The Successors

by Portmeirion

5: Love Heals

Springtime was Summer Sun's favorite time of year – next to summer, of course. She supposed it must have something to do with the feeling of freshness and rebirth that the season brought, when everything was new and bright and green, and the air was warm and the pink flowers bloomed and danced in the spring breezes. But mostly, she knew, it was because butterfly-catching season had come again.

"C'mon, Blue! There's more of them in the field by the creek!" After calling excitedly to her sister, Summer picked her butterfly net up in her mouth and ran down the hillside.

"Slow down a bit, Summer!" Blue Moon came running up to the hilltop behind her, pausing for a moment to take hold of her own net. But Summer barely heard her, as she was already busy leaping through the meadow chasing the winged rainbows she held so dear.

Catching butterflies had been a traditional pastime of theirs for almost a year now. Summer was the more enthusiastic about it – it had been her suggestion in the first place, after all – but in time Blue had grown to enjoy it as well, even if only because it meant spending more time with her sister. In spite of all their differences, time spent together was one thing that they both treasured.

While Blue stood stationary in the middle of the field, swatting at whatever butterflies came near, Summer was busy having more success. Giggling, she leapt into the air, netting two or three butterflies with every swing and letting them fly free a moment later just so she could have the pleasure of catching them again. Her colorful prey flitted above her head and across the meadow, leading her gradually under a cluster of short, gnarled crabapple trees that stood near the edge of the wood. She was so mesmerized by the dancing colors of the butterflies' wings that she didn't even notice the bird's nest until her net had already struck it.

With a tiny crash, the nest dropped from the low branch to the ground, sending its contents – three startled, frantically chirping robin chicks – tumbling across the grass. Summer dropped her net with a worried gasp, rushing at once to where the baby birds now lay. Two of them quickly hopped up on their tiny legs, but the third lay still.

"Blue!" she cried. "Come here, quick!"

"What is it?" Blue dropped her net, running across the meadow to her sister's side. "What happened?"

"I… I didn't see the nest up there," Summer said, her voice trembling, "and I knocked it over, and…."

Blue Moon nodded in understanding. Her heart sank as she noted the fallen nest and the unmoving baby bird. "Oh, Summer… I'm sorry. These things happen sometimes."

Summer lowered her head to the ground, prodding the bird with the tip of her snout while its siblings watched with concern. When it didn't move, tears started to fill her eyes. "It… it was an accident…." She sat on the grass, scooping the poor thing into her hooves and nuzzling it gently. Blue came to her side and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, unable to say anything else.

Before Summer had time for any further self-reproach, the chick started to move. Its legs and wings twitched subtly, its eyelids fluttered, its beak opened with a quiet "chirp!" A moment later it hopped down from Summer's hooves and joined its brother and sister, tweeting happily.

"Oh!" Blue stood up in surprise. "Huh. I guess he was just stunned."

Summer smiled warmly, drying her eyes. "Nah. He just needed a little love, that's all."

Corona looked down. At her feet lay the sad, wretched creature that her sister had just defeated, rasping in pain and writhing about in the dirt. Its shrieking voice had broken down to the point that it was unintelligible, nothing but sad whimpers and the occasional pained hiccup. When she looked closely Corona could swear she saw tears flowing from its half-open eyes.

Aurora stood across from her in silence, staring down expressionless at the pitiful sight. There was no malice in her blue-green eyes, but no apparent sympathy either. The moon shone brightly in the clearing behind her, casting her shadow over the poor, sniveling creature where it lay.

"Blue?" said Corona, prodding her sister again. "What do we do with her?"

"I don't know." Aurora glanced about, turning her head towards the crumbling buildings that stood beyond in the clearing. Her eyes narrowed. "Stay here," she said firmly, and began to walk towards what remained of the town square.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"To find the missing foals." Aurora stopped, pointing a hoof to the creature. "I've read a lot about changelings. They usually keep their victims imprisoned somewhere close: a cave, a cellar, a hidden room, something. It could be anywhere in this town. We have to find it."

