//------------------------------//
// Part 2: The Stowaway 
// Story: Fool's Gold 
// by Cardinal Dan Productions 
//------------------------------//

“M-M-Maaaaa… Mamaaaaa!”

The cry of a changeling foal shattered the once quiet and peaceful night. Amethyst rolled over in her bed, tossing and turning.

“Maaaaamaaaaa!”

The cry sounded distant at first, but as the guard awoke from what once was a pretty heavy sleep, she realized that the cry was actually much, much closer. “Oooooh…” She groaned aloud as she sat up in her bed. “Not again…”

The warmth of her bed… The comfort of her sheets… The softness of her pillows… Amethyst didn't want to leave it all behind, especially not at two o'clock in the morning. “Just one night, Pyrite… Just one… Can't mommy have just one full night of sleep?”

For this, Amethyst was especially thankful Princess Twilight suggested that she be promoted in order to have her own ‘officer’s quarters’. The rest of the guards in the mare’s bunk room wouldn't have been able to put up with Pyrite’s crying.

Pyrite shrieked at the top of her little changeling lungs. “Mamaaaaa! Maaaaa!”

Amethyst slid out of her bed and dragged herself over to the crib in the corner of the room. “I'm coming, sweetie… Mommy’s coming…”

When She approached the crib, Pyrite was cowering in the corner with her hooves tucked underneath her body. “Mamaaaaa!”

She cried out into the night, looking around the room for Amethyst. When the little changeling spotted Amethyst looming over her crib, she leaped to her hooves and began desperately trying to climb the bars holding her inside in an attempt to reach the Royal Guard. “Ma-Maaaaama!”

Amethyst cracked a weak smiled as she lowered the gate. Using the magic from her horn, she lifted Pyrite out of the crib, and she held the foal against her chest. “It's alright, sweetie… Mommy’s here… It's alright… Mommy’s here now… Shhhhh…”

Even though she had been taking care of Pyrite for a week, Amethyst still had little heading of what to actually do in a situation like the one she was currently in. The idea she had in her mind was very general. Amethyst had once seen pictures in a magazine of mares holding their foals, and that was the end of her maternal experience, but she was learning. Although a maternal know-how eluded her, Amethyst had developed a keen ear for the different cries Pyrite would sound to alert her that something was wrong.

The baby changeling had a certain cry for almost every contingency. The cry she sounded now was neither hunger nor a need to ‘go’. This cry had a bit of a sad whimper in the mix. Pyrite was lonely and in desperate need of Amethyst’s undivided attention.

“Mmmmm…” Amethyst moaned softly as she hugged the little changeling tightly against her chest. “You just wanted your mommy? Is that all?”

The crying softened and faded until the room was filled with silence once more. Not wanting to risk another fit in the middle of the night, Amethyst decided that Pyrite would spend what was left of the night sleeping with her, and she carried the changeling back to her own bed. Nestled under the sheets, Amethyst tucked Pyrite under her hooves and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I'll always be here when you need me, Pyrite… Count on it…”

Pyrite purred softly as she snuggled against the guard’s body. Amethyst smiled as her eyes began to close. Within the short span of just a few moments, Pyrite was fast asleep, snuggled tightly against Amethyst’s beating chest.

“Good night, Pyrite…”


***


The next morning, Amethyst shivered as she opened her eyes. Her covers were gone, and she was spooning her pillow. Still tired and very groggy after only just waking up, Amethyst reached around the surface of the bed. “Pyrite… Come here, sweetie…” But the little changeling didn't come, and Amethyst’s hoof was met with cold sheets.

Amethyst sat upright. “Pyrite?” Her bed was empty, and there was no changeling sight. “Pyrite.” Her voice came out stern and commanding. “Come on out, Pyrite. I'm not in the mood for your little games this time.”

Amethyst slid off of her bed and walked over to the crib in the corner. It was clearly void of any baby changelings, but she did have a secret weapon, a way to draw the little trickster out of her ambush position. Amethyst reached into a bag hanging on the side of the crib with her magic. She pushed aside Pyrite’s toys until she found what she was looking for.

