Converted

by Shaded Changeling

Chapter 37: The Past

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Silver Shield began to slowly open his eyes. He found a very bright light shining in his face.

What happened? He thought to himself. Last thing I remember was…

He raised his foreleg to block out the light, it was whole, perfectly blocking out the light.

He let out a sigh. Just some crazy dream. As his eyes adjusted, he began to take note of his surroundings.

He was inside of the hospital, laying on one of the hospital beds, the sound of the heart beat monitor pounding in his ears. His golden armor lay on a nearby table. As he pushed himself up, he began to look himself over. His silver coat was a welcoming sight after the strange dream he had.

He checked over the rest of him, everything seemed in order; nothing was out of place, his legs didn’t have any holes in them.

What am I doing here? He thought to himself, producing a pounding headache.

He raised his hoof up to his forehead, steadying himself, before his eye caught something on the side table. It was a small crystal, no bigger than a jaw breaker, but I sat in front of a small folded card saying:

Silver, when you wake up, eat this. It will help with the Headache.

~ Sapphire

Silver looked over the letter with a bit of trouble, his eyes refused to focus on anything, but he managed to get a feel for the note pretty quickly. He picked up the crystal and placed it into his mouth. As he broke the skin of the crystal, he felt the headache recede and the weak feeling vanish. His eyes began to focus, and he was definitely inside of a hospital.

“Hey Wingless.” Silver looked towards the door and saw Night Glider, his brother wasn’t wearing any of his armor, returning his coat to its normal dark blue and his wings to return to their normal form. “How are you feeling?”

“My head feels terrible…” Silver replied. “Shouldn’t you be on duty right now?”

“I took the day off.” He replied. “Apparently I have over five weeks of stored up personal days, who knew?”

“What happened?” Silver asked, pushing himself up. “How did I get here?”

“You helped Sunglider.” Night Glider replied. “You and two others, you’re the first to wake up.”

“I had the weirdest dream…” Silver said. “I was… Underground… in some kind of hive… And… I was a Changeling…”

Night Glider looked at him in surprise. “Weird…”

“You said two others helped Sunglider.” Silver said. “Where are they?”

“In the next few rooms.” Night Glider replied. “One of them is being looked over by his mother, the other by his foal.”

Silver began to try and get up from the bed, but was eased back down by his brother. “No Silver. You need to rest. Sapphire wants to make sure you’re fine before you leave.”

Silver eased himself back down. “How’s Sunny?”

“He’s still unconscious.” Night Glider replied. “They say he’ll be out for another few hours. Just take it easy… I’ll get Sapphire.” Night Glider walked out of the room.
He walked a little down the hall before letting out a sigh. “Dream… Yeah…” He looked into one of the next rooms, where a light blue unicorn mare was hugging a gray Pegasus, tears running down her face.

“I’m wondering whether we can ever be like that again…” Night Glider mumbled. “After you know the truth… Can you forgive us?”

---

“Antenna…I’m fine. Really.” Tornado Dust said to the crying form of Candy Floss.

“I was so worried.” She cried. “I-I-I thought I was going to lose you too. I-I-I couldn’t handle that. I’ve lost so much already!”

“Mom… Come on…” Tornado replied. “I would never leave you.”

“It-it’s just been so hard…” She said. “After your Father and your Sister, I-I couldn’t do anything.” She looked up at her son. “And then…To lose the Queen. I-I… I didn’t know what to do… And to think that I lost you…” She cried back into his coat. “I can’t lose you! I just can’t!”

Tornado Dust hugged his mother, wrapping his wings around her. “I know mom… I know…”

“There-There’s… I couldn’t…I can’t lose all of you…” She said. “When you got called by those Changelings, I got so worried… You were gone for hours… I got so scared. I couldn’t feel you… and I… I…I was afraid that you got captured…Or beaten…or…that you…” She sobbed for a bit. “I just…I had to check… And seeing you here… I just…I couldn’t control myself and…”

Tornado Dust hugged Candy Floss tighter. “It’s alright mom…” He said, comforting her. “I’ll never leave you.”

“I just… I miss them…”

“Me too mom…” Tornado Dust said, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I miss them too…”

The Two of them stayed there, Tornado Dust comforting the unicorn and Candy Floss crying into his coat.

---

“You’re certain?”

“Positive.” Crimson replied. “She was there.”

Just Sentence sat behind her wooden desk. “This is distressing news…” She replied, the cup of tea in front of her turning cold. “To think we were so close to cornering her…”

“She slipped through… But the signs were there.” Crimson replied, removing her helmet. “This Queen Ceymi was there, and she escaped.”

“Have you managed to identify the pony they took with them?”

“Not by name…” Crimson replied. “Sweetheart mentioned that it was a brown filly. That Spine character brought her in almost two weeks ago.” Crimson had pulled the combat knife from her war saddle and began flipping it in the air, catching it in her magic. “This Spine must be a real piece of work if the Monarchy is considering putting a hit out on him.”

“I looked through his records after we checked through the hive. 25 counts of friendly fire, 17 counts of brainwashing, Abuse, subordination, murder…”

“Public indecency, wearing a pot on his head, I get it.” Crimson replied catching the knife in her magic and holding it. “He’s a criminal, but why is the Monarchy after him?”

“Right… I keep forgetting you sever your link to the monarchy when you take on military campaigns…” Just sentence sipped her tea, trying to clear the slight headache she had. “Spine was one of Chrysalis’ military advisors, and we think he is working alongside the new Queen.”

“Alright… So I can see a strategic advantage… But why is Ovi Okaying this?” Crimson asked, tossing the knife back into the air. “She’s usually against this type of thing.”

“Well… Her daughter was…”

“Wait… Daughter?”

“Yes… she has a Daughter, she was never meant to become a Queen, and she was injured in a recent assassination attempt, approved by the new Queen. So she has bit of a personal vendetta.”

“Bloodpool?”

“Yes… He was involved.”

“Is he alive?”

“Yes.”

Crimson stopped flipping the knife and placed it on the table. “I’ll deal with that later, right now… you wanted to hear about the ponies captured.”

“Yes… I did.” Just Sentence placed the tea cup down and picked up a folder. “Was this filly one of those inside the cocoons?”