"You think she's keeping them here?"

"Summer, this thing has likely been capturing foals for months. Changelings are parasites; they have to keep their hosts alive somehow, or else they'll be no good to them. If it's been…" Aurora shuddered as the next few words came squirming uncomfortably out of her mouth. "…If it's been feeding on them, then it must be keeping them nearby."

"But don't changelings feed on love? I thought they only fed on love." Corona looked back and forth between their downed enemy and her sister, her ruby eyes full of confusion. "How could she get them to love her? And why would she disguise herself as Nightmare Moon? None of this makes any sense, Blue."

Aurora's face scrunched contemplatively, and she sighed in defeat. "You're right. It doesn't. But we don't have time to work out all of the details right now. What's most important right now is that we find the missing foals. We can figure out the hows and the whys later, once they're safe."

"Okay, sis," Corona nodded sullenly. "Whatever you say. You know best."

Aurora's steely expression softened. "No, Summer," she said glumly, her ears drooping. "No I don't. Not really." She stepped back to Corona's side, meeting her sister's eyes with sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry for getting us into this mess. I'm sorry for leaping before I looked." She reached out a hoof, running it lovingly through Corona's mane before resting it on her shoulder. "And I'm so, so sorry you were almost hurt."

"Don't worry about me, Blue! I'm fine! Really!"

"But you almost weren't!" Aurora snapped. "You almost weren't fine. I almost lost you, Summer. I-I… I thought I was about to lose you." Aurora stopped herself as her voice started to choke. After a deep breath she began again. "You were almost hurt, and it's mostly my fault. But that thing," she pointed to the changeling, "is just as much to blame as I am. And it's not just us, either. A lot of ponies have been hurt by this creature. Remember Pink Pearl? Remember Lantern Jaw's father?"

"Well… yeah...." Corona's eyes fell again upon their defeated foe, now quiet and still. The last few minutes passed through Corona's mind: all of the shrieking, the pain, the sight of her sister paralyzed with terrible fear. She thought of Lantern Jaw, still unaware that his father lay comatose in a hospital bed. She thought of the families – eleven, the mayor had said – who still missed their foals. Her expression hardened. "Well, okay. I'll keep an eye on her."

Aurora smiled thankfully. "Good. Now don't move. I'll be right back." With that, she made her way deeper into the ghost town, leaving her sister to keep watch over their fallen enemy.

Now the forest grew still, but not entirely quiet. Here at the edge of the clearing, between the swamp and the ruined town, the woods sounded much livelier, gracing Corona's ears with the chirping of crickets and the song of night birds. It was a refreshing change from the suffocating silence of the deeper woods, and it helped her calm her nerves. It seemed to have the exact same effect on the changeling as well; the little creature's eyes had fallen shut and its heavy breathing had slowed and softened, interrupted only once in a while by a gentle sniffle or twitch.

"Tired little girl, aren't you?" Corona joked, smiling to herself. But her smile faded as she eyed the changeling more carefully. The blue flesh along its back appeared blackened and bruised and was pin-cushioned with splinters of wood. Corona remembered the resounding crack it had made when it struck the tree; it was a wonder the poor thing had even had the strength to walk afterwards.

"Hey," she leaned in, prodding it with her snout. It shifted a little, snorting in its sleep. "I'm sorry Aurora hit you so hard. But she had to save me. You were about to…." She paused in thought – what had it been trying to do? "What were you trying to do, anyway? Why were you pretending to be Nightmare Moon? Why would you want to scare everypony?"

The changeling laid still and quiet, saying nothing. Its eyes twitched and fluttered in sleep beneath closed lids, but it made no other movement.

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for you to be here, really," Corona continued. "I always thought changelings lived in big swarms. That's what Blue says, at least. Why would you be out in the forest all by yourself?"

Again, there was no reply.

Pausing, Corona frowned solemnly. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, either. I guess I just wanted someone to talk to. You don't mind, do you?"

