• Published 9th Dec 2012
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Reciprocity: A Metro 2033 and MLP Crossover - MrSing



A crossover between Metro 2033 and MLP:FIM.

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Chapter 11: The ones who lost something

The ones who lost something

Laughter echoed throughout the cave and my mind. It was a strange, like my soul was being tickled, but I was in no mood to smile.

’I can’t believe you called them bitches!‘ Pizdabol lay on her back as she held her sides, shaking with laughter. ’Oh! That- That’s a thing of beauty.‘ She swept away a few tears as she struggled to properly breathe again. ’Brother, memorize that. Future generations have a right to know.‘

Uchenik halfheartedly waved in acknowledgement with his hoof as he murmured something that sounded like a ‘Yeah, yeah’, before he turned back to the tome Luna had given me. We had not gotten much more of a reaction out of him ever since I had handed over the ancient book.

Pizdabol rolled her eyes as she smirked at me, but I didn’t play along. With a sigh I set myself closer to the fire and hugged myself for warmth. It was a special kind of cold today, and even the massive stone walls of the cave seemed to give no respite against the wind outside.

The infiltrator spat on the ground as she let out an annoyed grunt. ’I’ve seen funerals that are more lighthearted than you. What are you all sour about?‘ She put a hoof under her chin as she sat down to ponder. ’Is it because you’re bald? I would be sad if I was bald like you too. But I’m sure that you’re not that hideous for your kind.‘

“I have hair on my head, just like you! If I’m bald, we’re all bald!” I threw my hands up in frustration as I spoke. These were the first conversations mankind ever had with alien life forms. I contemplated that some facts should probably be lost to history.

’Yeah, but we manage to pull it off. Changelings are kinda great like that.‘ She gave me a grin like she actually believed that would cheer anyone up, but it fled from her face as I shot her a tired glance. ’You’re no fun, you know that?‘

’She’s right, you could stand to be a little happier.‘ I blinked in surprise as Dozor raised her head from the ground. She had been so quiet I thought she had simply fallen asleep next to me. ’I know we didn’t get what we came for, but we made the best of a bad situation. We got that book that Brother is deciphering, we strengthened our group with two others, and-‘ she paused as she looked at me with a soft expression that clashed with her features. ’You all got me out of the dungeon too. So in the end, we lost nothing and we gained a lot. That’s something to be cheerful about.‘

’Yeah, we even shook off all the guards. Those idiot ponies will never be able to track us in this weather. Serves them right for not ending the winter when they should’ve.‘ Pizdabol spoke up, grinning at her sister.

Dozor shifted herself closer to the fire. ’I doubt it. The Raiser of The Moon knows where we are going, even if we don’t know it yet, so they’ll probably wait for us there. Why would they waste time and resources looking for us, if they can simply wait on us and set up a trap? It’s what I would do.‘

Pizdabol simply scoffed as she waved my guide’s concerns away. ’Ah, we’ll burn that bridge when we get there, right?‘

“Uh- sure.” I stared back at the flames. We sat in silence for a moment as our shadows danced to the whims of the fire. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”

’That’s a bad habit.‘ Pizdabol said from behind a smirk. I ignored her.

“I’ve been thinking about why they didn’t want to help us.” An almost tangible dread fell upon us. “I mean, the blue one, Luna or whatever, wanted to help me. But I think that was more out of pity, not because she believed it was the right thing to do.” Dozor snorted at the word ‘pity’, but I was too caught up in my thoughts to follow up on it.

“My station didn’t turn away people when they asked for help, even if we couldn’t really afford to help them. And these ponies, they have everything and more, and they were ready to just turn us away. Why?” I gestured hopeless over the fire at that last question. “They didn’t seem like bad… creatures.” I poked the fire with a fresh branch, making sparks fly on the hot currents of the flames. “They said they were terrified of us. That we are evil and insane. It’s fools talk, of course, but-“

’So what?‘ Dozor interrupted me. I stared at her blankly as she stood up. ’They think you are a danger to them. So what? Why should you care?‘ She put her hoof on my chest to stop me from responding. ’And don’t try and tell me that you don’t care, you’re a terrible liar. I’ll let you in on a little secret, Yuri.‘ She spoke softer, her voice barely coming over the popping of the campfire. ’Every living thing has the same right to exist, Yuri, and that is no right at all. You only keep what you can keep from others, that includes your life. They tried to trick you into believing that your existence is a bad thing, like they have any authority to judge you.‘ She threw her wings up in a strange gesture, like she was shrugging. ’Let no one ever tell you being alive is an evil thing Yuri. We exist for as long as we can keep ourselves alive, and that is all there is to it. There’s no rights or wrongs attached to that.‘

My guide turned away from me after that, hiding whatever expression she had. We listened in silence at the sound of Uchenik carefully turning ancient pages with his magic for a while.

