Dietrich did not hum while he walked through the desert with the changelings chatting beside him. He didn’t sing hymns, and he didn’t even pray.
Instead, he couldn’t stop thinking about the possible consequences of his actions.
Now that he had found out that the native equines didn’t ‘convert’ in a religious sense, his concerns for the safety of his friends only increased. He was leading them into the centre of the city that held the two responsible for the bloodless destruction of the changeling race, along with many others from the sounds of it. They surely knew that they were walking ever closer to their doom, and yet they insisted on helping him.
He glanced to his right, the group still in their pairs and talking amongst themselves while the two small nymphs raced each other through the sand. Originally, he had been set on winning their friendship and helping them achieve eternal happiness, but had it backfired? Had he done too well, and would they pay for it?
Continuing to press forward and maintain a confident air for their sake, he took note of the sun’s low position in the sky and guessed that they had roughly two hours until dark. They had brought some wood with them so there was no need to search around for any fuel for the campfire, but he found it comforting to search for it while walking regardless. It kept his mind off darker thoughts.
After a further thirty minutes by his helmet’s display, the group began to visibly tire. Their pace slowed and the two nymphs had stopped their play to drag their hooves while panting. Noticing the youngsters lag behind, Dietrich paused for them to catch up. He didn’t know what sort of predators existed in the desert they were in, but he knew which members of a group were likely to be targeted.
Stooping, he lifted both stragglers into his arms without struggle. Looking at the two he easily held, he fancied that the weary chirps were in thanks and continued to walk. The two nymphs shifted in his hold so that they could look out to the front, before settling down to rest.
Another glance at the rest of the group led him to believe that rest would be good for all of them, so for the first time in hours he spoke.
“Well, is it about time we called it a day and prepare for the evening?” Thankful faces looked up, except for Double who shook his head and pointed a hoof out to the horizon.
“Resting out in the open is a bad idea,” he advised.
They halted, Dietrich waiting for an explanation.
“How so?” Seraph inquired, Double frowning and catching his breath.
“Well, I know for a fact that this desert has giant scorpions, sand spiders, and other things that like to eat ponies, changelings, and whatever else they can catch.” Double’s voice gained a slight tone of worry. “Among the scouts that used to do long distance patrols around the hive, there was a rumour of giant night birds that would swallow a changeling whole.”
“Giant… birds?”
Dietrich looked down when Sheen pressed his side against an armoured leg after asking the question, Madeline huddling closer to him while even the adults seemed disturbed.
“I wouldn’t worry about anything like that,” Cion reassured, although she herself didn’t seem that confident with her words. “Scouts were always making up rumours to try and one-up us infiltrators, it’s probably made up.”
All of them went silent for a moment, Dietrich assuming that they were briefly reflecting on their situation. Looking up and scanning the distance, he spotted a rocky hill rising up from the sand. Guessing that it was better than no cover at all, he raised his free hand to point at it.
“Over there, those rocks might be a good place.”
Double stepped forward to take a closer look, Dietrich thankful that the changeling seemed to have some experience with the desert. He himself had only encountered one once in his entire career, and most of that time was spent in comfortable military camps.
“That’s could do, at least it would afford some protection.” Double resumed his trotting. “Come on, we’re almost there and then we can all have a break and some food.”
“I’m just glad that we don’t need to drink a lot of water,” Chitter mumbled, the entire group following Double’s lead. Dietrich brought up the rear, Sheen and Madeline still sticking close by while glancing around.
“Do not worry,” Dietrich reassured them, guessing as to the cause of their discomfort. He patted the mace at his side, making sure that they saw the gesture. “I will not let anything near you, okay?”
They relaxed, Madeline nodding her head in thanks while Sheen focused on where he was stepping. “Thank you.”
He nodded towards her but didn’t reply, recalling that maybe he wasn’t as good a protector as she believed him to be.
It took another hour and it was getting worryingly close to sunset, but they finally reached the mound of rocks forming a hill. Having a goal had really helped, everyone gaining a burst of speed with the promised reward of food and a break from walking. Double and Cion had already begun to dig out a pit in the sand for the fire, their hardened hooves making it quick word. Seraph and Chitter were occupied with unpacking some supplies from the bags they both carried, while Haze and Switch picked out pieces of wood to use. Even Madeline and Sheen helped, moving away from him to gather flat rocks to serve as seats.
Dietrich placed the nymphs he held on the ground, the two yawning before moving over to watch Double and Switch prepare the fire. He found a large boulder and sat down upon it, not worrying about the heat and surface thanks to his armour. Dietrich watched and was thankful for the fact that Sheen and Madeline were turning the rocks they were preparing for seats over, so that the cool sides were facing up.
They were learning faster than he expected, something he guessed came from the habits of their race.
The fire was lit after a spark from Double’s horn, the changeling jolting back in surprise when a large bolt of green hit the dry wood and set it alight. The others shared in his surprise, Double mumbling to himself in shock. “Wow, that was bigger than I expected.” Dietrich found the gaze turned towards him, Double thinking before his eyes widened. “Dietrich… do you feel, well, drained at all?”
“No,” he answered, slightly wary at how the others were looking at him. Concern was clear in their alien eyes, and he wondered what the matter was. “Now that you mention it, I’ve been feeling a small tingle every now and then, but that’s been going on for a few days now.” He removed his helmet, placing it on his lap and trying a reassuring smile. “Why, should I be feeling drained?”
“Well,” Cion took over, receiving a look from Double that was at the same time thankful and sympathetic. “You remember what we mainly prefer to feed off love, right?”
“I do, apparently it is more filling, empowers your abilities and is also required to keep you energetic and healthy.”
