Lullaby for Midlight

by Blankscape

Chapter 2 - Nothing Too Grand

"Nothing too lengthy either," Mergo reckoned while sipping on a mango smoothie. " And definitely nothing too frivolous. On the other hand, anything too mellow would be a total killjoy. It has to be somewhere in the middle. That is a must."

The words rolled off her tongue, one by one each painting her mouth a boring splotch of gray. They had been talking about the same two or three things since we got here. Though it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that it had been just that one long conversation all along, only they were repeating the sentiments in different synonyms. If she had a dictionary handy on her, there was no telling how long this conversation could go on for. Was this how things were done in the west? If so they certainly knew how to keep things in a predictable loop. How did Mergo know about all this?

In any case, the afternoon's itinerary had stuck to that mundane criteria, but all their chatter was getting too much to bear.

"You know, that's exactly what I've been telling Gria and Monty." Connie on the other hand was absolutely buying into what she said. Their exchange was so lively and level grounded, one could track and invest in the economics of their conversation with certainty of predictably boring prospects. "Balfon folk can get intense when they want to party. Even just trying to get them to peg things down an notch is enough to make them whine and grumble. But god forbid if Cyrilians get rough and tumble at all. I've come back to visit thrice now since I moved, and it's always an uphill battle getting just these two to loosen up!"

While I settled for a subtle roll of the eyes from my quiet corner of the table, Kirk couldn't help but toss a few indignant words into their conversation under the guise of a playful prod. "Excuse me? So we're not good enough for you now, eh?"

"No offense, Kirk, but your idea of fun is about as run-of-the-mill as anyone's in our old class can get," Connie explained quite bluntly. "And as good anyone can get in video games and sword arts, you can't expect me or Aggie to be as invested in it as you. It's pretty much your thing, ya?"

At the mention of my name, he shot a puzzled glance at me. "I'm with her on this one, Kirk. Sorry," I apologized whilst fidgeting with my own chunky smoothie. The point was valid. His annoyance was palpable.

Kirk merely huffed at the sight of his triple deluxe sundae which had finally come in after nearly twenty minutes of waiting. With an eager spoon in hand, the thought of digging into it simmered him down some. "Hey I can totally respect that, but I'd thought you guys would appreciate me being not as stuck up as my jock seniors. It is the school's number one sport. At least you could drop on me once in awhile during practice, Agatha."

And not one minute after they talked about not being frivolous too. Kirk hadn't been following their conversation at all. But just because I care enough to listen in still doesn't mean I wanted in on it. However, I digress. "And risk rumors spreading around school? I love you like the brother I never had, Kirk, but that's a line right there, clear and defined. We three know about that all too well." It was apparent in my tone who those three exactly were.

"Well you should stop worrying about that stuff, Kirk." And there Mergo chimed in, feeling somewhat left out. I had forgotten that she used to be like this, so seeing this side of her had put me off in a mix of fresh and strange. "The key to destressing on all that is you gotta be more inclusive with your plans, and open up. Maybe give sports and videogames a break for a while, learn a little from Balfon folk and be a group guy? Maybe follow Connie's example?"

"You know what? This girl gets me," Connie chuckled and brought her glass to Mergo. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Mergo said, clinking her own glass in return.

I can't believe how close these two got in one afternoon. Having rounded themselves in more general chatter, Kirk leaned in to whisper while scooping up the cookie that was buried in his sundae, echoing the reminder that came to me in his own query. "Since when did Mergo become this talkative?"

Taking a bit of time to finish my own drink, I took a napkin to tidy myself before returning a response in my own hushed voice. "She's always been like this, dummy. Even before the accident. It's just she spends so much time alone cooped up in that cottage of hers. I won't go on prying how she found closure. She'll be joining us in school next semester, so it's about time she picked herself up. That's all that matters"

"You really care about Mergo, don't you," Kirk stoically observed, keeping mum thereafter. At least he noticed that I didn't want any more talk of the past when she was around. Part of what I said was a lie though, and I couldn't help but think back to recent events.

Several hours earlier, I had wheeled Mergo from the back of the cottage to introduce her to Connie. Kirk she had already met when she moved here, and they got along as well as any newly acquainted folk did. Aloofly. But as for her and Connie, they pretty much connected right off the bat, albeit one minor hitch.

"Hey guys, we're back," I called as we rounded the bend and passed the shed. Coming to a squeaky stop, I began with the introductions. "Connie, this Mergo, my cousin. Mergo, meet Connie."

Kirk and I bore the same awkward expression as it was plain to see that Connie wasn't taking this as well as we thought she would. "Oh...hey, nice to meet you. Like Aggie said, I'm Connie." Quite an aloof response from someone who just came from Balfon.

"And I'm Mergo," she introduced herself with a smile and open hand. Connie only deigned to give Mergo a nod and so-so smile of her own before she turned away disinterested. Not wanting to be stood up at first impressions, Mergo nudged me to cart her over to Connie and let her finish her introduction properly.

Connie stopped short of entering the car as I wheeled Mergo and myself between her and the door. "And it's nice to meet you too!" Mergo offered a handshake, though the kind gesture was almost lost behind the pain of me accidentally running over Connie's foot. For that unintentional sabotage, Mergo shot me a scowl.

"Oh, so sorry about that, Connie!"

I could tell from her restrained expression that in spite of the apology, she was even more put off now. "No worries. It's nothing too serious that I can't walk off.

Our brief eye contact allowed me to signal my own cues. So in spite of my hiccup Connie was gracious enough to pay it no mind and go along with things for now, albeit she did so begrudgingly. So she took Mergo's hand to which they shook heartily. "Well you can thank Agatha for setting us off on the wrong foot there. Not that I have feet but I hope we can get along anyway."

