Doubt
“I can’t believe that she’d be so irresponsible!”
Chitter paced back and forth in front of the roaring fire, a decent pile of wood sitting at the back of the cave. The others watched him with worry, the drone continuing to glance towards the cavern entrance.
“You know how she’s been,” Cion tried to reason. “What happened did do a number on her, she was there when the hive was attacked after all. It was only a matter of time before she was going to break down.”
“Break down?” Chitter repeated in disbelief. “She went into a pony town, in broad daylight! She’s a drone like me, not an infiltrator like you or Swift! If the ponies catch her when her disguise fails, and it does, then when they convert her she’ll tell them everything about us! We have to pack up and move, it’s been dark for hours and they’re still not back!”
“Calm down Chitter, you’re scaring the nymphs with the yelling.” Grumbling, Chitter glanced over at the subject of Haze’s warning. The younger were hiding behind the older, and even the nearly mature nymphs were hunched low on the ground.
“Well maybe I’m just shocked that no one else is even the slightest concerned about what that human is doing to her,” he continued after lowering his voice. “She’s been looking up to him like a newfoal does to Celestia.”
“Now that’s over exaggerating and you know it,” Double sighed, moving to put another spindly branch on the fire. “She just wants a friend and he's nice, I don’t see why you’re so scared of him.”
“I’m not scared,” Chitter hissed. “And she’s got friends, us. We don’t need a human to just walk in and act like a saviour. Did you know that she was actually listening to the stuff he was saying?”
“Seraph does need a saviour though, and it’s about time you realised that.” With the branch starting to burn, Double sat back down between Cion and Haze, the other changelings nodding in agreement. “She’s looking for an escape from her problems, and Dietrich offers that. If you’re so concerned about it, then why don’t we all vote on what we want to happen?”
“Fine,” Chitter responded while ceasing his pacing. “I vote that we all tell Seraph to stop acting like a nymph, and to stop chasing flutter-tails. I also think that we should keep a closer eye on that human, everything about him is strange.”
“I vote that we let Seraph have some happiness, and actually try to be friends with the human that gave us food and could possibly get more.”
Cion’s answer made Chitter smirk despite the fact that she disagreed with him. She had always been more practical minded, and at least it seemed like she was only supporting the human because of food.
“I agree with Cion,” Haze input, while Double thought for a few moments before contributing.
“I actually agree that we have to watch him,” he began, much to Chitter’s surprise. “But so far he doesn’t seem to wish us ill. We need all of the allies we can get if we want to survive and so far he has proven useful.”
“He is also helping Seraph,” Swift Swap added with a nod towards Double. “She has been our leader after all; I can’t imagine how hard that’s been. If she wants to believe what he does then I don’t see why we need to stop her. Who knows, maybe he’s right and that stuff does exist? It’s certainly better than only seeing a future of conversion or nothing.”
“So that’s it then?” Chitter huffed, slightly disappointed in his fellows. “You’re just going to let that human drive a wedge in between us?”
“You’re the only one that seems to have a problem with him,” Cion pointed out, a harsh edge to her voice. “Maybe you should try and think about why you don’t like him, instead of why everyone else here does.”
“He did give us food,” one of the older nymphs quietly mumbled while she raised her head. A look from Chitter caused it to lower again, the nymph holding back any further praise. At her reaction, Chitter’s look softened and he took a deep, calming breath.
“Someone looks like they’ve grown up,” he observed, the older nymphs looking up hopefully.
“I can talk too!” The other announced, along with a nod from his fellow.
“For how long?” Double questioned, the two nymphs deflating.
“For a while now,” the female answered. “We just didn’t want to before, the ponies might hear us.”
Chitter rolled his eyes at the foolishness, did they really think that talking would bring the ponies to them? They weren’t nymphs now; they were adults and would have to learn quickly.
“The ponies won’t hear you talk,” he explained while the others gave the two new adults reassuring smiles. “We’ve been talking, haven’t we? As long as we’re careful, they won’t find us. Just watch and learn, like you’ve been doing so far.”
The two nodded, and the previous topic was no longer the main point. Chitter shook his head and sat down before the fire, feeling the warmth seep into his carapace. If they all wanted to just trust this human, then fine, that was their choice. When everything was ruined then he’d be proved right, and they’d regret buying the drivel that Dietrich had been spreading.
As he sat and brooded, he felt something rest up against his right hind leg. He looked down and spotted one of the younger nymphs gazing up at him, concern in the child’s eyes. His face reminded Chitter of his own time as a nymph, except that he had the privilege of the relative safety of a hive instead of a cave. He glanced up, the others all talking amongst themselves or sitting in thought like he was.
The new adults were talking about possible names with Haze and Cion, the other nymph curled up next to the silent Double.
Chitter reached out a hoof and stroked the head of the nymph next to him, watching as it settled down beside him. The fire continued to crackle, and a growl rumbled from his stomach. He hadn’t managed to find anything edible, only firewood, so it looked like another night without any dinner. Remembering the previous evening, he glanced down at the nymph beside him. He had to admit that the shared food was something he was thankful for, even if he didn’t trust the provider.
He continued to sit and mull over the past few months, still comforting the child next to him. Time past and the talking started to die down, yawns beginning to prop up amongst the small group. Chitter glanced down to his right and saw that the nymph next to him had fallen asleep without his notice, he himself starting to feel the need to rest. Just before he gave up on Seraph, the sound of hoofsteps and heavier footfalls echoed into the cavern.
“We’re back!”
