Two long hours. That's how long the ponies had been trudging their way through the knee high water. It should have only taken them a single hour to make it to the town of Floodwater, according to Switchback at least, but unseen hazards below the water's surface and a slight increase in both depth and the current's intensity had caused the journey to take double that time. At one point, a patch of soft mud had stolen one of Jackpot's horse shoes. At another, the water had been neck deep, forcing the group to find an alternate path.

Now the group sat on the second floor of a small building within the town itself. When they had first come up on the town, the first noticeable thing about it was the lack of any kind of wall or defensive perimeter. The town was completely open to whoever or whatever decided to pay a visit. The layout was designed in tiers it had seemed, with each of the towns districts being divided onto a system of steppes. The entire cavern almost resembled a toilet bowl with one of its sides missing where a subterranean river no doubt flowed deeper into the caves.

The buildings themselves were all placed very close together, creating many narrow streets and alleys. Their design was very similar to the ones found in the earlier settlement. Stone base, with upper floors and roofs being made from that discolored wood. The greatest difference though was the quality of work here. The stone work was much cleaner, showing off an actual gothic style and much less of the wood suffered from some form of rot, which was a miracle all thing considered. There was very little lighting in this place as well. A single large vein of fire gems ran along the ceiling of the cavern, providing just enough light in most places for general shapes to be made out in the dark. Other than this, the Floodwater severely lacked any other form of lighting. It's greatest quality though, was how empty it was. It was a ghost town.

And so, the ponies sat in the building just within the town's borders. Each of them hunched over their own horse shoes with rags with which they used to dry them.

"I sure hope we don't all get trench hoof," August said with genuine worry in his voice.

"I wouldn't give it too much thought," Twilight said as she picked mud out of her coat. "Prolonged exposure usually means more than just a few hours. Trench hoof is pretty unlikely right now."

"Oh good," August indicated. "That coming from you makes me feel a little better."

Again the room fell into silence as exhaustion had overtaken most members of the party. It was evening, no doubt. Rampart had been keeping time in his head and he was pretty sure it was around 8pm. Fortunately, bedrolls were already laid out, as it had been decided earlier that this would be their camp for the night. The only thing they really needed to worry about at this point was security, which was currently covered because Brisk was currently keeping watch on the balcony with Glosser, who hadn't spoken since they arrived. Food wasn't an issue either, thankfully. They had brought plenty of MREs and preserved and canned foods with them. As long as they didn't lose any of their saddle bags or emergency kits they would be fine.

Rampart looked around at the individuals around him. Talisman was sharing a can of peaches with Switchback, who thought they tasted a lot like some of the fruits his people grew. August was getting comfortable next to Twilight as she showed him a few of her journal entries. Jackpot sat happily eating an MRE. Brisk and Glosser sat together watching the rest of the groups backs as they quietly told each other of their cultures whenever Glosser's "condition" permitted it.

Despite everything that had happened, all the messed up things they had all seen, the atmosphere was light. There were smiles. Jokes and stories were exchanged. For just a moment, it felt as if everything was right in the world.

To an outside observer, they must have looked like quite a strange group. Five royal guards, one of which wasn't wearing any armor. Two changelings who were very different from each other in physical appearance. And lastly, an alicorn princess who didn't actually wear a crown.

Rampart laid down on his bedroll. Brisk had volunteered to take first watch, so it would be best if he could get at least a little sleep before his shift came. He closed his eyes and found himself drifting into a peaceful darkness.

"Do you guys thing the Cap' is going to be alright?" August asked the others when Rampart finally fell asleep.

"Of course, he'll be fine," Talisman answered dismissively. "He's the captain."

"Yeah, but... well, it's just that back there when we almost lost him..."

"You're just letting things get to you," Talisman said. "He had a near death experience. Sure, maybe he was a little shaken, but he's in charge for a reason. Celestia chose him for this assignment, so I'm confident that things will be fine. Right, Twilight?"

"Absolutely," Twilight answered. "Celestia has been my mentor ever since I was a little filly. There's no one in all of Equestria who I'd trust more than her to make these kinds of decisions."

"See?" Talisman said.

"Yeah, I guess you guys are right," August finally agreed. "It's just that something feels really wrong to me."

