//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eleven: Ravage 
// Story: CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence, Book 3 
// by GanonFLCL 
//------------------------------//

Twilight couldn't remember the last time that she'd pulled an all-nighter. She knew that it definitely hadn't been in the past year, as ironic as that was; one would think that she'd have lost sleep trying to come to terms with her newly-appointed position as leader of all of Equestria, but that simply wasn't the case. Had she even pulled one since ascending into an alicorn? Maybe that was the last time, actually, the night that that had all happened; she'd definitely been losing some sleep trying to fix Starswirl's spell.

If that was the case, then tonight was the last time she'd done anything like that in a very long time.

Logically, a portion of her brain, the ancient mammalian part that she and all ponies still shared with common animals, told her that it was because she needed to be awake and alert in the presence of a predator. Any movement that came from Aculeata could be the one that led to her killing and eating Twilight! Fight-or-flight responses were just natural, no matter how deeply buried they were or how much one tried to suppress them.

The rest of Twilight, though, was in full Friendship Mode; Aculeata hadn't given her reason yet to believe that she had any intention of harming her new pony "friend", no matter what Winter had said about what Gargantuan instincts were really like. Aculeata was different, not just in appearance but in mannerisms and movements; maybe she could hurt and kill somepony, but that wasn't who she was anymore.

The queen was clearly still becoming accustomed to her new, smaller size, and Twilight could relate. She followed the queen around the remains of the nest and watched her take step after step across the slime-covered cavern floor; she was most definitely a creature that was not originally or naturally quadrupedal, and the process that had brought her to this point had not been swift nor pleasant. 

She didn't look like she was in pain, but there was just an oddly pony-like discomfort to how she moved, as if she was constantly in a state of just waking up and not having her morning coffee. Twilight could definitely relate.

At one point, Twilight offered Aculeata some of the ration bar that Winter had left for her. The queen was curious about the mid-sized square, which was composed of assorted ingredients mixed and pressed together into what could almost be considered a cookie. They weren't gourmet dining or anything like that, but they were good for traveling and survival purposes; bringing real food on these trips didn't seem as practical.

Anyway, the queen seemed curious about the hunk that Twilight had broken off for her and offered in her hoof, obviously because she'd never seen anything like it before. She didn't really "sniff" the bar—whatever means she had of judging its smell weren't apparent to Twilight—but she did give it a tentative poke with one of her legs. 

Satisfied that it wasn't dangerous, Aculeata then took the hunk in her mandibles and drew it back through to her mouth, like an ant. It tickled.

The noise the queen made was… strange, to say the least, but Twilight could tell it was a happy noise, the sort of "yummy" sound a pony would make when trying good food for the first time. She even seemed to look at Twilight with a look that said, "may I have another?"

So, Twilight gave the queen a little smile and offered her another hunk of the bar; she wasn't too hungry and the bar was large enough to break off several pieces like this without worrying. If Winter wanted to get upset about her "wasting" food by feeding the Gargantuan, then so be it.

Just thinking about Winter being upset, though, made Twilight sad. It was one thing to be mad about what had happened, but she'd never seen anypony—at least not a friend of hers—get quite this mad about anything before. Twilight could justify it up to a point, having gotten mad at her friends at times because of some mistake they had made, but it was usually fleeting and forgotten soon enough; no permanent harm had ever been done, so there was no sense in staying mad.

It hurt having Winter yell at her and call her stupid. It hurt a lot.

She was surprised when Aculeata, her horn glowing a pinkish-blue, nudged the side of Twilight's face with her own. The queen didn't have a layer of flesh or a coat of hair or fury, so the texture was odd, yet not unpleasant. A smooth, chitinous feeling, like the shell of a crustacean. This didn't detract from how gentle it was, not one bit.

It was an odd gesture, too, the sort that a pony would make to comfort a friend, and one that Twilight had definitely not taught to the queen—Twilight couldn't reach up to do it without flying, and she was hesitant to make the sudden movements needed to do so, lest she frighten Aculeata. It begged the question, did Aculeata somehow know that Twilight was sad? Was she trying to help comfort her?

The thought alone brought a smile to her face. Not just because she was being proven right—Acuelata did understand her somehow and was trying to communicate—but because that sort of thing was something that a friend would do. Aculeata considered her a friend, or at least trustworthy enough to be friendly with like this. The scientist side of Twilight was screaming about how big of a breakthrough this was; the princess side was doing likewise.

Then, Aculeata rose up sharply and suddenly, looking off towards the far end of the cavern. Without a sound, she then just bolted off into the darkness, where the light of the bioluminescent slime didn't reach. Twilight wanted to call out and ask her not to go, but it all happened so fast that she'd barely been able to react at all; the queen moved awfully quick for a creature of her size. Maybe that was part of what made Gargantuans so dangerous?

It was soon apparent what had spooked her, though, when Twilight heard hoofsteps and voices coming from the far end of the cavern, from where Winter had left to make for the ruins. With a small smile, she made her way over towards the sounds and was glad to hear the familiar voices of Applejack, Hourglass, and Winter growing louder by the second, until they were in the cavern as well, just waiting to be greeted.

"You're back!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile and nod to Winter. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would. Or maybe I'm just not measuring the time correctly. I didn't exactly get any sleep. What time is it, even?"

"Three hours, fifteen minutes, twenty-two seconds after sunrise," Winter said automatically. Twilight hadn't forgotten that Winter, as a Chronomancer, had an internal clock more accurate than any sundial.

"Yeah, I can imagine trying to get to sleep in all of this muck wouldn't exactly be easy," Hourglass said, looking out at the slime-coated floor.

The poor mare looked like she was going to retch just from looking at the stuff, and the smell certainly couldn't be helping any. Still, that seemed a little too weak-stomached in Twilight's opinion, not if she was able to last this long. The stuff wasn't that disgusting; it's not like it was vomit or anything.

"Hoo doggie, you done spent all night in this here cave?" Applejack said, fanning her hat in front of her nose. "It smells like somepony stepped on a duck."

"You get used to it," Twilight lied, wrinkling her nose a little. 

Truth be told, as much as she wanted to stay and make sure that Aculeata was going to be okay—she wasn't, nopony would be after losing their children all at once like that, but Twilight could at least lead her along the road to recovery—one part of Twilight was looking forward to leaving as soon as possible: her nose.

