Chapter 61: Fireflies
Firefly landed atop the cloud, feet from the unconscious form of a creature she had never seen before.
After what she had just suffered through, Firefly was hardly in good shape herself. She felt as though her whole body was covered in unseen burns, leaving patches of feathers and fur gray and colorless. Mentally she wasn't in much better condition, after witnessing the first death of her lifetime, then almost being murdered herself.
Her last few hours had been so confusing in fact that she was barely even aware of the procession of information she'd been exposed to. Were there secrets to the cult's true plans buried in what they did, or right out in the open for all to see? She didn’t know, and just now she didn't care.
The creature before her was even worse off, she could see that even without knowing what exactly she was looking at. Its wings were tattered and frayed at the edges, its black body scorched with little electrical burns. It was thinner and slighter than a pony ought to be, with holes running through its legs.
But maybe those weren't wounds. They weren't bleeding anyway, and she couldn't see any disgusting views of internal organs through them. It was an alien creature, but not in the way that the demon Derek had been deep beneath the Cyan Mines. When she nudged it, it opened a single multifaceted eye, brilliant blue and emotionless. But were those scraps of torn cult-robes clinging to its legs there at the bottom?
I don't have time to waste investigating this for too long, she thought. I need to find Dusty.
If this was some straggler left in the building after it should've been evacuated, there was little she could do to help now. It wasn't falling, and its many minor wounds only seeped the thick blue blood. It didn't seem to have any broken limbs.
Water atop it froze, making the creature shiver. It looked away from her, covering its face with one hoof. In shame?
Rain and wind raged over Willowbrook below, but the air up here was too thin to carry much sound. She could even hear its ragged breathing.
“I'm sorry, I can't help you down,” Firefly said. “I have to find somepony else. My dad, he...” She sniffed, “I tossed him up here somewhere. I have to find him. But I'll... try to come back for you when I do!” She took off again, hovering over the cloud. “Just keep your head down. There are some really bad creatures down there.” She wiped her eyes, shaking away chunks of frozen ice.
When she lowered her hoof again, the half-insect creature was gone. In its place, Velvet Moon lay sprawled on the cloud. She showed similar signs of injury—burns on her coat, bleeding from little cuts and wounds that came out in familiar red. “I t-tried to... warn you,” she whimpered.
Firefly dropped from the air, landing stunned on the cloud beside her. Beneath them, a terrible storm met existing currents, growing worse by the second.
Snow blasted out from inside the cloud all around them, drifting slowly back down overhead to be reabsorbed. Mostly it just made them colder and more miserable, obscuring her view of the city beneath.
“What just—was that a teleport?”
Velvet ignored the question. Nor could it be anything as simple as a teleport, when the injuries of the larger insect-creature transferred to her friend. Had she heard Lilac talk about creatures that could change their shapes before?
There was something there, but her friend knew so much magical lore it was hard to keep track of it all.
“I couldn't say—so many things. The Lightless Star presses on your mind. Geas keeps you from speaking, saying what you really think. I tried to send you away!”
Velvet had tried to warn her. It was so indirect that Firefly hadn't really noticed, or understood what her friend was trying to say.
She moved over to the bat, brushing the ice away from her face with a wing. She was still shivering—Firefly thought that was a good sign. It was when somepony stopped shivering that you needed to worry.
“Were you waiting outside?” Firefly asked, whimpering with her own guilt. “I'm s-sorry. I just... I didn't mean to suck you up here. But if I didn't get out, they were going to kill me. I just have to find my—”
This time she was sitting directly beside the bat when she changed. There was a faint flash of light, and the creature grew. It wasn't her friend anymore. Instead it was a stallion, one she'd spent countless hours flying beside.
Her father looked just as injured as the insect or bat had been, feathers ragged and fur scorched by electrical burns. He struggled to sit up in the clouds, barely managing it. “I'm sorry, Firefly. I—”
She wrapped her forelegs around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she'd ever hugged another pony in her life. The chill of upper air, the struggle to breathe for long periods—none of that mattered.
It took her a long time to get out anything like words through her pained sobs. “Y-you stopped the spell,” she cried. “Without you, th-they would've killed me!”
The creature under her hooves changed again. She felt him shrink—not smaller than she was, but not as large as an adult stallion either. Suddenly there were bug eyes watching her, and he pushed her away.
“I don't deserve your love, Firefly!” he called, prying her off him. He seemed so much stronger than he had been moments before. Were there fewer injuries on his shiny black coat? “Look at me! I'm not Dust Storm, I'm not even a pony! My name is Septum, I'm a changeling spy sent by an evil queen from far away, hunting for somewhere vulnerable to attack! Don't love me!”
