Where There is Shadow

by firesoxs

Old Enemies

“What are you doing? I highly doubt the queen of the changelings is going to be happy to see you.” Skittish loudly whispered in that odd tone one takes when they shout while trying to keep quiet.

“Quiet foal! Of course she won’t be happy to see me. In fact I’m counting on it. Once she sees me she’ll most likely attack me, after which I will destroy her. Once she’s gone her hoards of peons will be left without a leader, a position that I will be all to glad to fill.” Sombra mused as he pulled the chains from the bars of the gate.

“How can you be sure that they won’t avenge their leader?”

“Shut up will you! They learned to fear me long ago when I defeated their king.” Sombra said as he relished the fond memories of the final battle of the war for the Crystal Heart. Still reminiscing Sombra pushed open the gates of the fortress which emitted a long and lazy creak as the unoiled hinges strained against each other.

With the gates opened Sombra and his less than courageous companion could behold what lay within. Everything in side the wall was covered in a strange substance. It was not any sort of slime it wasn’t wet enough, nor did it have strands like a web. It was smooth and waxy, and if one took the time to examine it properly they would find that in the dark shadowy corners of buildings there were hexagonal cells filled with liquid of indeterminate origin. Nothing escaped the green shroud, every single surface was covered with it. What used to be cottages were now indistinguishable from the strange green wax of the changeling hive. As the two travelers made their way up the path they saw that the cliff on which the castle rested looked over a sizable lake. All forms of aquatic life had long since been eradicated leaving nothing to feed off the algae, as a result the water had become murky and choked with the stuff. This begged the question “Why had the changelings not feed off the algae before they set to work on the trees?” The closest thing to an answer that crossed Skittish’s mind was that the changelings found it aesthetically pleasing.

When the had reached the entry way of the castle itself Sombra reached out to push the massive door open, only to have it fall in on its hinges. “Would you look at that, they left it unlocked for us.” He said sarcastically. Skittish stuck his head over the threshold and into the darkness to find it opened into a grand foyer. The room was lined with pillars and staircases leading to large doors, many of which were bashed in revealing dark hallways that lead to places he would rather not go. Skittish felt very uneasy as if there were a thousand unfriendly eyes watching him, and every time he shifted his gaze he thought he saw dark figures disappearing into shadows and behind pillars.. “Do you feel like we’re being watched?” Skittish asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

“Only one way to find out,” replied Sombra as he bucked Skittish in the hindquarters, sending him flying over the threshold. Skittish landed face first on the hard stone floor with a muffled “oomph.” After a few moments he stood up shakily and brushed himself off. “What was that for?” he questioned looking back at the shadowy unicorn.

“Shut up and take a look around!” Sombra retorted.

Knowing that he would never get anywhere in an argument with Sombra Skittish just obeyed. He cautiously crept several paces before he was bade, meaning threatened, to “Hurry up and find out what’s in there,” Almost as if on queue, hundreds of glowing blue eyes appeared glaring at the small grey crystal pony. They were on the ceiling, on the walls, under the stairs, and behind the smashed doors. They came from the hallways and corridors, and a few were even glaring from holes in the floor. Skittish was frozen in his tracks, in fact his fear stricken rigor mortis was so severe that he could not breathe. All that he could do was stand stalk still, he was utterly and completely helpless.
After what seemed like ages one of the many pairs of eyes stepped into the light revealing the unsavory creature who owned them. The changeling’s pitted body was black all over and shone with a slightly green hue when struck with the daylight that beamed through the door way. It lifted its shell like elytra and stretched out its more fragile flying wings menacingly. Its head was grotesque and ridged, with small crushing mandibles on either side of its snarling mouth. The piercing blue eyes were compound and lidless locked in an unblinking stare that seemed almost lifeless.

The sight of the creature caused Skittish to gasp, breaking the spell of breathlessness that had previously held him. In fact now his breath was coming too quickly, as he began to hyperventilate. Soon the shape shifting creature was joined by one of his friends, and another, and another. The crystal pony tried to call for help but all that escaped his mouth was a whimper. Faint and timid barely the noise barely carried further than a whisper but it was enough to reach Sombra’s ears, not that it would have helped. Without warning all of the changelings came rushing forward, they were crawling out of the cracks in the ceiling and down the walls and pillars. They burst through the dilapidated doors like they were cardboard and spilled out every hallway and corridor like ants swarming out of their nest. Skittish was now screaming running this way and that hoping to find an escape, but every where he turned he came face to face with a changeling. Eventually having no place else to go, he curled up on the floor hoping his end would bee relatively quick.

It wasn’t until Skittish was hopelessly surrounded that Sombra remembered he still needed the pathetic pony. It had been so long since he had protected anything other than his own interests that the thought of helping him hadn’t crossed his mind. Disappearing into shadow Sombra sped towards the center of the room, crossing from the shadows of one changeling to the next. He rushed like a dark specter avoiding the strange insect like hooves of these vaguely pony shaped creatures. Finally reaching the sad and pathetic figure, who was now under the merciless onslaught of the changeling swarm, Sombra took physical form once again. Seeing several changelings attacking the helpless pony Sombra threw himself into the fray tossing changelings left and right, bucking, kicking, and stabbing with his horn. Realizing that a new enemy was among them, several of the changelings took to the air and began dive bombing the new threat.

