Lunaria Borealis

by EquestrianKirin

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character
Length: 25719

"The world had fallen into deep cold and weak light. How long shall it be until the world had turned into ice and snow...?"

The years had come and gone, The celestial hybrid of the magical horn, and sky-borne wings had since disappeared from our realm, and succumb to the creatures of wind and snow. Alas, the hoofed creatures that the lands had once founded had been in a constant struggle to survive the change from light to dark. it had been at least twenty generations since such a world-alternating event had occurred on the beloved and once thriving home, yet life still had continued onward due to the darkened hybrid of star and moon, providing the spell of everlasting light and heat to provide what life was left with warmth.

Yet how long will such light last one wonders?

Elder Sage Equinox
E.o.G. 23

Published 2015-04-30 18:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-21 16:38:21 UTC

Ch.1: The Wolf Moon

Dark.

Cold.

Colourless.

This was what many creatures would basically describe a night without it's moon. The quiet land was indeed one unlike any normal night: not a soul in sight on the open plains, trails, or paths to speak of. The winds of the north blow through the cold plains, the bluegrass gently swaying with the breeze. Normally colours of the grains would be a lovely colour of yellow amber flowing like an ocean's waves. Sadly, the years had made the farmers almost forget what amber colour was. A lone scarecrow stood boldly against the winds, maintaining it's visual among it's crop as it was made to do. one gust of wind blew off it's fine straw hat, as it began to blow around in the wind, though the lacking of any moon would make it impossible to truly see. The early night of the moon began to show, at last, once the grand full moon of the early year began to rise slowly into the night sea of stars, revealing the hat laying alone on the cold ground, barely budging against the wind. The dark light was finally replaced by moonlight, the shadows being cast out upon the area. At first, everything was still quiet among the plain, until a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows of the grain, stopping by the dropped hat. The figure appeared pony-like in shape and size, and the tail appeared similar to a ragged pony, but some features put the idea that it's pure pony in question. For starters, the feet of the figure were sprawled in 3-toed digits rather than one-toed hooves, and the head was smaller and flatter than a normal pony. It also possessed a set of horns, aimed back and curved forward like that of a wild ram. The individual's fur coat was distinguished as a faded cyan blue, with deep dark stripes lining it's back, and the tail colour was a hue of snow white. Quietly, and calmly, the figure grabbed the hat off the cold ground, and looked up towards the early night moon with grey eyes. He wasn't blind, but living in a world without any sun had made his eyes slightly dilated and sensitive to strong amount of light. Still, he had enough vision to know where the hat, the fields of bluegrass, and the scarecrow was. Without much word, he calmly picked it up with his mouth, and gently set it on the scarecrow's head, making sure the ears were through the hat's ear holes.

"That's better," He said to himself, his voice a bit weakened, but not enough to be considered sickly. Quietly, the figure walked back through the bluegrass fields, a trail lining straight between the tall stems of grass. Size alone was also something the figure differentiated from other ponies, slightly taller than a regular pony. Tall enough, at least, to see over the bluegrass, which was tall enough to hide a pony and have an extra foot to spare. Walking off through the fields, eventually he spotted a small village nearby, the figure heading towards one of the cottages. Unlike a pony home, which was normally made of wood and hay, these cottages were made of stone and clay, roofs of leather so it wouldn't be blown away as easily. On one of these cottages, the figure stopped at it's front door, looking up at the number above the door-frame, which labeled down:

3409

The individual gave a nod, and walked inside. The home itself was actually pretty poorly in comparison to most houses, most of the stuff on just one floor like a mobile home. The bed was off in the far left corner of the door by the window, as the kitchen was literally 4 step away, stove, fridge and all. The figure simply walked over towards the bed, and opened up a wooden drawer from under the bed, pulling out a small grey book. At least it appeared grey due to the lack of light. So, without a word, the figure went off to the kitchen, and picked up a candle off the counter, lighting it. Settling the candle down by the bed, he opened up the book to an empty page, pulled out a quill from the cupboard, and started to write.

Dear Diary:

I know it's a rather early entry, but, I feel like things aren't going too good for me. I know farming itself is a tough task for anyone here in Curchcolt, but, still it's such a bother to keep crops alive now a days. I had found that a number of my blue-grain crops had been stolen again, not much left. I hadn't figured out exactly what's been stealing my Blue-Grain during the moonless hours, but I can guess it's from some of the farm animals getting loose again, or some stray pulling a fast one. But even if nothing's taking my crop, business alone hadn't gone too well. Last I checked, only 10 other passer-bys had even bothered with my crop in the last week. That's what happens when a farmer can't keep his crops in check I suppose. Anyway, I'll write back soon, and hopefully with better news.

Signed: Vinrod

Settling the quill back down, He then proceeded to place his diary back where he had found it, and started heading out the door. Vinrod indeed had a rather rough time with his crops of Blue-grain this year, the colder winds making planting and growing more and more difficult to bear. Even so, he still had some crops to gather up for the town - only some -...

~~

With sometime to gather up whatever was left of the Blue-grain, Vinrod finally began his daily sale in Curchcolt, heading off to the town square to begin. While going through, he saw many others different saintiants going about their days, some eger upon awaiting his arrival to open up. The full moon was pretty high up in the sky by the time Vinrod had set everything up. If the moon were the sun, it would be about 8:30 in the morning. Vinrod settled his grain in bundles, tied together with string in a number of grain piles, before he sat down in front of his grain wagon. Since his voice was a bit weak, he instead just raised his 3-toed foot in the air to signify that he was ready to sell, as a number of saintiants lined up. The first in line was a rather young, thin unicorn, looking about no older than 5 years of age.

"Welcome little one, how may I help you?" Vinrod asked, a bit neutral in volume due to his weakened voice. The young unicorn then held up some bits so Vinrod could see.

"Do you take bits, mister?" The colt asked, holding up a few bits with his hoof. Vinrod knew that it was a bit cheap to buy a full bundle of bluegrass with just a few bits, but, he could also tell that the young colt was hungry for some, so he decided to take it. The young colt gave him the bits, as Vinrod gave him a small bag of Bluegrass for his trouble, as he happily trotted off on his way.

For about an hour, the sales had been rather slow, but a bit better than most days had been thus far. Among many of saintiants that had bought either a bag of Bluegrain or a bundle of Bluegrass, Vinrod had ended up with about just 45 dollars total by the time he was down to just one bundle of Bluegrass. However, since the saintiants were different species, the exact pay was about 25 equestrian bits, 5 griffin coins and 2 Minotaur medallions. That may not sound like much for a full sale, but, it was a basic norm for Vinrod. The problem: There were a few other saintiant customers lined up to buy it. Wish he could say it was the first time that happened to him. Lucky for him, it wasn't, so he knew what to do in this kind of situation:

set up auction.

"Alright everyone, what is your bargain?" Vinrod asked, awaiting for the bets to place forward. The three saintiants - one a hippogriff, one a minotaur, and one a crystal pony -, began to place their money forward with the type of currency they had. However, in the end, the Minotaur had about 10 medallions, Crystal pony had 50 bits, and the hippogriff about 25 coins, which added up to about the same price for the Bluegrass bundle. Vinrod kept his cool, though was unsure on who deserved the Bluegrass the most. If he took all of it, he'd be rich, but scandling wasn't exactly his cup of alfalfa. Tempers started to flare up around him among the 3 different saintiants, as Vinrod felt more willing to either split the share, or just get out of there before words turned to hooves, fists and claws. As their arguing continued, another figure walked forward to Vinrod's stand, and place his bet...a full fledged, 18 carat sapphire! The sight of it immediately made everyone stop dead cold, Vinrod included, as Vinrod stared wide-eyed at the gem. The figure in particular looked quite tall, about the same height at Vinrod was, though shared more traits for a hoofed creature. However, it looked too broad and heavily built to be a pony. In fact, the figure was actually a large grey boar, with some silver piercings on the boar's ears. He was pulling his own cart behind him as he was passing through, mostly of rock and stone. Vinrod moved the gem away from the pile of money, and tested the reality of it by biting down onto the sapphire in question. It was real alright...and really hurt.

"I think I found who can have the Bluegrass," Vinrod announced, as he took the gem, which was easily worth a ton more than what was offered to him. The boar helped himself, and took the Bluegrass bundle and placed it in his own cart.

"Thank you, farmer," the boar said.

"I see you speak common," Vinrod commented. When it came to languages, common was basically the universal language, with some slight foreign words thrown around. Such as ponies saying 'everypony' or 'somepony' for example. However, not every saintiant was able to learn such, and this was the first time Vinrod met a common speaking boar.

"Yeah, I have to be. I am a traveller you know, and common is a rather large language."

"True, true. Let's see now..."

Vinrod cleared his throat a little bit before talking again. By that point, only the boar and Vinrod were there, so, Vinrod could try his check on boar language. Just for fun as all.

"uh...Aveahay alway niceyy dayway..."

The boar simply chuckled at Vinrod's shot at piglatin. Yeah, piglatin was a rather easy language to catch, especially to the boar, but, seeing Vinrod try at it just to impress was simply cute.

"Owhay adorableway. Avehay away icenay ayday, armerfay," The boar chuckled, getting a confused look from Vinrod as the boar went on his way, pulling the cart with ease. In truth, the boar said 'How adorable. have a nice day, farmer.' But, Vinrod's piglatin was a sharp as a blunt eraser, so there wasn't much help in translation. However, as the full moon kept it's spot in the middle of the sky, Vinrod started on back with his empty wagon towards home.

~~

The full moon signified 2 P.M. by the time Vinrod had successfully got home and put his wagon away by his home, as he'd always done so. But, his work wasn't over; he still had a field to take care of. Since he lived alone for the longest time, Vinrod had to mostly rely on himself to get things done, and get his crops growing. But, before he could begin on the bluegrass field, he took the time to put away the money he earned, along with that special sapphire the boar had given him. It was indeed a surprise to be given such a rare and valuable item on such an unexpected time, especially from a boar of all saintiants, but luck was luck. Vinrod put away his treasure by his bed before, and went back outside to begin his crop farming. When it came to crops, Curchcolt had their main crop Bluegrass, mostly because Bluegrass didn't fully rely on the sun to grow much like other plants do. All a farmer would need is water and good care in order for successful Bluegrass to grow for crop. Vinrod knew well how to grow such plants, getting his water can out from the side of the house to start. Course, Bluegrass needs a lot of water when needed, and it had been a while since they'd been watered, so Vinrod needed plenty of time to get the plants good and soaked. The night was especially good, no clouds in the sky so the moonlight can easily shine down to help Vinrod see what he was doing, as he poured down the water can in various places around the Bluegrass. It was hard to maintain such crops, especially since it was still winter time, but Vinrod managed the best he could. Often his days were a bit repetitive: wake up, check on crops, sell at the square, take care of crops, have dinner, go to bed, rinse and repeat. And that day, it wasn't very different for him. Soon after his dinner, Vinrod settled down in his bed, as he always does after dinner. After, he readied his diary for yet another entry when he glanced off outside his window. He could see a good view of his field from his window, along with the road to town, but as he did, he also noticed a figure walking by the road. Even with the moonlight, it was kinda hard to tell on who or what the figure actually was. But, regardless of it, Vinrod paid no mind to it, closed his window, and got back to the entry.

Dear Diary:

Today's sales had gone a bit better than I'd hoped for. Even if exact money itself wasn't very much, as per usual, you wouldn't believe what else I've got. I actually got a sapphire, a real deal, ripened sapphire! I know, it's indeed something special. And even more so, a travelling Boar had given it to me. And to think for the most part, Boars would keep to themselves and not even remotely bother with any sharing, not to mention giving away expensive gems just for some Bluegrass. But aside from that, things had gone on as always, crops are growing, customers had their food, and I have enough money to go on for a month. I'll let you know if anything else

Before Vinrod could write anything else, a knock suddenly came up at his door, which was a bit surprising to him. More often than not, no guests would just show up at his door at this point before the moonless hours would arrive, considering how dangerous the moonless hours were for any saintiant. Either way, it was rude to ignore, so he placed his diary down on the bed, and went to open the door.

What he saw left his mind blank.

Standing in front of him appeared to be a weakened, and tired Changeling! That alone was quite a shocker to see; considering not just how brutal Changelings were, but also their perk of always being in a group. This Changeling appeared to be all alone, and having a limp in it's step.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a room, would you?" The Changeling asked. For starters, Vinrod had heard how tricky a Changeling was to begin with, their habits to morph into any creature proving such. But, this Changeling wasn't even bothering to hide itself from him. Then again, it could be an act too, but also, the fact the Changeling wasn't hiding made that a bit unlikely. Either that, or the Changeling was desperate or simply stupid for not changing into anything to begin with. Instead, Vinrod looked to the limp the Changeling had.

"Are you okay?" Vinrod asked.

"Does it look like i am?" The Changeling asked, a bit annoyed. The tone of a true Changeling was starting to show through, and what Vinrod would expect of one. Despite that, the Changeling had a point, the limp showing something was wrong. Just to be safe, Vinrod looked around outside to make sure the Changeling was alone.

"Where's the rest of your horde? Thought Changeling never end up alone," Vinrod asked.

"Got lost, okay? Now can I stay for the moonless hours or what?" The Changeling groaned, trying not to show too much pain for his injured leg. Even if he was a rude guest, Vinrod couldn't just leave him alone. So, without much of word, he stepped aside to allow the Changeling to enter his home. As Vinrod closed the door, the Changeling settled down on Vinrod's bed - the only bed in the house -.

"So what happened to you, anyway?" Vinrod asked. The Changeling groaned again, trying to relax and ease the pressure on his leg.

"If you must know, I had a bit of trouble with flying through some rough winter winds, and got my hoof ripped off," the Changeling explained, showing Vinrod his ripped hoof. However, since Changeling have swiss cheese holes in their legs, it was hard to tell at first until Vinrod saw a better view through the moonlight, seeing the Changeling indeed had his front left hoof missing.

"Oh my..."

"It's not too bad, it'll probably grow back in a week or two." That was one thing Vinrod admired about Changelings; if a limb were to be ripped off of them, they can easily grow it back after a good while. That kind of healing ability was something not many other saintiants, or any creatures for that matter, would possess. Still, the Changeling was still pretty weak to continue on through the moonless hours, even with such an ability to have. Vinrod settled down by the Changeling, moving his diary away from it. The Changeling just rested off of his sore leg, resting his head on Vinrod's pillow.

"You know, I think you're pretty lucky to grow back your limbs," Vinrod commented, heading to the kitchen to get a drink for himself and the Changeling.

"eh thanks. It's not that big a deal."

After a little bit, Vinrod gave the Changeling a glass of water to drink. However, since it only had one hoof to work with, picking up the glass to drink was a bit of a struggle. Seeing the Changeling struggling, Vinrod held the glass for him as the Changeling took the drink with a dry muzzle. Afterwards, the Changeling took a good look at Vinrod.

"Say, what are you anyway? Don't look like anything I ever seen," the Changeling asked. Vinrod settled down, his 3 toes resting on the bed.

"Me? I guess you can consider me a hybrid. I'm a ram from my father's side, and a sphinx from my mother's side," Vinrod explained. That did sound a bit odd to hear, a Ram father and a Sphinx mother, but weirder things had existed in their world so the Changeling didn't question it too much. That didn't mean the Changeling didn't have any questions left.

