Chapter Twenty Three: Separate Paths

Devotion shifted his eye quickly left to right as he reached a small drop off on the landscape of The Hive, making sure that no one had seen him. The groups of changelings flying through the sky had a difficult time seeing through the darkness of night anyways as they searched for two certain changelings, the clouds in the sky continuing to block out the moon’s light, leaving only The Hive’s natural bright green radiance to aid the search parties. The changeling captain roaming around on the ground himself had a hard time finding his way around the vast wasteland The Hive stretched out as, squinting his eye down at the drop off he had arrived at, trying his best to keep his eyepatch only on his injured eye. Despite the dim light and his inability to use a light spell out of fear that one of the searching changelings would see him, Devotion managed to pick out a small image drawn into the hard surface of The Hive, a small ball with fires surrounding it staring up at the changeling looking down at the symbol.

Feeling a small shift of weight in his legs, Devotion quickly adjusted his wings and stood upright, just barely catching the large bag balancing on his back. The muzzle of a sleeping changeling stuck out of the cloth sack that Devotion carried along with him, her snores blowing out of her partially open mouth onto Devotion’s side. Having to sneak around at the orders of his superior friend, the changeling captain kept his promise and followed the will of the changeling general’s command. Though the maneuvering around The Hive’s structures after taking his designated target from her place proved to be quite nerve racking, the success in taking the changeling let Devotion know that making his way through The Hive undetected could be done. With the changeling general that had told him to carry out his orders waiting somewhere in the vicinity, Devotion finally felt a sense of safety.

“A-Augury?” Devotion called out, scanning the area for any signs of the general.

He was only met with the small howling of the wind.

Devotion swallowed lightly, his brow tilting worriedly. “Augury? Are you here?”

The snoring of the changeling on Devotion’s back instead answered his call for a moment, pushing Devotion into a small state of paranoia.

“You’re late.” Augury stated blandly, looking up from the symbol below the drop off that Devotion stood at the edge of.

The changeling captain sighed with relief as his eye met with Augury’s line of sight. “I thought you weren’t here. You had me worried.”

“Well, you probably still should be. They’re still searching for me. I imagine that they’re searching for you as well.”

Devotion scratched his head. “Chrysalis and the general population of changelings know that I have some acquaintance with you. Not only that, but I did get in a bit of a hairy situation when I was retrieving her.” The captain nudged the changeling on his back with one of his wings.

Augury set his eyes on the resting changeling. “She’s okay, right?”

Carefully, Devotion stepped over the edge of the drop off and landed heavily on his hooves next to Augury, losing balance for a second before Augury stabled him. “Yeah, she’s alright. Maybe a few bumps from my running about, but she’s still breathing. Uh, what exactly do you want with her?”

Motioning his head behind Devotion, Augury walked passed his fellow changeling towards the entrance of a narrow cave. “Follow me.”

Still a little confused, Devotion shrugged slightly and followed the changeling general walking ahead of him. The two changelings slowly entered the black abyss that inhabited the long tunnel, the bright green glow of The Hive and the dim light of the moon disappearing from their coats. Devotion and Augury’s hoofsteps echoed through the dry and cold cave that seemed to stretch on for miles, each clop of their hooves on the ground making Devotion tense up slightly. As they reached the furthest innards of the darkness underneath the home of the changelings, Devotion started to notice a strange glow emerging from the tunnel ahead of himself and Augury. A dark blue light began to cast upon Augury and Devotion’s faces from around the bend that the tunnel took, bringing the changelings out of the blind trot they progressed in.

As the two changelings came in the full radiant light of the dark blue glow, Devotion stopped for a second and looked around, his mouth hanging open in partial awe. A large spherical cavern was placed at the end of the long tunnel, the roof of the cave almost four stories high from the flat and leveled floor. Numerous dark blue fires were strewn about the curving walls of the isolated cavern, the fires flickering in the gentle wind that moved through the cave, air entering the room from holes that reached out to the surface of The Hive. Though the area that the cavern cleared out could easily fit a new born Ursa Minor within its space, no large objects such as furniture or other decorative pieces of housing occupied the spherical emptiness, only the changeling that stood in the middle of the floor staring at Devotion with a smirk.

