Ponyville
Cozy Rest
"If you don't mind me asking Dragonfly, why do you have that medal on your scarf?"
Dragonfly, Bluebelle, Blades, and Sparks were sitting at one of the tables enjoying the free tea (Dragonfly had told them that with the amount of bits he got from the grand reopening along with what he got during business hours offering the free tea wasn't a problem) and snacks. Sparks was the one who had asked the question, looking at said item. Dragonfly picked it and stared at it.
"It's my dad's, I don't know why he gave it to me, perhaps as something to keep him close. I really don't have an answer to that, I haven't seen him or my mother for three years."
Blue looked up after taking a sip of her mint tea. "Who was your father Dragonfly? I've seen the medal awarded enough times to know that one is a genuine one. I'm friends with many of the Royal Knights so I know what I'm talking about."
"You might know him then, his name's Black Saber."
Blue's, Blades' and Sparks' eyes widened in surprise. "Uncle Saber is your father?!" Blue said.
"Yes, from your reactions I guess you know him, and "Uncle Saber"?"
Blue giggled, "It's a nickname I have for several of the Royal Knights, due to how close I am to them I came to see them as family. We're not related in any way but they tend to think of me of a niece of sorts."
"It's also why Blue is left alone by the snobs," Sparks said, "none of the nobles dare cross some of them."
"How so?" Dragonfly asked.
"They only answer to Celestia, and only she can revoke their badges." Sparks said, Blades adding, "Which means they can to almost whatever they want and get away with it. The nobles can't do anything to them." Sparks laughed.
"And after what happened to that one noble to cheesed off Black Death, well... they know to keep their heads down."
"Do I what to know?"
Blue spoke, "It wasn't pretty, all I'm gonna say is that noble was hospitalized for a long time afterwards. Not that he wasn't asking for it, that noble was a total flankhole. Tried to blackmail my family and force me to marry his son." Blue snorted bitterly. "I'm not going to lie, I took a lot of pleasure in seeing that noble taken down a few pegs."
"Helped by the fact that the same noble had his title stripped after that." Blades added.
"Sounds like Black Death isn't one you would what as an enemy." Dragonfly said, "What does he look like?"
"He isn't, and you'll know when you see him. Just look for a giant of a Winged Thestral Stallion with an ink black coat, a broken fang, and a black gem over his left eye." Blades said.
Dragonfly nodded, making a note that if he ever met the Stallion to not become his enemy. The four of them continued to chat, learning more about each other. He had learned that Blades had been born in the Eastern Reaches and her parents still lived there while she had chosen to move to Equestria and become a guard after completed her Rite of Passage, the belt she wore over her chest being her item from that.
As they chatted Blue couldn't help but look over at Dragonfly, who was sitting next to her, and start admiring him. Blue wouldn't admit it out loud, but she had a thing for silver coats, and long tails. Both of which Dragonfly had, there was also his personally, his laughter at Sparks' jokes and his smile was beyond any doubt genuine, unlike the fake ones the nobles almost always had. Blue couldn't explain it, but she just felt some sort of connection to him. Dragonfly didn't notice as he was talking to Sparks but Blue was blushing up a storm, which both Sparks and Blades noticed.
Any further thoughts on the, to her, hot Stallion were cut off when she felt the call of nature.
"Ah, Dragonfly?"
"Yes Blue?"
"Where's the little Filly's room?"
"Just down that short hall there next to the counter."
"Thanks, I'll be right back."
Blue tore from her seat like her tail was on fire, down the hall Dragonfly had pointed out, and into the restroom. The other three sat there watching a bit surprised, Finally Dragonfly broke the silence.
"Guess she had to go real bad." Blades frowned a bit, while she could tell that the Unicorn Mare did have to go, she also knew something else was up from that blush on her face. She stood up.
"I'll go make sure she's alright."
Dragonfly raised an eyebrow at that but shrugged, thinking it was a Mare thing. Sparks waited until Blades enter the restroom before she turned her head about so see if they were alone and no one was in earshot, seeing that there wasn't she lowered both her head and voice.
"Dragonfly, the three of us know that you're a Changeling."
It was a good thing said disguised Changeling wasn't eating or drink because he would have choked or did a spit take. In its place he looked very surprised for a second, then slowly looked around himself, making sure they were alone. Once he was sure he also lowed his head and voice.
"How much do you know?" He asked, his tone serious.
"We know enough, we found out a few years ago."
