“Wake up, stalker. The squad will be moving out shortly. They will not wait for you.”

The Stalker mumbled and sat up. “Right, right, I'm moving.” He grabbed the gear he had laid out earlier and mock saluted the Queen. “Let's go” he said.

They walked down several dim corridors until they came to a large, rounded room where a group of 13 bug-horses stood around in conversation. They all had wings and horns, but lacked the height the queen and the blue alicorn had, only being a few feet high. On the opposite side of the room was a passage with no lighting.

“Attention!” Barked the Queen. “You are the finest infiltrators in the hive, hoof picked by me. While you have already been briefed, there has been a slight change of plan. To ensure the smoothest, undetectable integration I have made a deal with this creature, the Stalker. He will provide a distraction for you, once he is ready. He will tell you the details on the journey. Do not fail me.” She finished sharply. The crowd of changelings began to march off down the tunnel in a 3x4 grid with one at the front. The Stalker followed cautiously behind. The tunnel began to get a lot darker as they got further so the stalker pulled out his new wind up flashlight and lit the path ahead. The changelings turned their heads to look at the light source, blinking when it shined straight into their eyes.

“So, Stalker.” The leader of the group spoke. He didn't know if he was the leader but he was the tallest and only one who spoke to him. He didn't even know the gender, only that it sounded deeper than the Queen’s and thus assumed he was male.

“Yeah?”

“What are you?” He asked uncertainly.

“I am a human, survivor of the zone and the fifth or sixth person to enter this world and live.” He said dramatically.

The changeling paused, likely not knowing what a human is or where the zone is. “And why are you invading Canterlot?”

“To rescue my partner. He was kidnapped by their rulers.”

“Really?” He asked, interested. “Well, could you help us also?”

"I'm already helping you." The stalker remained silent for a moment. “What do you want me to do?”

“In the castle dungeons there are several changeling prisoners. If you could free them we would be extremely grateful.”

Grygoriy scoffed. “I don't want your gratitude. I will help you, but I need something in return.”

“What?”

“Information. I need to know where my friend is being held, where his gear is and how to get there quietly.”

“I can do that, but why do you need to get there quietly? You surely remember the queens deal?”

“Of course. But risk is still risk. I will be sneaking in, and then shooting my way out.”

“Hmm. Your plan makes sense.”

Grygoriy, of course, already knew that. He would have preferred to just sneak everywhere, but sadly the circumstances didn't allow for that. He didn't want to lose his only potential ally in this world. Especially one under possession of many materials they needed. They probably have the platinum needed to return home, but in his haste he had forgotten to ask. “How long would you need to get me the information?”

“When we get closer, I will be able to tell you. Through the use of our hivemind I can communicate directly with the captive changelings.”

"What the hell is a hivemind?"

"It's a communication method we possess from birth allowing us to communicate basic concepts or thought to each other."

“Ok. Why can't you tell me now then?”

“The canterlot dungeons have strong magic suppression. They know little about changelings, and cannot completely block all our abilities. We should be in range once we get to the city.”

"Great.” But internally he was disappointed. The lateness of the information would delay his rescue operation by a few hours at least, and he would need some sleep after the final 8 hour walk.

“So, this hivemind.”

“…Yes?”

“You can communicate with the queen now?”

“…Yes.”

“Ask her if she has platinum. Please.”

“…Ok. We have no platinum.”

“Fuck.”

-

The group had been walking for several hours through the tunnel, which had gradually gotten narrower and lower with roots dangling from the top. A little further and the tunnel became a lot wider and had baskets filled with metal water bottles on either side, obviously a rest point. The changelings drank the water and the stalker refilled the canteen he had been sipping from. They rested in silence for several minutes before continuing. They walked for another few hours before emerging out to a forested hill with a great view of a moonlit mountain range.

“So, that’s the city?” He said, pointing to the precariously placed city floating off the side of a really fucking huge mountain.

“Yes. And good news, I can communicate with the prisoners from here.”

“Really? Right, tell me everything about the layout, where Zakhar is, where the other changelings are, guard patrols and their threat level to me. In detail.”

“Right. Let’s get walking and I’ll tell you on the way.”

And so the changeling captain told the stalker everything he could. Grygoriy committed the information to memory, well-motivated to remember everything. There was a lot of missing info that he pressed for, but got no answers. Based on what info was given he formulated a plan, a backup plan and even a third, alternative plan. He tried to account for unexpected problems, false info and even if he had to face the ‘alicorns’. Most of the solutions involved a lot of shooting. By the time he was finished they had almost made it to the base of the mountain.