“It’s not much, I know, but it’s something to call home in this wasteland.” Augury noted.

Devotion set his eye on Augury after looking at the walls of the cavern. “This... is your home in The Hive?” The captain asked.

Augury sighed and sat down. “Any place where I can get out of the sight of the changelings is home to me.”

Nodding in agreement, Devotion stepped forward into the cavern and sat down out in front of Augury, sliding the cloth sack on his back onto the floor as gently as he could. “How did you find this place?”

“A while back when The Hive was still a forest, I remembered Chrysalis telling me about some sort of cave underneath a waterfall at the end of the river that used to run through the trees. Of course, the water has dried up now, but the river’s path was still carved into the forest floor. Through all the changes that The Hive has gone through, I managed to find the lake that used to be here and I followed the river’s path until I found the drop off that the little waterfall used to fall down. I’ve been using this as an escape from The Hive ever since I brought back Ruin when she was a pony.” Augury flicked a pebble by his hoof. “Only now is it actually being useful.”

Devotion followed the pebble with his eye until it came to a stop. “And the changelings don’t know about it?”

“And neither does Chrysalis. Well, she knows of the cave, but she doesn’t know that I’m in here.”

“Oh.” Devotion cleared his throat quietly. “So... exactly why are you hiding from the changelings? I know they’re looking for you, but I never got the details on why.”

Augury shook his head and focused on one of the fires attached to the wall behind Devotion. “I’m leaving The Hive. I’ve had enough of what goes on here. I can’t stay any longer, and if I do, I’ll just be trapped. Chrysalis... she has a bit of a problem understanding that I’m already in love with Tranquility.” Augury scraped his tongue on his fangs. “I can tell she doesn’t brush her teeth.”

Devotion lifted an eyebrow. “She-?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Augury set his eyes back on the changeling sitting in front of him. “They’re searching for me because Chrysalis knows that I’m not going to be here any longer. Given that, she wants me brought to her.” Augury looked towards the changeling sleeping in the cloth sack. “I managed to slip away to the medical bay to give you the instructions to retrieve her. I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble.”

The captain shrugged. “She wasn’t all that willing to leave her little circle, but once I covered her eyes she didn’t really do anything. The sleep spell was just for extra precautions. If you don’t mind me asking... why her?”

Shifting his eyes to the ground by his hooves, Augury took a deep breath in and released it. “She... reminds me of Tranquility. If I’m going to get out of The Hive, I might as well take somepony back with me. There also might be some, you know, trust issues if a changeling just shows up in Equestria. I’m going to need some sort of article of convincing so I don’t get killed right away.”

“What are you going to do once you get out?”

Augury looked back at the changeling captain, his eyes determined. “I’m going to bring an end to all of this. The changelings, the horror, the losses, all of it’s going to disappear. I’ll take the side of the ponies like I always should have. I’ll make the changelings realize that what they have done is a mistake. I’ll... I’ll show myself that all of this was a mistake. I’m not going to let this continue on any longer.”

“That’s a bold statement for a someone who hasn’t even left The Hive yet.”

“That’s... another thing I wanted to talk about.” Augury levitated a smooth rock away from the wall of the cavern, the curved piece of stone revealing a small hidden compartment sealed away in the wall. “You said that you wanted to get away from The Hive. You said that the pony’s society looked nice. Here. You’ll need it.”

Devotion watched a rolled up piece of paper levitate through the air over to the ground in front of him, the dark blue aura disappearing around the paper. Curious as Augury pushed it further towards him, the captain reached out and lifted the piece of paper into his hooves. Unrolling the paper, pictures of a large area of land stretched out across the large sheet, a few words in the top left corner of the map causing Devotion to open his eye widely.

“Map of Equestria...” Devotion read.

“It’s a big place. You don’t want to get lost, do you?” Augury asked.

Devotion looked up from the map and at Augury. “You want me to...?”

