Pathfinder and the Last Hurrah (Closed)

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder didn't think much of dark and dank caves anymore. She practically lived in them! They had a high percentage of adventure-based shenanigans relating to treasure and spooky ghost ponies. The only problem with dark and dank caves is that there were other times where they were just empty and gross and it was fine and cool if a cave was gross because it was full of bugs that hampered an adventurer during an adventure, but other times the bugs were just nuisances and boring and if there was no adventure tied the cave then it was a waste of time. A very royal pain in the flank when occasionally the bugs were huge but that could quickly turn into a fight for survival and that was the sort of thing that provided good adventure fuel. All in all, dark and dank caves ranked below ruins, temples, lost cities or mysterious tunnels but just ahead of abandoned warehouses and missing rooms in the adventure-ranking of places to find adventure in!

They were also super common. You could find dark and dank caves anywhere in the world but this place took the cake. The Leota forest was commonly thought of just as the forest around Tartarus, but that was pretty dumb. There was a lot more to it than that. There was the section around Tartarus but after a short patch of open ground the forest really opened up. She had seen one of the ancient sites of the battles with discord, narrowly avoided Gelding Grotto, had tangled with some Ursa Majors near the cavern of their species! Kelpie Keep kept no more secrets an the oubliette bored her. Timber wolves howled in frustration and the obelisk stopped churning after she had retrieved the gem of mystery. An ancient watchtower had been used as her camp more than a few times and to some, she had crossed off most of the cool location. And to a certain extent they were right. If you were totally stupid and didn't know any better, you might have thought that the Leota was all tapped out.

But Pathfinder was the exact opposite of totally stupid! She was totally smart! Smart as whip with the cutting force of one. Nopony could tell her she was wrong because she was right, and old maps only bolstered that reality. The Leota was deeper and scarier than any modern map would indicate, the scale of which was matched only by the Everfree. It was rumored that all sorts of nasties made their home there, not least of all was Changelings. Silly stupid dumb changelings having silly stupid dumb changeling fun in their caves and their cities, being all silly like. They creeped out a lot of ponies but not Pathfinder. What was scary about a changeling? So what if they changed form! She wasn't a dumby. If somepony showed up, Pathy would assume they were changelings and then kick butt. DURR. MY MARE IS NOT AN ADVENTURER. DUH. But...that was in Equestria. This was in the Leota, away from prying eyes and one of the most likely places they were going to have nested. That alone made the map she found in the watchtower interesting enough, but they would be there for a while. She had stuff to find.

It was therefore only months later when something else hit her over the head that it all come together. The marble column that did the job knocked her past last week but it also did something cool. Hidden in it was a map and scroll hidden into the columns, details of an artifact that was being hidden by a pro-Discordian cult that had resisted the two sisters long after Discord had been defeated. Located deep, deep in the Leota where some ponies dared to live when Discord ruled, it was supposed to be a relic of great power. Sidenote- Relics of great power tended to be sorta boring in the long run as nothing compared to the Elements. What was once considered incredibly powerful wa snow little more than a trinket, and most were inert. But this had historical value. Throughout time, there had been eight artifacts created by Discord and given to his most loyal subjects. For all of his chaotic evil, Discord did understand the basics of rewarding your help. While most of Equestria existed in a state of madness and chaos, those who helped him did very well- mansions, land that was normal, slaves and artifacts of power. Six of the eight had been discovered, and the Eye of Beholding was somewhere in the Leota according to the scroll.

And that was all she needed

----------------------

Pathfinder had found the probable or at least most likely location to contain the artifact. It had been just a few days but her trip had been uneventful. A few animals gave her the stinkeye but she had been unharmed. It was boring. She had expected hordes of monsters and changelings and the possibility of peace bored her to tears and beyond. But she found the cave and immediately dived in it and it was special. There were already thousands of really huge caves in the Leota, but she had never really scratched the surface of them. After all, she sorta had an idea of where she was going. This was where the artifact was supposed to be and judging just from the entrance it would be a while. The entrance hall seemingly oozed and stood ten ponies tall and thirty ponies wide, with dozens of tunnels in every direction. She took one and this was repeated- a large room with tunnels leading out. One after another Pathfinder pushed on, heedless of the danger. The walls seemingly pulsed and there was evidence of recent habitation, but Pathfinder had come to expect disappointment from the Leota.

What was interesting were the rooms. Many of them had the same general construction but seemed more...personalized. Some had old marble structures maintained well enough to act as chokepoints, others had holes in the wall with boxes stacked behind them. One even had only one entrance in and one entrance out and had three dozen tiny holes in the wall! Each one different, each one with a purpose. It felt like she was walking through storefronts, checkpoints, and apartments. You only found those in...

Cities.

But where were the inhabitants? It didn't take a genius to figure out that these weren't ponies, but a lot of this reminded her of Diamond Dog construction. She had dealt with those mutts long enough to know the difference between the skilled hooves of a workpony and the clumsy claw of a fool dog, and none of this had the grace of a pony city. At the same time though, the dogs were never in such large numbers and they hated sharing space with one another. Too much sense of identity to allow that. She supposed that narrowed it down to...

Changelings.

And the answer to where they were was soon to be answered as she stepped out of what appeared to be some sort of storefront into a mammoth cavern that showed all of the finery that could be expected from their kind. It oozed off of the walls as thousands upon thousands of insect wings and hooves clambered over one another to push and push down a huge sunken path in the dead center of this city. Where to? Why was every ling in this city in one spot moving in one direction...? Pathfinder ducked behind a rock the moment she entered, her body as low as she could go. She had guessed lucky enough- she had a good vantage point and whatever was going on, the masses seemed preoccupied, even excited, about something that was happening down below. She squinted her adventurer's eyes and her heart stopped and eyes lit up with excitement all at once. Could it be? Was it she? There was a good reason they had all gathered down below! She didn't dare speak but her back hooves lightly tossed in the air gently. This was going to be the best adventure ever!

She was going to liberate a relic and pull one over on Queen Chrysalis all at the same time!

Awesome!

