The Reformed Sniperby Solar CaesarChaptersThe Shocking ReportNumber One PriorityJust BreatheThe Shocking ReportThorax honestly didn't know what to think of this. Not only has one of his scouts been fired upon near a griffon military outpost, the very scout that was fired upon claimed that the shooter was an un-reformed changeling. The scout had been sent originally to collect medicinal plants for medicine and food, as they had began to run low as of the past month. At first, Thorax was about to contact Princess Celestia for assistance, but decided to handle the situation without the aid of his pony allies. They have helped him many times in the past, and was determined to show that even after 2 years that he was able to pull both his - and his hives - own weight. Approximately 5 hours in the mountains, the scout was told of a griffon outpost nearby. The scout was advised to exercise caution, as the soldiers deployed to the outpost may miss identify the scout as an enemy combatant. Currently, the griffon army was on high alert, being locked in a war against the zebras. After suspected attacks on multiple griffon guard posts, and an assassination attempt on a griffon commander, tensions began running high, the griffon king labeling the zebras as "savages", sparking fury of the zebra government. For the zebras, the griffon kings words were an unofficial deceleration of war. Now they were at each others throats, each attack persuading the other to try something new. Outposts began to become more prepared, applying better defense strategies such as giving out more helmets, setting up security cameras, riot armor, and training more soldiers to become snipers. A sniper is highly difficult to locate, even more to evade upon detection. Snipers are trained to be invisible, being highly patient, and knowing exactly when to strike. A true deadliest weapon. The scout had located a large cluster of medicinal plants near the outpost. Command had warned him to not stray too close to the outpost, as he moved prone from cover to cover. Taking out his binoculars, the scout attempted to know the positions of any guards that may spot him. The scout suddenly saw a small flash on top of one of the second floors of the structure. At the same time hearing the sound of a gunshot. He instinctively ducked for cover. A rifle bullet ricocheted off of the scouts cover. The scout was spotted. Desperately crawling along the ground, the scout proceeded to locate and reach a safe position, giving him enough time to locate the sniper. He expected to see a griffon, who assumed that the scout was a combatant. But the scout was shocked to see a changeling. Not one of Thorax's, no. None of Thorax's citizens were deserters. They had all been reformed and lived happily within their new hive. Thus the sniper had to be an un-reformed changeling. When Thorax heard this, there was no doubt he was surprised. As far as anyone knew, none of the changelings were un-reformed. They had watched Chrysalis run away, and then nobody followed her. Taking a quick picture at maximum zoom with his camera, the scout waited 8 minutes to bolt away from the snipers point of view. After returning to the hive, the scout(although shaken up) viewed over the photo evidence in hopes of identifying the mysterious changeling sniper. The scout was presented to Thorax face-to-face, and stated that he noticed the un-reformed changeling was wearing a griffon military uniform, a blue and white camouflage with a backwards sniper cap. He even had the griffon military insignia, the scout recalls. The scout claims that the changeling had to be part of the griffon army, if not authorized. The scout was unnerved to recognize the sniper as none other than their former Queen, Chrysalis. The scout described the sniper as the photo showed: tall, with a long, greenish-blueish mane, hooves filled with holes and all. He also described the sniper with a female-like build, adding to the evidence that it was indeed Chrysalis. Thorax, at first, dismissed the idea completely. Chrysalis enlisting in the griffon military? That's insane. Every kingdom knew about Chrysalis's many wrong doings. There would be no way that the griffon king would permit her to enlist. But then, he hesitated. Carefully, he considered the evidence presented. Although it was highly unlikely that what the scout saw was true, his description of the shooter matched up with Chrysalis's almost perfectly. But, then again, the scout may be traumatized by the near death experience, and might be contracting a form of PTSD. Possible hallucinations induced by traumatic events, perhaps? He truly didn't know, since he lacked certain therapist experience. Thorax couldn't exactly call it unless they had proof of Chrysalis's whereabouts at the outpost. After the report was given, Thorax ordered a facial ID scan to possibly identify the changeling. "Has the face been scanned yet?" Thorax asked a senior Intel staff member. The staff member, a blue and red changeling with green eyes, nodded to his king as he shifted in his chair to a comfortable position. "We were just about to begin the scanning, sir." The changeling selected the file and began the facial identification process. As he stood in the middle of the Intel operations room, watching the face of the sniper be scanned. The picture revealed the snipers face at a slight angle, showing no emotion as he - or she - searched for prey through the scope of the rifle. He had to admit, the sniper did look similar to Chrysalis. But he still did not believe it was her. A rogue scout who was out on a mission at the time of Chrysalis's deserting? That could be it...but why was she at a griffon outpost? She couldn't have been undercover, she was not in a disguise. "Scanning complete." the computers artificial intelligence said. "Loading results..." When the facial scan popped up on the screen, Thorax felt a paroxysm of fear flash through him as he saw the face that almost led the entire hive to its downfall. He blinked once. Twice. Three times. He mentally pinched himself, doing anything to make sure that he was dreaming. No way it was her, was it? It couldn't be. He must be dreaming. This wasn't real. None of this was real. But it was. He wasn't dreaming. All of this - this was real, this was happening. It was her. Chrysalis. Alive and well. In utter shock, Thorax muttered the first thing that came to mind. "Oh my god." And then his eyes dilated. Number One Priority"It must be urgent if Thorax requires us to speak in person." Princess Twilight said, reading over the letter Thorax had sent for the third time. "When will we be leaving?" she asked Princess Cadance, who was busy preparing for the carriage ride to the changeling