Halfling

by Dee Pad

Chapter 13 - Into the Hive

Halfling
By Dee Pad
=====================================================================

Chapter 13: Into the Hive

=====================================================================

A chilly breeze blew gently over the rolling, verdant hills of the Equestrian countryside, the blades of grass that stretched out for miles dancing in waves under the wind's instruction. There was little to offset the nip in the air as Princess Celestia apparently had yet to raise the morning sun to offer its warming rays. It wouldn't be long until then, however, as a soft, orange glow could be seen far off on the horizon, but it'd still be a couple of hours before Celestia coerced the sun out of hiding.

But even though most of Equestria's citizens wouldn't be rising from their slumbers for some time yet, two in particular stood upon a tall, grass covered hill, staring silently at the landscape laid out before them.

Chamella stifled a sleepy yawn. As she figured, she and Winter hadn't really gotten any sleep during the night. In fact, they'd only rested a few hours at most. Winter had abruptly stood up from the spot at which they'd chosen to rest and, without a word, hitched up her bags and prepared to continue on her way. Had Chamella actually managed to doze off, she may not have heard Winter. She had intended to confront her about it, especially after their short chat—if one could call it that—during the night, but, to her surprise, Winter actually jostled her to wake her up. Hopefully, that was a good sign. She may not have gotten any rest, but perhaps those sleepless hours were spent thinking on what Chamella had said to her.

In any case, there were more important things on their minds right now. Namely, the sprawling, autumn forests and golden plains that were straight ahead of them.

Neither of them looked very fondly upon the oranges, browns and yellows of the Changeling Kingdom, knowing full well what awaited within. It wasn't like Chamella or Winter really had any pleasant memories of the place, aside from the changeling's friendship with Shade. Said changeling was currently looking upon the forests with trepidation, the bittersweet feeling of knowing that this place was, at one point, her home. However, one look at Winter told her that she had other feelings. There was nothing but pure determination in the pegasus's amber eyes. Her single-mindedness was visibly apparent, and Chamella worried that that would end up clouding Winter's judgment. Rather, it had already done so, evidenced by the fact that she had been willing to come here on her own.

Chamella took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally and emotionally for the task ahead of them. "Well, I guess we should head in."

Winter followed behind her as the pair descended the hilltop toward the border of the Changeling Kingdom. The sudden and bizarre shift from vibrant, green grass to brittle blades of gold was a clear indication that ponies had absolutely no influence on this remote and frankly dangerous portion of Equestria. Similarly, the sounds of their hoofsteps transitioned from the gentle brushing through the dew-covered greenery to the crunch of dead grass and leaves as they cracked underneath them.

Chamella shivered when a chilling gust blew over them. She certainly didn't miss that feeling. Those howling winds kept her awake many a night in the past. Already she was desperate to get in, get out, and return to her warm and cozy bed back in Ponyville.

"So I'm guessing they're keeping him in the caves," Winter surmised, rubbing her hooves together to help generate some warmth.

Chamella nodded. "Probably. That's where the nurseries are."

Hearing mention of the nurseries brought back some disturbing imagery. A pitch black cavern littered with the bones of deceased animals and the swarm of hungry larvae that nearly turned her into their first meal. The thought of those ravenous newborns only brought forth more concerns.

"He can't defend himself. Are the changeling larvae going to attack him?"

Chamella's ears drooped slightly, and she spoke quietly. "I don't see why they wouldn't. They'll eat each other if they're desperate enough."

Winter shot a furious look at the changeling. "I thought you said we had time! We've wasted hours just lying around! He could already be eaten by now for all we know!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down. We don't want any of them to know we're here," warned Chamella.

The pegasus grit her teeth. "You said we had time."

"And I still think that," the changeling said defensively, hoping to quell the anger boiling within the concerned mother. "Like I said, what would be the point in taking him if they were just going to let him die?"

"What if they don't know that baby ponies can't take care of themselves? What if they just put him in there thinking that he'd just fight for his survival like the rest of them?"

Chamella thought for a moment. Honestly, she wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case. "I think Queen Chrysalis is smart enough to know the differences between baby changelings and baby ponies. They would probably see that when they notice that Snow is pretty passive compared to changeling larvae. Plus, they've been spying on us for a long time apparently. They must've learned something about pony society in that time, right?"

