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// Chapter 1: The Journey 
// Story: A Stampede to Remember 
// by ShadowGear 
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	Four Changelings gathered just outside of The Hive's main entrance. Their leader Major Carapace kept Queen Chrysalis' scroll stuffed inside one of the holes in his hooves. "Follow me," he said as he took off using the recently raised sun almost like a compass. The three other Changelings followed him with Fang and Elytra behind Sclerite so he would always be in their line of sight.

An uneventful hour of flight passed before Sclerite decided to try and strike a conversation. "So... Major, do you have any idea what the contents of those letters could be?" asked Sclerite.

The Major just shrugged while still maintaining a steady flight. "Look Private, I will give you the same advice I give to the other drones. Never ask questions either to your commanding officer or to the Queen herself. I know that even high ranking soldiers can either get demoted or executed for speaking out."

"Well the Queen is not here right now. She wouldn't know if we had a little peek." Sclerite said hoping he could convince Carapace to show him the letter. Instead he got a slap on the back of his head by Fang.

"Listen rookie. You may be the Queen's apprentice, but that doesn't exempt you from the rules," Fang said before he slowed his pace to get back to Elytra.

"Feels like we're just out here to watch larva," whispered Fang to Elytra. "Betcha that rookie won't last a minute in a real fight."

"Yeah, what's he gonna do? Bleed on the enemy?" joked she in a playful manner.

They both laughed until Carapace stopped them. "You two keep your voices down or the ponies might hear us," he said.

"Well if we're flying this high they might just look up and see us," Sclerite said.

Carapace then angrily turned his head and gave an intimidating glare at him. "Lesson number two, never smart talk your commanding officer. If you had said that to anypony else they would kill you right here right now. See that forest down there?" he said as he pointed a hoof towards the large group of trees they were flying over. "The ponies fear that forest for being 'unnatural.' They would not dare come anywhere near us as long as we are flying above it."

Sclerite then decided it would be best if he just shut up and he thought back on his dream. Could that Changeling have been one of Queen Formic's drones? The rest of the trip seemed to have passed by in an instant and up ahead there was a vast desert with barely any life except near a river.

"Perfect! We have arrived! Now see that area near the river? That place filled with plants is where we are going to set up camp," Carapace said. The group of Changelings descended upon the land. "Alright I will go ahead and find Queen Formic's Hive. I want to see a fire set up when I get back," he ordered as he began walking off into the desert.

Sclerite landed and looked at his surroundings. When his gaze met with a cliff he saw a figure duck behind a rock. "Hey guys! Did you see that? I saw something move over there!" said Sclerite.

"Well... go check it out," replied Fang.

Sclerite then took off in the direction of the figure without saying another word.