"Which side had stripes?" the Changeling wondered, looking at Vinrod's set of stripes. Vinrod looked to the stripes on his back.

"Well, I was told I got that from my sphinx grandmother, but, I'm honestly not too sure," Vinrod sighed, as he settled down on the floor, allowing the Changeling to rest on his bed - as much as he really didn't want to -.

"By the way, what's your name?" Vinrod asked. However, the Changeling was already asleep, so an answer wasn't evident. Instead, quietly, he opened up his diary in front of him, and edited his entry.

Dear Diary:

Today's sales had gone a bit better than I'd hoped for. Even if exact money itself wasn't very much, as per usual, you wouldn't believe what else I've got. I actually got a sapphire, a real deal, ripened sapphire! I know, it's indeed something special. And even more so, a travelling Boar had given it to me. And to think for the most part, Boars would keep to themselves and not even remotely bother with any sharing, not to mention giving away expensive gems just for some Bluegrass. But aside from that, things had gone on as always, crops are growing, customers had their food, and I have enough money to go on for a month. I'll let you know if anything else Scratch that, turned out I have yet another surprise. A Changeling in my home! Today had surely given me some surprises, hasn't it? Well, goodnight, write back soon.

~~

Vinrod's rest wasn't exactly the best ever, him on the floor and the Changeling in his bed. Vinrod much preferred him in the bed, but it was best not to tick off a Changeling. Even an injured one can fight rather viciously, given their history and everything. Even if he didn't want to fight, resting on the floor like a dog wasn't his best choice in sleeping arrangement. As he slept, something kept nagging in his mind...as if trying to talk to him...Suddenly, his eyes shot open to the sound of footsteps outside. Looking to the bed, the Changeling was still in bed, trying to stay asleep. Vinrod looked to the direction of the noise, unsure of what it was that was walking around. Suddenly, his door opened up slowly, revealing the creature standing at his doorstep. Vinrod wasn't sure what to do, as he started to move away as much as he could. It wasn't enough to wake the Changeling, but enough to catch Vinrod's attention. The figure was a bit hard to make out, but looked rather tall, standing on it's back legs. It almost appeared to be some sort of Minotaur, but thinner, and the head belonging to a moose rather than a regular bull. The creature looked down to him, the eyes small yet almost seemed to glow, making it looked rather ominous. Vinrod saw it's mouth beginning to move, yet the words it said were unrecognizable for any language Vinrod had heard about.

"Dorniv, Uoy Era Dedeen Rof Eht Xnihps Gnierthag. Rewsna Ot Eht Nus Llahs Eb Ereth. Doog Kcul, Dorniv."

Vinrod didn't have a clue what the heck it was saying to him, the voice a bit low and words from no exact language he had heard of. But, soon after it was done, it suddenly raised a sort of branch in his direction, appearing like a sort of staff. Upon sight of the staff, Vinord suddenly felt extremely tired, and he fell back to sleep on the floor with a thud. As his eyes were shut, the words the thing spoke appeared in his mind, in common so he could easily understand.

"Vinord, You Are Needed For The Sphinx Gathering. Answer To The Sun Shall Be There. Good Luck, Vinord."

Vinord awoke soon afterwards. Whatever happened, he must've dozed off, because the Moonless hours were up, and the full moon was rising back up again. The moonlight just got through his window, into the sleeping Changeling still in bed. Vinrod didn't say anything at first, thinking over the words that appeared in his head soon after that thing knocked him out. Also, what was that thing? He had seen his fair share of Minotaur, but, that one didn't look like any normal Minotaur he'd seen. Was it all just a dream? Probably, but, it felt so real to him. What intrigued him the most was this 'answer to the sun'. What did it mean by that? No one knew exactly what happened to the sun since the moon started becoming the sun in the first place, and even if they did, it couldn't fully be correct, as by that point no one lived long enough to remember.

Keeping it in mind, Vinrod got back on up to his feet, and looked over to the Changeling, whom just begun to wake up from the moonlight hitting it's face. With a groan, the Changeling stirred into awareness, as Vinrod moved away.

"How are you feeling?" Vinrod asked, as the Changeling rolled onto it's stomach.

"I'm better than before, I'll give you that," The Changeling said, trying to get up. Even if the leg wasn't as sore as before, it was still a trouble to balance on 3 hooves, as Vinrod let him try for a bit. Vinrod then headed off and opened the door, ready to check on his scarecrow again...but he was stopped by what he saw. The Changeling saw Vinrod just stop, and limped over.

"What's with you, hybrid?" The Changeling asked, standing next to him. The Changeling followed Vinrod's eyes down to the front door, seeing what he was seeing... A set of large, 2-legged hoofprints planted in the dirt right at Vinrod's door...

That night encounter wasn't a dream...

The Changeling, however, could care less about what his deal was, so it walked out the door, slightly pushing Vinrod aside in order to do so. All the Changeling wanted by then was to just get back to its horde before they would think on replacing it or something. Only after the shove did Vinrod snap back to his senses, as he watched the Changeling walk out.

"Well, I gotta get going," the Changeling said, readying its wings. However, when it tried to fly, the strain weighed it back down to earth multiple times as it tried to get off the ground to fly off. Vinrod went on over to it after seeing it fall down the tenth time. Meanwhile, Vinrod tried to think over the words again, and the Changling's troubles as well.

"Where's your horde at?" Vinrod asked at a point, just barely catching the Changeling's attention.

"What's it to you?" the Changeling snapped, stressed for his trouble to just getting off the ground at all, let along making it to the horde.

"Well...I just thought I could...well, help you?"

"I don't need anymore help, I'll be fine from here on out," the Changeling insisted, as it tried to flutter off a few more times before falling head first into the cold dirt. Seemed whatever crash happened to it, it did a number on its wings. Still, Vinrod couldn't help but wonder where the horde could be. It was a little bit too coincidental that such an odd minotaur would show up after this Changling stayed...Maybe a connection?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine now quit bugging me, Queen Mantis is waiting," the Changeling snapped, trying to fly one more time before falling down to earth again. Queen Mantis? Seemed this Changeling allowed details to slip out.

"Who's that?"

"Huh? Oh darn it, okay, Queen Mantis is my queen south of Appaloosa, and I'm trying to get home to her. Happy now?" the Changling groaned, giving himself a mental slap in the snout for blabbering on about Queen Mantis to a complete stranger...and one extra for telling him where she was. Vinrod took it with some thought for a bit, thinking about this 'Sphinx Gathering'. When it came to Sphinx in general, information doesn't exactly spread around aside from rumour and speculation. And what rumour he had heard about this Sphinx Gathering is close to 0...Still, something was nagging in his mind once the location was said...

"say...may I come along?"

The Changeling stopped for a brief moment to glare at him.

"What? Why?"

"Well, I dunno, it's just. I feel like I'm supposed to be heading that way..."

Honestly, Vinrod had doubts about his own decision, but again, something kept that thought in. However, the Changeling wasn't in any mood for any games. It was risky enough that it blabbered on about who and where its queen was, and then Vinrod asked to come along?

"If I say yes, will you promise not to cause any trouble?" the Changeling asked suspiciously. A bit Ironic that the same Changeling that asked to stay at Vinrod's place was suspicious of the same hybrid. Either way, Vinrod simply nodded his answer, not wanting to strain himself with more words. The Changeling just groaned, but didn't stop Vinrod as it started to limp off. Before Vinrod left though, he needed someway to tell the town what he was up to. So, in just a short minute, he went inside, wrote down a note, and left it on his door before he began to follow the Changeling...

To whom it may concern:
I'll be gone for a while, be back soon.

Ch.2: The Snow Moon

As time went on, Vinrod and the Changeling continued off towards Appaloosa. The number of bright night continued to rise and fall, the land still cold from the high time of late winter. In fact, snow was getting to be a major problem for the hybrid and Changling, starting to become softer and thicker. Normally that wouldn't be too much of an issue, but, walking through soft snow reaching up to a pony's underbelly can be an energy-drainer. It didn't really help that the path - although going through a pine forest - wasn't covered up, allowing snow to fully cover it. Vinrod didn't have too much trouble going through the thick snow, being taller than an average pony would be, but it didn't mean he didn't have any trouble. Speaking of trouble, the Changeling was still going through quite a bit of trouble. With it's holed legs, and insect nature, winter was a deep sin to it. Even if its hoof had grown back, it still couldn't fly safely in this kind of weather. At least snow wasn't adding more to what was already there, and the moon was giving plenty of light to see thanks to the white snow reflecting off it. Vinrod stopped for a brief moment, letting the Changeling catch up.

"Dang it snow, it's hard enough as it is," the Changeling growled, continuing to keep its pace. Vinrod steadily stood in the snow as the Changeling caught up with him, panting heavily with dry breath. Vinrod would ask it if it needed a lift, but again, his concern for it being a creature that feeds on high levels of emotion. Besides, the last 5 times he asked, the Changeling always refused, so he didn't bother that time. While going down the trail lined ahead of them, the Changeling finally took a rest, extremely tired from the draining march, making Vinrod stop as well. The horned Sphinx walked back to the Changeling as it tried to regain what energy it had left. Vinrod finally had enough with his worries and its stubbornness, so he kneel down, and readied himself.

"I told you, I don't need any help," the Changeling snapped, despite being weak enough.

"Please, you're going to die if you keep this up," Vinrod insisted, his voice even weaker than usual.

"And your point?"

"You want to get back, don't you?" Vinrod asked, more firm than concern. The Changeling did want to return to the horde, and to Queen Mantis. It looked to its hooves, the holes completely filled and weighed down by ice and snow that had compacted within them. It didn't have a choice. Slowly, the Changeling managed to drag itself onto Vinrod's back, settling itself on comfortable as Vinrod raised him back up. Vinrod kept the worry of the Changeling's appetite for emotion out of mind as Vinrod started to continue. Only after a minute of carrying, Vinrod and the Changeling suddenly stopped as they heard an ominous set of howls coming from all directions...

"Oh buck, Timber Wolves," the Changeling stated, not in any mood nor condition to fight off any wooden canines. Vinrod was worried too, and began to pick up the pace, trotting through the snow as best he could. Even with 3 toes rather than a single hoof, it was still hard to keep footing as he tried to find somewhere to rest up. Timber Wolves were one of the threats that were able to easily survive the colder conditions and purely night hours without too much trouble, so being caught by a pack of Timberwolves would be death sentence on the spot for both Vinrod and his passenger. The Sphinx continued off for a little bit, trying to keep an eye out for any signs of Timber Wolves around them, when he too was starting to get winded. However, after heading down the road a bit, Vinrod and the Changeling both noticed a smaller path, leading off to an abandoned wooden home. These sort of abandoned homes had become a more common sight within previous years, due to the moonlight hours becoming dominant. Taking the opportunity, Vinrod and the Changeling both headed right for it. Probably their only chance they could get.

After trailing through the snow for a bit, they both just managed to get the wooden door open, and head inside. The wooden home was surrounded by snow, and it showed just how much snow there was soon as they both got in. The home looked similar to what Vinrod's home was, with a few exceptions such as an extra room to go to. The floor was cold, and light almost none, but at least it was warmer than outside in the wind. The Changeling got off Vinrod's back, and started to shake out the snow in the holes of its legs until they all were free from any icy chill on the inside of its hooves. Meanwhile, Vinrod took the time to look around for some sort of manual light to work with so they could see a bit better. After looking around for a while, the Sphinx had found another thick candle around the place, and quickly lit it up after some searching. Now they could see where they were, and get a better insight on the situation.

"You better?" Vinrod asked, turning to the Changling after it was finished getting the snow out.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," the Changeling said, walking around the place. It also suddenly flapped its wings at rapid speed to get the frost off of them before settling down. While looking around, they both found a fire place, with some old logs nearby. Ignoring the fact it was odd seeing cut up logs in an abandoned home, Vinrod and the Changeling both got the logs in the fireplace, and lit them up with the candle, soon getting a warm fire going for them both so they could warm up. At first, there wasn't very much talk among them both, but eventually, Vinrod spoke up. Something was nagging in his head about this Queen Mantis, and he would like to know a bit more about her.

"Excuse me. Can you tell me about Queen Mantis?" Vinrod asked.

"Why should I tell you about her?" The Changeling said, looking away.

"I'm just curious. Besides, what else is there to do?" Vinrod pointed out. As a point as that was, the Changeling still tried not to let details slip about Queen Mantis.

"...Well...can you tell me who you are?..."

Still not much of a reply at first, but eventually the Changeling sighed, and turned to Vinrod.

"Changelings don't have names. Not much need for them aside from number and gender. I'm just a male Changeling...no matter how annoying it is when the queen calls on a particular Changeling..."

"Then what does Queen Mantis call you by?"

The Changeling remained quiet, giving Vinrod enough of an indication. This Changeling never had a particular name, and also, never had a particular identity for Queen Mantis to call it by, or rather, call him by. At least Vinrod knew that the Changeling was a boy, as Changeling voices are hard to distinguish between male and female. Vinrod got to thinking a little bit, his mind working on something. After a while, Vinrod turned to the Changeling.

"How about Seven?"

The Changeling looked at Vinrod with a confused expression.

"Seven?"

"Yeah. You said Changelings are called by number right? Seven seemed a name to fit," Vinrod said, taking a moment to relax his voice. He thought over the name Vinrod suggested to him, finding it not too foreign to Changling number call. After looking to the warm flames, he looked to Vinrod.

"Yeah. Seven sounds like a good name for me...But, why are you?"

"I can't just call you 'Changling' forever. If I'm gonna be with you, I need to know you a bit."

"Right right...by the way, what's wrong with your voice? Sounded like you swallowed sand or something," Seven asked, not caring too much for sensitivity when it came to that. It was Vinrod's turn to be quiet, looking to the fire again as it flickered and cracked. He placed his 3 toed foot onto his neck before answering Seven.

"It was kind of a birth defect. Sometimes when you're born a hybrid, a defect can happen to you... In my case, my voice weakened...It's not too bad though, I just can't yell without straining myself..." Vinrod explained, letting his toed warm up in the warm flames. Seven thought over what he said, and was satisfied with the answer, as he let his insect body warm up. The fire felt nice on them both, something different then the cold winter outside. However, they both knew it was only temporary before they had to go again, so, they didn't settle down too much...It also didn't help that they could still hear the howling of the Timber Wolves just outside, so until they leave, they're stuck in the cabin for the time being...

A few hours passed, as the full moon started to set, Vinrod and Seven still in the cabin together. They could hear that the snow was starting to come down again - much to their dismay -. More snow equalled more trouble, and Vinrod and Seven weren't sure to just go and risk getting attacked by the Wolves, or stay and risk getting snowed in. Since it was close to the moonless hours, Vinrod and Seven had to stay regardless... Then another sound filled the room, a sound that made Vinrod on edge...

The Changling's stomach growled.

Vinrod kept an eye on Seven for a while, for he knew enough that a Changeling's appetite is rather dangerous to deal with, especially in a secluded cabin like this. Seven wasn't doing much better, he hated when his stomach hurt from lack of food, and feeding off emotion was Seven's main food source. He technically had a full meal right next to him, but if he did that, how could he go through the snow without help? But still, his hunger was the driving force of him, and the longer they waited, the more risky the danger was. Vinrod eventually got up, looking outside from what window they had in the cabin, watching as the snow fell to the ground slowly like feathers. As he stood there looking away, Seven got back to his feet, looking towards Vinrod for a bit, his hungry stomach getting the better of him...