Chitter’s heart fluttered when he heard Seraph announce her return, and he sat upright while she walked into the cavern. A covered basket was on her back, and Dietrich was following behind her. Chitter was a little disappointed to see that the human had returned, but at least it seemed like Seraph had been a little luckier with finding food.
“We are indeed,” Dietrich added, his armour letting out a hiss when he sat down on a flat rock. Seraph grabbed the basket’s handle with her mouth and set it down upon the ground, everyone drawing closer towards it.
“You brought food?” Haze asked with a hungry look in her eyes, Seraph nodding eagerly in reply.
“Yep! Some pony gave it to Dietrich while we were in the town.”
“You got food… from ponies?” Cion questioned disbelievingly, before tilting her head towards the basket. “Are you sure it’s not poisoned?”
“They seem to be a very nice people,” Dietrich commented, reaching over and removing the cover from the basket. Pairs of solid blue eyes locked onto the food it held, in addition to the jugs of water. Chitter however was busy glaring at Dietrich, food the last thing on his mind.
“Nice people?” he repeated with narrowed eyes. “Do you have any idea what they’ve done to our race, to your race?”
“I have no recollection of them harming my race at all,” Dietrich replied, pausing in his selection of the food. “If they had sinned against the UIP, then I doubt there would be many ponies left alive. I cannot speak about what has happened to your race, as I haven’t witnessed what they have done.”
Chitter was just about to tell him exactly what it was that the ponies had committed in the name of ‘harmony’, but a yawn at his side drew his attention away. The nymph beside him was in the process of waking up, having been roused by all the noise.
“Look, let’s just forget about it,” Chitter sighed before glancing towards the basket. “Okay, what have you and Seraph brought back?” He couldn’t help but stare as Seraph happily went through the basket, pulling out item after item.
“We’ve got some bread, some apples, two apple-pies,” she paused to peek into a box and sniff. “A box of apple muffins, a few carrots, two jars of jam, a jug of apple juice and three jugs of water.”
It certainly was a haul, and Chitter was slightly impressed that the two had managed to get it.
“And they gave you this?” Double questioned, awed at the amount of food. Seraph nodded in reply and started to break apart pieces of bread.
“Yeah, it was a mare called ‘Sandy’, she liked Dietrich’s sermon and she found out that he wasn’t staying in the town, so she gave him this as a gift.”
“Sermon?” Cion inquired, lifting her gaze from the bread being prepared. Chitter winced, he had forgotten to tell the others that the reason Seraph followed Dietrich into the town was because the crazy human had started to preach to the ponies.
“I have started to spread the good word to the inhabitants of the town, and a large amount of them are proving to have quite the capacity for faith.” He was nudged in the leg by Seraph, and Dietrich gave a shrug. “Okay, so maybe a third of them sat down and listened for a few hours, but a few were there for most of the day asking all sorts of questions. I’m telling you, this planet is proving to be fertile ground,” the priest bowed his head. “Thank you, Lord, for assigning me this task.”
“Planet?” Swift Swap inquired, beating Chitter to the question. “What do you mean by that, I thought that you humans came from here?”
Dietrich chuckled in reply, Seraph having paused to look up at him curiously. Chitter was also focused on the human with everyone else, wondering just what was so funny.
“We come from many planets my friends. Everywhere you go in civilised space, you are likely to find at least one human. A few of my non-human colleagues in the clergy have a joke that we are not mammals, but sentient parasites sent to plague all of existence. I know for a fact that this is not a planet belonging to my Empire, as I am unable to pick up any signals or information data.”
This held Chitter’s attention. If Dietrich wasn’t from here, then maybe he’d know of a way to get them as far away as possible. They only numbered at eight adults and two nymphs, but they were slowly running out of options. Given the choice between placing his trust in Dietrich or staying and slowly dying, Chitter really didn’t see what they could lose.
“Enough about me,” Dietrich continued, gesturing towards Seraph. “Let us eat.”
“Oh, right,” Seraph went back to splitting the bread, seeming preoccupied with other things. “Does anyone want jam?”
“Me thank you,” Cion spoke up, Chitter nodding an affirmative when Seraph glanced at him.
“Me as well,” Double requested. “I haven’t had anything sweet in ages.”
“It’s kind of strange in a way,” Seraph murmured while finishing with the bread. “How we never used to have to think about eating solid food at all, and now we’re thankful for jam.” No-one said a word, Dietrich opening his book and beginning to read from it while the others waited for their meal.
“You’re going to have to spread the jam on yourselves,” Seraph continued, using a weak burst of magic to open a jar. “There’s nothing in here to spread it on with, so try and use your cleanest hoof.”
“Here, borrow this,” Dietrich offered, Chitter’s eyes widening when he saw what the human was holding out to Seraph.
It was a long, sharp-looking knife. Dietrich was holding onto the blade, and Chitter wondered where he had pulled it from. Then again, the human could probably hide it somewhere in his armour like he had done with the sandwich the other night. Chitter watched while Seraph took the weapon with the crook of her hoof, and she gingerly examined it.
“Why do you carry that?” Haze warily inquired, everyone’s eyes on the deadly knife.
“It’s just a little memento from my infantry days,” Dietrich reminisced. “I had the edge replaced with silver though, due to my line of work. Military service never leaves you, and even a man of God has faults.” He paused in his explanation, before letting out a light chuckle. “It makes a great sandwich cutter though, and you’ll find it equally worthy to spread on conserve.”
