Three barges into Magpie's room without knocking.
"I looked for you everywhere but you weren't in the office and the griffons told me you've gone back-" he blurts out like a machine gun.
"Three, calm down, calm down," Magpie stands up and rushes over to the distressed changeling, "What's the problem?"
"I was in the armory and Thirteen came back but she was tainted and then-"
"Slow down!" Magpie grabs the changeling by his shoulders, "What do you mean by Thirteen coming back? She's here?"
"She was here! She found me in the armory but she was tainted and got mad when she saw me with Dust Pan-"
"What has she got to do with anything?" Magpie feels a migraine coming on as he tries to understand the not-slowing changeling.
"She's a changeling and she's super quick! She totally kicked Thirteen's butt but didn't hurt her anymore when I asked her to, I think!" Three starts tugging at Magpie's chest feathers, "We have to find her!"
"THREE!" Magpie shakes him with such force Three's wobbles like a bobblehead, "SLOWLY! Take a deep breath."
Three closes his eyes and starts again.
"I left your office and went straight down to the armory to clear my head. I found Dust Pan there. She threw a ball at me a few times. Tainted Thirteen appeared and jumped at us. Dust Pan stopped her and did the mental thing that knocked me out. When I woke up, they were both gone."
"Three, that doesn't check out. We talked in my office over two hours ago."
Three freezes. Did the mental blast completely mess up his internal clock?
"Whah? Really?"
"Yeah."
"SON OF A BOOP! We're too late," Three curses for the first time since Magpie's met him and kicks the floor, his hoof flashing at the impact and scoring a deep groove in the solid stone as if it was water. He realizes what he just did and clamps a hoof over his mouth. Then he looks down at the groove, "Oops, sorry. Drone digging instinct."
"You made a hole like this by accident?" asks Magpie, "That's solid granite. Can you do that to anything?"
Three scratches his head.
"I dunno, probably?"
"Come with me, walk and talk," Magpie leads Three outside.
"What about Thirteen?" insists Three.
"Unless you have a direct clue to where she is, Castor and Crimson are better suited for finding her than either of us. I've got them both on speed dial in my office. Now back to the digging thing - wouldn't being able to instantly shred any armor make drones the best changeling fighters?"
"Nah," Three shakes his head, trotting after Magpie, "We drones are nowhere near as quick, flexible, or strong as warriors. Can't dig through something you can't even touch."
They walk in silence for a moment until Three asks:
"What's the plan now?"
"If Castor and Crimson don't come up with anything quick, we'll have to prepare for the observation of Equitown. Thirteen had a good idea to set up several thermal cameras around the changeling tunnel and both entrances after she failed to spot anything during her stake-out. Whoever Dust Pan really is, she might be able to turn herself invisible but hopefully not completely undetectable."
"Wow, she's smart!"
"She can be," admits Magpie, which makes Three crack a smile, "When she allows herself to be. I'll get several smarter griffons on it who might have a chance to resist basic mind control. I still need you to focus on figuring out the ways to slow corruption down as well as overseeing the farming unit production."
"There are ways ponies can resist our control?" Three raises an eyebrow.
"I practiced with Gem. She didn't want any other changeling to be able to use me against her. I might be able to explain the basics to others, although without a practical test it won't mean much," he pauses for a moment, "You know, I could use your venom."
"But... I just make candy?"
Magpie smirks.
"I noticed several interesting things about it when we were in Windy and I'd like to test something. I know it means we can't just rush after Thirteen but it's not as if we know where to rush to."
Three sighs and suddenly stops.
"Huh?" Magpie looks back at him, slowing down.
"It didn't click to me until now but we might not have to," Three furrows his brows.
"How come?"
"As I said, Dust Pan could have killed Thirteen there and then but didn't when I asked her to. Instead, she took her somewhere. Why would she do that if she wanted to kill her?"
"So you think she might be just holding her so that she doesn't hurt anyone?" Magpie stops.
"Yeah."
"That gives us time at least- wait… wait wait wait… was Thirteen the Corrupted who attacked the patrols several hours ago?"
"You knew about her before?" Three's voice jumps up a pitch.
"Oookay, this is going to need a group-"
"Hug?" Three's eyes light up.
"Group chat!"
It's several hours later, the catching everyone in charge up on the events surrounding Thirteen has finished, and Three sighs while riding on Crimson's back as she's leaving the fortress.
"What's wrong? I mean, other than your changeling friend having been hauled to Emperor-knows-where," she asks.
"It feels like I'm not doing anything to help..."
