//------------------------------// // Everfree City Hall // Story: The Dragonfly Hive // by Silver Dragon Blade Wing //------------------------------// Everfree City Hall The group slowly walked through the ruined but surprisingly intact hallways of the Everfree City Hall, it turned out the building was far larger on the inside than they had expected. From what Seeker knew the city hall was also a back-up castle for the two Ailcorn sisters though it was never used that way. Most of upper levels held nothing of value so the group when lower after finding a stable stairway, after a bit of walking and trying to find something of note they finally reached a large dark purple, armored door with four slots at around head level. Dragonfly turned to the group. "Any ideas?" "Well... from the look of this door I'd say this could be what Chrysalis is looking for. If I remember right, this door leads into the Treasure Chamber though I don't think any treasure would be left after the city was abandoned." Seeker said tipping a hoof against his chin. "Well also according to the records they had to leave in a huge hurry and they did leave a lot of stuff behind. Though this door is sealed shut, the question is... why?" Rhino said. Thorax raised a hoof. "Could... could what Chrysalis is after be held within the room?" "He could be right, this is the only room that is even remotely intact enough to hold anything of value." Spotter said, Darter added his own agreement. "Add to the fact that the door is sealed shut it could very well be the place." "Well we wouldn't find out by sitting here and we are still on a time limit," Dragonfly said gathering the group to together, "Spotter, how much time do we still have?" Said Scout uncoiled his antennae to their full six feet and closed his eyes while waving the antennae around, after a few minutes he opened his eyes. "Chrysalis' forces have reached the outskirts of the city and are in battle with more Timber Wolves and the city's remaining defenses, both are holding for now but they will eventually be overwhelmed. I'd estimate at most an hour and a half before they reach the city hall." "Then we can't delay any longer, they'll detect us if they reach the hall before we leave and that cannot happen yet." Dragonfly said than turned to the others. "Now, judging from the indents on the door we need four crystals to open it. Since time isn't on our side so we will need to split up, as much as we don't want to, to find them in time. There's thirty seven of us so Darter, Rhino, Seeker, and I will each take four Drones, one Healer, and one Soldier with us. Darter, you take the most left side passage, Rhino you take the most right side passage. Seeker, you take the closer left side passage. I'll take the closer right side passage and Spotter, you stay here with Thorax, one Healer, one Soldier, the Scouts, the Hive Spiders, The Berseker, and the Weapons Team as back-up if an attack happens. Keep in contact at all times, I want a call-in every five minutes and stay alert. Something was watching us as the moved through the rubble above, it could be very will down here with us so if you see anything call it out. If you need help Spotter will send his group as reinforcements. Any questions?" "No Sir." Was the response. "Good, now let's move. Spotter, keep us updated on Chrysalis' forces. Warn us if they get to close or something unexpected happens." "Will do sir." With that the group went their separate ways while Spotter sat down uncoiling his antennae again. Darter's Group Most Left side Passage Darter's group didn't have much trouble moving through their passage as it was rather clear of rubble, soon they reached a large, circular room which was mostly barren expect for three statures of the original Pony Tribes; Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus, each holding a large, glowing crystal in their hooves. In the center was a short podium with one of the crystals sitting on top of it, however the crystal and the podium were encased within a green magic shield. Darter reached towards the shield only to recoil his hoof violently the second he touched the field with a yep of pain, receiving a shock and a slightly smoking hoof for his trouble. "Ow! That did not tickle." He said lightly blowing on his smoking hoof while the Healers did their job, as they did this the others looked around, with the Soldier spotting something different. "Sir, there are plates in front of each stature. I think their pressure plates, each one has two plates in front of them." Darter came over to the Soldier who was standing in front of the Pegasus stature and examined the plates, both looked the same white tiles that covered the rest of the floor only he could see very slight gaps between the sides of the plates and the surrounding area that most would have missed. Curious, he reached forward and gently pushed the left plate down. Once is was fully down the crystal in the stature's hooves changed from a dull grey to a light blue. Noticing this the other Changelings tried the other plates, the other two crystals changing colors as well. "Darter sir, I have a theory." One of the Drones said, Darter gestured for her to continue. "I think that to disable the field so we can get the crystal, we need to have the large ones colored in the right order." "That is a good theory, but... how? Is there even a clue to the order?" As Darter finished another Drone called out. "I think I found something, looks like writing on the wall here but I can't read it." The group moved over and sure enough there was some writing, but it was in one of the old Pony languages, which none of them couldn't read. Just then Dragonfly called over the Hivemind. "This is Dragonfly checking in, anything so far?" "This is Rhino, my group has encountered just puzzles, boring and easy puzzles. Nothing else yet, out." "Seeker here, nothing of note yet. Out." "Spotter here, nothing yet. Our window is still good, out." "Darter here, my group has found one of the crystals but there is a magic field protecting it. We're working on it now, Seeker, can you read this writing here?" Darter felt Seeker gently shift his vision to Darter. "Most of the