Chapter Twenty Two: Agonizing Departure

“How’s your eye?” Augury asked, breaking the silence that the group of changelings walked in along the grassy field.

“It still hurts, general. I don’t think I’ll be keeping this one.” The captain murmured, trying his best to keep his injured eye closed.

“Once we get back to The Hive we’ll have it fixed up. How are those cuts on your legs? They hurt as well?”

“Not as much as before, general. The pain has subsided and I can walk a little easier. Is something the matter?”

“No, it’s alright. Just checking.”

The quietness the changelings had been sulking in slowly crept back into the area around them, only periodic grunts of pain from injuries interrupting the silence.

The Hive stood off in the distance from the healthy green field that the changelings trotted along at a steady pace, the spire the only visible and notable structure in the wasteland. The night sky was blotted out by numerous passing clouds that let down a small sprinkle onto the outskirts of Equestria, though the rain wasn’t enough to be noticed by even a wondering flock of birds. However, no animals would even dare to settle near The Hive’s path of deterioration of the landscape. No crickets to chirp and no owls to hoot, the outer boundaries of The Hive were as quiet as death in the dark of night as the changelings in the wasteland slept. Having their hooves brushing against the blades of grass as they continued closer to the edge of The Hive, the changelings making their way back from Canterlot sighed with relief as they heard the clop of their hooves on the hard and barren ground of their home. All of the changelings except Augury, that is.

“Captain, I’d like to have a word with you for a moment. In private.” Augury stated and turned to the other changelings with him. “Keep heading to The Hive. Inform Chrysalis of the defeat. She’ll save the licking for me, so don’t worry.”

Nodding, the changelings continued on their path towards the spire as Augury and the captain slowly stopped in their tracks.

“Is something the matter, general?” The captain asked, keeping his eyes on Augury as the general walked to the edge of The Hive’s ground.

Exhaling deeply, Augury leaned backwards and rested on his flank, folding in the left corner of his mouth. He stared at the ground in front of him in silence for a second, watching as The Hive expanded ever so slightly as it drained single blades of grass one by one.

“Take a seat, captain.” Augury said, patting at the ground beside him.

“If I must.” The captain replied, walking over next to the general’s side and lowering his flank to the ground.

Augury took a moment to admire the grassy field away from The Hive’s reach, though the small smile on his face faded as he remembered that it would all look like The Hive itself in due time. “I want to know something.”

The captain flicked a bit of dirt next to his hoof. “What is it, general?”

“You’re different than the others. The changelings, that is. You don’t seem to be as savage as the rest of them, and your actions have made it show even more so.”

“What actions, if I may ask?”

“Wondering about how I am, not going crazy and all mouth-watery every time you see a source for food, showing compassion for the other changelings, those actions.”

“What about them?”

“They’re not that of a changeling. The others are just so focused on getting food and protecting the queen, nothing else. I just want to know... why?”

“I’m not sure I understand the question.”

“You’re a natural changeling, you share the same nature with the others, yet you almost appear to suppress who you are. Your accent isn’t like theirs and your attitude isn’t even near similar to the common changeling’s around here. What makes you act that way? What makes you... you?”

The captain sighed loudly and tilted his head to the side. Habitually, he reached up to grab his helmet to take it off, but only grabbed the air around his head, remembering he had left the severely damaged piece of armor in Canterlot. The captain shook his head and looked at his hoof as he lowered it to his face. The holes in them provided a little tunnel to see through to the greenery that the field outside of The Hive was blanketed with, the grass swaying back and forth in the slightly breeze.

“I never really did like The Hive. It’s too dry.” The captain shrugged and put his hoof back on the ground. “The changelings just have a different view on what goes on, I guess. I don’t see myself as different from them as beings, I just have a separate set of values.”

“That’s what I’m trying to determine. You’re a changeling, yes, but at the same time, you’re not.”

“My mind, maybe. The changelings are feral, creatures that focus on surviving and nothing else, no matter the consequences. I saw the missions, I knew what to do, and I did as I was told. The changelings, they took a whole new meaning to ‘go in, capture, and get out’. They tore the place apart, they terrorized the ponies, and they just made it a nightmare in general.”

“So you see yourself as better than them?”

“I don’t see myself as better, just more developed. Mentally, at least. If anything, that puts me at a disadvantage.”

“How so?”

“I took time to admire the life outside of The Hive. The changelings didn’t. I take time to think about things before I do the. The changelings don’t. I discourage myself in the face of doubt. The changelings? They tear doubt apart. Ever since I saw the beauty of life outside of The Hive, I felt like I wanted to be a part of it.” The captain looked at Augury from the corners of his eyes. “It sounds stupid, yes, but there’s something more to life than just caring about yourself. You need someone to be there for you. That’s why I wanted to make sure that you were alright before we charged Canterlot. You were troubled, I could tell, and I’m not saying that it caused us to lose the battle, but it inflicted on the outcome in some way.”

Augury chuckled to himself. “A changeling that actually cares for the others around him? I’m surprised, captain. I never thought a changeling was capable of it.”

“New things pop up everyday. Here in The Hive, maybe not as much, but I can bet the raids were a bit of a surprise to Equestria. Their society looked nice.”

“So why you didn’t let me kill Ruin? She decimated Cloudsdale almost all by herself. She wasn’t even a changeling at the time, yet she took no care in making sure Cloudsdale wasn’t harmed.”

“Changeling mind or not, we are sworn to protect those who lead us with our lives and follow their orders. Both of you generals, and myself only a captain, I had to defend one of my superiors, and you were on the offense. It was nothing personal, and after hearing about what she had did, I wanted to gut her as much as you did, but I couldn’t let my leader die.”

“You’re that loyal, huh?”

“Respect for those above me is not loyalty in my eyes. Just following orders.”

“No one ever gave you the order to protect us.”

The captain shrugged. “That’s just a given to me.”

Smiling, Augury slowly stood up onto his hooves, the captain turning his head to look at the general. “Not quite the talk I was expecting to have, but nonetheless, I have a gist of why you act the way you do. Come on, we’ll have to face Chrysalis soon or later.” The slight cheer in Augury’s voice died down. “Let’s just hope she can take it as well as we could.”

