Week 23, Sunday
The boat chugged its way along the river, the grass waving gently in the breeze. Despite the peaceful atmosphere, the tension among the ponies was a tangible thing.
“Alright, we’re coming up on the drop off point. Does everyone remember the code words?” Flare asked heavily. After a long discussion, the group had decided that if the enemy could look like them, they’d use code words to ensure their identities.
The rest of the rescue team, consisting of Aegis, Dawn Breeze, Anvil, Wrecker, Lariat, Crash Cart and Solaris, all nodded their heads firmly. Flare originally thought to include Dusty with the group, as having five earth ponies along would provide a strong defensive core to work around. But he’d seen the worry in Dusty’s eyes when he looked at Skipjack, and knew those staying on the boat needed somepony to keep them safe. To be fair, he wanted to stay too, but he was the senior unicorn present, and the most well trained in combat magic. He returned the nods, and then turned toward the front of the boat, where a solitary pegasus guard could be seen. He quietly made his way up to sit next to them. The minutes dragged on as he tried to think of something to say when Nimbus leaned against him and sighed.
“I don’t want you to go. But you’re going to anyway, so all I’m going to tell you is to please come back. I want you to be there when our foal is born.”
Flare leaned back against her, resting his head over hers. “I know, and I will come back, no matter what we find in there.” The two sat like that for a moment until someone cleared their throat.
“We’re an hour out from the drop-off Flare... and there’s something else.” Amy said. “The man we picked up in the village, who goes by Elias, wants to come with you. To avenge his wife and son.”
Flare frowned. “I understand his feelings, but I cannot in good conscience allow him to come with us. Where we’re going there will more than likely be magic being used, and I will not allow myself to hurt another human with magic again.”
Amy shook her head. “I understand how you feel, but we explained that to him. He said he doesn’t care, and will follow you regardless.”
Flare snorted, but yielded. “Alright, he can come with us. But make it clear to him the risks he faces if he comes with us.”
Amy nodded and went back belowdecks. Flare turned back to looking across the river, trying to hold on to every minute he could with his marefriend.
---
Kinshasa was waking up like it did every morning. The smoke of uncountable cooking fires rose into the air as the market vendors began preparing their wares to sell. The nocturnal denizens of the city shambled their way home, while those who rose with the sun wearily took their place.
At the airport, the security staff was going through their shift rotation. The morning guards nodded to their night shift counterparts as they settled into the routine of watching people and the occasional pony come and go.
As the sun continued to creep into the sky, one of the guards nudged his friend. “Hey Claude, look over there.”
“What is it Etepe?” Claude asked as he looked in the direction Etepe indicated.
“Those dogs have been sitting there on the other side of the road for some time now.”
Claude peered closer. There were indeed a few dogs sitting there, every one of them a mutt like one could find anywhere in the city. What was a little unnerving was how they were all looking at him. “You’re right, that is weird. Maybe go chase them away?”
“Sure, let’s go.” Etepe picked up his baton and got to his feet. The two were about to start crossing the street when a trio of gunshots rang out from the other side of the terminal.
“What in God’s name?” Claude said in alarm as more gunfire rang out and the radio buzzed.
“All officers, report to airstrip, unknown creatures attacking the airp-” It dissolved into static, and while the sporadic gunfire continued, there was now faint screaming mixed in with it.
“Come on Etepe, let’s go!” Claude shouted, turning in confusion at the silence. “Etepe?”
Etepe was staring out across the street, mouth hanging open. Where there had only been three or four dogs there were now twenty, and all of them stalking predatorily across the street towards them. As they watched, the dogs began to burn with green fire, and after a moment of shock the two men recoiled in fear at the insectoid things now approaching them.
Claude remembered the stories his mother used to tell him, of monsters that lurked in his closet to drag naughty children to Hell. And now here they were, diaphanous wings buzzing and fangs gleaming in the sunlight. Finally forcing himself into movement, he drew his pistol and fired a shot at a black monster easily half again as big as the others, grazing it in the leg. With a terrible hissing sound, the monsters leaped into the air, diving toward them.