Winter ran a hoof through her mane with a heavy sigh. They had only just made it to the Changeling Kingdom and already her mind was frayed beyond belief. "I guess I can only hope that that's the case."

Chamella gave her a look of sympathy. For as worried and as scared as she was herself, she could only imagine how rough this actually was on Winter. Even if they managed to find Snowflake and bring him home safely, this whole experience was likely to traumatize the mother. She might never leave her son's side again, exacerbating the unhealthy behavior she'd already been exhibiting since giving birth.

"Let's try not to think about it too much, okay?" said Chamella in an attempt to comfort Winter, though she knew it wouldn't amount to much. "Let's just keep moving."

Winter simply nodded, lifting her head with a deep breath as she willed herself to move forward and push the negative thoughts from her mind.

The pair walked in relative silence through the autumn forest of the Changeling Kingdom, the only sounds accompanying them the whistling of the wind, the rustling of the leaves, and the crunch of the dead grass under their hooves. Had the situation been different—and had Winter not been here before, knowing the dangers that awaited and the bad memories that went with it—this place would have seemed beautiful to the pegasus; a place she could see herself visiting in her downtime. She found it ironic that a place frozen in the season she enjoyed the most would be a place that she or anypony else should stay away from. That such beauty was home to vicious monsters like the changelings—generally speaking—was disappointing to Winter to say the least.

Still, though, the scenery was nice. Winter watched the trees as they walked by them in the hopes that it would help take her mind off of all the stress and worry. It didn't do much, admittedly, but she still tried.

In an attempt to seem at least somewhat optimistic, Winter brought up a thought that had popped up. "So I guess since it's still pretty early, most of the changelings are probably asleep, I assume. That should make sneaking in easier, right?"

Chamella gave her a look that didn't exactly inspire confidence in her theory. "Changelings are nocturnal for the most part. Plus, we didn't really have much concept of time around here. There's not really anything we could do in the day that we couldn't do in the night. We slept when we were too tired to do anything else, whether the sun was up or not."

Winter let out a sigh. So much for optimism. It was probably safe to assume that nothing on this trip was going to go their way.

Suddenly, Chamella stopped, holding a hoof out to halt Winter's movement as well. The pegasus raised an eyebrow at the changeling. Chamella's ears twitched and swiveled. Obviously she had heard something. Winter kept her ears open as well, seeing if she could pinpoint what Chamella had supposedly heard. It wasn't entirely easy to hear over the wind and leaves, but Winter definitely thought she could hear something else out there. Although, it could be just her mind playing tricks on her; in a place this dangerous, it was understandable to be a little paranoid.

However, this seemed to be more than mere paranoia. The noise sounded like voices. Changelings no doubt.

"Are they coming this way?" whispered Winter.

"I think they might be."

Winter wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do if they actually encountered other changelings, despite how likely it was. A part of her wanted to just rush through them with brute force, believing that she would be granted the fabled strength a mother received when their child was in distress. But the other parts of her had a feeling that that approach was foolhardy and, quite frankly, suicidal.

"Any ideas?" asked the pegasus, crouching down slightly in case they needed to make a quick escape.

Chamella looked a bit worried, glancing around at their immediate surroundings. The trees around them were too skinny and sparsely placed to hide among, and there weren't any bushes big enough or with enough foliage to provide adequate cover.

The changeling slipped off her saddlebags, then looked quickly to Winter. "Take off your bags."

Following suite, Winter let her bags slide off. Chamella then hoisted the two sets away from them, tucking them within some nearby shrubbery; they might not have offered enough cover for the two mares, but it should at least keep their supplies out of sight.

"Get down, quick," Chamella told the pegasus.

Winter was vexed by the command. "Down?"

"Lie down on the ground, close your eyes, and stay quiet."

The pegasus grimaced slightly. She wasn't keen on taking orders from this homewrecker, but it wasn't like she had any plan of her own. Winter did as Chamella instructed and lay down on her side in the dry, dead grass. "Like this?"

Chamella quickly looked over her shoulder. The voices were definitely getting closer, but she couldn't see them yet. She turned back to Winter. "Right. But you have to keep your eyes closed, and don't move a muscle. Try to hold your breath if you can."

