“Puff is… Puff is dead, Bladehoof. I killed him.”
“Wha… what? B- b- b- boss? This isn’t funny.”
“I’m not joking, Palisade.”
“CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!”
“Freeze, Bladehoof.”
*Incoherent growl.*
“Fury… what did you do to him?”
“Puff helped me free Crest from changeling control. Unfortunately-”
“Unfortunately, I was armed and Puff wasn’t. Fury had nothing to do with it. In fact, she bit me and I can clearly recall what the changeling did to me in the bedroom. That’s why I don’t want to do anything like that again, and that’s why we need to get out of Riverside immediately.”
“Can… can I see him?”
“Me too!”
“He’s in the bedroom. I cleaned him up as well as I could. Say your goodbyes and meet us by the front door. We’ll be on watch.”
*Twin hoofsteps leaving.*
“Their eyes...”
“Crest?”
“They looked at me as if I ruined everything they know and love.”
“You did, Crest. They loved the simple guy, and I know why.”
“Please, Fury...”
“I hate you, Crest. Tomorrow, I will start thinking clearly and forgive you. So might they, but now I’m halfway to making you slit your own throat.”
“I’m a failure...”
“Yes.”
*Hesitant incoming hoosteps.*
“We’re leaving.”
“I don’t want to leave him there like that.”
“Do you want to join him, Bladehoof?”
“...no...”
“Then the best we can do for him is to survive. Crest, take me on your back-”
“I will, Fury.”
“Palisade?”
“I am far stronger than the Commander.”
“Fury.”
“Crest.”
“You have all this planned out. This isn’t something you’re coming up with on the spot.”
“I… you remember how Bladehoof found me hanging on the fence in the police station? A changeling infiltrator drained the love I stole from Palisade earlier and put me into that position. It took me a while, but I eventually figured out there were more changelings around, and I was worried they would think the same as the changeling who wanted me dead. The next time I sensed him around was much later and I didn’t want them to know I was on your side by then.”
“The beating on the way back from the Riverside tour...”
“Exactly.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier then?”
“...”
“Fury?”
“My… my plan wasn’t… I… I wanted… to gain control of you and present you to whoever is in charge of the organized changelings in order to prove that I was still a worthwhile asset to the hive, and not something to be disposed of.”
“Fury...”
“I guess both of us played a role in what happened tonight, Crest.”
“And now that you have your control, what are you going to do, Fury? The Commander, Palisade, and I won’t even breathe if you order us not to, so you’ve achieved your goal. You got all of us, all of us but Puff.”
“The plan stays the same. We’e leaving. The infiltrator who I think is in charge isn’t going to let me go, especially now that Crest was bagged by a different changeling.”
“Alright, train or on hoof?”
“Palisade?”
“We’re leaving. Whether of our own free will or on her command is not important. We’re leaving, so stop talking and grab some food. Do you have anything that can last a day or two, boss? Oh, and more weapons if possible. If someone, be they a controlled pony or a changeling, tries to stop us… I’ll show them that they shouldn’t have touched Puff.”
“Technically-”
“Shut up, Fury.”
“Be quiet.”
“Not now, Fury.”
“Ooookay. Onwards, my earthpony steed!”
***
“...I can feel them gathering, everypony...”
“...we should have taken the train...”
“...we needed some of them to see us leave...”
“...I know what the plan is, I just don’t like it...”
“...shush, you two. We know they know about us, and we’re almost at the south gate...”
“...I envy you, Bladehoof. You’re not making a sound...”
“...batpony talents. Though I still think I should fly up and see where they are...”
“...straight ahead, Bladehoof. Once they spot us, we leg it. Got the alchemical flashbang ready, Crest…?”
“...got the vial on my neck, and I’m ready to toss it...”
“...alright, here goes- why did you stop?...”
“There are... hundreds of them.”
“What? That can’t be! I’m sensing ten, fifteen at most.”
“You warriors aren’t the smartest, are you?”
“You...”
“What, can’t even remember the name? Well, there’s no reason you should, but you can call me Six, a rank you never got.”
“Shut up, you sack of hot air!”