Etepe and Claude made a good showing; getting five more rounds off between them. Two changelings fell dead, while the other eighteen reached them. The remaining airport security staff managed to kill ten more before being overrun by the horde swarming from the nearby marsh. A few tourists tried to use their cellphones to call for help, but none of the phones would work, some sparking out as changelings swarmed through the building, the air filling with the buzzing of wings and screams of fear.
In the immediate city around the airport, many of the ever-present stray dogs, sheep, goats and even young calves suddenly burst into green flames, more of the black creatures attacking passerby and herding them to the west. The few policemen on patrol were overwhelmed, though one was able to get a brief radio call to the precinct on the other side of town. Once resistance was ended, the changelings began to set buildings alight by surrounding themselves in more green fire and hurtling into them. Within minutes a wall of flames divided the city in half.
From the marshes further to the north, a tidal wave of black forms swept forward into the adjacent city, sweeping unstoppably through the streets. The local gangs barely had time to snatch up their weapons before they were locked into a bitter close range fight, and against the changeling’s numbers each point of resistance was identified and overpowered. Terrified citizens fled in droves, but if anything the changelings seemed to be empowered by the fear pouring off the populace and redoubled their efforts. Teams of four changelings each would snatch a citizen up, bind them with ooze, and carry them north. None were spared; men, women and children were all equal prey. Anyone who raised a weapon against the invading swarm were killed on the spot, their limp bodies hauled away like the others. Even the fallen changelings were recovered, carried into the sky like everything else.
From the center of the swarming mass, Chrysalis laughed maniacally as her minions flooded the city. The human’s fear, laced with anger and despair, rose into the air and was relentlessly consumed by her offspring. It was almost too much, but she had prepared for this. Her horn shone a sickly green as she channeled a steady stream of emotion into the hive, the distance irrelevant. It was her, after all, and she was it. She sighed internally, knowing that after a raid like this, the humans would be responding in force, and would not stop until they found the hive. She mentally reached out to the changelings left in the hive, ordering them to begin preparations to relocate. They may not gain much emotion from this harvest of humans, but the sheer agony of so many dying at once from magic exposure would be exquisite. And besides, there might be some survivors left over. At least they’d have a couple days to extract as much emotion as possible.
On the opposite end of town, the UN mission and the Kinshasa police department began to mobilize at once, half-awake men rushing to dress and claim their weapons. Smoke was pouring into the sky from the east as the first vehicles rolled out, but almost immediately became bogged down in the streams of civilians fleeing west. Many infantrymen dismounted and began to push through the crowds on foot, knowing that it would easily take them half an hour to cross the entire city. From the rooftops a swirling mass of black forms could be seen swooping and diving, some bursting into green flames before rocketing toward the ground. Suddenly, the ground shook as a massive fireball rose into the air from the airport, every window within a mile shattering in a rain of glass.
---
Lariat shouldered aside another plant, holding it to the side as the rest of the rescue team went by. They’d left the boat four days ago, and had carefully followed the trail that they’d picked up from the edge of the savannah. Fortunately, the weather had cooperated and there hadn’t been any rain to complicate things.
“Dawn, do you see anything?” Flare called up.
Dawn Breeze landed carefully on a tree branch, peering closely. “Yeah, there’s more of the little cuts here in the wood, just like before. We’re still on track.”
With a grunt, Aegis spoke up. “They’re not tryin’ too very hard to hide. They’re either overconfident, or expectin’ us.”
Solaris nodded. “I agree with Aegis. Something about this isn’t right.”
Dawn hopped back into the air, heading around a massive tree. Landing on one of the expansive branches, she peered at it, then down toward the ground. Her eyes widened and she immediately took off, speeding back toward the others and landing as quietly as possible. Motioning for everypony and Elias to gather close, she whispered furtively, “I think this is it.”
Eyes widening, everyone looked up at the giant tree towering over them, then started scanning the jungle surrounding them. Elias tightened his grip on his AK-74 nervously, muttering a prayer under his breath.
