Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 78: Kindling's Apprentice

Chapter 78
Kindling’s Apprentice

“Okay, Char. Stay cool. Don’t let them suspect anything. When they see you, put up a fight, but let them catch you.” Charcoal walked himself through the plan for the fifth time. He could spot the changelings marching steadily on from his cover in the trees. In fact, he had been watching them for some time. He was still trying to work up the courage to actually make a move, though.

“Okay... now. I mean... now!” Charcoal was paralyzed. Glitter had sent him as far as she could with her fire dancing, and from what Charcoal could tell, he was somewhere in the White Tail Woods. That meant that these changelings must be headed for Tall Tale Beach. They hadn’t expected the dispatch to arrive so soon; they must have traveled through the night without rest! Most discouraging was that for the whole minute Charcoal had been watching them, the army appeared as a solid wall, packing no less than a thousand soldiers into the formation. Charcoal prayed Shining Armor was making good progress on the new shield spell.

At last, Charcoal could see the end of the changeling wave. That meant his window of opportunity was shrinking fast. If they completely passed over him, he’d never get to Kindling!

“Come on, Char! Go now! Now! NOW!” His voice dramatically increased in volume for his last outburst. The thought of the changelings hearing him was actually what frightened him to motion. Heart pounding, his hooves exploded out from under him, noisily carrying him out from the cover of the trees. Either his initial outburst or clumsy trampling of brush had indeed attracted attention, because the entire back layer of the platoon turned around and gave chase.

Fear drove Charcoal much faster than he intended, and the changelings were falling behind. Well, all but one. This one was incredibly fast, and was still gaining on the fleeing colt. Charcoal tried to unfold his wings, but was too panicked to remember that he needed to take off. The next thing he knew, the changeling collided with him, sending them both tumbling into the dirt.

Charcoal got a brief glimpse of the changeling’s face. He seemed familiar. Changelings all looked mostly the same, but there was something about those eyes... It was the wrinkles. Charcoal knew that old, wizened face as well as his own.

“Grandpa! Grandpa Storm, it’s me! It’s Charcoal!” The changeling was indifferent. “Gramps... I had no idea the changelings had gotten out this far. I’m so sorry! I couldn’t save you, either.” Recognition flashed behind those solid blue eyes for an instant, but it was gone just as quickly. “Gramps?” The last thing Charcoal remembered was a needle piercing his hide to inject some sort of fluid. A sedative probably, or perhaps just straight manticore venom, for Charcoal went completely numb. His vision began failing, and his energy was zapped. He couldn’t fight it. Once Charcoal was completely incapacitated, Wind Storm picked up his grandson and prepared to offer up the prisoner to Kindling.

---

Charcoal woke again as Wind Storm flew them over Ponyville. The colt decided it would be best to pretend to remain asleep, however. Rising now would only get him injected again, and he needed to be awake when he met Kindling. He tried to remain inconspicuous, draped across his grandfather’s back, though this proved difficult as all the changelings they passed paused to sneer at him. Apparently, his capture was quite a triumph for the changelings.

Kindling was expecting them, and proudly awaited the colt’s delivery in the throne room. Wind Storm bowed to the Changeling King, carelessly tossed the limp colt to the floor, and retreated to rejoin the crowds of onlookers.

“I must say, Charcoal Stormwood, you’re quite the difficult pony to get ahold of,” Kindling smirked. “Oh, do get up. I know you’re awake.” Charcoal gulped, and shakily looked up. Kindling Pyre looked even more intimidating sitting on Essence’s throne. Kindling was very well aware of how frightened the colt was, which only made his smile grow wider. “As I was saying, getting you here was quite a chore. But now that you have finally arrived,” Kindling mockingly bowed. “Might I say how honored I am to finally make your acquaintance.”

“You’re honored to meet me?” Charcoal barely managed to keep his voice from quaking.

“But of course! I have not seen a pony with such natural magical abilities as you possess since I myself was a colt.”

“I’m sure that’s not true- Princess Twilight’s special talent is magic. I don’t even have my cutie mark!”

“Yes, I noticed that. And I’m quite surprised you haven’t earned your mark in fire dancing yet. But do not worry, my little pony. Under my guidance, you are sure to embrace your destiny in no time.”

“Your guidance? All this time, you just wanted an apprentice?!”

