//------------------------------//
// Intermission: All The World's A Stage 
// Story: The Super Awesome Story About Stuff 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Intermission: All The World's A Stage...
~BlackRoseRaven

Luna looked slowly back and forth as River Styx's horn lit up with magic and Marina bit her lip nervously. Twilight's own horn lit up after a moment as Scrivener nervously walked to the edge of the stage, the stallion gazing back and forth before he muttered: “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Thou gets bad feelings about all things.” Luna grumbled, before she hesitated and nodded, adding moodily: “Aye, though. There is a foulness in the air... and 'tis not at all like Draconequus magic. We must be wary.”
“No, it feels... wrong.” Marina murmured, shaking her head slowly before she looked uneasily back and forth, asking hesitantly: “What do we do? Should we try to... escape? Or do you think this follows some kind of 'story,' like the rest of the play?”
“If the Draconequus have lost control, it might be our chance to escape.” River Styx said, shaking his head before he focused his horn's light... but he couldn't cut through the darkness that surrounded the stage, the unicorn frowning as he muttered: “Except we might also have something else to deal with instead.”
Scrivener grimaced at this thought, but Luna only snorted even as Twilight nervously attempted to pierce the darkness with her own magic, ignoring the sapphire mare as she declared: “I fear no foe, and I will take on any enemy idiotic enough to make war with me! Mark my words, I am-”
“Loud and obnoxious.” Scrivener finished dryly, and Luna glared at him before she stepped forwards and firmly booted the stallion off the stage, sending him sprawling into the shadowy theater below with a squawk.
Twilight flinched, then glared at Luna as Luna only looked pointedly down at Scrivener as he clambered to his hooves in the clinging shadows. After a moment, he shivered a little, even as River Styx and Marina both leaned forwards to look down at the stallion, and the way the darkness was almost covering him like a blanket.
“It's like a mist.” Scrivener muttered, as he straightened up and brushed uncomfortably at himself. Luna frowned a little herself at this, and then she hopped quickly down beside the earth pony as Twilight anxiously leaned over the edge of the stage.
The two were saturated in the shadows, but the darkness seemed to flow and ebb around them naturally, like smoke or fog. And after a few moments, Twilight nervously hopped down herself, followed by Styx and Marina, even though the chestnut mare shivered a bit as she felt an unnatural, clinging coldness trying to eat its way into her chocolate body.
River Styx grimaced at the way the fog reflected the light of his magic, only making it harder for him to see. He dimmed the light to an unfocused glow around his horn, and it at least lit up the area around him without blinding him in the process. “Don't put out too much light.”
The others nodded, Twilight and Luna adjusting their own glow as Marina focused her own magic just enough to call up a faint aura around her horn. Between the four of them, it was just enough to drive back the dark mist around them, and Luna grunted in approval before she gestured ahead down the aisle between the rickety seats that filled the theater. “Let us first try and get out of this place. 'Tis too open for my liking.”
River Styx grunted in agreement, and the unicorns automatically formed a cordon as Scrivener awkwardly fell into place in the middle of the group, keeping his eyes ahead and grimacing a bit at the swirling shadows all around them, as he muttered: “So if it's not Draconequus doing this, does that make things better or worse?”
Twilight made a bit of a face, and Marina bit her lip nervously. Luna only snorted, however, replying moodily: “I do not care myself. Whatever it happens to be, I shall simply smash it.”
Scrivener Blooms simply gave the sapphire mare a mild look before he said dryly: “You know, you can't just smash everything, Luna. I get how that's your modus operandi and everything, but...”
“I shall mode thy oppy-randy.” grumbled Luna, poking grouchily at Scrivener with her horn, and the stallion winced away before the sapphire mare continued: “And I have yet to meet anything I could not smash, Scrivy.”
Scrivener only grunted in response, and River Styx looked towards the sapphire mare before he said dryly: “Perhaps we shouldn't test that theory, then.”
Luna began to open her mouth... and then she swore under her breath as a cold, cutting wind suddenly blew past them. The sapphire mare frowned after a moment as she looked sharply back and forth, realizing after a moment that it was impossible for a wind to blow inside the building...
Except nothing was really impossible, was it, when you were dealing with a world of magic... and as a friend had been so fond of saying, the only thing you could be sure of with chaos, was that when you were absolutely sure of something... that was the only thing that would never come true.
Luna flinched as another burst of black mist washed over her, stumbling to the side before she swore under her breath as she found herself and Scrivener Blooms suddenly standing inside a dusty room filled with racks of clothes, broken mirrors sitting on half-collapsed dressers.
“Twilight?” Luna looked back and forth, and Scrivener grimaced a bit as he turned around in a circle, as the dusty fluorescent lights flickered weakly above their heads. “Marina? Styx?”
“Not even River of Sticks is with us? Oh, damnation, Scrivy!” complained Luna, and Scrivener gave the sapphire mare a dry look, but she only huffed at him in response. “Well, sometimes stallions need other stallions for company. Thou should know: thou art always trying to fritter away thy time with other mares.”
Scrivener only sighed tiredly at this, shaking his head slowly before he said finally: “I can feel Twilight through our link, but I can't... get a sense of her.”
“Aye, 'tis like... seeing someone through a dusty window. Thou knows they are there, but...” Luna paused for a moment, and then she narrowed her eyes as there was a rattling from the cracked door in the wall, the mare's eyes locking on this before she gestured sharply at Scrivener with her head.
Scrivener nodded, and the two quickly and silently moved up to either side of the door, tensing themselves as the rattling increased. Luna let the magic glow die out from around her horn as she focused her body, readying herself before the door was finally yanked open.
A beam of light shone in, cutting through the darkness: a moment later, there was a quiet creaking before something began to move into the room, holding a flashlight in front of it in one hand like a talisman.
The light shone back and forth, but neither Luna nor Scrivener flinched away: they were back just enough that the cone of light never touched either of them, letting them stay hidden well in the unnatural darkness. Luna couldn't sense magic in this light, but at the same time, she could feel a powerful energy nearby, a... strange and yet familiar force, one that was somehow linked to this creature entering the room.
