//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: To Serve the Hive 
// by Minds Eye 
//------------------------------//

	His legs buckled the instant he landed at the tree line.  He sank down, but grit his teeth and stayed up in an awkward crouch, staring down at his hooves.  The Hive had needed him, and he had answered the call.  He was strong.
 
He was a killer.
 
White scratches ran up and down his legs.  From his enemy.  Or... from blows that missed their target.  From the fight, nothing but a haze in his memory now.  The taste in his mouth anchored his senses in the present.  He spat.
 
Now blood spotted his legs and the ground.  He stared at the blood.  It belonged to his enemy, and he had taken it.

He was strong.
 
Above the blood was the face, and the face held the eyes.  He didn’t look up from the blood.
 
But he was strong.
 
The eyes had begged their killer for help.
 
He was strong.  His eyes snapped up, and no others stared back at him.  He forced his body one step forward.  And another.  And another, creeping along a few steps deeper into the trees before standing his full height.
 
A brother poked his head from behind a trunk.  “I thought you were hurt for a second there.  So it’s done?”
 
“He’s...”  He nodded, then looked over his shoulder at the house.  “I heard something on my way out.  Footsteps.  A voice.”
 
A second changeling staggered out, rubbing a swollen eye with his hoof.  “We saw his mate go in.  We need to leave.  Now.”
 
He nodded.  “Right.  Let’s go home.”  He nodded again.  “And the way is clear?”
 
The two traded a brief look, and the second narrowed his good eye.  “Now means now, brother.”  They turned and ran through the trees, and he followed.
 
A scream chased after them, shattering the tranquility of the forest.
 
The sound ripped through his ears and crashed against his mind.  His blood ran like ice in his veins, and he stumbled to the ground, pushing himself off again as soon as his hooves found purchase.
 
The left brother glanced back at him.  “That was your first kill, wasn’t it?”
 
The right brother snorted before he could answer.  “It was my fault he discovered us.  Sorry about that.”  He grinned.  “Still, you did good.  I couldn’t believe you got there so fast, and I even knew you were coming!  You should have seen his face when you hit him!”
 
The first nodded.  “We got what we came for, and you pulled us out of a fire.  Chrysalis will be pleased.”
 
His hooves pounded the ground with every stride, and the vibrations shook him awake.  The brothers were right.  They were still alive and the secret of the Hive was safe again because of him.  In his mind, he saw Chrysalis smile.  He did his duty.
 
He was strong.
 



 
He stood straight and tall as he landed among the trees, in the manner that befitted a proud member of Celestia’s Royal Guard.  His white fur and golden armor dissolved with a burst of green fire, sending the creatures around him scurrying away, and Dawnbreaker strode out of the Arboreal Garden.

The disguise and its armor had taken hours of concentration to perfect during his first nights in the city, and the investment finally paid off—with more to come.  Not only did the guards along the wall fail to challenge his entry, Cherry Blossom would give him the chance to see what behavior would be expected of it.  No detail was too small today.
 
Cherry’s humble shack waited for him at the end of the white stone path, and the sound of gushing water within reached his ears.  Cherry held a running hose in her mouth, her hooves pushing and pulling a line of pails and watering cans under it.  Her eyes flicked up, and her tail waved when she saw him.
 
He grinned back and walked to the spout by the far wall, twisting it off when she filled the last container.  “So where’s the fire?”
 
“Nowhere, just need to get all the water set for the day.”  She draped the nozzle over a foreleg and coiled the hose over its hook.  “Weather services around Canterlot are on hold for maybe another week.  No rain until the reconstruction has a good head start.”
 
“Interesting.”  A smile inched across his face.  “So how are you getting me inside?”
 
“My, and I thought I was eager.”  Cherry led him to a workbench stretching the width of one side of the shack scattered with bags, pots, and tools and passed him a straw hat.  “Put that on to start with.”
 
He bundled the ends of his mane on top of his head and pulled the hat on.  “A disguise it is, then.  What am I?”
 
“Another gardener.  Here.”  Cherry unfolded a blanket over his back so the coarse fabric fell down to his ankles, covering his wings, shoulders, back, and cutie mark.  “You’ve got the blanket to lie on and keep the grass and dirt out of your coat.  Just keep your tail down and the hat low, and no one will have a reason to think you’re not another earth pony.”
 
He smirked and tipped his hat to her.  “Shall we mosey on up, little lady?”
 
