Fallout: Equestria - The Queen's Awakening

by alexie321

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Narcotics, Changelings, Original Character, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Crossover, Fallout, Gore
Length: 41883

A pre-war changeling queen wakes up two centuries later, in a world that's changed.

After the Changeling War of 1011-1016 between Queen Chrysalis and Equestria had ended with the Victory of Equestria and the collapse of the Changeling Lands, which had resulted in many hives located in the former Kingdom of Olenia seceding and declaring independence from Queen Chrysalis.

Here, a young changeling queen, who had inherited the Everglade Hive four years before the Great War, watched as the world she once knew had abruptly ended. She had made a fateful decision to enter into a magically induced coma.

Awaking, roughly two centuries later, into a new world where love had died, violence and death ripe. The young queen must quickly learn to survive in this new hostile world.

Set in Fallout: Equestria, by Kkat and the HoI4 mod Equestria at War.

(Tags are to preempt the content in the story.)

Cover art was made using Fallout 4 and the Vivid Weathers mod.

This is my first story on this site.

Published 2023-03-29 23:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-09-10 08:06:03 UTC

Prologue: Into a New World

Author's Note

Hey, so this Is my first story ever published on this site, and I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this. This story was born as a result of me thinking, 'Hey, what would happen if a pre-war changeling queen was thrown into the wasteland' in the world of Kkat's amazing Fallout: Equestria, while still set in Equestria at War, a great mod for Hearts of Iron 4.

I would greatly appreciate it if you spot any spelling mistakes, errors, and punctuation,(punctuations are my greatest weakness.) I will try my best at fixing them quickly, this story was made with the help of Grammarly. (the free version is good enough) any constructive criticism is also appreciated.

Let me know what you think about this story it'll help me out a lot.

With that out of the way updates will be slow, and thank you again for reading this.

Prologue: Into a New World

Everglade Hive
Year 1035
Throne Room

It was another day at the Hive Spire sitting on my throne waiting for any of my subjects from the Everglade Town (yes you heard it right I have non-changeling subjects). I sighed heavily watching as nocreature came ‘It seems court will be slow today. I solemnly thought to myself glancing towards the entrance and at my two guards (and before I continue, let me explain something real quick, each hive has different colors representing themselves and their hives. The Everglades' color is dark green so you can imagine that my drones have dark green eyes, wings, and carapace as such I being the Queen sport those colors having a dark green mane+tail, eyes, carapace, and wings, and the usual zigzagging jagged horns that changelings possess. To differentiate myself from other queens, I have elected to adopt a purple chitin faceplate and a heavier green chitin on my neck as opposed to the usual charcoal black.

As I glanced at my two guards wearing their chitin armor underneath their olive green Everglade Army uniform barding and their steel M-56 helmets alongside their battle saddle with the Everglade standard issue RK-30 assault rifle, the two gave me a salute with their right foreleg and lowered them after I nodded at them.

Just as when things were to get even more boring a Unicorn pony trotted into the throne room “What have you come here for?” I said sternly to the Unicorn pony now standing in the middle of the throne room.

Upon closer inspection the Unicorn is a stallion who has a reddish-orange coat with a similar mane to match, wearing a dark tuxedo and an image of two bits for a cutie mark.

“Well, your highness.” The stallion first began and upon closer inspection of the hoof patch on his left hoof and I realized that he is a sales pony from Stable-Tec, and immediately my mood soured.

“We here at Stable-Tec would like permission to build a Stable in the Everglade Town to keep both changelings and other residents, even if some of them are Zebras.” He finished saying.

“Look, my answer will always be the same and that is a no. I will not allow you nor anyone else from Stable-Tec from building a Stable.” I said sternly looking deep into his eyes for I knew the truth of Stable-Tec’s Stables, I knew what they were up to and the fact that about 90% of these Stables experiment on their inhabitants. As to how I got this knowledge, well my infiltrators have informed me of this either telling me personally or through the hive mind, the result is always the same.

Ever since the war between Equestria and the Zebrican Empire began 9 years ago it has been increasingly harder for changelings to gather love as the Ponies have become more keen-eyed when it comes to spotting infiltrators because of the Zebra’s stealth suit, well not for me though as we’ve had a town where my non-changeling subjects live a town built centuries ago.

Ok well back to the present with the Stable-Tec sales pony. “Well furthermore I haven’t taken a stance on the war like many of my changeling peers and may I remind you that throughout the town I have built Evacuation Shelters and if need be the Hive Spire can serve as a Stable.” I fully explained to him my reasons for refusal as I have done in the past to Stable-Tec’s proposals.

“But-“ I cut him off “But what? My answer is final, now leave before I have my guards drag you out of here.” I finished leaving him to ponder what I had just said.

After a brief moment, he turned around and trotted out of the throne room. Once he’s gone I released a sigh and slumped down on my throne.

Then suddenly I hear a frantic call from the hivemind, it was from one of my infiltrators in Equestria “Your Highness Cloudsdale has been struck by a Balefire Megaspell. I repeat Cloudsdale has been struck.” My eyes shot open.

“Alright thank you for the information, now please stop what you are doing and get back here IMMEDIATELY!” I exclaimed and continued this time to address the rest of my hive via hivemind “To all of my drones operating inside and outside of Equestria I am issuing Code Exfil I repeat Code Exfil is in effect.” After I finished issuing the order I turned to my guards who are now sporting serious expressions on their faces “You two get out there and begin evacuating the civilians into the Hive Spire or the many evacuation shelters IMMEDIATELY!” I paused but continued “Time is of the essence.” After I finished issuing my order the two guards saluted and galloped out of the throne room turning left and heading onto a balcony facing the ocean.

I look up at the bright sunny sky. I saw many black dots coming closer to the hive and the town attached to ‘I’m not sure if they’re going to make it back in time’ I grimly thought. Glancing down and staring across the Luna Bay I could spot Vanhoover a city close by what was once the Unified changeling Lands-Equestria border.

As I was staring at the city, horror-struck as Vanhoover had lit up in a fiery mushroom cloud of a Balefire Megaspell, I turned and galloped back inside the Hive Spire and made my way to the throne room where I could spot one of my changeling advisors galloping up to me.

“Your Highness we have evacuated as many citizens as we could to the shelters.” She spoke to which I nodded, comforted by the knowledge that at least some of my subjects are safe.

“Good, are the stasis pod ready?” I asked my advisor looking at her with a serious look and staring back at me, she nodded.

“Affirmative your Highness, the pod is ready” she responded, looking satisfied I trotted up to her “What are we waiting for? Let's go.” I said and continued trotting past her and going down a set of stairs behind the throne room.

Once I reached the podroom I had a look of horror staring as there was only one stasis pod I spotted a drone wearing a lab coat, she was looking apologetically at me.

“Apologies, your highness but we were only able to construct one stasis pod.” she solemnly said, looking down on the floor.

“I… I see.” I stammered out. I was hoping we’d be able to construct enough to save at least a majority of my hive, stating back at her “Please look up, you tried your best.” I kindly said and I could see her looking up at me with gratitude. I inched closer crouching down to eye level and began nuzzling her to which I could hear satisfied chittering from her. After a few moments, I stood up.

“If there is no other way then I shall step into the pod,” I said with resolve. If my hive can’t survive with me then I shall survive to continue the Everglade Hive somewhere sometime in the future, I stepped into the pod which now encased me with green fluid.

As I began to feel myself falling asleep my last sight was of my advisor and scientist watching me with smiles on their faces as if they’d accepted their fates. And with that my eyes closed and I entered into deep slumber.

Year 1235
Everglade Hive

I awoke as the stasis pod opened, stepping out into the pod room which was lit up by one hivelight and I was immediately greeted by the sight of two skeletons… two changeling skeletons to be precise, with sadness I lowered down on all fours.

“Rest in peace, for you have served the hive well” I said and then stood back up, looking around the hive was just as black as I could remember. Then as if it had struck me from out of nowhere I felt hunger… extreme hunger.

Frantically I looked around the room for anything I could eat whether it be love or normal food even if eating normal food will be less satiating it will at least keep me alive until I could find love or anything adjacent to it.

After I was beginning to lose hope that I would find anything in the pod room then I spotted in the hooves of my scientist, a pink blob of love jelly that she was clutching to her chest.

‘Aha’ I thought with a victorious smirk quickly trotting back to her and falling to my haunches, I snatched the love jelly into my forelegs and begin drained the jelly until it disappeared, and immediately that extreme hunger had dissipated but that love jelly wasn’t enough I needed more for I am still hungry ‘At least it won’t be life-threatening hunger’ I glumly thought.

I trotted up the stairs and into a dark hallway fortunately my natural night vision made that issue rather trivial.

I turned right continuing down the hallway passing the occasional skeleton, I looked to my left stopping dead in my tracks as the room I had stopped in front of was none other than the nursery, staring into the room, sadness filling my eyes.

This was where the hive’s young, the grubs we're taken into after they’d hatched, and now… they’re gone ‘Keep it together Aurelia the hive’s not dead not as long as you're still around’ I thought to myself trying desperately to reassure myself.

After that moment I continued moving forward in search of the storeroom hoping to find more love jelly or any food infused with love for I am still hungry and any use of magic will drain my already meager love supply. The only exception is maintaining a disguise though it depends on what form I take as anything taller than me will start to use up love to maintain the form. Telekinesis on the other hoof will not drain my love reserves unless it's something heavy.

After walking for what seemed hours I arrived at the storeroom I gulped nervously ‘Well here’s hoping that there’s still something in there after the hive-mother knows what.

Trotting up to the door, passing two skeletons still wearing their olive green uniforms and their battlesadles with their weapons still attached to them. I had stopped in front of the terminal booting it up, bringing me to a screen where I had to input a password. Now I could just simply hack the terminal but being the Queen, I know all the passwords.

After I had typed the password I was shocked upon witnessing the date that showed on the bottom left of the terminal 1235 it read ‘by the hive-mothers… I’ve been asleep for 200 years. ' my shock had ended just as quickly as it came as I spotted two sections labeled; Door Controls, Notes. There was also an audio file but I’ll look at that last.

I pressed ‘Notes’ just to see what was on it but I didn’t pay much attention to them as I already knew the contents of them. Instead I looked at the latest dated 1037 just two years after the Megaspells dropped. I pressed it and began reading the contents.

Date: 1037
The Queen is safely slumbering inside the stasis pod while Staphy and I have been given the task of keeping the love storeroom safe for as long as we can until the Queen arises from her slumber.

Signed Larynx

It was brief but it got the point across and I turned to look at the two skeletons on the floor ‘So those were Staphy and Larynx’ I solemnly thought for I knew the names of every single drone in my hive but the skeletons are unrecognizable. I turned to look back at the terminal and exited the ‘Notes’ section and began playing the audio log.

“Audio log… Hi this is Staphy here decided to make an audio log after I saw Larynx write a note so I figured ‘Hey why not make something from me’ So ta-da here I am making an audio log and umm where was I again? Oh yeah” I chuckled fondly remembering the personalities of my drones and yes I know we're all connected In the hivemind but unlike the other Queens I had allowed my drones individuality which I think was a great idea, but I digress and let’s continue to listen to the audio log.

“So basically Larynx and I have been tasked with guarding the love store rooms for as long as we live well… at least until Queen Aurelia wakes up however long that’ll be and yeah basically that's it and oh no I could see Larynx glaring at me for using the Queen’s name, well gotta go bye!” I sighed no matter how many times I told my drones that they are allowed to use my name they still refused to do it.

‘Welp no use in thinking about it now’ I thought pressing the ‘Door controls’ and opening the door as it made a loud grinding noise for not being in use for so long. Once the door opened I stepped into the storeroom. Looking around what I found was… to be honest with you I very much hoped to find a lot of things to eat but what I found instead was old decaying love jelly or rotten food, I continued to look around some more hoping to find something, anything that's still edible the search had led me to a box in the far left corner of the room ‘the last box… unopened hope to the hive-mothers specifically the Great Hive-Mother Zagria’ I prayed that this last box still had something edible in it for I am still hungry.

Opening the box and to my great delight I found five pieces of love jelly still intact glowing pink amongst a pile of empty gray jellies, falling to my haunches. I quickly grabbed the five love jellies and quickly drained them until they disappeared.

I felt better no longer was I hungry but it will only keep me satiated for at least maybe one to two days and five days if I don’t use magic or shapeshift, but now the question remains what to do next? I could continue to rummage through the other store rooms for more supplies but I had nothing to carry even if I did find something. So my next option is to look through the hive’s armory.

Nodding to myself with a new goal in mind stepped back out into the dark hallway backtracking from where I came from and continuing left of the hallway.

************

After walking for what seemed like hours and passing by the nursery and pod rooms respectively (not to mention passing by more skeletons of my drones) I stood right in front of the armory with a skeleton slumped on the right of the door and a terminal to its left. Walking towards the terminal I was met with a password input, I then inputted the password that I remember briefly hoping that the password hasn’t changed, when I heard a soft ding from the terminal refocusing my attention it brought me to two sections one was labeled ‘Door Controls’ and another labeled ‘Current Situation’ I decided to read the one labeled Current Situation.

Date: 1035

The Queen is currently in hibernation and the situation outside is dire, nocreature knows what's going on outside as the hive’s doors have been shut. There are reports of explosions ringing all across Equestria with Vanhoover having been hit by a Megaspell… I’m glad we were able to evacuate as many citizens of Everglade Town and safely inside the shelters before any radiation or taint hits us, it is safe to say that we’ll never be able to leave the hive for the foreseeable future.

If the Queen wakes up while the rest of us have died we have placed some equipment on a table in the middle of the armory, their weapons as well as some energy weapons there, and a saddle bag as well as a uniform and armor fitted to the Queen’s proportions.

With that out of the way, we’re preparing to hunker down for now.

Signing off -Captain Chimera

I sighed after reading the note ‘I don’t think any of us were expecting to hunker down for two hundred years’ I thought with a hint of sadness. After reading the note I opened the door hearing the familiar grinding noise I had heard from before.

Stepping inside the armory. I saw weapons all over the room as well as some ammo boxes in the left corner, but most importantly I saw the table in the middle of the room and on the said table there were the aforementioned supplies, there was a nice brown saddle bag fitted to allow room to unfurl my wings inside my carapace, as well as a nice olive green Everglade Army uniform barding fitted to my size and an olive green peaked cap with the Olenian insignia of a red rose.

I donned them, first wearing the army barding over my natural chitin armor, then the saddle bag with two slots on each side for any weapons I might have(battle saddle), and finally the peaked cap fitted nicely in my head. Once that was done I looked around to try and find some weapons.

A thing to note about the firearms of the Everglade Hive is that our firearms are manufactured to be interchangeable between having a trigger guard for when a griffon or hippogriff is wielding them or having an open hoofed trigger for ponies, zebras, deer, and changelings to wield.

Looking around the room scanning the racks for anything for any weapons that I could use. After scanning the room I found a Zagr-5 pistol inside a holster laying on a weapon rack on the left side of the armory along with five clips of ammunition, pulling the clips into my left breast pocket and attaching the holster to my left hoof, I continued my search. After looking around some more I found a saber alongside a sheath which I promptly inspected before equipping the saber to my left.

After I was done searching the weapon racks I walked towards the ammo boxes on the left corner there are two ammo boxes on both the left and right sides, I decided to search through the left ammo box, opening the cover I found one singular SM-43 stick grenade as well as five assault rifle magazines which promptly pocketed the grenades into my saddlebags. Satisfied, I searched through the right ammo box, and inside I found three more assault rifle magazines and a RK-30 rifle, after a brief inspection I decided to sling my rifle over to my right side.

Once I was satisfied with searching through the armory I walked my way out of the armory before turning left and walking up a flight of stairs with my next objective being to see what medical supplies I can scrounge up before leaving and exploring the new world after the Balefire spells dropped

***********

After walking for many hours in the dark hallway of the black hivespire I arrived at the hospital wing of the hive. ‘I swear this place can be a maze and I’m the one that lived in it’ I thought to myself as I pushed open the dark gray doors of the hospital.

Once inside I looked around the dark gray room, there was a reception desk in the middle of the room with two doors to its left and right, and there are chairs on both sides of the room. After I had inspected the room I began walking towards the reception desk. There is a terminal in the middle of it, I don’t need to look at the terminal, I began combing through the drawers finding nothing but deteriorated paper with nothing legible on them anymore.

Digging around some more I finally found what I was looking for buried underneath a slew of moldy paper laid a dark green key. Grabbing it with my right hoof and promptly placed it in my saddlebags before turning to my left and heading through the door. Once through I was greeted with more skeletons laying on the floor or slumped against the door. Looking around I spotted a door to the end of the hallway alongside two doors to my right. Walking forwards I passed by the two doors intent on reaching the door at the end of the hallway.

Finally reaching the end of the hallway the door had a hoofprint scanner and above it there was a sign that read ‘Storage Room’ and below it the sign read ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ Lifting my left arm and inserting it onto the scanner I heard a ding and the door slid open. Stepping into the room there were stacks and stacks of crates though one had captured my interest.

It was a small medical box with the design of a red and gray cross etched onto its surface. Opening it revealed two radaways and two health potions ‘Not much but it’ll do’ grabbing them one by one and stuffing them into my saddlebags. Once done I turned around and walked back out into the hallway with my natural night vision guiding the way through the dark hallway.

Exiting the hallway and back into the lobby I continued my way through the exit and back into the Hive Spire. Looking around I could see two more hallways, to my right and straight ahead. Deciding that I was done here I headed straight walking towards the throne room.

Reaching the throne room I could see signs of age and disrepair showing as is common among the halls of the Hive Spire and more skeletons of my drones, walking towards the throne situated in the middle of the room with a red carpet that flows from the throne and towards the outside.

Transforming my right hoof into a black griffon foreleg, equipping my Zagr-5 pistol from my holster on my left foreleg, and wielding it into my talon I ventured out opening the large double doors of the Hive Spire, unsure of what lies beyond.

Chapter 1: Exploration

Gray.

Gray was the first thing I witnessed as I looked up at the gray clouds blanketing the sky blocking the sun from shining down on the ground. Craning my head to my left and I could spot that the cloud cover extends across the Luna Bay and even covers the remains of Vanhoover.

‘What the hell… Why have the clouds gone and blanketed the sky?’ I thought to myself in bewilderment. Frowning, I decided to put the question into the back burner at least for now, looking around I could see that Everglade Town is in better condition at least when compared to Vanhoover. After I was done gazing at the sky I began to make my way down a couple flights of stairs and entered the town proper.

A couple of things to note about Everglade Town is that it isn’t very big, if I were to put it’d be the equivalent of a small town which is a fair assessment considering the population pre-war numbered one thousand which received an increase of five hundred pony refugees from Equestria fleeing the Great War. Whatever reasons they have for fleeing Equestria mattered little to me as I took them in regardless. Now that the info dump is out of the way let's go back to the story.

Entering the town and walking the empty desolate streets memories flooding my mind of what the town looked before the Megaspells dropped, how children from different species that inhabited the town played in the parks and wherever they could be, or how the streets would be bustling with activity as creatures would go about their day, all of it was a painful reminder of days gone by.

My walking was halted when I happened upon a small bakery after rounding a street corner. I recognized this very same bakery. The sign above has faded but one could still read the contents ‘Snack Bite’s Baking Emporium.’ It was the same bakery that I frequented before all of this happened.

Trotting my way over I inspected the front entrance which to say isn’t faring any better than the rest of the structure, the windows are broken I could see shards on the floor and the door has fallen off. After I finished my Inspection. With my gun in my talon I entered inside being careful not to step on any of the glass shards that littered on the ground.

Looking inside the bakery I could see tables and chairs in various states all over the place, some still in good condition if a bit rotten while others are completely smashed and broken. Weaving around the debris I walked behind the counter and spotted a skeleton of a pony huddled in the back corner. Which indicated to me that not everycreature made it into the shelters.

Walking towards the skeleton and bending down I could see a name tag on the uniform if a bit faded ‘Snack Bite’ it read.

“Rest in peace old friend, your sweets were always delicious” I solemnly said.

There was nothing else for me here so I decided to walk back out in the street being mindful of not stepping on shards of glass or wood.

Once back outside the same gray sky greeted me. “There is no way that sky is natural, maybe the pegasi have done it on purpose?” I pondered on that question for a moment, for it made sense that the pegasi had something to do with this, but as for the what and why… well I guess I’ll find that out later.

Continuing my path I happened upon a shelter, one of the many that have been built around the town, an alternative to Stable-Tec’s Stables.

This particular shelter had been wedged in between two remains of apartment buildings. Inspecting the shelter it is a square concrete structure with steel plating as well as a blast door that requires a number combination which can be entered using a keypad located to its left.

Fortunately for me, I know the override codes for all shelters built in Everglade Town. Inputting the code into the keypad I could hear the blast door sliding upwards and into a dark hallway, my natural night vision having activated in the dark, I saw a stairway leading down, clutching my Zagr-5 in my right arm I began my descent down.

***********

I’ve been walking down these stairs for the past fifteen minutes but I have noticed that there aren’t any lights on nor anyone addressing me on the loudspeakers. Not deterred by the eerie silence I pressed forwards.

I must be careful somecreature or something somehow got inside and killed all the residents… killed my subjects. Whatever it is I reached another blast door but this time it is open. I peeked into the room and I could see another blast door right across the room and found skeletons littered the floor.

‘Just what in Tartarus happened here?’

Scanning the room I cautiously inched closer to the room, examining any nook and cranny for anything that might jump out. As soon as I made it to the middle of the room a hoof suddenly grabbed my left hind leg and when I turned my head to look behind me, what I saw terrified me to no end.

It was a pony with the bottom half of its body nowhere to be seen, I could see bits of rotting flesh on parts of its body, and looking up to its head I saw its rotting dark red eyes with yellow pupils. I could hear this corpse growling which unnerved me even more.

In my panic, I attempted to buck the corpse off but to no avail. I then tried to dislodge the corpse’s hoof with my right hind leg, which by now had crawled closer. Which was a success as I jumped and turned around aiming my Zagr-5 in my right talon at the corpse.

I fired a shot, the loud noise disorienting me for a second, the moment of distraction was the exact thing the corpse needed as it somehow was able to lunge at me. Lunging close to me the corpse was on top of me and I was on the ground I dropped my Zagr-5 as the corpse pinned me to the ground and was attempting to bite me and my head off, the only thing keeping it from actually biting my head are my three hooves and my one griffon talon that and my natural chitin armor.

I kicked the corpse off of me and quickly got back to standing on all fours, I unsheathed my saber with my right foreleg. Gripping the saber in my talons I proceeded to slash the corpse’s head clean off, which resulted in the corpse to lay still on the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief and wiped whatever blood got on my saber and sheathed it. I picked up my Zagr-5 which wasn’t too far away and held it in my talons.

Just as when I thought I could get a breather I hear three more growling sounds right behind the unopened door right across the room.

‘I should flee while I still have the chance, but I must find out the fate of this shelter, oh I know the administrator’s terminal should hold the answer.’ I thought now with determination. Holstering the Zagr-5 and searching through my saddlebags for an SM-43 grenade. It didn’t take me long after finding one, equipping it with my telekinesis and galloping towards the unopened blast door where I could hear the creatures pounding on the door.

Spinning the safe door handle (I have no idea what they’re called -A/N) To where I could spot a crack just big enough for my grenade to fit through, I could spot some hooves with rotting flesh attached to them. Taking a deep breath and exhaling I unpinned the grenade and tossed it through the crack to which I immediately closed the blast door.

BOOM!

Taking the loud bang as a cue, I fully opened the door and witnessed the three corpses splattered all over the walls and floor. I galloped through the new hallway as I am one hundred percent sure that whatever else is in here has heard of the loud explosion and is en route.

I needed to find the administrator’s room but the problem is I do not know where it is, while yes I know the override codes for all of the shelters and yes I did order the construction of them, but when it comes to knowing the specific layout and designs of the shelters that I’m afraid I do not know and I do know that these shelters are specifically built to shelter creatures with nothing else attached unlike the stables, which is why I am perplexed as to how this shelter went wrong and I needed answers.

