Halfling

by Dee Pad

Chapter 12 - A Mother's Mission

Halfling
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 12: A Mother's Mission

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Pain shot through his head. His own thoughts were muffled and fuzzy. He could feel his head throbbing, like a kettle drum booming inside his skull. It felt like he was surrounded by nothingness, the blackness of an unending void enveloping his vision. The only thing that managed to signify to him that he was still alive was the pain beating against his temple.

But there was something else. For a brief moment, he thought he heard something, something that wasn't a ringing in is ears. It sounded like a voice, but he couldn't make it out. Like his own thoughts, the voice was muffled, like somepony trying to talk to him through a wall.

However, while the pain persisted, his other senses began to gradually return to him. The voice became a little more clear.

"I think he's waking up."

His eyelids managed to crack open, penetrating the darkness that had been plaguing him. Instead, his vision was assaulted by a bright light, nearly blinding him and making the pain in his head more pronounced. But within the curtain of divine rays stood a shape: a silhouette of somepony hovering over him. He felt a hoof gently grip his own.

"Shade?"

The voice sounded heavenly; the first sensation of pleasure he'd felt since this throbbing pain had overtaken him. As his vision began to adjust to the intense light beaming down on him, the form of the being leaning over him became a little more distinguishable. The picture of beauty stood above him, with a flawless, pearl coat and a pair of gorgeous wings helping to blot out the light that continued to weigh down on him. An angel?

"Shade, are you awake? Talk to me."

He felt a breath leave his lungs, as though he'd been holding it for hours. He groaned as he finally managed to match a name with the voice that spoke so soothingly to him.

"Winter?" he mumbled, still unsure whether or not he was actually conscious.

It had taken some time—what felt like days—but his eyes opened fully, the light no longer painful to his retinas. Despite the concerning expression on the face of the pegasus watching over him, he took a moment to compose himself and determine where exactly he was.

He was in a bed, that much was evident. A thin, white sheet was draped over him, but the mattress he lay on wasn't particularly comfortable. It wasn't his own bed. And apparently the alluring mare above him wasn't the only thing in the room that was robed in alabaster. The walls were also white and pristine, and... Well, that was pretty much it. The rest of the room was bland and empty, save for the ivory angel. Yet, somehow, this fairly unremarkable room felt familiar to him.

"Are you okay?" the angelic voice asked him.

He groaned in response, the throbbing pain in his head coming back in a second wave.

"Maybe we should give him a few minutes to come to."

Another voice, different from the pegasus's, but still familiar. Its source came into view from the other side of the bed: another mare, but with jet black skin to contrast the other mare's white coat.

"We don't have time! We need to find out what happened," the pegasus argued in a hurried tone. She turned her beautiful, amber eyes back down on him. "Shade, please, you have to tell us what happened. Who did this? Who took Snowflake?"

"Snowflake?"

The name flashed in his head. Suddenly, his memory was lit up with images of what had happened and who had done this to him. The image of a monster leaving him beaten and taking from him the most important thing in his life.

"Snowflake!"

Shade shot upright in bed in a panic. However, the sudden movement made his head pound as though his skull were full of rocks, rattling around and battering his brain. With a sharp, pained intake of air between his clenched teeth, he lifted his hoof to massage his aching temple.

Chamella placed a hoof upon his shoulder, carefully urging him to lay back down. He submitted and leaned back onto his pillow. "Don't overdo it, okay?"

After taking a moment to let the sudden, stabbing pain die down, Shade looked at Chamella, then to Winter, feeling a little confused. "Where are we?"

"The hospital," Winter answered, gingerly stroking his hoof. "Shade, I know you're in pain, and I know it might be difficult to think straight right now, but you have to tell us what happened. When I got home, I found the house in a mess, you looked like you got hit by a train, and Snowflake was gone. All you said was, 'He's gone...' Then you passed out. So where's Snowflake? Who took him?"

Winter could feel Shade's hoof tense up, gripping the bed sheets tightly as an ashamed grimace blemished his face. "Wraith..."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name, not recognizing it all. Chamella, however, felt a sudden, overwhelming dread inside her.

"Wr-Wraith?! Y-You don't mean... that Wraith, do you?" Chamella stammered in fear.

Winter looked between the two changelings, still confused. "Who's Wraith?"