“That’s right,” Cion continued. “If we don’t get enough, the risk of getting sick increases to dangerous levels.” She tilted her head. “However, over the last few days, I’ve actually been feeling better. I’m more energetic,” she looked down at herself. “My chitin is shinier, and I haven’t been feeling as hungry.”
Slowly, the rest of the group apart from him seemed to key in, Chitter nodding his head towards Cion. “You’re right, I feel the same.”
Madeline raised her hoof from her spot by the fire. “Oh, I’ve been feeling better to! Before, I was feeling really sleepy all the time.”
Double nodded at them all, before stepping forward. “What we’re saying, Dietrich, is that we’re pretty sure that we’ve been… feeding off you.”
“I thought that changelings needed to directly siphon their food?” he questioned, before he realised it. “Unless…”
“You’ve been feeding us, passively,” Double finished. “Look, I won’t pretend that you feeling positive feelings about us is a surprise, or unwelcome, but it’s just that-“
“We’re worried that it’s having a negative effect on you,” Seraph interrupted, moving up to him and placing a hoof on his knee. “When ponies or other creatures are drained, it saps them of their own energy and can even… lead to death if the feeding changeling is particularly reckless or cruel.” She mumbled the last part in a barely audible whisper.
Madeline gasped, herself and Sheen looking towards Dietrich with a start. “Are we hurting Dietrich!?”
“No you two,” Double quickly stepped in. “He already said that he feels fine, but we’re just making sure. Now, Dietrich, such actions are not looked upon kindly. Queen Chrysalis saw it as a waste of good food supplies so it rarely happened under her watch, but unlike most she wasn’t too concerned with the morality of it. What we’re trying to say is that if you’re feeling exhausted all the time, please let us know so we can try to stop.” Hooves shifted, Double looking up uncertainly. “Also, I’m sorry that we could be putting you in danger.”
Dietrich was silent, his face impassive while he stared at the worried group. Here they were, making their way to the Equestrian capitol to confront two very powerful rulers who were apparently dead set on converting every race they saw as a threat, and they were worried about him giving them too much positive energy and hurting himself? Double in particular was looking particularly ashamed, so he took steps to solve the issue.
“Double, could you please come here for a second?”
The changeling addressed hesitated, but took another few steps forward until he was right in front. Dietrich didn’t waste any time, reaching down and grasping Double underneath the forelegs. His armour assisted him with lifting up the surprised target, and Double soon found himself wrapped up in a embrace. He squirmed for a surprised second, but relaxed when it was evident that Dietrich was only hugging him.
“Double,” Dietrich chuckled warmly. “If feeding and keeping all of you healthy is what I’m doing, then I’m not going to hold it against you. Don’t worry about any ill effects on myself, I feel fine and full of life.” He patted the changeling he held on the back, a grin on Double’s face at the contact and revelation that he wasn’t mad at them. “Besides, how can one help not feeling positive thoughts towards creatures so adorable?”
This caused a light blush to show on Double’s face, the changeling going still.
“You… you actually think that we… are cute?”
“Why not?” he replied with a puzzled look. “You’re wonderful creatures.”
“But we’re not exactly pleasing to look at,” Chitter tried to explain, Dietrich waving it off after letting Double go.
“A fallacy, I know for a fact that your race wouldn’t lack friends among my people,” he laughed again. “Why do you think that you’re unpleasant to look upon, with your wide, curious eyes and reliance on positive emotions? Now come on, I might as well offer you all an entrée before dinner.”
He held out his arms expectantly, and predictably it was Madeline and Sheen that rushed to receive hugs from him first. They were followed by the rest of the adults and the nymphs, the youngsters emulating what the others were doing happily. Seraph in particular embraced him thankfully before setting back down to look at him.
“So you’re not worried about us having a negative effect?”
“Of course not,” he told her, before clapping his hands together. “However, as much as I’d love to keep on reassuring you all that you are no bother, the sun is beginning to fall and I need to start the dinner.”
“Already sorted,” Haze stated proudly, stepping back to reveal the platter of buttered bread and even eleven slices of apple pie. It was eagerly set upon by them all, Dietrich watching them all enjoy the food before glancing to the sun. The very last of the tip was about to drop down, and with no moon they would be left in darkness save for the fire.
Not a very favourable situation, given the tales that Double had told them all earlier.
“Dietrich.”
He glanced down at the voice, Madeline sitting on her rump while using her forelegs to hold out bread and his piece of the pie. “These ones are yours.”
“Why, thank you,” he acknowledged, taking the offered morsels with one hand and giving her a head rub with the other in thanks. Madeline grinned and hummed with content, Dietrich taking a bite of his bread. “Have you already finished your own?”
“I’m saving the pie for later,” she replied, her tail swishing when he started to scratch her behind the ears. “I was too full for it.”
“Really?” he continued, Madeline nodding her confirmation.
“Yep, thank you for that as well, it’s better than all the bread in the world!”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the child-like statement, Madeline giggling along with him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the adults around the fire, and the warm smiles of those watching them. He finished his slice of bread and decided to do the opposite of Madeline, wolfing down his pie slice with a satisfied bite. Apples had been rare on his home world, but the pastry he had just eaten bettered all previous samples he’d had.
Madeline rested up against his leg while he finished it, but his joy faded somewhat when he looked down at her.
“Thank you once again, but you should probably stay near the fire now.” Madeline glanced first to her fellows, then to the dark sky and the murky desert, before looking back at him.
“Aren’t you going to sit close as well?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tonight, I’m keeping watch for the first few hours. A young lady like you needs her sleep, we’ll be leaving early in the morning and then stopping to sleep again in the day if we can find shade. That way, we can travel at night when it’s cooler.”
