“Absolutely out of the question!” Seclorum’s growling voice echoed across the tight brick walls of the chamber as he stood several feet away, frowning. “You let that monster free, and you’ll doom us all!”
“If you ask me, the doom has already been brought upon us,” Rainbow Dash said as she fiddled with the manacles clasped around the emaciated changeling’s forelimbs. “Torturing a creature that’s hooked up to hive mind? Whew! Talk about shoving your name to slot number one of the Darwhinny Awards!”
“There’s no telling what will come of this expedition!” Seclorum snarled. “We could still need it for information! And if it should summon its fellow broodlings in to attack us--”
“Secchy, please,” Aatxe grumbled as he trotted past the unicorn with a set of keys dangling around one forelimb. “We all know that if the changelings wanted us dead, they could easily have raided the hold and slaughtered all of us by now.”
“And just what do you think you’re doing?!”
Aatxe sighed. “What I should have done months ago.” With a weary smile, he hoofed the keys over to Rainbow Dash. “There ya go.”
“I think you should do the honors,” Rainbow said, stretching the changeling’s bound hoof towards the instruments. “If not for the little dude here, then for your conscience.”
Aatxe blinked. With a nervous breath, he nodded and trotted forward. “Very well then.”
“I still think this is a horrible plan,” Seclorum said. “The only reason Arcshod and His Royal Highness voted to comply is because of some backwards religious prophecy mumbo jumbo about this ‘flame bearing Ostrich-oh horse.’ And the Lounge? Never trust anyone with cold blood! So help me, Ledo, if you so much as--”
“Look, either we free this poor guy or I’m not budging an inch to help you ponies get the locked-away crystals for the Tarkington!” Rainbow said, frowning his way. “You can sit on that until your gray mane hairs fall out, for all I care.”
Seclorum blinked, his muzzle gaping. He tilted his gaze aside at Aatxe.
Aatxe paused in the middle of unlocking the manacles. He blinked back and smiled awkwardly. “Uhm… what she s-said.”
Seclorum’s brow furrowed. With a frown, he swiveled around and stormed off down the hallway.
“Pleasant stallion,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Don’t be too harsh on the pony,” Aatxe said, working on the last cuffs. “I’m not all that proud of everything we’ve done under his lead, but his tenacity has encouraged us to survive dire straits.”
“But does he have to be so bitter?”
“A lifetime at war will do that.”
“Yeah, but even with all the crap I’ve been through, I…” Rainbow Dash paused in mid-speech, her eyes crooked.
Aatxe looked curiously at her.
“Weird…” Rainbow gulped dryly. “Really, really weird…”
“What is?”
“Just days ago, surrounded by friends and perfectly safe, I was the most bitter mare on earth,” Rainbow muttered. “But here?” She glanced up, sniffling slightly into the torchlight. “Stuck in the belly of a flying Tartarus, surrounded by changelings, with one of my best friends having just kicked the bucket…” Her words trailed off.
“You strike me as a pony of action,” Aatxe said with a slight smile.
“I guess I’m just best when I’m stupid,” Rainbow muttered. She nodded her head towards the shuddering changeling they were unfettering. “Like this, for example.”
“I wouldn’t call this stupid.” Aatxe said as he unlocked the last cuff and dropped the metal bits to the floor. “But you certainly seem to only see forward.”
“Am I doing a horribly bad thing here, Aatxe?” Rainbow asked. “Is this somehow gonna kill all the ponies stuck in this place?”
“We’ve been wasting away here for years, subsisting on prison food and forced to endure tempests and decay,” the stallion muttered. He gazed at her with a tired pair of eyes. “We were all killed long, long ago.” He gestured at the changeling. “Even if this is the only soul you free, I’d say you were brought here to do a good thing, Miss Dash.”
Rainbow smiled awkwardly at that. She turned and scooped the weak changeling up in her forelimbs. “Come on, pal. Stretch your wings, why don’tcha? You’re gonna need them with the nasty winds out there.”
“Nasty… winds…?”
“Yeah. I know it may not be much like sunshine,” Rainbow said as she slung the creature over her back. “But, hey, it’s freedom.”
“Freedom…” The changeling stared at her with quivering fangs. The black shell gave way for orange fuzz and freckles. “What’s it y’all want, sugarcube? Why are you doin’ this?”
“Why am I not?” Rainbow smirked and trotted briskly for the far end of the hallway, followed by Aatxe. “I’ve been in chains myself. Most uncool. Now let’s get you out of here.”