Rounding through a corner I am met with the inside of what looks to be the remains of a cafeteria where signs of a battle took place as there are tables overturned to their sides, bullet casings, and the occasional skeleton strewn about.

‘I know that there was no break in so the shelter must’ve been destroyed from the inside, but the question remains of who or what?” Moving through the destroyed cafeteria using the tables. As I dived for cover behind a table, I heard more growling coming from the far right side of the cafeteria I immediately unholstered my Zagr-5 and gripping it within my talons I raised my head from behind the table and turned to my right and pointed my Zagr-5 towards a door that looked to have been busted down, pointing my Zagr-5 towards the door in anticipation of what's to come.

The growling drew close and I could perfectly see another of the live corpses in my night vision shambling towards the room. As the corpse entered the cafeteria it spotted me and began shambling towards me bumping into tables and chairs as it moved towards me.

I fired a shot, but I missed so I fired again and hit the corpse in the chest slowing it down immensely. I aimed one more time this time aiming for its rotting head I fired and hit right in between the eyes killing it instantly.

Watching as the corpse dropped to the floor I spotted another one entering the cafeteria and began charging towards my position. I rapidly fired four shots hitting three of the four shots killing the corpse this time for good, I vaulted over the table deciding that I didn’t want to wait for any more live corpses to come to me. I galloped to the far right where the two corpses had come from, peeking my head outside the door. I looked left and right seeing that the coast was clear.

Taking my chances I holstered my Zagr-5 then turned and galloped left hoping to find the administrator’s room. After galloping for a couple of minutes and rounding a corner I am met with another busted-down door, I unholstered my Zagr-5 and stepped through the door gun in talon.

As I stepped through the door I could see eight rows of doors on each side of the room with varying degrees of destruction, some not having an actual door while a couple had some feeble attempts at a barricade, and as per usual there are skeletons dotted around the room, glancing over to the far end of the room I spotted a door at the end of the room but this one still has a fully intact door.

Walking cautiously my Zagr-5 ready in case something jumps out at me, as I walked and took a peek at some of the doors on my left I quickly spotted one that's been busted down, stopping for a moment I glanced into the room and I could spot a bed, a drawer next to it as well as a chair and desk across from the bed. After seeing that I deduced that I’d entered a living quarters, I swiveled my head to my right and spotted an intact door. Walking up to it with my Zagr-5 ready to shoot, Gripping the handle with my magic I slowly opened the door with my Zagr-5 ready in case anything jumps out.

I Fully opened the door expecting something to jump out at me, but instead what awaited me was a skeleton sitting or rather slumped down on the chair and clutching a book in its hooves whatever it is it might hold crucial information. I stepped inside closing the door behind me, I then proceeded to make my towards the skeleton who was still clutching the book, I picked it up with my forelegs

Opening it I realized that it was a journal that belonged to a stallion by the name of ‘Master Metal’ flipping pages after I finished skimming. I stopped skimming when I finally landed on a page that was relevant to what I was looking for, the page read.

1221

Everything’s gone to shit, Beaker that bastard and his goddamn experiments had ruined everything and now the shelter’s fucked his experiments brought back the shelter’s dead and are killing everycreature, it's a bloodbath overwhelming the security team, the administrator ordered the remaining security forces to hold out for as long they can as well everycreature who can get the fuck out of here… I hope the Great Queen can forgive us, I can hear them banging on the door as I write for I won’t have long to live, but I won’t let them, at least not alive.

-Master Metal

One word stuck in my head as I finished reading that journal entry.

Zombies.

I know that the shelter that I ordered the construction of had no secret experiments and was built to save as many creatures of the hive town, but that didn’t stop the residents from conducting their own sick and twisted experiments.

Grabbing the journal and turning around exiting the bedroom back inside the hallway of the living quarters turning right I made my way toward the undamaged door at the very end of the hallway. Upon reaching the door and opening I find that it leads directly into an atrium and as per usual it's trashed with skeletons being much more prevalent here.

I gulped as I started to get nervous looking around. I spotted a stairwell on the far left side leading up to the second floor of the atrium. Clutching my Zagr-5 in my talons I proceeded to walk slowly towards the stairs being mindful of where I step lest I attract more zombies.

After a moment of careful walking, I made it up the stairwell and walking up. I came upon a door with a sign above that read ‘Administrator’ This must be it where I can find out and fully piece together the full… well at least a story that answers my questions. Opening the door after much struggle and entering inside I found that there had been a drawer propped up against the door which fell after I opened.

‘Crap, I sure hope that didn’t attract any zombies’ I thought to myself now panicking, I decided to duck and take cover behind the administrator’s desk and wait for anything to come by. After waiting for a few moments nothing arrived, letting out a sigh of relief I stood back up and properly examined the room starting with the desk situated in the middle of the bedroom. On the desk, there’s a drawer on its left and a terminal on top, and at the far end of the room across the desk a bed that could fit one creature sleeping on it with a dresser at the end, on the left side of the bed I could see a nightstand with some books stacked on top, oh and did I mention that there's a skeleton on the bed? Yeah well now I did.

Once I was done examining the room I turned my attention back to the desk and terminal attempting to boot up the terminal finding myself on a password screen I cursed at my lack of hacking skills which means that I have to look for the password myself, setting my Zagr-5 on the desk to the left of the terminal I opened the drawer finding stacks of paper that seemed to have haphazardly placed there. Sifting through the papers in search of the password and coming up empty I turned towards the bed specifically the skeleton of the administrator hoping that they may have the password.

Walking over to the skeleton laying on the bed and doing a quick scan, I found a piece of paper tucked in between the forelegs, grabbing the paper in my talon and turning it around to find a six-digit code.

‘65892’ It read, with my hopes now up I walked back towards the desk settling down on my haunches, and typed the password on the screen after which it brought me to a new screen with one tab, pressing it took me to a note written on it with a title that said ‘Abandon the Shelter’ and it read.

-1221

The shelter is in ruins and it's all Chem Beaker’s fault had he not gone through with a reanimate life experiment, which had gone wrong since the very beginning and Beaker was the first one to turn undead… Oh goddess and the Great Queen please forgive me. I should have never greenlit this experiment. It's all my fault I have failed this shelter but most importantly I failed the Great Queen herself. May she forgive me, my only hope is to buy the residents enough time to flee and exit the shelter? Maybe then I may have a chance at redemption.

-Alter Shine

After reading through the note the question of what happened to this shelter, but then it hit me and my eyes widened as I looked over the contents of the note ‘Wait Great Queen? Have I begun to be worshiped as a goddess?’ The questions continued to burn in my mind as I pondered the question a bit more. It struck me. ‘The posters’ I thought with realization hitting me now. I'd never paid any attention to them since I’d entered the shelter but now turning my head to the door and looking to its left I spotted a poster hanging on the wall. Getting up and walking towards the wall I examined the poster now with more intensity.

The poster had a blue background and depicts what looked to be a changeling no wait it depicted a changeling queen staring outward onto the distance and upon analyzing the figure I began to notice that this changeling queen is wearing a dark gray tiara in front of her black changeling crown and she also vaguely resembles me, which I won’t lie it weirded me out, on the bottom, there's a text that read ‘The Great Queen And Her Divine Benevolence Guides Us’ which man looking at it now I don’t know how to feel about this on one hoof this worship could be a great source of love for me to feed on but on the other hoof I don’t want to be worshiped as a deity.

Deciding that it was time for me to leave the shelter I left the administrator’s bedroom but not after going back and grabbing my Zagr-5 on the desk.

*********

I had backtracked my way to the cafeteria which was an uneventful affair all things considered and I entered the kitchen searching for anything edible which if I am being honest with you I didn’t find a whole lot as I only managed to secure myself two canned peaches a packet of four hardtacks and two bottled water, which wasn’t a whole lot but it's better than nothing and at least it’ll satiate me enough without consuming any love.

I exited the shelter without encountering any more difficulties although as I exited the shelter I now found that the outside is dark albeit it wasn’t the pitch black darkness as it was in the shelter and my night vision had already adjusted to the new light level but it is dark outside where I can only guess that it's nighttime as it is hard to tell with the blanket of clouds covering the sky.

I looked around trying to find someplace that was relatively safe for me to spend the night in when I spotted an apartment building across the street from me that looked relatively safe. So I walked across the street bypassing abandoned motorwagons, and entering the small lobby I saw; a desk with a broken terminal on it, and a stairwell leading up as well as bits of debris and trash littered around the floor.

Walking up the stairs and past some doors. I landed upon a door labeled A-7 and so I entered. Once inside I saw the standard apartment bedroom layout; on the far left there's a bed with a dresser in front of it, a nightstand next to it, a wardrobe across from the nightstand situated next to a window, and turning my head right I saw the entrance to the bathroom.

Locking the door and propping up a chair against it I walked towards the bed I dropped my saddle bag which had my rifle attached to it and placed it next to the bed, keeping my pistol holstered in my left hoof, transforming my right talon back into it's usually holed hoof I laid down on the bed and let sleep overtake me.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Waking up after sleeping through the night I yawned, got out of the bed, and did some stretches before digging through my saddle bags and pulling out a canned peach and a water bottle. Removing the lid from the can using my magic was easy as I began to devour its contents, it tasted quite stale and bland but it was still good to eat… cause ya know they’re still inside the cans although I would need to scan the water bottle to determine if it is still drinkable.

Intending to do a quick scan on the water bottle as a more thorough scan will dwindle my already low love reserves. Feeling the glow of my horn I turned my focus towards my water bottle and cast a scan spell. To my relief the quick scan revealed to me that the water is indeed still safe to drink however it was stale. ‘Well I guess I won't be thirsty… even if the water is stale it's better than nothing and besides I won’t be taking my chances drinking out of the river.’ I emptied the bottle right after I finished the canned peaches which I threw the can away, but kept the water bottle. I probably should keep the can that's now laying on the floor but I don’t have a use for it at this time.

Floating the saddlebags off the side of the bed and attaching them to my back checking if everything is properly secured. Shifting my right hoof back into griffin talons I exited the room and subsequently the apartment building.

Moving back onto the street I looked up and I am still greeted with the same gray sky, and to tell you the truth it was honestly depressing waking up and not seeing the sun ‘I need to get used to not seeing the sun anymore’ I glumly thought. After spending some time gazing at the sky I turned right and walked.

It wasn’t until a couple of minutes of walking that I spotted a pony, no wait I could see multiple ponies all laying on the ground. Galloping closer I had counted five pony bodies; there were three stallions and two mares and all of them were wearing leather barding with pieces of metal covering some vital spots, all were laying in puddles of their blood and it looked as if they were recently killed meaning I have to be extra careful when moving around the town. I proceeded to examine the bodies one by one which all revealed bullet wounds and no pulses, it wasn’t until the fifth pony this one a mare an earth pony mare to be exact; she has a red-orange coat with a red mane and tail with an orange streak, looking over her flank she has an image of an orange fruit with a bullet in front of it for a cutie mark. I ran my right talon over her neck to check if she had a pulse when to my surprise I felt a pulse albeit it was faint but I still felt it.

Laying down on my haunches I did my best to carefully remove her barding which revealed two bullet holes in her chest, fortunately for her they didn’t hit any vital organs nor did they penetrate deep. Using my magic I tried my best to remove the bullets, I dug through my saddlebags and pulled out a health potion in my talons, lifting her head with my left hoof I opened her mouth and poured the potion into her mouth. Watching as the purple liquid is emptied of the bottle and placing the now empty bottle back into my saddlebags I turned to look back to her chest and I could see where there were two bullet holes now I only found a patch of skin that has regenerated and I could even spot tiny bits of hair regrowing from them.

Seeing as how she no longer is in danger of dying I lifted her off the ground and placed her on my back using my magic wherever. I had thought about looting the other four corpses for anything on them but I decided against it out of respect for the mare I had rescued as they were most likely her companions instead I took the mare’s leather barding as well as some kind of makeshift gun which if I were to describe the weapon it looked a pipe with a trigger and a magazine, which was laying next to where the mare had previously been.

Before I left I decided to turn the other four into ash as they didn’t deserve to rot out in the open, which had expended a sizeable chunk of my love reserves, and if I had to guess used up about a day and a half’s worth.

I began to make my way north, where in the distance I could spot the Olenian mountains, carrying the unconscious mare on my back and what I presume to be her belongings.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Nearing the edge of the town after walking for a couple of hours. I decided to take shelter inside a relatively intact convenience store. Entering and examining the inside; there's a row of three shelves on the right side, a counter on the left, and a broken-down door that leads to an employee lounge.

Walking behind the counter and into the lounge, I could see; a table with two chairs in the middle of the room, a small couch on the right of it, a vending machine on the left, a desk with a terminal on it, and a chair that's been flipped to its side.

Walking towards the couch I lay the still sleeping mare on it and propped her makeshift gun on the wall beside her. While I walked up to the table and sat down on a chair. I set the leather barding on the table, examining the two holes in it, I patched it up with wax or as some creatures would call it ‘changeling goop,’ but anyways after patching the barding and watching as the black material hardened and changed color to match the barding’s brown color.

As I got up carrying the leather barding with me, setting the barding right beside the gun, and went back to sitting on the chair. Contemplating my next choice of actions, of course, assuming the mare would want to join me but I digress, I could head west to Hjortland but knowing Queen Cristera and how far the distance between Vanhoover and Hjortland is I knew they’d be safe, I could head east into Vaverfront the closest city near the Everglade and eventually into the territory of Queen Tercia of the Pantomime Hive or I could head south into Vanhoover and Equestria.

As I pondered on where to go next I heard something stirring behind me. I got up out of my seat and moved in front of the couch, dropping down to my haunches and waiting for her to wake up, unknown if I should shapeshift into a disguise or not. To save my current love reserves I decided to not shift into a disguise and be honest with the mare. I saw her eyes open and stare right at me.

She continues to stare at me, shock and surprise evident on her face, deciding to break the silence. I said, “Hey… while I was out walking through the streets I had found you and what I presume to be your companions uh how should I break this, well basically I found them dead, you were the only survivor, and um sorry for your loss.” As I spoke I could see her cast her gaze downwards, her ears drooping. I didn’t need to sense her emotions to know that she was saddened “You suffered two gunshot wounds, which fortunately didn’t hit anything vital. That health potion has healed any injuries though you should still try to take it easy.” I finished speaking and I could spot her gazing back at me, the shock of seeing what probably was her first time seeing a changeling.

“And before I left I turned your companions into ash as they didn’t deserve to rot out in the streets.” As I spoke I heard her utter a “Thank you.” To which I offered a simple nod.

“So… what happens next?” I hear the mare ask.

“Well, that depends on you. For starters, if you want you could join me or we could head our separate ways.” I stated.

“I think… I think that I’ll join you for now at least, I mean you have saved me from death and there's nothing left for me anymore, furthermore I wanna get back at those bastards that killed my friends.” The mare explains.

I nodded, as I am no stranger to the thought of revenge as my mother had told me that Queen Chrysalis was blinded by revenge for being so thoroughly humiliated by the Equestrians after the Canterlot wedding.

“Of course and after we track them down then you can decide whether to stay with me or not," I said then, then asked. "Although if you do not mind me asking what happened?”

She ponders for a moment bringing a hoof to her chin, before speaking “Well I and the rest of the group headed here after Belle had found a pre-war map of Northwestern Equus, and pointed at this place called the Everglade Hive,” She paused “And soon after we were chased by raiders-“

“Raiders?” I asked, cutting her off.

“Raiders are the vilest and most cruelest assholes that the Wasteland ever spawned.” She spat out with venom in her voice, but still raiders, judging by her tone and choice of words that these raiders are hostile should be dealt with whenever encountered.

“Well anyways, yeah we were chased for days by Scarlet’s gang, chasing us from Tall Tale to Vanhoover, and well they caught up to us and you know the rest.” She said but continued, “And I wanna kill Scarlet.” She now wore a determined expression on her face “Will you help me?” She asked with a hopeful tone and pleading eyes.

I looked into her eyes and I sensed desperation and hope emanating from her taking a few moments before speaking “Ok I will help you.” I paused before continuing “But before we go, I think introductions are in order, I’ll start first. Hello, my name is Queen Aurelia Zagria… or just Aurelia.” I looked down feeling my ears droop. “Since the queen title is meaningless now.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up you're telling me that you're a queen!” The mare said “And also what are you exactly? I mean if you don’t mind me asking that is.”

“Heh I was just getting that, And to answer your question I am a changeling” I said.

“Changeling?” She asks.

“Well, changelings are insectoid hive-minded creatures that can shapeshift. Although if I am being honest the hive-mind part is nothing more than a glorified messaging system, and we require love to survive, well technically we can eat any emotions, it's just that we find love to be more, hmm nourishing. As for me.” I pointed a hoof at a black crown behind my horn. “And this crown signifies not only my position as queen of my hive but also the hive-mind connected to it… and it's silent right now, adding to that I used to rule this town, in fact I’ve just only recently awoken from a magic-induced coma.” I then solemnly look down remembering my awakening and exiting the hive-spire into… into this, and it wasn’t even that long ago.

“Whoa, Holy. Shit. I cannot believe this, not only do I get to meet a bug species that I’ve never met before, but can change shape at will, and is also the bug equivalent to alicorns and who was pre-war, AND is the ruler of this town. Talk about me being lucky… although the eating emotions thing is a bit creepy, to be honest.” She said excitement evident in her voice “I guess that explains why you're so clueless about raiders, but you’ll see them soon enough.”

I’ve heard other creatures refer to us changeling queens as that before, although, during the Changeling War, my mother had told me that the Equestrians would refer to us queens as ‘alicorn bugs’ which was a derogatory name given to us by them. Personally speaking I never really cared for that.

“So, what's your name? I’ve already told mine I think it's only fair that you tell me yours.” I asked, looking at her expectantly.

“Umm, hehe, guess I got carried away, anyways my name is Orange Bright, my friends called me Orange… well they used to.” Orange had said, ending it with a tone of sadness.”But I guess that's all in the past, nothing I can do but move on. Such is the way of the wasteland.”

“I see,” I said, getting up. “Well, the killers of your friends might still be nearby so if you want to seek them out we should get a move on while the tracks are still fresh,” I said. “Oh and your gear is to the right of the couch you lay on, I did my best at patching up your barding, I will wait for you outside.” She nodded at me as I finished speaking.

I trotted out of the lounge room and eventually outside, taking a whiff of the decay around me, it's hard to imagine that the place is the same… I guess I just haven’t gotten used to it.

Hearing the familiar clip-clopping of hooves, turning around I spotted Orange coming out of the convenience store now wearing her leather barding, saddlebags, and her gun, if you can even call it that, attached to her battle saddle on the left.

“Well, let's go. If we're lucky we can catch these brigands on their way to Vaverfront.” I stated to her.

“Yeah, let's,” Orange replies.

We began heading east towards Vaverfront, which should hopefully take us about half a day of travel on the hoof if there are no problems. As we traveled we began to have a conversation, discussing various things, but mostly it was just her asking about the old world and what it was like, and I did my best to answer all of her questions. Eventually, the topic came to me and my species.

“So… changeling huh.” Orange stated, “What are you like?.”

I looked at her. “Changelings are master manipulators and infiltrators, well only the infiltrator drones are. I had infiltrators all over Equestria before the Balefire Megaspells dropped, which also helps if you can shapeshift into anything, being only limited by our love reserves.” I replied

“Speaking of which.” She starts blushing. “Um how do you get love… cause you said it's um, it's like food to you right?” She says failing not to blush.

I look at her wide-eyed. “What! No, no, it doesn’t work like that.” I stammered out. “While yes we technically can, it is not the only method.”

“Ooh, explain.” She asks.

“Method one is through sex, this one is self-explanatory although for this one it would be a mix of both love and lust, method two is through intimate contact, which requires both parties to be intimate with one another, and the last method is ambient love, which requires a changeling to take in whatever ambient love that is around, and this method I find, at least for my hive to be most effective. Of course, different hives do it differently.” I said, “Although the last method will be very hard to come by.”

She nodded after I had explained to her how we gather love to sustain ourselves, it did bring me to another topic.

“You know, I’m going to have to disguise myself right? I mean once we reach inside Equestria.” I said to Orange and she looked at me confused.

“How come?” She asks, tilting her head sideways.

“Well for starters there’s no telling how the sapient creatures will react to me, we changelings were already never liked in Equestria in the first place, and more so after the Changeling War, but it seems that the zebras have one-upped us changelings for their hate. It’ll still disguise myself just to be safe.” I said, “And to be frank here I took a serious risk in showing you my true form, but when we get to Equestria and I put on a disguise, you have to promise me that you’ll never expose me.”

She looked at me now sporting a serious expression. “Ok, I promise.” She says.

With that the walk east was a quiet one, only occasionally broken by distant sounds. It wasn’t until we had exited Everglade Town and onto some dirt road near Vaverfront, then I spotted a camp beyond the trees. Crouching down, I lifted a hoof signaling for Orange to stop, she stopped walking and crouched down alongside me now also starring at the camp, I could spot a group of four ponies, three stallions and one mare sitting around a campfire with two tents on each side and they were all wearing various bits of armor on them, I could even see that one of them is wearing a makeshift helmet, their manes are all spikey and by Zagria their cutie marks are a sight to behold. Their cutie marks had one thing in common, the imagery of skulls, one of them even had a skull and crossbones with a knife stabbing through it.

If I am being honest, seeing those cutie marks terrified me. I mean how could you even earn a cutie mark like that? I must’ve been standing there for a few moments longer because I could feel Orange Bright shake me out of my stupor.

“Yeah that's them alright,” Orange said readying her weapon. I did the same, unslinging my RK-30 rifle and attaching it to my battle saddle on my left. Checking my Zagr-5 pistol, ensuring that it's ready for me to pull out when I need it.

Examining the camp’s surroundings; the camp is surrounded by trees, although in terms of foliage it’s not very thick, but it's manageable.

I turned towards Orange, whispering to her “Ok here's the plan, we can use the trees to cover our approach and hit them, their carousing should mask our approach unless of course one of us gets spotted, but that is very unlikely.” I whispered, “Furthermore we can hit them from different directions thereby making them think that there's more of us than there is, I hit them from the east you hit them from the west. Did you get any of that?”

She looks at me, opening her mouth to say “So sneak around, and hit them when they least suspect it, got it.”

“I suppose that’ll do, oh, and remember if I don’t strike within ten minutes of you being in position, then start shooting,” I said, watching Orange nod her head. Turning my attention back towards the camp, I crouched down low and began a slow trek towards the east side of the camp, careful not to step on any twigs as the last thing I want is to alert the camp. Of course, things didn’t go easy as I heard one of those brigands or raiders walk towards my location. Panicking, I dove behind a log and lay down on the ground as I could hear the clip-clop of hooves coming down. Pulling out my saber and holding it within my telekinesis.

I waited and waited until I could hear them stop very close to where I was hiding. Deciding that I couldn’t take any chances I leaped out of my cover, and I could see the look of shock etched on his face, but I didn’t give him any chances to recover, as with one swift motion I slashed his neck with my saber. Watching him fall to the ground gargling in his blood, I hit him again, this time piercing his head thereby killing him instantly.

If I don’t make a move now the rest of the camp will take notice and come investigate. With no other option left I studied his features; he has a jet-black mane and tail cut short, a greenish-blue coat, and to top it all off he had three skulls with a knife going through the middle for a cutie mark. Satisfied I took his form, my uniform, and my weapons except for my saber as it wasn’t sheathed, changed to match his equipment which I promptly hid inside of my new barding. I walked back towards the camp, my original plan with Orange of an ambush will still work albeit I’ll still be striking from the inside and, she’ll still be striking from the west.

Walking back uphill I rejoined with the other three back on the camp who were still sitting around the campfire chatting animatedly.

“Oi Facebreaker, you back from your piss break?” I heard a stallion say.

Turning left to face him, “Why yes, It was quick.” I responded. Now that I could get a good look, I could see the features of these ponies, with their scraggly looks with dirt and even a small tint of what I presume to be blood on their faces, and their coats the parts that I could see, weren’t faring any better, and in some instances I could see their color fading due to the amount of dirt and grime on them.

