These Campaigns were Easier on the Computer
A deep yawn wracked Cimmerian as he stood over a map of the country of Equestria and the surrounding provinces. The last week had been a hectic pain in the flank, rushing all over the country to remove the arrays from the various towns and cities while setting up ways to defend it from minotaur strikes. The cleanup was just about over, too. Most of the country was cleared of the arrays, and while the population was slowly leaking back in from the surrounding territories(minus the Minotaur lands) there was the issue of rebuilding the defenses that had been destroyed by the invading army while they were unmanned.
The dark alicorn was currently set up in a small city near the Minoan border along with Zelus and the rest of the queens. With a good number of the ponies that had arrays being Equestrian Military, it was an unfortunate necessity. It did allow him to keep an eye on the newest queen's he'd gotten his hooves on though.
Migidae was still irritable and paranoid but was no longer snapping at everyone that walked by(literally in some cases. Cimmerian had brought up the idea of a muzzle once and the queen had just growled at him). Rahaza was still nervous around Zelus as was to be expected, but she was no longer shaking when the larger mare entered the same room. On top of that both queens were now mobile again, if shaky on their hooves.
Luna and Celestia had come along as well, both wanting to be present in case there were any issues with ponies either not trusting his word or attempting to start their own little townships in the meantime. It was a time to pull together, certainly, but a bunch of communities growing out of the remains of their own country wasn't helping. Especially when the alicorn sisters were trying to rebuild it after such a thorough thrashing.
One such stallion was currently discussing the future of his position with the sisters in the next room. And of course by discussion...
"-tell me to just hoof over all of my hard work! I won't do it, I don't care if you were ruling this land for so long!"
"We are not asking you to give up your position," Celestia was saying. "We are asking for your support in the reconstruction of this country. Equestria is-"
"Dead! Your country is dead and now we're left to pick up the pieces of our lives! Because you couldn't deliver on your promises of safety and peace!"
"My sister and I were betrayed by our own," Luna countered. "It was not some outside force that bested us but an insider who betrayed us. And even then it took her several decades to weaken our country to this state! Decades in which neither of us were capable of doing anything since we were imprisoned."
"It took the Nightmare almost twenty years to destroy our country even while running it, Turbine," Celestia added. "As far as we can tell, nopony bothered to go looking for us! Two alicorns disappear, one of them the ruler of the country for centuries, and there were no searches beyond those directed by Twilight Sparkle, who was under the influence of a Nightmare. No questions were asked, there were even ponies who knew where we were!"
Cimmerian perked his ears. He knew it was possible that the Nightmare had let a few in on it or hadn't kept everything air-tight, but confirmation that Celestia and Luna had been stabbed in the back? Oh, what he'd give to be a fly on the -no, he wouldn't need to be a fly on the wall. He wanted to be there as well for when they lined up to beat the asshats responsible for helping Nightmare contain the Sisters.
"I know of at least four of the higher-ranked ponies in the military who didn't say a word. I heard their voices outside our prison while the Nightmare entered or left them and mark my words, Turbine. Once I find them they will wish the Nightmare had destroyed them."
Cimmerian couldn't help but chuckle at that. They were all a bit high-strung at the moment. Tia was irritable, Luna was constantly tired, he was starting to feel both...a look to the right had him smiling a bit more. Zelus was sprawled out on a couch nearby, having passed out after her latest deflection of a small Minotaur attack group.
It was something Cimmerian was both irritable about and thankful for. Cairn had pulled back after the sack of Canterlot, hitting a few cities here and there on his way back to Minotaur lands. After that there had been precious little information coming from the Minoan border. A few Pegasus and changeling-manned clouds that were well above crossbow range was the best he could do at the moment and even that was spotty at best. The Pegasus guards needed to be relieved for breaks and be supplied with food and water while the drones, well, not all of the Pegasus guards were friendly with them. They had to be supplied with honey while on their missions just as much as any other soldier needed food. It had caused a few problems at first, the honey attracting a few remnant feral drones, but after that it things had settled. Food-wise and loyalty-wise, the drones were a bit more reliable. They were perfectly content to sit in the cloud scouting towers for as long as needed when properly supplied with honey. Unfortunately with it still being cold out, the drones needed to be supplied with other things the pegasi didn't need, like cold-weather gear and personal heaters.
