For the last two centuries, batponies had brainwashed pegasi to believe aviation was impossible for the feathered. Flight follows the pegasus rebellion as they discover their true natures.
Canary wakes up in a cold, dank prison controlled by a batpony regime known as The Cloud. For centuries, they had taught pegasi that batponies alone could fly; pegasi wings were vestigial. When Canary and Aether discovered flight on their own, The Cloud mobilized to silence their rebellion. Though Canary was ready to die for her beliefs, her life takes a turn when she befriends a prison guard named Echo.
Flight is an allegory that explores the nature of Freedom, Truth, Depression, and Revelation. Keep your wings open!
Note: Flight is a stand-alone read. Before Flight gives background from Aether's perspective, from her forming of the Storm to her escape from Korporis. It answers a few questions that are kept in mystery until later in Flight, but I've kept it posted for your reading pleasure. Re the cover picture: it seems to be a case of citogenesis. It's from a pintrest pin saying it's related to Thalo-Ryder on DeviantArt, but that account doesn't seem to have any art posted (anymore?). So thank you to whoever created it! The source goes to my doodle of Canary in the wind instead.
A cutting pain brought Canary to her senses, laying on her stomach, limbs pulled in tight. The ground under her chin felt smooth, chill, and damp. Her eyelids slid open, revealing a wall of a wall of stalactites and stalagmites—a thousand tiny columns running up to the ceiling, lit by barely fluorescing moss. She shivered.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
An arc of pain shot up her legs as she stood—dark iron boots suffocated her chafing hooves. She kicked instinctively, but the tapered metal bit into her ankle, binding her to the smooth cave floor. She could barely rotate her legs, much less lift a hoof. Canary felt like she was breathing through a single piece of straw. She bit down on the cuffs and tried to wrench off the metal. A sharp fleck hit the inside of her mouth and Canary spat it onto the cave floor. The pegasus cringed, recognizing it as a chip of her tooth. Not one dent marred the metal's sheen.
Canary's heart thumped heavy in her chest. She tried to push out her wings to fan the air—moving air always helped her think—but she could hardly move a feather. Looking back she saw a metal loop pinning her wings to her back. Her wings flexed unconsciously and her breathing grew erratic. Fixing her attention on the door behind her, she tried to control her breathing. It was tantalizing—just a few wingspans behind her, yet completely out of reach.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Could this be that leatherwing prison from the war? Blitz had been skeptical of it, since only stories of stories had survived. “Core-polis? Corpse-alis? Korporis?” Canary nodded. Naming something is the first step towards defeating it.
Canary rested her head between her hooves and stared at a metal ring bolted to the floor, a half feather from her nose. As she tried to discern its purpose, her stomach growled. They wouldn't just let me starve—would they? She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her heartrate. If they wanted to kill me, they could have done it already. She shook her head lightly. They're keeping me alive for a reason.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Wisps of memory drifted through her mind, lingering like fog on a winter morning. Her heart turned icy, remembering the leatherwings first entering town. Only a few pegasi had joined the Lightbringers by that time, but restriction breeds curiosity—the patrols and interrogations brought in dozens more pegasi to their rebellion. Canary tried to imagine her flights with Aether as vividly as possible, searching for the scent of Woodburn's forested mountains. Tears climbed up towards her eyes.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Canary nuzzled her head between her hooves and wept.
Click.
The door behind her swung open and a leatherwing entered the cell. The noctal guard could have been mistaken for a pegasus, were it not for her bat-like wings and cat-slit eyes. Her irises were bright pink and shone out against her charcoal coat. Her lip curled up in a sneer, revealing her pointed canines. Canary shuddered. No matter how many times she saw leatherwings, their nearly-pegasus anatomy set her on edge. The guard's voice was as sharp as her teeth and coated thinly with nectar.
“Welcome to Korporis.” The guard vultured around Canary, sizing up the pegasus.
Canary stood up, besting the guard by a featherwidth—the leatherwing didn't need any more of an advantage. “Why are you keeping me here?”
The guard headbutted Canary's jaw, spun around and landed a hoof on Canary's jaw. Over Canary's scream the guard hissed, “You will speak when spoken to, prisoner!”
Canary growled, but a stab of pain kept her jaw closed. She knew well why she was here—she just wanted test the guard's limits, and she had found them. As Canary's tongue sat still, her eyes wandered over to a bridle hanging from the guard’s side.
“You'll wear the bridle each plucking.” The guard drunk up Canary's fear. “Move one feather when I'm putting it on and I'll add a sister bruise on your jaw.”
Canary weighed her odds, inspecting the leatherwing's muscular form. As the guard took the bridle in her mouth, Canary imagined headbutting the guard back but couldn't imagine it properly. The guard's eyes were synced to Canary's with a flawless focus that only comes from practice. They pierced her, making her wonder whether Pink-eyes could read her thoughts with that stare. It petrified her.
The bridle's metal slipped over her face and cinched onto her head after Pink-eyes jerked the cord. Dangling beneath her was the end of the bridle's lead, which had a clip at the end. The guard pulled the clip over the metal ring in the ground and stomped, latching the two together.
The leatherwing brought her face uncomfortably close to Canary's. Her breath was sour, like rotting fruit. Canary's wings tensed and her wingtips splayed out as much as her restraints allowed.
“What was your relationship to the pegasus Aether Wind?”
Canary glared into the leatherwing's slitted eyes. “Just a friend.” It had been true, once.
“We already know about your little group. 'Lightbringers' you call yourselves?” The guard spat. “Nature kills her rebels.” The guard circled around Canary's back. The restraints fought Canary's instinct as she tried to kick the guard. Panic grew in her, though she knew it was only reflexive.
Deep breaths, Canary told herself.
“Your silence won't save them—Nightwing's century should arrive at your valley by tomorrow.” Canary's eyes flashed wide, making Iris smirk. “Yes; we know where you all have been going. You thought you could hide from the Cloud?” The guard let out a lone high-pitched laugh.
“How?” Canary whispered. She sifted through their ranks, imagining who could have betrayed them. Not Cirrus, not Lilac or Coral or Skye... They had all seemed so loyal—Woodburn was small enough of a town that she had known most of them well even before they'd joined the Lightbringers.
A memory surfaced, of her last moments before waking here in Korporis. her capture. Blitz had come home completely expressionless. Canary had tried to speak to him, but two noctal guards burst into the house before he could answer.
“Interrogation brings out personality aspects you'd never imagine. That's why I requested this position—you get to see their true nature. When you get down past all the fancy ideology, you see that we're all just whimpering weaklings at our cores.”
Canary glared at the bat who had resumed circling her. You loathe most in others what you see in yourself. Blitz had told her that once.
“Who is your leader?”
“You already know: it's Aether! My leader, my teacher, my—” A pain from her wing made her swallow her sentence. The guard dangled a yellow feather in front of Canary's eyes and let it fall to the stony floor.
“The Cloud are your only leaders. Following others causes you pain.” She paused, a smile flickering across her face. “Can pegasi fly?”
“You know we can! That's why you—” Canary winced as she lost another feather but continued through the pain. “—That's why you arrested me! You're afraid of what we can do!” Another feather floated in front of her nose.
Pink-eyes glared into Canary's eyes and spoke slow and clear, as if to a child. “Your wings were not made for flight. The Cloud are the true flyers of Avondale.”
“Then why arrest us‽” The guard headbutted her again, forcing Canary to hold her tongue.
“Speak only when spoken to.” She gripped another feather between hear teeth. “Who is your leader?”
“Aether!” Another feather. A trickle of blood ran down her side.
“The cloud are your only leaders. Following others causes you pain. Can pegasi fly?”
“Stop asking that! Of course we can! We—” Canary inhaled sharply as she lost another feather.
“Your wings were not made for flight. The Cloud are the true flyers of Avondale.”
“Why are you—” Another hit to the face.
“Speak when spoken to. Who is your leader?”
“It's…” Canary bit her lip. “The Cloud,” she mumbled. Canary jumped as a jolt of pain ran down her wing. “Hey! I said what you wanted!”
The guard moved her face level to Canary's. “I didn't believe you. Try for more conviction if you want to convince me. Now tell me, can pegasi fly?”
Canary squeezed her eyes shut and shouted “No!” She tensed, expecting another bolt of pain, but the only sensation she felt was a sinking in her heart. What am I doing‽ Aether and I fought for this! I can't just abandon the Lightbringers like this! Feathers grow back!
“Passable. But you'll have to—”
“Pegasi don't fly; we soar!”
The guard scowled. “Pegasi—” She plucked a feather. “—cannot—” A second. “—fly.” A third. “Your wings were not made for flight; the Cloud are the true flyers of Avondale.” Pink-eyes snorted. “Back to square one. Who is your leader‽”
Feeling the guard's grip on one of her primary feathers, Canary took a deep breath.
Canary lay on the feather-littered floor, inert besides her breathing. Her mind still raced from the torture. They're trying to associate flight with pain. Her mind went back to when she'd said "no" and was spared. All this pain would leave if I just said what she wanted to hear. I could keep my feathers! Her heart sank in her chest and she winced. But Pink-eyes plucked me even when I gave the right answer. Her standard of 'believable' will just keep rising. Canary shook her head. I can't abandon what we've been fighting for! Her heart leapt, filling her with courage. I can do this. Feathers grow back!
Canary's ears perked up at the sound of distant hoofsteps and muffled voices. One voice in particular stood out from the rest.
“Aether?” She stood as tall as her restraints allowed and strained her head to see out the barred window. “Aether!”
Her echo was the only response. Canary let her muscles relax. My ears must be playing tricks on me. But echoes of hoofsteps sounded again.
Click.
Canary snapped her head back towards the door. It was a different guard this time: a male slightly shorter than herself. It was his eyes that caught her gaze though—they were emerald, like the moss around her. Rather than the bridle, he carried a pot with a ladle sticking out. He was so thin, it surprised Canary he could even carry it. His ribs stuck out from under his skin so much that Canary figured he was even hungrier than she.
“Food.” His voice had no inflection, as if he were reading off a number.
Canary clamped her mouth shut. As he lifted the ladle, she sniffed at the slop, but only smelled the musty cell. If they wanted to kill me, they would have ages ago. It won't be poisoned. Hunger broke her resolve and Canary inhaled the mixture. If it had anything besides potato in it, she couldn't tell.
It's humiliating, she thought, being spoon-fed like a filly! She felt her face redden.
As the second ladle passed her lips, she looked back into the guard's emerald eyes. He was staring off into the distance, completely uninterested in Canary or anything else in the world. He hadn't even looked her in the eyes. This one feels different: empty, emotionless…
“Why are you keeping us alive?” Canary tensed, preparing to be hit.
The guard looked at Canary with mild surprise but made no response.
“Why are you keeping us alive?” she repeated.
“You're not supposed to ask questions,” the guard responded, lifting another ladle to her lips.
Her muscles relaxed as she slurped her second sip. So not all of them are so violent. Curious now, Canary ventured another question.
“What's your name?” Canary cringed. Of all the things I could have asked…
The guard blinked twice and looked her in the eyes. His mouth hung open for a moment before he responded, “Echo.”
Canary snorted. “What, do you not know your own name?”
The guard frowned and poured another ladle into her lips.
So it's one for three. Canary ventured another question. “Where does your name come from?”
The guard's voice was halting, as if he were repeating something in a foreign language. “My parents. Stop talking.”
Canary smiled and drank the third ladle.
« ~ »
A bolt of pain raced down Canary's wings and another primary fell in front of her nose.
“Oh, we're running out of these,” came Pink-eyes' voice.
The second 'conditioning' hadn't been as bad as the first—it had been a different guard—but she'd gotten Pink-eyes from the third time on. The pink-eyed guard knew exactly how to make plucking hurt the most—it was only with her that Canary ever bled from losing feathers.
“Who is your leader?”
“Aether!” Canary focused her mind on her prison, trying to correlate the pain to her bonds, and not to her friend. Is this the fifth session? How long has it been? She couldn't be sure in this cave; without the sun, there was no sense of night or day. A tear escaped her eye. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how often they came or how long they lasted. She guessed it had been a month since entering Korporis, but as more hours ticked by, she trusted her mind less and less.
“Can pegasi fly?”
Canary held a breath in her lungs. Feathers grow back. Feathers grow back. Each feather she lost made her question whether she would ever fly again. She doubted she could even glide in her current state. “Yes,” she whispered, her tone nearly pleading.
The guard plucked another feather. In a sudden shift of voice, the guard cooed, “Just give up—you don't need to be in so much pain. You're hurting yourself. Tell me the bats are your leaders.”
Why do I even bother, Canary wondered. Why does it matter? I can just say it. She opened her mouth to speak, but choked on the words.
“That's right. Just say it: We are your leaders.”
Canary couldn't speak. But this is all that I have. They could torture me anyway. Why should I trust them now, when they've lied to us for centuries? Canary nodded to herself. “Aether!”
« ~ »
Canary's wings drooped as much as her restraints allowed. Though her body shook in pain, she wore a smile. “They will never break me,” Canary whispered to herself.
The cave echoed back in affirmation: “They will never break me.”
She nodded. “At least you agree with me.”
Click.
Her wings twitched. The last torture had been especially painful now that they'd started taking her covert feathers. Don't look back, she told herself. Stay calm. It's too early for another session. Her eyes darted backwards rested on a familiar face.
“Echo! Good to see you.”
The bat blinked twice in response. “What?”
“As compared to the others, that is,” Canary clarified.
Echo frowned and began feeding her.
“You know,” she said between mouthfuls, “you don't have to be so angry all the time.”
The bat lifted another spoonful to her mouth. “I don't have much to be happy about.”
“Oh, woe is me! Free to come and go as I please, not chained to a dungeon floor, with perfectly intact wings—no, my life is the epitome of misery! Even flight has lost its luster!” A smug expression grew on Canary's face.
Echo let out a single, high-pitched laugh before forcing his face back to neutrality.
As casually as she could, Canary asked, “So, where are the others—the other members of the Storm?”
“In cells, like yours.”
Canary tried to hide her smile. “Oh. So why are you keeping us alive?”
“They don't want you all to become martyrs.” He shook his head. “No, they can't allow that to happen.”
“Why?”
The guard blinked twice. “Do you not know? You started a revolution!”
Canary's pupils dilated. “What?”
“We didn't act soon enough—pegasi around all of Avondale have been—” Echo suddenly stopped.
“Yes?”
“You're not supposed to be talking to me,” Echo noted.
“But you're the one talking to me!” Canary smiled smugly.
Echo opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He lifted another ladle to her lips.
“So what have the pegasi been doing?” Canary's heart beat hard in her chest as she realized what she was saying.
Echo stared Canary in the eyes. “You're not supposed to—” Echo cut himself short, allowing the sentence to die in his mouth. As he shuffled out the door, Canary swore she could see red on his cheeks.
As water dropped from the ceiling, Canary mulled over the conversation she'd just experienced. What was that‽ I was flat-out mocking him. He laughed! And he was answering my questions—no other guard has even come close. She stared intently at the ground before her. And what was I doing, making casual conversation with a guard? The bats are the enemy! I shouldn't even pretend to be friends with those monsters!
« ~ »
“Echo!”
The bat shuffled awkwardly into the room, carrying his pot as usual. His eyes rested on Canary's wings. “Oh.”
“What?”
“Your wings—they're—”
“What?” Canary spat. “Ugly? Mangled?”
The guard shook his head lightly. “They're bleeding—pretty badly. Was that Iris?”
Canary tilted her head. “Iris?”
“Female leatherwing. Arrogant, with a tongue of sugar-coated barbs… ”
“And Pink-eyes?”
Echo nodded. “She's the worst of the guards—she requested her position.”
Canary felt her eyes try to form tears, but none came. “When I escape, I'll tear her to pieces! I'll find whoever's close to her, and I'll—”
“Become just like her?”
Canary opened her mouth vainly and closed it again.
Echo frowned. “You can't destroy hate with hate,” he said, lifting the ladle to her mouth. “it only ever dies with love.”
Canary nearly choked on the soup. “Love‽ Are you kidding?”
Echo took a half-step back. “I'm just saying that—”
“What? You think we can just hug it out? You think I can befriend a monster‽”
The guard bit his lip, searching Canary's eyes for a moment. “I guess not.” Without a word, he delivered the remainder of her soup and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Canary called.
Echo paused and looked back with his emerald eyes.
“I'm sorry—I didn't mean to—” Canary fumbled over her words. “I don't know what I said—”
Echo shook his head. “No, it's fine. It's nothing.” The door slammed behind him.
Canary stared at the door, tracing back the conversation. What is wrong with him? How can he expect me to love Iris? What does he expect of me? Canary shook her head. Since when do I care what leatherwings think, anyway‽ Iris is evil, and he knows that! Canary frowned. So why did he storm out like that?
Tears refused to come to Canary's eyes. Her wings had lost nearly all their plumage and were little more than pink nubs now. A few feathers peeked out from her muscle—waxy black shafts like needles. Feathers grow back—the words felt empty. It doesn't matter how many feathers you have if you can't fly.
She hadn't seen Echo for days, since he'd stormed out from her cell. What if they found out he was talking to me? What if they punished him? It's been days, and my only friend in this prison is gone. Images of Iris torturing him infested her mind. If she so much as lays a hoof on him…
Click.
Canary looked behind her with worried hope. A light behind the figure covered its face in shadow, making it impossible to identify them. Then the deep green eyes shot open.
“Echo! Thank goodness! I thought something had happened to you!”
The guard moved forward into the light, saying nothing. Something was different about him, though she couldn't quite nail it. He isn't carrying the pot. Her eyes grew wide when she saw what he carried instead. The bridle.
“Echo! What are you doing! What is that!”
Again he was silent. He stared at the floor as he lifted the bridle up to her face.
“Stop!” Canary bit the incoming bridle, wrenched it from his hooves and threw it to the ground. “What are you doing‽”
Echo looked at the ground below him—not batting an eyelid.
“Echo!”
The guard crumpled to the ground. “I can't do it! I can't!” Echo covered his face with his wings and wept.
Canary tilted her head. “Echo?”
She frowned, unsure of how to comfort the bat.
After a minute of sobbing, the bat lifted one wing from his face, revealing his puffy red eyes. “I can't do this. I'm so tired of being a lackey for the bats. I don't want to be here anymore.”
Canary stared in shock at the bat. Her expression softened as she watched him weep.
“It's okay.”
Echo pulled a wing away from his face and yelled, “No! It's not okay! I—I was going to torture you!” He curled back under his wing and sobbed, “I am a monster.”
Canary frowned. “No. You're not. You're my only friend here, and I—” Canary bit her lip. “—I don't want to lose you!”
The bat looked up.
“You never even laid a hoof on me! I don't think you ever could!”
Echo sighed. “But you don't really know me. I really am a monster.”
Canary snorted in frustration. “Stop saying that! Why do you think you're such a monster‽”
His frown deepened as he climbed to his hooves.
“Because—”
Emerald flames enveloped the bat in a tight circle. His grey coat burned away, revealing a shiny black beneath and a blood red shell. His midnight blue wings burned into stiff insectoid wings and his cat-like eyes were replaced by the flat eye of an insect, in the same reflective red as his shell. Though the creature before her was equine in shape, the finned mane and stubby horn on its forehead made Canary's head jolt back in surprise. Her eyes were full moons, inspecting the creature.
“—I am a monster.”
What in Avondale is that‽ She only managed to squeak out “Oh.”
The bug took a step towards her. “I'm a changeling. It's because of me that the Cloud found you. It's because of me that you're in here. Because of me your friends are in here! Because of me! I'm the real monster here—a thousand times worse than Iris—and it's eating me alive!”
No sound came from Canary's open mouth.
Eyes narrowing, he grew louder. “And yet you still like me! It doesn't make sense! How can you still care about me now that you know what I am‽” He paused to breathe. “You said it yourself: How can you love a monster!”
A blush crossed Canary's face—she hadn't realized how attached she'd grown. He knows my emotions better than I do.
“WHY DO YOU NOT HATE ME‽”
Canary searched for an answer. “Because… you're my friend. You matter just as much as I do—”
“No I don't! I should rot in Tartarus for what I've done!” Tears formed under Echo's eyes.
“If it's your fault I'm in here, then why have you been so nice to me? You obviously feel something, or you wouldn't be in the state you are now.”
Echo blinked in realization. He opened his mouth to respond, but words wouldn't come. The bug creature leaned in and kissed her. Canary jolted back, leaving the changeling hanging in space. A blush crept onto his face as he opened his mouth to say something, but the echo of voices drew his attention. Emerald flames surrounded him again as he returned to his usual form and bolted from the room without looking back. The door locked shut behind him.
Canary stared at the stalactites before her in shock. He kissed me. Her mind was doing backflips, trying to synthesize the new information. Her last moments of freedom kept coming to mind: sipping chamomile tea in the kitchen, Blitz calling for her at the door, Cloud guards entering right behind him… Could that have been Echo? Canary furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Blitz used to be an acolyte of the bats—she'd always worried he might betray them. But he changed. He was one of us. Still, Echo wouldn't have done that—would he?
« ~ »
A hundred questions whirled around Canary's mind.
What in Avondale just happened? What's a changeling? How could he feel my emotions? Does he really like me? How did Echo get the Storm captured? How did he get to be a guard for the Storm anyway? Why is he still working for the bats? Did Echo really get the entire Storm into prison? Are they still alive? Would he tell me? Is Echo even really his name?
When Echo entered the room, her questions burst like water from a dam.
out all at once.
“One at a time!” he begged.
“Who are you‽”
“Echo.”
Canary rolled her eyes. “No! Who are you really? Who is Echo?”
The guard looked down. “It's complicated.”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
Echo collected his thoughts for a moment. “It all started when we were out on a hunt.” Seeing her confusion he added, “'We' being a cluster of changelings—we hunt for emotions.”
Canary frowned. “What does that mean?”
“We feed off of the emotions around us. We can eat any emotions, but only love really satisfies us for long—other emotions are snacks in comparison.”
“So… you eat emotions? How does that work?”
Echo shook his head. “It's not eating, really. It's like how standing in the sun makes you warm—being around emotions makes us full.”
“So what do you feel right now?”
Echo shrugged. “Mostly curiosity and confusion.” He smiled. “A touch of love.” As Canary blushed, he added, “and embarrassment.” As Canary's face grew darker, he laughed lightly. “That's why I don't tell others their emotions—they get self-conscious and stop loving as much.”
“So you were on a hunt,” Canary said, eager to change topics.
Echo obliged. “Right. We were moving through the forest, heading towards a town, when we started sensing a feeling: pain. But there was also a touch of apology and love mixed in, so we went off to investigate. The feeling came from a pile of branches, so we turned into leatherwings and started to dig.”
He tapped his chin. “In hindsight, we should have been more cautious. Considering we felt pain, there could have been some beast hiding in the branches, or some trap that was sprung, but we weren't afraid enough to think of it.
“Anyway, we threw off the branches and uncovered an entire troop of noctal guards lying in a ditch, including an emerald-eyed leatherwing. Deep wounds lacerated his chest and poured out blood. As bad as he was, the others were worse: mutilated beyond recognition. He was the only one left breathing—the only one left emoting.
“He croaked out that a monster had ambushed their squad and asked us to tell NightFlower what had happened.”
Canary tilted her head. “NightFlower?”
Echo nodded. “His wife. When he said the name, we could feel how he felt for her. Love, lust, affection—there's a unique feeling between spouses. It was a golden opportunity—it's every changeling's dream to enter such a relationship. Since I was the one to find him, I was the one to take his place.”
Canary reddened. “She doesn't notice‽”
“Didn't,” he corrected her. “Since we can sense emotions, we're relatively good at knowing what niche we need to fill. If they expect a hug, we give one. If they expect a compliment, we give one. Changelings were built to be the perfect lovers. Plus I could play the amnesia card.”
“Okay, but you said didn't. How did she find out?”
“She never did find out,” Echo winced, glancing backwards. “About a year ago, she—she fell very sick. I—I couldn't do anything to save her.” His head dropped. “We had been so happy together, it crushed me to see the dream die. I should have been used to it, since most relationships changelings have are temporary—”
Canary raised an eyebrow.
“Ours is different though,” Echo assured her, “I'm not just feeding off of you—I legitimately like you! And from the inside out, not just mirroring the love you have for me. I'm still not sure how that's working…
“Anyway,” he continued, “I didn't have much of an identity to start with, being a drone, but being with NightFlower changed everything. I had a purpose in life. I wanted to be the real Echo so we could be together forever.” His smile melted away.
“When she died… I began to grey (I was running out of emotions), but I was so heartbroken that I didn't realize it was happening.”
Canary frowned. “But don't you feed off everyone's emotions?”
Echo smiled at her concern. “Usually. But I stopped feeling things after NightFlower… I couldn't think straight—I was working like a mindless insect, only going on out of habit.” His lips drew taught. “The hunger hurt, but losing NightFlower hurt more.”
“I'm sorry,” Canary whispered.
Echo nodded. “The longer I went without food, the less control I had over my shapeshifting. About a moon ago, I accidentally transformed in front of the other guards—I thought they'd throw me out, but Fenwing had other plans for me.”
He paused in his narrative, sensing Canary's increased curiosity.
“About that,” she began, “why did you say it's your fault my friends were captured?”
As the guard opened his mouth to respond, the wooden echo of a distant door sounded through the cave. “I'll tell you later,” he assured her.
Canary frowned. Because of the guard changes, she could never get more than a few minutes with him at once. If he really likes me, she thought, why doesn't he get me out of here?
She shook her head. It didn't matter. His visits made the torture bearable. It was a known in a sea of unknowns—something she could latch onto. They can never break me.
But Echo didn't come the next day.
Nor the next.
Days passed like an unending nightmare, with each torture dimming her hope. She felt like a toothpick holding up an elephant, that the slightest breeze would make her snap.
Each day brought a hundred new fears. Was he moved to a different prison?
Days passed.
Did he really like me? Did I do something wrong?
Weeks passed. Did he find someone else?
Canary shook her head. It doesn't matter. Escape is what matters. The upside of solitude, Canary thought one day, is the focus it gives you. As she planned her escape, she realized how little she knew about changelings. What else can he turn into? A monster? A bird? A shadow? A key? If so… Canary etched a hundred plans on the walls of her mind, detailing her escape.
Canary sighed as another food guard left her room. Much of her waking thoughts were centered around Echo's disappearance. Almost subconsciously she'd run through a hundred scenarios every day.
A whisper from far behind her made her jump. “Canary!”
Her eyes widened. Though she strained her neck to look behind her, she saw no one. Silhouetted in the prison window though was a small bat. It jumped down in a blast of green flames and landed as Echo before her.
“Where have you been‽”
Echo frowned. “They took me off guard duty—they found out about us.”
“Wait—what? How?”
