Trixie fell to the floor with a thud and a small grunt. Bunsen Burner loomed over her, ready to bring his front hooves down on her. With quick thinking she called on her magic to give herself an extra push up, swinging her right back hoof up. Seeing the attack only a split second before it was going to hit him in the jaw, the old stallion instead crossed his hooves to take the blow, knocking him back a few inches even in his sturdy state. Helping along her momentum with her magic, Trixie flipped herself up onto her back hooves, and steadily approached her opponent.
“Remember, a fight is merely a debate of the hooves,” Bunsen Burner declared as Trixie made quick, methodical thrusts at him which he parried by sliding them out and away from his core, “Each connecting hit is a point in your favor, and each mistake a fallacy. A proper defense in either requires the covering of one’s weakest areas and constant practice.”
There was a sound of something flying through the air from behind, and he saw her horn glowing. Without even glancing behind he put as much power into his backlegs as he could and jumped into the air. Time seemed to slow as adrenaline flooded his senses, and the aging stallion watched as an old wooden chair flew through the air underneath him surrounded by a magenta aura. Having just enough time and sense of mind to do so, he wound his back hoof up and kicked the top of the chair, altering its trajectory to intersect with Trixie.
Eyes shooting wide open, Trixie poured everything she had into stopping the chair a split second before it impacted with her body, forcing it to fall on its back. Bunsen Burner ran on all fours towards her, using the front of the fallen chair as a spring board to pounce on her. They slid a little ways before coming to a stop, with her pinned to the floor by his right hoof on her chest with his left held up ready to strike. However, she had her horn already lit up and waiting, ready for her next attack. There was a three second pause of silence, which was broken by Bunsen Burner: “Time,” he said. He moved off of her to her right side and offered a hoof to help her up, which she took, then quickly righted herself to her own four hooves.
“That was an excellent practice session,” he said, a small smile on his face, “You are making marked progress, and the improvisation with your magic was a nice touch as well.”
Trixie smiled back in return. She knew that he wasn't lying to save face with her; if the old stallion said it he legitimately meant it, and she was proud of her achievement. She was getting ever closer to actually being able to legitimately defend herself should the need arise. It was one step closer to learning how to fight for real; one step closer to Sparkle.
She shook her head a little, “How could you have possibly known what my plan was?”
“It’s a unicorn’s greatest crutch,” he said with a smirk, “You can’t resist the chance to use your horns.”
“So you were trained to fight magic users?”
“With the help of the master minotaur who instructed me I was taught how to fight most every species recognized by the Dawn Compact: any equine race, Diamond Dogs, Griffons, Minotaurs.”
“I suppose dragons are just a bit too large to fight anyway, huh?”
“Depends on their size, though I have put some thought towards it should I have to confront one.”
Trixie just looked at him skeptically, unsure if he was actually serious or if he was just playing a joke on her. He just looked back at her passively.
“Really? What is the likelihood of that happening at all?”
He shrugged slightly, “It’s always best to prepare.”
Trixie audibly scoffed and shook her head as she turned away, “And the next thing I know you’ll be training me to fight vamponies and other terrors of the night! Should I keep cloves of garlic and sanctified water on me at all times?”
Bunsen Burner walked towards a chair, “The vampony myth,” he paused as he sat down with a sigh, “was born out of ignorance and superstition regarding the bat pony herd, or as they prefer to be called the Antrozi. Their disposition toward epileptic fits was believed by many early ponies of the three primary races to be signs of demonic influence.”
Trixie slid the chair she had tried to weaponized earlier towards him, and sat back into it as it came to a stop beneath her rump. “So we can effectively rule out at least one training session at least,” she said a little sarcastically.
“It is occasionally fruitful to entertain ideas without accepting them as truth,” he replied, “While I’m certain vamponies as our culture understands them do not exist, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t in some unprecedented form. If they did, the first place to start in determining their weaknesses would be in ancient folklore.”
Trixie arched an eyebrow as she listened, "You seemed a lot more skeptical about legends and myths when you were younger.”