“Aha…” Amethyst grinned as she revealed a small, transparent bag of standard field rations. “She can't resist these…”

The guard dropped a single ration cube onto the floor, right in the center of the room. She waited for several seconds, but the changeling didn't come running. “Hmm… Maybe if I drop a few more…”

Amethyst did just that and left two more ration cubes next to the first one. Then, she retreated to her bed. The moment she sat down, Pyrite bolted out from underneath the bed and ran straight for the field rations. Moments later, the rations were gone, and Pyrite was sniffing the floor, licking her lips and looking for any more loose ration cubes. She was caught completely off guard when a purple cloud of magic engulfed her and lifted her into the air.

“Gotcha!” Amethyst chuckled as she levitated the struggling changeling towards the bed before dropping her onto the mattress.

Pyrite immediately jumped to her hooves and charged at the guard. Amethyst laughed as she leaped into her hooves, ‘attacking’ her in the most lovingly adorable way. Using her magic once more, the guard lifted Pyrite into the air and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “I love you so much…”

She giggled gleefully and nuzzled the guard’s snout, obviously enjoying their game. The loving adoration was cut short when Amethyst set Pyrite back down on the bed. “I'm sorry, sweetie. I need to get my armor on. It's almost time for morning drills.” Pyrite gave Amethyst a sad look that broke her heart. “No… Not the face… Please, Pyrite. I need to get ready. I don't have time to play right now.”

Amethyst had to be strong.

She couldn't let Pyrite’s stubborn pouting keep her from doing her job. “Amber will be coming by soon to take you to the commissary for breakfast.”

As if it were rehearsed a thousand times, several knocks pounded on the door. She was on time. “Sergeant Amethyst, Amber reporting.”

Amethyst made a swift, downward motion with her hoof to Pyrite, silently telling her to stay put. She then reached for the door with her magic and opened it for Amber, who wore an unsettlingly cheerful grin for the early hours of the day. “Goooooooooood morning, sergeant.”

Amethyst cracked an uplifting smile and chuckled. “Amber, please… We’ve been over this before. Just ‘Amethyst’ will do.”

She had always felt she shared a special bond with Amber. Despite her higher rank, she always felt she could approach Amber as a friend, rather than an officer. Amber laughed nervously before quickly shaking her head. “With all due respect, ma'am, Sergeant Onyx is standing right behind me.”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow as she looked past Amber and into the corridor. Sure enough, Onyx was standing behind her, fully dressed in armor and ready to tackle the day.

“Good morning, sergeant.” The gruff officer’s voice was a lot softer than it normally was.

It could have been the fact that it was six o'clock in the morning, but Amethyst had noticed a general increase in his attitude towards her ever since the events in the Frozen North. Amethyst gave him a warm smile before nodding her head.

“Good morning to you too, sergeant…”

Now, she understood Amber’s nervousness before. It was proper guard etiquette to address officers by their full title in the presence of other officers, especially a hardened veteran like Onyx. She offered Onyx a short bow before turning her attention back to Amber. “Are you here to-”

Amber answered before Amethyst could finish her question. “Yes ma'am. I'll take Pyrite right away.”

Amber knelt and extended a friendly hoof to the changeling. “Hey there, little thing…”

Pyrite looked at the hoof in front of her and sniffed it out of caution and curiosity. Amethyst let out a frustrated sigh before pushing her forward, towards Amber. “No, Pyrite, she doesn't have rations. Amber is taking you to get some real food. Now, get going.”

Pyrite shot Amethyst a glare, but she kept her protest silent. Just as she was nearing the door with Amber, Amethyst stopped them. “Don't forget to change, sweetie.”

Pyrite let out a soft sigh, but she complied. Green flames engulfed her from her hooves to the tip of her horn. When the flames subsided, a little version of Amethyst stood where the changeling once was. Happy with Pyrite’s work, Amethyst ruffled her mane, extracting a weak smile from her. “That's my girl… Take good care of her, Amber.”

The younger guard beamed at her. “Don't I always?”

Amber did, in fact. She was a great ‘nanny’ for Pyrite when Amethys was unavailable. She volunteered, being the friend she was. When no pony else offered to help Amethyst raise Pyrite, Amber leaped at the opportunity to help. “Come, little one.”

Pyrite bounded after the guard, stopping briefly at the door to look back at Amethyst, who smiled and waved her away. Then, Pyrite disappeared into the corridor after Amber.

When they were both gone, Onyx turned to Amethyst and offered her a soft smile. “You have ten minutes to get dressed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us, sergeant, so hop to it.”


***


By the time Onyx and Amethyst arrived, the practice fields were already brimming with activity. Guards of all types and ranks littered the training area.

