The climb to the surface was harder than he was expecting, and especially hard on both Lamia and Chakora. Lamia being smaller was having a harder time climbing and Chakora was alternating between flying and being carried as her limited mobility allowed little else. They had first started talking excitedly, then more sparingly, and then not all as they grew tired from the exertion. He was thinking that Mali had seriously under-reported the difficulty and length of the climb, when she turned to face them suddenly.

“Quiet!” she hissed. “We’re close to the exit. Step quietly and don’t make a sound.”

They all complied, walking carefully as the ground flattened out and the faint glow of twilight could be seen around the last corner of the cave. Mali stopped just short of it and turned to them again. “I’ll be waiting here for you. You must have no disguise when you round the corner or I’ll be as likely to leave you as anything. Chrysalis gives you one day. In this case, one night and one day. I will leave when the moon rises tomorrow.” She stomped her hoof to accentuate the point.

He walked past her, and said, “Thank you Mali. We’ll be back on time.”

Mali looked at him, and broke her rigid posture. “Be careful, Father.” She smiled for the briefest of moments and locked herself back to her firm stance.

He smiled as rough wood covered himself. “Everyone,” he whispered, “Match my form and fall in behind me. “It's later than I anticipated, and we need to move quick and quiet. Darkness is our friend.”

As the pack of timberwolves made their way out of the cave and into the dense jungle, Mara stopped for a moment to look at the moon in awe. She realized that the descriptions in books were grossly inadequate to describe something as simple as the moon, and turned to follow her sisters as she wondered what else might be missing from the information she thought she knew so well.

Their pack leader wound through the forest without so much as a misstep or a broken twig. His eyes and nose filled themselves with the familiarity of the forest. And though he could not remember ever being here before, it felt to him the most natural thing in the world after spending so many years in that damned underground prison.

He glanced back and counted quickly. They were all following, with Roddi bringing up the rear, pushing a stumbling timberwolf that he assumed was Chakora. He whistled to her, urging them both to pick up the pace.

They moved through the forest faster than he had anticipated given the exertion of the climb. The fresh air was apparently doing them some good as they soon came to the farthest edge of it the forest. He motioned for everyone to come in tight. “Okay,” he whispered. “A few things. Who remembers the way back?”

All eyes widened at the question. He laughed quietly. “Heh! You didn’t pay attention at all, did you? I marked trees as I went by. I’ll get us back there. For now, lets make a quick plan.” Turning, he said, “Fext? Find us a heading by sensing the emotions of our target.”

Fext sat a little distance away from them, sniffing the air and turning in circles as she honed in on the distant farming equines.

“Okay,” he continued quietly, “Now who wants to offer an opinion on how all eight of us should disguise ourselves to get close to the farm without raising too much suspicion?”

Mara poked her head forward. “I don’t see why a pack of timberwolves won’t work.”

He raised his paw. “Quiet! Farm ponies typically keep dogs. They’ll sense us before we even get close and raise the alarm. So, who else has an idea?”

Before anyone else could answer, Fext came up behind them. “Father,” she said, “I’ve got a heading.”

He nodded. “Good, Fext. How would you approach?”

Fext blinked several times as if it was the stupidest question she’d ever heard. “From the air,” she replied flatly. “Get a view of the area, buildings, find a place to land and hide.”

“Good,” he prodded, “But what form will you be taking?”

Fext shook herself and let her timberwolf coat fall away. She scooped it up and very quickly stuffed it in her mouth. Finishing, she licked her lips. “I’d go as a bat pony. Anyone who even catches a glimpse will probably think they were dreaming.”

He smiled at her ingenuity. “I like that idea. Everyone, follow Fext’s lead and shed, consume, then change to bat pony. Grey and dark blue colors only. Wings can be black.” He followed suit as well, and flapped his leathery wings tentatively. “Ooh, haven’t done this one in a while. Feels weird.”

He shook himself to get the coat to fit more comfortably, mostly out of force of habit. Looking around, all of his daughters and Roddi had taken similar forms, almost too similar as he could not tell them apart, especially in the darkness. Reasoning that it didn’t matter, he motioned for them to get airborne, and as they one by one flew above him, he scanned the area one last time and joined them in the sky.

“Higher,” he hissed, “We need to look like we belong here.” He led them upwards, and out away from the edge of the forest. The cool air and fresh breeze would have in any other situation been of great comfort to him, but right now he was too focused on keeping everyone in line to enjoy it.

They soared over the sky, flitting between clouds on a swift but silent approach to their target. Below, the fields passed silently, with gentle waves from the breeze causing the leaves of the plants to bend and flow in unison, much like waves upon the ocean.

He looked left and right, noting that there was no light in any direction. No major town or settlement, this was the furthest back country of the northern empire. He smiled, and looked back. Speaking directly at his company so that the wind would carry the words to them, he said, “We are close. We'll make two turns around and head directly back towards the forest.”

