Friends have benefits
Chapter ten: Monsters (Both woollen and not)
Soarin tapped a hoof against the wooden platform impatiently. ‘Always late.’ He thought, ‘Fastest Pegasus in Equestria and she’s always late.’
He scanned the empty sky once more and sighed explosively. Turning around, he took a seat on the busy platform, Thunderlane shifted slightly to make room for the burly flyer.
“A hilarious irony isn’t it?” Doc asked from the next seat down, as if reading Soarin’s thoughts.
“Tell me about it.” Soarin muttered
The last few days had crawled by as the Las Pegasus air show drew closer. Soarin wasn’t sure whether he looked forward to the possibility of seeing his old squadron again or the fact he had a pseudo-date with Rainbow Dash more. He glanced around again, noting with a hint of amusement that Doc had a hoof draped over Flitters shoulder. Cloud Chaser sat on the other side of Doc, a somewhat envious look on her face.
Much to Soarin’s surprise, Dash had procured several more tickets for the show. One for each team member in fact, provided free of charge by the Equestrian Weather Service. Unlike his gold edged VIP ticket though, the rest of the team had to be content with regular day passes.
“Soarin?” Thunderlane asked, bringing the Pegasus out of his thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“Why am I here?”
“Do I seriously need to explain where babies come from Thunderlane? Look when a mare and a stallion love each other very much…”
“No, I mean why I’m here right now. I mean, I screwed up. Why am I here enjoying the benefits?”
Soarin shrugged. “Oh right… I don’t know. Just enjoy what you’ve got.”
Thunderlane looked like he was going to say something else but shut his mouth.
Soarin sighed internally and returned his attention to the sky. If it wasn’t cold enough that he could see his breath misting in front of his face, it could’ve been a nice day.
“Soarin?” Thunderlane said again.
“Yes Thunderlane?” Soarin asked, masking his annoyance remarkable well.
“I know you like Rainbow Dash and all and you probably hate me for… well… what I did… but I’m sorry okay?”
“I’m not the one you need to be apologising to, I’m not the one who you hurt, I’m not the one who placed their faith in you and then had it crushed and I’m certainly not the one who needs to think about his lifestyle choices.”
“Can you tell her I’m sorry?” Thunderlane said, cowering under Soarin verbal assault.
“No, you can do that yourself… Maybe then she won’t cut your dick off…. Maybe she’ll just crush it instead.”
Thunderlane balked at the prospect.
“And for the record, I don’t hate you. You did me a great service and I’m thankful for it.”
“I did?” Thunderlane asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“Yes, yes you did.” Soarin said with a small grin.
Rainbow Dash finally decided to grace them with her presence, something Doc thought was ‘Fan-bloody-tastic’ mainly as she had managed to fly through the half-open door of their carriage while doing a forward roll and simultaneously handing her ticket to a very surprised conductor.
Soarin just said she was just showing off, she had insisted it was an appropriate entry in relation to her ‘coolness’ and Thunderlane, being a smart pony, decided not to voice his opinion on the matter.
As the train pulled out of the station, Soarin felt the car beneath him slowly grind into motion. Having rarely been on a train before, it was a peculiar feeling. He half listened to the activity of the rest of the team beneath him as the six pegasi settled into their car. A squabble broke out between Cloud Chaser and Flitter as they fought over who would get the other top bunk. Soarin, being fond of heights, had already taken the other one.
He stared at the ceiling, studying the grains of the wood above his head as the squabbling abated. Clearly the twins had figured out some form of mutual agreement or more likely somepony else had gone up there and taken it while they were arguing.
A long blow of the train’s whistle as it departed the station and started picking up speed tore Soarin’s gaze away from the patterns in the ceiling.
“Cosy?” Rainbow asked, hovering in the air next to his bunk.
Soarin raised his head quickly in surprise, banging it against the roof painfully.
“You could say that.” He muttered. “Yourself?”
“I’m in the middle bunk, always the best one.” Rainbow said back, holding back a snicker with some difficulty.
