A Changeling breaks the one rule he's been taught to follow and makes a friend. Now he must find a way to save his new friend from a horrible death.
Being an apprentice to Queen Chrysalis isn't as easy as it sounds. It is especially difficult if you were also taught about the dangers of making friends. Well her apprentice Sclerite breaks the friendship rule and must now do whatever he can to save his new friend. It certainly isn't going to be easy when there is also a Buffalo stampede to factor in.
"No! Stop just stop!" Queen Chrysalis yelled in frustration at her apprentice Sclerite who was hovering a few inches from the floor. "Don't be afraid of hitting the ground!"
Sclerite landed on the ground and lowered his head in shame. "I am sorry my Queen. I am sure I will get it right this time."
"No. Today's lesson is over. You are dismissed." Queen Chrysalis said before dropping on her throne.
Sclerite turned away and flew into one of the holes in the walls that appeared as if he knew ahead of time it would open. He entered a hallway where six Changelings in armor were guarding the other side of a massive door. As he walked past them he noticed they were glaring at him with envy in their eyes.
"How come a runt like him gets to be the Queen's apprentice? There are many drones that would be a better soldier than he ever would," one of the guards whispered.
"My guess is that the Queen plans to send him on a suicide mission in the future. His lessons are just meant to get his hopes up," responded another guard.
"Will you two be quiet? The Queen has her reasons and it is not our place to question," said a third guard.
Sclerite quickened his pace and flew into The Hive's barracks where he was met with more glares of envy. He did his best to ignore the other drones and flew around looking for a place to sleep. When he found a large hole he flew into it and collapsed on the hard floor exhausted. The hole closed behind him as he thought about how little his life has changed since he became Queen Chrysalis' apprentice two years ago. Since then he had grown stronger but he was still disrespected and envied by pretty much every Changeling in The Hive. He found it funny that being Chrysalis' apprentice earned him absolutely no respect and instead made him even more isolated. Then he let his exhaustion overtake him as he drifted off to sleep.
Sclerite found himself in a desert. There was a river nearby and it looked as though he was in the only area capable of sustaining life in the general area. He looked up to see a moon with the silhouette of a mare looking down at him. Then he heard hoof steps coming up behind him. When turned his head he was surprised by what he saw. It was a large armored Changeling but unlike the Changelings Sclerite was used to this one's armor, eyes and chitin were red. The Changeling looked at Sclerite the same way commanders look at their troops.
"Get into position and attack when I give the signal," he said like he was giving an order before he turned to walk away.
"Wait what?" Sclerite responded but the Changeling officer was already gone. Then immediately the earth started to shake and he could hear battle cries. In the distance he saw large figures on top of a nearby hill. Then the world quickly faded away as the figures began to charge.
Sclerite's eyes opened and his mind was bombarded with questions. Who was that in his dream? Could he have been from another hive? Why did he appear in his dream? Sclerite wondered while he was still in his tired state. He flew out when the hole reappeared and went straight to the mess hall which was just a room filled with ponies stuck in cocoons. He took his daily love ration from one of the ponies and flew off to Chrysalis' throne room.
Sclerite arrived at the throne room approximately ten minutes early and stood in position of attention like always but this time he wasn't alone. Not long after he arrived, three Changelings entered the room. One of them wore a helmet and armor that looked a bit different from what the guards wore. He recognized the armored one as his old drill instructor Carapace. Queen Chrysalis flew in and sat on her throne with a letter that she levitated next to her.
"Now my subjects. Today I am trusting you all with an important task. Major Carapace. I want you to lead this squad of Changelings down south to the buffalo lands. When you arrive you will give this letter to another Changeling Hive ruled by Queen Formic. Eliminate any resistance you encounter." Chrysalis then levitated the letter over to Carapace who placed it into one of the holes in his hooves.
She then turned to address the two other Changelings, "Corporal Elytra and Sergeant Fang. I want you to keep an eye on my apprentice Sclerite, make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. Do well and I might have you promoted." Sclerite felt personally insulted by those orders. After all Queen Chrysalis trained him to be a self sufficient soldier, not a reliant one. It was almost like she doubted his abilities, "Any questions?" She waited for a response and when none came she finished her speech, "Splendid! Take anything you may need and you may depart when ready."
With that said they all left the room to prepare themselves for the next day.
Four Changelings gathered just outside of The Hive's main entrance. Their leader Major Carapace kept Queen Chrysalis' scroll stuffed inside one of the holes in his hooves. "Follow me," he said as he took off using the recently raised sun almost like a compass. The three other Changelings followed him with Fang and Elytra behind Sclerite so he would always be in their line of sight.
An uneventful hour of flight passed before Sclerite decided to try and strike a conversation. "So... Major, do you have any idea what the contents of those letters could be?" asked Sclerite.
The Major just shrugged while still maintaining a steady flight. "Look Private, I will give you the same advice I give to the other drones. Never ask questions either to your commanding officer or to the Queen herself. I know that even high ranking soldiers can either get demoted or executed for speaking out."
"Well the Queen is not here right now. She wouldn't know if we had a little peek." Sclerite said hoping he could convince Carapace to show him the letter. Instead he got a slap on the back of his head by Fang.
"Listen rookie. You may be the Queen's apprentice, but that doesn't exempt you from the rules," Fang said before he slowed his pace to get back to Elytra.
"Feels like we're just out here to watch larva," whispered Fang to Elytra. "Betcha that rookie won't last a minute in a real fight."
"Yeah, what's he gonna do? Bleed on the enemy?" joked she in a playful manner.
They both laughed until Carapace stopped them. "You two keep your voices down or the ponies might hear us," he said.
"Well if we're flying this high they might just look up and see us," Sclerite said.
Carapace then angrily turned his head and gave an intimidating glare at him. "Lesson number two, never smart talk your commanding officer. If you had said that to anypony else they would kill you right here right now. See that forest down there?" he said as he pointed a hoof towards the large group of trees they were flying over. "The ponies fear that forest for being 'unnatural.' They would not dare come anywhere near us as long as we are flying above it."
Sclerite then decided it would be best if he just shut up and he thought back on his dream. Could that Changeling have been one of Queen Formic's drones? The rest of the trip seemed to have passed by in an instant and up ahead there was a vast desert with barely any life except near a river.
"Perfect! We have arrived! Now see that area near the river? That place filled with plants is where we are going to set up camp," Carapace said. The group of Changelings descended upon the land. "Alright I will go ahead and find Queen Formic's Hive. I want to see a fire set up when I get back," he ordered as he began walking off into the desert.
Sclerite landed and looked at his surroundings. When his gaze met with a cliff he saw a figure duck behind a rock. "Hey guys! Did you see that? I saw something move over there!" said Sclerite.
"Well... go check it out," replied Fang.
Sclerite then took off in the direction of the figure without saying another word.
In the wilderness there was a large bonfire with Tepee tents surrounding it. Their leader Chief Thunderhooves was giving an announcement. "Now as you all know next week we will have our annual stampede and..." Little Strongheart, the Chief's daughter quickly got bored of his announcement and ran off in the direction of the stampeding grounds. Little Strongheart was always strong spirited and loved going on these kinds of adventures so none of the other buffalo attempted to stop her or persuade her into staying. When Chief Thunderhooves saw his daughter running off he continued his speech but thought to himself, "She's so young and spirited. Just like her mother."
