open The Dark Millennium

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@AzureNightLight,  

 

"Lucky her, not getting caught up in a mission like this thanks to being young enough," muttered Midnight from across the fire, hearing Alto's name mentioned. "If I understood Star's words right, even we aren't deemed ready for what lays beyond..."

 

"You likely aren't," agreed a snide voice. Turning to face the speaker, Midnight recognized Jinx, the unicorn stallion sitting apart from others on his side of the fire. As he looked up and gazed at his sister seated at another fire, the derision faded from his speech as he added musingly, "I wonder if any of us are."

 

A pegasus stallion seated next to Azure clicked his tongue at this, cracking his neck and asking in an almost-pleasant tone that nonetheless betrayed an underlying anger, "Not so nasty when alone, huh?" The speaker was Viridian Skies, the top fighter of Azure's unit and something of an unofficial leader to them. "Or did you sweat out all your poisons for today?" he jeered.

 

"Leave the nit alone," advised calmly a dun-colored unicorn. "He's not worth your attentions." Jinx glared at this, but - perhaps because he didn't have his usual backup - said nothing in return. "That's what I thought," the unicorn nodded, then turned towards the younger ponies and spoke up a little to be well heard by all present at the fire. "Since we're in this together, I figure we might as well properly introduce ourselves for the sake of those who hadn't the occasion to meet us yet. I'm Steel Resolve, and this is Black Rose," he added, motioning to the dark red earth pony mare with jet black hair sitting next to him.

 

"Do call me Rose, though," the mare said insistingly, leaning affectionately on the stallion.

 

"Fair enough," Viridian answered with a smile. "My name's Viridian Skies, and seated next to me is Azure. The mare there," he motioned with his head to a pegasus positioned next to Midnight, "is Comet Chaser. And on Rose's right is our own master sorcerer, Verdant Vine," he ended with a flourish, prompting a loud raspberry being blown by the greenish unicorn in question. It was all clearly good-natured, though, as both stallions laughed easily afterwards.

 

A spell of silence followed, and when no one else spoke up, Midnight eventually picked up the slack. "Guess it falls to me to speak for us," he said. "I'm Midnight Rover-"

 

"The guy who beat our favorite colonel!" Rose interrupted suddenly. "I told you Twine had some reason to look so forlorn," she added in an aside to Steel, eliciting a chuckle from the stallion.

 

Midnight, now thoroughly embarrassed, managed to continue nonetheless. "The mare next to Azure would be Carto Sketch the cartographer, and the earth pony there is Nix Fumble," the introduced stallion waved in a friendly manner to the others.

 

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart,  

 

Meanwhile, at other fires, the atmosphere didn't seem as gregarious. Not too far away from Silver Heart, Jade Facet was looking towards Minx even more intently than her own brother, mouthing the unspoken words "What the hell is wrong with you?" while ignoring his company and the world at large. The mare in question was seated at the third fire with Reverie and a few others, both the unicorns staring mutely towards some random point in the darkness.

 

Toad was humming to himself, munching on something an muttering, "Yo ho, twice fifteen ponies on a dead plane, an officer's life for me." Next to Silver, Cirrus Streak was lying with eyes closed, although judging by her breathing pattern, not quite asleep yet. Other ponies at the fire avoided eye contact and at best exchanged half-whispered comments between themselves, apparently uninterested in fraternizing with their chance company. One such remark, delivered a little louder and concerning the dreams they would likely be experiencing tonight caused Cirrus to stir and sit up, blushing a little as she realized how close to Silver Heart she had lain down, but not backing away as she rubbed groggily at her eyes.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Hederik,@@SilverHeart,@@Colenso Rivers,@@AzureNightLight.

 

“It’s hard to find another pony who shares your interest when it is as rare as astronomy.” 

 

"Well, we were hardly encouraged to look outwards, or upwards, back in the Valley," Cat said, disappointment in her voice, "It's not really that surprising."

 

"The mare next to Azure would be Carto Sketch the cartographer, and the earth pony there is Nix Fumble," the introduced stallion waved in a friendly manner to the others.

 

Cat nodded and smiled as Midnight introduced her. 

 

"So how much more have you actually learnt? Now that we're all 'in on the secret', is there anything else they haven't told us yet?" she asked, addressing the older cadets, "Or really... anything that we might find useful?" Cat's eyes flickered towards Jinx, an expression of worry having briefly crossed her features when he'd voiced his doubts, "I mean... I'm not worried," she half-lied, "After all, they must think that we can do something, if we're here, and everything's we're made to do always made out to be far more important than it actually is," she finished, her bravado not convincing anypony.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@AzureNightLight, @@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, 

 

Steel looked at the mare next to him, then both shrugged before the mare spoke. "A bit more detailed history of the Thousand Year Realm, some fancy heroics describing the Princesses' feats against various monsters... I guess it should've been obvious that the purpose of such reading was to familiarize us with what may lay ahead, but at the time it seemed more like fairy tales and a waste of our time," she admitted abashedly. "Still, there's a fair bit that can be remembered quite easily, way too much to relay in a single session in fact..." she trailed off, looking musing.

 

The unicorn smiled amusedly at the mare, then nodded his head. "I agree, this might be the most important piece of knowledge that's been given to us recently. And if Star herself won't dirty her hooves teaching you, we might as well put in some time to make up for it." Rose smiled agreeably and nodded, but the look on her features turned sour when Jinx piped in again.

 

"Star just knows it's a waste of time," he muttered. "They won't last a week anyway. At best you'll make them able to call out the name of whatever monster will be about to bite off their-" a dark silver radiance appeared in the air beneath the nasty unicorn's jaw, suddenly snapping it upwards, making his teeth clamp with enough force to elicit painful winces from all seated at the fire.

 

"Enough," said Steel darkly, the glow dying from around his horn. Jinx shot him a hateful look, but said nothing, instead lying down and closing his eyes, although his breathing betrayed the blood still running hot.

