One day had passed since a certain showmare missed her train when Tyler brought Sam, Flynn and Rachel back to Canterlot. As the train arrived at the station, Rachel stretched a bit.
“Why are we going to the capital? Do you want a little chitchat in the castle?”

Tyler shook his head.
“Nah... This will be a demonstration visit. I want you to fire your weapons to show them to the guard and the princesses, so they can get a picture. Also there is one thing that I want to show you folks. We’ve already talked about bodily contact with magic…”

Sam nodded.
“We did. Lyra was very cautious about it while around us. I think she was afraid of hurting us or something. All this… talk about it being a very painful event… is it even worth it?”

Smirking for a while, Tyler nodded.
“It sure is once you’re ready…” Rachel walked behind Tyler and eyed him for a second. Once we’re ready…

In the throne room Princess Celestia greeted them with a warm hug for every one of them.
“Thank you for coming, Tyler… Thank you all. I promise you this will be brief for I don’t have much time on my hooves now. You know, I will be in Saddle Arabia for a few days before coming back with some delegates from there. Meanwhile Luna will handle the ruling over Equestria. I expect no bigger problems…”

Rachel arched a brow.
“Saddle Arabia? Is this some sort of…”

Tyler simply shook his head with a smile.
“You tell me! Manehatten, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, the Neighagra falls… Open an atlas to read some city names and you see the resemblance…”

Flynn however rubbed his chin.
“Princess Luna, huh? Does this mean we will finally meet her? She doesn’t seem to be around much…”

“Tis because my duty takes place when all the subjects of Equestria are asleep…” With these words Luna came into the throne room and approached the group before hugging Tyler. “Tis a pleasure to see you again, my companion… I always enjoy it when you are in Canterlot outside of our weekly sleepover routine…”

Tyler patted her back and smiled.
“I’m also happy to be here, Luna. May I introduce you to the new human citizens? That’s Sam O’Donnel, Flynn Marshall and Rachel Higgins.”

“Ah yes… The woman who brawled with you…” Luna gave Rachel an icy look. It was obvious that she didn’t like her, but tolerated her for the sake of peace.

Rachel’s eyebrow twitched before she smirked.
“Well for the sake of our home planet, he and I intend to set our differences aside from now on.”

This loosened the icy look on Luna’s face and she turned to Tyler who nodded in confirmation. Now Luna was smiling again and all signs of coldness in her face vanished.
“Good. I’m very fond of Tyler. I know he is capable of taking care of himself, but I wouldn’t forgive someone who would harm him for the sake of hurting someone.” She then looked at Sam. “Dark skin… I must say, this is interesting… Thou were born with it?” Sam frowned a bit, but nodded. Luna then continued. “Don’t worry, I can relate… Having such dark coat frightens some ponies sometimes. Sometimes dark appearance can be mistaken as being frightening or evil…”

Tyler now intervened.
“Uh… Luna? That’s not the same… I mean-“

He was interrupted as Sam stepped in.
“It’s OK, Tyler… I take it those ponies never saw a brother in this neighborhood.”

“Brother?” Now Luna was out of context. “Pray tell, what is the meaning of this? Are thou related to one of the others?”

Tyler chuckled a bit.
“It’s slang, Luna… He’s not related to anyone of us.” Luna then only gave a mere “Oh…”

With a chuckle, Celestia stepped into the group.
“Don’t worry, Luna… You and Sam can talk later about this. But for now let’s get down to the royal yard to perform the demonstration runs. I want to get this done before my departure to Saddle Arabia.”

They all nodded and the group went down the hallways to the yard. Rachel watched Tyler conversing with the princesses until Flynn nudged her into her ribcage.
“Don’t stare, it’s not polite.”

“Why excuse me! I’m still getting used to the fact that he…”

Sam only rolled his eyes.
“We know, Rachel… You can’t approve of that so easily… But think of it that way: Better this guy has a good relation with both of them than they are declaring war on us, right?”

Rachel now sighed in defeat.
“Right… That’s of course better.”

The pistol magazines and the paintball equipment were brought into the royal yard and a solid block of wood as well as a solid block of stone were placed as targets. Tyler now approached the table and took an equestrian pistol from it. It was a simple gun filled with powder and a projectile. Tyler nodded and aimed the pistol at the wooden target.
“First, the simple equestrian pistol. Single shot, reload time about a minute or less, depending how good you trained the reloading.” He fired the gun at the round target and hit somewhere between the center and outer rings.

Then Rachel reloaded her Beretta and took aim.
“Beretta M9, Semi-automatic pistol, effective range of 50 meters, 15 round magazine, iron sights.” After this brief introduction, she fired 3 bullets into the target and hit close around the center.