"Was that a lame person jab? That's pretty level of you. People in Balfon love to play victim," Connie shrugged as she broke the handshake, flexing her fingers at Mergo's grip. "I guess we're cool so long as you don't drag things down."

"With a lackey like her around, you should be worried about me getting ahead," Mergo egregiously claimed with a thumb pointing back at me.

"Excuse me?"

"So don't go counting me so infirm right off the bat. I can keep up, cross my heart." She etched a cross over her chest. It was signature gesture Aunt Bronagh had instilled in her long ago, and its motions now lined up with the scar that sucked under her shirt. I see she still kept that story close to her heart.

Connie at first said nothing, keeping a stalwart front before the handicapped resolve. Then she smiled genuinely and returned a hearty chuckle​. "You know I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to like you already."

In spite of the rocky start, it seemed things would be going smoothly. And over the course of the afternoon, things did go smoothly. We had watched a movie, gone shopping, and pretty much all the schtick of a totally loose and not run-of-the-mill day out on the town... Yeah right, these were all completely run-of-the-mill hangout stuff. Still I had to hand it to Connie. She did bring Mergo out of her shell, or at least welcomed her out of it. I couldn't be more thankful to her and Kirk for having my back on this.

Mind came back to present time, and it was time to leave. We strode easy-going steps on our way out of the mall, passing late day mall goers intent on enjoying the coming nightlife. Having staved off peckish pangs with a little more than light snacks, the brisk night greeted us with a cool embrace as we exited the mall. Kirk felt somewhat dozed owing that to the sundae he just ate, so he asked me to drive. While I hadn't gotten all my hours in for my student license, I was confident enough to fill in for him this one time. The way back had been the farthest from congested and my nerves were thankful for it as it had helped the drive come along quickly.

Now the sun had just dipped beneath the horizon by the time we arrived at the cottage. Setting Mergo carefully in her wheelchair, I was just about to drop her off for the night. But Connie had different plans.

"Hah, I'm beat!" She yelled as we entered the cottage. Plopping down on the couch, she let her stroller come to a clattering halt, letting it topple over.

"Hey, I thought you were staying at my place?" I asked while flipping some switches on. After taking stock of the place, she gave it a salutatory whistle and lost track of my question in favor of her own train of thought.

The lights flickered to life and drew back the dark curtain over the cottage's rustic interior, revealing its largely one story design. That is, save for the short flight of stairs leading up to an overlooking second floor, and the ritzy bedroom-bathroom combo it afforded. Since having been left to my parents, they, my mother in particular, still kept diligently to its maintenance and cleaning. Needless to say, Mergo couldn't make use of anything higher than a step up the stairs. So apart from monthly cleanings which was due some time soon, a good layer of dust should have settled there by now. Connie had other ideas though, judging by that glint in her eye.

"I am so envious right now," she got up in spite of her apparent tiredness. "So you have this place to yourself?"

Mergo answered after coming out from the bathroom. "Yeah I do. Though I do get Agatha dropping by regularly to keep an eye on me. Other times it's Uncle Jerry and Aunt Licia, and on occasion it's Uncle Davis and some guys from the NWA."

"So Connie," I yelled, snapping her out of her daze. "What's the plan?"

"Ah, well, I was thinking that I want to stay here for a change. I've been to your place so many times already, you know. So this place is like a breath of fresh air." Seeing her pirouette out of nowhere, my house's eggshell walls suddenly came off as stale compared to this place, now that I thought about it.

"You know what, Connie, a sleepover does sound good right about now," Kirk butted in after securing his car. "You locked your place up good, right Agatha? I could just message my folks that I'd be staying over."

He probably did have a set of spare clothes in the trunk for practice. And I could probably wear some of Mergo's clothes on loan. Some of them were hand-me-downs from myself, after all.

"Alright, Kirk. Taking a few tips from yours truly now, aren't we?" Connie cheered. He only chuckled and shook his head dismissively.

"And you know what would make things even more fresh? Some pipin' hot spaghetti," Mergo chimed in, wheeling herself to the kitchen. Connie and Kirk hollered in glee at the thought of more food. "Come on, Agatha. You missed your chance to make me some home-cooked goodness back at lunch. With everyone here, now's the perfect time to make good on that promise."

At this point, I just wanted to get back to bed and fall asleep. But amidst their optimistic rhythm, I just couldn't​ dour down on their suggestions and good vibes.

"Ugh, fine." If I could rotate my head a full circle I would. "Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine!"

I followed her to the kitchen​ while Connie and Kirk opened up the utility closet in search of cleaning implements, intent on tidying the second floor. Over the din of their laughter and conversation, pots and pans clanged in the kitchen as Mergo and I slaved away. Over on one stove simmered a stew of limping noodles and in another sizzled a robust zest of seasoned meats in a light sauce. As I pulled a bowl of churned tomatoes from the fridge, I couldn't help but notice how much else she had prepared for this night. A double six pack of ginger ale, and a bunch pudding and yogurt tucked away in the corner as well as two tubs of ice cream sitting in the freezer. Did she see this coming? She certainly didn't know Connie was coming.

"Hey, Mergo. How did you get all this stuff ready?"

She gave me some mind while tending to the spaghetti with a ladle. "Davis and friends, who else? I've had them help me with chores since you got busy with finals. And it's been awhile since your parents dropped in on me."