The entity stepped inside: it wasn't very tall, but walked on two skinny legs, and in his other hand was what Luna recognized as a large gun of some kind, clearly designed to be operated by the creature's hands. In a strange way, Luna and Scrivener both felt like they recognized him: they had both seen his kind before, and Luna certainly remembered what he was from the long-ago, ancient past... but what is a man doing here?
The human looked nervously back and forth as he entered the room, before his brown eyes slowly widened as he creakily turned his head to stare at Scrivener through the darkness, who stared back at the fair-skinned man.
Slowly and awkwardly, the man turned his flashlight on to Scrivener's face, half-pointing his gun at the horse. Scrivener winced back from both the light and the weapon, half-raising one hoof, and Luna scowled but remained silent for the moment: she didn't sense hostility from the man, but rather a mix of caution and... curiosity, she thought.
“Uh... you're not going to eat me, are you?” the man asked lamely, and Scrivener scowled, which made the man shift awkwardly backwards. “Hey, don't give me that look. I've met a lot of nasty horses lately.”
“I'm not going to eat you.” Scrivener said dryly, and the man twitched and mouthed wordlessly before Scrivener asked: “What, are people-eating horses more common than talking horses where you come from?”
“Uh. Yes. Well, no. Well. Usually they're just swearing at me in Norse.” the man halted, then looked lamely down at the flashlight and gun in either hand, before he lowered the gun slightly... although not entirely, Luna noted with a wry grin, as he half-extended the hand holding the flashlight. The little man is not a complete idiot. He rather reminds me of Scrivy. “Uh... my name's Neil. What's yours?”
Scrivener began to open his mouth, but then Luna boldly leapt out of hiding, knocking the stallion onto his side with a squawk as Neil yelped and immediately brought the gun up. But Luna slapped the revolver out of his hands with the ease of telekinesis, the mare grinning widely and proudly as she declared: “He is Scrivener Blooms, and I am Luna Brynhild!”
“Luna... Brynhild?” Neil asked in a surprised voice, his eyes widening as he stared at the mare even as he nervously stepped backwards, tossing an uneasy look in the direction of his fallen gun. He began to carefully step towards it, but then Luna leaned into his face with a wide grin and half-lidded eyes, making Neil wheeze a little before he said awkwardly: “I've seen that look before. It always means bad things for me.”
“Then thou hast more experience with mares than I would have guessed, Neil! Or well, whatever it is thou prefers. 'Twould be rather odd if thou wert entranced by mares, I suppose, seeing as thou art no great stallion thyself.” Luna paused, eyeing him thoughtfully before she winked. “But perhaps thou art the adventurous sort...”
Neil winced and leaned backwards, then he flinched and looked up in a mix of relief and horror that Scrivener understood far too well as a voice said wryly from the doorway: “Oh, Neil is only ever adventurous when I push him to be. But that is good, because I do not want him to ever go on adventures that I have not chosen for us.”
Luna grinned in amusement as she looked up at the figure that had stepped into the room, even as her eyes drank in every detail of the tall woman, studying her with an intensity that Scrivener had rarely seen. She was statuesque and imposing, with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face that mirrored the expression on Luna's, her blue eyes fearlessly meeting the gaze of the sapphire mare. She was a Valkyrie: much more than in her body, Luna saw that clearly in the burning passion in her eyes.
The silence lasted only for a moment before the two leapt at each other, smashing into one another. Luna's front hooves slammed forwards and the Valkyrie's fists flew. They crashed against each other, and even though they were shaped so differently, their bodies moved in the same way, with the same rhythm, to the same invisible beat.
Neil and Scrivener both winced and staggered to either side of the dressing room as the two clashed, Luna ducking under a swipe of a fist, the woman dodging a savage, twisting kick before she teased: “I have never seen a horse move so gracefully... not even Hex can swing himself about like a stripper of poles!”
“Pole dancer. She means pole dancer.” Neil said lamely as he looked awkwardly over at Scrivener, who gave a wry smile in return as the man nervously waved at him. “You're not going to fight me too, are you?”
“I am far more skillful than any pole dancer, I am empress of poles and the world is my stage!” Luna declared, then she grinned and swung her head forwards when the Valkyrie attempted to land a headbutt against her, their skulls cracking together before the two growled and bared forwards against each other, both refusing to give up even an inch of ground as the floor creaked and cracked beneath hooves and heavy boots. “And Hex's problem is that he is too cranky, not too stiff. Like Scrivy!”
Scrivener Blooms sighed at this, and then he couldn't help but smile a little as he studied the two before he said finally: “Valkyries.”
“Valkyries.” agreed Neil after a moment, and then he carefully shifted towards Scrivener, giving a small smile before he said finally: “That's... well, Brynhild, too. That's why I was so surprised.”
“Well of course she is Brynhild! Look at her!” Luna declared as she yanked her head back as the surprised Valkyrie stumbled a little. But then both mare and woman swung their heads forwards again, slamming their skulls together before they both stumbled backwards and fell on their rumps as Neil and Scrivener both winced.
The Valkyries looked dumbly at each other for a few moments, and then Luna grinned as she straightened and posed, saying easily as her ephemeral mane twisted around her head, and her horn gave a bright gleam of magic: “I do not miss my frail woman's body, though! Look at me, the finest stallion thou ever did see!”
“Finest? Pah! I could lift an old nag like you over my head with one hand!” the Valkyrie grinned widely, her eyes gleaming as she flexed one arm, and Neil sighed as the ponies stared when she flexed powerfully enough to tear the seams of her coat. “Little pony!”
“Had I clothes, I could tear them easily! Why... I... I do not wear clothes for that reason, because they all are torn asunder by my great muscly muscles!” Luna retorted, huffing loudly and shaking her head vehemently, before she added imperiously: “Also, I can do this!”