The unicorn divisions worked separately from the earth ponies, firing bolts of magic at stationary targets across the field. The pegasus forces took to the skies, dodging and weaving through clouds and other obstacles. Lastly, but certainly not any less important, the earth guards formed sparring matches, facing against each other in brutal hoof combat.

As Amethyst followed Onyx to the unicorns’ training area, he noticed a slight limp in his partner’s step. “Something wrong, Amethyst?”

Amethyst quickly shook her head as she adjusted her saddle pack. “N-N-No… Not really… It must be the heat… My pack is really weighing me down…”

She readjusted the saddlepack again and again until she got a slightly more comfortable fit. Even still, the pack felt much heavier than it had before she left the barracks. Onyx didn't have anything else to say, no words of comfort or encouragement, so he let the subject fade.

As they neared the training area, several familiar faces came into view, one being Prince Armor himself. “Ah… Good morning, you two.”

Amethyst frowned slightly. Shining’s greeting was a simple one, but it lack a sincerity that was noticeable by most ponies, like he was saying it simply for the sake of outwardly appearing friendly to her when he clearly didn't want to be.

Onyx replied to Shining in his usual ‘drill’ voice. “Good morning, sir.”

Amethyst stood behind Onyx and watched him perform. Still being very new to the position of ‘sergeant’, she found it insightful to watch an experienced officer like Onyx, but as his conversation with Shining seemed to drone on, Amethyst found her gaze shifting elsewhere. Her eyes finally fell onto the lines of unicorns ready for their morning training sessions. Most of them smiled at her, but there were several that gave Amethyst cold looks, which the officer found very unsettling.

It was no wonder why they disliked her. Amethyst just wished they could accept Pyrite the way she did. The longer she thought about them, the guards like Silvershield that hated her and her changeling daughter, the angrier she got, and the beast inside of her began to swell.

“What about you, Sergeant Amethyst?”

Amethyst’s anger subsided in an instant, and she became aware that she had been included in the conversation between Shining and Onyx. “Wh-What?”

Several snickers were heard coming from the unicorns watching her. Onyx shot them a mean glare, silencing them, but Shining kept his eyes in Amethyst. “Onyx and I were just talking about last week’s Wonderbolt air show. Didn't you see it?”

It was obvious what Shining was doing. He still didn't support her raising Pyrite even though his little sister bullied him into submission. Shining couldn't go back on his word, Twilight wouldn't allow it, but that didn't stop him from giving Amethyst a hard time.

“No, sir…” Amethyst answered him with exhaustion riding on the breath of her voice. “I was taking care of Pyrite… She got sick after I accidentally fed her old milk…” It was an honest mistake, and Amethyst would have liked to have watched the show with Onyx and Amber, but her little changeling came first.

Shining opened his mouth again as though he was about to comment, but Onyx stepped in between them. “Sir, perhaps we could discuss the show another time. It's time to form practice lines.”

Shining bit his lower lip, but he nodded his head, opting for Onyx to continue before backing down. Amethyst, feeling worse than ever, took her place by Onyx’s side in front of the unicorn guards. She knew not to let Shining or the other guards get to her, but that didn't stop the aching in her chest.

Onyx asserted his voice over the guards. “Line up! I want everypony in pairs for this next exercise. One of you will fill the role of markspony while the other spots the long-range targets.” He looked at Amethyst. “Anything to add, sergeant?”

Amethyst somberly shook her head. “No, not really…”

What else could she add that Onyx hadn't already made perfectly clear? Besides, her saddlepack was really weighing her down now, greatly limiting her ability to think rationally. It felt much heavier than it had before, particularly on her right side. Now, in addition to the hot sun beating down on her armored back, Amethyst wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Onyx faced the guards again. Now that they were in position, they could begin. Amethyst watched from a magical safety barrier that had been projected in front of her and Onyx as the guards began firing deadly bolts of magic at the targets across the field. Most of the first barrage of magic bolts missed. After a brief correction from the spotters, the marksponies took several more shots at the targets, bringing them all down. The targets were quickly reset for the guards to try again.

As the exercise seemed to crawl along, Amethyst’s eyes wondered. To her left, her eyes landed on Onyx. For a brief moment, it looked as though the sergeant was looking back at her, but his own gaze quickly shifted back to the training exercise. It was hard to tell behind his helmet, but Amethyst had seen a definite change in the stallion, ever since the icy cave in the frozen north. He had gotten… softer, it seemed.