“Thank you,” Seraph acknowledged, before carefully plunging the knife into the jar. It came out a deep red, the strawberry jam it held sending shivers up Chitter’s spine. Dietrich was becoming more suspicious every time he talked, and Chitter was having second doubts about deciding to trust him.
Those doubts weren’t even eased when he received two pieces of jam-covered bread, passing one to the nymph next to him while he stared at his own. He quickly remembered where the food had come from, and he shot out a hoof to stop the nymph beside him just as it was about to take a bite.
All of them were looking at Dietrich, the human nodding to Seraph while he took his own piece. They must have all come to the same conclusion, and were waiting for the priest to take a bite first.
With a hiss of air, the front of Dietrich’s folded down. With the imposing face-plate out of the way, Chitter saw the human’s face for the first time.
His skin was a solid chocolate-brown, and the face surprisingly wasn’t all angular and cold like he expecting. A small star-shaped scar was just below his right eye, barely even noticeable. Speaking of eyes, Dietrich’s eyes were a bright lime green, a colour that eerily reminded Chitter of their late queen.
Everyone stared while Dietrich took a bite of bread, and Chitter held his breath.
Instead of dropping down dead or turning into a pony, Dietrich chewed and nodded approvingly. He swallowed his mouthful and gave them all a thumbs up, a smile on his face.
“It’s not poisoned, and is rather good.”
Chitter eagerly dived in to his own piece, quickly followed by the others. The first bite was great, and as soon as he tasted the jam he felt most of his worries fade away. He slowed down, intending to savour it as much as he could. Looking beside him, he spotted the nymph doing the same thing, except it was busy licking the jam off first. A question popped into Chitter’s mind, and he hesitantly lowered his piece of bread to look at Dietrich.
“Don’t you have to pray before eating?”
In response, Dietrich shook his head and swallowed his current mouthful. “No, it is not an actual requirement to pray at set times, I just like to do it. Besides, we already took a break and prayed on the way here.”
“What do you mean by ‘we’?” Chitter asked, a feeling of dread building up inside. The fact that Seraph shared a glance with Dietrich only heightened that feeling.
“Go ahead Seraph,” Dietrich reassured. “I’m sure your friends won’t mind.”
“Seraph?” Chitter questioned, dreading the answer.
“I asked Dietrich to teach me about his religion,” Seraph began, fidgeting with her hooves. “He said yes, so I said evening prayers with him.”
“Seraph is quite the promising young convert,” Dietrich added, dusting his armoured hands off while his faceplate returned to fit with the rest of his helmet.
Chitter felt woozy inside, and his vision started to swirl. He shakily stood up, the nymph beside him looking up curiously. Everyone else was busy asking Seraph questions, so he made his way to the tunnel leading to the cave entrance.
“I’m going to get some air,” he announced, no one replying as he left.
Unseen by Chitter however, was the pair of concerned blue eyes that watched him with worry.
Seraph hurried up the cave tunnel, heading towards the exit of the cave. For the last fifteen minutes she had been bombarded with questions from everyone, all curious as to why she was choosing to follow Dietrich’s religion. She had mostly dodged the questions but she knew that the others already had a pretty good idea as to why she was. Thankfully, Dietrich had taken over for her when the inquiries had started to focus on Mortisum itself, allowing her to slip out for a few moments.
Leaving the cave, she glanced around the surrounding desert, Seraph thankful for the fact that changelings had good nightvison. Within seconds she spotted her quarry, a figure sitting down on a large boulder. She quickly made her way over to Chitter, hoping that he was okay.
“Who’s there?” Chitter asked without turning around, his voice heavy.
“It’s me, Seraph,” she replied, tilting her head at him. “Are you okay, you’re not sick or anything?”
“I’m fine,” Chitter shot back harshly, shocking Seraph with his tone. He’d always been a little anti-social since they had met after the conversions, but that wasn’t really surprising. Concerned, she edged closer, stopping when she was next to the rock that served as his seat. She glanced over to him, Chitter staring down at his hind hooves while they dangled in the air.
“What is it then? You’ve been acting weird, and I’m worried about you.”
“You’re worried about me?” Chitter replied with a humourless chuckle and a shake of his head. “You’re the one hanging out with that human, walking into pony towns and even converting to his religion.”
Seraph’s eyes widened, some of the puzzle pieces fitting together now. She paused, Chitter looking at her and waiting for a reply. Could he really be worried about her, all because of Dietrich?
“You don’t like Dietrich?” she asked, just to make sure. Chitter sighed, and returned to staring at his hooves.
“I don’t… I mean…” he tried to find words, Seraph continuing to gaze at him. “It’s not that I hate him, I just don’t think that we should be trusting him like we are. Sure, he’s giving us food and helping us, but guess who else was ‘helping’? The ponies apparently ‘helped’ us by changing us into those unnatural things, so who’s to say Dietrich isn’t also doing the same thing?”
“He wouldn’t hurt us,” Seraph defended.
“Then why is he doing all of this?” Chitter fired back. “All he’s been focused on since we met him is ‘converting’ or ‘spreading the word’. Have you ever considered that maybe he’s only doing all of this to convert us? Look at you, you’ve already given into him and it hasn’t even been two days.”
Seraph flinched, the last part containing bitterness that she’d never heard from Chitter before. He must have seen her reaction, and he quickly scrambled to sooth her.