His frown deepened. “Iris noticed my behavior changing. She suspected I was getting too attached to some of the prisoners and had me moved to a different shift.”
Canary stomped her hoof. “I knew it! That's not fair! They can't do that!”
“They already have.” He sighed. “It was impossible enough, sneaking in as a bat.” Echo held Canary close. “I decided I can't let that keep us apart!”
“Then why don't you get me out of here!”
“You know that's impossible.”
Canary smiled. “If you can turn into a bat, could you turn into other things? Can you change just part of your body? Try turning your hoof into a spike.”
Echo frowned at his hoof. In a burst of light, it changed into a point.
Canary's heart leapt. “Then you can turn it into a key!”
Echo's jaw dropped. “It is possible—We can escape!”
With Canary's help, Echo picked the lock to her restraints, freeing her hooves to move for the first time in months. It burned, using her legs after so much atrophy, but her joy overrode her pain. “So what's between us and freedom?”
“There's a main door to this section we have to get through before the Maze—a series of tunnels that lead to the surface. The door has a password that changes regularly—it's currently 'Cobalt.'”
“And the Maze? Can we get through?”
“I could navigate it with my eyes closed.”
“Brilliant. We should leave at the change of guard. You'll take on a guard's form so we can get through the door. What do the defenses look like in the Maze?”
Echo chuckled. “It's its own defense—even veteran guards have gotten lost before.”
Canary beamed. “Perfect. Then what are we waiting for!” Canary put Echo's hoof to the door for him to pick.
“Shouldn't we plan this out more?”
Canary scowled. “Open the door.”
The caves leading up to the door were maze enough—Canary kept close enough to Echo that his tail would sometimes brush her face. Though her legs complained so loud she could nearly hear them, the adrenaline was more than enough to keep her running.
“Who's there‽”
In a burst of flames, Echo turned into Iris. He nudged Canary forwards just as the other guard came into view.
“What are you doing‽”
Echo stiffened. “Taking this prisoner to the captain.”
The guard's eyes narrowed. “Out of shift? Why would she ask you to transport her?”
Echo moved up to the guard so their noses were nearly touching. “Are you questioning the captain?”
The guard didn't flinch. “What did I tell you this morning?”
Echo rolled his eyes. “You expect me to remember what an amateur guard like yourself said?”
The guard's battleclaws had nearly pierced Echo's neck before the changeling's hoof intercepted his jab. The twin blades gleamed in the mosslight, a hairsbreadth from Echo's neck. “Why are you freeing Canary, Echo‽”
The changeling blinked. In a flurry of swipes, Echo batted the guard's claw away with his right hoof, setting him off-balance, while with the other hoof he smashed the guard's head into the opposite wall, making him collapse to the ground. The guard stopped moving. Sensing Canary's concern, he assured her his heart was still beating. After pushing him to the wall, Echo took on the guard's form in an emerald flash.
Echo shook his head. “They must have added some security measures,” he murmured. Tapping his hoof, he turned to Canary. “Should we still go for it?”
Canary felt the sinking feeling in her heart. Why would I feel that now? She nodded vigorously. “It was just between Iris and that guard. We'll be fine.”
Echo nodded and led on. After a minute, Echo whispered, “Here we are.”
The passage ahead had been cemented shut, all besides a dark wooden door. Though it was about twice their height, it was barely wide enough to fit through. Echo waved Canary to the side before he knocked on the door.
A slot opened at eye-level, revealing a pair of bright green eyes.
“Password?”
“Cobalt,” Echo responded.
Silence.
Canary hopped from hoof to hoof, waiting for a response. After what felt like an entire minute, the door clicked open.
Echo walked calmly through the door—barely large enough for two ponies to fit through. In a blink he lashed out at the two entry guards, knocking them out before they could so much as inhale. “Come on Canary,” he whispered. “We'll need to hurry.”
The passageway was a bit brighter than the cells—the glowing moss was bright enough to cast a shadow now. The cavern branched a thousand times—Canary lost track after the tenth turn.
“This is why Korporis is inescapable,” Echo whispered. “Even if a prisoner escapes, they're more likely to die lost in the caves than make it to the surface. Only seasoned guards could ever get through here alone. Thankfully,” he added, “I have a perfect memory.”
After the ten-thousandth turn, Canary felt a breeze brush her face. Echo turned back and whispered with a smile, “Nearly there.”
Canary's eyes widened as she saw a spattering of light shining from around the left corner of a T-junction ahead. Canary smiled and broke into a gallop.
“Wait!” Echo whispered, chasing after her.
Just as Canary was about to round the corner, Echo tackled her, pinning her to the ground. As Canary inhaled to protest, but Echo held her mouth shut. Putting his mouth right at her ear, he whispered, “Don't move. Don't talk.”
Then she heard it—the sound of guards approaching.
Canary worried her heart would explode. We're so close! Echo helped Canary to her hooves and motioned for her to hide against the wall, just behind a stalactite. Canary grabbed a rock from the ground and held it close. As she stood against the wall, a soft glow emanated from her side. Canary watched in horror as Echo's horn glowed brighter and brighter. Of all the times he had to start glowing! Canary moved to cover his horn, but Echo pinned her hoof against the wall. Canary glared at him. What's come over him‽
Shadows were running up the wall, stretched thin by the angle. In the few seconds before the guards arrived, Canary looked towards the entrance, then down at the stone in her hoof. Her heart was racing—from the sound of it, the guards would be on them in seconds. Canary squinted to take aim, then launched the stone towards the entrance. Just as she released the stone, she felt Echo's hoof on hers, holding back her hoof. Canary shot him a glare. What are you doing‽ The rock hit a wall near the light, sending echoes through the tunnel.
“Left!”
Echo released Canary's hooves and jumped into a fighting stance. “I was cloaking us!” he whispered aggressively. “You just gave up our position!”
Three guards rounded the corner and closed in on Echo. In a flash, he reverted to his insectoid form and landed blows on the two nearest guards.
Canary pushed off the cave wall and bucked the nearest guard, sending him flying into the opposite wall. She landed on all fours and skidded along the ground. Before she could gauge the situation, a blow from her right knocked her to the ground.
She found herself pinned down by a noctal guard, but with a quick jerk, she freed her right leg and kicked upwards. Her hoof made contact with his ribs, throwing him off enough to set her free.
To her left, she saw Echo holding his ground against three other guards. He was flitting around like a dragonfly, dealing double the blows as he was taking. Canary leapt towards the nearest guard to pounce on him, but just before her hooves made contact, a guard spawned from the darkness and knocked her sideways into the cave wall.
Canary frowned at the stalactites before her. These aren't my stalactites. She looked right, but the sudden motion spurred a flash of pain, making her grit her teeth. Images of the fight flitted through her mind. It hurt nearly as much as her head. The last thing she remembered seeing was Echo fighting one-on-three, fighting for her life.
Canary stared at the door behind her and bit her lip. What happened to him‽ She could almost see him, shackled to the floor like her. It's all my fault. Whatever changeling voodoo he was doing would have saved us! We could have been free! Her gaze fell to the ground.
Those rays of light kept dancing in her mind's eye. She had never been so close to freedom, yet now it felt impossibly far away. I can't believe I messed it up. He's probably locked up as well now, or worse. If only I could have one more chance~
The door clicked.
Canary smiled, turning around. “Echo!”
The shadow spoke with a shaky voice. “No; he's been taken care of.”
Canary's body twitched in recognition. Iris stepped into the mossglow, revealing puffy red eyes. Though it looked like she had been crying, Canary knew Iris was incapable of such feelings.
“Don't worry, we haven't killed him. Since you wanted to be together so badly, we obliged. He's in the deepest corner of this dungeon under maximum security. He'll stay with you forever.”
Iris paced around Canary in a tight circle. “Your try at freedom makes me laugh. You thought you'd outsmart leatherwings by throwing a rock?” Her head jerked back as she let out a laugh. “Ha! We have the ears of a bat—we see with sound! Your distraction betrayed your position exactly!” Iris smirked at Canary's surprise.
“Since you're so hell-bent of flying, we've decided there's no other choice.” Iris unlocked Canary's wing restraint, letting it clatter to the floor.
Canary looked up at Iris in suspicion.
“You have one last chance to stretch your wings—as we remove them.” Only then did Canary notice the metal attachment on Iris's front hooves. The noctal guard stomped her hoof, springing the twin blades.
“No,” Canary whispered. “No, Please! You've tortured us enough! Let us be!”
Iris shook her head, frowning. “I'm afraid it's our only choice.”
Canary pulled in her left wing with all her strength, but Iris pinned it open, stretching it wide. She rested her blades on Canary's featherless nub and added, “Unless, of course, you can convince me of your loyalty to the Cloud.”
Canary winced as she felt the cold blade touch the skin of her left wing. Am I really going to give in to this? After all my resistance— Her breathing picked up pace. Feathers may grow back. But wings never will. “Please,” Canary begged.
Iris drew the blade over Canary's wing softly, just barely cutting through the skin. Through clenched teeth, Iris whispered her command.
“Beg.”
Canary clamped her eyes shut. “PLEASE!”
“BEG!”
Iris pulled the blade hard and Canary screamed at the severing sinews.
“I'LL DO ANYTHING! LET ME KEEP MY WINGS!”
After two heartbeats, Canary realized the blades had left her wings. She cracked opened her eyes.
Iris lay sideways on the ground with a large stone near her head. Canary squinted at the scene. How in the world—
In a flash of emerald flames, the rock on top of Iris turned into a familiar bug. “Anything?” Echo stepped off of the unconscious Iris and embraced Canary.
“Echo!” Canary sobbed into his shoulder as he held her close. “I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you!”
“I'm sorry I couldn't get here any faster.” Echo patted Canary's back. “You're fine. I'm here. Don't worry.”
Canary dared a look back at her wing. It was still attached, but it hung limp at her side. She tried to lift it, but her wing refused to move. “Echo… My wing.” Canary couldn't hold back her tears. “I—I can't move it!”
Echo gently lifted her her left wing, which twitched at his touch.
“Good. Your nerves are still attached. We should be able to heal it.”
Canary snorted in disbelief.
“No, really! The hive can—” Echo cut himself short and began prying off Canary's restraints for the second time. “Listen. We don't have time to quibble about this. You need to get going.”
“You mean 'we', right?”
Echo smiled and shook his head. “We'll need her though,” he said, gesturing towards Iris.
Canary's eyes narrowed and she began limping towards Iris. “You.” Without her restraints, she was finally free to get back at this nightmare incarnate. She aimed a kick straight at her head, but found herself on her back, staring into Echo's green eyes.
“Canary! What are you doing!”
“Get off me!” Canary struggled to push the changeling off of her, but her legs were far too weak.
“There's enough pain in this world already—don't be the cause of more.”
Canary glared at the changeling and struggled to escape from under him. “She's hurting people! Killing her won't make more pain—it will make less.”
Echo brought his nose up to Canary's. “Do not hurt her. Hurting others does not fix problems.”
“And ignoring problems makes them worse!”
Echo stared at Iris for a moment, then nodded to himself. “Okay. I've got a plan that should keep everyone alive and still get you out.”
Canary tilted her head. “Which is?”
Echo grinned. “Hysteria.”
« ~ »
Disguised as Iris, Echo banged on the dark wooden door and yelled: “Prisoners have escaped! Call for reinforcements!”
Right as the door slot opened, Canary pounced on Echo with a yell, throwing him out of the guard's view. From the other side of the door, they heard shouting and echoing hoofsteps. In a flash, Echo turned into a green beetle and squeezed through the door slot. A thud and a click later, the door opened, revealing Echo with a smug smile standing over an unconscious guard. “Right this way, miss.”
Canary stepped quickly over the fallen guard and into the maze. “You do realize I don't know the way out here, right?”
Echo frowned for a moment. “I forget how easily pegasi forget things.” His horn started to glow green. “While we do eat emotions, our true talent lies in redirecting them. I'm going to imprint my memories on you so you know where to go.” His horn now had tendrils of green magic snaking around it.
“But directions aren't an emotion.”
Echo shrugged. “Everything is an emotion, in one way or another. It's all the same for us.” A small frown crept onto his face. “I've never tried this with a non-changeling though…”
She opened her mouth to protest, but the light from Echo's horn was too bright: even when she squeezed her eyes shut green light flooded her vision.
Canary clenched her jaw. It felt like she'd been hit over the head with an atlas, and all its contents were being crammed into her mind at once. Images of the cave system attacked her mind like insects searching for a place to burrow.
“When you're going through the caves, you'll need to pay very close attention to the ideas that pass through your mind—you need to follow even the slightest push. Whenever you come to intersections close your eyes and try to visualize which path to go down. If you start feeling uneasy, backtrack and take the other route.”
Canary shook her head. “This is absolutely crazy.”
Echo gave a grim smile and pushed her on. “Come on, go! You need to be long gone before the reinforcements come.”
“But what are you going to do?”
Green flames engulfed Echo, changing him into an exact copy of Canary. “I've got this covered. Now go!”
Canary gave Echo a quick hug, then galloped into the caves.
Her head still throbbed from the information overload—she kept seeing flashes of Korporis, of its different guards, and of a mountain filled with holes. It was like a talent show with everyone on stage at once.
The first split approached, drawing her attention. Okay, she thought. Which way?
She tried to imagine herself going down a path and had a mental image of herself going down the left one.
Canary shook her head and went down the path. Absolutely crazy.
Not crazy, just aware.
Canary figured those were Echo's thoughts. What, is this telepathy?
Not telepathy—just emotions.
Canary frowned and picked up speed. She didn't like competing for the stage in her own mind.
At the next turn a similar image came to mind, this time with her going right. Canary frowned. This feels completely random. How can I know it's not just me making it up?
You know my voice.
The response sounded like her own voice, but was in Echo's cadence of speech. How is he going to escape? Canary searched her memories, but Echo had left out his escape plan, if he ever had one. She sighed.
After a few more turns, following the mental promptings became easier—Canary ran through the tunnels like a river taking its course.
Right! Left! Left! Sharp right! Straight!
« ~ »
As she approached her hundredth turn, a left turn came to mind. She started to head down the path, but she kept seeing herself slow down in her mind. Canary came to a halt and started backpedaling to reverse her choice. The same sinking feeling from before came to her heart, making her freeze in her tracks—she knew that feeling all too well.
So what do I do? She tried to imagine herself moving this way or that, but her mental self wouldn't budge—she practically had to push it to get it to move. Her frown deepened the longer it took for the image to solidify. Come on! Show me the way! She imagined herself moving forward, but each time she lifted her hoof, the sinking feeling returned.
It was then, at a full stop, that her ears perked up.
The sound was distant, but unmistakable: hoofsteps, directly ahead. Canary started to turn back when a crystal clear thought ran through her mind.
Keep going forwards.
The voice made her pause—it felt softer than her own voice, and it didn't feel quite like Echo's.
Are you crazy‽ she responded. That's where the noise is coming from!
Again, the voice urged her forwards.
Canary shook her head. I'm going insane.
Not insane, just aware.
She grimaced and moved forwards hesitantly, listening to the hoofsteps growing louder and louder. Another image came to mind when she saw something to her right: a small hole, barely larger than herself. Seriously‽ You want me to go up that‽
The third voice responded. Quickly!
Canary shook her head, pulled in her wings as tight as she could and wormed her way upwards. She gritted her teeth as her left wing brushed against the wall, biting down a scream—it still wasn't responding. As she climbed, the moss grew more and more sparse, leading into darkness.
After she had climbed what felt like the height of the previous cave, she felt the tunnel widen. She ran her left hoof against the wall, circling the larger cave. It was just short enough to demand she ducked her head to move around.
The hoofsteps grew louder, but no commands were coming to mind. She searched the room desperately, looking for any hint of an exit. Oh please be a way out, Canary thought to herself. She could already feel her heart rate picking up from being in the cramped space. Echo! Where are you when I need you‽
You're safe up here, said the third voice. Just a few more seconds.
The pounding hooves reached a climax. Canary felt a second exit to the room, and after three heartbeats felt her heart leap. I'll take that as a 'go'.
Canary wormed her way down the vent, pressing as much as she could to the right. Light appeared ahead, opening into a new hallway. The hoofsteps were now faded into the distance.
Right.
Canary didn't care where the instructions came from—they'd led her here and they'd lead her out. She pressed upwards through the caves until she noticed the cave getting damp. Her ears perked up at a new noise.
Canary's heart jumped from feeling to feeling, never settling on a single one. The escape felt dreamlike—unreal. She trudged forward through the mud, squinting through the heavy rain.
Hive!
On leaving Korporis the instructions felt less clear yet somehow much stronger, like a drum at the back of an orchestra.
Home!
Canary decided this was what pigeons felt like—driven to their home though they had no idea how. The promptings were light, like a feather brushing her forwards.
Hurry!
The rain was still getting stronger—the drops were starting to sting.
Canary fell into the mud for the twentieth time, resting her head on the ground before her.
Keep going!
Canary sighed. How do I even know if Echo is behind me?
I'll be just fine.
How do I know that's even him? How do I know that's not just my thoughts? It's not. That mantra kept repeating: Hive; Home; Hurry! It was hard at first to put words to those feelings—a strong sense of belonging, of safety, and of urgency—but she had found that putting words to her thoughts made them invigorating instead of exhausting.
Canary struggled back to her legs—they felt a thousand pounds. If it weren't for these impressions, I'd have stopped moving ages ago.
One more step.
Canary struggled to raise her hoof from the devouring mud, but each drop of rain fed the mud's appetite—her chest was barely above the mud now. She struggled her hoof forwards through the mud and collapsed in exhaustion.
A buzzing filled her ears while her consciousness slipped away.
Hive.
« ~ »
Warmth. Peace. A faint buzzing. Canary felt like she was waking from a dream—light, almost weightless. It was bliss in comparison to her pain. Pain? Her thoughts swirled slowly in her mind. She scrunched up her face in concentration, but nothing came. Canary threw open her eyes and saw blurred shadows conversing in a green haze. She reached out to them, but her movements were slow, as if she were pushing through mud. Her hoof was stopped abruptly by some barrier. Canary stared at her hoof in confusion, then suddenly became aware she was trapped in a capsule of green goo.
The pegasus flailed her limbs wildly to escape. After a pop, she felt a sudden drop, a burst of cold air, and the familiar pain of gravity on her flank.
Canary shook as she lifted herself from the cold ground. After attempting to inhale, her body forced her to cough up a bucketful of green ooze. She shook herself clean of the goop, scattering flecks of green around her.
Eyes widening, she looked back at her left wing. It barely flinched when she tried to lift it up. Sighing, her attention wandered to a noise from above. Once it drew her gaze, she felt substantially smaller.
A large cavern stretched from left to right, at least ten buildings tall. The massive hallway reminded her of Korporis, with its glowing caves, but the glow looked healthy and vibrant in comparison to the sickly glow from the moss. She also noticed a constant hum in the background—it made her feel safe, as if she belonged here. Her eyes wandered back to the pod she had fallen from, appreciating its intricate structure. So this is the hive.
“Feather horse.”
Canary jumped at the buzzing voice behind her. One changeling stood near him, wearing a helmet and breastplate, with five other guards in a close semicircle behind him. Though she couldn't explain how she knew it, none of them were Echo.
“Where is he? Where is Echo? Did he make it back?”
The drone only jerked its head right, gesturing down the hallway. “Follow me—the queen decrees.” The other changelings moved around her in a tight circle, easily persuading her to follow.
Canary kept her eyes wide open, searching for her bug, but the glowing hallway had such stunning architecture and such a magical feel that Canary couldn't keep from staring. Peering into one of the cells, she—WHUMP. The guard in front of her glanced back in annoyance at being stepped into. “Sorry!” she squeaked.
She couldn't help but stare. The cells dotting the walls held a variety of scenes: some were empty, some had young bugs, some stored weapons, while others cradled sleeping changelings. The constant movement made the hive feel alive—each drone worked in perfect harmony with the others, a great dance in perfect order.
As they neared the end of the hall, the ceiling sloped downwards steeply, leading down to a round black door with green light bursting from its edges.
Cozy, she noted. Though the chamber they entered was nearly as large as her entire house in Woodburn, it somehow felt small. Green veins of luminescent ooze lined the walls, giving off a relaxing warmth. Despite the ring of guards at the walls, Canary felt comfortable, as if she'd been there before. A changeling stood centered in the room, a good two heads taller than Canary. Her shell mirrored the room's glowing green veins perfectly. Then Canary's eyes fell on the changeling to her side.
“Echo!”
Canary ran up to her changeling and locked him in a tight embrace. The changeling held her tight enough to hear his heartbeat. “Good to see you too,” he whispered.
“Welcome! Glad to see you're awake!” The voice came from the taller changeling. Though the voice sounded on the verge of laughing, Canary got the distinct impression the changeling could crush her at any moment.
Canary opened her mouth, but a flood of questions kept her from voicing one. What is going on? Where am I? Who are you?
The changeling smiled. “Your confusion should clear up soon. I am Libra, Queen of this hive.” Libra held out a hoof. “And you are?”
“C-Canary,” she stammered, meeting the changeling's hoof.
Libra dropped her hoof and shook her head. “No, you said that like a question. What's your name? Who you really are! Say it like you mean it!”
Canary tilted her head in confusion. “Canary,” she repeated.
The queen clicked her tongue. “What's the point of saying something without any emotion behind it? Think about who you are and then tell me your name.”
Canary frowned in thought. Trying to dispel her annoyance and confusion, she focused on her past: her imprisonment in Korporis, her time with Echo, her flights with Aether, her parents' deaths, her studies in Feathermore…
“My name is Canary Tiger.”
“That's more like it!” The queen licked her lips. “Much tastier.”
Canary shuddered at the queen's word choice.
The queen smiled. “You're quite the treat for us. We're not used to having willing visitors, so we don't have any guest quarters. You'll have to stay with Echo so long as you're here.”
“Which is how long?”
Echo spoke up. “You at least need to recover your strength, which should take a few weeks.”
The queen smiled, though it looked more like bearing her teeth. “We'd rather you stay much longer though. Imagine a fully cooked roast walking in your door, looking for a place to stay. Each time you take a bite, it grows back. And,” she added with a grin, “it enjoys being eaten.” After a burst of laughter, she said, “You can stay as long as you want. And longer.”
Canary felt a knot form in her stomach. “That doesn't sound healthy.”
The queen's laughter trailed off while she thought. “No, I'm sure there are no long-term side effects.” She looked at the drones for reassurance, but they only shrugged. “You'll be fine,” Libra assured with a smile. “We can stay in one-on-one relationships with others for decades without a problem. Your stay in the hive will be no different.”
Canary rose an eyebrow. “I'll be out of here as soon as I can—I need to find a way to save my friends.” Pausing, she asked, “Where is this, anyway?”
The queen waved away the question. “It's far enough away that you'd never make it back in your current state. Besides, the path is dangerous enough you should have an escort. Don't try to leave without one.” Her expression softened and she continued. “But you should go to your chamber to rest—you left your pod prematurely, but a good rest should finish healing your wing.”
Canary beamed, and a fresh vein of gold ran through the cave's green goo.
Libra gestured towards the door. “Echo will show you to your room. Welcome to the Hive, Canary Tiger!”
It was dark at first, but a familiar voice arrested her attention.
“Can pegasi fly?”
Iris stood before her, grasping Canary's final feather.
“Please—Stop!”
“Answer! Can pegasi fly!”
“Echo! Help!”
Iris stood level to Canary's eyes and smiled. In a green flash, Echo now stood before her.
“Echo‽ What are you doing‽”
The changeling responded in the sickly sweet voice of Iris. “You will never escape me!” Echo bit her final feather and tore it from her wing.
Canary woke with a jolt, rustling the bed of leaves which cradled her. The scar on her left wing shone white in the starlight, reminding her of how lucky she was to have it. A few feathers peeked through her skin—it would take months before they could sustain her weight again. She stretched out her wing and smiled at the maneuverability: it stretched nearly as far as her right. Still, limited movement was better than nothing. Her savior slept across from her, on the opposite wall. She could never thank him enough for what he did.
Canary moved to the cave's mouth and leaned against its cool wall. The northern mountains looked nearly identical as they did from Woodburn. We must be close, she thought to herself. Her thoughts drifted back to Aether and the rest of the Storm. Echo said it was his fault for them being in there… How could it really be his fault? Her stomach twisted at the thought, making her shudder. She tried to shake the thought from her head. I just have to save them. It doesn't matter what Echo did—he's different now. Still, the question kept returning, bringing with it a thousand others. What did he do?
“What's bothering you?”
Canary jumped at how close Echo's voice was behind her. “Nothing!”
Echo's eyebrow rose. “You're terrified and determined. You wouldn't have the two at once unless you'd planned something rash. And in your current state, doing anything dangerous is a bad idea. Plus,” he added, “you just lied to me.”
Stupid changeling mind reading powers.
“Look Canary—I want to help, but you have to be honest with me. Please?”
Canary nodded.
“So what's on your mind?”
Canary frowned at the rock under her hooves. “I'm not sure how to ask this, but—you said you put my friends in prison? What did you do?”
She glanced back to see Echo pawing the ground behind her. “Please don't hate me for it.”
“I couldn't.”
Echo took a deep breath. “Korporis wasn't the first time I took your form. When I was—”
“You used my body to get us caught‽”
“I know it was wrong, but I—”
Canary stamped her hoof. “Don't you realize what this means‽”
Echo blinked twice.
“They'll all think that I betrayed them! Me!”
Echo's mouth opened.
“They probably all hate me! They need to know it wasn't me!” Canary stamped her hoof. “Echo, take me back to Korporis. Now!”
The changeling frowned. “To be captured again? It's suicide!”
“Fine! I'll go on my own if I have to!” Canary leapt out the cave's mouth onto a large rock just outside and headed down the rocky slope.
Echo buzzed out of the cave's mouth and hovered in front of Canary, blocking her path. “You're scaring me Canary—slow down and think this through! I want to get them out too, but this is ridiculous!”
Canary jumped to the side, trying to outflank Echo, but he was too quick. “They have to know I didn't betray them! Changelings aren't the only creatures that can feel emotions—we can tell when others hate us!”
Canary took a step back then leapt forwards. Echo dodged the blow to his stomach and caught Canary before she fell onto the rocks below. His wings worked double-time to lift the added weight. Canary growled but let the changeling lift her.
“I can't let them think I'm the enemy!”
“Please, just hear me out,” Echo pleaded. He lighted on the cave floor and set her before himself so their eyes could meet. “Life is too short to waste your energy fighting the inevitable. You need to find the battles you can make a difference in and fight those. Fight winning fights.”
“You and I escaped! It's possible! And now we have an entire hive to back us up! We could free all the prisoners of Korporis!”
Echo shook his head. “Our escape was nothing short of a miracle—we won't fool the Cloud twice. Now that we've escaped, they'll double the guard. We wouldn't have a wisp of a chance.”
