A dark shadow slipped silently through the Everfree Forest. It was a quiet night, for the creatures of the Everfree Forest had begun to stalk their prey, moving silently through the dense overgrowth. The shadow, belonging to a changeling, looked up above the treetops. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, and shining stars were dotted here and there. A shaft of light shone in from between the treetops, illuminating the face of the changeling and causing his eyes to glow. The shaft of light was unwavering, for the treetops remained still on that night. Not even a breeze stirred, and the eerie silence was beginning to unnerve the changeling. He let out a quiet sigh; regretting it as he thought he heard a twig snap behind him.
Did I make the right choice in coming here? The changeling thought suddenly, wondering if he would lose his life in an attempt to reach the friend he was so desperately in search of. He was known for his ability to track down members of the hive. He hadn’t volunteered to search for his friend; Queen Chrysalis had sent him to. Losing his life would be the ultimate consequence of obeying his queen, but there were other things his actions would alter. His friend had made a final break with the hive, and was to be imprisoned for the choice to leave the colony for his love of a pony. He knew that Queen Chrysalis did not forgive easily, and he knew that one day, sooner or later, his friend would be punished harshly for his choice. Chrysalis had mistreated many changelings before, and he knew that she would have no trouble doing it again. So if he were to return his friend to the hive, his friend would be executed without hesitation.
The changeling let out a gasp as he tripped over an outstretched root; his mind too preoccupied to take notice of his surroundings. The changeling struggled to his hooves. He had been traveling from dawn to beyond dusk, and fatigue was beginning to wear him down. His eyes flicked to the left as he heard the fearsome roar of a manticore in the distance. Perhaps it was time for him to hunker down and call it a night. The changeling shook his head stubbornly; what if he fell asleep and never woke up again? What if Queen Chrysalis had already sent out a search party to hunt his friend down; or even worse, what if she had sent out a group of assassins to murder him? The changeling shivered as the thoughts crossed his mind. He could not let that happen; his friend needed him and he would not let Chrysalis murder him in cold blood.
The changeling continued to travel on heavy hooves, each step taking longer than the last. His eyelids were starting to close against his will, and he kept on stumbling every few seconds. Finally common sense won, and he decided to call it a night. The changeling looked around quickly, scanning for a proper place to take refuge from the savage creatures of the Everfree. He squinted his eyes as he saw what appeared to be a hole at the base of a tree. He walked toward the tree until he stood only a few feet away from it. The hole was big enough for him to fit inside, so he crawled into it without hesitating. Only one thought crossed his mind before the lulling temptation of sleep claimed him.
Soon, my friend, soon I will find you at last…
* * *
When he awoke, he got up to his hooves and stretched. Another long day of traveling was ahead of him. The changeling took one step forward, and then lifted his head up in surprise. The sky was dark and the moon still shone high in the sky. It was still nighttime. Stunned, the changeling stepped out of the hollow in the tree to be surprised as he felt a chill wind buffeting his wings. He gasped as he realized that all of the dense forest had been replaced with short grass with a few trees dotted here and there. He could hear a river rushing nearby, and he could hear some frogs croaking. Even though it was nighttime, the changeling could see very well because his eyes were adapted to the pitch-black darkness. The hive was often dark, so it was no chore for the changeling to see his surroundings.
The changeling, surprised about the disappearance of the forest surroundings, wasted no time in trying to find out where he was. He knew he must have been dreaming, but this was like no dream he had ever had before. Everything was so realistic and vivid; it was exactly as if it were happening in real life. The changeling decided to make his way toward the river. Traveling inside of his dream would be virtually useless, but he decided that it would be kind of fun to see where his hooves led him. The changeling began to make his way toward the river, his mind deep in thought. His friend was not far from him, and here he was in a dream, wasting his time. He grunted unhappily as he passed between two trees and stopped abruptly at a cliff.
The edge gave way to a large clearing, maybe ten feet down from where the changeling stood. He could hear the river not far in the distance, but the changeling was no longer paying attention to that. In the clearing below, a little orange filly with a purple mane had just backed up against a sheer rock face at the bottom of a cliff. She was staring at something, and the look on her face was one of pure terror. The changeling followed her gaze and instantly shared her misgivings. None of the horrors he had seen in his entire life could compare to what he was seeing right now. A large pony cast its shadow down the clearing, the end of it only a few feet away from the little orange filly. It actually would have reached her… if it had a head. Changelings weren’t usually sympathetic towards ponies, but the changeling found himself wishing that the headless pony would go away. The headless pony took a step towards the cowering orange filly. All the changeling could do was stand and watch as the monster continued to approach the helpless filly.
The changeling looked to the left suddenly as the moon gleamed brightly for a moment. The headless pony halted its advance on the filly as a very large pony as dark as the night sky itself swooped down from the moon, landing gently on the ground. The changeling heard an agonized noise and noticed that the headless pony had gone. The dark mare had stepped up to the orange filly, and the two had begun to speak. At first the changeling could not hear them at all, but then he strained his ears to try and make out what they were saying. He wished he could cover his ears as a terrifying sound filled his head all at once. It was not normal speech he was hearing, it was the sound of timberwolves, timberwolves that had just walked in on a stranger in their den.