Luna's horn glowed, and Scrivener and Neil both squawked as they were hefted into the air, almost slammed into the ceiling by telekinesis as Luna grinned proudly and the Valkyrie scowled horribly at her. “Can you do that, Brynhild?”
“No, Brynhild. But my body is not so weak that I have to rely on my great fat brain to move things for me.” the Valkyrie scoffed, and Brynhild huffed loudly.
“Thou art a fat brain! With thy fat head and thy... tiny boobies!”
The Valkyrie reared back at this, before she grabbed her own breasts and snapped: “They are not tiny! And at least I have them!”
Luna glared at the woman at this, almost slamming Neil and Scrivener into the ground as she shouted back: “They are between my legs, which is a much better place for them, I shall have thee know, because they are easier for Scrivy to-”
“Oh my God please. Please stop.” Neil begged, looking up with a wheeze from beneath his frazzled bangs. “Can't we just have a normal day for once?”
“Normal as in 'we're just exploring and having fun and not out hunting for supernatural monsters,' or normal as in 'just once, let's get through the day without talking about Brynhild's penis?'” Scrivener asked moodily as he propped his head up on his hooves, and Neil couldn't help but grin a little and give a half-sympathetic, half-amused look to the stallion that told him this man completely understood the troubles and trials of his everyday life.
Brynhild – both Brynhilds – huffed and glared at them, and then they looked at each other before the woman enunciated: “Mine is bigger.”
“I doubt it. Thou art no proud stallion. And of all the things I enjoy about my fate, 'tis how stallions are all dependably more pleasing in size and girth and shape than the men of old.” retorted the mare, and the woman snorted in amusement before she and Brynhild looked at each other for a moment, then they both suddenly smiled.
The two studied each other silently, and then Brynhild reached up and gently settled a hand on Luna's head, both Valkyries closing their eyes. And in the rush that followed, Scrivener couldn't help but flinch at the storm of emotions, memories, and stories that flooded through the link into him.
Luna looked up at Brynhild, and Brynhild looked back at Luna before the woman asked quietly: “Are these things fated to be? Are you my future, Brynhild?”
“Perhaps not in body, but... who can say, how Fate shall twist and weave, Brynhild?” Luna smiled briefly, studying the woman's face, both memorizing and remembering every little detail of it... “Thou loves him, does thou not?”
Brynhild nodded firmly as Neil frowned uneasily, and Scrivener smiled a bit at the young man, shaking his head before he said softly: “And you love her, don't you?”
“Y-Yeah.” Neil's voice quavered maybe a little, but that was surprise, Scrivener thought, and worry... but not hesitation. No, Scrivener could see it in the young man's eyes: he loved the Valkyrie, with all his heart and soul. And he had already gone though a wild adventure for her sake... and more importantly, in spite of the fact he clearly knew that every day would just be filled with more madness, more fighting, more long days and wild nights and journeys into the unknown...
They would fight for each other. They loved each other, purely, simply, and truly. Scrivener smiled a little at this before Luna said easily: “And he is a poet, too, just like thee!”
Scrivener chuckled as Neil looked surprised, before he rubbed at the back of his head and gave a lame smile to Scrivener Blooms, saying finally: “Well, I... I write.”
“I do too.” Scrivener said after a moment, and then he picked himself up before offering his hoof to Neil, and the man looked surprised before he smiled lamely, then reached up to take it.
The moment his hand touched Scrivener's hoof, a black mist washed over Neil, making him flinch before he looked up in shock. The smog became a dark ooze that dripped and flooded over Neil's body, making him shiver before his mouth fell open, rasping weakly as the same black gunk spilled out of his jaws, and Scrivener's eyes widened in horror as he tried uselessly to pull away... but the man's grip was like a vise, even as his body shook as if wracked with pain, as his jaws moved wordlessly...
Luna and Brynhild both shouted, and they lunged towards the males at the same time, but both were repelled by an invisible force and knocked backwards. Luna snarled as she rolled immediately to her hooves, but then she looked sharply to the side as she caught something in the corner of her eye.
And the mare could only stare in horror at the sight of Brynhild, as the Valkyrie trembled on the ground. Blood spilled out from beneath her right hand as blue flames burned up the length of her flaxen locks, charring them black. She looked up, and her features had become pale and stony, but her eyes bled black tears, as deep and dark and hollow as eternal night as the Valkyrie whispered: “Is it my fate, to bring darkness to the hearts of all I love?”
Luna opened her mouth... but then, in a burst of sludge and mire, both Brynhild and Neil dissolved into dark muck that splattered over the floor. The sapphire mare flinched away, staring as the black ooze spread like blood over the floorboards, and Scrivener shivered as he stepped hurriedly back from the slime crawling over the wood, even as he said weakly: “Or are we the ones who destroy ourselves?”
“Stop it, Scrivy.” Luna murmured, and then she clenched her eyes shut and shook her head hurriedly, her body shivering before she grimaced and muttered, as she looked uneasily down at the stains in the floor. “We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted. Remember, there are no gifts or miracles in this den of evil. We must be on guard.”
“You think they're feeding off our emotions?” Scrivener asked quietly, as he carefully paced around the black stains, and Luna smiled briefly as she looked silently at the dark ooze.
“I do not know. I do not know what it was. But I do know that we are not going to be given gifts in this accursed place, and if we do receive blessings... we had best check to ensure they do not bear fangs.” Luna murmured, and then she shook her head before asking almost abruptly: “Twilight. Did thou feel the shift in her energies?”
“Yeah.” Scrivener nodded after a moment, grimacing a bit as he looked ahead. “What about Styx and Marina? Can you pick up their magic at all?”
“Nay, I cannot sense a single thing. But Twilight would be able to better find them, she was always far better at magic than I.” Luna said after a moment, shaking her head quickly. “Let us find her first. Then we can worry about gathering the others. And once we are all together, we can try and escape this...”
“Nightmare.” Scrivener supplied, and Luna gave him a wry smile. “Well, it feels like that's what it is.”