[RarityDash]

"... the risks will be severe, but the rewards will be great. All changelings who take a part in the operation will find I can be most generous. This shall be your opportunity to find yourself in my grace and in doing so take part in something important. We shall emerge from these shadows, these wastelands and finally prove our greatness to the world beyond where you will be able to feast upon a limitless bounty of love. It's there for us to grab! All we need is to be bold enough to finally make it ours!"

Chrysalis smirked softly as she finished giving a short speech to a growing crowd of changelings. Preparations were underway for the Roam operation. She found herself needing to corral numbers for it, and that meant venturing from her castle to some of the more remote population centers within her kingdom. Generally speaking, in places like this the changelings were not quite as loyal as the ones who lived so near her and more of them were cowards. Still, taking Roam would require many changelings. She needed some of these here to serve her, even if they couldn't be relied on for much but to fill out her ranks. Showing up with some members of her inner circle and delivering a speech appealing to the scraps of pride they still had as well as their hunger and greed would be enough to rouse at least some of them to her side. She would be forced to take what she could get.

The queen was regarded by her subjects as a quite effective speaker. Even before she was queen, she had been able to rally and compel changelings to action. Her failures had hurt her somewhat, but she retained the ability to appeal directly to the frequently simple mind of the common changeling. She would be able to build the right force to take Roam. It was just a matter of time. It would mean more speeches like this one in other dark corners of her little kingdom. This one was interchangeable with any other. It was simple procedure. A means to get what she wanted in the end. Honestly, it was so routine that she'd have set Luxuria or one of the ones better skilled with their glamours to deliver speeches in her stead wearing her image if she had any faith at all in any of their abilities to say the right things. It was just a dull necessity in the preparation of the greater plan. The Queen certainly didn't except anything at all of interest to occur at this place and time.

"Any fine changelings, ready to grab what is rightfully theirs, come to my castle in a week's time. You shall be handsomely welcomed," she said conclusively, nodding to the crowd. She then turned to step back from the crowd of restless changelings, back toward the loyal changelings who had come with her from the castle.

"That is done," she said, the words covered by the excited murmuring of the crowd behind her. "They seem excited now, but I imagine only a third of them will have the courage to show when the day arrives." she said, shaking her head softly, thinking about how she might be being too optimistic with that estimate. She had no way of knowing anything about any ponies that might be lurking off in the distance.

​

[Blueblood]

The key to being a successful agent of the Queen is to turn whatever qualities one possessed into methods of service. Many times, Changelings with more loyalty than sense would try to imitate their more famous superiors, and thus would bring to the table more incompetence than the mission could bear under. Such, at any rate, was one theory behind the failures that had so far plagued Chrysalis' plans.

Kahz, at least, was free of this danger of delusion. His brittle chitin and bent form prevented him from being anything like the more seductive agents who relied upon charm of appearance, or like the warriors who could bring great strength to the table. What he did have was a mind that could work fast under shifting circumstances, charms of voice and manner, and a great deal of magnanimity that often baited others into trying to take advantage of him. No one is quite so manipulatable as one who thinks that he is manipulating...

Hence, when the Queen had been selecting her retinue for her tour of the changeling settlements, he'd gotten himself onboard essentially by being "tricked" into serving as its lackey, mostly to run errands and provide what comforts he could to the ranking members. Not a glamorous job by any means, but he was in a position to listen, and even to offer suggestions, as long as he wasn't particular about who took credit for them. He truly did care more for the success of Chrysalis' mission than his own place in it; the Changelings needed to unite behind their queen if there was to be any hope of them being anything more than creatures creeping in dank tunnels...


It was right after Chrysalis had finished her speech. In a little while, she would probably call for him, but in the meantime, he infiltrated the crowds, trying to judge their reactions. No one had told him to do this, exactly, but he figured it couldn't hurt to bring a little extra intel to Her Majesty, nor to push the overheard conversations in the right direction.

"So, what did you all think about that?" He walked up to a small group of drones that had gathered to discuss the speech close to the entrance of a tunnel that, unknown to them, housed one of the great Pegasus adventurers of Equestria. "Personally, I'm going. Ain't got much to lose, you know, besides a cramped, dank corner of a tunnel wall and the scrapes of love from barely-successful hunts. By the glim, a changeling's life isn't worth living, like this! I'll take my chances with the Queen." Perhaps that was laying it on a bit thick, but then, it might work; after all, no one wanted to look more of a coward than the crippled.

​

[Bellosh]

As he stood by Queen Chrysalis’s side, Snively briefly wondered how it would feel like once again to cheer on the opposite end of such a magnificent speech. It seemed like ages since the vertically-challenged drone was just another nameless changeling in the crowd, forced to perch on the back of his big brother Whiplash just to see anything. After some recollection, the bureaucratic decided that no, he did not miss the good ole’ days one bit. Snively currently lived in fear of the whims of his hard-to-please master, but it was worth it all to boss around nearly all the other drones in the Queen’s service.

Snively’s journey as a servant of Chrysalis has led him to accompany Her Majesty to one of the outlying corners of the Changeling Kingdom. Support for the Roam invasion needed to be drummed up from the masses, and that meant proudly standing at the Queen’s side for a hour at a time while the Queen rallied her subjects. Despite recent setbacks, nothing entertained the masses more than their leader stroking their collective ego. A few more campaign stops like this one, and Chrysalis would have all the members of the strike force she needed.

"That is done. They seem excited now, but I imagine only a third of them will have the courage to show when the day arrives."

Queen Chrysalis shared a far dimmer outlook however, and that put Snively on edge. Like a good advisor, the yes-drone needed to remind the greatest of all living things that with a clever strategy, she’d get the troops she needed. “Your Majesty,” he suggested in his typical nasal manner, hovering in front of the royal changeling; “I’m sure you’ll get the numbers you need if you threaten them a little. Tell them their love rations will be reduced by a quarter if your invasion fails. Heh heh heh heh heh,” Snively rubbed his rotten hooves together; “That’ll give those poor unfortunate souls a reason to fight in your glorious name!”

