As we now infiltrate the Hive, me and Conda have only gotten a taste of what is to come. I have no doubts that our journey will only get harder from here, but I hope that the others back at the Castle of Friendship aren’t having the same trouble.

1-10-2024, 10:26 AM

Within the map room of the Castle of Friendship, Cronus and Gaea were sitting down on the floor, patiently waiting for Carter and Conda to return. The two timberwolves had some time to themselves, enjoying each other’s company and conversing. Near the end of their talk, Gaea turned her head away from Cronus, letting out a sigh of distress. Cronus could easily tell that something was troubling her.

“Why are you so sad, Gaea?” Cronus asked, scooting in closer to his leader.

"I am worried about Theia. She has been outside of the castle by herself for a while now, and she is never usually like this." Gaea turned her head towards Cronus and looked at him with her big, beady eyes. "I cannot begin to understand what has her so down."

"Gaea, she has lost Hyperion. We have all lost that poor soul. It is no wonder she is so saddened." Cronus said, feeling sympathy for the young timberwolf.

"I know that, Cronus. I too still feel the pain and guilt that came when I saw him turned to stone. But with Theia… I don't know, she just seems to need a lot more time to herself in order to get over his loss. I can understand that and all, but I just don't know why she is taking so long." Gaea stared at the floor, putting her forepaws out in front of her.

"You don't see it, do you?" Cronus inquired.

"See what?" Gaea questioned.

"Theia loves him, and he loves her. He sacrificed himself so Theia wouldn't be hurt." Cronus stared off into the distance, thinking back on some unknown thoughts. "I'd know that courage anywhere," said Cronus.

"You can't be serious!" Gaea felt embarrassed for not noticing any sooner. Cronus just looked at the alpha wolf with a raised brow. "That would explain so much. I… I feel like a fool!"

"Imagine losing someone you loved very dearly, Gaea." The alpha wolf's heart sunk, imagining the sight of her love dead on the ground in front of her. It was then Gaea could feel the emotional pain that Theia experienced. She shook her head, ridding herself of the foul thought before tears could fill her eyes. "Give her at least time to process this. It's the least we can do."

"R-R-Right… I can do that." Gaea said, keeping her eyes locked on her paws. Cronus glanced over at her.

"Are you doing ok?" Cronus inquired.

"Cronus, have you ever found a potential mate?" Gaea replied. Cronus turned his head in confusion, wondering what would make the alpha timberwolf talk about such an interesting topic.

"I have not. Um… have you?" Gaea said nothing in return, keeping her eyes focused on her paws. Cronus did notice a faint blush that began to glow from Gaea's cheeks, letting him know that she was deep in thought. He wanted to say something else to her, but he just couldn't find the right words to tell her. He slouched back where he sat, pursing his lip and keeping to himself.

Gaea and Cronus instantly looked up when they heard the faint sound of hoofsteps approaching their position. They got up on their paws and looked towards the doors of the map room. Gaea let out a powerful bark in an attempt to scare off the unknown intruders. The footsteps only got closer. Another loud bark came out, but there was still no effect. Cronus walked up to Gaea and stood by her side, growling quietly as they heard the stepping stop on the other side of the doors.

A couple seconds passed by, the two timberwolves waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But some unknown sense of calming came over them. The scent of their companion, along with two other very familiar scents came over them. The doors were slowly opened, revealing the creatures on the other side. Gaea and Cronus grunted with a mix of anger and relief once they saw Theia standing there, along with Big Mac and Sugar Belle, the former pony carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

“You know, simply telling us that you are coming would’ve helped us.” Gaea said, snarling at the timberwolf.

“Forgive me, Gaea. I am still a little… distressed is all.” Theia said, apologizing for her insubordinate behavior. The alpha stopped her snarling and nodded to Theia as a sign of forgiveness. “I have some company.”

Gaea and Cronus looked up at the two earth ponies, cocking their head sideways and waiting for answers. Big Mac and Sugar Belle, although unable to understand them, took the silence as a way of notifying them that it was their turn to speak.

“We came from the farm to offer ya guys some food. It had been a while since ya last visited and we just wanted to make sure that ya guys are staying healthy during yer big battles.” said Sugar Belle. The two timberwolves stiffened at the sound of food, their primal instincts kicking in almost immediately. They hung their tongues over the side of their mouths and began panting eagerly.