"Oh, you mean like the corpses floating around outside," Jackpot said, pointing to the window. "Yeah, those kinds of things tend to disturb ponies."

"I know, I know," August deflected. "It just feels like we're missing something. Like something other than what we're seeing is terribly wrong and we're supposed to be doing something, but aren't. Does that make any sense?"

"Makes sense to me," Twilight said. "It just sounds like stress."

"Hang in there, buddy," Talisman said. "We all feel it. We just got to stay focused, not lose our heads."

"I guess, you guys are right," August concluded.

"Damn right, we are," Jackpot said.

"Yep. Plus, we got peaches," August said, holding up a can of fruit. "Peaches make everything better."

Switchback smiled, only able to nod in agreement because he didn't want to talk with his mouth full.

"I propose a toast," August said as he opened up a can.

"A toast?" Jackpot questioned. "With peaches?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I think that's a great idea," Twilight responded as she grabbed a can of fruit with her magic and floated it across the room into her hooves.

"Alright then," August said, raising his can into the air. "To a successful mission."

"And not losing anymore horse shoes in the mud," Talisman chimed in at Jackpot's expense. It was met with merely an eye roll from the larger earth pony.

Twilight laughed a little at that last one, knowing full well that it wasn't the last time that something like that would probably happen. She raised her own can. "And to new friends in places we never thought we'd find them."

By the time morning came it was time to go. Breakfast was quick and packing didn't take long at all. The group couldn't really waste a lot of time. They still had a schedule to keep. Switchback had said that if they kept going at the rate that they were going, then they should make it to the capital in five more days. Everyone agreed it would be best if they made it there as soon as possible. It was funny just how vulnerable they all felt out in the open like this.

"Okay, Switchback. Which way now?" Rampart asked as they all walked through a higher tier of the streets in order to avoid the water in the lower city.

"The drainage canal leads to a region known as The Cistern. If it's flooding here then that's all going to be underwater this time of year. We need to find the high road towards Aphid. Once there, we can cut across some open caverns toward Chitown. Then it's a straight shoot to the capital hive."

"When you say 'open' what exactly do you mean?" Rampart asked.

"You know, big and empty," Switchback answered.

"Okay, then." Rampart waved the rest of the group on. "Let's get moving."

Before the group could even make it five feet, an arrow suddenly found it's mark in Glosser's flank, alarming everypony with a loud fwunk!!! sound as the arrowhead tore through chiton and flesh.

"Everypony down!" Talisman yelled, having seen the arrow fly just past the end of his snout.

Before Twilight and Switchback could even figure out what had just happened, they found themselves huddled in one of the surrounding building, having been literally picked up and carried there by their escorts.

"Came from the left," Talisman said, using a hoof held periscope to peek out the window.

While Talisman and Rampart triangulated the shooter's position, Jackpot sat next to Twilight and Switchback, making sure that they kept their heads down. August was just further to the left, trying to take a look at Glosser's wound.

Twilight was actually quite puzzled by Glosser right now. He was clearly injured. The arrow still stuck out perpendicular to his leg. Glosser himself though seemed relatively calm though. He didn't look at all like he was in pain. Instead, he just looked sad, like a puppy that had been abandoned on the side of the road or a young stallion who just got rejected by his high school crush.

Glosser's eyes suddenly lit up and he found his voice. "I actually can't feel this," he said. He poked at the shaft of the arrow with his hoof a few times to make sure it was actually there.

"You're about to though," August said as he grabbed the arrow down towards the wound. After instructing Glosser to take a deep breath and not to look, he yanked the arrow out as cleanly as possible.

This proved not to be challenging at all. Somehow the arrow hadn't actually gone in that far. Of course, there was some blood, quite a bit of it, but Glosser seemed entirely unaffected by his injury. After a quick patch job and some disinfectant, Glosser was back to walking like nothing had happened, at least would have been if they weren't currently taking cover from someone with a bow and arrow.

"He's definitely up there on the second floor," Talisman said, pointing to a three story building just across the street."

"Sir, I think I've got a flanking route," Brisk said as he crouched just next to the doorway.

Rampart didn't reply, but Brisk could clearly see the gears moving in his head. "Okay," he said. "We'll cover you. Talisman, go with him."

