Where to begin? Did I already say that? Probably.
It’s day two of reunited Brauheim or, let’s say, hour twenty. We didn’t get any sleep tonight, because there was way too much to argue about. Obviously, during the year of Eight’s rule, the social structure changed a lot, important posts in society previously held by king’s loyalists like Granite were given to someone else. In general, most of my supporting council found themselves fighting with their counterparts from Eight’s part of the city. Granted, those weren’t on any council or anything, but seemed experts in their field as well. For most positions, it wasn’t that big of an issue, but Granite’s military had to sort out the crucial chain of command. Thankfully, professional soldiers are a lawful lot, and the return of their loremaster and previous commander didn’t cause as big of a rift in the army as I thought it would.
Anyway, today was full of everything that needed to officially be sorted out on the side of me and Eight as well. Hard Reset’s engineers now had access to the public broadcasting system, and with the help of Eight’s guys they jury-rigged it, connecting it to the emergency power network as it SHOULD HAVE FREAKING BEEN THE CASE FROM THE START.
No, seriously, that was my last direct order. Screw the council! Not doing that was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve lived in the hive under Chrysalis. Not for too long, but still.
Like what the hole? Everything blows up, and you can’t even tell anyone what’s happening. THAT’S SO STUUUUUPID!
Alright, I’m calming down now, I swear.
So, over the now powered city-wide broadcast, Eight and I announced the formation of the dwarven council, explained its purpose, and Eight relinquished big part of her power and responsibility like I did before. Afterwards came the hard part, which was stopping the council from throwing the entire military at Eight for killing the old queen, splitting Brauheim, and overall being absolutely unapologetic about everything she did. In the end, they decided that Eight would have to work to make it up to the city, although they didn’t know how yet. I think they weren’t persuaded by my arguments about justice not being revenge and stuff, but just because they owed me for reuniting the city, and kicking the dark priests’ oppressive rule out. Well, they will learn just like I did what a blessing it is to have Eight on their side. I mean, Eight on my side, and me on theirs. Which could quickly change if they tried something radical against any of my changelings.
Aaaaah, threats. I never knew how effective those could be if used sparingly.
In short, everyone understood that having changelings as enemies would be an extremely bad idea, and that no one really wants more trouble, because it would hurt us as well.
And then it was over. Council went about their business, leaving Eight and me free to just walk around through the deep, crimson shadows of the barely lit city. There’s pretty much no one around, because the only parts of the city with electricity are the mines now, which suits us just fine.
Finally, after everything - peace.
Eight is silent, strolling lazily by my side, and I can feel her still not completely believing what’s happening.
“So, Eight, what do we do now? I must admit, now that everything is okay, dwarves know who we are, no one is hunting us, and we’re all together… it’s as if the coiled spring pushing me forward finally gave out.”
“I don’t want this to end,” she whispers.
“We’ve barely started.”
“I’m afraid I’ll wake up, and I’ll still be looking for your cocoon, worried sick that one of those four-legged metal buckets tried to cut it as if it was a big diamond.”
“They DO look as if someone tried to douse a forest fire and fight off an invasion at the same time, don’t they?” I chuckle.
“Liquor, weapons, armor, nothing else,” Eight shakes her head, “In a way, I envy them.”
“You mean as opposed to hunt, drain, flee like our lives used to be?” I lean my head against her neck as we walk, “No, there’s way more to it, but I don’t want to spend all my time trying to understand them. I want to understand what makes US happy, and make sure we can get it.”
“It’s still the same, my love. Which is exactly what it is - love. I haven’t had real love in years. Ever since I ran off from Las Pegasus. Venom, hypnosis, lust, adoration… everything but love. Even now, it’s different between us than it was before, I can feel it. It’s as if… as if a roaring bonfire that fueled me was just a small heater I have to touch to feel warm in a blizzard. I feel… feral. As if I could only rely on myself, as if I was under Chrysalis again. Even with you around now, I feel so cold and alone. It’s not as bad as before, but I’m still shaking inside.”