“I reckon they do want a little snack.” Big Mac said while pulling the sack off of his shoulders. Gaea barked in excitement, finding it difficult to stand still. Big Mac pulled away the rope and opened the sack. Gaea and Cronus watched the pony reach in and pull out two rather large salmon. They began to whimper as they stared at the fish held in the earth pony’s hooves, almost taunting them with their delectable smells.

“Calm down, you two.” Sugar Belle said, laughing at the timberwolves. “Ok, Big Mac, let ‘em have their fun.” Big Mac tossed the fish towards the timberwolves and enjoyed watching them jump into the air, catching the meal between their jaws. Once in their possession, Gaea and Cronus laid across the floor, using their paws to pull the bones away from the meat.

“Well, they seem to be enjoying it.” Big Mac said. He looked over at Theia and held another fish above her head. “Do ya want another one?” Theia jumped without warning and snatched the fish from Big Mac’s hooves, chewing down on her food. Big Mac and Sugar Belle smiled, enjoying the sight of the three timberwolves enjoying themselves. It brought happiness to them, as they had not seen a lot of joy since the start of the war.

“I wonder where Carter is?” Sugar Belle wondered, looking around for the human.

“Yeah, wasn’t there also a snake or something?” Big Mac added, joining his mate in her search. The poor alpha tried to inform the two earth ponies that Carter and Conda were gone, but they could only hear the sounds of barking coming from the timberwolf. “Are ya enjoying that fish, girlie?” Big Mac said, talking to the alpha as if she were a little foal. Gaea grunted and resumed with eating her food. She knew she was of no help, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

“I wonder if he is outside the castle somewhere. I’ll go look for him.” Sugar Belle said, directing herself to Big Mac.

“Alright, be safe out there.” Big Mac replied.

Sugar Belle went to exit the map room, but before she could take one step, a portal was opened on the other side of the room, startling the ponies and the timberwolves. Big Mac and Sugar Belle walked backwards a bit while the three timberwolves got up on their paws and stared at the portal, waiting to see who would enter through the void.

The reformed changelings all piled out of the portal and into the map room, filling the area one by one. They all stepped into the Castle of Friendship, unable to tell where they were. A couple of them gasped when they saw the timberwolves standing in front of them. Cronus even walked up to one of them and began sniffing their hindlegs, searching for any scent that would reveal signs of hostility. That particular changeling shouted in fear and ran away, startling Cronus quite a bit and leaving him wondering what he did wrong.

In time the portal closed, spitting out the last reformed changeling. Thorax came to the front of the group, looking for anyone he could talk to about the past events. He saw Big Mac and Sugar Belle standing in front of him, raising his spirits and giving him a sense of hope. He walked up to the two earth ponies and cordially greeted them.

“Thorax? Ya guys made it here?” Sugar Belle inquired.

“How in Equestria did ya guys escape? Does Queen Chrysalis know about yer escape?” Big Mac added.

“I don’t think so, but I doubt it will stay that way for long.” Thorax explained. “There was a strange creature by the name of Carter. He helped us escape the Hive.”

“Wait, Carter is at the Hive by himself!?” Sugar Belle shouted. “Is he insane!?”

“Perhaps, but I do believe his insanity has its reasons. He is a very able warrior and had no trouble freeing us from our imprisonment. He is going after the ponies now.”

“The ponies… so ya mean like Applejack n’ Apple Bloom!?” Big Mac exclaimed, the vivid image of his lost sisters appearing in his head, filling him with various emotions. A hopeful smile swept over his face, Sugar Belle joining him in his excitement.

“Yes, exactly.” Thorax replied. “I can only hope that he succeeds. Again, he and the snake are by themselves, and Chrysalis isn’t somepony to mess with. She will stop at nothing in order to get what she wants.”

“Well then what are ya guys doing here in the castle?” Big Mac inquired. “Shouldn’t you be helping Carter fight the queen?”

“I would be honored to aid him, but as I have already told him, me and the rest of my kind are not fit for battle. We haven’t eaten in days, maybe even weeks. We are living off of the scraps of the earth, and our bodies have gone through enough pain and suffering.”

“Food is it, huh?” Sugar Belle said, a grin appearing on her face. “Big Mac, ya reckon we have enough apples to feed all of ‘em?”

“Yeah, I think we can.” Big Mac replied. He looked up at Thorax and nodded. “Don’t worry, Thorax. Me and mah wife will be sure to get y’all some food to satisfy yer needs. In the meantime, do be patient.”

“Ok, can do.” Thorax said.