kingdoms. "Right now." Cadance sighed, rubbing her neck. "I don't feel too good about this Twi. The timing is a bit...strange." "I know what you mean," Twilight said, putting down the paper. "From the letter, it seemed as he was a little paranoid. Like he expects something bad to happen at any moment." "Which is why we must leave at once," said Princess Celestia, walking into the room. "May I see that letter once again, Twilight?" Celestia asked holding out her hoof. "Of course, Princess." said Twilight, going through the messy amount of papers on her desk until she recognized the scrap that had been hastily typed. Handing it to Celestia, the princess read through it all - the strange lack of formalities, the request to visit as soon as possible, the urgent situation they were in - it was, needless to say, chilling. "Have the preparations for the carriage been made yet?" she asked, returning the paper to Twilight. Nodding, the three princesses proceeded to head to the front entrance of the castle, where Shining Armor was waiting for them, all dressed up in his formals. "Ready to go?" he asked them. Receiving a nod from his wife, he opened the door to the carriage, letting the three princesses find seats inside the well-crafted and beautiful royal carriage. "So, uh, just to be clear, he said we're required to meet face to face and not as a suggestion?" Armor asked, shifting uncomfortably in his spot in the carriage. "Yes, we are required to visit in person. As per the letter states, anyways." Celestia told the captain. "Feeling nervous?" Shining shook his head, "I'm just a bit concerned is all. Strange how he said that we must meet in person. Unnerving, if you ask me." "Well, we'll just have to wait and see what he so desperately needs us for when we arrive." Cadance told her husband. "Agreed." Shining said, turning to the driver of the carriage and saying something in his ear. Nodding, the driver proceeded to begin along the road outside of the Crystal Empire's border. Finally arriving, a changeling guard with yellow and green body colours walked up to the window of the carriage, and after sharing a brief few words with the driver, stepped up to the passengers side. "Oh! Princess Twilight!" the guard exclaimed. "Head right on in. The king is expecting you." "Thank you." Twilight said politely as the carriage entered the hive. The hive had grown into a much more prepared living space, with actual structured shelters instead of cocoons and caves. Not long after their entry in the hive, another guard stopped the vehicle, saying that carriages were required to stop here. The carriage driver gone, the four royals proceeded to walk to Thorax's throne room as they were guided with an armed escort. The changeling military had gone from spears(when Chrysalis was in charge), to assault rifles. Some had even been equipped with riot armor, which threw Twilight off. It was almost like they were expecting to defend from something... Being led into Thorax's throne room, they found the changeling pacing back and forth, muttering something. Seeing the four snapped him out of his distressed state, breathing a sigh of relief as Twilight came and pulled him into a hug. "Thank god you're here," said Thorax, greeting the others. "Come, this way. I'll explain everything." Thorax started leading them into the Military unit rooms of operation. There was a Combat floor, Intel floor, Support, you name it. Leading them inside the Intel room showed a dimly lit open area, filled with computers, changelings running about, all in all lots of activity going on. Leading them into a small room with a table and large projector screen, he motioned for his guests to take to take a seat. The only other changeling in the room was a red-eyed male changeling with a blue coat and a slight orange shade on his neck. He was dressed in a military style striped camo uniform. He looked nervous. "Alright, what is so important that you had to bring all four of us here?" Shining asked the king. Thorax breathed heavily as he began to explain. "So, yesterday, we sent Morph here, a scout from our Intel unit, into the griffon mountains to collect medicinal plants. We've been running short, and I wanted to refrain from asking you, as you've helped us enough in the past. As he went into his 5th hour of searching, he came across a griffon military outpost. Our command advised him to use caution, as the griffons may see him as an enemy combatant, you know? The war going on with the zebras?" Shining nodded. "They'll accuse anyone of being a spy at this point. Even us, are in danger of being called out, as we've allied with the zebras multiple times before." "Exactly, which is why command was worried. They told him to not stray too far to the outpost for safety. But there was a large group of plants near the base, so nevertheless, Morph decided to collect some of the medicinal plants in the cluster he saw. But suddenly, a sniper fired at him." Thorax said. "What?" Shining exclaimed, looking at Morph. "How did they mistake him for a combatant?" "I, uh, guess they mistook the camo on my uniform for a zebras stripes, I guess?" Morph spoke to the royals, shrugging. "Morph fortunately wasn't harmed. He did manage to get to a safe spot without being detected again, and gained a visual on the sniper." Thorax explained. "Thorax, I'm sorry for the almost loss of your scout, but does this really need a face-to-face confrontation?" Cadance asked. "I'm guessing you have something bigger behind this." "I do. But you would hear it better from Morph." Looking at his scout, Thorax made a motion to his guests with a slight jerk of the head. Sitting up, Morph began to explain. "When I saw the sniper, at first I thought it was a griffon. Since, you know, griffon outpost? Anyway, when I saw the sniper, I didn't see a griffon. It was..." Morph paused. "It was what?" Twilight asked. "I-I saw a changeling." Morph finished, gulping before he said it. "A...I beg your pardon?" Shining looked baffled. "One of yours, Thorax?" he said, giving the king a strange look. Thorax shook his head. "No. For the two years that I have been in charge, not one of my subjects left." "It was an un-reformed changeling." Morph continued. "At first I thought that it may have been one of Chrysalis's operatives that was out on a mission at the time. I managed to take a picture of the changelings face, and then left the area. I brought it back to HQ for it to be analyzed, but what unnerved me was the fact that that changeling looked just like...Chrysalis." Morph sighed, looking down with his hooves in his lap. Everyone's jaw dropped. Except for Thorax's, who seemed pretty darn uncomfortable at this point. "...Chrysalis?" Celestia repeated, shocked. "But...that's