2352 hours
Nine (9) days after first contact
Under the Equestrian city of Canterlot

"How long until we reach this 'holdout' of yours?" Davit asked the Changeling he - and the rest of his squad - was following.

"A short time." It cryptically replied, before continuing. "We'll arrive at the entrance within the minute. It will take several more to reach our final destination."

"Do they know you're taking us to them?"

"Oh, they have known for quite some time. I informed them the moment you asked." The Changeling said.

"That's... Slightly disturbing." Davit mumbled in Georgian.

"What?" Aleksandre asked him. "You know I can't understand a word of that American language you speak. What did it say?"

"Apparently, it has already informed its' superiors that we are coming." Davit replied. "How it has done so, I do not know, but it leads to some interesting implications."

"We're here." The Changeling interrupted, turning to face a stone wall. Suddenly, it moved inward and then to the side, revealing a small chamber lit by a dim green glow.

"That is not at all ominous." Aleksandre sarcastically remarked.

"Shut up, Alek." Davit said, before switching to English and turning towards the Changeling. "You have to lead the way. I do not know where I am to go."

"Right." It said, stepping forward and leading them inside.

As soon as Aleksandre, the last man in their four-man squad, had stepped through, the stone behind them quickly shut.

As Davit followed the Changeling, he could see that the green lighting was coming entirely from crystals embedded in the walls. Dozens of them, some glowing fairly brightly, gave enough light for him to make out the details of the cave.

They passed through several more tunnels and small rooms, some with other Changelings inside of them, all of whom curiously glanced at Davit and him men before resuming whatever they had been doing beforehand. All the while, the Sergeant was aware that there were probably many more: Davit's 'Net' gear had counted a total of eighty-four on the way here, and he had seen several dozen tunnels that branched off in different directions.

After three minutes of walking, the Changeling they were following halted, and Davit's squad stopped behind it. The Changeling turned around to look at them, glancing at the next curve in the tunnel, before sighing and speaking up.

"Around the bend lies the room you are to meet Queen Aurelia, our leader." It explained. "Please conduct yourselves accordingly. I am not able to escort you further, as I have further duties." With that, it walked off behind them, leaving the group alone.

"Well, this just became more interesting." Davit said in a low voice. "We're about to meet their 'Queen'. All of you, control yourselves: I don't want a diplomatic fuck-up here, of all places."

"You're the only one here who speaks their language in any case, Sergeant." Alek said helpfully. Davit ignored him as he walked forward, thoughts of the meeting on his mind. Nothing in his training had ever prepared him for this, and he would likely be far over his head. To have any chance of success, he would have to play his cards carefully, and hopefully net his superiors - such as Captain Henderson - an ally in the process.

Davit turned the corner in the tunnel, the other three members of his squad just behind , and paused at what he saw. There, beyond a narrowed opening that seemed to be an analog to a doorway, was an sparsely-furnished room, with a single Changeling pacing inside. On a second glance, it appeared much larger, with a twisted horn. It, like the rest of the Changelings he had seen, was nearly pitch black in color, although it had a discolored section around the center of its' body, colored a light blue.

Apprehensively, Davit stepped inside of the room, only faintly aware of the rest of his squad around him. The larger Changeling, presumably 'Queen Aurelia', turned towards them as they entered.

"Welcome to our refuge and home." Queen Aurelia said as the strange creatures stopped ten feet from her.

Truthfully, she was expecting a dull evening, with only the occasional skirmish with the palace guards to interrupt her night. The patrols had increased exponentially lately, and news from the surface gave hints to a war between the Equestrians and another, unknown force.

Naturally, she had been surprised when one of her Changelings, after disabling another guard patrol, had reported via the Hive Mind that it had met an unknown species, one that matched descriptions given by various Canterlot newspapers that they had smuggled down.

Queen Chrysalis, her former leader, would have immediately panicked and attempted an attack plan. In fact, Aurelia was almost sure that the blasted Queen was doing that at this very moment. However, while most would have seen only danger in the unknown, Queen Aurelia saw something else entirely:

Opportunity.

"I assume that you are the Queen Aurelia that we are to see?" The creature standing before her asked in understandable Equish, its' voice laden with an accent she could not place.

"I am." Queen Aurelia responded. "I assume that you are the... Beings who have been at war with Equestria, the ones in the castle above?"

"We are." It replied. "We were in the course of a mission when we were forced to retreat underground. We have been lost down here for a short time, and we were looking for a way out when we encountered your... Soldiers, I suppose."

"And you wish to know the way to get out." Queen Aurelia said. "I shall skip the trivialities and get straight to business. I have a compromise, of sorts: I wish for some form of contact with your leaders. In return, we will happily show you a path out of these caves. Away from Canterlot, of course."

The creature appeared to stop for a moment, thinking over her words, before rapidly conversation in a language she did not understand to the one next to it. After about twenty seconds, it stopped, and turned back to her.

"I agree." It said. "Who would you send with us? I very much doubt it would be yourself."

"I will assign one of my Changelings to guide you out. They would also be the ones going with you. Do we have a deal?" Aurelia asked.

"We do."

"Then one will be waiting for you as you leave." Aurelia said. "May you have a safe journey."

As Davit and his squad walked toward the exit, he pondered the meeting in his mind.

To say things had gone well was an understatement: With very little time spent, Davit had gotten exactly what he needed, and for precisely the terms he anticipated. Hopefully, it would turn out well in the end.

And if not, well, he had tried.

Author's Note

I had trouble getting this chapter out, and it ain't the best example of writing I've ever done. Yet again, I suck at diplomacy. Writing good plot? Down. Getting all the details of a fight right? Okay. Diplomacy and writing down movement? Oh, the horror!

Also, I am sorry for the time in-between chapters. Now that school is out, I should be able to get back on track.