It gave his side something to work with, but it was far from perfect. Several times a small raiding party had made it through the net. To that point, every town that had been retaken was also given at least one changeling as an emergency radio with the explanation that it was linked to the queens. A lot of ponies were still scared of changelings, which made sense all things considered, but the fist time a Minotaur raiding party was seen and reported to the drone though, the majority of ponies in the towns were convinced of their usefulness.
"Being proven and tested doesn't mean everyone will accept it though," he muttered.
Cimmerian frowned as several Pegasi and a changeling flew over to the map, moving markers that represented both griffon and Minotaur patrols. Herrick and his griffons had made contact with Cairn's people but had been turned away with threats. The griffons were pretty difficult to reach for the ground-bound forces, but considering most of the local areas relied on pony farms producing enough food to keep prices down they weren't exactly thrilled at the prospect of their neighbors being raided, nor were they foolish enough to think Cairn would stop at Equestria if he made another attempt to conquer the land.
"It would have been easier if Discord hadn't talked to him but in a way it doesn't change too much. We're at war."
"Not that it's much of a war," Herrick said, walking into the room.
"War is war, Herrick. People will die, people have already died, and possessions and property will be lost. That being said, I have only one issue with his war; I'm stuck fighting an enemy someone else made."
"Cairn is a hot-head. He would have tried instigating this sooner or later. I just wish it had been sooner so the Griffon Empire could have responded properly."
"But if the Nightmare hadn't put Equestria into its current weakened state and hadn't gone around stepping on every set of toes it could find for the giggles, do you think he could have sold his people this war?" The alicorn asked. "Wars require motivation, money, and manpower. Cairn had no issue selling his "revenge on Equestria" campaign after the Nightmare had spent the last ten years or so shitting on everyone it could find. If it hadn't and Equestria was still home to four alicorns, he wouldn't have done more than bluster and threaten."
The griffon hummed thoughtfully.
"Speaking of the Nightmare, I just received this."
Cimmerian looked up from the table before taking the offered scroll. The contents were not what he wanted to hear.
'Thestrals at war. Internal conflict. Cause originally suspected to be based on Luna/Nightmare/Cimmerian dispute(third faction allied with the first). Nightmare sighting confirmed, Thestral ship that had left for Equestria arrived home just before escalation into conflict, cloaked purple mare seen walking from ship.'
The alicorn's fetlock reached up and wrapped around his muzzle.
"You stupid son of a bitch."
"Awful set on causing as much trouble as possible, isn't it?" Herrick chuckled.
"It's started feeding. I think that's why, it started and can't stop. If it does it will die. This is as much about its survival as anything else. Any sane being would wait for the heat to die down a bit, maybe look into some sort of disguise. Maybe it...
"I don't know," Cimmerian admitted. "I'm trying to predict the patterns of a creature that by all rights shouldn't exist. I get changelings even if they're weird. They feed on positive emotions but to ponies it's uncanny valley territory. The-"
The alicorn chuckled at the griffon's look of confusion.
"The uncanny valley is a term used to describe something that's unsettling. Some dolls freak people out because they're lifelike, but not quite real. It's something in your head, your brain isn't quite able to place it in the fields of 'reality' or 'fantasy'. The confusion leads to an overexertion of the brain, which it translates into fear. Or something like that, it's been a while since I read about it. Basically it means changelings look close enough to ponies that their brains pick up on those similarities, but the similarities make the differences even more striking. Once they get used to changelings its fine, but a first reaction is usually fear."
"Anyway something that inhabits the uncanny valley of their best food source would need to get close, thus the shape shifting. This Nightmare though, it seems to attempt to draw as much misery and hatred as possible. In the case of the first one it even tried to destroy the planet.
"But it moved too fast. It had Luna's power, sure, but it had zero support otherwise. Luna's depression and loneliness helped solidify its grip on the mare but it also meant that there was nowhere to retreat to, nobody else to guard it. Once it launched its attack, which failed, it had nothing else planned. This Nightmare knew about the failure of its predecessor through Twilight, one of the mares who stopped the first one's second attempt. It took the time to set up a much more complicated plan but in the end, this one fell apart too."