Sugar Belle and Big Mac then departed from Thorax and headed back to Sweet Apple Acres in order to restock their bags with enough food to feed the entire reformed changeling population. It was a tough task, but if they could help out in any way then they were sure to do so.

“Ya think Carter is doing ok?” Sugar Belle asked. “I don’t want that kid to kill himself.”

“I don’t know, Sugar Belle.” Big Mac admitted, sighing to himself. “We can only hope that he succeeds.”

~

Carter had his back leaned against the railing of the elevator while he waited for the ride to end, clasping his hands together as he grew evermore anxious when thinking about what to expect next. Conda slithered off of the human’s shoulders and down to his feet, landing on the floor of the elevator in order to get some room to stretch his lengthy body. Carter looked down at the anaconda, smiling after it let out a satisfied hiss.

“I have acquired special data about the Blades of Unity. Would you like for me to inform you on my findings?”

The journey up to the top of the Hive still had a ways to go, and the armored warrior wasn’t really in the middle of anything important at the moment, so he shrugged his shoulders and let SETH tell him about what he discovered.

“Go ahead and tell me. We’ve got time.” Carter said. His vision shifted over to his purple alternative. An image of the blades appeared in the middle of his vision, showing different lines pointing to different parts of the weapon.

“The blades appear to have the ability to be upgraded with various elements, such as fire and ice. If ever on your journey should you encounter something with a very large amount of elemental magic, your swords can absorb them and harness their power, giving you the ability to fight with elemental attacks.”

Pfft… this sounds like some sort of video game crap. Whatever, if it helps then I can’t argue with the logic. Besides, Terra probably knew more about combat than I ever could.

“Thanks, SETH. I will keep that in mind.” Carter said. Conda finished up his stretching and slithered back to Carter, crawling up his body and resting on his shoulders.

“What are you planning on doing when we get to the top?” Conda asked, looking up at the human.

“We must defeat Chrysalis. Until she is defeated we have no hope of freeing the ponies.” Carter said, staring off in the distance.

“Yeah, but how do you sssuppossse we find her?” Conda inquired.

“I don’t know. We will just have to look for her.” Carter replied. Conda rolled his eyes at the human’s answer, but he knew he was right. They had no way to use SETH to search for her with all of the magic inhibiting crystals scattered around the Hive, so they had to think of something else. That’s when an idea sparked in Conda’s mind.

“Carter, what if we sssearch for all the anti-magic cryssstalsss?”

“Go on, I’m listening.” Carter said, perking up at the anaconda.

“Well, if we can find all of them and dessstroy them, then we can ussse SssETH to find Chrysssalisss.” Conda said, explaining his idea to Carter.

“Hmmm… not bad. That actually might work.” Carter lifted his hand and petted the top of Conda’s head. A pleased hiss escaping Conda’s mouth as he nuzzled against Carter’s palm. “This is why I have you around.”

“We are nearing the top of the elevator shaft. Be prepared.”

“Alright, Conda. Are you ready for this?” Carter asked.

“Ready asss I’ll ever be.” Conda replied, readying himself for battle.

The elevator stopped in place, the doors in front of them opening to reveal the room ahead. Carter stepped outside of the elevator, Conda wrapped tightly around the human’s neck just enough to stay on and not suffocate him. They emerged on top of a balcony and into a large room with a giant pillar located in the very middle of it all. To the right of them were stairs leading to the floor beneath them. They saw many changelings circling the room, no doubt searching for them.

“Alright, let’s get down there and find these crystals.” Carter said. The sudden sound of someone’s voice coming over the entire room by means of sound amplifying magic echoed around.

“Attention, the human has made it inside the Hive. Every changeling soldier outside the Hive walls needs to stay put and look for the human in case he tries to escape. The rest of you, please find this creature and kill them on sight. The queen must not be harmed!”

The changelings all turned to Carter and Conda once someone announced their presence, spears in hoof and ready to fight. Carter reached behind his back and pulled out the Blades of Unity. Conda let out an angry hiss. The changeling army rushed towards the two heroes, prepared to protect their queen with their (rather nonexistent) lives. With his swords in hand, Carter and Conda knew the battle had begun.

Standing on top of the balcony, two changeling soldiers were the first to approach them. The one on the right was the first to attack, jabbing his spear straight towards Carter’s chest. Carter swiftly dodged to the left and parried the spear with his right sword, knocking the weapon out of the soldier’s hooves. Conda launched himself off of Carter’s shoulders and sunk his teeth into the soldier’s flesh, tightening his hold and using his lengthy body to constrict the changeling. The force of the snake’s hold was too much for the changeling to fight, rendering his wings immobile. Carter leaped high in the air and came down with his swords pointed straight towards the changeling. Conda slithered away as the blades penetrated the changeling’s body, black artificial blood spilling from its wounds. After a quick cry of pain the changeling’s body lost its shape and melted into black goo.

