I felt something warm, and wet being dragged across my face, and a pressure on my chest. Cracking open one eye, I stared into Peekos, who had stopped licking me the moment I woke. She's like an intelligent puppy right now, her tail was happily wagging behind her. She buried herself into the crook of my neck, and I gave her, her fill. Feeding a growing proto-queen took a lot of energy. Peeko made a happy squeal and hugged me.
I was going to need to find a way to keep both of us fed. Preferably without resorting to that unsavory job. Getting myself off the floor, I smiled at the eggs surrounding me, my soon to be children forming inside them. I lifted Peeko onto my back and made my way to the main room, where Trixie and Gilda were already eating, egg salad and tuna sandwiches respectively. "Hey Trixie, Gilda? I have a rather large favor to ask of you."
"What could you possibly want?"
"Ummm could you and Trixie maybe... Look after Peeko while I take care of some business? She doesn't know how to transform yet, and I don't want her getting hurt."
"Don't look at me, I don't know how to handle children."
"Its easy. Make sure she stays inside and out of trouble, don't let any pony see her, and don't touch the blue gunk. I don't think I need to explain that last one, do I Trixie?"
"One of these days Shinkiro, Trixie will send you straight to the moon!” Well, she's feeling well enough to actually express herself.
"Love you too Trixie."
Peeko poked over my shoulder, making a happy squeal and pointed at Trixie. I smiled and nuzzled Peeko, giggling. No words were needed, as the hive mind allowed us to intimately connect our minds, we were both part of a greater whole. It was like rivers flowing into a sea, our thoughts mixed without any conscious thought, with much better clarity. “Shes right. you do look particularly ‘floofy’ today Trixie.” A massive blush formed on Trixie's face, she was embarrassed beyond a doubt, and made a choked squeak. Perhaps all this emotional stimulus is speeding along her recovery? “So, could you two please keep Peeko out of trouble today?”
“Well… okay.”
“Trixie does not see any alternative.” Peeko gave an excited squeal, and slid off my back onto the the table, running over and hugging Trixie… Before licking her face, and then gagging as she tried to get the fur off her tongue. At least this time there wasn’t any slime.
“Eww! Get it off, get it off!” she rapidly shook her face in an attempt to dislodge the perceived slime, causing me to giggle.
“Its okay, she didn't slime you this time.”
“Oh. Of course, Trixie knew that all along.”
“surrrrre you did.” As I said that, Peeko poked trixie’s nose, before giggling happily. “She really likes you.”
“Trixie knows that.”
“Just be careful not to poke yourself on her tail.”
“Yes, Trixie has noticed.”
“Yeah, otherwise you’ll be spending a few hours as a ragdoll… and she’ll probably lick you a lot to try and wake you up because she will most likely though you fell asleep. Make sure she stays out of trouble!” With that, I took the form of my cover identity, John Smith, and left, with no freaking idea where the hospital was.
It took me a while, and a stop to ask for directions, but I found the Dodge City hospital. When I walked in, the pony at the reception put down the coffee she was drinking, and sighed. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a pony named Crash Test.”
“Another friend of his I suppose. South wing, room 35-C, visiting hours end at 4. Have a nice day.” Are all secretarys this indifferent?
“Thank you kindly miss…”
“Sun Dry.”
Walking down the hallway, I made my towards the south wing, taking the opportunity to duck into a corner and transform into Bulk Order, as I need to appear as a familiar face. once I reached room 35-C, thankfully without encountering anypony, I made my way in.
“Bulk? it you buddy? Thought you would have a hangover from drinking last night.” a large brown earth pony, with a… oh god, his cutie mark is that same symbol on crash test dummies! I had to suppress a chuckle at that. but anyway, he was laying in a bed, looking at me.
“Oh, I do, I just stopped by to make sure you were alright after your latest misadventure. That, and it fascinated me enough to want to hear your side.”
“Heh, like the noodle incident.” Damn, now I want to know what that was!
“Yeah.”
“Well, it started after I met this one mare, Reflection. I was drunk at the time, so I completely forgot Sugar Bomb was my mare friend. well, me, Reflection, and Brick Breaker rented a motel room, and after a couple rounds of drinks, were starting to get really into it. Next think I know, Reflection goes up in green fire because I felt her up, turning into what only can be described as the love child of a pony and a bug, before grabbing a frying pan and... well. I woke up in a back alley.” I wasn’t sure to laugh at the reason he thought a pony spontaneously combusted, or cry at how stupid that was.
“You do realize Sugar is going to find out your back here again sooner or later, right? I might as well tell her now and save you getting shouted at.”
“Ah, she’s going to yell at me any way. At least I didn’t cheat on her.”
