Cara woke up feeling better than she had in weeks. The Hive had been relatively quiet for a while, simply finding the various patrols and groups that had been launched from Canterlot to ensure that everyone made it back. She hadn’t been dispatched yet, which only meant that she would be soon.
Cara hopped out of the bed and stretched her back with a buzz of her wings. She looked over towards her counter and saw the small carving she kept there in memory. She sighed as she thought back to Spinnekop, she kept hoping that a group would come back from Canterlot and tell her Spinnekop was still alive, but she quickly wrote it off, if she had been found so close to the capital, then somepony would have probably killed her in her weakened state.
Turning her mind away from her friend’s fate, she looked up at a clock to see that she had plenty of time to meet up with Blink before he had to go to work. Smiling, she walked out of the newly constructed Scout Barracks the Tunnelers had carved out for them. She noted that Seek and Burn were already awake, probably at breakfast.
She shook her head as she looked around the Hive. Despite the fact she had been staying there for a week, she was still unfamiliar with the location, but she knew where the Courier Living center was, and she could find her way there easily.
As she walked down the tunnels that led to the main living area, she looked around at the other Changelings going about their day. A number of Changelings were setting up small shops along the street, selling either moss or various types of what was known as ‘Flavored Love’. A strange mixture of chemicals and magic that altered the taste of Love to almost anything, mostly changing it to Chocolate or various berry flavors.
Cara had quite an interest in that particular field. It was an interesting magic, taking solidified Love and mixing it with a tiny trace of other emotions to twist the flavor just enough to allow the magic to overpower the Love’s taste. It was difficult, but it usually worked out with minimum explosions. Usually…
She continued to walk along the hallways with a growing smile on her face. It’s true it had been only around a week since the Invasion, but in that time, Cara and Blink had gotten to know each other better than they used to. There was only so much you could share over letters, and since they were now together in the Hive, they had plenty of time to meet with each other.
Over that time, they had certainly gotten to know each other better, they were taking the relationship slowly, both of them agreed that it would be better at the time so in case something terrible happened, there wouldn’t be too many broken hearts. Everyone in the Hive had the same feeling of slight paranoia; they were all afraid that even one Changeling would be captured and forced to reveal the hive. Despite the Hive’s population being larger than Equestria’s military, not all of them were soldiers. If Equestria launched a full-fledged assault, the Hive would be destroyed. In fact, Cypher gave them a 1-in-250 chance to win that battle, and Cara fully believed it. Many of the Soldiers were badly injured from falling into trees and bushes at high speed, some of their legs were pulled apart by the large branches, leaving many unable to walk until their chitin was repaired.
Cara actually dodged a bullet when she was launched from the city; she and her squad were launched over Everfree and towards a rather deadly quarry of rocks. Cara instinctively curled into a ball before impact and ended up perfectly missing all of the spiked rocks, but ended up being unable to move from her curled up body. Some weren’t quite as lucky. Poor 92, never got to propose…
When Cara had been pulled out of her tight spot, she and the rest of her patrol looked around to find anyone else. Instead of finding a living member, they found Scout 92, a promising young Scout with a nice mare back home that he swore to propose to after the attack. He was found with his head impaled on one of the stone spikes, his blue blood oozing down it with a permanent look of fear etched on his face. Getting him off was a pain, though it wasn’t over, when the Medic he was in love with saw him, she broke down crying, she continued to wet the stones of the Hive until a few days later. She now wore the ring around her neck on a length of string to remember him.
Cara sighed at the memory when the two of them had talked before returning to the Hive. He was so adamant about proposing to her, he swore that he would do it even if he was on is deathbed.
She shook her head. “Guess you waited too long.” She was determined not to let something like that happen with her and Blink. She would always make sure she got back, no matter how injured, or what she had to do, short of killing off her own squad. She wanted to keep her relationship with Blink going, and didn’t want the same thing to happen.
She kept her mind from wandering into the ‘what ifs’ of that situation and managed to walk all the way up to the Courier Living Quarters. Despite the very strict militaristic codes for the army barracks, the living quarters were the most ordered thing in the Hive. It always shocked Cara how simple it was to find anything there, everything was where it should be, all of the mailbags were neatly hung up and ordered, all filled and ready to be delivered. Off to the side, there were boxes to place mail for the various sections of the Hive. Each box had a word and two number on them, referencing the job and number range the letter was supposed to be delivered to. It was all really well done, and even now, there was a Changeling sorting through the boxes, depositing them into the mailbags with his magic and shaking his head when someone got the ordering wrong.
Cara walked up to the front desk, where a young female Changeling was sitting, signing a clipboard. She looked up when Cara neared the desk and gave her a smile. “Good morning and welcome to the Hive Delivery Service. How may I assist you?”
Cara smiled back. “I’m here to see Courier Drone 26.”
The Changeling looked her over. “Ah, you must be Cara.” She said. “I just started working here, Courier Drone 96.” She held out a hoof, which Cara shook. “Well, Blink is on the second floor. What you want to do is take the stairs to the right, then take the hall to your left. You should be able to find his room.” She replied lifting the clipboard up in her magic and grumbling “For once… just get the order form right…”
Cara waved at the Changeling and walked over to the stairway, it was carved out of stone with small green glowing gems placed into it so that you could see where the steps ended even at night. She walked up and onto the second floor, to see some of the Couriers were awake and walking around, a few emerging from their rooms with a yawn and grabbing a cap placed next to the door. A few looked at Cara curiously, seeing a Scout inside the Courier living quarters was a strange event, especially given the fact she was actually shorter than a few of the Couriers.