highly improbable. I'd say impossible even." "The Queen? But, w-why would she be at a griffon outpost? And you said she was clearly visible to be un-reformed and unmasked, right? There's no way she could've been there in disguise!" Shining stammered, utterly flabbergasted. "I admit, I thought Morph was crazy when I first heard it. We even checked him for PTSD after he came to me for the report. But as he described the shooter, the evidence came piling on like a sack of...what do you ponies refer it to?" Twilight coughed. "Potatoes?" "Yes, that." "I saw the shooter with a female like build, with a green mane. It was a little...difficult to see her face, as she sported a griffon blue-and-white camo uniform, with a backwards cap." Morph explained. "She even had the griffon military insignia. I-I don't know what else to tell you." Morph said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "We did a facial ID scan to possibly identify the sniper, put an end to the rumors once and for all." Thorax said, with a sigh. "And the results?" Cadance asked nervously. Morph looked at Thorax nervously, while Thorax showed no emotion as he turned on a projector screen, showing the photo of the sniper. What unnerved Twilight the most of this experience was not the possibility that Chrysalis was still alive, bu the fact that the soldier pictured really did look like Chrysalis. The sniper looked calm. Focused. Deadly. "Here..." Thorax said, with a deep sigh. "are the ID scan results." Popping up, the scan showed something horrifying. Her. Her facial photo showed no emotion as her personal information was left there on the side. Chrysalis Corvakov Age: 34 Place of Birth: Changeling Kingdoms Royal Status: Queen N/A Whereabouts: Unknown Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, Griffon Kingdoms Notes: Queen Chrysalis has been labeled MIA, not being seen for the past two years. See Canterlot Library for details on early life. Queen Chrysalis has been located today, on █/██/████, at the Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, currently in possession by the Griffon Military. "My god..." Shining muttered. "We've found her. After two years, we've finally found her." There was a deadly silence in the room. The only sound heard was the air conditioning moving through the ducts. "Captain." Celestia said, slowly standing up. Shining looked up at the sun princess. "This is our number one priority, do you understand? All of our resources will go into locating her - without attacking the base or getting fired upon." "Yes, princess." Shining said. "Thank you for telling us, Thorax. We will work together, I presume?" she asked. Nodding, Thorax added, "Of course." "And remember..." Celestia added as she faced the room. There was a flurry of emotions going through Twilight's head; fear, anger, shock. "Number. One. Priority." Just BreatheAuthor's Note Quick note, the griffon ranks are based upon Russian military ranks, but translated into English. I'm doing this just to get the better feel of a military other than a North American military. The zebras will have the Afrikaans language applied. Now, with me being partly South African, I would know that some words are borrowed from English. I used google translate, so please don't get mad at the cringe fest that is my multi-language writing. Just Breathe Chrysalis breathed in. As her Reznov-ICKX sniper rifle was dug tightly into her right shoulder, she took aim on her un-moving target, raising the middle of the scope until it fell on her targets head. She desperately wanted to fire, but she knew better than to shoot while holding her breath. She could've gone slightly off kilter at the last millisecond. If she missed, her shot was gone. A perfect opportunity wasted. As she kept all her focus into her aim, she breathed out. She fired. The sound, the recoil, they all added up to the momentary shock she felt. Although she recovered it more quickly than her first time using a firearm. She looked up to see if her targets forehead was still intact. Needless to say, it was all in little bits and pieces. Another successful kill. Well...cardboard target or not, it was still a perfect hit. "Impressive." said her commanding officer, standing behind her as he monitored her progress. He was older than her, give or take 5 years. He had black feathers with a gold stripe around his waist. He wore a red beret on an everyday basis to signify the importance of his rank. He was essential in running the supply outpost which everyone referred to as Vorech Koran. "Keep it up and I may consider raising your rank to Junior Sergeant." he said with a grin. Chrysalis felt her joy levels rising. The term "Junior Sergeant Chrysalis" made her want to jump for joy. She was finally rising in the ranks of the griffon armed forces! "Now fall in, private. We're going over a few things before dinner." the CO ordered. "Yes, sir." Chrysalis saluted, before marching on her way toward the parade square along with the rest of the patrolling and training guards at the outpost. As she marched her way to the square, Chrysalis began to reflect on how she ended up here. Utterly lost in the badlands to which she retreated out to alone, she thought all hope was lost. A month passed. Two months. Now three months in, and Chrysalis had begun to realize that she was about to die. Well, at least until she was recovered by a zebra rebel patrol. The Zebra-Griffon war had just began to take effect, and the zebras - along with every other leader in Equestria - was informed of Chrysalis's deserting. But that wasn't the reason they were less than happy. After recovering her and attempting to interrogate her at gunpoint, they quickly realized that they would not get anywhere, as she did not speak Zebra, nor did they speak English. Taking her in as a prisoner, she endured 3 weeks of neglect, whilst in a small rebel outpost. Being given one meal a day and little water may have broken some people. To be completely honest, Chrysalis was just glad to be eating. It was comforting up to the point when she began to be beaten on a daily basis. They would threaten her for hours at a time. Although she had no clue what those words meant, she was lucky to not have understood. She even remembered when they had brought a Zebra-English interpreter to finally give proper interrogations... In walked the outpost commander. He was angry; he always was. Wearing a red beret with a short shirt and pants for fatigues, he grimaced at the sight of the ex-changeling queen. She was stuffed in a hasty blue jumpsuit with her hands tied behind her back. She was curled up in the fetal position, glaring with hatred. A second figure walked in behind him. A younger zebra with a