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Into The Fire

by Jack of a Few Trades

Chapter 1: Chapter one: Early Mornings

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The Frozen North of Equestria was a very barren place. There were few landmarks to see; just a vast expanse of short lichens and occasional grasses in summer and an endless sheet of snow in winter. Anything living there was very rugged, being forced to live in one of the harshest climates that Equestria has to offer. There were so few ponies in the area that the weather tended to govern itself, only complying to the needs of life below where there were enough pegasi around to keep things under control.

It was early in winter; at this point shaping up to be a particularly harsh one. A full-on blizzard was descending upon the northern reaches of Equestria for the second time in two weeks, coating the already-frozen landscape in a fresh blanket of snow and ice while blasting it with a bitter wind comparable to a Windigo’s breath. Across the whole of the land, nary a creature could be found outdoors.

That is, except for two. Huddled behind a boulder, partly to escape the penetrating gale and partly to avoid being seen, two Changeling drones sat watching.

“How much longer do we need wait?” one of the small black forms asked.

“Just a bit more, I think I can tell when the next one is going to come by,” answered the other, who had his head poked out from behind the rock. A small dot of light in the distance caught his attention, though it was almost entirely drowned out by the blowing snow.

Ahead of them was a tall, imposing length of chain-link fence topped with vicious-looking razor wire. The wind constantly whipped through it, causing an eerie whistling sound to echo out. The Changeling sat patiently, watching down both directions of the fence for any sign of activity. According to the observations he had made over the last hour, the next guard was due within the next thirty seconds.

The faint dot grew brighter and closer, and he breathed a sigh of victory. Without breaking his line of sight to the guard, he tapped his partner. “Get ready,” he whispered. The other drone crouched down while grinning, preparing for the sprint.

On the far side of the fence, the guard lazily ambled past, seemingly lacking a spare thought for his duty to keep vigilant for any threat. Slowly but surely, he made his way farther down until eventually he disappeared back into the curtain of precipitation.

The watcher did not immediately act. The guard still needed a few more minutes to get out of earshot and to where the coming light show wouldn’t reach him. Immediately after he passed out of view, the second drone tapped his partner on the shoulder.

“He’s gone, why aren’t we moving?”

Annoyance clear in his tone, the first drone responded, “He’ll notice the spell if i do it now, give it some time.”

The time dragged on, especially for the second Changeling. He was eager to start, to get in on the action, and yet he was stuck waiting behind a rock while the fence he was set to infiltrate sat unguarded before him. Just when it seemed like the wait was going to physically harm him, he was tapped by his partner.

“Get ready, Ips,” the first drone muttered, tensing in anticipation himself. A few tense seconds passed before another command was issued. “Go!”

Both drones bolted from cover, galloping across the final hundred feet that separated them from the fence line. The first Changeling ignited his horn, quickly gathered the power necessary, and fired a beam of his green spellfire into the fence. Immediately before hitting the structure, it encountered its true obstacle. An invisible layer of energy caught the charge and held it, causing an intense reaction. The Changeling’s spell attached itself to the magical barrier and began eating away at it, much like strong acid eating a sheet of iron. It quickly worked its way out from the bullseye, a bright violet light emitting from the barrier spell as it was beaten back.

Though the light display was beautiful in its own right, the two changelings did not have time to admire it. The green magic was already fading as it spread, losing its ability to dissolve the barrier spell. However, it had made it just far enough to work. Both took wing, all the while battling the fierce gale. The barrier had receded just enough to form a gap at the top. Without a moment’s hesitation, the drones zipped through the gap and let themselves drop to the ground immediately after clearing the fence. A few seconds later, the dissolving spell gave out and the barrier snapped back to its original state, again becoming invisible.

Breathing heavily, Ips slapped his partner on the back, “Gotta hand it to you there Cochylis, that spell works like a charm.” Cochylis nodded and they both began their run, in the opposite direction that the guard had gone.

Not far ahead, a small hut appeared through the whiteout. Cochylis eased back from his sprint, Ips following suit after he ensured that he was first to the hut. Cochylis took the left side, Ips on the right. With only a nod between them, Ips turned the knob and eased the door open.

Inside was a very small sleeping quarter. A three by three locker unit lined the right wall and a rack of weaponry, armor, and other equipment took the left. The back wall was stacked with three small bunks, each one holding a sleeping pony. Walking on eggshells, Ips moved to the bunks.