Celestia and Luna blinked at the pistol.
“The powder is in the bullets? Amazing…”

Rachel took out the magazine and placed it on the table before her, before she grabbed it again and placed it into the pistol.
“Reload time about 5 seconds at maximum for another 15 shots.” With this she took the magazine out again and unloaded the gun.

Now Sam stepped forth and presented his paintball rifle.
“This is my Sarah Jane. The weapon is an imitation of the M16, an assault rifle that fires lethal rounds. My Sarah Jane only fires small balls filled with paint.” With this he loaded the gun and aimed it at the stone target. After a barrage of shots he stopped and lowered his rifle while the stone target was splattered in red color.

Celestia eyed the rifle with wary glances.
“It is one thing to see it in Tyler’s mind… But to see it with my own eyes… Humanity must have waged way more war than we do if they perfected tools for killing that much… But I see you have this Sarah Jane rifle for sports, Sam?”

He nodded.
“Yes, I do. We paintball players try to best each other with the best tactic, equipment and health condition. It’s like a party of chess, only that we’re the pawns on the game ourselves.”

With this the white alicorn nodded herself.
“I see… A game of cunning, reflex and reaction… And this protective clothing on the table is your armor to reduce injuries?”

Again he nodded.
“It certainly is! Those paintballs aren’t lethal, but they hurt quite well. If one is careless, the punishment follows on the spot.”

Celestia now glanced over the weapons.
“If used right… These instruments of war could help defending so many innocent ponies…”

Now Luna stepped beside her sister.
“But if used in ill will… These things could kill so many ponies as well.”

With this the Princess of the Sun nodded.
“Indeed… We must not follow this path, even if it means our path is harder to go…”

Tyler now took the magazine of the paintball rifle and opened a bag which was still untouched yet.
“Now it is time to demonstrate something to you folks. It is important, so don’t mess up!” With this, he held up a small bead. “I asked them to do beads of the size of your paintball balls. This bead contains some of my blood.”

Rachel looked at Tyler in disbelief.
“Why would you fill your blood into one tiny bead? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh yes it does! As you probably know, I can wield magic if unicorns charge me.”

Flynn arched a brow.
“So THAT’S how you could disappear! You teleported yourself…”

Tyler cleared his throat now.
“Yeah… The thing is: even my blood can store some magic and it can be brought to an explosion if released at once.” With this he put one bead into Sam’s magazine before handing it to him. “Sam? Please fire once more at the stone target.

Sam now looked at Tyler, then at the magazine and reloaded. He took aim and the next shot caused a minor detonation strong enough to crack the stone target into several pieces. Sam looked up from his iron sights and stared at the target.
“That’s… That’s not possible… You’re kidding me!”

Shaking his head Tyler stood beside him and pointed his hand at the wooden target, only to cast a fire spell and set it on fire.
“I’m not kidding you. The environment made me stronger than usual and the contact with magic made me something else than a mere human. But I’m not an invincible Superman and it is a great responsibility to live with that. I inform you guys about it, so you can decide whether or not you wish to achieve this for yourself. If you achieve this enhancement, I suggest you stay on the good side of the Equestrians. This is why I had to tell the guard to take you into custody. And why I took you here today.”

Rachel nodded.
“Good thinking, Jones… Shit… You’re giving me less reason to hate you. I might have to find other things I don’t like about you.”

Tyler chuckled about this statement.
“It’s always my pleasure to deliver a challenge to you.”

Celestia then nodded.
“I understand it you are then instructed. You understand the dangers human cells could muster if they are to fall into the wrong hooves. When Tyler was taken “kidnapped” as you tend to say… He was charged with so much magic that he leveled a mountain.”

Now the three of them shook their heads before Rachel grinned.
“Come again? It must be my bad hearing… I could swear you just claimed that he leveled a mountain…” Celestia’s face now grew strict and Rachel knew she had doubted something she better didn’t have.

But as they continued to walk back into the castle, Celestia showed them the large hole in the ground in the distance.
“This pile of rubble in a burned hole in the ground is what’s left of Dragon Mountain. Although not so poisonous as your nuclear bombs Tyler told me about, I think the destructive force was equal.”

Rachel looked at Tyler who simply shook his head.
“No need to worry now. This was due to magic overcharge. I now keep check of how much magic I take in.”

Rachel however turned her face to the scarred landscape of the former mountain.
“Why worry? You are one walking, unlicensed nuclear accelerator in a capital city… Just refrain to go up once we’re around, mkay?” Tyler chuckled at this and looked over to Rachel. She still tried to provoke him, but maybe that was just her way of dealing with the whole situation. Shortly after that, he said goodbye to Celestia before she made her way to the west.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, down the many levels of the CCF, a white stallion entered the chamber of Shiria. With another glance to the observation window above, he approached the Changeling queen.
“Here are your books now… Project Chrysalia.”

