//------------------------------//
// Familiar Territory, Familiar Faces 
// Story: The Substitute Demon 
// by Reykan 
//------------------------------//

	The griffon outpost that had been taken during the invasion surrendered without a fight. Between no new orders, the changelings dying off in the cold weather, dwindling supplies and the alicorn following the mercenaries, the ponies were begging mercy the moment they realized they were being attacked.

"And the communications Crystal?" the stallion asked, following the possessed drone.

"I specifically designed them to only be able to communicate with the nexus in Canterlot. If you'd like, we could send her an ultimatum," Twilight said.

Cimmerian shook his head.
"Surprise is still an advantage. Even if she knows it's coming, she doesn't know when. We'll start the attack when she's not paying attention. I really should have brought the armor. I could enter the castle without setting off all the drones in it."

"Not anymore," Twilight responded. "With the crystals grabbing ponies and interpreting everything not linked as hostile, it's possible they could spot you. They won't be able to keep you in the armor, but then they'd have the armor in their possession. I don't think we need to give the Nightmare something like that."

The alicorn nodded, looking over the captured guards and the communications crystal right before Zelus finally walked back inside the tower.

"It's too buzzin' cold out there. I can't wait till we get home," the queen muttered, quickly moving to the stallion and pulling his wing over her back. Noticing the ponies huddled in the corner, she perked up.
"Oh yes, the prisoners. What do we do with them?"

"That depends on them," he said, looking over the ponies with a smirk. "They were left to die, right? And if the drones they had didn't die to the cold they'd likely be branded."

"B-branded?" an earth pony asked in fear.

"Oh, you haven't heard? The Nightmare set up the arrays to start grabbing ponies now. Equestrians were fleeing the country en mass to avoid getting linked to those crystals. If you approached Canterlot for help, you'd either be killed by drones or slaved to a crystal," Cimmerian explained, his smile slowly growing. "Or you could come along peacefully. This war is over for the most part. Your queen's power-base has fallen apart, Celestia is free, several queens are free, the griffons have retaken Hightalon and now we're going to stop that thing before it hurts anyone else. You can try to warn her with that crystal, in which case you'll all likely end up dead, or you can come along and work with us. In fact, I wont even make you swear any oaths to me or anything like that. Take a look at Freeside when we get there, at the ponies that are all over the place and you'll have a good idea of what would have happened to you if your drones hadn't died from the cold."

"Celestia will be making her way to Freeside eventually," Zelus added from the alicorn's side. "If even after seeing that you don't believe us, you can ask her yourself. I'm certain she'd be happy to talk to you. Since she was, you know, imprisoned for a long time by the Nightmare. It left her fairly desperate to talk to anyone again." 



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The guard ponies were fairly easy to convince to go along with Cimmerian's group. After all, it was either follow the alicorn who said he was working with Celestia, attempt to fight against a drone, queen, an alicorn, and two squads of mercenaries, or be held captive by aforementioned mercenaries. It also helped that the alicorn gave the guards some fresh food, something they'd been running frighteningly short on.
"Nothing else? You mean to tell me this is it?" Cimmerian asked early the next morning, looking over a single crate of dried foodstuffs. It was literally bottom-of-the-barrel quality and barely edible in some cases. In other's not even that. Zelus actually found it humorous, taking a carrot, holding it in her magic and striking it into the wooden floor like a nail. The fact that she managed to get it two inches into the floor before it broke was terrifying.
"There has to be more to it than this. Doesn't Equestria have rules about supplies? Like going out to forage if you need to? I'm pretty sure there are things like that-"

"Our pegasus ponies left a while ago, they were supposed to bring back supplies. Without them, we're kind of stuck here," the unicorn explained dejectedly, getting a few nods from his fellows.

"Well that's just stupid. Has being cut off never happened before?" Cimmerian asked, rummaging through some boxes containing clothes for colder weather.

"Not that I can remember. I uh, I also don't remember a bunch of ponies being stationed in a griffon outpost though," one of the earth ponies answered.

Nodding, Cimmerian closed the box he was looking through and turned to the guards.
"Grab what you want, we're leaving in a bit. You guys can likely meet up with the rest of the free guards in Freeside. Last I saw it was being used as a stop for refugees and Heart was breaking ponies free of the Crystal arrays."

"But how are we going to, uh-" the unicorn began.

Cimmerian looked to the guards, his smile becoming predatory.
"You still have the chariot that brought you here, right?"



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"I can honestly say this is one of the oddest feelings I've ever experienced," the alicorn said as he pulled the occupied chariot. The guards were holding on for dear life as they flew through the morning air, a few groans reaching his ears after a rough patch of turbulence. Of course, their discomfort didn't make the experience any less novel.