“I’m sorry that I hit you.”

Dozor looked up in surprise, before something that was almost a smile played on her face. ’Don’t be sorry, it was the smart thing to do.‘

“But it wasn’t right.”

The changeling scoffed as she tossed her scarf back. ’It was the practical thing to do. The mission was compromised and I was the most expendable part of our group.‘ I felt something tightening in my stomach as an angry huff escaped me. ’Don’t be like that, Yuri. It’s… how do I explain it? It’s sort of like this.’ Dozor suddenly flew up right in front of me, shooting out her hoof in a mock punch. ’See? You raised up your arms to protect your face. No one likes breaking their limbs, but if your head is hit it’s all over. It’s instinct.‘ She set herself down next to me again as I sheepishly lowered my arms.

I shivered, only partially from the cold. The orange light we bathed in didn’t feel as warm as it used to feel back home. “Luna offered to help me in secret. Not just the book, but real help, with guards and guides.” I didn’t know why I had kept that part to myself before. Maybe because everything had been so chaotic and it had slipped my mind, or maybe because I didn’t want the knowledge to weigh down on their conscience. But now I felt like I had to make a point. Maybe it was petty, or maybe it was necessary. Either way, it was out there now.

Pizdabol stopped nodding to sleep over the fire and even Uchenik put his book down a centimeter or two. ’So, you were given a better chance, but you didn’t betray us. Why?‘ My friend looked genuinely confused. Not happy or mistrustful, like I had expected.

“Because it wouldn’t have been right. I promised to care about you guys, remember? And a human’s word is everything to them.” I smiled like I had made some irrefutable point against Dozor, but it was only a front. I had been so wrong about many things the last couple of weeks, but I didn’t know if I could bear being wrong on this one.

’Well, that’s a stupid reason.‘ Dozor said cruelly. Her words assaulted me like a foul stench. With a locked jaw and cramped fists I looked in her eyes. What could I say to break through that wall of apathy?

The buzzing sound of Uchenik taking off into the air broke our stare down. ’Did anyone hear that? Anyone?‘ The small white changeling scanned the cave as he jealously held the book to his chest.

I peered deep into the dark that was our shelter. A shudder ran down my spine as my imagination whispered of the horrors that could lurk there. Every pop of the fire was the skittering of feet and every flickering shadow was something terrible slipping back out of sight.

’You’ve been reading that dusty old book for too long, dear Brother.‘ Pizdabol chuckled as she stood up. ’There’s nothing down there, and if there was, the cold would have finished it off long ago.‘ The changeling shook as she held her tattered wings close to her body. ’This place is as cold as death. ‘

’Then you won’t mind taking a look down there for us? No? It would calm my nerves greatly. Indeed.‘ The Brother’s red eyes flew back and forth as he silenced his wings and set himself down once again. ’Take the Scout with you, so you won’t get lost. Agreed?‘

Dozor’s head shot up as she was mentioned, her ears flickered from her brother to her sister as they talked, but she said nothing.

’Ah, rattails.‘ The infiltrator threw her wings up as she turned around to face the unknown depths. ’Why do I always get volunteered to explore the caves?‘

’As far as I understand, this is the first time you’ve ever been in a cave.‘ the white changeling replied as he continued to peer into the tunnel.

’Yeah, that means that one hundred percent of the times I’ve been in caves I’ve also been volunteered to explore them. It’s simple logic.‘ The slowly growing smirk on Pizdabol’s face was crushed by Uchenik’s look of utter annoyance. ’Ah, whatever.‘ The infiltrator shrugged. ’Come on, dear, let’s see if we can find our guys’ their sense of humor while we’re at it.‘ She trotted away from the fire as she beckoned my friend.

“Wait, shouldn’t I come with or something?” I was already half standing as I spoke, willing my knees to carry me again. I was stopped by the shaking of the infiltrator’s head.

’Nah, you stay here with Brother and keep him safe. Don’t worry, the two of us can handle ourselves just fine.’ She winked at me and gave the standard razor sharp changeling smile. My eyes shot to Dozor and she nodded in agreement.

’Don’t worry, Yuri,‘ Dozor spoke with a meekness that did not fit her. ’We’ll be right back.‘ She walked over to her sister who gave her a pat on the back before leading the way.