While Carter finished killing the first changeling, Conda went after the second soldier. The anaconda wrapped his tail around its spear and yanked it out of its hooves, using the momentum to launch himself at the soldier. Landing on its back, Conda bit down on its left wing and with a mighty tug pulled the appendage clean off of the changeling, causing it to fall to its death. Conda jumped off of the soldier and landed on Carter’s shoulders just before he was too low to return.

Confirming that the two changeling soldiers were dead, Carter and Conda proceeded down the stairs and toward the second of three balconies. The human sat along the railing of the stairway and let gravity take him to the bottom of the stairs.

“I mussst admit, that isss a very interesssting way to get down quickly.” Conda said, struggling to hold on to Carter once they hit max speed. Carter simply smiled, but their break was not to last. The second they made it to the second balcony, Carter could see three more changeling soldiers approach them.

The two closest to Carter stuck their spears out in front of them and lunged at the human. Carter didn’t expect a team-attack, so he held his arms up in front of him, hoping to use his golden bracers to deflect the spears away from his face should they connect. One glanced off of Carter’s right arm, but the other spear was thrusted lower than expected, stabbing through the armor and penetrating Carter’s right side. The human shouted with a mix of anger and pain, pulling the spear out of his body and stabbing the changeling with it, resulting in a quick death. The other changeling soldier backed up a bit and lifted the spear above its head, aiming it at Carter before it threw the weapon at him. Conda shouted at Carter, warning him about the oncoming attack. Carter spun on his toes and dodged the spear just in time, returning with his own spear throw. The spear penetrated the changeling soldier’s skull, stopping all motion sending it falling to its death.

With the first two gone, the third snuck up behind the human, hoping to get a quick sneak attack. Conda already prepared for an attack from the third soldier and made adjustments. He slithered down Carter’s body and wrapped himself around the soldier’s four legs, stopping its movement and tripping it. The soldier fell to the ground, unable to fight back. Hearing the loud thud that came from the changeling face-planting into the ground, Carter turned around and lifted his foot. With force he drove his heel into the changeling soldier’s skull, turning it into nothing but black goo.

“That’s all of them, let’s keep moving.” Carter held his hand out, offering the anaconda quick access back to his shoulders. Conda moved up the human’s arm and held tightly to his neck. The snake looked down at the human’s wound, watching the blood drip down his armor.

“Are you ok?” Conda asked.

“I’ll be fine.” Carter said, reassuring the snake that they were not out of the fight yet.

Carter made his way down to the stairs towards the third and final balcony. From there they would have to travel down one more flight of stairs before they would reach the bottom. Stepping onto the final balcony, the shadow of another changeling soldier hovered over them. Carter spun around, expecting to find another spear-wielding changeling. However, the human was knocked off his feet and onto the floor after being hit by a large shield, dropping his swords in the process. Quickly recovering to his feet, Carter looked up and saw a changeling soldier who carried not only a spear but a shield as well.

“A changeling hoplite!” Conda shouted. The changeling hoplite kicked the swords away from Carter’s reach, but the human simply held out his hands, recalling the blades to him. The swords levitated off the ground flew towards Carter, the hilt landing in his palms. Now with a means to fight, Carter lunged at the enemy and swung his swords out in front of him. The changeling took a stance with its shield out in front, protecting itself from the attack. Carter’s swords bounced off, his efforts weren’t even enough to leave a scratch on the shield.

The changeling hoplite came out with a counterattack, keeping its shield in front while jabbing the spear out to its side. Carter moved the tip of the spear aside with his left bracer and used a quick punch to the shield to knock the hoplite off its hooves. Once the changeling was on the ground with its shield towards its back, Carter stepped down on its left foreleg and pulled the shield free of its arm. The changeling picked up the spear and attempted to stab the human, but Conda wrapped himself around its other foreleg, preventing the weapon from going any further. With no time to lose, Carter lifted the shield above his head and sent it straight down onto the changeling’s head, the bottom tip pushing through its skull and ending its artificial life.