The effigy of Applejack blinked. With a soft smile, it leaned forward, nuzzling the middle of Rainbow’s shoulders as it was carried safely away from the niche of misery.
”These creatures can attack us from any angle,” Razzar said as he paced before his fellow compatriots. Behind the Lounge, the rest of the Hold’s population was hauling together crossbolts, makeshift bludgeons, and supplies. “We must be prepared for an assault from the sky, the walls, and even the floors. They can blend in with anything imaginable, and seeing as we have the superior firepower, this group will be relying on our talents. Let us worry about restitution and payment after we’ve escaped the winds of this place.”
”But Razzar,” one masked member tilted his hooded head about. ”The pegasus is freeing one of them. Surely this will only set us up for a terrible ambush.”
“Ambush or not, the pegasus is the key we need to get to the heart of this building. The survivors here will not be able to escape without the energy sources contained within. And as to reaching the controls of this place--”
“We will surely perish!” the figure exclaimed, his gloved fists clenched. ”She is leading us into a trap with her misguided generosity!”
”I trained us to be strong and resourceful. Whatever happens, we will be prepared for it. Focus on your strengths and do not obsess with fear and doubt.”
“This is simply a terrible idea,” the Lounge member hissed from beneath his mask. ”We will die and our skins will turn to dust in the gales of this place--”
Ch-Chtkk! In one dynamic twirl, Razzar had unholstered a crystal rifle and planted the double barrels to the peak of the figure’s mask. ”On. Your. Knees.”
The other members fidgeted fearfully. Slowly, the figure under the weapon’s sight slumped down to a nervous crouch.
Mist wafted out from the edges of Razzar’s mask. ”Who is strong and wise? Speak it.”
There was a wheezing sound. The kneeling figure trembled before crackling forth: ”You are, Razzar…”
”Razzar who?”
”Razzar, our strong and resourceful leader.”
”And do you know the cost of being weak and frail?”
The other members all instinctively turned to stare down the kneeling figure.
With a shudder, the member said, ”Yes, Razzar, I know the cost.”
”And if we were still on our ship, you would experience that cost at full force,” the leader said. “However, we are about to undergo a most dangerous task.” He holstered his weapon and stood tall. “And my need for allies in the forthcoming trial supersedes the example I would have had to make of you. Now, stand up.”
The figure did so, hissing in shallow breaths.
”Do not question my strength and authority again, and maybe I will forget your tongue by the time we fly to freedom.”
“Yes, Razzar, leader.” The figure bowed slightly. ”I am grateful for your mercy.”
”Don’t waste your breath, especially with insincerity.” Razzar pointed with a gloved finger. ”Busy yourself with contacting Vaughan. Inform him about the mission we are about to undergo. If the winds abide, we may have to rely on air support.”
”Understood.”
”The rest of you, make sure your weapons are in perfect order. We will need them at fully functioning capability for the hour to come.”
As Razzar continued pacing, Props and Prowse looked over from a distance.
Props blinked. “Wowsers. They certainly don’t buck around.”
“How’d you pick up these sods to begin with?” Prowse asked.
“Actually, they tried to pick you up.” Props winced, blushing. “Well, erm, the other you, I mean.”
“So they were trying to do your crew a favor?”
“Yup yup yup! That is… until they started chasing and shooting at us.”
Prowse scratched his scruffy chin. “I’m afraid I don’t know what to make of them.”
“Me neither.” Props spun with bright blue eyes. “But they totally seem super helpful right now, huh?”
Prowse smirked. “Look how brave my little Propsicle has become, trusting lizards in masks.”
“Oh, I haven’t gotten a spine yet! But give it a few ticks!” Props leaned in, gave Prowse’s cheek a peck, and leaned back. “Whelp…” She slid her goggles over her eyes. “It’s been groovy, Unky Prowsy, but I gotta get my Dash-Dash on!”
“Huh?!” Prowse glanced between the mare and the other clusters of ponies preparing for the expedition. “Lassie, you can’t be serious! You barely have anything to defend yourself with!”
“Like soot-bugs, I don’t!” She waved a heavy wrench around, smiling with a dangling tongue. “I can loosen some wicked nuts, if you know what I mean! Heehee!”
“If you’re going with this crazy bunch of buggers, then so am I!” Prowse hobbled towards where his partially constructed prosthetic lingered. “Just let me fetch my boomstick--”
“To do what?” Props shrugged. “Ain’t much of a boomstick if it can’t go boom yet!”