They nodded, and followed him as the barn came into sight. It was rather large, but given the size of the fields the capacity was definitely needed. Nearby, several small sheds held the various farming equipment and across from those sat the multi-level farmhouse. Lights were out and he spied at the ground, looking for wandering animals.

Seeing none, he lowered his right shoulder as he banked around the far edge of the main area, coming back for another pass. He again glanced back and was pleased to see everyone looking down, or around the farm. He slowed his flight speed as he came around the farmhouse again, and glanced inside as he flew past. No lights were on inside either, and no doghouse outside. He tilted to his left, shifting their flight path around the far side of the silent barn. The doors were closed tight and no movement could be seen below.

Turning away from the barn and back to the fields, he led them a few fields away, but not quite all the way back to the forest. Landing in a small patch of grass in what appeared to be an old field, he waited until they all settled next to him.

“So,” he asked, “What did we notice?”

Mara, who had moved to the front of the pack during flight, spoke first. “Its dark. No movement, no dogs.”

“What if the dogs are inside?” he queried her.

“Doesn’t seem all that important,” she responded, “Seeing as how we’re not going inside.”

“Oh?” he looked puzzled. “Then how are you going to get love off of them?”

Fext moved up alongside Mara to ask, “Can’t we just stay outside and feed off their sleeping emotions? Why would we want to go inside?”

“Well you’re assuming that they’re going to be having loving dreams. Or dreams at all. Let me tell you, most equine dreams are not so nice. Their fears and emotions come forth at night, if they dream of anything at all. So I tell you what; we’ll camp outside for a bit and see what we see, hmm? Break into teams, we’ll locate all five family members and try to get what we can from them.”

They nodded, some more tentatively than others, as he took off again. Although he noticed some hesitation among them, they followed regardless. He smiled, feeling good in the knowledge that they were following orders quite well. He led them in a low arc up to the moonlit sky and back down towards the house. He scanned around again, but still seeing nothing he pointed to have the group split off to cover all sides of the house.

The girls split into groups of two: Mara and Kishi; Fext and Lamia; Acheri and Chakora. He and Roddi stayed together near the back of the house. Under the pale moonlight, they went from window to window, peering inside.

Mara and Kishi had started downstairs, and the window they first looked through appeared to be the family room. The wooden floors were polished, but not from wear. This was quite obviously the social area for the house, reserved for visiting guests and family. Pictures adorned the walls of family generations, and various knick knacks sat on shelves. The seating in the room looked near pristine, if a little faded.

Seeing nothing, they moved around the side of the house, below where Fext and Lamia had taken up a hovering position above them. Fext whistled softly at them to get Mara and Kishi’s attention. Fext motioned with her hooves: a double fist bump, two; she flexed her arms in a show of force, males.

Kishi went to take her first look at a real, living equine while Mara kept turned her attention back inside the lower window. Inside was the kitchen, the stove fire down to glowing embers after the last supper, and dishes and glasses having been put neatly away. Nothing here either, so Mara moved under her sisters and towards the back of the house.

Above, Kishi, Fext, and Lamia stared in awe through the window at the sleeping males that lay before them. In a bunk bed in far corner of the room, they slept peacefully, unaware of the hungry eyes moving over their bodies, watching and soaking in their features. Kishi looked especially hungry but Fext shook her head. “No dreams,” Fext whispered. “Lets move on.”

Around back, Acheri and Chakora peered in one of the back windows. A single bed was in this small room, and a young filly was curled up under the blankets, facing away from the window. Only her light pink mane and a bit of her ears showed from the vantage point beyond the window.

Acheri closed her eyes in concentration and strained to sense anything. “She’s dreaming,” Acheri said though her closed eyes, “But of what I’m not sure. Its...its not anything that we can use.” Acheri opened her eyes only to discover that Chakora had already flown away, and down to the window where their father was hovering with Roddi.

Moving silently down to them, Acheri peered in around the frame of the window. There was a wide double bed against the far wall, with the foot of it closest to the window. two pillows sat against the headboard but only one equine lay in it.

Acheri scrunched up her face. “Where is the father?” she whispered.

Her own father shrugged. He waved Fext over. “We’re missing a male,” he whispered to her. “Find him.” He pushed her away, but Fext didn’t need any encouragement as she smiled and flew off.

Kishi came up beside Acheri and looked through the window at the sleeping mare. The light yellow fur of the equine stood pale in the dim moonlight. Her hair was a light brown, and she shifted a bit in her sleep. KIshi looked disgusted. “There’s nothing here for us,” she whispered to no-one in particular.

Her father pushed both Acheri and Kishi back away from the window. “Did you find the others? What did you see?”

Kishi motioned to the upstairs window where Lamia was still flitting about. In a hushed tone, she said, “Both sons are asleep, no dreams. The youngest appears to be dreaming but nothing that will benefit us.”

Her father nodded. “We need to be going then. There is too much risk in us staying out here much longer. If there were less of them, I might have us sneak in, but…”

He was interrupted by and excited Fext flying up. “I found him!” she said gleefully.

Acheri snapped her head to look at Fext and hissed, “Quiet!”