"What exactly is this—?"

"Shh! They're coming!"

Winter suddenly felt her heart rate increase when she heard the sound of buzzing changeling wings approaching. "Shouldn't I be hiding instead of just lying here?"

Chamella glanced around looking a little panicked. "There's no time to explain. You're just going to have to trust me, okay?"

That didn't exactly fill Winter with confidence. But, at this point, it wasn't like she had any other option. So Winter took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let herself lay limp in the grass. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to hold her breath long enough, so she instead focused on taking slow, quiet breaths through her nose.

"Let's face it, we're not going to find anything to eat," came a male's voice from the canopy of the trees.

Chamella saw two changelings descend from the treetops and land some distance away. They were far enough that it was entirely possible that they may not even notice Chamella and Winter unless they happened to turn directly towards them.

"Ugh, but I'm starrrrving," whined the second changeling, a female.

"Well, I'm drop dead tired. And right now, I think I'm more tired than hungry. We're probably not going to find any critters running around at this hour anyway, and a couple of moths isn't gonna fill us up."

"Can't we just look for a few more minutes?" the female pleaded. "There's gotta be an apple or some berries or something around here."

"And you think that'll be enough for both of us?"

"Who said anything about you? I thought you were tired."

"Oh, well, in that case you can look by yourself," the male scoffed as he turned his back on her to walk away.

"Good. Who needs you anyway, quitter?"

When the male made to walk away from his "friend," Chamella crouched down next to Winter. He was heading straight in their direction.

"Remember: stay quiet, don't move," she whispered to Winter.

The pegasus wanted to quip back at her for talking to her like an inattentive child, but right now, she was more worried about her well being. She could hear one of the other changelings heading their way, but without being able to see them, her fear was being amplified.

The male changeling stopped moving. He squinted his eyes, noticing the black form of another changeling leaning over something on the ground. "Hey!" he called out.

Chamella didn't move, hoping that by not responding the other changelings would simply lose interest and leave. Winter heard her take in a deep breath. In fact, she could swear she felt Chamella's breath against her neck.

Curious, the male changeling cautiously trotted over to Chamella, somewhat suspicious of her presence. "What are you doing?"

Chamella merely glanced over her shoulder at him with a slight scowl.

The male's eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the crimson tail and pearl coat lying on the ground beneath the other changeling. "Is that... a pony?!"

"What are yelling about over here?" the other female changeling inquired, fluttering over to investigate. It didn't take long for her to notice herself what he was gawking at. "Holy crap! Is that what I think it is?!"

The male grinned eagerly. "Damn right. Apparently this chick caught herself something tasty. Mind if we take a bite?"

Chamella spun around, hunching over to protect her "kill," and hissed ferociously at the two other changelings, causing them to reel back in surprise.

Winter almost jumped with a start at the sudden aggression from Chamella. With her eyes closed, she normally wouldn't have even considered that it was Chamella that had made that noise. It was only the proximity to her that allowed her to identify the source.

"Back off!" Chamella snapped at the two changelings, baring her short fangs aggressively.

"Whoa, chill out," the male said in an attempt to diffuse her.

The female took a step closer to get a better look at the pony on the ground. "It's actually a pony. That's awesome! I want a piece!"

Chamella gnashed her teeth at the female as she started to reach out a hoof, forcing her to retract. "I said back off! I caught her, she's mine!"

The male held up his hooves defensively. "Geez, calm down. There's a lot of meat there, more than enough for three of us."

"Get your own," Chamella growled.

"Come on, I just want a teeny bit," the female begged. "Maybe just a leg."

"I'd settle for a wing myself. I've never actually tasted a pony before," said the male, licking his lips.

Chamella snarled viciously. "Do you want to be dessert? Get lost!"

"What's your problem?" the female huffed in annoyance. "We're all hungry here."

The male shook his head. "Forget it. She's not gonna give it up that easy. Can't say I blame her, honestly. I'd probably do the same thing if I caught myself a pony." He turned around and started to walk away. "Let's just go. I'm too tired to fight anyway." With a buzz of his wings, he took off back into the forest.