Crimson picked up the folder and opened it. Inside was a picture of a small brown unicorn filly, with a green mane and tail.

“No… Not in any of the ones we released.” Crimson replied. “However… Sweetheart did mention a filly that matched her description…”

“Really?” Just Sentence replied. “What happened to her?”

“If I had to guess…” Crimson replied, picking up the knife and flipping it in the air again. “She was taken by Spine when he and Ceymi left. I just can’t figure out why.”

“A personal matter between Spine and a failed conversion named Shade.” Just Sentence replied. “The filly’s name is Meadow Song, Shade protected her from a group of Changelings during the invasion, and the two of them were blasted out of the city together, ever since he has been trying to protect her, even going so far as to reenter Canterlot merely a week after the invasion.”

“Interesting… You think they formed a bond?” Crimson asked.

“I believe it is more like a friendship than anything. He doesn’t wish any harm to come to Meadow, he even risked his own safety to ensure she would remain unharmed.”

“Hmm…” Crimson said. “Do you think he would be open to joining the Lancers?”

Just Sentence caught the combat knife in her own magic. “Do pay attention Pupa; it makes this so much easier.” She levitated the knife back down to her. “He was in the military, but he knows very little about combat in his new body.”

Crimson laughed. “And he is trying to go up against a Commander? Does he have a death wish?”

“What do you propose we do?” Sentence asked. “You wish to train him while he is still under surveillance by the Royal Guard?”

Crimson smiled. “Come on Acari,” She replied. “Think of it less as me training him and more as me… helping him achieve his goals.”

Just Sentence looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You just want to see how much of a beating he can take don’t you?”

Crimson leaned back. “Your words not mine. Just one day, that’s all I’m asking for. I’ll see how much he knows, teach him a few things, then send him on his way.”

“Pupa… There is no way Shining Armor will approve of this.”

“Who said he needs to know?”

Just Sentence rubbed her temples. “Pupa… We should be focusing all of our efforts on finding Ceymi. After we know where she is, then I’ll think about letting you draft Shade into your regiment.”

“Fine…” Crimson replied. “I’m just asking.”

“Pupa… Have you made any progress with interrogations yet?” Just Sentence asked.

“Nope.” She replied. “They’re being really quiet. We have them all locked in the Castle Dungeons, just waiting to be pulled in for Questioning.”

“What about Sweetheart?” Just Sentence asked. “She may be able to answer a few questions.”

Crimson shook her head. “She is in no condition to talk. Dehydrated, malnourished, sleep deprived, I had some of my soldiers take her to Cytes’ secret entrance at the Docks, her and the Nymphs are expected to make a full recovery.”

Acari looked up at the clock. “It has been good catching up with you Pupa; however I have to head to the hospital to check up on the condition of the others.”

“Mind if I come with?” Crimson asked. “I’ve been meaning to check up on my scouts and their recovery.”

“Not at all Pupa.” She replied. “Just…Try to be discreet.”

“I make no promises.” Crimson replied, grabbing her helmet. “This is me we’re talking about remember.”

Just Sentence rolled her eyes. “At least make an attempt.”

“Alright Acari, I’ll try.” Crimson said, putting on her helmet. “But my previous statement still stands.”

“Just don’t get caught.”

“Now that I can do.”

Just sentence rolled her eyes. “If I never saw you on the battlefield, I would have sworn you were joking about being a Commander.”

Crimson’s smile dropped. “Would you prefer me to be like my mother?”

“No…” Pupa’s mother was the strictest general she had ever seen…and she never wanted to relive the nightmares of dealing with her during peace negotiations ever again.

“Then you have to deal with me.” Crimson said with a smile.

“Just my luck…”

---

Tornado Dust had still been comforting his mother when the door opened and Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the room.

Tornado Dust sighed. “Candy… Can you wait outside for a minute.” Candy Floss looked up at him, then at Twilight and Rainbow.

“Stay safe…” She said before wiping her eyes and walking out of the room. When she left, Twilight and Rainbow walked up to him.

“Where’s Tornado?” Twilight asked calmly.

“Dead.” Tornado Dust said instantly. “He’s been dead for nearly fifteen years.”

“What did you do to him?” Rainbow Dash asked aggressively.

“He did it to himself.” Tornado Dust replied. “I did nothing but bury him. Is that a crime?”

“Prove it.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Alright. What do you want to know?” Tornado Dust asked.

“What is your real name?” Twilight asked.

“I am Infiltrator 75, Darkblaze.”

“What does the number symbolize?” Twilight asked.

“It’s just a way for quick deployment, select which numbers go, and they do.” Tornado Dust replied.

“Who is Candy Floss?” Rainbow Dash asked, “And where’s the real one?”

“That was my mother, and the real one is probably dead by now, she was captured around twenty years ago.”

“How long have you been Tornado Dust?” Twilight asked.

“fifteen years.” Tornado replied. “Ever since you met him, I’ve been him.”

“Give me one reason to believe you.” Rainbow Dash said.

Tornado Dust looked between the two of them. “Sit down.” The two of them looked at each other before obliging.

“I was born with a twin sister, her name was Gamma, we were very close, even by pony standards.” He tapped the side of his head. “We were linked telepathically, no matter how far away we were, we could always hear each other, even feel what the other felt. One day, she decided to show herself to a young pony by the name of Evergreen.

“Our Queen found out, and had the village raided, everypony’s memories gone, and Evergreen captured. Later, she forced Gamma to watch while she drained the one she considered a friend. Evergreen was nothing but a husk, and Gamma was distraught.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.

“But she wasn’t done…” Tornado continued, wiping away a tear. “She… She had a public execution, and I was there…” Tornado Dust cringed. “I heard her cries for help, felt her pain, I…I could hear her dying… But I couldn’t do anything…” He took a deep breath. “She…She needed me…and I…I just watched…” He took a moment to compose himself.