“Mouth, that’s all you have left. Well, I guess some of us need to unwind a little after an operation like this, so that mouth will be put to good use. After we scrub that little brain of yours, but that shouldn’t take long.”
“Wait, Six? How dare you assume such a high rank by yourself, infiltrator?! That’s a direct insult to the queen herself.”
“Heh heh heh heh. I don’t have to answer to a waste of oxygen like yourself. I can- ggrhhrahh?!”
*Choking noises.*
“I may be blind, but I’m not a starving wreck like you, infiltrator! I still have SOME power over the REAL LOWER RANKS. How dare you-”
*Thud!*
“You know what the punishment for disobeying your superior is, Sixteen. On top of that, you dare to use your influence against him? Tsk tsk tsk...”
*Gasps.*
“Hey, she looks like you, only bigger, and terrifying.”
“Palisade, remind me to demote you if we survive this.”
“Commander, don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“M-m-m-m-m-my queen?!”
“Sixteen, Sixteen, why are you refusing to do what your hive needs you to do? After all, you know best how dire our resource situation is, especially now when we need to recover.”
“M-my queen, you knew about this? Wait, why are you here?”
“You were by my side, my loyal underling, when the explosion happened. Quite a few of us landed around this backwater hole, and the few surviving ones in range quickly got my command to gather here and… regain strength.”
“...drain everypony...”
“You talk as if you have a problem with that. Quite hypocritical of you, isn’t it? You are practically glowing with stolen love. However, I can clearly sense that you have little to no power despite it. Such pity, I could have used a resourceful changeling like you. Someone who, despite her predicament, was able to gain control of the whole peacekeeper force of a small city.”
“Does that mean… c- can I go back home?”
“FURY, NO!”
“You can’t be serious, not after all that.”
“What about Puff?”
“I must agree with those ponies, we have no need for somepony in your shape, no matter your achievements. The hive will emerge stronger from this, now give us the love you stole. You won’t need it anymore. I know that you will obey, because you had the potential to be my best underling. One last service to the hive, Sixteen.”
“Ha haha hahahaah hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa! Stole? STOLE?! STOLE, YOU COCKROACH? I AM A WARRIOR! I DO NOT STEAL LIKE A THIEF, LIKE A FILTHY INFILTRATOR! I TAKE WHAT IS MINE BY FORCE OR WHAT I EARN, AND I EARNED ALL THIS.”
“As you wish. I wanted to grant you the mercy of quick death, but we’ll have to do it the fun way. Changelings, she’s not one of us anymore. FEAST!”
“It’s been nice knowing you, Commander.”
“Fury, climb down, please. I’ve got roaches to skewer.”
“Alright, girls, you’ve been much better subordinates than I was a boss.”
“All three of you, shut the fuck up! HEY, MY EX-QUEEN! LET ME TEACH YOU ONE PONY SAYING - READ’EM AND WEEP!”
*Whooosh.* *Boom!*
*Strained groaning from all over the place.*
“My head… what… what did you... do?!”
“Not used to having control stripped away from you? Not used to be cut off from everyone else? Not used to be ALONE?! My body may be broken, but my head works just fine, and you should know best how strong love given freely is. Oh wait, bug, you don’t, you never have, AND YOU NEVER WILL! ”
“I will... destroy… you...”
“And by the way, my name is Fury. Crest, move your ass right now!”
“Fury, aside from their queen they are all lying on the ground, groaning and foaming, and even she can barely stand. That shockwave wrecked them.”
“...same goes for me, you dumbass. The love I got from Puff is draining fast, and I can’t heep the mental pressure up for long. We need to get out before she realizes I can’t do this again...”
“...but you knocked out over a hundred changelings...”
“...and I can’t even keep my control over you anymore which means I can’t order you to shut up and MOVE. So if you value your life, and mine, and that of those two mares, you will order them to bolt right the fuck now, Crest...”
“...we can’t leave Riverside-”
“...Commander, she’s right. We’ve been over this, and it hurts me as much as it hurts you, but if you don’t move I’ll personally kick you all the way to Canterlot...”
“...Bladehoof...”
“Damn it, shut up, all of you. Hold on, Fury, now you’re going to see real earthpony strength. RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!”