That explanation sufficed for the moment, so I returned to cooking. Though as I did so, I couldn't help feel that I was missing something here. Nevertheless I went on and thought it was about time to set the table. Carrying a set of plates, spoons and forks in my arms, I was surprised to see that Connie and Kirk settled by the TV, already finished with cleaning and laughing it out on a comedy flick they happened to stumble upon. Seems like one of those chores she had the NWA do included sprucing the upstairs.

"Not just a dullard, but a bona fide princess too," I muttered under breath while setting the table.

From there it wasn't long before we were all enjoying a nice impromptu dinner. Teens enjoying steamy spaghetti with a side of stroganoff while the TV clamored in the background. It was a hearty picture, and I was proud that we had been raised well enough to come to this scene ourselves. It didn't take long for us to clean the food out though. Kirk in particular didn't want to waste any of it, scraping morsels off the serving plates with a spoon for the most part and an obstinate finger for the corners.

"Today was so much fun," Connie commented with a belly in slight distention. Something we all shared tonight. She twirled the last of her spaghetti in her fork before finally downing it and going on. "If only I hadn't moved so far away, we could do this more often."

"It sounds like you're regretting your family winning the lottery. I thought you love it over there?" I challenged.

"I do love it and it is a pretty great place, no doubt about that. But you know what they say, Cyril at home and Cyril at heart." I was right all along. Balfonheim just couldn't get her to bend. But seeing Connie fidget with her thumbs and a mischievous smirk, I couldn't help but feel she had something else to add. Unable to hold her glee, she announced so ceremoniously. "Which is why I'm happy to say, I'm coming back for the remainder of high school!"

That meant two more years. Connie was here to stay.

"Hah, Agatha. Are you crying?" Kirk called up with a smile on his face. I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or honest-to-goodness happy himself. Likely it was half of both, but it annoyed me nonetheless.

"No, I am not crying. I just have something in my eye." It was just a couple of tears, but I'd be damned before I admitted that to him. Wordlessly Connie approached and pulled me into a hug. I remembered being the saddest I had ever been that day she moved away. I was just so happy to have my best friend back.

In a glance to the side, I saw Mergo with a ghost of a smile on her own face.

With dinner all but wound down, it was time to hit the hay. Though when Mergo did volunteer to clean up first, everyone else just dove in as well. Still being guests in the house, Mergo and I were able to convince our visitors otherwise. Pillows and blankets were distributed, and with a belch and a yawn, Connie and Kirk retired to their quarters, the former sleeping in the second floor and the latter settling in the couch nearby. Though it was barely large enough for his stature, he didn't mind the meagre accommodation all that much. But having opted to help Mergo tidy things up before going to bed, the real chore for us here would be suffering through all his snoring.

We had split the load between us, Mergo tending to the stove and cooking utensils while I saw to the cutlery, dish work and table. In spite of all the racket his snoring caused, I couldn't help but appreciate the static backdrop Kirk provided as I fell to introspection as I went along cleaning. Kinda like Chocotunes when he was driving.

Today's prospects had been initially dim in my mind. Not a week earlier, I could recall Mergo hollowly giving into my parent's persuasions for a change to finally come to school. Four weeks she had been here in this dinky cottage alone, with either me, my parent's or the NWA dropping by to check on her. It was an unorthodox arrangement for one so young and often tossed around between foster families, but I wasn't one to judge laws I didn't render nor cared to fully understand. In any case, a month of relative loneliness was a long time for anyone, and I couldn't imagine what sort of thoughts she had come to ruminate or fester on. The sudden accident on the mountain trail they took had changed her life, and while I had a heart to bleed for her predicament, I in no way could pretend to know what emotions and stresses she was going through alone. Not that my parents or I wanted to leave her there to her own devices, but that's how she wanted things to be... So silently she went about and managed herself in this cottage for all this time, just as she wordlessly combed the stove of crumbs and morsels with a fine cloth rag. In the same fashion she saw to the dishes I happened to neglect, stowing them back in the cupboard while I fell deeper into thought.

"Oh I'm sorry about that, Mergo," I apologized when I finally snapped out of it. Not that I knew of her past experiences in foster homes, but considering she had managed herself alone most of the time, she was doing surprisingly well in reaching for the cupboard with plates in tow. Still I couldn't help but worry, so I wrested the plates from her before her stubs could slip from under her by chance, and set them safely in the cupboard.

"Why apologize?" She replied with a chuckle. "You have your best friend back and she's spending the rest of her school days closer to you. If I were you I'd be too busy grinning ear to ear to care about cleaning. I'm surprised you even offered to help anyway."

"I know, and I am happy for it all. And you know what else I'm happy for?"

"What's that?"

"You joining us." She stopped short of closing the tap as I went on. Drops of water drowned out Kirk's snores turned light as he dreamed away on his couch wonderland, but none more so louder than my own words as I poured my heart out to reach out to Mergo. "It's still a bit off in the future, but you'll be coming back to school. Getting back into the rhythm, you've made a lot of progress. Now I can't pretend to know what you've been through these past six years, but you shouldn't have wheeled away on us just now."

I stepped before her, face to face and held her hands tight. "I want all my best friends with me."

She tightly gripped the handle and turned the tap shut. "I won't say I'm sorry, and I can't promise anything. We'll just have to see what happens from here on."

"Come on, Mergo. You don't have to be so-"

Her wheelchair squeaked as she stood up in her seat and met me eye to eye. "No more words, Aggie. Only the road ahead of us."

There it was, her mischievous and playful side. The face of the little girl who called me to join her in escapades to the forest. A side of her I thought had drowned in tragedy. Deep in my heart I wanted to hold her tight, cry out and say my first best friend had returned to me this day as well. Chalk another blessing on me this day. But there was a wistful glint in her eye, and it told me it wasn't quite so just yet. So I stifled myself and kept mum.

