> Tempered by Flame > by ChaoticHarmony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > I: Small Sparks > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- — Tempered by Flame — – Chapter I: Small Sparks – “No! I don’t want to! I’m not going to hurt her!” His voice crackled like crumpled paper as he turned away from the quivering bundle on the ground, trying his best to seem firm in his resolve despite the tremors that plagued his voice. “You can’t make me hurt her, no matter what you try.” He winced as another whimper came from the floor, reminding him of just how much of a monster he, and the rest of his race, really seemed to be to the small, light-blue creature that laid there bound with glistening, green ropes. He couldn’t help but turn around and look at the poor thing as his father’s jagged hoof pressed him forward just a tiny amount. “It doesn’t matter if you want to or not, Needle. You will starve if you don’t feed.” Their captive whimpered again at the word ‘feed’, but her protests went unnoticed by the two as they glared into each other’s eyes. The hoof that was pushing him along was lifted away for a moment and reasserted itself on the small space between his shoulders. “Listen, son, if you want to be alone while you do this, I can leave.” Before he could even respond, his father turned and began trotting away. “I will be right outside. Please, eat. If not for yourself, then do it for your family. I am not the only one worried about you, Needle Wings.” "Of course you're worried about me, Father." His soft mutters went unnoticed as they drifted through the air, now silent after the door was shut with a click. "It's not as if those above you are forcing you to prevent my starvation." He looked out of the window, which was partially covered by a torn and rotting sheet of cloth. From the holes in the fabric, he could make out the walls of two buildings in the distance, both of which were abandoned. "And it's certainly not because of the fact that we are dying out as a species." He jerked his head away, kicking a rock across the room and wincing when it landed next to the pony on the floor, setting off another round of pitiful, muffled screams and silenced pleas. "And why should I want to live on as a creature of nightmares?" Needle lifted his hoof to rest lightly on the broken mirror that hung on the wall before him, staring into his reflection's eyes. They were simply a wall of light blue, just like his father's and almost every changeling still alive too; only a select few were "gifted" with discernible pupils and emerald irises and as such were treated as if they were royalty, despite the fact that any changeling could obtain said eyes if the odds were in their favor at birth. A thrill of fear jolted down his spine as the reflection's mouth opened, moving around the word he hated. Feed. All Needle Wings could do was stand there and stare as the word came again. Feed. "No! I'm not going to do it!" He jerked away from the mirror, almost knocking it over in his attempts to get to the other side of the room. Once there, Needle Wings waited until his breath had returned before looking at the door again, afraid that his commotion had brought his father poking back into the room to find his orders hadn't been followed. When a few seconds had passed and the door had remained closed, only then did Needle Wings relax the muscles that he didn’t know he had tensed. A few more moments passed before he moved away from the wall and towards the middle of the room, passing by the shivering pony on the ground. “Seems like you and I are in the same kind of situation, aren’t we?” He knelt down beside the poor creature, reaching out a jagged hoof to gently rub against her side, where there was still a mark of where she had been kicked upon her abduction. Normally in the changeling culture, if you stole the pony then you get the kill as well, but his father had intervened in order to keep him from starvation and as such keep away the displeasure of those who ruled over them. “Stuck someplace terrifying that we don’t quite know how to get out of, desperate for a way out, searching and searching through the pain and unfairness of it all. We really do have a lot in common, if you look past the fact that I’m a monster and you’re an innocent little pony who got dragged into all of this, that is.” Despite himself, he dug his hoof a little too hard into the soft flesh to draw a small rivulet of blood that stained the pony’s light-blue coat an ugly shade of violet. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he desperately craved the emotions that tumbled out of the pony’s wound and up into his body; it wasn’t a voluntary thing anymore, he was simply succumbing to the need that gripped him every second. “It’s terrible that we changelings have to consume to live as parasites on the goodness that you ponies somehow have despite the world you live in and its cruelties.” A bang on the door drew him from his trance and the voice that he hated drifted through the blackened rock. “Needle Wings? Have you finished your feeding?” He yanked his hoof away from the pony that he didn’t know he had been feeding from, hate and shock coursing through his body upon realizing that he had let his needs get the better of him. “Do you need anything, my son?” “N-No, father, I haven’t finished yet.” He winced as his voice came out shaky and fearful, hoping with all the hope in his body that his father simply chalked up his nervousness to the fact that he didn’t want to feed in the first place. “Just… just give me a few more minutes and I’ll have finished here.” With that, he bent down to the pony’s ear, a plan already forming in his mind. “Listen, little pony, I’m not going to hurt you further.” He cut her blindfold with the edge of the hoof that had been cutting into her a moment ago, wincing at the whimpers the little thing produced upon seeing his body. “I’m here to help you, just do not make any sound and you will return to your world.” He then began working at the bindings around her hooves, which were made of thicker stuff than what the blindfold had been made of; it was a special blend of changeling excretions that hardened when exposed to a bolt of green fire that almost every changeling could produce at will. While his hoof worked away, Needle began telling the pony of his plan. “Once I have freed you of these, you will not run off. If you do, there will be no hope for you to escape. A changeling is always needed to light the portal, something that the ancient elders had long ago put into place to prevent any… invasions of our realm.” The first legs to be free were her hind ones, the snap of the ropes coming apart sounding more like bone than anything else. Good, let that throw them off. As he set to work freeing her other hooves, he continued in his briefing. “After these break, I will lead you to the portal and you will escape to your world. After that, it is up to you to never allow yourself to be captured again. Then again, your village likely has a patrol of Guards from Canterlot now that the changelings have surfaced and begun abducting ponies to feed on, so it is likely that you will be safe there for a long time.” Just as he finished talking, the next pair of ropes snapped, bringing about another round of whimpers that he didn’t hear before. “Please, little pony, be calm. I am going to get you out of here.” With that, he reached up and cut away her gag and tossed it over to a corner. “But if you make a sound, we will both be killed on the spot.” Just then, almost as if he had planned it, the door opened to admit his father. A few moments of tense silenced came and went, within which Needle Wings and his father simply stared at each other. It was almost an eternity before his father could finally choke out a question, though it was loaded with anger rather than confusion. “Needle Wings, what are you—“ The changeling didn’t have time to finish the question, as the son