words are to worn but the gist of it something related to the Warming." "Okay, so now we have something to work with. Thanks Seeker." "No problem, Seeker out." Darter blinked as Seeker's presence left his mind, Darter than turned to his group and had them cycle through the different colors of the large crystals. "What are you thinking sir?" The Soldier asked. "Well, the writing said something about the Warming, so my guess is the three crystals need to be the colors of the "Warming Flame"." "Which if we know our history right was different shades of raspberry, so we need to set-up the crystals in the right color order." One of the Drones said. It took several tries, but the group soon got the right order. The green field hummed for a second, than slowly faded way until it was completely. Darter cautiously approached and reached out, gripping the red crystal, than he quickly pulled back. Nothing happened after a few minutes, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Darter looked at the crystal then said over the Hivemind. "This is Darter, my group and I have the first and are on our way back to Spotter." With that the group left the room behind. Rhino's Group Most Right Passage Rhino had what could be best described as a cross between a prefect deadpan, incredible boredom, and a look that just said "I am so done with this crap" on his face, so far his group had gone through several puzzle rooms, each with very easy and boring puzzles. In truth, Rhino felt like his intelligence was been insulted. The next room was mostly empty with a set of statures and a floor with most of the area being a set of white and black tiles, Rhino reached out and pressed a black tile which released poison-tipped darts, he then pressed a white one which ended the barrage. So the group just needed to walk on the white tiles while avoiding the black ones, simple. Rhino frowned, looked at the two statures next to the door they came in, walked over and removed the heavy stone shields the statures were holding. His group watched as he did this, confusion written all over their faces. "Aaaa... Sir, what are you doing?" The Soldier asked. "Just gather around me and stay close." They did and Rhino used his magic to hover the large shields to the sides, the group moved across the tiles with the shields blocking the darts until the group reached the other side. Rhino discarded the shields after they reached the door. "This is just getting insulting, *Heavy Sigh* let's just move on." The next room had a narrow path with a deep pit on either side and seven swinging blades hanging from the ceiling, moving slowly enough that even the laziest creature could get past, they just had to time it right. Rhino's bored look changed to an angry one before he let out an enraged growl and fired a blast of magic that completely destroyed the blades, sending the remains into the pits and clearing the way. He marched forward with his group following after recovering from their shock. As they entered a long hallway Rhino went off on a rant. "This is just stupid! We've only come across easy and boring puzzles, this is a waste of time and our skills. I don't mind puzzles if they at least give a small challenge but this is just insulting! The last time I had to retrieve an item was back in Germaney with my partner, a Mare with great skill. We went to get some important Intel in a zombie infested area(1) and she was at the time carrying a foal, much to my surprise when she suddenly screamed and fell over. I asked her what was wrong and she shouted "I'm have a foal!" so I had to help her through that, while fighting off a massive horde of zombies! Seriously, were are the spike traps, the flamethrowers, hay I'd even happily take the age old boulder right now. Not these boring as sh-" *Click* Rhino's rant cut out as his and his group's heads snapped down hearing the click, Rhino had just stepped on a pressure plate with a Pony skull on it. "Oh..." The walls shifted and started closing in, much to the panic of the group while Rhino's face changed to a even more deadpan look. "Tempted fate, one moment please." ... A few minutes later the group was standing on the other end of the hall, which was now littered with remains of the walls but still passable. "Sir," the Soldier, female from the voice asked, "did you have to trash the hallway? I know it was closing in on us but still." "I know it was a bit overkill, but I've had enough of this trap yakcap." "By the way, how did that thing in Germaney end? Did your partner and her foal make it out." "Well it went like this; I had to drop my disguise but she had figured out I was a Changeling so it was no big deal, that and she was in no condition to fight, bringing a foal into the world takes a lot out of a Mare. As for how we got out, funny thing is, the moment the zombies saw the newborn foal, they started clutching their chests and dropping like flies. I think the cuteness was too much even for their unbeating hearts." The other's looked at him incredulously, finally the Soldier asked. "Sir, you mean to tell us that a massive horde of zombies was beaten by cuteness!?" "Never, ever underestimate the power of cuteness, it can in fact be used as a weapon." Rhino said booping the Soldier on the nose, her eyes crossing in response. "As for the rest; after she had recovered we moved on with her using my jacket as a carrier for the newborn, got the Intel, and made it back to base. She got an earful for going out while carrying, though I think her commanding officer was more angry at not being there for her than anything else, then her fiance proposed to her which she happily accepted by tackling him onto his back, after she asked me to hold the foal first. Things with the zombies soon ended after that and I came back to Equestria to continue my work with Empress Nebula, though not before she and her now husband named me the foal's Godfather. While I haven't seen them for a few years we still keep in contact with letters, and the last one I got a few months ago said they're doing fine. There was something about about a surprise coming in a few months and she did ask where I was living, so I just sent a letter back that