She narrowed her eyes.  “I’ve heard unicorns talk like that too, you know.  It’s regional, not tribal.  Let’s go.”
 
“But the—” He stopped when she turned away from the gate and headed for the gardens—and away from the guards who wouldn’t remember letting anyone through.
 
“You flew in, right?”  She jerked her head to the side.  “We’ll swing by the ballroom and use the walkway there to get in.  It doesn’t get a whole lot of use unless there’s a major party, so we shouldn’t see many staff there.”
 
He walked beside her, lips curling up to a sneer.  “And what if they do see us?”
 
“They’ll laugh that I need an outside opinion, maybe make a crack about how I need another line of work.”  Her hoof brushed against his on their next step.  “It won’t be as bad as the other day.  I promise.  They know how to mind their manners when someone really important can catch them.”
 
“And what if they see us?  The higher-ups?”
 
“They would know why you’re here.  This is my pride and joy you’re about to see, and I have standing permission from Princess Celestia to bring in some expert help on it if I need it.”  Her tail swiped at him as he opened his mouth.  “And before you ask, yes, I still have it after Shining Armor saw our little... ah, rendezvous.”
 
When did she have the time for that?  “This really means this much to you?”
 
She flashed a smile.  “Just keep walking.  All will be made clear.”
 
They made their way through the Party Grounds, cutting through several sections of nearly identical yards to get around the locked ballroom and to the promenade connecting it to the castle proper.  Two purple doors waited for them at the end of it, and Cherry motioned for him to wait to the side as she opened them.
 
“Looks like the guards are on patrol.  The coast is clear.”  She smiled and waved him forward.  “Welcome to Canterlot Castle.”
 
And here it is.  He held his breath and stepped through the doors.
 
His hoof fell on something softer and smoother than he had ever known.  The red carpet ran perfectly in between the walls as far as his eye could see—straight through the hall, the next room, and the hall after that.

The smell hit him next.  It didn’t so much as saturate the air as it seemed to have sucked all smell from it.  From the spotless walls and gleaming floor, it was all just too pristine compared to the Canterlot he had grown accustomed to.  He shook off the light-headedness.
 
Cherry smiled at him and gestured around with a hoof.  “So what do you think?  Does it remind you of home?”
 
“Softer,” he growled.  “I can’t imagine walking on this thing all day.”
 
“Huh.  Really?”  Cherry pondered for a moment.  “Maybe that’s why the Princesses wear metal shoes all the time.  This thing goes everywhere.”  She snorted, but it didn’t erase the grin on her face.  “At least that’s what they told me at orientation.  It’ll lead you anywhere in the castle you want to go so long as you know where you’re going.”
 
He rolled his eyes.  “Genius.  Why use a map when you have a carpet?”
 
She shouldered past him.  “And a guide!  Let’s go.”  They started down the hall.  “To be frank, the first floor is mostly for show.  Guard barracks, the servants’ quarters in another wing, and all we have here are the kitchens,” she titled her head to the right, “and a few supply rooms on the left.”

“All for show indeed,” he muttered.  The hallway left them completely exposed.  Half-columns etched with sparkling silver jutted out from the walls, but they were too shallow for hiding, nor were there any other options for cover.  The right mask would take him farther than relying on stealth alone.
 
The end of the corridor opened into a cavernous room, framed with tapestries hanging on the walls and stained glass images of both sun and moon at the top of a regal staircase.  Gold trimmed its railings, and the color was shared in the eight pointed star embroidered at the center of the room, where four paths of plush carpet met.
 
“The Grand Hall,” Cherry whispered, “where Princess Celestia likes to greet the important ponies right as they enter.”  She nodded at the stairs.  “We’re going onwards and upwards.”

A few sharp murmurs reached them from the far side, where three ponies gathered at the wall.  A gray-maned stallion leered over two others—bent over, and eyes on the floor.  The elder’s mouth snapped at them over and over until he noticed the newcomers in the hall.

Dawnbreaker tilted his head, tapping the brim of his hat.

The stallion adjusted his glasses and gave him a curt nod.

Another unicorn stallion mopped a spot near the stairs.  He grunted as they passed.  “Why bother walking on the floor when you can use the fancy carpet to clean your filthy mudhooves?”
 
His eyes snapped over his shoulder, but Cherry beat him to it.

“Just the way you like it, skull nub!”
 