he was directing it to had blasted him with a lance of green fire, not enough to do too much damage but enough to stun him for a few seconds while Needle Wings and the pony leapt from the window. They left the angry shouts behind them as they galloped away from the building and through the streets of the partially abandoned village. Needle Wings looked back to see the little filly working hard to keep up but ultimately fall behind. “Hurry! We have to make it to the portal before the—“ He was cut short by the green fire that arched overhead, scorching a line of black into the greenish cobblestones next to him. “It’s too late, father has sounded the alarm already! We need to get to the portal before they catch us!” Needle lunged forward and grabbed the gasping pony in his hooves, working to bring them both into the air. He dodged to the side as yet another bolt of fire jetted past him, crackling as it missed him by little more than a hoof's length. Their pursuers were getting closer, their destination seeming even more far away than before. As the jagged edge of a changeling hoof cut into his own, a dread-filled thought crossed his mind and settled somewhere in his stomach. They were going to catch them. He wouldn’t be able to save the poor pony that had been taken from her place in life. Despite his mind's insistence that he was going to fail, all he did was push on harder, kicking the changeling that had gotten a grip on his leg and flying even higher to get out of reach of most of the fire. After a heart-pounding few moments, they were at the portal. Despite its "importance" it was of simple design and construction; a rectangular doorway made of crooked, blacker-than-black rocks that seemed to suck the light away from the air around them. It was a thing of darkness. It was, along with the other portals scattered around their realm, the reason why the changelings existed. And it was also going to be where he died. Needle Wings nearly crumpled with the pain that washed over him as he shot a beam of fire into the portal, the screams of the ponies who had passed through it in the ages long gone deafening him. "G-go! Go back to your world! I can only keep it open for a short time!" He couldn't help but spare a glance for the crowd of buzzing monstrosities that were slowly making their way towards the pair, all of their horns lit with a fire that launched every so often to strike at the ground around them. Soon enough their attacks would stop missing and both he and the pony would die. "Get out of here!" Naturally, the little filly whose life he was so desperately trying to save didn't react immediately. Instead, she simply stood there, staring at him. "Who... are you?" His mental groan didn't make it past his gritted teeth. He decided against answering for fear of having the portal collapse behind him, instead deciding to shove her unceremoniously into the emerald green light. When her shout of surprise had left the air, Needle Wings couldn't do anything but crumple to the ground. It was finally over; she was going back to Equestria, and he was going to meet his fate. “I’m… Needle Wings… And today is the day I die.” He turned and glared at the creatures that he considered monsters, hating each and every one of them who considered a life as a parasite a just one. “I am not afraid! Take me, end it! I am through being one of you!” His heroics were met with a green bolt of fire striking his chest. Then another. And another. A pure wave of fire rushed over his body as what seemed like the entire village let loose a barrage of hate-filled magic, throwing him back despite his best efforts to stay anchored to the spot. A sickeningly green and swirling light surrounded his vision, blocking out the convulsing fires that were rocketing toward his face. With it came a pain more agonizing than the fires that were washing over him, bringing Needle swiftly to the realm of the unconscious as he drifted along the currents that he was now lost in. Needle Wings had only one thought before the blackness of pain closed his mind to the world. The portal was still open. He was going to Equestria. She woke up screaming. It went on for what seemed like ages until her throat was ragged and raw, unable to release any more of the anguished sounds that her body still wished to produce. It wasn’t as if she was still in pain, but rather it was her mind’s way of expelling all the bad emotions that it had been forced to bear in that sloshing vortex of green. After the last of the echoes of agony had faded from the air, she fell back onto the ground with the sudden fatigue that washed over her. For the longest time, she simply lay there; completely content to be a rag for the rest of her life with no concern for the outside world. Of course, the sounds of a wild forest soon drew her out of that numb trance and replaced the feeling of nothingness with a pressing sense of dread, along with some panic ripping away at the edges of her thoughts. She was alone. That was nearly enough to almost throw her into a screaming mess again; an eventuality that was only stopped by the last-second intervention of common sense and a hoof pressing against her mouth. Slowly, so as to not alert anything in her immediate vicinity of her presence, she lifted her head to get a good view of the surroundings. What she saw really did make her scream, if only for a brief moment. There, just a few inches away, were the fangs of one of the creatures that had kidnapped her and taken her to that awful place where everything wanted to feed from her. It took all her self-control to not gallop off in a random direction and get as far as possible from the thing on the ground before her, the only thing stopping her being the fact that the thing seemed to be sleeping, a green goop leaking out from underneath his body. Despite the panic that jolted along her spine, the filly stepped forward and nudged him with a hoof, jumping back and letting out a small scream when he let out a strained groan. A few gears in her mind clicked into place, the creature on the ground becoming suddenly recognizable as she stared fearfully at him while he made the small, struggling movements of something that was in a lot of pain. “He… followed me?” Her words seemed foreign to her as they broke the eerie buzz that the forest seemed to possess, being lost in the trees as they seemed to leech her words' strength from the air. She looked around, sure that she had heard laughter from somewhere in the trees. A frustrated groan worked its way out from somewhere down in her chest and all the way up to her mouth as she tried to see through the layers of darkness around her. “This is why I always tell Bright that being a unicorn is better! I wouldn’t have to be stuck in the scary dark like this if I had a horn." She was tempted to groan again as the words that her sister would undoubtedly say passed through her mind in their usual, annoyingly condescending way. Yes, Cherish, but an Earth Pony has her own powers as well. “Well, a fat lot of help those powers are going to be if I can’t even see anything!” She kicked out in frustration, desperate for something to point her in the right direction. When nothing of the sort came along, she dropped back down to the ground and allowed a few tears of desperation to fall from her eyes. “What should I do, Bright? What can I do?” Beside her appeared a misty figure, its tall legs being the only thing Cherish could actually see. The voice it spoke in was mysterious, yet it was also familiar; and it also held a bit of amusement. Well, Cherish, what do you think that you should do? Cherish turned back to look at the changeling that was still smoking from whatever had happened to him, an occasional groan making its way out of his mouth. “W-Well I’d go and get h-help? I’d try to leave the dark and find some light?” She waited for a while to gain some sort of further guidance from the figure, but when she turned back to look at where