The captain quickly stood up as he heard the clop of Augury’s hooves against the ground of The Hive, turning to look at his superior. “General?”

Augury rotated himself to face the captain. “Yeah?”

“I... want to ask a favor from you. It’s nothing big, just something I feel like I would be better off with.”

Augury briefly tilted his head upward. “Shoot.”

“Could you... give me a name?”

Shock, though he didn’t show it, Augury scanned his eyes over the captain, and after a small moment, the general motioned his head toward The Hive. “Let’s go, Devotion. Better not keep her waiting.”

The captain stood still for a moment, pondering to himself how the name would fit him. Though, after realizing how far Augury had gotten into The Hive while he was lost in thought, Devotion raced after the changeling general.

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Augury stared up at the spire doors in front of him, starting to regret sending Devotion off of the medical area to leave himself alone with Chrysalis. Her punishment was still unknown to the changeling general, and the mystery of what could happen haunted Augury’s mind as he lifted his hoof up to the large doors. Two voices resonated from within the spire’s base, one of them sending a rush of anger into Augury’s veins as he listened to the muffled conversation for a second. Even after leaning his head up against the wood separating him from the inside of the tower, however, the conversation was barely audible through the thick doors of the spire, Augury shaking his head and hesitantly pushing his hoof against the spire’s doors. The loud creaks that croaked from the slow opening of the decorative slabs of blackened wood silenced the speech between the voices within the spire, putting Augury more on edge as he felt the attention focus on him. The doors open enough to see who was inside, Augury stepped forward into the spire’s base, greeted with the bright green eyes of Queen Chrysalis and the bright red eyes of General Ruin.

“Augury! Oh sweetie, it’s good to see you back okay! Did the big bad Canterlot ponies beat you up?” Ruin exclaimed in an exaggerated tone used for foals, the changeling general rushing towards Augury and hugging him.

“If Chrysalis wasn’t here my hoof would be shoved down your throat right now.” Augury asserted as he pushed Ruin off of him, the changeling that had her hooves latched around him tumbling backwards.

Ruin gave Augury a smug look as she stabled herself on her hooves. “What’s the matter? Is someone a little grumpy because they lost?”

Augury turned his head to Chrysalis. “You wouldn’t mind if I impaled her, would you?”

“Unfortunately for both of us, I do.” Chrysalis said. She shifted her eyes to Ruin. “General Ruin, quit it with the babying, you’re giving me a headache.” Shifted her eyes to Augury. “And you. I would like some answers.”

“For what? We got our flanks handed to us, that’s all there is.”

“Yes, you may have been defeated, but I want to know how you managed to lose over two thousand of my changelings!”

“Listen, I-”

A frantic voice had no patience to wait for Augury’s sentence to finish, a terrified and out of breath changeling tumbling into the spire’s base.

“My queen! They’re here!” The changeling shouted, quickly panting after he finished talking as he propped himself against the frame of the spire’s doors.

Chrysalis gave the changeling a puzzled look. “What? Who’s here?”

“The ponies! They found The Hive! You have to come, hurry!”

Chrysalis, feeling her blood start to boil, turned her head to Augury, who only stared back at Chrysalis with worried eyes. Quickly, the changelings within the spire’s base rushed out into The Hive and slid to a stop just outside of the doors, turning their heads to the sky as an explosion burst into the air. Just as the changeling had said, pegasus royal guards flew throughout the sky over The Hive, finally taking the battle grounds to the changeling’s own territory.

“What!? How did they find us!?” Chrysalis yelled in disbelief.

“We don’t know, they just appeared out of no where!” The frantic changeling replied.

“Well it doesn’t matter right now, defend The Hive with all that we can! General Ruin, I’m expecting you to handle the situation.” Chrysalis tilted her head downwards to look at the other changeling general, her voice becoming stern. “Augury, I want to have a word with you in the spire.”

“Woohoo! It’s about time I get back into action!” Ruin howled as she kicked off of the ground, fluttering her wings as hard as she could as she followed the changeling that had warned them.

“No... no, I told them to clear the markers... how did they find us?” Augury whispered to himself, watching the carnage in the sky seep toward the ground as military ponies charged across the field where Augury had talked with the captain.

“Augury, now!” Chrysalis yelled suddenly from the spire’s entrance, ducking down slightly as another magical explosion erupted over The Hive.

Clenching his teeth, Augury ran from outside to the spire’s base, the doors slamming shut behind him as Chrysalis used her magic to close them.

“What happened!? What did you do!?” Chrysalis yelled angrily as she progressed toward panicking the changeling general, Augury looking around frantically.

“The changelings, I told them to clear the markers after each one they found! I told them to, why didn’t they listen!?” Augury yelled, pacing randomly.

“What are you talking about!?”

Augury came to a stop and stared at Chrysalis. “I set markers up in the mountains so the changelings could find their own way to Canterlot so one of the captains and I could go ahead! I told them to get rid of the markers! They must have forgot, and now the ponies know where The Hive is! Chrysalis, you have to believe me, this isn’t my fault!”

Breathing heavily and angrily, Chrysalis tried her best not to lash out at the changeling pleading for her mercy. “Which captain did you take with you?”

Though he had calmed down slightly, his voice still retained a frantic speed. “He was one of the earlier ones that were created, before Cloudsdale. I sent him to the medical bay. He didn’t cause any of this, I promise you.”

“Then it looks like I’ll have to get the information from him.” Chrysalis took in a deep breath and stood up straight. “Augury, I’m counting on you to help the changelings defend back against the ponies. I don’t care if you have to tear them in two, just get them out of The Hive. We’ll discuss what your punishment will be later, once the ponies are gone.”

Augury sighed lightly. “Thank you, Chrysalis.”

“Enough talk, go. They aren’t going to back out of The Hive if they don’t meet any forces against them. When they are gone, meet me back at the spire.”