“Executions were painful, they involved forcefully draining the energy from a changeling, and making them burn themselves up. It’s painful, it’s cruel, and I felt every part of it…”

“Ever since then I began trying to do what she did, I wanted to have a life outside the hive, so for fifteen years, I made a life for myself, all in her honor. My father died before then… He was clawed to death by a griffin… and now… Me and Antenna are the only two left…”

He looked out the window into Silver’s room. “Since Gamma died, she’s been having trouble with loss. She was placed on the Queen’s personal Caretakers, a job that required you to give your life for the Queen, but since she was never in any real danger, nothing happened. She was left to mourn the loss of my sister, and I was thinking of killing myself.”

“Well… What stopped you?” Twilight asked.

“My sister. Whenever we came back from a mission, she always told me about how friendly Evergreen was, how much love she gathered whenever she was there, how much she enjoyed it there. I decided that before I dropped off the nearest cloud, I would at least try to make a life for myself. So imagine my surprise when I saw a single Pegasus flying towards an F5 tornado. I’ll spare you the details, but I took his place after I buried him.”

“I took his place, an almost perfect disguise, injuries made up for personality changes, so I could just… Be myself. And nopony figured it out. I just fit into his life, I took his life, his job, his family never realized, and I got to follow my sister. Scared my mom though, so we kept up letters every week, I tried after the invasion, but the letter didn’t go through, just….burned up.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t buying it. “How do we know that this isn’t just some sob story? You could be trying to get us to think that you won’t do anything. You could just be lying about this whole thing.”

Tornado Dust looked directly at Rainbow. “If you don’t believe me, then ask Candy Floss, or ask Snake-Eye when he wakes up. Otherwise, keep your nose out of my family’s business, you stubborn Pegasus. We’re done here.”

“What? You can’t just-” Rainbow began.

Tornado’s eyes glowed venomous green as he picked Rainbow up in a magic field. “I said…” His fangs poked through. “We’re done!” He dropped Rainbow Dash on the ground. “I’m done talking to both of you. Leave me alone.”

---

“Hey Shade!”

Shade was lying on a twisted, black barked tree, completely adapted to the Fiords deadly climate. He looked down from the branch to see Razant looking up at him. “S’up?”

Razant looked impatiently at him. “We’re supposed to be helping clear out the Rays in the well.”

“That’s today?” Shade asked.

“How long have you been up there Shade?”

Shade looked up towards the sky. “Three hours… Give or take?”

Razant rolled his eyes. “Come on sleepy. Let’s get going.”

“I’ll catch up. Just give me a second.”

Razant rolled his eyes. “Usually I’m the lazy one.” He mumbled walking away

“Still are!” Shade shouted back. Continuing to look up at the sky, he looked down at his wrist, and moved the top layer off the armor, showing a small orange crystal.

Shade tapped it with his claw. “Stupid thing is malfunctioning again…” The crystal began to glow, projecting a small map, with a cross over where he was. “Distress signal my scaly ass.” He replaced the cover before taking a final look around the tree.

“Need to replace this piece of-” Before he finished a small orange glint caught his eye. He moved to look at it and found a shard of a small orange crystal. He picked it up and placed it into his gauntlet.

Got to get this to a Cipher… They’ll tell me what happened.

Shade turned back towards the city, the red buildings creating an almost natural appearance from it. He opened his bat like wings and flew to catch up with Razant.

“What were you doing back there?” Razant asked, looking at his wrist-mounted crossbows.

“My locator Crystal was acting up.” Shade relied. “It said there was a distress signal from up there.”

“It’s nothing to worry about, we’ve been getting those everywhere.” Razant replied, his crossbow’s limbs closed as it shrank into the armor. “Just get your crystal replaced. That’s what I did, and it stopped being an issue.”

“I would… But the strange thing is, I found a crystal shard inside the tree.”

“Any-”

“No. I have no idea.”

“Well nothing to worry about,” Razant replied. “We have a well to clear out.”

“Yeah…Yeah… Let’s go.”

After about half an hour, Shade and Razant walked into the center of the village.

“Cadets! You’re late!”

Both Dragons saluted as the Lieutenant walked up to them. “I hope you two didn’t just think this was a standard procedure.”

“No Sir!” Shade replied. “I was just checking a lead from my locator Crystal!”

“Explain.”

“I found a piece of a Locator Crystal, sending out a distress signal.” Shade explained. “I have the piece I found, I was hoping a Cipher could explain what happened.”

The Lieutenant walked up to him. “When you two lazy little shit stains are done here, get your crystal replaced.”

“Of course Sir!” Shade replied.

“And since you two thought this was such a small problem. You two get to deal with it yourself.”

Razant glared at Shade.

“Don’t give me that Raz. The number of times I’ve had to cover your ass. You owe me.”

Raz rolled his eyes. “So how do you want to handle this?”

“Flares and arrows?” Shade asked.

Razant’s crossbows flipped out of his gauntlets. “You want to handle the air?”

“Course I will Asthma boy.”

Shade took the air, as Razant pulled out a red crystal and breathed fire on it, before dropping it down the well. But instead of the expected flapping of wings, they were met with an odd buzzing.

“Raz?” Shade asked. “Those aren’t rays…”

The Lieutenant’s eyes widened. “GET OUT OF THE AIR!”

Shade bolted towards the ground before the well exploded into a swarm of small red wasps. “HELL BEETLES! Everyone stay down!”

The Hornets flew through the sky, tearing through everything that isn’t attached to the ground, when they finally flew out of the city, bones fell from the sky.

“I guess we know what happened to the patrol now…”

“Patrol?” Razant asked. “What patrol?”

The Lieutenant sighed. “We lost a patrol out to the west, we thought they just went out of connection range, but now…” He leaned down to look at the bones. “I guess we don’t need to send that search party…”

“A search party?” Shade said, pulling himself from the ground. “I almost died you Korzan! You call that a good thing? Years of service were about to be worth nothing because you couldn’t be assed to figure out what the hell we were up against!”

“Don’t you talk back to me Private!” The Lieutenant replied. “I’ve got years of…”

“Listen to me you self-entitled pile of shit.” Shade replied pulling out his swords. “I have never met a man so stupidly blind, he would forget to check before sending two of his best to their deaths making a stupid command.” He held the blades up to the Lieutenant’s throat. “I’m done serving under an officer as thick headed as you.” He pulled the blades away and walked out. “Do your job next time ‘Lieutenant.’ Or I’ll inform the council of your ineptitude.”

