Author's Note

As always you are welcome to comment on the story. Anything helpful. Read and nap.

The desolation

”No one there. No one there.” Luke mutters to himself as his small head pokes out of the cave's entrance, his red eyes surveying all directions in the wasteland. Leaving the cave is strictly forbidden, as his mother and siblings told him time and time again, but his feelings of curiosity are stronger then their words. Even if that means to get his crotch kicked a thousand times by everyone for breaking one of the major rules. Not that he been he been much of a rule-breaker before this.

Mother's words that she "loves you" are empty when you get punished. But that may be the case when your mother has thousands to look after between age of larva and elder and a kingdom to rule and protect as well!! With the biggest problem of all. Feeding her kingdom with the only available food. Love.

“Life of changeling I guess.” He sighs heavy and his ears get low. Nothing is as bad to be a changeling then the hate and fear from everycreature else.

He takes a quick look around again and ones he sees an opening in the sentrie's patrols, he starts running with his rather small and weak legs. With his speed he will not outrun other changelings, but his size makes him a small speck on the ground from eyes above and in the black goo balls he dodges between, no one will see his little body. He is the smallest of the millions eggs clutch mother had laid that time. he saw so many other changelings that time, all so much bigger and stronger then him. All so much fiercer. Still, he’s happy to be one of the ten percent that was hatched alive, not dying to malnutrion or fights between children.

The black goo becomes more spread out and leaves bare open ground the smaller the hive tower behind him he used to call home becomes. The further he runs, the less hiding place there are it. Making it easier for all the guards and drones occasionally passing overhead, scanning the ground for intruders or leavers, just like him. He still can’t believe how he is so close to the forest. It’s almost in a reach for..

“Stop there Little!” A changeling drone caught him sneaking as he ran over a bare spot. The ground different from his black body. She chases Luke and closes distance fast. Her face having that fierce look with her tongue out. He breaks out into a full sprint, panting heavily as he keeps close to the black orbs. Dodging the bare spots. He may be able to escape one drone but any more spots him he's fucked. Good for him that the drone was far away when he was spotted but it isn't enough as she quickly closes in.

He sees the tree tops of a forest rising bigger and taller every feet. He’s close. So close to his goal. In that forest, he can be free and alone. It is only one problem left. A… sharp… incline seperates his home and his goal. He gulps and grinds to a stop just feet from the wall. Eyes travelling up and down the tall and sheer slope. It was made after the hive the hive moved it. Surrounding the whole land. It’s the only thing between him and the forest. It’s hard for him and even harder with time pressure when the drone is chasing him.

“Come back here little.” She screams. She’s closing distance even more. The changeling doesn’t stop to think and put his hooves on the small grips. He moves up like a mountain goat. It goes smooth. It’s made like a stair in the stone. Can it be. Will he run away. He smiles and hope sparks in his body. “Close. So close.”

The grip breaks under his hind hooves. Making him lose his force to make it up. He feels around for another but there is none. It’s a slope. He extends his wings. Flapping them and moving them without having the ability to fly. He’s still too young.

He grunts and flaps and buzz and fight. He can’t give up now. He won’t. There must be a miracle from Celestia soon. Soon. Even for a bug it has too.

“Celestia. Help me.” He begs. Without hope it will happen. He fights to get up even if he’s losing strength to hold. The changeling gets closer. Keeping the speed as she smiles. He will lose. Get punished. Worse then before because his struggle. It’s over.

But not. Like Lukes wish becomes true a strong wind goes through the valley. Close to the ground. It holds its strength and catches his wings erect. It throws him over the edge and onto the grass. Surprised by the moment he falls on his side. But not waiting on something else he gets up and sprint with quick hooves into the forest. Not turning around to look or stop. He’s out. Out of that place.

The sun gets visibly lower before Luke stops in the deep forest. For every time he heard something behind, whether it was a rock flying from his running or changeling chasing him. He looks around at all the plants. That he can’t see. He has been running too deep that even the sun can’t get its rays through thick leaves.

He looks around in horror. Fear creeping up his face and ears gets lowered. He’s just a little changeling in a big overgrown forest full of unknown.

“Why did I do it? Whyy!?” He curls up as he tears up in his first terrified cry. But no one will hear him in his place. Nothing helpful here at least. “I miss my mom and my brothers and sisters. Anything but here.” He closes his eyes as tears falls. Even if it been short time and how mean they’ve been he already misses home from this terrible, lonely and lost journey of death. What can be better here.

