//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Operation Ground and Pound 
// Story: Through the Fire and Flames 
// by Rhodesm96 
//------------------------------//


Changeling Hive, night


"Not much longer, now."

Jason looked up at the voice to see the councillors that had been sharing his chariot for the last few hours. He nodded his acknowledgement, and turned to look over the side. Far below, all he could see was an almost featureless expanse of desert. The Changeling Hive lay hidden down there somewhere, they could only hope to find it before The Nightmare did.

The party that had been sent to negotiate with the changelings consisted of himself and two of the council members, along with the two pegasus guards puling the chariot, one of whom was Jason's friend, Flashpoint. He had talked with them a bit for some of the journey, learning that the other was named Cirrus, and was one of the only mares in the guard. The councillors had kept mostly to themselves for the trip.

After a short time, they spoke up again.

"According to the map, this is the approximate location of the hive." One of them said. "Drop down to a lower altitude so we can keep an eye out for it."

"Yes, sir." The guards chorused. They descended until they were barely skimming the ground, all on board looking around in an attempt to find something that looked as though it may be the Hive. Eventually, Jason spotted something.

"Guys, there's some black spots in the distance." He said. "Could be nothing, but I reckon it's worth checking out."

They redirected their route toward what Jason had seen. After a short time, they drew close and exited the chariot to examine the black spots.

"...Shit." Said Jason. "I'm guessing this is a changeling?"

"Yep." Flashpoint said.

"And I'm guessing they don't normally have gaping holes in their chests, right?"

"...No."

"You realise what this means, don't you?" He said solemnly. The others nodded. "Then I think it's best we get the fuck out of here, right now." He turned around, only to see hear a deep cackle from the pit. Slowly, he returned his attention to it, only to see The Nightmare rising from its depths, a smug smirk plastered onto its face.

"What, leaving without saying goodbye?" It said. "I'd love to catch up, Jason, but I really must be off. Things to do, places to be... people to kill."

"Luke, stop this." Jason said. "Just stop! This isn't you!" The Nightmare laughed.

"Sorry Jason, but tell it to someone who cares." It said. "But really, I must go, so I'll just let my new friends take care of you. Goodbye, Jason."

Jason made to throw a fireball at The Nightmare, only for it to be obscured by a swarm of changelings suddenly rising from the pit. When they cleared, The Nightmare was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck!" Jason said. "I let him get away again!"

"I think we have a more immediate problem right now, mate." Flashpoint said, gesturing to the buzzing mass of changelings gathered around them.

"...Ah, fucknuggets."

One of the changelings let out a shrill screech, which Jason took as their cue to act. He ignited himself in a flash, covering his body with fire. Flashpoint and Cirrus readied their weapons, while the councillors lit their horns with spells, all of them prepared to fight for their lives.

As one, the changelings rushed them. Jason conjured a fireball in his hand and threw it into their masses, hitting one of them square in the chest and downing them. As the rest closed in on him, however, he realised that simply throwing fireballs wasn't going to cut it here.

Focusing, he swept his arm upward and a wall of flames erupted from the ground before the approaching changelings, forcing them to a halt, though some braved it and pushed on through. He pushed outward, and the flames shot forward and incinerated more of them. Grinning, Jason decided to further test what he could do.

The changelings were wary of him for now, only attacking one at a time, trying to get a feel for how strong he was. One of them rushed him from behind which Jason dodged, launching a fireball at it as it passed. He whipped his arm at another that came at him, flames sprouting from his hand and burning through their chitin.

Close by, Flashpoint was also fending off attacks. He dodged and ducked around the attacks of the changelings, only just managing to not get hit. He drove his spear through the face of one, before whipping it out and slicing through the neck of another. Soon, he found himself fighting almost back to back with Cirrus, who was a bit worse for wear. In addition to numerous smaller wounds, she had a large gash on her left foreleg. It needed attending to badly, but with the current situation they weren't going to get the respite she needed.

The councillors were also being pushed to their limit. The two unicorns were unused to fighting, but they had managed to fend off the changelings thus far with a few powerful defensive spells. They had constructed a large shield together around the pair of them that had managed to hold firm, though it began to show signs of cracking under the continued living bombardment, even with the both of them pooling their magical reserves.

Suddenly, a roar emanated from the Hive's entrance. Jason and the ponies turned their attention to it only to see an extremely large changeling floating upward from the pit.

"A changeling Carnifex." One of the councillors said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "We're doomed."