Once I’d retrieved my confiscated belongings. I made my way back to where I’d parted with the Equestrians. Colonel Nelson had gathered everyone in the barracks to brief them on the current situation. Enough time had passed as I retraced my steps that it was now dark. Between being lost in thought over recent events, and the darkness around me, I didn’t notice the guards slowly surrounding me as I entered the treeline. That was, until I nearly tripped over one of the fuckers and was subsequently grabbed by magic.
“Ah, fuck! Could you not?” I was ignored, and my struggling did nothing... of course.
“Is that the one we’re waiting for?” One of the guards asked.
“I don’t know. They all look the same to me.” Another replied.
You’re one to talk. After taking time to collect myself, I answered the first one’s question with one of my own, “Motherfucker, who else do you think would just come waltzing out of that cave?”
“...Yeah, this is probably him.” I was released from the magical grip, and one of the unicorns lit his horn for light. “Come on. Princess Celestia is waiting for you.”
“Great.” I said, squinting against the light. “Lead the way.”
It didn’t take long to get to where the princess was waiting. She was with Heartmender, Stormfront, Shining Armor, and whatever other guards were loitering in the area.
“They are willing to talk, I take it?” She asked as I approached.
“Probably wouldn’t be here otherwise.” I answered, folding my arms.
“Shall we go then?”
“Hold on.”
Celestia paused mid step, while the surrounding guards gave me suspicious looks.
“What is it?” The princess asked.
“How many of these guys are you planning on bringing?” I asked, motioning to the collection of ponies. Their looks of suspicion intensified.
Celestia looked around, then back to me. “Do you have a suggestion?”
“Uh... Hold that thought.”
I stood there like an idiot for about a minute before I came up with something. Pointing to Heartmender I said, “He’ll do.”
Heartmender looked surprised at the statement and Celestia asked, “Any particular reason why?”
“Heartmender is probably one of the most level-headed ponies out here. Plus, he’s a medic, and he might be allowed to help, if it’s needed.” And I kinda like him for some stupid reason. “But mostly because, this whole thing will probably go more smoothly if it didn’t look like you’re bringing in an army.”
The princess raised an eyebrow. “You realize it sounds as though you are leading me into a trap, yes?”
I pulled off my boonie, and scratched an itch on the top of my head. “Yeah, I do, but if half the things I’ve heard about you are true, it’s going to take more than a few tired, dirty, ill-equipped guys to challenge you. Besides, if anything happens to you, every human in that cave is fucked.” Including me. Replacing the hat, I continued. “You asked for my suggestion, and I gave it. Doesn’t mean you have to listen.”
Celestia considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. If you believe it will make this go more smoothly, I will only bring Sergeant Heartmender.”
Shining Armor immediately faced Celestia. “Are you sure this is wise, Princess?”
“I am certain everything will be fine, Captain. As the Corporal pointed out, it would be extremely foolish to attempt anything rash.”
“But, Princess—”
“Relax, Captain.” I interrupted. “Nothing’s gonna happen.” I hope. “Colonel Nelson already agreed to talk, and has probably explained what’s going on to everyone in there.” I turned and started back to the cave. “Now, let’s go. The sooner this is over with, the sooner everyone can go home.”
“Do not worry, Captain. We will be fine. See to your orders.” I heard Shining Armor acknowledge the Princess as she and Heartmender began following me. Wonder what kind of orders he has.
“I bet you can’t wait to go home.” Heartmender commented, moving up beside me.
“Hell no, I can’t wait.” Oh wait, almost forgot. I stopped, as did Heartmender, and turned to Celestia. “You didn’t have any kind of spies in here, did you?”
The princess stopped, frowning. “No. Why do you ask?”
“When I first made contact, there was someone, or something, posing as me. They must have been watching me closely, because they managed to pass themselves off as me the entire time I was your prisoner. Nobody here even knew I was captured, or they were too busy, tired, whatever, to really question it. Fortunately, I was able to convince them that I was the real Corporal Duran.” Probably
Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “Where is this imposter now?”
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder towards the cave. “Currently under armed guard, and secured in the back. I doubt he’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.”
“A duplicate…” Heartmender looked to Celestia. “Do you think…?”
“It is entirely possible, Sergeant. Though, I can not imagine what they would want with an isolated group of humans.”
“How about you two fill me in?” I asked, quickly becoming annoyed with being left out.