Nothing, as quick sounds from the bushes gets his attention. Opens his eyes and reacts just before the thing making the sounds pounces towards him. He rolls over and is a meter away, eye to eye with a Manticore. Fierce eyes and hungry mouth. Not a challenge for a full-grown changeling with all its might. But Luke isn’t one of them.

The Manticore goes for another attack. Makes a jump for him with teeth on full view. He barely makes it with a roll. Changing place with it. But his caught by the tail making a swoop and stopping him from finishing it and drop head first into the soil. And just when he thought he maybe will survive this.

It stands over him. Stopping his escape. Dripping saliva from the hungry mouth. It’s nothing left to hope. Luke life will end for a decision he made minutes ago. It stops. Just before a snack. Sniffing and huffing into the air. It must have caught something with its nose. Something far more.. fun. It jumps off him and bounces is way into the bushes. Disappearing from Luke senses. Leaving him stunned and hurt.

What just happened would not be believable and seen as a dream, but Luke knows that what he did and what happened and regret everything. His time of just trying it is now over. Now he has other things to think on. Survival.

He slowly gets up and looks around. His stomach growls at him for not pleasing it with yum yum. His kind of yum yum.

“Foood, love” He puts a hoof over his growling stomach. In the fear of getting eaten. He got a need to eat as well. Looks around for something to satisfy his hunger for something loveable and spicy. But there is nothing around for that. Just berries, leaves, a left over bone. “Uhh. Why must I be a changeling.” He sighs.

He decides to just head in one direction without a clue of what is that way except for it is not where the Manticore has been bouncing away and is probably best to not goooo..

“Hmm. If I’m thinking what I’m thinking then it is..” For being hungry he can make a critical choice. There can be a chance he knows where to get love and turns around. He makes his way to where he last saw the Manticore and goes inside the deep darkness.

He goes on with no stop deeper from that open spot. In a gap between leaves he can see that the sun has gone lower. He been searching for the Manticore in a while, either it has been going for kilometres or Luke can’t find it. Lost again, and even more now.

He perks his ears as a sound goes through the forest. Tiny and weak. He wonders if it can be the Manticore. Even like that he doesn’t know what a Manticore makes for sounds in its circumstance though he believes it would be something louder and not as a balloon.

It gets louder the more he walks straight forward. His size and colour make him invisible in the dark grass. The sounds are loud now and he crotches down. Ready like a lion to strike. Though he won’t attack whatever it is. Big or small.

He reaches an open spot in between trees. Not big, but enough for a few more of him to be there. The bush in front of him rattles with no wind and the whining sound has stopped. He can tell that it is not the Manticore anymore and that makes him more scared.

He turns around ready to move on as he stamps on a twig. It breaks loudly and the rustles stops. He gulps. The bush watches him silently. It is alive.

“I’m not here, I’m not here.. I’mnothere” He says with his most squeaky voice ever. Stupidly giving away he is there. He has himself faced away with his eyes hold closed. If he will be eaten, he wants to be eaten faced away.

“Meepe.” It sounds really close to him. Just beside him. Just right next to him.

He dares to open his eyes to look what it is but then quickly closes them as a pair of glowing green eyes looks back at him. There is only one creature it can be. A Timberwolf standing beside him with eyes watching his every move. Its sap just sipping out it’s open mouth, its teeth ready to bite and its size not big cause he looked down when he looked.

He opens his eyes again with little believe his brain is right. The creature is a Timberwolf and true it is very small. Smaller than it should be. Smaller in every size. It’s a cub.

“H-ello.” He greets confused. Looks around them. One of them means a lot of them and with a pup it must be a big pack around. He just waits for them to attack him from behind. Slitting his throat off, driving their log teeth in his body, making him a living headless changeling. He just has to taste the best. Tasty and crispy.

His mind fills with all the scenarios that he can be eaten and all the ways he could have done for not do this. He could just have stay put in the hive. Getting caught by that changeling. He can just think that the punishment would be so much better. Fucking with Chrysalis sounds so much better then hunger and death.

“Are you done?” He asks the Timberwolves surrounding him after not feeling any sharp sticks in his carapace. No answer. Obviously because they can’t speak, but no sounds either. He looks up. Slowly one eye a time.

The pup is still beside him. It’s tail wiggling back and forth. It looks so happy… for getting food. A tasty tiny insect. He believes he must be a real feast, if they eat him whole and leave nothing.

“Meep” It looks at him. Curious showing with its whole body. Slow wiggling, head tilted, legs bended and ears high. Is it really what his mind makes it? Is the pup wanting to eat him or is it curious about him and happy cause… it’s alone!?

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