The rooms were all marked with a number that showed which Changelings were living there. She followed the numbers as they climbed up, when she came to number 26, she knocked on the door.
The door opened as Blink smiled at Cara. “Morning, Cara,” He said. “You’re here early.”
Cara smiled. “Well, I figured I would come and see you before you went to work.” She replied. “After all, I may be sent out to a pony village today. So I thought it would be a good idea…”
Blink stepped out of the door and closed it. “Well, I do have a half hour before I need to get started on my rounds.”
Cara grabbed his mail cap in her magic and placed it on his head. “That’s plenty of time for us to talk.”
Blink nodded. “Well, what do you want to talk about Cara?”
Cara sighed. “I… kind of wanted to just talk about us.” She replied. “I mean… if I keep getting sent out, we won’t have much time together.”
“Cara…” He sighed. “We’ve been over this before, I’m okay with waiting.”
“I know… but I just…”
“You’re thinking about Scout 92 again, aren’t you?”
Cara nods.
“Cara… I know that you’re worried, but I’ll be fine. I won’t just forget about you and I know that you won’t forget me.”
Cara looked down. “I just… I don’t want to see you like…”
Blink put a leg over Cara’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Cara… as long as I know that you died protecting us, I’ll honor that sacrifice until I die.”
Cara nodded. “But…”
Blink put his hoof over Cara’s mouth. “Cara, no buts. We agreed on this.”
“I know… I just… I wish Spin were here…”
Blink nodded. “So do I…” He replied. “I wish she was here, but we both know what Chrysalis would do to her.”
“She would be sent to the Breeders…” Cara replied. “Her wings and horn would be destroyed and Chrysalis would shatter her mind.” She shivered. “She would be just like the others…”
Blink pulled her into a hug. “We both want to see her, but we can’t. She’s gone…”
Cara’s eyes began to water. “I…I know.” She sighed. “I still miss her.”
Blink nodded. “Come on, Cara. I’ve got to get to Breakfast. We can talk about this later.”
Cara nodded. “I’m sorry… I…” She shook her head. “Never mind… Let’s just go.”
“You okay?” Blink asked.
“Yeah… I’m fine…” Cara replied. “I just… I can’t stop thinking about…”
“You two spent a long time together. It would be weird if you weren’t sad that she’s gone.”
“Yeah…” Cara replied.
“Alright, if you are sure you’re okay, then let’s go get something to eat.” Cara nodded as she let out a small sigh. Blink led her to the exit and across the streets of the Hive. They walked in silence until they got to the dining hall; they grabbed their food and sat down.
“Listen… Blink, I’m sorry that I had to…”
“It’s alright, Cara.” Blink replied. “I get like that too.” He replied. “It’s alright to-”
“So this is the lucky stallion who stole the Sergeant’s heart?”
“Oh Chrysalis…” Cara said under her breath.
Blink looked at Cara confused before two more Changelings walked up to them. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Cara sighed. “Blink, meet Seek and Burn, they are two of my squad members.” She indicated the two of them. “They are both brothers and tend to work as a team.”
Seek held out his hoof. “We’re very glad to finally meet you. Cara has said a lot of good things about you.”
Blink looked at Cara questioningly and she began to shrink below the table. “Oh? What kind of things?” He asked.
Please don’t…
“Oh you know… That you’re a Courier Drone…” Please… “That you were good friends…” No… “And that she sometimes has dreams about…" Please don’t… “Having a good time with you by the waterfall.”
Cara had already ducked fully under the table, and her face was bright red. “Is that all she talked about with you guys?”
“Oh no,” Please don’t… “She told us that she has a Huge…” A loud thump sounded on the table about where Seek was sitting. “OW! Burn!”
Burn grunted. “Oh come on! I just… No… Well… Maybe… I think… Well, we never ask-” Burn slapped Seek in the back of the head. “Fine! Enough with the slapping!”
Blink looked over at where Cara should have been. “Cara? Where’d you-?”
Cara waved her hoof on the other side of the table. “I’m down here…”
Blink looked under the table. “What are you doing down there?”
“Being embarrassed…” Cara replied. “Regretting telling Seek about my subconscious.”
Blink raised an eyebrow. “Cara?”
“I was having a weird week!” Cara justified. “I swear! It was just a natural thing in the late teens. There was just… I’m going to stop talking about it.”
Blink shook his head. “Cara… You don’t have to justify it, I trust you.”
Cara climbed back up to the seat, covering her bright red face with her hooves. Blink turned to Burn. “So, what is your deal?”
Burn grunted, then looked over at Seek with a raised eyebrow. Seek looked back at him and then crossed his front hooves. “Oh, I’m sorry. Would you like something?”
Burn glared at Seek. “Oh no, I remember quite clearly Burn, you told me to shut up. So I can’t help unless you…”
Burn put his hoof on the table, then looked over at Cara. “Permission to punch Seek in the gut?”
“Granted…” Cara mumbled. Burn nodded and punched Seek in his stomach.
“Ow…” He coughed. “Burn… that hurt.”
Burn snorted. “FINE! Chrysalis!” He looked at Blink, who was looking between the three of them confused. “My job is to keep my brother in check and to make sure that no information is left behind. There! Happy?”
Burn nodded.
Blink looked at them. “What?”
Seek opened his mouth, but Burn shot him a death glare. “Sarge, you want to explain?”