“Go out into Equestria, find a city or town, and stay there. Start a new life, one that doesn’t involve war and hatred. You said yourself that you were different from the others, that you wanted to live in a place like Equestria. This is your chance.”

The captain took a quick glance back at the map before returning his gaze to the general. “But... what about you? Aren’t you going back?”

Augury chuckled to himself. “I’m going back, yes, but there are things that I need to take care of. If you stay with me, they’ll know you’re a changeling. Pick an appearance that you want and live among the ponies like one of them. It’s what changelings are designed to do, right?”

“Well, I mean- yeah, kind of, but... where do I go? What do I do?”

“You live. Simple as that. There’s nothing holding you back. The only thing that we have to do is get out of The Hive successfully, and we’re home free once we manage that.”

Furrowing his brow as he thought, Devotion let the map in his hooves roll up on its own as he set it on the ground. “I... I don’t know. What if they find out? What if they know that I’m a changeling?”

Augury reached out and patted Devotion on his shoulder. “They won’t. Trust me.”

The captain smiled as he felt Augury’s hoof push on him. “I’ll go. But, I want to help you escape. You’ve shown me the world outside of The Hive and its beauty, I want to help you regain that same land. It’s only right.”

“Just try to remember to keep in your pony form.”

Devotion bit his lip and turned his head to the changeling within the cloth sack, her light snoring continuing on as it had been ever since Devotion took her. “What about her? She’s a changeling, isn’t she?”

“Assimilated, yes, but there is still hope for her.”

“How so?”

Augury curved his mouth into a small smile, untying the rope around the cloth and moving the cloth out of the way of the changeling’s face, Twilight Sparkle twitching slightly as she felt the rope brush against her cheek. “You’ll see.”

______________________________________________________________________

“Augury! Wake up!”

“Mmf... ugh...”

“Augury!”

Clop!

“Ow! What the buck was that for!?”

“Oh good, you’re okay. You were gone for a second...”

“What... what happened?”

“You did it, general. She’s back.”

“What?”

“Twilight. She’s back. You managed to get the changelings off our tails, as well. I never thought I would see a single spell do that much.”

“It wasn’t a spell... I think. Help me up.”

“That wasn’t a spell?”

“It's nothing. Come on.”

Twilight Sparkle watched the blurry blotches of grey move around as one brought the other onto its hooves, her eyes just barely staying open. The shadows of the large arch spanning over her and the two changelings only blotted out her vision to the point of almost complete blindness, Twilight trying her best to figure out what was happening. The dark of night and the bright green glow against the overcast sky indicated that she was still in the land of her entrapment, but the confusion of having herself laying on the ground out in the open and out of the spire strayed Twilight from identifying the situation. Her muscles seemed to be useless as she tried to lift just a hoof, but the pounding of her fast heartbeat pushed to make her attempt to move. A peculiar feeling slowly dawned on Twilight as she realized that her movements felt as if they weren’t being constrained or controlled, and the strange light hue of her coat piqued her mind after being used to the dark grey shade that it used to be.

Two large bright green circles appeared through the haze that Twilight’s sight stood in. “She’s awake. Should we constrain her?” Devotion asked, slowly advancing towards the pony lying on her side, staring at him.

Another pair of blurry circles entered Twilight’s vision, these two barely visible until they got close, their dark blue color strenuous to see in the black of night. “I have the issue covered. She’s not going anywhere.” Augury noted.

The sudden second and familiar, though muffled, voice almost instantly brought Twilight’s heart to the fastest it had ever pumped, her vision quickly returning and the emotion of fear striking her with all of its force. Twilight Sparkle immediately began to squirm around in place, her muscles still slightly limp from not using them for such a long time, causing her legs to flail only slightly. The two changelings watched as Twilight regained the feeling throughout her body, both of them staring at her calmly, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to act against them. Her voice trapped in her throat, Twilight Sparkle stayed silent as she stood up onto all four of her hooves, her wide eyes and clenched teeth displaying her fear even further. Twilight quickly backed up against the overhang that the immensely large arch provided, her head leaning forward as the rest of her body lined up further back against the surface of the structure. Confusion soon found itself working into Twilight’s mind as well, the numerous holes in the ground and the pieces of destroyed structures scattered around the arch bewildering her even further.

