Celestia's Finest: Sombra Went Down to Ashtown

[Elbeyon]

Love echoes her words. “I need strength to help everyone. I want you to help us. Yeah, we can talk about this later.”

“I want to help them though,” Love keeps her position under Chrysalis’ face and stares into Chrysalis’ big green eyes. “I think I understand them. I was born in Junk Town. It gets really hot, but the sun feels cozy warm on my coat. The sand is so soft compared to the hard ground in Canterlot. Even if Equestria and everyone is fine without me, I want to make things even better.” She agrees, “Equestria is kind. Wastelanders can be blunt.” When Chrysalis says her friends were being polite she asks, “I'm confused?” Love becomes very confused. “I thought it was real.” She defends her friends, “I do foolish things sometimes. I try to be helpful. I wouldn’t mind helping Scope with his editing. I never helped Rose get more sophisticated cyberware. I try to be helpful. I’ve been wrong?”

“You have a lot of experience. I can’t even imagine all the stories you could tell.” Love nods. “You’re very good at reading ponies. I want to trust you.” Love listens to her at intention as she takes her deep breath. “What did you sense?”, she asks nervously. The revelation causes Love’s heart to ache. “They don’t love me?”, she asks confused and in disbelief.

Love focuses in on her ear as Chrysalis whispers to her and hears her command that no one loves her. She listens to her command like a small dog would and quietly obeys. She watches Chrysalis back away and emote. The orders come one by one. Love wants to follow her friend’s advice. It’s good advice. She feels off. There is that nagging feeling deep that something is wrong, and she can hear her hoofs inside of her pounding for her to snap out of it. Her head is all fuzzy. She doesn’t want to do any of those things yet a part is fighting for them. Something is wrong. That’s not her that wants to stop loving people. Everything snaps into place. Chrysalis is trying to control her!

Her heart starts to mellow. She speaks calmly with a strong voice that lacks anger. “Queen Chrysalis, you’re idea to control me never would have worked because you don’t understand me.” She takes a formal stance to display herself with dignity. “You’re going to let me go, and I’m going to tell you why. I am from the wasteland, and the wasteland is a gift within me. I am resistant to mental manipulation. I have spread my minds and bodies all throughout Equestria. I do not sleep. There is not a moment when I’m alone or isolated. I told Scope that I was meeting with you. I will interact with dozens of ponies all around the world tonight. I have schedules and expectations all around Equestria that when left unfulfilled will cause immediate suspicion. I am a strange workaholic pony with mission vital skills that is difficult to replace not only once, but that would need replaced over and over in front of friends and family. Scope is already suspicious why I am so late in meeting his urgent request. The wasteland raised me paranoid, and I’ve set contingencies. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll tell you why: I have no desire to tell anyone that you tried to control me here tonight. Me telling others would help no one. This news would only serve to hurt my friends. It’s for the same reason Happy never found out you were putting ponies to death. I like Happy. I know you like Happy in some capacity. I don’t think you’d ever do anything to purposefully hurt her. She is safe. You and I don’t want to hurt my team. And, there is the fact that I like you too. I know that’s probably confusing. Call it unconditional.”

“I’m glad to see this side of you. We can drop etiquette and be frank with one another now. I have things to say to you. Everything you said to me? If you believe even a fraction of what you said applies to yourself, you’re very mistaken about a lot of things. Even if you are incapable of love, others can still love you deeply. Equestrians are very polite, yes. They’re also quick to make friends. That niceness and friendship? It’s genuine. It was hard for me to believe at one point too, but they really are friends.” She keeps herself measured.

“Scope really does like you. He doesn’t simply ‘tolerate’ you. He thinks about you a lot and wishes you good fortune. He actually sent a message down to me to say to you before I entered through the door. He said to say: Hello. It is a short message, but it shows he cares and thinks about you. Rose – Rose became your lover. You’re no 'nuisance' to her. I know she enjoys you being around and wants you happy. Bristle is always talking about you. Even separated, you are in his mind and heart. He adores you. He won’t stop telling me as much. This hive feels the same way. You may not realize it, but they like you and look up to you like a mother. Happy likes you. Oh, does Happy like you. You’ve been her friend for a long time. You’re very very special to her. I’m not sure you see it. She loves you."