Nodding, Augury hurriedly ran towards the open doors of the spire, kicking off of the ground and fluttering his wings as he met the weak moonlight. He quickly darted up into the air above The Hive, stopping himself at a long distance above the wasteland to survey the damage the ponies had done so far. The changelings had put up a moderate defense against the attacking ponies, though the inner line of protecting changelings seemed to be backing away at the same slow pace that the ponies advanced. Despite the dark of the night, Augury could pick out a few of the changelings that seemed to be doing quite a bit of work, his brow furrowing as he noticed a peculiar changeling. Her bright red eyes stood out from the rest of the dark landscape, Ruin’s electrical attacks flashing with each spell she cast at her enemies. As she cleared the area around her of changelings and ponies, Ruin snapped her eyes on the changeling general watching her from a distance, her mouth curving into a smile as she noticed him. She seemed to know something that Augury didn’t, her smug smirk only provoking Augury to take the thought even more into consideration.

Augury’s attention on Ruin dwindled away as the changeling down at the front lines began to run toward the spire, Chrysalis emerging from the tower’s doors. Taking a quick look back further into The Hive, Augury let his mind slip back into the heat of the fight as more changelings swarmed out of the areas they had been sleeping in. Though Augury just wanted to lay back and watch the fight from afar, he quickly rushed forward as the changelings that had awoken joined his side in the fight.

______________________________________________________________________

Streams of fire flew in strands of dark blue, the ribbons of destruction flowing like strings in the wind as they weaved through the participants of the battle. The field on the outskirts of The Hive remained to be the center of battle for the assault on the changeling home, though smaller battles further within The Hive raged on along with the main confrontation. Bright green flashes of magic contrasted with the multi-colored magic pushing against them, along with the brief waves of dark blue that stood out from the rest of the area around them as they pushed through the attacking ponies. The darkness of night had been lit up with the sudden and unanticipated attack on the home of the changelings, the moonlight barely needed anymore due to the constant blasts of bright magic.

Augury breathed heavily and closed his eyes as he came to a stand still in the middle of the field, raising a violent ring of dark blue fire around him on the ground. The military ponies that had been surrounding him flew away from the eruption of fire, their coats partially burnt from the flames. The fires dying down, Augury slowly opened his eyes once more to look at the battlefield. Numerous changelings had fallen in combat and were laying in the middle of the field, some of the other changelings rushing to their sides and trying to drag them away. Though the changelings themselves had taken heavy losses, the ponies were no different in their casualties. Some of them being carried away in cocoons, the others trying to crawl away from the magic fight, the ponies still pressed on no matter the consequences, fires burning within their eyes flickering with the lust for retribution against their assailants.

“Having fun yet?” Ruin shouted over the rampage as she landed on the ground next to her fellow general.

“I never was, and with your appearance, you just made this possibly the worst moment in my life.” Augury replied, sending a wave of fire towards a group of ponies charging at him.

Ruin shot a large bolt of electricity at one of the ponies that was sent flying from Augury’s attack. “That still has yet to happen.”

Augury ducked under a slash from a sword, kicking the honor guard that had teleported beside him away and throwing the sword in a random direction. “What?”

Chuckling to herself, Ruin slammed her back hooves into a passing royal guard’s helmet, the royal guard flipping backwards and landing on his side. “Oh nothing.”

Fed up enough with the ponies attacking him already, Augury slid to Ruin’s side and picked her up by her shoulders, both of the changelings propped up on their two hind legs as they stared at each other. “Listen, this is not the time to talk, alright? I don’t know what you were doing with Chrysalis back in the spire, but it better have been important. As much I hate to leave you in charge of anything, I feeling like I’m going to pass out soon.”

Ruin lifted an eyebrow and smiled as she fanned her face with a hoof. “Are you giving me your trust for once? Augury, I think I might be getting a little hot.”

“Keep your damn comments to yourself. I’m not trusting you. I’m only letting you take over for a little bit. Try not to be the main cause of the changeling’s casualties.”

“No promises.”

Before Augury could make a remark, Ruin slipped out of his grasp and flew off into the air above the field, slamming down into the ground a second later and letting of a blast of electricity into a group of military ponies. Setting his hooves back down for a brief moment, Augury shook his head and lifted off of the ground, casting a protective shield around himself as numerous royal and honor guards fired magic bullets at him. The concentration of changelings and ponies grew weaker as Augury progressed toward the inner parts of The Hive, though the less heated battles between the smaller groups of ponies still continued. Flying through large arcs and small towers placed randomly throughout The Hive’s interior landscape, the sounds of the war slowly dwindled to a slight disturbance in Augury’s ears, despite the occasional blast of a battle further into the wasteland.

Finding a suitable spot to set down on, Augury slowly lowered himself to the bottom of a drop off from a cliff that looked as if a waterfall used to cascade from the top of the wall, a large indent placed in the center of the slight overhang. Tired from fighting for quite a while, Augury sighed deeply and set down on his stomach, propping himself up with bent front legs. The edge of the large platform that he rested on dropped off as another cliff near the edge of the flat surface, providing an overlook of The Hive from his position. Most of the battles themselves were absent from Augury’s sight, only the distant and brief flashes of magic visible behind the structures of The Hive. The brief silences that the inner parts of The Hive provided augury with a chance to relax, the changeling general slowly regaining his strength. The relaxation, however, did not last for long.

Augury pricked his ears up as a small poof of magic interrupted the silence behind him. The sound of rushing air whistling behind him, Augury himself off to the left as quickly as he could. A sword planted itself in the ground where Augury had moved his head out of the way, the steel sparking as it grinded against the solid rock. Instinctively, Augury pushed himself up to his hooves and kicked his back hooves into the pony behind him as hard as he could. The pony was quickly propelled backwards and slid along the ground, coming to a stop at the cliff wall with a large thud. Recovering, the pony looked up from the ground toward the changeling he had attempted to assassinate, only to quickly have himself duck down as Augury’s right hoof slammed into the cliff behind him. The pony kicked himself away from the cliff and ran over to the sword that still stuck up from the ground, rotating around swiftly to face the changeling as he held onto the sword with a levitation spell.

“You might want to work on your stealth. You’re not going to survive long against a changeling if you don’t know how to conceal your movements and attempt to make the first move.” Augury said as he took his hoof of the jagged wall of the cliff, positioning into a defensive stance and glaring at the stallion.