"H-hey, Vinrod," Seven said with some small drool going down his face. Vinrod glanced back, and saw Seven in a look of hunger directly at him. The trickle of drool from Seven's open mouth was enough of an indication to the Sphinx to keep his distance.

"Seven?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

Vinrod started to back away, as Seven stepped closer to him, eyes fixated on him.

"S-seven, control yourself."

"B-but I'm so...so hungry...Just, hold still for just a second," Seven advised, baring his vampony-like teeth. Vinrod knew Changelings aren't carnivorous, but what they do feed off was enough of a danger to one's health. In a situation like this, that was a death sentence! Vinrod bent his head down, ram horns at the ready as if expecting a charge.

"Stay back!" Vinrod demanded, though his yell was weakened to just a raised voice rather than a full yell. It wasn't enough to give the message clear to Seven, as he moved in closer, licking his muzzle like a hungry dog. His hunger was driving Seven by that point, and Vinrod was his target. But just as the Changeling was about to sink his teeth into him, suddenly the howling of the Timberwolves had returned, dangerously close that time. Then they both heard something claw at the door, the noise horrid to listen to... The Timberwolves had discovered them... Vinrod rushed out of the way of Seven while he was distracted, as the door was being rammed into by some beast outside. Since it was a weak door, it didn't take too long until the door had been busted wide open, revealing a large, Pinewood Timberwolf! Seven kept his distance, but the Timberwolf had its eyes set on Vinrod, as it charged for him! Vinrod got out of the way as the beast slammed into the wall, it's head scattering into chunks of wood. While it's head was being put back together, Vinrod and Seven took the moment to get out of there!

Both Vinrod and Seven tried to run as fast as they could, but the Timberwolf was moving much faster, despite the snow. Despite threatening to eat him, Vinrod tried to help Seven from becoming Timberwolf food. No one deserved that kind of fate, not even a Changeling. The Timberwolf gave another howl after a bit, as 2 other Timberwolves suddenly appeared alongside Vinrod, nearly killing him on sight if Vinrod didn't dodge them. Vinrod did managed to cripple them a number of time, but the regeneration powers of the Timberwolves made the attempts useless, as he and Seven navigated through the winter forest, trying to avoid the beasts at all costs. The Timberwolves kept a surprisingly good pace with Vinrod and Seven as they kept running as fast as they could. However, their dash ended them up back on the road where they came from, the opening giving the Timberwolves more room to surround them! Soon, Vinrod and Seven were suddenly surrounded by a pack of six Timberwolves!

"What do we do, what do we do?" Vinrod wondered in worry, the Timberwolves savagely growling at them, waiting for one of them to make a run for it. Vinrod tried to think of something to do, but Seven was still hungry, and his ravenousness began to take over, as he eyed the Timberwolves around him. Even creatures made of wood hold some sort of emotion in them, and the Changeling could sense that in front of him.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

It happened so fast, it was too hard to comprehend: Seven charged forward full force, wings rapid flight, as he tackled a Timberwolf to the ground, his teeth in the creature's back. At first, the Timberwolf bucked around, trying to shake the Changeling off, but Seven had already started to suck away the creature's force. Vinrod could only watch as the Timberwolf's strength quickly drained out of its body, eventually stopping cold. The glow in the wolf's eyes diminished as Seven finished off what emotion was left, as the creature collapsed into a pile of wood. Seven was satisfied, and no longer hungry, but the horrid fact presented itself. Normally, a Timberwolf would begin to regenerate by that point, and form back to it's original shape...

That didn't happen with this Timberwolf...

The other members of the pack looked at the silent pile of wood, and suddenly looked at Seven with fear rather than anger or hunger. Realizing what he'd done, Seven took the opportunity, and screeched right at them, causing the pack to run away in fear. Seven traced his tongue over his teeth, still having the odd taste of bark in his mouth. But, at least his hunger was satisfied for the moment.

"Ah~ that was good," Seven said, as Vinrod walked over.

"What happened there? You basically killed a Timberwolf," Vinrod asked, more intrigued than worried. Sure, Timberwolves weren't the strongest predators, but to stop one from regenerating after one attack was something else entirely. Seven turned to Vinrod, no longer looking at him like food.

"I had to feed somehow. It's a monthly deal a Changeling has to deal with," Seven said, looking down to the pile of wood in the snow. Speaking of snow, Seven was having trouble getting the snow out of his hooves again. Such a bother snow getting stuck inside a Changeling's leg from all those holes. After knowing that Seven wasn't gonna attack him, Vinrod walked over alongside him, and settled down again next to him. An invitation to ride on his back again. Unlike before, Seven just got on and Vinrod got back up, letting Seven shake off the snow in his hooves again.

"It's too dangerous here. We should keep moving," Vinrod suggested.

"What?! We can't continue after moonless hours, especially in weather like this! Let's just get back to that cabin!" Seven snapped.

"And deal with more Timberwolves? Besides, you want to get back, right?"

"Argh, you keep on bringing that up...fine," Seven sighed. He did desperately want to get home, but however, he still had common sense too. However, he might as well continue on anyway. Who knows what could happen if they'd stay?...

~~

The moonless hours finally came around. Without the light of the moon to guide them, nor any light from any star, it was almost pitch black. To make matters worse, the small snowfall had turned to a windy night of deep downpour of snowflakes. It was extremely difficult to keep moving through the tough snow. While going through, Seven decided that it might be safer to trail him rather than stay on his back, mercy of the cold. It wasn't as better behind Vinrod, but at least the wind wasn't that much of an issue. Vinrod however was getting the full blast of it, his feet cold in the snow as the rest of him was being blasted at by snow and wind. Something told him that it was a good idea not to stay at the cabin; they would easily get snowed in if they'd stay. That didn't mean the walk was any good on both of them. Eventually, Vinrod stopped, Seven accidentally walking into him.

"I got an idea. Seven just stand there," Vinrod instructed. Seven wasn't used to being told what to do by someone other than the queen, but with his life on the line, he might at well comply. Then, Vinrod started to dig deep in the snow, his 3 toed feet trying there hardest to dig down. Seven could only watch, head down, as Vinrod dug in deeper and deeper until he was done. Seven looked in shock, as it appeared to be a grave.

"What's wrong with you?! I don't want to die here!"

"What? No no, this'll block off the wind and snow until the moon comes back," Vinrod explained, going down into it and laying down inside. The removal of Vinrod in front of him made the wind a bit dreadful to stand in, so, Seven complied and went down inside. Vinrod was correct: the wind wasn't as dangerous within the trench. Seven settled down next to Vinrod, Vinrod's tail moving over so it covered the Changeling's body to keep him warm. Seven was a bit surprised about that, and looked to Vinrod, who already was asleep. Why was he acting so kind to him, especially after Seven nearly drained him? However, Seven could only settle down within the make-shift barrier to the elements...

It was gonna be a long night...

Ch.3: The Hunger Moon

The storm had ceased, and the two had somehow managed to survive their moonless hour in the snowstorm. Vinrod and Seven were grateful to had made it through the snowstorm without any more trouble from those Timberwolves from the moontime earlier, nor had to worry about Seven eating away at Vinrod's emotions. In just 1 month time, the travellers had gone pretty far south. Although still cold, the snow became less thick, and easier to travel through. The trees, turning from pine to regular maple and oak, had become more common as well. It was pretty good news, for Seven especially, since the snow was easier to trek through and easier to shake out of his own hooves. Also, he could even hover around now. Vinrod was just glad he didn't die so far, yet still was grateful to continue off towards Queen Mantis. Besides, he never had seen Appaloosa before, and was a bit eager to get there. However, the fact a Changeling horde was pretty close by there was something worth noting, to say the least.

"Feeling better, Seven?" Vinrod asked.

"Yeah, plenty. Great I can fly again," Seven replied, wings beating at a hummingbird's pace to keep him in the air. Even if he just met Vinrod only a month ago, Seven was slightly beginning to act less dangerous to him. Vinrod helped him recover, agreed to bring him home, and even named him. How could he not try to be more open to Vinrod? As the two continued going through the path south, Vinrod felt his own stomach growl. He had run out of his Bluegrass food for quite a while, and hadn't had much else to eat either...

Then something caught his sense of smell. Vinrod aimed his head upward, and gave a few sniffs, as Seven stopped in confusion.

"What's up?" Seven asked, awaiting for an answer. He saw Vinrod sniff the air, and decided to do the same. However, while the smell to Vinrod was delicious, Seven didn't exactly smell anything good. In fact, to him, it smelt like garbage. Seven covered his snout with his front hooves, trying to block out what smell it was coming from. to the horned sphinx, the smell was pretty good, sweet even. Like fresh flowers or recently made corncakes. The smell, and Vinrod's hunger, made Vinrod decide to start following the smell. Seven saw Vinrod move off away, much to his annoyance, and followed behind.

"Where are you going? Doesn't that smell horrid?" Seven groaned, still holding his nose as he hovered next to him.

"Maybe to a Changeling, but it smells like food to me," Vinrod replied. Of course, Seven had to disagree -with the smell, not his statement-, but since Vinrod was his protection for the moment, he simply followed behind him, the smell more prominent as they continued on through the forest. Seven still didn't understand why Vinrod was enjoying such a rotten smell. Perhaps it was the species barrier, or his hybrid state had effected his nostrils too. Either way, whatever smell it was guided Vinrod to it's direction until eventually they both stopped.

Vinrod and Seven both looked on to a clearing, seeing in the moonlight the shape of a large stone cabin. It looked rather tall, and a good size for a saintiant like Vinrod, or even a large buffalo to fit through the door easily. A picket fence surrounded the home, a tiny bridge going over a river leading to it. Far as they could tell, the scent was coming from the home in question. However, while Vinrod wasn't one for begging for food, the least he could do was try something for what smell it was.

"Seems like it's coming from there," Vinrod stated, taking another wiff.

"No duh, I'm close to passing out over here," replied the grossed-out Changeling. While Seven kept his distance, Vinrod ventured out in the open, looking around the large cabin. As he walked near however, the door leading into the cabin suddenly opened up, making Vinrod stop cold. Seven rushed out and tried to pull him away, but soon they were both caught by the owner of the home. The figure, even in the moonlight, looked yellow in tint, scales running down it's back, and claws on it's feet. It had the head of a pony, though a bit long for one, and about as tall as Vinrod. It had a long tail, ending in a tuft of white hair. Its mane was in drapes, looking like it had the end of a mop on its head rather than actual hair. Soon as it saw them both, it suddenly gave a friendly grin.

"Why hello there, travellers! You lost?" it asked, voice telling them it was a boy. Seven and Vinrod looked to each other before Vinrod answered.

"Uh, we're sorry sir. We -"

"Oh, no trouble at all. I adore guests!" he replied, a bit too happy to see them.

"Eh, right well, we gotta get going, come on Vinrod," Seven said, a bit more aggressive at that last part as Seven tried to get Vinrod moving, but the scaled horse trotted towards them, his claws scraping the ground.

"Oh don't be like that. You two must be starving, travelling around in this weather. Come on in, I was just making dinner," he invited, a clawed foot to the door. Vinrod thought for a minute, but his hunger kinda gave him his answer, as he just nodded to the owner. in glee, the scaled pony ushered them towards the door.

"Do you have any idea how Clichéd this scenario is?" Seven whispered to Vinrod.

"I know I know, we'll just have ourselves a meal and be off on our way. I'll be sure of it," Vinrod whispered back. Still, Seven wasn't all eager to enter this thing's house, but at least Vinrod had a non-clichéd plan that Seven was willing to do...or at least, one he was forced to take.

~~

Inside the cabin, it looked pretty big for seemingly just one owner. While inside the dining room, Vinrod and Seven were gifted with a LOT of delicious delicacies; corncakes, apple fritters, salads, hay sandwiches, and a bunch of other stuff. Vinrod was pleased and took his share of the feast. However, Seven sat next to him with hooves crossed, an annoyed look, and a clothespin snapped over his nose so the smell won't make him faint. Sure, he's no carnivore, but that didn't mean Seven enjoyed herbivorous delicacies either. Kinda like a pony's reaction to a bad-smelling fruit. As Vinrod ate, their host looked on with a grin as he just watched Vinrod.

"Thank you sir," Vinrod said, as he took another bite of his hay sandwich.

"No trouble at all. It's a pleasure to have guests over to our corner of the world," he said with a smile.

"Our corner? You mean there's others here?" Seven asked, his voice sounding kinda funny thanks to the clothespin. The scaled pony nodded as he gave a whistle towards upstairs. Soon, two other figures, looking similar to their caller, came on down. Only main difference between them was the colour of their scales: one was brownish, the other was more golden. The two appeared more pony-like than their caller, having hooves and a more pony like face.

"These are my children, Tal and Haluu," he introduced, as the children nodded in a gentle-like manor. Vinrod nodded too with a smile, but Seven just ignored them, waiting to just go. One of the kids, the golden Haluu, went over to Seven, noticing the clothespin.

"Something wrong, mister? Does it smell bad in here?" He asked, head tilted.

"It's smells like trash in here," Seven bluntly replied. Insulted, Haluu went ahead and yanked off the clothespin from Seven's nose. Almost immediately, the smell of hay and cooked plants bombarded his nose, as he tried to swat it away like an annoying fly.

"ACK! Give me that back," Seven snapped, snatching the clothespin away from Haluu, and snapping it back on his nose. Haluu simply snorted as Tal walked over to Vinrod, her curious to the strange creature.

"What are you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm a hybrid. Ram and Sphinx," Vinrod answered, finishing the hay sandwich. Seven took a glance to Vinrod with an annoyed look.

"Are you satisfied now?" Seven asked.

"Yeah I think I'm good. We'll have to leave, Thank you," Vinrod said, as he and Seven got back up and started heading out. However, the owner of the home got in their way, still a bit happy with his smile.

"Hold on, you two must be tired. Why don't you stay for the moonless hours?" he offered.

"We're not tired at all, scaly. Come on, let's go," Seven said, trying to go again, but he got in their way again, much to the Changelings annoyance. What's this guys problem anyway?

"Now now, surely you two had travelled a long way, and the moonless hours are too dangerous to travel through, with all those nasty dark monsters. I insist."

"True, but I insist you step aside and let us out," Seven retorted, wanting to just go. He knew what this guy's trying to do, and he ain't having any of it. Besides, he couldn't keep the clothespin on forever. Vinrod tried to speak, but Seven put his hoof over his mouth, keeping him quiet. He wanted out, and he didn't care who said what. Vinrod felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation at hand, and also didn't want to stick around either...Then Vinrod got an idea.

"Alright, we'll stay around for the moonless hours," Vinrod concluded, catching the angered Changeling by surprise, and the scaled horse with glee.

"Wonderful! I'll show you to your room," he said, as he started heading on upstairs. Vinrod and Seven followed him towards their room. The room itself looked pretty old, yet nice. the pony closed the door, leaving Vinrod and Seven in the moonlit room. Course, Seven wasn't too thrilled about staying for the moonless hours in this freak's place.

