywhere near them.
"We have to be careful." Chrysalis stated as she led them through the metallic-looking vegetation, using her glowing horn as an improvised machete to cut a path. They occasionally ran into the odd tree or stiff-stemmed flower patch, which they had to delicately walk around. "All kinds of plants grow here, and that means a whole slew of the carnivorous kind as well. All the nastiest species from Equestria are within range, and they'll attack if we're too careless." The others nodded their assent and Cozy gripped her neck with renewed vigor, glancing about with an all-too-appropriate amount of fear in her eyes. "The hardest part about traveling through here is that all of them are the same color," the changeling continued, carefully studying the way ahead as they crept along. "So it's near-impossible to distinguish between what's ripe fruit and what's a lure for a particularly large anglertree."
Just then, Tirek's shriveled arm brushed a tangle of apparently-dormant vines that immediately sprung to life, wrapping themselves around his limb and giving a mighty heave off to the side. The centaur's weak state left him entirely helpless to resist, but thankfully Chrysalis rushed forth in time to cut away the thrashing vines, which retracted back to whatever ghastly thing they were attached to. Tirek gave his ex-queen a thankful nod and brushed the remnants of bronze vine away before a thought entered his mind.
"How do you know so much about this place? I thought only gathering parties came here to get food for the non-changeling subjects. It's far too dangerous for casual exploration." The changeling stopped in her bushwhacking to give him a knowing look and raised eyebrow in response.
"I led a sizable number of those excursions myself! Before you came along, of course. A good queen is aware of and well-read on the danger she sends her subjects to face." Chryssie's ears drooped as what she said entered her mind, and the newfound ever-present mourning expression returned to her visage.
Cozy tightened her hold once more on Chrysalis' neck, but this time it wasn't due to fear.
With only a few other close calls to speak of, they soon reached their destination: An artificial wooden platform built in a friendlier section of the Belt. The vegetation throughout it grew uncontrollably and filled every possible nook, but this chosen location was long ago discovered to be mostly empty of the carnivorous dangers so present everywhere else by pure chance alone. The platform had aged poorly, and several lone shoots of plants had already grown through its rotting, moldy surface, but it still allowed the threesome a stable enough place to rest.
Chrysalis set off gathering various fruits and grains to feed her ravenous companions, both of whom eagerly dug into the first meal they'd had in far too long. They spent a full hour simply recuperating from the stressful journey, simultaneously grateful and surprised to still be alive. All throughout that hour, Tirek's self-directed disgust grew as he became increasingly repulsed at his own weak, useless, shriveled form. It takes effort to lift my arms at full strength, I can barely walk, my magic is almost nonexistent, the list goes on!
"I can't go on like this." The centaur's companions jolted in surprise and turned to worriedly regard him upon his announcement. He gestured down at himself, letting them take in his exasperated expression and pathetic figure before continuing. "I'm too weak like this. How am I supposed to help anycreature if I can't even escape from some measly vines? How can I help you two if I can't even help myself?" Tirek pointed off to his right, in the direction of the Bronze Belt proper while scratching lightly at his beard in a nervous habit he'd had for as long as he could remember. "There's all that mana just over there, more than I'll ever need to absorb in order to be useful! I just-" A lump formed in the ex-advisor's throat and he clutched at his jaw, gritting his teeth as bottled-up, long-ignored emotions came rising to the surface.
"I just hate being so weak. So helpless. So...pathetic."
Two pairs of fuzzy forelegs enveloped him with forceful warmth, and he sunk in to the group hug, returning it with what pitiful strength was present in his natural form. The feeble form. The vulnerable form.
"You're thinking about Scorpan." It wasn't a question, but Tirek nodded anyway, rubbing his apelike face against his friend's tan neck and hoping she failed to notice the slight dampness of what tears he'd allowed to escape. Chrysalis broke the hug seconds after, looking him dead in the eyes before nodding in turn and levitating Cozy to her back. "Okay, we'll head to the Belt. You can withdraw what mana you need from there, right?" Another nod and they stood as one, once more gathering what supplies they possessed in preparation for the upcoming trip.
It was an arduous process, but the centaur soon found himself standing on the bank of the strip of bronze-colored mana, putting the finishing touches on a dissipation rune. The raw mana which made up the Bronze Belt was far too volatile and concentrated to absorb directly, but some careful tinkering solved that issue. Chrysalis didn't even need to fuel the rune this time; what ambient power continuously bled off from the strip was more than enough to sustain the relatively simple process of dispersing the mana.
Soon, several flowing ribbons of uncondensed, bronze-colored mana were rising up from the Belt, with the rune acting as a sort of prism that drew in and separated the raw power into more manageable pieces. Tirek greedily sucked down these noodle-like streams of magic, feeling his body swell as more and more strength was added to his being.
"Don't take too much, Tirek. You still have to fit through the paths I made, after all." Heeding his ex-queen's warning, the centaur deactivated the rune, stopping his growth just as he became slightly taller than the changeling. He turned to her, appreciatively eyeing his new bulging biceps and powerful physique, and she raised a disdainful yet good-natured eyebrow. "Really? You just had to be the tallest?" Tirek gave a playful shrug, spreading his new buff hands in an easy gesture.
"What can I say? I am the strong, mighty, beefy tank, after all." Chrysalis rolled her baby blue eyes, derisively flicking her tail as she turned back the way they'd arrived.
"You've been playing too much Ogres and Oubliettes." The filly on her purplish carapace, however, seemed to approve of his new form, and gave a beaming smile.
"You look good, Tirek! I like the new colors!" Cozy giggled madly as he surprisedly clutched at his newfound bronze-colored beard, eyes bulging in shock.
Suddenly, movement in Tirek's peripheral vision caused him to shift his gaze across the Belt, and his beady black eyes bulged further upon observing what was across from them.
Six mares, each garbed in various black clothing and clutching different weapons eagerly stared back, all grinning with the wicked intent to kill, mangle, and punish.
It's the Strike Team!
They'd been found.