The thick plastic blurred her vision, just a bit. She felt like she was breathing through a straw anyway. This close to a Changeling stronghold the air was toxic. They didn't care, all their chemicals and poisons from their fires and processes floated in the air. They themselves were completely fine with it. She wondered if they'd done the same to Canterlot. She shifted her walking style as the snow deepened, but quickly went back as the cold side of her rifle's barrel rubbed against exposed skin. It was so cold she couldn't even feel that bit of her shoulder anymore. The warmers she stuffed up her sleeves were getting hot, but she didn't dare remove them. She longed for their warmth, even if they only heated up the exact area they were pressed against.
A glance around reminded her she was currently on point. Flashfire was directly behind her, and had a while ago stopped complaining. Some distance back their APC had run out of gas. At first they'd tried to find some for it, but quickly abandoned it, stripping it down to bare bones and taking what they could.
The air was getting thicker, and more toxic. Her senses told her to turn back. The black ahead showed the slight silhouette of a settlement, and without questioning it Divine motioned everyone to follow. They were in the thick of it now, snow up to the elbows, and choking smoke. The winds shifted and the clouds started to push away from them, but Divine didn't dare take off her mask. She instead got low, at the town wall, made of a thick layer of corrugated steel. She stared at it for a bit, and noticed a piece of wood near the bottom. She pushed, and it fell, revealing a large explosion-like hole at the bottom of the wall. They had tried to patch it up with simple wood, and it'd worked until she had simply knocked it over.
That's when she saw one: as soon as she knelt down to crawl through she spotted the black carapace. She froze in place, but it was looking the other way, more specifically to the left. Its fangs glinted slightly as it turned its head away, and left. She felt a hoof press her own leg up, and she was forced to crawl through. Divine waited a bit, and pressed her back against a wall nearby. She touched her hooves flat together, and uttered a silent prayer under her breath. She hoped so desperately they wouldn't shoot, that maybe they'd let them-
"Divine, get up," she heard Flashfire's tone in a hushed voice.
She looked around, then up at her. She didn't say anything but complied, trying to look as calm and in control as possible. With this posture she hesitatingly walked to the middle of the area, and opened her mouth.
"Who's in charge here?" Divine announced. Nopony even turned. Her squadmates stood nearby, waiting for response.
"Excuse me, who-" she was bumped from behind and stopped talking momentarily, and began to get frustrated. She looked around once more and slid a hoof back on her right side, unhooking her rifle, and firing a burst off into the air.
Now that she had their attention she could start to talk.
"Who's in charge here?" she asked, the rifle smoking off as she held it up, standing on her hind legs.
A...stallion, she thought, stepped forward, and pointed off to the tallest building in the small settlement. Divine slid the rifle back on its hooks, and thanked him, calling for her squad, who were all already watching her from the steel wall. The changelings looked even more surprised at the four others. Qimayat took a second to fix the wooden panel blocking their entrance point, and followed.
As soon as they stepped inside the building there were armed guards on each side of a long hall. They kept walking until they came to an empty throne. Minor conversation among her squadmates provoked her curiosity, and she decided to listen in.
"This guy's got heavy arms, Flash, who do you think it is?" she heard Qimayat ask.
"I'm not sure...what if it's that terrorist?" she replied back.
"Both of you, quiet, and look." Divine whispered at them, only slightly turning her head. A slightly larger-sized changeling sat in a throne, a rifle leaning on the side of it. Flash went forward and Divine was forced to follow, to keep them all close.
"You are the ponies who requested me? You seem to have, as you say, caught me in a good mood; I just returned from noon prayer."
Somepony behind her gasped sharply, and she knew before they even said it.
"Chitin.."
They were all mere meters from the one who had orchestrated thousands of killings, but there was no time for thinking. Divine had to speak now, and make herself heard.
"We-"
"Chitin," she was immediately cut off by Clandestine, "we represent Equestria, and we have a question. Why?"
Chitin chuckled lightly, and beckoned them closer. Without question, Divine moved forward, and she could see Flash did as well.
"Good question, mare," he said, a smile on his face. "Why have I taken your cities, killed off your population? You mean, why have I instructed the changelings to rise up, taken hold of the true Changeling Nation that is rightfully mine, and gone on a bit of an expansion spree."
"No, that's not true!" Clandestine protested. "You know the Nation belongs to Chrysalis!"
Chitin suddenly sat up in his seat, and yelled. "Don't you EVER say her name in front of me again!" hitting his hoof against the armrest of his chair at the word 'ever'. He had gone from joking, to yelling at her. "We all know that worthless slut can't lead a revolution! So when I am recognized and placed as king, I will PERSONALLY behead her!" He was now leaning forward in his seat, his emotions nothing other than rage.
Divine didn't even have words for it. Clandestine hadn't said anything helpful, but she doubted that she herself could do much better.
"S-sorry.." Clandestine uttered.
"What was that? I didn't hear you." Chitin responded, his voice having less rage in it, but it was still obvious he was ready to explode at any moment.
"I said I'm sorry." she said louder.
Chitin nodded and leaned back in his seat, saying something about how ponies have no respect.
Divine looked back, and saw tears streaming down Clandestine's face. He had managed to break her that easily, using his booming voice, with which he commanded respect.
Even Divine had to admit: It worked.