“Crest, the f-f-f-flashbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!”
*Breaking glass.*
*Poof!*
*Wind whistling in my ears.*
“I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-if y-y-y-ou can g-g-g-g-go this f-fast and h-h-hard in b-b-b-bed as w-w-well then I’m keeeeeeping yoouuuu….”
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
“...d-d-damn cheat-t-t-ting pe-pe-pegasus and b-b-b-at...”
“I think we can slow down a bit, Palisade.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Bladehoof, any cloud of changelings rising over Riverside to hunt us down? I can’t see much in the darkness out here.”
“Nothing, Commander. I’m not the best one to take a guess, but I think it will take them a while to recover from Fury’s mental blast. I don’t want to jinx it, but we might be out.”
“...we are a species of bastards...”
“...Chrysalis didn’t even think about using her power to heal me...”
“...it didn’t even cross her mind...”
“Bit anticlimactic, don’t you think?”
“I was hoping we’d rescue some citizens, get them armed, and lead the resistance that will force changelings out of Riverside.”
“And get a lot of them killed, Palisade? We are about the only ponies who can fight properly. If we scoured the city for tourist bodyguards and few ponies-at-arms we might get to what… thirty ponies? We don’t even have that many weapons. Riverside is a tourist spot, at best a pass-through town. I hate to leave the citizens in changeling hooves, but after thinking about it, Fury’s idea was the correct one.”
“...I thought about betraying them, and it cost the pony who despite the teachings of the most hateful fanatic I’ve seen was what I would imagine at the word paladin...”
“So what now, boss? Dawn’s Hollow is our best stop on the way to Canterlot. They have a radio station, so we can call ahead to make sure that the Royal Guards can move out as soon as we provide a testimony about what happened.”
“...even after Puff got killed on another changeling’s orders… even after that… I still thought about selling them out to Chrysalis for my old status...”
“Yes, are you up for an all-nighter?”
“...I could have prevented all that, and I’m still more pissed off at Crest…”
“I’m fine. Still shaking, but fine. I can go all night.”
”...I mean, he was just a prey. I can’t blame him for failing to resist the perfect predator...”
“Bladehoof?”
“Fresh as a daisy, -yaaaaaawn- Commander.”
“You’ve been running on pure adrenaline until now, haven’t you?”
“Batpony stamina.”
“There is no such thing, you can't just put batpony before any other word and want us to believe it! That’s earthpony thing, my thing! Boss, she’s cheating again.”
“...we are a species of bastards...”
“Fury?”
“Hmm, what, Bladehoof?”
“You’re crying.”
“Tears of joy.”
“Hey, she’s right. Your ears are folded, and I know when you’re happy. It’s usually when you’re making fun of me. This isn’t happy, or even sadistic enjoyment.”
“Tears of shut the hell up, Crest, then.”
“It’s Puff, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… and you all better thank him for the rest of your lives, because he’s the reason you’re still here, lunchbags. I’d walk all the way to honor the memory of him, but jamming my horn into every tree along the way wouldn’t help.”
“You’ll get fat if we keep feeding you and without any exercise.”
“Not now, Crest. I’m not in the mood.”
“Sorry.”
“You should be.”
*Sigh.*
“I’m sorry, Crest. I’m mad at myself, not you. You were just an easy target for a changeling. the easiest, and I used your weaknesses myself.”
“I got used so easily...”
“Commander?”
“It didn’t need to be a changeling. If it was any smart mare I would have fallen for her. I was so easy to fool, and it almost cost the lives of an entire town. Thankfully, it cost only one.”
“You’re too harsh on yourself, Commander.”
“No, Bladehoof, not hard enough. When we’re done in Canterlot, I’ll go visit Puff’s mother. After that, I’m resigning.”
“Commander-”
“Boss-”
“Enough. I shouldn’t be in a position of power if I’m that easy to use.”
“Or maybe you got burned enough to remember it forever, Crest. We’ve learned a lot over the past week.”
“You know, you’re the last one I was expecting to be against it.”
“...maybe I’m not as much of a bastard as I’m supposed to be...”