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder had seen many super cool things in her life. It was the greatest treasure that an adventurer could have was a lifetime of cool things that bombarded you to the point that living lava became somewhat boring. She had faced down viking caribou and seen walking trees try to eat her. Lava rolled over verdant green hills only to be evicted by the defensive grass. Across Equestria and beyond, there were so many magical and amazing things that you could hardly believe they existed. And that was just in the physical world that ponies could be forced to believe when it came out to touch their hooves. Success allowed a certain sixth sense of develop and envelop and it was this that gave her a true adventuring experience. You couldn't see real super coolness until you had that experience, and that was what told her what she saw was special. The Queen of the Changelings going all out on some sort of recruitment drive to attack Roam! Wow! This was super cool, very dangerous, and something she should probably head home to warn ponies about.

And she would, but not right now. The Eye of Beholding was somewhere in this cursed city of chitin and parasitic evil. The fact that the Queen and her entourage as well as a whole host of small nasties was here to bolster the huge population only made it all the better. As a changling who would be cute if he was just a bit smaller, like foal sized so he could be put into a nappy, talked with a group nearby, Pathfinder had to take stock. She was in relatively open ground if anyling looked on from above. Only her coat color would help her blend in with the well-weathered ground, but it wouldn't help her for more than a few seconds. There was also that really close group of them, and with the meeting ending, no doubt many more would move out in many directions. She was in a very untenable position, and there was far too many of them to fight. Pathfinder ventured a peek from her cover. Were there any paths she could take?

Yes. Yes there was. It wasn't the best possible path, but she had lived up to her name by finding one somewhat workable path forward since going back was out of the question. it was a narrow half-circle drain that went from the top all the way to the bottom, where the meeting had just ended. It had some rocky overhang and that would protect her from above. She would have to keep low and move slow, but as long as she was fine with getting wet from the running water (Hint: She totally was!) then it would work out. Pathfinder slowly turned in place and started crawling towards the drain, slipping into it and slowly but surely working her way down it. Nothing at all could go wrong now! Yay, sneaky adventure fun!

[RarityDash]

“Your Majesty,I’m sure you’ll get the numbers you need if you threaten them a little. Tell them their love rations will be reduced by a quarter if your invasion fails. Heh heh heh heh heh,That’ll give those poor unfortunate souls a reason to fight in your glorious name!”

Chrysalis frowned as she found her most sharply voiced sycophant replying to her. She sighed and laughed. "I think we've been listening too much to Sachadara, Snively," she said, finding a short laugh. "Fear is surely a powerful and awesome thing, and we will see that it is shown to all of our enemies," she said. "But as a motivator for our potential comrades, I think other things are better served."

The queen closed her eyes and nodded before again looking at the bureaucrat. "What after all can be expected from those who would come to my side only for fear of their own well being? I cannot see how such creatures could be relied upon when danger comes." She paused a moment and laughed once more. "No, I think we will find our cause better served by those driven by opportunity. They have little pride in these parts, so let their greed, their want be what compels them. Even the miserable and cowardly after all, can put aside their inhibitions when they see personal gain in it, can they not?"

Chrysalis stared a mocking stare at Snively as she said the final words. She could get the creature before her to do anything with just a word if he thought it would curry her favor after all. He would be quick to want to force cruelty onto his fellow changelings though, so long as he stood above it. Truly a despicable creature, but one it was in that that he had his uses, she supposed.

Speaking of uses, she found herself looking out into the crowd. She recognized a young changeling loyal to her--Kahz, if she recalled the name---among the others. He seemed to be appealing to the others from their level. How clever. It was the sort of thing she loved to see. She hadn't expected to see much out of him when she had brought him along, but this sort of thinking was the sort of thing that might some day take him far. She nodded and turned back to Snively.

"I suppose there's little more to do here," she said. "We should return as soon as the crowds allow it."

​

[Blueblood]

Kahz's little campaign was enjoying some degree of success. Of course, those who were already moderately well-fed from the rations were by no means willing to risk their position for a chance to fight and die in an invasion. No, the diminutive partisan found that the receptive audience were those most like himself; at the bottom of the hive's food chain, those who hadn't had a decent meal in... well, ever, actually. Not a promising company to look at, but he knew better than anyone else that there is no harder or more loyal worker who sees their first real chance to make something of themselves. That was the signature message of the Queen, after all.

At the end of the day, it meant more recruits, and therefore a better chance of success for the mission. Happy in doing his part, he made his way to the edge of the crowd, intending on rejoining the Queen's party by going around rather than through the milling changelings. He'd just about made it, when he felt a shove from behind, and heard a most insincere "Oops" from a rather burly changeling who knew that Kahz wasn't one of their hive.
"We've got enough problems without the likes of you stirring things up."

Kahz sat up in the puddle he'd been knocked into, wiping the dirty water out of his eyes to more clearly see his assailant. One of the local bosses, he supposed, not wanting his authority being disturbed. This called for delicacy and tact. He began his approach with a disarming smile, a reaction which the bulky one was clearly not expecting. "Don't tell me, I know. It's always the same thing, isn't it?" He spoke with a sympathetic tone, as one who would be willing to listen all day to complaints without returning in kind. "Rations too low, work too high, no respect for superiors. The whole thing's a strain, isn't it? Say, tell you what!"

He went up to place a perforated hoof on the other's shoulder, having to reach quite high to do so. "This is your prime opportunity to lighten you load of troublemakers. Anyone getting too uppity here can always be made to take their chances with us. Let me tell you, after some weeks with the queen, they'll be thinking twice about talking back to you. In fact, why don't you spread the idea around to the other bosses? Hail you as a genius, they will. You curry favor with everyone, no downside. Ha, but that's exactly the sort of genius I'd expect from you. Could see it at once." The whole speech had been delivered at a rush, quite overwhelming the burly boss. Still, once he had time to work it out, a smile spread across his face, and he departed, no doubt to carry out his wonderful idea.

Kahz chuckled as he turned away. Amazing what you could convince ponies and changelings to do, as long as you let them think it was their own idea. Shaking himself to dry off, he noticed the drain pipe in the wall. It was the source of the water, but it was now only slightly dripping, not enough to replenish the rivulet that was slowly draining deeper into the cave. It reminded him of when he had been "volunteered" to clean all the drains and ventilation in the hive, on account of being one of the few changelings that could fit in them.

Never one to throw away hard-gained knowledge, he decided to take a slight peek. It was no trouble at all to shimmy into the drain, though it took his eyes some time to adjust to the darkness within. Chancing a light with his horn, he could see ahead of him... a set of boots. With the hooves still in them.