Fext mumbled a quick apology and continued in a quieter tone, “The father is in the barn, dead asleep. I think he may have collapsed there after working - he still has his yoke on.”

“Lets go have a look, then,” he said. He whistled at Lamia, who reluctantly left her vantage point and the assembled group flew around the barn and out of sight of the house, to a door on the far side that Fext had left cracked open.

Upon reaching the door, loud snoring could be heard emanating from inside. He poked his head in carefully, and spied the male in question sleeping on some hay a short distance from the door. Pulling his head back outside, he motioned for Kishi to come closer.

“Kishi, you’re up,” he whispered into her ear. “You want sex? Go in there and make him give it to you.”

Kishi looked unsure for a moment but then broke into a smile. “Watch me,” she told him confidently, as her bat pony disguise melted away to reveal pale yellow fur and brown hair in the exact shade of the sleeping equine just a building away. She went to make her way inside when she felt her father poke her haunches.

Looking backward, she realized why; she had forgotten to add a cutie mark. Kishi thought for a moment, and also realized that she was unsure of what the real pony’s mark might be. Shrugging, Kishi improvised and added a pink apron mark to both sides and crept in the barn door without a word.

Kishi walked through the door quietly, swaying her hips side to side without even thinking, such was the amount she had practiced it. She licked her lips approaching the sleeping stallion. Her steps muted by the scattered hay lying about the dirt floor, she made quick progress to his side.

The male was of quite large build; His dark brown coat contrasted against the yellow straw he had fallen backwards into, and this long black mane was draped haphazardly over his face. At some point he had rolled onto his left side, obstructing the view Kishi had hoped to enjoy.

Kishi slowed near him, and pouted a bit. Kishi leaned side to side, looking him over as she crept in, until her head was just above his flank. “Honey...” she called seductively.

The stallion murmured in his sleep but did not rouse, so Kishi reached out a hoof and pushed lightly on his haunches, causing him to grunt but not wake up. Kishi pushed again, and he obliged by rolling over on his back, displaying what Kishi wanted; his long sheath that clung close to his body and the heavy sack below it that lay flat against his body.

Kishi drew in a short breath, and leaned her head down to the prize, giving a short lick from the base of the shaft and up a few inches before quickly drawing her head away.

The stallion again mumbled in his sleep, and Kishi considered the flavor; musty, thick, and undoubtedly sweaty. Deciding it wasn’t too bad, Kishi leaned her head down for a more substantial lick, this time trailing her tongue from the base most of the way to the tip. She was rewarded with a sudden expansion and a satisfied grunt from the stallion. Kishi smiled and wagged her butt in anticipation, and repeated her last move.

The stallion’s member stiffened more and his head rolled to the side as his eyes fluttered open. His member now almost fully erect, he saw his beautiful wife, lit by moonlight let in by cracks in the barn’s walls licking this cock.

He smiled and moaned in pleasure. “Mmm, this is new,” he said softly.

Kishi, who had moved up to the head of his cock, briefly pulled her lips away, a trail of saliva extending from her lips to his tip. “I just couldn’t stand leaving you in the barn all night, love,” she cooed as she went back to work sucking at his massive head.

The stallion moaned again, arching his head back. “I thought you were mad,” he said, “Which is why I was sleeping in the barn. What...ah, what made you change your mind?”

Kishi swallowed hard around his cock, scrambling for an answer. Her instinctive response was met with an even louder moan. Kishi swallowed again, and took her lips away from him a second time. “I remembered that for all your shortcomings, there is one part of you that isn’t short, and thought I should enjoy that part of you as often as possible.” Kishi opened wide and took more of him into her warm mouth.

The stallion was about to reply when he felt the sudden warmness envelope him, causing him to lose his train of thought, so instead he reached down to push on his wife’s head, causing her to gag a little as his cock hit the back of her throat.

Kishi was surprised by his sudden display of control, but she let him do as he wished, as she had already started to siphon the love radiating from the ether around him.

The stallion grunted, pushing harder on Kishi’s head, wanting her to take even more of him. Kishi, never having tried before, was having a hard time accommodating any more of him. She instead employed a trick she had read about; she reached up underneath herself and groped for his sack at the base of his cock. Finding it, she rolled them about gently, earning even more satisfied grunts from her subject.

“Uh!” the stallion grunted, “Oh Celestia, that feels so good.” He bucked his hips forward needfully. It had been a long time since he was treated to a blowjob.

Kishi was becoming more accustomed to his girth in her mouth, and tried swallowing again. This time it felt as though she had just eaten something - she swallowed again to make sure, and she could certainly feel something sliding down her throat. Far past her tongue, the stallion was spurting cum directly into the back of her throat.

He released the tight grip on the back of her head, allowing Kishi to move her head back and off his cock. A spurt of cum gushed forth as she did so, and it filled her mouth with its bitter and sweaty taste, some of it landing on her nose as she withdrew. Kishi’s eyes locked onto his member as it throbbed again, sending a jet of white just past her vision only to get caught in her brown mane. Kishi smiled and licked her lips. She wanted more, and intended on getting it.