the pony had been there was nothing but forest. That’s when it hit her. She had to get herself, and the changeling, out of the forest where there were things everywhere that would eat them in a second. “Th-thank you, Bright Light.” Sometimes that annoyingly condescending voice was right, as much as Cherish hated it, though she was also thankful for the wisdom that she didn’t have herself. Her mind now strengthened against the fear of the forest with the resolve that came from having a plan at last, Cherish turned to Needle Wings and crouched down next to him, reaching a trembling hoof to touch his charred body. She found herself almost leaping into the air as his groaned yet again, louder than before. It almost sounded like it was turning into a scream before the force behind it was lost. “H-How am I going to get you out of here, though?” > II: Bright Lights > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- — Tempered by Flame — – Chapter II: Bright Lights – “Cherish!” The name echoed around the forest, repeating over and over again, mocking her cowardice. She had seen her sister get dragged into the low-laying brush, kicking and screaming and looking about with eyes wide with fear. She had caught but a glimpse of the monster that had been doing the dragging, a dark insect like being with a cruel smile shining just under a pair of blue, glistening eyes. The sound of her sister’s muffled screams and whimpers somehow drifted through the trees and grew louder until they were the only sound that she could hear. “Cherish!? Cherish, I’m… I’m coming! Just hold on!” Her voice faltered a bit as she stepped forward with the intent of going into the forest, which seemed to writhe and change as she kept staring into its depths. Without warning a vine whipped out at her, leaving a gash in the dirt where her hoof had just been. I’m not going to let a forest stop me from saving my sister! After taking in a deep, yet shaky, breath, she charged forward into the wall of plant life. Pain seared at her sides as she stomped through the bramble, the many spiky vines clinging to her body. “Cherish!” The name simply fell flat in the air, dying almost as soon as it left her mouth. The only sound she could hear was that of the crunching plants around her. How was she going to find her? Her answer came in a blood-curdling scream that made her fold her ears back over her head. She was so close, so close to saving her Cherish. “Cherish!” Her horn pulsed with magic, and the forest around her was suddenly pushed away, trees being toppled and bushes being ripped from their roots in the soil altogether. “Cherish where are you?” All of the darkened colors blended together to form a wall of muddy green around the little circle of emptiness she had created. Another scream pierced the air again, this time followed by labored words that grew steadily louder as she started to charge towards them. “Bright! Bright, help me!” Each syllable was heavy with agony, driving her to pound her hooves into the packed soil even harder. She had to get there. She had to save her sister! “Bright, please! It hurts!” That last sentence ended with a third scream; the kind of scream that sent chills down your spine and made your very bones freeze. “Bright!” There, right up ahead! A sickening green light pulsed from between the cracks in the foliage, sending long, reaching shadows to grab at her hooves as she closed her eyes and practically threw herself into the bushes, stumbling out into the clearing. Crack. That’s all it took for her to stop dead in her tracks. That one sound echoed all around the woods, coming back louder and louder until it was nearly deafening. “Ch-Cherish?” She looked up slowly, opening her eyes despite her entire mind screaming at her to not look. She had to know. The first thing she saw was a set of light-blue hooves laying flat on the ground, a small stripe of red staining the normally beautiful coat. Her eyes couldn’t stop following the line of red. Next was the frail body, its chest still and cold. There was the creature, standing right beside her with his smile dripping with blood and some clear fluid, but she ignored it as she fell to her knees beside the limp pony. “Cherish?” The figure before her wavered slightly as tears began to fill her eyes. “Cherish… no…” “B-Bright?” The voice was weak, pitiful almost. “Bright… it hurts so much.” “I know, Cherish. I know, just… just hold o—“ She felt another chill wash over her as she realized something; that the voice wasn’t coming from in front of her, but rather off to the side that the bug creature was standing. “No…” Her gaze slowly, impossibly slowly, began to drift upwards, tracing along the jagged hooves of the… thing until she had reached its neck, terrified to go further. “No… please…” She made that final movement upward and saw her sister’s face, contorted in its last moments of agony. “Help me, Bright…” There was a cruel laughter coming from the forest, surrounding her as her sister’s face began to contort even more. “Help me! Why won’t you help me!?” Louder and louder the laughter became, pressing into her ears and causing pain. “Bright, please help me! Why aren’t you helping me, Bright!?” Bright Lights’ eyes snapped open as she was roughly dragged literally kicking and screaming into the world of reality. The ceiling was in view for but a brief moment before she jerked upright, her screams subsiding almost immediately as she sat there panting wildly. Her blanket, dark blue just like her mane, lay in a heap on the floor where her flailing hooves had tossed it as she had unconsciously tried to free herself of the stifling layer of cloth. She kept staring at that pile of bedding for what seemed like ages, trying to calm herself and forget the images that were in her dream, but she only saw her sister’s bloodstained coat, the teeth marks shining freshly red on her neck, and the creature who had put on her sister’s face. All of these horrific recollections of her dream superimposed themselves over what she saw already as her eyes roved around the room. Sunlight streamed in through the window, creating little shafts of light that got bigger and smaller as the curtains gently blew in an intangible breeze. The decidedly bland interior of the room held no distraction for her as she sat there with her shoulders heaving, trying to recover from the horrendous dream. After what seemed like forever, she slowly slid her hooves over to the side of the bed and dangled them over the edge, gently lowering herself onto the floor. Though her shaking hooves were barely enough to keep her upright, Bright eagerly welcomed the feeling of something solid beneath her hooves, something she knew was real holding her up. Once she had taken a few steps towards the staircase to go downstairs, Bright couldn’t help but spare a glance for the bed behind her, though she quickly turned away just a quickly. I’ll just fix up the bed later… once I get done with patrol and have that dream out of my head. Her thoughts trembled just as much as her body did as she stepped over to the staircase, staring down at the slightly dim staircase with apprehension. Apprehension that wasn’t misplaced as she stumbled on the last step and nearly face-planted onto the floor despite the extra care that she took going down the treacherous steps. Once she had steadied herself and taken a deep breath, Bright trotted off towards the kitchen in pursuit of some breakfast. She managed to make it to the kitchen and throw together a daisy sandwich without much incident, aside from her berating herself for not buying more bread as she had just used the last of it for her meal. Taking a rather large, hungry bite of the food, Bright slowly made her way to the living room to get ready for patrol. When the Mayor had suggested starting up a search party to try and find Cherish, she had been the very first, not to mention the only mare, to volunteer for it. Each day she donned the heavy, makeshift armor