Though his face was covered by a cloth mask, Augury could feel the anger seep from the stallion’s mouth as he breathed heavily.

“I didn’t come here to practice my stealth. I came here to make sure you and that other fiend that tried to kill me don’t forget my name.”

Augury squinted slightly. “You must have me mistaken for another changeling. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Growling, the stallion lifted a hoof to his face and tossed aside the mask concealing his identity, and as the cloth disappeared from the stallion’s head, Augury felt as if he were going to throw up.

“You damn well know who I am and you should know why I followed you. I’m not letting you bastards get the last of me. You tried to kill me once and failed, you impersonated a mare that I thought was my friend, and most of all, you destroyed my home. I’m here to take your life, that’s final.” Frost declared, bringing the sword in his grasp out in front of him and pointing it towards Augury.

Shocked beyond belief, Augury only stared at the icy blue stallion with wide eyes, suddenly wondering if he were dreaming.

“Are you going to say something or what? This is your chance to say your final words, use them sparingly.” Frost threatened.

“Frost, I... how... how did you... how did you survive?” Augury asked in disbelief, his voice barely audible.

“That spell that the other changeling cast on me wasn’t lethal, it was only a overly-concentrated sleep spell. I don’t know what in Equestria she was doing, but she made the wrong choice in letting me live. Luckily for me, the Equestrian military was looking for recruits to help with the changelings.”

Augury backed up slightly. “No, Frost, listen to me. I’m not the one you want to kill. Ruin, the other changeling, she’s the one who tried to kill you!”

Frost’s horn began to glow with a bright orange aura. “And I’ll deal with her after I’m done with you.”

After his horn sparked with a small magical flash, a large pillar of ice seemed to come out of no where in front of the icy blue stallion. With a large diagonal swing of the sword after he drew it back behind him, the pillar of ice shattered as Frost swung his sword into the cold structure in front of him. The pieces of ice the pillar had crushed into flew in a random formation towards the changeling general pressed up against the cliff, Augury acting as quick as he could and raising a weak magic shield on front of him. The shards of ice that headed straight for Augury implanted themselves into the shield, the others rushing past the changeling and sticking in the cliff.

“Frost! Listen to me! I-!” Augury shouted, but was cut off as Frost charged straight toward him.

The icy blue stallion leapt into the air and drew the sword behind his back, glaring down at Augury as the changeling lifted the shield above his head. The clash of metal and magic caused a large crack to split down the middle of the dark blue protective barrier, though the shield maintained together as Augury forced it against Frost’s continuously pressing attack.

“I have no reason to listen to you! Just give up and die!” Frost shouted, locking eyes with the changeling in front of him.

Clenching his teeth, Augury forced the shield upwards with all that he could, the sword in Frost’s levitation spell bouncing backwards and spinning through the air, landing flat at the edge of the cliff. Frost, after taking a quick glance back at his sword, stood up onto his hind legs and kicked at Augury with his forelegs, the changeling general falling backwards and sticking to the cliff behind him, just barely missing a large shard of ice next to his head. As Frost ran back toward the sword he had lost, Augury pushed himself off of the wall and came to a stop a few feet away from the cliff, preparing another shield to bring up. Sliding to a stop at the drop off of the platform, Frost picked up the sword on the ground with a levitation spell, turning around in time to see Augury with another curved plate of dark blue magic at his side.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Frost. Just give me some time to explain.” Augury offered, bringing the shield at his side out in front of him slightly.

“Explain what? You and that other changeling tried to kill me. What more is there to know?” Frost asked.

“Put down the sword and let me tell you.”

Frost straightened the sword out in the air and held it out in front of himself. “That’s not going to happen.”

Shaking his head, Augury ran forward as Frost did the same. Each clash of steel and magic sent a net of sparks off of the transparent dark blue plate that Augury maneuvered around himself, the sword leaving slash marks on the shield with every swing. Trying his best to hold back his urge to lash out at Frost, Augury elegantly dodged and parried Frost’s vicious slashes, his swift movements just barely moving him out of the way of each attack. Small lines of ice began to form on the ground where Frost missed the changeling he desperately tried to kill, the sword beginning to gleam with an icy layer on the blade. Every slash and hack against Augury’s shield left a small trace of ice on the dark blue plate, the ice absorbing into the already implanted slash marks and expanding. As more and more ice converged within Augury’s shield, the plate began to grow brittle, the changeling general starting to notice pieces of his shield fall off as Frost swung at it. His worry about his shield taking over his concentration of evading, Augury came to a stand still as Frost relentlessly thrashed the degrading blue barrier. Inevitably, Frost made his way through the shield.

With a powerful upward swing of the sword, the dark blue barrier protecting Augury broke apart into triangular shards, the bits of the shield evaporating as they landed upon the platform. The force of the magical bonds breaking sent Augury backwards further onto the platform, landing on his back and sliding to the center of the top of the cliff. No hesitation in mind, Frost ran forward and forced the changeling general onto his back as Augury began to get up, Frost’s hoof holding the now helpless changeling down.

Frost, breathing heavily, brought the sword up into the air above his head. “Your life ends here!”

With the sword coming down quickly, Augury crossed his hooves in front of his face, shut his eyes, and did the only thing he could think of. “Frost, it’s me, Salvation!”

A sudden silence came between the stallion and the changeling. His face turned away from his hooves, Augury slowly opened his eyes one after the other. Carefully, the changeling general moved his head to his hooves, uncrossing them and setting his eyes on the tip of the sword just above where his hooves used to be. The icy blue stallion past the sword only stared at Augury with a confused and slightly shocked expression, his mouth partially open.

“You... what did you just say?” Frost muttered.

Augury swallowed a small clump in his throat. “It’s me, Frost. Salvation. I... didn’t want you to know.”

Feeling a sudden spike of anger within him, Frost clenched his teeth and moved the sword closer to Augury’s head. “You’re not Salvation, I know you aren’t! Salvation is my friend, a pony like me, not some damned fiend like you.”