"For which I'm incredibly grateful," Herrick chuckled before his expression turned sober, looking to the map. "We got lucky. A chain of events nobody could have predicted is the only reason her powerbase fell apart. I don't like surviving based on luck."
"You and me both, Herrick," the stallion muttered. "I want to catch this thing, find out how it works. If we can separate it from Twilight's body and get her back in it, awesome. If not...she's accepted the loss."
The griffon hummed in thought for a moment.
"You said it feeds on misery, yet alicorns are empowered by love, didn't you?"
Cimmerian nodded.
"Idiots pick a powerful being who is weakened by what makes them powerful and is empowered by what makes them sick. You think they'd pick a dragon or something."
Herrick nodded but still seemed to be thinking about something.
"If it's a spirit that possesses individuals, what happens when it's left as the sole inhabitant of a body?"
The dark alicorn's scowl lightened as he processed the words, a certain set of armor coming to mind supporting the griffon's question. The Nightmares had never actually been alive in that way.
"I...don't know..."
<-(0)->
The mare wheezed in agony as she stumbled through the mansion. It wasn't the lap of luxury she'd been enjoying for the last few decades but it was better than that damn flying ship. Or the now-empty castle.
The Nightmare leaned against a stand in the hallway, knocking a vase out of her way in the process. She was familiar with hate, with pain, with fear. But she'd never felt them so vividly as she did now. The emotions were her own now, not something she felt through her link to another individual. After the dark male had taken her host, she'd spent the next three hours in agony. There was nowhere to divert the pain, no other mind to act as a buffer between her and the decaying body she was inhabiting.
She felt it all.
The burning of her wings, as the injuries she'd ignored and had become infected over the years, wearing down even an alicorn's durability and resistance to sickness and disease.
The emptiness in her gut at the lack of food, something she'd not cared about before.
The cracks in her horn which sparked with magic every now and again, sending jolts of pain up the raw nerves that were exposed.
She'd been unable to find a single soul that could fix any of it until the thestrals had showed up, bowing to her like the god she was and offering their bodies and souls to her. Most were added to her army around Canterlot, while a few others she'd managed to keep out of the swarms grasp.
The Nightmare snorted at that. She'd had to save the idiots from her own army, as without Twilight's knowledge of the arrays she'd been unable to do more than activate the final phase of the plan early. She no longer had control of the swarms though, only protection from their grasp. The thestrals she kept away from the drones were infinitely more useful than the mindless drones, able to patch her legs and wings and ease the pain. They served her food, offered her the finest linens for her rest and treated her like royalty. It was something she'd started to miss as time passed in Canterlot castle after she'd captured the majority of the staff. With the loss of her host as a buffer against the body's ills, she'd almost regretted the fall of the city. It would have been so much more...
'Stop it, it needs to be done. Do not let the body consume you.'
Odd as it may seem, it was a very real threat. She could feel the needs of the body and her own 'needs' starting to converge. She felt less energy from anguish, and more from the worship of these damnable creatures that were treating her as a God of Death.
The worst part was she could think of no way to stop the change. It was the sort of thing her host would have found a solution for, not her.
'Oh stars, now I'm assigning myself a gender,' she muttered, placing her muzzle in her hooves. 'How could this possibly-'
She was cut off by an odd gurgle in her host's, no, in her body. Not one of hunger, but of something else. Something deeper...
The Nightmare grumbled not for the first time against the alicorn that had removed a cornerstone from her plan. She'd strangle him if she ever got the chance.
<-(0)->
The dark alicorn stallion snorted awake, disconnecting himself from the nearby queens' dream-hive and the situation room Zelus had constructed to allow the changelings to quickly assess the needs of the pony population as they returned to Equestria. Many ponies had run off again as soon as they saw the queens. Others just curled up on the ground and wept, thinking they were screwed either way or that they had escaped one prison to trade it for another. Even Celestia and Luna were regarded with suspicion in some areas, as they were still weak and recovering. It was not a fast road either. With most of the love going to either ponies who were being treated for magic-shock or drones that were starving, Luna and Celestia were forgoing the love that would have boosted their own recovery to allow others to survive.