When Little Strongheart arrived she felt calm from the sound of the river's flowing water. Then suddenly four black figures flying in the air arrived and landed next to the river. She could hear something going on between the strange creatures but it was too hard to make out the words. She then decided to have a closer look and jumped down to a lower section of the cliff with a large group of rocks and quickly hid behind a rock as one of the creatures turned its head in her direction.
"Hey guys! Did you see that? I saw something move over there!" one of the creatures said.
"Well... go check it out," another one replied.
Little Strongheart tensed as she heard a buzzing sound that was slowly getting louder. She quickly dashed away and ran behind another large rock. The buzzing sound suddenly stopped and she peaked out from behind her cover to look at what happened. The creature had landed and was looking around the environment, probably trying to find her.
"Hello!?" it called out as it stepped around a rock. When the creature started coming in her direction. Little Strongheart chose to run in the direction of another rock. The creature noticed her and shouted, "Wait!" Before it chased after her. It followed her everywhere until Little Strongheart ran into a corner where the creature stopped and started panting. "Wait... I am... not... going to... hurt you... I just... want to know... who you are..." it said in between breaths.
Little Strongheart was just shocked by this creature. It had a black body with holes in its legs and wings. Its fangs looked sharp enough to cut stone just like how the stories created by her ancestor's stories described them. They must be wrong though because its eyes and chitin were blue not red. More importantly why isn't it attacking?
The creature had finally caught its breath and started speaking regularly again. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes" Little Strongheart responded.
"Can I ask for your name?"
"Little Strongheart. How about yours."
"I am Private Sclerite. Were you spying on us?"
"What? Oh no I just wanted to see our sacred stampeding grounds."
"Okay... well it was nice meeting you but I have to get back to my comrades." Sclerite said as he turned to fly off. Little Strongheart grabbed one of his back hooves and he looked back at her.
"Do you want to come see my village?" she said with pleading eyes.
Sclerite thought for a moment. He could go and visit this village but if Carapace came back before he returned he would be furious about him deserting his post. At the same time he was really curious about Little Strongheart. Just what is she exactly? Maybe he would get the answers if he came with her.
"Well... alright. I suppose I have some time," he said.
"Well come on then! The village is this way!" she said as she began climbing up the cliff with Sclerite hovering behind her.
Major Carapace stood in front of a large structure. It wasn't too different from Chrysalis' Hive. The only significant difference were the Changelings that inhabit it. They looked exactly like Chrysalis' Changelings except their eyes and chitin were red instead of blue and they were physically bigger and more muscular than Chrysalis' drones.
"Hold it right there!" said one of the drones wearing a red colored guard's helmet as Carapace approached the main entrance. "State your name and business!"
"I am Major Carapace from Queen Chrysalis' Hive! I was told to personally deliver this letter to Queen Formic!" Carapace said.
"Very well. Right this way sir," the guard said as he began to lead Carapace towards Queen Formic's throne room. The Hive wasn't too different from Queen Chrysalis' Hive and he could easily find his way around if he had a few days to understand the layout. When he arrived at the throne room he bowed in respect. Queen Formic was sitting on her throne as she saw Carapace enter. She looked similar enough to Chrysalis that one may assume they were sisters with the most noticeable difference being her red mane and tail.
"Leave us!" Queen Formic ordered as the drones left one by one through the many exits until only the Queen and Carapace remained in the room.
When the other drones left Major Carapace brought out the letter. "I bring this message from Queen Chrysalis," he said with a hint of nervousness.
"Very good! Now. Her apprentice Sclerite doesn't know about the contents of this letter right?" she asked.
"Yes your majesty! It wasn't easy but I made sure Sclerite doesn't know a thing about this."
"Where is he exactly?"
"Don't worry I have my two most trusted soldiers watching him."
"Alright then! Let's see what Queen Chrysalis wrote," she said as she levitated the letter and opened it up.
Dear Queen Formic,
As you know I have been personally training my apprentice Sclerite. As time went on his skills improved and I believe it is time to put him to the test. I ask that you give him one task that would put his skills to the test especially on the battlefield. After that I have a meeting arranged in the Everfree Forest where the other Queens and I will discuss possible invasion plans against the ponies of Equestria. I am inviting you to come join us in this discussion as I am sure we can all benefit from this.
-Queen Chrysalis
"Major Carapace! I need you to go find Sclerite and bring him here," she ordered in the same way she orders her own drones.
"Yes your majesty!" Carapace said before he turned and made his way towards the main exit.
"This is your fault! You told him to go check it out!" said Elytra as she peered around a rock.
"Look I didn't think anything was out there!"
"What are we supposed to tell the Major?"
"Just keep looking maybe we can find some clue as to where he went."
"There! I see hoof prints heading up the cliff!"
"Follow them. Maybe we can get back before the Major finds out!"
"Finds out what?" Carapace asked as he approached the two Changelings.
"Major!" Elytra quickly said. "We were... investigating some kind of observer."
"Oh yeah? Then where is Sclerite?"
Panic started to take over the two Changelings before Fang spoke up. "He went after the observer first and we haven't seen him since."
"You let him go alone!?" Carapace yelled. "Find him now!"
"Sir yes sir!" they both said in unison as they rushed in the direction of the hoof prints.
Meanwhile Sclerite and Little Strongheart were walking together towards the Buffalo village. Sclerite had decided to strike up a conversation with her.
"So... what's it like living in a village?"
"It's great. Not much happens in the village though. That is why I like to run off on my own sometimes. How about you? What's your life like?"
"Well I am the Queen's personal apprentice," Sclerite stated matter of factly.
"What's that like?" Little Strongheart asked.
"All that really means is that the Queen teaches me how to be a soldier rather than having a regular drill instructor. What really bothers me is the fact that my comrades envy me for getting that position. It doesn't help that I am the runt of the Hive," Sclerite complained.
"It must be so lonely living like that."
"It's worse than that. Sometimes I hear them making jokes about me getting killed first on the battlefield. How I won't survive a minute or how I am just there to be target practice for the enemy."
"Alright! Your turn to ask a question!" Little Strongheart said trying to change the subject.
The anger and frustration in Sclerite was quickly suppressed as he thought about what to ask. "I know you said your life in the village is great and all but can you go into more detail?"
"Okay! My father Chief Thunder Hooves-"
"Wait! Your father is the Chief of your village? I bet your friends also talk about you behind your back," Sclerite interrupted.
"It's not like that! They are actually pretty nice. Anyway he runs the village and makes the decisions. Then you have my friend Stone Horn he's from another tribe. Sometimes we would see each other and explore together. In a way he is my big brother."
"Hmm... sounds like someone I would like to meet. How long until we reach the village?"
"Actually we're here!" announced Little Strongheart as she stopped on a hill overlooking the village.
Sclerite looked down towards the village and nervousness quickly built up inside of him. "Yeah... uh I don't think it is a good idea for me to come along anymore. Maybe if I disguised myself as a Buffalo it may be okay," he said as green flames quickly engulfed him and replaced his appearance with one of the buffalo that was standing outside.