"Why is that?" Twilight called from her position on Zelus' neck.

Cimmerian weaved around a cloud, trying his best to keep the cart stable. He'd learned from the first impact that the cart was affected by clouds just as much as he was.
"Well, back home we have an animal called a horse, about the same proportions as an alicorn only lacking wings, horn and sapience. They're beasts of burden, actually. We use them for transportation, farmwork, they were also used in the military for a long time. Chariots and carriages were a thing, too. I've been on a few wagon rides that were pulled by horses when I was younger, so to be in this position...it's a bit odd. Like a role-reversal I never expected. Part of me says this is kind of demeaning, but another says it's an interesting position to be in."

The drone nodded.
"Sky-chariots are expensive, as they're extensively runed to allow them to sit on clouds permanently as well as imbue their cargo with both feather-weight charms and a moderate-duration cloud walking spell. Guard chariots have to assume that at some point they may come under fire, so the guards need to be able to disembark as soon as possible. Sometimes the fastest stop is a cloud. Doing so also allows the pegasus pulling the chariot to regain their full mobility. In the case of normal transport chariots, the reason for the cloud walking enchantment is so that if either the pegasus pulling the chariot becomes injured or the situation requires the chariot to perform a forced landing, the passengers won't immediately fall through the cloud upon landing. It also gives the Pegasus time to react of the feather-weight charm fails. After all, impacting a cloud is much safer than hitting the ground."

"I'm curious what you guys could do with technology if you ever actually gave it a shot. I mean if humans could get a several-ton vehicle to fly faster than any bird, surely ponies could do one better with magic. Granted you don't seem to need some of the things we did but- you know, maybe that's why your tech is so low-end compared to what I'm used to. You guys didn't need to fly because you have spells and pegasi. Didn't need to invent electricity for flashlights and light bulbs because you used magic. Didn't need to invent better weapons because your neighbors couldn't match you anyway."
"It's odd. You guys invent things because you want to, not because you need to. For humanity it was often about survival and safety. We needed ways to create light at all hours. We needed faster and safer ways to send information and to travel. We needed to defend ourselves with weapons because we don't have any built-in weapons or armor like most of the species of this world."

"I would like to hear more about your home at a later time, Cimmerian. It actually sounds similar to this place I visited a while ago. I...actually I don't recall what happened to the mirror. It was capable of transporting ponies to another world, one that was very different from this one yet it was similar to this one in the strangest ways. The beings there looked like ponies I knew but they weren't...they were different," Twilight said, her face turning contemplative. "I  wonder why I forgot about it."

"You can explain it to him later. We have company," Zelus shouted over the wind. "Griffons to the left, it looks like three of them. A patrol."



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The patrol intercepted the group and escorted them the rest of the journey into Freeside. Upon landing, a rather rough landing at that to Cimmerian's embarrassment and the detriment of his passengers, the alicorn was met by a very anxious looking griffon.
"Back to cause more problems for the Mad Queen? Well you'll have a hard time topping what she's already done. Corporal Faraday, Captain Hackett's in the command building. Wants you to meet up with him as soon as possible. Queen's back there too."

Cimmerian nodded and gestured to the cart.
"If you can get these guys to some of the Equestrian guards you've freed, preferably ones without links, I'd appreciate it. They were kind of left at an outpost with no backup and no resupply, been out of the loop for a while. After they're brought up to speed they should be good. If they aren't just smack them with an ugly stick till they're pretty."

A few of the gathering mercenaries chuckled, herding the guards towards a large collection of tents and changeling constructed huts towards the edge of the town. They kept their weapons ready though. They were still technically enemy soldiers.

The alicorn's group was soon entering a large briefing room, the base commander speaking with a mare that made Cimmerian's jaw drop.
"Heart?"

The changeling, slightly taller than a grown mare, turned and smiled brightly at the visitors.
"Zelus, Cimmerian! It is wonderful to see you again!"

It was an impressive change. The mare was the picture of health now, already having been able to accelerate her growth and begin to return to an adult form. She was looking to become bulkier than even Zelus as well and the reason for that became clear a moment later. Spike walked in the door, the bandages only covering one eye at this point and his scales regaining a good bit of their luster since Cimmerian had last run into the young drake. Spike made a beeline for the queen, the two sharing a quick and affectionate nuzzle before the dragon turned to look at him.

"Ah. Otherwise the drake would break you. Excellent foresight," Zelus congratulated, causing Spike to blush through his scales and Twilight to begin sputtering incoherently.