and strapped the rusty farmer’s sickle that she had been given as a weapon before trotting out of the small village she called home with the rest of the equally equipped volunteers, only to return at the tail end of the afternoon tired and dirty. However, before she made it to the rack where her “armor” hung a glint caught her eye from the corner of her vision. Her body followed her drifting gaze into the bathroom, where the edge of the mirror was shimmering from the sunlight that drifted in through the window just above the bathtub. Hooves clicking on the shiny bathroom tiles, Bright stared at herself in the silver-backed glass with slightly widened eyes. “Celestia, I look like Tartarus…” Her coat, which was normally a bright and cheerful butter-yellow, was dull and unkept, smattered here and there with dried bits of dirt and mud clinging to the fur along with a small helping of red streaks from where she had snagged herself on cruel brambles that cut at her sides. Her mane and tail were in the same condition, though thankfully lacking the blood. She brought a hoof up to her eye and winced as she poked at the purple bruise beneath it, the product of her running headlong into a tree a few nights ago. The more she looked at her reflection, the more she began to hate it. It wasn’t just the rough things she did during the day, but also the lack of sleep that was wearing on her mind and body. The resonant sound of the clock on the wall ringing reminded her that she had somewhere to be, though Bright couldn’t help but cast a longing glance back at the bathtub, something that she so longed to use for once. Once she tore her eyes away from the bathroom, Bright trotted over towards the rack on the wall where the armor hung, waiting for her to don it once again and take it out with her on yet another patrol. Her horn glowed as she magically lifted the heavy mess of leather straps and metal scraps over her head and lowered it onto her back, letting out a tired, weary grunt as the weight settled into its usual place. Deep down inside she hated how familiar the feeling of the armor pressing down on her back had become, but it could hardly compare to the worry for her sister that hung heavily on her heart. The sound of hide scraping against metal filled the air as Bright’s magic tightened the ragged leather straps into place. A shiver ran down her spine as the metal pressed into her body, cold from hanging there overnight. She cast a small warming spell to heat the metal to match her body temperature and shook the rest of the tingles out hurriedly, opening her door and stepping outside into the late-morning sun. After locking her door with magic, using the secret bolt that was hidden in the frame of the door to ensure that nopony else would be able to get in save for breaking in forcefully, she began her walk across town to meet up with the rest of the search party. As soon as she had taken ten steps, she was greeted with more than a few looks and glares here and there, not to mention hissing whispers that accompanied them. ”There she goes again…” “Always going out to the forest… trying to find her sister of hers.” “I’d have written her off as dead by now.” Bright had to force herself to keep trotting forward, to resist turning around and lashing out at the not-quite-whispering mares, though to be fair she did turn back briefly to throw a few daggers with her eyes. Her sister was alive, she knew it, and it would take a lot more than four days to convince her otherwise. It was much like that through the rest of the little village, the stares and the whispers and the glares too. After all, she was the main reason that the search was still ongoing, insisting that Cherish was still out there and could still be saved. As she got closer to the meeting place, she was met with more and more glares by ponies walking the other way, presumably after saying goodbye to their boyfriends or husbands for the day. Despite all of this, her mood wasn’t remotely shaken by the sheer hostility. She’d have gladly faced down a whole battalion of Royal Guards on her own if it meant saving her sister. It was only when she was a couple dozen feet away did things change, the sight of a group of shoddily armored stallions suddenly blocked by a rather large and rather angry mare. However, it wasn’t the fact that somepony had stepped in front of her that made Bright’s eyes widen in shock, it was the hoof shoving into her chest and making her stumble backwards that caught her off guard. “Look at you! All saddled up like a big, strong stallion, aren’t you?” The mare took another step forward, shoving her again and nearly making Bright fall backwards onto her rump. “Just what exactly are you off to do with the rest of the town’s stallions? The ones you go alone with everyday into the woods!?” She felt eyes staring into the back of her neck as nearly all of the passing ponies nearby turned to watch out of curiosity. “I bet that’s not the only place you take them into, is it!?” Yet another step and shove, this time sending Bright onto her flanks and sending up a bit of dust as the pony towers over her. “I bet you let them have their way with you! You let them take you on that rough like a little whorse, ain’t that right!?” By this point it felt like the entire town was watching her as she calmly stood up and brushed the dirt from her body as best she could, though Bright doubted it if really mattered aside from seeming unfazed by the mare’s aggression. Her eyes flashed as she angrily glared at the other pony, speaking loudly and clearly while also stepping forward. “We are going to find my sister, as your husband has undoubtedly told you. Maybe if you decide to actually listen to him instead of forming your own, misguided conclusions you would know that.” She made to trot around the angry pony but found herself on the ground again staring up at the practically shrieking mare with a dull pain throbbing on her rump as well. “Ha! Surely you’ve marked her off as dead by now!” A bit of red rose up into Bright’s face as a flare of anger started to heat up her blood. “Ah, so that’s it! You just go with those stallions and let them rut you so maybe you can just make yourself another sist—“ Slap! The sound echoed against the buildings for a moment before the imminent chorus of gasps rose up around her. Bright didn’t even acknowledge the sounds, however, as she was infinitely more focused on not throwing the pony before her to the ground and stomping on her face with a hoof, or two. “She is not dead.” Tremors ran up and down her legs as she took a small, dangerous step forward. “Don’t you ever say that she’s replicable. Nopony could replace Cherish, do you understand?” Bright simply brushed past the stunned mare now, leaving the crowd behind her to whisper furiously about what just happened, though she hardly cared about their hushed words. Let them whisper. “Sorry I’m late, let’s get moving.” Twenty or so hooves began pounding at the ground as their owners began to briskly trot along the usual path that they took to reach the forest. For some reason, Bright had been “elected” to be the leader of the group, though there wasn’t ever a formal vote. She just was. There weren’t any questions or comments raised to her about what had happened before, save for the mare’s husband, though all he did was throw her a worried glance. Like most stallions with any experience with marriage, he knew not to get involved with any sort of argument between mares. It didn’t take long for the ragged party to reach the edge of the trees, given that the forest was practically bordering the village at some points. The sound of silence reigned supreme as they all came to a stop as one, looking over to Bright for direction; something she readily, and firmly, gave. “We’re going to be going into the southern half of the forest today!” Her commanding shout echoed amongst the treetops, coming back louder than before. “We’ll take a break in an hour’s