“Get up and help me, you waste of space!” Sombra shouted.

“I can’t! I’ll just get in the way.” Skittish squeaked.

“We’ll both get killed if you don’t get up now!”

“We’ll get killed sooner if I help!”

Sombra growled as he bucked a changeling so hard he could feel its shell like carapace cave in. He didn’t have many kicks like that left in him, he was down to his last few cards and had only one that might get them out of this alive. “I’m going to try something, but you’d better hope that this works!” he threatened as his green eyes glowed with a familiar purple haze. Black magic bubbled and sputtered from the tip of his horn as equally black crystals broke through the stone floor. Razor sharp and hard as steel they formed a circle around the dark king and his companion. Changelings stepped back from the menacing barrier and waited, when one grew impatient and charged toward the center he was impaled by the nearest crystal as it shot upward. A few of the smart ones took to the air and once again launched themselves toward their enemies. However, Sombra was prepared for this as well, when the first changeling came within range he bucked it back into the air. As he did this he transferred a portion of his magic into his new weapon, once the changeling flew close enough to its comrades Sombra activated his trap causing the creature to explode into a hailstorm of tiny crystals, wounding many and killing others.
After several minutes of this the crystal minefield was so full of bodies that their attackers could safely walk over the corpses of their fallen comrades. On top of that Sombra was growing weary and could no longer hold back the kamikaze dive bombers. As the changelings closed in on the useless crystal pony and his unwilling protector, the two knew that this was the end.
“That’s enough!” commanded a voice from one of the corridors. The changelings obeyed the voice and backed away from the ponies they had been trying to kill only moments ago. “Sombra, I thought I recognized your stench.” Said the voice in a very cynical tone, as its owner walked into view at the far end of the hall. Queen Chrysalis was much like her subjects in appearance only taller. Her wings hidden beneath green elytra which had a multi colored glean to them when they caught the light just right. As she walked she would occasionally lift them so as to flap her wings rapidly giving off a buzzing sound. Whereas her subjects were hairless she had a long mane and tail, although it was very strange in appearance. Her hair looked as if it was algae or pond scum hanging from her head, perhaps in the swamps the changelings lived it served as a form of camouflage. Her face was different from her drones as well; her mouth had n o mandibles, and her teeth were long and sharp with fang like canines. She bore a gnarled and twisted horn. On the right side of her head she had what looked like a small lopsided crown, however upon further inspection it proved to be a single fan like antenna, the other had been lost in a battle long ago. Her eyes were much livelier and terrifying than those of her subjects. In fact they looked completely unlike those of an insect, if anything they were like those of a snake.
“What should I do with you trespassers?” the insect queen questioned. As she spoke there was a strange sound emanating from the back of her throat. The sound was a faint but high pitched screech, like the chirp of a cricket crossed with the song of a cicada. “What can you say that will persuade me not to destroy you?” Chrysalis said with a hint of “Say what you want, but I’ll kill you anyway,” in her voice.
Skittish, who had had enough near death experience for one day, fell to the ground and covered his head with his hooves to block everything out. “Wait just a minute!” barked Sombra “I broke the seal on the front gate setting you free, and this is how you repay me! By all accounts you are in my debt.”
“Well it may appear that way to you, but you did not “save” me by any stretch of the imagination.” Chrysalis replied matter of factly. “What you have seen here is a mere fraction of our strength. We could have broken out any time we wanted. I was just biding my time.”
“Well now what will you do with me?” Sombra asked.
“I’m tempted to kill you for slaughtering my subjects, pride as a ruler and all that.
However I do have a debt to you that need s repaying, but not for any reasons you would understand.”
“Try me.” replied Sombra raising an eyebrow.
“Well, my subjects wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. You see, my former mate, King Metamorphosis, was obsessed with possessing the Crystal Heart. Towards the end of the war he became so enthralled with possessing it that he no longer cared about casualties. I had intended for him to have an “accident” in battle, only with the best interest of my people in mind of course.
“I’m sure.” Interjected Sombra not fooled for a second.
“But you took care of all that for me. So you see, by defeating us in battle you saved my people.”
“So what you’re saying is I gave you your thrown.” Sombra observed.
“Well, if you want to put it so bluntly. Yes, and in exchange I will let you live.”
“Actually I have a proposition for you.” Sombra said with a smile.

Author's Note:

Here's the next exiting chapter. first time writing an action scene so it's not super. Probably a few typos left in there to (finished writing at 1:30 AM and was to excited to wait till morning.)
P.S. thanks to the two of you who took a look at the chapter before I even wrote a single line, I mean if you guys are getting exited about new releases then I must be doing something right. Right?

Comments

[firesoxs]

2637771 Thanks for the spell check, I'll see that it's fixed.

[Ponynumber14346]

I absolutely love Skittish. Also I love the way you described the Changelings.