Hmm...what was this feeling, déjà vu?

"Hah, well. Looks like cleaning is done, and in record time too!" She proudly concluded. "Sure the NWA have the muscle and shove, but chore-wise, nothing beats the power of friendship. Am I right, Aggie?"

"Heh, right." I stopped to admire our work. And all in half an hour, too.

Washing our hands in summary, we made for the spacious ground floor guest bedroom, which boasted enough space for two beds, one Mergo had chose to occupy when she moved in and the other left vacant on for me. We brushed our teeth and I helped her tuck into bed.

"G'night, Aggie."

"Sleep tight, Mergo."

All in all, it was a pretty great day... wasn't it?

---

My eyes fluttered open and there the darkness greeted me.

Hahahaha...my, my, wasn't this getting a cliche now? Darkness, darkness, darkness! Everything in darkness! Make darkness great again! The passing jest lodged a chuckle in my throat, but the chuckle also brought to my attention a pain. A distant and fleeting sensation that only became less so the more I paid it no mind.

There was a darkness around me, and at its familiar presence, a sentiment roused unbidden, one that was particularly nostalgic and deep rooted within my memory. I turned from the pain toward that peacefulness and its deep seas cradled me. The lull and serenity would have to wait, however. Waves of excruciating pain and nausea seared into the forefront of my mind, and with them came an all too sobering wakefulness as my eyes adjusted to the dry afternoon air. Out from slumber's embrace, my chest rose and fell more rapidly at the radiating sensation. I half expected someone to be here by my side, but the other half was right. I was alone.

My barrel ached as if the depths of a great lake weighed upon it. Limbs stuck out limply at the enervation of a hundred-mile gallop. And a migraine the likes of which I had never known wracked my head relentlessly. From my prone form, I brought hooves to bear my aching head, but the motions only increased the pain two folds. In my agony I let out a low scream that came out diminished and defeated. The act irritated my arid throat even more and caused pained heaves in my breathing, which only brought about more pain. With but a spare sliver of thought I entertained the notion of this circuitous startup being somewhat hilarious, as such thoughts tended to amuse me in the strangest times. Were it not for the extreme discomfort, I would have chuckled even more at my own predicament and filled the silence of the forest with raucous laughter. But all of my mind focused on the unpleasantness wholly, body reeling and teeth gnashing all the while.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, but for one in considerable pain such as I was, the ordeal felt as constant as existence. With the forefront of my mind concentrating on the pain, all other senses were blocked out. The ground felt numb, and the myriad forest sounds fell on practically deaf ears. Light hurt my eyes and I shut them tight, but what little I saw of the amber hues peeking past the canopy told me the sun was about to set, making way for the looming twilight to creep across the sky and turn the already dark forest even darker. The dimming ambience in turn did wonders to calm my nerves, and I found the pain subsiding in time as a familiar darkness encroached.

Though it needn't be said, I say such words only because they are true. I loved the dark. Whether it be going to sleep or waking up, come sunset, or even the thickest of cloud cover, it greeted her all the same, all too faithfully. I loved to walk through it. I loved to sit in the sanctum of silence and solemnity it provided. Even in times of sorrow or fits of anger, whatever emotion 'd find myself in, I’d come running down empty halls where neither light touched nor life stirred. There I’d find the pervading darkness an ever present friend. It was a constant companion that found and consoled me in the most difficult times without fail. Even here the darkness was the same. But now that I noticed, it had become distant.

My ears swiveled, eager to catch an echo of a voice. That gentle voice in the dark that soothed and cooed me so many times before in spite of my many shortcomings. Those words it would say to me when things didn’t go as planned.

“I can’t… I can’t hear you,” I whispered from the forest floor. In my solitude, tears welled in my eyes, and my ragged breath had caused the mud by my muzzle to swell in and out like a tiny tide.

“Please say something…anything!”

Lesser bugs crawled a skittering and creeping cage around me, going about their business and indifferent to my presence and plight. Some had even began to gnaw at me, impatient to taste the succulence of still living flesh. But the pain was nothing compared to my sorrow, and I went on pleading.

“I know you are there and that I’ve failed… I am truly sorry.” A salty spring poured forth, running down my muzzle and wetting the soil into a mushy loam pressed down by her squirming head.

“Please forgive me... Please.”

I found no answer, for the darkness was unknowing and silent.

Silent not for long, however.

“Over here! I think I found something,” a far-off voice shouted.

An orange glow loomed in the distance, chasing the darkness of the forest away as the growing thunder of hooves accompanied its impending light. I turned around to the direction of the light, looking past the long ditch in the ground I faintly remembered crawling out of, and the telltale trail of broken branches left by the wake of my crash landing.

They were coming.

My eyes shot open and ears perked up as anxiety flooded me with adrenaline. What remained of my wings buzzed pathetically as I strained in beating them fast enough to gain flight. I could not escape like this. In my sorry state, all I could manage was an aptly sorry crawl. A trudge made agonizingly on sore and shaky joints threatening to buckle under me. To my salvation, a large gnarled root grew near a thicket of bushes within spiting distance. There I found my haven and under it I frantically crawled just in the nick of time.

A mob of ground pounders ambled into view as the wispy trails of my tail slithered beneath the cover of shadow. There were a few winged ones, but they were clearly not too fond of navigating a dense forest aloft at night, so they largely kept to hoof. Some carried torches. Other carried nets and pitch forks. All sported faces scrunched in scrutiny, their emotions varying between angry and bothered, where otherwise a friendly smile would perch itself.

“Shoot, looks like this one got lucky,” the first pony on scene said. “But look at the size of that crater! This one must’ve been a big one.”