He glanced back at the stupefied stallion and then over to Cherry Blossom, wide-eyed and staring straight ahead of herself.  “Where did that—”
 
“What did I—”
 
“I—” They both started and climbed the first flight of stairs in stunned silence.
 
“Left,” Cherry said in a rush, nudging him that way.  “Left, then we still need to go one more floor up.”
 
He followed her directions up the next flight and saw the second floor, almost an exact copy of the first.  He looked over to Cherry—her stride rigid and eyes locked forward—and cleared his throat.  “So.  You said the guards were on patrol?  We haven’t seen any yet.”
 
“Huh?”  Cherry closed her eyes and shook her head.  “Sorry, what was that?”
 
“The guards,” he said, waving a wing in front of them as they reached the top of the stairs.  “How do they manage to cover all of this?”
 
“Patrols.”  She shrugged.  “I guess they know what they’re doing.  I’ve never asked about the details.  They’ve gone by twos ever since the invasion, though.  That’s been hard to miss with the grumbling I hear when they pass by.”
 
He cursed under his breath.  “And it’s the same at night, I suppose.”
 
She smiled sheepishly.  “From what I’ve seen when I had to stay a little late this week, yes.  It is.”
 
He cursed again.  His guard disguise would need a lie to explain why he traveled alone.  A lie is a dangerous thing.  The moment he used it, it would only be a matter of time until his lie was revealed as such, and the structure of the second floor mirrored all the problems of the first.  He didn’t like his chances of avoiding detection.
 
Cherry turned and led him down another corridor.  “The guards just keep an eye around here anyway.  There’s nothing worth stealing or anything aside from some trinkets in the guest rooms.”
 
“So the servants sleep below, and the guests sleep up here.”  He looked at her.  “How about the Princesses?  Third floor?”
 
She stifled a laugh.  “You’re joking, right?  You’ve already seen where they sleep.”
 
He blinked.  “I have?”
 
Cherry pointed out of the nearest window to one of the towers rising high overhead.  “One for each Princess.  At least when they get finished renovating one for Luna.”
 
A sneer bared his teeth behind her back.
 
“Celestia has the biggest one, of course, but they all keep their chambers pretty private.  I’ve never even been inside one of them.”
 
One mistake.  One mistake, and he would be trapped between the guards below and an alerted Celestia above, and that was assuming there weren’t more guards on the way up.  “You’ve never seen inside?  Not even a single plant to water?”  Nothing you can add?  Anything?
 
She shrugged.  “It’s their bedchambers.  I’m not important enough to intrude on their privacy.”

Then who would be?  “I thought they were your leaders.”  He shook his head.  “They lock themselves up in towers to keep you out?  That doesn’t make sense.  How can they know what’s happening if they’re cut off like that?”

“They live here, Dawn, and so do the chamberlains and the other senior staff members.  I’ve seen them scurry down the halls to the tower doors more than a few times.”  She raised an eyebrow.  “Why?  How does it work back home?”

“My lady stays near the heart of our home most of the time.  She likes to know about everything that’s going on.”

She rolled her eyes.  “A little fussy, don’t you think?  Doesn’t she trust you?”

He gave a firm nod.  “Of course she does.  We just know that everything we do can affect us all.  She likes to keep some control over that.”

His thoughts drifted down to the three ponies’ discussion on the first floor.  The elder stallion had been dominant over the other two.  Another potential mask, perhaps with more control than a guard, but also with more questions to answer, more time he needed to spend inside a castle he only now had access to.

Cherry walked on, telling him the qualities of a library on the corner of the floor.

He listened, but his eyes returned again and again to the tower outside.  Celestia has the biggest one.  His wings twitched under the blanket.  He knew where he needed to be, but the direct way carried its own risks.  Anypony, guard or otherwise, flying to Celestia’s private chamber in broad daylight would raise one alarm or another, and the cover of night would also bring more sky patrols to spot him.

“...book said, but I guess you would know more than me.  So what do you think?  Have you worked with weather before?”

He shook his head.  The pieces fit.  They have to fit.

“Huh.  Well, it was just a thought.  No big deal.”

All the variables—time and stealth and risk and efficiency—ran through his mind, and he only had one chance to get them all right.  He tried to push them away, climbing another staircase to the third floor.  Whatever Cherry was leading him towards, she would expect him to be alert and attentive.

The platoon of Royal Guards in front of him after he reached the top took care of that.