“Wait, what I meant to say was-“
“I know, Chitter,” Seraph interrupted. “I know you and the others think I’m stupid for believing it, but I need it. There’s no hive, no queen, I’ve got nothing left. I can’t go on just hoping that we’d find some more food tomorrow, or that the ponies won’t find us for another few hours.” She bowed her head, turning back towards the cave. “I need something Chitter, what else would you have me do?”
She started to make her way back, the night air beginning to decrease in temperature.
“You’ve got us.”
Seraph stopped, mulling the words over in her head.
“I know that,” she replied. “But Chitter, what have we got? If we have a chance to not just survive, but to thrive, then why shouldn’t we take it?”
He was quiet for a few moments, Seraph almost about to give up and leave.
“Just don’t put yourself in danger because of him,” Chitter asked. “You mean too much to us, to me, for that.”
Seraph felt her cheeks heat up, and she struggled to say something.
“Th-thanks Chitter, don’t stay out here too late, we shouldn’t need a watch tonight.” With that, she quickly started to move back onto the cave, a funny feeling in her chest.
Chitter continued to sit on the rock and mull over the past conversation. Did he just really say what he thought he had? Judging from Seraph’s reaction, he had and she had noticed.
‘Stupid,’ he thought to himself, grimacing because of his mistake. He continued to fidget, the feeling in his gut having grown stronger. Still, he could either sit out here for the entire night and wallow in his own nervousness, or go inside and face her again.
A gust of wind caused a shiver to run down his spine, the cold air cutting through his chitin. It sealed his decision, Chitter sighing before leaving his seat. His hooves hit the sandy ground and he started back towards the safety and relative warmth of the cave. Soon he was back in the tunnel, and some of his nervousness thankfully disappeared.
Walking into the main cavern, he paused to take a deep breath before making a beeline towards the fire that was still steadily crackling. After letting some warmth seep back into him, he turned around to find Seraph.
He was both relieved and slightly disappointed to spot her curled up next to Haze and Swift Spot. He quietly made his way over to her, staring down while her chest raised and lowered in her slumber. It seemed like he would have to wait until the morning to tell her, after tonight he really didn’t have much to lose.
Chitter glanced over to the left, seeing that Dietrich had left the rock and was sitting up against the wall. The two nymphs and the unnamed adults were leaning up against him and each other, Dietrich’s book open in his lap. The human appeared to be asleep, making none of the usual movements that he did when reading.
The frown on Chitter’s face was replaced by a small smile when he turned back to look down at Seraph. Without really thinking about it he sat, losing himself in observing her.
“That’s a little creepy.”
He whirled around at the voice, spotting Cion at the other end of the fire. The infiltrator was grinning at him with a knowing look with her head resting on her forelegs, Double sleeping next to her on his side.
“Shut up,” he hissed back, moving away from Seraph to lay down next to Haze. “You didn’t see anything.”
Cion smirked at him, Chitter shifting awkwardly under her continued gaze. She had caught him and she knew it, and out of all the changelings it had to be Cion to do it. She’d no doubt waste no time bringing it up in the morning so that the others, and Seraph, could find out about it. He tried to preoccupy himself with finding a comfortable position, settling to rest on his stomach with his head resting on his forelegs.
“You know, I’m surprised that she hasn’t picked up on it yet,” Cion continued after a yawn. “Everyone else has.”
Chitter ignored her, surely he hadn’t been that obvious.
“I also know why you don’t like Dietrich.”
“Yeah, because he’s endangering Seraph,” Chitter answered, turning his head away so Cion would hopefully get the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it. She however, either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“Oh really?” she pressed on, a mischievous edge to her voice. “Are you sure it’s that and not something else? Because if it is what I think you’re worried about, then you’re an even bigger idiot then I thought.”
Chitter frowned but didn’t reply, this time adamant to stick to his own tactic of ignoring her. This time it seemed to work, Cion letting out a light huff before saying no more. He didn’t turn to look at her, and instead focused on Dietrich. Taking his eyes back off the cause of most of his concern, Chitter closed them and tried to get to sleep.
He tossed and turned on the ground for hours, his attempts to fall asleep proving futile. His mind still ran amok with worries and concerns, and surprisingly none were about the threats of death or conversion.
‘I give up,’ Chitter thought to himself, the fire having died down to its embers. With a sigh he got up, stretching his limbs while taking care to be as quiet as possible. Looking around, his eyes were drawn to the open book in Dietrich’s lap, and a very risky thought came to the forefront of his mind. ‘Might as well see what this is all about.’
Silently making his way over, Chitter sidestepped past a nymph and lowered beside Dietrich. A hoof wave in front of Dietrich’s face convinced Chitter that the priest was not awake, and so he moved forwards with the next stage of his plan. Not wanting to risk using his magic, and possibly waking the priest, he sat down on his rump and carefully moved his forehooves under the book.
It was heavier than expected, and looking down he could see lines of words looking to be in the same foreign script as the lines covering Dietrich’s armour. Carefully, he began to inch the book off the priest’s armoured lap, straining to lift the heavy tome.
‘What is this thing made from?’
Soon, he managed to lift it fully away, and very slowly started to move back. Dietrich shifted in his sleep, startling Chitter and causing him to fall back. Using his wings, Chitter managed to steady himself but not before his back slammed into the back wall with a crack. He winced, thanks to his chitin it didn’t hurt but it had made a lot of noise. He doubted that Dietrich would appreciate him touching the book, remembering the priest say something about ‘heresy’. Chitter didn’t know what that word meant, but it was a safe bet that it meant something bad.
He glanced at Dietrich, the priest not stirring anymore. A brief bushing against his leg surprised him, Chitter looking down and spotting a nymph looking back up at him.