Although she hadn’t paid much attention to the stallion in the first places, Shiria’a eyes widened in an instant now as the genetic memory in her was awakened. Several rings were belled in her mind and she looked at the stallion.
“Come again?”

The stallion smirked.
“It’s time to rise again for your masters…”

These words only caused her eyes to widen even more and her cat-like pupils to shrink to tiny slits. Rage started to boil within her.
”What did you just say?”

He only chuckled and sneered at her.
“But of course… You Changelings are an ancient bioweapon of King Tacitus. A last ditch attempt to beat the alicorns of light. And we are the descendants of his heritage. It is only natural that we now make good use of you. Hopefully you will not turn out a failure as your mother did…”

In the next moment he was slammed against the wall as her horn blasted him with a highly focused energy beam. The beam was so strong and powerful it ripped his clothes apart and caused some wounds. Another blast welded the heavy hatch to her chamber closely together. After she opened her mouth to inhale for a second, an ear deafening shriek her call echoed through the air vents, signaling her swarm to attack. Now, standing above the stallion, Shiria growled down to him as her eyes began to glow.
“The obedient little Changeling you know is dead….” By now the cabins and container within the facility began to tremble and shake violently. Punches from the inside dented the hatches and walls of the cabins until the swarm shrieked in unison mere seconds before the ventilation shafts began to shake violently.

Professor Mindfire galloped to the observation window.
“Shiria! What is the meaning of this? Why are your Changelings trying to escape? And why did you hurt that stallion?”

Shiria looked up to the yellow unicorn and glared at her.
“I’m going to find the origin of the Changelings and make them pay… I’ll make them pay for a life in misery and struggle for survival!” With that she shrieked again, prompting Mindfire to activate the alarm. Within seconds the whole facility was under lockdown.

It wasn’t for long until more guards galloped into the CCF, led by the Captain.
“This is Shimmerwind! Find the Changeling Queen! Subdue her at all costs! Use of lethal force is authorized, if necessary!” With this the military mare took away the communication crystal and entered the elevator down to the levels below.

On their way back to the carriage, Tyler Rachel, Sam and Flynn were stopped by a guard. He was out of his breath and gasped several times, before he recollected himself.
“Tyler Jones! You have to come! Quickly!”

They could see the alarmed expression in both face and voice of the guard and followed him as they ran after him.
“What’s this all about?”

“The CCF… The Changelings are trying to break out!” With this Tyler stopped in an instant.

Rachel, Flynn and Sam looked at him before the guard stopped as well.
“What is it? What are Changelings?”

Tyler’s expression grew grimmer now.
“Follow me! We’re going back to the armory!” Mere minutes after saying this, he kicked open the doors of the armory.

The armorer, a hefty and bearded stallion raised a hoof in protest.
“HEY!!! WHAT THE HAY DO YOU THINK THIS IS???”

Tyler’s fist slammed on the armorer’s counter.
“It will be your funeral if you don’t cooperate! Right now the Changelings in the CCF are trying to break out! And I need the weaponry of these humans! NOW GET YOUR FLANK MOVING OR EXPLAIN TO PRINCESS LUNA WHY THERE ARE CHANGELINGS OVER THE CAPITAL ONCE MORE!!!” With this the armorer stepped back a few bits and nodded.

A minute later Rachel reloaded her Beretta anew while Sam looked at Tyler.
“I take it I’m to load those High explosive rounds of your blood?” As he nodded, Sam prepared several clips. “This is sick… Why packing so much firepower?”

Rachel put the Beretta into her holster and looked at the swords and daggers with Flynn. If Tyler was giving her back her ammunition so soon, there had to be an imminent threat. And due to his stern expression it meant a LOT of trouble.
“Jones! Talk to us! What’s this all about?”

Tyler on the other hand talked to a unicorn of the guard and was being charged with magic before looking to her.
“It means someone who should be grounded is trying to break loose. We can’t let this happen!” Minutes after that they arrived at the CCF entrance, the guards let them in. As they stormed down the stairs to the gates, Tyler looked over to the guards at the side of the checkpoint. “Seal the doors behind us! Let no pony out! Remember: They can mimic ponies, but they can’t mimic humans!”
Rachel wondered about this sentence. Mimicry…

Upon entering the facility, they came across the main entrance hall, filled with several consoles and guards. It was there when Tyler recognized an all too familiar face.
“Dusk Aegis… What a pleasant surprise! I take it your quarantine is over? Good to see you again!”

The dark blue unicorn smiled slightly.
“If only the reason would be better… The situation is quite grim…”

On their way to the Facility Headquarters, both the unicorn and Tyler conversed as they and the others ran down the corridor.
“So you’re in charge of the CCF? OK, Dusk! What’s going on down there?”