green beret walked in. Chrysalis's eyebrow raised, as she had not noticed him at the outpost before. Stopping in front of her, the commander exchanged a glance with the other zebra. "Staan op!" the commander shouted. Taking a wild guess, Chrysalis got on her knees with difficulty, her wounds from being whipped three days earlier still paining her. "Dit is jou laaste kans." the commander said in his heavy accent. Chrysalis stared blankly at him, as he took a quick look at the green beret zebra. Then the green beret zebra spoke. "This is your last chance." Chrysalis was a little taken aback by how perfectly the zebra spoke English. Must be an Interpreter? "Ons sal nie weer vra nie." said the commander. "Is jy tans besig met griffon kingdoms as 'n spioen?" "We will not ask again." the Interpreter spoke. "Are you currently working, or have worked, as a spy for the griffon kingdoms?" Chrysalis was relieved to hear her own language again. "No. I've never worked for the griffons." she answered. The interpreter looked at the commander. "Sy sê shes nooit gewerk het met die griffons." The commander glared at the changeling. "Lê!" he shouted. "Hoekom was hierdie ver weg van jou tuisland as?" "He does not believe you." said the Interpreter. "Why were you this far out away from your homeland?" Chrysalis grunted. "I'm a deserter. I ran away from my homeland." "Sy sê sy hardloop weg van die huis." the Interpreter said to the short-tempered commander. "Verdagte..." the commander said. "Jy is 'n koningin." "He says it is unusual for a queen to run off like that." She kicked herself in her mind. Of course they'd know about me, she thought to herself. "Daar sal 'n swaar beloning om jou te vang nie..." the commander said, clearly thinking about something. "Ons kan jou lewer aan ponies..." "There will be a large reward for your capture." the Interpreter said. "We could hand you over to Celestia for a heavy payment." Chrysalis's heart went to her throat. "No! Please, don't hand me over to them! I-I'll stay here where I'll be safe!" she stammered. She would never give in to Celestia! The Interpreter opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Turning to the commander, he said, "Sy was bang. Sy vra vir beskerming." "Beskerming!?" the commander said angrily. The commander raised his fist and landed a fierce blow on Chrysalis's face. "As jy niks weet, ons hier gedoen." the commander barked. "If you do not know anything, we are done here." the Interpreter replied calmly. They walked out, leaving a bruise on Chrysalis's cheek. She still couldn't believe her luck when the griffons raided the outpost three hours later. Recovering her in the small hut in which she dreaded, she was brought to the griffons central base camp. Being presented to the King Thornquill, who was called in for such an opportunity, discussed with his advisers what he should do. He thought that killing her would be a waste, considering her...skills. They, like the zebras, thought that Celestia would place a pricey bounty on her capture. But then Chrysalis had an idea. "Why don't I join you?" she had asked. The kings eyebrows perked up. "My military?" he asked. Nodding, Chrysalis watched as Thornquill turned to his advisers to discuss her offer. After a short while of discussion, he turned back to her. "I've thought about it, and...I like it. You seem to know your way around strategics. How would you like to be our senior attack planner?" "No." Chrysalis answered immediately. "I'd prefer it if I could...start fresh." Thornquill looked confused. "So, you're saying-" "Yes." she interrupted. "I want to be a soldier." So that's what happened. She enlisted in the griffon military as an ordinary soldier, and was placed at Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, and was trained to become a sniper. She never thought that she would cherish an inanimate object such as the Reznov Sniper rifle. But she did. Fully customizable, and ever so dangerous in the hands of a master. Lined up on the parade square with all of her comrades, she felt to be the odd one out. She was the only changeling at the outpost, although no one treated her differently. Admittingly, it was difficult to fit in with the others her first time she arrived. Not many trusted her back then, some even saying that she was a "liability". But after the others had seen her skill, and her strength, they had began to accept her with wide open arms. They realized that she was not any less loyal then the next soldier. She was a survivor. "ATTEN-TION!" the CO yelled. Chrysalis immediately raised her right leg and stomped down on it, placing her rifle to her side as she stared straight ahead, as per the "Attention" command was to be carried out. Observing his men, the CO then yelled, "AT-EASE!" Chrysalis, along with everyone else, kept their right foot remaining in place, whilst keeping her rifle at parade rest with the arm slightly relaxed. "Stand easy." the CO said, softer this time. Everyone went to the stand easy position, looking in the CO's direction. "Everyone's training is going well, I presume?" the commanding officer asked his men. "YES, SIR!" they all shouted. "Good." said the CO. "We've produced our third sniper tonight. Who here knows who that is?" They exchanged glances with each other. Who was he talking about? thought Chrysalis. One of the soldiers raised their hands. "Me, sir?" "Put your hand down." the CO snapped. The soldier who had spoken did as ordered. "Nobody can guess, hm?" the CO said, walking back and forth in front of his men. "Private Chrysalis is our third sniper." Chrysalis's heart glowed with pride. Seems as if the CO had approved her request to become a full-fledged sniper. Sure, she had guarded unofficially before, but now she would be doing the same thing every night! The men beside her murmured words of congratulations. "Once you men are dismissed, you can congratulate Private Chrysalis. Steady up!" The men quickly snapped out of their kind words to Chrysalis and quickly attained the "At Ease" command. "ATTEN-TION!" the CO shouted. The men and herself did the command in perfect unison. "DIS-MISSED!" CO shouted. Executing a right turn, the squad did a quick three step march before stomping their feet and returning to the mess hall. Chrysalis was continuing to be congratulated on the way to dinner, kindly acknowledging her comrades kind words. "How'd you peak his interest?" asked Private Greywing, her friend and comrade. Chrysalis shrugged it off. "I dunno." "I can guess. Remember the intruder you had spotted the other day? I guess he thinks that was a zebra saboteur." "Well, I had to shoot. What else could I do? Just let 'im go?" "Of course. Sad that you missed." "Doesn't matter now." she said. "I doubt he'll be coming back." "Ain't that the truth."