Carter and Conda regrouped once more and proceeded towards the last flight of the stairs. Making it halfway down, they were met with four more changeling soldiers in flight. Carter glanced over at one who went in for the first attack. The armored warrior grabbed the spear before it could hurt him and pulled the changeling closer to him. Carter got a hold of the changeling by its head and smashed its face into the stair rail, the impact killing the changeling and staining the railing with black goo.

Three more…

Conda had a bit of trouble keeping track of the rest of the changeling soldiers, as all three attacked him at once with their spears. Carter finished up with the first one and ran to Conda’s side, ready to aid him with the other three threats. While the anaconda jumped onto the rightmost soldier, Carter threw his swords out at the other two, each blade flying towards a different target. His right blade made contact with the enemy, slicing it in half, but the left soldier dodged the attack. The living soldier flew at Carter and wrapped its hooves around his neck, forcing him into a chokehold. Carter did find it difficult to breathe for a moment, struggling to fight back in his disadvantaged position. But once he felt the soldier move his head right, Carter lifted that respective arm and elbowed the changeling in the jaw. The force of the blow was just enough to make the changeling loosen its grip, giving Carter enough time to slip out from under and grab the changeling by its throat. He then jumped down the stairs and landed on the changeling soldier once he made it to the ground, crushing its bones and killing it. Satisfied, the human recalled his swords and moved forward.

Meanwhile, Conda was dealing with the last of the changelings. He bit down on the soldier’s throat and tore it open, the black goo spilling from its wound. A curdled scream erupted from the changeling before it went limp and rolled lifelessly down the stairs. Conda slithered back to Carter, this time choosing to stay on the ground.

Now that they had made it down to the bottom floor, they were now looking for a way to locate and destroy the anti-magic crystals. However, their search was put on hold once two more changeling hoplites came down, blocking them from pushing forward.

“Thessse guysss jussst don’t let up.” Conda said, getting himself ready for another fight.

“I don’t think you would be stopping anytime soon if you were given the mission to protect your queen.” Carter replied. “Besides, we aren’t backing down either!”

Carter decided to approach the right hoplite while Conda fought the left one. Carter and the changeling circled each other in their fighting stances, the human looking for a way to get passed its shield. He knew that rushing it would be futile, as it could simply throw out its spear behind the cover of the shield. His swords also proved to be useless, as they couldn’t even break through their defenses. He decided that he would have to wait for an opening.

While Carter waited for his chance to strike, Conda used his long body to slip past the hoptile’s shield and wrap around the changeling, suffocating it until it fell unconscious. Once the changeling went limp, Conda slithered over to Carter’s aid, wrapping himself around the changeling’s body and giving Carter an opening. Carter went in and shoved his right blade straight into its heart, ending the fight then and there.

The coast was clear, no more enemies to be seen… at least for now. Carter and Conda took a moment to catch their breath. Carter placed his swords behind his back before putting his hands down on his knees. The journey had so far seemed to be in their favor, but only time would tell what else laid ahead of them.

“Alright… that’sss one way to make an entrance.” Conda said, sprawling out across the floor.

“Come on, Conda, we don’t have time to waste.” Carter said, kneeling down and picking the snake up with his hands. He hung him over his shoulders and proceeded towards the pillar in the middle of the room. He initially walked right past it without thinking twice, but something was definitely strange about it; enough to where Carter had to back up and examine the pillar for himself. Carter didn’t know what it was about the pillar that stuck out to him, but it was enough to catch his interest. He continued staring at it for a bit and soon found what he was looking for. Carter had found another magic-inhibiting crystal clinging to the pillar. He grinned and threw his fist out at it, shattering the crystal with his shear strength. With that, the magic was restored in the surrounding areas.

“Analysis completed… data acquired.”

“SETH, is that you? What did you find, SETH?” Carter inquired, surprised by how quick the spirit proved to be.

“With magic now able to freely move through the Hive, I have discovered that there is a secret entrance to your right that leads to the bottom floor of the complex. It may be where the ponies are kept away.”

“Really?" Carter looked over at the wall on the other side of him and found a special door protected by about three or four iron locks. It was clear to him that it led to somewhere special considering all the heavy protection. "Ok… that could work, but how the hell do we get in? I don't see a key anywhere.” Carter asked, concerned that SETH’s idea wasn’t the most practical.

“I cannot find any keys nearby, and you have no way of destroying the door by any means physically. However, I do sense a weapon strong enough to break it open somewhere nearby. If you can locate and acquire it then you might be able to break the door open and enter the secret room.”

A secret weapon of enhanced strength What could the changelings have that could possibly hold that power?

