Bloodfang And The Arctic Changelingsby PumpkinonimousChaptersInto The ArcticInto Their ArmsInto The BreechInto The Arctic“Remind me again what we’re doing here?!” I had to shout over the scream of the frigid winds blasting us, the hard, blowing snow stung my face where it struck. I felt like I was being sand blasted. I shivered, wrapped myself tighter in the thick Nara Shima pelt coat. Wrapped only in thick skins, my feet were numb and I wondered if they were getting frostbit. The rest of me sure felt like it! “We must pass this way to get to our destination," shouted Bloodfang. I just heard hear her over the wail of that cold, arctic wind. “What, we couldn’t go another way? One that was warmer?” I shouted. Bloodfang paused, gave me a hard look. “You complain too much little monkey," she shouted. So, what were we doing in the middle of an arctic waste battling freezing cold, wailing winds and sharp, stinging blowing snow? We had to leave the Everfree. As dangerous as it had been it had become infinitely more so when a seeming hoard of Nara Shima swept into our part of the forest and decided to make their home there. Bloodfang and I had been frightened and disturbed by this but were willing to stay until, one evening close to sunset, we saw a flock of them circling overhead like vultures looking for a carcass. There were literally dozens of them darkening the skies above our cave home. That’s when she decided it was time for us to move on. We both understood that a moonless night would be the safest time to leave so we hid in our cave, going out only when and as far from the cave as we had to in order to hunt. It seemed to take forever, but that moonless night finally came and we left as quickly as we could. Bloodfang had considered flying us out but the loud buzz of her wings would have instantly alerted the Nara Shima and we would have been swarmed and killed so we were forced to run as quietly as we could in order to escape. We moved at night and hid as best we could during the day. We almost didn’t make it. Having been found by a small group of the monsters, they’d instantly attacked and it was everything we could do to fight them off, killing most of them before it was all over. It had taken four nights of constant travel before we were far enough across the Everfree to be relatively safe again. It was then that Bloodfang decided that we would go north across the top of the world; the shortest but most dangerous way to get to the other side of the planet. We were now moving through the extreme north of Equus because of that decision. I had no say in it. As it turned out, she’d traveled quite a lot across the planet and knew of better, safer places to live. I’d learned of this when we’d lay at night snuggled in our cave and she’d tell me about her travels and adventures. Hearing about this I asked her why she chose to remain in the Everfree forest if there were better places to be? She just snorted as if my question was stupid and said nothing. And, so, here we were moving across the dome of this world struggling to get to a better place with me hoping we didn’t die before we got there. We pressed on. Another hour passed and I felt myself getting weak from cold, exertion and hunger. I stumbled, almost fell and I wondered how much longer I could go on. “I’m done!," I shouted, “Go on without me! I’ll just slow you down if you don’t!” Bloodfang stopped, eyed me. “You are mine! I will not leave you!”, she shouted back. I stumbled toward her, began pushing her away, punching her shoulder several times. She didn’t even blink. “No! Go! Leave! You’ll end up having to carry a dead body!" I groaned. She scooped me up in her hooves, pulled me tight to her, held me close. The warmth from her body felt like heaven in that deadly cold. I clung as close to her as I could, letting it soak in. “You are mine. I will not leave you," she whispered to me. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she held me, warmed me. I kissed her cheek. She snuggled her face into mine. Was this it? Was this the end for us? Had we traveled across hundreds of miles of frozen tundra only to die in this desolate place? I knew I’d be the first to go but I also knew it’d be only a matter of time for Bloodfang as well. With no food, no shelter and having to face that deadly cold, it would only be a matter of time before she fell too. I clung to her loving her more in that moment than I ever had and I had no doubts that she felt the same way. Several minutes later she pulled away. The cold instantly bit into me and I shuddered violently. “We must go!," she shouted she turned and continued on. I scrambled after her. *** Luckily the wind was easing now and, with less blowing snow obscuring our vision we could see further into the distance. We’d struggled along for what seemed like days but which I knew had only been an hour when we saw cragged, snow swept foothills. “There will be caves!," she shouted, heartened, “We can take shelter there!” It looked like paradise to me and, finding new strength, I began moving more quickly forward. Another eternal forty minutes later and we’d found and stepped into a narrow deep cave. Gathering some large stones Bloodfang piled them in the center of the cave as far away from the entrance as she could. Her horns glowed, a beam shot out and hit the stones. A moment later they glowed brightly. Falling to the cold cave floor we leaned into the heat feeling instant relief and a return of our strength as we snuggled close and leaned into each other. “Thanks for not leaving me out there,” I said. Bloodfang looked at me and closing her eyes she pressed her cheek to mine, snuggled me. “You are mine. I would not leave you," she cooed. I kissed her face, began stroking her mane. *** Relaxing in the warmth of the glowing stones it wasn’t long before we started drifting into sleep, something we both badly needed after our arduous and difficult journey to this place. It was then that I felt Bloodfang’s head snap up. I opened my eyes and looked toward the cave mouth as Bloodfang leapt to her hooves, snarling. A hooded shadow darkened the cave as a form stepped into the mouth. As I watched it said nothing but pulled back the sleeve of its heavy pelt coat, raised its arm. Strapped to the wrist was a long, strange thing that looked like an animal skull, a bone horn protruding from the front of it. It began to glow with a black light twinkling with tiny bright stars. It was like seeing a tiny model of the night sky. A weapon? What kind of weapon was this? I rose to my feet and stared. Bloodfang’s horn began to glow with magic but she was weak from cold and exhaustion. It spluttered dully. The creature shouted out in a language I’d never heard before. An instant later dozens of skin-clad forms stood behind the first one, blocking the exit and darkening the cave. “Who are you? What do you want?," I shouted, nervously. The creature lowered it’s weapon and confidently stepped further into the cave. Reaching up it threw back its hood to reveal a male with large, blue eyes in a snow-white face, pony ears, charcoal-grey mane and a single, cragged and snow white horn on its forehead. “You’re a changeling?!” I gasped, shocked. This was nothing like any changeling I’d ever seen. Bloodfang said nothing but her stare revealed her own surprise. “You are Equestrians?” he asked. He wasn’t smiling but stared at us. “Yes," I said. “You have come a long way. What brings you here?” “We’re... Travelers. We’re trying to get to the other side of Equus” The changeling stepped closer to Bloodfang who was still glaring at him. “We are not your enemies, sister," he said. “What... Are you? Why are you here in this wasteland?” she asked. “That is a tale best told over a good meal and the warmth of a fire," he said. A smile touched his face for the first time. Bloodfang and I looked at each other. “Come!” he shouted as he spun on his heel and strode toward the cave mouth, barking orders as he went. The others blocking the cave lowered their weapons and stepped aside. We stood staring. The changeling paused, turned back to us. “Why do you wait?” he shouted again as if we hadn’t heard him the first time “If you remain here you will die. I hope you’re not stupid enough to let that happen, now come!” Bloodfang’s horn dulled as her magic faded. We looked at each other for a moment before following the stranger. *** We soon found ourselves moving toward a large cave entrance guarded by two thickly pelt clad Changelings with odd, spear-like weapons. Those weapons were about six feet long, with sharply pointed tips. The tips glowed with a black light full of stars just like the weapon of the changeling that had found us. The guards stepped out of the way when they saw us coming. “Who are you?” Bloodfang asked as we entered the cave and began moving down a long, shallow ramp. “I am Star Storm," he said, “I am ruler of this colony.” “I am Bloodfang," she said. She looked at me, “And this is my mate, Rick.” Star Storm eyed me with disgust. ‘Mate?," he said, “I thought that strange little monkey was your pet! You have odd taste in mates.” I thought he was going to spit on the ground when he said that. “Hey!," I shouted at him angrily, “Who’re you calling a pet?” I didn’t care if they were changelings or not. I was not about to be insulted by this guy. I strode up to him, balled my fist and struck him with a full, roundhouse punch on the tip of his jaw. He stumbled, fell backwards on his ass. The others with him, their faces now fiercely furious, aimed their weapons at us ready to blast us at the slightest sign from their leader. Star Storm moved his jaw to test it, rubbed h then laughed raucously. The others lowered their weapons and quickly followed suite, laughing with him. I laughed nervously expecting to die. “So! Perhaps you’re not so weak and helpless after all, little monkey!” Star Storm chuckled at me as he rose to his feet, stepped back in front of me. “You may come in handy!”, he grinned, giving me a hard pat on my back before turning and continuing down the ramp, the others following. Bloodfang glanced at me with pride. A long moment later we approached a very large, well-lit chamber filled with changelings either going about various tasks or simply sitting in groups talking, telling stories or just quietly enjoying the campfires scattered seemingly randomly around the floor of that enormous cave. Star Storm threw up his hands as we entered. “Heed me!," he shouted in what sounded oddly like a Royal Voice, something I thought only the princesses could use. Everyone froze, turned their gaze toward us. “We have visitors!” he shouted again, “They are strangers to our land but they are harmless. Make them welcome!” Star Storm waved for us to follow him. As we did so we were crowded by curious but friendly changelings wanting to meet us. That’s when I first noticed it. Some had pale skin and light a mane, others were darker but had red mane and tail. Looking closer I could see that some had blue eyes, some had the typical green eyes yet others had eyes ranging from brown to pale, bluish white! No, these weren’t like any changelings I’d ever seen, before. Stepping away from us, Star Storm clapped twice loudly. The claps echoed through the cave. A moment later two young looking changelings ran up to him and bowed. “Make food, set the dining area," he said. They bowed and ran quickly off. Just then what was obviously a changeling stepped out of one of the many corridor entrances in the cave and strode toward us. She was tall, taller than most of the others and, although she had a long black tail and mane she was pure white, just like Star Storm, as white as the snow we’d left behind outside. As she drew closer I could see she had bright, vibrant, green eyes. Star Storm smiled warmly when he saw her approaching. A moment later she was standing with us. “This is my mate, Full Moon," he smiled, introducing us. I smiled, extended my hand. Her smile faded only slightly as she looked at it, confused. I withdrew my hand. Bloodfang nodded as her eyes locked on Full Moon’s for a moment, “I am Bloodfang. This is my mate, Rick” Full Moon’s smile broadened as she looked me up and down but her eyes said she was studying me. “And a brave little monkey he is, too!”, laughed Star Storm to Full Moon as he slapped my back, “You’ll be amused when I tell you the tale of what he did at the entrance.” Full Moon’s look changed slightly. Gone now were the cold, studying eyes replaced by a slightly warmer expression. “Come," she said, gesturing to us, turning, “You’re tired. You need rest. Food will be ready shortly then