“I think Two unwittingly gave you the answer to this, Eight. Or you did in what you told her.”
“Hmm, the angry little one? What did I say?”
“That for you, she and the others were just tools to get to me. To me, it makes sense that you felt alone if you thought of them only like that. No one to talk to, no one to share concerns with, just barking orders all the time. That’s no way to live. The warmth I feel inside is from all of you.”
“I thought that with each day, my time was running out. What if you woke up and fled? I would never find your trail again. What if the dwarves broke the cocoon? What if One’s attempt at your rebirth failed from the start? What if you’ve been killed already?”
“The answer is simple, Eight. If you believe in what I want for all of us, then continue my dream, do what Chrysalis failed to do. You acted just like she would.”
“That’s all I know, boss.”
“Come on, we’ve been together long enough. I know you’re better than that. You loved Four, you like Three. Hole, you were friends with One.”
“Frienemies?”
“Friends, Eight.”
“Boss, you don’t understand, I think. Look at every changeling around. None of them think the way you do. Well, maybe Three. No, definitely Three. It’s different from our hive before, and it’s different because of you. We naturally aren’t individuals, you know our history. You’ve had the dead assholes in your head. Every hive needs a leader. I’m not a leader, and you can see who my changelings are - a solitary nerd, a… a… flower pot, and a drone who’s scared I’ll squash him if he looks at me without authorization.”
“You DID send the flower pot,” I snicker, “to kill him.”
She looks away, blushing.
“What I’m trying to say is that some things are your responsibility as the boss. I’m not trying to make excuses for my failure, I’m just saying that you’re better at… at… ruling than any of us. I can be the iron hoof, but you can be the stern voice as well as the warm hug. I can punch things so hard they evaporate, you can keep us together tighter than any molecular bond. Don’t try to make us changelings into what we simply aren’t. Make us the best versions of what we can be. You remember Wistful. He did his best for the betterment of both flutterponies and later changelings. The queens who came after made us monsters on the inside… as much as Celestia did on the outside.”
I sigh. I don’t agree completely, but there is something to what she’s saying.
”How’s everyone? Any problem with Eight’s dwarves since we’re undisguised?”
Link after link lights up, and the darkness of the hive mind lights up with brighter echoes of everyone listening. Their images collectively shrug, so there doesn’t seem to be anything that would need my attention other than Two frowning whenever she lays her eyes on Eight. Come to think of it, Scream has been away through all this, so I don’t have to explain her yet, which is good, because I don’t know how I would do it.
”Since we’re not fighting each other anymore, I just want to know a little bit about you, Five, Six, Seven,” I could, of course, access their memories now that Eight had time to remove her block, but it wouldn’t be the same. I’ll have time to really get to know them later, but for now I need to know who I’m working with in case of expected unexpected trouble. Am I paranoid? No, ”Nothing big, just a basic assessment on who you are and what you can do.”
I was expecting one of ‘mine’, maybe Five with her sense of duty to speak up first, but it’s Seven who answers:
”I’m Seven, queen’s- Eight’s first subordinate.”
”I needed someone with at least basic infiltrator instincts to help me quickly gauge the state of Brauheim when I lost you,” Eight interrupts him, ”Anyway, keep going.”
”I’m an infiltrator, king. You know what infiltrators do,” he glances at Two, ”And sadly, I was bested by your infiltrator before. However, I can offer you magic, which I know for sure she can’t, not consistently and to the extent as I can at least. To be completely honest...” he pauses for a moment, ”I’m not exactly comfortable mingling with ponies too much. Even during my service to Eight, I was more the distant dwarven commander than one of them. I can gather information, don’t get me wrong, but I prefer studying arcane arts in the castle library.”
”He’s near-useless at gaining love,” comments Eight, making Seven hang his head, ”but he’s good at planning. I guess that’s what happens when someone like me tries to make an infiltrator.”