Madeline shivered, but judging by the way she glanced out at the desert he doubted it was because of the falling temperature. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Dietrich told her, patting her on the head. “Swift will take over for me in a few hours, and I’ll sit right next to you when I do go to sleep, okay?” She didn’t seem convinced. “It’ll will be fine, nothing will escape our attention during the night and we’ll all be ready to go in the morning.”
“Okay,” Madeline nodded. “Promise you’ll be careful?”
“I promise.” He placed his hand over his heart, Madeline slowly getting up and heading back to the fire. With that sorted, he turned around on his seat and gazed out towards the desert. Light conversation behind him kept him entertained, but he made sure to focus on his important task.
‘Hopefully, it shall all go as planned,’ he thought, a hand patting the grip of his flame weapon out of instinct. It was going to be a long night.
“Dietrich, Dietrich wake up!”
Seraph jolted awake from her blissful deep sleep at Double’s shouts and a jostle. She was dimly aware of a mass of bodies around her, a low hissing and clacking, a nymph chattering in confusion, and an energised hum coming into existence. Looking out into the pitch black desert, the flickering light of the low campfire revealed the cause.
Just on the edge of their spot, Double and a limping Swift were pointing their horns out towards the night. Dietrich was rising from his spot against a rock, his large mace crackling with energy. The others were pressing themselves up against the rocks, trying to get away from the thing that Double and Swift were trying to ward off. Momentarily puzzled at the situation, Seraph’s eyes adjusted to the gloom and what she saw caused all traces of drowsiness to disappear while she jumped to her hooves.
It was a scorpion, with a shell coloured bright orange with yellow splotches. That wasn’t the main concern, though. Its sheer bulk, five times taller than Double and Swift, towered over the two changelings trying to get it to back off. The two pincers it was aiming towards the two defenders looked like they could seize an entire changeling effortlessly, and from the clacks they made when they closed it was evident that they possessed a huge amount of force. Seraph shuddered while staring at them, imagining that changeling chitin would stand no chance against the claws and prayed that Double and Swift would stay out of reach.
Judging by Swift’s limping, his pained expression and the green blood coating the vile black tip of the scorpion’s tail, the prayers were needed. Already she could see that Swift was unfocused and unsteady, his two left legs seeming to spasm. Double was doing his best to keep the scorpion away from Swift and the camp, firing green blasts of magic from his horn, but the bolts just seemed to bounce off the creature’s shell.
The hissing sounded again, the scorpion clacking its claws before lunging forwards. It focused on Double, claws and pointed tail soaring down in an attempt to incapacitate a second serving of dinner while Swift wobbled on his hooves.
It was not to be for the scorpion, however, Double quickly rolling to the side with burst from his wings to aid him. He quickly returned to his hooves to throw himself to the right this time, the pointed tail embedding itself into the sand while the giant scorpion hissed angrily.
“Make way!”
Double jumped back as an open claw flew towards him, Seraph watching while Dietrich ran forwards to intercept it with a cry.
“Lord, grant me strength!”
Glowing mace hit scorpion claw, Seraph shutting her eyes and folding back her ears at the sickening green energy and enraged hiss that resulted from the impact. Opening them again, she winced when she saw the scorpion back off from Dietrich, a large rent in the left claw gushing gloopy blood. The priest was watching the beast carefully, and Seraph nearly fainted when she noticed that Dietrich was actually advancing on the monster.
“Back, foul creature! There is no meal for you here!”
Dietrich struck again, but his strike missed when the scorpion jumped back with terrifying nimbleness for something its size. The creature seemed to pause, healthy claw shifting from Dietrich towards Swift, who was twitching while Double dragged him along the sand away from the fight. The priest evidently figured out what it was planning, lunging forwards a split second before the scorpion moved.
The monster may have been quick, the helpless quarry of Swift firm in its path, but Seraph was amazed at the sheer speed of Dietrich. The armoured human’s previous experience with combat showed, Dietrich unleashing rapid swings with his mace against the scorpion’s already damage claw. The beast roared, swinging around to face the threat that was causing it pain. Entire chunks of flesh were torn off with each strike, the mace passing through the armoured shell like it wasn’t even there. Seraph found herself unable to look at the mace head as it glowed, a sick feeling in her stomach at the sight of the baleful light it emitted.
The scorpion screeched a cry that seemed to shatter the desert sky, before it jumped back once again. This time it didn’t make a move for Swift and Double, instead it must have realised that it was beaten and had settled on finding easier quarry that didn’t fight back with strange weapons. The din of the fight continued to ring in her ears even as the scorpion scuttled back over a sand ridge in retreat, Dietrich rushing over towards the fallen Swift.
Seraph didn’t hesitate, galloping as fast as she could towards the wounding changeling. She glanced back towards Haze, Swift’s mate frozen with horror and fear. Focusing back on the scene out by the edge of the camp, she skidded to a halt before the three.
Double and Dietrich were examining Swift, Dietrich on his knees and rummaging through his suit’s compartments with a hand while Double patted Swift on the head and kept glancing off into the desert while muttering reassurances. Peeking over, she winced at the jagged hole that had been punched in Swift’s side.
“There we are,” Dietrich muttered, withdrawing a small metal case and opening it carefully. She could see twenty small metal cylinders arrayed inside the padded case, white labels with alien text the only indication of their purpose. Dietrich ran a finger over them before stopping at the fourth and seventh ones, the priest selecting them and reading their labels intently. Looking back at Swift, he took one cylinder and twisted it, the device separating into halves to reveal a single cushioned barrel. “Now Swift, if you can hear me then don’t be alarmed if you feel a large prick.”
Even though scorpion venom was coursing through him, Swift managed to move his head enough so that they could all see his eyes dart down to the wound in his side leaking blood.