[Miltonian]

"I think Love picked him up," Corby says, "He's being held in a cocoon, though, in some secure corner of this place."

"Wheeling Corby, if you want to get technical," she says, "Never liked 'Wheel' or 'Wheelie' or 'Wheeler' much, so I go by Corby." She takes out her gun and begins disassembling it for a good cleaning. "The Night Guard was my life for the longest time. Didn't do much outside it except read and go to the odd indie concert."

--

Red Tape smiles. "Of course! I'm always eager to hear your advice." The contents of Sniper's message, however, make his ears droop. "I...think I understand," he says quietly, "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I...hope you find someone who makes you happy."

--

Chrysalis leaps back, startled when Love speaks out of turn and not under her domination. Her eyes are wide. This was not what she expected! Not from such a weak, useless excuse for a pony. She stares at Love like she's either a ghost or the world's scariest puzzle, letting the long speech wash over her. But towards the end, the surprise wears off. Her face returns to one of schooled indifference and then her lips begin to curl into a sneer of contempt. The moment she mentions Happy, however, that sneer turns into a snarl.

In the silence that follows she stalks forward a few steps. "It would be so easy," she says, halfway to herself, "To kill you right now. And I really, really want to. You've been nothing but a pest. No, worse than a pest. Everything you do makes my life harder."

"You corrupt my Hive. You steal Happy from me." She seethes. "You walk around with this...idiotic idea that the world is bright and colorful and that you can do WHATEVER you want without consequences! I hate you and everything you represent! I hate your stupid face, the way you style your mane, and I hate, hate, HATE your smile! Oh that smile, so bright and cheerful when it has no right to be."

"So let me tell you something. Something that I think will wipe that smile away forever." Her eyes burn like twin pyres, boring into Love's skull with the heat of their gaze. "I can destroy you, and I don't need mind control to do it! I can do it with lies."

"I'll start by pinning you down and cutting a slit down the back of your neck. Then, I'll take a control chip I dug from the back of one of those scientists and spread a thin layer of webbing over it before sticking it inside you. I'll rip it out moments later, but the sticky webbing will take some of your flesh with it and it will be your blood on the chip. Then, I'll cover the wound with webbing and wrap the chip up in a bit more. That way, if they ask why there's changeling webbing in your wound and on the chip, I can just say I didn't want you to bleed too much and certainly didn't want to touch an active control chip."

"I'll drag you upstairs and, chip in hoof, frame you as one of Polaris' spies, one that I uncovered. And I can do it too. Then I'll watch as they drag you away, lock you up, and all your friends abandon you, believing you betrayed them." She smiles wickedly. "What do you think of that?" Her body is tense, ready for combat, expecting Love to lash out at her or run, one of the two.

[D.KnightSpider]

"I...think I understand," he says quietly, "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I...hope you find someone who makes you happy."

"What's done--" Sniper stops the reflexive deflection, is silent for a moment, and then continues. "I appreciate that. But the Wasteland has enough dour ponies; it doesn't need any more.so don't let your mood sour."

He holsters his rifle and stretches his neck. Then he drops to all fours.

"Anyway. We should probably give the cybernetic members of our team a tune-up before the assault."

As nice as RT's wishes were, Sniper was in no hurry to find romance. He actually hoped he never slipped up like he did with Rose. Rose and Love's near experience with his abusive nature... well, actions had consequences. Between his past indiscretions and present circumstance, there was no metric that justified putting a pony at risk of life and limb by forming a deep attachment.

He didn't like it, but he could accept it.

[DigoDragon]

"I think Love picked him up," Corby says, "He's being held in a cocoon, though, in some secure corner of this place."

"Wheeling Corby, if you want to get technical," she says, "Never liked 'Wheel' or 'Wheelie' or 'Wheeler' much, so I go by Corby." She takes out her gun and begins disassembling it for a good cleaning. "The Night Guard was my life for the longest time. Didn't do much outside it except read and go to the odd indie concert."

"Not sure if that's better or worse than the guillotine..." Rose ponders. She chuckles and dismisses the thought.