Only seeing so many changes in rapid succession could she finally connect them in her mind. Her father, Velvet Moon, they did have behaviors in common. Whenever she put herself in danger that Dusty couldn't be there, Velvet Moon usually was. Never together, but never far apart.
The thestral tried to warn her away from returning home, hinting at the cult's true intentions without speaking to them directly. When she ignored the warning, Dusty had been there to save her life. Only he had pulled her back from the brink.
She sat up, wiping tears with one leg. It did little to stop the new ones. “You were Dusty, all this time?” she asked.
“I don't deserve what you feel, Firefly! When I volunteered to take you, I only knew that young ponies were so full of love I would never go hungry, never have to flee back to the hive. You were just prey I brought into my nest.”
He backed away from her along the cloud, spreading both wings as he did so. They looked different than last time, somehow thicker around the edges, more like glass than dragonfly tissue. Was he healing that fast? “Ether Lens told you the truth. I'm a changeling, Firefly. Vermin.”
She felt her first twinge of real disgust then. A nest—that was what his home first felt like. Collections of meaningless objects, trapping her in a maze of possessions that Dusty didn't seem to understand. Figuring out how to cook her own food, fleeing out onto the balcony before she eventually made her room her own space.
But it didn't feel like that anymore. When she thought about her home now, it made her eyes water all over again. It wasn't the nest of some bloodsucking insect, it was the safe place she ran to when she ran out of places to hide. It wasn't the objects inside that had really changed—it was because of the pony she always found waiting inside.
“If you were a parasite...” Firefly followed him. “Why did you take me into the Cumulus Maze? You were a-always... down the hall when I woke with nightmares? Why tell me... what dresses made me look pretty? Why help me make friends in school?”
Her voice shook so badly that she could barely form coherent words. “You t-tried to warn me. And when I didn't listen, you protected me. What kind of parasite does those things? What kind of vermin?”
The bug-pony stopped moving. He looked overwhelmed, alien eyes glazed over with pain or stress. “I... I...”
Firefly reached the fallen bug. His body felt strange, neither hard nor soft. She didn't care, and hugged him tighter than ever before. “I lost everything today. The Lightless Star tried to kill me, and I don't even know why! My best friend almost got dragged before Celestia to get judged and who knows what after that. Now the princess will send ponies trying to kill me too. My house and everything I love is... gone, ripped away in the storm I caused.”
She sobbed for a few seconds, clinging tighter. “I don't want to lose you too, Dad. I don't care... I don't care what a changeling is. Just don't leave me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know where to go.”
She opened her eyes again. Between the snow and ice and wispy fog, she could barely even see him anymore. “I just w-want somepony to still be there. Somepony to tell me that there's... a way out of all this. That things will be okay. And if I have to call you Septum instead, I will. I don't care. I'm not really a pony on the inside either.”
She wasn't sure how much time passed like that, clinging to the strange insect high above the storm she created. The cold and altitude would get to her eventually. But endurance to those conditions were some of the gifts that came with pegasus magic. She had more than enough of that to spare.
Next thing she knew, there were actual wings wrapped around her again. Dusty pulled her in close, the same as he'd done hundreds of times before. Every time she came home from school crying, every time she sprained her wing in a fall, or made herself look stupid because she didn't know something about Equestria.
Every time she was scared or afraid or confused. Anytime she needed her father. “I love you, my little Firefly. Everything will be okay.”
Atop such a terrible thunderstorm, there was little chance of anyone finding them. She could only hope that the ordinary citizens of Willowbrook had somewhere to hide, too. And if they were all very lucky, maybe that the Watcher had been killed by the storm.
She started shivering after a while, shaking some of the ice from her body. “What do we do, Septum? Where do we go?”
He shook himself out, shedding bits of ice and snow from his coat. “I'm not sure, Firefly. The cult will be hunting you now—and Equestria won't be far behind. Amaranth Vale is dead. What you did to escape, right there in the center of Willowbrook—ponies will notice. I don't know what will happen next.”
It was wrong to expect him to have some magical answer for all her problems, he was mortal too. But whatever power the failed ritual gave her for those moments, whatever view into the truth of magic and the dangers of her true nature—she couldn't forget her second lifetime here in Willowbrook, with Dusty always there to protect her.
“What you suggested earlier—it's a good plan. The Watcher is dangerous beyond what you understand. You and I will be vulnerable to his magic for a great distance. But maybe if we fly far enough, we can escape it. Ride a cloud north to the... Crystal Empire, maybe.”