“Ah, yes,” Dietrich replied after getting the message, seeming surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Gone was the fierce defender from before, replaced with the same kindly priest that she knew. Seraph watched on, Dietrich plunging the cylinder down into Swift’s hind leg. A small hiss sounded, before the cylinder was withdrawn to reveal a tiny puncture in the chitin.
“I’m surprised that thing worked through chitin,” Double observed, trying to maintain a calm façade but Seraph could see him shaking. “You know, because your skin is pretty soft.”
“Military injectors are designed for multiple races with differing skins,” Dietrich calmly explained, twisting the cap off the second injector. “Not to mention that the tips are made to punch through heavy external coverings like combat fatigues.” He looked towards Swift while readying the second needle, Dietrich tapping him on the cheek to get the eyes to focus on him. “Now Swift, the painkillers should be working now, forgive me for the high dose but time is important. Now, I’m going to inject you with a multi-purpose anti venom, to try and stop this poison. Seraph, please hold his leg still.”
She complied without question, grabbing the jerking hind leg that Dietrich had indicated and holding it tight. Dietrich once again injected the cylinder, another hiss sounding before it was withdrawn. The effects were almost immediate, beginning with the leg relaxing followed by the rest of Swift’s body. His spasms ceased and his breathing slowed, before he seemed to fall asleep with a shudder.
“Is he…?” Seraph hoped that her fears wouldn’t be true, Double shaking his head while Dietrich put pressure on the wound.
“He’s just exhausted,” Double reassured. “Quickly, go and fetch one of the blankets so we can stop this bleeding. We’re lucky that Dietrich’s cure even worked at all.”
“It was a general anti-venom, but we’ll still have to keep an eye on him. Go, Seraph, we’ll make bandages and then we’ll leave.”
She turned away and dashed off to fetch the item requested, the others slowly moving forwards towards Dietrich and Double. “Don’t look,” she warned, taking hold of a blanket with her magic and making to return to the three. She paused before Haze, the urge to go help Swift evident in her eyes. “He’ll be fine, Double and Dietrich are helping him,” Seraph quickly reassured. That was all she had time for however, moving once again towards the trio.
“Blanket here!” she told them, passing it Dietrich who nodded.
“Thank you, now can you please keep the others back near the fire and start packing up?”
“On it,” she obeyed, returning to the main group with the sound of ripping cloth behind her. Her first stop was Haze, Seraph immediately taking the best action she could think of. Putting a hoof around Haze’s neck and pulling her close, she patted the fearful and shocked changeling on the back in an attempt to calm her down. “Haze, it’s okay, Swift’s hurt but he’s going to be fine.”
“H-Hurt?” Haze whispered back while shaking. “How badly?”
“It poisoned him,” Seraph answered, quickly following up when Haze let out a choked sob. “Dietrich had some ‘anti-venom’ though, and it seems to have helped. Swift’s tired and asleep, but he’s still breathing. Double and Dietrich are bandaging the hole the monster made and then we’re leaving this place. Can you help me start to pack everything up? Worrying isn’t going to help anyone.”
It may have been a little harsh, but it appeared to pay off. Haze pulled back and nodded, wiping her tears with her hooves. “You’re right,” she sniffed, sparing another glance towards Dietrich and Double continuing to work on Swift. “I’ll… I’ll start getting the firewood.”
Haze got up and seemed to focus on her task, Seraph watching her for a moment before moving towards the rest. The nymphs were huddling behind Madeline and Sheen, who were in turn shielded by Cion and Chitter. All were glancing around with darting eyes, Seraph supressing the image of the giant creature from her mind while she put on a brave face.
“Everyone, it’s all okay now,” she told them. “Swift’s been hurt, but Double and Dietrich are helping him now. They want us all to gather everything up and then we’ll leave-“
She didn’t get to finish, immediately there was a flurry of activity among them. Hooves gathered up food and stored it in bags, water canteens were placed on backs and everyone was ready to leave in mere seconds. They didn’t douse the fire, however, not wanting to be left in the dark with who-knew-what waiting to strike. Instead, she levitated the largest branch and held it above her, lighting up a substantial area before they all moved as a huddled group towards Dietrich and Double.
They reached them just as Dietrich was hefting Swift up, a sling formed from the tattered remains of the blanket while a large strip was wrapped tightly around Swift’s torso. Double kept an eye on the outside gloom while Dietrich adjusted the sleeping Swift so that his hooves were dangling down with the majority of the sling’s support being around the torso.
“Swift,” Haze whispered, moving up to Dietrich with a bundle of firewood balanced on her back. She reached out a hoof to touch the bandage, Dietrich supporting Swift with one hand while he still held the mace in the other.
It put Seraph on edge to see the normally calm priest on edge.
“He’s certainly going to have a story to tell,” Dietrich tried in attempt to lighten the mood. “I must say, that beast was certainly unexpected.”
“Is it safe to leave while it’s still dark?” Chitter asked, Seraph nodding in agreement. After all, there might be more monsters out to try and make a quick meal out of one of them, and they’d already come far too close to losing one of their number.
“It’s either find a new place or stay here and hope that nothing else comes by,” Double replied sullenly. “I doubt any of us are going to be able to get to sleep again, I know I certainly won’t. We might as well make the most of it.” Glancing back she could see that everyone was still shaken, and she noticed that her own wings were buzzing thanks to nervousness. “I’ll take the front and Dietrich will bring up the rear, everyone stay in a line and we’ll all stay safe. Understood?”
He was answered with answered affirmatives, Seraph nodding her own agreement. A bump against her leg caused her to look down, one of the nymphs pressing up against her leg with its fellow right next to it. Realising that she was the only one not carrying something, she sank down and turned her side towards them.
“Come on, climb up.”