"He's the captain of Queen Chrysalis's army," Chamella answered. "He's basically her second-in-command and one the scariest changelings there is." She looked back down at Shade, hoping in futility that he was talking about some other person named Wraith. "Was it really him?"

"Hard to mistake him for anypony else. He just showed up and demanded I give him Snowflake. And when I didn't comply, he attacked me and took Snow anyway."

"What does he want with Snowflake?" asked Winter with deep worry and a hint of curiosity.

Shade shrugged lightly. "Some crap about larvae being Chrysalis's property. He knew we wouldn't come back, but it's not like Snow had any say in the matter."

Chamella looked hurt upon hearing that. "What? But... Chrysalis let us live here. She said she was happy for us."

Shade scowled as he thought about it. "Obviously she was lying. Apparently, because I have somepony who loves me, I'm a possible threat. The changeling's have been spying on us in order to keep tabs on me."

Winter was shocked by that. "Spies?! Here in Ponyville?!"

Shade nodded. "I don't know how long they've been here, but it's long enough."

"So... what does Queen Chrysalis plan to do with Snowflake?" asked the female changeling.

"No idea."

Both Winter and Chamella stared down as Shade went quiet. He looked defeated. But more than that, he looked disappointed; disappointed in himself that he could do nothing to protect his son. Shade's eyes drifted shut. He had fallen unconscious again.

Chamella was lost as to what to do. She was worried about Shade, but she was just as worried about Snowflake. Surely something had to be done. She glanced across the bed at Winter. The pegasus didn't look so much concerned as she looked to be deep in thought. Her brow was furrowed as she looked down at her unconscious boyfriend, her amber eyes fixating on him, but at the same time seemed unfocused. She appeared to be mulling something over.

However, before Chamella could inquire about it, the pegasus turned around and left the room with a hurried trot. Concerned, Chamella made to chase after her and figure out what was going through her head. She followed Winter all the way to the hospital's lobby and chasing her outside into the dead of the night before finally calling out to her.

"Winter! Where are you going?"

The pegasus slowed down, but kept trotting toward whatever destination it was she had in mind. She glanced over her shoulder at the changeling following her, a look of determination in her eyes. "Where do you think? The Changeling Kingdom."

Chamella skidded to a halt, her jaw dropping wide. "What?! Why?!"

"What kind of a question is that? To get my son back, obviously."

Chamella quickly flew to catch up to Winter, flittering in front of her and touching down, forcing Winter to stop with an annoyed scowl. "Are you crazy?! You'll be eaten alive!"

"In case you forgot, I've been to the Changeling Kingdom before," Winter argued.

"Yes, where you were almost eaten alive. There's no guarantee you'll be so lucky a second time."

Winter rolled her eyes with a scoff, brushing past the changeling brusquely. Regardless of her stubbornness, Chamella continued to follow her.

"Well, you can at least ask Twilight and her friends for—"

Winter turned around, glaring at her tag-along with a fire the changeling had never seen in her before. "No! This is none of their business!"

Chamella flinched at Winter's sudden outburst. She was more than a little surprised and puzzled to hear her say that. "What? But... what about all of the stuff you said earlier? You said you'd be more open to asking for help and—"

Winter took a couple of furious steps toward Chamella, the changeling cowering slightly under her fierce glower. "You don't get it, do you? Shade just got assaulted, my son was just kidnapped, and what have I been doing all day? Getting massages and hooficures at the damn spa! I take one day off from being a mother, and look what happens! Everypony's been urging me to 'relax' and 'take it easy,' and I was stupid enough to go along with it! This is exactly why I've been refusing to leave his side all this time! A good mother wouldn't have let this happen!"

Chamella struggled a little to come up with a retort, more shocked than anything to see Winter acting so rashly. But she felt she needed to try and calm her down and help her get back to a rational level. "Winter, if Shade is right about it being Wraith that took Snow, then, even if you were there, I highly doubt that there's anything the two of you could have done to fight him. I've heard a lot of rumors about him. He's scary, even by changeling standards. You wouldn't have stood a chance."

That didn't seem to do anything to level out Winter's head. She was still fuming over the situation and her own perceived ineptitude as a mother. "Well, I guess we'll never know now, will we?"