“You could at least turn into a bug and get a message through!”
The changeling blinked. After a moment's thought, he shook his head. “It's too risky. When I escaped, they could have figured out I could change into a something smaller. Snapdragon is pretty bright—he was the guard I took out to get you through. Between him and the guards who saw me fly out as a bird, they could have put two and two together. If so, they won't let a fly through. It'd be a miracle to get in, let alone get out.”
“But they're my friends! I have to try!”
Echo sighed. “Believe me: it's impossible. If Aether finds a way to escape then good for her, but we'll do her more good outside of Korporis than inside.”
Canary's frown deepened. “There has to be something we can do!”
Echo examined Canary's eyes. “You're not going to let this go, are you?” The changeling sighed. “Fine, we'll ask Libra for her help, but I'm telling you: this is a deathtrap! The entire hive would be putting its neck on the line for a one-in-a-million chance!”
Canary stared vacantly out at the mountains as her mind flailed around for a plan.
“Come on, you're in no condition to leave the hive. Just lie down and relax.”
Her muscles tensed. The distant mountains seemed so cruel—so close to home yet out of reach. Korporis lay beyond, tormenting her friends. Canary spun around and yelled, “How can I relax! My friends are being tortured because of me!”
“Look up Canary! You're missing the sunrise for the mountains!”
Canary shifted her gaze rightwards and saw a yellow sun rising in the burnt orange sky. The shadowy mountains were taking on color as their darkness turned to light.
Her heart skipped a beat—she hadn't seen the sun rise in months. “That is—” Canary choked on her words as her eyes moistened. After a minute of silence, she whispered “Thank you.”
Echo nodded, enjoying the scene at her side. “NightFlower loved sunrises. Her grandmother Rosemary went blind a few years ago and loved her visits. When Rosemary went blind, she missed watching the sunrise more than anything, so she asked NightFlower to describe them to her. NightFlower loved painting the scenes for her, letting Rosemary see through her eyes.
“When Rosemary moved on, NightFlower kept watching sunrises—they reminded her that she always could be grateful, at least for her sight.” A sad smile crossed Echo's face. “Even when NightFlower herself was about to die, she still got a little rush of happiness each time she saw the sun.”
Echo turned to Canary. “Life will keep giving you mountains. You can't choose how they're shaped, but you can choose how you climb them. If you let the mountain block out the sunrise, you'll miss the joy of the climb. Your goal may be the summit, but you don't have to wait until then to be happy.”
Canary sighed. “So what should I do?”
“You'll climb the fastest using your wings. Take it easy until then and we'll find another way up the mountain—metaphorically speaking.”
Echo lay next to Canary in the cave, wishing he had a better answer. A leaf blew by which sparked an idea. “Tell you what. You're so determined to regain your strength—come running with me! If you can keep up, I'll consider going back with you.”
Canary smiled weakly. “I can live with that.”
« ~ »
The wind ran through Canary's hair as she breathed hard to keep up pace. Her muscles screamed but she couldn't stop beaming—it must have been over a year since she'd gone running with Aether. Once Aether discovered flight, she barely touched the ground. Canary missed her morning runs: the snapping twigs, the crunching leaves, her pounding heart, her mind bridling her body.
“Are you okay?”
Canary looked up at Echo, who still wasn't breaking a sweat.
“I'm fine—Just need—to keep—going!”
Echo shook his head. Even though his speed was halved, Canary was wheezing and starting to run off-balance. Echo slowed to a walk and allowed Canary to catch up. She was shaking—her muscles complained at being used so arduously.
“Ha!” Canary said between breaths. “I—win!”
Echo smiled. “I'm surprised you can even walk at all after all those months in Korporis.”
Canary's smile decayed to a grimace as her thoughts returned to that hell. They padded on in silence, allowing a thought to bubble up.
“Echo? I've been wondering: how did you escape?”
“Huh, I forgot you didn't know. Escaping wasn't nearly as hard as keeping the bats off your trail.” Echo looked upward in thought. “I suppose I'll begin after our first escape attempt. From the moment you threw that rock, I started working on an escape plan. They had to think they'd trapped me, so I let them put me away.
“They put me into a small cage, where a mouse could hardly fit between bars.” Echo smirked. “They drastically underestimated my shapeshifting. Though it's easier to change into creatures our own size—” In a series of flashes, Echo changed into a mouse, a bird, a rock, and back into himself. Panting, he continued. “With enough energy, we can turn into anything. Ha! They must have thought I could only turn into other guards.”
“I wasn't in the cell for long before I felt your jump in emotions and shapeshifted out of there.”
Canary nodded. “And then you freed me. But why didn't you escape with me? Why wait?”
“I had to keep the guards down in the prison core, so they wouldn't go looking for you.”
“So you changed into me?”
Echo nodded happily. “I locked myself up in your cell, so they wouldn't go looking for you. The Cloud stormed in, blades gleaming, expecting dozens of prisoners having escaped. But the prison of course was empty. They searched each of the cells but found no one missing. I threw my voice into the corridor, pointing out that no one had entered besides us guards, and no one had exited. They started getting suspicious—they'd ran in in such fury, they couldn't remember who all went in and began to question each other!” He smiled at the deception. “It was seconds before they were at each others necks.”
Canary smiled in vengeance.
“So the vote fell on Iris—she had been the only guard in the prison core when the rest of the guards entered. They were pretty convinced she was the changeling, and had put a pair of hobbles on her legs. It was about then that I felt your surge in happiness which I figured was your escape. I had a narrow time window then, since the guards were on their way back out. I flashed into a bird and zipped out of there as fast as I could. I heard shouting behind me, which must have been them realizing the two of us were gone.
“Once I was out of the caves, I had to find you. I morphed into a wolf and chased after your emotional ping. Your signal was fading, but it was pretty focused. I found you halfway to the hive—you know the rest of the story.”
“When I found myself hanging upside down in green goo.”
Echo nodded happily. “To heal you.”
“Yeah,” Canary said with a hint of distress. “Some forewarning would have been nice.”
“In comparison to escaping, it really wasn't an important detail.”
Canary smiled lightly and shook her head. Her gaze wandered over to Echo, who was glistening in the leaf-filtered light. Though she hadn't seen it in him before, the changeling looked strong, even noble in his natural form. Canary sidled up to him, her coat barely brushing against his side.
“Thank you so much for saving me, Echo.”
The hive emerged through thinning trees and they slowed to a halt. Its rocky front was so pocketed with caves, Canary couldn't believe it was still standing. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but it hummed with a peculiar energy—it made her feel so… happy.
Echo looked at Canary with his deep emerald eyes. “Life has no purpose without love.”
Canary wanted to live. Leaning in, their lips met, sending a tremor of energy through her body. She felt like a wave hitting the shore, bursting into a shower of joy.
Two minutes hadn't passed before Canary realized she was lost. Lazy bug. Why didn't he come with me? Canary frowned. He could have at least given me better directions than 'turn left when you feel happy'. She started following a green strip in the wall that forked and pulsed like the veins of some giant creature. Glowing rooms lined the walls, interspersed with hundreds of smaller tunnels that hosted a continuous flow of traffic. Every room felt the same, each glowing with an identical green light—it was as if she were trapped in some sort of dream. Canary sighed. “Hi! You're lost!” An inverted changeling stared her in the face, making Canary jump back. In a flutter of wings he righted himself and landed on the ground. “You're Canary?” Looking her up and down he added, “You've had an emotional adventure recently.” Slightly annoyed, Canary asked, “Sorry, have we met?” The changeling shook his head. “Not personally, but I know you from the hivemind.” Sensing Canary's confusion, he explained. “When we get back from a hunt, we give all our emotions to the queen. When she redistributes them, we see each others memories and can work as one.”
The changeling smiled reassuringly, but Canary's skin was crawling. Is Echo sharing his memories too?
The changeling interrupted her train of thoughts. “So what lured you into the storage hallway?”
“Just looking around.”
“Well you're awfully stressed for someone 'just looking around.' Let me take some of that off you.” The changeling closed its eyes and breathed in slowly while a vein of yellow spiraled in the changeling's shell.
“Hey! You can't just… take my…” Canary suddenly lost motivation to speak as her indignation melted away.
“Don't worry about it,” the changeling assured her. “Having less fear will help you think more clearly. Nothing to worry about.”
To the contrary, Canary felt, deep down, that she should be worrying a lot about having her emotions eaten, but a wave of apathy kept her from protesting.
Canary felt a tug at her tail and turned around. A smaller changeling stood behind her, though she may have only looked small because of her posture.
“Did—Did you like it?”
They always assume I know what they're talking about. “Sorry, what?”
The changeling shrunk slightly. “The bed—was it okay?”
Canary chuckled. “After staying in Korporis, a leaf bed was the most comfortable thing in the world.”
The changeling stood tall and beamed while a streak of blue crossed her shell.
“She was the drone who made your bed,” the first changeling explained.
“Oh, thank you so much!”
The changeling bowed her head to the ground. “It's just the queen's love running through me.” After a second smile, she scurried down the hallway. Canary turned back to the first changeling. “What did she mean by that—the queen's love running through her?” The changeling paused, searching for the right words. “The queen acts like a nexus, redistributing love. Whenever we do something she would want us to do, we get a little burst of love from the queen that she had stored within us.” “Ah, so the hive is based on reward—that's what keeps it running.” “What?” “I've been wondering how the hive stayed so organized—at first I thought it was some sort of mind control, but since love is what you live for, there's no better reward than a burst of love from the queen. That's how she keeps you all obedient.” The changeling frowned. “But that's not why we obey. Libra is more like our mother than our employer.” “So it's out of duty?” Canary nodded to herself. “Even though that other changeling was shy, she fulfilled her duty.” The changeling stared upwards and tapped his chin. “It's odd that she would act so shy—she should have equalized with the collective by now.” “What, you expect her to behave exactly like yourself?” The bug laughed. “Of course! When Libra redistributes our emotions we return to equilibrium.”
Canary's eyes widened. Is that happening to Echo too‽
“Speaking of which,” the changeling started, “did you want to see Libra?”
Returning from her thoughts, Canary managed a nod. Each step down the hallway sped the swirling clouds in her mind. Is Libra equalizing Echo as well as the drones? This is like mind control! Why would he come here! Why would anyone stay here on purpose‽
“Sorry, what was your name?” Canary asked.
The changeling's mouth hung open before he answered. “I'm just a drone—we don't keep names.”
Canary frowned. “But Libra is the queen of your hive, and she has a name!”
A response from the right wall made her jump. A changeling stuck out from the wall above, lying in a tunnel barely taller than itself.
“Yes, but she's the exception. The queen names herself. If a drone named itself, their connection to the hivemind would be severed—no more shared memories, no more emotional balance, no more love from the queen.” “And those things are bad?” The changeling buzzed down and landed beside Canary, uncomfortably close. “Unless you're the queen herself, it's fatal. Staying nameless allows us to completely share our emotions so the hive's in balance. Without our link to Libra and the rest of the hive, we'd all be off-balance emotionally. Without the right mix of emotions, you die a slow and empty death.”
Canary frowned. So it's out of fear then, that Libra keeps them controlled. “But Echo has a name.” The first changeling's wings stood on edge. “Yes. And it nearly killed him in Korporis. Don't you remember how sick he was when you first met him?” “He wasn't sick.” “Not physically sick—emotionally sick. Don't you remember how grey his shell was?” Canary lifted an eyebrow. “What does his shell have to do with anything?” Before the first changeling responded, the new changeling picked up the conversation. “Our shells reflect our mood. The emerald green we are now means we're healthy. So try and remember: when you first met Echo, what color was his shell?” Though she could remember the scene perfectly, the world had seemed so black and white with only mossglow for light. “It was hard to tell. I think he was red when I first saw his real form.”
The first changeling's ears perked up. “Oh, you must have really liked him by then. Many of us thought he had died down there, before you relit him. You saved his life by being there.” “Speaking of which, where is he?” the other asked. “Oh, he wasn't feeling too well.” A frown flashed across the talkative changeling. “What do you mean? Was his shell changing color?” Canary closed her eyes. “I don't remember. He just said he was tired—he just didn't have energy to do anything… I guess his shell may have looked greyer than usual.” The first changeling turned around, scowling. “This is why naming yourself is so dangerous!” He growled and broke into a gallop. “You could die without anyone noticing!” Before he got far, the other changeling followed suit.
What's wrong with them? Canary caught up with the rear changeling, whose shell was now a bright yellow. “Wait up! What's wrong?”
The changeling responded without looking over. “Greying is a short step from death. If Echo is greying, it means he's losing all his emotions. He'll have no drive to do anything.”
The other changeling interrupted. “You need something to live for; why else would we live?”
“If it's really bad, he could even lose the drive to eat. That's why greying is so terrifying—he may never eat again. Changelings that have gone completely grey are impossible to save.” Canary winced at the pain of her legs complaining at being pushed so hard. “But Echo was fine—just a bit apathetic.” “Exactly,” the changeling responded. “For creatures that feed on emotions, apathy means death.” Canary and the other two changelings burst into Echo's cave and tackled him to the ground. Echo's voice squeaked out from under the three bodies. “Why—are you crushing me‽” “You're greying! We can't let you do that!” the talkative changeling said. “I'm fine,” Echo protested. Canary stepped off, still unsure of what was going on. The two changelings still held tight and cried out, “You aren't 'fine'. Look at your shell!” Echo glanced back and saw his shell was a pale olive green. “Heh. I've been worse than this and come out fine. Compared to Korporis, this is nothing.” On seeing the two changelings' shells he said, “Look at yourselves—you're as yellow as Canary!” The two other changelings glanced at each other then laughed nervously. “Well,” one began, “we may have overreacted.” “A bit.” “Canary had a lot of worries—” “we couldn't absorb them all—”
“but you are turning grey.”
“How did you survive in Korporis so long?”
“We missed you so much!”
“When your connection broke, we wanted to save you—”
“but Libra said it was too dangerous!”
Canary chimed in as well: “Were you really that grey in Korporis? You seemed fine to me.”
Echo pushed the the two changelings off and smiled. It had been a long time since he'd heard his siblings' scattered dialogue. “Yes, I was that grey in Korporis. Remember what I told you back in Korporis? After NightFlower died, I lost the will to go on—I was an empty shell, only moving out of habit. My body was starving for love, but I had no desire to love again. That's why I started to die.” The second changeling chimed in, “But how did you survive so long?” Echo nuzzled his head between his hooves. “I don't know… I think being a guard reminded me of NightFlower.” The talkative changeling shook its head. “I may never understand you, Echo—getting energy from a dead bat—you keep doing the impossible.” He took a few steps towards the exit then added, “Nice to meet you Canary! I'm sure we'll cross paths again.” The other changeling shrugged and said, “Well I'm glad I get to spend some quality time with you anyway.” After a quick smile she left the two of them alone. Canary laid down on Echo's left, silent for a minute. “What's it like being grey?” Echo remained in silence before answering. “You lose all your motivation and hope for the future. There may be things you want to do that you normally love, but you can't motivate yourself to do them. You just feel like there's a huge anchor tied to your chest, holding you back. I don't know… Emotions are what keep you moving forwards in life. It's hard to move on when you lose them.” Canary sidled up to Echo and spread her right wing over him. “It sounds awful.” Echo pressed his head into Canary's neck. “I'm so sorry you were hurt because of me. Changelings usually hate fighting. Since we feel the emotions around us, we feel our own punches. Turning grey put me beyond feeling—I was emotionally numb. That's the only reason I could stand to betray you to the Storm.” He took a deep breath. “Please forgive me. I wasn't myself—at least, not my best self. It's like trying to run with a weight vest on—you just can't function at full capacity. Please don't be angry at me for what I did!” Korporis still made her life a nightmare—the scars were fresh. But Echo was a beam of light through the darkness—no matter how dark it was and no matter how dim the light, it would always pierce the darkness. Words couldn't describe the emotions flowing through her, so she kept her mouth shut. Canary pulled the weeping changeling into her chest and imagined pouring all her emotions into him. Echo's tears dried as he felt Canary's heartbeat. “Thank you Canary.”
« ~ »
Canary's eyes slid open at the sound of marching hooves. As her world shifted into focus, she found herself surrounded by hundreds of changelings marching past her in perfect unison. It was the first hallway she'd been in, lined with its hundreds of cavities. The procession of changelings marched straight for the throne room to worship their queen.
She tried to stand up and call for Echo, but a passing changeling knocked her down. Each time she tried to rise, another changeling knocked her down. Pushing her way through the swarm, she called out for her bug. Where is he‽ Canary climbed onto a rock in the middle of the hall and scanned the walls for Echo. There she saw him, standing in one of the cavities. “Echo!” The changeling didn't flinch. Waving wildly, Canary shouted out. “Down here! Echo! It's me!” Echo looked down at her like she were a worm dried onto a rock. “Who are you?” Canary frowned. “It's me! Don't you recognize me?” From behind her bug, a carbon copy of herself stepped out. “Look,” it said, “that drone thinks it's unique!” The two of them laughed. Canary looked down at her hooves which were covered in shining black chitin. Eyes wide, she looked back up at Echo. “No! I'm Canary! Me!” Echo snorted. “Keep walking drone. I don't know you.” Echo pulled in Canary's clone towards himself and retreated with her into the cave. “No! Wait!” Canary reached out her hoof towards them, but a new wave of drones knocked her to the floor and trampled her body. Canary covered her head and held her breath. The trampling hooves died away in the distance and a single set of hooves approached. Canary squinted open one eye and saw Libra standing above her. Canary covered her face and cried out. “Don't hurt me!” Libra smiled softly. “I could never,” she said, extending a hoof. Though she looked like the enemy, her love felt genuine enough. Taking her hoof, Canary climbed back onto her hooves. “You have a beautiful emotional spectrum,” the queen said, sizing Canary up. “Fear, hate, love, gratitude, confusion—you're a masterpiece!” Canary wiped a budding tear from her eye. “Um… thank you, I suppose.” Libra beamed. “Yes, you've made a great addition to the hive.” “About that…” Canary looked away. “There's… I've…” “Go on: say it. You're among friends here.” Canary growled. “It all feels so fake. How can they not have names‽ You're draining them of all their individuality! They're like mindless insects under your control!” Libra nodded. “They may seem identical to you, but each one of them is unique to me. Every one has unique features, both physical and emotional, that distinguish them from the rest.” “But they don't even have names! They share everything: their memories, their emotions—How can you call them individuals‽” Canary pointed her hoof in accusation. “You're a tyrant! The changelings can't even survive without you! They're forced to be your slaves!” Libra shook her head. “It's not blind obedience like a slave to their master; it's sighted obedience. They choose to obey out of love.” “But they're terrified of what would happen if they named themselves. Echo nearly died from naming himself!” For the first time, Libra's expression grew serious. She examined Canary carefully before responding. “The unity they have isn't that of a mindless hoard. They might look mindless, but they are far from it. Though they share their emotions, they never share their hearts—those are always unique. They don't fear me, and they're not working out of duty or reward—their motivation is completely different: they only act out of love. Any feeling will pause our hunger, but only love gives us lasting satisfaction.” Libra paused to let her words take root in Canary's heart. “They choose to love me, and I choose to love them. We balance each other and keep each other alive.” The clouds in Canary's mind began to clear. “That's a bit like our relationships, between pegasi.” “Exactly! The longest-lasting couples give up their entire hearts. They're like glowing mirrors—light bounces between them and grows stronger with each pass. One gives off more love than both could give alone. If you don't give up your entire heart, you're like a dirty mirror: rather than reflecting light, you only absorb it, and it dies quickly.” A shiver ran down Canary's back as the queen licked her lips. “Speaking of love,” the queen began, “are you and Echo ready to be linked together?” Canary's head jerked back. “You mean married‽” The queen smiled. “Something like that.” “No! We haven't even known each other for a year!” Libra chuckled. “True.” “And I don't even know if Echo wants to!” Libra rose an eyebrow. “You're more committed to each other than half of the pegasi in Feathermore combined. That run you went on? We could feel your love from a mile away.” Libra let Canary squirm for a moment. “What exactly does that mean, to be linked?” “I'm assuming you'll want spawns some day?” “Spawns‽ You mean kids?” Libra smiled, nodding in affirmation. Canary rolled her eyes and sighed. “Maybe some day… But can we please not call them spawns?” “Well if you're going to have grublings—” “Please just call them children.” “—you need to be able to feed them not only physically, but also emotionally.” Canary frowned. “Couldn't Echo do that? Just zap it with some love?” Libra shook her head. “Infants have more primal emotions than adults do. While they're eggs, they need a constant supply of these primal emotions to survive. Without the right emotional mix, they die before birth. You need to be able to respond to the grubling's needs immediately, yourself.” “So… how am I supposed to do that?” “You'll need to be emotionally tied to Echo. When the two of you are bound together you're able to sense others emotions more clearly. Once you're bound together, you'll be able to supply all the emotions the spawn needs, along with keeping it alive as a grub. Er, child,” she added with a smile. “So are there any dangers to being bound?” “No. Just death.” After a moment's hesitation, Libra broke into laughter. “No, no, that won't be for a long time. The real side effects are completely worth it,” Libra assured her with a wide grin. “What are they‽” Canary stamped her hoof, growing impatient. Libra turned around and began walking away. “You'll have to see for yourself, Canary. Come to the throne room once you've woken up.” Canary frowned. “This is a dream?” “Didn't you notice?” Libra asked casually.
Darkness consumed the world around her and her heart rate sped up. Canary called out to Libra. “Wait! How did you get into this dream‽”
“Dreams are manifested emotions—our speciality.”
Canary's vision had turned fully black—the dream would soon end.
“But why not just tell me this in person?”
Libra's laughter echoed in Canary's mind upon her waking. That queen is crazy. Canary rolled onto her side. Her bug was breathing softly across the cave, shivering slightly. Canary cozied up to him and held him tight. She imagined sending love into him to keep him happy, though she had no idea whether it was doing anything. She smiled to herself. It will be worth it.
The sun hadn't shone today, suppressed by thick grey clouds. Canary lay low with the other changelings, watching the graveyard like hawks. A graveyard really didn't feel like 'a perfect opportunity' to collect love, but Echo was the expert, she told herself. She fidgeted with her wing cover, wings squirming under the tight-wrapped cloth. Libra's coercion kept playing through her mind and Canary cursed the queen under her breath.
“You aren't ready to leave the hive, much less go on a hunt. You're still recovering.”
“And I'm better every day!” Canary protested. “Let me go!”
“I cannot allow it,” Libra repeated.
“Why not‽”
The queen measured out her words carefully. “I feel a foreboding.”
Canary snorted. “Nothing will happen. Besides, if I need to learn to recognize emotions, what better way than to go out on a hunt?”
Libra paced in a tight circle, frowning. “If you go out, you'll need to keep your identity hidden, for your protection as well as ours. You'll have to at least wear a wing cover.”
Canary scowled. “I swore I'd never wear one again, when I started flying with Aether.”
“Then I can't let you leave.” The queen turned tail and moved to leave Echo's cave.
Canary growled. “Fine! I'll wear the cursed thing.”
A whisper from her left brought Canary back to the present. “Remember to listen carefully. You'll miss a lot of emotions that pass you, since your instinct is to think they're your own. And—”
“I know, I know.” Canary imitated Echo's slow-paced voice: “Empathy is only as strong as you make it out to be, so you have to be expecting to feel something.”
Echo smiled. “Good. He's nearly here.”
Some distant bushes rustled and Canary suddenly felt very hungry. It wasn't a hunger from her stomach though—it was more of a longing in her heart. Canary frowned. It was like she was craving something, though she couldn't pin down what. She nodded, attributing it to the changeling's desire to feed. It had been several days since Libra had laced the empathy spell on her but the thought of feeling others emotions still made her skin crawl. It was what Libra called being 'bound'—not only did it tune her to Echo's emotions, but also to the emotions of everything around her.
A distressed voice shot through the graveyard, belonging to the little colt they'd been tracking.
A second emotion washed over her, cold as ice and energized as an assassin.
Fear. She knew the feeling well.
The three drones she'd first met were scattered around the gravestones. She couldn't stand having unnamed friends—it felt like she'd constantly forgotten their names—so she had secretly named each of them. The talkative one she named Flitix. He'd told her how the hive came to be and hundreds of his adventures, half of which were obviously exaggerated. Though the one who had made her bed said very little, Canary had grown quite fond of her, and named her Hyacinth. She carried around 'special' emotions for some reason Canary didn't quite understand. In return for rare berries Hyacinth would bring her, Canary would give her little bursts of emotion. At first, she felt like she was doing nothing, but by the end of a month, Canary learned how to shift her mood and give off little bursts of love and happiness.
The other, Elytra, seemed equally happy with silence as talking. She worked in construction: reinforcing the hive, making new tunnels, and scouting out new locations. Though she rarely suggested activities, Elytra spent the most time at Canary's side, often just listening to Canary's thoughts. It was her whose name she'd first let slip, when Elytra sprained her hoof. Canary expected Elytra's shell to grey at any moment, but Elytra only laughed, saying that being named was very different from naming yourself. The other changelings learned their names quickly enough. “Names are just wrappers for emotion,” Flitix explained, “so it's easy enough to recognize who you're talking about.”
Flitix had taken on the form of the colt's mother: middle-aged and pale yellow with a light pink wing covering. “Shimmer!” she called out.
“Mom?”
Though the voice was distant, it cut through the cold night like a knife. Silence was his only response.
“Mom!” came the call again, desperation entering his voice. Once the periwinkle blue colt entered Canary's view and the remaining drones shook the bushes on all sides of him. A shiver ran down his spine, making both his and Canary's heart rate pick up. A sour feeling spread through her heart and she cringed. Is this really necessary?
“Shimmer! Where are you‽” Flitix called again.
The colt ran towards the voice as tears formed in his eyes. Flitix stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing. In one leap, the colt latched himself onto the clone of his mother, bawling. To Canary's horror, Flitix began to morph—the mother grew tall and gaunt, but her bones outgrew her skin, jutting out at unnatural angles. The monster stooped down to the colt, who was frozen with terror, his eyes full moons. The monster let out an unearthly howl that echoed through the forest and sent the colt running, screaming in horror back into the forest.
A sickening wave of fear passed over her and Canary's vision faded to black. Her wings tensed, pulling the wing cover even tighter into her stomach and she threw up in her mouth.
Echo grimaced as Canary spat out her last meal then wrapped his hoof around her. “Fear isn't our favorite either.” His shell was nearly yellow now from the fear he was ingesting. Flitix, Elytra, and Hyacinth were already running after the colt, so Echo supported Canary as they followed.