”Don’t be too hard on yourself, either of you. Eight, you made Four, and she turned out amazing. And you, Seven, you helped Eight control an entire city. However, an infiltrator who can’t feed himself just won’t do. We can’t have you starve or poison yourself on lust in case you get separated. Alright, note to self - Seven will be able to feed himself even without disguise like everyone else.”
He stares at me, hesitates, then slowly nods.
”And without magic,” I grin.
”Damn it!” he punches the ‘ground’, then puts his hoof into his mouth and sucks on it, ”Ouch. But I’m just not likable! I tried, I swear.”
”Don’t give me the puppy eyes. I’ve been eyed by Three, and he can make a chitin rot plague apologize, rethink its life choices, and do community work.”
”That makes no sense...”
”Three, tell him to give it a shot.”
”Umm, Seven,” Three looks up at the bigger infiltrator, pleading eyes ready at full power, ”Boss means well, and I know you can find a nice mare or a stallion who would like you the way you are, you just have to give them a chance to approach you-”
”Stop! STOP!” Seven looks away, ”Hole, this should be banned by some international treaty. You could have just ordered me to do it, geez.”
I hoofbump now grinning Three.
”Yeah, but my way actually works,” I raise an eyebrow. Seven pouts, crossing his forelegs on his chest.
”Between Eight and this weapon of mass heart attack, I’m surprised you’re not ruling the world already.”
”Believe it or not, there are ponies immune to Three’s charm.”
”...monsters...” whispers Seven, ”Anyway, that’s about it, really. I guess I should find a book on seducing dwarves or something rather than spells now. Hmm, can I summon something to love me?”
”No cheating! But if you DO find a way, let me know. And thanks for your honesty,” I turn towards Five, ”Five, what about you?”
I don’t have the heart to tell Seven that thousands of years of changeling history quite likely proved his goal impossible.
”I don’t love Seven either,” she says with a smirk.
”I’m no seduction artist, but even I think I can do better than a statue,” he shoots back without any apparent rancor.
”Hey, Five’s no statue!” objects Six ”She’s just a little rigid. Oops...”
”Just like you when she walks in front,” sneers Seven.
Six, as a drone, doesn’t exactly have the right bits for that unless he shapeshifts, but point taken.
”Oh my, have I underestimated the intensity of your feelings, Six?” Five turns towards the drone, and glares straight into his eyes.
”I, umm, well, we- I- me, umm...”
”You know, Six, I won’t let her rip your head off, but if you can’t talk to her, this won’t get anywhere,” I can’t help butting in to assist the distressed drone. It doesn’t work as planned.
”Exactly, little drone,” Five leans directly to Six, her fangs almost touching his nose twitching under her breath, ”Tell me what you want to do to me. To the last… little… dirty… detail.”
Six is trembling, his blue eyes open wide when faced with the predatory glare of Five. I’m not exactly sure what to do about this. Telling either of them to leave it wouldn’t help, I’m sure.
Three shuffles over and pokes Six. Then he pokes him few more times.
”I- I like you, Five,” he stutters, then takes a deep breath, ”I want to hold your hoof when you’re alone in silence, simply standing guard wherever Eight, boss, or Two tell you. When you’re asleep, I want to curl next to you so that you’re not cold, and when you’re hungry like now, I want to give you all my love so that you’re full and happy. And maybe… well… Three told me that boss and Eight used to love each other so much that they could stay fed just together. I want us to be like that too.”
Sometimes, the simple solution is the best of the worst ones.
”Warriors need to be tamed, drone,” she snaps her sharp jaws at him, ”Power, control, dominance, that’s what we need. Can you hold my head down while you rut me, runt? Can you pound me until my legs turn to jelly? Do you have the power of personality, body, and mind to make me obey?” she fakes a snarling lunge forward, making Six yelp and fall backwards, ”You don’t, so don’t bother trying.”
But… words are cheap, and we changelings know far too well how little they can mean. Trust isn’t something we’re born with, that’s either forced obedience, or paranoia. Eight said not to try to change what we changelings are, but in this regard, I will do all I can to prove her wrong.