A breath later, he realized none of them were looking at him.  Instead, they faced each other, about a dozen in all, lined up on opposite sides of a long hall.  Two golden doors stood at end, towering over them.  His heart raced, and he fought to control a grin as he studied the most secure location he had seen in all the castle.
 
Cherry nudged him, hissing, “Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn!”

He followed her advice, dipping his head low before a guard broke formation and looked at his face.  “Is that what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s the throne room, yes.”  Her tail snapped against his barrel.  “You’re trying to stay undercover, remember?  What were you staring right at them for?”
 
“You could have warned me,” he said, glancing back at the hallway.  “Waving a chunk of meat in front of the bear, aren’t we?”
 
“First of all, ew!  Second, why would somepony wave a chunk of meat in front of a bear?”
 
“To get it to move out of a path so others can walk safely by it, or to lure it out of its cave for shelter.”
 
“I...”  Cherry blinked and looked at him oddly.  “I suppose?”  She coughed.  “Anyway, we had to go this way.  In fact, we’re here.”  She stopped and pointed to the corner at the end of the hallway.
 
His eyes followed her point to a potted plant, and he froze.  “We’re here?”
 
“Yep!  There it is!”
 
He walked up to it, to the slender piece of wood that barely came up to his chest.  “This is your pride and joy?”
 
She beamed at him.  “Princess Celestia visited my shack personally when she found out I had it.  She asked me to put it here so she can watch its progress every day.”
 
“It’s...”  It’s a stick.  It’s a stick with leaves.  He sighed.  “This is another one of those earth pony things, isn’t it?”
 
Her hoof covered his.  “No, it really isn’t.  This is a tree, Dawn.”
 
“Ahhhh.”  He tilted his back, taking a second look.  “I see it now.  Gotcha.”  He nodded.  “Yeah, the twigs with the leaves will grow out into branches.  Okay.  So it’s some kind of special tree, then?  Really rare, and pretty young, right?  A... seedling, you called them?”
 
She giggled.  “Sapling, Dawn, and no, it isn’t.  Nor is it rare.  It’s a perfectly average tree that you’ve seen dozens of times over in your life.”
 
“I’m... lost.”
 
Cherry squeezed his hoof.  “It survived the invasion.  One of the changelings destroyed it.  It was beautiful once, barely a decade old, and it was smashed into kindling.”
 
He felt her touch fade away as she lifted her leg to play with the leaves.
 
“Some guards were clearing debris out of the garden that night, while the wedding reception was still going strong.  I just... I saw this branch alone on the ground, and I had to do something.  So I brought it to my shack, put it in the pot, and gave it some water.”  She sighed.  “I couldn’t even risk helping it with magic.  Not when it was that fragile.  It might have grown too dependant on me and withered away as soon as my magic did.”
 
“You mean it’s still alive?”  He brushed a hoof against its leaves as well.  “What happens to it now?”
 
She smiled at him.  “It will grow again.  In time.  A year or so, and then the new roots will be strong enough to replant it.  The Princess told me she’s already thinking of places to put it.”
 
“I’ve seen the gardens, Cherry.  They’re not exactly missing one tree.  What good would that do?”
 
She chewed her lip for a moment, not meeting his gaze.  “This is why I brought...”  She clenched her eyes shut, and her hoof held her face.  “Sorry, I thought I had something for this.”  The hoof wiped her eyes, and a determined look followed it.  “I’m not an idiot, Dawn.  I know why you’re here.”
 
He tilted his head.  “Of course you do.  I told you why I was—”
 
“I mean, I know why your lady sent you here.  Now.  It was because of this,” she said, pointing at the little tree.  “It was because of the invasion.  I’m willing to bet anything she figured the changelings scared some nobles out of town, and she could swoop in like a vulture and claim what was left behind.”
 
It was his turn to avoid her gaze.  “Partly right.”  How much else could she figure out?  “I don’t think I should—”
 
“Please, Dawn, I’m not asking you to say anything against her.  I just want you to know I understand.  I...”  She sat down with a sigh.  “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I just thought this would be easier.”
 
“That’s alright.  It hasn’t been too easy for me, either.”  He sat next to her.  “I’m not exaggerating when I say coming to Canterlot changed my life.  You’ve helped me more than I ever expected.”
 
“I’m glad.  Maybe...”  Cherry rubbed her leg.  “I think I know what you meant, about not belonging here.  I stayed up all night after the attack, when I started taking care of the tree.  I was too on edge to sleep, here or at home.  It took me so long to feel safe in Canterlot again.  Actually safe.”
 