Once her thoughts collected, Canary whispered in fury, “What was the point of that‽ Aren't you trying to collect love?” Canary tore off her wing cover, making Echo squirm. “And you thought I wouldn't be able to feel that‽”
Echo stashed the wing cover in his saddlebag and grimaced. “I didn't think it would affect you so strongly. I suppose since you were empathetic already, the spell amplified it more than normal.”
Canary scowled. “Why do you even bother collecting fear? There are plenty of places to get love easily.”
“We'd be unstable if we only collected love. Besides,” he added, “bad emotion make good emotions even better.”
The cluster of changelings moved downhill to follow the colt as he fled through the graveyard.
“Feeling just love doesn't sound bad to me.”
“You'd be completely unstable though—if you loved everything, you'd love pain, you'd love hurting others, you'd love murder.”
Canary snorted. “Like that would happen.”
Echo opened his mouth to retort but Elytra called back to them, “Over here!”
The colt stood a house-length away from his mother, at the edge of a clearing. He was frozen in place, halfway between running to her and running from her. Canary could feel his fear from forty feet away, but there was a brighter feeling there as well: Hope.
Summoning his courage, the colt squeaked out, “Mom?”
His mother turned to face him, revealing the tears in her eyes. A smile broke through her worried expression. “Shimmer!” The mother dashed to her son and held him close.
A flood of love poured out from the two of them, crashing like a wave on Echo and Canary, more powerful than the fear before. It felt like being burritoed in a cozy blanket in the winter while drinking strawberry-flavored chocolate.
“See?” Echo said, shell turning a deep emerald. “Negative emotions give positive emotions more power. The downs in your life make the ups that much higher.”
The duo were trotting out of the graveyard quickly—Canary felt their feelings of urgency, as if they were late for something.
“Why are we still following them?”
“Trust us,” Elytra assured her. “This is a great source of love.”
Hyacinth nodded in agreement.
“It was a mother and a child,” Flitix added. “The death was probably recent.”
“There's likely a family back home,” Elytra continued, “so there will be more love where that came from.”
“You'll see,” Echo reassured her.
Canary hmmed, distracted by the chimney over the horizon. It belonged to a single-story house, small even by Woodburn's standards. Even from this distance Canary felt the sadness emanating from the shack grow thicker step by step.
“See, they just suffered a loss—they're going to all be depressed!”
Looking through their open window, Canary saw a family at dinner: the mom and son sat at the table while a stallion who Canary figured was their dad pulled bread rolls out of the oven, the scent making her stomach growl.
Echo poked her stomach. “Hungry?”
Canary scowled at him. “Of course I'm hungry! I just lost my lunch!”
Echo grimaced. “I'll get you something in the next town.”
While the father dished out the rolls and some deviled eggs, he cleared his throat. “So, how was it?”
The periwinkle colt remained silent for a moment, then commented, “I think she's happy now. A robin landed on her stone when we left.”
The mother's lip trembled.
“Amber always did love them,” the colt finished.
A dam that burst floods the fields below turning even a desert into a swamp. So did the mother's emotions flow out: loss, sadness, sorrow, and hopelessness crashed down over the changelings as the mother collapsed in despair onto the table. Canary glanced back at the changelings, whose shells were quickly taking on blue.
The father first moved over to her, holding her tight. Seeing his parents embrace, the little colt joined into the hug. A new wave of emotions crashed down on them: concern, love, care, and inspiration. The changeling's shells ingested several hues at once: red, blue, and sunshine yellow, leaving their shells nearly gold.
Canary's eyes mirrored her surprise. The sadness hadn't left—it had merely joined with the new emotions, like antipodal voices in symphony. A tear formed at the corner of her eye as a smile overtook her mouth.
Echo smiled. “This is why we let sad things happen—so they can have moments like these that bond them even stronger together as a family. Bonds aren't formed with good times alone—you need the bad times as well.”
Canary pursed her lips. Maybe the bug was onto something.
« ~ »
“Rockslide!”
The disguised changelings dashed for cover but Canary only rolled her eyes. A pebble fell down the narrow canyon, leapt from side to side, and settled on the ground before Canary's hooves. Canary held up the pebble for the changelings to see.
“For the twelfth time, this is not a rock slide!”
The changelings' ears all fell.
“It could have been,” Hyacinth mumbled.
Canary headed down the canyon and before ten steps felt her tail stepped on again. She shot a glare back at Elytra, who quailed under her gaze, jumping off Canary's tail. Every falling rock and stone drew the changeling huddle tighter around her, choking her for air.
“This is ridiculous,” she growled, pushing Flitix away from her side. “That stunt you pulled earlier is drowning you in fear.”
“But we need fear as much as every other emotion,” Flitix said.
“Would you dodge a boulder if you didn't fear it?” Elytra asked.
“Of course!”
Echo shook his head. “You'd have no motivation to move. Only emotions can motivate actions.”
Canary snorted. “I'd dodge it anyway—it's a reflex, not an emotion.”
“It's only a reflex because of emotions! You know, deep down, that it will cause you pain, so you dodge it to keep yourself safe. Without that fear of pain—”
“But happiness can motivate that too!” Canary said with a triumphant smile. “Dodging the boulder will make me happier than being crushed. I don't need fear to motivate me.”
The group padded forward a few steps before Echo responded. “You know how you sometimes start craving something?” Canary nodded. “If your body really needs something, your body notifies you and gets you to eat it. You crave foods; we crave emotions. If we ignored our bodies' promptings, we'd be deficient and unbalanced.”
“But why? What's the use of fear, or sadness, or any of those emotions?”
Flitix chimed in. “Don't you remember the cottage back there? Sadness helps you enjoy good times more and helps you sympathize better.”
Hyacinth added from behind, “If you never felt fear, you couldn't enjoy safety.”
Echo was speaking, but a shadow seized Canary's attention as it flitted across the ground. She searched for the shadow's source, but the sun blinded her vision. Then sun suddenly darkened as a dark spot on the sun grew into three silhouettes. Canary stepped backwards three pegasi slammed down on the ground before them, wind rushing through the canyon. Canary's heart leapt. There are more fliers‽
The largest figure was a fuchsia pegasus, muscles so huge Canary expected them to burst from beneath her skin. Half a step in front of her stood a taller male pegasus, whose muscles were as small as Fuchsia's were large. His coat shared color with unripe lemons and face looked like he'd eaten of the same. A third stood behind them, but Canary couldn't see him clearly.
“You need to be more careful with your landings; you could have gotten us—” Her words stuck in her mouth. Attached to each of their forehooves were gleaming battleclaws, still branded with the Cloud's insignia. Canary backpedaled. It can't be—the Cloud would never let pegasi—
“What are you doing here‽” the lime-colored pegasus demanded.
Only Canary recognized the tremolo in Echo's response. Fear exuded from him like a cool breeze. “We're traveling to Midlin. Who are you to ask?”
The lime pegasus stood tall and stomped his hoof. “Do you not know who we are‽ Where are you really from‽”
Canary started to respond, but thoughts of Korporis were flooding her mind, strangling her thoughts and choking her words. Her wing seared in pain, reminding her of the last time she'd felt those claws.
The rear pegasus pushed his way to the front. Some blade had scarred his cheek and a chunk was missing from his left ear. His coat was a salamander orange and his mane like a twilight sky. He was about to respond when his eyes locked on Canary.
Canary gasped. “Blitz? Is that you?” A smile broke over her face. “How did you escape Korporis? Did Aether? Did Coral? What happened to the Lightbringers?”
Blitz's mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.
Fuchsia whispered into Lime's ear and his eyes widened. He stomped his hoof, springing his battleclaws, and aimed the dual blades at Canary. “You have a changeling in your midst!”
Echo stepped between them, shivering slightly. “Canary isn't a changeling!”
Blitz rose an eyebrow. “And how would you know that?”
“Because—”
“They're all changelings!” Lime ran forwards and leapt at Echo, leading with his claws.
Echo dodged to the side, sending Lime tumbling across the canyon's rocks behind them. Canary's heart skipped a beat when a lock of his mane fell to the ground. Just a few paces behind, Hyacinth and the others took off running, back down the canyon. Fuchsia flew after them and tackled Hyacinth to the ground, barring the others' progress. The changeling screamed in pain as a burst of green fire revealed her natural form. Elytra and Flitix froze, watching in cold horror.
On seeing the flash, Blitz locked his battleclaws down and turned his eyes on Canary. “Why are you here?”
Canary was about to answer when she saw Lime getting to his hooves, eyes set on Echo. She buzzed her wings for a burst of acceleration and dashed to intercept the assault. Her feathers had grown enough to show their plumage, but it would still be weeks until she could fly like before. Her head collided with Lime's side, sending him crashing into the canyon wall.
Blitz's mouth hung open. “How did you learn to run like that‽”
Canary rose her eyebrow. “What do you mean‽ I taught that to you!”
Blitz flinched as if a needle had been jabbed into his side. “You must adapt fast.”
Lime kicked Canary from behind, sending her right into a nearby boulder like a forkfull of spaghetti. Canary fell to the ground and blacked out for a moment. She felt hooves land on her legs, pinning her down. When her vision returned, she found herself staring into Lime's burning eyes. In her peripheral vision she saw Echo trying to defend himself from Blitz, taking twice the amount of blows he was dealing. Cold steel pressed into her neck.
“Transform back, demon!”
“I am Canary! Why can't you see that‽”
Lime's eyes turned livid. “Canary is a martyr! How dare you…”
Canary's attention was stolen when Blitz knocked Echo to the floor. She pulled in her legs and wrenched her body out from under the green pegasus. Using her wings for another burst of speed, Canary headbutted Blitz away from her husband and into the canyon wall.
In a flash, Elytra ran past Canary, carrying a bloody-nosed Hyacinth on her back. Fuchsia was getting up from the ground a few lengths back, coated with a fresh layer of dust. Flitix came into view, scooped up Echo, and cried for Canary to follow him.
Canary bit her lip as her gaze flipped between the three pegasi and her four changelings. “But—”
Flustered, Elytra yelled, “They're not going to listen! Come on!”
Letting out a growl of frustration, Canary leapt to follow the fleeing changelings.
The canyon had many forks, but most seemed to lead back to a main path. Canary couldn't stop checking behind her, and the echoes of the pegasi behind them kept them constantly on edge.
After a quarter mile or so, Echo jumped off Flitix's back and ran alongside Canary. Though Flitix and Elytra were unharmed, Hyacinth had taken quite a beating—her nose was bleeding and her wings were crumpled. From her time in the hive Canary had been quick to observe how ticklish changeling wings are—they were extremely sensitive, able to sense the slightest change in breeze. Considering how many nerve endings had just been crushed, Canary couldn't believe Hyacinth wasn't screaming, but was only whimpering silently. Your really see someone's best when they're pushed to the edge.
The hoofsteps behind them ceased and the drones took a moment to rejoice.
“Look at us!” Flitix whispered to Elytra, who beamed back at him.
“It surprised me too, but when we saw Hyacinth…”
Flitix nodded. “It was more than enough. Didn't matter how afraid we were.”
“Keep running!” Canary urged, galloping past them. “They're probably in the skies, looking for us from above!”
Canary's imagination ran as fast as her hooves as they bolted through the canyon. They were from the Lightbringers, but they had battleclaws? What were they doing? Why in the world did they think I was a changeling‽ Their suspicions had been so strong, so set—what had made them so? I should have stayed back and explained, she thought, frowning to herself.
Between breaths, Canary managed a few questions.
“Was Blitz not in Korporis? Did he escape?”
Echo shook his head. “He was in Korporis with the rest of you. I didn't think anyone could escape.”
“So none of you heard about this before?”
They all shook their heads.
“If any changeling had known, the hivemind would have informed us,” Flitix responded.
Only the sound of hooves running accompanied the remainder of their dash before they broke free of the canyon into an open green field. A glowing mass in the distance resolved into a city, lamps just now lighting to stall the fading light. Canary judged it to be about three times the size of Woodburn around and about twice its height. Their height surprised her—Woodburn only had one three-story building, but this town had at least seven or eight four-story buildings and one five-story. Most of the buildings were made of stone—higher class than the wooden buildings of Canary's childhood.
Flitix threw out his hoof, gesturing to the town below, and said, “Welcome to Midlin!”
« ~ »
Go on a hunt, she says, you'll learn a lot, she says. Canary was about to puke, and the wing cover doubled her nausea. All of the changelings demanded she put it back on before entering, so Canary had to oblige. Walking through the city was a tidal wave of emotions: excitement, frustration, boredom, depression, loneliness, hope, stress—Midlin had them all, and so closely compacted. Flitix, Elytra, and Hyacinth had split from Canary and Echo to decrease suspicion. Alone time with Echo was an added bonus.
“I see why you live far away from cities—it's overwhelming, feeling the full spectrum of emotions all the time. Picking off emotions individually is much nicer.”
“You do need the full spectrum though,” Echo asserted.
“But I don't want the full spectrum—negative emotions just bog you down.”
“Blocking out negative emotions kills your ability to be happy!”
“I don't buy it.”
Echo was about to respond when voices sprang up from around the corner. A smile spread across his face. “Perfect.” In a flash of green, Echo turned into a snow white pegasus with a black and gold mane and seductive red eyes.
Canary scowled at the strutting pegasus.
“What, jealous?” Echo asked with a devilish smile.
“No! I—”
Echo laughed. “You do know it's pointless to lie? I know exactly what you're feeling.”
Canary blushed. “You didn't have to make yourself into a supermodel.”
Echo stuck out his tongue and winked. “Just watch,” he said, nodding to the two oncoming stallions. The changeling trotted on, smirking.
With a short sigh, Canary followed.
“Hey stallions!”
The two pegasi nearly tripped over themselves, seeing the white pegasus heading for them.
“Could you help us find the nearest restaurant?”
The two of them spoke at once, tripping over their words. The right one finally answered, “Let us take you there.”
“Thank you both—lead on!” Echo said.
Echo and Canary followed the two, whispering between themselves.
“Do you feel that?”
Canary rolled her eyes. “I don't need empathy to know what they want.”
Echo winked. “Never fails.” Pointing with his nose he whispered, “The one to the left likes you.”
Canary ducked her head low, hoping her blush would leave quickly. What are you doing, Echo?
Checking that the stallions were out of earshot, Echo started. “Libra told us about a hive that tried to collect only love. They infiltrated a city called Foxford—”
“Never heard of it.”
“You wouldn't,” Echo answered darkly. “They took over the capital, making it their new hive. At first, they tried to survive off of the ambient emotions, but they were quickly starving. They tried to feed off lust, each of them looking like models. It wasn't enough. They became desperate and even started a red-light district. In a matter of weeks, their shells had lost their luster, turning a sickly green. But lust isn't enough to sustain changelings—we need actual love. But that wasn't the worst of it: the hive became so desperate that they started replacing others!”
Canary rose an eyebrow. “Like you?”
“What I did was different—Echo was already dead. I'd never kill someone to take their place.”
“You mean—”
“They started killing others to take their place. The first time was as an accident, but they instantly realized how lucrative it was, emotionally speaking. They started killing spouses, taking their places to steal love. That's why some pegasi are so suspicious of us.”
“And what happened‽”
Echo thought for a moment. “If we don't enter relationships in the right way it can damage our prey. They took everything from their prey, giving nothing back. It wasn't long before the entire town lost all motivation and became soulless zombies, including the changelings. Having lost all motivation, the entire city died.”
“What!”
The two stallions looked back in surprise. “Are you okay?” the left one asked.
“Fine,” Canary mumbled.
His eyebrow rose, but he carried on. “Le Couteau Caché is the finest café our town has to offer—it's the one second on the right.
“Thank you so much!” Echo said with a little smile. He opened his saddlebag then put on a pout. “Oh, I left my coin purse at home. Could you pay for us?” he asked with puppy dog eyes.
“Of course, we—”
“We're fine,” Canary interjected. “I'll cover us both.”
The stallion deflated. “Could we at least join you?”
“Oh, we'd—”
“No,” Canary said firmly, interrupting Echo. “We're fine.” Canary grabbed Echo by the scruff of his neck dragged him into the café.
The stallion took a half step forwards. “At least tell me your names!”
“We're fine, thanks,” Canary answered
The stallion frowned, opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again, then left the café, thoroughly confused.
Nighttime diners occupied a third of the café's tables, filling the room with a hum of conversation. Echo and Canary were seated at a booth halfway through the restaurant against the right wall. A couple occupied the booth behind them but the padded seats were shoulder-height, allowing for some minimal privacy.
Canary glared at Echo. “What's wrong with you‽ We're married!”
Echo smiled sheepishly. “I was hungry, can you blame me?”
Canary held her face in her hooves. “We can pay for ourselves!”
“I wasn't hungry for food, you know.”
Canary sighed.
The waiter placed a few starter rolls and a two glasses of pomegranate juice on their table. “Enjoy!”
Canary wolfed down the rolls in a matter of seconds—they were soft as clouds, still warm from the oven. Echo was saying something about lust and love, but it merged with the background noise of the café. A single word then piqued her interest, spoken in the conversation behind her. Lightbringer. From the corner of her eye she watched the couple behind her.
“One thing's for certain,” the pegasus sitting across the table said, “they'll stop at nothing now. They captured Clifden, for Avondale's sake!”
“Clifden‽ With the armory? How many towns is that now?”
A kick from under the table brought Canary's attention back to Echo. “Stop staring,” he hissed.
Canary returned her attention to her food.
“Don't look now,” Echo whispered, leaning in, “but the table two away from us are watching us.” Echo leaned back and flicked his eyes towards the windows for a blink.
Canary suddenly realized she could sense suspicion in the air. Picking up a roll as an excuse to look around, she noticed grey and brown stallions sitting to her left, who had returned to reading the paper. Before she could think of what to do, a voice from behind arrested her attention.
“I can't believe the Lightbringers would kill so many innocent souls!”
Canary growled under her breath. “The Lightbringers would never do that!”
“And Aether herself! Could you have imagined?”
“No,” the other voice murmured. “She's completely insane.”
“They're terrorists—that's what they are.”
Canary leaned against the back of her seat and addressed the surprised couple. “The Lightbringers aren't terrorists—they're freedom fighters! The bats must have—” She stopped mid-sentence as the olive pony behind her turned around, revealing her cat-slit eyes and leather wings. “Yes?”
Several pegasi from the surrounding stalls glanced over at Canary. It was then that Canary saw a streak of orange out of the corner of her eye: Lightning Blitz and the two other pegasi stood at the front desk, surveying the room. Canary ducked down just as Blitz's gaze was about to meet her own.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said, loud enough for the other couple to hear. “Could you come with me, Warbler?”
Canary grabbed Echo's hoof and trotted quickly towards the back of the restaurant. They were nearly to the bathroom when she heard a shout and hoofsteps behind her.
Echo shot her a look that warned: Don't run. Don't look.
As the door slammed behind them, Echo transformed his hoof into a spike and shoved it through the door's lock, jamming it. Canary jumped on top of the sinks to reach a window and threw it open.
“Give me a boost!”
Echo pushed up from below, sending Canary toppling through. In a stroke of luck she landed on her feet and looked back up for Echo, but he didn't follow. The bushes to her right rustled. Before she could look over, a blur of fuchsia tackled her sideways to the ground and pinned her down. Fuchsia held her face to the ground, pinning Canary's legs under her weight. Something was being cinched onto each of Canary's hooves. Canary tried to push off the fuchsia pegasus to see, but Fuchsia had her pinned. The sound of shattering glass came from the window above.
A shadow leapt from the bushes and landed on Fuchsia, who jumped and let out a roar. Flitix had lodged his teeth deep into Fuchsia's neck and held on like a flag to a flagpole. Lime stood at Canary's feet, surprised by Flitix's attack. Fuchsia rolled onto her back, crunching Flitix under her muscles, making him release a high-pitched scream. Fuchsia left him limp on the ground.
Canary yelled out in protest and tried to stand, but found her hooves bound across with leather hobbles. The bushes to her side rustled and Elytra burst out, making a beeline for Lime, who prepared to throw a kick. When he kicked, Elytra punched his legs to the side and headbutted the stallion in his side with her horn, sending him skidding across the ground. Canary struggled to get up onto her hooves, but the restraints made it difficult to move at all.
The air flashed above Lime and a cat-sized rock fell towards his face. Fuchsia aimed a kick at the rock, resulting in a loud Crack! In a burst of green Hyacinth's disguise broke, the rock reverted to Hyacinth's form, and the changeling tumbled across the ground. The scene grew darker as a silhouette appeared in the bathroom window: Lightning Blitz.
The pegasus leapt down and landed before Canary, looking down on her. “You're coming with us.” A fresh wound in his forehead trickled down blood.
“Where is Echo‽” Canary roared, bracing herself for a fight.
Blitz clenched his jaw, as if he were trapping something in his mouth. Behind him, Fuchsia and Lime knocked Elytra to the ground and drug her over to the other two drones. Canary leapt at Blitz but a quick flap of his wings allowed him to sidestep her dive and climb onto her back, forcing her to the ground.
“What are you doing, Blitz‽” Canary cried out in anguish.
Blitz spoke calmly into Canary's ear. “You nearly convinced me, changeling, but you missed an important detail: the Canary I know would never wear a wing cover.”
A hit from behind plunged her world into darkness.
Canary found herself draped over a muscular back like a pair of saddlebags. The pegasus beneath her was cantering over rocks by the sound of it. Opening her eyes a hair she saw Fuchsia's hooves beneath her, Lime trotting ahead of her, and Blitz following from behind.
Her thoughts flashed back to the changelings. Hyacinth had taken a heavy blow and the others hadn't looked much better. Where are they taking me? Where is Echo? Flitix? Elytra? Hyacinth? I hope they're okay. The fight replayed in her mind and she winced. Those pegasi were so well trained. If they were part of the Storm, then why were they wearing the Cloud's insignia? What's going on‽
Canary bit at her lip. Her legs were still in hobbles. Walking would be difficult and running impossible. Canary worked at the hobbles but they didn't budge. Without some tool it would be difficult, if not impossible for her to get them off.
She imagined kicking Fuchsia and rolling off her back, but her heart sank. In her mind's eye, Blitz jumped on her before she even got on her hooves. She ran through the scenario a dozen different ways, but each ended in capture and more injuries. No, she thought to herself. Now is not the time. She felt at peace with that, as if her heart were being hugged.
“I'm not a changeling,” she whispered.
No response.
Canary filled her lungs this time. “I'm NOT a changeling!”
Blitz stumbled over the canyon rocks but kept his eyes from meeting hers.
Well so long as they don't stop me… Canary told them her entire story from her capture back in Woodburn to her escape from Korporis. The trio of pegasi made no response. She told it again, but her captors wouldn't so much as whisper.
A grey mare with aqamarine eyes stood centered in the canyon, blocking the path.
“Cirrus!” Canary kneed Fuchsia's stomach, making the large mare fall to the ground. Cirrus had been Canary's personal pupil in the Storm and one of her best friends. Canary shuffled as fast as she could towards her old friend but Lime jumped on her from behind, tackling her. “Cirrus, help! They think I'm a changeling!”
The grey mare nodded to Blitz. “Bring her in.”
Canary pushed off Lime and climbed to her hooves. “What?”
Fuchsia restrained Canary and Cirrus walked up to her.
“You need to stand trial for your murder.”
“What murder‽”
“The murder of the Storm's Second-in-Command: Canary Tiger.”
Canary did a double take. “You think I killed myself‽”
“You took her place in our town—you stole Canary's life from her in more than one way, just like the other changelings.”
“What‽ Changelings don't do that! They can't feed off the dead!” Then Canary frowned, remembering the Foxford hive.
Lime pointed his hoof at Canary. “See her face‽ She's lying!”
“No! Only one hive tried to do that, and they're dead now!”
“We've just been ignoring her,” Blitz explained to Cirrus.
Canary growled. “Why don't you believe me‽”
Cirrus raised an eyebrow. “Aether saw you transform.”
“What? No! That was Echo!”
Lime held his battleclaws up to Canary's neck. “I'm tired of this—let's get her back to Woodburn. Aether will want to judge the changeling herself.”
Canary brightened. “Aether escaped‽ How‽”
Cirrus and Blitz exchanged glances.
“And how did you all escape?”
“Aether saved us.”
Canary's jaw dropped. “But she was in Korporis too!”
Blitz nodded. “We had lost track of time by then—the months felt like years. When Aether broke into our cell we thought we were hallucinating.”
Cirrus picked up. “The door hinges were like warm butter under her hoof. The hinges screamed as she tore the door from its hinges. Then we saw her: eyes glowing gold. And her wings—”
“They seemed to be completely made of light, the same color as her eyes.”
“She was invincible! With her help, we all escaped and took back Woodburn from the Cloud!”
Canary's jaw was still down. “That sounds like magic—that's impossible!”
Blitz shrugged. “She said she learned how to feel the Heartwind—something she felt pushing her onward. Whatever it is, it worked.”
“Has she figured out how it works?”
Cirrus shook her head. “She hasn't felt it since Korporis.”
“Have any of you felt it before?”
Blitz looked Canary up and down. “You pull off a convincing Canary.”
“Because I am her!”
Blitz sighed. “I wish you were.”
“Aether will listen—then you'll see!”
Lime chuckled. “She'll see through you in an instant, right Blitz?”
Blitz caught himself staring at Canary then shook his head. “Yes, right.”
Canary didn't resist when Fuchsia threw her over her back. Aether knew her better than any being in existence—she'd see the truth. Blitz and Lime stayed near Fuchsia as they headed down the canyon. Trees now sprung up at the canyon's sides, trunks gnarled and contorted by the Four Great Winds. Memories of Woodburn flooded her vision, overlaying the forest around her.
~ ※ ~
Aether prowled low to the ground: a lioness stalking her fattened prey, eyes locked on the umbral cliff before her. Canary smiled. Aether did this often when reliving races. Her friend nearly let Canary forget they were in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night.
“I can't believe you convinced me to visit from Feathermore. It'll take me weeks to catch up in my studies.” Canary said.
Aether beamed up at the cliff as if it were the rising sun. “You won't be disappointed. I've never felt so fulfilled in my entire life! It felt was like I was meant to fly, like it's my purpose in life! You have to feel it for yourself.” The wind wove Aether's mane behind her like clouds in a deep blue sky.
Canary chuckled. “That's why I'm following you.”
Stones interspersed their path now as they neared the cliff's base. Aether climbed onto a large rock and reached down for Canary. “Thanks again for believing me.”
Canary took hold and clambered upwards. “I have some questions though.”
Aether nodded. “How could you not? The rest of Woodburn still doesn't believe me.”
The winds howled louder as they scaled the cliff. Canary grimaced. The sash around her wings was the only barrier between her and the violent winds. “If you really can fly, then why didn't you just show them?”
Aether sighed as she shimmied up a wide crack in the cliff's face. “I can't just fly whenever I want to—my wings aren't that strong. I can only fly when the winds are right.”
