//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - The Darkness // Story: Metamorphosis // by PonyThunder //------------------------------// Recommended Ambience They began trekking further the next morning, when the rising sun began shining through the mouth of the cave. It wasn't long until the darkness had completely enveloped them, however. Carefully leading her troops downward, Chrysalis walked deeper into the cave, hoping to eventually find a more suitable place or another way out. But the cave quickly became tighter and more claustrophobic, constricting around them from every direction. Living in the hive, this was something they were all used to, and their ability to see in complete darkness helped with navigation, but the eerie atmosphere had them all on edge. Including Chrysalis. At first, she had started to wonder if the cave would ultimately lead in a dead-end, but after several hours of plunging deeper and deeper into the abyss, she was starting to worry it would go on forever. Their path started to become difficult to traverse, and she also began wondering if they would be able to get back out. The air around them was becoming dry and stagnant, and starting to make her feel sick. Chrysalis glanced behind backward to check on her troop. They looked well-rested, but it was hard to gauge their emotional state using only darkvision. She wondered what they were thinking, now that they'd had a proper rest and a change of scenery. But all she saw were blank faces. Just then, a noise reverberated through the cave from somewhere in front of them. "What was that?" A changeling said. Shortly afterward, a flurry of bats rushed in and around them in the darkness, causing a panic. The sounds of chirps and hooves clamoring upon rocks echoed off the tunnel walls for several seconds until the bats moved past them, leaving them in an anxious state. "Whew," said the same changeling. "I'm glad they're gone." Chrysalis' blood boiled. "You're glad they're gone? Glad? That was the first source of essence we've come across in days!" The changeling struggled for words, inching backwards toward the wall as Chrysalis stormed in front of him. That swarm of bats was her chance to raise morale, and she blew it. "I should drain you right now. Cull the herd, as they say," Chrysalis hissed. The changeling dropped downward and against the cave wall, wincing. "H-he was just scared," another changeling spoke up. "Scared?" Chrysalis replied. "There's nothing scarier than me anywhere near here, so you should have nothing to fear. Do you fear me?" "I..." the changeling's voice trailed, unsure what she wanted to hear. She ignored him. "Get up," Chrysalis said to the first changeling. "...What?" "Get. Up." The changeling returned to his hooves, shaking with fear as the others watched with uncertainty. Chrysalis faced the rest of them. "We will not be fearing anything anymore. There will be more bats, and when we come across them we'll be ready. Right?" "Yes my queen," her hive droned. "Good," she replied dismissively, turning back around and continuing their march downward. Tarsus and Poison Fang trailed behind the troop in the back, far enough to whisper without anyone hearing them. "I can't believe we were too scared to drain those bats while they were here," said Poison Fang. "We should be glad," said Tarsus. "Glad?" he replied, feeling his stomach rumble softly. "This is what I was talking about," continued Tarsus. "The queen is in her most vulnerable state right now, and as soon as she isn't, it might as well be over." "Don't you think you might be over-exaggerating a little bit? If the queen regains her energy, she'll have more to share in the future." "That's the problem. Times are going to be tough forever. Time were tough even before we were banished and we still had the hive." "That's not true," Poison Fang replied, "at least then we could drain the essence of lesser creatures." "Think of what you're saying," Tarsus replied slightly louder, quickly adjusting his voice back to a whisper. "You think going back to a life of feeding on scraps is desirable? We could be feasting every day if we found somewhere that had plenty of creatures and didn't have to share with hundreds of our own. The queen had us brainwashed in her own way." "Assuming such a place even exists," he replied. "The moment we set hoof near Equestria, we'd be goners." Tarsus sighed in defeat, wondering if perhaps Poison Fang was right to question his half-baked plan. Deep down, he knew the real reason was that he was desperate more than anything else. "Alright, maybe. But that doesn't change what we need to do." "How? We're marching through a dark, narrow cave, and somehow I don't think the rest of our troop is going to appreciate treasonous behavior against our queen." "You're right," Tarsus replied, to his surprise, "but that little outburst might be exactly what we need to sway them to our side." "What do you mean?" "The queen threatened to drain one of us. You think that's good for morale? I don't. Ruling with an iron hoof only works if the fear of punishment overshadows the fear of taking action." Poison Fang looked at him in surprise. "How long have you been thinking about all of this?" "A long time," he replied, staring at the ground for a few moments. "But I never thought I'd have waited and done nothing for as long as I have. And now look where it has got us." "So what should we do? Start telling the others--" "No," Tarsus interrupted, "we need to find a way to make it happen organically. All it takes is one snitch and we're done for. You've seen what the Queen does to anyone who acts out. It has to happen in a way that gives us