“Actually, I had not given the matter any thought until I heard of the stunt you pulled outside Baltimare. You, a mere colt, did something extraordinary, that not even the most learned and experienced fire dancers had dreamed of. You pushed your natural abilities to the limits to achieve something completely new. It reminded me of myself, for that it precisely what I do. You and I... we aren’t so different.”

“Not so different?!” Charcoal defiantly spat, no longer trembling from fear but anger. How dare he make such an implication? “You hurt ponies! Imprison them, enslave them, bend them to your will. You kidnapped my parents! You tore me and my friends’ lives apart! I am nothing like you! I’m not a mad, power-hungry monster bent on ruling Equestria!”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kindling calmly corrected. “I am dedicated to research, to bettering ponykind. The throne just happens to be the best place from which I can do that.”

“You’re mad!”

“Granted, some critics may call my vision unethical, but I assure you, I am most certainly not ‘mad’,” Kindling almost laughed. “Over time, you will come to this realization for yourself.”

“No, I promise you, I won’t.”

“No matter,” Kindling shrugged. “You don’t have to share my vision. You just have to help me put down the rebellion you started.”

“I’ll never help you!”

“I believe you’ll find my offer too good to resist.”

“Or what? You’ll turn me into a changeling drone and assimulate my knowledge?” Charcoal’s eyes widened. That was actually a decent idea. Why did he have to give Kindling ideas?

“Unfortunately, my rerouting spell only works on those already connected to a hive, and I’m afraid the conversion spell was Chrysalis’ specialty,” the tyrant shuddered at the mere thought of the dreadful mare he’d put up with for so long. “Now that she’s gone, I do not have that power any longer.”

“Gone?” Charcoal gulped. Kindling chuckled.

“Let’s just say she has been removed from the picture. The same will happen to your parents if you choose not to help me.” Charcoal paled. “Oh, and don’t try escaping or betraying me. This will lead to the same fate for your beloved Elements.”

“B-But you said releasing them even for a second was too risky. You wouldn’t!” Charcoal’s teeth chattered.

“I would not need to free them to eliminate the Elements,” Kindling knew he had triumphed, and boasted accordingly with his head thrown back, chest puffed out, and ears forward. “What say you, Charcoal Stormwood? Are you with me or against me?” Charcoal had been defeated. He knew that. Unsteadily, he tipped downward, onto one knee.

“I’m with you.”

“Excellent,” Kindling beamed. He knew he could break the boy. “Then, I shall assign one of my beloved subjects to attend to you.”

“You mean keep an eye on me?”

“Perhaps you would like this one?” Kindling sought out a particular drone through the hive mind. [Approach.] A buzzing sounded from the back of the room as a far-off drone began to hover. It landed before the king and knelt low. “Drone, I hereby appoint you as my apprentice’s assistant. You will do as he asks, so long as the order does not override my authority. Understood?”

“Understood.” The drone stared at Charcoal with blank, emotionless eyes. A pang of guilt pierced Charcoal’s gut so violently he nearly toppled.

“P-Pound Cake?”

“If that is what you wish to name the drone,” Kindling cynically sneered. His tone of voice alerted Charcoal that he very well knew who the drone used to be. The changeling onlookers dispersed and Kindling began taking long strides for the far stairwell, which were so steep they could have only led to the tower. Pound Cake nudged Charcoal in that direction, prompting him to follow. “I, too, have adopted the habit of naming my assistants. You are familiar with the traitorous Fink, I trust. Tell me, how is Fink?”

“Alive, no thanks to you,” Charcoal spat.

“Oh,” Kindling sounded almost disappointed. “And I assume he has revealed all my darkest secrets? Well, no matter. I trust you will return the favor.”

Charcoal was exhausted by the time they reached the top of the tower- it appeared to be the tallest in the castle. Kindling took top security measures here- the room had a magical lock, which he opened with his horn.

“Look all you wish, my apprentice, but do not touch unless directed to do so. Understood?”

“Sure,” Charcoal miserably shrugged. Kindling led the way into the room, magically lighting the lanterns in his wake. There were many odd trinkets and knick knacks in the room, all of which Charcoal would have time to further examine later. But at the moment, the one thing that stood out to Charcoal was an unfinished orb, sitting out in the open on the central desk. Charcoal did a quick inventory... sandfish egg, timberwolf bark, carbuncle gem, sprite hair... it was nearly complete. All it was missing was the braid of sprite hair, which rested beside it on the table. Kindling was saying something, but Charcoal paid no attention. His heart pounded as he eyed the ingredients. ‘Get ready, Glitter,’ the thought, targeting the orb in his mind. Just as Kindling turned around from fiddling with something on another shelf, the incomplete orb vanished in a puff of Charcoal’s blue fire. Kindling, for once, was stunned to silence.

