The Crystal Front: Hunted

The storm exhausted itself overnight and the dawn brought with it a sun that glared remorselessly across the fresh snow. Far to the north, the upper edge of a towering wall of dark cumulonimbi could be glimpsed, but the skies overhead were absolutely clear. The fifteen ponies, all which remained of the Granite Springs detachment, were forced to use snowshoes: those who could not fly, at least. Everyone was putting on the tinted goggles ubiquitous to the Crystal Front. The air was deathly cold, but Twilight knew that as they moved she would start to heat up from the activity and layers of clothing she had piled on. That was scant comfort just then, with her extremities already going numb. Captain Millstone gave the order and everyone began moving out in a ragged column, the three remaining Pegasi flying overhead. The hope was to cut through the evergreen forest to the northwest and get under some concealment so they could not be spotted from the air. They were within sight of the forest when a Pegasus –Twilight thought her name might have been Night Glider—landed in front of the Captain.

“Just saw some gryphons to the east. They’re definitely following us,” Twilight heard her say, followed up by a colorful outburst from Millstone.

“Could you see their ground forces?” the Captain asked once he finished cursing.

“‘Fraid not. Knowing them, they’re probably not far behind. Infiltration groups are big on the whole ‘force unity’ stuff.”

“I am well aware of that, sergeant.” Millstone’s tone was as icy as the air around them. Twilight had been dimly aware that there was some amount of rivalry between those who fought on the Front itself –the “line” units—and “rear echelon” units like the Royal Guard. What little interaction she had seen between the two groups since leaving Canterlot had only confirmed that, if anything, the reports she had read had understated the matter. The captain paused, apparently in thought, while the column waited around them. “We’ll split up. Try to draw them off the scent.” The Captain gestured at Night Glider and another pony, this one a toffee-colored unicorn with a corporal’s patch on her shoulder. “Sergeant, you’ll take four of our ground ponies and break north. Corporal, take three other ground ponies and Guardspony Windstreak. You’ll keep going ahead. My team will take the VIP and break west.” Twilight mentally winced at hearing herself described as a Very Important Pony and wished, for what had to be the millionth time, that she had never been afflicted with her… passenger.

I am far more than a mere passenger, child.

Not. Helping.

“Any of us who manage to make it through the forest alive will rendezvous at the next waystation,” Captain Millstone continued. “If you can’t make that, try to get to the friendly lines to the north and have them send help.”

The corporal simply nodded her agreement and walked away, but Night Glider stayed where she was.

“I don’t think that this is the best idea, Captain,” the Pegasus said hesitantly. “This group seems like it has more than enough troops to split up and still take us all out.”

“And you think that staying together will improve our chances of survival any more than splitting up? You have your orders. Carry them out.” Night Glider and Millstone stood, staring at each other, for a few more seconds before the Pegasus turned away without a word. Twilight saw her gesture towards the last group of ponies and launch upwards into the air, then Millstone was at her side and the other Royal Guards were taking up security positions around her. “Are you ready, Twilight?” he asked.

Not that he’ll let you rest if you aren’t. The voice chuckled. Twilight simply nodded at the Captain.

“Then let’s go. We’re going to have to set a hard pace to make it out.” As they set off, Twilight Sparkle spared a glance at the other two groups, knowing that it was probably the last she would ever see of them. Though she barely knew any of them, it still hurt.

Guiscard idly peeled the bark off of a twig with his claws as he listened to a scout give his report. The enemy had been sighted exactly where Sigma had promised they would be, something which boded very well for this operation’s success. For a moment, the mercenary’s head was filled with fantasies of the wealth and prestige this contract would bring him, but it was a fleeting moment. Unlike many of his fellow Gryphons, Guiscard was more than capable of deterring short-term pleasure for long-term gain: it was one of the reasons he had advanced so far in life. The scout, a fellow Gryphon, wrapped up his report and Guiscard dismissed him.

“Do you have anything to add, Sigma?” he asked of the pony-like creature next to him. The armor-clad Changeling chittered its fangs together in thought.