“Alright, let’s keep quiet and find the entrance.” Flare whispered. “Everypony keep quiet.”
The eight ponies and one human carefully spread out, searching around the base of the tree, while Dawn took to the air and quietly spiraled around the trunk. After a few minutes, Elias waved his arm at Aegis, who quickly gathered everypony around the human. Carefully shifting a large pile of brush, a dark tunnel could be seen leading into the ground under the tree. A faint green glow could be seen in the depths of the tunnel.
“So, guess the question is, who’s first down the rabbit hole?” Lariat asked, trying hard to sound nonchalant despite the menacing aura pouring from the hole.
“Well, Lariat, never into a challenge without your shield leading the way.” Aegis stared into the burrow. “Of course, you also don’t go into a hole in the Everfree blind, either, but here we are.” Aegis slowly stepped in, cautiously lowering himself and looking about. The tunnel ran on for a short distance downward, before being obstructed by a large growth, a pinched opening in the middle leaking glowing green ooze. Several smaller growths surrounding the opening pulsed a light green.
“Okay, that is officially the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.” Dawn Breeze muttered. “No way to know if we’re walking into a trap here.”
Flare nodded his agreement, and was about to ask Wrecker to take Elias far enough away so he could try to sniff out active magic on the other side when Elias grunted something in his language and pushed past him, AK-74 leading the way as he literally pushed his way through the opening. It squelched a little, but opened easily enough to let him squirm through. Soon his feet vanished and the opening slowly sealed behind him.
“That idiot, he could be walking right into a trap.” Wrecker muttered.
After a few seconds more, the opening squished open as a dark brown arm stuck out, thumb sticking up.
“Well, I guess that means it’s alright.” Flare tapped the hand with a hoof and it withdrew. Stifling his disgust, he pushed his muzzle into the opening, closing his eyes as it slid over him. Squirming his shoulders, he managed to get the upper half of his body through, and felt Elias gripping his forelegs to pull him the rest of the way. Landing hard, he shook himself vigorously, opening his eyes cautiously and looking around.
The cavern he found himself in was surprisingly large, the ground cool and soft underhoof. The walls had more of the curious growths providing illumination, as well as black, fibrous strands that covered the walls and ran off through the three tunnels ahead of them. “Well, where to now?” He muttered as he turned, hearing somepony else squeezing through the entrance.
Although "squeeze" wasn't quite the right word. Aegis, after seeing the struggle Flare had engaged in with the opening, had taken a full charge and slammed through, making a disgusting 'squelch' sound as he slid clear of the gooey crevasse. Aegis slid across the floor to a stop at Flare's hooves, grinning up at him. "A shower. Keep my pay, all I want when we get out is a long. Long. Hot. Shower.”
Flare shook his head and helped Aegis to his hooves. “I think that can be arranged. For me, I think a nice, long vacation on the beach with Nimbus and the foal would be perfect.” He trotted over to help as Lariat’s hooves were starting to come through. After another few minutes everypony was standing in a circle, dripping with greenish slime. “Alright. Now, we’ve got a couple tunnels to pick. What do you think Aegis?”
"Well, my gut says we'll find what we're looking for below. But..." Aegis sighed, then continued, “my head says I don't want anything followin' us down there and pinnin' us in." Aegis thought a moment. "When I ignore my gut instinct, I usually wind up bein' wrong."
Flare thought about it for a moment, and then looked at the others. “Anypony have objections to going down?”
Lariat shook his head. “Aegis has never steered us wrong in the time I’ve known him. I trust him now.”
Anvil and Wrecker nodded their agreement. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only real objection came from Dawn Breeze, who was already on edge being underground.
“Alright then. We’ll go down. Solaris, you’re our rearguard. Aegis, take the lead.” Flare tapped Elias on the thigh, then pointed to Aegis and mimed out the human following him. Elias nodded and checked his rifle. “I’ll follow behind Elias. Anvil, Wrecker, I want the two of you to cover Crash Cart. Lariat, you back up Dawn Breeze. Now let’s move out.”