“You just like being under me.” Soarin said, putting his head back on the pillow. It felt strange, a far cry from the fluffy clouds he was used to.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Ha ha ha so funny, you’re getting as bad as Thunderlane. Now shove over, I want in.”
Encouraged by a few rough prods, Soarin hastily sat up and wriggled over on his bunk, making room for the mare to squeeze in between the roof and the bed.
“What’s up?” Soarin asked.
She tapped the ceiling. “Nothing, just wanted the better view from out the top here. Not much else to do at the moment other than look at scenery.”
“I thought the middle bunk was the best.”
“Shut up.”
Soarin grinned stupidly and returned his attention to the scenery that was now flashing by. The train had left the outskirts of Ponyville behind it and was heading west. In the distance Soarin saw the spires of Canterlot reaching towards the skies.
Half an hour of comparative silence past, the only sounds being the steady clacking of the wheels. The train let out another whistle and a moment later the sweeping fields were replaced by the black wall of a tunnel. Rainbow yelped in alarm as the interior of the car suddenly turned pitch black. Soarin let out a laugh as he heard her hit her head on the roof.
The lights flickered on, casting a ruddy light over the scene.
“Scared much?”
“As if, I was just surprised that’s all.” Rainbow Dash said. Her face turned red, whether from the close contact or from embarrassment, Soarin did not know.
“Yeah yeah, sure sure.” He said knowingly, tossing a glance at her. “You can get off me you know.”
“Right… sorry.”
“If you two love-birds are done up there, lunch is being served.” Thunderlane said, floating up behind them. Rainbow shot him an angry look and he backed away sheepishly.
Soarin’s stomach growled, reminding him it hadn’t received its usual midday meal yet.
“You know what, lunch sounds good.”
The group threaded their way through the train, ignoring the occasional curious look as somepony noticed an ex-Wonderbolt in their midst. The initial rush for lunch had subsided and a polite waiter showed them to an empty table not unlike their regular booth at the Ponyville pub. Soarin was positively drooling at the selection of foods on display, even more so when he realised it was a buffet.
“Would you like any drinks?” The waiter asked
“Cider. Lots and lots of cider. Apple if you have it.” Rainbow snapped.
The waiter looked slightly taken aback by her barked command.
Soarin pulled the waiter a little closer. “Please excuse her, she may not be very beautiful, may have no manners and may be a little obnoxious, boring and loud but on the other hand…”
He took a breath and paused for a moment, unable to think of anything. The waiter looked at him expectantly, amusement in his eyes. Soarin could feel the eyes of Rainbow Dash burning into the back of his skull.
“Sorry, I can’t think of anything.” He said finally, wishing that he had written his will before he left home.
“Very good sir.” The waiter said, the corners of his mouth turned up in a barely contained smile before trotting off to fetch their drinks.
“You’re living dangerously Soarin.” Rainbow muttered from across the table. Doc was biting his lip in an effort to not break into laughter. Soarin found the pained expression hilarious and had clamp his own mouth shut as well.
‘Do it and you’re dead.’ He thought.
“So, who’s looking forward to the air show?” Thunderlane asked unnecessarily in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Thankfully, it worked and a much more cheerful tone settled over the table.
“It’ll be great. I hear the Harpies have a really strong team this year. And the griffons too, did any of you hear about the rookie in… urhh… What’s their team called?” Doc chattered excitedly.
“The Roulettes?” Rainbow said helpfully.
“Yeah, new girl. Absolutely fantastic flier I hear.”
“No, I didn’t. Must admit I don’t really pay much attention to the other nations flight teams. Too interested on the best one there and the clear winners this year.” She said assuredly. There was no doubt which team in particular she was referring to.
“Well she’s the only female in an otherwise all male squadron; must have been hell for her to get there.”
“Impressive.” Rainbow said, not really meaning it.
“Will there be a performance from the dragon team this year?” Thunderlane asked.
“Should be.” Flitter said. “I hope there will be at least. I even packed some fireproof socks…”
“Soarin raised an eyebrow “Fireproof socks?”
Flitter glanced around nervously. “It can get cold up there and they make my hooves feel funny…”
Rainbow Dash slowly covered her face with her hoof.