I was living in Ponyville with friends and would be for the foreseeable future." "What was her name and the gender of the foal?" One of the Drones asked. "Her name's Schneeflocke and the foal is a Colt." After a few minutes they found the crystal they were looking for, on a pillar over a pit filled with spikes. Rhino just used his magic to bring it over as any anti-magic wards had long since faded away and become useless. They had just reentered the destroyed hall when they heard another click, they looked up only to see a large boulder coming towards them. "Fate, why must you fart in my direction. I really need to see Dr. Wolf about my temping fate, RUN!!" The group took off with the boulder on their tails. Seeker's Group Closer Left Passage Seeker lead the way with his horn providing light, his group sticking close to him as they moved through the dark hallway. The group was on edge as they kept hearing weird sounds around them in the darkness, like scuttling and metal on rock. Seeker paused when they reached a section with an intense beam of light coming from the ceiling and shining on the right wall. "Stay here." Seeker got down on his belly and crawled forward, being extra careful not to enter the light. His group watched with confused looks as he stood up on the other side, reached out, and waved his hoof over a small spot of the light. Their confusion turned to fear as the second Seeker waved enough of his hoof in the light a wall of long spear-like spikes shot out from the left wall, had anyone stepped into the light to pass they would impaled by the spikes. It wasn't the spikes that horrified the group other than Seeker however, rather it was the thousand year old Pony skeleton, Unicorn by the horn, impaled on them. Thankfully it was only bones with remains of clothing (the kind worn by High Nobles of the era) on it, the group didn't think any of them could handle a decaying corpse right now. "Okay, okay." "Well I'm not sleeping tonight." "Why would this place have traps like this?!" "Whatever is behind that door must be more important then we first thought." "Let's go, leave the bones to rest in piece. Stay out of the light." Seeker said as they moved forward. That was the only trap they encountered before reaching the crystal, which had been once covered by magic traps but the one thousand year gap had caused the wards to weaken until the magic faded out, now the former traps were now just barely visible black marks on the floor and walls. The group just grabbed the crystal and left, it was too easy but clearly the caster of the traps never made them to last this long without being renewed every once in a while. Dragonfly's Group Closer Right Passage Dragonfly's group moved through a hallway littered with wreckage, so far they hadn't found any traps or threats but they were moving slowly, ready for any surprises. After a while they came up to a door mostly blocked by debris with only a small hole still clear, Dragonfly carefully ducked through the hole. He had just pulled his tail through when the wreckage shifted than fell, blocking the entryway and separating Dragonfly from the rest of his group. "Prince Dragonfly! Sir, are you alright?!" The Soldier shouted through the debris. "Yes I'm alright, just a little dusty." "What now?" "You guys stay here and try to clear some of this so I can get back through, I'll continue on and get the crystal. I'll alert the others so they can send some help, wish me luck." "Good luck our Prince, please be careful." "Will do." Dragonfly moved from the pile and used the Hivemind. "Seeker, Spotter, Rhino, Darter, what's your status?" "Seeker here, we've all retrieved our crystals and are waiting with Spotter, what's wrong? "I got separated from my group by a cave-in, we're all okay but I'm on my own. Can you guys send my group help to clear a hole big enough for me?" "Rhino: They are on their way, be careful Dragonfly, whatever we were sensed before my strike now that one of us is one their own now." "Understood Rhino, Spotter what's our remaining time frame?" "Chrysalis' forces have the Timber Wolves on the run but they've taken massive losses, I would guess that at least an extra hour has been added as she will have to wait for reinforcements." "Even she has the brains to know that the city even after so long would still hold threats. Alright, I'm headed towards the crystal. I'll contact you if I need help. Dragonfly out." Dragonfly looked down the long hallway in front of him, it was mostly clear with some rubble spread along the floor and a few doors leading into other halls that had collapsed. "Alone, against the darkness. Here we go." He moved on, slowly walking down the hall, his horn casing a light ahead. As he walked passed by a door he didn't notice a pair of yellow, flaming eyes suddenly appear. The eyes were attached to a large, Pony-shaped silhouette which moved out of the door and started following the Changeling Royal at a distance. Dragonfly eventually reached a large room which was mostly empty, but opposite of the entry was a small podium, with the last crystal on it. Smiling Dragonfly crossed the room, only to stop as he realized something. "Wait... it's too easy. This has to be a trick." No sooner had he finished that sentence that the doors he came through suddenly slammed shut, Dragonfly spun around at the noise, only to stop when he saw a large Pony-like shape standing in front of the closed doors. It wasn't alone either; next to it were two more Pony-like shapes. The one in the center resembled an Earth Pony, the one to the left resembled a Unicorn, and the one to the right resembled a Pegasus. Yellow flaming eyes stared back at him, eyes that told Dragonfly that these were not Ponies, but something else, something left behind when the city was abandoned so long ago. "Animated Armor, that's what's been following us, what's been wait for me to be alone." From what he remembered Animated Armor was a form of Golem made by heavily enchanting suits of armor to create a powerful and hard to destroy unit, one that many enemies of the Ponies of the era feared. In current times Animated Armor was not in use as the knowledge to create them was lost