Little Strongheart rolled her eyes. "I promise you they are not like those bullies just please don't hide."
"But-"
"No buts!" she said as she began dragging his fore hoof down the hill.
Sclerite decided it was best not to resist and let his disguise drop. Things were getting a bit out of hoof. If Carapace caught him he would be more than furious. A thousand insults from his comrades would be nothing compared to the Major if he goes back to his old drill instructing self. It's too late now though so he swallowed his nervousness and followed Little Strongheart into the village. When Sclerite was just outside the village he saw the Buffalos immediately go into a panic. They were running in all directions until ten Buffalo warriors surrounded Sclerite and Little Strong Heart.
"I told you this would happen," Sclerite whispered.
"Little Strongheart! Get away from that thing!" yelled one of the warriors.
"Stay away from her you evil monster!" yelled another one.
Sclerite lowered himself into a defensive stance and began charging up magic in his horn expecting a fight. Then he felt a hoof on his shoulder and saw Little Strongheart looking at him with an apologetic look before she stepped in front of him.
"No! His name is Sclerite and I won't let you hurt him!" she yelled back.
One of the Buffalo charged at Sclerite and was hit by a green magical bolt which knocked him to the ground. Before anypony could react Sclerite flew into the air out of the Buffalo's reach and levitated Little Strongheart next to him. The Buffalo started angrily climbing on each other to reach him but each time they got close Sclerite and Little Strongheart just went higher.
"I am sorry for the trouble I caused!" he said a bit surprised that all of this was easier than any magical thing he had done in the past.
"No it is not your fault! I was the one who told you not to go in disguise!" she said.
"Stop!" yelled a deep voice.
"Father! Sclerite let me down!" Little Strong Heart yelled.
Sclerite slowly lowered Little Strongheart until he dropped her an inch away from the ground. When she was free she immediately ran into Chief Thunder Hooves' and hugged him. He pried her off of him with a suspicious look.
"Wait... How do I know you aren't a Changeling trying to feed on our hatred of your kind?" he said eyeing her. "Tell me something only the real Little Strongheart will know."
"I remember you telling me that mom died to give birth to me," she said with a hint of sadness. "You told me about how she was perfect and that no Buffalo could ever get anymore lucky than you to have a wife like her."
Chief Thunder Hooves' eyes began to tear up and he hugged her again. "It is you!" he said, "did that monster hurt you?" He then looked up at Sclerite, "hear me evil monster if you had injured even a single strand of fur on her your legs and wings will gain a few extra holes!"
"Father don't hurt him he's a friend," Little Strongheart said.
Her father looked at her with confusion in his eyes before he sighed. He then looked back at Sclerite who watching the column of Buffalos.
"If my daughter vouches for you then do you want to come down here?" the Chief said as the column began to fall apart with Buffalos climbing or jumping off the top.
"Uh... no! I would rather stay up here where it's safe!" he yelled not buying the sudden friendliness of the Buffalos.
"You're going to have to come down eventually!"
"Yeah well... I'll come down when it feels safer!"
The Buffalo began to disperse and went back to their routine. Sclerite brought himself closer to Little Strongheart and Chief Thunder Hooves but still kept himself high enough that a Buffalo would have to jump to get him.
"Hey Sclerite! Is he going to be okay?" Little Strongheart asked as she pointed a hoof towards the Buffalo Sclerite shot.
"Him? I just stunned him so he should be fine in an hour!"
The group approached a campfire that was puny compared to the large bonfire in the center of the village.
"Are you hungry?" said Chief Thunder Hooves.
"No thanks! I don't really eat," Sclerite said as he landed on the ground next to Little Strongheart.
"So Sclerite how do you like the village?" Little Strongheart asked.
"I would say I didn't like the reception. Other than that I really like your village. It's a bit strange compared to the Hive," he said.
"Well I'm sure you could stay for a bit longer if you really wanted to and tell us all about how you lived." Chief Thunder Hooves said sort of prodding him to speak.
"Look I would really love to stay and chat about my life up until this point but I should really get going or my commanding officer is going to explode when he sees that I have abandoned my post."
"Please Sclerite I want to hear about how you became your Queen's apprentice" begged Little Strong Heart.
Sclerite stared into Little Strongheart's begging face and felt stronger and more comfortable the longer he looked at it. Eventually he sighed. Perhaps one story might not hurt too much, he's just going to have to live with whatever punishment Major Carapace gives him.
"Well two years ago on the day I became the Queen's apprentice. I had the same commanding officer I have right now as my drill instructor. He was my first teacher and the closest thing I ever had to a father even though I hated him. We were all called for target practice to fire magical bolts at helmets. I never understood why we would train for such a thing since Changelings rarely ever use magic unless you were talking about me or the Queen. So we fired at the targets and I..."
Perched on the top of a hill stood three Changelings all peering down at the small village. From their vantage point they could see the Buffalos roaming around.
"I can't believe Sclerite came here. What could have possessed him to abandon his post and wander off?" Carapace asked out loud to himself causing Elytra to glare at Fang.
"I don't know how we would find him. He could be disguised as anything," Fang said.
"Actually I think that's him right there," Elytra said as she pointed a hoof towards the Changeling sitting by a campfire with a group of Buffalos.
"That doesn't look good. We will have to be quick if we're going to rescue him," said Carapace. "Now... disguises on and let's go," he said as the entire group was consumed by green fire and shapeshifted into Buffalos.
"...So the next day I had my first few lessons with the Queen. The first thing she taught me was the levitation spell which was the same spell I used on Little Strongheart when the fight broke out. I will say it wasn't exactly easy but she taught me how to use magic which was something other Changelings rarely used because of how much power it would take to cast a simple spell. She told me I was an exception though because I was more powerful than the rest or something like that. I don't exactly understand why I suddenly found it easier to cast spells today though," Sclerite finished.
That was when Sclerite noticed that the area was suddenly crowded. He then looked at Little Strongheart who looked impressed with what he was able to accomplish in his story. He quickly stood up when he realized how much time he had spent on his story.
"Look I really have to go now! My commanding officer is going to be really mad if I stay for another minute," he said as he prepared to fly off.
"Too late!" said Carapace as he shapeshifted back into his Changeling self and flew into the air to get past the crowd.
"Major! Look I can explain," he said nervously as he noticed Elytra and Fang appear from the Buffalos.
"I gave you a direct order to stay at the camp until I returned! But instead you decided to run off by yourself and we had to track you down. Do you have any idea how long it took to find you?" Carapace said with growing anger.
Sclerite couldn't think of a response so instead he decided to accept whatever happened next. "What is my punishment sir?" he said with defeat in his voice.
"You are lucky. I am not going to punish you because Queen Formic wants to see you as soon as possible. We are going to her Hive tomorrow morning and I expect you to clean up your act before we arrive. Is that understood soldier?"
"Sir yes sir!" Sclerite yelled and flew into the air.
Little Strongheart in the meantime couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could Sclerite let him treat him like that? Before she could say anything though the Changelings were already on their way out of the village.
"Wait!" she called out but she couldn't keep up with the flying figures on foot. They disappeared into the night sky.