His breath caught. *A Pony? Here!?* This could be disastrous. If word got back of what the Queen was planning, the whole mission. He quickly shut off his horn, knowing he had little time to act. If he raised the alarm, it would only set off a chaotic wave through the crowd, allowing her to escape, most likely. After all, only the most capable of agents could ever get this far, surely! Already, it may have been alerted to Kahz's discovery of itself!

Quickly, he pulled out, pulling a rock from behind him to stop up the drain at his end. It would at least limit the pony's options for now. He scurried back to the Queen and Snively, bowing deeply to Chrysalis. "Your Majesty!" He panted, his nervousness nearly stopping his breath short. "I have, I've seen, there's a spy here!"

​

[Bellosh]

".....Even the miserable and cowardly after all, can put aside their inhibitions when they see personal gain in it, can they not?"

Coming at the tail end of a royal musing came a moment for Snively to display his miserableness and cowardice, winching as Queen Chrysalis stared at him. Did the true ruler of Equestria disapprove of her servant’s off-the-record activities done to sate his greed. Better not admit to any of it, just in case! “I ummm ummmmmm, wouldn’t know a thing about that, my most gracious queen,” Snively lied, his sweating giving away his nervousness. He’d need a distraction to make Chrysalis forget about this unwelcome exchange.

That distraction came in the form of a drone who believed himself advisor material. Snively usually kept a very close eye on Kahz these days, making sure to constantly limit his chances of making a favorable impression on Queen Chrysalis. Ambition was a very dangerous thing for a changeling to have in the Hive, especially if it made Snively, the top bureaucrat in the food chain, fear for the security of his own position.

And now, more important matters needed to be dealt with at once. A spy! An opportunity to demonstrate leadership abilities for the Queen and the rest of the drones to see! Taking off into the air, Snively hovered over Kahz so he could provide the nobody with nasally-inflicted orders, right into his face; “Then what are you waiting for? Go GET THEM!!!”

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder shimmied and crawled down the drainage pipe, using what little cover it provided from the crowd as well as she could. It wouldn't help matters at all if one of the silly droned decided to do anything involving the pipe, but Pathfinder's options were around nil and naughtiness below nil. So she shimmied towards glory and adventure. She had't given a great deal of thought to what she would do once she had returned with the artifact. One idea, and the one that was taking charge most aggressively in her imagination, was to pawn the artifact off to Falco for a really nice necklace that she would deliver to her Snowy Snowfall. Falco was always good for giving Pathfinder a fair deal ad he would definitely have a good deal for her laying about. If he didn't accept that deal then she would probably just drop it off it off to some museum. They didn't like it when you broke in and left things on top of their other exhibits but their security systems were loud and she needed to get away before migraines set in.

As Pathfinder moved down the drain, she got a bad break. One drone peeked in and saw her, moving a boulder to block her path. Talk about unlucky! Talk about being outnumbered! Talk about awesome! It was boring not being able to fly around and evade dozens of assailants at once with her patented dodge-move technology, like when she flapped her wings and flew around and such aimlessly in the air until her foes got tired. She did freeze for a second in thought, however. What to do? No doubt that drone was going to inform the rest and she was going to be mobbed in no less than ten seconds. Changelings weren't trouble physically alone, nor were they elite magic users. She could take one or two or even a small group, but there were multitudes here. Through sheer volume of fire she would be cut down at a distance before she could breathe if she gave them any amount of time. She really had no good option, but one option was at least workable. She had a good idea of where the majority were and of where her target was. Simply trying to outrun them wouldn't work. They were everywhere. She would have to use their numbers against them.

Pathfinder shot up out of the drainage ditch and shot out towards, not away, from the massive horde of changelings. Flying above them, she was quickly seen by the majority. Some took to the skies. Some looked up with a sneer. Most were in disbelief for a crucial few seconds that anypony would be dumb enough to try and enter their city alone. Within moments the first magical bolts came, but they were quick reflex shots with little to no accuracy. All of them missed. A few changelings who had taken flight fell to the ground, victims of friendly fire. Others missed and hit the ceiling, breaking off chunks of rock that fell towards the group and scattered a few at a time. Pathfinder descended as she flew quickly ever so little, increasingly still covered by the panicked rising of more and more changeling to counter the pony threat. Within moments the whole cavern was a fusillade of fire without direction as thousands upon thousands of changelings tried to hit the darting pony in the dim lighting, hitting themselves an causing the ceiling to fracture bit by bit and add to the chaos, which was not helped at all by Pathfinder tossing out magical flash devices which blinded and confused and smoke grenades in random directions. It was chaos.

Pathfinder operated best in chaos.

[RarityDash]

“I ummm ummmmmm, wouldn’t know a thing about that, my most gracious queen,”

Chrysalis just stared at her shrill minion blankly and sighed. Snively didn't truly think her naive did he? Whether it was Snively or Sachadara or whoever else, it was very difficult for her subjects in her inner circle to keep secrets from her. She had to be ready for any of them possibly getting an inflated head and thinking they knew how to lead the kingdom better than she did. Even if she didn't know of Snively's activities, he was such an easy read the dimmest changeling drone could have seen he was hiding something. Truly he should know better than to try and keep something from his queen. Chrysalis thought to scold him, but didn't get the opportunity, for very suddenly Kahz rushed to them.

​

"Your Majesty! I have, I've seen, there's a spy here!"

“Then what are you waiting for? Go GET THEM!!!”

"Hold!" Chrysalis barked immediately before Kahz could follow her bureaucrat’s hastily given order.. She shook her head. This was an interesting development? A spy? Did that mean a pony? They weren't so common in the kingdom. The Leota was a defense few ponies could surmount. It was a rarity that they appeared and never had Chrysalis been on the scene personally when one did. This was to her fortune though if her subjects allowed things to go smoothly.

"Leave this to me," she said. "As queen and the strongest and cleverest among us, I should be able to handle this spy more efficiently than anyone else."

Her wings started to buzz and carry her off the ground. "In this situation, the absolutely worst thing we can do is shout, panic and send changelings off in every direction. It will only allow the spy to evade capture."