The female glared angrily at Chamella, who glared right back. "I'm coming back for the leftovers." And she took off to follow the other changeling.

Once the pair of unfamiliar bugs were out of sight, Chamella let her muscles relax and exhaled a long breath that felt like she'd been holding it forever. She looked over her shoulder at Winter's prone form with a relieved and slightly satisfied grin. "Okay, they're gone. You can get up now."

The pegasus finally cracked one eye open, discreetly glancing around the immediate area to ensure for herself that the coast was clear before rising to a sitting position. She felt her heart battering against the inside of her rib cage like a woodpecker after ten cups of coffee. She was surprised the two changelings didn't hear it.

However, what was more surprising was the sudden personality shift in her companion. Never in her life had she seen—or rather heard, as the case may have been—Chamella act so aggressively, going so far as to threaten those two with cannibalism. That warranted an explanation.

"What the hay was all that about?" Winter inquired, brushing away the dead grass that was clinging to her ivory coat. "Since when are you so confrontational?"

Chamella rubbed the back of her neck and giggled awkwardly. "Yeah, I just figured that most changelings wouldn't consider getting into a fight and possibly getting hurt to be worth the effort. Honestly, I have no idea what I would've done if they hadn't backed down."

Winter glared at her, surprised by that response, and more than little appalled. "What?! You were gambling my life on a bluff?!"

The purple-maned changeling flinched at Winter's biting accusation. "Well... what else could we have done?"

"For one, in the time it took them to notice us, we could have run away."

"But we couldn't have known for sure that we wouldn't be spotted. How would we know where they were going to land? Running away would have been just as big a gamble. We'd be easier to spot and we might grab the attention of some other changelings we didn't even notice."

Winter scowled at her, refusing to accept that any excuse could make up for putting her life in danger. "You could've gotten me killed before we even got anywhere near the hive. Maybe I would've been better off coming alone."

Chamella scowled right back. "I think I just proved that you wouldn't have even made it this far without me. Can't you just be thankful that it worked?"

The pegasus turned her back to Chamella, trotting over to the bush where her bags were hidden to retrieve them. "I'll thank Celestia for our luck. Don't try pulling a stunt like that again."

"Hey, it's not like I wasn't nervous, too," Chamella argued defensively, pointing out the glistening beads of sweat on her smooth, ebony chitin.

"What do you have to be nervous about?" Winter said as she hitched up her saddlebags. "They just think you're one of them. You're not really in any danger at all." She picked up Chamella's bags as well, brusquely thrusting them at the changeling as she passed and started back on the path towards the hive.

Chamella quirked a vexed eyebrow. "Not in any danger? I'm in just as much danger as you. If they knew that I was a changeling that deserted the colony, they wouldn't care about killing me. They aren't really that bothered by killing their own kind anyway. And it'd be even worse if they found out I was helping a pony."

Her gaze drifted down to the dry grass cracking below her hooves, the sound of it all too familiar to her. "It's the whole reason I had to be so aggressive with them. 'The strong survive, and the weak are consumed.' I've heard that my whole life. Growing up as a changeling isn't easy when you don't have the guts to stand up for yourself."

Winter peered back over her shoulder as she walked, but didn't say anything. Chamella's eyes were still trained on the ground.

The changeling finally lifted her head, her expression of self-pity replaced by determination, even if it looked a tad forced. "But the one time in my life that I stood up to them, I wasn't even doing it for myself. For all the times Shade has protected me, it's high time I stand up for somepony he cares about even more. And besides, Snow can live without his godmother. I'd hate for him to grow up without his mom."

Winter stayed silent a moment longer as Chamella stared her right in the eye. She turned to face forward once more with a scoff. "Well, regardless of your intentions, it was still a crazy gamble. You're lucky that it worked."

Chamella furrowed her brow at the comment. "We're both lucky."

"Whatever."

Never in her life had Chamella actually been angry at Winter for any reason, but right now she was really starting grind her gears. She'd basically just saved Winter's life and she didn't even get so much as a thank you. Chamella was beginning to question how Shade managed to fall in love with this mare. The changeling had to force herself not to get too upset with her, though. Winter obviously had a lot on her mind. The stress of the situation was probably getting to her.