Ips hopped up to the top bunk, perching himself just behind the stallion’s head. Cochylis stood by the lockers, instead opting to ignite his horn and wrap an aura around the pillows of the two remaining guards. With a small flicker, he extended his will to the pillows and pulled them out from under their heads and into their faces. They struggled and kicked wildly, muffled yells rising up through the pillows. Slowly but surely, they began to lose their strength. Above, the sickening sound of a knife being driven into flesh rang out and filled Cochylis’s ears. The sound was almost enough to make him lose his control, but he persisted until the soldiers finally went still.

Ips hopped down from the top bunk, looking rather pleased with the few drops of blood that had gotten on his forelegs. He looked at Cochylis and nodded while a whirl of green enveloped him. The spell finished, and in its place stood a brown-grey pegasus of medium build with a short blonde mane. Following suit, Cochylis performed his own transformation spell. He had become a smaller burnt orange unicorn with a grey-blue mane of similar cut to Ips’s.

The next order of business was armor. The individual pieces were mixed and matched in a pile on the wall opposite the lockers. Internally, Cochylis felt a bit of disgust at the disorganized mess, but quickly shoved that thought out of his mind. Instead, he went about finding which armor would fit him. Ips had morphed into the larger stallion of the two, so any piece that looked larger went to him. Neither were experienced with these armor types, so it took some trial and error before they finally managed to get the uniforms on. They were almost fully dressed when a knock sounded at the door. Ips stepped back next to the beds, leaving Cochylis to handle the visitor.

“Wake up; Code Twelve!” shouted a deep, throaty voice from the other side of the door.

Cochylis stepped closer to the door before shouting back at it, “Yeah we’re almost ready to go!” He had to fight the tendency to hiss the ‘s’, but managed it well enough. The soldier outside seemed satisfied by the reply, as he did not respond. A dull thud hit the wall; the soldier had leaned against it while he waited.

The infiltrators put the finishing touches on their uniforms, slipping the helmets on and fastening their swords to their hips. Cochylis nodded to Ips and they made for the door. The door was grabbed by the gale and nearly flung out of the Changeling’s grasp as he opened it. Holding it open just enough to slip out and not offer the other soldier a full view of the bodies inside, they exited the shack.

The storm seemed to have intensified in the few minutes they were inside. The snow had begun mixing with sleet, making the storm feel more like a sandblaster. The ice pellets rung faintly against the metal armor, all the while stinging at their faces.

“Hate to wake you guys up for this, but we need help. We need a few more guards for the technicians while they work,” the soldier began, having to raise his voice over the wind.

“No trouble,” Cochylis replied, trying to avoid using words with any ‘s’ sounds, as they could give away his innate hiss.

“Come on, I’ll lead you down to it!” The other soldier took off in the direction the Changelings had come from. The infiltrators followed along without another word.

Not too far ahead, they came upon the breach site. Four soldiers were standing about lazily, not-committally guarding two unicorns, one older looking stallion and a younger mare, while they performed basic tests on the magic field. The three new arrivals fell into place with the guards, standing in a semicircle around the technicians.

“Hey Jumper!” one of the four original guards yelled across the group. His gaze was fixed on Ips, who did not realize the attention. “Jumper!” he repeated, drawing nothing more than a passing glance from the disguised Changeling.

Cochylis’s stomach churned. Ips was being approached by one of the guards in what appeared to be familiarity. If this pony knew the soldier that Ips was impersonating, it wouldn’t be long before he realized something was amiss and their cover would be blown.

The pony started walking over to Ips, repeatedly calling his name out. Ips was just now starting to catch on to the current dilemma. He shot a ‘What do I do?’ look at Cochylis, who returned a shrug. As the pony neared, a strange glint washed over Ips’s face, one that Cochylis recognized. As much as he hated the idea of what was about to happen, he knew that it was likely the only way that this could play out.

Ips turned to face the other stallion, and he grinned.

“Jumper, you alright?” asked the approaching soldier, his cheerful expression eroding at the sinister grin. His pace also slowed to an unsure shuffle.

Ips took a step forward, his eyes darting from the pony directly in front of him to one just behind, sizing up targets. Cochylis did the same, noting the soldier behind him and two on the other side of the technicians, who were fully oblivious to the events behind them. Of the four other guards, two were not paying attention and two were watching the display between Ips and the other pony with mild interest.