“What, you got a problem with socks?” Flitter asked defensively.
“Yeah, they’re stupid if you ask me. I’m awesome enough without having these woollen… monsters covering my legs.”
“But they make you look so… sexy… and you feel like it too.” Cloud Chaser interrupted. She shivered slightly. “Well, at least I do. I have this absolutely stunning set of striped socks…”
Doc sank lower into his chair as if he were trying to hide something.
“Look, I don’t need socks and I don’t have ‘em.” Rainbow purred. “I’m good looking enough without them.” She shot a glare at Soarin.
“I think your socks make you look damn sexy.” Thunderlane said stupidly, abruptly cut off as an embarrassed looking Rainbow Dash clamped his mouth shut with a hoof.
A mental image of Rainbow Dash in socks appeared in Soarin’s head. He was glad that no one was paying attention to him or they would have noticed his wings trying to snap open uncomfortably.
“Damn it.” He murmured under his breath as he tried to subtly hold his fluttering wings down. ”Stupid sexy Rainbow.”
“I think that’s quite enough talk about… socks… I’m going to get some food.” Rainbow said, her cheeks still flushed red. She quickly stood up from the table and almost flew to the buffet.
“What do you think of Dash’s socks, eh Soarin?” Cloud Chaser asked cheekily, noticing his awkward position.
“Oh… urh… um... I’m going to go… urm… go get some food.”
“Ohhh, look at Soarin.” Flitter teased. “He’s redder than a tomato.” She giggled. Her voice took on a more sultry tone. “Your chin quivers to imagine her soft, warm lips against yours… Oh to be locked in for eternity in a passionate embrace with sweet, sweet Dashie!”
Soarin was determined to make this the shortest lunch in history.
“Urrrghh… Never again.” Soarin groaned as he hauled himself through the train back towards the weather team’s compartment. Being a big eater, Soarin had demolished an alarming amount of the buffet in short order.
Perhaps he had eaten a little too much.
‘Rubbish’ he thought as he slid the door open and flopped down on his bunk. A satisfied groan came from his stomach as he spread out over the bed.
The combination of cold weather, warm food and the soft bed underneath him made him drowsy… he could have drifted off then and there.
The door slid open again.
Soarin peeked over the edge, a little surprised to see Rainbow Dash.
“Dash? What are you doing here?” Soarin asked. It occurred to him that he hadn’t actually seen her eat any lunch.
“I could ask the same of you.” She said, her voice emanating her foul mood.
Soarin fumbled out a poor excuse. “Lunch… wanted to finish… stuff.”
“Wanted to get some ‘alone time’?” Rainbow quipped, her sour tone lifting for a moment.
“No, not like that!” Soarin said flustered.
“Whatever.” She said with a sigh. Dash vanished from sight for a moment before the tell-tale creaks of a mattress told Soarin she was underneath him.
“I didn’t see you have lunch.” Soarin said, trying to make conversation.
“Wasn’t hungry.” She said back.
Soarin sighed and looked out the window. After emerging from the tunnel the train was now chugging through open grassland. To the north a large snow covered forest grew and even further, Soarin could make out a speck of white that was the floating city of Cloudsdale. A glint of sun off something shiny on a nearby hill caught his attention but the beam of reflected light vanished as quickly as it had arrived. A flash of memory came to him, a sea of black on black, bottomless blue eyes and snarling mouths. He discarded the frightening memory with a shake of his head and returned his attention to the mare in the bunk beneath him.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just…” she trailed off into silence.
“Just?”
“It’s hard. Really hard.”
“Bow chicka bow-wow.” A voice from outside the door said.
“Shut up.” Rainbow snapped, flying off her bunk and pulling the door open to reveal Thunderlane.
“Thunderlane, how can you even hear us?” Soarin asked
Thunderlane shrugged. ‘Eh, I know when I’m needed.” He grinned for a moment before the door slammed shut on his muzzle.
“Ow! Son of a bit-.”
Rainbow snarled and bashed a hoof against the wall in frustration. She flew to her bunk again, hesitated for a moment and instead joined Soarin on his.
