Changed: Saving My Friend

The Changelings had come a long way over the years. They were once seen as insignificant bugs that destroyed empires from the inside. Pests, that fed on love and lived in filth. Maggots that were ruled by a sadistic Queen. But, thanks to the incredible actions of some individuals, they had become an ally to many of their former enemies. They also went through an incredible change. No, longer did they need to feed on love. Instead, they shared it with the other nations. They also had a new ruler. Thorax was the first changeling to go against what they had been taught. He was the first one to befriend the Equestrian known as Spike. Both of them had become good friends over the years.

Both Thorax and Spike walked along the border of the Changeling hive. They were searching for something that the former queen had found. Earlier that day a guard had discovered a journal that was owned by the former queen. The journal held secrets that shocked Thorax. Secrets that could damage the brittle trust the nations had with them. Secrets, that she hid from her subjects. Routes that were hardly traveled. Magical experiments to test on prisoners. Hidden powers of the royal cocoon. All these secrets she kept hidden from them. But, the one that frightened him the most was an entry about a monster.

“So, what exactly is this monster?”

The question made Thorax shudder slightly. He didn't want to talk about that thing; the little bit he read had given him nightmares. He gulped a lump in his throat. “Her journal said it was a weapon.” He answered.

“A weapon?” He asked, the young drake wondered what kind it was. Was it a magically strengthened sword? A shield that could block any attack? Was it something created with a piece of the black stone?

Thorax nodded. “Yes, a weapon.” He looked around and saw one of the paths mentioned in the journal. He looked at Spike and motioned for him to follow him. “This way.” They turned down the path and continued walking. He continued to describe the weapon. “She wrote that it was powerful enough to fight an alicorn's magic. Strong enough to best the Dragon Lord's strength. Smarter, than a Yak and faster than any gryphon.”

He nodded and continued to ponder what it could be. From, Thorax's description the weapon was something living. He wondered if most of the details were exaggerated. A weapon that could match the strength of the Dragon Lord? That sounded hard to believe. He also found it hard to believe it was stronger than an alicorn. Sure, there was the amulet, the storm king's staff, and Grogar's Bell. But, all of them were locked away in Canterlot. Plus, if there was such a weapon the princesses would have known about it. Right?

“Is there a chance this is a bluff?” He asked

Thorax really wanted to say yes. But, he didn't have that luxury. He answered honestly. “No. Chrysalis may have been a liar and a psychopath. But, what she wrote; I dread to say that it's true.”

“How do you know?” Spike asked while they turned down another path.

“The journal was hidden in her bed chamber. No, changeling knew about it. Not even her most loyal subjects.” He shuddered as he recalled something. “I think I know why those chambermaids went missing.”

“Huh?” Spike questioned.

“Two chamber maids went missing awhile back.” He explained. “They were the best out of the hive and one day they went missing.” He shuddered again before suggesting. “If they found that journal.”

All the drake could do was nod; mostly because he didn't want his friend to finish suggesting what he thought he was. They continued to follow the path until they reached a large forest. The forest itself was a mystery. It was hidden out of the way of any path. In order to find it you had to take paths that didn't make sense. Paths, that appeared to move in circles. Dead ends that were not dead ends. The path to it made absolutely no sense. Plus, I looked like it was nighttime. The overhead canopy of leaves and branches nearly blocked out the sun. There was also a silence in the air. It was so silent their heartbeats were echoing through the air.

“Did the journal mention the Everfree forest? Because this place is just like it.” Spike felt a chill go down his spine. He commented. “It's even cold like it.”

“Yes.” Thorax also felt the chill. “The journal wasn't kidding about this place. This forest has abandoned its hope.” He shivered as the chill got a little worse. He saw a tree with a twisted trunk. “This way.”

They made their way to the tree and turned left. It felt like the forest was closing in on them. The air was so cold it felt like their lungs were starting to freeze. There was also a pressure in the air. A pressure that was trying to make them leave. But, they kept going deeper into the woods. As they walked more horrible details about the monster came to Thorax's mind. It made him wonder if they were doing the right thing.

“The monster has a roar that sounds like the wheels of a train.” He unintentionally spoke out loud.

“Like a train,” Spike questioned. “So, it screeches loudly?” He asked.

Thorax could only nod. “I guess. There were a lot of details that didn't make any sense.” He began to list them off. “A roar that sounds like train wheels. Deep in its throat lava pools. The ability to stand on two legs; while its top part is set ablaze.” All these details fueled the fear he was feeling.

He wasn't the only one feeling it. Spike could only imagine the monster they were heading towards. Sure, he's seen his fair share of evil beings. But, this one was kept secret by a monster. He was worried about himself and his friend. He wondered if he should've sent a letter to Twilight or Ember. They followed the trail all the way to a huge wall of trees.

“I don't understand?!” Thorax exclaimed in shock as he looked at the trees. “There should be a cave right here.”