I sat down on a log next to the stallion listening to their conversation intently, and to say I was shocked was an understatement, there were talks about torture, rape, and mutilation, I could not believe what I was hearing and… and what these ponies are capable of. Eventually, the topic had changed, for which I was thankful, came to something more recent. This time I listened intently.

“Hey Crusher, you think the boss’s gonna be happy with our haul from those ponies?”

“Knowing her she’d yell at us for not getting back quick enough, and I just wanna get out of here quick, I mean look at those black towers, they’re creepy looking!”

I’ll have you know that those ‘black towers’ are Hive Spires and they’re homes! But I didn’t say that out loud. Although one caught my attention, they mentioned something about a boss which means that they are working under somepony or somecreature. So I prepared to strike, slowly slipping my saber from out where I hid it, I stood up making some excuse about going back to my tent. I walked behind the stallion that was still sitting next to me, unbeknownst to him my saber which I was now holding in my right foreleg, which I had secretly shifted into a griffon foreleg. Careful to not let my saber be spotted by the other two across from us. Unfortunately, the mare spotted me and yelled.

“Oi Facebreaker, what the fuck are you doi-“ Before she could finish a shot rang, and she falls to the ground with a bullet hole on the left side of her head.

Seizing this opportunity, I swung my saber with as great a force as I could muster and slashed the stallion at the back of his head, killing him as he fell face-first onto the campfire. By this point the last got up and was about to make a run for it before another shot rang out, and hit his left hind leg, making him fall to the floor.

He turns to look at me now terrified. His terror increased tenfold when he saw me shapeshift into my default form. I walked ever so closer to him as he attempted to crawl away from me, while still facing me. He continued backing away until his back hit a tree, his eyes now looking at me still terrified.

I leaned down, inching my face closer to his, and gave him a wide predatory smile, ensuring that he sees all of my fangs. By now his pupils had shrunk down to pinpricks and his ears had lowered. I swear, I could see him start wetting himself. He opened his mouth.

“Y… y-y-you m-monster.” He stuttered out.

“Heh, you know it's ironic really.” I paused, then leaned a bit closer. “You calling me a monster, and for what because of what I look?” I stopped after hearing hoofsteps behind me, turning around I spotted Orange coming towards me. I turned back to the cowering stallion, and continued, “If anything.” I raised my left hoof and pointed it toward him. “It's you, you're the monster here not me, and from what I heard listening in on the conversation. Your type seemed to gleefully torture ponies and other sapients, but what do I know? After all, I am just a monster here.” I had calmly said, noticing that Orange had now sat beside looking up at me disturbed.

“Do what you will to him,” I said towards Orange, nodding at me and turning to face him. I didn’t hear what she said to him as by that point I had already left. Exiting the camp and back to the side of the road, sitting down on my haunches I contemplated what had just happened thinking long and hard, which then landed on a question, one I did not have an answer to.

‘Just what has this world gone to?’

I do not know, but there's one thing for sure, and that is the fact that I now find myself in this new world, one where a single misstep can lead to life and death, one where sapient creatures are capable of acts previously unheard of, hay not even during the Changeling War and the Great War.

I must’ve sat there for a while when I was shaken out of my musings by Orange. “Hey, uhh, yeah so after getting some info out of that guy, which turns out the four of them were a detachment of their gang from their main gang based in the Vanhoover area.” She pauses, “Furthermore he told me that their Boss Scarlet Brawl had sent them here to continue chasing my group..” She stated, to which I simply nodded. I opened my mouth and asked, “And what happened to him?”

“Killed him, which would be one less psychopath,” Orange replied. “Oh and I looted their camp which netted us two hundred caps, one hundred each and I looted their ammo, at least ones that can be used for my pipe rifle.”

“Caps, as in bottle caps?” Now I was perplexed as to why bottle caps would be used as currency.

“Oh that's right, you don’t know, well to answer your question, I don’t know.” She paused, “I guess, I never really knew why it just is, guess you’ll just have to get used to it.” She said, hoofing me one hundred bottle caps, placing all but one into my saddlebags. I inspected the bottle cap, which was red with the words ‘sparkle cola’ on the front, placing it back into my saddlebags.

“Well, if you have any hope of taking revenge against this ‘Scarlet’ then we better start moving.” I paused, Looking into the distance, “And Vaverfront isn’t far.”

She nodded at me, and with that said, Orange and I continued walking down the road, towards Vaverfront.

Author's Note

Decided to split the prologue and chapter 1 (Don't even know why I combined them)

Anyway, as I said previously said, please alert me if you spot any spelling mistakes, errors, and punctuation.

Chapter 2: Vaverfront

Chapter 2 Vaverfront.

The walk towards Vaverfront had been an uneventful affair, but still, I took the time to admire my surroundings. Passing by dead trees and the occasional bush, it's hard to believe that this area used to be a lush green forest. I remember, and this was during the Changeling War when I was a nymph my mother whenever she could find the time, would take me to the nearby forest, and there we would spend time camping, though not for long as, mother would get called back to the hive and help manage a losing war, but you know it's nice that she was able to still spend time with me, even during a war. I could feel myself sporting a smile as I reminisced about memories, and my smile quickly faded upon the realization that I’m never going to experience it again.

Orange was now looking at me, upon seeing the frown that was now on my face. I could detect her nervousness even without my emotion detection when she opened her mouth and said.

“Hey… so uh, if you don’t mind me asking.” She stops for a second, but continues-“But could you tell me, what the pre-war old world was like?”

I pondered the question for a moment. Because I grew up during the war, granted it wasn’t a war that ended the world, but it was a war nonetheless. I then thought about all the good things that had happened in my life before, opening my mouth to form a reply I said.

“It was good, there was green grass, green trees, blue skies, and the sun shining down on my face.” Pausing, I could feel tears start welling up from the resurfacing memories. Wiping away my tears using the sleeve of my uniformed right hoof, when I heard Orange comment.

“Wow, that must’ve been nice.” Orange comments on my description.

“Yeah… it wasn’t perfect, but it was home.” After I said that I stared into the gray clouds, with longing.

I noticed that she was now standing in front of me, thereby making me stop dead in my tracks, and I continued.

“And as for me personally, I grew up in war, and even with the war going on. I would take casual strolls through the Everglade, watching deer and changelings alike going about their day.” I was about to continue when Orange interrupted me.

“Wait a minute, you grew up during war? Please explain.” She asks, tilting her head sideways.

I sighed, “Very well, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Let's find shelter first.” Looking up, I couldn’t tell if it was going to rain or not, although I’m pretty sure it was. I saw Orange look up and then back at me.

“Yep, it’s about to rain alright.” The mare had stated as a matter of fact.

“Wait, how could you tell?” I asked, now looking up at the same gray clouds that blanketed the sky.

The mare chuckled and stated plainly. “Well, notice how the clouds not only look heavier but also have a spiral pattern.” She then proceeded to point a hoof at a particular cloud.

Looking at where she was pointing, I then began to notice the clouds had a spiral pattern, but they did not look heavy to me. I looked a bit closer, and yep not only do they look heavy, but they’re rounder too. I looked back to Orange and spoke, “Yeah, you are right, it will rain soon, let us depart quickly. Fortunately, I happened to know a rest stop that's not far from here.” Getting up I increased my pace to a canter, with Orange following close behind.

————————————————————————

We stopped in front of an old dilapidated wooden rest stop that was off to the side of the dirt road just in time, as the moment we entered inside the rain started pouring down hard.

The Inside, didn’t fare much better as the wood floorboards showed signs of rot, and I could even spot mold on some, a desk counter lying on the far end with a door behind it, and the metal rims of the tables and chairs rusted. At least the windows are still intact so at least we won’t get hit by the rain while we're inside.

Orange decided to look behind the counter and the room behind, while I elected to stay and look for somewhere to sit down. Looking around I spotted an area that's relatively clean and is right beside the window, at least in terms of the floorboards being free of rot and mold, as well as a table next to the wooden corner couch that's rot and mold-free, compared to the state of the others here.

Trotting over I set down my saddlebags, set my RK-30 rifle leaning on the couch, and plopped down on the couch staring out into the outside, absentmindedly staring as the rain droplets came falling on the outside.

Carrying the saddlebags in my telekinesis I pulled out a water bottle and took a quick sip before setting it down on the table. I set the saddlebags behind my head to use as a makeshift pillow.

My ears swiveled as I heard hoofsteps to my left, turning my head, and spotting Orange coming towards me sporting a cheeky grin, like the kind one would have when a foal was to reach their hooves onto a cookie jar. I then noticed the source of her grin, as on her back, Orange had brought two folded blankets, and on top were some canned grapes, two sparkle-cola bottles, and two pink blobs. Seeing the pink blobs My eyes widened.

“Is that love jelly?” I asked, pointing a hoof that was previously dangling on the side.

She looked confused for a second before turning to look at the two pink blobs on her back. “Wait, is that what they're called?” Orange asked with uncertainty

I nodded and responded. “Yes, it's love put into physical form, which is another way for us changelings to sustain ourselves”

“Huh,” Orange said, before hoofing me the love jellies, and proceeded to eat one while depositing the other in my saddlebags.

We sat in relative silence, eating our meals when Orange spoke up reiterating her previous question. “So about that explanation. I think you mentioned a war right? We have plenty of time.” The mare then looked outside at the downpour, and then looked back at me, “It doesn’t seem like the rain will let up anytime soon.”

Shifting positions now facing her I began my tale. I began to tell her of the events after my birth in 1007. Orange was now looking at me with a serious expression.

“I was five years old at the time when Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Lands in 1011, made the fateful decision to invade our southern neighbor, Equestria.” Pausing to take a sip from my water bottle. Memories of my nymphood during the war are coming back to me. At the time I was naïve and blissfully unaware that a war was even happening.

Everglade Hive 2/17/1011

Trotting around the hive, looking for my mommy, I stopped in front of two maids who were chatting while pushing a cart. I went up to them and asked. “Umm, excuse me, but have you seen my mommy?” I asked innocently.

Suddenly the two maids went quiet, stopping their conversation abruptly, and turning their heads. Pupilless eyes stared back at me, looking at me funny, was it something I said?

The first maid, Righty, walked around the cart, and crouched down to eye level with me, opening her mouth, then immediately closing it, looking back up to her friend who also was unsure of what to say. Before turning back to say, “How do I say this, your mother… is currently gone right now.”

Confused, I tilted my head slightly to the left, before asking, “Gone, gone where?”

Righty looked at me with a guilty expression, before speaking. “Well, she’s currently on an important mission right now and will be gone for a while.”

She had tried to reassure me, but I wasn’t convinced, so I nodded my head before feeling weightless, as Lefty lifted me using magic and placed me upon her back. Turning her head to face me to address me. “Come on princess, let's get you something to eat.”

“Okay.” I weakly replied, not having the energy to be persistent.

“Unm, question, why did you call those maids ‘Lefty’ and ‘Righty’?” Orange asked, interrupting my story.

“Well, to put it simply, I didn’t know their names, and I still don’t,” I answered.

Satisfied with my answer Orange nodded, and took a sip from her sparkle cola. I did the same with my water bottle and nibbled on love jelly. Feeling the love rejuvenate me, I resumed my tale. “Where was I again? Oh yeah, so after I was placed on Lefty’s back…”

Righty, Lefty, and I, still on Lefty’s back, had entered the Hive Spire’s cafeteria, seeing as the cafeteria is packed with soldiers dressed in their dark gray Changeling Army uniforms sitting around the tables that dotted the room, we walked towards the cafeteria counter. I heard the chef and both Lefty, and Righty converse with each other while occasionally glancing towards me. Instead, my attention was focused on a deer, a fawn to be specific nervously standing in the middle of the room, being ignored by the changelings as well as any deer in the room.

Struggling to get off of Righty’s back, I was lifted off her back with magic, placing me on the ground, looking up at her Righty flashed me a smile, before joining back into the conversation with the other two.

Trotting towards the fawn with the intent to say hello, noticing my approach the scared fawn was frightened even more, and hid behind a table, making me stop in my tracks, ‘did I do something wrong?’ Well whatever it was I’ll make it right, starting by saying hello!

My approach was slow, as I didn’t want to scare the fawn, as I got closer I noticed that the fawn was a she. Ensuring that I was ten feet(or about three meters) away from her, I sat down on my haunches waving and I spoke.

“Hi! I promise I won’t be mean to you.” I tried to coax her to come out of her hiding spot, and whatever I did worked as she came out and sat the same distance from me.

Excited at the prospect that I might make a friend, I continued. “My name is Aurelia Zagria, what about yours?”

Seeing her smile, albeit a small one, she replied, “Auli Dirsvir.” The fawn replied.

“And that's where I'm stopping for now.” Abruptly ending my story, I grinned watching Orange sport a look of exasperation.

“Ughhh, come on, please you can’t just blueball me like this!” Exclaimed Orange. “We were just getting to the good part too.” The mare then slumped down the table.

“Look, I promise to continue where I left off at a later date.” Looking outside, and seeing darkness as well as the rain hasn’t let up. “And it's dark out, we better get some shuteye.”

Glaring and pouting at me, Orange said. “Fine, but you better continue.” Before getting up, grabbing a blanket, and situated herself on the other end of the corner couch. “Good night Aurelia.”

“Good night Orange,” I replied, with that said, Orange was fast asleep. Grabbing both the half-eaten and half-full water bottle in my magic, I placed the cap back on the bottle and placed both of them inside my saddlebags.

Repositioning the saddlebags back into their position as a makeshift pillow. I got into a sleeping position, but I couldn’t sleep, as scenes of recent events, particularly what those brigands or as Orange calls them raiders, the cruelty that they’ve admitted to, and that was just only a small group. I shuddered at thinking of whatever acts a particularly large group of them is capable of.

I guess, I was more tired than I thought, as sleep soon overtook me.

————————————————————————

Waking up, I looked outside and saw that the rain had ended. Getting up. Putting on my saddlebags, as well as clipping the rifle onto my left strap, ensures that the firing bit is nice and level, in case I need to shoot without magic.

Fishing out the half-eaten love jelly as well as the half-full water bottle and finishing on both of them. As I had my breakfast, I heard Orange rouse from her sleep, looking at me with half-lidded eyes, mumbling out a ‘good morning’ before walking somewhere.

I Walked outside to assess the state of the road, after the heavy rainfall from yesterday. Once outside, I had to immediately sidestep a mud puddle. I scanned the area and spotted mud puddles of varying sizes dotting the landscape.

Hearing the door open, I craned my head to look behind me and saw Orange was about to fall into the same mud puddle that I sidestepped. Fortunately she caught herself before she could fall inside, she looked at me and said. “Whoa, thank the goddesses that I didn’t fall in.”

“There are mud puddles everywhere on top of the muddy road,” I said. “This will slow us down, but we should make it to Vaverfront by the evening.”

Orange nods, then looks down “Yeah, blame the Enclave for this shit.”

Confused, I asked “Enclave?”

With a look of disdain evident on her face, she replies “Bastards, they’re the bastards who blocked the sun, with their giant cloud cover.” Pausing to calm herself down. “They’re pegasi who’ve abandoned us on the ground, but you know what? Fuck them, they don’t need us, we don’t need them. You’ll know them by their power armor, can’t miss it.”

Frowning after this revelation, I looked up at the same gray clouds that still blanket the sky. I think I have a pretty good idea of what their power armor looks like. Looking around, I soon spotted Vaverfront alongside its Hive Spire.

“We’re close to Vaverfront, and the Olenian mountains end roughly twelve miles(nineteen kilometers), and after that, we're entering Queen Tercia’s territory,” I said

“Right.” I heard Orange say, as we set off at a slow pace. Walking slowly to avoid the puddles, we made our way to Vaverfront with Orange taking the lead.

As we were walking, I was staring at Orange. Part of me wished that she would stay after we finish off Scarlet and her band of raiders, and I won’t lie, part of it is me being selfish at having a food source in the form of Orange’s love, and another fact is that I genuinely enjoy her company, I even consider her a friend. A friend who I can rely on to help me in this new and unforgiving world, I just hope she feels the same.

We walked for a couple of hours in relative silence, reaching the outskirts of Vaverfront. I readied my rifle, setting it to single shot, while Orange does the same with her pipe rifle, which I had recently been informed of.

After which we continued to walk a bit more, until we happened upon a decayed corpse, the same kind that I encountered inside the shelter, lying on the front porch of a two-story house.

I held out a hoof in front of Orange making her stop. “I encountered this type of corpse before, and if we get close, it’ll get up and attack, like a zombie.”

“I think you mean feral ghoul,” Orange said, then looked at the corpse. “Although I think zombies are more applicable to feral ghouls.”

Grabbing a rock with telekinesis and throwing it at the corpse, hitting it, and sure enough, it got up, saw Orange first, and began charging towards her. She almost fired her gun before I stopped her. I unsheathed my saber and held it with magic. I cantered towards the zombie, who by now was on the front lawn, the zombie then noticed me, and charged toward me. At this point, I increased to gallop.

The zombie and I met halfway before I slashed its head off with my saber and wiped its blood off my saber with magic. Orange galloped towards me, a look of amazement adorned her face.

“Whoa, that was amazing!” Exclaimed Orange, looking at me and then at my saber, “Didn’t know you had a sword.”

“I did. You just didn’t notice,” I said

She opened her mouth before closing it, and then she opened it again and said “Huh, fair point, guess I didn’t pay attention to what you had on you.” Stopped and then asked. “Should we search that house?”

Looking towards the front door, “I doubt there's going to be anything inside, but let's check it on the off chance that there's still something inside.” Walking towards the front door, still clutching my saber, with Orange not too far behind me.

Opening the door we entered a living room, the inside fared much better than the outside as the actual living room was still in a somewhat decent condition, and there was a set of stairs to the right that led to the second floor. Orange decided to walk up the stairs.

The living room looked sparsely decorated as the only thing I saw there was a couch with a TV in front, a flower vase situated in the far left corner, and some pottery on a shelf. At the far end of the living room is an open entrance. to the kitchen/dining room.

Seeing as there was nothing to check inside the living room, I walked towards the kitchen/dining room. Once inside the kitchen/dining room, which wasn’t much, you had the usual stove oven, a pantry to its left, a fridge to its right, a dishwasher next to the stove open, and to top it all off a square table with four chairs sat in the middle, and to finish it off there is a window on the right side of the room.

Walking over to the fridge, and opening it, I was blasted by the foul odor of rotten food, but I did find two bottles of sunrise sarsaparilla, which I grabbed. Closing the fridge door, since there was nothing else of value, I then walked over to the pantry, I opened it, and the inside had little apart from three cans of soup. After grabbing the cans I closed the pantry, and searched around the kitchen/dining room.

As I was looking around I heard gunshots coming from upstairs and outside, ducking down and unclipping my rifle, levitating it firmly with magic, and slowly crawled towards a window on the far right side of the room. Once I was underneath the window even though my horn would still be visible from the outside, I still raised my head to try and get a peek outside.

Looking outside, I spotted a group of five, four ponies and one deer, they were wearing crudely made leather barding with bits of sheet metal on them, with similar design patterns to the group of raiders that Orange and I encountered at the camp, which led me to conclude that this group is affiliated with Scarlet. There are two ponies on the ground in a pool of their blood and the rest are taking cover. I assume that the dead ponies are Orange’s doing.

Opening the window, I aimed my rifle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, watching as the group exchanged fire with Orange on the second floor. I waited, and waited, when suddenly, a pony leaped out from their cover and dashed to the house, firing three shots, and missing all three of them, which alerted my existence to them.

The other two, now alerted of my position, began firing at my position to which I had to immediately duck under the window, and crawl to the left.

I heard the front door crash open, which caused my attention towards the front, and I saw the pony, which after getting a closer look was a unicorn mare with bloodshot eyes holding a machete in her magic.

Cackling madly the mare said, “Hahahaha, I know you’re in there little bitches.”

By now I had taken cover behind a wall, readying my rifle to fire, I hear the slow and steady steps the mare is making towards the kitchen/dining room. Once the mare was at the entrance, I leaped out and attempted to bash the mare, but blocked it with her machete.

“Ohohoho, looks like there's a bug that needs to be squashed, hahaha.” Cackled the mare, staring at me while sporting a wide crazed grin.

Of course the fight was one-sided, as due to my size I overpowered her, pinning her to the ground, she was still looking at me with that same wide grin, combined with her bloodshot eyes, and it unnerved me…

Still cackling madly I heard her say. “Aww, I was hoping we’d get to play more hehe.”

Ignoring her comment, I proceeded to create changeling wax, using it to cover her horn and bind her hooves together.

And before she could remark on being bound, I hit her with a sleep spell and would ensure that she stayed asleep for twenty-four hours. Casting that spell had taken out quite a bit from my love reserves, but keeping this mare alive would allow us to extract more information from her. I lifted her and placed her on my back.

By now Orange had gone down, and saw me lift the sleeping mare onto my back. Looking at me with surprise.

“Wait, you're taking a raider… Scarlet’s raider with us?.” Orange asked, then very quickly shaking her head, “Well whatever, but we gotta move now! I killed two more and injured the last, but more are coming behind us!”

Wait, behind us? But that's where we came from which means… by the hive mother, that means that the group of five was a small diversion force while the rest had snuck behind to attack us.

“Then that means we can only move forwards, Into Vaverfront,” I said, before cantering outside, Orange followed closely behind.

Behind us there was a large group of raiders, who began firing at us. I frantically turned to Orange, “We can't take them on, we're going to run.”

“Right,” Orange said, nodding to me, before turning around firing a couple of shots, and galloping forwards towards Vaverfront, I soon followed behind.

————————————————————————

By the time we had entered the city proper, we hid inside an office building on the second floor. Catching our breaths I sat the unconscious mare down on the floor before I slumped against the wall, Orange on the other hoof, fell on the floor, panting heavily.

“Man. That.” Orange started, before getting a steady rhythm of breaths. “That was the second longest run I’ve ever had.”

“Well, we lost them and we’re safe,” I said, then looking towards the unconscious mare, still bound in wax, which getting a clear look at her; she has a dark cherry red coat with a beige red mane and tail, and through cracks in her barding with her cutie mark depicting three cherries being sliced.

Looking at Orange, I said, “Why don’t we wake our new guest.”

Orange got up and walked towards me, and asked “Um, aren’t you afraid she’s gonna do something?”

“No, not really, and need I remind you that she’s currently bound,” I replied.

Looking at the bound mare and me. “Yeah that's fair, I suppose,” Orange says, walking over to a window to observe the streets, “Also don’t expect the raider to be cooperative.”

Rolling my eyes I Turned my attention back toward the unconscious mare. I proceeded to prop the mare up leaning against the wall, closing my eyes, and feeling my horn light up, I began to prepare a spell that would undo the sleep spell that I placed into her. Carefully guiding the magic to my horn, because undoing the sleep spell before it wears off requires extreme concentration as a single mistake will cost the mare her life.

Satisfied, I lowered my head, ensuring that my horn had touched her forehead, slowly releasing the spell, and guiding the magic, which had now engulfed the mare. Feeling that the spell had left, I stepped back, my eyes gazing intensely, and I waited with bated breath, hoping that the spell worked, hoping that I didn’t miscast the spell.

I let out a huge sigh of relief once I saw the mare stirring awake, popping her eyes open, and seeing me in her vision. I noticed that her eyes are slightly less bloodshot than they were previously, She smiled widely and spoke, “Hehe so the bug has taken me into her lair.”

Groaning, I said, “I now immediately regret waking you up.” To which I heard Orange, still observing the street say, “I told you.”

Ignoring that comment, I addressed the raider mare “First of all, we're in an office building, specifically on the second floor.” I paused, then continued, “And don’t even think about doing anything, you are currently bound, so it's in your best interest to answer my questions.”

I heard the bound mare snort as her wide smile faded, “Yeah right.”

“Now before we get started my name is Aurelia Zagria, Aurelia is fine.” I introduced myself and, then asked “And what is your name?”

“Now why the fuck would you care?” She asked, looking sharply at me.

Taking a deep breath, “Well, I don’t want to keep referring to you as ‘The Mare, or ‘The Raider Mare’ all the time.” I answered.