"Ha! That's true. She'd probably skin you alive if you did!"
"You're more right than you know. Well, if she doesn't use the garden sheers first."
"Celestia have mercy. You poor sap! Should I try and talk her down?"
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. She should still be at the sweets shop nearby."
"I'll be sure to explain to her why not to geld you." I secretly took great pleasure in watching the stallion wince, before walking out the door. After checking to make sure nopony could see me, I transformed back into my Pegasus disguise. Making my way outside the hospital, I looked around, until I noticed a sign. 'Sugar Bomb's Sugar Shack'? That doesn't sound like a candy store at all...
Popping inside, I looked around trying to find the pony I was meant to silence. With no luck, I simply headed into the back of the building, where it looked like a fight had gone down. Crates were dented or smashed, their contents leaking, a pony sized hole in one of the windows, yet not a single feather to be found. A few scorch marks on the walls suggested magic blasts, and the final thing to catch my eye was a thin trail of blood. Pony blood.
I could feel myself tense up, something about this seemed off. Chrysalis said she had told the changeling she had ready to take this pony out hold off on it. Had they gone through with it anyway? I shifted to my normal form, my gut telling me that something was going to go horribly wrong, and begun following the trail of blood, which lead to a large walk in freezer. I cautiously walked inside it, bracing for something to happen.
"Not today..." A brown blur suddenly entered my field of vision from around the door frame, and impacted my face, causing my vision to flash white with pain, before I crumpled to the ground.
I eventually awoke, feeling groggy, inside the freezer. Everything felt sluggish, as the cold had already chilled me to the bone. It was only when the fact that something was dripping from my nose occurred to me, that I remember what happened. That mare was expecting me, and managed to ambush me, and gave me a bloody nose to boot! I trudged to the door, and tried to open it, only to discover it was locked. The cold made it to difficult to concentrate, making any form of magic impossible, and I felt oh so sleepy.
"G-godd-damit, why is i-it so chilly in h-here?"
"H-hello? W-whos there?" I slowly looked around for the source of the voice, where to my surprise I found a fellow changeling. She was half buried beneath a shelf of frozen treats, and judging from the pool of green around her, she had been badly injured when the shelf fell on her. "He-help..." I tried to shake myself out of my stupor, and bolted over to her.
"Its g-gonna be okay!" I looked at the shelf, trying to find somewhere I could put as much force as possible on, and settled for positioning myself beneath it, before I pushed. I pushed hard, and could feel the shelf beginning to rise. I pushed harder, feeling my muscles stretching, until with an almost feral growl, I pushed the shelf over.
"H-how... D-did you do th-that?! I co-couldent even bu-budge under th-that!"
With the crisis over, the tiredness returned, and felt myself drooping. "So t-tired and c-cold..." I flopped to the floor, feeling my body grind to a halt, and everything fade to black, as the other changeling shouted at me to stay awake…
*Dreamscape*
So, another dream? or am I dead? because this endless void was unnerving for some reason.
“I must admit, your mental defenses have improved. it is not easy finding you amidst the cacophony of dreams near you, and any attempt at force was met with… unpleasant results for me.” Oh. joy. Luna again. Turning around, I was amused by her frazzled appearance. it looked as if something had just blown up in her face, judging by the way her mane was blasted back.
“You were expecting just me, weren't you? thats like saying you were only expecting one wasp, and then disturbing a hornets nest.”
“I… Do not grasp the relevance of your analogy.”
“A hive mind, my dear Luna. With me at it’s center. Your attempts at force most likely brought every changeling capable of thought to my aid… not just the ones that have hatched.”
“That… makes them awfully protective of you.”
“Trust me when I say that the similarity to insects is more than just appearance. I’m the equivalent of a Queen Bee. Now why have you been poking around in my dreams anyway?"
"You've been hiding something, but what it is I can't figure out."
"Good." I took the time to idely exam in my hoof. "The last few times you showed up here, I was alone so I played nice, for all I knew you could have rendered me brain dead... You're probing for a weakness, aren't you?"
“You accuse me of doing you ill will? No, there is something else about you.”
"Its only called being paranoid until it actually happens. And frankly, my 'unique' diet means that if I was somehow incapacitated, my children would starve..."
“Yes, I know. My sister informed me about your… incident when she went looking for the ‘Everfree ghost’. That was rather reckless.”
"Instinct overtook my higher reasoning. She probably neglected to tell you how I was not simply aiming to injure or scare her off. 'Mutually assured destruction' they call it."
“Were you afraid that my sister would do something to you or your children?... Are afraid of what I might do to you here, in your dreams?”