“But the bats can fly without the wind.”
“You're missing the point. We can fly! Us! Pegasi!”
Canary shivered at the cool rock on her back, not yet warmed by morning rays. Aether climbed much faster than she. “So how did you fly without getting your wings torn off?”
Aether chuckled. “Well it was an accident the first time—I fell while scaling a cliff. A rock had torn off my wing cover on the way down so the wind threw open my wings. I tried to keep them closed, but the winds were too strong—I barely managed to keep my wings from snapping backwards. It hurt like Tartarus to keep open my wings, but it kept me gliding in the air.”
The winds hushed as she crested the cliff. Canary's heart stopped. From here she could make out the entire valley below her. Woodburn lay small in the distance with the eastern forest beyond. Night was fleeing the eastern sky, leaving its clouds a hazy orange. The northern mountains were covered with their thick mist as always. She could see the southern plains for miles, until they met the horizon. Even the black line of the Ravine was visible from here, breaking up the plains.
Aether's voice broke her trance. “Breathtaking, isn't it?”
“I can see why you like it here.”
Aether smiled. The rising sun made her mane's white streaks shine in contrast to the lavender blue. “Let's do this.” In a fluid movement, Aether tore off her wing cover and unfurled her wings.
Canary had had nightmares about forgetting her wing cover—no one in their right mind would leave their homes without them. But now she couldn't take her eyes off Aether's wings—feathers so neatly arrayed, muscles so clearly defined, the majesty of opened wings. They're beautiful.
Canary shook her head to focus. “This is crazy! What if a wind comes‽”
“That's the entire point!” Aether chuckled. “Relax. You look like you want to hide under your bed!”
Canary blushed. “Shouldn't we—”
“Come on. I've flown twice already. You'll be fine!” Aether reached for Canary's sash but was swatted away.
Canary pulled off her own wing cover and let it fall to the cliff. She opened her wings half a hoof and examined them. “It just feels weird… I'm not sure if—”
A gust of wind cut her off, howling past her ears. The headwind forced her wings open and dragged her across the cliff's face. She scrabbled at the terrain beneath her, hooves scraping over rock and ledge. Canary latched onto a bush at the edge of the cliff and held on for dear life.
Aether leapt into the wind and spread her wings, letting the wind catch her full-on. As the wind blew her past Canary, she shouted out, “Open your wings!”
“Are you insane‽” Canary watched an updraft carry her friend into the air. She shook her head.
I'm going to die.
Canary released the bush and opened her wings.
~ ※ ~
The sound of breaking glass shattered Canary's memories and threw her onto Fuchsia's back. The flock of pegasi had left the trees and were crossing the clearing to her home town. Though all was familiar, everything had changed. Starlight lit the rubble of houses once known to Canary. Lime stepped on a ragdoll pegasus, drowning it with the muddy street. Not one house was lit—the town was silent.
Canary had so often dreamt of returning, but never as a prisoner in her own town. The prison was small and, to Canary's knowledge, unused until now.
“Your trial's at sunrise.” Fuchsia locked the bars behind her.
The prison door slammed behind her.
Memories of Korporis blitzed her mind, but Canary shook her head, clearing her mind. At least it's more comfortable.
A chirp from above drew her gaze: a bright yellow bird sat between the prison bars, staring down at her. Stars faded from the sky behind it, hidden by the rising sun.
Canary frowned. “Echo, I told you to not turn into me.”
The bird chirped a laugh and jumped into the cell,changing into Echo's normal form. “Technically, it's not you,” he said, giving her a quick peck.
Canary smiled. “Even the bird is too close for comfort, Echo. Besides, I like you better this way.” She held her head flush to his chest and listened to his pounding heart.
“We caught up with you all an hour ago—”
“Is Hyacinth okay?”
“She'll be fine. Her shell was cracked, but she can still function.”
Canary sighed. “Thank goodness. And the rest of you?”
“Better than you right now.”
Canary nodded, gaze wandering to the prison bars. “This will be difficult.”
Echo rose an eyebrow. “We escaped Korporis; I can break us out of here in a heartbeat. Don't be so pessimistic!” He reached for the lock, but Canary held back his hoof.
“No—I can't.” Canary's breathing stopped. Freedom had been her goal for so long; she had never imagined turning it down.
“Are you crazy‽ They could take your wings! They could kill you!”
Canary shook her head. “They'd only be more convinced I'm a changeling if I disappear! I need to show them who I am. When I stand trial, I'll finally get a chance to explain what's going on.”
Echo rose an eyebrow. “Did you feel nothing while they were taking you? They're not going to listen.”
Canary kissed Echo's cheek. “Aether is my best friend—I'm sure she'll hear me out.”
“I don't feel good about this. We should—”
Canary lifted her hoof to his mouth. “Trust me.”
Echo searched Canary's eyes. “Fine. Call for me if you need me—I won't be far. I'm not leaving this town without you.” He leapt up to the windowsill in a burst of green light and landed as a golden canary.
“And change into some other bird!” she called out, shaking her hoof after him.
The bird stuck out its tongue, puffed its feathers, and flew out the window.
~ ※ ~
The winds brushed her off the cliff like crumbs from a table. Canary turned downstream, but the tailwind threw her like a rag doll and ruffled her feathers. She spun out of control, hurtling towards the forest below.
I was right.
Aether circled back and dove towards Canary. “Face the winds!”
Canary managed half a scream in response and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Facing resistance will give you more lift!”
Canary took a deep breath. Calm down. Another breath. You can do this.
“And relax! It hurts less if you don't resist!”
If Aether flew then so can I. Canary snapped her eyes open and surrendered her wings to the western winds.
The air left Canary's chest as if she'd hit a wall. Her atrophied wings screamed in pain as the wind filled them up, but the breeze carried her upwards, far above the rocks below. The winds calmed for a moment at the higher altitude, letting her catch her breath. A warm updraft filled her wings, caressed every feather, and sent her heart soaring as well.
Canary gasped. From this height the sun stood above the mountains and lit the world. She could even see the western desert from here. Sunlight streaked across the land, racing from the clifftops down to Woodburn's tiny houses.
“Oh, Aether! We're flying!”
Aether beamed. “You'd better believe it!” She pulled in her wings halfway and fell into a steep dive. Canary mimicked Aether's actions and was soon at her side.
“There's a forest path about a half mile up from here. Start easing up.”
Canary opened her wings a hair, but the winds snapped them open completely and sent her tumbling into the forest below.
Aether made a tight circle and landed next to her friend who was tangled in some branches. Canary smiled manically as she pulled her limbs from the branches. “That was amazing.”
Aether punched Canary's shoulder. “I should have pushed you off earlier.”
“I'll be jumping on my own, thank you very much.”
Canary opened her wings and leapt from the branch.
“Don't—!”
Before Aether could finish, Canary had already hit the ground.
Aether chuckled and climbed down the tree. “I told you you can't fly without the wind!”
Canary shot Aether a glare and flapped her wings so fast her nose bled. Only her forehooves left the ground before she collapsed. Canary rolled onto her back and frowned up at Aether. “What's the catch?”
Aether lifted Canary onto her back. “Flying without the wind gets us exhausted, but ignoring the wind tires us equally. If we want to fly like the birds, we need to fly with the wind.”
~ ※ ~
Canary frowned at the sky outside. If only the prison faced east. The sky had turned from black to blue without a trace of red. Morning was on the doorstep, and every bird's chirp reminded her of Echo's promise. Don't panic—Everything will be okay—Aether will listen, she repeated for the tenth time.
Click.
Canary shuddered. Will I ever stop jumping at that noise?
Two pegasi stood silhouetted in the doorframe: Cirrus and some stallion she didn't recognize. Silver battleclaws gleamed at their forehooves. “The Counsel is ready for you,” Cirrus said, holding up an iron bridle.
Canary's wings twitched. She backpedaled, tail brushing against the cell's back corner. “Please no—anything but that! I'm not going to fight—you really don't need to bridle me!”
Cirrus rose an eyebrow. “The real Canary would be willing to stand trial. Put on the bridle yourself if you want to convince us.” The bridle clattered to the cell floor.
Canary nearly vomited. “Please let me go without it!”
Cirrus scowled. “Put it on.”
The bridle taunted her from the floor. Her mind screamed as she approached the cursed object. Her mind pushed her body onwards—it felt like crawling through thick weeds. Cold metal met her face. Though tears pushed for the surface, Canary held them down and searched Cirrus's eyes.
“Are you happy now?”
Cirrus unlocked the cell door and yanked Canary from the prison.
Woodburn's citizens lined the streets, reminding her of Feathermore markets. Can Woodburn really house this many pegasi? As they neared town center, stares from the crowd grew increasingly aggressive. Words choked in Canary's throat and her gaze fell to the ground.
Canary sidestepped a marble wing and recognized the rubble around her as the remnants of NightWing's statue. Town center was beyond recognition: where stalls once stood now sat a semicircle of thirteen chairs bordering the far edge of the clearing. Cirrus locked Canary down to the ruined statue's foundation and took her seat. The central chair stood taller than the rest and, with a little gold paint, could pass for a throne. When Canary's eyes rested on its possessor, her jaw dropped.
“Aether‽”
There her old friend sat with the rising sun as her crown and wildfire in her eyes. Her mane was ragged—even more so than usual—and her coat unkempt. But Canary forgot it all when she saw Aether's sides. Her wings once ran long down her back and rippled in the wind; they could sense a breeze from a mile away; they were wings that rivaled the dragons' of old. Now broken bones jutted out of scabs where her wings had been. They had been severed at the humerus, barely two hooves from her shoulder. Red stained her coat where the stumps met her sides.
“Aether! What happened to your wings‽”
“The Cloud stole them from me,” Aether snarled.
Canary's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to form words. “I'm so sorry. I escaped just as they were about to take mine,” she said, showing the white scar on her left wing. A few murmurs spread through the crowd.
“Of course you did.”
Blitz walked center, addressing the crowd. “Pegasi of Woodburn: The trial for Changeling 47 will now commence. It is charged with not only dissimulation, but also betrayal and murder of a Storm officer; any one of these crimes warrants death.”
Canary's heart beat harder.
“First, dissimulation, for the malicious falsifying of identity. You have taken the form of Canary Tiger including and up to this moment, and all forms of deceit are a capital offense. Our Glorious Leader Aether herself saw your transformation. Second, betrayal, for revealing the Sanctum's location to the Cloud. All seated here can attest to this. Third, the murder of Canary Tiger, Second-in-Command. Your being in her form is proof enough of this crime.
“You may now give your defense.”
Canary gulped, the weight of a thousand eyes pressing on her back.
“Hello, my f—friends.” Canary's gaze moved over each of the original Storm members. Cirrus, Lily, CloudChaser, Coral, Chartreuse, Aether, Blitz, Angel, Lilac, Skye, Twist, Mint. They once loved me—followed me—obeyed me. Now want to tear me in two. The heat of their anger singed her like a flow of lava.
Canary gulped. “I can't directly prove I'm not a changeling, but I can convince you that I'm the real Canary—there are some things only I knew, especially you,” she said, gesturing to the semicircle of chairs.
“Cirrus, you were always worried about your adequacy—worried about falling behind. You only felt unskilled because you were always at the edge of progress, constantly pushing your limits!”
“Coral—you were my best friend back in Feathermore. Thnanks for all the times you helped me get away from my desk. And thank you,” she added, “for understanding when I needed to stay.”
“Blitz,” Canary gulped. “I used to be afraid of you, funnily enough. You were such a strong advocate for the bats that I was at first against inviting you into the Storm. I'm so glad Aether convinced me otherwise; you quickly became one of our strongest leaders. But even before then, you were like a—” Blitz had loved her like his own, in his own way: motivating and pushing her to be her best. Still, she couldn't call him father. “—a great friend to me, when I lost my parents.”
Canary turned to center, focusing on her oldest friend. “And Aether, where do I begin?” She chuckled. “It feels like only yesterday we were running between adults' legs, racing to the schoolhouse. I never imagined how much our world could change while I was away in Feathermore. In our first flight, you—”
“Enough!” Aether leapt from her throne, tears running down her face. All eyes were wide with shock, locked in on Aether. “Stop tormenting me! Take off her skin—you aren't worthy of it! She was my only friend, and you killed her!” Aether turned to the crowd and roared, “Pegasi of Woodburn, as you all know, it was by the Heartwind we escaped Korporis. As we left its clutches, the Heartwind spoke through me: 'Canary is not with us anymore.' I trusted this wind with my life.” Aether turned back to Canary. “I didn't think it was possible, but it's clear that the changeling had taken not only Canary's form but has somehow stolen her memories as well. If this is so, we cannot be safe until all deception is removed.”
The crowd broke into discussion, neighbors challenging neighbors.
“Does she mean—?”
“She's right!”
“She couldn't.”
“There's no other way!”
“What are you saying Aether?” Blitz asked, holding his breath.
“Our goal is to liberate all truth. We've banished the Cloud from our midst and are ever increasing the borders of security. I see now the time has come to eliminate the greatest deceptions in all of Avondale. Changelings at their cores are lies. They're parasites, stealing love from the innocent. Canary would never sympathize with them.
“Changeling 47 has opened my eyes. I see now that we will never have peace until your kind is exterminated from this land. Changelings must now become our primary enemy. If you feel any doubt, it's the changeling placing it in you. Fight it, my friends! The real Canary fought against lies. She fought against the bats' oppression and she would fight against the changelings too. Remember the life of the true Canary! Let us purge the land of lies together, united as one!”
The crowd roared in agreement and two pegasi jumped forward from the crowd.
“You're making a mistake, Aether!” the left one yelled out.
The crowd fell silent.
“This one isn't the changeling. We are!”
Both pegasi burst into flames and revealed their true forms.
“Echo? Flitix? What are you doing‽”
Echo stomped his hoof. “Changelings are not your enemy, Aether. You are! Your anger makes you hunt your friend. This is Canary! She's as much a pegasus as you are. I am the one who betrayed you!” Echo turned into Canary as she looked on the night of betrayal: wings fully plumed, eyes dark and soulless.
Discussions roared louder than a dragon.
“How are there two of them‽”
Angel addressed Aether. “Do they not have to kill to take others forms?”
“ENOUGH!” Aether shouted, eyes glowing red with fury. The crowd fell silent as a ghost. “It doesn't matter if every changeling in Avondale turned into our Canary—they're all lies! Seize the changelings!”
Echo and Flitix grabbed her forelegs tight and jumped into the air. A golden pegasus and a silver pegasus followed right on their tail.
“Wait!” Canary called out. “I need to show them who I am! I need to—” The two pegasi in pursuit seized her hind legs. Canary gasped.
“Thanks,” Flitix called back. The golden pegasus winked at Canary, eye flashing green.
“They're all changelings!” came Aether's shout from below.
“No!” Canary reached desperately down to Woodburn below, but a gust of wind bore them up, making Woodburn shrink in the distance. The changelings whisked her away, flying her over the northern forest.
“They are not in a mood to talk, Canary. You're going to get yourself killed some day!”
Canary growled. “Let me die! They need to know!”
Elytra glanced at the flock of pegasi pursuing behind them. “One thing's for sure: you're convincing no one today.”
The five Avins burst into the throne room. Woodburn's fury shaded their shells a spectrum of orange, from Echo's bronze to Gena's tangerine. The drone trio addressed Libra all at once:
“Woodburn's gone mad!”
“We only have a few hours!”
“They're on their way now!”
“They're going to attack the hive!”
“They could be here by sunset!”
As they spoke, their hues merged with the throne room's and dispersed through the hive. The wall nearest the queen though turned honeybee yellow. “I feared this would happen. And there's no dissuading them?”
Canary shook her head. “When Aether sets her mind on something, nothing can hold her back.” Canary sighed. “It's what started our revolution: the desire to fly.”
Echo looked around the throne room. “So what will we do, run?”
“Other hives could take us in…” Libra frowned and paced in a large circle. “How many are there?”
“About 500.”
“Over twice our count…” Libra sped to a trot, diffusing her fear into each vein she passed. “The distance is too great, though; they would catch us before nightfall. We may have to stand our ground.”
A hundred minds cried out in response, turning the walls strawberry: a love beyond death.
“They'll never take the hive!” Elytra said.
“We'll fight them to the death!” Flitix added.
The weight of the hivemind echoed his words: To the death!
“No! That's exactly what I want to avoid! I don't want to lose a single one of you!” Libra froze, along with her emotions. “Instruct the matrons to evacuate the younglings to the eastern forest. Commanders, we meet at once.”
Canary's heart stopped. “What are you planning?”
Libra's shell turned an icy blue. “We'll flee the hive. I need you to stand guard outside the hive and let us know when Woodburn comes. We'll lure them into the hive to buy us some time. Can you do that for me?”
Canary bowed along with Echo and head out of the throne room. As they left, Libra lit her horn an empyreal gold that pulsed with the hive's own heartbeat.
Canary gritted her teeth as the primal calls wore at her mind. Memories of a rainy day flooded her as her mind invented a thousand reasons to turn around.
“Keep straight,” Echo kept insisting. “We have a different purpose. Keep on moving!”
In egress they fought upstream a flow of changelings, each converging on Libra's call. Canary felt like she was walking through syrup; every inch of her body resisted her motion. We have a different purpose.
« ~ »
The chirps of crickets prophesied rain. Northern winds drove pregnant clouds to smother the setting sun, casting the hive and surrounding hills in shadow. Canary followed Echo to the hilltop and looked over the edge. Its opposite side dropped off like a cliff, giving them a clear view of the valley below. The hive stood on their right, holey as honeycomb and surrounded by sylvan slopes. Echo and Canary hid by a bush, watching the western skies.
Lightning struck. Pinpoints of light sparked in response, revealing the armored flock of pegasi to the west. After a few agonizing minutes, the flock landed in the valley and arrayed themselves around the mountain.
Echo's horn glowed green for a moment, burning the idea “They're here” into her mind.
A heartbeat later, Canary felt Echo's hoof on her shoulder. Without realizing, she'd started back for the hive, drawn on by the image of the throne room. Her body pleaded with her to go.
Echo reigned her back behind the bushes. “Resist it,” he whispered. “That signal you're feeling is the hive putting out the call to the pegasi. Just bite it down.”
Canary felt her body shake in protest, so she bit her lip and pulled back the reigns on her mind. It felt like she had a massive bug bite she was holding back from itching. The pegasi below clearly took the brunt of the suggestion: ranks broke as the entire flock streamed for the hive with Aether in the lead. Just as the final tail disappeared, hundreds of changelings flew out from the surrounding forest.
In the fading light, Canary watched the changelings form a flying wall around the hive. Lighting jumped across the northern skies, illuminating the changelings' armor. Canary squinted.
“What are they doing? Weren't we supposed to book it? Why the armor?” Canary felt a wave of cold strike her heart and she looked over to an awestruck Echo. “What's going on?”
Words struggled to leave Echo's throat. “They're—caving in the hive.” His voice rose almost like a question.
“What‽”
Raindrops broke out around them as a single word pierced Canary's mind: Fall!
The wall of changelings dove towards the hive. Just as the thunder struck, so did the hundreds of changelings. The mountain let out a groan as rocks tumbled down its face.
Echo's voice broke as he spoke. “They're—caving in the hive.”
“No!” Canary ran up to the cliff's edge just as lightning struck again, revealing Libra centered in the wall, hoof lifted, eyes to the skies.
I have to stop her. Canary stepped back and lifted her fledgling wings.
“Canary? You're not going to—”
Canary galloped to the edge and leapt over Echo. Her wings flapped faster than ever before. She could feel they were catching less air than they used to, and she was definitely losing altitude. Come on! Only a hundred yards stood between her and the queen. Canary felt her muscles tear and scream as she pushed their limits. Nearly there! A jolt of pain shot through her left wing as it cramped. No no no no no! Canary corkscrewed over left and hurtled towards the mountainside below. She glanced back at her left wing and tried to flap, but it just couldn't keep up with her right.
The thought pierced her mind: Let go.
That's insane! Canary forced open her left wing, but she only spun faster. Her heart sank.
Again the voice came: Let go!
Canary growled and angled her wings against the spin. Her corkscrew turned on its head, sending her sideways into the mountainside. Blood filled her mouth as she crashed down.
Thunder struck with the changelings, hitting the hive as one. The nearest landed nearly on top of her and spattered her with pebbles. Piles of debris slid down the mountain, suffocating smaller entries. Canary spat the blood out of her mouth and climbed to her hooves.
Confusion and fear pierced her heart. That must be from Woodburn below me. Don't worry! You'll be okay! Canary hoped they could feel it—she never knew when it came to emotions.
Libra stood on an outcropping above the main entrance, only a few tree-lengths uphill. Canary leapt from boulder to boulder up the mountain, pumping her wings with each jump. It hurt like Tartarus to use her left, but she needed the speed.
Echo landed at her side and climbed the mountain behind her. “Canary!” In contrast to the darker shells leaving the mountainside, Echo's shell glowed a bright yellow. “Get out of here! You'll get hurt!”
The hovering wall had reassembled and low loomed over the mountainside. Canary leapt onto the boulder Libra hit and inhaled. “Stop!”
The landscape brightened for a blink as lightning blitzed the skies.
“Don't do it!”
Echo glanced at Libra then leapt up to Canary's side, lighting up his horn a vibrant violet. Its pulses were the exact hue that ennobles and emboldens. Canary knew she could die for him.
The changelings struck again in synch with the thunder, keeping clear of Canary and Echo.
Canary located Libra and ran over the rumbling rocks. Sections of the mountain gave way, spawning randomly over its assaulted face. Each cavity devoured the stones around it, filling in its void. Canary scrambled up to the depression Libra stood over and seized her leg. “Stop this! These are my friends!”
Libra didn't meet Canary's gaze—her eyes were fixed on the lightning above. “I'm sorry it has to be this way, Canary. It's better that the evil die so that the good can thrive.” Libra pushed into the air, dropping Canary onto the mountain below.
As the terror underground climaxed, Canary's eyes widened as a scene flashed into her mind: herself as a little filly, crying onto her mother's empty bed. Tears rushed to her eyes and Canary leapt up to Libra's boulder. After filling her lungs to the brim, she roared like a dragon, adding to her voice all the emotional force she could muster: “STOP!”
Thunder struck, but nothing moved. The changelings hovered in place, silhouetted against the clouded stars. The only noise was the rustle of leaves around her and the faint pitter of rain to the north. Canary closed her eyes and listened with her heart. Confusion above. Joy from Echo. But she felt nothing from below.
“No.” Canary's lips trembled. “No!” Canary jumped down into the depression that was once the main entrance and tore through the rubble beneath her. She heaved a head-sized rock down the mountain then went for a foal-sized slab. “Echo! Help!”
Echo walked over. “Canary, they're… We—”
Putting her back into the slab she tilted it a third of the way up. Tears formed in her eyes. “Help me!”
Echo touched Canary's shoulder. “We can't do anything for them. It's—it's too late.”
The slab collapsed into the rocks, as did Canary. The skies above cried nearly as much as she did.
A western wind ruffled Canary's mane and the ground around her rumbled. Pebbles leapt and jumped around her. Then, like a crashing wave, Hope hit her from below.
“Move!” Echo tackled Canary to the side and a geyser of rocks burst from where she had stood.
Fire, stone, and pegasi collided head-on with the changeling wall, breaking their formation. Fire? As the dust settled, Canary saw something shining above her: a pair of golden wings, shining like a billion fireflies, and between them a pair of eyes glowing with same empyreal fire.
“Aether,” Canary whispered. “So it was true.”
Hoof met claw, both in the skies and on the ground. Most changelings worked in pairs: one in offense, the other in defense. The defensive changelings transformed their forehooves into angled shields that deflected Cloud blades from most angles. The shields came to a point in front, doubling when needed as swords. The offensive changelings had three blades on their forelegs spaced equally around their hooves. The top two blades snared the battleclaws while the lower blade pierced the aggressor's hoof. The pairs of changelings clustered together, preventing pegasi from slicing their sibling's back. Each cluster had nearly twice the count of Storm pegasi surrounding them. The scene flickered dark for a moment, drawing Canary's attention upwards.
Aether followed her battleclaws down in a dive, aimed straight for a large clump of changelings with Libra at its heart. As Aether fell, the light at her sides sputtered out of existence.
“Libra!” Canary jumped towards the Queen, but a bolt of pain ran down the length of her left wing and it snapped shut on her side.
The world seemed to freeze as she fell with the raindrops and her two leaders. Aether's claws skewered the queen's neck and the two grappled in the air. Canary crashed into the mountain below and saw her leaders hit the ground, seven stories later.
A sickening CRACK sounded over the battlefield and all stood still. Changeling and pegasi mixed at the center, filling both air and ground near the two leaders. Canary shoved aside languid pegasi and indigo changelings, catching glimpses of the bloody epicenter. Canary broke through and gasped.
Her two friends lay crumpled on the ground, neither breathing. Aether's blood dripped down over Libra's body and mixed with the puddle of sapphire blood. Rain fell on them all, stinging like wasps. Two drones pulled Aether's battleclaws out of Libra and pulled their queen out of the crater. None of the changelings noticed Aether's eye crack open when she hit the ground. Each changeling sung a personal dirge as they gravitated towards their leader. Like rainclouds quenching color from the world, so did Libra's death deplete their shells.
Without moving her head, Aether's gaze darted from changeling to pegasus, piercing the crowd. “Well‽” she croaked, voice quavering. “Kill them!”
No one moved.
Aether lifted her torso, making her broken body quiver. A fiery light burned around her eyes and flickered at her sides. Aether gasped as fresh blood trickled from her stubs. Wings of red light flickered at her sides, a twisted mirror of the golden feathers that had just saved her. Her anger crashed down on the closest changelings, spattering their shells with a fiery orange that quickly melted away. Aether's battleclaws rattled as she pointed her claws at the changelings around her. “Kill them!”
One by one, pegasi turned on their neighbors, but not one hoof rose in defense. The changelings were losing color fast and sank from the skies in a lackluster stupor. A few crawled off the battlefield but dozens fell to silver claws.
Echo.
He stood a stone's throw away from her, frozen in place. Canary ran for him, clearing pegasi and changeling alike from her path. Echo walked dolefully towards her, as if an anchor were chained from his heart and drug in mud behind him. Behind him, A yellow-eyed pegasus reared up to slice him with bloody battleclaws.
Canary leapt up, pumped her wings, and roared. Flapping her wings felt like scraping glass across her back, but she needed the speed—the flapping bought her a heartbeat of time. With her right hoof, Canary punched his right claw into his left and tackled him with her shoulder.
Canary ran back to Echo. “We need to get out of here!”
Echo nodded like a turtle. Only three tendrils of blue spiraled through his grey shell.
