My mission is almost completed. I have fallen into the underground depths of the Hive and I am certain that Chrysalis is very close to our current position. I can only hope that Twilight and the others are doing ok. It is because of them I choose to go through with this. But… even after saying that, I must admit that my past actions seem to haunt me with every life I take. While I watch the blood of my enemies run down the palms of my hands, I am forced to remember the man I once was; the monster I became.

1-10-2024, 1:12 PM

Travelling ever-deeper into the dark abyss that loomed beneath the pair, Carter and Conda not knowing when they would reach the bottom, nor if they would even survive the fall. Nothing but the feeling of regret consumed their minds as they continued further down. It was obvious that there was no other way to prevent this, but even then the two felt as if they chose the least appropriate course of action.

Carter knew he had no choice but to brace for impact, but how exactly he'd do so was something he could not figure out. With little thinking, Carter grabbed onto Conda's scaly body and pressed it up against his golden chestplate, securing the snake in his arms. If all else failed, he would at least ensure Conda's safety.

A sudden force hit him like nothing he could have expected. He was sent spiralling to the side after his right shoulder collided with a rock in the wall. Desperate to keep Conda safe and secure, Carter curled into a ball and braced for another painful blow to his body.

The next wave of pain hit just as hard as the last, knocking him away from the point of impact. Conda struggled to keep himself mounted on top of Carter's shoulders but managed to hang on and keep himself as calm as the situation would allow him. Soon, Carter began tumbling down like a pinball machine, knocking into the walls every other second.

With time, the walls gradually sloped at an angle, allowing Carter and Conda's descent to slow down. Carter came in contact with the slope and began rolling downward, tumbling over the rocks that stuck to it. Many more summersaults followed but in time the human came to a halt, laying across the ground on his back.

Moments passed as Conda regained his balance, shaking away the feelings of non stop spinning. Fully recovered, the anaconda slithered over to Carter's face, checking up on his human companion. Carter's eyes were shut and his movement was minimal, but his breathing was normal and he had no signs of any serious injuries besides a few scratches along his face.

"Carter…?" Conda felt worried for his friend. He knew he wasn't dead, but the fact that he remained silent was unnerving to the poor snake. "Carter, pleassse get up." Conda leaned in and used his strong sense of taste to survey the air and detect any harmful elements that could affect Carter. None were discovered. Yet, even with everything pointing to Carter's well-being, he began to fill up with nothing but pure fear. The image of a wounded friend reminded him of a past he didn't want to look back on.

To Conda's relief, Carter slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the snake. His vision was blurred at first, but once he was able to regain focus, Carter smiled and petted the top of his head. They were both alive, at least for now.

"I am ssso glad you are ok." Conda said frantically. "I thought that… well, I knew you weren't… but, I thought you, I…" Conda couldn't make himself talk. The feeling of almost losing Carter was too much to think upon. He buried the foul thought in his mind, calming himself before things got worse for him. "I don't want to lossse you. I lossst my parentsss… I can't bear the thought of losssing you, too."

"You don't have to, Conda." Carter said reassuringly. He lifted his index finger and gently stroked Conda's chin. Deep down he knew he could sympathize for the poor snake. "I know you lost them and I am sorry I was not there to stop it from happening. But one thing you should know is that I won't leave you. You chose to stick by my side. You chose to be there for me, and as such, it is my job to make sure you are safe, happy, and loved. No exceptions." Conda smiled at the man and let out a loving tongue flick.

"We should get moving." said Carter.

"Yeah, you are right." While Carter got up to his feet, Conda wrapped around Carter's neck and awaited further instructions. After thinking over it, Conda suddenly felt stupid for being so emotional. He knew that this was a time to be serious and wanted to make things right. "Sssorry for that sssappy moment. I will do better not to let that happen again."

"Do not be sorry, Conda." Carter spoke firmly, looking back at the anaconda with a stern yet forgiving look on his face. "War has no bounds with how it can corrupt you… believe me, I know. It will do many things to you, physically and emotionally, like mess with your mind and play with your emotions. There are times to be sad, scared and vulnerable, but in the heat of battle we must be disciplined and focus on the task at hand. Do you understand?"

"Yesss, Carter." said Conda. The anaconda felt better knowing that Carter was overall understanding. "Well then, let'sss go free the ponies."