we can eat.” Star Storm’s mate led the way as we all entered into the cave, many curious changelings walking close to us looking like they had many questions for us but I also got the impression that they didn’t dare speak as long as Star Storm and his mate were with us. Just then we heard a disturbance at the main cave entrance. Bloodfang and I turned to see a half dozen pelt clad changelings entering. They were carrying what appeared to be bodies wrapped in thick pelts. Without a word Star Storm strode toward them. “Are they alive? Where did you find them?”, shouted Star Storm to the newcomers. “Barely!”, shouted back one of the newcomers as Star Storm approached them, “we found them by the crags. They’ll need a healer.” I turned to Full Moon, who was watching. “What’s going on?”, I asked her. “They have found us," she smiled. She looked relieved. “Found you? Who? Why?”, I asked, confused. Just then one of the young fillies Star Storm had given orders to earlier approached us, bowed. Full Moon turned to look at her. “The meal and the dining area are prepared," she said. Full Moon nodded and the young filly ran off. “Come!”, she said, turning back to us, “We will eat now. After that you can rest. A moment later we were sitting on thick, pelt pillows around a low, large iron table joined by dozens of changelings who were eating and either staring at us or talking among themselves, Full Moon sitting to our right. I got the impression they wouldn’t talk to us until Star Storm joined us or they were given permission to do so. A young filly approached us, laid large iron platters on the table in front of us. I looked down at mine. On the platter was some kind of fish and something else that looked like large, thick strips of oily bacon. I picked up a piece, sniffed at it, nibbled it. The taste was strong but pleasant, a bit like snake or alligator meat. Some kind of sea animal? “It is called Sea Monk," smiled Full Moon as she picked up a morsel from her plate, held it up then popped it into her mouth, “we hunt them from a nearby ocean along with fish and other things” I glanced over to Bloodfang. She was happily wolfing down her meal. Her platter was almost empty. This did not miss Full Moon’s attention. She raised her hands. Two loud claps. A moment later one of the young fillies raced up to her, bowed. “Bring more for that one," Full Moon said, nodding toward Bloodfang, “make sure she gets her fill.” The young filly bowed, raced off. “So! You are like nothing I have ever seen, before. What are you?," Full Moon asked Bloodfang who paused, eyed her for a moment. Bloodfang swallowed her mouthful with a gulp, looked back at Full Moon. “I am a Chanequus," she said, “A halfling. My father was a Draconequus and my mother was a changeling. You’re not like any changelings I’ve ever seen.” “We’re not changelings," Full Moon said. Her face darkened as if we’d insulted her but the sour frown quickly passed. Bloodfang and I stared at her both surprised and confused. “Since you are new here I will ignore your calling us Changelings. We are not. We are Neomorphs," Full Moon said as if that explained everything. Bloodfang continued to stare, not comprehending. “You were created by Chrys..," I started to ask. Full Moon’s hand shot up to interrupt me, her expression a stern warning. “You will not speak that name here," she growled. “It is forbidden. Doing so is punishable by death!” I bit my lip, looked at Full Moon. My expression did not go unnoticed. Full Moon's face softened. “That vile thing is our bitter enemy but, yes, we were created by her," she said, “we were an experiment, something new she planned on using in her vile obsession to destroy Equestria. She hadn’t planned on us rising up and revolting against her.” “But, how..?”, I asked. “Star Storm and I escaped, taking those who also wished to escape with us. We found this place and decided to stay. It is very defensible.” Just then Star Storm joined us, took a seat near us. He seemed pleased. Full Moon looked at him. “The newcomers are very weak but they will survive," he smiled. Full Moon also smiled, pleased at hearing this. I stared at Star Storm just no less confused than I was a moment before. He turned, smiled at me. “Allow me to explain, little monkey," he said, “my mate and I escaped from the hive of the Vile One, the One Who’s Name We Do Not Speak. We took others with us, found this place and founded our colony many decades ago. We've taken in any changelings who wish to be free from the Vile One’s rule”, he said. “When we are strong enough in numbers we will return to Equestria and destroy that vile witch and all her mindless demon spawn!”, said Full Moon. She licked her lips, her expression was one of hopeful expectation. Bloodfang looked at them and I saw her smile for the first time since we’d arrived here. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she said, looking at them. Star Storm and Full Moon smiled, pleased. It wouldn’t be long before Bloodfang and I discovered just what that really meant. Into Their ArmsOur first night with the Neomorphs was a busy one. They seemed to have more questions about us then we could answer in an evening. Mostly they wanted to know what we were and where we came from. There was one Neomorph female who seemed particularly interested in me. Her name was Little Jewel and, as Bloodfang and I sat talking with Star Storm, Full Moon and others, she kept staring at me for most of the night. It made me uncomfortable and I did my best to ignore it. Bloodfang got most of the attention, though. In a way I was glad of that since I was tired after our long journey through those frozen wastelands but seeing Bloodfang trying to deal with all of this unaccustomed attention bothered me just as much. I didn’t like seeing her discomfort trying to deal with something she just wasn’t used to. Finally, after a few hours of this, Bloodfang simply rose to her hooves, smiled as best she could and announced that she was tired and it was time for her to rest. That was Bloodfang, a creature of few words and the Neomorphs seemed to appreciate this. We were taken down a corridor and shown a sleeping cell. It wasn’t very big, maybe six feet by nine feet but it was enough to sleep in. We settled in for the night. Warm and well fed but exhausted it took me almost no time at all before I was drifting off but Bloodfang was restless, kept tossing and turning. Something was bothering her. After an hour of that I realized she’d be doing it all night, she’d keep me awake and I wouldn’t get any sleep. “Okay, what is it?”, I asked her rising up on my elbows sounding a little annoyed. She studied my eyes for a moment. “You are mine”, she said, as if that explained everything. I wrapped my arm around her neck, drew her closer to me, snuggling her. “Yeah, I know I’m yours. So what’s the problem?”, I said. “Little Jewel wants you”, she said. “That one who kept staring at me all night?” “That one. She wants you.” “How can you tell?”, I asked, “I mean, she might just be really curious. I mean, we’re not exactly a common sight around here.” “I can tell”, she said. She looked concerned. I sat up so we could face each other. She rose to her knees. I took her face in my hands and looked deeply into her blood red eyes. “I have marked you. You are mine”, I said with all the sincerity I could muster. She gave me a look than giggled. To see this seven foot tall creature which had the appearance of something out of a nightmare giggle was something no one was likely ever to forget. “Silly monkey! That’s something only mares do”, she said, still snickering. Apparently in her mind my having done that was pretty much akin to Bulk Biceps showing up at the Grand Galloping Gala wearing an evening gown and heels. Still, I could tell she deeply appreciated the gesture and my reminder that I’d done that. Plus telling her directly to her face reassured her and we were finally able to settle down and get to sleep. ... I was awakened the next morning by shouting at the entrance to our sleeping cell. I was alone. Bloodfang must have gotten up, already. I opened my eyes to find a rather grizzled and unusually muscular Neomorph smiling in at me from the entrance. “Come!”, he smiled enthusiastically, “There’s work to be done.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stepped out into the corridor. “I’m Slag. You’ve been assigned to work with me and my son, Jevith, today”, he smiled. Maybe it was just me but I was surprised by his seeming friendliness which seemed beyond that of those Neomorphs I’d already met, an idea I was still trying to wrap my head around. After my own experiences in the Everfree forest friendly changelings of any kind struck me as odd. “So, what’re we doing?”, I asked. “You’ll be working with us in the foundry”, he smiled, giving me a pat on the back as we headed down the corridor. “Jevith?”, I asked. “My adopted son”, he said, a proud smile spreading on his face. I couldn’t help but smile back. “I’d seen all the iron stuff, the table and platters and all”, I said, “I was wondering about that. How’d you get the iron for those?” “We’ve been digging these caves out for decades”, he said, warming to the subject, “we found large veins of iron while we were doing that and, so, all the iron things we have.” “That’s pretty lucky!”, I said. “That it is! That it is!”, he said, pleased, as we entered the enormous main chamber. I was amazed and slightly confused when I saw Bloodfang on the other side of the chamber happily romping and playing with dozens of laughing, giggling and joyfully squealing Neomorph foals. My jaw dropped. I stopped and stared. I could never have imagined her like this, never thought I’d ever see her truly happy before but now she looked downright ecstatic as she settled down on some pelt pillows, gathered the little foals around her and began telling them stories, the toddlers gleefully hanging on her every word. Seeing me across the chamber she smiled, raised and waved a hoof at me. Was I seeing things? Were her eyes sparkling? I smiled weakly but kept staring. “Your mate?”, asked Slag. “Yeah”, I said, nodding while still staring. “You’re a lucky little monkey. I can tell already she’s a good one”, he said smiling and giving me a pat on the back before we turned and continued on to the foundry. Then it hit me... Could it be? Had we, or at least she, found what we’d hoped to find on the other side of this world? I was definitely pleased by the thought. I wanted nothing more than for Bloodfang to be happy and, today, she definitely looked that way. I wondered as we crossed the chamber and headed down one of the corridors. A short time later we entered a large, high ceilinged, hot and smoky chamber. The ringing clang of hammers on metal, the crackle of forge fires and the hiss of quenched metal filled the air. Near the center of the chamber was one Neomorph who stood out. He was taller than the rest, more muscular than the rest and he had rather reptilian eyes with slitted pupils. He smiled when he saw us coming, started walking toward us. “This is my son Jevith”, smiled Slag when the huge Neomorph joined us, greeted me. I didn’t notice it before because he was too far away but now that he was closer I could see that he was a very dark green, almost black and his skin was covered by tiny, overlapping scales. He extended his hand to me. I shook it, surprised, since that was something none of the other Neomorphs were in the habit of doing. “I’m Rick”, I said. Jevith pumped my hand enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you could join us today”, he smiled, looking me up and down, “So, do you feel up to doing some hard work?” I suspected he thought I might not be up to it. “Well, good luck to you, little monkey!”, smiled Scrag, patting me on the back before heading off across the foundry. “Follow me”, smiled Jevith, as we walked over to a large, stone oven with a broad mouth in the front. Taking a deep breath, Jevith blew into it. White hot flame shot out of his mouth through the mouth of the forge and a second later the stones within glowed orange-white hot. Stepping over to a table he grabbed a large, iron mallet, a pair of tongs and a scrap of metal bar. Returning he shoved one end of the bar into the white hot stones, handed a pair of thick, skin mittens. I slipped my hands into the mittens and waited. He then handed me the mallet. I grabbed it but the weight of the mallet almost pulled me to the floor and it was everything I could do to keep from falling on my face and recover. Others in the foundry who’d paused to look at us chuckled, amused. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”, asked Jevith, arching an eyebrow at me. “Yeah! Sure!”, I grunted, hefting the mallet in my hand, getting used to the weight of it, “I just wasn’t expecting that.” “Good! Then let’s get started!”, he grinned, pleased, giving me a pat on the back. A habit he’d gotten from his father, I thought? A moment later he took the bar from the forge, it’s end now glowing orange, laid it on the tongue of an anvil. “Let’s see how well you can do flattening that out”, he said, holding the bar for me. I raised the mallet over the hot end of the bar, swung it downwards. It struck the bar at a slight angle, leaving an awkward dent. “Here”, he said, taking the mallet from me, “Grip the handle closer to the center. That’ll give you better control.” I took the mallet back, held it like he’d shown me, swung again. This time the mallet face struck the metal straight and true. I did it again. Again. “Not bad for a beginner!”, he said with a pleased grin as he placed the bar back in the forge then handed me a pair of tongs. “I think you’ll do well here”, he smiled, as he handed me the tongs, instructed me on how to handle the metal in the fire, what to watch for to let me know when the bar was hot enough to work. He stepped back, put his arms behind his back and carefully watched me as I worked, giving correction and instruction when I needed it. Even though my arms ached from the unaccustomed work and weight of the mallet I kept working, determined to show everyone that I was no weak little monkey, that I could work just as hard, just as well and just as long as any of them. Within fifteen minutes I was sweating profusely, the sweat raining down off my forehead and running into my eyes. I had to stop several times to wipe my brow just in order to see what I was doing. Jevith said nothing but stood with his arms folded across his chest, pleased to see that I was putting in a real effort. “Break time!”, he said, patting me on the back again before handing me a soft, skin rag. Gasping from the effort, I wiped my face, glad for the bit of rest. Taking a tong he picked up the bar I’d been hammering, inspected it. “Good work!”, he smiled at me, “Not bad at all for your first day. You’ll need to watch your dimpling, though.” He was referring to the uneven rippling the hammer had left on the metal surface that made the surface look slightly wavy. So, maybe it was the way I glanced at him from time to time, maybe it was because it was a question he always ended up being asked by strangers but, as we headed for a break table for water he said something to me that I’d found myself being curious about. “My father was a changeling and my mother was a dragon”, he said casually, as if he’d said it a thousand times before, “I don’t know how she found this place but she left me here as a tiny drake.” That’s when a thought hit me; Jevith was a halfling just like Bloodfang. No wonder the others had so openly accepted and welcomed her and, by extension, me. Halflings weren’t unknown to them after all. “Oh!”, I said, a bit but not really surprised that he’d brought it up. After all, I had been curious about it. “No one else here knew or was sure what to do with me when she left me”, he said, “Slag took me in and raised me as his own. He’s been a good father to me. I’m grateful to him for that.” I smiled, nodded, glad that he’d told me this. A moment later we took a seat at the break table. Jevith poured water into an iron mug, handed it to me, poured one for himself. Smiling, he held it up in front of him. “To our new foundry worker”, he grinned, “May your hammer always strike true!” “Thanks!”, I said, clinking my mug to his. Several of those sitting near us joined in with a cheer of their own. A moment later some of the other foundry workers joined us at the table, began talking with us. They seemed skeptical that I could go on doing the work. I even wondered, myself. My arms ached like crazy after doing this for so short a time and I dreaded to think what they’d feel like after a day of this. Jevith reassured them that I was doing well so far and they seemed to relax, be more welcoming toward me. Before long we were all chatting and joking, having a good time, even though they thought it funny to tease me a bit about my being a ‘funny, pink monkey’, as they put it. I didn’t get offended as they didn’t mean anything bad by it since it was just good-natured joking after all. ... I was glad when that work day was over! I’d done my best to keep up with the work I’d been given but after six hours of it my arms burned from the unaccustomed strain. Jevith had been very helpful, taking my arms in his hands and rubbing them vigorously to help ease the pain in my muscles. I appreciated that and thanked him for it. Still, I found myself wondering how long I could do that work before I just had to quit and move on to something else. “It takes everyone a while to get used to it”, Jevith told me reassuringly, “there isn’t anyone in that foundry who hasn’t gone through what you’re going through, now, so don’t let their teasing bother you. They’ll respect you when they see you’re willing to stick with it. Yeah, I was really beginning to like this Jevith. He was not only friendly but very helpful and encouraging and it was clear to me he did want to see me do well here. I was grateful for that. My heart melted as we stepped into the main chamber and I saw Bloodfang on the other side nestled into those pelt pillows, napping along with dozens of little foals either snuggled up against her or gathered close on little mats of their own. The look of peace on her face was angelic. I’d never seen her face like that before when she was sleeping. Those working around her were making an effort not to wake her or the little foals, appreciative of her baby-sitting. “She’s quite the babysitter”, smiled Jevith, nodding toward Bloodfang. “Yeah”, I said, surprised. Jevith eyed me. “You’ve never seen her do this, before?”, he asked. “No”, I said, “we’d always been by ourselves, just us two, so I never had the chance to see what kind of mother she’d be.” “It’s a changeling trait, it’s strong in her”, he smiled, as we headed out of the chamber and down another corridor. All I could do was smile at the thought that she’d turned out to have such a gentleness in her, something I’d gotten hints of but had never seen before now. It pleased me a lot more than I ever thought it would. A short time later Jevith turned into a large high-ceilinged chamber. The air was hot, steamy and damp. It was then that I saw the pool that took up most of the floor and the stone benches that lined the walls, work clothes piled on various places on those benches. Sitting in and around the steaming pool were other Neomorph stallions and mares soaking in the water. Some lay with their heads lolled against the rim napping, others chatting, relaxing. “Now comes the best part of the day!”, said Jevith, a happily expectant smile on his face as he sat down on one of the stone benches, stripped off his work clothes and stepped into the steaming pool with a huge, happy sigh. Turning back at me he nodded for me to join him. Well, this was just too good! How could I resist? I stripped off my own clothes and joined him. The feel of that stinging hot water hitting my skin, slowly soaking into my muscles was sheer heaven as I settled down on the stone seat next to him. He threw his arms over the rim, closed his eyes, laid his head back and I could practically hear him purring. Hell, I was practically purring, myself, as I followed suit, letting myself completely go and relax in that wonderful, comforting warmth. The others in the pool either glanced at me and smiled or, engaged in deep conversation with others, paid us no mind and I was glad of it. After so long a day of hard work I didn’t feel up to answering a lot of questions. I closed my eyes and settled down. A short time later I heard the soft pad of Neomorph hooves on the stone floor as someone entered the chamber. I opened my eyes to see who it was. It was Little Jewel, the filly who’d been staring at me the night before. She smiled and nodded at me before taking a seat, stripping down and settling into the pool opposite from us. Again, she sat staring gently at me, an odd look on her face that I couldn’t quite make out. Jevith opened one eye, looked across the pool at her, closed his eyes again. “Little Jewel”, he said softly. “What’s with her?”, I asked, “she keeps staring at me.” “She lost both of her parents in the last hoard attack. She was still very young. It devastated her.” I looked at Jevith. “Hoard attack?”, I asked, startled and now concerned. “The Vile One found our colony some time ago. It brings its hoards from time to time to attack us, try to wipe us out. It never succeeds, though. We’ve managed to fight that thing off every time but each time the monster returns with a bigger, stronger force. We don’t know how long we can keep defeating her” He said in a sad, quiet voice. “When you say The Vile One I’m guessing you’re referring to...”, I had to catch myself, stop myself from saying the name, “The Changeling Queen?” He nodded. “So, what’s that got to do with Little Jewel staring at me?”, I asked. “Many of the families here tried to adopt her but she refused, saying she was waiting for her father to arrive.” “What, did she go crazy or something?”, I asked. “A lot of us thought so at first but, other than that one thing, she didn’t seem crazy, just went on doing what she’d always done every day so, after a while, we just forgot about it, let her live her life”, he said. I closed my eyes, laid my head back on the rim of the pool, trying to ignore Little Jewels stares and relax. A moment later I heard the sound of water moving, the sound growing closer to me. I opened my eyes to see a sweetly smiling Little Gem half walking, half swimming toward me. My stomach knotted with sudden nervousness as she sat down on the bench directly next to me, took my arm in her hands and, with a gentle sigh, laid her head on my shoulder. Jevith was staring at us now, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “Looks like from now on we’ll have to call you daddy instead of little monkey”, he joked, winking. All I could do was sit and stare down at the little filly now happily snuggling against my arm. ... Relaxed and feeling a thousand times better after a long soak, I, Jevith and a now quietly following Little Jewel returned to the main chamber to find that the evening meal was being served, something I was glad about since I felt starved after the days work and could hardly wait to dig in. I looked around, saw Bloodfang sitting on one side of the table happily eating and talking with several of the little foals I’d seen her with earlier in the day along with their parents. Again, she looked ecstatic and I was happy she was finding a place for herself among these Neomorphs. I walked over, took a seat next to her, kissed her. She then started introducing me to the little foals and their parents. They seemed honestly happy to see me and greeted me warmly. I then introduced Jevith to her and he took a seat with us at the table. That’s when Bloodfang saw Little Jewel standing near us, staring at us again but not sure if she should join us. “Your new lover?”, scowled Bloodfang at me. “No, potentially our new daughter”, I said, shrugging. Bloodfang stared at me, confused. I then told her what Jevith had told me, about how she’d lost her parents and was ‘waiting for her father’. Although Bloodfang’s face remained blank I saw tears welling in the corners of her eyes. It was clear that she was deeply touched by what she was hearing and was also feeling the renewed sting and pain of the loss of her own parents. I finished telling her the story. She sat and looked down at the table for a moment before rising, stepping over to Little Jewel and began talking with her. A moment later Bloodfang wrapped her arms around Little Jewel and hugged her, Little Jewel throwing her arms around Bloodfang’s neck and squeezing her tightly, looking like she didn’t want to let Bloodfang go. A moment later both of them returned to the table and joined us. Bloodfang sat next to me again. I looked at her. “I have claimed her. She is ours, now. We will keep her”, Bloodfang said with absolute certainty as Little Jewel happily settled down between us and we all began to eat. Well, what could I do but smile? It obviously made Bloodfang happy to claim a daughter and I couldn’t help but feel good about suddenly finding myself with a brand new family. Everyone around the huge table who’d been watching