“Shade…” Raz said. “Oh God Damn it…” He ran after Shade. “Shade! Hold up!”

Shade whipped around. “Raz, are you really defending him?” Shade said unbelievingly. “He almost got both of us killed, and he’s making no effort to fix it. Remember the ‘Incident’ last week, where the dummy bombs were switched with Live rounds?”

“Yeah… But we…”

“No Raz! He’s been doing all of this shit! The Bombs, the lava Flows, now these stupid Hell beetles! He knew about all of it!”

“Whoa Shade.” Raz said. “What’s gotten into you?”

Shade sighed. “This crystal shard, it synthesized itself, I managed to get a small reading from it, and I found his name in the records, under ‘Killer’. He killed the patrol.”

Raz’s eyes shot open. “You’re kidding?”

“I wish I was…” Shade looked down at his claw. “The entire thing makes sense if you think about it… he’s the only one with access to those weapons, he just never planned on us being a good team.”

“You mean how you watch my ass?”

“Essentially. You’re welcome by the way.”

“So what’s the next plan of action?”

“Get this crystal to the council… After that let them decide…” Shade saw a really bright light in his right eye, despite there being nothing to cast the light, he felt it entering his eye.

---

“How long is he going to be out?” Twilight asked as Dr. Rose shined a light into Sunstreak’s eye.

“I’m not sure…” Rose replied. “I’m not exactly an expert on Changelings, even though he was my patient for quite a while.” Rose opened his other eye and flashed the light in it, causing it to dilate. “The good news is he’s responsive… Just out cold.”

“Yeah but how long will it be before he wakes up?” Rainbow Dash asked, Sunspot laying curled up on her head.

“If I had to make a guess… I’d say it would be another five hours…” Rose replied. “So… Who's the filly?”

“This is Sunspot… His…Daughter…” Rainbow Dash replied.

Rose looked at her. “Funny… He never mentioned having a daughter…”

“She isn’t really his daughter…” Twilight replied. “At least I hope not… But Sunny saved her and she keeps calling him ‘Daddy’.”

Sunspot twitched slightly in her sleep. “Daddy…Bat…Lizard…” She flipped over. “No…Daddy…Don’t go…” Her hind leg twitched a little.

“She’s cute.” Rose replied, looking at the filly. “Changeling?”

“Yeah…” Twilight replied. “So you’re sure about the estimate?”

“Not fully…” Rose replied. “Could be a little less, a little more, but Sapphire thinks it should only take about that long.”

Rainbow Dash flew over and lightly placed Sunspot on Sunstreak’s chest. “Then why are the other two awake already?” She asked.

Rose shrugged. “Maybe the spell they used affects Changelings differently than ponies. Again, I’m no expert on them.”

Twilight looked at the machine monitoring Sunstreak’s vitals; his heart rate was slowly increasing as his brain waves began to fluctuate rapidly. “What’s going on with him?” She asked. “Why is his brain activity so high?”

Rose took a look at the machine. “If I had to guess… He’s dreaming about something that’s got his body worked up. I can’t be sure though…”

---

“You know this whole thing was your fault right?” Shade said as the two of them stood up inside the black chamber. A single hole in the roof from where they fell through.

“How was I supposed to know there were Rays in that cave?” Raz replied, pulling a bit of rock out of his crossbow.

“By NOT firing into a cave with an explosive!” Shade replied. “Come on… Let’s go bomber man.”

Raz looked up. “There’s no way we’re flying back there, the Rays are still circling…”

“So we go through the cave… Where are we anyway?”

Raz’s Locator Crystal projected a map into the air. “According to the crystal, we are half a mile away from Jok-Khao.

“Hey that’s where Carver is.” Shade replied. “In fact… This cave should lead right to…”

A buzzing echoed through the cave, and both of the dragons looked at each other. “This is a…”

“Hive…” Raz finished. “Hopefully they haven’t realized we’re…”

The buzzing grew louder.

“Throw a flare and Run!” Shade shouted. Razant lit one of the flares and threw it back towards the buzzing and ran after Shade.

“I…Can’t… Run… That…”

Shade grabbed onto him. “Go! You Asthmatic Fuck!” Shade threw him ahead of him. He turned to look back down the corridor, and saw the glowing red wasps flying towards him. Quickly, he grabbed two of his bombs, small steel grenades with crystal's inside that detonated when collided, they were designed to send shards of metal everywhere, and activated the detonator before throwing them back towards the swarm and running away.

There was a loud explosion, causing the cave to rumble, as rocks fell on top of the swarm, cutting them off from the Dragons. When Shade caught back up with Raz, he had composed himself, but was still breathing heavy. “Oh come on Raz,” Shade said. “That wasn’t that bad.”

“For you…Maybe not… Adrenaline… Doesn’t help me…” Raz said. “Just… Tell me the plan…”

“We talk to my cousin, he helps us get into the Council room, then we reveal the Lieutenant.”

“This is the same Cousin that kicked us out last time?”

“Only because you touched his prototype.” Shade replied. “I warned you about that… But NO! I wanted to touch the strange looking wing prosthetic.”

“I get it…” Raz replied. “Let’s just… Get this over with…”

Shade and Raz climbed out of the Cave and walked through the streets, coming up to a small warehouse. “This time… Don’t touch anything.” Shade hissed to Raz.

Shade and Razant stepped inside, hearing the sounds of a blowtorch cutting into metal they walked through the warehouse.

“Whoever you are. GO Away! I’m busy.” Came a low voice from the back of the room.

“Carver! It’s me!”

The Blowtorch stopped and shut down. “Shade? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Stuff…” Shade replied. “I need to talk to you.”

There was a mumbling from the back of the room, as a metal door was opened and a rather strong looking Dragon walked in, a welding mask lifted on his head and a steel sword strapped on his back. “Oh great…It’s you.” He said when he saw Raz. “Here to break something else?”

“It was an accident!” Razant retorted.

“I don’t care… That ‘Accident’ cost me months of work!”

“Both of you! Shut Up!” Shade shouted. “God… I never thought I’d have to be the voice of reason between you two.” Shade turned to Carver. “Carver, we need to get to the council.”

