My Little Changeling: Love is Life
Zephyrus Scary
Episode 9:
Sidle Gossip
Trotting at a pleasant pace through Fangville, Twisted Spare lifts her muzzle to sniff at the air, hoping to catch a wisp of Piccy’s cooking; the Swarmincorporator had said she’d mastered a new pastry called “muffins” and invited all the Bearers over for a taste. Twisted had attempted to gather how a muffin is different from a cupcake, but aside from the absence of frosting, Twisted hadn’t gotten the idea—such doesn’t matter to her, though, seeing as how it’s the love inside that really makes the flavor of the cupcake… or muffin, as the case may be.
I must still be too far away. Twisted sighs in disappointment, but when she looks back down, something that had been working its way into the back of her mind comes into focus. “Huh? … Where is everyling?”
Gaze, walking behind her, bumps into her when she stops to look around, worry quickly growing. “What do you mean, Twis? Everyling… is-…” He stops as he looks around and takes note of the distinct lack of any wings buzzing or tarsi slapping against stone; his panic builds much faster. “It must be a- a- a… zom-ling!”
This only serves to defuse Twisted’s concern. “Did you just take the word ‘zompony’ and try to make a word for ‘Changeling zompony’?” She rolls her eyes as she continues on. “Zomponies don’t exist; if anyone were to know they did, it would be Changelings, after all! I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation for this.” Twisted finishes confidently, not at all easing Gaze, who gulps and continues to turn her head left and right every few seconds.
As they come within sight of Piccy’s residence, Gaze finds his words once more. “I’m not so sure… Why else would everyling just-?”
“Psssst! Gaze! Twis! Over here!” Piccy’s unmistakable voice comes in a stage whisper. Her anxious tone confuses instead of alarms, as she intended, making Twisted stop and tilt her head.
“Uh, yeah, Piccy… We’re coming. Are those, uh, ‘moffeen’ things ready?” Twisted mentally shrugs off the fact Piccy apparently thought the student of Queen Chrysalis couldn’t remember simple directions to a building.
“Hurry-yyyyyy!” The Swarmincorporator continues to whisper, suddenly throwing open her door and launching out her leg—which grows impossibly long—to grab the two and pull them in as Piccy’s leg shrinks back to normal size without any evidence of magic being used.
Twisted blinks, nonplused for a second before dismissing the inexplicable act under all the much more crazy things Piccy had managed to do since (and presumably before) they had met. “Anyway… So! About those… ‘muffnans’?” Twisted prompts by rolling her foreleg as if beckoning someling towards herself.
“Shhh! -and they’re called muffins!” Piccy continues using her faux-undertone.
Twisted continues to maintain an average volume. “Why have you dispelled the light enchantments? Why are the curtains pulled? Why are you whis-”
“Shhh!” someling else—Forgery—interrupts. “Do you want her to hear you?!”
Letting out one last exasperated sigh that heralds a flurry of shushes, Twisted concedes to whispering. “Who’s ‘her’, and why don’t we want her to hear us? -and who’s all here, sitting in the dark for no reason?”
“It ain’t for ‘no reason’!” Proxyhack grumbles. “We’re hidin’ from… her. Ooo, sayin’ her name’s bad, bad luck, but if’n ya really don’t know, bein’ a Buzzingtonian an’ all… She’s… Lquadm!”
“She’s over here if ya wan’na see ’er!” comes Proxy Germ’s high, nymph voice from a window, behinds its curtains, under which she had ducked to peek outside.
“Git away from there, now!” PH swoops in and pulls her younger sister into the relative center of the room. Why, oh, why won’t ya show proper fear of that thing, Germy…? The older sister shakes her head at the foolish, sometimes dangerous naïveté of youth.
“Lqua-?”
“Don’t say the name!” Forgery jumps forward to put a tarsus in Twisted’s mouth. “’Tis bad enough it was spoken once already! Just… see her for yourself, if you feel you must… which, if I know you well enough, I’m sure you do.”
Deciding to follow the locals’ advice for now, Twisted creeps up to the window at which Germ had been, and where now Repeat Design is peeking out the crack in the curtains. Bravely following their leader, the other Bearers, minus PH, sneak behind her; Repeat notices this and pulls the curtain enough for them all to see.
Upon first sight of what must be Lquadm—for she’s the only thing out and about—Twisted’s breath catches. In the light of the lamps, she shimmers with her coat of fish-like scales; the silver of her belly shifts to a light sea green on her back, speckled with dots of various blue and more silver. Her face is streamlined—less like ponies’, as Changelings’ are, and more like a fish’s or, given by the hint of many sharp teeth poking from under her upper lip, more like a shark’s, but her face still has slight contours (especially where the “muzzle” meets the eyes, turning sharply to form a forehead no shark ever had) that provide a hint of equine-ness. Her ears, as tiny as they are, are still prominent on her mane-less head; in the mane’s place is a fin-like structure that can, apparently, be raised and lowered at will, and which extends from the top of her head to about the middle of her back. Her fleshy, muscular tail is longer than any pony could hope to grow their hair, and thins gradually, ending in a reversed heterocercal caudal fin. The most pony-like part of her, her legs, house pectoral and pelvic fins. Further indicating her predatory nature, her eyes are slightly (but very definitely) turned more forward than a pony’s or Changelings, providing a wider area of stereoscopic vision, and lastly, semitransparent haws are revealed by a blink of same.
When Twisted manages to catch her breath, she gasps loudly in surprise and excitement—mostly excitement—despite symptoms of lightheadedness beginning to haze her thoughts and beg her to breathe deeply and regularly. This, presumably, draws Lquadm’s attention, for she jerks her head to look directly towards the window; its curtains are now closed, but fluttering with damning evidence.
Inside and under the window, Twisted struggles against everyling, minus Germ, holding her muzzle shut with tarsi and magic. Finally, she throws them off by teleporting a meter to the side. “What is… wrong with you-lings?!” In her fuming, Twisted momentarily forgets Lquadm and the (supposed) need for whispering.
“Shhh! Didn’t you see? She glanced this way!” Photoshape whispers.
“She glanced eeee-evilly this way!” Piccy corrects dramatically to nods and murmurs of agreement from everyling except Twisted and Germ, who look at each other to share an eyeroll; unfortunately, Proxyhack notices this.
“Now see here, my precious Germ…” PH crawls towards Germ before standing to put a protective tarsus on her elytra. “You should listen to you big sister when she tells you something is dangerous!”
“She’s not dangerous! I’m gun’na prove it!” Germ makes to go for the door, but her big sister keeps a firm hold with the sticky bottom of the tarsus on the hard, easy-to-grip elytra.
“You will not, and I will make you stay if you force me to! Walkin’ out with that… thing out there is… why, it’s like walkin’ inta Canterlot an’ just droppin’ yer disguise in the middle a’ the street! Ya wouldn’ do that, would’jya?” A hint of a smile comes to her muzzle for a second at thinking up this no doubt unassailable argument.
“Lquadm is not a ‘thing’!” Twisted bursts out indignantly, and the other Bearers jump at the name. “She’s a Kelpie… She’s practically family!” She points out, struck by inspiration at recalling the Proxy family reunion and the obviously family-oriented-ness of her friend.
“‘practically family’, huh?” Proxyhack levels a deadpan, disbelieving stare for a moment before asking what feels to her to be the obvious question. “How? I don’t see no similarity ’cept the fact we’re both in the same cave: Fangville. Did you see any fangs on that thi-… that Kelpie?” she corrects reluctantly at Twisted preemptively narrowed eyes.
