Project DYES

by Shadow Beast

Chapter 7: Lacuna

The old mansion had always been in disrepair, but Midnight found the missing front door to be somewhat off putting. His squad followed him in, and their eyes scoured the walls and floors for anything out of place in the decrepit estate. Soon they were at the wall Midnight had scrawled on almost a week ago. The green writing had been crudely crossed out in red paint. A strange symbol not unlike a crescent moon took up most of the wall now in the same red paint. All over the remaining wall a single word had been painted over and over again, each with a different hoofwriting: "Lacuna." The four stared at the display in a mix of confusion and wonder.

"What's it mean?" Desert asked.

"Well, we know someone's been here while we've been gone," Thunder replied.

"Too big a word for common changelings," Gravity noted.

Midnight lifted up his hoof and allowed his form to slip from his grasp down to his elbow. "It's the term for the holes," he explained, twisting his foreleg back and forth to allow light through all the holes in his lower foreleg. "Also for the more unhealthy side effects of unbridled shapeshifting. Advantage used the term, but they heavily discouraged their followers from dwelling on such shortcomings."

"Whoa, cool!" Desert commented.

Thunder shook off the creepiness of the twins. "So what you're saying is it's not Advantage we're dealing with here?"

"But it must be someone who knew Advantage and for some reason wants to defy them," Midnight hypothesized. "This graffiti style is like some cheesy cry for help, like a revolution."

"Was that an intended pun?" Desert asked.

Midnight crooked his head toward Desert, then looked back at his exposed foreleg. He covered the holes back up with purple. "No." He turned toward the hallway leading to the basement. "Let's get going. This way." He turned to Gravity as they all started trotting forward. "You didn't go anywhere else in the mansion before leaving, did you?"

She shook her head, and the four were soon traversing the stairway down to the basement. Beyond the heavy door, broken glass and several feathers were scattered across the dark floor. Midnight pushed the glass aside with his magic while Desert lit up the feathers with his horn. In his yellow light spell, the feathers revealed themselves to be from different hosts; some feathers were brown while others were a distinct green.

Thunder examined the structures. "All the brown ones are griffin feathers... Just like the ones from Appleloosa and the train. These green ones... These are pegasus feathers."

"So he was green," Gravity said in relief.

Midnight trotted up to the feathers and picked up a green one and a brown one. He stuck the two feathers into his mouth, and the others watched his snout pucker. He spat out the green feather.

"Sour apple flavored?" Desert asked, picking up a couple feathers of his own.

"Not exactly," Midnight tried to explain. "Please don't--" The unicorn bit down on the feathers, only to immediately spit them out. "...try to do that," Midnight finished in defeat as the chewed remains landed softly on the cement floor. He sighed. "While I don't identify with Advantage's hive anymore nor condone their tendencies, I still have a stomach that can thrive off of changeling skin." He looked down at the feathers. "The green ones are not changeling. They are as far from changeling as you can get."

"So it's a real pegasus working for Gorman then," Thunder said.

"Seems so."

"Wait," Gravity interjected. "Gorman's feathers? Those are... Changeling?"

"Afraid so," Midnight replied. "Kinda funny in the ironic sense... The elected leader of the last bastion of pride in the Griffin Kingdom and he's a changeling!" Gravity's eyes fell to the floor and her claw scratched the back of her neck. "Oh." Midnight realized. "That was who you brought back from your trip?!"

"How did he bleed?" She looked back up to him. "Changelings don't bleed."

Midnight shrugged. "I can't have all the answers, Gravity. It'd be no fun that way."

A door slammed in the distance, its echo rebounding off the walls of the manor and reverberating within the dark room. It shook Midnight even harder once he realized the wind had no door to shut. The group hurried from the basement back to the entrance. Nothing seemed out of place to the guys.

Gravity shuddered at the sight of the wall.

"Something wrong?" Midnight asked.

She put her claw up to the red inked wall and touched one of the "lacuna's." It smeared the ink down the wall. "It's fresh. This was written seconds ago."

"It's a test," Midnight realized. "Changelings write that word here to prove their allegiance..."

"Allegiance to what?" Thunder asked.