 

"What about more... physical abilities?" prodded Midnight, prompting a laugh from Comet Chaser, who then grinned and stretched out one of his pale orange wings, gesturing at it and announcing with pomp, "Behold, a limb that has had two or three more years of training than your own!"

 

The wing took on a pale green glow, then all of a sudden slapped its owner in the face and wrapped itself around it. "We may have picked up a few additional tricks," admitted Verdant Vine, the unicorn keeping his entire focus on the pegasus who was now struggling to regain control of his own body. "Nothing world-shattering, though," he added, surprising Comet by releasing his hold, making the pegasus flap his wing wildly, which sent him rolling onto his back and barrelling into Jinx.

 

"Leave me alone," whined the unlikeable unicorn, squirming under the pegasus.

 

"Posthaste!" exclaimed Comet, jumping off him, somersaulting in the air before landing in his previous spot, flapping his wings at the same time so as to send a gust of smoke from the fire to engulf Verdant Vine and send him into a coughing fit.

 

Steel and Rose both shook their heads at their colleagues' antics, after which the unicorn asked, "Back to the matter at hoof... how much do you know about the changelings' invasion of Canterlot and its outcome?"

Edited July 11, 2016 by Hederik

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Eyes closed for a while, he hadn't been able to fall asleep though. All the talking, the negativity, speculation. Even though their more critical thinking was somewhat appreciated, and it had been proven the better you know some pony the better your performance with them was, he still couldn't deal with it at the moment.

He couldn't beat them though. So he would join them. He opened his eyes lethargically and spoke aloud to any pony within his small sound reaching radius, "Do you think with how well we all get along that we can accomplish something of such critical importance.." Closing his eyes again, "But I guess i'm just using my feelings as a lens. Everything is still basically the same other than where we are." He had to brighten up, for others, so he asked almost thoughtlessly, "What are you most excited for." He couldn't deny that his nerves were frayed, but he really didn't know how to cope otherwise.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Hederik,

 

Movement catching her eye, Silver looked away from the flames, a certain beige pony was beginning to stir. No doubt due to the discussion of dreams, somewhere around their campfire. "Hey there, how are you feeling? Better, I hope." Silver asked. She glanced down at the short-ish distance between the two of them and smiled at Cirrus. The campfire painted everything in a dull orange glow, but Silver thought she could see a slight blush on Cirrus' face.

 

@@Colenso Rivers,

 

A familiar voice mumbled something that she just barely caught, Silver glanced in the direction and saw Colenso. She didn't quite catch what he had said, the general din of noise from around the three fires almost drowned it out. It didn't seem like he had been speaking to her, or anyone specific really. If she wasn't already talking to Cirrus, she might have offered an answer.

[Hederik 119]

Mostly @@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, but I guess @@Once In A Blue Moon and @@AzureNightLight deserve a notification as well.

 

 

"Ask me that in the morning," responded the pegasus, but she did not sound too wistful. There was actually a hint of amusement in her voice as she added, "Assuming any of us get up after today. This was quite a trot and with how late we stopped, I'm surprised you're not having your hooves full at the moment mending broken legs. Unless the older guys have learned to see in the dark and it was assumed we can too," she jested, then twitched at a grumpy huff from beside her, where a skinny, light brown unicorn sat. He looked at the mare, squinting his pale eyes and frowning, the effect multiplied by his gaunt look and remnants of a neon orange mane, shaved almost clean off.

 

"Unless you grow a horn, no. And even then, that would be beyond your reach," he didn't attempt to mask his disdain, but despite the negative attitude, there was no hostility in him, even though he looked half like a serial murderer, especially once he turned his head sideways to the fire, letting it illuminate the side of his face that had previously remained hidden from view. He had a long, nasty scar there, going from the neck almost all the way to his eye, ending right beneath it.

 

"'Because with magic, everything is possible'," a stout, ivory earth pony mare said from where she sat next to Colenso, badly imitating quoting some wisdom. "I'm excited for the day you gain enough power to prove that."

 

"Power isn't everything," the unicorn answered with contempt, drilling into the speaker with his gaze. "Although I don't expect you to grasp it, magic requires a deep understanding of what exactly you're trying to accomplish. And even then you could at best target yourself without a lot of preparation from those who were to be influenced."

 

"I told you, we're not creating a cult to allow you to experiment on us," the mare replied chidingly, receiving a derisive snort in return from the unicorn, who then waved a hoof at her as though declaring her a lost cause and laid his head on his front legs to stare blankly into the fire in front of him. Noticing Cirrus and Silver's expressions of mild confusion, the earth pony laughed heartily. "Never mind him, gals, Frigid Mind is just a grump, but he doesn't bite!"

 

"Bite me," spat the unicorn, not lifting his head.

 

"You'd better not," the mare advised in a theatrical whisper. "He's all bitter and sour. I think you'll like me Luscious Spirit better," she winked.

 

Another pegasus mare seated next to her sighed and dropped her face on a hoof. "That joke wasn't funny even back in first grade. And I swear you've used it at least ten times every year since then." Luscious responded by shoving at the pegasus lightly, but did not comment.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

"Star just knows it's a waste of time," he muttered. "They won't last a week anyway. At best you'll make them able to call out the name of whatever monster will be about to bite off their-"

 

Worry morphed into anger as Cat opened her mouth utter an appropriately caustic retort, only to let out a short, barking laugh as Jinx's jaw snapped shut.   

 

"Behold, a limb that has had two or three more years of training than your own!"

 

Cat almost cracked a dirty joke but restrained herself, instead watching the ensuing hijinks with a combination of amusement and exasperation with unicorn magic.

 

Steel and Rose both shook their heads at their colleagues' antics, after which the unicorn asked, "Back to the matter at hoof... how much do you know about the changelings' invasion of Canterlot and its outcome?"