Ips took another step forward. The gap between them was closing fast. Cochylis steeled his nerves and moved his foreleg to the sword sheathed on his waist in preparation. Ips did the same.

“Hey wait a minute, what’s going on he—”

Ips burst forward like a snake striking a mouse, yanking the sword from its sheath and swinging it down onto the ill-fated soldier in front of him. Cochylis leapt into action simultaneously, turning around and rushing the soldier behind him. He buried his sword in the stallion’s ribcage before he even knew what was happening.

The other soldiers quickly took note, though were met with differing reactions. The one furthest away turned tail and started running. The one nearest to Ips drew his own sword and charged. Between them, the final soldier stood with his mouth agape, unable to move from the shock of what he had just witnessed.

Ips pulled his sword free of the body of the first soldier killed just in time to meet the pony charging him. Though he managed to block the attack, it sent him reeling backwards from the sheer size of the attacking pony. As the soldier came in for another strike, the Changeling took wing. The bulky Earth pony barreled past him while attempting to stop himself. Ips took the opportunity and let himself fall onto the pony’s back.

It was a foolish decision, to say the least. The resultant buck sent Ips skyward with such a force that he lost his disguise. However, his head was not hit in the kick, and he still had enough wits about him to spread his wings and take advantage of the boost despite the searing pain in his stomach. He circled around at breakneck speed, aiming himself directly at the big pony and curling himself into a tight ball at the last possible second.

What happened next was a blur of black chitin, white fur, and snow. Ips impacted the pony in the side, sending him sprawling out on the ground. Ips hit the ground and broke his ball, skidding to a halt a few feet away. His back felt like he had cracked the exoskeleton, but he ignored that pain and took advantage of his current situation.

The big soldier was still having trouble getting up. Ipscould tell that the stallion had broken ribs after the hit. He approached the soldier, who barely seemed to take notice through his own pain. Ips pulled a small knife from a hilt strapped to the pony’s leg and staggered around behind him before sinking the dagger into his neck.

Meanwhile, Cochylis had taken off after the pony who had run away. It didn’t take him long before he was almost upon his quarry.

The pony looked over his shoulder, noticed the Changeling, and immediately cut out away from the fence and into the tundra; a panicked decision resultant of poor judgement. As soon as his hooves left the concrete path, he sank up to his knees in the snow. Without snowshoes, he was going nowhere fast.

Cochylis smiled. Now he had it easy. He slowed his pace back a bit, trotting up to the point where the stallion had diverged from the path. The pony hadn’t made it far at all by the time the Changeling arrived. He was constantly looking behind, watching his pursuer grow nearer, the panic in his face becoming more evident with each passing moment. His efforts to wade through the snow doubled when the Changeling began setting out into the drifts on his trail.

Cochylis had just jumped into the snow when he heard a crackling sound whiz past his head and a cobalt blue aura go with it. He whirled around just in time to see the shot impact the fence behind him and be absorbed by the barrier spell. He whipped his head back forward just in time to see the pony line up another shot, this time with more aim put behind it. Cochylis ducked down into the snow just before the second shot zipped by where his head had been.

The Changeling immediately charged up his own horn, hopped up, and fired back. His shot impacted the snow a few feet behind the pony, showering him with enough snow to suppress another shot. Cochylis hopped forward, closing the gap by a few feet. He fired again, this time sending the shot sailing past the pony and out into the storm.

The Equestrian soldier had seen enough already and began running again, awkwardly hopping through the snowpack like a cornered rabbit. Cochylis jumped up to give chase. Two bounds after the pony later he realized his advantage. He could drop his transformation, and because he was traveling with the wind, glide forward with little effort. The swirling green aura encased him, bringing him back to his natural form.

All he needed was a little hop and to spread out his wings. The howling wind caught beneath them and propelled him forward, closing much of the distance between him and his quarry in a single bound. Another hop and glide, and he was nipping at the soldier’s pasterns.

The soldier hadn’t been watching, instead throwing all of his efforts into escaping. He was caught by surprise when he was tackled from behind. He went down hard, a yell of surprise and terror escaping his mouth as he hit the ground.

Cochylis stood over him, mentally preparing himself to do what was needed. He pulled the sword from the hilt, raising it over the soldier’s head, and stopped. The soldier, while not blubbering like a foal as he had expected, was still giving him a pleading look that rattled the Changeling’s resolve. The sword lowered away from the pony and he closed his eyes in frustration.