The two horns of the sisters ignited a pale green light as they marched away from the fire. I stared at them as the illuminated the grey rocks around them in a circle of light and I was overcome by a strange sensation of déjà vu. All the scene missed was a barrier of razor wire, sharpened steel rods, and an eternal railroad. It was strange, how the guard post had once frightened me an eternity ago, but now I felt an intense longing to be back even in the dangerous tunnels of the metro. This world rejected me, and the unnatural symmetry that this cave held with my station only served to drive the point more painfully home.

I let out a long sigh as I massaged the back of my neck with my cold gloves. Maybe Pizdabol had been right, I had been far too morose lately. When was the last time I had told a good joke? Sasha would probably say never, but what did he know? I looked at the small white changeling as he quietly studied the dusty tome once again. “So, read any good books lately?” I gave him a sheepish smile as he blinked in confusion and I realized that Sasha knew a lot more than I gave him credit for.

’Excuse me? Did you say something?‘ Uchenik spoke almost nervously as he stared at me.

“No, no! It was probably the wind.” I chuckled stiffly as it dawned on me that Dozor was right too, I was a terrible liar. I was blessed that I had friends that knew me so much better than I knew myself, probably.

’Okay? The wind?‘ Uchenik’s wings shuddered as he looked in the tunnel where his siblings had disappeared into. ’Well, anyway, it seems we are on the right track. If my translations are correct, yes?‘ My eyes widened as I leaned closer and nodded for him to continue. ’It’s a very old Dragon dialect, but we are in luck, seeing as one of my old duties was remembering ancient history, not? We are perhaps a two day journey away from the location we seek.‘ His eager grin faded as his ears fell flat on his head. ’I fear the good news ends there though. It says here the journey is extremely perilous, unless we are to use-‘ the changelings paused for a moment. ’The journey is very perilous, very dangerous, unless we had the ponies’ assistance. Which we don’t.‘ Uchenik stared me straight in the eyes with a strange intensity. ’We are very likely to perish.‘

“Oh.” I sank down as I subconsciously started chewing on my thumb, the leather of the glove left a bitter taste. “So, what do we do?”

’What do we do?‘ Uchenik repeated me as he set the book down. ’I’ll tell you what we’ll do. You sit there and listen while I tell you a story. Yes?‘

I arched an eyebrow, but didn’t stop him.

’Our Scout was right, no creature on this planet has a right to exist. Instead, we have something much more important, yes? A purpose.‘ The small changeling held a hoof against his chest while he continued. ’I know why my heart beats, and I have known since the moment I was born.‘

“And, what is that purpose?” I spurred him on.

’Once every few decades all the Hives across the world sent out a part of their population. About a hundred Sisters, a young Queen, and a couple of Brothers, like me. The Queen and her siblings set down a good place for a Hive and start building, while the Brothers move on to another new Hive. We mate with the Queen there after we pass on all of our knowledge to them.‘

“Ugh, I really didn’t need to know that.” Flustered I looked away from Uchenik. “What does that have to do with anything?”

The changeling became very quiet as he looked to the ceiling. ’Mating is lethal for us, human. We live on a day or two and then die, understood?‘ He somehow managed to smile warmly after telling me this. ’I actually would have been dead a month ago, if it hadn’t been for the current circumstances.’

“I’m- I’m sorry,” I mumbled out.

’There is no need for that,‘ Uchenik said as he wistfully stared into the fire. ’All things must perish one day, yes? Our minds fear death because it can keep us from fulfilling our purpose in life and our bodies fear dead because of instinct. So, if we have fulfilled our purpose, our minds do not need to fear dying, no? The only fear that is left is an irrational instinct, and we can resist that.‘ The changeling laughed. ’Life always runs out. Isn’t it better to try to do something great with it than to pathetically cling onto it?‘

Uchenik’s words were either those of a very wise man, or a fanatic. Like so many things in the world, I simply did not know which one it was. One thing was now clear, however.

’So, human, why does your heart beat? For the sake of existing, or for something more? What are you willing to live for?‘ The changeling grinned slyly, already seeing the answer in my eyes.

“I want to go,” I said while the foreboding feeling that I had just damned myself made its way into my thoughts. However, something else also wrestled for my attention: a question. What for? What made our lives even worth living?

Every day was filled with farm work, guard duty, and a quick glance at the tunnels from which death could pour every moment in so many forms. And what awaited us at the end of the day? A hot meal, a story, a laugh around the fire, and a few hours of sleep before it all started over again. And we were the lucky ones. Was that a purpose? Or did we just hang onto life, too stubborn to accept our time had passed?