He looked around and seemed to catch no notice of the furrows I made in my crawl. In fact I was lucky just as he had said. He had seemingly walked all over the telltale trail of my pathetic crawl, ruining it with his hoofprints. In another stroke of luck, his cronies arrived at the scene and haplessly followed suit. There were about nine or so of them in total, and to my greatest of gratitudes, obvious evidence to my recent course of action had been unwittingly dealt with by them, my pursuers. I breathed a short sigh of relief.

“Hah. 'Lucky' is an understatement. If you think about where they got tossed off from, I’m surprised more than a dozen survived. Though it would have been better if they didn’t,” a new arrival cajoled. At his words a lump caught in my throat, causing me discomfort.

“Seems like this one was well off enough to get up, though there isn’t a sign of hoofprints leading way or anything. That's quite surprising, given the ones we rounded up so far weren’t even awake,” the third arrival commented. Altogether they were a little more than a dozen ponies, if there weren’t any more on the way. "I'd hate to deal with one of these things well rested and in prime condition." He shuddered at the thought, while on the other hoof I only prayed they would quickly pass over me.

“Hey!” The second pony called. “Don’t forget they have wings.”

“Look around, this forest is thick! The trees took care of their wings. The ones we caught all had theirs shredded. There’s no doubt about this one too, judging by the branches it crashed through.” The third pony pointed at the opening in the canopy, and the clear view it afforded of a precarious city edged in by the mountain's peak, shining defiantly in the distance.

“Then again, it’s been a few days. I hope not too many of these nasty things have woken up.”

A few days… Those words struck a foreboding chord in the back of my mind, though my current state, one I couldn’t quite place.

“Hey, look at this!” The second newcomer said, picking up a beat up box from the ground nearby. “It has the royal seal on it...or I think it's the royal seal.”

He pried the broken lid open and out tumbled a pile of emerald shards that glistened dully in the torchlight.

“So they invade Equestria, suck all the love out of you, AND steal royal jewels too?” The first pony exclaimed. My mission's objective, reduced to a pile of shards! The pit in my stomach grew larger at the sight. “Gosh these changelings are depraved.”

“Lookie here!” Said the third comer. “I found a crown. Oh wow, that crack is big though.”

I brought a hoof up to inspect her head, however painful it was. It was gone and in fact was in that pony’s hooves. An auld crown of great legacy and commune, broken in my care! Slip ups upon slip ups, and now a sin most unforgivable was now pinned to my name!

“They must have taken it from Canterlot too. And by the looks of it, it could be Princess Luna’s. She’s not going to like this.” The finder's muzzle contorted into an indignant scowl, and amidst their own banter, the sentiment spread to the other ponies in the mob.

A holler from behind called their attention away and mine as well. However limited my view from under the gnarled root was, I struggled to turn to the direction of the call.

Two newcomers approached, one lugging a heavy sack her by the teeth and other helping from behind. The third pony went to assist in pushing from behind and they hauled the sack into the middle of the mob for inspection.

“You missed this one just a few turns down the way back,” she said, presenting their catch to the group. "If we didn't find this thing, well... I can only imagine what sorts of disasters would come for us down the line."

Out from the net plopped a changeling onto the ground, a lithe female drone. Her wings were in a state worse off than mine were, gone and ripped from her back. Nicks and dents peppered her carapace all over, some sizeable cracks oozing vital fluids out to where they shouldn't be. In moments, she stirred into consciousness right in front of the ponies and me. “Oh no, this one is coming round. Better tie it up.”

The group shortly panicked in an uproar as they clamored for the one amongst them holding the supplies. They turned even more agitated upon learning that their designated supply pony had actually gone off with the other half of the search party. With no time to waste, a unicorn quickly came forth. Plucking strings of hair from the tails of everyone in the group as well as several of his own, he bound them together with a spell. He then cut a length of the braided collection and focused on it. Within minutes he produced rope over fifteen feet long.

"There we go. The spell should hold up until we get back to town and turn it over to the soldiers." They closed in on the changeling and she could pose no resistance against the ponies as they hog tied her.

Helpless as I was, a deep gasp escaped me. “No.”

I recognized her. She was the oldest changeling in my retinue, one of the very few who still held fast to the scarcity of self and a dear friend close to my heart. Every fiber in my being called to me to throw myself into the fray and save her no matter what the consequence, no matter what end awaited us both. In a brief moment our eyes met. She pleaded me not too. My battered body went against my will in sympathy to hers, holding me back with chains of exhaustion.

“No… Variance, no,” I whispered again.

They looped the rope through the holes in her legs and ignored Variance's grunts of pain as the leader pointed a hoof off in other directions and sent the search party on its way. Not that she could voice her discomfort. She could barely even shake her head, let alone stay awake through this ordeal. As they tightened the knot on her legs, she flitted in and out of consciousness, bobbing her head down to a light touch with the ground.

“Please, no. Please.” With all my heart I pleaded. I pleaded for a miracle. A daring rescue, a sudden surge of strength, a freak accident, otherworldly benediction, anything to prevent things from going down this path. But just as the darkness had fallen silent for my blunders, none answered my cry for help.

After fastening more rope on her limbs, the ponies threw a net over Variance. With the group resuming their search, they hauled her across the forest floor like some prized game. The openings in the net cruelly exposed her to all the rocks, bramble and mud they dragged her through. Past a turn by a tree they disappeared, the listless gaze she shot at me not once breaking until that point. When the voices petered out and light of their torches faded from view, I allowed my sobs to echo out. I thought myself a pitiful excuse for a leader and a friend for merely watching in the sidelines, letting all that happen and leaving Variance to a fate worse than death. The pain of my aching body still throbbed all over, but none more so than the one that tore open my heart.