That was all the pony needed. He raised his hind legs and delivered a stout kick into the Changeling’s abdomen, knocking him away enough to scramble to his hooves and try to scurry away frantically.

Cochylis needed no resolve now. He set himself upright again, shook his head, and charged his horn once more. This time, the shot hit its mark, slicing into the pony’s gut and splashing the nearby snow with crimson. The stallion fell and disappeared into the snow. Clutching at his stomach, Cochylis dumped the sword back into its sheath and began ambling his way back towards the fence line.

When he arrived back at the site, the two technicians were sitting huddled next to the fence, their faces wracked with fear as they stared at Ips, who was splashed with blood and looking quite pleased with himself. The guard that had been frozen with shock was still in the same place as before, though on his side and missing a piece of his neck. Cochylis felt a shiver run through his back.

“That was sloppy,” Ips stated, wiping a snowball across his face to clean up.

“You’re telling me?” Cochylis retorted, catching a scowl from his partner.

Ips dumped the snowball to the ground and threw a glance at the technicians, “You’re up, Mr. Diplomacy.”

Cochylis sighed and strode over to the technicians, “You, old pony, on your hooves!”

The old stallion complied, nervously scrambling upright. “What do you want fro–”

“Shut up!” Ips snapped. The technician winced.

“Now do exactly as I say, and I wont hurt either of you. You are going to open a hole in the shield, since you can do it without triggering an alarm. No questions, no feedback, and then we won’t hurt you or your little friend here.” Cochylis pointed at the fence. “Do it!”

The technician looked at the fence, back at Cochylis, and shook his head. “No, you’ll just have to kill me.”

Ips grinned maniacally, a demonic glint appearing in his eyes. “Suit yourself,” he said nonchalantly as he stepped forward and grabbed a fetlock full of the stallion’s mane, jerking his head up high and holding the knife to his throat.

Cochylis averted his eyes, on the chance that Ips went ahead with it. “Last chance, old timer.”

“Screw you, you overgrown roach,” the stallion spat, glaring at the changeling holding his neck.

Ips grinned wider, pushing the knife a bit tighter against his throat. The old stallion grunted, working his best to keep his composure. He knew they wouldn’t actually kill him since they hadn’t already done it. He only had to hold on a little longer before more soldiers came along and put an end to it.

Cochylis nodded to Ips, who took the knife away from the stallion’s throat. Instead of the knife in the neck, he moved it up to the horn. Starting at the base, he began slowly dragging it along the grooves in the unicorn’s horn. His response was a shrill scream and a flash of involuntary spellcasting. The snow around the unicorn melted quickly, exposing the concrete.

“We can do that all night,” Ips reminded, kicking some slush from one of his hooves.

“No,” the technician answered defiantly through gritted teeth. Another round of screams rang out as Ips again grated the knife on his horn. He was asked again, and still refused.

“We aren’t getting anywhere here,” Cochylis commented. “Try the apprentice.”

“I like the way you think,” Ips agreed, relaxing his grip on the elder pony.

“I’ll do it,” the technician croaked, gasping for breath. “I’ll do it.”

“Was that so hard?” Ips mocked, patting the stallion on the shoulder.

Groaning, and rubbing his head the unicorn turned to the fence, ignited his horn, and with a great deal of strain, attached two tendrils of magic to the barrier. The tendrils parted, making the barrier fizzle and pop as it was spread. A hole appeared in the barrier, about as large as the one Cochylis had made with his own spell, sans the volatile war between barrier and the dissolving magic.

“Good, hold that open,” Cochylis said to the stallion. Ips hopped away from the mare and scurried to the top of the fence. Using a hole in his hoof, he whistled loudly out to the other side of the fence. Not long after he hopped down, the rumble of hoofbeats became audible on the far side.

One by one, more drones began spilling over the border. They took wing briefly to clear the razor wire at the top in the same fashion as Ips and Cochylis had before, letting themselves fall back the ground immediately after clearing the fence.

“I cant...hold this mu- much longer…” groaned the old technician, his magic beginning to visibly falter. As he muttered the warning, the final drone sailed over the fence.

“We’re good,” Ips confirmed, nodding to Cochylis. The technician let his magic fade, and the hole snapped shut with a loud crack and a shower of sparks.