The two walked in silence for a few minutes after that, though the tension between them was still as thick as mud. Chamella wasn't even leading the way anymore, mostly because she didn't want to risk doing anything to aggravate her. They were heading in the right direction anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

"I want to ask you a question."

Chamella was surprised to hear Winter break the silence. She figured the pegasus was a little too miffed to want to talk right now.

Winter didn't look back at her, but spoke regardless. "You were pretending to eat me back there, right?"

The changeling raised an eyebrow. That wasn't quite the question she was expecting. "Well, yeah. I mean, I was a little worried those other changelings might find the lack of blood suspicious, but thankfully they didn't seem to notice."

For the sake of her own temper, Winter chose to ignore yet another oversight in Chamella's bid to "protect" her. "Have you ever actually eaten a pony?"

Chamella's jaw dropped. She was practically offended by the question, as if there was even any need to question that. "What?! No! Of course not! Shade's told you that, right? You must've asked him about that at some point."

"Yeah, but I never asked about you."

This line of questioning was really starting to confuse Chamella. One minute Winter's pointing out that she couldn't even take care of herself back then, then she kept accusing her of trying to steal Shade away, and now she thought she might have eaten ponies before. Was she looking for reasons to hate her?

"Do you honestly believe that I would have killed and eaten somepony?" Chamella postulated.

Winter shrugged. "I guess not. But that being said, let me throw something out there. Hypothetically, if a pony had happened to wander out here back before the whole Canterlot thing, would you have attacked them?"

Another hypothetical. She really was trying to back Chamella into a corner.

"Why are you asking me things like this?" asked Chamella, looking hurt by Winter's insistence.

The pegasus shot a look over her shoulder. "You're not answering the question."

"I thought you said you were going to try and not harp on this kind of stuff until we found Snowflake and got back home. Why are you so dead set on making me the bad guy?"

"Shade said that even he disliked ponies back then. Changelings even eat each other sometimes, don't they? Are you saying that, if the chance came up, you wouldn't eat a pony to survive?"

"Stop comparing me to them! I'm not like them and you know it!"

"I just asked a question. If you're so concerned about what I think, just say no."

Chamella stopped, gritting her fangs and grinding her hooves into the fragile grass. "Stop it!"

Winter halted at Chamella's outburst, looking back in mild shock.

"I've apologized for the stuff I've done. I've been doing everything I can to earn your forgiveness, but you just keep looking for excuses not to trust me! What do I have to do?! Just tell me, please!"

Winter stared at the changeling with mouth slightly agape. Chamella's lips, while framing her infuriated fangs, quivered, and the sparkle of moisture was visible against the faint glow of her cyan sclera. "Are you... crying?"

Chamella wiped her eyes against her leg to wipe away the tears, having not actually been aware of just how emotional she was getting. She started walking again, overtaking Winter and continuing on toward the hive. "Forget it. Let's just go," she muttered under her breath.

The ivory mare shook her head and followed after her. She could hear an occasional sniff and sob from the changeling, even though she was trying to mask it. It seemed that she'd been bringing out all sorts of sides of Chamella she had been unaware of. But Winter was still curious about their conversation.

"You still didn't answer my question."

"I'm not answering your stupid question," Chamella angrily, yet quietly, shot back without looking back at her. "Believe whatever you want. That seems to be what you've been doing with me since we met."

She must have hit quite the nerve. That's what Winter thought. To be getting the cold shoulder from Chamella was an unexpected and unprecedented development. Granted, she fully realized that she hasn't exactly been treating the changeling with much respect, but everything Winter knew about Chamella pointed to her taking a more passive stance in the face of conflict. Apparently, all it took was to push the right buttons with the right amount of pressure. The strangest part of it all was that Winter was actually starting to feel a little guilty. She did make a promise to her last night, and it didn't take long for her to throw that out the proverbial window. On top of that, what would Shade think if he were to see the way she'd been treating his best friend? As much as she hated to admit it, Chamella had known Shade a lot longer than she had; her whole life in fact. He obviously wouldn't take too kindly to see her treated so harshly. Maybe it was time to make good on that promise...

