With the mission nearly half complete, Tarsus began preparations for the most difficult part. He had been unable to locate any operatives who had actually been inside the Marmalade Falls hive, meaning his group only knew of one particular entrance commonly known to all changeling diplomatic channels. The entrance they were looking for was a dock somewhere near an outcrop of ironstone at the base of the falls. Exactly where, he didn't know. His team would need to search.
Since night had fallen just as they arrived in the area, the next morning would begin their investigation. He was not worried about time, as the field-prep teams needed more time to set up intermediary bunkers. They would have the full day to search and clear the hive.
"All right you lot. A, B, and C, get camp set up. Pronto. D, E, and F, let's start fashioning some carts, I want twelve total. Once we find a dock, we'll move them in there. Until then, this is our headquarters. Get to work," Tarsus shouted.
"Yes sir!" the changelings replied in unison. Except one.
"Sir? Mister - I mean, Commander Tarsus? What should I do?"
This was Tegula, the rookie.
"I don't have anything in mind for you. See if you can round up some dry grasses for the soldiers."
"Sir! Yes sir!" Tegula shouted. Her hoof nearly collided with her temple in salute.
Rooting through the brush in the area, Tegula was on the alert for any wild wheat grasses which could sometimes be found in the forest. Tarsus probably hadn't known it, but Tegula had some experience with the botany squads before her current assignment. She took note of the various herbs she could make out among the faint moonlight.
Hey, wild blink-grass. Better keep some, you can never have too much of the stuff, she thought to herself. She ripped it out at the root and stuffed it into one of her paper bags, happy to have the chance to help one of her gatherer friends - when she got back home.
Oooh, there's more over there!
There was quite a lot of blink-grass, plus some chokeweeds and sunfluffers. Sunfluffer wasn't of use to the hive, she just liked it. Sunfluffers smelled pleasant when the stem was cracked open, and she had used to put them in her quarters whenever she could. Unfortunately, she had been far too busy recently to get them, and her room had become so spartan. She tucked two sunfluffers in with the grass. The chokeweed (nasty stuff) could stay right where it was, for all she cared.
Tegula hummed quietly to herself as she gathered herbs, moving further and further into the forest. One of the combat changelings passed by overhead, casting a shadow beneath her hooves as it blocked the moonlight. She glanced up to see him, or her, but there was nobody there by the time she looked up. Her nose went back to the earth and soon she had located a dense cluster of burnberries, which she knew could be sold to the ponies for money. This operation was already surprisingly lucrative and they hadn't even gotten into the hive yet!
The guard changeling passed overhead again, and Tegula spun as fast as she could to see him. She managed to catch a silhouette passing past the moon's edge before it vanished into the night.
A few more clumps of blink-grass, five stalks of wild wheat, and even some rice pods! Not quite as good as the burnberries, but still a find. Tegula continued deeper into the forest, chasing ever richer plant life. When she at last could see no more and thought her packs were as full as they would get, she finally decided to go back to base.
Except, where was it?
She looked around, this section of the forest looked the same as any other. It was too dark to see any landmarks. No matter, the form she had selected was that of a unicorn, but there was no reason she could not switch it, given that there were no witnesses. A pegasus pony could simply fly and attempt to locate the other workers by the sounds of their tools shaping carts from trees.
Even that proved unnecessary, the guard from earlier flew over the moon and hung there, casting a wide shadow across her body. He looked rather large, hanging there and wordlessly staring at her. More to the point, his legs seemed very long, and he had no tail. His wings were oddly bat-like as well, which was probably inexperience on his part. Ponies had feathered wings.
Since he wasn't saying anything, Tegula figured she'd need to get his attention.
"Oy! Which way back to camp? I've got the - "
The figure turned to face her and dove. Tegula snapped to attention and threw herself out of the way. An incredible weight slammed into the ground behind her and threw dust in every direction.
"Getting the feeling you're out of line, soldier," Tegula spat. The beast who she had mistaken for a changeling stood ahead of her, reared up on its hind legs. Tegula cast a light spell ahead of her, throwing stealth to the wind. She hoped the other changelings would see the light and come to her aid, as she had no idea if she was going to be able to escape this thing.
Its face was that of a bat, and in the glow of the light she could see this creature had no fur on its body. Hard, thick scales ran all the way up and down it. It hissed at her, revealing rows of long, thin teeth honed to a fine point. Tegula braced herself as it tensed in the light.
It pounced at her, leaping with its claws outstretched. She had been far enough away before, but the creature moved with incredible speed, and evasion would prove difficult. She ducked and rolled under it, and it sailed over her. She stood up on the other side, rivulets of blood running across her back where the creature's claws had torn through her. She ignored the pain, and readied herself again.
Now close enough, the beast once more stood on its hind legs and swung its claws at her. Tegula backed off, the creature advancing with each swing. Its balance thrown too far ahead of itself, she prepared a buck and loosed it. The creature backed off before the hit could connect, now unsure of its victory. This prey was unlike the other animals it fed on.