"You, not so much afraid, as wary. You were able to slip past the hive mind after it became aware of you, but you are rather transparent. Celestia though... I can't get a read on her, and who knows what lurks behind that mask of serenity. All those years wallowing in guilt over your banishment might have had a lasting effect on her."
“My sister is a lot different then I remember, but such is to be expected. After all, I have not seen Celestia for a thousand years.”
"What was she like back then?"
“Let us simply say that, I was known as the compassionate one and my sister was the strict one.”
“how strict?”
“To start, my sister is certainly a lot more patient now. When I first reinstated the night court all I got was nobles trying to go behind my sister back. It did not go well for them.”
“Oh, do tell.”
“Well, I… believe it ended with most of the windows being shattered.” A light blush of embarrassment came across her face.
"Damn." I let any emotion leave my face, before looking her in the eye. "The right man, in the wrong place, can make all the difference in the world..." With that, I let the hive mind eject Luna from my dream.
I awoke in a sea of green, feeling much warmer. It felt like I was swimming in warm syrup, and I practically panicked when I realized I should be drowning, but wasn't. I could breath perfectly fine, even if the fluid did tingle with magic...
Wait, was I in a pod? I tried to stretch my limbs, only to be met with growing resistance the further out I pushed, until I stopped pushing and felt my limbs snap back up against my sides. I could sense Peeko was right outside, and was standing guard over something. Regardless, I think that changeling saved my life! As well as pointed out my freakish strength, but that's another matter entirely. I hope shes okay.
I could feel Peekos excitement when she realized I was awake, hopefully she hadn't gotten hurt. I didn't want to come out yet though, it felt warm and comforting in here, even with the walls of the pod forcing me into the fetal position. I knew I wasn't going to get to stay in here any longer when I saw Peekos horn pierce the membrane of the pod, and split it open like a box cutter. Once Peeko had opened the pod, I reluctantly crawled out, my magic practically running on autopilot as it washed over me, cleansing my chiten of any goo still clinging to it before it hardened. Looking around, I discovered I was in my room in Trixie's trailer, surrounded by my eggs, as well as a pony laying sprawled out on the floor beside me. I could tell due to the small frame it was a mare, and she was pink as hell, with banana pudding yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a candy cane patterns bomb, causing me to growl slightly. That was Sugar Bomb all right. Before I delt with my 'guest', I picked up Peeko and let her have her fill of emotional energy, knowing she must be hungry.
After setting my daughter down, I turned my attention back to the mare. She was just staring at the ceiling, the only sign she was alive was her breathing. Peeko had apparently stung and paralyzed her. Growling, I begun spitting up gel, and wrapping the mare in it, forcing her forelegs against her chest, until she entombed from the neck down in hardened gel, her shrinking irises showing that she was fully aware of what was going on, but helpless to stop it. Climbing up the wall, I levitated the entombed mare up with me, and used some more of my adhesive bio matter to attach her to the ceiling, so she was dangling from it upside down, like a piñata. "I know you can hear me, Sugar Bomb. You're not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. The venom should be wearing off soon, but until then, you can listen. First of all, you should be thank full I didn't kill you. All my... 'Employer' said was that I had to silence you. Never said how I had to do that." I noticed her mouth moving slightly, a few mumbles audible. I let my front legs detach from the ceiling, and pushed them gently against her chest, my face now a few inches from hers. "Good, it's wearing off. Now, there were several other options I had available, such as simply enslaving your mind to my will, but I don't think that's necessary yet."
I took a sick pleasure in watching her breathing accelerate, and giggled madly. "No..."
"I'm sorry, but I've already told you I can't just let you go. You know too much now, and after that little stunt you pulled with locking me in a freezer till I died of exposure, I can't exactly let you walk around unsupervised. If it hasn't already occurred to you, I have children to look after. Maybe in the future I might give you some more freedom, but for now, you're a threat that must be properly contained. Now are you going to keep your voice down, or am I going to have to make sure you stay silent?"
"I don't care about your Faust damned children! I want out! I-mmmph!" Her rant was cut off by me spitting up a blob of gel and smearing it over her mouth, silencing her.
"Wrong answer.” Peeko soon crawled up the wall to join me, scurrying over to me and climbing down on to Sugars body, even as she weakly thrashed against her prison. It was time for Peeko to feed. I watched as she hunkered down right next to Sugar and sucked the emotion out of her, causing her struggling to grow weaker. Peeko quickly ceased feeding and crawled off her, burping cutely to indicate she was full. Sugar still had plenty of emotion left in her, and it was mine. I let myself succumb to my growing hunger, and watched as the pink mist flowed from her, her struggling briefly picking up intensity before she slowly went limp, eyes dulling to the outside world.