The dozen drones that had spilled over the border formed up in groups, one of five and one of seven. The group of seven departed in the direction of the shack, and the five started leaving in the opposite. They stopped a few feet away, looking back at the two primary infiltrators expectantly.

“We’ll catch up to you,” Cochylis dismissed. The group turned and went on their way. When they were gone, Cochylis looked over to Ips. “What do we do with these two?”

Ips was holding his knife in a fetlock, admiring the blade. “Well, I’m not one for dead weight, you know.”

The technician’s face turned pale, “What do you mean by that-URK!

Without warning, Ips whirled around and drove the knife in under the technician’s ribs. He slowly sank down in the snow, blood spilling from the wound, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks and his breath coming in ragged gasps.

The shriek from his apprentice was enough to shatter glass. She screamed and jumped up to run at the first sight of blood. Ips charged his horn and fired, striking her in the back of the head. She fell hard and tumbled a few times before coming to a permanent rest.

The older technician began weakly lashing out, trying to get at his aggressor, but to no avail. The struggle he presented was enough to get Ips’ attention, who shoved the knife in again, this time going deeper. A thin trickle of blood ran out of the stallion’s mouth as his body slowly went limp.

All the while, Cochylis had been standing with his mouth agape. His plan had been to hold the technicians in case they were needed. Anger began to well up as the sheer stupidity of the two murders came to focus.

“Coch? You okay?” Ips asked, putting his knife back into the hilt and walking forward.

The growing anger reached the boiling point, “What the hell was that?!”

Ips shrugged, “I took care of the problem, plain and simple.”

At this point, Cochylis was consciously trying to burn holes in Ips with his glare. “We could have used them, you idiot!” Cochylis held his head in his forelegs, unsure of what to do. “What in Tartarus possessed you to kill them without thinking?”

“I didn’t want to have to look after two hostages when we have bigger problems already!” Ips was now matching Cochylis on volume, puffing his chest out to help him speak louder.

Cochylis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Forget it. You’re right, we do have work to do.” Without even sparing a thought for the bodies, Cochylis took off in the direction of the squad. Ips followed close behind.

The drones departed, leaving the scattered array of bodies to slowly cover over with snow. The only sound was the howling winds and the rustling of fresh sleet over the ground. Ten minutes passed by in peace until the area was bathed in a soft purple glow. The barrier spell suddenly flashed from transparent to violet along it's entirety, suddenly visible just behind the fence. It stayed visible for a few seconds before it began to flicker and die. The glow faded as the spell did until there was no barrier left and the fenceline went dark.

A small army of Changelings sprinted forward moments after the barrier disappeared. There was one drone per fence post, and they each carried a tool resemblant of a large wrench. They attached their tools to the base of the fence posts under the base of the chain link, tightened a knob on one end, and rotated it full circle around the pole using their magic. The fence buckled as the posts were cleanly severed, and with the assistance of the wind, it toppled forward onto the concrete walk with a metallic crash.

Not bothering to retrieve their tools, the demolitionists rushed across the downed barrier and forward into the tundra. Moments later, more came. Many more, on the order of thousands more, began rushing across the unguarded border and into Equestria in an uninhibited flood. The invasion began.


Twenty-four hours earlier...

The Equestrian Army’s base sat just off the Eastern edge of the Crystal Empire. It wasn't very large, only a small conglomeration of buildings surrounded by a gravel yard and a tall chain-link fence. The street that ran east from the castle terminated at its gate, making the base resemble a growth on the city. It was complete with a headquarters building, a mess hall, a row of five Quonset huts that made up housing for the new soldiers and three more permanent structures to house the officers, specialized workers, and older soldiers who had earned better sleeping quarters.

Nestled inside the easternmost permanent barracks were most of the experienced soldiers , all soundly asleep save for one. He sat staring up at bunk above him, his eyes no longer heavy with sleep. His back was rigid in anxiety, and his brow and back were soaked with cold sweat. The sensation of waking up from a nightmare had become all too familiar for him in the past few weeks, and once again he found himself thrust awake far too early in the day.

He grunted softly and began shifting out of the bunk in an attempt to keep the mattress from creaking. As his back legs hit the ground, the bed let loose with a groan that exploded like thunder in the deathly silence. He winced at the noise, half-expecting the other ponies to wake up, but they didn’t stir. He lifted himself up from the mattress, not bothering to be gentle this time, and unfurled his wings as soon as he was upright. The left one was numb from being pinned under his body all night, and moving them produced an uncomfortable tingling sensation.
Crossing the room as silently as possible, he made his way to the showers. On the way across, he stumbled over a misplaced hooflocker and nearly fell, but managed to right himself with the assistance of a few muttered swears.