"Just ask Twilight for help. I'm sure she and her friends would be more than willing to help."

"I already told you, this is none of their business!" Winter snapped, gnashing her teeth. "I failed as a mother, now I have to redeem myself. I am going to rescue my son. I'm going to prove that I can be a good mother! And you are not going to mention this to anypony, got it?!"

"B-But... I..."

Winter stomped up to Chamella until she was just inches from her face. "Did I make myself clear?"

Chamella gulped, but nodded meekly.

"Good," was all Winter said before turning to go about her mission.

This wasn't right. Chamella knew Winter was making a huge mistake going to the Changeling Kingdom by herself. She was going to get herself killed. Chamella could only imagine what sort of effect it would have on Shade to lose both her and Snowflake. She should just tell Twilight and the others, she thought to herself. Winter being mad at her was of little consequence if it meant saving her life. Or, alternatively...

"Wait!"

Winter let out an aggravated breath at Chamella's annoying persistence. She contemplated just ignoring her—after all, time was of the essence—but turned back to face her anyway.

Chamella trotted up to her once more, an uncharacteristic determination in her bright pink eyes, though her pensiveness was still quite evident. "I'll go with you."

The pegasus narrowed her eyes in disgust at the suggestion. "Absolutely not."

"Winter, I'm sure you know that the Changeling Kingdom is dangerous. Don't you think it'd be helpful to have somepony with you who knows the place a little better than you?"

Winter turned around fully, staring Chamella straight in the eye. "Let me be perfectly clear here. Even if I wanted to ask somepony for help, you'd be the last person I would ask."

The stoic front the changeling had been attempting to put up suddenly faltered, her chest tightening as Winter's words stabbed at her. "What...?"

The furious mother raised an eyebrow above her scowl, confused as to how Chamella could be surprised by that. "What, you think I've just conveniently forgotten about all the crap you've put me through? Do I need to remind you?"

Chamella's pupils shrunk down. For Winter to bring that up was sure evidence that she was dead serious right now. And it appeared that Chamella's fears about this subject may have had some legitimacy.

"You kidnapped me, trapped me in a cave and left me to die, and impersonated me in an attempt to steal Shade from me. Then, you went and kissed him in your drunken, hormonal stupor. Do you really think I'd forgiven you for all of that?! Your presence here has lead to a lot of unneeded stress on me and my relationship with Shade."

"I-I..." Chamella was at a loss for words. Finally, everything had come full circle. She had feared this day, the day that her horrendous actions came back to haunt her. Had any hope of her ever earning Winter's forgiveness been shot down in a fiery blaze? "I-I made a mistake. A few mistakes. If I could, I'd go back and fix it, I swear."

Winter narrowed her eyes at the ashamed changeling. She spoke quietly, unsettling Chamella. "Do you love him?"

Chamella paused for a moment, hesitating as she tried to form an answer to the question.

And that was all the response that Winter needed. It wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, but was the one she was expecting regardless. "See? This is the problem. Do you know how hard it is on me feeling like I have to vie for Shade's affection? I see how he is around you. He enjoys your company. He's happy when you're around. I'm his girlfriend, but I'm not his best friend..."

Chamella's ears folded back. She never wanted to hurt Winter, and she'd regretted everything she'd ever done that may have done just that. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't want to fight you for him. He's yours. I've accepted that, but that doesn't mean I can just... stop loving him."

Winter grimaced once again, skeptical of her statement. "Then let me ask you this: hypothetically, if Shade ever came up to you and suddenly declared that he loved you and wanted to be with you instead of me, what would you do?"

That query caught Chamella off guard. She certainly wasn't expecting to be put on the spot like that. "Huh? W-Well, I'd have to wonder what happened between you two."

The pegasus didn't buy that for a second. "Really? Shade throws himself at you and you just stand there worrying about me? Since when have you shown any sort of concern for me? You'd be all over him, I know you would. Don't try and pretend otherwise."

Chamella shrunk back under the accusations, but said nothing. She couldn't say whether or not she was right. Chamella could speculate what she would do all she wanted, but if the situation were to present itself in reality, there wasn't really any telling how she'd react to something so sudden and shocking.

Seeing Chamella's defeated gaze drift toward the ground, Winter let out huff and turned to be on her way once again.

"I still want to go with you."