“Good luck with that.” Carver replied. “Apparently they're meeting with some important Dignitary from outside the Fiords.”

“Really?” Shade asked surprised. “Someone else can breathe this stuff?” Shade motioned to the air around them.

“I don’t know… They said something about a filtering charm, I don’t care. But she seemed pretty important, so unless you have the location of the Controller for these Hell Beetles, they aren’t going to let you in.”

“Come on Carver…” Shade said. “Can’t you pull just a few strings to…”

“What is this about Shade?” Carver asked seriously. “You haven’t been making Blood Molotov’s again have you?”

“What? No!” Shade replied. “I haven’t done that in over a hundred years.”

“So what is it then?”

Shade pulled the crystal Shard out of his gauntlet. “This… It’s part of a distress signal. I think the Lieutenant in command is responsible for a whole bunch of incidents…”

“Any proof?” Carver asked.

“Well… I have this crystal that says he’s the killer of the patrol.”

Carver raised his eye-spike… “You know that is flimsy evidence. Unless you’ve seen him…”

“I have… I saw him replace some of the dummy bombs for live ones during training.”

Carver looked at him. “Any deaths?”

“A few…The bombs destroyed any possible evidence.”

Carver lowered his welding mask and turned back into the room. “I’m not sure how much help I can be here Shade.” The Sound of welding met their ears. “I mean… I’m one of the top in the Specters, but I hardly think that is enough clearance to get you two into the Council Chamber.”

“Come on Cousin.” Shade said. “I just need this one thing. What is it going to take?”

The Welding cut out and Carver walked through the door again. “What are you willing to do?”

“Please… Carver… Just this once?”

Carver flipped up his welding mask, a smile played across his face. “Help me test the new prototype.”

“Deal.” Shade replied. “So… How much is it fixed?”

Carver smiled. “Oh… It’s nowhere near being ready for development, but since you asked, I think that the landing jets still need some calibration.”

Shade sighed. “I’m going to regret this later…”

Raz nodded. “Yes… Yes you are”

Carver turned back to the room, removing his welding gear. “Let’s go and see about that appointment. Before I strap you to a death machine.”

Shade smiled weakly. I am going to die…

---

Sapphire looked over Sunglider, who was noticeably better, his brain activity was normal; heart rate was standard, nothing out of the ordinary. Using her magic, she also saw that his Emotional levels had stabilized; meaning whatever they did at least made him conscious about having a life before.

When the door opened, Sapphire glanced over to see Acari’s Pegasus form, the dusty pink pony with a gray mane and brown eyes walked in along with Crimson Lance.

“How have you two been holding up?” Sapphire asked, still paying attention to her patient. “I haven’t seen you around in a while Crimson.”

“I thought I might as well come and say ‘Hi’ to my favorite Doctor.” She replied.

“Flattery does not suit you Pupa.” Sapphire replied, looking away from Sunglider. “He’ll be fine, whatever you did Acari, it normalized his Emotional levels, so at least he isn’t completely brain dead anymore.”

“That’s excellent.” Acari replied. “However this headache is still as obnoxious as ever.”

Sapphire looked towards her. “You may want to take the day off from dealing with the Nobles that will do wonders for your stress levels.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Acari replied, “Now onto the purpose of this meeting.”

Sapphire adjusted her glasses. “Yes…Silver…”

“Have you talked to him yet?” Crimson asked. “I mean… we all agreed that it would be his choice in the end.”

“Yes but… What about the mental complications?” Sapphire asked. “There’s no telling how he will react to this. Then there’s the problem of him being new to transformations.”

“Yeah… That could cause a problem…” Crimson replied ruffling her mane. “But… My hive is ready to serve the greater good of Equestria no matter what happens. How are they by the way?” She asked to Sapphire.

“We lost around thirty of them…” Sapphire replied. “We couldn’t sustain them for long, Ovi’s Changeling were being…Problematic.”

“Speaking of the Sexual Queen,” Crimson said, “How has she been?”

“Bad…” Sapphire replied. “She refuses to leave her daughter’s side, only when I have to run tests on her does Ovi leave the hospital, and even then, she’s back within the hour.”

“That bad huh?” Crimson replied. “You see, that’s why I don’t have a daughter yet.”

“I thought it was because you couldn’t make a commitment to a man without first beating their chitin in?” Acari replied.

“Well you can’t just be any drone to get with a Queen. You have to have standards.”

“How is Carrie’s condition?” Acari asked.

“She’s recovering… But I’m not sure if there will be any after effects, she may never be able to use her hind right leg again… It’s too early to tell.”

“How much longer until these two wake up?” Crimson asked, looking between the two rooms, the one next to them holding Sunstreak. “And how do we want to handle this?”

“Sunglider should come around in an hour or so, but Shade… He seems to be in a much worse state… It may take twice as long at this rate…”

“So onto my next Question,” Crimson replied. “How do we handle this?”

Silver was surprised to see not only Sapphire, but the leader of the Lancers enter his room. They had a dusty pink Pegasus with them that Silver didn’t recognize.

“Good Evening Silver.” Sapphire said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than when I woke up.” Silver replied. “My head was killing me and I could barely see straight. What was in that pill thing?”

“This is going to sound weird… But condensed emotions.” Sapphire replied. “The process we used to help Sunglider was initiated by a Changeling, leaving everypony involved drained.”

“So how’s Sunny?” Silver asked.

“He’s fine. He’s just going to be out for a little longer.” Sapphire motioned to the other two mares. “I’d like for you to meet two of my friends. You know Crimson Lance already, and this is Dawnflower.” The Pink Pegasus waved.

“Who is she?” Silver asked, trying not to be rude.

“She is a close friend of mine…and she is going to help you with a very difficult decision…”

Silver looked at her confused. “What decision?”

Sapphire walked up to him. “Do you remember what happened before you lost consciousness? It should have felt like a distant dream…”

“Well… I remember there being Changelings and…” His eyes widened. “That… That wasn’t a dream?”

Sapphire shook her head. “All of it was real.”

Silver looked down at his hooves. “All of it? The Hive? The Changelings? Me? None of it was fake?”