Celestia looked back to me. “There is a good chance it is a changeling.”
“Oh, right. That makes perfect sense... The fuck is a changeling?”
“Shapeshifter.” Heartmender answered.
“A shape… fuck. Because we don’t already have enough problems.”
“Have you noticed anything strange, aside from your doppelganger?” Celestia asked.
“I haven’t been back for even a day, and I didn’t exactly get the chance to socialize, so that’s not something I can really answer. The Colonel, on the other hand, probably can. Do you have a way to identify these... changelings?”
The princess nodded. “We developed a spell that reveals them for what they are.”
“Great, problem probably solved then.” I resumed my walk to the cave. “Let’s get moving, time’s wasting.”
“Corporal,” Celestia started, quickly catching up, “changelings are not something to take lightly.”
“Oh, I believe you, but we’re already compromised and we have no idea how bad it is. It may be in our best interest to let them think we don’t know what they are yet.” I paused to think for a moment. “Pretend I didn’t say anything about the imposter till you meet with the Colonel, and only bring it up if the two of you are alone. The two of you will probably think of a good way to deal with this issue. That goes for you too.” I added, twisting to point at Heartmender. “Don’t bring it up… at all, actually.”
Heartmender just shrugged and nodded, but Celestia responded uncertainly, “Are you sure?”
“Nope, but I think it’d be a worse idea for you to use your ‘I see you’ spell, or whatever, and have someone turn into one of these changelings in front of everyone. That’d be confusing as fuck, and would most likely look bad for you, since it’d look like you just turned one of our guys into whatever a changeling is.”
“That is fair. I will discuss it with your Colonel before any action is taken.”
“Great.” I had better not have just rationalized a bad idea.
One short walk later and we were standing to the right of the cave opening.
“Problem?” Celestia asked when I didn’t just walk in.
I shook my head. “Just a precaution.”
Standing next to the opening, I shouted, “Hey! Three coming in!”
A few moments later, I heard Colonel Nelson’s voice.
“Come on in Corporal!”
Looks like he wants to greet the Princess personally. I turned to the two ponies and motioned to the opening.
“Sounds like the Colonel is waiting for us. Let’s go.”
I started in as Heartmender lit his horn for better light. Instinctively, I took a quick step away from him as we made our way down the tunnel.
“Magic still bother you?” Heartmender asked as he and Celestia followed close behind me.
“I don’t wanna talk about it right now.”
I thought I’d be able to get over my fear by now, and the fact that I hadn’t frustrated me to no end, but this wasn’t the time to worry about it.
The firing line was dimly lit with whatever light source they’d been able to find. Standing in the front of everything was Colonel Nelson, arms folded, waiting for us. I stopped off to the Colonel’s right, out of the way, and waited in case I was needed for something else.
Princess Celestia and Heartmender stopped a respectful distance from the Colonel. Heartmender casually examined the assembled soldiers in front of him, clearly not giving a fuck, while the Princess wore an impassive expression.
“Colonel Nelson, I presume?” Celestia asked, her eyes drifting over the collection of soldiers behind the Colonel.
Responding to her question, Colonel Nelson nodded. “Correct.” For his part, the Colonel appeared just as impassive as the Princess. It looked almost like they were trying to out-impassive each other. It was almost funny, except for how serious the situation was. While Celestia and Nelson were displaying great control over their emotions, the same could not be said about anyone behind the Colonel.
While none of them were being openly hostile, it was clear some of them weren’t happy with the current situation. There were others looking on in interest, and I’m pretty sure I saw a few more staring at the Princess in awe. I made a mental note to ask some of them what they thought about the whole thing, if I got the chance.
“I think we should get started, Princess.” Nelson said, his expression never faltering.
Celestia nodded, also unwavering. “I think that would be for the best.”
“Right this way.” Colonel Nelson said, motioning for Celestia to follow him as he began to leave. “Duran, you’re with me,” He said over his shoulder. Motioning to everyone else, he continued, “The rest of you, as you were.”
Sighing, I followed after the Colonel, bringing up the rear behind Celestia and Heartmender. Figures.
“Do you think they’ll reach an agreement?”