“Maybe, we took a wrong turn?” Spike suggested.

“No, I'm sure we followed the correct path.” He turned back around and looked back at the path. “If we had gone the wrong way. We would have ended up back at the hive.”

As Thorax tried to figure out what was going on. Spike noticed something behind the trees. His curiosity got the better of him and he picked up a small rock. He aimed between the trees and threw it. The rock flew through the air and passed the trees. The moment it struck the earth again; its impact echoed from behind the trees. Thorax turned to face the sound; while Spike had a smile appear on his face. The cave was behind the trees.

“Nice, job Spike.” Thorax commented before they began to move around the trees.

The moment they entered the cave; the pressure they felt earlier returned. Only this time it was much worse. The cave was an empty void that threatened to take everything away. Like a gaping maw ready to devour anything that dared to enter it. They continued deeper into the blackness of the cave. Thorax used his magic to illuminate the path they walked.

Drops of water fell from the roof of the cave. They echoed through the cave adding to its eerie setting. Their steps also echoed through the cave. It felt like they heading towards Tartarus itself. What kind of monster lived this far underground? What kind of monster was the former queen hiding? Would they be able to fight it? Or, was it all nothing to be worried about?

“So.” Spike began. “How much longer do we?”

The ground suddenly opened beneath both of them. They screamed as they slid down the smoothest rock beneath the cave. It curved around a bend almost like a slide. Spike tried to use his claws to slow himself down. But, the rock was too dense. Thorax then saw something that filled him with complete terror. It was the orange glow of fire. Spike noticed the glow too. They grabbed hold of each other and braced themselves for a horrible impact. Thankfully, the only impact they felt was against hard ground. Both of them breathed heavily as they lay there on the lukewarm ground.

Thorax groaned as he slowly got to his hooves. He looked around the area for a moment; before he looked at Spike. “Are you okay?” He asked.

Spike nodded. “Yeah.” He looked at him. “How about you?” He nodded causing him to smile happily. He looked around and asked. “Where are we now?”

“I'm not sure.” Thorax looked around again. They were inside some type of chamber. A chamber that was in no way natural; it was made by hooves. He gasped when he realized what this place was. It was the exact chamber mentioned in the journal. This was the chamber where the monster lived. “Spike, we need to-.”

A screeching sound echoed through the chamber. The sound was both annoying and painful. It sounded exactly like the screeching wheels of a train. They covered their ears as the sound got worse. The chamber began to shake horribly. From the wall, the monster itself emerged. Thorax got a quick glance at it. He felt dread overtake him as the monster continued to move towards them. It was larger; larger than any predator he had ever seen. It had evil orange eyes and it looked like there was actual lava in its throat. It screeched its horrifying roar again.

He quickly stood up and helped his friend up. “Spike, we gotta get out of here!”

The monster roared at them again. They began to run away from it. But, it was not giving them any chance. One of its arms slammed down in front of them. The force of the impact shook the cave. Some bits of the roof fell from the ceiling. They began to run away again. But, the monster repeated its action. It had them boxed in. For, a moment, Thorax saw an opening in the monster's attack. There was a way out behind it. But, they would have to run directly underneath it.

He motioned towards the opening. “Spike, this way!” He began to run towards the monster.

“Thorax, no!” Spike shouted.

Before he could ask his question was answered for him. The monster had another set of arms underneath its primary. One of them was already heading right towards him. He saw his life flash before his eyes. Before he was suddenly pushed out of the way. He turned just in time to see his friend standing behind him. He had just pushed him out of the way. The hand struck him hard.

“AHHHH!”

“SPIKE!”

He was standing over the mangled corpse of some kind of creature. Thorax breathed calmly as he listened to the silence all around him. He looked at the corpse. He remembered it being the monster, but something had destroyed it. He wanted to say killed, but it was beyond recognizable. It looked like metal that had been melted and twisted together with the rocks. He felt something warm on his hooves. His eyes drifted down and he saw that his hooves were covered in something black. Did he do this?

He gasped. “Spike!” For a moment he forgot about him. He looked around the chamber. Well, what was left of the chamber.

There were deep impact holes along the walls and the floor. There was some kind of battle that happened here. A battle he couldn't remember. That was when he noticed him. He was lying there on the floor. He called out to him and began to run towards him. He was about halfway there when he suddenly crashed to the floor. His body was suddenly fatigued beyond belief. It felt like every muscle in his body was suddenly cramping up. The pain was unbelievable. It hurt just to take in a breath of air.

He looked at his friend with tear-filled eyes. “Spike!” He called out again as he fought through the pain. Every movement he took hurt. It was like something was biting him over and over. His body begged for him to stop. It wanted him to rest on the ground. But, Spike needed him. He needed to get to him.

