Project DYES

by Shadow Beast

Chapter 3: New Blood

His eyes strained in the darkness. Black began to envelope the room as his strength faded. Hoofsteps scratched the ceiling above him. All he could hear now was a speeding heart and an anxious breath. He closed his eyes and tried to run, but his legs would not budge. Restrained by a now invisible rope, he stayed in his chair. A heavy door flew open behind him. The darkness of the room fought a strange green light in a war painted on the walls of the room. Compass simply sat in awe, unaware of the visitor in his midst.

The changeling standing in front of him watched the bound creature struggle to maintain his bat form after an entire day without food. The green light within the lantern faded for a moment, and when it returned the two changelings were staring at each other.

“I was hoping you forgot about me, Foresight,” Compass whispered in the dark.

The changeling simply stared back at him. He lowered the lantern to the ground gently.

“If you’re trying to break me, it won’t work,” Compass replied, sensing a trick. “We are all creatures of the shadows; darkness does not phase us. Just take your dying lantern and leave.”

The changeling’s horn lit up as a valve on top of the lantern was turned. A hatch on the top opened, and a foul smell filled the room. “It’s a bit of an acquired taste.”

“It’s almost as disgusting as yourself. How do you survive so long?”

The changeling said nothing. He trotted past Compass and toward the door. The rope tightened around his waist, but suddenly gave free. He turned to see the door shut, and trotted up to find it locked.

He sniffed the air of the room again. Deep in the back of his tongue he sensed something familiar. He licked his lips and spat out the dust.

Midnight left the mansion. The wind howled in the night, muffling the screams behind him.

---

The Canterlot train station was busy as always. Midnight often avoided this place; the emotions were never as pleasant as the donut shop. A sniff of the air revealed a cloud of hope and love, but even more abundant were the feelings of dread and regret. Nopony who regularly visits a train station would host a proper meal. He took a deep breath as he scanned the station for his team. Thunder Sword stood at the edge of the room, waiting with two saddlebags.

Midnight trotted towards him with more energy in his steps. For the first time since he had returned to Canterlot, a lantern was not weighing down his right side. He smiled at the pegasus, who returned the gesture.

“You seem excited,” Thunder noticed with a grin. “Something happen last night?”

“I’d just like to think of this mission as a bit of a vacation. And it helps that I tied up a few loose ends that have been bugging me: mission reports and such.” Midnight simply smiled and looked around. “Where’s our third...?”

“Our third... what?”

“Our third pony. I had to enlist him after the mansion incident; he saved my life.”

“I’m sensing a pattern...”

“Well, he kinda went rogue to do it, so we figured this would exonerate him.”

Thunder’s head crooked. “He went rogue?”

“After several casualties on both sides, his captain ordered a full retreat. From what I can tell, Desert Mirage chased down a brute and managed to kill it.” He looked up at Thunder. “We’re talking about a soldier with full combat training and all positive emotions drained out of him. One that only knows fear, hatred, and anger when it’s not looking at its boss.”

Thunder shrugged. “So he’s killed a stronger beast than a simple changeling. Do you think he would have survived that trip we took?”

“Shining Armor barely survived that trip, and he was easily the best of us,” Midnight replied sternly. He turned to Thunder. “...no offense.”

He smiled and shook his head. “None taken.” The smile disappeared and his head was suddenly still. “Shining barely survived the trip?”

“My father stopped a spear-wielding executioner from getting to us, but even he was too slow. Luckily my grandfather...” His voice trailed off.

“Since when do you have family members?”

“Since I’ve had to do research to remember who I am.” He looked at his saddlebags. “I just don’t feel that connected to the Midnight in the story anymore.”

“And that one’s the ‘grandfather,’ the one I know?”

Midnight looked at the ground. “It’s a long story.”

“Hey there, Midnight!” The voice of Desert Mirage picked up the changeling’s disguised head. “You must be Thunder Sword,” the eager unicorn said.