Winter halted once more, rolling her eyes and sighing. "I already told you: no."

"You need help. And I'm Snowflake's godmother. I care about him, too."

Winter spun around, glaring daggers at the changeling. "The only reason you're his godmother is because of Shade and my mom. Honestly, I don't even know how you managed to win her over so easily. If it were up to me, I wouldn't let you anywhere near our son!"

As if the piercing pain in Chamella's heart couldn't get any worse, Winter had gone and twisted the knife. "Then... why didn't you say anything?"

"Why do you think? Shade! Everything either of us has done has been about Shade! He was the one who brought it up to make you Snowflake's godmother, and, for some reason, my own mother agreed with him. And besides, what kind of help would you be in the Changeling Kingdom? You wouldn't even be alive right now if it weren't for Shade. You'd have starved to death or been eaten by other changelings if he wasn't there to take care of you. You think your presence would make me feel safer?"

Chamella suddenly felt herself clench her teeth behind her lips. Winter had a point; Shade was the only reason she was even alive. She'd said as much herself on several occasions. But that was exactly the reason why she wanted to go; why she needed to go. She needed to do everything in her power to make sure that the two people that Shade cared about more than anything else in the world were safe, whether Winter wanted her help or not. She owed him that much.

"I'm going with you," Chamella declared with confidence unusual for the normally timid changeling. "You can say no all you want, you're not going to stop me. I'll follow you, and I'll make sure that both you and Snowflake get home safe and sound."

"No. You're. Not!" Winter snarled back at her. "You are going to stay here, keep your mouth shut, and stay out of my business!"

Chamella was unfazed by the outburst, staring back rather nonchalantly. She shrugged at Winter's demand. "Alright."

That reaction certainly confused the pegasus. She hadn't expected her to give in just like that. Chamella stared back at her, something about her eyes feeling... devious to Winter, a notion she would have never expected to associate with this particular changeling.

"I'll just stay here in Ponyville then. Alone. With Shade."

Winter's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock and disgust.

Chamella continued, turning her nose up at Winter. "After all, he's going to need somepony to console him when he finds out that his beloved girlfriend and the mother of his child went and recklessly got herself devoured by vicious changelings and his son was gone forever. At least somepony he cares about will still be there for him."

The crimson-maned mare grit her teeth at Chamella's threat. "You wouldn't."

The changeling lifted her eyebrows. "Wouldn't I? After everything you just said, you seem to think that it's exactly what I'd do."

Winter felt her gut boil with anger. All Chamella was doing now was staring at her expectedly, adding fuel to her burning fire. She had put Winter in a difficult position.

"We're leaving in half an hour. Go pack some supplies, and meet me at my place."

And just like that, Chamella's sinister smirk was replaced by an elated grin. "Got it." She turned around and started making a beeline for Carousel Boutique to prepare.

Winter grumbled to herself, unhappy with how this turned out. But she wasn't too keen on the alternative either. At least this way she wouldn't be able to spill to anypony about what they were doing.

***** ***** *****

Chamella carefully opened the front door of Carousel Boutique, peeking her head inside discreetly. All of the lights were off, indicating that Rarity had gone straight to bed upon returning home from the spa, as she said she would. Chamella had been gone much longer than intended. She told Rarity that she was just going to say goodnight to Shade and Snowflake, but after finding out what happened, she'd spent the last several hours at the hospital. Honestly, Chamella hadn't exactly planned for what would happen had Rarity still been up and realized that she had been gone so long. Certainly she would have found herself in a situation where she couldn't have kept this to herself. Winter wouldn't have been happy with her.

But, as luck would have it, things worked out. Still, though, Chamella would have to be rather stealthy to avoid waking Rarity. Thankfully, she knew that the unicorn was one to wear earplugs to bed to ensure an undisturbed rest. But as a precaution, Chamella held the entrance bell with her magic to prevent it from ringing as she slipped inside her own home like some sort of mixed up cat burglar. She quietly snuck to her bedroom to acquire her saddlebags and began to think about what supplies she should bring with her.

The first thing to come to mind was food and water, so she headed for the kitchen. There was no telling how long they were going to be gone, so bringing something to eat and drink seemed like it'd be important. Plus, she knew what the Changeling Kingdom was like. There was the distinct possibility that they could get lost. She was going to have to stuff her bags full.