Onyx had always been a hard officer, always pressing the ponies under his command to go far beyond their limits, but ever since Amethyst adopted Pyrite, he had lost his razor sharp edge. It was his attitude towards her and Pyrite that Amethyst noticed most of all. She had assumed she had some form of friendship with Onyx before, but now, she wondered if there might be a little more to her relationship with him... Unknowing to Amethyst, her lips curled into a smile as she teased the idea of Onyx asking her out on a date, maybe taking her to a nice restaurant, just the two of them. She was so mentally tied up in her fantasy that she didn't notice the sound of hooves thundering across the field, the sound of a pony running towards her.

“Amethyst!”

The officer turned at last in response to the calling of her name. It was Amber. When Amethyst recognized who the pony was, her heart plummeted and her muscles tensed.

Amber gasped as she neared Amethyst, completely out of breath. “She's… She's gone… Amethyst… I've look… everywhere…”

Onyx met Amethyst’s gaze with an equally worried look. “Pyrite’s missing?”

Amber quickly nodded her head as she broke into tears.

Amethyst placed a firm hoof on Amber’s chest. “Tell me exactly what happened. What happened, Amber?!”

Amber shook her head as she tried to trace her steps. “I… W-W-We… in the commissary… We were in the commissary… Pyrite was… Sh-She ate really fast, and… and then she was gone!”

This was unlike Pyrite. She would never run away unless she was truly afraid, like when Silvershield attacked her in the cave… Amethyst was on the verge of a panic attack.

She stomped her hooves nervously as she spun in circles. Pyrite was in danger, and she wasn't there to protect her. “Did… Did you check my room? Maybe she-”

“I looked there!” Amber cried in a hushed voice, not wanting to raise the attention of Shining. “I've looked all over the barracks and most of the palace. I can't find her anywhere.” Tears were streaming down Amber’s cheeks now.

Amethyst breathed heavily, heaving in and out. Her bag was feeling heavier by the second as she her heart thundered against her chest violently. She couldn't think straight with the heat of the sun beating her down, and the weight of her saddle pack wasn't helping…

Amethyst stopped. Her saddlepack…

She let out a long sigh before throwing her hooves around Amber. “It's alright… I think I know where she is…”

Amber watched with utter disbelief as Amethyst removed her saddle pack from her back. With a loud groan, Amethyst dropped the pack on the ground and opened the right side pocket.

“Mama!” Pyrite squealed with delight as her head poked out of the bag. The changeling had helped herself to Amethyst’s rations.

Amethyst glared at the stowaway. “Now, how did you get in there?”

Pyrite munched happily on a ration cube, completely ignoring her. Amethyst wanted to scold Pyrite immediately for terrifying both her and Amber, but she couldn't let Shining or any of the other guards see that she'd unknowingly brought her changeling to the practice field.

“Mama?”

Amethyst quickly closed tucked Pyrite away and closed the pack before putting it across her back once more. She then turned to Amber, who was still trying to dry the tears that had wetted her cheeks. “Amethyst, I'm so, so sorry I lost her…” Tears streamed down the sides of the guard’s snout. “I… I understand if you don't want me taking care of her again… I'm so sorry… I just thought-”

Amethyst raised a gentle hoof to Amber’s cheek, cutting her off. “Pyrite’s safe...” She had a glistening look in her eyes. “To me, that's all that matters. You did the right thing by coming to get me.”

Amber sniffled back her tears as she managed a weak, prideful grin. “Th-Thank you… Does this mean…”

Amethyst nodded her head and returned Amber’s smile. “Yes, you'll be the mare I call when I need a hoof with Pyrite.” At the sound of her name being spoken, Pyrite poked her little head out of the saddle pack before being hastily stuffed back inside by Amethyst. “I'll hold onto her until practice is over. Get some rest, Amber. You've earned it.”

Amber nodded her head slowly. “Thank you, ma'am…”

With nothing left to say, Amber turned around and began trudging her way across the field, back the way she came. Amethyst snarled at her saddlepack. “I'll deal with you later, you little trickster…”

Pyrite whimpered softly, poking her head out slightly, and Amethyst’s glare faded.