Tegula leaped back, both eyes locked on her adversary, and she stood up on her hind legs to mimic its pose. While it leered at her, she reached behind her, feeling for one of the trees she knew was close. Finding it, she felt along to get a branch, and snapped it off. It was merely a twig, but it'd have to do.
The creature was certainly not scared of her little twig, and came at her again. Again, she ducked out of the way, this time getting a pair of cuts running down her nose as the creature had grabbed at her face. Blood began to cover her eyes and she quickly blinked to disperse it. The creature came again, charging forward with cold murder in its beady black eyes.
Ignos!
Finally she remembered the spell, and the twig burst into flame in front of her. The creature shrieked and backed up at the sight of the fire. Grinning evilly, Tegula pushed forward, pushing the fire closer to the creature. It covered itself with its clawed forelegs and shrieked again, the howl echoing through the night. It did not flee, it stood still as she bore down on it.
As Tegula got closer with the flame, she wondered briefly why the creature was not flying away. Perhaps it was too scared, paralyzed by its own fear. Most creatures in the forest were terrified of fire, they had not the minds to tame it. Whatever the reason, she could hold it here until one of the combat troops arrived to finish it off. They could even harvest its body, no doubt its glands would contain something useful.
The creature suddenly stopped shielding itself, and snapped its claws downwards. Not prepared for this, Tegula could not react in time, and the creature sliced her twig in half. It stomped on the burning end and growled at her, snuffing it out and bringing the fear back. Now, as close as it was, there was no time to dodge.
The creature slashed at her and the claws hit home, sinking deep within her chest. Tegula spat hot blood all over its scales and desperately tried to pry its claws out. The claws were hooked on the ends, and removal proved difficult. Chunks of her skin and muscle came off with them and she finally managed to force herself away as the creature's mouth bore down for a bite. She rolled across the grass and tried to stand. Her legs gave out, and she could not.
"Pick on somepony your own size!"
From out of the darkness, two ponies emerged and charged at the beast. It howled and charged them, only to find their steel slicing through it. A spear impaled its gut and the creature shrieked a deafening cry, flailing at its attacker. It connected with the pony's face, and made to grab and pull at it before its foreleg stopped moving entirely. A fresh cut had separated its claws from its body, the other pony had seen to that.
Outnumbered and newly a paraplegic, the creature let out one last shriek before it took to the sky. Lost in the blackness, the two ponies let it go.
"Hey, are you all right? Wake up!"
The only response was a low groan.
"Wake up! Hey!"
"She's bleeding really bad. She's not gonna make it."
Tegula could not make out who was saying what. All she could see was two blurs standing over her.
"I'll fly her back to camp. Make sure the bandages and alcohol are prepped when I get there."
"... Be careful, honey."
The next morning, Tegula woke up with a bandage draped across her chest. Smaller dressings covered her face and back. Everything hurt, she wished she could fall back into the fevered nightmare she had woken from. She was in a tent of some sort, wrapped in a sleeping bag.
She snapped alert. Her squad didn't have any sleeping bags, she had been captured!
She listened, waiting in the hopes she could hear her captors. She waited, but there was nothing. She could make an escape if they were away for some reason. Gingerly, she peered through the slit leading outside.
"Sh-Shining Armor?" she said before she could stop herself.
"Hey, you're awake! I didn't think you were gonna make it!"
He turned to face her, having been focused on the fire outside. Princess Cadence walked into view from behind him, a concern etched on her face.
"Glad to see you survived. You've got - quite an impressive constitution there. Most ponies wouldn't even be walking in your condition," she said.
"I'm really tough. This is nothing," Tegula replied.
"A chupacabra attack is not nothing. Had we not come along when we did, you'd be dead. Just what were you doing out in the middle of the forest at midnight like that?"
"Chupacabra? That's what that thing was?"
Shining Armor nodded. "Huge airborne predators. Usually stay away from ponies because our towns have bright lights, you really shouldn't be out in the dark. Always make a fire near your camp sites," he said, motioning at their own fire.
"Do you need us to take you to town? See a doctor?" Cadence asked.
"No, no. I gotta get back, to my team. They'll be worried about me," Tegula said.
"Do they have a doctor?"
"Yes," Tegula lied.
"We're not letting you go alone. Give us a few minutes to get packed up, and we'll take you."
"Thanks. For everything. Thanks so much," Tegula wheezed.
Her mind kicked into overdrive. Tegula tried to formulate some kind of plan. She probably couldn't hope to lose these two, not with her wounds. Bringing them to the changeling squad could prove disastrous, her mission was supposed to be secret. She desperately thought. A plan began to form, but whether or not Tarsus would be able to intuit it in time to avoid saying something compromising, she didn't know.
"Step lightly, there. We'll carry your stuff. Lots of herbs I see?" Cadence asked.
"Yeah. I used to be a botanist," Tegula answered.
"Hm. Where's that team you mentioned?"
"I'll show you. They're near the falls."
"Commander, we've got incoming!"