 

"The changelings supposedly invaded with the help of infiltrators but were driven off; that's all I can remember anyway," Cat answered, "Well, I remember a lengthy discussion about the mythical nature of changelings and whether the whole thing was an allegory for some violently suppressed  palace revolution, a purge of 'foreign agents' or a failed military coup. Turns out changelings are real, so I suppose the whole thing did actually happen... so much for that debate."

Edited July 12, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Hederik 119]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

 

 

Rose laughed aloud at the mention of the wild theories Cat had had to endure, the clear, melodic sound carrying in the hush of the encampment. "Avidity's students then," she concluded with confidence. "Give the mare a poem about an orange and she'll tell you it describes the futility of poetry in face of linguistic obstacles," she added, grinning.

"Mostly correct, though," nodded Steel Resolve. "There isn't much more to it that we've been told, but perhaps we can share a better perspective for what is described. For one, it is interesting to note that despite it being noted that the Bearers of Harmony were present in the battle, its eventual outcome did not hinge on the use of the Elements but a different type of magic... which may point towards the changelings being somehow immune to the powers of the Elements."

 

"Which did seem inconsequential for a long time," continued Rose. "Maybe not so much now..." she paused, looking around the three bonfires, at the gathered cadets - many of whom had turned a curious ear to the conversation, even the colonel sitting near the middle fire listening in. "Anyway, it is almost definitely further proof of what Star mentioned earlier today, that changelings are in fact somehow descended from ponies, as the Elements seem to hold no power against our race."

 

Verdant Vine cleared his throat, then fidgeted a little as many eyes turned towards him. "The Elements of Harmony were created by the Royal Sisters to help protect and cleanse the pony nation of evil," he managed after a brief pause. "It stands to reason that they should be ineffectual against their creators..."

 

"What about Nightmare Moon then?" asked Midnight, cocking his head curiously. "You won't tell me that Princess Luna wasn't a pony, will you?"

 

The green unicorn shook his head. "No, Princess Luna was most definitely a pony. It is said, however, that the Elements being unleashed onto her caused her no harm, merely... washed away, I guess it could be said, Nightmare Moon from her."

 

Midnight opened his mouth, the closed it again and simply nodded.

 

After a moment of silence had passed and no one pursued the topic further, Rose picked up on the previous one. "The second claim of the story is pretty ridiculous," she admitted, "but may indeed hold some truths. I'm talking about the changelings feeding off love, and specifically love given them while in the assumed shape of somepony else. I highly doubt their race would have made it a few years on fuel this difficult to collect. It is much more probable that the changelings are able to sustain themselves on spiritual energy in general, but it's highly unlikely to be their main source of nutrition."

 

"Nevertheless," said Steel, joining seamlessly after the mare's part, "it would be possible for more singular entities to exist that required this specialized diet. Thus, we reach the most focal point of the story, namely the being known as Queen Chrysalis, kind of like a super changeling."

 

"The part about being powerful enough to beat Princess Celestia in single combat may be purely poetic," said Rose, "but there are more realistic - and much more interesting - parts of her description. For one, it is said that among a sea of uniform specimens, this alleged 'queen' stood out as tall as any of the Princesses, and differentiated herself in a few other physical aspects."

 

Steel continued, "Furthermore, despite such not being ascribed to the changelings anywhere else, this one at least was apparently capable of utilizing quite powerful magic, including actual mind control. Now, as you've most likely heard time and time again, ponies have a natural resistance to magic, although we can't be entirely sure it this means any magic other than that we ourselves possess. Our colleague Frigid Mind has theorized that since the changelings are described as sharing many physical similarities with insects, they may have something resembling a hive mind, and what this queen did was dragging her victims into it, which I assume would be a pretty maddening experience in and of itself."

 

Verdant Vine shuddered at the presented mental image, but said nothing.

 

"Lastly," said Rose gravely, "the insect comparison brings to mind one final caveat. One that Star failed to mention, yet is quite universally agreed to be likely, that the changelings have in their ranks highly specialized individuals whose capabilities can hardly be even guessed at, of which the historic figure of Queen Chrysalis was only an example."

[Hederik 119]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

 

 

The gravity of Rose and Steel's revelations put everypony in a quiet, contemplative, and in a few cases, quite dejected state of mind. Whatever conversations there were soon died down as the overall mood and exhaustion of the long day sped all the soldiers towards sleep, the officers finding themselves traversing the dream world almost as soon as their eyes were closed. This time, however, something was out of place. An almost imperceptible difference that nonetheless gnawed at the back of the observer's feeling until they managed to reach the conclusion that what made this experience so vastly incomparable was actually being there. Not merely spectating events as they unfolded in front of an immaterial specter that was a dreaming pony's mind, but the perception of physical presence within the scene playing out. Not necessarily in person, intangible as the concept of self is in the state of dreaming, yet as a person, a living being taking part in the action. With the itch scratched, the conclusion promptly began to fade, more of the scene materializing itself in its place...

 

You look around yourself curiously. Two rows of comfortable plush seats, scenic windows and most of all, a rural landscape moving behind the glass panes makes it all too clear you’re sitting in a train car. It’s pretty crowded, too: no less than three mares are sitting on the nearest vacant spaces, with another two right across the walkway. Interestingly enough, there seems to be nopony else in the same wagon, which, paired with a fuzzy feeling inside you probably means these are not just random ponies you’re sharing the travelling space with. A supposition confirmed without delay as a hoof is wrapped companionably around your shoulder and a voice reaches you from the left, “Chillax, Twilight! Whatever it is that you’re supposed to do, you’re gonna ace it easily!” You turn towards the speaker, a cerulean blue pegasus mare, and admire her most unusual rainbow-colored mane, jutting roguishly over her magenta eyes. Feeling for some reason like you’re going to drown in these unless you avert your gaze quickly, you proceed to inspect closely the remainder of your company.