With that the queen flew ahead a short distance, only for an infuriating mess to explode right in front of her. The pony let itself be spotted by all the changelings assembled there, and nearly every single one of them got it in their pathetic head to fly and shoot at her. Chaos built on more chaos and then the pony added flashes and smoke to make for even more of a disarray.

"Idiots!" Chrysalis shouted out in frustration and disbelief. How could so many changelings be so utterly useless? She snarled bitterly and then looked back toward Snively and Kahz. "You two! Help me find the intruder now!' she commanded as she continued to fly upward to search the chaos.

​

[Blueblood]

As far as changelings went, Kahz was probably the most kindly out of all of those loyal to the Queen, but even he had to admit, Snively at close quarters was no pretty sight. Particularly when he was close enough to fleck one's face with spittle as he shouted orders. Still, Kahz had surprisingly little active dislike for the bureaucrat. Sure, he was a colossal sycophant and humbug, but by no means difficult to deal with, if one had the proper touch. You simply said, "Yes, sir!" to whatever orders he gave, and then waited for someone above him to countermand them.

So it was in this instance. No one could accuse him of any insubordinate attitude to his superiors; he merely followed his Queen like the loyal drone he was. Alas, Chrysalis' circumspection was to no avail. The pony agent that had infiltrated their defenses was truly a master of her art; her strategem was bold, to go so clearly out in the open, but it accomplished what she needed. Chaos was her friend, and their enemy.

The same fair-mindedness that led Kahz to praise his enemy's virtues also gave him an insight into her likely strategy. In this case, this pony couldn't be planning long-term, since she was relying on confusion and unpredictability. Therefore, she had no exit plan. A sharp cracking noise from above drew his gaze for an instant, and then an idea came to him.

"The exits!" He called out to his queen, suggestions coming in rapid staccato bursts. "We'll block them with the ceiling chunks! Tire her out, corner her!" It could work; he'd already gotten the hidden drainpipe, after all, and it would take back the advantage Pathfinder had gained by inducing the mob of changelings to shoot their own ceiling. One thing was certain, they couldn't let her out of this chamber. If the pegasus escaped into the tunnels, it would be a much, much harder task to track her down....

​

[Bellosh]

"You two! Help me find the intruder now!"

If the changelings of this Leota hive really were such bad shots, Snively wondered then whether they’d be actually useful for the purposes of Queen Chrysalis. There wasn’t much time to muse on the subject though; Snively was ordered to join that bootlicker drone on the hunt for the intruder. “It will be done my Queen,” the bravery-challenged bureaucrat acknowledged before following Kahz around, who at the very least seemed to know what he was doing. Snively thus figured to let the other do the heavy lifting, while keeping an extra set of eyes on the spy in case they tried pulling any tricks.....

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder continued her torrid pace of being the best pony these changelings had ever encountered. Poor gals and guys couldn't bother aiming very accurately as they were in a panic and a frenzy, baying for her blood while in equal measure panicking. They didn't leave up to the hype! She had always imagined changelings as cold blooded killers with hearts of iron and claws of steel. Instead they had minds of bricks and the accuracy of a blind archer in a storm! They would have to go ahead and be reduced in her tabletop game some statwise. Maybe docked a few levels. Used more like footsoldiers of the big bad than the main course of the adventurer's buffet. Pathfinder dodged and weaved across the lines of chaos and used them to spin a professional ballet that only she could dance to. She tossed the last of her smoke bombs and the cavern was covered in a yodel of smokel. A full yodel!

The event was coming to a close, however. She had flown around in random enough patterns that even the Queen had taken her turn at trying to catch the sweetest adventurer in all the land. But those patterns had cause. She had only realized it soon after she had started her panic strategy. At the very bottom of the cavern, the giant meeting space melted down into a single lane that led deeper into the city. If Pro-Discordian Cults kept up their temple fixings the same as they had in other places, then the Eye of Beholding would be located in an inner sanctum. It was doubtful the Changelings would have found a way to access it, though the forum that surrounded it could make for a fine residence for the leader of the city. You needed to know the patterns of the Cult in order to open it up and Pathfinder was one of the very few that passed muster in that testing area. Her patterns were to distract everyling away from that one singular path and as the last of her smple bombs were deployed, she made her move. It didn't hurt that the Changelings were doing something now, blocking the exits. One by one they closed and as a result, everyling started to focus a little better as the smoke started to clear. There was still chaos but it was lessening, the shots getting closer and closer as she flew at her greatest speed towards that one path. She was almost there...

...when the charged bolts finally started to find their mark. One slammed into the base of her tail, forcing a startled yelp from Pathfinder's throat. That would be her last for a while as another blast came from the side directly into her neck. She felt a great burning and then suddenly it was as if she couldn't breathe anymore- everything seemed so full. Her straight path started to falter. Then a wing was hit in a burst of feathers before the skeletal structure stopped responding to her frazzled and busted muscles. She tilted and fell as two more impacted across her back and stomach, pain cracking across her entire spine and her intestines. She made it through the path all right and paid dearly for her efforts, crashing down the narrowing hallway. Cartwheeling, hooves, head, body, legs and wings alike slapping angrily against the rocky walls and ground until she came to a bouncing stop and lay nearly motionless except for her shallow and unforced breathing, the contents of her saddlebag spilled out. If anyling wanted to read her shipping fanfiction or the signed first edition copy of every Daring Do book ever, now was the time.

[Blueblood]

For the first time in his life, Kahz found himself in a position of command, or at least leadership. At any rate, he was at the front of a group of changelings, Snively apparently included, that were going to go wherever he went, and might very probably do what he told them. A novel opportunity for the deformed and diminutive drone, and one he was determined not to waste, particularly while he was being watched by Queen Chrysalis herself!

But that wasn't the important part, nor the foremost thought in his mind. No, the thought that dominated and drove his will was the intruder, and all the damage she could do to the hive if she was allowed to escape. Why, with her knowledge of the Leota's location, as well as the Queen's plans, she would set them back years, perhaps giving the ponies a strategically decisive advantage! That could not, would not be allowed to happen, whatever the cost.