"What the heck, Vinrod?! What happened to just leaving?!" Seven snapped, getting all in Vinrod's face.

"Seven, please. I only said that so to not upset, we'll leave later on while they're asleep, okay?" Vinrod explained, resting on the bed. It was a bit late, and the moon was starting to settle down on the horizon. Seven just groaned, and landed next to him on the bed. He knew how much of a Cliché everything was; a freaky pony just invites them inside, and feeds them food, and offers them a bed. Anyone with a mind would know what'll happen next if they stay any longer, and Seven knew it, as he closed his eyes.

~~

Sometime later, as the moon disappeared, both Vinrod and Seven both were getting a bit restless, only acting like they're asleep for a good few hours. At one point, Vinrod's grey eye opened up to check their place. Coast's clear by the looks of it. So, Vinrod nudged Seven awake, trying to keep quiet in case they were awake. Without the moon, the house looked deeply black, and hard to see as Vinrod and Seven tried to sneak out. Each step they took was a risk on their part of being caught. Seven had it easy, able to just hover quietly to avoid knocking anything over, but Vinrod had the trouble of trying to keep his 3 toed feet from making too much noise on the floor. It felt like forever, but, the two did slowly get downstairs without making too much noise. As they did, Seven suddenly smelt something from the kitchen, only it didn't make him feel like passing out that time...

"Seven?" Vinrod asked quietly. Seven looked around, following his nose until he managed to identify the scent. Then the two suddenly heard voices from the kitchen, hearing some conversation going. The two could just peek inside the kitchen without being seen by, as it turned out, the scaled ponies. They could make out a sort of pot and fire made.

"Dad, do we have to this time?" one of the kids asked, thought they could see who it was.

"Dunno what you're issue is, Tal, you've had meat before."

"I know I did. I'm fine with a rabbit, or bird, but eating our guests?" Tal asked sadly. Vinrod and Seven got a bit spooked, but Seven kinda expected it from all the Cliche stuff already. They saw Haluu walk over to his sister.

"Come on, sis, it'll be quick. Besides, I never had Changeling meat before, nor Sphinx meat," Haluu said, licking his muzzle at the thought of it. Course, Vinrod and Seven glanced at each other.

"Carnivorous ponies?" Vinrod stated silently. Seven had his hoof to his forehead in complete annoyance.

"I knew it, they want to eat us."

"You knew?"

"Dude, a freak invites us in his house, gives us a ton of food, and makes us stay the night, of course they want to eat us!" Seven snapped quietly.

"...Touché. Let's go before they realize anything," Vinrod stated, as they both started to head for the door again. As they went, Vinrod just caught something from the dad.

"Now, Tal, can you go get our guests? Think the water's ready," he stated.

Obvious reaction: the two started to hightail it quietly off, as they heard the brown scaled carnivore step out of the kitchen, ready to go get the guests to do the deed, as much as she didn't want to. Tal looked around a bit down the hall, and then suddenly saw the tip of Vinrod's tail in her sight. Vinrod and Seven took the sudden rush to simply hide off the corner so Tal could head upstairs, but Vinrod's tail had kinda made that plan a flop. Tal started to walk towards their direction, eyeing the tail as Vinrod realized his mistake, and yanked the tail away. However, Tal had already seen it, and the sudden movement made her move to a trot. Vinrod and Seven both weren't in the mood to become dinner, and quickly scurried off as fast as they could, but Tal had already caught them.

"Is something wrong?" Tal asked, acting curious to their reactions. Instead of answering her right away, Seven and Vinrod took off. It didn't take too long before they were out the door, and out into the dark. Tal got outside, but as soon as she did, Vinrod and Seven were nowhere to be seen. The noise had gotten Haluu and their dad outside, lantern with them so they could see. Where Vinrod and Seven decided to hide was under the bridge, Vinrod in the water while Seven quietly hovering above the small stream. They both could hear the scrapping claws and hooves of the carnivore equines on the bridge, looking around trying to find them. Although dim, they could see the dim light of the orange flame above them, flickering off the water. Haluu looked over the bridge, trying to find a clue, but no dice. However, the dad then got a rather clever idea.

"Haluu, can you hold the lantern for a sec?" He asked.

"Oh sure, dad," Haluu replied, taking the lantern from him, and going back to look. As Haluu tried to see with the lantern light, the dad moved over to the otherside of the bridge, and had a look. The light of the lantern went through the bridge...

And so did the shadows...

The father nudged Haluu, and worded out "under the bridge", as to not startle Vinrod and Seven underneath the bridge. Nodding to his dad, Haluu set the lantern down by Tal, before both carnivores stood by each side of the bridge, at the middle. As soon as Vinrod and Seven considered to just bolt for it, both carnivores suddenly jumped down, teeth snarling at them in hunger. Seven and Vinrod both gasped upon sight of them both, finding them trapped under the bridge. Desperate, Vinrod aimed down, and charged forward at Haluu with his horns, knocking the scaled pony out of the way as they rushed for it. The father was already galloping though, and leaped up at Seven, grabbing his back hoof! The strain of the weight caused the hoof to detach, the pony tumbling in the dirt.

"Oh for buck's sake!" Seven screamed, seeing his back right hoof missing. Haluu got up and rushed at them in the dark, Vinrod and Seven bolting for it. Meanwhile, Tal was sitting alone in the moonless hours, only having her lantern to see. She could hear all the struggles going on out there in the woods, and didn't want to end up alone in this kind of place. So, Tal took the lantern and began following the sound to look for them.

Meanwhile, Vinrod and Seven were practically trying all they could to avoid becoming their next meal. While a bit ahead of them, the carnivorous ponies were keeping good pace in the dark. The occasional kick and buck was all the fighting that was going on, all considered. The duo kept rushing through the forest, until Vinrod suddenly tumbled over a exposed tree root, soon surrounded by the creatures. Vinrod managed to get up, but had nowhere to run. Seven stayed far away from the fight, not wanting his own life at more risk than it already had. Vinrod lowered his head, and scraped the ground with his 3-toed foot, signalling a potential charge, as the two carnivores snarled and bared their teeth. Seven remained away from them, watching everything occur. As he was though, his Changeling ears suddenly heard something nearby. Like a low, almost ghostly howl, that sent shivers down his spine. Since Seven was flying though, it was more curiosity than fear that got to him first. Down below, Vinrod was back to the tree, as the others remained firm and ready to attack him. As the clawed horse took a step forward, suddenly they all heard something move around among the brush nearby...

The group heard a sinister growl coming from just a few feet away. Haluu, ignoring Vinrod for a second, turned and growled towards the sound. Vinrod however took a step back, away from the growling, as Haluu charged forward. Horrid mistake. No sooner as Haluu got about a foot away, a gigantic shape leaped out, a huge paw slamming Haluu's head into the cold ground. The impact was so strong, it killed him almost immediately! The blood seeped out from Haluu's crushed head, painting the snow a darker colour, as the figure looked to the others. The giant beast towered over them, eyes glowing a deep white compared to its black fur. The beast lifted up Haluu's lifeless body, and flung it out of sight, as it rushed for the father. Vinrod bolted aside, as the scaled pony took the hit. He tried to fight, but the beast quickly snapped his neck, twisting his head a full 180, as the body fell to the ground. Vinrod stood in utter shock as the beast demolished the carnivorous ponies in just under 20 seconds, leaving him alone as the animal turned to him, the growls emitting from its snout. Vinrod didn't know what to do, as the beast slowly moved over to him, snarling at him. As it walked closer, suddenly Vinrod saw a light coming from the forest, moving at a fast pace right towards them. A quick rush through the forest, and it revealed to be Tal and her lantern. The light revealed the creature before Vinrod, and also showed more of the devastation to both Tal and Vinrod. Tal was struck the hardest with the sight of her family dead around her, as the lantern fell out of her mouth, eyes clouding up in tears. The light revealed the monstrous culprit as a giant dog, an irish wolfhound in appearance. However, the eyes still emitted the white hue, and the fur colour was a deep rustic brown. The sheer size of the dog made Tal so small in comparison, as she backed away slowly. The shadow of the beast covered her, the saliva and fresh blood dripping on the ground in front of the lantern. Vinrod, blinded, rushed over and pulled Tal out of the way just before she was crushed by the dog, both running.

"Come on, move, move, move," Vinrod said, getting Tal to pick up the pace. Tal, although freaked out and broken, ran alongside Vinrod as they heard the monster charge at them. From the sky, Seven started to follow them, trying to keep up and find out where to go to avoid this thing. Vinrod ran as fast as he could, Tal close behind, as the beast moved closer with each stride it made. Seven flew closer to Vinrod and Tal, trying to avoid getting caught himself by the giant canine. Losing his hoof was bad enough, he didn't want any other part lost. While running, Vinrod looked ahead and tried to avoid getting tripped again. However, he also noticed something else; they're heading right to a cliff! Vinrod and Tal skidded to a halt right at the cliff face, the beast not bothering to slow down, as a howl echoed through its muzzle. Seven quickly bolted for it, but made a sudden U-turn, and rammed Vinrod and Tal out of the way, as the dog rushed off the cliff. One final echoing howl, and the dog was gone in the dark abyss. Vinrod, Seven and Tal looked over the cliff, unable to see hide nor hair of the monster...

"What in the stars was that?!" Seven gasped.

"Don't know, and I don't want to," Vinrod replied, catching his breath for a minute. As Seven and Vinrod tried to calm down, Tal just laid by the cliff quietly, looking down it to where the others saw the beast fall. Tears were still on the girl's face, still in shock about losing her family so quickly.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Seven asked, landing near Tal. The scaled pony turned to Seven, seeing his leg missing from what her family had done. Tal cringed on site of it.

"W-what about you? Your - your leg..."

"Don't worry bout it, It'll grow back in due time."

"Are you hurt?" Vinrod asked, walking over to the creature. Tal looked herself over before slowly getting up.

"That thing...It killed my family..." Tal whimpered, tears going down her face.

"Well they weren't the nicest family -" Seven was stopped when Vinrod whacked him on the back of the head, keeping him quiet. Even if they tried to eat them, they still were her family, and it still hurt her deeply upon losing them to that beast. Vinrod stood next to her, as Tal stayed quiet. She looked up to Vinrod, and pushed herself against him, Vinrod trying to comfort her. Seven just sighed, looking down the cliff.

"Ok. Come on, Vinrod," Seven said, Vinrod unsure if they should go yet. However, he walked over to Seven anyway, only to have Tal suddenly grip his back leg.

"D-don't leave me alone!...Please..."

"Look kid, we have places to get -"

"Please! I know my family tried to kill you but I have nowhere to go! They were all I had left!"

"What about your mom? You had a dad and a brother, bout her?"

Tal remained silent...

"...OOOHHHH. Uh, can you excuse us?" Vinrod asked. Tal just nodded quietly as Vinrod and Seven moved away a little bit.

"Vinrod, I don't think we should bring her!" Seven states quietly.

"What? Why not, she needs somewhere to go."

"Her family tried to eat us remember?"

"But she didn't want to eat us. Besides, maybe we can find somewhere for her to live on the way, K?"

"...Ok fine. But if she rips off any of me, she's on her own."

Vinrod understood, and went back to Tal, Seven looking over his missing back hoof while Tal looked to him.

"You can come with us. Just promise you won't try anything tricky."

Vinrod's answer came from a hug given to him by Tal herself. Tal looked up towards Vinrod's grey eyes, with tears of joy. Vinrod let her hug for a while before he, Seven, and now Tal, started off again into the night.

Ch.4: The Worm Moon

The time continued onward for sometime, as the month of march began to roll itself around. It had been only at least 2 weeks since Vinrod and Seven had ended up being attacked by carnivorous ponies, and recruited Tal into their little group. Seven had his leg back from the week's wait, but still wasn't in full trust mode with Tal just yet, with her family almost eating them anyway. As for Tal, she felt a bit unsure of the situation to; her family was all but gone, and here she was going with two saintiants she never had met before. Still, as time went on, the land was beginning to loosen more of its snowy hold, and beginning to show the first signs of early spring. Even if snow was still on the ground in the forested areas, opened up plains were deprived of fluffy snow, and had thawed and hardened due to the constantly thawing and freezing, as if the cold was fighting what warmth the moon would bring. On a dry dirt road, the three were still heading off south as their own speed, Tal sticking close to them as if expecting yet another attack.

"Geesh kid, you don't have to be so clingy you know," Seven commented, seeing how close she was to Vinrod. Tal was annoyed with Seven's comment. For the past 2 weeks, Tal had tried to be nice to the Changeling, but, since her family nearly killed him, Seven wasn't very fond of the same type of creature in their group, even if she didn't want to eat them in the first place.

"I have a name, and it happens to be Tal."

"I know I know, you told me that five times now, keep your scales on you...what are you?" Seven asked, realizing that Tal hadn't told them what kind of saintiant she was yet. Even if it'd been 2 weeks full, Vinrod and Seven hadn't had too much interaction with Tal just yet. After a bit, Tal just nodded.

"Me? Actually, I'm known as a Dragonequus."

"Draconequus? You don't look that messed up."

"No, no, Dragonequus, with a G. They're like normal ponies, but eat meat instead of plants. Pretty simple, really," Tal explained to them both. Swishing his tail, Vinrod looked down at Tal next to him.

"I never heard of a Dragonequus before. Are there others like you?" Vinrod asked, curious to her race in a number of ways. Curchcolt didn't really hold any Dragonequus as neighbours, and Seven hadn't seen one around much either. Tal took a minute to think, a hoof under her chin as her eyes drifted to the star-filled sky.

"I think so, but I'm not sure."

As they continued going along the trail, suddenly Tal's stomach growled up a storm, making Seven moved off about a foot away from her in case she tried anything to him. Who would blame him, though? Tal blushed up, and looked to Vinrod.

"Uh... You wouldn't mind if I get a bite to eat, would you?" Tal asked, still blushing a bit. Vinrod looked around, and noticed the field of wild bluegrass not too far away.

"Just don't be too long, Tal, okay?"

Tal happily nodded, and galloped off to get some live meat nearby. Watching her, Seven moved over to Vinrod, still a bit suspicious over her. It took nearly a month for him to trust Vinrod, and that was because he ate plants and stuff like that. But Tal needed a bit more time before Seven could trust her fully.

~~

In the tall bluegrass, Tal continued to try to find some food for herself to eat. Being a carnivore meant she needed some more time to locate, and hunt down whatever was hiding in the tall grass. The grass itself swayed in the early spring breeze, helping Tal get her sense of smell to work, trying to find a scent of some sort of food. It took a little bit of work, but she did end up getting the scent of a rat in the grass. Not exactly the best source of food, but food none-the-less. She slowly followed her nose until she eventually found the lone rat scurrying amongst the grass. Even being a carnivore, she hadn't been on too many hunting trips, so she was a bit rusty when it came to what she was suppose to do. Tal hunkered down, her snake-like tail swishing behind her as she stalked the rat. Slowly, her hooves edged her closer, as the rat remained unaware of her presence. However, as she became inches away from her target, the rat suddenly ran off. Tal rushed out and tried to catch the rat under her hooves but the rat scurried out of sight in the tall grass. Tal thought she failed her hunt, but suddenly she saw a sudden flash, and a rodent screech. Curious, Tal trotted over to the source of the sudden noise, as she ended up in a clearing.