She leans in on the batpony talk. "Corby... corbie... old Prench Corp or Corb. Another word for crow, isn't it? Latin Corvus... Well, certainly better than Wheeling. My sister's name is Red, which she finds to be the most boring name in all of Equestria. Dunno about that, but she sends you sympathy. Corby is pretty cool though."

"So what kind of indie music are you into? My musical tastes are pretty lame, but my sister got me into Ska not long ago."

[Elbeyon]

Love walks to the side to engage Chrysalis in a circling match. She has no intentions of running away nor does she want to step into brawling range. "Your Hive is loyal to you. They aren't going anywhere. If you're worried about them, I can help quell that fear with you. They're ready to like you more than you ever realized. Did you not hear their cheers for you liking a muffin!? They were so happy you enjoyed a treat you made their wings flutter. Imagine how much they must like you that such a short phrase brings such joy. You said it yourself Chrysalis: Wasteland ponies are only kind to those they actually like. They are kind to you and actually like you. You can embrace them and be happy with your Hive. They want you to embrace them."

"I grew up in the wasteland. I've seen the horrors the world has to offer. I've experienced and committed unimaginable horror and dread. That's why I can find brightness in its simplistic forms. Not every moment is bright or colorful, but I want to change the world's settings towards bright and colorful. I want people to experience a happy joyful life, including you. I'm not free from consequence. I will suffer them. I devote my life to a better world. I accept your hate. If you think my face is bad, you should have seen me after my wreck. I looked stupid! Ugly! My mane and style? It didn't even exist! It looked like a foal put some scissors to a doll. I couldn't even smile! I made children cry by looking at me!"

Chrysslis threat isn't working on Love, and Love isn't going to lash out at her. Love seems serene, warmth and caring directed at Chrysslis. "You're dealing with paranoid ponies. Your lying won't work. The EDF has constantly been checking everyone's neck. We've been bathing in magical scans. Scope is too clever to not logic out the truth no matter how well crafted the lie or what you do. I'm also a paranoid wastelander whose entire body is a recording device. We have information and plans you won't be able to predict. The only trap your lie would create is one for yourself."

"I'd never take Happy from you! I see the two of you together, and I'm happy. She is my dear friend, and I'd never want her to lose you. She is happy whenever she is with you. Every time you bite into one of her muffins she is filled with joy. She likes - loves you more than you admit to yourself. Yes, Happy likes most ponies, but I can see the love in her eyes for you. You're so special to her and you don't even realize it. You make her happy. A hug from you would make her month. She'd cheer and squeal in delight in your hoofs."

[Miltonian]

Red Tape chuckles wryly. "It's very hard to keep in good spirits around here, it seems."

He nods. "Yeah, some simple diagnostics would work. We can all get in a line and have Angel check us over or...something." They arrive at their destination and, surprise, surprise! No Love.

--

"Yeah. Another word for crow," she says, "If you saw me at the dinner table growing up, it would have fit to. Always took everyone's leftovers. Got an appetite bigger than my body needs."

"Electronic stuff, mostly. Not the heavy pounding stuff in clubs, but the relaxing sounds. I sometimes pretended I was a robot, listening to them," she says with a slight smirk.

--

Chrysalis gags. "Enough with the goody-two-shoes talk! I had far too much of it from Twilight and her little cadre of super-ponies! You're starting to remind me of--" She breaks off suddenly, face going blank. It does not stay blank for long. Her mouth twists into a feral snarl. Green fire flickers across her form, adding spikes and giving her a feral, evil look. Well, more so than normal.

"PINS! NEEDLES! IN HERE NOW!" she bellows. The two changelings scramble through the main door. "Pins, guard the door. Needles, grab that insufferable mare and MAKE HER KNEEL BEFORE ME!"

Both brothers' eyes go wide. They exchange glances and their faces fall. They like Love, they really do, but it's not even a contest. "Yes, my queen," they say in unison. Pins hangs back while Needles advances on Love, a sad expression on his face.

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper frowns and checks his comm. No response to his last message.

Tactical mode takes over.

"Star, I need an immediate comm. check on Love's gear." Sniper says over EDF comm. "Lt. Charge was escorting Happy Hooves to see Chrysalis. In the past few moments, she has stopped responding to text."

