The Equestrian Scrolls: The Lost Queen

I stood staring as my brain trips over itself, as the changeling's wound close up at a snail's pace. The only reason I snapped out of it was done by the male giving a small but firm cough. He did it a second time, pardoning himself and turned away from me. A moment later, he gave a series of hacking coughs which ended with him violently coughing blood off to the side. It held small pieces of pinkish flesh and tiny shards of bone. He gave a small sigh of relief, "That's better. It's been in there for a few hours, longer than I'm comfortable with." He said, wiping his mouth with a forehoof.

I gagged and turned from the sight, dry heaving. "A-are you ok?" I asked, after a moment, and firmly not looking at him.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better my queen. Thanks for asking,” he replied from her side. His hooves making soft clops as he walked back to me.

‘Huh?’ I looked at him, shocked. "B-but you literally just coughed up your guts!"

He smiled gently and replied "My Queen. Look into your inherited memories, and you'll understand."

I blinked as he prompted me to look inside my memories again. I stared at him for a moment before nodding slightly and closing my eyes. Keeping the question about coughing up one's guts and changelings in my mind I started to search through my memories. It came quickly since I had an idea about what I'm looking for, and it shown me that changelings, as long as they have magic, can recover from even the most deadly of injuries. Organs, limbs and anything else is able to be regenerated, all they have to do is focus on being whole again and let their magic do the work. Although if their brain is damaged in any major way then recovering is not possible. But anything less then that is considered non-lethal so long as they have magic.

‘...Well then’

Opening my eyes, I looked at the changeling. The gash in his head is almost fully regenerated, and his leg was already whole. On a side note, I now only notice he had a sword strapped to his back. How I missed that, I'm not sure, but I did now. Oh and also his smile is gone now. "Quickly, my Queen. We need to go now." his voice sounded urgent and as he turned and headed towards the opening I noticed that his limp was gone.

With a start, I followed him without thinking. "Why?" I asked as we made our way into a narrower cave walkway. The changeling right in front of me.

"I'm sorry, we are short on time and Deathlings are nearing our position," he said while picking up the pace.

I sped up to match his pace. I loved the way my muscles felt as I moved, after being encased in the egg for so long, it felt wonderful to be out and moving about. "What’s your name? And How am I your Queen?"

We came out into a small cavern, with 7 other tunnels. He looked at each one in turn, his head cocked and ear up as if he was listening for something. He suddenly took a sharp turn down the one third on the right. "Please my Queen, we have very little time and your enemy's minions are almost upon us."

"Who is? What's going on?" I said，starting to get a little annoyed, yes this is not as boring as being in the egg， but I would at least want to know what is going on.

He stayed silent as he led the way through many tunnels. Every time he came to split roads he would cock his head again and his ears perked up. He listened for a few second at each tunnel before making his decision and dashing down the tunnel he choose.

I easily kept up with him, which seemed weird to me since I was born not too long ago. I would have questioned him, but my memories answered it before i finished forming the question in my mind. My magic fueled my body, as long as I had it I could run for days. Not only that I don't need to sleep, but it has limits, the more I use magic to stave off exhaustion and mental exhaustion, the more amount of magic required until eventually I would need to rest regardless.

After what seemed like an hour, I had more than enough of this. While walking into a small cave clearing I said "Alright. Stop."

I skidded to a stop and sat my haunches down on the ground, and he continued out through another side cave. few moments passed before he came trotting back into the cave. "Please, my Queen. We really need to go." he said while standing in front of me.

"No. Not until you tell me what is going on." I said, looking at him.
Standing at his full height and even with me sitting on the ground, his height only came up to my chest.

He seem to get visibly agitated "Please my Queen." He said, his ears twitching.

I stared at him and shook my head slightly "Who, where and why?"

He stared back, and held my gaze for a moment before letting out a sharp breath with a hiss, "Yes my Queen." He said, and stood there for a moment collecting his thoughts, before shifting from hoof to hoof for a moment before starting.

"The 'who’ is that I am named Shell,"

"That is not very creative,"

"It's not, but that is my name because it's my job to protect the queen,"

"So you're my protector?" I asked, interrupting again.

"Yes… are you going to let me finish, my Queen? Cause like I said, we are very short on time." Shell said word by word very patently as if he was used to being cut off while talking.

I shut my mouth and smiled slightly. "Please continue." I said.

He chuckled lightly "There is one more ‘who’. Her name is Queen Entomo and she wishes you dead." All laughter and smiles left his face as he adopted a serious look.

My face mirrored his and I wanted to say something, but the look on his face held my tongue.

"The why-"

"Is irrelevant," another voice said. "After all, you will die before anything else happens."

I snapped my head around, looking back towards the source of the voice. I had to, the voice sent a chill through the depths of my core… literally. There was a deep cold spot in the middle of my chest, right next to my heart and I have no idea why there is.

Four changelings made their way into the cave, fanning out to circle us in. Each changeling was pale white with pale blue eyes, and each had a sword strapped to their back, right in between their wings.

"Stop. And not a step closer." Shell commanded. The sword on his back was out of its scabbard, and floating freely within a bright blue glow.

They stopped for a moment before four white glows admitted from their horns. Four identical swords were pulled from their respected owners scabbards.

Shell shared a long stare with the four before he barked out a single word, "FLEE!"

Before the word finished leaving his lips, the four shot forward with a beat of their wings. There was several loud clashes of metal on metal. The sword clad in blue sped around, meeting each and every one of the white clad swords in turn before starting over. The four white changelings started to surround Shell and me, until Shell's back hoof kicked out and struck me in the shoulder. I went sprawling on the floor just as two of the swords cut the air where I was sitting barely seconds before.