As she began to pack away anything that caught her eye and fit into her bag, she started to think about the situation they were in. They were really about to run off to the Changeling Kingdom to rescue Snowflake. Chamella wasn't too proud of having to resort to such underhoofed tactics to convince Winter to let her come along, but it was better that she agreed rather than just following her. Of course, it was a total bluff. Chamella would never take advantage of Shade like that, but it was the only way she could think to get Winter to willingly let her tag along. But despite her insistence to go with her, Chamella was most certainly scared, more for Winter and Snowflake than herself. There was a distinct possibility that they might not even survive. But she had to put such thoughts out of her mind. She needed to save Snowflake, and she needed to help Winter. If there were ever a time where she needed to be brave and confident, it was now.

Chamella had a look at everything she'd packed for the journey. She had made a couple of cheese sandwiches to eat early on during the trip, but everything else was much less likely to spoil, with perhaps the exception of some leftover salad that was sitting in the fridge. Her bags were stuffed pretty full and it made her wonder how difficult it was going to make things for her. Plus, Rarity was probably going to wonder why so much stuff had vanished from the fridge and pantry. Chamella would explain when she got back; hopefully, after learning of the situation, she'd understand. But that was neither here nor there.

Chamella wanted to ensure that she had absolutely everything she needed, so she planned on seeing if she could stuff a couple of granola bars in there. She began to rifle around in the pantry again in search of the snacks she knew were in there somewhere.

"Chamella?"

The changeling nearly jumped out of her chitin at the sound of the voice behind her, having to force herself not to yelp in shock. She spun around in a panic as the light in the kitchen was switched on. Chamella let out a somewhat relieved breath when she noticed that it wasn't Rarity, as she had feared. Instead, it was her younger sister, Sweetie Belle, rubbing her sleepy eyes as they adjusted to the bright light she had just turned on. She may have anticipated that Rarity wouldn't be able to hear her rummaging, but apparently somepony had.

Even though she counted herself lucky that it wasn't in fact Rarity, Chamella was still confused and surprised to see Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie Belle, you nearly scared me half to death. What are you doing here?" the changeling whispered, still careful not to wake Rarity.

"Mom and Dad are out of town, so I'm staying here for a couple of days. Didn't Rarity tell you?" she explained with a cute, tired yawn.

Chamella thought about it for a brief moment. Perhaps Rarity had mentioned it at some point, but with her day-long spa trip and the unpleasantness that she was now wrapped up in, it must have slipped her mind.

"Anyway, what are you doing up so late?" the little filly asked curiously. "Did you just get home?"

Chamella looked away guiltily, trying to fabricate an excuse. "Uh, yeah. I'm just..." She trailed off, unable to come up with anything convincing off the top of her head.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow at Chamella's hesitance. She then cocked her head at the sight of the saddlebags jam packed with food. "What's all that for? You going on a trip?"

Chamella could feel a bead of sweat dribble down her neck, and she gulped nervously. "I, uh... No, this is..."

The young unicorn was becoming increasingly suspicious of Chamella's odd behavior, narrowing her eyes skeptically. "You're acting kinda weird, Chamella. You came home really late, and you're packing up a lot of food. What's going on?"

Still, Chamella failed to come up with an explanation. At this point, Sweetie Belle probably wasn't going to buy whatever she might have come up with, so she was just going to have to evade the question. She gave Sweetie Belle an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, I can't tell you."

Oddly, hearing that almost seemed to excite the filly, her eyes widening and her ears perking up. "What? Why not?"

"I... promised I wouldn't tell anypony."

"Promised who?"

"Winter." Chamella immediately slapped herself in the forehead for carelessly saying that before hopelessly attempting to backpedal. "W-Wait, I mean... Aw, shoot."

"Winter? What happened with Winter? Is she okay?" Sweetie Belle asked with concern.

"She's fine. She's just..."

Chamella breathed a defeated sigh. Was there really any point of continuing to hide it now? Even if she left without telling Sweetie Belle, the filly was likely to bring up Chamella's strange behavior and her disappearance in the middle of the night to Rarity tomorrow morning. She needed to make sure Sweetie Belle wouldn't spill the beans.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anypony, alright? Not Rarity, not Apple Bloom or Scootaloo. Nopony. Alright?"