The Shocking ReportThorax honestly didn't know what to think of this. Not only has one of his scouts been fired upon near a griffon military outpost, the very scout that was fired upon claimed that the shooter was an un-reformed changeling. The scout had been sent originally to collect medicinal plants for medicine and food, as they had began to run low as of the past month. At first, Thorax was about to contact Princess Celestia for assistance, but decided to handle the situation without the aid of his pony allies. They have helped him many times in the past, and was determined to show that even after 2 years that he was able to pull both his - and his hives - own weight. Approximately 5 hours in the mountains, the scout was told of a griffon outpost nearby. The scout was advised to exercise caution, as the soldiers deployed to the outpost may miss identify the scout as an enemy combatant. Currently, the griffon army was on high alert, being locked in a war against the zebras. After suspected attacks on multiple griffon guard posts, and an assassination attempt on a griffon commander, tensions began running high, the griffon king labeling the zebras as "savages", sparking fury of the zebra government. For the zebras, the griffon kings words were an unofficial deceleration of war. Now they were at each others throats, each attack persuading the other to try something new. Outposts began to become more prepared, applying better defense strategies such as giving out more helmets, setting up security cameras, riot armor, and training more soldiers to become snipers. A sniper is highly difficult to locate, even more to evade upon detection. Snipers are trained to be invisible, being highly patient, and knowing exactly when to strike. A true deadliest weapon. The scout had located a large cluster of medicinal plants near the outpost. Command had warned him to not stray too close to the outpost, as he moved prone from cover to cover. Taking out his binoculars, the scout attempted to know the positions of any guards that may spot him. The scout suddenly saw a small flash on top of one of the second floors of the structure. At the same time hearing the sound of a gunshot. He instinctively ducked for cover. A rifle bullet ricocheted off of the scouts cover. The scout was spotted. Desperately crawling along the ground, the scout proceeded to locate and reach a safe position, giving him enough time to locate the sniper. He expected to see a griffon, who assumed that the scout was a combatant. But the scout was shocked to see a changeling. Not one of Thorax's, no. None of Thorax's citizens were deserters. They had all been reformed and lived happily within their new hive. Thus the sniper had to be an un-reformed changeling. When Thorax heard this, there was no doubt he was surprised. As far as anyone knew, none of the changelings were un-reformed. They had watched Chrysalis run away, and then nobody followed her. Taking a quick picture at maximum zoom with his camera, the scout waited 8 minutes to bolt away from the snipers point of view. After returning to the hive, the scout(although shaken up) viewed over the photo evidence in hopes of identifying the mysterious changeling sniper. The scout was presented to Thorax face-to-face, and stated that he noticed the un-reformed changeling was wearing a griffon military uniform, a blue and white camouflage with a backwards sniper cap. He even had the griffon military insignia, the scout recalls. The scout claims that the changeling had to be part of the griffon army, if not authorized. The scout was unnerved to recognize the sniper as none other than their former Queen, Chrysalis. The scout described the sniper as the photo showed: tall, with a long, greenish-blueish mane, hooves filled with holes and all. He also described the sniper with a female-like build, adding to the evidence that it was indeed Chrysalis. Thorax, at first, dismissed the idea completely. Chrysalis enlisting in the griffon military? That's insane. Every kingdom knew about Chrysalis's many wrong doings. There would be no way that the griffon king would permit her to enlist. But then, he hesitated. Carefully, he considered the evidence presented. Although it was highly unlikely that what the scout saw was true, his description of the shooter matched up with Chrysalis's almost perfectly. But, then again, the scout may be traumatized by the near death experience, and might be contracting a form of PTSD. Possible hallucinations induced by traumatic events, perhaps? He truly didn't know, since he lacked certain therapist experience. Thorax couldn't exactly call it unless they had proof of Chrysalis's whereabouts at the outpost. After the report was given, Thorax ordered a facial ID scan to possibly identify the changeling. "Has the face been scanned yet?" Thorax asked a senior Intel staff member. The staff member, a blue and red changeling with green eyes, nodded to his king as he shifted in his chair to a comfortable position. "We were just about to begin the scanning, sir." The changeling selected the file and began the facial identification process. As he stood in the middle of the Intel operations room, watching the face of the sniper be scanned. The picture revealed the snipers face at a slight angle, showing no emotion as he - or she - searched for prey through the scope of the rifle. He had to admit, the sniper did look similar to Chrysalis. But he still did not believe it was her. A rogue scout who was out on a mission at the time of Chrysalis's deserting? That could be it...but why was she at a griffon outpost? She couldn't have been undercover, she was not in a disguise. "Scanning complete." the computers artificial intelligence said. "Loading results..." When the facial scan popped up on the screen, Thorax felt a paroxysm of fear flash through him as he saw the face that almost led the entire hive to its downfall. He blinked once. Twice. Three times. He mentally pinched himself, doing anything to make sure that he was dreaming. No way it was her, was it? It couldn't be. He must be dreaming. This wasn't real. None of this was real. But it was. He wasn't dreaming. All of this - this was real, this was happening. It was her. Chrysalis. Alive and well. In utter shock, Thorax muttered the first thing that came to mind. "Oh my god." And then his eyes dilated.