"And other than that, you're alright? Ya look fit as a fiddle, but I figured I'd ask just ta make sure," Applejack said with a little smile.

"I'm doing fine now, Applejack, thank you," Twilight replied, returning the smile. "I guess it's just a benefit of being an alicorn these days: I heal faster. I'll be honest, I've never really tested to see if that was the case until now. It's always nice to learn something new about yourself, don't you think?"

Hourglass raised an eyebrow. "How would you test to see if you healed faster anyway? Not injuring yourself, I hope? Self-harm is typically not a good sign of mental health and stability."

Twilight shook her head. "Oh, goodness no. I suppose that I would have to compare an accidental injury that I received in recent years to a similar injury that I'd received when I was still just a unicorn."

"Could always ask Derpy Hooves ta come over 'n' drop an anvil on yer head," Applejack snickered.

Hourglass's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Somepony dropped an anvil on your head? How in the bloody hell are you still alive?"

Twilight giggled and opened her mouth to reply, then paused as the sudden thought struck her. "I… uh, I don't know? That was a weird day. Weirder than a typical day is when Pinkie gets involved anyway, but that one was especially odd. Hmm." She shrugged. "Or maybe I'm just remembering things wrong."

"Gettin' your head crushed by an anvil would do that to ya," Winter snorted, not really angry or impatient but some sort of… odd, neutral emotion that Twilight couldn't place. "If we're all done spoutin' nonsensical bullshit that sounds like it belongs in a bloody cartoon, we should get movin'. No sense havin' a chat around here."

"Y'know, I'm inclined ta agree wit' that," Applejack said, giving Winter her own oddly neutral look. "Smartest thing I've done heard out o' yer mouth all day, I reckon. 'Course, you've been awful quiet since this mornin', so I guess that goes without sayin'."

Hourglass cleared her throat. "I'm with these two; I don't want to stick around for longer than we have to. And, um, if anypony here happens to be willing to do a filly a favor and carry me across this muck, I'd owe you so many favors. All the favors."

Applejack snickered and gestured for Hourglass to come over. "Shucks, girl, go ahead 'n' hop on. I gotcha."

"You're sure? I was just joking. Kind of." Hourglass glanced at Twilight. "I was honestly expecting Twilight to offer, actually." Then, swiftly back to Applejack. "N-no offense. It's just that I'm not exactly a lightweight— What am I saying, I watched you lift a two-ton slab of solid rock. You're sure, though? I'm not bugging you with this, am I?"

"Sure as shootin' sugarcube. Won't be no different from when I carry Apple Bloom up to 'er room when she stays up too late, even nowadays." Applejack tapped her chin and looked Hourglass over briefly. "I mean sure, you're a lil' bigger than she is, but it won't be no trouble. Just don't lose yer lunch all o'er me, got it?"

Hourglass nodded. "Got it. Thanks, AJ."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Well, aren't you two sweet?" 

She shook her head and looked up at Twilight, and she certainly looked like she was about to make some sort of quip. But then she stopped, her cheeks just a bit red, before she cleared her throat and walked past Twilight and the others into the cave at a remarkably quick pace; she could give Aculeata a run for her money.

"Welp! Time to move!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, confused as she'd ever been. She wanted to ask what Winter was going to say, but the smaller mare was moving too fast to even try it. Applejack followed behind her, certainly not as quickly but still at a reasonable pace, Hourglass on her back clinging on for… well, not dear life but clearly trying to avoid focusing on all of the glowing green gunk around them.

Twilight shook her head and followed after them, but not before looking out into the cavern to see if she could see any sign of Aculeata. She didn't, sadly. She didn't like the thought of leaving the queen alone to stew with her own thoughts like this, but she knew that she couldn't stay here forever. Maybe after they'd all returned to the Checkpoint and settled down, she'd come back. She made a mental note to memorize the route as they went.

"I'll be back, Aculeata!" she called into the cavern. "I promise! I'll be back!"

She knew the queen couldn't understand her words, maybe couldn't even hear her depending on where she'd run off to, but she had to say something. Hopefully she would understand what it was that Twilight was trying to communicate to her, that Twilight wasn't abandoning her, that she wasn't going to leave her forever, that they were still friends and that friends looked out for one another.

Twilight could only hope.


*****


Twilight was pleased to say that making their way back through the caverns towards the Checkpoint was both uneventful and actually quite enjoyable. True, Winter was being quieter now that she had even been while traveling alone with Twilight, but Twilight found it hard to really want to concern herself with that until they made it back. Applejack and Hourglass were more than enough to fill the silence.

Seeing the two on such friendly terms made Twilight smile at every turn. Applejack was probably the one amongst her friends that could make new friends the fastest, and yes, that included Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy was too quiet, so many ponies would just ignore her; Rarity was too judgmental at times and drove some ponies away because of it; Rainbow was too brash and bold, which sometimes frightened off the more introverted sorts; Pinkie had the same problem, but it was more that she was too pushy.

Twilight tended to find a medium between Fluttershy and Rarity at times, at least when she was just getting started out with this newfangled "friendship" thing. She got better at it. Eventually.

Applejack, though, just had a warmth and hospitality to her that made her just seem so… inviting. The only ponies that didn't seem to want to be her friends right off the bat were judgmental sorts who looked down on her for one reason or another, but then those sorts were like that with a lot of ponies, not just Applejack. Even Rarity was able to look past all of their differences so that they could be friends and stay friends to this very day.

So it didn't surprise her at all that Applejack and Hourglass were pretty close already. She wondered what had been the piece that started it all, but she figured that she'd ask Applejack once they had a chance to speak in private. Not because she was trying to be secretive or anything, but because she could tell Winter was… unhappy that the other two were on such friendly terms so fast. Maybe even a little jealous?

Even as the Princess of Friendship, she still didn't understand why the concept had to be so darn complicated. Why couldn't everything be as simple as a book, where all of the world was in black and white? That sort of thing she could deal with easily, it was just a matter of applying logic and practicality. But gray? She didn't always know how to deal with gray.

Today, as they were making their way through the last set of caverns that they needed to move through, Applejack brought something to the group's attention. Every now and then she'd stop and look back along the route they'd taken, stare off into the distance for a moment or two, then shake her head and carry on. This time, though, she seemed to have something to offer up:

"I think somepony's followin' us," she said, eyebrow raised as she looked off into the darkness behind them.