“Where do we go from here?” The Ukrainian asked.

“We will enter through their surface water drainage system. Behind the main waterfall is a large pipe system that all drains connect to. Lucky for us it’s not connected to the sewer system. We will climb up to it and walk through it until we reach our safe house. We will not be using magic at all until we are well within the city, they have a lot of perimeter detection spells so we will have to be cautious of any lookouts.”

They walked down the hill under the trees, reaching the river that was fed by the waterfall. Following the shore they came to the steep face of the mountain. The bug-horses didn't wait around and climbed up behind the waterfall. He was honestly impressed at how well they climbed considering they had seemingly smooth feet, or hooves. He followed them until they were in the centre of the waterfall. They then flew up to the large pipe that stuck out of the rock slightly. One changeling, the leader, turned and spoke to the leader.

"How will you get up?"

"Here." He said, passing it one end of a synthetic rope. "Fly this up and tie it to anything you can up there. Make sure it's not gonna come loose. Can you even tie knots with no fingers?"

The changeling rolled its eyes and took the rope telekinetically while flying up. Grygoriy groaned internally. Magic. The convenient solution for everything.

"Ok, it's tied." The bug horse shouted to him over the roar of the waterfall. Grygoriy began to climb the rope, slowly inching his way up. His equipments weight made it more difficult that the last time he had climbed, which was well before he ever came to the zone. Water from the pipe and waterfall splashed onto his visor, but being unable to free his hands he couldn't clear his view.

He reached the top and climbed over the damp lip of the pipe. It was dark, and so the stalker took his wind up flashlight out again and had a look around. The pipe was large, maybe two or three meters in diameter and was made up of large sections. It was angled upwards quite steep, and slowly curved around to the left. small amounts of water drained down the middle, making it slippy to climb, but by walking only on the dry areas either side of the stream he could walk up with ease.

He retrieved his rope which had been tied to a centeral indentation that was in both sides of each pipe section, likely access that would connect to street level drains. He then reattached the rope to the outside of his pack and followed the now single file column up the pipe.

It soon levelled off and occasional footsteps - hoofsteps - could be heard above. The pipes began to split into intersections that likely ran all over the city, handling all of its surface drainage. Suddenly the size of the pipe didn't seem so stupid. The changelings obviously had a destination in mind, and bee lined for it. They came to a manhole, or a ponyhole I guess, and took the lid off it. Orange sunlight filtered through, indicating it was early morning. The changelings flew up through it and Grygoriy was able to pass his pack and weapons up and then jump and grab the edge, then pull himself up.

He grabbed his gear and then looked around. It was some kind of junkyard or scrapyard judging by the amount of piled up crap that surrounded him. He followed the changelings to a run down building and entered, closing the door behind him. It was a single room with a candle on what looks like an office desk.

"What now?" He asked, as every changeling stared at him.

“We rest until tomorrow. Then at dusk you should approach the castle, as we discussed there will be less guards. As you approach we disperse in the city, and you will be alone at the castle."

Grygoriy grumbled. The plan he had was sketchy at best. He had survived the zone due to advanced knowledge on everything, and here he was relying on the word of an insect/horse hybrid for reliable information. Quite a drop in his standards, but a necessary one. But now, it was time to rest. Tomorrow he could curse himself and the situation he was in, after he had rescued Zakhar. He laid down in a corner and quickly went to sleep.

-

“Stalker. Get up.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm moving...” Grygoriy grumbled. The Ukrainian stood up and grabbed his gear, swinging his pack onto his shoulders. He mentally double checked the plan he had made while eating an MRE. The changelings, apparently ready and waiting, stared at him as he ate. If he was less stressed he may have given it a second thought.

“Right.” He said, swallowing the last mouthful. “Lets go.”

He exited the abandoned house they had used to hide for the afternoon, coming out to a dim cobblestone alley. Faint yellow candlelight flickered into the alley, revealing enough detail to see where they were going. Grygoriy didn't want to waste his battery so early, and could see well enough without NVGs. He grabbed the AKM off his back, slid the bolt back and watched a perfectly good bullet tumble onto the ground, indicating the magazine was loaded and the gun was operational. He never did get a chance to test fire, but it certainly had bullets. Picking up the dropped cartridge, he inched forward and peeked around the corner of the alley. The street was deserted and the street lamps were all emitting that flickering yellow light, casting thick shadows between houses. Perfect to hide in.

