Night of the Swarm

"When are we going to strike?" The impatient changeling queen asked. "You said this would be a perfect opportunity for us to get some well-needed power before eventually striking Canterlot, but, you haven't told us much more, so, when are we going to strike?"

The blonde-maned with gray streaks pony, wearing a black suit, sighed a bit. "Patience, Chrysalis. You know your destiny lies just ahead of you already. This is just an extra bit to help you in the future."

"...Fine," Chrysalis relented. "But, I still want to know. Besides, what is this 'Eye of Oryx' anyway? I've never heard of such a relic."

"It was made by a civilization that no longer exists, that's all you need know. Now, we should talk logistics. Are your scouts looking for the ideal position, as well as keeping an eye out for interlopers?"

"They are. ...However, there might be a problem."

The black-suited pony couldn't help but frown. "What sort of problem?"

"One of my drones seems to have deserted. A pink-eyed female changeling named Trachea. I shouldn't be surprised, really. She was always a bit rebellious..."

"And, you've only told me about this now? Send out a search party, leave no stone unturned, and deal with her before she causes any trouble."

Chrysalis snarled. "I don't care who are you, or how helpful you might be, I'm the one who decides what happens to drones of mine, not you."

"Perhaps. But, I'm the one with the Eye of Oryx, aren't I?"

"...Okay, fine, I'll send some drones to go and look for her. Happy?"

"I'm a bit more satisfied with that, yes."

Good, thought Chrysalis. And, once you've helped me gain me some more power, I won't really need you anymore, will I, oh Mysterious Benefactor?

The Doctor sighed. Why hadn't he gone trekking through the Everfree more throughout his lifetimes? Would have helped him a lot more up to that moment. Or, maybe that wasn't through the problem, since he remembered plenty of times going through the mysterious forest with his past companions. Maybe it was just his memories, or the magic of the forest itself.

Thankfully, his new companion seemed to know the way, although, that also disturbed him a bit. Why?

...Well, if she knew where she was going, it was likely that more changelings would have the area scouted, and, that might be a problem for them, especially if they decided they wanted to go after a rogue changeling.

"You're lagging behind, oh, Doctor," came Trachea's voice from infront of him. Her whispy, somewhat infuriating voice, he thought to himself.

"Yes, yes, I know, sorry, I'll try and catch up." He said, moving a bit more swiftly now. Once he was by her side, a thought occured to him, relating to what he had been previously thinking. "How much of the Everfree do you and your old swarm have scouted out?"

"Oh, enough, I'd say. Though, they haven't discovered everything about this forest they want to just yet."

The Doctor nodded. He felt at least least a little bit grateful for that small blessing, at the very least. "Good. Now, what do you know about this Eye of Oryx?"

She merely shrugged. "Nothing much, really, except that it's supposed to grant immense power somehow, and, its in the hooves of Chrysalis' new partner, our Swarm's apparent new mysterious benefactor."

The Doctor paused, humming in thought. Someone else trying to interfere with events before they're supposed to happen? An alien invader with temporal equipment, perhaps? Maybe even a rival Time Lord? Well, it didn't matter. This was an important night, after all.

The night where Princess Luna came back from being Nightmare Moon after a millennia.

Suddenly, though, Trachea stopped. "Shhhhhhh..."

"What's wrong? Why are you shushing meeeeeee-!" He got pulled into a nearby bush by Trachea, who joined him in the bush right after.

As he got his bearing back in order, he first glared at the female changeling, before he noticed that she was looking and glaring at something else. Following her eyes, that's when he noticed them.

A group of six normal drones, were being lead by a changeling, whose colored bits seemed to be red and purple, and, who had a very serious, very dangerous look in his purple eyes.

Trachea hissed. "Pharynx..."

More changelings. He supposed he shouldn't have surprised that the leaving of one rogue from the swarm would pre-empt such a response. And, that Purple and Red changeling-Pharynx, based on what his new companion had just hissed-was apparently a lower leader class changeling, who, as previously noted in his mind, seemed very serious, and potentially dangerous.

Pharynx looked back at the six changeling drones, and snarled. "Alright, fan out in three groups of two each, see if you can find her. And, remember, our former sister is more elusive than one might expect. Don't fall for her tricks."

The six drones nodded, making chittering sounds, as they started to look around.

The Doctor noted that Trachea looked worried for a few moments, before a look of pure determination replaced the worry on her face.

"Alright, Doctor, I bet you've got some good ideas of your own, but, I'm going to suggest that we take to the trees. If we're lucky, the bigger trees around here can support our weight. Don't worry, since I know you're not a pegasus, I'll carry you up the first one."

The Doctor nodded in appreciation, despite his internal doubts that Trachea had enough muscle to lift him.

He was pleasantly surprised to be wrong, however, as she lifted him up to the first tree, just before two of the drones could find them.

With that, they started to make their way over the clearing where Pharynx was, with the Purple and Red changeling seemingly none the wiser.

...However, that notion was quickly challenged, when over halfway over the clearing, Pharynx suddenly changed form, into that somekind of monstrous flying Purple, Black and Red giant Spider, and crashed through the branches above.

The Doctor and Trachea held on for dear life, before both decided to drop to the ground.

"RUN!" The Doctor yelled, once both their hooves impacted the ground, and, that's when the chase began, the Doctor and his new companion in the front, and, Pharynx and the drones coming from behind.