"How do you figure that? Nopony's out here because of that big sandstorm," Hourglass said, stepping alongside Applejack to try and see if she could see whatever it was that Applejack saw. "I don't see anything back there. Do you?"

"Naw, it ain't nothin' I can see," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Call it a gut feelin', I guess. I dunno, I just got a strange feelin' that there's somepony or something back there. Not a gut feelin', actually, it's like I can feel it in my hooves. Kinda like feelin' a stampede 'fore it comes barrelin' down at ya."

"Well there definitely isn't a stampede coming our way. Are you sure you're not just seeing things? Or, uh… feeling things, I guess?"

Applejack nodded firmly. "As sure as water's wet."

"I believe you, Applejack," Twilight said, setting her hoof on the earth pony's shoulder. "I know you wouldn't make something like that up."

"Can you feel anything, Twilight?" Hourglass asked, tapping her hooves on the floor. "Because I don't."

Twilight shook her head. "No. But I think I know what it is, or rather, who: Aculeata. I think that maybe she's following us. Or following me, specifically."

Hourglass suddenly looked quite nervous. "Blimey, you really think so? What're we going to do? Should we run?"

"Oh, no, I don't think that'll be necessary at all. I don't think Aculeata's following us with any intention of hurting anypony. I don't know exactly why she's following us, but I'm absolutely certain that she means us no harm."

"Guess ya really did make a friend with the Gargantuan queen, didn't you?" Winter quipped, one of the few things she'd said all afternoon.

"Maybe that's why she'd followin' ya?" Applejack suggested, taking a moment to fan herself with her hat. "Ya done made yerself a friend an' she didn't wanna see ya go. Maybe she wants to say goodbye or somethin'?"

Twilight tapped her chin. "Hmm. Or, it could be something similar to how certain animals react to Fluttershy's care. I know that there are plenty of animals that she's tended to over the years that have tended to become permanent fixtures around her home because they feel so comfortable around her. Like her bear friend, Harry."

"Ah yeah, he's always hangin' 'round her cottage, ain't he? Didn't I see 'er givin' him a massage just the other week?"

Hourglass raised an eyebrow. "Your friend Fluttershy has a pet bear?"

"Oh, he's not a pet," Twilight said with a grin. "Just a friend. He lives nearby and he's his own, um… bear. But if you wanted to find him, you'd probably have better luck checking Fluttershy's cottage first rather than his own cave. They're really good friends. All of her animal friends are."

"And you think Aculeata is, what, following you 'home'? Like a puppy?"

Twilight shrugged. "Could be. I don't know how intelligent she really is, but I know that she understands a lot of the things I was trying to convey to her. She's certainly not a mindless killing machine, I'll tell you that much, and she's definitely not 'just' an animal, either." With a look off into the darkness, she added, "So if she is following us… I'm not frightened. She's a friend."

Once that was settled, the group continued along through the tunnels, even taking time to make camp for a little late lunch. From there, they were mere hours away from the cavern's exit, where Twilight would then escort the group through the sandstorm the short remaining distance—relatively-speaking—to the Checkpoint, at last. Then they could all just relax and wait out the sandstorm, hopefully like the rest of her friends were doing.

Twilight was glad that everything was going so smoothly, considering how tumultuous events had been early on—

Then there was a strange whistling noise, followed by a loud kaboom.

Twilight raised a protective shield to prevent her and her friends from being sprayed with rock as the tunnel ahead collapsed. It was no natural, ordinary cave-in, that was for certain; there had been no shaking to precede it, the rocks exploded outwards as though driven by some unseen force, and there was a distinct shockwave indicating an explosion.

Once the dust cleared and the shock wore off, everypony got a chance to look ahead and see that the tunnel was utterly impassable.

"Stay right where you are!" shouted a voice from above.

Twilight and the others glanced up to see a pegasus mare fluttering above them. She had a cobalt coat, though her wings and face were all that Twilight could see of that due to the armor she was wearing over the entirety of her body, most of her head included. She was far up enough that Twilight couldn't make out anything else about her, other than the weapons she had attached to her hooves, blades of some kind.

There was other movement from nearby as well, which drew Twilight's attention in several directions. From behind a rocky outcropping to her right, she could see an armored stallion—an earth pony, it seemed like—crouched and aiming some sort of long-tubed… gun? She recalled the name of the contraption from her last visit. A long-barreled gun, a "rifle", if she was correct. He was aiming it right at her.

To her left there was another earth pony stallion, also armored, who was now standing firmly on top of another outcropping. Slung over his shoulder was a large, long tube that Twilight didn't recognize, but one end of it was smoking, and into the other end he was shoving some sort of firework-like object.

From behind her, Twilight heard more movement, and she saw a unicorn stallion there, not as well-armored as the other three and only carrying a smaller gun, a "pistol", but in his hoof, not with his magic. Twilight didn't know if this unicorn could even still use magic, since his horn was covered in an unsightly crystalline substance, one that reminded her of the black crystals connected with King Sombra back home.

Whoever they were, they were definitely not friendly, so Twilight kept her barrier up.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to be, eh?" Winter snapped, looking up at the pegasus. "What do you want?"

"Our business isn't with you, little filly," the pegasus mare said, "so keep your mouth shut and let the adults do the talking."

"I am an adult, ya fuckin' drongo."

"Hmm. Could've fooled me." The pegasus shrugged. "Whatever, you're not important, so shut your mouth before somepony gets hurt. Like yourself." She then turned her attention fully to Twilight and pointed right at her. "She's the one we want. Lavender wings with a lavender horn; just the mare we've been searching for."

"Me?" Twilight asked, giving the pegasus a curious look; how would anypony even know she was here? "What do you want with me? I don't even know who you are."

"What we want with you isn't important. What's important is that we want you to come with us, and we don't want there to be a fuss about it."

"And why would I want to come with you?"

"Because if you don't come along quietly, we might have to get… violent. And if things get violent, somepony might get hurt. One of your little friends, maybe?" The pegasus grinned, showing off just one row of teeth. "So, what's it gonna be, hmm? We don't have to get violent, do we?"

Winter snorted and turned to Twilight. "Don't buy it, Twilight. The second you walk out of here with them they're gonna try—emphasis on try—to kill the rest of us. Classic bullshit scenario, covered this shit in basic combat trainin', not even advanced classes."