Thus, he hung back, sacrificing a reputation for zeal for a little caution, allowing the Queen's words to calm the chaos of magical bolts. The results spoke for themselves; the pegasus was systematically funneled towards one escape route, narrowing the changeling's targeting and allowing them to score direct hits. "Bravo, Bravo! True servants of the Queen! Well done!" The praise was not insincere, regardless of whether it was undeserved. Sometimes you had to give compliments first, and trust to the vanity of the recipient to make them live up to it afterwards.

With a smooth, swooping dive, he followed the shot-down Pathfinder into the tunnel she fell into, signaling the following grunts to block both ends. He landed beside her, looking over her apparel and spilled gear curiously. "Hm? What's all this?" Papers. And quite a lot of them, it seemed. Valuable intelligence, no doubt, though probably in code. He gathered it all together into a pile to go over later, waiting for the queen to decide the captive's fate...

​

[RarityDash]

Success would not elude changelings long. The lone pony, as it were, was able to stir up enough chaos to make her desperate attempt for escape, but there was no way she would elude the Queen for long--not when she herself was on the scene issuing the commands. This pony was a miserable fool to ever think to challenge her kingdom and its defenses.

Chrysalis had an expression of satisfaction on her face as she approached Kahz and the others where they had the pony shot down and cornered. She looked toward Kahz and smiled just slightly, pleased for what she had seen. She had ordered him and Snively to assist her directly in securing the spy, and while Snively had done nothing to distinguish himself, Kahz had stepped forward and lead changelings into action, ultimately resulting in the spy's captor.

"You've done quite well for yourself, Kahz, showing admirable resolve and shrewd thinking when a situation has arisen," the queen said, amused. "I'm beginning to see a very bright future for you at my side..."

Chrysalis stepped toward the spy then and examined her. It was a pegasus mare, and one who took the shape of the pony adventure novel heroine Daring Do. Chrysalis recognized her instantly, for she read many books written by ponies; she was the sort who believed it necessary to understand her enemies down to the little things, especially for when it came time to take their shape. Was this the real Daring Do though? Was there a real Daring Do? Being distant from pony culture, Chrysalis really wasn't sure entirely what things she read were fiction and which had a basis in reality. All she knew was that the resemblance was uncanny.

"Her look is familiar to me," Chrysalis said as she looked at the prone pegasus. "It's possible that this is a famous champion of ponykind..." she added, not entirely sure.

She looked then toward the things that had spilled out from her bag. It was pages upon pages of writing. If she was here as a spy, this was likely significant. Lifting it with her magic, Chrysalis gathered up all of the countless pages and then unceremoniously thrust them at Snively. "Snively, you like pouring over no doubt tedious documents," she said with a sigh. "Read all of this and give me a report on its contents."

Without another word then, she spit up a mass of green cocooning slime onto the pony to hold her still. If she was someone skilful, it was best to immobilize her now then trying to return with her to the castle first and risk her escaping in transit. "Now it's just a matter of waiting until she can tell us exactly what she's here for..." Chrysalis added with a small giggle.

​

[Bellosh]

"You've done quite well for yourself, Kahz, showing admirable resolve and shrewd thinking when a situation has arisen. I'm beginning to see a very bright future for you at my side..."

How many changelings does it take to change a candlestick? Apparently a lot, considering all the effort it took for the drones to finally hit the intruder. But whatever satisfaction Snively derived from seeing the fall of yet another fleabag all but vanished as Queen Chrysalis lavished praise upon Kahz. The bravery-challenged bureaucrat made his thoughts known about this upswell of fortune with an icy glare at Kahz’s direction, though taking great care to not let the Queen witness this act. Snively would work tirelessly that no matter how far the other drone in the spotlight advanced in the ranks, he could never take the administrator’s place.

It was here when Chrysalis hovered on over to Snively a monstrously large pile of books and papers. The frightened changeling trembled in horror as the shadow cast by the intelligence materials fell upon him. “W-w-wait Your Maja- AHHHHHHHHH- ummph!!!” A cascade of books cut Snively’s shrill scream short, squashing the dwarflike drone under all that rubbish literature.

Never fear folks, for the changeling will eventually worm his way out and begin analyzing the intell. But that understandably takes time.....

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder breathed heavily through her broken body, each ragged breath drawing deep through lungs which only narrowly avoided getting punctured by broken ribs. Her wings twitched as she rolled to the side, a mess of bone and muscle with the feathers falling off as they stuck to the nearly sap like surface of the changeling hive. She tried to pull up, but failed to do so. Her spine felt okay enough but she couldn't will her body to get up. The pain was beyond intense but nothing she hadn't experienced before. Indeed, a lot of this wasn't new to her. If she tried to keep count of the times she had broken this bone or that bone her not so mathematically inclined mind would have shattered from overuse some time ago.

But oh well. Just another part of the story that would entice the world someday when the memoirs of Equestria's greatest living adventurer were sold. After some extensive work she rolled on over to her back with a yelp, one wing folded unevenly under her as she scanned the area. She was surrounded by her adventure buddies for the day, changelings. She hadn't thought there was any among them save the queen who had anything resembling higher brain function but there ya go, you learn something new every day. And then she found a new sensation crowding around her as the cocoon of green slime rose around her, encasing her in their special prison. She yelped in pain for a second before the green slime numbed her- good on the Queen to show such kindness!

“Ugghh...ahhhh...” Pathfinder moaned for a second as she formed words harshly over harmed vocal cords...”uggh...thanks Queenie, that feels much better on my wings! Now if only I could scratch that itch near one of those compound fractures everything would be better- ACK! UGGH...” Pathfinder smiled before moaning again, her bloodied mane along with her head being the only freedom she experienced.

[Blueblood]

Contrary to the claims of several equine natural scientists, changelings do, in fact, have hearts, and Kahz's was full of exaltation. She'd smiled at him! The leader and heroine of all the Changelings, whom he had admired and sought to imitate from the very day of his hatching, and she had given him a smile and a compliment! All the years of menial work, and now he was being given opportunities to be a hero! Snively had no need to fear for his position; for all his small and twisted stature, Kahz wished to be in the vanguard and the first to face danger, rather than to be secure in some bastion of bureaucracy.