“Frost, listen, I can prove that I’m who I say I am. Just give me a chance.”

After taking a quick glance out at The Hive, the icy blue stallion leaned his head closer to Augury’s face. “You have one chance. If I find out you’re lying, you’re dead.”

Nodding, Augury cleared his throat. “My name is Salvation. We met in Ponyville and we have been friends almost ever since. Tranquility, she’s my marefriend. We went on a trip around Equestria a while back. You told me to take care of her. Please, Frost, just put down the sword.

Frost moved the sword closer, just inches away from Augury’s eye. “That’s not good enough.”

Starting to sweat slightly, Augury took a deep breath in and calmed himself down. “Frost... remember the time I set up a separate surprise birthday party for you two years ago back at your house?”

The irritated look on Frost’s face calmed slightly. “...Salvation had waited at my house to celebrate my birthday with just the two of us after my actual party at Sugar Cube Corner.”

“We played board games, we practiced spells, we even had a little duel with fire and ice to see who was stronger. I accidentally set the cake on fire, remember?”

From agitated to confused, Frost began to lift the sword from Augury’s head. “The fire almost spread to the rest of the table before I put it out...”

“And we both got drunk off our flanks and ended up in the spa in the morning.”

The sword in Frost’s grasp dropped the ground limply by his side. “And when Tranquility walked into the back room after she heard we were at the spa she got pissed because Lotus was laying on top of you with a hangover.”

“Tranquility almost hammered my face into the floor for getting both of us and Lotus and Aloe drunk.” Augury smirked slightly. “It took me twenty minutes to convince her that I didn’t cheat on her.”

“I vouched for you and...” Frost’s eyes suddenly opened wide. “Oh my...” He backed up and stood away from Augury. “Salvation... what happened?”

His smirk fading, Augury stood up onto his hooves and stared at Frost sorrowfully. “I never wanted this to happen, Frost. I never should have stayed and talked to Chrysalis.”

Overwhelmed, Frost sat down and held his head with a hoof. “But... why are you a changeling?”

“Assimilation. Queen Chrysalis made this all happen. She forced me to do her work with threats. Chrysalis has Tranquility. That’s the reason why I’ve been doing this, Frost. For her.”

Frost stared at Augury with pleading eyes. “Those six mares, Princess Cadence and Luna... they were taken by you. Serenity... it was you, all along. My best friend... why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid. I didn’t know what you would think. If I told you at Pinkie’s party, you never would have believed me. I wanted to tell you in that house in Ponyville before Ruin cast that spell on you, but I was scared that you would’ve hated be because I was one of them. You have to believe me, Frost, I never wanted this. It just... happened.”

Frost looked around aimlessly, taking in light breaths. “This... this can’t be happening. Salvation, I don’t... I don’t know what to think.”

Augury slowly walked forward to the icy blue stallion, both his and Frost’s eyes locked with each other. “I know it’s hard to understand, and even I have a hard time coping with it, but I can’t change it.”

Feeling his eyes start to water, Frost planted a hoof on his face. “This is all my fault... I never should have suggested the vacation. Now you’re a damn changeling because of it... and Tranquility...”

“Frost, none of this is your fault.” Augury guilty looked past Frost at the spire in the distance. “I should have listen to Tranquility when she said not to talk to Chrysalis.” Shifted his eyes back to Frost. “My choices were what spawned this, Frost, not yours.”

The icy blue stallion looked back up at the changeling general. “But Salvation-”

Augury lifted his hoof into front of Frost’s face. “Frost, just...” He laughed weakly. “Just shut up, okay? You never had anything to do with this. This... this was me.”

Wiping a tear from his face, the stallion sitting on the ground chuckled quietly. “You always did have to take responsibility for everything, didn’t you?”

Augury shared the small laughter. “Someone had to cover for your flank.”

“So... it really is you, isn’t it? Salvation The Pyromaniac, as Cheerilee used to call you.”

“She never did forgive me for the haywire spell that caught her desk on fire.”

Frost laughed to himself. “I’ve missed you, buddy. It’s felt like too long since you-”

The smile on Augury’s face switched to a worried frown as Frost lurched onto his back, a yell of pain erupting from the stallion’s mouth. Confused and slightly scared, Augury reached out to help Frost, only to have his hoof hit away by the flailing stallion as Frost continued to shout unintelligibly. Starting to panic, the changeling general looked around frantically, his eyes stopping on a certain figure standing off to the right of the platform. Chrysalis stood strongly as she watched Frost squirm around, her horn glowing with a bright green aura as she focused on the icy blue stallion.

“Chrysalis? What are you doing!? Are you doing that to him!?” Augury asked hurriedly, switching his glance from Frost to Chrysalis repeatedly.

“He’s a pony, Augury. You know my orders. Get rid of them.” Chrysalis said bitterly.

Augury began to step forward to Chrysalis, but stopped as the changeling queen gave him a stern look. “Chrysalis, stop! I can take care of him myself, you don’t have to do this! Whatever you’re doing, please, let him be!”

Chrysalis continued to manipulate Frost with her magic. “Once this is over, he’s not going to be happy with you. I suggest you make another shield.”

Realizing his pleads were useless, Augury looked back at Frost. The struggling stallion slowly calmed down as Chrysalis loosened her hold on him, Frost coming to a stop on his side, breathing heavily. Augury hurriedly ran over to the recovering stallion, turning Frost onto his back and looking into his eyes. The eyes he expected, however, were replaced, bright green circles with the appearance of a pony’s eyes resting where Frost’s pupils used to be.

Augury slightly shuttered at the sight. “Frost, are you alright? What happened?” Augury asked, shaking the stallion gently.

His senses fully coming back to him, Frost blinked rapidly a few times before he focused his eyes on Augury. Almost instantly, the icy blue stallion clenched his teeth and furrowed his brow, the changeling standing over him backing his head away. With a quick movement, Frost growled and forced his hooves upwards into Augury’s chest with all that he could, sending the changeling general tumbling backwards confused and frightened.

“Don’t you even dare touch me again!” Frost yelled as he pushed himself onto his hooves, grabbing the sword on the ground and pulling it over to him with magic as fast as he could.

