Chapter 12: Escape with Consequences

Firebolt woke up in a cold and gloomy room; he opened his eyes slowly but somepony had blindfolded him, he saw just the black cloth upon his eyes. The stallion tried to move his head and thereby he noticed that his head was fixed to the table beneath him. He also realized that he didn't feel any part of his body; he was even unable to move it. There was nothing he could do but hoping that somepony would come and free him. Slowly he regained the power to speak but as he tried to do it, he had to realize that somepony had gagged him with a rope. He used his teeth to cut through the material but before he could finish he heard a pony talking to him: "Good, you're awake. - It was hard work to heal your wounds but it was even harder to get you here. You're too heavy; even four warriors can't pull you for a continuance." Firebolt felt a hoof touching his cheek. The hoof moved slowly towards his horn and pushed the black cloth away from his eyes. The face of Firestorm appeared slowly in his field of vision. "Maybe you should eat less." The stallion added smiling.

"I regret to tell you that I'm still not finished; so don't be scared, that might hurt a little." He said after he got out of the stallions field of vision. Firebolt looked a bit around before his body filled with pain and his sight got blurred. The stallion screamed and bit through the rope. "W-Wh-W-a" he tried to speak but he was too weak to do anything.

"Don't worry I'm helping you. Just trust me." Firestorm said as he heard the stutter of his friend and another wave of pain flew through the stallion's body. Finally he turned back to Firebolt's head. The alicorn took a closer look at his friend and said before he left: "I'm sorry to tell you that you need at least one more of these sessions. - I'll come back later."

Slowly Firebolt won back the ability to control his body. He looked around and saw his armor lying in a corner of the room; furthermore he saw that he was confined to the table beneath him. The alicorn tried to loosen the chains but gave up as he realized that it was useless. He even tried to melt them but he was still too weak to inflame at least his mane. "FIRESTORM!" the stallion yelled angry and suddenly a green unicorn crept in. The pony stepped beside the table with the stallion on top.

"I know that I'm not Firestorm." The unicorn said. "But is there anything I can help you with?"

"Unchain me and help me with my armor." Firebolt ranted at the pony.

"As you wish my Lord." The unicorn answered and tried to loosen the stallion's chains. "I'm sorry but I can't loosen them."

"Use your magic! Goddamn piece of shit!" he bawled at the pony, which put its horn on the chain and cut through it with its magic. It repeated its spell at the remaining chains and after a few minutes Firebolt was free. The alicorn stood up slowly and slid carefully down the table. He stepped totteringly to his armor and began to slip in the boots. "Grab the main piece and open it, so that I can slip in." he ordered after he had put on the last boot and the unicorn picked up the last piece of armor, with its magic. "Return to your Queen and tell her that you served me well."

Subsequently the unicorn looked stunned upon the stallion. "H-How? –"

"I fought against your species several times and after a while I learned to identify your kind." He explained with a little smile on his face. "- And tell your Queen that she has something that belongs to me, I want it back."

"Y-You won't kill m-me?" the changeling asked frightened.

"Why should I? – somepony has to deliver the message."

"T-Thanks." The unicorn said and left.

Firebolt stayed in the room to recover a bit of his strength. He was about to go as he heard approaching steps in the hallway. He flew up and hovered above the entrance. The steps came closer and suddenly somepony opened the door. As the pony walked in, Firebolt fell down and crashed unbraked into the pony's back, which caused all of its limbs to break. Reflexively he rammed one of his blade into its flank and realized startled that the pony was nopony else than Firestorm. "Fuck!" he shouted and pulled the blade slowly out of the body.

Just in that moment Flint Ryder walked along the hallway and stopped in front of the room. Seeing Firebolt standing with the bloody blade above Firestorm, he drew his sword. "What have you done?!" he asked stepping slowly towards the stallion.

"Call a doctor!" the alicorn shot back.

"What have you done?!"

"Are you deaf? – Go and call for a doctor!" the alicorn called.

The brown pegasus entered unimpressed the room and knelt down to look at Firestorm's wound. Firebolt retreated a few steps and created a small fireball at the top of his horn.

"What were you thinking?" Flint Ryder asked again and the alicorn shot the fireball at the Pegasus. The fireball missed its target barely and singed the pony's blue mane. "I'll get you for that!" he shouted and left the room hastily.

Firebolt stepped slowly back to his wounded friend and knelt down. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do that." He whispered in Firestorm's ear, "Please, forgive me." The stallion moved his head towards the wound and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to ram his teeth into the flesh. He stopped suddenly and realized what he was about to do. The alicorn looked at the unconscious pony and after a few minutes as the view reached his soul, a tear ran down his cheek. "W-What have I done?" he sobbed and dashed out of the room.

Preoccupied in thoughts he ran towards the exit of the building and banged into several ponies. Several times he heard that he should slow down or that he should look where he was running but he simply ignored them. Finally as he left the main HQ, he increased his speed and soon took off. Once in the air he just flew straight into the direction he had left the building. Fortunately it was night and nopony saw him but even worse was that he flew straight towards the enemy line.

After a few minutes of flying Firebolt felt exhausted and his sight became blurred. With every minute he flew, he lost more and more of his power. Slowly he came closer to the ground and finally, after he grazed the top of a tree, he crashed.

Moments later the first changelings arrived at the impact area and surrounded the stallion. They prepared to kill the vulnerable pony but as Scarabus received the picture of the alicorn, she stopped her subjects immediately. "Bring him to me!" she ordered from deep inside her hive. "Bring him alive!"

The changelings came carefully closer towards the stallion, one of the creatures poked him but there was no reaction from the alicorn. A dozen of them lifted him up and carried the body without a stop towards the hive. Whenever one of the changelings slumped down another one came and replaced him. After about an hour they reached the large building, which seemed to be a lifeform itself. Every part of it was moving and some were looking as if they're claws or something like that. The building like creature had several entrances and some of them sent out new changeling troops, without an end.

The changelings carried Firebolt towards one of the entrances, it was shaped like a big yap and the teeth seemed to be the door, which opened as the group came closer. They placed the pony upon the fleshy and wet floor and left. As the last of them went through the door, the yap closed and the big creature wound the floor around the body. Slowly it began to slug him down and after a few minutes he reached the place where the changeling-queen commanded her troops. Just in time Firebolt began to stir.

"Good, you're here." She hissed while she flew down to welcome her guest. "Long time no see."

"Scarabus!" he groaned while he stood up and shook the creature's slime off of him, "You know how our last encounter ended."

"Seriously? Are you really threatening me in my home? – Come on, you can't be so stupid." She smiled and some tentacles evolved out of the walls and tied the stallion. "The time has come to break your will. You should become one of us."

"What?!" he shouted horrified as one of the tentacles moved towards his mouth. "What are you…" The golden pony tried to ask but the tentacle cut him off as it forced its way into his mouth. It went deeper and deeper into the wreathing pony and finally the tentacle reached the pony's brain where it placed a part of itself before it left the stallion, who had lost consciousness.

After the procedure was done Scarabus began to speak again: "Wake up, my subject. You're now part of my hive and you'll obey my orders." She began to laugh and the stallion regained consciousness slowly.

"I've got something for you." she hissed laughing and another tentacle came from above and as it came closer Firebolt saw Soulchaser inside it.

"Thanks, my Queen." He answered accepting the demonic weapon. As his armored hoof touched the sword he inflamed his leg to absorb the blade.

"Go and win this war for your Queen and if you'll get the chance to kill Firestorm – Do it."

"As you wish, my Queen. But I need my own mind."

"Your wish is granted, but I'll watch you."

"Thanks, my Queen." Firebolt answered and left the hive.