“We might not look all that similar, but that’s hardly surprising considering Changelings and Kelpies are both Pretenders,” Twisted explains calmly, but only gathers blank looks. Really? She sighs before going on. “Changelings are part of a group of creatures called ‘Pretenders’ because we-” Green fire raises a randomly chosen disguise of a mulberry unicorn with sapphire, violet and pink hair and a Cutie Mark of six stars. “-pretend to be something we’re not!” She lowers the disguise. “Kelpies do the same thing!” Twisted finishes as she steps back up to the window, but she finds that Lquadm had left the line of sight of the building. “I wonder what she’s doing here...” She mutters to herself. “I’ve read that Kelpies rarely leave the water except to hunt or find a new home…”
“Kelpies can disguise themselves? -but I didn’t see a horn…” Forgery asks.
“Oh, That’s because they don’t need one!” Twisted exclaims, always excited to spread (or show off) her knowledge. “They use their scales and fins to refract light into an illusion!… -somehow. The book wasn’t very clear on that point…” She finishes somewhat sheepishly, now embarrassed by her lack of knowledge.
“Uhm…” Photoshape attempts and fails to interject. Her eyes are wide and her legs shiver with sudden fear.
“‘Refract light’? Well, I can’t imagine why she would ‘refract’ those… polka dots! Has she no sense?!” Forgery posits as she joins Twisted at the window to help herself see the Kelpie standing there in her mind’s eye.
“Uh…!”
Twisted rolls her eyes. “What you saw was her natural coloration patterns; it camouflages her against sea water and lake and river beds. Unlike Changelings, Kelpies don’t always use disguises to trick their prey.”
“Can I just-?!”
“I knew it!” Piccy bursts out, jumping forward and pointing at Twisted’s face, close enough to make the other pull back involuntarily in anticipation of getting hit.
“What do you-?” Twisted tries to ask, but Piccy jumps away just as suddenly and begins performing jump scares on everyling as she sings what the excitable, perpetually happy Changeling imagines to be a frightening song.
“She’s an evil enchantress; she does evil dances,
“And if you look deep in her eyes, she will put you in trances!
“Then what will she do? She’ll mix up an evil brew,
“Then she’ll gobble you up in a big, tasty stew!
“S-oooooooo watch out!”
While the other Bearers shiver, no doubt believing every word of this “warning” is true, Twisted shakes her head, smiling in superiority. “Silly Piccy, Kelpies eat their prey raw. They don’t cook anything into ‘stews’!” She actually chuckles at the idea before adding in a mumble, “Whatever those are…”
“Uh, when you say, ‘eat their prey raw,’ you mean, like, they eat love, or whatever emotion they eat, unprocessed, right?” Repeat Design asks, seemingly hopefully, but her nervous elytra betrays that she already strongly suspects otherwise.
“Huh? No.” Twisted answers with a raised brow, confused that her wording could be misunderstood, not noticing Repeat’s nervousness. “Kelpies are carnivores; they eat flesh.”
At this affirmation of their fears, the Bearers take in a deep breath and hold it; Photoshape takes this at her opportunity to finally speak. “Uhm… you said that Kelpies rarely leave water except… to hunt, so does that… mean-?”
“Oh!” Twisted almost laughs at where she knows Photoshape is going, and quickly interrupts her. “No. No no no no no. They would never! Like I said, they’re practically family! Every-Pretender knows we have to stick together, since no-Prey would ever help us! -or at least I thought every-Pretender knew…” Twisted mutters, eyeing the Pretenders before her, so inexplicably afraid of another Pretender.
“Well, we didn’t know…” Repeat grumbles, snapping her elytra in annoyance at herself before perking her antennae. “Which means L- she might not know, either!”
Interrupting the gasps of fear going all about her, Twisted cries, “Hold on! Just think for a second with me. Has anyling gone missing since Lquadm has moved here?”
“Lings’re always goin’ missin’ in the Mines!” PH reminds.
“Where she lives!” Forgery adds, knowing Twisted wouldn’t know. “Who’s to know how many disappearances are because of her… eating them!” Grimaces of queasiness round the room at this—while Changelings in general might be able to overlook the ingestion of plant matter, anything more makes them uneasy; not even are they okay with “herbivores” like ponies consuming bugs or fish, likening it to murder since it’s completely unnecessary for such beings, and even omnivorous creatures, as far as Changelings consider, should do without as they can. However, carnivores are a completely different class of creature—in fact, the idea of a “sapient carnivore” had never been entertained by a Fangvillian before that moment, and even then it’s a little too difficult for them to integrate such a thing into their world-view. Carnivores murder to eat and live—a far cry from how Changelings feed, which doesn’t even require the death of plants, only a little trickery or a dream! Whenever Changelings compare themselves to other creatures, it is almost always brought up that their complete lack of needing to kill their food to survive is a powerful ethical point in their favor.
Twisted shakes her head. “What about anyling going missing in town, on days she’s here?!” She doesn’t wait for an answer, knowing no such thing had happened, otherwise Queen Chrysalis would have heard and done something already. “You don’t think that if she really wanted to eat a Changeling, she would be stopped by everyling hiding where she knows they would be? Kelpies have a really good sense of smell; hiding out of sight isn’t doing anything to stop her from knowing exactly where everyling is.”
“-but… she has done… some things!” Forgery tries to insist.
“Like what?” Twisted finds it’s her turn to deadpan.
“Well, once a month, she comes into Fangville on the exact same day and time…” Repeat tries to make this sound spooky and unexplainable, but Twisted doesn’t even find this worthy of a response beyond a long stare.
Forgery attempts to come to the rescue. “Then she lurks around the stores!”
Twisted rolls her eyes. I have feeling those muscles are going to get a lot of exercise today… “You ever thought she was going to the stores, wanting to buy something, but she can’t because everyling closes up when she comes by!?” Her voice gets progressively louder and accusative, making Forgery shrink in on herself a little.
“Oh! -and she digs at the ground!… -like this.” Photoshape demonstrates the movement against the stone floor, and Repeat, always needing to fix these holes where the rock is soft enough to be scraped away by the Kelpie’s hooves, nods vigorously at this indictment.
“Well, Kelpies do live in water…” Twisted shakes her head slowly. “I can’t say for certain, but maybe this digging is a way to find sources of water? It could be a subconscious action Kelpies always do when out of water that Lquadm can’t stop herself from doing because she’s hardly aware she’s doing it, like how Changelings are naturally attracted to shadows that look like cave entrances when we’re on the surface…” Twisted muses, then shakes her head harder to return herself to the present argument. “Either way, I’m one-hundred percent certain the worst we have to worry about is that maybe Lquadm could get hungry enough to steal one of the ponies under Photoshape’s care, but that hasn’t happened either, has it?” Twisted smiles at the Ponytender, just as confident this hasn’t happened as she is that Lquadm hasn’t hunted any Changelings.
Far from looking reassured, Photoshape freezes, eyes wide. “N-N-N-No, but… I always block off my cave on days she comes into town, but-… but today-! I forgot because I never come in to town on days she visits, but when Piccy invited-!”
“Gah!” Piccy grips her head between her foretarsi and wails at the ceiling. “I forgot, too! I’m so, so super-duper sorry, Photo!” When Piccy looks back down, her eyes are filled with an unreasonable amount of tears that shocks Photoshape into stillness.
“We got’ta make sure that carnivore ain’t sneakin’ away with one’a Photo’s ponies!” PH calls to order, pumping a foreleg.
“Yeah!” Repeat follows, boosting morale and adrenaline. In the next instant, the six Bearers burst out into the still ghost town-like Fangville, crying a war charge—Twisted following only to make sure the others don’t do something they’ll regret.
Back in the Swarmincorporator’s office, Gaze and Proxy Germ stare at the left-open door, then glance at each other and shrug. “I’m gon’na get a muffin. You comin’?” the cockatrice asks pointing over his shoulder with a feather.