Within that clearing, she suddenly saw a strange, pink looking creature, just finishing off the rat. It was curled up in a ball-like shape as it was sleeping off the meal, Tal unsure what to make of it. It looked kinda small, about the size of a small dog, with pink skin in the moonlight above. Tal slowly moved forward to the odd creature, soon standing right in front of it. She circled it, but was a bit unsure of what to make of it, even close up. It had that look of a worm, or grub, looking kinda pudgy like some sort of pink plushy. Tal tinted her head, looking over the thing every which way. Even if she wasn't sure what it was, she was still a bit hungry so she went down, and took a tiny bite on the tail. All of a sudden, the thing was wide awake, and a sudden shock drilled through Tal's body as if she bit into a live wire! Obviously this thing, whatever it was, could use electrical magic. Luckily for Tal, it was a small charge, but it was still painful. After the shock gone through her body, Tal let the thing go. The creature slithered away a little bit, then turned towards Tal with black beady eyes, like those of a doll. Tal looked it over a little bit more, seeing it awake and alert despite eating up a rat. The little creature just settled in front of Tal, about as curious of her as Tal was of it. The Dragonequus was still a bit hungry, so, she turned and began trotting away...Unaware the little thing was starting to follow her.

Back on the dirt road, Vinrod and Seven were still waiting for Tal to come back, Seven hovering in circles around Vinrod as they both waited. Eventually, Vinrod saw Tal return, no longer looking hungry.

"There you are. You better?" Vinrod asked, turning over to her. Tal nodded with a smile.

"Just a few birds, but I'm good."

Seven just groaned, and started to hover off down the trail again. Vinrod and Tal were about to go, but suddenly an odd noise distracted them, as they looked back to the tall bluegrass, suddenly seeing a pink thing roll out of the brush. The trio stopped as the thing suddenly stopped in front of Tal, revealing to be the same worm Tal had come across. Seven looked back, seeing the thing sitting there looking them over with its baby eyes, but Seven didn't want a grub with them.

"What's with the grub?" Seven asked, looking right at the pink thing.

"I dunno. Shoo, shoo," Tal said, waving a hoof for it to go away. Instead, the worm snuggled the hoof. A bit odd, considering Tal was electrocuted by the thing, and suddenly the fella was okay with it. Vinrod leaned in for a closer look, trying to figure out what it was.

"Looks like some sort of glow-worm, or maybe a caterpillar?"

"None of those things grow this big. Get lost, bug."

Seven pushed away the grub rather roughly. The thing gave a hiss at the Changling, suddenly giving Seven a electric shock, Seven spiraling and shuttering from the electric flow. It was only a few seconds, but enough to singe him. Oddly enough, the little event gave Vinrod the answer he was looking for.

"Oh, now I know, the thing's a Thunderwyrm," Vinrod concluded. Seven shook off the shock and went back to Vinrod.

"Well whatever it is, keep it away from me," Seven groaned. The Thunderwyrm stayed by Tal, who was a bit confused to why it would be with her, of all saintiants. Tal looked to Vinrod, who she figured was the only one who knew a bit about these things. As if reading her mind, Vinrod cleared his throat before speaking again, as to not strain his voice again.

"It's like a large electric larva. I've heard about these before while back in Curchcolt," Vinrod explained.

"But why is it so happy to see me?"

"Don't know, but looks like it won't leave you alone anytime soon Tal," Vinrod concluded, as the Thunderwyrm climbed up and rested on Tal's back. It wasn't heavy, but a bit moist for being out in the cold. Even if unexpected, Tal did find the thing oddly cute for being a larva.

"In that case guys, meet our new recruit."

"NO WAY!" Seven suddenly retorted.

"Seven, it's obvious it's not going away anytime soon."

"Well, make it leave!" Seven demanded, heading over to the Thunderwyrm, grabbing it, and tossing it back in the grass. About 5 seconds later, the Thunderwyrm was rolling right on back. The Changeling was suddenly knocked on the wheel, and was spinning around on top until he slammed in the ground. Even if it was unexpected, Tal gave a little chuckle at Seven's expense, despite the glare Seven gave her. The thunderwyrm then went right back to Tal, and climbed back up on her back.

"Well, we're just gonna have to deal with it for now. We should keep moving," Vinrod said, looking to the thunderwyrm. As much as Seven didn't want to, he just went along with them, making sure to keep Vinrod in between himself and that thing.

~~

The moon continued its shift, on towards the moonless hours of the night, the three not finding anywhere to stay for the night as per usual. It wasn't easy to keep on sleeping in the open without some sort of light to keep any danger away. The three had managed to make a fire to help them out for the night. Although not very strong, at least they can see better and won't freeze either. Tal and her thunderwyrm stayed together as Seven and Vinrod laid down by the open flame. Tal's thunerwyrm curled up next to Tal, as it went to sleep.

"How far do you think Appaloosa is?" Vinrod asked.

"Beats me. Travelling the way we are, it could be months before we get there," Seven replied, letting his insect body warm up by the fire, wings spread out and everything. While the weeks past, Vinrod and Seven eventually did tell Tal about where they're going, and Tal was more than eager to join them on their little trip. While her tail went around her Thunderwyrm, she looked over to them both.

"It sure is exciting to be going down south. I never been to Appaloosa before," Tal said.

"It's nothing special, just some ponytown in the south," Seven said.

"Do you realize how rare that is? A pure ponytown?"

"Yeah, I don't care much for ponykind, so, don't go on about how special that is," Seven said, rolling his eyes on the subject. The Dragonequus just sighed, and looked to her Thunderwyrm friend. The little fella gave a cute little moan, as Tal nuzzled it.

"There there, Cluutie, you go back to sleep," Tal said.

"Cluutie?"

"Huh? Oh, well if she's gonna stay with us, I might as well name her," Tal said, as Cluutie went back to sleep as she was told. Seven just rolled his eyes, but was getting tired as well. So, without much other discussion, settled down and went to sleep, alongside Vinrod.

A few hours had past, and the three were still fast asleep for the most part. The cooling winds by the warm fire made the fire dim down a little more, but not much. While trying to remain asleep, Seven suddenly got back up, feeling pain in his stomach again. It had been a long time since he had much true Changeling food to eat, ala emotions, and had been quiet since his encounter with the Timberwolves. However, hunger does eventually come back around, and it caught back up to Seven.

"Dang, I'm getting hungry again," Seven thought, as he looked around. Vinrod, Tal and Cluutie were still very much asleep, and Seven had the pure right of hand. He kept Vinrod off his list, and instead moved quietly to Tal and Cluutie. Tal was a bit tricky, with her attachment to the group and what she gone through, so instead he mainly focused on Cluutie. With a grin and a lick of his teeth, he readied himself for an emotional snack, his mouth opening to show his fangs to the sleeping Thunderwyrm. Seven was just about to bite into Cluutie when, suddenly, he heard something move nearby. He quickly turned in the direction, only to have some sort of dust splat him in the face! he would screech from the attack, but Seven toppled over and fell fast asleep, finding out too late it was sleeping powder. After everyone was fully at rest, a tall figure stepped out of the darkness, right by Vinrod. Silently, the figure placed a letter by Vinrod's feet, and quietly ventured back into the darkness...

"Ym Seigolopa. Gnilegnahc..."

~~

When the Moon came back around, Vinrod woke back up with a yawn, getting his head and horns up and balanced out. As he got himself back up, he looked over to Seven and Tal, getting a rather...unique circumstance. Seemed the powder affecting Seven made him face to face with Tal, looking like the two were sleeping together. Although cute, Vinrod found it humorous...Then he felt the letter by one of his feet. Curious, Vinrod moved the letter and looked it over, a bit unsure of the writing put out on it. However, Tal and Seven were just about waking up...Of course, both screamed, and bolted off about 5 feet away from each other.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" They both yelled. Vinrod was taken by surprise, along with Cluutie, as the thunderwyrm moved away from the scuffle.

"Seven, what's the matter with you?!"

"With me?! I didn't -"

"You should know better than sleeping with an acquaintance, I barely even got to know you these past couple of weeks, and you come onto me?!"

"What the hay are you talking about?! I wasn't coming onto you!"

"Then how'd you end up like that?"

"I dunno, i woke up, walked around, something hit my buckin head -"

"What kind of excuse is that?"

Vinrod suddenly intervened before words turned to fights, standing between Seven and Tal. While still angry, the main emotion was embarrassment, Tal red faced while Seven was blushing greenish blue. No matter what way you look at it, the fact one would wake up with someone they barely known of would make anyone flustered.

"Guys calm down!" Vinrod yelled, having to deeply strain himself in order to get the voice across. He cleared his throat to remove the strain before continuing on.

"I know it was rather unexpected, but let's keep moving. We won't get to Appaloosa just standing around," Vinrod explained. While still flustered, Seven and Tal agreed and started to move along, keeping a good distance away from eachother for the rest of the time. As they continued walking, the question of the letter came back up, as Tal saw Vinrod's paper.

"What'chu got there?" Tal asked, eyeing the paper in Vinrod's grip. After it was pointed out, Vinrod placed the letter in his 3-toed foot.

"I'm not too sure, I kinda woke up with it," Vinrod explained, letting them both see the letter.

Eno Erom

"Huh? Eno Erom? What language is that?" Tal asked.

"Not sure exactly," replied Vinrod, as he continued to look over the paper a bit, trying to make sense of it. While the Dragonequus and the Sphinx couldn't make heads or tails of it, Seven squinted at a closer look at the odd writing. It looked a bit fine for just a random letter, but the exact letter for each word...Then he got it.

"Wait a minute...Wait, It's not a foreign language, it just spelled wrong," Seven concluded, taking the paper and working out the letter of both words. Then he worked out the actual lettering of each word and got 'One More'...

"What does that mean by one more?"

"Beats me, I'm just a witted Changeling, not a detective. Look, this isn't important, what is is that we head south towards Appaloosa, so let's go," Seven concluded, and began heading off ahead once more. Glancing at each other, Tal and Vinrod went off down the trail, thinking over more about that little letter there...

...One More...

Ch.5: The Crow Moon

It had just been about a week since Tal, Seven and Vinrod had since found and kept Cluutie the Thunderwyrm. As much as Seven had trouble with more members into the group, Cluutie didn't really bother Seven all that much unless Seven tried to get her lost, thus getting electrocuted each time. By that point, Seven no longer bothered to get rid of Cluutie, not wanting to get electrocuted much anymore. As for Vinrod, that letter message was still on his mind, and the simple phrase 'One More' still drifting around in his dome. What did it mean? Was there just one more threat to face, or one more friend to bring? Either way, it was something Vinrod had to really answer at some point on their trip, Vinrod and Seven both heading south for different reasons bigger than what the letter implied.

While the land began to warm up due to them heading south, the cool nights were still evident each time they took a rest during the moonless times. Snow wasn't very common anymore, but it was still cold enough for snow to fall. The area the group were going through was a bit rocky, ground hard and dry without much rain around. Trees weren't too much of evidence, only a few very tall sticks one wouldn't think were trees, bare without leaves. While spring was starting, no season seemed to grip hold here. While going through, Vinrod was boredly kicking around a couple of stones, as Tal and Seven trailed behind. Cluutie still settled on Tal's back, sleeping through the days.

"Seven, you're a traveller, do you know where we are?" Tal asked eventually.

"No, I just fly around, I don't exactly track landmarks so no," Seven answered, hovering ahead to Vinrod.

"Don't worry, we should be fine," Vinrod stated, looking back to them both. While going through the dry land, by one of the dead trees, suddenly the group saw a bird perched up on one of its branches, cawing like a raven would. They didn't pay much mind of it at first until it flew at them, giving a quick peck at all of them before flying ahead.

*peck* "OW!"

*peck* "Ouch!"

*peck* "Hey!"

The raven was far ahead by the time all 3 got themselves together. Despite of that, they continued on for a while more down through the dry area of the world. As they continued, they all heard a distinct commotion: more crows. They kept walking for a while more until they noticed something else on a group of dead trees ahead...

Eyes...lots of eyes...

Covering the trees, a huge murder of crows were watching them like vultures, looking with a firm expression. The look made Vinrod, Seven and Tal all stop moving, looking at the huge amount of birds watching them, a huge group of black feathers and beaks looking right at them.

"There just standing there...Watching us..." Vinrod thought. Seven scratched his head.

"I think I read this somewhere before. something about psychotic birds or something," Seven said while looking at them.

"What kind of book has that kind of story?" Tal asked, confused.

"You two quiet. Lets just walk slowly around, no sudden movements," Vinrod advised, beginning to walk around the murder of birds. Seven and Tal followed his lead and tried going around the birds, as they eyed them. At first, the slip seemed to be working, but then Cluutie took the second to wake up, and saw the crows too. A fear-filled screeched filled the air, and caused the birds to go in a frenzy, charging at them while cawing like crazy. Vinrod, Tal and Seven were bombarded by beak and crow's feet. The three tried their best to get the crazy crows away, but the they were quickly overwhelmed by the birds for a while until one in particular made a loud caw, one that travelled over the others, as the murder of crows flew back in the trees. Another crow then landed down in front of them, along with a few subordinates, though these grows looked a bit different, slightly taller than the others.

"What the heck?"

"I don't think you want to keep mocking them anymore, Seven," Vinrod said, rubbing some scratches on his face and horns. Seven snorted.

"So what, crows are just some dumb psychobirds."

"Watch your mouth, bug boy!" The crow squawked out. Seven, Tal and Vinrod took quite a surprise to that; seemed the Crows are saintiant to some degree. At least these crows were compared to the rest.

"W-wha?! You can talk?!"

The leading crow of the Murder flew in Seven's face.

"Course I can talk, Cuz I'm a bird doesn't mean I'm pea brained!" The crow snapped, making Seven step back.

"We're sorry mr.crow but -"

"Hey, Mr.Crow's my uncle. I'm Sargent Smoke," the Crow corrected, wing on the Crows chest. Vinrod, Tal and Seven just glanced at one another before replying.

"Ok uh, Sargent Smoke. We didn't mean to cause any trouble, we were just passing through, honest," Tal explained. However, Sargent Smoke just gave a huff as he hovered in front of them.

"That's what many say. Murder, bring them back to the boss," Sargent Smoke ordered, the Crows starting to fly around them, forcing the three to start moving again. Seven tried to get them to quit attacking him, but it wasn't very effective to the murder of crows forcing them along. Vinrod and Tal weren't much better either. They didn't really have much choice...

~~

While being moved along, Vinrod, Seven and Tal were still being roughly moved along by the crows. For birds about half their size, they have rather tough behaviour as they peak and attack any of them who move out of line. The sphinx, Dragonequus and Changling just moved along as they continued through the dry, cold, night hillsides. Suddenly, the group of crows suddenly took flight, and flew off ahead, leaving the three alone. However, none of them thought of running, in worry the crows would pick them off again. Where the murder was going was what peaked their interest. The crows were flying towards a GARGANTUAN tree, far larger than any normal tree. The bark was pure black, as branches stretched out in all directions, deprived of leaves. It stood tall within a valley, though looked skyscraper tall. Vinrod, Tal and Seven all simply thought over for a bit more, but Sargent Smoke moved them along. Seven tried to fly off, but a bunch of crows already forced him on the ground so he wouldn't fly away. Eventually, all three were right by the tree, right at the base, as Sergeant Smoke stood forward, and made a very loud caw towards the tree.