Dark laughter echoed from the corridors not yet explored. A deep, strong voice pierced their ears with the intensity of a drum. "Why don't you come and find out?" Red pony eyes smiled sinisterly from the darkness as a red marker rolled into view and bumped into Thunder's hoof.

"Sorry, we don't follow false Queens," Midnight called to the shadow before tossing the marker back.

"You write fifty thousand words for a single, petty princess so easily tossed aside by true power... Yet you scoff at the idea of but a single word being asked of you?" The red marker rolled back toward them.

"She read every single syllable, yet you can't seem to handle one: No."

Desert picked up the marker and quickly scrawled "No." on the wall.

"Close enough," the voice said, it's voice relaxing slightly. "Come forward when you are ready..." The eyes and the marker disappeared into the darkness, replaced by a misplaced breeze that kicked up dust and chills.

Desert dodged the glares of his teammates as they all trotted into the uncharted black. His yellow light liberated a staircase from the unknown, and the group trotted up it in pursuit of the mysterious voice. A low-pitched growling emanated from in front of them for what seemed to be the entire time. Finally, the light illuminated the second floor. A door waited across a dimly lit hall, guarded by two changelings. They watched the four approach, then opened the door before anyone could speak. They continued to watch the four in silence as Midnight and his team trotted past them and into the room without a single word.

They found themselves in a dark room. The red eyes watched them from afar, their body hidden in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Thunder called out.

"I am Disadvantage," the voice replied. "For I am the force that stands to wipe Advantage and her nightmarish brood from this world!"

"Oh get over yourself!" Desert yelled. His horn glowed in a flashlight spell; he shined it at the eyes with a grin on his face.

Black feathers with red tips covered the red eyes. A red horn poked out from behind them. Disadvantage's legs were black with red patterns down all four of them. His mane and tail followed the motif.

"You're an... Alicorn?" Desert asked, relaxing his spell. The light pointed upward, then his horn focused it at the tip, serving as a bulb that could light the whole room.

The wings receded to the feathered unicorn's sides. His face bore marks of red as well, and as he smiled, a set of small fangs were revealed. "You seem surprised." His eyes focused on Midnight. "Especially you, who had foretold of a black and red king bringing immortality to the hives." He chuckled as Midnight shook his head. "Must you deny me my rightful place in your own prophecy?"

"He's right though," Gravity said, trying to hide her own fear. "You did ramble something about a black and red horn that could stop wretchers from dying." She shrugged. "I mean, your head probably wasn't screwed on right when you said it... But you did say it."

"Don't take his side here!" Midnight yelled. He stared Disadvantage in the eye. "It was a metaphor for a wretcher dying... Not a prophecy! The red horn of the black King Sombra embodies fear and hate. Wretchers are just freaky enough to even consider such emotional energies, in spite of the inherent contradictions they imply. So, when a wretcher dies, if it's heart is filled with hate or fear, it can live on in a liquid state! When used properly, this could very well turn a wretcher immortal!" He shook his head. "How could anyone prophesize an abomination like you?"

The alicorn simply grinned. "What happened to you, Mask?"

The changeling simply glared back at him, choosing to swallow his words.

"If you can't find faith in your own words, then how do you... Expect..." The alicorn paused with words trapped in his throat. He shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. Have you heard back from that recon team of ponies sent to spy on Advantage yet?"

"A bit soon for that, isn't it?" Thunder asked. "They were dispatched this morning, but they won't get there until sundown at the earliest."

"Oh..." Disadvantage seemed puzzled by the news, looking around for something to say. "I guess... That explains it..."

"Explains what?"

"Look, me and the guys saw Advantage murder a pony wearing silver armor. I guess that it wasn't anything to do with you after all."

Thunder thought for a moment. "Could have been an advance scout, but they never fight. They report everything..."

"Well, it was a bit remote to be reporting from," Disadvantage reasoned.

"Irrelevant. Advance scouts are all unicorns with knowledge of dragon fire spells, sends scrolls across Equestria in seconds."

"Can confirm," Midnight said. "That spell has saved my life several times over."