The others nodded, looking nervously at the downsloping tunnel, before taking a deep breath and beginning their descent.
---
Connor stood on the bow of the boat as it chugged its way down the river. He was pretty much on autopilot, eyes scanning the riversides for anything out of the ordinary while his brain struggled with itself. The last thing Flare had said to him still refused to leave his conscience alone.
“We can trust you.” He muttered. “Yeah right.” He shook his head ‘Come on, get it together Connor. It’s not like they’ve asked you to turn over anything that could hurt your friends.’
‘But you’ve lied to them from the beginning. These ponies trust you with their lives. Flare trusted you with his marefriend AND his unborn foal for Christ’s sake. And you would sell them out if you were ordered to.’ the voice in the back of his head whispered.
‘No. I wouldn’t.’ He thought, trying to fight the growing sense of shame. The worst part was it was not unjustified. He’d agreed to it all, knowing full well that it would entail spying on ponies he’d be serving with. At the time he’d thought he could handle the feelings of revulsion most soldiers felt toward spying on allies, especially given the way the man who’d recruited him into the program had phrased it. The ponies weren’t telling them everything, and it was up to soldiers like him to allow the US military to get eyes on in case there was something harmful to national security going on.
But... there wasn’t. Everything Connor had seen only reminded him of how things had been when he served as a human. Sure, it’d taken a long time and many sleepless nights to come to terms with his choice to take that shot, and the dream/vision/whatever that he’d had still haunted him. The time that Celestia had come to personally review his group’s training had terrified him, especially when she’d looked him in the eyes and he was terrified that she just knew why he’d become a pony. But she’d merely smiled at them and wished them the best before returning to Equestria.
Then there was the physiological side of becoming a pony. Sure, some of it had been easy to adjust to, like going to the bathroom, trotting around, and flying. Especially flying. But then he’d started realizing that he would be paying more attention to the mares during certain times of the year, or when the sun had been out for a particularly long time. Not to mention having to relearn being aggressive. They had told him that his personality would be unchanged by the serum, and it was, he had all his old tendencies and hobbies (even if he couldn’t play video games with hooves), but he just seemed more... mellow. Getting angry took more effort, but fortunately the Guard had a lot of practice in teaching stallions and mares how to get angry.
His wrestling match with himself was interrupted as he heard somepony coming up behind him. Turning his head, he saw it was Second Lieutenant Forest and saluted. “Sir, everything alright below?”
Forest returned the salute and nodded. “Nimbus is just getting some rest. Think she’s going to be due within a few weeks or so. How’re you holding up?”
Connor sighed. “It’s just a lot to take in. And I’m still worried about the others.” His ears flattened as he stared angrily at the deck. “Everything we’re taught in training is to never back down, never abandon your comrades. And it’s doubly so for those of us who served. But what did I do when my squad needed me? I ran.”
Forest shook his head. “You ran because Captain Stardust ordered you to. Somepony had to get the word out about these things. If you’d stayed and fought, you’d have been killed or taken as well. Now come on, Kinshasa is coming up soon, let’s get some air time. Always helps calm me down.” Without waiting for a reply, Forest spread his wings and took off.
Connor sighed and took off after him. The two guards spiraled upwards until they were about fifty feet in the air over the boat. The wind blowing in his face did make him feel better, though his conscience continued to make noise.
“Master Sergeant.” Connor looked over as Forest floated closer. “I know something is bothering you, you’ve been hiding it well, but I want you to tell me what’s going on.”
Connor flattened his ears. “Well... I don’t really know. It’s just been difficult, coming to terms with what it really meant to change my species like this and-”
“Master Sergeant.” Forest’s tone was lighter now. “I’m your commanding officer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be your friend. I want to help you, I do, but you need to be willing to trust us like we trust you.”
Connor winced as he said that, turning his gaze to the south. “That’s... part of the issue...” He trailed off as he picked out something in the distance down the river. “Is that... smoke?”
“What?” Forest looked the same direction. Surely enough, there was clouds of smoke rising into the air from Kinshasa. Squinting, both pegasi could make out what looked like a wave of black overtaking part of the city.