“She's only an infant, a carefree foal.” Onyx spoke softly, turning his head to look at the saddle pack. “You've left such a powerful impact on her that she feels you're the pony she wants to be with.”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at his last comment. By the way he spoke, she might have thought Pyrite wasn't who he was talking about. She pursed her lips and smiled at her changeling. Onyx was right. She couldn't stay angry forever. “Mommy’s not mad at you, sweetie… I'm just glad you're safe…”

She pushed Pyrite back into the pocket before turning her attention back to the training exercises. Again, she was quickly bored by the unicorns firing bolts of magic. Her gaze shifted, and her eyes fell to her left, on Onyx.

Even under his helmet, she could see his eyes darting in her direction before quickly returning to the field. Amethyst turned her eyes forward, and once again, she teased the idea of going on a date with Onyx. The idea quickly became a daydream, which burned into a lustful and sexual fantasy not all that far from reality.


***The Next Day***


A chilling silence brushed through the corridors of the barracks. Rows upon rows of bunks and lockers lay barren and without attention. Even the bunk rooms were empty. Every Royal Guard in the entire compound was out on the practice fields, training for any and every possible contingency.

Only Pyrite stayed behind.

With no pony around to watch over her, the little changeling ran through the vast corridors, laughing and cheering as she did. After being recently cleaned and waxed by the cleaning staff, the floor made an excellent training ground for the changeling foal.

Pyrite darted from room to room, exploring parts of the barracks that had been previously filled with guards, thus being strictly ‘off limits’ to her. No pony challenged Pyrite this time. How else would she entertain herself? After being banished from the practice fields the day before, Pyrite had been placed under house arrest by Captain Armor and Sergeant Onyx.

Now, Pyrite leaped from bunk to bunk, bouncing off of the mattresses and launching herself into the air so that she would land on the next bunk. From one bunk to the next, she continued to leap, crying out with glee. Preparing to jump again, Pyrite lost her hoofing and fell.

She hit the floor with a soft ‘thud’, bringing some of the bed sheets down on top of her. Being as small as she was, it took the young changeling several tough moments to find her way out of the mountain of sheets she had pulled on top of herself. Her head poked out of the top of the pile of sheets, and Pyrite took in a deep breath.

Her heart pounded in her chest furiously. Now more cautious of the beds, Pyrite stepped out of the pile of sheets and sulked towards the door. If her mother had seen her fall, she would have been furious. Pyrite hoped that Amethyst wouldn't see the mess she had made.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Pyrite saw a guard’s saddlepack leaning against a bunk. With her curiosity peaked, she turned wayward from the door and approached the pack. A guard must have left it behind by accident. It was certainly possible. The guards were rushed to practice every morning like clockwork.

Amethyst had been so rushed to reach the practice fields on time the day before that she had neglected to check her own saddlepack for her little changeling. Pyrite reached the abandoned pack, and her sharp senses instantly picked something up, something inside. It was a peculiar smell Pyrite was quite fond of, one that made her stomach growl with anticipation. There was only one word that could fit such an enticing description.

Rations.

Found in numerous quantities around the barracks and Pyrite’s favorite snack, the standardized field rations made for the perfect treat. Searching eagerly for the rations she smelled, Pyrite poked her head into one of the saddle pack’s many pockets. Looking deeper into the bag, the little changeling quickly fell inside.

It may have been a minor dent in her grand search, yes, but Pyrite had found what she had been looking for. Without any delay, she opened the bag containing the rations, and she began to help herself. As the minutes passed, the bag was emptied, and Pyrite fell into a happy heap, curled up inside the pocket of the saddle pack. Feeling sluggish and heavy after devouring the entire bag of rations, Pyrite made no attempt to leave the pack. Instead, her eyes began to close, and she quickly fell asleep.


***


The sun stood high in the afternoon sky as the practice fields were emptied for lunch. Dismissed in large groups, the guards fell back into the barracks, all eager to get to the commissary. The training that morning had been long and brutal.

Amethyst had worked up quite an appetite herself, but before she could even think about eating, she needed to check on her little charge.

She looked into her personal quarters. “Pyrite, sweetie… I'm back…” Not seeing the little changeling, Amethyst entered the room and dropped her saddle pack on her bed. “Pyrite?”

Onyx approached her from behind and removed his helmet. “Is something wrong, Amethyst?”

Amethyst pursed her lips as she continued to search the room. She ducked under her bed and scanned the area for any trace of her changeling. “I can't find Pyrite… Onyx, stay here in case she comes back. I'm going to look for her.”