Bunsen Burner gazed off into space for a moment, then lightly moved his head side to side as if trying to shake something away and inhaled deeply, “I had a change of perspective.” He then looked right into her eyes, “Sometimes, Ms. Lulamoon, myths can come to life; they’re just not always the happy ones.”
YOL 975
The wheels of the carriage creaked as they rolled over the uneven soil of the road. The sun was nowhere to be found on the horizon, shrouded behind thick clouds that rolled up to the mountains, obscuring the view of their peaks from below. The winding road that the carriage travelled led up to a small plateau region just before where the earth turned skyward. It was in the late afternoon that it was finally brought to a stop by its two drivers at the side of the road, and they, each a member of the Royal Guard, girded in golden armor, walked to the back of the carriage and entered into it. Waiting within were six other guardsponies of the three primary races and Bunsen Burner, who sat among them awkwardly. He had to admit that even now as an adult he was slightly intimidated by the way each of the mares and stallions carried themselves: fearless and collected, each focused on the upcoming assignment at hoof.
“Alright ponies, listen up,” the squad commander said as he unconsciously ruffled his wings, “We are now sitting about one klik outside of Slumber Hill. The town is one of the many tertiary mining communities here along our northern border with the various Griffon states, and it’s been dark now for almost two weeks: no communication or production in or out. Equestrian Intelligence is in the dark on the situation: we don’t know for sure if the cause of the inactivity is something as simple as a gas leak in the mines, Griffon bandits on a raiding party, or something of a more magical nature. Given his cross-disciplinary scientific aptitude, Princess Celestia has asked Bunsen Burner to help us assess the situation and hopefully resolve this matter in a swift fashion.”
The commander then took a map of the surrounding area from out of his satchel, opened it up, and spread it wide for all to see. “We’re currently positioned here,” he pointed with the tip of his wing to the south of Slumber Hill, then he traced a path to the opposite side of town, “The mine is to the north. We will enter as a singular group: our priority is the defense of Mr. Burner. We will make our way to the mine, acquire reconnaissance, and determine whether it is still safe to use. Until we can determine the nature of the events here do not assume any locals are friendly; do not engage unless attacked first, and use minimal force if possible. Any questions?” All eyes looked to him, and they shook their heads. Satisfied with their answer, the commander rolled his map back up and put it away. “In that case, fillies and gentlecolts, let’s move!”
The squadron proceeded into the town slowly, each of its members warily scanning the empty houses they passed. The wind came down from the mountain, blowing through the town with an eerie whistle. Shutters lightly moved, creaking slowly back and forth. Rocking chairs, as if possessed by passive poltergeists, eased forward, and then fell back. The loose soil of the area made little clouds of dust as they took their hoofsteps. Even with the briefing he had been given before they had set out from Canterlot Bunsen Burner did not feel prepared, especially now that he was here. Still, he had kept his reservations to himself. He justled his saddle case full of equipment into a more comfortable position, being as careful as possible to avoid damaging any of the delicate detection equipment he carried. This wasn’t a town suffering from a gas leak, that much was evidently clear; not one soul had been found in any of the buildings the guards had searched. It was as if the entire population had simply up and left, leaving behind a very young ghost town in their wake. After several minutes of careful treading, they all approached the town’s main square. The centerpiece of the Slumber Hill community was the clocktower atop its small courthouse, its large cast iron hands still moving at their unrelenting, mechanical pace. It was 6:52. Within an hour’s time night would fall.
One of the sentries suddenly became alert and brought his spear closer to bear as he stared intently down one of the side streets.
“What is it?” a female Pegasus guard asked as she preemptively left the ground with a flap of her wings, ready for combat.
Squinting into the shadows, he let out a small breath, but his posture did not relax, “Don’t know, but something definitely moved over there. We’re not alone.”
The squad commander’s eyes narrowed and he brought his wings tighter to his barrel, “Until we find out what happened here we must press on. Stay on your walls ponies.”