Bowing deeply to the Queen, he said humbly, "I live to serve, your Majesty." And unusually enough, he meant it, too. Having acknowledged Chrysalis, he took a step back into the background, allowing her to work her magic on the prisoner. This brought him near the pile of books under which his erstwhile superior was currently buried. More out of a general fellow-feeling than anything else, he shifted the pile slightly so as to ease Snively's escape. "Do let me know if you require any assistance in going through all this," He whispered genially, "I'm rather curious myself as to what's in it."

That same curiosity led him to turn his head back to Pathfinder as he heard her come to. He shook his head in quiet laughter at her bravado in the face of danger. This was indeed a seasoned agent! It wouldn't have surprised him in the least to learn that she was actually the Daring Do. A great clash of wits was about to occur, and though Kahz had no doubt as to who the ultimate victor would be, he had enough generosity to salute one of Her Majesty's few worthy opponents!

​

[RarityDash]

"I live to serve, your Majesty."

"Excellent, Kahz," Chrysalis said, nodding slowly. She smiled as he offered to help Snively completely of his own volition. She could see the jealousy on Snively's face. She knew well that the servile bureaucrat didn't take kindly to seeing others rise up in her favor. He would have every other changeling but his queen and perhaps that tramp Luxuria positioned he lusted after positioned beneath him. To see anyone else curry favor was an offence to his pathetic sensibilities. That was what made getting under his skin so woefully simple.

"I'm sure Snively would be delighted for any assistance you might provide," she said, smirking wickedly. She then turned to the prisoner.

​

“Ugghh...ahhhh... uggh...thanks Queenie, that feels much better on my wings! Now if only I could scratch that itch near one of those compound fractures everything would be better- ACK! UGGH..."

The queen wasted no time on the pony's defiant idiocy. Instead she narrowed her eyes into a cold focus on the miserable creature.

"You will explain yourself to me, pony, and the explanation will decide your fate," she said. "Who are you? Are you the one they call Daring Do?"

​

[Bellosh]

Ever his pathetically loathsome self, Snively was not one to automatically reward kindness with kindness. That task proved all but impossible for a changeling mostly accustomed to viewing his kin as obstacles rather than living beings with emotions. So even though Kahz’s assistance expedited Snively’s escape from the book pile, the grouchy bureaucrat was already giving out orders; “Then why don’t you analyze those things that don’t look like books?” At least Snively wouldn’t have to conduct his appointed task alone.

Keeping an ear on the pony’s interrogation, Snively commenced his investigation by reaching for the first random novel he could lay his rotten hoof on. Unlike more worldly changelings, Snively had no preexisting clue at all what Daring Do was about. And why would he need to bother knowing such things? Fleabag culture was something incredibly worthless to the likes of a prestigious hive administrator.

Snively randomly scanned the text of his first book, finding the book to be nothing more than what appeared to be a fictional story. No emotion ran through the drone as he kept skipping here and there, finding little else of importance over than some introductory rubbish from the author thanking her fans and encouraging foals to read. Feeling like a hard minute’s worth of skimming was thoroughly wasted, Snively violently chucked the book aside, letting its pages come into contact with the cave floor’s musty dirt. And judging by the covers of every other book in the pony’s possession, Snively rued that he would be faced with more of the same fleabag trash.

Why did Kahz have to be the lucky one, of all days?

[SteelEagle]

Was she Daring Do? Pathfinder giggled tremendously hard, enough to force out a few pained bloody coughs through crimson teeth. If she was Daring Do she'd be even prettier and cooler than she was now and that was almost impossible, ask Snowfall. She'd be super famous though and be the object of many a pony's fantasies and admiration. Not that she wasn't already, ask Snowfall! Most importantly she'd have a plan to heal her broken bits and get out. And then she'd get a book out of it and she'd read it secretly dressed as her sister in a book store and talk with other dareys. Then she'd befriend a super cool fan like Pathfinder and make a lot of great adventure stories with her. Then she would help that super cool and smart fan pony write even better stories, and maybe even help her publish them! And then they would both be super famous adventure ponies and it would be the coolest thing ever.

And then they would start to feel for one another. A glance here. A glance there. A quick but sensual touch of the outer mane. Traps would force them in close, blush and the warm breath from the other's rock-steady muzzle. One would choose to take on some suicide mission to save Equestria despite the protests coming from one so similar...she would survive, only to be nursed back to health. They would admit their love to one another in a night of decadent passion. Snowfall would find her way into it somehow because she was just as good, and then they would all live together as one big loving family, adventuring and solving crimes and cuddling for days at a time, lost in each other's hearts, wings, warmth, and adventure. It would be great, just like her fanfictions told her. Just ask Snowfall!

“Oh, you don't know? My name's Pathfinder, the coolest adventure pegasus this side of Daring *COUGH* Do! I'm her biggest fan though. I read *cough* all the books and write fanfiction and attend all the meetings! I run some cons and I go on cool adventures *cough* that are superfun! Well, maybe not to you since you don't like fun, but-” and that was when she saw the little runrt of the litter tossing her books. Disregarding of all pain, Pathfinder shot up- or tried to. The green goo kept her nice and contained, but even it was having trouble with her as she thrashed regardless of the damage she was doing to an already damaged body.

“HEY! HEY YOU UGLY PIECE OF- STOP THROWING THOSE BOOKS THEY'RE SPECIAL LIMITED EDITIONS I'LL BITE YOUR EYES OFF!” She bellowed, blood and phlegm leaping out in equal measure before she shot a look back to the queen, “chain up your puppy over there before I choke him with all four hooves!”

[Blueblood]

It would appear, judging from the resultant reactions from his offer of help, that the Queen was much more pleased with his solicitude than his intended beneficiary. Not that Kahz had exactly expected Snively's heart to melt with gratitude, but from the looks of it he could hardly have wound up the bureaucrat more than if he had kissed Luxuria right in front of him! On the other hand, though, he was given first look at the more interesting documents, so maybe the display of irritation was for show. "Thank you!" He said brightly to Snively as he levitated up a sheaf of scattered pages and began to look over them.