time, so no complaining!” While an hour seemed short, there was a good reason for such a brief search time before breaking; the last time she had taken them into the southern forest, the entire terrain seemed to battle against them. Bright, of course, battled back despite the many complaints that were presented to her from several different stallions, stopping only when a snake had chomped on an unfortunate stallion’s hoof because he had been too tired to pay attention to where he was stepping. The hour was up almost as soon as it had begun, and Bright found herself looking back at the rest of the heavily panting volunteers. “Alright, time for a rest. We’ll keep going on in ten minutes.” It was nearly impossible to tell time given the fact that they couldn’t see the sun above their heads, but Bright knew that they had been going for long enough to warrant a break, especially in such a perfect location. There were even flowers going around the small pools of water that were on the edge of a slowly flowing stream that cut right through the middle of the clearing. The leaves beneath her made loud, crunching noises as she let her flanks plop down onto the ground. All around her similar sounds rose up to fill the air, followed almost immediately by a dull hum of conversation. Despite this, she couldn’t help but frown as she glanced over at her “troops” and saw more than a few faces showing signs of exhaustion. The rough terrain was taking its toll on the whole group, especially when coupled with the fact that a good portion of them were thinking on what the mare in the street had said. The bleak thought had even started to plague Bright’s mind as well, whether she believed it or not, it was there stewing. She didn’t rightly know herself what she believed in, but nearly being attacked by somepony in the view of the rest of the town opened her eyes to one glaring fact that she had been ignoring: she couldn’t keep these ponies from their homes anymore. They weren’t professional soldiers and she wasn’t qualified to lead them like she did. They all certainly had jobs of their own that they had put aside to answer the call for help, but enough time had passed that quite a few of them, she knew, were already thinking that the call had faded beyond hearing. There came a time when even burning hope had to give way to reason. The ten minutes rolled past all too quickly, but Bright stood up all the same. She had to do this. What she had to say wasn’t easy to say, not in the slightest, but it needed to be done. “Alright, get up everypony, I have something to tell you.” She slowly got up onto a rock, twenty pairs of eyes following her movements as she clambered up onto the stone. Thuds filled her ears, shutting out everything as her heart began to lurch and sputter frantically. Was she really about to do this? “I… I’m calling off the search.” Her eyes slid closed to block out the shocked faces, and her ears were filled with a low buzz that blocked out the sudden rise of whispers. “Go home to your families. Go love them.” Her hooves clicked unnaturally loudly as she turned away from the volunteers whose duties were now fulfilled. “Go back to your families…” She closed her eyes and rubbed a hoof against her cheek where the first few tears were beginning to fall. “And leave me to mourn mine in peace.” Without warning, Bright leapt forward and practically threw herself into the wall of trees, pushing herself to go as fast as she could so nopony would find her. She had to get away. She needed to be alone. After what seemed like an hour of mad galloping, the sounds around her faded to just her own hooves and the noises of the forest. Only then did she let herself slow down to a plodding walk, her head held low as tears began trickling down her cheeks. The colors all blurred together as she walked, becoming a wall of gloomy blues and purples that swirled as she passed them. Eventually she found herself staring down into a clear pool of water, looking into her reflection without seeing it. She was so lost in her emotions that she didn’t even notice as one of the brighter-colored flowers rose up and gently nudged her cheek, wiping away the tears there, nor did she notice the light-pink spores shimmering in the air around her. She didn’t even have time to blink before unconsciousness grabbed her in its black grip, dragging her down into the darkness. > III: Dark Dreams > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- — Tempered by Flame — – Chapter III: Dark Dreams – The sound of flames sprung to life amid the buzzing forest, crackling loudly amongst the other sounds of life. Leaves, charred by the green fire that had suddenly flared upwards, crunched underneath Needle’s hooves as he hesitantly inched his way partially of the portal. Seconds passed as he simply stood there, casting his gaze this way and that, his entire face devoid of expression. Everything around him seemed to give off an almost impossible sense of life here. The bugs clinging to the plants, the animals hidden in the shadows, even the trees themselves seemed to hum with it. Of course, this hum cut off as soon as he took the final step out of the portal. With a sigh, he sat down on his haunches and continued to stare at the wall of darkened blues and purples, taking in all of the scenery with a small smile on his face. If he could have gotten away with it, Needle would have spent hours simply watching the forest with that same faint smile. All too quickly though, his rumbling stomach and weak knees reminded him of the reason that he had even come here in the first place; a reason that, much to the “worry” of his family, he hated to no end. He was here to do what was necessary to feed both himself and the rest of his race. He was here to hunt. Shaking his head sadly, Needle tossed his head back and sniffed at the air. Once the faint, tickling scent that he was searching for had entered his nostrils, he stood up suddenly and began to trot in its direction. The dull, black rock that hung from the black necklace around his neck felt warm as it bounced against his chest with every other step. It was a portal stone, given to him just before he had thrown himself into the doorway back in his own world. Every hunter was given one before they had left, after being told that under no circumstances were they to open the way back without catching some prey first. Not every changeling who left returned but it was the only way to ensure that there was food for the entire village; the portal stones took a good bit of time to make, and were destroyed once they were used. Needle continued down the unseen path with his nose still in the air, drawn forward by the smell of emotions drifting through the air. Even if they were faint, he could still detect the individual “tastes” that each one had. Anger was sharp and strong, leaving its taste on his tongue long after it had faded away. Happiness was bubbly and light, its taste being quite brief but no less satisfying. As he walked he continued to sort these things, barely noticing that the portal had closed behind him, as it was supposed to do that lest some random pony had the luck to discover it and went to alert the forces of Equestrian Royalty. The last time such a thing had happened the famine had nearly caused a riot that was quelled only when the portal door had been moved to a different location so that it was situated in a different part of Equestria entirely. He continued forward under a veil of darkness, shielded from the moonlight by the rustling leaves that stretched far above him. The silence was nearly deafening as Needle passed through the forest, his corrupted presence bringing with it an aura of fear that seemingly pressed down on everything around him. Each echoing crunch that followed his every step only served to further remind him that he wasn’t welcome in a world full of life like this one. He was an unnatural, dark stain in a land of natural beauty. Though his