Those guards that had spears gripped them tighter, while the unicorns lit up their horns, ready to cast a concussive spell if necessary. The march northward past the courthouse somehow found a way to be even more intense than the situation had previously been. Bunsen looked at each of his guards, gaging how they were feeling: they were on edge, certainly, but they were not afraid. He took some small comfort from that, but he also began to think: if there were something like a group of bandits that had caused this mass exodus, why were they not facing them directly? To be able to threaten a town this size there would have to most certainly be more than the nine of them. Why the stealth?
On top of the building to their left a few tufts of feathers appeared over the edge of its roof, followed by a set of golden eyes. The guards spotted the being and went into attack position, forming ranks around their asset.
“You there!” the squad commander yelled, “Come out where we can see you: we are soldiers of the Equestrian crown! Surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed!”
The group then heard frenzied shushing, before a set of talons shot up in the air. A young male griffon with dark brown feathers and grey down, clearly fresh from adolescence, flew down to meet them with his forelegs still raised. “Keep your voices down,” he whispered hoarsely before quickly looking around, “It could have heard us!”
“What could have heard us?” Bunsen asked.
The griffon again made a shushing sound before he looked nervously at each of them, then he whispered again, “There’s some kind of monster in this town. It’s taken everyone down into the mine to some kind of nest!”
The commander looked to one of the unicorns and discretely nodded. The unicorn guard’s horn lit up with amber light, and he pointed it directly at the griffon.
“Why are you in this village,” the commander whispered to the stranger.
“I came down here to make a couple bits for my family; worked in the foundry as an apprentice.”
The unicorn’s horn flashed green before returning to its usual color. “What is your name?”
“Abner.”
Again the horn flashed green.
The commander stoically registered the confirmation that the griffon was telling the truth, and then he looked him square in the eyes, “Tell us about this monster.”
Abner nervously shifted his weight from back leg to back leg, all the while glancing this way and that, “I can’t say when it came to town, but it was about a month ago that ponies started disappearing. First it was just one a night, but then it became dozens. Now there’s only me left.”
“You said it was nesting down in the mine?”
Abner began hyperventilating, “It already has the rest of the town: maybe 80-something of us. The mines are deep enough that it could store hundreds!”
The commander put a hoof up and patted the griffon on the shoulder, “Alright son, calm down. It’s alright. We’re here to help, but we need to know what we’re up against. Can you describe the creature? Did it have any unique features?”
Abner began to calm down, and he unconsciously began to nod his head a little, and he trembled a little as he spoke, “It looks like a pony from a distance, but one with a black coat. It’s got a jagged horn, but it’s also got a set of wings: wings like a bug though!”
Bunsen Burner’s ears perked up at this information, and he came closer to the youth, “Black coat, a horn, and bug wings?”
The griffon nodded vigorously, “Yes.”
“Was its body full of holes? Did it have a sort of shell on its back, or a striped midsection?”
“Yes,” he whispered again in fright.
“Do you know this beast, Mr. Burner,” the squad commander asked as he looked over to him.
“Only by reputation,” the stallion replied as he adjusted his glasses, “The boy’s given a generic description of a Changeling.”
The soldier shook his head, “Never heard of them.”
The scientist shrugged, “Not many have: they were the subject of a few early myths before the Monarchial era. They’re described as creatures that feed on emotion, snatching up others to hide them away, taking their place with the loved ones none the wiser.”
The commander pawed the ground as he thought to himself, “Is it possible this kind of creature could exist?”
Bunsen Burner scoffed, then chuckled, “Hardly! If they had existed they’d have overtaken all of the sentient races by now as the dominant species, what with their supposed abilities and the difficulty in detecting them. They’re simply the product of superstitious early folk: more likely than not it’s just the work of a very resourceful and knowledgeable pony who’s using those old tales to their own advantage.”
“That still leaves us with a town full of missing ponies and others though,” the commander declared. He then looked up to the sky; the light was beginning to fade, and the first stars were coming out. “We’ve lingered too long, whatever the case,” he said, then he signaled for a full trot, “We still need to ascertain the situation: we don’t want to be here once night falls, mythical creature or no.”