Carter had a bit of a pause before replying. Having realized just how much they had accomplished so far, perhaps there was a chance that their journey was almost completed. Maybe, just maybe, the ponies were sitting there just out of reach, waiting for Carter to take that last step to help free them from Grogar's clutches.

"Yes… let's go get the ponies." With his stoic expression still visible, Carter proceeded forward with Conda resting along his shoulders.

Having landed in the middle of a long hallway with torches barely bright enough to illuminate the area around them, Carter and Conda proceeded down the path before them, keeping their guard up in search of hostiles. The armored warrior would scout ahead and cautiously move forward while his reptilian companion surveyed the area behind him. The sounds of Carter's warrior boots hitting against the cold floor with each step echoed through the hallway, adding an eerie feeling to the already unnerving atmosphere.

The two quickly caught note that unlike the rest of the Hive this part in particular was not constructed from the changeling's same artificial material. Instead the hallway appeared to be simply mined out and used for something secretive considering that the entrance was locked away, but what exactly that entailed was beyond their knowledge.

Nearing the end of the hall, the duo saw a giant door standing before them. Carter quickly noticed that the door in question was protected by a spell seeing as it had a colorful reflective coating. With this in mind, the two of them were certain that this door was the one thing standing between them and Chrysalis.

Don't worry, girls. I'm almost there…

"Somepony is outside. Everypony stay quiet."

Carter and Conda instinctively flicked their heads to the right to them. Just beyond their reach there was a smaller door. Unlike it's bigger opposite, this one was not protected by use of spells.

"You heard that, didn't you?" Conda inquired, keeping his voice to a whisper. Carter didn't reply, but it was still evident that the human did in fact hear the voice coming from the other side. What struck his curiosity was that he swore he recognized the one who spoke. Intrigued, yet still cautious, Carter went over to the smaller door and placed his hand upon it.

"Conda, be ready for anything." Carter stated.

"Roger that." Conda replied.

With haste, Carter opened the door with his hand and surveyed the surrounding area. It was pitch black inside the other room, only the light from the hallway lighting up the area by his feet. Though he couldn’t see, Carter heard the faint sounds of gasps after opening the door. He knew someone was nearby, and not just one, but multiple. Jumping to conclusions, the duo thought that this was some form of sneak attack.

“SETH, can you find a way to light up the place?” Carter inquired quietly.

“I am unable to use magic as a means to illuminate the nearby area. It appears that there is still one more anti-magic crystal located behind the other door, thus blocking my magical abilities.”

“No luck then… hmm.” Carter began searching for alternatives. He was already wasting time standing around, but he knew that it was suicide walking any further into the next room without a source of light. Then it came to him. “Conda, can you go grab a torch off the wall and bring it to me?”

“I can do that.” Conda replied, jumping off of Carter’s shoulders and slithering over to the nearest torch. Meanwhile, Carter kept his senses sharp, looking ahead and scouting around for even the shadow of a figure.

Then the voice appeared again.

“Who are you…?”

The voice sounded scared and uncertain. Carter went to pull out his blades and prepare for an ambush, but he was hesitant. He knew that the voice was familiar, but he couldn’t seem to remember who exactly it belonged to. Lowering his hands to his side, Carter replied with the same question.

“It depends… who are you?”

“You are not changeling… I can see your silhouette in the light.” The voice began to come out more calmly. “But what exactly you are I cannot tell.”

A question for a question… who is this?

“May I ask for your name?” Carter asked the mysterious voice, hoping to come across as an ally. The voice, however, never replied with an answer, of which Carter expected. He had a strong feeling that, whoever this was, it wasn’t a changeling. Its voice didn’t sound threatening or illusive, but rather innocent and hopeful. A voice similar to that of a-

Pony…

Conda came back with a torch coiled in his tail and stopped at Carter’s feet, raising the light source up to the human’s side. Carter nodded and grabbed the torch with a firm grip. Now able to illuminate the area, Carter held up the torch and allowed him and Conda to see what was in front of them. It took a second for him to get adjusted to the light, but after a few seconds, Carter and Conda were left speechless. The two heroes found a seemingly never ending row of imprisoned ponies located on each side of the room. They had found what they were looking for.