Sitting across from you is a glamorous white unicorn, her violet hair corkscrewed artfully over her head. She nods approvingly to what has been said and looks at you warmly, trying to boost your confidence along with the other mare. Why is that, though? You can’t recall what would have you stressed enough for both of them to fret over you so. On the other hoof, you don’t remember coming onto this train either, so that might not be the best course of thought to follow. Next to the fashionable unicorn sits an earth pony mare so pink it’s hard to believe, her hair puffed up and tangled wildly, appearing sticky even if such observation is completely unbased. Perhaps the fact she’s intently devouring cupcakes - consisting in more than half their volume of frosting - contributes to that deduction, however. She, at least, appears to have no intention of comforting you.

“Thank you, everypony,” you hear yourself speak calmly, your eyes sliding quickly along the five mares. “It’s just that... there is a lot riding on this job, and I don’t just mean that super-important test this all is…”

“Shucks, Twilight, you’re more nervous about it than a chicken in a flight contest,” one of the mares from across the walkway laughs, a hint of a tease in her voice. Her wide-brimmed, well-worn cowboy hat rests easily on the back of her head and she’s stretched comfortably over her seat, presenting an athletic, orange-tinged figure and flicking her braided blonde tail absently. “Do as Rainbow tells ya and let it be.”

The last of your company, sitting directly to your right across the walkway, opposite the country mare, nods and says “Yeah” so silently you aren’t even sure the words really left her mouth. Her coat is sunshine yellow and half of her face is hidden beneath a bang of her delicate pink mane.

“Anypony asked for cool drinks?” asks a young male voice from the direction of the entrance to the car you’re all seated in, but as you turn towards the speaker, he adds, "Morning call! Up, up, all of you!" in the baritone of colonel Twine.

 

The officers began to stir, looking around themselves blearily and taking in bits and pieces of their surroundings: the bonfires gone cold, the elements of equipment strewn around, the few cooking utensils left lying in the open, the two unicorns seating alert at the edges of the camp as sentries. As they were coming to, a lively exchange could be heard from the direction whence the colonel's wake-up call came.

 

"- a group this big. Take the unit, uh..." general Hardy's voice lost its magisterial edge as she asked lamely, "How are the units called again?"

 

"They aren't," admitted the stallion calmly. "There never was any reason to attach names to them."

 

"Right," Hardy couldn't hide the surprise from her voice, but as befitted an officer of her rank, took it in stride. "I'm taking unit A-" a pause and a short groan betrayed lack of understanding from her interlocutor, "the eldest one," she explained irritably, "to scout forwards up to the Sieve. We will wait for you there, hopefully with a meal if something can be foraged. Units B and C stay with you to clear camp and gather firewood for tonight. Do not overburden them, we will be out of the mountains by tomorrow."

 

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Twine, then went on to relay the orders unto the soldiers, by now awake enough to not really need it, but militairesse oblige. Soon after, the newly-dubbed unit A disappeared down the winding mountain track and the others found themselves put to work around the camp, as per the general's instructions.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Hederik,

 

Silver groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof. The last thing that Silver remembered from last night was introducing herself, Cirrus, and Colenso to the ponies around the campfire. After that everyone seemed to break off into their own conversation and eventually went to sleep. She glanced over to where the Colonel had made his wake-up call. Silver gave a soft yawn and stretched, unused to sleeping on the hard ground. Her hoof hit something, or more accurately, someone. Specifically Cirrus, who at some time during the night closed what distance had been between them. Or maybe she had done that to Cirrus. Silver blushed slightly at the waking mare, "H-how'd you sleep? The dream wasn't too bad." Silver offered as she straightened out her uniform and wiped off any dirt and dust she could see.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

"Morning call! Up, up, all of you!"

 

Cat clambered to her hooves, stamping some life back into her legs as she looked around at the unfamiliar horizon. It made her a little uneasy, living as everypony else had in the shadow of the Valley's mountains, to see such a different world around her; doubly so when in her dreams she had clearly been somewhere else entirely... well, maybe not 'she' herself, but somepony she believed she was... shaking her head clear of questions about this new dream alter-ego, Cat set about stowing her sleeping gear in her pack and making ready to travel, accompanied as always by her ritual mantra of moans about stiff limbs and a sore back. 

 

Do not overburden them, we will be out of the mountains by tomorrow.

 

That will be the day, Cat thought to herself, then her head snapped up to stare directly, and somewhat impertinently, at the officers as she heard that they would be leaving the mountains soon, her mind conjuring images of how far she would be able to see.

 

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Twine, then went on to relay the orders unto the soldiers, by now awake enough to not really need it, but militairesse oblige.

 

With the help of a pegasus that she either hadn't learned the name of or didn't remember, but who did most vitally possessed a shovel, Cat set about breaking down the smouldering remains of their campfire and burying the ashes in a shallow hole, then stamping the ground down to hide evidence of their passing. It would hardly fool detailed inspection, but it was better than a sooty black splotch screaming 'we were here' at any that passed by.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Hederik 119]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

 

 

Cirrus smiled back, stretching a little before she too climbed to her hooves and began to make herself look presentable. "Mmmm, it was warm and soft, not like most other nights," she replied softly, presumably speaking of the dream's nature. "I could get used to it for sure." After a while of companionable silence, as she was rolling up her blanket and strapping it onto her pack, the pegasus murmured, "I wonder what this Sieve is."

 

On the other side of the encampment, Midnight Rover yawned mightily, looking towards the sky with a blissful smile and mumbling to himself, "Now this is what I'm talking about." After an indulgent moment of lying back, he rolled to his hooves and proceeded to make a few simple exercises to stretch himself before beginning to put on his heavy gear.

 

Toad and Rabble Buster had been among the first to move towards the treeline, a few dozen meters from where the fires were being secured, seeing their superior officer already putting his back to cutting down wood they would be taking as fuel for the coming night. They were soon joined by several others, including Comet Chaser and Verdant Vine, the two already in the middle of another friendly spat.

 

Gale Wind, finding mostly everything being done already, for now dug out two apples from her satchels and wondered over to the lone sentry left at the cliff's edge - Reverie, as it happened - and offered one to him while gazing over the vast expanse of the world unfolding in front of her and munching on her own fruit. Although she said nothing about it, it was clear to any attentive observer from the anxious flutter of her wings how eager the mare was to take to the skies in this new environment.