A sudden step in front of my gnarled nook startled me, cutting my tears and sobs off. A hoof stood within arm’s reach just outside. The torch held aloft blazed like a spotlight of judgment searching for my sins.

‘This is it,’ I thought as I anxiously bit down on a lip, barely holding back a dozen children's wails. This was the end of the line. The hoof reached over to pry the root cover loose and open.

Forgive me, Crocellia.

---

An ache in my head throbbed incessantly, and that was just the start. At first the feeling was faint, but it was relentless in its assault that I could no longer ignore it. I was launched from the serene lull of sleep, now sitting up in bed in a cold sweat. Lull? Serene? Why did that seem familiar...

In the midst of that migraine, I was surprised to have spared a bit of mind for that thought. Right then and there it rebounded with a vengeance. The pain wracking my head increased two fold and spread to the rest of my body, causing cramps all over. Curling into myself, I clutched my head with my hand which had become so numb that the very sensation of touch shrunk away from my fingers and toes. I rolled around in bed hoping my fidgeting would illicit feeling in any of my flustered nerves, but they remained stupefied and unresponsive. It felt like hours had passed where I couldn't feel anything apart from pain and numbness. It had become so all encompassing that I couldn't even tell if I was still breathing. Then the sensation of pain slowly died down and I was allowed to feel again. The first thing I did was wait anxiously for the pain to come back. Moments passed and nothing. And then I cried.

"What the hell was that?" I croaked past gnashing teeth and a stream of tears and sweat.

Numbness had left my body completely and was gradually receding from my limbs. With the situation returning to near normalcy the first order of business came to mind. With a steady hand, I felt myself up in anxious examination, hoping whatever lightning struck me left no lasting scars or deformations. So far it was only dampness and itchy skin. A sight of relief escaped me. However a sliver of numbness persisted in my fingers. Squinting my eyes in the dim confines of the room I struggled to make out even an outline of my hands. I couldn't even feel them wiggle, and that alone got me worrying again. Thankfully my bed was situated right by a window and I fumbled over to pull back the curtains. With light from the lone street lamp in the vicinity pouring into the room, I had briefly hoped that it wouldn't reach the other side of the room and wake Mergo. The concern was quickly forgotten, however, as panic took hold of me in a vice grip.

My fingers were gone, and my hands now ended in purple stumps on my wrist. The sight gave me such a shock as I doubled over and back, off the bed and down to the floor. Picking myself up turned arduous, and a glance back revealed the reason for that to be the extra joints in my legs, which were also now completely purple. There were no toes on my foot, not even a sole. Just abrupt unadorned stumps on my ankles. Could it even still be called a foot?

"I'm dreaming, this has to be a dream!" I shrieked, picking up myself and entering a hobbled crawl. My pajamas and underwear shed off in their now loose fit around my waist, and they nearly tangled on my legs. Having caught myself in my shirt, I ditched them and my shame as I made way for the low lying dresser across the room in the nude. The light only cut to my chin, but even in dim shade I couldn't​ ignore the realization I was different. I was purple all over now, a glossy pastel purple fit for a storybook palette. Managing a dull sheen in the dim light, my eyes had remained dark auburn and my hair still an disheveled obsidian though with a hint of indigo that shimmered in fringe refractions. But the most glaring detail was the horn that sprouted from my head. I had transformed into a unicorn overnight.

Several dozen thoughts buzzed and raced in my head, churning a wave of nausea in my panicked state. One thought crossed the finish line in the forefront of my mind, giving frantic foothold to all my reasoning and question for the next few moments.

The dream... I was starting to remember.

There were those things that looked like me, like ponies. Though only a couple of them had horns, a few with wings, and most of them had neither. The ones with horns somehow helped provide light as they marched through the forest in search for something...or someone.

"They were looking for me!" I shouted, struck by realization. At that sudden volume I startled even myself, and I pulled a hairy fore-stump over my mouth. I went on a bit more, throwing guesses up in the air in a whisper. "Or whatever thing I was in the dream."

Creaking wood echoed from out in the hallway and I realized the door was wide open. Turning my head a bit more, I found that the bed behind me was empty, and the wheelchair parked next to it gone. Mergo was up. What would she think when she saw me? Would she panic like I did and scream till Connie and Kirk would come to check on things, or would she keep calm and assess the situation and listen to me before jumping to conclusions? To hell with keeping calm! I was panicking myself, sweating bullets like a bad gambler in a game of Romandan Roulette! She'd be just as freaked out as I am, and there'd be no way I could feasibly contain this on such short notice!

Floorboards continued to creak under weight of someone approaching. The sounds fell in an almost pitter-patter frequency, telling me there was more than one person coming. Connie and Kirk were up! They were with her! Thoughts and words caught in my throat as the footsteps drew near and the creaking sounds only grew louder. All that separated the normalcy of their early morning and the bizarre sight of the creature I had become was a simple turn to the right.

"Agatha, are you awake?" A voice called with frail morning quality, and a hint of apprehension.

"Mergo, I can explain!" I spoke up unhinged, seeing her darkened outline peek past the door. On the offhand I noticed she was taller, but that could be because I was smaller than I was. I was a tiny pony! "I had this wierd dream for some reason, and then my body shot out in pain all over all of a sudden! I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't think, I couldn't even breathe! I thought I was dead! When I came to, I was-"

"You transformed into a unicorn," she frankly stated, finishing my frantic one breath babble.