"I don't make it a habit to negotiate with ponies who intend on hurting me or my friends," Twilight said with a nod, her focus locked on the pegasus. "If they had one of you being held as a hostage, maybe I would, but they made the mistake of not separating us."

"Seems like a pretty big oversight there, if ya ask me," Applejack muttered.

"No deal!" Twilight shouted up. "In case you haven't noticed, my friends and I are all protected under my barrier. You might have blocked the path forward, but we can just look for another way around. You're welcome to follow us, but believe me, I can keep this barrier up for as long as necessary."

"Yeah, you wanker!" Hourglass shouted up at the pegasus, shaking her hoof. "What stupid gits, wasting our bloody time like this."

The pegasus smiled wickedly. "Ah, you think this is some kind of pissant standoff. You think that we've made some idiotic blunder. I get it." She drifted down to the ground level, retracting the weapons attached to her hooves so that they didn't scrape against the floor. "Kudos to you, you've spotted the flaw in our plan."

Hourglass snorted. "Yeah! So just back off and get out of here!"

Twilight got a good look at the armor now. It looked like it was made of… obsidian, or some material that was very similar to it. There were lots of jagged edges to it, and it looked like it had been fused together from several different pieces that were all of varying sizes and shapes, and not with magic either, but with some sort of bonding agent. It had to be uncomfortable.

Winter stepped forward and put herself between Hourglass and the pegasus. "You heard her. Get the fuck outta here, before things get ugly. My friend's shield doesn't block magic both ways, so I'd be more than happy to kick your sorry ass without breakin' a sweat. I'm just tryin' to play nice."

The mare's smile widened. "You would think that. This is an impressive barrier." She circled around it briefly, nodding in approval. "A good shape, plenty of integrity. I can feel how strong it is, and I'm not even a unicorn." As she came back around to Winter's side, she licked her lips. "Be a shame if it popped."

To Twilight's utter shock, the pegasus reached out and touched the barrier spell with her armor-clad hoof, and the instant she did so, the barrier just vanished. Poof, without a trace or even the slightest hint of effort or strain on the part of either party. Twilight couldn't even feel her magic flowing through her anymore, as if it was just… gone.

Winter's eyes widened; she was just as shocked as Twilight, had to be. "What the—"

Twilight's ears rung; she winced from the sheer noise; there had been a brief flash from the barrel of the earth pony's rifle.

Twilight was… well, there were a rush of emotions billowing through her. Terror. Shock. Amazement. Confusion. Pride.

Winter had caught the projectile, the "bullet", in her own magical field just an inch away from her face.

However, it definitely hadn't been easy; Twilight knew the signs of immense magical strain, and Winter was strained beyond belief at the moment. The act of catching a moving projectile at that speed and without warning was mathematically improbable; not impossible, because otherwise Winter wouldn't be standing there, teeth clenched, holding the still-spinning round in her magic for just a second before dropping it.

She was clearly in possession of supernatural reflexes.

"Oooh, now that's impressive," the pegasus cooed, giving a dramatic slow-clap. "I can think of less than ten unicorns in history who have ever been able to do that, all of them stage magicians looking to wow an audience. I've seen the recordings, even saw one of the shows myself. Bra." Another loud, single clap. "Vo."

The rifle-wielding earth pony made a few motions with his gun, reminding Twilight of how a pony re-armed a crossbow. Twilight tried to reignite her barrier, but her magic just wasn't working. What did that pegasus do to her? Was it something about the armor? That had to be it, but what kind of material could do that?

The pegasus gestured at the rifle pony, her wicked grin returning. "My buddy over there has plenty more rounds where that came from. How many of them do you think you can catch in a row? Two? Three?" She licked her lips again. "Some of those magicians tried for two. You ever see a pony get his brains splattered all over a crowd? I have. I was in the splash zone."

"That's enough," Twilight said, taking a step forward; without her magic, she couldn't think of any other alternative to keep her friends safe, no matter how much she doubted they would be. "Stop this. You proved your point; I'll go with you."

"Twilight, what did we just talk about?" Winter said through clenched teeth. "You're not doin' shit."

"What choice do I have, Winter?"

"You let your bitch speak for you, Twilight?" the pegasus asked, still not looking at Twilight and keeping her eyes on Winter. "You heard her, little filly. She's coming with us, or we'll see if you can catch another bullet from my friend over there." She then tilted her head towards the unicorn. "Or maybe you wanna try to catch one from him? He's had a bead on your earth pony pal the whole time."

For emphasis, the pistol-wielding unicorn shifted his pistol two inches to the right and fired a shot, then back to the left in one swift motion; Twilight tried to ignite her horn, and she could feel a little bit of magic starting to work its way though, but she wasn't fast enough. All she got was a sputter of sparks.

Twilight heard Applejack wince, then heard the bullet strike the far wall. A glance towards Applejack told Twilight that she was physically fine, apart from maybe some ringing in her ears and a trickle of blood from where the bullet grazed her. There was no possible way to describe just how relieved Twilight felt in that instant.

"Two inches to the left and the next bullet's got gray matter all over it. Think you can catch that one?" the pegasus taunted. "I'd be real fucking impressed. A behind-the-back blind capture. Yeah, super impressed."

"Please! Stop this!" Twilight pleaded. Her magic was feeling like it was coming back; maybe if she could stall—

"You ain't takin' Twilight," Applejack hissed. She glanced at Twilight, a fearless confidence in her gaze. "Her friends won't let anythin' happen to 'er."

Twilight raised an eyebrow; what was with that odd sparkle in Applejack's eye?

"Was I talking to, hick?" The pegasus snarled as she looked right at Applejack. "Another word out of you, and my friend over there—"

Twilight was just as surprised as pretty much everypony else must have been when the ground underneath the pistol-wielding unicorn suddenly gave way into a sinkhole. He didn't even scream, or if he did, nopony heard it.

"What the f—" the pegasus blurted.

It seemed that Applejack wasn't surprised in the least by the sudden change to the situation, because at the exact moment that it happened, she leapt forward and clocked the pegasus across the mouth so hard that the mare actually stumbled back several steps.

"Twi!" Applejack shouted, pointing at the blocked tunnel. "Clear a path!"