They needed no encouragement, both youngsters scrambling up her chitin and clinging to her back with shivers. She glanced back towards them to make sure they were both on securely, before a glint caught her eye. Looking back just in time to see Dietrich draw his silver knife, she took a step closer to overhear what the two were whispering about.
“Take it,” Dietrich ordered quietly. “If you’re taking the lead, at least carry some form of weapon.”
“I have my horn,” Double counted, but the knife didn’t waver. “Fine,” he gave in. “Don’t expect me to use it.” He grabbed the handle with his mouth, Dietrich picking up the mace that he had put down.
“I pray that we will have no further need.” A finger was pointed out to the left. “That direction is the one we shall take, and remember that I’ll be right behind.”
“I won’t forget,” Double reassured with just the slightest difficulty due to the item held in his jaws. “Just take good care of Swift and keep your eyes open for any further shelter… preferably shelter that is giant-scorpion proof.” Dietrich nodded before he moved towards the back of line, Double turning towards her. “Seraph, do you mind following me with that torch?”
“Not at all,” she smiled, however her heart was still racing. A chirp sounded in her ear, a weight settling down on her neck which was what she guessed was one of the nymphs resting its head. Double smiled softly at the sight she couldn’t see, before he turned and began to trot in the distance that Dietrich had indicated. Seraph saw that his head still scanned all around them, and she suspected that he was a lot more grateful for Dietrich’s knife than he let on.
They all followed, staying in a line like they had been requested to. As her hooves once again moved over the desert sand, she hoped that the rest of the night would pass without incident.
The terrible clacking sound of the scorpion’s claws still played in her mind.
Double kept a careful eye on the surrounding sands, wary of any further encounters with the desert wildlife. He was thankful that he had awoken as soon as Swift had uttered the cry of surprise that had heralded the recent nocturnal attack. Luckily Swift hadn’t been too badly hurt, and Dietrich had been instrumental in saving their chitin. Still, it was better to avoid danger than fight it, especially with Dietrich occupied with carrying the still-sleeping Swift.
He spared a glance towards the sky, the moon slowly starting its descent. It would only be around another five hours to sunrise if his guess was correct, and the day would only bring more problems. Their biggest chance was to find shelter during the hot day to get some undisturbed rest, ready to hopefully complete their journey out of the desert the following night. Canterlot would be another few days away, but at least it would be through the peaceful grassy fields that Equestria had been famed for.
They all forged on ahead, and slowly he began to calm down. There were no signs of any other attacks, and even from the front he could hear the reassuring hum of Dietrich’s mace. He had no idea what they hoped to achieve in confronting Celestia and Luna, but he knew that their options were running out.
‘Who knows?’ he wondered while glancing back at the uncharacteristically silent priest. ‘Maybe Dietrich has a way to defeat them?’ It was likely, after all he had already proved to be a capable fighter from the brief time that Double had seen. It was slightly unsettling, Double wondering what sort of existence would require a priest to be able to fight like Dietrich had.
Then again, it wasn’t like their own circumstances favoured weakness.
He noticed that Haze was walking as close to Dietrich, and by extension Swift, as was possible without actually touching. Every now and then she’d turn her head to gaze worriedly at the injured member of their group, and Dietrich would whisper to her words which he couldn’t hear from his spot at the lead.
It was then that he saw a sight that helped ease his mind, and he smiled despite the circumstances.
Seraph was trotting along behind him, however she didn’t notice his gaze as she was too busy with looking out to the left. A nymph was sleeping on her back with its head resting on her neck, while the other was sitting up and gazing around with sleepy eyes. Double was grateful that the two appeared to be healthy and somewhat relaxed, when he was a nymph all he had to worry about was what game he wanted to play with the others.
‘Hopefully they’ll get the chance to grow up,’ he thought, his smile dropping as he remembered the plan he had formed with Dietrich. The middle of pony society wasn’t a safe place for any changeling, not even a nymph.
Turning back to the front, he focused on the direction ahead, ensuring to also watch for any water sources so they could fill their canteens and maybe even have the luxury of a bath.
Three hours later and there was no such luck, no shelter or water anywhere. The one advantage they had on their side was their foresight with provisions, their food and water stocks more than adequate for the journey. Even their food consumption had gone down, and Double was thankful for the new energy flowing into him because without it he would have collapsed from exhaustion hours before.
He glanced up, the moon just about to dip below the horizon. His timing had been a little off, and he redoubled his efforts to find them all some shade.
“Look, over there!”
The happy spotter was Cion, pointing a hoof out to the indicated direction. Double strained his eyes and spotted a mountain range, along with what appeared to be several wooden buildings.
“An Equestrian town?” Chitter questioned, Double frowning at the possibility. They couldn’t rely on any ponies they encountered to be as welcoming as the ones in Appleoosa.
“Possibly,” he replied back, pausing his trotting. “It’s the best bet we’ve got, and hopefully they’ll be deserted.” He looked to the back of the line, Dietrich also peering at the houses. “Dietrich, what do you think?”
“We have little options,” came the reply. “We do need rest and shelter, however. If it is deserted the we will have to insure that desert dwellers haven’t nested within. If it is indeed occupied by ponies, then I will try my best to negotiate with them. We still have a number of their currency, hopefully gold will be able to persuade them to bear with us for a single day.”
Double nodded, he couldn’t see any other options. Turning towards the mountains, he figured that it was at least another hour away until they reached the buildings, and that was without breaks.
“Come on then,” he urged. “Just a little further and then we should be able to rest. It’s nearly day, but continue to watch out for anything trying to sneak up on us.”
With that, he resumed his trotting, hoping that there would be no need for negotiating with ponies at all.
Wisp continued to draw in the sand with a sigh, waiting for her parents to come back up from the mine in the mountain. She ruffled her wings, the cold air on the leathery appendages a painful reminder that she wasn’t even old enough to fly yet.