Run through the options. Angel was in the infirmary. Pines had security. Corby was watching Rose. Ace was... somewhere. Rose was in lockup. Love MIA. Brazen most likely hoofing Seafire.

Comm.: "Brazen, Ace, standby."

He begins walking toward the hive. Not racing, but quick.

[Elbeyon]

Love asks in doubt, "Are you really incapable of love Chrysalis? I know it's scary to trust others and make yourself vulnerable. That's the secret. You have to trust others and be vulnerable to get what you want. It's alright to be afraid, but you're the only one that can take that step." The transformation and demand for assistance is not a good sign. The call for force threatens to change the conversation. She is calling Pins and Needles?"

Love turns her head when the main door opens. She looks at Pins and Needles, and her eyes focus on Pin's sad expression. She looks right at him and says aloud to him, "I surrender." It's all she can do to protect them.

She faces Chrysalis and repeats herself again, "I surrender, Queen Chrysalis" She kneels down in front of her. "I kneel before you."

[DigoDragon]

"Yeah. Another word for crow," she says, "If you saw me at the dinner table growing up, it would have fit to. Always took everyone's leftovers. Got an appetite bigger than my body needs."

"Electronic stuff, mostly. Not the heavy pounding stuff in clubs, but the relaxing sounds. I sometimes pretended I was a robot, listening to them," she says with a slight smirk.

Rose chuckles. "Oh, you're a big eater too? If you're ever in Canterlot after this mission, look me up and I'll take you to the Solar Corral. All you can eat buffet, and they have the best fried onion rings in the city." She rotates onto her back and stairs at the ceiling. There's a goofy grin on her, imagining herself and Corby getting their fill.

"My sister would get along with you. She's always up for indie stuff like that. As fillies she often pretended to be a robot. She was the brains between us. Well, I was brains too, but nothing like her, so I settled on brawn. We were grounded so many times... so many... heh. You have any siblings?"

[Miltonian]

Star leaps into action and looks really cool doing it. Unfortunately, no one but Green Pine is there to see it, and he’s not a main character in this story. She brings up Love’s info and replies back over the general comms, “Love’s down there still on level five. All the way at the bottom. Let me see if I can raise Happy. I’ll report back in a moment.”

Red Tape moves alongside Sniper. “I’ll come with you,” he says, “Juuust in case.” He smiles, but it’s a thin smile. “It’s probably nothing. Probably.”

Ace sends a non-verbal ‘acknowledged’ sign, but doesn’t take the time to write out a full reply.

--

“I live at the Canterlot Guard Base right now,” Corby says, “Ever since we began training. Don’t have a place of my own yet. Green Pine snores. I want out of there as quickly as possible.”

“Both of them are ten years younger than me,” she says, “Twins, not identical ones though. Haven’t seen them in a while. They’re in high school now, I think. I mean, they might have been held back. I don’t know. I never asked.”

--

Chrysalis’ hoof comes down on Love’s neck, pushing her all the way to the ground. “That will do,” she says, a satisfied tone in her voice. “Remember this,” she hisses, “You are weak, pathetic. If you weren’t so useful, no one would want you around.”

She feels something sharp press against the back of her neck, drawing a mere drop of blood. For now. “Unfortunately,” Chrysalis says, “I don’t believe your promises. I think you’re going to go right to Sniper Scope and tell him all about how ‘evil Queen Chrysalis’ tried to take you over. And so, I’m going to have to destroy any shred of credibility you might have.”

[DigoDragon]

“I live at the Canterlot Guard Base right now,” Corby says, “Ever since we began training. Don’t have a place of my own yet. Green Pine snores. I want out of there as quickly as possible.”

"Oof, yeah I can imagine that Green does. Loudly," Rose says. Her tail flicks in thought. "Hmm, I live in a little one-bedroom apartment, but since it's just me I don't use up the entire space. I can take you in for a while if you need to get out fast. It's a decent place; the maintenance is good, decent shelving, I rarely if ever snore... maybe if I have a cold. But yeah, consider it if you need a fast out. I don't throw wild parties or anything like that."