Sclerite was laying on the ground with his mind filled with questions. What could Queen Formic have in store for him? Why did he suddenly become stronger? What's Little Strong Heart doing? Hope she's not in any trouble for bringing him to the village. Sclerite snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Carapace step in front of him.
"Can't sleep?" he asked softly.
"Yes sir," Sclerite whispered.
"Come with me. Let's talk near the fire," Carapace said. Sclerite stood up and walked over to the lit campfire that was still large and bright. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong," he said like a father to his son.
"Well Major. I've been asking myself why I had been feeling stronger when I was with that Buffalo, Little Strongheart. I have never felt that strong my entire live. It was like she was in one of those cocoons back at the Hive."
Carapace thought for a moment. "We only use those cocoons back at the Hive just so we could forcefully take love. And to trade them with other Hives so they can take other emotions from them. It is possible to feed off of love that comes directly from another creature. I think you were feeding off of her love."
"Yeah but it wasn't like feeding off of the ponies in those cocoons. It was like I didn't need to think about it."
"That happens when another creature give love willingly. What I'm really interested in is why she would care about you."
"I'm not sure myself. It's clear that Buffalos hate Changelings but she was really friendly after her initial fear."
"Hmm... I believe you are developing some feelings for this 'Little Strongheart.' Is that what's bothering you?"
Sclerite sighed, "That's right sir. In the past I never cared about anything other than myself. Why should I start now? It isn't normal."
"I wouldn't be too worried about that. This happened to me once but eventually you will realize that in the end they are the enemy," Carapace said. "Remember no matter how much a Pony, Buffalo, or anything else cares about you. They are still the enemy and they will kill you when they get the chance. You're only true friends are from the Hive no matter what anypony says."
Carapace patted a hoof on Sclerite's shoulder. "It'll be your shift soon. I would suggest going back to sleep," Carapace said before he walked over to grab one of the firewood logs nearby.
Sclerite laid back on the ground. Maybe one day everything would be alright and he could live without the insults from his comrades. When that day comes he won't have anything left to worry about.
What Sclerite couldn't see was a buffalo shaped figure that blended in with the darkness on top of a hill. The figure had one horn that looked damaged and replaced by carved stone. The figure stole one last look at the group before he turned away and disappeared into the night.
Morning marked the end of Sclerite's shift as the sun rose above the mountains and illuminated the Changeling occupied land. It also casted a large shadow in the shape of three Buffalos. However the first thing Sclerite noticed was the sound of a rock being picked up and thrown off the side of the mountain.
"We're under attack!" Sclerite yelled as a rock barely missed the back of his head.
Immediately the others quickly jumped up from their positions and prepared themselves for battle. The three Buffalos who gave away their position began to rush down the mountain to engage the group of Changelings. The one in the lead had one of his horns replaced by carved stone.
"Get out of our land!" he yelled.
"We don't need you here!" yelled one of his friends.
"Go back to your-" the last one was interrupted by Elytra tackling him. She began to slam her hoof into his face over and over.
"Woah!" was all the other one managed to get out before Fang charged in and sank his fangs into his throat.
Seeing this the Buffalo with a stone horn turned around and abandoned his friends. "This isn't over! I will be back and I'd better not find you on our sacred lands again!" He yelled as he retreated like a coward.
Meanwhile Elytra was still beating up that Buffalo she tackled and Fang's victim had a large pool of blood growing from his neck.
"Enough Corporal Elytra!" Carapace yelled. Elytra stopped hitting the Buffalo and pulled him up with a hoof. "Bring him here!" Elytra then shoved him in the direction of Carapace. The Buffalo fell to the ground a foot from Carapace who went over to Sclerite.
Sclerite had been stunned by how quickly the battle ended. He almost didn't notice Carapace coming up to him.
"What have you been doing this whole fight?" he asked leaving Sclerite a bit confused.
"Uh... I was here... doing... something," Sclerite said unable to find the right words for what just happened. Carapace certainly wasn't happy by that response.
He grabbed the Buffalo Elytra had beaten up and forced him down. "Stay right there and don't move!" Carapace went back to Sclerite with disappointment. "You are no use to us if you can't kill anything. I want you to put a big fat hole in his back."
All Sclerite could do was shake his head. "Put a big fat hole. In his fucking back." Carapace said while shoving Sclerite's shoulder.
"No."
"Why the Tartarus not?"
"It's not right." Sclerite said causing Carapace to smack him in the face.
"Not right," he imitated. "We're not here for right and wrong. We're here to kill him!" Carapace said as he pointed towards the Buffalo on the ground. He grabbed Sclerite again. "Why are you here? You're here to kill him! You know why he's here? He's here to kill you!" Carapace started shoving Sclerite's shoulder again. "He's here to kill you Sclerite. He's here to rip your throat out and-"
"Go to Tartarus." Sclerite said.
Carapace smacked Sclerite again before he grabbed him by the neck and held him close. He then pulled Sclerite out, "I'm trying to teach you something. Are you here to get me killed?"
"No."
"Are you here to get me killed?"
"No." Sclerite repeated.
"Then I need you to perform. Now let's get it over with."
"I can't do it."
"Yes you can. I know you can. He kills you! Or you kill him! Simple math. You or him! Pick!"
A group of Changelings heard what was going on and peered over the mountain to see another group of Changelings. They flew down the mountain and landed near Fang and Elytra who looked at the newcomers to acknowledge their presence before looking back at Sclerite and Carapace.
"Just kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me! Kill me! Please! I can't do it!" he said just before Carapace grabbed him and wrestled him down. Sclerite started flailing around, "stop! Please stop."
"Oh no, no. This is the easy part." Carapace said forcing Sclerite's horn to point at the Buffalo that was paralyzed with fear to the point where he couldn't even talk.
"Please don't make me do this. Don't make me do this." Sclerite begged which sounded like a whisper.
"It's alright now. One... two... do it Sclerite." he said as the others began to chime in.
"Do it man! Do it." Fang said.
"Do it Sclerite!" Carapace ordered he then waited a few seconds. "Do it Sclerite!" Another few seconds passed. "Do it Sclerite!" Carapace said with absolutely no patience left in him.
"Ahh!" Sclerite screamed as he fired a magical bolt with all his power into the Buffalo. As soon as Carapace saw the bolt hit the Buffalo he tossed Sclerite to the side and let him fall to the ground. Meanwhile the other Changelings laughed at Sclerite's reaction. That was when Sclerite finally noticed the newcomers.
A few seconds later Sclerite felt a hoof kick his back. "Do your job!" Carapace said as he went over to the newcomers.
These Changelings appeared like the one in Sclerite's dream. They were larger and more muscular than the Changeling's he was used to. Their eyes and chitin were also red instead of blue. The one with a red officer's helmet who was about Sclerite's age saluted to Carapace, "Master Sergeant Tarsal of Queen Formic's Hive. I have been sent to escort you and your group safely to our queen."
"Walk with me." Carapace said. The two Changeling officers left the group and headed off in a random direction. "The first thing I want to say is. You're late we were attacked a few minutes ago and you weren't there. Second. How did you become a Master Sergeant at such an young age?"
"You see..." Tarsal said trying to figure out Carapace's rank.