Twilight didn't hesitate to ignite her horn, and she was glad that her magic was working again, even if weaker than usual. She fired a blast of light at the collapsed tunnel. "Go!" she shouted, gesturing with her wings towards the others as she stepped forward to shield them with her body if necessary. "Run!"

"Shoot them, dammit!" the pegasus shouted at the rifle pony as she rose to her hooves and extended her blades. "Don't let them get away!"

The rocket-wielding earth pony fired another rocket towards the tunnel; Twilight heard the whistling whine and, horrified, waited for the explosion.

But Winter fired a blast of magic at the rocket, not one intended to detonate or destroy it, but to catch it. Twilight was scared for a second; but Winter was apparently stronger than she looked, as she had just enough magic not to stop the rocket, but to adjust its trajectory just enough that it curved and flew towards the other end of the room.

The rifle pony had to run and leap out of the way to prevent himself from being caught in the blast.

"Stop them, you idiots!" the pegasus shouted.

"The target is in the way!" the rifle pony shouted back, having retaken a firing position in a rather inconvenient position, since it placed Twilight in between him and the others with no effort on her part. "Get her out of my shot!"

"Fucking worthless trash!" the pegasus snapped, taking to the air and flying towards the fleeing group. "I'll do it myself!"

Twilight didn't think she would be able to prevent the pegasus from simply circling around her to get to her friends, and she wracked her brain trying to think of an angle—

But then, she didn't need to. The ground exploded out from in between her and the pegasus, and the pegasus was just barely quick enough to avoid being sprayed with dirt and rock. Or, more importantly, being struck by what climbed out of the new hole in the floor.

Twilight's eyes widened, though she was shielding them from dirt and rock herself. "Aculeata?"

There was no mistaking it; the Gargantuan queen was… here. She had been following them.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" called out the rifle pony.

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" the pegasus called out as she scrambled away.

The rifle pony did just that, but the bullets plinked harmlessly against her carapace. Aculeata responded with an insect-like screech, her horn glowing a brilliant blood red.

Twilight felt Winter grab her hoof. "Gawk less, run more!' she snapped.

"But—" Twilight started.

"C'mon!" Applejack called from the tunnel; she and Hourglass were already making their way through.