"What and how many?"
"Ponies, three of them, just west of here!"
Tarsus let out a whistle and the combat soldiers drew their weapons, forming rank around him.
"Everyone else, out of sight. We'll - is that Tegula?"
One of the ponies coming up the path was indeed Tegula, wrapped in a number of bandages and limping. The other two ponies were the Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire.
The Prince and Princess?
"Cancel that, everybody look busy and sheathe those weapons! Now!" Tarsus shouted.
The soldiers hurriedly tried to find something to do, examining the camp site, picking up tools. A few of them decided to lounge near the dying fire, making it look as much as possible like they weren't on high alert. The hauling crews merely resumed their work of finishing up the cart's wheels.
"Professor! I'm back!" Tegula shouted. Tarsus trotted up to meet them.
"Well Tegs, didn't expect to see you wrapped in bandages! What happened?" Tarsus said, mixing fake concern with real concern. He was not certain what the Queen would have done to him if he lost her forensics expert, but it couldn't have been good.
"My new friends saved my life, I got ambushed by a monster," Tegula said, hanging her head. "Sorry I wandered off."
"As long as you're all right. I'll get the medic to take a look at you. Medic!"
One of the soldier changelings trotted over and saluted before gingerly taking a look at Tegula's bandages. He noted some minor infections and whispered to her before heading for the first-aid kit.
"See, I told you I was tough. Just a bit of antibiotics and I'll be back to normal in no time," Tegula said to her rescuers.
Cadence raised an eyebrow. "Just what kind of outfit is this? What are you doing way out here?"
Tarsus started to respond, but Tegula immediately cut him off - literally. She stepped in front of him and pushed him to the side.
"Welcome to the biggest archaeological discovery in Equestrian history! Or a minor dig site, whichever you prefer. Why don't you introduce yourself, professor?"
Tarsus grunted, and gave a dirty look to Tegula.
"Professor Xavier Cavate, University of Canterlot. You've already met my subordinate, Tegs. We're looking for an old pony ruin which is supposed to be someplace in this area. Haven't found it yet, and since you've returned my worker to me, we can get back to looking."
Tarsus pushed Tegula towards the other changelings and nodded curtly at Tegula. Get going, I'll deal with you later.
"Old pony ruin? That sounds exciting, doesn't it?" Prince Shining Armor asked his wife.
Damn it, Tarsus thought.
"Beats hiking! Can we help you look for it?"
Double damn it. Tarsus no longer cared what the Queen thought, he was going to issue some discipline to Tegula when he got her out of sight.
"You're not - " he started.
"Sure!" Tegula burst out.
Tarsus made no secret of his anger, letting it seethe in the glare he gave Tegula. She ignored him.
"Might I have a word with you, Tegs?" he asked.
He grabbed her with a foreleg and she winced at the pain it sent shooting through her chest. Despite himself, Tarsus relaxed his grip and led her away towards the other changelings.
"What the hell are you doing? Do you even know who that is?"
"I know, that's the royals. I told you I've been outside before!"
"Do you know what they're going to do us if they find out who we are? We can't just kill them, you idiot - a whole army would come looking! You're going to botch this whole operation! What were you thinking, bringing them here?"
"I couldn't get away from them! What was I going to do, run? Besides, I've got a plan. You let me take them down to the lower floors, I'll get them to help me investigate. We get two free labourers."
Tarsus let his anger subside long enough to consider the proposal logically. Tegula was skating on very thin ice, but sending them away for no reason would arouse some suspicion when they got back to town. They'd talk about these rude archaeologists, wouldn't they?
"When they get back to town..."
"They won't tell anyone. I'll make sure to keep them busy and 'lose track of time'. By the time anyone puts the stories together, we'll be long gone."
Tarsus took stock. Killing the royals was certainly out - the two were noted fighters with magical skill of unmeasured quantity, having foiled the Canterlot raid by themselves. The opportunity, though present, was simply not worth risking all their lives for. Sending them away was direct, but also risky. Making it seem like he was doing them a favour... that could work. Without any good options, he picked the least-bad one.
"Fine. Keep them away from the machine shops and the vats rooms. Make damn sure they don't see what we're doing."
"Yes sir!"
Tegula let herself be accosted by the medic, who shoved two pills down her throat and gave her a narrow bottle, to last her until she returned to the hive. More certain of herself now, she sidled over to the waiting royals, wincing slightly as she walked.
"I managed to talk him into it. You did save my life, after all."
"Terrific!" Cadence exclaimed, "Now, where do we start?"
Tarsus stepped forward. "The rumour is that there's an entrance near an ironstone formation somewhere around here. If we can find it, we'll save ourselves a lot of digging."
"What are we waiting for? Let's find us some ruins!" Shining Armor said with a smile.
Cadence, Tegula, and Shining Armor departed in the direction of the waterfall. Tarsus muttered angrily to himself, under his breath. This forensics expert was more trouble than she was worth, he'd be letting the Queen know just what he thought of her when he got back.