After my question, I looked down at Heartmender, who was standing next to me in the dark. The two of us had been ordered to remain outside the TOC and await further orders, which kind of sucked, since I wanted to go through my stuff, and talk with some of the guys. I wondered for a bit why Colonel Nelson didn’t have me with him, since he already said I was basically the resident “expert” on the princess. Maybe he just wanted to get an idea about her himself, or maybe I didn’t fully convince him I was me, and he didn’t really trust me in the same room as her. I didn’t fucking know, and honestly, didn’t really care that much.
“I’d bet it’s more a matter of when, than if.” He replied.
“I wouldn’t take that bet.”
“Smart.”
I pulled out my phone, the screen dimly illuminating the area, using my thumb to slowly scroll through my music options. Since I didn’t know how long this was going to take, the music would help dull the boredom. I was still undecided on what to play, when I heard Colonel Nelson call my name from inside the TOC.
They can’t be done already, they just started. Returning the phone to my pocket, I stepped to the opening and stuck my head in. “Yes, Sir?”
“The Princess has offered the services of that medic pony. We have a couple casualties in rough shape that our medic has been struggling with. Show him to the barracks, see if he can do anything, and make sure nothing happens.”
“You got it, Sir.” Another question popped into my head and I acted on it without really thinking. “Sir?”
“Yes, Corporal?” Tolerating my delay.
“How many casualties are there?”
The Colonel sighed. “At this point, just about everyone is a casualty. Some are just better off than others.”
“Shit... I’ll go find the Doc now.”
Before I could move, Celestia spoke and I waited to see what she said.
“Sergeant Heartmender.”
Following my lead, Heartmender also poked his head in. “Your Highness?”
“Did you hear what was requested of you?”
“I did, Princess.”
Celestia nodded. “Good. Go do what you do best.”
“Right away, Princess.” Looking to me, Heartmender lit his horn for light. “Lead on.”
I flinched away from the light, and stepped away from the spell. “This way.” I replied, starting toward the barracks. It was a really short walk, and when we got there the first person we ran into was Sergeant Lewis.
“Oh hey, Duran, if you really are Duran…” His eyes narrowed as he slowly looked me over. He stopped as quickly as he’d began, and reached out to slap my shoulder, a little too enthusiastically. “Nah, I’m just messin’ with ya, I’m sure you’re you. Weird day, huh?”
“That’s one way to put it, yeah.” I replied, rubbing my shoulder. “Anyway, Colonel Nelson said we have some guys that are really messed up.” I pointed to Heartmender, beside me. “Sergeant Heartmender is a medic, and the Colonel wants him to see if there’s anything he can do, ya know, since the ponies are trying to be nice and all. You know where these guys are?”
Eyeing the unicorn, Lewis nodded and slowly answered, “Yeah. The two cots closest to the Gate. Doc Blake’s there too.”
Heartmender’s light didn’t illuminate the entire cave, but I could still make out where Lewis had indicated. “Thanks, Sergeant.”
“Hey, real quick.” Lewis said, causing me to stop in my tracks and look at him.
“Yeah?”
“Can I borrow your phone? Everyone else’s is dead.”
Sighing, I quickly pulled out the thing and handed it to him. “You know the deal.”
“Don’t break it, lose it, or loan it to anyone else. No problem. Thanks Duran.”
“Yep.”
Heartmender was already making his way across the cave, completely ignoring all the guys watching him, some of whom stood, weapons in hand. They clearly didn’t like him here, despite the negotiations happening right in the next cavern. As he got close to the collection of three cots, someone, most likely Blake, stood and blocked Heartmender’s path. I waved off who I could, and told off everyone else, earning unhappy looks from them, as I hurried to catch up to the unicorn.
“Let him by, Doc.” I said, catching up. “He’s a medic, and the Colonel wants him to examine them.”
Blake looked between Heartmender and myself for a couple seconds, then exhaled sharply and stepped to the side. “If that’s the Colonel’s orders.”
Without a word, Heartmender stepped up to the first cot, the light from his horn flickering as he changed spells. On the cot was Private Briggs.
Briggs was the biggest guy I’d ever seen. Over six feet tall, and pretty much all muscle. He was a dedicated machine-gunner, carrying our only 240B, and making it look easy. He wasn’t all muscle, no brains, either. Briggs was damned smart, so what he was doing in the Army, I had no idea. He would always deflect when anyone asked.