His wing was tugged as he shifted about, Zelus currently grumbling as her heat-source moved away from her. Winter ended earlier in Equestria than the rest of the world and was already fading into spring but the air still held a bitter chill. A chill that left Zelus particularly grumpy in the morning.
"It's too early. Go back to sleep," the queen grumbled, using her magic to tug at his wing.
Pulling away and setting his still warm blanket over her, he chuckled.
"I need to keep the rest of them updated. Not everyone has access to the dream-hive."
"Well it sucks to be them," the queen muttered, curling up under the blanket and falling asleep again.
The stallion had barely closed the door before another voice echoed through the hallway, this one not grumpy but downright hostile.
"Away, I am no invalid!"
"Migidae, good to see you're feeling better."
The queen turned to him with fire in her eyes but bit back her usual snarl.
"Shadow."
"Close enough," the stallion sighed. "Go ahead guys, I'll make sure she makes it."
The three drones that were attempting to help the mare left, the sudden lack of support causing her to teeter unsteadily.
"I'm fairly certain Pulmonus said not to rush your recovery or you'd hurt yourself," Cimmerian said, walking up beside the queen and pulling her into his side with a wing.
"Do not touch me! I do not need your help!"
"I'm not helping you. You're feigning weakness in an attempt to seduce me and steal my emotions."
To his amusement the queen huffed but otherwise accepted the excuse he provided her with. He pulled the unsteady mare along with him through the morning chill and into the cafeteria of the base-camp that was currently serving breakfast.
"I do not need to be here."
"I think you do. I don't care if you eat or not, but one of the first things I taught Pandinus was holding a conversation. Meals are important for many species, and a queen who can't at least pretend to know about other cultures isn't going to get far once things start to settle. You may not like it but you're not going to be able to fade into the shadows after this.
"Sit down and relax for a bit. Do you have any drinks you found enjoyable?"
"The blood of those who irritate me, preferably still warm and fresh from their still-beating heart."
"I don't think we can scrounge that up. Oh, I know."
Cimmerian walked to the buffet line, taking two plates for his morning meal. He normally was good with one but he'd skipped dinner the night before and then collapsed onto a bed after becoming too exhausted to continue. Coming to the drinks, he grinned at the little dispenser of changeling honey that had been added for the drones that were nearby. Making a cup of tea, he carefully added a few drops of the honey as well before mixing in some extra sugar.
"Here, tell me what you think," he said, setting the tea down before the queen while sitting across from her with his own meal. He tucked in to his breakfast, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She sniffed it carefully, lifting the still warm beverage to her lips and taking a quick sip.
"It...is tolerable. I didn't know they offered honey in this place."
"Normally they don't but with the influx of changelings working with the Equestrians it's easier to keep some on hand than to leave the drones to find someone to cuddle with. It also helps that it's helped ponies by restoring their magic above the redline. This stuff can be the difference between a week of headaches and possible permanent damage to their magic-systems and a few hours of being high as a kite then waking up just tired."
Migidae scowled again, at what Cimmerian guessed was the 'waste' of honey.
"As we've told the other queens, you can think of it as an investment. You pour this honey into a pony, they feel better, and you get more focused emotions from them as well as their friends. You're paying a small amount now for a larger amount in the future, not to mention the injured pony continues to live, thus increasing the ponies available to feed from."
Turning back to his meal, he watched as the queen chewed on the information. Her weariness was understandable, especially considering the torture she'd been put through.
"Why do you allow the other queen into your bed?"
"Zelus?" Cim clarified. "I don't know, it started as a comfort thing for her, but at this point I think it's comforting for both of us. I've spent most of my nights for the past few weeks, months now?-with a queen snuggled into my side, so I feel a bit...alone if I don't have someone with me."
"But why does she remain with you? You do not radiate the full and potent love like you tell the other drones to seek. For her the emotion is less. So why is she attached to you?"
The alicorn chewed his lip in thought for a moment before noticing two additional sets of eyes on him. Celestia and Pandinus had apparently heard the conversation and were looking on while he thought up an answer.
"I think it's because of her connection with Queen Pandinus."
"Your mate," Pulmonus said, frowning in thought. "Yes, I had heard from Zelus that the two are Sister-queens now. Though I don't see how hat would explain her fascination with you."