thoughts grew darker with every thud of his hooves, the forest all around him began to grow brighter. Small, brief flashes of light trickled down from between the spaces in the rustling leaves, glinting off of his wings as he passed under them in the second that they were there. He found himself driven by some notion to trot faster, to leave behind the forest and enter the open land despite the fact that the dark reason he had come here. He wanted to see the sky again. Looking up into the great abyss above, being lost in the sheer depth of the fabric of the heavens above was something he always had to do before he went off to hunt. It was a calming thing, watching the stars shimmer all over that not-quite-black blanket that smothered the world in its embrace, complete only with the large, silvery moon that hung high as its centerpiece. While the rest of his brethren would have kicked him if they caught him doing such a thing, Needle preferred to stand in the pale light with his eyes cast up towards the sky. It wasn’t ever like this in his world, where the ground was cracked and the sky was always filled with grey ashes that floated endlessly in the hot winds that scoured the landscape almost daily. His hooves pounded on the forest floor as he galloped out of the trees with a soft cry of happiness, casting his gaze skyward as he broke free of all the dark browns into a world of slightly bleached greens and blues. As he slowed to a stop, Needle couldn’t help but let his mouth drop open as he took in the canvas above. He stayed like this even longer than he did in the forest, though, just as before, he was drawn out of his admiration by yet another painful twinge of his stomach. If he didn’t hurry he knew he’d end up feeding as soon as he caught some random, but no less unfortunate, pony that happened into his path. With a wistful sigh, Needle Wings began the slow trot that would take him to the village that was a little distance away, his nose twitching as the various emotions filling the air with their enticing scents tickled at his nose. Within just a few minutes he found himself walking through the village outskirts, looking back and forth for anypony nearby. Though the streets were seemingly abandoned, he ducked behind a building and closed his eyes as emerald flames spiraled along his body. They held no heat in their flickering forms, only a special kind of magic that lingered long after the flames had faded away, rendering him visible only as an unassuming grey stallion to anypony else who happened to look at him. His heart was furiously pounding as he cautiously stepped back out into the street, looking up and down said road to make sure that nopony happened to start walking by. Once he was sure that he was in the clear, his steps came a little easier, but still slow and cautious all the same. Enough stories of magical torture being enacted upon those who were caught had circulated among the village that Needle had enough sense to tread lightly in the hunting grounds. He continued down his cautious path for some time, jumping at every errant sound or shadow. Rather, he did until a very peculiar and strong scent made him take a few steps towards it without his realizing it. It was a wonderful smell, filling his body with warmth as he breathed it in and nearly overwhelming him as it did so. It was a terrible smell at the same time, because he knew that it was exactly what he was sent to hunt. It was the scent that a young pony gave off. Needle Wings didn’t even realize he had reached the place where she was until he found himself staring at the door of the house. His magic sputtered and faltered as he tried and failed to muster up enough focus to unlatch the lock, though eventually the pieces of metal let out a muffled click as they came undone. Tremors ran down his spine and along his hoof as he pushed open the door slowly, and despite the fact he knew that he was perfectly capable of fighting off any possible threat inside the house, he stepped inside as quickly as possible and shut the door behind him. However, he nearly ran right back out of it after he saw what was in the room ahead. There wasn’t a guard standing there, his spear leveled at his face, nor was there a mob of angry ponies that were hungry for his blood. There was simply room, a plain space with a set of couches in the middle of it with toys strewn this way and that. He recoiled every time his hoof brushed up against one of the things, fighting back hisses every time. They didn’t burn or hurt him, but they gave off the strongest scent of a filly that he had ever smelled. Each time he touched or looked down at one, he was reminded that he was here to hunt. 　　　　He was here to be the monster that he is. 　　　　 　　　　As he slowly approached the wooden door that the tantalizing smells were drifting from, Needle had to force himself a little more every step of the way. His people always hunted the young ponies, despite it being that much more horrific, because they always gave up the most fear and pain when they were fed from. They offered up the most food, food that would be slowly pulled from them with a set of glistening fangs that sunk into their neck. That was the part that he hated the most, the bite. Not only did he hear their shrieks of pain and anguish, but he could feel it alongside their growing weaker. A pony with no emotions is as good as dead, which is why Needle always bit a little deeper so that the pony wouldn’t have to suffer such a fate for too long. Normally the prey die of their wounds, but some of the more barbaric changelings of the village liked to keep the emotionless ponies alive, to taunt and tease and abuse as much as they wanted to. 　　　　 　　　　His hoof trembled against the wood of the door as he braced himself to step inside. Despite his mind’s shrieks at him to not turn around, Needle found himself staring back at the happy home that he had just spent what felt like an age walking through. Seconds ticked past as he simply stood there, looking over the room behind before he entered the room beyond, a cold shiver running down his spine as every single tick of the grandfather clock that rested against the wall clicked out into the air, his ears almost twitching with every one. 　　　　 　　　　The slab of oak didn’t creak as it swung open to reveal a room that had every inch of space practically covered in soft pinks and yellows. The floor was smattered with a generous helping of stuffed animals, all of which came together to form a hazardous minefield of toys that protected the centerpiece of the room. They all radiated from the fluffy, overly puffy bed just like the nearly overwhelming smell that the pony hidden in its covers gave off, though the toys didn’t go straight into his nostrils and draw him closer to her. Everything else seemed to fade away as he stalked up to the side of the bed, his vision filled with the sight of the gently rising and falling lump that was underneath the blanket. He lifted it back to reveal what he knew was already there: an innocent, sleeping little filly with a yellow coat. She didn’t stir as he leaned in to softly whisper to her. “I’m sorry.” 　　　　With a flash of emerald flames, they were gone. 　　　　 　　　　A weary sigh broke through the dull buzz of the forest as Cherish let the makeshift rope of vines fall limply from her mouth, her body exhausted from dragging along the changeling behind her. Her eyes followed the tangled mass of green to rest on the still unmoving creature that was sprawled loosely out on the very broad leaf that she had taken from a nearby tree to better drag him along with. Despite the fact that she had been with him for a few hours now, Cherish’s legs couldn’t stop trembling as she stepped towards him for a closer look. The slightly-luminescent green stuff that had been leaking out of a few places in his shell had finally stopped flowing out, but the amount that did rendered the changeling’s body a neon-green color that shone brightly in the near-blackness that continued to press against their little circle of light. 　　　　 　　　　