“Go back to sleep,” he whispered while rubbing her head, the youngster letting out a tired chirp before complying and laying her head back down. Chitter waited until her breathing slowed and she began to snore lightly before removing his hoof from her head.
Staring down at his prize, Chitter closed the book before running his foreleg over the dark-brown cover. It felt weird, and the gold trim on it seemed genuine. Strange symbols covered the front cover, and Chitter could have sworn that his horn tingled when his leg ran over them. With the exterior investigated, he opened the front cover and was greeted with a startling picture.
In full colour, a scene with countless hundreds of humans on it was depicted. Most of them were reaching out to a group of black-clad figures standing atop a cliff, looking a bit like Dietrich did now. The hundreds below the menacing figures were all clad in a wide range of garments, some of them even wearing different forms of armour.
Chitter’s stomach churned when he realised that most of the figures below were sporting some kind of mortal wound, and a few even looked dead but were still walking. Turning his eyes back to the more comforting sight of the group of black figures, he noticed that the clouds in the sky behind them formed a leering skull looking down upon all of the horror… and it was smiling.
He quickly turned the page.
More lines of script greeted him, Chitter giving up trying to understand it. He was a drone, not an infiltrator, so he couldn’t even read Equestrian let alone whatever alien language this was.
He sat back for a second, and thought about just closing the book and putting it back. There was no point in continuing if he couldn’t even read it and he risked discovery every minute. With a side glance at Dietrich, Chitter went back to the book.
Gingerly, he turned the page, both hoping for and dreading a new picture with equal amounts.
Dietrich blinked open his eyes, evidently having fallen asleep during the night. He shook his head and checked his helmet’s time display, still early morning by this planet’s time.
“I appear to have fallen back into old habits,” he murmured to himself, glancing around him. It appeared as if the rest of his companions were still asleep, the fire out and smouldering. He assumed that changelings were fairly social creatures, judging from the way that they seemed to prefer sleeping in groups.
He registered something beside him, and looking down to his left he saw that one of the changelings was resting up against him. It was one of the smaller ones, the nymphs. However, this one in particular had been very vocal about her recent maturing, and apparently was no longer a nymph. Honestly, he had at first thought it strange that they were judged to be mature based on their ability to talk, but he had remembered that he had seen far stranger customs in his travels.
Dietrich gave the sleeping changeling a brief pat on the head before taking stock of just how many he had acquired. The two nymphs were on either side, with the other nameless changeling on his left.
Remembering that he had been reading before his unscheduled sleep, he made to check his lap for his book.
Dietrich stared at his empty lap in silence for a few moments. He breathed deep, calming breaths and slowly he reached for the ceremonial mace at his side. Dietrich swept his vision from left to right, searching for whoever had taken his book. He stopped and stared at Chitter, the changeling slumped forwards with his head hanging over the open book.
Dietrich twitched when a drop of drool dripped from Chitter’s mouth onto a page, the changeling blissfully unaware that he was desecrating a holy item with every drop. He felt his body start to shake, Dietrich glaring at the changeling. His hand left his mace and instead went for the handheld flamethrower at his side. With practiced ease he raised the weapon and pointed it at the sleeping Chitter, rage overtaking him while the pilot light spring into life.
His sights never wavered, his finger slowly squeezing the trigger.
A sneeze from his side interrupted him from what he was about to do, and glancing down he spotted the nymph on his right stir. It slowly opened its eyes and looked up at him, giving him a sleepy smile.
His hand lowered, the pilot light cutting out and the weapon being returned to his side. Dietrich glanced back over towards Chitter, watching as another drop of drool hit the precious pages. Now that he was thinking clearly, he assumed that the changeling had only gotten curious and that was why he had stolen the book. With the urge to punish him gone, Dietrich didn’t feel anger anymore, but rather a sense of disappointment.
A weary chirp brought his attention back to the nymph, and Dietrich started to rub its head to calm himself down. He constantly reminded himself that these creatures didn’t seem to really understand why his items were so important, so he was probably taking things a little too far. As he continued to sit and think, he recalled that forgiveness for the sinner was one of the kindest acts a priest could hand down. While damaging a holy item was normally met with a swift and often fiery death, Dietrich supposed that he could give Chitter one more chance due to the circumstances.
Leaning over, Dietrich carefully removed the tome from Chitter’s lap, the book coming to rest once more on his own. Glancing down at the small puddle of saliva on the page, he grimaced and reached into his armour. The nymph he was patting looked over while he proceeded to meticulously clean the parchment of changeling saliva with a grey cloth. Thankfully, the book appeared undamaged and there was soon no trace of Chitter’s trespass remaining.
Sparing another glance over towards Chitter, Dietrich smiled slightly. Now that the book was gone, the sleeping changeling was drooling upon himself, a sight that almost made up for the incident earlier. Dietrich didn’t consider himself prone to cruelty, but he had to admit that it was a rather fitting punishment and he eagerly awaited the discovery of their companion’s drool-problem by the other changelings.
Continuing to read from where he had left off the other night, Dietrich paused to offer a brief morning prayer. He intended to head back to the pony town, the settlement appearing to be quite the fertile ground for converts. The nymph beside him settled back down, and soon the cave was quiet once more save for light snores and the sound of turning pages.
Dietrich looked over towards the fire, debating on whether to put another piece of wood on. He decided against it, not wanting to disturb the rest of the ones around him. Returning to his passages, he continued to read and wait, deciding to give them all some extra hours of sleep before risking disturbing them.