 

"Leave me be, rainy," the unicorn responded to the offer, a little belatedly. He too had his eyes pasted on the distant horizon as he spoke. "Go see to them instead," he added, waving a hoof in the vague direction of the camp. Gal shrugged, but did as he suggested and soon found herself fighting back a squeal of glee as Viridian Skies repeated the colonel's order for a few pegasi to do a short fly-over of the camp and take a look around it from above.

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Hederik

 

“Morning call! Up, up, all of you!”

“Gah!” Azure jerked awake. The last thing she expected was Colonial Twine’s voice. “I’m up! I’m up. Yeesh.”

 

She scrambled to her hooves and attempted to make straighten her unkempt mane. Attempted. It was a fruitless effort. She didn’t really know why she even tried every morning but her mane always seemed to have its own ideas about where it wanted to stay each morning. She resorted to sorting through her saddlebags to check if everything was still there. She had a dream last night. Not a strange occurrence. It was a peaceful one for a change. Not like the nightmare a few days ago. She shivered. Maybe it’d be best not to remember.

 

The eldest unit, or ‘Unit A’ as they had called them, were sent off to scout the area. The other two units were left with the most basic and menial of tasks. Clearing the camp and gathering firewood. Well, it had to be done at some point. Azure moved over to the edge of a group of trees, an axe in her aura. Comet and Verdant were already there. Knowing them, they were probably bickering about something petty again. She rolled her eyes. Typical. She raised her axe and swung. 

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Colenso awoke with a bittersweet feeling, eyes opening at the order of Twine as he obediently stood and began to get things ready. The dream was rather nice that night, but silence still overtook him. There were too many things to consider, was it prophecy just about to occur, history long past, happening across the world at that very moment? Or was it gibberish given to them by an outside force. The second or last option seemed most likely from what he had learned over the past couple days. Who were they, and what was their significance if they had any?

Too many questions, and so he began to stretch before heading towards the tree. His uniform in order and satchel with him, since he wasn't a senior he headed out into the tree's until he felt he was safely distant from the camp before using his magic to pull branches off of the trees. He would eat at lunch, he wasn't rightly hungry at the moment, snapping the branches into smaller pieces. 

[Hederik 119]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

 

 

As everyone locked onto their down-to-earth tasks, everything seemed to point towards the day being rather uneventful, if not downright peaceful. It was an illusion that shattered like so much cheap glass a few brief moments after Cirrus had yelled "We've got incoming!" and pointed towards a shape approaching the camp at a breakneck speed, leaving behind it a bluish-green blur. It came from roughly the opposite direction than the one 'Unit A' has taken to not half an hour ago, which contributed largely to the widespread astonishment when it landed and turned out to be no one other than general Hardy. She reciprocated the confusion and asked a question. She then processed the answer for a total of two seconds. Afterwards...

 

"What do you mean, they're with me?" she asked icily, her stance yelling that she was very willing to tear the slightly quivering officer in front of her to shreds. His axe lay forgotten on the ground as the colonel pressed his back into a tree and stood there, unable to break away from the piercing gaze of the commander's magenta eyes. He tried to respond, but failed to even open his mouth. When after a moment the mare spat "You fool!" and turned sharply away, he almost collapsed as his legs trembled and threatened to stop holding up the stallion's weight.

 

"STAAAR!" the general yelled, her voice carrying over and echoing throughout the mountains, effectively negating any misconception that the mission should be in any way covert. Not waiting for an answer, if there indeed could be any, the mare glanced towards the Cadets frozen in the middle of whatever they had been doing prior to her arrival. As she spoke again, her tone was that of a calm command again, even if the hardness of her gaze betrayed an underlying anxiety. "All pegasi with me," she ordered simply, "we still stand a chance of intercepting the changeling and our kidnapped unit before they reach the Sieve. As for the others, pack up posthaste and await further orders from Star, but more than anything be ready to leave quickly and march hard." With that, she spread her wings, jumped up, flapped her wings once and called, "To the air!"

 

As a few doubtful looks turned to colonel Twine, he snapped, "You heard her, go!" displaying a sudden burst of anger that overtook him. Whether it was directed towards himself or the general was unsure, but as the pegasi took wing and sped off, he began to mutely do just as Hardy had instructed, collecting his tools and then strapping a load of wood to his back, all the time sporting a grim look that dissuaded any conversation.

 

 

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

PREEMPTIVE EDIT TO AVOID THE LOATHED MERGING METHOD

 

 

Before anypony had time enough to react in any way beyond seeing to the fulfillment of the general's terse orders, Star alighted in the midst of their preparations, coming from the same direction as Hardy had before her. For a while, she just stood at the outskirts, not interrupting the officers, merely observing them. She lingered on the colonel first, and although her expression was devoid of emotion, the stallion winced and broke the eye contact, starting to busy himself with helping the Cadets load the firewood onto their backs. He was however quickly stopped by the mare's silent command, "Leave the wood. It won't be needed." The winged unicorn's gaze then easily fished out Reverie, the unicorn straightening as he caught her eyes, but she continued to scan the group, lightly shaking her head as she finished and sighing silently.

"Triple rank, we press hard over a short distance," Star's voice carried as little emotion as her features betrayed when she spoke, once she saw everypony ready to go. "I'll explain the situation on the way. Twine brings up the rear. Move out," she ended, still keeping the calm, commanding tone to her speech. She went first, stepping onto the path the oldest unit of the Cadets had gone down what suddenly seemed such a long time earlier. At first, she moved at an easy marching pace, letting the officers fall into places in the formation behind her. Without ever looking back, she nonetheless knew exactly when that had been accomplished and accelerated immediately, bringing them to a lively trot down the mountain path, for now thankfully quite flat and packed, allowing for this increase in tempo. Despite her promise, she kept silent as they sped onwards.