“Umm, Second Lieutenant? Do you know what that is?” Connor asked hesitantly, though he began to have a sinking feeling in his stomach as an ugly thought reared its head. After all, they had no idea just how many of the creatures there were....
Forest opened his mouth to reply when suddenly there was a massive explosion at the airport, an enormous fireball rising into the sky. The two pegasi flinched back a few feet, their wings flapping to keep them stable. “Master Sergeant.”
“Yes sir.” They both rolled over and dove for the boat below, landing hard on the deck as the sound of the blast reached them.
Amy came walking out of the door to below, a few mercenaries following her out. “What was that?”
“Ma’am, there’s been an explosion in Kinshasa. And something else.” Forest hesitated a moment before continuing. “There’s what appear to be a horde of black shapes attacking the city.”
Amy gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “You don’t think that-?”
“I don’t get paid to think about that. Right now we need to secure this boat and be ready to defend it. I want the mercenaries on deck, weapons ready to go, but do not fire unless we are attacked. Everypony else, yourself included, will wait belowdecks until the danger passes or we are attacked. Master Sergeant, follow me, we need to brief everypony on the situation.” Forest turned and made his way down into the cabin, Connor following. The remaining mercenaries were quiet as Amy explained the situation to them and the captain, and they all subconsciously checked their weapons and looked nervously to the south, where a massive black cloud was now visible.
---
Flare was beginning to wonder if this mission had been a horrid mistake. They’d been wandering the tunnels for nearly an hour now, and had yet to find the missing guards. Sighing as they came to yet another hub chamber, he looked around. “These all look the same too. I’m pretty sure we’re not going in circles here...”
“Si, and where are the changelings? We’ve not seen even a hint of the things being here.” Lariat commented. Almost as soon as he said that the leftmost tunnel echoed to the sound of chitin scraping against rock.
Anvil looked over at him, eyes half-shut. “You had to say something tovarich.”
Barely had the words left his mouth when fifteen large changelings barreled around the corner, scuttling along the walls and ceiling as well as the floor. These changelings seemed bigger than the one Skipjack and the others had brought back, a few of them as big as Aegis or Lariat. Furthermore, something in their eyes was off, they just radiated murderous rage
The ponies took up a defensive position, but Elias took a few steps forward and simply waited patiently as the changelings drew closer. Lifting the barrel of the AK-74, he waited an extra second before he pulled the trigger. The weapon barked out a staccato burst of fire, the muzzle flash illuminating the tunnel. Elias calmly tracked each changeling, putting a burst into each charging form. The deafening sound echoed through the tunnels, causing everypony to clap hooves to ears, and eventually Elias had to release the trigger. As everyone shook their heads to clear their vision and their hearing, they could see the devastation the weapon had done. The fifteen changelings lay twitching on the floor of the tunnel, several still alive but unable to move. Elias, his expression cold, walked forward while he reloaded the rifle. Stopping at each squirming, hissing figure, he put a bullet into each of their heads.
Two hundred and thirty miles away, Chrysalis lifted her head, gazing to the northeast, her slitted eyes narrowed. Something was wrong.
“Umm, Flare, amigo, are you sure that bringing him was a good idea?” Lariat muttered worriedly.
“Harsh...” was all Aegis could add.
Flare stared nervously at Elias as the human walked down the corridor to the bend. Suddenly, Elias waved his arm urgently, pointing at something out of sight. Flare looked at the others, and then reluctantly trotted to stand next to Elias, looking down the tunnel. His eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. “Guys... we found it.” He slowly trotted forward to the end of the tunnel, staring in disgusted awe at what lay beyond. The others followed, their expressions matching his as they beheld the chamber.
It was enormous, the opposite side barely visible through the green-tinted haze that filled the room. More of the black growths laced the floor and walls, along with strange pod-like structures suspended from the walls and floor. Gingerly entering the room, Flare trotted to one of the pods on the floor and looked inside, and felt his bile rise at the sight of its contents.