Onyx nodded his head as he stepped into the room. “Should I get more guards to help you look?”

It was an innocent gesture and a helpful suggestion, but Amethyst promptly shook her head. “No, Onyx. That won't be necessary. I'm sure she's just playing one of her little games. There's no need to put the barracks on lockdown.”

Onyx smiled and respectfully nodded his head. “Of course, sergeant. Good hunting.” He turned to place his helmet on her bed and dropped his own saddlepack as well. “I'll find you, if she comes back.” Then, his smile faded, and the guard looked at his hooves nervously. “Perhaps… after Pyrite turns up, I mean… Would you like to join me in the commissary?”

Amethyst cocked her head. “Join… you? With the other officers, you mean?”

Onyx shook his head a let out a sigh. He found it to be increasingly difficult to make eye contact with the mare in front of him. “No, Sergeant Amethyst, not with the other officers… Just me…”

Amethyst’s heart pounded against her chest like a hammer. *He… He isn't really… He can't be serious…* She stood there, completely dumbfounded, and her jaw hung open, quivering slightly.

For a brief moment, Amethyst had completely forgotten about Pyrite. Onyx, on the other hoof, was looking more and more nervous by the silence between them. “Am-Amethyst?”

Amethyst shook herself back into reality. *He is!* Meeting Onyx’s gaze, she nodded her head. She had to maintain a level head… She didn't want Onyx seeing her so excited over something so seemingly little. “Yes… I'd love to join you…” She had a glassy look in her eyes, and she felt a buzzing feeling in her chest and hooves. “I’d really like that…”

Onyx’s face formed into a wide grin. All of the nervousness that was wrecking his body before had dissipated. “Great... I'll be sure to save you a seat, after we find Pyrite, of course.”

Amethyst was grinning herself. It wasn't exactly the ‘date’ she had imagined with the handsome stud, but it certainly was a giant leap in the right direction. “Who? Oh, Pyrite! Of course… Yes, I need to find her right away… Oh, Onyx… If you could find Amber, I think she may be able to help us. She's quite fond of Pyrite.”

Onyx responded with a short nod. With her priorities straightened out, Amethyst turned around and began making her way deeper into the barracks.


***


By the time Pyrite awoke, she had completely lost track of any sense of time she once had. The day no longer felt like morning, but she still felt sluggish after emptying the bag of ration. Now that she had eaten half her weight in field rations, Pyrite desired a something else, attention. More specifically, she craved the attention of her mother. “M-M-Ma? Mama?”

She struggled to find her way out of the saddlepack she had crawled into. Groaning and grunting, the little changeling managed to find her way back to the pocket, and spilled out onto the floor. She looked around her immediate surroundings, dazed and confused, hoping to see Amethyst, or any other familiar face, but there wasn't another pony in sight. Not knowing how to get back to the sergeant’s quarters, Pyrite dared not leave the saddle pack she sought refuge in. “Mama?”

She was answered only with silence. Feeling small, lost, and alone, Pyrite cowered next to the pack. “Mamaaaaaa!”

Her cries echoed through the empty bunk room. Pyrite cried and screamed for Amethyst, desperately hoping she would run to her aid, but no pony came. With no other options, Pyrite came to the conclusion that she had to venture out of the bunk room to find her mother. Amethyst might have been in trouble! Her mother needed her!

Closing her eyes and concentrating hard, she conjured up the outward appearance of a younger Amethyst. When the green flames subsided, she decided it was time to begin her search. Using the magic from her horn, Pyrite opened the door leading out of the bunk room and into the corridor, and a towering guard stood in her way.

Casting a long shadow into the room, Silvershield grinned maliciously as his eyes fell on the baby changeling. “Hello, little brat…” He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “You look lost…”

A wave of pure terror washed over Pyrite as she backed away from the advancing guard, causing her to shake uncontrollably. Silvershield could see her shaking, and he chuckled. “Ah, Pyrite… You should have listened to your mother when she told you not to wonder off…” His horn ignited, closing the lock on the door, and his sadistic laughter continued. “This must be my lucky day. I was beginning to think Amethyst would never let her guard down, and you just happen to walk right into a secluded space where I can finish you off, once and for all…”

Then, he lowered his horn, pointing it straight at her, and he discharged a bolt of deadly magic. The bolt of magic sailed across the room, heading straight for Pyrite.