She found herself slowly reaching out with a hoof to gently brush along one of his pitted legs, nearly recoiling at the feel of the cold and slightly slick shell. Despite her mind shouting at her to run away, she continued to gently rub at the green-blue fluid in hopes of getting it off of the changeling’s body, though her efforts only managed to flake off a little of the stuff. “Looks like it’s dried on already.” Her eyes slowly moved over to stare at his face, which was contorted in what looked to be pain, but it was too dark even with her horn being lit for her to be certain. 　　　　 　　　　As Cherish took her hoof away, a soft murmur left the creature’s lips, breaking through the dull, monotonous drone of the forest once again. Any thought of recoiling away was quickly and entirely taken from her mind as a flood of worry filled it instead, her hoof now resting on his shoulder as she leaned down close to get a better look at his face, concern lighting in her eyes as she stared intently, though she didn’t have a clue what she could do to stop any pain if she saw it. After a few moments of silence, another quiet set of words left his mouth. “No... No I won’t do it, Flame Horn. We aren’t supposed to be this.” 　　　　 　　　　She couldn’t help but lean in closer to hear what else he was saying, though she couldn’t hear the words over the drone of the forest. “Supposed to be what? What won’t you do?” Silence was all that greeted her words as she stood there, leaning down as close as she could, though that swiftly changed when a flash of white reminded her that he still had those very dangerous-looking and sligthly-bared fangs that seemed like they could easily bite through her coat if she accidentally startled him if he woke up. 　　　　 　　　　From her new spot a few steps away, Cherish sighed heavily and made to pick up the vines again, though she stopped when a howl in the distance nearly made her jump out of her skin and actually made her neck pop when she jerked her head around fearfully to look off into the blackness in the direction of the terrifying sound. Seconds ticked past as she stood poised to gallop away from whatever it was that had howled like that, though eventually she realized that nothing was coming for her and she shook her head at her own silliness. “Not everything here is out to get you, Cherish.” She could just imagine her sister telling her that, if she were walking beside her right now. “No need to jump out of your skin at every little thing, silly.” 　　　　 　　　　Of course, she nearly screamed out loud as she stepped forward and heard a loud, strained groan from beneath her hooves, though she swallowed hard to prevent the noises from escaping her throat. “I’m sorry!” Her flustered apology was interrupted by yet another groan from the changeling by her legs, a worrying one that went on for even longer than the last. Cherish knelt down beside him and rested her hoof on his own, and even though he couldn’t hear her she still spoke in a soft, breathy whisper. “H-How can I help you?” There wasn’t any response save for the slightly hoarse and labored sounds of his breathing. 　　　　 　　　　She got to her hooves as an idea clicked in her head. Before she knew it, Cherish was trotting off in the direction of a stream that she had seen just a few minutes ago when she was busy trying to untangle the vine-ropes from a tree root that was very knotted and curled. “Stay right there, I’ll get some water and wash you off!” The darkness seemed to close around her as she trotted away from him, kept back only by the light of her horn now. > IV: Old Nightmares > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- — Tempered by Flame — – Chapter IV: Old Nightmares – 　　　The ground below him cracked loudly, sounding almost exactly like a bone being broken in two, as his hoof stepped out of the swirling portal that he had activated a dimension away. The slightly squirming cacoon of green slime rested on his back with a weight that was more than physical. Within the green confines of her prison, the little filly was fighting futilely against the natural sedative that was laced throughout the sticky substance. There wasn't a changeling to be seen in any direction once he had surfaced completely from the green flames of the portal, though it wouldn't take long for them to start showing up once the smell of the new catch started to permeate the air. Somehow they were able to sense the fear and terror through the ash that hung in the sky because of the fires that burned deep in the many crevices that cut ditches in the ground, a talent that Needle hadn't been able to perform without coughing violently. While he was still alone and relatively unpressured to be in a hurry, Needle Wings gave himself a moment to breath and calm his nerves before he had to face the rest of his village. 　　　 　　Once he had reached the place where he had stepped into the world for the first time that night, his hooves stumbled as his mind shot back into its normal thought processes. Waiting for him there was a terrible rush of guilt that nearly made him fall onto the ground, though he had just enough concentration left to cast the spell on the portal stone, his mind unable to think through the painful emotion that wracked his body. After crawling into the portal with his prey behind him, Needle closed his eyes and whispered out a silent prayer for the family of the little pony that he had taken. "I'm sorry." 　　 　　It didn’t take long to get back, it never did. 　　The relative calmness that surrounded him was broken by the sound of buzzing wings, at first only a single set of them but quickly being followed by more and more until the air was filled with the deafening noise. He looked up from the poor pony on his back and saw more than a few black figures there, blotting out the ashy grey sky like drops of ink. A glance behind at the fading portal showed him even more changelings hovering there, waiting. The only sound he could hear was that of their fragile wings flapping, all other noise being blocked out by the sheer number of them. And this is just a few. Needle couldn't help but shudder at that thought, though he did his best to push it away as he straightened himself and stared forward, past all the changelings surrounding him and towards the village. There was no point waiting anymore, the filly on his back was going to die regardless of what he did. There wasn’t any way that the portal would open again in such a short time. 　　 　　Needle Wings couldn’t help but let his hooves drag slightly in the ash as he began the short journey into the village, a shiver running down his spine every few minutes as he felt more and more eyes rest on his form. In the distance the changeling town simply looked like a cluster of black rectangles jutting up into the air like some sort of disease. Some of them were toppled onto one another whilst others simply ended halfway up as if the rest of the spire had simply disappeared. The entire place looked inhabitable and deserted, just like the entire landscape around it. Needle stumbled a little as his hoof caught in one of the many holes that dotted the pock-marked surface for miles, made from changelings practicing their spells or from hunts for prey that had managed to escape. There were bones as well, their bleached white contrasting with the fire-blackened dirt around it and somehow making the whole place seem even more hostile; those who had gotten out alive didn’t stay that way for long. 　　 　　After what felt like forever, Needle found himself, along with his entourage of changelings, entering the place that they all called home, though to him it was less of a home and more like a place that he couldn’t escape out of need. All around him rose the black rock, blocking out the view of the burnt and desolate world outside and forcing a feeling of imprisonment onto his mind. The streets weren’t any better than the ground that he had plodded through to get here, though now he only had to deal with the feeling of being followed, rather than the feeling of being surrounded. 　　 　　