However, something about Five’s… theatrics feels off. Yes, that’s it - there’s more to this, I’m sure. Five’s link is filled with disappointment, so my mental whisper to him is quiet, and most of all - absolutely private:
”Don’t STOP trying.”
”But she… she hates me...”
”Did I just hear you contradict a direct order?” I raise an eyebrow.
”N- No, boss,” he can’t stop the corner of his mouth curling up ever so slightly.
Within the hive mind conversation between everyone, he rolls over back on his haunches, and hugs Five’s leg. She tries to shake him off, but is too surprised to put too much strength into it.
”I might not have the power of power, Five, but I’ve got the power of huuuuuuugs!” he yells.
”He’s learning!” cheers Three, ”Yay!”
”You’ve trained me well, send pie,” Six resists the increasing intensity of Five’s waving as long as he can, but eventually she manages to shake him off.
Five points her foreleg at him, narrowing her eyes.
”And stay down, I’m giving a report,” as if nothing happened, she faces me, a string of green drool making its way down her leg from where Six had to use his mouth to keep ahold of her, ”A-hem! I am a warrior. My role is to serve the hive and protect everyone. That’s all. Now that our goals aren’t in conflict, I have no reason to hurt Six unless he tries to slobber all over me again. As far as Two’s control over me goes… you know I can’t do anything about that, but considering we’re all on the same side now, I am content with the state of affairs. Just sit me in the right spot, and tell me to guard. I belong to you.”
Yep, just like Nine used to be. By which I mean, Nine was born in a hive where rules like that were the norm. So…
...she’s TRYING to be like Nine used to be. Instinct? Possibly.
”I’m calling you Flower Pot, and don’t say that belonging thing in front of Eight too much, she might think she’s got competition,” I chuckle, and few more mouths wibble in understanding, trying not to snicker, ”Six, what about you?”
”I’m not calling her Flower Pot unless she wants me to,” this time when Five’s head snaps towards him, he just sticks out his tongue, ”Anyway, what do you want to know, really? You know me. I’m a drone, I like digging, I like Five, as you might have noticed from my subtle hints, and I’m reasonably effective at seduction.”
”I must have missed that part,” Five whistles innocently after taking a jab at him.
”I’ve got few disguises the dwarves know, and it doesn’t take me long to craft new ones along with plausible backstories. I was, umm, kinda responsible for our love supply here. Eight is excellent at getting lust and even some love, don’t get me wrong, but neither Seven nor Five are exactly… social. Disguised or not.”
Trust me. Last time we did a big hunt for love, I noticed.
”It’s funny that your best love gatherer is a drone, Eight,” I nuzzle Eight’s neck. Thiiiick.
”Guess who turned the old practical me into someone who wouldn’t scrub a changeling’s personality in order to make them more effective at their natural role, hmm?”
Well, while this wasn’t a waste of time, it turned out to be pretty far from what I wanted. The fact that I don’t know what I really wanted from this probably helped.
So, Seven needs to go out more. As much as I’d like a magic… expert, he’s an infiltrator who needs others to feed, that won’t do.
Five… basically Nine, but without the ‘irresistible to ladies’ part, although that could have been the dragonpony disguise. I should send her out as well. Heh, Flower Pot. Unlike Nine, she’s trying to appear stoic, emotionless, and tough, but she isn’t, and it’s not difficult to lure it out of her.
Six. Well, hard to summarize, really. He appears to be a normal, healthy individual. We must be doing something right with him.
”Thanks, everyone, for this. Dismissed.”
The mental links solidify as we bind tighter into one hive, and weaken when everyone stops listening. One remains, though, and it’s not the one I expected.
”Is anything wrong, Two?”
”I can’t stop thinking about… about HER saying I was just a tool, boss. I know it shouldn’t bother me at all. I’m yours, not hers, but… I don’t know… I’m being stupid, and I can’t help it.”