Cara sighed. “Sure… I feel like my face has finally returned to normal.” She dropped her hooves and looked at the three stallions. “Seek is our Deceiver, he is skilled with transformations, but has a very bad habit of talking too much. Burn is his brother, and he usually does try to keep track of Seek and make sure he isn’t being an idiot. He is a skilled Pyromancer, and can destroy every piece of evidence without any residue using his magic.”
“But… Why are you…”
“He’s mute,” Cara replied. “He doesn’t have any vocal chords. He can talk using the Hive Mind, though he usually only does it with Seek because they are brothers and he doesn’t enjoy connecting with those he doesn’t trust. It’s like a privacy invasion.”
“Oh… Well, I can understand that.” Blink replied. “Didn’t you have another member in your squad?”
“Yeah… either of you guys see Cypher?” Cara asked looking at the two brothers.
Burn shook his head and Seek replied with “Nope.”
Cara sighed. “That means that either she spent far too long researching something or Chrysalis called her in for something…”
“Hopefully nothing too bad.” Seek replied. “Last I heard, we were next on the list for deployment.”
Blink’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“I kept track of what squadrons left.” Seek replied. “We are the only Squadron with every member being all right, so we are probably next.”
Cara sighed. “Well, you guys go and get everything ready just in case. I’ve still got to eat.”
Burn and Seek saluted and then left the table, heading to the exit.
Cara sighed. “I wonder where we’re getting sent now.” She picked up some hay and oats and tossed them into her mouth.
“I hope it’s nowhere dangerous.” Blink replied. “We don’t have any more chemicals from Manehatten to use as medical supplies. You’d be out of commission for a few weeks.”
Cara sighed. “Well, it’s all up to fate to see where I go.”
Blink nodded and ate some of his own food. The two of them sat in silence for a bit before Blink looked over at Cara. “So… I heard that you were nominated for an award…”
Cara sighed. “Yeah…” Shortly after Cara returned to the Hive, she had been nominated for her work in leading the main battle group in charge of capturing the Elements of Harmony. As well as being the one who told Cypher to find Spinnekop, leading to the knowledge of her death. “I don’t think I should accept it.” She replied.
“Why not?” Blink asked.
“Because that was when I lost her…” Cara replied. “Because I don’t want any memories of that failed Invasion. Because every time I think about that stupid invasion, all I can think about is the fact that so many of us died.” She sighed. “I just… I didn’t do anything there. Sure, I led some troops, but anyling could do that.” Cara rubbed her forehead. “Clobber deserves it more…”
“What makes you…”
“Because he’s the one that killed Spinnekop!” Cara snapped, standing up and slamming her hoof on the table, causing Blink to jump back. “It’s because of him that my friend is gone! He’s the real hero! I mean, he killed a traitor! He’s the one that… That…” Her eyes watered as she sat back down, looking back at Blink’s startled face. “I’m sorry…”
Blink took a deep breath. “Are you alright, Cara?”
“No…” She replied. “I’m sorry, Blink.” She sighed. “I’ve been trying to forget… It isn’t working.”
Blink sighed and opened his wings; he flew above the table and landed next to her. “It’s alright Cara… I miss her, and I don’t expect you to forgive Clobber for that… But I think you should accept it, you deserve that award.”
Cara sighed. “Yeah…” She took the rest of the hay and threw it into her mouth. After she finally swallowed all of it, she looked back at Blink. “Guess I’m still a bit… shaken. I shouldn’t have yelled at you…”
“I get it, Cara.” Blink replied. “You were there, you keep thinking you could have done something, but if you did, you would have only been put in the same boat with Spin, then both of you would be in trouble.”
“I guess you’re right.” Cara replied, picking up some of the oats. “It’s just… everything is changing… and yeah, I blame myself for Spinnekop because I feel like I should have helped her with the decision…”
Blink pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry for making you think about it…” He said. The two stayed in the hug for a few moments before Blink looked up at the clock. “Oh shoot…” He grabbed the cup of Love from his plate with his magic and quickly downed it. “I’ve got to get back to Work… But first…” He lifted Cara’s head up and planted a kiss on Cara’s cheek. “I’ll see you later, Cara.” He smiled before releasing the hug and quickly flying towards the exit.
Cara sat there stunned for a moment as her face flushed red; she raised her hoof to her face and touched her cheek. “He… He…” Her mouth slowly worked into a smile. “Oh… You beautiful stallion.” She mumbled. “I’ll get you back for that.”
She quickly ate the rest of her breakfast and ran out of the dining hall, heading back to the Barracks. She needed to get ready in case they needed to head to a pony village. She passed by a few more stands that the Changelings were selling at, a few of them selling pieces of jewelry stolen from the raid, these Changelings were usually in charge of peddling stolen goods at Pony stores, but since Chrysalis pulled them all in, they had to continue their work somehow.
One of the Changelings looked at Cara. “You there!” He said. “Come here and look at my wares, I promise you won’t regret it.”
Cara glanced over at the small store, seeing a variety of jewels and metals, she quickly looked up at the Changeling. “Sorry, but I have to get back to the Barracks.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged, then instantly went back to trying to get other Changeling’s attention. She walked towards the Barracks, ignoring the other Changelings while she focused on the mission she would most likely have to go on.
As she got near the Barracks, Cypher was standing outside, waiting for her. “Sergeant Cara,” Cypher said. “The Queen has a mission for us.”
Cara sighed. “Alright Cypher. Where are we headed?”