“Nah.” Germ shakes her head, waits for him to enter the kitchen (the only room of its kind in all of Melipoland), then slips silently out. I know yer right, Twisted, but the others still don’t see it, so someling’s got’ta prove it, and that someling’s gon’na be me!
- - - -
Thankfully, Lquadm had already begun to head for the Petualoose Mines, but had been close enough to the Swarmincorporator office for Germ to easily find. So far the nymph had followed far enough behind to hide around the corners of buildings, but soon enough—as she had known must happen—the buildings stop within a certain perimeter around the Mines’ entrance. Taking only a moment to swallow the fear she knows is unreasonable, Germ steps into the open to continue following the Kelpie, and this does not, as Germ had expected, cause the carnivore to turn around. At first she smiles, but then recalls what Twisted had said about their sense of smell, which only causes a tiny moment of panic. She probably knew all along I was followin’ her! -an’ she hasn’ done nothin’! Smiling, confident again, she steps up her pace to get a little closer so as not to get lost in the Mines.
She needn’t really have bothered, for they only encounter two forks, the first being the one that splits the Mines from Photoshape’s chambers (Germ lights her horn as they enter the Mines, thinking correctly that Lquadm, without a horn, must be able to see well in the dark), and at the second fork, they take the one that doesn’t lead to the (now dead) giant pitcher plant’s chamber. The entire time the Kelpie doesn’t look back at the one following her, even as Germ inches closer and closer.
Soon enough they come upon a series of strange runes that give off a faint orange light—too faint to light anything but the runes themselves. Curiously, Germ moves up to the left wall to inspect them more closely, but cannot discern what meaning they might contain. So engrossed in them is she that she doesn’t notice the sounds of the Kelpie’s hoofsteps and tail sliding across the rock floor stopping until she steps on something that definitely isn’t rock.
“Gwah!” she cries in surprise, jumping backwards, then realizes a split second later: Lquadm’s tail! “I’m so sorry, Ms. Lquadm!” Germ, shivering at the thought of being chewed to pieces by the Kelpie’s serrated teeth, bows. Nothing happens, and after a moment, she slowly looks up to see Lquadm hadn’t moved except to lift one of her forelegs and turn her head slightly to look at the nymph out of the corner of an eye.
Upon Germ looking up, Lquadm slowly lowers her foreleg, making sure its movement catches Germ’s attention. That’s when Germ sees it: Just where Lquadm had stopped, the runes turn into a mess of lines that turn only at ninety degree angles, crisscrossing over each other and multiplying to cover the ceiling and floor as well as the walls. Also, just where Lquadm had stepped is a blank area where the lines leave a comparatively large square. A few more steps from the Kelpie, and the idea begins to form in the nymph’s mind. She’s bein’ careful not to touch those lines! Only when Germ nods does Lquadm turn her head forward once more.
Though they have to weave left and right and sometimes backtrack, slowing them greatly, Germ carefully steps exactly where Lquadm does, and the Kelpie is equally careful in selecting spots that the nymph’s shorter legs can reach, while always keeping her own tail off the ground and away from the walls. Now practically right behind Lquadm, Germ begins to consider striking up a conversation, but the need to avoid the lines takes too much concentration, and she’s not sure how to start. How’m I suppose ta make friends with some-Kelpie that’s shunned by mah whole town? she worries. What should I say?
“Oh!” This time Germ had made sure to keep part of her mind on the present; her thoughts had been interrupted by coming to the edge of a body of water. She notices the cave must have been sloped very gently, as here it now slopes into a submerged tunnel that suddenly falls a little ways in into a deep, completely underwater cave. The orange lines stop about two meters from the “shore”. Wow… She slipped into that water without a sound! “Uh…” is all Germ is capable of upon noticing Lquadm had turned around in the water to face the nymph; only her head is above the water, her tail undulates slowly and her pectoral and pelvic fins flick occasionally to keep herself in place.
“So… is this where ya’ll live?” Germ ventures; she had never heard of anyling saying anything about Lquadm talking, so there is still the question of whether she’s capable. Though Germ had been brave in asserting Lquadm’s harmlessness (at least towards Changelings), she could not escape all the prejudices of her culture, so she asked herself, Who ever heard of a carnivore that could talk? Can she even understan’ me?
The second question at least seems to be answered sufficiently when Lquadm shakes her head slowly once to each side. Then Germ’s eyes widen in suspense, both fearful of being eaten and excited at the potential of speech, when Lquadm opens her mouth, revealing all her many, many curved, sharp, serrated teeth seeming to point definitively towards her gullet. Any words she might have spoken, however, are interrupted when she closes her mouth, and points her ears forward at the quickly growing sound of buzzing and stomping. Then there’s a cry of, “The Kelpie must have gone this way! There wasn’t any water that way, remember?!” from whom can only be Twisted Spare (she and the other Bearers had been told of Germ’s disappearance by Gaze, who had rushed to Photoshape’s after realizing Germ was missing and where she must have gone).
After that, it’s not long before the entire Elements of Unity come into view, lighted by Twisted’s and Proxyhack’s horns. Upon seeing Germ apparently whole and in no distress, all six let out heavy, relieved sighs and settle their wings, landing amongst the orange lines; Twisted glances at the lines curiously, but quickly turns away, easily deciding the scene before her is more important. Germ’s eyes widen upon seeing one of Twisted’s tarsi touch a line. “Uhm… Everyling? You might-”
“Don’t say a word, nymph!” Proxyhack scolds, making Germ flinch at the absence of her name; whereas ponies might use full (embarrassing) names to inform their young how angry they are, Changelings go to the opposite extreme—some might even continue using nymph after their young reach adulthood.
“-but-!”
“Not. another. word! -unless you want to be grounded for two months!” PH growls as the six approach Germ. In order to keep herself from crying out in indignation, Germ stuffs her foretarsi into her mouth.
Upon reaching the shore, the movement of the Kelpie’s fins finally catch PH’s attention; in an instant she fires off a bolt of magic lightning, but the Kelpie’s refined predatory reflexes makes it easy for her to dodge—she dives and the bolt vanishes when it hits the surface of the water without leaving sparks or even a flash of light. Still, the light from the bolt itself momentarily blinds everyling, and by the time they can see clearly again, the Kelpie had disappeared. Ya scared her! Germ wants to accuse, but she forces herself to bite her tarsi harder instead.
As PH takes Germ and clamps her onto her back with her elytra like she’s a grub that can’t walk yet, Twisted stares into the water, but she’s not looking for Lquadm, as she knows that if a Kelpie doesn’t want to be seen underwater, it won’t be. Water that doesn’t conduct electricity?
“You!” PH yells and points at the water. “Why can’t you just take a hint an’ stay away! I swear I better not see you anywhere near Fangville again, or you’ll regret it!”
No response comes from the water.
After about a minute of waiting, Proxyhack turns around with a huff and begins to lead the way back out; watching the others step on the orange lines makes Germ whimper from the safety of PH’s back.
Behind them, Lquadm rises above the water again, then, in sudden inspiration, flicks her head-fin upright, flinging droplets of water down the cave to sprinkle the Changelings. Their response is immediate: They all turn in the same moment, wings buzzing from the wetness and their agitation. Before they can berate her more, she quickly gives her warning. “I would take care where I step if I was you, unless you want to hear the thoughts of those at your side.” With that, she once more slips under the water and disappears.
Repeat still growls back, “Well, if I was you, I’d watch where you and your stupid curse step in Fangville, otherwise you’ll be hearing the sound of me pounding your head in!”