The mare was silent for a moment looking down and then back up at me, she opened her mouth and said, “Cherry… Cherry Splinter.”

I nodded, “So Cherry, I have to ask what Scarlet wants here?” I asked, knowing full well that Cherry will not answer truthfully.

“Territory, she wants territory and an X-39 plasma rifle that is rumored to be around here somewhere, and she’ll fuck you up once she finds out about this,” Cherry says, looking intensely at me.

That piece of info had me confused, territory, is understandable, but the X-39? As far as I’m aware no such weapon exists here in Olenia, now at the territory of the three hives further east is a different matter entirely, as before the Megaspells hit Queen Tercia had the only one manufactured. Even then it’d be hard to find as only changelings linked to her would know of its locations.

“And why would Scarlet want that plasma rifle?” I asked and in the corner of my vision, I noticed Orange now staring at Cherry.

“Are you fucking deaf” Cherry growled out, “Didn’t I tell you that she wants it so that the gang can rule Vanhoover from all the way here unopposed, she needs to find that gun, and you fuckers can’t stop her.”

I plainly stated, “You know, even if she were to find it out in the east from here, she wouldn’t be able to use it, you wanna know why?” Pausing, now grabbing the attention of the two ponies in the room, “That plasma rifle is hard coded to Queen Tercia’s magic and will require multiple unicorns experienced in dealing with changeling magic to undo the hardcoding.”

Cherry’s eyes widen, “So your fucking telling me that we came all the way here, for fucking NOTHING!” By this point, Cherry had screamed out the last word.

Orange and I looked at each other worriedly, when Orange interjected “I wouldn’t be surprised if none of you can as Aurelia put it, undo the hardcoded, hell I didn’t even know what a changeling was before you bastards chased my group here.”

“Oh yeah how are they by the way?” Cherry asked with the intent to rile Orange up.

And as soon as she asked that I detected rising anger and rapid breathing from Orange, and I heard her say “Fuck. You.” By this point, I stepped in between the two before things escalated into an altercation involving Orange beating the still-bound Cherry.

“Orange, calm down, she was trying to rile you up on purpose,” I said in an attempt to calm Orange down, which worked as Orange’s rapid breathing slowed down and her anger began to subside. Turning towards Cherry, giving her a stern look, “And you, consider this your last and only warning. Do something like this again and you’ll wish that I killed you at that house.”

At first, she didn’t say anything. Until I narrowed my eyes at her, in which she flinched back and said, “Alright, Alright, jeez I won’t do it again.”

“Good,” I said, letting the threat hang in the air. I saw Orange sitting by the window, with a downcast expression, I sat down by her on my haunches.

“They were my best friends, you know.” She said, tears threatening to spill out.

I wrapped my hooves around her, and in a soft voice I said, “Shhh, it's ok, just let it all out.” It was the only encouragement needed for the dams to break, as she leaned into me and cried on my uniform.

We must’ve sat there for a long time as Orange, still leaning on me, had calmed down. I could even hear faint snores from Cherry.

“Better?” I asked, staring at Orange hoping that I at least provided some form of comfort, I felt some head movement indicating a nod.

We separated, Orange looked at me with gratitude, “Thanks, I needed that.”

I smiled, “No problem.” I admit, I took one bite of the sad emotions, but I stopped after half a bite, as it tasted sour and it would be mean-spirited of me to take advantage of a creature’s moment of vulnerability, much less one, I considered a friend.

I stood up and began to walk back towards Cherry when I heard Orange ask, “So, what will we do to Cherry?”

Turning to face her, “Well, she’s seen me in my true form, so we can’t leave her here. Our only options are to kill her, take her with us, or wipe her memories, the last option requires me to use practically all of my reserves.” I paused to take a breath, I continued, “So this leaves us with two options. Either we kill her or take her with us, either way the choice is yours.”

Orange sat down, placing a hoof under her chin thinking for a moment before responding “We’ll take her.”

Raising an eyebrow “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Orange said, seemingly convinced that she’d made the right decision, “And besides, she may not want to admit it, but she’s got nowhere else to go, she can’t go back to her gang as in Scarlet’s eyes Cherry had essentially abandoned her gang, and will have no hesitation on killing her.”

I nodded, convinced by Orange’s decision. I turned around and walked back towards Cherry to inform her about our new decision.

I reached Cherry’s sleeping form, and shook her awake, “Hey Cherry, you're coming with us.” I said, she’s now wide awake.

“And why the fuck would I come with you?” She asks, glaring at me.

“Well, first I am the only one here that can remove the bindings, and you also know what I look like, which normally I wouldn’t mind, but times have changed and I need to adapt, or I can kill you,” I said, before elaborating further. “To add to that, you have nowhere else to go, and judging by what little info I have on Scarlet, you’ll be killed or worse. I’m giving you an option here.”

Letting my words hang in the air for a moment, I saw Cherry look down at the floor with a scowl on her face, then she looks back to me, “Damnit, your right, Scarlet will have me flogged, raped, then killed just to make an example out of me, hell I’ve seen the bitch do worse for something minor.” The mare sighed, “You know what, fuck it, I’ll join, it's not like I have anything to lose by leaving the gang… so, uh can you remove whatever the hell these black are?”

I smiled, “Glad to have you with us.” I said as I began to remove the wax that bound the mare. After I removed the wax, Cherry got up, did some stretches, and levitated a couple of items, then dropped them off the ground. By this point, Orange had walked over to us.

Orange held a hoof towards Cherry and introduced herself. “Hey, names Orange Bright, but you can call me Orange.” Smiling, she continued, “And I hope we can at least be on good terms with each other.”

Cherry hesitates for a bit, and shook Orange’s hoof, “You already heard my name, but my name is Cherry Splinter or just Cherry.” Cherry, having reintroduced herself, continued. “And as for what I said earlier, no hard feelings right?”

Sighing Orange replied, “No hard feelings.” And she looked towards me and asked, “So what are we gonna do now?”

“Well, first I am taking on a disguise,” I said, before feeling the familiar green flames engulf me, as I take the form of a unicorn with an olive green coat, navy blue mane, and tail.

Both Orange and Cherry stared wide-eyed at me, both sporting a mixture of shock and awe, I looked at them bewildered before realizing that this is their first time seeing a changeling transformation.

Coughing to get their attention, “From now on call me Starry Skies.” I said, which shook them out of their stupor.

“Whoa.” Cherry began, but couldn’t find any words to say.

“By the goddesses, Aurel-“ Orange began, “Starry.” I corrected, “-Starry, I thought you were bullshiting about the shapeshifting part.”

I nodded, then stated, “I wasn’t, and I’d appreciate it if the two of you from now on refer to me as Starry Skies. Only refer to me as Aurelia when it's just us three, of course, this very moment being an exception.”

The two mares nodded at my words before Orange spoke up, “Well, I believe it’s safe to go outside now, as I didn’t see any patrols.”

“Be that as it may, we should still be vigilant.” I said, before turning to Cherry, “And before I forget, here’s your machete back.” Levitating the machete to her, which she graciously accepted, before adding “And don’t I’ve forgotten about you referring to me as a ‘bug’ in a derogatory manner.”

Cherry chuckled sheepishly scratching the back of her head with her left hoof.

“Well, let's go,” I said, levitating my RK-30 rifle beside me, and walked towards the emergency exit, with the two mares following shortly thereafter.

Author's Note

Chapter 2 is out, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3: Vaverfront Part 2

The walk outside was a quiet but tense affair as we walked down the emergency exit of the office building and onto the remains of Vaverfront. The streets are eerily silent as opposed to a couple of hours before when Scarlet’s gang chased us into Vaverfront. After a quick scan of the area, I signaled for Cherry and Orange to exit, waiting as I kept a vigilant lookout of the street.

Orange walked out with her mouth on the firing attached to the battle saddle soon after Cherry walked out still levitating her machete. “Stay sharp. Just because they’re not around doesn't mean they’re gone.” The two mares simply nodded at my words.

We trudged down the decayed streets of Vaverfront, cutting through alleyways whenever possible attempting to avoid any patrols, if there were any. We stopped inside a convenience store with broken windows to rest and hopefully scavenge any leftover supplies. I elected to search the counter whereas the other two searched the shelves.

Searching the register netted me two Olenian Bits which have the image of Queen Cristera on the front and on the back it has the image of a rose imprinted on the coin. Taking them into my saddle bags even if they’re useless as a currency in the world today I’m sure I can still find some other uses for the gold coins.

Crouching down I looked underneath the counter and found one can of soup. As I was placing the soup can into my bag then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a folded-up newspaper that was still in relatively good condition. Grabbing the newspaper and unfolding it to the front page the text was a bit faded but still recognizable, it read.

Vaverfront Chronicle

Massacre At Littlehorn!

Princess Celestia Abdicates!

Yesterday at approximately 1:30 pm a zebra talisman was activated inside Luna’s School for Gifted Unicorns which unleashed a pink cloud upon Littlehorn Valley that killed anything which came into contact with the pink cloud. No survivors have been reported thus far. Is this a sign of great escalation by the Zebrican Empire?

In a statement this morning Princess Celestia was quoted saying “I express great anguish at the loss of the staff and foals that were at the academy.” In that same statement she announced her abdication with the quote “My Little Ponies, it is with great regret that I announce my abdication and leave my little sister Luna in charge.” With Celestia’s abdication, the future of Equestria is uncertain, but one thing is certain the Great War will reach new heights.

5/15/1029
Mikkari Daarpala

The rest of the article gets more and more unrecognizable after the front page. Reading through the front page I remember the Littlehorn Massacre, it was all anycreature talked about for months. What came as a shock to me and many others was the news of Celestia’s abdication. I found it hard to believe that Celestia would abdicate especially since she led the fight against the Changeling Queendom or as it’s more commonly referred to as the Changeling Lands.

Folding the newspaper back into its original place, I then found a medkit attached to the counter, opening it I got a hold of; one bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol, ointment, and lastly a roll of magical bandages.
I placed them into my bags when I suddenly hear outside.

Peeking up over the counter I saw three stallions outside the store, two earth ponies and one unicorn, all wearing leather and metal barding, with disheveled manes underneath their metal helmets, and they all had pipe rifles. Looking over to the other side I saw Orange using the shelves for cover, but Cherry was nowhere to be seen. I hear one of the stallions speak. “Man you bastards have been a real nuisance, but it’ll all be worth it when Scarlet creams your ass hehe.”

I fell onto the floor and crawled toward Orange, I was sure that the three would’ve spotted but I guess they were all focused on Orange. Reaching Orange who was standing upright and holding her pipe rifle in her hooves. She looked toward me with worry evident on her face. “How the hell did they find us?”

Peeking out, then looking back towards her. “Damnit, I was so sure that we were in the clear.” Levitating my rifle towards me. I detached the mag and saw twenty-four with one in the chamber. Attaching the mag back to the rifle. “Ok, and where did Cherry go?”

“No idea,” was the response I got.

“Ok Orange you take the left I take the right. On the count of three, we strike.” I said taking my position on the right side of the shelf while Orange did the same. Once in position, we looked at each other and nodded then I counted us off.

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three… Now!”

I jumped out, surprising the three, and opened fire. Firing a total of ten bullets killing the stallion on the left, while Orange unloaded on the stallion on the right, the unicorn in the middle panicking called out. “Shit, I need backu-” Before he could finish, Cherry jumped down from out of nowhere, jabbing a machete through his skull. Orange smiled upon seeing Cherry.

“By the goddesses. Cherry, I thought you bailed on us!.” Orange exclaimed.

Cherry gave out a freakish smile “I would never bail on my friends, and before you say, no Scarlet’s gang were never my friends.”

Looking out I spotted more coming. “Uh guys, now’s not the time to celebrate, there's more!” I started, then looked towards Cherry. “Cherry grab a gun and get inside!”

Cherry jumped when a bullet nearly nicked her in the flank, now noticing more coming she sheathed her machete, levitated a gun alongside and grabbed any ammunition off of the bodies, and galloped inside. We took cover behind a shelf as a hailstorm of bullets came upon us.

At this point, I counted twelve more incoming, when I pointed out the number Orange had despaired while Cherry had a wide smile and commented. “I like the odds.”

I levitated my gun out and fired blindly, stopping once I heard the clicking noise. Bringing it back and levitating out a fresh mag. I hit something as I heard a shout of pain and a body hitting the floor. Orange meanwhile fired back through the hole she had carved out on the shelf, while Cherry sporting a wide deranged smile stuck her head out, her pipe rifle floating just above her, firing while cackling madly.

But it was all in vain as every time we downed or killed one of them another one would come out. I had used up three mags for my rifle and two for my pistol, they were gaining ground albeit at a slow pace. Eventually one did reach us but they were quickly taken down by Cherry using her machete.

Things had gone from bad to worse as a wagon being pulled by two stallions turned up and stopped over a sewer grate. The wagon itself had a pony skull and a red zigzag going through it, which Cherry quickly explained that it's Scarlet’s insignia for her gang. I despaired when I spotted a mare opening a hatch on the wagon’s roof and began shooting at us with a light machine.

The three of us were ducking down as we were under the constant barrage of bullets. “We need to get the hell out of here!” Orange yelled over the sound of the machine gun.

“How? We're trapped in here!” I yelled back while I blind-fired five more shots in a vain attempt to silence the machine gun, but to no avail as the machine continued firing. Just then we heard a roar outside, loud enough to echo throughout the city.

At that point, the shooting had stopped and the three of us peeked out and watched as something was banging out of the sewer grate. All eyes were drawn toward the sewer grate, watching in anticipation. When suddenly a giant reptilian-like creature jumped out launching the wagon alongside its occupants in the air. The wagon crashed on the ground, splattering its drivers and the mare. It was at that moment that all hell broke loose.

Orange and Cherry looked on with fear, while I looked at it in surprise. All of the remaining raiders began firing at the reptile creature, while Orange turned to me and said “That’s a Deathclaw! We need to get the fuck out of here while it's distracted or we’re fucked!” As if to prove her point a mangled corpse of a stallion hit our shelf.

Taking that as our cue to leave we booked it out of the convenience store passing by any raider who was more focused on taking out the Deathclaw. Hearing the combined roars and gunshots grow distant as we neared the outskirts of Vaverfront and grew silent as we entered the forest.

We had been running for three hours, and by the time we had stopped to take a breather, I took the opportunity to sit down and rest. Orange, who was panting heavily, leaned down against a dead tree and plopped herself onto the floor, looking into the gray cloudy skies. Resting for a moment, she commented. “I changed my mind, this was the second longest run I’ve ever had.”

“Are you kidding? That was amazing! Except for the Deathclaw arriving, that wasn’t amazing.” Cherry interjected with a wide smile and a sparkle into her noticeably less bloodshot eyes. While Orange looked at her bewildered. While Cherry continued “The rush. The excitement. The thrill.”

“Cherry.” Orange began.

“Yes?” Cherry looked toward the mare.

“You’re a battle junkie.” Orange deadpanned.

Cherry fell on the floor laughing, before wiping away a tear. “Oh, so you finally noticed, although the jet certainly didn’t help.”

I joined the conversation by adding. “So that explains the smile you gave me when we first met, and the smile you were giving towards the raiders”

“Yup.” Was the response I received. Opening my saddle bag and fished out a Sunrise Sarsaparilla and taking a sip. Before I heard Orange speak up “So Aurelia where do we go from here?”

“Well now we just continue heading east towards Seaddle, a much smaller city than Vaverfront, akin to a town, and from there we can either continue north towards Tercia’s territory or go south into Vanhoover,” I said.

“Seaddle? Yeah, we passed by it before going to Vaverfront.” Cherry added.

I began to wonder if the other had better luck with scavenging the convenience store, I asked. “What did you guys get while I was searching behind the counter? I found some much-needed medical supplies under the counter.”

Orange looked at me before saying “Oh, I hadn’t had any luck, I found two cans of peaches and two bottles of, uhhhhh, Pilven-Alto? I butchered that.”

“Pilvinen Aalto?”

“Yes, that,” Orange confirmed.

Giggling, I explained “Ah, well Pilvinen Aalto or Cloudy Wave is a popular Olenian soda that consists of strawberries and mangoes mixed to produce a taste of sunshine in every sip, with the juicy sweetness of mangoes and the summery goodness of fresh strawberries. Some deer who drank it joked about it being a ‘tropical vacation in a bottle’ Overall I recommend it. Although it didn’t sell internationally due to its competitors being Sunrise Sarsaparilla and Sparkle-Cola, so it became more of a local thing.”

As soon as I said that, Orange popped open the cap and took a big swig. Orange perked up and her eyes widened after she lowered the bottle, “Hey this stuff is really good!”

I looked toward Cherry who was laying on her side, “And what about you, what’d you find?” I asked.

“Yeah it’s the same with Orange I didn’t find much, the entire place was already looted, except for two more cans of soup and that Pelven stuff you mentioned, guess the scavengers that came weren’t Olenian, cause I took five bottles of that stuff,” Cherry says digging through her saddlebags pulling out a bottle of Pilvinen Aalto and hoofed it to me. “Here you can have this, I got four more.”

“Thanks,” I said, placing the bottle inside my saddlebags. “Anyway, I think we should get a move on while it's light out.”

Orange got up after placing the now empty bottle of Pilvinen Aalto inside her saddlebags. “Yeah we should, wouldn’t wanna get caught up outside in the dark, especially with goddess knows what prowling in the night.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Cherry said as she got up.

Since we agree we packed our things and continued the journey eastward towards Seaddle.

Author's Note

Chapter 3 is out hope you enjoy it as much as I did when writing it.

And yes Aurelia is Finnish(Olenian in this case.)

Edit: The part with the Deathclaw was inspired by the Deathclaw that jumped out of a sewer grate after you rescue Preston Garvey and the Minutemen in Fallout 4.

Chapter 4: On The Trail

We had decided to trek through the dead forest and even walk across a stone bridge as we passed a river, instead of taking the asphalt roads and walking alongside the coast to reach Seaddle for fear of encountering any more of Scarlet’s gang. Even so, the Olenian forests present other dangers such as hungry wolf packs prowling the forests for unsuspecting travelers. This shouldn’t be a problem as long as we follow the forest trails or whatever trails that survived we should be a-okay. The further east we went, the more greenery dotted the landscape, even passing the occasional bush.

It was also around the same time that I began pondering about getting armor because what I am wearing is inadequate as what I am wearing right now, which is nothing more than cloth, will not keep me protected, and since I’m taking on a unicorn shape, my chitin is unavailable, and as tough as it is, will not protect me from bullets. I look toward Orange and towards Cherry, especially at the armor they’re wearing, leather with bits of metal placed between any vital areas. Crude but it gets the job done.

My pondering was cut short when we heard howling. Immediately all three of us halted, weapons out. Waiting for whatever made that howl jump out. We didn’t have to wait long as five large hairless wolves soon appeared and began to circle us baring their teeth out,

“It’s a susilauma, a wolf pack, quick form a triangle!” I yelled out.

We formed a triangle ensuring that our flank is covered. Even if these wolves are different from what I remember two hundred years ago, dealing with them should be the same. In this instance, we are surrounded by a wolfpack. Orange looked at me and back at the wolves, her eyes darting widely as she kept her mouth on the firing bit, while Cherry just looked ahead with a smile adorned on her face levitating her machete close by.

One of the wolves charged at Cherry, but was swiped away with one machete swing, which the wolf landed hard on the ground. It got up with a slight limp and went back to circling us. “Hehe, if this keeps up, we’ll be having dog for dinner,”

Looking around I spotted a sixth much bigger wolf watching us, observing sitting on top of a fallen branch. “If we kill the pack leader the rest should go away,” I said, pointing a foreleg at the sixth wolf. Levitating my rifle I proceeded to aim at the pack leader, and I pulled the trigger. At the same moment that I fired, I felt immense pain and weight on my left foreleg.

Looking down a wolf had managed to get the jump on me when I was focused on the pack leader. Orange looked on with horror as she unloaded on the wolf killing it instantly, I could feel blood oozing down my foreleg, rolling up the now blood-stained olive green sleeve and coat, and saw the big bite marks.

“Aww, the doggies are going away,” Cherry said with disappointment. That was the only confirmation I received that I was successful in killing the pack leader. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness at the amount of blood loss I’m experiencing.

“Cherry! Now is not the- Holy shit, Aurelia.” That was the last thing I heard when I fell and passed out.

I woke up after an undetermined amount of time and hearing the splattering of rain outside. Looking up and seeing a rocky ceiling which allowed me to deduce that I am inside a cave, looking around my rocky surroundings I spotted Cherry standing guard at what looked to be the cave entrance, I even spotted our saddlebags propped up against the rocky cave wall.

Then it hit me like a brick thrown towards me at full force, I nearly died, I should’ve paid more attention to my surroundings, but because I didn’t I nearly paid for it. I was fortunately lucky that the wolf didn’t snap a bone or worse.

My musing was interrupted when I heard movement to my side. I looked over and saw Orange walk towards me, with a relieved expression on her face. “I’m so glad that you're okay!” Orange says before glomping on me. I embraced her back as I sipped on the affection she was giving me, which slightly filled up my love reserves.

We were stuck in the embrace for a moment before Orange let go of the hug and sat down on her haunches. “How long was I out?” I asked.

“You were out for three and half hours.” The mare lifted my left foreleg, which was now bandaged, “We had to use your bandages.”

I nodded weakly, “I see.” Hearing the rain fall outside, “Guess we're gonna be stuck in here for a while.”

“Yeah, we got lucky that we found this cave before it started raining.” Then Orange scooted closer “So, are you gonna continue that story?” Orange asked with stars in her eye.

Chuckling, I responded. “Sure, now where did I leave off? Oh yeah, so I met that fawn…”

“Auli Dirsvir, hey that's a great name,” I said, enthusiastic at the prospect of meeting a new friend, Auli just looked sheepishly at me, but my inquisitive brain couldn’t resist but ask “But what are you doing here?”

Auli shyly stared at me “Oh um, my father works in the local guard, and I came here to see him, but I’m lost.” Tears threatened to spill out, and so I smiled intending to calm her, but it had the unintended side effect of showing all of my sharp teeth, which undoubtedly freaked her out and caused her to hide underneath the cafeteria bench.

“EEEEP! Please don’t eat me, your highness!”

Panicking, I tried to reassure her “Um, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, and I won’t eat you!”

“Promise?”

I held out a hoof “I Promise.”

Having calmed down, Auli went out of hiding, and walked toward me, hesitating for a moment before shaking my hoof.

“Now let's go search for your father,” I said when I felt my cheeks heat up as my stomach growled. “After we eat lunch.”

“Whoa, hehe, you went from haha, scaring a kid to hehe having lunch.” Orange was rolling on the ground laughing as she spoke, interrupting my story.

“Look, it was an accident!” I said, raising my forehooves into the air. “Anyway, after we ate lunch, I informed the maids who accompanied me previously. We entered back into the hallway…”

I had dragged Auli into one of the many black hallways of the Hive Spire illuminated only by fluorescent green lights. Passing by soldiers and maids alike, we reached a set of double doors guarded by two changelings wearing their dark gray uniforms, M35 Steel Helmets adorned on their heads, and MP-10s by their side.

They saluted me as I approached, “Hi, does this lead to the training grounds?”

The soldier on the left nodded. “Yes Princess, though what business do you have in the training ground?”

Looking behind me spotting Auli cowering underneath my tail, “Well, um, my deer friend here got lost looking for her father, is he here?”

Noticing the cowering fawn both soldiers nodded. “Yes, he’s here just through the double door.”

“And that's where I’m ending it for now.” Grinning widely at Orange’s scowl as she crossed her forehooves together.

“This is the second time you’ve blue-balled me, Aurelia,” Orange said, as she shot me a dirty look. “Is this retribution for laughing at your misfortune?”

Flashing Orange a predatory grin. “Maybe.” And refusing to elaborate after that.

“I think it's hilarious that Orange is deeply invested in this,” Cherry interjected with a chuckle, to which Orange flashed her a dirty look causing Cherry to laugh even more. “Haha, by the way, while both of you were talking, I brought our saddlebags with us.”