Number One Priority"It must be urgent if Thorax requires us to speak in person." Princess Twilight said, reading over the letter Thorax had sent for the third time. "When will we be leaving?" she asked Princess Cadance, who was busy preparing for the carriage ride to the changeling kingdoms. "Right now." Cadance sighed, rubbing her neck. "I don't feel too good about this Twi. The timing is a bit...strange." "I know what you mean," Twilight said, putting down the paper. "From the letter, it seemed as he was a little paranoid. Like he expects something bad to happen at any moment." "Which is why we must leave at once," said Princess Celestia, walking into the room. "May I see that letter once again, Twilight?" Celestia asked holding out her hoof. "Of course, Princess." said Twilight, going through the messy amount of papers on her desk until she recognized the scrap that had been hastily typed. Handing it to Celestia, the princess read through it all - the strange lack of formalities, the request to visit as soon as possible, the urgent situation they were in - it was, needless to say, chilling. "Have the preparations for the carriage been made yet?" she asked, returning the paper to Twilight. Nodding, the three princesses proceeded to head to the front entrance of the castle, where Shining Armor was waiting for them, all dressed up in his formals. "Ready to go?" he asked them. Receiving a nod from his wife, he opened the door to the carriage, letting the three princesses find seats inside the well-crafted and beautiful royal carriage. "So, uh, just to be clear, he said we're required to meet face to face and not as a suggestion?" Armor asked, shifting uncomfortably in his spot in the carriage. "Yes, we are required to visit in person. As per the letter states, anyways." Celestia told the captain. "Feeling nervous?" Shining shook his head, "I'm just a bit concerned is all. Strange how he said that we must meet in person. Unnerving, if you ask me." "Well, we'll just have to wait and see what he so desperately needs us for when we arrive." Cadance told her husband. "Agreed." Shining said, turning to the driver of the carriage and saying something in his ear. Nodding, the driver proceeded to begin along the road outside of the Crystal Empire's border. Finally arriving, a changeling guard with yellow and green body colours walked up to the window of the carriage, and after sharing a brief few words with the driver, stepped up to the passengers side. "Oh! Princess Twilight!" the guard exclaimed. "Head right on in. The king is expecting you." "Thank you." Twilight said politely as the carriage entered the hive. The hive had grown into a much more prepared living space, with actual structured shelters instead of cocoons and caves. Not long after their entry in the hive, another guard stopped the vehicle, saying that carriages were required to stop here. The carriage driver gone, the four royals proceeded to walk to Thorax's throne room as they were guided with an armed escort. The changeling military had gone from spears(when Chrysalis was in charge), to assault rifles. Some had even been equipped with riot armor, which threw Twilight off. It was almost like they were expecting to defend from something... Being led into Thorax's throne room, they found the changeling pacing back and forth, muttering something. Seeing the four snapped him out of his distressed state, breathing a sigh of relief as Twilight came and pulled him into a hug. "Thank god you're here," said Thorax, greeting the others. "Come, this way. I'll explain everything." Thorax started leading them into the Military unit rooms of operation. There was a Combat floor, Intel floor, Support, you name it. Leading them inside the Intel room showed a dimly lit open area, filled with computers, changelings running about, all in all lots of activity going on. Leading them into a small room with a table and large projector screen, he motioned for his guests to take to take a seat. The only other changeling in the room was a red-eyed male changeling with a blue coat and a slight orange shade on his neck. He was dressed in a military style striped camo uniform. He looked nervous. "Alright, what is so important that you had to bring all four of us here?" Shining asked the king. Thorax breathed heavily as he began to explain. "So, yesterday, we sent Morph here, a scout from our Intel unit, into the griffon mountains to collect medicinal plants. We've been running short, and I wanted to refrain from asking you, as you've helped us enough in the past. As he went into his 5th hour of searching, he came across a griffon military outpost. Our command advised him to use caution, as the griffons may see him as an enemy combatant, you know? The war going on with the zebras?" Shining nodded. "They'll accuse anyone of being a spy at this point. Even us, are in danger of being called out, as we've allied with the zebras multiple times before." "Exactly, which is why command was worried. They told him to not stray too far to the outpost for safety. But there was a large group of plants near the base, so nevertheless, Morph decided to collect some of the medicinal plants in the cluster he saw. But suddenly, a sniper fired at him." Thorax said. "What?" Shining exclaimed, looking at Morph. "How did they mistake him for a combatant?" "I, uh, guess they mistook the camo on my uniform for a zebras stripes, I guess?" Morph spoke to the royals, shrugging. "Morph fortunately wasn't harmed. He did manage to get to a safe spot without being detected again, and gained a visual on the sniper." Thorax explained. "Thorax, I'm sorry for the almost loss of your scout, but does this really need a face-to-face confrontation?" Cadance asked. "I'm guessing you have something bigger behind this." "I do. But you would hear it better from Morph." Looking at his scout, Thorax made a motion to his guests with a slight jerk of the head. Sitting up, Morph began to explain. "When I saw the sniper, at first I thought it was a griffon. Since, you know, griffon outpost? Anyway, when I saw the sniper, I didn't see a griffon. It was..." Morph paused. "It was what?" Twilight asked. "I-I saw a changeling." Morph finished, gulping before he said it. "A...I beg your pardon?" Shining looked baffled. "One of yours, Thorax?" he said, giving the king a strange look. Thorax shook his head. "No. For the two years that I have been in charge, not one of my subjects left." "It was an un-reformed changeling." Morph continued. "At first I thought that it may have been one of Chrysalis's operatives that was out on a mission at the time. I managed to take a picture of the changelings face, and then left the area. I brought it back to HQ for it to be analyzed, but what unnerved me was the fact that that changeling looked just like...Chrysalis." Morph sighed, looking down with his hooves in his lap. Everyone's jaw dropped. Except for Thorax's, who seemed pretty darn uncomfortable at this point. "...Chrysalis?" Celestia repeated, shocked. "But...that's highly improbable. I'd