"You, you two-but, and I thought-" the alicorn turned drone-rider babbled. She looked between the two several times before gurgling and falling over.

Cimmerian laughed.
"Well I guess that's it for her today. You have her, Zel?"

"Of course I do; she's still babbling. Unlike ponies, changelings don't have the same concept of unconsciousness. We can hibernate, but right now she's still babbling in my ear."
In spite of her complaints, Zelus dutifully picked the drone up in her aura and settled it on her back. She then moved to her hive sister, giving the changeling a strong hug while keeping the insensate mare held to her back with her magic.

"Strange creatures, these changelings," Hackett muttered as he watched the queens staring at each other.

"You should know something about them by now," Cimmerian chuckled as he approached the briefing table. It was currently occupied by a large map of Equestria and several markers, most being extremely scattered about the area.
"Damn. Blue is the Nightmare, green is us, or at least the griffon mercenaries and red is minotaurs, right?"

Hackett nodded.
"Heart's pulled a damn miracle if you ask me. Coordinating the Equestrian soldiers here she managed to both hit their patrols hard and capture a good number of their soldiers. The guards she captures she quickly pulls into the hive, then she goes and uses those soldiers to capture more. The...Nightmare? Queen Twilight can't fight that kind of war of attrition, not with pony soldiers anyway. She still has a few equestrian guard in Canterlot stationed in important places but most of the guards she had captured are ours now. Or at least, Heart's."

"Ergo most of the Equestrian Royal Guard is mine," the alicorn said, looking to the shape shifters with a grin. "Fantastic news at last. She still has the queens producing drones, which will be a pain in the ass to fight to, but we can find a way to work around this. Maybe a winter storm or something to dull the changelings. It's already cold. Minotaurs?"

"Still making their way to Canterlot. A few of their patrols have been branded, but they turn right around and kill any minotaurs that end up captured."

"So we're winning in a war of attrition and the minotaurs are losing it. I'd love to let the Nightmare wear them down but it's not really feasible. How are your supplies?"

Hackett frowned thoughtfully.
"Supplies are holding for now, what with the ponies actually running a few winter farms on the outskirts of town. I always knew some ponies were miracle workers with the soil but being able to grow crops in the middle of winter? It's helping alleviate some of the strain but the faster we can start to normalize everything again and get ponies back to the farms in southern Equestria, the faster they can start feeding the countries again."

"So we're crunched for time. Alright...alright, we'll work this out. I have someone who has intimate knowledge of any and all traps and defenses the Nightmare set up in the castle before she got really bad. I don't know how she is right now, but the Nightmare was severely weakened. She still has Luna as far as I know, but otherwise-"

"Discord as well," Zelus reminded him, sitting next to him and laying the drone at her hooves. "She also caught him, didn't she?"

Hackett paled at the idea but Cimmerian shook his head.
"I've talked to Discord. He's patient, but says he's capable of getting out of the trap if he needs to. He's had others try this before and says he's familiar with all the weaknesses such a large mish-mash of containment spells create. If we...actually I think I will contact him. We have everyone out for the most part. He can go to town on the drones for all I care."

"I would be cautious of asking anything of Discord," Hackett cautioned. "The draconequus is volatile at the best of times and this is not one of those."

Cimmerian nodded.
"I understand, but the other option is attempting to assault a fortified position that has an almost endless supply of troops. Even if he can remove half of the initial forces we face, which I think is making light of his powers from what I know of him, it could save hundreds of live. Not to mention it gives us a moment to prepare for the minotaur assault."

"Cimmerian," Zelus said as she shifted uncomfortably, looking over the markers on the table. "If it comes to it, we could always..."

"Use the drones," he finished, nodding. "I'd rather not, but they're going to die. I don't want to use the arrays or leave them active any longer than I have to but in this case we may be able to remove the rest of the insane drones and cripple the minotaurs in one strike. The issue is getting to the control arrays."

"It would save us a lot of effort too. I'll try to contact Discord tonight, see if we can coordinate something with him. In the meantime I'd like to talk to Heart about preparing the Equestrian Guard to retake their home. I'm sure many of them are more than willing to help us."

"They are," Heart spoke up. "I did not expect things to go so smoothly, truth be told. The magic that ponies wield is powerful, though. Having access to it and using it to strengthen my hive...it is strange, being loved. The ponies as well, not just my guardian. They are thankful, they wish me well. It has given me power I could not have imagined."
"Some do not react well, it is true. We have had many ponies attempt to destroy the runes, either by adding to the damage or trying to heal the scar. It is not pleasant to deal with. Most are aware of the attempts by now, so it has stopped them from making such attempts themselves."