Or to Canterlot, she thought. Rainbow Dash would listen to her, and this time hear everything she knew about the town. Then the unicorn Twilight Sparkle would be able to keep her safe, couldn't she? Princess Celestia couldn't want her dead any more than the cult did.
She would've agreed, if it wasn't for one thing. “I have to see Lilac. The Lightless Star came for me. If I escape, they'll come for her too. We have to run together.”
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Lilac will probably not know were to go either but their best bet is to reveal everything to Equestria. That way you're at least sure the cult can't get you anymore. I was surprised that Velvet Moon was Dust Storm the entire time though. I'm curious to see how Saffron will react to this news but I guess not very well.
Awww, septum finally has a real friend.
This is a great chapter and all, but I couldn't stop myself from hearing that owl city song in my head the entire time I was reading this.
Nice chapter. It'll be interesting to see how Saffron and Lilac react to Septum.
Velvet's earlier advice made me wonder if she was the real changeling and Dusty was a red herring. Didn't really expect her and Dusty to be one in the same. Nevertheless, the sisters have a true ally with them. It's time to gather Lilac and perhaps convince Iris and Risk to defect as well. A team like that will be able to break free of the cult and flee to Equestria. And if necessary, survive Celestia if there's a problem there too.
If they weren't planning to take that power for themselves, it's likely they were planning to pull something else from the void. The cult was preparing bait all this time.
What happens in Willowbrook doesn't matter anymore. What's important is that the sisters and anyone who could be an ally to get out of there as quickly as they can.
They have to be approached carefully, but at the very least death from Celestia would be far preferable to the death offered by the cult.
Time's of the essence, but I doubt the cult will have an easy time as the fae will make things difficult for them.
Damn, wasn't expecting a twofer like that. The fact that the cult has a geas cast on them also was a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have been…
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And there is nothing wrong with that. That's my favorite song of all time.
Well, if the cult wants you dead, they're not better for you then Celestia may or may not be, eh?
Then again, probably best just to try and sneak in somewhere to close to Celestia for the cult to want to risk making a scene, while also not revealing anything? Still not enough information on Celestia to know whether revealing stuff would be safe, but it's worth seeing if information can be gathered.
Things are heating up
Good, my biggest fear for these 2 is that they are kept apart by circumstances for a prolonged period of time.
Wooo! We gonna go exploring!
Septum refers to Chrysalis as an evil queen? Interesting. Another defector, perhaps....
Also, I was so taken in by that bait and switch. Seeing him turn into the batpony the first time made me think Dusty was a red herring, great job!
The Watcher does like Geases, indeed... I guess that's how he may be a danger, even at a great distance. The sisters need to get those Geases OUT of their heads ASAP. Maybe Twilight can help... With this, they have no reason to trust the cult's opinion on Celestia, and Septum's broader knowledge will probably state "she will be merciful to them" (provided he wasn't also suckered in by the cult mixed with changeling propaganda... But calling Chryssie an evil queen, changeling propaganda is unlikely)
I see that Dusty didn't deny that they would have killed her, but that could have just been the heat of the moment,.. Then again, it's mentioned over and over, which could be a subtle hint by the author that 'yes, that would have killed her'. Question is what the Watcher was trying to summon, the void she saw was black - so not Abbadon, like earth... Unless it's another corner of Abbadon, I suppose...
Fly as fast as you can. Sisters of another place.
https://youtu.be/UJ_nv_HrGVc
I have a feeling I might have missed a couple of changeling clues. Only one that got me suspicious was when Firefly was introduced to her forever home.
The if there wasn't a changeling tag, I would have probably dismiss the subtle clues as quirky. Either way, the payoff here is satisfying. You've written well, Wordsmith!
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Damn
Alright. You got me. I expected Dusty to be the changeling the whole time, of course, same as everyone else. I did not expect Firefly's batpony friend, Velvet, to also be a changeling, and I especially didn't expect her to be the SAME changeling. I went back and found the chapter where Firefly first met the other pegasi kids in that playground, and yeah, Velvet Moon was there. Preying on other kids?
Hiding a shocking twist in an obvious one. Well done.
Now, let's hope stopping to get Lilac doesn't shoot Firefly in the hoof. Or poor Septum. At least he has a daughter who truly does love him, unbelievable as he may find it.
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They have a choice between certain death and possible death.
I thought so.
It only took 61 chapters for the buggo tag to be relevant. Damn lol
I am having masculine tears
Septum? 😂 well, he certainly sniffed one out right there!
I was crying already throughout this chapter and that really is a tear jerker.