what had happened, seeing us all together now nodded and smiled their approval, obviously pleased that Little Jewel had finally found the one she’d been so patiently waiting for. Again, I smiled. Perhaps Bloodfang had found the home we’d hoped we’d find. Only time would tell as how true that was. Happy and content, I dug into my meal and ate heartily and couldn’t help but enjoy the thought that me and Bloodfang were finally home. Into The BreechI’m writing this for my mother, Bloodfang, because she cannot write well and because I told her she should try to put her words on paper as a way of sharing what has happened to us. She said she wasn’t ready for that yet so I should do it. It has been six months since I found my father, Rick, and my mother Bloodfang. They have been very good to me and have loved me and treated me well. They have also fitted in with the colony, father learning to do well at the foundry and making friends there and mother taking very good care of the many little foals who love her very much. they love spending time with each other and mother is... or was... always very happy whenever she had a chance to foalsit, which was every day. The foals parents were always grateful and happy for this since Neomorph foals can be and often are little bundles of pure energy and can be a real handful. That’s not what I’m writing about, though, although it cheers me up a little bit to think about it. I wish it would cheer me up more. There was another hoard attack a few days ago, a really big one. We almost lost this time and I think we would have if it hadn’t been for mother. I was mending clothing when the alarm bell rang. I knew what it was. Hundreds of us ran out with weapons to fight the hoard but there were more than I’d ever seen before. The sky was black with them and it scared me a lot. I wanted to go out and fight with the others but I was too scared, I couldn’t bring myself to do it even though I really wanted to. Mother was one of the first to run outside with the others. She ran out roaring in a way that terrified me. I’d never heard her roar like that before and I never thought she could do that. It was like thunder, it made the walls shake. Those who were defending the entrance had to jump out of her way when she galloped past them and charged headlong into the fight. I was just running up to the entrance when she did that so I saw her blast the hoard with her magic for the first time. Her attack was so vicious that it scared me. I’d never seen her like that before, I never thought she could be like that. She wiped out hundreds of the attackers leaving them in piles of ashes on the snow. She saw the vile one and what I saw next scared me even more than what I’d already seen. She spread her wings and flew right at the evil queen, her horns blazing with magic like I’d never imagined she could. She hit the evil queen right in the chest and the vile one tumbled to the snow. Mother was on top of her, stomping the vile one with her hooves and trying to stab her with her horns. All the vile one could do was try to stay out of the way of my mothers horns and hooves. I was sure mother would kill her. It looked like that’s all she wanted to do. I was so scared when a bunch of the hoard swarmed on my mother and tried to take her down but she just threw them off like they were nothing, blasted them and started attacking the vile one again. Just then my father ran up to the cave mouth, saw what was going on. He grabbed a spear from one of the guards and ran out of the cave and started attacking and stabbing the hoardlings like it was all he ever wanted to do. father was killing so many of them! He just kept spearing them and throwing them away like he was chucking fish! They just kept dying and dying but they kept at him, kept attacking him. The rest of the guards who were out fighting saw what he was doing and joined with him. They charged the hoard on the ground and kept killing them and killing them. I was so proud of my father, I thought he’d just go on fighting forever to protect us and keep us safe. He loves us all. A lot. Me especially. He said he never really thought about having a daughter before but he was glad and happy that I was his, always said every day how good a daughter I am and how much he loves me... loved me. I will always love him. He and the other guards kept fighting the hoard while mother kept attacking the vile one with all her strength. I’d never seen anyone or anything so angry or enraged as my mother and father. I never imagined anything alive could hold so much rage. It really scared me but made me feel safe at the same time. I never thought I’d ever see anyone fight so hard to protect us like mother and father were doing. Finally it was all over and that vile thing, that evil queen had to fight and struggle to get away from my mother and fly away. That evil thing looked more frightened then I ever thought she could be. The thing was bleeding and it looked like she was really badly hurt. I think my mother may have stabbed her a few times with her horns, it sure looked that way to me. Just as the vile one was leaving a bunch of the hoard attacked my mother, swarmed on her trying one last time to kill her. She was buried under them, struggling to get free. My father saw this and charged right into the middle of it stabbing and killing them like he’d lost his mind. He managed to help my mother get free but the ones who’d been swarming mother turned and swarmed him, instead. Mother did her best to help him but by the time she was able to get to him it was too late. The rest of the hoard took off after their ruler and fled. The fight was over. As the evil queen flew off my mother went after her roaring, blasting at her with her magic, trying her best to kill her. Several of the guards picked father up and brought him inside to the main chamber. Healers were called. They did everything they could but nothing worked. They couldn’t save him. Excuse me... I’m sorry.... I’m crying again... I can’t help it. ... I am blodfng. Litl jewl sed I shud rite this. It wud mak me fel betr. I do not rite gud but litl jewl has trid to tich me. litl jewl sed riting this wud mak me fel betr. I do not fel betr only empty. I hav lost my litl monky, my rik and I dnt kno what to do. He is gon. He tuk my hart wit him. I ake inside and hurt so much I don’t kno how I wil go on wit out him. He was my lov he was my life he was everting to me an now he is gon. Litl jewl tris to mak me fel betr but nothng maks me fel betr I jus want my rik bak. I do not want to liv wit out him. Al I do is cri. I fel lik I wil break inside I jus want my litl monky. ... I wish there was something I could do for mother but everything I do fails. All she does is lay in her sleeping chamber and weep. The caves are filled with her wailing. It breaks my heart. It breaks everyone’s hearts. I wish I could help her. I want to very much. I’m afraid no one can help her now. I worry she will die of a broken heart. I don’t want that to happen. It’s bad enough I lost the father I’d been waiting so long for, I don’t think I could bear it if I lost mother, too. I love her a lot. I can’t help feeling what she feels, though. I want my father back, too. ... It’s been a year since I lost my father. It still hurts but not like it did. Mother finally stopped crying but she’s not the same. It’s as if something inside her broke and died. She’s always dark and moody now and looks like she’s always thinking, like she’s planning something. I don’t know what but I think she may be thinking of some way she can kill the changeling queen for taking father from us. That would be like her. I can’t blame her but I hope she doesn’t do it. I don’t want to lose her too. ... Mother came to me this morning and told me she was leaving. That really scared me and I started crying, asking her why. She told me that she can’t live with herself as long as father’s death goes unavenged. She told me she will find a way to fight the changeling queen and kill her or die trying. I’m really scared. I don’t want her to do this but once mother has made her mind up about a thing there’s no changing her mind. ... Bloodfang landed near the long, broad stone walkway that led up to the gates of Celestia’s palace. Seeing her, scores of palace guards ran to intercept her, to stop whatever she might have been doing. Standing on her hind legs she spread her broad and powerful dragonfly wings. Flapping them rapidly she simply blew the guards out of her way and continued on through the gates. A moment later a loud bang like a bomb blast echoed through the throne room as Bloodfang bucked the massive, metal doors knocking them open with such force she almost kicked them from the hinges. Startled and alarmed, Luna and Celestia rose to their hooves and stared as the giant changeling-esque creature approached them, slapping guards out of her way with her wings as she went. No matter how they tried or how many there were the guards simply couldn’t slow her down, much less stop her. Luna and Celestia stood on the podium, held their ground as the creature reached the stairs to the thrones and stopped, dozens of palace guards racing up behind her, ready to kill her where she stood. Still staring at the odd creature, Celestia’s hand shot up to stay the guards. “You are enemies of the Changeling Queen?”, shouted Bloodfang. The princesses looked at each other for a moment, then back to Bloodfang. “I said you are enemies of the Changeling Queen?”, repeated Bloodfang as if she thought the princesses hadn’t heard her the first time. Luna said nothing but, stared, nodded. “You are the enemy of my enemy”, growled Bloodfang. She took a step closer to the princesses. Beginning to realize what Bloodfang was saying, they nodded. “Do you want her dead?”, asked Bloodfang. The princesses blinked at the question, their jaws dropping but, still, they said nothing. “Are you deaf?!”, roared Bloodfang, actually startling the princesses by doing so “Do you want her dead?!”, she said more loudly. “What are you asking of us?”, asked Luna, finally. “Give me an army. Well trained. Good fighters. I will take them and we will kill the changeling queen”, said Bloodfang. “Why?”, asked Celestia, stepping down from the pedestal and approaching Bloodfang now. They stared at each other, studying each other for a moment, sizing each other up. “She has taken my mate from me”, said Bloodfang, sour anger in her voice, “she must pay for that. I will make her pay.” “I see”, said Luna, but what makes you think we would give you an army?” “Because you would be fools not to”, said Bloodfang quite bluntly, “She is our enemy. I will destroy her for you if you will help me to take vengeance on her.” “How do you know you can kill her?”, asked Luna, quite reasonably. Bloodfang’s eyes narrowed, studying Luna, trying to determine why she would ask what she thought was a stupid question. “She attacked my colony, my home. She killed my mate. I almost killed her but she got away. If I can corner her, trap her so she cannot get away then I know I can kill her. You will help me do this.”, said Bloodfang. Celestia and Luna stared at each other for a moment, then excusing themselves stepped off to a corner room. “What in my name do you think this’s about?”, asked Celestia a moment later. “Isn’t it obvious? This... Thing... Whatever it is wants Chrysalis dead”, said Luna. “Speaking of which, what is it?”, Celestia asked. “I don’t care and I’m not going to ask as long as it’s willing to take on and kill our worst enemy”, Luna said, then, “and from the look of it I think can do succeed. Did you see how big that thing is?!” “That did not escape my notice”, Celestia said. “I’m willing to take a chance with it if you are”, said Luna, “after all, what have we got to lose?” “Another changeling hoard attack?”, asked Celestia, “that’s a pretty big risk, sister.” “The fates have dropped an opportunity right in our laps, brought it right before our thrones! How can we pass this up?” “Good point”, said Celestia, “Okay, let’s give her what she wants.” With that the princesses returned to the throne room to find Bloodfang still standing where they’d left her. “We discussed it and we’ve decided we’ll give you the chance you ask for”, said Luna. Bloodfang looked back and forth between the princesses, the slightest trace of a smile touching her lips. “I will not return until I can hand the Changeling Queen’s head to you in a bag”, she said. Without another word she turned and strode out of the throne room, leaving Celestia and Luna to stare at each other. Startled, Bloodfang awoke from the disturbing dream. She shook her head wondering what it all meant.