with the city, by rights they all should have been piles of armor pieces by now, And yet three active ones stood before him, through they were not at their best Dragonfly knew from the stories that Animated Armor was very dangerous even if they were so old... ...and he stood alone against three of them. Dragonfly pulled his weapon, a hatchet on first glance from behind his back as the three armors approached, the Pegasus and Unicorn moving to the sides while the Earth Pony stayed in the center. One the three reached about an equal fifteen feet from each other and Dragonfly they stayed still, as if wanting him to make the first move. Dragonfly brought his hatchet to his side, then with a flick of his hoof the weapon expanded into a halberd. The four stood there in silence, waiting for the first move. After five minutes, the armors moved together. The Pegasus and Earth Pony shot forward as the Unicorn fired a magic bolt, Dragonfly quickly reacted by jumping into the air using his wings for a boost. The Earth Pony, unable to stop itself quickly, crashed into the far wall with a force that shook the room while the Pegasus was hit by the bolt. With the Earth Pony busy removing itself from the wall and the Pegasus shaking off the bolt Dragonfly went after the Unicorn, the armor fired off another bolt only to be met with Dragonfly's only. He followed it with a downwards swing of his weapon, now normally the armor would have easily dodged the attack, but alas time had not been kind to it as the armor plating, while still rather durable, was still heavily rusted and wasn't able to move as well as it once could. While the halberd missed the head of the armor, the left foreleg wasn't as lucky. The blade dug two inches into the lower section of the leg before it stopped, Dragonfly quickly pulled it out and shot to the ceiling, dodging the Pegasus as it shot past where he was and into the Unicorn, further damaging the leg. It was one of the lessons Saber had taught him; When faced with multiple enemies, STAY. ON. THE. MOVE. Do not let them box you in and do not focus on just one target. As Dragonfly flew up and the Pegasus went passed him he swing his halberd down, striking the left wing. While it didn't completely server the metal wing the blow did bend it enough to make the armor's flight unstable. By this point the Earth Pony finally broke free of the wall, the Unicorn tried to stand up but the earlier damage to its left foreleg caused it to break, sending the Unicorn back to the floor. The Earth Pony charged as Dragonfly landed, the Changeling waited until the last moment before leaping off to the side, the Earth Pony unable to stop as it slammed into another wall. The Unicorn shot a bolt that Dragonfly wasn't able to dodge in time, the bolt hit his shoulder. While it did hurt, time had weakened the power of the bolts considerably and his carapace blunted the damage. Still, Dragonfly knew that while his carapace stopped that hit it wouldn't necessarily stop the next one. Changeling Carapace was very durable, about equal to one inch of hardened steel despite being thinner than that for breeds like Workers and Drones. The protection increased the larger and more powerful the breed, a Juggernaut for example had carapace equal to around seven inches. Besides the carapace there were two extra layers under it; the first was a gel layer with a honey-comb-like structure to absorb and spread out blunt trauma and magic attacks, and the second layer was a membrane-like substance that further absorbed damage, protecting the internals. Now all of this protection, while very good, did have limits. As Seeker had said "Our carapace grants us great protection against enemy attacks, our's for example renders us immune to attacks up to a certain level, but remember that even the thickest and strongest carapace can be eventually breached and we still have weak points that are not covered, like our eyes.", and while the carapace and the two other layers would absorb most damage just fine, hits to spots like the eyes would cause the Changeling to receive full damage. Also weapons like a dagger or sword, if they hit a vital organ like the heart, would still be fatal. A good blow to the right spot on the head would knock a Changeling out for a time, while this did no lasting damage getting knocked out on the battlefield could get one killed or worse. Beyond that though, if the wounded Changeling had enough E-energy and/or Healers around than they could recover from most other wounds, even the lost of a horn or limb, but those types would still put the Changeling out of the fight for quite a bit, similar to healing a broken bone. By this point the Unicorn had recovered and stood back up, but because of its missing lower left foreleg its speed was reduced. The Pegasus' speed was also reduced with the damage to its left wing, the Earth Pony had lodged itself into a wall again and was trying to pull free. The Unicorn fired off several bolts while the Pegasus charged again, Dragonfly either dodged or counter with his own as he waited for the right moment than struck the Pegasus in the chest. While the armor would at worst dented against the halberd's blade, time and rust had weakened the chest enough for it to cut through. The halberd struck the Golem's core crystal, shattering it and the Pegasus crashed to the floor as the armor pieces fell apart. As this happened Dragonfly leaped into the air and used the Leaping Wing Strike ability, slamming into the Unicorn before it could react followed by a strike to the Golem's chest and core crystal. Dragonfly stood up not noticing tiny spheres of many colors pop out of the two former Golems and rush into him, his body absorbing the spheres. 