Twilight spared one look back towards the Gargantuan queen…

Then she followed her other friends, running as quickly as her hooves could take her.


~~~~~



Moments Earlier…


Dig, dig, dig. Moving ahead. Four small hooves. No, five? Six… seven. Seven hoofsteps. Three new ones. More of Friend Twilight's brood? Heard noise, big crash. Know noise, old life. Weapon. Small hooves throw. Does not hurt me. Why noise?

All stop. No more moving. Stop… food? No, fed already, smelled Friend Twilight's food. Strange rock. Tasty rock, new taste, not meat. Sleep? No, not sleep, not time. Why stop? Because noise?

New steps? Eight hoofsteps now. New ones moving, circling… predator? Friend Twilight, hooves move. Wary. Why wary… because predator? Predator not with Friend Twilight, not with brood.

Feel… many things. Black taste… fear. Do not like. Fear is… Friend Twilight. She tastes Black. Brood tastes Black. New hooves, not Black. No fear. New taste… Green. Green is… happy. New taste, happy. Green and… Red. Know Red. Red taste, anger. Taste Red on Friend Twilight's brood, too. Black and Red.

Noise. Small crash. Know noise, old life. Weapon. Small hooves throw it. Hurts children, does not hurt me. Why noise? No children here… children gone. Rival children… no, no skittering ones. No more skittering here. Much Black from Friend Twilight. Much Black… do not like. Why Black? Because noise?

Another noise, smaller crash. Do not know noise, sounds like small crash, smaller. Weapon? One of the small hooves threw. Friend Twilight… very Black. No, do not like. No more Black. Friend Twilight will not be Black.

Smaller crash was from above. One of small hooves, not Friend Twilight's brood. Dig, dig, dig! Rise up. Rock breaks, see small hooves. Horned one. Strange horn. Drag down, like old life, like old males. Not to mate. Small hooves not like old males. Soft, no shell, just flesh. Flesh tears. Horned one's mouth opens. Old life, small hooves made noise. Scream? This one makes none. Neck tears. No noise.

Moving? Friend Twilight's brood moving. Large one, plain one with strange head shell. Moves towards predator… predator moves, stumbles? Predator separated from Friend Twilight.

Friend Twilight's brood moving… flee. Much Black, less than before. Still, Black. Predator, pure Red. So much Red. Anger. Anger at Friend Twilight. Wants to hurt Friend Twilight. No steps? Predator jumps… pounces! No! No hurt Friend Twilight!

Dig, dig, dig! Rise up, surface. Predator there. Small hooves, winged one. Strange shell. Much Red. Hear Friend Twilight mouth noise, feel moving, still Black, also Green? Little Green. Fleeing. Flee, Friend Twilight. Will protect. Will keep safe.

Another small hooves, plain one, throws weapon, crash. Know noise, know weapon, old life. Hurts children. Does not hurt me. Ignore. Predator's brood. Will kill soon, threatened Friend Twilight.

See predator, predator wants to hurt Friend Twilight. Pounce… nothing. Winged one fast, flies away. Still more Red, some Black. Hear noise… shouts. Predator shouts at broodmates. Out of reach. My wings… still not work. Must reach predator. Big jump?

Crash again. Plain one throws. Does not hurt me. Much Black from plain one. Do not like, tastes bad. Turn, run, pounce. Plain one pinned. Plain one has strange shell. Know from old life. Shell useless. Strike down. Pierce through shell. Pierce. Pierce. Plain one stops moving. No more Black.

Big crash. Behind. Know noise from old life. Weapon. Small hooves throw it. Kills children, hurts old males. Does not hurt me. Black taste, less? Cannot see, smoke. Blinking, eyes still new. Smoke clears. See another plain one. This plain one threw weapon.

Much Black again. More Black than before. Turn, run, pounce… miss, this plain one is fast. This plain one has shell too. Shell useless. Plain one runs. Lash with tail, sting. Pierce shell, inject venom. Shell useless. Plain one stops moving. No more Black.

No. Still Black. Look up, predator. Predator is all Black. So much Black. Do not like, tastes bad, stomachs ache. Cannot reach, wings still not work. Predator… flees? No. Predator wants to hurt Friend Twilight. Predator will come back. No flee. Will kill.

Horn is strange now. Not used since making nest. Old life, change to new life, new horn, new body. But horn still work. Spit weaker, still work. Horn spits. Miss… no, hit predator wing! Smell flesh, hear sizzle noise. Predator falls.

Run, pounce. Predator makes noise, screams. Has claws, like old life? Queen claws kill children, kill old males, hurt me. But predator is not Queen… so does not hurt me. Predator has shell like plain ones. Different, not metal. Stone? Strange stone. Maybe not useless, maybe not hurt by claw?

But spit work. Spit work on stone, on flesh, on metal. Horn spits. Predator screams. Horn spits. Predator screams. Horn spits. Predator stops screaming. Predator stops moving. No more Black.

Look, find Friend Twilight? No… Friend Twilight flee. Predator brood dead. More predator brood? Must follow Friend Twilight, keep safe. Keep her brood safe. Friend Twilight makes Aculeata feel… Green. Happy.


*****


It was late at night when Twilight and her friends managed to cut their way along the edge of the mountains and through the sandstorm to reach the Checkpoint building. 

Hourglass was thoroughly pooped, judging by how sluggish she was and how she'd barely been able to keep up most of the way; Applejack was practically unaffected by all the running they'd just done, even offering to carry Hourglass a few times so that they didn't have to stop. Even Twilight herself was feeling a little bit winded.

None of that compared to Winter though, who looked like she was ready to collapse at any moment, and yet still pushed her way forward without stopping and ignoring every offer of aid she got. Twilight could understand why she was so tired—it wasn't every day a unicorn had to catch a bullet and redirect a rocket and run for three hours straight in such a tight time span. She didn't understand why Winter wouldn't accept help from anypony, though.

But once everypony was safe within the Checkpoint walls, all of the bravado came down; even Applejack took a moment to catch her breath and rub her hooves a little. Winter, she just collapsed onto the floor inside the common room, thoroughly spent and looking like it too. Pewter was quick to start fetching a few things here and there to help the mares get comfortable for a few moments before anypony even had to say anything—though Applejack had enough in her to at least introduce herself.

Now, they all sat together in the common room in comfortable chairs and sofas around a little coffee table laden with several glasses of ice water, far more than one glass per mare.

"So, what the hell happened to get you guys in such a state?" Pewter asked, passing Winter another glass of water; yes, there was plenty of water for her too, because Pewter refused to give her a beer just yet.

"We're not really sure," Twilight muttered, rubbing her neck. "These ponies just attacked us out of nowhere, started telling me that they were gonna kill my friends if I didn't surrender. It's not the first time that I've been in a dangerous situation like that but it's the first time I really felt it, if you can understand what I mean?"

"First time you've had to deal with somepony being so direct about killing ponies close to you, I take it?"

Twilight considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Most ponies who've threatened me or my friends before are usually just threatening to hurt us in like… real general, nondescript ways."

"Yeah," Applejack agreed. "'Give us what we want, or yer friend gets it' kind o' stuff, y'know? Just causin' hurt 'n' such, not the kind o' things them folks was threatenin' ta do. Even when folks threatened ta kill us it was just… that. 'Do this or yer friend dies', yeah?"

"Nopony's ever threatened to… to 'blow brains out' before," Twilight muttered, feeling her stomach turn a bit at the thought. "And seeing them even try to do it was different, too. That was rough to watch." With a nod at Winter, she added, "You were amazing out there, Winter. I doubt that many unicorns could do what you did."

"Pretty much," Winter said, nursing her horn with an ice pack. "That bitch wasn't lyin', eh? It's mostly a stage trick, and not an easy one. Doesn't really work well in a real firefight unless in specific circumstances. Lucky for us, we were given those circumstances, though I wish I knew what the fuck happened to disable your magic, even if it was only for a minute."

"Seemed to me that it was caused by the armor. I didn't recognize the material."

"Hmm, me neither. New technomagic maybe? I'll see if Queen Blackburn or Dawn know anything about it."

"Blimey, I had no idea you were even capable of something like that," Hourglass said, sipping from her ice water. "I knew you were skilled with combat magic but that really was something else. Like something right out of a movie!"