It didn’t take long for Needle to reach the town’s center, a great, paved circle that was large enough to hold the entire village’s population during the feeding, which is exactly what he turned to face after he had jumped onto the altar. While it was custom for the hunter to have claim to the prey, the extra emotions that dispersed into the air while the pony was being tortured were greedily sucked up by the lucky changelings that happened to be close enough. Hundreds of eyes stared up at him as he turned full circle to see all of the hundreds of hungry beings that fully expected him to do what he was born to do. 　　 　　The deafening sound of silence, punctuated only by the thudding of his heart, was all he could hear as they waited for him to feed. The pounding grew harder and harder, almost becoming painful the closer he got to the little filly that he had set down in the center of the pedestal in the view of every changeling there, a succulent meal in their eyes. With a small flash of green from his horn, Needle split open her cacoon and pulled her out into the open for all to see, ignoring the tiny coughs that she gave once she breathed in the ash-laden air as best he could. He moved with a methodical sort of grace as he grabbed her front hooves and pinned them against the rough stone, using his magic to pin her hind hooves down so she couldn’t resist her fate. Even the pounding of his heart faded away as he moved closer and closer to her neck, leaving behind nothing but a dead silence in his ears. “I’m sorry.” Then he did something that he wasn’t ever supposed to do. Something that cut him to the core of his very being and made the thought of feeding from such an innocent creature unimaginable. 　　 　　He looked into her eyes. 　　 　　They were wet with tears and wide with sheer terror, seeing only a monster standing above her with fangs that were ready to sink into her neck and for all she knew suck out her blood like the vampire he appeared to be. As he looked into the depths of her eyes and soul, he could see for the thousandth time what he really was. He saw a monster reflected in those teary eyes, a monster that had taken away from a family that loved her and feed from her pain that he would cause. 　　 　　“No.” His whispered word was barely audible to his own ears as he stood up suddenly, stepping away from the filly and falling backwards off of the pedestal, an action mimicked by her as well, though she was simply lifted up by a green aura and held down against the pedestal by one of the older changelings who had a keen eye for food trying to escape. “No.” It was louder this time, just barely reaching the ones around him over all of the confused whispers and the buzzing of irritated wings. In the next instant, Needle hurtled himself into the air and flew off as fast as his wings could take him, getting as far as way as possible before the shrieks of pain and agony started. 　　 　　Needless to say, he didn’t get far enough. 　　 　　The wails filled his ears for a few brief seconds until something slammed into his side mid-flight and brought him crashing to the ground. After the world spun around, Needle found himself staring up at the slightly blurry, but no less terrifying, face of his older brother. “What in the name of Chrysalis are you doing!?” A hoof punched at his chest, holding him down against the jagged street. “Do you have any idea how you looked up there? How embarrassing it was to see you act like a hatchling who didn’t know how to feed!?” A jolt ran down his spine as his brother’s horn clashed with his own, angry eyes glaring into still confused ones. “Do you have the slightest idea how badly you just ruined our family’s reputation in the village?” The weight on his chest lifted as the irate changeling stomped away and turned around, still shaking with visible rage. “What were you doing up there?” 　　 　　“I...” He paused for a moment after clambering to his hooves, one of them poised in the air to take a step closer to the changeling before him. “Fayde, have you ever stopped to think about what it is that we do?” He shuddered lightly as the screams in the not-so-distant distance stopped suddenly. Though it wasn’t any relief to him, as they continued to play on repeat in his mind. “I mean, don’t you ever think about... Well, the ponies we do it to?” His words faltered a little at the end as his brother’s face morphed into a mask of careful indifference, though Needle knew that there was a burning anger hiding beneath it; he had been struck by his brother and father after mentioning this far too many times for him to hope that there would be no repercussions. 　　 　　“We do what we need to do to survive, Needle, nothing more.” 　　 　　“Nothing more?” He stepped forward boldly, his hoof pointing to where the rest of the changelings were likely still scrounging for the scraps of emotions that would remain in the air for a few minutes after the pony had passed away. “Torturing a little pony for food? Having them as soulless toys of entertainment like some of us do? That’s nothing more?” 　　 　　“Needle, watch your tongue.” Fayde pressed a hoof against his chest firmly, shoving him back a step as well. “You should know that we get the most food from a pony with the more pain we cause it. That’s why we draw it out like we do.” 　　 　　His body shook with passion as he shoved the pushing hoof away, stepping forward and shoving his own hoof into Fayde’s chest instead. “Why haven’t we come up with a way to feed without hurting them!? All of this pain isn’t necessary and you know it! There has to be a way!” 　　 　　“Why should we care about them? They’re just food to us, Needle! In the end all they do is serve to feed us!” 　　 　　“No, they are more than that! They—” His protests were silenced by a hoof colliding with his mouth mid sentence and by the ground that caught him as he fell. In the next instant Needle found himself on his hooves once more, blinking away the stars in his vision and baring his fangs at his brother. “Fayde!” Without any further words he leapt into action, his fangs aimed straight at his brother’s throat so they could tear out his trachea and end his life in an instant. 　　 　　That never happened. 　　 　　Just before Needle’s fangs were about to crack through the thin carapace, it changed into light blue fur that waved slightly with the ashy breeze. Time seemed to slow down as he got closer and closer, too late to stop his jaws from closing around the soft throat and tearing into the flesh, filling his mouth with the coppery taste of blood. 　　 　　“No!” 　　 　　His eyes opened as fast as they possibly could, his body jerking upright and hooves flailing as he jumped up to stand, slowed only by a few throbs of pain that jolted around his body when he moved the wrong way. The forest around him was dark as he began to gallop away from his dreams, away from his old haunts. 　　 　　Though he soon found an even darker darkness as he tripped over what felt like tree roots and tumbled head-first into a pond, though something soon pulled him out by his back hooves. It was a pony, that much was for certain, though it wasn’t one that he had ever seen before. “You.... You’re one of those monsters that took my sister..” He had enough brain power left to realize he was in trouble after whoever was holding him threw him back down onto the forest floor, jarring him back even closer to unconsciousness. “Where is she!?” His world shook violently as his body was shoved roughly around on the ground. “What did you do with my sister!?” 　　 　　“I-I don’t—” Pain spread out in an instant as something jabbed into the side of his head, pain strong enough to send him tumbling into an even darker black than the world around him, a distraught scream following him briefly before it was swallowed up by a ringing silence.