Still no answer. Corona's frown deepened and she sat back on her haunches with a tired sigh, resting her weary, aching limbs. Bored, she idly scraped the dirt with her hoof, noticing now that she'd lost her shoes in the swamp and that the lower parts of her legs were still caked with half-dry mud. It had, on reflection, been quite a night – lost in an unfamiliar forest, separated from their escort, stuck in a swamp, attacked by Aurora's worst fear – it was amazing she and her sister were still in one piece.

Half-smiling, she looked down at the changeling. "I guess it's been quite a night for you too, huh?" Her eyes ran up and down its little body, noting again the bruises and splinters – and now, something else as well. She'd seen illustrations of changelings before, but they all looked rather… well, fuller than the one that lay before her now. This one looked almost emaciated, its stomach thin and its little legs bony and fragile.

"I'll bet you're really hungry, huh? I can't imagine that there's much love out here in these woods for you to feed on. What's been keeping you alive?" Corona thought back, recalling the way its horn had glowed when it had attacked them, when Aurora had fallen to the ground in paralyzing terror. Wasn't that the way changelings fed? "But you weren't feeding on love, were you? It looked like you were feeding every time we got… Oh!"

The princess sat down, resting her head on her crossed forelegs at eye level with the sleeping changeling. "You were feeding on our fear, weren't you?" she whispered. "You couldn't get any love so you had to eat ponies' fear. That can't be healthy for a little changeling like you. No wonder you were so hungry."

"Summer?"

"Blue?" Corona rose to her hooves, spotting her sister returning from across the town square, her hooves clacking in a loud canter across the mossy, ruined cobblestone. "What's up?"

"There's nothing here," she reported. "All the homes are built on granite slabs to keep them from sinking into the swamp – no basements, no cellars, no hidden rooms. If it's keeping the foals around here somewhere, it's not in one of those houses."

"Um… Blue?"

Aurora's eyes moved around, searching through the trees. "Maybe there are other buildings nearby…."

"Actually, Blue…."

"Or some sort of cave…."

"Blue?"

"Or a huge hollowed-out tree…."

"Blue!"

At last Aurora paused, turning back to her sister. "What?"

"I don't think that's what she's doing," said Corona, and proceeded to explain her theory in as few words as she could.

"On fear?" Aurora echoed, puzzled. "I… I suppose it's possible. Love is the most inherently magical of all emotions, which is why changelings feed on it. But from what I've read, it's conceivable that they might…." She trailed off as horror seized her face. A shudder ran along her back, from her tail to the tips of her wings. "Summer, if it's been feeding on the captured foals' fear… I don't even want to think about what kind of condition they're in now. Come on, we've got to – "

"But she can't be!" Corona protested. "Look at her! She's starving! If she had a dozen foals to feed on, don't you think she'd be a lot less hungry?"

Both sisters looked down at the slumbering creature. It was just a scrawny as before, just as lean and gaunt – but now something seemed different. It lay perfectly still; its tiny chest no longer moved, its eyes no longer fluttered beneath their lids. The sound of its breathing had fallen silent.

"Blue?" Corona's voice shook. "Is… is she okay?"

"Doesn't look like it," Aurora replied coldly.

"Can't we do anything for her?"

"Summer, I don't think we really should. Even if it isn't responsible for the foalnappings, then it – "

"No!" Corona cried, scooping the unmoving creature into her hooves. She sat back down and pressed its tiny body protectively against her chest. "She was just hungry! And probably lonely, too, out in the woods all by herself. Where's the rest of her swarm?"

"I don't know," Aurora admitted. "There's no way to know. It's possible that it got lost… or was abandoned…."

Corona nodded sadly. "And now she's really hurt. We've got to do something for her!"

"Summer…" Aurora began slowly, but found herself at a loss for words.

When Corona spoke again, her voice was barely more than a solemn murmur as she cradled the changeling. "I don't want her to die, Blue." She lowered her head, squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.