The showers were empty, having been unused for enough time to let the floor dry. He entered the tiled room and switched on the head farthest from the doorway. The water quickly began steaming and he stepped into it, only to discover that it was scalding. He winced and jumped out. A bit of adjustment on the knobs and he cautiously re-entered the stream; this time it was more acceptable, and he washed his mane and tail while enjoying the warm water.

With his mane and tail cared for and washed, he picked up the bottle of body soap and began to apply it to himself when he heard an ominous groan in the ceiling. At first he figured it had something to do with the heating system, but a few seconds later, the water suddenly ran cold. The shock made him jump out of the stream and stand dripping with most on him still unrinsed. He took a few deep breaths to steel himself, and then jumped back into the shower, standing in it only long enough to rinse out the remaining soap. The cold was excruciating as he had gotten accustomed to the warm water, but he stuck it out long enough to rinse off. With a quick flick of his wingtip, he turned the water off and stood there dripping wet and shivering.

He had left his towel back in his hooflocker.

It took leaving a long trail of water back to his bunk and a lengthy clean up before he found himself staring at his reflection while brushing his teeth. The mirror did not present a good sight; the normal sheen that his violet coat provided was not as bright as normal. His eyes were drooping from exhaustion, heavy bags underneath them. He felt like he was getting ready to collapse.

Only one thing could fix the problem. The one thing that tired ponies everywhere could turn to when they needed to face the day: Coffee.

He finished brushing, left the sink, and returned his toiletries to the hooflocker, all the while taking care to be silent as it was barely more than five in the morning. With all of his morning preparations taken care of, he exited the barracks and entered the chilly pre-dawn air outside. He made his way down the row of quonset huts, his hooves crunching in the gravel that paved the entirety of the base. Once past the last of the semicircular tin buildings that made up the enlisted ponies’ living quarters and one right turn later, he was out in the main common area of the base. Ahead of him was the front gate, and just past that sat the Headquarters, the only two-story building on base. He approached the gate and nodded to the guard on duty before letting himself out.

The front gate opened to the end of the road that ran east from the Empire’s center. Out on the street, he took up a steady lope, his hoofsteps echoing alone at that time of day. The chilly air, once he got used to it, was refreshing and invigorating as he ran along. The sun had just begun turning the horizon to twilight, and moon was still visible on the western horizon. The Empire was lit up by its own natural ambience, providing a glow that was plenty to see by but not overly bright.

It wasn’t long before he arrived at his destination. At the intersection with the secondary road that ran around the city sat a squat red crystal building with a large caricature of a donut above the door. The lights were on inside, and even at the early hour, the sign in the window read OPEN. He walked in and was instantly hit with the enticing scent of frying donuts. The bell over the door rang, and from the back room appeared a short cream-coated mare. Her scarlet curls were highlighted by a wide swath of pink on top of her head, and she wore a bright smile.

“Dusty!” she announced in greeting, her voice just a bit loud for his taste.

“Hi, Braid,” he returned.

“You okay? You look like you’ve been hit by a cart,” she commented, noting his heavy eyes and faded color.

“I feel like it too,” he muttered.

“Sorry to hear it. So, let me guess, you want the usual large coffee with cream and sugar, and a bag of donut holes.

“When did I ever get donut holes?”

“When I made more than usual for a special order and then it got cancelled last minute,” she answered, pointing to the overflowing tray in the display case.

“Sorry Braid, but I can’t. Physical said I was gaining a little too much weight,” Coal Dust said, scrunching his muzzle slightly.

“Ugh,” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Alright then, I’ll go get your coffee.” Braided Twist disappeared into the back room for a moment while Coal Dust produced a few bits from his saddlebag.

“Gotta say Dusty, you’re up awful early,” Braid commented as she emerged from the back room, holding a pot of coffee precariously in one hoof.

“I couldn't sleep very well last night,” Coal Dust replied vaguely.

“What’s bothering you?” she asked.

“I dunno what it was, really.”

“Huh,” Braid replied, “Maybe if you got a bag of donut holes, it’d make you feel better.”

“No thank you, Braid!” Coal Dust reminded, earning a sour look from the shopkeeper.