the upper hoof. Besides, I think we can take her on our own, if worse comes to worst..." Suddenly, Poison Fang realized just how difficult it must have been for Tarsus to tell him his plot. There was a lot more at risk than just getting into a fight, and if he went back to tell the queen of his plans now, he would be branded a hero. The Queen might even reward him. He shelved those thoughts for the moment, making a mental note to return to them later. "Well," said Poison Fang, "do you have an idea of what we should do?" "I'm working on it." The air was eerily silent aside from the sound of her own hoofsteps on the cobbled streets of Alveare: the hive kingdom, as known by its residents. The path ahead of her was strewn with rubble and garbage; remnants of what transpired not that long ago. As queen and half of the ruling diarchy, it had been her solemn duty to protect her citizens and their kingdom, and seeing it in such a state of disarray filled her mind with guilt. As she continued forward along the street, her thoughts wandered back to when they had become aware of the first signs of infection. A small number of reports had come in about citizens transforming into terrible, monstrous creatures. Snarling, dark beasts whose motives seemed only to spread in number and to kill those who stood in their way. It was all too easy to dismiss these early reports as rumors, but it did not take long until they became reality. It began with families, then neighborhoods, and eventually entire districts. Panic struck suddenly across the entire kingdom, which only exacerbated the problem further. Citizens began fleeing in terror and attacking each other over resources. It was pandemonium. Seeking to restore a semblance of order, she and the king began working with the Hive Guard to introduce curfews and rations to protect and provide for them, but as resources dwindled and panic continued to spread, it wasn't very long until everyone was left to fend for themselves. Food reserves were plundered, entire buildings were ransacked, and the few loyal guards that remained had left to flee for their own safety. They should have had acted sooner. Her thoughts returned to the present moment. Now was not the time to reflect, and her current priority was to find food for her daughter. She observed the streets around her vigilantly as she walked by every alleyway, knowing the creatures could be lurking around any corner. She thought briefly about using her wings to fly and gain a better vantage point in the city, but concluded that would only make her an easy target. The city itself was split into two sections: a top half above the ground where the commercial and cultural buildings were located, and a bottom half beneath the surface where most of its citizens resided. Unfortunately, the bottom half had been taken over by those creatures, who had an apparent affinity toward dark and musty places. Annoyingly, it was also where most of the precious resources they needed for survival were located. Going down there would be a suicide mission, though, so she stuck to the streets and hoped to stumble upon some scraps. The setting sun cast long shadows from the towering buildings that surrounded her as she continued searching. Each of them had been constructed from crystals excavated from the ground below, combined with honey and nectar from the hive, resulting in a beautifully organic display. Gleaming in the setting sun, they were like beautiful pillars of colorful glass, but now the light served only as a reminder that she didn't have much time until those creatures would be more inclined to rise to the surface. Their kingdom truly was a sight to behold. It was just such a shame that things had fallen so far. She increased her pace and headed toward the market district. The streets around her were littered with rubble and empty stalls -- remnants of the day the kingdom first began to fall. It was painfully obvious that this area had been picked clean, however, so there was no point in scavenging out in the open. Instead, she entered into an upper-class residential building nearby. Inside, furniture was overturned and garbage had been strewn about the floor. By the looks of it, this was where an attack likely occurred, which meant that any resources were probably already gone. She looked through the kitchen anyway, though. As much as she hated the term, the leeches were not very thorough in their behavior. All that seemed to matter was infecting others, with food only being a secondary goal, as if their survival depended more on the former than the latter. As she searched various nooks and crannies for food, her thoughts returned to her conversation with the king. So many within the kingdom had been referring to these creatures as leeches, and at this point, any other word felt inaccurate. But part of her knew it wasn't fair. They didn't choose to change into what they'd become, after all. And if they could change in one way, perhaps they could change in others. She mused briefly until she knew what would be a better term to describe these new creatures: Changelings. Her ears shifted instinctively and head turned sharply as she heard a thump come from another room, pinpointing the location where the noise had emanated. She moved towards it cautiously, hearing another thump along the way. She had the sudden urge to leave and get out as soon as possible, but the presence of another meant one thing was for certain: there would be food here. And if worse came to worst, she could likely fend off one or two of the creatures with her magic. Any more than that, she wasn't so sure. In any case, time was running out. She continued