"If you take the advanced combat courses during your next stage of training, you'll get to be that good too, mate."

"Just so we're all on the same page, the reason you were able to get away is because…" Pewter shook his head and sighed. "Go over it one more time for me?"

"That Gargantuan queen I told you about, Aculeata, made a nest down under Goldridge," Winter explained. "She's mutatin', gettin' smaller, and it must've affected her eggs 'cause all of her clutch died. Twilight and I found her grievin', and Twilight… made friends with her. Fuck, it doesn't sound any less weird no matter how many times I say it."

"And she followed you all the way out here from her nest?" Pewter asked, looking at Twilight now.

"That seems to be the case," Twilight said with a sad frown. "I hope she's alright…"

Pewter nodded. "Gargantuan queens are made of sterner stuff than you and me. I've seen vids of them taking hits from airship-grade weaponry and walking it off like you'd walk off a spitball. The only thing that can easily kill a queen that anypony knows of is another queen. Hence why the big cities have to be very specific about defenses."

"Assuming that whatever mutations got her to where she is now didn't weaken her," Hourglass said, tapping her chin. When Twilight's expression fell further, she hastily corrected herself: "Sorry! I mean, I'm sure she's fine!"

Twilight shook her head. "I really do hope so…"

"Assumin' the worst here, 'cause it pays to have all the angles," Winter said carefully, looking at Pewter, "what can we expect if those fucks come lookin' for us? They'd be stupid not to assume we'd head here."

"Well, in that case I've got some good news and bad news," he replied.

"Bad news first," Applejack grunted. "Just get it over with."

"Right. Well, the bad news is that I took an oath of sorts to make sure that the Checkpoint is forever neutral territory and that I'd take in any and all comers, no matter who they are, where they're from, what their background is, or why they're here."

Applejack balked. "So if them folks show up here, y'all gotta take 'em in?"

"Exactly. And believe me, I don't like the sound of it any more than any of you do, but it's a rule that this establishment has abided by since my father founded it. Fifty years of tradition. I'm not about to throw that out the window. If they come here seeking aid—whatever that is—I'm obligated to help."

Winter sighed and shook her head. "You and your stupid fuckin' principles…"

"Then what's the good news?" Hourglass asked.

Pewter crossed his hooves over his chest. "The Checkpoint has been considered neutral ground by both the NPAF and the Hope's Point militaries since before these peace treaties were just a dream. As such, I'm essentially my own nation in all but name; officially I'm a 'colony' of Hope's Point but they have no legal authority here.

"Because of that, the rules of the Checkpoint apply to everypony, no matter who they are or who they're affiliated with. The first rule of the Checkpoint is that there's no fighting permitted, and that includes threats of violence; I'll toss anypony out of here the instant they try anything against any of you, even verbally."

"These guys've got big ol' honkin' guns, pardner," Applejack huffed.

Pewter smirked. "And you think I don't?" He shifted in his seat slightly and adjusted his jacket so that everypony could see the firearm he had strapped to his side. "It's a modified DS-950; sucker can dent military-grade durasteel, so no body armor can withstand it."

"Wow, I didn't know you owned a gun, Pewter," Hourglass said, eyes wide as she looked at the firearm. "Spiffy."

"Yup, and I practice with it weekly. I know there're better gunslingers out there, and I've thankfully never had to use it on anypony, but I've threatened to use it more than once over the years. I can't imagine it's fun looking down the barrel."

"And if they don't take the hint?" Winter asked.

Pewter shifted the gun back underneath his jacket. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I don't want to deal with the clean-up."

"Ugh," Hourglass grumbled, slumping back in her chair. "I hate this! Why can't this bloody job just be fucking simple!"

Winter's eyes widened and her lips curled up. "Hooly dooly. There it is, your first F-word. Welcome to the fuckin' club, mate. How's it feel? Ya feel like a real mare now?"

"Sod off."

Pewter sighed and rose from his seat. "This is all quite the tale to take in, certainly more exciting and harrowing than any movie I've seen lately. You girls sound like you need a good night's rest, as well as a nice, hot meal." He started off towards the kitchen. "I can whip something up right now for everypony—"

"And no fuckin' potatoes!" Winter grunted loudly.

"Right, no potatoes," Pewter replied with a grin. "In the meantime, Winter, Twilight, you've already got your rooms together, I've just cleaned them up but otherwise left everything where you left it. Hourglass, pick a room, it's yours, you know the drill. And if somepony wants to help set one up with Applejack while I'm cooking, all the better."

"Thank ya kindly, Mister Pewter," Applejack said with a tip of her hat. "Y'all know how to show folks some o' that good ol' right-at-home hospitality."

He nodded in return. "Not at all, ma'am." Addressing the entire group, he said, "I'll call you down for dinner when it's done. Get comfy until then, but don't expect to wait too long; showers and whatnot can wait a bit."

"Ohhh ho ho, no, I'm taking my shower now," Hourglass huffed. "I'm not sitting down for a meal until I'm clean."

Winter raised her glass of water to Pewter. "Good on ya, mate. Thanks." She watched him leave out of the corner of her eye, and as soon as he was gone, she fished a flask out of her sweater pocket and took a swig.

"Winter, you shouldn't be drinking after all we've just been through," Twilight scolded.

Winter chuckled quietly, then raised her flask to Twilight. "Believe me, Twilight… I'm gonna need plenty of this for later…"

Twilight had no idea what that was supposed to mean, so she just sighed, shook her head, and rose from her chair to go find her room. She needed to get out of these sweaty clothes and back into one of those comfortable bathrobes.


*****


It was the dead of the night, and Twilight still couldn't sleep. She couldn't tell if it was nerves brought on by the experience she'd just gone through—she'd been through a lot of life-or-death situations over the years but this one was horribly unique—or because she was worried sick about Aculeata—then again, since the attackers hadn't shown up here, maybe she was okay? 

Either way, it was keeping her awake.

So, Twilight did now what she always did when she couldn't sleep: she read. She hadn't finished all of the books Pewter had brought her yet, but she knew that there were plenty more where that came from; she'd seen the break room on the second floor and how there was an entire wall of books. The light of her horn was bright enough to read by but dim enough that it was pleasant to sit in bed under, and so that hopefully she wouldn't disturb anypony else.

Not that she could. Everypony had their own private rooms anyway, and they were far enough apart that nopony would see even the faintest hint of light from under her door unless they were right outside. Not only that, but Applejack was the only one on this floor anyway; Hourglass had opted for a room on the next floor up—she said the shower on that floor was better than the others and wanted a room right next it—and Winter was still on the third floor, and on the opposite end of the hall from the stairs at that. 

As far as possible from Twilight's as could be.

Twilight didn't understand it, not one bit. One minute the two of them could be sharing a relatively pleasant conversation, maybe even reminiscing about old times, but the next minute Winter would just shut down and shut everypony and everything out except the mission at hoof. 

Twilight wasn't sure if this was an improvement over being yelled at—it certainly still hurt a lot—but at least it was a change, right? Maybe it would change again once the sandstorm was over—ten days or so to go!—and that was all that Twilight could hope for.

The thing about reading by horn light in the dead of the night is that every single sound in your immediate vicinity is magnified. Hoofsteps down the hall would sound as loud as if they were right next to your ears; you'd know immediately if somepony forgot to turn off the water faucet in the bathroom. The wind of the sandstorm outside wasn't aggravating only because of the dampening materials that the Checkpoint was made out of.

But those same materials didn't dampen out all of the sounds outside.