"Major," Carapace said.
"Alright. You see Major, I got the orders about half an hour ago so I couldn't have arrived to the battle on time. As for how I became a Master Sergeant... let's just say I fought a group of Buffalos by myself once and the lone survivor on their side lost a horn for it." Tarsal said.
"You mean that Buffalo who had that horn replaced by stone?"
"Yep! That's the one!" Tarsal then looked back at Sclerite. "Is he Queen Chrysalis' apprentice? He looks pathetic!"
"Don't underestimate him. He may be small and has a hard time killing but he is a good soldier. He may even be one of the best soldiers I've ever seen." Carapace said with a bit of pride.
"Well let's hope he's worth our time." Tarsal said as the two officers arrived back at the group.
The two officers approached Sclerite while he was still on the ground. He looked up at the two officers and stood up. Carapace looked at him then the rest of the group.
"Move out! We're heading to Queen Formic's Hive." Carapace ordered.
All the Changelings flew off into the mountains. Sclerite looked back at the corpse before rejoining the team without saying another word.
The Buffalo village was crowded with a great many warriors. Inside the largest tent were four Buffalo, each of them wearing a war bonnet decorated slightly differently for the tribe they led and their individual achievements. Little Strongheart was sitting on the side as an observer to prepare her for future meetings when she leads the village.
"Chief Thunder Hooves, I heard about that little Changeling problem you had in this village of yours," said Chief Flame Tongue.
"Yes but that's not what worries me. It's actually the strange power that Changeling possessed. Have you ever heard of a Changeling using magic or about one that doesn't feed off of hatred?" asked Chief Thunder Hooves.
"I don't think I have. Why would it be-"
"Chief!" yelled a voice from outside. Everypony looked towards the entrance to see a Buffalo with one of his horns replaced by stone.
"What is it Stone Horn?" asked Chief Flame Tongue.
"I have scouted the valley like you've asked but there is something wrong. My party was attacked by a group of Changelings that are occupying our land. I escaped but they killed Folly and Ludicrous," said the Buffalo with a horn replaced by carved stone.
"What did they look like?" asked Chief Thunder Hooves.
"They all looked strange. They were all smaller than regular Changelings and they were blue rather than red,"
"Those are the ones I've been telling you about!"
"What could've possibly attracted those monsters to our holy grounds?" asked Chief Flame Tongue.
"It doesn't matter! Let me lead the warriors and we will attack before dawn," said Stone Horn.
The room went quiet for an entire minute before Chief Thunder Hooves broke the silence. "You have my full support on this."
"But father! What about Sclerite?" said Little Strongheart in a worried tone.
"Sclerite? Those things have names?" asked Stone Horn.
Everypony ignored him. "This Sclerite. Is he your friend?" asked Chief Flame Tongue.
"Yes..." answered Little Strongheart.
Just before Little Strongheart could say anything else Chief Flame Tongue spoke. "Those fiends! They've poisoned the mind of an innocent child with their lies! We will make them pay in blood!"
"Wait-"
"Enough!" yelled Chief Thunder Hooves which silenced the room and made a few Buffalo outside turn to see what was going on. "Stone Horn prepare the warriors for battle. They have until high noon tomorrow to leave and if they are still there, we will flatten them!"
Little Strongheart protested "But father-" but it was too late. The others were already on their way out leaving Little Strongheart alone. She needed to warn her friend before he could get killed.
The squad of Changelings approached a barren wasteland. Most would believe nothing could survive here but to a Changeling this was home. The group landed in front of the main entrance and walked in with no resistance from the guards stationed outside. As the group entered Sclerite was met with a large lobby where many of Queen Formic's Changelings were rushing in and out of tunnels that appear and disappear. Many of them were carrying materials of all kinds, mainly magic siphoning minerals similar to the ones used to make Queen Chrysalis' throne. Tarsal mostly ignored them and continued leading the group closer to Queen Formic's throne room.
When they arrived the room resembled Queen Chrysalis' throne room except for the large lifeless beast made of magic siphoning minerals. It had no eyes, mouth, or legs but it had a really long and skinny snout. It was so large that it looked like it could devour a Changeling in one bite.
Queen Formic was sitting on her throne when she noticed the group. Her drones that led them to her throne room split off from the group and approached the base of the throne as she spoke. "Which one of you is Sclerite?"
Sclerite stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully. Queen Formic made her way to him and scrutinized him. She then put her hoof beneath his chin and lifted his head so he would be forced to look her in the eyes.
"So you're Queen Chrysalis' apprentice? She wasn't kidding when she said you were weak but had a lot of magical potential," she said. "The rest of you may go. You've done your part according to the agreement." Carapace, Elytra and Fang left the room towards the main entrance.
After they were out of sight, he spoke. "You know me?" Sclerite asked hoping he wasn't stepping out of line by speaking to her like this.
"Every Queen knows about you Sclerite. A drone singled out of a crowd by his own Queen tends to draw a lot of attention," she said letting go of his chin. "Now Sclerite! You are going to get the privilege of testing out our newest weapon. Tell me, what do you see when you look at that?" she gestured toward the lifeless beast.
"I see... a thing of nightmares," he answered.
"Yes that's right. Now I want you to get in it. There is a hatch on top, I've left it open for you."
Sclerite flew on top of the beast and entered through a hole large enough for him to fit through. After he climbed in he noticed the beast was hollow enough on the inside that he could walk around the small interior. He then heard Queen Formic's voice through the open hatch.
"Okay the first thing you need to know about is the scope. That will allow you to aim. There is also a periscope you can use to see outside with. It should be hanging from the ceiling."
Sclerite looked around until he saw a periscope. When he looked into it, he saw Queen Formic standing outside. "Alright I can see you! Now what?"
"Now I want you start it up. We've set up an engine in the back. Use your magic to power it," Queen Formic said.
Sclerite turned around to see a mass of gears set up in a strange pattern. One of the gears was connected to a valve. He used his magic and began to turn the valve. After the valve started, it became easier and easier to keep it going until it continued on its own. Suddenly the entire beast came to life with a roar.
Queen Formic began to shout over the engine. "Fantastic! You see that Equestrian guard helmet over there on a post? Aim at it! There should be two more valves that control your aiming! When you're ready there should be a pedal to fire!"
Sclerite looked around again and noticed the valves and pedal Queen Formic mentioned. One of the valves was horizontal and the other was vertical. He rushed over and used his magic to turn the valves while looking through the scope until the scope's reticle was aligned with the helmet.
"You may fire when ready!"
Sclerite pressed the pedal with his hoof and immediately the barrel fired a large magical bolt that blew up the helmet, the pole and the area around it. With the engine running Sclerite peered out of the hatch to see the damage he had done. He was left speechless by what had happened. He looked at the others to see that everypony, even Queen Formic was just as surprised as he was.
"Shut it off!" ordered Queen Formic.
Sclerite climbed back in and stopped the valve that kept the engine running. He then pulled half of himself out through the hatch to wait for what would come next.
"That's true. Now that we know it works I want to see it on the battlefield. Who better to test it on than the Buffalos. Luckily they are having their annual stampede and they don't take kindly to outsiders in their land," said Queen Formic.