Kishi turned around and backed up the the male, her flank bumping against his swaying member. “Come on honey, fuck me good,” she teased.

The stallion lifted his head up drearily. Seeing the backside of the mare caused his dick to twitch. A blowjob and a fuck! He thought this surely was a dream, but thinking better not to waste it lest he wake up, rolled forward and planted his forehooves on his wife’s shoulders. He shifted his hips around, trying to find the right spot.

KIshi struggled to hold him up, she had not expected him to stand on her! She shifted about a bit in discomfort but stopped suddenly as his head hit his target. Feeling that hot member rub up against her, Kishi pushed back hard, and felt his head pop inside her opening.

The stallion grinned in satisfaction and lowered himself until his arms were around Kishi’s body, and thrust forward mightily.

Kishi gasped and mewled as she was very suddenly very full. His girth had seemed large in her mouth, but now even more of him was being stuffed inside her, and she loved it. She clenched down hard around him. “Oh yeah, fuck me!” she shouted.

He grunted, thrusting forward once more, trying to seat himself fully in her. “You want it bad, don’t you?” he asked, biting at her neck. He bucked again and was rewarded with a slap as his hips met hers, fully bottoming out inside of his wife. He withdrew somewhat, eliciting a whine from Kishi. Smiling, he drove himself back forward, his hips smacking against hers once again.

KIshi grunted and groaned, lost in the wondrous feelings coming from the male both above and inside of her. She understood instantly why Roddi gave herself to her father and even begged for it at every opportunity. Heat and love seemed to radiate from inside of her and Kishi soaked it up, hungry for even more.

Fortunately for Kishi, as she didn’t need to ask, nor do much than just lean backwards, as the stallion picked up a fast rhythm, hammering his hard cock in and out of her. The stallion would have marveled at how tight his wife seemed if he had not been completely taken over with his own lust.

Feeling his orgasm start to build, he let go of his wife’s chest and move to pull away when she stopped him. Her eyes seemed to glow with a golden light as she pleaded, “No! Fill me up!”

Her face and a sudden clench around his dick was just enough to send him over the edge, seed spilling from him once again, spurt after spurt filling Kishi’s insides, causing her to let out a moan of satisfaction. Kishi clamped down around him again, pulling even more of his hot cum into her.

Outside, the others drank deeply, the love and lust that the male exuded was as copious as the warm fluid currently filling Kishi. They all let out a little sigh, never having tasted the raw emotion of an equine before.

Acheri licked her lips and glanced over at her sisters. Fext was doing the same and Chakora seemed to be lost in bliss. So lost in fact, that she began to fall over backward.

Seeing this, Acheri’s eyes went wide. She threw caution to the wind as she sprung forward to catch Chakora before she fell into the assorted farm implements behind her, shouting to try and raise her sister from her trance.

All heads turned as the sudden shout and the accompanying crash sounded from where Chakora’s metal legs banged against the heavy steel plow resting behind her. Acheri arrived to Chakora’s side too late, and in her haste could not stop in time to avoid crushing her sister between herself and the metal plow.

The iron reinforcements in Chakora’s rear legs held fast, but her unprotected front legs did not. A series of snaps and cracks sounded as the weight and velocity of Acheri crushed Chakora’s legs and she howled in pain.

Acheri quickly clamped her hooves around her screaming sister’s mouth, and looked around the corner of the barn towards the house. Acheri’s eyes locked with two sets peering out a window on the second floor. They held their stare with each other for several long seconds until another crash sounded, this time to Acheri’s rear, and the two brothers disappeared from view.

Acheri could not move, nor even blink. Her surprise and shock kept her fixed in place until a timberwolf’s paw landed on her shoulder. Acheri spun her head and looked into glowing yellow eyes. “They’re c-coming,” Acheri stammered.

The timberwolf pulled her up. “Get in the barn! Father broke down the door and wants us all inside.” Acheri didn’t respond, so Mara (under her disguise) grabbed ahold of Acheri. “Now!”

Acheri found herself but unable and unwilling to move. Her mind saw the lights come on in the house as the brothers rushed to her location; she heard a growling and ripping sound come from inside as her father and the eldest male struggled; and she saw her broken and crying sister below her, whose side she would not leave.

Unfortunately, Mara overpowered Acheri and dragged her from Chakora and into the barn. Acheri struggled some but Mara held her mouth tightly closed. Mara dragged her mostly comatose sister into a corner away from the door. “Stay quiet,” Mara growled. “We can’t help Chakora until the threat is dealt with.”

Acheri’s eyes strayed across the scene in front of her. Broken pieces of wood lay just inside of the opening where her father had come through the door, breaking it in the process. At some point he and the others had taken up familiar timberwolf forms, as they all now backed away from the bloody scene in the hay. The eldest male was still twitching as blowed flowed from the gashes in his neck and face, and the ground under him was already soaked with blood.

