Legends of Equestria: Night's Calling, 1

Just as soon as I realized of their aggressiveness, one had landed right in front of me, creating a somewhat-large crater.  It hissed vigorously, startling me.  I didn't know what else to do.  I jump on its head and ran.  It seemed to work, I looked behind me to check if it was on my tail, as I ran blindly in a random direction.  All I could see in my path were my team and the other team being... encased in this slimy ball of green goo and being carried off.

I did not want to share the same fate, so I ran, and looked up, there I saw the dugout, my team's dugout.  Through the dugout is the way out of the stadium.  Sprinting at full speed, I jumped into the trench and closed the fence gate, and pushed the lock over the gate's pole.  I may have hoped for too much in doing this, they may have just as easily broke it down as it is to walk in unobstructed.  Nevertheless, I entered the locker rooms behind the dugout.

It was quieter in here, almost tranquil.  Those creatures wouldn't think to check in here.  The thought was laughable, if I could even fathom what was happening.  Perhaps I should wait it out in here before venturing into the open

Even if the insides of this place were quiet, I could still hear the commotion outside with my sensitive ears.

"All those ponies... trapped, with nopony to help them..."  I said to myself.

The thought of heroicly rushing out to save the ponies passed through my head, once again, I laughed at the thought.  What a fool am I...

I sat on the cold tile floor, it seemed like hours since something has happened.  The faint sound of thunder could be heard in the small room.  A storm is brewing...  Maybe... maybe I can get somewhere in the rain.  I doubt they could fly in this weather.  I rose from the floor and came up to the door to get out to the back way parking.  I pushed the bar on the door, it wouldn't budge.  Locked... damnit.  The keys must be inside the coach's office

Usually the coach never allows us in his office unless he calls for us, but... I think he'd make an exception... just this once.  The metal door creaked loudly as I opened it, even if it was my team's stadium, we didn't practice here.  Which means these rooms aren't really used a lot.  Thinking about that, it makes me question why we even have them...

I entered the office and turned on the lights to make things clearer.  Apparently the coach liked this office, it's decorated with some vintage furniture and the walls are plastered with posters of some of the most famous major league teams.  The door closed itself, cause there was an automatic hinge above which slowly creaked it shut.

There was a desk in the corner, a lamp was dimly lit over a framed picture showing the coach and the team.  I held it in my hoof while looking it over.  The picture... saddened me.  It made me think of all the things we could have done as a team.

We weren't just a team, we were like a family, in its own rite.  Every night after a game, we'd always treat ourselves to a hot pizza at our local pizzeria.  Even if we lost, we always lifted our spirits with that visit, telling ourselves:  "Even if we lose a match, we're not out of the game.".  Those were the coach's words.  It seemed to work every time, because we came out of that place smiling and laughing.

I've noticed that a tear shed upon the picture.  I was about to wipe it off, but just then a thunder had cracked, and there was the sound of a door being forced open.  I gasped and hid under the desk.  There was a window above where I hid, I slowly rose and peaked into the locker room.  There were two of those things in here!  I quickly ducked down again before they could see me.

They were walked around the room, as if patrolling and looking for something.  They hissed to each other something I couldn't understand as they were moving.  One of them was getting closer.  I could hear its hoofsteps getting closer to the door...

It stopped...

It hissed something in the other direction, most likely to its cohort.

My heart was pounding miles a minute... are they going to come in here?

The creature hissed again, and this time I could make out something it said:  "Sssssomething's in here".

!!  Shit!  They've found me!

I froze as I watched and waited for the door to open.

Suddenly there was a lightning strike very close by, and it knocked out the power, killing the lights in the stadium.  The creature outside hissed something, I couldn't make out anything.  Then the door opened.  I tried my best to steady my breathing, and I kept perfectly still.  The thing walked by the desk and paused inches away.  Then there was a sound of creaking, like a door opening, but not the office door.  Probably the steel locker in the back, near the desk I was under.

The thing hissed another thing, but in a more surprised tone, when suddenly it fell backwards!  Hold on, no, it was tackled by something!?  A pony?  It was violently fighting with the creature.  While the creature was pinned, it kept spastically hissing and jeering as it was flailing its forelegs at the pony.  The pony pinning the creature, after ferociously beating it to the ground, raised its head up high.  There was a small illumination in the room, and then a bright flash of light.  Everything happened so fast...