Backing away from Sugar, I scooped up Peeko and held her against my belly, feeling her curl up into a little ball of chitin and cuteness as she cooed and made a soft humming sound.
The sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts, as I turned my head to see a wide eyed Trixie.
“The bu-”
“Shhhh! shes sleeping.” Trixie jumped in fright before looking up to see me clinging to the ceiling, before I caught a whiff of fear from her. Did she think I was going to do this to her as well? She slowly backed up out of the room, and gently shut the door, before I heard her bolt off. I simply held Peeko closer to me, feeling her squirm slightly before burying her face into my stomach, where I could feel the air she exhaled blowing across my shell. “You truly are beautiful, you know that Peeko? This probably sounds out of left field coming from someone who used to be a male, but being a mother is probably the best thing thats ever happend to me.” I know we were linked, but I had to say it out loud, show just how deeply I felt that. There I was on the ceiling, clutching my baby up against me, with a certain meddlesome somepony securely cocooned beside us.
I wonder how Chrysalis will take the news that somebody tried to beat me to the punch, and only made things worse? I just hope I can keep Sugar around as a food source instead of having to 'dispose' of her.
It was slow getting back down to the floor with only three legs available, but I managed. Looking over at the pod that I had tossed into a corner, I was surprised to see that its contents hadn't hardened, nor leaked. My curiosity drawing me to it, I set Peeko down in front of it, and looked it over. The cut Peeko had made had somehow sealed shut, leaving it in pristine condition. Do I just stab it with my horn and use it like a knife? That's what Peeko did, so it must be.
Deciding to test my theory, I plunged my horn through the pods membrane, feeling the warmth of its contents on my horn, before I flicked my head up, creating a large gash. I crawled inside it, feeling it stretch as I maneuvered myself so that I was facing upwards, before I let my limbs be pushed into the fetal position once more, and watched through a green filter as the cut I made slowly shrunk, before vanishing entirely, the pods magically charged contents filling my lungs, yet still letting me breath. The warmth and the feeling of compression felt wonderful, it felt rejuvenating, and I could feel myself drifting off... Not to sleep, but... Into the hive mind. I could feel the developed minds in some of my older eggs, and I could feel Peeko's mind as well, even more clearly than before. I was even aware of something inhabiting my body, albeit very faintly, and hollowly at that, like it was but a shell, with no personality or thought. That... That's something I should worry about later.
Concentrating on Peeko, I was surprised when she suddenly shot up, standing at attention like she was waiting for orders.
’Calm down, it's just me.’ I was mildly surprised to hear my voice echo through my own head, and judging by Peekos reaction, so was she.
Letting myself return to my perception of reality, I quickly sliced an opening in the pod and clambered out, using magic to remove the slime still clinging to me. And was now standing face to face with an impatient Gilda.
“I have three questions. Why were you in that thing again? Why is the pony stuck to the ceiling with your poo goo? And why does she look like Trixie did, after you drained her?” I had to resist the urge to laugh at the phrase ‘poo goo’ and forced myself to calm down.
“In that order, its warm and cozy, she knows too much, and me and Peeko got hungry.”
“You got hungry?” Gilda raised a brow, questioningly at me.
“Okay, maybe it was also because she smashed me in the face with a bat, then locked me in a freezer, where I discovered I don’t handle cold that well.”
“And why does she ‘know to much’?” Oh bugger, she had to ask about that. what do I say to avoid this going downhill… Ah.
I pointed to myself. “She saw me undisguised. plus she knows about Peeko, and my nest. The only reason I avoided doing this to Rainbow dash and her pals was because their disappearance would be noticed too quickly, and spark a nationwide marehunt to find them. Even then, when Celestia came knocking on my door, the only reason she left me alone is because I threatened to bathe the entire Everfree in magic balefire.”
“Wait, You threatened their Princess, and she backed off?!”
“She walked into my nest. Why is it whenever ponies see an egg, they have to go investigate it? they never realize that whatever laid it must be close by, and ready to defend it! Well, other then Fluttershy.”
“Or me. But then again, you chased me down anyway.”
“You turned tail and ran. I was running on instinct at the time. Of course I was going to chase you.”
“So what should I have done? I didn’t know what laid it, I just knew not to go near it.”
“You should have backed away slowly, and not have made any sudden movements.”
“Should I continue to do that? Or am I good?”
“Your safe.”
Gilda looked up at the poor pony I would be feeding off of from now on. “Will you ever let her go?”
“Once I find an alternative food source and wipe any memories of me, yes.”
“I’m, not even going to question that. As long as you let her go.” Gilda turned to leave my room, once she left I looked up at Sugar as she started to stir. I lost interest quickly and laid back down with Peeko.