“Both of them are ten years younger than me,” she says, “Twins, not identical ones though. Haven’t seen them in a while. They’re in high school now, I think. I mean, they might have been held back. I don’t know. I never asked.”

"No? I guess the age gap is a bit of a wedge." Well, it could be other things like divorce, but Rose went for the friendlier guess. "My sis and I are about two years apart. We often got mistaken for twins. Well, not these days. She wears glasses and I'm half machine. I remember encouraging her to join the military. She's make a great operations specialist. Radio operator. Heck, she could be part of the intelligence command or cyber-security. Well, she didn't like the outfit. I don't blame her. It takes a lot of personal discipline to join and stick with it. Least she's happy working cyber-security commercially."

[D.KnightSpider]

Star was able to tell that his comm. was disabled at the Castle of Friendship. She should be able to find out the same about Love's.

Sniper seals his suit-- he needs a HUD. He accesses Love's bug network and checks for any active feeds from the Hive.

No response to RT. Can't be distracted.

He keeps moving.

[Elbeyon]

Love's head meets the ground. She warmly speaks, "You're not evil Queen Chrysalis. I believe in you even if you have trouble believing in yourself. I promise you that I don't want my friends hurt." Love focuses on her friendships. Scope asking her for a hug right before they entered Down to the Wire. Rose and the small happy moments they shared in the hospital. Brazen and her playing power armor Frisbee. Her parents moving to Equestria. Happy scarfing down pancakes with her after a long night of fun. Pins and Needles long chat with her, and them hugging. Star confessing her feelings. The feelings of twelve ponies surrounding themselves with friends and family. "Can you feel that? I love my friends!" Love's broken horn glows. "You can hurt me, torture me, but don't hurt my friends. You're going to hurt my friends. You're going to hurt Scope, Rose, and Happy!"

[Miltonian]

Corby doesn’t even hesitate. “Yes,” she says, “Yes please. Hay, I’ll take a couch. I want more than a small trunk to store my stuff in.”

She shrugs. “They’re both a pair of little--” Her comm chimes. She looks at it and frowns. “Huh. Got an alert from Wildcat. Everyone’s on standby. Apparently Love’s gone missing down in the Hive.”

--

Star calls Sniper. She doesn’t text, she calls him. “Love’s comm is turned off,” she says, sounding worried, “Happy says they went down to deliver muffins and Chrysalis pulled her aside for a ‘private conversation’. It...it would be just like her to turn her devices off if Chrysalis asked her to.”

Red Tape panting behind him, Sniper arrives at the borders of the Hive. Two unfamiliar changelings stand guard and nod to him. “Lt. Scope,” the one on the left says, “What brings you down here?” They aren’t making any moves to stop him. In fact, their posture is relaxed, casual. One of them has a crumpled up muffin skirt sticking out of his saddlebags.

--

Chrysalis lets out a long, slow hiss. She grabs Love’s horn with one hoof and spins around her, bringing them face to face once more. Her other forehoof plays with a dagger, spinning it around dexterously, dangerously. She licks her lips. “I feel it. And it smells delicious. No. No, I’m not going to hurt them. It’s you I want to hurt.” She ponders for a moment. A low, dangerous cackle slips from her lips. “Alright, I’ll let you go. But first! Let me set up a little, shall we say, mutually assured destruction.”

Her knife slides across Love’s throat, not drawing blood, but enough to put anypony on edge. "Let me tell you something. Those bosses you freed? The ones you told yourself shouldn't be locked away in cocoons? You have no idea what they're like, do you? Let me tell you exactly what you've done."

The knife travels up and over Love’s cheeks, almost as if Chrysalis is practicing carving up her face. "The friendliest and most moral of the lot are the gangsters. They rule their little fortresses with iron hooves, murdering any opposition. They've burned down farms that refused to join them, locking the family in the barn and standing outside just in case they happen to slip out. They've ripped children from their mothers, shot fathers in front of sons, and executed sons in front of fathers. And for what? To live at the top of some town made from trash and the wreckage of a dead nation."

The knife hovers in front of Love’s eyes for a moment before travelling up to her forehead instead. "Then you have the Raiders, those who don't care about ruling and just take whatever they want. Those are the real monsters. Gangsters will only enslave you if you give into their demands. Raiders will take what they want and then string you up anyway. Like Pike. You remember Pike?” Love remembers Pike. She met her when she introduced herself to all the kidnapped gang leaders.