He lost himself to the book, and before long it was almost sunrise if his clock was correct. Glancing around he noticed that changelings were beginning to stir, and with a small amount of joy he noticed that Seraph was one of the early risers.
She raised her head and looked around after blinking, her face lighting up into a smile when she spotted him. Dietrich felt pride when he looked at her, the changeling proving to be very interested in learning about the one true faith. With her fellows slowly waking up, Seraph got up and approached him, Dietrich wasting no time in pointing a finger at Chitter.
“Oh Chitter,” Seraph muttered while shaking her head, the changeling in question continuing to drool in his sleep unaware. She faced Dietrich again, and took a step forward. “Are you going to Appleoosa today?”
“I am,” Dietrich quietly answered with a nod. “Yesterday was quite productive, I predict that a sermon while working will prove to be a wonderful experience. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to earn us a few more apples while I’m at it.” He glanced towards the back of the cavern, the basket of food covered and sitting in a cool spot to keep its contents fresh. “This conversion may take some time, and more provisions can never hurt.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Seraph whispered. “You’ve already more for us than needed-“
“Nonsense,” Dietrich interrupted. “It’s not like I have much else to take up my time. Besides, you yourself are quickly becoming the model convert and that is something worth rewarding. I also shouldn’t have to remind you that you all allowed me to stay in your cave.”
“Well, we couldn’t just send you away.” She lowered her head and scuffed a hoof against the rocky ground. “You don’t mind if I come with you again? It’s Haze and Swift Swap’s turn to get food and wood, so I have the day free.”
Dietrich was pleasantly surprised that she was wanting to travel with him to the pony settlement and listen to a sermon. Now if only some of the other changelings would see the light a little sooner like Seraph was. Still, they probably just needed more time, already they were asking questions and that was one of the first steps.
“I would be delighted to have you accompany me, Miss Seraph. Your presence is a great mood lifter.”
“Thanks,” she replied with a grin, her wings seeming to buzz with elation before she glanced towards the cave tunnel. “When do you want to leave?”
“Now is as good a time as any,” Dietrich answered, folding his book closed and carefully getting to his feet. His movement disturbed the ones resting against him, Chitter the only one remaining asleep while the nymphs and two unnamed let out yawns and began to stretch their limbs.
“Are you two going back to Appleoosa?” Cion asked, the infiltrator raising her head from her hooves.
“We are,” Dietrich responded merrily. “Do you want to join us?”
Cion appeared to debate the offer for a few moments, before shrugging her shoulders and getting to her hooves.
“Might as well, I haven’t really got much else to do.” She walked over to them, fixing Seraph and Dietrich with a playful look. “Wait… you two aren’t planning on trying to convert me now, are you?”
“Oh course not,” Dietrich defended, placing a hand over his heart. “I merely offered as I thought that you may enjoy the walk and company.” He paused, tapping the book tethered to his side. “Of course, if you happen to overhear Miss Seraph and myself discussing the faith and you happen to like what you hear, then that is no crime on our part.” His reply was met with Cion widening her grin, the infiltrator struggling to hold back a giggle.
“Well, now I can see why you’re doing so well with the Equestrians,” she said with a shake of her head. “You’re a lot more cunning than you seem, human.”
Dietrich was legitimately confused, nothing he had said held any malicious or hidden overtones. He glanced down to Seraph, the drone rolling her eyes at Cion’s behaviour. He nodded to himself, figuring it out now. Cion was behaving like a few people he had met during his time as a soldier and later as a man of God, the sorts who seemed callous on the outside but were good within.
Secretly, he anticipated the challenge of fully converting her.
“Come on then,” Cion ordered, heading towards the tunnel that led to the exit. “The sooner we leave, the longer we have before the sun hits us with full force.”
“Ah, such eagerness,” Dietrich commented, earning an amused glance from Cion. “Such a becoming trait, Miss Cion, I question whether you’re really as adverse to religion as you try and portray.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cion fired back with a smile. “Come on, less talking and more walking. The ponies are no doubt clambering for your wonderful and holy presence back in their town.”
‘Oh, this one will be quite entertaining,’ Dietrich smirked, setting a personal goal to convert the Hell out of her.
With final waves and goodbyes to the others left behind, the trio left the cavern and made their way to Appleoosa. Just as they stepped out of the cave onto the desert sand, the last changeling sleeping awoke from his slumber.
Double sighed while he cricked his neck, Haze and Swift Swap getting up off the ground.
“Well, we’d better be off as well,” Swift Swap informed, Double nodding his head. “Sorry for leaving you alone with Chitter and the nymphs.”
“It’s fine,” Double reassured with a glance towards the yawning Chitter. “Besides, we’ve only got two nymphs now, remember?”
“We need to hurry up and name them so they can start pulling their weight,” Haze huffed, before glares from Double and Swift convinced her to rephrase the statement. “I mean, they need names so we can start helping them to grow into fine young drones.”
“We’re not children anymore,” the female nameless informed with a pout, Haze walking over and patting her on the back while the other nameless just stood and watched.
“I know that, but you’re still young and you need to learn things.”
The target of the information huffed again and turned away, Haze withdrawing her hoof and pursing her lips.
“Fine then, be that way.” Quickly moving past Double and Swift Swap, she nudged Swift in the side and headed to the exit. “Come on Swift, we don’t have time to just stand around.”
Double was actually thankful now that he was left behind, Swift giving him a pleading look. It was futile, and a glare from Haze quickly prodded him into action.