Maybe Uchenik was right. Maybe our purpose had died in nuclear fire long ago. We had lost so much it was incomprehensible to the new world. The parts of us that could conceive it had died on that faithful day long ago or had slipped quietly out of life some time after.

Dozor had said that we didn’t have to justify living to anyone, but did that include ourselves?

I knew I would do anything to save my people, to do otherwise was unthinkable. But was it for a careful constructed reason or was it merely a senseless instinct?

I took a deep breath of the smoky air, feeling it tingle in the back of my throat like it did back home. While Uchenik read his book full of answers, I only found more questions around our campfire.

What a mess.


The soft clip clopping of our hoofs was the only sound as rocks were slipping in and out of the soft green glow from our horns. The light transformed my Sister into a mix of shadows and green tints as she quietly walked next to me.

Nothing else was down here, no wild beasts, no falling rocks, nothing that could have made the sound our Brother had heard. Of course, it had all just been a feint.

I looked straight ahead at the stones and rock formations, in vain trying to avoid conversation with the Infiltrator. I caught myself chewing on my shawl and quickly spit the disgusting thing back out. A small part of me was amazed at how spacious this cave system was; our light barely made the ceiling visible.

Finally and inevitably, she spoke up. ’My dearest little Sister, Brother and I are,‘ she paused somewhat awkwardly, ’worried about you and the thrall.‘

’I see.‘

My Sister laughed with her normal ease. ’You sound like you’re being interrogated, baby Sister. We’re not angry or anything, you can ease up.‘ She looked expectantly at me, but try as I might, I couldn’t find it in me to relax. ’Ah, suit yourself,‘ she shrugged unfazed and continued. ’Now, it is obvious that you did a good job with the prey. It depends very much on you and even seems to like you. Very impressive without a disguise.‘ She smiled at me, and for a moment I did feel a bit better. ’But the way you two argue is dangerous. You’re too open with the human, too honest. You know better than to actually talk with prey. Just feed it lies and tell it what it wants to hear, no matter how stupid it is.‘

’I know, I know,‘ I muttered. I wish that had been the end of it, but I felt a follow up burning in my stomach. Disagreeing with the Hive on something this trivial and obvious made me feel sick, but lying to them about my true thoughts was unthinkable. ’It,‘ I searched for the right words, ’It feels wrong this time, somehow. When other prey talk to me about their woes it does nothing to me, but now I can hear his troubles in my mind and I can feel his worries, like he was any other changeling. Mother, it’s like I’m betraying a Sibling.‘ I felt stupid, burning with shame at my childish feelings. But nothing other than the truth could be between changelings. ’I hate thinking like this.’

My Sister fell silent as the idea that I had just done something irreversible plagued me. ’You we’re alone for a very long time in that forest, weren’t you? Tell you what, we’ll get you a long deserved vacation back home when this is all over.‘ I thought I saw pity in her eyes. A faint taste of bile rose in my throat as I bit my cheeks.

’Hello, hello. Sisters, how is your “mission” going?‘

’Brother!‘ I welcomed his distraction gratefully as I hopped over some rocks. ’Everything seems fine here.‘

’The Scout and I had our little talk.‘ The Infiltrator chimed in as she smiled warmly at me. ’How’s it going on your end? Need some reinforcements to stop the prey from brooding you to death? I think I can spare some, these stones aren’t putting up much of a fight.‘ She flew lazily into the air for a moment to illuminate the rocks and cracks a bit better.

’Unnecessary. I managed to get it out of its depression with a small amount of manipulation. This prey is quite malleable, yes?‘

’You gave it a pep talk?‘ The Infiltrator almost cackled, her light even went brighter in her amusement. ’You of all changelings? I would give my left wing to see that!‘

’Maybe you would even learn something for once, yes?‘ Brother replied, but I barely heard it. With the new light and my mind no longer occupied by my previous anxiety, I noticed some oddities in the terrain.

’Come on Brother, put away your fangs. Or else I’ll be sad and you’ll need to give me one of your world famous pep talks. Right, Sister?‘ She glanced over at me, but I was completely absorbed in studying my surroundings. We weren’t the first ones that had been here.

With a focused eye, suddenly it seemed impossible that I had missed the signs before. Those kicked over stones there! That vaguely stained patch of ground! The oh so subtle smell of something alive that had seeped into these stones.