In her state of fear and panic, she lost her ability to maintain the disguise, and her outer form melted away, revealing her changeling self. She cried out as she dodged the magic. It missed her narrowly, hitting a bed just to her left. The wooden leg holding the mattress up exploded into a shower of splinters that flew in every direction.

Then, Pyrite ran.

She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, all the way down the rows of beds to the far end of the bunk room. Silvershield was enjoying every minute of it, laughing to himself as he sauntered after her. “There's nowhere for you to hide, brat, and there's no pony to protect you!”

He lowered his horn again and fired another bolt of magic towards her. Pyrite looked over her shoulder as she ran, at the magic bearing down on her. The magic hit the floor just behind her, catching the tip of Pyrite’s tail. She cried out as she leaped into the air. Her little wings did her little good as she flipped over a bunk.

As she hit the floor again, the slippery surface caused her to lose her hoofing, and she spilled into a tumble. “Maaaaamaaaaa!”

She ran for a large pillow that had fallen from a bunk during the scuffle and cowered behind it. Silvershield was getting a more frustrated, now. His horn lit up again, and his eyes burned with a new lust for death. “Oh no… You're not calling for your mommy, brat! You've avoided this long enough!”

He fired another bolt of sparking energy towards her. The pillow erupted into a storm of feathers and smoking pieces of silk. The pillow had dispersed the deadly energy the magic carried, but she received the full force of the blast and flew across the room, hitting the opposite wall, hard.

Silvershield bared his teeth as he approached her. “You surprised me in the Frozen North, Azalea… I thought the snow would kill you for sure.” Using his horn, he lifted her motionless body into the air. “You were supposed to die with the rest of those traitors, but you just had to cling onto life, didn't you?”

Pyrite’s eyes fluttered open as a green flame ignited under Silvershield’s hooves. “Do you have any idea of how much trouble you've cause me and my queen?”

The guard had vanished completely, and a monster stood in his place. He grinned at her, showing off his sharp fangs. “Remember me, brat? Do you remember when I killed your precious caretaker, Phasmid? What did she tell you? What was her last request before I drove my horn through her throat?”

Pyrite couldn't bring herself to respond. She couldn't bring herself to do much of anything. Her vision blurred from the previous hit she had taken, and when she opened her mouth to cry, no sound came out. “She told you to run, Azalea… Phasmid told you to run as fast as you could, as far as you could, and what did you do?”

He brought her closer to his quivering jaw. “You hid in the snow, like the coward you are… How pathetic it is that you couldn't do the one thing that might have saved yourself.” He lowered her slowly towards his hungry mouth, savoring the moment. “You only prolonged the inevitable, and now, you will make a tasty treat…”

Pyrite looked lazily towards the door, too tired to make any attempt to get away. “Ma… Ma…”

The giant changeling chuckled softly. “Oh, don't worry about your precious mother. Once I'm through with you, I'll make sure to make her death as agonizing as possible. Maybe, I'll even save a little of her for my queen to feed on…”

At that he erupted into a fit of menacing laughter. His words bounced around in Pyrite’s head, echoing over and over again. She could see her, Amethyst, her smiling face. She could feel the warmth of Amethyst’s chest as she was held by her. “Ma… Maaaaa…”

She could taste the love Amethyst willingly gave her every single day. Her eyes opened wide, and she stared straight at the changeling and let out an ear-shattering scream.

“MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

He winced at the deafening screeching and dropped Pyrite, holding his hooves to his ears. Across the bunk room, the lock on the door jiggled, and somepony pounded on the door.

“What's going on in there?! Open up!”

More voices showed up.

“What's going on?”

“The door’s locked, sir!”

“Well, break it down!”

The changeling looked towards the door with a panicked look. He had no time to react as the door was blasted off of hits hinges by a unicorn’s magic. The door flew inward, hitting several bunks as it crashed on the floor. Several guards stormed into the room, including Onyx, and jaws hit the floor as their eyes fell on the changeling standing at the far end of the stallions’ bunk room.

The changeling quickly overcame his initial panic, and he turned to look at Pyrite’s still figure on the floor. “This isn't over, brat…”

Then, he vanished in a blinding flash of light.


***


Amethyst wasn't far behind when the alarms went off. She broke through the crowd the way Onyx had, and at the sight of Pyrite, her face broke into a huge grin. “My baby! Oh, Pyrite!”