“We are to leave in half an hour.” Cypher replied. “We are going to a nearby village where a Changeling was located and detained to be sent to Canterlot for study.”
Cara paused. “Wait… What kind of study?”
“We do not have that knowledge Scout 93, however it is believed that they will dissect or attempt to use the corpse to create a way to dispel our magic.”
“Then… Then we would never be able to…” Cara’s eyes widened. “Get Seek and Burn now! We are leaving as soon as possible.” Cypher saluted and went into the Barracks; Cara quickly followed and ran up the stairs and into her room.
She looked over at the mannequin that was placed on the far side of the room. On the small mannequin made of the black Hive-stone sat Cara’s armor, the dark blue chest piece and helmet that matched her Backplate. The horseshoes were a part she could do without, and didn’t want to use them in case they gave away their position. If the ponies really were trying to reverse engineer their disguise spell, then having more Changelings they could squeeze the spell out of was better than one.
She levitated over her chest piece and put it on, attaching the metallic clamps together in back, making the armor look like an extension of her backplate. She levitated over her helmet and placed it on her head, making sure that it lay comfortably against her carapace. She then looked over at the carving and sighed. “I’ll make sure that Changeling makes it back.” She then walked out of the room.
When she left the Barracks, Seek and Burn were waiting with Cypher. The Communication Drone was explaining the situation to both of them. “Alright you three, we are moving out now.” She announced. “I want that Changeling out of there as soon as we get there.”
“Sarge, we don’t really know what the plan is.”
“The plan is to get him out, quick and quiet if possible. If not, then we do whatever we have to in order to get him out.”
“Got it.” Burn replied.
“We all know what to do.” Cara replied. “When we get to the village, Seek will look for the prison. Once that’s done, he’ll create a distraction so that Burn and I can get in and get him out. Cypher, you’ll keep a long distance eye out and keep us all in the loop.” Cara said. “Is that clear?”
The three Changelings saluted. “Yes, Ma’am!”
“Good, then let’s get going!” Cara ordered. “Cypher, lead the way!”
Cara looked down at the town, it had taken a few hours to walk there, but it was a good thing, as night had fallen over the area, casting a dark shadow that would help them more than hurt them. Seek had gone and flown down to the town in the form of a blue jay, he had only left a quarter of an hour ago, but he usually worked quickly, so Cara had gotten a little antsy.
“Raise him again.” Cara said to Cypher.
The Communications Drone nodded. “Scout 95, please respond. Where are you in…”
“I hear you Cypher, I’m still here.” Seek said.
“Scout 95, please report on Progress.” Cypher said.
“I found the Prison, poor guy isn’t doing too well, he’s got what looks like a fractured leg and a broken wing. Moving him is going to be difficult.”
Cara added into the conversation. “You have a Class?”
“Yeah, he’s from the Soldiers. Pretty high up too, he’s bigger than Burn.”
“Great…” Cara mumbled. “That’s going to slow us down…”
“I got a position for the Prison. It’s actually pretty close to the forest you guys are hiding in.”
“Good.” Cara said. “Seek, start planning your distraction, Burn and I are moving into position.”
Cara motioned for Burn to follow her as the two of them began to sneak through the forest towards the small town.
“Scout 93, I do have some unfortunate news.” Cypher said. “A recon group has just informed me that a large group of Royal Guards are en route to the town.”
“Damn it… How long do we have?”
“Not long I’m afraid.” Cypher replied.
Cara cursed under her breath. “Burn, double time. Cypher, make sure that Seek is ready on my mark.”
The town had been abuzz with activity after discovering the Changeling inside the well. Apparently after the failed invasion, it had been launched from the city and smashed through the well, landing in the deep pit. They only realized what it was a day later when news of the attack circled around Equestria. They quickly got the Changeling out of the well and locked it up, then sent word to Celestia of the captured Changeling, and she sent a few guards to come and retrieve the prisoner.
Everypony was a bit antsy now; reports had been popping up of Changelings escaping from the prisons, and nopony wanted to disappoint the Princess. A lot of time had been put into making sure the Changeling couldn’t escape. They put it in the back cell of the small prison they had, they made sure it had a suppression ring on and a vest to keep its wings strapped to its side, and for good measure, hoofcuffs were placed on both front and hind legs. There was no way it was getting out of there by itself.
The town kept most of its citizens in the loop, making sure they all did their part to warn about Changelings, all of them told exactly what to look out for so they could be out of harm’s way.
“Would you stop worrying, Honey?” A black Pegasus stallion said to a pink Unicorn. “There is absolutely nothing that could go wrong.”
“I know… but what if that Changeling gets out?”
“It won’t, we made sure of it.” The stallion replied. “Plus, Celestia’s royal guard are going to be here in just a few minutes to take it off to Canterlot, it will be out of our hooves in no time.”
“Still, that’s a few minutes we still have to keep it around here. I’m not comfortable with it around Sweet Puff.”
The Stallion looked down at the small purple Pegasus in between them. He loved the little bundle of joy they had raised. The small Pegasus was still searching for her talent, but the two parents tried to push her in the right direction.
“Well, having a night out is great every now and then. Get’s the old blood flowing.”
“Well… It is rather nice.” The Unicorn said looking up at the sky. “It’s beautiful out tonight. No clouds in the sky, a nice breeze blowing by, and the stars are so clear.”
“Yeah… nights like this make me glad I moved here from Cloudsdale.”
“You sure that’s the only reason?”