Floating over my saddlebags and fished out a bottle of Pilvinen Aalto, uncapped the bottle, and smiled as the refreshing sweetness of the mango and strawberry reminded me of a cool sunshine on a summer day. Drinking the bottle empty and returning the now empty bottle to my saddlebag.

“Looks like the rain has cleared out, we should be good to move out,” Cherry said after she looked outside. “Although the trek to Seaddle will be a little muddy.”

Orange looked at me with worry, “Aurelia, are you sure you can still walk?”

Getting up wincing in pain as I did so. “I think so, I’ll just have to limp on through, as long I don’t put any pressure onto my left foreleg, then I should be fine.” Orange nodded at my words although she still glanced my way with worry.

We got up and packed everything, and set out back into the Olenian forest. Walking eastwards hopefully towards the direction of Seaddle.

Limping through a forest, even if there are few shrubbery and greenery is tough, the muddy dirt certainly didn’t help, at one point Orange and Cherry had to help trudge through some of the terrain. Still after hours of walking we happened across a village surrounded by wooden palisades with wooden watchtowers at each corner. At the front entrance, there is a sign.

“This isn’t Seaddle.” Orange Said perplexed, she then noticed the sign, “Welcome to Smalstad, Aur-Starry know anything about this?”

“Ah Smalstad, a quaint little village, although last I checked it didn’t have any walls,” I said. “This could be a sign of civilization. Hopefully, they won’t shoot us.”

Chuckled Cherry said. “Heh, if they shoot at us, well let's just say that they’ll get a machete shoved up their ass.”

We got closer to the village a figure on the watchtower overlooking the front gate spotted our approach at which point the figure then waved to us. “Tervetuloa Smalstadin Matkailijoille!” I waved back and as we reached the front gate, it opened and a deer wearing a thick hide barding and a brown round fur cap, with a bow and quiver of arrows by his side.

The stag smiled. “Tervetuloa.” the deer said and beckoned us inside. He proceeded to escort us through the village full of life. I could see fawns playing in the streets, while various other deer tended to their duties, and talked animatedly with each other, all with smiles on their faces. Some even waved at us, as we passed by, and Orange enthusiastically waved back at those that did.. All of this brought a smile to my face.

The buildings that dotted the village were all thatched-roofed cottages built in 1017, a year after the Changeling War so they are relatively new.

“Umm, So where is he taking us?” Cherry asked.

Our escort’s ears perked up, “Ah, forgive me, but Equish, not good, take you to chief yes.” To which Cherry just nodded.

The walk to the chief’s hut was short, passing by a busy open marketplace. Once we reached the chief’s hut which was a longhouse with a thatched roof, our escort beckoned us to stay as he opened the door and went inside.

I turned to both Orange and Cherry, “This building built a long time ago during the Olenian Viking Age, was the only building in Smalstad that survived the UPA bombing campaigns.” Orange marveled at the piece of trivia, while Cherry just seemed indifferent.

We didn’t have to wait long as he walked back out. “Chief says come, I wait here.” With that said the three of us entered. Once inside we came upon a giant central hall, with a large, central hearth in the middle that is lit up emitting warmth and light. The walls are adorned with animal pelts and various weapons which range from axes to even shields, benches and long tables lined up on the sides of the hall. At the far end of the hall, a dais, and upon that dais lay a throne where sat an old stag with a medium-length beard wearing, a fur coat adorned with an ornate buckle where an axe lay attached to it, and adorned on his head is a conical flat top helmet with chainmail running down alongside is his neck. And on his helmet, there are intricate designs that depict some kind of past events.

The stag stands up with a smile on his face, “Tervetuloa or welcome as you say in Equish.”

Author's Note

Chapter 4 is out, hope you enjoy it.

I was inspired by the lore of Olenia in Equestria at War, to create a Viking-like settlement in the post-apocalypse.

Anyway, let me know what you think of this story so far. Is it good? Is it bad? please let me know, any feedback will help me tremendously. So feel free to comment or don't it's entirely up to you.

Chapter 5: A Blast From The Past

The stag stands up with a smile on his face, “Tervetuloa or welcome as you say in Equish.” At his words, I bowed, followed along by Orange and Cherry even if the latter was somewhat reluctant to do so.

The stag smiled. “Come now. There's no need to bow. All who enter this great hall in peace are treated as friends.” The three of us got up.

He walks down from his throne to meet us. “I am Chief Eero Jarvinen,” Eero says, noticing a similarly dressed doe walking in from the left. “Ah and this is my wife Maija Jarvinen.” The chief says gesturing a hoof towards the doe as she makes her way over.

I nodded. “My name is Starry Skies, and these two.” I gestured toward Orange and Cherry. “Are, Orange Bright and Cherry Splinter.” The two mares simply nodded and said their hello’s.

Chief Eero smiled. “Ah, the pleasure is mine.” Maija with a small frown interjects. “Oh, we have visitors. Not many come these days I’m afraid.”

Orange’s ears drooped. “Aww how come?”

Eero’s smile turned into a frown. “I think it's better if we discuss this somewhere comfortable.” The stag begins walking to his left, stopping for a moment before gesturing with a hoof. “Come follow me.” We then begin to follow him.

———————————————————————————————------------------------------------------------

We walked through a couple of corridors and passing by some guards we entered a room with a table in the middle of the room and a map of the local area on top. The map itself was dotted with blue and red figures.

The Chief motioned for everycreature to take positions around the table with his wife taking place by his side. Once in position Chief Eero began addressing the gathered individuals. “I’ll be blunt here, we’re not doing so well. It may not seem like it, but our food supply is dwindling, made worse by a war that’s been waged upon us.”

If Smalstad is under attack then it is my duty as a Queen of Olenia to come to the aid of these deer as they are, in my eyes at least, still subjects of the Olenian Hives. I know that Queen Cristera will be disappointed in me if I don’t step in and help.

With a stern expression, I gazed towards Eero who slightly flinched at the intensity of my gaze. “If I may ask who is attacking Smalstad?” I asked.

Eero after regaining his composure and pointed towards the red marks which were all located east. “The attacks started three months ago. At first only our hunting parties were attacked, then it moved onto trade caravans.” His expression darkened as he continued. “At first we didn’t know what hit us until one of our surviving hunting party returned with talks of black figures that can transform. It was then, and only then I knew what we were dealing with. vaihdokas or changeling.”

My eyes widened, but I quickly managed to calm myself down. I immediately recognized what enemy he was referring to.

His wife then interjected. “Yes, after they returned we knew our enemy and what we were up against. As our ancestors have fought against them before albeit failed. It was thanks to this failure we have learned measures on how to counteract the Vaihdokas shapeshifting, and.” Her antlers lit up. Her eyes gazed upon Cherry, then Orange, and finally, her gaze fell upon me. “And you are a vaihdokas.”

In hindsight, I should’ve remembered that thanks to Cristera the deer in cooperation with our changelings worked to develop ways to detect and even dispel changeling disguises. Although the latter never made it past development. Before the doe could even cast any spells I got up. Feeling the familiar warmth of green flames envelop me as I undid my disguise. I looked around the room as my original form now easily towered over everycreature gathered.

I watched as both the chief and his wife recoiled in shock as my true self was revealed right before them. Before Maija could cast anything Eero held out a hoof in front of her stopping her completely. “Wait, I knew that uniform was familiar. Where did you get it? This answer shall determine your fate, vaihdokas”

I stared at him in the eyes. “My real name is Queen Aurelia Zagria of the Everglade Hive.” Upon hearing my name both Eero’s and Maija’s eyes widened, but I continued. “And this uniform is the standard issue Olenian Hive officer uniform, which I now wear with pride.”

“You're one of the nine Queens of Legend that the ancestors spoke highly of,” Eero said. “It is said that the nine queens stepped together and banished the great evil one to the eastern frostlands. It is such an honor to be standing in your presence.” To which Eero and his wife began to bow and prostrate themselves to me.

“Umm. What?” My brain having been shut down at the event that has unfolded here. I could hear faint giggling coming out of Cherry’s muzzle. Struggling to find the words to say “Um, um, please there's no need to uh, prostrate yourselves to me. So please get up.”

Both Eero and his wife got up and looked up at me. With a pleading look, the Chief asked. “Please o’ Queen of Legend will you please grant us your assistance against the vaihdokas of the east?”

Sitting back down to my haunches, and with determination, I spoke. “Even if Queen Cristera is currently not available, it befalls upon me as the currently available queen to ensure the safety of those under the territory of the Olenian Hives,” I said, seeing the immediate looks of relief, smiles forming on their faces. “But, I am going to reform my disguise if I am to assist you.” Their smiles fell flat as I felt green flames engulf me, and I am once again taking the form of Starry Skies

“I… I see, although it is disappointing that you won't be gracing us with your true form, I suppose the knowledge that you have agreed to help is enough.” Eero said. “And good timing as a couple of hours ago, our scouts spotted an army of vaihdokas approaching from the north, and would be here anytime now.”

By this point, Maija had left, but not before giving her husband a peck on the cheek, saying something about going outside to ready the warriors to defend.

Looking back at the map and back toward the chief. “And what color are these changeling’s carapace?”

Eero while still moving the blue and red figures around various positions, said. ”From the bodies recovered by my warriors from our previous skirmishes, they have gray carapaces.”

Judging from the answer I deduced that the changelings attacking Smalstad aren’t remnants of Queen Tercia as her colors are violet, which means that a new queen has arisen or these changelings are nothing more than a band of queenless drones.

“Um, is it ok if I speak up?” My ears perked up, turning around I spotted Orange who up to this point had been silent, while behind her Cherry is looking over her gun excited at the prospect of an upcoming battle. Turning my focus back to Orange. “Sure, you’ve been silent this entire time, Do you have anything to add?”

“Ah yes, I can’t help but look over the map, there’s a river to the east and an open field in the north and dense forest in the west. ”Orange said, pointing at the various locations mentioned, “And since they are striking from the north then we can use the forests to ambush any oncoming changelings..”

Eero shot down Orange’s ideas. “Both ideas are good, however, there is one major flaw, the vaihdokas can fly over the forest and spot our warriors hiding amongst the trees, not to mention bypass any of our ambushers” Orange’s ears deflated at Eero pointing out the one major flaw in her ideas.

“I see.” Orange looked downcast.

Eero smiled. “Fret not young mare, for we have a counter, you see we can use magic and they can’t use any magic whatsoever. Which is odd but I’m not complaining, so yes we can magic traps inside the forest but we won’t deploy any warriors.” Orange to her credit did brighten up a bit

There’s one thing that caught my attention: if these rogue changelings can’t use any magic then they must be love-starved or rather emotionally starved, and emotionally starved changelings will go to any lengths to obtain love or any other emotions that are available.

“If these gray changelings can’t use magic, then they are emotionally starved so expect a fierce fight ahead of us.” I said, “They will do anything to drain even an ounce of love, even at the point of self-sacrifice.”

Eero had an understanding look. “So that explains their ferociousness in battle and blatant disregard for life.”

“Aw hell yeah, that just makes it more fun!” Cherry piped up.

Eero looked disturbed for a moment at Cherry’s comment. “Is your friend okay? Cause it seems like she’s very excited about this.”

Orange just chuckled. “Hehe, yeah ‘very excited’ is an understatement.”

I stood up, “excuse our companion for a moment, but It was nice talking to you, Chief Eero, but we need to get ready for the battle ahead. Ensi Kertaan Chief Eero.”

Eero bowed for a moment and stood back up. “Samoin to you Great Queen.” With that said, we left the room.

———————————————————————————————------------------------------------------------

After we had said our goodbyes. Orange, Cherry, and I made our way back outside of the longhouse where that same stag who had previously escorted us perked up at seeing us walk out the door.

“Talk with chief good?” The stag said.

I nodded, “Yes the talk with Chief Eero went spectacularly well. Say, have there been any attacks lately?”

The stag’s expression fell into a frown. “Ah yes, village not doing good. Not worry, yes, Chief and Chieftess has plan.”

“Well, that’s what the meeting was about, so we’re staying to help defend this lovely village.” Orange said, “There aren’t many settlements in the wasteland like this.”

Cherry piped in. “I’d agree as well this is perhaps the most unique settlement that I’ve, heh, ever visited.”

Orange rolled her eyes at the ex-raider's reference to her past, while I smiled at the high opinions of two wasteland-experienced ponies especially since I have no other reference points that I can use to compare Smalstad to.

“Ah, good, more hooves, better defend.” The stag said. “Come follow to, wall north, where enemy come.”

We followed the stag all the way toward the northern palisade, where we spotted a gatehouse flanked by two watchtowers overlooking the surrounding landscape. Climbing up the left tower provided us with a good view of the landscape, up ahead there was an open field with faint traces of snow, and to our left is a dense forest that had recovered its greenery, on our right is the start of the Metsajoki, and in the far distance I could spot black and gray figures in the distance slowly flying over to Smalstad. From what I can see they easily numbered somewhere between twenty and thirty.

Orange whistled looking impressed and terrified at the amount of changelings flying over. “Whoa, you think we can take them on?”

“I don’t know about you but I’m worried that I’ll run out of ammo.” Cherry by this point was vibrating with excitement at the amount of changelings we’ll be facing, hay I could even see the sparkle in her eyes and she was grinning like a madmare.

Unslinging my RK-30 and attaching it to my battle saddle watching as both Cherry and Orange did the same with their weapons. “Well, we won’t face them alone as the residents of Smalstad will be with us.”

“Right, we won’t be helpless this time, like that time in Vaverfront,” Orange said. “Furthermore we’ll win this if everyone does their part.”

I just wished I had more time to help Chief Eero out with planning the defense of Smalstad, but the changelings could’ve arrived any minute and I just hope Chief Eero and his wife have something already cooked up.

As the swarm in the distance drew nearer, the tension in the air around Smalstad became palpable. The bustling activity that had greeted them upon their arrival had gradually dwindled until a deafening silence settled over the settlement. Even the gentle flow of the nearby Metsajoki had ceased, leaving only the faint, ominous hum of the approaching swarm to fill the air.

The Battle for Smalstad draws ever so closer.

Author's Note

Hey guys and gals I promise I didn't forget about this story it's just Minecraft and HoI4 took up much of my time(I swear I didn't procrastinate on this).

I would like to give a shoutout to Google Translate for helping me with translations(even if it's not good.) and to Grammarly(The free version) for providing some assistance with punctuation.

You may have noticed that the last two chapters are a bit fast-paced, that's because after forcing myself to write chapters 1 and 2, which is the reason why they have word counts above 2k and influenced my initial decision to merge the prologue and chapter 1, which in hindsight was a stupid decision on my part. I realized that I don't want to force myself to write chapters, so I've just going at my own pace, and yes I realize I could describe scenes better, describe the character's feelings a bit better, and easily reach 5k-10k words, but I didn't do that.

Furthermore, I'm writing this story for fun(And I'm a bit lazy) out of an idea I randomly had while playing EaW(Equestria at War).

Anyways enough of my rant, I would like to thank you the reader for taking the time to read this story.

Original Chapter 6: Conflict Averted (Optional Read)

Author's Note

I had this chapter ready for release yesterday, but my house got flooded after the hot water connector got disconnected from the hot water tank located inside our kitchen. Fortunately, my mom was at home and had shut off the power before things got worse, and thus no permanent damage was incurred. I helped clean up the mess caused.

On another note I experimented with different writing styles here, and personally I didn't like them. So in the end I'll just stick with my usual style in past chapters. Anyways I hoped you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing.

Edit: Finished the rewrite. As I've said this chapter will still be up.

Feel free to skip this chapter and go here

Original Chapter 6: Conflict Averted (Optional Read)

Would you take the chance to peacefully resolve a conflict? Even if the chance of success is small, would you still take it?

I grappled with this exact question: should I abandon my disguise and approach the changelings in an attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution with their leader? Perhaps I could prevent needless bloodshed and spare countless lives. However, there was also the possibility that these changelings were without a queen and were emotionally starved. The right course of action was uncertain, but I knew I had to try.

I turned to the right watchtower and saw four deer standing upright, holding their bows between their hooves. Arrows were already nocked on the bowstrings, ready to face the upcoming swarm. Turning back towards the approaching swarm, I said, “I’m going to try and negotiate.”

“WHAT!” Orange yelled right into my ear, which caused me to recoil a bit. “They might be emotionally starved, you said so yourself, It's dangerous for you to go out alone and meet them.”

After recovering from Orange’s outburst, I faced her and took a deep breath before responding. "I understand the risks involved and yes, they may attack me on sight. However, even if there's only a slim chance to negotiate with their queen or whoever is leading the swarm to come up with terms that benefit both parties, it's worth taking that chance." I paused, seeing the frown that had developed on Orange’s face.

Orange sighed, turning her head toward the swarm which had gotten closer, and turned back. “Listen, Starry, if you’re going to endanger yourself out there then take me and Cherry with you.”

I opened my mouth to retort but quickly shut it after seeing Orange’s look of determination. I looked toward Cherry who looked all the more eager at the prospect of getting closer to a possible fight. I let out a long deep sigh. “I… Okay fine, I’ll take you and Cherry with me.”

With a grin, Orange declared, "I wouldn't want it any other way." She nudged Cherry lightly and added, "Let's get down now, Cherry." To which Cherry just shrugged and began climbing down, followed closely by Orange.

I turned to address the stag. “Listen whatever let Chief Eero or Chieftess Maija know that I’ll be down there to try and negotiate.”

The stag nodded, "Ah, okay, I tell chief and chieftess know, if come." After his response, I descended and reunited with Cherry and Orange.

After we had climbed down from the watchtower and shared my plan to negotiate with the upcoming swarm to the two gate guards, they exchanged apprehensive glances and hesitated for a moment before finally opening the gate to let me, Cherry, and Orange out of the settlement.

As I stepped outside, I shed my disguise, and the green flames embraced me, revealing my true form. Unfurling my wings, I tested them with two experimental flaps, as they hadn't been used since I awakened from my two-century-long slumber. When I felt confident in my flight, I began to flap them in an upward and downward motion. Initially, it was a sluggish start, but I gradually picked up the pace, and soon enough, I lifted myself off the ground.

The familiar buzzing of my wings put a smile on my face, after not hearing them for two centuries. However, I didn't have the luxury to enjoy the thrill of flying as I had a mission to fulfill. Glancing down at Cherry and Orange, who stared at me in awe as I hovered above them. To their eyes, My wings must have been a blur, since they were flapping at such a rapid pace that it was impossible to discern individual movements. I looked back toward the swarm as they had gotten closer since the last time I checked. I estimated that the swarm would reach Smalstad in seven minutes.

Looking back down at Cherry and Orange, I said. “Cherry, Orange, be ready to shoot, I am flying up and.” Both of them nodded as readied their weapons and intently eyed the swarm. I did the same ensuring my RK-30 is securely attached to my battle saddle. I darted toward the swarm. Hoping to meet them halfway, while Cherry and Orange followed me the best they could from the ground.

For four long and tense minutes, I darted toward the swarm. Around two minutes in, the swarm came to a stop, but I continued to fly towards them. By the three-minute mark, a figure appeared at the front of the swarm. This figure towered over the other gray changelings and appeared to be the same height as me, but I couldn't discern whether it was their queen or not. Nevertheless, this new figure began flying towards me. As we got closer, not only could I notice that the figure and the swarm weren't wearing any uniforms or armor, but I fully made out what the new figure looked like; she had a gray carapace, gray mane+tail, and gray eyes. At her side was an MP-30 submachine gun(Sidenote the magazine is on the bottom), and to finish it off she had a black crown behind her jagged horn.

After seeing the crown, it told me all I needed to know. She is a queen and she was coming toward me. I waved my forehooves and called out. “Hey, I came to negotiate! From one queen to another let's talk.”

The Queen waved back and said. “Alright, Let’s talk on the ground.” I nodded and we began descending to the ground. Moments later we touched down on the ground, we sat on our haunches, and began talking.

“So.” I began, addressing the gray queen “Why have you come to attack Smalstad? As one of the queens of Olenia, I cannot stand by and watch your army move and threaten Smalstad.”

She looked downward with a sad look adorned on her face. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t want this but I have no choice, my hive is hungry. We have no more love, and there are no other emotions available that can supplement love, the previous skirmishes from the deer of Smalstad were from hungry drones that have gone rogue… I had no choice but to kill off any remaining drones who were at risk, and afterward, there were only twenty-six left, and you are seeing the remainder right now.”

A frown had formed on my face. “So the attack on Smalstad was an act of desperation,” I said, glancing at her for confirmation, she nodded in response.

“I… I wish there was any other way.” The queen said, looking downward.

“Hey,” I said, catching her attention. “There's a way. First, order your drones to land, and I can act as a mediator between you and Chief Eero. We can negotiate a peace deal that benefits both our sides." Her face lit up with hope at my words.

“You sure they’ll talk?” She says with a tone of uncertainty.

Smiling, I said. “Absolutely. Oh, and the names Queen Aurelia Zagria, but you can call me Aurelia, and yours?”

She smiled, tears threatening to spill out. “Mine is Queen Drumedia Xandralis, but Drumedia is fine.”

After Drumedia ordered her drones to land through her hive mind. Orange, Cherry, and I went back to relay the news to Chief Eero about negotiating with Queen Drumedia. I decided to go back undisguised and promptly ignored any deer that prostrated themselves to me, for I had far more important things on my mind than tell any of the deer to not bow at me.

Anyway, after we had talked and explained the situation to Chief Eero he had agreed to meet with Queen Drumedia. So now we were at the agreed meeting area outside the settlement right next to a flat top rock, which I hadn’t even noticed until Drumedia chose that as the meeting place. The delegation Drumedia was made up of two changelings wearing dark-purple body armor, which Drumedia had said were her advisors and personal guard, so they were situated at the back.

We didn’t have to wait long as Chief Eero came with his wife and two others, presumably advisors or high-ranking council members. We all took our places, Drumedia and her delegation sat on the right, Eero and his delegation sat on the right, and I sat in the middle, while Cherry and Orange as well as Drumedia’s twenty-six changeling swarm sat to the side spectating the negotiations.

“Alright, now that everycreature is here let's begin the negotiation.” I declared. I then levitated a draft of the treaty that contained a set of terms and hoofed them to the parties involved. “Now, I have drafted a set of terms, please take a moment to review them and propose any amendments or modifications that you deem necessary.”

Both parties took a moment to read the draft paper, Eero after reading the draft spoke up “I would like to make an amendment. If I may?”

I nodded, “Of course, what would you like to amend?” I asked.

“Well it's regarding Article 3 on Love Harvesting. Everything else is acceptable.” Eero Said, “I propose to add a clause that mandates our warriors to observe the process and ensure the safety of our deer.”

I turned towards Queen Drumedia. “Any objections?”

"No objections here," Queen Drumedia said, biting her lip and letting out a sigh. "However, I’ll only agree on one condition."

Chief Eero raised an eyebrow, “And what would that be?”

Queen Drumedia stood up, “the condition that you allow me and my remaining changelings to settle in or around Smalstad.”

Chief Eero was surprised, "I see...this is a weighty matter. I will need to consult with my delegation first." The Smalstad delegation proceeded to huddle around and silently discussed Drumedia’s condition.

We waited with bated breaths, the discussion seemed to take an eternity, as the outcome of this will determine the outcome of this peace talks. However it didn’t take long for the Smalstad delegation to reach a consensus, as it only took them at most five minutes.

Eero stepped forward and cleared his throat. “After much discussion we have agreed to allow the changelings of Queen Drumedia to settle inside of Smalstad.” He smiled and reached out a hoof to Drumedia. “Welcome to Smalstad.”

Queen Drumedia smiled and shook Chief Eero’s hoof. "I look forward to a promising partnership,” she said. Both parties proceeded to sign their names onto the revised document thus cementing the treaty.

Standing up and stretching and hearing satisfying pops, I let out a sigh of relief. Mediating and ensuring the talks went smoothly had been a stressful affair, and I was grateful that it was over. Just then, Chieftess Maija spoke up, "Let's celebrate this newfound friendship with a grand feast inside Smalstad. Come on!"