The sudden flash blinded me, I couldn't see a thing, and my ears were ringing.

I thought it was over... everything.  Everything was white, was I... dead?

I started hearing a voice above the ringing.  A calming voice...

"Are you alright?..."

The whiteness was fading, and my sight started coming back.  A pony was holding its hoof out to me.  I was looking at the pony, I judged It was male from the voice.  I looked him over for a moment before taking his outreached hoof.  The stallion was a bigger than me, but not by a lot.  He was dark in colors, and was wearing a cloak with a hood.  There was also a blindfold over his eyes...  How does he see me then?

I was still in shock, but I managed to say, "W-who are you?"

He breathed out for a moment, and looked away, then replied,  "Right now that's not important...  I'm more focused on what YOU are doing here."

I was about to answer until he interrupted, "Nevermind, I already know, you're hiding from... them..." he said, and pointed at the two black creatures on the ground.  "Disgusting bugs..."  He sneered.

"Just... what exactly are they?"  I say

"...Changelings...-"

"Changelings?"

"Yes!  Don't interrupt me." he barked

"Okay... sheesh..." I said, and he made a motion as if he was rolling his eyes.

"Changelings...  They are a strange lot." he continued, says the one who won't even tell me his name, "They're able to shapeshift into somepony you know, and what they do is feed off your love for that pony."

"Feeding off of love?"

"Yes, as I said, they're a strange lot.  Love is a powerful emotion, and I'll tell you this much, I'm a... -a researcher, of sorts.  And I'm studying how these creatures work, and why they feed off of love."

"Well then, why were you hiding in the steel closet?" I say, he paused for a moment, as if he was thinking of something...

"I-I was... in there from the start...  Hiding as well." he replied, stuttering and pausing as he said it.  If I know suspicious, then this pony is definitely hiding something, if not everything about him.

"Hey, you're a unicorn."  I say, seeing his horn.

"...Yeah..." he replies and moves like he's looking away.  I observe his horn more closely, and see there's actually something wrong with it.  It's twisted in a fashion as if it were in a lightning shape, and longer with a sharper tip.

"What the- what is-?!" he put his hoof over my mouth.

"It's best we just don't talk about it, in fact, it's best we don't pry into who, or what I am." he says, and removes his hoof. "We have to just get going, besides, it's a good idea to move while this.......... rain... is showering..."

"...You paused when you said 'rain'..."

"...Perceptive, aren't you?  Fine, but it's best if you see for yourself.  Follow me." he waved his hoof and I followed him through the locker room and to the back door.  "This isn't regular rain, My Little Bat Pony." he said, and opened the door with magic.

Through it, there was a sight to behold.  The rain was pouring down, creating a dense fog, but, it wasn't natural rain.  It was some kind of greening "fire" of sorts., and when a drop touched the ground it hissed and released a cloud of green smoke, thus accumulating to such density.

The pony placed one of his forlegs around my back, making me jump.  "Don't worry, it won't harm you, this rain is a type of magic of the changelings.  They make clouds, and send them over their territory to "claim" it as their own.  It burns the grass and chars the land, but it can't hurt living, sentient things."

"Why not?"  I reply

"Because, if it were to harm, or kill ponies, there would be less power to be gained for them.  Do you get it?" he explains

"I guess... for them."

"We've got this dense fog as cover, we won't be able to fly because it will be too wet, even if it looks like fire."

"You just said 'we', do you mean that-"

He grabbed me by the hoof interrupting me and said "Let's go!"

The pony dragged me along as we ran through the rain, he was surprisingly fast for his size.  "Where are we going?!" I yell over the sound of rain, only to get some of its foul "firewater" in my mouth.

"Try not to open your mouth while looking up!  This rain is still different from regular weather!  Especially the taste!" he replies back, "Also!  Somewhere safe!  Trust me!" It was the first time he said that, and the first time I actually gave the thought of trust.

I yank my hoof free of his grasp and come to a stop, soon after the strange pony does too.  "And why should I trust you?"

"Why did you come along in the first place?"  he replies

"Because I didn't have a choice!  You reached out your hoof when I didn't know what to do!  But now that I think about it, you're hiding a lot of things from me!  So I'll ask again, why should I trust you?"

...

The pony just calmly walks back towards me, he takes off his blindfold, slowly opening his eyes and looking at me, revealing very thin irises, and with an equally calm voice, says, "Do you have any choice now?"