The scrapes I got from the floor brought me out of the daze and I scrambled to my feet, taking a moment to glance at Shell before doing as he said. And with that I ran with my tail between my legs

I could hear the sounds of fighting behind me. Clashes of metal as well as a quick howl of pain that was ended with a death gurgle. The fact I could tell it was a death gurgle confused me for a second, but I quickly threw that thought out as it was distracting. I could hear my hooves clopping on the cave floor as I ran.

I had no idea where I was going. Every time a split came up I choose a random tunnel and went down it. This happened at least a dozen of times, each time no less than two paths came up. Needless to say I was helpless in where I was going.

‘What do I do?’ my mind races as I repeated the question over and over. An image floated into my mind from the back pointing me towards the right tunnel that I just passed. Sliding to a stop, I turned and ran back, taking the tunnel. With the brief moment of silence from the hooves, I heard the distant clatter of hooves and faint echos of arguing.

‘Maybe he got away...hope to see you again Shell.’ I quickly picked up my pace again. As I made my way through the tunnel, image after image popped into my mind's eye. Each time it lead me down deeper into the earth and each time a faint roaring grew louder and louder.

After a few more twists and turns I made my way into a large open cavern, it was beautiful if not loud. I stood on a ledge that hung dozen of yards from a giant underground waterfall, a solid beam of light shone from the roof. It hit the water vapor in the air, creating a rainbow throughout the cavern. Crystal was set in the walls in a downwards spiral, each one caught a shred of light, sending out lines of colored light in different directions. Like I said, it was beautiful, but also very loud. The crash of the water from far below drowned out almost every other sound in the area.

'Anything else?’ I waited for a moment for my memory to give me an answer, but nothing came. 'Thanks,’ I thought sarcastically.

Turning around, I looked for another exit, another tunnel. Using my wings, I flew around the cavern looking. It quickly became apparent that the only entrance is the exit.

'I need to find another way.’I went back up to the ledge. Coming over the edge, two of the white changelings stood in the exit with swords out, green blood dripping of the swords.

"Finally, let's get this over with." one of the two said, both moving forward.

"Hey now, is that the proper way to treat a Queen?" I asked, floating backwards in the air and slowly backing away from them to give me a slight head start if I needed to run again.

"You are not our Queen," they said as one. One after the other launch themselves into the air towards me, with their swords flashing towards me.

I let out a yelp as I nosed dive towards the wall. They followed close behind. Seeing no other way, I the beat my wings frantically towards the particularly large crystal. I felt a hot line cross my back leg then an intense pain that made me falter, I gave another yelp of pain as another slash went across my lower back.

Slamming into the wall, I gasped. Spinning around, and seeing one sword flying toward my chest. I growled and bucked the large crystal. It broke off a large chunk, which I grabbed with my magic, which I just noticed was the exact same color as Shell's. Using it, I knock the sword off it’s potentially fatal course. It sent sparks up into the air as it struck the rock wall. The second sword slashed across my stomach, sending another wave of pain into my body, I gave a scream as my magic failed for a moment, making me drop the crystal.

Re-grabbing it, I smashed it right into second Changeling's neck. There was a snapping sound as his neck bent awkwardly. I gave a smirk of victory but then the changeling sent the sword into my stomach, it swiftly changed into a snarl. The first Changeling stabbed his sword into my neck, making my next scream gurgle in my own blood.

‘Brain! Protected your brain!’ I yelled at myself.

When the sword was viciously wrenched from my stomach, I used the crystal and smashed into the sword in my neck, snapping it in half. At the same time, blocking the other sword from going after my brain.

The first one growled, smashing the hilt of the sword into my head. My magic failed me again, and the crystal dropped from me and was snatched away with by one of the other changelings and thrown to a side.

‘What do I do?’ I screamed into my mind. I didn't want to die.

Magic, pump it into your fore hooves and grab him!

I was about to ask why, but remembered that I was talking to myself, so ignored the question in my brain. I knew what I was doing....I hope.

Using my hooves, I grabbed the one I believe was holding the sword that was in my stomach. Pushing all the magic I could muster into my muscles and pulled on him, trying to slam the changeling into the cave wall.

He gave a yelp as he was suddenly and violently smashed head first into the wall. There was a sickening thud as stone won against flesh and bone. The aura disappeared from the sword in my stomach, and the last changeling jumped back as he was sprayed with Changeling brain matter.

Seeing a chance, I darted forward, trying to get to the exit. I got a few yards before a slice of heat and pain went across my wings and I felt them separate from my body. I traveled upwards, caused by my momentum, a few feet more before stopping mid air, then I started to fall.

I gave a gurgling scream as the white changeling attacked again with his broken sword. He smashed the hilt into the side of my head over and over again, snarling all the while.

Grunting in pain each time, I twirled, spinning the air and rotating with him. Getting my hooves in between the two of us, I used magic again to fuel my hind legs and shoved. We separated, and he was launched towards the wall. There was a wet thud as he smashed into a cluster of crystals and was quickly lost above me as I sped towards what was at the bottom of the cavern.

‘Heal, time to Heal.’ trying to focus through the pain, I pushed magic into my body. The wounds started to heal, but it was slow. Way too slow, I could see the bottom, where there was a massive lake and in the middle of it was a whirlpool just as massive.

I knew I couldn't heal in time, so I tried to do the next best thing in this situation. I minimized the threat of death. Rolling into a ball, I covered my head with all four limbs and turned to my side, angled away so that my head was as far away from the impacted as possible. When I hit water, my head was spared most of the damage, but it hurt. It hurt so much I lost consciousness.

As it faded, my last feeling was of floating around and around, then darkness.