“Not yet. But aye, I fear that all signs point to that being correct.” Luna said dryly, shaking her head briefly before she sighed a little, murmuring: “We should get moving, Scrivener Blooms. I do not want to linger here. I do not need a reminder that...”
She looked silently at the black stain on the floorboards, and Scrivener softened before he nodded briefly. They carefully edged their way around the stains, heading out of the dressing room and into the hall beyond, and yet Scrivener couldn't help but look back, asking impulsively as Luna lit the darkness around them with her horn: “You don't think... they weren't real, were they?”
“I believe they were... the fragments of another dream, Scrivener Blooms. As are we all.” Luna said finally, and somehow, whether it made sense or not... that simply sounded right.
They made their way through the dark and twisting corridor, Luna forging forwards and Scrivener grimacing uneasily at the way it seemed to twist unnaturally. There was never a sense of losing balance, and yet at the same time, he felt almost like the floor had subtly rolled upside down, and they were walking on the walls and ceiling more than they were the ground.
This place felt like it was maliciously doing everything in its power to slow them down: when they came to a door, it was always jammed, and when they broke that door open, it always led to another rickety hall beyond, one that was lined with more broken doors with broken handles, and occasionally forked or crossed another hall... but these always ended in blockades or empty walls.
It was frustrating: it was like they were making their way not through a maze, but along one distinct path that would lead them, inevitably, wherever this darkness wanted them to go. And behind every locked door was just another dead end, or another long, empty corridor that led nowhere...
Luna growled under her breath, then stormed suddenly towards the side of the hall, headbutting one of the doors that seemed to exist only as decoration before she used telekinesis to seize into it, attempting uselessly to jerk it open. The door simply shuddered in its frame, the wood cracking even as it refused to budge, and Scrivener grimaced a bit before he said quietly: “I think it's trying to delay us.”
“Aye, but why? Does it require time to gather its strength? Or is this just some act of cruelty, to frustrate and confuse us?” Luna asked moodily as she pawed at the damaged door, before she shoved her face against the warped frame and muttered: “There is something solid beyond.”
The stallion frowned as he approached, and the two traded looks before they both grasped the warped edge of the door and pulled firmly. They weren't able to do much more than bend the wood out of place, but it was enough to let them see that behind it was a literal brick wall... although Scrivener couldn't help but reflect that the brick was probably about as real as the rest of this dark theater was.
“Oh shut up, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna grumbled, and the two stepped back from the wall before the mare muttered: “Aye. This is a strange and wicked place, though. I see little choice but to go forward...”
She bit her lip thoughtfully, lowering her head before she looked over her shoulder... and scowled as she saw the door they had entered through had become a brick wall. “Little choice indeed. Although I suppose I could simply set the place aflame.”
“Yes, Luna. That's a great solution, especially since we're stuck inside here and all.” Scrivener Blooms said dryly, and Luna huffed loudly at him before both ponies looked up in surprise as the doors at the end of the hall banged open, and Twilight stumbled through before the mare sighed in relief.
“There you are!” she blurted, and Scrivener and Luna both smiled, turning towards the mare... and then both ponies couldn't help but react with surprise when Twilight bolted forwards and all-but-leapt into Scrivener's forelegs, embracing him fiercely around the neck. “I was so worried!”
“Uh... yeah.” Scrivener said awkwardly, lamely patting Twilight on the back as Luna's eyes narrowed sharply. She looked at the stallion, and the stallion smiled even as his eyes met Luna's, silently communicating with her.
Then Twilight leaned back with a bright smile, looking warmly up at Scrivener as he looked back at her almost uncomfortably. She leaned in, trying to kiss him, and Scrivener shifted a bit away as he gently grasped her shoulders, saying awkwardly: “Hey now, uh. You know that Luna gets jealous when she doesn't get the first kisses in.”
Twilight giggled a little at this, stepping backwards and smiling widely and brightly at him before she suddenly shot an envious, hateful look at Luna, as she almost spat: “Then Luna can be jealous and wait her turn.”
Luna snorted in amusement at this, and then she remarked dryly: “Well, thou art not very subtle, art thou?”
Twilight glared at Luna, and Scrivener carefully shifted backwards before the violet mare sharply turned her almost fanatical gaze back to him, saying quickly: “Now, just you wait one moment, puddin', and I'll deal with this... problem. She's always been a problem, ain't that right? She's always just... gotten in the way!”
Twilight turned a furious look back at Luna, but a moment later, a hoof slammed into her face and sent her sprawling backwards with a gasp of shock, her eyes bulging in horror as Scrivener winced, but Luna only grinned widely and flexed her extended foreleg, saying sourly: “Thou does not seem to understand, clown, that I shan't balk at making it hoof party in thy face's house even if thou does wear the guise of my beloved. As a matter of fact, I will relish it.”
“You really shouldn't admit to the general public how much you enjoy beating us, Luna. That's called domestic abuse.” Scrivener said dryly, and Luna huffed loudly before reaching out and swatting the stallion, making him wince.
Not-Twilight stared for a few more moments at the two... and then she slowly snarled before she hissed: “Clown, am I? Well, why don't I show you just what this 'clown' can do?”
“I have heard so many variations of that, all I feel for thee is pity that thou cannot come up with a more original threat.” Luna said dryly, even as Twilight's horn began to glow ominously as her body rippled strangely, and Scrivener grimaced uneasily as he nervously stepped backwards.
But Luna only set herself, her eyes narrowing as Not-Twilight replied acidly: “Oh, well, if you need me to be creative, sweetie, I can be creative. I know just what my puddin' likes, after all: it's all those things you don't have.”
Not-Twilight snapped her horn forwards, but Luna dodged the blast of magic before she leapt forwards, tackling the violet mare backwards. They rolled, and then Luna swore as Not-Twilight flung her off before the purple pony agilely shoved herself off her front hooves and flipped gracefully through the air, landing easily on all fours with a wide grin before she laughed loudly and leapt to the side, yanking a door open and leaping out of the hall as it slammed closed behind her.