Twisted sighs before delivering her tired line. “Curses. Don’t. Exist. They’re nothing more than scary phrases and smoke and mirrors meant to prey on superstitions! They don’t have any actual power beyond the nocebo effect—in other words, any power you let them have over you.” Not waiting for the argument she knows is coming, Twisted turns her back and takes the lead.
“Oh, you’re suppose ta be so smart, Miss I’m-the-Queen’s-personal-student, but you mark my words: You’ll see!” PH huffs at the lack of a reaction before taking up the rear.
- - - -
Completely undaunted by Lquadm’s supposed curse, Twisted sleeps easily, at least through most of the night. Her dreams begin simple, with her sitting comfortably with Queen Chrysalis in her private chambers in the Castle, demonstrating some magic for her teacher. However, afterward she finishes and is sitting with her before a nice fire, a rumbling shakes the room and the walls disappear, revealing darkness beyond, then the floor goes, leaving Twisted to fall.
She doesn’t wake, but instead finds herself sliding down an incline made of soft, fluffy material—somewhere along the lines, Chrysalis had disappeared, leaving her alone. Flying off a cliff, Twisted is flipped by momentum, and sees that she had apparently been sliding down the icing of a giant cupcake. She doesn’t have long to contemplate this turn of events, for a lake materializes under her, and an equally giant Kelpie rises out of the water into the path of Twisted’s fall and opens it’s jaws. She closes her eyes just before she lands on its tongue-!
-and hits hard rock. Twisted is instantly roused by the pain radiating through the shoulder that had taken the hit when she had rolled off the bed in her disturbed sleep. As she pulls herself back onto the bed and sits with a foretarsus to her head, she thinks to herself, What a nightmare… and could have sworn she heard many other unidentifiable voices say the same thing at exactly the same moment. “Is someling here?” she calls, waking Gaze.
“Mm… Wha-hm? Twis?”
“It’s nothing, Gaze. Go back to sleep.” Twisted sighs. Is Gaze here? Why? What am I thinking? He lives here! What? No he doesn’t. He lives with Twisted, in the library. Exactly. Besides the fact Twisted is me, that’s also where I am. No, it’s not! -and I’m Proxyhack/Photoshape/Repeat/Forgery/Piccy! … … … I think I better see Twisted about this. I am Twisted! Gah! Why can’t I stop thinking!? Twisted clutches her head, barely able to distinguish her own thoughts from the foreign ones.
Besides breathing heavily from fighting a rising tide of panic, Twisted isn’t moving, focusing on keeping her mind completely blank—Unfortunately, being the type of worker she is, she can’t stop the inevitable conclusion from ringing clear. Don’t tell me… this is-… As she struggles to come up with any other explanation, the other thoughts invade once more, burying her own thinking processes. Well, what is it?! What is what? Stop it! I can’t think! It hurts! Stop thinking for me! What hurts? Who hurts?! Who do ya think? I do, of course! It’s my head—who else do ya think is here?! Huh? I dun’no, but I don’ feeling nothin’… No! Just stop thinking so I can focus on getting to Twisted’s!
Even though Twisted remains seated and quite frozen on her bed, she can feel “her” wings buzzing and legs galloping, as well as, for lack of a better term, “presences” beginning to make their way toward her—in only a few seconds, the “movements” stop, but the sense of presences remain, even though they’re now staying still. Woah. Holey mane(1), what was that?! I felt like my wings were buzzin’ when they weren’t! What? No. I felt like I was galloping when I wasn’t! Oh, my… Can both of you voices in my head stop arguing, please? I’m not a voice in anyling’s head! I’m me! Oh, I’m sorry if I offended you. I just wanted you to stop arguing. Hmph! Fine!
Now hyperventilating, Twisted jumps off the bed and steps into the library so she can pace and buzz her wings in distress without disturbing Gaze, but still she feels as if she has more sets of wings and legs moving desynchronized. Don’t think about anything. Don’t think about anything. Don’t think about anything. Don’t think about anything. The many voices chant, and Twisted almost gives in and lends her own mental voice, but she knows she can’t. No! I hope I’m wrong, but—Stop thinking!—I need to know—Stop!—for sure. Proxyhack? Yes? Yes what? I’m PH. No! No, I’m not! Repeat Design? Yes! That’s who I-! Photoshape? I’m… here? Wait. I think I get it. Oo oo oo! Me, too! Get what?! Stopitstopitstopitstopit! Calm down, please! I think our minds have been connected somehow, and you’re making it hard for me—Twisted—to think! Alright, everyling, you heard her: Stop thinking so she can fix this, please. Okie-dokie! I usually don’t think a lot anyway! I still don’t understand what’s happening! Ain’t it obvious what’s happenin’? That Kelpie cursed us! No no no! There’s a rational—real!—explanation to this! You just have to let me think! Fine, but only because I know ye’r gon’na have ta come to the same conclusion anyway, since it’s tha only one an’ all!
Lifting a few choice books from the shelves and levitating them before herself, Twisted flips through them all at once, speedreading several passages at nearly the same time (but actually merely switching between them multiple times a second). Even though she manages to push the distraction of legs and wings moving independent of herself, she doesn’t get far before the mental complaints come again. Ohhh, that smarts… Twisted, all’a yer sciency thinkin’ is givin’ me a headache! Yeah… no… kidding…! What’s wrong? I feel fine! I can’t help but concur… with being given a headache, that is. Would you mind not thinking so… uhm, intensely? Oh, no… No! Now your headaches are giving me a headache! “Gah!” Vocally letting out her pain and frustration, Twisted beats her foretarsi against the sides of her own head, letting the books fall to the floor.
Twisted lets herself fall to the floor, frustrated that she can barely think of anything but how the blood pumping through her head renews her pain, only to let it recede for a second before pounding through her brain once more. She whimpers to herself, and only registers the others have finally arrived by the feeling of a “phantom” leg of another pushing open her door. Immediately, she speaks the only conclusion she can come up with. “I think… the only thing we can do is write to Chrysalis. She’ll be able to sort this out…” Twisted turns back to whimpering, worrying about how disappointed Chrysalis will be that her supposed friends couldn’t over come their differences when forced to share their thoughts.
“Twis… stop!” Piccy tries to yell, but her volume is more along the lines of Photoshape’s, as she shakes Twisted back into the present. Glancing around, she immediately realizes that her rapid decent into such depressed thoughts had everyling crying silently with her. Before anyling can say anything else, another bursts into the library: Proxyhack’s big brother, Proxy Trunk.
“Sis, are you-?! Germ’s gone missing!” Even being such a big, strong Changeling as he is, Trunk knows he can’t fight the mysteriousness of the Petualoose Mines; he’d already reached the same conclusion PH is just now arriving to, as she’d told him last night about Germ’s little adventure with the Kelpie.
“Ohhh… That… Kelpie…-!” PH growls, her furry seeping into the others via their new connection, which Twisted immediately begins fighting.
“PH, we can’t do anything while we’re like this! We have to write that letter to Queen Chrysalis so she can sort us out!” Proxy Trunk blinks and silently sits, confused by the phrase “like this” for, as far as he can tell, nothing is different about his sis and the other Element Bearers.
“No! We can’t wait for her! That carnivore could be preparin’ to eat ’er right now!” Yeah! I agree. As much as I don’t like conflict, I don’t we should wait… Sorry, Twisted… “Thank ya, everyling.” PH responds out loud to the others’ mental support, further confusing Trunk, but a hint begins to form in his quiet, wise mind. “You see here, Twis? We’re goin’ whether you come with or not…”
“I c’n write a letter.” Trunk unexpectedly offers. “Ya’ll should go.”
Yeah, Trunk! Comin’ to tha rescue! What’ta ya think’a that, Twis? Trunk don’t need ta know what’s wrong to tell the Queen we need help! I guess there’s no reason not to go, now… Then let’s stop wasting time! Repeat Design leaps out the door Trunk had left open, buzzing impatiently around the portal. Come on! Like Hack said, Lquadm could be tasting Germ right now! Ugh, please don’t think her name… Saying it is bad enough! Don’t worry about it! After today, she’s not going to bother anyling again, because we’re going to make sure of that, right!? Yeah! They mentally cheer, and this time Twisted can’t help but get caught up in the others’ adrenaline as they barrel through town past confused early-bird-lings to the entrance of the Mines.
- - - -
“Okay… Well, this was where we saw Lquadm disappear yesterday…” Twisted needlessly (but in lack of anything else to do) reminds them out loud, not at all keen on using their mental connection to communicate everything, and she completely ignores their gasps. Currently, they’re standing in the cave with the orange lines, trying to look as far as they can into the submerged part of the cave as they buzz their wings in anticipation and annoyance. One of the many reasons Changelings live underground (and have buildings with ceilings) is that they hate getting their wings wet about as much as Daring Do hates getting caught in quicksand—it’s very, very, very frustrating and irritating, but not actually dangerous, or even worrisome in damaging their ability to fly.
“I don’t think we have any choice, everyling…” Twisted eventually decides, then, with only a tiny difficulty thanks to her intense training under Queen Chrysalis, transforms into Lquadm (she being the only Kelpie Twisted knows). A Changeling transforming into any kind of pony, even an Alicorn, is an easy thing because there’s no addition of parts: a horn is a horn, and while the wings might be different, it rarely takes even a week to adapt. However, Kelpies are an entirely different being; while Twisted naturally doesn’t suddenly crave meat anymore than a Changeling disguised as a pony craves hay, the other strange biology has Twisted frozen for a second, wondering if she’ll even be able to move the new parts.
It turns out to be an unfounded worry, as she, in fact, easily finds the necessary muscles to flex her new fins, but she shivers at the alien sensations of their movement, then shivers again when the fins brush against the side of her belly and tail; being connected to her thoughts, the others shiver in synchronicity. Feeling slightly braver after this initial success, Twisted turns attention to her tail, first waving it gently with low amplitude, letting it drag against the floor, then lifting it up to thrash it wildly so that at times it curves sharply inward and slaps her side.
Lastly and most subtly, she finally realizes how her breathing feels different, knowing her lungs must have changed in some way to allow her to breathe water as well as air—just what they need to pursue the Kelpie. Contrary to most stories about Changelings that Prey tell each other, Changelings do not need to know how something is constructed to copy it, they only need to have seen it work on a living “specimen”; even if a Changeling doesn’t consciously realize the complexities of what is seen, the spell is much more intricate than simply bringing a visualized form to life. After taking the creature’s form, all the Changeling has to do is learn how to use any new body parts. Of course, the Bearers won’t have to relearn how to breathe, but Twisted suspects they’ll have to get comfortable with the idea of having lungs full of water in addition to learning how to swim with all of the fishy attachments.
With the stretching out of the new form’s muscles done, Twisted steps up to the water, taking a deep breath as she stares into her reflection. Facing away from them, she still feels the other five nod, encouraging her onward. Jerking her mind back to thoughts of Germ, she steps into the water, marveling for a moment at how the water slips around her legs. It must be some kind of Kelpie magic… Inherent, like Earth pony magic, maybe? Maybe, but I think I speak for everyling when I say we’d apprec’yate it if ya didn’t think about that right now! Indeed. Nodding, Twisted pushes such thoughts away before leaping forward into where the cave falls sharply into deeper waters—just as she had expected, the surface ripples much less than it should have. -or it could be the water that’s strange, given how it repelled that lightning spell yesterday… Twisted! Sorry!
The first breath of water knocks the five still standing on shore to the ground, gagging in futile attempts to force nonexistent water out of their lungs. Focused on not letting the others’ panic overtake her thoughts, Twisted allows herself to drift to the floor of the submerged area as she breathes deeply, trying to transmit calmness to combat their panic. In sudden inspiration, also thinking about Proxy Germ helps them stand once more, nod, and copy Twisted transformation; where usually not all of them would be experienced enough to perform such a drastic change, Twisted’s execution provides their minds with the perfect demonstration.
Slipping into the water in turn, the Kelpie-disguised Changelings attempt to walk along the floor of the cave, having never swam their entire combined lives, but the buoyancy the water adds to every step makes it an agonizingly slow process. So, hesitantly at first, they begin to propel themselves by their tails, and slowly learn how to steer with the fins of their legs and heads, but not slowly in the relative sense, for, unknown to them, their connection allows them to learn how to swim as a Kelpie six times faster than any Changeling would be able to do alone.
Its not long after they become as comfortable as they can be in the water when they come across a fork. What do you think, Twis? They naturally turn to the Queen’s student for guidance, and thought they are not able to distinguish whose thoughts are whose due to the lack of vocal inflections, they are able to tell who is who even though their Kelpie disguises are (naturally) perfectly identical. Twisted attempts to tap in to any latent Kelpie instinct or magic that might be able to tell her something about which way to go (Water Currents? Scents?) but nothing comes to her; she shakes her head. It seems the only option is to split up. I guess this whole mind thing was actually a blessing in disguise, since we’ll be able to sense where everyling is! Maybe… none’a this still wouldn’t’a happened if Germ had just listened! We know, but it’s happened, and now we have to deal with it, so will you just let it go!
Without needing organized thoughts, they split into Twisted, Proxy, and Forgery going one way, and Repeat, Photoshape, and Piccy going the other. Almost instantly, however, the caves began to split even more into a veritable maze, leaving them all on their own paths, forming a mental map with their connected consciousness. If you find Lquadm, don’t engage! Instead, if you run into her or any other trouble, just call out your name, and the rest of us will be able to track you down through the connection, alright? Alright!
From there, it takes very little time for Lquadm to be found. Ooo! Here! Here! Here! I fou-uuu-nd her! Oh, right! Almost forgot! It’s Piccy! Yeah, I think we all guessed that, Pic. Do ya see Germ?! Hmm… nopie, but I can’t see the whole cave. Remember: Don’t go in there alone, Piccy! I remembered. As everyling else turns around to get to her, Piccy balances between too close and too far away, trying to spy on the Kelpie. I was right! My song was right! She’s doing an evil dance! Piccy, she could just be exercising or performing a ritual. -which isn’t necessarily evil! Twisted quickly adds, correctly suspecting the Fangvillians’ superstitions.
Fine enough, Twisted, but what about Germ, huh? Ya got’ta know there ain’t no way she could’a swam by herself, an’ she could’n’a got lost in jus’ two caves! I… know! -but… there has to be another explanation. What “other explanation” is there? Hones’ly, Twis, I haven’ heard ya come up with any! I know, but-… There ain’t no “but”s, an’ you know it, so why don’ ya just admit it! Look… PH shakes her head and Twisted sighs. Listen, Twis, I know ya were so excited to meet a Kelpie an’ all, (even though I don’ know why…) but even if all carnivores aren’t evil, this. one. is. … I… … guess… you’re right.
-but still I wonder… What kind of ritual could she be performing? Twisted only idly asks herself, and the others have enough presence not to answer with something aggressive or sarcastic. Once all six have collected before the still unaware, still dancing Lquadm, Twisted pulls herself out of her mussing and looks up at the Kelpie, narrowing her eyes at it. Okay… On three, everyling. One. Two. Three! Instantly, they move as one, their tails undulating in perfect synchrony so as not to interfere with each other’s movements, and they jump out of the water into another dry part of the cave that Lquadm apparently calls home.