Winter picked up her pace slightly until she was directly beside Chamella. She didn't look directly at her, instead awkwardly glancing around as if she were taking in the sights. "Hey, listen, I wanna—"

"I don't want to talk right now," Chamella mumbled, her head lowered slightly as her eyes veered away from her course slightly to avoid looking at Winter.

Winter grimaced at her response. Perhaps it was for the best anyway. Given how she knew she felt about Chamella, she honestly didn't trust herself not to say something else hurtful. This was probably one of those situations where silence was golden. If she was going to attempt to have a level-headed conversation with Chamella, it was probably a good idea to wait until both their heads had cooled off a bit first.

The seriousness and the tension in the air was subverted somewhat by a low grumbling sound. Winter blushed slightly when Chamella shot her a look, realizing that it was her own stomach that had spoken up in the silence.

"I guess we shouldn't've skipped breakfast. Should we stop and have something to eat?" Winter suggested.

Chamella thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "It's probably not safe to eat here. It'll be too easy to spot us, plus the other changelings might smell our food."

"Then what do we do? We can't just not eat. We don't know how long we're going to be out here."

"We can eat when we get inside the hive. There won't be nearly as many changelings in there, and there are plenty of safe places for us to hide while we eat."

"How long 'til we get there?"

Chamella looked ahead. Honestly, since their little exchange just now, she hadn't really been paying attention to their progress, but now that she was, she could see the rocky mountainside through the treeline. "It's just up ahead. We could probably make a quick sprint there if you're really hungry."

Winter entertained the idea for a second before shrugging indifferently. "I mean, it's not far, but I wouldn't want to draw any attention to ourselves when we're this close. We can walk for a few more minutes. I'm not desperate yet."

Chamella actually managed a small smile upon hearing that. Winter was actually taking her advice.

As the pair got closer to their destination, Winter finally got a look at the mountain that was the changeling hive. During her first foray into the Changeling Kingdom, she hadn't actually had a chance to see it from the outside, having fallen unconscious and dragged inside, and running for her life when she left. From a distance, it wouldn't appear to be much more than your run-of-the-mill mountain; steep, jagged cliffs tapering into sinister looking peaks that jutted up into the overcast sky. However, when viewing it up close it was evident that it was more than that. The mountain's face was peppered with innumerable holes and tunnels boring into the stone, leading to who-knows-where. It honestly looked vaguely like an enormous termite mound. Somewhat appropriate, all things considered.

Chamella and Winter had come to a stop at the base of the mountain. Sitting right in front of them was a large tunnel entrance, its size suggesting to the uninitiated that creatures far bigger than changelings would reside within. The open cavern before them lead towards nothing but darkness, a pitch black curtain preventing the pegasus from seeing any more than a couple dozen meters down the path before the light from the outside was swallowed up by the seemingly endless void.

Winter felt a shiver run down her spine. That blackness only stirred up unsettling memories of nearly being devoured by ravenous changeling larvae. To think that her own baby was in there somewhere at this very moment. It was a notion that almost made Winter sick just thinking about it.

Chamella and Winter shared looks with one another, but neither of them said anything. Winter looked rather uneasy, but that was understandable. It seemed that the closer they got, the more she began to realize just how haphazard she was being. Regardless, her amber eyes still housed that indomitable spark of determination; no matter how uneasy she was, Chamella knew she wasn't about to turn back. The changeling made a simple gesture with her head before cautiously stepping into the hive proper. With a hesitant gulp and a deep breath to calm her nerves, Winter followed behind her.

It didn't take long before Winter's vision was completely stolen from her by the darkness. Luckily, she had an idea of what she was going to be dealing with, and came prepared. While she still had light from the entrance to rely on, she slipped off her saddlebags and began rummaging through them.

Chamella glanced back with a quirked eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I packed a flashlight. I'm trying to find it," she answered, switching to the other bag when the first yielded no results.

"There's no need for that," the changeling informed her.

Curious, Winter looked up from her bags. The pair of them became bathed in an ethereal, green glow as Chamella set her horn alight with magic, providing adequate lighting for Winter to see several feet in any direction. Certainly preferable to the mono-directional flashlight. Now she was kind of regretting not using the extra space in her bag for more important supplies. Still, though, the flashlight may prove useful if the two of them somehow got separated.