"Brilliant idea my Queen. Those Buffalo will never know what hit them," said Tarsal.
"Tarsal, I want you to engage the Buffalo on their next stampede. I will accompany you on this mission. As for you Sclerite, you will use this weapon against them and you will demonstrate the power of the Hive," ordered Queen Formic.
"But what about Little Strong Heart?" Sclerite blurted out. The entire room looked at him with disbelief.
"Who's Little Strong Heart?" asked Tarsal.
"She's my friend," answered Sclerite. The entire room bursted into laughter.
"You actually care about a Buffalo?" Tarsal laughed.
"Okay that's enough!" yelled Queen Formic silencing the room. "Sclerite, I don't care about your concerns for your friend. I want that weapon out there and I want you to use it. Just make it happen. Is that clear?"
Sclerite grumbled, "Roger, Roger."
"Good! Now move out! Hauptscharführer Tarsal, you're in charge of planning!" ordered Queen Formic. "As for you Sclerite there are two sticks and a lever that allow you to drive it. The two largest ones are for deciding which of the tracks move in which direction and the smallest one on the side is for controlling the speed. Drive it out the main entrance. You are going to need the practice."
Sclerite used his magic to start up the weapon again and used his magic to drive it towards the lobby and out the main entrance. In the back of his mind all he could do was worry about his friend Little Strong Heart. He needed to find some way to make sure she would be safe.
The Changelings marched back to the valley with Sclerite driving the mysterious new weapon. It was a silent trip the whole way through save for the sounds of hooves hitting the dirt or the engine roaring. Once the battalion entered at the valley, Sclerite spoke up.
"Queen Formic. If I may ask. What exactly happened to the Major and the rest of my comrades?"
Queen Formic turned her head in his direction. "If you must know. Your comrades have been sent back to your Hive. You however, are stuck with us until I dismiss you."
"What gives you the right to order me around?" Sclerite challenged.
Queen Formic narrowed her eyes at him in frustration and used her magic to slam Queen Chrysalis' letter in his face drawing a few chuckles from the nearby soldiers. Sclerite took the piece of paper off his face to finally read its contents. His eyes widened as he read it multiple times to make sure he wasn't skipping anything important. Eventually he sighed. "I'm sorry your majesty. My comrades never told me what was going to happen other than the fact that you were supposed to receive this letter."
"That letter just saved your life! Remember that the next time you speak to a Queen!" Queen Formic hissed. She turned away to Tarsal who was sitting in front of a map of the valley drawn in the dirt. Sclerite stared at the cliffs where he met Little Strongheart. That was when he saw her peering over the edge. He looked around at the soldiers. They were all talking amongst each other but none of them paid any attention to him. Once he climbed out through the hatch, he took off into the air to fly to Little Strongheart.
Little Strongheart peered over the edge of the cliffs to see a company of Changelings. Unlike Sclerite, these Changelings matched the description of being muscular and red. In her quest to warn Sclerite of the upcoming danger she had found a battle ready army. Then she noticed a blue Changeling flying in her direction and flattened herself on the ground as it approached. The Changeling flew behind her and turn around.
"Little Strongheart?" Sclerite asked.
She immediately recognized his voice. "Sclerite! I've been looking for you," she said relaxing herself.
"Keep your voice down or they might hear you," Sclerite whispered.
"Listen, my father is coming with the other tribes. They are going to kill you," she said stepping towards him.
"Don't worry about me."
"But-"
"They've created a new weapon, if the tribes attack they will all be destroyed. I need you to talk to your father and get him to stop the attack. If you come, you are all going to die."
"But-" Suddenly Little Strongheart was grabbed from behind.
"Watch out Sclerite, on three. Ready?" the Changeling who kept Little Strong Heart in a lock said before counting down. "One... Two..."
Sclerite quickly prepared his horn and fired, making a loud noise that echoed across the valley. His magical bolt flew threw the air and time seemed to slow down. Meanwhile the Changeling brought his fangs closer to Little Strongheart's neck. Just before the Changeling could bite into Little Strongheart's neck, Sclerite's bolt hit him in the head and he limply fell to his side.
"Go. You won't get another chance," Sclerite said but a few seconds later he realized something. "Actually do you mind hitting me?"
"What?" Little Strongheart replied still shaken from what just happened.
"I just need you to hit me in the head so I will fall unconscious. That might make this look a little convincing."
"Alright..." Little Strongheart said and she walked over to him and lightly slapped him on the head.
"You call that a hit. I need to be unconscious when they discover the body."
"Right sorry," Little Strongheart said before she punched him in the face with all her strength, finally knocking him unconscious but also causing his nose to bleed. She immediately ran and was already a few yards away when Tarsal and a group of Queen Formic's Changelings appeared. The squad began to inspect the bodies of Sclerite and the other Changeling.
"This one is dead sir!" yelled the Changeling inspecting the one Sclerite shot.
Tarsal looked down at Sclerite and put a hoof on his chest. When he felt a heartbeat he announced. "Sclerite is still alive. Get him back to camp." The other Changelings lifted him off the ground and began to carry him back to the rest of the company.
Little Strongheart was running as fast as her legs could carry her. High noon was fast approaching, she had to get back to the village before the army moved out. She had never ran so fast in her life and in about an hour she saw Buffaloes dancing around large bonfires. They were performing their war dance hoping it would give them luck in the upcoming battle but Little Strongheart knew they would need more than luck to survive the battle. Stone Horn was at a grinding stone when he saw Little Strongheart run over.
"Little Strongheart, is something wrong?" he asked concerned about why she was running.
"Stone Horn... it's about... Changelings..." she said catching her breath. "Anyway where is my father?"
"He went back in after you left the village. Where were you anyway?" Storn Horn asked as he lead her towards the village's main tent.
"I'll tell you when I speak to my father," she said as the two Buffaloes entered to see Chief Thunderhooves having a quiet chat with Chief Flametongue. "Father!"
"Little Strongheart? Is everything alright?" Chief Thunderhooves asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I need you to listen. My friend Sclerite just told me-"
"Hold it, hold it," interrupted Chief Flametongue. "You've been speaking with a Changeling?"
"Yeah... but that's not important. He warned me that the Changelings have a new weapon. One that will kill all of us if we show up anywhere near the stampeding grounds,"
"And you trust the words of a Changeling?" asked Chief Flametongue. "It could be trying to trick us into stopping our attack."
"He! Has never lied to me before and He! Risked his life to get this information to us!" she yelled.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes! Because he just killed another Changeling to save me!"
There was dead silence as Little Strongheart's words sank in. They all looked at each other until Chief Thunderhooves broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Little Strongheart, but I need more than just the words of a Changeling to believe in this new weapon. We move out now!" he said as he stood up to walk out of the tent.
"Father wait!" she called out but he didn't stop. "Why can't you just see past the fact that he's a Changeling!" she cried out causing him to stop his advance and turn around to face her.
"You will understand when you're older," Chief Thunderhooves said before he left. Chief Flametongue followed him out leaving Little Strongheart and Stone Horn alone.
"Little Strongheart... was Sclerite one of the blue Changelings?" Stone Horn asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" she asked.