Luna leapt to her hooves and jumped towards the door to yank it open, and then she almost rammed face-first into the solid wall behind it, the mare swearing and stumbling backwards as Not-Twilight cooed: “Uh-uh-uh, I don't think so! You can just have a bit of quiet time for a little while, while I go take care of the rest of the competition! Oh no, the last thing we need is to be interrupted by any of those other... uninvited guesties!”
“It knows about us. It knows about the dreams.” Scrivener muttered, looking uneasily at the ceiling, and Luna growled in frustration before she slammed a hoof into the wall behind the door, shaking her head in disgust.
She bit her lip, then stepped back and looked towards Scrivener Blooms, before she frowned as the doors at the end of the hall slowly opened behind the stallion. The earth pony turned uneasily around as Luna strode up beside him, and they both looked through the open doors and into the both festive and desolate room beyond: a vast, sprawling emptiness filled with dust and dying balloons taped to the walls, a single lonely table sitting in the middle of it all draped with a ghostly tablecloth.
There was something on the table, all wrapped up in scarlet ribbons, and Luna and Scrivener traded looks before they both slowly strode forward into the hall, drawn by that splotch of crimson color and the so-familiar shape...
Scrivener and Luna entered the ballroom, and the doors slammed shut behind them.

Marina shifted uneasily, then blinked blearily before she slowly climbed to her hooves with a groan, grasping at her head and shivering as she looked back and forth. Her whole body hurt, and felt... strange. But maybe that was just because she also felt like she'd been run over by a train.
She looked slowly back and forth, then she frowned uneasily as she looked down at one of her hooves, turning it back and forth before her eyes slowly widened. She trembled violently as she half-rose one foreleg further, mouthing wordlessly as she saw the gaping wounds, the holes in her limb...
Marina almost fell over as her legs quaked beneath her, but she dropped her foreleg and managed to steady herself, clenching her eyes shut as she breathed slowly in and out. She sat slowly back, trying to assess herself... and while she certainly hurt badly, at the same time, she couldn't feel any pain in her limb. So those holes... what does that mean? Am I...
The chocolate mare bit her lip, then she hesitantly rose her foreleg and looked down at her limb. The sight of the holes made her feel a little sick to her stomach, but at the same time, they didn't hurt. They weren't wounds: the edges were smooth and clean. In fact, as she studied her limb, she felt almost like she'd seen this before...
“You!” growled a voice, and Marina looked up before her eyes widened in shock as three malformed creatures appeared in the darkness: they had twisted, holey limbs, chitinous bodies, insectile wings and jagged horns. Their bulbous green eyes glared into Marina, and the chocolate mare shrank back as she stared at them with disbelief: what were Changelings doing here?
“You're late!” the one that had spoken growled, and Marina blinked before the Changeling gestured at her. “Well, come on!”
Marina mouthed wordlessly for a moment, and then she looked back and forth, as if she thought the creature in front of her was talking to someone else before she reached up and awkwardly touched her own breast, saying finally: “Me?”
“Yes, you.” the Changeling said, sounding exasperated as one of the bug-beasts sniggered. “You have a meeting with the Queen.”
Marina stared at the Changeling, and then she looked uncomfortably down at herself, studying the holes in her foreleg again before she nervously reached up and rubbed over her face. Her hoof passed through a mane that felt more... spiky, woolen than it had before, and she wondered uneasily if somehow her chocolate body had detected these Changelings before she'd even been aware of them, and transformed itself...
Except they seemed to recognize her. They were looking at her with plenty of impatience and irritation, after all, but not hostility. Either way, she decided it would be best to play along for now as she gave a nervous smile before she nodded a little, straightening and clearing her throat before she said awkwardly: “Of... of course. I'll come with you.”
“Yes. Please.” The Changeling and his companions turned around, and Marina followed after a moment with an awkward smile, lowering her head and trembling slightly as she forced herself to be as calm as she could.
She followed them through the dusty basement to a large, ragged hole in the floor, the mare biting her lip nervously before she followed quickly when the lead Changeling glared over his shoulder at her. She looked uneasily back and forth as they passed through dirt and rock into a passage that seemed almost as if it was made of spongey tissue, the mare shivering a bit at the unnatural warmth of it beneath her hooves, stumbling a little on the softness of the porous material.
Soon, they were passing other Changelings of every size, Marina looking uneasily back and forth at them. Some of them looked at her with curiosity, while others bowed to her politely, which made the mare shift nervously: why were they treating her almost like... royalty?
The chocolate mare bit her lip, then winced a little as she tried to look down at her muzzle in surprise. She had fangs, and she had just nipped herself with them. And when she risked a glance back at herself, she realized she had bug-like wings, just like the rest of the Changelings, and her tail was a ragged mess, and- “What's happened to me?”
Her Changeling escorts looked back at her curiously, and Marina blushed deeply as she looked forwards: she definitely hadn't meant to voice that out loud. But after a moment, the Changeling in the lead said, in a voice that was surprisingly gentle: “You're just where you belong, that's all. Back home.”
“Home?” Marina frowned uneasily, and the Changeling nodded as he turned back forwards, leading her onward.
“Yes, home. We know it's disorienting. All the Alates are raised by pony families until they become adults, after all, where they can feed off of a constant supply of love. And now that you're an adult, we've brought you back to the hive so you can be trained.” The Changeling explained as he continued to lead the way onward through the hive, before he smiled over his shoulder. “But the Queen can explain it all better than I can.”
Marina shifted uneasily, looking back and forth before she stopped to rub at her head, and the Changelings halted to look back at her. “I... this isn't right...”
“It's alright. It's a lot to take in, that's all. You're just having memory sickness.” one the Changelings reassured, and Marina blinked slowly a few times before her escort turned around, and she felt helpless to do anything but continue to follow them deeper into the hive.