”Two, that’s just how it was in the old hive. All changelings were tools of the queen, no exceptions. Orders were absolute. If a higher rank was hungry, you were food. If they told you to jump on a Badlands scorpion and see how long you can ride it, you knew it was the last rodeo of your life, but it was that or the grinder. I wanted to change it, I WANT to change it, but I suppose I left too little of a mark on Eight, and her instinct won when she was pushed into a corner,” I sigh, ”I know you don’t like her, and I know that forgiving her might not even be an option right now, but I love her. What’s between us is shared experience, hopes, fears… we’re one soul in two bodies, and while we’ve drifted apart a little while I was gone, it doesn’t change anything,” I hug the little critter, ”And I love you, respect you, and care about you too, Two. You’re my changeling, and while you’re not my egg, you’re my filly.”
”And what if at some point you have to choose between losing me or losing… her?”
”Then I would choose me, because I will do everything until my body and mind break to have you both.”
”I love you… dad.”
”I love you too, Two. Don’t worry so much, and just do your best. That’s all we can do.”
Then, even her image disappears, and her link closes. I find myself walking side by side through dark Brauheim with Eight again.
“Come to think about it, there’s one changeling from ‘the other side’ I didn’t ask about them,” I press my side against hers, “So, Eight, how can I help you as the good and benevolent changeling king that I am?”
“You know, as happy as I am to simply have you here again, there is something. Our mind link is wrong.”
“Huh?” it takes me a while to understand what she means, “You’re right!”
Before, we really were one mind in two bodies, it wasn’t just a metaphor I told Two to illustrate what I feel to Eight. Now, we’re just like everyone else, two changelings linked together through the hive mind.
“We used to be so much more,” she smiles, “And we will grow to be again. No rush, no rush. I was just telling you what I wanted down the line, boss.”
No rush.
“You know, I haven’t asked how you ended up here in any detail, Eight.”
She shrugs.
“It’s a long and not really interesting story, boss. Overall, I stuck to how changelings survived until today, trying not to think about… about… about the last thing I felt from you.”
Oh shit. I was right. Such a strong feeling of guilt and self-hate, that it made an imprint even on Two so many years later.
“I’m sorry, Eight. I still believe that you and One made the wrong choice, that you two together could have stopped Star Trail, but I shouldn’t have thought of you as a traitor.”
“Boss, this way it’s my fault that everyone is dead. I am a traitor, if not only to you, then to Four, One, and Ten,” she sniffles, looking at the floor.
Hmm? Oh. OH!
“Eight,” I give her a light peck on the cheek, “Neither Ten nor Four died, or at least not in Las Pegasus.”
“Wh- What? What do you mean?” she stops, now staring at me, her beautiful green eyes speckled with tears wide open.
“That paladin Four saved in the castle from One, Bright Star, was on our side. He caught up with Ten and told him to get to Canterlot in hopes of stopping Star Trail from hunting us forever. I think he wanted him to do the trial thing that was going on at the time. Then he arrived in our hideout in time to save wounded Four and carry her away. I don’t know what happened afterwards, sorry. I passed out in the cocoon and woke up here.”
Aaand now Eight’s crushing my ribs in a bear hug while sniffling into my ear. Do we changelings even have ribs? I mean, we have exoskeletons, but we used to be ponies, so… how does that work? Do we have both? Anyway, whatever we have, it’s now creaking and approaching a breaking point. I try to groan to stop her from squeezing me from my carapace like toothpaste.
“And… and how… how did you get here… then…? Urrrgh...”
She lets me go, and feeling returns to my legs. Thick and strong, just as I like ‘em. Heheh. My Eight. Sorry, One. Rest in peace.
Eight gathers herself, and we resume walking.