“You’re starting to worry me, Dusty. You’ve been doing this bad sleeping thing a lot lately. Ever thought about going to the doctor and getting it checked out?”

“And get called a crazy for going to the shrink? No thanks,” Coal Dust answered with a snort.

“Oh come off it, Coal Dust. It might help!” Braid snapped the lid onto the cup. You don’t have to look all tough when you have a real problem,” she added, throwing up quotations and doing her ‘typical stallion’ voice.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“Okaaaaay,” she muttered while writing up the ticket. “One large coffee and one medium bag of donut holes comes to seven bits.” A wide smile affixed her face.

“I said no donuts this morning Braid. I’m serious.”

Her smile withered a bit. She hadn’t expected him to be able to resist this well, but she had other tricks up her sleeve.

***

Coal Dust exited the shop with a fresh cup of coffee, a bag of warm donut holes tucked under his wing, and a scowl affixed to his face. Dawn was ready to break on the eastern horizon, and there were already a few more ponies out on the streets. Two more customers had already stopped in at the shop since he made his own purchase.

He began his walk back to the base while muttering curses under his breath. The mare had outsmarted him again, and his stomach made the final betrayal; that and she knocked two bits off of the price to further sway him. Today wasn’t the only time either, and he was beginning to believe that she was much smarter than she let on.

Pushing the front gate open with his front hoof, Coal Dust headed for the mess hall, where he could eat his donuts in peace due to the early hour. The mess hall was directly behind the headquarters, and a short walk later, he was seated at a table near the back of the room. The smell of questionable cooking filled the air, and he found it better to not regard the scent and instead focus on Braid’s masterpieces. He popped one into his mouth and leaned back in the chair, hiding his face behind the newspaper he had picked up on the way in. The news was particularly bland today, as the front page was covered by details of a large public works project that King Sombra had signed into effect the day before. The Empire was about to receive a massive overhaul to their water supply system in wintertime, and the only other news about the city was that their ice hockey team lost their game the previous night.

Left with only one other choice, Coal Dust flipped through the paper until he found the comic section. He chewed thoughtfully on another donut hole and took a swig of his coffee. The caffeine and sugar were already working well on picking him up. He was almost done leafing through the funnies when the intercom crackled to life.

All patrol captains, report to the briefing room at 0730 hours. Repeat: All patrol captains report to the briefing room at 0730 hours.

The crotchety voice of the mare coming over the intercom coupled with the fact that the speaker was directly over his head startled the crystal Pegasus, and the swig of coffee he was taking turned into a gulp. The liquid burned his tongue and he fumbled the cup, dropping it onto the table and spilling it. He immediately went to retrieve a wad of napkins and began mopping up the spill. When most of it was gone, he tossed the paper and the cup into the trash and went to pick up the bag of donuts.

What he hadn’t realized was that the coffee had soaked the bag. When he lifted it off of the table, the bottom ripped out and sent the rest of his food out onto the table. With a disgusted groan, he dropped the sack on the table and left the mess hall, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.

The intercom had called for all patrol captains to report, and the clock signaled that the start time was merely ten minutes away. Coal Dust decided that since there wasn’t much else to do while he waited, he would go ahead and grab a seat a few minutes early.

The briefing room was mostly empty when he stepped in; only two others arrived earlier than he had. He walked to the back of the room and took a seat in the far corner, leaning back and watching the front of the room with a bored gaze.

As the minutes ticked by, more leaders appeared one by one, some coming alone and some in groups. The front rows filled up first, though a few followed Coal Dust‘s example and went straight to the back. Many stayed standing while they talked amongst themselves. The room echoed with the din of voices.

Coal Dust sat and watched the clock, keeping to himself. It was 7:29, and in exactly one minute, the meeting would start. He hated surprise events such as this, but they were a regular occurrence on the base, and he had grown accustomed to them. Primarily, he wanted the thing to start so it would be over faster.

A small gust of wind and a couple of thumps in the chair next to him distracted him from his thoughts. “Hey buddy,” said the large white Earth pony who had just taken the seat.

“Hey, Headstrong,” Coal Dust greeted half-heartedly.

“You’re looking down,” Headstrong commented.

“You’re not the first to notice,” Coal Dust deadpanned.

“Well you’re not hiding it very well,” Headstrong shot back.

“Ten Hut!” interrupted a voice that instinctively made both stallions jump up and stand at attention.