Augury kept his eyes on the awakened stallion as he stabled himself. “Chrysalis, what did you do to him? Why is he acting like that?” The changeling general asked.

“A memory altering spell, Augury. He thinks you took the assimilation process and put Tranquility where she is on purpose. The spell, no matter, how hard you try, can’t be broken without my actions. There’s only one thing you can do to get him back to his real self, Augury.” Chrysalis smirked slightly. “You know what it is.”

“Chrysalis, you-!” Augury began to yell, but focused his attention back on Frost as the stallion took a swipe at the changeling general.

Just barely missing his horn, the sword continued horizontally as Augury ducked down, the changeling coming back up and putting himself into a stable stance as Frost drew his sword out in front of him again.

“Frost, listen to me, I didn’t do this on purpose! Do you not remember what we just talked about!?” Augury yelled as he shifted off to the side, the sword planting into the ground where he previously stood.

“Why should I listen to you!? You caused all of this, now you’re going to die for it!” Frost shouted, bringing the sword up out of the ground and slashing at Augury again.

The blade arced upwards unsuccessful in its objective as Augury kicked himself backward. “I would never do anything like this! Snap out of it!”

Frost brought the sword down back at Augury, the changeling just barely moving off to the side before the blade slammed against the ground, the sword causing a small hole to form in the platform as it sent chunks of the ground into the air. “Shut up, you bastard! I’m going to rip your damn head off for doing this to her! I never should have even spoken to you if I knew this was who you truly are!”

Augury levitated a piece of the platform that had been loosened with Frost’s last attack and brought it up above his head, the sword sending a spark off of the collision as Frost threw it down on Augury for another swing. “I’m not like this, damn it! Chrysalis, stop this right now!”

Chrysalis only watched in silence.

Unexpectedly, Frost ran forward and swung his right fore hoof into Augury’s head as he got close, the changeling general’s head jerking sideways as Frost’s hoof slammed into the side of his face. The force of the swing was enough to send Augury into a daze, the rest of his body following his head as he stumbled off to the side. Recovering ever so slightly, Augury turned his head back to the icy blue stallion behind him.

“You’re mine!” Frost yelled, charging forward with the sword pointed straight toward’s Augury in a levitation spell.

Reaction times still fresh, Augury lifted his front hooves up and clamped them on the blade as the sword came close, the guard of the sword enough reinforcement to keep the tip of the steel from impaling him. Frost still running forward, Augury walked backwards on his hind legs with very little balance, though the cliff wall stabled him upright as it planted against his back. Frost and Augury both pushed against the sword with all that they could, Augury trying his best to keep the blade between his hooves while still maintaining the force to keep if from his chest. Growing impatient, Frost stood up onto his hind legs and put his hooves on the handle of the sword, adverting to his physical strength to force the blade further toward Augury.

“Damn it, Frost, just listen to me! I’m not what you think I am! I didn’t want this, why would I ever want this!?” Augury yelled, feeling a drop of sweat run down his face.

Frost continued to push against the sword, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared at Augury with a bright green bloodlust. “You’re not the stallion that I used to know! You’re a monster, an abomination!”

Augury turned his head to his right, Chrysalis watching with a cold stare. “Take the hold off of him! Take the bucking hold off of him! Please! I beg you, just take the hold off of him!”

Chrysalis turned away from Augury and looked out at The Hive. “You know I’m not going to do that.”

“Chrysalis! You bastard, damn it!” Augury turned back to Frost. “Listen, you idiot! I’m not a bucking changeling! I’m Salvation! Salvation, your friend!”

“You’re not my friend! You never were! You’re just another one of them!”

“Stop this! Frost, we have been friends ever since I moved to Ponyville! Is this the way you want it to end!? Is this what you want!?”

“Just die, you fiend!”

“Frost! I am not your enemy! I’m your friend! It’s me, Salvation!”

“You’ll never be my friend!”

“Frost!”

“Die!”

“Fine! If I can’t break the hold... then I’m sorry.”

Augury’s eyes suddenly gained a fiery dark blue aura, the expression on Frost’s face turning from anger to gentle fear. A small beam of dark blue magic swept down from above the two stallions, the sword in between them snapping in half. The front half of the sword fell to the ground at Augury and Frost’s hind hooves, giving Augury enough room to move. The changeling ducked down and rolled to the side, Frost dashing forward and plunging the dull end of the sword into the wall in front of him. Augury levitated the half of the sword on of the ground over to him as he ran out towards the center of the platform, floating it in the air and straightening it out to point at the stallion leaning against the wall. Frost ripped the half-sword in his hooves out of the wall and whipped around to face Augury, but only found what Chrysalis had intended to happen.

Forcefully, Augury spoke. “Goodbye... Frost.”

The half of the sword Augury held in the air shot forward with a magic burst, Frost’s eyes opening wide. Within an instant, Frost flew back into the cliff behind him, the sound of a small ‘clink’ of metal colliding with a hard surface ringing into his ears. Frost leaned against the wall for a second, but slowly slid down the wall of the cliff, a small trail of blood following him down. Augury sighed and walked forward to Frost, the injured stallion falling onto his side with his back against the cliff. Augury sat down in front of Frost and stared at him for a second. The green haze in Frost’s eyes slowly faded away, Chrysalis’s hold on Frost broken, but not without a cost.

Optional music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7os8ZN-NWSM

“All that surgical training... you know how to pinpoint someone’s heart, don’t you?” Frost spoke weakly with what seemed like a smile on his face.

“Frost... I’m-” Augury started to say.

“There’s no need... the pain in your eyes back there... explained enough...”

“I’ll make sure Chrysalis pays for this. I won’t let her get away from any of this.”

“I’m sure she won’t... look, Salvation... what I said back there... none of that was true. We’re still friends... right?”

Augury sniffled slightly, a tear running down his face. “Yeah, we’re still friends. We always will be, nothing can change that.”

“Good...” Frost swallowed something in his throat, giving a slightly disgusted look at the sky above. “Hey, Salvation... remember that one time... when we accidentally caught your mom’s dress on fire...?”