‘Guess I was lucky after all.’
“Oh no. No no no no!”
‘What is it this time?’ Double mentally sighed before looking at Chitter, the drone starting to pace around the cave like he always did when he was nervous. “Chitter, what’s wrong now?”
“The book, it’s gone,” Chitter mumbled. “And Dietrich’s gone, which means that he has the book. That also means that he knows… oh, I’m in so much trouble.”
“Trouble?” Double inquired. “With Dietrich of all change- humans? What could you possibly do to upset him?” Chitter’s reply came out mumbled, the unnamed and nymphs watching the conversation with interest. “What was that? Speak up.”
“I said that I read his book last night,” Chitter breathed out, his eyes wide.
“Chitter,” Double started with a roll of his eyes. “You can’t even read Equestrian, let alone an alien language.”
“It has pictures, and I looked at them!” Chitter wailed, Double doing a double take.
“Wait, really?” he inquired. “Are they good pictures?”
“That’s not important!” Chitter stressed out. “You know how he is about that book, I’m one dead changeling when he gets back!”
Double didn’t know what was stupider, the fact that Chitter had taken Dietrich’s book or the fact that he thought the kindly priest would kill him for it.
“I doubt he’d kill you for it,” he tried in an attempt to calm Chitter down.
“Yeah, he’s really nice,” the male nameless added, before a look from Double quietened him.
“As I was saying,” Double continued without further interruption, another glance being sent the way of the watching unnamed. “Dietrich doesn’t seem like the sort to just kill you for something harmless like that, although you shouldn’t have taken his book in the first place without permission.” Double paused, a thought rearing its head. “Wait, why were you even looking at it? I thought you thought it was all lies made to trick us?”
“I was curious, okay?” Chitter defended. “So I just had a little peek.”
“Ah, I see now. This newfound ‘curiosity’ wouldn’t have anything to do with Seraph at all, would it?” Double was rewarded when Chitter flushed green, the fellow drone scrambling to try and deny it.
“No, why is that even a thing!?”
“Because you’ve been eyeballing her for a week now,” Double calmly informed. “Hey, I understand. The Queen’s gone, but that also means no breeding control, no hierarchies, no restrictions on who you can see and when-“
“It’s not like that,” Chitter tried to lie, Double not letting up.
“Of course it is, and don’t even try to pull that ‘I’m concerned because of Dietrich’ business again. No one is going to care if you do like her like that, I mean Haze and Swift Swap are a thing and no-one minds.”
“Wait, Haze and Swift are…?”
“Are you that dense?” Double sighed out. “Of course they are. We’re all alone, it makes sense that we’d get close.” He shifted on the spot, the next topic uncomfortable to talk about for many reasons. “Besides, have you ever thought that we may actually need to repopulate if we even want a chance to survive? We can’t just give up and die out.”
Chitter scuffed a hoof on the ground, his head lowered but Double could still see his blush.
“I just want to look after her and keep her safe,” Chitter mumbled out.
‘Why does he have to act like such a nymph?’ Double mentally complained while glancing towards the actual nymphs. The funny thing was, they actually tended to be quieter than Chitter, or at the very least didn’t complain as often. The two nameless were also far more tolerable in his opinion, even if they needed to start learning quickly.
“We all need to look after each other,” Double started to reassure. “I can see why you fear her being around Dietrich, but she is a fully grown adult and it’s her choice. In my own opinion, hanging around a tall biped with fully-enclosed armour that looks like something out of a nymph’s nightmare is probably doing far more for her safety than going without. What, do you think that the ponies wouldn’t try to convert her if she wasn’t friends with him?”
“I more worried about what he wants with her,” Chitter muttered darkly.
“If you’re talking about converting her, you’re too late. She likes his religion and wants to make it her own, that’s her choice once again.”
“It’s not that,” Chitter elaborated, Double trying to figure out what else he’d be worried about. Dietrich so far had been kind, compassionate and friendly, if a little strange. Seraph also seemed to be his favourite out of them, likely because she was so interested in his faith…
It was then that Double figured out what Chitter was alluding to.
‘No, he can’t be that stupid,’ Double thought to himself. ‘Surely he doesn’t…’
“Chitter, you don’t actually think that… that Dietrich is trying to ‘steal’ Seraph from you at all?”
The awkward silence that filled the air after the question answered it, Double not knowing whether to laugh or to just give up, lay down and go back to bed. Chitter shifted awkwardly, before gulping and staring at the tunnel leading out of the cavern.
“Well… is he?” he muttered, Double taking a few seconds before answering.
“No, now get out before I smack you for being so dense.”
“But it’s not your cave-“
“Chitter, enough,” Double ordered with a hoof point towards the tunnel. “If you leave now you should still be able to catch up to them. Also, I really need some time to just process how juvenile you’re acting.”
Without another word Chitter got up and left, his head cowed with shame. Double briefly questioned if he had been too harsh on him, but then he remembered just what Chitter had actually thought was going on between Dietrich and Seraph. So instead of an apology, he instead gave Chitter a last piece of parting advice.
“And while you’re at it, apologise to Dietrich for stealing his book!” With that done, Chitter rubbed his temples with his hooves.
“Moron, it’s too early in the morning to be dealing with this.” His muttering complete, he heard the chirping of nymphs and glanced to his left. The two nameless had begun to play with the nymphs, Double finding a smile on his face while he watched. He settled back down, keeping both eyes focused on the relatively care-free group.