'Two down, one to go.' Unfortunately the Earth Pony recovered faster than Dragonfly had thought, it rammed into him before he could move. Dragonfly's armor took the blow but he did hear carapace cracking, though a quick glance told him it was minor at worst. The Earth Pony followed the ram with a punch, which to Dragonfly's surprise, released a concussive blast against his side that sent him flying across the room and into the wall. While again Dragonfly's armor absorbed the damage he was left stunned by the blows, and was unable to recover in time as the Earth Pony charged again. Just as it got within ten feet of Dragonfly however a barrage of green magic bolts struck the side of the Golem's head, which caused it to veer into the wall next to Dragonfly as it swing its head from the impact. Eight Drones had gotten through the room and flew over to help their Prince up as he recovered. "Thanks for the help, how did you get pass the blocked passage?" "We managed to create a hole large enough for us to slip through but it collapsed again after the eight of us got through, we got here as fast as we could." One of the Drones said. "Looks like we got here in time." Another added. The Earth Pony pulled itself from the wall and attacked again, but now that Dragonfly had backup the Golem wasn't able to pick a target as the Changelings attacked from several different directions. It took a few minutes but the Earth Pony's armor began to break apart from the repeated hits, Dragonfly charged forth and brought his halberd down on the Golem's torso, breaking through and severing the core crystal from the rest. As the intact core fell out and the armor fell apart Dragonfly felt a powerful surge of magic flow through him, it didn't hurt but at the same time it felt like the magic in him was trying to break out. Too the other Changelings they saw their Prince's body get covered in so much green energy that completely covered his body for a few seconds. As he recovered from that the others arrived. "Dragonfly! You alright?" Seeker said as he walked up to the Royal. "I think so but... what just happened? I slayed the Earth Pony Animated Armor then felt a power surge of magic, I also feel... heather, stronger, and more magically powerful." He said as Seeker smiled. "What happened Dragonfly is that you "Leveled UP", as you slay enemies minor or strong like the Animated Armor you gain small energy spheres. Once you have gathered enough your body adapts to it, changing to fit your new abilities. As a result the durability of your carapace along with the strength of your muscles and magic have increased as well." As Dragonfly processed this Rhino walked up to and picked up the core crystal, turning it about as he examined it. "I think I can use this to increase the effectiveness of our gear but I'll need time before I'll have anything solid." Dragonfly retrieved the last crystal and they regrouped with Spotter who gave them an update. "Chrysalis' forces have gotten reinforcements and have reached the city, but they are encountering very heavy resistance from the city's defenses but I don't know how much time we will have left now." Dragonfly nodded and placed the four crystals into the door slots, they glowed for a few seconds than the door slowly opened. The group of thirty eight Changelings and two Hive Spiders quickly moved through the door, which shut after the last one got through and the crystals lost their color, show they had been one-time-use only, and into a long hallway. After moving through the hall for a time they entered a chamber about half the size of the Royal Palace's throne room. The room was mostly empty expect for six statues that sat in the center of the room. It didn't take long for them to see that each one was of the Founders; Hurricane stood at attention with his Kirin halberd held in his right hoof, to his left was Clover the Clever and Princess Platinum, to his right was Pansy Shy, Smart Cooke, and Puddinghead. Each stature had them in various poses that seem to radiate their glory. The group spread out as Dragonfly and his companions walked up to the statues. "Is this what Chrysalis is after?" Rhino asked incredulously, "Just a bunch of statures of the Founders?" "I agree with Rhino on this, I've known her the longest out of us. First Mother I hated those meetings. These are the only things here that would be worth anything, so why would she waste so many of her Hive to get these? It doesn't make sense." Seeker said rubbing his chin. Darter, Spotter and Thorax voiced their agreement as Dragonfly walked closer and began examining Hurricane's statue, running a hoof along the surface he noticed something off right away. "Somethings wrong here..." His voice catching the others attention. "What is Dragonfly? They look normal to us." Seeker asked. "Two things; One, these statues are too smooth. Even the best of the best sculptures will level some rough spots, no matter how small. The second is these feel warm, almost like a living creature sort of warm." The others walked over, wondering what he was talking about. Dragonfly looked the statues over than closed his eyes while lighting his horn, his magic running over them. He must have done something as the statues suddenly began to crack as his eyes snapped open. "Dragonfly what did you do!?" Seeker shouted. "I don't know! I felt some sort magic link and brushed against it with mine, just to take a look. I had no idea it would to that!" Before the Changelings' eyes the statues began to fall apart as pieces, but that wasn't what had their attention. As the pieces fell away they started seeing fur, actual fur along with mane and tail. The statues had been the actual Founders the entire time! Once enough pieces had fallen the fully alive but unconscious Founders fell over, or would have if the Changelings hadn't caught them. Gently laying the six Ponies down the Changelings looked at each other, shock very clear over their faces. Dragonfly stared, unable to believe that all this time the Founders had been frozen in stone. Had they been aware all this time, watching as time flowed, as they were abandoned here, for over a thousand years? Seeker, Rhino, Darter, and Spotter stood next to him, their reactions the same as the Healers check the Ponies life signs, all six were fine. They stood their for several long minutes, finally Seeker spoke, saying what was on everybuggy's minds. "To think, they were here all this time." The others stayed silent, unable to believe it themselves. As the Healers had said the six of them were only unconscious, their breathing had been heavy for a few seconds but that was most likely due