Augury couldn’t help but raise a corner of his mouth. “Yeah, Frost, I remember. That was her favorite one.”

“Did she ever... find out it was me that... caused that?”

“She had a suspicion. Just because your specialty in magic is ice, doesn’t mean you can’t be blamed for things dealing with fire.”

“Yeah... did you get in... trouble for that?”

“...You did destroy her favorite dress.”

“Damn... sorry about that... once this is all over... tell her I’m sorry...”

Augury sat in silence for a second, feeling another tear slowly streak down his face. “I’ll... try to tell her.”

“Thanks... buddy... I can always count on you...”

Augury stayed quiet again, realizing that he would get no answer this time if he replied. The changeling leaned forward slightly, fixating his eyes on his friend’s face. Frost stared tiredly into the black sky above, motionless. Augury sighed and reached his hoof out, closing Frost’s eyes and mouth slowly.

“Are you two done?” Chrysalis asked as she walked toward the changeling and the pony. Augury felt a spike of anger rise within him and he stood up slowly, turning around to face the changeling queen. Chrysalis stopped abruptly as she saw the fiery dark blue aura around Augury’s eyes, the queen smiling with the sight of Frost laying still behind Augury.

“Why... just explain to me why, and maybe I’ll think about making your death less painful than I’m imagining it right now.” Augury spoke.

Chrysalis took a glance back out at The Hive. Most of the battles had grown quiet and the fights were no longer visible, only a few changelings roaming around aimlessly above The Hive.

“It would seem that we were able to fend off the ponies.” Chrysalis said as she turned her head back to Augury. “We’ll talk later, in the spire.”

Augury stood up and flared his nostrils as he exhaled forcefully. “No, we’ll talk right now! Tell me why!”

“The spire, later tonight. I’ll be waiting.”

With Chrysalis lifting off of the platform without waiting for a reply, Augury sighed quietly to himself and tilted his head toward the ground. The aura around his eyes faded and Augury felt another tear drop run down his cheek, the changeling letting it fall to the ground. Hesitantly, Augury returned his sorrow gaze back to Frost. The icy blue stallion remained still, a small part of the sword in his chest peaking out of the wound. Keeping back his tears from falling too hard, Augury walked over to the stallion and carefully pulled the sword out with a levitation spell, gently setting it down on the ground.

“Ruin, Chrysalis... they’ll both regret that they ever set eyes on you, Frost.” Augury whispered.

______________________________________________________________________

Chrysalis stared at herself in the mirror upon the wall of her room, examining her mane and tail as she brushed both of them carelessly. The later hours of the night had proven themselves again to be a quiet and boring time for the changeling queen. Though the victory was for the changelings, The Hive received a share of the damages in their army along with the ponies. With the fighting over and the ponies pushed out of The Hive, the changelings that had helped in the defense were either tired, dead, or recovering in the medical bay, most of them exhausted and waiting for their health to fully restore. The Hive had taken a few hits to the structures that lined the barren landscape, some of the more tactical groups of ponies even able to take a few of the cocoons from the feeding grounds and bring them bake to Equestria. Despite the ponies having to accept the repercussions pressed back on them, the changelings had a few obstacles to fix if they were to survive another attack, and with the ponies having the knowledge of the location of The Hive, retaliation was inevitable.

The clop of two pairs of hooves on the floor of her room interrupting the silence, Chrysalis stopped abruptly mid-brush of her mane, staring at her own eyes in the mirror. A small moment of quietness passed between the queen and her visitor, both of them feeling a strong tension between themselves.

“There better be a good reason as to why you pulled off that little act.” Augury said sternly as he walked into the reflection of the mirror, glaring into Chrysalis’s eyes.

Sighing, the changeling queen set down the brush on a desk next to the mirror and closed her eyes. “I don’t understand how you ponies can brush your manes with such a rough tool. It only tugs.” Chrysalis muttered.

Augury stepped forward slightly. “Well? Do you want to start explaining why I had to bury my best friend?”

Chrysalis opened her eyes and inspected her hooves in the mirror. “Then again, fashion and such aren’t worries for ‘fiends’ like us, are they?”

Anger rising, Augury shot a small magic bullet past Chrysalis, shattering the reflective surface in front of her. “Stop avoiding the bucking question! Answer me!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

The changeling queen took a deep breath before she turned to face the irritated general behind her, her gaze stopping on Augury’s inflamed eyes. “I did what was necessary.”

Feeling the need to lash out at Chrysalis again, Augury consoled the urge by casting a levitation spell on the desk Chrysalis had put her brush on and flipping it over. “Necessary my bucking flank! Frost would still be alive if it weren’t for your bucking actions! You don’t know what if feels like to have anyone there for you! Your cold heart murdered him!”

Chrysalis put a hoof to her chest and lifted and eyebrow. “I murdered him? Who is the one who stuck the sword in his heart?”

Fighting his instincts again, the changeling general clenched his teeth and slammed his hoof down, the floor cracking slightly under his hoof. “I should have your wings ripped off and your horn shoved down your own throat! Tell me why you bucking intervened between me and Frost! Why!?”

Starting to feel a little heated herself, Chrysalis furrowed her brow and set her hooves stable on the ground. “I followed a suggestion from another changeling, one that knows how to lead rather than worry. You can ask Ruin why your friend is gone.”

Shock adding on to anger and his blood turned to a boil, Augury growled angrily and repeatedly kicked at the ground, the crack he had previously made growing with every blow. “Ruin!? Bucking Ruin!?” Augury stared at Chrysalis with viciously crazed eyes. “What is wrong with you, you idiot!? Why would you listen to her!? All she wants is for me to suffer!”

Chrysalis bared her fangs further. “I went with my judgement! Besides, your friend would have been killed either way with the changelings about!”

Augury turned away from Chrysalis and began to walk towards the window. “That’s it! I’m bucking mutilating her!”

The queen quickly stepped forward. “Augury! I’m not letting you do that!”

Augury turned back to Chrysalis. “Why not!? Why don’t you just appoint Ruin as your damn changeling general!? What purpose do you have for me anymore!? Why do you continue to keep me around!?”