The place looks quite bare at first glance. The only things that stand out are a line of hooks right next to the entrance from which hang a couple towels and a number of wooden boxes stacked up on the opposite side of the roughly circular room. Only because of their number do the many slabs of stone, planks of wood, and preserved leaves seem unremarkable at first sight; many are covered with symbols drawn in chalk, though there are stacks of apparently yet-to-be-used stones, planks, and leaves in the back of the room, while the ones in use line the walls, except the leaves, which hang from strings crisscrossing the ceiling. Also in the back of the room is another cave, which appears to split off into three after a short ways, but there’s nothing else that can be seen that way.
In half-instinct, the Bearers flare their head-fins in aggression, flicking a veritable rain (if a very short rain) across the chamber. Instantly, Lquadm stops her dance, and her eyes widen, but she’s not looking at the runes on which she been performing her ritual; in many places the chalk had dissolved where the droplets had landed. “No…” Lquadm breathes, turning to the stones, planks, and leaves where other runes had been partially erased “No. No! No!” She shouts before abandoning her dance and rushing to collect the ruined charms, arranging them on the floor.
Quite nonplussed by the Kelpie as she completely ignores them in favor of grabbing some chalk by her mouth out of one of the wooden boxes, the six turn to each other, brows raising in silent questioning or pulling together confusion. They remain like this for a moment as the Kelpie frantically yet futilely attempts to rewrite the still-wet runes as she grumbles to herself incomprehensibly around the chalk.
“Hey!” PH yells for the Kelpie’s attention, which she indeed gets, causing her to pause when her eyes are momentarily drawn to the teeth she can see past the lips that are parted by the chalk. In an attempt to pull her courage back to herself, she drops the Kelpie disguise, hoping the flash of fire frightens the Kelpie in turn, but all that happens is that the water that still coating the back of Proxyhack’s Kelpie disguise splashes onto her wings, making her wince before buzzing them at a high almost-whine. “I’ll only ask ya kin’ly once: What have you done to Proxy Germ?!”
Lquadm shakes her head before carefully spitting the chalk onto one of her hooves and looking up, obviously annoyed. “Done? -to Proxy Germ? I have done nothing but bring her here! -but you? What have you done?!” She points the chalk accusatively. “You’ve ruined my charms!”
“Charms-shmarms… You mean curses! -and now we know you’ve nymph-napped Germ!” Repeat points in turn, keeping her disguise after seeing what happened to PH. At her side, Twisted focus on continuing to glare at the Kelpie while mentally rolling her eyes and giving a short lecture. Repeat, a charm is just a remnant of a ritual meant to maintain a continuous effect until the charm is destroyed; a charm is not necessarily evil—or good—either! Whatever, Twis! That’s not important right now!
“‘Curses’? I won’t respond to such a foalish claim! ‘nymph-napped’? Is this what this break-in to my home about? She came here telling me, ‘I think ma’ sis an’ all a ’er friends need help!’” The Kelpie retorts, mimicking the nymph’s voice where she quotes her. In her raising anger, she also stomps the hoof still holding the chalk, crushing it to dust; in the next instant, she jumps back as if electrocuted and cries out upon seeing how the chalk dust blots out an entire rune. “Gah! No! Now I will have to again start from the beginning! So much work… I must ask now that you leave!”
“I ain’t leaving without my sister, you carnivore!” Proxyhack growls, stomping in turn.
“-and while it may not be a ‘curse’, technically…-” Forgery adds with a snort.
“-we know you did something to connect our heads!” Piccy finishes.
“I didn’t want to believe it at first…” Twisted shakes her head, then steps forward, head down as if to point her horn at Lquadm. “-but there’s no other explanation!”
As the Bearers say their points, Lquadm steps back, looking more and more surprised. “‘no other explanation’ is what you say? Truly? Did you not see those runes in the cave?” Lquadm offers reasonably, trying to calm herself as much as the intruders.
“Runes that you drew and enchanted, I’d-!” Repeat begins to accuse, making Lquadm put a hoof to her forehead in aggravation at the Changelings’ insistence of her guilt.
“Charmed,” Twisted cuts in to correct, deadpan. “‘-drew and charmed-’. Enchantments are-”
“Whatever!” Repeat rears and shouts to the ceiling before shooting a glare at Twisted then turning back to Lquadm. “Whatever it’s technically called, we know you did it, and you’re gon’na undo it or else!”
“‘-or else’… ‘-or else’!?” The Kelpie raises her upper lip to show off her teeth. “Impulsive Changelings like you would do well to learn quick how the ways of the world beyond your caves work! Unless you can read my charms,” she warns as she pulls an plank with a not-ruined charm across her chest, “-you’d do best not to be doing all you can to earn my wrath!”
Before anyone can do or say anything else, Germ steps out of the cave behind Lquadm, carrying a book in her magic and calling out cheerfully, “Ms. Lquadm, I think I found that book you-!” She stops at the entrance of the room, tilting her head. “Huh? Sis? What are you doin’ here?! -an’ who are those other Kelpies?” Germ directs the last question at Lquadm as she steps into the relative center of the room, next to the real Kelpie, obviously mistaking those still disguised as Kelpie visitors.
Despite her unfinished confrontation with the other Changelings, Lquadm easily leaves the anger out of her voice when addressing Germ, earning a growl from PH. “Can you not see, Germ, they are me? They are Proxyhack’s friends, in disguise so they could swim here, I assume. -and why are they here? They come to ruin my work and accuse me of nymph-napping you and for ‘cursing’ them!”
“Dang it!” PH stomps both foretarsi in annoyance. “We jus’ got through tellin’ ya it don’ matter what it’s called! What’chya did is what’chya did, and we know it! Simple as that! The truth don’t need no fancy wordin’!” she insists and asserts with nods from the other five, Twisted being hesitant for only half of a second.
“What?!” Germ leans away as if Lquadm had thrown an faint punch at her. “Don’t tell me you, too… uh, Twisted…?” Germ holds a tarsus to her muzzle, looking for any hint of which one the librarian might be.
Sighing, Twisted helpfully holds up a tarsus as if in class. “Yes, me, too, Germ. -and while we might have been wrong about the nymph-napping, this is a charm. I’d be able to recognize it in my sleep! You can’t tell me those runes back there weren’t charmed by Lquadm!”
“Jus’ watch me!” Germ takes a moment to grin cheekily before closing her eyes and nodding finitely once each for the two following words. “They. weren’t. They really weren’t! Those orange runes is an ancient charm from back when the Mines were… still bein’ mined!” She taps the book beside her. “This here book should have the… uh… anti-ritual?” Germ turns the tapping tarsus to her own chin in thought, looking up at the Kelpie for confirmation on the term.
“Indeed.” Lquadm flips through the book, and when she finds the ritual, taps the page. “Yes. ‘To make one’s mind one’s own again’; this should work… Hm… It is actually fortunate you are here.” Lquadm looks up at the Bearers. “This ritual requires all those afflicted to be present.”
“Now wait up a sec’!” PH jumps forward to put a tarsus over the page. “Ya’ll don’t expect us to just sit around while you do whatever freaky magic, do ya?!”
Behind her, Twisted sighs, putting a tarsus to her temple and shaking her head before saying half-heartedly, “Rituals and charms aren’t magic… Magic is energy channeled though a body part, like Changeling and unicorn horns and pegasus wings. Rituals and charms-”
“Twisted?!” PH rounds on her. “Don’t tell me yer buyin’ this now, too?!”
“What else do you want, Proxyhack? What they say explains everything! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this myself…” Twisted hangs her head, looking up at Lquadm like a scolded dog. “I’m sorry I thought so bad of you. I did let you being a carnivore influence my thoughts… can you forgive-?”
“Hold it!” Forgery steps forward and puts a leg between the Kelpie and the sorrowful Changeling. “She hasn’t explained everything!”