"We don't have much time, if we don't do something now then you will soon have the entire changeling army to deal with. It is up to you, sir. That is just my recommendation."

“Ssso… what’sss the plan?” Conda inquired. Carter pursed his lips together, going over the options in his head. He flicked a quick glance at the snake once he settled on an idea.

“We have to break through that locked door. SETH informed me that it leads to the bottom floor of the Hive.” said Carter.

“Ok… but how are we gonna get inssside?”

“I have already thought it over. This plan could work, but we will need to find something that can generate enough force to break it. SETH says that there is a weapon or something nearby. We need to find it if we wish to move forward.”

It troubled Carter greatly to know that he wasn’t strong enough to break down the door, but deep down he knew it was foolish of him to think so highly of himself. Carter looked around the area, searching for a means to destroy the door. There was nothing big or destructive that caught his eye, but he kept looking all the same. Conda joined him in his search soon following. Although he couldn't see well (being a snake and all) he did actually sense something big in the distance with his adept sense of taste. Against his luck, Conda sensed the presence of another enemy. The taste got stronger, warning Conda that this unknown threat was rapidly approaching them.

“Headsss up!” Conda shouted, alerting the human to his position. Carter flicked his head to the side, watching as a giant, armored changeling soldier equipped with a large war hammer came barrelling toward them. Carter and Conda dove away from it, splitting off in different directions. The armored changeling smacked straight into the door, shaking its head upon impact and turning to face the human.

Seriously!? Not even he could damage that thing? That’s just reassuring, isn’t it?

Carter pulled his swords out and prepared for another battle. Conda rushed over to the human’s side, slithering up his body and perching on his shoulders. The armored changeling laughed maniacally behind the cover of its helmet, staring at them without any signs of fear. Carter rushed in and slashed at the armored changeling with his swords, but the outcome of the attack was less than satisfying. His swords bounced off of the changeling's armor, rendering the blades useless. No damage was done to it, not even a scratch. Carter was astonished at first, but he then realized that the changeling’s armor was made up of the same material as the hoplite’s shields. The armored changeling snickered at the human and his futile attempt.

“Uh oh…” Carter held his arms out in front of him as the armored changeling lifted his war hammer and swung it across the area. Carter got all the wind knocked out of him as he felt the extreme force of the war hammer connect with his chest. Carter and Conda were sent flying across the room, doing cartwheels in the air and smacking straight into a wall. The force of their impact broke the wall, sending the two right through and on the other side. Carter let out a grunt of pain while Conda hissed in distress. The human got up with the snake still hanging over his shoulders and looked up, finding that the debris created by the damage they did to the wall was piled in on itself, blocking them from going back the way they came.

“Well, could be worssse.” Conda said, using his tail to wipe off the dust and rubble that clung to his scaly body from the crash. Carter rolled his shoulders a couple times to make sure nothing was seriously damaged. He wondered if he broke any ribs from the impact of the hammer, but he felt no pain, so he ditched the thought.

Once he confirmed that he and Conda were okay, Carter looked around at his surroundings, finding that they were in an entirely different room. Their location in question looked like some secret base, no doors leading in or out of the area were to be found. There was a single light strung up in the middle of the room, coming to the brink of burning out. Relics from all across time were found hung up on racks, their designs resembling nothing like the changelings.

“What are these?” Carter murmured to himself, looking at all the interesting objects. He walked up to a particularly large shovel located in the back of the room, the design and shape of the tool in question capturing his interest.

“A ssshovel?” Conda wondered. “Why would they keep sssomething like that here?”

“It doesn’t look like just an ordinary shovel. Something about it stands out.” Carter said. The human wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the shovel, taking a moment to admire the expert craftsmanship. Embedded in the middle of the wood was the greek symbol for strength. Carter found himself equally astounded every time he realized that he could understand greek. He tried to lift the shovel, but the weight of the tool was more than he first anticipated. With this knowledge, Carter took a stance and lifted with a bit more force, moving the shovel up and away from its respective rack. Once in his possession, Carter firmly held on to the shovel, analyzing the complex tool.

“Do you know what it isss?” Conda inquired, watching Carter play around with the tool.

“I don’t have the faintest idea…” Carter paused for a moment, as if a chill ran up his spine. “… I do however feel… stronger…? I feel like I can do a lot more with this thing.” Carter shrugged his shoulders at the thought. “Perhaps I was just made to do farm work.” Conda got a good laugh at the human’s joke, breaking out into a hissy laughter.