The emotions that soon came over them as the human and the snake looked upon their captured friends was almost overwhelming. All of the ponies were brutally bloodied, beaten and tortured. None of them looked hopeful in the least. Conda had a strong sense of heartfelt sympathy towards them all, as he hoped and wished dearly that this image was merely a nightmare. Carter however had a different emotion rise within him, one which he was all too familiar with. He wanted vengeance. He wanted to sink his blades into the flesh of the one responsible for the damage brought upon his friends and make the enemy wish for nothing but death. However, these dark thoughts reminded him too much of the man he once was, and because of this, he quickly shook them off.

"Carter!?"

The voice echoed yet again. Carter and Conda flicked their heads over toward the direction of the one who spoke. Filled with hope and relief, the two of them saw three recognizable ponies locked in cages next to each other: Pear Butter, Bright Mac and Flint Masters. Without hesitation, Carter made his way over to them.

"You are alive!" Carter shouted with relief, rushing over to Pear Butter's cage first. The older mare ran to the side of her cage closest to Carter and pressed her hooves up against the metal bars. She practically begged to feel his touch, as everypony including herself had not made physical contact with outsiders for weeks. Carter slipped his hands through the bars and gently wrapped his fingers around her hooves, caressing them softly. Pear Butter was then overwhelmed with emotions, feeling beyond happy to finally be in the presence of another living being. "I am so glad to see you once again."

"Ah’m so happy to see ya as well. Ah didn't think ya'd make it alive. Oh, Ah am so glad that Ah was wrong." Pear Butter replied. Her face lit up with the cutest smile as tears began dripping from her eyes. Her cheeks also began to glow red as she smiled. "Funny… Ah guess me n' Bright Mac are to be forever locked behind cages." She said with a chuckle.

"No, no! Do not ever say that, Pear Butter. You deserve so much better than this, all of you do!" Carter spoke almost angrily, damning her for speaking such negativity, even if it was a simple joke. "None of this should have ever happened to you. This is all my fault. If I had only been stronger then I would have prevented this whole thing from happening in the first place. I failed, and I know that. But now I am here with you once more, ready to make things right."

"Awe, ya always were the hero type." Pear Butter replied.

"I am no hero, Pear Butter…" Carter didn't want to reflect the mare's kind complement, but his past actions prevented himself from accepting the title. After becoming what he was, could he really call himself a hero? His expression sank into a saddened frown, but he quickly phased out of it. "But I am someone who helps their friends in their time of need, and right now I am here to set you free."

"It's ok, Carter, don't be so modest. No matter what happens, we're still indebted to you." said Pear Butter.

Carter nodded with a smile. He leaned down to Pear Butter's forehoof and kissed it before backing away from her cage. All the while the orange mare wore a hopeful smile across her face.

"You are a good… man." said Flint Masters, thinking of the right words to say since Carter was not a pony.

"Flint. Are you holding up well?" Carter inquired.

"Hell, ya think?" Flint rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I’m getting through it each day, same as the rest of us."

"Where are the girls?" Carter asked, hoping to find Twilight and the others.

"They aren't here." Flint admitted regrettably. "They were recently taken somewhere else, along with Celestia, Luna and Starlight Glimmer. I don't know where they are, but knowing Chrysalis, she no doubt has something sinister planned for them."

Damn, of course Chrysalis has to make things difficult.

"Carter! Is that you!?" The human quickly spun around and saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all trapped in the same cage. He smiled and nodded. "Are you here to rescue us?"

"Yes I am, girls. Don't worry, you won't be looking through iron bars for much longer." Carter said with a smile, trying to give them hope.

"Carter," Apple Bloom spoke. "Ah haven't seen mah brother. Is he okay?"

"Big Mac is fine, Apple Bloom. In fact, I talked with him and Sugar Belle just the other day. They are both safe and sound." Carter said reassuringly.

"Oh, that's so good to hear." Apple Bloom said with relief.

"Oh yes… very good indeed." Carter and Conda both jerked their heads towards the door once they heard it slam shut. "We knew that there were some ponies who had escaped Lord Grogar's grasp, and the last group we sent to find them never came back. But thanks to you we now know why they didn't return."

Standing on the other side of the room was a heavily armored changeling. The changeling warrior in particular wore a special necklace that glowed with green energy. Conda paid no mind to it, but Carter immediately recognized the aura that the necklace produced, as his head began to hurt as a result of it.