He was initially worried that the changeling things were going to glow in the dark with their strange eyes, but as they entered shadows they faded to blackness. Even with his NVGs, he couldn't see them. He guessed it was a form of the psionic ability that plagued this world.

They slipped from shadow to shadow despite the lack of ponies, just to be safe. Once they were a dozen buildings or so from the castle they could see things flying overhead, presumably pony guards or police. The occasional citizen would also be strolling through the street, oblivious to their presence. Thanks to the amulet, he could hear conversations from passing houses, but they had little of interest to say. “Did you hear about the Everfree vampires?” and “I heard that the princess’s pupil is here with her friends.” seemed to be common conversations. But Grygoriy was focusing on moving undetected and cared little for the town gossip.

He had finally made it to the last street before the castle and he turned to face the changelings. But they had already departed. ‘So much for goodbye…’ he thought to himself. The changelings had provided information on the layouts of the building but they knew surprisingly little about patrols, considering their purpose. He took note of the guards, timing their routes. After about ten minutes of observation he was ready to move. They had a reliable two minute gap between patrols at this section of wall, and the gardens would conceal him greatly due to the large hedges and statues. He waited for the two ponies to walk off and then lightly ran across the cobblestone street making minimal sound. He then followed the grassy path between the hedge and the castle wall to the large gardens. There was much less lighting here and almost no guards so he could move around almost without hinderance. Eventually he came to the glass doors at the rear of the castle. A quick check of the handle revealed them to be unlocked, and upon further inspection there appeared to be no lock on the door at all. He could only hope that it would be this easy for the rest of the castle.

Slipping through the door his mood quickly changed to a more cautious one. There was little information on the interior of the castle and it was heavily populated and brightly lit. He wouldn’t have the remotest chance to blend in so now it was very much do or die. He took a left down the hallway as it appeared to lead into a much larger corridor. Poking his head around he saw it was empty save for a regular looking pony pushing a cleaning cart. It stopped outside a room, opened the door and then pushed the cart into it, following behind and closing the door shut. Grygoriy decided this would be a good chance to gather some vital information. He quickly closed the gap to the door and knocked on the door lightly three times.

“Squeaky? Is that finally you? You were supposed to help me clear this hall 15 minutes ago! Where have you been? And for Celestia’s sake come in here and help me!

Grygoriy slipped into the room and strode up behind the oblivious pony.

“You can start by cleaMFFFFFF!”

The pony was cut off by a large hand clamping her mouth shut. Grygoriy then forced the pony to turn around and it’s wide eyes became even wider. It fought hard against the hand but Grygoriy quickly spoke.

“Stop. If you make a sound louder than my voice, I will kill you. Understand?”

The pony tried to nod but was restricted by the appendage on her face.

“Good. I’m going to move my hand from you and ask you some questions. Let’s start with your name.” Grygoriy then released his grip on the equines mouth.

“A-amber Glow” the terrified pony whispered.

“Ok amber, I’m just a lost tourist. I need to know how to get to the dungeons.”

“Ok. Erm, you just walk o-out of this room and turn left down the corridor for a few yards and then turn right down the old stone staircase. Please don’t k-kill me…”

“No promises.”

Grygoriy then began to strangle the mare, covering her mouth and squeezing her throat. She kicked and struggled but was no match for the veteran stalker. She quickly went limp, and Grygoriy dropped her carefully onto the floor. With her unconscious he wouldn’t have to worry about her causing alarm for the next few minutes which was all he needed.

Grygoriy then slowly opened the door and peeked out, checking both directions of the hallway. After checking that it was empty, he stepped out and closed the door behind him. He then quietly jogged to the mentioned stone staircase and descended beneath the castle.

It got a lot darker due to the lack of windows and scarcely placed wall lighting, which would work to the Stalkers advantage. Ahead he could see a corridor with cells along both sides and an office at the far end of the corridor. He checked the lock to the door and saw there was no keyhole. Instead it had a bright pink-purple gem in place of a keyhole. Checking the rest of the nearby cells he saw they were mostly identical. He peered further down towards the office and saw that there were three guards, two playing some kind of board game, and the third cleaning a piece of metal armour. He knew that he would be spotted instantly if he walked further down, but due to the cells being indented into the wall, he could get a few cells closer. The first few had been empty but further down he saw that they had two occupants per cell, exclusively changelings. He stealthily moved to the nearest occupied cell and spoke to the inhabitants in a whisper.