Only later did she speak, once the path reached a steep decline, where the company had to pause as officers needed to climb down one by one. Standing a little aside and overlooking their efforts, she began, "From what I gather, earlier today one of the units has been led away from the camp by a changeling impersonating the general. While their demise is unlikely, the abduction is a certain - barring Hardy being able to cut off their escape," she paused for a long time afterwards, closing her eyes and scanning the horizon while the downwards struggle of the thankfully-unburdened infantry continued. For the longest time, she just stood there, seeming to have forgotten about the world, but as the last few ponies began their descent, she stepped forwards almost absentmindedly, free-falling for a moment before catching air in her wings and hovering over their heads. She pointed the direction the path now took, currently with a steep incline to the left and a similarly precautious drop to its right. "Double file now, standard marching speed. Watch your hooves, there will be a lot of gravel on the path."

The journey continued and now Star kept to the air, continuing her speech as the column reformed and resumed the stroll. "There is no easy method of differentiating a changeling from the person they're impersonating," she admitted, her voice easily carrying to all the officers, "but there are a few possibilities. For one, while most changelings will be able to incorporate clothing items into their guise, they may omit things they overlook: some flaw of the material, a stain, a decoration. Furthermore, while visually convincing, these clothes remain immaterial and will often fail to react properly to things like gusts of the wind, getting caught onto something or stepped upon - none of which seems particularly useful given the practical nature of your attire, but should be kept in mind nonetheless. Illusionary metal surfaces may fail to reflect sunlight or do so improperly, and the more intricately designed items may be recognized as looking downright fake."

The path slowly widened, then turned a corner and a view opened in front of them of a wide, thick forest, making it impossible to judge what lay beyond it. A keen eye would be able to spot a pegasus dropping from the air where it had been hovering before the visual contact had been made. As the terrain now allowed, Star spurred them almost to a gallop, while she easily kept pace in the air and continued her lecture. "What is more," she said, "the illusion of sameness is only superficial. While a changeling's looks may be convincing, it will not display the same movement patterns, speaking habits and generally lack the idiosyncrasy of the imitated individual, even if the timbre of the voice may be unrecognizable. The transformation provides a changeling no knowledge beyond that it already had, too, so a tried and true method of ascertaining the identity of a pony you'd suspect not to be themselves is asking a question to which the answer would not be known to any outside force."

The footpath led them straight towards a nigh-impenetrable wall of trees, but as they approached, Star alighted again and entered an unmarked trail that nonetheless allowed them to follow her without breaking the lines. The final part of the explanation was grave, and for the first time since she appeared in the morning, there was a hint of bitter emotion to Star's voice.  "The reason you are being informed of this only now is there should have been no possibility of this area being infiltrated this deeply by the changelings and thus there was no hurry in relaying all the information at once. All this is of course no excuse for anypony who would have known what I've just told you before." Although she didn't deem to look back, Twine winced with a pained expression from where he was tailing the group.

Walking through the dense woods had the upside of their pace slowing down greatly, allowing them to catch a breath after the forcible march, but the tension only grew as silence reigned, despite how pleasant a day it would have been in any other circumstances. Thankfully, after no more than a few minutes they got through to a clearing opening onto the beginning of a steeply deepening ravine beyond which the forest continued on a level ground. Scattered in the open were the pegasus officers, including general Hardy herself, standing on the edge of the crevice. Looking past her it was possible to view the opposite side of the downwards pass's wall. Its sponge-like surface, pockmarked with holes from top to bottom which ranged from openings so small it would be difficult to stick a hoof inside to cave entrances wide enough for more than one pony to go in side-by-side made the Sieve's name self-explanatory. The wall - increasingly high as the ravine's floor's drop continued - looked like this as far as it could be seen.

"Casualties?" asked Star matter-of-factly, stopping next to Hardy and looking down into the Sieve.

The armored pegasus shook her head. "None, as expected. But there is something you should really see," she pointed a hoof down, towards one of the bigger openings in the rock. A small pile of shattered crystal pieces had been gathered there, making it easier to notice what lay next to it: a smattering of the same material arranged into the distinct shape of an arrow, pointing towards the gaping hole. "Could it have been-" the general began to ask, but the answer cut her off.

"No." Star was frowning, looking intently at the arrow and the depths it pointed towards.

The silence stretched, the general's wings fluttering slightly in anticipation, until she couldn't contain the question any longer. "What happens now?"

"I go after them, of course," there was no hesitation before the answer came. Star looked sideways onto the other mare and added, "Alone."

A look of mixed hurt and outrage flashed in the pegasus' eyes. "No!" she snapped, accentuating that with a stomp of her hoof.

"No?" Star looked curiously down at her interlocutor, appearing surprised. When the smaller mare didn't back down, she nodded slowly. "No, not alone. But alone, too." Not giving the general any time to process this response, Star turned towards the Cadets who spectated this odd exchange. "The tunnels through these mountains, including those opening onto the ravine before you, have once housed entire hives of the changelings," she informed them calmly. "While that isn't true anymore, the creatures know their way through them, and as such are capable of navigating them in order to get to the plains more quickly than by the way of the mountain passages we've been following. If there is to be any hope of catching up to the kidnapped unit, that is the way that needs to be used. However, as speed is vital, I will only be taking a select few volunteers with me on the chase, while the rest of you will carry on down these known trails with the superior officers." She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in before she added, "More than anything, I require somepony with a good sense of direction and orientation in terrain, as on the way I will need to focus on restoring the breached defense crystals more than leading you, lest Ponyvale come to trouble whilst we're gone. Decide quickly," she ended, turning to Hardy, who nodded her approval of the plan.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Hederik

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

"From what I gather, earlier today one of the units has been led away from the camp by a changeling impersonating the general. While their demise is unlikely, the abduction is a certain - barring Hardy being able to cut off their escape," she paused for a long time afterwards, closing her eyes and scanning the horizon while the downwards struggle of the thankfully-unburdened infantry continued. For the longest time, she just stood there, seeming to have forgotten about the world

 

"So they knew General Hardy well enough to impersonate her, at least visually," Cat observed quietly, "And they knew she wasn't here when they acted."