"Well then... Maybe it wasn't a unicorn? Maybe it didn't have time to write a--"

"Again," Thunder interrupted. "Advance scouts are exclusively unicorns who know dragon fire and teleportation spells. If they're killed before they can write one up, then it was from a sudden and effective attack." He shrugged. "I mean, that does fit how a normal changeling fights."

"Advantage is not even close to normal," Midnight denied. "The pair have the patience of two Celestias. They always try diplomacy first."

"Always?" Disadvantage said with heavy skepticism.

"The only exceptions involve the murder of one of their wretchers." He shook his head. "And that didn't happen."

"But what if it did?" Disadvantage grinned. "You can't just deny what most of the creatures in this room saw!"

"Even if it was true..." Midnight paused to shake off the sentiment. "I'm sure they had good reason. The twins and I are on good terms; there's nothing you can do to turn me against them!"

Gravity put a claw on his shoulder. "Dude, as someone who thought Chrysalis was actually going to help me... Listen to yourself. Advantage has you wrapped around their hoof, probably for these exact reasons."

"Yes," Disadvantage said, grinning. "Listen to your friend, Mask! Advantage is just using you like they did to all my new friends!" His hooves swung around, gesturing to all the changelings in the room.

"Advantage doesn't 'use' changelings!" Midnight denied. "They discipline them. They help them." He shook his head. "You must have some insane friends if they think Advantage was ruining them."

"You're the only insane one here," Disadvantage said, pausing to look over the other three. "...I hope. Well? What of the rest of you?"

"If Midnight's out, I'm out," Thunder replied.

"If Thunder's out, I'm out," Gravity replied.

Everyone looked at Desert Mirage. He shrugged. "I mean... If I could destroy Advantage by myself, then..." He looked around the room and smirked. "I could probably take all of you on and win too!"

"You really think you're tougher than me?" Disadvantage said, stepping forward with his own smirk.

"That's not what I said!" Mirage laughed. "I said that I'm tougher than you and all your ugly changeling friends."

"And what makes you think that?" Disadvantage growled, crooking his head.

"Well, you have to be one useless alicorn if your parents named you 'Disadvantage!'"

Disadvantage took a step back and chuckled. "What makes you think it's not just a title?"

Desert shrugged. "It's gotta be your name; it matches your face so well."

Disadvantage trotted angrily towards Mirage. He leaned in such that their snouts were almost touching. He glared into Mirage's unwavering eyes. "You think so? You must be the dumbest unicorn I've ever met."

Desert pushed the black snout out of the way as he sniffed the red horn. Slowly, his tongue creeped from his snout and he licked the base of Disadvantage's horn. The alicorn jumped back. He shuddered as Desert simply smirked back at him.

"What is wrong with you?!" Disadvantage screamed at the unicorn.

Desert shrugged. "What? I skipped lunch..."

"Shut up and leave before I order you killed, you... You... Freak."

Mirage stamped the ground, rewarding the threat with a slow clap. "Can't even think of an insult for me, huh?"

Disadvantage shook his head in rage. "That's it! Guards! Soldiers of Lacuna! Kill these trespassers!"

Desert's smirk grew wider as his horn grew brighter. A couple changelings stepped in between them, but the four could still see Disadvantage's horn glow that same color. His red eyes caught the glow, and he ducked down with his forelegs up to grasp his glowing horn.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled from the floor, getting the attention of the changelings in the room. "Stop that!"

Desert chuckled as his spell bent the alicorn's horn until finally it snapped in half. He brought the half up to his mouth, blew off the red coloring and chomped down on it. "Make me, carrot-face!" the unicorn said with his mouth full.

The changelings turned to see their leader still on the ground, and the tear of his horn exposing its true vegetable nature. One changeling pulled at it, slipping the false horn off its masters face. He picked it up and turned to him.

"You're no alicorn! You're just a pegasus with a carrot tied to your head!"

"I bet it's not even a magic carrot!" another said.

Desert swallowed. "There's no such thing!"

"Kill the non-believers! They broke my magic carrot!" Disadvantage yelled.

"You can't seriously be going with that?" Midnight said in utter disbelief.