As such, Twilight nearly leapt out of her bed when she heard what sounded like a faint screech off in the distance. It was so quiet that if she were asleep or doing any activity that required her to make any sort of noise, she'd have never heard it. At first she thought she'd just been hearing things and was about to return to her book, but then she heard it again.

Whatever it was, it was coming from outside the Checkpoint, and it wasn't far.

Twilight snapped her book shut and carefully, quietly, got out of bed, drew her bathrobe around her tightly and tied it, then opened her door and headed out into the hall. She waited for a few seconds to see if the noise came again… and there it was. Not louder or closer, but at least it wasn't further away. A glance down the hall told Twilight that Applejack was still asleep; there was no way she wouldn't have gotten up to investigate otherwise.

She headed for the common room next, and was surprised when a light came on in there. She didn't think anypony else was awake. But then she supposed that it made some sense that Pewter was.

"Miss Sparkle? What are you doing up?" he asked, tugging his bathrobe around him a little tighter, as if Twilight would've bothered looking. "You've had a hard day. You should be asleep."

"Can't sleep," she said with a shrug. "I was doing some light reading when I heard the strangest noise—"

There it was again.

"You heard it too?" he asked. "Well, good, then at least that means I'm not hearing things."

"What is that? Is the sandstorm causing it?"

"That storm's been raging outside for almost two weeks now, and not once have I ever heard a noise like that before. But it is coming from outside."

Twilight glanced towards the door, then back to him before tilting her head towards the door. "We should check it out. It could be somepony that's hurt and needs help."

He raised an eyebrow. "It could be, yes, and it could also be the ponies who are after you trying to draw you out into the open."

"If it were them, wouldn't you be obligated to help them? They'd be ponies in need in that case; this sandstorm is deadly!"

There was the noise again, still the same as ever.

Pewter made a show of straightening his robe. "I'm only obligated to offer help to ponies who ask for it. If the ponies who're after you don't ask me for any help, then I see no reason to risk life and limb in the sandstorm to help them." With a firm look, he added, "Though if I thought it were anypony else, that'd be a different story. But it isn't; apart from your group and theirs, there shouldn't be anypony out here."

"But what if it is?"

Pewter paused, then sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. You're right, on the off-chance that it is somepony in need, I am obligated to help." He gestured towards the door. "Normally I would take point, but your magic far surpasses my own. I'll stick with you and focus on keeping an eye out." He shifted his robe to show that he still had his gun on him. "And just in case, I'm always armed."

Twilight nodded, and she and Pewter stepped over to the front door. After he went through the process of unlocking everything, Twilight lit up her horn to create a barrier around them, and they opened the door and stepped out into the storm. It was just as strong as ever without the slightest hint of letting up, but thanks to the strength of Twilight's spell, neither she nor Pewter would feel so much as a whisper.

Once outside, they heard the noise again, much more clearly now that it wasn't filtered by the dampening materials, and boy, was it loud. Whatever was making the sound was definitely nearby, and Twilight was able to locate the source after a moment, after hearing the screech a second time.

She pointed up the side of the mountain. "It's coming from up there."

Pewter removed his gun from its holster. "Well, that's not a good sign. That means it's coming from the nearest cavern entrance, and all signs point to it belonging to your new 'friends'. Stay alert, Miss Sparkle."

"Right…"

She made her way towards the slope that led further up and followed it, Pewter right beside her; he definitely wasn't letting her stay in front of him on purpose, she was just moving faster than he was by default, by necessity. As they got further up the slope, the screech got louder, closer; they weren't far now, so she moved faster, and Pewter had to run to keep up.

As they rounded the corner ahead and turned into the cave entrance, Twilight let out a little gasp. "Aculeata!"

The Gargantuan queen was practically writhing on the floor near the cavern entrance, though she seemed to relax a little when she moved further inside. That didn't last long, though, because the queen seemed to notice her, and when it moved in her direction she let out another loud, piercing screech and crumpled to the floor and began convulsing.

Pewter, gun leveled in the queen's direction, eyes wide, was only able to mumble, "What in the—" He raised the gun, as if preparing to shoot.

Twilight pressed her hoof against Pewter's side. "Wait! Don't shoot! She's a friend!"

Pewter's eyes darted between Twilight and Aculeata for a moment, then he lowered the gun. "Wait, this is Aculeata?"

"Yes!" Twilight said. She rushed forward to crouch down beside the queen, wrapping her hooves around her. It seemed to steady her slightly; the convulsions became simple twitches and shudders, though highly uncomfortable ones. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Pewter scratched his head. "Y'know, when everypony kept saying that she was smaller, they didn't mention that she'd also started looking so much different. I assumed she still looked like a Gargantuan queen, just not as big as a mountain."

"Huh? I thought Winter would've mentioned it to you before? She said that Aculeata's been changing for weeks or more."

"Figures. Winter sometimes forgets little details." He shrugged. "Could be just that she wanted to get more information before she told me anything concrete."

Twilight set her cheek against the top of Aculeta's head, the queen didn't look injured, so why was she reacting this way? "What's wrong, Aculeata? Did you get hurt trying to protect me? What happened to you?" She looked at Pewter for a moment. "Can you help me figure out what's wrong with her? She seems like she's in pain."

Pewter nodded. "I bet it's because of the seismic generators around and under the Checkpoint."

"The what?"

"The Checkpoint is surrounded by seismic generators that create a pulsing sensation that reverberates through the earth for just over a mile around. It keeps Gargantuans out, and even queens can't stand the vibrations, so they leave me well enough alone out here. Hope's Point and New Pandemonium both use the same or similar technology."

"Can you turn it off?"

He balked. "I mean, yeah, of course I can. I've never done it before, but I know how to—"

"Do it."

"But Twilight—"

She gave him a stern, pleading look. "I'll help you figure something else out to keep the Checkpoint safe, but Aculeata isn't a threat. My friend is in pain, Pewter. Please, turn them off."

He paused, then squared his jaw, nodded, raised a protective shield around himself, and rushed off into the storm and back towards the Checkpoint, leaving Twilight alone with Aculeata; she was sure that the concept sounded insane to him, but then what wasn't a little crazy nowadays?

Twilight just kept a hold on Aculeata, the tightest, most comforting hug she could manage. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay," she repeated, over and over again.

She wished that Aculeata had a mane or something that she could gently stroke, like her mother used to do for her when comforting her. She settled for running her hoof along the back of the queen's neck, marveling again not only at how both pony-like and insect-like she was, but how changeling-like she was. The resemblance was more and more uncanny with every little detail she noticed.

It raised a theory in Twilight's mind: was Aculeata mutating… into a changeling? How? Why? They didn't seem particularly similar, unless one compared the Gargantuans' legendary adaptability to the changelings' shapeshifting capabilities. Were those two concepts similar enough to correlate? If so, it still didn't explain how or why the change was occurring… and according to Winter, only in-between the last time Twilight and her friends were here, and now.

There had to be a connection. But what?

Then, Aculeata seemed to relax; the seismic generators must've been turned off.

Twilight continued to stroke the queen's neck, keeping herself as close as possible as she could. "See? I told you it was going to be okay."

Aculeata gave a little… chirp, or something like that, clicking her mandibles a few times and making a few other noises that Twilight couldn't understand. But it didn't matter if they couldn't share words with one another. All that mattered to Twilight was that her friend was safe and that she knew that Twilight was here for her. No matter what.