She wasn't​ screaming at the top of her lungs. She wasn't crumbling into a panicked mess. She didn't twitch in revulsion or even bat an eye. Mergo just stood there, looking at me. "You...aren't you surprised? Not even the least bit confused?"

"Believe me, I'm the last person who would be surprised." Coming forward as she spoke, her sudden movements caught me unprepared and sent me skittering back to the window. "Though I'd be lying if I said this wasn't unexpected."

Mergo approached the window and let the light cut across and up her form. She wore a simple yet elegant robe that stopped just above her ankles. The tables were turned unexpectedly as I now found myself surprised instead. As I inspected her from top to bottom, repeatedly at that, she took calm sips from a glass of water she brought with her. Though she remained relatively calm, the corners of her mouth curved ever so slightly into a ghost of a scowl.

"Y-you're walking," I pointed out disbelievingly.

"I'm aware." Only a feet feet in front of me now, she hunkered down to my eye level.

I stuttered on, pointing an apprehensive finger...arm. "Y-y-you're legs grew back."

"Apparently. All my toes too." Sitting close enough to reach a curious touch, I placed a hand...stub on them. They were solid, real flesh and bone. She wiggled them to punctuate the fact. "I should be wearing socks though. It's going to be some time before i get used to them again. The morning air is quite cold, and they tickle quite easily."

Language was a funny thing in that words themselves carried inherent meaning. One peculiar phenomenon I picked up was that certain words could never escape their meaning. Like one could never say the word bubbles sounding angry. In my opinion, the same applied to the word tickle. It was still dark in the room, and the light from the street lamp barely cut across her chest. But even so it was clear to see that as she spoke, Mergo wasn't amused, not even the slightest. Neither was I.

"What's in the world is going on!?"

That was all the air in my lungs gone in one go. Man, tiny unicorn pipes had some shouting power. I didn't care anymore if I was loud. I couldn't give a damn that I would wake Connie or Kirk. For all the uncontrollable unknowns and my own bewildered state, I may as well be in a cell, screaming at padded walls.

"Someone, anyone! Give it to me straight... I need answers."

"If that is what you wish."

At those words a snap of a finger rang out, and its sound reverberated in my head, transitioning into a flash bang jolt. The sensation it struck me with did so hard and mercilessly, giving my nerves another shock of my lifetime, if not one far more worse. I was numb to the world again as it swam in hazy white light, turning on it sides. Or was I the one my sides? Mergo quickly cradled me, propping my legs up with a pillow and placing my head on her lap. Her voice was distant echo, calling to me past a thick white wall. Even as the blinding light dissipated, her words were distant and muffled for what I could make out of them.

"Agatha, stay with me! You're going to be alright!" She assured as gently as possible, sound gaining clarity in my ears once more.

As much as I wanted to believe her, in my re-stupefied state, emotional wherewithal and motor skills had been temporarily put out of my reach. I could not think nor act, only see. With no choice I settled to watching the world move around me. An indifferent bystander.

Mergo continued calling out to me even as I lay there unresponsive, distress weighing a heavy visage upon her face. "Agatha, Agatha!"

"There's no point. I only did what she so desperately asked for," a new voice began in a masked quavering tone. "What's done is done and cannot be taken back."

"Still so full of yourself, I see," Mergo returned displeased. "You still shouldn't have done that, it was completely unnecessary."

"I believe the words you are looking for are 'austere and unreserved,'" the new arrival coyly corrected, chuckling as she approached.

"It can't be helped. Not without you..." They paused, parsing their words. "Alone we are only capable of so much patience, which you have already worn excruciatingly thin. Be grateful we had the grace to spare what little we had left for this...distraction," they chuckled sarcastically, stepping up casually behind Mergo and I while dragging a long tail whose length still tucked past the doorway.

"Speaking of which, this! All of this, one big charade! It's all so unnecessary!" They continued to rant, and with ramping volume and build up, I could tell they were close to exploding. "I turn my back for one second thinking you could just quietly play your part as I did, and you leave me to go off gallivanting in no man's land to your heart's content! How many grand adventures have to penned to their insignificant records now? How many piles of useless rusted treasures have you amassed only to hide it in some dank dripping cave? How many wayward souls have you so saintly shepherded and had pledged to you their fleeting loyalty and love!? I come upon you at this late hour, expecting a send-off worthy of our grandeur, and all I get is this paltry setup!" The sudden tirade shook the room violently and filled it with a rush of reviled red, causing Mergo to shrink into herself ever so slightly as she held onto me. It was a terrible tremor. Then everything went quiet and dark again as the newcomer calmly breathed in. "Though at this point I shouldn't be so upset, as you've clearly proven in the past that you would rather not care. So, as would so plainly put it nowadays...tell me, Mergo. What's your high score now?"

Mergo was silent, her grip on my shoulder tightening in her hesitation. Moment after tense moment passed, and then a smattering of spaghetti and stroganoff fell to the floor, defusing a bit of tension of the serious exchange.

"You've gotten sloppy. Someone has to clean that, you know," Mergo spoke finally breaking the silence.

"Stalls and dilly-dallies," their voice was now condescending now yet still quite pensive​, past the food the chewed. "You were always so fond of them. You've held faithfully fast your own ball and chain, I see... As have I. It is largely by such predilections we are able to come so far...that we even still are."

She turned away from me to look the stranger in the eye. "Come now. There is much to be done."

"Not before you clean your mess," Mergo insisted.

Spoon and fork clattered to the floor, as well as bits of meatball and sauce. "This is not a game, Mergo. There is no more time to waste!"

Setting my head on another pillow, she stubbornly put her foot down again. "This is still my house, and as a guest you will abide by my rules!"