say impossible even." "The Queen? But, w-why would she be at a griffon outpost? And you said she was clearly visible to be un-reformed and unmasked, right? There's no way she could've been there in disguise!" Shining stammered, utterly flabbergasted. "I admit, I thought Morph was crazy when I first heard it. We even checked him for PTSD after he came to me for the report. But as he described the shooter, the evidence came piling on like a sack of...what do you ponies refer it to?" Twilight coughed. "Potatoes?" "Yes, that." "I saw the shooter with a female like build, with a green mane. It was a little...difficult to see her face, as she sported a griffon blue-and-white camo uniform, with a backwards cap." Morph explained. "She even had the griffon military insignia. I-I don't know what else to tell you." Morph said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "We did a facial ID scan to possibly identify the sniper, put an end to the rumors once and for all." Thorax said, with a sigh. "And the results?" Cadance asked nervously. Morph looked at Thorax nervously, while Thorax showed no emotion as he turned on a projector screen, showing the photo of the sniper. What unnerved Twilight the most of this experience was not the possibility that Chrysalis was still alive, bu the fact that the soldier pictured really did look like Chrysalis. The sniper looked calm. Focused. Deadly. "Here..." Thorax said, with a deep sigh. "are the ID scan results." Popping up, the scan showed something horrifying. Her. Her facial photo showed no emotion as her personal information was left there on the side. Chrysalis Corvakov Age: 34 Place of Birth: Changeling Kingdoms Royal Status: Queen N/A Whereabouts: Unknown Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, Griffon Kingdoms Notes: Queen Chrysalis has been labeled MIA, not being seen for the past two years. See Canterlot Library for details on early life. Queen Chrysalis has been located today, on █/██/████, at the Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, currently in possession by the Griffon Military. "My god..." Shining muttered. "We've found her. After two years, we've finally found her." There was a deadly silence in the room. The only sound heard was the air conditioning moving through the ducts. "Captain." Celestia said, slowly standing up. Shining looked up at the sun princess. "This is our number one priority, do you understand? All of our resources will go into locating her - without attacking the base or getting fired upon." "Yes, princess." Shining said. "Thank you for telling us, Thorax. We will work together, I presume?" she asked. Nodding, Thorax added, "Of course." "And remember..." Celestia added as she faced the room. There was a flurry of emotions going through Twilight's head; fear, anger, shock. "Number. One. Priority."
Just BreatheAuthor's Note Quick note, the griffon ranks are based upon Russian military ranks, but translated into English. I'm doing this just to get the better feel of a military other than a North American military. The zebras will have the Afrikaans language applied. Now, with me being partly South African, I would know that some words are borrowed from English. I used google translate, so please don't get mad at the cringe fest that is my multi-language writing. Just Breathe Chrysalis breathed in. As her Reznov-ICKX sniper rifle was dug tightly into her right shoulder, she took aim on her un-moving target, raising the middle of the scope until it fell on her targets head. She desperately wanted to fire, but she knew better than to shoot while holding her breath. She could've gone slightly off kilter at the last millisecond. If she missed, her shot was gone. A perfect opportunity wasted. As she kept all her focus into her aim, she breathed out. She fired. The sound, the recoil, they all added up to the momentary shock she felt. Although she recovered it more quickly than her first time using a firearm. She looked up to see if her targets forehead was still intact. Needless to say, it was all in little bits and pieces. Another successful kill. Well...cardboard target or not, it was still a perfect hit. "Impressive." said her commanding officer, standing behind her as he monitored her progress. He was older than her, give or take 5 years. He had black feathers with a gold stripe around his waist. He wore a red beret on an everyday basis to signify the importance of his rank. He was essential in running the supply outpost which everyone referred to as Vorech Koran. "Keep it up and I may consider raising your rank to Junior Sergeant." he said with a grin. Chrysalis felt her joy levels rising. The term "Junior Sergeant Chrysalis" made her want to jump for joy. She was finally rising in the ranks of the griffon armed forces! "Now fall in, private. We're going over a few things before dinner." the CO ordered. "Yes, sir." Chrysalis saluted, before marching on her way toward the parade square along with the rest of the patrolling and training guards at the outpost. As she marched her way to the square, Chrysalis began to reflect on how she ended up here. Utterly lost in the badlands to which she retreated out to alone, she thought all hope was lost. A month passed. Two months. Now three months in, and Chrysalis had begun to realize that she was about to die. Well, at least until she was recovered by a zebra rebel patrol. The Zebra-Griffon war had just began to take effect, and the zebras - along with every other leader in Equestria - was informed of Chrysalis's deserting. But that wasn't the reason they were less than happy. After recovering her and attempting to interrogate her at gunpoint, they quickly realized that they would not get anywhere, as she did not speak Zebra, nor did they speak English. Taking her in as a prisoner, she endured 3 weeks of neglect, whilst in a small rebel outpost. Being given one meal a day and little water may have broken some people. To be completely honest, Chrysalis was just glad to be eating. It was comforting up to the point when she began to be beaten on a daily basis. They would threaten her for hours at a time. Although she had no clue what those words meant, she was lucky to not have understood. She even remembered when they had brought a Zebra-English interpreter to finally give proper interrogations... In walked the outpost commander. He was angry; he always was. Wearing a red beret with a short shirt and pants for fatigues, he grimaced at the sight of the ex-changeling queen. She was stuffed in a hasty blue jumpsuit with her hands tied behind her back. She was curled up in the fetal position, glaring with hatred. A second figure walked in behind him. A younger zebra with a green beret walked in. Chrysalis's