The northern outskirts of the town led into more hilly, rocky terrain. The royal guards’ eyes scanned all over their surroundings, each crag a potential hiding spot for the enemy, each boulder a means of cover. The path to the mine was accompanied by a set of tracks that allowed an easy means of transporting iron ore from the mine to the outside world. The group of ten kept to this track as they descended down to the entrance of the mine.
“I’m not picking up any signs of life besides us out here,” a unicorn soldier said as his horn’s magic vanished, “It could be that we managed to avoid the monster while it skulks around the town for us.”
“Or that it’s patiently waiting for us to come into its nest,” an earth pony guard replied.
Bunsen Burner overheard their whispers, as did Abner. The young griffon shivered to himself a little, but he kept walking. The earth pony looked over to the lad, and he sympathized with him. At the same time, however, he was curious.
“Why are you coming with us,” he asked softly, “I would think after what you’ve experienced this is the last place you’d want to be.”
The griffon looked back to him for a moment, but his eyes quickly drifted away, “You guys are the best chance Slumber Hill has to go back to the way it was, and I need to help.” The young griffon winced and grimaced to himself, “When…it came to the foundry, I hid. It took my friends, Winter Breeze, and Sunny Day.”
Bunsen nodded to himself, and his heart filled with compassion for him: the poor kid had seen everyone he knew taken from him, and he blamed himself for what he saw as cowardice.
“Are Winter Breeze and Sunny Day special to you?” he asked.
He nodded a little, “Winter is the old timer who took me in. I never can thank him enough for what he did for me. Sunny-“ he choked up for a second, but shook his head a little, “Sunny was amazing. I never got to tell her-“
“Don’t start thinking like that,” Bunsen insisted as he put a foreleg around the boy’s shoulder, “You can’t give up hope yet. I don’t think they would want you to. We’ll find them and rescue them, and whatever comes our way the royal guard can handle.”
The griffon looked at him gloomily, “You really think we have a chance?”
“These are some of the finest soldiers Equestria has to offer,” he reassured him as he brought his hoof back down, “and I think the fact you are even here means deep down you want to see your friends and family again, and that you think we do too.”
The entrance to the mine now loomed before them all, silent and deep, waiting for them to enter into its reach. Each of them was quiet, each with some small trepidation entered into the looming darkness. The unicorn members of the squad lit their horns, softly illuminating the cavern with amber and rose pink light.
“I don’t like this,” the earth pony guard from before whispered, “Going into an enclosed space with no foreknowledge? This is damned suicide.”
Bunsen Burner, though not a tactician, was swiftly becoming likeminded on the matter. The pony responsible for the town’s abduction had to have stumbled across some sort of magical artifact or be incredibly resourceful: why was there no resistance barring their way?
“I’m not picking up any magical traps,” a unicorn squad member called out softly, “but there are definitely lifesigns further in.”
“How many,” the commander asked.
The unicorn paused to count quickly, “At least half a gross. They’re all alive but unconscious, and they’re scattered all around. There’s nothing around that looks like our mystery abductor.”
As they went further down, now at a much quicker pace, they realized the tunnel began to open into a much wider area, and that a greenish glow emanated from beneath their field of view. When the first of the royal guard came into the large cavern, she approached a nearby crank elevator and looked over the edge to the floor below. She audibly gasped before calling, “Commander.”
“What is it,” he asked immediately before he stopped and gazed down, and his eyes grew large, “By the sun and stars.”
Bunsen and Abner couldn’t resist the urge to look now, and they hurried along with the others to see what was so astonishing. Pods littered the cavern floor, pulsating softly as each fed its occupant the nutrients they needed to remain alive. Each pod was connected to another of its own by fibrous webbing, which anchored them to the floor and walls.
“Alright,” the earth pony scientist declared out loud as he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, “I’m willing to reassess my position on the ‘clever, knowledgeable pony’ theory.”
“We need to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible,” the commander exclaimed as they all entered the elevator, released the weights keeping it up, and slowly descended, “We have no idea when the Changeling will be back!”