Outside, the two brothers bolted out through their front door. One had picked up a bat and the other lifted a splitting axe from near the door as the headed around the corner of the barn. They walked quickly, knowing the layout even in the near darkness. Looking around the edge of the barn, they both stopped suddenly at the sight of Chakora, bleeding but alive and still wearing her bat pony disguise beneath their plow.

One nodded to the other and they both pounced on the helpless Chakora, One bringing his bat down with a sickening crunch against her chest and the other’s axe falling on her shoulder. Chakora mewled weakly and slumped over, falling silent.

From inside the barn, their father gurgled, hearing the noise outside. One of the brothers called out, “Pa? You a’right?” Hearing no reply they headed into the barn. They entered tentatively, the fist holding the axe at the ready, and his twin backing him up. They swiveled around, looking frantically for their father.

A shadow shifted near the one with the bat, causing him to swing wildly. “Stay back!” he screamed.

His brother’s hoof landed on his shoulder, turning him around. “Quick, over here!” he said. “Pa’s hurt!”

They both rushed towards their father. The axe-wielding equine arrived first, and dropped his weapon on the ground to scoop up his father’s limp body. “Pa, no!”

His eyes welled in sorrow for his father, but his eyes dried instantly as he turned to his brother. His brother took short, gasped breaths and blinked rapidly, his whole body shaking from where the timberwolf’s teeth had bitten into his neck, severing his spine.

“I...I can’t…” he panted, “I...can’t...move...help me…”

Hastily dropping his father’s corpse on the dirt floor, the first turned to reach for his weapon, only to find two more timberwolves, one of which had placed its thorn-laden paw across the handle of his axe, pinning it to the ground.

Sucking in a huge amount of air to scream, he toppled backwards as both timberwolves lunged forward at him, biting and slashing at his face and neck. His attempted scream turned into a gurgle as blood flowed down his face and snout and into his open mouth.

His brother, watching helplessly, felt himself falling as the timberwolf holding him released his jaws. “N..no…” he cried weakly.

The timberwolf stepped over him, and to his surprise, said to the others, “That’s enough. Kill this other one too.”

The others heeded his command and stepped over to the paralyzed pony. “What do we do with him?” it asked.

“Do whatever you want,” he said, “Chakora needs us.” Dropping his timberwolf disguise, he ran outside and inspected his daughter closely, carefully. He pulled at her gently and rolled her onto her back. Her eyes fluttered and she coughed weakly.

“Fuck, she’s still alive!” he exclaimed. “Acheri! Mara! Lamia! Fext! Get the fuck over here!” A ruckus from inside the barn quieted as they came running, and he motioned to have Acheri take over next to Chakora. “Talk to her. Let her know we’re going to help. Keep her awake.”

Acheri bent down to console Chokara, and her father turned to the rest. “Enter the house. Kill the mother and daughter but be fast. We need to grab some things before we go.” He pushed past them on the way to the house, but was soon overtaken by Mara, followed by Fext and Lamia.

“I get the child!” Lamia shouted.

“If you can get to her before I finish with the mother!” Mara shouted back.

Mara shed her disguise and entered the house first, with Lamia and Fext squeezing through the door together soon after. Their father entered last and headed for the kitchen. Upstairs, a pounding of hoofbeats ended in an ear-shattering scream. He winced at the sound, the scream going on for several long seconds before suddenly cutting out.

He looked about quickly, but not finding what he wanted turned and kicked his back legs as hard as he was able against the stove in the kitchen. It creaked and groaned but did not fall over. He kicked again, and the stove leaned to the side before settling back into place.

“They built this fucking thing to last,” he muttered, and kicked again. The stove finally toppled over, the doors swinging open and embers falling onto the wooden floor. He ripped a curtain off a nearby window and flung it over the coals as he headed upstairs himself. At the top of the stairs he bumped into a bloodied Mara coming from the master bedroom. He glanced inside and the entire room was almost painted red.

“Fuck,” he said, “Went a little overboard on the ‘killing’ part of that.” Mara gave him a grin that showed off bit of flesh in her teeth. He grimaced. “Wipe yourself off,” he told her, “And grab any blankets you can find, we’re going to need them.”

Mara’s smile faltered and she looked back into the gore she’d created. “Uhhh...it's kind of..uh, bloody-”

“I don’t give a damn what you think!” He shouted. “Get in there! Get blankets! And get the fuck out!”

Mara slunk backwards into the master bedroom, pushing the dead mare off the bed and to the floor with a splat. She hastily pulled the covers off the bed, heaping them onto her back. When Mara turned back to the door she expected to be greeted by the glaring eyes of her father, but he was already gone. Mara glanced out into the hallway but not seeing him there either, turned and hurried down the stairs and back outside.

After Mara had gone to get the sheets, her father went down to the next room where Fext and Lamia huddled around the bed of a foal, who was lying flat on her small bed, rigid as a board with her eyes staring upwards towards the ceiling. Lamia slowly stroked her mane.

As he approached them, Fext looked over her shoulder at him. “I think she died of fright,” Fext said dejectedly. “I wanted to see her die.”