"Flash and hook?"

"Yeah," Rampart replied. Let's see what this guy has to say."

Without any further deliberation, Talisman and Brisk took their positions. Rampart pulled a small pouch from his saddle bags and emptied the contents. It was a collection of small marbles, but there didn't seem to be anything too special about them. Rampart began to make several motions with his hooves as if counting to three. With one final much more exaggerated motion the guards at the door shot off to the side.

Rampart suddenly popped up into the window. His horn lit up and the small marbles began to swirl around him in a circle of arcane energy. One by one each of the small marbles flew out at lightning speed toward the building where the shooter had perched. As marbles hit the building, they either lodged themselves in the stone or burst through the wood, sending fragments of broken rock and woodchips through the air in a small radius.

Through the chaos above, a single arrow managed to find its way out the window, but missed its target by several feet and shattered against the stone building. Clearly whoever was behind the attack had become disoriented and was a good thing too. Brisk and Talisman had managed to make their way to the roof of the attackers location from the neighboring building and were now ready to end it.

"Okay," Brisk said as his horn lit up and placed a large rune on the roof. "3, 2, 1." On this signal the rune flashed, turning the surface below it to ash and providing an entry point.

Suddenly, another arrow flew through the air up through the hole, but completely missed the two guards. Without further hesitation, they both stormed the room.

From the ground Twilight and Switchback observed this simple yet affective combat maneuver. As soon as the guards entered the room there was a bright flash. Only moments later a dark figure was flung through the window, sending shards of glass through the air. The changeling in question hit the ground with what sounded like an uncomfortable uhf!

As the rest of the group left the refuge of the small house, Talisman and Brisk jumped down from the second floor to secure their prisoner and collect the bow and quiver from his still body.

The changeling cursed at his current situation as he spit out a load of dirt that had made its way into his mouth upon his less than graceful crash landing. He moaned several times in pain. There was no doubt he would have quite the bruise later on.

"And that's why you don't jump through a window after being hit by a neutralizer spell," Talisman said. "Turns out there is actually some delay on the paralysis."

"Oh no," the changeling moaned. "You had to paralyze me!?! You couldn't just give me a quick death could you!?! Damnable ponies!" He buried his head into the ground as if trying to hide from the world.

"Stop being such a drama queen," Jackpot said. "It'll wear off in a few minutes."

The changeling perked his head up and sighed in relief, but not even a moment later did he begin to try and squirm away again despite the fact that he had no control of his limbs or wings.

"Now hold on," Rampart demanded. "What in Equestria did you hope to accomplish by shooting at us?"

"Piss off!" the changeling snarled back. "As soon as I can feel my legs again I'm going to kick all your asses, starting with you!" He made a threatening expression towards Brisk, who just stared back, completely unfazed by the threat.

"Sir, should I zap him?" Brisk asked, more than willing to give the changeling a little jolt to inspire cooperation. Pain compliance was not at all a foreign concept to any royal guard and he would be glad to use it if needed.

"That wont be necessary, Brisk," Twilight suddenly interjected. She then turned to the changeling lying on the ground, who just pouted and muttered curses to himself at this point. "So, what's your name?" she asked in a friendly tone. "Are you from around here?"

"Oh dang," August whispered. "Is this one of those crazy mind control tricks that alicorns do through the magic of friendsh-gah!" He was suddenly cut off as Talisman gave him an elbow in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"No," the changeling answered.

There was an awkward silence for a bit as Twilight thought about what she wanted to say. The changeling still just lied motionless.

"I understand why you don't like us," Twilight said "You see as outsiders. Intruders even."

"Pfft," the changeling mocked. "I really couldn't care less about you. As long as you stay out of my way we're cool. The last thing I needed was to get involved in whatever craziness brought you all down here."

"Then why shoot at us?" Twilight asked in a tone that was not at all aggressive, an approach that was proving much more fruit bearing than the aggression that her escorts had initially gone with. "Surely you had a good reason."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," the changeling retorted. "You wouldn't understand."

Twilight just raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Twilight said in a way that seemed almost challenging to the changeling. "Maybe you just don't have a good reason."