The three suddenly heard a much louder, lowered cawing sound, as they all were suddenly covered by a bird's shadow. A huge shape of feathers landed down in front of them. To put it simply, it was a Crow the size of a Minotaur! The leading giant crow had a necklace lined with stones and white feathers, a striped feather in the middle. Sargent Smoke gave a salute with his wing to the giant crow.

"We've scouted these trespassers along our eastern borders, we've brought them in as soon as they were spotted," Sargent Smoke explained, as the giant crow eyed them down.

"At ease, Sergeant," the giant crow ordered, as Smoke relaxed a bit, Vinrod, Tal and Seven stood still, Cluutie curled up in worry. Vinrod was confronted first by the giant crow after he looked over the group, it's beak aimed directly at him.

"An odd group, aren't you? A Sphinx, a Dragonequus, and a Changeling going together, and adding a Thunderwyrm too. A mistake going over our borders," the Crow said, actually kinda amused by their look.

"We're very sorry, sir."

"You should be, no one goes through our borders without clearance."

"But I thought birds -"

Suddenly, Tal was slapped by the crow's wing in order to keep her quiet, startling Seven and Vinrod. Seven waited to beat up the bird, but Vinrod kept him down as the giant crow leaned in close.

"You do not speak unless you're spoken to, you do not shout out unless I let you, do I make myself clear?" The crow ordered, quick and firm-toned.

"Y-yes sir," Tal muttered nervously, as the crow stood upright in front of the three. However, Seven wasn't having anymore of it. Before Vinrod could stop him, Seven began his words.

"Back off, birdbrain, or I'll -"

"Make one move, and I kill her."

The message was short and quick, but Seven got the message. To assure it though, Vinrod pulled him back and covered his mouth so he wouldn't make anymore outbursts. After everything had settled down, the crow spoke again.

"As I was saying, nobody goes through without clearance, and you three had crossed the line. You, stripes, why are you here?"

"We didn't mean to cause any trouble, we were just passing through. We didn't even know there was anyone here," Vinrod explained, though his weakened voice made it rough for the crow to hear him.

"Speak up, Sphinx."

"I can't. This is as loud as I can get to."

The crow turned to the Changling next, Seven still fuming.

"Why are you here?"

"He told you already, but we're passing through, nothing else," Seven answered, as the crow let Tal stand up on her feet. The giant crow snorted at him, obviously not really believing him all and all. So, in the end, the crow stood fully up and looked around amongst the murder of crows.

"Spies. Take them into custody!" The crow leader yelled, the group of smaller crows attacking them again. Vinrod, Tal, Cluutie and Seven were forced away from the tree, and the giant crow went back to the tree. Course, there was struggle in it, as each bird attacked them into submission. Seven fought the most, but even he couldn't get the stubborn birds away as they were pushed along, as they were being observed by the Crow leader. As he was being observed, suddenly the giant Crow lifted a wing, aiming right at him.

"Not the Changling. Send the other two to prison hold, send the Changeling to the Infirmary."

Seven was easily lifted and split away from the other two, as Vinrod and Tal struggled some more. Whatever was in store for them, it wasn't any good.

~~

Sometime later, the entire group was taken to a entirely different location: a sort of dead forest under the everlasting moonlight. Many of the trees were a bit big, spreading out in the valley nearby the main tree. Vinrod, Tal and Cluutie were ushered into a prison cell, which was really a old tree with bars to keep them inside it. The birds threw them in, and locked them up. Vinrod tried to get out, but it wasn't much used.

"Oh no," Tal sighed.

"I hope Seven's okay."

Meanwhile, the Changeling in question was being moved to an entirely different area, that Infirmary the leading Crow spoke of earlier. The infirmary, instead of near the trees, was put within a cave, under high guard by some more crow guards. The Changeling was thrown inside as the gates locked up tight, the leading Crow looking him down as he tried to get out of the bars.

"You'll pay for this birdbrain!" Seven snapped, gnawing on the bars. The leader Crow just snorted at him, as he went off into the sky, leaving behind some black feathers. Some of the crows remain on guard in the nearby trees, watching over Seven's cell. The last thing he'd expected: being trapped by a bunch of Crows. Only good thing was he didn't had to report this to the horde. However, what the heck was he gonna do?

"Buckin birds," Seven groaned. Seven didn't know what he did wrong, nor knew why he was being in confinement for just entering a Crow territory. What's worse, Vinrod and Tal were imprisoned too. He knew just a basic run out won't work, the escape being immediately reported in by the Crows in the trees. How the heck can he get them out?

"Argh, dumb birds! Come on, Seven, think think think," Seven said to himself, trying to come up with an idea before the moonless hours would come around, when it'll be too dark to do anything. They had to get out, and they had to get out at the moment! However, Seven couldn't think of anything to do for the moment, the Changeling laid down at the back of his cell, still trying to think. As he laid down, he noticed a small group of ants going through his cell into the wall. Then an idea came in his head, but, it was a risky chance.

"Can I?...Well, it's now or never..."

From outside, the Crows suddenly saw a quick flash of green light coming from the cell, which sent the Crows in a panic, as they flew down to the cell. When they looked in, they all realized that Seven had disappeared!

"W-where is he?!"

"We have to report this in!"

The Crows quickly began to fly, but, before they could go, Seven suddenly reappeared in green flames, and tackled all of them to the ground, knocking them out on the hard earth. Seven got off of the passed out birds, and checked to make sure their panic wasn't heard.

"There. Now for a true disguise. K, focus..."

Seven looked directly at one of the Crows, and with a green flaming flash, the Changeling turned himself into one of the crows, matched to perfection, black feathers and everything. Standing by the past out birds, he took flight with his new bird wings, getting off the ground with some effort and sometime to get used to. Changing flight work was something Seven had to get down pact, otherwise the odd flying would be something for suspicions. While managing to fly into one of the many trees, Seven looked around, trying to find out where Vinrod and Tal had gone. Being in the forest though, it wasn't easy to figure out down to a tee. The Changeling-turned-Crow started to fly around for a while longer in the moonlight for a bit, until he saw a small group of Crows fly over to him.

"You there! What are you waiting for?!"

"Excuse me?"

"The leader, he's calling us in for a meeting, get going!"

A meeting? Now?! Sometime for Seven to turn into a Crow. A quick glance back at the guards, and he got an idea.

"I'll be there in a sec, I have to get the guards over here," Seven said, and he flew off back to his prison cell to get the other Crows as the other group flew off. Seven landed by the other knocked out guards and quickly gave a loud Crow screech, getting them up fast. Slightly off guard, Seven took the chance to get the message to them.

"The leader's having a meeting, come on, let's go!" Seven ordered. Quickly, the Crows flew right off in the air, Seven following. If he didn't go, he would easily be found, so he had to get going. Besides, he could find his friends easier this way.

~~

After some flight, and following the Crows, Seven managed to find the murder of Crows flying right back to the deep old tree, where they were first taken. the leading Crow stood boldly in front of his comrades, as they all landed in military rows. Seven found a spot towards the middle of the rows, so he wouldn't be spotted and caught as easily, as the rest of the birds got in their formation. His disguise worked like a charm, no Crow suspected a thing, as the leader checked the crowd of Crows.

"Attention!"

All the crows looked on ahead, and silenced, fully upright and stiff. Seven followed their lead as the leader waited for the noise to quiet down.

"At ease."

The crows calmed down, but all remained looking forward and quiet.

"Comrades! As most of you are well aware, one of our patrolling squads had discovered spies along our borders. That must mean that more enemies are scouted nearby, so we must take the fight to the enemy! You all had been training for many months, and your skills had sharpened. First of all, I want to congratulate you on your improvements over the past months. Now, back to the matter."

The leader Crow spread his left wing, signalling his higher Sergeants to unravel a flag. Seven could see the picture of a large Crow, overpowering a Changeling.

"No wonder he brought us in. This murder despises Changelings," Seven thought, as the leader continued.

"Now then, as you know, Changelings had been threatening our kind for a long time, and now they had the raw nerve to send a spy into our territory. We must stop the competition before they have the chance to finish us off! I expect each and every one of you to fight for what we have, cowering will not be an option, do you all understand?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" All the Crows said, catching Seven off guard.

"I expect the best out of each and every one of you, I expect the Changelings to look up in the sky and bow in our might! Not all of you will come back, but your death will be remembered by birds everywhere. Your death will be of honour. They sent us the spy so they will have an advantage. Well, I say DEATH TO THE CHANGELINGS!"

The murder of Crows all cheered for their valiant leader. All except Seven, who was still trying to comprehend the whole 'Crow Changeling hatred' thing. After all, he never had heard of such a rivalry from Queen Mantis before, so it must just be from a local horde. In fact, the news left him rather shaken up. The leading Crow raised both wings to quiet down the crowd around him, as they returned to their positions.

"Now then, Crows, we had successfully gathered some information about our Changeling horde, and we'll use that to what use it brought forth. Sargent, bring down the map," the leader ordered. The Crow brought down a large map of the area, including the Crow, and Changeling territory. Some other Crows suddenly brought over more light so everyone could see, Seven included, as the leader began to speak again.

"Alright comrades, as you can see, our forces had been dwindling down from various Crow forests due to the Changelings, but thanks to some of our own scouts, we've discovered a weak point within the Changeling Horde. What this weak point is? The scouts had discovered a literal death trap within the Changling Territory, discovering escaping gas within the trenches. If we can lure a large group in there and ignite, we can cripple the Changling horde by a large mile, evening our playing field." The news was making Seven more and more uncomfortable. Even if disguised as a Crow, securing his own safety, the fact he was listening to a potential Changeling genocide made him more worried on being caught...

"I expect bravery, but I'm not sending all of you there. Once that's ignited, there's no way out. So I call upon one of you to lure them off... Your sacrifice will be renowned. Step forward if you wish to take on the task."

To Seven's surprise, one of the Crows almost immediately flew up to the leader's feet, saluting him. Seven knew that Changelings would sacrifice their lives for their ruler in a heartbeat, but this wasn't to just protect their leader, this was to take down the enemy - a suicide mission! Not even a Changeling would do that so quickly, and without hesitation.

"Sir, I wish to take on the mission, sir!"

"You do realize there's no turning back from this decision comrade."

The Crow bowed down in the leader's presence. What the Crow said next shook Seven soul...

"My family was killed by those creatures, sir. Our kind are suffering. I no longer have anything keeping me in this world. With this sacrifice, I can return to my loved ones, and save my kind from execution. I'll be more than honored to do the deed, Lord Darkshade."

The leader Crow, Darkshade, gave a nod.

"That's what I like to hear, comrade. State your name."

"Starfeather, sir."

Darkshade looked to the rest of the Crows.

"All of you, remember that name and remember it well! Starfeather, head to the trench, await until the time's right," Darkshade ordered, as Starfeather flew off to seal his fate. All Seven could do was watch...

"For the rest of you, troops must be on standby until the explosion takes place. The sacrifice will be our signal to attack the horde. All goes to plan, they'll be deeply outnumbered by us Crows. No one shall be late, the second that goes off, we go too, that understood?"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"THATS what I wanna hear! Our plan will begin in 11 hundred hours, suit up and be ready! Tonight, the ground will stain with the blood of our enemy! MOVE OUT!"

The murder of Crows all agree and began to fly off. Even if it was still early before that happens, Seven was all up in arms on the whole thing. He took off with the rest and split himself off soon as he was out of range from Darkshade's sight. After splitting up from the murder, the disguised Changeling flew helter skelter to find where Vinrod and Tal were. Stuck in a dead forest didn't make that any easier, as all of the trees looked the same. Seven had to rely on his wit for this part...

"Come on guys, where are you? Wait...There!"

Seven quickly flew down, seeing Vinrod and Tal by the gate. However, since he was still a Crow, the two in the cage weren't happy to see him.

"You again?"

"Hey guys, I'm glad you're safe."

"OH sure, some humor... You know, I could go for some crow's feet right now," Tal said, licking her lips. Seven looked at her, but realized he's still disguised. Before he could do anything, Cluutie saw him as a threat, and suddenly electrocuted Seven, forcing him to turn back into a Changeling - though still a bit singed -. Seven took a minute to balance himself as Vinrod and Tal fully recognized him.

"Seven, it's you, you okay buddy?" Vinrod asked. Seven didn't answer as he opened the gate, getting them out. Vinrod and Tal started to run, but Seven stayed still, taking them by surprise...

"Seven, are you okay?"

"...I need your help..."

Ch.6: The Crust Moon

Rushing through the barren land, Vinrod, Tal, Cluutie and Seven continued off towards their new destination as instructed by Seven himself. Exactly why they were heading off that way was a bit unclear for everyone else, but Seven was a bit more determined than he usually was to get to wherever Seven wanted to go. Luckily for them, the Crows apparently weren't aware of their disappearance, so none of Darkshade's guards or soldiers were sent to retrieve them. Seven was the most willing to continue, flying as quick as he could to reach the area. While going through the dry landscape, Vinrod and Tal were a bit far behind, making Seven wait a bit as they caught up. Running non stop to the destination wasn't much help either.

"*pant* Seven *pant* Where are we *pant* *pant* Going?" Vinrod asked, a bit winded.

"Yeah *pant* *pant* What's the deal? *pant*" Tal added, as Seven looked on ahead in the night. He may be a little tired too, but Seven was sure he had to get there. Eventually, the Changeling got over a height in the path, and rested there.

"Guys, we're here!" Seven called, getting Tal and Vinrod rushing up to see. When they did, they all saw what Seven saw. In front of them, they all seen a huge monument within a mesa, various holes all over it like some beehive. It looked very large, and they could see a number of Changelings flying amongst it as well. However, these Changelings looked a bit different from Seven, a bit thinner, and wings striped unlike Seven's wings. Seven had found out about the horde's hive thanks to Darkshade's meeting and map, and the group had now made it. Vinrod looked to Seven.

"Is this your horde?" Vinrod asked.

"Not at all, but they have to be warmed of the Crows."

"Why?" asked Tal, more tired than confused.

"Because, while I was disguised, their leader Darkshade called on a meeting, saying they'll exterminate the hive tonight. I'm not gonna stand by and have that happen," Seven said, starting to fly ahead. Vinrod and Tal had never seen Seven like that before. He must really care about his species in order to drop the ball on getting back home to help another colony of Changelings. After looking at eachother, Vinrod and Tal started to follow.

"Seven's acting much different now... But, It's something worth knowing," Vinrod thought while watching Seven fly.

They all continued on for a while longer, heading right for the hive. At the hive in question, one of the Changeling scouts managed to spot them. At first, it felt like giving a call out, but when it saw Seven himself, it quickly flew back inside the hive to warn their leader. A few more scouts flew on outside, and landed in their path, making them stop in their tracks. Seven landed in front of everyone, as the other Changelings snarled in defense, making Vinrod back away.