’Something wrong, Scout?‘ My Sister hovered over me as I sniffed the cave floor.

’This cave is someone’s home,‘ I replied as I ran the smell through my memories. ’I don’t know who or what though,‘ I said as my mind turned up empty.

’Return immediately. We’ll break up the camp here and prepare to leave, agreed?‘ My Brother tried to hide it, but I could feel his nervousness flow through our mental link.

’Leave?‘ my Sister practically shouted. ’And go out in the cold again so we can freeze to death? No way! Not unless it’s absolutely necessary.‘ She landed next to me and put her front leg around my neck, nearly blinding me with the light from her horn. ’You’re the Scout, Sis. What do you say?‘

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the cave’s odors. ’The scent is not fresh, but it’s not one of an animal just passing by. It’s definitely marked as territory.‘ I opened my eyes and pointed my hoof at a particular spot on the ground. ’Do you see the smoothness of the rocks over there? Something has walked here many times, but there are no new traces. Nothing has passed here for at least a month.‘

’See, it’s perfectly safe here. No need to flee.‘ the Infiltrator flew up again to return to the camp.

’I didn’t say that,‘ I interrupted her gloating, causing her to stop in mid-flight. ’Maybe, whatever is living here is hibernating. And with this abnormal winter, there is no telling when it might wake up.‘

’It would be extremely territorial, and most likely starved for food‘ Brother helpfully added. ’Very dangerous, very.‘

’And we would make a well balanced breakfast, right?‘ the Infiltrator grumbled as she saw me nodding. ’But maybe it simply left months ago and we’d be idiots walking out in the freezing cold afraid of ghosts.‘ I nodded again. ’Well, my dearest Scout, I leave it up to you. You’re the expert.‘ I almost felt giddy as Brother agreed too. For the first time in a year my piece fell perfectly into place again in the world.

I suggested the two of us would go ahead, signaling Brother and Yuri in case of an emergency. We also devised a few back up plans, in case of emergency. Most of them consisted of everyone running out of the cave in case something went wrong. Obvious, but it paid to have something to hang onto in case of a panic.

’So, little Sister, what do you suspect we could find down here?‘ She scratched her ear subconsciously as she looked around.

’Bears, probably.‘ I cringed as I stepped into something soft. ’Bats, definitely.‘

’Bears?‘

’It could be a nest of Manticores too, if we’re unlucky.‘ I said as I scraped my hoof across the ground, shaking off unmentionable things.

’Manticores? I see.‘ She started chittering with her wings as she looked around.

’Don’t make that noise, we don’t want to upset any dragons if they live here.‘ I inspected the underside of my hoof with a grimace. How I wished for an underground stream! ’Or serpents for that matter.‘

With an audible snap she hugged her wings close to her sides. ’But there’s probably nothing here, right?‘

’Probably.‘ I shrugged. ’Maybe.‘

’Maybe,‘ the Infiltrator echoed as she let out a distraught giggle.

’I’m sure about the bats though.‘

’Great to know.‘

’Sisters,‘ I sensed Brother’s words enter our minds. ’Is there anything to report as of yet? The prey keeps pestering me with questions about you, yes? It is being most annoying.‘

’Oh, nothing special, only hordes of manticores, bears, dragons, and snakes.‘ My Sister glanced at me. ’And bats.‘

’I see, I see. Scout, are there any non-fictional things to report, yes?‘ he answered dryly. I could almost hear him roll his eyes.

’No, there’s nothing but old tracks in here.‘ In fact, the only remarkable feature of the cave was that it seemed to be a single very spaciously hall with no side paths. Just a single tunnel. ’Few animals would live so deep inside a cave, even during hibernation. We should have encountered a nest long ago.‘ I shuddered as we illuminated a broken off stalactite and several faint, but gigantic claw marks high upon the wall. ’Something went really wrong down here.‘ I flew up past my companion to inspect the broken off stone. ’The edges here are worn down, whatever happened here was long ago.‘

’What do you think it was?‘ Sister said quietly as she traced the marks on the wall with her hoof; they were easily twice as thick as her leg.

’A fight, maybe? I don’t see signs of anything else though. It’s like it just went berserk.‘

’There are marks over there, yes?‘ Brother said as he looked through my eyes. ’You are able to identify the creature now, yes?‘ Of course I could, I already had.

’An ursa major.‘ We hovered quietly in the air for a few moments.

’We’re leaving.‘ Brother said.

’Yeah, that sounds about right.‘ The Infiltrator agreed as she turned to fly back to our camp.