Into The Arctic“Remind me again what we’re doing here?!” I had to shout over the scream of the frigid winds blasting us, the hard, blowing snow stung my face where it struck. I felt like I was being sand blasted. I shivered, wrapped myself tighter in the thick Nara Shima pelt coat. Wrapped only in thick skins, my feet were numb and I wondered if they were getting frostbit. The rest of me sure felt like it! “We must pass this way to get to our destination," shouted Bloodfang. I just heard hear her over the wail of that cold, arctic wind. “What, we couldn’t go another way? One that was warmer?” I shouted. Bloodfang paused, gave me a hard look. “You complain too much little monkey," she shouted. So, what were we doing in the middle of an arctic waste battling freezing cold, wailing winds and sharp, stinging blowing snow? We had to leave the Everfree. As dangerous as it had been it had become infinitely more so when a seeming hoard of Nara Shima swept into our part of the forest and decided to make their home there. Bloodfang and I had been frightened and disturbed by this but were willing to stay until, one evening close to sunset, we saw a flock of them circling overhead like vultures looking for a carcass. There were literally dozens of them darkening the skies above our cave home. That’s when she decided it was time for us to move on. We both understood that a moonless night would be the safest time to leave so we hid in our cave, going out only when and as far from the cave as we had to in order to hunt. It seemed to take forever, but that moonless night finally came and we left as quickly as we could. Bloodfang had considered flying us out but the loud buzz of her wings would have instantly alerted the Nara Shima and we would have been swarmed and killed so we were forced to run as quietly as we could in order to escape. We moved at night and hid as best we could during the day. We almost didn’t make it. Having been found by a small group of the monsters, they’d instantly attacked and it was everything we could do to fight them off, killing most of them before it was all over. It had taken four nights of constant travel before we were far enough across the Everfree to be relatively safe again. It was then that Bloodfang decided that we would go north across the top of the world; the shortest but most dangerous way to get to the other side of the planet. We were now moving through the extreme north of Equus because of that decision. I had no say in it. As it turned out, she’d traveled quite a lot across the planet and knew of better, safer places to live. I’d learned of this when we’d lay at night snuggled in our cave and she’d tell me about her travels and adventures. Hearing about this I asked her why she chose to remain in the Everfree forest if there were better places to be? She just snorted as if my question was stupid and said nothing. And, so, here we were moving across the dome of this world struggling to get to a better place with me hoping we didn’t die before we got there. We pressed on. Another hour passed and I felt myself getting weak from cold, exertion and hunger. I stumbled, almost fell and I wondered how much longer I could go on. “I’m done!," I shouted, “Go on without me! I’ll just slow you down if you don’t!” Bloodfang stopped, eyed me. “You are mine! I will not leave you!”, she shouted back. I stumbled toward her, began pushing her away, punching her shoulder several times. She didn’t even blink. “No! Go! Leave! You’ll end up having to carry a dead body!" I groaned. She scooped me up in her hooves, pulled me tight to her, held me close. The warmth from her body felt like heaven in that deadly cold. I clung as close to her as I could, letting it soak in. “You are mine. I will not leave you," she whispered to me. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she held me, warmed me. I kissed her cheek. She snuggled her face into mine. Was this it? Was this the end for us? Had we traveled across hundreds of miles of frozen tundra only to die in this desolate place? I knew I’d be the first to go but I also knew it’d be only a matter of time for Bloodfang as well. With no food, no shelter and having to face that deadly cold, it would only be a matter of time before she fell too. I clung to her loving her more in that moment than I ever had and I had no doubts that she felt the same way. Several minutes later she pulled away. The cold instantly bit into me and I shuddered violently. “We must go!," she shouted she turned and continued on. I scrambled after her. *** Luckily the wind was easing now and, with less blowing snow obscuring our vision we could see further into the distance. We’d struggled along for what seemed like days but which I knew had only been an hour when we saw cragged, snow swept foothills. “There will be caves!," she shouted, heartened, “We can take shelter there!” It looked like paradise to me and, finding new strength, I began moving more quickly forward. Another eternal forty minutes later and we’d found and stepped into a narrow deep cave. Gathering some large stones Bloodfang piled them in the center of the cave as far away from the entrance as she could. Her horns glowed, a beam shot out and hit the stones. A moment later they glowed brightly. Falling to the cold cave floor we leaned into the heat feeling instant relief and a return of our strength as we snuggled close and leaned into each other. “Thanks for not leaving me out there,” I said. Bloodfang looked at me and closing her eyes she pressed her cheek to mine, snuggled me. “You are mine. I would not leave you," she cooed. I kissed her face, began stroking her mane. *** Relaxing in the warmth of the glowing stones it wasn’t long before we started drifting into sleep, something we both badly needed after our arduous and difficult journey to this place. It was then that I felt Bloodfang’s head snap up. I opened my eyes and looked toward the cave mouth as Bloodfang leapt to her hooves, snarling. A hooded shadow darkened the cave as a form stepped into the mouth. As I watched it said nothing but pulled back the sleeve of its heavy pelt coat, raised its arm. Strapped to the wrist was a long, strange thing that looked like an animal skull, a bone horn protruding from the front of it. It began to glow with a black light twinkling with tiny bright stars. It was like seeing a tiny model of the night sky. A weapon? What kind of weapon was this? I rose to my feet and stared. Bloodfang’s horn began to glow with magic but she was weak from cold and exhaustion. It spluttered dully. The creature shouted out in a language I’d never heard before. An instant later dozens of skin-clad forms stood behind the first one, blocking the exit and darkening the cave. “Who are you? What do you want?," I shouted, nervously. The creature lowered it’s weapon and confidently stepped further into the cave. Reaching up it threw back its hood to reveal a male with large, blue eyes in a snow-white face, pony ears, charcoal-grey mane and a single, cragged and snow white horn on its forehead. “You’re a changeling?!” I gasped, shocked. This was nothing like any changeling I’d ever seen. Bloodfang said nothing but her stare revealed her own surprise. “You are Equestrians?” he asked. He wasn’t smiling but stared at us. “Yes," I said. “You have come a long way. What brings you here?” “We’re... Travelers. We’re trying to get to the other side of Equus” The changeling stepped closer to Bloodfang who was still glaring at him. “We are not your enemies, sister," he said. “What... Are you? Why are you here in this wasteland?” she asked. “That is a tale best told over a good meal and the warmth of a fire," he said. A smile touched his face for the first time. Bloodfang and I looked at each other. “Come!” he shouted as he spun on his heel and strode toward the cave mouth, barking orders as he went. The others blocking the cave lowered their weapons and stepped aside. We stood staring. The changeling paused, turned back to us. “Why do you wait?” he shouted again as if we hadn’t heard him the first time “If you remain here you will die. I hope you’re not stupid enough to let that happen, now come!” Bloodfang’s horn dulled as her magic faded. We looked at each other for a moment before following the stranger. *** We soon found ourselves moving toward a large cave entrance guarded by two thickly pelt clad Changelings with odd, spear-like weapons. Those weapons were about six feet long, with sharply pointed tips. The tips glowed with a black light full of stars just like the weapon of the changeling that had found us. The guards stepped out of the way when they saw us coming. “Who are you?” Bloodfang asked as we entered the cave and began moving down a long, shallow ramp. “I am Star Storm," he said, “I am ruler of this colony.” “I am Bloodfang," she said. She looked at me, “And this is my mate, Rick.” Star Storm eyed me with disgust. ‘Mate?," he said, “I thought that strange little monkey was your pet! You have odd taste in mates.” I thought he was going to spit on the ground when he said that. “Hey!," I shouted at him angrily, “Who’re you calling a pet?” I didn’t care if they were changelings or not. I was not about to be insulted by this guy. I strode up to him, balled my fist and struck him with a full, roundhouse punch on the tip of his jaw. He stumbled, fell backwards on his ass. The others with him, their faces now fiercely furious, aimed their weapons at us ready to blast us at the slightest sign from their leader. Star Storm moved his jaw to test it, rubbed h then laughed raucously. The others lowered their weapons and quickly followed suite, laughing with him. I laughed nervously expecting to die. “So! Perhaps you’re not so weak and helpless after all, little monkey!” Star Storm chuckled at me as he rose to his feet, stepped back in front of me. “You may come in handy!”, he grinned, giving me a hard pat on my back before turning and continuing down the ramp, the others following. Bloodfang glanced at me with pride. A long moment later we approached a very large, well-lit chamber filled with changelings either going about various tasks or simply sitting in groups talking, telling stories or just quietly enjoying the campfires scattered seemingly randomly around the floor of that enormous cave. Star Storm threw up his hands as we entered. “Heed me!," he shouted in what sounded oddly like a Royal Voice, something I thought only the princesses could use. Everyone froze, turned their gaze toward us. “We have visitors!” he shouted again, “They are strangers to our land but they are harmless. Make them welcome!” Star Storm waved for us to follow him. As we did so we were crowded by curious but friendly changelings wanting to meet us. That’s when I first noticed it. Some had pale skin and light a mane, others were darker but had red mane and tail. Looking closer I could see that some had blue eyes, some had the typical green eyes yet others had eyes ranging from brown to pale, bluish white! No, these weren’t like any changelings I’d ever seen, before. Stepping away from us, Star Storm clapped twice loudly. The claps echoed through the cave. A moment later two young looking changelings ran up to him and bowed. “Make food, set the dining area," he said. They bowed and ran quickly off. Just then what was obviously a changeling stepped out of one of the many corridor entrances in the cave and strode toward us. She was tall, taller than most of the others and, although she had a long black tail and mane she was pure white, just like Star Storm, as white as the snow we’d left behind outside. As she drew closer I could see she had bright, vibrant, green eyes. Star Storm smiled warmly when he saw her approaching. A moment later she was standing with us. “This is my mate, Full Moon," he smiled, introducing us. I smiled, extended my hand. Her smile faded only slightly as she looked at it, confused. I withdrew my hand. Bloodfang nodded as her eyes locked on Full Moon’s for a moment, “I am Bloodfang. This is my mate, Rick” Full Moon’s smile broadened as she looked me up and down but her eyes said she was studying me. “And a brave little monkey he is, too!”, laughed Star Storm to Full Moon as he slapped my back, “You’ll be amused when I tell you the tale of what he did at the entrance.” Full Moon’s look changed slightly. Gone now were the cold, studying eyes replaced by a slightly warmer expression. “Come," she said, gesturing to us, turning, “You’re tired. You need rest. Food will be ready shortly then we can eat.” Star Storm’s mate led the way as we all