Sapphire shook her head. “All of it was real… These are actually other Queens inside of Canterlot.” She motioned to Crimson and Acari. “I am Cytes, Queen of the Medical Hive.”

“Pupa, Warrior Hive.” Crimson replied.

“I am Queen Acari, Ruler of the Just Hive.” Acari replied. “We are here to see if you made a choice.”

Silver looked at the three of them. “You’re… You’re…I…”

“I think we broke him.” Crimson replied. “I got it!” She walked up and slapped Silver with her hoof.

“How are you here? The repulsion spell-! ”

“It was highly concentrated love, enough to cause any other Changelings to lift of the ground slightly, but not enough to send us flying much more than a few feet.” Sapphire replied. “And at the time, only myself and Queen Ovi were in the city, Ovi’s emotions were close enough that it pushed her back without any of the lift, causing severe fractures and lacerations, I was thrown lightly into a wall…”

“But…I wasn’t…” Silver began.

“That would be our doing.” Acari replied.

“In short,” Crimson replied. “We placed layers of spells on you to make you…well…a pony. You couldn’t see emotions, you released them like anypony else, were severed from My Hive.”

“Wait! I’m…”

Crimson smiled. “Yup… I’m your Queen Silver.” She replied. “I was the one who allowed you to leave the hive. Although… You were only a Nymph at the time…”

“Pupa… Focus.”

“Oh right…” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, those spells made you into a pony, in every possible way. The only ponies that knew the truth were the three of us, your parents; I think your brothers… and Celestia of course.”

“They…I…”

“Listen Silver, this is important.” Sapphire replied. “We need you to decide on how you want to live your own life.” She adjusted her glasses. “You can either live the rest of your life with the Hive, and we will give you back the memories we removed from last time. Alternatively, Acari can remove your memories of this meeting, of the hive, and we can replace all of the enchantments.”

“That’s a hell of a choice…” Silver replied. “I… I need to think about it…”

Sapphire nodded. “Would it help to speak with your family about it?”

“Yeah… I…That will help…”

Sapphire motioned at the door, and Silver saw his family walk in. Dusk, his father, a light blue Pegasus with a darker mane, which looked as though he had been constantly running his hooves through it, his green eyes looking as though he hadn’t rested in quite a while. While Dawn, his mother, a grass green Pegasus with a golden mane, had clearly been crying for a while, her calm magenta eyes were red and the slight discoloration of her coat proved that.

Behind them, Night Glider walked in, a small brown book held under his wing.

“We’ll just leave you four alone.” Sapphire said as the here Queens left the room.

“Mom, Dad… Night. You… You all knew…?” Silver asked.

“Yes honey… We knew.” Dawn replied. “We’ve known since you came to us…”

“But… Why didn’t you tell me?” Silver asked.

Dusk walked up to him. “We couldn’t.” He replied. “We had a contract with Queen Cytes, we couldn’t tell you what you truly were or you would be taken away from us.”

“You were still just as much of a problem when you couldn’t transform though.” Night Glider replied. “We have the records to prove it.” Night Glider opened the book, inside was pictures of a small red-eyed Changeling alongside the colts he recognized as his brothers.

“This was taken a few weeks after your first birthday.” Dawn replied. “You were so full of energy, we thought you were going to rip through the walls.”

Silver picked up the book in his magic and flipped to the beginning. He saw an image of a black egg, across its surface were small circular spots, through which Silver could see a curled up Changeling. Underneath the picture, it read: New Family Member.

Silver looked through the pages, some of the pictures had dates under them, but the next one that Silver saw was when he hatched. It looked the same as the birth picture he saw before, only… it was inside of the hive he saw earlier, and the egg shell was shattered, a Changeling Queen with blue eyes was next to Dawn in the picture.

“That’s when you hatched.” Dawn said. “You were so small back then, you didn’t even have fangs yet.”

Silver flipped through the pictures and found one where he was his normal coat color. “That’s after you first transformed. We were hoping you would be a Pegasus, but we were happy with a Unicorn.”

Silver looked at the pictures, finding all of the memories he had that were replaced.

“I… I recognize these moments… Why are they…?”

“Queen Acari had to change some of your memories,” Dusk replied. “When you began transforming all the time, we brought you here, and they made the choice to seal you in that disguise.”

Silver flipped through the book. “When we did… They made us swear to never tell you.”

“Why?” Silver asked.

“We wanted you to have a normal life…” Dawn replied tears forming in her eyes. “We didn’t want you to be separated from us… You may have been a changeling, but you were still our little Shield.” She hugged him. “We had to remove your memories a lot when you were younger.”

“But now that you’re older.” Dusk said walking up to him. “You can choose for yourself. We won’t think any less of you if you want to rejoin your Hive.”

“I…I don’t…” Silver replied. “You’re my family I don’t want to leave you guys. But… This is something… I need to know… I just… I don’t want to leave you guys.”

“Wingless… You’re just as much our family as we are yours.” Night Glider replied. “We don’t want you to be taken from us…”

Silver was tearing up. “I don’t want to leave you guys… You’re my family. I can’t just… Leave”

“Silver… We want you to know. We shouldn’t have-” She was cut off by shouting from outside.

All of the ponies listened to it. “I don’t give a damn!”

“You relinquish-”

“I don’t care Pupa! He’s just as much my son as theirs!”

“Star… You can’t have a-”

“Look me in the eye! Do I look like I care what you think?”

“Star… If you really must see him, go ahead.”

“Sapphire!”

“Lance… Let him in.”

The door opened and a white unicorn walked into the room, he was clad in Royal Guard armor. He used his hind leg to slam the door shut. “Silver…”

“Lieutenant?” Silver said surprised.

“Yes Silver… I’m your lieutenant… I’m also your biological father…”

Silver’s eyes widened. “You’re my…”

The Lieutenant grabbed the blinds with his magic and pulled them down, blocking out the rest of the hospital. There was a wisp of red flame, and Silver saw his father for the first time.

“My name is Star Dust. I gave you up so that you could live away from the stress of Changeling life, needing to feed on your comrades, those you help, we wanted you to be away from this. We gave you to Dusk and Dawn so you could live the life of a pony…” He sighed. “I think that was the wrong choice.”