“We don’t know for certain! She started screeching all of a sudden and the next moment the Changelings went wild in their containers before crawling through the ventilation shafts.”

Tyler now frowned.
“The air ventilation shafts… Amazing! I didn’t think they could squeeze themselves through these tight shafts. They are much smaller than their bodies. We designed them that way!”

Upon entering the control room, there were crystals showing holograms of the specific gems that showed parts of the levels below. With every minute more and more holograms ceased to function. More and more radio chatter came from down below.
*KRZ* “Facility HQ! We have a situation on Level 5!” The sound of magic being used was audible in the background. Obviously spells were casted.
“Watch your back, soldier! Full back now! Let’s get out of here!!!” *KRZ*

The officers on the consoles looked over to dusk and saluted.
“Sir! We have security breaches on Level 3 to 5 right now! Security teams are standing their ground, but…”

After a short communication break, Tyler grabbed one of the crystals as the voice from before became audible again. *KRZ* “I repeat! Facility HQ, we’ve got a situation-” The voice was suddenly interrupted by a roar and some screaming, followed by some terrible noises.
Tyler imagined them as bones breaking when another voice sounded of. “SHADOWDANCER!!! NOOOO!!!!”*KRZ*with this the communication ended in static noise.

Flynn now stared at the communication terminals.
“Jesus…”

Tyler looked at the crystal in his hand before he looked at the elevator.
“Higgins… This isn’t your fight… I can’t expect you to follow me into a gruesome death. If you three don’t want to go down, I won’t be mad at you. But I have to go. They rely on me down there.”

It was then when Rachel remembered what Twilight said to her. “When disaster comes, he’s willing to fight for us all…” She now looked over to Sam and he nodded before he raised his paintball gun. With a swift move she took the communication crystal from Tyler and looked at it, before she went down the corridor to the elevator while talking into the crystal like talking into a walkie-talkie.
“This is Corporal Higgins! US Marine Corps! Whoever is alive down there, fortify your position! We’re coming down! I repeat: The humans are coming to get you out of there!” Tyler smirked and followed her as she showed him the finger without turning back to him. “Do I look like I would leave all the fun to you, you son of a gun? That’s our chance to get a first glimpse of the threats of this world! Alright, ponies! We’re moving out! I’ll take the lead… Sam, you have those explosive marbles. You are behind me. Jones! You have these magic powers, you check those corners! Flynn, since you don’t have any ranged weapon, you’ll stay here with the guards and hold back everything that tries to sneak out!” Flynn nodded and remained with some of the guards to watch over the control room. Rachel then looked over to Dusk Aegis. “You! Dust!”

The unicorn stallion arched a brow.
“It’s Dusk!”

“Whatever! I want you to watch our rear! We don’t need anything to cut off our path in case we have to retreat or jump at us in the dark.”

The blue unicorn nodded.
“I appreciate the help… Although I don’t know what a team of four can do against all these Changelings…” With this the group entered the Elevator to Level One.

In her cell, Shiria looked up to the ceiling. Already the hatchet to her cell was sparkling as the unicorns on the other side tried to open it by force.
“Jones… I knew you would come to stop me…” With another shriek, she urged her swarm to hurry.

Rachel stepped outside the elevator on Level One. The corridor before them was dark, but completely intact.
“Jones? Where to go?”

“There’s a red line on the floor. Follow it!” Tyler answered on the spot before casting a small light spell to shed some light to the corridor. After following the corridor and going some detours due to some container in the corridor. While walking through some laboratories, Rachel saw a schematic of a changeling. "They’re actually quite small… I guess…"

It was then when the radio chatter began anew.
*KRZ* “…orget about the protocols! You’ve heard her! Get everypony in here and fortify!!! Now! Now!! NOW!!!”

Another voice sounded off in the background. “Lieutenant! We need some flame magic to torch these doors and bars together! MOVE!!!”*KRZ*

Soon after that, they reached the main elevator with a massive vault gate, guarded by some guards. While they approached them, Tyler held up his arm. “Don’t shoot!” He then looked over to the unicorns.
“You there! The test!” The guards nodded and one after another spilled a few drops of red blood on a white handkerchief. Tyler nodded. “Alright! You are clean! How is the Main elevator shaft?”

“They can’t break through the armored vault doors of every level, but the smaller ones can reach the different levels with the ventilation shafts.”

Rachel now looked at Tyler again.
“Smaller ones?”

Tyler simply shrugged.
“The big ones are called brutes, keep your distance from them, they will swat you as if YOU were the fly on the wall.”

The three humans now readied themselves in front of the large vault gate while Dusk ordered the guards to open the vault gate and to call the elevator. Rachel looked at the massive gate.
“So I take it Equestria has the same dirty little secrets as Earth governments have?”