“I’m not completely sure, but I think she’s frightened.” Augury said, limply pointing a hoof out at Twilight.

“I wonder what could have tipped you off on that one.” Devotion added, nudging the general on his side.

Through the clot that blocked her speech, Twilight let out a few small squeaks before she spoke. “Wh- what do you w- want?” Twilight asked, trying her best to keep herself as calm as she could.

Augury stepped forward a few feet, but stopped quickly as Twilight winced. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you; I don’t have a reason to. I just need you to trust me.”

“Y- you’re the one that took my friends. Why should I trust you?” Twilight asked, her voice beginning to retain a more stable and stern manner.

“Because in the land of the changelings, the ones that aren’t attacking you or wrapping you in a cocoon are your best chances of making it out of here alive. Do I make myself clear?”

Twilight Sparkle furrowed her brow. “You were the one that put me in a cocoon in the first place. Why should I believe that you’re going to help me? Not only did you take my friends and I from our homes, but you also turned us into changelings.”

“And I’m also the one that returned you back to your original species. If you haven’t noticed yet, take a look at yourself.”

Curious as to what the changeling meant, Twilight tilted her eyes downward to inspect her coat, and almost felt her lungs exploded from the large intake of air she took in. Her coat had returned to its furry and soft texture, the silky dark grey coat that had laid itself across her stature before now gone with no traces left behind. Mouth forming into a smile, Twilight began to walk out forward and look at herself even more. The lack of fangs in her mouth allowed the lavender unicorn to smile properly, having the feel of teeth finally off of her lower lip making her beam with glee. Her happiness could not have been expressed in words more than a few syllables, the surprise of having her old self back almost making Twilight jump up and down with joy. Twilight, quickly realizing that she was still in front of two changelings, turned towards Augury and Devotion, forming her mouth back into a small frown and straightening her brow.

“I’ll take that as a thank you.” Augury said, smirking.

“Where are my friends?” Twilight demanded.

“That’s an issue that will need to be sorted out later.”

The lavender unicorn squinted at the general. “Where are they?”

Augury took a quick glance at Devotion, who nodded slightly. “They’re still in the spire where you were with them.” Augury admitted as he looked back at Twilight.

“I’m not leaving...” Twilight looked around at the sky passed the arch over her. “...whatever this place is without them.”

“Well, the ‘whatever this place is’ will recapture you within three seconds of even coming in a three hundred meter radius of them. If you want your friends back, you better be good at fighting against more than seven thousand changelings.” The changeling general motioned his hoof out to his side. “That is, if you could leave a certain distance around the two of us.”

Twilight shifted her eyes to the area around herself and the two changelings. “What are you talking about?”

“Spell two hundred and sixty four, Containment Radius.” Despite the memories of his foalhood days vague in his mind, Augury still retained a large portion of his studies in his head, particularly the military books. “Should an enemy or force need to be captured or put under surveillance, this spell will contain them in a set perimeter around the caster. Within the circle of containment, the being under the cast of the spell will be put out of commission in the field of magic, should they be a unicorn or any other being with the capabilities of manipulating magic. At the same time, the spell will prevent the being from leaving within the set perimeter.” Augury smirked as he saw Twilight stare at him with a blank expression. “Military spells and the knowledge they give can prove to be useful in times of their need. Try and leave, it’s useless.”

Shaking her head, Twilight focused back on the situation. “I’ve never heard of such a spell. You’re lying.”

“Just because you’re the princess’s star student and the spirit of magic doesn’t mean you know everything about your own talent. Some things are kept away from the general population. Unfortunately for you, I was a little more discrete than the regular students in the schools of Canterlot.”

Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion. “The schools of Canterlot? You’re a changeling, how could you have studied in the Canterlot schools?”

“You’ve missed a lot while you were a changeling yourself, Miss Sparkle.”