"I know, Summer. I'm sorry. I wish I could… I wish…." She trailed off.

"What is it?" the sun princess, opening her eyes again. Aurora was looking down at her – no, at the creature in her forelegs – and Corona looked down as well. Its tiny black horn had begun to glow, a pale ghostly green, so faint it was almost imperceptible. But quickly the light grew stronger, and as it did Corona felt an odd sensation, a giddy, bubbly warmth that seemed to flow from her heart into the tiny body in her forelegs. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back a giggle. "Hey, Blue… what's it doing?"

"Put it down!" Aurora commanded, fear and concern written all over her face. "It looks like it's feeding on you."

"Well, it doesn't hurt or anything," Corona argued. "And look! She's waking up!" At that moment, the changeling began to stir, slowly at first, no more than a slight twitching of its legs and a fluttering of its insectoid wings. But soon its eyes – her eyes – fluttered open: wide blue-green orbs, looking up at Corona not with malice or ravenous hunger, but simple curiosity.

"Hey there!" Corona cooed softly. "Feeling better?"

The changeling tilted her head inquisitively. She opened her mouth, perhaps to speak, but all that came out was a gentle cough. Her legs moved more vigorously now, like a cat begging to be put down. Corona moved to set the creature on the ground; she wobbled for a moment on weak legs, but soon regained her balance. Then she turned around and sat, looking up at Corona again. And now she was smiling.

Aurora stepped around to her sister's side. "It seems to like you now."

"I guess nopony's ever actually given her love before. She's always had to try and take it."

Before Aurora had a chance to respond, a sudden sound caught both their ears: the heavy trudge of hooves, echoing through the crumbling buildings and across the square. It was a familiar sound, one Corona had missed ever since they had gotten lost among the willows. The sisters moved to the edge of the moonlit square, gazing into the darkness beyond the town's edge, and spotted two familiar shapes moving towards them from some distance away.

"The guards! I guess they found us, then?"

"Actually, I think they were on the right path the whole time," Aurora explained. "I spotted the road on the other side of the square, leading into town; we must've wandered off of it at some point, and they just kept on following the trail." Her face flushed, and she half-smiled sheepishly. "I guess we'll have some explaining to do."

Corona smiled along with her, but then a terrible thought leapt into her mind. "But what about the changeling?" she cried. "We can't let them see her. They might want to hurt her!"

"Summer, for all we know, it might still want to hurt us! We can't just – "

"Princess Aurora! Princess Corona!" The guards' grim voices rang out as their hoofsteps drew nearer. They would be upon them in moments.

Aurora sighed. "Look, just… we'll keep her – keep it hidden somewhere," she whispered harshly, "And we'll decide what to do with it later. But let's deal with the guards first."

"Okay," Corona nodded, just as the guards – two sturdy, pale gray pegasus stallions – finally reached them, stopping at attention just in front of them.

"Your highnesses." The guard on the right bowed his head respectfully. "We thought we'd lost you. We must have become separated in the swamp." He looked the princesses up and down, taking note of Corona's mud-spattered legs and missing shoes. "What happened? Are you both all right?"

"More or less," Aurora answered. "We had a… an encounter, with a… um…."

"A wild animal!" Corona chimed in, beaming brightly. "But Aurora took care of it. And the swamp ate my shoes."

"Oh… I see," said the guard on the left. "So you found no sign of the foalnapper?"

Aurora and Corona shared a glance. "We… no, no we didn't," said Aurora. "The missing foals are definitely not here, at any rate." She issued a heavy, weary sigh, gazing back at the misty swamp behind them. "And at this point, I don't think we're likely to find anything else. Maybe we'd better head back to Ponyville. Preferably by a different route, if there is one."

"As you wish, your highness." The guard on the left made a few intricate jerks of his head, and the guard on the right nodded before turning about and trotting back across the square. "Lieutenant Ironhoof will find the other two guards and have them return to Ponyville by air. If the both of you would prefer to find another way out of the forest, I will accompany you."