’No! Wait!‘ I was almost as surprised at myself as the others were. ’We don’t know if the ursa is still alive or even here. If we go outside we could freeze to death. ‘ It was true, dead by ice or by claw was still dead in the end, but I knew it wasn’t the honest reason I wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep exploring, I desperately wanted to study more tracks and guide my Sister and Brother. I wanted them to look, not with pity, but with the trust and pride that was a real Scout’s share.

’Surely there is another option, is there not?‘ my Brother said as she studied the dark rocks for more clues. ’We could return and keep guard against the ursa one by one. If we hear it coming we flee, agreed?‘

’You think we can outrun a hungry ursa major?‘ Sister guffawed as she leaned against the wall with the marks. ’No way, and we can’t fly in this weather either.‘ She smiled at me again. ’Baby Sister is right. Either we risk all of us freezing outside to dead or we risk expending a Scout and an Infiltrator. If it kills and eats us you and the prey can still return to the Hive and get new escorts.‘

It took a long time for Brother to answer, the seconds ticking away as water dropped from the ceiling. ’You are correct, yes. I submit.‘ I felt a pang in my chest for indirectly causing the distress I felt in his voice, but I had spoken the truth. No matter my agenda. ’For Mother’s sake, be careful.‘

The Infiltrator chuckled. ’We love you too.‘ Both of us made our way over the fallen rock as we headed deeper into the ursa’s lair once again.

We walked in silence, carefully sneaking around the damp rocks. Deeper in the cave the damage was even worse. Several large cracks adorned the ancient walls and barely any of the dripstones were left standing. I thought I was climbing a toppled over one until it turned out to be one of the ursa’s massive claws that had, fortunately for us, long ago broken off from its owner. Still there were absolutely no signs of another creature and the damage, massive as it was, could all be led back to the single ursa. It was a maddening enigma for any Scout, but I caught myself smiling as I tried figuring out the possible scenarios that could have happened. It was like stretching my legs after being tied up for months.

’Hey, I found something!‘ I looked to my Sister as she stood next to a large, pristine white block. ’And over there, there’s more-‘ She cut herself off as a terrible understanding grew within us. She had pointed to a series of large interconnected archways that were almost half as high as the tunnel. At the end of them we stared into the hollow eyes of a gigantic skull. The ursa major was dead, and we were standing in its grave.

The Infiltrator cursed as she flew away from the slain giant. ’Well, this is a good thing, right?‘ she said as she hovered at a respectful distance. ’It’s dead and we are safe.‘ She shook just a little bit as she spoke. ’Do you—do you know what happened?‘

Quite frankly I was completely baffled, but I kept silent as I flew around the skeleton, studying for any signs of trauma like cracks or chipped off parts. The bones were in a bizarrely good condition however. It definitely hadn’t been a predator. Not even a sign of scavengers gnawing on the remains was there. It was almost like all the ursa’s soft bits had simple evaporated. ’Maybe it was some kind of magic parasite,‘ I offered unsurely. ’An ursa is almost completely made from magic, and it almost looks like everything but the bones has been sucked dry.‘ It was an unlikely explanation and Sister probably knew. It would have taken hundreds of parasites a month to eat away this much, and they would have surely left some signs.

’Well, I’ll report to Brother,‘ Sister said as she concentrated. ’But even with that monster dead, I don’t know if we should stay. These kind of things don’t happen for no reason and it-‘

The world was plunged into darkness as a wave of fatigue fell over me. Panic overwhelmed me as I found that I no longer had the strength to fly. Letting out a shriek of surprise I fell and hit the ground hard and painfully. I felt like a poisoned blade had been struck into my guts as I pulled myself up on shaking legs in the complete darkness. ’Wha- what happened?‘ I managed to slur out like a drunken wretch. My call went unanswered however and with a deep horror my mind pieced together the puzzle. I had been stripped from my magic again. In one fell swoop I was reduced back into that worthless state I had been in the forest. Shamefully I felt tears pricking in my eyes.

I wiped them away quickly, thankful that the darkness hid them. My ears perked up as I heard a soft moaning not too far from me. With a coldness growing in my heart I realized that the same fate had befallen my Sister. It felt like I was walking through molasses as I stumbled towards the confused moaning with my tattered wings dragging over the ground.

At that moment I felt something. My heartbeat rose and my legs started shaking as an ancient instinct told me of danger. It was the feeling all creatures had had since the first day something had killed something else for food. The feeling of a predator watching you as it waited for its moment to strike. Short and hurried breaths filled my lungs as I twisted my ears to the slightest sounds. Nothing was there, but I could feel the sensation intensify right next to where the Infiltrator had fallen down. Something was deeply wrong with this place and we had to get out as soon as possible.