"Just give me a moment, I'm trying...okay, what was the one thing hives never have enough of."
"Love," was the immediate chorus, prompting Cimmerian to nod in agreement.
"Okay, so two queens would never inhabit the same territory because it would be suicide. You're already scrounging what you can to survive, there's nothing to spare. So queens would get very protective of their territories, leaving new queens to either find a weak hive to destroy or finding a new place to settle, preferably one with a pony settlement not too far from their hive.
"Because of this the queen's are quick to develop an 'every man for himself' attitude. But if we take away that issue, find a way to make it so that not only is love plentiful, but it's freely accessible, that issue goes away. I'm not saying the fighting stops, but the desperation for territory just isn't there anymore. Some will still fight out of habit if nothing else, but what if there was also no other hives?"
"In the case of Din and Zel, I had originally pushed it as a species survival thing. Even if Zelus left afterwards, it was one more queen that survived. Both reacted the way they were taught, but Din was aware that her race was in very real danger of extinction. Three free queens, four at that time if we count the one with Cadance."
"Amare. I saw her. Such a sweet thing," Celestia gushed.
"The relationship with the two queens changed somewhere along the line. I don't know when, but even though they were still calling each other beta and alpha queen, Din and Zelus weren't really acting that way. They were...to put it simply, there was a time where it was less they and more she."
"I do not follow," Migidae said, looking irritably to her tea to find it empty. "There is only one queen. Any others who joined her hive would be sub-queens, liable to betray or be executed at a moments notice."
"But they trusted each other," Pulmonus responded, smiling thoughtfully. "They didn't fear that the other would turn on them. They-"
Pulmonus' eyes widened as something dawned on her.
"They let the boundaries slip. They...they were the hive."
"What are you talking about?" Migidae asked. "A queen is in charge of the hive, each drone bound to her will. If there were two queens in charge, the conflicting orders would shatter a hive."
"Colt, did they ever seen to be...not themselves?"
"There was...they were speaking over the hive for a long while after an...incident and they were kind of speaking alternatively but always speaking the next line. Like they were completely in sync. It only happened once and it was after several hours spent talking over the link while close to each other but it happened."
Pulmonus giggled, clapping her hooves.
"Oh what I would give to see that. They are both very young, taught but not conditioned yet. Seeing old rules broken, start to wonder what else could be overlooked. And- oh, oh yes, that would have been very confusing. You only consider Pandinus your mate correct?"
Cimmerian shifted uncomfortably.
"That was actually the issue we were discussing. They wanted to...share or, I don't even think they considered it sharing. Just asking me to be the source of the queens' emotion and uh, sperm."
"I'd hate to say this, colt, but as they grow closer it's going to get a bit stranger. They're still young and relatively new to the link, but while they're personalities will always shine through in each shell, where Pandinus ends and Zelus begins may become a bit muddled."
"Yea. I kind of already got that feeling."
The dark alicorn stared at her for a moment before turning back to his plate.
"They don't really even think of each other as friends. Din is currently rearing Zelus' first sired clutch right now. That's not something friends do."
"It's something done by family," Celestia whispered, nodding. "In fact, it sounds like a herd."
"So we're back to square one," the stallion muttered. "It's not like I can ask them to throw this away, either. I kind of started this. I asked Din to look at Zelus as more than a rival and an enemy queen and she did. And now they share everything, even comforts."
"That, hold that thought" Pulmonus giggled, moving around the table and sitting next to him. She began sniffing at him before nodding. "So it is not some pheromone. The hatchling said your scent was calming. I suppose it has to do with her connection. Did your mate make similar comments?"
"I was present for Din's maturation into a queen and even before that. She saw me as a safe place, or something like that. Ever since her molt she'd been really affectionate, but I assumed she was just trying to seduce me."
"She likely was, but considering the fact that your very presence is comforting to her I'm not surprised. What does surprise me is that Zelus inherited that feeling of trust. It certainly adds water to the fact that they've become hive-sisters and not just two queens that are in the same hive.