"What happened?" the alicorn asked her.

"It depends on what they do. If they damage the rune, it could either short out harmlessly or surge the magic as well as the power being used to direct them straight into their minds. We have seven ponies that have suffered such fates as of now, with many contemplating taking the risk. One cut the rune incorrectly, connecting two arrays and causing a feedback that resulted in an explosion. Several were injured and the stallion did not survive."
Heart slumped slightly at the memories, causing the dragon to pull her closer in an attempt to comfort her.
"I have done my best to be understanding of ponies and the differences between our species, but to have ponies that I have already cut from any contact through the link believe that taking their own lives is a better option than living with the array is-"

"An insult, even if they do not realize they are causing us grief," Zelus finished with a nod. "It is part of what we are. With time and effort we could likely remove the arrays safely, or minimize the effects they have on ponies. Some are extremely distressed by them though. I can feel it in the hive. The anxiety they feel spreads like fire. They will not do well in the coming battle if they can not control themselves. I will be able to suppress some of that fear, but too much and even the bravest being would be overwhelmed. I shall speak to them at a later time. Hopefully I'll be able to help them understand the issue that they're bringing about. Otherwise the arrayed ponies will be next to useless in an actual battle."

"I'll let you get to it," Cimmerian said to the changeling queens before turning to the griffon. "Hackett, would you mind if I try to contact you tonight in your dreams? It may be simpler to use a dream to plan out the assault, or at least let you be in on the talks with Discord."

The griffon clicked his beak in thought before shrugging his wings.
"Normally I prefer to be visited by hens, but I suppose I can host a stallion this one time. Certainly."

"If that's all," Heart interjected, moving to the door "than I suggest we make our way to my base of operations. The Equestrian remnants will speak with you there."


Ponies stopped and stared at him as he walked through the camp, escorted by both queens and the drake. It was an odd look, too. Like they weren't certain if his presence was an omen for good or an omen for evil. True enough, Celestia had led them for a long time but many of the ponies in the camp had been living under the Nightmare's rule for most of their lives now, longer than they had lived under Celestia and Luna.
'I don't think I've ever seen so much fear and anxiety before,' he thought as the ponies gave the group a wide berth. There was a general feeling of good will towards Heart, but they treated her as an exception to a rule, an exception that did not include Zelus.

"They're fear is cycling," Zelus remarked, swishing her tail and buzzing her wings in irritation. "A few feel fear, others react to that fear, assuming they are feeling the fear about us, the fear runs back to the ponies that were originally scared and doubles the fear they feel- they truly have no idea how connected they are or the dangers of rampant thoughts."

"It is why most ask to have the link dulled unless they are on combat missions," Heart explained. "The soldiers enjoy using it as a means of communication, often running their plans through a drone for dispersal to the group as we are more comfortable with that form of communication. The moment they return from their patrols however, they ask to have the link silenced again."

"It's not you guys, trust me on this. While changelings are used to such contact, most of us are used to being alone with our thoughts. It's not our natural instinct to be connected like this so I would assume it's also natural to assume the emotions are yours," the alicorn said, attempting to soothe the frustrated mares.

"I have already explained this to Heart several times," Spike rumbled slowly, pronouncing each word with care. "While she knows this to be true in her mind, she has only recently been attempting to account for the reactions and instincts of other species."

"I've been at this longer and it still frustrates me," Zelus muttered. "Ponies are such paranoid creatures."

"Says the mare who survives by disguising herself as a pony and harvesting the sperm of an unwitting male, then charging her drones to take their own disguises and harvest emotions from more ponies," Cimmerian retorted, earning a glare from the armored shape shifter.

Spike let loose a rumbling chuckle before stepping ahead, opening the tent the group was moving to.

Cimmerian ducked inside after the queens, nodding his thanks to the drake before turning to take in the room. There were several more tables in the tent occupied with maps with patrol routes, maps with enemy patrol routes, maps with troop positions, and several ponies rushing around keeping them all updated. Heart's arrival was met with a quick nod from most of the soldiers but the moment they noticed the mare was not alone they started to gather at the center of the tent.

"Some of you may remember hearing of the alicorn and queen that passed through here directly after the Nightmare's final act as queen. This is Zelus, the queen who saved my life, and this is Cimmerian. They will be aiding us in the coming days."

Cimmerian and Zelus nodded, both in agreement and in greeting. A single pony stepped forward from the group. "Lieutenant Gold Standard. As the highest ranked my Equestrian officer to, escape the branding unharmed I've been chosen from among my peers to lead this expedition. Will there be more coming after you?"