A human woman lay submerged within a sickly green fluid. Or at least, what was left of her. Tendrils of the same black growth grew into her skin, her lower body almost completely absorbed. Forcing himself to look closer, Flare could actually see the tendrils pulsing with motion, some taking something out, others pumping fluids into her.
“By the Sun and Moon, what are they doing here?” He muttered, only to cry out in panic as the woman’s eyes suddenly opened. She reached out to him blindly, her mouth locked open in a rictus scream.
Aegis, drawn by Flare’s startled call, glanced past Flare into the pod as well, his eyes going wide as his pupils contracted in fear. “Flare, W-we gotta get her outta there!”
Flare swallowed hard, fighting the urge to vomit. “I... I don’t know if we even can. This is like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard of before...”
The others cautiously fanned out, each one discovering a pod containing a human in a state of absorption. Lariat trembled with barely contained rage as he stared into a pod that held the scant remains of a child, only the upper left torso and head remaining. “Descansar, en nombre de Dios.” he whispered, making the sign of the Cross with a foreleg. He looked up as Elias walked up, looking mutely into the pod before falling to his knees with a thud, the rifle dropping to the dirt from limp fingers. With shaking hands he reached out and touched the pod gingerly, tears welling up in his eyes as he began to wail wordlessly, before suddenly gripping the pod’s ‘skin’ and tearing it away, a flood of ooze pouring across the floor. He reached in, gently pulling the child’s remains to his chest as he continued to wail.
On the ceiling, the small changeling watched the human curiously. It didn’t know why, but something about that human seemed... It shook its head as the headache returned with more ferocity than before. It shifted its grip, but accidentally knocked some dust and rocks free.
Lariat, not knowing what else to do, was reaching out to put a hoof on Elias’ shoulder when the falling dust sprinkled his leg. Looking up, the stallion locked eyes with a pair of blue eyes. The changeling spread its wings and leapt downward as Lariat started to leap his hooves. “We got one more!”
The changeling landed heavily on Elias’ back, gripping his shoulders with its forehooves and his neck in its mouth, fangs just above the vein in the side of his neck. Lariat froze, as did the others.
Flare slowly moved forward until he stood side by side with Lariat. “Let him go now.”
The changeling hissed something at them, and Elias tensed up as the fangs dug a little deeper. Flare kept his eyes locked on the changelings. “Elias, it’s going to be alright.”
Now it was the changeling’s turn to stiffen, its grip loosening as its eyes stared blankly ahead. Elias threw it off and scrambled away, bringing the AK-74 to bear.
Lariat was quicker, his rope lashing out and ensnaring the changeling. “Okay, you little rata. Now stay still.” He put a hoof on Elias’ AK-74, pushing it down. “No need to shoot him amigo. We might be able to get some information out of him.” Lariat trotted forward and began hog-tying the changeling.
The changeling’s mind was a frenzy, feeling like it was ripping itself apart. That name, why was that name so familiar to it? Scattered memories whirled through his head, flashes of a life it had never lived mixed with its own flying by like leaves in the wind. A man with that same face looking over and smiling. Chrysalis looking down on it with a smile as it struggled from its birthing pod. A man with that same face tucking it in at night. Chrysalis letting it feed on its first prey. Seeing a human child floating in a pod, and feeling something... else. Looking at a dirt-streaked mirror and seeing that same child grinning and striking a pose. It, the changeling realized. It had been that child, somehow. NO! It was a child of the swarm, loyal to Chrysalis! But... it remembered sitting at a wooden table, a man and a woman sitting across from him, looking at him with love in their eyes. It remembered...
“Father?”
Elias froze, his eyes wide with shock. Flare, Aegis and the others all looked at each other in confusion. The changeling was speaking the same language as Elias, who was still staring at it blankly.
“Uhh, Flare? Why is the changeling speaking the same language as Elias?” Dawn Breeze asked.
“It is a trick, it must be.” Anvil snorted irritably.
Flare opened his mouth to weigh in, when his brain suddenly felt like it was about to freeze. He clapped a hoof to his head in an attempt to stifle the pain.