“Yeah!” Repeat waves a leg to indicate the room at large. “Like what’s up with all these charms and what that ritual’s for that you were doing when we came here!”
“-or why you come into Fangville…” Photoshape finally speaks for the first time since their arrival.
Even though she barely whispered, it’s Photoshape’s words that make Lquadm flinch and deflate, looking down at the floor. For a moment, all the Changelings can do is stare, whether in shock, confusion, or anger. Germ is the first to move and speak, lifting a tarsus to put comfortingly on Lquadm’s leg, where the fin grows. “Ms. Lquadm, ya don’-?”
“It’s okay.” Lquadm suddenly jumps to life, pulling her leg away from Germ’s touch, looking uncomfortable. “I’m okay. It’s-… The life of a carnivore… is very lonely. Kelpies only get together to-,” before continuing she glances down at Germ, then looks up at PH, “-‘you know’. My sire I never knew; my mother only cared for me and my siblings until she decided we learned enough of ‘the pony language’ to hunt them. I didn’t even have a name until yesterday! ‘Lquadm’ was definitely not an invention of mine or my mother’s. There’s no society, no culture… nothing beyond instinct to learn.” Realizing she was rambling, she rapidly shakes her head and looks up at Photoshape. “I got used to all of that a long time ago, but sometimes… I have nothing else to do, so I go into Fangville.
“The rituals and charms are tied to that, actually.” Lquadm then turns to Repeat, who’s losing her suspicion, thought Lquadm doesn’t seem to notice. “A Kelpie’s sense of smell is very strong; I can tell not only where Changelings are when I visit, but how many there are and even smell sickness on them, sometimes before they are aware. Every month, I take note, then come back here to perform rituals of health and quick recovery for the sick, and if I notice a Changeling missing, I perform rituals of luck to help them succeed in whatever they’re doing away from home and to help them come back safely. Also,-” Lquadm gives a slight nod when Forgery opens her mouth. “-I only visit once a month because that is the schedule I decided on after I saw it was futile to convince the Changelings I was not there to hunt them. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they spotted the pattern and would be able to prepare themselves to avoid me.”
“Al-…-right,” Repeat relents reluctantly, then asks, more curious than aggressive, though once more Lquadm doesn’t seem to notice. “You still haven’t answered what that ritual just now was… So?”
“Ah… another charm for someone I’ve come to understand is named… Tsep?” she half-asks, but the others shrug, as Tsep isn’t away or sick. “Whoever he is, he has been suffering for a very long time, but no matter what I do, the scent of sickness will not leave him… It is a scent I’ve encountered very rarely, so what afflicts him, I am not certain.” She watches as the others look between themselves, turning from disinterested to confused, except Forgery, who falls worried.
Sick?! What could it be? I’ve not noticed any symptoms… Me neither. I don’t think any of us have. Either it’s hiding, then, or he’s enduring it alone for… whatever reason. Oh! Poor Tsep! Putting on a brave face or unknowingly being stalked by an unseeable killer! Relax, Forgery. It might not be that bad. She could be mistaken that whoever it is is Tsep! -but if she’s right and it’s been as long as Lquadm says-! Oh, Tsep! Lquadm blinks and Germ merely tilts her head in confusion as Forgery seems to be fighting the urge to faint and the other Bearers turn amused or frustrated. “It is the charm.” Lquadm explains upon seeing Germ’s reaction out of the corner of her eyes. “It makes them share their thoughts, and it will get worse with time, so we should prepare.” She suddenly gets serious, and her words make the six grow still and worried for their fate.
- - - -
It takes little time for the space to be cleared, dried, and written on. The room is divided into seven sections: six triangular “pie-slices” arranged about the seventh piece, a hexagon. The hexagon is cramped full of runes while the triangles appear empty by comparison, but thankfully so, for each has to have exactly the same runes. Once done, the Bearers (now all undisguised and dried with Lquadm’s generously provided towels) arrange themselves inside the triangles, one per and sitting near the outer-most edges, and Lquadm steps into the hexagon, careful not to smudge the chalk.
With the Kelpie’s nod, the six stiffen, for they cannot move—besides blinking—for the ritual’s duration. In the next instant, she begins the dance. First, she walks in a circle in a slow crouch, appearing like the carnivore she is, then slowly she rises until she’s walking on her hind legs, tail curled up to keep balance. Coming to stand in the center of the hexagon, she freezes for a moment, then begins to weave her torso, letting herself slowly fall once more to all fours, at which point she weaves her neck and lowers her head until it nearly touches the floor. Noting how she moves, Germ, standing just off the chamber, in the cave that forks into three, thinks back to how she had avoided touching the orange lines, even with the very tip of her long tail.
With that part completed, she raises her head and walks swiftly—not running and always careful of the chalk—along the lines of Twisted’s triangle until she once more stands at the hexagon. Still facing away from Twisted, Lquadm then walks backwards directly towards her, keeping herself in line and following the ritual’s directions by first looking over her right shoulder, switching to her left shoulder half way to Twisted. Just before touching, Lquadm abruptly rears onto her hindlegs and switches direction to circle Twisted while twirling and her forehooves touching before her chest. As Lquadm circles, she pulls her forehooves apart slowly until they extend at a ninety degree angle from each other; at that, she stops spinning, raises her right forehoof and brings it down swiftly in the middle of her chest as if striking something she had been holding between her forehooves. Dropping back to all fours, she returns to the hexagon and repeats this for the other five.
When she returns to the hexagon for the last time, she swipes out one of the symbols, and in that same moment, the runes in the triangles disappear, and the Changelings’ minds are once more their own. Wow. That was… amazing. Twisted tentatively thinks, still half-expecting a mental response from someling despite her earlier conviction in Lquadm’s ritual skills. “Noling else heard that thought?” Twisted asks at the exact same moment as the other Bearers, which makes everyling laugh, and Germ hops forward to hug her sister.
Yes… Everyling is going to be okay once more. Lquadm nods, silent, and begins to sweep away the chalk with her tail, immediately drawing attention to herself. For a moment, she cleans in peace, but the absence of laughter—or any sound—invades her thoughts, making her look up and around, worried her assessment might be wrong. “Is there… something else you require?”
“Not e’zactly, Ms. Lquadm; we just…” Germ steps forward. “What are ya gon’na do now?”
“‘Do… now’?” Lquadm only blinks, slightly unsettling once more the Changelings around her thanks to her near-complete lack of social body language. “If you don’t require anything of me, then I will begin fixing the charms that were broken.” This makes the Bearers forget their discomfort in favor of embarrassment, but the Kelpie seems unaware, and it doesn’t seem likely this is her intention.
“No! I mean… ya help everyling, but what do they do? They run an’ hide an’ don’t talk to you! -don’t even thank you!” Germ works herself into a fight-ready stance, wings buzzing angrily; a calm tarsus from PH on her back reminds her of what she wanted to say. “What I mean is, I think it’s our turn to do somethin’ for you!”
“Indeed-y.” PH nods finitely, grinning at the Kelpie’s continued blank look. “One good turn deserves another, does it not?”
“‘One… good turn’?” Lquadm repeats, obviously not understanding the phrase.
“Yeah! Who knows where we’d be without you!” Repeat jumps forward, misunderstanding the Kelpie’s confusion.
“Oh, please, Repeat, don’t say something like that! I don’t want to think about it…” Forgery shivers and frowns before smiling more widely at Lquadm. “-and it’s all thanks to you it’s over!”
“Isn’t it… also ‘all thanks to me’ it started?” she asks, shooting Forgery’s smile away, then turning to Repeat. “‘Without me’ this wouldn’t have begun in the first place, yes? I was only correcting what I had done… I… thought?” The Changelings would have been inclined to laugh at this absurd misinterpretation of events if they hadn’t just witnessed Lquadm’s lack of humor; as it is, all they can do is stare.