“If you two don’t hurry up you’ll get to see Chakora die,” he said in a huff. He pushed Fext to the side and pulled at the sheets, causing them and the dead foal to fall to the floor.

“Hey!” Lamia protested. “I was playing with that!”

Her father leveled a stare at Lamia that might have caused Lamia to die of fright had she not been raised by him. He pushed the heaped sheets in Fext’s direction and instructed them both to get back outside.

Smelling smoke, the ran into the room of the two brothers, and grabbed the blankets off of their beds as well. He went to go back down the stairs but a thick cloud of smoke near the bottom of the stairs made him change his mind. Throwing the blankets over his back, he jumped through the bedroom window’s glass. Temporarily forgetting that he was on the second floor, he fell to the ground in a heap, unable to get his wings out from under the piled sheets.

His daughters had gathered near the barn and all looked over at the noise. He looked back to the house and was pleased to see it already starting to spew flames from some of the lower windows. He gathered himself up, the blankets having somewhat cushioned his fall, and made his way back to the group.

Acheri and Roddi were already using the blankets to make tourniquets and to bundle up Chakora. He addressed the rest of them: “We need to erase our presence before we leave. The house is taken care of, someone figure out how to set the barn on fire, and when we move Chakora we’ll need to make sure this area is sterile as well.”

Kishi, who had still been in the barn recovering from her exertions, had joined the group at some point and talked in hushed tones with the others to find out what was going on. Hearing her father, she piped up, “There’s an oil lamp in the barn. We could use that.”

He nodded and Kishi dashed back to the barn to set it alight. He then knelt in front of Chakora, who was still just barely alive. Her green innards held in by the makeshift bandages, she looked up at her father weakly. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “Be strong a little while longer, we’ve got to get you home.” Chakora opened her mouth to speak but he hushed her.

Turning back to the others, he commanded, “We’re moving fast. I marked the trail back on the ground, so I’ll be following it that way. Fext, you have the best sensing ability so I want you out in front, following along behind me and guiding the others by air.” He looked between them quickly. “You all got that?”

They quickly nodded in agreement. “Okay, then lets get all of you back in bat pony form. Try and keep Chakora flat, and if you see anyone else out there, just head up into the clouds and out of sight. Go. Now!”

His daughters and Roddi quickly gained altitude as he ran across the fields, growing his covering coat instinctually. He sniffed air as he ran, trying to pick up on familiar scents while absentmindedly crushing the delicate plants of the field under his feet. His mind raced to devise a plan. Having not just years but centuries of experience, his feet guided him effortlessly to his destination while his mind saw other things.

He knew that Mali would have to take them back down. But while she had seemed very sure of her footing on the way up, he and the others had not. Worst case scenario, he’d leave some of the others back above ground and have Mali come back for them later.

Once back in the Hive, what then? Roddi had already made it clear that any medics wouldn’t be helping them, but the books she had smuggled into the training room did have a number of chapters about basic medical techniques. What he had read wasn’t coming to him at the moment, but if he could get back he might be able to figure it out soon enough to save Chakora’s life.

His feet had carried him to the forest’s edge. Circling once, then twice, he picked up his own scent. And that of Roddi too. In other circumstances, he might have found it humorous that he’d become that accustomed to her and her smell, but as he headed into the forest his mind came to an ugly possibility: Chakora may very well not make it.

He shook his head hard and almost ran right into a tree in his momentary lapse of concentration. Picking up his trail again, he tried to push the thought out of his head. Unfortunately, the suffering that Chakora had already endured as a result of his own convictions to try and save her kept breaking through his concentration. He gritted his teeth and ran yet faster through the forest, eyes squinted to see in the darkness.

Behind and above him, Fext had taken on the leadership role to help everyone keep up with her father’s fast movement. Her eyes scanned the ground below, and while she was able to keep a good eye on her father as he sped across the open fields, her eyes lost him the moment he entered the thick forest. Fortunately, her extensive training and natural ability in sensing allowed her to keep track of him easily, even without being able to see him.

Her sisters had been able to keep Chakora aloft easily, and seeing the approaching mountains, Fext knew that they were fast approaching the cave. She motioned them lower in the sky, and from her left side noticed that the horizon had started to glow a soft red. The sun was coming up.

Down in the forest, the lone changeling bounded around trees, and could see the snow-capped mountains from gaps in the trees. He pushed himself to go yet faster but came to a skidding halt as he nearly ran into a large outcropping of rock. He leapt on top of it, looking around. It was one of the boulders that made up the mountain’s base. Looking back for the first time since he left the farm, he could just pick out the white bundle that was Chakora descending against the brightening sky.

He circled around the rock, and picked up his own scent in the distance, he followed it to a dark cave opening. He looked back again to make sure that Fext was close; indeed the whole group was coming in for a landing. He shook off his coat and tossed it just inside the opening, not bothering to eat it and instead opting to let it dissolve on its own.

In his natural skin, he crept around the corner. “Mali?” he inquired.