Aurora thanked him, and then turned to her sister. "Corona, go get the map, would you?" She winked, slightly and subtly enough that the guard didn't catch it.

But Corona did. "Oh! Sure thing, sis. Be right back."

While Aurora stayed at the edge of the square chatting up the guard, Corona quickly made her way back to the edge of the swamp, just out of earshot. The changeling had moved a bit, and now sat trembling in the shadows under a tall willow, watching Corona with curious, uncertain eyes. The sound of the guards' approach must've frightened her, Corona thought – the poor thing must be as scared of ponies as they were of her.

"Nothing to be afraid of," said the princess, reaching down to stroke the creature's back with a comforting hoof. The changeling closed her eyes, snuggling affectionately into her touch. "We won't let anypony hurt you. But we're gonna have to figure out a way to hide you from the guards…."

Somewhere overhead, an owl cried out, its ghostly call of "who?" haunting their ears. Both the pony and the changeling turned their gazes upward; there in the tree sat a huge horned owl, gray-feathered and grim-faced. For a moment it leered down at them with round yellow eyes, and then with a great flap of its wings it leapt from the tree and flew off into the night.

When Corona's eyes returned to the changeling, something about her face had changed. The fear in her eyes was gone, replaced by what looked like a spark of an idea. Her tiny mouth curled into a grin, and her horn began to glow green again. Corona stepped back, as confused as she was curious. "Hey, what are you up to?"

In answer to her question, the green glow of the changeling's horn rose and extended outwards into a swirl of emerald, surrounding and obscuring her tiny body. There was a faint flash of white, and when the light died down the changeling was gone. In its place stood a short, stocky owl, identical to the one they had just seen, save for the ghostly greenish glow in its eyes.

Corona beamed. "Sweet! I'm sure the guards won't have a problem with an owl following us around. You're a clever little girl, you know that? Now to find the map so we can get out of here…." Her eyes wandered across the murky, marshy pool, scanning for the map as best they could in the dim forest light. At last she spotted it: on the ground across the mire she'd nearly sunken into lay the tattered, mud-spattered forest map. Aurora must've dropped it just before she'd rescued her from the swamp. It was too far away for Corona to reach it with her magic, and she certainly didn't feel like trying to wade through the muck again.

The changeling, still in owl form, waddled awkwardly to Corona's side. She looked up at the alicorn's distraught expression, and then at the map – and then, without any prompting, she spread her newly-feathered wings and rose into the air, flying shakily and haphazardly across the murky pool to where the map lay. Once there, she clasped the parchment in her talons and took to the air again, stronger this time, and with more confidence in her wing beats. She flew back and dropped the map on the ground beside Corona before settling comfortable atop the princess's back.

Corona craned her neck to meet at her gaze with confusion in her eyes. "Um… well, thanks, but… you didn't have to do that for me. I mean, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but… why help me?"

"Feed," she said in a coarse, croaking whisper. "You… feed me." It seemed to struggle with the next word, but eventually got it out. "…friend. You… friend?"

Something about the look in the changeling's green owl-eyes gave Corona pause. This wasn't the same creature that had attacked them earlier. It wasn't just that she appreciated a meal that she didn't have to fight for; being shown genuine affection had changed her somehow, opened her heart – whatever kind of heart changelings have. The thought of it made Corona smile.

"I'd love to be your friend," she said tenderly. "You've never had one before, have you?"

The "owl" shook its head sadly.

"Well, come on then! I'll help you make some more friends. But you're gonna have to keep up the owl act if we want to fool the guard, okay?"

When the changeling nodded, Corona turned forward again, picking up the map with her magic and trotting quickly back to the edge of the ghost town. When she arrived, Aurora and the guard were still deep in conversation: Aurora had kept him busy by having him give her a full report of the night's events from his perspective, and the bored, tired look on her face told Corona how interesting it must be. They both turned to look at her as she stepped back to her sister's side.