"Well... let's just say, I attacked him at one point," he answered.
Little Strongheart glared at him.
"Sorry about that... anyway is it true he saved you from another Changeling?"
"Yes."
"And you believe he did that because he cared about you? I find that weird."
"Sclerite is not like other Changelings. He's had many opportunities to hurt me and he never did it."
"He is dangerous! We can't trust him!"
Little Strongheart snapped, "You are all the same! You can't see past the fact that Sclerite is a Changeling! All you can see is an evil creature who wants nothing more than to hurt everypony! Well guess what? He's been through a lot! But I can't expect you to understand that!" She ran out of the tent in tears.
"Hey Sclerite! Are you still alive?"
Suddenly Sclerite felt a hard slap on his face bringing his vision back into focus. He found himself back at the Changeling camp. He looked up to see the angry faces of Tarsal and Queen Formic staring at him.
Sclerite smiled and slowly stood up but Queen Formic pinned him back down with a hole filled hoof. "Hold it! You have some explaining to do," she stated firmly before pulling him up with her magic. "First off, what were you doing outside of the tank?"
The tank? Wait they must have meant that mysterious weapon. "I thought I saw a scout on top of that hill your majesty," he answered.
"Next time tell somepony before you go after them!" she scolded. "Second question, what is up your wings?"
Sclerite looked back to see his wings were glowing and had some strange flakes attached. "I honestly have no idea your majesty," was the only response Sclerite could come up with.
"It's not dangerous or anything?" asked Tarsal.
"I'm sure it's nothing. I really don't feel any different."
"It better be nothing, I wouldn't want to have to explain to Queen Chrysalis why her apprentice died when something could have been done about it. Tarsal brief Private Sclerite on the plan," ordered Queen Formic.
"Yes my Queen," Tarsal responded and led Sclerite to the map he had drawn in the dirt.
The map was a bird's eye view of the valley. "We don't understand much about the enemy's plan of attack, but we do know that they will have to come from above that cliff," he pointed at the line representing the edge of the cliff. "Your job is to use the tank to kill as many of them before they can get to our infantry. This is the most important part of the operation because we are going to be significantly outnumbered in this fight. You don't have to kill all of them, we just need to hold the valley as an example to those who would oppose the Hive. Any questions?"
Sclerite remained silent as he looked at the tank then back at Tarsal. Tarsal took that as a sign that Sclerite understood his job. "Get in position and attack when I give the signal," he ordered and turned to walk away.
Sclerite rushed to his tank and hopped in. Almost immediately the earth began to shake as a large group of Buffaloes lined up on the hill. Upon seeing this, he knew his warning didn't get through. All he could do now was follow orders.
The two armies stood where they were and watched the other side. Little Strongheart stared at the Changeling tank. That must be the weapon Sclerite was talking about. On the Buffalo side Chief Flametongue stepped in front of his army.
"Do you see what is going on here? We outnumber them five to one! The whole world will remember this battle! And they will remember our glorious victory! This day will be remembered as the day the Changelings thought they could beat us on our land!"
The crowd of Buffaloes cheered at Chief Flametongue's speech. On the Changeling's side, Sclerite heard a loud thumping sound coming from the outside of his tank. He looked up to see Tarsal peering down from the open hatch.
"Hey Sclerite! You see that guy giving a speech? Take him out!" Tarsal ordered.
"Roger, roger!" Sclerite responded and began to turn the turret towards Chief Flametongue.
"Those cowards know they can't win this fight! Those cowards know they can't stop our stampede! So they imagined a fake weapon to scare us! But we all know the truth! That weapon-"
Suddenly Chief Flametongue was hit by a large green magical bolt. Tarsal saw this, smiled, and looked back down at Sclerite.
"Good shot! Now fire at the others!" he ordered and closed the hatch.
"Chief!" yelled Stone Horn while the crowd shuddered at the sight of Chief Flametongue exploding. They had never seen anything like it. Little Strongheart gasped and covered her mouth.
Stone Horn glared at the Changelings. How dare they kill Chief Flametongue while he was giving a speech? Those dishonorable Changelings have gone too far this time. He moved to the front of the crowd that was still visibly shaken and yelled, "Charge!" as he rushed downhill. The other Buffaloes followed closely behind him as the tank fired again killing a group of Buffaloes with one explosive shot.
Tarsal grinned as he looked straight into Stone Horn's anger filled eyes. He had never felt so strong before and he could tell from Stone Horn's eyes that most of his strength came from him.
Sclerite continued to fire as the two armies collided. The Changeling formation held firm against the Buffalo charge. Even as things were looking good for the Changeling army he noticed the Buffaloes were also running around the sides to encircle them. He slowly turned the turret left and began firing at the Buffaloes. At the same time Tarsal began barking out orders and the Changelings began to shift around to defend from all sides. Sclerite noticed the Changelings and stuck his head out of the hatch.
"Sir! I can't get a clear shot when you're fighting the Buffaloes like that!" Sclerite said hoping his message got through to Tarsal.
Suddenly Sclerite felt something collide with the tank and nearly tipped over. He looked down to see a group of Buffaloes shoving his tank to its side. There was also a large hole in the Changeling formation where the Buffaloes were pouring through. It was pure chaos as Changelings and Buffaloes were fighting in a large mass of warriors and drones. He could see Queen Formic take wing and fly off in the direction of her hive.
The tank fell on its side and Sclerite had to crawl out through the hatch to join the battlefield. On his side of the tank there was no Buffaloes or Changelings, but he knew the other side wasn't so peaceful. Sclerite looked to his left to see Little Strongheart rushing around to his side of the tank.
"Sclerite! Thank goodness you're safe!" Little Strongheart yelled loud enough for Sclerite to hear her despite the battle going on.
"Little Strongheart? What are you doing? Get out of here!" Sclerite ordered as if he had any authority over her.
"Was that the weapon you were talking about?"
"Yes! Now why are you still here? You could get killed!"
"Watch out Little Strongheart!" Sclerite turned around and was immediately pinned to the ground by a massive Buffalo. "Are you okay?"
"Stone Horn! Stop!"
"It's okay! I've got this one under control!" Stone Horn said as he placed a hoof on Sclerite's neck.
Sclerite began gasping for air and struggling to remove the hoof that was choking him. Despite this, Stone Horn's hoof remained firm as he kept applying more pressure. Sclerite did the one thing he could do, he began to charge up his horn.
Little Strongheart saw the terror in Sclerite's eyes and began to panic. She grabbed Stone Horn's hoof and tried to pull it away from Sclerite's throat.
"Little Strongheart, what are you doing?" Stone Horn asked trying to maintain his grip against Little Strongheart and Sclerite.
"That's Sclerite!"
"What?" was all Stone Horn managed to say before Sclerite fired with all the power he had in reserve. Stone Horn released his grip and fell backwards from the magical bolt that hit him in the forehead. He had used so much power that his wings reverted back to their regular self.
"Stone Horn!" Little Strongheart cried out and rushed over to him. She placed her hoof on Stone Horn's neck hoping he was still alive. She began to weep when he had no heart beat. Sclerite was in the process of standing up when he noticed Little Strongheart's tears. She looked back at Sclerite. "You! You killed him!" she shouted.