"Oh, I have plenty of reason to shoot at that thing," the changeling nearly shouted. "I was never shooting at any of you," he regained control of a leg and managed to point at the ponies of the group. "I was shooting at that monster you have with you. You guys think you're all so nice and clever, don't you? Taking in a poor soul who looks like he's just a harmless cripple. I'll tell you right now, that thing is going to get you all killed."

Glosser made a sad face at the accusations against him, retreating just a little behind Switchback.

"That's right, hide behind your little friend you coward. You'll feel the blood lust soon enough."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Twilight asked cautiously. She was beginning to get an uneasy feeling.

"Oh, nothing really. Just the fact that you've let a monster into your group," the changeling answered. "That thing may look like a normal changeling with a bad chitin disease, but I assure you he is nothing less than a born killer. You see that bite mark on his neck that he's scratched at like five times in the last minute. Yeah, if you get bit like that, then you're freakin screwed. The second their venom is in your blood stream you're dead."

"Wait a minute," Twilight interrupted. "If he's dying, then how is he a monster? Is he a biological hazard? Is he contagious?"

"He's not dying." The changeling managed to make it to his hooves, causing each of the guards to visibly ready themselves for just about anything. "Oh relax!" the changeling yelled at the them. He dropped back to his haunches, leaning up against a barrel that had been discarded in the street years ago. "Like I said, he's not dying. If anything, he'll feel more alive than ever. Just give him a few days and he'll be sinking his teeth into one of your faces."

"Are you saying he's turning into a zombie?" August blurted out.

The changeling chuckled a little at the thought. "Yeah, I guess you could say that, but less slow and shuffling and more agile and ruthless. Like a vampire. You guys know what I'm talking about, right?"

"You mean a vampony?" Twilight corrected.

The changeling stared at Twilight for a second before sighing. "Right, I forgot that you guys did that. My point is that you're better off without him. Sooner or later he's going to snap and kill one of you."

Everypony looked at Glosser in horror, everyone except Switchback who just eyed him curiously. "But what if that doesn't happen? What if we can help him?"

Glosser gave Switchback a look that said 'thank you.'

"He's right," Twilight said. "If there is a way to help him then we should try our best to cure him."

"Excuse me? Cure him?" the changeling mocked. "Are you joking? The only place with any kind of resources that would allow for a cure is the capital hive and that place is locked down. Nobody gets in or out without the Queens consent."

"I guess it's a good thing we were headed that way to begin with," August pointed out.

"And it's the right thing to do." Twilight added.

"Yeah, whatever," the changeling scoffed. "I tried to do what I thought was right and look where it got me." He managed to stand. "Even if you do get to the capital, you'll have already had to put him down. I give him another two days at most before he starts eating you. But hey, no chitin off my back. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me have my bow back." He held out a hoof, waiting for the ponies to give him back what was his.

Talisman just stood there with the bow and quiver in his hooves. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen."

The changeling frowned and sighed. "I cant believe I'm saying this, but may I please have my bow back? I kinda need it... and I promise not to shoot at any of you."

Talisman turned to Rampart, who gave him a motion to return the bow and quiver. Talisman handed them over and the changeling responded by placing back in their rightful spots on his back.

"Now, if there's nothing else," the changeling said as he began to back away from the group, "I'll be going." And with that he was gone, walking off down the road.

"Should we be worried?" August asked to anyone willing to answer.

"I wouldn't be," Jackpot answered. "He's looking out for himself. By the time we're gone it would be to much trouble for him to track us down. I know his type."

"In that case, we should get moving," Rampart indicated. "If Glosser is going to stand any chance then we need to be at the capital as soon as possible."

Everypony just nodded in agreement.

"Hey, guys," Glosser said in what was a bit of a sad tone as his eyes lit up again. "I really appreciate what you guys are doing for me."

"You're welcome," Twilight said.

"Yeah, dude," August joined. "You're one of us. We're not going to let anything happen to you."

Glosser smiled. The reassurance helped him to feel like everything was going to be alright. Then again, something told him not to get his hopes up. It was still a long road ahead.

Author's Note

Late. Late. Late. Fucking shit this is late! Yeah, remember when I said I had a load of time to do stuff? Something just had to come up and screw my schedule, didn't it? Then school started and I was not at all prepared.