Chamella looked further down the tunnel. "We can probably find a safe spot to have breakfast up ahead a little farther."

"Are there going to be many changelings around?" asked Winter as she closed up her saddlebags and put them back on.

"Not as many as outside, like I said before. But if we're going to run into any, it'll be near the entrances. We should get a decent distance inside before we take a break."

Winter let out a sigh. It was a sigh combining not only her fears and worries about being where they were, but also her impatience; she was getting pretty hungry. As desperately as she wanted to find Snowflake, doing so on an empty stomach probably wouldn't make things any easier. Another grumble sounded out from Winter's empty belly, practically echoing off of the stone walls of the cavern. If she didn't eat something soon, her noisy gut was liable to give away their presence to any nearby changelings.

Chamella wasn't in much better shape. Although her stomach was being less vocal about it, she could definitely use a snack. She peered ahead, scouting for any place where they could hide out. "There's a fork in the path up ahead. The tunnel on the right is a bit narrower, so it might be safe there."

Winter squinted her eyes. "I can't see a thing past your glow."

"Well, I'm a changeling. We've got some degree of night vision," Chamella reminded her.

"What I wouldn't give for that right about now," Winter mumbled with an envious pout.

As they approached the fork that Chamella had mentioned, the changeling glanced down the aforementioned right tunnel. While the left tunnel was approximately the same size as the entry tunnel they'd been walking down, the right was significantly more confined. Still wide enough for a small group to walk through comfortably, but a swarm of a dozen or so changelings all flying simultaneously were likely to scrape themselves against the craggy cavern walls.

"So is it safe?" asked Winter, unable to see more than a few meters in front of them.

"It's not even a tunnel really. It's a dead end. I can see the far wall a ways down. The good news is that there's a bunch of big rocks around that we can hide behind. As long as I keep our light to a minimum, we shouldn't be spotted."

Satisfied that they'd found safe spot to rest, Chamella and Winter traveled a short ways into the right tunnel. Chamella chose a particularly large boulder to slip behind and slid off her saddlebags as she sat down. Winter followed suit, letting out an exhausted sigh. They hadn't exactly made it very far yet, but they already felt like they'd been walking for hours on end. That unpleasant encounter earlier certainly didn't help matters.

Chamella opened up one of her saddlebags, pulling out a cheese sandwich preserved in plastic wrap she had prepared the night before. She also removed a small bottle of water to drink. She noticed Winter rifling through her own bags in search of whatever she might be craving. Chamella pulled out a second sandwich and held it out to the pegasus. "You want this?"

Winter cocked an eyebrow. "I brought my own food, you don't have to share."

"Well, these aren't going to keep for very long. I figure it's better to get the perishables out of the way first."

With a shrug, Winter took the sandwich. "That's reasonable. Thanks."

The two of them unwrapped their meals and began to eat, finally satisfying those hunger pangs. As they chewed, Winter had a look at her immediate surroundings—or what little she could see by Chamella's soft, green aura. This cave certainly didn't provide an ideal atmosphere for a quaint picnic. The darkness and maze-like nature of the cave invoked quite a bit of paranoia; it was hard not to believe that there were eyes watching them from beyond the veil.

"Did you guys really dig out these caves?" Winter asked between bites of her sandwich.

"I didn't. As far as I know, these caves have been here for decades, maybe centuries, or however long changelings have lived here."

"So where exactly are we going? You said he's probably in one of the nurseries, right?"

Chamella swallowed another bite of her breakfast. "Probably. The problem is figuring out which one. There's got to be hundreds of nurseries in these caves, and I've only ever been to some of the ones near the entrances. Process of elimination isn't really an option; we could be down here for days on end trying to find the right one, and even then we could just wind up going in circles."

"So what's the plan then?" asked Winter without much optimism.

"I think the best course of action is to find Queen Chrysalis. She'll know where he is, and she knows these caves better than any other changeling would I'd think."

"Why would she even tell us where he is? She's the one who had that Wraith guy take him in the first place," the mother said, knitting her brow at the mere thought of it.

Chamella closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know why, but I just get the feeling she'd be willing to at least hear us out. Who knows, maybe she'll change her mind and give him back. I mean, it's not like we know exactly where to look anyway. We might as well try."