‘Flare...’ His ears perked up instantly, recognizing the tone. “C-Captain Stardust?”
‘Over... here...’ Flare turned and blindly followed the voice in his head to a pod set into the wall, near the floor. Looking into the inside, he gagged as his gorge rose in his throat again.
Captain Stardust hung within the pod, his emaciated body barely recognizable as the vigorous stallion he had once been. As Flare looked downward, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and vomited. His hind legs were gone completely, a twisting mass of black growth winding its way up and into the unicorn’s body. Just like with the woman, Flare could see the growth pulsing as it fed the captain nutrients and removed Celestia knew what from him. “Captain, what in Equestria... by the stars, what is going on here?”
‘No... Not much time left. She knows you’re here Flare, she’s coming back...’
“Who is?” Flare asked, desperately examining the sides of the pod to see how to detach it. “Just hold on, we’re gonna get you down, take you back to Canterlot-” He took a step back as Stardust struggled, bringing one stern eye to bear on the younger captain.
‘NO! I can’t... don’t let my family see me like this... please.’ Stardust’s eye rolled wildly, though it somehow stayed fixed on Flare.
“But...” Flare hesitated. “I don’t think I can...”
‘Flare, please... it hurts... so much...’ Stardust’s ‘voice’ seemed weaker now, the unicorn’s form growing limp again.
Flare swallowed hard, the thought of what Stardust was asking him to do making him sick. His knees felt like rubber, and he nearly collapsed.
“Flare,” Aegis whispered, out of hearing from the rest of the detachment, “it’s something only you can do. I’m not sure I could, even given the tool for the job.” Aegis tapped his own empty forehead. “Stardust wouldn’t ask if he didn’t...know...y’know?”
Flare squeezed his eyes shut, the unicorn wrestling with himself at the idea of having to... to kill one of his trainers and a friend. Taking a few deep breaths, he squared his shoulders and opened his eyes. “Alright Stardust. I’ll... I’ll do it.”
“Guard, assemble on me,” Aegis called to the group. “Squad, Attention!” Aegis drew up straight as the rest of the guards did the same. “Salute!” Each guard snapped a salute to Stardust, most with tears in their eyes. Aegis turned away from Stardust with a heartbroken sigh. “Ok, Colts...and Dawn. Scour this place for the living and the dead. These monsters get nothing, you hear me? Pair up, and don’t be afraid to get loud if you spot anything. Dismissed.” Aegis stayed by Flare’s side.
Flare nodded his thanks to Aegis, and then turned back to Stardust. “Sir, it’s been an honor to have known you.” He drew his magic into his horn, the orange light glowing bright as he built his spell. The skin of the pod split down the middle, the two ponies avoiding the ooze that washed across the floor. Focusing carefully, Flare seared the black growths, eventually separating Stardust from them. Lowering the ravaged unicorn to the ground, Flare took a few deep breaths before focusing again, the air around Stardust shimmering with heat. Taking one last look at Flare, Stardust inhaled his final breath.
“Thank... you...”
Flare released his spell, Stardust’s body igniting with an orange-white light as the flames consumed him. It hurt his eyes, but Flare refused to look away, tears pouring down his face as he watched his friend disintegrate before his eyes. After another few minutes, he extinguished the fire, a pile of charred earth and white dust all that remained. Wiping at his eyes with a hoof, he reached under his armor and withdrew one of the empty supply bags. He started to focus yet more power into his horn, wobbling a little at the exertion.
Aegis placed a hoof on Flare’s shoulder in support. “Steady there, Flare. I gotcha.” Aegis offered his own shoulder to lean on should Flare require it.
Flare nodded his thanks and continued to draw on his magic, more orange light surrounding the ashes. Carefully lifting them, making sure to not miss a particle, he carefully levitated them into the bag. Sealing the top, he wearily tucked the bag under his armor. “Thanks Aegis.”
“It’s what I’m here for, buddy. You need a minute?”
Flare straightened, taking a deep breath. “No, we need to move. Stardust said that she knew we were here. I think he meant the changelings know something’s wrong, and they’re coming back here.” He turned back to where Elias was standing over the hogtied changeling. “We need to decide what to do with Elias.”