forward into another area of the house. It was a child's room, filled with toys that had been strewn across the floor and a small bed in the corner. She took a few steps forward, feeling the floor beneath her give way ever so slightly, resulting in an audible creak. Sounds of hooves shuffling occurred beneath the bed as she tried to move toward the wall. But as soon as she did, the sounds stopped. After a few moments to catch her breath, she took two cautious steps forward. She heard whimpering. Craning her head downward, she looked under the bed. Beneath it was a small foal, eyes wide with fear. "Young one..." she said softly. The child surged with fright, immediately leaving its hiding spot beneath the bed and scurried into another room. She thought about following, but the aching of her stomach reminded her why she was here in the first place. "I'm sorry," she said softly before returning to the main room. She resumed her search and inside a cupboard, she found a few morsels of food, taking them before leaving out the way she came in. A Queen who steals from her constituents. And not only that, but from children. This is who I've become now, she thought to herself as she returned to the streets of Alveare. But this was what they were all becoming, she realized. They had no other choice. As the sun set below the horizon, she had surprisingly arrived back to the castle without any hassles. As she opened the door to the interior, however, she heard the familiar sound of her daughter crying. "Hello?" No one replied. She rushed toward the sound of her daughter's wailing, a sense of dread rapidly building before she opened up the door to her bedroom. Her daughter was crying inside, laying on a small bed as a large, dark creature was looming above her, its fangs bared. Its head immediately snapped upward and looked directly into her eyes as she burst into the room, snarling. "G-get away from her!" she yelled instinctively. The creature ignored her and diverted its attention back to her daughter, its horn beginning to glow a dark green color. Moments later, wispy tendrils of magic emanated from its tip and swirled through the air towards her daughter. An aura of magic filled the space around her, enveloping her in a fog of darkness for several moments as the magic continued to flow from the creature's horn, muffling her cries in the process. The queen ran forward, food tumbling downward as she threw her body against the creature and sent them both tumbling onto the floor. They grappled with each other for several seconds, struggling beside the bed. The creature viscously hissed and growled, snarling wildly just inches from her face, until eventually it surged forward and bit into her side with its fangs. She yelled in pain, feeling adrenaline beginning to course through her body and overturned the creature, pinning it onto the floor with her hooves pressing forcefully against its ribcage. Its fangs glistened with her blood as it continued to snarl beneath her, thrashing about wildly trying to free itself. But as she struggled to keep it pinned down, she got a better look. The creature's eyes were dark and green, and filled with rage. But there was a certain softness beneath them that felt familiar, and as the creature continued to flail about, her grip loosened briefly as it dawned on her that these were eyes she had gazed lovingly into for many, many years. It was the king. Noticing her lapse in focus, the creature pulled its hooves inward, kicked them forcefully upward into her chest. She crashed into the wall behind them forcefully and slumped onto the floor. A small painting of her daughter fell downward next to her as she lay against the wall, winded and struggling to catch her breath as she watched the hissing creature return to its hooves. It glanced briefly at her daughter, then turned the other direction and leapt through the window. Glass shattered and splintered everywhere, causing a deafening sound to fill the room for several seconds. When the sound stopped, however, she noticed the absence of her daughter's crying. She scrambled to her hooves to get to her daughter, her heart thumping forcefully with an accompanying ache as the adrenaline began to wear off. But when she looked down at her, she felt her heart sink deeply into sorrow. Her mind went blank, eyes getting tunnel-vision as she stared downward at her daughter, trying to process what was in front of her. All feeling in her body went numb for several moments, but then immediately came rushing back as the emotions began to flow. Her eyes welled with tears and anguish upon the realization of what had happened, her body contorting and convulsing as she began sobbing uncontrollably over her daughter as she laid beneath her, skin dark and brittle, eyes green and wide. A changeling. All that had happened up to this point was terrible, but throughout it she still had the hope that things could get better, and a new world could be built for her daughter. But now, even that hope had been crushed, along with the king and any hope of regaining control over all they had built. The despair quickly turned to fear as she realized she was no longer safe, however. She lifted her daughter into the air and wrapped her in a blanket, grabbing the food she'd scattered across the floor on the way out. And, coming to the sudden realization that this was likely the last time she would be here, she also grabbed the painting of her daughter. The kingdom, already weakened onto its knees, had finally fallen, and it was no longer safe for them to stay. She would have to leave through the tunnels beneath the kingdom, where the changelings would be waiting.