It was so unfair, stuck out in the desert with no one to play with or anything to do. The other fifteen nocturnes besides her parents were the only ones living in the small town, and all of them worked all night. Her father had said that they had needed to move out here because the silver mine would make them a lot of money, but Wisp knew better. She’d overheard her parents the day before they had left, when she was supposed to be asleep.
Her mom had been worried about ‘Equestrians’ coming into the city with some kind of potion, although Wisp couldn’t figure out why that was a bad thing. She’d only met three Equestrian’s before, and they were all foals in her school before they had to go away for something a few months ago. She’d heard her father agree, saying that it was ‘too dangerous’ to stay so they should move somewhere remote where they could run away if anything bad happened.
“Stupid parents,” she muttered to herself, leaning back against the wall of their house. It had been her sixth birthnight two nights ago, and so she had to spend it inside with only books and some toys for company. The rare canned peaches and custard she’d gotten for dessert had slightly made up for the boring day, but she missed all of her friends. All in all, it was crummy food and boring, and her parents had been constantly complaining about the tiny slivers of silver that the town had managed to find.
Sighing and getting to her hooves, she flicked her dark-purple mane and made to walk around to the front of the house with the hopes that maybe they’d be back earlier tonight.
It wasn’t very likely.
Movement caught her eye, but it was coming from the direction opposite the mine entrance behind her. She stopped and glanced to the door just a few seconds away, having already been told by the adults to hide inside if any of the creatures from the desert approached.
She shuddered at the reminder of the giant birds that had tried to attack the town the other day, their claws having gouged great chunks in the wooden roof of their house.
Wisp paused when she saw that they looked like ponies, although if they were nocturne or equestrian she couldn’t tell. She waited for them to get closer, and was rewarded when the group stopped at the edge of the deserted town and whispered amongst each other. Meanwhile, she stood still and stared in amazement.
They certainly weren’t equestrians or bat-ponies like her, they were something completely different. There were nine that looked like ponies except they didn’t look like they had any fur, their eyes were a solid blue and their wings looked like fly ones. Her brief excitement at seeing that four looked smaller than the five she assumed were grown-ups was overridden at the last creature.
This one was big, big enough to carry one of the large black ponies in its forelegs. It stood on two legs and towered over the rest, and although it was also black she could see lots of splashes of colour on it. A brief moment of concern crossed her naïve mind when she saw the mace that the large creature had dangling by its side, at least she thought it was a mace. It looked very different to the ones that the guards back home sometimes had on them, but the sight of the weapon wasn’t enough to prompt her to retreat into the house.
No, this was by far the most interesting thing that had happened during her stay in the town, and she wasn’t going to waste it by hiding like a… like a five year old. She was six!
Instead, she watched patiently while the creatures glanced around like they were nervous. Her examination of them wasn’t ignored, and she nearly took a step back when one of the pony-looking ones looked right at her. It paused and turned its head, whispering to the others. Wisp gulped when all of the eyes turned on her, but she maintained her position without wavering.
It was the tall one that approached her, after placing the other creature down gently. She assumed that the pony-bug was sleeping.
“Hello there,” the tall one asked, stepping closer. Wisp relaxed at the stallion’s voice, he sounded too nice to be a bad… creature. “Are you here by yourself, little pony?”
Wisp frowned, huffing at the slight. “Little? I’m six years old!”
“My, six you say?” He crouched down, making a strange hissing sound when he did so. “That’s a big number.”
“It is,” she nodded proudly, before remembering his question. “Oh, and all the adults are in the mine, but they’ll be up soon for dinner.”
“Dinner? But it’s nearly sunrise.”
“We sleep at daytime, and we’re awake at night,” she informed with another nod. Taking a step closer, she tilted her head. “Are you looking to sell something? Daddy said that traders don’t visit this town.”
The creature looked back towards the other ones, but they didn’t say anything at all. He turned back to her and shook his head. “No, we’re not traders, we’re just looking for somewhere to sleep during the day so we can continue our journey in the morning.” He looked around again.
“When you’re parents get back, I’ll be happy to pay them for a spare room if one is available.”
“For all of you?”
He laughed, and she smiled at the warm chuckle that reminded her of her grandfather.
“Trust me, sharing a room is not going to be much of an issue to us at the moment.”
Wisp was conflicted. On one hoof, her parents had told her to not talk to strangers. On the other, he was really nice so far and if he was telling the truth then that meant more money. Money would make her parents happier, and maybe they’d even get enough to move back home so she could see her friends again.
With the new happy thought, she forgot all warnings and trotted towards him with a grin, stopping before him and looking up in awe. Even crouched down he was huge, and even bigger than her Dad!
“My name’s Wisp,” she told him. “What’s yours?”
“You can just call me Dietrich,” he replied, holding out his foreleg. She stared at the limb, five little mini legs coming off of the main one. Then she remembered her lessons from school, and realised that they were called ‘fingers’. Guessing as to what he wanted, she reached out her own leg so he could grasp it. Her eyes widened at the contact, he was completely covered in solid metal. He shook his leg and then let hers go.
“Are you a Minotaur?” she questioned, unable to take her eyes off all the items dotting his armour. There were candles in little window things, small books, symbols and writing in red and silver ink. He chuckled again at the question, shaking his head once more.
“A Minotaur? No, Miss Wisp. I’m a human.” Huh, ‘Human’, she remembered hearing that name from somewhere but couldn’t place it. “You’re not afraid of me?”
“No, I’m not,” she answered, puffing out her chest and ruffling her wings. “I’m six, and you’re a lot less scary than the giant birds!”
“Giant… birds?”