“Where are the rest?” came a female voice from the rear of the cave.

“Right behind me,” he answered. “I need you to guide us swiftly, Chakora’s been hurt and we need to go now.”

As if on cue, his daughters and Roddi came around the corner, all having shed their skins, and some carrying Chakora, others carrying the heaped blankets they had stolen from the farmhouse.

Mali took one look at Chakora, who was breathing shallowly, and turned to the rear of the cave. “Come on,” she told them.

…

The climb down had fortunately gone quickly, and once they reached the Hive proper he bolted past Mali, who ran along behind, struggling to keep up. Galloping down the dim hallways of the Hive, he broke away and ahead of the pack behind him, and lowered his shoulder to ram through the heavy doors of the once-armory. Shaking with each impact, he ignored the pain and instead tried to focus on what he needed: the book.

He skidded to a stop at the far side of the room and frantically began flipping through books with his magic. “Where is it? Where is it!” He scowled and threw a book to the other side of the room. “Where the fuck is the book!? It was here…!”

“Master…” came a soft voice from behind him. He spun around to see Roddi there.

“Roddi! Find the book on medical techniques!” He went to grab for her but Roddi only backed up a step.

Roddi looked down. “I think its too late for that.” She looked back at him solemnly. “You should come say goodbye.”

His eye twitched involuntarily. “What?” Looking past Roddi, his daughters had gathered around the bundled form of Chakora. His eyes easily picked up on the copious amounts of green that had soaked the sheets she was wrapped in. His mouth hung agape. “No!”

He bolted towards Chakora and slid on his stomach to her. Her eyes were closed but she rolled her head towards him. “No, Chakora, you have to hold on,” he begged.

Chakora drew in a shallow breath. “I…” she coughed, as green leaked from the corner of her mouth.

He put his arms under her head. “No,” he said softly, tears welling. “No, Chakora, don’t go. Be strong and fight it. You are the strongest of all of us. You must...please…”

Chakora coughed again, and more green flowed from her mouth. She moved her lips, but no sound came out. He leaned down to her as she moved her mouth again. Chakora exhaled, and all waited for her to inhale again.

When she did not, her father hugged her tightly. “Please no, Chakora. Come back to us.” He rocked slightly, hugging his daughter tightly.

Roddi stepped forward to comfort him but halted as a trickle of electricity leapt through the muscles of her face. It happened a second time and Roddi took a step backward. She noticed that everyone, including Mali, seemed to be backing away. From the center of their circle, her master and their father inhaled deeply and rapidly.

The energy around them intensified as his breathing seemed to grow louder and louder with each new wave of magical energy that passed by. He lowered Chakora to the floor gently but when he rose he seemed to stand larger in height then Roddi remembered. He was still looking down at Chakora but Roddi could see he was sporting a grimace of malice and hate the likes of which she had never seen from him before.

Another blast of energy passed by and pushed against the walls. The air seemed to tighten around them and Roddi thought for the second time since she’d known him that there may have been a reason that Chrysalis had been so cautious around him.

He opened his mouth and spat, “No!” To accentuate the point, he brought his hoof up only inches from the floor and stamped it back down with enough force to cause a crack to appear in the worn stone.

He raised his head out to the ceiling and let out a cry of anguish that echoed across the room and even out into the halls of the Hive, down the empty corridors of his prison turned home. With his howl came a new and yet more powerful surge that rattled the magical lamps, causing one of them to fall with a crash to the floor and the very stone of the walls to push back ever so slightly until they in turn began to crack.

Roddi looked around wildly, fearful for her life for the first time that she could remember. The mountain shuddered around her, and Lamia who had been sitting nearby crawled to Roddi and curled up next to her.

His howl seeming to go on endlessly, Roddi looked away from Lamia and saw Mara, who was just walking through the door of her room, her head hung low, seemingly unaware of the chaos and din that surrounded her.

Acheri had run up to Chakora’s body on the floor, and she hugged it tightly, crying out along with her father as his scream slowly faded off, and the air seemed to still as did his cry. He snorted, and turned to the door.

Acheri was on her feet in a moment. She stood in front of him with fire in her eyes. “You!” she growled through clenched teeth. “You did this to her. You were the one who took her out when she wasn’t ready. And now she’s dead!”

He snarled back at Acheri, teeth bared. “You think you know loss, whelp?” He stepped forward, his hoofbeats coming down with the sound of cannonfire, as he approached the adamant Acheri. “Just an hour ago you were imagining that dick in your sopping cunt and suddenly you think that your petty feelings of grief are enough to justify hatred of me? When I’m the one who tried to do the right thing and save her from Chrysalis?”

Acheri blinked and took a step back but her father kept his gaze and took another pounding step forward. “And you think that I so hastily went though with a plan that nearly killed Chakora once just to give her a better chance at living because I’m some sort of uncaring fuck? You explain how that makes sense, you insolent… little… whore!”

Acheri took another step backward and glanced quickly from side to side. Her father kept her in his sight, not even blinking. “And you think I’m such a worthless piece of shit because I came all the way back down here just to save her only to fail at the last moment?”