“Well, I can say that I certainly had reasons to stay.” He smiled.
“Oh you flatterer.” The Unicorn replied. “So where are you taking us?”
“Well, I thought that we should try that restaurant down…” There was a loud explosion as all three of them turned to look the way they came, one of the larger buildings in the town was suddenly covered in flame. “the… street…” He opened his wings. “Get Sweet Puff back home, I’ll see what’s going on.”
He quickly shot off the ground and flew towards the building; he caught sight of the owner outside of it, staring up at his home burning.
“Books, what happened?”
“I-I…” The Earth Pony stuttered. “I just closed up for the night… and then…”
The Pegasus looked around to see a large portion of the town running up to see what was going on.
“What in Tartarus happened?” The Pegasus shouted.
“I think I know the answer.” A leaf green Pegasus said flying down to the building. “It looks as though something exploded within the building. Though I’m going to need some help putting this out before I can be certain.” The Pegasus smiled. “Any volunteers?”
The Explosion was heard from the other side of town. “I swear if Seek is doing my job, I’m going to punch him.”
“Burn… Forget about it, let’s get going.” Cara replied, the two of them quickly disguised themselves and ran up to the building, both of them breathing heavily. “Oh, sweet Celestia! There’s been a Changeling sighting in town! I think it attacked somepony!”
One of the stallions guarding the area looked over at the other. “I’m going to try and help.”
The other stallion nodded as the other Stallion ran off. He looked down at Cara and Burn. “Did you see what happened?”
“Yes, I believe my friend here did.” Burn nodded. “Tell him what you saw.”
Burn nodded and looked back to make sure the guard was far enough away, before stepping up to the stallion and grabbing him by the neck, holding his other hoof up by his mouth, his horn lit up as a silencing spell surrounded them. The Stallion flailed for a few seconds before Burn slammed his head into the ground.
Cara shook her head. “Little faster next time.”
Burn grunted before grabbing the keys the stallion was carrying on his belt. He pushed open the door and the two of them quickly ran inside. They found their way to the cells quickly and ran down the hallway, they found the Changeling restrained there, as the two of them drew close, the Changeling looked up at them. “Oh, thank Chrysalis! I thought I was dead!”
Burn levitated the keys up to the lock and turned them, they walked in and began to undo the chains and restraints on the Changeling. “Can you walk?” Cara asked.
“No, I’m sorry.” He replied. “My leg is…” Cara and Burn stood next to him and helped him place his hooves across their backs. “Thanks…”
“Let’s go, Burn.” Cara said as the Changelings began to walk slowly out of the jail. “I really hope that Seek is having a good time with…”
“Sergeant, Scout 95 is reporting in that the Royal Guards are merely a few minutes away.”
“Damn it.” Cara mumbled. “Cypher, tell him we need some help.”
“We do?” Burn asked looking over at Cara.
“Yes.” Cara hissed. “Cypher, tell him to get here now! Double time, Burn!”
The two Changelings carried their comrade out of the prison building with few issues, the Guard was still unconscious with his snout firmly planted into the ground, the green Pegasus landing next to them as they got outside.
“Seek, lead the way. We need to get there now, the Guards are inbound.”
Seek saluted as he started to lead them out of the village, pausing a few times to duck into alleyways or alcoves to keep them out of sight. As they got to the tree line, Seek looked back and up at the sky, his eyes widening. “The Guards are here!” He ran behind the two of them and began trying to push all three of them further into the tree line.
Cara and Burn tried to move quicker, but the large soldier they were both carrying was weighing both of them down.
“Sergeant, I have a clear line of sight on the town, it appears as though the Guards are aware of what we did. They seem to have the Pegasi outfitted with a magical spotlight.”
“Sarge, if we get hit by that, they’ll know where we are.”
“Thank you Captain Obvious!” Cara replied sarcastically. “We’re going as fast as we can.”
Above them they heard the flapping of wings as the Pegasi began to fly around the area in formation, narrowly missing them with the spot lights attached to their armor.
“We need to move faster.” Cara replied. “Either that or we need to lose them.”
As they tried to pick up the pace, the Changeling’s leg hit a rock as he screamed at the pain as the broken appendage was slammed into the pointed stone.
“Scout 93, the Pegasi are looping back around.” Cypher said.
Burn looked at the two others, then over towards where Cypher was. He let out a sigh and motioned for Seek to come close.
“What’s up?”
Burn moved out from under the Changeling and pushed Seek underneath to catch him. Seek looked up at Burn. “Burn?”
Burn took a deep breath and pointed at Seek, then back at Cypher’s position. He pointed at himself then at the sky.
Seek’s eyes widened. “No! Wait! There… There’s another way! You don’t have to-”
Burn put his hoof on Seek’s chest, and pointed at the ground, he pointed at himself and shook his head and then pointed at Cara. “Burn…”
Burn walked back towards the town, and saluted towards the three of them before sprinting off in the direction of the Pegasi.
Cara looked up at Seek. “Seek. What is he doing?”
Seek turned to look back at Burn. “He’s… He’s… He didn’t say anything…” Seek sighed as a small tear fell from his eye. “I think he’s buying us time…”
Cara nodded and the two of them began to walk back towards Cypher.
Burn ran for a good ten seconds before igniting his horn, forcing a large amount of energy to expel from the tip, creating a flare of light that pierced the tree line.
The Pegasus above noticed, and they decided to converge on that light source, thinking that any Changeling was better than no Changeling. They flew towards the light and kept the spotlights on the source of the light.