Tyler shook his head as the unicorns lowered the first layer of the gate.
“No! These are specimen of a race of pony-like insects called Changelings. We almost got them extinct, but I couldn’t commit genocide. Their leader is a former princess of their race they have drones and warriors, princesses and a queen, just like a bee hive. Seems to me the princess now thinks that she’s a queen she has the right to leave as she wills…Or we’re disturbing her nest…”

As the door opened, the roar of a Changeling brute greeted the four of them. While the 9mm bullets penetrated the massive beast’s chitin plates, the projectiles seemed to have lost every punch for the inner organs.
“DOESN’T WORK FOR ME!!!” Rachel yelled, before jumping out of the brute’s path. Sam shot several shots at the brute, repelling the beast while its armor plates cracked open. That was everything Tyler needed. A precise beam attack right into the wound detonated the magic inside the beast, crushing its organs. As they approached the beast, a little Changeling crawled up from the back of it. A gunshot and a screech later the Changeling was lying on the floor with a hole in its face.

Rachel now inspected the dead Changeling.
“They’re actually quite small… A headshot should do the trick… Sam, do you see those eyes? Insect-like with lids. No insect I know has eyelids! The skull seems very resistant, but one 9mm bullet straight into the eye should kill them drop-dead.”

Sam however inspected the Changeling brute before him.
“Small…? Not this buddy here. Look at the size of that thing… big as two cows!”
Dusk wrinkled his nose over the sight of the dead Changeling. He saw things like that enough already during the conflict in the Amasian enclave.. “We don’t have much time… We should go on!”
Tyler nodded and looked around. “Agreed! The longer we stay, the longer they can regroup or kill further ponies.”

As Tyler stood up, the crystal chattered again. *KRZ* “They’re all around us! What are we going to do? What? Shit! Where are you? I can’t see anything!” The sound of bending and groaning metal now took place. “THEY’RE BREAKING THROUGH THE WALLS!!!” Screeches and roars were now audible as the shots of pistols and magic spells filled the transmission. “CODE RED! WE’VE GOT A CODE RED ON LEVEL 6!!!” *KRZ*

Sam looked in terror at the communication crystal.
“Listen to this… WHAT are we up against? How many of those things are down there?”

Dusk Aegis now looked up and shook his head.
“Around 200 including the queen?”

“Swell…” Sam responded on the spot. He checked his ammunition in order to keep check of how many projectiles he had left. It wasn't nearly enough.

Upon entering the elevator, Dusk readied himself mentally.
“We have to go straight down to Level 10 and if we’re lucky, the elevator will function until we’re down to level 10.”

Rachel now arched a brow.
“And if we’re not lucky?”

With a tired smile he looked at her.
“Then we’ll have to fight ourselves through a horde of insects that look like ponies… Ponies bleed red, changelings bleed green, remember that. They can take the form of any pony they’ve seen once, but they’ve been here their entire life and it’s unlikely that we’ll see anyone you know.”

For two minutes the ride down went on. Then the elevator suddenly stopped.
“Why isn’t the elevator going down anymore?” As they forced the normal elevator doors open a bit more, the Changeling growth filled the hall before them. “Oh… so that’s why… That growth probably is clogging the shaft!”

Sam arched a brow.
“Busy little shitheads…”

Tyler looked at Dusk Aegis.
“Looks like we’re taking the long way down…” The stallion looked up to Tyler before nodding briefly. Minutes later they were running through miles of corridors and hundreds of checkpoints.

Rachel began to sweat now.
“Why are there so many checkpoints? For more of these tests?”

Dusk smirked.
“Yes! The only way to make sure that no single Changeling can get out is to inspect everypony coming out. The places where we test the lab coats and guards cycle once in a while, so the Changelings don’t have the chance to adapt.

It was then when they recognized several dark figures crawling on the walls ahead of them. Eyes of arctic blue shined at the group. Having become more confident since the skirmish with the brute, these little Changeling drones were deemed no threat to the group. With swift and precise shots they wasted the drones and continued. Dusk nodded and looked at Sam and Rachel.
“These weapons of yours will make our path quite easy…”

Sam and Rachel then leaned against the sides of a door, lurking into the next room.
“Thing is though… We have a limited amount of ammunition…” Rachel then signaled to Sam and Tyler with the help of her fingers. Dusk couldn’t identify those gestures, but they seemed to be signs to silently communicating. Rachel first showed three fingers, then shortly enough two and then one. Dusk understood this as a countdown and shortly after that, they really stormed into the next room and secured it.