"Yet it's not something you need to worry about now, colt. This 'merging' will take time, and I do not believe it will ever be absolute. The worst you may encounter is seeing them expressing bits of each other's personality when exposed to surprises. Pandinus could strike out if something spooks her, or Zelus could suddenly become very affectionate after waking. That is...I believe that is the true nature of a hive. A conjoining the level of which could be the first of its kind."
"Could be?" Celestia asked.
"Well it's not like many of us remember the First Hive," Pulmonus said with a shrug. "All I know for certain is that with its fall we lost a breed of changeling which was core to our continued survival. Luckily a queen accidentally discovered that ponies were close enough to allow cross-fertilization, otherwise we would have gone extinct years ago."
"You mean that at one point you had changelings that were bred specifically for siring more changelings?" Celestia asked, cocking her head in thought. "That...I am having a little difficulty understanding that."
The older mare just shrugged.
"Our kind is less concerned with inbreeding. Our genetics are a bit less intricate than that of ponies. If a queen finds herself producing bad drones, she can repair her own body if she takes the time to learn how."
"Speaking of new things that change the world of the Changelings, how is Pandinus and the foals?"
"She was doing well last I talked to her, which was..."
Cimmerian frowned.
"Damn. I think it's been almost a week."
"You best head back to bed then, colt. I've heard of mares gelding their stallions for less," Pulmonus chuckled. "Though from what I've managed to pull from Zelus, you may merely end up trapped in her room."
Cimmerian grinned, picking up his plate as he stood up.
"After all of this crap, I don't think I'd mind being locked in her room for a while."
Migidae accepted a second cup of tea from a drone, dismissing it with a wave of her hoof. It's effect was surprisingly nice; the warm drink fought the chill in the air while the honey energized her. The sugar was...it wasn't necessary, but ponies in general seemed all about things they didn't really need.
"You were worried that he could be producing pheromones," Migidae said after the stallion was gone, looking to Pulmonus. "That he was either actively or unknowingly influencing queens."
"I never truly thought he was doing it purposefully, his emotions are too easy to distinguish. If he was doing so, he wouldn't be worried about you biting him, or nervous when I ask questions. He's just a young colt who took in a starving proto queen and enthralled her. I must say, if I was in the hatchlings position and some handsome young colt came along and offered me food and shelter, I'd likely become quite attached to him as well."
Giggling at the idea, Pulmonus fluttered her wings and stretched her forelegs.
"Ah, but that's life. There is no use lamenting over the good fortune of others. What made me curious about the pheromones is Zelus' attachment to him. I have never seen a queen so comfortable around anything other than her own drones, yet betraying his trust is not something she could even consider at this point."
"You believe that they are truthful?" Migidae scoffed . "That they are, concerned for the future of the changeling race?"
"I already knew they were, actually. The only thing I questioned was his control over the queen. You and I both know her current form is not normal for a queen. That is a form made for battle, to guard the male. She is protecting her sister's mate, which I find very strange. I've never known a queen to endanger herself for anything, much less something or someone belonging to another queen."
"Well until recently he was the reason they could form a hive without being tracked," Celestia informed the older queen. "I'm certain that has something to do with it."
The younger queen frowned, staring at her tea. If it kept her hive safe, would she have been willing to...submit to the pony? No, submit didn't sound like the right word. What would it be called?
"Something on your mind, hatchling?" the other queen asked, her face serious.
"No, Just in thought. I will have much to do to rebuild, after all."
In spite of her negative response, Pulmonus nodded.
"They are using a combination of relationships that do not exist in the hive and are outside your frame of reference. If you require any details regarding them, I'd be happy to explain them. In return, I'd like you to tell me about your hive. How you started and what hardships you faced. I always enjoy listening to how others responded to the little things that you cant account for until they occur."
With that, Pulmonus excused herself, as did Celestia, the two leaving together and continuing to chat. Migidae was left alone with her thoughts once more, as not a single creature was willing to sit close to her. She could feel their presence, taste their emotions and glean their opinions of her but she found herself suppressing a shiver. It was getting quiet around her, and she'd had more than enough quiet to last her several lifetimes. Standing slowly and moving to refill her drink, which was oddly enough starting to grow on her, she decided to find Rahaza. That queen wasn't talkative but she was often in a more active area. One that would keep Dae from going mad from the loneliness.