“Snap out’ta it, everyling!” PH recovers first, stomping as like a judge calling for order. “Lquadm, ya could’n’ be further from the truth. It was us, thinkin’ an’ actin’ the way we did, that put us in that cauldron o’ trouble. None’a this would’a happened if we didn’t think you were gon’na eat Germ here and chased after ya, is what I’m sayin’. We’re at fault.” PH points at herself, then waves her tarsus around to indicate her friends while purposefully skipping over Germ. “So, as my li’l sis pointed out, we owe ya, and from Pretender to Pretender, that’s bondin’.”
“I’m sure you could ask anything of my sis an’ her friends and they’d do it, so what’da’ya want?” Germ asks excitedly, bouncing, making the others chuckle at the nymph’s antics.
“I-?… Nothing. There is nothing I need.”
“We’re not asking what you ‘need’.” Repeat rolls her eyes, causing another round of amusement, except in Germ, who narrows her eyes to scrutinize the Kelpie looking down at her.
“Hey… Why don’t’chya laugh?” Germ’s question silences them all, and Proxyhack looks frantic at the question that seems too easy to take as insulting.
“Preda- Carnivores don’t laugh. We simply can’t risk giving ourselves away if Prey does something funny while we’re hunting.” Lquadm shakes her head and looks up at the ruined charms. So much work…
“-but that doesn’t mean you’re incampi- incapla- in-cape-able, right? So, try! Come on!” Indeed, even as Lquadm tries to ignore the nymph in hopes she’ll lose interest (it worked with her mother when Lquadm was little), she still does find the young one’s naïve insistence comical.
“Okay… How does it go, again?” The Kelpie asks herself, prompting forth a round of accidental demonstrations. “Right… hhhh-ha.” Lquadm produces a breathy hiss-like sound before the release. “hee? hih? heh heh… hmm. Well, I… tried?” she offers.
“Hmm…” Is all Germ initially has to say as she rubs her chin in apparently deep thought. “Well, if that’s the best you can do, I guess it’s still a good thing ya won’t be scarin’ anyling by laughin’ evilly-like!” She nods once, definitively, then runs forward to hug Lquadm. “You’ll learn soon enough by, uh, exam-pill. Everyling likes to laugh!”
“Kah! Oooooo!” Piccy gasps, then revs up her wings to rush forward and grab both Germ and Lquadm. “You’re a genius, Germy. This’ll be my toughest and most rewarding job as Swarmincorporator ever! Welcome to the hive, L-!” Piccy stops, eyes wide, then jumps back, dropping the nymph and Kelpie as she looks around frantically but obviously not seeing anything. “L-… Q-… L-… A-… oh, no-ooooo! I can’t think of a nickname!” she cries, rearing up dramatically—too dramatically, for she falls on her back, but on purpose.
Secretly, Piccy smiles inwardly at the good-natured laughing of the others, but especially at the weak, uncertain, “Eh… heh,” from Lquadm. “‘Hive’?” She asks when the laughter begins to die and Piccy rolls onto her belly. “Are you sure? Would your Queen allow it? Do you really think you can get the Changelings to call me one of their own?—or even just to not be scared of me?”
“Relax…” Repeat scoffs, waving a tarsus unconcernedly. “Piccy is… weird, but everyling loves her, and especially they trust her. Believe me. I, of all-lings, should know.” She pulls herself up proudly and puts a tarsus to her thorax self-importantly. She’s only able to hold this pose for a moment before sticking a tongue out the side of her mouth and giggling—mostly thanks to Piccy sneaking under her and tickling her belly with her wings.
“Aww… Thanks, R.D.!”
“As for Queen Chrysalis and Queen Husk,” Twisted cuts in, “You let us worry about them, but I’m certain there’ll be no trouble with a non-Changeling Pretender being accepted!”
“For sure!” Proxyhack nods with a confident smirk. “‘The Hive with a Kelpie’ don’t sound no stranger than ‘The Hive with Two Queens’ ta me!” Once more they laugh—with another hesitant attempt by Lquadm—before taking the Kelpie’s form once more to swim home (Germ is carried by Lquadm as she had been taken to the Kelpie’s home before, with her occasionally breathing oxygen into the nymph after her Kelpie lungs separate it from the water).
- - - -
After stopping by Photoshape’s to dry off with her surprisingly plentiful selection of towels (She would have to clean herself often for working with wax-drenched ponies, I suppose, Twisted considers, shrugging off the oddity), the eight of them step into Fangville, Germ having insisted on riding on Lquadm’s back, and though she didn’t give a reason, her plan is exposed as soon as she puts a comforting tarsus on the side of Lquadm’s neck at the first scream.
“No-ooo! It’s… her! She’s back already! The carnivore!”
“Oh, what could she want!?”
“Look! She has the Elements of Unity under her spell!”
“The horror! Oooh, the horror! Ooooh-oh…” At the other’s announcement, one worker wails and moans as she lets herself fall, laying prone as she pants in fear of something she knows she cannot avert—even most of the others stop fleeing, looking back, frozen in terror, unable to do anything but watch the procession advance on the fallen worker.
They stop about three meters away, and everything stands still for a moment except the worker before them shivering. Twisted lifts a leg to step forward, but Piccy catches her eye, and the student relinquishes with tiny inclination of her head.
So, the Swarmincorporator advances and the worker’s breathing quickens. “Dizzy, you wan’na try one of my muffins?” She offers with a huge grin, the innocence of the request makes Dizzy look up, blinking, and soon she comes to the realization only “Fangville’s Piccy” would say such a thing—no carnivore controlling her could make her act so genuine.
With that, the Bearers, Germ, Lquadm, Gaze, Proxy Trunk (Twisted had made a trip back to the library; while Proxy Trunk had written a letter and Gaze sent it, the Queen had not yet responded), and Dizzy sit on a repurposed blanket at the edge of town—Piccy telling them it’s called a “picnic”, and that she wanted to try one as soon as she had read about them in one of her pony cookbooks. The original plan had been to set up in the center of town, but Twisted had insisted that the process of desensitizing Fangville to Lquadm be a little more realistic in approach. As if to prove her point, even though Dizzy had accepted Piccy’s invitation, she still waits for Lquadm to sit, at which point she instantly takes the direct opposite side of the blanket.
The Changelings all partake of the muffins (and still the difference from cupcakes eludes Twisted) while Gaze and Lquadm deny theirs, the cockatrice for having had plenty yesterday and the Kelpie… for the obvious reason. During a lull in the idle, friendly conversations (which Lquadm merely silently observes), Twisted is struck by inspiration, and decides to put her assistant’s free wings to work. “Gaze, take a letter to the Queen, please.”
“Alright!” He pulls a scroll and quill from that mysterious place inside his plumage. “Dear… Queen Chrysalis,” he starts off by himself.
“Today’s lesson isn’t just for me…” Twisted begins, looking over her fellow Bearers, then Dizzy. “-or even my closest friends, but all of Fangville. We’ve all learned, or will learn, that one’s biology, no matter how scary, dangerous, or alien, says nothing about what’s inside. Instead, it’s someling’s—or some-Kelpie’s—actions by which we should judge them, which means I think we’ll all be busy for a little while we make up for some hurtful things we’d done, but it’ll all be worth it in the end when we find a new friend. Your faithful student, Twisted Spare”
As Gaze finishes the letter, Dizzy shuffles her elytra self-consciously, and as he sends the letter on its way, she catches Lquadm staring at her in the corner of her eyes and looks up. In that moment, Dizzy’s remaining fear leaves her like water evaporating off her wings.