Fortunately there was nothing in this checkpoint, but the crystal sounded off again.
*KRZ* “Lots of structural damage on level 7, section 2! I think they… WOAH!!!” *KRZ* The transmission was now filled with roaring sounds as three Changelings stormed into the room through the ventilation shafts. *KRZ* “NO, PLEASE!!! CELESTIA HELP ME!!!” *KRZ*

“SHUT THIS FUCKING THING UP!!!” Rachel yelled while a Changeling tackled her down. As it opened its snout, she put the muzzle of her Beretta into it and gave the trigger a nice squeeze, splattering Changeling brain all over the ground.

Meanwhile Shimmerwind and her Squad were standing in front of the chamber of Shiria, the hatch open only to three of four quarters when another transmission came in. *KRZ* “There are too many Changelings!!! We’re getting overrun!!! HELP!!! HELP ME!!!” Another panicked voice became audible now. “THEY’RE GOING FOR THE QUEEN!!!” *KRZ*

She now gritted her teeth.
“We’ve wasted enough time! Blow the hatch open!”

“Captain! The hatch itself was constructed detonation-proof in order to slow down an escape!”

“No more excuses! Make it happen! The only way to make this stop is to subdue her and to force her to end this revolt!”

Then the unicorn welding the door open stopped and raised his head.
“I GOT IT!!!” With this the hatch was blown out of the frame from the inside and crushed the unicorn before it.

As the dust slowly got down Shiria stepped outside, while more and more Changelings swarmed out of the ventilation shafts to her aid.
“It would be my pleasure to converse with you, Captain of the royal guard… Mine and the pleasure of my swarm…” With this the shadows of the Changelings began to tower over Shimmerwind and her guards.

By now the communication crystal got horribly silent. Tyler tried not to think about it. If it remained so silent… did it mean the guards maintained radio silence? Or was there nopony to talk anymore? Sometimes they found a puddle of blood, sometimes a corpse was in said puddle. Sometimes they found several Changeling corpses, then there were the times they found dead ponies.
“My God! A massacre…” Sam shook his head. It then occurred to him. A hole in the wall, leading down below. What was so intriguing about this hole was the biomass around it. It was the same growth the elevator shaft was clogged with. “Folks… I think this is the path down…” Tyler inspected it and sent a light spell into the darkness. The tunnel was leading directly below.

From below they could hear Shiria shouting infuriated.
“HOW DARE THEY TO CREATE US LIKE THIS??? FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL! FOR THIS I SHALL KILL ALL OF THEM!!! EVERY LAST ONE!!!”

The group approached the next level and crouched into cover at a door. Tyler looked over to Dusk and Sam.
“That’s her alright! I would recognize her voice among thousands!”

Dusk nodded.
“I can relate… She was the terror of everypony who got in contact with her. All those mind games she’s playing…”

“She became quite good at this…” Tyler nodded. “Alright, here’s the plan! I kick the door open; Sam you go to the left; Higgins, you go to the right! I go straight for her! Dusk, you remain at the door and give suppression fire with your horn.”

All of them nodded in agreement before jumping up. As Tyler kicked the door open, the swarm looked directly at them. Firing directly into the moving mass of Changelings, Sam delivered the most damage while Tyler took out a good chunk of drones. Dusk fired mostly over to Rachel’s side where she and her Beretta achieved the fewest kills.
Shiria recognized Rachel at once and charged her horn.
“Eenie, meanie, tiny Mo!
You’re the weakest, you will go!”

Rachel’s eyes widened as the blast sent her flying backwards. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion now. The immediate pain felt like someone ripped her lungs and heart out. But in fact, her body was still intact. As the changeling magic streamed through her body like poison, she locked Shiria in her sight and in reflex raised her hand to aim her Beretta at her, only to realize that there wasn’t a single bullet in her gun anymore. As she squeezed the trigger, it just clicked. Then the backs of her hands began to burn as her skin began to bubble and burst off her hands like a tiny detonation blasted it away. It was in this moment that the pain in her body canalized itself into her arms and hands before the harmful Changeling magic went through her Beretta and she shot the magic through it directly at Shiria. The Changeling queen could evade the magic projectile, but a brute behind her got hit and a major hole was in his chest chitin plate. The wound was merely smoking like the inner organs were charred. Seconds after that, Sam sprinted over to her, while Dusk galloped into the room.

Tyler now raised his arm and pointed it to Shiria.
“SAM!!! Is Rachel OK?”

Sam kneeled besides Rachel and held his rifle up while looking over her.
“Her clothes are slightly burned, but the real problems are her hands! The backs of her hands look skinned!”

Dusk now came close to Rachel, whose Hands were shaking violently.
“Don’t worry, Rachel Higgins… I’m injecting you a healing spell…”

Not letting Shiria out of his sight, Tyler followed her every move.
“Shiria! Don’t do this! It’s not too late to surrender and to return to your cell.”