 

Although she didn't say any more, her furtive glances at the ponies around her made her concerns crystal clear. They had all got to know each other well enough over the years of training, along with their little tics and idiosyncrasies, but that didn't stop Cat worrying.

 

 

 

I will only be taking a select few volunteers with me on the chase, while the rest of you will carry on down these known trails with the superior officers." She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in before she added, "More than anything, I require somepony with a good sense of direction and orientation in terrain

 

Searching through dark tunnels for oblivious comrades, one of whom is a hostile shape-shifter. You think a friend you've know for years is watching your back, and the last thing you feel is a sharp pain in the back of your neck... no, don't think about that. I don't want to go down there... but I'm not a coward... I'm not... I wanted to be a scout. To go first. I know I can navigate better than almost anypony, and in a close-quarters fight I'm as good as any other. There'll be no better chance to prove myself than this - to prove myself in front of Star, no less.  

 

Her mind made up and her fears crushed for the time being, Cat stepped forwards, saying nothing but looking straight at general Hardy with an expectant expression.

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers, @@Silver Heart, @@Once In A Blue Moon

 

It wasn’t very hard work, chopping wood. It wasn’t hard but it was boring. Very boring. It was swing the axe, pull it back, swing the axe and pull it back. But it had to be done at some point or else they’d all be freezing in the dark.

Azure’s thoughts was interrupted by a voice.

"We've got incoming!"

She jerked back, quickly raising her axe and preparing herself for the worst. She turned just in time to see a bluish-green blue land on the ground, revealing herself as General Hardy.

General Hardy. Huh. False Alarm. Something didn’t sit right about her though. Didn’t she head off with that unit? Then why is she here?

 

/*---*/

 

Azure ground her teeth. Changelings. She thought. She had never seen one before. Well, it would probably be very hard to see one because they all probably would be hiding beneath a facade. The thing is she had seen ‘General Hardy’ before she took off with Unit A. She had been fooled. Along with every pony else. She was a scout! She was supposed to be ready for these things. Yet, she blindly walked straight into the trap. She made a mental note to be extra observant about her surroundings and other ponies so she would be ready should the inevitable impersonation of another pony happens again.

 

/*---*/

 

They had reached a cave in pursuit of the kidnapped Unit A. Star had asked for volunteers. At first nopony stepped forward. Azure couldn’t blame them. Sifting through dark tunnels where you couldn’t even trust your closest friends. Teammates and allies that you have bonded with and trusted over the course of the last ten years. It would scare anypony silly. Yet, she stepped forward. Why? She didn’t really know. Maybe it was because if she didn’t she would feel responsible for the death of an entire squad. Maybe it was because if she didn’t she would be jeopardising the chances of success. Either way, she that even though she was scared she still had to do something. She stood next to Carto Sketch and waited for Star’s word.

Edited August 21, 2016 by AzureNightLight

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@AzureNightLight.

 

Cat nodded to Azure. Thinking back to what Star had said about changelings and their imitation abilities, and idea struck her; reaching into one of her ammunition bags, she pulled out one of the lead bullets, stamped it into a more irregular shape and tossed it over to her.

 

"Take this. If you need to prove that it's you, just chuck it back - even if they can make an illusion of a bullet, that'll break down the moment I try to catch it. Have you got anything for me to have? Not because I'm paranoid, but because I want some free stuff," Cat grimaced at her own forced joke, hoping that Azure wouldn't think of her as flippant, stupid or, worst of all, afraid.

 

Which you are. Coward.

 

Cat ground her hoof into the dirt impatiently, determined to silence her own doubts as well as prove herself to her comrades. 

[Hederik 119]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon @@AzureNightLight

 

General Hardy smiled a grim smile that didn't quite reach her eyes in response to Carto's look, an expression that said 'you don't know what you're signing up for, but I like your attitude' painted on her face. Star didn't react to the first two, her gaze directed more through the volunteers than at them, her alien green eye shifting with a nervousness that showed nowhere else in the giant mare's physique.

 

Midnight Rover stepped forwards next, slamming a hoof on his breastplate. "Close quarters or not, having a defender will go a long way. Plus, I'm rather impossible to be faked, what with the amount of metal I wear," the halfhearted quip went without a reaction from the superiors - Star didn't do as much as blink, in fact - but that didn't dissuade Midnight from continuing, as he surveyed the ponies from his unit, and thus, at the same time, took in those from the elder one as they were all interspersed in the clearing. "I'd dearly hope to be wrong, but I have a feeling that this little escapade might need medical supervision more so than the one originally planned." Again, no reaction from Star, although this time at least the general did nod her head a little in agreement. "I expect a proper caster would be a nice boon as well."

 

At the last comment, Reverie looked up from his observation of the Sieve, instantly drawing Star's green eye to himself as the mare twitched. He managed to take half a step forwards before her voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "No," she said, turning to the surprised stallion, "not you." Looking back towards Midnight, she said as calmly as though she had taken active part in the conversation this entire time, "I agree. It would do well to round out the group with a pegasus; you never know when the advantage of having a flier might prove beneficial. That would make six ponies with me, a good number," she ended, turning her gaze back to general Hardy and disregarding Reverie's hurt look.

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Once In A Blue Moon

 

Cat suddenly started looking for something in her bag. Azure observed, intrigued. She fished out what seemed like a black ball. She dropped it on the ground and stamped it out of shape. She looked up and tossed the object at Azure.

 

She caught it in her aura. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it. She looked up at Cat, a confused expression plastered on her face.

 

“Take this. If you need to prove that it’s you, just chuck it back – even if they can make an illusion of a bullet, that’ll break down the moment I try to catch it.” A pause.

 

Huh. Interesting. Azure thought. I didn’t really think about that.