She ran forward to Amber’s side to meet the elated changeling foal. Pyrite was just as thrilled to see her mother as Amethyst was to see her. “Mama! Mama!”

She cried out again and again until Amethyst lifted her off of Amber’s back and onto her own. The scene inside the stallions’ bunk room was chaotic. Beds and furniture had been smashed to pieces. Then, there was the little detail of seeing, in full view, a changeling amidst the destruction.

Prince Armor called for an immediate roll call. He wanted every Royal Guard in the barracks named and accounted for. Amethyst, Onyx, and Pyrite watched from Shining’s side as he conducted the search. It took almost an hour, but when the dust settled, he had concluded that Silvershield was missing.

Everypony else was where they needed to be.

Shining stormed into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. “How did this happen?” Amethyst and Onyx both flinched slightly at the sudden and loud ‘boom’. “I can't have changelings running around the barracks, Onyx.”

Pyrite looked up at him from Amethyst’s lap. “Ba… Thbbbbt!”

At that, Shining managed to crack a small smile that Amethyst almost didn't catch. “Besides you, little one. I know you didn't do all of that, Pyrite…” He let out a tired sigh as he sat down behind the desk that separated him from the sergeants. Shining’s horn began to glow, magically lowering the window blinds while locking the door simultaneously. “Everything that is said in here needs to stay between us. Am I clear, sergeants?”

They nodded their heads quickly. Shining looked towards the door one last time, making sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

At last, he spoke. “I don’t know how we could have been so blind not to realize we had a changeling disguised as a Royal Guard…”

Onyx and Amethyst exchanged quick glances. Pyrite could sense the high tensions between the three ponies. She looked back and forth between her mother and Onyx as the mare leaned forward in her chair. “You really think it's Silvershield?”

Shining shook his head. “No, Amethyst, I know it's Silvershield.”

Onyx spoke up. “He was a cadet with Amber. They joined the force together. You don’t think she’s with him, do you?”

Shining shook his head again and managed a weak smile. “No, of course not… I'm telling the two of you this, because I need your help in finding this changeling intruder.” He turned towards Amethyst. “I'm putting you on point, Sergeant Amethyst. You have more experience with changelings than anypony else here.” Amethyst felt her chest grow lighter. She had never been in such a position before, the leader of an assignment as important as this one. “I'm confident the two of you can do this quietly. If the changeling suspects you're after him, he may run, and we’ll never get another chance to capture him.”

Amethyst and Onyx stood up from their chairs. Holding onto Pyrite, the mare offered Shining a short bow. “We understand, sir.”

Shining gave them both a nod of approval. Then, he unlocked the door. “You're dismissed.”


***


When the sergeants exited the office, Celestia’s sun was already setting. The orange streaks of light covered the sky, signaling the fading of the day while casting long shadows in the corridor as they came through the windows. For the first time since the attack on the stallions’ bunk room, the reality that her daughter was almost killed fully set in. Her chest grew heavy at the thought. “Wh… Why would somepony go out of their way to do something so heartless?”

Onyx turned to look at her and cocked his head. Amethyst could tell he didn't understand what she was talking about. “Pyrite, I mean… That changeling, whoever he was, he was trying to kill Pyrite. I just can't understand why…”

Onyx put on a brave smile as he looked over at Amethyst. “I couldn't tell you, Amethyst, but I do know this…” She raised an eyebrow at him. “If this changeling thinks he can lay a hoof on Pyrite, he's got another thing coming, because that little filly has the most determined, headstrong, and protective mother in the entire empire.”

Amethyst grinned, and her cheeks turned red. Pyrite let out a soft ‘squeak’ as she broke into a fit of laughter. She could smell it, the growing love between them, and it smelled good.

“Onyx?” The stallion quickly turned his head to face her. “I'm sorry we didn't get to eat together like you wanted… How does ‘tomorrow night’ sound?”

A wide grin formed on his face, and he nodded his head. “That sounds… great, Amethyst.”

Despite the dire situation they all seemed to be in, she couldn't help smiling as wide as her lips would allow her. As they walked down the corridor, towards the commissary, neither of them noticed the lone guard lurking behind the corner. Pyrite wasn't the only one intoxicated by the aroma of young love.

Like a ghost, the mysterious guard walked in the shadows, gliding after them with a green glow burning in her eyes.


***Up Next: The Hidden Enemy***