Though young, the little unicorn could sense how serious the changeling was being. "Oh. Okay, if you say so. I won't tell."

Chamella paused for a moment, staring with dead seriousness at Sweetie Belle. "I mean it, Sweetie Belle. Not a soul. You have to promise."

"Alright, I get it," the filly said with growing impatience. "I promise I won't tell anypony."

More satisfied by that response, Chamella took a deep breath as she readied to drop this bombshell on the young filly. "A bad changeling showed up at Shade's place earlier. He hurt Shade and kidnapped Snowflake."

"What?!"

"Shh!"

Sweetie Belle clasped her hooves over her mouth. Both of them stood perfectly still for a few tense seconds, listening to see if the filly's shout had penetrated Rarity's earplugs and jostled her from her slumber. Thankfully, the plugs seemed to do their job quite well, and no sounds of stirring were heard.

Sweetie Belle removed her hooves from her mouth, appalled by the news. "Why would somepony take Snow?"

"We don't know, but apparently Queen Chrysalis sent spies here to watch Shade. I'm sure she has some reason, we just don't know what. Honestly, it doesn't really matter why. We just want to get him back."

"What are you going to do?" the unicorn asked, her earlier curiosity replaced by deep worry for the poor colt's well being.

"Me and Winter are just going to go to the Changeling Kingdom and try to find him and bring him home."

"By yourselves?"

Chamella shook her head. "I know, I wanted to ask for help, too, but this is Winter's mission. It took some doing just to convince her to let me go with her."

"What about Shade? Is he going with you?"

Chamella's ears folded back as she thought about Shade. After all of this drama, she was focused mostly on Snowflake, but now she was remembering that Shade had been hurt in the process. "No. Like I said, Shade got hurt. We brought him to the hospital, but we can't sit around and wait for him to get better. We have to get Snowflake back as soon as possible."

"So you're leaving right now?"

The purple-maned changeling saw the concern in the filly's green eyes. Not just concern for Snowflake, but her close friend, as well. That look reminded Chamella of just how dangerous this journey was going to be. She sat down, gently placing a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "Yes. We have to. And... I can't say if we'll actually be able to do it. I can't even promise that I'll... make it back. So, just in case we never see each other again, I want you to know that you've been a really good friend to me since I moved here and made living in a strange, new place a lot easier for me. So thank you."

Sweetie Belle could see tears beginning to well up in the changeling's pink eyes as she smiled softly and fondly down on her, the realization of her potential fate gradually dawning on her. Not wanting her expression of gratitude to go unwarranted, Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around Chamella's shoulders and hugged her tightly.

After a silent moment between the two, the hug was broken and Chamella stood up, grabbing her saddlebags and slinging them onto her back after poking a few granola bars in them. "Alright, I'm going now. Hopefully this goes well."

As Chamella made her way to the door, she was stopped by Sweetie Belle's voice one more time.

"Chamella."

The changeling glanced over her shoulder. Sweetie Belle was smiling at her.

"Good luck. I know you'll do it."

Chamella grinned back, grateful for the vote of confidence. "Thanks."

***** ***** *****

Being the middle of the night, it wasn't exactly warm outside. It wasn't particularly cold, just not as warm as one would like in order to be comfortable. Thankfully, the weather was nice. Only a mild breeze blew through the countryside on the cloudless night, the stars and Princess Luna's full moon shining so brightly that visibility was hardly affected.

Still, though, Chamella wished they could have waited until morning.

The changeling looked over her shoulder, ensuring that Winter was still behind her. The pegasus was only a few feet behind as Chamella lead the way, but she wasn't looking at her. Winter seemed to be staring past her, her gaze intense and focused. There was only one thing on her mind right now. Chamella had to wonder what Winter was planning to do if she had left by herself. Sure, it was fairly bright out for being the middle of the night, but would Winter really be able to find her way to the Changeling Kingdom by herself? Sure, she'd done it once before, but even if she did it again, what would she do then? She had no idea where to even begin looking for her lost son.