“Just give me a few miracle minutes to tweak it! I’ll be there by your side, lickety-split, to blast bug-ponies senseless!”
“Unky Prowsy…” Props yanked him back by his tail then supported him before the three-legged stallion could fall over. “I’ll be okay. I’m a big filly now!”
“I know, but--”
“No you don’t.” Props gulped. “And… And I-I can’t even begin to explain it. But I’ve grown in a zany bunch of places and it’s high time I owned up to it. I can’t hide inside Nancy Jane’s womb forever, expecting Dashie to do all of the flank kicking on her lonesome!”
Prowse gaped at her. He then snickered.
“What?” Props peach muzzle scrunched up.
“Nothing, lass.” He caressed her cheek and blonde bangs. “Just never thought there’d come a day where I couldn’t understand what you’re babbling about.”
“Heeheehee…” Props leaned in and nuzzled him. “It’s okay, Unky Prowsy. Just stay here. Get your boomstick back in order. Defend Queeny over there.”
Props glanced over at the Xonans. “I think they can bloody well protect themselves…”
“They don’t know how lucky they are to have you around. Nopony knows…” She lingered, muzzle quivering. “... how lucky I am…”
He turned to gaze silently at her.
She sighed, smiling with slightly foggy goggles. “Even if the same thing happens to all of us that happened to Pilate, I’m glad I got a chance to see your silly beard again.”
“Heh, yeah, well, I haven’t had the chance to grow the damned thing out.”
“Something to look forward to!” Props said as she saluted and bounded across the hold.
On the other side of the compartment, Arcshod and a few fellow Xonans bowed before Lasairfion, murmuring words of fealty. Lasairfion smiled gently. With a telekinetic tug, she urged them back onto their hooves and imparted wisdom and encouragement. After a final bow, Arcshod briskly turned around. His eyes twitched, and he followed the movement of a blue pegasus trotting in from the recesses of the place.
Everypony watched from a distance while Rainbow Dash carried the changeling towards the abandoned edge of the hold. There, she squatted besides one of the fresh windswept holes torn in the floor of the place.
“Hey… here we are, buddy.” Rainbow Dash slid the changeling off her shoulders and reached out to flex its wings with her hooves. “After talking to me, you should have enough strength to fly.” She smiled. “Don’t pretend that you can’t.”
The shape-shifter looked up at her with dim green eyes. “Fly…?”
“Yes. As in freedom. Grace. Life.” She pointed out the hole. “Go give it a shot. I promise, even hurricane force winds are a sight better than the crap you’ve been made to go through.”
“Rainbow, everypony looks ready to go,” Aatxe said from behind her. “I’d better go check on Seclorum and the others.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow nodded towards him as he trotted off. “You do that.” She suddenly felt a tug on her mane hair. Losing her balance, she slumped over, only to be caught in the changeling’s embrace.
”Shhhhhh…” The changeling stared straight into her eyes, then extended its forelimb.
Rainbow Dash quietly looked at it.
Before the pegasus’ eyes, the exoskeleton turned to a blue coat. Then, like a zipper, a laceration opened. The juices inside changed color from green to red, the flowed openly out of the “cut.” The changeling turned its forelimb around and around, allowing the blood to seep all around the flesh. It even gave the hoof a shake, allowing the blood to splatter in a tiny puddle across the floor. Then, just as quickly as the display happened, the flesh closed up on its own, and turned back to its immaculate black shell. The juices on the floor remained red.
Rainbow’s jaw dropped. She gazed in shock at the changeling.
The creature merely stared back, silent and deadpan.
“Why…” Rainbow murmured beneath her breath. “Why are you sh-showing me this?”
The thing leaned forward, nuzzled her cheek, and whispered into her ear, “Because you’re the kind one.” It leaned back, smiled nervously, then fell backwards.
Rainbow jerked.
But the changeling was gone. It plunged into the winds beneath the building, spread its wings, and disappeared into the rainy gusts.
Rainbow Dash slumped back on her haunches, her chest pounding and her wings drooped.
“Alright, everypony!” Seclorum’s voice shouted. “Let’s get this over with! It’s now or never!”
Rainbow Dash jumped in place, gnawing on her bottom lip. Her eyes darted between all of the shuffling, wandering, murmuring bodies in the room. There were so many equine shapes, and all of them obscured by dim torchlight and fear. In a pale slump, she stood back up and trotted away from the holes in the floor.