“I just ran north disguised as Black Rose, only telekinesis keeping you on my back. Every time I spotted a village, I spent a day or two there to refill. I overdosed on lust too many times to count, but I burned through it fast enough as I was fleeing so it only made me sick. I didn’t dare take a train or anything that would leave a paper trail so that the paladins wouldn’t track us like they must have from the old castle. After weeks, I found a big city called Vanhoover, in the northwest civilized corner of Equestria. I hid there, resolved to stay until you woke up. For over a year, everything was okay, but then I felt someone tracking me. Nothing I did, no ponies I ever talked to said anything about someone asking for me. I couldn’t find a trace, but I KNEW someone was after me, and they were close, so I packed my bags and left. I was pretty well settled at that point, so I had escape routes planned and ready. Sometimes I thought I was paranoid, but after I left, I knew I hadn’t been,” she shakes her head, “Well, later I hid in a frozen cave even further north. When I was sure no harm would come to you, I stashed your cocoon in its depths, and started hunting in the villages scattered in the snow, pretending to be a travelling trader. I had more than enough money from my stay in Vanhoover,” she takes a quick break, and scratches her head, “I’m not exactly sure what happened next, but suddenly the snow was all gone, and there were buildings and spires made of crystal everywhere. Literally from day to day - nothing, then poof, a city state as big as Brauheim. It took me weeks to find in which cellar you were in the new landscape. The city state is called the Crystal Empire, and it’s few days south from here, actually. Three would like it there, the ponies look as if they’re made of crystal - really shiny. For some reason, I didn’t feel hungry at all there while trying to find you again. There’s a pervasive aura in the city… something similar to what Three used to have around him before… Star Trail happened.”
I pat her back.
“He still has it, it’s like a little sun. You’ll see when you meet him again up close. I know exactly what you mean. Are you saying it’s like that in the whole city? Sounds like a changeling paradise.”
If it’s as close as Eight’s saying, I should send someone to see what it’s all about when situation calms down here.
“Far from it. There was something like a heavy lingering shadow of danger around the place, so I wasn’t eager to stay there longer than I had to. The ponies there had something locked in their minds, a block I couldn’t get through, and something powerful and horrifying was behind it. I fled north again, and hunted minotaurs in the frozen wastes for who knows how long. Unfortunately, one day I found a really weird unicorn dragging himself through the snow, with wounds no one should survive, and yet he wouldn’t die no matter what. I took him to one of the less hostile minotaur tribes, which bit me in the ass, because, believe it or not, he got better, and under his leadership that tribe conquered everyone else, and built a minotaur city in a split mountain right above us. Dark Prophet, they call him now, but as far as I know, he’s gone, and they’re ruled by a warlord by the name Darkhorn.”
“That city is Rift, right?”
“Yeah, that was pretty recently - two years maybe? Time lost meaning for me a long, heh, time ago. Well, hunting in their tightly-knit community was difficult, but from the few clues I gained from the minotaur heads I think the Dark Prophet knew who I was, and I was allowed to stay and hunt as long as I didn’t cause damage. Unfortunately, after his disappearance, feeding became more difficult, but I got to know that the minotaurs were beginning to trade with dwarves here in Brauheim. I was afraid for your cocoon, so I hid it in the air shafts, and you know the rest. King found it, I bred more changelings, and the old queen had an ‘accident’.”
I stop Eight, and hug her, finally fully realizing that what was a short, dark sleep for me was an unending nightmare of fear for her. Her cold and hard carapace softens up in response, and starts letting out soft warmth.
I know Eight said there was no need to rush anything, and there really isn’t. On the other hole that needs filling, it’s not as if we should delay anything.
“Let’s head back to the castle, Eight, shall we? We can start retracing our steps towards becoming one from there.”
She blinks, tilts her head, and gives me a confused look.
“Step one - are there any deep and soundproof cellars?” I grin at her.
Meekly lowering her head, she simply follows me back to the castle. Several streets later, she chuckles out of nowhere.
“Here I was, spinning a plan to get your cocoon back, and you got out on your own, defeated my changelings, earned more respect from dwarves in few days than I did in over a year of infiltration, and toppled my rule. I’m just a silly warrior dreaming too big, my love. I hope you still want me with all my flaws.”
What do you think, dummy?