Very slowly I crept forward to where my Sister lay; thankfully she seemed too overwhelmed to notice whatever may have been standing so close to her. Finally I had reached her as the full brunt of the dread hit me. Strangely, I felt my fears turn into a deep fatigue and depression as I stared at the darkness. The cave almost seemed solemn in a way now, like it was a quiet temple build to mourn some great loss. I cleared my head from the fabricated emotions. Something was messing with my mind.

Slowly I lowered my head to my semiconscious Sister. “Don’t move. I’m getting you out of here.” I didn’t know if she could understand me, but the panicked breathing seemed to slow down a bit. Gingerly I bit down on the mane in her neck and began to drag her far away from the corpse.

I wanted to feel relief as I slowly made my way from it, but as I stared at that dark spot where I knew it had to be all I could feel were my nerves flaring up. The sensation didn’t follow me, but now I was convinced that it was deliberately caused by something. Something that had killed the ursa, but now decided to ignore us. If it could kill one of those it would have no problem murdering us in an instant. So why did it let us go? I felt shivers down my spine and a sickness in my stomach as I forced my tired limbs to drag my Sister to safety.

The Infiltrator seemed to have taken it even worse than I did. She was as weak as a hatchling and only managed to feebly kick the air now and then when I accidentally dragged her across a rough stone. As soon as I felt we were far away enough from the emptiness I stopped for a second to catch my breath. Not wasting more than a minute I managed to awkwardly sling my Sister on my back. I would not have her suffer the indignity of being dragged around like a bag any more than I could help it.

I wanted to simply run away after that moment, but even walking without carrying someone would have been an ordeal. Besides, I did not dare to take my eyes from that one spot in the darkness. With a carefulness born from exhaustion I walked backwards, away from the carcass. With some embarrassment I noticed I was barring my teeth at the thing. Quickly hiding that sign of desperation I took another few steps, managing to navigate my way between the toppled over dripstones without losing my footing.

After putting several meters and a good helping of rocks between us I finally felt confident that whatever it was would not follow us. That was fine with me; I was in no hurry to ever meet it again. I tried to look over at Sister as her head leaned against mine, but in this darkness I could not even see my own snout. That awful feeling of being diminished filled me again. I was as physically close to her as I could possibly be, but she might as well have been on the other side of the planet. It was an awful thing to be so isolated from each other.

“I’m sorry,” I said as I dragged us through the dark. I bit down on my cheeks. “We should have left as soon as we knew an ursa was here, but I just wanted to,” I stopped as blood rushed to my face. This was so awkward. It was so much easier to apologize if the other could feel your emotions and intentions. “I wanted to belong in the world again, wanted you all to not be ashamed of me.” The words came out all wrong. They were nothing but poor excuses. Language was such a crude tool to communicate. How could I show her why I had wanted to go on? How could I understand for myself why I had pushed on when I couldn’t see myself through her? No wonder other creatures fought and killed their own. This isolation was a cruel madness.

I heard my Sister mumble something incoherent. Had she even heard me? Was she even conscious? It was too dark to tell.

Several long minutes I had trudged away from the corpse now, occasionally taking small breaks without daring to let my Sister leave my back. I cursed myself a few times as I almost nodded off. Luckily, the pain of biting my tongue was enough for now to keep me going, but with every step my legs shook more and my eyes became heavier. I would just have to tough it out until I reached the exit.

My ears perked up as the sound of boots hitting the floor traveled down the tunnel. Looking up from the ground I could see a combination of green and white light making its way towards me. A sigh escaped me. No one ever kept to the plan, but I couldn’t help but smile.

Using whatever strength I had left I stood up a bit taller and shouted out. Soon Yuri responded in his rough language and a too bright beam of light fell on me, making my eyes water and see stars. I tried to shield my face with my leg, but nearly lost my footing. I let out a cry of protest as I barely managed to keep the Infiltrator on my back and the light left my face.

The sleek form of Brother landed next to me, he seemed to be unable to keep his wings from chittering as he studied us with wide red eyes. “Why aren’t you talking to me?” His voice had a slight tremble as he spoke. “I thought you two had died.” His voice broke halfway through. I stared at the floor, away from his wet eyes.

“We were ambushed.” I meekly replied. “There’s something terrible down there, I don’t know what. It killed the ursa and drained us. You were right, we have to leave.”