"What? That's nonsense!" Crimson shakes her head at the absurdity of the statement, "You are the lifeline of Bloodstone. Thanks to you, we're on the track towards securing food for the whole city. Your first experiments at stopping the creeping corruption have been a success. I mean, if you weren't a changeling you'd already be publicly heralded as the savior of Bloodstone and the historians and media would be standing in line to conduct an interview with you. Nothing against Magpie, he's doing his best, but you're the real reason we're still standing."
Three sighs again and lies down on her back.
"I know, but with Thirteen gone, all this just feels so… impersonal. I can't see anyone smile, I can't sense them being happy about being warm and with some prospect of the future. Everything is so glum all the time..."
"Welcome to management," Crimson smirks to herself, "Real management, not just taking credit for what griffons under you do."
"I dun like it..." grumbles Three in a pouty way which reminds a mother like Crimson of an earlier time in her life when Warren was still tiny… and alive.
"How old are you?" she asks.
"Uhhh..." Three looks at his hooves for a moment, counting quietly, and says, "Two hundred and fifty-ish? I have trouble counting the early years because my brain was all fuzzy but then I died and I got a better one but I wasn't able to use it right because I was still used to the fuzzy one and it took a long time to get things working in here," he taps the side of his head.
It takes Crimson a short while to chew through the implications of what Three just said.
"Aaaand everything you just said actually happened? You're not just making fun of me in some weird changeling way? You died, came back, and got a new… brain."
"Yep, nope, yep, yep, yep. These rune thingies," he points his foreleg ahead so that Crimson can turn her head and see the glowing symbols, "are a sign of an artificial body. I used to be able to make them flash and change colors but then a lot of bad things happened and I can't control what they do anymore. They just turn dimmer or brighter based on how I feel."
"Magical mood rings..." Crimson shakes her head, "You know, don't take this as an insult but you're a weird mix of an adult griffon and a little one."
To her surprise, Three doesn't object and huff as she would expect from a small griffon but instead lets out a nervous laugh and scratches his head.
I guess I'm talking to the adult and wise Three now...
"Yeeeah, I got that a lot even back at home. Boss always said, though, that we've been through so many bad things so early in our lives that I deserved a century or two of just hugging creatures, helping with little things, and sharing smiles because they were free, and if anyone didn't like it, they could take their complaints to Miss One. I don't think anyone ever did that. Plus, I was told that hospital patients often got better when I was around, even those whom the doctors couldn't help at all. There's this illness called cancer-"
"Next thing you're going to tell me you can cure cancer with hugs," Crimson chuckles. When Three stays silent, simply staring at the back of her head in confusion, she adds, "Fuuuck, that wasn't a joke, was it?"
"Nuh-uh," Three shakes his head, "Though I don't know if cure is the right word. It's not as if I just came, hugged a dw- a pony, and all was good. I just… was there and more often than not they got better. Having their family come while I was there and realize they're gonna live was the best feeling ever," Three smiles, staring into the past, "These days, everything is too big, too dark, too world-ending. Nothing I do changes that I feel tiny and helpless..."
"Hmmm..." Crimson ponders the situation. She knows how it was when the rebels were stealing food from the Irongrips, she knows how the happy smiles felt whenever they could ration just a little more to the hungry griffons, and she also knows that despite helping as many as they could, it was never enough. The personal touch, that's it! "Three, if you want to see the griffons you're helping up close, you can always take a shift in a supply center or do deliveries."
"Huh?"
"Supply center, a place where we ration supplies. Like a soup kitchen but for everyone. Can't say we're understaffed, since most griffons have nothing to do these days but there must be one in which we could shove a changeling without disrupting the learned routine."
"Mmmm, I don't want to be trouble. What about the delivery thing? We drones are great at carrying stuff around! That and digging are two things we're literally made for."
"There are always elderly griffons or hospital patients who are in no shape to walk in the dark through the snow and cold to the supply centers. We have things pretty mapped out so we know who's where and who needs help. You're a bit too small to carry too much."
"I'm strong! Plus, it's not as if I can't transform into a griffon, although I'd prefer doing it as a changeling so that you griffons can get used to us, see that we're not scary and evil."
"Yeeeah, that's a tall order but with you it might just work. As for the containers, it's not the weight, it's the shape. You'd be dragging them on the ground. If you don't mind carrying less, though, it should be fine. So, do you want to try a test run later today?"
"Definitely!"
Magpie observes the ten griffons standing at attention in front of him in the armory. On a weapon rack next to him, there's a small pouch filled with Three's 'candy' for today's test. He grabs it and presents it to the soldiers.
"I don't know how strong these are so each of you take one for now," he orders. The griffons give the jawbreakers a curious look before obeying and eating their share.
"Now split into pairs, doesn't matter how," he nods at the line of soldiers. They do so, used to it from training exercises, "Good."