“I have brothers in each of the three groups. They are far enough away that I cannot say with any accuracy which group our quarry is in.” The first time Guiscard had met Necromancer Sigma, he had expected the Changeling to speak with an insectile, sibilant hiss. Contrary to his assumptions, the Changeling spoke with a deep, smoothly seductive voice. “I will know more once we are closer.” Guiscard nodded thoughtfully.

“We’re being slowed down by our ground troops. If I dispatched you, a claw-full of your Changelings, and, say, a dozen Gryphons, do you think you could find and capture the target?” There were over twenty Gryphons and eight Changelings in their group, not counting Guiscard and Sigma. The eight Hussars Sombra had sent along with them were making uneasy progress through the snow, but they were considerably faster than the shock troops that formed the backbone of Sombra’s armies.

“Almost certainly,” the Necromancer said confidently. This was followed by a meaningful look at the clouds to the north. “But, depending on how long it takes Sombra’s Hussars to catch up, we may be separated by the next storm.”

“I can live with that.” Guiscard shrugged. “They must be fighting one hell of an assault up there, considering the weather around here lately. It makes you wonder just how much King Sombra was actually able to coordinate, doesn’t it?”

Necromancer Sigma laughed softly. “It does indeed. But, whether this was intentional or mere serendipity, the timing does allow us nearly free run of this part of the Front, doesn’t it?”

“Aye. Go for it, and I will follow with all possible haste. And if you can, see if you can get your brother to slow down our prey –once you get close enough to discern which group we are to hit, of course.” The Changeling dipped his head and launched towards one of the Gryphon squadrons. Three other Changelings followed without a word being said. Guiscard still wasn’t entirely clear on the mechanics of the link all Changelings from a given Hive shared, but he did know that it allowed for limited telepathic communication: unfortunately, the links deteriorated with distance. Had they been able to maintain perfect communications, the Changelings might very well have succeeded in their disastrous invasion of Equestria over six years ago.

Lightning Dust alighted on the ground and sketched out a limp salute. “Just saw a Pegasus entering the trees, ma’am, Sarge. He was wearing the old flyer armor. I thought that they had phased that out?”

“They phased it out among the elite, front-line units,” Lyra replied. She and the Lieutenant were consulting a map, while Quartz pulled security and Storm continued scouting. The squad had set out from the ruins of Granite Springs before daybreak and had been moving rapidly since they broke camp. The pace would have left most ponies passed out from exhaustion in a few miles: a Special Operations Group could sustain it for days at a time. The Fifth Special Operations Group had entered the forest only a few minutes before Captain Millstone had split up his remaining soldiers. “And those are the only units we ever have any contact with. Honestly, the guards from Granite Springs were lucky to even have armor at all.”

“Oh really?” Lightning asked with a conspiratorial tone. Lyra looked at her comrade, bemused, until the Sergeant realized what she had just said.

“The war effort proceeds apace, Corporal Dust,” Lyra said in a clipped, professional voice. “Any rumors of shortages are rumors only and are to be dismissed immediately. Am I understood?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lightning sighed. “Whatever. You want me to make contact, or what?”

“Will you be able to catch them?” the Lieutenant asked. “It sounds like they’re trying to stay out of sight.” Lightning snorted.

“Please. I’m the fastest flier in all of Equestria. They’ll have moved a half a mile, tops, by the time I get there.” With any other Pegasus, that might have been an idle boast. With Lightning Dust, it was still a boast: it was also very close to the truth. The Lieutenant nodded.

“Go. And if they’re part of a larger group, try to bring them back here as soon as you can. We need more information on what happened at Granite Springs, and they might know what Tansy is.” Lightning tossed another sardonic salute and launched upwards in a cloud of powdered snow.

Twilight Sparkle panted and sobbed for breath as the squad pounded its way through the trees. It felt like she had been running for hours, but the sun wasn’t even halfway to noon. She wanted to stop and rest, but her guards were counting on her: she didn’t dare slow them down. The Pegasus from Granite Springs, Cloudchaser, was flying through the trees above them, so she was surrounded by the Royal Guards that had accompanied her from Canterlot.