Chrysalis goes down the list of every raider boss she’d captured, listing their many crimes and the ways they brutalized their fellow ponies for fun and marginal profit. It’s on a much smaller scale than what Hyper Thought and Polaris are doing, but just as evil. Powder Keg’s Red Skorpions, with their tearing off of ponies’ wings and horns, are square in the middle of the atrocities. Love remembers whole towns pooling together their money to hire mercenaries just to drive these sorts of ponies off.

At last, she is done. The knife retreats and twirls around her hoof. Chrysalis snarls. “And you know what? I was poised to eliminate them from the face of the earth. My infiltrators would have sent their entire gangs to their deaths fighting the CPI and then faked the deaths of their stolen identities. In one, fell swoop, I would have eliminated two great evils in this land. I could have been a hero, Love. But you…” She chuckles darkly and runs the dagger down over Love’s nose. “You ruined that. And generations of Wastelanders will feel the consequences.”

“If you breathe a word of what happened here tonight to Sniper, Rose, or anyone else, I’ll make sure they all know it. I’ll make your name the most reviled name in this entire. Miserable. Wasteland. Ponies everywhere will curse you. Not just here. I’ll make sure everyone in Equestria knows it too. Everyone will hate you. Not me, not Rose, not Sniper, not Brazen, you and only you.”

Teeth bared, she pulls Love’s head up until their faces are mere inches apart. “Do you understand me, Lt. Partial Charge?!”

[DigoDragon]

Corby doesn’t even hesitate. “Yes,” she says, “Yes please. Hay, I’ll take a couch. I want more than a small trunk to store my stuff in.”

Rose grins. She didn't expect such a quick answer, but she's more than happy to help a fellow EDF member find-

“Huh. Got an alert from Wildcat. Everyone’s on standby. Apparently Love’s gone missing down in the Hive.”

-wait, what?! Rose slowly sits up on her cot.

"Gone missing in the hive? The heck is she doing in there? Oh geez, Love..." Ugh, and of course it HAD to happen when Rose was locked up in the brig for observation. "Could you keep me appraised on what's going on? I mean, obviously I can't do anything about it, but it's nice to know what's going on."

[D.KnightSpider]

"I know. I don't like it either. " Sniper says to Star. He throttles up his emotions so that he doesn't sound like a complete automaton. "But try not to worry. I'll get her back. Gotta go."

As he approaches the Changelings, Sniper runs through his tactical options before clearing his visor. Since there was no concrete suspicion of foul play on any pony's part, he wasn't here to pick a fight. Yet.

"I'm trying to find Lt. Charge." Sniper replies to the Changeling. "Lt. Croix was injured in a CPI booby trap and we need Lt. Charge's help to repair the damage. Lt. Charge appears to be having comm. difficulties but he GPS transponder puts her location in your hive."

He lets his gaze fall to the muffin wrapper and become quite pointed.

(Got interrupted. Submitted post early. Clarified an action. Rolling in other thread. /OoC)

[Elbeyon]

Chrysalis' hoof grab disrupts the magic in Love's horn. Love looks up from the ground into Chrysalis' big green eyes as the changeling queen decides her fate. The knife playfully murmurs nearby into her ear. The speech is Chrysalis' to give since Love surrendered. She carefully listens to the Queen say all she has to say. The news about the gangs is surprisingly unsurprising. The Queen must think Love doesn't know what actions those gang leaders have committed. She grew up in the wasteland. She knows. Love and Scope crawled through a personal detailing of their misdeeds. The Queen may have written them off and decided they are better off discarded, but Love isn't giving up on them. They aren't trash to discard. They are people.

The Queen is unsparingly forcing her head around. Love lets out a pained sound as Chrysalis pulls her head up. The rhetorical questions seem to have stopped. Love breaths out and looks into Queen Chrysalis' eyes. "I understand you, Queen Chrysalis. We've been very candid with each other. Mutually assured destruction. I won't retaliate in any form. You won't retaliate in any form. We're working together to stop the CPI." She focuses in on her eyes (not like there is much else to look at anyway). "That's why you can still be a hero Queen Chrysalis. We're going to stop the CPI together, and you can be a hero for saving the Wasteland like you want. I want what you want here. I can support you. Work closer together with us. Let's do this by the book, and you are a hero. The wasteland will know of your deeds. Deeds as great as they are. People will praise your name."