"Okay, so the next big question is, how do we find Chrysalis?"

"Well, I don't know where her personal chambers are, so our best bet would be to get to the throne room."

"And you know how to get there?"

"Um... kind of?"

Winter didn't like the lack of confidence that accompanied that answer. "What do you mean, 'kind of'?"

"I've only been there a couple of times. It's pretty deep inside the catacombs. The only time most changelings go there is if Queen Chrysalis calls a meeting for the colony, like when we were preparing to attack Canterlot, and even then we're lead there by some of the soldiers. They know the caves pretty well, but I doubt they'd be willing to help us. So we're basically going off my memory, and I haven't been there in, like, two years." Chamella held her head down in embarrassment, knowing that that wasn't something that Winter wanted to hear.

The pegasus let out a slightly aggravated sigh. "Well, it's better than nothing I guess. Certainly more to go off than if I'd come by myself."

Chamella lifted her head, eyes slightly widened. Considering all the flak she'd been getting from her lately, that wasn't the response she was expecting. But that having come to mind, now seemed like as good a time as any to bring up something that she'd been thinking about.

"Listen, I've been thinking, Winter. I know now exactly how you feel about me and Shade."

Winter paused in the middle of taking a sip from her bottle of water, giving Chamella her full attention.

"All I want is for you and Shade to be happy, and I know I might actually be getting in the way of that, at least on your end. So I think I've come to a decision."

Winter stared silently, wondering where she was going with this.

"If you really feel that strongly about me, then after we find Snowflake and get you two home safe and sound..." Chamella hesitated before forcing the words from her mouth, looking pained by the thought running through her mind. "...then I can stay here in the Changeling Kingdom. That way, I won't be in the way anymore, and you and Shade can finally enjoy your relationship without any obstacles to get in your way."

Winter stared in awe at Chamella upon hearing her ultimatum. At first, Winter thought that maybe she was just saying that to get her off her back, but the look in her eyes seemed pretty serious about it. However, Winter didn't let herself get too choked up over the declaration, letting out a quiet sigh. "Look, nopony's asking you to leave Ponyville, Chamella. As much as I hate to admit it, you're very important to Shade; you're his best friend. He wouldn't be too happy if he found out I let you do that."

Chamella was honestly relieved to hear that. Even though it was a genuine offer, she obviously didn't want to live in the Changeling Kingdom again. But she was more than willing if that's what it took. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, but that didn't exactly solve the issue she was trying to fix. "But what about you? You don't like me and you don't trust me. How are you going to be happy if I'm around?"

Winter simply shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to find out. Either way, I'm probably stuck with you for the foreseeable future." She had another look at where they were currently. "Assuming we make it out of here alive that is."

Chamella grinned weakly. It wasn't quite what she was hoping for, but at the very least it gave her a chance to hopefully make up for what she'd done and maybe, someday, earn Winter's trust.

The changeling screwed the cap back onto her half-emptied bottle of water and stuffed it back into her bag. Their sandwiches finished, Chamella and Winter both hitched up their bags once more and faced the daunting darkness ahead of them, unsure if they were truly prepared for what awaited them deep within the changeling hive.

Comments

[Scornas]

*looks at title*
Halfling?

[ThatNoobPony]

So, that was emotional.

[Slavenger Karl]

Chamella opened up one of her saddlebags, pulling out a cheese sandwich preserved in plastic wrap she had prepared the night before. She also removed a small bottle of water to drink. She noticed Winter rifling through her own bags in search of whatever she might be craving. Chamella pulled out a second sandwich and held it out to the pegasus. "You want this?"

[EverChangeling]

8141148 have u read the story?

[Scornas]

8167707
Good story, I was just making a joke about what I thought when I saw the title

[Slavenger Karl]

What has happened to the new chapter? Accidental publish?

[Dee Pad]

8229489
Kind of. I realized after I published it that I left out an entire scene, so I'm going to finish that then repost.

[Slavenger Karl]

8229630 Good to know. Saw that on my list and I was wondering.

[Starlight Nova]

Why is this on hiatus?

[Dee Pad]

8230702
That'll be explained when I repost Chapter 14.