They were disorganized, it seemed, and all from different things. There would probably be a lot of tedious work ahead in sorting them out, and figuring out what could be gleaned in terms of useful information. In the meantime, he kept an ear open towards the interrogation. So, this pony's name was Pathfinder, was it? Kahz was a little more worldly than some of his fellow hive-mates, but the term fan-fiction was new to him. So what sort of writing was that, anyway, he idly wondered as he turned a page over-

Oh. Oh my. So that was the sort of writing it was. It wasn't easy to get a changeling to visibly blush, but that had managed it. Kahz hastily turned to another page, hoping that hadn't been noticed. This one was different, it seemed to be a page from a journal. It mentioned a "Snowfall," a pony that seemed to be held in great affection, and described at enthusiastic length. A pegasus mare, it seemed. *Now that is useful information. I'll have to search further for information about this 'Snowy'*

The little changeling then dove deeper into the papers, trying to hide a smile behind them as the interrogatee threw an insult at Snively.

​

[RarityDash]

“Oh, you don't know? My name's Pathfinder, the coolest adventure pegasus this side of Daring *COUGH* Do! I'm her biggest fan though. I read *cough* all the books and write fanfiction and attend all the meetings! I run some cons and I go on cool adventures *cough* that are superfun! Well, maybe not to you since you don't like fun, but-”

Chrysalis studied the mare carefully. So she was to believe that this mare was some imbecilic impostor? A common dolt masquerading about like Daring Do out of mere idol worship? It seemed a rather simplistic solution to the queen. If this was just some common idiot, how was she here? How had she managed to stray so far from where the ponies lived? How had she survived the badlands and the Leota? How had she managed to infiltrate the kingdom so far? How had she managed to stir up so much chaos in her failed escape attempt? To take this pony as a mere fool just raised too many questions. Perhaps this truly was Daring Do, but she was merely playing the fool in hopes that they might let her go. If she was some silly fan pony she was of very little value to anyone, but taking it all into consideration... Chrysalis couldn't allow herself to be convinced of that just yet. Everything she was seeing suggested there was more to this pony than she claimed.

​

“HEY! HEY YOU UGLY PIECE OF- STOP THROWING THOSE BOOKS THEY'RE SPECIAL LIMITED EDITIONS I'LL BITE YOUR EYES OFF! chain up your puppy over there before I choke him with all four hooves!”

Even if it was by a fool pony, there was some delight to be had in seeing abuse hurled Snively's way. Chrysalis smiled and shook her head.

"You'll find the Queen of the changelings is not one to let herself be told what to do by a mere pony, especially not a helpless captive," Chrysalis said with a deep intensity. "Or are you not aware of to whom you speak. I am Chrysalis, Queen of the kingdom through which you trespass--the same Queen who once bested your princess in combat. You are nothing to me."

She smirked and looked toward Snively. "Besides, I truly wouldn't mind to see such things unfold..."

She laughed at her sycophantic vassal's expense and then stepped closer to the pony. "But you see, I remain unconvinced. It takes a certain level of skill to get as far as you did after all. You should do well to know that I am a prudent queen. I will not be easily deceived."

​

[Bellosh]

If there was one skill that Snively ought to be ashamed of having, it would have to be the ability to make others miserable. Whether it be through his voice of screeching nails, a liberal use of obstructionist bureaucratic red-tape, or in this case, handling a fleabag’s cherished possessions without proper care, Snively found it easy to make enemies of those lower than him. Only a drone like the wretched administrator, constantly living in fear of displeasing his Queen, could fully appreciate the value of turning things around by abusing his power on those who couldn’t retaliate.

Briefly, Snively wickedly crackled as he tossed another Daring Do onto the ground, in an effort to antagonize the captured Pathfinder even further. The administrator’s mood turned less cheerful however when Queen Chrysalis mentioned her indifference to Snively’s fate. Being a cowardly bloke with no sense of humor, the drone gasped; “AIIIIE!!!!” Quivering, the changeling tepidly hovered towards Chrysalis who was still busy with the captive. “Y-y-y-your Maj-Majesty;” Snively stammered, his sweat enough to already form a puddle below him; “You... wouldn’t let this fleabag harm me..... would you?”

[SteelEagle]

The goo carapace that held Pathfinder in place was numbing her pretty effectively from the pain that otherwise should have been cascading throughout her body. It was a bit surprising that her captors hadn't decided on making sure she wouldn't pass out from blood loss or other injuries, but she supposed that changelings weren't noted for the kindness. No matter though, the pain wasn't a chief concern of hers. Pain ebbed and flowed in accordance with the beating heart of an adventurer and her desire to accept it. No more, no less. And she didn't want to get any sort of pain accepted as long as the true pain was happening in front of her, the truest of all the horrors. Beautiful limited editions being stained and ruined by some of the rudest little changelings possible. Granted, Changelings weren't know in their folklore for being polite so this may be standard behavior but that didn't matter. Blood loss or no, the little evil bugs needed to stop messing with her stuff. Pathfinder's tongue started rolling around her cheek, feeling underneath some of the broken teeth. Finding one of her special fillings, she started pushing it out as she talked with the Queen.

“I know who you are-cack- for sure. EVerypony knows your mug! Too-cack- bad its all bad news, being such a-cack-villain and all. You're probably-cack-good at-cack- poker. As for-cack- me, I already told you! My- cack-name-cack- is Pathfinder, adventure pegasus extraodinare and President of the official Daring Do Fanclub! I've been on-cack-so many adventures that you can't even imagine! I've been in ancient underground cities and met real genies that had super cool magic-cack- and all sorts of cool stuff. I met the Princesses once! I went to-cack-the land of the griffons, their capital-cack-and got back the Helm of Commander Hurricane! Spent a few weeksin an prison with wing-destroying chemicals coursing through-cack-my veins, but I'm here now- POOTEEY!” Pathfinder suddenly spit out the filling she had been rolling up, sending the last-ditch weapon flying...directly into Snively's eye, the slight acidic portion of the weapon not likely to do any serious damage though it may just be incredibly painful! “AND THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH MY BOOKS NOW STOP THROWING THEM! Super Changeling Queen or not, nopony-ling can stop the adventure!!!!” She yelled as she started to work on another batch, humming an aadventurousmelody to herself...even if she was just now staring at the Queen all mute like otherwise. No way Pathfinder could be stopped now!...?