They arrived after a few minutes at a large, open chamber: it was filled with green pools of ooze, and within these ponds were eggs that throbbed with eerie life. In the center of it all was a staircase leading up to a raised island of hive-flesh, upon which sat an unnatural throne where a figure she hadn't expected to see was seated.
Marina frowned uneasily as she approached the staircase, looking nervously up to the mare seated in the throne, and then she asked nervously: “Twilight?”
Twilight Sparkle smiled down at her: there was an ill emerald flicker in her eyes, and she moved with a strange, sinuous grace as she slid out of her seat, standing at the top of the stairs as she almost sang: “Marina! It's just so good to see you, sweetie! Why don't you come up here and sit beside me, huh? Let's have a little girl time, shall we?”
Marina smiled uneasily, and then she nodded nervously before striding hesitantly up the stairs, saying awkwardly: “I... you're not... Twilight, are you?”
“No, toots, I just thought this would be a familiar shape for you to talk to, that's all.” Not-Twilight smiled coyly, half-lidding her eyes before she beckoned quickly. “But come on up the stairs, we got lots to talk about!”
Marina smiled again nervously, chewing on her lip before she strode slowly up the stairs. Something about this... Not-Twilight made her extremely anxious, her eyes shifting back and forth to make sure that there was some kind of escape available... except she couldn't help but notice how the stairs were really the only way on and off the raised platform the throne stood on, and beneath it was a vast, glowing green pool of ooze, limiting any option of escape.
She stepped onto the platform, then winced when Not-Twilight grabbed her around the neck in a one-legged embrace that felt more forceful than friendly, even before Not-Twlight half-flung her backwards into the throne. Marina shifted automatically backwards, then flinched when Not-Twilight almost leapt forwards, dropping her chin on her front hooves as she propped herself up on the arm of the huge chair with a too-wide grin. “You just make yourself right at home, and let me take care of you. I want you to be nice and cozy, after all, after all those nasty people put you through, huh?”
Marina frowned a little, and Not-Twilight laughed before saying easily: “Well, don't you worry about any of that, you're here and safe now! This is your home, where you belong, with a hundred hundred thousand servants all at your beck and call. What could be better than that? Nothin', that's what!”
The chocolate mare shifted in the throne, and then she asked awkwardly: “What about my... my friends? I mean-”
“Your friends are all here, of course! Every one of 'em!” Not-Twilight said, gesturing quickly out with one hoof and a wink. “Every last drone and worker and soldier and whatdoyoucallit is your friend. Me too, too! Ain't that great?”
“Well, there was this Royal Guard-”
“Guard, schmard. You don't need no stinkin' guard.” Not-Twilight huffed and shook her head vehemently, and then she gestured almost imploringly out at the open cavern. “Isn't this great? I mean, a whole hive, just for you! Well, it will be for you, you know. I got my eyes set on something else, see, and I'm gonna have to leave it all behind...”
Not-Twilight sighed theatrically, throwing one foreleg across her head as she leaned away, before she suddenly whirled towards Marina with a sharklike grin, making the chocolate mare wince and shove herself back in the throne. “But you gotta be ready to do a few things, see. 'Cause you know, there's always some bad person or other out there, tryin' to hurt ya, tryin' to separate you from the one guy you really care about with all your heart...”
The purple mare swayed back and forth almost dreamily, and Marina nervously slipped out of the throne before she winced when Not-Twilight grabbed her and flung her back in the seat, the violet pony snapping: “Hey, I'm talkin' here!”
Marina winced a bit, and Not-Twilight glared down at her for a few long moments before she suddenly smiled and reached up to lightly bop her on the nose. “Now, I know you must be pretty darn confused and all, right, toots? But that's totally fine, because all you gotta do is listen to me and what I have to say, and ignore everything else. Y'get it? Forget all the rest of that nonsense. I know, sure, sometimes all the... fake memories and the lies and the stories, it all gets in your head. I mean, they told me all sorts of things, nasty things, about this fella I used to see, but... my fella is still my fella, you know!”
The chocolate mare looked awkwardly at Not-Twilight, not understanding in the slightest before the purple mare suddenly seemed to focus, smiling softly and stroking tenderly under Marina's chin as she said calmly: “Now, all I need you to do for me is stay right here. Stay here, in this hive, while I go take care of a few things. Just settle in, adjust... become part of things here! We're all family and friends, and you just gotta accept that and join us and you'll have a nice place to stay forever and ever... for ever, and ever, and ever...”
Marina smiled nervously back at Not-Twilight, but she resisted the urge to look away or deny her: no, her mind ached, and her thoughts were strangely... fuzzy... but she knew that something was terribly wrong here. “I uh... I think that...”
Not-Twilight narrowed her eyes dangerously, and Marina laughed a little before she said quickly, on a bolt of inspiration: “Can I look around the hive, perhaps? See more of my... new home?”
Not-Twilight leaned slowly forwards, until their faces were almost pressing together, and Marina did her best not to flinch, not to panic, not to pull away. And suddenly, Not-Twilight smiled brightly and nodded firmly once, before she turned and shouted: “Hey, morons! I got a job for you to do!”
Several Changelings fell all over themselves to hurry into the throne room, and Not-Twilight huffed at them before she looked over at Marina and said mildly: “So hard to find good help, ain't it? That's why I had to bring you here, sweetie! You're gonna be great help, and I gotta get you out of the way while I go and find my puddin' and save him from that nasty...”
The mare suddenly halted and clicked her tongue distastefully, looking away for a moment before she shook her head quickly and returned her attention to Marina, saying kindly: “Well, that ain't so important, what's important is that you settle in here and you get comfortable and you make sure you don't do nothin' stupid, got it?”
Not-Twilight's gaze suddenly became cold as she leaned forwards, saying icily: “I don't got much patience for stupid, see.”
Marina smiled lamely, and there was silence for a few moments before Not-Twilight nodded firmly and suddenly pushed herself away from the throne, trotting down the stairs and lightly bumping against one of the Changeling guards as she passed him, saying cheerfully: “You give her a good time, though, and treat her like a lady, you hear? Otherwise, well...”