Below the trees, Burn was well aware that he was being tracked, and as long as they kept the beams on him, the others could get away. He continued to dodge his way through the trees until he came to a small clearing. He skidded to a halt in the center of the clearing, looking up at the Pegasi that began to surround the clearing, shooting the spotlights down at him.
“Stand down Changeling.” A Pegasus ordered. "We promise you will be unharmed."
Burn snorted and his ears perked up, swiveling around as the sound of shouting began to surround him. Earth Ponies and Unicorns began to walk out into the area, surrounding him.
He stood up and relaxed his muscles as the Ponies stepped further into the clearing. As they began to surround him, his horn lit up and he lifted his front hooves, slamming them into the ground as a ring of fire spouted around him, pushing the guards away. His horn lit up as he threw his head around the area, causing pillars of flame to shoot out from the ground, stopping some of the Guards around him.
As he tried to keep the Ponies off of him, he felt his magic draining quickly as he tried to keep the flames going. One of the Pegasi flew down and slammed into him, pushing him against the ground. Burn quickly lifted his hoof and surrounded it in fire; he took the flaming hoof and rammed it into the Guard’s face, holding it there for a few seconds before taking his hind legs and pushing the Guard off his body. The Pegasus hit the ground and started screaming and squirming on the ground as he tried to cover the scorch mark with his hooves.
Burn pushed himself up as a few Unicorns surrounded him, their horns alight as Burn stood up, taking a look at his situation. He lowered himself to the ground in an aggressive pose and charged up his own horn. Before he got the chance to fire off a spell, the Unicorns all fired magical blasts at Burn, each of them collided with his Carapace and sent him to the ground.
The Earth Ponies and Pegasi moved closer to the unconscious Changeling, a few of the Earth Ponies’ coats were singed from the flames, but the one Pegasus had the worst of it. They quickly tried to take care of their comrade’s injury. The Unicorns shifted their attention to the Changeling.
“Get it to the prison, we’ll transport it once we find the rest of them.” A Unicorn said to the others. “Make sure that it doesn’t get out.”
The Unicorns saluted and surrounded Burn in a magical ball, pulling him off the ground and carrying him back towards the town. “Get Thunder to stop screaming. We’ll work on his injuries when we get back to Canterlot.”
From up on the hill, Seek turned to look back at the town. “I…I can’t hear him…”
Cara looked up from the Changeling Soldier, whose leg she was trying to splint. “What?”
Seek shuddered. “I-I… Burn… He-He…” Seek turned to look at Cara, a few tears working down his chitin. “He’s gone…” He said through a sob. “I can’t hear him! He’s gone!” Seek turned towards the village. “I’m going to get him!”
Cara stopped tying a vine to the Changeling’s broken leg and put her hoof on Seek’s shoulder. “You can’t…”
“Like Tartarus I can’t!” Seek shouted, slapping her hoof away. “He’s my brother, Cara! I’m not going to leave him!”
“Then what?” Cara replied. “You go down there, and you get yourself captured, then what was the point?”
Seek turned and glared at Cara. “I’m not just going to leave him there! They’ll Torture him! They won’t stop until they get what they want!”
Cara walked in front of him. “Scout 95, if you try to do this, I will be forced to detain you. I am ordering you; you are not to go down there.”
Seek snorted in anger. “You expect me to leave him there, just because you ordered me?”
“Scout 95, the mission was to retrieve the Soldier, we have done that.” Cypher replied. “The Queen will send an advanced team to collect Scout ninty-”
“HIS NAME IS BURN!” He shouted at Cypher, making the small drone shrink back. “Stop calling us by our bucking number!” He stomped on the ground. “He is not just a number! He’s my brother, he’s your teammate, Sarge, or are you so broken up about Spinnekop that you-”
“Don’t you DARE bring her into this!” Cara snapped. "It has nothing to do with her!"
“Oh, sure.” Seek replied. “Just because your only friend turned out to be a bucking traitor! That means that I have to give up my brother! Is that it?” His horn lit up. “Get out of my way, Cara.”
“Seek… If you try this, I will be forced to put you down.”
“I’d like to see you try.” Seek snarled. “I’m going down there, whether you stand in my way or not.”
Cara stared right up at Seek, the two locked eyes for a few seconds before Cara sighed. “Seek… Think about what Burn would want.”
“He wouldn’t want me to leave him there!” Seek replied.
“No!” Cara shouted. “He wouldn’t want you to risk yourself! Think about it for one second you stubborn Pupa! He knew what he was doing!”
“Cara, he’s my-”
“AND SPINNEKOP WAS LIKE MY SISTER!” She shouted her eyes beginning to tear up. “If I could go back and change one bucking thing, it’s that I can never see her again! I didn’t have a choice either!” Cara let out an agitated sigh. “I don't want to lose Burn too, but we have to get this Soldier back to the Hive.” She pointed at the Soldier, still lying on the ground. “I’ll come back myself if I have to! I’m not losing another friend!”
Cara put her hoof on Seek’s chest. “I will go against the orders of the Queen if I have to, but not here! If we go down there, then we put Burn in more trouble, they will know that we are nearby and try to find us. We can’t go risk going down there.”
Seek glared at Cara.
“Seek, I know that he means everything to you, but we can’t risk endangering everyling else. Especially Cypher.” She cocked her head towards the Communication Drone. “If they get her, they get everything.”