He nodded.  “I guess that day uprooted us both.”
 
Her voice was soft, almost a whimper.  “And we came together.”
 
His breath caught.
 
Cherry took the opportunity to compose herself.  “That’s why I wanted you to see this.  The tree will regrow its roots, and, and we fell in together like this.  We could—” She took a breath.  “How about dinner at my apartment tonight?  I can cook.  I’ll grab some food from the kitchen before I leave tonight, and we can talk about...”  She bowed her head, smiling.  “We can talk about what we have.”
 
He gawked at her.
 
No.
 
She didn’t notice, just kept playing with the leaves.
 
No.
 
He opened his mouth.
 
Say no.  You have what you need.
 
No words came out.  He had no roots in Canterlot, yet no words came out.  He was tasked to kill the ponies’ goddess and leave them all behind until they came for their vengeance against him and his Hive.  That was his mission, and it lay behind a platoon of guards, not here beside him.

And no words came out.
 
Cherry lifted her eyes from the ground, but she looked at the tree instead of him.  The smile remained on her profile, but her eyes were unreadable.
 
He had no time for hesitation, but his voice still would not speak the word.  Every moment only postponed the inevitable: her fragile features breaking like glass, either from his reply or from his incessant silence.
 
He never planned to hurt her.  Her role was supposed to end, and he would leave her in peace forevermore.
 
I don’t want to hurt her...
 
He followed the thought as quickly as he could.  He didn’t want to hurt her.  Silverbolt let her have her way.  Guards grumbled about their assignments around her.  She was the answer.

The pieces fit.
 
He smiled.  “That sounds perfect.”
 
Cherry let out a heavy breath, something between a sigh and a laugh, and she nearly bent completely over.  “Finally!”
 
“Finally.”  He grinned and looked over her again, every dimple and crease of her smile-crinkled face, the smooth roundness of her barrell and the sweeping lines of her flanks.  Every detail committed to a perfect mental image of her.  “You caught me off guard with that.”
 
“Oh, it’s fine.”  She turned aside from his scrutiny, laughing.  “Next time—”
 
“Stop!  Stop laughing!” he said, stifling his own chuckles.  “Keep our cover!”
 
Cherry sucked in her lips and nodded.  “Then I guess it’s time to make our exit.”
 
“Yes, it is.”  He motioned for her to lead the way and fell in step beside her, taking one last look at the throne room before they took the stairs.  There was only one thing left to decide.  “So when should we meet?”
 
“I should be done here by sunset, and I’ll be heading straight home.  You can meet me there, if you’d like.”
 
Night it is.  He nodded.  “I remember the way.  Should I bring anything?”
 
“Not at all!”  Cherry didn’t try and stop her giggles anymore.  “I’ll take care of everything.  There’s a few veggies in the kitchen that are just begging to go in a stir fry, and if you’re really lucky, I might just whip up a batch of my mother’s rose hip soup for dessert!”
 
“Sounds good!”  At least she’ll have a good meal to ease the disappointment.  He spent the rest of way out studying all the halls and stairways he had seen, plotting them out in relation to the towers.  Celestia’s tower—and any defenses it had—was still a wild card, but he saw no way to reduce its risk without seeing it personally.

Two guards stood at attention by their exit to the promenade.  While he dipped his face to the ground, he noticed Cherry smile at one of them, and the guard returned it, letting them pass without a word.  He needed that advantage.  If nothing else, her guise might buy him a mistake or two.
 
Cherry led him back through the Party Grounds.  “So do you think you can make it back out on your own?  I could probably—”
 
“I’m still thinking about that, honestly.”  His gaze lingered on the Arboreal Garden.  Its branches could easily hide him until dusk.
 
He dismissed the idea after a minute’s thought.  His body needed time to adjust to a smaller form like Cherry’s, and his room offered far more privacy.

Cherry stepped inside her shack and poked at one of the water cans.  “I have to get back to work if I’m going to finish by sundown, so if you need help, I kind of need to know now.”

“No help.”  He took off the hat.  “I’ll be fine.  Do you need the blanket?”

“Yes, I do.”  She pulled it off and draped it around her shoulders.  “Just be careful, okay?”

“I usually am.”  He watched her leave, waiting a moment for her to get a head start.  A brief look outside confirmed there were no eyes on the shack, and a flash of green restored his guard form.  Tonight was the time, but for now, he had to wait.
 
Only a little longer.