As she passed another Changeling, she hip-checked him firmly, knocking him sprawling with a yelp into a pool of green ooze. Not-Twilight grinned at this, then she continued on her way, almost bouncing out of the large cavern as Marina nervously brushed herself off before she looked awkwardly down at the Changelings waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
She made her way down to the group of Changelings, and then she asked finally: “So this Hive... what is it?”
The Changelings looked between each other, and then the largest one shrugged before he replied: “It's our home.”
That wasn't much of an answer, but then again, Marina guessed she hadn't asked much of a question. “I mean, how is it structured? Is it like a... a town, or like an...”
How did you politely ask if she was now living in a giant anthill? That thought made her feel a little funny, made her smile a bit... until she realized with a faint chill that for some reason, she had just automatically started to think of this place as 'home.'
But this wasn't her home. This wasn't anywhere she wanted to be. All of this was fake, all of this was some great big play, and what she had to focus on was finding her friends and then escape from here, this... whatever it was.
She felt a pang of pain run through her head, and the mare shifted dizzily before she steadied herself and... what was I thinking about again?
“Where's Discord?” Marina asked abruptly, and the Changelings all looked at her oddly before the chocolate mare frowned and looked back and forth before she shook herself out quickly and forced a smile as she felt her memories fighting back against whatever was trying to manipulate her. Whatever it is, it's only getting stronger the longer I spend in this hive, I need to get out of here. But how?
The Changelings were staring at her almost suspiciously now, but Marina quickly put a smile on her face before she asked impulsively: “How do you harvest 'love?' I mean... since I've never been in a hive before, I don't know how you'd... keep a supply of it on hoof or anything.”
The insectile creatures traded looks, but then the one that had apparently been elected as spokesperson shrugged before saying slowly: “Well, we have both a stable where we keep the... 'domestics,' as well as food crystals...”
“I would love to see the food crystals. Perhaps I'm just... hungry, that's all.” Marina said quickly, smiling a little. “I don't remember the last time I... ate.”
The Changelings traded looks, but they seemed to be reassured by this, and then one of them took the initiative and gestured for her and the others to followed as he walked away. Marina was more than glad to do so, trying to blend in with the small group of Changelings, trying to pretend she was one of them... while at the same time, holding tightly to the belief that she didn't belong here, reminding herself that she wasn't one of them.
They led her through the twisting halls of the hive, and Marina looked uneasily back and forth, chewing on her lip nervously. Changelings milled by, many of them looking at her curiously as her escort led her on, plenty of them smiling, trying to be friendly... but Marina only forced herself to keep her focus ahead, to look for any hint of escape.
And as they walked along, she felt it: the faint breath of a breeze, the mare glancing up before she asked impulsively: “Are we heading outside?”
“What? No, no.” Her Changeling escort halted and looked back, before one of them glanced down the tunnel and said: “Oh, that's where we're building the garden...”
“Garden?” Marina pressed, and the Changelings traded looks before one of them finally shrugged and nodded almost hesitantly. “I'd really like to see it.”
She put on her best smile and her best pleading eyes, and the Changelings traded looks before one of them said hesitantly: “I... suppose. But we're supposed to keep a close eye on you, you know...”
“I just want a quick look, that's all.” Marina said quickly, and the insectile equines looked at each other before they shared several shrugs. And after a moment, her escort turned to lead her through the intersection, towards the source of that faint breeze.
They entered a half-constructed room, where hive-flesh merged with dirt and rock, and a large cluster of flowers and odd plants were growing in the center of the room in a shallow pool. Marina stepped towards this curiously, even as she shot a quick look up at a large, gaping hole in the ceiling: if only she could fly...
As if to remind her of their existence, her wings buzzed quietly at her sides, and the mare hesitantly glanced over her shoulder at them as she attempted to flex them, to move them. She thought it was only because of all the practice she had gone through with learning to control her chocolate body that she was able to make them shift at all... but did that mean she would have enough control to actually fly?
Marina nervously made her wings flicker again, even as she saw the Changelings frowning at her: well, most of them were suspicious, but one of her escorts was rambling away about this place, this 'Garden,' as they called it: “-so that lets us make potent toxins and antitoxins and drugs that help keep our domestics in check...”
“They look very pretty.” was all Marina could think of to say: the flowers were indeed beautiful and multicolored, and the mare hesitantly approached the lip of the shallow pool so she could get a better look at them. Then she couldn't help but flinch back when there was a splash of green gel as a nasty-looking bramble struck out of the water at her.
It missed by quite a distance, but it still gave her a bit of a scare, Marina wincing away as one of the Changelings snickered and another one said quickly: “You had better back away from there, the plants don't like it when you get too close!”
“I see.” Marina mumbled, and then she shook her head before hesitantly spreading her wings. She felt them buzz at her side, and then she carefully lifted off the ground... but as she felt the Changelings behind her tensing up, she quickly put on a show of flailing at the air before letting herself drop back to the ground.
She pretended to struggle to lift herself off again, and while it was certainly difficult, she wasn't having nearly as much trouble as she put on. The Changelings seemed to settle a little, though, and one of them even encouraged: “Don't just let your body go limp, lift with all your muscles!”
Marina smiled awkwardly over her shoulder at them, then purposefully overlifted, making herself tip forwards comically. She almost overdid it and nearly sent herself flailing right into the pool, but thankfully she managed to throw herself backwards and land back on her rump with a wheeze, giving a lame smile before she said embarrassedly: “I guess I'm just not very good at this...”
A few of the Changeling escort encouraged her immediately, even as one or two continued to watch her suspiciously, and Marina shifted a bit. They were being so nice to her, treating her so well, accepting her, trying to help her out... that, of all things, was what made it hard to leave, made her almost feel... guilty about what she was doing. But no, she reminded herself: this was all a ploy, a ruse, and... she needed to escape from here. Not just before they imprisoned her or something, but before... it became too difficult to leave.