Seek looked over at Cypher, then back towards the town. He sighed, “If the Queen doesn’t send a team, we are both coming back here.”
Cara nodded. “We need to get this guy back to the Hive, as soon as we get back, I’ll send Cypher to alert the Queen. Please, think of what Burn would want.”
Seek looked back towards the town, where the building was still burning, a small tear rolled down his cheek before he took a deep breath and sighed. “Alright Cara…” He replied. “But both of us are agreed here.”
“We’ll come back.” She replied with a nod. “I promise you that.”
Seek took one last look at the village before nodding and walking back over to the Changeling Soldier. “Let’s go tough guy, I want to see my brother again.” His horn lit up as he finished tying the knot on the splint and lifted the Changeling’s foreleg so that it was over his shoulders.
Cara walked over and lifted her side of the Changeling. “Cypher, make sure that we don’t run into any trouble on the way.”
Cypher saluted and began to lead them back to the Hive. The group was deathly quiet as they walked through the forested path. Seek refusing to talk as he was only focused on getting back to the Hive and Cara trying to think of someway to convince the Queen that she needed to help. By the time they got back to the Hive, the Sun had barely begun to ascend into the sky. They managed to get there quickly as Seek never took any breaks; he even carried the Soldier on his back if Cara’s strength was wavering. Cara was surprised by his sudden strength, it's true that Cara was only a little shorter than Seek, but he was lifting a soldier that was larger than his brother with little complaining.
When they got back, a group of Changelings ran up and took the Soldier off their hooves, bringing him to the medical Chamber to recover. The team all walked towards the large Castle of the Queen. When they arrived, Cypher went to the Queen’s chamber while Cara and Seek waited outside, or rather, where Cara fidgeted with her helmet while trying to stop Seek from wearing a hole in the floor.
Seek was pacing up and down the area, his panic had only grown with the ascension of the Celestial orb. “How can you be so calm about this Cara?” Seek asked. “I can’t hear him at all, not even a whisper. Is it always this quiet? How do the rest of you handle this? I mean, I know a lot of you stay connected to the Hive, but it’s just so quiet here. How do you not get bored out of your mind?”
“Seek.”
“I mean, yeah, Burn isn’t always connected with me, but I could at least feel him, I can’t feel him anymore. Is this how Infiltrators feel? It’s unbearable! I can’t hear anyling out there and…”
“Seek…”
“Oh Chrysalis, Oh Chrysalis. What do you think is happening? Do you think they are just going to transport him to Canterlot or maybe they are trying to squeeze information out of him? How would that work? I mean he’s mute so that… Oh Chrysalis, Oh Chrysalis… If they might just think he won’t talk, what are they going to do to him?”
“Seek…”
“Do you think they’ll try torture? I mean Celestia banned torture on anypony, but do you think that extends to us? What if they just torture him to the point where he can’t connect with us anymore?” His eyes widened. “I couldn’t live with that! He’s always been there, I couldn’t…”
“Seek!” Cara shouted. “Get a grip!”
“Sorry!” Seek replied. “I’m just nervous… It’s never been this quiet before. I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous, but normally only Burn can hear it and I’m doing it again and... Oh Chrysalis, my brother has been captured by Equestria!” Seek stopped and laid down on the ground, covering his head with his hooves. “I can’t lose him! We’re like two peas in a pod, two eggs in a carton, two Timberwolves in a Timberwolf King! I can’t lose him!”
“And you won’t, you just have to…” Mimic stepped through the door.
Seek launched himself at the red-eyed General. “Please tell me that the Queen is planning to rescue him!” He begged the stunned Changeling. “I’ll do whatever I have to in order to see my brother again! Please, General!” Seek sobbed a bit as Mimic tentatively raised his hoof and patted the Changeling on the back.
“Are you sure this is Scout 95?” He asked Cara. “From your reports he sounded less, beggy.”
Cara shrugged and looked down at Seek. “Seek, I think he gets it.”
Seek sniffled as he picked himself up, running his hoof over his eye to clear the tears that started to form.
“Well, the Queen is glad that you managed to get the Colonel back, though she is… Disappointed that you failed to keep yourselves hidden, she wants to talk to both of you.”
Mimic stepped aside and let the two of them walk in. Before he walked into the room, he looked over at the Guard posted outside. “Cocoon, prepare for Chrysalis’ anger. Reinforce the door.” He whispered, the Changeling nodded as his horn lit up and the door glowed briefly before settling down. “Door has been enforced, sir”
Mimic nodded and stepped back into the chamber, closing the door behind him.
Cara and Seek were both bowing in front of Chrysalis’ throne. “I am quite disappointed in this failure, Scout 93.” Chrysalis said, looking down at the Changelings. “I expected better of you.”
“I am sorry, my Queen.” Cara replied. “We were unaware of the Royal Guards that were sent to the village to pick up our target.”
Chrysalis tapped her hooves together. “Is that why you left one of your own behind?”
Seek glanced over at Cara, almost scathingly. “He volunteered himself to ensure the success of the-”
“The Mission, Cara, was to ensure that Equestria had no Changelings within captivity. You failed to keep Scout 96 out of the prison.”
“With all due respect your Majesty.” Seek replied. “He gave us enough time to get out of there before we were found by the Royal Guards. Without him, they would have five Changelings instead of one.”
“And we would not be having this discussion.” Chrysalis replied. “Were you all located, I would have demoted all of you. I cannot risk any incompetence or weak minded soldiers, especially in the trying time. But since it is only Scout 96’s fault he was captured, I will simply demote him. The Breeders could always use more fertilizers.”