“Your body does not deceive you. That is the legendary Shovel of Dýnami, the same one that was wielded by the courageous and powerful Rockhoof.”

“Rockhoof… wasn’t that one of the Pillars of old?” Carter inquired. The name stuck out to him, remembering the history lessons that Twilight would tell him during their more relaxing days.

“Yes, the very same pony. Rockhoof carried a shovel around with him everywhere he went, using it and his mighty strength to help his allies during their journeys. This shovel is the remodeled version of the original, which was broken during the battle between Equestria and the Legion of Doom. This one was made to never break, and this was done through Princess Celestia placing a spell on it before she left the throne alongside Luna. The spell itself allows the shovel to deal five times the force of what it receives, basically making the user five times stronger.”

“Well if this belonged to Rockhoof, then I am sure that all these things belong to the ponies.” Carter said, reaching out with his right hand and grabbing the leather sheath for the shovel. He grabbed it by the straps and threw it over his shoulder, placing the shovel safely inside once tightly secured.

“You’re jussst going to sssteal it?” Conda inquired, looking at the human with a raised brow.

“What, it wasn't stolen beforehand? Besides, their respective owners can't use it right now, Conda. We can.” Carter had an idea pop in his head. “Also, SETH said that this thing makes the user five times stronger. If this is true, then maybe, just maybe, I can use this to deliver enough force to break the door.”

“Ooh! I like your thinking!” Conda said, wiggling his tail back and forth in excitement. "And here I thought I wasss the only one with good ideasss around here." The human glared at Conda with a deadpan expression.

"Don't play coy with me, Conda." Carter turned his head towards the pile of rubble, then back to the shovel hung up on his back. He figured that he could test out the shovel’s capabilities by first using it to clear a path back to the main room. He took a couple steps in the direction of the rubble, but his eyes soon drifted off, looking over towards a golden shield. Once again intrigued, Carter walked over and grabbed the shield, holding it in his possession.

“What is this thing, SETH?” Carter asked, analyzing the shield up close and personal. The design of the shield was very intricate and polished, its shape unlike anything him nor Conda had ever seen.

“That is the Nitidus Shield, a very powerful means of defense used by Flash Magnus. This shield is resistant to most attacks and is immune to all things fire-based.”

“Well, that’s one more for the arsenal.” Carter said with a smile. The armored warrior placed the shield over his left arm and tightened the leather straps, securing the defensive tool in place.

“Carter, thisss isss no time to go ssshopping. Remember why we are here!” Conda hissed angrily, knowing very well that they had just wasted a lot of valuable time.

“I know, I am all done now. Let’s get back to work.” Carter turned on his heel and faced the rubble, unsheathing the shovel and holding it out in front of him. With a grunt, the shovel was lifted in the air, ready to strike the debris and clear a path. But before the human could use his new tool, the debris was blown away, revealing the armored changeling standing on the other side of the broken wall, staring at him menacingly.

Oh, he wants to give me a rematch.

The human was lifted off the ground, his throat clasped between the armored changeling's forehooves. Carter was tossed onto the ground behind him. The changeling swung his hammer at the human, aiming a devastating blow to his chest. The human barely had time to hold his shield out in front of him before being sent into the air once more from the impact of the changeling’s war hammer, only this time he was able to decrease the overall damage by blocking the attack with his new shield. After some rather nauseating aerial somersaults and landing back first into the iron door, Carter wobbled up to his feet, shaking off the pain. He took a second to analyze his shield, making sure it was still in usable condition. To his surprise, there were no dents or scratches.

“Alright you bitch, let’s see if what they say is true about this thing!” Carter shouted, pulling out the Shovel of Dýnami with his right hand while wielding the Nitidus Shield in his left. The armored changeling wasted no time, swinging its warhammer in a circular motion in an attempt to get a cheap hit off. Carter held his shield up and blocked the attack, this time taking both the pain and pressure of the force into account. The changeling’s hammer connected with Carter’s shield, pushing the human back a bit as he skidded to a halt.

The armored changeling attempted another hammer attack, swinging the weapon in the opposite direction. Carter got a running start and slid underneath the weapon just as it came to him, sneaking past the attack and closing the gap between them. From there the human bounded upward and thrusted the shovel out towards his enemy. The blade of the shovel collided with the changeling’s bulky armor and broke through the right chestplate almost effortlessly, splitting it apart and sending the particles flying across the way. Though masked behind its helmet, Carter could sense that the once fearless changeling could sense that it was now fighting quite the formidable opponent.