"I got the map!" Corona announced, passing it to Aurora. "It's a little muddy, but I think you can still read it."

The guard leered at the bird atop Corona's back. "Pardon me, your highness, but is that…?"

"Oh, this little guy? He's just a… well, we found him in the swamp. He wants to come home with us."

"Oh, yes," Aurora laughed nervously, taking hold of the map with her magic. "Corona's always been good with birds." She eyed the "owl" with mistrust, which shrank under her fierce gaze. Corona felt her new friend trembling on her back, and turned back to quietly shush her with a gentle nuzzle.

"Um… very well then, your highnesses. I don't suppose Glass Eye would object if Princess Corona wished to bring home a…." He searched for the word. "…a pet? A souvenir?"

"A new friend," Corona announced proudly.

"Close enough," said Aurora. Once more she turned to the disguised changeling and mouthed the words don't you dare try anything, and then unfolded the map and held it before her eyes. "Hmmm… it looks like there's another way out of the Everfree that doesn't lead back through the swamp. If we keep following that road" – she pointed to the road across the square that led east out of town – "then we'll come out not too far from Ponyville, even closer to town than we came in."

"Sounds good to me!" said Corona. The guard nodded, and without further ado the three of them set off down the trail.

For almost half a mile the path was paved with cobblestone – a remnant of the abandoned town – though it was broken up in many places, and overgrown with moss and lichens, and thick tree roots burst here and there from under the stones. Their footing was constantly uneven, and the changeling-owl bounced along on Corona's back, barely able to keep her balance. Eventually the trail became dirt again, and started moving uphill, out of the swamp and into a higher wood of solid earth and tall, dark pines. For a time the canopy of trees parted and the sky opened above their heads, brilliantly lit by the moon and innumerable stars, and the air was fresh and cool – but the branches closed in again after a short while, plunging them back into the Everfree's stifling gloom. All the while, multiple times a minute, Aurora would glance with stern eyes at the creature on her sister's back, but it never did anything more threatening than return her gaze.

Finally they caught sight of the trail's end, glowing with moonlight like the end of a long, dark tunnel. Excited, the princesses quickened their paces, leaving the guard in the dust some distance behind them. Corona's heart swelled with relieved joy to finally be free of that accursed wood; and, judging by the pace Aurora kept with her, her sister felt much the same way.

With a mutual sigh of relief, the princesses stepped out into the open air. Ponyville stood not more than mile away over rolling hills; they could see the dim figures of its houses and brick towers, windows all aglow with cozy yellow light. Amidst them rose the stately dome of the town hall, where the Mayor had promised to meet them once they'd returned.

Corona eyed the changeling that still sat atop her back. She was turning her head all about, taking in the new scene with what looked like both fear and wonder. Love and worry mingled in the sun princess's heart, and she turned to her sister for guidance. "Blue… what are we going to tell the Mayor?"

"I don't know," replied Aurora. She too set her eyes on the changeling; the look in the owl-creature's eyes was somber, almost apologetic. "She'll want to know about this. We can't keep it a secret from her."

"I know," Corona agreed solemnly. "I just… I don't want anything to happen to her now, Blue. Don't you think she's been through enough for one night?"

Aurora chuckled softly. "It – she – isn't the only one, Summer," she said with a tired shake of her head. "She's not the only one."

Comments

[Namara]

New chapter of The Successors?
cache.ohinternet.com/images/a/a1/Awww_yeah.jpg
Yay, Ghost!
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[Tonto the Trotter]

I enjoyed this chapter, shame I took so long to read it ^^. Looking forward to more of the story .

[Portmeirion]

2117142 Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it. Can't say when the next chapter will be finished, though; it might take a while.

[WindyDayz]

I like the idea and I am excited to see what you do with it.

[Portmeirion]

2195286 Thank you very much! I hope to have the next chapter finished before too long. But credit for the idea all goes to Valkyrie-Girl. The story is all hers; I am merely its scribe.