There, another tense moment loomed, palpable even to me in my invalid state. The moment passed soon after, not lasting long. "Fine..." At their relent, eating utensils floated off the floor to follow the stranger who stormed out of the room.

Then Mergo carefully raised me from the ground and placed me back on my bed, pulling the curtains to a close before going out to join the stranger. Murmurs of their furthered exchange and the clatter of dishes echoed from the hallway as they tidied and cleaned. Words indiscernible from the distance, their voices were placid and amicable for the most part, then raised briefly in another clash before one of them relented. It wasn't long before footsteps returned to the room.

"Who does she think she is," the stranger grumbled from a low stance the center of the room, obvious even to me that they were cleaning up the mess they made. As much as I wanted to turn my head and at the very least see their face, I still couldn't move.

"Carefree and absurd to a ridiculous degree. Making me of all people do her cleaning! What a dullard," they trailed off, from the sound of it, having finished cleaning the floor. Footsteps came closer then stopped. "Why would she choose all this over me...over everything else that she forsook?"

Pinned to a darkened face crowned by horns, a pair of piercing red eyes on yellow irises hovered over me giving me a harrowing once-over from head to toe. They raised a dark and ghastly hand over me with the intent to pry me at their leisure. "What makes you so special, I wonder?"

Mergo's return stopped them before they could do anything. "Are you finished here?"

"Quite so, and just in time," they answered, staying their hand and turning their gaze away from me. "Now, if you've no further distractions to settle, let us be on our way."

The door to the room slammed to a close, and then the front door to the cottage as well. We were alone again, and Mergo approached my bedside. Taking the disheveled blanket I had tossed to the ground, she set it back over me again and took a wet rag to my face, wiping it clean. Setting it aside she turned back to me, leaning over till our eyes locked.

"You'll find your answers in the sunless paradise."

She clasped her hands together and uttered a small sincere prayer. "Faraam lo Dènamdinna," she punctuated in a whisper as she crossed her heart, before kissng my forehead lightly and holding my hand tightly in hers.

"I won't tell you to stay put and forget about me. Knowing you, it'd only make you want to follow me even more." I had never heard Mergo like this before. So defeated, so sad, so full of regret. "Please be careful on your journey. I know you just so hate being in the dark. You hate being 'it.'" She laughed, and cried at the same time. "I'm so sorry, Aggie... For everything."

A series of hard knocks outside stirred her, and she dried the tears welling in her eyes. Letting go of my hand, I heard her stop at the door one more time.

"No more words, Agatha," she said over the creaking of the door as she pulled it to a close. "Only the paths that await to be tread."

---

The glorious midday sun rose over Equestria in the middle of its clockwork course. Sometimes it was a bit early, sometimes it was a bit late, but that was up for the seasons and the pegasii to decide. I could care less, I was on my break. Birds chirped their sing song tune, flying up and about as the ponies of Ponyville went about their business. Finding myself an island in the sparse crowd, I took a seat beneath a tree to start my lunch break. Even as they walked around me, their vigor and cheer bled out from the actions, their faces, and even their words, blending seamlessly into the general ambience. Seeing them smile so much, I was starting to taste their amicability in my sandwich, which abated my hunger somewhat. It was virtually infectious, which I found it all so very... strange.

"Nice morning we have 'ere, ain't it, Levy?" My neighbor, Everett Fandango, greeted as she approached. She was a cream yellow pegasus with chestnut hair. Her cutie mark, a plain golden shield, adorned her flank proudly. "So, what's particular aspect of Ponyville's got you kerfuffled today, eh?"

"For the Nth time, it's my day off! Can't a mare for once just enjoy a meal without being hassled for simply nitpicking a place too good to be true?" I moaned on, chomping on my daffodil club sandwich after.

"Alright, alright! I won't hound on you today."

Even as she rounded the turn along the Sugar Cube Corner, I could still hear her giggling and almost see her sport that smug smile. It was her go-to expression. Another bite into my sandwich was called for, helping me to dismiss the off-putting thought. Once dismissed, my attention drifted over to the sandwich itself. A sandwich full of daffodils. Fishing some petals from my mouth, I half inspected the moist cud while raising its white color with a hoof against the clouds up above me. I didn't care my hoof was half covered in my spit. They were both so white, the cloud and the petals...so vibrant, so lively. I almost forgot what they looked like...what this tasted like.

A pristine unicorn mare passed me by, catching me in the middle of my daze as she stopped to once me over. Purple Croissant I named her for her audacious purple coif, having briefly met her when I met Pink Menace, or rather when she crashed into my personal space. Purple Croissant made her disgust apparent with a scowl upon seeing me contemplate my saliva covered hoof with abject curiosity.

"Ugh, such a mess you have there on your hoof. Whatever in Equestria are doing?"

Her remark caught my bull by the horns, and after a lazy-seeming gaze to her, I let her have it. "Minding my own business, DUH!"

"Hmph! Well, I never! And here I thought we had another new friendly addition in town," she returned indignantly. With a sharp nod, I hinted at her to take a hike, which she took gladly in the direction in front of me. Purple Croissant headed inside the Sugar Cube Corner and in all likelihood, would meet the Pink Menace on her way in. I just hoped they wouldn't talk about me.

Gauging the sun's course in the sky, I guessed that I only had a few minutes before my break was over, which meant waking my partner up from naptime. Aside from the interruptions, at least my break was mostly pleasant.

Half the day had passed and been well enjoyed, though still nothing too grand. Just the way I liked it.

Author's Note:

AN[170624]

*I'm having a bit of trouble laying down the tone for chapter 3. Bear with me. Not the final edit of this chapter either.