The pegasus took a step back. “And who are you?”

“He’s our third.”

“Oh, right.” The two shared a brief smile until Midnight interjected.

“I know you’re a bit eager, Mirage, but that armor is the exact opposite of subtle.”

Desert looked down at his silver chestplate and back to the changeling. “We’re on a mission, right?”

“A recon mission. Less is more in covert ops like these.” A flash of green pulled the armor off of the unicorn and placed it into the saddlebag on the changeling’s right. “That’s better.”

"Isn't that going to weigh you down?" Mirage asked Midnight.

"I'm stronger than I look."

The conductor's holler signaled their train's arrival. The three ventured aboard, finding an empty car to sit down in. They sat at the back of the car, with Sword and Mirage's seats across from Midnight and his bags' seats.

"So... Were you guys talking about your trip to the Hive?" Mirage asked, breaking the short silence.

"Not really..." Midnight answered.

"He knows about our trip to the Hive?" Thunder asked. "I thought that was classified."

"He's read the books, and knows well that they're not entirely false."

"So is being part of this squad going to get depressing?" Desert asked, crooking his head towards the changeling.

"You ask this question to all your commanding officers?" Midnight responded, sounding annoyed. "I mean, you're still a soldier."

"Yeah, but now I report to a changeling..."

"Which means I understand how important morale is for the group." Midnight tried to hide the bit of resentment he felt. "That's why we're starting with a peaceful recon mission in a place that probably doesn't have any changelings actually hiding out."

"Wait..." Thunder interrupted. "So why are we going then?"

"You wanna risk your neck just to murder someone who is simply scared and lost?" Midnight stared at Thunder. "...Later."

"I want to help someone who is scared and lost. When does that happen?" Thunder asked.

Midnight simply grinned. "Later."

"What about those soldiers who literally tried to kill us a couple days ago?" Desert asked.

The smile disappeared from the changeling's purple snout. "What more is there to add? They were united behind a leader who didn't like me very much." The smile slowly returned. "And you killed like three of them, a brainwashed brute, and helped grab the leader in the end!"

"But were they just scared?" Thunder asked.

Midnight sighed. "They were practically soldiers. About as scared as we all are. Except the brute; I doubt he had any emotion left."

"So when's the next real mission?" Desert asked.

"I haven't thought that far ahead. I doubt I'll need to with how the past couple months have gone." Midnight looked away from them. "They'll probably disband us for the lack of progress. A good changeling is one in a hundred thousand kind of deal."

"What about the bad ones?" Thunder asked, trying to sound encouraging. "Hay, what about the leader you two grabbed?"

"I used an old memory spell on him," Midnight droned. "Nothing of interest. And too much of both of our pasts to immigrate."

"And you reported all this, right?"

"What's one more dead changeling to the Colonel?" Midnight continued in an almost solemn tone. "An updated report will say I interrogated him and eliminated him shortly after. The means I used are of no matter."

"What'd you do to him?" Desert asked, a little too enthusiastic.

"Nothing short of what he tried to do to me long ago."

"Which was...?"

Midnight sighed. "It's a long story."

"How did you even know this guy?" Thunder asked. "You've been exiled from the Hive longer than I've known you." The pegasus chuckled. "Longer than you've known yourself."

"That's an even longer story."

"And after the Hive was destroyed, you disappear for a whole month before popping up in the newly liberated Crystal Empire. With glasses instead of an eye patch!" Thunder shook his head. "Don't you think we deserve some explanation of that?"

"That eye took so many years to heal..." Midnight spoke under his breath. "Centuries..." he started with a stronger voice. "Centuries that place lay under the frigid cold. Changelings used to tell stories of a place filled with so much Love that the Hive would not need to feed on mortal kind anymore..."

"So you went to stop any changelings there?" Desert asked.

"I don't think I was happy with myself back then. I went there to find a reason to live. Or was it a reason to die?" Midnight shrugged. "I suppose I found both."