eyebrow raised, as she had not noticed him at the outpost before. Stopping in front of her, the commander exchanged a glance with the other zebra. "Staan op!" the commander shouted. Taking a wild guess, Chrysalis got on her knees with difficulty, her wounds from being whipped three days earlier still paining her. "Dit is jou laaste kans." the commander said in his heavy accent. Chrysalis stared blankly at him, as he took a quick look at the green beret zebra. Then the green beret zebra spoke. "This is your last chance." Chrysalis was a little taken aback by how perfectly the zebra spoke English. Must be an Interpreter? "Ons sal nie weer vra nie." said the commander. "Is jy tans besig met griffon kingdoms as 'n spioen?" "We will not ask again." the Interpreter spoke. "Are you currently working, or have worked, as a spy for the griffon kingdoms?" Chrysalis was relieved to hear her own language again. "No. I've never worked for the griffons." she answered. The interpreter looked at the commander. "Sy sê shes nooit gewerk het met die griffons." The commander glared at the changeling. "Lê!" he shouted. "Hoekom was hierdie ver weg van jou tuisland as?" "He does not believe you." said the Interpreter. "Why were you this far out away from your homeland?" Chrysalis grunted. "I'm a deserter. I ran away from my homeland." "Sy sê sy hardloop weg van die huis." the Interpreter said to the short-tempered commander. "Verdagte..." the commander said. "Jy is 'n koningin." "He says it is unusual for a queen to run off like that." She kicked herself in her mind. Of course they'd know about me, she thought to herself. "Daar sal 'n swaar beloning om jou te vang nie..." the commander said, clearly thinking about something. "Ons kan jou lewer aan ponies..." "There will be a large reward for your capture." the Interpreter said. "We could hand you over to Celestia for a heavy payment." Chrysalis's heart went to her throat. "No! Please, don't hand me over to them! I-I'll stay here where I'll be safe!" she stammered. She would never give in to Celestia! The Interpreter opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Turning to the commander, he said, "Sy was bang. Sy vra vir beskerming." "Beskerming!?" the commander said angrily. The commander raised his fist and landed a fierce blow on Chrysalis's face. "As jy niks weet, ons hier gedoen." the commander barked. "If you do not know anything, we are done here." the Interpreter replied calmly. They walked out, leaving a bruise on Chrysalis's cheek. She still couldn't believe her luck when the griffons raided the outpost three hours later. Recovering her in the small hut in which she dreaded, she was brought to the griffons central base camp. Being presented to the King Thornquill, who was called in for such an opportunity, discussed with his advisers what he should do. He thought that killing her would be a waste, considering her...skills. They, like the zebras, thought that Celestia would place a pricey bounty on her capture. But then Chrysalis had an idea. "Why don't I join you?" she had asked. The kings eyebrows perked up. "My military?" he asked. Nodding, Chrysalis watched as Thornquill turned to his advisers to discuss her offer. After a short while of discussion, he turned back to her. "I've thought about it, and...I like it. You seem to know your way around strategics. How would you like to be our senior attack planner?" "No." Chrysalis answered immediately. "I'd prefer it if I could...start fresh." Thornquill looked confused. "So, you're saying-" "Yes." she interrupted. "I want to be a soldier." So that's what happened. She enlisted in the griffon military as an ordinary soldier, and was placed at Vorech Koran Supply Outpost, and was trained to become a sniper. She never thought that she would cherish an inanimate object such as the Reznov Sniper rifle. But she did. Fully customizable, and ever so dangerous in the hands of a master. Lined up on the parade square with all of her comrades, she felt to be the odd one out. She was the only changeling at the outpost, although no one treated her differently. Admittingly, it was difficult to fit in with the others her first time she arrived. Not many trusted her back then, some even saying that she was a "liability". But after the others had seen her skill, and her strength, they had began to accept her with wide open arms. They realized that she was not any less loyal then the next soldier. She was a survivor. "ATTEN-TION!" the CO yelled. Chrysalis immediately raised her right leg and stomped down on it, placing her rifle to her side as she stared straight ahead, as per the "Attention" command was to be carried out. Observing his men, the CO then yelled, "AT-EASE!" Chrysalis, along with everyone else, kept their right foot remaining in place, whilst keeping her rifle at parade rest with the arm slightly relaxed. "Stand easy." the CO said, softer this time. Everyone went to the stand easy position, looking in the CO's direction. "Everyone's training is going well, I presume?" the commanding officer asked his men. "YES, SIR!" they all shouted. "Good." said the CO. "We've produced our third sniper tonight. Who here knows who that is?" They exchanged glances with each other. Who was he talking about? thought Chrysalis. One of the soldiers raised their hands. "Me, sir?" "Put your hand down." the CO snapped. The soldier who had spoken did as ordered. "Nobody can guess, hm?" the CO said, walking back and forth in front of his men. "Private Chrysalis is our third sniper." Chrysalis's heart glowed with pride. Seems as if the CO had approved her request to become a full-fledged sniper. Sure, she had guarded unofficially before, but now she would be doing the same thing every night! The men beside her murmured words of congratulations. "Once you men are dismissed, you can congratulate Private Chrysalis. Steady up!" The men quickly snapped out of their kind words to Chrysalis and quickly attained the "At Ease" command. "ATTEN-TION!" the CO shouted. The men and herself did the command in perfect unison. "DIS-MISSED!" CO shouted. Executing a right turn, the squad did a quick three step march before stomping their feet and returning to the mess hall. Chrysalis was continuing to be congratulated on the way to dinner, kindly acknowledging her comrades kind words. "How'd you peak his interest?" asked Private Greywing, her friend and comrade. Chrysalis shrugged it off. "I dunno." "I can guess. Remember the intruder you had spotted the other day? I guess he thinks that was a zebra saboteur." "Well, I had to shoot. What else could I do? Just let 'im go?" "Of course. Sad that you missed." "Doesn't matter now." she said. "I doubt he'll be coming back." "Ain't that the truth."