entered into the cave, many curious changelings walking close to us looking like they had many questions for us but I also got the impression that they didn’t dare speak as long as Star Storm and his mate were with us. Just then we heard a disturbance at the main cave entrance. Bloodfang and I turned to see a half dozen pelt clad changelings entering. They were carrying what appeared to be bodies wrapped in thick pelts. Without a word Star Storm strode toward them. “Are they alive? Where did you find them?”, shouted Star Storm to the newcomers. “Barely!”, shouted back one of the newcomers as Star Storm approached them, “we found them by the crags. They’ll need a healer.” I turned to Full Moon, who was watching. “What’s going on?”, I asked her. “They have found us," she smiled. She looked relieved. “Found you? Who? Why?”, I asked, confused. Just then one of the young fillies Star Storm had given orders to earlier approached us, bowed. Full Moon turned to look at her. “The meal and the dining area are prepared," she said. Full Moon nodded and the young filly ran off. “Come!”, she said, turning back to us, “We will eat now. After that you can rest. A moment later we were sitting on thick, pelt pillows around a low, large iron table joined by dozens of changelings who were eating and either staring at us or talking among themselves, Full Moon sitting to our right. I got the impression they wouldn’t talk to us until Star Storm joined us or they were given permission to do so. A young filly approached us, laid large iron platters on the table in front of us. I looked down at mine. On the platter was some kind of fish and something else that looked like large, thick strips of oily bacon. I picked up a piece, sniffed at it, nibbled it. The taste was strong but pleasant, a bit like snake or alligator meat. Some kind of sea animal? “It is called Sea Monk," smiled Full Moon as she picked up a morsel from her plate, held it up then popped it into her mouth, “we hunt them from a nearby ocean along with fish and other things” I glanced over to Bloodfang. She was happily wolfing down her meal. Her platter was almost empty. This did not miss Full Moon’s attention. She raised her hands. Two loud claps. A moment later one of the young fillies raced up to her, bowed. “Bring more for that one," Full Moon said, nodding toward Bloodfang, “make sure she gets her fill.” The young filly bowed, raced off. “So! You are like nothing I have ever seen, before. What are you?," Full Moon asked Bloodfang who paused, eyed her for a moment. Bloodfang swallowed her mouthful with a gulp, looked back at Full Moon. “I am a Chanequus," she said, “A halfling. My father was a Draconequus and my mother was a changeling. You’re not like any changelings I’ve ever seen.” “We’re not changelings," Full Moon said. Her face darkened as if we’d insulted her but the sour frown quickly passed. Bloodfang and I stared at her both surprised and confused. “Since you are new here I will ignore your calling us Changelings. We are not. We are Neomorphs," Full Moon said as if that explained everything. Bloodfang continued to stare, not comprehending. “You were created by Chrys..," I started to ask. Full Moon’s hand shot up to interrupt me, her expression a stern warning. “You will not speak that name here," she growled. “It is forbidden. Doing so is punishable by death!” I bit my lip, looked at Full Moon. My expression did not go unnoticed. Full Moon's face softened. “That vile thing is our bitter enemy but, yes, we were created by her," she said, “we were an experiment, something new she planned on using in her vile obsession to destroy Equestria. She hadn’t planned on us rising up and revolting against her.” “But, how..?”, I asked. “Star Storm and I escaped, taking those who also wished to escape with us. We found this place and decided to stay. It is very defensible.” Just then Star Storm joined us, took a seat near us. He seemed pleased. Full Moon looked at him. “The newcomers are very weak but they will survive," he smiled. Full Moon also smiled, pleased at hearing this. I stared at Star Storm just no less confused than I was a moment before. He turned, smiled at me. “Allow me to explain, little monkey," he said, “my mate and I escaped from the hive of the Vile One, the One Who’s Name We Do Not Speak. We took others with us, found this place and founded our colony many decades ago. We've taken in any changelings who wish to be free from the Vile One’s rule”, he said. “When we are strong enough in numbers we will return to Equestria and destroy that vile witch and all her mindless demon spawn!”, said Full Moon. She licked her lips, her expression was one of hopeful expectation. Bloodfang looked at them and I saw her smile for the first time since we’d arrived here. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she said, looking at them. Star Storm and Full Moon smiled, pleased. It wouldn’t be long before Bloodfang and I discovered just what that really meant.
Into Their ArmsOur first night with the Neomorphs was a busy one. They seemed to have more questions about us then we could answer in an evening. Mostly they wanted to know what we were and where we came from. There was one Neomorph female who seemed particularly interested in me. Her name was Little Jewel and, as Bloodfang and I sat talking with Star Storm, Full Moon and others, she kept staring at me for most of the night. It made me uncomfortable and I did my best to ignore it. Bloodfang got most of the attention, though. In a way I was glad of that since I was tired after our long journey through those frozen wastelands but seeing Bloodfang trying to deal with all of this unaccustomed attention bothered me just as much. I didn’t like seeing her discomfort trying to deal with something she just wasn’t used to. Finally, after a few hours of this, Bloodfang simply rose to her hooves, smiled as best she could and announced that she was tired and it was time for her to rest. That was Bloodfang, a creature of few words and the Neomorphs seemed to appreciate this. We were taken down a corridor and shown a sleeping cell. It wasn’t very big, maybe six feet by nine feet but it was enough to sleep in. We settled in for the night. Warm and well fed but exhausted it took me almost no time at all before I was drifting off but Bloodfang was restless, kept tossing and turning. Something was bothering her. After an hour of that I realized she’d be doing it all night, she’d keep me awake and I wouldn’t get any sleep. “Okay, what is it?”, I asked her rising up on my elbows sounding a little annoyed. She studied my eyes for a moment. “You are mine”, she said, as if that explained everything. I wrapped my arm around her neck, drew her closer to me, snuggling her. “Yeah, I know I’m yours. So what’s the problem?”, I said. “Little Jewel wants you”, she said. “That one who kept staring at me all night?” “That one. She wants you.” “How can you tell?”, I asked, “I mean, she might just be really curious. I mean, we’re not exactly a common sight around here.” “I can tell”, she said. She looked concerned. I sat up so we could face each other. She rose to her knees. I took her face in my hands and looked deeply into her blood red eyes. “I have marked you. You are mine”, I said with all the sincerity I could muster. She gave me a look than giggled. To see this seven foot tall creature which had the appearance of something out of a nightmare giggle was something no one was likely ever to forget. “Silly monkey! That’s something only mares do”, she said, still snickering. Apparently in her mind my having done that was pretty much akin to Bulk Biceps showing up at the Grand Galloping Gala wearing an evening gown and heels. Still, I could tell she deeply appreciated the gesture and my reminder that I’d done that. Plus telling her directly to her face reassured her and we were finally able to settle down and get to sleep. ... I was awakened the next morning by shouting at the entrance to our sleeping cell. I was alone. Bloodfang must have gotten up, already. I opened my eyes to find a rather grizzled and unusually muscular Neomorph smiling in at me from the entrance. “Come!”, he smiled enthusiastically, “There’s work to be done.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stepped out into the corridor. “I’m Slag. You’ve been assigned to work with me and my son, Jevith, today”, he smiled. Maybe it was just me but I was surprised by his seeming friendliness which seemed beyond that of those Neomorphs I’d already met, an idea I was still trying to wrap my head around. After my own experiences in the Everfree forest friendly changelings of any kind struck me as odd. “So, what’re we doing?”, I asked. “You’ll be working with us in the foundry”, he smiled, giving me a pat on the back as we headed down the corridor. “Jevith?”, I asked. “My adopted son”, he said, a proud smile spreading on his face. I couldn’t help but smile back. “I’d seen all the iron stuff, the table and platters and all”, I said, “I was wondering about that. How’d you get the iron for those?” “We’ve been digging these caves out for decades”, he said, warming to the subject, “we found large veins of iron while we were doing that and, so, all the iron things we have.” “That’s pretty lucky!”, I said. “That it is! That it is!”, he said, pleased, as we entered the enormous main chamber. I was amazed and slightly confused when I saw Bloodfang on the other side of the chamber happily romping and playing with dozens of laughing, giggling and joyfully squealing Neomorph foals. My jaw dropped. I stopped and stared. I could never have imagined her like this, never thought I’d ever see her truly happy before but now she looked downright ecstatic as she settled down on some pelt pillows, gathered the little foals around her and began telling them stories, the toddlers gleefully hanging on her every word. Seeing me across the chamber she smiled, raised and waved a hoof at me. Was I seeing things? Were her eyes sparkling? I smiled weakly but kept staring. “Your mate?”, asked Slag. “Yeah”, I said, nodding while still staring. “You’re a lucky little monkey. I can tell already she’s a good one”, he said smiling and giving me a pat on the back before we turned and continued on to the foundry. Then it hit me... Could it be? Had we, or at least she, found what we’d hoped to find on the other side of this world? I was definitely pleased by the thought. I wanted nothing more than for Bloodfang to be happy and, today, she definitely looked that way. I wondered as we crossed the chamber and headed down one of the corridors. A short time later we entered a large, high ceilinged, hot and smoky chamber. The ringing clang of hammers on metal, the crackle of forge fires and the hiss of quenched metal filled the air. Near the center of the chamber was one Neomorph who stood out. He was taller than the rest, more muscular than the rest and he had rather reptilian eyes with slitted pupils. He smiled when he saw us coming, started walking toward us. “This is my son Jevith”, smiled Slag when the huge Neomorph joined us, greeted me. I didn’t notice it before because he was too far away but now that he was closer I could see that he was a very dark green, almost black and his skin was covered by tiny, overlapping scales. He extended his hand to me. I shook it, surprised, since that was something none of the other Neomorphs were in the habit of doing. “I’m Rick”, I said. Jevith pumped my hand enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you could join us today”, he smiled, looking me up and down, “So, do you feel up to doing some hard work?” I suspected he thought I might not be up to it. “Well, good luck to you, little monkey!”, smiled Scrag, patting me on the back before heading off across the foundry. “Follow me”, smiled Jevith, as we walked over to a large, stone oven with a broad mouth in the front. Taking a deep breath, Jevith blew into it. White hot flame shot out of his mouth through the mouth of the forge and a second later the stones within glowed orange-white hot. Stepping over to a table he grabbed a large, iron mallet, a pair of tongs and a scrap of metal bar. Returning he shoved one end of the bar into the white hot stones, handed a pair of thick, skin mittens. I slipped my hands into the mittens and waited. He then handed me the mallet. I grabbed it but the weight of the mallet almost pulled me to the floor and it was everything I could do to keep from falling on my face and recover. Others in the foundry who’d paused to look at us chuckled, amused. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”, asked Jevith, arching an eyebrow at me. “Yeah! Sure!”, I grunted, hefting the mallet in my hand, getting used to the weight of it, “I just wasn’t expecting that.” “Good! Then let’s get started!”, he grinned, pleased, giving me a pat on the back. A habit he’d gotten from his father, I thought? A moment later he took the bar from the forge, it’s end now glowing orange, laid it on the tongue of an anvil. “Let’s see how well you can do flattening that out”, he said, holding the bar for me. I raised the mallet over the hot end of the bar, swung it downwards. It struck the bar at a slight angle, leaving an awkward dent. “Here”, he said, taking the mallet from me, “Grip the handle closer to the center. That’ll give you better control.” I took the mallet back, held it like he’d shown me, swung again. This time the mallet face struck the metal straight and true. I did it again. Again. “Not bad for a beginner!”, he said with a pleased grin as he placed the bar back in the forge then handed me a pair of tongs. “I think you’ll do well here”, he smiled, as he handed me the tongs, instructed me on how to handle the metal in the fire, what to watch for to let me know when the bar was hot enough to work. He stepped back, put his arms behind his back and carefully watched me as I worked, giving correction and instruction when I needed it. Even though my arms ached from the unaccustomed work and weight of the mallet I kept working, determined to show everyone that I was no weak little monkey, that I could work just as hard, just as well and just as long as any of them. Within fifteen minutes I was sweating profusely, the sweat raining down off my forehead and running into my eyes. I had to stop several times to wipe my brow just in order to see what I was doing. Jevith said nothing but stood with his arms folded across his chest, pleased to see that I was putting in a real effort. “Break time!”, he said, patting me on the back again before handing me a soft, skin rag. Gasping from the effort, I wiped my face, glad for the bit of rest. Taking a tong he picked up the bar I’d been hammering, inspected it. “Good work!”, he smiled at me, “Not bad at all for your first day. You’ll need to watch your dimpling, though.” He was referring to the uneven rippling the hammer had left on the metal surface that made the surface look slightly wavy. So, maybe it was the way I glanced at him from time to time, maybe it was because it was a question he always ended up being asked by strangers but, as we headed for a break table for water he said something to me that I’d found myself being curious about. “My father was a changeling and my mother was a dragon”, he said casually, as if he’d said it a thousand times before, “I don’t know how she found this place but she left me here as a tiny drake.” That’s when a thought hit me; Jevith was a halfling just like Bloodfang. No wonder the others had so openly accepted and welcomed her and, by extension, me. Halflings weren’t unknown to them after all. “Oh!”, I said, a bit but not really surprised that he’d brought it up. After all, I had been curious about it. “No one else here knew or was sure what to do with me when she left me”, he said, “Slag took me in and raised me as his own. He’s been a good father to me. I’m grateful to him for that.” I smiled, nodded, glad that he’d told me this. A moment later we took a seat at the break table. Jevith poured water into an iron mug, handed it to me, poured one for himself. Smiling, he held it up in front of him. “To our new foundry worker”, he grinned, “May your hammer always strike true!” “Thanks!”, I said, clinking my mug to his. Several of those sitting near us joined in with a cheer of their own. A moment later some of the other foundry workers joined us at the table, began talking with us. They seemed skeptical that I could go on doing the work. I even wondered, myself. My arms ached like crazy after doing this for so short a time and I dreaded to think what they’d feel like after a day of this. Jevith reassured them that I was doing well so far and they seemed to relax, be more welcoming toward me. Before long we were all chatting and joking, having a good time, even though they thought it funny to tease me a bit about my being a ‘funny, pink monkey’, as they put it. I didn’t get offended as they didn’t mean anything bad by it since it was just good-natured joking after all. ... I was glad when that work day was over! I’d done my best to keep up with the work I’d been given but after six hours of it my arms burned from the unaccustomed strain. Jevith had been very helpful, taking my arms in his hands and rubbing them vigorously to help ease the pain in my muscles. I appreciated that and thanked him for it. Still, I found myself wondering how long I could do that work before I just had to quit and move on to something else. “It takes everyone a while to get used to it”, Jevith told me reassuringly, “there isn’t anyone in that foundry who hasn’t gone through what you’re going through, now, so don’t let their teasing bother you. They’ll respect you when they see you’re willing to stick with it. Yeah, I was really beginning to like this Jevith. He was not only friendly but very helpful and encouraging and it was clear to me he did want to see me do well here. I was grateful for that. My heart melted as we stepped into the main chamber and I saw Bloodfang on the other side nestled into those pelt pillows, napping along with dozens of little foals either snuggled up against her or gathered close on little mats of their own. The look of peace on her face was angelic. I’d never seen her face like that before when she was sleeping. Those working around her were making an effort not to wake her or the little foals, appreciative of her baby-sitting. “She’s quite the babysitter”, smiled Jevith, nodding toward Bloodfang. “Yeah”, I said, surprised. Jevith eyed me. “You’ve never seen her do this, before?”, he asked. “No”, I said, “we’d always been by ourselves, just us two, so I never had the chance to see what kind of mother she’d be.” “It’s a changeling trait, it’s strong in her”, he smiled, as we headed out of the chamber and down another corridor. All I could do was smile at the thought that she’d turned out to have such a gentleness in her, something I’d gotten hints of but had never seen before now. It pleased me a lot more than I ever thought it would. A short time later Jevith turned into a large high-ceilinged chamber. The air was hot, steamy and damp. It was then that I saw the pool that took up most of the floor and the stone benches that lined the walls, work clothes piled on various places on those benches. Sitting in and around the steaming pool were other Neomorph stallions and mares soaking in the water. Some lay with their heads lolled against the rim napping, others chatting, relaxing. “Now comes the best part of the day!”, said Jevith, a happily expectant smile on his face as he sat down on one of the stone benches, stripped off his work clothes and stepped into the steaming pool with a huge, happy sigh. Turning back at me he nodded for me to join him. Well, this was just too good! How could I resist? I stripped off my own clothes and joined him. The feel of that stinging hot water hitting my skin, slowly soaking into my muscles was sheer heaven as I settled down on the stone seat next to him. He threw his arms over the rim, closed his eyes, laid his head back and I could practically hear him purring. Hell, I was practically purring, myself, as I followed suit, letting myself completely go and relax in that wonderful, comforting warmth. The others in the pool either glanced at me and smiled or, engaged in deep conversation with others, paid us no mind and I was glad of it. After so long a day of hard work I didn’t feel up to answering a lot of questions. I closed my eyes and settled down. A short time later I heard the soft pad of Neomorph hooves on the stone floor as someone entered the chamber. I opened my eyes to see who it was. It was Little Jewel, the filly who’d been staring at me the night before. She smiled and nodded at me before taking a seat, stripping down and settling into the pool opposite from us. Again, she sat staring gently at me, an odd look on her face that I couldn’t quite make out. Jevith opened one eye, looked across the pool at her, closed his eyes again. “Little Jewel”, he said softly. “What’s with her?”, I asked, “she keeps staring at me.” “She lost both of her parents in the last hoard attack. She was still very young. It devastated her.” I looked at Jevith. “Hoard attack?”, I asked, startled and now concerned. “The Vile One found our colony some time ago. It brings its hoards from time to time to attack us, try to wipe us out. It never succeeds, though. We’ve managed to fight that thing off every time but each time the monster returns with a bigger, stronger force. We don’t know how long we can keep defeating her” He said in a sad, quiet voice. “When you say The Vile One I’m guessing you’re referring to...”, I had to catch myself, stop myself from saying the name, “The Changeling Queen?” He nodded. “So, what’s that got to do with Little Jewel staring at me?”, I asked. “Many of the families here tried to adopt her but she refused, saying she was waiting for her father to arrive.” “What, did she go crazy or something?”, I asked. “A lot of us thought so at first but, other than that one thing, she didn’t seem crazy, just went on doing what she’d always done every day so, after a while, we just forgot about it, let her live her life”, he said. I closed my eyes, laid my head back on the rim of the pool, trying to ignore Little Jewels stares and relax. A moment later I heard the sound of water moving, the sound growing closer to me. I opened my eyes to see a sweetly smiling Little Gem half walking, half swimming toward me. My stomach knotted with sudden nervousness as she sat down on the bench directly next to me, took my arm in her hands and, with a gentle sigh, laid her head on my shoulder. Jevith was staring at us now, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “Looks like from now on we’ll have to call you daddy instead of little monkey”, he joked, winking. All I could do was sit and stare down at the little filly now happily snuggling against my arm. ... Relaxed and feeling a thousand times better after a long soak, I, Jevith and a now quietly following Little Jewel returned to the main chamber to find that the evening meal was being served, something I was glad about since I felt starved after the days work and could hardly wait to dig in. I looked around, saw Bloodfang sitting on one side of the table happily eating and talking with several of the little foals I’d seen her with earlier in the day along with their parents. Again, she looked ecstatic and I was happy she was finding a place for herself among these Neomorphs. I walked over, took a seat next to her, kissed her. She then started introducing me to the little foals and their parents. They seemed honestly happy to see me and greeted me warmly. I then introduced Jevith to her and he took a seat with us at the table. That’s when Bloodfang saw Little Jewel standing near us, staring at us again but not sure if she should join us. “Your new lover?”, scowled Bloodfang at me. “No, potentially our new daughter”, I said, shrugging. Bloodfang stared at me, confused. I then told her what Jevith had told me, about how she’d lost her parents and was ‘waiting for her father’. Although Bloodfang’s face remained blank I saw tears welling in the corners of her eyes. It was clear that she was deeply touched by what she was hearing and was also feeling the renewed sting and pain of the loss of her own parents. I finished telling her the story. She sat and looked down at the table for a moment before rising, stepping over to Little Jewel and began talking with her. A moment later Bloodfang wrapped her arms around Little Jewel and hugged her, Little Jewel throwing her arms around Bloodfang’s neck and squeezing her tightly, looking like she didn’t want to let Bloodfang go. A moment later both of them returned to the table and joined us. Bloodfang sat next to me again. I looked at her. “I have claimed her. She is ours, now. We will keep her”, Bloodfang said with absolute certainty as Little Jewel happily settled down between us and we all began to eat. Well, what could I do but smile? It obviously made Bloodfang happy to claim a daughter and I couldn’t help but feel good about suddenly finding myself with a brand new family. Everyone around the huge table who’d been watching what had happened, seeing us all together now nodded and smiled their approval, obviously pleased that Little Jewel had finally found the one she’d been so patiently waiting for. Again, I smiled. Perhaps Bloodfang had found the home we’d hoped we’d find. Only time would tell as how true that was. Happy and content, I dug into my meal and ate heartily and couldn’t help but enjoy the thought that me and Bloodfang were finally home.