With that we all got up and walked back inside Smalstad.

The sun had, from what I could tell, set by the time we returned to the longhouse and joined in the festivities. The deer had outdone themselves, as the tables were overflowing with various dishes. I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin. Traditional Olenian Viking music filled the air, and there was even a designated dance area where changelings and deer were dancing together.The atmosphere was lively and jovial, which had brought back memories of a time before the Megaspells brought destruction to the world. Tears welled up in my eyes as I basked in this joyous occasion.

Seated in a secluded corner of the great hall, Orange, Cherry, and I enjoyed our meals. Orange opted for a vegetarian dish, while Cherry indulged in a hearty meat-based meal. I on the other hoof went with a classic Olenian dish known simply as ‘Perunamuusia ja lihapullia’ and as the name suggests it’s main ingredients are mashed potatoes and meatballs, but it has more to it than that as it also includes beetroots, onions, and a sprinkle of parsley, all together make for a hearty meal.

Orange after swallowing a salad, “Wow, I’ve never experienced anything quite like this.” Orange said, drawing a nod from Cherry.

“We should enjoy this while it lasts, celebrations like this were fairly rare back then, even then it was still just as lively as this, minus the death and decay that is commonplace.” I said, “It brings me great hope to know that deer and even ponies can come together, build settlements and thrive. That for every Scarlet there's a Smalstad.”

Orange smiled, “Yeah, I know what you mean. Before my old friends and I were chased all the way here, we stayed at a settlement called Vrupsea down in the Tall Tale region.” The mare’s smile then turned into a frown. “Four days after staying in Vrupsea, we ran into Scarlet’s gang and you know the rest.”

I nodded, “If it's any consolation we’re still taking revenge on Scarlet. Even if it won’t bring them back.” I replied, before taking a spoonful of Perunamuusia ja lihapullia and savoring the flavors.

“Yeah your right and--Cherry what the hell!” Orange exclaimed, but was interrupted as Cherry held a bottle of Eramaan olut in her magic, and was clearly drunk as evident of her passing out on top of Orange, fortunately Orange was able to catch the bottle before it spilled. I was amused at this sight, clearly somecreature or somepony I should say can’t handle her alcohol.

“I think we should retire for today.” Orange said, hefting the passed-out mare onto her back.

“Agreed,” I simply said, finishing my meal and standing up. Asking a nearby guard for directions to the guest bedroom was easy, the hardest part was getting them to not fall to the floor and worship me. To be honest with you, it was starting to get really annoying and was making me regret my decision to shed my disguise.

Anyway we entered a guest bedroom and wow it was a sight to see. The room itself exuded a warm and cozy atmosphere which had enveloped us as we entered, the wooden walls were lined with intricate carvings of mythical creatures and past battles, in fact I even spotted a carving that depicted the Battle of Smala Skogar which was Queen Chrysalis’s attempt at reconquering Olenia after the queens of Olenia, my mother included, declared independence which ended in a victory for the newly formed Olenian Hives.

Three beds lined underneath a window that gave a good view of the cloud-covered night sky in Smalstad. The beds themselves were covered with thick furs and woolen blankets and at the foot of each bed was a small cabinet where one can store their belongings.

I removed my peaked cap, saddle bags, detached my RK-30 rifle, and set them on top of the cabinet. I then laid down on the bed, pulling the wool blanket under my chin. I watched Orange do the same to her and Cherry’s equipment.

Orange turned to face me and said. “Good night Aurelia.”

“Good night.” I replied.

I closed my eyes as sleep overtook me, and I wondered.

What would tomorrow bring?

Chapter 6: Negotiations (Rewrite of Chapter 6)

Would you take the chance to peacefully resolve a conflict? Even if the chance of success is small, would you still take it?

I grappled with this exact question: should I abandon my disguise and approach the changelings in an attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution with their leader? Perhaps I could prevent needless bloodshed and spare countless lives. However, there was also the possibility that these changelings were without a queen and were emotionally starved. The right course of action was uncertain, but I knew I had to try.

I turned to the right watchtower and saw four deer standing upright, holding their bows between their hooves. Arrows were already nocked on the bowstrings, ready to face the upcoming swarm. Turning back towards the approaching swarm, I said, “I’m going to try and negotiate.”

“WHAT!” Orange yelled right into my ear, which caused me to recoil a bit. “They might be emotionally starved, you said so yourself, It's dangerous for you to go out alone and meet them.”

After recovering from Orange’s outburst, I faced her and took a deep breath before responding. "I understand the risks involved and yes, they may attack me on sight. However, even if there's only a slim chance to negotiate with their queen or whoever is leading the swarm to come up with terms that benefit both parties, it's worth taking that chance." I paused, seeing the frown that had developed on Orange’s face.

Orange sighed, turning her head toward the swarm which had gotten closer, and turned back. “Listen, Starry, if you’re going to endanger yourself out there then take me and Cherry with you.”

I opened my mouth to retort but quickly shut it after seeing Orange’s look of determination. I looked toward Cherry who looked all the more eager at the prospect of getting closer to a possible fight. I let out a long deep sigh. “I… Okay fine, I’ll take you and Cherry with me.”

With a grin, Orange declared, "I wouldn't want it any other way." She nudged Cherry lightly and added, "Let's get down now, Cherry." To which Cherry just shrugged and began climbing down, followed closely by Orange.

I turned to address the stag. “Listen whatever let Chief Eero or Chieftess Maija know that I’ll be down there to try and negotiate.”

The stag nodded, "Ah, okay, I tell chief and chieftess know, if come." After his response, I descended and reunited with Cherry and Orange.

After we had climbed down from the watchtower and shared my plan to negotiate with the upcoming swarm to the two gate guards, they exchanged apprehensive glances and hesitated for a moment before finally opening the gate to let me, Cherry, and Orange out of the settlement.

As I stepped outside, I shed my disguise, and the green flames embraced me, revealing my true form. Unfurling my wings, I tested them with two experimental flaps, as they hadn't been used since I awakened from my two-century-long slumber. When I felt confident in my flight, I began to flap them in an upward and downward motion. Initially, it was a sluggish start, but I gradually picked up the pace, and soon enough, I lifted myself off the ground.

The familiar buzzing of my wings put a smile on my face, after not hearing them for two centuries. However, I didn't have the luxury to enjoy the thrill of flying as I had a mission to fulfill. Glancing down at Cherry and Orange, who stared at me in awe as I hovered above them. To their eyes, My wings must have been a blur, since they were flapping at such a rapid pace that it was impossible to discern individual movements. I looked back toward the swarm as they had gotten closer since the last time I checked. I estimated that the swarm would reach Smalstad in seven minutes.

Looking back down at Cherry and Orange, I said. “Cherry, Orange, be ready to shoot, I am flying up and.” Both of them nodded as readied their weapons and intently eyed the swarm. I did the same ensuring my RK-30 is securely attached to my battle saddle. I darted toward the swarm. Hoping to meet them halfway, while Cherry and Orange followed me the best they could from the ground.

For four long and tense minutes, I darted toward the swarm. Around two minutes in, the swarm came to a stop, but I continued to fly towards them. By the three-minute mark, a figure appeared at the front of the swarm. This figure towered over the other gray changelings and appeared to be the same height as me, but I couldn't discern whether it was their queen or not. Nevertheless, this new figure began flying towards me. As we got closer, not only could I notice that only the figure was wearing a uniform, the rest of the swarm weren’t wearing any uniforms and armors. The figure herself had a gray carapace, gray mane+tail, and gray eyes. At her side was an MP-30 submachine gun, with the magazine situated at the bottom, she donned a high-collar uniform with dark green and brown accents, along with a peaked cap adorned with the emblem of a crown flanked by insect wings. To finish it off she had a black crown behind her jagged horn.

After seeing the crown, it told me all I needed to know. She is a queen and she was coming toward me. I waved my forehooves and called out. “Hey, I came to negotiate! From one queen to another let's talk.”

The Queen waved back and said. “Alright, Let’s talk on the ground.” I nodded and we began descending to the ground. Moments later we touched down on the ground, we sat on our haunches, and began talking.

“So.” I began, addressing the gray queen “Why have you come to attack Smalstad? As one of the queens of Olenia, I cannot stand by and watch your army move and threaten Smalstad.”

Her face fell as she cast her gaze downward, her expression heavy with sorrow. "I...I'm sorry. I never wanted it to come to this," she said, her voice trembling. "But I had no other choice. My hive is starving. We have exhausted all our supplies of love, and there are no other available emotions that can sustain us. The previous skirmishes between our two groups were caused by my drones, who had gone rogue in their hunger. I had no choice but to eliminate those who were a danger, and in the end, only twenty-six of my changelings remained. You see them before you now." The queen looked back at me and continued “I… I wish there was any other way.”

A frown had formed on my face. “So the attack on Smalstad was an act of desperation,” I said, glancing at her for confirmation, she nodded in response.

“Hey,” I said, catching her attention. “There's a way. First, order your drones to land, and I can act as a mediator between you and Chief Eero. We can negotiate a peace deal that benefits both our sides." Her face lit up with hope at my words.

“You sure they’ll talk?” She says with a tone of uncertainty.

Smiling, I said. “Absolutely. Oh, and the names Queen Aurelia Zagria, but you can call me Aurelia, and yours?”

She smiled, tears threatening to spill out. “Mine is Queen Drumedia Xandralis, but Drumedia is fine.”

After Drumedia ordered her drones to land through her hive mind. Orange, Cherry, and I went back to relay the news to Chief Eero about negotiating with Queen Drumedia. I decided to go back undisguised and promptly ignored any deer that prostrated themselves to me, for I had far more important things on my mind than tell any of the deer to not bow at me.

Anyway, after we had talked and explained the situation to Chief Eero he had agreed to meet with Queen Drumedia. So now we were at the agreed meeting area outside the settlement right next to a flat top rock, which I hadn’t even noticed until Drumedia chose that as the meeting place. The delegation Drumedia was made up of two changelings wearing dark-purple body armor, which Drumedia had said were her advisors and personal guard, so they were situated at the back.

The air was thick with anticipation as Chief Eero and his entourage entered the designated meeting area, their expressions unreadable. Drumedia and her delegation remained composed, but their eyes darted nervously around the wide open field. We all took our places, the tension palpable as we settled into our seats. Drumedia and her delegation sat on the right, Eero and his delegation sat on the left, and I sat in the middle, acutely aware of the weight of responsibility resting on my shoulders. Cherry and Orange, as well as Drumedia's twenty-six changeling swarm, sat to the side, their eyes fixed on the negotiations, waiting with bated breath for the outcome.

“Alright, now that everycreature is here let's begin the negotiation.” I declared. I then levitated a draft of the treaty that contained a set of terms and hoofed them to the parties involved. “Now, I have drafted a set of terms, please take a moment to review them and propose any amendments or modifications that you deem necessary.”

As the negotiations continued for hours, both parties went back and forth, making amendments and compromises where they saw fit. At times, I even chimed in with my own suggestions that both sides found agreeable. However, tensions rose as the discussions approached the final term: Article 55, which pertained to Love Harvesting.

“I want to make an amendment to Article 55.” Eero declared, “I propose to add a clause that mandates our warriors to observe the process and ensure the safety of our deer.” The changeling delegation fell silent as Queen Drumedia considered the proposal. Eero's gaze locked onto Queen Drumedia, his face hardened with a steely determination. Drumedia to her credit had maintained her composure even after Eero’s intense gaze bore onto her.

Queen Drumedia held Eero's gaze with equal intensity. "Normally, I wouldn't compromise or acquiesce on this," she paused, and the already cold air seemed to grow colder. Eero's eyes narrowed, the tension between them palpable. "However," she continued, "I will accept on one condition. That you allow me and my remaining changelings to settle in or around Smalstad."

Eero's face hardened as he processed Queen Drumedia's demand. The area was filled with an eerie silence as everycreature waited for his response. The silence between the two leaders was almost defeaning, Then Eero spoke. “I will discuss this with my delegation.”

We waited with bated breath, the tension in the air was palpable. The fate of Smalstad and Drumedia’s Hive rested on the outcome of these peace talks, and every passing second felt like an eternity. We could feel the weight of the very decision that the Smalstad delegation was making. The outcome of the Smalstad delegation’s discussion shall determine if a battle commences or if peace prevails, and it seemed like their deliberations would never end. Just as our anxiety reached its peak, the Smalstad delegation turned back around and announced their decision.

Eero stepped forward, his eyes scanning the area as he cleared his throat. The air was tense as everycreature waited for the outcome of the peace talks. Finally, he spoke. "After much discussion," he said slowly, "we have agreed to allow the changelings of Queen Drumedia to settle inside of Smalstad." The room was silent, and all eyes turned to Drumedia as she stood frozen in place. Eero smiled and reached out a hoof to her. "Welcome to Smalstad," he said.

With a smile, Queen Drumedia grasped Chief Eero's hoof and gave it a firm shake. "Our partnership promises a bright future," she declared. The tension in the room was palpable as both parties signed their names on the revised treaty, solidifying their commitment to an alliance.

Standing up and stretching and hearing satisfying pops, I let out a sigh of relief. Mediating and ensuring the talks went smoothly had been a stressful affair, and I was grateful that it was over. Just then, Chieftess Maija spoke up, "Let's celebrate this newfound friendship with a grand feast inside Smalstad. Come on!"

With that we all got up and walked back inside Smalstad.

The sun had, from what I could tell, set by the time we returned to the longhouse and joined in the festivities. The deer had outdone themselves, as the tables were overflowing with various dishes. I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin. Traditional Olenian Viking music filled the air, and there was even a designated dance area where changelings and deer were dancing together.The atmosphere was lively and jovial, which had brought back memories of a time before the Megaspells brought destruction to the world. Tears welled up in my eyes as I basked in this joyous occasion.

Seated in a secluded corner of the great hall, Orange, Cherry, and I enjoyed our meals. Orange opted for a vegetarian dish, while Cherry indulged in a hearty meat-based meal. I on the other hoof went with a classic Olenian dish known simply as ‘Perunamuusia ja lihapullia’ and as the name suggests it’s main ingredients are mashed potatoes and meatballs, but it has more to it than that as it also includes beetroots, onions, and a sprinkle of parsley, all together make for a hearty meal.

Orange after swallowing a salad, “Wow, I’ve never experienced anything quite like this.” Orange said, drawing a nod from Cherry.

“We should enjoy this while it lasts, celebrations like this were fairly rare back then, even then it was still just as lively as this, minus the death and decay that is commonplace.” I said, “It brings me great hope to know that deer and even ponies can come together, build settlements and thrive. That for every Scarlet there's a Smalstad.”

Orange smiled, “Yeah, I know what you mean. Before my old friends and I were chased all the way here, we stayed at a settlement called Vrupsea down in the Tall Tale region.” The mare’s smile then turned into a frown. “Four days after staying in Vrupsea, we ran into Scarlet’s gang and you know the rest.”

I nodded, “If it's any consolation we’re still taking revenge on Scarlet. Even if it won’t bring them back.” I replied, before taking a spoonful of Perunamuusia ja lihapullia and savoring the flavors.

“Yeah your right and--Cherry what the hell!” Orange exclaimed, but was interrupted as Cherry held a bottle of Eramaan olut in her magic, and was clearly drunk as evident of her passing out on top of Orange, fortunately Orange was able to catch the bottle before it spilled. I was amused at this sight, clearly somecreature or somepony I should say can’t handle her alcohol.

“I think we should retire for today.” Orange said, hefting the passed-out mare onto her back.

“Agreed,” I simply said, finishing my meal and standing up. Asking a nearby guard for directions to the guest bedroom was easy, the hardest part was getting them to not fall to the floor and worship me. To be honest with you, it was starting to get really annoying and was making me regret my decision to shed my disguise.

Anyway we entered a guest bedroom and wow it was a sight to see. The room itself exuded a warm and cozy atmosphere which had enveloped us as we entered, the wooden walls were lined with intricate carvings of mythical creatures and past battles, in fact I even spotted a carving that depicted the Battle of Smala Skogar which was Queen Chrysalis’s attempt at reconquering Olenia after the queens of Olenia, my mother included, declared independence which ended in a victory for the newly formed Olenian Hives.

Three beds lined underneath a window that gave a good view of the cloud-covered night sky in Smalstad. The beds themselves were covered with thick furs and woolen blankets and at the foot of each bed was a small cabinet where one can store their belongings.

I removed my peaked cap, saddle bags, detached my RK-30 rifle, and set them on top of the cabinet. I then laid down on the bed, pulling the wool blanket under my chin. I watched Orange do the same to her and Cherry’s equipment.

Orange turned to face me and said. “Good night Aurelia.”

“Good night.” I replied.

I closed my eyes as sleep overtook me, and I wondered.

What would tomorrow bring?

Chapter 7: Exiting Smalstad

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Interlude: A Daughter's Gift

Author's Note

Happy mother's day everyone/creature, I've come out with a short interlude from the point of view of Aurelia's mother Queen Zagria.

Interlude: A Daughter's Gift

1012 ALB

Being a queen is hard.

Now being a queen, fighting a war AND raising a child, even harder. But I make it work even as we’ve reached the second year of war with Equestria, and our forces have pushed deeper into Equestria and are currently within city limits of Las Pegasus, while the ponies have put up a stiff resistance, sooner or later Las Pegasus will fall. But despite my commitment to assisting Queen Chrysalis in the ongoing war effort, I try to find time for my daughter, Aurelia, even if it's rare these days.

Even now as my daughter leads me through the hive with great enthusiasm, I walk along with a small smile on my face, following her to wherever she may take me. I wonder what is it that got her this excited? Well whatever it Is I’ll find out soon enough.

We reached a set of large double doors flanked by a guard on each side. I saluted both guards and they saluted back and opened the doors to let us through. Which led out to a lush garden outside, with the sweet scent of blooming flowers, and a gentle breeze carried the soft rustling of leaves. The garden was a kaleidoscope of colors, with every hue from the palest pastels to the richest jewel tones. You’d be forgiven if you forgot that there even was a war going on.

My daughter guided me to a specific spot in the garden, bouncing as she went. She came to a sudden stop and turned around, beaming at me with her eyes sparkling.

“Come on mom, it's this way.” My daughter said with uncontained excitement and continued bouncing.

I let out a light giggle. “Slow down dear, you’ll tire yourself out before you can show me.”

Aurelia let out a giggle in response.

We soon arrived at our destination which was a secluded spot underneath a tree in the garden. Beside it stood an easel that had a tarp covering it. my daughter eagerly ran towards it, motioning for me to follow and then asking me to stop. I stopped and settled down to my haunches, I watched as my daughter levitated the canvas and hurried back towards me.

“Here mom look!” My daughter said, as she removed the tarp which had revealed a canvas with a beautiful painting of the two of us sitting together on a hill, beneath a cherry blossom tree, gazing at the sunset.

I began tearing up as I heard my daughter speak. “Um, I hope you like it, um Ms Chisel helped taught me how to paint and I thought that i’d make something, you know since I barely see you and-”

I caught my daughter off guard as I suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace. “It's not just I like it, no I love it, and thank you I will cherish this forever and always.” I said and my horn lit up and I cast a preservation spell on the painting.

I looked back down at my daughter, who was still wrapped in my embrace, I heard her speak softly. “I love you mom.”

Smiling softly “I love you too sweetheart.” Was my response as I stroked her mane and heard her soft coos, I watched as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep. I then gazed up at the sky, taking in the view of the sunset.

And I hoped that this damned war would be over...

Chapter 8: The Journey South

The more we walked southward the more I noticed that the once lush and vibrant terrain was nothing more than a barren landscape filled with dead trees as far as the eye could see. Nonetheless we traversed on, and once again I was given a solemn reminder of what once thrived here. We occasionally stumbled upon decayed motorwagons, upon searching them yielded little result.

We trekked on in uneventful silence. That was until we started hearing the crackle of gunshots in the distance. We made the decision to gallop closer to the distant gunshots. It didn’t take us long to reach the origin point of the gunshots which led us to a two story farmhouse. We took cover behind a rock as shots rang out.

I cautiously peeked my head out and I spotted a group of about five or six ponies, they were evenly split with three unicorns and three earth ponies all wearing spiked barding and a matching set of spiked helmets. All in all their armor looked nothing more than sports equipment with spikes… lots of spikes. I craned my head to look at the farmhouse and I spotted four ponies, three earth ponies and one unicorn. Two of them were visible through the windows, one on the second floor and the other on the first. Another pony stood by the front porch, while the fourth a unicorn was on the ground clutching at their side in obvious pain..

“WE WON’T PAY YOU, YOUR TRIBUTE!” Yelled one of the ponies inside the farmhouse.

“Hehehe, hahahah, then we’ll kill you and take it from your hooves.” Was the response from one of the spiked wearing ponies.

I retreated my head behind the wall and relayed what I saw to both Cherry and Orange, to which Orange had informed me that the spiked wearing ponies are raiders though she’s unsure which gang they’re from as spiked barding is common among raiders.

I telekinetically lifted my RK-30 rifle and swiftly inspected the magazine, confirming its capacity of twenty-three rounds. Meanwhile, Cherry and Orange readied their own weapons. As I glanced back outside, my eyes locked onto the raiders who had advanced closer to the farmhouse. Simultaneously, the two ponies who were initially on the front porch hastily retreated indoors, leaving behind a trail of blood that marked their path. I turned to look back at Cherry and Orange, they looked back at me, with Orange sporting a determined expression, while Cherry on the other hoof had a deranged smile. I raised a hoof to signal the other two to open fire.

Cherry wasted no time as she got out of cover and opened fire on the raiders, which had caught them in surprise. While Orange stood up on her hind legs grabbing her pipe rifle and began firing at the raiders over the protective barrier of the rock.

Carefully poking my head out from behind the protective cover of the rock, I gripped my rifle firmly with my magical grasp, lining up the sights on one of the raiders in my field of vision. I fired.

Bang, Bang!

I Fired two shots and I saw the raider that was lined up in my sight fall. Two more fell from the combined fire of Cherry’s and Orange’s guns. I forced myself back into cover as the raiders recovered and scrambled to find and began firing back at us. It was clear that their attention was split into either focusing on us or those inside the farmhouse.

As the firefight drew out, I spotted a raider lobbing a grenade towards Cherry, who remained oblivious to the impending danger. Reacting swiftly, I abandoned my rifle and summoned a protective barrier around her. The grenade detonated with a deafening blast..

I let out a sigh of relief when the smoke cleared and I witnessed the impromptu barrier had successfully shielded her from the explosion, seeing the olive-green barrier shone bright. I caught the look of surprise on Cherry's face as she realized she had narrowly escaped from. The barrier soon dissipated and Cherry galloped back behind the rock.

Orange quickly slid back into cover, her back pressed against the rock, still tightly gripping the pipe rifle in her forehooves. As I observed her weapon more closely, I noticed that the pipe rifle had an open-hoofed trigger, which was a detail that I failed to notice when I was inspecting it first.

“Whoa Cherry that was close.” Orange exclaimed, “If Starry hadn’t acted quickly with that barrier and you would’ve been pasted on the ground.”

“I guess I had too much fun shooting.” Cherry laughed, “Otherwise I'd've caught that grenade and chucked it back.”

I turned to Cherry and spoke sternly, "Cherry, please pay more attention to your surroundings. Casting and maintaining that barrier took a tremendous amount of energy from me as it absorbed the explosion. We need to stay focused and keep each other safe."

Cherry flashed me a wide grin and said. “Yeah you're right. Though this won’t happen again, that I promise”

I nodded firmly. “Well I hoped that you learned a lesson in not jumping out of cover and begin wildly shooting at anything in front of you.”

Cherry nodded and cautiously peeked out to check on the raiders position. She sported a triumphant grin when she spotted the raiders retreating. “Hah! Bastards ran away.” Cherry declared.

Levitating my rifle, I cautiously poked my head out to confirm the veracity of Cherry's claim. True enough, the raiders had retreated, leaving behind an eerie silence. However, my instincts warned me that they might return in the future. Setting aside those thoughts for the moment, we met up with the ponies who were holed up inside the farmhouse.