The two had been flying for a couple of hours now, only touching down to take a short breather every now and then. Both of them were also carrying full saddlebags, making flight just a little more difficult and tiring. Both Winter and Chamella could feel the sweat running down their neck and forehead, but at least the light breeze helped keep them cool. Even so, Chamella could feel herself beginning to lose altitude, her pace slowing and the buzz of her thin wings growing quieter. The changeling looked back at Winter again, making a silent gesture toward the ground. Following her lead, Winter descended behind Chamella and the two of them alighted on the dew-soaked grass.

The moment their hooves hit the grassy field, they both fell back onto their haunches, panting in their exhaustion. Normally, a trip like this wouldn't be too tough for Chamella; she had never had any issues with stamina, but her luggage was certainly taking its toll on her muscles. She glanced over at Winter, who was in much the same state as she was.

"You okay?" Chamella asked between breaths.

Winter wiped the sweat from her forehead with a heavy, exhausted sigh. "Yeah. I'm not really used to this much physical exercise. I've never really been too physically fit to begin with, but you put that on top of the fact that I basically spent the last eleven months grounded, not to mention how loose the spa made me... Plus, these bags... I'm beat." The pegasus tossed off her saddlebags and lay down in the damp grass, letting the coolness soak into her fur.

"Guess the spa didn't really do us much good in the end, huh?"

"No kidding..." Winter grumbled, her voice dripping with self-loathing.

Chamella looked around the grassy field they had touched down on. Off in the direction they were headed were some rolling, green hills, and beyond that, a fair distance away, Chamella could see a rocky mountain range through the veil of the night. "We're almost there anyway. I think we should walk from here."

"We don't have time to walk," Winter argued without getting up from the ground. "We have to get there as soon as possible."

"It's too dangerous to fly over the Changeling Kingdom. We'll just end up drawing attention to ourselves. The other changelings probably won't bat an eye at me, but if they see you, it'll be trouble, trust me."

Finally, Winter straightened up, stretching her wings to work out the kinks the journey thus far had developed. "So you're suggesting we just waltz in then? They've got my baby in there. We need to move fast."

"I don't think we do."

Winter lifted an eyebrow.

"Look, obviously they don't plan to kill Snowflake. If they did, Wraith would've done it back in Ponyville. So he's probably fine. I think we're okay to take our time here."

"I don't care. I want him back. Now."

Chamella narrowed her eyes at Winter's stubborn insistence. "You really didn't have any sort of plan for when you got there, did you? You were actually going to just charge in and get yourself killed."

Winter didn't respond. She simply lowered her gaze to the gently swaying grass below her. She'd had some time to think about it since leaving home, and she was starting to realize that what she had been planning to do was pretty much suicide.

"We have to think about what we're doing, Winter. You've been here before. You know how dangerous this place is. Running in head first is not a smart idea."

The pegasus glanced up at Chamella. There was a hint of hesitance in her expression. Obviously, she wasn't about to admit that the changeling was right, but there wasn't really any sort of argument she could come up with to refute her logic. "Then what do you suggest?"

Admittedly, Chamella hadn't really come up with anything either. She hadn't really had time to think of a plan. Honestly, if she had come on her own, without Winter, it would probably be easier. She could just casually walk in, find Chrysalis, talk to her about it, and hopefully convince her to give Snowflake back. She had sympathy, Chamella knew that; she'd seen it with her own eyes. But Winter's presence meant that she had to sneak into her former home, hopefully without being spotted. But aside from that, she didn't really have any idea where to go from there.

Chamella glanced up at the full moon, the sight of it eliciting a sleepy yawn from the changeling. She noticed that her yawn had also spread like a contagious illness, with Winter stifling a yawn of her own. That did give Chamella one idea.

"I think we should probably get a little sleep."

Winter furrowed her brow, clearly not keen on the idea of wasting more time.

"We'll be in no shape to defend ourselves if we're this tired. And like I said, I don't think Snowflake is in any immediate danger. Plus, we might not get a better chance to rest up once we get there. Might as well get some sleep before we actually enter the Changeling Kingdom."

The determined mother breathed a reluctant sigh, laying back down on the grass and rolling over onto her side. "Fine. I'm not really in any mood to argue. But only a few hours. I don't want to waste too much time."

Chamella smiled upon hearing that, laying down herself and taking in a deep breath of the crisp, night air through her nostrils.