Cara looked up at the Queen. “Queen Chrysalis, it is not Burn’s fault… It's mine…”
Seek looked over at Cara. “What are you doing?”
“It is my fault that Burn had to be captured.” Cara replied. “I could have stopped him, but I didn’t… I take full responsibility for his actions and insist you punish me instead.”
Chrysalis looked over Cara, tapping her hooves together in thought. “A valiant effort Sergeant, but I do not believe that you are to blame for your subordinates. Regardless of his intention, he endangered the mission on a hunch and put us right back where we began. I have made up my mind.”
“But… You can’t do that!” Seek argued. “He did nothing wrong!”
Chrysalis looked down at Seek. “Oh? Didn’t he?” She stood up and walked slowly down the steps to her throne. “He is responsible for getting himself captured, therefore he is responsible for any information they learn about us through him.” She stopped at the last step up to her throne. “Should he return here, I will demote him.”
“But you-” Seek began, but was cut off as a green glow surrounded his neck and pulled him into the air.
“You seem to have forgotten your place, Scout.” She said, walking slowly towards Seek as he began to struggle for breath. “I am Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, you are my soldier.” Seek grasped by his neck. “I am responsible for the safety of this Hive, and you are responsible for enforcing my will across the outposts.” She spoke slowly as Seek started to claw at the intangible magical field. “Why should I bother sending in another group of Scouts to rescue a member who disregarded my orders, when I could just as easily send a kill squad to end his life?” Seek began to gasp for air as he was lifted further into the air to be eye level with Chrysalis. “Tell me.”
Mimic walked up to her, his eyes flicking between Seek and Chrysalis as he spoke. “My Queen, if I could?”
“You may.” Chrysalis replied keeping her glaring eyes on Seek as he slowly turned blue.
“I have read the files on Scouts 93 through 96, and more specifically on Scouts 95 and 96.”
“Go on.” Chrysalis said as Seek started to slow down his struggles.
“In almost every instance where those two were together, they showed a remarkable level of adaptation and coordination. Scout 96 was always willing to give himself up if the mission demanded it, and given the option of his team or himself, he showed a remarkable want to sacrifice himself.” He looked up to see Seek turning purple. “What I am trying to say is these two need each other to be an effective team. Burn can’t talk, and Seek is the only one he trusts enough to remain connected with.”
Chrysalis thought it over as Seek’s eyes began to cloud over. “You are sure that no other Scouts would help this team?”
“None that I have found and wouldn’t a Changeling willing to make the ultimate sacrifice be a powerful tool for us?”
Chrysalis hummed for a second, causing Seek’s weak and struggled breaths to be the only sound in the room as his body started to go limp. “I suppose you are correct.” She released Seek from her magical field, causing him to drop to the floor. He hit the stone and took several deep breaths before shakily pushing himself up and coughing profusely. Cara ran over and helped Seek steady himself.
“I suppose we could attempt to rescue your teammate.” Chrysalis replied. “However, I refuse to allow any of you to be involved.”
Cara nodded. “I understand my Queen.”
“However I cannot risk sending in any standard Scout teams either, with the Royal Guard presence in the area; it will require a more advanced group.”
“Shall I round up an Alpha squadron?” Mimic asked.
Chrysalis sat back on her throne. “No… I have a better idea. Get Infiltrator 23 and Soldier A-74.” She smiled. “I think it is about time they had a mission together. Don’t you?”
Mimic bowed. “I will bring them here at once your Majesty. Though Infiltrator 23 is currently in Los Pegasus on a seduction mission.”
“My executive order Mimic.” Chrysalis replied. “Pull her out.” She smirked. “Or should I say, pull him out?” She let out a small string of contained laughs.
“Of course My Queen, I will inform them of your request and tell them of the urgency of the situation.”
“Time is ticking, General.” Chrysalis replied. “No telling how long those ponies will keep Burn before they send him to Canterlot.”
Both Cara and Seek looked up at Chrysalis. “And once they make it to that city, I will consider him a lost cause.”
Cara looked up at Chrysalis. “Why?”
Chrysalis looked down at Cara, and for a second, she feared she would be the next one floating in the air grasping for her throat. Instead, Chrysalis shook her head. “Because I for one do not wish to allow Sun-Butt to get any of my soldiers that I send there. If a soldier returns from Canterlot, I know they were not there by my order, so they will be detained, and I will see what they were doing there.” Chrysalis frowned. “Or… I will simply kill them and save myself the trouble.”
Cara was going to argue, but Seek’s sudden coughing fit made her look down at his neck, there was a clear crack in the chitin that covered the front part of his neck, probably formed from Chrysalis’ grip. “Come on Seek, let’s get you to the Medics.” She lifted Seek up, which was rather difficult as she was actually slightly smaller than him, and carried him from the room, a string of coughs following them as they left.
“Cypher,” Chrysalis said to the Small drone. “I would like for you to go meet up with the Hive’s Communication Manager, and see if there are any tasks that require your assistance.”
Cypher saluted and walked out of the room, leaving Chrysalis and Mimic.
Mimic looked up at Chrysalis. “Are you sure you want to use those two?” He asked. “We could always get an Alpha Squadron.”
“Alphas are far too idiotic for what I need.” Chrysalis replied. “They would get caught in their egos, at least this way 23 will keep him in check.”
Mimic nodded. “As you wish, Chrysalis.”