The lavender unicorn slowly relaxed, though she kept her defensive stance against the arch. “I’m still having a hard time believing that you’re going to help me.”

Augury sighed and motioned for Devotion to come to him, the changeling captain scooting his way to the general’s side. “We are not the ones that are trying to hurt you.” Augury directed. “Anymore, at least. Things have changed since I’ve first taken part in this society, and I’ve had enough of it. I have had my flank beaten inwards, my closest ones taken away from me, and my mind bent to the point where I don’t know if anything is right anymore.” The general changed his aggravated glare at Twilight to a soft gaze. “Trust me, whatever I put you through, it is nothing compared to what I have been through. Whatever I did, I can make it up, I know I can. All I need is your cooperation.”

Twilight switched her concentration from Augury to Devotion. The changeling captain, too, stared at Twilight as if he were pleading. The tone of Augury’s voice was not that of deceit, and the more thought Twilight put into Augury’s word, the more she felt as if he were telling the truth. Even if she decided to try and run, the effort would be hopeless due to the spell centered around Augury. With the realization that no matter what she tried she would have to go with the changelings anyways, Twilight exhaled a sigh of acceptance and stared back at the dark blue eyes focused on her.

“Where are we going?” Twilight asked.

The question brought a smile to Augury’s face. “Canterlot. I have something I need to establish with the princess. The only thing is that, well, it’s not going to be an easy task of making it out of The Hive.”

“The Hive?”

“The landscape we are in. Home of the changelings, for now.” Devotion added in.

“Devotion and I aren’t quite the most cherished changelings in The Hive at the moment.” Augury said. “The only reason we haven’t made it out of here already is because of the resistance of the changelings, and since we can’t hide amongst them like we could with ponies, the obstacle of having to sneak around has made it a difficult task to reach the outskirts of The Hive. Once we reach the outer layers, however, escaping should be a breeze.”

Feeling a little more secure knowing that Augury and Devotion wouldn’t attack her, Twilight walked forward from the arch, though she maintained her distance from the two changelings. “And what about when we’re out of... The Hive? What happens then?”

“We take the trek back to Canterlot and you return to your home.”

“And my friends?”

“They will need to... wait until I’m confident that I can save them. I’m not as cold hearted as you think I am, Twilight Sparkle. I wouldn’t just leave the mares that have saved Equestria two times with the beasts that have tried to overtake it. We’ll get them back, there are just a few things to take care of before we can. I promise.”

Twilight Sparkle only watched the two changelings for a second, running her eyes over them intently. “Why are you doing this?”

Augury and Devotion exchanged a glance and a small smile. “Because we’re not too much different from you, Twilight. I hope you’ll come to realize that.”

______________________________________________________________________

“Do you see them?” Augury whispered, trying his best to keep still as he hid behind the large spike protruding from the ground.

Devotion, also hiding behind a spike next to Twilight, slowly peaked his head around the rounded edge of the pointy structure. He stared off into the sky for a second before he leaned back into the cover of the spike, focusing his eye back on Augury.

“I don’t see them. I think they lost track of us.” Devotion whispered back.

Augury himself took a quick peak around the spike he took cover behind, a little hazy on trusting Devotion’s perception due to his eye. However, just as Devotion had said, the large group of changelings that had been chasing them were no where in sight, moving in the opposite direction in which Augury, Devotion, and Twilight were hiding.

The cloudy night sky continued to provide cover for the three fugitives, the ground of The Hive only visible around the more vibrantly glowing green areas. The constant sound of fluttering wings in the distance seemed to just barely overrule the sound of quiet hoofsteps on the firm ground of The Hive, the hiding changelings and pony making the best of the sound to cover their movements. Swiftly, the three made their way across the open field that stretched out from the forest of spikes they had made their way through, darting as fast as they could to the next area of cover. The outskirts of The Hive were not far from the mountain that blocked the path to escape, only another stretch of flat land left behind the worn down mountain until the homestretch to Equestria would be within running distance.