Flashback
Five Years Ago
Bluebelle wasn't in a good mood, she had just finished a meeting with some of the nobles about her charity work. It... didn't go as well as she had hoped and would rather not talk about it. Indigo and Sparks were her guards at the time and were keeping their distance from the enraged princess, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her temper.
They had entered Celestia's personal chambers, the Alicorn in question was on her afternoon tea break so it wasn't a problem, so Blue could snuggle into Celestia's mane and tail, something Blue would do when she needed to cool off, the feeling of the flowing hairs gently tickling her did wonders for Blue's mood. They had stopped after closing the door to find their Alicorn Princess laying down in front of another creature they had never seen before;
The creature, a female from her shape, was mainly covered in black chitin with a red stilted eyes, tall insect-like wings that were also red, and a shiny metallic silver with a short spike in the center. The real eye catchers were her very long mane and tail; they were a mix of red, gold, blue and silver, flowing like waterfalls over her shoulders and the floor. The pattern was like that of Celestria's own mane only it didn't wave like her's did.
The five of them stood there, unsure of how to react to this, then Blue...
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
One moment she was next to Indigo and Sparks the next she was next to the new Mare rolling in her mane and tail like a cat in the middle of a catnip high.
"Oh sweet Faust I love your hair! It's so soft and feels so good!"
Blue stopped hearing laughter, she looked up to see Sparks on the floor laughing her lungs out, the normally shy Indigo trying to maintain his stance but his shaking sides said he was trying to hold back his own laughter, Celestia was snickering behind a hoof, and the creature had a look that was a mix of surprise, holding back her own laughter, and motherly affection. Blue looked at the creature and gave a sheepish smile, a "Squee" sounding off.
The creature finally let out her laugh. "Of all the reactions I thought would happen, that wasn't one of them."
Celestia took in a breath, "Blue does that with me when she needs to cool off after meetings with the nobles, though even I wasn't expecting that." She cleared her throat. "Bluebelle dear this is Empress Nebula Sheen, she's a creature called a Changeling."
Blue's, Indigo's, and Sparks' ears perked. "Changeling?" Blue asked.
Nebula smiled and a green flame covered her for a second, when it cleared the three found themselves looking at an exact replica of Bluebelle, just bigger. The flame appeared again first into Sparks, then Indigo, then finally Celestria before Nebula went back to her natural form. The three stared in amazement.
"That's why we're called Changelings." She said with a smile. A sixth laugh suddenly sound throughout the room.
"Just one of the reasons I married her." A Thestral Stallion with an ash gray coat, bright yellow eyes and dark blue webbed mane, tail and wings emerged from a darkened corner of the room. His cutie-mark was a pair of midnight black crossed sabers and he wore heavily customized Night Guard armor.
"UNCLE SABER!!"
"OOOHFF!"
Blue jumped up and rammed into the Thestral, wrapping her forelegs around his neck in a tight hug which he happily returned.
"Great to see you too Little Flower."
"Saber and Nebula told us everything, from the Civil War to you to why you would want to keep the fact that you were a Changeling hidden." Sparks finished explaining to a rather shocked Dragonfly. He stared for a few seconds, then faceplanted into the table.
"I Knew there was something fishy about that visit, just the Princess of Equestria stopping by for a random visit, I just knew it."
Lifting his head up with a sigh he asked, "How many know?"
"Besides the three of us and Celestia; most of the Royal Knights, Blue's parents, Fancy Pants, and the rest of out friends. All of us understand the need for you staying hidden and have all agreed to keep it secret."
Dragonfly took this in for a minute, and let out another sigh.
"At least it's only a few and they're trustworthy." A ring suddenly sounded, startling the two.
"Oh, time for me to open the shop for the morning rush." Dragonfly stood up.
"Go ahead Dragonfly, I'm going to see what Blue and Blades are up to." Sparks said as she stood up.
At the Same Time
Bluebelle finished her trip, washed her hooves, and was now splashing her face with cold water trying to cool the hot blush on her face. She stopped when she saw Blades behind her through the wall-mounted mirror.
"What is wrong Blue? you're acting rather... odd right now."
"I know Blades, I have no idea what's going on. I just... I just feel something for Dragonfly. But I don't know what."
"I do." Blades walked over and sat down next to Blue, laying a wing over her back. Blue leaned into Blades' side, letting the wing cover her. "You're in love."