"Not likely," Cimmerian said. "I will be seeing about planning this with an insider though. With luck and timing we should be able to take Canterlot quickly. Speed will likely be our biggest ally. The longer we fight directly with the swarm the more drones will be added to the battle."

"In that we agree. We're working on a few possible routes into the castles but several of the ponies we've recovered have mentioned being involved in setting up traps in sewers or alternate routes."
Gold Standard started pointing out places on the map of Canterlot, explaining in greater detail the traps they'd been warned about. Blades, spikes, dead-drops, feral animals or changelings-an entire squad of feral changelings actually, and more.

"It's a good thing we brought someone who was involved in most of this," Zelus chuckled, dropping the drone in front of her. She struck it in the back of the head with a hoof, eliciting a yelp as she forced Twilight back into her host drone.
"Wake up, it's time to earn your keep."

"Be nice Zel, she-"

"Is going through something that's almost as bad as my experience, but not as bad. She can hold it together for another few days."

"That doesn't make it right, Zelus. Stop it."

Zelus opened her mouth to retort but stopped, growling in anger instead.
"I'm sorry Cimmerian, the emotions in the hive-link are getting to me. I am not used to receiving so many powerful emotions and many of them are...scared. It's not something I like to experience."

"Oh. It's fine, Zelus. Last time you were scared was a bad experience, I get it. But that's not what's going on. Just breath, keep calm."

The changeling queen nodded, scooting a little closer before breathing through her nose. She stopped, muzzle scrunching as she remembered something.

"Zelus? What is it?" Cimmerian asked. The next thing he knew, the mare was sticking her nose under his wing.

Gold raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.
"Um, what is she..."

"Changelings are big on pheromones. Her hive's a safe spot and her sister-queen, Pandinus, is my mate. It's led to some...odd experiences. Changelings don't have the same idea of ownership we do, and that extends to their memories and bodies. It means Zelus considers me as much of a safe spot as Din does."

"Her happy place," Spike rumbled in amusement, looking to Heart. "I won't have to worry about you chasing him, will I?"

"I already have my safe spot, my guardian. Most queens do not, though. It is not something we knew before the enslavement of our race. It is strange, but not unwelcome. I find your scent to be my safe place. Zelus does not have what Pandinus and I have, so she has accepted Pandinus' mate."

Gold's muzzle twisted in disgust.
"She's smelling under his wings, though. That's-"

"The strongest source of his scent, barring anything sexual," Heart shot back with a grin.

"It's weird, but it's something I've gotten used to. She literally tastes emotions, uses them for fuel, Gold. You're working with ponies that have been forced into this as well, not to mention working beside griffons and even a dragon. It's how they are as a species. Each one is unique."

"I'll be happier when this is all over and I can go back to my job. No more changelings, no more griffons, no more-"

"That's not happening," Cimmerian said with an eye roll. "The changelings are going to be living openly in some locations, even if some may wish to return to the shadows. The Temple is a place where they walk openly, some of Equestria's population are part of a hive link, and Spike here was raised in Equestria. Right?"

Spike nodded.
"I could always tell, Gold; when ponies think their race superior. You are only in this position because you were asked by your fellow soldiers. Put such things away for now. You can try to build your 'Better Equestria' when it is no longer threatened by minotaurs and insane parasites."

Cimmerian raised a hoof, though.
"I need to know first. Before we move on. What will you do with those who are linked? They didn't ask for such a thing. Will you deny them entry into your better Equestria for the scars they bear? What about hybrids? Is there a point at which a pony isn't pony enough? Tread carefully, Standard, because that's a very slippery slope you're walking."

The unicorn's hackles rose but otherwise he remained silent. Instead they turned to the map. Even if the stallion rubbed Cimmerian the wrong way, he was chosen by his peers. Cimmerian just had to remember to talk to those peers and make certain they knew what they were unleashing by putting the stallion in a leadership position.
In the meantime he had other things to worry about. The griffons were still trying to recover from their own losses and weren't willing to help remove the root of the problem. That meant that Canterlot had to be retaken by the Equestrians. A demoralized, traumatized and thoroughly scattered army that had less than a month ago watched everything fall to pieces around their ears, against an entrenched force of endless numbers, all feral monsters that would kill them on sight out of blind rage and hunger. Led by a creature that wanted nothing more than to see this world burn to ashes.

'Right, no problem,' Cimmerian chuckled to himself as Twilight began to identify each and every defense she and the Nightmare had installed. 'We've got this in the bag.'