“What do you mean Star?” Dawn asked.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone for so long… You should have known since the beginning… I just want you to live the best life you can…” He took off his helmet. “You came of age a long time ago, you can decided your own course of life. Regardless of what the Queen thinks. You should be able to live how you want.”

He walked over to Silver. “If you really want to stay with them, I won’t stop you. If the Queen tries to bring you back to the hive, I’ll get you back to them… So here is what I want from you. Never think of me as your father. I’m just your lieutenant, I want you to treat me no differently, and don’t expect any special treatment. Got it?”

Silver saluted. “Yes Sir.”

Star smiled. “That’s the Unicorn I know. I’ll talk with the Queens.” Star walked out, leaving the family to embrace each other. “You sure this is smart my Queen?”

“Yes… I believe it is high time he knew.” Crimson replied. “Twenty-five years he’s been living a lie, time that he learned the truth. He did recently come to the age where he is allowed to decide his own life. So let him decide.”

“What if he reveals us?” Star asked.

Crimson sighed. “Face the facts Lieutenant, we can’t remain hidden for long, Chrysalis proved that… Eventually we will have to come out of the shadows… It’s only a matter of when…”

“Should we not try to extend our time in the shadows?”

“No… Once Ceymi has been captured, I plan to reveal a few of my own… Let the ponies know that we fought for them during the invasion. That we died… They need to know…”

“Of course My Queen… You have always known what’s best.” He looked back in at Silver.

“That ‘Impromptu’ outburst, you really felt that way didn’t you?”

Star nodded. “I haven’t been able to talk to him like that for… Twenty years now… Sometimes I regret giving him up… But he’s in a better place than he would have had at the Hive.” He looked back at Crimson. “So long as he’s happy.”

Crimson walked over and put her hoof on his shoulder. “Most Changelings never understand that… Good job old timer.” She patted him on the back. “Now we have some paperwork to fill out.”

The two of them began heading towards the offices while the family of ponies hugged their Changeling sibling.

---

“So who’s this special Dignitary?” Shade asked as the three of them stepped into the magical elevator, which was little more than a steel room with two magical runes on either side to stop it from slamming into anything.

“I already told you…” Carver said. “Some kind of princess or something… It seemed important.”

“A Princess?” Razant replied. “What kind of country would send a princess here?”

Carver shrugged. “They just… Sent her here for a talk. Something about a rogue agent…”

“If their out here their dead already…” Raz replied.

“Oh come on… We’ve been cut off for centuries, you don’t think someone found a way to breathe in this stuff?”

“It’s always a possibility but I just don’t see it…” Raz replied.

Shade and Carver looked at each other. “He’s never met your mother has he?”

“Well… Not… Informally… Usually she is on duty…so we…” Shade began.

“Regardless… She travelled around the outer lands for a while, I’m sure she found some race that could…” He cut himself off as the elevator slowed. “Attention.”

The two doors slid open as the three of them walked into the circular chamber. Shade had been in similar chambers, every village had one, but this was the main Council Chamber, so even Shade and Raz were impressed by it.

What they hadn’t expected to see was a rather tall unicorn talking to the council. Her prismatic mane was flowing in the non-existent breeze.

“Ah Carver!” The High Councilor said. “I heard you have some very urgent news for us.”

“Yes Councilor.” Carver replied. “My cousin Shade believes he has important information on a string of killings near his home.”

“Well?”

Shade stepped forward. “Your… Councillliness… I believe that my commanding officer, Lieutenant Ko’ral, has been attempting to kill me and my ally Razant for quite some time now.”

The Tall Unicorn seemed unaffected by the claim, but Shade was wondering how she was even breathing.

“Those are heavy accusations… Do you have any proof?”

“Earlier today, I followed my Locator crystal to a recently grown Obsidian Tree, it detected the distress signal from a patrol that left the village that day. I found a shard of the crystal that was producing the signal, I allowed it to begin a small synthesis with my own Locator, it revealed that the killer was my CO.”

The Councilors looked at each other. “Do you have this crystal shard?”

“Of course Councilor.” Shade pulled out the crystal and tossed it to the councilor. Who caught it and placed it into his desk.

After a few moment, the Councilor looked back at Shade. “It appears as though you are correct… Lieutenant Ko’ral is indeed the killer of this Dragon… That is disconcerting… What do you suppose we should do Princess?”

It was then that Shade noticed the wings on the Unicorns side. “I’m not sure…” She replied. Shade was impressed by her voice, authoritive yet compassionate. “Equestria has never had to deal with something like this… However I recommend that he be brought in for questioning.”

“That may be complicated…” Shade replied. “If I know my CO, he is never without something to kill anyone who stands in his way. Magic shield cancelling daggers, Smoke bombs, paralysis darts, I don’t think I’ve seen him without them before. Sending anyone after him would only end badly.”

“Okay… This is bothering me.” Razant said. “How the hell are you breathing?” He asked the Princess, getting stared down by both Shade and Carver. “I’m sorry okay! It’s bothering me!”

The Princess raised a hoof to her mouth and laughed. “You must be Razant. The Councilor has told me a lot about you, most of it bad. My name is Princess Celestia of Equestria. And I’m breathing because of a spell I made years ago when the Fiords were first destroyed.” At that moment a yellow bubble became visible around her head.

“Oh… Okay… Next What are you?”

“An Alicorn. I thought you knew that.”

“Isn’t that what Unicorn horns are made from?” Razant asked.

Carver rolled his eyes. “God damn it… Razant… Just shut up. You’re only making it worse.”

Raz looked at him surprised. “Well excuse me for being curious! I didn’t know that was a…”

Shade lifted his claw and Raz’s mouth slammed shut. “Thank God for Mom being a mage…” Shade looked back at Raz. “Please be quiet… I’m sorry for him Princess… He’s a bit of an idiot.”

“Hey!” Raz replied.

“If it isn’t too much to ask Princess, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to check up on progress. Nothing big. Now however…”

The Councilor waved his hand dismissively. “Princess, You have your own nation to deal with allow us to handle this. I’ll send a small squadron of Specters to make sure you make it out of the Fiords alright… We have been having problems with the local Hell Beetle population, and they will not hesitate to devour a Princess.”