to not taking in air for so long. Dragonfly leaned closer to get a good look at them. Hurricane was a head taller than most other Stallions and very well built with a dark blue coat with his grey hooves uncovered, a tri-colored mane and tail of dark blue, light blue, and ice blue and a Cutie Mark of a hurricane with mirrored lighting bolts within visible under his armor. He wore armor of the era which was dark grey with gold rivets, markings on the chest piece on each side of a large lighting bolt, and trim around the edge of the helmet and under the helmet plume. Wrapped around the base of his tail was a gold band, standard on military Ponies of them time and even in modern times. Lifting up an eyelid they saw that his eyes were yellow. Pansy Shy was also well built with a light red coat, pink and orange striped mane and tail, and yellow eyes. He Cutie Mark was hidden by her armor which was the type worn by Mares of the era and was dark grey like Hurricane's but with light grey instead of gold trim. Princess Platinum had a lilac coat with lavender-silver and white mane and tail and wine red eyes with the eyelids being covered with purple eye shadow, her Cutie Mark was hidden by a purple cloak rimmed with white fake fur with purple chevrons and tied around the base of her neck with a silver clasp with a purple gem in the center. Along with that she wore silver shoes and a ring studded with purple gems. Pictures had shown her wearing a crown but it was missing here, though Dragonfly remembered seeing it or at least a replica sitting on display in Canterlot's Museum. Clover the Clever had a white coat with green and light green mane and tail and purple eyes. She wore a brown cloak held around her neck by a short length of rope with four pockets stitched to the sides, the back ones held scrolls while front ones held a single leaf of a different color, the one in the left pocket was red and the one in the right was blue. Her Cutie Mark, judging from the marks on the spots over her flanks, was a set of three green four-leaf clovers with four white diamonds around them. Puddinghead had a pumpkin colored coat with brown mane and tail and turquoise eyes. She wore a chocolate brown outfit with pinks sleeves and cream trimming which hid her Cutie Mark, a pink bow around the base of her tail, a white collar commonly worn by important Ponies of them time, and a wide-brimmed butterscotch hat with a dual-colored top of very light shades of blue with an attachment of chocolate pudding on top. Wait, that was real pudding if the smell was anything to go by. And finally Smart Cookie had a yellow coat with orange mane and tail and light blue eyes. She wore a short chocolate brown coat with white collar and front patching, a chocolate brown hat with a butterscotch band holding a white feather completed her outfit. Little white freckles dotted her face and cheeks and her Cutie Mark was a cookie with a small portion bitten or broken off. As the others stared, Dragonfly slowly realized something, his eyes at first widened but than narrowed as his lips pulled back into a small snarl. "That's why she came here." Everybuggy turned to Dragonfly, who had muttered that out while in thought. "Dragonfly?" Seeker asked. "Chrysalis knew they were here, all this time, she knew." He turned around and walked a few steps, his back facing the others, starting at the floor. Seeker walked over and stood next to him. "Dragonfly?" He asked again bit warily, his Prince's posture told the Advisor that something was wrong. "Chrysalis knew, she lived during their time, she and Hurricane had a power rivalry with each other. Those Traps; they were installed to protect them. Chrysalis likely had spies here, but was unable to act until the city was abandoned after Nightmare Moon was banished, even then she had to deal with other matters. She knew they were trapped here, trapped in stone, so she could wait. Now, after taking control of the Changelings but our Hive, she came back here, to finish the job." Seeker, Rhino, Darter, and Spotter took a step back from the Royal, while Changelings couldn't sense each other's emotions they could sense the shift of magic in their Prince. Dragonfly was normally a very relaxed Changeling and it took a lot to get him angry(2), but when he did it was best to give him space til he calmed down. Spotter noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned to it, only to do a double take at what he saw; the six Ponies were now conscious and standing up, watching as Dragonfly continued. Spotter opened his mouth to say something but Hurricane raised a hoof, signaling him not to. "Chrysalis brought her army here to break open the ruins, to reach this chamber. She has never cared about the lives of her subjects, only power. The things she would have done to the Founders if she reached them first." Darter noticed the awake Founders, followed by Rhino and Seeker. Hurricane just signaled them t stay quiet as Dragonfly continued. "She would have forced Hurricane to watch as she slowly drained the five Mares of their emotions for years until they were nothing but husks, knowing how much he loved and cared for them. All the while using him as a breeding stud, creating generations of strong and loyal Changelings that would follow her every whim, even after she had fully broken him." He brought up a hoof to his chest and let out a breath slowly, moving the hoof away from him like he was moving the anger away from him. "But now that we reached them first, that fate wouldn't happen. Chrysalis is as much our enemy as Hurricane's, and dad once told me; Son, remember that in most cases, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. We are not leaving them here." He felt a hoof gently rest on his shoulder, he lifted his head expecting to meet Seeker's eyes, only to find himself looking into Hurricane's yellow ones. "Your father spook true son, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As Chrysalis is my enemy, that means you and your Hive are my friends, our friends." "How long have you..." "The whole time, we heard every word." Clover softly said. "What's your name lad?" Hurricane asked taking his hoof off Dragonfly's