"Are we going to spar, sir?" asks one.
"Not exactly, no. For now, just face each other in silence."
The soldier doesn't say anything further, much to Magpie's satisfaction.
Well-trained. I'm not sure whether to applaud or call them better drones than changelings. Now, Gem's venom usually works within seconds. Can't compare Three with her so let's give it a few minutes… or maybe increase their metabolic rate?
"Give me fifty, guys. All of you," he decides.
"You going to do it with us, sir?" asks one soldier with a smug expression.
"Still coughing blood whenever I get winded and one of my forelegs barely moves. Take a wild guess..." Magpie rolls his eyes, "Down."
Without further questions, the soldiers start doing push-ups. Fifty isn't much but it should be enough to get the blood running. Once they're done, Magpie gives them a few seconds to pair up again and then gives the strange order:
"Now hug each other and tell you what you think about your mate," he smirks.
One soldier gives Magpie a confused look, another one asks:
"Are you seriou-?"
Both of them are interrupted by their pair mates hugging them.
"Dude, remember how we were stuck in the barracks with the Irongrips in charge? I'd have gone insane if you weren't there-"
"I've never properly thanked you for saving my ass during the rebellion-"
"-I've admired your dedication to duty-"
"-for making shifts less boring-"
Once the two complaining soldiers manage to pry themselves away from their partners, Magpie clears his throat to grab everyone's attention, points to them, and says:
"You two stay here, the rest of you can go."
One of the others asks:
"Are they in trouble? Because, sir, they're good guys, maybe a bit too hard-"
"No, they're not in trouble," Magpie interrupts him, "Dismissed!"
Once the three are left alone, Magpie looks at the two soldiers, one of whom asks:
"What was in that candy?"
"That's a secret, but basically a mind-altering drug. Not dangerous, don't worry," Magpie smirks, "You two resisted it, which makes you the first members of a special unit I need right now."
"Special, sir?"
"Yes. This isn't technically top secret or anything but it might spread worry which is the last thing we need right now. There are more changelings than Three and Thirteen in Bloodstone. We don't know who they are, what their goal is, or how long they've been here. We can't track them but, so far, we're assuming they have some connection to Equitown."
"Hostile?"
"I would say that's very unlikely," says Magpie carefully, "If I were to hazard a guess, I think they're hiding more out of fear of griffon retribution rather than for any nefarious reason. Changelings these days are nothing like the old legends we have here in the Empire. Unfortunately, we're in no position to let them be because they've captured Thirteen."
"That doesn't sound 'not hostile', sir."
"She was the Corrupted our patrols spotted earlier today. She got caught in the explosion of the Black Ops corruption bombs. My current understanding of the situation is that she's been captured by the unknown changeling or changelings so that she wouldn't threaten Bloodstone. The problem is that while they seem to be able to keep her contained, we are the ones with the potential ability to cure her. We need to find her before her corruption progresses to the point where they're forced to kill her. The drug I gave you simulated mind-altering effects of changeling venom. Compared to a real skilled changeling, the effect should be minor but you're still the only two who passed."
"If I may ask a question, sir, why the hugging?"
Alright, not keeping it a secret then.
"It's Three's venom, which means it's about as dangerous as he is so it wouldn't allow me to order you to do anything violent. It worked surprisingly much better than I expected. Now, I'm going to give you this," he shakes the candy pouch, "and you're to find five to ten griffons who can resist it like you did. If anyone complains, send them to me and I'll have them hug a porcupine. Once we have the team, you're going to set up the observation of Equitown. I'll brief you on what to look for."
"Yes, sir!" they salute as one.
Three's happy humming spreads through the empty streets of Bloodstone as he carries several smaller boxes of food back on his back inside a big mesh bag.
His ears twitch when he hears sudden cracking of snow from an alley he's passing by. He looks at the source of the noise which turns out to be a griffon rushing towards him.
"Hello, can I help you?" asks Three with a smile.
The griffon pulls out a pistol hidden in a barrel holster and aims it at Three.
"Give me that food!" he whispers in a hoarse but shaky tone.
"Did you not get your rations, mister?" asks Three, "This is my first courier trip so I'm a bit new to this."
"I- I can't!" he grits his beak, "A griffon can't live off of that little. I'm starving."
"I'm sorry for that but we're building more machines on a daily basis. It's going to get better."
"Give. Me. The. Food!"
"I can't. This is for old griffons who can't go outside. Taking it from me would only hurt… uhh… I have five deliveries for now so five griffons."
"I- I- I need-" his twitchy talon pulls the trigger. Maybe on accident, maybe not.