Carter saw the changeling flinging his war hammer straight at his head with vengeance. The human rolled out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding a potentially fatal blow. Conda hopped off of the human as Carter got to his feet. The anaconda slithered up the changeling’s armor and entered through the broken pieces. The changeling was throwing out hateful words towards Conda, but its taunts were soon interrupted by the sounds of agonizing screams. Conda went around the changeling’s body from within the armor, biting down on its flesh in order to buy Carter enough time to go in for the kill.

With a simple nod, Carter leapt onto the changeling’s back and sheathed the shovel, swapping out the large weapon in exchange for his hidden blade. Following the sound of the steel locking in place, Carter shoved the metal blade straight through the grooves on the front of the changeling’s helmet. From there everything went silent, no more screams or metal clinking echoed through the room, just silence. Carter hopped off of the deceased changeling and watched its armored body collapse, spilling black goo between the armor’s grooves. Retracting the blade, Carter took a much needed moment to recover.

“Conda… *pant* *pant* are you okay in there?” Carter asked, waiting for the snake to reply. Within a few seconds, Conda slithered out of the armor, covered in black goo. He had a face that said “I wish I were dead right now.” Carter chuckled a bit before walking over to the anaconda with his hand out to him. “Nice job, buddy.”

“If you tell anyone about thisss, you are next on the menu.” Conda hissed furiously, climbing up Carter’s arm and resting along the comfort of his shoulder pauldrons. Conda hid his face beneath the cover of the rest of his lengthy body, no doubt embarrassed by his current appearance.

“No one is gonna care, Conda. If anything it makes you look more like a badass.” Carter said in an attempt to lift the snake’s spirits. However, to the human’s dismay, Conda did not seem like things were any better for him as he kept his head hidden.

With that fight out of the way, Carter proceeded towards the door. Upon arrival, Carter gave it a dirty glare, as if he and this inanimate object had a dark past. He was determined to come out on top this time. Pulling the shovel out from behind him, firmly gripping it by its haft.

Alright, let’s give it another go. For real this time.

Winding it back to gain some momentum, Carter thrusted the shovel straight at the locks, feeling his strength being multiplied as the tool gained speed. Just as predicted, the door shook violently and the locks chipped the moment the shovel connected with it. The strength of the shovel was strong enough to break through one of the many locks, giving Carter hope.

“Haha! It actually works!” Carter said, relieved that things were finally going his way.

“Yeah, that’sss cool and all, but I am afraid that we have company!” Conda shouted, pointing his tail out towards an army of changeling soldiers rapidly closing in on them.

Just when I was having my fun.

Carter picked up the pace, pulling the shovel out of the door and driving it in the same place another time, breaking the second lock. It was working, but it wasn’t yet enough. Again he pulled the shovel back and thrusted it towards the door, another lock crumbling to the ground. Unknown to the human, the floor beneath him shook with every swing, and the force of each hit cracked the very foundation of the Hive. The door was close to collapsing, it only took one more jab of the shovel before it would give way.

“Any sssecond, Carter!!!” Conda exclaimed, sitting on the human’s shoulders while he was forced to watch the changeling army get closer and closer.

“Hey, Conda!!!” Carter shouted.

“What!?”

“Hold on tight!!!” With one final blow, Carter managed to finally break the locks down. The pieces of iron chains that once locked up the door fell to the ground in pieces.

As the damage took its toll, Carter and Conda noticed that the floor beneath them began to crumble in on itself as well, falling down into a black pit. The pit itself was abnormally large and deep, almost as if it was dug out beforehand. It was there that the two heroes realized that they were right above the secret bottom floor to the Hive. Their journey was now halfway completed.

“Any idea to sssafely get down there?” Conda asked, the amount of flooring they could stand on decreasing by the second.

“We jump!” Carter shouted.

“WHAT!?” Conda squealed as the human blindly jumped into the void, both of them unknowing of what to expect on their way down.

The ground caved in once the two heroes fell down, preventing the changeling army from advancing on their enemies. They were stuck on the surface, leaving Carter and Conda trapped below ground. As the rain clouds continued to pour down on the surface of Equestria, the bodies of all the deceased changelings washed away as their corpses dissolved into their gooey counterparts. But even with the numbers of enemy changelings heavily affected, they knew Chrysalis still remained a threat.

Author's Note

This chapter was a doozy. Lots of revisions had to go into this one, but I think it all played out well in the end!

As always, if you have any questions or comments then feel free to comment and/or PM me. Chapters should be rolling out at a normal rate from here on out.