“As I was saying, it’s difficult having to be around Thunderlane so much… Especially when he seems quite happy to tell others things that I would rather he didn’t. And when he does things like... that.”
“Socks?” Soarin asked nervously, hoping his face would remain whole.
Rainbow grunted and hit him in the ribs.
“Hehe… sorry.”
“I’m used to smack talk from ponies it’s just… different coming from him. I just want to get off this damn train and away from him for a while.”
“Fair enough.” Soarin said. He fixed his attention on the white snow scape, hoping to catch another glimmer of the strange object he had seen before.
“Sorry for heaping all this shit on you, you’re like my personal shrink now.” She said, gently leaning her head on his shoulder.
Soarin shrugged “I don’t mind.”
“It’s such a nice day…” Rainbow said, wistfully examining the wonderland outside. “Such a pity we have to waste it in here.”
“Uh-huh.” Soarin agreed.
“Hey, you want to play a game?” Rainbow asked, gracefully leaping off his bunk without hitting her head like she had last time.
“What were you thinking of?” Soarin asked, poking his head over the edge again. He quickly pulled it back when he saw Rainbow’s arse waggling around in the air as she searched for something in her pack.
‘No need to make this anymore awkward.’ Soarin thought.
She returned a moment later with a stack of cards clasped in her mouth. “Cards?”
“Blackjack, poker, bridge, rummy, speed, strip jack, spades, hearts… The list goes on.” Soarin said, surprising himself with his knowledge of card games.
“I’m pretty ace at speed… strip jack could be fun.” She said with a sly wink. He felt his face flush. Dash grinned mischievously as she noticed his discomfort.
“In fact, I know something that’ll make it more fun…” She whispered, floating off the bunk again.
‘Please no… Please no…’ Soarin thought embarrassedly. She was playing with him and she was obviously enjoying it. There was no way if she came back with… that… that Soarin would be able to keep it together. He shut his eyes and waited for his impending doom.
“Hey Soarin, we gonna play this or what?” Rainbow asked, prodding him gently.
Soarin cracked his eyes open cautiously.
She was laying belly up, fore hooves behind her head and a pair of rainbow socks on her hind legs. She winked at him as she noticed his eyes open.
‘Don’t do it… do not do it… no no no no’
*Pomf*
“Aww hell…”
They watched the train from the hill, their charcoal carapaces gleaming in the sun. They knew the gleam of the bright sun against their shell could give away its position and frighten the prey away but they justified the better sight was worth the risk. They fixed its bottomless blue eyes on the rapidly moving train, moving themselves into position ahead of it.
Food…
They felt a shiver of excitement travel along their spines; an odd experience they occasionally felt after their separation from the swarm. The sight of fresh food added a sense of urgency to their mind. Driven by instinct, they moved closer.
Must… feed…
Its mission fulfilled, they pulled the scout back, a plan already formed in their mind.
“You’re a real dickhead.” Soarin growled as he painfully folded his wings back in. He tried to sound angry but his rebuttal came out more embarrassed than anything else. Ignoring the mare opposite him, Soarin spread the cards out and mixed them back together. He dealt the deck into and let Rainbow Dash choose a pile.
“You like them?” She asked cheekily as she scanned through her hand.
“I thought you didn’t like socks.” Soarin said, flipping over his first card at the same time she did.
“Depends…” She moved a little closer as she rapidly playing her first and second card. “Who’s around to see me with them on...”
Soarin placed a trio of cards in quick succession, ignoring her flirty attitude with great difficulty. He scowled as she drew back and flipped her fourth card over. He was mad. Not because she had nearly already won, but because of the mixed messages she was giving him. Barely a few nights ago she didn’t want anything to do with him and yet here she was flirting outrageously and wearing those… woollen monsters… He cursed under his breath as she placed her final card and scooped up the winning hand to reshuffle.
“Too good for you Soarin?” She asked, flashing a grin at him and giving him a good view of her flank as she reached forward to play the next round.
“Lucky.” Soarin said, knowing if he let her get to him it was all over.