Acheri hit the door of the hall with her haunches. “Father I-”

“Keep your wagging tongue inside your whore mouth!” he screamed. His horn lit bright green as he used his magic to rip one of the sides of the massive door off its hinges. He grunted and sent it crashing against a wall. “If you want to hate, then hate them,” he spat. “Hate those that force us to live hiding underground like fucking worms.”

Acheri lifted her head from where she had cowered below his impressive stature, as if waking from a dream.

“Hate those two stallion fucks who so mercilessly beat and tortured poor Chakora,” he continued. “Did you see mercy in their eyes? They meant to kill. And they succeeded in killing what I could only hope would have been the shining example of what changelings should be; kind, curious, and honest.

“But this is why I raised you to be the way you are. Because to survive, you must never trust them. For all they paint us as the monster, the invader, and the savage, it is them that are the enemy of all beings.” He moved past Acheri and out the exit. A crash sounded and splinters of the ancient wood flew where he ripped yet another door asunder. From the hallway, he called back, “Mali! Come here!”

Mali, who had backed up near a corner, stumbled to her feet and quickly ran out to him. She was relieved to see that he had lost some of the malice he exhibited earlier. “Yes?”

He turned, leading them both down the hall and towards the more active parts of the Hive. “I need you to help me in arranging a funeral.”

Back inside Acheri stared blankly into space. Kishi approached her timidly. “Are you going be be okay, Acheri?” she asked.

Acheri continued to stare blankly. “A pox,” she muttered.

Kishi looked confused. “A what?”

“A pox.” Acheri’s eyes seemed to light up with glee as a wicked smile crossed her face. “A pox! From the book!” Acheri bounded across the room past where Fext was attempting to right the broken lamp and crashed haphazardly into the bookshelf. Picking herself up, she snatched a book from the debris. “Here! A pox, a disease to torment those who have no mercy, no remorse for the lives they take and the lives they ruin!”

Acheri whirled around and hugged the book to her chest as she did so, still sporting her wicked grin. She stopped her dancing to stare intently at the book. Her grin faded to a soft smile as she said, “I will ruin them for what they have done. I swear it on the life of my beloved sister.”

…

The flames of the pyre glowed with their supernatural green. Atop them, Chakora lay after having been cleaned and prepped, and made to look as if she lay sleeping, one last time.

Acheri, Lamia, Fext, Mara, and Kishi stood behind their father, all facing the pyre. As the flames licked around Chakora, Chrysalis stepped in from the doorway.

Roddi, who had been standing near the rear of the room, gasped. She never liked funerals but seeing Chrysalis for the first time in so long, and especially at a time like this, concerned her greatly.

Chrysalis, to her credit, understood loss all too well. She slowly walked up to his side and waited.

Out of respect, he waited until the fire had run its course and the ashes of Chakora had been carried on the hot air currents up and out of the room to places unknown. Without looking at her, he asked, “Why have you come?”

Chrysalis gave him a knowing smile. “I know you don’t know our traditions well, if at all, but it is customary for the King and Queen to say goodbye to their children.”

“I’m not your King,” he retorted.

Chrysalis nodded. “But you’re their King. And now I hope you may begin to understand why I made the choices I did. You are responsible for them. I hope you lead them on long and happy lives.” Chrysalis turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I won’t stay. But you should say something.”

Chrysalis stepped backwards and out of the room before he could reply. He sighed. Turning, he addressed his daughters. “At this early time in your life you may think that with time your memory will fade and Chakora will be forgotten. I tell you she will not be, as long as you hold in your hearts the lessons she taught us. She taught us mercy and kindness in her innocence, but her strength and her will taught us perseverance.”

He stopped for a moment to breathe. “Her death taught us grief and anger, and somewhere in between all these things, you must find a reason to remember. But along with that memory you must remember what we are and also why we are different.

"You also need to remember that we aren’t one of them, even though going forward we’re going to have to pretend to be one. I want all of you to think very hard about who and what you want to be. We’re not going to falter. We have a lot to learn. But let us adopt some of their tactics.”

He paused, and nobody said anything. “Back to our rooms, all of you. Let’s get some rest and get ready for our next outing. I have plans that I think you’ll like.”

His daughters walked out single file, but even in the near-darkness he could tell at least Mara and Acheri were smiling wickedly.

After they had left he turned back to the stacked pyre, watching until it was only embers, thinking of why he had been brought to such circumstances. Eventually he turned to leave, but Roddi stopped him at the door. “May I ask you something, Master?”

He sniffed, the darkness hiding the tears he had been holding in until everyone else had left. “What is it, Roddi?”

Roddi leaned in close. “Chakora said something to you. Will you tell me what it was that caused you such pain as to nearly tear down the very mountain?”

He exhaled slowly and brought his arm up to wipe away an unseen tear. “She told me she loved me.”

Author's Note

I am back from my hiatus! I figure with the show taking a break, then I ought to get back to it. Hopefully ya'll don't hate me.