When we got inside of what looked to be the main dining area we were greeted by a gray coated earth pony stallion wearing a patched-up, pre-war farmhoof barding, and a sun hat with a pair of goggles wrapped around it adorned his head.

"Whoo wee, I didn't think we'd make it if it wasn't for you three showing up just in time." The worn-out, dark gray earth pony stallion continued "Anyway, the name's Coco Specter, but my friends call me Coco. Though it's been quiet since they left, we shouldn't get complacent. Raiders, in general, have a way of coming back sooner or later. Especially now with Scarlet's gang lurking around, they'll be after their 'tribute'. So, we better prepare while we still have the chance. It’s already hard enough trying to grow anything with what little sunlight that manages to pierce through the cloud barrier, it's even harder when raiders come in and take things."

I nodded, and said “Well we were just walking and we heard gunshots, so we decided to investigate and glad we made the right decision. Anyway my name is Starry Skies and-” I pointed toward Cherry and Orange “-these are my companions Cherry Splinter and Orange Bright.” Orange smiled and waved, while Cherry shrugged.

Coco smiled, “Heh nice to meet you Starry, Cherry, and Orange.” Then the stallion frowned, “I wish we could offer more but as you can see we're in deep shit right now.”

Orange stepped forward “We’ll stay and help. If it's ok with you guys?” Orange said, turning towards me and Cherry looking for confirmation.

Cherry smirked, while I simply nodded. Cherry smiled and turned back to Coco “We’re staying and help defend.”

Coco beamed at us. “That’s great, talk to Davy upstairs, he’ll fill you in on what needs to be done and which areas of the farmhouse that need some shoring up. I gotta stay here and tend to Azure’s wounds. She’s the unicorn over there.” Coco finished pointing at a periwinkle-coated mare with a short yellow-green mane and tail who was wrapped up in bloodied bandages laying on the floor.

Orange nodded in agreement and ascended the worn wooden staircase positioned to the left of the farmhouse's front entrance. Cherry and I followed right behind her.

As we ascended up the stairs we were met with a hallway with two doors on each side and a door at the end. Orange opened the door on the left and entered, Cherry and I not far behind. When we entered inside we were greeted by a quaint bedroom, a wooden bed and a night stand situated on the far left, across from the bed is a wardrobe.

At the very end of the bedroom sat a cream-coated earth pony stallion with a short blue mane wearing a utility barding, an open-hoofed trigger hunting rifle lay by his side within hoof’s reach. He is focused on observing the open window. Presumably the stallion is Davy, the one Coco told us to meet. We approached him.

Upon hearing our hoof-steps his ears perked up and he craned his head to meet us. He gave a small nod and spoke. “Glad you're on our side.” He paused, “So what can I do for you?”

“I’m Starry Skies, and this Cherry Splinter and Orange Bright, Coco said you have some ideas on where we could help.” I explained, “Is there any particular area that needs patching?”

Davy nodded, and explained “Well I'm sure Coco already told you who I am, but I’m gonna introduce myself anyways. My name’s Davy, just Davy and yes we would certainly appreciate it if two of you help cover the first floor and one of you cover the back entrance.”

Orange's voice rang out confidently, her determined gaze fixed on the task at hoof. "Cherry and I will fortify the defenses on the first floor, ensuring no unwanted guests get past us." Her sturdy frame and unwavering stance conveyed her readiness to defend the farmstead. Turning to me she continued, “Starry you will cover the back entrance and ensure that nopony sneaks by.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, I replied. “Right, I’ll keep a watchful eye for anycreature that tries to catch us by surprise.”

Before we left Davy spoke up addressing Cherry and Orange. “Oh and before I forget, I noticed that both of your guns are… let's just say… Oh forget it I won’t beat around the bush, your guns are awful pipe rifles that look like they’ll explode any moment, here I got something to replace it.” He stood up walking over to the wardrobe and opening it and took something out of it.

He turned around facing us, in one of his forehooves, revealing a custom made open-hoofed bolt action rifle in pristine condition, the stock being carved from maple timber, the metalwork of the rifle is polished to a point where I could see my reflection and is adorned with engravings of floral patterns and celestial symbols even extending to the barrel ending with a lightning bolt, on the stock right above the hoof trigger is a small emblem of a thundercloud with a lightning bolt.

Walking over to Orange he hoofs the rifle to her, “I give this rifle to you, her name is Thunderhoof take care of her and She’ll take care of you, It's my dad’s old gun.”

Orange was taken by surprise. “I can’t this, I ca-”

“Nonsense, take it. I know my dad would’ve been happy knowing that his gun is seeing action instead of gathering dust inside of a wardrobe, even if I clean and polish it from time to time. Besides I ain’t ever used it since I got my trusty hunting rifle with me.” Coco said smiling, “And the best part is that the bolt mechanism is compatible with any battle saddle including yours.”

Orange paused briefly, contemplating her decision. Eventually, she unfastened her trusty pipe rifle, carefully stowing it away in her saddlebags. She affixed Thunderhoof to her battle saddle, securing it firmly in place. "I appreciate this. I'll make sure to honor it," she expressed with gratitude.

“Hey it's no problem, You can find ammunition in the basement for Thunderhoof, look for .270 rounds, ask Coco for help if you need it.” Davy replied, before turning to Cherry, “I haven’t forgotten about you, for I have something that suits you, come follow me.”

Davy walked out with Cherry following behind leaving both Orange and I alone in the room. “I better go and watch the back entrance, good luck.” I said toward Orange who nodded in acknowledgement and I Walked out of the bedroom.

I walked through the kitchen and stepped outside, the sun's feeble rays barely reaching the barren landscape, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. It was difficult to discern the time of day, as the overcast sky obscured any clear indication. To my astonishment, I noticed a mere hooful of corn plants struggling to grow in the limited sunlight that managed to pierce through the cloud cover.

Another thing I noticed was a dirty newspaper clipping laying on the ground not too far from me. I levitated it towards me so I could get a better look at the contents. When the newspaper clipping levitated close enough for me to read, the words had faded out due to age and being exposed to the elements but I could still make out the words on the front page, if barely. It read.

Seaddle Gazette

Colthaginians attacked in Vanhoover!

Zalathel Zarca Outraged!

-Vili Peltola
4/16/1031

Yesterday, at approximately eight in the morning, what should have been a peaceful day for shop owner Hanno Eshumnazar took a violent turn when a crowd of ponies gathered, chanting derogatory remarks such as "death to zebras" and "zebrican spy," among other hateful slogans. Within a span of two hours, the situation escalated as the crowd proceeded to vandalize Hanno's shop, forcing the Colthaginian shoppers to defend themselves. The clash resulted in ten injuries on both sides.

Hanno expressed his frustration, stating, "I constantly remind the ponies here that I am not a Zebrican but a Colthaginian. Yes, I may be a zebra, but I come from Colthage, not the Zebrican Empire. Why is it so difficult for them to understand the difference?" The Colthaginian ambassador held a press conference, voicing disappointment with Princess Luna for her lack of action in preventing such an unfortunate incident. Zalathel Zarca, President of the Colthaginian Republic, commented on the matter, saying, "They say Equestria is a beacon of harmony and tolerance, yet I have seen none of that today."

The Seaddle Gazette reached out to Princess Luna for a statement, but as of now, no response has been received… the rest had become faded and unreadable.

I remembered this unfortunate incident when the Colthaginians faced an unprovoked attack. It was all everycreature talked about for days. Even during the Queen's Council meeting, the incident couldn't be ignored. I must admit, I expected Zarca to tear up the Equestrian-Colthage Cooperative Agreement in a fit of anger. However, to my surprise, he displayed remarkable restraint. Though tensions flared, the agreement remained intact, albeit strained. This event undoubtedly caused a significant diplomatic rift between Equestria and Colthage. This was but one of the many xenophobic incidents in wartime Equestria.

I dropped the newspaper watching as it gently glided down towards the ground before I resumed my so far uneventful observation of the landscape. That was until I heard movement to my left, and I jumped into action and quickly unsheathed my saber with telekinesis just in time to parry a strike from an earth pony stallion wearing spiked armor and holding a cleaver in his mouth.

Taking a couple of steps back and I tried to analyse my opponent. Keyword tried, as I wasn’t given any opportunities to do so as the stallion lunged at me, barely grazing the leather barding on my left side as I leapt out of the way. He turned towards me glaring at me with his bloodshot red eyes, and before he could do anything I slashed him across the chest leaving a long gash across his chest, but to my horror he wasn't phased by the bleeding wound and simply ignored it. Instead his glare intensified and he began charging at me with renewed vigor.

The stallion propelled himself high up into the air. In response, I swiftly launched my saber towards him, its sharp blade aimed directly at his airborne form, intent on piercing through his head and ending the confrontation. The stallion's eyes widened in a mix of shock and terror as he realized the imminent danger. With a futile attempt to evade my blade, he twisted his body, desperately trying to change his trajectory. However, it was too late. The razor-sharp saber found its mark, piercing through his spiked helmet and penetrating his skull. A sickening thud echoed through the air as his lifeless body collided with the ground making a loud splat as it landed, the impact leaving a gruesome scene in its wake.

Walking over to the lifeless corpse, removing my saber and cleaning it of any blood and brain matter before sheathing it. I levitated my RK-30 rifle close by. As I began to recover from this melee I heard a loud bang and a body dropping to my right, craning my head to the right. I spotted the body of an earth pony mare on the ground with a bullet hole in her head and a hatchet close by.

I Looked up at the farmhouse and I saw Orange looking out from a window wielding Thunderhoof in her hooves. She lowered Thunderhoof and waved her right hoof at me, I waved back. Orange turned to look at something behind before turning back to me.

"Starry, get inside! The raiders attacked earlier than expected, and more will arrive," Orange exclaimed. "Heh, Seems like Scarlet couldn't resist getting her hooves on the few corn growing here."

Nodding my head, I asked “What's the situation?”

“Well there's a large number of raiders outside, about fifteen to twenty, but don’t apparently Cherry told me that she has a plan cooked up.” Orange replied, “Guess we’ll just have to wait for her to execute whatever it is, anyway see you inside.”

“Yeah same, here.” I said.

After our brief conversation, Orange vanished into the room, and I made my way back inside the farmhouse, finding myself in the familiar surroundings of the kitchen. I was filled with tense and uncertainty. I couldn't help but wonder about our chances of survival in the imminent battle. However, we just might make it through, even if the odds are slim. Only time would tell.

Author's Note

I am back and this time bringing you chapter 8. Hope you enjoy,

I noticed when writing this that it was over 2k words, and I guess this was one of those chapters I enjoyed writing (not saying I didn't enjoy writing the previous chapters.) and another zebra nation makes an appearance, one from EaW.

Also if I were to categorize the HoI4 EaW ideologies for the Olenian Hives and Zebrican Empire.

I would place Olenian Hives as Non-Aligned Military Government, with the Queen's Council being head of the government and each individual queen has her own military, in other words each queen is general in a sense.

And for the Zebrican Empire, based on what I know about Fallout: Equestria lore I would put them as Supremacist Authoritarian Theocracy or maybe Ultranationalism.

Chapter 9: Camp Infiltration

I peeked out of a window to get a good look at the raider’s that were in the process of setting up their camp in preparation for an assault on the farmstead. I counted about ten setting up barricades while another five were intently observing us, guns pointed in our direction.

I ducked back down, staring at Orange who looked back at me, “So.” Orange began, “How’s it looking outside?”

Well, not good, whatever it is they’ve got planned, the raiders are building a camp and are in it for the long haul.” I replied.

“It’s just as I feared.” I heard a voice behind me, I craned my head to the left to spot Coco glancing outside of the window. “I knew this was gonna happen. But by the goddesses I will stay and fight for this farm!”

I stood up, “I have an idea.” I announced gaining everycreature’s attention. “The plan is simple, I sneak into their camp and disrupt their operations and maybe assassinate any of their leaders if possible.”

Coco tilted his head sideways, clearly skeptical of my plan, while Orange had a look of unease.

“And how will you achieve it?” Coco’s voice carried a tinge of skepticism as he asked, before continuing. “I mean last I checked you don’t exactly look like a raider nor act like one. Hell if anything your friend Cherry fits the bill more than you do.”

Smirking I said. “Oh I have my ways just wait.”

“Uhh, yeah sure…” Coco responded, still not convinced.

It was then that Orange piped up “I sure hope that you know what you’re doing… Just try not to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, I promise that I won’t get hurt.” Was all I said before I left through the back entrance.

Part of being a queen requires that I was trained in infiltration. While I wasn’t bad at it nor was I particularly good, I only received basic training which was enough to pass my infiltration training. Drawing upon the lessons I had learned even if I hadn’t used them before and during the war two hundred years ago. I now found myself putting my skills to the test.

I left all of my things, saddlebags included, back inside the farmhouse, a stupid move I know, but I can't bring my items with me for fear that my planned disguise will get ruined and I be discovered, so I decided to take the form of the dead earth pony mare that Orange killed and take whatever she was carrying instead. I meticulously adjusted my appearance to match her features, ensuring that I got every detail correct even if it meant expending more of my love reserves. I wanted to ensure that there are simply no mistakes to my disguise and risk jeopardizing my mission. I then shifted my barding to match the spiked armor she once wore. With my transformation complete, I stealthily approached the partially constructed raider camp, taking utmost care to steer clear of the farmhouse so as not to draw any unwanted attention from my allies and companions.

It didn’t take me long to reach the raider camp. I stopped behind a log carefully examining the camp. I spotted an entryway into the camp with two raiders, one mare and one stallion both standing side by side observing the perimeter. Taking a deep breath and exhaling. I got up and walked around the log.

The two guards spotted me and I heard one of the two exclaim “Whoa, holy shit, It’s Spikeweed, didn’t think you’d survive, anyway what happened to Tumble? Why isn’t he with you?”

“He died, turns out they were waiting for us and got the jump on us, I barely made it alive, and before he died he said to me: ‘Tell the gang that sneaking in was out of the question.’ and here I am telling you that.” I lied, feigning sadness in my voice.

“Crap.” The Stallion said, then he sported “Looks like that dumb bastard was wrong and owes me fifty caps. Well whatever, go report to Crimson, oh and don’t blame us if she has you whipped. She should be inside the boss’s tent.”

I nodded and walked inside the camp, which wasn’t much as it was still under construction. Walking past a line of tents, I eventually reached a larger tent guarded by two ponies. I paused at a safe distance away, taking a moment to steady my nerves as this was my first real infiltration mission, the encounter at that tiny raider camp near the Everglade Town did not count. After I had calmed down enough, I approached the tent.

The guards caught sight of me as I approached and beckoned for me to enter the tent. I stopped just in front of the tent flaps. “Nervous?” I whipped my head to the right to look at the pony who spoke. It was a cyan coated unicorn stallion wearing a hoofball helmet and wearing leather with sheet metal strewn about.

I gulped, “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Understandable.” The raider stallion said, “Crimson doesn’t like failure, maybe she’ll let you go with just a whipping if she’s in a good mood, well anyways don’t keep her waiting.”

I nodded and entered inside. As soon as I entered inside I was hit with the stench of alcohol and sex, taking a deep breath, I tried to steady myself amidst the assault of putrid smells that permeated the air inside. I spotted a makeshift bed of dirty furs and torn blankets is haphazardly laid out in the top right corner of the tent, and in the center theres a table able with a knife and empty alcohol bottles, on the other side sat a maroon coated unicorn mare with a disheveled dark orange mane, wearing a mix of leather and scrap metal haphazardly strewn together as her barding, her helmet an old Equestrian Army MK-III helmet that Equestrian soldiers used during the Changeling War, the helmet had scratches and bore a faded sun on it's left side. It simply laid to the side. Her hooves were crossed and she was staring, no more like glaring deeply at me.

“So.” She started, “Why have you returned alone?”

“Well I-” I was cut off from what I was about to say.

“Shut It. You knew damn well that I. Don't. Tolerate Failure.” She said, and stood up, and she began walking toward “I wanna know why I shouldn’t just throw you out to be used as the camp toy.” Crimson was practically right at my face.

It was now or never the leader of this camp was right in front of me. I take it now and cut the head off of the snake. “Well mam, I just wanna say this.” I started, pausing briefly and I leaned close to her ear. “I want to say, catch.” Before I sprung into action and my horn glowed.

Crimson's eyes widened with surprise, caught off guard by my swift action. Without giving her a chance to react, I unleashed a meticulously prepared paralysis spell that I had readied long before our arrival. The spell hit her and I watched her fall to the ground still sporting that same surprised expression.

I removed her barding, then I proceeded to wrap Crimson's hooves and horn with layers of wax, rendering her casting capabilities effectively neutralized. Finally, I coated her muzzle with a thin layer of wax, carefully creating two small breathing holes so that she could still breathe. Once I was done I carried Crimson on my back and I plopped her back down onto the chair and I undid the paralysis spell. I watched as she began to struggle in her bindings.

“Listen, here's what’s gonna happen, I’m not gonna kill you, not yet anyway.” I said, “No I’m gonna leave you here as you watch me wreck havoc in your camp as I take your form.”

The bound mare glared at me but I disregarded her gaze. “What.” I said, sounding offended, “You don’t believe me? Well watch.” I said as green flames engulfed me and I took her form just without the barding, upon seeing, well herself standing right in front of her I began. “I wonder how many creatures you and your boss have terrorised?” I smiled when I saw her eyes stare back at me in terror.

I retrieved her barding and helmet, donning them to complete my disguise. Turning to face her, I locked eyes with the mare, a hint of mischief dancing in my gaze. "Now, don't be too sad," I said, my voice filled with a mix of reassurance and amusement. I leaned in closer and gently cupped her chin, ensuring she remained focused on me. "I'll only be borrowing your face for the moment. You'll have it back soon enough, I promise, until then you just sit tight."

I lifted her off the chair and placed her onto the bed covering her from head to hoof in whatever blankets and covers I could find. Of course I made sure that she was still able to breathe, I’m not that cruel. After I finished tucking Crimson into bed I went outside and greeted the two guards Crimson’s Te - My tent.

“Ensure that no nothing ever enters inside my tent, I have a special event planned for Spikeweed, or else.” I instructed the two guards, which they both saluted and gave me affirmations that absolutely nothing would get inside. I nodded satisfied that I can use Crimson’s reputation for being cruel to my advantage and walked off to explore the camp.

As I was strolling around the camp, head held high, I noticed that the raiders would stop whatever conversation they had and go silent in my presence. I stopped by their field mess and by their kitchen. If you could even call it that, it looked like the tent would collapse any moment. Entering inside the tent kitchen I spotted a blue coated stallion with a tar colored mane and tail wearing a shock collar, which I admit did surprise me a bit, and he was tending to a boiling pot. I developed an idea on how I can eliminate this gang in one fell swoop.

“You there.” I said pointing to the stallion.

“Me?” He replied almost unsure.

“Yes you, don’t make me fucking repeat myself is that clear.” I said feigning agitation, “Come to me.”

He immediately went stiff and rigid “Yes Ma’am!” He replied, and galloped up to my side.

I closed the tent flaps, by now he was beginning to look nervous and I could even see beads of sweat forming around his face.

The stallion dropped to the ground. “Um please Crimson, I've done a good job.” The stallion pleaded, “Please tell me what I did wrong and I’ll correct it, I swear!.”

“Relax, I’m not gonna do anything to you.” I reassured, “In fact I’m going to free you from your shock collar, but I can only do so if you help me.”

The stallion's expression turned into one of deep confusion, he even looked as if his brain had shut down, struggling to comprehend and process the words I’d just said to him.

Shaking his head from his stupor, he got up. “Um, Excuse me, but what the fuck!” The stallion exclaimed, then his eyes widened and he dropped onto the floor, his forehooves covering his face, “Please have mercy on me Crimson!”

I visibly recoiled, although I should have expected such a reaction considering Crimson’s reputation. I turned back to ensure that the tent flaps were securely tied, then I addressed him. “Look, I get it, but I am not really Crimson.” I removed my equipment since they’re unenchanted and thus will get torn up when I transform. I felt the green flames engulf me as I transformed back into my natural form, now being taller than the stallion.

He looked up, noticing that the figure standing before him was no longer Crimson. Upon seeing me in my natural form he didn’t really react like I expected him to instead his expression morphed into one that’s accepted death.

“Look.” He started, then continued. “I’d rather die to a monstrous creature such as yourself offering false promises of freedom, than die being whipped a thousand times to an even monstrous creature in the shape of a pony such as Crimson and her boss Scarlet. Furthermore, I know about your kind, you're a changeling aren’t you? A queen to be precise.”

I admit I was honestly impressed that he at least knew about what a changeling is without me telling them. “Why yes I am, I’m Queen Aurelia, you can call me Aurelia, and you're right to be skeptical of my offer of breaking you out considering my kind’s history, but rest assured that my offer is genuine and that also extends to any others as well. And if I may ask how do you know about us?”

“Names Jam Tart, but please just call me Jam, and as for how I know about your kind? Well, I read about changelings in a book I found, plus they never really took down all those posters about changelings, at least not in the Tall Tale and Vanhoover region. This was before I got captured and enslaved. Instead they were covered over with posters against the Zebrican Empire.” Jam explained, “And to be perfectly honest I’d rather be cocooned than serve them.”

I nodded, and asked“I see… Well, I would have given you a ‘welcome to Olenia’ under better circumstances, but right now I’m on a mission to sabotage this camp, I don’t suppose you’ve got something in mind? Something that’ll incapacitate these raiders?”

Jam smiled, gleefully might I add, before turning around and walking towards a box that lay in between some cooking utensils. He opened the box, and rummaged around for a bit, before turning back around to face me and held a bag that had a green substance in it.

I levitated the bag toward me, “What is this?” I asked as I inspected it, before hoofing the bag back to Jam.

“Ahh, I’ve been saving this up, from what I know it’s a zebra poison that I’ve kept hidden even before I got captured. Don’t know what it’s called so don’t ask.” Jam explained, “I’ll just add this to the pot and watch the result.” He turned to look at me, “Hey, uhh, if there's a small possibility that you aren’t lying, do you have anywhere we can settle? There’s fifteen of us, again all wearing shock collars like the one I have. It's impossible to miss it, and we’re planning on staying as far away as we can from Equestria.”

I gazed deeply into Jam's eyes, seeing a glimmer of hope as he locked his gaze with mine. I proceeded to lay out three potential locations for him and his group to settle in. “You can head straight north, you'll run into a deer village called Smalstad, they’ll happily take you in even without me vouching for you. There's the farm which these raider’s are besieging right now. Or alternatively you can travel twelve kilometers north and then travel a further twenty kilometers west bypassing a city called Vaverfront. From there just keep heading west until you a reach a town called Everglade cause that’s where my hive is located- err was located.”

He was deep in thought as he pondered over what I just said, before finally speaking, “I think I’ll consult with my friends before making a decision, but before then we gotta set myself and them free. I know a way I can free my friends and I from our collars. So until then it's goodbye for now at least.”

I nodded, before the familiar green flames envelop me once again taking on the form of Crimson. I donned on my equipment before commanding Jam. “I order you to add the secret ingredient into your next batch of meals.”

In response to my command Jam smirked, then saluted and he proceeded to pour the green substance into the boiling pot and began mixing.

I exited the tent shortly thereafter.

Not much had happened after my talk with Jam. I had found the group of fifteen that Jam mentioned, and took them one by one into some raider’s tent and relayed the same conversation I had with Jam. Of course the raiders here thought nothing of it, as in their eyes it’s just ‘Crimson’ punishing the slaves. Afterwards I happened to stumble across the armory and I proceeded to tamper with their makeshift guns. They’ll be in for a surprise when their guns blow up in their face, while also hiding away some of their few good quality weapons for the Jam and his friends.

I was now back inside the boss’s or rather my tent and instructed the two guards to disallow anycreature to enter and disturb us while I was having a ‘nice’ conversation with the real Crimson, and to signal with a hoof through the tent flaps if it’s something important. Who was now sitting on the chair still in her wax bindings. I spent a considerable amount of love casting a silence spell inside the tent. I might have to consider absorbing some love from Orange at the rate I’m expending my love reserve.