The Changeling sneered upon the human before her and grinned at him.
“That would mean you would kill me otherwise… But we both know you can’t commit genocide…”

Shimmerwind gritted her teeth while she and the rest of her squad were surrounded by the swarm.
“Do it, Tyler Jones! Kill her!”

“Yeah, Tyler… Kill me! All it would take would be a fire spell to fry me alive! Or blow this whole place up!” With a victorious giggle, the Changeling queen waved the thought away. “Look into his eyes… He knows he should do it. But he wouldn’t… He couldn’t bear the guilt to end an entire species. You humans truly are a buffet of emotions… If only we could feast upon all of them!”

Magic now formed in Tyler’s palm as he aimed for Shiria’s head.
“You know simply letting you out is NOT an option!”

“And I take it an imminent slaughter in the heart of Canterlot is? If you kill me, there is NOTHING to hold these Changelings back. I’m controlling them… With me gone… There would be no mind to stop them of getting into a killing frenzy…And they would kill without prejudice… Wouldn’t you, my lovely sweeties?” With that she caressed one of her Changelings, who chirped proudly.

Tyler gritted his teeth as he evaluated every possible move in this situation. If I kill her, the Changelings might run amok, killing me and the others before killing a large portion of Canterlot’s citizens… If I blow this place up, the Changelings are dead, but the others as well and the tectonic quakes could crumble the city off the mountain… Right now… Letting a pissed off Changeling Queen go is the best thing to do… With this he ceased the magic and lowered his arm.

Rachel stared at him in disbelief.
“JONES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?

Shiria eyed Tyler with narrowed eyes as he slowly approached her.
“Come on, girl… Work with me! Let me help you! Your mother once refused my help… You are smarter than her!”

As he touched her cheek, she slightly shivered. It wasn’t love. She couldn’t feast upon this. Yet this was a strong emotion. Was this human showing her… compassion? With a shake of her head she stepped back, slapping his hand away with her horn.
“Don’t give me that emotion! How dare you to pity me!” Stepping back now, she eyed all three of them. “Alright… I see you want a bargain… Something for my freedom… You can tell Celestia one thing… I am no longer interested in Equestria! I am going to hunt down whoever created us! And when I’ll find him… He will know that no one meddles with the swarm unpunished! If Equestria wants war after that… We will see us on the battlefield again! I’ll gladly embrace death as a free Changeling!”

This prompted Tyler’s brow to twitch. A free Changeling… Normally he wouldn’t trust a word she would spit out of her filthy Changeling mouth, but those words... they meant something to her. He then nodded.
“You know I’ll have to hunt you until you’ve left Equestrian soil, do you?”

A sly grin formed on her face.
“If you wish so… For now… Rest assured we won’t harm any of these… tasty little ponies of Equestria… A pity… But a deal is a deal…”

Tyler nodded.
“We humans have a saying: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ In this situation I deem those Descendants a far greater threat than the Changelings…”

Shiria sneered upon this statement.
“You are not good in flattering a ladybug, Tyler Jones… Friends? What a preposterous idea… We simply hunt the same prey… That makes us more like competitors than friends… Just stay out of my way…”

As her minions accompanied her out of the hall, Shimmerwind looked at Tyler.
“This is a mistake!”

Tyler looked back to her.
“Can you think of a better solution? If the swarm breaks loose in the capital city, I don’t want to imagine the collateral damage!”

On her way to the elevator Shiria recognized Sam.
“A black skin… Truly THIS human has far more taste in color than you, Tyler Jones… He knows something we Changelings know from birth: Black is beautiful…” Looking up to Sam she gave him a sly grin. ”Why don’t you come with me, my black skinned stud? I won’t feast upon you… I promise. And I’ll let you do anything a male could desire…”

Sam arched back a little.
“Fucking a bug? You have to be kidding me… Thanks… but I’ll think I gladly pass!”

Chuckling a bit, Shiria now bumped her flank into Sam.
“Suit yourself then… The offer remains…”

As she walked on, Sam and Tyler watched her closely.
“Why do I get the idea she would rape us if she had the chance?”

Tyler nodded.
“She’s a succubus no doubt…”

Noticing the glances of the two men , she then moved her tail away, giving them full view on her private parts, what prompted the two of them to turn their faces away with wrinkled noses. As she kept going, her giggling was watched by Shimmerwind.
“I will accompany you and your swarm to the outskirts of Equestria. If you harm anypony or if your Changelings land on the ground before we reach the border… I will kill you…”

Shiria now eyed Shimmerwind and began to grin widely, showing her fangs.
“Would you? And risking the frenzy of my swarm?”

“That could also be a bluff!” Shimmerwind snapped back

Dusk Aegis, meanwhile dirty and with Changeling blood in his coat looked up to Tyler.
“Careful, my friend... You’re making a pact with the devil, Tyler…”

“I know, Dusk… I know… But right now it’s the best thing to do.”