Bunsen really wanted to chime in that they could not be for certain yet whether this was all truly the work of a Changeling, but semantically it didn’t make much difference: whatever had imprisoned these ponies was potentially hostile, and most definitely parasitic, and therefore was a threat.
Each of the ten beings immediately exited the lift once it hit the ground level, and they ran to the nearest pod they could reach. Bunsen Burner reached into his pack for a small wooden case and opened it: it held a set of five scalpels. Selecting the one with the longest blade, he approached the pod before him. He wasn’t sure if the pony inside was alright, but he wiped a buildup of condensation and a mucus like substance off the area where his or her face should be. It was a Pegasus male, and he looked perfectly healthy, as if he were asleep in his bed rather than a suspension of green gel. Bunsen inserted his minute blade at the base, and dexterously craned his neck to cut an incision all the way across the pod wall. A rush of liquid flowed out of the damaged cell, flooding over his hooves, leaving a quickly drained pod and still unconscious pony. He then slipped his hoof into the membrane and pulled it up like a hatch, and the Pegasus stallion fell into his awaiting hooves. He then laid the pony on his side, figuring it would help to drain the potential fluid in his lungs, and moved onto the next pod. He checked the pony inside just like the last one: an earth pony female in healthy condition. After freeing her he went to check back on his first released captive. He was murmuring to himself, coughing up pod fluid as he did. Happy to know they could hopefully make a quicker escape with the victims waking up, he turned to his third pod. The occupant definitely had wings he noticed as he approached, as they were flared out. If he had to guess this one had struggled against their captor before succumbing. He cleared away the mucus covering the occupant’s face, and then he ground to a halt, his breath catching in his throat. A male griffon was in this pod, his eyes half lidded, but his beak open in a silent scream. The patterns on his down, his feather color, his eyes, literally everything about this griffon was an exact replica of…
Bunsen slowly turned, doing his best not to show the fear which now sat in his stomach like a boulder. The guardsponies were all hastily emptying as many pods as they could, but standing in the middle of them all was Abner. In their rush to save the civilians they hadn’t noticed the griffon’s change in demeanor, as they had become distracted by the cavern’s revelations. The boy who had once played the part of being scared out of his mind and worried for the safety of others now scanned each of them coldly, certainly as a predator, but more than just a griffon.
Before Bunsen could turn away the boy’s yellow eyes locked onto his greyish blue ones, and they stared at each other. The pupil dilation, prolonged eye contact, the small amount of sweat trailing down his head, the chemicals oozing out of the earth pony's pores caused by stress, these were all dead giveaways.
It knew he knew.
There was no sign that it cared for its discovery now, whether fear or worry, but in the eerie light given off by the glowing pods, he was absolutely certain he saw its eyes flash from gold to a set of alien, green pupils, then back to gold.
He yelled out to the other ponies, “Get back from the-“
Before he could finish warning the others the griffon lunged faster than he ever expected it could, and it reached out at him with its right set of talons. The flesh of the forelimb transformed into a black, amorphous substance that lashed out at him with incredible speed, slamming him against the wall behind him. The air was completely driven from his body, and dark red walls closed around his vision.
“Hmph,” he heard the griffon doppelganger exhale, with an almost audible smirk, “I like you. You’re last.”
The guards were alerted to the presence of the monster in their midst, Bunsen barely processing that they were trying to make a stand against it. There were flashes of magic, but the creature morphed around them, its proportions stretching like taffy around the attacks in a nauseating fashion. The pegasi tried to dive and stab at it with their spears. The creature grew tendrils of black mass from out of its back, snatching the first pony’s weapon away and snapping it in half, then it whipped the spearhead around to fly spinning through the air at the retreating assailants.
Knowing he had little time before he completely blacked out, Bunsen reached for his scalpel, and stuck it into the young griffon’s pod. Now breached, it began to slowly leak out the suspension onto the cavern floor.
He fought, his mind blurrily pieced together, maybe he has…
Bunsen turned onto his back so he wouldn’t breathe in the fluid, and as he fell into unconsciousness he heard the screams and whimpers of those who had been sent to protect him, all of them powerless against the monstrosity they now faced.