The bullet ricochets off of Three's barrel into the snow. When the griffon sees that Three's unharmed, he drops the gun, sits down, and starts crying.
"I can't… I can't even do this right… I'm so hungry..."
Three ignores the barely visible and slightly stinging scratch in his carapace. A gun of that small caliber didn't even need any physical adjustments. He walks over to the sitting griffon, pats his head, and gives him a smile.
"You wanna come with me? I'm not going to tell anyone you tried to shoot me if you do."
"Wh-What are you going to do with me?" the griffon leans away.
"We'll see," Three boops him, "But it's either that or the guards. Take your pick."
"N-No guards, please..." he breathes out, "I… I don't want to die..."
"See? That wasn't so hard," Three pats his head, "Now grab the pistol so that no one gets hurt by accident and come."
The griffon doesn't stop shaking as he silently follows Three towards his first destination. Once in front of a small house on the outskirts of Bloodstone, Three knocks on the door and calls out:
"Food delivery!"
The door opens, revealing a grey, wrinkled griffon lady with half of her feathers missing. She squints at the beaming changeling and the terrified griffon before asking in a crackly voice:
"Do I know you, young griffon? And who's your pet critter over here?"
"I'm Three!" Three salutes, "Food delivery for today. That guy tried to steal my food because he's super hungry but I'm a changeling so it was okay," he adds, as usual explaining absolutely nothing.
"A changeling? Hah! What imagination you younglings have," she shakes her head, "Come in, come in! I'm sure I can share a little. It's not as if a dry old prune like me needs to eat that much," she turns around and enters the house. When the griffon hesitates, she calls out again, "Listen, youngster, I may not be too hungry but my joints sure as heck can feel the draft!"
Three nudges the griffon.
"See? You couldn't hurt someone like her by stealing her food, could you?"
"I… I'm so sorry..."
"Come on," Three enters the house with the griffon in tow.
After some unpacking of the meager rations and portioning it between the thief and the granny, Three sets up to leave again.
"I wish you a nice evening but I gotta go," he nods towards the rest of his cargo.
"Was nice meeting you, changeling," the granny chuckles, "You should read more, Three, whatever critter you might be. Changelings hide and strike from the shadows, not parade around in broad… well not daylight but you know what I mean. They are big, armored, spiky monsters with sharp teeth who can hypnotize you so that they can bite your head off and you'll even thank them for it."
"With your head bitten off?"
"That's exactly why they're so terrifying!"
Three chuckles.
"Thank you for the warning. I'll be sure to avoid anything scary like that. Bye, Miss Granny. Bye, Mister Hungry."
With a smile on his muzzle, Three leaves the house, safe in the knowledge that there's one less desperate griffon on the streets.
"We are making things better," he whispers to himself, "Slowly but surely."
In the darkness of the hive mind, Thirteen collapses on the ground, beaten and exhausted. The wall of tentacles closes around her and several more grow underneath her, lifting her up and spreading her legs.
"So this… is it..." she croaks, a stab of amusement growing in her as she watches the nearest tentacle dart forward to penetrate her mouth. Of course, from what little she knows about corruption, even this strange representation of it inside her own head is going to penetrate much more than her mouth and supposedly she's going to enjoy it in the end.
"Three… I'm sorry I'm not… strong enough."
Her final burst of desperate strength is nothing compared to the muscular tendrils holding her in the air and results only in her slight wiggling.
A tentacle slithers up her hind leg. She closes her eyes and grits her teeth.
Maybe if I don't resist it won't be so bad?
A sudden flash of light gets through her eyelids and the probing tentacle withdraws. The others holding her simply vanish and Thirteen flops on the ground. With her remaining strength, she looks ahead towards the glow, only to see a tall, unmistakable figure of a changeling queen, golden fire enveloping her and burning a path through the field of tentacles everywhere around.
Thirteen, her eyes failing to adapt to the light, can't make out any real details. It's a queen, she has holes in her legs, that's all. One thing, though, pierces through her hazy and exhausted mind, and that is the bright sapphire glow of the queen's eyes.
Gem's figure materializes from the shadows between the queen and Thirteen, staring the intruder down.
"You must be carefu-" as Gem speaks up, the queen's horn flashes with a strange, gold and pink flame which burns Gem away.
"Out of the way, crutch. From now on, her fate is in her hooves," says the queen calmly, "Do you have the reason and the willpower, girl?"
"...mom..." Thirteen raises one wobbly foreleg and digs the hoof into the floor.
"...Gem..." she pulls, managing to drag herself forward a few inches.
"...dad..." the second foreleg is forced into submission.
"...Three..." she croaks through gritted teeth and begins the seemingly endless crawl through the burning path towards the figure.