"Don't worry, Vinrod, I got this," Seven said, as he confronted the Changeling group. Compared to them, Seven felt only slightly smaller, and even a bit thicker, but that didn't deter him as he stood there in the way. Tal, Vinrod and Cluutie all watched with anticipation and confusion, as apparently no word was spoken. Not in common anyway. Seven raised his ears forward, and his neck fin raised, as he emitted some sort of odd sound, kinda like a sonar or a sort of bug call, like a long cricket chirp. Back and forth, the Changelings discussed through this weird form of communication, until one of the scouts eventually flew off, while the others left signaled them to follow. Afterwards, Vinrod moved over to Seven's side.

"What'd you tell them?"

"I told them that we have important news for their king. They didn't speak common, and barely understand it so I used my Changeling language instead," Seven explained, as they were brought into the hive from one of the bottom tunnels. The tunnels themselves were dark, cramped, and moist as they moved through. Tight enough for them to have to go through single file, Tal being the last in line. The ground felt slightly like mud, but more like goo than much else, something Vinrod and Tal were not used to. They could hear various Changelings among the hive, sometimes even seeing one or two fly by them through other tunnels, mainly at crossings. While the Changelings, Seven included, didn't have much of an issue, Vinrod and Tal could barely even see where they were even going, strictly relying on their other senses in order to get around. Eventually though, they all saw some sort of light up ahead, and they were brought right to it. The room it lead into was the main chamber, much larger with other tunnels leading into it. Almost the entire chamber had a ton of goo all over the place, only then did Vinrod and Tal knew what they were walking in. Seven and the Changeling guards flew to the middle, while Vinrod and Tal had to struggle with walking through the slippery goop downhill, making them slide all the way to where they were. Towards the front of the chamber, they all saw a throne, with their Changeling King sitting on it. The Changeling king was much bigger, tall as a horse yet thinner. His ears looked more like sails, stretching down to the top of his neck, and elongating at the top. The king had rings on his large wings, and his face longer, making him look more like an undead dragon than a Changeling. The guards made some more of those odd clicks and calls, most likely to explain the situation to the King. Since Tal and Vinrod couldn't speak Changeling, Seven was their main translator for the moment. Seven went forward, and also spoke the Changeling tongue for a sec, until the King made a low groan, like a demonic lizard or something. Seven then turned to Vinrod and Tal.

"That's Lord Crusted Wing, he says he doesn't non-Changeling visitors."

"Geesh, speciesist much?" Vinrod thought, annoyed with that. He kept that thought in mind as he cleared his throat.

"Lord Crusted Wing, we're sorry to intrude, but we're here to help," Vinrod explained. Unfortunately, Crusted Wing didn't seem to understand him at first, looking at him for a minute or two, so Seven saved the trouble and translated what Vinrod had said with a few chirps. Still, Crusted Wing glared down at them for a sec before giving a few groans and moans in his communication.

"He doesn't believe you," Seven translated.

"Crusting Wing, it's true, those Crows nearby captured us for no reason!" Tal retorted. Seven translated it fast, and got a surprised expression on Crusting Wing's face. the translated 'Crow' word made the Changeling King angered, teeth bared. His ears raised and the groans turned to growls and even some snarls as translation.

"He's a bit ticked off on hearing that. Seemed he hates the Crows a ton too."

"I see. Guess with birds like that it's not that surprising."

After that, Seven turned back to Crusting and starts another barrage of clicks, groans and chirps, explaining in detail what the Crows were trying to do, down to their plan to take out half of his horde with the trench nearby. Crusting Wing had a look of surprise on his face, which turned to despair. Ears lowered, Crusting Wing told Seven his thoughts on the matter, which Seven didn't translate that time, leaving his friends out of it for the moment. Crusting got off the throne, and walked over to Seven, towering over him. Crusting continued some language talk with Seven for a bit until Seven turned to them.

"Well?"

"Crusting Wing said he's thankful for the information, and that they can use that against the Crows in the upcoming event. Sounds like things are going good," Seven explained. Crusting wing placed a gentle holed hoof on Seven's shoulder, catching his attention again. Crusting wing, again, began telling Seven some other stuff, which made Seven chuckle a bit in agreement.

"What is it, Seven?"

"Oh...uh, it doesn't translate well," Seven said, saving them the trouble of what Crusting Wing had said. Then the Changeling King grew serious again, and looked to the guards, giving them orders and sending them off as the guards flew through the tunnels. Afterwards, Crusting Wing nudged Seven, smile on his face, and seemed to make some sort of offer with him. Seven gave a solute soon afterwards with a smile.

He accepted the deal.

Vinrod and Tal glanced at each other in concern, as Crusting Wing went off on his way, and Seven going back to the others.

"Seven, what did you agree to?" Vinrod asked.

"Oh, we're fighting the Crows now."

"What?!" Tal and Vinrod gasped, Tal louder than Vinrod. So Seven wanted to fight Crows? What kind of choice was that?!

"Seven, what's with you? What happen to the straight-headed, rude Changeling we knew before?"

"First of all, shut up. Second of all, I make an exception when it comes to my own kind. Sure, I've been rather rough before, but this is my species now, I'm not standing by for this one. If you don't wanna help, fine, but I'm helping them out regardless of the issue," Seven said, sounding oddly noble, as he walked away. Vinrod and Tal looked at each other again, as they watched Seven walk off.

"What happened to our Seven?"

"I don't know, but we might as well let him...It's the least we can do..."

Vinrod and Tal started to walk out, but they were having doubts about their own decision, as they looked to the tunnel where Seven had entered to leave. They've known Seven for quite sometime, and considered him a friend -at least Vinrod did-. And here they were, letting their friend fight all alone in this battle.

They couldn't just let him go alone.

~~

As time ticked away, and the Moon moving further down into the sky, the Changeling horde was preparing for the fight later on, as instructed by Crusting Wing. Seven was also busy getting himself set for the fight ahead, more ready than ever. Besides, it would make him even up against the Crows for the sudden false jail time, ignoring the fact they could be right for him fighting the fight to begin with. Seven continued on through set up, and getting his game face on for the battle, alongside the other Changelings with him. Meanwhile, Vinrod and Tal both were keeping an eye on Seven for a while, seeing how willing he was when ready to fight for his kind.

Soon, the time came. Crusting Wing got his troops all set up and ready to go as the Moon signaled for the moonless hours to almost begin. Light was very dim, but every Changeling present didn't care for that. The leader stood boldly on top of the Hive, looking out to the direction of the Crow's base of operation, as if expecting the birds to come at them in any second. However, while looking farther out after a minute, Crusting then noticed something else high up in the sky: a single orange light fluttering around in the air. The light belonged to one of the Crows, Starfeather, with a lit torch in his beak. In the Hive, the Changeling soldiers were getting a bit overwhelmed and anxious on seeing the light, Seven looking past the glow and more at the bird. Starfeather flew close to the Hive, trying to get the Changelings to fly after him to continue the plan, but since they knew of said plan it was harder than it looked. Vinrod and Tal finally appeared, and went right to Seven amongst the Changeling crowd.

"Seven, there you are," Vinrod said upon finding him.

"So you two decided to stick around?"

"Of course we are. I'm not missing out on this," Tal said.

"Besides, you're our friend, we're not gonna let you fight this one alone," added Vinrod. Seven smiled to them, and looked back out, ready to fly, as they saw the suicidal Crow flying around with the flame. The Changelings stayed put, although some of the inexperienced actually started to hover in place from anticipation. Starfeather finally took the danger route, and flew right next to the tunnels! That triggered many of the inexperienced fighters out, and soon were chasing the bird, despite Crusting Wing trying to call them back. Luckily, Seven wasn't one of those Changelings, held back by Vinrod so he wouldn't fly off on them. The group consisted of nearly 60 Changelings, chasing after just one Crow, as Starfeather flew towards the objective not too far away. Whatever soul stayed in the Hive could only watch as their inexperienced fighters flew out of sight into the night...

Then they saw it.

Almost a full minute after they flew away, they all suddenly saw a huge fiery blaze lit up from the Trench, as if a gasoline filled explosion was just lit. The explosion itself even reached the Changeling Hive, as they felt the sound waves blast into them, them all shocked on the result. Soon there was a wall of Fire through the trench, passing by the Changeling Hive. That explosion was overseen for miles around, reaching back to the Crow fleet. The second they saw the flame, all the Crows took flight to the Changeling Hive, ready to die for their cause. Seven, Vinrod and Tal couldn't believe what they saw, 60 Changelings all dead within the first minute, and before the fight even began! Seven took it the hardest, watching the flames from afar as the entire Hive heard the sound of angry Crows on their flying V right towards them, Darkshade taking the lead of the V. With the light of the fire guiding the way, the Crows charged right for the hive, as Crusting Wing commanded the Changelings to charge in for the attack.

Crow and Changling were locked in combat after the first few minutes, various bird and Changling fighters duking it out high in the firelight sky, as the Moon finally hid off away in order to avoid watching the bloodshed. Seven, Vinrod and Tal went out as well, but Vinrod and Tal weren't as up to the battle as Seven was, whom already began to fight off whatever Crow came close. The Sphinx and Dragonequus kept pace with Seven, occasionally fighting off a Crow or two, but the spectacle of fighting with the fire for ambience made it look more evil than it already was. Silhouettes of Crows and Changelings flying and killing each other filled the night air, screams and battle cries echoing all over the place. With most of the Changelings succumbing to the explosion, Crusting and his horde were having a hard time holding their own against the Crow murder, more and more Changelings and Crows falling from the air.

Meanwhile, farther away from the fray, the battle itself wasn't just viewed by those involved. The cries of dying animals was like a beacon to the scavengers, a large amount of figures starting to gather for the event. Back at the fight, Darkshade soon caught sight of Seven, Vinrod and Tal down on the ground, stopping once they too saw Darkshade.

"YOU!" Darkshade bellowed, as he made a headlong dive right towards them. Seven braced for the full force of the hit, when at the last second, Crusting Wing quickly tackled Darkshade to the ground. The three watched Darkshade and Crusting Wing fight it out for a while more, but as they were, suddenly a very faint sound began to be heard from the horizon. Due to the light from the inferno, it was too hard to tell what was coming, but the sound of wild feral laughter was being heard around them. The first one to catch it was actually Crusting Wing, who stopped for a brief moment to scan his surrounding. However, Darkshade didn't care for the noises, and took the chance to dig his Crow feet into Crusting's neck! The wound was minor for a Changeling, but the position left them both deeply helpless to the oncoming danger, as Seven, Vinrod and Tal also caught the noise. Cluutie curled up in worry on Tal's back, sensing the threat. Soon, from the fiery light, came the sight of a huge group of strange and ravenous animals, rather large and insect like, looking almost like giant carnivorous beetles! Each one looked like their shells reflected off the light of the flames, but each one also had colourful bird wings, mostly blue on them. They also had an odd sort of gem on their back.

"Venom Scarabs!" Tal gasped, getting everyone on edge. Scarabs around there were more dangerous than normal, while uncommon anywhere else, Venom Scarabs were much larger, about as big as Seven was. The Scarabs were looking at Darkshade mostly, since the Crow looked rather weak from his fight, blood flowing free from his feathers. As most of the Scarabs scattered at the other corpses, some of them targeted Darkshade and Crusting Wing. Seven, Vinrod and Tal back away that time, noticing some of the scarabs eyeing them. Luckily for them, they were more interested in the meat on the ground rather than hunt down fresh meat, so they left them alone as they scavenged on the Changeling and Crow meat. Seven felt most sicken when he saw 4 of them eat away at a Changeling carcass, feeling like he was gonna throw up just seeing it. He snapped out of it though when Vinrod pulled him back.

"Seven, we have to go," Vinrod warned urgently.

"But the Changelings -"

"There's no time, these bugs will wipe out everything here, we have to go!" Tal yelled, as they saw a few scarabs took flight and attacked weakened fliers in the air. Crusting Wing gave the order first, and gave a bellowing screech to every Changeling present, just before he too was attacked. The message got to every Changeling as they tried to get away. Seven saw this, and had to agree with his friends; even if the fight wasn't a victory, he was assured they'll be alive. After that, Vinrod, Tal and Seven ran for it, leaving the battle behind them. The Crows however weren't so lucky, as Darkshade was too stubborn to give up just because of some bugs. However, despite that, some Crows were evacuating the battlefield, leaving Darkshade alone on the ground.

"Come back! Get back ere cowards, beetles aren't dangerous!" Darkshade bellowed, angry as heck to see his comrades abandon him. After the yell, Darkshade realized he was fully surrounded by the flesh-eating scarabs, seeing Crusting Wing already succumbing to his wounds on the ground. Despite angered, Darkshade knew a Changeling horde can't last long without their leader.

Darkshade smiled...and accepted his fate...

Ch.7: The Sap Moon

It hadn't been too long of time for the group since leaving Crusting Wing behind them. Just a few number of moon spins had past, or about 3 days if it were the sun, Vinrod, Seven, Tal, and Cluutie had gone along rather well, no distractions. The trees, which were once dead and pare, had begun to show more life in their leaves of maple, as they continued towards the warmer areas of the south. Seven remained quiet for the most part, as Tal and Vinrod shared a number of conversations as they walked along.

"It sure feels better around here," Tal said at one point, feeling the much cooler, less dry earth under hoof.

"True, much more moist than that desert forest," added Vinrod. Seven just tried to ignored them as he continued on.

"Yeah, and better to walk on. How long do you think is it before we get to Appaloosa?"

"Not sure. By the rate we're going we should make it just fine."

As they went, Cluutie woke up from her nap, and gave a small chirp. As they continued, they noticed Seven hadn't spoke very much since they left the battle. In fact, he seemed withdrawn from them the past hours. After a bit, Vinrod nudged Seven in the side, concern for his well-being. Seven gave a rough groan, but Vinrod could take a guess about his troubles.

"Seven, this isn't still about...well, that, is it?" Vinrod asked. Seven snorted at them.

"Seven, we know you wanted to stay, but you can't dwell on it forever. Besides they've escaped the scarabs, they should still be alive and well by now..."

Seven still kept quiet for a while longer, until he turned, smiled in their direction, and spoke for the first time since leaving the fight.

"...You're right. They should be fine."

As they continued, suddenly they all felt a rumble amit from their stomachs. They hadn't really ate anything in a while, and they've grown hungry. Vinrod felt a bit worried, being with a Changeling and a Dragonequus at the same time could mean trouble for him, but he didn't try to show it much.

"Well, guess we're all hungry. How about we take a pit stop, eh?" Tal suggested with a grin. Seven happily agreed.

"Yeah, I could go for a bite right now. Who's getting the grub though?"

Upon mention of the word, Cluutie almost immediately grew aggressive and nearly shocked Seven on the spot. Seven glared at the Thunderwyrm as it squirmed on Tal's back. Vinrod decided to take the offer, and began to move on ahead, following his nose for a scent.

"I'll go get somethin. How's fish sound? Think I smell a river nearby," Vinrod suggested, aiming towards the direction of the scent of water. Seven hovered by him as Cluutie calmed down a little bit.

"Sounds good, but what're you gonna eat?"

"I'll just take the fish, that's fine."

"Wait, you eat meat?"

"Well not a fan of pork or lamb-chops, but I prefer a fish to balance my diet. Now you can come if you want to, I'll be back soon," Vinrod said, as he began walking away.