Blue looked at her in surprise, "I am?" Blades nodded slowly.
"You are, I saw the way you were looking at him Blue, checking him out. Those were looks of attraction. Either me or Sparks have ever seen you do that with any other Stallion.
"But I've only met him today, how could I be attracted to him so soon?"
"Love works in mysterious ways Blue so I can't really answer that, but I think it might be due too these factors: One, he is the first Stallion besides the Royal Knights, Fancy Pants, Nightlight Sparkle, and our dear Indigo, to treat you like another Pony, even after he found out that you're a Princess."
"Honorarily."
"Same rain, different cloud. The point is that he didn't panic or start bowing before you. He just treated you the same way we treat you, and Changeling in disguise or not, I could tell he was being genuine with you."
Blades took her wing off and shifted so she and Blue were facing each other.
"Two, you have a thing for silver coats and long tails, both of which he has. Don't deny it Blue, I saw the way you were looking at him. And three, from the blush you had you think he's hot."
Blue sighed as she looked at the floor.
"You see right through me Blades."
"Blue, we've known each other for years, and Kirin are just that good at reading others. Besides, Dragonfly was checking you out too."
Blue looked at her in surprise. "He was?" Blades nodded.
"He looks were only glances unlike your full stares, like seriously, he actually caught you checking him out at one point and blushed himself."
"When was that?"
"You were lost in your own world for awhile Blue, right up until you ran to the restroom. But back on point, I think he's attracted to you as much as you are to him."
"Are you sure Blades, what if something goes wrong? What if-" Blue was cut off when Blades pressed her tail tip against Blue's mouth, the hair tickling her nose.
"Blue, relax, breath." Blades held her hand to her chest and moved it slowly out. "Like Cadance showed us."
Blue did so and relaxed after Blades moved her tail away.
"I'm just scared Blades, I've never felt like this before so I have no idea what to do."
Blades placed her hands on Blue's shoulders.
"I'm not saying you have to marry him right now Blue, not even saying date him right away either. What I'm saying is take it slow, get to know him. You can't deny that you're attracted to him Blue, and I know he's attracted to you, so just give it a chance, you're not going to find another Stallion like that in a long time Blue so you can't just let it slip by. Changeling or not I can tell Dragonfly's one of those very rare gems in the deepest parts of the cave."
"Kirin saying?"
"Yep, and another thing," Blades' mouth turned into a teasing smile. "if he blushes like he did when you stared at him, I wonder how'll he'll react to you in your red two-piece swimsuit."
"BLADES!!!"
Blue slugged the Pegasus/Kirin Hybrid in the shoulder, said Pony laughing at Blue's embarrassment. The Unicorn soon stopped glaring at her laughing friend before she let out a sigh.
"Your right Blades, I'll talk with him later about this and see where it goes."
Blades calmed down and said, "That's all I'm asking Blue, who knows... Dragonfly could very well be your soulmate."
A third voice spoke from the doorway, "I do agree with Blades but I think it's time for you two to come out now, you've been in here for fifteen minutes and the morning rush has started."
The two turned to see Sparks standing there looking back.
"Sorry about that Sparks, just making sure Blue was okay."
"I know Blades, come on let's move."
After the morning rush
Dragonfly wiped the sweat off his brow, glad for the rush to be over, he had always hated the morning rush.
'Maybe I should hire some of the Drones to help run the shop, would take some of the pressure off and keep the place open if I'm not here for whatever reason.'
He filed that away for later, focusing on his next thing, which was his attraction to Bluebelle. He knew he only just met her today but he felt... he didn't know how to describe it. Dragonfly was familiar with the concept of "soulmates", where two individuals just clicked together and lived happily with each other for the rest of their lives. He didn't doubt the idea, after all, his parents were soulmates despite being a Changeling Queen and a Thestral Royal Knight.
'I need to talk to her about how she was staring at me, let her know I'm willing to try. Who knows, she might be my soulmate.'
Blue and her friends sat at a table off to the side, watch the chaos die down. Sparks couldn't help but think, 'And I thought Inspection Day was crazy. I wonder what holidays will be like here.'
It was sometime after things had calmed down that Blue's parents entered and talked with Dragonfly about setting up a few deals, spending a few hours (pausing so Dragonfly could serve customers) going over the details and making sure everything would go smoothly. Blue's parents had tried some of his tea and said that while not as good as Nebula's was quite close so it was no problem. Gold Bar said they would be in town for a few days on vacation before they needed to head back to Canterlot. They were just leaving when Dragonfly approached Blue.
"Blue," Said Mare turned to him, "I... feel something towards you, I know we just met today but, I don't know how to explain it." He said rubbing the back of his head. Blue however knew what he was trying to say.
"You feel a connection to me?" He nodded slowly, Blue let out a small sigh. "Truth be told, I feel a similar thing to you Dragonfly."
He was surprised at that but spoke. "Well I know we just met so how about we take it slow, start off as friends and work our way from there. Sound good?"
Blue smiled, "Yea, that'll work fine." The two of them smiled softly at each other before their gazes shied away with blushes on their faces. Blades and Sparks smiled and winked at each other while Blue's parent's watched, Gold had a firm look on his face and opened his mouth, only to let out a yelp of surprise and pain when his ears were encased in blue magic, courtesy of BD who then dragged her yelping husband out the door by his ears. The others watched this with giggles.
'Mom, she wants her grandfoals and she ain't letting dad try to intimidate Dragonfly because she wants her grandfoals darn it.' Blue though with a smile, while it was still way too early for that, she wondered about that outcome for a brief moment.
The following few days passed by far more quickly and before they knew it it was time to return. Blue was a bit upset for their vacation to be over but she knew they had to return to Canterlot.
'And just when we were having fun.'
Blue and Dragonfly had gotten to better know each other over that time, she hadn't been to the hive yet but he promised to take her there next time she visited. Dragonfly also started calling her Belle, which after a moment of thinking, Blue decided she like the name and only he would be allowed to call her that.
As for Dragonfly, his Hive and the Founders lightly teased him but also encouraged him about this growing relationship. Hurricane had said "What til you "sleep" with her, you'll enjoy it." He ended up on the receiving end of a barrage of items from the five Mares he married for that remark, though his smirk said he took it in stride.
Several Days Later
Dragonfly Hive
Seeker lead Dragonfly into the latter's Personal Archives and to the holotable.
"Now Dragonfly, time to show you how the Hive customization options work, step up to the holotable and tap the projection sphere."
Dragonfly did so and sat down as Seeker sat off to the side, after tapping the sphere he watched as the holographic Hive grew in size and a number of different option icons appeared, most of them were grayed out with a lock in the center but seven were highlighted; the Throne Room's Alcoves, Banners, his Bed, Lights, Statures, Rugs and Curtains, and his Throne. He looked over at Seeker, who started explaining.
"Many different parts of the Hive can have their appearance changed based on what you want, along with other parts like defenses. Most of the options are locked right now and I'm afraid I don't know how to unlock them, Nebula only managed to teach me a small bit of this part before we had to leave. As for the Highlighted icons, each time a new option is unlocked its icon lights up to let you know and it will stay that way until you tap it to select it. Go ahead and try it."
Dragonfly looked over the options for a minute than tapped the Banners icon, it up-sized itself until it covered the other icons. At the moment it only show one option which was from Platinum, the banners were styled just like the ones in the Everfree City and Castle of the Two Sisters, just intact and brand new and they were red, silver, and black with what looked like a Changeling Royal rearing up towards the bottom. Dragonfly tap it as it was the only option right now.
Down below in the Throne Room the once empty banner poles had the rolled up banners appear which then unrolled to their full length, waving a little from the force. Back in Dragonfly's Personal Archives he tapped out of the hologram and turned back to Seeker.
"That's it for this one I take it?"
"Yes, I do wish I knew more about this one but I don't. So let's just move to the next thing."
The two of them walked around the outer balcony and into the Magic Room where Dragonfly stood in front of the large crystal while Seeker stood on the walkway behind the crystal.
"Now that you have leveled up a new level of abilities has unlocked, the abilities are as follows; Chain Beam, which allows you to fire a beam from your horn that chains from it to up to four other targets, though the damage is lower for those four. The Stun Blast, this ability is an Area-of-Effect blast released from your horn that deals minor damage to enemies and stuns them for ten seconds. The final one is Magic Sprint, this allows you to dash forward, dealing heavy damage to any enemies in your path, it can also be used to dodge attacks and reposition if you need to."
Dragonfly nodded, looking over his unlock abilities. He decided to stick with the Leaping Wing Strike for now and selected the Stun Blast. Seeker continued after he was done.
"Besides what I told you before, this crystal also allows you to see the abilities of your Commanders. As I said in the Everfree we usually each will pick which abilities we have active but this crystal allows you to take a look and chose for us if you want to. As I said at the moment we only have one level and like you as we gain more experience we eventually "level up", which unlocks the next level of abilities.
Besides Dome Shield I also have Point Defense Beetle, where I summon a flying beetle that intercepts ranged attacks like arrows, crossbow bolts and even spells. However it has no effect on melee attacks. And Stun Shockwave, which allows me to release magic that reduces enemy energy normal used for their own abilities by a great amount and stuns them for five seconds, be warned however this can also effect allies if used carelessly.
For Rhino; besides Blast Sphere Barrage he has Hyper E-Energy Stimpack which is similar to the Soldier's E-Energy Stimpack but without the harmful side effects. Only he can use this and he also can't produce it for Soldiers due to how expensive it is, and Kinetic Gel which boosts his durability by 25%.
For Darter: besides Mark Target he has Blast Charge which equips him with disk-shaped gel pucks an inch thick that act like explosives, dealing some damage and knocking enemies in the blast radius back. And Wing Boost which increases his already considerable speed even more.
And for Spotter: besides Hide Allies he has Sensor Antenna which allows him to expose enemy movements within a great radius around him, adding onto his normal abilities as a Scout Commander. And Scanner Pulse which allows him to reveal hidden enemies within a ten meter radius around him."
Dragonfly nodded in understanding when Rhino spoke to him through the Hivemind.
"Dragonfly, Hurricane and I have the Soldier Variant Mission ready for you."
"Understood Rhino, I'm on my way."
Dragonfly and Seeker walked out of the Magic Room and Private Quarters, going their separate ways as the former when towards the Hive Chambers while the latter headed down to the Throne Room. Dragonfly entered the Hive Chambers to find Rhino and Hurricane standing in the center as usual with two new Soldier variants on twin platforms in front of the dais, both closely resembled their normal counterpart but several new features stood out;
The one on the left was a normal Soldier with an skeleton-like attachment implanted on their armor while the one on the right had different armor that bore a passing resemblance to Changeling Juggernauts with six smaller "eyes" placed above the helmet's eyepieces, thicker armor with heavy plating all over with a large silver backplate that covered with wings, and a long multi-segmented lizard-like tail that covered their own. Dragonfly spotted an extension on their shoulders that had a folding arm mounted on it.
Rhino and Hurricane looked up from the Hive Breed Interface and smiled seeing Dragonfly enter.
"So Dragonfly, ready for your first Variant Mission?" Rhino asked.
"Indeed I am, what have you two got for me?"
Hurricane spoke next, "The left one is the "Combat Rig(1) Soldier" and the one on the right is the "Plated Soldier". Pansy is already on the field with some of the two variants awaiting orders."
"Then let's get started." Dragonfly said with a smile and walked up to the Interface, noticing the new button that said "Variant Mission" and tapped it.
Soldier Variant Mission
Location: Everfree Forest
_________________________________
First Test: Combat Rig Soldier
Second Test: Plated Soldier
__________________________________
Briefing
Rhino: Okay Dragonfly since this is your first Variant Mission I'll walk you through it. You watch and guide your units from here as they show what they can do and their abilities, keep in mind that as they are variants of the Soldier Breed they still benefit from their upgrades and can still use their traits. Pansy has taken a few squads of both variants with a few Healers into the Everfree where we think will be the best spots to test them.
Dragonfly: Quick Question, how are we seeing what is happening?
Rhino: Scouts, they are connected to the Interface, allowing us to see what we see. As the Royal of the Hive you are able to use this and the Hivemind to direct them during the mission. First up are the Combat Rig Soldiers, their objective is to take out a pack of Timber Wolves that have been causing problems for Sweet Apple Acres for the past week.
Dragonfly watched as the screen changed to show the eye view of a Scout overlooking a decent sized pack of fifteen Timber Wolves; one Brute, 2 Rangers, and 12 Regular.
Rhino: This pack has been raiding the apple farm for the past week, stealing apples, scaring livestuck, and just casing general havoc, we've dispatched some of our new Combat Rig Soldiers to deal with them.
The view switched again to show two squads of ten Combat Rig Soldiers followed by two squads of ten Healers enter the area.
Dragonfly: Alright, let's see what they can do.