Soarin won the next two rounds before being distracted by the most outrageously flirty look he had ever seen. The moment of hesitation was all the speedy Pegasus needed to claim her second win.
“That’s not fair, you cheated!” Soarin complained bitterly as he shuffled for their last round. The score was two each so this round would be the tie-breaker.
“Did not…I’m just… exploiting… my opponents weaknesses.”
“Weaknesses? Just because I find you attract-.” Soarin stopped mid sentence, his cheeks red.
“You find me attractive?” Rainbow asked slyly.
Soarin gulped. “Yeah… a bit.”
She put Soarin off guard with another impossibly flirtatious look. “Thank you, I find myself rather good looking as well.”
“How come I don't find that surprising...” Soarin said, the tips of his ears burning. ‘Tell her filly!’ He took a deep breath. “Say… Dash… Um… I don’t suppose we could go grab a bite to eat somewhere when we get to Las Pegasus? You know… together.”
She blinked in surprise. “You mean like date right?”
‘No!’ “Yes. I... I would like to get to know you a bit more.”
“We’ve already done the horizontal tango, I don’t how much more personal you could get.”
“That’s not what I’m looking for anymore.”
She looked at him and sighed heavily, her mouth contorted into a strange shape as she tried to get a word out but failed to. “Soarin, I hate to say this but I’m not ready to start dating again. Not so soon after what happened with Thunderlane. And especially not with you…” She paused for a second to gather her thoughts, realising she could have worded what she had said a lot better.. “I mean, not like that. You’re a nice guy… well you have been for the last few days at least. Its just that I’m not sure if I want to like you like that again. You hurt me too, don’t forget.”
Soarin growled lowly, making her blink in surprise.
“What, was it something I said? Look, I’m sorry okay, but I just don’t know.” She snapped.
“Then why all this?” Soarin fumed. “Why the mixed messages? Why the flirting, the socks and the effort to do stuff with me? Why bother? I feel like you're just pulling me along with a carrot on a string because you know I’ll do it.”
“I’m just being friendly.” She snapped back.
“Friends don’t do these things! They certainly don’t dress up in their stupid, sexy socks and play a game of cards while being an absolute flirt. You might call it fun, but it hurts. In here.” He thumped his chest and his forehead. “With all these mixed messages I have no idea if you’re genuinely interested or if you just want to be… to be... rut buddies or something.” Soarin yelled, throwing the cards down in a pile. “Cause if thats’ what you are going for, I’m not interested. Not again.”
He took a breath to steady himself.
“I... like you. I really do. I haven’t the faintest idea why I do but I know I do. The other night at my place, just after you dumped Thunderlane, I really wanted to kiss you. You have no idea how little I slept that night, that moment just playing over and over again.”
“Yeah, me too.” Rainbow said quietly.
The tension between them was palpable.
A sudden jolt as the train crossed a track switch snapped Soarin out of it.
“You have your reasons, whatever. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don't want to.” he said deciding to break the tension, he picked the cards up to reshuffle although at this point he had lost all interest in the game..
“Look, maybe we cou-.”
Any further conversation was cut off as the train suddenly slammed the brakes on. The sudden change in speed sent Soarin and Rainbow Dash flying across the bunk and slammed into the wall. Soarin tried to groggily stand but the emergency brakes came on, sending him flying into the wall with a resounding crash again.
The wheels squealed in protest as the train grinded along the icy rails, coming to a complete stop in a massive cloud of steam.
“Dash…? Dash… You okay?” Soarin asked, hauling himself up unsteadily.
“Fine…” A voice croaked back. “Just a few cuts and bruises, nothing broken. You?”
“I’m good.” Soarin said, toppling over and crashing drunkenly into the floor.
“I’ll give that engineer a piece of mind…” Dash groaned, falling off the bed and landing next to Soarin with a dull thud. “Ow.” She muttered dryly.
“Gotta… see what’s happening.” Soarin groaned.
He staggered the door, slid it open and found himself nose to nose with another pony. His stunned brain processed the scene for a split second before he recognised the interloper.
It was him.