"Little Strongheart-"
"I thought you were my friend! But you are nothing but a murderer!"
"But-"
"Get out of here! I wish I never met you!"
Sclerite struggled to hold back the tears in his eyes. His only friend hated him now and there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly the earth began to rumble again and he looked to see another ten tanks pull up outside of the battlefield.
"Retreat!" ordered Tarsal as the Changelings began to rush towards the newly arrived tanks. Sclerite heard the order and without looking back, he followed the retreating Changelings as the tanks began to fire upon the crowd.
Sclerite heard the sounds of explosions coming from behind him and ran for his life. Everything else could burn as long as he made it out of there alive. When he arrived at the tanks he noticed Queen Formic sitting in one of them.
"The enemy is in full retreat!" Tarsal announced.
Sclerite finally looked back to see the Buffaloes running all over the place. Many of them were trying to climb the hill to escape while others rushed into the river.
"All tanks cease fire! Let them go!" ordered Queen Formic. All the tanks stopped firing to await further orders. "Tarsal I want you to salvage that tank tomorrow. It is too dangerous to do it today." She then turned her attention to Sclerite. "So Sclerite... how was your first battle?"
Sclerite wasn't sure how to respond. On one hoof, he lost his only friend which made this the worst day of his life. On the other, he survived a battle and proved that he was more than just target practice despite the near death situation he found himself in earlier.
"The Queen asked you a question!" Tarsal said menacingly.
"It was... great! I killed a great many Buffaloes but there are problems with the tank that needs to be addressed," Sclerite responded.
"What sort of problem?" Queen Formic asked raising an eyebrow.
Sclerite began to tense a bit. "Well... I couldn't really do anything if other Changelings got near a Buffalo. Neither could I defend myself if they got close. The biggest problem is the fact that they could just knock it over with brute strength."
She began to smile. "Very well. I will keep that in mind for future designs but you have served your purpose here. I am going to give you back to Queen Chrysalis when we have the meeting. Until then you are welcome to stay at my Hive."
"You know Sclerite. I noticed you killed Stone Horn. I will admit, I underestimated you. Keep up the good work and we'll get along just fine," Tarsal said. "How's your friend?"
"She was angry at me. She told me she never wanted to see me again." Sclerite said with a bit of sorrow in his voice.
"Don't worry about her. Just remember this as a lesson for the future. 'There is no friendship in war. The only thing that matters is victory, at any cost.'"
"You sound a lot like Major Carapace."
Tarsal laughed. "Maybe I would make a good drill instructor one day. Alright I think it's time to go." The Changeling army turned around and left.
"How many did we lose?" asked Chief Thunderhooves.
A Buffalo rushed up to him. "Chief! There are only fifty of us left."
"What about my daughter?"
"Father!" Little Strongheart cried, tears were still on her face.
"Little Strongheart! You're safe!" Chief Thunderhooves said relieved.
"It was terrible father! Sclerite! He- he killed Stone Horn!"
"What?"
"I saw him do it!"
"Why did he do that?"
"Stone Horn was about to kill him and he fired his magic at Stone Horn," Little Strongheart explained.
Chief Thunderhooves thought for a moment. Then sighed, "I can't believe I am saying this, but I support Sclerite on this."
"But I thought you didn't like Sclerite!"
"While I still hate Changelings like Sclerite. Stone Horn tried to kill him. He probably would have killed him if Sclerite didn't. One day you'll understand why he did it." Chief Thunderhooves explained. He then turned to the survivors. "Alright! We're going back to the village. Gather up any more survivors and let's go!"
The moon provided little illumination to the Everfree Forest. For Changelings it was the perfect time and place to set up a secret meeting away from the eyes of Equestria. Sclerite followed Queen Formic as she entered the main hall of a ruined castle with her personal escort of drones one of which was Tarsal. The entrance hall was crowded with Changelings of all kinds of colors. The Queens were all gathered on the staircase. They all looked similar to each other in the same way Queen Formic looked like Queen Chrysalis. Despite the crowd of Changelings, the room was dead silent. Not a single drone dared to even whisper.
Tarsal's voice echoed across the room. "Announcing the arrival of! Queen Formic of the badlands Hive! And Sclerite, apprentice of Queen Chrysalis!"
Queen Formic approached the other Queens, leaving Sclerite at the door with the other drones. "Queen Chrysalis. I must say you have a fine apprentice there. I am certainly impressed by what he was able to accomplish."
"Why thank you, but I suggest we move to a more private setting before we begin our meeting." Queen Chrysalis turned and walked deeper into the castle. The other Queens followed until they entered the throne room that contained two thrones, one for the sun and one for the moon, as well as a round table with chairs in the center of the room. They all took a seat in one of the chairs and Queen Chrysalis opened up the conversation, "I believe you all know why you have been called here if it wasn't obvious."
"What I really want to know is... Why did you hold a meeting with all of us over this?" Queen Formic asked.
"For two reasons. One I wanted to personally hear from you about Sclerite. And two, I need some help if things go terribly for my Hive," Chrysalis answered. "But first, how did Sclerite do?"
"He's certainly proven himself as a soldier, though his discipline isn't the best thing in the world. That's all I really have to say," answered Queen Formic.
"Very well. Now about Equestria. As you all know they have been growing during their thousand years of peace. In time their expansion will one day threaten our existence. Not to mention we are all stuck in a famine," said Queen Chrysalis.
"We've already built ships that can sneak up on the Equestrians and attack them from underwater. I'm pretty sure we can take whatever they send at us," bragged the yellow Changeling Queen Siphon.
"Let me ask you all a question. How much food can you give to each of your subjects every day?" Queen Chrysalis asked.
The purple Changeling Queen Venom responded, "Just barely enough for them to survive that day. After that our stockpile gets significantly smaller," the other Queens nodded in agreement.
"Well, what if I told you that I had a plan to allow you to feed ten times that amount each day without worrying about the stockpile?" asked Queen Chrysalis.
"What do you have in mind?" Queen Formic inquired.
"A simple policy. You provide aid whenever I ask and we will all feast off of the ponies when they are finally defeated. None of us will ever have to worry about food from that point forward for a thousand years," answered Queen Chrysalis. "Are there any objections?"
The Queens remained silent as they thought through this proposal. She wasn't asking for much and if it succeeded, they will all benefit for similar but slightly different reasons due to the unique emotions they feed on. Eventually they nodded making a unanimous decision to follow through with Queen Chrysalis' plan.
"Then from this day forward. We shall be known as the Allied Hives!" Queen Chrysalis stood up from her chair to leave the room.
"Before we leave. How are you even going to attack? Are you planning to just march on their capital city Canterlot and take it by force?" asked the green Changeling Queen Cicada.
"I am going to prepare my apprentice before I launch an attack. You don't have to worry about that. I will decide on the attack plan. You just need to hold your end of the bargain," Queen Chrysalis answered and proceeded out the door to find Sclerite in the entrance hall. "Sclerite! Time to go!" she ordered.
"Yes my Queen," saluted Sclerite as he followed her out of the castle and into the night sky where they could see the mare in the moon hanging overhead. It was finally time to return home after a long week.