“Run!” Canary butted him towards the forest and he finally moved. A few pegasi met Canary's eyes from across the battlefield and Canary gave Echo another shove. “Come on, Echo!” Clusters of changelings fell like wheat to the sickle, barely batting an eye. Flitix, Elytra, and Hyacinth were nowhere to be seen. Canary bit her lip and entered the forest, pushing Echo onwards.
Canary forced Echo onwards, urging him to keep pushing through the forest. The noise of battle had long died, but every snapping twig rattled her heart. The queen's death replayed in her mind over and over. How could Aether do that? Her mind ran faster than her hooves.
In contrast, Echo moved forwards as if walking versus Woodburn's winds with wings widespread. As the rain stopped, so did Echo. Canary laid her shoulder into him, but the changeling didn't budge.
“Come on, Echo! We need to move!”
His response was barely a whisper. “I could have saved them.”
Canary stopped pushing and looked him in the eyes. “No. You weren't close enough to save her. Besides, if you had gotten between Aether and Libra, it would be you lying dead in the valley.”
Echo collapsed to the ground. “I'm not talking about them; I'm talking about my brothers and sisters.” He shuddered. “I can still feel their terror.”
“We were against an army twice our size; we're lucky to be alive at all! You couldn't possibly protect all the hive.”
Echo stared at the ground. “I know, but I could have called them.”
Canary blinked, nonplussed.
“Like Libra, when she calls us—called us—home.” Echo sighed. “I could have called them. As we were running into the forest, I could have pulled us all together. But now they've scattered too far. They're hunting us down.” Echo buried his face into his hooves. “I could have saved them.”
Though her mouth was open, Canary had no idea how to respond, and just put her hoof around him. A gasp escaped her lips. “Echo! You're freezing!” A cool breeze passed over them, making Canary's hairs stand on end. How long has it been this cold‽
We need a fire.
Canary shook her head. A fire could attract the pegasi, or worse! She wrapt herself around Echo and willed her warmth into him. Feeling him tremble in her embrace, she realized he was in no state to be moving.
We need a fire.
Canary frowned. It just rained!
We need a fire!
Canary sighed. “Fine.”
Echo looked up. “What?”
Canary climbed to her hooves. “I'm making a fire.”
The trees still dripped rainwater, soaking the ground below. Canary turned her gaze upwards, scanning for leafy trees. Back in Woodburn, she and Aether had started many fires from the dead lower branches. Much of the thickest wood, however, had been knocked down by the storm. Canary collected a wingful of relatively dry twigs from the south sides of trees, diametric to the storm's attack.
As she made her way back to Echo a tree caught her eye: it was completely devoid of leaves and missing large chunks from its rough trunk. Perfect. Canary bucked askant at the tree, knocking off the top layers of its bark, revealing its dry interior. She carved out a large chunk and carried it back to a shivering Echo, who hadn't moved a hair.
“It won't be long now.”
As Canary brushed away the wet leaves and dug a fire pit, she couldn't help but think of Aether. Together in Woodburn's forest, they'd discovered the forest's secrets, piecing together how to survive in the wild. She positioned a thicker stick into the dead tree's bark and rolled it between her hooves, pushing her tainted memories into the wood. After a few minutes of high friction rubbing, sparks flew and the fire started. By fire's glow, she could see Echo's shell clearly: a sea of grey with a solitary wave of stormy blue.
“Echo? Are you okay?”
Air escaped his lungs, but he made no response.
Canary rolled him over and pulled his face up to hers. His eyes were dark and glassy. “Echo!”
“I'm fine.”
“No! You're not fine—your shell is completely grey!”
“Doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me! Why are you turning grey‽ What can I do to help‽”
The changeling only breathed in response, face blank.
“Come on! Speak to me!” Canary shook Echo, but he didn't even flinch. “Echo!”
Canary wrapped herself around Echo and held him tight. Come on, she prayed, take it! She imagined, as vividly as she could, a stream of love moving from her heart to his, warming his body and filling his shell. Canary prayed silently it would work. The small wave of blue spiralled around his shell, growing smaller with each pass. Canary held him tighter. Why did I never learn how to properly do this‽ Minutes passed, but his shell stayed the same dark grey as before.
“I can't do this,” Canary finally whispered. “I don't know how. Nothing is working! Why won't you take my love‽” Canary set her head on his chest. Does he even have a pulse? Canary repositioned her head and heard the soft thump of life. His chest rose and fell between the slowest heartbeats she'd ever heard.
thump
“Please, Echo.”
thump
The fire flickered and Echo took another breath.
Tears swelled at Canary's eyes. Her mind spun like a maple seed yet felt completely blank. What do I do now?
Open your eyes.
Across the fire lurked a pair of bright yellow eyes, slit like a cat's. Canary leapt to her hooves and stood over Echo's body. “Don't you dare!”
The eyes drew nearer, entering the firelight. In front of the eyes sat a toothy muzzle—behind them, a lion's mane.
Canary froze and it vanished into the darkness.
Step off Echo!
Canary didn't budge. I'm not moving!
Step off Echo!
A dark object flew at Canary from her left, faster than a falcon seizing prey. She tried to dodge, but it tore a gash in her shoulder and knocked her to the ground. Her shoulder stung, but the pain dissipated after a heartbeat. She tried to push herself up but collapsed onto her left leg. Why can't I move it‽ Canary shifted her weight to her right and pushed herself up, letting her left leg extend.
Duck!
Canary obeyed the idea and dropped back down. She felt something fly over her head and hit the tree behind her with a thunkh! The monster roared. A gargantuan scorpion's stinger was lodged in the tree. By the fire's dying embers, she followed the tail back to a lion's body, sporting leathery wings. Canary's eyes widened. A manticore‽
While the monster wrenched its stinger from the tree, Canary scooped up a thick branch with a pointed end. The manticore fixed its eyes on Echo and lifted its claws to strike. Canary leapt forward and jammed the blunt end of the branch into the earth, aiming its point up towards the descending paw.
The thorn ripped through flesh, making the manticore let out a howl. A mirroring pain pierced Canary's hoof, making her wince. She knew the pain was only in her mind, but it hurt just the same. She could only imagine how bad Echo felt when fighting.
As the beast tore the thorn from its paw, Canary limped to its side, diverting its attention from Echo. She tried to buzz her wings for a burst of speed, but her left wing hung limp at her side. She never thought she'd fear a lack of pain. Her heart fluttered like a butterfly trapped under a leaf of paper; it was tantalizingly close to an adrenaline rush, but lacked the invigorating power behind it. She also noticed the more she moved, the more her vision blurred. It must be a neurotoxin. She jumped over two roots, but fell, realizing her vision was doubled.
Canary scrambled for her footing, but the manticore swept her up and flung her against a thick tree, far from the fire. Before she caught her breath, the manticore's paw was on her chest, pinning her down against tree roots. Canary's ribs compressed and she thought she heard a snap. She tried to move, but none of her limbs responded. So this is it. It took all her willpower to get her head to turn. Her vision had faded to nearly black.
“Echo,” she whimpered.
A pair of ruby eyes lit up a dark spot in her vision. Canary squinted. The shadows shifted and Canary realized the darkness was a massive pair of wings, framing a long neck. It towered over the manticore, nearly twice its size. The roar it released woke birds from their slumbers, sending them flying.
In a heartbeat it cleared the distance between them, seized the manticore by its stinger, threw it in a giant arc over its head, letting Canary gasp. As the manticore slammed into the ground, Canary winced.
The beast pounced on the manticore and unleashed a jet of fire over its head. Canary nearly felt the heat on her own face, stinging her right side. The manticore screamed in agony and Canary wished its pain could end. The beast released the manticore and it caterwauled away into the forest.
The dragon now rushed towards her. She could hardly breathe, much less run. It held her limp body close enough she could feel its heavy heartbeat echo through its chest.
THUMP. THUMP.
The voice that sounded was deep and desperate. “Please don't leave me!”
Canary's heart soared as a feeling of warmth came over her, reminding her of chocolate-covered strawberries. It was just enough energy to whisper a word. “Echo?” Another wave of love surged over her, waking her mind and body.
“I'm so sorry! I should have been there for you!”
Canary smiled. “But you were there for me! A bit late getting up, but since when have you been an early riser?”
Echo cried heavier and emerald flames engulfed them both. Though they didn't feel hot, her hairs stood on end, electrified with energy. He cradled her close, squeezing tight as a dragon. “I thought I'd lost you~”
She smiled up at him. “Me too~” His love surged stronger over her. She still couldn't feel her wounded leg, but her others tingled with feeling. She flexed her left wing and couldn't help but smile.
“But Echo, you shouldn't be spending your love on me; you should be saving it! You nearly died!” Canary tried to block the oncoming flood of emotions by imagining a dam between her and the oncoming waves, but Echo pulled her eyes to meet his own, breaking her concentration.
“Life's only worth living when given to those that you love.”
As the changeling held her close, Canary looked at his back: a thick red streak ran through his shell, pulsing with his heartbeat, conquering the grey. “Where is this love coming from?”
Echo glanced back at his shell. “I have no idea~”
“What do you mean, you have no idea‽ It had to come from somewhere! How'd you get it‽”
Echo shrugged. “All I know is when I saw you in pain, I had to do something, so I did.”
“But that doesn't make sense—you can't just generate love out of nowhere!”
“You're telling me! I don't know how it happened. It just sprung up inside me.”
Canary shook her head and pulled Echo to the fire, clinging to its glow. As she watched the embers die, a scene sprung to her mind. She saw herself and Echo traveling the land, defending the changelings, fighting as one. She smiled. “I love you Echo.”
“I love you too, Canary.”
As their lips met, their worries melted away. The forest sounded somehow sweet, as crickets chirped to the beat of their hearts. Stars shone between the leaves and their light danced on the leafy ground. Though the toxin still coursed through her veins, Echo's love kept it at bay like waves erasing footprints from a beach.
“So where do we go from here?”
A wave of cold washed over Canary, but no wind was blowing. Color leaked from Echo's shell as if it had sprung a leak. He was frowning, eyeing Canary's bloody leg. Canary's eyes darted between his. “What's wrong‽”
The changeling's eyes were flat. “What?”
“You're losing color! What's going on‽”
His eyes drifted back to his shell. “Hunh. Don't know.”
Canary growled. “There has to be a reason why! Think!”
Echo shrugged. “Maybe I'm just broken,” he said with a sad smile.
A question entered Canary's mind. “What were you just thinking about?”
Echo kicked a rock at his feet and sighed. “Nothing.”
“No, really—what was it?”
Echo sighed. “It was nothing, just a little thought. Well, not even a thought, really, more of a vague idea.”
“What? What was it‽”
Echo relented. “It feels like my heart wants to leave my body.”
“What‽”
“As if it's trying to push me through the forest.”
“That's it‽ Why‽”
“That's just what I was thinking—it's just a stupid idea.”
Canary saw another spiral of color drain from Echo's shell and her vision started blurring again. “Is that what's draining you?”
“Don't think so.”
“Then what is‽”
Echo shrugged again and another wisp of color left his shell. Canary's left wing started losing strength. She searched his greying eyes and snorted a sigh. “Fine. Let's go.” Canary limped over to the changeling and pushed him up to his hooves. “Which way?”
“But it doesn't make sense!”
With another headbutt Canary got Echo to start walking. “It doesn't matter. Which way‽”
Echo turned to face his wife. “Fine. But you need to be carried—you're in no condition to walk, much less run.”
“Run?”
Echo scooped Canary onto his back and shot into the forest. He paused after a while and swayed his head left then right.
As he head down the right path, Canary felt his shell warm beneath her. She smiled. “Whatever you're doing—keep doing it!”
Echo slowed down a few trees later, made a slight course adjustment, and resumed running. As his steps grew more sure, he stopped hesitating between turns and ran at full gallop, weaving through the forest like a river. Each turn he made added color to his shell.
Just as Canary started wondering whether they were going anywhere, something pierced the air: Fear. And pain. Canary furrowed her brow, trying to hear where her heart was pointing. All she knew was the sense grew stronger with each step.
Pinpoints of light peeped through the trees ahead. The changeling skidded to a halt just as the treeline broke into starlight, giving way to the Ravine below. Canary slipped off Echo's back and felt her left leg tingle with feeling, though it couldn't carry any weight. Though night obscured the Ravine's bottom, she still heard its river running below.
On a ledge some few stories down, Canary saw three grey-shelled changelings, scrambling across the rocks, futily trying to escape the manticore. Each sported wounds: a clipped ear, a bleeding leg, a gashed face.
Canary cringed in sympathy. “Echo! We have to—”
The cliff beside her was vacant. Down in the ravine, Echo leapt from rock to rock like a cougar chasing its prey. “No—you—don't!”
Canary beamed and followed alongside the top ledge of the Ravine. Her hoof twisted a funny way and she tumbled to the ground. Canary strained to get up, but her leg was impotent and sunk her to the ground. The toxin ran freely through her veins now, coursing faster than ever before, like a dam bursting. She growled and wormed her way to the edge of the cliff so she could see the fight.
Echo leapt down, landing square between the trio and the manticore. Though he wasn't half its size, he somehow stood taller as he roared at the beast. The manticore looked at Echo much as Canary would have looked at an apple that had growled at her. After a blink, its focus was entirely on Echo, and it reared to strike.
Emerald flames burst up taller the manticore. From them, a black paw seized the manticore's claws. The manticore staggered back, eyeing the massive black bear that now stood before him, roaring like a mother protecting its young. The manticore's confusion didn't last long—it fled before Canary could blink again.
Canary smiled. Though she could hardly make out their figures, she saw the three drones jumping around Echo, talking as fast as their buzzing wings.
A twig snapped behind her, betraying nearby footsteps. She tried to turn her head to see, but it felt like a thousand pounds. Canary's heart rate picked up when she realized that none of her other limbs were responding.
“Canary?”
She knew that voice. As she finally turned her head, Lightning Blitz walked into her view. His eyes grew wide as they fell on Canary's bleeding shoulder. His mouth moved without sound, unable to put words to his feelings. He finally stammered out, “I was terrified to ask, in case it were true.” He took a deep breath. “Who am I to you?”
It took all her willpower to just inhale. Her voice was hardly a whisper. “dad~”
Blitz swept her up in a heartbeat and pulled her into his chest. “I'm so sorry Canary! I'm so sorry!” He looked between her injury and her sightless eyes. “What happened to you! You aren't moving. Are you paralyzed? By what‽”
Canary's lips trembled, but in her atonic state she could barely breathe, much less talk.
“Nevermind that. We need to find you help.”
Blitz moved to pick her up but something froze his motions. At Canary's hooves, tendrils of grass wound around her and tethered her to the ground. “What the—”
Thousands of grass blades leapt from the ground and wrapt themselves around Blitz's entire body, engulfing both pegasi. The grass held them several heads above the ground, trapping their movement. What little air was in Canary's lungs rushed out as the plants suffocated her.
Not like I could move anyway.
Four deer stepped into view and eyed the two pegasi. The snaring vines sprouted bright turquoise flowers—they smelled as calm as lavender and as sweet as sugarcane. One waft of the flowers made her mind as black as her vision.
Canary jolted awake to the smell of capsaicin. Her eyes watered as if she'd licked a Deathwing Pepper. At least I can feel my face again. She kept her eyes squeezed shut to mitigate the pain and stretched out her wings and legs. Or rather, tried to. Though the muscles responded instantly, Canary felt thick bands restricting her movement. Her heart beat faster. Not again!
Forcing her stinging eyes open, she blinked away the tears. She found herself in a giant tree, as wide as three houses and hollow as far up as she could see—which was rather far, despite her teary vision. Yellow crystals lit the interior of the trunk brighter than Korporis, but darker than any house in Feathermore. A crowd of deer stood in stadium seating before her, silent and unmoving as trees themselves. In the middle of the seating, a large stump hosted a massive hart, who dominated the scene. His antlers were half as tall as Canary, and were ornamented with small white flowers.
Canary breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. To her left, she saw Blitz held upright by vines—his salamander coat was nearly smothered by the dark green ropes. White flowers with red streaks bloomed beneath his face. He coughed, jolting awake, and blinked away tears at the spicy flowers. Beyond him, other cocoons of vines unraveled partially, revealing Cirrus, Coral, Angel, Chartreuse, and about two dozen other pegasi she didn't recognize. Each were being similarly awoken by the white-and-purple flowers.
The large hart stomped his hoof and all eyes locked onto him. “Pegasi of the Storm! I am Vitus, protector and leader of The Red Forest. You are charged with the attempted genocide of the changeling race.”
Ironic, Canary thought to herself with a grimace. I go to Feathermore to become a lawyer, yet here I am for the second time in a week standing trial myself.
Blitz interrupted before the hart could speak again. “Canary shouldn't be here—she had no part in this!”
“As founder of the Storm, the blame falls squarely on her shoulders.”
A pegasus to Canary's right shouted out. “Canary died long ago. This is the changeling impostor that killed her!”
The hart lifted an eyebrow. “Why would you assume as such?”
“When the Storm captured us…” Blitz cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “We realized it couldn't have been Canary who had betrayed us; it had been a changeling! Aether saw one in Korporis—which transformed into Canary right before her. Additionally, Canary wasn't imprisoned with us—the changeling had killed her and stolen her form. Or so we had thought—it seemed the only logical possibility.”
At the hart's side, a lithe hind stepped forwards. “I don't care for these half-truths—what I'm curious about is the story between you two—one moment you were hunting down four changelings—”
“Where are they‽” Canary blurted out.
The hind paused to glare at Canary, then continued. “—the next moment you two were wrapped around each other, weeping.”
“Are they all okay‽”
The hind twitched her tail and scowled. In a sharp tone, she replied: “When a snake rattles at you, your vision narrows. We saved all the changelings we could, after dealing with the larger threat.”
“But they're starving! They need to be cared for!”
“Keeping blood inside their bodies takes precedence over keeping them well fed. Hence our hunting you.” The hind narrowed her eyes. “Why do you pretend to care about them?”
Canary rolled her eyes. “Because I'm married to one of them!”
“What‽” The cry came from Blitz, whose mouth hung open. Eyes of deer and pegasi alike focused on Canary.
“So‽ Where are they‽”
Vitus looked to the hind, who grimaced. “The specific changelings you were following had no color left—they died soon after you left them.”
“Liar! Echo carried me from the Hive to the Ravine, then still had enough energy to save Flitix, Elytra, and Hyacinth from a manticore!”
The hind's eyes narrowed. “To whom do those names belong?”
“The changelings I was trying to save before you abducted me!”
At this, the hind and several deer in the audience laughed. “Changelings don't have names!”
“Mine do.”
“And how do you know said changelings?”
“Echo helped me escape Korporis, and the others I met at the Hive.”
Conversations sparked left and right. Between the deer and the pegasi, Canary couldn't tell which was more surprised.
The hind stomped her hoof to silence the court. “Impossible! No one could escape Korporis!”
The hart nodded. “Not even the best map could secure your freedom; what of the guards?”
“I evaded them.”
“How?”
Canary hadn't told anyone of this part. She looked down, sheepish. “I thought I heard a voice, telling me when to hide and when to go. I just figured I got lucky—that there weren't many patrols.”
A murmur rose from the collected deer.
The hart again spoke. “Have you felt this guidance since?”
Canary rolled her eyes. “No; just random ideas. Aether, on the other hand, felt it all the time!” The murmur grew to a rumble. “She was always convinced that she had some grand destiny to fulfill. She even glowed!”
“A pegasus‽” shouted a deer from the jury.
“It's true,” Blitz yelled back. “Aether glowed with every flight—a golden aura surrounded her. Though now,” he added ruefully, “only red light clings to her.”
“Except for when she saved us from the hive collapsing,” Cirrus corrected.
Vitus turned to address the jury. “If these claims are true, then the case here is far more complex than we initially believed. Are any of you lifted enough in spirit to sense the Voice?”
Heads shook, and Vitus wilted. “Perhaps the Oracle could offer a reading.”
“What's this voice of the forest?” Canary asked.
“The will of Avondale; every creäture can feel it. It guides and directs, pushing at hearts to do what's best.”
A dark brown pegasus spoke out. “You mean the Heartwind?”
“It's what Aether always felt guiding her on,” Blitz added. “It's what got us out of Korporis.”
The hart nodded curtly. “What you call the Heartwind is properly called the Voice of the Forest. It's the only thing that could have guided you out of Korporis safely.”
“It's not like I was glowing or anything—those were just random ideas!”
Vitus barked out a laugh. “Random ideas? That's unlikely to the point of absurdity. Those 'random' ideas didn't come from you—they're too illogical. Or rather, alogical—you wouldn't have contrived the ideas yourself—something pushed you in the right direction.”
Memories rushed to Canary's mind, of her wound from the manticore, of her crashing into the hive, of her escaping Korporis. “You expect me to believe that all these ideas are from some magical entity?”
The deer around her chuckled. “It's not magic,” the hind sighed, “it's just how nature is constructed. At its core, your body has been programmed to hear its call, by nature of your being its creäture. It's simply your being harmonizing with Avondale.”
Canary sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”
The hart nodded, then turned to the assembly of deer behind him. “Let her free!”
As the vines encasing her eased their hold, Canary tore her hooves free of them and eyed the limp vines warily. A shiver ran down her spine.
“What about the others?” asked a deer from the jury.
“The others have no such alibi. Death calls for death. They are no exception.”
Canary froze and looked over the line of pegasi. Many of them had been her closest friends; All of them had tried to kill her in the past week. Their once thunderous faces were now overcast.
“I vouch for them,” Canary found herself saying.
The hind started to object, but the hart halted her objection.
“I want to give them the chance Aether never gave me!”
As the crowd's murmuring grew, the hind spoke up. “This will be on your head,” the hind clarified. “If a single one of them steps out of line, your life will be forfeit.”
Canary nodded. “I understand.”
Blitz spoke to the line of pegasi before anyone else. “What more evidence do you need‽This is the real Canary, willing to offer her own head in our behalf.” Turning to Canary, he bowed, as best he could. “We owe you our lives. I swear mine to you.”
Searching the pegasi's eyes one by one, Canary said, “These changelings are harmless. I've lived with them since Korporis, and I trust them with my life. Will you swear to leave the changelings be?”
Once she had collected their consent, Canary turned to face Vitus. “Release them?”
“For your own sake,” the hind warned, “I hope your trust is well placed.”
Sunlit evergreens encompassed her, and Canary gasped at the size of these giants. The tree they'd just exited was the largest in circumference, but each of the trees grew taller than Feathermore skyscrapers. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, hinting at a mid-day sun. The branches spiraled perfectly upwards: staircases to heaven. What her mind first registered as gargantuan apples along the trunk she now recognized as knotted branches, forming spherical houses along the trunk. The rooms were lit from within, and hundreds of silhouetted antlers watched her.
Canary felt a spike of excitement and heard voices in the distance. She turned to see dozens of changelings sprinting for her on ground and by air, all shouting her name. Canary beamed and backed up a few steps before being smothered by them. From under the crushing weight, she squeaked out, “Good to see you too~”
“Well that would have been a simpler trial,” the hart muttered.
“You're okay!” one changeling shouted.
Another bounced in front of her. “We were so worried about you!”
“Thank goodness you're alive!”
“You're so wonderful~”
“I'm so glad we have you!”
“We're so glad you're okay!”
Canary grinned sheepishly. “Thanks everyone.” She took a step back and scanned the crowd. Echo, Hyacinth, Flitix, and Elytra were nowhere to be seen. “Where is the rest of the hive?” The changelings all fell silent. Canary looked hungrily from face to face, then turned to the deer. “Where is the rest of the hive‽”
Vitus wilted, then shook his head.
Canary's heart fell. “Don't tell me these are all that's left! They have to be out there!”
“These are all we could find who were still living.”
“No! We have to go back out there! We have to find them!” Her heart raced ahead of her mind, pushing her to take action, though she didn't know what. She cantered away from the group and broke into a gallop. Before she could, the same pile of changelings tackled her to the ground again.
Again, every changeling spoke at once, pulling her back, begging her to stay. Canary tried to crawl out from the pile of changelings and saw some of her fury leak into the nearby changelings' shells as a sickly orange. “I need to save them! I have to!”
“There's nothing we can do!”
“We barely survived, ourselves.”
“They probably didn't last the night.”
“Stay with us!”
Canary fought off the drones and resumed her gallop. She glanced behind her, teary-eyed, seeing blue entering the shells behind her. I can't get them down. I have to help them survive, even if the others...
Her tears flew free. There's no point. They're gone. Her chest felt tight, magnifying the beats of her heart. After a few tree lengths, a gigantic hedge blocked her way. She ran left, along its side, but the hedge continued as far as she could see. The city perimeter? She took a few steps back and sized up the bushy wall. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her chest, Canary took a few more steps back. After a short running start, Canary leapt up and flapped her wings furiously.
Bad choice.
After the tenth flap, a jolt of pain ran up Canary's left wing, and she crashed down to the forest floor. After a moment of black, her vision returned. She spat out a bit of blood and growled. Canary cautiously flexed her wings to test them: her alula and phalanges seemed functional, but her carpal joint ached with each movement.
Canary cursed and continued running parallel to the wall. Each hoofstep reminded her of the trickling water of Korporis; each tree looked to her like a giant stalagmite. A deer leapt into her path, and by instinct, Canary leapt up for a wing-assisted leap, aiming to run along the hedge. After another bolt of pain, she crumpled on the ground next to Vitus.
“Now is not the time, feathered one. You're in no shape to save them, besides.”
Howls echoed in from the forest, reminding her of the hundreds of hungry creatures beyond. Canary looked into Vitus's eyes, calm and patient, green as a pine tree in winter. She willed herself to fight, to run, but found that she couldn't lift a feather. What's the point?
“Come, let's get some air.”
Vitus led Canary to the base of a tree. Its branches were flat near the center and spiraled upwards, forming an unnaturally perfect staircase to the treetops. As they climbed the branch stairs, Vitus spoke. “I'm sorry for your loss, Canary. As calves, we teach our youth that they were born from the earth. They're grown from the food their parents consumed. One day, they'll return to the earth that birthed them, and in turn, nourish the growth of more plants and animals.”
Canary sighed—a natural science lesson was the last thing she wanted right now.
“Not only are we linked through lineage; we are literally formed from our ancestors. While all must pass away, our tethers to them are inseverable. Your connection to Echo is similar; the bond you shared will forever tether the two of you together.”
Canary felt a warm, peaceful feeling, but tried to ignore it.
“It must be odd for you, hearing the Voice, without knowing what it was.”
Canary shrugged. “It didn't save Echo.”
Vitus nodded. “The Wars destroyed the last pegasi records of the Voice. Before the Cataclysm, every creäture of Avondale heard and obeyed, but the years have not been kind. Few creatures still know and recognize the Avondale's own Voice.”