 

“Have you got anything for me to have?” She continued. “Not because I’m paranoid, but because I want some free stuff.” Cat turned away from Azure hiding a grimace.

 

It took her a moment before she realised but when she did, she smirked.

 

“Oh, shush, you. Here,” she levitated out one of her unfinished crossbow bolts. “Take this. It’s one of my bolts that I haven’t gotten around to finishing.”

 

Azure turned back to face the front. She snuck a quick glance at the small group that had assembled them. This was enough for them to track and take down the changeling group, right?

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

General Hardy smiled a grim smile that didn't quite reach her eyes in response to Carto's look

 

Cat straightened when the general's gaze fell on her, then suppressed a shiver as Star looked right through her. When Star then broke her mask of aloof disinterest to dismiss Reverie, Cat turned her full attention on the enigmatic mare, also shooting a surreptitious glance at the unfortunate volunteer, 'Or maybe the exceptionally fortunate volunteer,' her mind supplied, wondering what Reverie had done wrong.

 

To cover her musings, Cat deformed and handed out lead bullets to the rest of the group, aside from Star, also looking them over for small markings that a changeling might miss. When she came to Midnight, she instead simply knocked on his pauldron as her check, more relieved than she would care to admit to have the armoured unicorn in the group - there was something about a walking suit of armour that radiated a sense of invulnerability. 

 

 

“Oh, shush, you. Here,” she levitated out one of her unfinished crossbow bolts. “Take this. It’s one of my bolts that I haven’t gotten around to finishing.”

 

"Cheers," Cat stuck the bolt into her mane, giving herself a jovially macabre look of a pony with a crossbow bolt through stuck in their neck, before deciding against it and poking it out the top of one of her ammo bags. 

 

"You're a scout, right?" Cat asked, a tone of respect for the senior cadet in her voice, "How do you want to run this? One watching the front, one the rear? The standard left and right will be a bit trickier in the more confined spaces, but it will allow us to keep an eye on each other."

Edited August 31, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Colenso watched helplessly as his whole squad volunteered but him, eyes shifting towards the ground. He would have like to have helped, but in such a enclosed space as they were scouting, magic such as his would do more harm that good. Intelligence outweighed his need to be with them, to make sure they were safe, and obedience overruled his worry about who they were going with as horrible it made him feel to admit. He gave a worried expression visibly as they walked forward away from him, and he had to bite his lip hard enough to make it leak blood to keep himself from stepping forward.

In his mind, he was begging them not to leave, but as with most parts of his inner workings, it was held under lock and key. One thing apparent though, as he looked to the pony whom was taking them with her, the pony whom would throw any amount of ponies at a problem to solve it, seeing as they already lost a squad, he hated her. The amount of contempt in his heart was enough to scorch the world that was already dying.

(Sorry, I wanted to post, but like explained here, there is not much Colenso could do at this point. Also why the post is so short)

Edited September 1, 2016 by Colenso Rivers

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Once In A Blue Moon

 

“Well…” Azure started. “Usually, it would be single file, one scout at the front and another at the back. The first scout is tasked with scouting ahead and keeping an eye out for their enemies. And the last has to keep an eye on the rest of the team as well as making sure they don’t get ambushed from behind… but.” She sighed. “It’s Star’s call in a situation like this; she knows the most about those and I’d say it’s best to follow her lead.” 

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

"I'd dearly hope to be wrong, but I have a feeling that this little escapade might need medical supervision more so than the one originally planned." Again, no reaction from Star, although this time at least the general did nod her head a little in agreement. "I expect a proper caster would be a nice boon as well."

 

 

 

Cat glanced back over the assembled ponies. Although there were quite a number of unicorns, dedicated casters were something of a rarity due to the focus and mental flexibility required to cast spells in quick success; or so the unicorns claimed anyway. With the loss of the most experienced ponies on the mission, there weren't many left. 

 

 

He gave a worried expression visibly as they walked forward away from him, and he had to bite his lip hard enough to make it leak blood to keep himself from stepping forward.

 

 

 

Cat flicked an ear when she saw Colenso holding back, raising an eyebrow and cocking her head in question. Why would you stay behind?

 

 

@@SilverHeart.

 

When Cat looked at Silver she didn't even try to hide her self-righteous disgust. She had always tried to be civil when Silver had shown her colours in the past, but she felt no such restraint now. They're asking for you in all but name; are you really going to refuse, now of all times?

 

[SilverHeart 741]

((OOC: Well I missed too much to ever make up for it with a single post, so I'll respond to what has happened recently.))

 

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight,

 

Silver Heart stood nearby watching as more and more members of her squad volunteered for their position. In fact, her squad seemed to make up the majority of the new unit. Midnight's presence alone made her feel that she had to volunteer out of a sense of duty. But she didn't want to. Going deep underground with cramped and dangerous tunnels, a single wrong turn or bad luck could cost all of them their lives. Silver visibly shuddered as she imagined being buried alive by loose rocks or worse, being separated from everyone else. Being surrounded by darkness, her only source of light emanating from her horn as she searched and screamed and scratched at the walls trying to find her way out of the darkness.

 

No, she would only go if another medic didn't volunteer. And so she waited and looked at each of the volunteers as she hoped somepony else would step forward. Midnight looked expectantly at her while Cat looked hurt and confused at Colenso. Silver watched as Cat's mildly disappointed gaze turned to her, transforming into a glare of pure disgust. She had seen the look several times since she had met the mare, but never with the intensity she bore at her now. Silver had known for a while that Cat despised her....flippant regard for being a Cadet. Silver averted her gaze, unwilling and unable to match her stare.

 

The seconds crept on before Silver gave up and slowly marched forward with the countenance of a mare being sentenced to hang. She walked past Midnight and then stopped behind him. The young medic kept her gaze lowered but glanced in Cat's direction and spoke in an strained but friendly tone, "Where's Colenso's glare?" As she turned her gaze back to the ground she added, "Double Standards, Carto."