[Miltonian]

Corby takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah I'll let you know as stuff comes in." She smirks. "Looks like we're both sidelined though. I can't just abandon my post without someone to take watch."

--

The changeling guard shrugs. "Yeah, she's...somewhere in there. Look for Pins and Needles. They're, uh, best friends or something now, I guess."

"You! What do you two think you're doing?!" a voice shouts from behind them.

Both guards freeze. Their ears droop and looks of dread come over their faces. One lowers the visor on his helmet and says under his breath, "Oh no, please no. Not this again."

An old changeling hobbles towards them, fire in his eyes and with an expression so tense he looks like he's about to have a heart attack. "You better not be letting anymore ponies in the Hive, you miserable little sacks of goo! Why, back in my day, we'd shoot any of them that tried! Nasty, good for nothing, little--" He rants on and on while the two guards stand there stoically, eyes front and not saying a word of protest.

--

Chrysalis studies Love's face carefully, watching her for any sign of treachery. Her face becomes a blank mask for a moment. She lets Love go and the knife disappears. "This used to be more fun," she mutters.

Grabbing Love by the horn with her telekinesis, she starts dragging her towards the door. "Sniper's here for you," she growls, "Let's go greet him, shall we?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper would love to arrange a heart attack for the Changeling. But that wasn't permissible under these circumstances.

He glances at RT. Subvocal comm. to the Captain: "Mind distracting these three?"

Note to self: work out new procedures that took advantage of smart grenade capabilities.

[DigoDragon]

Corby takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah I'll let you know as stuff comes in." She smirks. "Looks like we're both sidelined though. I can't just abandon my post without someone to take watch."

Rose slowly slinks back down into her cot. "Yeah... sorry about that. If I knew the chips would explode like they did, I wouldn't have powered them. Unfortunately, we really know nothing about how these things work. The technology is bleeding edge. Yet... it seems to have a magic component. Without the magic I don't know that these chips would work like they do. And you know, with all those marelantean artifacts that Hyper Thought keeps going after, I have to wonder if he somehow cheated to make these?"

"Sorry, I like to ramble on magical theory. Didn't mean to bore you."

[Elbeyon]

She doesn't easily process 'things use to being more fun'. Love didn't mean to be a downer.

Love gets pulled along by her horn. "Oh, we're going that way now." She tries to scoop her stuff from the nearby table as she gets pulled away toward Scope. "Scope is here." She says in acknowledgement and a warming heart. She hopes he isn't too distressed. "I'd like that." She agrees with the Queen. She better put her comms back on.

When she sees Scope she'll give him a comforting wave.

[Miltonian]

Chrysalis lets Love grab her things and leads her out the door. Her expression is grim.

--

Red Tape replies. "Sure thing." He steps forward and finds a pistol pointed at him, courtesy of the old changeling. "Now now," he says, "That's not necessary, good sir."

"Shaddup, pony," the changeling snarls.

One of the guards clears his throat. "Sniper, Captain, this is our quartermaster, Draw." He smiles weakly. "He's a formidable personality around the Hive."

"Darn right," the old timer says, spitting on the floor, "And I won't have more than two ponies in here at once, especially not if you're planning on waking up the whole hive too."

"Of course not," Red Tape says smoothly.

Before Sniper really needs to slip away, he sees Chrysalis storming towards them, pulling Love along behind her. She locks eyes with him and scowls. "Sniper Scope!" she calls and tugs Love forward, "Here's your hacker back. Keep her out of my Hive! She's done quite enough damage already."

--

"The only thing I know about magic is 'don't let the enemy hit you with it'," Corby says, "And how to avoid a few defensive spells." She shrugs. "Comes with the territory."

[DigoDragon]

"The only thing I know about magic is 'don't let the enemy hit you with it'," Corby says, "And how to avoid a few defensive spells." She shrugs. "Comes with the territory."