Marina took a slow breath... and then she winced when a voice suddenly growled from behind her escort: “Well, look at this! I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I, toots? All I asked you to do was shut up and make nice.
“And you, lunkheads!” Not-Twilight bodychecked her way through the Changeling escort, making them yelp and cower as she glared daggers at them. “I get that you guys is all stupid, but how can you be this stupid, you stupids?”
The chocolate mare bit her lip, and then she quickly leapt into the air, following her instincts and simply shooting towards the hole in the roof as Not-Twilight berated: “I warned you she was gonna try to get out of here, I told you just to play nice but keep her busy, and what do you do? You bring her-”
“Boss!” one of the Changelings blurted, and Not-Twilight scowled horribly at him before she blinked as the Changelings pointed hurriedly past her, the purple mare spinning around on one hoof-
“Hey! Get back here!” Not-Twilight snapped, and then she snarled before almost-screaming: “Alright, no more mister nice guy, you hear me! Bring her down, boys!”
The Changelings scrambled forwards, then leapt into the air after Marina: the chocolate mare had a good head start on them, but her body was far from used to her wings, and the tunnels she flew into through the hole were jagged and dark, forcing her to light up the environment with her horn. And as fast as she was, she knew the Changelings were faster...
All the same, she poured everything she had into flying through the twisting tunnels, wincing as she dodged around spikes of rock that bit at her like fangs. She forced herself not to look back as the Changelings shouted after her... except it didn't sound like shouting for very long. No, more and more, she thought she could hear screaming, and growling, and hissing, and...
She hit a stone wall that seemed to appear out of nowhere, cursing in pain as she threw herself off it and looked wildly back and forth before darting into a narrow gap, before she screamed in shock as one of the Changelings smashed into the tunnel behind her. It clawed at her, screaming and bestial, body bristling with fur and spiky chitin as the beast's emerald eyes glowed with animal hate.
Marina turned and shot through the narrow passage faster than she knew her body could move, her hooves kicking against outcrops of rock as she raced down the jagged tunnel. She felt her wings scraping the walls, her sides painfully bumping against jutting rock, her body aching with the strain she was putting it through... but the fear of the monsters behind her, the sound of their screaming, the feel of claws lashing at her, jaws snapping at her tail, drove her relentlessly forward.
The chocolate mare flew onward, desperately weaving through rock, and stone, and brick, and wood, her wings flapping hard, her hooves shoving and pulling her forward. All around her echoed screams and roars as the Changelings flocked after her like a living storm...
She was so caught up in the escape that she didn't even realize that she was no longer flying, but galloping; that the walls were no longer jagged cavern stone, but rotting wood and faded paper, the ugly wooden floor cracking beneath her hooves as she charged down the dark, endless corridor.
Marina looked back over her shoulder, and she screamed at what she saw: a tidal wave of monsters, half Changeling, half smoke and slime and black malice, all full of glowing, hellish eyes. She stumbled, then looked ahead, just in time to see the double doors before she crashed through them and hit the ground hard, rolling painfully before she landed in a sprawl with a gasp.
She immediately looked back over her shoulder, scrambling for her hooves, but all she caught was the sight of the doors slamming as silence suddenly fell over her. Marina stared at the sealed doors, trembling for a few moments, trying to make sense of it all-
Something touched her, and she shrieked, spinning around and slashing her horn out. But it was easily parried before she was smacked across the face by a hoof, the chocolate mare blinking in surprise and mouthing wordlessly as Luna both snapped and soothed: “'Tis I! 'Tis I, Marina! Damnation, what hast happened to thee?”
“I... I...” Marina looked dumbly around the ballroom, mouthing wordlessly before she shook her head and shivered, looking quickly down at herself... but her forelegs no longer had holes in them, she could no longer feel wings at her side, and she felt, for lack of a better word, normal. “Changelings.”
“Changelings?” Luna dubiously looked at the double doors, and then she shook her head before she turned her eyes towards Scrivener Blooms, who was looking uneasily around the ballroom. “Was River of Sticks with thee? Or Twilight Sparkle?”
“No, I... well, there was a Twilight, but she wasn't... your Twilight. She was...” Marina wasn't quite sure what she was: only that it certainly wasn't the mare she'd gotten to know during the unfortunate chain of events that had led them to this twisted trap.
Scrivener and Luna traded grim looks, and Marina frowned a little before she went with her gut feeling, asking: “So you saw her too?”
“Aye. She reminds us of a rather dangerous creature we have encountered before... well, that Scrivy has, so to speak.” Luna said after a moment, gesturing towards the stallion, and he grunted and shifted a little as he looked away. “We do not know why she is here, but... perhaps it hints at the powers that control this place. For she was...”
“A figment of my imagination. Something too good to be true.” Scrivener muttered, and Luna smiled wryly as she looked at him with... was that almost an apology in her eyes? Or guilt, even? But why would she feel that way, Marina wondered.
She sat back for a moment, trying to get her thoughts in order, to figure out what she should ask first before her eyes nervously settled on a shape laying on a table in the center of the room, all wrapped in ribbons. Luna followed her gaze after a moment, and the sapphire mare shook her head before she said quietly: “I do not know what it is. 'Tis a riddle, but I do not even understand what it is asking.”
Marina frowned at this, then she nervously approached the table, studying the shape on it silently: it looked almost like a pony, wrapped in red streamers. Five different shades of red, she thought, the end of each streamer nailed to the tabletop, held in place by ugly spikes of metal. Then she glanced up as Luna said moodily: “I have tried to unwrap it, but it defies my hooves. Perhaps it requires a magic that I do not have.”
“Maybe...” Marina murmured, but before she could get any further, there was a tremendous bang from above, dust hailing down from the ceiling as Luna immediately readied herself and Scrivener and Marina both flinched.
For a moment, there was only silence.
And then, there was darkness and laughter.