Dead ponies walking, the voice in her mind said. Twilight didn’t even have the energy to tell her to shut up. I could solve this in ten seconds. Just let me in, and-

NO! Twilight screamed inside her head. That moment of distraction was enough for her to trip over a protruding root and collapse in a snowdrift, shivering and retching. The Royal Guards stopped immediately and one of them, an Earth Pony by the name of Jubilee, trotted over. Twilight had known him since she was a foal: he was one of her brother’s friends.

“Twilight, we need to hurry,” Jubilee said, not unkindly, as he extended a hoof towards her. She grabbed it and hauled herself upright, nodding as she gasped for air. “Sorry about all this.” Whatever Twilight could have said next was forever interrupted by Cloudchaser landing.

“Why are we stopping?” the Pegasus asked. One of the guards shrugged and pointed at Twilight.

“She fell.”

“Ah.” The Pegasus considered this for a moment. “Just as well, I suppose.” He raised his right forehoof, and the blade attached to it opened outwards with an ominous snick. The Pegasus punched forward and buried the blade deep in the base of a Guardspony’s skull, just underneath the helmet. Captain Millstone stared at Cloudchaser in shock.

“Just what the Hell d’you think you’re--” he started to bellow. Without saying another word, Cloudchaser extended the blade on his left hoof and pressed the spring release system. The blade sailed into Millstone’s open mouth and stuck in the back of his throat. The Captain staggered towards Cloudchaser, coughing around the blade lodged firmly in his throat: it took a great deal to kill an Earth Pony. The Pegasus simply shrugged and launched himself at the Captain, grabbed him by the head, and slammed him into the bole of a nearby tree. The Captain’s head burst with a sickening crunch, and Cloudchaser turned to the three remaining Royal Guards and Twilight Sparkle. The whole thing had happened in the blink of an eye, and Twilight stared blankly at the two corpses that had, only seconds earlier, been living, breathing ponies. From the looks on their faces, her remaining Royal Guards were in a similar state. Cloudchaser wasn’t even breathing heavily, and from the look on his face, he might as well have just finished some boring but necessary chore.

“Twilight, you need to run,” Jubilee said. “Smart Set, take her and get out of here.” A Unicorn nodded and gestured towards her. Jubilee readied his spear, while the other unicorn enveloped his own blades in a telekinetic field and raised them in preparation for combat. Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow, as if he was surprised that the Royal Guards were about to offer him a fight. “We’ll meet up with you soon. Right now, you just need to get to the rendezvous.” Twilight gulped and took off, Smart Set running alongside her. The sound of combat soon rang out from behind her. It ended about fifteen seconds later. Twilight didn’t particularly care to dwell on what that might have meant, so she just kept running until a serpentine shape shot out from a particularly dense copse of trees to her left. The figure coiled itself around Smart Set, and it was with no small amount of astonishment that Twilight realized she could recognize Cloudchaser’s features in the serpent, from the coloration to the wings to the face, unchanged save for the two dirk-like fangs that protruded from its upper jaw. The monster sank its fangs into her last guard’s neck and latched on firmly, holding its fangs in Smart Set until the Unicorn wrapped a large rock in a magic field and slammed it into Cloudchaser’s head. The creature hissed and launched itself back, releasing Smart Set. The Unicorn staggered upright and began casting one of the combat spells. Cloudchaser, meanwhile, was enveloped in emerald flames and began losing mass and gaining a pony-like shape, one instantly recognizable as the enemy that had come within a hair’s breadth of conquering Equestria six years ago.

“Changeling,” Twilight whispered in horror. The Changeling simply stood motionless and watched as Smart Set swayed back and forth, the spell field flickering in and out of existence, until the Unicorn finally collapsed in the snow and stopped breathing. Cloudchaser then turned his gaze on Twilight.

“Now then, Twilight Sparkle, can we simply say that you are coming with us and avoid any further unpleasantries?” The Changeling spoke with a deep, soothing voice completely at odds with its appearance. “Or will we have to engage in physical hostilities until you are rendered incapable of resistance, followed by capture at the hands of my lord and brother?”