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First !!!1
poor twilight, although now she has a body that can be altered from science not sure what is better for her now.
well well well now thats an interesting idea for a prison of the nightmare trapped in a body that is slowly changing it into a being of physical form
Huhuh, a list type of changeling, lost with their first hive. Let me guess, Breeders, or by the term of the one in another
fictimeline : Viceroys ?Also, the personality "merging" is something that is IMO unavoidable, with the nature of the hive link between Zelus and Pandinus... It was always my opinion that extremely powerful mental links were always causing such a synchronicity, that members of such links were progressively adopting traits and quirks of the others, while staying individuals... so yeah, i can totally see Pan and Zel and this "Merging".
Also, hum... Nightmare side... there's gonna be a deadline isn't it ? She's acclimating to Twilight's body to survive, even if it's instinctual. The more time she has, the more she will appropriate herself Twi's body. And if she get away too long, she could become by this adaptation, the "real" owner of Twi body, and that wouldn't be good for the eventual return of our favorite Bookhorse...
I love this story.
The issue the changelings are facing is a serious one. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
I do not believe Pandinus is in this scene.
The scene also felt a bit uneven, as Cimmerian begins his conversation with Migidae, but then ends up mostly talking with Pulmonus. The line break also seems a bit unnecessary as the scene does not shift afterwards, just perspective. It's an iffy writing stance.
Italicizing may help to denote a note or thought.
You may also want to reread Herrick and Cimmerian's conversation. The situation room seems ill defined and banter assignment was a bit of hassle to keep track of.
Here we have Cimmerian in rant mode, but there is only one break for motion in the scene and one mention of who was speaking. There is a good use of no ending quotation for a continued speaker, except for
where Herrick supposedly picks up, but it's still Cimmerian.
Hoping for your best.
So, how long until Migidae comes around I wonder? Are we going to have another queen that wishes to go off on her own?
The Nightmare reminds me to Mr. Gray from Stephen King 's Dreamcatcher. An alien parasite who after possessing a character, finds to its horror how the body and memories of its host are actually alienating it.
Poor Nightmare, she is finding out physical mortals have this unfortunate time waster occurance, called bowel movements.
more updates please
Well, I sure hope that the Nightmare isn't starting to merge with Twilight's body. Last thing we need is either the Nightmare getting stuck in the body permanently, or worse, mutating Twilight's body to something else.
Also, why are those idiotic thestrals worshiping a parasite?
Now I'm picturing the Bat-Horses trying to maintain their worshipful reverence in the face of watching Nightmare Books fail at literally everything, mundane or not.
They did not think their cunning plan all the way through.
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All glory to the Fashionframe!!!
I am so excited to see an new chapter. Snuggle bugs learning to share and make friends is a great story.
*happy sighs* A very satisfying chapter. Thank you!
I hope Midi decides to stick around. She'd bring an interesting dynamic to the Herd-Hive that is Cinnamon's ever-growing family.
Wonderful chapter, I will be updating my own story Maleficus Victoria the following weeks, I am almost halfway finished with the grand fight. So about one third of the chapter is almost ready. Way quicker then my last two chapters.
I hope to see more about Cimmerian and the queens handling their new situation, it will be most interesting to see what happens next.
Hoo boy, so it looks like things are heading into a three-way war between the Cimmerian alliance, the thestrals (now part of the Nightmare's forces), and the minotaurs. And I'm not fully confident that Cimmerian's allies will continue to work together once they no longer have a common enemy.
Great chapter!
Got a little deep near the end, but otherwise this was great. If possible, could you simplify what they were talking about near the end?? No matter what the answer, please keep up the excellent work!!
Rahaza and Zelus, I have a guess how their relationship will play out but I like to see were that goes. Also will we hear about Blur anytime soon, I am curious to see if she has started her recruitment mission and how her zealotry will come into play. I just keep thinking that she's going to unintentionally start a massive religious sect that will see Cimmerian as the savior of the world, well he basically did that. That would worship him as god of darkness, protection, family, unity (because he bought all those race together), compassion, necessary war and peace.