"Don't bother screaming for help," I cautioned, a hint of amusement in my voice. "Nocreature will hear you. It's quite ironic, really—or perhaps not ironic at all. I used to believe Equestria was a shining example of friendship, but I suppose a lot can change over two centuries." Crimson flinched, realizing her hopes of rescue were in vain. I pressed on, relishing the discomfort in her eyes.

“W-what are you gonna do to me? You monster.” Crimson asked with a tinge of fear in her voice. “I know what you look like, you can't take my skin forever.”

“You know, it’s funny really this is the second time I’ve been called a monster, by a raider no less.” I mused, my gaze fixated on her, penetrating deep into her eyes. “And you wanna I said to him?”

"W-what?" Crimson stammered, her gaze filled with fear as she stared into my eyes, or rather, a copy of her own eyes.

Smirking, I leaned in closer until our faces were almost touching. "I said, 'It's you. You're the monster here, not me,'" I emphasized, my words laced with accusation. "And never has that been more true than what I've witnessed in this camp. Slavery? Equestria originally created those shock collars for violent prisoners and zebra prisoners of war. But I digress. After all, I'm the monster here, right? I mean, changelings, we're often seen as monsters due to our need for love to survive and our shapeshifting abilities."

Crimson trembled uncontrollably, beads of sweat streaming down her forehead as the chair beneath her even rattled with her fear. I almost thought the chair would break, but somehow the chair survived the violent shaking.

“Now why am I telling you about changelings? Because you won’t live to tell it.” I said as my horn glowed, grabbed the knife with telekinesis and slit her throat. Crimson's eyes widened in shock as a guttural gurgle escaped her lips. She slumped forward, collapsing onto the table, a pool of blood rapidly forming.

Afterwards I left the tent and the moment I stepped outside, I heard a loud explosion accompanied by a cackling laughter. Shouts of panic could be heard around the camp. I smirked, I knew that this must be what Cherry was cooking up.

It’s showtime.

Author's Note

Sorry that this took me a long time to finish, I just didn't wan't to spend multiple chapters on just infiltrating the camp.

Anyway hope you enjoy it.

Interlude - Zalathel Zarca’s Speech

This a brief speech that Zalathel Zarca made addressing the anti-zebra xenophobic attacks on Colthaginians living in Equestria, and three days after Hanno Eshzumnazar’s shop had been attacked by a anti-zebra pony mob.

This speech was retrieved from the Colthaginian National Archives.

“Zebras! And all creatures of the Colthaginian Republic! The other day I received news of one Hanno Eshumnazar, being harassed in Equestria for simply being a zebra. Unfortunately my fellow citizens he is but one of many that has experienced such a thing.

Does this sound Harmonic to you? Surely the one’s who espouse such principles would have the decency to maintain its oh so righteous morals of such an ideology. When I hear fellow Colthaginians who’ve nothing to do with this war being harassed, lambasted, and for what? Being a zebra?

They call themselves the land of ‘Friendship’ and ‘Harmony’ yet… I’ve seen no ‘Friendship’ nor ‘Harmony’ for my people, they say Equestria is a Harmonious Union of multiple races under one banner, but what of zebras? In fact I seem to recall the same treatment that befell upon changelings during the Changeling War, it continued even after the end of the war. This highlights the hypocrisy of Equestria, in which Equestrians would say love, friendship, harmony, but when it comes time to test and prove it’s righteousness, time and time again they have have done the opposite.

The horrific treatment of changelings after the war occurred right under Princess Celestia’s nose. I guess being immortal makes one blind to such deeds, but I digress. Moving on as I’ve stated previously zebras are now the targets of Equestria’s xenophobia. To them it matters not if your Colthaginian, Zumidian, Zarantian, among many others. Only that you are a zebra even if your not an Imperial from the Zebrican Empire. All this under Princess Luna’s watch with her tacit approval.

I know that there are Equestrians who aren’t like that, who truly do embody the principles of Equestria. It is thus unfortunate that they are few and far between and many are silent.

It goes without saying that Equestria being the land of Friendship, Harmony, and Tolerance is anything but. All one needs as proof is how changelings had been treated, even after Princess Celestia attended Queen Zagria’s funeral, may her soul rest, and remarked on letting everything be in the past, the ponies of Equestria have differing views from their diarch. The proof is viewing the treatment of zebras, imperials or non-imperials living amongst Equestria.

I implore all Colthaginians living within Equestria to leave at once and return to Colthage. I urge all nations of the world to pressure both belligerents to come and renegotiate an end to this war, though I fear that given past actions by one particular party, we mustn’t give up trying as I fear of the consequences that shall befall upon the world should war continue.

I have said my piece, and remember we will endure this global crisis. Just as we the Colthaginian people have endured past crises!”

Author's Note

*Looks at date* wow, it’s been that long since I posted my last chapter? Man I completely forgot about this story until.

This goes to show that my upload schedule is completely random.

I created this short interlude just to prove that this story is not dead (yet), and that I have resumed work on chapter 10.

Chapter 10: Farmhouse Battle

“You two.” I addressed the two guards, “See to the defenses and kill whoever it is that's ballsy enough attack.”

“Yes mam!” The two guards saluted and left.

Gunshots and the occasional explosion could be heard all over the camp. A lone raider frantically ran towards me.

The raider was a brown-coated stallion, standing before me, gasping for breath as sweat dripped down his forehead. “Boss… Something… Happ-“

Cutting him off I spoke. “Gather yourself first and speak slowly.”

The stallion sank down onto the ground, his chest heaving as he took a moment to catch his breath. He sat there, resting briefly before continuing. “Something happened to our guns, and somehow our slaves managed to take our good guns.” The stallion was at this point panicking. “We’re having to use our hidden stash of guns, but they’re was only five to give out. The rest of us are having to fight in melee. Boss, what should we do?”

I was smiling, purely for the fact that everything worked out. “Why yes, give me that gun.”

The stallion looked at me unsure if he should give me his. Eventually he relented and hoofed over his pipe rifle to me.

“Good, now lead me to where most of the fighting is taking place, I’ll show them why Scarlet is not to be trifled with.” Determination filled my voice as I commanded the stallion.

He got up, nodded his head, and said. “Come, Boss, follow me.”

We galloped as fast as we could. Halting as we arrived at a hastily built wooden barricade, with four dead raiders that littered around it.

I spotted two raiders finding cover behind the barricade. Just as I reached the barricade, the stallion that had accompanied me was shot in the head and fell, now lying in a pool of blood.

One of the two raiders, a silver-coated earth pony mare, perked up when she spotted me.. “Ah! Boss your here.” The mare exclaimed, “On our left there's this pony howling like a bloodhound being backed up by those stupid farmponies, and to our right the slaves, which I have no idea how they removed their shock collars, but they did, and now we’re getting shot at by them while half of our guns don’t work.”

“I see…” I faked a solemn expression, “What’s our current situation?”

The mare looked around as the gunfire and explosions grew in intensity. “I’m not gonna, those chickenshits managed to kill ten from our original thirty, while we so far have only managed to kill about two or three of our slaves. We haven’t gotten any from the farmponies.”

In many ways I was glad to know that Orange and Cherry was safe, I can tell because even now I can hear Cherry having the time of her life just blasting away at the raiders.

I peeked over the barricade and took a couple shots at the now freed slaves taking cover behind overturned tables. Intentionally missing my shots.

“Damnit.” I cursed, “Those fucks are well protected. We’re gonna have to go around.” Then I pointed a hoof to the mare. “You will go first.”

The mare looked at me in horror. “Um. Uh. Um, mam, are you sure that's a good idea, boss?”

I stared at her dead in the eyes, and with a stern voice I asked. “Did I fucking stutter?”

The mare stared back now visibly more terrified at having to leave the safety of the barricades. Before she got up, ran out only to be killed mere seconds after leaving.

And to top it all off she did not have a weapon, so even if she survived there was no way for her to fight back.

I turned to face the other raider, a dark-blue coated unicorn stallion. “You. Go now.”

“Oh hell no I ain't going, especially not after what happened to her.” The stallion said, in defiance of my order.

I pointed my gun at him, and he pointed his… pickaxe? At least it looked like a pickaxe.

I stared at him with steely eyes. “Don’t make me repeat myself.” I said, letting the threat hang in the air.

“Oh hell no boss, I’m not going out there and that's-“ I didn’t let him finish as I fired my gun hitting him in between the eyes. He rapidly fell down a pool of blood forming where he now lay.

Then I heard a loud booming voice from Crimson’s tent. “THE BOSS IS DEAD!”

Well, the jig is up, I knew that sooner or later these raiders would figure out the fact that their leader is dead, what surprised me more is that it took them this long to find out.

I shed my disguise, feeling the green flames engulf me for a moment before I am back in my natural form, and not too soon as I spotted Orange galloping over to my position, Thunderhoof by her side.

Orange abruptly came to a halt upon laying eyes on me. "Damn, your impersonation of Crimson was so convincing," she exclaimed. "Even though I'd only heard about Crimson's personality from others, I nearly took aim and fired at you!"

I raised a hoof to my muzzle and coughed, of course I can count myself lucky that Orange hadn’t taken a chance to shoot me, seeing as though her aim with that rifle is impeccable.

“Why yes, I thank you for not shooting me.” I responded, acknowledging the understandable inclination to do so,“ Afterall I had taken the form of their leader.” I said.

Orange looked sheepishly at me. “Weeeell, to tell you the truth I only refrained when I spoke to the stallion organizing the slave revolt, speaking of.” Orange stopped and then waved over at a figure behind me.

Craning my head to look behind me, I spotted Jam Tart accompanied by two others, both stallions, approaching Orange and I.

Jam Tart looked the same except for the fact that he doesn’t have a shock collar around his neck, a cigarette in his mouth, and wearing what has become the standard raider armor, just without the spikes. His group stopped just shy away from me. Jam was smirking throughout their walk.

“Well, well, the queen graces us with her presence.” Jam said, still smirking, “Plan worked like a charm, bastards didn’t know what hit em.”

A smile graced my lips as I nodded in response to his words. It was then that I couldn't help but notice a decrease in the frequency of gunfire. “I noticed that the shooting is dying down.” I said Voicing out my observation.

His smirk grew into a grin, “Hah! Me and the rest of the freed slaves, with help from the farmponies, have mopped up the camp, except for one last holdout at the south side of the camp.”

We had arrived at the south side of the camp and true to his word there’s a big green tent surrounded by makeshift barricades, which is… also surrounded by makeshift barricades built by the farmponies and the freed slaves.

At that moment, I had once again assumed my Starry Skies disguise and was also wearing my gear that Orange had brought over to me. I navigated towards the spot where Cherry Splinter was crouched behind a makeshift wooden barricade. She was accompanied by a cream-colored stallion, his disheveled dark yellow mane adding to his rugged appearance, and a sapphire-colored mare. The aqua hue of her short mane glistened faintly. These two were unmistakably the freed slaves, their collars leaving faint marks around their necks as evidence of enslavement. All three figures peered intently at the last raider holdout. I approached them, positioning myself just behind Cherry Splinter, with Jam and Orange following suit.

Cherry turned behind her and sported on a huge toothy grin when she spotted me. “Hah, so she lives!”

“So it would seem.” I respond with a nod. “On a different note I was told that this was the last place that needed clearing?”

Cherry Let out a hearty laugh before responding to my question. “Oh you bet! Got the bastards surrounded, nowhere for them to run.” Cherry then looked back into observing the raider holdout. I positioned myself next to the stallion who paid me no mind. Orange also sat beside me on my left, while Jam Tart said he was going further along our side of the barricades. I began to observe and counted about five raiders outside, maybe more inside.

Before I could conclude my assessment, a sharp gunshot echoed through the air, its target aimed in my direction. The bullet struck the barricade just beneath my muzzle, causing me to instinctively retreat behind cover. My hooves gripped my chest as my heart raced, its beats reverberating through my frame. I looked to my left and saw Orange unslung Thunderhoof aimed and she fired the weapon using her hooves.

“Got 'em!” Orange yelled before firing another shot, and got back down to stare at my face, her frown was enough to make me aware of the depth of my visibly shaken appearance. “Holy tartarus, that was close, you okay?.”

I nodded, before calming back down and with a sigh I spoke. “Yeah… bullet missed barely, damn.”

The stallion to my right looked worriedly at me, upon seeing that nothing had happened to me he went back to what he was doing previously. I levitated my RK-30 rifle, checking how much ammo I had inside of the mag, I cautiously peered back out, careful not to expose my muzzle.

I saw that the raider holdout had been in disarray, after Orange had killed one and wound another. I retreated back down when I heard somecreature galloping towards our direction, I turned towards the direction of the galloping and spotted Jam Tart rushing his way towards.

He stopped just us, taking quick breaths to recover before he spoke. “Alright, so I talked it out with the rest of the guys… and gals, and we agreed to launch an assault, however we need the five of you here to lay down suppressing fire.” And he turned to face Cherry, “And you… just do whatever.”

Cherry let out a hearty laugh. “Oh they’re going to get what’s coming to them, and I’ll make sure of it.”

“Right, well good luck and Celestia speed to all, we’ll attack once we start hearing shots.” Jam said before galloping back into the direction he came from.

Orange and I exchanged a swift glance, our weapons at the ready. We simultaneously lifted our heads above the barricade, unleashing a barrage of gunfire upon the raiders.

It didn’t take long for the raiders’ to return fire as I watched the stallion next to me fall down, his face becoming a bloodied mess. I continued my barrage, emptying my mag before putting on a fresh new mag and continued.

The raiders, sensing the advance of our allies, shifted their focus away from us. This diversion of their attention left them exposed and vulnerable to our relentless gunfire.

But it was all for nought as the raiders outside were caught and overwhelmed in the ensuing melee when Coco’s and Jam’s forces reached though not before killing two of our allies.

Orange looked in my direction, then at Cherry’s. “Now’s the time we gotta link back up with the rest of the group.”

Cherry flashed us a grin, before she vaulted over the barricades, galloped a few paces forward before turning her head to face both Cherry and I. “Come on! Let's not miss out on all the fun.” before she continued galloping toward the tent.

We had reached the tent, Cherry and Orange had split off and walked into different directions while I continued approaching Jam and Coco who were deep in a conversation, when Coco noticed our approach he waved us over. “Hey, great to see you three doing well.” Coco paused for a brief minute, “Well there’s still some inside the tent, Jam and I were planning to head inside, or alternatively we can just blow up and level it instead, I mean we did find a cache of dynamite, what say you?”

Dropping down to my haunches I pondered the question. On one hoof blowing up the tent will end this fight immediately, but destroying any valuable items inside, but entering the tent will allow us to gather any valuables inside, but at a great cost of more casualties for our side.

I stood up, “Set up the dynamite, we’re blowing up anyone and anything inside.” I said with conviction in my voice.

Coco and Jam stared at each other, both turning to look at me, Jam spoke up. “You sure?” he asked.

I nodded, gazing at the tent, I discerned three shadowy figures, each brandishing weapons and aiming them towards the entrance. I turned to Jam and affirmed, "Yes, I am. Whatever's inside isn't worth the cost of life we've endured in battling these raiders."

"Alright, set up the dynamite! We're going to blow up that tent!" Coco's voice rang out, prompting everyone to immediately spring into action, busily preparing the dynamite. I observed the three silhouettes inside the tent, initially in a state of frenzied panic, but then gradually settling into a resigned acceptance of their impending fate, realizing that they wouldn't be going down fighting. I turned, walking away.

I strolled for several minutes, by now I had removed my Starry Skies disguise and I am back to my default form, I arrived at a hill that afforded me a view over the aftermath of the battlefield. Atop this hill stood a solitary dead tree, bearing witness to the violence below. I sat down with my back behind the tree, I watched as the ponies who survived had begun collecting any valuables and burying the dead.

Soon After I arrived, a loud explosion rang out. Turning towards the origin I spotted the tent having been obliterated by the dynamite explosion. My attention quickly shifted from the explosion as I heard the distant sounds of cheering, spotting Coco and Jam sitting atop the pedestal addressing a crowd of eleven ponies which included the ponies from the farmhouse. As for the contents of what both were saying I do not know.

It was then that I heard hoofsteps coming to my left, craning my head to the left. I spotted Orange and Cherry approaching me.

Orange, stopped next to me and sat down next to me. “Hey.” Orange began, “Pretty hectic couple of days huh.”

I chuckled, “yeah, woke up, met you, met Cherry or rather captured Cherry and somehow convinced her to turn into an ex-raider.”

“Yeah, well, we got lucky, I mean she could’ve just resisted and continued fighting back, thus forcing us to kill her…” Orange paused, taking a look at the cleanup effort beginning to dwindle down, before turning to look back at me. “But I’m glad that it worked out and she saw reason, cause I view her as a friend, sure she’s a bit reckless during combat. That's something we’ll have to work on.”

I smiled, “I don’t think she’ll change her ways.”

Orange chuckled, then smiled “Well one can hope.” The mare then stood up. “Come on, they’re probably wondering where we are, let's go.”

She began walking downhill. I stood up, redonned on my Starry Skies disguise, and followed soon after.

We’re back inside the farmhouse, this time it’s packed with ponies, former slaves from the raider camp. As for me? Well I’m currently in the basement undisguised speaking with Jam and Coco in private.

All three of us were sitting on chairs, a table in the middle with a map of the local area displayed.

“Well, color me surprised, wasn't expecting a changeling to have helped us out.” Coco said.

Jam, let out a hearty laugh, and slapped Jam on his shoulder. “Hah! Your way up north, practically changeling territory.”

Coco, having been slightly embarrassed. “In hindsight the name ‘Olenian Hive’ should’ve given us a clue of where we were.” Coco, paused, turning to look at me. “I guess we were too busy to run from raiders to notice, but anyhow, still thank you for coming when you did, not sure if we would’ve made it if it weren’t for you.”

I nodded, “The pleasure is mine, and as the currently available Olenian Queen, I formally welcome both you and Jam’s entourage to Olenia.”

Jam stood from his chair. “Actually about that, Jam and I as well as both of our groups we’ve been talking.” Jam paused, taking a sip from his canteen, before continuing. “We were wondering, with your permission, we’re asking if you’d allow us to stay and start a settlement here? Yeah Coco’s group is tired of constantly being on the move, and my group is tired of being forced to work for bitch raider.”

I smiled, then stood “Of course you can stay, however beware choosing to stay means that I’ll be granting you Olenian citizenship, but all that is required as proof is a royal Olenian dictum written by me.” I paused, gently levitating the map from the table, rolling it up before carefully depositing it into a nearby barrel. Next, I retrieved a sheet of parchment from a dusty shelf, shaking it free of any debris, and placed it neatly on the table.

Both Jam and Coco appeared to be confused, when Coco spoke up, voicing their confusion. “Um I don’t mean to be rude, but how in the Celestia hell are you gonna write on that?”

I chuckled in response. "Well, magic, of course. It's to demonstrate that this dictum is authentic, leaving no room for doubt."

Both stallions nodded in understanding. I began casting a special kind of spell exclusive to Olenian Queens to begin writing. Both stallions began to be mesmerised as words outlined in green began appearing on the parchment, before ending it off with a green seal depicting a changeling and a deer shaking hooves in unity, a red rose just above the changeling and deer.

“With that settled.” I began, as I levitated the dictum to Coco, who in turn pocketed it inside his saddlebag. “Do you have a name for the settlement you're establishing? This used to be known as Tuulinen Niitty Kentat or Windy Meadow Fields.”

Coco, and Jam got up and huddled together in discussion, occasionally taking glances at me. However it didn’t take long for the two stallions to come into a consensus.

“We’ve decided on Liberty Meadow.” Coco said, “Furthermore I’ve chosen to keep Meadow to symbolise the Olenian geography, and Jam added Liberty into the name to symbolise the freedom that former surviving slaves achieved, this settlement shall be a safe haven for slaves who’ve escaped.”

“That sounds wonderful.” I said, smiling. “I can’t wait to see what will come of this place.”

“Hehe, yeah well, the name’s not official, Coco and I still need to run it by everyone else.” Jam said as went up the stairs presumably to inform the others.

Following soon after Jam, I disguised myself and trailed behind Jam. Before opening the door to exit the basement, I turned to Coco. “Well I’ll be off. If you need anything let me know.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay and wrap up everything here.” Coco responded.

Satisfied, I exited the basement and stepped into the hallway on the first floor. From the nearby living room, the sounds of joy and laughter reached my ears.

A far cry from when we first arrived, when it was just three ponies hunkering down inside. Thinking about it now, this area is a good location for a settlement to form. I’d have to visit Smalstad and inform them of this new settlement, but for now I’ll head outside.

Giving a small nod to a stallion who I was passing by, I exited the farmhouse and already I could see tents forming around the front porch, no doubt these were taken from the now destroyed raider camp.

I embarked on a leisurely stroll around the emerging camp that was taking shape around the farmhouse. As I wandered, I noticed Cherry participating in some sort of drinking game with two others. Personally, I could never understand the allure of such activities, but who am I to judge? They are free to engage in whatever activities they wish, as long nocreature is hurt, though in this particular case both of her companions is on the floor with bottles in hoof. All in all, the emerging camp is bringing a semblance of "normalcy" to this desolate wasteland, or at least, as close to it as one could hope for.

“Hey, *hic* Starry.”

As I was about to leave, and head for a different area, I heard a voice call my name. Turning towards the source, I spotted Cherry struggling to keep her balance as she called out to me.

“Yes Cherry?” I asked, as I saw Cherry wobbling towards me.

After a series of stumbling steps, Cherry came to a stop right beside me, her hoof finding its place on my shoulder. "Hey... I just wan- I just wanna say, Aur-Starry, that you, yes hic you've been a reaaalllllyyyy great friend in the shor hic time we've known each other..." Cherry paused to take a swig from her bottle before continuing, "Moreso, than my previous ga-friends."

“Well that means a lot to me.” I said, “But first you're drunk, as in really drunk.”

Cherry looked offended, or at least as close as one could be in her state. “Whaaa? I’m not drunk, you're drunk.”

Shaking my head, I spoke. “Come on let's get you to bed.” I began to drag Cherry along, much to her chagrin as she began thrashing about, though it quickly subsided as she passed out. I lifted Cherry from the floor and placed her upon my back.

I spotted Jam walking to me, a big smile plastered on his face. “Hey, good news, I talked about it with the rest, and they’ve agreed to keep Liberty Meadow. So in other words, welcome to Liberty Meadow.”

“That's great, I’ll try to mark Liberty Meadow on any Olenian maps I come across.” I said. “Anyways have you seen Orange?”

“Nice, and yeah Orange, with some help from my group, brought over Crimson’s tent, said that it’ll be where the three of you stay, it's behind the farmhouse.” Jam said. “Well at least until we can build proper housing.”

I nodded, and we exchanged farewells before I proceeded towards what was now not only my tent but also Cherry's and Orange's. It took me several minutes to reach the area behind the farmhouse, and as expected, the tent stood there waiting for me. In front I saw Orange tending to a campfire.

She took no time in noticing me as she brightened up. As I stopped in front of her she asked. “So how did the meeting go?”

“It went very well, and also welcome to Liberty Meadow, the wasteland’s newest settlement.” I responded. “And before you ask, yes Cherry’s passed out, and yes she’s drunk, so I’m taking her to bed, and afterward I’m heading off to bed.”

“Hey, that's great! And yeah not surprised. Welp, good night.” Orange said, “I’m not tired yet, so I won’t head off to sleep much later. Oh and before I forget our stuff’s inside.”

I nodded, then entered the tent. The inside is still the same, with the table and chairs still in place, now devoid of any bloodstains, the bed also in the same spot. The only notable change was the presence of two sleeping bags, neatly arranged along the sidewalls of the tent. Orange, Cherry and my saddlebags were located next to the table.

I gently laid Cherry on top of the bed, while I picked one of the sleeping bags and got down, and I drifted off into sleep.

Author's Note

Whew, I finished this chapter, after taking an impromtu two and half month long hiatus, finished this chapter, which by the way was halfway finished before the hiatus.

Anyways chapter 10 is finished, hope you enjoy!

I have an erratic upload schedule