Darth Spawn. Damnit, Grogar must still have control of its powers.

"Who are you?" Carter inquired, striking a stance.

"I am Commander Akula, protector of the queen and royal servant to Lord Grogar. I have come to destroy you and prevent you from interfering with Lord Grogar's plans any further."

"So you are Akula? Funny. I expected more of you." Carter said threateningly.

"I will give you one warning, stranger. Surrender to the queen and I promise that no harm will come to you." Akula was having none of Carter's sarcasm and spoke to the human with force behind his voice.

"Never." Carter reached behind his back and withdrew his blades. Holding them at his sides, he prepared for battle. "Grogar has sent the ponies here, which means that you have what I want. Your queen's rule has come to an end."

"I didn't want it to be this way, but I see that you are persistent." Akula pulled out a sword and held it with his hoof. "By the orders of our queen, you must die."

"Ready, Conda?" Carter said, gripping the hilts of his swords.

"Ready!"

Akula made the first attack, lunging his sword out in front of him and aiming towards Carter’s chest. The human parried with his own blades, knocking the sword up above Akula’s head. Carter then followed with a strong kick to the changeling’s chest, knocking him back a few meters. Akula took the hit with ease, his armor tanking most of the damage. He stayed on his hooves and attempted another attack, this time coming in from the left and slashing at the human. Carter blocked the attack with his shield and rolled backward in order to give himself enough space to work with.

Resetting the fight, Carter threw his blades out in front of him. Akula was not expecting this and had no choice but to hold his forelegs in front of him as a means of protection. The sound of metal banging against each other was heard for a split second before silence fell over the room. Akula lowered his hooves and stared down at the ground. Carter’s blades were left on the floor.

“Ha! Your weapons are no match for my armor!” Akula laughed at the human, feeling foolish to think that he would put up a good fight. Carter cursed under his breath as he recalled the blades to him. He sheathed them and tried to come up with an alternative.

“Hisss armor isss too ssstrong.” said Conda.

“Indeed, but this isn’t the first time we dealt with this.” Carter replied, pulling out his secondary weapon. “Maybe the shovel can break it.”

“Maybe. Although I don’t think we have much of a choice.” added Conda.

“A shovel?” Akula laughed, further mocking the armored warrior. “I didn’t know you were so into farm tools, boy! Ha! Perhaps I could even hook you up with a hoe to make things interesting! Haha!”

Carter clenched his teeth and gripped the shovel. Akula had enough fun up to that point and went for another blow, sending his sword out in a stab-like motion. Carter blocked the attack and countered with a swipe of his shovel. However, due to the weight of the weapon, Carter’s attack came out rather slower than he anticipated which gave Akula more than enough time to dodge the attack almost effortlessly. Retaining his stance, Carter swung his shovel once more only to get the same results.

With Carter now stuck in a vulnerable position as he tried to recover, Akula took his chance and jabbed the sword straight into Carter’s chest. The weapon made its way through the human’s chestplate just barely enough to break through the metals and puncture his flesh. Carter shouted with a mix of pain and anger, dropping the shovel to the ground and pulling the sword out of his chest. Akula swung again, this time aiming for Carter’s face. The blade cut through the flesh above his left eye just a bit before Carter knocked the sword back with his arm bracers. Carter then came in with two gut punches. However this did nothing to Akula, as his armor took all the force, leaving Carter with bloodied knuckles.

The rage within Carter grew exponentially as the fight pressed on. The human did not accept defeat, but he knew that something had to be done if he were to beat his enemy. Right when Akula stabbed at Carter once more, he grabbed him by his hoof and tossed over his back, forcing the changeling warrior away from him and giving him enough time to regain his shovel. Akula landed on his back and groaned as he got back to his hooves.

"Conda, buy me enough time to land a hit on him. Try and wrap your body around his hooves like last time." said Carter. Conda nodded and jumped off of Carter's shoulders, slithering over to Akula.

Akula noticed the anaconda approach him and he acted with a sword slash. Carter stepped in and blocked the attack with the blade of his shovel just before it cut Conda in half. The snake took the opportunity to wrap around the changeling warrior and end up behind him, pinching Akula between him and Carter. Akula was now stuck without many options, trying to figure out a successful getaway plan.