The changelings jumped the team from all sides. Thunder drew his blade and immediately downed an anxious wretcher. Desert swung his spear around, blasting the front lines with laser blasts. Midnight threw spells and dodged attacks. Gravity dodged the first flurry of hits before a wretcher struck her with a spell from behind, knocking her unconscious. Desert moved to stand over her body and protect her. Disadvantage got up off the ground and galloped off into the darkness. The amount of enemies left made it impossible for anyone to pursue, plus Gravity was still out cold. Desert released a fury of lasers and decimated the last squad of enemies. Running over the ashes of their foes, the three found the room Disadvantage had fled to completely empty and drafty from an open window.

"Dang, he got away..." Desert said in actual disappointment.

"Well, now we know that his wings weren't made of food too," Thunder said.

Midnight went back to the room they came from as the two ponies laughed. "Guys?!" he called out to them. "Did one of you move Gravity?!"

They trotted back out to find Masquerade standing over an ashen, empty floor. The horror on his face spread to the others. Midnight cleared his throat and gestured to the lines of ash on the floor. They followed the trail only to find another open window.

"He didn't," said Midnight.

"He did," confirmed Thunder.

"He done goofed," growled Desert.

---

Gravity opened her eyes to a barely lit room and to the feel of cold cement beneath her. She was on her back, restrained only by the amount of pain coursing through her head. The noise in the room did not help at all. She looked up to see another griffin in the distance yelling at the black and red pegasus. Then she recognized his voice.

"You had one job, Gunter!" Gorman X yelled at his associate. "All you had to do was incite a fight between the Cyclops and the creepy ones! Or the creepy ones and a creepy one! I give the foundation of an army and you come back with a war lost and expect me to like it!?"

"But... But..."

"Did you bring any... Uh, how you say? Securities?"

"What?"

"Ah, better word: Restraints? Do we have ropes?"

"No..."

"Duck tapes?"

"Are you feeling alright, sir?"

"Go find the ducks, you oversized pigeon!"

"Can you at least get this off--"

"Now! Do you want little miss 'I don't know when she went to sleep' to wake up and snap your neck while your idiot back is turned?" The blurred figure in the distance paused. "Then go!"

The blur turned sharply, and Gravity shut her eyes before he could see that she was already awake. She could only listen to his footsteps approach her body. As the steps echoed next to her ear, she could feel him scan her body with his eyes. A claw prodded her side. She choked down the reflexes. It prodded again. She kept calm. It prodded again. She kept limp. Finally, the eyes released their heavy gaze and the feet scraped the cement as the turned from her. She peeked to find Gorman's back to her. He had discarded his armor and seemed to be doing something to his chest.

He could not hear her get up from the pavement.

Silently, she crept toward him. He let out a gasp, stopping her in her tracks. His back remained turned from her and his head remained glued to his chest, but his claw quickly discarded a red cloth with white trimming and a splotch of green on it. Gorman reached down with this free claw and pulled a completely white cloth from a basket, dipped it in water from a bucket next to him, and slapped the dampness onto his chest. She could hear him wince as the claw held the cloth in place. She carefully stepped closer. His head shook for a brief moment, making it difficult for Gravity to get her claws around his neck. Finally, he stilled his head and took a deep breath. She lunged for his throat.

Her claws grabbed smoke.

The red and white cloth fell to the floor, and Gravity followed it. An agonizing pain in her back leg sent her down to the cement. She turned to find Gorman grinning at her with a sword's hilt in his claw. Her eyes could not see the blade, but her leg definitely felt its presence.

She took the time to notice the sword claw's wrist had an unnatural red stripe with stitches running along it. She turned next to Gorman's chest, which had a deep red tint compared to the rest of his dark brown feathers. Finally, she looked into his eyes and smiled.

Gorman smiled back, and broke into laughter. "I honestly didn't think you would be stupid enough to actually try it, Verdugo..."

"Don't call me that!" she said despite her pain and his thick accent.

"Or what?" he asked, twisting the hilt.

Gravity retched in pain. She looked back at the griffin's arm and shook her head. "At least... I won't need stitches..."

He twisted it back. "Because you are a two-faced harlot with no heart. You cannot bleed without a heart!"

