Turning sharply into the hedge maze I went down a few bends whilst mentally checking the turns, but eventually my mind began to wander to other things. The image of a thin, tired looking man with unkempt black hair appeared in my minds eye, sitting on a chair with his head bowed. Who he was I had no idea, but I strangely felt like I knew him.
"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" He rasped, it was almost a whisper, as if someone half a sleep had given up on life, and was only just talking to someone after ages of silence.
"What are you talking about, of course it is; it's just a walk!"
"You know what I mean."
"Oh I see, just 'cause I went through so much to be alone with the changelings means I'm getting involved. Let me tell you; Not happening."
I began to hum, blissfully ignoring the strangers presence until he disappeared. I was left on my own wondering who he was for a minute only before he came back.
"You are definitely getting involved, why?"
"I'm not! I just think it's best to hear both sides of the story."
The man looked up.
"Both sides... of the story?"
"Duh If Deus was telling the truth and these are changelings, then I need to know why they're still around; It could be important."
The stranger began to chuckle darkly.
"Deus, huh?" His head jerked down and he began to cough into his hand violently, "Deus is nothing but a liar who can't take anything seriously."
"And what are you?"
The stranger smiled, "I too am just a liar... who can't feel anything... I guess Deus and I are one and the same."
The stranger began coughing more into his hand before smiling and beginning to fade.
"Wait, who are you?!"
"Cecidet Quem Magus," He answered before completely leaving.
"The fallen mage? Heh, he kind of reminds me of someone."
"Sir?" One of the guards asked.
I looked around and frowned, evidently I'd stopped walking a few minutes ago and started staring at one of the hedge walls. I wasn't really upset about being caught with a wandering mind, but what the man I saw said nagged at me.
"I think it's time we headed back, but first," I turned around, "What are you doing here?"
"Sir?"
"Oh, none of that 'sir' stuff, you're caught off guard too often to be actual ones. So what are you doing following me?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Really? Take off your armor."
The soldiers looked at each other.
"You heard me, take it off."
The guard on the right hesitated a second, but then slowly levitated his helm off, his partner soon followed to show two white stallions with identical grey manes.
"Excellent."
"What is this about?"
"I don't know, you tell me. Why would two soldiers trained well enough to be Celestias guard be willing to take their helms off in front of an alicorn who is a suspected enemy of Equestria?"
The stallions gaped, obviously unsure how to react until they looked at each other. One nodded and jumped away, sprouting wings midair as his armor melted into a black exoskeleton.
"Oh that's just a let down." I complained, I was hoping Deus was the one who'd lied!
The other guard began to step back, armor melting away similarly to his partner, but this time the changeling stayed.
"You are an enemy to Equestria?" He asked in a cracked voice.
"You can talk?" I asked back, and he blinked.
"I am a hive elite, we have been granted speech by our mother." His ears twitched to a downward position, as if hearing some loud noise that I couldn't, "She will talk with you."
I shifted to a comfortable lying position, "Will she now?"
"You may not refuse," The creature hissed.
"I wasn't going to," I commented calmly, "And don't try to intimidate me, I've seen insects scarier than y-." I paused a beat, "Plants scarier than you."
The changeling hissed more violently, "You will hold your tongue until our mother speaks with you."
I frowned deeper, "No, you see I have no hands with which to hold my tongue. And still then, I wouldn't want to hold it for so long..." I broke off as I contemplated the reactions I could get.
"So long?"
I shook myself off after rising to my feet, "Indeed, tell your mother Chrysalis that if she want's to talk to me she should come, alone and in a pony form, to the statue of a draconiques in the gardens tonight."
The changling lowered his head like a beast of prey, hissing loudly now, "You do not name the terms."
"Do too."
The changeling froze at my purely mature retort, "We have no time for your games."
"Do too."
"Do not!"
"Do too."
"Argh!" The creature lunged, and I sidestepped, pushing him on his way by to knock him off balance.
I think I pushed a little hard, because he flew through the hedge wall and across the next path.
Shakily he rose, "Do you dare challenge the hive?"
"I don't know, you attacked me."
"Chrysalis should have known what kind of creature you were before sending us to recruit you. She would never tolerate such an arrogant thing."
He snarled and ran at me again, natural armor glistening in the sunlight. There was a thump as my hoof hit him in the chest and I felt the smaller creatures lungs give out under the blow. Lowering my hoof from it's instinctual counter attack, I chuckled at how easily he went down.
"I think I'll have to hear that from her." I walked away from the prone shadow and back down a couple of bends before looking at my hooves.
Okay, I was proficient with many medieval weapons, taking a few courses on them while growing up. But hooves were not a specialty. Did alicorns have some sort of natural instinct that helped them fight enemies like that, or was my training with a club transferring to martial arts? I didn't really care, being just along for the ride, but it would be cool if I suddenly knew pony-kwon-do.
Shrugging, I spread my wings, I didn't know the way out of the maze and unless I also had some sort of flying instinct I might need a bit of practice.
Okay, so I didn't have any sixth sense about flying, but I did manage to get off the ground on my fifteenth try! And by the fiftieth I could just fly to the edge of the maze.
"Ah Phasma, so that's where you were."
I jumped at Celestia's sudden voice behind me and turned so I could see her face to face.
"Yes, I decided to take a walk in the maze, but I seem to have lost my guards," I replied shakily and was taken aback by her soft chuckle.
"I suppose that can be expected, now I wanted to find you because my sister and student both wanted to know if you'd be able to make it to lunch."
Oh. Crap.