“Hey”

The changelings looked at the Stalker, and then each other. The one on the left spoke.

“Are you the warrior? Sent by the Queen?”

“Eh, yeah I guess.”

“Great. Get us all out of here.”

“How do I get you out? And where is my comrade?”

“Your companion is in the cell closest to the guard station. On the left side. He hasn’t been conscious since he was put in there, but we can sense him."

Gregory cursed his luck. If he wasn’t awake that would ruin his escape.

“And to get us out you must overcome the magic of the lock.”

“I don’t do magic.” He stated, trying to think of another way to open the cells.

“No, but you negate it.”

Grygoriy processed this for a few seconds. Maybe if he put the Moonlight artefact close to the lock it would work? He pushed his belt towards the lock and shifted himself against it. The changelings stared at the stalker as he continued to grind his crotch on the door, until to their surprise, the lock clicked and fell to the floor with a clang. A loud clang.

“Hey! What’s going on over there!” A new voice shouted, presumably a guard.

“I’ll go check it out. Keep watch, alright. And for Luna’s sake stop playing that stupid board game.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go sort out Cell 16 ok?”

Then, footsteps – or rather, hoofsteps – sounded on the stone floor, gradually getting louder. Grygoriy pulled his machete out and prepared to face the foe. As soon as he saw the white fur of the pony creature he lunged at it, firmly grasped its neck and held the sharp knife to its throat. The two guards had meanwhile shot up and grabbed their own weapons, ready to fight.

“I’d suggest you put down your weapons…” Grygoriy spoke with a loud, confident voice. “Or your friend here is going to lose a lot of blood.” He said, carefully waving the blade.

“What do you want?!” One of the guards said, still holding their weapons.

“Drop your weapons.” He repeated, applying pressure to the pony’s throat. It struggled and moaned with the new pain, causing the other guards to hesitate. “You have three seconds to drop your weapons and open all the cells. One.”

The guard on the right dropped his weapon and walked to the wall, lightly touching his horn to a metal panel. Then, a chorus of clicks followed by clangs as the locks fell to the floor, allowing all of the changelings to exit. He counted 12 changelings, and Zakhar was nowhere to be seen.

“Alright bugs, tie up and gag the guards. Make sure they can’t wriggle out.” He spoke commandingly, releasing his captive to changeling custody. He then strode to the cell that his comrade was supposedly in. Sure enough, Zakhar was sleeping face down of the wall-mounted bed, his large body draping over the sides on the small object. He was also completely naked, but Grygoriy was a bit preoccupied. “Zakhar, get up.” The Russian didn’t move. Grygoriy kicked him and got a grunt for his effort. Again, this time Zakhar raised his head a little.

“Uhhg, fuck me…”

“You alright?”

“Fuuck no man, I’m practically dying here…”

“Well, suck it up. You can die later.”

“Yeah… Nice to see you too.”

“Where’s your stuff?”

Zakhar was about to respond but was interrupted by a very loud thump, vibrating the whole room and causing dust to fall from the stone ceiling. Then they felt lots of less powerful thumps, realising it was coming from below.

“Better question, what the fuck is that!?” Grygoriy exclaimed.

“You bucking idiots.”

Grygoriy turned to look at one of the tied up guards who had spat out his gag. “Someone gag this idiot before he loses his tongue.” He responded.

The guard continued to speak, unfazed by his threat. “You said open ALL the cells. So guess what just got released.”

“Uh.” Zakhar interrupted, standing up and tying a small bed sheet around his waist. “I’m pretty sure that my stuff was stored down there. And I really wanna leave with my equipment. And my fucking clothes.”

And just moments after he finished speaking some kind of loud air raid siren began wailing from above followed by a different alarm in the cell they were stood in.

“Well.” Grygoriy shouted, trying to be heard over the combined noises. “This is gonna get messy.”

Author's Note

It's good to be back.

This chapter is a bit empty, it was originally part of a much larger chapter but I'm not happy with the second half so I'm releasing this bit while I work on the other bit.

Hope you enjoy, and please comment if you have any ideas or criticisms. I wanna get better but can't do that with no feedback!