shoulder as the latter turned towards the Ponies. "Prince Dragonfly Wings, you can leave out the "Prince" part though. I'd rather my friends known me as an individual, not by title. This here is part of my Hive; Seeker, My Advisor and second in command. Rhino, my Hive's Military Commander. Spotter, the Hive's lead and best Scout, Darter, our faster flyer and commander of the Hive's air wing. And last but not least Thorax, a Proto-Royal and former member of Chrysalis's Hive." "It's a pleasure darlings, and Hurricane is right. We know you're not our enemy." Princess Platinum said with a light smile. "And just call me Platinum, I'm not really a Princess anymore." "Speaking of that," Smart Cookie spoke up, "How long have we been frozen? We were more or less asleep the entire time." "A little over a thousand years." Seeker said. The Founder's eyes all went wide in shock, than they looked at each other and the floor as they processed this. After a minute Smart Cookie spoke. "A thousand years, everything we once knew is gone." Platinum looked towards the Changelings and asked, "Are Celestia and Luna still around?" Her voice held worry and sounded like she didn't want to know yet at the same time just had to know. "Celestia is and she rules Equestria from Canterlot, Luna... She turned into Nightmare Moon a few years after you disappeared, Celestia had know choice but to banish her to the moon or risk an eternal night." Dragonfly said, remembering what his mother had told him. Platinum and the others each let out a sign of relief, happy that at least the two Ponies they raised were alive. "Speaking of disappearing; How did the six of you end up frozen in stone?" Darter asked, Hurricane answered. "It was our choice, Chrysalis had nearly gotten Clover so we decided to "disappear" for a time. We wanted her to think we had died so she would no longer come after us, we asked Celestia and Luna to freeze us in stone for a few years. Once those few years had passed we would unfreeze and hopefully catch Chrysalis off-guard." Clover spoke next. "But from the fact that we're were talking to you, something went wrong." "In a word; yes." Seeker said, "While we don't know all the details, we do know that when Luna was banished something caused the Everfree City to be abandoned and they left in a huge hurry, leaving a lot of things behind, including the six of you. It is likely that Celestia, in between the pain of banishing her sister and leaving the city, forgot about you down here." "Well at least we're out of the rock, even if it is about a thousand years late." Smart Cookie said. "By the way, we only just met and the six of you are wiling to trust us?" Rhino asked. "Well, the fact that we didn't wake up chained to the floor of a Hive with Chrysalis bragging about her victory above us is a huge point in your favor." Hurricane said, Platinum went next. "Dragonfly's speech also told us you weren't on her side, and speaking of that: Why are you her enemies? The way you spoke Dragonfly sounded like you have a personal grudge against her." "She tried to kill me three years ago by sending a large pack Timber Wolves after me, had it not been for my mother's bodyguards I would have died that day." Seeker spoke next. "Chrysalis saw Dragonfly as the greatest threat to her plans so she tried to get rid of him, we did however turn her plan against her." You see the scarf Dragonfly's wearing?" -The Founders nodded yes- "Well he is know to only take it off when bathing or sleeping, his parents simply used the blood covered scarf to fool Chrysalis into thinking he was dead while Dragonfly healed in a special cocoon." Hurricane smiled. "Nice plan, and it worked? She has no idea?" "Not a clue." Rhino said with a laugh. Puddinghead suddenly jumped up in between Dragonfly and Hurricane, pulling both into a hug. "Well now that we're friends this calls for a party? Which starts-" Puddinghead was cut off as a muffled boom sounded from above and the room shook, Spotter extended his antennae which Clover watched with an inquisitive look. After a minute Spotter's eyes shot open. "Chrysalis' forces have reached the City Hall! They haven't detected us but we need to leave now!" "Let's have that party else where." Thorax said. "Like ah... back at your Hive." Pansy said. Before they could move the ceiling of the hall the Changelings had come through earlier collapsed, followed closely by the ceiling of the room they were in! Seeker manged to deploy his Dome Shield in time but told them it wouldn't last for long. Clover ran to a small section of the wall opposite of the door. "This room was built with another secret entrance long ago, only we know about it as we were the ones to install it." She said pushing the hidden door open, everycreature had gathered around when the shield lost its fight, the force of the wind from the rubble crashing shoved them all through the open door and down into a fast flowing stream. What followed was a round of yelling and screaming of terror and joy as they traveled for a while before they were spat out into a good sized spring. Everycreature picked themselves up out of the shallow water as the two Hive Spiders got out and shook themselves dry. Dragonfly moved his now loose hair out of his face and took a look to make sure they were all there, once he saw everycreature was there and fine, just soaked, he looked around the area to get his bearings. it was a clearing that held a gorgeous oasis: the carpet of grass was dotted with a whole rainbow of flowers. A small grotto housed a river source that fed into a pool a little down below and it was the holes the water flowed out of that they came from. All around them dozens of animals drinking and bathing in the water together. Rabbits, foxes, bears, even a cockatrice, all of then offered a moment of truce to enjoy it. They had been startled by the group's sudden appearance but after seeing that the newcomers weren't a threat the animals went back to what they were doing. "This is incredible..." Clover said in awe, the other agreeing as they climbed out onto the shore. A sudden movement caught their attention, then a giant purple serpent with orange mane and mustache surfaced from the deeper portions of the pool, frightening the group, who jumped in surprise and readied to defend themselves but were caught off guard when the creature suddenly spoke. “Oh, pardon me, I’m sorry I spooked you,” the serpent said politely. “I’m Steven Magnet the sea serpent, what’s your names?’ Dragonfly did a quick interdiction of the group, he told Steven how they had ended up here, leaving some parts like the Founders being frozen in stone and anything related to Chrysalis. After hearing the story the serpent invited them to relax in the spring for awhile, the group enjoying it quite happily. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Steven asked, diving into the water himself. “The river source flowing into here has incredible healing effects, wounded creatures from these woods come here all the time to heal and rest peacefully,” he explained. “They respect this place as a safe ground, so you don’t need to worry about predators.” As the group processed his words, they couldn't stop wondering why he was bathing in the pool. “Why are you here, then? Are you hurt?” Platinum asked. The serpent laughed. “Me? Oh no, darling. You see, these waters do wonders for my complexion! It’s not easy to keep these scales so shiny and gorgeous, you know?” Steven winked at the end, making Platinum and Clover giggle and the others just smile with a shake of their heads. After some time had passed the group said goodbye and when back to the Hive, entering and gathering in the Throne Room. "I must say Dragonfly, this is a pretty impressive place you have here." Platinum said as she looked around the room. "A bit on the plain side though." "We only set up a few mouths ago and things have been a bit busy so we haven't had the time to liven the place up yet." Dragonfly said. "And now we can have that party." Puddinghead said with a huge smile. "Did somepony say Party." An extra voice suddenly cut in behind Rhino, Darter and Spotter, the three of them nearly jumped out of their carapace and did not scream like fillies. Standing behind them was none other than Pinkie Pie. "PINKIE!!!" Spotter shouted. "That's me!" "How did you get in here?!" Darter asked. "And more importantly... how did you even know the Hive was here?!" Rhino demanded. "Well... *deep gasp* When Mrs. Sheen came to Ponyville to build the Hive she told me and made me Pinkie Promise not to tell anycreature about it and to keep an eye out and greet you when you finally came home. As for how I got down here I installed a slide in my Party Planning Cave that leads down here. *deep gasp*" Everycreature stared at her in silence for a few minutes, before Smart Cookie said, "And she said all that in one breath." Pinkie looked over towards the Founders, with a huge smile she jumped in front of them and started talking. "Oh my gosh are you new in Ponyville? Because you must be new in Ponyville because I know everypony in Ponyville and I've never seen you before. You don't look like you're from Ponyville. *GASP* That means you're new and I love meeting new Ponies! New Ponies are always interesting, and new and have so many new things to talk about. So hi my name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours? Wait you six look familiar." Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Puddinghead that answered. "HI Pinkie the reason we look familiar is because we are actually the six founders of Equestia." "*GASP* That's way, your Chancellor Puddinghead! How are you here? Are you time travelers?" "Actually we were frozen in stone for the last thousand years." As the two continued to talk Platinum's eyes widened than she shouted, "Oh dear Faust there's two of them!" Dragonfly, Hurricane, and the others started laughing at her reaction when suddenly a loud growl sounded through the room, startling everycreature. Another one sounded, shortly followed by a third. It was the third one that caused them to look at Hurricane who looked at his stomach, which let out a loud growl. The five Mares he had married giggled causing him to blush. "Even after a thousand years of sleep he still had as big of an appetite as he did before." Platinum said, only for her laugh to be cut off as her stomach released its own growl. In rapid succession the others' stomachs also started growl, which caused everycreature to start laughing. Pinkie, Puddinghead, and Smart Cookie make a large meal which they all happily enjoyed, after the party all of them retired for the night. Pinkie headed back home to Sugar Cube Corner, the Founders were given a room for the night, Hurricane bringing the Mares in for a little "cuddle time" while Dragonfly laid down on his bed. Mission: Everfree City Part two; Complete Main Objectives: Reach the remains of the City's Great Hall: Complete Dragonfly, Seeker, Rhino, Darter and Thorax must survive: Complete Find What Chrysalis is after; Complete ________________________ Time Limit before Chrysalis reaches the City: Two Hours: Complete Debriefing Dragonfly: I'm still having trouble believing that all this time the Founders of Equestria were frozen in stone, at least it was by their own choice and they were asleep for the entire time. We kept them out of Chrysalis's hooves which is a major victory for us, I talked to Hurricane during supper and he and the others agreed that saying hidden for now would be the best course of action as if she finds out she will come after them hard and we can endanger Ponyville and our Hive. The six have decided to stay with us in the Hive and help out. We will be going over the details tomorrow as today was quite enough for all of us. One another note; Pinkie Pie knows of our Hive, I guess she knew who I was went I first met her. Thankfully she knows the importance of keeping our Hive Hidden. Until next time. Dragonfly Wings, son of Empress Nebula Sheen and Royal Knight Black Saber. May the First Mother watch over you. (1) The Germanes don't like to talk about it, the only thing they will say is that it involved a powerful artifact, necromancy spells, and a madstallion's crazed vision with a last resort plan code-named "Plan Z". (2) Seeker forgetting to tell him about the whole egg laying was one of those times.