‘Maybe some time alone without all this bickering won’t be so bad after all,’ he mused, resting his head on his forelegs and simply taking some time to relax.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Chitter increased his pace, galloping towards the three up ahead of him. Thankfully they heard him and paused, and soon he had reached them without much effort.
“Another one seeking to join our group,” Dietrich observed while placing a hand protectively over his book. “I trust my items are safe, or do I have to start resorting to other measures to safeguard their security.”
Chitter didn’t know what these ‘other measures’ were, but he didn’t intend to find out. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he glanced at Seraph and Cion who were both staring at him in shock. Seraph’s hurt gaze hurt him, but he thought of one way to fix it.
“Dietrich, I’m sorry for taking and reading your book without permission,” Chitter apologised. “Please, I was only curious and I forgot that it was ‘heresy’ to touch it. Can you forgive me?”
He winced while Dietrich stared at him, however with the helmet he couldn’t tell what expression the human was making. The silence lasted for a few seconds, before Dietrich’s voice caused him to flinch.
“Chitter, what you did was a very serious crime, to me and to God himself.” Chitter grimaced at this and lowered his head, the stares drilling into his head and filling it with shame. “However, we all make mistakes. I forgive you, as long as you learn and don’t touch it again without asking.”
“You mean it?” His head raised, surprise on his face. “You’ll forgive me just like that?”
“We all have faults,” Dietrich continued, for some reason glancing down at the long metal object opposite his mace. “Wrath, pride, jealousy, and many others far more sinister in nature. You were curious, and wanted to find out more about the True Faith. As much fault is in your actions, your motives were pure and I’m pleased that you’d risk peril just to investigate further. There’s an old Terran saying, ‘curiosity killed the cat’. Thankfully, that didn’t turn into ‘curiosity killed the changeling,’ this time.”
“Thank you,” Chitter hurried out, not wanting to test if the human’s words were a veiled threat or not. “I’ll never take something from you without asking again.”
“That is most wondrous to hear,” Dietrich observed with a clap of his hands. Just like that, his tone had shifted from serious to the same jolly cheerfulness that seemed infectious to those around him. Chitter couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the priest’s dramatic change of mood, Dietrich spinning around to face the direction Appleoosa was in. “Now come one, we have a town to convert!”
“I’m just in it for the prospect of comedy,” Cion muttered, before following Dietrich as he resumed walking. Chitter also followed, feeling a lot more relaxed now that he knew that Dietrich was not going to kill him. A tap on his shoulder caused him to turn his head to the left, Seraph smiling at him while she walked at his side.
“It was a brave thing to do, apologise to Dietrich like that,” she told him, her smile changing into a grin and she moved up to walk beside Dietrich. Chitter paused for a second, his brain having stopped. Did Seraph just call him brave?
With his heart fluttering, Chitter followed behind the three with a spring in his step. After apologising to Dietrich and earning a compliment from Seraph, he was willing and ready to walk into the middle of an entire pony town.
He was still going to wear a disguise though, just in case.
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Yep, Murphy should be here aaaany moment now.
I was just thinking about our favorite pseudo-Warhammer demon slayer this afternoon and wondering when this would update.
Huzzah and a great chapter to a great fic.
Now we just count the day 'til we end up with mechs fighting dragons.
why must you have so many fun fics to read. it almost impossible for me to decide which one to root for when it comes to updates.
So how long till Celestia comes around? because you just activated Murphy law right now.
4832927
She may hear of it next chapter...
4832928 Im half betting she'll send some guards to get him, that or just come to him after hearing the damage report of trying to burn his holy book the guards attempt to do.
This is huge amounts of fun. Boy, is that ever the last thing I'd ever say about a TCB/pseudo-Warhammer 40K crossover. Looking forward to more.
please continue and no offense it took almost a month for another chapter but guess you busy.
SO when is the next chapter going to be out.
Forgive my ignorance, oh holy one, but did this conversion happen to UIP humans? Or just Equis humans? I'd think the UIP would realize that they lost contact and besides, there would be a hell of a mess left behind with how UIP humans fight.
Your faithful follower, Req~
4833353
Well, he's juggling four or so other stories, so I'd imagine that another update will take a while.
4832928
It won't happen, the holy one will guard us from her malicious views!
YES!!!
YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
FINALLY!
WOO!
YA BABY!!!
4833805
Nope, just our 'Earth' like in the stock-standard TCB.
4838044
It could have been worse.
You could have imagined his voice as belonging to Martin Luthur King Jr.
4838383
You start the real-life cult and I'll endorse it.
4838513
You endorse it and I'll sponsor. Call up Verizon or some shit to get a commercial going.
(Starts out with a guy drinking a "Gatorade"and cuts over to him on a track going 30 mph. Then it switches over to a bloodstained battlefield and the guy is standing on a pile of his enemy's corpses.) Text then pops up with a crimson background.
MORTISUM
Is it in you?
4838044
Well, it wouldn't be the first cult James has led.
You used the wrong two/to/too there, it should be too, and not to.
4838383 All religions start out as a fictional idea, so it could become real if you wanted.
This line made me feel cold for some reason.
I like that you capitalized Hell. It shows that he intends to literally convert the Hell out of her.
5503686 speaking about converting the Hell out of her...
isnt that what you do to convert someone? get the hell out of them, or is it just exorcism in particular?
That seems to confirm that this takes place in the Nigelverse. Or at least an alternate Nigelverse.
6143433
An exorcism is more for getting rid of a daemon then anything soooo, no converting is more just convincing them