Before Soarin could question his sanity, Rainbow Dash let out a loud cry and barrelled into the copy. A swirling ball of violence erupted in front of the surprised stallion.
“It’s a changeling!” Rainbow growled as the other Soarin snarled at her in a way a pony shouldn’t. “Go warn the others! Get the train moving, I got this one!”
Soarin didn’t wait around; he shot off towards the front of the train, a few confused passengers sticking their heads out of their compartments, confused as he was about the sudden stop.
“Get back inside!” he warned as a few ponies trotted out. They obeyed without question, a fact Soarin was most grateful for. While he might have been able to protect some of them, he wouldn’t be able to protect all of them… especially if his head didn’t stop spinning. He dashed through the reading car and caught sight of a distinctive brown mane.
“Doc! Are you alright?” Soarin asked.
“Just a bit shaken. What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, Train stopped and there’s a changeling on board.”
Doc paled. “Nasty buggers.”
“Do you know where the others are?”
“Flitter and Cloud Chaser are just over there and Thunderlane was in the bar last time I saw him.”
“Good, keep an eye on the girls. Trust no one.”
“What are you doing?!” Doc yelled after him.
“I have no idea!”
Soarin opened the door to the bar and crashed head first into what looked like a slightly tipsy Thunderlane.
“Heeeyy Soarrin buddy.” He drawled.. “What’s goooing on? I mean beshides the train being all rough and bumpy and the drinks going eveeerywhere... Such a waahste.”
‘Damn.’ Soarin thought. He had hoped Thunderlane would, for once in his life, actually be useful.
“You’re drunk. Go help Doc in the reading car.”
“Fuck you Soorin, I’ll do wut I wannnt. Now come ‘ere!” Thunderlane drawled, surprising Soarin by wrapping his fore legs around him and planting a strong kiss on Soarin’s lips.
“Ah loove ya mate.” He gurgled into Soarin’s mouth.
Slightly tipsy, in hindsight, would be a vast understatement.
Soarin shoved the drunken stallion off him and ran towards the front of the train.
‘Damn I’m getting more from Thunderlane than I am from Dash.’ Soarin thought bitterly.
He heard a scream and darted out of the corridor to find a mare pinned down by… a thing. It was pony like in shape but its legs were hideously deformed and full of holes, a set of white fangs jutted out of its mouth, threatening to impale Soarin as it snapped around to meet him.
Its wings buzzed in a manner similar to a beetle and it leapt at Soarin a vicious snarl coming from its impossibly wide maw.
Undaunted, Soarin swatted it out of the sky and pounded its head into the ground with his fore hooves.
“And stay down.” He said dramatically. Another hiss came from behind him as two more of the beetle-pony creatures clambered aboard.
“Running out of time!” Soarin muttered to himself, flicking his gaze between the two new changelings and the path back towards the head of the train.
Another five changelings appeared behind the other two, making his mind up for him. Turning on the spot he bolted towards the engine, a small horde of the creatures in pursuit.
‘Almost there’ he thought as he darted through the first class carriage. He was half way along when Rainbow Dash emerged out of one of the doors halfway along the corridor.
“Rainbow Dash! You’re okay!” Soarin said breathlessly.
“Of course I am. One changeling is no match for the Rainbow Dash.”
Of course, even in times of great danger, her ego still shone through.
“Come on let’s go!” Soarin yelled, running past her. She paused for a second and looked back at the horde of changelings pursuing him.
“Good idea!” She squealed.
‘Almost there…’ Soarin thought again. He turned back to look for Dash, hoping she was keeping up.
She was gone, a changeling in her place.
‘Shit!’ Soarin thought. He had even told Doc to trust no one and here he was trusting the first pony he saw. He tried to run faster but the changeling was already on top of him.
A set of fangs sunk into the back of his neck and Soarin saw no more.
Soarin woke
Consciousness would have been a slight overstatement of his condition though… his blurry vision came back slowly but there was nothing to see other than an endless green haze.
A surge of panic ripped through the stallion as he tried to breathe in; inhaling the green liquid he was suspended in. Oddly though, his body seemed unaffected. Whatever the stuff was, it was providing him with everything he needed to stay alive.