Brother stared at Yuri for a moment. Giving a nod, the man lifted my Sister from my back. “Thank yo- HEY!” I shouted in surprise as he grabbed me too and started to run. I wanted to resist his patronizing grip, but all my struggles stopped as I felt something radiating from him. I clutched at his jury rigged armor as I tasted a wonderful love born from concern flow towards me. Greedily I drank and relaxed my sore and tired muscles as I felt warmth and comfort fill my chest.

As soon as I felt like myself again I pushed myself free from his hold. He let me go without much protest as he breathed loudly from his exertions. I flew into the air on his other side, where the slender white figure of my Brother was hovering next to the motionless form in Yuri’s other arm.

A short gasp escaped from me as I put my hooves toward my mouth. She looked truly pitiful and I hated myself for thinking that. Her tongue hung out of her mouth and drool dripped down on the floor. She rocked slightly up and down in concert with Yuri’s movements with her head lolling obscenely along like she had no neck. Her hair was still messy from when I had dragged her. She looked half dead. I felt something twist around very tightly in my stomach as I stared at her.

’Is she-‘ I started.

’She’s alive,‘ Brother hastily interrupted me. ’She’s definitely still alive, for now.‘ He shuddered as he continued. ’But if she doesn’t wake up soon and feed, she’ll perish.‘ Hovering next to Yuri he gently patted the unconscious changeling’s head. ’I- I don’t know what to do. I never studied first aid.‘ Another more violent shiver overcame him. ’I don’t know what to do. I’ve been trying to wake her, but I don’t know what to do.‘ Those words were like a dagger to my heart. My dear Sister would die, because I had had too much pride. Because I had endangered us for my own sake.

It took me a moment to realize that Yuri was slowing down and gradually came to a hold. He flashed his light behind him, quickly surveying the cave before he doubled over to catch his breath. “We’re safe, right?” he managed between heaving breathing as he wiped the sweat from his face.

’Maybe. Yeah. I think so,‘ I answered. My thoughts came slow through the maelstrom going on in my head.

With some surprise I saw Yuri quickly taking of his chest armor and helmet, making a sort of makeshift bed and pillow from it and the several layers of shirts he had on him. Disgustingly I could now see the muscles and bones shift under his pale skin with every movement. Very carefully, almost fatherly, he placed my sister on the pile.

’Do you have a plan, yes?‘ Brother spoke as he landed next to the two. His ears lay flat on his head as he watched Yuri with intent. The man silenced him with a gesture.

“Hey! Pizdabol! Can you hear me! Hey!” He forcefully rubbed her face as he spoke. We waited with bated breath, but no response came from the unconscious changeling. Shining his flashlight in her eyes he repeated his questions, but still nothing happened. He hesitated for a moment as he finished up with her right eye. The man cursed as he slipped his hand into one of his pockets. He fished out a small white tube of some sort which he promptly broke in his hands. Holding out the remains under her snout had an almost instant effect. With a sharp inhale of air life rushed back into her abused body.

A choked sound managed to escape me as I felt my muscles relax. With a wave of relief I saw my Sister’s horn glow as she hungrily embraced the human to feed on his emotions. With a laugh Yuri returned the embrace. “To be honest, I’m not sure if that should have worked.”

With a somewhat undignified squeal I embraced the human from his side. ’You did it! You saved her. Thank you so much!‘

’You used ammonia? Clever. Very inventive! Good work!‘ Brother had flown up behind the human and patted him on the back with a broad smile.

Yuri tried to brush of the compliments, saying it was just lucky that it turned out well, but I could see the smile growing on his face. And, despite that everything was far from okay, the cave seemed just a little less cold and dark.

’ Oh, hey guys,‘ the infiltrator spoke up. She was slurring her words somewhat as she looked around in a daze. ’I must have zoned out for a moment or something.‘ A sheepish smile formed on her face. ’Are we having a group hug?‘ Her smile soured a bit. ’And… the human is shirtless. This isn’t one of those weird hugs, right?‘

As we hastily, and to her relief, explained that it wasn’t like that, she got a weird look on her face. Her horn started to shine brighter as she twisted her head around, looking everywhere. Slowly she brought up her hoof to the right side of her face. ’Guys, something- I think something is wrong.‘ She stared ahead, shaking a bit. ’My right eye. I can’t see with it.‘

I saw it now, in the brighter light. The beautiful crystal blue eye had become a murky shade of grey. It stared into nothingness as it failed to focus on anything.

It was the eye of a corpse.