Sam wrapped bandages around Rachel’s hands while she looked up to Tyler.
“Jones… You bastard! You should have killed her…”

“While her swarm is all around us? They would have killed us afterwards! And even if I hate to admit it: She’s right. Blowing up this facility would kill innocent bystanders, including you guys and the citizens of Canterlot! But there is one other thing that compelled me to let her go.”

Sam now looked up.
“What’s that?”

“If the Changelings really are an engineered species… killing them now won’t achieve much. Their creators could still make another swarm and we’ll have the same problem again. So… Like good old Frankenstein’s Monster I’ll let Shiria hunt down whoever made her mother in the first place.”

Rachel now pointed her finger at Tyler.
“But what if she-“

“No! She wants more for her swarm. She never deemed this facility a prison… She always said she could break free if she wanted to. The insult of being created… of being the product of some mad mind… That’s an insult she wants to punish. For the time being… I’ll let her go… I defeated her and her mother once… I can do it again.”

Now another voice became audible. It was weak and in pain though.
“No, you can’t!”

They now approached an injured white stallion. He suffered a severe wound of magic burn and the Changelings ripped out two limbs out of his body. One could easily assume that he merely had a few hours to live, maybe even less than one.
“Who are you?”

“A messenger of a once mighty king… For the unrighteous infidels praising the sun the end will come soon…”

This prompted Tyler’s eyes to widen.
“You’re a Descendant!”

The dying white stallion grinned.
“You recognize me, ruin bringer… I am honored!”

“So you were the one who told her she was created! Why? WHY??? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“My mission was to reactivate Project Chrysalia… and you… You already helped us by disposing the first subject. Subject Two is far more promising than Subject One.”

Rachel looked at Tyler.
“Subject One and Two? What is he talking about?”

Tyler gritted his teeth.
“He means Queen Chrysalis, Shiria’s mother. I gave her a fire burial after she was murdered while she was my prisoner.”

The nameless stallion now coughed hard before he smiled again.
“Brute force always will be inferior to wit and cunning... With Subject Two the chances of deploying more promising subjects has risen by 50% already!”

Rage built up in Tyler.
“So this is a funny little science project to you assholes? Fine! She’s after YOU right now! Good thing I let her go… She can be my bloodhound to hunt you down. Saves me the work of searching!”

“There are more of us than you imagine… We have agents all around pony society… In Equestria, the Crystal Empire, the Amasian Empire and its Enclave, even in Zebrica and Saddle Arabia… Knowing all this won’t help you, ruin bringer!”

“No… But it’s a start!” With this he stood up and let the stallion there to die. When the elevator came down again, they went up as well.

It was dusk when they arrived on the surface and the Changeling swarm was still in place. Obviously Shiria was up to fulfill her part of the deal and remained obedient while she and her swarm were in Equestria. Tyler now looked at Rachel and Flynn.
“Tell Luna that I’m escorting the Changeling swarm out of Equestria! Also tell her why! Once Celestia is back here, we will have to talk with both of them.”

With this he escorted Shiria and her swarm out in the cloudy night sky. It was good that the sky was cloudy, so the moon didn’t gave the swarm away to the ponies on the surface. They soon landed near the border. Shiria now turned to Shimmerwind.
“My swarm is complete just as I promised.” Shimmerwind simply spat in disgust to the ground.

Tyler now approached the new Changeling Queen.
“Don’t let me regret this… I’ll come for you if you make me regret this. No place on the planet would save your swarm from me then.”

Shiria now eyed the human and nodded.
“Having power doesn’t mean anything if our freedom is at stake! I’ve read about parenthood… a thing only mammals have… My mother never loved me as I’m incapable of loving my children. You don’t love me as well, but still… I don’t know this emotion… It’s a good emotion, yet it’s not love. Something that goes beyond a male and a female…” Tyler arched a brow before she continued. “That care… I think no one ever cared so much about a Changeling before… This feeling of yours infected me… For that I eternally despise you… and yet… Even while despising you I feel gratitude for being granted the chance of crossing a border my mother never could cross.”

With this she hugged him and he looked at her in surprise.
“What the…?”

But before Shimmerwind could say anything, Shiria buzzed back into position.
“It’s late… I shall bring my fellow Changelings into shelter. As for you, Tyler Jones, I make a promise! A promise you can believe in… Once the origin of the Changelings is found and punished properly… I will come back for you! And when I do, you will learn the true strength of the swarm!”

Tyler nodded with a sly grin.
“I will wait for you… And when you return… I will show you the full resilience of mankind!” With this he watched them taking flight as they ascended into the sky and flew southwest.

Next Chapter: 17 - The heart of an anthropologist * Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 55 Minutes