The engineer shouted to mark the train's departure. Midnight jerked forward and Desert whipped back into his seat as the car began to move.

Bracing himself, Masquerade continued. "I'm hoping what I find at Appleloosa is just peace and quiet." He looked toward Mirage. "Relatively speaking."

Desert smiled and looked out the window. Thunder kept a straight face as he stared at Midnight. The changeling scanned everywhere else before his eyes settled on the running grass outside the window.

"We won't be arriving before that Sun goes down," Thunder said. "Anything else we ought to know?"

Midnight looked everywhere else before sighing and looking at his two allies. "About what I found in the Empire..."

The door to the car was forced open, slamming against the adjacent wall and causing Midnight to jump. A female griffin flew inside and slammed the door behind her before quickly jumping into a seat across the aisle from the three. She hid her face from them and the door, shaking subtly as she caught her breath.

Thunder looked at Midnight, Midnight looked at the window, and Desert stared at the griffin. As the pegasus tried to coax the changeling into some form of verbal response, the unicorn pushed his way out of the seat and trotted across the aisle. He sat across from the griffin, but this only made her tuck her face tighter under her claws.

"You alright?" Desert asked. He reached out and put his hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. It didn't seem to help.

The door on the other side of the car opened abruptly and the conductor stepped through. "Everypony alright back here?" He trotted past the empty seats to where the three were seated. Greeted with affirming nods, he glanced over to the other side and noticed the shy griffin. "You alright, miss?" She slowly raised her green eyes to meet his. "Sorry to bother you, but did you have a ticket?"

Her claw reached behind her for a small bag tied to her waist. It emerged with a small, black stone. Behind its smooth finish a bright green light shone through, giving the rock a beautiful sheen that lit up the car and made the conductor's eyes grow wide. "Keep the change," she said in a soft yet stern voice. She handed the pony the stone, then looked around the car as the conductor left.

"You okay?" Desert asked, his head crooking into her line of sight.

"I'm fine," she said, putting a claw to her head. "Just a bad headache."

"Are you hurt?" Thunder asked.

She glared back. "I said I'm fine!" Her gaze passed over Midnight, who simply smiled at her, causing her to glare at him as well. "What are you smiling at?"

"Are you suffering from a case of... Vertigo?"

The two ponies looked at the changeling confused, but the griffin simply smiled back.

"My name is Gravity," she answered.

"That's not the question I asked."

"Still got my point across." She glanced at the other two ponies.

"I'm Desert Mirage," the unicorn next to her said.

"I'm Thunder Sword," the pegasus across from her said.

The changeling next to the pegasus, still wearing the form of a unicorn, let out a relaxed sigh. "And I'm... Midnight Masquerade." His smile grew slightly bigger. "I take it you almost missed this train?"

Gravity's green eyes went to the door for a short moment. “Sure, let’s go with that. I’m not sure a bunch of random ponies would be interested in what really happened.”

Midnight crooked his head, his horn aglow. Silver armor flew from his saddlebag to Mirage’s lap. “Put it on.” He continued as Mirage worked his way into his armor again. "I think you'll find that we are actually part of the guard. An obscure regiment anyways." He shrugged.

"All of you?"

"Technically we only deal with changelings," Thunder explained. "But we're having a slow day."

Gravity chuckled. "And how long has this been your job?" she turned to Desert, who finally got his armor back on.

Mirage looked around for a moment. "Well, Midnight's been at this for a few months on his own. Thunder and I just joined up today."

"Really?" She looked between the two newest members. "Any changeling kills yet?"

"We don't do that," Thunder explained further. "We help lost and scared changelings reform and fit into Equestrian society."

"Three and a drained brute!" Mirage bragged.

The griffin smiled wide toward Thunder.

He sighed. "26."

Gravity and the others stared at Midnight. He glanced from one face to the next before stopping on the griffin. "Don't look at me! I lost count months ago..."

"Ballpark it," she egged on.