He doubled back and tried to sneak away, but Conda was quick and tripped the changeling, forcing him off his hooves and onto his back. Conda then wrapped his body around his hooves and trapped him in place for a moment. However this was not to last, as Akula's strength was overcoming Conda's hold on him.

"Quick! I can't hold him much longer!" Conda shouted.

Carter ran up and lifted the shovel above his head before sending it straight down onto Akula's chest. The changeling warrior tried to grab it before it connected, but the added weight of the shovel's magical properties prevented this and sent the blade of the shovel straight through his chestplate, breaking it like ice and sending pieces of it flying everywhere.

Panting, Carter left it in Akula's chest, making sure that the fight was over. Akula writhed in pain, barely able to breathe enough to stay alive. Conda let go of the changeling and climbed back up onto Carter's pauldrons, mounting himself safely on top of them.

"This didn't have to go this way, Akula. You could have done so much good." Carter said, looking down at his foe. The human lifted his right hand to his chest and applied pressure to the wound. He let go for a moment and analyzed the amount of blood loss he was experiencing. Blood ran down his hand and splattered across the floor as the drips hit the ground. It was noticeable, but he deemed it nothing worth his time.

"Grrr. Ah! You… went against… the queen." Akula muttered, blood spilling from his mouth. "The changelings… could've lived… in peace."

"You wouldn't have lived either way. You are all nothing but copies of the real changelings, fake decoys to stand in my way. Your blood is not even real, just…" Carter stopped his speech suddenly as he inspected Akula further. Something was off about him… something that immediately caught his attention. At that moment, Carter had realized that Akula was not like the other unreformed changelings. His blood was green, same as Thorax and the other reformed changelings. Akula was not a clone like his fellow soldiers, he was alive and sentient. He was a real changeling.

"Carter, his blood!" Conda shouted, his nose picking up the scent as Carter stood there staring without answers. The human cursed himself, but he had no explanation as to how there were more than just one unreformed changeling.

"But how… there were no other changelings that followed under Chrysalis' rule. At least, that's what Twilight told me." Carter turned to Conda, but even the snake was unable to predict how this all made sense. "How could he… wait." Carter then stared at the necklace that Akula wore around his neck. He remembered the feeling of the Darth Spawn take hold of his body. He thought that perhaps that would have answers.

Carter pulled the shovel away from Akula's chest and sheathed it behind his back. From there he then grabbed the necklace with a firm grip and pulled it right off of Akula's body. Looking down upon the artifact, Carter growled at it with rage, as it seemed to almost taunt him, forcing him to remember his past and the lives he stole from the innocent.

Damn you, Grogar.

Suddenly, Akula began to have what could only be described as a seizure of sorts. Carter stood up and backed away as the changeling's body lit up like a firework. His body underwent massive transfiguration and began morphing into something completely different. Carter lifted his hands in front of his eyes, blocking the intense light from damaging his vision. Conda also looked away from Akula's transformation while it took place.

As the light began to settle and the room fell dimmer, Carter and Conda looked down upon a different looking Akula. Unlike his unreformed variant, this one appeared to be more like the reformed versions of changelings. Akula appeared to be similar to Thorax in appearance, except with a more darker skin tone. Realizing this, Carter knelt down and propped Akula's head with his hand.

"Akula? Do you hear me?" Carter inquired.

"Ugh… Akula? Who… who is that?" The changeling replied.

"You do not know of that name?" Carter asked, wondering if this was a trick to fool him.

"No. I don't…" The changeling spoke honestly, which only confused Carter further.

"Oh my gosh!" Flint shouted. "Carter, don't hurt him. That is Thorax's brother!"

Pharynx!!!

Carter stammered over his thoughts as the answer finally became clear. The necklace had infected this changeling and turned him into Chrysalis' personal slave. He looked to Conda with envy for the changeling.

"That explains how Chrysalis was able to get a real changeling to do her bidding. But to go as far as take control of someone's mind…" Carter swore under his breath as to not let the younger fillies nearby hear his foul language. Then again, he wasn't exactly happy to know that he spilled blood in front of them. "Pharynx are you feeling ok?"

"Urg… I think so." He said, trying to stand up. In the end, however, Pharynx fell to the ground and spilled more blood, going as far as coughing up the green liquid.