He fell to the ground again. A sob escaped him as he fought to get back to his hooves. He looked through the tears that clouded his vision. He was almost within arms reach of him. He had to keep going. He had to keep fighting. He started to crawl on the floor. The pain continued to shoot through his body. But, he didn't care. All that he cared about was making sure his friend was okay. The poor drake was beyond okay.

Thorax had to keep himself from vomiting at the sight. Spike looked like he had been trampled by a thousand yaks. One of his arms was twisted backwards. The other had his elbow completely shattered. It looked almost like a deflated balloon. One of his eyes was swollen and dark blue. The other looked like it had been crushed into his skull. His legs looked horribly crooked. The bones had been snapped in three different areas. One of his wings had its skin partly torn off. The other was crushed beyond repair. He looked like a corpse that had been beaten even after he had been killed. Thorax sobbed heavily as he hugged his friend close to his body.

“Thorax.”

He gasped when he heard his name whispered to him. He looked and noticed the slow movements of Spike's chest. Somehow, he was still alive. Through some miracle, he was still among the living. He shushed and hugged him again. He had to get him back to the hive. But, how was he going to do that? He didn't know any teleportation spells. They also didn't let anyone else in the hive know where they were going. He looked around the destroyed chamber. He hoped he could find a way. It was then he saw it.

Just a few feet in front of him was a wall of clear ice. He hadn't noticed it before; had it been there all along? The ice didn't hold his curiosity for long. No, it was what was on the other side of it. He could see the throne room of the hive. He saw his brother and some guards standing there. He looked at his friend again. It gave him enough strength to fight through the pain again. He began to limp towards the ice. His body hurt, his muscles burned, but it didn't matter to him. He took another step closer. Then another, another, another, and another. He was about to run face-first into the ice. But, instead of a hard impact he passed right through it. He felt a strange magic on his body.

“I want all of you to search the perimeter. Report back here if you find anything.” That was his brother's voice.

As the guard saluted him one of them saw something out of the corner of their eye. They turned to see what it was. “King Thorax!”

Pharynx and the guards looked and saw him walking into the light of the throne room. At first, they were shocked to see him. But, their shock soon turned to terror when they stepped into the light. Spike looked dead and Thorax looked like he had been in the fight for his life. He quickly ran towards the two.

“Brother, what happened to you both?! What did this?” He asked but he got no answer.

As his brother turned away from him. Thorax felt numb to the world around him. He heard their muffled voices. But, his attention was on the weakening breaths of his friend. He looked down at him. His breathing was getting weaker by the second. He could hear his heartbeat. It was getting weaker and weaker.

“The Cocoon!” He suddenly shouted.

The shout caught Pharynx and the guards off guard. His brother tried to walk around him. He blocked his path and tried to calm him. He was then violently smacked out of the way. The blow wasn't hard. But, it was enough to shock him. Thorax continued to move past them and towards the throne.

“Thorax, Stop!” Pharynx was worried about his brother. He didn't know the extent of his injuries. For, all he knew he could have been hurting himself more.

He tried to get close to him. But, he came to a sudden stop when his brother turned and glared at him. The moment his eyes made contact with his brothers he felt it. It was the foul-tasting emotion of murderous intent. It made him want to vomit. Two of the guards did vomit. None of them had ever felt that emotion from him. None of them believed he could ever give off that emotion. Yet, for that brief second of history, he did.

He turned away from them and focused his magic on something in the ceiling. A sickly green glow illuminated the throne room. From the ceiling, a large cocoon dropped. It was the royal cocoon. It was made of pure love. Love that was strong enough to save the king's life. Or, in this case, his friend's life. He looked down at him again and hugged him. The cocoon stopped in front of them and slowly it split itself open.

Thorax held Spike in front of him and gently placed him in the cocoon. He stopped for a moment as he looked at his face. “Please.” He quietly begged.

Pharynx snapped out of his stupor and gasped. “Thorax, wait!”

It was too late. His brother kissed the drake on the lips and the cocoon began to glow brightly. Spike was pulled into it as it was sealed shut. It began to glow brightly again. The light was so intense all of them had to shield their eyes from it. Once the light dimmed they saw what had happened to the cocoon. It was now the same color as Spike's scales. The drake was resting inside of it; while it began the slow process of repairing his damaged body. All of them could hear Thorax sobbing happily. He had made it in time.

Pharynx approached his brother. “Thorax, what have you done?” He didn't get an answer for his brother collapsed. “Thorax!” He ran and picked his brother up off the floor. He looked at the guards and ordered. “Get the healers, now!”

The guards nodded and ran out of the throne room. He held his brother in his hooves before he looked at the cocoon. He couldn't believe what his brother had just done. He saw the drake inside the cocoon. He looked at his brother again. His mind couldn't believe what he had just seen. This was far beyond what his mind could imagine.

“Why?” That was the only thing he could ask right now. “Just, why?”