“Good morning, patrol captains,” announced the authoritative voice of a stout pale green earth pony.

“Good morning Commander Nest, sir!” shouted the entire group in unison.

“At ease.” The squad leaders all sat down in unison. “Now then, I’m sure you are all wondering why we are having this meeting so early this morning.” A few murmurs floated around before Nest continued.

“I won’t bore you with useless chatter and get straight to the point. We have a change of circumstance on our hooves and there are going to be a few changes to our operations,” He looked to the unicorn standing in the back of the room. “Aurora, if you please?”

The lights dimmed and a flicker of magic popped on the screen, bringing a diagram of a pony sized insect-like creature into view. “I know that you have been lectured over all of this before, but I want all of this to be fresh in your heads.” Nest picked up a pointer and began identifying different parts of the creature. “This is one of those little devils, also known as a Changeling. These nasty little suckers are basically rejected Alicorns that pack less of a punch. They are only average flyers, and considerably less talented with magic than the average unicorn. They can do basic grasping spells and also deliver a nasty shot from that little spike on their heads, but that is about it. They aren’t especially tough one at a time, but in a swarm, they’re a major force to be reckoned with. The best way to kill a Changeling is with a headshot , but there is a weak point just behind where the heart would be that also works well. Next slide.”

Headstrong leaned over and whispered in Coal Dust’s ear, “I didn’t think we were coming in here for a geography class, did you?”

The screen changed, this time bringing a well detailed map of Equestria and the surrounding countries into view. Nest pointed to the map, “As you all know, this is Equestria. We are here, in the northern reaches of the country.” The Crystal Empire was marked by a figure of the castle that made up the center of the city, Baltimare by a skyscraper, Canterlot by a caricature of the castle, and so on. A wide blue swath to the west and and north of Equestria’s borders marked the boundaries of the Griffon Kingdoms, and between the two nations sat a sizeable patch colored in black. Nest pointed to the black spot, “And here is Changeling territory. Back fifty-seven years ago, they launched a surprise attack that took a lot of land from the Griffons and a little bit from us, earning them their own sovereign nation. Recently, there have been rumblings of change coming from the bug country. They have a new king. Next slide please.”

The picture changed to another Changeling. This time it was a grainy image at a poor angle of one that wore armor, was nearly twice the size, and looked three times as mean as the last one. “This is that new leader. He goes by the name of Chrytion. He is just as mean as he looks, gentlecolts, and also quite the eloquent speaker. Ever since he assumed leadership over the colony, we have had a lot more incidents at the border. Small, non-violent encounters is all that has happened so far, but inside intelligence tells us that there is reason to be concerned over these new developments.”

Nest turned and faced the audience, putting an even deeper seriousness into his voice, We don’t know exactly what his intentions are, but we cannot take the threat from anything they do lightly. Next slide.”

“In accordance with a new threat, we must heighten security. We will have more guards out in the Empire every day to search for any signs of infiltration. You all know how those little bugs can shape shift so well, so any suspicious signs will be dealt with accordingly. Those of you who are not on patrol will be rotating on beats around the city,” A few groans rose from the crowd, “And we will now be sending out patrols three times a day instead of just once. The patrol that was scheduled originally will now be this morning’s patrol.”

Headstrong groaned; he now had to go out on patrol in the morning instead of afternoon like originally planned. Commander Nest continued, “You can check the new schedule on the bulletin on your way out. If your name is on that list for today, you come and see me after dismissal.” Nest looked around, “Well, that about sums it all up. Are there any questions?” Silence. “ Alright then. Dismissed.” The entire room jumped up and saluted again.

Author's Notes:

And it is restarted! This makes my third time trying to get the beginning of this story off the ground, and it feels like a winner to me! After almost three weeks of arduous work on this chapter, It is here! Thanks go out to my wonderful pre-reader nucnik and to you, the reader. Now I am off to start the next addition to this bad boy, have a wonderful day!

Edit 9/8/2014: Editing is beginning yet again here. Yet. Again. However, it must be done to keep this story from having inconsistencies, so yeah. Editing, yay!

Edit 11/26/2014: After a long time of off and on work, Chapter one has been stripped down to its bare essentials and revitalized, while still holding true to the original iteration's storyline. Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to redo this, but who knows? Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter after so much has been done to make it, and I hope to see you soon!

Next Chapter: Chapter two: Patrol Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 49 Minutes
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