The Councilor turned to Shade. “We’ll deal with this problem swiftly, I will not have a Commanding Officer killing off his soldiers. We will keep you informed. Now if that is all, you can go. And Razant.”

Raz turned at hearing his name. “No blowing anything up this time.”

Razant turned around. “It was one time!”

“No… It wasn’t…” Shade said as the elevator descended. “By my count it was fifteen.”

“I only used one grenade!”

“But it took out half the block.” Carver replied. “AND my Prototype!”

“By the way… I still need to test that for you don’t I…” Shade didn’t like that smile…

About an hour later, Shade’s right wing was placed inside of a mechanical exoskeleton. The gears and cogs inside very much visible, it traced over the fingers in his wing and up the main bone, but it did have a small jet attached to it behind the wing.

“So… You did test the safety restraints right?” Shade asked unsure about the mechanical wing.

“Mostly on a few Phoenix Rays I had. The only thing you have to worry about is it crushing your wing.”

“Oh is that all?” Shade said sarcastically.

“Just use that armor spell Your mom taught you.” Raz replied. “You showed me it once.”

“I’m still getting the hang of it… and It isn’t designed to stop my wing, it’s body armor.” Shade said. It was true his mom taught him a small spell to create corporeal armor, but it was a last defense type thing, and it was really effective against Magic, but less so against physical damage.

“So she finally taught you that spell?” Carver asked. “I was wondering when she would get around to it.”

“Being mothered by the best combat mage in the Fiords has it’s perks.” Shade said proudly. “As well as it’s downsides…” Shade shivered at the thought of his mother’s rage, nothing was worse than a pissed off mage.

“Alright… so I think it should have calibrated to your wing… SO try and take off.”

Shade gulped as he opened his left wing and the mechanical wing began to open alongside it. He testily flapped his wing as the prosthetic’s jets opened. “Here goes nothing…”

Shade pushed off from the ground, and at once, the small jet burst into life, pushing him up into the air, he started slow, only hovering a little above the ground.

Carver looked on with interest. “Good… Now try and do some basic maneuvers…”

Shade had to keep his right wing completely still for this, which wasn’t easy, but he managed to do a few basic tricks, spinning in the air, diving, barrel rolls. With each trick, the mechanics of the wing began to become more natural, adjusting to the lift and push needed to keep up with Shade’s left wing.

“Alright.” Carver said, pleased with the results. “Now… Try to get as much altitude as you can.”

Shade nodded and headed straight up, the jet powering up every second he flew up, but as he began to reach towards the dark clouds, he felt something start to slow.

He turned to look at the prosthetic, it was sparking wildly, and the jet was…

Shade’s eyes shot open before the jet began to randomly fire off at faster and slower speeds, sending him flying around the sky in dangerously unpredictable patterns. The Jet eventually started to sputter and fail, but not before collapsing in on his wing.

Shade let out a roar of pain before he was sent into a nosedive he tried to modify his trajectory, but the jet reactivated and sent him hurtling towards a building.

With a loud Crash, Shade smashed through the small hut, landing on the ground. He tried to get up, but when he tried to close his wing, the prosthetic began to dig into his wing.

“AHH WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Shade! You alright?” Razant shouted, flying up to him.

“NO YOU ASS!” Shade shouted. Grasping at his wing as he felt the prosthetic stab through the skin. “DO I LOOK ALRIGHT?”

“Shade!” Carver said surprised, pushing Razant out of the way. “Stop squirming so I can get it off.”

“EASIER SAID THAN DONE!” Shade replied, feeling another stab of pain.

“Razant be useful for once and calm him down!” Carver said to the dragon moving to get next to Shade.

“How the hell do I-?” Razant asked before Carver threw a piece of rubble at him.

“Distract him from the pain! Talk to him.” Carver replied. “Use that big mouth of yours!”

Raz made a motion of disbelief before looking at Shade and smiling nervously. “So… How has your magic research been going?”

“ARE YOU REALLY ASKING ME THAT?” Shade replied. Carver shook his head a little.

“Well why not… I’m curious.”

“Magical Gems… Shade said calming down a bit, “Locator gems are circular, enhancement gems are six pointed stars, and… FUCK!”

“Sorry…Sorry…” Carver said. “One of the safety pins collapsed. My bad…”

“VARASH KAL JOT KALLOS FRA’NAS!”

“Language!” Carver replied. “Damn Shade…”

“YOU’RE THE FUCKER WHO DECIDED TO PLACE A DEATH TRAP ON MY WING!” Shade shouted.

“Okay… That was my fault… I should have checked the fuel reserves.” Carver replied, pulling the spike out of Shade’s wing. “I’ll take the hit for this one.”

“IF BY HIT YOU MEAN I’M GOING TO BREAK YOUR LEG!”

“Okay… hold up… I’m fixing it… Just give me a…” There was a snap and Shade’s tail came up and slapped Carver across the face. “HEY! Cut that out Shade!”

“THEN WATCH WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” Shade said as he looked at his now broken wing.

“Okay… That was my fault…”

“Okay…” Raz said. “This is going to be difficult to explain later, but it will save all three of us time.”

“What are you…” Carver began. But Razant had pulled out one of his small crossbows, the bolt tip covered in a yellow chalky substance, and held it up to Shade’s leg. He fired it and Shade fell over unconscious.

“Tranquilizer Bolt. He’ll be fine in about a half an hour.”

Author's Note:

Who decided to try and wrap up multiple plot threads in one Chapter
*Raises Hand*
And I regret it... This chapter was actually longer... I had to cut out parts of it near the end, so that should be up soon.

Comments

[Razzy]

Well then...

[Cursed Quill]

Just sentence sipped her

Sentence

“fifteen years.”

“Fifteen

with crystal's inside

crystals

replied tears forming in her eyes.

replied, tears forming in her eyes.

Leave”

Leave!”

you can decided

decide

If their out here

they're

As well as it’s downsides

its

Is here a reason we're not using Shade's original name in the memory?

7146709
Or Razant being in the comments?

[FimForever]

7175138

Is here a reason we're not using Shade's original name in the memory?

Shade is his original name

[Black--Soul]

Even more reckless than Twilight ...