Cimmerian came out of nowhere mostly and given how some take things, many would see that as divine intervention. The world was going to hell, three of the four ailcorns removed from power, the fourth possessed by a daemon of hate, misery and corruption, and then out of nowhere a male ailcron comes something unheard of in the world. He starts smalls help those who summoned him, recuse changelings, griffins, thestrals, give the changelings a home free of the hate and prejudice they normally receive the griffins strategies, tactics and the means to fight back, gave the gnolls a chance at a better future they could never dream of, saved the bearers of harmony and the ailcorns of night, day and love, and show compassion to all equally. Many would see all that as divine intervention and given how others blow things out of proportion like saying those cultists weren't cultists but followers of some long lost deity and set out to summon them into the world in its hour of need, thus answered their prayers for help or something along those lines. Hell everything he did will probably be blow out of proportion.
Damnit, now I want a redemption arc for the Nighmare. Why must you be so good at characterizing.
Passing on memes is something that happens simply from being close to other people, either in physical location or personal bonding. So i imagine that being linked so deeply, memes being passed would be unavoidable and more pronounced.
And to avoid any confusion with me using the word 'meme';
meme
mēm/
noun
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People will worship really dumb things. Ponies do not appear to be an exception.
One that would keep Dae from going mad from the loneliness.
Shite, doesn't bode well.
Silly Nightmare, Princesses Don't Potty!
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I would mind that either... AFTER one of these.
loved the chapter!
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...... Oh god, once she realizes this, they'll never get her willingly back into her body.
Loved the chapter, thanks for the update.
Who the hell is Rahaza? I did a ctrl+f on the whole fic and this is the first time the name is mentioned.
Judging from context I think you meant Pulmonus.
that*
their*
Corrections offered without malice.
queens
delete 'it'
first
it's
swarm's
pretty sure you meant wariness here
that
queens
their
how are
Its
hatchling's
can't
8432503 Played War 3. He was the leader of the Tauren who helped Thrall and his orcs when...whatever happened. Killed in a duel to be Warchief of the Horde either before or during the Cataclysm.
Was a generally chill dude, from what little I know.
This story's hothead only has the name, but it seems has the personality of Garrosh. Or Sephiroth.
"Oh Noes my parent! Must kill the world in revenge!"
Nice to see updates here. Love your stuff, always happy to see content!
Not sure how I would prefer Twilight's situation to resolve itself tbh... I can see the appeal for her to both regain or lose her original body.
It also feels like we're approaching the end of this arc/book/fic.
Shadow Haven
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So, that would mean that Cimmer is Luna's son in both magical signature and genetics. The only thing that doesn't make him her son is his memory; and the act of raising him.
~poke~
Are you still there?
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Still alive, just hit another awkward spot. Sometimes it happens. I know what I want to do, so I have the a and z down, it's all the other letters I have to sort out.
Also been writing a bit more for What's a Gary?
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https://youtu.be/CKVuPUY9D-A?t=45s
Finally caught up! This fic keeps getting even more awesome, gj m8.
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So Zelus and Pandinus are becoming more "one." We're going to need some mixed up nicknames for them. Hmmmmmm...
Din. Zelus.
Zin. Delus.
Zindelus!
It's perfect! Cimmerian and Zindelus, sitting in a tree...
Welcome to the wonderful world of bowel movements, Nightmare. The horror... the horror...
Loved this story. I can't wait for Cimmerian to finally accept Zel and have a two queen harem.
I finished this story feeling unsatisfied with not having more to read. I hope you start to get more chapters out soon. This story is one of the best out there along with Diaries of a Madman and A Thief's Tail: The Road to Redemption can't wait for more!
Din and Zel being with Cim would be fantastic but I understand what you are doing, sometimes real life is strange and excepting two and working together to keep the relationship alive is hard. Though I do what some Din X Zel X Cim action soon.
Ahhh, the love, I can already taste it!
Also, do you know anymore stories like this one?
I think you mean Pulmonus. I think you should also probably put somewhere there that they were nearby or something, they sort of just...popped out of nowhere.
They lost a changeling breed that was important for breeding new changelings. Like a Changeling King. Which our lovely Not-mare Moon becomes when exposed to Poison Joke.
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It's actually a joke/reference to Twisted Fate, my other story.
Four queens were pulled from Canterlot, but we've only seen two of them active thus far. Migidae and Rahaza. What ever became of the other two?