She looked past Mr Dietrich at the whisper, one of the bug horses looking up to the sky while the other glanced around. Curious, she returned her gaze to Dietrich. “What are they?”
“They’re called ‘Changelings’,” Dietrich explained. “They’re very nice, so you don’t need to be scared of them either.” He must have noticed her frown, and he quickly corrected himself. “I mean, that is if you weren’t six after all.” That was better, and she smiled to show that he had gotten it right. Changelings, now that was another familiar word.
However, more pressing matters came to the forefront of her mind, and she focused on the changelings once more. More specifically, she paid attention to the two smallest ones who were traveling on the back of an older one and looking right at her. “How old are they?”
Dietrich paused, looking back towards his friends. “I don’t actually know, it has never come up in conversation. There are two who I would guess would be around your age-“
That was all she needed, and galloped up towards the two she had been eyeing with a grin on her face. All of the changelings stepped back at her approached, Wisp skidding to a halt and looking around in confusion. They all looked… scared.
Of… her?
Wisp started to sniffle, looking herself over with watering eyes. There was only dark blue fur and two small wings, what didn’t they like about her?
“Now, now, everyone,” Dietrich walked up to stand next to her. “There’s no need to act like that around Miss Wisp, I’m sure she intends to do no harm.” Her sniffles started to disappear at the title of ‘Miss’, and she wiped her muzzle with a foreleg.
“But she’s a pony,” one of the changelings argued, the one with the two smaller ones on its back. “A bat-pony as well, they’re elite members of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Where there’s a foal, there’s parents, and we don’t know how many there are.”
“Seraph, I’m sure that we can work something out with them, and she is only a chil- a very nice young mare.”
Wisp turned around and sat down while the adults argued about whether they could trust her or not. She sniffed, wondering when her run of bad luck would finally end.
“Hey, your name is Wisp?”
She looked to her left, one of the changelings staring at her with solid blue eyes. It was smaller than the adults but still a little bigger than her, and a colt if his voice was anything to go off.
“Mhm hmm,” she nodded, the changeling trying to smile at her.
“My name’s Shade,” he greeted, before movement on her right diverted her attention.
Another changeling was there, slightly smaller than Shade. “And I’m Madeline.”
Wisp couldn’t believe it, her eyes widening in surprise. A filly, one fairly close to her age! In an instant her frown vanished to be replaced with an excited grin. “That’s a really great name!”
“Thanks, Dietrich helped me pick it.”
At the reminder of the human, she looked back up. Wisp was met with the stares of all, and she shifted uncomfortably on the spot.
“See?” Dietrich pointed out. “Harmless. Now, let us all relax while we wait for Miss Wisp’s parents so we may enquire about lodgings for the day.”
Wisp glanced to the sky, sunrise almost upon them. “They’ll be back really soon, and I’m sure that they’ll let you rent a room.”
“That would be wonderful,” Dietrich nodded. “Well, let us all take a quick break while we wait.” He walked to the edge of the wooden porch and sat down, soon joined with the rest of the adults. Wisp watched on as the one that he had called ‘Seraph’ crouched down, letting the two smallest off her back. They immediately raced towards her and the other two, Sheen and Madeline both receiving nuzzles from the two.
“What are your names?” she asked the newcomers once they had stopped greeting their fellows.
“They can’t speak yet,” Madeline informed, Wisp tilting her head.
“Huh?”
“Yeah, we only started to talk properly a few days ago ourselves,” Sheen nodded. Wisp wanted to ask why, but didn’t think that would provide much information. Sheen and Madeline both looked older than her, and couldn’t talk a week ago? These changelings certainly were strange. She looked back towards the ones closest to her age, and smiled when she saw them playing tag.
They may have been unable to talk, but at least she had some new friends.
Rising to her hooves with a laugh, she joined in. Both chirped but didn’t stop, and it wasn’t long before she was ‘it’. Galloping after one of them while the adults watched, she delighted in the break of boredom that the travellers had brought.
It was not to last however, Wisp freezing at a shout from the other side of the town.
“Wisp, what are you doing!?” She stopped playing and stared at her shocked parents, the entire town of miners standing behind them with equally surprised looks. “Are those changelings!?”
She didn’t know why they sounded so scared, so she smiled a grin of reassurance and took a step towards them. “Oh, they’re my new friends, they’re travelling through town and stopped.”
Her father took over from her mother, the stallion gesturing towards himself with a hoof. “Wisp, sweetie, come over here right now, okay? Changelings are dangerous, you should know this from school!”
‘Dangerous?’ That didn’t sound right, her new friends were really nice. Turning to Dietrich, who was getting up from his seat, she tilted her head.
“Mr Dietrich, tell Mom and Dad that changelings aren’t dangerous.” She smiled at her parents while the big human walked over to stand beside her, Wisp confident that she was doing the grown-up thing to do. However, before Dietrich had a chance to speak, she tilted her head again and looked back to the paled ponies. “Oh, and you don’t need to worry, Mr Dietrich here is a ‘human’, and he said that these changelings are nice.”
All of the nocturnes dropped their jaws.
“H-h-human?” one stallion in the back stammered while he shook on his hooves. “An actual… human?”
It was then that Dietrich spoke.
“Greetings, friends, there is no need to be afraid. My peaceful companions and I only seek a place to rest for the day, and we are willing to pay for it.” He looked down at her. “Thank you for the kind words, Miss Wisp.”
She brightened. “That’s fine, Mr Dietrich!”
He looked back to the silent crowd, before raising a finger. “Oh, I get it now, are you frightened because of the blood on my armour?”
‘Blood. Why is-’
“…Blood?” her father asked for her. “Why are you…?”
“Oh, it’s not pony blood, have no fear,” Dietrich chuckled. “No, we were attacked by one of those giant scorpions.”