‘Where am I?’ he thought dumbly, tracing back through his disoriented memories.
A black shadow shifted across the haze and Soarin numbly realised he was in some sort of sac or shell. He floated in confusion a moment longer.
‘Where am I?’ he thought again.
Deciding he would figure it out later, Soarin floated to the edge of his small bubble and tried to peer through the misty exterior.
The sight terrified him.
He was in a small nest of black winged creatures. A few other sacs, similar to his own, hung from the low ceiling. He guessed there would have been about twenty of the curious creatures below him. He reeled back as one floated past his small prison. The thing snarled at him and vanished from sight.
‘Changelings’ he thought suddenly ‘That’s what Rainbow Dash called them…’
Rainbow Dash.
The thought prompted something inside of him… something… it felt alien and unnatural. He looked around in panic as the tendril of thought examined his mind, pulling it apart in search of Rainbow Dash. The thing examined his mind curiously for a moment before viciously clamping down on thoughts concerning the blue pegasus.
A light blue blur flew past his bubble. Soarin looked again and saw Rainbow Dash floating in front of him. She pounded against his bubble, trying to break it open.
‘Dash! Get out of here! Go!’ he screamed in his head.
Rainbow ignored him. He felt a sense of success emanating from the thing in his head.
Rainbow Dash looked around in panic as several of the changelings rose from the ground and surrounded her. Soarin waved desperately to get her attention.
‘Fly!’ Soarin thought desperately. ‘Leave me, get out of here!’
Rainbow looked set to bolt but a pair of changelings leapt on her from behind. They bit and snarled as they tore the Pegasus apart. Several others from the pack joined in and within a heartbeat Rainbow was torn to shreds.
‘No!’ Soarin thought helplessly.
The fight descended out of sight as Rainbow was weighed down by a dozen changelings.
‘No!’ Soarin screamed pounding against the soft exterior of his bubble. ‘No...’
The presence in his mind tightened its grip around his mind and a smug feeling emanated from it.
It had him.
Time seemed meaningless in the bubble; there was no way to tell how much time had passed. Soarin could only feel the thing in his head sifting through his thoughts. A constant draining feeling, like his feelings were being pumped out with excruciating slowness, pulled on his mind.
It didn’t matter though. He didn’t care.
She was dead.
Rainbow dash was dead and it was his fault.
It was all his fault. Maybe if he hadn’t been so stupid on the train she wouldn’t have come to rescue him.
If he hadn’t fallen for their stupid trick…
He saw the memory of him and Rainbow sharing a pie in Applejack’s barn flash to the front of his mind. The other being roared in delight and tore the memory away from him and devoured it in a frenzy of hunger.
Soarin cried out in pain as the thought was stripped from his mind.
A scene of him playing in the park with a ball with two ponies he thought could have been his parents was snatched away and consumed. Soarin howled as the other being tore at his mind, ripping the thoughts of his parents out like he might empty a pistachio nut.
Soarin looked through his prison walls down at the corpse of Rainbow Dash.
‘Stupid trick…’
The thought bounced around Soarin’s head as the full meaning of it became clear. The body on the floor shimmered with green fire and changed into the form of a dead changeling. How could he had ever thought it was Rainbow Dash?
‘Stupid trick…’
The other growled as it felt its grip on him slipping.
‘It’s just a trick.’ Soarin thought stupidly wondering how he hadn’t noticed it before. The other howled in anger and ripped another cherished memory from his mind, making Soarin double over in pain.
No! the other hissed, the first intelligible thought he had received from it. Soarin grimaced and pushed against it, his will to fight renewed.
Slowly but surely the presence faded from his mind, its grip over him fading as he saw through its deception. Inexplicably the bubble under him burst, sending Soarin crashing to the ground. He shakily tried to stand, aware that he surrounded by dozens of changelings.
Finish him… he heard faintly in his head as the last of the other presence was banished from his mind.
As one, the changelings turned towards Soarin, their eyes gleaming with savage glee. Soarin shut his eyes and waited for the end.
Crack