"Pharynx, please stand down. You have done enough." Carter said, easing Pharynx to the ground and laying him down on his back.

"Am I gonna die?" Pharynx inquired, looking down at his wounds. His insect-like body went cold and his heart rate increased by the second, trying to keep up with the loss of blood.

"No. I won't allow it." Carter replied, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. "I have killed too many innocent creatures in my life, but you will not be one of them."

"But… I am not innocent." Pharynx said. "I may not remember the past events much, but I remember doing terrible things. I watched as I killed my own kind. I stood there and tortured my own flesh and blood… I even hurt my own brother." Tears filled his eyes as Pharynx pondered over his time as the accursed Akula. "How can you consider me innocent?"

"I have experience with being incapable of controlling my thoughts. There was a time where I too was corrupted by the Darth Spawn. But the important thing is that we now have the ability to choose what we do yet again. Do not dwell on the past, only focus on the present." said Carter.

"Thank you for your mercy, stranger." Pharynx said gratuitously.

"Of course. Us guys got to watch out for each other." Carter replied.

"Carter," Pharynx writhed in pain as the blood dripping from his wounds began to worsen. Conda noticed this and informed the human. "Pharynx isss in danger of losssing hisss life. We have to find him help!"

"We can't do that, Conda. We have to stay here and fight. We don't have many options." Carter said. "It's too late to turn back now."

"Maybe, but who sssaid that we have to be the onesss to go back?" Conda asked.

"What are you getting at?" Carter inquired.

"We can sssend him through a portal back to the othersss and maybe the freed changelingsss can help him before it'sss too late." Conda insisted.

"... Maybe you are right." said Carter. "SETH, do we have enough magic to open a portal back to the Castle of Friendship?"

"We do not have access to any magic. However, opening portals only requires that at least one side has magic. The Spirit of Friendship can open a portal through means of the Cutie Map for you. I will gain access now."

"Alright, Pharynx let's get you out of here and have you healed." Carter said. The human held out his arm and used the Spirit's magic to open a portal back to the castle. Once opened, Carter helped Pharynx up to his hooves and walked him over to the portal. Pharynx kept one hoof over his wound to stop some of the bleeding. His breaths became quicker and lighter, so they moved quickly to the portal. "Just walk on through and you should find the other reformed changelings waiting for you on the other side."

"Ok, I will do that." Pharynx said. "Thank you, Carter."

"Take care, Pharynx. Tell the others what happened and inform them on what's taking place. If I am lucky then Chrysalis won't be much of a problem. But I can't say for sure."

The two creatures exchanged nods before Pharynx limped over to the portal. Pharynx stopped just before entering. "That necklace you have there, that is the key to get through to the other side of that cursed door. When you open it you will find Chrysalis waiting on the other side. Take her down and destroy the crystal to free the ponies. But be careful, as it is also the power source of the whole Hive. If you break it this entire place will crumble to the ground. Tread cautiously and have an escape plan… and make her pay for what she has done to our kind." Carter nodded once more before Pharynx stepped into the portal. Once through, Carter stuck out his hand and closed the magical gateway.

"I hope he's ok. He didn't deserve this." Carter said, unable to push away the thought that he almost killed Pharynx, the one creature Thorax asked him to specifically bring back safely.

"Agreed. But it'sss like you sssaid, Carter… sssometimes we just have to focus on the mission." Conda said, hoping to remind that human their goal had yet to be completed. "You had no way to know."

"Right… let's keep going." said Carter. The human bent down and scooped up the necklace in his hands, gripping it with anger. He looked over at the rest of the ponies before leaving the room. "Don't worry, everypony. I'll be back to free you all once I have defeated Chrysalis and made her pay for her crimes. That is a promise."

"Do be careful, Carter." Bright Mac said.

"Yes, dear. Don't be too careless." Pear Butter added.

"I will be careful." The door slammed shut as the human and the snake left the room. Just like he said, they would not return until the queen of the changelings had been defeated.

Author's Note

This chapter took long enough to get out, huh. Anywho, the fight against Chrysalis is just around the corner. Soon the Hive will crumble and Equestria will have their revenge.

For all of you wondering, Akula is the rough translation of Shark in Bulgarian. I have a weird way of coming up with names by simply throwing some word into google translate and seeing what comes up.