It was hard to imagine anything putting him down, but clearly something had. Briggs’ head was covered in some unusual looking burns, anything else was covered by a medical blanket. There was an IV going underneath the cover, no doubt going to his arm. Probably wanting to visually inspect Briggs as well, Heartmender slowly removed the blanket. When it was removed, the full extent of Briggs's injuries became apparent. Most of Briggs body was covered in the same burns as his head. It looked like his uniform did little to protect from whatever caused his injuries. From what I could tell, the only places that weren’t burned were in the areas where his armor would have been and his feet. I began feeling a bit nauseous looking at him.
“God damn.” As Briggs was enveloped in the amber glow of Heartmender’s magic, I turned to Blake. “What the hell happened to him, Doc?”
“The day before the ponies discovered us here, we’d sent out another patrol to scout around and maybe find some more food. They ran into a small Guard patrol, which, of course, turned into a fight. They managed to fight them off, and get away, but it wasn’t pretty.” Blake nodded to Briggs's unconscious form. “He laid down most of the covering fire as they fell back, and took the majority of the ponies attacks. Everyone there said he must have taken a dozen of those magic blasts before he stopped getting back up.”
The glow around Briggs faded, there was a flash, then Heartmender looked to Blake, wide-eyed. “It took a dozen stun-bolts to keep him down?”
Blake nodded. “At least.”
Heartmender replaced the blanket over Briggs. “The bolts work by overloading the senses. There’s also a side-effect of heat, though it’s not too much.” Heartmender looked back at Briggs. “To have burns this severe… How many times was he actually hit?”
Blake shook his head. “I honestly dunno. No one’s been able to give me a solid answer. Twelve is the best I’ve gotten.
“These burns indicate he was hit by far more than twelve.” Heartmender paused, then looked back to Blake. “Has he woke yet?”
Blake shook his head. “No. I’ve been doing my best to monitor him, and whatever else I can, but I haven’t been able to get a response from him. I’m worried he’ll develop infections.”
Heartmender nodded. “Unfortunately, my examination shows he’s already developing infections. I’ve used a spell to bolster his immune system, but it won’t last long and I don’t know how well it will work. If he’s going to survive, he needs proper medical treatment, and quickly.”
I shook my head. That’s not good news. “Shit… Hurry and examine the other guy, then we’ll report back to the Colonel.”
Heartmender quickly moved to the other cot, which held Sergeant Hampton. It looked like the Sergeant was simply sleeping, except for the IV and catheter, and his slightly gaunt appearance.
As Heartmender started his examination on Hampton, I asked Blake, “And what’s up with him?”
Blake exhaled in exasperation, shaking his head. “I haven’t got a fucking clue. He’s been like that since he was dragged in almost two weeks ago, and nothing I’ve tried did a goddamn thing.”
“He’s under a spell.” Heartmender said, as his examination spell was replaced by his light spell. “Somepony cast a powerful sleep spell on him.”
“Can you do anything?” I asked.
“No. My magic isn’t strong enough, and it’s not really my area of expertise. I’m sure we have somepony who can dispell it, however.”
“Well, at least that should be an easy fix. Let’s go.” As we started to leave, I looked to Blake. “Hopefully, negotiations go well, and things start looking up.”
Blake nodded grimly. “For their sake, I really hope so. I’ve done everything I can.”
As we left, I considered how to best interrupt the negotiations, but those ideas turned out to be unnecessary. Both Celestia and Colonel Nelson were leaving the TOC as Heartmender and I exited the barracks.
“That didn’t take you long,” The Colonel said when he spotted us. “What did you learn?”
The same could be said for you two, though I can’t say I’m surprised, either. I stopped and folded my arms. “Good news is: Sergeant Hampton is fine, just under a sleep spell.”
“I’m certain there’s a mage outside who can dispel that easily, or you can, Princess.” Heartmender added.
“You cannot?” Celestia asked.
Heartmender shook his head. “No, Princess. A bit too much for me.”
“I see.”
Nelson acknowledged the information with a slow nod. “And Briggs?”
“In need of medical attention Doc Blake can’t give, especially in these circumstances.” I answered grimly.
The Colonel swore under his breath, then turned to the princess. “You said you’d help with whatever we needed as part of our agreement?”
Celestia nodded. “I will see to it that your men are taken care of.”
Nelson nodded then looked back to me with a sigh. “Go grab everyone from the entrance and bring them to the Gate, Corporal. I’ve got some announcements to make.”
“Yes, Sir.” Turning, I moved to carry out the order. Looks like things are starting to work out. About fucking time.