Into The BreechI’m writing this for my mother, Bloodfang, because she cannot write well and because I told her she should try to put her words on paper as a way of sharing what has happened to us. She said she wasn’t ready for that yet so I should do it. It has been six months since I found my father, Rick, and my mother Bloodfang. They have been very good to me and have loved me and treated me well. They have also fitted in with the colony, father learning to do well at the foundry and making friends there and mother taking very good care of the many little foals who love her very much. they love spending time with each other and mother is... or was... always very happy whenever she had a chance to foalsit, which was every day. The foals parents were always grateful and happy for this since Neomorph foals can be and often are little bundles of pure energy and can be a real handful. That’s not what I’m writing about, though, although it cheers me up a little bit to think about it. I wish it would cheer me up more. There was another hoard attack a few days ago, a really big one. We almost lost this time and I think we would have if it hadn’t been for mother. I was mending clothing when the alarm bell rang. I knew what it was. Hundreds of us ran out with weapons to fight the hoard but there were more than I’d ever seen before. The sky was black with them and it scared me a lot. I wanted to go out and fight with the others but I was too scared, I couldn’t bring myself to do it even though I really wanted to. Mother was one of the first to run outside with the others. She ran out roaring in a way that terrified me. I’d never heard her roar like that before and I never thought she could do that. It was like thunder, it made the walls shake. Those who were defending the entrance had to jump out of her way when she galloped past them and charged headlong into the fight. I was just running up to the entrance when she did that so I saw her blast the hoard with her magic for the first time. Her attack was so vicious that it scared me. I’d never seen her like that before, I never thought she could be like that. She wiped out hundreds of the attackers leaving them in piles of ashes on the snow. She saw the vile one and what I saw next scared me even more than what I’d already seen. She spread her wings and flew right at the evil queen, her horns blazing with magic like I’d never imagined she could. She hit the evil queen right in the chest and the vile one tumbled to the snow. Mother was on top of her, stomping the vile one with her hooves and trying to stab her with her horns. All the vile one could do was try to stay out of the way of my mothers horns and hooves. I was sure mother would kill her. It looked like that’s all she wanted to do. I was so scared when a bunch of the hoard swarmed on my mother and tried to take her down but she just threw them off like they were nothing, blasted them and started attacking the vile one again. Just then my father ran up to the cave mouth, saw what was going on. He grabbed a spear from one of the guards and ran out of the cave and started attacking and stabbing the hoardlings like it was all he ever wanted to do. father was killing so many of them! He just kept spearing them and throwing them away like he was chucking fish! They just kept dying and dying but they kept at him, kept attacking him. The rest of the guards who were out fighting saw what he was doing and joined with him. They charged the hoard on the ground and kept killing them and killing them. I was so proud of my father, I thought he’d just go on fighting forever to protect us and keep us safe. He loves us all. A lot. Me especially. He said he never really thought about having a daughter before but he was glad and happy that I was his, always said every day how good a daughter I am and how much he loves me... loved me. I will always love him. He and the other guards kept fighting the hoard while mother kept attacking the vile one with all her strength. I’d never seen anyone or anything so angry or enraged as my mother and father. I never imagined anything alive could hold so much rage. It really scared me but made me feel safe at the same time. I never thought I’d ever see anyone fight so hard to protect us like mother and father were doing. Finally it was all over and that vile thing, that evil queen had to fight and struggle to get away from my mother and fly away. That evil thing looked more frightened then I ever thought she could be. The thing was bleeding and it looked like she was really badly hurt. I think my mother may have stabbed her a few times with her horns, it sure looked that way to me. Just as the vile one was leaving a bunch of the hoard attacked my mother, swarmed on her trying one last time to kill her. She was buried under them, struggling to get free. My father saw this and charged right into the middle of it stabbing and killing them like he’d lost his mind. He managed to help my mother get free but the ones who’d been swarming mother turned and swarmed him, instead. Mother did her best to help him but by the time she was able to get to him it was too late. The rest of the hoard took off after their ruler and fled. The fight was over. As the evil queen flew off my mother went after her roaring, blasting at her with her magic, trying her best to kill her. Several of the guards picked father up and brought him inside to the main chamber. Healers were called. They did everything they could but nothing worked. They couldn’t save him. Excuse me... I’m sorry.... I’m crying again... I can’t help it. ... I am blodfng. Litl jewl sed I shud rite this. It wud mak me fel betr. I do not rite gud but litl jewl has trid to tich me. litl jewl sed riting this wud mak me fel betr. I do not fel betr only empty. I hav lost my litl monky, my rik and I dnt kno what to do. He is gon. He tuk my hart wit him. I ake inside and hurt so much I don’t kno how I wil go on wit out him. He was my lov he was my life he was everting to me an now he is gon. Litl jewl tris to mak me fel betr but nothng maks me fel betr I jus want my rik bak. I do not want to liv wit out him. Al I do is cri. I fel lik I wil break inside I jus want my litl monky. ... I wish there was something I could do for mother but everything I do fails. All she does is lay in her sleeping chamber and weep. The caves are filled with her wailing. It breaks my heart. It breaks everyone’s hearts. I wish I could help her. I want to very much. I’m afraid no one can help her now. I worry she will die of a broken heart. I don’t want that to happen. It’s bad enough I lost the father I’d been waiting so long for, I don’t think I could bear it if I lost mother, too. I love her a lot. I can’t help feeling what she feels, though. I want my father back, too. ... It’s been a year since I lost my father. It still hurts but not like it did. Mother finally stopped crying but she’s not the same. It’s as if something inside her broke and died. She’s always dark and moody now and looks like she’s always thinking, like she’s planning something. I don’t know what but I think she may be thinking of some way she can kill the changeling queen for taking father from us. That would be like her. I can’t blame her but I hope she doesn’t do it. I don’t want to lose her too. ... Mother came to me this morning and told me she was leaving. That really scared me and I started crying, asking her why. She told me that she can’t live with herself as long as father’s death goes unavenged. She told me she will find a way to fight the changeling queen and kill her or die trying. I’m really scared. I don’t want her to do this but once mother has made her mind up about a thing there’s no changing her mind. ... Bloodfang landed near the long, broad stone walkway that led up to the gates of Celestia’s palace. Seeing her, scores of palace guards ran to intercept her, to stop whatever she might have been doing. Standing on her hind legs she spread her broad and powerful dragonfly wings. Flapping them rapidly she simply blew the guards out of her way and continued on through the gates. A moment later a loud bang like a bomb blast echoed through the throne room as Bloodfang bucked the massive, metal doors knocking them open with such force she almost kicked them from the hinges. Startled and alarmed, Luna and Celestia rose to their hooves and stared as the giant changeling-esque creature approached them, slapping guards out of her way with her wings as she went. No matter how they tried or how many there were the guards simply couldn’t slow her down, much less stop her. Luna and Celestia stood on the podium, held their ground as the creature reached the stairs to the thrones and stopped, dozens of palace guards racing up behind her, ready to kill her where she stood. Still staring at the odd creature, Celestia’s hand shot up to stay the guards. “You are enemies of the Changeling Queen?”, shouted Bloodfang. The princesses looked at each other for a moment, then back to Bloodfang. “I said you are enemies of the Changeling Queen?”, repeated Bloodfang as if she thought the princesses hadn’t heard her the first time. Luna said nothing but, stared, nodded. “You are the enemy of my enemy”, growled Bloodfang. She took a step closer to the princesses. Beginning to realize what Bloodfang was saying, they nodded. “Do you want her dead?”, asked Bloodfang. The princesses blinked at the question, their jaws dropping but, still, they said nothing. “Are you deaf?!”, roared Bloodfang, actually startling the princesses by doing so “Do you want her dead?!”, she said more loudly. “What are you asking of us?”, asked Luna, finally. “Give me an army. Well trained. Good fighters. I will take them and we will kill the changeling queen”, said Bloodfang. “Why?”, asked Celestia, stepping down from the pedestal and approaching Bloodfang now. They stared at each other, studying each other for a moment, sizing each other up. “She has taken my mate from me”, said Bloodfang, sour anger in her voice, “she must pay for that. I will make her pay.” “I see”, said Luna, but what makes you think we would give you an army?” “Because you would be fools not to”, said Bloodfang quite bluntly, “She is our enemy. I will destroy her for you if you will help me to take vengeance on her.” “How do you know you can kill her?”, asked Luna, quite reasonably. Bloodfang’s eyes narrowed, studying Luna, trying to determine why she would ask what she thought was a stupid question. “She attacked my colony, my home. She killed my mate. I almost killed her but she got away. If I can corner her, trap her so she cannot get away then I know I can kill her. You will help me do this.”, said Bloodfang. Celestia and Luna stared at each other for a moment, then excusing themselves stepped off to a corner room. “What in my name do you think this’s about?”, asked Celestia a moment later. “Isn’t it obvious? This... Thing... Whatever it is wants Chrysalis dead”, said Luna. “Speaking of which, what is it?”, Celestia asked. “I don’t care and I’m not going to ask as long as it’s willing to take on and kill our worst enemy”, Luna said, then, “and from the look of it I think can do succeed. Did you see how big that thing is?!” “That did not escape my notice”, Celestia said. “I’m willing to take a chance with it if you are”, said Luna, “after all, what have we got to lose?” “Another changeling hoard attack?”, asked Celestia, “that’s a pretty big risk, sister.” “The fates have dropped an opportunity right in our laps, brought it right before our thrones! How can we pass this up?” “Good point”, said Celestia, “Okay, let’s give her what she wants.” With that the princesses returned to the throne room to find Bloodfang still standing where they’d left her. “We discussed it and we’ve decided we’ll give you the chance you ask for”, said Luna. Bloodfang looked back and forth between the princesses, the slightest trace of a smile touching her lips. “I will not return until I can hand the Changeling Queen’s head to you in a bag”, she said. Without another word she turned and strode out of the throne room, leaving Celestia and Luna to stare at each other. Startled, Bloodfang awoke from the disturbing dream. She shook her head wondering what it all meant.