“This is a big place. If they had enough changelings to fill it, I sure don’t wanna run into ‘em on the way out.” Aegis paused to think. “I don’t s’pose Crash or Sol know how to teleport the lot of us?”
Flare shook his head. “Not this many. And we can’t teleport Elias as he is now. But there is another option.” He reached back under his armor and withdrew the locator rune Ruby had given him. “I can call for a resupply, only we use the Beacon Stone to teleport out.”
Aegis snorted, and then laughed. “That’s why you’re the brains of this outfit.”
Flare sighed. “There is still a problem. The surge of magic from the Stone will kill Elias.” He looked back over at the human. “We can ponify him, but none of us speak his language.”
“What about the changeling? It seems to. Think it might know proper Equestrian?”
Flare snorted, his eyes narrowed. “It just might.” He trotted slowly over to it. Glaring down at it, he finally took a ragged breath. “Do you understand me?” He said in Equestrian.
The changeling’s ears flicked, and it slowly nodded.
“Good. If you want to live past the next minute, you’ll translate what I say to Elias. If you don’t, I burn you to a cinder.” he growled.
The changeling nodded fearfully, while trying to scoot closer to Elias. Flare snorted and looked up at the human. “Elias, we’re going to be leaving here. But the way we leave will kill you.” The changeling hesitantly spoke the last part, almost as if it were... afraid for Elias. Flare shook his head and continued. “There is a way to save you, but you’ll need to become one of us. Like the chimpanzees.” The changeling finished translating and Elias rocked back, frustration and shock written across his face. He spoke to the changeling and it flattened its ears. It spoke back to him and Elias shouted a denial, striking it with the butt of his AK-74.
Lariat moved at once, shouldering Elias back a few steps. “Whoa there partner. No need to beat it up just yet.”
Flare rounded on the changeling. “What did you say to him?”
The changeling cowered in place, eyes never leaving Elias. “I... begged him to change. I don’t want the swarm to take him...”
Flare snorted. “Why should we believe you?”
“Because... I’m his son.”
The room was silent for a few seconds before Flare pinned the changeling to the ground. “YOU LIE! HIS CHILD IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR KIND!”
The changeling squirmed. “I know! But I have the child’s memories! I remember everything!” It broke down, screeching in a hideous parody of crying, though no tears fell from its eyes.
Aegis trotted forward and pulled Flare off of the changeling. “Flare, I know how it sounds, but s’pose it’s tellin’ the truth? And even if it ain’t, we still need it alive to learn more about these things.”
Flare tossed his head. “Alright, now finish translating. Elias, will you let us ponify you and take you with us?”
The changeling translated and Elias scowled, pushing Lariat to the side. He walked slowly to the remains of the child, laying a hand on its forehead gently. A few tears fell from his eyes, but he slowly nodded once.
Flare nodded. “Alright, I’m going to send the call to Ruby and the others. Everyone get ready; gather the survivors and the dead nearby. We’ll need to work fast.” He trotted away, casting one final cold look at the changeling on the ground before igniting his horn.
---
Chrysalis howled in rage as she surveyed the ruin the larval chamber had become. None of the extraction pods remained, the few guards she’d left behind to deter the occasional curious animal lay dead, and the air was thick with the stench of pony magic.
The large changeling, nursing the scarred bullet wound it had received, stood beside her. “What do you wish to do, my Queen?”
She closed her eyes, letting out a hissing sigh. She turned around, her green eyes staring coldly at the streams of changelings carrying their newly captured prey into the chamber. “If the Equestrians have been here, they will return, and bring their human allies with them. It’s time to relocate. Prepare the runes.”
The changeling hesitated, the blemish of a scar on his leg forgotten. "But, my Queen, that will kill a large number of the prey. Are you sure...” He prostrated himself as she turned her smoldering eyes onto him.
“Be mindful, underling. You have served well. Do not ruin your success by questioning me again.”
“Of course, my Queen.”