Dragonfly pressed the tip of his hoof against the screen and dragged it along, forming a box that selected the two CRS squards. once that was done he send them forward, having the Healer squads following behind at a close distance. The Changelings ran into a small group of several Timber Wolves which the two CRS squads attacked.
As Dragonfly watched the first few leaped into the air and landed on the front few wolves, crushing their heads under the Soldier's hooves. The CR Soldiers than jumped up again to avoid the incoming wolves.
Rhino: The Combat Rig Soldiers' armor attachment increases their physical abilities, boosting their movement and attack speed by 25%, the attachment is also equipped with numerous abilities, allowing for various tactical attacks as well as strategical superiority.
The abilities are as follows;
Stim: Temporarily boosts the Soldiers' health by 15%, allowing for a higher chance of survival as well as quick recovery.
Overclock: Increases sprint speed by 10% for a brief period.
Shield: Deploys a hoof-mounted shield that blocks enemy attacks, granting 10% armor and defense and -3% speed as long as it is active.
And Mute: Makes the player completely silent and works for about ten seconds.
The Changelings moved on, soon reaching the main pack. Six of the CR Soldiers pointed their hooves at the Brute and launched some sort of cable from their forelegs that latched onto the surprised Timber Wolf's face and pulled themselves onto it, launch themselves past the rest of the pack.
Rhino: The CR Soldiers also have Grappling Hooks installed on their forelegs, allowing them more options for movement in the field and they can use them to either pull themselves into to out of a fight and do the same for allies.
It wasn't long before the wolf pack was destroyed, the Changelings looking none the worse for the wear.
Applejack will be very happy to know that this pack wouldn't be raiding their farm again(2), now for the next variant, Hurricane will take it from here for this one.
The screen changed to overlook a squad of ten Plated Soldiers with a squad of five Healers.
Hurricane: According to the reports the Scouts have detected a large pack of Timber Wolves massing a little too close to Ponyville, they believe the pack might be getting ready to launch an assault on the town. We well not allow this to happen so we have sent a squad of our new Plated Soldiers supported by a squad of Healers to deal with the pack.
Dragonfly selected the two squads and send them forward, it didn't take long for them to encounter the large pack of around forty wolves. The wolves attacked right away as the Healers took to the air, there were no Rangers so they would be out of reach, as the Plated Soldiers met the charge. as the battle raged the Plated Soldiers tanked hit after hit as they took down wolf after wolf.
Hurricane: Rhino and I put all we have on our current armor upgrades and such into the armor the Plated Soldiers wear, which gives them a whooping +90% Armor and Defense with +60% Magic Defense, with the Shield Kit installed all of this makes the Plated Soldiers very tough nuts to crack but their speed is lowered by -15% They also have their own special weapons mounted on their shoulder slots along with their standard Soldier weapons (the special weapons aren't ready yet so the current squad doesn't have them), the special weapons are as follows;
Rail Crossbow: A limbless crossbow-like weapon that uses magically-charged "rails" to launch a hardened Chitin spike at incredible speeds, deals very high single-target damage and is long ranged but has a slow rate-of-fire and deals no splash damage.
Magic Beam Cannon: A large and powerful magic beam canon-type weapon that tracks enemies, drains enemy armor, defense, and magic defense quickly but can only focus on one target at a time and only has a limited charge before it shuts down to recharge.
And Charged Bolt Launcher: Fires volatile magic Bolts that explode for extreme splash damage but only has three shots before it must recharge which takes a short while.
The Plated Soldiers barely suffered any damage as they continued to take the large pack down, soon finishing the pack off with one of the Plated Soldiers crushing the Alpha Wolf's seed heart.
Hurricane: Tests are complete and Ponyville is safe, now Dragonfly time for you to chose which one you want.
Soldier Variant Mission: Complete
Location: Everfree Forest
_________________________________
First Test: Combat Rig Soldier: Complete
Second Test: Plated Soldier: Complete
__________________________________
Dragonfly moved away from the Interface and looked at the waiting Soldier variants, Rhino speaking up.
"Now remember Dragonfly, for the time being we can only chose one, the other will be stored for after we get a Geneweaver so chose carefully."
Dragonfly nodded and placed his hoof on his chin in thought as he looked over the two variants.
(1) I was going to call them Exoskeletons but because Changelings are insect-like it would likely cause some confusion. Besides, Combat Rigs sounds more awesome.
(2) The Apple family would find the Brute's seed heart on their step the next morning with a list of what they could use it for and a note that the threat was taken care of.