Not too far away, as Vinrod expected, there indeed was a large river flowing through. The moon's reflection easily glowed off the water's surface, as Vinrod remained by the water's edge. Finding a good spot along the riverbank, Vinrod looked down in the river and awaited for some fish to swim by. Since he didn't have any sort of fishing tool, he had to resort to the patient technique: standing still along the bank and strike when a fish is spotted. The area he found was on top of a large rock, flattened as water just skimmed over it by an inch so his 3-toed feet were covered in water. It dropped off to a deeper part of the river a foot away so he had a good vantage point. While waiting, he took the moment to have a cooling drink, but as he did, he spotted his prize: trout. Vinrod readied himself, as the fish swam lazily by the rock. In an instant, Vinrod darted his head in the water, as the fish scattered away from him, all but one. That one Vinrod pulled out of the water thrashed violently in his mouth, as Vinrod threw it onto land, where the trout shook and thrashed around like crazy. Vinrod tried to keep the fish still as Seven and Tal eventually came back to see him trying to keep the fish still.

"Need some help there, Vinrod?" Seven asked.

"No no, I got it, just -" before Vinrod could finish, the trout whacked him good and hard in the face, knocking him backwards in the rock as the fish continued to thrash around. Amused, Seven went over and ate away at the fish's emotions, making it stay still, no longer caring. After that was done, Vinrod walked back over as Tal finished off the trout, their meal ready to go.

"eh, thanks," Vinrod sighed, taking a minute to calm himself down, and to get his throat to stop wheezing. Tal picked up the fish in her teeth, and split it in two, giving Vinrod the other half. As Tal ate her piece, Vinrod settled on down and enjoyed his share of the fish, as Seven settled leaned next to one of the maple trees, and waited for them to get done. All Seven needed was a simple grab of the trout emotion to keep him satisfied for the time being. Apart from that, it took just a few minutes until the others were done, and Vinrod got back up to his feet.

"Alright guys, ready to go?"

"Yeah I'm set."

"Me too."

After the small snack, they all continued off on their way away from the river, and back on their path through the maple forest. Their walk onward was rather calming, a nice breeze, a few maple leaves coating the ground, the bright moon guiding their way, it felt nice indeed. However, as they continued, Vinrod began to observe the world around him. But when he glanced off to his right, he spotted something a bit odd. On one of the maple trees, with the light shining off it, he saw some metal bucket attached to the tree by what looked like a spile. Tal and Seven noticed too, but were unsure of what to exactly make of it, as they went over to investigate.

"What's this doing here?" Tal wondered.

"Beats me, but there's a lot of...well, something, in it," Seven added, looking inside to see a lot of some form of liquid inside. Vinrod looked inside and slightly dipped his front foot in it, finding out that it stuck to his foot. Vinrod took a sniff of it, but was still unsure.

"Looks like sap to me," Vinrod concluded, trying to shake off the sticky stuff. As he did, some of it accidentally got on Seven's face, making the Changeling fly back into another tree. The hit made the tree shake, and suddenly another bucket of the stuff fell onto Seven's horn, making him covered in the stuff. He got the bucket off, no problem, but had his body almost completely covered in sap.

"Eww, gross," Vinrod said, backing up a bit. Seven got back up, already some leaves and dirt getting stuck on him due to the sap. Even if Seven was used to such goop, he didn't like everything being stuck into him, so he took the time to shake off the sap on his body, none of it going on Tal, Vinrod and Cluutie. While that happened though, something began to move among the shadows of the maple trees, hearing the voices and buckets falling.

"Oy! Who's messin with my sap?!" a voice snapped, sounding deeply country toned. Eventually, the group saw a figure holding a lantern. The figure stood slightly taller than Seven, but still shorter than Vinrod. His mane and tail matched up for a rugged ginger colour, and the main coat a sort of darker rust. What was the most surprising was that he appeared like a normal - yet old- pony. No subspecies, no wings or magic horn, just a normal earth pony. His cutie mark looked like a bucket of sap, with a bottle of syrup on the bucket. The sight of a pony alone wasn't a common one, but a earth pony was a bit rougher.

"Sorry sir," Vinrod said, to get that out of the way. The old stallion walked forward, looking at the punctured bucket by the Changling.

"Hey you, I got a business to run, ain't gonna work with wrecked buckets!" the pony snapped, eyes directly on the Changeling.

"What business, you just hanging buckets in trees, ain't ya?" Seven asked, annoyed with the pony's anger. The stallion groaned, hoof to forehead.

"NO, I'm gettin sap for my syrup, and I need all the buckets I got!" He retorted. The word 'syrup' got Tal's attention the fastest, sure ponies were one thing but a treat like syrup being made was something Tal had to know about.

"Syrup? Really?" Tal asked, excitedly. The old pony looked at the Dragonequus with some confusion, but mostly shown a smile on his face.

"why yes little filly, I've been making it since I was just a colt. My cutie mark proves it," he said, a hoof aiming right at his cutie marked flank. Vinrod looked over to the old pony.

"So, what's your name, anyway?" Vinrod asked.

"Sugarworks. And you?"

"Oh, I'm Vinrod. And that's Tal, Cluutie, and Seven."

The earth pony looked over the Changeling, Dragonequus, and Thunderwyrm for a minute or two before he nodded. While annoyed with his bucket, he was a bit impressed such a group was together.

"Whelp, pleasure to meet y'all, but I think Y'all need to get some work time for paying off my bucket."

"What?! It's just a bucket, no way!" Seven snapped, Tal slapping his head with her tail.

"We'll be happy to help," Vinrod said. Seven sneered at Vinrod, whom didn't bother much with it. Sugarworks nodded and began walking in the direction he came from, signalling the others to follow him.

~~

The walk through the forest didn't last too long, Sugarworks guiding them all on their way. After just a few minutes, the pony had gotten them all back to his workshop. The place looked old, due to the dark wood that made it. Turned out, the same river they fished from was where the workshop was, using the river for power due to a water wheel built on the house. Sugarworks ventured on inside the workshop, followed by the others, as they were greeted by another old pony just by the door. She looked a bit similar to Sugarworks in overall appearance, her cutie mark showing a maple leaf on a syrup bottle. Sugarworks gave her a kiss, showing their love for another.

"Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Sugarworks asked.

"I'm doing fine honey. Now, who are they?"

"Hello mam. We're here to help with some work," Vinrod said, nodding.

"or rather drafted in - Ow!"

"Seven, please," Tal said. While they were talking, Cluutie actually took the time to get off of Tal for that one moment, and started going to one of the many trees nearby.

"You all are willing to help out? That's wonderful, we've been having some trouble with our work. If you want to help, then please, by all means."

"We'll get started right away."

"We will?"

Vinrod and Tal sneered at Seven, who just sighed in annoyance.

"Ok, Ok we will."

With that agreement, Sugarworks ushered them inside, only until the last second when Tal realized Cluutie was off her back. The Dragonequus looked around for a bit before she found Cluutie high up in a maple tree. What shocked her was that Cluutie was hanging upside down in the tree!

"Cluutie!" Tal gasped, rushing under Cluutie in case he would fall. Vinrod and Sugarworks heard her yell, and rushed out to see the problem. Only one who wasn't surprised was Sugarworks.

"What's wrong with her?" Vinrod gasped, seeing Cluutie not moving.

"Don't freak out, Cluutie's just doing what comes naturally. He'll hang there for a day or two, then come out an adult," Sugarworks said, almost nonchalantly. Vinrod and Tal weren't aware of that though, and looked back at Cluutie...

"Really?...I hope she'll be okay."

"She'll be fine, now come on, I'll show you how to make the syrup."

Sugarworks went on back inside, as Vinrod and Tal looked back up to the hanging Thunderwyrm. They both weren't sure what the Thunderwyrm was gonna 'come out' as, but Vinrod and Tal moved on back inside behind Sugarworks.

~~

For the next couple of hours, most of it was mainly spent on Sugarworks and his wife showing Seven, Vinrod and Tal the ropes on what to do, and how to make syrup from the maple trees. The one who had the most trouble was actually Vinrod. Even if Seven had to deal with the sap getting in his legs, Vinrod just couldn't seem to get it as well as the other two so quickly. That, and constantly trying to get the sticky sap off his feet made him stall up a lot. There was a huge difference between Bluegrass and maple syrup as far as he was concern. After some observation, Sugarworks decided to split them up; Tal and Seven working together on the syrup while Vinrod handled packaging and even occasionally selling directly to whatever customer goes through to the workshop. It was a odd fact to find saintiants going out of their was to come here, but it was something Vinrod could do much better than the others. At one point, Seven came out to see Vinrod, who was waiting by the counter, having some money already.

"Yo, Vinrod, how much do you got?" Seven asked, his legs covered and filled in sap. Vinrod moved over the bag of money over to him, which didn't seem like very much. Seven rolled his eyes.

"Oh great, that's hardly anything! Seriously, I don't want to work with this sap anymore," Seven complained, trying to get some sap out of his hooves.

"Don't worry, Seven, it'll be over before you know it. Besides, we're stuck here anyway since Cluutie's stuck in that tree."

"Dumb excuses. Can't you take my place instead, please?"

"Sugarworks insisted I stay here Seven, sorry. You can take a break though if it helps," Vinrod offered, as Seven sat down next to him. The sap from his hooves dripped on the floor as it was being drained, the feeling of the sap inside made Seven feel uncomfortable. While the two sat there, the door opened up again. Throughout the day, a very few had came to visit, and most of them usually asked for directions rather than buy syrup. However, this customer was much larger than the others. Vinrod looked at him with surprise, not expecting him to come around. The customer was actually the same grey Boar he'd met months ago! The Boar took one look at Vinrod in order to recognise him.

"Well hello again. Taking more jobs I see," The Boar pointed out, as Vinrod looked him over carefully. He looked familiar, but he could easily be mistaking one Boar for another.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Vinrod asked. The Boar chuckled, and pulled out, again, a gem for Vinrod as a reminder. Seven's eyed boggled once he saw the thing, as Vinrod looked to him.

"It is you!"

"Indeed, and I see you have a friend too. Bit interesting for him being a Changeling," the Boar pointed out, Seven testing the gem out too much to hear what the Boar said.

"I have to be honest, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Likewise. But, life's full of surprises, now is it? I'm just passing through, though I would like to take a jug of syrup if you please."

"Oh sure. Seven, can you get the jug of syrup for him?"

Seven stopped for the moment to hear what Vinrod requested, and quickly grabbed the jug nearby for the Boar to keep. His mind was still racing on the idea that a Boar would give gems away, of all things.

"So, what brought you down here away from Curchcolt?" The Boar asked.

"Oh, well actually we're on our way to Appaloosa. Not sure how far it'll be though," Vinrod explained, as Seven placed the gem back down on the table. The Boar just brought the jug to his wagon before turning back to him.

"Well you got a long way to go. A number of places to pass through, other towns to cross, dangers to face. You're up for quite an adventure if you're going that far."

"Yeah, we noticed, we were nearly eaten by giant dogs and Venom Scarabs already," Seven reminded, leaning on the table lazily. The Boar listened with calm ears, putting two and two together in his head on the Changeling and the horned Sphinx.

"hmm...ooohhh, I get it. You're helping the Changeling out, aren't you? Getting him back to his hive, that is."

"How'd you know?"

"Simple observation. I've heard of the hive down there, and since you have a Changeling for a friend, it's a bit obvious on the situation."

The Boar turned, and was just about to head outside when he looked out the window, and saw Cluutie up in the tree, looking more like a cocoon than a Thunderwyrm by that point. The Boar turned back to Vinrod and Seven.

"You two aware there is a Thunderwyrm cocoon outside?" The Boar asked, as Vinrod looked out to Cluutie.

"Oh, that's Cluutie. See, another friend of mine came back with her, and she came along while we're traveling about."

"Is that so? It's rare for a Thunderwyrm to accept traveling with others outside of it's kind...unless...Pardon me for asking, but, had either you or your Changeling bit it's tail when you first saw it?" The question was kinda confusing to say the least. Vinrod and Seven turned to each other, thinking, as Seven spoke up first.

"Well no, but what's that have to do with anything?" Seven asked, head tilted.

"Explanation starts now. The creatures are born blind, and unmoving, very sluggish. However, when the parent bites the Thunderwyrm's tail, it triggers the creatures inner bonding, and sees the biter as it's parent. In short, if you bite a larva Thunderwyrm, it won't leave you alone."

All of those facts... Made way too much sense...

The Boar gave a nod to Vinrod again, along with Seven, and started to walk out again.

"Well, thank you kindly for the syrup. I'll be on my way. Oodbyegay."

With that, the Boar headed off outside, and was on his way again. Vinrod turned back to the table, but Seven already had the gem to show Sugarworks. Vinrod went to the back once he heard a loud gasped from the back, and went in to see Seven holding the gem to Tal and Sugarworks. The earth pony took the gem and looked it over with a keen eye.

"Well I'll be. This is a legit gem," Sugarworks concluded, as Seven smiled proudly.

"So, will that be enough to pay for that bucket?"

"This is enough for 50 buckets!"

"Alright, sweet, well if you excuse me, we'll be off now," Seven said, heading for the exit. However, Tal blocked his path just as he was about to go, annoying the Changeling again.

"We can't go yet, Seven!"

"What, why not?"

"For one, Cluutie's still up in that tree, we can't leave without her. And second, it's almost the moonless hours."

"So? We went along just fine without shelter for weeks, I'm sure it won't make any -"

"Seven..." The Changeling looked right in Tal's eyes, seeing she won't change her mind any time soon. Her pet's up in that tree, and it ain't gonna come down because they say so. Vinrod moved over to the Changeling, and placed a foot on his shoulder. Seemed Seven's not getting a choice, again, so he just nodded and looked to Sugarworks.

"You have any guest rooms?"

~~

Sometime later, the group was brought up to the guest room. Unfortunately, there was only one room for them to share, and that alone was a bit of an issue they had to work out. The room only had one bed, right by the window, so who took the bed was indeed a strong bit of trouble. In the end, Tal took the bed while Seven and Vinrod ended up on rags on the floor for the moonless hours. It was rather uneventful, all together.

The moon rose back up, the group all ready to go. First one outside right away was Tal, who immediately rushed over to Cluutie's cocoon, still hanging up in the tree. It was a bit troubling to see the Thunderwyrm still up in the tree, especially for Tal.

"Still there? Geesh, now what?" Seven wondered, looking it over. Tal looked it over a number of times before she eventually got an idea. However, it was a hit and miss, so she turned to Sugarworks.

"Excuse me, is it possible to move the cocoon?"

"hm...Gotta be careful, but yeah, why?"

"You're up, Seven."

"Wait what?" Seven didn't exactly follow on what Tal was exactly saying, nor what she wanted done. Tal aimed her hoof up to the cocoon.

"Go up there and get that cocoon. Sooner you do, sooner we leave," Tal explained. Wanting to just go, Seven started up to the cocoon. It took a little bit of work, but he managed to pull the cocoon gently from it's branch, and brought it down to the ground. Upon Tal's request, Seven placed the cocoon on her back, just as if Cluutie wasn't in her cocoon. Vinrod looked over to Sugarworks.

"Thanks again for letting us stay for the night."

"Anytime. Now good luck on your journey youngsters," Sugarworks replied.

After that, the group began off on their way once again, now with Cluutie in her cocoon as well. The three could only wonder when Cluutie would come back to them.