Midnight looked toward the ceiling as numbers bounced around inside his head. "If I had to guess... Well, it's at least 100 by now."

"And not a single bit of remorse?" she asked.

"We defended Equestria from two invasions now," Thunder explained. "And I'm sure any others killed by Midnight since then were just unwilling to conform or be rational."

"What of the puppets?" the griffin asked. "The ones who just listen to their manipulators and executioner?"

While Desert and Thunder were taken back by her uncanny knowledge of changeling ranks, Midnight jumped at the chance to change the subject. "And how do you know about the changeling hierarchy?"

The griffin smirked and squinted her eyes at him.

Midnight sighed. "Alright, I was just gonna keep going along with it, but fine. Yes, you're a changeling. I get it."

The two ponies glanced back and forth between the two changelings, unsure of what to make of this revelation. Mirage finally stopped, took his armor off again, and placed it on Midnight's lap.

"Well this has been a conversation, but I think I'll go find a place to sleep now." Mirage trotted out the door.

Thunder looked back and forth again, still unsure where to start.

Midnight took the initiative. "So now I have to ask where you got that gem you used to pay off the conductor."

The griffin stared back at him. "We both have a lot to answer for..." She chuckled for the sake of coincidence; it scarred her face with a smirk. "Foresight."

Midnight turned from her to fit Desert's armor back into the saddlebag, then continued to fumble around inside it. Thunder glanced between the two, unsure what the griffin changeling meant.

The smirk on her face grew into a full grin. "You never told them, did you?" she asked Midnight. "I don't think your own friend knows at all what you really are."

Thunder watched his friend ignore the question for a few moments before turning back toward Gravity. "Actually, before you interrupted I think he was about to admit it." His voice was deadpan, and his eyes ignored Midnight's reaction. "The Midnight I knew isn't the same changeling that sits across from me. Not even close. When he left us, he followed the beckoning call of a changeling named Foresight. We have reason to believe that 'Foresight' was actually Midnight the entire time. Not by means of deception, but by means of time travel. The only question we can ask now is, 'How long?'"

"A thousand years," Midnight said. "I went back to stop myself from ever becoming a changeling."

Thunder smiled. "We know."

"How did--"

"Your reports left us all the evidence we needed. Then it was just a matter of putting the pieces together and figuring out why and when." Midnight crooked his head, forcing Thunder to explain further. "We already knew how... You don't just leave for some ancient empire without some idea of what to find."

"And then you don't show up to the Hive until 700 years pass?" Gravity added. "My scouting would imply that you were in the Griffin Kingdom for about 100 years. Where were you for the other 600?"

"I don't have to answer to either of you," Midnight hissed. "I wandered around. I looked for some purpose. Some reason to forgive myself."

"And did you find it?" Gravity asked.

Midnight stared into space for a moment. Behind his eyes, a few screams echoed into silence. He felt the pressure of the three on his brow again. The three Queens he had served looked upon him. Chrysalis wanted to kill him, but Advantage wanted to save him. The third remained silent, grinning. He looked at his hooves and found them covered in red and green. His eye twitched on the outside, and he snapped out of the trance.

"I found the pinnacle of survival. With it, a way to keep others from dying as well." Midnight explained. "I used one of the tricks to get you back," he told Gravity.

"I know." Gravity tried to ignore the short spasm of her ever familiar ally.

"Are you alright?" Thunder asked him.

"I'm fine," Midnight said, stretching his neck. "Just some bad memories."

Thunder put a hoof on Midnight's shoulder. "Celestia forgave you. Hay, we even brought evidence for what we found on Foresight. She laughed and said it didn't matter."

Midnight looked up at Thunder in confusion. "I'm the one who traveled back in time and discovered ancient terms of immortality; why am I the only one confused right now?"

Thunder smiled. "I'll let you think about it some more." He got up and stepped toward the door. "For now, I think it's best we sleep. We'll want to be well rested when we get to Appleloosa."

The others nodded and followed suit.