"Best way to avoid getting hit is to stop the caster. Hit that unicorn on the horn!" Rose says in singsong. "It works pretty well. Yes, that's personal experience."

She chuckles. "So if Ace ever bothers you, give him a good flick up here." She points to her horn.

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper returns Love's wave with a nod. Otherwise, he doesn't react to her, his attention is fixated on Chrysalis. Their stares meet and the old territory returns: each knows that the other is conniving and neither will retreat.

"I'm glad to see our hacker in one piece." Sniper says. "As soon as Happy Hooves is returned to us, I have every intention of keeping every pony away from your hive on a permanent basis. We won't disturb you for social calls again."

[Elbeyon]

Love nods back to him.

Love moves closer to Chrysalis and whispers to her.

She doesn't seem happy that Scope is saying everyone will stay away.

[Miltonian]

"I did do that once," Corby says, "With the handle of my knife. He said it hurt almost as bad as getting kicked between the legs. He didn't elaborate on how he got kicked there, but..." She shrugs. "Seen him get slapped several times."

--

Chrysalis takes a sharp breath. "Just...give us a break from her," she growls, pushing Love past the guards and over to Sniper, "Happy is...I don't know what she's doing." She turns. "WHERE'S HAPPY?"

"Here!" Happy calls and comes galloping down the hall. She trips and slips, rolling head over hills and coming to a rest at Red Tape's hooves. "Hello!" she says cheerfully.

"Good. Great. Thanks for stopping by! Now GOODNIGHT!" Chrysalis huffs and turns on her heels, striding back into her hive.

[DigoDragon]

"I did do that once," Corby says, "With the handle of my knife. He said it hurt almost as bad as getting kicked between the legs. He didn't elaborate on how he got kicked there, but..." She shrugs. "Seen him get slapped several times."

"Ha, oh I'm sure I can imagine what Ace did to get kicked there," Rose says with a sly grin. She shakes her head. "He's a nice stallion, but he tries too hard to be smooth."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Hello." Sniper says to Happy.

"Goodnight." Sniper says to Chrysalis.

"Gentle creatures." Sniper says to the Changelings.

He looks Love over and the nods his head for them to get clear of the bugs. Once they're away, they can talk.

Subvocal comm. to the EDF: "Lt. Charge and Happy Hooves have been collected. They appear unharmed, but as a precaution, I am escorting them to the infirmary. I recommend that the Hive be left alone and strongly recommend a strict policy of utilizing the buddy system method should a trip to the Hive be necessary."

Text to Love: Call Star.

[Elbeyon]

Love accepts being pushed away by Chrysalis over the 'line' and back outside the Hive. She doesn't offer her any resistance or further annoyance as Chrysalis calls the adventure to a close.

After Chrysalis is gone, Love looks down to Happy with a smile. "Hello, Happy." Love will help her to her hoofs. "Did you have fun?" She pouts. "I wanted to see Cloak and Daggers face when they got their headphones and music players." Love even had some coffee prepared for the nightbugs! Oh, well. She smiles at Happy again. "I hope they enjoy the music." Love gives her a quick hug.

She walks with Scope out of the Hive.

Love subcomms the EDF, "Hey, everyone. We're completely fine." They aren't harmed.

Love texts Scope, "I'll call Star. Thanks."

Love subcomms Star, "Hey, Sunshine. We're heading upstairs."

[Miltonian]

"Works for him sometimes," Corby grumbles, "Has three mares with him tonight. Does a good job about not shoving all the details on the rest of us, though, so thank Celestia for that. Only thing we ever hear is what intel, if any, he gathered."

She checks her phone and sighs with relief. "Good. They found Love and Happy. They're fine."

--

Red Tape turns around, giving up on talking to the Quartermaster, and leaves. Everypony else is welcome to follow him, though Happy will wave as she does.

"Good job, Lt," Wildcat replies over the comms, "Angel is already prepping the infirmary to check them over."

"They were surprised," Happy answers to Love, "But I didn't see if they were happy about it or not."

"Thank Celestia!" Star says, sounding relieved, "Love, please, please, PLEASE don't turn your comms off again!"