Augury slid to a stop as he reached the very edge of the sharp incline that the mountain took upwards, turning his head as Devotion and Twilight drew close. The general motioned his hoof upwards to Devotion as the captain came to a stop at his side, Devotion nodding and flying up the side of the mountain. Augury stretched his hoof out to Twilight for her to grab onto him, the lavender unicorn giving him a look of uncertainty before Augury shook his hoof impatiently. With hesitance, Twilight latched her hoof onto Augury’s outstretched leg, and before she could get a firm grip on his with both hooves, Augury clamped his other hoof on Twilight’s and launched off of the ground. Her muscles tense, Twilight held on as tight as she could as she and Augury flew straight up along the rocky edge of the behemoth blocking their way. The ascent upwards didn’t take long before the tip of the mountain came into sight, Devotion waiting at the top as he stared out at The Hive.

“Did any of them see us?” Augury asked, setting Twilight and himself back on the ground.

Devotion watched Twilight out of the corner of his eye as she trotted poutingly away from him and Augury, the lavender unicorn sitting down and staring in the opposite direction of the two changelings. “I think we should be in the clear from here on out. I can see the border of the plains and The Hive in the distance, so I think we made it.”

Augury nodded. “The Hive is behind us now. You can finally live your dream.” The general lifted his right foreleg up and brought out a folded piece of paper that had been barely protruding from his coat, levitating it over to the changeling in front of him. “I’m going to trust you that you don’t get lost on your way to the nearest town.”

Quietly laughing, Devotion took over the hold on the folded up map and tucked it in the band of his eye patch. “I’ll do my best, Augury. Take care.”

The changeling general reached out and patted Devotion on his shoulder. “You too, Devotion. Try not to get discovered. Your changeling form might be a little bit of a shock to the ponies.”

Devotion smiled weakly as Augury turned away from him. The captain sighed and turned his head to the landscape away from The Hive. Clouds beginning to clear in the skies, the just barely orange hue of the sun began to peak through the grey puffs separating ever so slowly.

The captain quickly looked back at the general. “Augury?” Devotion spoke.

Half way between Devotion and Twilight, Augury focused back on the changeling calling his name. “What?” The general asked as he walked back towards Devotion.

“What... what is it like out there? You know, without the war.” Devotion hesitated to asked.

Augury smiled and laughed silently to himself. “It’s great. The ponies are friendly, I’m sure you’ll fit right in when you get to where you’re going. With you being a changeling and all, I think you might want to get to know a mare as soon as you can before you start to grow weak. Her love will be enough to make you last.”

Devotion timidly tilted his head downwards and his ears fell flat on his head. “Are you sure I can do this? I... I never had an actual conversation with a pony. You’re the closest thing I have to a friend, what if I-?”

Augury raised a hoof in front of Devotion’s face, settling it back down on the ground as the captain halted his speech. “Listen, Devotion. You’re going to be fine. Don’t worry about anything and nothing will happen. Settle down and start a new life. It’s your only option now that The Hive wants us both dead. You might as well take it.”

Feeling a small raise of confidence, Devotion raised his head back up and gave Augury a nod. “Thank you, Augury. I won’t forget you.”

“And I won’t forget you. Goodbye.”

Devotion lifted a hoof to his head and saluted, Augury nodding and doing the same. “It’s been an honor, Augury.”

The changeling general stood in silence as Devotion lifted off the ground and slowly began to fly off towards the plains outside of The Hive. The early dawn sky pushed the captain to fly faster as he noticed how bright it was getting, and soon enough, Augury could barely see the escaped changeling against the light of the sun. Smile faded, Augury turned back around and walked slowly over to Twilight, the lavender unicorn still staring out at the mountains that hadn’t yet been taken over by The Hive.

“Come on, Twilight. Let’s get heading to Canterlot.” Augury said as he stopped at Twilight’s side.

“Where’s the other changeling?” Twilight asked.

“He’s heading off on his own. Don’t worry, he isn’t going to cause trouble.” Augury shifted his eyes up to the untouched landscape beyond The Hive’s control, watching the few trees just beside the mountains sway in the wind. “All he wants is to be free from this war.” Next Chapter: [24] Bitter Return Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 42 Minutes