Canary looked over the side of the stairway and imagined herself falling. As if he read her thoughts, Vitus swapped places with Canary, so she walked on the tree-side of the stairs.
“You may dismiss it as random. On a sunny morning, the idea may pop into your mind to wear a raincoat, only to prove itself accurate in the afternoon. Or a thought may come to visit someone, when you don't know they lost someone close. It also comes in the negative, warning you of danger.”
Scenes forced themselves into Canary's mind as Vitus talked, ranging from her time with Aether to her escaping Korporis, to her spraining her wing after ignoring that nudge. She let out a low growl. “But it's nothing—they're just random thoughts!”
Vitus smiled grimly. “You can call a tree sour, but you won't know until you try it. Start following those ideas that come to mind, and you'll learn for yourself whether they're your own thoughts or from Avondale herself.”
Canary sighed. The deer were too esoteric for her taste.
The median treeline sank beneath them, and their own trunk waned precariously thin. A wide platform sat on top, leaving them with a fisheye's view: to the east, the ravine sprawled itself out, running north to south. Beyond it, she could just make out the sprawling planes. To the west, the forest spread until it met the horizon, though she knew the sea laid beyond. Her gaze rested on the northern mountains, stroking the sky, calling her home. A wispy deer stood next to her, staring at the clouds. Canary followed her gaze upwards but saw nothing.
“The oracle sees the future,” Vitus said, as if answering her question.
“That's impossible.”
“And yet,” the ancient deer said happily, “I do.”
Canary shook her head and squinted towards the sun. It was after noon, but not yet evening. “Why did you bring me here?”
Vitus stared out over the forest. “I come here often to think. We often focus too closely on the minutia of life; taking a few steps back gives you a better perspective.” He turned his gaze towards Canary. “What will you do, feathered one?”
As Canary stared out at the northern horizon, her thoughts ordered themselves. “The changelings are my family; they need me. The pegasi were once my family. And if they're true to their word, then they're my responsibility too.” The weight of it all crushed down on her, but a warm breeze seemed to carry it away. Those here were safe, at least; not all had perished. “After we rest and heal, then…” Canary sighed. “I have no idea. Enemies are on every front. Aether with her army to the West, Korporis bats to the north, the Ravine to our east, and Feathermore to our South. We have nowhere to go.”
“Nowhere to go but forwards.” Vitus corrected.
Canary lifted an eyebrow. “Could we not stay here?”
“You never progress standing still. You must start by moving.”
“You expect us to leave‽ We're safe here! Why should we go‽”
“The purpose of life is to grow; you need to move on.”
“But a week of rest would do us all good!”
The king stomped his hoof. “This is not the time for rest—I feel it deep within me. Your time here is over; Avondale demands you leave.”
Canary felt as if the hart's eyes pierced the corners of her soul. “Fine.”
Some deer halfway down the tree were singing, urging the tree to grow. Branches, vines, and leaves wrapped themselves together, intertwining with the intricate harmony. In another moment, an apple-shaped home had grown into existence, complete with windows and a leafy bed.
Canary turned to Vitus. “How did they do that‽”
The deer glanced back. “What, sing? We simply tell the tree to grow. It's a natural magic.”
Canary snorted. “There's no such thing as magic. And I don't believe in your oracle, or in your Voice of the Forest either, just for the record.”
Vitus smiled. “You don't need to convince me; speaking aloud won't convince yourself.”
Canary flushed.
“Tell me then, how do you reconcile their growth with your world view?”
“I don't know… Plants are sensitive to light, heat, and touch, so perhaps you've just learned how to coax them properly.”
“You're not far from the truth. The vines and branches sense our will when it aligns with Avondale's, and responds accordingly. If you can control your will, you can control the world around you.”
“Ha. So by just willing it, trees will grow?”
“Yes, and no. It's not just about will, it's about belief. You have to truly and deeply believe they will react to your will. That's something you must grow. We deer happen to excel at tree-singing most.”
Canary shook her head. “Then what was Aether doing? How was she glowing? Was it the 'will of Avondale' for her to slaughter the changelings‽”
The deer's expression darkened. “That's a difficult one to answer. If natural magic is aligning your will with Avondale's, then what Aether was doing was convincing the elements around her to follow her own will.”
Canary snorted. “So Aether started a mutiny?”
Vitus nodded gravely. The look on his face made her shudder.
Laughter echoing from the dinner tables turned Canary's stomach. It didn't feel like a time to celebrate. From afar, Canary saw dinner sprawled across file long tables, forming a pentagon in the leaf light. The changelings had interspersed themselves with the deer and engaged happily in conversation, feasting on emotions as much as the deer feasted on their fruity dishes. Previously midnight-blue shells turned a rich butterscotch as the drones drank up the scene. A wry smile crossed Canary's face. The food fed not only the deer, but indirectly, the changelings. While they enjoyed physical food well enough, nothing compared to a love sandwich.
The pegasi held back in a clump, a short trot from the table. A few deer looked over at them with wary glances—apparently not all the deer were as trusting as Vitus. Canary paced with a wide berth between her and the tables. Even several canopies away, she still caught eyes. The looks from the pegasi were even less trusting than the deer. Two of them, however, broke off and trotted towards her: Cirrus and Blitz.
“Wait!” Blitz yelled out, as she was turning to leave.
Canary bit her lip and slowly pivoted.
Blitz nudged forward Cirrus. “Canary?” she asked, confusion on her face.
“Yes?”
Cirrus shook her head. “It was you the whole time, wasn't it?”
Canary nodded once.
Cirrus exhaled, glancing back at Blitz. “I can't believe we…” She shook her head. “I'm so sorry, Canary, we just… we lost our heads! We thought the changeling had killed you! We didn't know—I should have seen—I don't know why—”
“Cirrus? It's fine. You have a strong sense of justice; you were just confused.”
Cirrus shook her head. “It's too horrible. I can't believe what we did. Canary, we… we almost killed you!”
“But you didn't.”
Cirrus sighed. “This is all insane. You're not only alive—”
“But you've gone and married a changeling!” Blitz interjected
Canary's eyes flicked between the two pegasi's, not sure what to say. The flock of pegasi in the distance watched Canary like hungry hawks.
Blitz forced out a laugh. “It's got to be one heck of a story—would you please tell us—tell everyone what happened?”
Cirrus nodded pleadingly. Seeing the hunger in their eyes, Canary nodded. Cirrus and Blitz visibly relaxed and paced back with her to the flock of pegasi waiting near the tables. As they neared, many of their eyes fell to the earth.
Canary started by telling how she'd been captured by the Storm, then explained how they'd used Echo as her doppelganger. She detailed her imprisonment and escape of Korporis and her falling in love with Echo and the hive. One by one, the expressions before her softened: some from concrete to clay, but others from stone to soap. Canary knew she wouldn't convince them all at once, but softening was all she needed to mold. After she finished, Blitz mumbled an excuse and led Canary away from the flock.
“I'm sorry to hear about your husband,” Blitz began.
Canary lifted an eyebrow. “You care?”
Blitz let his head hang. “Of course I care, Canary.” They walked in silence for a minute before he asked, “Why do you think I took you in?”
“Because—” Canary halted. “Because my parents died. Someone had to take me in, I suppose.”
Blitz shook his head. “I was good friends with your parents. When you lost them—when I lost them—I was beside myself.”
Canary rose an eyebrow. Blitz was not one to show emotions—he was far more likely to bite his lip than to shout. A smile was rare, and tears mythical. Yet she could swear she saw his eyes turning red. “You never showed it.”
Blitz looked Canary up and down. “I didn't want to be weak in front of you—I wanted to be a guardian to you—a refuge from the sorrow.” A half-smile ghosted at the corner of his lip. “You have so much of your father in you—he had such a deep passion for everything he did. When I look at you, I always see him.” He let out a low laugh. “I suppose it was actually quite selfish of me to take you in—I wasn't ready to let them go.”
Canary's mouth hung open. Blitz had never spoken of her parents, refusing to answer the simplest of questions. She had been young, not even a year old when she'd lost them. What vague memories she did have were so far in the corners of her memory that emotions were barely tangible. “Why did you never tell me?”
“I thought it would do more harm than good. You were inconsolable for months—even a passing mention of them set you off. It got to the point that you cried until you passed out. So I hoarded their memories for myself, like a selfish dragon.” He held Canary close. “I'm sorry that you lost your loved ones, but don't forget those around you.” He gestured at the other changelings. “Life is more precious and short than you or I will ever know.”
Canary looked back at the swarm of changelings buzzing at the tables and found a smile forming under her tears. “Thank you Blitz.” She hugged Blitz fiercely, who in response awkwardly patted her back.
As the pegasi joined a corner of the pentagon arrangement of tables, Canary walked up to a strawberry salad. She knew she should eat—she hadn't eaten well for nearly two days—but she couldn't. Is he really dead? Her heart sank. She nibbled at a strawberry, but couldn't finish it.
Halfway through the meal, a roar echoed out from the far side of the clearing. A phalanx of deer assembled, pointing their spears at the rusting brush. Four monsters burst out: two lions, a many-legged insect half Canary's height, and towering above them all: a spiny beast twice the size of a bear, with the stripes of a skunk. The monstrosity easily swept aside the phalanx and rushed for the far side of the tables.
As the monstrous skunk barreled through the far side of the tables, the changelings cheered. Each of the beasts skidded to a halt, as if realizing their prey had been a tree stump all along. The larger of the two lions spoke first. “Is this a joke‽”
Green fire consumed the spiny bear and Echo stood in its place, staring intently at his wife, sitting across the table. “Canary? We thought you were dying! We ran across the entire forest to save you from the deer, only to find you feasting with them?”
A leaf fell from Canary's open mouth and tears rushed to her eyes. Canary leapt across the table and wrapped herself around her husband's freezing body. “Echo!” Canary squeezed him as tight as she dared. His bones always felt fragile compared to a pegasus. “But you're dead!” She shot a quick glare at the hind.
Echo looked at Canary's face with confusion. “You were the one who was dying! We thought the deer abducted you!”
“Well… they did… but they let us go.”
“And now they're feeding you?”
Canary nodded.
“And you're healed‽”
Canary nodded.
Echo nuzzled against her neck. “Then why are you so sad?”
“Because this is all that's left of us.”
Echo's eyes widened as he took stock. There were barely thirty changelings, all together, on the tables around him. “This… is it?” His voice was soft, choking.
Seeing Canary nod, Echo's shell took on a bright cobalt hue. “There must be more!”
Canary held the shaking changeling tight and whispered into his ear. “Don't get depressed on me, Echo. The hive needs you. They need someone to look up to.”
Echo bit his lip, forcing himself to breathe easy. Then something caught his eye. He took a step back, flared up his wings, and hissed. Canary followed his eyes and saw Blitz frozen mid-step, halfway to them from the tables. Words came too slowly, so she leapt between the two.
“You must be Echo.” Blitz bowed slightly, eyes fixed on the changeling. “A pleasure to meet you. I only found out today of the great news.” Though the last two words sounded forced, Canary smiled at the effort.
Echo blinked in noncomprehension.
“We reconciled!” Canary said cheerfully. “Everything's okay now!
Echo looked between the pegasi, changelings, and deer surrounding him. His wings fell down to his sides. “And… and I just missed it all‽” For the first time, he noticed the flow of love between the changelings and deer. “But—”
“Hush, Echo.” Canary pulled him towards a table. “Come eat!”
Changelings clustered around Echo.
“Was that a bear‽”
“You were giant!”
“The biggest changeling ever!”
“How did you do it‽”
Canary smirked. “Not only that; he turned into a dragon!”
The chatter halted.
“That's not possible,” one said.
“Well, the queen once turned into a manticore, but…”
“She's the queen!”
“So how did you do it?”
Echo kicked up grass from beneath himself. “I don't know—it's weird. I just... I found Flitix, Elytra, and Hyacinth by following this random stream of ideas that came to mind. Whenever I went the wrong way, I felt groggy, but following the ideas energized me, motivated me. Once we got to them, the idea came to mind to go save them. It was the same thing with the dragon. The idea came to mind, and I followed it.”
Several nearby deer whispered between themselves, and Canary shook her head. Of course. Random ideas save the day.
Flitix nosed his way up to Echo. “So what do we do now?”
“We should throw up a beacon to attract any other changelings!” said Echo.
Vitus shook his head. “You're already a beacon, gushing out emotions like a fountain. Glowing that bright won't only attract changelings, you know.”
“We need to draw them in—”
“—right to our home?” Vitus shook his head. “We have young to protect; you won't bring your war here!”
“You were the ones who brought us here!” Blitz said.
Vitus frowned. “And I will make you leave. The purpose of life is to grow. You have to go and face the world, even if you think you can't, even though you will get hurt. If you only did what was safe, you may as well have stayed in your cradle.”
“But where could we go?”
Canary frowned. “We can't go back to the hive—either Lightbringers or Cloud guards could be waiting there. And we certainly don't want to stay in the forest. Looking at the members of our group, I don't think any town would take us in.
Canary piped in. “Libra mentioned other hives—couldn't we go join one of them?”
Echo shook his head. “We wouldn't be tuned to their hivemind. Different hives sing different songs; we would clash like two songs played at once. Besides, we don't even know where they are!”
“No one does!” Flitix said.
Hyacinth looked up at Vitus. “Do you know of other hives?”
Vitus nodded. “The next closest hive is Queen Zeva's, by Feathermore.”
“They feed on Feathermore‽”
“But that's the Cloud's headquarters!”
“How do they not get caught‽”
The deer gave a half smile that failed to reach his eyes. “You'd be amazed what city-dwellers miss. They push for efficiency to save time, but as soon as they've made free time, they fill it with distractions. I doubt they even notice the ends of their noses.”
“So where is the hive, exactly?” Canary asked.
Vitus shook his head. “It's beyond the forest's canopy. You could, however, consult the oracle~”
Echo jumped up. “Let's go!”
Canary scowled at Echo as Vitus called an escort. “You wouldn't seriously believe an oracle, would you?”
Echo shrugged. “Do we have any other options?”
Canary sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Fine.”
When they broke through the canopy, the view was almost perfect—the sunset was a rainbow of colors, bleeding from the Northern Mountains up into the darkening sky. Its only imperfection was the wizened oracle, blocking half her view. “Welcome, Canary. Welcome, shapeshifters. What brings you here?”
“What, don't you know already? Can't you see the future?”
The deer smiled. “I don't see everything; I only see what Avondale wills me to.”
“How convenient,” Canary said dryly.
The deer didn't respond; her eyes had already returned to the heavens.
Canary grew impatient. “Vitus said you could help us find Zeva's hive.”
The Oracle nodded, then returned her gaze to the skies.
“What are you looking at?”
“The clouds—they're how I see the future.”
“Really,” Canary said with no inflection.
“Yes. You see that group of little clouds over there? Now see the big cloud approaching it? That's you and your little group here. You'll meet a great being, either great in stature or great in power.”
Canary rose an eyebrow. “Really. Do you have some million-paged book to interpret each of these signs?”
The Oracle smiled. “No; no book can interpret the skies. It must be done by the heart.” The deer paused. “You've felt your heart pushing you before.”
Canary frowned. She was sure the old deer hadn't been at her hearing. Her eyes wandered up to the clouds and latched onto a small one, streaking alone across the sky. Half as fast as Aether flew. “What about that one?” she said, pointing to the speeding cloud. Canary sensed a crossbreeze, and another cloud collided, dispersing the first into mist. Canary gulped, imagining the same happening to her friend. “What does it mean?”
The deer frowned. “Nothing came to mind for that one. But I feel like you might know,” she added. “What did it look like to you? What comes to your mind when you think of them?”
Canary looked away from the Oracle. “Nothing.”
The old deer smiled. “Surely something came to mind.”
“It's all made up! There's nothing there but what we imagine!”
“Ah, but where did the image come from?”
“Only me.” She stomped her hoof on the wooden floor.
“Then you need not ask me for advice.”
Echo stepped between Canary and the Oracle. “Please, Oracle, could you tell us where we could find the Feathermore hive?”
The Oracle shook her head. “All I see is the canyon. You must travel south, along its rim. This is all the skies have said.”
Canary shook her head and headed down the steps. “Thanks for nothing,” she grumbled.
As the sun set, Vitus walked up to the group of changelings and two pegasi, packed with fresh provisions for the journey.
“The time has come for you to leave. The day has gone, and so must you.”
Canary sighed. “Not even one night?”
“The purpose of life—”
“—'is to grow', I know.”
As the group left, Canary turned back. “You're sending us to die by not giving us directions!”
The deer grimaced. “Perhaps, but all life must die. Lack of direction does not kill, but lack of motion certainly does. Pressing forward matters more than knowing where you're going.” Vitus smiled. “Listen to your heart; Avondale will speak.”
Canary lay on a leafy bed, counting the stalactites above her. Her cell in Korporis had 647 stalactites if you counted ones smaller than her hoof; 628 otherwise.
The cave they were in now had thousands, she reckoned—its roof stretched five times the height of her cell in Korporis and near the same in width. Counting stalactites soothed her mind. It was more spacious than Korporis, and her ability to pace helped her to stave off the rising panic. A changeling shifted next to her, then resumed its buzzing sleep. The few surviving changelings piled around her to sleep, nestling her in a cluster of hums.
After leaving the deer, they made their way for the Ravine and headed south along its ridge. In the last three days, they'd run into two squadrons of Cloud guards, and had nearly barged into a Storm camp—they'd barely managed to survive. Canary had tried to follow the ideas that came to her, but they still felt random. With this many close encounters, Canary doubted whether the thoughts could truly be anything but random.
Still, the Heartwind had saved her from Korporis and had led her to the trio. That counted for something. They'd walked along the cliff wall of the Ravine until the last sunlight faded. Just as she had wondered whether to go down to the river below or above to the ridge above, a cave appeared around their final corner. Canary counted that more to sheer luck than to some mystical force, controlling her movements.
A rumble resonated through the cave, and Canary smiled. Mornings in the hive were often like this, with every changeling waking at once. A second rumble shook droplets of water to the ground. As one drop hit her nose, a frown grew across her face. There was no sound of rain, or even a single drop; the cave had gone silent. She lifted her head to search for the source of the noise.
Something obstructed the entrance, snuffing out the starlight. The cave was pitch black. “Why,” a deep voice rumbled, filling the cave from every direction, “are you here?” Each word was deliberate, as if it took gargantuan effort to say even one.
Canary jumped to her hooves, hair standing on end, heart racing. Her mind cycled through dozens of texts, searching for sentient cave-dwelling creatures. The creatures that came to mind were increasingly undesirable. Echo leaned into her, and she felt the arctic wind of fear coming over them.
“Until you woke us? To sleep.”
“But we'll be on our way now!” Echo added hastily.
A flame blossomed over their heads, setting crystals in the ceiling aglow like dying embers. In their orange glow, they saw a massive copper dragon coiled near the entrance, pinning their escape. Echo pulled Canary back with the huddled changelings and pegasi, deeper into the cave. The dragon sprung out in the blink of an eye and coiled around the group, it's body taller than a house.
“Why,”the dragon asked, voice equally omnipresent, “should I let you?” His mouth didn't move as he spoke, yet the earth shook from his voice. Though his voice sounded relaxed, muscles across his body tensed, allowing him to strike at any moment. The dragon bore his teeth, twice the length of battleclaws.
Canary inhaled to taunt the dragon, but Echo yanked her back. Waves of terror emanated off her companions, spreading an icy blue between their shells. Seeing the drastic color change, she realized she would have been scared as well, but the changelings had drained every drop of fear from her. As much as she wanted to swear at the dragon, she bit her tongue.
“I haven't eaten in weeks,” the dragon continued. Its body and tail curled closer around the group, forcing them into a tighter and tighter circle. “I could destroy you all; I have slain heroes, flattened villages, and destroyed kingdoms.” The dragon watched with ice-blue eyes as the group quivered before him.
Canary leapt in front of the group and yelled out, “And we will destroy you!”
A rumble filled the cave, halfway between a hmm and a chuckle. The dragon stopped spiraling in and turned to face Canary. “But to what end?” Its voice had lost all its harshness and half its power. “Heroes rise, fall, and are forgotten. So too with nations. Your dewdrop lives are little more than a blink to nature. Why do you carry on?”
“To fight evil like you!”
The dragon snorted. “Evil?” It continued spiraling. “Is the sun evil for boiling a lake?” The dragon's movement was slower and not constricting; less like a predator and more like a dog circling its bed. “No, you aren't questing heroes. Why carry on? If all die, then why procrastinate the inevitable?”
Canary thought she heard a hint of earnest in his voice, but his voice was perfectly even. Why did she carry on? Was it merely fear? Love? Hope? Or was her body moving on its own? It certainly felt like that at times.
Again the dragon asked, “Why carry on? You—will—die.”
Echo, spoke up, voice shaking more than his legs. “All the more reason to live!”
The dragon hummed and uncoiled, retreating back into to the cave's shadows. “Stay the night. I'll eat anything the sun licks in my cave.” The dragon pulled its wing over itself to sleep.
Canary snorted. “What do you live for, rotting here in this cave‽”
An eye glared out from the darkness for a moment before shutting again.
Canary glared back at the dragon and huffed, turning back to the terrified group of pegasi and changelings. “Flitix? Keep first watch. Swap with Cirrus for middle watch. Cirrus? Swap with me for morning watch. We'll stay the night.”
« ~ »
Sunlight streamed into the cave, striking the wall but not the floor. Canary smiled—the cave faced north—the sun couldn't strike her sleeping friends. “So you weren't planning on eating us after all…” Canary hmmed. “Why try to scare us them, scaly?” She couldn't pin it down, but something in her urged her to stay.
A yawn and footsteps behind her alerted her to her husband's arrival. “Morning.”
“You're up early.”
Echo nuzzled up into Canary. “How could I let you enjoy the sunrise on your own?”
“You do every other morning.”
Echo inspected Canary. “You're doing a great job, Canary!”
Canary rolled her eyes. She still wasn't used to the bug reading her emotions so clearly. “No I'm not. I still can't tell if it's the Heartwind or just me. I feel my heart tugging me back to the cave, but I know we have to move on. Maybe I'm just exhausted. But I just can't shake the thought from my head.”
“Then maybe it is the Heartwind!”
“I don't know! Aether made it seem so easy to distinguish, as if she heard it whispering right in her ear. For me, it feels like a whisper a mile away.”
“But I don't think you'd be telling yourself to stay, given the situation.” Echo gestured back into the cave. The changelings were buzzing in their giant sleep pile with the pegasi nearby. Further back in the cave, the golden dragon's chest gently pulsed with its breath.
Canary sighed. “I wish you'd just tell me I'm hallucinating; I'm not made for this. They treat me like a leader, but… I have no idea what I'm doing. They follow me as if they think I have everything together, but I'm just as clueless as they are! I'm just a mare—nothing special.”
“I'm sure all leaders have thought the same.”
“But most leaders are something special, like Vitus, or Libra, or Aether. They were all so calm, so collected… The scariest part of being a leader is realizing that I have no control over anything—that I'm just as impotent and clueless as everyone else.”
“But you love us.”
Canary met Echo's eyes. Even if her empathy ran cold, the love in his expression was overpowering. Her mouth hung open, the protest dead before it had even reached her throat.
“That's all that matters, Canary.” Echo nuzzled into her, pushing his head against her neck.
Canary let herself relax into Echo's carapace, enjoying the touch of his smooth, warm shell.
Echo met Canary's eyes. “Now if you feel we should go back to the cave, let's go back to the cave. If it's what you feel is right, I'll stay there until I rot, or until the dragon eats me. “
It was difficult to frown when Echo smiled like he was now. “You trust my instincts more than I do.” She nodded. “Fine. Thanks, Echo.”
Behind her, the changelings and pegasi were just starting to rise, stretching out the knots that form from sleeping on rock. Canary walked back to the cave's entrance.
“We'll be staying here for a while, everyone. Make yourselves comfortable. Maybe we can find something softer to sleep on. We'll need some food that will last, in case the Storm starts scouting nearby.”
As the pegasi and changelings dispersed, Canary grew impatient at the sleeping dragon. How could it have such an apathetic view of life? “Do you ever wake up, or do you just wallow here your entire life, hoping that food will walk into your mouth?”
The dragon's voice filled Canary's mind. “You did exactly that, with your little group here—enough food to last me almost a month.”
The hairs on the back of Canary's neck stood on end, but her annoyance persisted. “You've barely even moved since we got here—you wouldn't eat us unless we cooked ourselves and sat on a giant platter.” Canary stomped her hoof. “But you have wings! You should be flying! Why won't you rise? Why won't you fly‽”
“Why don't you fly away? Go pester some other miserable creature!”
Canary stared down at her hooves. “I can't.” She lifted her mangled wings as best she could.
The dragon lifted his head to inspect, eyes widening. “I see. That is… regrettable.”
“Yeah, well… I lost my ability to fly ages ago. The least you could do is be grateful for what you have.”
The dragon lowered his head to Canary's level—it was nearly twice her size. “What's your name, pegasus?”
“Canary. Canary Tiger.”
“I am Eon. Young Canary, there is more to flight than flying.”
Canary snorted.
“Flight, in its purest sense, is about being at one with the land of Avondale.”
“Yeah, I've heard it all before, from Aether. 'Listen to the Heartwind! It will guide you!'”
“Heartwind? A fitting name. Though it gives more than power and direction—it can inspire images, impressions, or even form sentences in your mind.”
“Yeah, well, I thought Aether was on to something, but now she's completely insane. Look at what 'listening to Avondale' did for her! Unless,” she continued, “Avondale wanted her to become a psychopathic killer.” Canary sighed. “I don't know what to believe any more.”
Eon straightened up his posture and crossed his forelegs. “While she may have heard Avondale's call before, she has long since forgotten its voice. Avondale inspires happiness, growth, freedom, and truth.”
“Yeah, Aether once said the same. Her pursuit of 'freedom and truth' is what landed us in this mess. She destroyed the changeling hive!”
Eon held silent for a moment. “Extremes are never balanced. If you assume that every thought is from the Heartwind, you fall away from the truth. Though the Heartwind will always blow when needed, we can't expect its guidance in all things. If you try to force an answer from it, you'll feel after things that don't exist. That's like flapping your wings without wind—you'll exhaust yourself.
“But you don't have that problem, Canary. Trust that more of your thoughts and emotions are truly inspired—they're not just random. Sometimes, they are your own, or sometimes they come from others, but ignoring them all is not the solution.”
Canary sighed. “It feels like random guessing. It feels ridiculous.”
“You know it isn't—you've felt its push before.”
“No. Those ideas don't come from anywhere; they're random ideas from my head.”
Eon snorted and curled back into his sleeping position. “Then that's all they'll ever be to you.”
“Hey, you can't just—”
“Canary!”
She looked behind her, towards the cave's mouth, and saw five drones displaying several buckets' worth of blueberries, carried in their wings. “Look what we found!”
Canary lifted a hoof to cover her face.
“Did we do something wrong?”
Eon's voice responded. “They'll rot before you eat half of them.”
The changelings jumped, sending a few dozen blueberries running across the cave's floor. “He's awake!”
Canary gave a wry smile. “I don't think he'll eat us today.”
“Don't try me.”
« ~ »
Canary soared through the skies, relishing the wind in her wings. The breeze was cool, and slipped by her feathers like a river running over rocks. She beamed; it had been too long! Why had it been so long?
Eon flew down from the clouds and hovered next to her. “If you think the wind is random, then that's all it will ever be to you.” The wind grew fierce, and the dragon returned to the clouds above.
Memories of Korporis assaulted her mind, and Canary gasped at a sharp pain in her back. She looked back in terror and saw her feathered wings torn in half, bones protruding, blood streaming down her side. Her eyes widened and heart rate galloped. The ground rushed towards her, opened its mouth, and swallowed her whole.
Canary gasped, suddenly upright, a cold sweat dampening her body. After some deep breaths, her heart calmed itself, and her thoughts fell in order. She glared at the sleeping dragon, who had ruined her dream. Her mind felt as echoic as the cave itself—Eon's prophecy kept repeating in her mind: “Then that's all they'll ever be to you.” Thoughts aren't trustworthy, and emotions doubly so. She couldn't quite convince herself that the thoughts that guided her through Korporis were purely from her self, yet she couldn't let herself believe that the thoughts coming to her now were from Avondale. If they were supposed to head for the Feathermore hive, then why did she feel they should stay? Each second they waited was another second the Storm had to find them.
As the thoughts grew into a growl, Canary walked up to the unmoving dragon. “And I suppose the Heartwind is telling you to sleep? Lazy lizard.” She scoffed, and kicked the dragon's side.
Before she could blink, she found herself in Eon's claws, staring down at the Ravine's river, coursing below her in the dark. For a terrifying set of heartbeats, Canary wondered if Eon would drop her, but they landed on the other side before she formulated an escape plan. Eon teetered at the Ravine's edge, gripping Canary in his foreclaws, and gave a whooping cough. Blood trickled from his mouth and spilled down the Ravine.
“I may be old,” the ancient voice said, “but I am not so feeble so as to accept abuse willingly.”
“Sorry~” Canary squeaked out, struggling to inflate her lungs.
Eon placed her on the cliff's edge next to himself. Behind them, a golden rim prophesied the rising sun; ahead of them, the sky still shone with stars.
“You're young. You have much potential.” He spoke slowly, as if discovering his words as he spoke. Eon nodded. “You will have a chance to change this world.”
“And how do you know that?”
“How do you think?”
Canary rolled her eyes. “Obviously, you don't.”
Eon looked down at Canary for a moment. “How can you know if anything is true?”
“Tell me, O sage one.”
“Think about it. How do you know I'm sitting right here, next to you?”
Canary rose an eyebrow. “I can see you, for one thing.”
“Your mind can deceive you—perhaps you're hallucinating.”
“Others can see you too!”
“Yes, but how reliable are they? How do you know that they aren't hallucinations as well?”
Canary shook her head. “Fine. I don't know anything! You got me!”
The dragon's voice grew soft. “You know that you love Echo.”
Canary was silent.
“You know that you love flying.”
“So what—only trust your heart? Never trust your body? Become a creature of pure thought?”
“Of course not; you couldn't know those things without a body! Your body gave you the opportunity to learn those things for yourself.” Eon bore his teeth in a razorblade grin. “You don't know anything in life until you feel it. So how can you know something? By how you feel about it.”
“Emotions are fallible. You can get caught up in a moment. Your eyes are far more trustworthy than your heart.”
“Your senses are equally fallible. Ultimately, you have to decide what you trust to be true, and act on it.”
“What's your point, scales?”
Eon snorted out a micro cloud of smog. “My point, feathers, is that there's no reason you can't trust your emotions as a potential source of truth. In fact, they're a better source of truth than your other senses. So trust them! You're so worried about whether it's Avondale or yourself that you forget that both are valid sources of truth. Trust yourself and move on.”
Canary kept her eyes glued down and kicked a rock off the edge of the cliff, watching its tumbling descent down the cliff. “But—”
“Think before you speak, pegasus. You have no rebuttal. You little fliers spend so much of your time listening for the wind, trusting it will come. This is the core of apotheosis: to hear Avondale's will and obey.”
Shifting her vision upwards, Canary counted the stars appearing. “I once believed in the Heartwind. But ever since Korporis, it's been difficult for me to believe. It's as if a part of my soul is still in chains there, deep in the dark.”
Eon pointed his nose towards the stars above. They were just winking out of existence, now that the sun was threatening to rise. “Tell me, pegasus. Are there stars in the sky? Do you know?”
“Of course, Eon.”
“Did you know yesterday, when the sun was at its apex?”
“Of course.”
“But you couldn't see them. Perhaps you were fooling yourself, over-valuing your past memories.”
Canary pointed upwards, at the last remaining pinpricks of light. “Obviously, there are stars.”
“But in a moment, they will all be invisible, upstaged by the sun. How will you know then? Perhaps, you're deceiving yourself; You just want to believe, so you trick yourself into believing.”
Right on cue, the sun cracked over the horizon, vanishing the nighttime stars. “I saw them before; I saw them every night for years. Of course they're still there!”
Eon nodded. “Because you once knew with surety, you can still know with surety today. The Heartwind once guided you; it will guide you again, as it has been. Even if you can't feel of a surety today, you can cast your mind back to those moments when you were sure. If you truly knew, then it's still true. Truth is eternal, so time is irrelevant.”
Canary looked at the golden dragon. He was staring intently at the far side of the ravine. In direct sunlight, his scales reflected patterns of light on the ground all around him. The golden diamonds hinted at other colors, though Canary couldn't quite distinguish them from the yellow light. It felt to her as if a weight had lifted from her chest, like taking off a pack you'd forgotten was on your back.
She mirrored his searching gaze, scanning the opposite cliff. “What are you looking for?”
Eon let out a long breath. “I've been looking for a reason to stay alive, to keep going day to day.” The corner of his lip curled upwards as he shifted his attention towards Canary. “And thanks to you, I've finally found one.”
A shimmer of light over the forest caught Canary's attention—a cloud of wings hurtled their way, gleaming with metal.
As the Lightbringers soared down the Ravine, Eon carried Canary across, skidding to a halt within the cave. Canary hopped off and roared, “Everyone out! The Lightbringers are coming!”
Just as the first changelings reached the cave’s mouth, a score of pegasi slammed down, blocking their exit. Cloudchaser stepped to the front. “Friends! Listen! This is the true Canary—not a changeling! Stop this madness!”
All but one of the pegasi on the ledge hesitated. “They’ve taken Cloudchaser as well! These changelings have taken everything from us!” The other Lightbringers regained their composure and advanced in a line on the cave’s inhabitants.
Canary looked for Eon, but he was out of sight. The makeshift hive of changelings and friendly pegasi retreated deeper into the cave. In her mind, Canary envisioned a frontal assault resulting in heavy casualties but eventual escape. Though she nearly called for the changelings to turn into beasts, she felt a breeze on her heart, pushing her back. As the first changelings hit the back of the cave, Canary felt a powerful breeze to her left. The approaching Lightbringers were barely a stone’s throw away. Signalling her intentions to Echo (who stood at the back of the crowd), the two herded at once, sliding the hive along the left side of the cave, while the Lightbringers ran towards them on their right.
Canary’s heart soared along the wind she’d followed, but her mind rebelled: it calculated the dash would give too small a lead, yielding higher casualties than the frontal assault she’d envisioned. Still, she kept on running, urging her hive along with her.
Sʟᴀᴍ! Eon dropped from the ceiling, landing between the two groups. Canary beamed, and the first hivelings broke out of the cave.
“Into the Ravine!” Canary called, though she didn’t know why it had come to mind. Echo led the rest of the hivelings out of the cave and down the ravine, keeping a backwards watch on Canary.
Fire filled the cave as Eon fought the Lightbringers. As the final hiveling left the cave, Canary called out for Eon to follow. The Lightbringers swarmed around Eon like flies around an elephant. Their movements were erratic, yet Canary knew them well. She and Aether had drilled the tactic before their imprisonment: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The Lightbringers threw hundreds of small cuts into Eon’s scales, causing him to slowly bleed. Though three pegasi lay dead, Eon’s wings were in shreds, and his movements slowed with each swipe. Go!
The thought, in Eon’s voice, filled her mind. Canary bit her lip, then nodded, chasing after the hive below her. As they reached the Ravine’s floor, Canary felt a rip in her heart: the same death-horror she’d felt when her parents had died. In her heart, she knew Eon had passed on.
Canary and Echo led the makeshift hive along the Ravine’s river. The sun shone down the Ravine’s western wall but kept the floor in shadow. Though they dodged between trees as they galloped south, Canary kept one eye on the skies at all times. Considering the hundreds of Lightbringers Canary knew were patrolling the area, their chance of running into a patrol was near unescapable. Still, Korporis too had been considered inescapable. Canary tried to listen to her heart, but she felt no directions. If I ever needed the Heartwind, it would be now!
Wings sounded behind her, and Canary saw a flock of Lightbringers on their tail. “Faster!” Their gallop outpaced the river’s flow, but Canary knew they’d never outrun the descending pegasi.
The trees around them thinned, then broke into a clearing—a small lake with a sandbar at its center. Across the lake, shadows stirred under the foliage. Canary broke her gallop on the lake’s edge just as a score of Lightbringers broke the treeline. Behind them, their pursuers cut off retreat. A stormy-blue mare stepped out from across the lake, her white-streaked mane blowing back with the wind. Her wings were nothing but nubs at this point, without a single feather on them.
“Aether!”
Her once friend had steeled eyes. “Changeling: You must pay for the murder of Canary Tiger.” Battleclaws locked down into place, and red fiery wings sprouted from her back, in a sort of hellfire.
“Please~”
Aether’s wings flared up, then swept back in a powerful gust, propelling her forwards. She galloped forward, not pausing at the water’s edge, running across it like solid ground, sustained by her wings.
As Aether approached, Canary wondered if it would even be worth attempting to sidestep the charge—Aether had always outmaneuvered her before. When Aether was halfway across the lake, a wind pushed on her heart that she hadn’t felt for ages: the call to fly. It felt like her heart was trying to jump up and out of her, it pounded so fiercely. But this is impossible! My wings are gone! The prompting came again, to flap her wings. Canary took a deep breath, jumped, and thrust her mangled wings down.
A burst of gold flared behind her, and Canary soared into the sky. On her back, empyreal wings shone, responding to her every intention. Instinctively, Canary did a loop, enjoying the wind she hadn’t felt for months. Below, Aether’s eyes were livid. “Mimicking the Heartwind‽ How dare you!” She launched herself off a tree and into the air, flapping her hellfire wings.
What were these golden wings on her back? Where had they come from? Eon’s voice echoed in her mind: This was apotheosis, where her will fully aligned with Avondale’s. This was just what Aether looked like when she first started flying, golden and glimmering. What Canary would have given to have her friend back! Though she was back in body, she was lost, mentally.
Canary felt no pain—only the adrenaline of flight! She soared higher. Her wings felt warm and her body light, as if solar winds sustained her, rather than mere earthly winds. With effort, Aether climbed to her height and swiped at Canary with her blades. Canary dodged Aether’s attacks with ease—her movements seemed sluggish and predictable. “Please, listen to me, Aether! Why do you choose to be blind‽”
Aether renewed her assault, punctuating her phrases with slices from her battleclaws. “I know your kind. I know your lies. I know the truth!” A fire burned in her friend’s eyes, giving them a glazed appearance. Each time Canary dodged a blow, Aether’s eyes burned fiercer, and her attacks grew more frenzied.
Canary felt the wind on her heart shift directions. Punch her? I don’t want to do that. There must be some other way! Still, the feeling persisted. Aether drew her arm back for a thrust, and Canary saw her opening. Now! She punched forwards, slamming her hoof into Aether’s chest.
The fire extinguished from her friend’s eyes; the glaze melted away. Canary’s hoof glowed gold, and as she pulled it back from Aether’s chest, empyreal battleclaws matching Aether’s came out, leaving behind two crimson marks. Wide-eyed, Canary looked into her friend’s face and saw the flaming wings crumble to ash behind her. Aether fell.
“No!” Canary dove, flapping like mad to catch up with Aether. Pulling her into a tight embrace, Canary struggled to lift them both, but her wings felt like they weren’t catching air. Aether’s eyes gazed into her own as they spiraled to the ground. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Canary bit back tears, and Aether gave a sad smile. She coughed up blood, then whispered, “I’m sorry~”
Canary touched down on the sandbar in the middle of the lake and gently laid Aether on the ground. She wasn’t breathing. Putting her ear to Aether’s chest, Canary heard nothing. Covered in the blood of her own friend, she wailed to the sky.
The pegasi of the Lightbringers watched in hushed whisper, seeing Canary’s locked embrace over her fallen friend. “See how she loved her‽” “It must be the true Canary!” “Who else could it be?” The shock gave way to crying, as the Lightbringers realized their damned state—not only had they lost their leader, they had persecuted and tried to kill their own friend.
As the changelings turned blue from soaking up the sadness, the hiveling pegasi flew over to console Canary. Cloudchaser turned to the Lightbringers and shouted: “You must now know the truth—this is truly your leader, the same Canary that spurred us to fly in the first place. Canary is still your rightful leader, and you ought to hear her commands! Save your tears for later,” she added, gaze skyward, “there’s a greater fight awaiting!”
Others looked up and saw the flurry of dark wings above them. Leatherwings swarmed high above them in the air over the Ravine. Dozens of faces peered out over the edge of the Ravine, watching the crowds below.
A lone emissary glided down, carrying only a scroll. The leatherwing hovered a good distance above the crowd of pegasi and changelings, eyeing them warily as he unrolled the scroll. “Pegasi of the so-called ‘Lightbringers’, thus says Lord NightWing: Your little antics have gone on for long enough. Surrender your leader or face extinction. She must present herself for trial at Feathermore center square by dawn. The Cloud will not be slowed by the aspirations of the flightless.” After dropping the scroll above Canary, the emissary darted back up to the top of the ravine, keeping an eye out behind them.
Canary eyed the leatherwing emissary as it flew away, its sharp wings silhouetted against the sky.
Echo grabbed the scroll and skimmed it quickly. “You know what this is, Canary: It’s not a summons, it’s—”
“—a death warrant, I know.” Her chest tightened, and black played at the edges of her vision. The glowing wings at her side had faded, leaving only mangled nubs at her sides.
Echo fluttered to her side. “Canary, no one expects you to go with them. We’ll escape somehow, like we always have!”
Conversations sprung up between the Storm pegasi and the changelings, growing to a dull roar. Their emotions crashed down on her like a tsunami—fear, worry, love—their intensity suffocated her. Any encouragement or hope she had wanted to give stuck in her throat, locked down by her deepening frown. As the group assaulted her with ideas, Canary’s heart rate peaked.
Without an explanation, Canary bolted from the growing crowd and paced along the Ravine’s wall. Is escape even possible? Canary looked up at the bats lining the canyon’s ridge, two dozen eyes locked on her every footfall. I should just surrender. Canary shook her head, brushing aside the thought. What do we have to work with? Perhaps the changelings could burrow their way out? Make a tunnel to escape? Again, the dancing shadows reminded her of the leatherwings’ hawkish watch. She bit her lip. Any large movement would draw suspicion and give the leatherwings a reason to attack.
Surrender yourself. “There must be a way!” She envisioned herself heading towards Feathermore, drawing attention, allowing the others to escape. Her vision continued, and she saw the bats descending onto her group, killing many, while only a few survived. While her imagined self walked into town, changelings followed her, helping her escape. But they still moved sluggishly, exhausted from days on end chasing each other. The rag-tag rescue group was soon silenced by hoards of guards. Even imagining the changelings turned into dragons (though Echo was the only one to have done this) ended with many murdered.
Surrender yourself. Canary halted in her place. “Why‽” A glimmer from above revealed the multitude of blades waiting above her, hungry for flesh. Scenes of them tearing through her hivelings rended her heart. “Isn’t there a way to avoid a massacre?” Her heart sank in response. “There must be some way!” After the same feeling crossed her heart, she sighed. “You haven’t steered me wrong yet. So what should I do?” Surr— “Yes, I know: Surrender myself. But... I don’t think I can. Can you help me?”
No answer came.
“Please, can’t you give me the energy, or resolve to do this thing?”
The silence in her heart continued.
Canary collapsed to the ground, exhausted, both mentally and physically. “Please~”
Canary stood on an impossibly high cloud, looking over the land of Avondale. Somehow, she saw everything at once: Her two-story home back in Woodburn, the pockmarked rocks of the Hive, the deer city of Solarium, to the skyscrapers of Feathermore. She even saw cities she’d only heard of: The cities of Castor and Pollux, the leatherwing city she guessed was Nox, and the string of shipping cities along Avondale’s western coast.
Beautiful, isn’t it? Eon sat to her right, his golden scales now beaming with light.
“Eon? What are you doing here?”
The dragon bore his teeth in his half smile, half snarl. “Preparing you to die.”
Canary blinked. “There must be a way out of this!” From the higher ground, Canary inspected the Ravine’s turns, nooks, and crannies.
“Of course, there are many ways out. You can even escape the Ravine with no immediate casualties.”
Canary saw before her the possibilities unfold: In one scenario, the changelings turn into moles, and in a hidden corner of the Ravine cut through the sandstone, escaping into the forest above. The escape leaves the changelings damaged and the Cloud furious. The rest of their days are spent running from Cloud guards, losing their makeshift hive members with every encounter.
“But widen your vision! What happens a decade from now? A century from now? A millennium from now? If you leave now, the Lightbringers become nothing more than a passing legend, soon forgotten. If you give yourself up...”
Canary saw the guillotine fall and the celebration of those clustered around her in Feathermore’s center square. But in the corners of the crowd, some gazes avert, and others’ hearts take courage. For a blink, she even saw Iris shed a tear. Her friends in the Ravine escape, as the Cloud thinks they’ve won. Their story spreads faster than in any of the possibilities where she had escaped, and around all of Avondale, creatures of all species flock to their throng. Hundreds, then thousands learn flight, discovering their true natures.
“But do I really have to die?”
Eon leveled his golden eyes with Canary’s. “Avondale doesn’t force actions. But what do you feel?”
A strong gust of wind awoke her.
“Canary?” Echo’s voice reflected his worry. His voice came from above her, but she didn’t have the will to speak. “Are you okay?”
After a moment’s pause, she felt him curl around her, pressing his buzzing chest against her back. “You know that none of us will let them take you. Now that the Storm has joined us, we have enough to maybe make it out of here. We’re all prepared to fight to the death for you. We’ve come up with a plan. The walls of the Rift are stone, but if we just—”
“That’s exactly the problem!”
“Sorry?”
Canary broke from Echo’s embrace, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Pointlessly so, as new ones quickly filled their place. “Fighting to the death—there’s no way out of here without losing you! I can’t let any more die on my account. If I had just stayed in Feathermore, kept my wing cover on, and stayed silent, my friends would all be alive! Libra would still be your queen, Eon would be happily sleeping, and—”
“—and we would all be worse off. Listen, Canary: Do you really think death is the worst thing possible? Remember what the Storm stood for! The way you talked to me about flight, I can’t believe you’d be happier at home! Life isn’t about staying in the cradle—it’s about growth! That’s what the deer said, anyway. And more importantly, I would have never met you. Do you really think that I’d be better off? A slave of the leatherwings? A torturer? A prison guard? Can you really say that I’d be better off without you? Can you be so heartless‽”
Though responses came to mind, Canary found it difficult to breathe.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Canary, I didn’t mean to depress you. I just can’t bear for you to put yourself down, to miss the good you’ve done for me—for us—for all of us!” After a quick lookover, he slipped Canary onto his back. “Come on, I have something to show you.”
Echo brought Canary over to a large crowd—Canary’s ‘hive’, and sat her before them.
“The bats want Canary! What do you all say?”
With a flash of green fire, Canary faced a copy of herself. She couldn’t help but notice how her shape had changed since Woodburn. Though she was bruised and covered with scratches, her eyes were fierce and warm. Echo’s version of her looked far more composed than she herself felt. “No, Echo, you can’t—”
Hyacinth joined his side, transforming into the triple. “Let me take your place!”
“You can’t die in my stead—you’re just as important as I am!”
The changelings before her transformed, one by one, into echoes of her self. “I am Canary!” came their yells.
As their yells died down, Canary heard her own voice yell above them all. “No one dies but I!”
The clamor silenced for two heartbeats before roaring twice as loud. Changelings and pegasi alike clustered to her, listing a thousand reasons why she shouldn’t go. “We need you!” “It’s pointless!” “Don’t go!” Canary couldn’t keep from tearing up at their emotional distress.
Echo locked eyes with Canary. “We can’t let you die with us doing nothing! We’ll fight to the last creature standing! We’ll—”
“—fight to the death?” Canary stood tall, raising her voice. “And what good would that do‽” The crowd silenced. “The leatherwings won’t rest until they spill my blood. If they find any deception, they’d take it as a declaration of war, and hunt you all to the last head. It would be a massacre. I can’t let anyone else die because of me! If I forfeit myself, you at least have a chance to live. I’ve always been willing to fight for you; but now, you must let me die for you.”
Tears formed in Echo’s eyes as he embraced Canary. The rest of the flyers drew near to her, herding together in a massive embrace. The changelings’ shells shifted colors from a teary blue to an impassioned red. We’ll never forget you, their minds asserted.
Canary stood at the Ravine’s edge, waiting for the sun to rise. Her heart beat like mad—she couldn’t believe she was doing this, but it just felt right. She felt torn apart, with her heart urging her forward, dragging her mind behind.
Red crested over the horizon, lighting Canary’s face. My last sunrise~ Echo stood at her side, wiping away tears. Wincing, Canary opened her wings. Red warmth infused itself through her feathers into her broken wings, bringing a smile to her lips. What I’d give to fly, just one last time. Canary smiled at Echo, tears running down her face. “Thank you for being at my side, Echo.”
Echo buried his face deep into her mane, body shaking from agony. “Oh Canary~ I love you!”
She held her husband close, feeling his pulse—even faster than her own. “I love you too~”
“I’ll stay by you every step of the way.”
Increasingly tall buildings passed behind her as she headed for Feathermore town center. The buildings looked somewhat like a termite’s nest: tall and thin, pockmarked with caves, looking somewhat like the Hive. A strong wind rushed from behind her, and the hundreds of homes resonated with the caves, creating a dissonant symphony. In her heart and in her wings, she felt the wind pushing her on.
Canary focused on her steps, putting her entire mind’s will towards putting one hoof in front of the other. She had braced herself for the bats’ ridicule, but she hadn’t expected the pegasi to yell louder. They all sported wing covers—she’d all but forgotten their existence—and spat, jeered, and ridiculed her from the roadside.
“You fool! Pegasi could never fly!”
Do they not know? Has the Cloud blinded them so? Even after all our efforts?
“This is what you get for trusting the wind!”
One foot in front of the other. Step. Step. Step. Step.
Canary looked into the crowd. Beyond the screams of those closest to her, most didn’t take glee in her pain. Some bowed their heads as she passed. The leatherwings watching from their caves above made no noise but wore looks ranging from fear to confusion to wonder. Are they so scared of me? Images of her fight with Aether flashed through her mind. As she remembered the feeling of the empyreal claws sinking into Aether’s flesh, a shiver ran up her spine. Was that really the right thing to do?
Cloud guards appeared above her in the air, escorting her towards the courthouse. Her mind worked faster and faster to stop her heart. If I dash down that alley and hide in a shop, then I could call for Echo. If he turns into a dragon, we could maybe escape! We could still live on together!
The guards commanded her into the courtroom.
Wouldn’t the hive be better off with you at their head? Echo needs you! Surely you’d be more help alive than dead!
The trial was short and one-sided; they never called on her to testify. The courtroom was only half as vicious as the crowd.
Why not escape?
As a flock of guards above and behind her pushed her towards the guillotine at Feathermore center, each passing alleyway seemed more enticing than the last. She saw herself break through the crowd, escape the guards, and run back to Echo. Her heart pounded in her chest.
Then, a yellow canary perched on a building’s corner in front of her. Her heart stopped. That’s him.
Rather than the usual rapid-fire song she knew canaries to sing, its song took on solemn, slow tones, in a song Canary swore she’d heard before. The song was mournful, but not quite sad—a song of good times past.
I told you not to turn into me, Echo. Canary tried to smile, though she only managed to grimace. How can I still doubt, after seeing all the evidence? I know this is—I feel this is right. And that’s enough.
After a deep breath, Canary took another step.
And another.
A crow fluttered above her, lighting on the cave up to her right. As the canary’s song continued, the crow joined in. Its harsh voice somehow blended with the canary’s in harmony, turning the song more hopeful. More and more crows flocked from above, joining the song. The Cloud guards looked on warily, and some broke formation to shoo them away.
The guillotine came into view just as the song swelled.
A guard behind her hit the blunt of his spear on her back, yelling for her to continue. She hadn’t realized that her legs had stopped working. The guard hit her again, harder.
Then the canary flew in front of her, spreading its wings in the rising sunlight above her. The sunlight hadn’t reached the ground yet, but from the canary’s height, it lit the canary’s wings with an empyreal glow.
Canary stepped forwards.
And again.
Though ponies and bats alike shouted at her from the sides, she still felt the Heartwind pushing her on, towards city centre. I've felt it a million times, do I really need to keep checking? She couldn't shake the constant push, urging her towards the bats. But what if the winds change? The answer came quick in response. If they do, I'll feel it.
The city centre of Feathermore could have swallowed Woodburn whole. The guillotine stood almost as tall as the nearby buildings—unlike before, the bats wanted a show. The bats marched her onto the stage.
Over the last year, she had braced herself for a hundred deaths: killed by the Cloud, drained by changelings, eaten in the forest, sabotaged by the Storm—the guillotine seemed such a sudden death in comparison.
Canary rested her head in the lower lunette, somehow feeling the weight of the blade poised above her. Every fiber of her being shook, fighting against her submission. The canary flew in front of her and perched on the clockmaker’s shop to her east, tears running down its beak. Without a doubt, Canary knew it was him. She locked her gaze.
The executioner read her crimes off a sheet of parchment: heresy, treason, murder, but she heard none of it. Though the guillotine’s lunettes trapped her neck, her mind flew free. The Storm would be safe. Her death would save thousands, if they followed the Heartwind.
The sun crested over the clockmaker’s building and warmed her entire body. A burst of gold told her that the empyreal wings once again shone at her side.