“And you survived?”
“Obviously,” the human laughed warmly. “Although it wasn’t as if it didn’t try its hardest to force a different outcome.” He glanced down to the mace at his side, Wisp noticing now that it also had the same brown stains. “Speaking of which, is there by any chance a cloth I could borrow, I appear to still have some of its blood on my mace.”
A thump and gasps came from the crowd, Wisp galloping towards her fainted mother while her father remained frozen thanks to Dietrich’s last comment.
Well, at least it wasn’t boring any more.
“Urgh…”
Mellow raised a hoof to her head, blinking her eyes and looking up at the roof. She sighed in relief when she saw the familiar clock on the wall of her bedroom and tried to sit up.
‘Not trying that again,’ she thought, returning her head to the pillow after the brief bout of dizziness. Her mind went back to how she had fainted, and Mellow shivered when she recalled the creature she had seen next to her daughter. It was a human, and while her husband didn’t trust any of the Equestrians any more, she wasn’t so sure that the tales of their brutally were all lies constructed to justify the Equestrian plans.
Not to mention the changelings as well, they were certainly bad news. Who knew what they would do with… with…
“Oh no,” her eyes widened. “Wisp!”
Her dizziness forgotten, Mellow rushed out of bed and headed for the door. However, she was beaten when it swung open towards her.
“Whoa, Mellow, are you sure your okay to be moving around?” Charcoal questioned upon entering the room. Her husband held out a hoof to stop her pushing past him, a concerned gaze in his yellow eyes. “You had a pretty bad fall, and that combined with the day in the mines-“
“Charcoal, don’t worry about me!” she urged. “What about Wisp! She’s only six and those changelings and human-“
“Uh, about that… Well, you see, they’re kind of… staying for dinner.”
Mellow froze, although her wings gave a brief flutter of alarm. “What did you say?”
“I said that I invited them… for dinner?” Charcoal shifted on his hooves, rubbing the back of his head. “They’re actually here now, and… they may also be staying in the spare room for the day.” He must have noticed her frown, Charcoal ruffling his wings and taking a step back. “They paid and everything, golden bits too. So, there’s no reason to be mad, right?”
An eye twitched, Mellow eyeing him with disbelief. “You’ll sell the safety of our daughter for a few Equestrian bits? You don’t even like the Equestrians!”
“Hey, don’t blame me! Have you spoken to that human? He could talk his way into a bank vault with a money sack over his shoulder. Besides, those changelings helped bring you back home after everyone else ran away, so the least we could do was let them stay. Besides, they’re far less dangerous than the Equestrians.”
“You and your paranoia,” she sighed. “We’re ponies, Charcoal, just like them. They’ve only converted things that aren’t ponies so we don’t need to be so worried.” Once again, she tried to look through the door, but he blocked her attempt. “Let me through, I’m fine.”
“Not until you promise to not make a scene. They’re just staying the night, there’s no need to chase them out.” He smiled. “Besides, there are some little ones with them and they’re really getting along with Wisp.”
She was torn between trusting him and going with her instincts, but in the end she sighed again and nodded. “Okay, fine, they can stay. But the moment they even think about harming Wisp-“
“I already told them,” he reassured. He stepped aside, and after taking a breath she exited their bedroom and entered the main room of their house.
Mellow resisted the urge to frown at the creatures sitting against the back wall, six changelings and one human. Wisp was sitting with four others that were smaller, showing off her meagre collection of toys and colouring books. Charcoal’s instructions hadn’t covered speaking with them, so she immediately headed right for the kitchen despite their stares.
“Greetings,” the human nodded, however he was the one she disliked the most. Supressing a shudder at the stains still on his horrifying armour and weapon, she didn’t reply and shut the kitchen door behind her, leaving Charcoal to deal with the aftermath.
Looking towards the stove, she saw the large soup pot bubbling away on the stove and guessed that Charcoal had already started cooking dinner. Judging from the extra-large pot, it seemed like their guests were eating as well.
“We better be getting a fair amount of bits from this,” she muttered to herself before searching around for the spices that Charcoal had forgotten to put into the broth.
“I get the feeling that we’re not very liked.”
Double rolled his eyes at Dietrich’s whisper, before the bat-pony stallion coughed awkwardly into a hoof.
“Sorry about Mellow, she’s been a little on edge since we moved out here.” He tried to smile. “I didn’t catch your names before, given the… you know. Thanks for helping, by the way.”
“It was no bother at all,” Dietrich reassured with a dismissive wave. The stallion followed the hand with his eyes the entire way, the bat-pony proving to be less scared of them and more curious now they had worked out a deal to stay the night. “After all, it was unfortunate that our arrival and state caused so much distress to your wife.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“She doesn’t seem to think so.” Double couldn’t help but bring up that point, the stallion glancing at him.
“As I said, she really didn’t like my decision to move out here. But don’t worry, we’ll talk during dinner and that should hopefully settle it all. Thanks for offering the apple pie as well, dessert items tend to be a rarity out here.” Charcoal turned his gaze towards the still sleeping Swift.
“Is your friend okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Double answered. “Dietrich patched him up well.”
“The scorpion?”
Double nodded. “It got him with the stinger.”
A wince came from Charcoal, the stallion briefly glancing towards the window. “We get a few sometimes on the outskirts, but thankfully they never enter the town itself.” Another glance, this time towards Wisp. “Well, I have to get Wisp ready for dinner and then I’ll also finish preparing your room, it’ll only be a few minutes more.”
“There is no rush,” Dietrich chuckled. “This is by far the most relaxing time we’ve had in the last few days.”
‘He got that right,’ Double thought to himself while Charcoal trotted away after a nod. ‘Even if it’ll likely be our last night of relaxation.’