It was a strange and somewhat unsettling feeling to lay in the grass to sleep. Fittingly enough, Chamella hadn't had to do this since she left the Changeling Kingdom around two years ago. And now, here she was, preparing to go back there. She never thought she'd ever have a reason to go back, and, quite frankly, didn't want to. She didn't exactly share the same views of the Changeling Kingdom that Shade did, but that didn't mean she wanted to revisit it, especially under such stressful circumstances.

Chamella opened her eyes, glancing in Winter's direction. The pegasus's back was to her, so she couldn't tell if Winter was asleep, or even if she was attempting to sleep. Chamella was very conscious of the tension that had arisen between them, and she had a feeling that that was going to make this whole excursion more difficult for them. She wanted to talk to Winter. She wanted to speak her mind and at least try to make amends. And given everything that was on their minds right now, it wasn't likely either of them were going to get much sleep anyway.

"Winter?"

The pegasus didn't respond, but Chamella saw her ear twitch slightly at the sound of the changeling's voice. Her body language clearly indicated that she didn't want to talk, but that didn't really matter; Chamella only wanted her to listen.

"I don't know if I've ever apologized for the stuff I did to you in the past, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Again, there was no response from the prone mare, but Chamella continued anyway. This was something she really needed to get off her chest.

"Shade was the only thing back then that I ever cared about. So when he left, I... I felt like I didn't have anything to live for anymore."

Finally, it seemed she had gotten Winter's attention, the mare turning to peer over her shoulder at Chamella. She said nothing still, and kept a knitted brow, but at least Chamella knew now that she was listening.

"I do love him, but I care about you, too. I know you probably wouldn't believe that based on what I did on our first meeting. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we have enough to worry about without having this tension between us. I don't want your feelings toward me to get in the way of what we came here to do, you know? We're here for the same reason after all."

Chamella watched for Winter's reaction. The ivory pegasus stayed quiet for a moment, but turned away again, seemingly returning to her attempt at sleep. Chamella breathed a sigh of resignation, rolling over herself in the opposite direction, their backs facing one another now.

"I'll try not to dwell on it for now."

Chamella's ears perked up at the sound of Winter's mumbling voice.

"Snow is our priority. I'm going to focus on him."

The changeling grinned slightly, though it went unseen by Winter. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. At the very least, it meant that Winter was going to try and avoid antagonizing her. She was hoping for a little more than a simple acknowledgement, but she was willing to take what she could get, especially if that meant getting Snowflake home safe and as soon as possible.

But for now, they needed to try and get some rest. Tomorrow was going to be one heck of a day.

Comments

[link4]

u made front page again. nice

[The Wind King]

Twilight is gonna find out that Shade is in the hospital, and she's gonna send a letter to Celestia, and the Royal Guard will get involved, and then this will get treated like the INTERNATIONAL KIDNAPPING CASE THAT IT IS

Meanwhile Chamella and Winter are going to get themselves massacred, or Wraith will be discovered to be working on his own initiative and he'll get torn to shreds.

[Always Breakfast]

And now we rely on Sweetie Belle to fix everything, as compared to the suicide twins over here she’s actually managed to make herself the smartest pony present.

[DivinePanzer]

I hope Winter and Chamella die.

Well, actually no, I don't hope that the author will take the actual logical route with letting Miss "YOU CAN'T TELL THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, PRINCESSES, OR DISCORD ABOUT THE CHANGELING THAT KIDNAPPED MY SON, CAUSE PRIDE AND DADDY ISSUES!!!!!" get herself killed.

Because when actions cease to have consequences, when idiots can rely on Deus Ex MAchina plot armor to save the, the story loses any drama for the reader.

[Truthseeker]

Not informing the Elements and the Princesses was arguably the STUPIDEST possible thing for them to do.

[Luckysweep]

Once again we see that when Winter is under stress, the Stupid Fairy pays her a visit and hits her several times with the "Act Dumb Now" mallet. She has practically no self-esteem at times. Good thing Chamella was able to channel her inner devious changeling so she didn't run off on the suicide mission alone.

Sweetie Belle had better tell the others.

[Verdant Frost]

"I already told you, this is none of their business!" Winter snapped, gnashing her teeth. "I failed as a mother, now I have to redeem myself. I am going to rescue my son. I'm going to prove that I can be a good mother! And you are not going to mention this to anypony, got it?!"

Winter is being an idiot…