"Yeah?" She tried her best to talk through the pain. "You seem to be doing just fine."

Gorman chuckled. He rose up, leaving the blade imbedded in Gravity's leg. "'I have no heart?' Must I remind you that the Gormans were the proudest griffin family in the kingdom!?"

"That's not saying much."

"Nay, but it is true. We had something that the griffins wanted... A form of charity."

"You were corrupt!" she yelled back. "Gormans kill all kinds of innocent life just for profit!"

Gorman frowned and approached her with an open claw. "You poor, poor wretchling..." He took her claw in his. "What we had... What I had planned..." He shook his head. "I was going to end those dreadful practices." He smirked. "You see, I crawled my way from the lowest ranks of the family with your help. You helped me find my true worth and meet my destiny." He smiled fully for a fleeting moment before anger scarred his face. "Then you come out of nowhere: the shapeshifting queen of lies and filth. You come out of nowhere and ruin everything. The world I loved, the world I cared for so much is burning." The smirk returned. "And as long as I have breath, I will see that yours burns brighter!"

Gravity tried to get her claw back, but Gorman tightened his grip on it. He pulled it up with him and her upper body followed. He smiled and pushed her to the right; the blade acted as a pivot, increasing her pain with every inch. She screamed as she hit the ground.

"You should try bleeding sometime," he said as he picked the cloth back up from the ground. "It's easier to be the good guy when you have a beating heart."

The door on the other side of the room opened, and the black and red pegasus stepped back inside. He carried a large roll of duct tape. His eyes focused on Gorman, as he trotted toward him it seemed obvious to Gravity that he had no idea she was awake.

"I got the tape!" he said, smiling. "Extra strength, water retaining, air-tight seal... You know, the pegasi use this stuff for patching holes in their weather machines!"

"Gunter?" Gorman said, squinting at him.

"Uh, yeah?"

He bobbed his head toward Gravity. "Tape her limbs together. Save a couple strips for me."

The pegasus coyly nodded. "Yes, sir..." He took two steps toward Gravity, then one step back. His eyes widened, fixed to the hilt of the sword. "Sir?"

"If you don't like it, be quicker next time!" Gorman yelled without turning from his own chest.

"Okay then..." Gunter trotted up to Gravity and looked over her limbs.

Gravity moved her claws, feet, and wings together so that the pegasus wouldn't do more damage than needed. Gunter applied the tape to her wrists, ankles, and the base of each wing. He then chewed off a couple large strips and hoofed them over to Gorman. He took the gray tape in his claw and looked over Gravity.

He placed the tape over her beak and sealed it. She could barely breathe and could not speak. "I don't want anymore screaming." He pulled the next piece wide and showed the sticky side to her up close. "You might want to close your eyes for this next part, but I started with your mouth in case you don't." Gravity quickly closed her eyes in time to feel the tape cover both eyelids and attach them firmly in place. "You can still hear, and you can still feel." Gorman laughed. "But that doesn't matter. For you do not listen, nor do you ever reach out."

In the void of blindness, Gravity could hear Gorman walk up to her bound leg and pull the sword out of the cement and pain. The tape suppressed her cries.

"Ah, bliss!" Gorman remarked.

"Not to speak out of rank, sir... But shouldn't we just kill her?"

"The Advantages and the Cyclops know necromancy and search for this one with each moment. Killing her now would not feel complete."

"But Advantage is also a cannibal! It was in the latest SRC report... We could have her eaten alive!"

There was a sound of scaly claw smacking a hairy snout. "Do you even listen to yourself? She is of the Arbiter Blood! You cannot eat those of that blood!"

"...Arbiters?"

"Cannibals! Wretchers! Whatever word your snowflake-sized brain can comprehend! Now go be special outside, where the work is!"

Gravity chuckled underneath the tape. She heard the door close behind Gunter.

"The best part about you only being able to hear and feel," Gorman explained. "This part is so much more fun."

She felt the sword plunge into her back. She writhed on the floor in pain. He pulled her up and propped her body on her hind legs, one of which was still hurt from the first stab.

"Now think of what you've done." Gorman's footsteps disappeared into the silence.

A single tear wet the inside of the tape.