“Well...” Charcoal almost smiled, “you said not to touch anything.” Kindling’s face turned nearly as red as his mane.

“INSOLENCE!!!!!” Charcoal felt something slam down hard on the base of his neck with such force that it rammed him into the ground. He let out a loud yelp of discomfort, especially when the object- a clamp of some sort- affixed itself rather tightly to his neck and back. Kindling then levitated the colt up until they touched noses. “Your fire dancing privledges have been revoked. Now, where did you send the orb?” Charcoal had no intention of answering the question, so instead decided to test Kindling’s other statement. As promised, he couldn’t even make a spark. The clamp must have been preventing it.

“WHERE IS THE ORB?!” Kindling demanded again, sending spittle spattering all over Charcoal’s face. Charcoal happily shrugged.

“Dunno.”

“DON’T YOU LIE TO ME, BOY!”

“You’ve been lying to me since I got here! I’m only returning the favor.”

“I still have your parents!” Kindling sputtered.

“I have your orb,” the colt casually retorted.

“Bah! What do I care? I can make more orbs,” Kindling began to pace.

“Well, it’s sure got you worked up for something so minor.” Kindling’s eyes burned into Charcoal, but no longer instilled the fear he had seen in the throne room. Was it possible that the colt had been acting the entire time?

“LOCK HIM UP!” the enraged stallion ordered Pound Cake. Charcoal’s eyes lit up. Did that mean he would get to see his parents again? “In the timberwolf bark,” Kindling quickly amended, sensing the colt’s hope. Though Charcoal’s heart sank, he didn’t protest when Pound Cake roughly shoved him into the corner. His friend-turned-changeling then proceeded to levitate a large hunk of timberwolf bark from the desk and hurl it squarely at Charcoal’s chest.

“AH!” Charcoal yelped, coughing as the impact knocked the wind out of him. He felt something crawling along where the bark had hit, and noticed that the wood was now growing, winding, twisting over him, not unlike Jasper’s transformation from armor to a fully-fledged timberwolf. Unlike Jasper’s controlled transformation, however, this timberwolf bark grew wild and rampant, entangling Charcoal in a dense web of branches. These branches, in turn, attached themselves to the walls, ensuring that Charcoal wouldn’t be going anywhere. By the time the bark stopped growing, Charcoal could barely see out.

“Guard him,” Kindling angrily grunted, heading for the door. “I’m tired of changeling incompetence. I’ll retrieve the orb myself.” Kindling’s hoofsteps rang through the tower as he furiously marched down. Meanwhile, Pound Cake stationed himself beside Charcoal’s prison.

“So, Pound Cake? Wanna get me out of here? Pal? Chum?” Charcoal angled himself so he could see his changeling guard through one of the narrow openings.

“You should know that I am connected to the hive mind. King Kindling hears everything that you or I say. And unlike your ‘friend’ Fink, I have no intention of betraying Kindling or the hive,” the changeling flatly responded. Charcoal nodded as best as he could in the cocoon of twigs.

“Right.”

---

“I have heard out your plan, Shining Armor,” King Trident stated in a tone that clearly alerted everyone to the fact that he was unimpressed. “But I agreed to meet with you because you promised that you had acquired an asset to help us defeat Kindling. This orb... where is it?”

“Where is it?” Shining Armor nervously chuckled.

“You do have the orb in your possession, do you not? I require proof before pledging my assistance to you,” Trident narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, yes, the orb. It’s... uh...”

“Excuse me,” Glitter quietly intruded, poking her head through the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all,” Shining Armor assured, secretly relieved for the distraction. “What is it, Glitter?” The mare completely entered the conference room, and shut the door behind her. Only when she was sure they were alone did she present the orb.

“The orb!” Trident gasped, greedily gazing upon the powerful and mysterious object he had heard so much about.

“So he’s done it, then?” Shining Armor almost sadly sighed.

“He sent the parts, and Fink has just finished assembling it,” Glitter confirmed, head bowed in grief. Shining Armor solemnly nodded.

“Why the long face, Shining Armor? You’ve just won yourself an ally,” Trident informed, reaching out a hoof to shake on it. The prince tried to smile in reply, and likewise clasped the king’s hoof.

“Allies, then.”