“Because you’re the only one I ever felt like this for!” Chrysalis shouted, her face turning a bright red as the words slipped out of her mouth.

“I-... wha...” Augury began to retaliate against the remark he had expected, but found himself leaning forward in previous anger with his mouth partially hanging open. The irritated expression on Chrysalis’s face slowly faded away as she realized what she had said, the changeling queen quickly standing up straight and putting a hoof over her mouth.

Augury adjusted his posture upright. “Did you just...?” Augury muttered quietly, not able to finish his sentence through pure shock.

Chrysalis shyly moved her hoof covering her mouth off to the side, revealing her bright red face again. “Augury... I didn’t mean to- I mean, I- I can explain.” Chrysalis stuttered, the red tint on her face growing even more so.

Stepping back slightly, Augury lifted a limp hoof in front of him. “Chrysalis, please, don’t let that mean what I think it means. Don’t do this.”

“Augury... I need you, for the army. You’ve been the most cooperative changeling that I’ve ever had beside me. You’ve showed me tolerance beyond anything that has ever been around me. There’s just...” Chrysalis meekly adverted her eyes to the ground. “... something else, too. Something else I need you for... rather, want you for.”

The changeling general backed up even further, quickly finding himself trapped against the wall of the spire. “Chrysalis, just stop there. Please, you know I can’t do this. Tranquility, she... she needs me.”

The changeling queen ignored Augury’s pleads, Chrysalis slowly walking towards Augury with longing eyes. “Ever since that one night... that night by the lake. You told me about Ponyville, about your life, about your problems... and you showed me that someone could care. For me.”

Augury’s breathing slowly became heavy and quick, the changeling beginning to panic. However, no matter how much he tried to teleport away to the stairs leading down into the spire, concentration on the spell seemed to be miles away. Chrysalis holding down Augury’s back hooves with a spell, Augury could only watch in fear as the changeling queen slowly advanced towards him.

“You showed me that not everyone hated me, that there was someone out there that had enough tolerance to oversee my nature. With that conversation, I knew you weren’t like the other changelings. Ever since then, I knew you would be someone I could depend on. Someone that could be more than just a subject of my rule.”

Augury pulled at his back hooves as hard as he could, but the spell around them held him tight in place. “Chrysalis! This isn’t going to work! Just let me go, damn it!”

As Chrysalis continued on, her expression turned from worrying to admiring, a gentle smile forming on her face. “I thought about it for so long. I knew you had Tranquility, but something inside of me told me to ignore her. The way I suddenly felt, the way I found myself looking at you, I couldn’t hold it off any longer, Augury.”

Augury pressed himself against the wall of the spire as much as he could as Chrysalis stopped in front of him. “Chrysalis... I can’t do this. I can’t do this to Tranquility. You and I both know I can’t. Please, don’t do this.”

Chrysalis lowered her gaze forward to Augury’s level, lifting a hoof up to his face and resting it on his cheek. Her face had changed from embarrassment, to acceptance, to a sense of passion, her face still retaining its red tint. Her true emotions finally revealed after being repressed for so long, Chrysalis had never felt like the way she did before. She had someone with her, someone she saw as more than just a subject following her orders because she said so. After going through her foalhood, her adolescent years, her years as a queen, Chrysalis had never felt anything like the feeling she got from Augury. Relying on only her one-sided subjects to ever show her compassion before, Augury had been the first changeling within Chrysalis’s life to show Chrysalis that she wasn’t just a tyrant. Augury had treated her like she was just another pony, just another being to relate to. What only seemed like normal conversations to Augury, seemed like something completely different to Queen Chrysalis.

Chrysalis leaned her head closer to Augury’s, the changeling in her grasp staring at her with terror. The changeling queen’s face was that of a young mare approaching her crush, her cheeks tinted a bright red as she stared deeply into Augury’s eyes. “I knew there was something special about you the moment that conversation ended. You weren’t like the rest. You were something else. You meant something. It’s only now that I realize that... that I care for you.”

“Chrysalis! You don’t know what you’re say-!”

Augury was cut off abruptly from his sentence by another pair of lips, the changeling queen leaning forward into him. Augury stood still for a second and stared off into the spire behind Chrysalis, trying his best to determine what was happening, and if it was actually happening. Sure enough, it was. Chrysalis stared at Augury through her closed eyes as she leaned her head to the side slightly, following along with Augury’s head as he tried his best to pry Chrysalis’s lips off of his. Augury lifted his front hooves from the ground and pushed against the changeling queen, but only made the situation worse in his case. Feeling Augury’s pushing as a sign of compassion, Chrysalis leaned in even further, wrapping her hooves around Augury passionately. The two changelings stood in a conflicting silence, the changeling queen holding onto Augury with all that she could, while the changeling general tried to get away from Chrysalis’s grasp. However, as Chrysalis focused more on Augury, her concentration shattered and the spell around the panicking changeling’s hooves disappeared. As quickly as he felt Chrysalis’s hold let go of him, Augury forced the changeling queen away from him with a powerful push, Chrysalis separating from Augury and stumbling backwards.

Augury quickly shook his head and stared angrily at Chrysalis, who only felt the need to race back towards Augury and feel him in her grasp once more. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but this isn’t going to work!” Augury shouted, wiping his mouth. “I love Tranquility, that’s all there is to it! There is nothing between you and me! I only agreed to do your work so I could get Tranquility back, not to become a... a bucking love interest!”

Chrysalis felt her eyes water slightly. “Augury, I only wanted to-”

Augury held his right fore leg out in the air stiffly. “No! Just- just shut your mouth! I’m done! I... I can’t do this anymore.” Augury felt the energy in him suddenly rush out and he fell slightly, quickly catching himself on bent legs. “Tranquility... I’m sorry. Even if it was what you wanted... I’m sorry. I have to go.”

Augury quickly stood up straight and ran as quickly as he could down the stairs of the palace, the changeling queen watching him as he dashed out of sight.

Push over the edge, the changeling general finally met his end. With hidden feelings revealed and a friend lost, Augury could only let go. Next Chapter: [23] Separate Paths Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes